Gearing Up for My Last Week in Boca

Well, reality has finally settled in. We're moving.

Yesterday we spent a good chunk of the afternoon moving my stepson's things from our house to his Mom's house. Boy does that kid have a lot of stuff! It seemed like his XBox games kept multiplying as we tried to clean out his room. Thankfully we got everything done before the daily afternoon downpour hit the Boca area. Now I have one less room to worry about as we get the house ready for moving.

One of the things I love about living in Florida is the sun. It hit me like a ton of bricks this past week how different the weather will be in Illinois, and I am trying to prepare myself for it. During the last few years I was living in the Chicago area, my doctor diagnosed me as having a mild case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The winters did a real number on me...I had zero motivation, felt very blue, and wanted to stay inside all day and eat salty and sweet foods. The lack of sunlight and Vitamin D had a major impact on me.

Knowing what might be in store for me this winter, I've spent the last week going to our pool and being outside nearly every day. This morning as I put on my swimsuit, a familiar smell that I love wafted though the air...suntan lotion! My clean swimsuit still lingers with the smell of Coppertone Sport spray lotion, and oh how I love that smell. It immediately reminds me of the sun, the beach, and our pool. I may resort to sniffing suntan lotion this winter when I need to be reminded of our days living in Florida.

This week will be filled with menial tasks and preparing for the move. I am so thankful that I don't have to pack a single box -- my company pays for our moving expenses. I know it sounds like I don't need to lift a finger but it's quite the opposite...I still need to gather things together, go through closets, throw away things, etc. Also, did I mention we're putting our house on the market? That's the other thing weighing heavily on us...not to mention that we need to leave the house in top condition the day we move out.

Once we get moved and the dust settles, I am looking forward to getting back into the blogging routine. The past few weeks have been difficult to stay afloat with everything going on, and I hope you'll hang in there with me over the next month. I can't wait to share stories about our new town and the different lifestyle we'll be living. It's totally different from Boca, but it's different in a real good way...like, small town, local produce, no traffic...ah, yes. It's going to be a good change.

Here's the house we're renting!

It's just screaming for landscaping...where are the
lush plants and palm trees??