wishful thinking lynn...

you can't steal peoples children, you need to do it the right way!

South Beach - Dec 20

Headed down to South Beach for a one night trip this past weekend... enjoyed the beach, the pool, and the sun!

Breakfast on the flight to Tampa

French toast, sausage patty, and a Mimosa. Anxiously awaiting the 80 and sunny this afternoon!

Beer

I found a new best friend... http://www.surlybrewing.com/beers.php
Drank a few pints of their Furious on Friday night down at Sheffield's in Chicago. Outstanding!

And if you happen to be a fan of beer and haiku do I have the website for you: http://www.beerhaikudaily.com/

Siesta Key

Here are a few pics from our trip down to Siesta Key!

More winter in Florida...

Absolutely beautiful this afternoon. Come and visit us and enjoy it too!

Goodness!

1/4 pound hot dog that was beer battered and deep fried! YUMMY!

Winter in Florida...

I love winter in Florida... 70 degrees and we even had a cold front come through!

Thanksgiving Breakfast!

These are some of the goodies that go into our Thanksgiving breakfast known as the Bloody Mary!

Living in Florida

Here's some pics we took over the past couple of weeks!

Some friends hanging out at Sneaky's to watch the Packers vs. Vikings! Who's the girl with the braids?

Cheesing it up.

New friends, Jenny and Al!

The Midwest Girls!


Our patio!

Controversy in Ybor... over chickens???

These pictures were taken from our balcony this morning... Yes, those are roosters you see and no, we do not live out in the country. Seems some people want to get rid of them but evidently they are part of the fabric of the neighborhood. Thankfully our bedroom is at the back of the condo so we don't hear them cock-a-doodle-doing at 4:30 in the morning!

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/nov/13/na-trapper-checks-out-ybor-city-chickens/

There's actually a "rooster funeral" to remember the death of on rooster from awhile back... from the story here: http://tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article896242.ece, "The rooster funeral is one of Ybor's most anticipated annual events. Last year's multi-kegger and street parade drew about 600 "mourners" in bright costumes." Our neighbors told me it's this Sunday afternoon this year, but I will already be on a plane back to Milwaukee.

Christmas Decorations in Florida???

I was thinking that something like this would look nice!!! I'll need to check out the stores this weekend when I'm down there!

Gas Pains? This explains a lot!

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,443892,00.html

Study: Stinky 'Gas' Helps Regulate Blood Pressure
Friday , October 24, 2008

It may be stinky, but the gas blamed for smelly flatulence and the smell of rotten eggs also appears to play a role in regulating blood pressure, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reveal in a study.
Researchers found that hydrogen sulfide, the unpleasant aroma expelled by bacteria in the human colon, relaxed the blood pressure of rodents by relaxing blood vessels and preventing hypertension.
They believe the gas would have the same effect on human blood vessels and hope the discovery leads to the development of new medications to treat the disease, according to a study published in the Oct. 24 issue of the journal Science.
"Now that we know hydrogen sulfide's role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension," said Johns Hopkins neuroscientist, Dr. Solomon H. Snyder, a co-author of the paper, in a news release.
Researchers conducted their experiments on rodents missing the enzyme CSE, which is long suspected as responsible for making hydrogen sulfide. As a result of the missing CSE, the rodents’ bodies were severely depleted of hydrogen sulfide.
After applying blood pressure cuffs to the rodents, researchers found their blood pressure had spiked 20 percent, which is comparable to serious hypertension in humans.
"In terms of relaxing blood vessels, it looks like hydrogen sulfide might be as important as nitric oxide," Snyder says, referring to the first gasotransmitter that two decades ago was discovered to regulate blood pressure.

Life in Tampa - Our Apartment

Here are some pictures of our new place!

Political Signs...

No commentary necessary...




And shamelessly "borrowed" from TosaGuy: http://insertwittyblogtitlehere-tosaguy.blogspot.com/2008/10/best-election-yardsign-ever.html

Butters at the airport

Aww, poor kitty is scared when checking in for his first ever airplane ride!

The bulk of our worldly possessions...

are in here right now!

this should be past tense

View from my office in Milwaukee

It's one of things I will miss!

The Election

Can't it just be over now??? We all know who we're voting for, we just need to commit it to paper. Everyone is so angry... I've ended all political discourse until the election is over. I'm not going to change your mind and you certainly won't change mine. So why argue over it.

Found a place!

Here are pictures of the condo complex that we are renting a unit in... it's in the Ybor City section of Tampa, not to far from Centro Ybor. Oh yeah, that nice sized balcony will be able to handle my Weber grill *and* my gas grill! And with average high temperatures in the low to mid 70s all winter I plan utilize them fully!

More inside Raymond James

Inside Raymond James



Chris with St. Vince



Pirate Ship