Hey you, wanna catch up?

I know I've been ignoring this little place. I've been putting 1000% in to getting my other blog up and running. I also started school again 5 weeks ago, which has a been taking up a bit of my time. I'm also a nanny for this little girl, which I really love. But I want to breathe some life back into this space. I want it to go back to what it was originally for, keeping friends and family in the loop on what's going on in this life. So here it is:

The Wedding~ Things are starting to fall into place. We're planning it for January of 2012, so we still have loads of time. Eliot and I are both feeling ahead of the curve for the moment. (I'm going to kick myself later for saying that). I'm really excited about it all, but part of me just wants to be married to him already. I know it will be worth it to have an awesome party though...a week long one.

Eliot~ He's gone at the moment to the wonderful land of South Africa. He's been gone for 2 weeks and will be gone another 3. I miss him, but I'm excited for him. While he's there they're going to launch a brand new boat. This will be the first project he's been completely involved in from start to finish, so it will be so awesome for him to be there for the launch. Then he's going to meet me in California to celebrate Thanksgiving with my grandparents.

Florida~ The weather is so nice right now. It's cold in the mornings and you need a sweatshirt. But it's comfortable during the day. I don't want it to get any cooler, it just needs to stay like this. The end of summer here was amazing. We were out on our friends boat Tinky the Reef Seeker, diving almost every weekend, and afterward we would go post up on a sandbar, go swimming and enjoy some beverages. Now the gulf has gotten shockingly cold in just the span of a couple of weeks. But the wind is picking up, so it might be time to get the kite gear out and try and get better at that. One of my best friends Holly is coming to visit in just a couple of weeks. So the weather better stay in place for a little while longer.

Sailing~ Recently I've started racing every Thursday night. I got in at the tail end of the season, but it's been fun to look forward to every week. Looking forward to being more competitive next season for sure.

Just a few photos


building castles on the beach




Diving

Babies!

Wow, my first blog update from China. It hasn't been easy because now EVERYTHING is blocked here. Even my image hosting website doesn't work. So I've been trying to find some free time (a bit limited) to get through the Great Chinese Firewall.

Just to update everyone. Things have been going really well and we're about to end the first session of the program. Which means we're sending home 8 people on Wednesday and receiving 18 (yes 18!) more on Friday.

I've found a bit of time now just to show you some pictures of what's going on here. Here are some of the babies that live at the Baby Home that is run by China Little Flower. All are orphans, most have medical issues which is why they are here in Beijing to begin with, and some are ready to be adopted out. But all are so loveable, and I've been really enjoying my time with these precious little bundles.

For more information on these babies go to www.chinalittleflower.org

Life in Florida...so far

I feel like since we started our new life (in FL) I haven't had much time for this blog. I know I've posted up photos from school and such. But this is supposed to be my journal (sort of) and I'm not even documenting what is really going on. So here's life in FL so far.

People still tell me I have an accent and ask me where I'm from. I got this quite a bit when I was home over Christmas too. And sometimes, and I'm not really sure why, I'm embarrassed to tell them it's because I've been living with my British boyfriend in places like China and South Africa where no one sounds American. I think the embarrassment comes because it always requires further explanation. It's not like you can really just throw that into a conversation and not explain yourself.

School is going well, although has it's normal frustrations. I'm having to take a lot of "foundation" classes right now and only have one photography class. I'm lucky though because I already did 2 years of school, so a lot of the English and Math classes I would normally be required to take, I don't because I already have. (You're probably thinking I should take some more English after reading this.) And, next quarter is going to be a lot more about photography.

I've been thinking A LOT about China lately. I know, it's crazy! I couldn't wait to get out of that place when I lived there. But I find myself missing a lot of that craziness now that I'm so far away from it. Good news though: It's looking like I might be heading there this summer for a short time. More on that, when I know more.

Our house is pretty much furnished. The only room that is still a bit empty is the guest bedroom/my sewing room. I got my new sewing machine so I'm looking for a desk to put in it to add to the futon we have in there. But, we can have guests now! So if anyone is thinking of taking a vacation to FL, or bringing the kiddos to Disney World let us know, you'll have a place a stay.

Alright, that's all I can bore you with for now. Life in FL is, well, pretty mellow. And I kind of like it. I don't know I could really focus on school as much if it were any other way. But this is just a different step in life, and I'm sure it will all change again shortly.

Ozona Abode

We moved into this great neighborhood that is completely different from the rest of Tampa. The houses are these really cute old Florida Key style houses. The neighbors are so friendly, and there's tons of things within walking distance. Almost everyone in the neighborhood drives around in golf carts. It's a really special place, and a really great dwelling to return to after dealing with Tampa city all day. I'll try and get some photos of the neighborhood up soon. Here's some photos of our new home in Ozona, including some furniture we've been redoing to fit in with the rest of our furnishings. We've really been enjoying creating our own living space. Eliot and I have never been able to start from scratch and have our own stuff together.


~Living room w/ fireplace (I know we live in FL), looking towards the front door and enclosed front porch~


~Couch and coffe table~


~Living room looking towards the kitchen~


~Kitchen~


~These little yellow tables we've been working on sanding and painting, and Eliot had to build a new base for the long one. They were cheap on Craig's List and they look 100x's better than when we first got them~


~Before picture of our dresser~


~After: With new knobs and all~


~Found these on Etsy~


~Before picture of our dining room chairs- pretty bad I know~


~After: Cleaned and refurbished~


~The set~


~Our country style hutch, another great Craig's List find~

Finally! The Holidays!

Whew! So my lack of updating is due to our move to Sunny FL! Well....actually we arrived in FL in the midst of a cold snap, and it's actually been colder here than Seattle (not even joking like 29 degrees).

So I've been seriously busy trying to organize furniture for a house so we can stop looking like we're just squatting here with our mattress on the floor. More on Florida later, all I'll say is that we're here, we love the house we're renting and there's lots to share but that's for another post on a different night, including some news on going back to school.

How bout those holidays? 5 countries in 3 weeks!

We started our trip from South Africa to England to visit Eliot's family and friends. It was so nice to go from hot SA to wintry England during the holiday season. Suddenly it felt like Christmas. We didn't spend Christmas in England, but Eliot's mum had a holiday party, inviting all Eliot's friends. And the evening before we left made a proper English Christmas dinner complete with Christmas pudding. Eliot has always spoken about these dinners and I was very grateful to be able to share it with him and his folks.


~A walk in England~






~This fountain was so cool~



~Catching up with our friend Mike from Argo~




~Christmas Pudding (after it's been lit on fire)~




Also while in England, Jenny (Eliot's mum) took me on a side trip to Paris! It sounds extravagant, but really it was only a 2 hour train ride on the EuroStar from London. Although freezing temperatures, we saw a lot of Paris in a day.


~The Louvre~


~Notre Dame~


~Inside Notre Dame~


~I can't quite remember what this is called...~


~Jenny and I~

From England we headed south again and went to Florida for 2 days to try and sort out a place to live when we came back in 2 weeks, and also to grab our snowboarding gear to head back north to Bellingham!


~Sunset from the deck- gorgeous shot of the San Juan Islands~
(Eliot's photo)


~Going for a walk at Whatcom Falls~




We spent Christmas there with my parents. My dad cooked a lekker prime rib roast on Christmas Eve. It was really nice to spend Christmas at home and catch up with friends and family. Also, my niece is at a great age now (almost 3), and it was so much fun to see her eyes light up on Christmas morning.


~Sunny Christmas Eve at the park~








~Playing with my old toys in the basement Christmas Eve- Obviously not very exciting~


~My sister Char on Christmas morning~
(Eliot's photo)


~An old Disney movie that is apparently more exciting than her gifts~


~Dad enjoying sunny Christmas day on the deck~
(Eliot's photo)


~My brother Alan~
(Eliot's photo)

The day after Christmas we said goodbye to my parents as they headed off to Maui, and Eliot and I headed up north to BC to go snowboarding. Eliot's best friend and his family were visiting Kelowna for the holidays, so it was the perfect opportunity to hook up with them and get some turns in at Big White.


~Eliot~


~Eliot and Nick mid day pub run~


~Nick~


~End of day pub run~
(Eliot's photo)

So those were our holidays in a fairly small nutshell. But we really had such a great trip. It always makes me wish all our loved ones were closer by, but at the same time, we're so lucky to have great family and friends all over the world.

Happy 2010!