Mood:  don't ask

The leaf color that is.

I noticed while getting the morning report that the trees have traded their bright summer green for the dull dark early fall color. The chlorophyll starts to drain from the leaves which cause them to darken and then eventually turn into the bright colors of autumn. So I suspect by mid next week we should start to see the change.

The weather has gotten cooler which I love but the days are getting shorter which I hate. I have enjoyed spending the evening walking at the local park but I have had to cut my walks short so I can make it home before it gets too dark.

Halloween is fast approaching and I have almost finished my dress. I installed a new zipper which doesn’t look great but it works. I need more practice installing them. I have dyed it in tea and coffee and bustled the train. Now I just have to rip it up in places and glue on the bugs. I spent 2 hours at the Spirit Store on Sunday. I LOVE that place. I think the manager has a crush on me. He gave me a free bag of mice. LOL how romantic. Lennie never gave me a bag of mice. I also pick up a craft pumpkin because Michaels had them on sale for 50% off. I usually do a real pumpkin but figured I would give this a try. My co-worker gets one for her husband to carve every year because he hates putting his hands into a live pumpkin. I will have to pick a cool design because if it works I will be able to use it next year as well.

We have gone from 3 Halloween Parties to just one which makes Lennie VERY happy. He dreads Halloween. Maria decided not to have their party which I kinda figured because hosting a party while pregnant is a huge undertaking.   Amber was going to host a party for her kids and we came up with some great recipes but it turns out one of the other mothers beat her to it. She didn’t want to try to compete with this woman for attendance so she cancelled her party. So now it looks like we will just be going to the pub. We will try to hand out candy to the kids before we go but I think Lennie may have to do it because I think my costume might scare the little ones.

Speaking of scary…I woke up this morning around 3AM completely covered in hives. I got up and took some Benadryl and then sat outside in the cool air until the pill kicked in and I almost fell asleep. I got up this morning and most of them have gone away but I still have some on my neck and face although they are reduced to small red bumps instead of the full blown blotches. I don’t have a clue what caused it. The Benadryl hasn’t worn off yet so I feel very tired and a bit disconnected. All I really want to do is put my head down on the desk and go to sleep.

I am hoping things clear up tonight because Albannach is here in Raleigh and we will be going to the pub tonight for the show and for a Whiskey tasting and a Scottish Buffet. I don’t plan on being out late since I have to work tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the boys tonight. Not only are they an awesome band but they are really nice guys. They always make time to talk to the fans and have a drink or two. I know that most of you have heard me talk about them before. It was actually after their last visit to Raleigh that Lennie and I got engaged. They are a pipe and drum band straight from Scotland but it isn’t your typical piper show. It is sort of like bag pipe and drums on steroids. Here is a video of one of their performances. It isn’t a great quality but it will give you an idea of what they are like.

ALBANNACH

Lennie said listening to their music gets him so pumped up that he just wants to fight someone. LOL So if you are in Raleigh tonight…head down to the Nog and catch their show. You won’t be disappointed.

Well I should probably get some work done. Hope you all are having a great day.

Mood:  down

We as human beings refuse to learn the lessons of the past. Once again we think we are better at managing wildlife. We fail to realize that Mother Nature knows exactly what she is doing.

The Gray Wolf was almost completely eradicated from the lower 48 states by the mid 1930’s. It was believed then that the wolf was competing with man for food. That they killed lives stock and children. We had no idea then what kind of impact killing off the wolf would have.

Today areas are over populated with deer. They are responsible for thousands of automobile accidents every year. They damage 90% of crops just in North Carolina alone and we are seeing an increase in diseases such as chronic wasting disease. If the wolves has been left intact the deer population would be much better controlled.

I thought that we had finally learned from our mistakes when they started to reintroduce the wolf back into the Lower 48. The program was doing well and for some unknown reason the fin and feather people (fish and wildlife) had them removed from the Rocky Mountains endangered species list.

"Gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains are thriving and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act," said Interior Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett. "The wolf's recovery in the Northern Rocky Mountains is a conservation success story."

Well just last month I read and article that they requested that they be put back on the list because of a steep decline in their numbers. Hopefully the ruling will pass and they will once again be protected.

Now lets turn towards Alaska. It has been the one last refuge for the wolf. It seemed that Alaska had it right. Leave nature alone…it can take care of itself. This morning I was sent an email with a link in it from a friend of mine who is a ranger in Alaska. Typically he just sends me jokes and knows I typically delete the email so in this one he wrote. “This is not a joke!” I open the link and was horrified but what I saw. I will warn those of you who are animal lovers this video may be hard to watch. I cried almost all the way through it.

Defenders of Wildlife - The Truth about Hunting Wolves in Alaska

This next video was the one on the news this morning.

Brutal: Sarah Palin's Record on Aerial Wolf Hunting

Nearly 700 wolves have been killed over the past 4 winters. More than 150 so far this year from aerial assaults.  The Alaska Board of Game allows marksmen to use low-flying airplanes to chase the wolves, run the helpless creatures to exhaustion then gun them down at point-blank range once they're too tired to run any further. In 2007 Gov. Palin enacted a law giving $150 to any hunter who brings in a leg of a wolf. So far, the Bush administration has refused to use its power to stop the slaughter of these innocent animals, including pregnant mothers and young wolf pups.  The politicians say that they are slaughtering these animals so that there are more moose and elk to feed the people of Alaska. I know I will get emails complaining about me being anti-hunting. So let me just say that I fully support hunting for food not for sport or trophies.

I know that some of you are Republican/Palin supporters and I am not here to tell you who to vote for. You all are smart readers and can comb through the facts to make the choice that is right for you. But these poor creatures can’t vote and they need our help.  We must stop the slaughter of Alaska's wolves. Help me protect these magnificent creatures by clicking the link below to send a free message to President Bush and Interior Secretary Kempthorne urging them to enforce the Federal Airborne Hunting Act before it's too late for Alaska's wolves.

