..that this is what I could do during my trip down 95
Mobile post sent by walkerszivak using Utterli.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Why I love my boss
This is an e-mail he sent out this morning...
Please be forewarned that a special HAZMAT team will conduct a surgical strike on the 3rd floor refrigerator during the Christmas break. No biological, abiological and/or unidentifiable materials will be spared. If you have any food, specimens or experiments in the refrigerator please claim them ASAP.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
It's a Wonderful Life
I just finished watching 'It's a Wonderful Life'. I hadn't seen it in forever, and since there was nothing on TV I convinced Sandor to put it in for me. He headed to bed halfway through (he does have to be at work at 5am after all...such is life in the retail business at Christmas), but I stayed up to finish it assuming that I'd want to watch a different Christmas movie tomorrow. That, however, may not be true. I may watch that one again. I had totally forgotten how adorable and sweet it is.
So, if you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in a while, I suggest you add it into your Christmas plans this year. It is well worth it. "Remember, no man is a failure who has friends"
So, if you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in a while, I suggest you add it into your Christmas plans this year. It is well worth it. "Remember, no man is a failure who has friends"
Dudley the Bionic Dog
Yes, so I've been a little out of touch...sorry. I've been quite busy attempting to finish up all the things I want to do before heading to Pennsylvania on Sunday. All the while attempting to stay in the Christmas spirit while it's 74 degrees outside! However, thanks to the fact that my office likes to pump out air conditioning in the winter and heat in the summer it's a cool 50 in my office. Mix that with the balsam fir candle I have on the candle warmer and the Christmas music in the background I'm doing pretty good :)
Last weekend I headed up to Brandy's house to help her with Special Olympics on Thursday and then have a wonderful weekend of scrapbooking together. Of course the pup went along, and got to hang out with her new cousin, Dina, who is still in the puppy stage and is a terror...but adorable, so you can't help but love her.
On Friday we were sitting in line at Wendy's when she got a call from John letting her know that Dudley had just jumped out of the car while it was going 45 miles per hour! Yeah, not the best call in the world. So I took her to the vet, and took Dina home (because we had just taken her to the vet for shots before we had gone to Wendy's), while they stayed to have Dudley checked out. As a result of this experience we have determined that Dudley man is some kind of bionic dog! He does have road burn randomly over him, but he did not break one bone, had no internal bleeding (thankfully!), and within 3 hours wanted to play with Kaylinn outside. Seriously, it was out of control! So, thankfully Dudley is just fine, although we minimized his playing to attempt to force him to 'recover'.
As a result Kaylinn had only Dina to play with, which had it's pros and cons. The pro was that Dina was smaller than her and so she could totally outrun her. Another pro was that Dina has refused to learn what the electric fence is, so she would follow Kaylinn all over the place, whereas Dudley stays within the fence line. The con was that Dina was definitely not Dudley, and anyone who is not Dudley is not good enough for Kaylinn. She did warm up to her a bit, and by the end of the weekend even let her lay next to her :) It was quite entertaining.
Last weekend I headed up to Brandy's house to help her with Special Olympics on Thursday and then have a wonderful weekend of scrapbooking together. Of course the pup went along, and got to hang out with her new cousin, Dina, who is still in the puppy stage and is a terror...but adorable, so you can't help but love her.
Dina the cute little sister of Dudley...also known as Dina the dinosaur (she looks dinosaur like when she yawns, it's hilarious)
On Friday we were sitting in line at Wendy's when she got a call from John letting her know that Dudley had just jumped out of the car while it was going 45 miles per hour! Yeah, not the best call in the world. So I took her to the vet, and took Dina home (because we had just taken her to the vet for shots before we had gone to Wendy's), while they stayed to have Dudley checked out. As a result of this experience we have determined that Dudley man is some kind of bionic dog! He does have road burn randomly over him, but he did not break one bone, had no internal bleeding (thankfully!), and within 3 hours wanted to play with Kaylinn outside. Seriously, it was out of control! So, thankfully Dudley is just fine, although we minimized his playing to attempt to force him to 'recover'.
As a result Kaylinn had only Dina to play with, which had it's pros and cons. The pro was that Dina was smaller than her and so she could totally outrun her. Another pro was that Dina has refused to learn what the electric fence is, so she would follow Kaylinn all over the place, whereas Dudley stays within the fence line. The con was that Dina was definitely not Dudley, and anyone who is not Dudley is not good enough for Kaylinn. She did warm up to her a bit, and by the end of the weekend even let her lay next to her :) It was quite entertaining.
Tragedy of the Commons
What do these pictures have in common?
They are both the second plot of five that we counted on the same beach...only separated by 5 months...
If you've never heard of tragedy of the commons, check it out here. It is a piece that was published in Science in 1968 and was one of the first things I had to read as part of my ecology class in undergrad. In short it says that when everyone owns something, no one owns it and therefore everyone exploits it. It's a sad statement of truth about our society, and one that you can see in glaring reality at Botany Bay. You may remember my trip to Botany back at the beginning of the year, and my comment on how many shells there were on the beach. It has been a private beach and therefore the shells that washed in from the ocean had not been picked up by random tourists and taken back to random houses in random towns. Now, I am not saying this because I dislike people picking up shells. I have quite a few in my house, but I pick them up if they are particularly nice, or the place means something particularly special to me, and they are not dumped out with the trash when I'm cleaning a room because they have lost their 'newness'. And I most certainly don't take a wagon full of them.
But, back to Botany. We opened up for the public in July and the day after did a shell count because we knew there would be a drastic change before the next time we counted. We saw it happen as adults would carry their twins off the beach so they could fill their double stroller with shells. Or a man who knew only children 17 and under could take shells hid a bag of them under his shirt as he walked past the DNR staff (really, did he think we are blind?). It sounds crazy, but the reason for it is simple - it's a tragedy of the commons. People see the shells and figure, well if I don't take them then the next person who walks on this beach might and if they do then I missed my chance to have it. Now don't get me wrong, the beach still has a ton of shells on it, but they are definitely not the same types of shells that were there before. Just take a look at those pictures. Whereas in our July study a spot of beach 15 ft by 15 ft would have upwards of 40 whelk shells on it, in our December count there were 3 (and all those were broken apart).
This post is not so much me saying that I don't want people taking shells, because I totally support kids collecting shells and putting them in their room and growing up to be a marine biologist (or at least growing up to think the ocean is cool) - hey that's how I got to where I am today. It's really just pointing out how crazy it is that something a guy wrote in 1968 is still SO relevant and yet far from a common topic understood by the societies that exhibit the behaviors. We may want to start adding this to high school biology...
They are both the second plot of five that we counted on the same beach...only separated by 5 months...If you've never heard of tragedy of the commons, check it out here. It is a piece that was published in Science in 1968 and was one of the first things I had to read as part of my ecology class in undergrad. In short it says that when everyone owns something, no one owns it and therefore everyone exploits it. It's a sad statement of truth about our society, and one that you can see in glaring reality at Botany Bay. You may remember my trip to Botany back at the beginning of the year, and my comment on how many shells there were on the beach. It has been a private beach and therefore the shells that washed in from the ocean had not been picked up by random tourists and taken back to random houses in random towns. Now, I am not saying this because I dislike people picking up shells. I have quite a few in my house, but I pick them up if they are particularly nice, or the place means something particularly special to me, and they are not dumped out with the trash when I'm cleaning a room because they have lost their 'newness'. And I most certainly don't take a wagon full of them.
But, back to Botany. We opened up for the public in July and the day after did a shell count because we knew there would be a drastic change before the next time we counted. We saw it happen as adults would carry their twins off the beach so they could fill their double stroller with shells. Or a man who knew only children 17 and under could take shells hid a bag of them under his shirt as he walked past the DNR staff (really, did he think we are blind?). It sounds crazy, but the reason for it is simple - it's a tragedy of the commons. People see the shells and figure, well if I don't take them then the next person who walks on this beach might and if they do then I missed my chance to have it. Now don't get me wrong, the beach still has a ton of shells on it, but they are definitely not the same types of shells that were there before. Just take a look at those pictures. Whereas in our July study a spot of beach 15 ft by 15 ft would have upwards of 40 whelk shells on it, in our December count there were 3 (and all those were broken apart).
This post is not so much me saying that I don't want people taking shells, because I totally support kids collecting shells and putting them in their room and growing up to be a marine biologist (or at least growing up to think the ocean is cool) - hey that's how I got to where I am today. It's really just pointing out how crazy it is that something a guy wrote in 1968 is still SO relevant and yet far from a common topic understood by the societies that exhibit the behaviors. We may want to start adding this to high school biology...
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Smiles All Around
Our s'mores party was quite a success. The food was delicious and the company was excellent! Kaylinn's Santa hat, Ellie's cute faces, and the rotel dip were just three of the highlights.
Jason making S'mores
Ellie giving the chicken some love
the pupster in her holiday outfit
Kaylinn was in total love with Julia, Kim and Joe - granted they smelled like Nick and Marley so that may have something to do with it (we already know she has a crush on Nick)
It really was a lot of fun!
Holly, Kim and Maia
Jason making S'mores
Ellie giving the chicken some love
the pupster in her holiday outfit
this is Maia trying to get Ellie to sit on her lap, and me finding the whole thing hilarious
Kaylinn was in total love with Julia, Kim and Joe - granted they smelled like Nick and Marley so that may have something to do with it (we already know she has a crush on Nick)
Ellie's looks cracked me up! - she was quite fond of Kaylinn until she stole her graham cracker at the end of the night
It really was a lot of fun!Friday, December 5, 2008
Princess for a Day
Friday was International Princess Day. It is the glorious day of the year where one is not only allowed, but encouraged to wear a tiara at work. We started celebrating this 2 years ago and had a grand time!
Last year I was on the cruise so I missed the festivities, however, this year they were back with one small snafu - no tiaras. Angel brought her daughter's tiaras two years ago, however, she found out when she went home to get them last night they were all located on Kealy's dolls at her grandmother's house. Thus we had only one tiara for the group.
Kim went with a wool hat
Kealy did get to wear the one tiara - we felt it was only fair since she was the youngest
and I provided the delicious brownies
when it comes right down to it - no one needs a tiara to be a princess!
Last year I was on the cruise so I missed the festivities, however, this year they were back with one small snafu - no tiaras. Angel brought her daughter's tiaras two years ago, however, she found out when she went home to get them last night they were all located on Kealy's dolls at her grandmother's house. Thus we had only one tiara for the group.
Eli won the award for most inventive tiara
Kim went with a wool hat
Kealy did get to wear the one tiara - we felt it was only fair since she was the youngest
and I provided the delicious brownies
when it comes right down to it - no one needs a tiara to be a princess!
Most Wonderful Time of the Year
I LOVE CHRISTMAS! Love, love, love it! I love the smell of Christmas, the sound of Christmas, the look of Christmas. Pretty much if it's Christmas I love it (that is with the disclaimer of Christmas commercialization not being what I'm talking about). So, when it's time to break out the decorations I am in heaven. Last night we went and bought our tree and decorated the house for the upcoming s'mores party. That, combined with the balsam fir candle I have on the candle warmer in my office is making me feel like it is in fact December after all (although I can't believe it's really true!).
I found these nifty cinnamon scented pine cones, which combined with our Christmas tree cuttings and some candles makes an excellent centerpiece for the table!
Mishu did not care at all about the decorating, but did like the idea of sitting in a large box
poor Kaylinn - she is just too cute with this hat on for me to not let it happen
I found these nifty cinnamon scented pine cones, which combined with our Christmas tree cuttings and some candles makes an excellent centerpiece for the table!
Mishu did not care at all about the decorating, but did like the idea of sitting in a large box
poor Kaylinn - she is just too cute with this hat on for me to not let it happen
100 things +
I got this off of Rachel's blog - it has apparently been floating around the blog world. The instructions are to bold the things you’ve done and add your own interesting thing at the end of the list:
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Spent a summer “abroad”
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train/flight
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
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
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Been at the top of the World Trade Center
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted / drawn
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Paid off a mortgage in full
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving/parasailing
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the CN Tower
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Criss-crossed Canada
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on aspeeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your 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
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby/been pregnant
95. Witnessed a birth
96. Been present at a death
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day
101. Peed on the side of the road as an adult
102. Milked a cow
103. Been white water rafting
104. Been surfing
105. Ridden a horse
106. Been ice climbing
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Spent a summer “abroad”
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train/flight
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
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
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Been at the top of the World Trade Center
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted / drawn
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Paid off a mortgage in full
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving/parasailing
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the CN Tower
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Criss-crossed Canada
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your 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
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby/been pregnant
95. Witnessed a birth
96. Been present at a death
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day
101. Peed on the side of the road as an adult
102. Milked a cow
103. Been white water rafting
104. Been surfing
105. Ridden a horse
106. Been ice climbing
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Carpet Emergency
The carpet in our livingroom is gross - or was anyway, until last night. Kaylinn had decided to eat the plant a few weeks ago which left unknown amounts of dirt, in addition to her last few accidents in the 'puppy training days' following our previous carpet cleaning experience, in addition to the normal 3 animal cat dander and normal family wear and tear all carpet sees. So, last night I borrowed Cynthia's carpet steamer and set out to deal with the issue, prior to a little Christmas party/s'more eating extravaganza we'll be hosting tomorrow.
After nearly 3 hours and about 15 water changes in the steamer, our carpet looks AMAZINGLY different. a) you can't actually SEE the stains everywhere, b) it doesn't vaguely smell like animal urine and c) it's not a dull beige, but maybe brown color. Granted it took 3 runs over the full floor, and about 5 or 6 runs over the very center to get it to this point, and could technically take 1 or 2 more, but, it is WAY better and I don't feel like I'm living in a sewer anymore.
GROSS!
Anyway, the carpet is ready for company and I am ready to go get a Christmas tree, which will fit conveniently in the area where I moved one of the chairs to clean the carpet!
After nearly 3 hours and about 15 water changes in the steamer, our carpet looks AMAZINGLY different. a) you can't actually SEE the stains everywhere, b) it doesn't vaguely smell like animal urine and c) it's not a dull beige, but maybe brown color. Granted it took 3 runs over the full floor, and about 5 or 6 runs over the very center to get it to this point, and could technically take 1 or 2 more, but, it is WAY better and I don't feel like I'm living in a sewer anymore.
GROSS!
Anyway, the carpet is ready for company and I am ready to go get a Christmas tree, which will fit conveniently in the area where I moved one of the chairs to clean the carpet!
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