Last Blog with Mary Jane

This will be my last blog on the old computer, thus the weird post title. And because I am incredibly tired this morning, but had to be awake for the FOUR HOUR 8-noon Geek Squad window (you'd think geeks would be better at scheduling!), here's some pictures of my cats:


Some more fun with perspective from Elphie and Kilo...only this time she does look smaller than she actually is. Also, yesterday someone said our stair rail looked like it came straight out of an Escher painting. I'm pretty sure she was referring to that part where Elphie is!

Milo contemplates the cranes. One of these guys came up 3 feet from me while I was taking pictures. Cool? Yes. Scary? Hell yes! Those things could peck my boobs out! (not quite tall enough to reach the eyes) I think Milo got enough of an up-close view of them to realize he was out-matched.

Also, now that I've gotten some good pictures of the sand hill cranes, I think I have a full collection of bird pictures and can now put together my own bird-spotting guide. But of course, part of me thinks I should wait until Fall so that I know I've seen the entire year's worth of birds.

Reflections

I'm too scattered to sit down and write all about how exciting it was last night to stand at the screen door and watch a great blue heron.

Enthralling, right?

Well, long story short, the heron was walking way up away from the water, which spooked the cats. I've never seen them with their feet on dry land! So I watched it walk about 10 feet, ruffling its feathers and walking really strangely. The bird was spooked too! So we thought maybe the pond log was back. And we kept seeing something in the water. It just didn't seem alligator-like to us, but we weren't sure. And then the heron walked into the marsh and neither of us could bear to turn away, thinking the poor thing was about to be eaten by the dinosaur in the water.

So that's basically why we were watching. At some point, I tore myself away to grab my camera, since the heron was in a place with a near-perfect reflection of itself shining back. By the time I got the camera, I missed that picture, but came close with another one:

I dig symmetry! So about the time I took that picture, I had two simultaneous problems: the batteries in the camera were dying, and the memory card was full. So I stopped taking pictures. And then the heron lunged into the water - I really thought the gator got it - and came back up with a fish. I was standing there with my camera and couldn't take a picture!

And then, maybe 2 minutes later, a snake bird popped out the water with one of those big fat catfish, but the catfish got away.

So I changed the batteries and deleted some old pictures, but by that time the heron had moved on down the shore to another patch of marsh. And that's when the weird lump in the reeds popped back up.

Can you see it above? The reason we thought it was a turtle or a frog at first is because there was only one lump sticking out of the water. Usually with an alligator, you'll see the eyes and the nose sticking up. Keep in mind that picture above was taken with my camera on the highest zoom. It's much more visible than to the naked eye. And it wasn't until I did some photo cropping this morning that I saw the tiny nostrils, barely visible above the surface:

I'm still not sure whether this itty bitty alligator was hunting the heron or spooked by it, but either way it made for some excitement out back! And all of a sudden I'm dreading the idea that at some point I'm going to see one of my birds as the prey instead of the predator. I'm also secretly hoping that I can take pictures of it. Hopefully that doesn't make me a bad person!

Morning Rituals

In the morning, I always take a look out at the pond while I'm brushing my teeth just to see if there's anything cool out there. Yesterday, it was the Pond Log, swimming merrily along right below the surface. He disappeared after the lawn guy went by. Scott says they don't like the vibrations.

Really, he's only 3-4 feet long. Without any frame of reference in the photo, it looks like he could be twice that length. Except you can tell he's got a tiny little snout.

Also, Elphie inevitably stands guard outside the bedroom door, waiting for someone going out to let her in. It's because she's so cute we can't bear to say no. And she always jumps up on the bed for some petting from whomever is handy. First thing in the morning is NOT cuddle time. Pet her or prepare for the nagging meows to start. Still, she's adorable. We really can't resist!


...and though it looks like Scott is crushing her in this picture, you'll have to take my word that this is her "ooh...pet my belly!" time. It's her freakish non-cat-like habit. What other cat do you know who begs to have their belly rubbed (and the ones who lay on their backs daring you to pet their bellies don't count)?

These are the simple things in my day that make me smile.

Evolution of a Facebook Self-Portrait

We took the side roads up to the hairdresser this morning. On the way up, pre-haircut, I noticed we were driving past miles of orange trees in full blossom. I opened the window wide and stuck my face out so that I could drink as much of the smell in as possible. Yes, Scott was driving. You can't stick your head out when you're in the driver's seat!

On the way back home, we went the same way and I did the same thing. I noticed that while I had my face out the window, I was holding me feet up. It was like I was flying. Through orange blossom air. Ahhhh.... That's when I noticed my hair in the side mirror...


Sadly, I'm just not artistic enough to pull off the proper composition of the side mirror photo. So I held the phone with both hands and tried again, concentrating on not letting the phone fly out of my iron grip!


Crazy hair? CHECK! Smile or appropriate goofy face? Not so much. Third time's the charm, right?Yep, third time's the charm! The hair doesn't look quite as awesome as in the second picture, but the face is the perfect mixture of joy and insanity. I mentioned the other day on Twitter that I was high on orange blossoms. Obviously, I meant it!