Please go to http://www.SaveWolves.org to take action now. Then forward this message to your friends and family and ask them to join you.

Thanks for helping to protect our precious wolves.

I was highly unmotivated this year to be creative when it came to a Halloween costume. I was just going to recycle my witch costume from a couple of years ago but make a few modifications. Well the other day I was scanning Ebay and I found a woman who used to make costumes for a theater in New York. The theater has gone out of business and she is trying to recoup some money she was owed by selling off some of the costumes. While perusing her site I found a dress and all the sudden a light went off and I got that surge of excitement that I used to get when it came to create my costume. See I used to love Halloween and I love making my own costumes but when I moved down here I was surround by people who just were not excited at all about the holiday.

So what is it that I have decided to be you ask? ……A Corpse Bride. But not the one from the Tim Burton movie. Just a bride back from the dead to avenger her death. This is the dress I bought off of Ebay…

I plan on aging it by soaking it in tea then deconstructing it by ripping holes here and there. Then I am going to hot glue creepy bugs all over it and then maybe run it through the dirt.

I have a plan for my makeup but haven’t decided on my cause of death. Either a bullet hole to the forehead or a slashed throat. Then I will use some Spirit Gum to stick some creepy insects onto my skin then gather a bouquet of dead flowers and there you have it.

I think…more like hope, it will look awesome!!!

I've built a Web site on Shutterfly to share pictures from our Honeymoon to Scotland. The pictures are set up on a slideshow but if you want to see a larger version just click on the pictures. I haven't figured out how to tag them yet so if you want to know where a certain picture was taken just let me know. I will try to figure out how to tag them when I have some more time. Please come check it out!

http://scotlandtrip1.shutterfly.com/

From the moment we landed in Ireland we had to deal with the rain. It ended up lasting through the entire trip. Apparently the UK was experiencing above normal rainfalls for the month of August. Maybe we were to blame because it seemed to follow us everywhere we went.

When we got off the plane in Dublin, Ireland we noticed there was a light drizzle. We didn’t have enough Euros for a cab to the hotel so Lennie went to ask the guys at the information desk where the closest ATM was. They informed him that he didn’t need to take a cab that there was in fact a bus parked outside that would drop us off at the hotel. When we got out to the curb we noticed it wasn’t a hotel shuttle but a city bus. We boarded anyway because the guys inside said it went right by the hotel.

We rode for what seemed like an hour. I was worried that maybe the drive had forgotten about us. Finally he stopped and turned to say that this was our stop. I looked and didn’t see a hotel of any sort along the street. When we asked where the hotel was he pointed up a side street and said, “It’s about a quarter of a mile up that street.”

By this point it was raining harder and the wind had picked up but we didn’t’ have any choice…we had to walk. So up the street we went in the pouring rain with me wheeling my luggage behind me. Lennie turned to me laughing and said, “Welcome to your honeymoon!”

The rain from that point on seemed to stalk us. We would watch the weather reports and it would say that the sun was shining in Skye. We would drive to Skye and as soon as we stopped and found a place to crash for the night, the dark clouds would appear and the rain would start to fall. The morning we got up to leave the sun would come out. If we even talked about staying on an extra day somewhere because the sun was shining the clouds would roll back in. The sun always seemed to be shining in whatever part of Scotland we were not in. If we were in the East the sun would be shining in the West. If we went west the clear skies moved east. On occasion the sun would come out and we would get hopeful, but an hour later the rain would be back 

In the end when you are walking through the Highlands surrounded by green grass, purple heather and waterfalls everywhere you turn, the fact that it is raining starts to not matter so much. I honestly can’t describe how beautiful it was. I wish I could have bolted a camera to the car so you could see the drive along the A9 through the mountains. It was breathtaking. I joked with Lennie that if I had been driving we wouldn’t have made it far because I would have been stopping every 10 minutes to take pictures.

Trust me I took tons of pictures and I almost have then ready to upload. I am working on a webpage so that you all can see them and my goal is to get that done tonight. Keeping my fingers crossed.

There were several places we visited, like Rosslyn Chapel, where I couldn’t take pictures I will try to talk about them in my blog because they were fascinating places to visit.

Well I better get back to uploading the pictures. Stay tuned for the next installment from the Land of Kilts and Haggis.

Mood:  hungry

Today is my first day back to work after being in Scotland for about 18 days. It feels good to be back in the office and doing something productive. 18 days is a long time to be stuck in a car with your husband and hear nothing but, “It is okay honey I don’t need directions, I have my man GPS on” and “You see that cemetery over there? I hear people are just dying to get in.”  I had to hear that last one every time we passed a graveyard and there are a lot of them in Scotland. I adore my husband though and even though we spent 24/7 with each other, we didn’t argue once. I had some testy moments when I was tired and hungry but Lennie knew to back off and keep quiet.

I have tons of pictures and will hopefully get them posted this week. I will also tell you all about my trip when I have more time to sit down and write. Don’t worry I wont do a day-by-day account of the trip. I will just give you the highlights and funny tidbits.

It was a great trip and I am glad we had a chance to go. I don’t know when we will get a chance to travel like that again. It was great to meet Lennie’s father and brother and I hope his mom is able to come for a visit soon.

Some other good news to share is that my niece Naomi was born while I was away. She arrived on August 28^th and is just as cute as a button. She has bright red hair and an attitude to match and I could tell already that she is spoiled rotten. So I send out a big congrats to Anne and Jimmy and I can’t wait to see more of Naomi.

Well I better get back to work. I have 253 emails to get through. I promise I will get trip stuff up soon. Just give me time to get settled back into my routine.

