What the Duck?

This is me lately.  This is also Jason lately.  Once I have some more time I'll try to post something of interest!

38 Cute Animals, 1 Cool Screen, 8 Different Uses

I saw this today on CuteOverload.com and had to repost it here.  Too cute with all the pet hamsters, bunnies, hedgehogs, chics, puppies, kittens and guinea pigs!  And a great Samsung commercial too!

Dog Woods After the Storms

Jason and I took a trip up to Dog Woods (our 6 acre campsite and get-away) yesterday to see if there was any damage from January's ice storm and last weeks wind storm.  We expected a few trees and limbs down, but were shocked to see that nearly 50% of the trees throughout the property were either down or severely damaged.   Two trees barely missed hitting the camper and the dog kennel is buried under one of them.  The brand new utility pole we had put in at the end of last year was snapped in two and laying on the ground behind the camper.  The utility company had come out to put up a new pole, but we have to call someone else to reattach the box and meter, so until then we have no power to the camper.  There also used to be a nice line of trees behind the camper shielding it from the road and the driveway, but now there are only a couple left.  The main power lines that run along the easement are only about six feet off the ground right now so I looks like the utility company still has some work to do as well.

Needless to say, Dog Woods did not fare well through the storms and we have a LOT of work to do.  The upside is we will certainly have enough firewood to last us for the next decade.  I think once the weather warms up a bit we're gonna have a tree cutting party and invite any friends and family that cares to help.  *hint hint*  ;)

Hopefully this spring and summer we'll have enough coverage to make it nice and secluded as it usually is.  However right now you can look through the trees and see the hillsides, whereas before you couldn't see the hillside at all, even in winter.

Happy Birthday, Blue!

B Dog is 8 years old today! He had a good stretch after his nap...before laying down for another. ;)



And of course we can't forget the other two.

Hardy and his unruly eyebrows:


Lois Lane, occupying my office chair as usual:

My 100 Things Revisited

Feb 13, 2007 vs. Feb 13, 2009

So it’s been exactly two years since I wrote my “100 Things About Me”.  I thought it might be kind of cool to go back and revisit these items to see what all has changed in two years.  The black text is the original – the blue is the update.  Good for you if you make it to the end – this is a long one!

1. My first name is Christy but most of my family calls me Dawn.
   Yup, this is still the case.
   


2. I have the best husband in the whole, wide world!!
   Definitely – hands down!


3. I've had pet rats for over 10 years...they're cute!
   I don’t have pet rats anymore, though I miss them lots.  However I have acquired three pet mice, so I’m not exactly rodent free. See mouse pictures here.
   


4. I moved a lot growing up resulting in living in 4 different states and going to 8 different schools.
   We may be adding a state to this list in the next few years, but that’s still just an idea we’re kicking around.


5. I hate most types of cheese.
   No change here – cheese, blech.


6. My college degree is a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration focusing on Computer Information Systems.
   No change here – and the degree is still in full use.


7. I can easily sleep 12 hours every night (though rarely get a chance to).
   Still  a sleep fiend – still don’t get enough of it .


8. I love organizing things...it's just fun...you should see my craft room.
   Said craft room has barely been used in the last year – but it is still organized.


9. I love Arts and Crafts, I'll try out just about anything that looks interesting.
   And one day I’ll have time to do this again.


10. Photography is a recent new hobby...my Nikon D50 is my friend.
    Still a growing hobby, actually my hobby of choice in my free time.  And I’ve upgrade the D50 to a D80 and have added a few more lenses, a light kit, a speedlight and a lot of miscellaneous gadgets to the mix.  See my photos here.


11. My fingernails and toenails are off limits - nothing touches them and certainly nothing goes under them.
    Off limits!  Though I did manage my first pedicure in the last two years thanks to my neighbor and good friend, Wendy.   It wasn’t too bad, but not something I yearn to do.


12. I have a blue belt in Kenpo karate.
    Jason has informed me that we were up to our green belt when we stopped lessons.  See how much I pay attention?


13. I own my own business which has recently become my second full time job.
    And still is my second full time job!  My goal it to only have one job here in the next few years.


14. I take my coffee with splenda and heavy cream.
    Last year I discovered Mocha flavored splenda.  So now chocolate coffee is my favorite!  And I’ve ditched the heavy cream for regular creamer – not on low-carb anymore.


