Cincinnati Zoo: Just who is on exhibit here?
Posts Tagged ‘Travel’
Not much to say, luckily a picture is worth 1,000 words
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011Barbie Cadaver Lab?
Thursday, October 6th, 2011As you might remember, I have been horrified in Myrtle Beach on occasion. It continues to not disappoint. Check out this option for a super gift every little girl needs–interchangeable Barbie parts!
Do the legs form a Conga line when you are asleep? Do tattle tale girls get a Barbie head under their pillow ala The Godfather horsehead? C'mon people!
Now this is just gross
Saturday, October 1st, 2011Paul always tells stories about going into the grocery store without shoes on, but we all know he is a little um, hillbilly. But in August when we were on vaca in Myrtle Beach The South came up and slapped me silly.
This is why The South will NOT rise again.
Look very carefully at this photo–looks like a pretty sweet salad bar, right? I do love me a salad bar. Now look to the far side of this delightful buffet. Yes, that’s right.
LOOK AT THE MAN WITH NO SHIRT ON.
How does it seem ok to let your belly hairs graze my croutons inches away when they have plexiglass blocking your breath 2 feet away from the romaine? Not to mention it was 1000000 degrees so sweat was probably rolling off the dude into the Italian dressing. or deoderant dropping off his armpit hair into the cauliflour. I expressed my outrage to Paul and his sister. I probably even pointed my Yankee finger at the topless salad-eer. All I got was a shrug from Paul, laughter from Elizabeth and from each of them came:
“Yep, welcome to Myrtle Beach.”
Recovering from the holidays
Monday, January 17th, 2011Most everyone who reads this blog knows what insanity exists in our lives in December since Paul and the kids all have their birthdays in a 2 week stretch, then Christmas and New Years. The last couple years we have started the year by bringing our lives to a screeching halt in January. We plan nothing, do less and love it. Until I get antsy and start making lists. This year was no different.
Fido the Fit before his much needed---and deserved-- trip to the spa after keeping us safe through 14 hours of snow and ice on our trip back from Indiana at Christmas after only 12 hours of visiting (really 6 b/c we slept some too).
The house and pets took a beating too. Check out this picture of Bluesy amongst the chaos of leftover Christmas crap-o-la. No matter how ruthless we are at cleaning out before the holidays (and the kids were REALLY thorough this year), there is never enough room for all of our treasures. We are very good, after all!
Waiting for Santa was exhausting!
Paul takes a much deserved nap. So tired--this is even DURING a Carolina game with the kids playing all around him.
The pets have to handle so many schedule changes: Paul staying home from work, then the kids are there all day of some days, then all of us leaving for days at a time to travel, coming home late from parties (ok, late for us). Their whole world gets turned upside down. Barton and Katie even forgot they were not supposed to like each other!
Sign the Apocolypse is upon us.
I started feeling the old twinges of needing to make a list today though. This year we are not going to take on any major new projects. More like just finishing up that last 2% of the projects that never get done. We will keep you posted of course! Stay tuned.
And you thought Paul and I biked a lot…
Thursday, September 23rd, 2010I recently read in Bicycling magazine about an amazing family. Here is a summary from their website:
The four of us (Mom, Dad and twelve-year-old twin boys) are bicycling from Alaska to Argentina. When we reach the southernmost tip of South America, Davy and Daryl will become the new Guinness World Record holders as the youngest people to cycle the Pan-American Highway!
Wow. It makes me think about long bike rides that Paul and I have gone on. Let’s just say that Paul now carries some cheese to go with my whine. Now add 2 kids, whoa. Then doing school on the road–they call it roadschooling, like homeschooling–get it!? HA! Again, I think about nights at the table with Anna and/or Tyler with their homework. Tears flow, voices are raised, frustration abounds. Then add on prep with no supplies except that which you find on the road or carry on your bike?!
Lastly, eating. Paul is a frickin’ saint. Anna won’t even eat turkey on her sandwich anymore. Mayo and an American slice of cheese on bread, with the crusts cut off of course. Tyler can change his mind 3-4 times about liking something within the span on the same dinner. Can you imagine traveling to other countries on a bike (talk about a Very Hungry Caterpillar!) then get off and there is no Harris Teeter to go get skim milk, hormone free chicken or ingredients to even make tortillas (not that they have a kitchen to make stuff in anyhow). Don’t even think about access to McDonald’s, Domino’s, etc.
