Weekend in Charleston

Thank you to all of you Charleston-folk who shared such wonderful hospitality this weekend :) It was so fun to see everyone and hang out like old times!

I wish I had taken more pictures, but we sure had a nice time shopping on King Street (notice the new shoes!), eating out at lots of good restaurants (Mustard Seed, Juanita Greenberg's, Gene's Haufbrau), going out on the town (Mellow Mushroom, Pavillion Roof-top Bar), walking around the schwanky houses in the Battery, and of course, one of my favorite places, the Morris Island Lighthouse (which is under restoration). Ben even tried out the new climbing wall at James Island County Park.

Back in Naples now, and back to work. Lots of extra shifts at the country club this week $$$!

Valentines and Dogs- two of my favorite things

My valentine arrived on Thursday night and we had a very nice time! We have not seen each other in almost a month (our longest time apart ever!) It was so refreshing to see my Ben!! And check out my beautiful orchid!

We had a lovely walk with P-dawg downtown and enjoyed the beautiful weather (sunny, mid-eighties!) I've been dogsitting Marvin and Basil so it was a weekend of dogs! I did make some time to go to the movies and see Juno, though- such a cute story!

My trip to Pennsylvania was good as well- I've been so busy this week and haven't posted my snow pictures yet. It was very cold and blizzardy, but so wonderful to see the fam (and Angela!) One day was a high of 19-degrees; notice the temperature was 1-degree one night! Schools were on a two-hour delay and it was snowing and blowing (the picture of the front yard was taken through the window)! My family took the best care of me during my weekend visit, as always. I'm such a lucky girl :)

Phil Sees His Shadow: Happy Groundhog's Day!

Remember when I lost my mind and drove to Punxsutawney to see a chubby animal named "Phil" get dragged out of a log at 6:30 in the morning... surrounded by 12,000 other crazy people... in the freezing cold... two years in a row? Only in college would we have been so silly, haha. Good times!

In case you don't believe that this madness really exists (who are you?), spend your evening watching Groundhog's Day with Bill Murray and you will get just a glimpse of the festivites that this tiny little town comes to life for just one day per year. Did I mention that they cancel school that day?

Updated Itinerary for PA

I changed my flight home to arrive in Erie, therefore eleviating some stress on renting a car and driving on I-79 in potential blizzard conditions! It was the same price to fly to Pittsburgh and rent the car all weekend as it is to fly into Erie, so this is much more efficient :)

Friday, February 8th:

Arrive Erie at 2:52 pm

Monday, February 11th:

Depart Erie at 6:45 pm

I'm ready to start making some plans for the weekend!

FOCUS on Global Warming Day

Thursday is the first annual FOCUS the Nation on Global Warming Day- it's a national teach-in where 1000's of educational institutions around the country all teach about climate change. Rookery Bay (of course!) is part of the extravaganza, as well as Florida Gulf Coast University, which is actually who provides my paycheck. Coordinating the event has been stressful, especially with the big birding festival and then science fair on back to back weekends, but this event will actually be really rewarding. I hope you've all seen the movie An Inconvenient Truth, where the Honorable Al Gore provides an in-depth analysis of global climate change.

By the way, its not global warming anymore; we now call it climate change because there is not 100% agreement among climate scientists on whether the planet is warming or cooling. But what everyone CAN agree on is that the climate is changing. Anyhow, at the end of the film, he announces a goal to train 1000 "climate messengers" around the world to help disseminate his same message. I was able to get in contact with one of these dedicated speakers and he is coming to Rookery Bay to give a lunch-time lecture and then do an evening event at the University. I'm very excited that the opportunity to not only talk about but actually educate the general public on this topic- its been so hush hush for ages, but it seems like environmental issues are now becoming more mainstream.

In case you still need a little convincing, or you want me to feel good about doing my part to educate the masses, take a look at this 10-minute you tube video, created by a high school science teacher in Oregon, called The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See:
Everyone celebrates Earth Day without batting an eye, and this is exactly how that day came to fruition. It started as a small teach-in and grew to actually be listed on calendars! I hope that our event can follow in great strides.

Day at the Dog Beach

What fun we all had at the dog beach today! Susan and I took the pups for some fun in the sun. Its a special beach where dogs get to be off the leash and even swim in the water! Payton ran around like a maniac, socializing with every dog (and owner!) there while Bailey played fetch in the water. It really was a comical time! We have two very tired monsters tonight. Its early to bed for the whole family :)

My famous black-bean-brownies!

I made some yummy brownies today with my new mixer- isn't it just so cute? I make these brownies for my vegetarian society dinners! They are so easy and are much better for you- check it out:

1. Puree one can of black beans (do not drain)

2. Stir in one box of brownie mix

3. Bake as directed

I know it sounds hokey, but I swear that you won't be able to tell the difference. If you try it, let me know what you think! Even if you think I'm crazy :)

I did some serious cooking on my paid holiday today! My stressful week of planning the birding festival is now over and I'm onto organizing 200 science fair projects for the regional science fair competition (much less stressful, really!) It was awesome to be home all day today, especially after the long hours that I spent at the festival all weekend (even Sunday!) It was so much better to have Ben visiting than to have a stressful week without Ben here! He got to spend THREE days in Naples and we even went out on Saturday night! We met up with old friends from when Ben worked at Big Cypress National Preserve and had a real nice time. He hasn't been in town on a weekend day since before he moved last April! And yes, he did lots of birding so he was thrilled; I think his dorky hobby is starting to grow on me maybe?

I also wanted to post this picture of a real Florida Panther for Rachael and Karinne: it was hit by a car over a year ago and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission had it taxidermied and now its on display at Rookery Bay.

One last bit of exciting news: I purchased my ticket home for February: Fri 2/8-Tues 2/12. Kim will be home part of that time so I'm really looking forward to the whole family being together! All the girls haven't been together since Charleston almost two years ago!