Friday Fragments

I'm so glad it's Friday. It used to be that I didn't care, but for the past month or so, I'm glad to see Friday show up! And, of course, since it's Friday, that means it's time for Friday Fragments!

This week we had a snow day. Well, they called it a snow day, but we got no snow. Still, mid-morning, here came this adorable little girl - K's dauther. Her grandmother needed to go by the bank, so L. decided that I needed a Dr Pepper and they brought me one. Absolutely made my whole week!!!
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Along with the snow came the cancellation of Cub Scouts. Now, don't get me wrong - I love scouts, but it's nice to have a sudden night off!
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Thanks to Laurel, I've been to the gym every night this week except for the icy night. Last night I really d r u g. Sometimes, finding energy is really difficult!
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Also, this week, at one point, we were informed that big Chairman of the Board was going to be coming by our office. We scrambled, my boss vacuumed, we pulled down anything that wasn't picture perfect. C of the B pulled into the parking lot, someone got in with him . . . and he pulled off. Didn't even step foot in the office. See? I got teased TWICE this week . . . once with snow, and then this. I hate disappointment.
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I have a song stuck in my head. I've listened to it over and over - nearly non-stop. Do you think it has helped, even a little? Nope! Thanks, Nickelback.
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Tomorrow I am going snow tubing. We went last year and had an absolute blast - so I'm really looking forward to this year. And no broken bones! Someday I'll realize I'm too old for stuff like this.
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Cindy, I'm sorry I disappointed you. But, bananas really do grow "upside down", so you really are eating them upside down. Really. I promise. Do you still love me? I may have to make this into a bigger post at some point!
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And, Stacey, I love you. I really do. Say it with me - P eeeee ler. Not P i ler. Oh my, but you make every single day a great one.

That's it for me this week, but come play, ok?

Writer's Workshop

Good morning! My ice is gone, which means now I have to get back to normal life. Blech.

Thursday means it's time for Mama Kat's writing assignment. This week, not as easy to choose as last week, but I'm going to talk about a stray animal I once took in.

The only problem, is, technically I didn't take him in, I was just a witness to taking him in. Michelle came across this stray black puppy up at the local park. He was SOOO cute, and SOOO fluffy, and very friendly. There was no way we were going to leave him behind, so into Tazz (Her white Honda) he went. We advertised for him, but no one claimed him. The biggest problem that we had, was that both of us lived in the dorms! Puppies were certainly not allowed in the dorms, so we hid him in one of the empty stalls in the horse barn. Msh had named him Oreo, and he was wonderful. We finally got him in to the vet where we weren't so pleasantly surprised to find he was a Newfoundland. Yeah, do you know how BIG those guys get? He wasn't going to be easy to hide for long!

Still, Oreo loved being a college dog. During student elections, he pranced around with a sign around his neck, "Yo Quiero Hayes" for the President, teachers loved having him in class. The Art History professor brought him his own pair of shoes - rawhide, of course. And, every day, he grew another inch.

Eventually, the barn manager caught on and informed Msh that Oreo had to go. I don't remember the in's and out's, but I do remember that we found a home for him on a farm with a lake that he immediately fell in love with. Last report, he was almost 200 lbs and still all puppy.

Msh is the one who convinced me I am so not a cat person. I am all about the cuddly, loving, "Play with me" dog's world.

Now . . . it's your turn to play!

Wordful Wednesday's

Good slippery morning to you! Wordful Wednesday's is for those of us who want to TALK about our pictures!

But, this morning, there's really not a whole lot to talk about. I think these pictures speak for themselves. It's not a Winter Wonderland, it's . . . I don't know what to call it. Still, there's something serene and beautiful about all the trees being encased in ice, and to hear the breeze gently blowing through is an unusual sound - not unpleasant. Now, lets just keep it at a gentle breeze so I can keep power today, ok?

I'm playing at:

Where'd it go?

I have to say. I feel like today was a bad date. Let me tell you why.

