You Know You Live in Florida…

…when this shows up in your weekly grocery store flyer.

One (Singular Sensation).

Alone.  Alone.  A.  Lone.  Alone. 

It’s one of those words that sounds funny after you’ve said it a few times in a row.

Like Band-Aid.

Alone.

I’m by myself, if you can’t tell.  CK had to fly home for a friend’s father’s funeral this weekend.  It was unexpected.  And awful.  Makes you remember how short life can be.

But, I’m in the house alone for the weekend, and it feels strange.  I’ve always been a little bit of a loner.  Not in a weird, isolated way, I’ve just always kind of liked being alone.  It’s probably why I spent most of my 20s outside of a committed relationship.  I was just never motivated by loneliness to try to find someone to be with.  I was never lonely.  Even when I started dating CK, we were so far apart, geographically, that we only saw each other about once a month.  So, I worked all week, did all my chore nonsense, talked to him on the phone, went out with friends, visited my family.  I was busy.  And, as much as I enjoyed a rockin’ happy hour with Meghan, I always welcomed a Friday night in.  Just getting caught up on things, checking / writing email, drinking some wine…general downtime.

But now…working from home, being in a city where I only know CK’s friends - and, great as they are, they’re not my friends, living in a house that’s his, being away from friends…family.  It’s different.  A Friday night in by myself isn’t nearly as appealing as it was six months ago.

But, on the flipside, I have free reign over all decorating decisions for the next 36 hours…

Cookies for the Soul

My Mom ROCKS.  In the midst of my homesickness, she sent me a surprise Smiley Cookies package!  And, they weren’t just any Smiley Cookies.  They were STEELER Smiley Cookies!

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t rip open the box and eat one on the spot.  Before lunch.  It felt - and tasted - like a giant hug from home.  And, to top off the deliciousness with more awesome, she sent me an “I Take Mine Black ‘n Gold” coffee mug that has already worked its way into my morning routine.

Now, completely unrelated to my Mom’s great deed, I feel that I have to make something public.

Do you know that Eat ‘N Park makes CLEVELAND BROWNS SMILEY COOKIES??!?

Yeah, ME EITHER.  As far as I’m concerned, if you have the words “flagship” and “Pittsburgh” in the same sentence on your website, you should not be making anything that involves the color combination of orange and brown.

For shame, Eat ‘N Park.  For shame.

De Jags

Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Go Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE ARE THE WINNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahem.  Sorry.

So, we drove up to Jacksonville for the Sunday night game…and emerged victorious!  Awwww, yeeeah!  So much for that 4-game winning streak against us, eh Jaguars?  Awesome. 

We had such a fun time at the game.  CK’s Dad got us some tickets through his magical ticket friends (I don’t know; they seem magical to me), and they were good ones, too.  We had to wait outside of one of the gates, though, to meet the couple that we’d be sitting with (aka, the magical ticket deliverers).  So, somehow we ended up being the official Steeler greeting crew in front of Gate 4.  Oh, Steeler Nation, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

I met so many awesome people.  People down from Pittsburgh…  People originally from the ‘Burgh who’d moved down to Florida…  “Where’d you grow up?”  “Ellwood City.”  “GET AHT!  I went to Seneca Valley!”  Sigh.  I love my people. 

But, it was my first time in Jacksonville, and I have to say, it’s a gorgeous city.  My friend Mark, who now lives in Atlanta, is originally from Jacksonville.  When I told him I was going to the game, he gave me some awesome pointers about where to park, what to expect, etc.  I wish we would have had more time to explore.  Driving past the city was impressive, though.  Mark had told me that it would feel a little bit like the ‘Burgh, what with the stadium being on the water and all.  The river is MUCH bigger, though, and everything seemed so new and clean.  The stadium was nice, and most of the Jaguars fans were really cool to us (well, at least BEFORE the game started.  Don’t even get me going on the obnoxious guys who sat a few rows in front of us…). 

We were - by some miracle - in our seats well before kickoff, which never happens, so we got to see some pre-game stuff.  There are a couple naval bases in Jacksonville, and they did a whole military plane fly-over (I’m sure it has a much more official-sounding name than that) after the National Anthem.  It was really impressive.  Rock on, Jacksonville. 

Oh, and check out this pic I snapped of one of the stores inside the stadium (sorry it’s a little hard to see, but it was just starting to get dark at the time). 

Jagwear.  JAGwear.  It’s like they knew I was coming SPECIFICALLY to make fun of them!  Dem jagoffs wear jagwear.  It’s too easy… 

But, back to the obnoxious fans in front of us.  Thankfully we were right, smack in the middle of a section of at least 50 Steeler fans, so we were nicely insulated.  Ok, I get it.  We’re the visiting team.    But, dudes.  They have this cheer that they do every time (to be clear, that’s EVERY TIME) they get a first down.  It’s permanently tatooed in my brain, and it goes like this:

“MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE THOSE CHAINS, BLUE!”  (Ok, I think they say “blue” at the end, but don’t quote me on that.  I was mostly just holding my poor, blessed, bleeding ears by that point).  So, you can see how that alone would get under one’s skin, correct?  Well, imagine people turning around in their seats to chant it AT YOU.  Me no likey (cyou tell this was my first away game?).

Oh, and you know what else?  I had two local celebrity spottings while I was there!  I so wish I had pics to show, but my camera died literally one second after the Jaguars took the field (coincidence?).  The first one was Kevin Greene, specimen of defensive awesomeness.  And, the second?  Luke, specimen of mayor-needs-a-bodyguard.  For reals.  He “had a guy” with him on the shuttle ride back.  Whatever.

Anyway…  I guess my assessment in a nutshell is:

Jacksonville?  Good.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans sitting in section 241?  Not good.

Steeler win?  FLIPPIN’ AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Rest it up this week guys, we have some Bungals comin’ at us after the bye!!!!

P.S.  Apologies for the exclamation points.  But, we beat the Jags.  Enough said.

October Sunset

Here are some pics from last night’s sunset on, appropriately, Sunset Beach. 

Dudes. 

I live here.

So, Here’s the Thing

I just moved to Florida. 

That’s not really the most important thing about me, but I’d say it’s the most significant thing that’s happened to me…possibly ever. 

My boyfriend, CK, and I have been dating for about two years.  Even though we’re both originally from Pittsburgh, he’s been living and working in St. Pete for more than three years.  We’d known each other for years but, of course, took the most difficult route imaginable and didn’t START dating until we could do it with the longest distance possible in between us: Pittsburgh to St. Pete.  We were committed enough to make it work, but we knew we couldn’t do it forever.

He owned a house.  I didn’t. 

He lived by the beach.  I didn’t.

He’s a very persuasive salesman.  I…

Well, you get the picture.  Long story short…I moved. 

I got here about a month ago and am still adjusting.  Adjusting to the weather, to working from home, to the bugs, to the bug BITES, to the surreal feeling of living 5 minutes from a beach, to just the Florida-ness of it all.  And, I’m finding myself with a bunch of free time on my hands, what with all my friends and family being more than 1,000 miles away now! 

And so, Internet, I give you my blog.