Mood:  don't ask

There is a reason I don’t go on vacations. It is too much of a hassle and I end up all stressed out so I don’t actually enjoy the trip.

I finally thought everything was falling into place. Everything had been worked out. We had a pet sitter. My neighbors were going to mow our grass, and Lennie’s parents are going to let up borrow their car so we won’t have to get a rental.

Sunday our neighbors came over and said their mower had broken down and they didn’t know if they would be able to mow for us. Not a big deal they can use our mower. Problem solved.

Lennie’s parents confirmed we could use the car so that was still good.

This morning I opened my email to find a note from the pet sitter. Apparently it dawned on her that they only have one vehicle. Well actually they have two…her car and her fiancé’s motorcycle. Well that battery died in the bike so she now has to take her fiancé to work everyday and won’t be able to stay at the house. She has offered to take all the animals back to her house but Fenwick the cat doesn’t travel and wouldn’t do well in a strange home and her one dog doesn’t like other dogs so I worry about where Potter would be in the house and certainly don’t want him sleeping outside. Merlin can be locked up in a room away from the dogs just as long as he is fed and cleaned everyday and given some love and affection. I sympathize with the pet sitter and want this to work out for both our sakes but it is definitely something I would have thought of before I responded to the ad. Lennie offered to let them use his truck but just don’t know if I want to go there. I can’t worry about it right now because I have a pile of stuff on my desk to do plus we had another drowning on Sunday (the 2^nd in a week) so at some point I have to get the report done.

I just don’t need the stress!!!!  Lennie says I worry too much about all the details but I know that if I don’t they wont get done. I just want everything in place so I can sit back, relax, and enjoy my trip. Is that too much to ask?

It was a busy weekend but at least the weather was nice.

I was off Friday and so took that time to run a few errands. I went and had a facial then got the oil changed in me car and finally I drove out to the mall to attempt to find a dress for a wedding I was going to on Saturday. All I really wanted was a basic sundress but everywhere I went the dresses had big “80’s style” prints and patterns. I was about to give up when I went into JCPenny. Right when I walked in the door I was created by a huge section of clearance items and I spotted a rack of nothing but sundresses. I grabbed a handful and tried them on. I fell in love with a black and white Ralph Lauren dress but the tag said it was $100. When I stepped out of the dressing room the attendant asked me what I thought of the dress and I told her I loved it but I wasn’t going to pay $100 for it. She smiled and said you won’t pay $100 because it is on sale. She took me over to the register and scanned it and guess what price came up……. $17.00. That’s right I got a $100 dress for $17. I ended up buying two dresses and a shirt which if I had to pay full price they would have been around $200 but I manage to pay for the whole lot for $40. I just love a sale!!!

Saturday we had to go to Lennie’s friend Bruce’s wedding. It was an outside informal wedding so I was glad that the weather wasn’t too hot. We got there at about 1:30 and chatted a bit before the ceremony started. It was a short quaint service but by the end we were all being eaten alive by gnats and so quickly headed into the building where the reception was being held. The building was built to be a game room and had two window AC units working overtime to try to cool things down but when you stuff 30 people into that small of a space it is going to be hot. Lennie and I shoved ourselves in to a corner and we waited for the bride to make bunch. It was the kind my mom used to make for church socials. Sherbet and 7up. Once the punch was made and they cut the wedding cake, which was DQ ice cream cake, we were finally allowed to eat. I was starving by this point. We get up to the table with the food and I was a little shocked by what I saw. I wasn’t expected a big spread or anything but as some who loves to entertain and throw parties I was horrified but our food selection. We started off with little finger sandwiches. One was pimento and cheese which was ok for a party but the next type was bologna and cheese. Yep that’s right bologna and cheese. Martha Stewart would have had a cow. Next was a Crockpot full of cocktail weenies that had been sliced into small pieces and coated with some sort of red sauce. Next was a big bowl of macaroni salad and lastly a big plate of sausage roles. I got a plate, grabbed my sherbet punch and went off to my corner. On the tables where we sat there were bowls of peanuts, mints and a pineapple cheese ball with some crackers. Lennie and I scarffed down our food and had some cake and chatted with the bride and groom and family members. . About 4 o’clock we decided to head home. On the way home it was quickly apparently that we had had way too much sugar because the high wore off and we could barely keep our eyes open. When we got home I went for a long walk and Lennie took a nap. We had planned to go out to dinner that night but we both felt like crap so we stayed home and vegged in front of the TV.

Sunday we got up and cleaned the entire house. Lennie dusted and vacuumed and I cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, and did laundry. We then headed off to the store to get food for the pet sitter. Yes we did finally find someone. I took an ad out on Craig’s List and I actually got a lot of responses. Some were just plan bizarre Like the one woman who is thinking about leaving her husband and needed a place to go and wondered if we would let her stay with us till December so that she could save money to get her own place. Oh and the best part was that she was going to charge us $35 a day till she left in December because she would continue to pet sit for us even when we returned. I wrote her back and said that wasn’t interested in that arrangement and after our trip we wouldn’t need a pet sitter because we would be home every night. She then sent me 3 emails pleading with me and telling me her entire life story. There was also one woman who wanted to charge me $65 a day. Yeah no thanks. I could put all my animals in the kennel for that price. I was about to give up when I got this really sweet email from a woman named Kim who works at a Vet’s office in Durham. She came over that night and met the kids and everyone hit it off great. She is charging up $10 a day and I agreed to supply her with some food and laundry detergent. She moved here from Dundalk, MD and doesn’t know many people here so I have decided to do my part to make her feel welcome. We all plan to go out to dinner when we return.

Today I am trying to finish up the last of the paperwork on my desk. I can’t believe this Sunday I will be heading to Scotland. I don’t know how much posting I will do this week because I will be busy getting everything in order. So take care and I will think of you all when I am hiking up in the Highlands.