Please ignore my face in this last picture. It's the best one so far of the new 'do. It was actually taken after the photos above, which has got to be the mark of a great haircut - survival! You can't really tell how short it is here, but trust me when I say I actually had to suppress a panic attack in the chair from about the halfway point of the cutting until the end of the blow drying.

I like it though, and I'm curious to see what it looks like tomorrow when I have to style it myself! I told Scott that it's like 'grown-up hair,' and I think that's the best description I can muster for right now.

Funny About Money

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you may already know this story. I got notification of my raise this week. Also, I got notification that I am topped-out in my pay grade. Actually, I wasn't so much 'notified' as told that I was getting a six cent per hour raise. And when I questioned why, with a first-rate evaluation, I was only getting six cents, I was told I was topped out. Surprise!

For those of you doing the quick math, my raise will cover less than one gallon of gas per week. Slightly longer math reveals that I'll be making an extra $124.80 annually before taxes.

It certainly doesn't cover the rise in my health insurance premiums this year. It doesn't cover inflation. And in my book, it's a big fat insult.

To his credit, my boss is making a half-assed attempt to have my pay grade changed. Technically, right now I'm a clerk. If he can have me bumped up to coordinator, the pay will be slightly better. Realistically, if this decision is made by the same bean counters who refuse to adequately staff our location, I think it's unlikely that they're going to change my status.

Ironically enough, my past two jobs are both hiring this week. I got an email from a former co-worker (to be fair, he sent it to 5 other people too) pointing out that they were hiring and to PLEASE consider coming back. He also told me that the starting pay is nearly $1 more per hour than what I'm making now.

There are a lot of reasons why I left that location. Most of it had to do with negativity. A lot of the people there are miserable and just working for a paycheck. And a lot of my job was handling angry yelling people on the phone. But I was good at it. And even with zero seniority, I'd be a part of a team with multiple members and therefore able to actually take vacation or use sick pay without having to beg someone else to cover for me.

So...irony or fate? I have a week to decide, but right now I'm leaning towards applying. What's the worst that could happen?

Return of Pond Log

The other day, I was upstairs getting ready to shower when I did my standard look-for-interesting-birds-out-the-window peek. And then I ran to get the camera!

No birds today, and you can see why! Logic dictates that this is the same alligator that we saw swimming the other day, but this one really looks smaller to me. So who knows? Maybe we have a bunch swimming through the area. Anyway, obviously I wasn't getting a good picture from upstairs because of the screen. So I ran downstairs and took the next picture from inside the house, but with the screen door open.

Scott, helpful chap that he is, was in the living room at the time and offered to go get a better (closer) picture for me. If I gave him my pants. See, Scott was wearing boxers and unlike our neighbors, chooses to keep his bits hidden from view.

So I gave him my pants.

There he was, walking out of the house in my multi-color (but mostly pink) striped pajama bottoms. I would've gotten a picture, except he had the camera! Sadly, he got less than five feet from the back door when the gator slipped back into the water.

While bad news for future photos, it's good news for us. This thing is still as wild as they come, and it's not going to be sniffing around for burgers or cats. At least not this year. It's cool though, getting to be all nonchalant about an alligator just a few paces from the back door. It's certainly not anything I ever expected when I was growing up!

Forced Perspective?

No, no optical illusion here. The cat in the front really is that much bigger than the one in the back!

Actually, I took the picture because I thought it was rather freakish that these two were laying in nearly identical positions (aside from their tails). Meanwhile, Milo was laying on the back of the couch yelling at me for leaning over him to take the picture.

Tweet Little Movie Reviews

Since I’m not really great at movie reviews, but seem to be watching a fair number via HBO and HBO On Demand, I thought I’d take the chance to share a few mini-reviews with you. Each is Twitter-length (140 characters) or shorter, not including the movie title.

Marley and Me
OMG I can’t remember the last time I cried so hard. The trailer/commercials billed this as a comedy! Great, but BOO false advertising!


Get Smart
The movie was as enjoyable as the TV show! Complete with explosions, plenty of LOL moments, and The Rock, it’s a comedy I’d watch again.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
2 hours of my life I’ll never get back. Not funny despite some A-list cast. Michael Douglas should’ve retired after The American President!

Moulin Rouge
Saw it before, own the DVD, still love it. And I cry every time I watch it. And did I mention the music? A+

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Cute family movie with colorful cast including Tucci, Breslin, and Joan Cusack. Watch it with a kid, not quite enough to bother adults with.

Temple Grandin
Just watched 'Temple Grandin.' If you don't have HBO, find a friend who does and borrow their living room for 2 hours. Totally worth it.

(I really did tweet that last one)

I saw this morning that Changeling popped in to the on demand listing, so I'm sure to watch that some time soon, despite the fact that it stars that husband-stealing baby-collecting Angelina Jolie. Has anyone else seen any movies recently worth a 140-character review?

Pond-Log

Scene: Saturday afternoon, Jamie is on the couch watching TV while Scott is preparing to season his new grill (a process which requires burning a lot of charcoal for a long time, and which has no burgers at the end).

Scott goes outside to... do something involving the grill, and promptly comes right back in.

