Shadow of the Earth

There are some things in this world that you should make every effort to see. Even if you have to brave frigid temperatures to do so.

The lunar eclipse of last week was one of those things.

You all know me, so I'm sure you've been expecting this post for a week now. I, of course, couldn't resist trying to take some pictures of the eclipse. Mind you, this was no easy task. It went down a little something like this:

*driving home from a lovely dinner I'd had with my co-workers
In catching a glimpse of the moon while pulling into my alleyway I thought to myself "Oh look! The lunar eclipse has started! I should get some pictures of that!".

I rushed upstairs and took my camera and zoom lens out of the bag. At this point I realized...I didn't have a tripod. "No worries!" I thought, "I'll just run out and hold my breath while I take the shot." Yes, I was purposefully neglecting the fact that the zoom lens magnifies the slightest movement and that there would be NO way for me to hold still enough. Regardless, I ran down and took a few of these shots:


*oh but look at that beautiful beautiful lens flare! Yes. I know I have a problem.

Now to be fair, I also didn't have the shutter speed set correctly. I had never tried to take pictures of the moon before. That sucker puts out a LOT of light! Anyway, I quickly realized that even dialing up the shutter speed was not going to give me the sharpest picture I could get. So upstairs I went. I was on a quest. There HAD to be something in my apartment that would take the place of a tripod.

I looked at empty cardboard boxes (not tall or sturdy enough), a stool (really not tall enough), a broom handle (hey, a monopod is better than nothing), and a folding chair (I was getting desperate). Then, low and behold, some little voice in my head spoke up and said "YO! Dude. You have a ladder. A lovely four foot ladder." And I rejoiced.

I grabbed said ladder and one of those boxes (to prop under the front legs of the ladder so I could get the proper angle) and tromped back downstairs. All the strange looks I got from people driving by (I had to stand near the street in the front of my building...and later even IN the street) were worth these pictures:











Sadly, I don't have the equipment that would have allowed me to take a picture of the total eclipse. This was the closest I could get. Ah well. Maybe in another two years.

Purple

"I love you, you love me..."

Should I continue? Or do you all know exactly where this is going?

That's right. This post is all about our favorite dinosaur. Did I say favorite?



Let me explain...

I met Barney a couple of years ago here in St. Louis. He's actually a really cool guy! He's been known to play some really great music, tell some really funny jokes, and I've even heard that he may be a pirate. Ok ok, so maybe I don't know BARNEY...but I know someone that's been in that suit.

Our story starts with this little band called The Bilge Pumps. At one time, Preston was a member of said band along with several other people...including Patrick. According to Preston, he and Patrick had some pretty crazy times together with everyone in that band. (if you haven't already, ask Preston about the fudgesicle incident and the 'fun with black powder' adventure) Patrick came to St. Louis a couple of years back while on tour with the Barney show and we got the chance to hang out with him for a bit.

*I don't really know how he ended up as Barney...and I don't think I really want to know. But I digress.

We had heard that Patrick wasn't feeling so well, so Steph and I (and I say 'I' very loosely here it was ALL Steph's idea, I only encouraged it) decided to cheer him up by coloring these:





*these aren't the actual pages Steph printed out for us to color...but it's been a while. I don't remember which pages we actually did. And I'm pretty sure we captioned them inappropriately too...


Yeah, we knew we were risking looking like the complete dorks that we are...but heck. Why waste time on trying to look like we weren't dorks. We then presented them (quite proudly if I remember correctly) to him.

So, what's the point of this story? Other than the fact that this week's color is purple and Barney is THE purple dinosaur?

I just wanted you all to know that I (and a few very select others) are now the COOLEST kids on the block. That's right. WE know Barney.

Blue

Yeah, I'm late. BIIIIIIGGGGG surprise right?

So. Blue. Blue is for bucket.

That's right. I said bucket.

This is the story of a Walrus and his bucket.













This one is my favorite but I can't seem to get it to post...


Seriously guys.

Stop.

Me.

I'm so addicted to this stupid site that it's bordering on obsession.

