Day 2299 | A Tampa Getaway

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It was a lovely weekend in Tampa. The musical was AMAZING, the company was THE BEST, and the food was DELICIOUS. The weather could have been *a bit* warmer for a fully tropical vacation, but that didn’t keep us down.

Trip highlights included:

  • Touring Skylar’s campus (University of Tampa, baby!)

  • Experiencing Tampa Fresh Foods a grocery store made out of all hand-crafted, felt products. Zoom in on the photos below. It’s crazy impressive.

  • Several yummy meals - Urban Cantina (the tacos!), First Watch (the eggs benny!), and American Social (the cocktails!)

  • A stop at Skylar’s apartment.

  • An evening hot tub party.

  • Lots of walks in the sunshine.

  • The Dear Evan Hansen musical production. It was everything I hoped it would be.

The only thing missing was my favorite boys. Luckily, I got home in enough time to catch up with them last night and they had a super-fun weekend, too. Everyone wins!

Enjoy the photo gallery from our adventures below.
Click on a photo to enlarge the images.

Day 2298 | Hello, Tampa

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Look at me at an airport! Without children in tow! Can you believe it? Neither can I. I guess that’s why until I boarded the plane I didn’t let myself actually accept that the trip was happening. I didn’t even pack until last night/this morning. That’s never my traveling strategy—but living/learning through a pandemic will do that to a person. 

This trip is 2.5 years in the making. No joke. I had the dream of attending a production of Dear Evan Hansen with my nieces pre-Covid down in Madison. Fast forward all those 30+ months and we’re finally going to see it…in Tampa. Three nieces, two sister in-laws, my mom, and I are all together for a little girls weekend with hopes of soaking in some sunshine, laughing a lot, and singing along (in our heads, of course) to a musical that I’ve been listening to on repeat for years and years. I have no doubt that my high expectations will be met and then some!!

I’m taking a bit of a blog-break as I disconnect over the next few days. I’ll be back with photos to share as soon as I can. 

Day 2294 | Back to Subbing

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I had a bit of a subbing break at the end of 2021 but things have really picked up this week! It’s been nice to be back in the school again and I’ve enjoyed catching quick peeks of the boys in their secret world. Man, teaching is exhausting, though. I know you know that, but it really is. Hence the lack of blog posts this week. I’ll be up bright and early for another round tomorrow. And then I’m hoping there will be a bit of a break—it’s hard to keep the “cool sub” status if you’re around too much, you know?

Day 2288 | Snow Tubing

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We did a new thing today. We tried out Christie Mountain’s snowtubing. It was a beautiful winter day for some outdoor fun, but we decided snowtubing might not be our favorite cold weather activity. It was very fast and very bumpy. Three out of the four of us walked (hobbled?) away with hurting tailbones. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty intense. I can see how some people really enjoy it, and maybe we’ll try again with some fresh (and maybe slower?) snow. Apparently we’re just not the thrill-seeking type. Good to know.

Day 2287 | Art + Flowers

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This is one of my favorite art exhibits I’ve stumbled upon. The Fabulous Florals and Fine Art exhibit at our local arts center just brings me so much joy. Local artists submit their art pieces and then local florists interpret those art pieces in a floral display. So fun, right?

The last time we attended this event was in 2019. I can’t say how happy I am that they hosted it again this year. And a special thanks to a friend for giving me the heads up it was happening—I would have missed it and been devastated otherwise!

Day 2281 | 2021 Accomplishments

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So…2021 happened. I’m not sure I’d go back to relieve this past year over again if I had the choice, but some pretty great things came out of it. I got to spend oodles of time with my favorite people (but I also missed spending time with lots of my other favorite people). My family and I stayed healthy amidst a global pandemic. We’ve got jobs that we enjoy and a beautiful house that we’re thankful for every single day (not exaggerating). I could create a list of the hard parts of 2021, too, but we’ll focus on the bright-side, right?

In the spirit of ushering in the new by reflecting on the past, here’s a list of…

My Favorite Accomplishments of 2021

  1. Fostered six cats. Fostering is kind of the best, by the way. I'm hoping we can start up again once we figure out if our bun is interested in furry friends.

  2. Went gluten-free for three months and then happily (and healthily) added it back in without a problem. Woohoo!

  3. Was vaccinated and boosted to keep me and the folks around me healthy.

  4. Began substitute teaching at the boys' school.

  5. Started seeing a therapist every month. I highly recommend.

  6. Started paddleboarding. It's kind of my thing now. 

  7. Successfully marketed eight book festival events. 

  8. Got a bunny. You remember Flopsy (pictured above).

  9. Read 27 books. My goal was one a month...I blew that one out of the water! I'll post a list of some of my favorites soon.

  10. Wrote 230 blog posts. Not quite a photo a day (my vision from seven years ago), but not too shabby.