It has been far FAR too long a time that I have been on this Blog.
To my viewers, I am sorry about that.
I am still working on moving to Florida. I am considering what a part time residence would entail.
There are some issues with this however.
With plans on getting over those.
One of the first issues is that neither my man or I are close enough to retirement to move to the Retirement Capitol of America.
My biggest issue is that My Man is not as in Love with Florida as I am.
The winter in Florida is fine, but he does not like Summers there. Insisting that it is far too hot for him.
These road blocks do not bother me, As this is my dream and I will not be deterred.
To make a long story short, I have taken a few smaller steps to get to the BIG picture day by day.
Restarting this blog is one of them.
Being a  certified life coach, I know that the universe helps those that take the steps to help themselves.
The same day I made my **Florida box**, was the same day that I got confirmation of a company in Kansas and in Florida that was hiring, I interview with them next week. This started a thought process.
"If there is ONE company that has an office HERE in Kansas and in Florida as well.
There MUST be more!"
I was correct.
What is a Florida Box you ask?
This is something I think that anyone who is planning to move should do. You will need:
1 large plastic moving crate.
small items, Non perishable and dry goods for your new place. IE: Dishwashing liquid, TP, Paper towels, soups, silverware, spices, things to get you started.
Think what you would need for the first night you move into a new place.
This is an easy to read box, You can find quickly, It goes in the truck last, and comes out first and sits on the kitchen counter and you unpack the rest of your things.
I'm still working on it, so I will have a picture of it in my next blog.
Take care everyone, and think Warm Florida Beaches thoughts!

Today I received the cutest e-mail from a dear friend...

You know you're a Floridian if....
Socks are only for bowling.  AND I HAVE TRIED TO LIVE THIS WAY IN KANSAS!
 
You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes. Well, that is because anything over 10 minutes we consider a deluge! 
 
A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade. That way in the Midwest too, But Florida is year ROUND! 
   
Your winter coat is made of denim. AHHH I CAN HARDLY WAIT!
 
You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites. HECK YEAH! FIRE ANT BITES GET big and puss filled instantly, They LOVE MJ, mosquitos love me. It is a give and take. 
   
You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65. Well that is me most of the time anyway.
 
Anything under 70 degrees is chilly. UMMM YEAH! AND WHAT'S YOUR POINT?
 
You've driven through Yeehaw Junction. So NOW I have to look this up because I have no clue what this is. When I do find out I will let you know! 
 
You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.  YEAH THER IS! There is Sweetbay and Winn-Dixie! 
 
Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005. If they where still there at ALL, we where lucky ours only had roof damage over the garage... Because the house across the street came off it's foundation and Dorothy-ed upside down onto our garage. 
 

You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for. Hey we had one of those 2 Fridays ago HERE in KANSAS, Up here you all call them MICRO-BURSTS! 
You dread love bug season. Tell me a story!
 
You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't Hurricane Charley or Hurricane Frances. You know them as Andrew, Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne & Wilma...Irene...Cheryl...Rita Mary..Alison YOU GOT THAT RIGHT! 

You know what a snowbird is and when they'll leave. ANYONE FROM THE NORTH THAT IS PALE AND BRINGS MONEY FROM LABOR DAY THROUGH MARCH, THEY ARE SNOW BIRDS! 

You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average. Hey, There was one that lives in the Wall- Mart parking lot down the street. I think he is bigger then 6 feet though... The Wall-Martians must taste good. 
   
'Down South' means Key West CUTE! but that is understandable after all you do not get much more south then Florida. 

Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are for business meetings and church, but you HAVE worn flip flops to church before. CAN I HEAR AN AMEN!!! Life without Flip Flops is no life at all! 

You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt. AGAIN!!! I can not WAIT for the day! 
   
You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls. Because when the SNOW BIRDS LEAVE! Then the dang things want US too feed them and you think PIDGON DROPPINGS ARE BAD??!!?? 

A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level. AND that was MAN MADE! 

You know the four seasons really are: Hurricane season, love bug season, tourist season and summer. Still I love it!   
   
You've hosted a hurricane party. I MIGHT HAVE TO DO ONE OF THESE! 
  
You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Withlacoochee , Thonotosassa and Micanopy. YEP, I goot them all! 

You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, than have a boat yourself. Because you do not have to worry about things like Ooooh LIGHTNING STRIKES! and have you seen DOCKING FEES in FLORIDA??

You were 25 when you first met someone who couldn't swim. I did that HERE!!! My Momma raised up a bunch of water babies! 

