New Year's Eve 2009

Matt & Ilona hosted a GREAT New Year's Eve party.

The 3 Amigos ... guess which one is sober!

Me, mom & Hank.

Ilona, Anna & mom.

Hank & mom.

Angel was quite the crooner with Ilona's new karaoke machine. He even translated Frank Sinatra into Spanish with his awesome voice.

A Day the Zoo

Today I went to the Jacksonville Zoo with mom, Hank & Adam.

This jaguar wasn't impressed with my picture-taking.

I'm sensing a theme here ... I promise this is the last tongue photo ... well sort of!

Hank, Adam & mom on the bridge.

The lorikeets were my favorite! Such awesome colors!

At one point Adam had 2 lorikeets on his shoulders, pecking at his head.

No fake pink flamingos here.

This ape just sat there & stared at us. It was kinda creepy.

Mom, Adam & me pose for Hank

Before we went to the zoo, I shot the Dennis family portrait.

All I can figure is that Anna saw his tie & thought she was kissing Tyler!

At least Hank got dressed up for the occasion. Isn't he handsome?

Gigantic Umbrellas

Scott came by today to show me his new Parabolic Light Modification system. These umbrellas are HUGE! The massive 86" PLM practically dwarfs the 64" version.

Engagement Waffles

Today we had a waffle party to celebrate Amber & Travis' engagement.

Amber made a diamond ring ...

I made a heart, Rob made 3D engagement rings, Jana made wedding bells & Sarah made a wedding cake.

I got up early to bake chocolate chip scones & Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownies.

Rob shoots some lensbaby pix while JR gives Sarah the house tour.

The happy couple!

JR made some awesome French fries!

He loves McDonald's French fries ...

... especially when he gets to eat them.

ɹoʇɐɹƎʞuıSuI

After a waffle party with camera-shy guests, I decided to attempt to replace my broken garbage disposal. Rob came to the rescue when I had some problems. First we had some fun taking pix.

At one point he asked me if I was okay with the word "InSinkErator" being upside down. Exasperated, I said, "Are you kidding!?!" He thought I meant, "are you kidding," as in, "of course not," but I really meant I could never ever live with that! Without hesitation, he ripped it out & started over. Whew!

Mallards in the backyard at sunset.

Separated at Birth?

Scott & Andre ... separated at birth?

Afternoon waffles with Chris, Beth & Scott.

Top Ten Favorites of 2009

Chris, Stan & I compiled our favorite pix from 2009 & explained the story behind them. Use the links below to see our Top Ten.
my favorites
Chris' favorites
Stan's favorites

Today's Duck is Me!

Franny Foto Shoot

Franny was not the least bit amused by her new postal worker outfit, compliments of Rosie's mom.

Franny goes postal.

Elf Rosie was happy she finally stuffed Franny into a stocking.

Santa Franny in her stocking.

Thanksgiving

I spent the holiday in South Florida with friends & family before heading to Q-School. We had an intimate dinner for 42 at Bobby & Patty's!

Billy carves one of two turkeys.

A Thanksgiving first ... H1N1 vaccines! Bobby made sure I didn't move while I got mine.

Mirror Duck

The pond in my backyard was very still when these mallards swam by. The heavy overcast made it look like a mirror.

Nice Light ... Literally!

Surf Fishing at Dawn

We got to the beach about 45 minutes before sunrise.

It was quite chilly & the surf was cold, but we waded in anyway.

Nice hook!

A woman walking her dog on the beach approached me & said, "I just have to ask what the duck is for" ... like it wasn't obvious!?!

When John saw the Duck was there to shoot sunrise, he got out his trusty F30. He wasn't about to be upstaged by a Duck!

Then he shot me shooting the Duck.

The sun started peeking out over the low clouds on the horizon just after 7am.

Awesome sunrise!

Portuguese Man-of-War (without tentacles) were washed up on the beach.

A lot of pelicans were out looking for fish this morning. There were 24 in this group.

We caught 7 fish this morning ... whiting & bluefish ... no sharks today.

I shot a quick snap of this flower on the way out of the Cabana Club.