Mood:  don't ask

Well my husband is off to MS. After making a dozen sandwiches for him and Bruce and packing a cooler full of green tea he was on the road for a long 13 hours drive. We are hoping he will be back Friday because his friend Bruce is supposed to get married on Sunday. Cutting it close. LOL

We are slowly trying to get things ready for our trip but all the previous plans we made for the pets are all falling through. Lennie’s friend Bruce was going to watch Potter but now he can’t so Lennie has been trying to find a kennel. I had found a girl on Craig’s List who was willing to watch Merlin and Fenwick for the 3 weeks and wasn’t going to charge because she just wanted a place to stay while she looked for an apartment. I emailed her this morning to see if she would be willing to watch Potter too and she wrote back that she didn’t realize she had a family reunion the first week of our trip and she has decided to charge a small fee (she didn’t say how small). She said if I could get someone to watch them the first week she would do the last two. So now I need to decide if I want to go with that arrangement or find someone else to do all 3 wks. It makes me a bit nervous that I will be relying on her to show up for the last 2 weeks. I will try to write up an ad today and post it on Craig’s List to see if I get any responses. I hate running around at the last minute stressing over what to do.

It has been a fairly quiet weekend here at work. Everyone seems to be behaving themselves. The heat has been horrible and at the end of the day I am just exhausted. I came home last night and Lennie had cleaned the house and mowed the lawn. I think he feels bad that he has disrupted my whole routine. LOL I am hoping when he is done with this post-deployment stuff that we can actually spend some quality time together.

Don’t have much planed for the week ahead. I need to find a pet sitter and make sure I have everything I need for the trip. I need to find a sun dress for Bruce’s wedding and find time to get the oil changed in my car. I hope maybe sometime this week I can meet up with Maria and hear all about her trip to Ireland.

Well I better get back to work. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Mood:  bright

For those of you who don’t already know…My Husband is home from Iraq!

Thursday evening, shortly after coming home from work, I got a call from Lennie’s mom asking if I had heard from her son. I told her that last time I spoke to him was Saturday when he called to tell me that the plane that came to pick them up was broken down and he didn’t know when they would have it fixed. He said it was likely that they wouldn’t leave till Monday or Tuesday. I didn’t hear from him Sunday I hoped that meant he was on his way to Kuwait. Lennie said that once in Kuwait they would have some sort of debriefing that would last a week. I had hoped that he would have come home by the 25^th because I had a 4 day weekend. His mother shared my disappointment and we said our goodbyes. I then sat on the couch and stared out the window, letting my mind wander when all the sudden some movement caught my eye. I noticed a man walking up to my porch. He was in uniform so my first thought was that someone was coming to tell me that something had happened to Lennie. See when you are a war bride this is the very thing you dread. All the saddened I was flooded with emotions. When the soldier got closer I realized that it was Lennie. It took me a second to react. It didn’t seem real and had to check to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. My next move would be to fight Potter to see who got to the door first. Of course Potter won. He is good at wiggling into those tight spaces. None of the commands we learned in CGC .class seemed to work. There was no telling him to sit and stay. After Potter had licked Lennie from head to toe it was now my turn. I hugged him so long and so hard. I didn’t want to let him go. The fact that he was sweaty and smelled like dirt didn’t matter at all to me. He was home and that is all I cared about. And how odd was it that he came home just in time for my 4 days off. Someone was working things to our favor.

He looked so thin and tired. I could tell that all he wanted to do was fall asleep. But I forced him to stay up till 10PM and chatted non stop. I don’t think I really let him say two words. But I could see that smile in his eyes that he was glad to be home and seemed content to let me chatter away. When we finally went to bed it felt so good to feel him next to me. He slept hard and I got up early and shut the animals out of the room so that he could get some rest. He slept till about 10:30 and seemed like he could have slept all day. After eating a huge breakfast he headed out to sort out his truck and I worked on his homecoming dinner.

Saturday was more of the same. We just kind of rested and he unpacked a bit. Of course he handed me a pile of dirty laundry. LOL That evening we headed over to the new seafood restaurant at Crabtree called McCormick & Schmick's. Everyone has raved about this place. The atmosphere was nice but I thought the food was just okay and way over priced. But it was still nice to just have an evening out. When then came back home and were going to open a bottle of wine and relax but I quickly noticed he could barely keep his eyes open. So off to bed he went.

Sunday we went down to the pub for brunch and to see Annie. The place was PACKED. The brunch has gotten really good and they have been changing it up a bit. I stuffed myself silly but of course left room for Chocolate Cake. After leaving the pub, a friend of ours called and we agreed to meet him at another pub, Napper Tandy’s. Which was a huge difference from Tir Na Nog because the place was empty. We sat down and had a beer and chatted for awhile. We came home and Lennie went in to take a quick nap but ended up sleeping will about 6:30pm. Neither one of us were hungry so we watched some TV and then it was off to bed.

Monday Lennie got up and drove to Camp Lejune to get the stickers for his truck. I dropped Potter off at the groomers and ran some errands. While out I decided that I would cook another big meal for Lennie which consisted of some kick ass t-bone steaks from Target, baked sweet potatoes, and some steamed veggies. Man it was good. The only bad thing about eating a big meal like that was that both of us were ready for a nap but Lennie had to pack up his stuff to drive back up to Norfolk. He said it was likely that he would be home Tuesday but he called yesterday to say that they are going to keep them up there till the weekend. I am working another 10 day duty shift so I won’t get to spend much time with him.

He leaves early Sunday to drive to Mississippi and we don’t have a clue how long he will be there. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he makes it back up in time to go to Scotland.

