Month: February 2021

Our 1st Christmas in Lakeland

megHan

So… technically it was not our first Christmas in Lakeland, as I have memories of several Christmases here when I was younger, but it was the first Christmas we had since we moved here, so I think it counts.

Our ceilings here, unfortunately, are simply not tall enough. Our huge tree from the last house would only have worked if we had put the top part on the roof outside, and since Mom is not that adventurous, it was not even an option. We were able to use my tree from Pennsylvania (that we used in the dining room in 2019, and on the outside porch in 2017), but it was just not right.

But when life hands you lemons…

There were lots of things going on last year that caused me to feel not-so-Christmas-spirited, but I refused to give up hope, so one day I went outside (in the cold, without shoes on) and decided to do some decorating. (It turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself.)

The inside took forever. As I said, the tree just was never quite right.

A lot of the frustration was the wobbily Christmas tree stand, which made me think the tree was falling over every time I touched it to put on ornaments, and our tree topper (Frosty’s top hat) made the tree look squatty. But all in all, it doesn’t look too bad.

Lit up it all looks even better.

I am obsessed with ornament-stuffed Christmas trees, and love to see layered looks from every direction, including the bottom (I spend a lot of time lying under the tree reading or watching Christmas movies, with the tree lights on, and it’s just so special to look up and see it from that direction as well).

A regular Christmas wonderland.

Even my office got it’s annual spooky-Halloween lift. (Complete with photo-bomb from the ever adorable Mia in her much-loved Halloween bowl bed.)

Our Christmas Eve tradition has always been Christmas pajamas, and this year I did the shopping and surprised mom with some comfy ones…

The socks completely make the outfit, don’t you think? Hahaha. (I’m in red, and Mom is in blue.)

Don’t forget the hot chocolate, that we drank while watching the Christmas episodes of some of our favorite British mysteries. And from our new Christmas mugs.

Christmas morning is also another of my favorites during the holidays, but not because of the gifts. Mom always makes the BEST holiday breakfasts. This year was Mary Berry’s scones with genuine clotted cream and strawberry jam.

And tea, from one of my Christmas gifts – two different kinds of tea pots, and lots of new hot tea to try.

Our very un-traditional Christmas dinner was pinwheels (a different recipe from what we usually do, but still delicious) and lemony-garlic shrimp.

It may be late – not really, considering I still have 2nd Christmas gifts to send out – but I hope y’all had a wonderful holiday, despite 2020 and COVID-19. It really wasn’t half bad after all, was it?

When Life Hands You Lemons 2: Spend Christmas in Orlando

megHan

Back in 2019, we found out just how perfect Disney is at Christmas-time, and the plan was to go back every year, just like we go back every year for our birthdays (our April Disney trip). But then COVID-19 and the whole of 2020 happened. Not only did we not get to spend our birthdays there, but we also had no plans of going in December either.

But then life started handing us lemons…

With the stresses of the two previous posts in this series, and one that you will be reading about in a few posts, we decided that we definitely needed some Disney time for Christmas. Due to the surge in COVID cases here in Florida, we chose to make it a short trip, leaving early in the morning and coming back the next evening.

Instead of hitting the parks, we decided to stick just to Disney Springs, a place that brings both of us enjoyment.

It was a fun trip, but also a bit disappointing. You see, in 2019, we explored the Christmas Tree Trail and loved it – so many trees and such a fun atmosphere, with frozen eggnog and frozen hot chocolate, snow falling, 20+ trees…

This year, because of social distancing, they decided to spread a handful of trees out throughout the area, and instead of just being wow-moments with each new tree, they were sort of eh-moments, with very few trees to be excited over.

The Star Wars Lego creations had been completed – the last time we were there, Rey was the only character there.

And they did change up the big Christmas tree, adding some new things underneath.

Part of EVERY Orlando trip for us is to stop by the Basilica (The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, found down the street from the Vineland Outlet Mall, and a definite must-see if you are Catholic). This is where we choose to go to confession when we’re up there, and it’s just a beautiful, peaceful area to spend some time (make sure you check out the cross garden behind the church building, as well as the inside of the church.

