Diving Cozumel

Last October Craig and I went on a dive vacation to Cozumel with good friends Albert and Laurie Davis and Mark Fairbanks. These are the same friends we went with to the British Virgin Islands on the sailing vacation a couple of years ago.

Mark is our offical photographer. He takes beautiful underwater photos. He always takes thousands so it takes a while to edit them. He was kind enough to send me a few to post until he is finished with the rest.

Brain Coral

Octopus

Craig and Diane diving together

Diane

Craig

Craig and Diane "sitting" in the eye of the coral.

The eye is the only place you can touch so you don't kill the coral.

I think this is a parrotfish

Craig and me on the sunken WWII U.S. Navy mine sweeper. 84' down

It was intentionally sunk in 2000 to create an artificial reef.

This was really cool, our dive master took us in the ship too.

For the kids, Guns Up...Wrech 'em Tech.

Crab Legs and Laughter

Good friends, dive and sailing buddies, Albert and Laurie Davis joined us for dinner on Saturday night to celebrate both Laurie and Albert's birthdays.

Before dinner, Albert was getting out of hand so we had to hang Albert from the rack.

Just kidding he needed to stretch his back but we told him if he didn't behave we would leave him there.

The menu was steamed crab legs, fried okra salad and Craig's "famous" homemade Key Lime pie with real whipped cream topping.

We all ate too much and laughed alot.

Friends + dinner = crab legs and laughter.

On the Road Again...

This week has been a busy one.

Joshua's boss gave Josh the "go ahead" to move to Austin so we are looking for him a place to live.

I can't tell you how excited Joshua is to get settled.

I have been back and forth to Austin twice this week looking at houses with Josh in the evenings. We thought we found the perfect place. It is a condo but not in the traditional sense. It is more of a townhouse with a little back yard for the dogs. The problem is FHA is not loaning on condos so he has to have more of a down payment. It was about 8 months ago financing on condos was no problem but with the wonderful world of financing right now the lender will no longer do traditional financing because they can't resale the loan on the secondary market.

We are back to square one.

If the builder had been wise they would have declared the units townhouses and they would have qualified for traditional financing but in all their infinite wisdom the builder had the development recorded as a condo community.

Right now he is bunking at his sister and brother-in-law's house in Cedar Park during the week. Kimberly and Mark have been great to let him stay temporarily but Josh needs and wants a place of his own as soon as possible.

We know it would be quicker to find him a place to rent but with the $8000 first time home buyers tax money available, interest rates being low and home prices being low it is a great time for Josh to buy. If he locks himself into a lease then he will miss the opportunity to receive the $8000 refund.

So for the coming weeks, I will be preparing for my clients pending closings (everything is already at the title companies so all we need is the lender docs) and driving back and forth to Austin as time permits and hopefully find something perfect for Joshua and his 2 dogs.

So for now I'm....on the road again.

Two Days without Technology and I'm Lost

I can't tell you how many times I have said I would love to just turn off my phone and email to have a quiet day with no interruptions. A day of just nothing except for what I want to do. A day of selfish pleasure with no work involved. Even on vacation I get email because they come to my cell phone. I can't get away!

On Sunday morning ,my office Prudential Gary Greene Realtors, took down the server for changes and updates. I got my wish; as far as emails are concerned. The only problem is I have constantly been checking my phone for email messages. I keep thinking there must be something terribly important I am missing. I can't even enjoy the "off" time.

I know if something important were out there I would get a call. My out of office message tells email senders to call if an immediate answer is required. I've had a few calls but most of my clients prefer to do everything by way of email.

I'm walking in circles. I can't relax. UGH, this is terrible.

Tomorrow when all the held emails are finally sent to my inbox, I will want to scream. Tuesday will be catch up day.

I can't believe two days without technology and I'm lost.

You Can Never Have Too Much Cowbell

While driving and listening to the radio I started to think about how music is a great reminder of where we have been, how far we have come, even where we are going.

Music is a mirror to both our past and future. It can remind us of people, places and things that we might have long forgotten. And gives us hope and inspiration for the future.

Many songs have lyrics which one would swear the writer knew or knows exactly what is happening in our lives. It is as though it was written just for us.

Music can make us happy, make us sad, calm our frazzled nerves and even make us angry.

Music can bring joy and peace, be uplifting and encouraging.

Music sets the mood.

Music makes us toe tappers and hip wigglers, some can make us laugh, some makes us cry.

We whistle and hum our favorite tunes.

We sing along with the words we know, make up words for the ones we don't.

Music brings people together.

Just remember...You can Never have too much cowbell.

I Hear A Strange Sound

What's that I hear?

It sounds strangely familiar.

Could it be?

Can my ear be deceiving me?

Maybe I had better take a look.

Wait a minute...can it be...am I sure...

Oh my goodness...I better take a closer look.

It's been a while but I think I recognize what's going on.

Let me think.......

yes...Yes...YES.

It's RAINING!!!

Hallelujah!!!

Weather? or Not

This mornings forecast calls for cooler temperatures. We are supposed to get out of the triple digits. Right now it is 98 degrees.

The forecast also calls for possible rain...but between you and me...the forecast map looks like the rain will all be to the east of League City toward the Liberty county area. Hopefully Mother Nature won't see the map and will decide to give us a little moisture. So far this year it has been either feast or famine.

We are seeing some clouds but so far no rain. Pearland, Pasadena and Deer Park all got a little rain shower last Thursday but League City is still dry. We could see lightning and hear thunder but nothing else.

As for our yard, we are seeing a few hot spots but nothing drastic. Some of the leaves on the plants are starting to curl on the ends so we will most likely loose some leaves.

I'm thinking...maybe we will have a lower water bill and the extra will cover the higher electric bill. lol