Out of state licence plates...

It is no doubt that our city more than triples for three-to-four months of the year--we have snowbirds ... lots of them.  In fact, sitting at a traffic signal just three days ago I saw plates for:  Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland and one for Florida.

One of the worst things is that locals can't get a tee time, or can they afford to golf as prices sky rocket.  During the summer, I can play for $10--a good 18 holes ... right now I'm lucky to get in for $39.  Grrrr

I found this simple graph on a blog that I read regularly, Indexed -- I liked it.

Wakeboards, golf clubs & the convertable...

Swedish Fish: A Christmas gift turns into life lesson #5,643

Laura's Mom sent our Christmas gifts to our house since we are here in FL for Christmas.  She only wrapped one of Laura's gifts with a bow, so of course she saw that they were Swedish Fish, and began consumption.  Being a bag made for like a small army of children, she was unable to devour the entire bag in one sitting (to my surprise however!)

Well, with about 1/5 of a bag left, we went to dinner (that could also be a blog post).

We returned this evening to a more-than-usual excited Malik... Ten feet later, we realized that he somehow got up onto a table and ate the rest of the bag...  Since he has had "pup-cups" from Dairy Queen, we figured he could handle the absurd amount of sugar that dogs usually do not eat.  We figured wrong.  Three hours later, Ian getting hit in the head by the wet-vac and our bed mattress being dried by a fan is enough details for here.

Moral:  Swedish Fish are the most awesome friends known to friendship, until they are eaten by your dog.

Ian's take on the kitten...

So the kitten was not Ian's idea--infact, I think that there was some rallying against her.  Oh well, come to find out she's not too bad.  

Yes, she runs around the base of the tree waiting for a 19-pound larger Malik to chase her around under it (YIKES), and she bites our legs, toes (and Ian's butt) in the middle of the night--but, at least she is fun to photograph.  Don't get me wrong, so is Malik (my boy!), but he is all black, and black is nearly impossible to photograph accuractely.  Enjoy today's photoshoot.

2 peas in a pod!

Thanks to our friend Lori for getting Laura and I's first ever "Ian and Laura 2008" Christmas ornament.  It's cool because"we are two peas in a pod."

Laura here!!  See!!!  I can take good pictures too.  Sorry we talk about our kitten like she's a baby, but here in Sebring, every little thing can make us excited.

Can I just say that I know why they don't make clothes for cats?

  When I put a t-shirt on Malik, he doesn't even notice...however, as soon as I put this beautful pink sweater on Maia, she acted as if I injected her with a  powerful paralizing agent....                       literally tipping over as soon as she tried to walk.  Please don't judge, I just want my children to be warm!!!!

So on with my stories about my "children."

We're sitting on the couch, and Malik is in the office                     barking his head off.  I think Maia must be behind the desk or something, but no, she's hiding on the second shelf of the bookshelf!!!  She's so smart she fooled Malik and was probably watching him and laughing the whole time he was looking for her :)

Then she walks herself over to Maliks food bowl and digs in!!!  I couldn't believe it!!!  

Kitten, 2.0

I put a few more photos on Facebook.  Enjoy.

Merry Christmas dear Laura

MEOW!!

MEOW!!!

 

Guess what?  Today I got a kitten!!!  Or "we" I should say, although I know if Ian had a choice he would go the non-cat route.  She's a girl, 1.4 lbs and she was born on October 4.  She is from the humane society.   She has a bit of siamese in her as you can tell, and her eyes are very blue.  She's as sweet as can be.  

Any ideas for names would be welcomed!  She's a very brave cat, she showed Malik who's boss!!  She crawled and explored the car on the way home.

Malik is just getting used to the idea of sharing his mommy and daddy with someone else.  I think he's doing better already!  Hopefully!!

Happy Howlidays

Here is Malik's new shirt:

Isn't it cute?  He loves wearing it!

No but really, he doesn't even seem to notice when he's wearing it.

DISCLAIMER:  No dogs were hurt in the photographing of this shirt.

And you don't want to visit us??

Tonight, and last graced us with beautiful skies---reason 492 you should come and visit us.  The last picture is of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter.  You might not have known that we will not see the three so close again until 2052!  Here is an excerpt that I found:

Jupiter is headed down toward the horizon earlier each evening. On December 1, it is one day past its closest conjunction with the brighter Venus. The planets are still close together though and the scene is accented by a slender crescent moon just above them. The next time Venus, Jupiter, and the moon will be as close and visible as they were on December 1, 2008 will be November 18, 2052. Other close conjunctions occur when the sun is up and obscuring the view. But for now, the planets will slowly push apart as Venus rises and the moon quickly jets off higher into the sky as it waxes.

Final trimmings...

A few more touches added today: outdoor lights, wreath for the door, star to top the tree, tree skirt, our advent calendar from Chi-Chi and the stockings are hung!  Pshew.

