Aquarium and a bit of Roatan.

Wondering what happened to me and blogging? Wondering if those summer bulbs ever bloomed? I'm alive and well and the bulbs bloomed! I've taken on a new hobby this year - gardening - which I'll get to in the next post.

In the mean time, Brett started a salt water aquarium a while back so I thought I'd post a few pictures of the coral and other life in the tank. Here's your full shot view:

This is mainly a reef tank meaning lots of corals and very few fish. It's just getting started so many of the spaces are unfilled and many of the corals are small and growing.

We have 3 fish right now - 2 Clown fish and 1 fire fish. The species of Fire Fish has a nick name which is a Dart Fish because they tend to dart around the tank. This made it difficult to get a picture of him. The 2 clown fish, on the other hand, were following me around the tank and I ended up having to crop them out of a few pictures. Silly friendly things they are. I call the black one with the orange face "Lil' B" for Little Bruno. See the resemblance?

 

Another little friendly guy is this one:

 He's a Conch (Pronounced  "CONK")

See his funny little eyeballs and long snout? He uses his snout to eat but also to propel himself at amazing speeds around the tank.

Speaking of Conch's, we ate one in Roatan, Honduras where we went on vacation back in February. Roatan is a small Island in the Caribbean where Conch's are plentiful (and much larger than this one). Here are a few fun pictures of a conch shells and that trip:

Our friends Amy and Chad went with us.

We had lots of fun in the warm weather.

 Out tanning

 At Herbie's (our favorite restaurant there).

 Together.

 

This is the house we rented for the week. See that awesome open area deck there at the top? We spent a lot of time up there.

 In the hammocks especially.

  We went to the Western part of the island a few days to enjoy the amazing snorkeling and beautiful beaches and cheap alcohol.

 This wore me out...

 And right after this sleeping picture was taken on the way home, we had to to stop because there was a cow in the middle of the road and the owner chasing after it on foot:

 

See the guy on the left in the blue shirt running?

 Hehe, and the windshield is another story. Suffice it to say we got a discount on the rental.

And I was tired on the airplane ride home too.

 But wide awake back in the states in Houston.

We had lots of fun.

Oh you wanted to see more pictures of the aquarium? No prob.

 Here's a crab:

 This is a new addition to the tank, pretty neat huh?

 The next two pictures are of the Frog Spawn. (See the silly clown fish? He wanted to be in the picture too!)

 Frog Spawn:

 This little guy was difficult to get a picture of because he is so small and far away from the glass:

 Really neat though:

 Pretty yeah? Called an Acan.

 Below is a plate coral that is growing nicely.

 Oh there's the fire fish! See him in the back? That thing on the sand closest in the picture is a clam. Further back in the middle of the tank are two Welsos that puff up nicely each day.

There are lots of other little things in the tank but the moving water made it difficult to capture some of them. Maybe another time.

Hope you enjoyed the aquarium tour and a bit of Roatan.

Loving the Plush Carpet on my Toes

We were able to  get our second bedroom put back together and the computer/internet is back on and running, yahoo! We pulled up the old nasty carpet in the hallway and the yucky stick floor tiles in the kitchen last Wednesday to get ready for the floor guy to come on Thursday and lay the laminate hard wood. 

Then on Thursday after that was laid, we moved everything out of our living room and second bedroom so the carpet guy could come on Friday. 

On Friday after the second bedroom was carpeted, Brett and I caught the get 'er done bug again and got the room painted.

Here it is in pics:

We figured out what the funny lumps were under our carpet in the hallway, yuck!! I thought it was the pad scrunching up but no, it's the last 23 years of owner dirt. Sandy, nasty, green tinged, dirt piles! 

                                                                                                                                                                 

And we are finally getting rid of the awful stick floor tiles that didn't even match up all the way; you could see the plywood in the misaligned cracks.

 

Our floor layer showed up at 7 am and was here laying the floor until past 7 pm. But wow did he do a good job! Check it out! 

(And the baseboards aren't in yet)

(And the carpet fibers keeps appearing everywhere he he)

And the carpet guy did a great job too.

 

The old yucky carpet and ridiculously yellow walls in the (messy) second bedroom

 

New look for the same bedroom

(And I need to take the tape off the ceiling, thanks for reminding me.)

 

Miscellaneous and Bathroom Redo

Miscellaneous:
  
    Went on a short run today due to not heading out the door until almost 2pm. After lumbering along in the hot air with lead legs and no spark, I suddenly got a burst of energy and started running faster than I normally do for about a mile. I'm wondering if I can attribute the energy burst to the two dates I ate just before heading out?? And I'll just pretend I planned a tempo run.

     True Blood was very entertaining. It will be interesting to see what direction they take this season in. It's very different from the Sookie Stackhouse books but both are fun. Plus it means I get double the Sookie!

   Went to Andy's (a high school friend) wedding on Saturday. It was outside on a beautiful day and the location was aesthetically pleasing. I got to be a part of sending the bride and groom off and also catch up with some old friends. Good times.

Bathroom:
So we have been working on our upstairs bathroom for what feels like forever. Originally it had Blue/Gray carpet in most of the bathroom (yes carpet in a bathroom) and then nasty old linoleum nearer the toilet. We had tile laid relatively soon after we moved in. It also had an old beat up vanity with a yellowed top and an out of date mirror and light fixture. Around Christmas/New Years we (DH mostly) installed a new vanity, mirror, and light. Then for months and months it remained half painted with the blue tape still up and half hanging off the wall in places. On Friday Brett and I finally got our stuff together and our motivation high enough to just get 'er done

Here is a glimpse of before:

Here is after: