Lovin' the non-vacancy in the B & B

JB and I really do just love having people visit us here on the AFB. Our life is different here. The base is wonderful but a bit isolated from the "things to do" around Destin. Our favorite spots: Destin Commons, Baytowne Wharf, and the Destin beach, are good half hour drives and just not something we do everyday. So having company in, like Tara, gives us a good excuse to do some of the things we love.

Tara had a bit of a rough day yesterday. She is one of those people who really never gets sick but unfortunately just didn't feel well most of the day yesterday. She is also one of those people who loves to experience the unique activities of every place she visits, however, so this doesn't bode well with her sense of adventure. That means despite the fact that she wasn't feeling well, she was up for our planned events of the day which included a trip out on the boat. (JB got off early enough to do this on a Friday!) It also included a trip to Baytowne Wharf where we had dinner at Rumrunners and got to enjoy the dueling piano players again. JB and I really enjoy both of these experiences immensely so this was a very good time. Tara took lots of pictures so nag her a bit to post them!

The boat trip included a jaunt to Crab Island which wasn't looking very "Emerald Coast" like at all. Sometimes the water out there is just so perfectly, well, Emerald, and sometimes, like yesterday, it was more like, well, green algae or some other not-a-nice-green-color concoction. Not a great glimpse for Tara into our beautiful water here. However, we anchored anyways, fed the seagulls, let JB fish a bit, and took short snoozes under the sun. We got a pontoon boat which worked much better with Scrubs as he could run around and not look so just-about-ready to fall in (like he did on the ski boat when Hans and Rachel came.) The only moment of dog-terror came when he decided to climb up on the seats in the back of the boat while JB was in full drive. Tara and JB immediately pounced on him before he could jump in, but when he landed, the poor pup twisted his ankle or something. So a bad ankle on top of his blistered feet, has left us with a pretty gimpy, but much slowed down dog. All the better to catch him when he steals something, like socks out of Tara's room, that he isn't supposed to have.

As for other events of our lives, there isn't too much to report. JB is just finishing up his ambulatory rotation and about to start in on neurology. Both of these are amazingly laid back rotations and a wonderful break from some of the chaos that preceeded these rotations.

I am, as is usual, busy with work. We have, and I hate to say it out loud, a grant due at Mayo next Friday. The good news is: this will be my last grant at Mayo Clinic. As sad as I am to leave my post there, I am so relieved not to work on any more grants. They really, really, really stress me out. It's just the whole deadline thing that is overwhelming and frustrating, especially when you are at the mercy of other physicians taking their sweet time in getting materials back to you. Anyways, we haven't missed a deadline yet so I don't foresee this being any different. It's hard to believe that I am now only about a month and a half away from resigning from that job. Wow!

My job at RLSF is going great. I am getting ready to send a 40-page newsletter to the press! Normally our newsletters are 20 pages and I am the Editor and put these out four times a year. However, this is a special, celebratory issue, so it is double the size -- and double the work. But, it is now done! I plan to just do one more read to see if I can find any last minute errors before sending it to be printed. Yay!

We are also planning a trip to Jacksonville on Thursday of next week. Scrubs is going to stay in the kennel in Crestview with our dog trainer. She does dog training while he stays there and other activities so I really wouldn't even call it a kennel. He loves those ladies there too so it should be a good time. He's only going to stay for two nights as his good buddy Jodi is out of town. John and I are going to leave on Thursday night and come back on Saturday afternoon. We've booked a hotel in Jacksonville that has a fantastic military discount and will also, hopefully, get to see Nicole and new fiancée Bay, while we are there! That will be a lot of fun. The trip also corresponds with Valentines Day so it'll be a nice weekend away for the two of us on our ninth married V-day. And our last childless Valentines Day to boot. Weird.

The fact that we are going to have a baby here in a mere, tweleve weeks, is starting to feel more and more real and strange all wrapped into one. JB and I often talk about the fact that we wonder if it is easier or harder to be married for 2 or 3 times the length that most couples are usually married before having children enter the mix. In one way, we can honestly say that we have adequately been able to enjoy and relish in an empty next. On the other hand, we wonder if that enjoyment means we will be even more hit upside the head when little XY comes to join our family. Either way, we know there will be a lot of adjustments, and we are getting more and more excited about them. I really don't need people to say, "just you wait until . . . "Quite honestly, I know I may not sleep much and may be completely and utterly overwhelmed. And I am okay with that. Please remember that I spent the last four years of my life not sleeping in an attempt to get to this point. So I'm okay with some more sleepless nights for this dream come true. At least my sleepless nights will leave me holding a baby instead of staring at the ceiling.

Well, Tara and JB are still asleep. Scrubs is sitting in the hallway, taking turns crying outside both of their doors, wanting one or both of them to come out and play with him. I better go get him before he wakes them up!