Bon Voyage

Banana tree....this year I'm going to pick one!

One of the best times I've ever had offshore fishing.....here's a barracuda Jamey landed.

Entrance bridge to Duck Key

I plan on spending some serious time here!

Ernie packing himself!

Thursday morning Jamey and I leave for the Florida Keys. The forecast looks great and I am so excited for some warm weather and R&R. I'm posting a couple pictures from our trip last year. The fellas know that something is going on and they are not happy about it. In fact Ernie has invited himself along. He must have heard talk about mega fish we're going to catch, he loves himself some fresh catch!

Thankful for my family!

Mark, Tash & Zoe (sorry....had to steal this pic,
the most recent one I could find was one from San Diego)

Zoe (my niece).....this pic is a year old or so but I think its so sweet. She turns 6 in March!!!

Mom & Dad

Just a few pics of my family! They are the greatest, and I love them dearly. This month marks 4 years since my Dad had open heart surgery. He's been feeling and looking great since and I'm extra thankful for that.

No more ducking!!

"The Monitor" -Ernie-

Duct work all tucked away

New cold air return

Re-routed ducts

This is where you used to have to duck when you came down the stairs

I'm posting some pictures of some primo work that Jamey did (on his day off) in the basement. He re-routed some low hanging duct work that was originally done when the new furnace was put in by the old owner. He claims the original work was a "budget job" and all of the ducts were run under rafters and hung just above your head. Now they run parallel to the rafters and you don't have to duck and watch your head when you walk under them. He also re-routed the cold air return as its new placement will be more efficient. I knew this guy was talented but there really seems to be no end to the work he can do, it's quite impressive! I'm also posting a picture of the "monitor" who was able to stand by for security measures as the work was being done.

Sweet find!!!

I met my Mom at the mall this morning and we went all out! We went to quite a few stores and had a great time. I had to drag her into all of the stores I like and she pulled me into just about every shoe store as well. She found a great deal on some cute flats and I found some cool stuff too. After we left the mall I hit Marshalls where I hit the jackpot. Picked up some sweet Smith sunglasses for $19.99. Mind you they are north of $100.00 at any place I've ever seen them. Also found some pants that of course didn't have a tag. I held up the line for a price check and the check out girl was tired of waiting for someone to get back with her so she rang them up @ $7.99...woo-hoo!!!! I'm posting a picture of both Jamey and I wearing the sunglasses. I told him he looks like a pimp with them on and he mentioned he's been on the lookout for a gold tooth! If they were only pink, I wouldn't have any worries about them disappearing!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Today is the coldest day of the winter so far. I am posting a picture of the forecast from the local TV station. It actually reads 4 degrees outside right now, but says it feels like -6. That is pretty darn cold! Jamey built a nice fire so I'm posting a picture of it as well. I am so thankful for the fireplace in this house, it's so nice to use especially on days like this!

Feeding Frenzy!

With all the changes in the basement, I moved the fellas feeding trough into the dining room. As you can see, they have hardly been affected by the trauma!

Thankful for the Dome!

Today I bought a new litter box. It's not just your average litter box, it's a dome! Ernie and Farlie always have had two budget litter boxes. We're talking the K-Mart special, not so special plastic box. One of their boxes is quite small, and it just isn't a pretty sight seeing them try to squeeze in there. It would be like us using a potty training toilet, 'nuff said! So.......I went to Pet Supplies Plus and bought the big guy! As I got it all set up, I had four little eyes peering at me, wondering what the heck I was doing. My point of this post is that it's good to update things once in awhile and I wanted to share with my latest addition. So, here's to the dome! Hopefully it'll help keep the litter in the box too!

Work in progress

After 3 years in this house, a new project besides a paint job is in order. Although the completion date is far down the road, operation "new basement" has begun. Jamey rolled up his sleeves and tore down all the plywood walls that used to stand dividing my basement in sections. He did an amazing job, it looks great. Luckily my neighbors had rented a dumpster for a week and offered me a chance to unload anything I wanted! After a few trips over there with junk I no longer needed, I thought that was it. Low and behold demolition started and it was a good thing we had a place for all the trash! Anyway, here are some pictures of the wide open basement. Next step will be putting up studs for insulation and drywall.