Happy Holidays!

One of these days, I'll get around to another post. Til then--Happy Holidays!!

September

Well, time for a monthly post. I like to call them my "monthlies" because any chance I get to reference the menstrual cycle, I take it. In your face, boys.

It's been a busy month. I've had a lot of work, we went to Universal Studios (I think that was in September, but I can't be sure), went to Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens, went swimming with horses in Anna Maria, went wedding-dress-trying-on with Mandy, had Cory and Natalie over for drinks and cigars, and are building a deck. A lot of that happened just last weekend. It's been fun and hectic. I have a lot of work to do tomorrow and once I'm done, I'm cracking open a bottle of red and sitting on the deck and relaxing for a couple of days. Here are some random questions, remember I used to post them here all the time? That's so 2008!

1. In your opinion, do you think humans are meant to be monogamous? I think we can be, I don't know if we were "meant" to be. Who knows that kind of stuff?

2. Have you ever fainted or almost passed out from receiving bad news? I almost fainted reading this question.

3. If your paycheck stopped tomorrow, how long would it be until you were flat broke? A couple of minutes.

4. What body type or shape do you find particularly attractive? I don't really have a "type." Just no fat chicks!

5. Were you ever spanked or hit by a teacher as a kid? I got paddled in preschool for throwing dirt in some kid's eyes.

6. Do you know someone who has overdosed on drugs? Yes.

7. Have you ever eaten or tasted dog or cat food? Maybe as a kid?

8. Do you know someone who is extraordinary who doesn't realize just how extraordinary they are? I don't think so.

9. Have you ever met a creepy or spooky child? Probably some creepsters but no one spooky comes to mind.

10. What was the worst way you have been dumped? I've never gotten dumped in a particularly imaginative or horrible way--just the usual stuff.

And I'll leave you with this peaceful image of me enjoying a cute little ride at Universal:

Junior, Wedding, New Car, New York

Junior Mints made the paper today, much to my delight! I sent this picture in last year sometime and they finally published it today. I love it!

So much has been going on since my last "post" (I don't know if it counts if I just post pictures) and I don't have time to go over it all. So, I'll give the condensed version.

1. My dad got married! July 8th in Richmond. Keri, Coley, Mandy, Frank, Theresa, and I drove up in a caravan and spent a couple of days up there with the family. It was great seeing everyone and the wedding was really pretty and touching and lots of fun. Plus, we got to hit South of the Border on the way up and on the way down.

There we are arriving at what I like to call the Crappiest Place on Earth. And I mean that will all due respect for the unique and wonderful tackiness that is South of the Border. For instance, we met this fine fellow there:

That's just a tiny taste of what awaits you should you choose to make the trip to S. of the B. I highly recommend it. And here are some pictures of the wedding so you don't think the most important thing about the trip was S. of the B.

A great time twas had by all.

2. We got a new car! We both loved the Mercedes but Steve was wanting something a little roomier because we like to take the dogs out and we're going to start camping in the fall. So we got a 2007 Dodge Magnum. It is fire-engine red with custom wheels (20" rims, suckahs) and we were complimented by complete strangers on the test drive. We think it will up our street cred in the neighborhood considerably.

3. We went to New York for a short little vacation and it was awesome. I love that city. I got to see my friend and roommate in college, Diana, and Steve got to see a friend from high school that he hasn't seen since his senior year. And we hung out with another friend of Steve's and his girlfriend and just generally had a great time.

We've been back in Tampa since Sunday and are back into the work groove and looking forward to our fall bowling league starting up in September.

Now you're up to date.

Happy 4th of July!

I'd stay and chat but I have to copyedit some more pages, go to the store, clean the house, and get my 4th of July grill-out partay on. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!!

Anna Maria Island Storm

I am off to . . .

Yay! Boo!

This is a fun game and it will also fill you (whoever you may be) in on what's been happening in the world o' Robin.


My birthday was April 12 and I got lots of great presents, including a full-length (88 keys) keyboard that sounds and feels like a real piano, a book of great sheet music, a night at Grayl's hotel in St. Pete, an interesting and original piece of sculpture, a cool purse, beautiful Easter lillies, wine and wine glasses, a box of my favorite cigars, gift cards, and a surprise mini-party at New World Brewery in Ybor. YAY!!


I found a gray hair and an almost white eyebrow hair. BOO!!


I went to see Fleetwood Mac in concert and it was a lot of fun. YAY!!


I'm not going to Aerosmith in July. BOO!!


I'm taking advantage of my new health insurance and getting all kinds of checkups. YAY!!


I'm really nervous about the dermatology one on Friday where I get my moles checked out and screened for skin cancer. BOO!!


Steve just booked tickets for New York in August! YAY!!


I have jury duty May 18. BOO!! (This could change to a YAY!! if it's a really interesting case and I'm suddenly living in some kind of Grishamesque legal thriller.)


I've been keeping busy with lots of work. YAY!!


One of my clients just dropped their freelance rates significantly. BOO!!


Keri and I are obsessed with MarioKart on Wii. YAY!!


This gives me another way to procrastinate when I should be working. BOO!!


I'll leave you (again--who are you?) with some of the best YAYs of all. We invited Molly and Peter over last Saturday night and a good time was had by everyone, especially, apparently, Chester.

Molly

Junior

Peter

And Chester

Up we go . . .

We went to the MacDill Airfest yesterday and it was quite awesome. There were some demonstrations by an A-10, a crazy helicopter, an F-15, and the Thunderbirds were the main attraction. Loved it. Here is the F-15 I am gazing at in the picture above. Those suckers are loud!
It is hard to take pictures of jets in the air. With our camera, anyway. We did get some good video so perhaps I'll upload some of it in the future. I don't feel like doing it now, OK? I will leave you with a photo of my favorite plane--and this particular one came from Homestead AFB, which was a nice touch.

Check it out . . .

Steve, Keri, and I have started a new blog. Inspired by many a Friday-or-Saturday-night-on-the-deck conversation, it's a place we can post our thoughts on issues, ask some questions, and set some things straight. Stop by if you get a chance!

Decklarations

Today . . .

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Sad and Happy Stuff

To get the sad stuff out of the way, we lost one of our little outside neighborhood cats this weekend. His name was Cat Stevens and he was the sweetest, funniest little guy. We took him to the vet for an infected leg and he tested positive for feline leukemia so they recommended we put him down. We did and it was really sad. I guess it was a good thing he did have the infected leg otherwise he just would've gotten weaker and sicker and would have probably died in a much less peaceful way. Still sucks. We will miss him.

In better news, we finally got around to painting and sprucing up the bedroom. I wish I had any "before" pictures, but I do not. So, imagine the walls used to be a dark sage green on top, a tan color on the bottom, there was a red lamp, maroon curtains, a big chrome laundry thing in the corner by the dresser, and mismatched bedding. And now . . . .

I absolutely love it. Much better and brighter. We painted the hallway, too, so now it's not the unfortunate shade of orange I somehow thought would look like a nice rusty brown. Instead it is the light green you see in the bedroom and it really opened up the hall and classed it up a bit, too. Steve should be home with the clean laundry soon so I bid you all adieu. If anyone still reads this, that is.

What's Going On

Aaaaahhhh . . . Got the windows open in the office and am enjoying the lovely Springish breeze floating through the room. It is another beautiful day here and it's really getting me ready for Spring/early Summer in Florida. You can have the late summer as far as I'm concerned. Rain and sweat and heat that makes it hard to breathe. So far 2009 has been decent. We went to California for a long weekend early last month. We toured the Central Coast and stopped at a bunch of little winerys (wineries? Ah ha--Merriam's says "wineries"; I knew that didn't look right) for tastings. We stayed with friends who live in Playa del Ray in a cute house right near the beach. We got to have dinner with Steve's aunt and uncle in the Valley (wild mushroom risotto--delicious). It was a great little vacation and we had a lot of fun. I do like the California landscape--so many different sights to see. Ocean, mountains, valleys, etc . . . Good stuff. And hummingbirds! I love those guys.

