Well this is awkward ...

I just had a knock on the door and guess who it is ... the cleaning team!  Before you get a new roommate they come in and clean the apartment to make it look good for the new roomie. This is totally normal and would be not in the least bit awkward if I wasn't at home .. sitting on the couch looking like this fellow again! 

Do I attempt to talk to this lady?  I said hi .... maybe that fufills the talking ... OH NO SHE DIDN'T .... I just saw her throw my recycling INTO the garbage.  That poor cardboard and plastic container ... may it rest in a landfill in peace.  Ok ok ok, I'll just turn on the tv and let it be somewhat normal.  I hope your Sunday isn't as awkward as mine is right now. 

from Florida with love,

Jilly

This tree is really angry ...

Good morning!  I'm finally getting a new roommate! And I couldn't be more happier because it's one of the girls from attractions so I'm quite pleased with that.  I've had quite the lazy morning watching "You've Got Mail" and having breakfast with my morning cup of coffee.  It's been great.  Other than that, nothing new to report besides all the rain we've been getting.  It's been a nice relief to the 110 degree heat we have gotten this past week.  Hope Canada is having some warmer weather. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Darn.

Guess I can't stay in Florida forever because the house I was looking at was not not for sale or rent. 

Fantastic Friday ...

happiness,
is glowing
happiness,
is fun
happiness,
is an amazing feeling
happiness,
is when you smile all day
happiness,
is giving someone a hug just because you can
happiness,
is that light in your eyes
happiness,
is what makes the world go around

happiness,
is bliss



It's friday.  Let's sink into the weekend and have some fun. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly

From Paris to the East Coast

The small child:  So, is like, Canada by Paris?
Me: Uhhh, nope ... we are United States top hat
The small child: What?
Me: We're north of the United States
The small child: Can you write my name?
Me: It's the same ... we speak English
The small child: Oh ... *walks away*
Me: *start banging head against table at todays youth*

The male adult: So where are you from?
Aimee: I'm from Montreal, Quebec
Me: I'm from Saskatchewan
The male adult: So you are out East (pointing to me) and you are out West (pointing to Aimee).
Me: Well, not quite
The male adult: Well, you can't win them all
Aimee: Nope, you really can't
Me: *start banging head against table at todays adults*

There has been some interesting questions at work these past couple of days.  Some have been hilarious but most of them have been made up of moments when you seriously start to question the education of the people coming into the attraction.  I will admit that there have been moments where I have answered questions and sounded completely stupid because of how I answered it.  I guess it is all in a days work.  I passed my housing inspection yesterday and I got free Oreo cookies out of it.  Then I spilt Sprite all over the floor  ... so much for a clean house haha.  I still don't have a roommate, right now I'm going three weeks strong.  We are starting to have arrival groups every two weeks now so we'll see if they put someone new in here.  No trips have been planned besides Washington this September.  Well, I gotta go and get ready for work ... the attraction isn't going to run itself.  Somedays I wish it would.  Like today.  I could leave little post-it notes around the attraction.  It's really not difficult.  Just press one green button and you are good to go.  The doors even open automatically.  But in the end it's all about the magic so that really does mean I have to go to work because I make it 10.5 hours a day. 

from Florida with love,
Jilly  

Silly Sunday ...

Lets celebrate today!  Not only is it Fathers Day but it's a great day to relax and kick off the good ol' working shoes and put your feet up!  Laugh a little to loud today, sing in the shower, eat to much food, but most importantly call up your dad, grandfather or any man who has been there for you, and tell them that you love them and are so blesssed to have them in your life.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Favorite Mary Oliver quotes ...

"Instructions for living a life
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it."

"Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed"

"Keep room in your heart for the unimaginable"

"I believe in kindness. Also in mischief.  Also in singing, especially when singing is not necessarily prescribed"

There is also a poem that Mary Oliver wrote called "The Journey" and I absolutely fell in love with it.  You should read it sometime. 

We've had a couple of storms the past couple of days and they are calling for another one tonight.  Yesterday I got to work at the American Garden theatre and listen to "Hotel California" which is a tribute to the Eagles.  It was a lot of fun even though the sky dumped a bucket of rain on us.  The guests were in good spirits about it and continued to have a great time.  I have Sunday off so I'm looking forward to really lazing about, especially if it's raining!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Paradise

90 miles to Cuba

I had such a great time in Key West.  It is full of history, art and culture.  I visted several museums such as the Little White House, the Custom Art Gallery and the Lighthouse museum and even went on a Ghost tour of the island.  There was also an abudance of art galleries to choose from.  Who knew that so many talented artists lived on the tiny island.  It was quite the drive though, took us 10 hours to get there instead of the intended 7.  But we caught traffic in Miami so that held us up a bit.  We stayed in a campground that was about a 10 minute drive from downtown.  It was a nice location, very safe and a handful of amenities.  As sad as I was to leave, I was happy to be coming home to an actually bed and a real shower!  All in all it was a fantastic trip and I will definitely be heading back there sometime.  Now it's back to work and we'll see where my next trip takes me!

from Florida with love,

Jill

Knee Deep ...

