Baby hamsters are just too cute!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Birthday Musings
The great thing about my birthday is that 4 times out of 7, it falls on the Friday through Monday of Memorial Day weekend. The odds are pretty good that I can stretch my birthday into an entire weekend.
This year, my birthday happened to fall on Sunday, and my coworkers managed to stretch it out a couple of days more. I walked into the Admission Office this morning and laughed out loud when I saw my desk.
Monday, May 26, 2008
While You Were Out
When the cat is away, the mice will play...
Or at SCC, it should be "When the Assistant Director is on vacation in Florida, those left behind will have a lot of fun *decorating* her office..."
And yes, that is a bubble wrap "Welcome Home" mat in the doorway.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Serious Addiction
I felt deprived when my most recent Spanish novela addiction, Pasión, aired its 'Gran Final' at the end of April. I have to admit that it was nice to have five hours of my week back, and I still had my Monday-Tuesday obsession with Dancing with the Stars. Now that Kristi and Mark have their mirror-ball trophies, I am trying to figure out what to do with my evenings and my tendencies to get over-addicted to certain television shows. Luckily, SciFi has ordered a few more episodes of Ghost Hunters for this season. In honor of their great timing (new episodes begin airing next Wednesday), I will share this lol with you...
Monday, May 19, 2008
The Great Outdoors
Saturday, the weather was absolutely *perfect* for hiking--the temperature was in the 70's with a nice breeze. Allison and Melba joined me for a road trip to hike the Bear Hair Gap Trail at Vogel State Park. Less than a mile into the 4.1 mile hike, Allison and Melba were still smiling. About a mile (uphill) later I was worrying about a mutiny however. Luckily, halfway through our hike, the trail evened out, and we could *all* enjoy the scenery.There was a small loop at the top of the mountain, and while Allison held up the sign pointing the way to the 0.2 mile uphill climb, Melba and I trudged our way to the top. The view made it all worth it... SPECTACULAR! The lake is called Trahlyta after a Cherokee princess for all of you history buffs out there (thanks to the hiking guide book for additional random facts about the location).
Probably the most fun was when we came to a creek crossing with no bridge... I bravely crossed first so I could take pictures of the Wolf Creek crossing (another name gleaned from the hiking book). Melba came after me, soaking one shoe in the process. She claims that the water was cold, but that it felt pretty good. Allison followed, using a magnolia tree to help her balance her way across. Since they both had their pictures taken, I had to retrace my rock-hopping path so that I could come back and have my crossing documented photographically as well.The hike took roughly three hours, and when we were finished, we all piled back in my car for the twisty roads back to Cleveland, then on to Gainesville. The drive was nice, thanks to the weather, and since the passengers were tired from all of their physical exertion, I wasn't too surprised when I heard a little snoring coming from the back seat. I am already trying to figure out when I can make a return trip because there is supposed to be a trail to a waterfall behind Lake Trahlyta. It's only about a mile or so long, so maybe I'll be able to talk my new hiking buddies into a return trip...
Friday, May 9, 2008
Death Wish?
Chapter 1
Saturday night, I arrived home from a day at my parents' house after 10:00 p.m. I unpacked all of the wonderful free food my mother had bestowed upon me, and then headed upstairs to crash for the night. I decided to check on Garfield before I slipped into bed, and it took me a moment to realize he wasn't hiding anywhere in his cage. Then I saw one of the halves of the new circular orange tube lying on the carpet beside the cage. The darn thing must not have been locked together properly. So, I immediately got down on hands and knees and peered around the corner of every piece of furniture in the room. I found small pieces of evidence that a hammie had been in some of the corners, but no hammie. I even checked inside the closets and climbed on top of the dryer in the laundry room to see behind the machines. It's a mixed blessing that he wasn't hiding in the latter location since I would have had no idea how to coax him out from behind the massive washer and dryer!
