What is this world coming to?

So Nathan emailed me this the other day. This is a picture of a "toy" for ages 3+ called "My Treadmill." Nathan found this while doing some research on educational toys for a project for school. This is totally real. No kidding. Nathan's email said, "Really? Are we entering a world of weight conscience pre-schoolers? Next thing they well come out with My Liposuction." This gave me a good laugh. Here's the link just in case you want to get one. ;)

http://www.lbtoys.com/product-details.asp?productID=8024

In Loving Memory...of Rusty

So yesterday morning I missed a call from my mom, and she left a voicemail asking me to call her right away. I knew something was up from the sound in her voice. I knew someone had died. So I bolstered up some strength and courage and called her back. Then she told me that our family dog, Rusty, died Friday night. I won't go into the sad, gruesome details, but it was heart wrenching to hear my mom tell me about it. We had a good cry on the phone. I came home and broke the news to Nathan. We have known for about a year Rusty's time was limited since we found out he had cancer and it was too far spread to do anything about it. So his passing wasn't totally surprising, but it was still hard to hear. Nathan and I are sad that when we go home for Chrismas Rusty won't be there to greet us. He knew Nathan's footsteps and always got so excited when Nathan walked in the room. I will miss watching the two of them wrestle on the kitchen rug and play in the backyard. Rusty, we love you and you will be missed.

Got Gas?

Many of you may have heard about the current gas shortage in GA and other southern states. It's our living nightmare. The lines at the gas stations are so long, it takes an average of 1 hour to wait in line, often more. I got really lucky this last week and found a gas station near work with gas and a somewhat small line--only 20 minutes. Woohoo! I felt so lucky. Today I'm on a half tank after being very careful all weekend about not driving too much. Half tank means time to start thinking about looking for gas. There are lots of cars along the freeway in the breakdown lane because they're out of gas. This morning on the way to church, a 7 mile drive, I counted five cars. It is crazy. I have heard of a town a little northeast of here where they have plenty of gas. There is talk here of the "horde mentality" that seems to be what many in Atlanta and the close suburbs have adopted as their new code of ethics. These are the people that fill up just about every other day, no matter their fuel level, and also take several gas cans with them to the gas station and "covertly" fill up with the extra gas, looking out only for themselves, not thinking at all about those behind them in line waiting for gas. If they would all only take exactly what they need, the shortage may not be so bad. So here I am on a half tank, and think that maybe I can make it a few more days....here's hoping!

Humid fun

We had fun a few weeks ago attending the first GA Tech football game with some of Nathan's classmates. One of them took this picture for us since we forgot our camera, so we had no idea how it turned out. Yeah, that's my goofy husband. I'll claim him.

It was SO hot and humid that night. We were sweating right along with the football players. That's why we're so shiny. It was a fun time with friends from school. And the Yellow Jackets won! Woohoo!

Mad skills

According to Napoleon Dynamite the opposite sex is only interested in you if you have mad skills. "You know, like nun-chuck skills, bow hunting skills...girls only want boyfriends who have great skills." So I thought I'd better learn a new skill--fly fishing. I already mentioned this in my previous post somewhat. A few weeks ago I signed up for a 6-hour fly fishing class. So yesterday morning I got up all by myself at 5 a.m. and drove an hour north to a fly fishing class. You all know how much I just LOVE mornings (not!), and love them even more when I only got 5 hours of sleep the night before and it happens to be a Saturday--the only day of the week I get to sleep until I wake up on my own. I was not a happy camper.
So I drive out to the middle of nowhere, GA to a cabin next to a lake and sit in a class and learn about a lot of stuff that has to do with fly fishing...rods, reels, lines, leaders, tippets, knots, bugs that fish like to eat, the different stages of these bugs lives, where fish like to be in the water, the physiology of a fish, equipment...ok you get the picture. Some of it was interesting, like the entemology (bugs), but some of it I will probably rely on Nathan for (choosing the right size line, leader, etc.).
The most exciting part was the last 2 hours we spent practicing casting out on the lake. It was so much fun! I really truly enjoyed it. I was amazed how you can really just feel when you get it right--the way the line loops, and the rod does the work. It was so cool. Apparently women usually have an easier time picking up casting. I fit into that statistic. I'm no pro at it--not all of my casts are perfect, and I only know the basic cast and how to roll cast. But hey, I was excited that after 6 hours of fly fishing school I came home and could talk the talk to my beaming husband. I showed him my "textbook" and he saw a page with a really hard but essential knot and asked if they taught us that one. Yessiree bob! So he got out some fishing line and watched as I expertly tied the knot right then and there. He was so excited (grinning from ear to ear) and said, "Wow, Babe!" and gave me a big smooch. I can't wait to go out on the Chattahoochee River and practice my "mad skills." In the mean time, all I have to show for it is a really bad sunburn on my neck down to my shirt line, and on my casting arm because silly me forgot the sunscreen. But maybe sometime in the not too distant future I'll have pictures and fishing stories to share. Woohoo!

Eeeeewww fish!

Nate and I are trying to find a hobby we both like. He is not interested in the things I like (history and museums and such), so I relented and decided to try to really learn to fly fish. I'm taking a fly fishing class this Saturday. Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I'm going to anyway. I'm a total pansy. The thought of fly fishing is appealing to me--being out in nature, alone, the serenity, the beauty, just you and the water and the fish. And catching fish is fun. But then there's the other part. The part that totally grosses me out--touching the fish. Getting the hook out of them is cruel, but that's not the part that really bothers me. It's touching the smelly, slimy fish. I know, I know. How silly is that? But it's so icky! When I admitted this to Nate, his response was that he's never considered me to be super outdoorsy. I know I'm no granola babe, but not outdoorsy? I mean, I'm no valley girl either. I LOVE camping (in an actual tent), even like sleeping right out under the stars, love being outside, love many outdoor activities. But I have to admit that when he asked me why I've never shown much interest in fly fishing in the 10 years we've been together, I thought aobut it, and decided it's because I don't like touching the fish. Seriously, that is one of the main reasons I don't like fishing very much. I even had to psyche myself up to put my bare hands in our fish tank this summer to take care of the fish while Nate was gone to Chicago. I know, I know. Nate says we can probably find me some gloves I can wear. Now that I can do. Gloves make me feel invincible. Like when I'm working in the garden--if I have no gloves on, I jump at every little creepy crawly feeling. HATE BUGS and CREEPY CRAWLIES. But with gloves on...I am the bravest little gardner in the world. Gloves would make me feel like the wonder woman of fishing. That's what I need--gloves.

Four, Four, Four, Four

Four, Four, Four, Four...
A) Four places that I go to over and over: Work, home, church, grocery store
B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Mom, Mel, Camyll, Cassady
C) Four of my favorite places to eat : Taqueria del Sol (GOOD inexpensive Mexican place here in ATL--finally found one--and it's close to home!); Olive Garden; Cheesecake Factory; Fat Mat's Rib Shack.
D) Four places I would rather be right now : With my husband (he's in DC until Friday night at a job fair); at home in Utah with my Mom while she goes through her surgery/recovery tomorrow; on vacation; having fun with family/friends.
E) Four TV shows I watch over and over: 30 Rock; The Office; The Closer; Kitchen Nightmares