Gonna put the world away for a minute
Pretend I don't live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away
Had sweet love but I lost it
She Got too close so I fought it
Now I'm lost in the world tryin to find me a better way

Wishin' I was
Knee deep in the water somewhere
got the blue sky, breeze and it don't seem fair
the only worry in the world
is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy
never felt so high
and I think I might've found me my own kind of paradise

Wrote a note, said "Be back in a minute"
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody's gonna miss me anyway
Mind on a permenant vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishin' my condition ain't ever gonna go away

Now I'm knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowin' wind thru my hair
Only worry in the world
is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy
never felt so high
and I think I might've found me my own kind of paradise

This champagne shore watchin' over me
It's a sweet sweet life livin' by the salty sea
One day you can be as lost as me
Change your geography and maybe you might be

Knee deep in the water somewhere
got the blue sky breeze blowin' wind thru my hair
only worry in the world
is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise, there's a fire in the sky
never been so happy
never felt so high
and I think I might've found me my own kind of paradise

Come on in
the waters nice
find yourself a little slice
grab a backpack
otherwise you'll never know until you try
when you lose yourself
you find a key to paradise

Ate breakfast.  Made my bed.  Everything is packed.  Talk to yall in a few days!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

11 Things

1.  Georgia by Ray Charles is my favorite song of all time
2. I love to travel 
3. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day (I'm eating toast and drinking coffee as we speak...or write?)
4. Waking up early is awesome ... as long as it's after 7:30 am ... anything before that and I'm like a hibernating bear who's been woke up before the winter is over ... I'll be so disorientated and confused
5. One of my favorite movies is Night at the Roxbury
6. I absolutely love the newspaper
7. No matter how hard I try, I find it difficult to arrive on time
8. I never understood the show Lost
9. Thailand, South Korea, Mexico, Hawaii, New York and Florida are just some of the places that I've travelled to
10. Procrastination ... I tend to do that a lot
11. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 

Not quite sure why I felt the need to share some things about me, but there ya go!  One final day of work and then I'm off to Key West.  Not sure when I'll be able to post anything again, so just be patient I guess.  I still don't have a roommate.  I'm hoping that they forgot and I can have a place all to myself for the next 6 months.  Who knows, I could very well come home to a person in my house and the locks change (and we all know how much of a disaster changing locks is) so it'll be interesting.  Anyways,  hope Canada is warming up and everyone is doing well.  Talk to yall in a few days.

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Key West

I made a list of things that I'll need for Key West this weekend.  It goes a little somthing like this:

• sunscreen
• sunscreen
• sunscreen
• sunscreen
• bathing suit

I think that's a pretty great list so far.  But in all honesty I'll be much more aware of the sun and reapply the sunscreen often.  We've already planned some cool things to do.  There is a sunset cruise, eat in a restuarant that has a glass bottom over the ocean, shopping and maybe hitting up some museums when we're there.  I was supposed to go to the farmers market this past Sunday but I went and saw the hangover 2 instead.  I would say that movie is almost better than the first one.  Anyways, I guess the attraction isn't going to run itself ... gotta go and get ready for work!!  Hope yall have a magical day :)

from Florida with love,
Jilly

Hah, this cat looks funny



Have you ever had those days where it just isn't running as smoothly as you would like it to?  When everything you say, do or attempt to say goes very wrong.  I don't think any of my words that I was saying outloud yesterday made sense.  It was probably quite comical for the people listening to me but boy was it a long day! It wasn't like I was in a bad mood, it was just a very confusing day.  And to top it all off, a man (who we call the prospector, think of a man who looks like Santa ... but without the fat aspect ... well actually just picture a man with a really long white beard .. like Gandolf the Grey in Lord of the Rings) came and told me that Canada was part of the United States.  Then the prospector said that Martin Short isn't quite right with his directions.  I told him I agreed with him because he keeps trying to get out of the screen everyday but fails everytime ... sooner or later that fastpass for Soarin is going to expire.  He then got confused and then I got confused because he said I looked like an interesting person.  I didn't know what that had to do with the previous conversation.  Like I said, quite the day.  Today will be much better.  Also today marks 6 months that I've been here in Florida.  Time has gone by in a blink of an eye.  I've grown in so many ways and I can't wait to see where these next 6 months take me!!

from Florida with love,
Jilly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDhBMIOKLz8

Also, this is my new favorite song. 

Good Morning!

Haven't written one of these in a while!  My sunburn is all healed up and life is back on track.  We had another throw out last week.  My roommate and 4 other people were thrown out so it's been a slight adjustment seeing all her stuff gone out of the house.  I'll be getting another roommate this week.  Work has been slow lately.  Not a lot going on here.  This weekend will be very exciting, finally heading out to that big trip to Key West!!!!  We have a lot of activities planned like snorkeling, museums, shopping, maybe a beach day.  Should be a gooooood time.  Last night I went and saw the Hangover 2 which was absolutely hilarious.  Maybe even more hilarious than the first one.  Lots of surprises and twists which made the movie more interesting.  Wow, this post is quite silly haha.  Anyways I'm going to go and get ready for work.

from Florida with love,
Jilly