St. Petersburg Museum of Art

On Saturday, the city of St. Petersburg had free museum day. So Bruce and I went down to explore the St. Petersburg Museum of Art. I was really impressed by the collection they had which included an O'Keeffe and Monet.

The main collection of the museum is housed in the "old" part which is where the colonnades are but if you see the glass sticking up that is the new part that holds the special exhibitions and the cafe. Its a beautiful building.

After enjoying the art, I had worked up an appetite so we enjoyed some lunch in the cafe.

I ordered a turkey panini and Bruce ordered a chicken panini which we then shared because they were cut in half and we wanted to try both. They were really good.

Since we had some extra time, we also stopped by the St. Petersburg Museum of History. I didn't enjoy this as much but I still learned about St. Petersburg and it was free!

It was a great day and I really enjoyed the day with my hubby. Hopefully we can go next year and visit the 5 other museums that were on the list.

Anna Maria Beach Cottages Review

I wanted to post a review of Anna Maria Beach cottages for those of you looking for a place to vacation on the beach. Overall our vacation and stay were wonderful and we would stay there again. I might not stay in 107 again just because it was right by the pool and there were some noise from this. But the property was clean and nice. It wasn't a 5 star hotel but that is not what we were looking for. There is something to be said for enjoying some peace and quiet in a cute town with little shops and a few good places to eat. The Sand Bar is with in walking distance of this place and offers a good bar and bar food. With in driving distance is a publix that has all the groceries you will need as well as a CVS. Anna Maria can get crowded on the Saturday and Sunday with locals coming to enjoy the beaches. But if you keep this in mind then it isn't too bad. Mostly just remember that traffic will be heavy then usual and of course publix will be crazy those days and avoid if possible.

Pros:
Kitchen stocked with basic kitchen cooking needs which meant we ate in more and saved money
Close to the beach -no busy street to cross
Quiet street and a lot of nature on the beach (dolphins, birds)
The property had beach chairs, floaties, beach towels and bicycles for our use.
Wireless internet access
Blow dryer in the bathroom -don't have to pack your own.
107 has a screened in patio and its own private patio with charcoal bbq.
Outdoor shower to rinse off the sand so that you didn't bring it inside.
Less driving time then other places which leaves more time to enjoy the vacation.

Cons:
No beach views
We stayed in 107 which is right next to the pool - which could be noisy at times
We had some issues with cell phone service not being good (some would see this as a positive!)
Don't expect a maid to come in to clean up everyday. You can go pick up some supplies at the office if you need and they will give you fresh towels as well.

If you fly into Tampa International airport it will take about an hour to drive down to Anna Maria. Most of it will be driving on a freeway. If you don't just want to hang out on the beach there is shopping at St. Armands Circle and Ellenton outlets close by. Or you may want to head over to the Ringling Museum.

If you have any other questions please ask.

More pictures from our vacation at Anna Maria:
http://flickr.com/gp/42464808@N07/MVbCd5

Just a reminder about my first give away. If you haven't left a comment please do so to enter to win Uncle Bob's All Purpose sauce.

Pictures from Anna Maria Part 2

I took a break on Sunday from pictures and did not take one single picture. But Monday I got back to taking pictures and again enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Shirley and Bruce decided to play say no evil, see no evil. I guess I am evil?
Shirley and I enjoying a great day. Check out my new Brighton Sunglasses. Thank you honey for the great anniversary gift. I love them.

This is how quiet the beach was most of the time while we were at Anna Maria Island. It is why there are so many birds and you can watch dolphins from the beach.

A picture of me enjoying the sunset.

Near where we stayed, there was this house on the beach with a huge patio and just one of those houses that we all agreed would be so fun to own.

I thought this shot turned out great. I love the contrast.

I really think I could watch sunsets on the beach for the rest of my life. I love that time of day.

I think that this is a great picture of Bruce so I had to share it. 2 years of marriage and I love him more every day. We make a great team.

On Tuesday morning, Bruce and I headed to go walking on the beach but got interrupted by finding a cat on the beach. He was damp so we knew he had been out all night and there was no information on the leash. He was hungry and friendly. We were wondering where he came from when a woman said she had seen him for the last two days on the beach. There is a big issue in Florida with animals being left behind because people can no longer care for him. So we decided to see if we could get him something to eat and brought him back to our cottage. We fed him and played with him and he hung out for awhile but decided to leave us later. We tried contacting the animal shelter but it wasn't open yet and by the time it was our beach cat had already left. So I am hoping he found his way home.

Pictures from Anna Maria Part 1

Here are some more pictures of our vacation in Anna Maria Island.

Friday night was an amazing sunset. This is Shirley and Bruce walking down to the beach.

Bruce and Shirley enjoying the sunset.

Beautiful. Enough said.

On Saturday, Patti, Glenn, Lisa and Doug came down to spend the day with us. We spent most of the day on the beach or at the pool with a brief break to enjoy the UF game and escape the heat.

It was raining Saturday night so we missed the some of the sunset but saw the very end of it...

Shirley, Glenn, and Patti enjoying the sunset.