Here's me, Chris, and Danny at the hotel we stayed in the first night in Solvang.

Here's me and Steve near the ocean.

We are adorable. And here are those hummingbirds I told you about!

Excellent. What else? Well, it looks like it's going to be a busy month. We are going to the Elton John/Billy Joel concert tonight (I only ever seem to go see Classic Rock concerts). The Gasparilla Art Festival is this weekend, we're painting the bedroom and the hall, the Renaissance Festival is this month, the air show is at the end of the month (Thunderbirds this year!), and St. Patrick's Day is stuck smack-dab there in the middle of it all. I'm working on the biggest project I've had yet right now, plus a regular-size one. Work is going well. I do, however, need a haircut pretty badly. I'm thinking of going with some bangs for the first time in about 20 years. I'll leave you with some questions and then get back to the work I should be doing!

1. If you could buy a house in another country, which country would it be?

Ireland, Italy, or Austria.

2. Are you comfortable in your own skin?

Yes, mostly.

3. If you designed a clothing line, what would you call it?

Bubbles and squeak.

4. Have you ever seen a truly ugly baby?

No, even if they look crazy they're cute because they're so small.

5. Over the span of your life, what have been some of your obsessions?

Agatha Christie, Faulkner, Tom Robbins, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, cats, The Golden Girls, Yahtzee, Chinese Poker, Nintendo, orange Camaros with white racing stripes, comedy, certain houses, Deadwood, the perfect tan, 1980s hair bands, 1990s booty music, my health, The Big Chill, good grades, highlights, a leopard-print coat, blackjack, jeans, my business, and my pets. To name a few.

6. When was the last time you slipped and fell?

Well, I tried to jump onto my porch sometime last year and I twisted my ankle falling off.

7. Have you ever popped a zit and had it explode onto the mirror?

I'm not a popper.

8. Who was the last surly person you encountered?

Myself a couple of days ago. I had quite the face-ache.

9. If a stranger had to guess your occupation based on what you look like, what would they surmise you do for a living?

I'm often in my pajamas well past noon so they might think I was unemployed.

10.Do you have a "happy place?"

A few. Beaches, skiing, libraries, my dream house, etc.

~Bonus Question~When was the last time you gave in to temptation?

I had three cookies yesterday.

Welcome Back.

1. Other than your ears, do you have any body piercings?
Yes.

2. Are there any behaviors that you put up with when younger that you would never tolerate now?
I'm pretty tolerant of others' behaviors. The only thing I don't tolerate and didn't when I was younger is any kind of cruelty to animals and I don't like when people gang up on someone. Unless it's hilarious.

3. Have you ever deliberately or inadvertently "outed" someone?
No.

4. What are some of your little luxuries?
Good cheese, trashy tabloid magazines, cigars.

5. Who do you feel sorry for?
Lindsay Lohan.

6. What foods do you frequently crave?
Salty, snacky foods and cheese. Vegetables.

7. Have you ever felt that you were born in the wrong decade or century?
Not really. I'm kind of drawn to the 1920s but I think it's just because I want to be a flapper.

8. What is the scariest book you have read or movie you have seen?
Book is probably Stephen King's "It." Movie is probably "The Shining."

9. What was the last thing you wasted money on?
Blackjack.

10. Are there professions you think are sexy?
I find talent and confidence sexy in general. These things come in many different professions.

~Bonus Question~What floats your boat?
Laughing, cigars, wine, books, a new project, my animals, and good food.

Happy New Year!!

Hope 2009 is good to us all!