2008 in review

Julia did this one, so I thought I would also.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?
Went to a Jimmy Buffett concert

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I can't even remember if I had any resolutions last year! I might make some for this coming year, but have not thought much about it yet.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, several people did.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Not this year, thank goodness!

5. What countries did you visit?
Just Canada.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
I agree with Julia on these: Money? A job relevant to my degree? Motivation?

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
August 9, our wedding day. November 3, my paper came out in Journal of Paleontology

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting married! Followed by 5 years of work finished, in print, and over with (publication of my paper)

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not having any money. Unable to keep up with my bills. My lungs. Lack of motivation to get research started/finished.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
My lungs have been the problem this year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I am in love with my new couch!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My husband for tolerating me. My family and friends. All of the geo and paleo bloggers who have been so friendly and encouraging.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Certain "professionals" in my field, politicians (as usual).

14. Where did most of your money go?
Wedding, wedding, wedding, student loan payments, honeymoon, rent, svp, mis. travel, couch, sick dog. In that order.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My wedding and honeymoon. I was very excited to finally "be" married and to see all of our friends and family. I was also really excited to get back up to Glacier :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
Probably anything on the Mamma Mia! soundtrack.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?
happier, probably fatter (although I hope I have just maintained again), and definitly poorer!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Fieldwork, writing for my own research, research in general, reading.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Eating, spending money.

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
We went to my parents first, then to my sister-in-laws for Christmas day and the few days after.

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Yes, every day more.

22. How many one-night stands?
ZERO.

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Grays Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, ER, Brothers and Sisters, Project Runway (!), Men in Trees till they canceled it.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Hate is a strong word. Probably strongly dislike is a better way to put it, and really only 2 people probably, one of which was a wedding vendor.

25. What was the best book you read?
Hmm...thats a hard one. I read alot this year actually! Its hard to narrow it down, so I guess it would be one of these: "Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living" by Doug Fine, "Forget Me Not" by Jennifer Lowe-Anker, and "Where is Joe Merchant?" by Jimmy Buffett.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
hmmmm...ABBA (I only knew two or three of their songs before) and the Indoorfins "Tiktaalik" song.

27. What did you want and get?
The couch and Mamma Mia!

28. What did you want and not get?
A job in town pertaining to my profession (is that to much to ask!) and a log bed frame/headboard/footboard.

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
That would be Mamma Mia!

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 29, and spent the day in a van traveling from Badlands National Park-Wall Drug-Rapid City to the Munson Ranch in NE Nebraska for the Augustana College Paleontology of the Badlands course. The geology girls even got me a cake! They had to create a diversion to surprise me with it. I wrote about it here.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the lottery, getting a new job, being motivated to get some research/fieldwork done for myself.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Sloppy/comfy/casual/jeans and a t-shirt

33. What kept you sane?
Sane? John. Period. If he were not here to help me keep it together and remind me I am not a complete looser I probably would have fully lost it.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Jimmy Buffett

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Our never-ending election (the first I have ever really paid attention too), Prop-8 BS, trying to classify birth control as a form of abortion.

36. Who did you miss?
Friends. I do not have any in Grand Junction really. No one that I see often or could just call up to go to a movie or out with.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
Hard to say. I know I met many new cool people this year, but I can't narrow it down.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Life is to short to not be happy. or is that Life is too short too not be happy. I don't know....

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
either

"Yesterdays are over my shoulder, so I can't look back for too long. There's just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can't go wrong"

or

"Spend it while you can, money's contraband. You can't take it with you when you go! Spend it while you can, before it's taken from your hand. There's no free ride in this carnival world"

Upside Down Dogs

My aunt told me about this site and I had to pass it on. Too funny......



What will they think of next?

How to tell you are getting older.....

A question tonight during a trivia game with the family:

"Who is Joe Montana? Is that Hanna Montana's dad?" - Dave A.

uggggggggg lol

Happy Jimmy Buffett Day!

Sure, its Christmas, but it is also Jimmy Buffetts birthday!!! So Happy Birthday to Mr. Buffett!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Its Here! Its Here!

But I do not have a copy yet :'(

1 more day!!!

So, I probably should explain this obsession. I have never been a huge Abba fan (although Dancing Queen is a great classic). I was just excited to see a movie that was Happy for once this summer!! Somehow I talked John into going to it with me and we both really enjoyed it! It was really great and I thought the story was fun, the way they had woven the songs together to make this story! The worse part was Pierce Brosnan's singing (ouch!). But it is still a great flick. I got to go and see it again the Thursday before my wedding this summer with a number of my girl friends, many of whom had flown in for the big day. That really meant alot to me, since I do not get to see many of them very often, let alone have a bunch of chick friends around to go see a chick flick with. It was one of the highlights of my summer! We had to listen to Dancing Queen twice at the Reception ;) So I guess I just associate the movie now with fun, happiness, and friends, which are not bad things at all!


