Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Merry Hump day!

It's BABY SEASON!!!!!!!! No, not this kind of baby. But baby birds!!!!!!
Some baby birds are not as cute as i would like them to be.
For example:

But then they make up for it with this kind:

A friend sent me this link recently that listed a whole lotta webcams....no worries not the dirty kind. The kind that watch nests. The especially cool ones are those that are a live streaming feed. I have a hard time staying interested in the ones that reload and refresh every 37 seconds. You can miss a whole heck of a lot in 37 seconds!!!!

Sooo if you happen to be having a slow day at work or if a certain something or someone has you awake at 2:34 in the morning check these out. They are fun. Let me just point out my personal favorite. It may or may not be up on my computer at work at all times when i need a small little baby fix. These are barn owls. SO COOL!!!! It's a mama and her 4 chicks. There is a bunch of previous footage below the camera too. I can't stand it they are so funny!

Other random news of the day....I have a headache that could kill a horse. Why you ask? Because in my delirium this morning when i was getting ready for work i knocked over a full...FULL bottle of purfume and it shattered on the floor. The good thing...no one was injured in this tragic event. The bad thing...I smell as if this is how i applied my smell of choice this morning.


Awsome.

OH AND.......Not many of you have seen my backyard but it's really great. Good sunage, great deck, and killer privacy. Ask me why i haven't been able to use it, or why i will not get to take advantage of it this summer? Go on....ASK!

Because i have these..... A bajillion of these!


These insects are so graciously called carpenter bees. Luckily the males donot have stingers and will not harm you....per say. But they swarm and they fight eachother and knock into my windows. They have made a feast of my backyard deck and awning. They actually dig holes in the wood where they ley their eggs. Bees that can dig holes in wood?! What is that nonsense?

I bet they are an incredibly interesting species and i have much to learn from them, but i want to use my backyard! Since they do not have stingers their way of fighting off preditors or other male bees is flying at them full force and running into them! I walk out my back door and i instantly have the eyes of 50+ wood bees on me, wondering if i am going to invade their nests. I WON'T...I just want to read my book in the sun and get a tan!!!!! I promise i won't even LOOK at the 5 million holes you have put in my deck. I PROMISE! So needless to say I'm not a huge fan of the bees at this point in time.

On a funnier note....Here are some CLASSIC shots from our trip to Florida...

Lisa and i look awsome.....and apparently i'm 6 mo pregnant. Great pic mom!

This is that night...i apprarently had the baby that afternnoon and was back to normal by 8pm. Mom and I decided to pretend we made this beautiful sandcastle and claim it as our own.

I was just trying to get some better pics of the pelicans. I decided to kneel and get better perspective....mom caught me on the way down....awsome!

Apparently MP was feeling punchy at dinner one night and instead of taking an adorable picture of Maeve with her papa....she took a picture of the inside of my freakishly large nostril.

Merry Hump Day!!!!!

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

I miss Florida

I miss Florida for many reasons...here is one of them.


As you can see we have waving under control....next step....walking!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

All work and no play makes KT not happy


OK so two oil spills and a vacation have put me in a lazy blog mode. I know your saying...
"you're on vacation and you can't find time to blog!?!"
Well let me sum it up for you:


This is the view from our porch, onto our private beach....hmmmm....blog, beach...blog, beach...the decision is KILLING ME!!!! Yeah not so much. I'll do my best to get some pics up but i'm not promising anything!

PS this is where i almoswt acceped a job 2 years ago. I'm very glad i didn't due to the current job i have, but damn i would have been the tannest person EVER!

Later kiddies!!!

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Merry Hump Day!

Ok it's wednesday...almost friday but just as close to monday...i hate that!


Work has been insane! I know that is usually my excuse but this time i mean it. It looks like the first free weekend i have is July 28th. Anyone wanna hang out? :)


Anywho, some funsies for your day.....


