Beachy Attitude

My first post from the keys, in my new house. It is on the canal and has a pool, could I ask for more? Yes. I did ask for more, and I got it. There have been approximitly 1000 posts rolling in my head since we left Missouri over a week ago. I'm not sure where to begin. The ride down was long and sweaty and tiring and sometimes boring and now a little bit surreal. The landscape didn't change much until we hit Mobile, AL and then it was just more long roads and southern pines. When we hit the keys and smelling the briny water of the mangroves I finally knew we'd made it under the cover of a brief storm. The weather somehow matched my mood, not in that I was depressed with rain but more a tumultous thunder cloud, rolling, confused, going different directions, in circles. Relief washed over me with the the sun breaking through and the humidity lifting just an inch which was ok, for some reason the watery air felt like a security blanket.

We have spent the last week going to the bars, finding our favorites, eating the food, meeting the locals, setting up phone lines, cleaning the house and swimming in the pool while working on our tans. I miss hubby, but in no way do I miss Missouri. I don't miss my store like I thought I would. Maybe because it still feels like a vacation, yet this place has always felt like home. I think that feeling will only increase with time. It is hard to describe how this atmosphere changes me. It has an undercurrent of energy that excites me, taunts me, but at the same time the people are laid back and accepting, understanding. When someone asks us where we are from, which in a tourist town is the most asked question, and we say, we just moved here there are no looks of terror and confusion. Such a contrast to when people back in MO asked where we were going and we said they got this look of complete horror on their faces like we were crazy for ever leaving. I suppose that is it, people who are here moved too, they understand, they relate, it's comforting.

We are working on setting up our lives again, looking for jobs, settling in new routines. I try to erase the old ones from my memory, they were merely the road to get here. Missouri, Wisconsin, it all seems so far away. The really important people in my life, hubby, my sis, they can't wait to be here with me. When I tell them what I've been up to I can hear the excitement in their voices, because they have been here, they know what it is like and can't wait to share it with me again.

Home, sweet home, I will never be able to go back or accept anything less.

OUR LIFE IN FLIP FLOPS
I'm so excited to be making my first post from key West, my hands are shaking! I don't have the words right now to decribe how fantastic it is, and how I feel like I've been looking for this place for a while now. The ocen breeze is coming in through front door of this trendy little internet cafe, something so trendy that I haven't seen in my years in missouri. I did sing at Aqua last night, the local drag club. They have offered me a weekly gig, and I couldn't be more thrilled. From sleazy local taverns to the drag club....just one thing among many that have changed for us. Between swimming in the pool every morning, eating fresh fruit on the deck for bearkfast, and spending our evening on Duval Street in Key West, life is indeed better than I could have imagined it to be. I highly recommend going to www.keysnews.com, and finding the link for web cams of the island, you'll get a small glance of what our days are like currently. I'm off in my hip island wear, consisting mostly of khaki pants, leather sandals, and breezy button up shirts. There are many more stories to tell, and when we have the internet connection at the house, you'll hear all about it. Much love from Jules and Chesa, and we'll talk again soon!

well, it's finally here. The big day is tomorrow! The bags under our eyes, and the excessive amount of smoking right now is proof. This is my last day at work, YAHOO! I'm finishing up a few things, then Julia and I are having dinner with my grandparents tonight. We will be en route through the weekend, so no blog lovin'. Give us a few days to get down there, a few days to get settled, and we should have some good stories for you! I'm really looking forward to the time Jules and I have together over the next month. The drive down will be great, that's what I'm looking forward to the most, but we'll have a few weeks that just her and I are down there, getting jobs, and getting started. Julias husband, her step kids and the dogs will come later with the moving truck. I love them all, I really do, but it will be nice for her and I to get a break from all of it for a while. No trying to get everyone to get their stuff packed, no worrying about how everyone is adjusting, not worrying about someone getting lost, or staying on the step kids to get jobs, hope they make new friends, hope they don't start drinking and going crazy, having sex and listening to rock and roll!!! Sorry....did I say we're a little tired and anxious right now? ( I don't have anything against sex and rock and roll...by the way) It'll just be nice for Julia and I to take a little break, to enjoy the pool, and the sun, and the new place.
We'll holler at y'all soon!
toodles

I hate that it's taken me till now to post this. It's getting a little busy for Julia and I with only about 3 days till we leave for KEY WEST!
but wait...here's the whole point
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIA

Sunday morning
It's sad when I'm jealous of the dogs laying around napping. It's barely 11 oclock this morning and God bless coffee. It's a beautiful day, I feel some jeepin' comin' on. After I actually get off the couch, that is. It's T minus 5 days to the Great Road Trip. 5 days? I know, I can't believe it's here already. I'm spending the day with my Cowboy Man, cherishing the moments we have left together, and trying not to be weepy about it. 5 days! I have to keep repeating it, just to let it sink in.
OK, off to enjoy the rest of the weekend, talk to y'all later!

wow

"My days do not have any joy unless I get to spend them with you" - Hubby.....

Yeah, he's getting laid tonight. ;)

Dear Chesa,

Don't worry, this isn't a 'dear john' letter. Its just a simple thank you note, please forgive I do not have the time to actually go to the store, buy you a card and leave it in an unexpected place like usual. I too am listening to Joni Mitchell, thanks to you loading it on my pc! I just wanted to thank you for being my best friend, for being my inspiration when times get tough. I don't know what ever made me believe for a second that there was anyway I could have even thought about doing this on my own, without you. You have inspired me because, like dumbass (my hubby) forgets, you really have it harder than anyone leaving this place. I'm so proud of you for standing your ground, and realizing that you deserve better. Not only recognizing that fact and doing something to change it. Everytime I want to bitch about my family or extended family I look at you going through hell and feel guilty and proud. Everytime I hear a line of bullshit being fed to me by a multitude of sources these days, I think NO FUCKING WAY I'm putting up with this shit. I put on my fighting gloves and get down and dirty, because that is what I'm expecting from you. If I expect it from people around me, then I damn well better buck up too.

I almost posted a withering piece this morning about leaving and being overwhelmed and being so stressed out I can barely see straight, but now I'm so glad that I didn't waste my time. Maybe its the beer talking, but after tonight I feel stronger because of you.

So thank you, once again for helping me pull my head out of my ass and making me take off the rose colored glasses, see the world for what it really is and wooping everybody into shape, myself not the least.

Kisses to you, my darling girl.

sparkly things
I love fireflies. I always have, and maybe never lost the hope that they are magic, sent to make us remember the great things about summer. It's like white christmas lights. No matter where I see them, they seem so whimsical, at christmas time or not. I'm listening to Joni Mitchell's album, the Both Sides Now album. Highly recommend you add it to your collections. It's not the cheeriest of cds, but it is fantastic to listen to. There are many things on my mind these days, most about boxes and packing tape, palm trees and moving vans, but even more. I drove over to see my grandparents this weekend, and you can ask Julia..they are the most wonderful people. They have been so excited for us on this move. They have helped pack, they have encouraged when I was worried I wasn't doing the right thing, they have cried when we talked about how much I will miss them, and have promised to visit as soon as we've learned our way around town. These are the people that raised me, and I was so overwhelmed with thankfulness that they are a part of my life. Not everyone has grandparents. I realize how damn lucky I am.
Oh, and then my mother walked in the room, and didn't speak to me, just the same as she's done for about a year and a half. I can't wait to send her the tacky shell soap from Key West, especially since I haven't told her I'm going.
In my joy, and excitement, someone I love very much is hurting right now. My Cowboy Man is losing something very important to him. The something that he always chooses over me, the thing that prevented us from ever planning for the future, or getting to spend Sunday afternoons cat napping on the couch. It will be the hardest thing he's ever gone through, and I feel like the worse person in the world for leaving him in his time of need. When I was lost, and hurting, he stood by me, let me cry, and was strong for me. I'm trying to do the same for him. I thought I was pretty stretched for nerves, but when he needed me, I found that loving him gave me strength for him.
It's all a little sappy, and vague, but I'm thankful for the sparkly things, for the little moments that take my breath away. Be it Christmas lights, or fireflies, or knowing that our lives are changing dramatically in little over 2 weeks. ( Can you believe it here already?), there's a certain calm in my life tonight that is unexpected, considering all the things to do, and the little time to do them. I wish a little calm on Julia, as the pressure of things weighs heavy on her right now. A reason to drink more? I'd say so!
It's off to bed early tonight, so I'm off like a prom dress.......
kisses on your face!

a moment to breathe
it seems as though there are finally 5 minutes in my day to stop, breathe, and see what's going on around me. How did it get to Friday already? When you have a million things to get done, time slips away. We're counting the days till the big move, and I'm getting nervous that there won't be enough time for everything, one last hooray at the local tavern, sunsets from the front porch, quality moments at our favorite places, and most of all, that we'll miss some of the excitement of the whole things because we're so busy. With both the internet and my laptop working, I should be back to happy blogging in no time. For now, I want to enjoy a cup of coffee, and cherish the moments, rememeber the things to remember that I love about my life now. Hope you have a chance to do the same.

I have internet again! OODALOLLY!
more blogging to come