Mood:  hungry

I was doing so well. I was trying hard not to get tick and chigger bites all over me. Since we are going to Bruce’s wedding in a couple of weeks I wanted my legs to look nice in my dress. This morning I got up to that horrible itchy feeling and looked down at my ankles to see them completely covered in chigger bites. THEY ITCH!!! I even have a bite on my stomach. Don’t’ know how the hell that happened. I wasn’t even in the woods yesterday. I was standing on the trail painting a bulletin board. Where did the chiggers come from? It is a quandary.

This 10 day duty shift is starting to get to me. I am losing my patient with stupid people. I seriously have to stop and count to 10 when I see a vehicle parked here after closing time or when someone drives around the closed gate. Tomorrow will be my last day and I will have 4 days off. So looking forward to it. Just hoping Lennie makes it home by then so we can spend that time together.

I was so excited this morning when I opened my email. I had received pictures from the program I did last week for my favorite group, The Johnston County Compensatory Education. It is a group comprised of people with disabilities ranging from Down Syndrome to blindness.  I brought out a bunch of animal pelts and skulls and we talked about their different adaptations they have to survive then I had them use the adaptation to “create” an animal on a blank circle and we then turned them into buttons for them to wear. Most of them ended up drawing deer and bunnies but that is okay. They had a great time doing it.

They are always excited about their trip to the park and they love to learn. Don’t get me wrong I love my kid’s program as well but this group always reminds me of why I got into this profession. I love that feeling I get when I show a visitor something like an animal pelt and they get that look of wonder and excitement on their face.

We even managed to spot a Luna Moth. Even though they are considered common moths they are very rarely seen. Once in moth form they only live about a week. Just long enough for them to mate.  After I left the group to have their picnic and do some swimming the apparently saw one of our eagles perched by the shoreline. I am so glad they had a good time.

Well I better get going. I am meeting the water weeds guy to look at a possible parrot feather outbreak and need to get the boat in the water. LATER!

Mood:  irritated

An incident happened yesterday that just didn’t sit well with me at all. I seem to lack the sense of entitlement that everyone else seems to have. When I am in uniform I am always concern with how I am perceived by the public. I just don’t understand why others aren’t.

Yesterday afternoon our seasonal ranger was talking to some folks in the VC lobby when a guy came in and flashed his badge and said he is with the Wake County Sherriff’s Boat Crew and he needed access to the boat ramp. He said that he had forgotten his key and he was supposed to be meeting people there. The ranger told him to let him finish up with the folks in the VC and he would go let him in. When I saw the guy walk past the window I noticed he wasn’t in uniform. Instead he was in a Hawaiian shirt, kaki shorts and flip flops. This struck me as odd because if he was here on official business he would have been in uniform. The Seasonal Ranger went down the let the guy into the boat ramp and when he came back he said the guy’s girl friend was in the car. This didn’t sound right to me at all so I decided to drive down and check it out. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the boat had broken down and he was here to fix it or maybe they were going undercover.

When I cleared the turn to the ramp I saw the guy’s personal vehicle park by the ramp and he and his girlfriend were out fishing on the shore line. BUSTED!!! I got out of my vehicle and approached the female (she was closer) and asked if this was her vehicle. She pointed to the guy and said it was his and called him over. I asked him what they were doing there and he looked at me and then looked at his pole and said, “Well it would appear we are fishing. Is there a problem?” I replied, “Well the fishing part is okay but having your personal vehicle down here is not. This area is for official business only.” He started to get a little upset at this point and said, “Well the other ranger let me down here, and He didn’t seem to have a problem with it.” Trying not to lose my temper I said, “That is because you led him to believe you were here on official business. Had he known that you were here to recreate he would not have allowed the vehicle down here. “

Next he did something that I notice a lot of the “good ol’ boy” cops do and it upsets me more than being lied to. He got into my personal space and puffed up. It is used as an intimidation tactic. They make them themselves look big and scary hoping that I will be scared and back down. The fact that he tired to use this tactic on me…a female ranger doing her job…almost pushed me over the edge. I started to see red and I was so close to just going off on the guy. But I kept my cool and kept it professional. Using this “puffer tactic” he told me in an aggressive tone that he has been doing this for 5 years and we have never had a problem with it till now. I said that it wasn’t that we didn’t’ have a problem with it but that he just hadn’t been caught until now. He then wanted to know the guy’s name that issues the keys. I responded that it was a girl and that girl would be me. He stated that he hadn’t gotten his key from me and then wanted to know who the manager was. I told him that it was Tom, He said, “Yeah Tom! He lets me do this and has never had a problem with it.” I laughed and said I know for a fact he was lying and offered to call Tom on my cell phone and ask him if this guy was indeed allowed to park is personal vehicle at our boat ramp and fish. When he saw that I was not intimidated by him, he backed off and said no he didn’t want to bother Tom. That he would leave but said he would discuss that matter with someone higher up. This made me even more mad because he viewed me as a lowly female ranger and he would take it up with the men folk. I know that Tom and the other men in my office wouldn’t allow this behavior so I gave him Tom’s card and told him to call first thing in the morning and discuss the situation with him. He ripped the card out of my hand and left.

I hate cops that think the badge entitles them to special treatment. That they should somehow get something more that what is offered to the public. I take my job…my badge…seriously and I never want to give the public the impression that it is okay for me to break the rules because I work here. Unlike some cops I know, if I broke the law I wouldn’t pull out my badge in hopes that I wouldn’t have to pay the consequences. I am so upset that he came in here and flashed his badge to make it appear he was here in an official capacity. That he would then, when caught, try to intimidate me because I am a female. It is cops like that that give law enforcement a bad name. The whole thing makes me so mad I could spit.