Just so you know....

Not to take away from Ian's beautiful pictures, but yes I do realize that there is something missing from our tree!  No angel or star on top!  We're working on it :)

Deck "Vantage Circle" with boughs of holly...

I always remember as a child my Dad being so excited to take down the big boxes of Christmas decorations, and getting all the lights in a row!  My Mom was the machine that took down all the regular decorations, and redecorated the entire house into a winter wonderland!  This year Laura and I did this yearly tradition for the first time.  Here is part of our living room:

Our 1st Thanksgiving!

Laura and I just enjoyed our 1st Thanksgiving as the "Belanger" family.  The menu was short, easy and yielded mucho leftovers!

• BBQ Chicken for Laura
• Veggie Burger for Ian
• Corn
• Stuffing
• Mashed potatoes (we should have invited the whole neighborhood!!)
• Crescent roles

Hope you had a relaxing day too...

On the Lions:  I predicted 814-3...  I was close, 47-10.  Can the Lions just win ONE regular-season game this year??

Jumping the gun?

Laura here!  Just so you know, I just put the Christmas tree up!  Since we had Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, I figured it was an okay thing to do!  I wanted a real one but Ian tells me they are super expensive here, plus we have a dog who likes to eat things.  Ian is out buying Christmas lights right now because apparently we don't have any.  

Is this too early!?!?!

CRAZY DOG!

Hey!  We got home from North Carolina about an hour ago, and the first thing I did after unpacking was wash myself, and wash the dog.  I know at times Ian and I treat and talk about Malik like he was a human being and child of ours....but he's just so funny!  Here's a video of what he does after his bath.

 

Touring "Reed Gold Mine" and my Dad's birthday...

Today is Jeffery's birthday, he is 56.  For some reason, I thought that he was 58, but not yet, just 56.  We got him a card that said he is a "classic" as in classic cars... He like it.  We went to Rosarios for lunch.  It is a local Italian joint that is SOOOO yummy.  Tonight we had planned to go out to dinner, but we all had eaten too much for lunch, so we decided to "86" that, and eat here at the house...and eat my Mom's delicious-looking cake!

Today's adventures lead us into "gold country."  Just to the south here is Reed Gold Mine .  A snippet from their Web site describes it:

Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states. During its peak years gold mining was second only to farming in the number of North Carolinians it employed. The estimated value of gold recovered reached over one million dollars a year. North Carolina led the nation in gold production until 1848, when it was eclipsed by the great rush to California.

The tour guide was really knowledgeable, and told us a lot about how the element of gold actually came about in the area.   The highlight of the tour was walking into an old mine (50' underground!)

Here is a handful of photos that captured our adventures (all of them are on Facebook )!  We leave for FL in the AM, although it will be sad to leave family, we will not miss seeing our breath when we walk outside or having to wear hats, gloves and winter boots!  :)

More about our walk...the funny part!!

Hey, Laura here, I wanted to show videos of Ian and I playing tarzan today...maybe they're just funny to us,  but oh well!

....and now for Ian.....

Sunday's nature walk

This morning we woke up and went for a walk on a 2-mile trail that encircles Libby and Jeff's housing complex here in NC.  Their community is a huge, planned community and it's quite pretty (even though its so cold!!)

Here are a few photos:

A morning with Libby, and a "shopping bag o fries"

This morning my Dad had to work at the shop, so my Mom figured that she would take us shopping and to lunch.  We did not argue, we know better!

We went to Kohls and really just each got a new pair of tennis shoes.  After leaving, we decided that we were pretty hungry, and my Mom suggested "Five Guys Fries and Burgers ."  I was a little concerned that she only wanted us to get one order of large fries.  I told her that I really like fries, and that I was kinda hungry.  She said "don't worry about it."

Well, as you can see, there was enough fries for like 8 Biggie Fries!  Wow.

We also went to go look at the new drag strip and there was a team out there who had rented out the facility, so we got to see a really great funny car go the 1/4 mile in like 8 seconds!

Furthermore, my Mom's golf cart is the only one there that does not have anything to do with Nascar, beer or wings!  haha She has flowers and a orange safety flag.  Someone, please PIMP MY MOM'S GOLF CART!

This looks pretty good:

Waking up in North Carolina this morning...

We got to Ian's parents place in Concord, NC at about 1am last night.  It was so, so cold--14 degrees!

So ya, look at those lows!  This morning when I went out to take the rest of the stuff out of the car, I had left my coffee cup in there, and had maybe three sips left---it was frozen solid!  There was also FROST all over my windows---ugh.

So the point of this post is all about the weather man today.  First off, his name---Larry Sprinkle!  Are you kidding me?  Who is going to take this guy seriously.  Is my name Ian Science?  Hahaha  

So his little forecast this morning went like this:

We started off a cool 14 degrees this morning, and we are already almost to our high of the day, its 31!  

