The GoodeLife

Yesterday proved to be a very interesting and eventful day. We started out with a sick doggie. Poor Cosmo seems to have a bit of an upset tummy. He did finally eat a little scrambled egg, but some of it came back up. He is able to keep water down, so we will just keep a close eye on him for now and hope he improves.

We did make it to the new Ikea store in Tampa. WOW! What a place. The second floor is all set up with 'room displays' and then the ground floor is where you actually can purchase what you saw upstairs. The folks that put this place together are really very good at marketing. Once you enter, you will see arrows on the floor, you are supposed to follow these arrows through the store. I didn't even notice the stupid arrows until DH pointed out to me that I was going in the wrong direction. Excuse me....are the "arrow police" going to arrest me....but, to keep the peace I dutifully followed the path. The other thing I notice was the lack of windows and the only other doors (other than the main entrance and exit) were labeled emergency exits only.....an alarm will sound. That is what I mean about the 'marketing' this place takes away all other distractions. They want to keep your focus on the merchandise. The pathway meanders and winds back and forth......so you feel compelled to continue your journey through the entire store. Once you are in.....it is not easy to get out! As to the merchandise......we did like what we saw. For the most, part......reasonable prices and reasonable quality.....the style definitely lends itself to the more modern and urban lifestyle. We did; however, find a convection oven and a cook top that we loved and we think are sized right for our fiver. We have some research to do, but if we could make them work they would be a big improvement over the standard drop-in oven we currently have......we'll see.

Now, on to the next big event......we were trying to get a hold of my Aunt and Uncle. Neither of them were answering their cell phones......which is very odd. We stopped by my Uncle's Electrical Shop and neither of them were there and no one seemed to know where they could be......so......we headed to Elmer's. Elmer's is our family's favorite bar/lunch stop. When we arrived......no Auntie and no Uncle.....but we stayed and had a great lunch and then headed to the Ikea store. Finally, a phone call from my Aunt. It seems some friends of the family had decided to 'tie the knot' that day down at the court house. The happy couple wanted to keep it a secret until after the deed was done. Long story short.....we all met up at Elmer's and celebrated the event with the bride and groom.......Champagne all round.....good thing DH is my designated driver. I was feeling a little goofy by the time we left, but it sure was fun......and that is what I like about being down here......we never know what is going to happen, but we always seemed to have FUN!!