Mood:  caffeinated

I had a nice long weekend and quite frankly I didn’t really want to come back to work. If only I had won the lottery. Potter seems to have picked up a cold from the kennel so he slept most of the weekend. I was very disappointed with the care he received this last go around so I am going to start looking for a new place. I think I have got someone lined up to watch that animals while I am gone but it is not set in stone yet so keeping my fingers crossed that it will work out. That is all I need is for this girl to back out at the last minute and I have to stress about finding someone else.

Saturday evening Amber came over and I cooked us dinner. I had bought a bunch of corn on the cob at the farmer’s market and really need to cook it. I cooked pork chops on the grill and made a batch of Au Gratin potatoes. After dinner we watched a couple of movies. The first was a movie called Bonneville ….

When Arvilla Holden promises her husband that she'll cremate him and scatter his ashes, she doesn't expect her promise to be called so soon, or to lead to a high-stakes fight with her stepdaughter Francine, a Santa Barbara socialite determined to give him a proper burial. Convinced that she has no choice but to surrender the ashes to Francine, Arvilla sets off on a journey from Pocatello, Idaho to Santa Barbara. Her friends, life-of-the-party Margene and goody-two-shoes Carol, volunteer to go with her for moral support. Expecting to fly, they're surprised when Arvilla picks them up in her '66 Pontiac Bonneville convertible, and shocked when she cruises serenely past the airport and hijacks them on a reluctant road trip that becomes the ride of their lives.

It was such a feel good movie. Both Amber and I cried and laughed so much my sides hurt. When then sat around for an hour talking about the movie and how nice it would be to have friends like that and how I had always wanted to take a road trip out west. Amber then got up to take out the DVD and saw another movie sitting on top of the TV called, The Fountain…

Three parallel stories--about love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of existence--as told through the odyssey taken on by one man in his thousand-year struggle to save the woman he loves. His epic journey begins in 16th-century Spain, where, as conquistador Tomas Creo, he commences his search for the 'Tree of Life', the legendary entity believed to grant eternal life to those who drink of its sap. As modern-day scientist Tommy Creo, he desperately struggles to find a cure for the cancer that is killing his beloved wife Isabel. Traveling through deep space as a 26th-century astronaut, Tom begins to grasp the mysteries of life that have consumed him for more than a century.

I am not quite sure what to say about this film. Visually…it is spectacular. It was compelling in the fact that I did watch it from start to finish and was never bored. I was just constantly trying to figure things out. It was a great love story but for me it was on the same lines at Pan’s Labyrinth. Which is just one of those movies that you don’t watch for enjoyment but to stimulate your mind.

Amber and I sat around until 1AM talking about The Fountain and all its deeper meanings and we also talk about some personal things. I finally couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore and so had to send her on her way.

Sunday morning Potter let me sleep in till about 8. After my weekly phone call from Lennie, I pack up the dog and headed out to the lake so he could swim. I took my sandals off and waded in the water. That water is a little over 80 degrees so it wasn’t as refreshing as I had hoped but it was still nice and Potter swam for about an hour. We met up with a guy and his chocolate Lab, Nessie and she and Potter had fun chasing sticks and tennis balls in the water. Potter isn’t too concern with retrieving. He is just happy to have a swimming partner.

When we got home Potter laid down to take a nap and I sprawled out on the couch to read Rick Riordan’s Third Percy and the Olympians book, The Titan’s Curse. I was shocked when I actually finished the book in one sitting. Normally I read a few chapters a day. I normally don’t have the attention span for it. But this one kept me interested and I just had to find out what happened in the next chapter.

When Percy Jackson gets an urgent distress call from his friend Grover, he immediately prepares for battle. He knows he will need his powerful demigod allies at his side, his trusty bronze sword Riptide, and . . . a ride from his mom.

The demigods rush to the rescue to find that Grover has made an important discovery: two powerful half-bloods whose parentage is unknown. But that’s not all that awaits them. The titan lord Kronos has devised his most treacherous plot yet, and the young heroes have just fallen prey.

They’re not the only ones in danger. An ancient monster has arisen — one rumored to be so powerful it could destroy Olympus — and Artemis, the only goddess who might know how to track it, is missing. Now Percy and his friends, along with the Hunters of Artemis, have only a week to find the kidnapped goddess and solve the mystery of the monster she was hunting.

Along the way, they must face their most dangerous challenge yet: the chilling prophecy of the titan’s curse.

This 3^rd book has been my favorite of the series so far. The writing as also improved and the character description were much more developed. I have just started, The Battle of the Labyrinth and so far it is pretty good, Can’t wait for the movie for the 1^st book comes out next year.

Well I better get back to work…

Mood:  caffeinated

Frustration and grumbling tummies.

I got back last night from my 3 days of Federal Appropriation Law Training in Wilmington. Appropriation Law…sounds exciting doesn’t it? I think I would have rather had bamboo shoots shoved under my finger nails. The instructor was FANTASTIC but the material she was teaching was very boring. I had to drink tons of coffee and eat two bags of lemon heads just to stay awake.

The first two days of class we had the dredge guys (ships that maintain the intercoastal waterways) with us. They were a riot and kept me laughing a good bit. I was the only one there from my project so I hung out with the folks from Jordan Lake. We stayed at the Wingate Inn which is my favorite hotel in Wilmington. They have fresh baked cookies at the counter when you check in and feather comforters on the beds. Each night I would meet up with the two people from Jordan Lake so we could eat dinner together. It was always a big deal when deciding where to eat because no one wanted to be the one to make the decision. I selected Elijah’s the first night so I tried to leave it up to the other two on the other nights. Well Wednesday night, John from Jordan decided to ditch us and went to Quizno’s so that left Carmen and I to try to pick a place to eat. We decided to drive to Wrightsville Beach to see what was there. I knew of two places to eat there, the Oceanic and the Dockside. So I decided to head to the first one. Well there were people lined all the way out the door so we deduced the wait would be too long. So we headed to the Dockside and after driving around to find a place to park we glanced at the menu and decided it just wasn’t appealing. We stopped at two other places but the food was too expensive. So we drove back to Wilmington and ate at the Outback behind the hotel. LOL I try to avoid chain places when on travel because there are always tons of great local places to eat but I was tried to driving around and trying to get Carmen to make a decision.