Pet Walk 10/24/09

Bruce and I have decided to walk 1 mile on 10/24 to raise funds for the SPCA Tampa Bay (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Please help support my efforts to save the lives of homeless, abused and neglected animals at the SPCA Tampa Bay. You can make a contribution towards any walker’s fundraising goal (Bruce and I both have a page). Your tax-deductible contribution will help to provide 24-hour emergency medical care to sick and injured strays, increase adoptions, investigate suspected animal cruelty cases, educate the public on the humane care of pets, and so much more! It is faster and easier than ever to support this great cause. The SPCA Tampa Bay cares for more than 15,000 homeless, abused and unwanted animals each year without any state or federal funding. Whatever you can give will help save lives! I greatly appreciate your support. More information on the SPCA Tampa Bay and its programs can be found at www.SPCATampaBay.org.

I would love if you would be willing to make a $5 (or more) donation.

My donation page:
http://www.petwalk.org.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=314399&lis=1&kntae314399=972824A79C6A438DBA6D17D199198485&supId=273093282

Or if you prefer to send a donation:Make all checks payable to: SPCA Tampa BayIn the memo section on your check, please write Pet Walk and if applicable, the name of the walker that you are making a donation of behalf of.Mail to: SPCA Tampa Bay, 9099 130th Ave N., Largo, FL 33773

Thank you so much for your support,
Debbie, Bruce and Sparky

My first give away

I have the greatest pleasure today of having my very first give away. A couple month's ago I got some Country Bob's All purpose sauce to review and I have been enjoying it with steaks, hamburgers, and in my meatloaf. So last week when they offered to give me some more and share the goodness, I jumped on the chance. So drum roll please because you now have the chance to win 2 bottles of Country Bob's All purpose sauce.

To enter:
1. Leave a comment of how you would use Country Bob's All purpose sauce if you won.
2. Start following me on twitter and put a comment on this blog that you started.
3. Include this link in your next blog update and let me know - that way if I haven't been reading your blog I get the chance.

I will be announcing the winner Sunday night by random number generator. I promise you will like Country Bob's All purpose sauce. Good luck!

Welcome to Anna Maria

The vacation has officially started and I have to say it is going splendid. Yes I have got some much needed relaxing in already!!!
Now I am currently at my work station - the bar in the kitchen. There is a window behind the fridge that looks out to the pool and I am watching guys throw a football.

Shirley has been relaxing as well.

Are you noticing a theme? Bruce has been working and relaxing. He is a great multi tasker.

Our cute little beach cottage is 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It has a fully equipped kitchen, screened in patio and is 400 ft from the beach. I want to move here! There will be more pictures coming. I am considering taking a bike out for cruise - yes they even have free bikes here on the property. I haven't ridden a bike in 7 years! Wish me luck.

Warnick v. Warnick

So one of my classes this semester is Business law and I am reading through a chapter on partnerships just to come across a law case called Warnick v. Warnick. The case is from Wyoming. But I thought it was one of those cool things. See you never know when something fun will happen even when studying.

My birthday present

So I talked my husband into getting me my birthday present early. In all fairness, I bought him a shirt for his birthday that he wore while in Vegas last month. So I only think it was fair that I get my present early as well. My present is a new camera - Canon sD960 IS. Still small like my last camera for convenience but I went from a 8 megapixel to 12.1 megapixel. Check out these great pictues.

I have never got such a great picture of Sparky. Check out those whiskers.
I was taking shots of the plant to show how vivid the color is but Sparky got jealous so he had to get in the picture. Check out his look. See Diana not only kids but pets give you the funniest faces!

Now compare these pictures with the pictures in the next post and let me know what you think.

Oh I also am going to try posting the pictures on flikr and then just embedding the link here. The page should load faster but let me know if you ever have issues seeing the pictures.

Thank you Bruce for getting me my camera. I am so happy!

Happy 50th Bruce!

We had such a good time last night celebrating Bruce's birthday. It was his 50th but there is no need for RIP or graves yet as we have a lot of things to live for.

The dinner theme was Italian and I put together an antipasto bar with meats, cheeses, mushrooms, artichokes, and peppers for appetizers. I posted pictures on facebook so check them out. For dinner it was lasagna, salad, and bread sticks. I love the simplicity of it all. The only problem was a huge storm that turned off our electricity twice for short periods and caused the oven to turn off (that was cooking the lasagna) - causing much stress on me. I was praying for my life. It worked out ok.

We took some family pictures last night- Bruce, Shirley, Lisa, George, and Pat.



This is a cute picture of Bruce and his mom...

So for the past month Bruce has been obsessed with Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and Cake Song
that they are using for their commercials so of course it was Baskin Robbins cake. Chocolate cake with Rocky Road ice cream - really good even if it was melted. It was so hot in the kitchen that the 30 minutes it sat out on the counter like the directions said melted it. Oh well. Lesson learned.
On last picture of Bruce and I....

Bruce was not liking the thought of 50 but I really think that having his family here to celebrate put him in such a good mood. I really want to thank everyone for the presents and for coming and spending your Friday night with us. It made it special for Bruce and I.

For Bruce- I love you. I am so happy that I could put together this party for you. It was my pleasure seeing a smile on your face all evening long. You deserve the best and all the happiness in the world for putting up with me and my crazy life. Thank you.