The holidays...

It seems I've taken yet another blogging break, which is silly because the holidays are always rife with interesting goings on that I could be blogging about. Matt came home from college the Sunday before Christmas. His finals were over at the end of the week, but he stayed in Durango for a few days, partially to do some skiing and hang out with friends, but mostly because all the passes leaving Durango were closed due to snow. I'm always relieved when I know he's made that winter drive safe and sound.

On Monday we went in search of tree... there aren't many left two days before Christmas. We where lucky to find one and happy that the $70 tree was half off. We decorated that night assisted by Sarah's Persian friend who's family doesn't do a tree. Once again the kids claimed we have too many ornaments, and lobbied not to hang them all. Once again I insisted on hanging every last one, after all, how do you choose, when there are memories attached to all of them? Actually, every year I suggest that we skip the pink and white Power Ranger ornaments (or at least hang them in the back), and every year they get hung front and center, along side my most treasured ornament, a shredded wheat wreath that encircles pictures of my kids that was made at day care many years ago.

Despite that my kids are 16 and 19 years old or perhaps because of it, Christmas morning was still magical. First the magic of everyone getting to sleep in until 9:30. Then the magic of my waking up to the giggles of Matt and Sarah opening all the trinkets in their Christmas stockings, from their laughter I could tell they were just as happy as they were when they were 6 and 9. Then there was the magic around the tree. An especially magic moment for me, as the kids priority was to first give me my gift, and then give each other their gifts, before even looking at what lay under the tree. What better gift than to see my kids relishing in the giving, rather than the receiving aspect of the moment! I think I'm truly blessed.

Shopping...

Sarah likes looking for treasures at consignment shops, so on Saturdays we often do a little thrift store shopping. On Saturday we headed down 33rd South to a little place called the Consignment Closet. I was browsing a rack of fancy vintage dresses when I spied this treasure. It looked to me like a 1970's hostess dress, and I really liked the pattern on the skirt. I think it might make some great bead inspiration. Upon closer inspection I realized that there was something weird about this dress... Chickens! The waist and neckline of the dress were adorned with chickens... so much for it being a pretty dress!

We also stopped at Thrifttown, which is located in a little shopping center that also houses a Dollar Store, Dollar General, Big Lots and a couple of other shops... I call it my favorite "slum shopping" spot. I guess it's a sign of Christmas mixed with a huge dose of the bad economy, but I have never in my life seen the parking lot there so crowded. It was like Christmas shopping at the mall the weekend before Christmas, you could hardly find a parking spot. I guess people really have changed their shopping habits this year.

Music and Horoscopes..

Sarah's and my favorite hiphop artist, Grieves, was in town over the weekend. She went to his concert at Kilby Court on Saturday night. I was forbidden to go go because she didn't want to be embarrassed again. She bought his new CD, 88 Keys & Counting, and made a copy for me to listen to in the car. So this morning, rather than listening to my normal NPR, I listened to his new CD. When I got to work I decided to pop the CD out and take it to my lab so I could listen some more. As I would expect from Grieves, it is an excellent CD. Later in the day I was playing it once again when a couple of the 20 something year old guys in my lab asked me who it was that was playing. They were laughing, because they thought it was so funny that someone like me... an old person... was actually listening to a hip hop CD.

Imagine my amusement when I checked out my horoscope today:

Music will bring you a lot of joy today, so put one of your favorite CDs in the stereo and give it a listen while you are getting ready in the morning. Take it with you during your day if you can and groove to the tunes while you're running errands, cooking, cleaning, or doing some other type of semi-mindless activity. And singing at the top of you lungs is not only advised, it might just be required to keep a smile on your face -- and on the faces of onlookers!

Hmmm... maybe there is something to horoscopes after all!!! It sure seemed to predict my day today!

Black Friday!

If you are like me you had no plans to join in the Black Friday shopping madness, but in case you are feeling left out I have just the thing that should get you reaching for the car keys!