Woo hoo!! It is out on DVD tomorrow! I can't wait!! :D

2 more days!!

Yippeee, its almost out on DVD!!

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

I found this recipe on "Fun & Food Blog" and thought it looked yummy, so I thought I would pass it on.


Does anyone else out there like to cook??

100 things you’ve done meme

Yeaaa another Meme. I took this one from Brian over at Clastic Detritus. It is a list where you indicate what you have done in bold. Like everyone else, I’ll include some comments in parenthesis.

1. Started my own blog (obvious - two actually)
2. Slept under the stars (more than once)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (Alaska was the best one I have ever seen)
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (during Hurricane Andrew)
8. Climbed a mountain (a few, my first 14,000 ft peak in 2007)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (the Vegas casino at least)
13. Watched lightning at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (I'll never eat another hot dog again)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables (not recently, but when I still lived at home)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (just this October on my way to and from SVP - the best way to travel across Nebraska and Iowa IMO)
21. Had a pillow fight (not too recently....)
22. Hitchhiked (a few times, most recently in Texas when we missed the ride to the restaurant)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (I am sure everyone has)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (more sunsets than rises)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (in high school)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (more than once!)
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (in Jamaica)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (once again, the casino in Vegas. It was great to see the Bellagio fountain show from the top!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (I saw Star Wars (E3) at the drive-in)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (this past year)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen (a long time ago)
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (only my toe)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (a few times!)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (James Earl Jones and Buzz Aldrin)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Ridden an elephant

How I met John...

I was not tagged officially on this, but Sarah did it as her first post on her new blog so I thought I would do it too...

So here's how I met John...

1. Where did you meet? At SVP in 2003 (St. Paul)
2. What was the first thought that went through your head when you met? I (unfortunately) can not remember the first time we met, but I always thought he was nice and very smart.
3. Do you remember what he/she was wearing? No :(
4. Where was the first time you kissed this person? At his place
5. Where did you go for your first date? I think our first official date was mexican food and a movie.
6. How long did you know this person before you became a couple? ~5 years
7. How did he/she ask you out? Never did officially
   
8. Has this person ever proposed to you? Yes. We were in Jamaica last year and had gone out to dinner at Rick's Cafe, where there is a great place to watch the sun set into the Caribbean. We had a great seat and there was a live bad. The food was also good. We went for a walk after dinner down to the water, where there is a little cave in a Miocene reef. We sat down in there and he told me how happy he had been the past few months and asked me to marry him. I was surprised, but very happy, and said yes, of course!
9. Do you and this person have kids together? No
10. Have you ever broken the law with this person? Only speeding probably
11. When was the first time you realized that you liked this person? We hung out alot at SVP in 2006 and then he called me a few days later when I was at GSA (and his timing could not have been better!). He stopped by to see me on his way home from the meeting and that was really cool.
12. Do you trust this person? More than anyone
13. Do you see him as your partner in your future? Yes!
14. What is the best gift he gave you? Either my wedding/engagement rings or tickets to my first Jimmy Buffett concert.
15. What is one thing He does that gets on your nerves? He leaves empty ziplock bags in the freezer.
16. Where do you see each other 15 years from now? I have to steal Sarah's answer here, because it is perfect: Hopefully settled in our careers, with a cute little family, and happy.
17. What causes the most arguments? We really do not argue. Sometime we might snap at each other but is mostly because we are tired or aggravated by an outside issue.
18. How long have you been together? 19 months
19. Are you Married? Yes, we are 4 months into it :)
    

New Foster Kitties

We have 4 new foster kittens that will be going up for adoption in a week and a half. They are just as cute and sweet as the last ones. We know that two are brother and sister, and the other two are from different litters. They came from a fellow foster-mom who raised all of these kittens from little babies when they were still taking a bottle. It was hard for her to give them up, but we know they will all find good homes when they go up for adoption.

Grizz, the runt of this litter, and very fluffy! I almost want to keep him. To cute!

Stitch and Duma3, litter mates, full of energy and affection :)

Socks, a cute bob tail with a sweet personality.

Trying to fool a cat

Our friend Pete sent us this story and it is so funny I have to share it!!


"I was originally going to put together an article called "10 Ways to Confuse (or Annoy) your Cat". I jotted down a few ideas and was going to make a list around the premise. As I started thinking of ideas I couldn't help but wonder how Carl would react to some of these situations. So instead of putting up the list I figured I would take a whack at some of the ideas. Today I bring you the first of such experiments. I call this one The Switch.

