That's a BIG Guppy!!!!

Last week the stars finally aligned and I was available, along with my friend Jenn and her husband Damian, to join The Boy in some late night Tarpon fishing. 

Tarpon fishing is a pain in the butt. It has to be the right time of the year, the moon has to be right, the tides have to be right, the weather has to be right, and you have to be available when all of that happens. I was pretty excited that it finally all worked out and I was able to come. (The Boy has been MANY times without me) Jenn and Damian have been asking to go for a while too, but as this is usually a last minute deal, it's rare that they can drop what they are doing to join us. 

Jenn and I just waiting on the big one while I drove the boat

It was very late, and we were very tired, but the fish were biting everywhere and we were determined to hook up with a big one. And a big one we did hook.... well, Damian did.

 These fish put up the BIGGEST fight. You actually have to chase them with the boat to gain on them at all. As soon as Damian would think he was gaining on it, it would get a burst of energy and run off. He was exhausted, and had to ask Jenn for a drink, lol....

 Here is The Boy making it an "official catch" with a "leader touch". In competitions, if you can get the fish close enough to the boat to touch the leader on the line it's considered a catch.

 As The Boy would say - "That's a big guppy!"

A much deserved beer for a job well done! There was some serious teamwork that went into catching that fish! (yes, I cut Ed's head off...it was dark, gimme a break)

Fleet Week & a date night!

Here in Ft. Lauderdale we are celebrating Fleet Week. A few ships are in at the Port, and there is an Air and Sea Show going on at the beach as I type... We actually haven't had the Air and Sea Show in over 5 years so I'm sure the beach is PACKED! Due to the crowds (and some crappy weather) I've opted to pass on the occasion, but we did use it an excuse to take out our boat on Thursday evening. The boat hasn't been run in MONTHS due to conflicting schedules and windy weather. Plus, we were due for a good date night because that boy of mine has been putting in some serious hours at work over the past few weeks!

Nothing like a nice long ride down the Intracoastal with my boy to check out some cool ships! We cruised on down a few cities and stopped at a pizza joint on the water to indulge in some fattening pizza - loaded with veggies of course!!!

 My parents use to take me out of school for a day during Fleet Week when I was little so that we could go on public tours of the aircraft carriers. It was pretty cool! I used to collect hats from every ship I went on, and had quite a collection. They have really tightened up on security now and you have to apply for scheduled tours...BORING. 

I'm just as content to view them from the water these days... and I love cruising with my boy on our own boat :-)

This is me, this is who I am...

I haven't really been around much lately. I was thinking that some of you might have forgotten about me, and some of you might not know me at all... so here I am to give you a little re-introduction!

Who Am I??

• Amy Lynn
• Florida Girl who loves the ocean and sunshine
• Firefighter's girl of almost 8 years...(Yup, still no ring on this finger!)
• Full time nursing student (Yes, I'm still in school. No, I don't know how much longer)
• Bargain hunter
• Furbaby Mommy
• Crafter
• Homeowner
• Organizer
• Yummy - goodness creator
• And and UN-WIFE HOUSEWIFE!!!

What do I blog about??

• The things I like to do
• Our many fishing adventures and trips to the Florida Keys
• Special occasions in my life
• Great deals that I find and super cheap shopping adventures
• Silly antics of my crazy puppy dog
• Crafty and creative creations or parties
• House projects
• Organizing and decorating
• Recipes - the good, the bad, and the flat out UGLY
• Anything and everything that occurs in the life of an Un-Wife Housewife!

My Grinch, in disguise...

So, aside from my new background, and un-centered header (grrr)... Did you notice that I added a new pic of the boy with his big catch I told you about? You know, the one that he got during our Thanksgiving Weekend in the Keys? Over there on the side... teeny tiny... under that header that says "My Handsome Boyfriend." No? Well here it is in biggie-size.

How awesome is that?!?!?!?! He was such a good sport for my Godparents, allowing them to have a photo-op with the santa hat :-) You'd never know he's really the Grinch in disguise!

5 Years...

This past Thursday, the 15th, was the Boy and I's 5 year dating anniversary! I can't believe 5 years have flown by so fast!!! We have come so far and done so much together... Sometimes it feels like a short time, and other times it feels like forever. I had intended to post this on Thursday but things have been crazy around here. My friend Jess got married yesterday and we had some out of town guests stay at our house for the wedding. I had 2 tests this week, a project due on Thursday, the rehearsal dinner was Thursday night, and the guests came in on Thursday as well. Needless to say, Ed and I did nothing for our anniversary. Ed says I owe him a night so we can go out to dinner somewhere nice, just the 2 of us. I can't wait!!!

Anyway, Loves of Life posted this survey the other day, and I thought it would be fitting to share it with you in honor of our anniversary so you could learn a little bit about us :)

♥What are your middle names?