After a similar inspection of my bedroom, bathroom, and closet, I was perplexed. Then I remembered the dust bunnies that I had seen in my kitchen earlier while putting food away... I hadn't been able to figure out where they had come from, but know I realized that Garfield had braved the staircase! I really wanted to go to bed already, but I trudged downstairs and repeated the process in the foyer, kitchen, half bath, and living room. Of course, the last place I checked, the dining room, was where I caught a glimpse of a fuzzball, curled up in the far corner, almost as if he were waiting for me to find him. The fun wasn't over quite yet because first I had to catch him. He made sure I had to chase him around a bit before I finally managed to keep him in my grasp. He was unceremoniously dumped in his cage, the tube was replaced with a blank plug so he couldn't get out, and I finally got to go to bed!
Chapter 2
Sunday, I rearanged the tube configuration on the cage, now with rubber bands securing the parts. I thought the problem was solved. The next morning around 5:00 am, I was proven wrong. I woke up to the sounds of "hammie under the bed," a sound which I am acquainted with through previous hammies' fugitive tendencies. Half-asleep, I stumbled down the hall to check the hammie cage--sure enough, I saw that he had found another exit. The rectangular sleeping loft had a rubber band around it, but Garfield was able to push the lid up and slide it to the side, thereby greating a large enough escape hatch for his small, furry body. I groaned knowing I was in for a game of "force the hammie out from under the bed" which is not the least bit amusing at 5 o'clock in the morning. When I did manage to snag the little fuzzball, he kept wiggling out of my hands since he was fully awake, and I was definitely not! Suddenly inspired by my slippers next to the bed, I made another grab for Garfield, ploped him into one of the slippers, and held my hand down over the end so he couldn't get out. A minute later, he was once again being uncerimoniously dumped back into his cage, and I was fastening a second rubber band around his sleeping loft.
Chapter 3
The rest of the week passed uneventfully. It seems that I have managed to come up with an escape-proof setup for the cage *knock on wood*, but Garfield isn't too thrilled about it. Last night, I was talking to my father on the phone. I decided to let the hammie wander around the room a bit while I was chatting. As soon as Garfield was on the carpet, he made a beeline for my ankle and decided to take a bite. Yet again, he was uncerimoniously dumped into his cage, and I had to go find some antiseptic because the little bugger drew blood!
Epilogue
Tonight, I sat down to play my favorite Nintendo game (Dr. Mario, in case you were wondering) only to discover that in one of his adventures outside of his home, Garfield had chewed off one of the buttons on the game controller. I was *not* amused!
Saturday night, I arrived home from a day at my parents' house after 10:00 p.m. I unpacked all of the wonderful free food my mother had bestowed upon me, and then headed upstairs to crash for the night. I decided to check on Garfield before I slipped into bed, and it took me a moment to realize he wasn't hiding anywhere in his cage. Then I saw one of the halves of the new circular orange tube lying on the carpet beside the cage. The darn thing must not have been locked together properly. So, I immediately got down on hands and knees and peered around the corner of every piece of furniture in the room. I found small pieces of evidence that a hammie had been in some of the corners, but no hammie. I even checked inside the closets and climbed on top of the dryer in the laundry room to see behind the machines. It's a mixed blessing that he wasn't hiding in the latter location since I would have had no idea how to coax him out from behind the massive washer and dryer!
After a similar inspection of my bedroom, bathroom, and closet, I was perplexed. Then I remembered the dust bunnies that I had seen in my kitchen earlier while putting food away... I hadn't been able to figure out where they had come from, but know I realized that Garfield had braved the staircase! I really wanted to go to bed already, but I trudged downstairs and repeated the process in the foyer, kitchen, half bath, and living room. Of course, the last place I checked, the dining room, was where I caught a glimpse of a fuzzball, curled up in the far corner, almost as if he were waiting for me to find him. The fun wasn't over quite yet because first I had to catch him. He made sure I had to chase him around a bit before I finally managed to keep him in my grasp. He was unceremoniously dumped in his cage, the tube was replaced with a blank plug so he couldn't get out, and I finally got to go to bed!
