Yesterday Ryan's family had to put their cat, Lucy, to sleep. Their other cat, Charcoal, was put to sleep last spring. Since I lived with those cats for many months, I grew attached to them very quickly, so the news saddens me. I can't handle any more animal deaths. In 2006, 6 animals I was close to died. And being that my profession is working with animals, I obviously love them, and it's a big deal to me.

"From the first time that you opened your eyes did you realize that you would be my savior? And the first breath that left your lips did you know that it would change this world forever" -Relient K

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Today I had to work but got out at 11:00. Ryan and I are about to open gifts now and then we are heading to our pastor and wife's house for dinner. It is not a white Christmas here...it's 45 degrees and raining. I can't complain since it was close to 70 the past few days.

And if you are wondering why you didn't get a Christmas card this year, is because we didn't send any out. I had made some and they are mostly completed, but Ryan and I just didn't feel like doing a letter and cards this year. Overall it's been a pretty crappy year, so neither of us could sound super positive in the letter. On a lighter note, I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

Dolphin show @ Minnesota Zoo

I found this random file on-line of me during a show at MN Zoo. Notice when I throw the fish and it smacks the window.

There is a baboon at the zoo named Sudi. One day she discovered that a ball we use for enrichment can fit on her head. So, she wore it around for 4 days. We called it her "special helmet". A co-worker got some great video of it. Check it out... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx2jnJlpedU

Make sure you have sound.

Today we are having our Christmas party at work. We are grilling out and it is supposed to be 71 degrees. It is supposed to be in the 70's all this coming week...even up to 77 on Monday!

We finally decorated for Christmas. We put on a little "John Denver and the Muppets Christmas" and started the tree. We have so many ornaments and such a small tree. I love our ornaments though. Most of them have been gifts or else they were our ornaments from when we were children. They all have such a special meaning. It still doesn't really feel like the holiday season though. It's been cold enough here the past few days, but it is different without the white stuff. Although I don't miss the shoveling and cleaning the car off in the morning.

You will be missed, Ayla. You taught me a lot about patience and how to think more outside the box.  

My birthday was the week before Thanksgiving. I turned the big 2-5...quarter of century old! I had to work on my birthday, however there was a Thanksgiving dinner for the staff on that day, so at least I got a really good lunch. That night I opened cards and presents with Ryan. I don't remember what we did on Friday. On Saturday I went to a big pottery festival with Joy and 2 of her friends. After that Joy took me out to lunch. Yummy! On Sunday Ryan and I played disc golf, which was the first time I played and sucked. Then he surprised me with a picnic at a nearby park. Then that night we got all dressed up and went out to eat at P.F.Changs. Overall it was a nice birthday weekend.

On Thanksgiving our good friends from MN, Chad and Sarah, flew in. Ryan stayed home and cooked the turkey while I drove down to Charlotte to pick them up. When we got back home we cooked the rest of the goodies. Thor, Joy's boyfriend, also joined us as well. Right before we were about to pray I look at Sarah's hand and see a gigantic ring on her left hand. Apparently I was the last to notice, but in my defense, in the car I tried checking a couple times because we knew they'd be getting engaged in the future, but she kept sitting on her hands. It was very humorous and we are VERY excited for them. We had a good meal then watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. On Friday we left for the Asheville, NC area to go camping. We stayed in a cabin in the same campground that Ryan and I stayed at when we first moved here. We got our cabin set up then went to a little shop and got some cider. We got back to the cabin and had hotdogs, brats, and smores. It was REALLY cold out so we headed inside to play some cards and go to bed. The next day we went to Chimney Rock and hiked to the top of the waterfall. It was a very nice day out. T-shirt and jeans was good enough to wear. It was probably around 70 degrees. After the hike we went in the town of Chimney Rock for some lunch. When we got back home we went to church and then out to eat with people from church. On Sunday I had to work but they came to the zoo to visit me. I was able to show them around my building and we had lunch together. My first visitors! They flew out on Tuesday. It was so great to see people from home. I do miss it, I can't lie to you.

On Monday I noticed a rash that I had and ended up going to the doctor's on Thursday and found out I had a reaction to the rabies vaccination I had to get for work. So now I'm on a few drugs and hopefully it'll go away. I also was having joint pain in my hands in the morning, which is also a side effect to the vaccine. I started the medicine yesterday and didn't have the pain this morning, so hopefully it continues to work.

I was supposed to go to Maryland this weekend for the family Christmas party, but my grandma was in the hospital due to an irregular heart beat. She is out of the hospital and seems to be doing well, but they canceled the party.

Then to top off my already sucky week...I found out today that they had to put Ayla, a dolphin from MN Zoo, to sleep yesterday. She has basically been sick since June and hasn't been able to recover fully. It'd look like she's getting better and then decline again. In the past few weeks her blood work was messed up so they did some tests. She has been fighting a lung infection and they found bone spurs on her spine. She has scoliosis, so it already makes swimming difficult for her. In the past days she stopped eating and reacting to the medicine, so the zoo had to make a very very hard decision. I can't even imagine what they are going through. I'm not even there and I bawled. That is three dolphin deaths in a year. I don't think I can handle any more crappy stuff this year. Ayla was the first dolphin that I got to feed there. She was stubborn and picky, just like me. She had the most beautiful markings on her face. She loved her frisbees and aqua disks. She was very interested in things, but would often watch from afar. It took her a long time to warm up to you. I will miss you, Bo.

I know I haven't updated in a long time and I have a lot to catch up on. I'm tired now and don't want to do it, but I promise I will update in the next few days. Peace.

