How stupid does John McCain think women are? For that matter, how stupid does John McCain's camp think that women are? Upon hearing his choice for a VP, I actually laughed and said something along the lines of "What the eff is this?" Does he really think that selecting Gov. Sarah Palin is suddenly going to give him all of the votes that Hillary Clinton would have gotten had she overcome Obamamania? I knew he would select somebody young that didn't need to take a blue pill, but I'm incredibly surprised that he would select someone younger than Barack. Someone who, from what the media tells me, has absolutely no foreign policy experience. She's a hockey mom, shoots guns, and eats moose burgers. Big effin deal. Most kids don't even play hockey. Had they portrayed her as a soccer mom, it'd be a completely different ballgame. She could drive to all the campaign rallies in a minivan with a moose's head on top of it. She could also get out with full hunting camouflage on.  Yep, that would seal the election for MCain. Sadly to say, that would capture a lot of the redneck vote.

Gramps must really think he got the double bonus on this one. "Young woman that likes guns, violent team sports, and meat? Brilliant!" is probably what crossed his mind. Much to the dismay of many Republicans from what I've read so far, he took it to an extreme that will probably erupt in his face like Jake Steed. That's way worse than egg yolk by the way. But seriously, does he really think that the majority of Hillary's supporters are just going to roll over to his side because he selected a young "All-American" woman with a quarter of her credentials? If I were a Hillary supporter, I'd consider this a slap in the face and insult of intelligence. I'll be humored to see how this one plays out. That road to the White House just got a lot longer for the McCain camp. Once these debates get started, Obama and Biden will probably be a slap shot away from the Presidential Cup. Go figure.

By LIZ SIDOTI and BETH FOUHY, Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio - John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a maverick conservative with less than two years in office, as his vice presidential running mate Friday in a startling choice as the Republican National Convention drew near.

[Mrs. Palin has been known to hunt for mooses with her Dad during the Alaska nighttime....]

 
Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain stands with his vice presidential running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R) at a campaign event in Dayton, Ohio August 29, 2008.(John Gress/Reuters)

At a raucous rally in the swing state of Ohio, McCain introduced Palin as the political partner "who can best help me shake up Washington and make it start working again for the people who are counting on us."

Palin, the first Republican woman tapped for national office, promised: "I'm going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background in every political party, or no party at all."

"... Politics isn't just a game of competing interests and clashing parties," added the woman who has built her career in large measure by challenging fellow Republicans. "The people of America expect us to seek public office and to serve for the right reasons."

In a fast-developing presidential campaign, McCain made his selection six days after his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, named Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, as his running mate.

The contrast between the two announcements was remarkable — Obama, 47, picked a 65-year-old running mate with long experience in government and a man whom he said was qualified to be president.

On his 72nd birthday, McCain chose a 44-year-old running mate who until recently was the mayor of small-town Wasilla, Alaska — and made no claim she was ready to sit in the Oval Office.

His campaign issued a statement saying she was, but even so, it wasn't a point lost on Obama's campaign.

Read the rest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080829/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_
veepstakes;_ylt=As0lYyyBa04udCQSmDwd49.s0NUE

But I'm going to relate a dream I had two nights ago. It was amazingly visual and perhaps this was one of those muse visits. In the dream:

I'm driving some kind of Rolls Royce down the highway and several people in the car (I have no idea what they looked like) said I was going too fast. Then we're in this meadow, which is hummocky with sparse trees, a few old locks and rocks. It's light green and brown and looks an awful lot like my friends' ranch in Clinton, BC. I'm driving down the middle trying to avoid various humps when a moose comes up to the car. It's small for a moose and has moss on its antlers.

Then up the middle comes this amazing animal. It looks like a deer but in truth it is made of wood and moss and twigs and leaves and its alive. We just stop and look at it, noticing its dark eyes.

Next, as dreams do like to shift, I'm walking with some people into a glacial snowy area. There is a huge mountain and something like a high white shelf piled with hundreds of feet of snow. I look up think it looks pretty weighty and then proceed into the cave that turns into this long, downward sloping roughly chopped snow tunnel. It is in pale shades of green and white and light blue and just at the bottom I can see it starts to slope up again.

Then we hear a rumbling and great torrents of ice and snow flood up the passage, an interior avalanche. I manage to crawl out some side holes between the grey rock with two other people. Five are left in there including two friends, Karin and Eric (who I haven't seen in years). Once it stops we go back in to find them and all the snow has turned to sand. We pull each person out from under the sand and besides being slightly damp and unconscious, they wake and are fine.

