The Roaming Rosie Blog

Where we used to live there’s snow piled up to the thigh (or, for someone short like me, probably the waist), but here it’s still mostly sunny with just a bit of wind and sprinkling rain and in mid-afternoon it’s still in the mid-60s.

So, excursions are still an option, even at 35 weeks pregnant.  If snow were piled up outside, I’d be on the couch curled up in a blanket (hopefully with power), but since it’s relatively nice here, I’m trying to stay active.

Thus, last Saturday we joined friends at the Florida Aquarium.  We were only there a couple hours, but my feet were swollen anyway, so a couple hours was long enough for me.

My camera decided to be a pain and died halfway through, but I managed to get a few photos, so check out my Travelblog to see them all!

We spent our wedding anniversary at Madeira Beach – a beautiful, quaint location that has a lot of history for us. There was shopping and sunsets, ice cream and dolphins, and we had a fabulous time!

It was totally romantic, but also very peaceful and refreshing. Check out all the photos on my Travelblog!

It may seem strange that lizards are one of the things I’ve missed about living in Florida (well, I think it’s strange), but seeing them scurrying across the ground or climbing up the screens or doing their little push-ups when they catch you watching brings back a weird sense of warm nostalgia.

I never thought I’d say anything like this, but I find the presence of the lizards comforting.  Everything on this list is somehow strangely comforting.  But the list exists because when we were about to move back to Florida, we encountered a barrage of “Why do you want to go to Florida?  They have hurricanes and it’s hot and the pace of life is way too slow!”

So many people in the Northeast had negative opinions of Florida.  But, then again, they were choosing to live in the Northeast, and we were not.  Home is where the Army sends you, but now that my hubby is retiring, we get to choose where we live.  So here are a few of the things I’ve missed, strange or not, that have drawn me back:

1.  The water, i.e. the ocean, gulf, rivers, lakes, etc. that are everywhere

2.  Blue skies

3.  Light, spring showers / sun showers

4.  The sandy beaches and blue-gray waters of the Gulf of Mexico

5.  Lizards

6.  General tropic appearance of foliage, including Palm Trees, Spanish Moss and Palmetto bushes

7.  The plants don’t all die in the fall and winter – they’re green all year

8.  Slightly chilly but pleasant winter temperatures

9.  No snow, no snow shoveling, no salting the driveways

10.  The scent of the orange trees

We’ve been living in Florida for about a week and a half now, and since today I was taking a break from all the running around and crossing things off my endless list of errands, I took some time to sunbathe.

That’s right, two days before Halloween, when it’s still in the 50s back in Maryland (warmer than it was when we left), it’s 90 here in Florida and the sun is bright and the sky is blue.  *happy sigh*

Since we’ve been living in Maryland for a year and a half and in Germany for three years before that, I’ve been depriving myself of anything resembling a healthy dose of Vitamin D for years.  And since my parents have invested in a hammock since the last time I visited, I found that I could actually sun on both my back and stomach for short periods without any discomfort for myself or the baby.  This is, however, the first time I’ve ever had to try sunbathing on my side.  Strange, surely, but effective.

It was like feeling the sun for the first time.  The heat was heavy on the lungs and sharp on the skin, and feeling the thick layer of sweat instantly develop and then cling to every pore, soaking me in a cushion of warm liquid, was like discovering the sensation with virgin-like awe.

It’s been far too long.

And for the first time in, well, years – I have tan lines!  I was careful not to spend any more than a half hour in the sun, but the tan already shows.  I’m delighted by my barely-discernable tan lines and the color faintly adorning my no-longer-Casper-white skin.

I will continue to soak up the Florida sun, but I’ve also discovered that if I intend to sunbathe in public, it would probably be wise to purchase a larger bathing suit.  At five months pregnant, it seems that not only do I now have a tummy and my boobs have grown multiple cup sizes, but my hips and bum seem to have expanded as well.

Hmm.

Luckily for me, pregnancy has also brought with it the acceptance of my body, and so I usually don’t care who happens to see a little more of it than they maybe should, but I also don’t want to shock any of the senior citizens at the beach.

Thus, Mission:  shopping!  Find suitable bikini and enhance and retain beautiful tan.  Roger Wilco.