Christmas in Florida

This Florida weather just doesn't really feel like Christmas. As many benefits as there are to living in the warm weather, I would not say Christmas is one of them. It is really hard to get that "Christmas feeling" with 80 degree temps. Not that I am really complaining, but it is just weird. I went shopping yesterday to wrap up my shopping. I was actually very surprised as the stores weren't even bad. I went in Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, Toys R Us, Walreens, and Target. Whew! I don't usually like to shop, but this kind of shopping is actually fun to me. I LOVE having the new stores in Wesley Chapel. It is so nice to drive 4.3 miles and be in the parking lot of these stores instead of driving 30 minutes. :)

Today, Mike and the boys made Taco Soup. I debated going to the doctor as I am still struggling with this stupid cough and chest cold. So much for stopping smoking having an effect. I thought it was supposed to be easier to shake these stupid coughs if you didn't smoke? Not that there aren't other benefits to not smoking and I will not ever let myself go back, but I am saddened that it didn't help the cough. :( Mike got the kids a gingerbread house to make. Obviously, I was the only one who remembers doing this last year. After they drove him crazy to eat it, he told them to eat it or he was going to break it. Smart kids. They ate it.

I decided that maybe avoiding exercise wasn't helping the stupid cough, so I asked the kids if they wanted to go ride bikes. We went for about 5 miles in about 38 minutes. On one turn through the neighborhood, this kid was playing with a skaeboard and it went flying in front of Katie's bike. Chris yelled a warning, but it didn't register with me until I saw the skateboard going next to her tire. She did a good job of reacting and turned sharply onto the sidewalk. She almost hit the electrical post and then swerved and almost hit a mailbox. I thought for sure that we were on our way to the ER. Thankfully, she reacted well. Later in the ride, she ran over something plastic and it made a loud noise and it went flying in the air. Of course, I nearly had a heart attack again. I think Katie just administered her version of a stress test.

After the ride, Morgan, Katie, and I went for a walk. We went a little over 2 miles in 50 minutes. They thought that was fast. :) It was fun though, and we enjoyed looking at the Christmas lights as they started to turn on. This one house in our neighborhood always has the best decorations. They have an amazing haunted house at Halloween, and at Christmas they have several blown up things, the grinch, and several others. Of course, they also have a lot of lights. Morgan keeps asking for snow in Nashville. Of course, I checked the weather and it looks like it will be in the 60's during the day most days. I think after all of us leave except for Morgan it MIGHT snow a little. I certainly hope it does. :)

I have to work tomorrow. At Bond, we either get the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve off. We don't get both. We do usually get to leave around 2:00. Mike thinks this is the worst thing in the world and asked what it was like to work at a third world company. Apparently, he has forgotten that I moved to Tampa and took this job for him. Of course, I would much rather have both off, but I did come from the hospital and before that the theater. Both of those jobs require you to work every other holiday at a minimum. So, give me your opinions. Is it that odd to have to work Christmas Eve?