Thing 1:

Go to Google Maps type in "New York, New York to Paris, France". Scroll down and pay special attention to #23 of the directions. Pure genius. It was a long day at google when they were finishing up this program and just couldn't help themselves. I adore it!


Thing 2:

We got some great news and incredible publicity thanks to Disney!! The picture is again from our incredible volunteer Kim. The program is explained under the pic and our story is on the right side of the pic.


Thing 3:

Did i mention it has been really busy at work. Sometimes i just need a few minutes to de-stress while at work...Merri really helps me out with that!

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

People are funny!

I love a good laugh at work in the middle of the day....I was cruising around for one on the internet today and i found one....actually i found more than one...it was a 2-for-1 day. I love those kinds of days.

So i found a few sites that a husband and wife run. Each have their own site where they draw and post a comic each day. They also have a site where they take old pictures and write funny captions to them...also updated daily...I love a good daily update!

I NEEDED to post some of their stuff for you all to enjoy....i was laughing so hard at work today that i had to pretend i was coughing sometimes to make sure no one became suspicious....I just couldn't keep the giggles silent!





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Sunday, April 01, 2007

A good sunday laugh...

Farkin hilarious!

Friday, March 30, 2007

Me fail english? That's unpossible!

Oh Ralph....I feel your pain.


Ok so i know you all have heard of the new game show smarter than a 5th grader. Seriously how hard can it be?? SO i watched an episode. No studying, nothin.

I guess for any game show esp. jeopardy, millionaire, etc you would hype yourself up and study your face off for you NEVER know what they might throw at you. But seriously, who needs to study for questions that are on the level of a 5th grader? Not me!

Color me pleasently surprised...I felt like the dumbest kid on the block!!!!! Remember how i went to college, remember all the cool things i have done and what all my experiences have taught me......yeah guess what....useless!!!
Ok, so, I'm not asking you to watch it regularly, just catch one episode, without the help of the internet or a calculator...see how you do. I know there are a few of you out there that will prove me wrong and get every damn question right but for the rest of us...check it out.

I took a little pre-test before watching the show to boost my confidence. I got a 3. Yep as embarrassing as it is...i got a 3. Take the test, but don't tell me your score, let me think you did as bad as i did...please.

So in retrospect.....Mrs. Falkowski, I am so sorry I have disppointed you, you were a great 5th grade teacher and i respect all you do....more than you know. That stuff is HARD! Who needs college when all i needed to do was end my education at 5th grade and then go on this game show and win a buttload of money....Hindsight is a bitch.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Seriuosly?!?!??!

I was having a really good week. Work is good, the weather is good, been going out a lot and having fun...but then i see this. Thats all i gotta say. Seriously Maeve are you trying to kill me here? I wanna start seeing some pictures that make me think you miss me....ok?? Enough of the happy "look how much fun i have without you" stuff. Maybe we need to sit down and talk about this when i am in town next week. ok? ok. See you next week Obdue!!!!

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Some may say...

Egyptian Ratscrew, is a card game. I know it sounds awful but it's a hoot to play. It is almost remanisant of the card game war but with more people.
Here's the official definition....(i will highlight some key parts):
  • Egyptian Ratscrew is an unusual, extremely fast-paced game vaguely reminiscent of slapjack, spit, speed, stress, nurse, etc. for two or more players. It can get pretty hot. Anyone can play, but to be good requires quick thinking, fast reflexes, and tough hands.
  • Divide the deck into approximately equal stacks, one for each player.
  • The goal is to get all the cards.
  • The player to the left of the dealer plays her top card face up on the playing surface where everyone can reach it. The wise players takes care to take their hand off of a played card as quickly as possible to avoid injury and let play continue quickly and smoothly.
  • People can try to "slap" the pile. This can be an actual slap, a subtle tap, a quick sweep, or even a full-force hammer-fist.
  • For instance, if the two top cards form a pair then anyone may attempt to be the first to slap the pile. Whoever slaps the pile first gets it. Sometimes it may be difficult to determine who slapped the pile first, as there may be tangled fingers, a broken table, or sometimes blood(players may consider instituting a "no rings" policy).

