oz.ensbell.net

If any of you know anyone in the Gainesville area with access to a private aircraft or who is a licensed pilot, could you send me a message? I’m dying to get back in the air but don’t have the spare cash right now to get my biannual flight review completed, nor pay for the aircraft rental. If anyone can help, I will be greatly indebted! Maybe I really should go get my aircraft mechanic’s license to really give some pilots motivation for sharing their planes - free maintenance!

Addendum 1: UAC sold ALL of their c152’s !??? WTF?

Addendum 2: UAC makes me feel like a second rate citizen when i borrow one of their headsets - who can recommend to me or sell me a decent new/used headset?

Addendum 3: Through this posting I met an Australian faculty member at UF who is also a new private pilot! What a coincidence that we are planning to go to “Oz” ourselves! Fantastic!

Completely different topic 1: I am about 70% sure I’ve decided to stay in Gainesville instead of moving to Ann Arbor for grad school. I don’t want to give up our house, the housing market sucks, the job market sucks, and out of state tuition at UMich is 30k - no thanks! Additionally I can still stay hands on with the research project I’ve been on for over two years if they can accommodate me (or afford me - just because I will be back in school will not give them a discounted rate!). Thoughts?

-Read more comments on facebook.

My how the time goes by…it’s been a week since my last post! This week I accepted a position with Mildred’s Big City Food as a line cook, so I can learn how to become a professional chef from some of the best around. In addition, my friend Sarah has taken a new position with her mother’s dentistry practice. Lastly, my friend Joann has joined a top photography team here in Gainesville as their new marketing consultant.

With all the new, exciting things going on in our lives, we decided to take out our boys and celebrate! First we enjoyed a wonderful meal together at O!O Tapas & Tinis where I had a yummy fruit and cheese plate with double martinis and ended with a scrumptious chocolate mousse! Oh yes, I celebrated! Sean skipped the martini and enjoyed a Serrano cheese-wrapped fillet mignon with white asparagus and saucy potatoes. He didn’t celebrate as much as I, but I think he enjoyed his meal!

After lots of laughs over some great food, the idea was thrown out that we should go skating! We decided to take on the challenge and rekindle the memories of our childhoods! See the pictures below:

My how the time goes by…it’s been a week since my last post! This week I accepted a position with Mildred’s Big City Food as a line cook, so I can learn how to become a professional chef from some of the best around. In addition, my friend Sarah has taken a new position with her mother’s dentistry practice. Lastly, my friend Joann has joined a top photography team here in Gainesville as their new marketing consultant.

With all the new, exciting things going on in our lives, we decided to take out our boys and celebrate! First we enjoyed a wonderful meal together at O!O Tapas & Tinis where I had a yummy fruit and cheese plate with double martinis and ended with a scrumptious chocolate mousse! Oh yes, I celebrated! Sean skipped the martini and enjoyed a Serrano cheese-wrapped fillet mignon with white asparagus and saucy potatoes. He didn’t celebrate as much as I, but I think he enjoyed his meal!

After lots of laughs over some great food, the idea was thrown out that we should go skating! We decided to take on the challenge and rekindle the memories of our childhoods! See the pictures below:

My favorite animal is the elephant. I have loved elephants for as long as I can remember; together with butterflies, they are the greatest animals on earth. Elephants are very emotional, live in strong family units, and do whatever they want! I think people have always been fascinated by their gentle appearance and docile nature, as well as their strength and ability to damage anything when they get mad. I always wanted an elephant to care for, they just get so darn big! Recently I came across a CNN story about elephants in Africa that really concerns me. Watch the video.

How is it that elephants lived for hundreds of years without destroying the environment, yet now they are the problem?? I don’t think so! I agree with the animal activists; the African people in this area just want to kill elephants for their tusks. The government should do something about this, although they’re probably too busy with all the other issues in Africa to care about the animals.

I have a good friend who’s volunteered many summers to the elephant sanctuary in Thailand. It’s a great program for injured or unwanted elephants where they can be cared for and loved throughout the rest of their lives. Unfortunately many elephants don’t make it to the sanctuary due to horrible injuries or illnesses. I wish there was more I could do for these beautiful creatures. I’d love to open a sanctuary one day and care for unwanted elephants. Until then, I’ll send my extra love, support, and funds to make sure the sanctuary stays open. If you’d like to get involved, please visit the Elephant Nature Foundation.

How could we not help these wonderful creatures??

Thanks for reading through…please spread the word if you feel others might support the cause!

So, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written in my travel blog.  Don’t worry..Sean and I have made some trips over the past few weeks, so I’ll get those up asap.  This weekend we are planning a big engagement bash at our home in Gainesville, FL.  It happens to be coinsiding with the UF/UK basketball game, so we’ll be plenty entertained!  I’ve been working on my other blogs getting everythin up and running, so bare with me…I’ll get back on track by next week!

Happy travels!

New Year’s Day Sean and I traveled to Orlando to watch the Gators play against Michigan. We watched the game with friend at an Orlando residence with good food and great shots. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to help the gators win…I swear everytime I go to that house the Gators lose! The following day Sean and I went to a Gator basketball game (UF vs. High Point), which we one (see pictures below)! That made up for the previous day’s loss.

Wednesday we went back to work for the new year. Sean’s company is doing very well these days and they are confident they’ll continue to go strong through April. Mackenzie had a fun time hanging out with all the family and friends…she just loves to be social! She also loves to play with her big red ball! Here are some shots!

This weekend I worked some overtime for my job…peak season! In the afternoon, Sean and I took down all our Christmas stuff and put it away for another year. We also trimmed our Crepe Myrtles as we expect to have no more cold weather this season (cross your fingers!) On Sunday we traveled to St. Augustine for a bridal show…we met a billion vendors who work out of Jacksonville, so I’ll be highlighting some of my favs over the next few weeks. Next blog I think I’ll run down the plans for the wedding thus far!

Hopefully this week will be just as fun…it’s certainly starting off right as LSU has just beaten Ohio in true SEC style! Ha ha…try again Buckeyes! Here’s to a great second week of the new year! Ciao!

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year….may it be even better than 2007!

My main resolution is to lose weight for the wedding (11 months to go!), but I’m also on a quest to find a new career which I hope will make me happy and fulfill me lon enough to stick around for the next few years!! We shall see…ciao!

So, today I signed up for Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge. I am not as overweight as I often feel, but I do want to be much thinner for the wedding. I’d like to be able to order my dress in April/May being at least 2 sizes smaller. Wish me luck…weight loss has never really been my forte!

I have join a local gym though and am committing myself to losing at least 20 pounds by May. At an average of 2 pounds per week (the healthy recommendation), I should make it just fine (I’ll keep reminding myself of that as all the office folk are chowing down on chocolates). Gotta keep the big picture in mind!

My soon to be father-in-law has decided to quit smoking…hopefully we’ll both meet our goals.

Speaking of goals…what kinds of goals are we setting this year? Clearly Sean and I want to get the wedding planned and paid for in a reasonable amount of time. We’re also planning a big trip to Australia for our honeymoon. Among other things, I’d like to find a better job, maybe even a career. I’d like to grow my hair about 5 inches longer..that’d be nice. I’d like to get the house finished (doubtful) and I’d like to be able to spend more free time enjoy my hobbies (whatever they may be). It seems these days any free time I have is spent resting and recuperating from a terribly long week at work.

Ah, such is life I guess. One thing after another, try and rest in between. My biggest goal this year should be learning to appreciate my life. Which I do for the most part, but I’ve always got something to complain about it seems. The grass is always greener on the other side, until you get to the other side and realize it’s not. Maybe this year I’ll accept that and stop trying to get to the other side. Ok, I feel like I’m babbling…I am aren’t I. I’ll stop.

For now, I’m looking forward to a short work week and a happy New Year’s celebration. If I forgot to mention it before, I am a huge Gator fan! We are playing Michigan at the Capital One bowl this year, so I’ll be spending my New Year’s Day with friends cheering the boys on to victory (we hope). Happy New Year to everyone!

So, this is my new passion…blogging. I’ve come to really enjoy reading about others’ adventures, so I’ve decided to share my own. I will be posting every few days for now, but hope to work up to blogging on an everyday basis.

I must first say Happy Birthday to my little sister, Taylor. Today she is turning 20 and making me feel older and older every year (I can’t imagine how my parents feel).

A little bit about me: I am 22 with only 6 months left to enjoy my lucky year. It has proven to be a very lucky year, however. I am recently engaged to Sean, set to be married on 11-08-08. We bought a house this year (our first) which is very nice and cozy (I’ll post pictures later on). I graduated with a degree in Economics back in May, which has proven to be less helpful than I expected. I am currently looking to change careers…I want to be a chef, but as you know…that’s easier said than done. I have four siblings: Missie, Adam, Taylor and Ike. I am the proud owner of a Boston Terrier, Mackenzie, who is the light of our life most days. She is very spunky and very demanding, but shows her love for us in every expression. We also house a family of sugar gliders (our first encounter with aussie natives), a handful of box turtles and a beautiful Fancy Goldfish.

That’s a good enough introduction to get me started, I’ll elaborate in the future.

This blog should mostly be about wedding details, honeymoon plans, and preperations for our big move, but you know how some days can be….these are the adventures of my life.