I have found the thing I'm sure EVERYONE is looking for this year - the traditional pink tinsel Christmas Pig!!!!

Can't you see him frolicking in the snow with Frosty, riding shotgun in the sled with Santa, lounging in the manger with Mary and Joseph???

Run don't walk, to your local Big Lots store. I'm sure these are the hot item this year. A bargain at only $25!!!! Be the envy of your friends and neighbors, get your Christmas pig today!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!

rosehips

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

I know I'm a lucky girl who has much to be thankful for. I have my home, my health, a caring and loving family, wonderful pets and great friends. What more could a girl ask for? Most of all I'm thankful for my two kids and the fact that they are happy and healthy and well adjusted. Teenagers who (believe it or not!) haven't given me any trouble, and even still tell me they love me. I truly am blessed.


money plant

No KABOOM!

My excitement for the week. We were evacuated for 11 hours on Friday. In reality, I guess I wasn't really evacuated, since I was at work, but my neighborhood was. Sarah called me after school let out to tell me that she was all confused because something happened and they weren't allowing people into our neighborhood. I checked the local news on the internet, and found that a double propane tanker-trailer truck that was coming down Parley's Canyon didn't negotiate the turn on the I-215 off ramp, had crashed, rolled and was spilling propane. The crash site was right behind the street behind me and about five house down. YIKES! The gas from a bar-b-que tank can pretty much take out a house if it explodes, so it wasn't too surprising that they evacuated half mile radius around the crash.

KUTV sent it's helicopter out, so I got to watch nice aerial coverage on the internet. Propane is heavier than air so it sinks; the truck was surrounded by a foamy sea of dissipating liquid/gas. The sound wall had been knocked down, so there was a very real possibility of gas flowing downhill into the neighborhood.

I had evening plans so I wasn't going to be home anyway, Sarah went to a friends house for the night, but my poor son. He was driving home from college in Colorado when this happened, so after an eight hour drive he was home, but couldn't go home. So he headed to friends, but luckily, at midnight (just after my friend made up her sofa bed for me) we were allowed to go home.

I was happy for 2 things... no kaboom, and believe it or not, poor Daisy, who was stuck in the house from 7 am to midnight, managed not to have an accident in the house. Guess it was my lucky day after all.

Wednesday Wackiness...

An odd view of the world... they have been working on the roof of the building across the courtyard from my office window. You'd never see this except from my 4th floor vantage point, but I found it amusing. Exit - to where?, for who? the big partying crowds in the sky?

A beautiful day

Today was a glorious, warm, sunny day, the kind of day we won't see many more of until spring. I went hiking with the meetup group again, todays hike was a 7.5 loop through Antelope Island, the big island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. I'm not sure why it's called Antelope Island, as I've never seen an antelope there, but we did see a few of the bison the island is known for. It was a beautiful a day with beautiful views.

Last Nights Adventure....

Upon the urging of a friend I joined the local hiking Meetup group. Last night they had a short moonlight hike through Memory Grove, a local park. The hike wasn't very long, but the air was delightfully cool and crisp and smelled of fall leaves. Down in the canyon the moon was ellusive but after ascending the canyon we were greeted by the most spectacular moon. This picture isn't great, as it is hand held, time exposure, night shot with my pocket camera, but I think you get the idea. The vantage point is the east side of the capital building, looking north east across City Creek Canyon. The bright lights below are are the memorials in Memory Grove. The squiggles are the light in the homes that edge the canyon. It really was an amazing site!

16 year old drivers...Yikes

I awoke yesterday at 6:50 to the telephone ringing. Oddly, it was my daughter, who lives with me and should have been home. It turns out that she decided to run to the grocery store to do something about our critical need for a gallon of milk. She was having some sort of issue with her car. Slightly groggy and confused I hopped in the car and headed to the store, which, fortunately, is only a couple blocks from home.

