Happenings

I know, it's been months since I've posted anything.  Sorry, but life and school have been happening, and I'm just now getting back into the swing of things.  Here's a quick update on the happenings of the past couple of months.  

Christmas:  It was crazy!  Chris's parents have recently moved from New Jersey to Charlotte, North Carolina so we began our break with a two week trip up there to visit them.  It was a fun trip although some not so pleasant things were happening back in my hometown.  December 20th was my birthday which was great aside from being told that my mom had quit her job, since they were going to lay her off in mid January, and that my uncle has cancer.  Chris bought me a balloon to cheer me up ( I love balloons because I never get them) and then we all went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday, not everything else.  Christmas itself was exciting, it was my first Christmas away from my parents' house, and the Italian Christmas experience is one to be savored.  Two days after Christmas we drove over to Tennessee to visit my family.  My  sister and brother-in-law drove in from Knoxville to have Christmas and we all had a good time.  I got to see some of my extended family which was comforting considering some of the not so great news of the season.  I barely saw my dad because he was so busy with his job but that happens sometimes.  I did get to see several good friends though, one of whom lives in Chicago so I never get to see her, and we had fun seeing what had changed around our old stomping grounds.  A week after we arrived we left and headed back to Tampa for supposedly warmer climates and the beginning of spring semester.

Everything else:  School started full force three weeks ago and my life has been crazy busy ever since.  I feel like all I do is read about the legal system because of my legal writing class.  I'm also in a lit class so there's plenty of reading there too, at least it's good stuff like Frankenstein.  I'm not on the sailing team anymore due to a complete lack of time for it, and the Waterfront has had limited hours all month due to renovations so we haven't been sailing yet this semester.  The Waterfront goes back to normal hours in a week, and Chris and I cannot wait to go sailing!  I'm still rowing with the masters program, and I must admit that taking a month off for our little road trip has taken its toll on me.  I'm slowly getting back into it though.  Mostly though, I'm just glad to be home and getting back into a life I love.

We had a great time visiting our families, so thanks so much guys for putting up with us.  It was pretty nippy while we were up there, but, believe it or not, it has actually been colder in Tampa this week than it has been in Tennessee.  We even had a forecast for snow one night.  Yes, that's not a typo, I said snow.  It's finally warming up though, even though I've already dug out my passport and am looking at airline tickets to the islands.  It hit 69 today so it's finally beginning to feel like Florida again.  To everyone up north, take care and stay warm.  And to everyone else, move down here - you won't regret it.  That's all I've got for now.  I'll start posting more regularly as I get back into my Floridays.  Cheers!