Lynn and James

♥How long have you been together?
5 years

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
about 5 years!!!

♥ Who asked who out?
It was never really an official “asking out”. We had been friends for so long… and finally we were both grown and single, and we decided to go see a movie together. That was our first “official date” and then we just sorta became a couple.

♥ Who made the first move?
Oh boy… I have no idea.

♥ How old are each of you?
He’s 25 and I’m 24. We’re 6 months apart though so for ½ of the year we are the same age.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
Nope. We lived across the county from each other and he was home schooled and I went to public high school.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
Sorta. Same county….

♥ Who is the smartest?
Ummm, we’re both intelligent in different things so that’s a tough call. I wouldn’t say one of us was smarter than the other…

♥ Who majored in what?
He’s a Firefighter/Paramedic, and I’m a nursing student.

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
TOTALLY me, hands down..

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We usually cook at home for the most part, but we probably eat out at Chili’s the most.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Hmmm, I guess Kentucky

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Oh, I dunno… I guess me. He’s pretty quiet and tries to keep his cool.

♥ How many children do you want?
ZERO, don’t criticize, we have our reasons.

♥ Who does the cooking?
We take turns. No lie. He’s a REALLY good cook, but usually I have more time.

♥ Who is more social?
Me, me, me!!!!! I can make friends almost anywhere and he’s super quiet and would rather stay at home.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us is a neat freak, but neither of us are super messy either. It definitely bothers me more when the house is a mess.

♥ Who is the most stubborn?
HIM! He can stand firm with almost everything, just to be a butt.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Naturally, he does… I’m NOT a morning person. But for the most part I wake up earlier because of school. Sometimes he has to be to work earlier, but usually I leave first.

♥ Where was your first date?
The movies to see Ladder 49 on October 15, 2004

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Hmmm, he has a bigger immediate family (he’s one of 5) but I have a much bigger extended family.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
Never. He doesn’t believe in buying me flowers. He thinks they are stupid because they die. I have gotten 1 rose, 1 time, for Valentines Day.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
With family… Nothing special.

♥ Who is more jealous?
Neither… we have never had issues with jealousy

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
hahaha, about 5 years? It was pretty serious from the moment we met, we always knew there was something between us… we just didn’t actually start to express our feeling until 5 years later.

♥ Who eats more?
Definitely him. I eat about ½ of what he can put down.

♥ What do you do for a living?
I’m a full time student/ un-wife housewife!!

♥ Who does the laundry?
Well….. Lets just say that when I do laundry, I do OUR laundry. When he does laundry, he does HIS laundry. BUT we both do laundry….

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
It goes back and forth. I am better with some things, and he’s better with others….

♥ Who drives when you are together?
We take turns… Usually him, but sometimes me. Neither of us have a problem with the other one driving, no matter whose car it is. Unless it’s the Camaro. I don’t drive the Camaro anymore because there is a bolted down race seat in it and I can’t reach.

♥ What is "your" song?

This is a funny story… we met at a camp as CIT’s and we had a dance on the last night of camp every week. Both weeks we were there we danced together to the SAME song. I can’t remember for SURE what it was, but I’m pretty sure it was “Keeper of the Stars” by Tracy Byrd and when I asked him, even without telling him what I thought it was, he said the same thing, so we have decided that it must be it, and it’s now “our song”.

It's the thought that counts...

A few years ago, some of my wonderful family came down here from Kentucky and went with us crazy people from Florida to a Kenny Chesney concert. We had THE BEST time! We all piled into a limo and cruised on up to West Palm Beach where we saw Gary Allen, Sugarland, and of course, Kenny! (Just for the record, I LOVE me some Kenny!). I was pretty excited when I heard that Sugarland was going to be down here in S. Florida this week and I REALLY wanted to go. They were so amazing when we saw them in West Palm. Jennifer Nettles is jam packed with energy and they put on an awesome show!!! However, being a non-working, full time student, un-wife housewife with a serious case of "Fundsalow", I didn't push the issue with the boyfriend. (or splurge and buy tickets for myself as much as I was tempted) So last night was the concert, and all day long they have had on radio how AWESOME it was. I'm a little jealous. Okay, so a lot jealous. But I am reminded of a silly conversation I had last night with the boyfriend that makes me smile. Last night, I was sitting on the couch and happened to mention to Ed that I was bummed that we weren't going to Sugarland. You know what he said? "That was tonight, huh? Actually, it's a funny thing honey... I was going to buy us tickets to go and surprise you when I found out they were coming.... and I even had it all looked up online, but the service charge at Ticketmaster was outrageous. I figured I would just stop by FYE one day and pick them up and save the charge. But then I forgot. Sorry. I was gonna!!!!" Now of course I had to laugh at this, and still feel totally touched at the same time. It was such a sweet thought! He really NEVER thinks to do things like that. It's a shame he forgot to follow through with it. So, instead of an A for effort, he gets an A-. He still gets an A though! It's the thought that counts!!! Too cute!!!!! I can't be too upset though. I happen to know that a trip to the Keys to a REALLY NICE resort (instead of my grandparents house) is in the works. It'll be nice to go out to eat and have housekeeping instead of doing the cooking and cleaning at the house. Keep your fingers crossed that it works out. I'll keep you posted ;-)

Oh the joys...

