My Goosebumps have Goosebumps

It is almost here...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II




What did you think?

Are you excited?????

Have you ever thought you were really good at something

… until you saw yourself on video? 

I thought I was really good at dancing. 

One of my goals during my 25^th year is to get in shape. Not only have I started the Couch to 5K (… started that today…) but last month I went out and bought “Just Dance 2” for our wii console.

Okay, I bought it mainly because of those awesome commercials where they show home videos of groups of seemingly normal people performing dances together. 

The people look awesome. I am pretty good at dancing and know how to “shake it” therefore I deduce that I would look awesome too. (Yeah, I know that’s what the company wants me to think… advertising at its best.)

Whelp, I practice for about an hour straight. After I feel like I have a handle on the game, I know it is now appropriate to challenge my unbeknownst, innocent husband. Hey, I am competitive, what can I say?

Yeah, well he wins. 

And wins.

And wins again.

I have seen my husband dance. He has a few moves… but enough to beat me at a wii dance competition? I think not! I am in disbelief. Unfortunately when I compete with him I cannot look at him or I would miss the upcoming moves. Thus, I come up with the bright idea to video tape us.

What ever happened to those fluid movements I remember myself doing? I thought I had hit every move and danced every step. I have included the video here…

DISCLAIMERS…

** My husband knew he was being taped. This was his altered choice of wardrobe. I apologize – he truly is one of a kind.

** The camera adds 20 pounds… to me… not my husband.

**Scrubs are not the most flattering... 

** I keep my mouth open when I concentrate, this has replaced my previous “tongue jutting out of my mouth technique.”

** Yes, even though my husband stopped multiple times during the dance… he still won the competition

** I can’t win because apparently I don’t have any rhythm (gathered from simply watching the video), and I am ahead in almost every move. (At least now I know why I am not winning.)

If you have read ALL the disclaimers… you have my permission to watch… and I'll keep working on my dancing skilz.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone was able to celebrate this wonderful day with the ones that they love...

He is Risen!!


We spent time with my parents and had a lovely day. My favorite? Decorating  eggs.... I still don't understand how an oversized bunny factors in to the holiday... but hey - it was fun!

Have a wonderful week!

Happy Earth Day!

Source: gizmodo.com via ae2356 on Pinterest

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”

- Rachel Carson 

Bumbles

"If you leave them alone, they will leave you alone."

I have a bee outside that is named "Bumbles." I am not sure if he thinks we are friends, but everytime... EVERY TIME... I go outside he decides to keep me company.

He hasn't physically stung me, but his behavior is extremely disconcerting. He hovers. He hangs there in mid air about 1-2 feet away and doesn't really move. Obnoxious I tell you.

I used to say hi, break the ice. The problem is, I can't see his tiny little bumble face, so I am not sure if he is being a dominant bee male and trying to to scare me away or if he simply wants to have a close friend.

Well Bumble started getting on my nerves. I didn't want Bumbles near me. I have this itty bitty tiny fear of bees.... okay it is a HUGE fear of bees. Hey, I was the kid who's teacher had to carry a cooler around whenever we went outside at school to hold her Epipen.  Lovely, right?


Well I decided to spray Bumbles with water. Apparently Bumbles is waterproof.

I tried to swat Bumbles with a broom. Apparently Bumbles is SuperBee fast.

I tried to spray Bumbles with Wasp and Hornet Spray.


Apparently Bumbles is indestructible.


The problem is....

Now he is angry.


He is no longer hovering, now he is swooping.. and I am pretty sure he has my face ingrained in his tiny Bumble mind. I couldn't even get the mail in the front of the neighborhood. He was guarding my mailbox!!!

I love nature... but I hate Bumbles.

Does anyone know how to get rid of him??

If you were wondering how to reach the Elf Kingdom...

I think I found the place.

Yup. A real sign at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

In the basement.

Next to a really tall door with a handle about eight inches from the ground.

And apparently if you open this door, in has a ladder that will take you down into the depths of the hospital... and into the Elf Kingdom.

Just thought you might want to know.

They’ve got a lot to say!

I came across a few YouTube videos of two special kiddos – identical twins - that were caught on camera discussing what seems to be, very important matters. Although we might never know what they were talking about, they are certainly entertaining to watch!! 

Take a look... 

Their mommy also has a blog about her talking twin adventures - www.twinmamarama.com

Taking a peek into the past... by simply looking to the skies

25x25 Challenge

- 17. Go stargazing with a star map and find 5 constellations (Complete!)

Vanderbilt owns a lot of neat things around the community. One of those “neat things” is the Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory. Although the observatory offers a lot of public programs, on the second Friday of every month in the spring/summer/fall they present “Open Telescope Night.” Much like an open house, astronomers and astrophysicists are on hand to answer questions while you take a look at the stars and planets through one of their three large telescopes. It is free to the public, but reservations are required and book up several months in advance. 

One of the Telescopes!

Taking a peek at the moon... also got to see Saturn and a star on Orion's belt. (Why do I keep thinking of Men in Black when I hear that??)

We couldn’t have asked for a better night to take a gander at the sky. With minimal clouds, a light breeze, and temps in the 70’s - it was perfect weather to peruse the star library inside or traipse around on the rock covered roof to look at the constellations and wait in line for the telescopes. So I have to admit, I had forgotten my constellation book at home and was worried I wouldn’t actually complete my goal. Thanks to the Observatory, however, I was handed a “Sky Report” for the day which gave a planet guide (with times and locations), a list of spring constellations, a list of all the constellations including nicknames and time of year to find them, and a list of stars closest to our sun. So neat!!!

