Here are the highlights -
* August - My Poppy passed away
* September - I married my best friend
* October - we got our "hairy kid" - the cat
* November - took Eddie to his first FSU football game
* December - I had surgery
* February - went to Jersey for a SUPER quick visit
* April - went to Buffett with Eddie
There were also business trips that were sprinkled through there to add a little more enjoyment. HA.
August was the hardest of all of these. My Poppy had always been on a pedestal to all of us. I remember when I was little trying to figure out how he could be on tv and sitting in the living room at the same time. (during the station commercials) Thought it was the coolest thing to be checked out of school to be a part of the commercials with him on WTLV back in Jacksonville. He taught me how to waltz at my cousin Eddie's wedding and I was so looking forward to dancing with him at my wedding. Even though he was pretty much confined to his Jazzy chair at the end, I was determined to dance with him if I had to sit on his lap. He and Nana had been married for over 50 years and he still bought her flowers every year on the date they started dating, yet they picked on each other constantly - well, Poppy picked more than Nana. And it was always "my fault" as he would say. I had a deer run in front of me last year as well, and still have the voice mail with him calling me a deer killer. I still keep waiting for him to round the corner when we go to Palm Coast to visit and I find it hard to leave messages on the voice mail because his voice is still saying "I'm sorry we cannot come to the phone right now". Now I have the memories and photographs to keep close to my heart much like those of my Poppop who I lost a couple years ago. I know he was there on our wedding day - it was supposed to rain, but it held off and cleared to a beautiful blue sky. Another sign - rainbows as we were leaving port to go on our honeymoon. I know he was watching and smiling with a glass of chardonnay in his hand.
Damn getting older sucks - you lose people you love and treasure.
September was an exciting and slightly stressful time for us both. Trying to ensure everything was done for the wedding. Which some things weren't right - sorry Nana and AJ for missing name cards for your whole table - yet it was beautiful. The ceremony on the beach, the steel drums playing in the back ground, and the party after. We, of course, were just ready for the honeymoon cruise. It was beautiful and so much fun. I still am getting used to saying my name - after 35 years of having to spell Rotundo, I actually did have someone ask me how to spell my last name. I did actually pause and said are you serious? It is SMITH. Do I really need to spell SMITH?
The honeymoon was wonderful. Week long cruise - Grand Cayman (couldn't go to due to a tropical storm), Cozumel (eh, it was okay), Isle of Roatan (beautiful), and Belize (very cool). We saw monkeys and LOTS of iguanas in Belize. Best part was the balcony room and the company I was with. We had so much fun together. And we were one of 125 other honeymooners on the cruise! HA
This weekend we will be going to one of Eddie's childhood friend's wedding down in Charleston. We are looking forward to the trip. Even better that this wedding we aren't involved with! :)
We have a kitten, well, he is going to be 1 in August. Carlos. AKA The Hairy Kid. He's a mess. But he's ours. HAHA
The end of October I learned I had fibroids, and the beginning of December had surgery to remove it. Frederica as it was named. That put me out of commission for a couple of months, but the surgery was well worth it. Thankfully I had no complications and as some of my friends have told me - consider it practice of recovering from a c-section without having to tend to a baby at the same time.
February was a super quick last minute trip to NJ. I was able to get up there at the start of a business trip - though I did have to drive, so I think I was in NJ for 28 hours before heading to VA Beach for work. While there, I did get to spend a little time with Mommom and was also able to attend my cousin Stephen's performance as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. He was amazing!
Last week we finally had a chance to go to Buffett! YAY! Other work trips have kept us from going earlier, so he is no longer a Buffett virgin. :) It was a blast.
I just wanted to give a brief overview of what has been going on. Hopefully I will have some better stories coming up soon which will allow for better writing. Until then...
Paalom!!
Lots of Hugs, smiles, and sunshine!
