Groundhog Day!

I've always loved Groundhog Day--in fact, I once threw a "Great & Groovy Groundhog Day Eve Party," and I have a stuffed toy groundhog somewhere. This year, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which is supposed to mean 6 more weeks of winter, but here in Florida I'm not too worried. It's 68 degrees F right now & supposed to get to 78 this afternoon. It's also supposed to be 78 in the Texas town we just moved from, though the morning low there was much lower (40s instead of 60s).

My kids started their Florida schools yesterday. I was hyperventilating a bit about the change, but both kids did great. I'm still a little stressed because their schools are 8 miles apart & start at the same time, & this 1st grade class has more homework than the one we left, but it's working out all right so far. My 5-year-old is acting absolutely crazy here, including running away in public constantly, so I am on edge trying to deal with him, but I'm hoping this phase will pass as we get more settled in...if he survives that long!

I can't begin to think about writing with a house full of boxes, & I have nowhere to put all this stuff in a smaller house with less storage. There's not even room for a lot of the furniture. Thankfully, my laptop seems to be intact except for the monitor, so I'm using it now with our desktop computer monitor, but the desktop PC has yet to be unpacked, & my spacebar is sticking so it's very slow to type! The only writing-related thing I've done is to contact the Florida chapter of SCBWI to get on their mailing lists. I also checked out the public library yesterday, & was pleased to see all the author events on their schedule, not to mention a very nice children's book section.

The lack of Dr Pepper is getting to me. Of course stores carry it, but they don't carry the decaf version I can get in Austin, and most restaurants don't have it. I live on it, so I'm flummoxed. And the Taco Bell here doesn't have tostadas, & I've seen both Slurpees and Icees here in Pepsi flavor but not Coke flavor, so I'm seeking out small comforts where I can find them. I plan to seek Sarasota-style comfort soon in the form of pies from the much-ballyhooed Amish restaurants!