| Beaker, week 3 |
[May. 7th, 2008|09:20 pm] |
Beaker flew for the first time this past Saturday and hasn't stopped since. We got him a big, beautiful parrot cage. I also came to grips with the fact that I'm a terrible rehabber and probably won't let him go. He's so used to people (and cats!) that he has no fear, and in our mostly-urban area and our cat-friendly condo complex, that wouldn't be the best thing. I'm occasionally assaulted with waves of guilt over this, but someone reminded me that by taking him in altogether, I've given him a chance at life that he never would have had. I'm sticking to the story that if he starts to show signs of stress, and a desire to be out in the world, I will let him go.
Speaking of stress, he dislikes going to bed at night and away from me. He is sitting on my thigh right now while I type, happily preening away, and has no idea that despite his birdie-crying, he will be going back to the cage for bed. He doesn't have a problem with the cage any other time (although he prefers to be out of it and visiting me) except at night.
He looks like a mourning dove now, not like a Nazgul, and I haven't photographed him since last weekend. He's beautiful and I love him. Even though I put him to bed when he doesn't want to go. |
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| This is so wrong... |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|08:55 pm] |
So apparently when you take The Count, and censor the word "count" in his song... you get this video.
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| Two posts in one day: Second Post: Boom de ah dah!! |
[Apr. 28th, 2008|09:38 pm] |
Those of you who like the commercial will love the full video.
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| Two posts in one day: First Post |
[Apr. 28th, 2008|09:37 pm] |
Beaker Update!
I haven't posted about him in almost a week, but Beaker's doing great. I don't have pictures, but he's almost fully feathered and eating really well. He came to school today (and will all week) becaues I need to feed him so often, and all the kids (and teachers!) thought he was pretty awesome. He enjoyed the attention a little too much, methinks... he may be difficult or impossible to release. But we love him more and more each day. Today he crawled up to my shoulder after his last feeding and nestled between my neck and my hair. SO CUTE it was sickening. Love to Beaker. |
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| Our Wedsite! |
[Apr. 24th, 2008|11:06 pm] |
I'm posting this all over the intarwebs tonight. I finished our wedding website! I'm super proud of it! Here it is.
http://wedding.skinut.net |
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| Meme Thievery (stolen from kixeldorado) |
[Apr. 24th, 2008|01:31 pm] |
Each question gets answered with ONE word. ONE.
1. Where is your mobile phone? Desk
2. Your significant other? Driving
3. Your hair? Urgh
4. Your mother? Interested
5. Your father? Retiring
6. Your favorite thing? Snuggles
7. Your dream last night? Terrifying
8. Your favorite drink? Sangria
9. Your dream/goal? Successful
10. The room you're in? Living
11. Your ex? Married
12. Your fear? Disappointment
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Wealthy
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. What you're not? Pregnant
16. Muffins? Blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? Kayak
18. Where you grew up? Florida
19. The last thing you did? Exhaled
20. What are you wearing? Jeans
21. Your TV? Busted
22. Your pets? Mischievous
23. Your computer? Overworked
24. Your life? Fantastic
25. Your mood? Content
26. Missing someone? Yeah
27. Your car? Parked
28. Something you're not wearing? Fedora
29. Favorite Store? Borders
30. Your summer? Anticipation
31. Like someone? Whoo!
32. Your favorite color? Blue
33. When is the last time you laughed? Noon
34. Last time you cried? Forgotten |
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| Beaker: Days 4 and 5 |
[Apr. 22nd, 2008|09:08 pm] |
Beaker is doing very well at the close of Day 5. I've been mixing his formula a lot drier, so he can eat it in clumps, and he doesn't get quite so messy. He can open his mouth REALLY wide now to be fed. He's also been drinking water, since his formula is drier. I've been so happy with his progress!
In related news, we were outside today and He-yet saw a mourning dove back on the nest. She wasn't moving or responding at all, so thinking she was dead, he shook the tree a little. She flew off. He climbed up and saw a baby in the nest! A giant baby, twice the size of Beaker (since when one is gone the other eats all the food for two). Even if we were going to try and reintroduce him to the nest, there would have been no room; this baby was too big for the nest as it was. The new theory is that he got shoved out as a newly hatched chick, which is why the egg was near him, and mom didn't want him anymore :( She wasn't anywhere to be found the whole time we left him out there. Maybe it was an accident, or maybe he was the runt, but either way we'll be the ones feeding him now until he's old enough to go out on his own.
Here's a video of him eating:
Pictures of him are behind the cut. ( Birdie! ) |
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| Beaker: Day 3 |
[Apr. 20th, 2008|10:55 pm] |
So Beaker is doing quite well here at the close of Day 3. He's eating very well four times a day, because I can't seem to get the timing right to feed him five times. I'm getting better at feeding him, and he's getting better at eating. He's a hungry little guy! He is practically all yellow when he finishes eating, since he's so messy, and after eating I wash him off with warm water and then snuggle him in a towel. He goes to sleep almost immediately, and then I put him back in his box/nest.
We took pictures yesterday and a video but haven't uploaded them yet.
So today we rode 12 miles on the bike trail to and from Northampton, which was really nice, then went to a friend's house for a BBQ. Now my pelvic bones HURT because of biking... but I guess that's normal. I have a business meeting tomorrow and I hope it goes well.
Till then... |
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| Mourning Dove update |
[Apr. 19th, 2008|12:34 pm] |
So... I couldn't help it and we named him. He's Beeker. He-yet was calling him Squeaker, but I had a bird named Squeaky once so I didn't want to duplicate. The eventual goal is to get him old enough and independent enough to be released back into the wild.
He still makes a mess when he eats, but he's getting better at it. I tried other means of feeding him but he prefers to dig in between my fingers, so that's the method I'm sticking with. He-yet took some pictures of him, and then we'll take some pictures of me feeding him for your intarweb entertainment. |
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| Four entries, one day. I BOGART TEH INTARWEB!!! |
[Apr. 18th, 2008|08:35 pm] |
| What color is your soul painted? Red Your soul is painted the color red, which embodies the characteristics of love, strength, physical energy, sex, passion, courage, protection, excitement, speed, leadership, power, danger, and respect. Red is the color of the element Fire, and is associated with blood, life and death, birth, volcanoes, and intense emotions. 
Click Here to Take This Quiz | 
Quizzes and Personality Tests |
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| "WEET! WEET!" Bird update |
[Apr. 18th, 2008|08:30 pm] |
Apparently baby morning doves go "WEET!! WEET!!" when they're hungry, or bored, or lonely, or... awake. But it's quiet and cute.
So I went through my second official feeding of the baby bird a little while ago. (FYI: hand-feeding birds takes a long time.) The thing with doves and pigeons is the parents don't put the food down their throats: the babies stick their heads down their parents' throats and eat from the crop.
My committment to the bird doesn't go THAT far.
Hence you don't use a syringe to hand-feed pigeons and doves; the babies aren't used to having things shoved down their throats, plus they can asphyxiate if you miss and shove food down the trachea. Not my idea of a good time.
We (the bird and I) discovered tonight that he (he? she?) likes to stick his little beak in between my fingers in search of food, since that mimics the sensation of sticking his beak into his parents' mouths. Thus to feed him in the easiest way, I put the mushy bird formula between my fingers and he gets it EVERYWHERE while feeding, but he does feed. This is quite possibly the messiest way to feed any living creature. He seems happy about it though, and he ended up with a moderately full crop, so I'm happy too. I'll feed him one more time before bed tonight.
If he makes it through the weekend, I'll start soliciting the internet for name ideas. |
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| Bird rescue! |
[Apr. 18th, 2008|06:04 pm] |
So yesterday He-yet calls me at work to tell me that there's a baby bird on the ground outside abandoned near an egg (broken) and lots of gray feathers. We've had mourning doves nesting on the tree outside our bedroom for a while, and haven't heard them in a few days. I come home and investigate, sure enough it's a mourning dove baby (still in the pinky stage, all skin and pinfeathers) and it appears something "got" the momma bird.
At this I haven't yet used the great internet to determine what to do, but I feed the bird (or attempt to feed the bird) some warm milk/water, and his crop is already full, so we leave him out there to see if mom is around. By nightfall mom still isn't there, it's been hours and hours, so (to He-yet's reluctance) I bring him in.
I read up on baby mourning doves, make him a nest and get him warm. We don't expect him to make it through the night. Get up this morning, and he's alive and looking around and alert. I feed him some cornmeal and water from a shot glass (he sticks his head in a few times) and go to work. He-yet checks on him throughout the day.
So now he's still alive and alert. He doesn't eat very well. I bought hand-feeding formula and more of it gets on him than in him, but I think it's not warm enough so I'll feed him again in a few hours and make sure it's warmer.
Not sure how I got into this, but I'm happy to temporarily be a bird-mom. I mean, aside from my three parakeets. I hope little bird (who doesn't yet have a name) lives, but even if he dies, he's had a better life than if we let him freeze to death last night or get eaten. |
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| Which Film Hero are You? (stolen from wavechaser) |
[Apr. 18th, 2008|05:45 pm] |
This is me:
| |  | James Bond : 81%
| | Jim Levenstein (American Pie) : 77% | | Néo (Matrix) : 72% | | Maximus (Gladiator) : 72% | | Tony Montana (Scarface) : 70% | | Hannibal Lecter : 70% | | Indiana Jones : 67% | | Batman / Bruce Wayne : 65% | | Forrest Gump : 63% | | Yoda (Star Wars) : 61% | | Eric Draven (The Crow) : 58% | | Schrek : 54% |
Quel héros de film es-tu ?
There is an English version, too. |
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| Cake Balls (no, this has nothing to do with kinky sex) |
[Apr. 14th, 2008|10:28 pm] |
| [ | I'm feeling |
| |  Over-sugared | ] |
So in my dessert hunting, I came upon this phenomenon known as "cake balls."
Link is here.
For the link-lazy, cake balls are made as follows: make a cake mix cake. When it comes out of the oven, crumble it into a bowl until it's just crumbs, then mix in a container of frosting. Refrigerate until somewhat firm. Roll into balls, then dip into melted chocolate.
I know, I know. I thought the same thing.
Tomorrow is my birthday, so I decided to make cake balls, so I gathered the ingredients and made them tonight. It was too late to dip in chocolate by the time I finished, so I rolled a dozen in powdered sugar and left the rest in the freezer to stay hard for tomorrow. (They don't have to be frozen, but they dip better that way.)
Let me say... yummy. Don't get me wrong, it's a diabetic coma in an aesthetically-pleasing ball shape. But oh, OHHHH, it's delicious. A little gooey-ish on the inside; think truffle rather than damp cake and it will help. I am looking forward to the chocolate-dipped ones tomorrow.
Edited to add: since I typed this, He-yet ate six more, then threw the bag at me and said "Get these things away from me!!" So they seem to be addictive. |
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| Hello, Everybody! (Dr. Nick voice) |
[Mar. 24th, 2008|07:24 pm] |
So I'm over the flu! Delightful. Except for an occasional nose-blowing and an obligatory cough now and then, I'm fit as a fiddle in the flu department. I drained my sinuses a la SinuCleanse yesterday and the day before, one of my favorite things to do when sick to feel better.
As for where I'm not fit as a fiddle, I had to put off my chiropractor's appointment for a week (to tomorrow) because of the flu last week, and then they called me today to reschedule me because the forgot the doc won't be in tomorrow. They had Wednesday or Friday, but I took Friday because I have meetings on Wednesday. Well, my back just totally spasmed and went wonky for the first time in nearly forever, so I'll be bumping up that appointment and leaving work early Wednesday.
Seriously, I'm starting to think that I'm one of the most boring bloggers in the world... or this is the most boring blog ever. EVAR. Top it with boringness, I dare you.
I paid the deposit on my wedding dress (wow, a phrase that still seems weird to me) and sent in my measurements, so now I've conquered the most daunting part of the bridal process without ever setting foot in a bridal shop. SCORE.
Next to me, there are Peeps and I will eat them now. (That statement is Haiku-like in its beautiful simplicity.)
I love peeps. I have stuffed animal peeps as well that have been given to me over the last few years. (Chicks, not bunnies.) The chicks are freaking ADORABLE. Oh, and delicious. Mmmmm, Peeps.
OH! Except Chris makes peeping noises at me when I'm eating them, and screams when I bite them. He is a TWISTED BASTARD, so I can't fully enjoy them. |
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| Right... the dress! |
[Mar. 21st, 2008|05:37 pm] |
So here are my official sketches from Chrissy about my dress. It's exactly as I designed it. The top is empire waist, with colored straps and accents. A lot of the dress will be white, but there will be a wide panel down the front and back that's mixed red, orange and yellow, and there are sheer white chiffon overlays (that you can see on the sides, with some of the dyed underlay showing through). It will be hand dyed. Here it is in all its glory ( behind the cut. )
Now that she's got my deposit, it will be mine in just a few months. At least... once I send her my measurements. |
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| White Foofiness Updates |
[Mar. 19th, 2008|08:41 pm] |
So, I don't update my journal much. I guess I shall. Here are the wedding updates:
*Work gave me the okay to take Columbus Day week off for my honeymoon cruise.
*Because of work's go-ahead, we have a wedding date of Saturday, October 11th, 2008.
*Our moms (mine and his) are throwing me a shower and I've been told I "have to register places now." It's kind of weird for me... I don't have parties for my birthday, and being part of any event where people buy me presents just seems kind of strange. Who knew? Maybe I'll register for climbing gear and camping stuff along with basic household goods. :)
*We're getting married in New England. Three that we're considering right now are (top choice) The Night Kitchen, Stratton Mountain, and Sugarbush Resort.
*We're probably doing an earlier-in-the-day wedding, as it's soooo much cheaper to do lunch than dinner.
*Chrissy at Wai-Ching has agree to design and create my dress, and she's sent me sketches and sample fabric, and everything's GORGEOUS and a total go-ahead.
*We probably won't have a DJ, and we'll do the whole thing from our more-than-sufficient 15 gigs of digital music.
*Everyone invited to the wedding is also invited to cruise with us. I mean, those who aren't giving birth at the time. :)
*We have a written guest list.
Wow, when I lay it all out, it looks like we have some of our shit together. The best thing is, I'm really not stressed about anything. It's actually pretty fun, and I'm trying to remain low-key.
That said, the flu sucks my ass. I've been leaving work early every day and coming home to nap, which has been pretty awesome. The flu itself is on its last legs, and I'll be better soon. Tonight's my first night without Nyquil, so we'll see how it goes. |
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| STOLEN! I love this meme!!! |
[Mar. 10th, 2008|05:48 pm] |
Go to www. photobucket. com (don't sign in).
Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box.
Use only the first page.
Copy the html and paste for the answer.
( Mine are below the cut! ) |
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| Turns out I'm a girl. |
[Mar. 6th, 2008|10:48 pm] |
Yeah, so although I've been pretty level-headed about this wedding thing, my main fascination and obsession has been with The Dress. For forever, I've wanted color, creativity, design, custom work... it's about the only part of the wedding I wouldn't want to compromise on. (Groom's identity notwithstanding.)
Well after poking at indiebride.com and offbeatbride.com, I was turned on to Chrissy Wai-Ching, who not only does freaking AMAZING work on colorful, unique dresses, but she does it CHEAPLY. She custom-makes every dress. I've pored over the designs and lusted after the fabrics, and read all the threads about her on other forums, and finally emailed her. She emailed back, she was super nice, and she'd love to work with me on a custom dress and make it fit my budget.
So I squeeed like a girlie-girl and accepted the fact that I can be a little crazy about The Dress. I hope it all works out.
In related news... October 11th, 2008 will most likely be the big day, as long as work approves my week off, which I think (hope?) they will. The Board meets next Friday and I'll know after that. |
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| The White Froofy Gateway to Hell |
[Mar. 2nd, 2008|08:10 pm] |
So as I begin to indulge my wedding-planning excitement while retaining a modicum of sanity, I might as well chronicle it here.
First of all, I've been aware for some time that the wedding industry was a frightening monstrosity, and I've resolved to avoid the really horrible aspects as I wade through these treacherous waters. I did purchase The Anti-Bride Guide today, which I've been eyeing for years. But it wasn't until today, when I stood in front of the wedding section at Barnes and Noble, still feeling like an imposter for being there, that I realized exactly how vomit-inducing weddings are.
I am not dissing anyone who chooses the truly traditional route for their wedding, but that is not the route for Chris and I. I will come off as judgemental and bitchy, I'm sure, but I don't particularly care. Don't defend your wedding choices to me: I'm happy your day was just like you wanted it, tulle and roses and all. But the MONEY involved? The very notion that people spend $25,000 for the "average" wedding makes me have an apopleptic fit. (Note: spelling "apopleptic" does the same thing, and I'm not looking it up to see if I spelled it right. Life's full of uncertainty.)
I refuse to bow to any insistence that if I somehow don't coordinate my napkin rings with my invitations, that I'm any less married. We're having a party, dammit! I'm even someone titchy about the fact that my parents want to pay for it all, because the people with the money make the rules. My mother's been uncharacteristically cool about everything so far, but if she starts approaching me glassy-eyed while clutching a lace-covered beaded wedding dress with a 7 foot cathedral train, I'll bail on that and we'll pay for it all. (I don't think she will, but weddings seem to bring out strangeness in people.)
At least now I'm justified in ogling all those wedding websites I've been ogling all these years.
The adventure continues. |
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