We were curious to see how they were going to do their Nativity scene this year, with social distancing being a must. (In 2019, it filled the chapel, but because of social distancing, they had to rethink their display, and did a great job.)

I have always just been in amazed by how gorgeous the inside of this place is.

And, for all of you Disney fans out there, I think you’ll appreciate the not-so-Hidden Mickey we found on our way back home.

When Life Hands You Lemons 1: Move to Lakeland

megHan

A lot has changed since I last wrote here, so much that I don’t even know where to start… and one post will simply not due. So welcome to the “When Life Hands You Lemons” series haha. Story 1: Our move from hell.

As many know, my mother and I are roommates, and we have chosen to rent homes here in Florida until we find something that we love enough to purchase. When our lease came up for renewal (for the second time) on the last house, the owners decided they wanted to sell, and after months of looking for another home to rent in the area (and even being less picky than we usually are), we were unable to find anything. People are just not moving, with this whole COVID-19 thing, leaving us with the fear looming of being homeless.

In hindsight, this shouldn’t have surprised us. God works in mysterious ways, and in all honesty, my mother and I were just not happy in Port St Lucie. We were not unhappy, but we were not happy – just simply coasting through life rather than living it. Both of us had mentioned, at different times, looking elsewhere for a place, and had even considered moving closer to Orlando (or into Orlando) several times, but always “changed our minds,” concerned about traffic, or the pain of moving, etc. This was another moment where God forced us to make the decision, after many signs that where we were was just not the right place for us.

Back to the story —

After looking in the surrounding areas and still finding nothing, and honestly feeling stuck there because I had just begun a job a few weeks previous, Mom asked what I thought about looking in Lakeland for a place.

Here are the pros of Lakeland: We loved visiting there and did so every chance we got. It is an hour away from Disney World, a place where we spend a lot of time together. The place has history for our family – my dad grew up here, my parents dated here and then lived here after they were married, I have many wonderful memories of visiting my Grandparents here, and my father is buried here.

She started looking and when we came up to view a house, we knew that we were making the right decision. The house is not perfect, but it’s in a (mostly) quiet neighborhood (of only three streets) just a few minutes from the cemetery where Dad is. The yard is large, and full of flowering bushes, pineapple plants, and gorgeous palm trees. We immediately told the people that we would take it, and began the plans to move.

Now, today is the first day of Lent, and one of the things I gave up for Lent is complaining (choosing to give up things that keep me from being closer to God, rather than giving up things like chocolate), so I will keep the story of our move from hell brief haha.

The moving company was full of promises… and even more full of lies. The movers, though they seemed nice and appeared to feel sorry for us, spent a lot of time goofing off, and we are still finding things that they did wrong, several months later. We ended up having to rent two small moving trucks of our own to move all of our plants, quite a few boxes, etc – and took several trips back and forth doing so – but at least we didn’t have to deal with all of the heavy furniture that mom and I would have struggled moving on our own, so that’s a plus.

A few months later and we are still unpacking boxes – I know people who have spent years in a house and still have boxes – and I feel like we are constantly moving things around, not happy with the original places we chose for certain things, but I really like it here. The neighbors are nice. I enjoy spending as much time as I can in my yard (our screened-in porch is on the side of the house instead of the back, and there’s no fence) – I actually get excited when it’s time to mow the lawn – and the weather has been more wintry lately than we got the chance to enjoy in Port St Lucie for three years, while at the same time being summery perfect when it needs to be.

Will we spend the rest of our lives here in this house? No. The ceilings are just not high enough for our Christmas tree, and the smaller one as our main tree just did not work for me – it’s always the little things, right?

Are we a lot happier here? Yes. I love exploring the area and the stories my mom tells of my father never get old. I also love the chance that I can visit him whenever I want, and have been visiting him a lot lately, talking to him about stresses and things going on in my life (it makes me feel better, but I still miss him tremendously).

Life is an adventure, with or without the lemons, and I always look forward to seeing what will happen next.