All work and some play...

I saw it sitting on the loading dock at work. I have no idea where it's from. When you see an opportunity like this you have to act. Come on people, you know you would fake wrestle a gator too if you could.

Happy Birthday Chris!

Awww, you guys were just too cute! Hope you had a great day Chris! We'll see you guys this weekend. Andy said Zach really knows my name-can't wait to talk to him!

Red Robin

After completing his first week of work, Andy and I went out to dinner to celebrate. His pick was Red Robin. For those of you who have never been to one, it's probably like the franchised arch-nemesis of The Mining Co. His burger was the 5 Alarm Burger: pepperjack cheese, jalapeños, salsa, lettuce and Chipotle mayo. Mine was the Teriyaki Chicken: Charbroiled chicken with swiss cheese, teriyaki sauce, grilled pineapple, lettuce and mayo. Guess who downed Pepto first? No, you're wrong, it was me. He's feeling no pain-how is that possible?

Big day for Andy (and Cash)

Today was Andy's first day back at work. It came one day short of eight months since his accident. I spoke to him briefly at lunch and it sounds like things are going well. My guess is that he'll be quite tired this week. To prepare Cash for his change of schedule (he'll have to be by himself during the days) I left him in our garage while I ran some errands. I thought that he'd like having a place to sleep, some food and toys, the radio, etc. Here is what I found when I got home...


Yeah, he pulled two bags of cypress mulch to the center of the garage and shredded them. Maybe he will have to stay in the kennel after all.

More Colors!

Menards holds a Great Paint Event every now and then and so do we. Above are some of Andrew's latest projects. The office is now Maiden Voyage Blue and our bedroom is a two-tone of Slate and Buckwheat. It really makes a difference.

Try this at Heathrow

There are times when I feel sad that I don't live in a big city, mainly when I hear about an interesting activity that's going on elsewhere. Today a co-worker was telling me about Body Worlds 2 which she saw in Chicago on Friday. I was bummed because Andrew and I missed seeing Body Worlds 1 in Chicago in 2005 by one weekend. (We had miscalculated and it had left for Boston one weekend earlier.) How quickly the big city daydream fades though...

I drove out to the airport to pick up a shipment for work this evening. I left the house at 5:15 p.m. I arrived at the airport at 5:25 p.m. I pulled up to the entrance (yes, that is singular) and parked in the loading zone. (I assumed that was okay though because the airport was about to close.) I then walked about 10 steps into the airport and the woman at the terminal counter (again, singular) turned and said, "Hi, are you here for the birds?" I told her yes, I signed two forms and she handed me the shipping crates. A gentleman appeared and said, "Can I carry those to your car for you?" I again said yes, walked 10 steps out of the airport and the man loaded them into my car. I hopped into my car and headed to work. I should point out that the man was not a baggage handler looking for a tip, he was the pilot of the plane who wanted to help out. What's the best part of this story....I was home again before 6:00 p.m. Ahhh, small towns.

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry!

Okay, to everyone reading this pay attention! It takes some concentrating.

Jack and Jill are a couple approaching their 60s. They have been married about 30 years or so. They have a daughter named Cammie who is almost 30 and a son named Kyle who is about 25. Kyle is married to Lisa. Lisa is 24 and has two children from a previous relationship. Lisa's children are age 9 and 8 and are currently in foster care with Lisa trying to regain custody. Cammie is Lisa's boss. One day Lisa did not show up to work, so Cammie called her brother to find out why her sister-in-law wasn't at work. Kyle answered, "Lisa has been having an affair with dad (Jack) for the last four months and they have packed up and skipped town together." To which Cammie replied, "What did mom (Jill) say about it?" "Nothing, she is out of town with her 27 year old boyfriend."

Hmmm, now I know what everyone is thinking, did Abby skip work today and stay home to watch Jerry Springer? No, "Cammie" is a co-worker of mine (not in my department). This is a true story, I just changed all the names. I told "Cammie" today at work that I felt really sorry for her brother, Kyle. She responded cheerfully, "Don't be sorry. He's been cheating on her too."

Next time you are about to say that your family has problems just imagine the next Thanksgiving table discussion for this family....

Aquarium's new addition makes big impression

Alligator gar is 51/2 feet long and has large teeth

by ERIK HOGSTROM

Check out the teeth on one of Dubuque's newest residents: There are two rows of big and sharp chompers.

"It is pretty well equipped to hang on to anything it catches," said Lee Jackson, husbandry director at Dubuque's National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

Jackson spoke about the museum's 51/2-foot-long alligator gar, newly admitted to the main channel aquarium.

The fish weighs about 120 pounds, but Jackson said the approximately 20-year-old specimen could grow much larger.

An alligator gar can grow as long as 12 feet and weigh more than 250 pounds.

"Of the seven species of gar, this is by far the largest," Jackson said.

The alligator gar's broad snout differs from the narrow snouts of the other gar occupants of the main channel aquarium.

"They will eat fish, turtles, small water birds - a wide variety of things," Jackson said.

Alligator gars live in rivers, sloughs, backwater and coastal brackish areas from the Gulf of Mexico to just south of St. Louis. The museum acquired the fish from a commercial dealer.

As with other gars, the alligator variety occasionally surfaces to gulp air.

"It's an adaptation that helps them survive in less-than-pristine waters," Jackson said.

He thinks the acquisition of the alligator gar gives the museum a more complete collection of Mississippi River aquatic life.

He hopes visitors gain a better appreciation of the fish.

"Primitive fish tend to be under-appreciated," Jackson said. "They really are an integral part of the ecosystem."

The gar, catfish and other occupants of the main channel aquarium are too big for the alligator gar's tastes.

What if it was placed in the smaller aquarium with its smaller fish?

"He would be the only thing in the tank," Jackson said.

From the Telegraph Herald. Photo by Dave Kettering

Kennel Cough

Cash has kennel cough. Interestingly enough that is something he was vaccinated for as a puppy. The vet told us that if the immunization is given when the animal has a weakened immune system it might not be as effective. The symptoms include this dry, hacking cough (which turned productive for Cash), but he otherwise seems fine. The vet said dogs can have it for quite some time if their symptoms never get very serious or their owners don't pick up on it. The prescribed treatment is a cough suppressant and antibiotics. For those of us with cats in our lives we know that giving cats a pill can be a three person job and you usually end up with a soggy, slimy pill on your kitchen floor. Cash can take pills down three at a time! He likes them in a slice of ham or a dab of peanut butter.

Stampin' Up!

Abby's cards

Stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp.

Lara's cards

Andrea, we wished you were here on Saturday. As Andrew might say it was a rockin' Saturday night. Do you remember when you said call if you have any questions? Well, we had a question at like 1:00 a.m., but decided not to call you! Anyway, it was tons of fun and we'll definitely do it again. Andrew was making major fun of us (stamping for over 6 hours), and the dining room is an absolute disaster, but look at the finished products!

Blah, Blah, Blah

As much as I love the blog traffic you guys are boring me with all this football talk. After all it is baseball season. Dad if you want to get Andy fired up talk about Mark Prior giving up 3 runs in an innning an a half. Andy you can talk to Dad about Beckam coming to the U.S. to become a Scientologist with Tom Cruise. I'll throw in some comments about Brett Favre retiring and maybe about crushing Andy in fantasy football. Chris, I don't know...isn't it time for salary cap fantasy baseball? Let the comments begin!

I got 87

I completed the longevity calculator from the USA Weekend magazine article. Interesting article about the factors in your life that determine your life span. It takes about 10 minutes and the site is www.livingto100.com if you are interested. What did you get?

Organize? Nah, love your mess

This article was in a supplement magazine to the TH a couple weeks ago. Isn't it funny that I meant to post it days ago, but had lost it in random papers on my desk...

Seven reasons you should stop worrying and learn to love your mess

1. Studies show that messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds (and of those who reap higher salaries than those with neat office landscapes).

2. Studies show that owners of messy closets are better parents.

3. Studies show that messy people are more able to improvise solutions to unorthodox problems.

4. Messy people are more realistic.

"It's chasing an illusion to think that any organization-be it a family unit or a corporation-can be completely rid of disorder on any consistent basis," said Jerrold Pollack, a neuropsychologist as Seacoast Mental Health Center in Portsmouth, N.H., whose work involves helping people tolerate the inherent disorder in their lives. "And if it could, should it be? Total organization is a futile attempt to deny and control the unpredictability of life."

5. And they are more life-affirming.

"Order can be profane and life-diminishing," says Rabbi Irwin Kula, author of "Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life," (Hyperion Books, $25). "It's a flippant remark, but if you've never had a messy kitchen, you've probably never had a home-cooked meal."

6. Mess has the dividend of adding time to your day.

7. Remember that it was the overall scumminess of Alexander Fleming's laboratory that led to his discovery of penicillin, from a moldy bloom in a petri dish he had forgotten on his desk.

From the TH supplement magazine Her.

My Kind of Wedding...

White Castle is one thing, but did they have a petting zoo?