Eight years ago this week I moved to Orlando to start a new chapter of my life. Eight years seems like an eternity, and yet I feel like I just moved here last year.

I recently starting organizing my printed photographs according to year, and that’s when it really set in that I’ve lived a significant chunk of my life – and nearly all my adult life, here in this balmy band of beach-bordered land.

November has a lot of anniversaries for me. It’s my anniversary of moving down here (with all my possessions in my car), my work anniversary with Relevant (although I don’t work there anymore), my wedding anniversary (6 years!), and the anniversary of discovering I was expecting a baby (3 years ago).

So it’s natural that I get a little nostalgic this time of year. With that in mind, here’s a countdown of general observations I’ve made during my time here so far.

8 Things I Learned Living in Florida

8. Driving anywhere out of state takes forever.
7. Florida’s beautiful clouds and moody skies make up for what it lacks in landscape.
6. Having only one interstate going through your city makes for some terrible traffic.
5. …. Must remember to bring a coat when flying to nearly anywhere else in the U.S. during the winter months.
4. Wearing flip-flops year-round rocks.
3. Family and friends you would never otherwise visit suddenly decide to visit you every year … thanks, Mickey …
2. Just because it’s not a traditionally thought of southern state don’t mean it ain’t redneck.
1. When you hear a sonic boom, it’s more likely a shuttle entering the atmosphere than Gabriel blowing his trumpet.

2010 Calendar
Red Velvet Art

Fall market to table
Design*Sponge

German Chocolate Cheesecake
Bake or Break

Whole Wheat Quick Bread
ReadyMade Magazine

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment
Vimeo

Sarasota, Florida: Master Potter Ki Woon Huh
iReport CNN

My results from an quiz that’s coming out in a new book this week: http://www.stronglifetest.com/

YOUR LEAD ROLE:
EQUALIZER

You begin by asking:
‘What’s the right thing to do?’

You are sensitive to how everything in the world is connected, how movement in one part of the world causes everything else to move as well. Alive to this inter-connectedness, you feel compelled to keep everything aligned.

Your best quality:
Your innate sense for what is right

Always:
Lead with your values

Be careful you:
Don’t become too obviously defensive when your values are challenged

Your smartest career move:
Any job where you’re paid to speak up for people who’ve been wronged.

YOUR SUPPORTING ROLE:
CARETAKER

You begin by asking:
‘Is everyone okay?’

You are acutely aware of everyone else’s emotional state, particularly if you sense they are feeling hurt or slighted. You are instinctively inclusive, always looking for ways to draw others into the circle and make them feel wanted, heard, and appreciated.

Your best quality:
Your open heart

Always:
Be willing to ask people for favors in return

Be careful you:
Don’t get so consumed with other people’s feelings that you forget your own

Your smartest career move:
Any job where you’re paid either to play on a team or lead the team.

To Learn More:
The Strong Life Test For Women

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I’d say those results are pretty accurate (although the name of the first one makes me think I’d be a good communist), and similar to results I’ve gotten from other tests, like StrengthsFinder and Keirsey Temperament Sorter.

This Tuesday marks the first stop of a Cake Wrecks book signing tour by one Orlando’s own. Jen Yates will be signing copies of her new book, Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong, which releases Oct. 1. Cake Wrecks is one of my favorite blogs of all time. Jen is a wonderfully gifted humor writer, and she’s found a unique niche pointing out the hilarious in professional cakes gone awry. She’ll be at Borders in Winter Park starting at 5 p.m. I’ll be there (until 6:30 p.m.), and would love it if someone I knew was there too!