The drive back last yesterday was long. Distance wise it is only a two hours drive but when you a by yourself and it is pouring down rain it feels like you are on the road for an eternity. I got back to the office at 5:30 and grabbed my vehicle and drove over to pick up Potter at the doggie hotel. He was so happy to see me but I could tell he was exhausted. As soon as we got in the door he walked back the hallway to the bedroom and curled up on his bed. He didn’t move from that spot all night. He didn’t even try to just up in the bed with me. We talk our CCC test next Wednesday at 8:15. Keeping my fingers crossed that he passes.

I am off for the next 3 days as I get ready to start my 10 day straight duty shift. So I better get going and try to get some of this work done that has piled up on my desk while I was away. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mood:  caffeinated

What a great weekend. Mom showed up Thursday night and we went out for hot wings. I haven’t had hot wings in so long. Boy were they good! We came back to the house and chatted a bit before heading to bed.

We got up Friday morning and just hung out. I knew that Lennie would probably call which he did so we talked to him and then his mom. About noon we decided to head out and do some shopping. We wanted to go to Crate and Barrel to pick up a wedding gift for my cousin Blair. The only C&B here in Raleigh is all they way out at Crabtree Valley Mall which I hate. It is the worst mall to get in and out of. We got over there about 1 and we shopped a few stores before heading down to C&B. The lights were off and there was a sign on the door that read closed for the 4^th of July. It was the ONLY store closed. Since we were majorly disappointed, we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We order the soup, salad, and mojiotos. Yumm! After the mall we headed to Target because mom had left her makeup at home. We then went back to my house and threw some Salmon on the grill and had some of my famous pie. We watch Death at a Funeral which was pretty funny then it was off to bed.

Saturday morning we got up and went out to do more shopping. This time it was the World Market and Stein Mart. Then we met up with Maria at the movies to see WALL- E which was so cute. I should have warned Maria that Mom and I cry at everything. She looked over at the end of the movie and saw that I was crying and she laughed that I got all emotional over a robot. LOL  After the movie we headed over to Firebirds for dinner. It was just nice to hang out and chat.

Sunday morning we got up and went down to the pub for brunch then it was off to the Farmer’s Market. Mom bought so much stuff that we had to make several trips to the car. I tried not to buy much since I knew I would be gone for a few days. After the market we went over to Crate and Barrel…this time it was open. Then we hit the pet store and came back home to rest. For dinner we went and got burgers at Red Robin. I love their freckled lemonade. Then we came back home, finished laundry and we both packed.

I have to go to Wilmington for the next three days so it took me awhile this morning to get myself packed and to get Potter ready for the doggie hotel. About 9AM mom and I both headed out. I dropped Potter off and he wasn’t happy that I was leaving him. Poor baby. I hate leaving my animals because I know that no one takes care of them like I do. L I know he will have a good time playing with all the other dogs but I still miss him.

I am not looking forward to this training at all. The only high point will be getting to eat at Elijah’s but three whole days of Fiscal Law….ugh I dread it. I will have to make sure I supply myself with plenty of coffee and sour patch kids so I can stay awake.

Well I better get going. The boss is taking us out for BBQ sandwiches. YUMMM!

Mood:  a-ok

I am not going to let Tom and Dana go anywhere together. They went out this morning and came back with a rabbit. They said they were driving on the dam and saw this rabbit off in the grass and this isn’t your ordinary wild rabbit. This is a domesticated rabbit…apparently a calico rex? I don’t know my rabbits. It is small and its teeth are in bad shape and it is VERY hungry. You can feel its ribs and backbone. But considering all that it is a very sweet bunny. It is very content to just sit in my lap and be petted. We gave it some bread and some small bits of apple which it devoured.

I called several rabbit rescues but they are not able to take the bunny at this time so now I wait for an animal control officer to come and pick it up. I know its fate is certain death but no one I know needs or wants a rabbit. Poor bunny.

Mood:  hungry

What a morning it has been. I got here this morning to find our internet and phone lines down. They were able to fix our internet but the phones are still a no go which is actually okay with me. I could function without the internet but I can live happily without a phone.

Since I couldn’t so anything online I was sent down to check our chainsaws. Our co-op student had a tree down this past weekend after the storms and ended up having to cut it down with an axe because he couldn’t get the saws started. So my boss told me to check them out. We have 4 STIHL chainsaws and 1 Husqvarna (Husky for short). All throughout college I primarily used a Husky so I am not that familiar with the STIHL. I got the Husky started without issue but the STIHL just puttered then stopped and refused to start again. There must be something I missed like a hidden choke or something. I am determined to figure it out. Thank goodness the internet is back up so I can research.

The weekend was pretty good. I had 3 days off which I desperately needed. Friday I took Potter to the vet to get him updated on his vaccines. They have a new vet there named Dr. Church and he was so nice and of course loved Potter. Everything checked out okay except for the fecal. They discovered he has hook worm. So he is on wormer and then they will recheck in a month. I am now going to have to switch to a more expensive heartworm medication that covers hook and round worm.

Friday afternoon I waited for these 4 Hispanic kids to come mow my lawn. They had come by Wednesday night and said they are raising money for a church trip. I didn’t have cash on me so I told them to come back Friday. They were a little late but did a great job except for missing a small patch in the back. I gave them $32 so hopefully that will help them out a little bit.

Saturday was spent cleaning the house, doing laundry and hitting a few stores at the mall. I am not much of a shopper and long lines and pushy people irritate me so I decided to head home. That night I met up with Amber and her friend Shelly for Martinis and Pedicures. Was great fun.

Sunday I ran a few more errands and tried to finish cleaning the house. In the evening I met up with Maria, Todd, and Maria’s Parents down at the pub for the Irish music jam session. There was s guy there buying everyone rounds of whiskey shots and I managed to do one but I am paying the price for it today. LOL Whiskey just makes my stomach burn. I headed home about 8:30 and took Potter for a nice long walk before the rain hit.

This will be a busy week for me. We have Corps Day on Wednesday so I need to find time Tuesday night to make my famous pie and some Watergate salad. Then my Mom is supposed to come this weekend…if she gets her car fixed. Apparently on Saturday night during a storm a branch came down and landed on her car smashing her windshield. Still don’t have a clue what we will do but I do want to go see WALLE and I want to have a girl’s evening with Maria. My Mom met Maria at my housewarming party and absolutely adored her and since then every time Mom has come to town Maria has been gone so this time they will both be in the same city so I hope we can find something fun to do. Maybe dinner and a movie. Or Dinner, mini golf, and cocktails. Mom also wanted to have a cookout but since I have a picnic on Wednesday I think instead I might make Cedar Plank Salmon with a Dijon Dill Sauce, Steamed Red Potatoes, Steamed Veggies, and my Red, White and Blueberry Pie.

Well now that the internet is up I should get some work done. Till next time….

Mood:  hungry

It’s my last day of this extremely long duty shift. Working ten days straight takes a lot out of a person. I am off Friday and it is already starting to fill up with errands. I have to get Potter to the vet to get his bordetella shot and then find someplace to board him while I am gone to Wilmington in a couple of weeks. I also need to call the petsitter to see if she can come and take care of Merlin and Fenwick. Then it is off to the mall to do a bit of shopping. Then if I have time left I am going to clean my house. My mother is coming next weekend so want to make sure everything is in order. I also need to see if Bryan’s mom would like to meet for lunch. Saturday and Sunday are still wide open but I do hope the weather is nice because I would like to take Potter for a swim at the lake.

Potter had his class last night and we hadn’t practiced as much as we should have. His stomach was upset over the weekend and I didn’t want to push it with a lot of treats. He was actually very well behaved and did great at all the exercises accept one. At the beginning of class the instructor approaches the dog and we have them sit. Then the instructor shakes our hands and then asks if she can pet the dog. The dog is to remain seated until touched and the instructor brushes them and plays with their feet. Potter had been doing very well with this but last night he decided to jump and then roll around on the floor. The one lesson I thought Potter would have problems with was walking by another dog and not pulling me over so he could play with the other dog. We were to walk by the other dog, have our dog sit, shake hands with the other owner, then keep walking. I was sure Potter wasn’t going to sit still long enough for me to shake hands with the other owner but he surprised me and sat with his attention on me the whole time. Good Boy! Everyone is amazed how far along he is and so am I. He has really taken to the training and views it as a fun game. I just really need to work on the jumping thing. Maybe I can get Mom to help when she comes to visit. We are suppose to get someone to help us practice but everyone I know if busy with their own lives and don’t really want to spend an evening trying not to get Potter to jump on them.  

My Mom, sister and bother-in-law are at the beach in Delaware this week. I had been invited to go but I was duty this week and couldn’t switch and I am trying to save leave or my trip to Scotland. I got to talk to them the other night and they said they were going to make a special trip to Rehoboth to pick me up some Dolle’s fudge. The BEST fudge in the world. My mouth waters just thinking about it. It is my one true weakness. When we used to go to the beach every summer I would buy pounds of the stuff.

I am still trying to get together an itinerary for Mom’s visit next weekend. There isn’t any rain forecasted but it will be hot with temp above 95. I know I want to go see the movie WALL-E at some point and I know she wants to hit Crate and Barrel. I wanted to take her to the zoo but I fear it will just be too hot for her.

Well I should get some work done so I hope everyone has a nice weekend.  

Mood:  lazy

I meant to post yesterday but I was swamped with work. Today isn’t much better but I took a break to drink some coffee and to catch you up on what has been going on.

My stomach is finally back to normal (I hope). I stayed close to home all weekend except for a trip to the fabric store with Amber and a trip to the dog park to get rid of some of Potter’s energy. Amber and I did attempt to go to dinner Saturday night and then out for a drink or two but I just wasn’t feeling well enough to make it through the night. Sorry Amber! I really did try.

For some reason this weekend was a bit rough for me and it wasn’t just because of my stomach. I was really missing Lennie and with PMS hormones running amuck, caused me to break down in tears off and on. I got to speak to Lennie on Sunday as well as his mom so that made things a little better. There are just some days when things don’t go to plan and I just long to curl up in the chair with Lennie and have him hold me they way he does with my head on his chest listening to his heart beat and smelling his cologne. I know that everyone tells me he will be home soon but when I am missing him this much no of that consoles me.

This weekend was also Father’s Day which was hard for me as well. My Father and I don’t really get along and never have really. Being out and seeing all the Fathers with their children makes me a little jealous and a little sad because I never had that. Except for a once in a blue moon fishing trip, I never spent any time with my Father. I don’t think he ever forgave me for not being a boy. He and my sister were close (until their falling out) because she enjoy many of the same things that he did. Because I wasn’t interested in football and hunting we just didn’t have much in common and he never took the time to find out what really interested me. He didn’t even go with us to Disney World. I feel sorry for him because I see what he is missing out on.

Today the weather is gorgeous and I really wish we could close down and spend the day on the lake. But alas I have a pile of paperwork in my desk that needs to be done .I hope everyone is having a great week. I have just started my 10 day straight duty shift so I won’t bee seeing a day off in awhile.