The calm before the storm

Dave and I had another wonderful weekend away in the Keys. We stayed at a different place but had an even more AMAZING time than we did the first time (including another visit to my new happy place, the Dolphin Research Center). We stayed at the Yellowtail Inn and had a whole COTTAGE all to ourselves that was RIGHT ON THE OCEAN (literally, 10 steps away) and there was a hammock out front so I was swaying on a hammock under a palm tree looking up at the stars.... here's a link to the actual cottage we stayed in, but explore the site and you can see pictures of the whole resort: http://www.yellowtailinn.com/105.htm . It was truly paradise, and even though I live in Florida now I will never become immune to the true beauty of this state.

Oh, and we got to swim in the ocean this time--I SWAM IN SALT WATER AGAIN AND EVEN PUT MY HEAD UNDER (long story, but many of you know about my aversion to salt water)....and I got to eat a coconut right off the tree and drink the coconut water when one of the resort employees HACKED IT OPEN WITH A MACHETE and I saw a sting ray and we walked into a school of barracudas and oh my goodness, we just did SO MUCH STUFF. Dave learned a very valuable lesson about listening to me the first 10 times I say "Hey hon, you're starting to get a little red" (no, he didn't get out of the sun when I told him to and yes, he now has quite the sunburn to show for it). Oh, and I cried at the DRC again because it's just so amazing to see the dolphins that close and it makes me so happy there (which is the whole reason Dave took me back--because he knew how much I loved seeing them the first time).

Then we got home and I found out that I had been robbed.

And they were really nice robbers, too, because they even had the carpets cleaned on their way out.

So no, I wasn't really robbed. But while I was gone, Frank came and moved out the rest of his stuff (which, of course, is pretty much everything)--oh, and he apparently took the cable box with him (and, along with it, the Internet connection)--so I walked into, oh, NOTHING. Seriously. I was so disoriented that I just sat in the (empty) living room and looked around, speechless.

I wasn't supposed to move in with my new roommate, Brad (no, I'm not living with Lauren any more--her plans to move down here kind of fell through, so I went with one of the other people I had been talking to on roommates.com and feel pretty happy with the decision), till this coming weekend, but obviously, plans have changed. On my way to Dave's (he's taking pity on me and allowing me to stay here tonight while I figure out my next move; I feel like a freakin' refugee), I called Brad and said, "I know I wasn't going to move in for another week, BUT..." and explained the situation. He was very warm and sweet and basically told me that I could move in whenever I needed to. The problem, of course (which will be no surprise to those who know me) is that I hadn't even started packing yet (hey, I didn't think I was going to be moving for ANOTHER WEEK, which is like 3 months to normal people)--but now the tentative plan is for me to pack like a madwoman on Monday and move in with Brad on Tuesday, so that I only have to crash with Dave for a couple of nights. This, of course, is also in the midst of my LAST WEEK OF TEACHING, which was going to be crazy enough on its own and is the reason I had postponed moving till NEXT WEEKEND.

My point is that if you don't hear from me for a while, this is why. This week will be insane and then we're leaving for Veags for 5 days a week from tomorrow, so just as things start to settle down from teaching and moving I'll be hitting the road again.

If you need me, you have my cell or you can email me at school (Mom has the email address).

I'm working on getting my new address from Brad.

Thank God I'm returning from my WONDERFUL, glorious weekend, to prepare me from the onslaught of the next 3 or 4 days. (Of course, I can't complain because I'm leaving for ANOTHER vacation in about a week.)

See you on the other side. =-)