SCOTT: I draw the line at men sunbathing in the "back yard"

JAMIE: Is it Kirk? (our nickname for the guy who lives next door. the one with the pit bull, who sings 70s prom music at the top of his lungs, and slams his door all the time because he apparently doesn't understand physics)

SCOTT: (shaken) I don't know who it was.

JAMIE: Is he out on his chair?

SCOTT: He's on a lawn chair spread-eagle.

JAMIE: So? Go back out and finish what you are doing.

SCOTT: No way I'm going back out there! I saw testicle once, NEVER AGAIN!

JAMIE: You saw ball?!?!?

SCOTT: He's got his knees up, his legs spread, and his shorts are baggy!

A few minutes later, someone shirtless walks past our window having a conversation with someone we can't see. Scott peeks out and tells me the gator is back in the pond.

JAMIE: Take my camera and go get a picture!

SCOTT: No! There's still a half-naked man out there!

JAMIE: But I'm not wearing a bra. By the time I get decent, it'll be gone.



All that to say this photo would've been so much better had there not been a rogue testicle behind our house: ...and the sunbather wasn't Kirk. It was some guy we'd never seen before. Apparently there's renters on the other side of Kirk. I'm assuming that's who it was.

DISCLAIMER: this might not have been the exact conversation...but all the relevant bits (heh heh... 'bits!') are there.

Easter Pie

I still haven't mastered the art of the beautiful crust, but who cares?

This isn't really an Easter pie. I made it last month, but never published the picture. (the pie, of course, was eaten) Anyway, happy Easter. Have a Cadbury (caramel) Egg for me!

VISA: Secured

You know your credit card has good security features when you make a big-ticket purchase and they are calling you before you even leave the store to make sure your credit card is still in your possession!

Actually, we made two big-ticket purchases. We finally bought Scott's Man-Grill (when you see it, you'll understand the title). And we finally replaced our slow-beyond-comprehension PC.

The grill is assembled. (I won't tell you about the DRAMA of going into Lowe's to find it's out of stock, and then finding out it's in stock, and then finding out it's not really in stock, and then finding out it's in stock but not put away correctly, and then finally getting it and forgetting to use the $25 off coupon in my purse, and then finding out it wouldn't fit in Scott's trunk...or back seat, and then having to rent a pick-up truck for the 20 minutes it took to drive round-trip and unload the thing! That part is better left unspoken.)

But since I'm still in the painstaking process of saving old files to CDs and jump drives, the new PC is still in the box. But it's so new... and the flat-panel monitor is so pretty...

sigh, sometimes it's so hard being a grown-up!

I burned two final music CDs with random tunes taking up space on the hard drive (don't tell me that's what makes the computer slow. la la la, I can't hear you over my pretty new monitor), I burned two photo CDs, and after I save my 2010 (the year, not the number) photos onto the jump drive, I think the last step is to go through folders and look for things I want to rescue.

You know what I'm not going to be able to rescue and it breaks my heart? The 8 "I VOTED" stickers stuck around the edge of the monitor. That's 4 elections' worth! My Obama sticker... my Obama primary sticker... my John Kerry sticker... my John Edwards primary sticker... (hey - I'm 2 and 2 - it could be worse! and when you include Scott's stickers, our winning percentage is even higher!) There are 7 other stickers on the monitor, too. Each is a different Chiquita banana sticker. My favorite says "place sticker on forehead. smile." Words to live by, right?

So, enough of my sentimental journey through stickers. I've got an exciting new box of stuff to play with!

A Whole New Hair...

I got my hair cut two days after my birthday. I think I scared the stylist because I was trying to go basically from nearly shoulder-length bob to very short and very layered. I showed her three pictures, and she gave me a slightly longer version of the photo with the longest hair. She kept looking at me and saying "you sure?" I seriously had to promise her I wouldn't cry. So I left with not what I really wanted, but I was ok with a transition cut.

This picture was taken immediately after leaving the salon. Obviously, it wasn't worth advertising, "hey! new 'do!" And though I enjoy the look of it, the fact that even straight out of the salon I couldn't get a good picture leads me to believe it's not the best look for me. To me, this cut just looks like I'm in the awkward growing-out stage between short and long hair. So now I really think I want to go shorter.

Below are three looks I'm considering: porn star hair, Grey's hair, and lizard hair.

The porn star hair belongs to one of Tiger Woods' luvvahs. I saw the picture attached to this article and first wondered if it was a wig, and then wondered whether I could pull off that look. Obviously, my hair is WAY less thick than hers. I did a Bing search to see whether there were any other photos of her (clothed...) and found another angle, my guess is from the same day (again, because she's clothed) at the LA Times blogs. If you check out the last photo above the poll, it's sort of messy and sad...a look that I can definitely achieve. I'm just not sure I want to achieve it!

Up next: Grey's hair!

This is one of the new cast members on Grey's Anatomy this season. She's also sporting a shaggy pixie-ish cut similar to porn star hair. Since I watch Grey's every week, this image (or one similar) pops in my head every time I consider going shorter. This picture isn't that great. But hey - watch the show and you can see it in all its moving glory!

And finally, we wrap up with lizard hair.

