Southwood, FL Family Wins National Contest for Their Christmas Light Display

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The home of Derek and Courtney Whitis in SouthWood, which has been drawing spectators to its colorful and musical light display for weeks, has won the Good Morning America Big Bright Holiday Lights showdown contest. The visual display is accompanied by a four-minute soundtrack that plays a portion of the song for each branch of the military.


While the display will likely send the Whitis family’s electric bill sky high, Courtney Whitis says that the cost of the display is “nothing in comparison to what the troops do every day for our freedom.” She goes on to say, “We did this just to pay tribute to those who have served, are serving and will serve in the military protecting our freedom.”


Here is the winning home, I love it:




It is SO moving and a wonderful tribute to our troops. The Whitises seek to raise awareness and money for the Semper Fi Fund, which provides assistance for wounded soldiers in their recovery process. Those who would like to donate can visit semperfifund.org.

Let us continue to pray and support our troops and their families not only this time of the year, but all year long as they fight and sacrifice for our freedoms.

Merry Christmas to you all.

{Additional information provided by: Tallahassee.com}

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Friday Photo Flashback ~ Bill and the Boys

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Alicia from More Than Words says she started Friday Photo Flashback because "I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you.. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to link up so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!"



This week I am posting a photo of Bill, Nikolaus and Alexander from 2004 in front of our house right after we had just gotten it. They were so excited about having a new house in Florida (as was I) and couldn't wait to get inside to see it (Bill & I had already been inside at the closing), but of course I had to be a good photographer and "Memory Keeper" and make them all stop and take a photo. =)
 
 

 
I can't believe how short Alexander is and that Nikolaus has no tattoos or muscles, they look like such little boys to me. They are all grown up and men now and I am so proud of both of them.
 
 
If you'd like to play along with Friday Photo Flashback, dig out the old photo albums, scan in some photos and write a post to tell us all about what's going on in the photos. Then link up with Alicia at More Than Words, visit the other participants and leave a nice comment.

365 Project - January 17th: Sweet Tea

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Down here in Florida, when you order iced tea, you have to specify whether you want sweet tea or unsweetened.... since we are really in the south and sweet tea is the best down here in the south.

To join the 365 Project head on over to their Facebook page or to view other participants submissions head to the "Browse Latest" page.

Wordless Wednesday: Florida Stormy Skies

Wordless

For more Wordless Wednesday go to the WW Hub, link your post and visit the other participants.

WooHoo!! First Event for Brandcation: Adventures in Orlando Announced

We are all SO excited to hear that our first event is being held at Florida EcoSafaris... and thanks to them, it will be at no cost to any of us attending - thank you very much!  They have a 4700 acre eco-ranch and wildlife conservation area preserved just as nature intended. This beautiful site boasts 9 distinct Florida ecosystems and an endless array of natural flora and fauna including alligators, black bears, nearly two hundred species of birds and the endangered Florida panther.

 

There will be the opportunity to take a Zip-line Safari  - the perfect aerial vantage point to learn about Florida’s ecosystems on a one-of-a-kind adventure. Along the two and a half hour journey, you’ll soar trough the tree tops, 55 feet off the ground, and make your way across sky-bridges while learning about Florida’s natural flora and fauna from your expert guide - all at speeds up to 25 miles per hour!

 

For those of us who are unable to do something quite that adventurous, there is the opportunity to take a Coach Safari, a trip through a picturesque Florida ranch, featuring a living museum of Spanish Colonial Cattle and Florida’s unique Cracker Horses, an endless array of natural flora and fauna including alligators, black bears, white-tail deer and nearly two hundred species of birds. An expert guide to take us up-close to everything over land and water onboard our special open-air safari coaches, elevated 5 feet off the ground for a fantastic view of everything.

You all know how much I LOVE taking nature photos, so I am really excited about this adventure and about all the pictures I might be able to take and share on my blog.  I can't wait until November for this blogging convention to meet all these fabulous women and this wonderful adventure.  I'll let you know as soon as I do what other terrific things are in store for us during our Brandcation conference.

Thank you so much to Trisha from Momdot and Florida EcoSafaris for making this possible.

How Hot IS it in Florida.....

