Saturday, July 18, 2009

Exercise, Visitors, and Other Big Adventures

Hello All! Long time no post...interesting. Here's one:
Exercise: So, I've been participating in this pretty sweet exercise competition at work, as some of you may know. Everyone had to put in $20 at the start of the competition, and the last person standing gets all the money! Wow right! Except it's tough stuff. You have to get a certain number of points/week, and different types of exercises are worth a different number of points. You can't bank points and use them in a later week, and you don't get points for watching other people exercise...which is a huge bummer because a few weeks ago, my good friend Natashia and I went along with 2 girls from work to a triathlon (there is no second 'a' in that word, which I learned recently). Natashia and I did not compete, no way, we were the professional cheering section. We had posters and a noise maker, some good clapping hands and some good whoohooing throats. We were the only ones cheering, so we just cheered for everyone, but we cheered extra loud for the girls from work. The 2 ladies finished really well, and it was a beautiful sunny day, and on the way home we stopped at a restaurant for "breakfast" (it was 1 or 2:00 by that time). Anyways, all in all a very very good adventure.
Visitors: So it is summer (sorta...the weather doesn't always suggest summer, like last week when it rained and was 10 degrees and I almost turned the heat on in the house), and lots of people are traveling. We've had several travellers though here recently, one being a friend from grad school who came to see me for a few days. We had a great time around town, going to a delicious Dutch pancake house, the chuckwagon races, a delicious hamburger spot, watching "Juno" (a super funny movie - highly recommend it), etc.
My Mom and Nana also came through town last week and we had a great time eating (yes, lots and lots of eating), celebrating my birthday, buying cowboy boots (super sweet boots I must say), playing/watching baseball, and knitting. Lots of knitting. My Nana is the best knitter I know and last week she showed me how to fix my knitted socks that had big holes in them. She also showed my sister how to make a crocheted dishcloth. Very good stuff.
Other Types of Visitors: We are living in a wildlife sanctuary. Yes, our house is currently home to 1) me 2) my sister 3) my goldfish "fish" 4) a mouse that Nana and I saw run through the living room while we were knitting 5) a bird (or birds) that lives in the ceiling above the bathroom and finally 6) a colony of bumble bees who live in the wall by our back door. Don't get us wrong, we love nature and all that God has created, however, God also created places for these to live and did not intend for them (I don't think) to live with us in our home. They need to leave and we are working at it. However, my landlord informed me that bumble bees are in fact an endangered species, and he does not feel good about killing them. I realize they are endangered and really feel for them, but do not want them in the wall. They will come out, whether the landlord does it or I do it...I'll keep you updated. The mouse: I have set 3 traps but have not yet caught anything. The mouse also must leave. The birds: don't know what to do about those, but they don't really bug me. When they finally fly away, I think I will put mesh over the hole where I think it/they is/are coming in.
Other adventures: Went for another bike ride today. I just wanted to go to the farmer's marked near by, but got lost...no surprise. I ended up at work (1.5 hours later), and headed back, ending at the farmer's market eventually (turns out it's only a 10 min bike ride from the house...good times). But, good thing I got lost because I saw pelicans and a deer! Cool beans!
See pictures below