This is Anna from ABC's remake of "V." I said something about her hair to Scott and his response was something like, "oh, you want to go that short?" I got the impression he was a little terrified of that particular prospect! And no, I am pretty sure I don't want hair that short. Just the same, I thought I'd include it here as an alternative to what I'm really considering.

Obviously, no haircut is going to give me a skinny face and a pointy chin. And I wasn't planning on going auburn again. But I really do think I'm going shorter, and most likely within 2 weeks. The current 'do is 4 weeks old now, and the bad part about layers is that they don't grow nicely at all!

So any opinions from anyone? You're not allowed to criticize when it's on my head, but you can do so now...

And Here We Go Again...

Once again, I find myself the victim(?) of peer pressure in the form of NaBloPoMo. So I thought I'd pick up in April where I left off in February - in the back yard!

Spring has brought a new batch of birds out back, and I'm hoping that my NaBlo partner in crime (or any of the rest of you) can help me with some identification.

First up, my newest fascinating bird. I think this guy is a little blue heron. Really, it's the only identification I can think of that makes any sense. I realize it's difficult to see in these pictures (taken at dusk some day last week), but he's inky black, with a blue sheen. He's not spotted here every day, but he's definitely a regular at the fishin' hole.

To the best of my vast bird knowledge (and ability to compare photos on the internet), this little guy is a black-necked stilt. Guess where he gets his name... c'mon... guess! The stilts tend to be out in pairs, and are often there at the same time as the guy above. I took some pictures of them together at sunrise last week, but alas, without the flash, they were just too gray and blurry to hold on to.

I left this last photo a little wider than normal to show off the lovely purple weed-flowers that the lawn guys choose to not to anything about. They're pretty, if slightly unruly.

In my pre-research mind, any bird that looks like this is a sandpiper. I know that they aren't the same, but my personal genuses seem to break down into egrets, ibises, herons, snake birds, ducks, and sandpipers. Oh, and all non-water birds. That's the craziest thing of all. I never see normal woods-dwelling birds around here. Scott's bird feeder has been summarily ignored. On the bright side, our little stilt friends are insect eaters. Of course, there are still more mosquitoes out back than you can shake a citronella candle at, but think how many more there would be otherwise!

Tomato Soup Shouldn't Be This Hard

I realized something recently: tomato soup, when not out of a can, is really freaking delicious! There are two restaurants at Disney (one to which we will not return thanks to their dismal service) that have sublime tomato soup, and I've been inspired to try my hand at it.

Side note: my desire to make soup from scratch centers around the first time I made chicken pot pies from scratch and I realized that sauteing onion, celery, carrot, and garlic makes your whole house smell like you are cooking from scratch. I don't know why people don't do that when they are selling a house instead of baking brownies!

So I searched "Sanaa tomato soup recipe" and "Turf Club tomato soup recipe" online to no avail. Turf Club's tomato soup is really just sort of normal tomato soup, served with a giant blob of goat cheese in the middle, and with toasted baguette slices all around the bowl. Sanaa's is more like a bowl of delicious roasted tomato with none of the other crap. Theirs has chunks of paneer cheese, which is this weird non-melting cheese the consistency of tofu. Sounds gross, but it isn't. But that's neither here nor there, because I can't find either recipe.

Scott and I searched all of our cook books last night, and found a whopping two tomato soup recipes. One had mashed potato flakes (because nothing says 'cooking from scratch' like adding a product that's more sodium than calories) and the other had chicken stock. I passed on both.

I finally found a recipe online for tomato-basil cream soup that's simple enough that I know I can handle it. And it starts with onion, garlic, celery, and carrot. Sadly, it ends with 3 cups of heavy cream. I suggested substituting milk, but Scott doesn't like that idea. We may compromise with half of each.

And I need to email Disney to ask for the other two recipes.

Open Letter to Lindsay Lohan

Dear Lindsay,

I commend you on your decision to never work again. I can only assume that is your plan, given your $100 million lawsuit against E-Trade. It must have been difficult, being famous before puberty, though I imagine the money you made off the Disney movie machine probably would have allowed you to retire at 25 and live a modest, comfortable life. Your unfortunate stints in rehab, your partying, and your mooching family members probably drained a lot of your funds. I sympathize.

But you, rather than making a B horror movie or a TV show or a porno, have decided frivolous lawsuits are your ticket to the Promised Land.

"Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit," [the lawyer] said.

"They used the name Lindsay," Ovadia said. "They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan."

The ad in question uses the phrase, "that milkaholic Lindsay." That's it. THAT'S worth $100 million in pain and suffering to you? Frankly, I wonder how many people out there don't know at least one person named Lindsay besides you. And while I agree with your lawyer's assertion that the use of the names Oprah or Madonna (or maybe even Angelina or Britney) may have been a legitimate mis-use of celebrity, I don't agree that you have the same single name recognition. I've heard your referred to as "LiLo" and "La-Lohan," but never just "Lindsay."

I'm sorry to see that this is how you have decided to spend your adult years. Some young stars who go through a wild phase come out clean and respected on the other side. Perhaps you should reach out to Drew Barrymore for some advice in this area. But best wishes on your retirement. Try to stay out of rehab - I hear it's a budget buster!