It seems that when she parked, she pulled into one of a handfull of spots that have a one of those concrete curbs at the front of the space. When she realized she arrived before the store opened she decided to leave, pulled forward and ran right over the curve. So here she is, all flustered, trying to figure out what to do about the fact thather car wheels were stradling this huge concrete block . At least she was smart enough to call for help rather than risk damaging her car. I pulled up, aimed my headlights at the side of the car to access the situation. Thankfully the car wasn't bottomed out on the curb, so I made the determination that she could probably slowly back over the curb. Which she did as I stood and waved her on. Clunk, thunk she rolled over the curb, and the front end of the car bounced on it. The car thankfully, seems OK.

I guess drivers-ed goes on and on for 16 year old. And moms-ed goes on and on for us for us mothers. We never do know what our kids will do next. Sarah's big question... "Hey, Mom, how does it feel to know your children are RETARDED???" Hmmm ... should I laugh or cry???

Election Day!

So have you voted? Nope, this isn't my truck or my candidate. My daughter came across this vehicle over the weekend, and took a picture because she knew her liberal momma would have a laugh. And laugh I did! If you happen to be undecided... is this the sort of group you wish to be a part of?? I didn't think so! Another reason to vote for Obama! Vote wisely, not wiseley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day of the Dead

Today is the Day of the Dead. I figured out why the Day of the Dead comes the day after Halloween. I'm sure it's because after falling asleep wearing excessive amounts of Halloween eye makeup, you wake up with ugly, black, smeary eyes that make you look dead. At least that was the case at my house this morning, where Sarah, her friend Neeka and I all looked quite the fright when we woke up as we were all too tired and lazy after our parties to do proper makeup removal.

I went to a party hosted by one of my ex lab members... science geeks are so amusing. Nate, the Mad Hatter won the best costume prize... a nice box of pipette tips! Just what everyone wants, right? .... gotta wonder about my social circles!

My Day of the Dead was lovely. November 1st, and I walked the dog down the the gully for swim wearing shorts, a t-shirt and sandals. I regretted my choice of apparel, not because I was to cold as you might expect in November, but because I wished I'd worn a tank top instead of a t-shirt. Daisy was happy to get one more swim in before winter.

Happy Halloween!

My Halloween started with glorious sunrise. Being so close to the mountains we rarely see much of a sunrise here; today must have be a special day!

It is an unseasonably warm Halloween for a change; t-shirt weather and a few sprinkles instead of a blizzard. Sarah and I made jack-o-lanterns last night, and I put up the graveyard yet again... I'm such a kid at heart! I'm also thrilled that my 16 yo daughter will still carve pumpkins with her mom! Despite our decorating efforts, we never get very many trick or treaters on our quiet little go nowhere street.

Silly Kitty..

What is with my silly kitty? He likes to drink from anyplace other than his own bowl. Actually, he can't drink out of his own bowl, because we don't bother to fill it anymore. He loves the dog water bowl, my bead soaking water (I hope bead release isn't bad for kitties!), but his favorite thing to drink out of is whatever beverage glass one of "his" people happens to be drinking from. He really likes my on-the-rocks glasses... his head fits in just perfectly.

Yummm...lip lickin' good!!!

A Night Out...

Sarah called me at work Tuesday afternoon to tell me "the Notwist are playing tonight at The Venue". The Notwist is German band my son introduced me to a few years ago that I really like. She had mentioned a while back that she had heard they were coming (she's much more in tune to the local concert scene than I am!) and we talked about going. Obviously, she and I didn't exactly plan ahead for this, and she had other plans for the night. So after some hemming and hawing I decided I just be a "brave" girl and go by myself.

