That's right, we're up and leaving Florida the end of June, heading to Connecticut. Jobs and the upcoming birth of our little one are prompting a move to be closer to family and into a more permanent position for me. So I thought in the light of us leaving Florida, which is bittersweet, I would leave you with a few lists...
Things I love about Florida:
1. My friends. Really. You guys are my family down here, and none of the good times would ever have happened without you. You know who you are. Oh, you want a special shout out?? Alright then (even though I know I'm going to leave someone off the list -- unintentionally -- hopefully no hard feelings for anyone!!!), in no particular order: Beth, Ella, Wendy, Sara, Pooja, Sarah, all you Connect girls, my horse show peeps, (oh wait, should I be mentioning all the guys too? Are you guys even reading this?), and all the rest of my hang out anytime/let's go shopping/have a bonfire/have a party people -- you all rock. And you're what makes Florida great for me.
2. The winters. Yes, I miss snow, but I can deal with 70 degree weather and a serious amount of sunshine through the winter months.
3. The flowers. There is always something blooming here, and flowers make me happy.
4. The horses. Yeah, there are horses everywhere, but there are some here that are special to me, that I'll think about in the future. :)
5. The fact that places like Dairy Queen are open year round. Hey, don't take it for granted -- you can't just run out and get a milkshake at all times of the year up north!!
Things I'm excited for about Connecticut:
1. Fall. or maybe having four distinct seasons (not hot and hotter, or dry and rainy). I can't tell you how excited I am to see the leaves change color again, to walk outside on a crisp October morning and see my breath in the air, to cut down a Christmas tree (and not do it in shorts and a tank top), to have SNOW!, to have real daffodils and crocus and all of those cold weather flowers pop up in the spring.
2. My new job. Yeah, super excited about this one! :)
3. Being closer to family. One hour from bro & sis in law and their family; six hours from everyone else is a whole heck of a lot nicer than 16 hours from everyone (excluding my wonderful Aunt Kay and her family who lives down here in Florida -- I'll miss being able to see you guys!!!), especially with Meatball arriving this September.
4. Our new house. Yes, it's a rental, but we can actually paint and do some cool things, which makes it feel more "ours." And it's always fun moving into a new place, rearranging things, finding what works.
5. Having a large backyard that borders a large plot of protected land... I know the girls are going to love it (if I can keep them out of the woods and from chasing everything that moves!!!).
So what does all of this mean for Sarah Reed Photography, this blog, and everything else? Well for starters, we will be closing down business from June 15th through July 15th to give us time for the move and to settle in to the new place. That means no photo orders will be fulfilled during that time. You'll still be able to place orders, but there will be a significant delay in recieving them unless they are placed prior to June 15th. I will not be booking any new sessions after June 1st in Florida. If you want to come up to CT, fall is lovely up there and I'd love to have you! Also, because of all that is going on, I may be a little slower than normal getting back to you if you have questions -- please bear with me; I promise I'm not ignoring you!
As far as the blog goes, I'll be doing my best to keep it up. It may become a little more personal (seriously, expect to see a lot of photos of Meatball after she arrives -- can you say free model???), and a little more sporadic. I'd like to tell you that I have everything planned out and will be blogging twice a week but realistically, I have no idea how all of this is going to work in the next few months (not to mention that I can't seem to manage twice a week now...). New house, new job, and new baby may just make me go completely crazy!! :) But I promise, I'll do my best to keep everyone updated (even if it is just about Meatball or the pretty leaves in CT or something else equally non-business related).
Finally (are you still reading? really? I'm impressed!), thank you for being here, for reading, for allowing me to share a little part of my life with you. :)
And no post is complete without a photo, so here's one I took a long time ago, but is still a favorite:
