Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from snowy North Carolina!

I'm DONE!

I took my last final today. You know what that means...I'm done! Commencement ceremony is on Saturday! YAAAAAY!!!

Happy December!

December is upon us and you know what that means...finals. Ugh! I am currently in the thick of finals and slowly making my way through. Jim applied for graduation today and I am 17 days away from being a University of Florida graduate!!!!!! I unfortunately need to get back to studying.

All things Mexico...

Last weekend we took an impromptu trip to the panhandle. We stayed in Mexico Beach at the Schulz family beach house there. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! A couple of our friends from school live in Panama City, we were lucky enough to spend some time with them on Saturday. On another note, we went to Orlando last night for a Voodoo Glow Skulls concert. They were AMAZING! Hope to add some more updates soon...the Keith's have a busy couple of week coming up

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Dia de los Muertos y Halloween

Hoping you all had a very spooky Halloween. We had a great time! Can't believe it's November already! Today, we made some sugar skulls to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Here's wishing you and all of your loved ones (dead or alive) a happy November.

The Big Dig

So, this past weekend I went on my very first archaeological dig at the Thomas Farm fossil site near Bell, FL! The Thomas Farm fossil site formed about 18 million years ago, during the early part of the Miocene Epoch. At that time it was a large deep sinkhole which was connected to a series of caves. Bones of dead animals from the surrounding landscape washed into the sinkhole during storms and were buried in layers of clay and sand-size grains of limestone. The most common of the larger animals at Thomas Farm are two species of three-toed horses, Parahippus leonensis and Archaehippus blackbergi. I found a femoral head and shaft of the Parahippus leonenisi. I also found the shell of a small tortoise. It was a very exciting day and I hope to have the opportunity to do more excavations in the future!

Homecoming Extravangaza!

It's that time of year again...GATOR HOMECOMING!!! I can't think of a better way to celebrate the end of mid-terms. Only 59 more days until graduation!!! I ran the Gator Gallop on Friday, while Jim cheered me on from the sidelines. We tailgated before the game against the razorbacks. What a game it was. The Gators played hard and eventually came out on top! We had a few visitors in the yard yesterday...it's definitely fall. Not loving this cold weather, but looking forward to Halloween...we have some GREAT costumes in store. All in all, it was great weekend! GO GATORS!!

We Survived!

We survived H1N1! For those of you who didn't know, Jim and I have been very sick with swine flu for the past week. But...looks like we are both in the clear now! We have both been fever free for a number of days and only have a slight lingering cough! Yay! You never realize how much you take your health for granted until you don't have it anymore. Stay well!

The Beginning of the End

This Saturday, Jim and I attended the first Gator football game of our last football season as UF students. We had a great time and our boys in blue and orange kicked some major butt. Here's hoping for an amazing season! GO GATORS!

Experience Natural Florida

That is exactly what Jim and I did this weekend! We decided to go camping in the Ocala National Forest yesterday. Instead of going to a marked campsite or even a primative site, we decided to hike into the general forest and find a nice, quiet, secluded place to camp. We found the PERFECT spot. We happened upon a pristine old Florida landscape with an awesome view and lake/marsh! We spotted a black bear while setting up camp and ate dinner listening to the sounds of nature. I can't think of a better way to relax after the first week of the semester. Today, after packing up camp, we went to nearby Silver Glen Spring near Lake George. We cooled off in the clear 72 degree water before heading back to Gainesville for another busy week of classes. We hope to explore more of that area in the near future.

Half a Decade Later...

Today, the 25th of August, marks our 5 year dating anniversary. It is hard for me to imagine that we have been together and inseperable for 5 whole years! It has been amazing and so much has happened since then. I am so thankful to have found my soulmate!

Great News!

Carolyn and Todd have gotten engaged! We couldn't be happier for them at this special time in their lives! Congrats you two, we can't wait to hear all about it!

Adventures in North Carolina!

This past weekend, Jim and I finally made it up to NC for a visit. We stayed at RiWiCa and enjoyed the company of the Keiths, Campbells, and Gates'! It was so nice to spend some time at our wedding location (which seems more beautiful each time we visit!). We did a 5 mile hike at Pink Beds and enjoyed some delicious tomatos from the local farmers market. We were having so much fun with everyone, we didn't want it to end. Here are some pictures from our trip...

The time is near!

Well the time has finally come (almost!). I filled out my application for graduation this evening, YAY! It seems like I have been in school forever, I can't believe it's almost over. This December I will be an alumni of the best university in the nation. Go Gators!!!!

Steinhatchee & Lochloosa

Jim and I went fishing in Lochloosa yeasterday evening. We were fishing for specks but ended up catching a ton of bream instead. We had a blast. It was our first trip to the lake and we look forward to exploring it more thoroughly when we have more time. Today we took the boat over to Steinhatchee ( about 1 1/2 hours from Gainesville) to go scalloping. We almost turned back when it started to pour down rain about 1/2 way there, but we stuck it out and were very handsomely rewarded. We had such a fun and relaxing day on the water together.

It seems like an eternity...

So much has happened in the last few months that I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll try to go by month. Jim and I went to the Keys in late April for his scuba certification dives. We stayed in Tavinerier and drove down to Key West after the first day to get a look at the place. We didn't stay long, but had a great time. Jim is now a NAUI certified scuba diver So begins our love of the Keys...we can't wait to visit again! The following weekend we went to Ginnie Springs for my skin diving certification. The water was so cold that I wore 2 wetsuits. I'm getting cold just thinking about it. We did some more exploring in Gainesville and finally found Split Rock, a very secret, unmarked nature preserve. It was really neat. We also found some unmarked trails along the Hogtown creek. May was a very busy time for Jim. He began his paperwork to become a Big brother. He also did a bunch of traveling for his lab. He attended a week long conference in Orlando called STLE and met up with his cousin Jack for dinner one night. A few weeks later, he was in Melborne closing a project with the Harris company. We attended a friends wedding in Tallahassee in June and got to spend some time with Richard, Brandi, and Marc. We had so much fun with the 3 of them. We can't wait to see the new adition to the Campbell clan...hopefully soon! A friend of ours joined us for an overnight stay in Cedar Key. We filled the horse trough and went for a swim. The stars were amazing. It was a very relaxing evening. Jim and I took a trip to the Destin area for our 1st anniversary and my birthday. The Campbells were nice enough to let us stay at their bay house for our visit. We went fishing for kings on my birthday and caught our limit almost immediately. What a fun time! Jim made his first solo dive since becoming certified. He dove on a barge near the Miss Louise and said he saw some amazing things. Lots of barracudas! We celebrated our anniversary with year old cake, sparklers from the wedding, and mimosas in our champagne flutes! I can't believe it's already been a year. The best one yet! On to July. Jim finally got paired with a "little brother". He is adorable, has red hair, and loves the outdoors just as much as Jim. What a perfect match! We drove to Marianna to go on the annual canoe trip on the Chipola river. The river was beautiful. I always forget how picturesque and tranquil it is. We had great fire works for the 4th at the camp site thanks to Jason and Virgina. I successfully threw Jim a surprise party in Gainesville for his birthday, and boy was he surprised! It was luau themed and everyone was dressed to the nines. What a fun night! We drove back to Marianna the next day to visit with his parents who were down from North Carolina. It was really great to see them, it had been too long. Jim is playing intermural soccer with a few of his labmates. We got one of our favorite mexican resturants in Gainesville to sponser the team. We are finally beginning to see fruit on our tomato plants. All of our hard work is paying off! We have been having some problems recently with some beautiful yellow rat snakes eating our chicken eggs. It's an inconvence but they're nice to look at. We hope to spend the rest of our summer eating great tomatoes, traveling, fishing and exploring. Until next time...

Misti Meadow

I opened a new shop on etsy.com called MistiMeadow. This is a place where I can sell my handmade bags and accessories. Check it out! MistiMeadow.etsy.com

Nola

Whew. It has been a busy couple of months! It seems like we have been traveling every weekend. We rang in the New Year with some friends in Miami and are really starting to like it there. We've been all over the state on various weekend adventures and just returned from New Orleans. We hung out in the French Quarter and went to one of the most popular parades, Krewe du Vieux, leading up to Mardi Gras. It was amazing and we had so much fun! We roamed the streets and took in the music and atmosphere, visited the local historic cemetaries, oogled the beautiful plantation homes, and ate the most amazing food. When we got back we were exausted but it was well worth it! We are hoping to have some more awsome adventures soon!