Just a few things before I leave on Sat

-I found a Power Ranger Tshirt size 5T. It's a size too big but I had to go on a damn oddessy to find it so that baby is going to have to just wear it anyway. I got souvenir tees for the older two but the little one said he likes Power Rangers so I had no choice. I went everywhere. Two different Targets-no Power Rangers. Walmart-nothing. Bealls-nope. Kohl's-uh uh. Kmart-nyet. Finally I broke down and went to the mall. Luckily, I found a Disney store and they had some. Crisis avoided. Go Power Rangers!

-The Disney Store. Um. Yeah. If you haven't had kids yet and were even contemplating the idea of pushing one out, don't go there. And for the record I feel sorry for/hold the utmost admiration for anyone who is so cursed as to have to bring a child there and doesn't end up in a straight jacket. The employees seem to know the inner demons that will be unleashed in kids upon stepping foot into that store and take advantage of it. I saw one following a poor mother around making all kinds of suggestions while the woman, who BTW was clearly on the verge of some kind of emotional breakdown, just said, "yes yes we'll get those honey," just so her kid would calm down. Yep. It's not going to be a destination for the Pea Family when I push one out. I said it. Write it down.

-The baby birds are gone. Should I be worried about that? I mean they were getting bigger and all but I can't believe they would be big enough to just fly away. Is it possible that the mother moved them to a different nest? Does that happen? Please don't say a cat got them. I mean I know it's a possibility but it would be hard for me to believe since no one in my building owns a cat and I doubt any stray would have found them. Plus I'll be heartbroken so I'll have to pretend they didn't like the noise and just moved. The nest is still there in perfect condition. I'm going to have to investigate. Their location was at the LadyNextDoorWhoHatesMe's front doorway so it's going to be hard for me to get some answers from her. I better not find out that she did something like complain about them living in her wreath.

-My trip(s)! My trip(s)! My nephews don't even know I'm coming. I don't know how my sister and I kept this secret for 3 weeks without slipping, but we have. I think she's planning to load them into the car by saying, it's a nice day, let's go for a drive. Oh man, they're all going to get pinched on the belly. One by one. MrPea's and my trip South was postponed until my birthday so I'll be home Wednesday instead of next Monday. I was dying to look for shark teeth down there, but I guess I can wait. I'll try to post while I'm gone but if I don't I hope everyone has a Great Independence day and a safe week.

Random Pix I forgot to show ya'll

Actually I did already post my cellcam version of this one a while back ago but I'm thinking about making a drawing of it to go with my shell in the hand drawing.

It was alive so of course I put it back in the water that day. I even stayed watching it for a long to time to make sure it didn't get pushed back onto the sand by the tide. I couldn't let it go without pausing to snap a picture of it's blue and peach side. I'm sure I've looked up the name in my field guide and forgot it's name but my field guide happens to be in the other room and I happen to be too lazy to get it.

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Look close.

Closer....see him now.

Yes it's a him, I checked. Unfortunately for him something had already made a meal out of his belly. His color pattern is really pretty and this will definitely make for a good drawing. I haven't decided to use pencils or watercolors for this one.

This is a Southern Toad that Peanut got into a fight with. I freaked out because he's ended up in the animal emergency hospital for getting into a fight with a poisonous toad in the past. So I took a picture of this one so I could identify it and make sure Peanut was not in any danger. He must have tasted really badly because Peanut spit him out right away and started shaking his mouth. Luckily for Peanut that was the only discomfort. MrPea was to blame since he was the one holding the leash(for both times.) His pattern is really pretty too but I'm not a big fan of bumps.

And, as promised here are the baby birds I have been admiring. As you can see the mother bird made a safe nest on a shell "welcome" wreathe. She was there all the time when the eggs were not hatched yet but now I never see her. I was beginning to worry but the chicks are getting bigger everyday so she must just be busy. Click for a closer look.

They are even bigger than this now- I checked on them this morning. I only counted 2 but I'm never close enough to really see because I don't want to scare them.

