Guess what I wear as a hat?

A lentil. 

I love this.

The Great Outdoors that is the Greater South Side

*Disclaimer:  This post contains graphic gory disgusting details toward the end.

 I thought I would take a little time today to enlighten you all as to the fantastic woodland creatures that you can all meet if you come visit.  You know you all need an outdoor adventure, so COME ON!


Orbil



As any of you who are facebook or twitter followers know, I recently made friends with a darling Orb Weaver!  He spun new webs outside my front door every night.  He has now moved to the back door.  How do I know that he is the same one, you may ask... I just do!  He's special!  Here is a really crappy photo of him.

Jack and friend... I'm very aware that
he could probably live inside of Jack's beard.

Jack and I now have a new friend that moved in close to our house!  Want to meet him?  He doesn't have a name, and frankly, I haven't seen him except for the ONE time... but as far as I'm concerned, he's a buddy.

Releasing our new buddy in to the wild...
 that is, a bush in front of our house!

I believe I may have previously mentioned the squirrel family that we have living in our trees as well.  If not, we have several squirrels that live here.  Kaiah hates them because they tease her.  She'll chase them up the tree and they'll get to a branch, just barely above Kaiah's reach and will chatter at her.  I honestly think they are mocking her.

(I will also add that there are a variety of birds and bunnies and this guy that live here, but they aren't super news-worthy.)

Now, on to the real story.  Shortly after I discovered the Orb Weaver, I also discovered that there are two owls living in our pine tree.  I went outside with Kaiah one night and I heard this noise that I could only assume was the collaborative noise of 3 dying dogs.  Well, all of a sudden, I look up because I hear a rustling and an owl swooped out of the tree, right at my head!  As soon as it got across the street, I could hear it "who whoing" back and forth with the remaining owl in the tree.  I assumed since I heard the noise no longer that it was some weird mating noise or conversation the two were having before the dear friends parted ways.  This all happened about 2-3 weeks ago.

This is where the story really starts.  About a week ago, I started scolding Kaiah when we went outside because she wouldn't leave the eave extension alone.  Then, a few days ago I started smelling what can only be referred to as "the smell".  I told Jack that there was something that was clearly dead in the eave extension.  He told me he checked and that there was nothing there.  BOY was he WRONG.  Finally after two days of the stench increasing, I forced Jack to take the extension out and check even though he ASSURED me it was just "stagnant water".  As soon as he pulled it off he goes, "oh... there's something in there all right". 

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS?!?!?

A DEAD RACCOON!!!  A completely mushified decomposing pile of maggots, teeth and a tiny striped piece of tail!  DISGUSTING!  Jack tried to convince me it wasn't a raccoon but I know raccoon tail when I see it.   Sick.  It was seriously mush! 

What does this have to do with the owls you ask?  I have decided that the noise that I heard the night of the owls was actually that raccoon trying to free itself from my eave spout and the sound alarmed the owl and made it fly across the street!  How horrible is that?  Maybe I could have saved the probably rabid little dude, had I known!  Sad!

Okay, that is all for my nasty nature stories.  Here's a cute picture of Kaiah in her new tie-dyed bandana I got her at FarMar this weekend to replace all of the grossness!

Such a pretty girl!

A month later...

Wow.
It's been almost a month since I've blogged.
I'm aware of how ridiculous this is.
I've had a lot going on.
Tore up the basement.
I'm actually developing a caseload at work.
This means that I've had to work.
Several new diagnoses.  (Yay... NOT.)
Brought back the phrase "NOT".
You know, the uje.

I've also decided that I can break down to the first syllable of "usual" by saying "uje" in order to make it sound right.  Care to disagree with me?  You come up with a better solution.  (Saying the whole word is NOT an option.

Here's a picture to make up for the load of crap I've just made you read.



Just a lil' something to show you how upset I was by my "Texas Toast" which 
was actually a tiny slice o' bun.  I'm aware of how unflattering this picture is.
It still makes me laugh.  A lot.



What I'm Sportin'...




Microsherpa!  I just bought this blanket and LOVE it!



Must I explain?




I can't breathe without it!



Green Tea!  Coats my throat so nicely!



 




<> PJ pants and slippers!    

<> 

Sore ALL OVER!

  

GUYS... I think I'm sick.  : (

Mmmmm SNACKS!

So, this whole P90X with new diet thing has turned me on to a couple of new snacks in accordance with the new meals I've fallen in love with (which I shared with you in my last P90X blog. 

