Stowaways

It's always fun to me when you get something unexpected. Such as when you order lunch and you are sitting there, eating your fries and you pull out something different. What is this? A curly fry?? Bonus! Or maybe you order a pizza and there is a stray onion or black olive that has jumped onto it. I usually try to sneak that piece before someone else notices that there was a little extra something on there.
Sometimes though, there are little "extras", little stowaways that you don't want to find. My mom always tells me the story of the time she was enjoying a really good burger (my mom has an obsession with a good hamburger!) and she said that she had eaten about half of it when she noticed a big grub worm.....well she noticed half of a big grub worm! She never eats lettuce now without looking over every bit of it. Don't blame her.
A friend and I were driving in Eastern Washington one time and we stopped at an outdoor farmers market. She bought a really big apple and was eating it as we were driving down the road. All of sudden she let out a little scream and showed me her apple. At the top of it by the stem was the biggest grossest fattest brown worm. I seriously got queasy. She tossed it out the window. I have never eaten an apple off the tree or from an outdoor market since.
This one happened very recently here in town. A woman was eating salad from the salad bar at a local pizza place. She was eating away when she bit down on something big and soft. She spit it out. It was a dead mouse. Her friends said she then.....well....she puked. Barfed. Upchucked right there at the table. Don't blame her. I would have too. But who the hell takes that big of a bite of food that you can't even see that there is a mouse on your fork? Seriously. If I took that big of a bite I would have choked! I have been told that I have a big mouth.....but you know...that is just a figure of speech.

Mary Mary ....

We are having some work done on our building here at work. The porches are being refurbished and we are getting a new roof. It's taking a while. The porches especially. The man who is working on the columns came by because we thought the toilet was leaking (its not. i guess toilets sweat in the heat too even though its cold in here with the a/c. who knew). He stopped by my desk and asked how things were going in here with all of the work that was going on. I asked him..."Going on as in Mary? The ghost Mary?" He smiled and asked if that was the name we had given her. I told him that was her real name as far as we knew. We chatted a little about her and he told me that he has been refurbishing the porch columns in the old hospital building, which is one of the most haunted buildings on site. Scully is the ghost he was talking about. Not sure if Scully is at the hospital or wherever his regular maintenance area is, but he said that Scully takes his tools all the time. Which I find amusing. It's like when Mary took my phone and took Karen's eyeglass case. Ghosts can be so mischievous. I'm just glad that we have a playful ghost and not some jump-in-your-body-and-possess-you-and-make-your-head-spin-around-while-you-puke-green-stuff-at-priests kinda of ghost. I would have left here a long time ago!
I have been wondering this week if the noise being made with the roofers was going to make Mary a little active. It is going on outside (obviously), and not inside the building. I don't know if that makes a difference. Like when we remodeled the inside a couple years ago. That was when I saw her skirt go around the corner of the wall, among other things. She has been so quiet lately. I'm kinda hoping she does get a little active. Makes for an interesting day at work!

WTS Bryan????

**had to upload this lolcat because....well...it cracks me up**

My son hates me. He posted a comment on yesterday's blog saying how he is glad to not be living at home anymore because then he doesn't have to be around pissed momma. WTS?? Ingrateful little sh*t! Who raised you to be like that? Not me....oh yeh....Katie raised you! I do not take credit for anything other than birthing you. I went through hell....HELL I TELL YOU....to bring you into this world! And all you do is hate on me...............
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i love you again :-)

It's gonna be another hot one today. We set an all time record for hottest day ever recorded in Vancouver with a temp of 106*. I heard that some where in the area it got as hot as 112*, but that has not been made official. The hottest official temp in the area yesterday was 110* in Tigard, OR. The news last night was saying that we could reach 106* again today, or higher. They think it will reach 107*
Crazy Crazy weather here this year. With the tons of snow this Winter and now record heat.
Very weird.....

Oh for crying out loud....I needz me sum a/c

It's a hot one out there folks. 102* right now. ugh....Thank God we have a/c here at work. It would be miserable with out it. Since I knew it was going to be possibly 105* today, I decided I had better turn on the a/c in the house so that it would be nice and chilly in there for the kitties and of course for the humans when they get home from work. OK.....it's mostly for the human comfort...anyway.....I went to turn on the a/c in the family room...and it won't turn on. WTS???? So I spent 10-15 minutes trying to get the dang thing to turn on. You can only turn it on with the remote, which is ridiculous, and it was not working. I decided that after 3 years the battery in the remote must have given out. This meant that I was going to have to run around on my lunch break trying to find the battery and then get home and turn on the a/c....hoping that that was the only problem. It was. THANK GOD THE A/C IS WORKING! I was none to happy this morning when I was trying to figure out what was wrong. I get a little overly frustrated when I am not able to get something to work right away. I'm not the most patient person when it comes to stuff like that. Put me on a plane or in a car for hours and hours and I'm fine. Give me a remote not working, a drawer too full that it won't close, tupperware that keeps falling out of the cabinet.....and you get a pissed middle aged woman on your hands. I kinda took it out on hubby this morning, which was not fair of me because its not his fault that the battery died. And what is he going to do about it when he is 20 miles away at work. He called me at work and said that he could come over at 11am or so and find the battery. I said I would take care of it. It just made me grumpy.
I need to work on that still.....

on the road again......

JOURNEY Boise, ID 07/26/2009

Heart Boise, ID 07/26/2009

Headed home. We have 8 hours sitting on our butts to look forward too. oiy....
JOURNEY & Heart were great last night. Will update and load a photo if any of them are any good. I need a better "non-professional" camera to take pictures at shows. My camera is great for outdoor shots, but sucks at indoor ones. I was getting pissed. Oh well. As hubby says "It is what it is."
I have a little bit of stuff to do inside the trailer, and then we hit the road! Can't wait to get back....I start to miss home by the end of the week.....

** Updated**

Hubby made good time and we got home at 2:30. Talked to Katie, played with the kitties and cleaned out the trailer. All in 100* temps.....ugh....We are now relaxing with cold drinks. I have to head up to the store, but I will wait until later when it cools down...if it ever does....It's nice to be home even though we had a fantastic trip with wonderful friends. It's our turn to plan the BBG Group trip. Since Scott and Jody live in Oregon, the trip they planned was in Oregon. Marlin and Cindy are in Idaho, so that is where we just were. Now we have to plan for next years trip somewhere here in Washington. Hopefully we can keep up with the others and plan a good trip!

Last Day ends with JOURNEY

Today is the last day of our vacation....well that is if you don't count the 8 hour drive tomorrow. That's not much of a "vacation day" ! And it will be a hot hot hot drive. We spent the morning cleaning the trailer and getting caught up online. Cindy stopped by to pick up a couple cd's of hubby's photos. I'm just going to upload mine when I get home. It's easier that way. My mini laptop doesn't have a spot for the memory card, so I have to upload them on hubby's computer and his wants to load all of them every time instead of just looking at them and selecting the new ones. So I stopped doing that and will just wait.
Tonight is JOURNEY. SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! It's outdoors so it will be a hot night, but we can't wait! We wont' be back to the trailer until midnight or so...so I will not blog about the show until we get home sometime late on Monday!

Went to HELLs Canyon and Back......

Our boat the Happy Hour

Snake River through Hells Canyon

The belly of the beast! This photo does not show the true size of this fish!

We had such a blast yesterday on the jet boat ride down the Snake River in the Hells Canyon recreation area. So much fun! We used a tour group called Killgore Adventures. We stayed at their campground too. This is also the group that took the boys fishing earlier in the week. We arrived at the dock at about 10am for the 6 hour trip. The scenery was gorgeous. Rapid water and smooth pools, towering canyon walls. We spotted Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, belted kingfishers, deer and big horn sheep. It was a good size herd of sheep with mommies and their babies. We took the boat up to a couple of stops at historical points of interest, such as Kirkwood Historic Ranch, the Hells Canyon Dam and Sheep Creek Ranch. On the way back is when we had all the fun running over the rapids. Water came up and over the top of the boat on a class 4 rapids. Marlin & Cindy white water raft every summer, and Marlin thought they were not quite 4's yesterday, but close. To me they might as well have been 10's! Many times I got a blast of water to the face! Love it! When we got to the area where we were going to get off the boat again for a little swim time, which was greatly needed in the high 90's heat, there was a fisherman there who had just hooked a sturgeon. Kirk was pulling the boat around when the sturgeon leaped out of the water....it was HUGE! Very cool to see that. We pulled up to the beach and spent half an hour watching this guy land the fish. I spent about 20 of those minutes sitting in the river to cool off. Felt wonderful. Then I walked over and watched the guy pull the beast in. They figured it was 7' long and about 150-200 pounds. HUGE!!

We are going to have so many great memories from this trip!

Arts & Crafts in McCall

These are the beads that I picked for my bracelet.

Done stringing them together! I didn't use all of the beads so I was able to put some back.

Jody working on her watch band.

Cindy working on hers.

MINE!!

Cindy & Jody working away.

Cindy's watch band. Too cute!

I love the little frog!

Jody's watch band! Very pretty!

Another picture of Jody's.

On Tuesday when the boys were fishing, the girls went shopping and we came across a cute little bead and pottery shop. For $4 + the cost of your supplies, you could make something. I was really wanting to make mugs or a tray, or something like that, where I could write on there that it was made in McCall in honor of our yearly trip with the BBG Group. But then we saw that it would take 2 weeks to get it finished because of the double kiln process. Jody and Cindy wanted to make beaded watch bands, so I made a bracelet. It was a lot of fun, and super easy. I could very easily get really into making these, but the cost of the beads is a bit much. Unless you can get them wholesale, it's just to costly. But for a one time shot it was a lot of fun! I love that I have something now that will always remind me of Cindy & Jody.....

That's Gonna Hurt....

Well...we have had our first camping accident ever with the BBG Group. Oh we have had our share of too much drink, too much rocking boats in the ocean, too much fun that we paid for the next day or even that night....but we have never had an injury before.
Now we have....
Last night we were taking a wildlife viewing drive. (only saw one deer) We stopped at a spot high above the lake to look out over it. Very pretty view. Most of us were looking around and I was getting a laugh at poor Cindy because Maddy, Super Maddy the toy poodle, decided that it would be a good time to poop. Or as Marlin says...leave a growler. Marlin's son Justin (14) walked over to the edge of the lookout and said there was a trail and he was going to go down it. Marlin looked and said that was not a trail and it was too steep so do not go down it. Being a 14 year old daredevil, Justin started down and said it's OK dad. I watched a few seconds as Justin started down, then looked the other way. Then I hear Marlin say Justin just fell. I was like "What? He fell?" Marlin said that Justin just went ass over head about 8 times down the cliff. It took a while for everyone to figure out what was going on. Then we see Justin climb back up the cliff covered head to toe in dirt....and blood. Scott was a Boy Scout Troop leader for many many years for his and Jody's own son named Justin. And Scott also has a lot of first aide training. So he got a hold of Justin and calmly assessed his injuries. One knee and arm had some pretty bad cuts that were bleeding good. I thought the cut on his arm looked the worst, it was a long 3-4 inch gash. The knee was boogered up pretty bad. Completed covered with embedded rock and cuts and scrapes all over. I knew that Robert and wipes in his camera bag, so I had him toss me those and we cleaned what we could there. Scott and Jody had a large towel in there truck, so they sat him down on it so that he would not bleed all over the seats and we got him back to the campsite.
After 2 showers of trying to get all the dirt out of the wounds, Scott took peroxide and q-tips and cleaned inside the cuts. Poor Justin I think had had enough, but he was being a trooper. Scott used some neosporin and bandaged what he could, then took out a Flinstone bandage and stuck that on one of the smaller cuts on his not so bad knee. That put a smile on Justin's face. I suggested that they get some ice and put that 20 minutes on 20 minutes off for the swelling. But I think because it was so late, almost 11pm, that they forgot. This morning his knee was very swollen, so they decided to run him into town and have a doctor look at it at the clinic or hospital. When I hear something I will update.
** UPDATE**
Everything is OK. The doctor looked at the cuts and said that they had been cleaned out really well. He was up to date on his shots, so no shot. He just has to stay out of the water and keep it covered if he is in the sun. Yay!

Big Fish

Robert and the guys went fishing on the Snake River yesterday. It was a 7 hour catch & release type of trip. They had a blast despite the 100* temps. The river had bass, rainbow trout and sturgeon. Justin caught the largest bass and some trout. Marlin caught bass and trout, and Scott caught bass and trout. Robert caught all 3. He was the only one on the boat to catch a sturgeon. It was 6 feet long and weighed 100 pounds. He didn't get to keep it though. Bummer. It would have tasted great smoked! They had a great "fish" story too. Scott was reeling a line back in and it was stuck. He was jerking the pole hard (oh man...that sounds nasty) and he leaned back against the rail....but there was no rail there....and he fell into the river....hat, pole and all. He lost his hat and the pole. But they saved Scotty! From what I hear, he was none too happy about his dip in the river. Mostly because he lost the fishing pole. Doesn't sound like he will have to pay for it though. Just before they started to leave that area, Capt Bart said "Hey...isn't that your hat?" So he grabbed a pole and fished out Scott's hat! All in all....the boys had a great day!

Jody, Cindy and I spent the day in McCall. We shopped and had some lunch. Then we went back to a bead and pottery shop and we all made bracelets. Well...they made watch bands, I made a bracelet. All three turned out really cute. Mine is silver and turquoise. Jody's is black and brown stones in squares, rectangles and ovals. And Cindy's is super cute with silver, green stones and green frogs. I will upload photos of those tomorrow since I still have those on my camera.

Today we are just relaxing. Some might go back into town. I think I just want to hang out here and go sit by the lake!

A Step Back.....

Winter Inn where we had a great burger & beer!

Marlin, Scott & Jody

Yesterday we went to an old mining town called Warren. Yeh....."old" doesn't really cut it...how about downright falling apart ancient ruins! We drove something like 45 miles....the last 14 of them uphill on a dirt gravel pothole bumpy ass road. Robert and I both think we lost a kidney up there. It was.....hrmmmm....interesting. We went up there for lunch at the Winter Inn because Marlin called and was told that we could get a good burger and fries there. So we bumped and bounced our way there. I thought at one point that I may have dislocated a rib, but I think the next pothole popped it back in place. We finally got there and Scott called on the walkie talkie and said they were ready for a burger & beer. I had Robert ask him which shanty were we eating at. We guessed it was the one with the locals sitting out on the front porch with the barking dog. We were right. So we went in, and walked over the sloped floor to the bar and asked if we could get some food. Yepum. We ordered, we all took our turns in the single bathroom. Jody asked how the chili was...we're out of chili. So she asked how the salad was...."yells back to kitchen...We got any lettuce left?" Nope. She was out of luck. She ate some fries. Have to admit it was a good burger. But then again...we could have just been so thrilled that we were still alive that anything would have tasted great!

A Feast Fit For A King......and Queen!

YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The BBG Group: Back Row: Marlin, Robert, Jody, Scott

Sitting: Justin, Cindy, Me

Last night for dinner we had THE MOST AMAZING feast! We share meals when we go camping. Last night it was Scott & Jody's turn to make dinner. They made a crab boil. The rest of us called it a good ol New Orleans Creole Feast! Jody set the table by laying out newspaper and when the food was ready, Scott brought it over and right in the middle of the table he dumped crab, shrimp, corn on the cob, potatoes and beef hot dogs. Jody then brought out CRAB bibs for all of us to wear! We needed them! It was FANTASTIC!!!! Robert ran over to our trailer and quickly got on his itunes and downloaded some Creole music! LOL! We have soooo much fun!

Day 2 Idaho Trip 07/18-07/27 2009

Sunset In Kamiah, ID 07/18/2009
Along a river East of Lewiston, ID
Oh boy.....it was a little warm!
Scott & Jody leading the way East of Walla Walla, WA.

I forgot to load these last to first. I don't know why they load like this. Anyway...it took a while and I don't want to load them again.......

Here are a couple pictures from day one. I will update this later after we arrive in McCall. We are suppose to have cell phones there, so I should be able to log back on. If not....It will one big blog when we get to Boise on the 25th! LOL! It was a long day yesterday....8 hours on the road....

We are in Kamiah, ID.....

.....and it's 101 degrees! Oh boy it's hot! We came a different way to Idaho then we have before. But then we are in a place we have never been either. Tomorrow we hare headed to McCall for about 5 days. We came via Walla Walla and Lewiston headed South instead of Boise and then North. I have to say, it was a much prettier drive. There is a river in Lewiston that we followed that was really pretty. I also for the first time saw the bend of the Columbia River when it comes from the North and then curves and heads West. We have seen the river once it gets to Tri Cites, but we had never been farther East to see the bend. WOW! It was the biggest I have ever seen the Columbia. It was like a huge lake. Very cool.
Not sure what the connection will be the rest of the week. We have wireless here, but no cell phones. We are suppose to have cell phones until the end of the week once we get into McCall.
We'll see!

Playing with my new toy....

I have been adding my favorites to the new netbook today. It takes so long to do that. Favorites as in all my Hatchlings baskets. I still want to add a lot more, but I have enough in there for now. If I have some free time next week while camping I will add some more.
We leave tomorrow morning to go to McCall ID for a week. Can't wait for the boat ride! Too bad it is towards the end of the week.
Did I mention that we end the trip with a JOURNEY concert?! SWEEEEET!!!! They are playing in Boise on Sunday the 26th w/Heart! I have to say that may be the best night of the trip!
I will blog and upload pictures daily until we move to the smaller campsite that does not have cell phone coverage. That means no boat trip photos until we get to Boise.
Later!!!!

"You too can remove unsightly stretch marks....."

I keep seeing ads on my Yahoo page about getting rid of stretch marks. These ads show a nice shaped woman with stretch marks all up the side of her hip. And then they show a picture of a tanned hard body with no marks at all. Of course you have to click on the ad to find out what this miraculous stretch mark remover is. Well unless they are selling laser treatments or a tummy tuck it aint gonna work. How in the world does anyone think they can sell a cream to get repair torn skin? Because that is basically what a stretch mark is. The dermis layer can't support what growth the skin is going through, so it tears. I have researched this, and laser treatments or a tummy tuck is the only way to fix them. So basically you have to either cut them out, or burn the area around it so that it generates new skin growth that "repairs" but does not "remove" them. The laser repairs about 75% of it. Not bad, but I would go for the tuck. I want a tummy tuck badly. I hate my stomach. I just don't have $25,000 laying around to do it. Well it may not be THAT costly, but I bet it's pretty dang close....

My New Favorite Blog

I have a new favorite blog that I have to visit every day. Cake Wrecks. The link is here on my blog. Cracks me up. I love how the person who runs that blog writes and the pictures....well a photo speaks much louder than words! If you visit, be sure to read the comments too. People are funny. I mean downright hilarious with their comments!
Go visit Cake Wrecks. Go. NOW!

Wild River Adventure!

This is what we get to do next week on our trip to Idaho! What fun!
Check it out....

http://www.killgoreadventures.com/Hells_Canyon_JetBoat_Trips.html#wild

OMG~ It looks like so much fun!
:-)

I thought this was interesting: 10 Facts About Animals

10: Crocodiles Swallow Stones for Swimming
The stomach of a crocodile is a rocky place to be, for more than one reason. To begin with, a croc's digestive system encounters everything from turtles, fish and birds to giraffes, buffaloes, lions and even (when defending territory) other crocodiles. In addition to that bellyful-o'-ecosystem, rocks show up too. The reptiles swallow large stones that stay permanently in their bellies. It's been suggested these are used for ballast in diving.
(maybe i should try that. my ass always floats up)

09: Whale Milk Not On Low-Fat Diets
Nursing a newborn is no "small" feat for the whale, whose calf emerges, after 10 to 12 months in the womb, about a third the mother's length (that's a 30-foot baby for the Blue whale). The mother squirts milk into the newborn's mouth using muscles around the mammary gland while the baby holds tight to a nipple (yes, whales have them). At nearly 50 percent fat, whale milk has around 10 times the fat content of human milk, which helps calves achieve some serious growth spurts as much as 200 pounds per day.
(can you imagine giving birth to a baby a third your size? so lets see....I'm 5.5 so my baby would be....wait....i just did the math. unless i'm horrible with a calculator, which is entirely possible, a human baby is 1/3 of your size. katie and bryan were both 21" long. i'm 65 inches tall, so a 1/3 of that is 21.6....right????)

08: Birds Use Landmarks to Navigate Long Journeys
Can you imagine a road trip vacation without missed exits, stubborn drivers or map-folding disasters? Of course not, you're not a bird. Pigeons can fly thousands of miles to find the same roosting spot with no navigational difficulties. Some species of birds, like the Arctic tern, make a 25,000 mile round-trip journey every year. Many species use built-in ferromagnets to detect their orientation with respect to the Earth's magnetic field. A November 2006 study published in Animal Behaviour suggests that pigeons also use familiar landmarks on the ground below to help find their way home.
(i find this interesting that birds use landmarks. but i'm wondering how the scientists KNOW that they do. did they ask them???)

07: For Beavers, Days Get Longer in Winter
Beavers become near shut-ins during winter, living off of previously stored food or the deposits of fat in their distinctive tails. They conserve energy by avoiding the cold outdoors, opting instead to remain in dark lodgings inside their pile of wood and mud. As a result these rodents, which normally emerge at sunset and turn in at sunrise, have no light cues to entrain their sleep cycle. The beaver's biological sense of time shifts, and she develops a "free running circadian rhythm" of 29-hour days.
(holey moley. can you imagine running around for 29 hours? that's one busy beaver.)

06: Mole-Rats aren't Blind
With their puny eyes and underground lifestyle, African mole-rats have long been considered the Mr. Magoos of rodents, detecting little light and, it has been suggested, using their eyes more for sensing changes in air currents than for actual vision. But findings of the past few years have shown that African mole-rats have a keen, if limited, sense of sight. And they don't like what they see, according to a report in the November 2006 Animal Behaviour. Light may suggest that a predator has broken into a tunnel, which could explain why subterranean diggers developed sight in the first place.
(ewwww.ewww.ewwww.ewwww. i have never cared for the naked mole rats. gross....)

05: Baby Chicks and Brotherhood
It's a mistake to think of evolution as producing selfish animals concerned only with their own survival. Altruism abounds in cases where a helping hand will encourage the survival of genetic material similar to one's own. Baby chicks practice this "kin selection" by making a special chirp while feeding. This call announces the food find to nearby chicks, who are probably close relations and so share many of the chick's genes. The key to natural selection isn't survival of the fittest animal. It's survival of the fittest genetic material, and so brotherly behavior that favors close relations will thrive.
(hmmmm...does that included "sisterly behavior" too? because my sister called yesterday to offer me a bunch of eastern washington cherries.)

04: Many Fish Swap Sex Organs
With so many land creatures to wonder at, it's easy to forget that some of the weirdest activities take place deep in the ocean. The strange practice of hermaphroditism is more common among species of fish than within any other group of vertebrates. Some fish change sex in response to hormonal cycle or environmental changes. Others simultaneously possess both male and female sex organs.
(i still believe that there are things in the ocean that have never been found. think about it. how can we have ever explored the entire ocean to find all the different species in there? that is one reason why i freak out and panic when snorkeling. freaks me out what is down there! and now i find out they can just change their sex when they want!)

03: Giraffes Compensate for Height with Unique Blood Flow
The stately giraffe, whose head sits some 16 feet up atop an unlikely pedestal, adapted his long neck to compete for foliage with other grazers. While the advantage of reach is obvious, some difficulties arise at such a height. The heart must pump twice as hard as a cow's to get blood up to the brain, and a complex blood vessel system is needed to ensure that blood doesn't rush to the head when bent over. Six feet below the heart, the skin of the legs must then be extremely tight to prevent blood from pooling at the hooves.
(giraffes are amazing creatures. so love their eyes. like a doe...)

02: Elephants Do Forget, but They're Not Dumb
Elephants have the largest brain, nearly 11 pounds on average, of any mammal that ever walked the earth. Do they use that gray matter to the fullest? Intelligence is hard to quantify in humans or animals, but the encephalization quotient (EQ), a ratio of an animal's observed brain size to the expected brain size given the animal's mass, correlates well with an ability to navigate novel challenges and obstacles. The average elephant EQ is 1.88. (Humans range from 7.33 to 7.69, chimpanzees average 2.45, pigs 0.27.) Intelligence and memory are thought to go hand in hand, suggesting that elephant memories, while not infallible, are quite good.
(my head hurts after reading that paragraph....so much math....its like reading an algebra question in high school...)

01: Parrot Talk More than Just Squawking
Parrot speech is commonly regarded as the brainless squawking of a feathered voice recorder. But studies over the past 30 years continually show that parrots engage in much more than mere mimicry. Our avian friends can solve certain linguistic processing tasks as deftly as 4-6 year-old children. Parrots appear to grasp concepts like "same" and "different", "bigger" and "smaller", "none" and numbers. Perhaps most interestingly, they can combine labels and phrases in novel ways. A January 2007 study in Language Sciences suggests using patterns of parrot speech learning to develop artificial speech skills in robots.
(why does this not seem like news? would animals not communicate with each other in their own "language"? there must be more to it than just alerting the group to danger or food...don't you think?)

P!NK....Sober

Hubby shared this video with me yesterday. It's amazing.

Weird Ass Dream......

I slept in this morning. I woke up at 7am, but didn't want to get up. I think I should have just gotten up because I fell back asleep and had a dream......
Dream:
I was on a bus tour in Europe. Robert had to go and do something and was going to catch up to the bus. We got to a border, but I didn't know where we were. We were going to keep driving into the country but then a border vehicle cut us off and the bus had to stop. The border guards got on the bus and we had to show our drivers licenses and passports. We were allowed to continue. I was trying to figure out where we were. It was very dry and kind of dirty. I saw a large yellow/orange brick building with some strange writing. I thought maybe we were in Turkey. In front of the building were these huge statues, maybe two stories tall, huge. They were of a dancing couple in very colorful outfits. The bus stopped and we were told we were in Hungary. We went into a shop and this woman gave us what looked like a peppermint candy that was attached to a piece of paper. I didn't want it, because I usually don't eat peppermint candy, but we had been on the bus and I thought maybe I could use it to freshen my mouth. I was about to eat it when she said "I want everyone to try this. It's tofu." Now I didn't want to try it, but I didn't want to be rude. So I put it in my mouth. It tasted like peppermint. But then it had a weird under taste and the peppermint flavor went way and it was yucky, so I threw it away in a garbage can. We were going to start walking into the building that the shop was attached to when someone said "There's Robert." I turned around and saw him walking around outside trying to find us. He was carrying a bunch of blankets and a pillow. It was like those were his things from the bus and he wanted to get back on to put them away. In my head I was thinking that I needed to find Alfred (our actual Europe Tour Director) and get Willie (out actual Europe bus driver) to open the bus so that Robert could put his stuff away. I went out to get Robert to let him know where we were. We met up in the courtyard of the brick building. We were talking and then a door opened on the other side of the courtyard and these weird animals ran out. They ran very fast towards us. They sometimes looked like dogs, or coyotes or small goats. Like a goats body with a dog head and it wanted to ram you. We were trying to keep them away. Then there were men in suits around us. They were telling us that everyone else was dead. I then figured out that this place was going to be like a carnival with a Mad Torture House. They had taken everyone on the bus and put them in horrible situations and recorded their screams and death so that they could recreate the scenes in the Mad Torture House and it would sound real, because it was real. One woman was strapped to something and floods of water came and drown her. A guy was in this spiky wheel thing that had 2 sides and the sides started spinning the opposite directions and coming together with him in the middle. They kept spinning and spinning with him screaming until he was just gone. And there was a big guy. Big and heavy like that guy from the show ER who worked the desk. But he had a lot of hair and a beard. He was on this wood ramp kind of thing and there were 3 shot guns. Something knocked him down and a piece of wood, with a square cut out of it, at the end of the ramp came down over his foot and trapped him. Then the grizzly bears were let out. They came charging towards him and he grabbed the first shotgun and shot one. The other 2 kept coming, snarling and swiping their claws at him. He grabbed the second gun and shot another bear. He grabbed for the third gun, but before he could fire it the last bear ripped the guys arm off and then attacked him. I was back then with Robert and the men in suits. I then figured out that the candy was drugged and that it was a good thing that I had spit mine out and not eaten all of it. Robert and I then got in a car and drove off.
I know.....weird ass dream....but I had to get it out.....

Bubba's Blog

Bryan started a weight loss blog. He wants people to read it and either join him, or just keep him in line. He knows that if he goes public with this journey it will keep him on it and honest.
He is buying a "sweat" suit to work out in. He said that a teacher in high school worked out in one and lost a lot of weight. I told him that if it works for him I would buy one too to go out walking in. So we'll see.....
His blog can be found in the link to the right....
the 180 project

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

Can you see the frog between the wood? There are 2 there. The other one just had it's eyes out!

Frog

If you follow the branch from the top of the tree in the foreground, left of center and go down you can see a cedar waxwing. Well most of it! It's yellow.

I love thistle! Except in my yard.....

A turtle covered in algae on a log.

Momma duck and her babies. There are actually about 5 babies sitting there!

Black headed Grosbeak.

Just got home from spending 2 hours down at the refuge. Didn't see a lot, but I did spot some birds and other wildlife. Here is a list of what I saw....

Coots, mallards, grosbeaks, great blue herons, swifts, red wing blackbirds, turtles, goldfinches, grebes, cedar waxwings, chickadees, wren, harrier hawk, nutrias, turkey vultures, bald eagle, frogs, geese, kestrel and a snake.

It's always so relaxing to go down there. I love to hear the breeze in the trees. And something smelled really good in spots. Almost like apples. I was wondering if it was the Canadian Thistle. It was a sweet flowery smell. Reminded me of childhood.

It was a good afternoon.

12:34:56 7/8/9

Here is my picture taken at 12:34:56 07/08/09!!! What fun!

It's not a great picture because I'm at work....but I still took one with the cell phone so that I could upload it!

MJ Memorial...Adam....Nails

I watched some of the Memorial for Michael Jackson today. I teared up when Brooke was speaking and again when Jermaine sang. So sad. I had to leave for my hair appt, so I turned on CNN on Sirius radio and listened on the way. I was early, so I sat out in the parking lot listening. So sad. I broke up when Paris spoke. I don't think I could have handled seeing that beautiful little girl cry over her lost daddy. Broke my heart. Regardless of what became of Michael Jackson these past years, his music will remain, and he will always be loved by his friends, family and fans.

Bon....I will check out that link you gave me. Gawd...I hope Adam and Allison tour!

Check out my nails. I don't know what to do with them. I need to trim them, and I have a gift certificate for either a mani or pedi. I want to have a French Mani, but the place I have the gift cert. for needs something like 2 week notice. So now I'm thinking I should make an appt before we go to Hawaii for the French Mani, and for now just trim them and paint them red. What do you think????

Idol 2009 Tour

We went to see the American Idol Tour last night. I was pleasantly surprised. It was really good. I was expecting cheesy group songs all night long with the occasional solo, but there were only a couple group songs. It started out with Michael, and then Meghan, Scott, Lil, Anoop and then Matt. They all had a group song, then there was a 20 minute break. They did a really good job. I was surprised at how good all of them did.

And then the show really got going. Allison came out and rocked some Pink, Janis and Heart. I think she sang 4 times, but I can't remember what else she did. Danny then came out. He was good, but it was a little let down after Allison was so powerful. Then it was all about Adam! Geeze....people were freaking out over Adam. He was definitely the favorite in Portland. It was so freaking loud in there. We were in Row 18 on the floor, and everyone stood up so I had to hold my camera waaaaay up to try to get a shot, and I'm short so it was kinda hard. I could barely see him past peoples heads. That was my only complaint about the show, but you can't blame people for standing. He was so good. If I remember correctly, he sang some Led Zepplin, Bowie, that Mad World song and the duet with Allison. There was some other song he sang that I have no idea what it was, sounded like something from a Broadway show. I think he sang 5 or 6 songs. Kris came out, and he has his fans too, but it was nothing like the screams for Adam. He was good, and he's a cutie, but it was like Danny...a little bit of a letdown after Adam had the place rocking. There was a group number, and the encore was Journey's Don't Stop Believe'n! Very cool.

I enjoyed the show a lot! As Bonnie said....Maybe we can get Adam and Allison to tour! I would be all over that show!

St Paul Rodeo & Idol

We had a really good day yesterday. The parade was so much fun. There is just something about a small town parade that is so American. It was fun to just sit there and people watch. I love to do that. I love to see the excitement in the little child's face as they stand there, empty bag in hand, waiting for the parade to start, and for the candy to fly! So much fun!

We had some time before the Rodeo, so we went to the Fair. We were all hungry, so we decided to get something to eat. I spied a stand that had soft serve ice cream so I headed there, only to change my mind and get a soft taco that was basically a huge burrito without the beans. Scott was all over the Polish Dog stand, Jody went back out front to a different taco stand, and Robert went for the German Sausage. But when he started to eat it, he thinks they gave him the wrong one because it was super spicy. He ate it anyway. We walked around a little bit, looked at the bulls and some bison, then headed back into the food area and Robert and I got a soft serve ice cream and Scott & Jody got a lemonade. We then headed into the Rodeo and had so much fun, and ate some more. Me....popcorn and a diet coke....the boys...beer, nachos and a pretzel! I think Jody just stuck with her lemonade. After the rodeo...well we ate some more....Scott & Jody bought some large onion rings that we all shared! Oh boy were they ever hot!

Ended up spending the evening at my sisters house. They were smoking ribs...yep...I ate some more! Ribs, beans and potato salad. After we had fireworks we went back in...and ate fresh raspberry, blackberry, blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream....because, you know, I had not eaten all day......

Tonight is the American Idol concert. Looking forward to seeing Adam Lambert live. Will definitely let you know tomorrow how the show is!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

We are off to a small town parade and the St Paul Rodeo.

I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe 4th of July!

Palin is a Quitter

Turtle said something on Facebook about Palin quitting but I didn't know what she was talking about. I left for lunch and came back to find on Yahoo.News that Palin is resigning from being Governor of Alaska. I'm sorry....but what a chickenshit move.
Here are parts of the article....(I did not post the stuff on the other Republicans affairs)

WASILLA, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin made a surprise announcement Friday that she is resigning from office at the end of the month without explaining why she plans to step down, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate hastily called a news conference Friday morning at her home in suburban Wasilla, giving such short notice that only a few reporters actually made it to the announcement. State troopers blocked late-arriving media outside her home, and her spokesman, Dave Murrow, finally emerged to confirm that Palin will step down July 26. He refused to give details about the governor's future plans.

"Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional Lame Duck status in this particular climate would just be another dose of politics as usual, something I campaigned against and will always oppose," Palin said in a statement released by her office.

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell will be inaugurated at the governor's picnic in Fairbanks at the end of the month, Murrow said.

Palin was first elected in 2006 on a populist platform. But her popularity has waned as she waged in partisan politics following her return from the presidential campaign. Her term would have ended in 2010.

Palin said she planned to make a "positive change outside government," without elaborating. She also expressed frustration with her current role as governor.

"I cannot stand here as your governor and allow the millions of dollars and all that time go to waste just so I can hold the title of governor," Palin said.

Later, on Twitter, she promised supporters more details: "We'll soon attach info on decision to not seek re-election ... this is in Alaska's best interest, my family's happy ... it is good. Stay tuned"

Palin's decision even took Parnell by surprise. He said he was told on Wednesday evening, and was not aware that any presidential ambitions were behind the move.

Palin emerged from relative obscurity nearly a year ago when she was tapped as then Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate.

She was a controversial figure from the start, with comedian Tina Fey famously imitating her elaborate hairstyle and folksy "You betcha!" on "Saturday Night Live."

Most recently, she led a public spat with "Late Show" host David Letterman over a joke he made about one of her daughters being "knocked up" by New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez during the governor's recent visit to New York. Palin's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, is an unwed, teenage mother.

Letterman later apologized for the joke.

Palin's family and the ridicule they endure being in the public eye was part of her decision. She complained that her 14-month-old son, Trig, who was diagnosed with Down's syndrome, had been "mocked and ridiculed by some mean-spirited adults recently." She didn't elaborate.

Palin campaigned on ethics reform in the 2006 election, defeating incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and a former two-term Democratic governor, Tony Knowles, in the general election.

She enjoyed an extended honeymoon with lawmakers and voters alike. Her popularity was in the 80 percentile range, even though that fell after the bruising, partisan presidential campaign.

Palin's delivery of two weeks' notice rattles a Republican Party plagued with setbacks in recent weeks, including extramarital affairs disclosed by two other 2012 presidential prospects, Nevada Sen. John Ensign and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

I have a problem with her claiming the "lame duck" defence.

"I cannot stand here as your governor and allow the millions of dollars and all that time go to waste just so I can hold the title of governor, "

WTS? You ARE the Governor Sarah. You took on oath of office, but now you think the State of Alaska is wasting money by you being their Governor? Well I guess they are if that is your attitude. What makes her think that anyone in their right mind would ever vote her into any office if she can not even complete her term? If she is leaving office because of her family, or health, or the health of a family member, then just come out and say it. People would be behind her making that kind of decision. But if she is quitting to pursue a "career" then that is inexcusable.
I never liked her from the beginning, and I certainly don't like her now. If she comes out and says that she is leaving to take care of her kids, then I will have a little respect for her.....a little....

The Proposal/Twilight: New Moon Trailer

Saw Sandra Bullock's new movie The Proposal today. Very funny. Enjoyed it. Lots of laughs, and had to hold back some tears because I'm a big baby.....
Before the movie they showed a trailer for the new Twilight movie New Moon. Here is a trailer...but not for that~!

Lazy Lazy Lazy

Hubby took some pictures of a really pretty butterfly in the yard.

I swear....some people are so freaking lazy. Did I mention the other day on here about how someone at work kept leaving the sponge in the sink? Well I threw it away because it grosses me out that someone washes their dish with the sponge, leaves it laying in the sink, and then people come out of the bathroom and wash their hands over that sponge. It would lay in the sink all wet and just be gross. So I threw it away. Well today they used a paper towel to clean something out.....AND LEFT THE PAPER TOWEL IN THE SINK! I can't believe some people! Throw the friggen thing away! I left it there. I'm tired of cleaning up after them. So I didn't.