15. My average body temperature is 96.8 - I'm always cold.
    Unfortunately I don’t think this will ever change.


16. One of my biggest pet peeves is the sound of people chewing their food.
    I will never get over this. *urk*


17. I legally adopted my daughter, Portia, in December of 2004. She is 14 years old.
    Portia is now 16 – I haven’t disowned her yet.  ;)


18. I plan to retire by the time I am 40.
    Yup – in the works.


19. I will only be 35 when Portia graduates high school.
    As long as she doesn’t flunk a grade this will hold true – I think we’re safe!


20. I have a tattoo of a black panther on my right ankle.
    Still there.  Would like another, but not sure what yet.  Or where.


21. Due to the fact that I hate to shave, I had laser hair removal done on my legs, pits and bikini line.
    Still shaving – this procedure diminished the amount of shaving required, but didn’t eliminate the need entirely.


22. I'm always up for bartering for web work...that's how I got the laser hair removal.
    I still do this within reason – but money is best.  Afterall, it pays the bills.


23. I get allergy shots once a week.
    I’m down to once every three weeks now.


24. I never had allergies until I moved back to Kentucky.
    If we make that move they might go away again.  Having the mice hasn’t helped.


25. Allergies suck.
    Indeed.


26. I'm a computer nerd.
    Hopelessly so.


27. There are 10 working computers in my house.
    I believe this is still true – give or take.


28. My cursive writing sucks, I always print.
    Still true – I don’t even bother to write cursive unless signing my name.


29. I have never been out of the country.
    Still true – though I’d love to go to Australia.


30. There is a 125 gallon reef tank in my living room.
    Not anymore.  We’ve downgraded to two 1-gallon beta bowls each with a single fish.  You can see my fish, Poe, here.
    


31. All three of my dogs have birthdays that fall on holidays.
    And all three are alive and well.  And we’re pondering adding another to the mix.  You can see my pups here!  :)
    


32. I started chewing on my fingernails in kindergarten and still do.
    Still do, though try not to.


33. I drive a Ford Escape.
    The Escape now belongs to Portia.  I now drive a Ford F-150 pickup and LOVE it.


34. I love snow but hate the cold.
    Still true – and another reason for pondering a move further south.


35. Beer is my alcohol of choice...rum and diet coke is a close second.
    Mmmm beer.  Like white zinfandel wine as well.


36. I wear a bite guard at night because I grind my teeth.
    I do still grind my teeth, but since having my porcelain crown replaced with a gold one, I no longer need the bite guard.  (I broke the porcelain one in 3 pieces – my dentist said I needed a more durable crown).


37. I hate to talk on the phone.
    Still true – I’d rather chat on IM.  I can multi-task a little better that way.


38. I have been pulled over 4 times but have never gotten a ticket.
    I’ve managed to be a good driver the last two years – no more pull overs.


39. Three of the four times I was pulled over for turning left on red.
    Haven’t done that anymore either.


40. I love to read.
    Love it, just not much time for it.  I joined a book club but have missed the last two meetings.  My book list is here.


41. I collect rat figurines.
    Not so much anymore.


42. One of my cousin's played football for the University of Louisville.
    And he’s getting married this year!  Congrats Matt!


43. I have 5 email addresses that I use on a daily basis.
    I’m down to four now.


44. When I eat apples I also eat the core...seeds and all.
    Still like those apple cores.


45. I hate doing laundry.
    I don’t think you can learn to like doing laundry.  But I did get a new dryer that kicks booty.


46. I don't cook - Jason is the cook in the family.
    Thank goodness for Jason or I’d have starved to death by now. :P
    


47. I have been involved in a hit and run accident - luckily the guy was a moron
and I got his plate number.
    And got a nice settlement for it too – hello screened in porch!


48. I can't sleep with socks on.
    Nope, not possible unless it’s 42 degrees in the house, such as last month during our ice storm provoked two day power outage.


49. I love writing with colored ink pens - purple is my favorite.
    I’ve recently found that colored thin point sharpies are the best, even if they are stinky.


50. My co-workers bring me empty kleenex boxes to give to my rats to play in.
    Not anymore – no ratties and the mice don’t shred them as quick as the rats did.


51. I love to eat raw biscuit dough.
    |Jason always saves me one uncooked biscuit.  Did I mention that he’s the best?


52. I can barely stand to watch tv without my TiVo...commercials suck.|
    The TiVo is still hanging in there.


53. My favorite outfits consist of comfortable jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.
    Still my fav – and now we get 2 jeans Friday’s a month at work.  Woot!


54. I hate to shop...unless it's for craft supplies.
    Replace craft supplies with photography equipment.


55. I practically live on my screened in porch in the summer.
    I can’t wait until summer.  Thanks to hurricane Ike and the latest ice storm we now have to replace two panels of screen.