Since I don't really get out much, I'm not especially 'up' on how the local concert scene works. Smithtix said the The Notwist 7pm so in my naivety I figured that's when I should go to the concert. So I arrive at 7 and sure enough the doors open at 7 and there are about 4 people in the room. The Venue is an all ages place, so there's no booze, but to accommodate the drinkers they have a club in an adjacent room. Since clearly the concert isn't starting for awhile I decide to go get a drink. I traipse up the steps the desk, where I have to present my ID (yup I'm 47 and I still need to show ID), sign my name to the roster and get handed a card that gives me clearance to enter the club. Unfortunately the club is full of smokers, and since I can't take my drink back to the concert room I pass on the cocktail. So I wander back to the smokeless room and stand around and wait until 8 when some unknown (to me at least) guy sang, then more wait and wait until after nine when the band I came to see finally played.

I suppose I should have felt a little weird standing there for two hours by myself, but I don't actually mind doing things alone. What did feel weird is that I think I was the oldest person in the room - by about 2 decades. I guess the over 40 crowd doesn't like hip music? Or maybe they don't go to concerts in skanky all ages clubs?I for one am thrilled when my kids turn me on to some new music that I like. Good music should have now age boundaries!

Sadly, despite that it was a really small venue, (which I love) the concert was a little dissapointing because he accoustics in the warehouse-y room where really bad. Live and learn. I guess I should get out more so I know the good places to hear music. I think the Notwist would have been spectacular in a better place.

If you're curious about The Notwist they have some music clips on their Myspace page.

Absent again...

It seems that I've been ignoring my blog again... Funny how real life gets in the way of my cyberlife sometimes. I spent most of the last two weeks working on a top secret project... A gift for my parents 50th anniversary, which was this past Saturday. 50 years! What an amazing milestone, one that most of us will not see. My sibs and I put together a scrapbook of pictures and family remembrances and stories. It proved to be quite the project, especially for my sister, who had the job of collecting all the pages and stories from we four kids, (who are scattered across the country), and assembling the book and overnighting it to my folks on their anniversary. Thank goodness for email, phones and overnight shipping. I think my folks were quite touched and surprised. It will be a surprise for all of us, as my sis is the only one besides my parents who's seen everyone's contributions. She scanned copies of everything so we can all have an electronic copy... I can't wait to see it.
So what has happened exciting in my blogging absence you ask? We had our first valley snow on the 12th... that's right, a good 4 inches in the middle of October. I think it was a record. Then last week I had plumbing issues, a clogged drain that caused the washer to overflow. Of course this happened the day Sarah was leaving for her fall trip to California. She had to take her soaking wet clothes to a friends to get them washed before her trip... she ended up being lucky to not have missed the bus. (Hmmm... I did suggest she do her laundry the night before. And because bad things come in multiples, when I turned off my sprinkler system I found a leaky valve.... way down deep. So I spent Sunday digging and digging and digging, and I'm still not sure the hole is big enough... guess I will find out when the plumber comes!

Egg-xcellent!

Perhaps it is because I work in science, and biologists are a little unusual, but I have lots of crazy friends. Friends who like to do back yard biology. I have my friend with 12 ducks who I call the crazy duck man. I have another friend who owns chickens, he's the crazy chicken man. He has a several different kind of chickens, and he's given them all silly names. One of his chickens is a Brahma, and her name is Braaack O'Brahma. An election year chicken I guess. You have to stretch out the Braaaaaack when you say her name so it sounds like the noise a chicken makes. My friend gave me some eggs the other day, beautiful brown eggs. He can tell me which of his birds laid which egg my looking at their size, color and shape. (My crazy duck friend can do the the same with his duck eggs). It turns out that Braaack has the most distinctive egg shape; kind of long and pointy. I haven't eaten Braaack's egg yet, I can't bare to crack it, it's too pretty. I may have to blow it out and save it.

Good Morning...

I'm the first one to admit that I'm not really a morning person. My zombie like morning routine - get up, get dressed, feed the dog, out the door to work. A stop at my morning coffee shop for my favorite elixir, a glance at the newspaper and perhaps a moment or two of chit-chat with my coffee shop friends. All on non-thinking, unobservant autopilot. But once in a while I notice enough of my morning surroundings to have a little smile. Like this morning, getting out of my car and noticing the sun peaking over the mountain, and how pretty the sun rays were, even as the they filtered through the signs and poles and utility lines of 33rd south.