Let me also take some time to say that I am officially through my first 3 weeks of P90X.  Legs & Back absolutely wore me out for some reason (and then I still had to do that dreaded Ab Ripper X) yesterday.  I am SORE!    But guess what, people?!?!  I feel AWESOME!

Next week is my "chilled out" week, which... let's face it... isn't really chilled out at all.  However, I am excited for a new routine for the upcoming week.  THEN, after next week, I will start part deux of the program!  Exciting!  This will also give me a new routine for 3 weeks.  (Can't wait!  After this week I will be officially 1/3 of the way through my P90X Lean... then it will be on to P90X Classic, which means the addition of Plyometrics... yikes.)

Take a look see below for two of my new favorite snacks...

These are way yum... but guess what?
It turns out they are NOT so great for you
even if I did buy them in the health food market.
(Yes, they are sweet potato and beet chips!)

This however is FANTASTIC!  And good for you!  (Soy nuts + dried cranberries + pumpkin kernels + almonds = yumtastic!)

Everybody's NOT Fine!

Do not be deceived by the happiness on everyone's faces!

I just watched the most horribly terrible movie ever.  It was not a BAD movie.  It wasn't written poorly or bad in the sense of a review, but it was terrible in a sense of, I-never-want-to-see-it-again-because-of-how-it-made-me-feel terrible.  If that makes sense...

The movie was/is "Everybody's Fine".  If you haven't heard of it, it stars Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale & Sam Rockwell.  It's about an older gentleman (DeNiro) who travels across the country to see his children.

The movie literally upset me from the very beginning.  SPOILER ALERT:  I have no intention of ruining the movie for anyone; you just will go in with more of a knowledge about the movie than I had going in (which was nil).

It starts out with a scene where DeNiro is shopping and is trying to spiffy up his home because all four of his kids will finally be coming to visit at the same time.  He buys wine, a grill, cleans the place up and is clearly looking forward to it.  Of course, everyone cancels.  Immediately I am upset because I have to see him all disappointed.

Moving forward, he decides to go visit them on his own.  Upon visiting, everyone shoves him back out the door because they don't want to discuss a certain event that is happening with one of his sons.  SO, I am constantly devastated by this because I can not handle seeing him get shoved out the door.  (It also makes you think about all of the times that you didn't make time for your family... but more about that in a little bit.)

Meanwhile, at one of the bus stations, the kid from "Empire Records", (you know him... "Stop calling me 'Warren'.  My name's not f*ckin' 'Warren'!"), jumps him and smashes his medication which he needs, because OF COURSE he has a health concern.  (That's not a MAJOR part of the movie but it's still upsetting.)

Then there is the climax.  I shall go no further as to not give too much away in case anyone wants to see it.

I found myself overly upset throughout the entire movie.  Like I said, the opening scene had me upset and I was sad (and bawling like a baby) throughout the entire movie; partially because of the movie's content, but more so because of how it made me reflect on my own life.

It really made me think about all of the times in my life when I haven't made time for someone, or have avoided a person just to avoid having to talk about a certain topic or event.  It made me think about all of the times I've cancelled plans because I was feeling lazy or didn't feel like talking to people.  You think, yeah, they'll be upset, but it's not a big deal if I'm not there.  The truth is, sometimes it IS a big deal.  Just because someone tells you that it's okay that you didn't make it; it doesn't mean that they weren't disappointed or upset by it.

We've all been disappointed and we've all had our feelings hurt.  Yes, you can't be there for everything.  You can't always make everyone happy (no matter how hard you try).  Yes, sometimes you do have to think about you and making time for yourself... but at what cost?  Is it better for you to sit around and watch a movie instead of going and playing cards with your grandparents for an afternoon?  Is it better for you to browse the Internet instead of picking up the phone and calling to chat with your mom or dad?   Yes, everyone needs "alone time", but think about all of the people that you know that have nothing but "alone time" and would love nothing more than to hear a loved one's voice on the other end of the phone.

As you can see, this movie really made me reflect on my life and decisions I've made in the past.  Sorry for being a sap today.

Get in touch with someone who loves you today.  You never know how much it will truly be appreciated.  It could make someone's day.  It doesn't cost any money; just a little bit of your time. 

Wine and and a good book?

I feel like kind of a loser sitting at home drinking a glass of red and reading a little of "The Catcher in the Rye", but you know what? I'm perfectly at peace with that. :)