I love the 'Burg! This is where I grew up. We lived right off the causeway to Indian Rocks Beach as a kid. I remember whenever there was a threat of a tropical storm or hurricane we were either evacuated or told not to come to school. I remember being in 6th grade laying in the backyard on a pool float when Mama came out and said "Erica Marie, what on earth are you doing?" And me, with all this imagination thought that if I just waited on my raft a big storm surge would come, but I'd be safe because I had a raft. "I'm waiting for the storm, duh!" I said with my Walkman headphones on so I spoke a little too loud. Oh I have great memories of growing up in St. Pete. I remember walking with my best friend Aly in the summer, when it would get so hot but our mothers would send us to eachother's houses so we would sneak off and get Rita's Italian Ice (that's right before it ended up in Tallahassee, it originated here). The red with the custard in the middle is my absolute favorite, it's just so nostalgic. I was a cheerleader and had a ton of friends. I was still the resident goofball, but I was the kind that would talk to anybody. I was a little creative, which meant that I was kinda dorky, but hey I was ok with that. My brothers are both raising their kids here now and I remember how great of a place it was to grow up. Being so close to the beach you don't realize how lucky you are until you move away. Laying out with your friends, playing volleyball, flying a kite on the beach, paddle boarding or skimboarding, it was never boring. We moved into our cutesy little townhouse in a cutesy little neighborhood off of 66th Street and Ulmerton Rd. We are about 9 miles from the beach I grew up on and it makes me so happy. We are also super close to my job, just over the Howard Frankland bridge. But I tell you what, that sun coming up over the bay every morning doesn't make the drive bad at all.
On Friday we were able to get the keys to the place. I wanted to paint the living area so I ran all over town to Home Depot to get supplies and was just about to start painting when Judd showed up early from work to surprise me! I was so relieved because he could wait for the cable guy and I could get some groceries. We decided to look at the paint that was left behind by the owners and they actually had the same color as the top of the wall left, so I thought why not paint it the same color and save money. I did, but it took me hours. Long enough for Judd to drive all the way back to New Port Richey to my parents, load up the car with the essentials (aka the televisions and laptop) and drive back. I think it turned out great though and the backache was worth it.
We ordered a pizza and sat on the floor in front of our television, hooked up to the laptop, with our blankets on the floor and laughed and talked about how happy we were and how we couldn't believe it was finally happening. We fell asleep in the middle of the living room, blankets sprawled on the floor, underneath the ceiling fan. That's how we spent our first night in our new home. It was perfect!
The next morning we woke up really early, like so early I thought I heard a rooster. We drove all the way to SR 52 and picked up the truck. It was just me and Judd so we decided not to overdo it and take our time. By the end of the day we were exhausted running up and down our stairs and about ready to collapse. I crashed early and Judd followed shortly after. We are so excited about our new life in the 'Burg and can't wait to start setting up the house the way we want. Just the start of our new adventures. Live and Love ~ E
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