I was like, "and I just left FL for this?!"


Hahaha  Anyways, my Mom took us out to lunch today and we got one large fry to split between the three of us...  You'll see in the next post how it was really a "shopping bag o fries!"

House is now... Done!!

So ya, our house is now fixed, carpeted, and safe! Come visit.

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I thought I saw snow!

So I was letting Malik out this morning, and ice crystals could have formed on my coffee.. 42 is so cold. I stayed inthe shower anextra few today just to warm up!!! Think warm thoughts for us!!



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Christmas card list... Add this name!

When doing your Christmas or holiday greeting cards this year, take one card and send it to the address below.

If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

Too bad they didn't have internet during Vietnam and Korea.


         A Recovering American Soldier
         c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
         6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
         Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

COLD SHOWERS!

So.

Ian and I moved into our house in June of this year.  We were excited that house has a lot of energy saving appliances, including a tankless water heater.  We have noticed that the water in the house has never really reached the classification of hot, but since weather in Florida is so stifling hot during the summer, the water has never really seemed that cold.  UNTIL NOW!  Now that the weather has been relatively cooler, we have had to take lukewarm showers.  So finally we called our landlord, who called an electrician.  Turns out whoever installed our water heater crossed the wires, and it wasn't getting nearly as hot as it was supposed to.  So he fixed it, and for one of the first times in 5 months, I took a HOT SHOWER today!  LOVELY!

Mommy and Malik

Today "daddy" had to go to class, so Malik and mommy went out for a day on the town.  First we went to Petco.  Malik gets soooooo excited when he gets to go there and meet other dogs and stiff everything in sight.  We bought some natural rawhide bones that he finishes in 1 day he loves so much, and a ball on a rope.  I thought the ball on the rope would be useful because his idea of "catch" is chasing the ball, bringing it back, and playing keep away!!  Right before we left we were sure to look at the kittens to make sure there wasn't one we couldn't live without, and then Malik almost got eaten by a German Shepherd!!  In true Malik fashion, he barked right back even though he was 1/10 the size of the other dog.  

After Petco, we went to Dairy Queen and got us a "puppy cup."  I don't know if you are aware that Dairy Queen gives out free vanilla ice cream in a cup for dogs, but they do, and it's great!!!  

I have included some videos of the highlights of my day, a hamster who didn't know how to use his wheel at the pet store, and Mal Pal with his new favorite toy :)

Ian is famous, again...

This is why Ian has been so busy lately... One of the professional development classes I have been teaching.

Another article for your reading enjoyment!  :)


Highlands Today article

Ian in the local paper!

http://www2.highlandstoday.com/content/2008/nov/12/la-whats-a-blog/news/

The only correction is that I teach "advanced academics."

Day off...

Laura and I had the day off today to celebrate Vets day!  Whoot Whoot.

We went to lunch at the OG (Olive Garden) and went to Circuit City to look at some stuff she wants to buy for her school.

What a nice day of rest.  It is about 75, and breezy.

Malik grading Ian's papers!?

Ian usually spends alot of time on Sundays grading some papers and typing lesson plans.  Malik decided to help out today:

Halloween hayride and trick-or-treating!

One of Ian's co-workers invited us over to their house to enjoy a Halloween cookout and hayride down in Lake Placid!  It was alot of fun.  Here are some of the photos:

Winter hats, scarves & seeing your breath...

It's official, it was a record cold temperature here in Highlands County last night.  Our blood has certainly thinned... It was 42, and my sweater is not keeping me warm enough in this 70 sun today.

This is what we wore to school today!  We both have “morning duties” that make us be outside at 7 AM and it’s COOOOLD!!!  (Cold for us!!)

One year ago today, and volunteering...

Rewind to 2007... Laura was sitting doing her hair on the bedroom floor.  Hardly sounds like her, right?  HAHA  I walked in with flowers, and popped the big question.  Well, one year ago today, Laura and I became engaged to be married, and eight months later we were married (here you go mom, I fixed it!).  How time flies.

Today we woke up at 5:51am and volunteered at the "Red Ribbon Run."  It was a run for all the K-12 and adults in our district to support and emphasize a healthy lifestyle.  We both worked registration, and then took pictures of kids that we knew.  This is the second year that we have helped with this worthy cause.

On another note, we have to move out tomorrow for our mold remediation to begin--I guess we'll chalk that up as a free, mini-vaca!

Adventures in the land of mold?

Laura and I got into our new home around the 1st of June, right before the wedding.  The home is beautiful, built in 2006, and we are the first people to ever live in it!  We were pretty lucky to get something that we could afford, and also satisfied our "champagne" taste (thanks, Dad).  Our neighborhood is mostly retirees, but again if you spend even a few minutes in Sebring, you'll notice that retired and elderly people are a common sight.