Sincerely,

Jamie
(who also has single name recognition...at least on this blog)

BWoF Update

So...today marks the halfway point of Jamie's Birthday Weekend of Fun. So far, it's been... well... fun! I don't really want to stop and analyze too much, but for now I'll just mention that Katie and I went to see the Little House on the Prairie musical, and it was a wagon train wreck. We had a lot of fun with the snark and sarcasm though! And on my actual birthday? Crappy lunch, followed by a cold but incredibly rewarding trip to Animal Kingdom where I snapped this photo:

I'm not sure anything makes a completely amateur photographer happier than snapping a picture like this one.

...and then we had ice cream and Chinese food for dinner.

More to come on the BWoF as it develops (or after it develops)!

Pie and Pettiness

(I was going for a clever play on 'Pride and Prejudice' but I think I failed)

So...I gave up publicly complaining about my job for Lent. Not really. I'm just trying to cut back because complaining doesn't do anything but allow me to mire in misery. And you know, that's no good for anyone. And today I'm not going to complain about my job, but it might seem that way!

One of our part-timers got another job. And frankly, I'm thrilled for her. The Restaurant has never been the perfect fit for her, and she's definitely had some trying times. Last Wednesday when she told me she was going to be leaving, I told her I'd make her a pie. And then we realized that due to my Birthday Weekend o Fun, the next day (last Thursday...c'mon...try to keep up!) would be our last day working together. Obviously I wasn't going to make a pie that night! So I told her I'd stop in another day this week and bring her a pie - half peach, half blueberry (and make an identical pie for me and Scott). And over the weekend, I bought a goodbye card for the other girls to sign.

Well, another of our part-timers had a family emergency yesterday and she couldn't work yesterday or today. She called the departing one and asked her to cover yesterday, and was told no. I sent her a text yesterday and asked if she'd be able to help out today, and she didn't even bother to respond.

You can tell a lot about a person in the way they work during their 'lame duck' period. In this case, I've decided that this isn't the type of person that I want to spend my birthday baking a pie for. It's obvious she wouldn't go to half the trouble for me... or even for a co-worker she really likes. In fact, at this point I almost regret spending the money on the card.

I did buy the world's largest bag of frozen blueberries, and did promise Scott that I'd be making him a pie. So I might still be doing that at some point this weekend. After all, what else are we going to do with the gallon of Breyers Vanilla in the freezer?

And Now It's Truly BATH-TASTIC!

Can you believe we're finally done? (except for touching up the ceiling and baseboards and replacing the faucet) Here's two pictures. There's lots more - before, during, and after - up on my Facebook page for those of you who are my friends there!

This picture shows everything we did: the lighting, the mirror, the towel ring, and the print. Oh, and of course the incredibly purple wall color! (I tried to tell you...)

And this picture spotlights the beautiful print we found and fell in love with at World Market. I voted to paint the frame white, but Scott voted to do a brushed nickel finish so that it would match the light. He was absolutely right. The print just pops on that back wall, and it's positioned so that it looks just as pretty reflected in the mirror when you're sitting on the potty or when you're standing at the sink as it does when you're looking at it straight ahead.

*tear*

I'm so proud of us! I'm absolutely beyond thrilled with the final project... so if you don't like it, please go easy in the comments.

Black and Blue and Purple All Over

It's a thing of beauty, in the homemade-and-therefore-doesn't-look-like-it-would-in-a-restaurant sense. It's tart and sweet. It can't possibly be bad for you - it's 4 cups of fruit (with sugar, shortening, and butter).

It's the Black- and Blueberry Pie!

It was supposed to be a blueberry pie. I made chicken pot pies for dinner yesterday, and had the dough for a single-crust pie in the fridge. And I also had a bag of frozen blueberries in the freezer (which had been bought for blueberry pancakes). Unfortunately, the recipe called for 4 cups of fruit and there were only 2 cups in the bag. So I used 2 cups of blackberries to round out the recipe.

The filling recipe was super-easy: 4 1/2 cups of blueberries, a squeeze of lemon juice, 5 Tbs of flour, and 1/2 cup of sugar tossed together and dumped into the pie shell. I also am slowly but surely improving on the crumble topping. The peach pie basically had a sugar crust on top. At least this one resembles crumbs!

I'll make this again, though with the correct amount of blueberries, and maybe with 2 crusts. Or maybe I'll wait until summer when I can get some other fresh berries to add. This is looking like it could be a contender for a holiday dinner or office potluck. And special bonus: it's purple! Scott said we should eat it in the bathroom.

And in case you were wondering, this picture is also currently the outside screen picture on my phone. That's how much I love pie!

...this concludes today's example of "This is Why I'm Fat."

A Comparison

Photo editing really isn't my thing. I'm a pro at cropping, and if you want one person's head comically placed on someone else's body, I can help you out. But actual editing for quality? Not so much! I gave it a shot this morning though. In an attempt to better my fish-catching photos (and to make one the correct shape for the desktop), I cranked up both the brightness and contrast. Below are the original and then my new version. Still, neither is good. I'm not even sure I like the new one better. Any thoughts?

Blown

Well, I missed the posting for yesterday. I was downstairs watching TV, and then I looked at the clock and it was 12:13 am. I never officially signed up on the NaBloPoMo site due to some technical difficulties early on, so there was never any chance I was going to win any prizes.