Surfer Laird Hamilton says he lives his life well by doing something to scare himself every day. Whether you prefer scaring, inspiring, motivating yourself, I think it is a good message. This family is a good example of this.
Halfway point
Monday, September 20th, 2010I am starting the 3rd week of my 4-week “sabbatical.” Wow, time flies! But after this glimpse of retirement, it really seems like it will agree with me. I have been kind of puttering through a variety of things. Most fun so far has been hanging out with Sydney last week in Cincinnati.
At the park after our jog. How cute is she!?!
Elli is such a great mom and really makes it look easy. She and Sydney always look SO cute, plus she works full time AND actually reads the book for her book club! Below is a classic picture of Elli as a mom. She was still in her work clothes through dinner, ice cream, bath time and bedtime. She didn’t flinch about the snot on her cardigan, easily brushed off the mystery food and wasn’t fazed by the water from the bath down her left side.
The rest of the time, when I have been in town, I have been making a pointed effort to leave the block each day so I don’t get overwhelmed by inertia and waste my time off. I think I am going to reverse that focus to knocking out some projects at home. Here are some top projects on the list:
- re-paint patio furniture
- set up pot/pan holder in cabinet, reorganize
- re-paint kitchen table and chairs
- install 2nd shelf in laundry room, reorganize
- install new baskets for additional storage on pantry door, reorganize
- patch nail punch-outs in bathroom, re-caulk around tub
- repaint bathroom walls, ceiling
That should be enough for today, right?
More on Jake
Sunday, September 12th, 2010
Jake at the vet on Friday. Dr Thomas was very surprised at how well he was doing--that he was still alive at all really. We just want him to be able to enjoy the things he loves as long as he can.
I guess I should have kept my trap shut. Jake took a turn for the worse this weekend. We took the dogs to the Dog Splash (more on that in another post), which we knew would be hard for him physically b/c of the gigantic lymph nodes making it hard to breathe. But we strongly feel that quality of life is what we are shooting for here and Jake CLEARLY had a ball swimming.
Last night he was having a really hard time breathing and we considered taking him to the emergency vet to have him euthanized. Paul laid on the floor with him for awhile and Jake’s breathing finally calmed down and Jake was able to fall asleep. This morning he was just lying around and we had a plan set for Paul to take him. Paul told the kids about it and Tyler got Jake some ice (one of Jake’s favorite treats that he gets… legally at least!). After eating about 10 ice cubes, Tyler gave him cheese, which he snarfed in 1 swallow. [[time out: spell check knows the word "snarfed," but not the word "euthanized." What's up with THAT?!]] Then Jake turned around and snatched Anna’s bagel out of her hand while she wasn’t paying attention. Paul and I just looked at each other stunned.
So we decided to hold off and watch him for now. I have plans to travel to Cincinnati to see Sydney and the rest of my family for a few days. Worried about leaving Paul to handle all that by himself: he will have the kids T, W, Th (read: homework those nights, plus getting on the bus on W, Th, F). If he needs to put Jake down in the middle of all that, wow. But knowing Jake, he will probably be “helping” Paul make lunches every morning for many more weeks to come.
Stupid Woolly Worms
Monday, October 19th, 2009According to NC lore, so goes the woolly worm, goes the winter. I officially hate woolly worms and am glad Paul ran a bunch over. We are in for a VERY cold winter in NC.
But the kids had fun! 