Chapter 2
Sunday, I rearanged the tube configuration on the cage, now with rubber bands securing the parts. I thought the problem was solved. The next morning around 5:00 am, I was proven wrong. I woke up to the sounds of "hammie under the bed," a sound which I am acquainted with through previous hammies' fugitive tendencies. Half-asleep, I stumbled down the hall to check the hammie cage--sure enough, I saw that he had found another exit. The rectangular sleeping loft had a rubber band around it, but Garfield was able to push the lid up and slide it to the side, thereby greating a large enough escape hatch for his small, furry body. I groaned knowing I was in for a game of "force the hammie out from under the bed" which is not the least bit amusing at 5 o'clock in the morning. When I did manage to snag the little fuzzball, he kept wiggling out of my hands since he was fully awake, and I was definitely not! Suddenly inspired by my slippers next to the bed, I made another grab for Garfield, ploped him into one of the slippers, and held my hand down over the end so he couldn't get out. A minute later, he was once again being uncerimoniously dumped back into his cage, and I was fastening a second rubber band around his sleeping loft.
Chapter 3
The rest of the week passed uneventfully. It seems that I have managed to come up with an escape-proof setup for the cage *knock on wood*, but Garfield isn't too thrilled about it. Last night, I was talking to my father on the phone. I decided to let the hammie wander around the room a bit while I was chatting. As soon as Garfield was on the carpet, he made a beeline for my ankle and decided to take a bite. Yet again, he was uncerimoniously dumped into his cage, and I had to go find some antiseptic because the little bugger drew blood!
Epilogue
Tonight, I sat down to play my favorite Nintendo game (Dr. Mario, in case you were wondering) only to discover that in one of his adventures outside of his home, Garfield had chewed off one of the buttons on the game controller. I was *not* amused!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Dancing With The Stars
In honor of tonight's Dancing with The Stars Judges' All-Time Favorite Dances and the 100th episode, I thought I'd go through my favorite couples from the past 5 seasons.
Season 1
John O'Hurley & Charlotte Jorgensen
Yes, I believe that he should have been the original winner of the first season. It was just so much fun to watch them dance together! My favorite dances were their Paso Doble and their Freestyle.
Season 2
I didn't watch it, but that is the season that hosts Tom Bergeron did the Quickstep with Ashly DelGrosso, and Samantha Harris did the Jive with Jonathan Roberts.
Season 3
Monique Coleman & Louis van Amstel
It was not hard to be awed by the level of difficulty attempted by the last lady standing of the third season. I am still impressed with their Rumba.
Joey Lawrence & Edyta Sliwinska
I loved his little solo in the Quickstep and their Foxtrot to "Singin' In the Rain."
Season 4: My All-Time Favorite Season!
Apolo Anton Ohno & Julianne Hough
They're just so cute together! I watch their "raunchy" Cha Cha or the Perfect 30 Samba every so often just because they make me smile.
Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson
Joey made every dance entertaining... and poor Kym just went along for the ride. My favorite dances by this duo are easily the Star Wars Tango and the Freestyle.
Season 5
Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas
They were robbed! They had the first perfect score of the season with their Paso Doble, and who could forget the Cha Cha that started it all?
Season 1
John O'Hurley & Charlotte Jorgensen
Yes, I believe that he should have been the original winner of the first season. It was just so much fun to watch them dance together! My favorite dances were their Paso Doble and their Freestyle.
Season 2
I didn't watch it, but that is the season that hosts Tom Bergeron did the Quickstep with Ashly DelGrosso, and Samantha Harris did the Jive with Jonathan Roberts.
Season 3
Monique Coleman & Louis van Amstel
It was not hard to be awed by the level of difficulty attempted by the last lady standing of the third season. I am still impressed with their Rumba.
Joey Lawrence & Edyta Sliwinska
I loved his little solo in the Quickstep and their Foxtrot to "Singin' In the Rain."
Season 4: My All-Time Favorite Season!
Apolo Anton Ohno & Julianne Hough
They're just so cute together! I watch their "raunchy" Cha Cha or the Perfect 30 Samba every so often just because they make me smile.
Joey Fatone & Kym Johnson
Joey made every dance entertaining... and poor Kym just went along for the ride. My favorite dances by this duo are easily the Star Wars Tango and the Freestyle.
Season 5
Sabrina Bryan & Mark Ballas
They were robbed! They had the first perfect score of the season with their Paso Doble, and who could forget the Cha Cha that started it all?
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