I've got another 3-day weekend right now. It's the weekend-o-painting, come Hell or high water. Nothing's gonna stop us now. We're livin' on a prayer. Purple or bust! Nope, that last one wasn't a song title or a cliche.

We're also going to see GodSpell tonight, so maybe I'll have something interesting to talk about tomorrow. I guess time will tell...

Better Late than Never

I took this picture of Harley on a particularly cold and dreary day a few weeks ago. You can tell it's cold because he's got no neck.

Anyway, here's your required post for the day. I'm not going to talk about anything else, because it will undoubtedly turn into a whine/rant, and no one wants to read that.

Hoping tomorrow brings better thoughts to my head...

It's a Cat Day Today

Milo and I have a common personality trait: desire to curl up in a comfortable spot for as long as possible. After all, who needs work when there's a warm comfortable place to nap?Meanwhile, Elph is more the dominant task-master type. Here she's either saying "don't forget to flush," or "this room should be painted by now...stop slacking!"

Poor thing...since she's smaller than the boys, she'll probably always be my little black kitten. Of course, you can see here she's definitely more cat now. And look at that puffy raccoon tail! She still has it! So cute!

And Here We Are Again

Happy V.D. I hope you all get the card/flowers/chocolates/whatever other commercial item you were hoping for.

As for me, I'm off to work. And then Scott is cooking dinner. Yep...just like every other day, only with better food!

(just one) Mission Accomplished

I did our 2009 tax return today. Of course, I couldn't file because the IRS now requires paper documentation to prove that we bought a house. Because apparently last year they didn't require any proof and - surprise, surprise! - people claimed houses they didn't own! So now I just need to print, attach copious amounts of paper, and send via certified mail.

My 'honey do' list today was much longer than just that, but I fizzled out early. I didn't re-texture the patches on the bathroom wall, or tape & tarp the bathroom in preparation for next weekend's painting extravaganza, or grocery shop... Today was pretty much an epic failure.

But boy, did I need the rest!

So now I embark on another four-day work week, followed by the aforementioned taping & tarping (now scheduled for Thursday while Scott is at work), priming on Friday, and painting on Saturday. Then all that's left is the mounting (heh) of the mirror, the new towel ring, and the artwork above the toilet.

Actually...

Here's a list of actual things that Scott and I did today:

1. Trip to Lowe's to buy paint, primer, and a new towel holder for powder room.

2. Removal of old towel bar, using sharp blade and new pry bar.

(also bought pry bar and mallet at Lowe's during #1)

3. Discovery of two perfectly rectangular holes behind old towel bar.

4. Discovery that builders installed vanity light without a junction box and that installation of new vanity light without a junction box is impossible.

5. Googled "install vanity light no junction box," and got great instructions from diynetwork.com on how to install a junction box.

5a. Curse like a sailor, throw brief tantrum.

6. Trip to Lowe's to buy wall patches, spackle, and aerosol can of "orange peel" wall texture to fix holes where old towel bar was. Also bought new junction box. The girl in the drywall section was quite helpful. The guy in the electrical section was dumb as a box of rocks. And he looked like the boss from Office Space. Luckily, there was a nice middle-aged customer who came to my rescue. Twice. I say "my" rescue because, as a man, Scott can't ask for help. So he disappears ("hey - we NEEDED a drywall saw!") while I ask for help. It's ok. At least then I get to hear the instructions first-hand and don't need to second guess later.

7. Scott patches holes in one wall while I cut a big circular hole in another wall.

8. Realize plumbing is close to the wall and that junction box is too deep and therefore won't fit.

8a. Curse like a (&$%(# sailor. Lament that we're stuck with ugly Broadway-style lighting forever.

9. Scott uses drywall saw to cut the back off of the plastic junction box while I watch two hours worth of DVRed TV shows. Yep...two hours. The man is dedicated!

10. Anchor junction box into drywall, install light fixture, and test out lighting.

11. Go to garage and do some test-runs of orange peel texturing on cardboard (and on the garage wall). Damn, it's cold out!

12. Eat dinner of chicken tenders and fish planks at 9 pm while mocking the Olympic opening ceremony.

13. Blog about day that was supposed to be fun but, like most home improvement projects, turned out to be frustrating.

I took lots of pictures today, but I'm saving them for a full before & after. Tomorrow while Scott is at work I'm definitely going to texture over the wall patches and tape off the baseboards and ceiling. I might prime, but it's likely I'll wait for next Friday and Saturday to prime & paint when Scott is there to help. Not that there's room for two of us in there at a time...

Spot the WICKED Fan!