A friend of mine likes to interpret her dreams but I'm not sure I can with this. The interactions with nature were very strong. And groups of people mattered but were mostly anonymous.

Many of my dreams are muse driven, that is, they end up becoming stories. I don't think this one will and even though there was that avalanche the feeling in the dream was one of wonder, where no one was injured. The colors were vivid and important, and I really hope this is not just a portent of early winter.

I was also (and still kinda am) a Mom Group snob.  I hadn't really gotten a handle on who I was.  I was lost.  As a person whose identity was always wrapped up in her title, I had a hard time with the SAHM status, even though I loved being with the Moose.

During a particularly dark period in my life, I took Moose home to Charleston.  My best friend took me to one of her Mom's groups, and I realized it wasn't too bad.  So there were a dozen people I had nothing in common with, but if I could have just one conversation with another adult besides my husband, it would be nice.  And she said she was in several mom's groups and ended up with 2 good friends.  Not bad odds, right?

So I immediately went home and started checking out sites.  I ended up joining Stroller Strides.  Even though I was already 10 pounds lighter than my pre-preggy weight (I hear the cursing, but hey, I can't help it!!), I needed to tighten up and I figured I could meet some people.  And I ended meeting some moms very similar to myself - no one was native to Knoxville, everyone wanted to be fit, and most of us didn't consider ourselves typical SAHM even though all of us were! 

I always believe if you open your mind for good things to happen, they will come to you.  Not long after I joined Stroller Strides, I met a random girl and her daughter at the park.  Now almost 3 months later, they are our closest friends in Knoxville.  Ana and Chick Pea are the friends that we see everyday and never get sick of :)

So to all the lonely mommies out there, make it a goal to attend one organized session where there are other mommies - whether its a mom's group, a library function, or whatever.  And if you find yourself at a park or Walmart and you spy another mommy with the same lonely look in her eyes, walk up and ask her how old her baby is.  You never know where your next friend is hiding!!

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7723479745384368951]

Little Moose... hopefully turning into a little reader!

Like a belly dancer, i have the answer

So i put yo head in the fan, slice and dice yo mind with my pen

Create horror for the man, who destroys young mind's,

By selling crack, if i'll see you do that i'll attack,

I'll massacre your whole pack

Giving you a blood bath

Cause i kill and move like a free mason

I'll fuck your creation, giving you an brain infection,

Meleeing you with a spoon

Splash your blood on the walls of your child's room,

Use verbal abuse, to smash your caboos,

We are not doing a truce

You look like a moose, you have the brain of a goose,

And this world is run by fake christians and fake politicians

They talk about terrorism and on tv you can see social crucifications,

The corrupt domination, they are killing our population,

Crack industrialization, government's high taxation,

Kid's getting shot in bus stations,

Killing the nations, body poisoning and soul starvation,

And God doesn't give a fuck about his creation,

We are killing each other, killing our mothers, fathers and brothers,

And they think that this shit is funny, the only thing they want and care about is money,

I'll kill you sonny, i'll serve you on a plate like a good cooked bunny.

And beware cuz i'll cover you in leches, i'm tierd of your fake christian preaches and fake speeches

Malicios and vicious, distractions from the cultural foundations,degrading the population.

So i'll start the technologization from the temple of hip hop and lit the night from it's roof top.

The actual story was first published in 2002 in one of the largest papers in the country, Aftenposten.  Much like an article from the Onion, most of the humor is in the concept of the story.  Here's a choice quote, though:

"This is the first time I have heard that moose are getting drunk. But I assume that they react the same way people do to intoxication - some become harmless while others are the exact opposite," said district veterinarian Paul Stamberg in Kristiansand.

Nice to know that Norwegian moose behave the same way as Norwegian humans.  The real question is when the government is going to find a way to tax the moose alcohol!

Got this in my email today from friend Pam.  This is clearly making the rounds.  Pam alone forwarded it to 55 people and the person who forwarded it to her included 11 others on her distribution list.  The text is pretty non-specific, but it gets the story across.  Here's what it said:

The man has only a small cabin so he took the moose to another neighbor, who took these photos. They took the moose the next day to a woman who looks after wild animals & she put it in a pen with a rescued fawn.