1. My favorite singer of all time is unashamedly Michael McDonald.
2. I have a crush on Donald Sutherland, which is unrelated to music, but related to white hair (see #1).
3. Growing up, I learned to sing parts from listening to 4Him. Andy was my favorite.
4. I listened to a lot of BeBe and CeCe Winans as a young girl, and gospel choirs. I still love that music.
5. I discovered Christian Hit Radio in 5th grade. I used to record hours of music on tape and relisten to it.
6. I discovered the music of Carman that same year (Darn you, Christian school!) I believed God sent me Carman so I wouldn’t crush on the New Kids on the Block. It didn’t work.
7. I crushed on Carman and the New Kids on the Block. Until Michael English came along. Then Clay Crosse.
8. I sang “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonny Raitt for my college vocal recital.
9. That song (above), “Insensitive” by Jann Arden and “Lost the Plot” by the Newsboys were three of my favorite songs in college.
10. I once went to a Michael Bolton concert. It was the same day I had my front teeth bonded. Strange concurrence of memories.
11. My favorite concert entertainer is Harry Connick, Jr.
12. I want to see Brandi Carlile in concert but she’s not coming close enough on her fall tour.
13. I took piano lessons for about 10 years.
14. I played the flute for six years. My band instructor told me in Middle School that once I got my braces off, I might be pretty good, which pretty much crushed any ounce of self-confidence I had theretofore.
15. I almost minored in French in college, until my teacher told me I’d be better off minoring in English (see #14). I minored in graphic design because there was too much reading homework in English. La langue est surestimée.
16. My first interview ever as a journalism student was with Christopher Cross of “Sailing,” “Arthur’s Theme” and “Ride Like the Wind” fame.
17. I used to work at the Chevy/Geo Theater in the now defunct Opryland Do Wa Ditty City which hosted summer concerts for Alabama, Tanya Tucker and the Oak Ridge Boys. One year several acts came through, including Billy Ray Cyrus, whose sweat dripped on the top of my head while he was bending over the stage where I stood as security to prevent women from throwing their panties at him. I was also knocked down by a hoard of women rushing Randy Owen from Alabama, who then accidentally stepped on my finger while I was down. Speaking of, I leaned over to pick up my cheap watch that fell off my arm while Toby Keith happened to walk by after a meet-and-greet in the same theater. His reply was, “While you’re down there…” I didn’t know what he meant then, but I do now, and I don’t appreciate it.

This happy collection of memories is quickly going downhill.

I met Jason Boyett through my job several years ago and I’m happy to call him a friend today. He’s inspired my writing and my business of writing, and I can say without a doubt that if none of that had happened, I’d still be a huge fan of his writing.

He has three new books published by Jossey-Bass that are out this week: Pocket Guide to the Bible, Pocket Guide to the Afterlife and Pocket Guide to Sainthood. If you are a fan of religion and humor (especially when combined), you’ll love these books.

Here’s a review I wrote for ConversantLife.com for more information. Or check out this hilarious self-interview on Jason’s blog.

Cory was my first crush. Given the circumstances under which we were introduced, it was somewhat inevitable. I was nine years old and just discovering that boys existed. My oldest cousin Denny was marrying the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and they had asked me to be a junior bridesmaid in their wedding in Virginia. It was the first wedding I had ever been asked to be part of, and I met Cory, who was just months older than me, the weekend of the wedding. We were being paired to walk down the aisle together.

The women gathered in the fellowship hall to make final preparations for the wedding. Careful not to catch my curls, Mom zipped up my teal green satin bridesmaid’s dress. It had puffy sleeves, a full skirt, a heart-shaped neckline and matching satin roses on the sides of the neckline that were still being sewed on just minutes before the wedding began. At the time, it was the single most glamorous stitch of fabric ever to grace my chunky, underdeveloped adolescent body.

That wedding was my first exposure to the fantastical world of weddings and all of their tulle bows, romantic couples and towering white cakes. And Cory was my groom, although I would have never admitted it. I had yet to make a public proclamation that I thought boys were anything but parasite-ridden cootie-mongers. I remember how awkward it felt to have the adults intermingle our arms just before we were to walk down the aisle.

I actually don’t remember much after that, except for being horrified when I saw the wedding photos because the hosiery I wore was opaque, causing me to stick out like a sore thumb next to all the real women who wore sheer hosiery that accentuated their shapely tanned legs.

But my childhood crush on Cory remained, and as our families were now joined, I’d see him regularly, when I visited the Livingstons or went to church camps and conferences.

I think I was 14 when we kissed. It was morbidly innocent, and I’m sure it was painfully awkward although I didn’t have much to compare it to at the time. Our romance lasted one weekend, at the end of which he muttered something like, “I just don’t know what I want,” which was code for “This is weird and I think we should just be friends.”