I keep Carl's food, water and litter box in a separate room from the rest of the apartment. Some folks like to call it the "pantry", I call it the food bunker. As you'd expect Carl makes countless trips there a day to eat, drink and take care of business. On the rare chance he has food, water and a clean litter box all at the same time it looks a little something like this...

Carl's setup has been like this since day one. And unless I move, get evicted, Carl kills me or my apartment slides down a mountain it'll stay this way. He's a cat, why would he suspect anything else? Today, however, will be different. We're gonna turn his world upside down.

First up? His food dispenser.

What if everything Carl has grown to know and love was suddenly different? What if after chewing on some killer 'nip he got the munchies for Science Diet only to find it replaced with kitty litter? Or his kitty litter replaced with water? Think Freaky Friday with more cat food...and less Lindsay Lohan. Also, before we begin and in case you guys were curious, I thoroughly cleaned everything before and after the experiment. No need to worry.

I started off by emptying all of his food into a bag........."

Keep reading this hilarious post here! I might try this if it were not for the fact I think my cats might play a equally mean trick on me. Never doubt a cat.

Imagine

October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Thanksgiving travels

We had a very nice drive down to Oklahoma to see my family for Thanksgiving. We took our new dog with us and he did really well on the drive. On the way down we had a chance to stop at the Sternberg Museum (which was really nice)...



...and then took a research day down to Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.




It was good to see family and eat yummy food too, of course. Saturday morning we had a flock of turkeys walk through my grandpa's back yard. I guess they figured it was safe to come out.



Everything had been going really well until we were headed home, about an hour down the road. Our dog got really sick and puked all over the back seat. I got him out of the car just before the other end "blew" - it was pretty gross! So we had to deal with puke/diarrhea all the way back to Colorado and took him to the ER on Saturday night when we got to Colorado Springs. I have never seen a dog puke so much! 8 times in a day! It was pretty bad. He was really dehydrated so we had to leave him there over night, which sucked, but he is feeling better now, so that is good!

On the way home Sunday we got stuck in a snow storm between Colorado Springs and Denver. It took us 4 hours to get to Denver - it was insane! We finally got off the interstate and made better time on highway 83 but we ended up staying at a friends place in Denver Sunday night. Sounds like that was a good idea also or we would have been getting up to the Eisenhower Tunnel/Vail Pass about the time they closed the road! Alot of people were stranded there Sunday night and had to stay in shelters after the hotels filled up. I am glad we had a nice free bed in Denver with good company. The ride back home Monday was longer than normal but we did not see any accidents, so that is good. We are glad to be back home with our fuzzy family, even if we do have alot of catching up to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Christmas Music

So I know we are less than a week out from Thanksgiving, but everywhere you go people are playing Christmas Music and have their trees, lights and decorations up! So today I got the iPod warmed up for all the "Holiday" music and started to make my playlist. I thought I would list below some of the music that I have (no laughing!) and see if anyone has any recommendations or can think of something I might have forgotten! You can tell what CD's I own....so variations are appreciated.

• Mr. Grinch
• Happy Christmas - John Lennon
  
• Silver Bells - Johnny Mathis or Bing Crosby
  
• White Christmas - Bing Crosby
  
• Holly Jolly Christmas - Burl Ives
  
• Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
  
• Rocking around the Christmas tree
  
• Jingle Bells - Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra
  
• All I want for Christmas is you - Mariah Carey
  
• Santa Clause is coming to town - Mariah Carey
  
• Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of Rum - Jimmy Buffett
  
• Mele Kalikimaka - Jimmy Buffett
  
• Please come home for Christmas - Eagles or Mariah Carey
  
• I'll be home for Christmas -Bing Crosby or Sheryl Crow
• There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays - The Carpenters
• Have yourself a merry little Christmas - The Carpenters or Martina McBride
  
• Sleigh Ride - Johnny Mathis
  
• Winter Wonderland - Johnny Mathis, Dolly Parton or the Carpenters
  
• The Christmas Song (Chestnuts roasting...) - Nat King Cole, Vince Guaraldi, or Sheryl Crow
  
• Merry Christmas Baby
• Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer - Burl Ives
  
• Merry Christmas Darling - the Carpenters
  
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - The Carpenters or Martina McBride
• A Christmas to Remember - Dolly Parton
  
• Christmas Time is Here - Vince Guaraldi (A Charlie Brown Christmas)
• Deck the Halls
• Greensleeves - Vince Guaraldi (A Charlie Brown Christmas)

Church tunes

• Do you hear what I hear
• The First Noel - Bing Crosby
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bing Crosby
• Hark the Herald Angles Sing - Nat King Cole
  