You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas and New Years. (SIGH!!! I can not wait for this either, But with the love I have for my family chances are I will be HERE during at LEAST Christmas!) OR! they can come down to see ME!!! That would ROCK! 

You recognize Miami-Dade as ' Northern Cuba '  They have the BEST FOOD THERE!!!!!!! 

You not only forward this but you understand it I think I proved that already! 

 

Day two of my move attempt.

SO in the ongoing quest to get my happy body from here to there, I went to the book store. (Those of you that know me will note this is one of my FAVORITE PLACES!) If I wind up missing at some point LOOK IN THE BOOK STORE FIRST!!! I purchased the Florida Travel and Lifestyles magazine, and a nationwide map for our upcoming drive to my favorite place. Which reminds me of a commercial that I saw a few years ago for Disney World. Where two children a little boy and girl are knelling at an open window with their eyes shut tight. The little boy leans over to the little girl with his eyes remaining shut and says... "Are we there yet?" At which time the little girl opens one of her eyes, and looks around and closes her eyes tight again and says. "NO! WISH HARDER!" So this is what I have done, I have made up my Vision board in the form of a powerpoint presentation. I am pretty proud of it! I am putting all KINDS of resumes out there, I am blogging about the experience, because I did not find any other people writing about this type of experience. And MIND YOU I DID look for a book about getting a job in another state... NO LUCK! So That is where we stand. More tomorrow everyone!
Diann...

More news from the day!

So MJ came home from his meeting all happy go lucky. Then he tells me that the insurance adjuster for the boat is giving us more then he thought. AND he tells me that we are going to drive to Florida the first week of September.

I am VERY HAPPY about this! this means I will be there for my BIRTHDAY!!

When we are there getting the house ready. I will also be doing interviews. THERE!

See, this visualization stuff WORKS!!!

In the mean time we have to get the Golden fitted with rubber booties because there is no carpet on the floors down there. Any ideas anyone?

I needed to start somewhere So...

Here we are in the last days of July 2010. To say the economy seems bad would be an UNDERSTATEMENT! SO, With my honey and I both seeking employment, I have decided that NOW would be a great time to move to Florida... Just to track my progress on this whole subject, I have chosen to blog about it because... I MAY not be the ONLY one in this nation that thought about moving to a different state, and wanted to know if it could be done. And how...

Now let me tell you a little about me so you know where we are starting from.

I am 44 years old. I have lived in the midwest my WHOLE life... well except for that being married thing, that lasted long enough to have my daughter, when I lived in Seattle Washington. And the FIRST time that I tried to live in Florida, which I was less than prepared for, BUT I went for it... In hind site, if I where to do it all over, I would have gone for it again! HOWEVER this time I would not have given up so soon.

My Man and I happen to own rental property in Florida, WHICH we have had a string of LESS then able renters in. The last got mad at us because her rent was a month late. Hmm.. But that said, I have decided to move to Florida to take care of the house.

Side note, If you are reading this and thinking "But Diann, I do not have a rental house in Florida, What do I do?" My answer is "Getting a place to rent in Florida right now is fairly easy. They are very used to accommodating transplants."

My man is not exactly excited about this, but I have ALWAYS wanted to live in Florida and so I am going to try and follow this dream and see where it leads us, Or at least me.

Last week, I started by sending out over a dozen some odd resumes to Florida companies that are close to where our house is. (BTW South West Florida. Just north of Fort Myers, if you are a company that is thinking about hiring.)

I have had the normal Scam e-mails, But TODAY!!! I did get a call from a company wanting to set up an interview! YEAH!

I work with a couple of temporary companies in Kansas to at least pay bills here and fund my adventure. Next week I have a Temp Gig with a national restaurant company here in Kansas.

What I have found out so far about Florida jobs. 89% are hospital related, After all, it IS the retirement capital of the world! Most of the rest are Travel related, restaurant jobs, and a few manufacturing jobs. My expertise in in Reception and Admin. Of which I have spent 15 years of my life doing. There is not a PHONE system that I can not work! or that I have not worked with. and I am expert status with all Microsoft programs.

I also have my google maps set up pin pointing all of the places that I will need to go to when I do live there. IE Groceries and Gas Stations. I do know where they are for the most part already, but it somehow helps me to visualize the drive to the places that I would need to go. This also helps me discover if a place is too far to consider sending an application. I am a firm believer in the power of visualization, and Google maps is GREAT for this!

Well I have more resumes too send out. AND I have to go to the store!

--Diann...