Tampa Aquarium

We decided not to go out of town over the 4th of July weekend. The city we actually live in is a vacation destination by itself. So we decided to explore some of what Tampa has to offer. Exploring EVERYTHING that's here will take much longer than one day, so we started with something we both enjoy, the aquarium.

This aquarium is really nice, it's not as big as the aquariums I've been to in Chattanooga or New Orleans, but it's still got some cool stuff.


There was a whole area on Florida native fish and wildlife. We laughed because most of the birds there are birds we see in our pond every day.

Fish.

Diver in the large tank doing a show for the kiddos.

Jellyfish.
(there is a billboard in Tampa that says: "Our Jelly doesn't go on a sandwich...visit the Florida Aquarium". That sentence really cracks me up...they're really stretching it there.)

There's so much more to see in do in this humongous city. While I enjoy all the amenities and fun that come with living in a big city, I'm beginning to realize that I prefer small towns. I guess my roots can't be denied. :-)

The Good Wife

Have I ever bragged on here about what a good wife I am?

Well I will now :-)

Ironed My hubby's shirts so he'll look really professional at work.

Tampa Bay Fan Day

It's no secret if you know Matt and me that we LOVE football. On Saturdays in the Fall there is only ONE place we will be and that's in front of our TV watching the games, the analysis and the fanfare that go along with college football.

We decided we needed more football in our lives. So we bought half-season ticket to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Football games!


I'm sitting in our seats! We got to pick them.

Matt can't wait for the games to begin. First game is a pre-season game Vs. Jacksonville in August!

Carnell "The Cadillac" Williams.

He was excited to see an Auburn fan and spoke with Matt and posed for some photos. Matt was really excited and I was glad he got to meet the player he's been talking about since this guy was a freshman in college.

Star Wars Weekend

Ok, I have been a terrible blogger. But I promise to get back on track. Matt and I have had some adventures this summer and I want to get a record of it all.

In June, we got up early and headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios for Star Wars weekends. (Ok I admit it, I LOVE Star Wars. I've loved it since the 7th grade when I used to think Luke Skywalker's blue eyes were the DREAMIEST...that's right...in 7th grade I didn't pine for the men of 90210, I wasn't allowed to watch that show anyways...I pined for Mark Hammill circa 1977.)


Storm Troopers guarding the entrance.

Inside the Star Tours ride. One of my favorites.

Mickey leading the parade.

Goofy as Darth Vader wearing Mickey boxers.

It was so fun to see all the characters and funny jokes. The parade had storm troopers and all the characters. Matt and I were completely nerded out. haha.


More blogs to come this week!

Giveaway WINNER!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

2

Timestamp: 2010-06-25 17:57:51 UTC

That means our winner is comment #2.........JULIE!

Congratulations Julie! Send me your email address to ashleycrocks@gmail.com and the gift certificate will be sent to you.

Please don't forget to visit the bedroom vanities website and all of the CSN.stores while shopping online!

This week...

This week I'm:

• Getting adjusted to my new job. Starting to like it more and more.
• Excited about our weekend plans in Orlando. Always fun for a little get-a-way and make the weekend seem much longer.
• Enjoying watching 6 little ducklings grow up in our pond. We saw them first when they were tee-tiny and they're growing bigger each day. The Mama duck is a good mama. She clucks and her little ones come running. I'll post some photos soon.
• Glad some rain came and filled up our pond again. It was getting so low and I was worried for all of our fowl friends.
  
• Happy also to see the little moorhen that used to wake us up with his cries (he sounded just like an injured dog) has found a wife and they have built a nest. Mrs. Moorhen is dutifully sitting on it and Mr. Moorhen is keeping all the others away. It's precious.
• Realizing that I sound like such a birdwatcher. I'm not really. I don't go looking for these things, but when they happen right outside your front door they're hard to miss.
• Excited to begin my extra training for our hike in Yosemite this July.
• A little homesick for family and friends in Alabama. Sure wish I could spend a day out on the river.
• Glad to hear IKEA is having a sale this weekend. I'm in need of some shelving and storage bins. We've filled up this little apartment!
• Glad my hydrangea that Matt gave me years ago survived the transplant to the pot and down to Tampa and is blooming cute little blue blooms all around.
• Thankful for my awesome dad who got 2 cards for Father's day! One from me and one from Stevie and Wil.
  