A constellation globe!

The Library - the room was actually filled with books

So for all of you wondering… the five constellations we found (with the help of one of Vanderbilt’s astronomy professors and his super duper, and probably illegal, green laser) were…

1. Orion and his belt (which also included the red star Betelgeuse on his “shoulder.”)
2. Big Dipper
3. Hydra
4. Perseus
5. Leo

 

Going to the Dyer Observatory was such a fascinating and eye opening experience. The volunteers (from Vandy) were very, VERY smart and informative… as well as patient – when I asked them a gazillion questions. (Hey – that’s what they are there for – right?!?) We met an astronomer, Jen, who is in graduate school at Vandy for astrophysics. During the half hour of talking with her one on one, I learned that her two pet peeves were asking if she was astrologer and if the world would end in 2012. I laughed with her as how silly a person has to be to get those two confused… and who would think the world was going to end. Goodness! (Yeah, thank goodness she didn’t know that it was about 50/50 when I choose to ask if she was an astronomer… AND that she brought up her pet peeves before I asked about 2012.)

I did ask her about whether she thought we have had visitors from beyond our planet. Jen said that although we would be ignorant to think that there isn’t life out there, she does not believe that they have visited. Quoting a famous astrophysicist (sorry, I can’t remember his name) she said that to travel thousands of light years on a chance you might run in to other life would simply be “a waste of space.” Interesting. She said that those unexplained occurrences that we think are aliens might actually be earthlings visiting us from the future. More of a chance of that. Very interesting.

Other fascinating things we discovered at the Observatory…

-          We got to see an air force prototype of a “space plane.” I would have thought it was a shooting star, but the astronomers said otherwise.

-          When we look at the sky, we are viewing the past. Light can only travel so fast, so some of what we see has occurred thousands of years ago... and those stars might not exist anymore.

-          The North Star is always in line with a side of the “pot” of the big dipper. It was so much easier to find after that!

-          Our galaxy can collide with another and it “probably” wouldn’t affect us. (Side note – “By the time that happens, the Sun would already be gone.”)

-          There is an application called “Star Walk” (that all of the staff had on their handy iphones) and uses GPS to tell you the constellations that are currently visible. From what I understand, you can hold up the phone to the sky and it will highlight the constellations from the stars that you are seeing. NEAT!!

If you live in the Nashville area… I would definitely recommend taking a trip!!

The straw that broke the camel's back... errr tooth.

If you didn’t already know this about me, I abhor the dentist. I have dedicated a number of blog entries  (“D is for Disappointment and Dentist” “D is for Dentist and Damage to My Favorite Shirt” “Tomorrow Will Be a No Good Very Bad Day”) to this well-known fact, and I don’t think my feelings will change any time soon…  ESPECIALLY after this morning.

A few months ago, I received a letter from the Dentist kindly reminding me that they are patiently waiting for my return to further torture me. I ignored this letter because I will not be coming in every 4 months or for a half year appointment. I will ONLY subject myself to that cruelty one a year. I would also like to point out that I don’t even dread my annual visit to my lady doctor as much as I despise the dentist.

Last month I got an email informing me that my dentist office had a Facebook page. After processing this news, I immediately opened my facebook site and checked my privacy settings. Brushing the sweat off of my brow, I felt a little better that the office wouldn’t be able to access my page unless I befriended them. I am not sure why my dentist is on Facebook, but I would not be one of “those” people befriending healthcare providers that already know too much about them in the first place. That is why HIPAA was created in the first place. I can remain private and I don’t have to worry about them sharing anything about me either. I chuckled to myself that out of the hundreds of clients they see annually, I was being silly to think that they would seek me out to “be friend” me, and perhaps it was just a kind, informational email that if I was extremely desperate for friends or had lost my mind and decided to be okay with the dentist, then I could befriend them.

Fast forward to this morning…

I am sitting in the vet’s office for my furbabies annual appointment. (They hate the vet as much as I hate the dentist.) Whilst day dreaming, my phone brings me back to reality with a soft melody signifying that I had just received an email from cyberspace. Bored, and nervous – waiting for the pup's lab results to come back – I open the note. It was from Twitter, letting me know I have a new follower. 

MY DENTIST IS FOLLOWING ME ON TWITTER!

Current mindset… “How did they find me? I hate the dentist. Why do the need to be following me? I hate the dentist. Why can’t they leave me alone? I hate the dentist. Are they looking at my tweets? I hate the dentist. I bet they are going to follow me on blogger. I hate the dentist. I hope they see this entry. I hate the dentist.”

In all seriousness, I am actually quite angry about this. I do not believe that doctors or dentist should seek out to follow their patients on social sites (unless the patient initiates this first), because ultimately this is a breech in patient confidentiality. People do not need to know where I go for medical issues or dental issues unless I want them to know about it. Ultimately I can block them from following me, but I am interested to discover why they felt the need to be a "follower" in the first place. Even if they weren't intending to look at my tweets, I do not appreciate serving as an advertisement without making that decision on my own.

Perhaps this stems from my initial hatred with the dentist, but I can promise you I will not be going back to this business. After I post this, I am going to update myself on what is a HIPAA Violation and how to take action… 

Grumble… I hate the dentist.