It doesn't mention there are a couple of dogs around who seem cool with the whole situation as well.  The pictures are adorable...and plentiful.  I won't include them all here, but here are the best ones.  Go ahead, make that silly face that says your heart is melting for these critters.  Mine did!

[caption id="attachment_101" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Who's A Big Boy?"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_102" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looks Like A Party to Me!"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_103" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Are You My Big Brother?"][/caption]

I don't know what it is with the baby moose stories these days.  Just a few weeks ago, I was led to this adorable video in an email blast from GodTube (the Christian equivalent of YouTube). I can't find it over there now, but here it is on YouTube.  Twin baby moose and their mommy, all frolicking in someone's back yard sprinkler:

By the way, in case you were wondering, a scientist at the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (Illinois) tells us that "The word "moose" came to us from Algonquian Indians. Consequently its plural, instead of being "mooses" or "meese", is the same as the singular. That is true of most Indian names whether of a tribe, such as the Winnebago and Potawatomi, or of an object such as papoose. It isalso true of many wildlife names not of Indian origin -- for example: deer, mink and grouse." There, now that's settled.

What...you want more about moose?  Come on!  Go look it up yourselves!  It's 11:00 p.m. here, guys!  I have to go to bed.  Anyway, thanks for checking in!

Genesis 7:15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

Moose

Sonny and Sam(Virgin 1992)

http://www.mediafire.com/?nizl3ybht94

During my teenage years, I became obsessed with shoegaze and faithfully trekked to Philadelphia's 3rd St. jazz and Rock to pick up any ep or cd remotely associated with this poorly named genre. I'm not trying to come off as some precocious wisenheimer since I also purchased albums by 24-7 Spyz, Hoodoo Gurus and 3rd Bass. However, I heard a track from My Bloody Valentine's Isn't Anything on WKDU and spent by bicycle messenger salary on every NME, Sounds and Melody Maker to search out similar sounds. Through these delightful and sometimes ridiculous rags, I fell in love with Slowdive, Swervedriver, Lush and other bands that adopted MBV as an influence and spun it in their own kaleidoscope of feedback and buried melodies. These three acts among others achieved relative success and are still fondly remembered by fans today. However, there were many worthwhile bands that fell through the cracks or lost their bearings after a brilliant single or ep. England's Moose definitely fell into the latter category even though they released a few albums afterwards.

Sonny and Sam collected tracks from their first two eps and added a couple odds and ends in the hopes of attracting an American audience. It's a pretty concise summation of what made them stick out from their peers. Moose's music adhered to the shoegaze blueprint, but there was something tender and habitually heartbroken about their music that set them apart as the sad sacks of the scene. That's why I loved them since their romantic odes to butterfly collectors and a lover's morning gaze appealed to the maudlin side of me. Plus, they knew when to turn off the spigots of feedback and toss in a minimal ballad that wouldn't sound out of place on Sarah or Creation records. They had some diversity and their music wasn't constantly drugged and distant. Moose wanted to be loved and wallow in noise as well as their alienation and woe. Now, their later albums focused more on the alienation and woe instead of noise and that made them less interesting. Sonny and Sam captures a moment when they didn't know whether they wanted to be a brit-pop band or something more ragged and intriguing.

Artist: Alexandre Orion

Click more for some work from a few other artists...

Artist: Moose (Paul Curtis)

Artist: Scott Wade

I was thrilled to meet Moose and his new family last evening.  We did a photo shoot for a Humane Society publication, in which Moose will be featured as one of their many success stories.  Moose was horribly neglected, along with several other dogs,  but now, with the love and care of his new "parents", Moose is very happy, healthy and totally in love with his family!   They are wonderful people and he is an amazing dog.   What a great match!

I do admit, I was a bit fearful of Rottweillers, but after about 10 seconds, he quickly won my heart.

He is loving, sweet, gentle, playful, affectionate and trusting.  Incredible,  considering the circumstances he was found in.

He was quite the model for me and posed whenever I asked him to :)  Definitely LOVES the camera!

I am very proud to introduce you all to Moose, aka Moosie:

Mit Hilfe der Ortsbeschreibungen, der Öffnungszeiten und der Webadressen findet jeder Reisende eine Möglichkeit, einen Besuch auf seiner Reise einzuplanen. Zurzeit als E-Book erhältlich, wird im nächsten Jahr auch eine aktuelle Druckversion erscheinen.   –ja

Tanja Skutnik

Arnim Gaertner

After my last post we went out for dinner in Jackson, but on the way we had to stop in at the Million Dollar Bar. Saddles for bar stools, great once our bums and thighs became accustomed. Next day we drove to Hagerman, another fossil site. They have found lots here including many horses, but not as we know them, much smaller.
Our dinner last night was far too much, but couldn't complain about service or price. US$16 for a huge T bone steak and $11.95 for cod [4 fillets!!!].

Today we’ve driven to Halfway via Ontario [not Canada but Oregon] where we stopped for breakfast. Very exciting as a local Mexican fast food joint had smoke billowing out of its roof. State Troopers, ambulance, firefighters were all promptly on the scene. Seemed to be under control so I bought a Lotto ticket. At the time we were next door at the gas station filling up. Just clocked over 5000 miles today.
We also visited Baker City, they were having a farmers market so we stopped. In actual fact it was an exhibition of old cars, even modified golf carts, a lot of time and money spent on them.
Just outside Baker City is the main interpretive site for the Oregon Trail. The pioneers came across from the east in wagon trains to settle the West. 121 days to travel 1900 miles, 1 in 10 died. Must have been hell.
The interpretive centre was fantastic, from actual wagons to the displays and dioramas. A must see. It was far too hot to walk the 2 miles to see the actual wagon ruts, we may see some later. When we got back to the car the temperature was 102f. It’s a bugger when at home it’s winter and raining!!!!!

Just showed a Canadian, staying where we are, our photos. He was envious that we saw a grizzly in Yellowstone. He must be over 50 and has never seen one!!!!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="200" caption="saddle bar stools"][/caption]
Shelley sitting on the saddle stools in Jackson, Wyoming

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="40
0" caption="Bull Moose in Teton"][/caption]
Had to put another photo of the bull moose!!

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Oregon Trail"][/caption]
Oregon trail wagons

It looks like team blue's mascot will be a fish (the mullet) and team red's mascot is a moose or something.

And they are going to be giving out the blue and red face paint at the party. Well, actually you're going to have to earn the red and blue face paint.

It looks like a Mullet and a Moose wearing Face-Paint, must be the decorations for the Ski Lodge.

If you're looking for the new Club Penguin Times newspaper, click here. If you're looking for the info about my big party, click here.

-Jellyboard

Try and guess what it is, I personally think it is The Mullet & Moose Head wearing the Old Blue & Red face paint.
You all have a day left to train for the Games!

~Dljs

This one is for the ladies who, like me, did not have an easy time with breastfeeding.  Turns out, my cute, little nipples were really not all that functional.   Prior to delivery, I Googled EVERYTHING I could about breastfeeding with flat and inverted nipples.  Yup, one is flat, the other is inverted.  Best of both wonk-nip worlds.  I attempted, before delivery, using nipple shells, to help "draw" them out.  What I ended up with were sweaty, conical nips that deflated within minutes of removing the shells.

On delivery day, that magical moment where baby is placed on your belly and you are encouraged to nurse him, I felt like a fake, a failure.  I pulled his head toward my nips, but... nothing.  He cried and cried and the nurses dashed in to get him cleaned up and weighed.  At the "feeding", one of the nurses came in to help me.  When I showed her my sad little nips, she immediately called for the LC to come in.

Meanwhile, my MIL, who also used to be a speech therapist who helped "Failure to thrive" babies, attempted to help the Moose by stimulating his palate with her finger.  The LC came in and introduced me to what would soon become the bane of my existence - the Contact Nipple Shield and her evil cohort, the Breast Pump.   She showed me how to apply the shield - "flip it around so it looks like a little sombrero and place it over your nipple!!" (sounds so festive, but oh, its not). 

Then she told me I would need to pump after every feeding for at least 10 minutes.  For how long? I asked.  Ideally until he can nurse without the shield.  Since I was supposed to feed every 1 1/2 to 2 hours for a half hour, THEN pump for 10 minutes, THEN clean up my pumping gear, it didn't take long for me to figure out that I would be relegated to the life of a milking cow.  Needless to say, he got nothing in the first 24 hours.  No colostrum.  Nothing.  The nurses on shift that night were nice enough to let me grab about 5-6 hours of solid sleep before they brought him in.  But I still had to pump :(

The next day, the Moose's cries took on a more urgent tone.  My parents BEGGED me to let him have some formula, as they were afraid he would starve to death.  So, I reluctantly gave in.  Thank goodness the Moose knew better - he wanted nothing to do with that little bottle of formula and its perky little bottle nipple. 

That night, the nurse brought him in screaming his little lungs out.  She said I had to get him some kind of nourishment, so she taught me how to finger feed him formula with a syringe and a tube.  Afterwards, he was calm and awake and my heart broke.  I felt like a failure again- it took a piece of plastic tubing to finally make him happy. 

That day, the LC introduced the final member of the evil boob assault team - the SNS: Supplemental Feeding System .  If you have never seen it, it looks like this:

You clip the bottle to your bra and tape the tubing to your boob.  The formula goes in the bottle and you have to find just the right angle to allow the baby to pull milk from the tubing.  Since I also had the nipple shield, I had to contend with keeping the tubing from slipping from the top of his mouth to the side.  The system would allow for Moose to learn how to nurse from the shield yet still get the nourishment he needed.  I was a sad, sad mess every feeding.  The tube would slip, that damn bottle would leak everywhere, getting sticky formula all over me and Moose. 

It wasn't until we got home that we got the hang of it.  Our feeding, every hour and a half, went like this:

Moose would scream his head off while I filled the SNS and taped the tube to me.  I would attach the nipple shield, slip the Boppy on and have hubby hand over the wriggling baby.  Moose would inevitably tear the tube out of place.  Once I fought to get that back on, he would attempt to latch onto the shield.  It would hurt, then it took 5 minutes to get the tube in his mouth.  I would stare at the SNS bottle for the telltale "bubbles" to let me know he had good suction.  No bubbles.  More adjusting of the baby and tube.  Ah, finally, bubbles.  No, wait, the bubbles are from the leak because the bottle cap was near impossible to get on "just right"!!!  Mommy and Moose are sticky mess.  After 10 more minutes, he finally gets it.  Aahh.. bliss..  ouch, the shield hurts.  My nips are raw.  Once he is finished, I hook myself up to the pump.  After 10 minutes, I pump... less than half an ounce.  But I cherish that half ounce, save it and start blending it with the formula.  Moose is fed.  I have to clean the shield, the SNS, the pump parts, and myself.  And sometime, before the next feeding in 45 minutes, I have to eat, pee, maybe change clothes from 2 days ago.

Turns out Moose had jaundice.  So even though my milk came in on day 4, the ped recommended I still use the SNS to make sure he was getting adequate nutrition.  I had to use it for almost 2 weeks, even after he was clear of the jaundice, because for some reason, he could not draw out enough milk with the shields alone.  Luckily, by the end of week 1, I was pumping enough milk that I did not need to use formula, I was able to "supplement" my milk with... my milk.

After 3 weeks of feed-pump, feed-pump 10-12 times a day, I figured I didn't need to pump after EVERY feeding.  Plus, Moose was starting to sleep long stretches at night - almost 6 hours.  Against the ped's orders, I decided to let him sleep through the night and I only pumped3-4 times a day.  Good for him, bad for me.  At  3 1/2 weeks, I developed mastitis in the right breast.  My power boob!!  So I was back to pumping 5-6 times a day.

Once, during that first week home, I lost my nipple shield.  After frantically tearing the house up, my MIL started calling every baby store.  Nobody had one the right size.  So she called the LC.  The hospital had ONE in inventory... hubby was an angel and went straight to the hospital to pick it up.  The next day, MIL and I raided every BRU we could find and bought every shield we saw.

Looking back, it felt like it would never end.  I kept trying to go sans shield, but Moose would get so frustrated we would both be in tears.  The breaking point was week 5, while we were home visiting, my brother-in-law stepped on something.  He picked up my nipple shield and said "Is this some kind of... pacifier?" Oh god.  I grabbed it and swore Moose and I would get rid of this thing.  So I kept practicing and trying different things.  I started pumping BEFORE feeding to get things started.  At first, Moose didn't know what to make of it.  Then one day, he fed off the power boob, shield-free!! I was so happy I cried.  I started wearing the nipple shells between feedings to "train" my nips again.  By week 7, we were finally able to go without the shield for most feedings.  Mornings were tough for him because I was usually so engorged.

Before long, we were feeding like normal mama cow and baby Moose.  No pre-pumping and definitely no shields!  And I was able to back off the pumping to morning and night, and finally just night.  All the extra milk came in handy.. I gave it to my sister for my nephew who is a month younger than Moose.  She was able to have back-ups for when she went back to work.

8 months later, I look back and think, thank goodness we stuck it out.  Moose is a very healthy, very happy little boy.  I found one of my "backup" shields buried in a diaper bag a few weeks ago.  Part of me wanted to flush it down the toilet.  But the other part of me, the sentimental part (and the part that didn't want to explain to the landlord what is was in case it clogged the toilet), decided to keep it as a reminder of all the work Moose and I did.  I don't know if I'll have to go through all this for baby #2 someday, but at least the Moose has stomped a road to success! 

***In case you are curious, I am now the proud owner of a "normal" nip.  The inverted one decided to become "flat", with the occassional return to the inverted side.  But Moose doesn't care... one thing he got out of this is the ability to suck the hell out of ANYTHING!  Hence the hickeys on my arms, shoulders, stomach, sides of the boob, legs.. etc..

The north part of the Cabot Trail, which winds through Cape Breton Highlands National Park is absolutely fabulous!  Especially if one is fortunate enough to have sunshine, as we did.  The road winds along, between the ocean and the mountains.  What more could one want?

We hiked the Middle Head Trail, which is close to Ingonish.  It is a headland that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean, giving us amazing views of the water and the shore.  It was a calm day, but still the waves hitting the rocks were mesmerizing...

The next day, we hiked the Skyline Trail, one of the park's most popular trails, which is located on the east side of Cape Breton Island.  The trail leads out to a bare headland, with gorgeous views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and dozens of whales in the water down below. 

As we were heading back along this trail, I heard some rustling in the grass, so I looked to my left to see if I could spot the bird or squirrel that was making the noise.  I looked, and standing there, about 15 feet from me, was a moose!  She was so close I could see the individual hairs in her coat!  I've never been that close to a moose other than in a car, so my heart pounded for about 30 seconds.  After I calmed down, I noticed that she didn't seem to mind us, so I decided to take a picture.  I wasn't able to take the photo because she started walking toward me!  I gathtered my wits enough to start walking up the boardwalk away from her, but still keeping an eye on her.  She got to the boardwalk, looked left toward Greg and I, looked right and then thankfully decided to go right.  I don't know what I would have done if I had a moose walking down a boardwalk toward me, but I don't think it would have been good.  Eventually, my brain started working again, and I remembered that I had a camera...

As the moose made her way down the boardwalk, I was worried that some hikers behind us might come around a corner and end up nose to nose with her...  So we waited to hear any screams...  There were none.  The moose moved a little into the forest before the next people reached her. 

Here is her face...  She really is beautiful.

I grew up in moose country, so seeing moose is always one of those love-hate things.  They are fabulous animals and fun to see, but one doesn't want to be too close, as they are very large and can be dangerous.  One especially does not want to see a moose on the road in front of one's car.  They are hard to spot in the dark as their dark coats don't reflect any light, and if you hit one, you might not survive to tell the tale.  So it was very exciting to see the moose, but also a little scary to unexpectedly be so close to her!

We also saw several bald eagles while we were there, both juveniles and adults.

The scenery along the Cabot Trail is pretty spectacular, and the roads are pretty interesting too.

If ocean and mountains aren't enough for you, how about waterfalls?  We reached these ones after driving down a small, windy, very bumpy dirt road...

We totally enjoyed our trip and could easily have spent a few more days, there was so much to see and do...

The hubby and I were married almost 8 years before the Moose came.  Not that we didn't try - we decided to start "trying" around year 6.  We got pregnant faster than we thought possible, but miscarried 3 months later (more on that some other time..).  We took that as a sign to take a break and focus on careers.  Several months later, we were pregs again.. but only for 5 weeks.  Again, we dove back into the careers.  I accomplished my goal of becoming a buyer.  He was breaking his neck trying to succeed in a dying mortgage industry. 

Fast forward to March 2007.  After a lovely morning session, followed by 3 hours straight of holding up my legs while watching a James Bond marathon on TV, we were pregs again :)  Based on our history, we were "cautiously excited".  We didn't even tell our family until we were 18 weeks pregnant!  At 32 weeks, we packed up our bags, left Boston and moved down to Knoxville so hubby could have a more secure job and I could have the option to not work altogether.

Fast forward again to December 2008.  I was due December 1, but as all mommies know, due dates are nothing but a tease.  Since Ben and I can't even wait until Christmas Day to exchange gifts, we decided to induce labor on December 4th so we didn't have to wait any longer.  I figured I might as well since I hadn't had any contractions or even a hint it might happen.