We're not even going to discuss how long it took me to do this. And really, I'm sure Janette is sitting there right now thinking I ruined a perfectly nice bird picture just to make the point that I'M GOING TO SEE WICKED TONIGHT AND I'M SO EXCITED I CAN HARDLY SIT STILL! (ok, the not sitting still part might also have to do with the Coke I have consumed this morning)

Anyway, about the birds. I thought these guys were cattle egret (egrets?), but now I'm not so sure. There were a whopping 11 of them out back today, in two separate groups. Whenever I see them, they are in the grass and not on the water, which fits the cattle egret foraging, but there's no red wash over the bill and no fancy plumage on the top of their heads. Any guesses? Here's one more picture, with a great egret for comparison:

Illuminating

So... remember this fixture that I had fallen in love with for the powder room? It's been replaced. I actually tried to buy the original this morning, but the website I had originally found it on (not the one linked here) wouldn't let me buy it. I took that as a sign that maybe the one we found at Home Depot for half the cost was the one destined to live in our bathroom.

I have 3-day weekends for the next two weeks, and am determined to at least do a dry-run of the new light install and the mirror install this week so that I can paint next week.

Sure, it's just the powder room. But I'm so excited to get it started I can hardly stand it!

Triple Feature

Here is yesterday morning's white ibis. Isn't it pretty? I feel bad that I'm sort of an egret snob - they just don't fascinate me. But these guys, with legs the same length as their beaks, are much more compelling to me.

I'm going back to the TV now. "The Secret of My Success" is on AMC, and it seems the perfect way to waste the rest of my pre-work morning. But before I go, here's another picture from yesterday. It's a triple feature - snake bird, cattle egret, and ibis. Enjoy!

Breakfast in the Backyard

Following this paragraph are four of the coolest pictures I've ever taken. I won't lie - the morning sun reflecting off the pond sucks. That means these are by no means the best pictures I've ever taken. But if you sort of squint, you should be able to follow along with the story without words. If the pictures really are that unclear, a) I'll be heart-broken because I think they're awesome and b) there's another paragraph at the end. I'm sorry that the entry is more graphic-heavy than I would usually prefer.

Ever wake up super hungry? Eyes bigger than your stomach? You're not the only one!

This morning I peeked out my blinds before getting in the shower and scanned the shoreline. I saw the snake bird, but already have pictures of one so wasn't inclined to run for the camera. To the right a little was a white ibis. Since I haven't gotten any ibis pictures yet, I got the camera and ran downstairs. It wasn't until I looked out the sliding glass door that I realized the snake bird had a fish. A big fish. (A catfish?) So I snapped a dozen or so pictures. The first two are the "before" pictures. I couldn't decide between the two, because the first one is such a cool action shot, and the second one really shows the scale of fish-to-beak. How does he hold on? The third picture is the one that gets captioned, "gulp!" And you can actually see the fish in the bottom half of the throat in the fourth picture.

Usually, all you see of a snake bird is its neck and head sticking out of the water. When they are on shore, I'm taken aback by their big goose-like proportions.

I really hope you liked these pictures. I'm still excited about them!

(as for the ibis, you'll see it tomorrow. stay tuned!)

Halftime

I'm watching the Super Bowl. OK, I'm mostly watching the commercials, but it's turned into a pretty good game. I decided that I most certainly did not need to watch The Who perform during halftime, mostly because I knew I needed to put something up here.

I have a great weather-related bird picture to share, but not until I have more time to edit and upload it. Maybe after the game?

If you're looking for me in the next two hours, I'll be that lump between the sofa and the green fuzzy blanket.

Wood Storks

(I think)
Wow...this is the first time in a while that I've seen more than one bird out behind the house at the same time. I'd like to believe this is because we removed the stinky dead bird yesterday and it doesn't smell so scary out there anymore. More likely it's the weather... or just a coincidence.

Anyway, according to my vast knowledge of birds (and this website), this is a pair of wood storks. Judging by the difference in neck feathers and the different coloration of their bills, I also think it's an adult and a juvenile (juvie on the right). It was nearly impossible to get a picture with the full beak because these guys were hoovering along the shore and rarely picked their heads up. Just after I took this picture, they separated and started walking in opposite directions. A few minutes later I looked again, and they were on opposite sides of the pond. They are definitely dedicated hunters!

Here's my one halfway decent photo of the whole bird:
I'm starting to yearn for being in New Jersey this time of year. Throw some birdseed on the snow, and you'll have all sorts of pretty cardinals and blue jays. Meanwhile, I have the bastard love child of a vulture and an egret in my backyard!

Where Have You Been All My Life?

There is a store...

at Downtown Disney...

that sells mismatched socks!

I admit, it's not the mismatched-ness that appeals to me. It's the plethora of funky, adorable socks. Ankle socks, knee socks, toe socks, mitten socks (ok, they call them flip flop socks), leg warmers... plus sock puppets, bags, and other accessories to match your mismatched socks.

The socks are also sold in packs of three (here's my favorite). So really, I could buy two packs and then have three pairs of matching funky socks. But I guess that goes against the point of the store. I managed to make it out without buying anything, mostly because the balance on my credit card is 2 months from being $0 and I'd like to keep my momentum going.

Impulse shopping: it only feels good until you get the bill!

In other news, it's yet another rainy day her in ParkHopperLand. Luckily, Scott snapped a few pictures of Harley yesterday afternoon when the skies were a little clearer. Here's the best one of the bunch:

I love the golden tone that the afternoon sun gives to pictures. Of course, I hate being out in the afternoon sun, because the angle of the rays makes me feel claustrophobic. (nope, can't explain it any better, but it really makes me nuts!) I guess it's a good thing Scott was there to take this photo for me!