After moving in, we documented a few problems, one major problem being some of the baseboards looked dirty, or as I put it...moldy.  No one ever took us too serious, so the project of "investigation" never really got underway.  The landlord came out a few times, and told us to splash some bleach on it, and it will go away... After all, she has been a property manager for 20+ years.  :/

Master-bathroom

Guest Closet

Ok... >> Fast forward to about the first of August.  We get some new people move in next door, right after a tropical storm.  Their house leaked really bad before the storm, thus mold spores grew at an exponential rate, at the same time, the owner of that home hired a 2nd-rate contractor to fix the problem...not a water damage specialist.  Mold also was spread through their whole house.  I write about this because the two homes are owned by the same family, just different people.  Also were managed by the same lady.  This major problem and sick residents really lit a fire under some people's feet!

Around the 1st of September, our home owner started moving with our problem because we started hinting that we might cancel the lease (allowed by FL law due to an unhealthy environment).  An air-quality test (which we soon found out is fairly inaccurate) was ordered.  Our air-quality tests were released to us from the insurance company.  Our guest bedroom had at least twice the safe level, and was certainly an active growth site.  Our living room was also quite high.  Thankfully, our bedroom was a lower level than the outdoors!

Finally on Sunday we are being put up in the lake front Marriott hotel here in town.  The remediation will begin on Monday morning for about 5-10 days.  The craziness is that because it was a slow (1-2 drips a minute) leak, in between three walls, the house has to be shut down.  Here are the pics from the contractor as they started the investigation.

Here is where this is all happening:

We will update you as things progress!!

UPDATE:  My Mom wanted to know about how the house is "released" back to us.  Before we can inhabit the home again, it has to pass very strict testing.  The test costs $1,250 dollars.  The remediation company has been removing mold for 20 years, so I am very confident with them.  Currently, the guest bedroom is sealed off so nothing can get into the air ducts, or the rest of the house.  It looks like a construction site.  During the remediation process, they will be wearing TyVac suits, and pretty much everything will be sealed (like a giant zip-loc, so that there is no chance of cross contamination!  :)

Can't wait for Friday...

As part of Jaycees, we are going to see Brad Paisly in Tampa.  We are taking a large bus of people.  We determined that we raise over 20,000 for the community and we needed to have an event to re-energize the group.

Should be a good time!

Excited football fans...

Ian here...

Today we went to Chilis because they have the NFL Sunday Ticket from DirectTv--we got to watch the lions.  When we were there, we determined that there are 4 ways that people respond to good plays, one of which is horrid, and must be retired ASAP:

1. Wooo-Ha
2. F-Ya (insert bad word)
3. Hell ya
4. Yeeeeee-Haaaaaa

Ok, so you've probally determined that Yeeeeeee-Haaaaaa is not the correct way to respond to a play. 

BTW, that was a Giants fan.

Jaycees

We have been going to Jaycees for a while now.  We are finally going to become "official" members.  It is a pretty cool group that does alot of community service projects, and also knows how to have fun!  Next week we are having a big garage sale, then going canoeing (we hear there are gators).

Urgent: How to purchase photos!

(Thanks to Jim and John for helping set this up faster than I did!!!)

http://ianandlaura.site.shutterfly.com/

Use the password: malik

1. Go to an album and click on the first picture.
2. Then click on the forward arrow to advance through the images.
3. If you see a picture you want to order a print, click "Add to cart".
4. Then you will be given a request to sign in...Either sign in if you have an account, or click "Join Now". Fill in the information (e-mail address and your own new password). Then you'll be sent right back to the image you want to order a print.
5. Click "Add to cart" again, and it will say "Picture added to cart".
6. Continue to click on arrow to advance through the images, and add other images to cart.
7. To go to a new album, click Home on top of the page and do the same process as above.
8. Check out with your cedit card!

Enjoy!

We are married!!

Hey everyone! We are back from our super-fast trip to MI for our wedding. It was so nice to get a break from the 95 degree weather, and see all of our family and "G-Rap" friends!

Our ceremony was beautiful, and simple! Thanks to Uncle Allan for the short ceremony, Kim for singing, Aunt Arlene for playing the piano with little direction, and a plethora of others for helping out! Eastern Ave. Christian Reformed Church recorded the ceremony on cassette tape (whats that?) but I converted it to MP3. The quality is no where near the DVD that Laura's uncles are creating; but it is a neat keep-sake. It can be listened to, and downloaded for free, here.

We have uploaded about 3,000 photos to Shutterfly--so far. If you visit www.shutterfly.com and use the username ianandlaura.belanger@gmail.com and password of malik, you can order what you wish, and have it delivered to your home!

Again, thank you to everyone that was so generous with their gifts, time and company.

Ian & Laura



(btw: we are going to continue this blog; keep reading it!)