I'm just amazed at everything that happened this weekend not just for our country, but for the entire world. The only thing I'm sad about is that the Endeavor shuttle launch was postponed from Friday, and was supposed to be rescheduled for today, but now they're saying it won't even happen this week. I'm so happy to be living in FL so I can now witness the shuttle launch and watch it go up from outside. When the Discovery launched back in February, it was such an amazing moment to be able to witness it with my own eyes. I'm so sad that the space program is shutting down here in the U.S. and I hope it will be reopened in the near future. *Fingers crossed*.
The weekend kicked off with the highly anticipated Royal Wedding. I'm sure a lot of people are sick of hearing about it by now (I know I was before it even started) but it sure was an event of our lifetime and as overhyped as it was, I'm so glad that we were able to witness it. I admire Kate Middleton and think she's got a great head on her shoulders, is beautiful, and seems very much in love with her prince. They seem like they have what it takes to make it work and shouldn't have the troubles that Charles and Diana had. I also think that since they waited a while and had many more years to get to know each other and were a bit older than Diana was when she married Charles, that they'll stand the test of time.
I have to say I was very surprised by her dress. I was expecting so much more since we all had heard of the $400k+ price tag before the big day. She looked beautiful and radiant, but I honestly thought the dress would have more of a wow factor than it did. But, she did look like a princess and her happiness shone through. Her sister, Pippa looked gorgeous and I absolutely loved her Maid of Honor dress. Is it bad that I liked her dress more than the brides?
I was also a little underwhelmed by her bridal bouquet. I was expecting something more extravagent, but what I did love was that she was carrying "Sweet William" in honor of her prince. It was classic and understated and it fits her personality more than a big extravagent bouquet, I guess I was just surprised.
So sweet, and they are just perfect together. My favorite was the young bridesmaid who was seen covering her ears and sulking in a lot of the pictures of them on the balcony. Apparently, she had had enough of the noise coming from the crowds below which is a lot for a 3 year old. Too cute!
Princess fairytales aside, Friday was also a great day for H and myself since we FINALLY got all the permits approved and we can move forward with the building of our house. To make a long story short, we have been under contract since Superbowl Sunday in early February. We chose a lot, but the building permits were denied due to the size of our house and how it would sit on the lot, and it didn't go within the county's guidelines, and the lot has since been deemed unbuildable. So, we had to choose a new lot. We were upset because we loved the original lot, but we were able to obtain a corner lot on a culdasac which is even better, we're just losing the pond view that we had at the original lot. Well, it's amazing how quickly they denied the permits for the first lot, but that it took over 2 months to get the permits approved on our new lot. We had to resign all our contracts and paperwork, which we did quickly, but the county was taking forever. So, we should be having our pre-build meeting this week and the house should be underway. I can finally start taking pictures of the progress, instead of just going to visit our empty lot which will be very exciting.
Saturday, we went to a housewarming party and again were amazed by how much farther the dollar goes in real estate down here in Florida compared to Connecticut. Another young newlywed couple, with a larger new build home, and they spent a third or a quarter of what the house would cost up north. Incredible! Every day, when I step outside and the warm air hits my face and there's not a cloud in the sky, I'm just so thankful for our new life down here but not just because of the beauty of the area, but that we'll be in our dream home and it'll be our "forever home" since we have plenty of room to grow into it.
Yesterday, we went to the beach since a friend of ours was down visiting so we went to meet up with her and spend the day relaxing at the beach. Everything was great until we realized there were a ton of jellyfish so we couldn't really enjoy riding the waves, and then H found this man-of-war washed up on the beach:
Needless to say we were done playing in the water after this! Yipes!
The rest of our Sunday was relaxing, we came home and I cooked a pot of sauce and I enjoyed the rest of the I Love Lucy marathon playing on the Hallmark channel and then Real Housewives of Orange County at 10:00. I am ashamed to say that the news of Bin Laden's death came to me when Real Housewives was over, and Andy Cohen announced it at the beginning of Watch What Happens Live. My jaw dropped and I didn't believe it, we immediately turned the channel to CNN to watch the live coverage. We were so ecstatic and jumping for joy, until it hit me that yes this is a huge milestone in the war on terror and we finally found the despicable mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, but with the death of him, may come retalliation. I just pray that our country will stay strong after this huge accomplishment, and that our safety is never put into question or jeopardy ever again as it was almost 10 years ago. My brother enlisted in the marines because of this man and his organization. I can't imagine how happy he is and what the celebrations must be like for all the basic training recruits on Parris Island right now. I can't wait to hear from him and hear what he has to say about all this. I'm so proud of him and every other soldier out there fighting for our country and for the innocent lives that were lost due to the evilness behind Bin Laden and his followers.
God Bless America! I hope this is the beginning of the end, and not the beginnning of more unforseen evil.
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