Late! and Late-Night TV

Yesterday I left the house - no lie - 25 minutes late. I hate being late, and am generally chronically early. I ended up being 5 minutes late for work. Meh, there are worse things!


I might have made it on time, except as I was closing the blinds on the sliding glass door I happened to notice a single bird out there, and I just HAD to stop for a picture. Granted, I didn't go upstairs where I could've gotten a good angle. I didn't even go to the side of the door without the screen. So the picture isn't the greatest. But here you have it - a snake bird drying out on the shore after a morning fishing trip.

And then yesterday I did something I never thought I'd do. I asked Scott to set the DVR for me for two episodes... on Fox "News" Channel... of the O'Reilly Factor. (there was a knock on the door this morning. I think it might have been the Florida Democrats coming to take away my membership card) In my defense, I only wanted to watch because Jon Stewart was the guest. It's a two-part interview, so the second half will be airing tonight.

I'm not sure I can stomach it.

Who watches this show? He spins stories worse than The Daily Show. He actually compared his show to TDS, which is ridiculous considering one is on Comedy Central and the other is on Fox News. If he thinks you're making a point he won't like, he just talks over you until you stop. And through all that, I really think that Jon Stewart won Round 1. Also? Either they taped that interview at 8 am or The Daily Show has much more forgiving lighting. Jon was looking old and tired.

After the Stewart interview, I stuck around for Dennis Miller. I thought I liked Dennis Miller. Turns out I must've had him confused with someone - anyone - else. He went on this yelling rant about Rahm and the whole "retarded" debacle*, and his fake indignity was just too much. I stopped and deleted the show mid-sentence. And after I watch the second half of the interview tonight, I'll do the same. I won't make that watch-another-segment mistake again. I'm worried that I'll have to exorcise the far-right demons out of my DVR after all this. For real, watching that show literally raised my blood pressure to a point where my stomach started to hurt. *shudder*

*Question to the group: didn't they stop calling mentally-challenged people "retarded" some time ago? Because "retarded" had a negative connotation? So if we're no longer using the word as anything but an insult, then why does everyone get so pissed off every time someone uses it? What's the difference between "retard" and "bitch" or "homo?" Sure it's unkind, but why does it get everyone's panties in a twist? Sheesh!

8 Days, 1 Month

There were no birds out this morning, so we're taking a brief pause from bird watching. Today we're going to discuss two big things I'm looking forward to!

Eight days from now, we've got a date night in Tampa... for WICKED! I cannot wait to see this show again, especially from our super kick-ass seats! Note to self: bring tissues.

One month from now... any takers? IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! Thank goodness I won't be 30 anymore! We don't actually have any concrete plans. I don't even know for sure whether I'm going to take my actual birthday off from work (leaning towards yes). But I've got plans that weekend including a show in Tampa (with Katie, because Scott just doesn't want to see the Little House on the Prairie musical), dinner with friends (sorry Matt - it's dinner at a place without mac n cheese on the menu - I didn't think you'd mind the lack of invitation), and Oscar night 2010.

I'll leave you today with a picture taken at Gatorland last February. Their breeding marsh is a great place to see native birds. Snowy egret? I'm thinking so...

Rainy Day

It's pouring here at Casa ParkHopper. It's a tough day to get motivated to leave the house, especially when I know that leaving the house is going to require a stop at the gas station. Did I mention it's windy too? I have a half hour to go, so I'm hoping it clears up a little bit between now and then.

I did get some pictures of the one solitary bird at the pond this morning. He eventually gave up and headed some place less exposed. I can't really blame him! I couldn't pick just one picture, so here's two:

This is, to the best of my bird-spotting ability, a plain old egret. Though according to All About Birds, it's a great egret. You can find them all over the world...especially here in Florida where they live year-round.

In other news, it's Oscar nomination day today. Meh. I love the Oscars. In years past, I have taken the day off from work to watch the Oscars. This year I'm just not feeling it. The only movie I saw that was nominated for anything was Up. I'm against Avatar in principle. Really, I get that it was technologically amazing and that it sucks you in, but I just can't help feeling that its Golden Globe win and its Oscar Best Picture nomination were the equivalent of the voters taking a collective gasp and saying, "ooh shiny!"

According to Twitter (because that's the only news source I've looked at today so far) today is Groundhog Day. But I didn't hear whether good ol' Phil saw his shadow or not. Today there are no shadows in Central Florida...just puddles.

And that, my friends, is how you go full-circle. Many words, not much substance. That's why I gave you the bird pictures.

Thank You!

I'm pretty bad at peer pressure. In the comments of my last post, I suggested to wickedmess that we do NaBloPoMo for February. And then I got an email from her at 10:34 telling me she's in and 'don't forget yours.'

Yeah, I had totally forgotten.

So here's my just-under-the-wire post for tonight. I'm going to try to focus on my local birds this month (her suggestion)...at least until I run out of ones to photograph! Here's another picture I took on Saturday. This guy has quite a beak! I sure wouldn't want to make him angry!

...and if I do run out of bird pictures, perhaps I'll enthrall you with some Tales from the Stand Mixer.