This morning, I got a call from Mr. Boss man. "We're opening on time, but we may close early." Whoo HOO! One of the bad things about being out of school - no more snow days! Anyway, I got up, checked the weather, and it said, "Heavy Snow - 8:45" Not a "chance of snow", but heavy snow. So, at 9am, I was all, "Where's the snow?" Like the big date, you get ready for it, you anticipate it, you exchange flirty texts, then, he stands you up. Huh? It was going to be good. And, did I see a single snowflake all day? Nope! And, it was 5:45 and we were headed home (after a full day of work!), before I started to see foggy trees. Well, they were icy, but Mr. Boss Man swears we were just seeing heavy fog. Whaaa??? Where's my snow??? I'm so tired of cold weather . . . give me something to go with it!!!

Tomorrow: Rain. Cold rain, but still, just rain. Pbbb. Maybe they'll cancel school anyway, and I won't have Cub Scouts. Maybe. Yeah. Hey, it could happen!

Monday . . .

First of all, I need to say a very special thank you to the nice deputy who did NOT pull me over when he clearly had about 107 reasons between the main highway and my house. Mom, you might want to stop reading about here. Ok, so technically while there is no posted speed limit after you turn off the main highway and my house, making it technically 55, there really isn't a sane person who will drive that. In fact, as I was cruising home I was thinking, "Wow. Someone else who drives like me. Scary." Yeah. And I crossed the double line more than a couple of times. Hey, I pay for both sides, right? And I can see headlights coming, right? Anyway, as I breeze into my driveway, I see that lovely brown and reflective striping. Oops. I'm so glad he had better things to be doing tonight!

Good weekend over all. I got to play the Wii some. I have so got to get me one of those! Friday night was calm and lazy. Saturday, I cleaned the car. Like, washcloth and hot soapy water like Dad taught me. And you know what? The car gets WAAAYY cleaner that way! Then, I pulled out my vacuum, and you what else? That vacuum gets into little crevices WAAAYY better than the one at the car wash! Then, just for good measure, I pulled out the Armor All and the Q-tips and cleaned the little crevices. The car looks 100% better!!

We also had EMT competition this week. That's right. We're just sick and twisted enough that when we can't get real bodies, we pretend break people then compete to see who can put them back together the best! Sadly, we got 3rd place. A couple of stupid mistakes, but that's ok - that's how we get better in real life, right? Oh well, at least the meal was decent!

And, I'm happy to report that the gym is paying off. Check my post here and read all about it! Are you changing anything to get a healthier lifestyle? I'd love to hear about it - esp. the crazy snacks you are using! I've got to get something cheap and easy!! :-)

Friday Fragments

It's Friday, and I can't remember having looked forward to one this much in a long time. For some reason, this week has just taken it's toll on me, and I'm ready to try again next week!

But, since it is Friday, that means that it's time for Friday Fragments from Mrs. 4444. I think this is a great idea - as I've said before. You know, random thoughts/etc that don't make their own post? So, here goes.
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First of all, I was on my way to work this morning and my eye suddenly itched. I scratched it, and then realized that I didn't have any mascara on. Actually, I didn't have on any makeup! I've only been getting ready in the mornings with makeup for well over a decade - how'd I manage to do that? Fortunately, I had some powder stuff in my purse, so that, along with my lip gloss, will have to do! I'm going to blame Cindy for waking me up too early!
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As I've said, I'm back to going to the gym. A normal work-out is 45 min. on the Elliptical, misc. strength training, and then 30 minutes on the bike. I haven't seen a big difference yet, but hopefully once I get batteries for my scale it'll show me some progress.
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I pulled up my DVR last night - I have 3 hours of recordable time available. Do you know what this means?? That I have 97 hours of TV shows recorded. I need some veg-out time!! Who would have thought I could have gotten too busy to be watching McDreamy??
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I keep little toys, etc on my desk for clients to amuse themselves while I'm entering information, or to keep their kids busy. Farther away from clients, and closer to me, I have a match box race car that my company sponsors. It's not within reach of clients. This week I have had several people reach across, pick it up, and "Can I have this?" Er, NO! "Why not?" Because it's mine, they are limited collectibles, and I won it fair and square! Almost enough to make me put it away.