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Frank Sinatra
• Joy to the World - Bing Crosby or Mariah Carey
• Oh Come all Ye Faithful - Frank Sinatra
• O Holy Night - Sheryl Crow or Mariah Carey
• O Little Town of Bethlehem - Frank Sinatra
• Silent Night - Mariah Carey, Bing Crosby, or Frank Sinatra
• We Three Kings
• What Child is This
  

Child's Play Charity

Sarah over at Bio/Rocks pointed out a great way to help others:

"At Child's Play Charity you can donate toys, games, books, DVDs, and/or video games directly to children's hospitals in the US, Canada, and elsewhere. You choose a hospital and the site takes you directly to an Amazon wishlist for that hospital. Since you're donating the goods directly to the hospital, it avoids most of the overhead costs associated with most charities."

Pass this on to your friend or post this on your blog. Lets get the word out!

Buying a house?

Who out there has bought/sold a house before? Any advice? John and I have started to look for a new home closer to where he works. This is my first time to go through this sort of thing, so I am open to any suggestions you all may have!

You Suck at Photoshop

Well, not you specifically (as far as I know), but this series of videos is pretty funny if you have the time to watch them(I'll only post the first 10 - 1, 3, and 5 are particularly funny; you can see the others here). I hate to admit it, but I did learn a few things watching this actually ;)

Five Things Meme

I'm taking this one from Silver Fox over at Looking for Detachment, who tagged "Any geologist". She took it from Cath @ VWXYNot?, who tagged "anyone whose breakfast included / will include cheese."

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
(Let's see, 10 years ago was 1998.)

1. Trying to make it through my first semester of college.
2. Plotting a sneaky return home for Thanksgiving.
3. Working at a movie theater.
4. Working at Toys R' Us.
5. Living in a dorm.

5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Sleep late. ✓
2. Do dishes.✓
3. Do laundry.✓
4. Clean kitchen.✓
5. Send out an invoice.✓

5 snacks I love:

1. Popcorn
2. Fruit
3. Chocolate anything almost
4. Cheese crackers
   
5. Potato chips

5 things I would do if I was a millionaire:

1. Pay off my student loans!
2. Buy a new field vehicle, one that gets good mileage and does not have any leaks.
3. Build a new house for myself and my parents.
4. Have a farm and save animals.
5. Travel the world!

5 places I've lived:

1. Colorado
   
2. Texas
   
3. Montana
   
4. Arkansas
   
5. Oklahoma
   

5 jobs I've had

1. Paleontologist/Geologist (researcher, preparator, field coordinator, collections manager, consultant)
   
2. Movie Theater (ran projectors, sold tickets, concession stand)
   
3. College Instructor/Teaching Assistant.
4. Food Service.
5. Retail.

5 rocks I love:
(For geologists or any others who also want to add rocks.)

1. Sandstones,Fluvial
   
2. Mudstone
3. Limestone
4. Feldspar Granites
   
5. Chert

5 categories of people I'll tag:

1. Any geologist.
2. Anyone who reads this blog (all 5 or 6 of you, thank you).
3. Any paleontologist.
4. Anyone who loves summer.
5. Anyone who hates winter.

Book Review - A Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years

I just finished reading A Lion Among Men: Volume Three in the Wicked Years this week. I was very excited to see it was out last month. I read Wicked in the summer of 2006 and Son of a Witch in the summer/fall of 2006. For those of you who may not know about Wicked, it is the story of the "Wicked Witch of OZ" (or Elphaba, which is her name we find out) from the classic story The Wizard of OZ. This story basically takes the classic tale and looks at it from a different angle, telling you the story of how Elphaba became "wicked" and what the story of Dorothy looks like from her perspective. Two sides to every coin, remember. It is a very well told tale and very interesting.

I originally learned about Wicked via a weird source - Broadway! I was reading about Broadway star Idina Menzel who was in Rent and trying to find out what other shows she had been in, because she has a really amazing voice! Then I stumbled upon Wicked. They had taken the book and turned it into a Broadway musical! The men behind the music and lyrics of Disney's The Little Mermaid were behind reinventing the story from a book to musical, and they really did an amazing job! Check it out if you ever get a chance.

Anyway.....the first two books were very good. They totally sucked me in and were told so well that I just got lost in them. This third book did the same. It fleshed out a bit more of the story, but tells mostly more about the "Cowardly Lion," and Yackle (an oracle nun of sorts) from the Wicked and Son of a Witch books. It was fun to get some more background on OZ, on its history and about some of the different geographical regions. Overall A Lion Among Men was a great book, but it leaves us hanging (again) for a follow up. I hope it does not take as long for the next one to come out, but if the quality will stay, I will wait. I would rather wait for a good story than get a quick, crappy book! Below is the 'official' book description:

"Since Wicked was first published in 1995, millions of readers have discovered Gregory Maguire's fantastically encyclopedic Oz, a world filled with characters both familiar and new, darkly conceived and daringly reimagined. In the much-anticipated third volume of the Wicked Years, we return to Oz, seen now through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion—the once tiny cub defended by Elphaba in Wicked.

