Living up to her name

About a week ago, I received a very lovely Valentine's gift from my dear husband. He purchased an ipod for me so that I have something to listen to when I am working out indoors. I had been listening to a few songs before going to bed to drown out the cacophony that the kids downstairs call music. I placed the ipod next to my bed (I sleep in a loft so the lamp, books, etc are all placed next to my bed) and woke up in the middle of the night to Mayhem playing with the headphones. I removed the ipod from her possession and promptly went back to sleep. In the morning, I grabbed the ipod without taking a close look at it and went to work. I didn't use it all day and returned home, but as said neighbors were again listening to something that can be most closely described as screeching combined with a single loud bass guitar note , I tried to use it in an attempt to retain my sanity. I then discovered that Mayhem had done more than play with my headphones, she had CHEWED on them. Just enough to almost completely sever one headphone from the wire to which it is attached.

Fortunately for me, there is an apple store in the mall which replaces headphones for free, no matter what has happened to them. I can't wait to tell them who is responsible...

Woodpecker

I also spotted a little friend while walking around Saturday. Nikka desperately wanted to catch him, but he wisely stayed far above our heads in an old snag.

Long awaited pictures

Here are a few shots of the lovely snow storm on Friday night. Nikka and I LOVE playing in snow. As you can see, it gets rather deep by Lake Ontario! I was so happy to be feeling better to enjoy the bounty. I took about 120 pictures total, but it would take far too long to up load those into blogger. Enjoy!

under the weather

I have been sick with something that is best described as a cross between strep throat and the flu for a few days. I also try very hard to write only funny/cheerful posts on my blog, however tempted I am to discuss things that I find really stupid or irritating. This is why it has been a week since I have written. I can't help but discuss the latest newsworthy item. I have been "captivated" by the story of the woman that had octuplets... which is fine in itself except that she is unmarried, unemployed, and has 6 other children that she supports with student loan money, social security, food stamps and help from her parents. While I agree with her decision to have all 8 babies once she was pregnant, I have a hard time understanding her justification for having her children in the first place, since she had to have fertility treatments in each case, combined with the unmarried, unemployed factors. I honestly believe this woman may have a mental health issue!

Ooooh! even better!

"An Australian traveler was caught with two live pigeons stuffed in his pants following a trip to the Middle East, customs officials said Tuesday."* And you thought you were having a bad day! "They found the pigeons wrapped in padded envelopes and held to each of the man's legs with a pair of tights, according to a statement released by the agency. Officials also seized seeds in his money belt and an undeclared eggplant."* They also found two eggs in a vitamin container! This offense could end up costing him close to $70,000.

Now the only question I have is, what exactly was he going to do with the eggplant?

*Source: The Associated Press, 2009

Dangerous behavior

After a particularily stressful day, I like to sit back and relax with my laptop and read weird news stories. One of the gems from today's gleaning: Apparently consumer reports took a survey of "risky behavior" with products and I was a little amused to discover that I could be considered a rebel (usually without a cause). For example, apparently 3 out of 4 Americans put Q-tips in their ears to clean out wax, which may lead to perforated ear drums. I am guilty of this one, because I actually like hearing what is going on around me! In addition 4 out of 10 people eat raw cookie dough, at the risk of catching salmonella. Please tell me what is the point of making cookie dough if you aren't going to eat some of it (or all of it) deliciously raw. Yum. I think I need to make some tonight. Also, I fail to have a rubber mat in my shower... I hope I am capable of remaining upright in the shower at my age. I do however have a carbon monoxide detector, through no effort of my own; my apartment came with it. And I do not drink beer while using power tools! Snort. Natural selection at work? I also wear a bike helmet, not because I think my riding skills are poor, but because other people's driving skills ARE. And I do try to wear sunscreen, but sometimes I forget and everybody needs a little vitamin D now and then.
I am really surprised that nobody surveyed how often individuals drive with their knees, own a tarantula, eat day old sushi, and do back flips on a trampoline... activities that I consider much more dangerous than simply cleaning ears with Q-tips.

A little bit of snow

My dear friends and family are always asking me to post a few pictures of my home, pets, random stuff on line, so here are a few that show the little bit of "lake effect" that we get in Upstate NY (and Nikka of course). I promise I will add more beautiful, artistic ones when I get the chance to take more!

Oh, and another note, I started taking French lessons from a tutor today... so hopefully by the time I go to Cameroon this summer I will be able to ask for directions to the airport, bathroom, hospital, etc. Keep checking for French words and phrases of the week!