Then at a stop sign near the U. I noticed a sticker in the back left window of the car in front of me. St Xavier.... a flash back from back home in Ohio, a Cincinnati college. The right side of the window had sticker for University of Dayton, another school back home. For a few moments as I followed that car I felt transported to my past life in southwest Ohio.

After parking my car I had sweet morning moment. As I walked past the little day care center next to work two adorable little blond girls probably 3 or 4 years old stepped out of separate cars. They spied each other, and with big smiles on their faces gave each other a big hug, and started running together toward the building. They giggled and laughed as they skipped down the sidewalk leaving their fathers behind. There smiles were infectious, they really made me smile too.

I'm glad that for some odd reason I payed attention to "morning" today.

High Fashion

Last night I hung out with a girl friend. We grabbed dinner at mexican restaurant, stopped to see a another friends new house, then decided to check out the local craft store. We got distracted on the way to the craft store and ended up at TJ Maxx instead. Spending a part of an evening clothes shopping reminded me of something I meant to blog about a long time ago.
On rainy day When I was vacationing in Hilton Head this summer we briefly forayed into a shopping mall. Sarah and I wandered into the Saks Off Fifth store. My lifestyle doesn't require a lot of fancy clothes I really don't care about designer anything so Saks is sort of uncharted territory for me. As Sarah perused the designer jeans (Is she my daughter?) I wandered aimlessly just to see what a store like Saks had to offer. I stumbled upon these rhinestone studded T-shirts and had a jaw drop moment. The prices, "discounted" at Saks off-price store, were over $100 a t-shirt!!! Hundred dollar t-shirts? Does anyone really buy these? I guess they were from a good designer, a really good designer? Having no knowledge of the fashion world I'd have no idea. Worse then the $100 price tag, does anyone actually ever shell out the "real" price of $184 for a t-shirt? Yikes I'll stick with TJ Maxx, thank you.



(...and my "big" purchase for the night was a pair of White Mountain (faux Birkenstock) suede clogs, something I really wanted for winter, and, even better, clearance tagged for $15.... guess I'm a cheap date!)

Rain on my Parade..

It seems Saturday was my day to be rained upon. I always find it amusing how for as little as it rains here, it always manages to do so on days where I have plans. Saturday morning I had early morning plans to hike to Devils Castle up at Alta. Rain was predicted for much later in the day, and as we drove up the canyon there was only one black cloud in the sky, so I wasn't too worried about rain. But shortly after beginning our hike that black cloud grew and began to rumble. Rain doesn't bother me too much, but the rumble of thunder when I'm hiking at 9500 ft sure makes me nervous. So do we continue or turn around? As we came to a spot were we were about to begin a long traverse across a wide open bowl the rain started falling and thunder clapped loudly. An easy answer the the question... it was time to turn around. So my hike was cut short, but still well worth it as we saw this beautiful rainbow. My second rainbow this week.

And the real reason it rained on Saturday. 4 pm was the scheduled time for our annual block party. I swear every year we have weather issues on out party day. Last year I think we rescheduled 3 times and ended up having it in October. At 3 pm four of us stood in the street, watching the big black cloud in the distance pour rain upon the valley. The storm looked like it was moving pretty quickly so we decided to regroup and 4 pm and see what the weather would like. At 4pm the sun was shining, so we decided to "go for it". It wasn't long until the storm band came and rained upon our parade. But you have to love my neighbors. Everyone pulled up their hoods and huddled under the umbrellas and partied on. Newborns and 80 year olds included. The rain showers came and went and came again, but a good time was had by all!

Applesauce!!!