Well, the morning of December 4th, after  the nurse butchered my arm for the IV, she strapped on the monitors for baby and me.  And, surprisingly, I WAS having contractions - about 3 minutes apart, 30 sec to a minute each!  I figured he had been moving around alot, as he was always prone to kicking me on my right side.  Turns out those were contractions.  He popped out 6 hours later (thanks to Pitocin and my best friend, Epidural!!) 

And so the adventure began...

Yeah, oops.

So Keeley, what'd you do, just look Bear up or what? If you fancy digging for some dirt, bring it right on here ahe? Because that's exactly what you're doing. Honestly, I don't care what your intent is, I just know you're snooping. But okay, here you go, here's some more info about him. Anything else you'd like to know, shoot me an email.

Music

Jazz, Alternative, ... Chillaxin xD

I am ...

Fiercely and proudly American, staunchly Libertarian. A proud man, proud of my country and my home state of Kentucky (though I've lived in Georgia, Alabama, and New York City as well), incredibly proud of my Little Lady, my family and my people. There is no purity of genetics here. We're all mutts. We're flat out just ... Americans - a melting pot. And we're free. That, more than anything really, is what binds us. I'm never afraid, but always ready to stand for and defend what I believe and for what my nation, and our belief in a free world represents. I believe in civility and kindness to one another. I believe that along with fear and cowardess, indifference is incredibly dangerous. Stand up for your fellow man, whenever required. That's how I roll.

Sports

University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, in that order and yes I know that's not supposed to be, liking both :p. Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Braves rock!

Scared Of

Nothing. I'm a grown man living in the greatest, most free, most powerful nation on earth. Like it or not, it's not rhetoric, it's just true. And I'm immensely proud of it. My country and our position in the world as the greatest beacon of individual liberty this globe has ever known, for over 230 years and counting. And if you dare shout slavery, yeah we fixed that more than 140 years ago with the blood and tears of more than 50, 000 American patriots. We have saved the globe from tyrannical dominance by my count at LEAST 3 times in the past century, and as I write we're working on the 4th such time. And know, however begrudgingly, that we are the greatest force for Liberty, for Good on God's Green Earth. Deal with it. We'll continue being ourselves and the world will be better for it. Whether you love us, or hate us. We're still going to live and act by our principles. Regardless, whether we agree or disagree, may the world continue in prosperity.

Happiest When

With my Scottish Angel, sitting out on our balcony together relaxing, talking and enjoying one another's company. Going to Karma (our diner) on Sundays or even going down the block at 10pm to get her a spicy chicken sandwich from Wendy's or to get her some chocolate from the Speedway shop. Walking in our home after a long day at work to see her waiting for me at the top of the stairs, silly and smiling waiting to wrap her arms around me. The scent of her. OMG... the scent of her. And the scent of her spagbol that fills our house completely while she's preparing it. I mean, damn, it's actually got bacon in it! xD Ohh yeeaaahhh.

I'm unapologetic of...

Loving the best president of my country's history. As a young boy, I grew up fearing the Soviets, the Cold War, a possible nuclear war, double digit inflation, double digit unemployment, gas shortages, and nearly 20% interest rates. Yes, Ronald Wilson Reagan was a great American, and is one of my heroes, as he nearly single-handedly put an end to all of that. He gave us, the world, a new optimism. He helped us to stand tall again. Today, all of eastern Europe is independent, the Iron Curtain destroyed. Today, all of western Europe remains free, free of Soviet tyranny and the threat of invasion. He taught us, again, how to stand up to facism and win. I lived it, and I was paying attention. Even as a young person. After all, I knew it was my future he was fighting for. Thank you President Reagan for fighting for me. Thank you for being so resolved, so courageous. May you RIP. And may your legacy never be forgotten.

The most profound thing I've ever read..

The Law -- by Frederic Bastiat. "For the Law to be respected, it must first be respectable. ... Man can live and satisfy his wants only by ceaseless labor; by the ceaseless application of his faculties to natural resources. This process is the origin of property. But it is also true that a man may live and satisfy his wants by seizing and consuming the products of the labor of others. This process is the origin of plunder. ... When, then, does plunder stop? It stops when it becomes more painful and more dangerous than labor. It is evident, then, that the proper purpose of law is to use the power of its collective force to stop this fatal tendency to plunder instead of to work. All the measures of the law should protect property and punish plunder. " -- Frederic Bastiat, circa 1850.