This guy says it all.....

Thanks to my hubby for forwarding this via email from a friend of his.  Hope you are all dealing with the heat where you are (if you have it).

Until next time..... Lorie

Orange Juice Prices To Rise

{Our new electric juicer}

One of the best things about living in Florida is fresh orange juice. Bill and I love to go right to the grove and get the oranges and make our own. We don't make it regularly, just if we are headed in the direction of the grove because it is about 30 minutes from the house. But, with the horrible winter that we had and the below freezing temps for 8 days in a row overnight, there was a lot of damage to the citrus crops in Florida.

Now, Tropicana (our preferred brand of orange juice) has announced that they will have to increase their prices and shrink the sizes of their containers. So it looks like Bill and I will be making our own orange juice a lot more in the near future.

The juicer is quite easy to use and has two filters, one for more pulp and one for less pulp - we like more pulp. One bag of oranges makes a 1/2 gallon of juice, that tastes SO good.

Then of course, Bill does the clean-up because he is the best husband in the world!!

Until next time..... Lorie

Would You Believe Possibility of SNOW ???

OMG, it's so cold down here in Florida that they are even predicting the possibility of flurries!! The following is from the WKMG Orlando website:

"Snow In Central Fla? It's Possible
Orlando Area Could See Snow Flurries Over Weekend

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

With cold days and freezing temperatures being the norm for the past week, many Central Floridians wouldn't mind seeing some snowflakes in the air.

And Local 6 meteorologist Eric Wilson said it's possible over the weekend.

'It's been a long time since we've had even a chance for snow in this area,'Wilson said. 'The question is whether or not there's going to be moisture in place to turn that cold air from rain into flurries over the weekend.'

Cold air has invaded the region all week, and although high temperatures will reach the mid-60s on Friday, a cold front currently over the Gulf of Mexico is expected to bring freezing temperatures back to Central Florida over the weekend.

The new front is expected to push through on Friday afternoon, with a 40 percent chance of rain.

Wilson said snow could fall in Central Florida on Saturday morning if a current frontal boundary stalls and provides moisture from the south and the west.

'Some of that rain could transfer over to flurries north of the jet stream,' said Wilson, who showed the jet stream north of Orlando. 'We'll have to keep a really close eye on whether all those things come together.'

High temperatures in Orlando are forecast to be 46 and 51 degrees -- more than 20 degrees below normal -- on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The low temperature Sunday morning will reach 34 degrees in Orlando, with a low of 27 forecast for Monday morning.

Icy Road Warning

Meanwhile, Florida's Department of Emergency Management said drivers in the Panhandle and north Florida should watch for icy spots on roads and bridges Friday morning.

Rain is expected as a cold front moves through the region Thursday night and Friday morning.

Meteorologist Amy Godsey said there is a possibility some rural bridges and roads may have ice.

Overnight lows are expected to dip into the lower 20s and high teens across the region on Friday and Saturday nights.

Temperatures in the region were in the upper 50s and lower 60s in advance of the approaching cold front Thursday afternoon."

This terrible cold weather is also hurting our poor sea turtles, more than 100 turtles were found floating in the Mosquito Lagoon and rescued Wednesday after cold water shocked their systems. We really need warm weather soon.

I have had enough of this.... I moved down here for the warmth and sunshine, not these 20 - 30 degree temperatures. I am tired of having to wear hats, gloves, coats, sweatshirts, etc. YUK!!

And, I don't want to hear from all you people saying, "You think it's cold there, you should be here in..... {so-and-s0}..... " I live in Florida because I DON'T want to be cold, I want to be where it is WARM, I don't like the cold. I used to live in New England where it was cold, snowy and icy - I LEFT THERE!!! So no comments like that people, let me whine... I hate the cold!

Please come back my wonderful weather that belongs here... I really miss you!

Until next time..... Lorie

Citrus Picking with Alexander

While Alexander and Rachel were here for a visit, they wanted to go citrus picking, something that we had never done. We have lived in Florida for five years, and never even considered it and had NO idea where to go. So, being the 21st century woman that Rachel is, she Googled it, and wouldn't you know, there is a grove 30 minutes from the house - one that Bill and I have passes at least 20 times in the last month as we have been house hunting. It is 5 minutes from the community that we have been considering building a new house in... DUH!!! When Rachel told me the name of it, Showcase of Citrus, I knew exactly what she was talking about and exactly where it was. So, after calling to make sure they were "Nano-friendly", we headed off...

When we first got there, we were given tastes of all the types of citrus available and told where to find each one and given bags with maps of the grove. T

here were chickens roaming free, which Nano had a blast chasing. It smelled heavenly there, the sun was shining bright, it was a bit cool, but a gorgeous day.

We picked white and ruby red grapefruit, oranges with yellow and blood red centers and these really cool pummelos {you can see those in the wagon - they are the ones NOT in the bags}. We were there for about 2 hours and had SO much fun.

Alex and Rachel took two bags to Connecticut for themselves and friends. We kept one for ourselves and have been eating them for breakfast every day. They are unbelievably delicious. It is definitely something Bill & I (and Nano) will be doing again some day soon.

Until next time..... Lorie

Bitch and Moan Friday on Sunday

It's time again for Bitch and Moan Friday. But as I like to call it here at the Shewbridge Household... Bitch and Moan Sunday, sorry Annette.

Head on over to Fairy Blog Mother to find out why Annette started this meme and to read her post and the other's linked to her blog.

Here are the reasons I'm bitchin' this week ~~


Pain

Sick of having it, sick of having to take drugs for it, sick of talking about it!!

People with Guns

How STUPID do you have to be to think that you can solve anything by shooting up other people?? Especially people who have NOTHING to do with what is going on in your life that is so f***ed up? Our military family lost some brothers and sisters in arms this week because some idiot didn't feel like going overseas to do the job he was trained to do. Well, I am not too happy that my son is going to have to be shipped out to Afghanistan next Sunday. But he knows it is his job, and he has been well trained for it and prepared to do his job! I am also so proud of him for that! We also had some moron here in Orlando, the day after the Ft. Hood massacre, decide that HE was unhappy with his life, so he figured he would shoot up his former place of employment. People, PUT the guns down and get some therapy!!

Community Intranet

There are so many people on our community forum taking pot-shots at each other for stupid things that it is driving me crazy. This is America, people are entitled to their own opinions and the right to express themselves without others {except me, of course here on my blog :-) } calling them stupid or idiots in public. I have had it with them just being so mean to each other - sheesh!

Florida Drivers

Hasn't anyone heard of a turn signal light??? Or a STOP sign??? How about the 25mph speed limit in town where all the kids and dogs {like mine with me attached to the other end of his leash} walk around. Somebody is gonna get hurt or killed around here.... then can you imagine what's gonna be said on the community forum.... OMG!!!!


OK, I'm done... what pissed you off this week?



Don't forget to link your post to Annette's blog.

Until next time..... Lorie

Blue Monday: Place to Cool Off in Florida

Welcome to Blue Monday.....

This is the Clubhouse pool at the Active Adult Community in Clermont, FL that Bill & I toured on Saturday. It was so beautiful, and the temperature of the water was so inviting, I even stuck my foot in...

Don't forget to visit Smiling Sally to see the other Blue Monday participants and to link up your post. Also, stop by Maria's Space to see her beautiful pictures this week.

Until next time..... Lorie

GOT MY T-SHIRT!!!!

Just wanted you all to know that I got my prize from One Bored Mommy Blogspot's Peace, Love, Mom Giveaway. I was lucky enough to be the one picked to win this adorable t-shirt. It is so comfortable, especially in this Florida heat, it's been in the high 90's this week. But you know the we LOVE it!!! I had Bill take my picture in the T-shirt so you could all see it:





After he took the picture, he said, "You know, you really can't read what it says, you should probably stretch out the bottom so you can see the words." So I did that and had him take another one. Gotta love the hubs. :-)




I want to thank Courtney at One Bored Mommy Blogspot and Peace, Love, Mom for this wonderful giveaway, I love my tee. Please make sure you check out Courtney's blog by clicking on the title of this post or on her button on my sidebar - she has some really interesting information and great giveaways..... Thank you, again.

Until next time......
Lorie