Adventures

In Atlanta...

The weekend before Valentine's Day happened to be the only weekend in February that I didn't have to work, so Ben and I decided to make the most of it and take a little getaway. I have been dying to see the aquarium since it opened last decade and I jumped at the chance to go see it. Among the desirable attractions in Atlanta was the Human Body Exhibit which, being the biology/anatomy-loving weirdo that I am, I have been on pins and needles to get a glimpse of that one too. So, we decided to leave early on Saturday, hit up both attractions and come back Sat night. (We have two furry children that depend on us for their life-sustaining needs and we are too cheap to board them.)

Disclaimer: The aquarium was super crowded since we got there mid-day on a Saturday. I was not anticipating this, thus, I was ill at all the people. The following pictures were taken very hurriedly, but I did the best I could given the circumstances...

The aquarium, as a whole, was impressive. I saw many never-seen-before-by-me sea creatures and I found them to be absolutely fascinating. Had there not been such large gatherings at each of the tanks, I could've stayed there for a very long time just observing the animals. I have a very low tolerance for crowds and inconsiderate people in crowds. These people would walk up and stand right in front of where I was standing or stand so close up behind me that I would finally just give in and move. Stupid lurkers.

And speaking of lurkers.... check out this eel peaking out under the rock. I can just hear his little raspy voice now, " GO. AWAY. HUMANS." Poor gimp starfish... your leg will regenerate soon.

This little guy (above), the Sea Dragon, was one of my favorite never-seen-befores. I wish these guys came in giant size and breathed outside of water and hopped around on land.

Du du. Du du. Du du. How do you spell that shark theme? That looks like I'm trying to type the song from the SNL Judy skits... anyway. The exhibit pictured above is probably the main attraction at the aquarium (Minus the beluga whales, which I was hyperventilating to see because they are sooo cute, but they are not there anymore. The aquarium people said they were on "vacation" with no set return date a.k.a. one of them died at the aquarium so we had to get them the heck outta here but we still talk about them and act like we have them. LAME.). However, the aquarium does boast 4 whale sharks which are beautiful and amazing to see so close up. The main viewing area for whale shark tank can accommodate the larger crowds and it was entertaining just to sit and watch all of the fish, sharks, whales, and rays swim about.

The following pictures are of creatures that I thought were just really cool.

The jelly fish, of course, were beautiful, but I have hated them ever since I was about 9 years old and one of them wrapped every one of its blasted tentacles of pain around my thighs and even my wrists, leaving white marks on my skin for nearly a year. I am serious, it was the worst jelly fish sting I have ever received and I remember the stinging pain lasting for days after. Right, mom? Back me up. Anyway, I spent the summers that followed that fateful sting taking my revenge out on all the jellies by catching them in nets and burying them in the sand. I caught and buried about 100. I guess that might have been a little extreme....

If I could have taken home any of the creatures from the aquarium to keep at my house, (besides a penguin, and I couldn't take a penguin from the aquarium because they didn't have any penguins to spare in their 3 foot by 3 foot penguin exhibit of 2 penguins) I would take one of these little sea horses. Notice the picture is terrible because there was one tiny 2 foot aquarium that 18 people were gathered around and I had to act fast. In fact, this picture makes them look kind of gross, but they aren't. Like the Sea Dragons, these guys amazed me. I think it is so cool the way God created so many different creatures, all unique and special. Just like the little Coddle fish in the picture below....adorable! The Sea Dragons, Sea Horses, and Coddle fish all had these tiny tentacle-looking things that enabled them to float in place and move around. They moved these tentacles so fast you could barely see them, and if you didn't look closely, you wouldn't even notice they were there.

I would've found the worm/snake-like creatures in the picture below absolutely detestable had they not had such cute little faces. They look absolutely confused and panicked and they all just sat there peaking out of their holes. Then, they all simultaneously backed down into their holes, then popped back out. The sign by their aquarium said that they will rarely ever leave their burrows. I mean, bizaar. They reminded me of the mer-people on The Little Mermaid that Ursula had hit with her pitchfork lightning. I'm pretty sure they're the same thing.

That about sums up the aquarium.... take away facts:

1. Don't go on a weekend in the middle of the day

2. Penquin exhibit = LAME

3. Beluga whales on "vacation" = LAME

4. They have many uncommon fish that are interesting to see

5. Definitely worth the drive and the cost of a ticket if there aren't large crowds

Now, it would be a travesty if I didn't give a shout out to the Human Body Exhibit because this was, by far, my favorite thing. I have no pictures of this because 1. I don't think pictures would've been allowed and 2. Taking pictures of dead humans and posting them on the blog would be morbid and weird.

Now, brace yourself, the Human Body exhibit is full of real, dissected, human bodies, all of which are Asian. Didn't see that one coming, did you? Me either. Anyway, all the bodies had intact fingernails, toenails, lips, nose, ears, eyebrows, and (ahem) private areas. In fact, the very first time I saw a body and realized it had all those parts, I got a little queasy. Then, after a minute of psyching myself up, I was ok.

I have to tell you that this exhibit was absolutely amazing. I felt that it was very professionally done and extremely educational. Even Ben really enjoyed it and he has never been very interested in biology-type stuff. He said it really helped him make sense of how the body works. There was only one evolutionary biased statement made throughout the whole exhibit which made me pleasantly surprised, but still irate at the same time. I mean, even if I didn't believe in creation, I still wouldn't believe in Evolution because it is STUPID! But that is another post for another day.....

And last, but not least, ok... it is probably least, but still... If you go to the Body Exhibit, you need to make a stop at Kilwin's the chocolate shop. It is awesome! Ben and I were stuffed from dinner but still managed to down some fudge and a caramel apple. We even considered buying 3 more pieces of fudge to take home, but thought better of it since we are trying to get off the the path to obesity.

If you are still with me, thanks for stopping by! If you would like more information about any of the aforementioned places, do not hesitate to shoot me an email.

Nature Hike Gone Hit and Run

The Nature Hike idea started when I decided to go out and practice taking some pictures with my new lens. I was trying to get some pictures kind of like this..

Did I mention that it's winter and everything is dead and good nature shots are hard to come by? Anyway, I brought the dogs along and everything started out nice and peaceful, kind of like this...

Then, it turned into a bit of a wrestling match. (They do this every day and it is normally initiated by the poodle. Can you tell?)

Then, Berkley found the puddles. He loves to splash in puddles and normally does this at the most inopportune times, like when I'm late for work, having company over, etc. As mad as it makes me, I can't help but laugh because it is hilarious!

While in the midst of puddle splashing, Berkley noticed Pete who was off in the grass minding his own business....

"Alas! Something must be done!" shouted Berkley as he ran full speed towards Pete. The events that unfolded happened something like this....

Sneaky, sneaky Berkley.... He proceeded to attack Pete from behind time after time after time...

Can you see Pete in the grass? He's the darker spot Berkley is headed for...

And he's going back for more!

"Woohoo!!!"

"Haha, Sucka!!"

"Gotcha again!"

"Holla!"

Collision in the ditch of mud!

"Look behind you!!"

"Ram-a-lam!"

"Ok, let's go home mom."

So, I didn't exactly get the shots I was going for, but I had a lot of good laughs! Never a dull moment with those two characters.

The Best Day

When I woke up on Friday morning, I was disappointed to find no white fluffiness on the ground, or anywhere for that matter. I had been looking forward to this day since I first heard about the Winter Storm several days prior. It was all settled, Ben was not driving to Notasulga or Montevalo for work because the frozen roads would not be safe for driving; therefore, he'd have to stay home with me. Darn.

When the snow began to fall before 8:00 am, I was so excited! It was really happening! I can't remember the last time I had a snow day. Snow days bring back sweet memories of no school, relaxing at home with my family, playing in the snow, mom making snow cream, a warm fire in the fireplace, my grandmother making us hot chocolate on the stove, mom and dad taking us kids sledding in the cemetery (I know), building a giant snowman with hushpuppies for eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons (I know), and my little pink snow boots with balloons that changed colors in the cold. It doesn't get any better than that!

This was my first snow day with Ben and I was overjoyed that we had the whole day (almost) just to spend time together. We were so excited that we didn't HAVE to do anything (until 5:00 when I went on call) and we had so much fun just hanging out, eating brunch at Cracker Barrell, going to Wal Mart for goodies, and watching movies. I kept saying "This is the best day!"

This is our backyard in the early afternoon.

This is our house in the snow. We never did get around to building that snowman but Ben did keep the fire crackling in the fireplace all day long!

Berkley loved his spot by the fire and napped there for most of the afternoon. It was quite the lazy day for all of us.

I hope all of you got to have a fun and lazy snow day too!

Now What?

After working around the clock (literally) from Tuesday at 5 pm until Monday at 8 pm, I was ready for a break. I am now on day 3 of my 3 off days in a row and I still feel like I'm in a stupor. Don't get me wrong, I have accomplished a few tasks, unloading the boxes of old stuff I took from my parents' house from my car, cleaning the shower, vacuuming, cooking dinner etc.... I also made a trip to Wal Mart (against my will) and I went to my first soccer practice at Trinity (more on that later). So, I haven't been completely worthless these past few days.

Due to my jobs and traveling, I haven't been able to go to church in the past month. I hated I was missing out on Buddy's new series "Direction, not intention determines your destination" so I went searching for the podcast on the church website. And.. I found it! Yay! The series, as previously stated, focuses on what paths you are on in your life. Each path has a predetermined destination. If you make plans to go to Destin, pack your car, buy your sunscreen, etc, but get on I-65 headed north, you aren't going to make it to Destin. You may have the intentions to go there, but you aren't going the right direction. Makes sense, doesn't it? Anyway, it got me thinking about what paths I'm on and what are the destinations I am headed for? Do I want to stay on these paths or do I need to be on new ones? For example, right now I am on the path headed for obesity. Bad path. Need a new path. I have intentions of working out, spending time on my wii fit, and drinking lots of water; but my path of cokes, candy, and sloth-like behaviors are just not going to get me to my "fit and in shape" destination. So, that's what I'm doing these days... thinking about said paths. I'm not just talking about the getting-in-shape-to-be-ready-for-summertime-don't-wanna-be-seen-in-a-swimsuit-at-the-girls-night-hot-tub-party-on-Friday path. I'm also talking about what path my marriage is on, what path my friendships are on, what path my spiritual life is on, I could go on and on.

Hopefully I'll gain some clarity over the next few days and be able to come up with some actual "resolutions" seeing as I never came up with any at the start of 2010... and here it is February! Oh well, gotta start somewhere, right?

Ben and I are hoping to take a trip to the Georgia aquarium very soon. I am so excited because I've been dying to see it since it opened! Maybe I'll have some pictures to post soon.