And, while we're talking about that, how rude is it for someone to hover over my desk while I'm on the phone? I can't tell you how much it grates on me. You wouldn't want me discussing your personal business while someone was eavesdropping, would you? I so often tell clients, "Please have a seat in our waiting area and I'll be with you as soon as possible." "Oh, no, I'm fine, but thanks." I usually end up putting my first client on hold, going into the break room and picking up there! Again, grrrr.
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This weekend is the banquet for the Drag Strip, and I'm looking forward to it. Annette is coming to go as my date, so it'll be awesome to get to spend some time with her. Next weekend - tubing!

Come play with us . . . . .

Now that's a first . . . and Mama Kat

Hey! I just got my first spam comment! Does this mean I'm on my way up?

This week has been l o n g. I've really been pushing it at the gym, and I think I've hit a wall. When I get home it's all I can do to take a shower and crawl into bed. I was looking at my calendar last night and I have something every single weekend between now and the middle of February. Whew. It's enough to make you tired just thinking about it!

And, it's Thursday which means it's time for Mama Kat's writing assignment. I've had an idea for this for a post for a while, so better now than never, right?

Before I left for college, a friend of mine turned me on to chat rooms. I remember sitting up til 4a, talking about all sorts of things with people all over the world. Once I got to college, I convinced Msh, that we needed to have ICQ (I seek you) on her computer. I met a few interesting people, and it turned out, one of them was going to be in the Star City, and would I like to meet? After conferring with my roommates, we determined that, sure, why not? Well, once we got to the mall, our set meeting place, Msh and our other friend went in to scope the scene out. That's what friends are for, right? This was prior to the days of cell phones, and they couldn't get to me quick enough to warn me. The guy who had told me he was 5'9"? He might have been 5'5". And, was nothing like what he had told me. Now, Mama raised me to be polite, so I figured I would give him a fair chance. The deal breaker came, though, when he asked me if I liked his shoes. Errr, I reckon? "Well, I found them on the side of the road, and they fit! Can you believe it? Look how much money I saved!" And, with that, I was outta there! Internet dating . . . it can be a scary place! Now, to be fair, I've met some really nice people, but for every nice one? There are a dozen "what was I thinking" out there, too!

Tune in this weekend - I'll have to put of pictures of my most successful blind date . . . that boy was yummy, and he bailed me out of a sticky situation!

I'm playing with Mama Kat . . . come play too!

MLK Monday

Happy MLK day everyone! I lurve federal holidays! And, I made the most out of today. Ms. R had invited me up to play wii with her kids, and so I got up early and walked Britney. I love walking down to/by the river. you never know what you're going to see. Deer, skunks (ugh), raccoons, birds, beavers, and fish. Today, I saw a new critter. I saw rings in the water, and looked to see if what I thought was a fish, jumped again. Imagine my surprise to see sleek dark brown fur streaking through the water, and then 4 curious heads pop up - a family of otters! I'd only ever seen them in the zoo, and it was so much fun to sit and watch them flipping, turning, and poking their heads up to get a look at Britney and I. They didn't stay long, but I enjoyed every second of seeing them. I really wish I had my camera with me!

Then, I met Laurel at the gym, and proceeded to have an awesome workout. It felt like nothing, but when I got off the elliptical, 715 calories burned. Whoo-hoo! Then, strength training, and I called it quits. Visited K-roger, and got groceries for dinner. Off to the R house, where I tried to whomp the kids in boxing. It ended up being a draw, and I am now so sore, it was well worth it! I made Stroganoff for their dinner, and I think it was a success. Now, I'm off to find a hot shower and warm bed!!!

Weekend

Ah, and what a great weekend it's been! Friday I got to be lazy at home, which, of course, is one of my favorite things to do lately. I hit the gym hard that night, knowing that I would not be going Saturday and Sunday, and I worked my thighs until I could have cried. Lots of reps, not so much weight, that's the toning way, right?

But the best part of the weekend was the NBS banquet. This was the first year I just attended, I didn't work, and that was weird. I'm used to being behind the scenes, helping where I can to make it happen, and it just seemed so strange to just show up and play. Of course, while I was getting ready to go, and things were getting crazy, I turned on the water in my sink to wash up, and . . . no cold water. Hot water, but no cold. Huh??? Hey, did you know if you have vents under your house, you're supposed to put insulation in there during the cold months? Who knew?!?!? But, my landlord came to the rescue, and I now have water!!! Anyway, got to the banquet, in time for social hour. It was awesome to get to see everyone again, and the food, as always, slurp! Awards were given, people laughed, and the DJ played. At first, no one was really interested in dancing, but then he got into some GREAT 80's stuff, and that got everyone moving. "Celebrate", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Nothing But A Good Time", and we all loved it. C. even got a very special "Happy Birthday" from the oh-so-talented Hillary, and the 50/50 was a smashing success. Oh, wait. Pictures you say? Sure!

Super Stud Garth - this kid has got the braces off, and is working an awesome new look. Garth, you really need to go this Spring. Laurie and I will get on the hunt for you, ok?

Then of course there are the R kids. A. certainly knows how to have a good time! He's a heart breaker in the making. And don't even get my started on L. . . . poor girl was worn out, but she was one of the first to be out there tearing it up!

And last, but certainly not least, another of my favorite people . . . Laurie. One of the regular players in "Girls Night Out", and last night was no exception. Almost makes me wish the banquet was a monthly thing . . . . almost.

Friday Fragments

Friday Fragments are for those posts that just don't stand up on their own, but deserve some recognition somewhere. Got that? :-)

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First of all, it's cold. Cold. Really cold. Like, I walked Britney this morning in long johns, a down coat, gloves, scarf, hat, and was still freezing. So cold it takes your breath away. So cold that Britney is attached to an icicle in the mornings after her business . . . There's no fun in that at all! I'm ready for seasonal temperatures to return!
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I have a couple of good posts circulating in my head that I'm looking forward to sharing. Laurie, you're going to love hearing about my first Internet dating experience. At the time, it was a little scary, and a whole lot funny. Now, it's downright hysterical.
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I realize lately that I have a bad attitude about some certain things. I'm trying, really trying, to get over it and not let it show. Do you have any idea how hard that is? If I was a bear I'd be shot just for having a bad attitude! (It's a hunter thing.)

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This Saturday is the banquet for the Speedway. I'm so looking forward to this one, as I love getting to spend time with friends as well as get my groove on. Good food, good music - good times! I'm going to have to make sure my camera is fully charged.
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Two squad calls this week - MVC with Entrapment about 3a, and then a chimney fire that got into the walls. Not good for the sleeping pattern!
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Did you know that Monday is a holiday??? I had forgotten until this morning, and that's one of those great surprises. Now, if we can just get some holidays in March, April, June, & August, right??
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Next weekend is the Drag Strip Banquet. Annette said she'd go with me - so yay, Annette time!

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Tonight I'm going to the gym, again. I have to tell you, I feel so much better about myself when I've had some serious exercise. Is that the endorphin thing I keep hearing about?

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I'm playing along at Half Past Kissin' Time. Won't you play too?

Writer's Workshop

Mama Kat has her Writer's Workshop every Thursday, and today, I'm having a hard time choosing on the prompts. Let's go for a scary run-in with a professor, shall we?

Scary as in, spooky scary, or scared to face them? See, in college I had this professor who never came to class prepared. At the time, the college had a pretty tough curriculum, called "The Great Books", and we were reading stuff like Dante, Nietzsche, or however you spell that, and then tearing them apart. It quickly became clear within about the first month that this teacher hadn't read the books either. Or, if she had, she didn't understand them any better than we did, and she was teaching from the Cliff Notes. In fact, it got so bad and I was so frustrated, that my mother, who is an English/History major, bought the Cliff Notes for me! Msh and I suffered through the term, thinking, "2 more months . . . 1 more month . . . we're outta here", as we were done with our English requirements.

Heh. Ever hear that saying that if you want to make God laugh, make plans? Well, when it came time for the supposedly anonymous teacher review (It was a very small school, and a very

small class - the reviews were handwritten!) we were brutally honest. We named every detail, and stated how dissatisfied we had been. Imagine our pleasure at finding out they were changing the graduation requirements and we had to take just one more semester of writing, and guess who the only teacher was? Walking into class that day was one of the hardest things I did in college!

To be fair to her: She was not ever anything except polite and professional. Except for some of the questionable writing assignments, the class passed without a hitch. It might have had something to do with my brother having just passed away, but I didn't have any difficulties. And, the daily required journal writing was surprisingly cathartic. Even today, I find that when I can't sleep, stressed out, whatever, writing will help clear my mind, even if it's about nothing.

And even today, when I pass her at the Wally World, I still cringe and wonder if she knows about what I really wrote!

Wordful Wednesday's

Wordful Wednesday's is for those of us who love to talk about a photo . . . or two!

Nope, she doesn't own the bed . . . not a bit! Whatever gives you that idea?

Really . . . I have plenty of room . . . come on, really, I didn't upgrade to a King size because of her . . .nope nope nope!My pillows are ALL mine:

And covers? Really, they ARE overrated. Come on now . . . it is a dog's life after all!!!

I'm playing at:

Monday

It's Monday, and it's cold out there! I just let Britney out, and I nearly had to push her off the porch. Poor puppy - she's smart!

This weekend was another average one. I hit the gym Friday night, and there was almost no one there. The advantage of a school gym - co-eds have better things to do on Friday night than work out. The flip slide is that today it'll be packed with same said co-eds making up for a weekend of bad behavior. I laid around in my flannel PJ's watching old episodes of Kelly, Brandon, Donna, and the others from that infamous zip code, and called it a night.

Saturday I walked Britney, played some PS2, and then went up to the R's with Ray so he could work on their computer. I played Wii with the kids, and discovered that boxing is a great upper body workout! It was awesome. That night, B & the kids and I joined the R's at Olive Garden . . . salad, yummy!

Sunday was the same old, with a long snooze with Britney that afternoon. She slept right up on my legs, but it was wonderful to have some quiet time.

Weekends are filling up, so there may be some more interesting posts/pictures in the future . . . I hope. What about you? Anything interesting to report?

Friday Fragments

Good morning, and Happy Friday! That means it's time for another Friday Fragments.
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It's been a slow week here. I love January and February, because life slows way down. Racing season gets back underway in March, but for now, I have time to clean house, do laundry, that sort of thing. Saturday's are filling up, but it's with things I want to do, not what I have to do. In fact, I understand that there is a tubing trip in my near future??
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I went back on my diet/exercise plan this week. I did it previously, and got down to a nice size, but then transferred to the Big City where I had the option of Golden Arches for meals, and everything went to heck in a handbasket, KWIM? So, no more Mickey D's, no more soda, no more refined sugar, and you know what? I've lost 4 lbs in just a week! We have a program here at work that encourages healthy living through cheaper insurance premiums, and dang it, I'm going to meet those goals. To get to my original goals, I have 100 lbs to go!! Glad I have a puppy who loves to go for walks/runs, gives me some encouragement to get off my tail.
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I'm so aggravated with the Wednesday morning "Prayer Breakfast" drivers. Look, just because you are retired and have no where to go, doesn't mean that I also want to enjoy the 20 mph drive through the 55 mph zone. Please, pull over!!!
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Cindy came by and let Britney out for me this week. I think Britney was more excited to see her than she is when I come home! That's because C. will let the mutt give her kisses and I do NOT want to be licked on the face. And Cindy? You can borrow Britney any time you want . . .
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I heard a call get toned out this week for "Congestion". Seriously? Congestion is now a reason for an ambulance ride to the hospital?? Chest Pain, Car Wrecks, Fires, yes, but congestion? I have to admit, I would really resent getting up at 3a for that!
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I started a new blog. This one is mainly for me, but any feedback and support I can get, I'll take.
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See, slow week. But, feel free to play along with Half-Past Kissin' Time.

Writer's Workshop

It's Thursday, and that means that Mama Kat has given us a writing assignment. Honestly, I stopped at #1 because I knew what I had to write about!

1.) Describe your latest obsession. See? Easy!

Growing up, there weren't a lot of extra funds, and even if there were, they sure weren't going to be spend on mind wasters like video games. I remember going over to Natalie and Ashley's and playing their Atari. It was the coolest thing ever, and my 2 favorite games were Pitfall and Q Bert, with Pong sliding in at #3. Dustin eventually had a Nintendo, and I remember playing Castlevania there. After I turned 18, somewhere along the line I got my hands on an original NES, but I only had one game. The whole she-bang got shoved in the entertainment center and forgotten about. At one point, Annette picked up a couple of games at a flea market, and I'd play them off and on. About 2 months ago, I took it out again, and whomped on some Super Mario 3. A friend of mine found SMB 2 (the one with the floating princess) in it, and I promptly went about beating that one. Now, here's where I start to have an obession problem.

Back when I visited Msh and her beautiful new baby girl, she mentioned that I could take her PS2, so that the boys would have something to do at my house. I just needed to pick up some hunting/racing games for them. Not a big deal, right? Ha. I borrowed Frogger from Annette, but I didn't get the hang of it. So, my dear other friend mentioned that he had a bunch of games. I asked for "girl" games and he rolled his eyes. He did have, if I was familiar with the story line, Lego Star Wars. Familiar? This is the girl that went as Princess Leia, complete with hair buns, for Halloween in the 1st grade. I love me some Han Solo . . . Anyway, I took it home. And I've played it, nightly, for the past 2 weeks. The sad thing is that it keeps track of how much time you've spent, and I am NOT confessing that on here!

I'm working on getting obsessed about the gym . . . I think it will do me much more good!!!

Come play at :

Wordful Wednesday's is for those of us who want to show off pictures AND talk about it - so let's go back to Africa. I have a digital picture frame on my desk, and my clients LOVE watching it. Me too . . .

When we went to the Hluhlewe (Shluh-shloo-ee) park, we got up at the crack of dawn for our safari, since that's when the animals are most active and out and about. You know what? It was worth it.Some of the animals were mildly curious about us. For the most part, they would look at us, we would look back. The amazing thing, is by the end of the safari we would see something move and be all, "Ooh, what's that? Oh, it's just another giraffe." Just another giraffe? Sheesh. It was fun to watch the . . . I think it's an Oxpecker bird, nibbling on the ticks and other creatures on the animals. Talk about a circle of life.
I think the Zebra's (Pronounced Zeb-ruh's) were probably the most fun. Did you know that they are NOT the same stripes on both sides? But this little guy was all about posing. He'd turn his head this way, or his body that way - very cooperative for a novice photographer!
Of course, some animals just didn't want to be seen, and are very good at hiding. Fortunately, our tour guide had taken this shot earlier and was kind enough to share it with me. He kept telling us the lion is right over there, but he wouldn't get out of the Land Rover to show me exactly!! I don't get it . . . we were good tippers!

Tune in for more pictures - it was the adventure of a lifetime!

I'm playing along at:

Awkward Moments

Did you know that Awkward is a difficult word to spell? No matter what, it just doesn't look right.

I had one of those moments this morning. I had called our help line to get assistance with a problem, and during the course of the conversation, this wonderfully friendly woman and I got into a conversation about kids and how you hope that they turn out, and how frustrating it is when parents continually bail out their kids. I'm sorry, but when you're 24 and you steal several thousand dollars, you need to pay the price for that! How else does a child learn responsibility? Anyway, I told her about my younger brother, who was constantly into things he shouldn't have been. At one point, I remember Mom calling me and telling me that Brad was in jail, and that if he called me, to NOT bail him out. Now, yes, Mom knows best, but I remember telling her that if he called, I would do what I could to help him. Hello, isn't that what siblings are for, to torment and to have each other's backs? Anyway. Wonderfully friendly woman then asked how he's doing now, if he got his life straightened out. . . . . Now's the hard part. I tell her that Brad was killed in a car accident several years ago, and . . . silence. "Oh, that's so awful. I'm so sorry". This is what I hate. I love talking about Brad, my memories of him, and every time I talk to someone new, I have to re-live him dying - like that was the highlight. I'm not over it - I don't believe you ever get over it, but you get past it. Time, and space, allow you to remember the good, laugh at the bad, and enjoy the memories. It's not like it happened yesterday, or last week - Many times I simply don't talk about it because I don't want to bring people down thinking about "how awful". I'd love suggestions on how to mention it and quickly moving on to the story that I wanted to share. Any tips and hints?

Glowing Frogs

AKA - why you shouldn't eat salsa right before you go to bed. Except, I didn't go right to bed because we had a squad call. And then when I got home I couldn't sleep, so I watched my DVR of the ladies of Wisteria Lane. And then tossed and turned all night. Finally, just as I fell asleep, my alarm went off. I decided that 5:30 was not going to work for me, and reset it for 6:30, and promptly fell asleep. In my dream, I had a frog in my house and I couldn't catch it. Henry, Msh's husband, was trying to help me. In the process, we realized that the frog glowed in the dark, so we turned off the lights to find it. Imagine my shock to realize that my floor was covered in microscopic tiny glowing frogs! And, it appeared that what I thought was a cob web was actually a frog egg nest!

Even though I was running late this morning, I took 2 minutes to webster out my cobwebs!!!

This weekend was pretty tame, as they go in my life. I had a nice quiet Friday night, and the rest of the weekend followed the same. I did try out a different chicken recipe Saturday, and let me tell you - I am LOVING the whole crock pot thing!!! Last week I started back on my diet, and today I am going back to the gym. I'm hoping it'll help me with not sleeping as soundly, too!

Now, if I can just avoid the glowing frogs . . .

Friday Fragments

Well, not really. See, I really like the idea of Friday Fragments, but I'm not sure this will qualify. Am I disowned yet?

It's been an interesting couple of days. New Year's Eve, I was supposed to take a 1/2 day of vacation. Due to various people out and doctor's appt's, I didn't get to leave until 3-ish. Well, that's ok. Ran to Wal Mart, and actually got out for $10 LESS than I had planned! That doesn't happen too often, and I made up for it today. On my way home, I saw smoke. Lots of smoke. On one of the windiest days of the year. I thought some idiot was burning leaves, and I was going to call the FD, but when I found the fire, there was no homeowner there. Errr, that's bad! Called and found out the fire department was on it's way, and I went on home. Once I got there, I discovered a line down across the road to my house. I traced it, and discovered it was my phone line. Now, I can live without phone, but internet? We're going to have to talk! The line wasn't completely down, just right about windshield height - and the perfect height for returning fire trucks to hit! Fortunately, the fire chief was paying attention, stopped, and arranged for the other trucks to stop. It pays to know the right people! They zip tied that wire back up, and everything was good. I paid them in beer and cookies . . . Thanks, GVFD!

That night I went to a dance at another fire department. Dinner first with L&K, C&L, and B. I had shrimp, thinking that would be healthier than the steak. Yeah, it would have, 'til it was drowned in butter sauce, but it was oh, sooo good. The dance was a good time - lots of munchies and great company. I'd show you pictures, but . . . I prefer to keep my friends! I got home without incident, and without any calls, my kind of a night.

I was lazy yesterday - played several hours on my Star Wars game (yes, I'm a nerd!), and tried out my new crock pot. Today, I got up, got some of the Crock Pot chicken out to take to work, and headed in. I was running a bit late, but figured it would be ok. Got about 7 minutes from the house, and realized I had forgotten lunch and my pocketbook. Since I was sitting on empty, I had to have my debit card. I turned around, and got home in time to catch the mutt with her head and ears down. Tupperware opened, no tooth marks, and not a drop on the floor, or in the dish! Little brat ate my lunch! Bad dog. Got back to the gas station, where they were OUT of Diet Dr Pepper. Huh?? Really? No caffeine? Not a good day. I'm going to go home tonight, and try to do it all better tomorrow.

How about you? Is your '09 starting out right?