Headed Home Sweet Home

Wow! What a crazy couple of days! Sunday was a lazy day-- my ankles & feet were so swollen I had to elevate them all weekend.  I went out for about an hour just to get out of the hotel room (I got a cute new pair of shoes while my feet were "normal",) but other than that I was at the hotel all day. It was definitely disappointing :-(

Monday- no big news there.

Tuesday- that was an adventure! My feet & ankles started to get really big again, so I ended up in the ER.  Not so enjoyable!  I was there for almost 9 hours only to be told that everything indicate's that I have a clot but they are unable to locate anything.  I was sent back to the hotel with an order for bed rest until Thursday.  They are extremely concerned that I may develop a full blown clot.  Now, due to everything, I am going home tomorrow.  I am excited to see Michael & everybody else, but I feel like a failure for not being able to stick it out down here.  I know that it's not my fault- but I can't help but feel guilty.  I really hope that this doesn't come back to haunt me.

So I got an emergency flight home for tomorrow afternoon, but the airline has completely different baggage regulations than the airline that I used before.  So I ended up having to go get a brand new carry-on bag for my trip home tomorrow.  I am still concerned that my checked baggage is going to be overweight & that my carry-on is going to be oversized!

Thankfully I am all packed up & mostly ready to go. I am going into work in the morning to tie up all the loose ends, then off to the airport for me!  I will be home in VT with Michael for the next week so I won't have internet access (which means no blogging!), but as of the 25th I'll be fully moved to PA & with my GABRIELLY!  

That's it from me...off to bed so I can get up early & check out of the hotel room!

Uneventful Saturday

I am so tired...what a waste of a Saturday!  Had to get up & work at 8am, which of course was no fun.  It's my first weekend in Florida & I get to spend it at the office.

Things were quiet today.  After work Heather took me to this incredibly huge flea market a few miles down the road.  Basically, you name it- you got it type deal.  I got a really pretty ceramic glazed starfish for our bathroom (which I can't wait to decorate!), and a small gift for Gabby.  I saw a bunch of stuff that I would love to go back & get when I have time.  Unfortunately they were closing as we were getting there so we didn't get very far.  But the entire market is so big, it's probably the size of downtown Rutland.  It's not at all what I expected a flea market to be like; and it was a lot of fun!  I will definitely have to check it out again.

Heather asked if tomorrow I would be interested in going to SantaBelle...so we may be day-tripping tomorrow.  I have to take it easy because I have extremely swollen ankles & footsies.  They've been really swollen since Monday evening, but last night was the worst.  My foot was so swollen & full of fluid I couldn't even wiggle my toes.  My mom is worried that maybe I am getting a clot since I have Factor V Leiden Deficiency, but except for being swollen I feel fine.  I guess I am not supposed to fly with this clotting factor, and if I do there are a lot of precautions to take.  However, nobody ever informed me of any of these precautions so I unknowingly walked (or flew, rather!) myself into a bad situation.  I called my primary physician & his on call doctor told me just to go to the ER, that swelling is a serious sign of a problem.  However, I am stubborn & have no desire whatsoever to go sit in the ER right now. If it gets worse I will definitely go...right now I am elevating my feet & keeping cool in hopes that it does the trick.  We shall see!

 

But, I'm going to go make myself dinner & relax.  I've been trying to upload all of my mobile photo's on my phone onto my computer...what a nightmare!  But i found some really beautiful pictures, some that were just ridiculous, some that were a complete throw back, and of course- some that made me miss home.  Soon enough...soon enough.

Every.Day.Florida.

So these are just completely random pictures of the things I get to stare at every day...like the walls of my hotel room...hah.

                                                        

[Damnit, I have the damn hiccups.]

Hotel Room.

Bedroom.

Bathroom.

Kitchen.

Living Room.

Fascinating...right?

P.S. The way this blog reformats itself from what I have originally created, is total and utter bs.  FU Blogspot.

14.Days.

I go home in 14 days.  That is so far away...I am once again, completely & utterly homesick.

I've tried to keep myself distracted, but it's not working very well.  I was checking out Gabby's blog today & she had the most breathtaking pictures of Parker up there.  I am going to repost them here just because they are so incredibly gorgeous.  You should check out her flikr too...she's such an amazing photographer.

www.flikr.com/gabriellecoughenour


 

     Today was okay.  Just stressful all 

                 the way around.  I've really had 

 enough drama.  I've been keeping 

  my head up, but it's getting really 

    difficult.  I can't even take a 10 

    minute lunch break or go to the 

     bathroom in peace. It's so very
discouraging.