I am making progress at work. The meerkats are now eating out of my hand. Even the little babies will come up and snatch some food from me. Yesterday I held a snake for the first time. I really don't like snakes, however I work with 4 of them, 3 ball pythons and one rock python. When the ball pythons are shedding, we soak them to help with the shed, which requires you to pick them up and put them in a tub of water. Well, I can't have someone else do it for me all the time, so I finally did it yesterday. It actually wasn't that bad...I just had to get past that first step and just do it. As for the rock python, she is 140 pounds, so I'll have to work my way up to her. Her mouth is the size of my hand.

I need to vent for a bit about bad drivers. And I know there will always be bad drivers, but it'll make me feel good for at least 10 seconds to complain about it.
1. People in NC seem to stick their nose out into the lane when they are waiting to pull onto the road. It has been to the point where Ryan or I have had to swerve to avoid clipping their front end, or quickly moving over to another lane.
2. Blinkers...it's not that hard. Use them, people.
3. Tail gaters...if I can't see your headlights because you are riding my tail, you are driving too close to my car. And yes, I will put my brakes on to let you know.
4. Left lane drivers! This drives me crazy! Ok, people. You are supposed to drive in the right lane and use the left lane to pass people. It just works better if people follow that pattern. I've noticed here (at least on my route to and from work) that the majority of the people drive in the left lane as opposed to the right. If you are going slow in the left lane and see a line of cars behind you, take a hint and scoot over and let them pass.

ok. I'm done, at least for now.

This past Saturday I went down to Charlotte with Joy. She has some family down there and her immediate family came down from MI. It was a gorgeous day...we took two walks. There is a little pond near the community where her relatives live, so we walked around there. We also had two good meals. The first was a semi-Thanksgiving dinner and then we went to a pizza buffet for dinner. It was a very rainy ride home, but we made it home safely.

The meerkats at work are starting to warm up to me. One group is very interested in me, and then the other, more timid group, is starting to come up to me as well. I was given permission to start trying to hand feed them. I also got to feed a Patas monkey yesterday for the first time. They just take the food right out of your hand and eat it. They are very cute.

My cats are doing well. Triton is becoming more cuddly, which I appreciate. He still hates to be held, but on occasion he'll take a nap on my legs and he definitely likes to be pet more now then he did before. Obi is still our "snuggle-bunny". He has a horrible habit of waking me up at around 4:30 in the morning. Usually he lays on my chest and starts purring really loudly. Just let me sleep until my alarm goes off at 6:15 am. As I type this, Obi is in one of those crazy cat moods, where he is chasing a ghost or something. He's cute.

I am on my first 3 day weekend. I lucked out with 4 3-day weekends in a row. I can't complain. I am just trying to relax a bit this weekend and enjoy the lovely weather. Today it is about 74 and is supposed to reach 79 tomorrow. I love the weather down here. :) On Sat. I am going to Charlotte with Joy to visit her family. I'm excited to spend some time with her.

Meerkat 

Here is a picture of a Debrazza monkey. Don't they look like old men. The two we have are named Butch and Mara.  

I have completed week 1 of my job and it is still going well. I'm getting the hang of it for the most part. I am now on my "weekend" today and tomorrow. I'm trying to get some cleaning and laundry done. And I have a roast in the oven. How domestic am I? It is hard to clean when I'm at home since a huge part of my job is cleaning. But, that's life. Yeterday was Halloween and we got a whopping 2 trick-or-treaters. And they only came up because Ryan ran into thier mother in the parking lot and told them I was waiting to give out some candy. We need a house in a neighborhood so we can get some kids. No more of this apartment crap with no kids. Ryan and I rented "Rest stop", a horror movie, yeterday, but it was stupid. Joey Lawerence had a part in it and was surprisingly was really good. He was very Bruce Willis-ish. He was the only positive thing I have to say about that movie.

Here's a picture of a fennec fox. You don't need to do a search. (refer to blog below) 

I started my job yesterday. I shadowed another keeper yesterday as she went through everything with me. The morning consists of feeding and cleaning and brief observations. The afternoon consists of doing diets for the next morning, feeding, and closing procedures. It doesn't sound like a whole lot, but you are busy all day. We have a ton of animals in the African Pavilion. For a full list go to www.nczoo.org, click on "about the zoo", then click "animal finder", "search by exhibit", and choose African pavilion. I am working in the lower tunnel, which has most of the species, excluding colobus monkeys, patas monkeys, baboons, and gorillas. The rest are in my department. The meerkats are very fun to watch. I got to feed one by hand yesterday. The fennec foxes are the cutest things in the world. I suggest doing an internet search for one so you can see a picture. We have one named Sun, that has 3 legs. I think so far she is my favorite. Today I had to get a physical and lots of shots. Luckily I had tetanus and Hep. B, so I didn't have to get those, but I still needed a TB test, blood draw, rabies, and Hep. A. Four needles in my arms today. I am covered with cartoon bandaids. I only worked a half day today because of my appointment, then I have tomorrow off, then I'm on a 7 day stretch. Then my schedule will start to get normal.

Yeah! I have a job! It's at the NC Zoo as a temporary zookeeper in the African Pavilion section. There are various primates, some amphibians and reptiles, and small mammals, such as foxes and meerkats. I start on Monday and am very excited. I will work 40 hours/week, in a rotating schedule. Since it's temp. I don't get benefits, unfortunately. Hopefully it'll be a good way to get my foot in the door.

My mom and I at my Uncle Jim's wedding. 

View from Chimney Rock...pictures don't do it justice. 

Dining room...new table 

Living room...new furniture 

Our Kitchen 

Woe to those living in Michigan and other snow-covered areas. Let me just say, yesterday I was at a UNCG girl's soccer game, in jeans and a t-shirt, with the sun beating down on me, causing Ryan's face to get a bit sunburned.

I had a very good week last week, but then it ended pretty crappy.

On Thursday I headed to Maryland because my uncle Jim was getting married that weekend. I arrived around 2:00 and met my mom at a mall. We bummed around awhile then had a little snack at a yummy Italian restaurant. It had the best dipping oil for your bread. Then we stayed at my Aunt Jeanne's house that night. Most of the other relatives came over for dinner. It was so great to see everyone. Friday mom and I ate at Bennigin's, my favorite restaurant, which we don't have in NC. Then we headed to the hotel. That evening my mom had the rehearsal dinner and I went to hang out with my cousins and 2 aunts at my Aunt Jerri's house. On Sat. a group of us went to the mall, then hung out in the hotel's hottub, then went to Jerri's for dinner. The wedding was on Sun. It was beautiful. The reception had appetizers and a string quartet playing. It was held at a mansion. Again the party was at Jerri's that evening. On Monday I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore with Jeff, Colleen, Ryan, Jerri, Jordan, Jamie, and Sharif. It was a great aquarium. I got to see the dolphin show. It made me sad at first, because I really miss working at the MN Zoo. It was a fun show. We stayed at my grandpa and grandma's house that night. On Tues. morning we took a nice walk with grandpa as he showed us the area, got Starbucks, then had a lovely lunch. We stayed at Jerri's house on Tues. night. I headed home on Wednesday. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone. It's nice living 5.5 hours away from most of my aunts and uncles and my grandparents, but it sucks living so far away from my parents, siblings, and in-laws.

As I was walking in the house I got a call from the NC Zoo and found out I didn't get the job. Then I checked my e-mail and found out I didn't get selected for an interview for another job that I really wanted. I was really bummed. Now I'm back to square one and I'm not too sure what I'm going to do now.

We went to a Jars of Clay concert in Winston-Salem yesterday. It was at the Dixie-Classic Fair, so it was easy to get close enough for short little me to see. It was a really good concert. With all the concerts I've been to, this is only the second time I've seen them. It was ryan's first time.

In a few minutes I'm heading to Maryland to visit family. My uncle Jim is getting married, so my mom came down. I'm excited to see her as well as the rest of my relatives.

Ryan and I went camping this past weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, NC. The mountains are about 3 hours away. We left on Sat. morning then ate lunch at Subway and then went to find our campground. We stayed at Creekside Mountain Campgound. We got a very rustic site which was near the high falls of the creek. Nobody was camping near us...all we could hear was the running creek. We went to a little place that sold apples and cider and had a corn maze. Then we went back to the campsite. I read while Ryan hiked up the creek to explore some. The fire took forever to start, but eventually we got it going. We cooked hotdogs and smores for dinner. On Sunday we broke down camp then went to Chimney Rock. It's a park with a bunch of trails with gorgeous views. We hiked to the waterfall, which was very pretty. We'd like to go back to hike on some more trails. The hard, upper trail, is where there were some scenes filmed from "Last of the Mohicans". Next time, I guess. After we were done at Chimney Rock, we went to the little tourist town at the bottom of the mountains and ate lunch and bummed around the cute little shops. We even got a few Christmas presents for people. :)

We got our new furniture delivered today from Ashley Furniture. We got a dining room table, coffee table, 2 end tables, love seat, and pull out couch. The plan was to put the pull out couch in the guest room, so it could actually be a guest room. However, the dumb thing is too big to fit in the bedroom door, so we had to put our regular couch in there an have the pull out couch in the living room. I wasn't too happy, because it is inconvenient when we have guests, but I guess we will survive. And, poor Triton is deathly afraid of this new furniture. Him and Obi were locked in the bedroom when the movers were bringing the stuff in. When the cats were let out, Triton took one look into the living and freaked out. He's been hiding in the bed since noon, and it's 11 pm now. He has popped out a few times, looks at the new furniture and runs back in the bedroom. I think I have a pycho kitty. Obi on the other hand, had now problem. There was a fly let in when the door was open, so he was running all around the new furniture trying to catch this fly. I always thought Obi was our scaredy cat.

I finished two more books. One is called "The thin pink line." It was stupid. It's about a woman who fakes her pregnancy. I realize there are ridiculous things in books sometimes, but this was so over the top it made me mad. I am one who has to finish a book, so I did, but I didn't enjoy it. Then I read the third installment to "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series. I read it in two or three days. I really enjoyed it. I usually don't read series, but I quickly read this one. I'm anxious for the 4th book to come out. Now I am reading a collection of short stories that Ray Bradbury put together. The short stories are written by various authors. It's a book that my brother got from my dad's farm, and it has that old book smell that Josh and I love so much. I was flipping trough "Big book of helpful hints" or something like that the other day and it said to get rid of the old book smell, to put a dryer sheet in between the pages and leave it there for a week or two. Why would you want to get rid of that smell? If I wanted to smell dryer sheets, I'd just sniff my clean laundry.

Ryan had his birthday last Wednesday. He turned 28. He is feeling old. I know in the scheme of things, 28 is still really young, but when you are in your 20's and are reaching the end of them, it seems old. We went out to dinner, then I took him to mini golf, then we came back here to open presents.

On Thurs. I was invited back to the NC Zoo for a few hours so I could get a behind the scenes tour of the area I interviewed in, talk to the staff, etc. I was able to watch a sea lion feeding while on exhibit with them. The two staff members that I met were really nice and I would love to work with them.

Saturday I met up with Joy and we went shopping together at the Friendly Center in Greensboro. It is an outdoor mall. We ate lunch at a very tasty sandwich shop. It was nice to have some girl time. And I only bought one pair of gauchos.

Sunday we went to Joy's house. She took an 8 week pottery class and wanted to show off her work to her friends. She had a bunch of good finger foods. He pottery was very impressive. We were able to take a piece home, which was difficult because there were 3 that I had my eye on, but I was able to go home with my first choice.

Ryan and I are cursed. Everytime the Twin's are on ESPN (which has only been 2 times in a month) THEY SUCK! (But I still like my Mauer)

Yeah! Chad and Sarah are coming to NC to visit us over Thanksgiving. I'm so excited to see them. Hooray for friends! Hooray for school!

Today I had an interview at the North Carolina Zoo. I think it went well. It'll take about 3 weeks or so before I am contacted. I really hope I get it!

Yesterday Ryan, Joy, and I took a trip to the North Carolina Zoo. It is a gorgeous zoo. It's very large and the exhibits look great. The animals have a lot of space. And the trails that you take to the exhibits cut through the woods, so you don't have to walk in the blazing sun the whole time. There are 5 miles of trails, and we probably walked 4 of those 5 miles. I got to see the area that I applied to, Rocky Coast. Very cute sea lions and polar bears. They were basking in the sun.

Today I sat by the pool and finished my book, Second Summer of the Sisterhood. I now have to go out and buy the 3rd book. Ryan and I might check out the High Point Mall today. He has a lot of school work to do, so that'll be a nice break.

My poor kitty, Obi, has had a rough morning. First, he got sick. Then, he had his first shower. Obi likes to hang out between the shower liner and curtain when I am taking a shower. Well, I think he got a little too curious, because he ended up in the shower. Unfortunately I was rinsing my face wash off, so I didn't see what happened, and it also caused me to react slower then if I was watching. I opened my eyes and there is my poor cat trying to get out of the shower, but the liner suctions to the sides so he couldn't get out. I turned of the water and he was pretty wet. I couldn't help but laugh. Once I got out I was able to dry him off the best I could with a towel. Who would've though that wet dog and wet cat smell similar. As I type this, he is still licking off the excess water. It was a good laugh.

Yippee! My Minnesota Twins are on ESPN tonight. I haven't been able to see them for over 2 weeks. However, THEY SUCK TONIGHT. I'm very disappointed. Oh, well. At least I get to see my boys.

I got this idea from Liz, who I believe got it from Krista.

Here are some things that make me happy, in no particular order:
Laughing so hard your belly hurts
Getting an arm/back tickle
Getting a massage
When Ryan and I laugh together
Skiing when there is snow/ice stuck on the branches
Laying in the sun
Nice smelling lotion
When my cats cuddle with me
Working with my four very special dolphins
When a dolphin looks at you in the eye
Snuggling on the couch, watching a movie
Eating out
The smell of baby (Hailey, I miss you)
The smell of a cleanly shaven Ryan
Surprise dates
Decorating the Christmas tree while listening to John Denver and the muppets
Cuddling with my mom on the chair
Arriving at your destination on a long trip
Making cards for people
Looking at my old pictures

Allyn and I at Melissa's wedding. 

Ryan and I at Melissa's wedding. 

This is my niece, Hailey, at her first Twin's game. 

I hope everybody had a good Labor Day weekend.

On Friday, Ryan and I met Joy, Laura, and Thor at Joy's place for some sloppy joes. Then we played some games of UNO and watched part of "Big Fat Liar."

On Saturday Ryan and I went furniture shopping. We would like a kitchen table, a chair for the sunroom, and a futon for the guest bedroom. We were unsuccessful. You'd think that since High Point is the furniture capital of the world, furniture would be cheaper. Well, it's not. It's more expensive that in MN. I want IKEA again! That evening Joy, Laura, and Thor came over for tacos and we watched "She's the Man." I was VERY skeptical. I would have never rented it, but we watched it and it was REALLY funny. Then Thor headed back home and Laura and Joy spent the night.

In the morning we went to Joy's church and then ate some Vietnamese food-yummy. That night Ryan and I rented "Poseidon." We enjoyed it. I finished my "Freeing Keiko" book and now I'm on to "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." I read half the book in one day. I also got some little things around the house done that I needed to do. So, here I am. Tuesday morning...watching Regis and Kelly in my pajamas. What I life. I need job...bad.

Yeah for Internet!

I whole lot has changed since I last wrote. Ryan and I are now living in North Carolina. We are in High Point, which is outside of Greensboro. So far we like it. It has been raining the past 3 days, but at least it cooled down some. Josh called me yesterday and said, "batten down the hatches. Ernesto is coming." My reply was, "Is that a storm or something?" That is uninformed me, not having internet, t.v., or looked at a paper for a week.

Here's how it went down. Everything worked out with Ryan's math license. (Well, at least I hope so since we are here now.) We packed up the U-haul on Sunday, with the help of a lot of great friends. On Sunday we stayed at Ryan's parent's house. We wanted a bed to stay in and also we though it appropriate to start and end our stay in Minnesota at their house. We headed out on Monday morning. That first day we made it to Louisville, Kentucky. We made the rest of the trip on Tuesday. The cats were GREAT in the car. I was very proud of them. We arrived in Greensboro that evening and met up with Joylynn and Thor for some dinner. Ryan had to start work on Wed. because the students came Friday. I was busy looking for apartments. We found one and moved in Friday. Well, I moved as much as I could while Ryan was at work. When he came back he helped with the rest. It is much easier with 10 people as opposed to 2. We love our apartment. It is 2 bed/2 bath, big kitchen, and a sunroom. The cats are enjoying it so far. We bought a washer and dryer and got that on Wed. We got our internet and cable hooked up this morning.

We haven't had much chance to scope out the scene of High Point. We did go to the Arboretum with Joy and Thor last week to have a picnic. This weekend Laura Griffin is coming up to spend the weekend up here. She is teaching in North Carolina now as well.

I have applied to two jobs at the North Carolina Zoo. We shall see.

If you did not get the e-mail that I sent out with our new address, let me know so I can get it to you.

We still aren't positive about what we are doing or where we are going. It still looks like we are heading to North Carolina, which we really want to do. There were some problems with a math license in that state, but Ryan thinks it is all worked out now.

I got my hair cut today. It is chin length in a cute bob cut. I like it so far. We'll see when I have to style it myself come tomorrow.

Today when I was packing I found an old journal from senior year of highschool. It is very humerous to read. I really should be packing. Instead I'm reading that and Ryan is watching football.

This past week we headed to Michigan for Melissa's wedding. Ryan and I flew out on Wed. We stayed at Phil and Sandy's in Garden City on Wed. and Thurs. night. We played some Super Mario Brothers, ate a lot of good food, played a lot of cards, and went to a comedy club. On Friday morning Ryan and I drove to Port Huron. I went to lunch with the females from the wedding party and the mothers at Olive Garden. Then Ryan and I met up with 2 friends from CMU, Krista and Laura. We got some desert at Bob Evens. Then we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I had some raspberry beer-very good. Excellent steak and veggies. After that we headed back to the hotel. The girls from the wedding party plus Maren met in Melissa's hotel room and we laughed all night. We were up until 2:00 I think. It's always a good time when me, Allyn, Melissa, and Maren get together and reminisce about old times.

The morning of the wedding was busy. One girl did 6 girls' hair. But she got us all done in time, for the most part. The girls loaded in a big conversion van with the wedding dress and sped to the church. We quickly got dressed and got some pictures done. Let me tell you...get married in an air conditioned church. This church wasn't and it was HOT. During the ceremony we were all dripping sweat. And poor Melissa who had about 10 layers of dress. The ceremony was beautiful and so was Melissa. It was so cute how Ryan (groom) watched Melissa the whole time and won't take his eyes off her during the ceremony. It was really sweet.

We took a limo bus to the reception. There was really good food there and we danced the night away. The Cipriano's, old teachers from highschool, were there. It is strange being an adult now and having old teachers treat you as one. It was also nice to see Melissa's family who I haven't seen for many years.

After the reception we had an after-party at the hotel. Then we hung out with some people from the wedding in the lobby until 4 am. There was a lovely dance off between a groomsman and a 70 year old drunk stranger. It was great! "Rap is crap," as he likes to say.

Sun. we had lunch with everyone and then did present opening. We didn't stay for much of that. We headed back to Garden City. I took a nap, boys played Nintendo. Then we went out to dinner and played more cards.

Now we are back on MN. It looks as if there is a good chance we will be moving to Greensboro, NC, where the lovely Joylynn lives. I will update when I find out more.

Being unemployed has allowed me to read a lot and watch a lot of movies. Here's what I've been doing.

Books:
-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-too long
-To Touch a Wild Dolphin
-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince-this and the Goblet of Fire are my 2 favorite
-Island of the Blue Dolphins
-Secret Life of Bees-loved it
-currently reading Freeing Keiko-book about the whale from Free Willy

Movies:
-Cabin Fever
-Hostel-dumb
-Stay-very good...Josh, you'd like it (new release at Blockbuster)
-The Hills have eyes
-Wolf Creek
-I think there is more, but I can't remember right now. The 100 degree weather is frying my brain.

After watching a few horror movies lately, I have some advice. If you are in a situation where the killer is vulnerable, don't just shoot him/her once. They'll come back and kill you. Shoot numerous times or take a the time to finish them, so you yourself DO NOT DIE. Ryan and I were getting very annoyed.

I'm still jobless. I still have been applying to jobs around the country. The two that I recently applied to are the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Aquarium of the Pacific, in Long Beach, CA. There is also a job in Florida that I'll be applying to. As for a job in MN, I applied at Petsmart as a dog trainer. If that doesn't work out, it looks as if there is still a position for me at Vanity as an assistant manager. I sure didn't see myself working retail after college. It sure makes me humble. I am not all that.

I have been volunteering at Vacation Bible School at our church this week. I have been working with the 3rd grade class and it has been a lot of fun. Lots of kids made first time commitments to Jesus. Please pray that they are true commitments and that they understand the huge decision that they made. Pray that God will place Christians in their lives to help them learn more about Him and what it means to live for Him.

I am back in MN now. I had a good drive back. Uneventful, which is good. I saw a ton of motorcycles cruising down the highways in MI and WI. Apparently that is the choice of transportation when it is 90 degrees outside.

I had a good time at home. I went out to dinner a few times with my mom. One was on a deck outside by the canal. Very pretty. Then mom, Josh, and Amy and I ate at my favorite place to eat when I'm at home to get the BEST pizza ever. I went out to my dad's house again. We went to Horseshoe Lake and took the doggies swimming. We also took a dip...very refreshing. I got to see my friend Courtney. We went to church together, ate out, and bummed around. Court, how's your head?

I completely forgot to write about this. We aren't leaving the Twin Cities. On the Wed. Ryan was supposed to let Arizona know, he got a job offer for a school in the cities, so we are staying! We don't have to move!

My massage the other day was lovely. She told me I have to go see a chiropractor for my back. It's not a huge surprise. After the massage I went out to my dad's for awhile. I got to see Storm and his new dog, Mushka. I'm not sure how to spell it, but ok. We went out to eat at a very nice place by his house. Yesterday mom and I went on her friend's boat for a few hours. It was a gorgeous day. We got to see two bald eagles. Then I met an ex-boyfriend from 6th and 10th grade, Brandon, at the Strawberry Festival in Chassell. It was great to see him. It's nice to see people as adults now. It is amazing how people change over the years. But then there are others who haven't changed at all since high school...very sad. We are about to head up to Calumet to have dinner with my brother, go and see my grandpa, and then go to a monk service. It shall be interesting.

I am officially done at the zoo now. My last day was on Monday. It was a fun day, but as soon as the 4:00 show ended, the tears came. After that I got to say bye to each of the dolphins. They came over for a last rubdown from me. They were probably wondering why I was crying. I am going to miss it there so much.

For the 4th of July me, Ryan, Rachel, Matt, Hailey, and the doggies went up to their parent's camper. We took a walk to a lake so the dogs could swim, went golfing, got dairy queen, and ate too much.

Now I am home at my mom's. Since I am currently unemployed :( I had some time so I figured I'd come up here for awhile. I'll get to see some people I haven't seen for awhile. And I have a massage in 1 hour! Yippee!!!

There are some big things going on in our lives right now. First off, I am done at the zoo on July 3rd. I am very sad about it. I am really going to miss the dolphins and my co-workers. I've been there for a year and a half now. It'll be hard to leave. I have my going-away party tonight. I also have quit Vanity. My last day was actually yesterday. I am taking the month of July off. I am heading home for awhile to visit the family. In other big news, Ryan got a job offer in Yuma, Arizona. We aren't sure yet if he's going to take it. He had some more interviews, so we'll see. There is no zoo there, which is hard for me. I'm happy for Ryan, but not so excited for my own "future" there. It will only be for a few years, but that's still a long time.

Funny story. At work Jenny, Heather, and I look kinda similar. Not to people who know us, but it's understandable that the public confuses us. Blonde, short, similar hair styles. We were just talking about this before the 2:00 show today. After the show I was in the stadium putting toys in and a little boy comes up to me and says, "Where is your sister?" I told him my sister isn't here, but that I have some friends that I work with and pointed out Robyn and Heather. He said, "But there was two of you!" Simultaneously Robyn was getting a funny comment, but let me back it up first. Robyn and Heather were out with the boys during the show. Jenny and I were in the back pool with the girls. During our training segment I took Chinook from Heather so she could help Robyn with Semo. So anyway, this lady says to Robyn, "Is there a reason that Chinook was given to a trainer (me) that looked just like the first trainer (Heather) and not given to you (Robyn) because you look different than them? Do the dolphins have to only work with people who look alike?" Robyn just started laughing because we had JUST had this conversation a few minutes ago.

Happy Birthday, Harley. We'll be thinking of you. 

If the little dolphin Harley was still around, we'd be celebrating his first birthday today. We really miss the little guy. He was a lot of fun.

It has been a stressful, tiring, and eventful week at work. Don't wanna write details on a public thing. Have questions, e-mail me and I'll update you.

Ryan's Grandpa Monson came to visit. He flew in yesterday so we headed to Ryan's parent's house to see him. The last time we saw him was in December for Grandma Monson's funeral. Rachel, Matthew, and Hailey were there, so there were four generations of Monsons.

It looks like I'm at the MN Zoo for at least 3 more weeks. I'll take what I can get! The dolphins have been a bit crazy lately so work has been a tad stressful.

My kitties are doing good. It's funny because they both have a certain item that they love to steal and hide it. For Obi it is a make-up brush. It hasn't been used for a long time, so there's no powder on it, but he kept digging in the closet to get it and would grab the bristles with his mouth and run downstairs to hide it. For Triton it is a contact case. We have three in the medicine cabinet, but there is one specific one that he knocks down with his paw into the sink, then grabs it and runs and hides it in my pile of zoo uniforms. Silly kitties.

The weather here as been wonderful. Well, last week it reached 96 degrees...a bit too hot. Ryan and I have been using our outdoor pool. On Thurs. I got to spend 4 hours there. Very enjoyable. I was able to finish Harry Potter 5, the one where Hermione dies...Hee hee hee, Josh and Amy. I am reading a book right now called "to touch a wild dolphin" and then I think I'll hit Harry Potter 6.

I can officially call myself a "trainer"...I trained my first behavior. It was will Spree, our 3 year old dolphin. The behavior is a mimic spit, where you squirt a squirt bottle at the acrylic windows at the stadium and she spits over the top of them. Pretty cool.

Nothing else new from this end...no job news for Ryan or I. Frustrating.

Oh, we bought a new car. Our old 94 Ford Tempo was going to die any second. We were to the point when we weren't driving it anymore...we actually had to rent a car last week. We got a Dodge Stratus. We are very happy with our purchase.

The proud aunt and uncle. Won't we make cute parents someday? 

This is Hailey Rachel on the day she was born. 

For the past 3 nights, Ryan and I have gone to Twin's games. On Wed. and Thurs. they played the Royals...won on Wed., lost Thurs. Yesterday we went to Detroit with Chad and Sarah and they lost. I never expected to like a sport so much.

Ryan still has to download baby Hailey pictures on the computer so I can put them on the blog. It's a new camera and I don't know how to do that. So, hopefully soon they will be on.

Ryan made this for me one night. I got home from the baby shower and it was ready for me. He saw it in a magazine and decided to replicate it. Very impressive. 

Sarah W., Sarah J., Rachel, and Sara M. Hee hee hee 

Rachel during her baby shower. 

I am an auntie! Rachel had her baby on Friday April 21st at 4 something in the morning. It's a girl! Her name is Hailey Rachel. Ryan and I were able to go up to the hospital on Friday evening to visit. She is absolutely gorgeous. Once we download our pictures from the camera to the computer, I will post some. On Thursday we'll get to see her again. Very exciting!

Ryan and I returned from our cruise today. Here is a little recap. I will post pictures once we download them onto the computer. However, we barely took any pictures.

Monday:
We got up at 3:15 am…way too early. We had to catch a cab to the airport. Our flight left at 6:10 and we got to Miami in a few hours. The weather there was pretty crappy. It was rainy, breezy and a bit chilly. I think the weather that day was better in Minneapolis. We got on the Carnival boat no problem. The lines are huge but actually run pretty smoothly. You are greeted by a billion photographers, posing you in front of different backdrops and will various props or dressed up people. We found our cabin and went and ate right away. Then we spent some time wandering the boat, trying to figure out where everything was. We had our first dinner. There were assigned seats and we met some nice couples at our table. The dinners consist of a five course meal. Mom, I even tried escargot. It was nasty. We went to an evening show where there was a comedian. We hit the sack early because we had to get up early the next day.

Tuesday:
We docked at Key West. Ryan and I went SCUBA diving. The first dive we saw lobsters, fish of course and a shark. It was pretty scary, but it was just resting on the bottom. The first dive had a max depth of 50 feet. The second dive was around 20 feet. We got separated from the instructors, which was kind of intimidating, but we found our way back to the boat. On that dive, when we were close to the boat, a school of yellow fish were surrounding Ryan and me. It was cool. On the trolley from the where we got on the dive boat back to the big boat, we saw some of the town. It’s a cute little town. It was formal night at dinner, so we got to dress up all nice and pretty. I wore a black dress and Ryan wore a suit. We actually made it on the official video for that cruise when we were all dressed up. That night we went to the first of two Las Vegas style shows that dancers and singers put on. It was very enjoyable.

Wednesday:
It was an absolute gorgeous day. We ate breakfast out on the deck of the boat and it was lovely. We docked in Cozumel and went to a beach were there was open bar and buffet. Don’t worry, we didn’t get crazy. Just a few daiquiris. We went snorkeling there were there were this underwater Aztec ruins, obviously man-made. So we went out to find some of these “ruins”. Then we lounged around for awhile. Then we went shopping where I got to work on some bartering skills. After a huge line to get on the small boat, that took us back to the big boat, we ended up missing dinner. But those of you who have cruised before, there are 24 hour buffets of various sorts, so we took advantage of that. Then we went to a guy that did a balancing act, where he balanced a variety of stuff on his forehead. It was impressive. Then there was another comedian. I played the slot machines. I put in $20, and walked off with $41. Not bad.

Thursday:
We didn’t make any stops this day, so we lounged by the pool for awhile. Stupid me forgot to put sunscreen on my right leg from the knee down, so it turned bright red, and still is. We went to the other Las Vegas style show, played bingo, and more slots. At midnight there was the “R-rated” comedian show.

Friday:
We got off the boat by 8 am after customs and all that jazz. Again, we were very impressed how fast the lines moved. We spent another day in Miami. We had a really nice hotel and lounged around the pool for many hours. Then we went to a pedestrian mall in south beach and looked in the windows of many swanky shops. It’s interesting how you hear English much less then other languages in Miami. We went to a bar that we were familiar with from last year, called Wet Willies. Then we strolled along the board walk with drinks in hand, since it’s legal there to walk around with drinks. Then hit the sack at our hotel to catch our early flight.

So, that was our trip. We had a lot of fun, but I was anxious to get home to see my kitties. Ryan’s aunt took care of them, but it was so nice to see them. Since I’m in MN now, I’ll probably lose this tan in about 3 days. :(

It's pretty dark, but it's a cute picture of Triton. 

Obi in a pile of clean laundry. Notice his cute little front paws. 

They love laundry time. 

The sink is one of Obi's favorite places to go. 

This is Obi and Triton. They are getting so big! 

It was a gorgeous day today. It was around 64 degrees. When Ryan got home from work we took a walk and discovered a lake behind our apartments with a nice little walking path around it. I love the spring!

This is really cool...just read:

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht! the frist and lsat
ltteer be in the rghit plae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll
raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not
raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Josh-Thanks for starting the rumors. Yes, you'd like the movie.
Joy-I went to the movie with a semi-Joy-like person and she squealed a few times. It's not too bad though. You may have to cover your eyes once or twice.

Happy Birthday, Rachel. It's my sister-in-law's birthday today. Her baby belly is getting very big. I guess that happens when you are due in a month. It's funny because I had to pull her aside today to ask her a girly question, and the first thing she says to me is "Are you pregnant?" NO. Then Gayle walks in the room and we said we were talking and pregnancy came to Gayle's mind too. NO. Ryan and I got to see "V for Vendetta" at the IMAX for free tonight. Very good movie. You should go and see it. Joy, you'll have to cover your eyes over some parts.

Here we go again...Our adult dolphin, Rio, died yesterday. We have no idea how it happened. She was perfectly fine on Sunday. On Monday she didn't eat anything, which is strange for Rio. We were doing overnight watches last night so we could keep our eye on her. At around 9:00 pm she started having trouble breathing. When I got there and in the water with Rio and the other trainers, she had taken her last breath and her heart stopped. I was able to go to the necropsy (animal autopsy), but they couldn't find anything. Everything looked completely normal. It's very frustrating. I can't believe we have to go through this again. Why? Why? Why? I'm still in shock.

Last Friday I got to go to a banquet at Ryan's school, recognizing the students. It was great to see his school and get to meet his students that I hear so much about. The students that I did get to meet were very polite and just all around interesting guys. It was a proud moment for me when I heard a few parents tell Ryan that he was their child's favorite teacher.

On Saturday Ryan and I went to a David Crowder/Third Day concert at the Target Center. It was a big venue and our seats were very high up, but it was still a good time and a place where I encountered God. That's what's important at a Christian concert, right?

I received an e-mail from someone from church asking me if I wanted to go to a Natalie Grant concert with her. First off, the woman from church I didn't know and also I'd never heard of Natalie Grant. But I figured, why not. I wanted to get to know more people at church, so this was a great opportunity. I did get to meet Johanna, the woman I went with, the week before the concert. She was very easy to talk to and I knew we would have a good time together. The concert was yesterday and we had a good time. She had tickets front row center. Too bad I couldn't sing along with one song when I'm so close!

Well, that's about all for know.

I will update you on some of the stuff that has occurred in the past month since I wrote last:

1. I got to see my sister-in-law Amy last Sunday. She had a layover in Minneapolis, so Ryan and I went to pick her up from the airport. We went to the Mall of America and had dinner and then went to IKEA. It was nice to see her, although it was too short. It was funny because when we were having dinner, a little girl and her dad came up to out booth and said to me, "Are you the one that works with the dolphins at the zoo. We saw you in a show last week. My daughter wanted to say hi." It was very cute but very embarrassing at the same time. Ryan was happy because he's been waiting for me to get recognized outside of the zoo.

2. Ryan and I are going on a cruise! We are gone April 10-15th and are very excited. We will leave from Miami and go to Key West and Cozumel. It'll be much needed sunshine and vacation.

3. All the dolphins are now combined at the zoo. We had the separated since May because of Harley. The boys are too rough on little ones. We had to wait to get Rio on some birth control and have that kick in. So we combined them yesterday. I went in because I was interested in the whole social dynamics. Semo was pretty rough with Rio...a lot of jumping and chasing. Chinook on the other hand was very calm and would just swim behind her. It'll be a new experience for me now, doing shows with all 5 animals.

4. The Harley situation is getting easier. There are still random times that I will cry, but it's not too often. One occurred when we got a card from a little girl. She drew a picture of Harley in heaven, with a halo and wings on, and he was saying "I'm o.k." It broke out hearts.

5. I'm sure there has been a lot more in the past month, but I'm tired of writing. I'll try and do a better job at updating this.

Very sad news...our baby dolphin, Harley, died on Saturday. I am just going to post a news clip about it below from WCCO. I was there, so if you want to hear a personal account, just call and ask. It's been strange since you have a routine at work that involves Harley. Then this happens. I found myself wanting to get his fish ready, get the palm pilot downstairs so I can record if he nurses, etc. Those are the moments that are terribly sad. I am doing ok. I guess that's all I can ask for right now.

This is a pretty accurate news story:

WCCO) Apple Valley, Minn. Harley, a baby dolphin at the Minnesota Zoo, died Saturday in what zoo officials are calling a freak accident.

Harley was training to "channel," or swim between pools, with his mother when he apparently struck his head on the side of a pool, zoo officials said.

The baby dolphin jumped completely out of the water, and trainers immediately put him back.

Zoo officials said Harley swam a few strokes with his mother, Rio, before they realized he was badly injured.

Divers brought Harley to the surface when he did not breathe and said there was nothing they could have done to save him.

Harley died around 2:45 p.m. from complications associated with severe head trauma and a fractured skull, zoo officials said.

Rio called for Harley a few times after the accident, but officials said she was doing better Saturday night.

Harley was 5-1/2 feet long and 120 pounds at the time of his death. He was born last June 21 and was Rio's fourth calf.

Minnesota Zoo Director of Biological Programs Kevin Willis said the zoo's staff had been looking forward seeing Harley make his public debut and was having a hard time dealing with the accident.

"This is a sad day here," Willis said. "This is hard. This is a baby that was really healthy and really doing well."

Zoo officials said it was unclear why Harley swam into the side of the pool.

The Minnesota Zoo will be open Sunday, but all dolphin shows have been canceled. Zoo officials said they were unsure how much trauma Harley's death was causing for the other dolphins.

The zoo is not planning on replacing Harley. The dolphin was scheduled to go to another zoo after he matured, in about 10 or 11 years.

Zoo officials said this was the first dolphin death of its kind at the Minnesota Zoo.

In the past seven years, two other Minnesota Zoo dolphins have died. In 2000, a dolphin died of a mysterious illness and in 1999, another dolphin died of old age.

Rio and four other dolphins -- Ayla, Spree, Chinook and Semo

Happy New Year, everyone! 2006...where does the time go. My New Year's Eve and Day was spent working at the zoo. During the evening of new year's eve we went to a friend of the family's house where we played cards, watched a movie and ate a lot of food. At about 12:03 I headed back home to go to bed since I had to work in the morning. After work on Jan 1 Ryan and I headed to my mom's house in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I had Mon-Fri. off so it was a nice stay. On Monday we had Christmas with mom, Josh, Amy, and their stinker dog, Gracie, who decided to run away for a few hours that day. On Wednesday we had Christmas out at my dad's. Ryan and I also got massages...WONDERFUL! I was able to visit with a few others as well...my friend, Courtney, my grandpa, my step-mom, and my old babysitter, Janis. It's always nice to see people when you head home, but then again, it never feels much like a vacation when you have to run around all over. We brought our kitties on the trip which was fun. They were awesome in the car for 7 hours and seemed to have a lot of fun at mom's house. Now we are back in the Twin Cities, and some of my clothes smell like mom's house and it makes me miss her. (I miss you, mom)

Two nights ago we got home from church and Obi had thrown up, was sneezing a lot, sneezing out this brown substance, was making a scary wheezing/dry heaving noise, drooling a lot. I was freaking out so we brought him to the emergency vet at midnight. They couldn't really figure out what was wrong. They figured he ate something and was having a reaction to that. The next day I brought both cats to the regular vet because they were supposed to be declawed. Because of Obi's episode, they postponed the declawing and just did bloodwork on both, which needs to be done before the declawing, and checked over Obi. When I picked them up after work, they were playing around and then Triton threw up! I think he just ate too much too fast because they were off feed since the night before because of the surgery. It was my fault for giving him too much food. Seconds after he went right back to playing and flying around the house. Obi still made that strange wheezing/dry heaving sound twice last night, but today I haven't heard it at all. Hopefully my babies will be ok.