For the nature lovers out there

My friend Angie is a veterinarian.

That being said, it's probably not far fetched to guess she loves animals.

Last night she shared with me a website which shows a live webcam of a watering hole in Africa. Most of the time it's pretty quiet. However, just a few minutes ago I was there and the camera turned and showed a large wildebeest herd just to the right of the water.  Angie has mentioned seeing a handful of elephants and a bunch of lions.

For those interested a chance to see some natural wildlife (or as natural as it can get considering there is a webcam monitored by humans nearby), the site is:

Africam

One or many?

As I sit here at lunch contemplating my first entry to this blog, I am thinking about one thought in particular.
When I get to know someone, a facet of their life I pay particular attention to is whether or not they have a lot of items "cookin' in the oven." 

I've recently recognized that this is a character trait I am strongly drawn to (i.e. the vigilance to grow and learn as a person whenever possible).  To me, it's less about what and more about why, less about follow-through (depending on the situation) and more about desire. 

The reason I am saying all this is because my life is constantly about biting off more then I can chew.  I am always surprised at how many things I can get myself into before I take time to reflect and wonder what I was thinking.

This blog is yet another example of my vigilance.  I honestly have no idea if this will be the first of many more entries to come over time or the only one I ever post. 

We'll know the answer soon, but until then it's anyone's guess.

Quite the roller coaster ride

My parents, Gina and myself all attended the Twins game yesterday. I must say, it was the greatest game I have ever been to.

To start things off, there was touching pre-game ceremony honoring Brad Radke.

Once the game started there was a lot of things going on. First off all, Mauer was trying to win the batting title (which he did!). But, on top of that they had a special place on the scoreboard showing exactly what was happening in the Tigers game (pitcher, batter, where runners were on base, outs, etc.). It was great.

However, the Tigers early 6-0 lead and the Twins 1-0 deficit after three innings took a little wind out of the crowd.

About the time Royals started coming back the Twins had started to take control of their game. While everyone still watched the Twinkies, ooohs and aaahs let everyone know how the other game was going.

There were even random times where the crowd would go absolutely crazy because the Royals did something good. Batters would step out of the box because it was so loud, etc.

Once the Twins game finished, the Metrodome switched the Tigers game on the big screen. It was the bottom of the 11th with one out and the Tigers had the bases loaded. Of the 45,000 in attendance, at least 40,000 stuck around. We all watched the end of the 11th and then the 12th inning together. The whole time, Twins players were running out of the dugout getting the crowd into it. When the game finished, the whole team poured out onto the field and celebrated by giving fans high fives, etc.

It was an incredible experience.

This team feels different..more like '87 or '91 then teams from the last five years. I have a feeling we are in for an amazing ride with them over the next month or so.

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Beno said...
It was an incredible experience watching it on TV, I can't imagine what it was like being at the Dome.

Shane said...
Bless you, Jimmy Gobble!

Rory said...
From 12 games back to overcome a Tigers team that was in first place for 161 games... that's not normal.

Shannon said...
Very cool story!

Soopa said...
I watched this on tv as well, it gave me chills.

All aboard!

I went to a diversity event at work today. At the event we watched a 90-minute documentary about the inaugural cruise that Rosie O'Donnell puts together each year for gay, lesbian, bisexual and straight families.

For those who have not seen it, I recommend it. More than anything, it let's you follow a handful of families around and share in their experiences. It's not about preaching an opinion. It's pretty moving.

Documentary Website

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Soopa said...
I had diversity training in college, but unfortunately I've lost a lot of my diversity over the years. I'm going to check this out!

26 said...
I'm guessing you could get it via NetFlix.

Soopa said...
i've got a porn backlog on Netflix, currently. Maybe my local library has it?

Shannon said...
Thanks, I'll look for it! Her testomony on Dateline (I think it was) years back about gay adoption had me in tears.

Shane said...
Super... don't you have a porn backlog at the library too?

Dan said...
Rosie O'Donnell is a lesbian? I will never be able to watch East of Eden again.

Soopa said...
The library does NOT have porn. Stupid library. Now, if there was a Porn Library. . . .

Green is my favorite color

After many more hours then I was expecting it to take, our landscaping around the house is complete and last week we received our sod.

While the pictures are too small to do it justice, it's still pretty cool to see the difference of how the house looked the last time most of you saw it to how it looks today.

It's finally starting to feel like home.

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Soopa said...
Looks great!

Shane said...
Nattie needs a pair of mowin' shoes.

Ann said...
A definite improvement! Especially for the inside of your house I'm sure!

Shane said...
I don't believe you laid down sod. The above looks like your final projact for a Photoshop class. (Uhh... let's see... throw a tree in the front yard, paste a kiddie pool in there... erase the clouds... that should do it)

Rory said...
Yeah, and put an extra car in the garage too.

The long arm of the law

I was fortunate enough to carry on a conversation with a Rosemount police officer after leaving strato last night. Unfortunately, at the end of the discussion he saw fit to give me a ticket for speeding.

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Soopa said...
Do you think Mess tipped him you were on your way as payback for the 9th inning comeback-slam?

Elena said...
Going 70 in a 30 will win you a ticket every time!

Shane said...
I can't believe your good looks didn't get you off the hook.

26 said...
I even winked at him. Oh well. By the way, the ticket was for 64 in a 55. It's $117 smackers and a 8/23 court date if I decide to fight it. It's officially my first mark on my record.

Shannon said...
Funny story. Too bad for the outcome!

Amy said...
It's that darn post 9/11 world we live in.

Ann said...
Doah! That sucks! Don't speed through Rosemount...I speak from experience...I however got away unscathed. Does that mean I'm better looking than Brian?

26 said...
There's no debate there...you are.

Rory said...
That's your first real ticket? Damn that's good. They never got you in Fargo after those dizzying nights at FRIDAY's? And yes, Ann you are better looking.

Soopa said...
But what if Rory got pulled over? Can we get a consensus as to whether he is better looking than Ann?

Ann said...
I think Rory wins the contest. He's got that certain je ne sais quois!

26 said...
I don't think looks have much to do with it. I think the main factor would be Rory's, shall we say, moral flexibility.

Soopa said...
With all that information in hand, I pick Ann.

One is the loneliest number

Gina and I are happy to announce that Natalie will become a big sister next year.

Gina's first doctor appointment was on Monday, at which time we were told the due date is February 13. She is nine weeks along.

The baby is currently 1.96 centimeters in length with a heartrate of 161 BPM.

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jon said...
Congratulations...Keep us posted.

Shannon said...
Very Cool! Congratulations!

Soopa said...
SWEET! Congrats to all three of you!

Elena said...
Many Congratulations! We're very happy for you!

Ann said...
Hope all goes smoothly! Natie will love a sibling!

Shane said...
Oh, the babies...

Tisha said...
Natalie, Welcome to the secret world of Older Siblingdom. Your decoder ring is in the mail.

Amy said...
Babies! Babies with scrunchy Brian!Noses.

Rory said...
161 bpm's? Try dancing to that.

Jenny said...
I am very happy for the two of you! Also, I just looked at Natalie's website for the first time and those pictures of her are so cute! You two make cute babies.

Norma said...
Congrats!!!!!!!!!! "time out" is a good thing for when they start to fight. I cant go a day with out it.

Hailey Mae

Since so many people on Spam Bandits have some kind of ties to Sarah, I found this a worthy topic to post.

Gina and I are now an aunt and uncle, respectively.

Here are the details:
Born: 6/27, 10:17pm
Height: 20 inches
Weight: 8lbs 7ozs
She has some peach fuzz on her head.

And she's off...

In a recent Baby Talk interview, Natalie discussed that her motivation to take her first steps (which occurred on Mother's Day) can be attributed most to the fact that she wants to work on "the fig" before her 1st birthday celebration next week.

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Shane said...
Holy Smokes, what a tub! Love,Shane

Ann said...
Nattie might seek revenge on you posting pictures of her that make her cute baby chub look like Jaba the Hut. You guys better sleep with one eye open. To Natalie: Congrats on your big achievement! You and Alex will have tons of fun now. We won't be able to tell that Alex is a whopping 2 months older anymore. Yippee for you right?! No one wants to be the youngest. Right Brian? I mean Gina? ;)

Rory said...
Yeah, and my kids are gonna be way younger, but that's gonna make 'em super kids as they'll have to learn to "play" at a higher level to keep up with the elders. By the way, is Nattie pregers?

Amy said...
Is that Brian I see sitting on her shoulder? Cute kid.

26 said...
OK, OK. I added a more flattering picture. What a doll!!!

Rory said...
Hey! That other picture was funny. When it comes to baby photos funny outweighs cute any day, and that previous picture clearly outweighed this one. Plus I wanted to show it to someone.

Elena said...
The story was much better with the other picture! Now we can see what "fig" she is working on! Baby fat is way too adorable to cover up.

Elena said...
That was supposed to say "now we CAN'T see"

26 said...
Don't fret, the pic is still available at... http://www.barkingtortoise.com/nattie/IMG_2055.jpg

Soopa said...
I would argue that photo is cute AND funny. Sweet little girl! I love the pictures when you get see her two front teefers! Too cute!

Shane said...
You're right, Super! THAT photo is cute and funny.

Soopa said...
SNAP!

We're movin' to Duluth (sort of)

Actually, we are not. But, I was not that far off on my previous article stating that we were looking around Duluth...as the house we have agreed to purchase today happens to be on Duluth Street. It is a brand new house in a new development in Farmington that they finished building around the first of the year. Gina and I are both very excited and we will be moving sometime in April.

P.S. Anyone willing to help move us will not be turned away (and will likely be bribed with pizza and beverages).

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Soopa said...
Dude, I totally want to help you move, but, and what are the odds: I'm busy April! Actually I'll be gone the last weekend of April, but besides that count me in. SWEET!

Rory said...
I'm only interested in helping people stay put. I just wanna come over to make sure that no one is loading any thing into boxes. This goes out to Mitch H.

26 said...
BTW...I was informed last night the house is actually more of a brown (I don't recall), even though the picture makes it look blue. We shouldk now the closing date today. We are going to walk through the place one last time tonight.

Shane said...
Nice work! However, I notice a severe lack of basketball hoop and flat driveway. But I guess I can't see the full court in the backyard from this angle.

Jon said...
Hey, where's the pool also? We were all promised a pool.

26 said...
There is a hoop right down the road and a water basin just across the street. We never discussed vicinity or quality when the hoop/pool were promised...remember?