When you see the Southern Cross for the first time...

Still on holiday in the Gulf! I wanted to bring you one of my *fave* Jimmy Buffett songs* in tribute to my own stay in Florida! Be home tomorrow!

Southern Cross

Got out of town on a boat goin' to southern islands.
Sailing a reach before a followin' sea.
She was makin' for the trades on the outside,
And the downhill run to Papeete Bay.

Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas.
We got eighty feet of the waterline.
Nicely making way.
In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you.
But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away.

Think about how many times I have fallen,
Spirits are using me, larger voices callin'.
What heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten.
I have been around the world,
Lookin' for that woman, girl,
Who knows love can endure.
And you know it will. And you know it will.

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time,
You understand now why you came this way.
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from is so small.
But it's as big as the promise, the promise of a coming day.

So I'm sailing for tomorrow, my dreams are a dyin'.
And my love is an anchor tied to you, tied with a silver chain.
I have my ship and all her flags are a flyin'
She is all that I have left and music is her name.

Think about how many times I have fallen,
Spirits are using me, larger voices callin'.
What heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten.
I have been around the world,
Lookin' for that woman, girl,
Who knows love can endure.
And you know it will. And you know it will.

So we cheated and we lied and we tested
And we never failed to fail, it was the easiest thing to do.
You will survive being bested.
But somebody fine will come along make me forget about loving you.
At the Southern Cross

*Yes, I know it's not actually a Buffett song - it's a Crosby, Stills, and Nash song. But the first time I heard it live was back at a Buffett concert so I will always think of Jimmy when I hear it. The video is from the 2006 Buffett concert here in the DC area that I was SUPPOSED to go to, but ended up in Wisconsin for the campaign instead.

GUEST POST: Always a Northerner

Because, as you all know, I am off gallivanting the Gulf Coast with Florida, I brought in one of my awesome bloggy-turned-real-life-friend to guest post! Enjoy, and I'll be back soon!

If I set up my email rules correctly, your comments should be emailed to her - so feel free to comment away!

Hey all! I blog over at Always a Northerner and I am filling in for Sweet Bea while she is down in Florida soaking up the sun. I've got a major issue and need your help, so I am just going to jump right in and throw it all out there!

I have a lot of family members that read my blog, including my husband, so sometimes I can't talk about certain things. I have a problem that I would love other bloggers' opinion on, so guest blogging is the perfect way to blog about a dilemma without angering any family members. Right? At least, let's hope.

About a year ago my husband's sister got engaged to the guy she has been dating for a few years. When telling us the big news, she asked my husband and I to be in the wedding. We happily agreed to be attendants and to help with planning as much as possible, as we had just gone through it a few months prior to her engagement. The situation was slightly complicated by the fact that she lives in California and we live in DC, however, we both promised to do as much as we could to help. She informed us that she was planning to have the wedding the Saturday or Sunday of Labor Day weekend, which would work out great because it is easier for us (and the rest of her family) to travel out west for a weekend when an extra day like Labor Day is built in. Because life got crazy for all of us, we never actually communicated about the wedding again, until she contacted us last week with some new information.....

She decided to have a wedding where only 15 people are invited (including us) the THURSDAY before Labor Day and have the reception with family and friends on Sunday. All in California.

Obviously I am aware that it is her wedding and she can do whatever she wants, but seriously.... holy inconvenience.

I am a school psychologist in the public schools, and this is the second week of work for me. Also, this is my first year as a school psychologist, and I can't take off three days the second week of school, particularly on a holiday weekend. Taking time off before or after holidays is heavily frowned upon in general (because ALL school employees would take off then and there would be no one to work with the children), and doing it right after I begin working will look even worse. If this had been communicated to us prior to me accepting my current position, maybe I could have negotiated the days off, but at this point, I have already accepted without any special circumstances being brought to their attention.

Also, my husband will have just started his second year of law school and also shouldn't be missing important classes the first two weeks of school. However, his situation isn't nearly as serious as mine. It's just a tad inconvenient for him.

When she told us this we were honest and told her we would have to discuss our options given work and law school, hoping that she might be understanding if both or one of us (obviously me) couldn't make it for the wedding. Well, she must have told her parents what we said because a couple days later we received an email from my husband's mother telling us our attendance at the wedding is mandatory.

Nice.

I understand that she is family and that ideally we would be there, but doesn't making the wedding on a THURSDAY negate some of the obligation to be there?

I am just scared that I will forever be black listed by the family if I miss the wedding. As for work, I am scared to ask about taking the days off, because if they say no and then I take them as sick leave or something, I could lose my job and/or the chance to gain seniority in my position if I just skip out on work.

What would you do?

~The Northerner

Gone Coastal!

I'm here:

Sanibel Island, Florida
(photo from thesanibelisland.com)

Watching these:

(photo from sanibel-online.com)

Collecting these:

(photo from flickr.com)

Doing this:

(photo from bornesversustravel.com)

(and catching more than this guy:)

Florida

Be back in a few days!

Cheers,

Sweet Bea

PS - like the photo-journey idea for this post? Me too. That's why I blatantly stole it from Wearing Mascara. :)