my baby's almost one! | a little video

the everglades have scary bugs...

 I woke up too early yesterday, before the sun. My sister's drive to work takes an hour passed road signs that have the words alligator, panther, and snake in them.

 We drove along canals filled with alligators until we came to the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation...smack dab in the middle of the Everglades. This is where my sister works as a Collection Manager. We kept driving through the reservation, passing homes and schools until we came to the Tribal Historic Preservation Office just a few steps from the thick, tropical, overgrown vegetation. 

 Every girl needs a necklace made from two different animal skulls and a good pair of snake boots.

 My sister put me to work right away, she didn't care that it was my vacation :) I helped her organize her department's library and looked through books about Florida Indians and bones.  She has created an amazing space...shelves full of artifacts that have been found on the reservation, each one telling a secret story.

 We finished up our morning work and decided to have lunch under the chickee. It was hot and humid and we could hear large insects buzzing around the roof. We were even graced with the presence of a spider that would fair well in a horror movie.

{In front of the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum}

 We explored a little around the mile long boardwalk that surrounds the area, but cut it short because of the thousands of dragonflies diving around our heads. Summer time brings out all the insects...my sister was longing for winter already.

We finished up our days work in the freezing cold vault just as the dark rain clouds were starting to hover over the glades. We could hear thunder rumbling in the distance as a strong breeze was welcomed, bending the palm trees and cooling off the muggy air, even if just for a few minutes. I loved spending the day with my sister...seeing what she gets to do everyday. She has an amazingly unique job of preserving the Seminole Tribe's history. 

no shoes, no makeup, no worries

Today I counted over fifteen lizards. I spent most of my day on the screened in porch, which doesn't do a very good job of keeping lizards out.   It was just me and my thoughts. I've spent the last week with my true self, no makeup, no shoes, not caring what my clothes look like.  It feels so liberating. I love feeling the cool tile on the bottoms of my feet and putting my hair up without even looking once in the mirror. I have no where to go and nothing urgent to do.

Every morning I wake up with the sun and head to the pool.

It's quiet. 

It's warm. 

I love tilting my head back in the water when all I can hear is the beating of my heart.  I feel lonely for just a minute and then remember soon enough I'll be surrounded by people all day with a million things to do. I can't help but feel so small looking up at the sky...and my thoughts begin to wander.   

Lately I've been thinking about me. I love the way I've felt this week...consuming my mind with more important things rather than concerns about what I see on the outside. I want to go back to the time in my life when I wasn't so concerned with these things...my hair, makeup and clothes. I remember the exact moment when all that changed for me. It was the time in my life when I was just learning who I really was.  I wish I could go back and change that...tell myself that none of it matters. 

For now though, I'm enjoying this side of myself...this old side of myself that I've missed.  When you spend all day with yourself you forget how you're supposed to act and you start acting like who you are meant to be. It's funny when you don't have the daily distractions around you how much more right the world feels. This is how it should always feel.  

I have three more days here. This time that I've had has been such a blessing...I know that not many people can just take off for two weeks to think and have a mental vacation.  I feel like I've been able to reconnect with myself again...and I'm ready to keep hold of that for longer this time.

a little paradise up close

Florida Postcard

drink the wild air

I'm so envious of people who live near the ocean. It's so serene. You can stare off into the horizon and feel peace, nothing at that moment is important except for the wind whipping around your hair.

I love laying out under the sun, just me and my thoughts.  Mostly thinking when that next little breeze will come by and cool off my burning skin.

My sister and I walked along the beach watching the sun rise one morning.  We people watched...we found two perfect sea shells that the seaweed tractor hadn't destroyed yet.  We wandered into the Spanish River Park hoping we wouldn't see any spiders the size of our faces (we didn't), just Jurassic sized leaves.  We both felt whole again. Being together, talking, listening, laughing. 

Watching the sunrise on a peaceful beach makes you think. You can't help it. It forces you to look into your life and think about its purpose. It asks you how you can simplify it, make it more beautiful. I think I'm ready for the challenge. That salty sea air sure does wonders for your mind...

Sunrise

Florida Adventure #2

My sister works smack dab in the middle of the Everglades.
It's a pretty cool place to work if you ask me...when people ask me where I work I say, "Between a scary street and another scary street with gangs and dollar stores."


When she steps outside she is surrounded by tropical foliage, birds chirping, panthers, bears, and alligators...oh my 

What's also cool about where my sister works is that she works on the Seminole Tribe Reservation.  The tribe is it's own sovereign nation so the tribe doesn't have to listen to anybody if it doesn't want too...just kidding (kind of), but they do have their own laws, police, schools...etc. Hmmm maybe someday I'll be working at the Seminole Tribe's elementary school :)

The tribe runs the swamp tours of the everglades and that is exactly what we had come to do. 

We also stopped by my sister's work... 

and walked along the mile boardwalk...only screaming a few times because of the large dinosaur-ish insects

If you ever get a chance to visit the Everglades you won't be disappointed. It's a world of it's own and it's beautiful beyond words...plus I know a pretty good tour guide named Kate 

Florida Adventure #1

We drove up to Boca Raton for a day at the beach.

It was a little cloudy.

A little windy.

A bit chilly.

So much for my bronzed golden skin I was going to get.

We still had fun

...we found our new home

saw lots of jelly fish

had a picnic 

(Martin ate a Lunchable...well tried anyways)