While civil war looms in Oz, a tetchy oracle named Yackle prepares for death. Before her final hour, an enigmatic figure known as Brrr—the Cowardly Lion—arrives searching for information about Elphaba Thropp, the Wicked Witch of the West. As payment, Yackle, who hovered on the sidelines of Elphaba's life, demands some answers of her own.

Brrr surrenders his story to the ailing maunt: Abandoned as a cub, his earliest memories are gluey hazes, and his path from infancy in the Great Gillikin Forest is no Yellow Brick Road. Seeking to redress an early mistake, he trudges through a swamp of ghosts, becomes implicated in a massacre of trolls, and falls in love with a forbidding Cat princess. In the wake of laws that oppress talking Animals, he avoids a jail sentence by agreeing to serve as a lackey to the war-mongering Emperor of Oz.

A Lion Among Men chronicles a battle of wits hastened by the Emerald City's approaching armies. What does the Lion know of the whereabouts of the Witch's boy, Liir? What can Yackle reveal about the auguries of the Clock of the Time Dragon? And what of the Grimmerie, the magic book that vanished as quickly as Elphaba? Is destiny ever arbitrary? Can those tarnished by infamy escape their sobriquets—cowardly, wicked, brainless, criminally earnest—to claim their own histories, to live honorably within their own skins before they're skinned alive?

At once a portrait of a would-be survivor and a panoramic glimpse of a world gone shrill with war fever, Gregory Maguire's new novel is written with the sympathy and power that have made his books contemporary classics."

Oh look kittens

"So, there I was . . . just relaxing in front of the TV and then the kids yelled,'Hey Mom, come see the kittens.'"


















(click on picture for larger view)

Thanks to Mary Kate for sending me this :)

Western Slope Regional Adoption Fair

This weekend is the Western Slope Regional Adoption Fair! We went by tonight to preview the dogs. I have been wanting a dog for a really long time and John has come around to the idea. Maybe tomorrow I will be able to blog about our new Dog(s)!!

The fair is sponsored by many of the regions animal shelters and charities. The Best Friends Animal Society out of Kanab, Utah is also a co-sponsor. This is an excellent organization that operates the country's largest sanctuary for homeless animals. On any given day, the sanctuary is home to about 2,000 dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds, and other animals. "Best Friends works globally with animal shelters and rescue groups to bring about a time when there will be no more homeless pets. Best Friends advances initiatives nationwide that promote community approaches to making the world a better place through kindness to animals, which includes adoption, spay-neuter, and humane education programs." Check out their website. I hope someday to have time to go down there and volunteer for a week or two and help with their great cause!!

On another Happy note, we found out that our kittens we fostered all found homes their first weekend up for adoption. Not surprising; they are incredibly cute and fun! I am glad they have found homes and look forward to our next foster kittie(s) :)

What a day

Wow, what a day it has been! John woke me up early to go vote. Amazingly when we got there (around ~9AM) there was no line and we did not have to wait to vote. I was able to use an electronic voting machine for the first time, and I thought it went very quickly. I was AMAZED at the number of presidential candidates on the ballot! 10 that I had never even heard of! It was crazy! Why do the media not cover these other parties?!?!?! It drives me nuts! I would have loved to hear who else was running. Why is everyone so dead set on always just having TWO major parties? It is madness!!! I had never even heard of some of these parties (Boston Tea Party, HeartQuake08, Constitutional party....). This really bothers me.

And then it happened. I was wearing an old "Vote Nader" button that said "Stop War" (Nader was smart enough to not bother putting a year on his buttons, I got this one in 2000). One of the election workers told me I could not wear it. Bewildered, I took it off and got on with my voting. Afterwards I asked her why I could not wear it and she said it had to do with something called "electioneering" which I had never heard of. When I asked her why they had let another woman voting in the room when I was wear her "NObama" shirt, she swore she did not see it. This kind of bothered me that she saw my small pin that only said "Stop War" but did not see this woman's mean shirt, and it was not a small woman or a small shirt. Grrrr.....

