Go Terps

I know that the Terrapin is much more fierce and fiery than a tortoise...but still...

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. - Willy the tortoise made a break for freedom — well, break may be too strong a word. It was more like a slow crawl. But after a month on the lam, the 40-pound tortoise with a 2-foot-wide, gold-colored shell is back in the wading pool at his owner's home.
Kellie Copeland-Burnup reported the tortoise escaped about July 1.
A local emergency medical services technician spotted Willy on Sunday along a rural road about five miles away. During six weeks on the run, Willy averaged .005 mph, well short of a new land speed record.

I'm a little bit country, I'm a little bit rock 'n roll

Well, I had a country-mified weekend. Under the regrettable circumstances of a funeral, I had to be at the in-laws most of the weekend. So I opened up the country box, and got out my attire. I ate fried chicken and stewed kale. I worked in the yard pulling weeds for 2 hours, without tools or gloves and barefoot. I actually canned something--I took food from the land and preserved it into chunky tomato and basil sauce. I tried to make fresh peach ice cream into the wee hours of the night. I tasted it at about 7:45 this morning though, and the texture is completely wrong. I guess that I should've let it churn for way longer. I wonder if I let it thaw, and then try the whole thing again if it would work or just screw it up more. I really wanted peach ice cream.

testing the limits

Do you ever test your stomach's limits? Daniel and I have been working this week to see just how much our stomach's can take. We had skeptical bleu cheese 2 nights ago, frozen tuna that I grilled and left raw in the middle (I'm not sure if you can do that with tuna that's been frozen), leftovers for lunch that are well past their prime, excessive amounts of oil as I fried some broken potstickers and pupusas (that was the dinner sponsored by the letter 'p')...the list goes on and on. But our fridge has never looked so clean.

So far, surprisingly, my stomach is much stronger. Daniel has had several weak moments. Tune in next time as our digestive systems battle butt to butt. hehehe

Woohoo!

"So Think you can Dance" finale is tonight, and boy am I pumped. I get way too into this show, and I find myself laughing at jokes that aren't that funny just because I'm giddy at it. It's a strange sort of teeny-bopper thing. I guess I can finally understand why people like American Idol. But that show still sucks, and dancing rocks. These people actually have talent, unlike most of the dorks on American Idrool.

I think Travis has the most raw talent to win, and he would fit in perfectly to some crappy Celine Dion show. However I do love me some Benji and Heidi. I'd be happy with any of them. Shoobey doobey doobey...DANCE!

Yummy food and good company

The weekend started out with a bang of curry spices and liquor. To start the evening off right, we met in Silver Spring for mojitos and banter. I was then shuttled off to Indique in Cleveland Park where I branched out from my normal fare choices and had the Chicken Chettinad and the mussels. Although the chicken was black in color (the sauce, not the chicken) it tasted good on my tongue and in my belly, and I was happy. It was surprisingly spicy which = 'right up my alley'. Although the group dwindled as we headed off to Habana Village, the narrow and crowded salsa club in Adams Morgan, we had a wonderful time dancing the night away. 2 Ricardos were there, one quite enamored with Kelly (not a shocked--she is all that), one who spun like the Tasmanian Devil. The only thing I could think of was "Dodge, Dive, Duck, Dip and...Dodge". He would just disappear and the next thing you knew he was on the other side of you. To a slightly inebriated person, this wasn't a very nice trick. I'm pretty sure I poked him in the head somewhere. We were moving fast. My hubby was spectacular and very supportive. He also told me I need to get better at following--this, I know.

Why is there salt and pepper in my purse? You kidders, you.

1:32

Yesterday was not quite the greatest of days. It started off wonderfully, as Daniel woke me before work to let me know that the computer was running as fast as can be. It seemed like the good 'ole days, when life was all about trapsing through the tulips. He had started the Spyware scan and we were starting our journey back to a healthy and happy computer.

By the time I arrived home, it was acting cooky again. A very technical term, meaning extremely slow and sluggish. Then a blue error screen came up warning us that we were screwed and this computer wasn't going to do JACK for us anymor. At this point, we had no other choices--bite the bullet, call Dell and instantly lose $100.

So I sign up for their one-time warranty program after the lady insists that it is a software problem and not a hardware problem. She says "You have a warranty for the hardware through December" but nothing for the software. Great. Well, after :30 of just getting things set up with her and them taking my money, she transfers me to the software guy. I liked him--he seemed nice despite my frustrated tone. Well, after going back and forth with him for another :30 or so, he says "It's a hardware problem. I'll transfer you to them".

Needless to say, the entire hard drive is gone. The computer is gone. A technician will be coming out to replace the entire hard drive in 1 or 2 days. So, after about 2 hours of being on the phone, I ask to be transferred back to Customer Service to get a refund for the warranty purchase. I go through their automated system for about 10 minutes and they inform me "Your call has been disconnected. Please try calling again." Always something to look forward to.

So, happy birthday to me today, as the most upsetting things I've lost include pictures of our amazing Honeymoon in Hawai'i, loads of candid shots of my beloved Laika, and who knows what else I've forgotten about that I will realize at some other time and begin to cry.

the Human Body

Synapses in your brain fire electrical impulses at 250 mph.

Your Esophagus is no larger than your middle finger.

Redneck Lympiks Recap through photos

I brought in the Olympic flag ceremoniously as hemi's floored and air horns roared.
Everyone seemed really pumped ----











Games started with Cornhole (a new crowd favorite and sure to be present at Terr'pins tailgating this season) and the tire toss, which as you can see can be done with Budweiser in hand--














Also new to events was the Lumberjack Pong, a high-speed extravaganza like beer pong but with what I call "doodads" from the trees above. Make three in the mason jars, then run up and chug half a beer. First one to slam the cup wins. One cannot forget the importance of crabs at an event like this, and Kelly shows her Eastern Shore upbringing with pride. Holla crabs!














Another hilarious event was the Bobbin' for Bait. I was honestly surprised at the depth of competition for this event, but Meg was by far the victor, retrieving multiple salamander at one time. Daniel & Aaron, two rednecks competing for the title, face off before the event. I look forward to using this picture to bribe my coworkers in the future.

The last event of the evening was Camptown Races, a good 'ole beer drinking race game. It's true, this is not my forte, and Laura trounced me. But, no matter, everyone seemed to keep their competitive spirit going. Congratulations to our medal winners:

Hoochies:

Gold--Laura, in a stealthy but inspiring victory

Silver--Meg (always a contender, which would make her New England parents proud)

Bronze--Kristin, always one step behind Meg.

Fellars:

Gold--Daniel, moving up from Silver last year

Silver--Aaron, a salty medal placement for the Gold winner last year

Bronze--Pat, "Let's wrassle"

I guess you never can tell just how Redneck you are. Thanks to everyone for a great time, and supplying most of the food. We look forward to next year!

water- so good, so good

You know when you drinking big gulps of water, for like 10 seconds straight and you can feel the water running from your mouth to your stomach. I like that.

computers are so frustrating

I'm one of those people who just wants it to work. Unlike my mom, who will literally read a manual front to back and take apart a vacuum cleaner to fix it, I just don't have the patience to sit down like that. It's society's fault for making us rabid spenders who choose to throw it away rather than fix it.

This weekend, prior to our BBQ, Daniel sat down and copied a few albums to our computer so we could make some mix CD's. Since then, I've tried to turn it on and it just chugs and chugs but really doesn't work. I hear this very regimented ticking sound (almost like a very slow chug) coming from the computer. Lsat night, after it working for about 25 minutes, it got to the desktop screen format finally. The problem with computers, is I literally have no idea what could be wrong. Is it a virus--we don't really download that much, so how could it be? Why the sudden change literally overnight? This is a real bummer.

Laika's first TV appearance--part 1

So it's 6:54 and I've already been at work for :53 minutes. Why would I get up so gosh darn early? So my dog can be on TV. Trust me, it's not about me, it's about my beautiful dog Laika. She was a dream in the first "teaser" they ran at 6:42. With 3 other dogs sitting right near her, she was in such a panic state that she didn't even move. Even with a larger dog snarling around the corner, she sat there stoic. I love her so much!

Part 2--
Almost to 8:00 and I get a quick call from the news anchor--can you bring your dog out here? "Sure," I say, eager to get Laika more camera time. We stand out there for a few minutes with her leash on, and she seems somewhat bored. Then the camera light flicks on and he approaches us on HIS KNEES with a giant camera on his back. No shocker that Laika growled then for about 10 seconds. So I knelt on the ground and talked lovingly to her. She licked my face and then calmed down just fine. She sat for about 30 seconds while he did a voice over. We were supposed to do an interview session with my boss, and my coworker and her dog Casey. However the satellite wasn't linking up properly and we never got to finish our stint with TV. Thank goodness that my office was toward the front and I got her on TV.