In reading some websites about the official rules these are some variations that i enjoyed reading about....

"For the adventurous, Egyptian Ratscrew can be played as a full-contact game: when a slap criterion is met, the pile is open to any competition: Restrictive variations also exist, mostly to curb the more violent or injurious aspects of slapping. The most popular is 'no rings', which requires players to remove rings and other jewelry from their hands while playing. A ring will create a pressure point when slapping on top of a prior slapper's hand, and some players may deliberately use this for psychological warfare to make people hesitate."


"Other forms of psychological warfare include deliberately slapping hard well after ownership of the deck has been established for the sole purpose of injuring the hands of the players who made the slap on-time. Extreme players make their hands into fists for the purpose of causing maximum damage."

My personal favorite......

"As a method to prevent players hovering their hand over the pile, a rule can be placed where a player must first slap their forehead before they may slap the pile."

Okey dokey...so needless to say...even if you didn't understand how to play the game you get the point that there is slapping involved. This being said....everyone plays this game with their own flare. For example.....

Lou is a poor loser....if he slaps the pile and does not win it he takes it out on the person next to him. (most of the time it's marc)

Poor Marc, he just plays the game all sorts of fair and square and always get the crap beaten out of him...mostly from Lou

Nicole...how shall i say....occassionally cheats...and i'll give her the credit that she's good at it, but she has an unfair advantage and we all know it. She has long arms....this is mostly useful specifically for reaching the pile of cards better than everyone else. We oh so lovingly gave her the nickname, monkey arms, for obvious reasons.

I on the other hand have short arms...this proves to be a disadvantage to me, but no worries i make up for it :) In the heat of the game as people are being bruised and battered, insults start to fly...all in good fun ofcourse.

In response to me harping on Nicoles monkey arms one day she told me that maybe i would have a better chance slapping the pile if i didn't have "T-rex arms". Ok now thats hilarious...just think about it! Funny? Yep...i thought so. Anywho...this is an ongoing joke and i'm all for it.

So why this long drawn out blog about the card game...

Well..... this commercial game out i just about fell down and died.


Sunday, March 04, 2007

love it







Tuesday, February 27, 2007

A full week!


It has been a full week since i have posted! That is so not like me.....more so like Lisa. Anywho, i have a good excuse. I swear!!!!!!! We have had some special visitors at the center, and here's the article to prove i'm not lying! Take a gander at the article.....i'll wait.....if your not in the mood to read the whole thing...just scan.




Waiting.......




Ok .........did you read it. So needless to say we have had our hands full. Did you by any chance get a a good look at the photo in the article? Yes your right.....it's me. Don't get me wrong i love making the paper, in color no less, but let me just step back for a minute. When you think of yourself in the paper, you get excited. EVERYONE is going to see me....ME...IN THE PAPER! Thats so cool!


That being said let me remind you of what MY picture in the paper looked like......



Don't get me wrong this picture is great, and the woman who took it....AMAZING. The peli's look bird-a-rific!!! And then there is me.....please let me explain. How pretty am i? Coming off the oscars red carpet this week, i think these are the areas joan and melissa would find most tragic of my ensemble.
List of things i will try not to wear in my next newspaper appearance...
  • Gross oversized TAPPERED scrubs complete with work cell phone and pager accessories
  • Ill-fitting americorps t-shirt complete with bird-poop
  • Sexy yellow rubber gloves
  • A double chin
  • Weird concentration expression hoping pelican does not bite off my fingers
  • Pen in my hair giving me the delightful antenna look
  • and last but not least, my hair poof from the night before....just not necessary Katie!

Just for the record i was unaware the pictures were going to be taken that day, and there was just no escaping it. Press opportunities come at the darndest times!! Regardless...i love me some pelican and they are getting better and doing great!!! I'm sad they got off track and can't wait to get them back out where they belong...ok thats all for now. i'll be better this week. I promise!