• Excited for the upcoming 4th of July weekend. My favorite holidays all come right in a row. 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and CHRISTMAS!
  
• Excited that I'll have plenty of vacation days left in December for a long visit home over Christmas!
• Excited that so many people have entered the giveaway! There's still time if you haven't - I won't post the winner until Friday!

Happy Wednesday! We're on the downhill slope to Friday and I couldn't be happier!

Bedroom Vanities and a GIVEAWAY!

GIVEAWAY UPDATE: I will post a winner on Friday, June 25th. That gives you a little over a week to spread the word! Good luck!!

Now that I'm slowly getting into the swing of life at a new job, Matt and I are setting our sights on the next thing we want to do while here in Tampa. Find a cool place to live. The apartment we're in serves it purpose, but we're already looking at nicer locations and apartment options to move to as soon as we sell the house. It may take months for the house to sell, but it's a little too tempting not to go ahead and look around.

Tampa has some very cool condo options for renters. You can get great amenities like granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, front loading washers and dryers, industrial type apartments with floor to ceiling windows and views of the city. These apartments are SUPER cool and as a result, I've been keeping my eye out for super cool furniture to add to our collection - things that will work with our existing furniture and also fit well in a condo. I'm talking things that serve several purposes. I was browsing this site with choices for a bedroom vanity and discovered this beauty:

The Lea Elite Rhapsody Pedestal Vanity/Desk

I love this vanity because it matches the stain on the other furniture in our bedroom. I love that it serves as a vanity/desk because I need both and when space is premium in a condo it helps to have furniture that serves a dual purpose. So I'll be adding it to my Christmas list or at least on to my "someday" list.

Now on to the exciting part...I have been asked by CSNstores.com to host a GIVEAWAY for all you lucky readers out there. I'm so excited to be offered the chance to pass on this "happy" to you. All you have to do is leave a message on this blog and the randomly selected winner will receive a $40 gift card to spend at any of the CSNstores. They have tons of options in all price ranges. You can find anything from a wedding gift to something special for your pet. So leave a message and let me know what you would buy with your gift card!

The first week

I've made it through the first week of work. SO far everything is good. I'm not really involved in a lot of projects right now and I've still got training to do, but at least I'm not brand new anymore. It's never fun being the new gal. It wasn't fun in elementary school and it's not fun now in the workplace. Everyone at the company has been super nice and welcoming.

This weekend Matt and I are heading to Orlando on Saturday for Star Wars weekends at Hollywood Studios. It's a pretty neat special event where all the Star Wars characters are there and they have a parade led by storm troopers. Matt and I are geeky and we will thoroughly enjoy taking pictures and seeing all the characters.

Should be a busy weekend. I'm in the market for a new laptop, my old one keeps burning out, overheating and shutting itself off. This makes me sad. Any advice on a new one?

I got a job!

So happy to announce that as of Monday I will officially be employed in Tampa. I start work with Progressus Therapy in their marketing department as an Communications and RFP Specialist. I'm excited, nervous, thankful and tons of other emotions all put together right now. Progressus Therapy is a company that hires and places Speech Therapists, Physical Therapists and other therapists in school districts to work with students. This company seems like a good fit for me and I'm excited about the work I'll be doing. I'll describe my job description more in depth as I go along. A lot of people have asked me what I'll be doing and right now it's hard to explain, but I hope as I work there I'll be able to be a little clearer about my duties.

I'm so ready for our lives to return to what we call "normal". Going to work, coming home, fixing supper, etc. I am so thankful for this month off. I was able to visit Alabama for an entire week, go to Orlando with Matt's family, and be home during the day enough to get tired of it and be ready to go back to work. I never thought I'd be ready to work like I am now. ;-) I'm so fortunate to have been blessed with all the opportunities I prayed for. As I said before, it was a leap of faith to quit my job in Tallahassee and move down here without one, but God took care of us as he always has and always will.

Just wanted to share my good news. I have a feeling that I'll be able to get back on a better blogging schedule too now that I'm back to work. It's a good feeling. I'm going to meet Matt for lunch and comic book shopping. He's refrained from buying them a lot since I've not been working and now he needs to make up for lost time. :-)

Happy Monday

Stevie and Wil, ever vigilant.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful past few weeks. We have been BUSY at the Crockett house. Traveling, friends in town, family vacations and laundry. Hope everyone had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend.