Happy Easter!

Elliot and I are taking it easy today, eating chocolates and filing taxes. We hope that you are having a happy, candy-filled day, too.

Last night we went to the Co-cathedral of St. Thomas More, a Catholic church here in town, and watched our good friend, John, be confirmed. The service was 3 1/2 hours long, and full of candle lighting, singing, confirmations, and baptisms. Here are a few pictures.

Elliot and I, just before leaving the house:



John getting confirmed:



Elliot and John after the service:



Yay for John!

Okra Creole and Banana Bread from Barbados

We're finally working on our World Peas project again! Yay!

Last night Elliot and I made Okra Creole and banana bread from recipes used in Barbados. Elliot couldn't really get past the sliminess of the cooked okra, but he enjoyed the taste of Okra Creole nonetheless. The fresh corn really adds a nice flavor.




Our first loaf of homemade banana bread:

Caterpillar Camo

We're always finding cool new animals and insects in our yard. Here's the latest-- a wonderfully camouflaged caterpillar. You can't tell from the pictures but it scooted its little body along like an inch worm. Adorable!

Eggah from Tunisia

I forgot to post the recipe when we made eggah a while back.

It was very tasty-- like a baked omelet. We ate it as a light dinner with a salad, but it would make a perfect dish for brunch.

Radar Gets Jealous

Lately, Radar can't stand for Applesauce to be sitting in my lap. If she sees him there, she comes over, licks his head, and then sits on top of both of us. I guess she's asserting her dominance with some sort of passive/aggressive cat behavior. Applesauce is the biggest pushover ever, so he just lets her sit on top of him. As long as they're not fighting, it's fine by me. Keeps my legs warm, anyway.

Chris and Jen

Thank you Chris and Jen for letting us visit this weekend!

Happy Birthday, My Husband!

Today is Elliot's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, YOU LIVE IN A ZOO, YOU LOOK LIKE A BEAUTIFUL SUPERMODEL, AND YOU SMELL LIKE FRESH FRUIT!!!! (I modified the song as I saw appropriate.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

As Elliot and I are both a wee bit Irish, let us wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day! (I hope you remembered to wear green!)

More Wildlife in our Backyard

This time: snake!  

Potentially Mundane.

But totally cute.

I like how seeing something as ubiquitous and potentially mundane as a snake in my yard gets me excited.  I am sure that they must slither on by more often than I realize but this is the first time I can remember seeing one.  I guess the real exciting part is realizing just how diverse my backyard's ecosystem really is.  Biodiversity!

Finally: Nielsen Ratings Come To Our House.

I have heard about Nielsen ratings since forever.  I even heard, when I was a little kid, that if you were chosen to be a Nielsen family, you got free cable for a week.  Having free cable and a chance to tell someone all about what TV shows were my favorite was a lot of what I was looking for as a child.  So imagine my great surprise and delight when I received a postcard informing me that I would receive a phone call and that the outcome of that phone call would determine whether or not I would become part of a Nielsen family.  

After all these years, I would finally get to tell them what I watched on TV and also maybe get free cable.  In reality it was even better than free cable: cash money.  They sent us enough money to buy a pizza delivery with tip, which I thought was awesome.  I guess it doesn't make sense that they would provide me with new viewing options and then ask what my normal viewing patterns are.  Here is the best part of the entire thing though - we don't watch any TV(At least not on the TV and for Nielsen internet TV doesn't count).  

I spoke at length with Nielsen representative on the phone and it turns out that it doesn't matter if you actually watch TV or not.  I made sure to record the several hours of Arrested Development DVDs that I watched, just so they know what's up, but I left the rest of the diary blank.  Maybe they will get the picture, maybe not, but I am glad that some research, somewhere, will show that we are not watching any TV except DVDs like Arrested Development.

P.S. We don't even have a digital converter box so we couldn't even get TV if we wanted, but in reality I think I should get one so that we could use TV as a way to keep informed in case of emergency.  Of course, whatever sort of emergencies are only brodcast on DTV and not on the radio probably aren't emergencies of the type that I would really care about.

College Baketball!

       We always have a lot of fun at FSU football games when we attend, so when Mary won tickets to a basketball game we though we would give it a try.  It was Clemson playing FSU and it was great.  It was a close and fun game and Clemson almost came back to beat FSU but didn't.  It made me want to experience more live basketball, that's for sure.  There was a colorful, humorous, announcer that would be difficult to describe here but I would highly recommend hearing a game if you can't see one.  A good time was had by all, especially this guy.

Go team!

To Animal Kingdom for Ben's Birthday

Last Saturday, in celebration of Ben's birthday, Elliot and I met Ben and Sheila and some of their friends at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It was fun! Elliot and I got to see a lot of the attractions that we didn't have a chance to see when we went to Animal Kingdom this past November.

Ben and Sheila:


Elliot:


Some kind of cool bird:


We ate dinner at Boma, which is a restaurant in the Animal Kingdom resort area that serves African-inspired dishes served buffet-style. It was reeeeeeeeeally good. I definitely want to go back there some time.

On Sunday, we went shopping at one of Orlando's (many) outlet malls and found a lot of good deals. It was a very nice weekend. :)

Happy Birthday, Laura!

Happy birthday to my baby-est sister, Laura!

Here's a picture of me, Sara, and Laura from December 2007:

Congrats again to Sara and Bret!

My cellphone rang at 2:30 today.

Sara: Do you have a minute to talk?

Mary: Well, I'm at work. But what's up?

S: Bret and I got married today.

M: That's weird.

S: Why is that weird? That's what people do after they get engaged. They get married.

M: Engaged people usually tell their friends and family the DATE that they're going to get married.

S: Why would we do that? Then everyone would want to be there. We wanted it just Bret and me.

M: Hmmm. Well... congratulations!

MacHomer

Friday night Elliot and I saw "MacHomer," which is a performance of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" by one man who acts out the parts as if they are Simpson's characters. It was very good. Better than we thought it would be. The actor uses props and he imitates 50 different voices from the Simpson's during the play. Elliot and I had a great time.

Noche Flamenca

Last night Elliot, John, and I went to a performance by Noche Flamenca. It was awesome!



The group had two guitarists, two singers, and four dancers. The dancers' bodies were as much a part of the music as the guitars and singing-- the dancers stomp, clap, slap their arms and thighs, and call out to each other. It felt very emotionally intense at some points in the performance.

Elliot especially liked the show. It was a unique experience, and I'm so glad that we went.

I got Mary some chocolate for Valentine's Day!

They came from far away! They have no preservatives(unless you count sugar)!

Here's how the unboxing went down.

Fancy outer box! The foil reflects heat I think! Can't have those chocolates melting.

Fancy inner box! There's a special message in there and also a cold gel pack.

The orange stuff isn't chocolate, but insulation.

A garantee of quality!

YUM!

Honest Abe

Happy 200th birthday, President Abraham Lincoln! (My favorite president!)

Interesting fact: Charles Darwin had the exact same birthday as President Lincoln. Happy 200th, Charles Darwin!

Although the two men never met, here is an article about how Darwin's and Lincoln's life works were connected: click here

3rd Annual Visit to Apalachicola

Elliot and I took our 3rd trip to Apalachicola this past Friday and Saturday. We had a wonderful time, despite the fact that it was basically a series of mishaps and misfortunes.

We were excited to go back to Apalachicola because we took up bird watching this past year and we figured that we might see some new species. Friday after work we packed for our trip and hopped in Elliot's car. About an hour into the car ride, a bird flew into the side of the car, killing itself. We didn't run into it-- it ran into us. Not a happy way to start the trip. Especially not a bird watching trip.

In Apalachicola, we rented a room at a bed and breakfast, then went and had a delicious dinner. Once we got back to the room, I climbed into the bed, which was very high off of the ground and required a step-stool to get into. It was a big, four-poster bed and it had a thick, wooden frame. When I decided to get back down off the bed, I slid down the side and hit my leg very,very hard along the frame, giving myself big, purple bruise. It hurt so badly!

The next day, Elliot and I walked all over the downtown area. Apalachicola has a bird sanctuary with a science center and a nature trail, so we decided to go check it out. The science center was closed, so we took the nature trail in order to do some bird watching. We saw a big flock of robins at the start of the trail and we took a long time observing them.

As we continued, walking past the robins, I felt a scratch along my lower back and reached back to brush away whatever was touching me. I felt dirt or something like it all over my back. Unsure of what it was, I touched under my waistband and felt still more dirt. Feeling concerned, I reached down into my underwear and felt that my underwear was full of dirt, too. I had no idea where it came from, so I got frantic.

"Elliot! There are little things in my underwear! LOTS OF THEM!!!"

Without even thinking, I pulled down my pants and the back of my underwear, brushing frantically at my rear end. Elliot helped me, trying not to laugh.

We got everything out of my pants (still not sure what it was or how it got there), looked around to make sure no one saw, then moved on. Not twenty feet ahead we saw a sign. This is what it said (no joke): "Due to a recent problem with vandalism in this area, police will be patrolling here on a regular basis. Video surveillance cameras have be set up along the trail. Vandals will be prosecuted."

Elliot and I sure got a laugh out of that. I'm sure that the Apalachicola police department got quite a laugh, too, watching some crazy lady dance around with her butt hanging out of her pants. (If there are in fact cameras, that is.)

At the end of the trail, we DID see a bald eagle! That made it worth it.

The rest of the trip was fine-- we bought some chocolates from a chocolatier. They weren't very good. Then we went to a few antique stores, found nothing that we wanted to buy, and went home.

Can't wait to go back next year!!!

Happy Birthday, Sara!

Today is my sister Sara's birthday. She shares her birthday with our Uncle Jack and our cousin Lori. Happy birthday to all!

Here's a picture of Sara that's AT LEAST 6 years old:

Skink!

Specifically, either a "Five-lined Skink" or a "Southeastern Five-lined Skink," according to wikipedia anyway. Either way, it's a juvenille and it looks totally cool.

We found it in the back yard crawling around in the dirt, probably hunting centipedes. Which they supposedly eat. Yeah, right. Let's just say I haven't seen any skinks up untill now but I have seen centipedes on multiple occasions. You do the math.

Congrats to Sara and Bret!

My sister, Sara, called me tonight.

Sara: Come over. I have something I want to show you.

Me: What is it? We have to go grocery shopping and it's already late. Can it wait until tomorrow?

S: No. Just come over. I want to show you.

M: Did you get a pet? A cat?

S: No. Come over.

M: Are you pregnant or something?

S: No!

M: Did you find a baby somewhere? Is there a baby involved in this?

S: No!

M: Then it can wait until tomorrow. I'll call you then.

S: Just come over!

M: Tell me what it is you want to show me, then I'll decide if we're coming over.

S: It's an engagement ring.

So congratulations to Sara and Bret. No date is set yet, but the ring is very pretty (we did go see it, after all). A diamond solitaire. Good for them!

Robin 'hood

Our neighborhood has been full of robins lately. Today they descended on our yard. The cats were beside themselves...

Falkland Island Warmer

So, I've discovered that I don't like Drambuie. It's the licorice. I really hate licorice and anything that tastes remotely like it. :(

The ONLY recipe that I could find exclusive to the Falkland Islands was a drink recipe, called the Falkland Island Warmer. Apparently it was created in the Falkland Islands a long time ago. Figuring that a drink recipe is better than no recipe at all, I spent about $40 on a bottle of Drambuie (read: licorice water) and made the drink. Yuck. But if you like Drambuie, then I'm sure that this is the drink for you!

Two's Company...

My sister, Sara, officially moved out of our house on January 10th. She is now living across town with her long-time boyfriend, Bret.

Sara and I have lived together for 25 years... all but 3 years of Sara's life! A quarter of a decade!

Here's a picture of Sara packing up some of the last of her belongings (see how sad she looks?):



And here is a picture of Bret pretending to comfort her while she pretends to cry:



In actuality, Sara, Bret, Elliot, and I are all quite pleased with the new arrangement. We see each other often, so there hasn't even been much of a chance for us to miss each other.

Because Sara moved out, we had to get our adoption home study updated to reflect the changed circumstances. Our caseworker came to our house and looked around, and asked us a few questions. Now she will correct our paperwork and that new home study will be sent to childrens' caseworkers, allowing us to eventually get matched with a child for adoption.

So many exciting changes!

President Obama

Regardless of personal political preferences, yesterday was a historic time for all Americans. Elliot and I had the opportunity to go watch the inauguration during lunchtime yesterday at our friend Sheila's house.

In case you missed the inauguration benediction by Dr. Joseph Lowery (leader in the civil rights movement) here it is:

Happy MLK Day!

His last speech:

Happy Birthday, John!

Yesterday was our friend John's birthday. We met with him and two friends for dinner. In the picture, left to right: Elliot, me, John, Amy, Chris.

New Year's Wedding

Jen took this picture of us at her brother-in-law's wedding on January 3rd. Thanks for the picture, Jen!

Thanksgiving weekend at Disney World

The day after thanksgiving, Mary and I visited with her Mom and extended family at Disney World. It had been a long time since we had been so it was fun for us to remember what it was like and watch younger kids experience it. Nowadays it's all about the pins.

(Mary's cousin, Joseph)

I found out that they are collectible souveneirs that are perfectly designed to be flashy and desirable. Apparently you can just trade for them with anyone at the park who has them, even staff.

Also it's about fireworks

At Animal Kingdom it was all about animals(not surprising),

and the manimals (surprising).

(Mary's cousin, Jacob)

Also, it was a little about drumming.

But most of all it was about relatives having fun!

(with Mary's cousin, Theresa)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy birthday to my mother!

Elliot and I went to breakfast with my mom, dad, and Laura this morning. Here's a picture:

Hello, 2009!

Happy 2009, everyone!

Auld Lang Syne:

Goodbye, 2008

Happy New Year's Eve! Stay safe, and see you in 2009. :)

Mary and Mara in High School

Randy took this picture of Mara and me while we were all still in high school. Then I recently took this picture from Randy's profile page on facebook.com... Thanks, Randy! And thanks, world wide web!

(Note: Do I have the same hair cut now that I had 11 years ago? I think I do! Weird!)

Thanksgiving Day 2008

This great pic was taken on Thanksgiving Day 2008 (l-r: Mike, Katie, Elliot, Mary).

Yoink

Yoink is our youngest cat, but he's also the biggest and the heaviest. Go figure.

Once upon a time, there was a birthday fair.

When I was little I used to love going to the county fair which would always show up around the time of my birthday.  Well, where we live now, the fair shows up on Mary's birthday!  What once was tradition, is so again, this time for Mary.  

Here's pics:

Cutie alert!

That's the Gravetron in the background there.

We also met up with our friend, Leslie and together we enjoyed many a fair staple:

deep fried Oreos!

award winning, metaphor laden, diaroma

rediculously adorable drawings

Man Shark!

and of course, cute smiling livestock

They pretty much have everything at the Leon County fair.  Notice how we didn't go on any rides though.  We thought it a little too ironic to celebrate life by laughing in the face of death.  I mean, its a county fair, not Walt Disney World...

We're With the Band!

Here's an action shot of Katie's boyfriend, Mike (drummer), playing with his band during their visit to Tallahassee on 11/22/08: