Thoughts from Florida

Well, we are settling in to our new home here in Florida, and things are going well.  Garrett had 4 days of orientation, and then had a long weekend for the 4th of July, which we spent in Savannah.  We had a good time with the whole Woodbury clan, eating lots of BBQ and taking cheesy pictures in the pool.  Fun times.

18 months ago, when Garrett and I were discussing his residency rank list and trying to decide how to rank each program, Florida was consistently at the top for a few big reasons.  Those reasons included: affordable cost of living (generally true anywhere in the South, let's face it), "close" to his family (3 hrs away.  I've resigned myself to the fact that we will probably never live near my family, since Garrett hates cold weather), a large Mormon resident population, and free health care (free for all UF residents and their families).  These were all big deals for us.

On almost all counts, those expectations have been met.  We were able to buy a house, we already drove to Savannah once and the drive isn't too bad, our ward at Church could be called "BYU Student Ward PLUS" (plus 5-8 years.  Seriously, there are like 10 people total over the age of 40.  It's insane, everyone is a resident/resident wife.  It's like a student ward with tons of little kids added to the mix).  And, Garrett has already taken advantage of the health care since he was having back problems a few weeks ago.

So, I think it's safe to say that we are in the right place.  That's not to say that we haven't had difficult and trying moments over the last few weeks, though.  I would be lying if I said that there weren't moments of sheer terror at the thought of owning a house (so much responsibility), or wondering if we had made the right decision in coming here, or just questioning everything, basically.  We've had some difficult moments, especially when Garrett was struggling with his back and we were thinking that surgery would be in the near future (thankfully, it's probably not).  Everything also cost more than we expected it to ($900 to register our 2 cars and get new licenses....I almost had a heart attack). Life was really hard (it didn't help that when we entered our empty house for the first time, there was a giant cockroach on our bedroom wall... what a welcome.).  Seriously though, it was very discouraging.  There were also so many things in the house that had to get done (unpacking, etc), but so much had to be left undone for so long because they were two person jobs, and Garrett's back needed to heal. We also desperately missed our friends (still do!).  Oh, and I got pulled over for the first time ever (the cops are everywhere here).  It was rough.

But, I am an optimist (It may not sound like it, but I really am!).  Every day the house feels a little bit more like "ours"... not really because we're doing anything to it yet, but just because we've been here longer now and it just feels normal (I love normal).  We are starting to get a routine down, and the girls have made some friends (there is a girl Abby's age named Ellie.  Abby calls her "the real Ellie".  I guess our Ellie is pretend?).  I've even managed to do a few repairs around the house on my own, which is always liberating.

So.... long story short, we are surviving, we are busy, and things are improving.  I have yet to see an alligator, so that's a plus.  And yes, it's hot, but to be honest it's not as bad as I expected it to be.  It certainly doesn't feel worse than Augusta ever did.  Sure, it's humid (understatement), but that comes as no surprise.  Saves me money, since I don't have to buy lotion.

So there's my little (okay, kinda long) update about us.  Upon re-reading it, it does sound a little bit whiny if you don't really know me, so.... I apologize. I'm just trying to be real.  (A few months ago, a nice anonymous reader commented that I was "becoming very whiny and materialistic".  And even though they said that they would never read my blog again, I've really tried filter my posts, because it's really not my intention to whine.  It bothers me that I come across that way to some people.)

Next up: a book review.  Seriously this time.  I know I said that a few weeks (months?) ago, but this time I'm really going to do it.  It's a fantastic book, and if I had a money tree I'd buy it for everyone I know.  It's that good.