The Bitch Train's a'comin'. All aboard!

I haven't prepped much for this big challenge I've talked myself into.  I had planned on trying a few new things with my mother-in-law when she was here, since she's vegetarian, but she's the kind of vegetarian that usually prefers grilled cheese and french fries with a big side of dessert, so there wasn't much experimenting going on.  However, if I wanted to have a big junk food binge leading up to the challenge, well, I think I got my wish there! I've indulged in almost all of my favorite things I'm sure to miss, but I could always use another good cheeseburger or three.

For the first time last night, I actually looked on the calendar to see just how far away 100 days is...it's April 10! That seems so far away!  I'm a little afraid of how hard it's going to be.  Just yesterday, we were out of coffee, so I decided to "get ready" for caffeine withdrawals with some Diet Pepsi and my best friend, Excedrin, in lieu of the coffee.  I still ended up an edgy mess with a headache.  I wonder how long I'm going to feel miserable at the beginning of the challenge, and how long it will take to start feeling wonderful (assuming that happens.  I don't see why it wouldn't).

Still, I know there's going to be some rough times ahead for my friends and family.  I'm just going to have to apologize and keep apologizing for being a crabby bitch until I get into the groove of this.  I know it's going to be an adjustment for them too, just having to remember that there's one person in the house not eating any meat products.  I just hope at the end of it all it will have been worth it for them too.

Living in Orlando

Orlando is called The City Beautiful, and often it really is. One of our favorite things to do on Sundays is head down to Lake Eola for the farmer's market. Lake Eola is in downtown Orlando and right by Dax's office and a branch of the public library, so we're down there a lot. Dax and I each got early Christmas gifts of new bikes (love my bike! love it love it!). Dax rides his bike to work most days of the week. I'm still getting used to riding in a bigger city, but I'm getting used to some routes I like. Jack will be getting a new bike for Christmas (his is getting too small, and is only a 1-speed), and once that happens, I see a lot more big family bike outings in our future. But back to the farmer's market....I have no reason to post this other than it was taken after Jack had a snowcone there. <3

Such as I don't really have a good reason to post this picture of Kenny except that it's funny, he has a tutu/clown collar, and if Cori and I ever had a booth at the farmer's market, we'd sell tutus along with a lot of other junk.

Dax and I have been trying to get out on our own a little more than we did in Albany, and have been enjoying spending time together sans kids. One night we went to a cool, dive bar called Will's Pub.

It reminded me a lot of Bodies in Warrensburg, MO, and the years I spent there watching going to see local bands and hanging out with friends. It had just the kind of seedy atmosphere/hipster cool vibe that I like.

I'm not a big fan of going to see live music though. I used to be, but over time I've come to realize I don't really like just standing around watching a band play. This was a good night though. It was a very small crowd, which wasn't so great for the band, but nice for us. It was a much more intimate gathering. It also allowed us to spend a bit of time getting acquainted with the lead act.

That's Dax hanging with Jimbo Mathus of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. He's fronting a Mississippi blues band and is one of the most personable people I've ever met. He made an effort to remember our names and he was just steeped in genuine southern charm. Very cool guy and a really good show!

Finally, as I mentioned before, the kids (mostly Mazzy) did not take well to homeschooling. Finding people to socialize with, and outside curriculum enhancement was much harder than I thought it would be. I assumed I would get down here, find a few homeschool groups, meet up a few times and figure out what direction we wanted to go. Well, I would spend tons of time looking for groups, trying to find one meeting up soon, joining the groups so I can get updates, trying to go to a scheduled get-together with the kids only to have no one else show up! It was a lot of time and a lot of disappointment. Combining that with unpacking, finishing weddings, dealing with house issues both here and in Albany (we still haven't even closed on this house yet!), and I just felt like I was doing a terrible job and NO ONE was happy. It didn't help that the kids were barely even meeting any neighborhood kids. We live 2 blocks from an elementary school. There are tons of kids in the neighborhood, but no one ever plays outside. That's so weird to me...especially after leaving Albany where people are outside hanging on their stoops all the time. Our neighborhood can seem really empty. So finally we made the decision to enroll the kids in school for this year at least. I've gotten some info about a great magnet school that has emphasis in visual and performing arts, and there's a high school you can get into too. We're definitely going to apply for Mazzy and hope she gets in for next year. Anyway, here they are for their first day of school here in Florida. They started November 30.

Finally, now that I have finished my weddings, I'm starting to spend more time with the hobbies I never seemed to have time for before. I'm learning how to crochet, and I love it! Mazzy and I had a tea party recently while we worked on making granny squares. I love this space.

I love this girl.

So we are settling into life here in Orlando. Bit by bit, it's feeling more and more like home. I look forward to what the year ahead will bring!

It starts with an idea.

We're going to have the most family with us for Christmas than we have had in years!  Dax's mom, Armen,  and her fiance, Arnie are coming to visit, and we have Cori here too, so I'm very excited for all of that.  I'm happy for the kids that their first Christmas here will be surrounded with people to keep that holiday cheer going.  Otherwise, I think this Christmas might have been a little rough for them.  I don't mind the warm weather and doing my Christmas shopping in shorts, but I think the kids (Mazzy mostly), misses the winter wonderland, and most certainly misses her friends.  So in the frenzy of holiday baking, and prepping for Best Christmas Ever, Dax reminds me that his mom has been eating more and more vegan lately, so I should keep that in mind.  She's been vegetarian as long as I've known her, and usually it's pretty easy to make sure she has plenty that she wants while the rest of us carnivores are enjoying ours.  Vegan is a different story though.  You have to plan a little better, but fortunately, Armen is just beginning to add more vegan meals, so I don't need to worry about perfections.  What I think I want to do though, is use that time while she's here to pick her brain and practice some vegan recipes, and then when the New Year rolls around, I'm going to start a new food challenge.  

Can Melanie be vegan for 100 days?  Can I give up all caffeine, coffee, soda, and alcohol?  I've done the 30-day real food challenge, and I did the 5-day juice fast.  Surely, I can be vegan for 100 days!  I'm getting excited and am ready to prepare for the challenge.  I'm weaning myself off of caffeine now to hopefully make the adjustment a little easier in January.  I really feel like I need to try this for a multitude of reasons.

 In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the toffee and cookies I've got going on here.