Monday, February 19, 2007

For my Fellow Environmentalists....


Friday, February 16, 2007

Tricky....

Reading the teleprompter is haaard.... :)

Monday, February 12, 2007

My new Fav

I wet my pants a little when i took this....because i had recently come across this photo and it seemed strikingly similar to me. :)

How cute is that!



BTW, mikey sent me a text the other day letting me know that he tried to take a piece of Maeve's banana and she started to cry....i can hear it now... "MAEVE DOES NOT SHARE FOOD!" Sound familiar? We had a talk when i was home last...i even explained the less than 4 bites rule. I'm so happy she took it to heart. :)

Friday, February 09, 2007

God Bless You!!!!

A little Panda sneeze


Can't...type...laughing...tooo hard!!!

Workity work work

We really do work hard....even though it may not always look it in the photo documentation. :)
We do a lot of workshops...and sometimes we have some unexpected participants

We like to make sure that everyone gets something out of the day that was worth their time.


We clean up pretty nice if you ask me...

Again...working really hard :)

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

So COOL!!!

Most days i make sure i am up on my Buffalo happenings and instead of reading the Buffalo News online i much prefer the Buffalo Rising Journal. Their articles interest me much more than those of the paper. Anywho, they posted some crazy neat photos of what it looks like when a lake effect storm moves across the city. This is just one photo, check out the rest here.
So COOL!!!!!!


Monday, January 29, 2007

Oh Shakira...

A friend on myspace sent this to me and i HAD to post it. Please enjoy...and take a look at those words.....jigga WHAT!?


Oh the silliness....i adore it

Thursday, January 25, 2007

I didn't think the day would come...

I FOUND IT!!!!!!!

I never thought the day would come when i would get to see the girl behind the voice. I love it!!!!!!!!!!


Wednesday, January 17, 2007

mmmmm railing....

This kid has just made our new speaker of the house my favorite one EVER. Ask me about some of my other favorites...or not.

Smart Bird!


I know I know....another bird story....booooorrring. But it's really cool read it. Their brains might be small but their survival instincts make them look truly smart!


Birders World Magazine

Hi-tech Barn Swallows

A couple of Minnesota Barn Swallows have raised the bar on the scale of "Swallow IQ." For the past four years, a pair of Barn Swallows has nested inside the lumberyard entryway at the Home Depot store in Maplewood, Minnesota. At least one pair has learned that if they fly a tight circle in front of the motion detector above the double doors at the entry to the Home Depot, the doors open. Each bird then flies one more loop as the doors open and swoops inside where the pair has built a nest atop a small pipe near the ceiling. When a bird is ready to leave, it flies a tight circle in front of the motion detector inside the doorway and the doors again open for Home Depot's small avian customers.

Keith Stomberg, a supervisor at the store, first noticed the birds nesting inside in the summer of 2001. He was fascinated by their apparent learned behavior and left them alone to raise their families. It was a good place for the swallows to raise their young because there were no predators or bad weather. The pair typically raised two broods each year. When the birds returned to nest in 2003, he contacted the staff of the Nongame Wildlife Program of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Wildlife biologist Joan Galli observed the nesting swallows and was amazed to see how the birds had adapted to the unique setting in order to raise their families. "We typically think of the crow family and the parrot family as among the most intelligent of birds," according to Galli, "but apparently the swallows have a few tricks of their own that help us appreciate how birds are constantly adapting to survive in novel human-created environments."
-- Carrol Henderson

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Progress

Remember this baby? We were a tad concerned cause she was so tiny...

As i figured....we had nothing to worry about. :)

heeeeeeeeey chuuuuuubby. I love it!!!!

Sunday, January 07, 2007

The sweetest thing...