A sign of fall... the apples are ripening. My boss brought a bunch from his tree into work this week. They were a pretty small, and judging by the occasional wormhole, very organic. Not the huge, shiny ones you find at the grocery store. My first thought when I saw them was "applesauce". So tonight was applesauce making night. I don't know how other people make applesauce, but I make it the way I was taught by my mother, who I imagine was taught by grandma. It's a totally old fashioned process. Quarter the apples, toss them in a big pot, skins, cores, seeds and all. Add some water to the bottom of the pot, and cook until the apples are nice and soft. Let them cool a little, then run them through the Foley food mill.

For those that don't know what a Foley food mill is, it looks like a pot, with hooks that grab the edge of the bowl. The bottom is full of holes, and has a blade with a crank that pushes the apples through the holes. All manual, just crank and watch the applesauce come out the bottom. The seeds and peels stay in the top. Once in a while you need to crank backwards to loosen the peels from the bottom. There is something fun about the sound the mill makes when you run it in reverse! When you're done add sugar and cinnamon to taste. Yummmy!

I don't know how many people have a food mill. I have mine just for making applesauce, I don't actually have any idea what else I'd do with it, but every fall I'm glad I have mine. They aren't inexpensive, I can find them on the web for $25 - $45, I think I paid $20 for mine 20 years ago. I recently saw one at a thrift store for $1.99. Some lucky thrifter is going to get a bargain!

There is something so pleasing about cooking the old fashioned way. I really enjoy it. I especially enjoy not having to peel the apples!I think that leaving the skins on makes the sauce more flavorful too. So as I write this I'm enjoying a nice bowl of warm, fresh, cinnamon-y applesauce. YUM!

Dog days

I took my dog Daisy down to the gully for a nice walk and swim last night. I figure I should make the best of the nice weather and the quickly waning evening sunlight. She absolutely loves to swim and play ball in the water. Her problem is that she doesn't really understand playing ball. She stands there, eagle eyed, watching the person tossing the ball, chases and grabs it (this is the part she gets!), but she does not understand the part about bringing it out of the water to me so that it can be thrown again. She often drops the ball in the water, lets the current take it down stream a little ways, then pounces on it again, then eventually she looses interest and the ball floats down stream. This is why I bother to bring never bring a ball to the creek.

So unless we happen to find stray ball (not uncommon actually) Daisy horns in on the other dogs ball games. Last night she joined a golden that had new sort of game. It had a broken tennis ball, that sank, instead of floated. This dog was so fun to watch. Huge, dynamic, splashy leaps in the water to retrieve it's ball. Daisy tried to join, but was beat the ball every time. The other dog was a hoot to watch; she felt around the bottom of the creek with her two front paws, and once she got the ball under control she stuck her head in and grabbed it. In spots the water deep enough that I can't imagine it could see the ball, yet it still found it every time. What a hoot! Poor Daisy tried to play the game, the few times she beat the other dog to the ball you could see her feel around with her paws, and stick her head under, but she never came up with anything. Didn't stop her from trying though, she LOVES the game. We left the creek before the other dog, and every time we'd get about 25 feet away Daisy would look back, see the man tossing the ball, and run back to play some more. As big of a "momma's dog" as she is I was surprised at her choosing a ball game over me!

Running in the Rain

Last night I had another one of those "I wish I had my camera" moments. After dinner I decided to go for a jog. I went upstairs and put on my jogging attire, rounded up the dog and her leash, and stepped outside... into the rain. I'll swear it wasn't raining wen I went to change clothes, but sure enough the big black cloud that hung above mountains opened up. To the west the sun was bright, so it seemed like more of a sun shower than a rain storm, so I figured, what the heck, I'll take my chances with rain and run anyway.

As Daisy and I jogged through the neighborhood I glanced up at the mountains behind my house and saw the biggest rainbow I've ever seen. It started over at Parleys Canyon, made a perfect arc over the mountains and came down right at Millcreek Canyon. I have never before in my life been so sure I knew EXACTLY where the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was. The rainbow brightened and eventually you could see a faint second rainbow above the first.

As I jogged down the hill I kept turning around to watch the rainbow. When I got about a mile down the hill the moon popped up over the mountaintops. (up at my house it was still hidden by the mountains). What a spectacular site! The mountain ridge lines crossing the stormy skyline. The huge rainbow arcing above the mountaintops. The nearly full moon tucked into the corner where the rainbow transected the ridge line. Positively gorgeous!! Too bad I don't take my camera on my jogs.

Today I'm highly recommending running in the rain!!!

More on tattoos...

I had a few responses to my blog about tattoos. My friend Melissa thought that the grenade may be from the cover of a Green Day album. I'm not quite sure if it was quite the right style of grenade for that, and since I didn't take a picture, who knows? I love music and have my favorite musicians, but none mean quite enough to me to get a tattoo in homage to them.

My friend Ellen has a image of a pink ribbon tattooed on her lower leg. She's a breast cancer survivor, or as she says, thiver, so I can totally understand how she decided on her tattoo.

When the kids were little we had a family joke about having a family tattoo night where we get a tattoo. I figured the best way to suppress the desire to get a tattoo would be make it a family thing. Not that I have anything particularily against tattoos, I just figured that getting one was an adult decision, not one for kids.

Regarding my future tattoos...here's my little secret (or shall I say "too much information"? LOL). I have, on my rear end, a birthmark; a good sized "Café au lait" spot. I figure since I'm marked there already, maybe I should go ahead and get it decorated. No one see it anyway, maybe I could have some flowers or a pretty design put there, just for fun. My daughter tells me that when she was little I had a different idea for a birthmark decoration. I swear I don't remember ever saying this, but she sys I told her I was going to get a little pig tattooed there, and turn my birthmark into a picture of a pig playing in a mud puddle. What do you think? Should I go for it? LOL! ...Hmmm doubtful!

Wednesday Wackiness

While on campus today I spied a person with an "unusual" tattoo. It was on the back of her upper arm, on a spot where is was most noticable from behind her. It was a great big, nearly the size of my hand, hand grenade. Not army green as you might expect, but mostly red with other colors shaded in.

I am fascinated by tattoos. I don't have any, as I can't think of anything that that screams to me: "Please, please, tattoo me permanently on your body!", but I really wonder about other peoples tattoos and the the thought process they must have gone through to decide that they needed to spend lots of money and experience pain in order to have "fill in the blank" adorning their flesh. I especially wonder when I see a young, attractive, college coed with a huge hand grenade tattooed on her arm. I can't help but think that someday she may regret that tattoo. I would have loved to have snapped a picture, but I couldn't figure out how to do that with out seeming rude. I was also tempted to ask her why she picked that tat, but, once again, I couldn't figure out a polite way to do it. Maybe if I see her on campus again, I'll get up the nerve to ask.

Another funny thing: As I drove out of the parking lot at work tonight I followed a car that had a huge hand grenade sticker on the back window. Is the hand grenade some pop culture image that I don't know about?

Another sushi night...

My friends and I had another sushi party last night.
I think this was the most beautiful sushi we've ever rolled.
And yummy too!!!

Back to your regularly scheduled vacation pictures!

The kids arriving at the beach.

The beach in Hilton Head was lovely. Seaoats on the dunes. Clean, sandy and water temperature was perfect.

If you swam at the time of day when the tide was low you could feel tons of sand dollars underfoot. You could unearth them with your toes, pick them up, feel their spines move and watch their keyholes open and shut. Very entertaining for this this nerdy biologist type! I also unearthed a cool starfish!

I had a run in with another invertebrate; a jelly fish. Yup, I got my first jellyfish sting. Fortunately it wasn't a man-of-war, just a regular jelly, so the sting wasn't too horrible, but over a week later the itch is still making me nuts!

Trash Day

Just wanted to share what I found on the way to work this morning. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it certainly is very big and very pink. I also can't decide if its kind of comical, or a little sad. I bet someone once loved the poor guy!