To add to the fun of the day, Mr. McCain decided to stop in our lovely town this morning. I thought it seemed a bit late to try to get more votes, but whatever. They (Republican Party, including Ms. Palin) called me 4, yes FOUR, times today!! Not a single call from the Democrats. But anyway, it is no secret that I am not a fan of their (McCain/Palin) campaign. And, as is traditional for me, I needed to protest this election. Since Ms. Palin had scheduled her visit when I was out of town, Mr. McCain was nice enough to give me my one last opportunity for the next four years. So down I went to the airport where the rally was being held with my sign in hand. There were cops everywhere and the sneaky suckers held their rally on private property at the airport, with no "Public" space for protesting to be had, so I moved my one-person-protest down the street to the sidewalk where I knew I would be safe from law enforcement pickiness. It was also a good spot because every single person that went to that rally had to drive by me. My "I Vote With My Brain, Not With My Gender" sign got alot of smiles, thumbs up's and laughs, with one person even telling me "Finally! And intelligent sign!" (which I appreciated). Unfortunately, the other side of my sign, which said "Stop War" with a big peace sign was only met with frowns, laughs and thumbs down. Mind you most of the negativity was from men in large trucks, but still, who is FOR WAR. That is just sad and nuts!! This was probably the most disappointing part of the day (almost, see below). It was so windy I thought I was goingt o loose the sign a time or tow an dmy fingers hurt pretty bad, but it was worth it.

I was a bit disappointed that no one else had turned out to protest his visit. I did finally meet some college students, but they were risking the cops up near the rally, and I was not willing to do that (today lol). After I had been standing by myself for about an hour and a half a family of Obama supporters joined me, and then two high school girls playing hooky. Up till this point everyone had been relatively polite in their jesters and comments. Once the Obama supporters showed up we were getting yelled at, the finger left and right (and in front of kids who were with us even) and TWO different people yelled at us the Obama is an "N" word! That just appalled me. I thought I had left the South, but I guess people are ignorant and small minded where ever you go :(

Once Mr. McCain arrived, I left for my "job" and spend the rest of the day playing with resin and clay. We are now just waiting to see what happens. I hope this one does not turn into a 'flustercuck' like 2000.I guess we shall see.

*UPDATE* While writing this, history has just happened. And I can’t believe it. Part of me is afraid to believe it is true and that this will just get drug out for many more months. But here I am, on my couch, listening to Mr. McCain let it be. It’s Amazing!!! This country has its first ethnic president. I am amazed. Wow. I really did not think this would happen to my lifetime, but this is pretty cool! Poor Obama is inheriting a mess to clean up. I hope he can make these next 4 years better than the last 8!!

Congrats Obama!!

Pumpkin carving

Happy Halloween Everyone!

This year we finally got our pumpkin carved. Last year they just sat on the porch uncarved till something ridiculous like February when they started to melt into the porch. How sad is that.

John requested a pirate ship, so that is what we did. Maybe next year (since we will be home in October and not off at SVP for over a week) we can do more Halloween decorating and have more pumpkins!

I don't care who you are voting for....

....but you should watch this, because it is funny. And we need some funny right now.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time

I need a break from politics :P

I found this "old" list from 2004 of National Geographic Adventures "The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time." These are some of my favorite types of books. On this list I have read:

9. Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer (1997) Was it fate that put Krakauer—at once a crack climber, a seasoned journalist, and a sensitive conscience—on the world's highest mountain during that notorious 1996 season? Unpredictable weather, human folly, and a mind-set committed to client satisfaction killed 12 people on Everest that year, while the whole world watched. Krakauer showed us what it really meant: the traffic jams on the summit ridge; guides bending their own rules to get exhausted clients to the top. He showed us the consequences of disrespect for this formidable goddess, Chomolungma, as the Sherpas call her. And Krakauer is as hard on himself as he is on the rest. Whereas Annapurna is the record of a triumph, Into Thin Air is the postmortem of a debacle—less inspiring, but no less powerful. As the most widely read mountaineering work in recent history, it has profoundly shaped our idea of extreme adventure and who and what it is for.

20. Seven Years in Tibet, by Heinrich Harrer (1953) Escaping from a British prisoner-of-war camp in India, the great Austrian climber headed for the mountains, Tibet, and freedom. Amazingly, he got all the way to Lhasa, where he befriended the young Dalai Lama. Revelations of Harrer's Nazi past have clouded his reputation, yet the book's deeply sympathetic portrait of the Tibetans endures.

69. Touching the Void, by Joe Simpson (1989) Descending a hard route in the Andes, Simpson broke his leg and his partner was forced to do the unthinkable: He cut the rope between them. That Simpson survived the fall, that he crawled down the mountain on his own, makes for some of the most hair-raising reading you'll ever enjoy.