I even found this dictionary the other day. Remember when I said I couldn't stand the 'internet speak' that they were using? It's grown on me. And I find that very, very frightening.

Did you know that they even have one of these sites for dogs?

Even my computer is trying to make an intervention. I can't seem to keep it connected to the internet...

Ah well...we all have to have at least ONE vice right? (yes, some of us have many...you hush!)

If

I stole a fun little meme from another blog I occasionally read. What IS a meme anyway?? I mean, I know that it is typically a list of questions to answer or a silly quiz, but where did the name come from? And how in the heck are you supposed to pronounce it? Ohhh. Ok, check it out if you were curious too. If not, well...then don't. It's your choice. Live your life in complete intellectual darkness. Hey, it's no skin off MY back.

Anyway. I don't usually do these, but I liked the idea behind this one. It's called the 'CD Cover Meme' and it's fun! Here's the deal:

"The CD Cover Meme group has only three rules: (1) The first article title on this random wiki page is the name of your band, (2) the last four words of the very last quote on this random quote page is the title of your album, and (3) the third picture here, no matter what it is, will be your album cover."*

*The picture thing is a bit more complicated than that. It takes a bit more tenacity to find one that is not 'all rights reserved'. What you need to do when you get to the flickr page is:
1. Click on the third picture
2. Scroll down and look on the right hand side of the page.
3. Look for the copyright. It will say either 'all rights reserved' or 'some rights reserved'
4. If it says 'all rights reserved', back up and click the reload button
5. Repeat 1-4 until you find one that is 'some rights reserved'

Now, I'm certain that we have all been guilty of posting pictures that are technically 'all rights reserved' in the past. I know I have. But since flickr allows us to see this information easily...well, there is just no excuse.

There ARE photos you can use...it just takes several minutes of clicking to find one that works.

In any case, on to the results. If I were a rockstar...



This band name totally speaks to me. It reminds me (in length at least) of a little band Kristi and I will someday start called The Fuzzy Armadillos and the World Symphony Orchestra.

To give proper recognition for the photo, THIS is the talented person that took the original shot.

Alright guys. Have fun with this if you choose to do it. (and you don't have to have Photoshop...use this as an excuse to try GIMP)

Green

Green is the color of...

MUCOUS!

That's right my friends. I said it. Last weekend I came down with the Plague of '08 and let me just tell you...it was not pretty. And I had the milder version than most people seem to be getting.

So. Since we all know that I don't like to do a post without pictures these days, I've included a few below. Check it out!



Ok. I'm kidding. Did you really think I was going to take a REAL picture of mucous?? Eww. That's gross.

Instead, here are a few pictures of some of the things I needed to get through a day of the plague.

Kleenex. Unarguably the most important item.

Why most important? Trust me. You really want these around for when you suddenly need to sneeze.


Chapstick.

This stuff is completely necessary for your poor nose after all the above mentioned kleenexes. What's that? You thought it was for your lips? Well, if your lips need it too...please do us all a favor and use a different stick. Cause that's just nasty!


Sudafed.

I don't take cold medicine. But my head was so clogged up by the third day of this thing...I had to do something! And I don't really know how old this stuff is...can you even buy it over the counter anymore??


Cough drops.

These were donated by a co-worker. Was she concerned for ME or just concerned my coughing would infect her??


Juice.

I don't like orange juice. Period. BUT, I do like tangerine juice. And since I didn't have a lot of choices where I got this from...I figured a mix was ok. AND did you know that Juicy Juice is one of the only choices (and the ONLY one at the store I was at) that doesn't add high fructose corn syrup to their juice? AND I was going to cut it with this...


Diet 7-up.

This is my favoritest sick drink of all time. I drink peppermint tea too...but I love this stuff. I think it's because it's what my mom gave me when I was little. And it's the only way I'll drink orangy-type juice. Oh yeah. And it's green too.
*yes, that is the Christmas version of Diet 7-up. I guess the store I went to doesn't re-stock very often.


Thermometer.

The fever was the part that made me feel the worst. Luckily I didn't have anything over 99.7. It was just enough to make me sluggish.


Affirmation Orange.