In time I got over it. His older brother married another one of my cousins and at that point, he was very nearly legally my cousin. Since I spent quite a bit of time with my cousin Shana (Denny’s sister) I saw Cory and Spencer a lot over the years. We had some good memories. There were times when I had never laughed harder. It was the type of friendship that sticks with you even when adulthood tears you apart.

I always knew no matter how long it had been since I had seen Cory that he’d always have a big smile and hug for me. He was that way with everyone. I’d never seen Cory treat someone differently than another. And Cory was a popular guy. Being in a ministerial family, he traveled a lot. I have no doubt girls swooned for him in every port. After all, he looked like a teenage Pierce Brosnan.

I visited Cory in the hospital in East Tennessee when I was there earlier this month. I knew that he wasn’t well, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. Cory had been given morphine so he was sleeping when I entered the room, but the scene was familiar. He had the same look my dad had just a year and a month before, as he lay dying of cancer.

I remember looking at his mother who sat in the darkened room reading a book. She must have spent hours in that room, looking at and praying for her baby boy. No parent should ever have to endure that pain, and yet I know they do.

My heart goes out to those who were closest to Cory: his beautiful wife Jina and their adorable children Mylon and Maycie. To Cory’s parents, his brother and sister, and to my family whose lives have been irreversibly touched by Cory’s life. I can’t help but think of another friend, Patrick Wilson, who was taken from this world at a young age. Patrick and Cory shared a lot of the same qualities – namely their light was just too bright for this world.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face.”

See you on the other side, friend.

I just entered a contract to ghostwrite a book for some pretty great fellas. I’m excited about the project and although I won’t be divulging too much info about it, I will give you a sneak peek into my process from time to time.

For example, I typed 51,692 words in two-and-a-half days of interviews with my clients. That’s the equivalent of a 200 or so page book. So you’d think my work was almost over, right? Hardly. But I have a feeling this is going to come together nicely.

Here are some books I picked up at the library today as research:

• Ghosting by Jennie Erdal
• The Everything Guide to Writing a Novel
• The Historical Jesus for Dummies
• Fodor’s Israel
• The Everything Guide to Grammar and Style
• The Chicago Manual of Style

Sound intriguing? I hope so.

If these don’t keep me on track, I don’t know what will.

“It’s easy for us to pray for safety, comfort, health and wealth. But are we willing to pray for anything that will bring us closer to Christ? Even if it includes suffering?” –David Wenzel, cancer patient

Derm update: Just found out that all is clear on my neck. So looks like the slicing and dicing is over. Stitches come out Tuesday.

Friends update: We’re going to Madilyn’s friend’s house tomorrow for her birthday party. Cadence is turning 3!

Family update: Jeff’s sister Pam is having a baby on Thursday!

I was in TN visiting family this past week. Yesterday was the 1-year anniversary of Dad passing away. Why don’t we call those “deathdays” like we do “birthdays”? Too morbid, I suppose. Looking back it’s so unbelievable that Pappaw and Dad died within 9 months of each other. And yet they were 20 years apart in age. Neither one of them should have gone when they did. But death is no respecter of persons, that’s for sure.

I’m proud of my grandmother and mother for grieving like they should and still being strong. It was good to be with them this week. Here’s a picture of us at the mausoleum where Pappaw and Dad are “buried” next to each other.

You know what’s sort of funny in this picture is that both mom and I have bandages on our face and neck. Since melanoma has touched our family twice in this manner, we’re being very aggressive with prevention. Mom had a precancerous place on her face removed, and my big neck bandage was from where the surgeon removed a piece of skin on my neck missing its pigment to test for cancer. Found out today it’s free and clear.

We will not let Dad’s death go without it serving as a warning to us and others to do what you can to prevent skin cancer. In some cases, it’s not enough. But all we can do is what we can do, right?

I showed Mom the documentary called A Man Named Pearl this weekend. It’s so good. Mom commented about how much Dad would have enjoyed seeing this. He would have. I can’t help but think in the resurrection dad’ll be landscaping and gardening again.