77. Minus 148°, by Art Davidson (1969) Coming down from the first winter ascent of Mount McKinley, three climbers get caught in winds of 130 miles (202 kilometers) an hour (202 km/hour)—and hence a windchill of minus 148°F (minus 100°C) and that melodramatic title. They dig an ice cave to survive, their hands freeze up, the wind just won't quit. Whew! A minor classic in the will-they-make-it? category.

And this one added since they last made the list:

Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow, by Maria Coffey
Twenty years after her boyfriend Joe Tasker's death on Everest's Northeast Ridge, Coffey writes this sad yet somehow ecstatic book about what such tragedies mean to the loved ones of mountaineers. She traveled widely and spoke to a great many people—wives, husbands, children, parents, and the climbers themselves. It's very moving stuff, and the book raises basic issues about extreme adventure and the risks it entails. Do these risk takers have a right? Wisely, Coffey doesn't try to answer the question. She just goes on telling stories, filling the book with them—tragic, heroic, compelling, exalting.

And after looking over the list I have a few new books to add to my "to read" list:

4. Exploration of the Colorado River, by John Wesley Powell (1875) Powell lost most of his right arm fighting for the Union, but that didn't stop him from leading the first descent of the Grand Canyon. The year was 1869, and he and his nine men started on the Green River in wooden boats. "We have an unknown distance yet to run," writes Powell, "an unknown river yet to explore. What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls rise over the river, we know not. Ah, well!" Ah, well, indeed. The rapids were overpowering. They lost boats and supplies. They ran out of food. Near the end, three of the men lost their nerve and climbed out of the canyon; they were killed by Indians. The others stayed with Powell and survived. Powell himself was an unusual man—tough, driven, hard to please. He was also a thoughtful man, a friend of Native Americans, and a gifted geologist. It is this combination—deep curiosity allied with great courage—that makes the book a classic.

6. Annapurna, by Maurice Herzog (1952) No one had ever climbed an 8,000-meter (26,250-ft.) peak when Herzog led a team of the best climbers in France to Annapurna in 1950. Maps were sketchy and inadequate; they had trouble even finding the peak. They climbed without oxygen. The weather was bad. Nevertheless, Herzog and Louis Lachenal made it to the top. But on the descent, disaster: lost gloves, frostbite, an avalanche. When rescue came, Herzog had almost given up and could hardly move. He lost all his fingers and thus did not write but dictated this book. It has its faults, mostly in Herzog's failure to credit his teammates as fairly as he might. Yet it conveys the essential spirit of climbing as no popular book had before and earns its place here as the most influential mountaineering book of all time.

28. The Mountain of My Fear and Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative, by David Roberts (1968, 1970) "The deepest despair I have ever felt, as well as the most piercing happiness, has come in the mountains," writes Roberts (now an Adventure contributing editor). Here we have both, in two books, now available in one volume, that Roberts wrote when he was still in his 20s. The mountains are in Alaska; the passion is all in Roberts's young heart.

33. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, by Isabella L. Bird (1879) Bird was no lady in the conventional Victorian sense but a world traveler. She ventured through the Rockies when they were still wild, met up with grizzly bears, and climbed Longs Peak when it was thought impossible for a woman to do so. She had to thaw her ink on the cabin stove to write, and she wrote delightfully.

37. Out of Africa, by Isak Dinesen (1937) Karen Blixen (who wrote under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen) knew the African countryside as intimately as her own face in the mirror. "The civilized people," she wrote, "have lost the aptitude of stillness, and must take lessons in silence from the wild before they are accepted by it." From her own wild heart she wrote this achingly beautiful book.

54. Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada, by Clarence King (1872) King was a Yale man, a ladies' man, a friend of Henry Adams's, and a geologist. While still in his 20s, he began a survey of the 40th parallel, from the Sierra to the Rockies. He had adventures galore and was a natural storyteller. He was also one of the first Americans to climb mountains simply because they were there.

74. No Picnic on Mount Kenya, by Felice Benuzzi (1953) You're bored and dispirited, an Italian mountain climber stuck in a British POW camp in East Africa in 1943. What to do? Simple: Escape. Climb Mount Kenya with homemade equipment and little food. And then sneak back in. Benuzzi and two other men did just that, and though it was no picnic, it saved their souls.

65. Annapurna: A Woman's Place, by Arlene Blum (1980) Ask a woman climber what inspired her and she's likely to name this book, the story of a 1978 ascent of Annapurna by a team of women, two of whom died. "What's a nice girl from the Midwest doing up here all alone?" the author asks herself at one point. Surviving. Blum's depiction of the team's Sherpas irks some climbers, but there's no denying the book's impact.