Of owning your own home.

So the boyfriend and I moved into our first house about a year ago, and it has surely been an adventure! We started house shopping in July 2008, put in a few offers, walked away from a few of our options, searched high and low, and finally found "our" house. It then took us 6 months to CLOSE on our house. (loooooong loooooong story) From there... the fun began.

We (with lot's of help from our family!) ripped out walls,

tore down drywall, chipped up tile,

(plus tons and tons more fun stuff - like scraping popcorn off the ceiling)

and then put it all back together again

before we ever even moved in our toothbrushes. Just when we thought the fun was all over with.... we realized we had issues! It's just what happens when you OWN a home. Things get old, things break, and you are responsible. (and I wouldn't trade it for the world! I LOVE my house! Have I mentioned that I have a pool?!?!?!?)

There have been plumbing issues in this house for quite some time.... but we have learned how to avoid them becoming catastophies for the time being. For example, our guest bathroom toilet gurgles when the washing machine drains and sometimes suds even come up in the bowl. This is not a problem. The problem is when you FLUSH said toilet while it is gurling and suds are coming up into the bowl. At this point, the toilet overflows. It's joyous. Really. Our drains don't always drain at an optimal rate either. We had plumbers come look at it, and they were pretty much stupid and useless. Therefore, we have put these things off until the boyfriend has some time to do some research (and dish out some money of course) to fix the problem. When the drains plug up so bad that we can't deal with it, he cleans them out and pours some Draino in there until it works. It's a temporary solution, but it works.

So anyway, the point of this post.... The other day our air conditioning stopped working. It's 90 something degrees outside, and our cooling system SHUT DOWN. Gross. We thought it was just frozen from running too hard (and we may have possibly really needed to put in a clean filter). We shut it off for a while, and changed out the filter and it worked. YAY! And then the kitchen sink stopped draining. Not drained slow.... it stopped. Working air... plugged drains... no good. So we got some nasty drain cleaner stuff from Lowes to try. The stuff with the least pretty label is usually the most potent/commercial grade stuff right? Apparently so.... this stuff burned your nose from 10 feet away and started eating at the stainless steel of the sink! Ed votes we use the amateur stuff from now on. lol.... Anyway....He was able to fix the drain issue after a few hours of sniffing sulfuric acid and sweating his booty off on the roof. Yay! Working air, and working drains! Until.... about 3 am the next day. No more air. It was sooooooooooo stuffy and hot! I came home from school later that day and it was 89.5 degrees in here! Ed made a phone call to a buddy who does air and he was able to troubleshoot and figure out what it was. Unfortunately, we were going to have to go another night without a/c. Well... until McGuyver Jr. got a hold of it! Ed rigged some crap up that involved an industrial floor fan that we use in the garage and a yard sprinkler. Was it safe? Probably not... but we had a cool house overnight! He got the part to fix it this morning, hooked it up this evening, and we have working air!!!! It only cost 2 days without cold air and $92. Yay for a handy boyfriend!!!!! He's so awesome. We had plans to do stuff tonight, but he got a last minute call from a friend to go fishing instead.... so of course I let him go do that. He big time deserved it! I also forgot to mention that this weekend he spent almost all of his Sunday at my grandparents house helping my grandfather trim trees on his property, just because. He's the bestest. And to think... he thinks I'M the best for letting him cancel our plans and go fishing. That was easy compared to everything he does! (but we won't tell him that, he might let it go to his head)

I'll be sitting alone on my couch tonight blog stalking, eating whatever I scrounge up for dinner, and studying. But at least it'll be in the a/c!!!!!!!!

Things I love Thursday

It's been a long time since I did one of these..... This week I have lots of things to love though!

First off... I love the boyfriend!

(last year, on his birthday)

2. I love celebrating birthdays. His is tomorrow, and it will be about the 10th birthday I have celebrated with him - wow! We have only been dating for half of that, but I have been at least sending/giving him cards for 10 years!

(his birthday last year... he is showing off his birthday brownie that my mom made him)

3. I love date nights! In honor of his birthday, and just because, we are going down to Ft. Lauderdale tonight for dinner and to see Transformers 2 in IMAX! I'm so excited! He's never been to the IMAX, and I've never seen a real movie there, and we haven't been to the movies in MONTHS!

4. And... completely un-related..... I love getting good grades! I got a 92 on a test today and I'm pretty happy about it.