Chief Master Sgt. John Gebhardt cradles a young Iraqi girl as they both sleep in the hospital. The girl's entire family was executed by insurgents. The killers shot her in the head but she survived. The girl received treatment at the U.S. military hospital in Balad, but cries often. According to nurses at the facility, Chief Gebhardt is the only one who can calm down the girl, so he holds her at night while they both sleep in a chair. Chief Gebhardt was assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad Air Base, Iraq.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

C is for Cookie

Tequila Cookies

This is the BEST Christmas Cookie recipe EVER!

1 cup of water
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar Lemon juice
4 large eggs
1 cup nuts
2 cups of dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila
  • Sample the Cuervo to check quality.
  • Take a large bowl
  • Check the Cuervo again to be sure it is of thehighestquality, pour one level cup and drink.
  • Turn on the electric mixer.
  • Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffybowl.
  • Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.
  • At this point it's best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK, tryanother cupjust in case.
  • Turn off the mixerer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl andchuck inthe cup of dried fruit.Pick the frigging fruit off floor.
  • Mix on the turner. If the frieddruitgets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver.
  • Sample the Cuervo to check for tonsisticity.
  • Next, sift two cups of salt, or something.
  • Check the Jose Cuervo.
  • Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.Add one table.
  • Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you canfind.
  • Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fallover.Don't forget to bean off the turner.
  • Finally, throw the bowl throughthewindow, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the dishwasher.
CHERRY MISTMAS

ummmm what?

I'm not sure if i was sucked into some sort of wormhole timewarp when i went to bed last night...BUT it's 72 degrees right now here in DE. I came to work in a short sleeve shirt and capri's. ummmm...i don't get it. Can someone talk to me about this?

Friday, January 05, 2007

Don't judge....

I've never really had a problem with Woody before, I think he's a pretty good looking guy actually.

Great eyes...

ok this one isn't even just good looking...it's hot.

Apparently he's funny too.....


I guess i expected him to have a hot model wifey....apparently not...I'm so proud of you woody! Those are my thoughts of the day...i hope you have enjoyed them. :)

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Red Tail Hawk goodness...

This is Rebecca Caroline and I washing a redtail hawk who got stuck in a barrel of used cooking oil. YUCK!! The video was taken by Christy who spent 2 weeks with us on her journey of "best wildlife rescue agencies in the country" on a scholarship from DAWN. How cool that we are one of them!! She blogged about her entire trip and the site is www.dawndifferences.com. Enjoy!!!!!

Monday, January 01, 2007

Bad ass

Picture it:

3,000 teeth...

16 feet long....

6,000 lbs....

Prey is ripped into mouth-sized pieces, which are swallowed whole....

Can swim fast enough to propel themselves out of the water up to 18 ft.....

What do you get.....

That would be a Great White Shark...how bad ass is that?!?!?!??!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

camping...or cabining....i don't know!

So, a few weeks ago the De girls and i went camping in Virginia. And by camping we stayed in a cabin...with heat....and beds....and a kitchen....with a microwave. ok so i don't know what to call it. Cabining? Whatever. Anywho, we had a blast! We had gorgeous weather, and a sufficient amount of goodness to eat and drink. It was a nice little getaway from work, let me tell ya.
A great view from the trails....
Merri pulled Sarah down the hill as best she could....
and then buried her...
and then andrea got involved.....
cute cute!
more trail prettiness

we brought food for Merri but she far preferred the paper plates....she's "special"
The little lake outside our cabin
could not have asked for better weather
yup
mmhmmmm


pausing in all our prettiness for a photo op...we look pretty good for 3 days with no shower!
We may or may not have had a dance party in the kitchen...pay no attention to the bottles on the sink. :)
We came across a bouncy bridge..bouncy bouncy!!
our last day of hiking..
Bye Virginia....you are a great place to camp...or cabin...merr




Friday, December 22, 2006

I like Rugby

Why isn't this sport more popular in the states...cause it needs to be!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

YES I'M WORKING!!!!



For those of you who work at a desk and just can't take the monotony anymore...try this!