99. Grizzly Years, by Doug Peacock (1990) Peacock is an ex-Green Beret medic, a sometime wilderness guide, and the model for the ecoterrorist Hayduke in Edward Abbey's novel The Monkey Wrench Gang. He's also one of the world's leading experts on the grizzly and has had more encounters with these lords of the wilderness than probably any other living American. There's nothing quite like walking through a landscape loaded with bear.

97. The Crystal Horizon, by Reinhold Messner (1982) In 1980, Messner climbed Everest alone—without oxygen. Though he is perhaps a better climber than writer, his story of the ascent still resonates: From then on, mountaineers would be asked not whether they reached a summit but how.

Have any of you read these books? See any you can recommend?

The Vet who did not Vet

Check this video out:



Pretty smart, regardless of who you decide to vote for. The truth can hurt (and rhyme).

This is BS

My local news just informed me that if I write in any name that is not an "approved" write-in candidates name, my vote will not count. At all! What kind of bullshit is that?!?!??!! I could continue to rant, but I will spare you all.......



I am so ready for next week to be over with (political wise)....

A cure

For all of us who came home from SVP with the bug, I offer some help: an awesome chicken noodle soup recipe. We made this last night and I am already feeling better (plus I drank quite a bit of OJ). So if you have the time and energy, here it is:

Ingredients:
2 cans/boxes of chicken broth (I prefer the organic/free range kind)
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast (once again, go organic/free range)
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbs salted butter
1 1/4 cup of diced onion
1 1/2 cups carrots (optional)
1 1/2 cups corn (makes it better)
2 cloves of minced garlic
3 tbs flour
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
salt to taste
1/2 to 1/4 tbs thyme leaves
2 cups of frozen egg noodles
1/2 cup low fat milk
1/2 cup fat free half-and-half

Directions:

1. Chop up chicken into chunks, and cook in skillet with 2 tbs butter. Simmer over medium heat till chicken is golden brown. Set chicken aside.
2. In a large pot, warm olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, corn, and garlic and cook until onion is transparent (~5 min). Sprinkle vegetables with flour, oregano, poultry seasoning, and salt. Toss to coat. Stir for another 1 minute.
3. Add broth to vegetable mixture, cover and reduce heat to medium. Gently simmer for 15 minutes or until carrots are tender (if you are using them).
4. Add diced chicken and thyme, simmering for 2 minutes.
5. Add noodles, milk, and half-and-half. Stir and heat until steaming but not boiling.
6. Remove from heat, sever, enjoy and get better!
   

The Me Meme

Amanda tagged me for what I and Julia are calling the "WORST meme ever." Here's what you have to do:

1. Take a picture of yourself right now.
2. Don't change your clothes, don't fix your hair...just take a picture.
3. Post that picture with NO editing.
4. Post these instructions with your picture.


Here I am, sitting in my hotel, after spending 12 hours following a bulldozer around:


I am not sure who all reads this blog, so I am tagging 2 of my 3 "followers" (since Amanda tagged Zach): Jim & Nita

Enjoy :)

Palin around with terrorist: Will it ever end?!

Don't fall for her! Watch this video. Normally I would never watch one of these shows, but Olbermann makes some really good points!!



Thanks to Sarah (no, not Palin, Spears) for sending me the link!

I am really looking forward to Novembers vote so all this crap will end and the next folks can get their 4 year head start and all this crap can start over again!


Good night, and good luck!

Bite Me

Just in case you do not read Laelaps, check out this video that Brian posted today, along with the text below (taken from Brian's post):

"If I didn't know any better, I would have said that was Tina Fey doing an impersonation. That's sadly not the case. As reported in the Huffington Post, the quote was actually "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women," (emphasis mine) and here's what Madeleine Albright had to say about Palin's misquote;

Though I am flattered that Governor Palin has chosen to cite me as a source of wisdom, what I said had nothing to do with politics. This is yet another example of McCain and Palin distorting the truth, and all the more reason to remember that this campaign is not about gender, it is about which candidate has an agenda that will improve the lives of all Americans, including women. The truth is, if you care about the status of women in our society and in our troubled economy, the best choice by far is Obama-Biden."

This is the real cup folks:



Its not a conspiracy between the Democrats and Starbucks, Palin just can't get her facts straight. Just because I am a women does not mean I am going to vote for you lady. Try another strategy.

Installing a Husband

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addit ion, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, and then installed undesirable programs such as:
NBA 5.0,
NFL 3.0 and
Golf Clubs 4..1

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.

What can I do?

Signed,
Desperate



DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download Tears 6.2 and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.
If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3..5.

However, remember that overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1
Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.)

In addition, please do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend:
Cooking 3.0 and
Hot Lingerie 7.7

Good Luck Babe!

Tech Support