Discouraging is the last thing I need right now. 

 

Otherwise, nothing too exciting here.  Three guys at the hotel tried to get me to go out with them tonight...it was an extremely uncomfortable situation.  I hightailed it to my hotel room so fast!  I'm sure they meant well, but I am too naive & I am certainly not about to go hang out with three random dudes.I do have to say though, people down here are so incredibly friendly.  Everybody and their mother will walk up to you here & strike a conversation with you.  You would never get that in Vermont-- everyone would look at you like you had six heads. I ran to Walgreens after work, got some necessities.  I've decided to try & make myself as comfortable as I can down here since I am certainly going to be here for awhile.  There is certainly a lot down here to do & to choose from, so I need to at least attempt to be happy here.  I just wish every day wasn't so difficult...

Anyways...I took some pics of the hotel room & some other random things.  I am going to post them in a seperate post because for some reason, once I type over a certain amount the formatting on my posts gets all wacky.  So that's it for this one.  The next one, which I will do momentarily, will be primarily pictures of what I get to see every day!  Chin up Jessica...chin up... 

 

First Good Night in Florida

For the first time since I have been here, I finally enjoyed a bit of Florida!

Before I left work today I decided to ask the girls I work with where would be a good place to drive around for great views, since I didn't want to go back to the hotel room again.  The Lead DA, Heather, offered to take me around.  So, I agreed. What did I have to lose?  Nothing!  We had a good time...she took me across this amazing bridge with great views, down to the pier, we sat & listened to some live music, then went to dinner at this cute little restaurant where we got to sit outside to eat.  The weather was amazing & it was just a great night.

The day in general was pretty good as well!  Things are still really hectic at the office, and at moments I truly feel like I am going to lose my mind.  But the office girls got me lunch today (I'm pretty sure they didn't spit in it, hah) which was really sweet of them.  I can't wait until I hire another front desk girl so things aren't quite so hectic around here. The team is really starting to blossom & it's an amazing transition to watch take place, let alone take part in. If I can do one great thing here, it will be bringing the team together.  

Every day my confidence in myself as a manager grows, and I only hope that I can get my own office when I return home.  I am doing everything that I can to better myself & to prove to everybody that I deserve this position.  And if I can do it in Florida, I can certainly do it in Pennsylvania....what a tough market!

Anyways...for the first time since I've been here- not only have I enjoyed myself- but I am actually exhausted at a decent hour & ready for bed.  It feels really good to not have to pace around my hotel room trying to keep my mind preoccupied, and keep my heart (and head) from remembering how much I miss Michael.

So that's it from me.  I'm gonna attach some photo's from today to this post (although I do apologize because they are all mobile photo's, so the quality is not that great), read Gabby's blog so I can catch up on her life, and then straight to bed for me!

 

Following in Gabby's Footsteps

So, I've decided to follow in my brilliant best friends' footsteps & start blogging as well.  As I am quite frequently in my hotel room alone, I figure this may serve as a temporary cure for my loneliness.  Since I can't spend all of my time IMing & texting, I am hoping this will serve as a somewhat more productive waste use of my time.

I am so  lonely here.  I am adult enough to admit it.  I do not know what in the world possessed me to tell Aspen, "Sure, send me to Florida for three months!"  I suppose the instinct to keep my job is probably what dragged me some 1,400 miles from home.  But it's hot, people are horrible drivers, there are huge bugs & gators & snakes & creepy crawly things...it's not so enjoyable.  And right now, tropical storm Otto is sitting off the coast, making me contemplate jumping in my little rental Corolla & driving back home ASAP.

  

And I miss Michael.  And Gabrielle. [And I have the inclination to start as many sentences with "And" as I can because every time I do I hear my fourth grade teacher in my head telling me not to do such a thing.]  I'm not the type of person meant to be away from those I love.  

I walked into a nightmare here.  Don't get me wrong,  it is absolutely beautiful here...but it's not home.  Nothing here even reminds me of home.  And all I want is to go home.  

Oh yes- and I miss Pacer.  AKA Parker [that one's for you Gabs.]  What I would give to snuggle with my puppy, let alone my fiance.  God I need to stop wallowing in my own self pity.  Okay. Done now.

Life is great!  Life is awesome!  There are palm trees

everywhere!