56. I love to water ski but refuse to snow ski.
    But would love to go tube sledding!


57. When I was 6 years old I made my brother eat a dandelion. I told him it tasted like peanut butter.
    Now he has a kid to do these goofy things.


58. I stopped picking on my brother when he was big enough to pick me up and turn me upside down.
    I still don’t pick on him- of course, I rarely see him.


59. I have a beautiful niece named Taylor.
    And she’s almost 4!


60. I used to own and maintain one of the largest rat web sites on the Net.
    Still own it but no longer maintain it.  It’s in archival mode.  Visit RatPalace.com!


61. I am a recent Mac convert. I have an iMac and a MacBook that I love dearly.
    They are still my babies – I’ve upgraded to the 20” iMac and added two 20” wide screen monitors on either side.


62. When I was a kid my parents called me Daffy Dawn because I often asked stupid questions.
    I still ask stupid questions and make stupid comments.


63. My junior year of high school I was grounded during spring break so I painted an Aladdin mural on my closet door.
    Thankfully I’m too old to be grounded now.  Now I have to do the grounding!


64. When we moved my parents brought the closet door with them....it is now framed and hanging in their basement.
    I believe that door is still hanging in their basement.


65. My living room is painted red and black and has Salvador Dali prints all over the walls.
    It is now sage green with black trim.  The walls are still blank because I haven’t gotten around to printing photos of backyard critters to frame and hang in the room.  These are some of the photos we'll be choosing from.


66. I can wiggle my eyeballs and freak people out.
    Yup


67. Until last year I never wore flip-flops because I couldn't stand anything between my toes.
    I now own 4 pairs of flops – Croc and Reef flops are the best!  Unfortunately Lois Lane ate my Reef flops, again.


68. Jason and I had a massive cake fight at our wedding...I started it.
    This still makes me laugh.


69. Stray and lost animals have a knack for finding me....I must have "SUCKER" stamped across my forehead.
    We’ve managed to only acquire one mouse in need.


70. I never had a cavity until I was 23 years old.
    I’ve now had 5 cavities.


71. Aside from having my wisdom teeth removed, I've never had any type of surgery.
    Had one surgery in November of ’07 – I won’t go into detail.


72. I've broken the same toe 3 times.
    Add a fractured elbow to the broken bone list.  That freaking hurt!


73. I lost all my baby teeth by the time I got to third grade.
    Haven’t lost anymore teeth.


74. I was the teacher's pet in the fourth grade.
    Ahh so long ago.


75. I have no musical talent whatsoever.
    Like that’s ever going to change.


76. I can't even snap my fingers.
    Nope, no snapping for me.


77. am directionally challenged and could probably get lost in my own backyard.
    I think I’ll buy myself  a GPS this year.  I’d be much better off and save a lot of time.


78. I plan to one day live in the middle of 20 acres of wooded land. Hopefully I won't get lost.
    I’d like to up this to about 50 acres.


79. My husband wants 2 pet goats...and I'm ok with that.
    When we get that farm we still plan to get goats.


80. I'm afraid of clowns and still can't bring myself to read "It" by Stephen King.
    ”It” is still collecting dust on my bookshelf.


81. I sleep walk on a regular basis and often wake up in different rooms around the house.
    On a weekly basis, probably.  I actually unlocked and opened the back door last year.  Luckily it was winter and the cold woke me up.  I also managed to pull the bedroom bookcase over on top of me.  I was dreaming I was being chased and climbing a fence.


82. In the 13 years Jason and I have been together we have only had 3 major fights.
    15 years and still only 3 major fights.  We’re happy people.


83. I don't like milk unless I'm eating something chocolate with it or if it's in cereal.
    This ranks with cheese, though I try to drink more than I used to.


84. Math and Chemistry were my worst subjects in school.
    Thank goodness my job requires little to none of these subjects.  I can handle basic math.


85. My only D in high school was in Chemistry my Junior year.
    No way to change this.


86. After one more exam I will have my certification in General Insurance.
    I still haven’t taken this last exam.


87. I have been at my current job for almost 7 years.
    Almost 9 years. Though I’ve had a title change to “eBusiness Developer”.


88. "Beautiful" by Este Lauder is my favorite perfume.
    And I’m out of it!


89. I don't mind paying the price for Este Lauder products because they do not test on animals.
    I hope this is still true.  I don’t do a very good job of checking up on these things.


90. All of my dogs are rescues...only one is a pure breed, the rest are mutts.
    We’re thinking about adopting another – possibly another blue  heeler named Tess.


91. I have a cat (also a rescue) named Big Worm who hates me...I'm just his food source.
    He’s still loitering around.  He likes his warm cat house on the front porch.  See Big Worm here.


92. My friends that live on the west coast think I have a "hick" accent...but I don't agree.
    This probably gets worse the longer I live here.


93. I wore braces from 4th grade until 8th grade. My teeth are still straight.
    Yup, still straight.


94. I have glasses for reading, though only need them when I'm on the computer for 10+ hours at a time (which is very often).
    I stopped wearing glasses for a while and then had to get a new prescription for a different reason last year.


95. I love to play the game Taboo, especially when Jason is my partner - we win almost every game.
    We haven’t played this in forever.


96. My yard is very dull looking - I do not have a green thumb.
    Jason, it seems, has a knack for gardening.  Our yard is much prettier now and actually is landscaped!


97. I'm hopelessly addicted to Survivor.
    New season started last night!


98. I do not want any more children even if I never "have one of my own".
    This is no longer possible anyway.


99. My most favorite food in the world is pizza.
    Mmmm pizza!


100. It took me over a month to write this.
     Only took an hour to update.  But it was fun!

More Bad Weather on the Way

What is with the weather around here this year?  Two weeks ago we had highs of 12 degrees and a massive ice storm that took out power to most of the city.  This week it's been in the 60's and wonderfully warm - very rare for February in Kentucky.  And now tonight and tomorrow we're expecting strong thunderstorms with high winds and gusts ranging up to 60mph, which in turn has the weather folks heading warnings of the following:

The recent ice storm has left many trees in a weakened state with many large...loose hanging branches. These strong winds may result in new power outages for some areas and may result in minor property damage. Given the rains and soft ground conditions... these winds may be strong enough to blow down whole trees.

I just hope we manage to keep our power this time.  At least we have the generator ready and this time a kerosene heater in case the house gets too chilly.  We shall see what happens.  At least the sideways rain will help wash some of the salt off of my truck!  :D

25 Random Things...

For the last month friends have been sending me Flickr and Facebook requests for "25 Random Things" so I'm finally getting around to it.  Figured I'd post it to my blog as well...why not!  So if you have a blog, post your 25 Random Things and pass it on!   It's kinda fun.  I'm cheating a bit and using my Flicker "16 Things" to get me started.

Here's the deal: Once you've read this, you are supposed to write a blog post with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, comment on the blog you read this on, to let them know to read yours!

1. My first name is Christy but most of my family calls me Dawn, which is my middle name.  Most of you will notice that Jason calls me Dawn as well.


2. I moved a lot growing up resulting in living in 4 different states and going to 8 different schools.


3. I hate most types of cheese.


4. My college degree is a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration focusing on Computer Information Systems.


5. I love organizing things...it's fun...you should see my craft room.


6. My fingernails and toenails are off limits - nothing touches them and certainly nothing goes under them.


7. I drive a Ford F-150 Lariat pickup.


8. My average body temperature is 96.8 - I'm always cold.


9. I have a tattoo of a black panther on my right ankle.  I would like another one day.


10. All three of my dogs have birthdays that fall on holidays.


11. I have been pulled over 4 times but have never gotten a ticket.  Three of the four times I was pulled over for turning left on red.


12. I read four books a month, on average. Almost all fiction and trash.


13. I love to eat raw biscuit dough.


14. I used to own and maintain one of the largest pet rat web sites on the Net.


15. I can wiggle my eyeballs and freak people out .


16. Jason and I had a massive cake fight at our wedding...I started it.


17. I have a green belt in Kenpo karate.


18. Jason and I own a 6 acre plot of wooded land in Southern Indiana called "Dog Woods" that we use for camping.  We love it there and go often when the weather is nice.  We bought it partially to make it easier for our dogs to go camping with us without being leashed the entire time, hence the name.


19. I basically have 3 full time jobs - eBusiness Developer at my day job; owner of a web design/development company; Mom to a 16 year old human, 3 dogs, 3 mice, 1 cat and 1 fish.  Now you know why it has taken me so long to do this!  :P


20. I have an abnormal fear/dislike of clowns.


21. When Portia is out of high school (in 2 years), Jason and I plan to buy a 30+ acre plot of land to live on within a one hour drive of Louisville.


22. Jason and I are kicking around the idea of adopting, or possibly fostering, a fourth dog.  Preferably one with enough energy to play with Lois Lane.


23. I never had allergies until I moved back to Kentucky.  Now I have to get allergy shots to keep them at bay.  But they do wonders!


24. Jason and I joined a co-ed volleyball league and play for our local chiropractic office - go team!


25. A couple of years ago I did one of these that was "100 Things About Me".  In reading back through those things I'm surprised at how many items in that list have changed!