This is seriously my favorite. I bought these little beauts the other day, having no idea they would help raise my self esteem when I was sick and feeling nasty. But look at that!


Now, several weeks ago Steph told me that there was a very simple way to get rid of excess mucous. It's called a Neti Pot. Steph is crazy.




I think this guy has the right of it though.



So there you have it. Those were a few things I needed to get through a day at work while sick this week. Minus the Neti Pot crazy Steph. Oh...and do you want to know what else is green?





I know I promised I wouldn't post anymore pictures of my feet on this site. But I lied. Deal with it.

Besides, I had to! This is one of my favorite sock combinations. The argyle and stripe combo. And look! They're both mostly green today! (the stripes are green if you can't tell by the picture)

So that's it. Sorry if I grossed you out with the whole mucous thing. And the foot thing. Huh. It's interesting...there seems to be a lot more 'gross' stuff on this site lately. I promise I'll do better to make the next post pretty. Ok?

Ok.

You say Pancakes, I say Crepes

Most of you know that today is Fat Tuesday. And since it has been established that I am usually the last to know things, I'm going to assume that you also know that it's Pancake Day. But do you know WHY it's Pancake Day?

Shrove Tuesday, or otherwise know as Fat Tuesday to many others, is celebrated in several countries including the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Canada. As it is the day before Ash Wednesday (and hence the beginning of Lent) people needed a way to get rid of the foods they wouldn't be eating over the next 40 days. What better way to get rid of butter, eggs, and sugar than making pancakes?

Ok, right about now I know Steph is scratching her head. She's saying to herself, "What the HECK is Tracie doing a post about pancakes for?!". You see, we've discussed how I don't like pancakes. She even made me cry when she called me a freak. It scarred me for life. Ok. Not really. But I did pout for a minute.

Well, I figured what better time than Pancake Day to make a pancake related confession? So. Deep breath. Here goes.

I like pancakes.

Whew! Oh man, I'm so glad to get that off my chest. Whats that? Didn't I just say I DON'T like pancakes? You want to know what the deal is?

When I say the word 'Pancake', what immediately comes to mind? It's probably these:


Most think of these fluffy buttermilk style pancakes...or flapjacks as some call them. You know the ones. My mom used to make them with Bisquick. Blech. A GOOD one is light and fluffy. A bad one is heavy and sticks to the roof of your mouth. They're the ones you have to drink a full glass of milk just to choke one down. You might as well forget the rest of the plate. I decided long ago that when presented with a choice, I'm a waffle girl. Nice golden crisp waffles. But I digress.

Now THESE...


...these make my heart sing. These can cure any ill. These can do away with world hunger. Or promote world peace. These could even stop global warming.

Ok. Maybe I'm getting a little carried away. But seriously. I love crepes. Or as mom used to call them, thin pancakes. I've also heard them referred to as Swedish pancakes, German pancakes, and Dutch pancakes. And of course there are many minor differences in each recipe and what toppings you can put in or on them.

So. I DO like pancakes. Just not American pancakes.

Oh, and another little tidbit for you. IHOP joins in on what THEY call 'National Pancake Day'. They'll give you a free short stack of pancakes and encourage you to donate to Children's Miracle Network. Of course, they didn't want to compete with Super Tuesday so they changed it to February 12th. Cause we here in America don't have to follow the rules! Yeah, uh...so...

Anyone wanna go for some free flapjacks? Course...I won't be eating them. Even when they're free I just can't do it. But I'll have me some Swedish pancakes. Who's in?

Yellow

Yellow is the color of CAUTION. Let me provide you with a few examples:


You see? C.A.U.T.I.O.N



Caution: Stupid people may be reading your sign. Be sure to prepare for this.



Caution: Learning might occur at the end of this trip.



Caution: We will taste nasty.



Caution: With proper use, some cleaning will be accomplished.



Caution: Is only useful as a booster seat for small children.



Caution: This street marking is not valid in Missouri. Proceed at own risk.



Caution: Increase speed or risk not making it through this intersection.



Caution: For decoration only. Not intended for actual use.




So remember. Be cautious around anything yellow. It's just safer that way.