Here is the link to the pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sanders1745/WoollyWormFestival?feat=directlink
This N That…
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Not much to report lately, which is kind of nice really. We have been getting a few requests to update the blog so here are the highlights:
SICK
I stayed home from work Monday and Tuesday of last week (9/28 and 29). At first I thought it was flu, which means automatic 7 days out of work. Luckily (?) it was only a sinus infection. I am finally feeling back to normal today (10/6) 1 week later. It has indeed thrown a wrench in my training and weight loss progress (more later). But as of tonight (great run!) I am back on track. Paul and the kids had gotten the respiratory funk a couple times in earlier weeks. I think we all are on the mend. I got my flu shot and the H1N1 flu vaccine will be at our site in a few weeks at the latest. Because I am a high risk person (asthma) in a high risk job (healthcare), I am near the top of the list. Which I feel mixed about since they are still looking at long term side affects. I did also get a pneumonia vaccine free at work b/c of the high risk thing and the fact that the H1N1 tends to affect respiratory system and turn to pneumonia.
HEALTHY
So Paul and I have been in a weight loss contest of sorts w each other for a couple months now. My goal is 11 pounds, Paul’s is 7 (I think). So we weigh in every Wed morning and if we have dropped weight we get a certain amount of money we chose put towards the kayaks that we want (but cannot afford). If we did not lose, but we did our workouts for the week (training for the 1/2 marathon in Dec), we put 1/2 the money back. So far I have lost about 6 1/2 pounds. This means that I am under the cut off for what our life insurance company thinks is high risk. So once I can stay there, I will get re-tested and save us some money!
KIDS
Tyler had a hard time w getting used to school and its routine/restriction/discipline, but he has been doing much better recently. He lost his 2nd tooth yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night (ok, 10:30) and heard him rolling around, then nothing, then…”yessss!!!!” He had found his quarter from the tooth fairy.
Tyler's first lost tooth
Anna is kicking butt in school. She has her dad’s spelling prowess so we have been working on that, but she has aced her test each of the last 2 weeks. She is very much into mermaids right now.
Both kids love riding their bikes, Tyler prefers trails and Anna the road. Tyler wants to play hoops this winter. Anna changes her mind daily, but did decide she wanted to do a craft from a book she got from Miss Sallie, one of the triathletes I coached through Team in Training this season. Sallie works at Edward McKay, a local used bookstore we LOVE LOVE LOVE. Anna got to go a couple weeks ago and pick some books ($3 worth) b/c she got to 10 on her reward chart (for following the rules at school and home).
FUN
Paul read one of my books about Michael Jordan–its about his retirement and (first) comeback. I recently read 2 books my mom brought me: Never Change (Elizabeth Berg) and Garden Spells (Sarah Addison Allen). Now I am reading Seven Summits–it is about the first 2 guys who climbed the highest mountain on each of the 7 continents. Next comes 2 books I got in Wilmington at one of my favorite little shops, Two Sisters Bookery. My choices are Why the Devil Chose New England for His Work (Jason Brown) or Breakfast with Buddha (Roland Merullo). The weekend of Sept 20th (our anniversary!!) Paul and I went to Wilmington for the race that my TNT peeps did.
L to R: Tom, Sallie, Kathy, me
The weekend after that my parents came down and we had lots of fun, especially at the zoo w Paul’s mom, sis and her kids.
Mom, Dad, Susan, Paul at lunch at Fishbones
Tyler stylin' in my cap while he fixes my hair (at the zoo).
Girl time at the zoo!
Then last weekend Paul and I went to see B.B. King in Myrtle Beach’s House of Blues. It was SO KICK ASS! I will let him tell the rest. No new real house projects in progress. Saturday will be an easy weekend at home so we will have chore day (shhh–Paul and the kids don’t know yet).
Good to know some things never change!
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
I know it doesn’t look like it, but she really did start it. I am an innocent younger sibling.
We are back from our trip to Syd-cinnati. What a cute baby girl! I posted more pictures (scroll half way down, when the images change to non-numbered ones, you are on the 2nd half–I think it starts with Michael snoozing on the couch with Sydney).
It is always great to see my sister, but this was definitely one of those weekends where you see time marching on before your eyes. I am 35, she is 37. I am a step mother of 2, she has a newborn. The miracle of all of this is that my parents have not seemed to have aged. They are still mom and dad!
OK, enough deep thoughts for today. Off to read before bed–back to work tomorrow. BTW–I gave in a started the Twilight series. AWESOME. I was worried I would be scared, but I am not. Also, Elli–I also took your book, Atonement. Will you add that to my Scarpelli library card check out list?
