In the Air Again

Thank goodness for free Wi-Fi at Hancock International! Now writing this blog post on my iPod will keep me occupied until our flight back to Florida leaves in an hour and a half. We always arrive early to airports just in case (there is actually an Eric Brown on the Do Not Fly list), and today it was a good thing we did. We didn't have to do the new body scan, but they did unpack and inspect literally every piece of luggage we brought: we each had a carry-on and a personal item, and every last square inch of space is full. (I'll be darned if I'm spending $100 round trip on bag check fees!) It took us a good 15 minutes and excellent teamwork to repack everything at the security checkpoint. L.L. Bean and American Tourister get a big thumbs-up for durability. These things are bursting at the seams. I wish I could take a picture because I feel you just have to see Eric's backpack to appreciate the true Mary Poppins carpet baggedness of this piece of luggage.

Our visit with Eric's side of the family was very restful and festive. We were very sad to say goodbye to the whole family, of course, but it was especially heartbreaking to leave our nephew Andrew and his sweet mommy Laura. Here's hoping he'll be ready to go airborne soon and he can come for a visit soon to his cool uncle Eric and aunt Katie in Florida!

Next on the agenda, making a trip to Apopka tommorow to pick up...my brand new car! Yes, my trusty Honda Civic, which I personally drove for 10 years, finally bit the dust last Monday. Eric is planning to fix it up nicely enough for us to sell or donate it and I'll be driving my 2004 Saab 9-3 just like my Civic--until it dies!

Aftter that will be a slew of holiday gigs stretching into the year, beginning with opening for the Walk Through Bethlehem this Friday night in Winter Park where my newest winter piece, Winter Carol, will be premiering! Then the next day I will be taking part in the filming for the Disney Parks Christmas Parade once again this year, this time with a mystery celebrity diva! I've heard dumped about who it may be but I'm sure I'm not at liberty to share the hunch with the world wide web until it's for sure. So on Saturday afternoon check back for another post :)

Autumn in New York

Hello from beautiful central New York!  We are here for a week visiting Eric's family for the holiday.  We landed in our little puddle jumper on Thanksgiving Day and enjoyed a delicious traditional holiday meal prepared by Eric's mom.  That evening we also paid a visit to the rest of her side of the family and met the older of the two new babies in our family, Eric's cousin's little boy, Aiden.  What a cutie! 

The next day we slept in a bit and relaxed until late in the morning so we wouldn't have to battle the Black Friday crowds.  My one major purchase was a new pair of classic black boots on major sale at JCPenney, but we also finished up our Christmas shopping for Eric's side and spent quality time with our beautiful and amazing teeny-tiny nephew, Andrew Wilson Kazmarek!  He was born November 9, so he's still only a few weeks old. We are crazy about him!  Here are some cute photos I've taken of the little guy.

Ain't he a sweetheart?  In the meantime, we've just been relaxing, spending time with family, opening gifts, and hanging out with Andrew, introducing him to our favorite holiday movie, Elf!  Perfect examples of the Comedy Rule of Threes for the future superstar. 

Exciting News!

First of all, we are one step closer to the Pot o' Gold being officially ours!  The bank has now accepted our offer and we are on to the next step in the process, getting the loan.  We have been pre-approved by several different institutions, and Eric has taken charge of finding a balance between the best lender, interest rate, monthly payment, etc., which is not an easy job.  We contacted Lending Tree so we're getting bombarded with calls, and he's juggling all of the numbers quite well.  Annie is here visitng and I'm sure she thinks we're this boring all the time!

In the meantime, we were present for the home inspection today.  Apart from the usual short sale/foreclosure home issues (missing showerheads, etc.) and a few minor quick fixes (dent in the garage door, etc.), everything seems to be in pretty excellent shape!  I was able to take a few photos while we were there.  (Don't be jarred by the paint job--we don't call it the Pot o' Gold for nothing.  We've already started stockpiling buckets of the new color, Citrus Spice.  I couldn't locate a swatch online, but in paint color terms, I'd say Citrus Spice is a blend between Mountain Honey and Prairie Wheat.)

Our second bit of news isn't really ours to share, but we're still excited about it!  Eric's sister Laura is expecting--by November, we're gonna have a niece or nephew!!

P.S. I know it seems hypocritical after I warned you against it, but I am totally distracted by the walls in these photos.  Thankfully we've (barely) seen this house's true potential past the swirly madness!

Look who made the papers!

First, my mom and her fellow teachers were recognized with a statewide award and featured in the Waycross paper. Can you find her in this picture? Hint: she's 6'.


Here's an article I wrote about Four Corners Academy of the Arts. It ran in the Clermont News-Leader recently. No byline. Bummer.



Also, 2008 is the 10-year anniversary of the following article appearing in the Observer-Dispatch out of Utica, New York.