Last week while using a restaurant bathroom I noticed a very important communication. Take note of it peeps, you might need this information some day:"James is hot." "I agree." I'm not quite sure who this James is but if I find out, I'll let you guys know.

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And last but not least this was taken last night at 8:30. This is not my beach, it's been too HOTDAMN for me because the wind is still coming from the west. I wanted to look for shark teeth over here but for some reason, there aren't really any here. If the wind doesn't change before I leave on Saturday then I won't be able to look for any shark teeth until next week when low tide is in the evening so it won't be any fun. But the midsummer evening sky is pretty don't you think?

I got something

Yes I did! Got it from Chani, who's blog I adore. And I'm supposed to pass it on but I'm not going to since only 3 people read my blog anymore. (That's all my fault) If you're still here, and you wanted that award for yourself, by all means honey take it. Because if you
are still around after my only posting about once a year then in my opinion, you ARE Lovely.

Now that I'm done bragging about that, I have to steal an idea from Chani. Well technically it's not really stealing since she got the post idea from someone else too right? It was 6 things that make me happy. At this very moment. Ya'll already know about Peanut, shark teeth, the beach,shoes, pinching earlobes, my nephews, pinching my nephews earlobes, ok just pinching in general- all that stuff. So I'll tell you about some different things that make me happy. Today.


1. And this is in no certain order. This is going to sound weird but Exercise makes me happy. Yeah. I can't believe I said that. But it's true. When I am exercising on a regular basis, which for me means 2 or 3 times a week, I'm in a better mood. I have more energy and I sleep better. I also don't have those "I hate my body" voices in my ear so much even if I don't notice a difference in the mirror. Because I feel like I'm actively doing something about it. Saying that I have to admit that the getting motivated to get up and go exercise is still hard for me. But once I'm in the middle of it, I do get that high everyone talks about. I used to run but now I just power walk about a mile and a half. I find my knees and ankles ache less since then.

2. There's a bird nest on a wreathe next to one of my neighbor's front door and I can't even tell you all how happy that makes me. I spotted it a couple weeks ago and at first I thought it was decoration. Upon closer inspection I saw a tiny bird in it that I still thought was fake. Until it flew out and freaked me out. So I try not to scare them but there's chicks in there and I make a point to pass by on my way to my work out to check on them, trying my best not to scare the mother. MrPea teases me about it and says if he saw a giant face in the window every afternoon, he'd probably want to relocate but I can't help it so I just peep quickly and then go. I'll post some pictures when I can of them.

3. ok I know I said I wasn't going to mention pinching since I already told you guys about that before but I can't take it anymore. I have to. Pinching makes me happy. Yes it does. I love to pinch my loved ones. I have to keep it to a minimum because most people don't like to be pinched but I can't help it, even Peanut gets it once in a while. And the fact that I'll be at my sister's house a week from Saturday...oh man. My fingers are already in a pinching position. My nephews are going to have their earlobes and bellies pinched and that's just the end of it. I'll probably pinch my sister's earlobes too. Because that's the way I roll.

4. Photos. Taking them and looking at them makes me happy. I really love taking pictures but I also really love looking at people's photo albums. I'm always the only one who says yes really enthusiastically when someone asks if I want to see the 500 photos of their kids. If they have 500 photos of their vacation that no one usually wants to see, I do. I think you can learn a lot about a person from the photos they take. So yeah, photos. And since I mentioned my nephews, we'll be taking a lot of pictures too. Too bad, they're just going to have to smile and say cheese whether they like it or not cuz Auntie likes to take pictures.


5. MrPea and I are planning a trip and I'm so excited about that. We haven't been away together in a long time so it will be fun. There's really no need to make plans to go vacation when you live in Florida, I know that. But ever since that winter I spent in Canada I've had separation anxiety. I spent such a long time away from home that I never wanted to leave home or go anywhere without Peanut. So now that the reservations are made I'm getting excited. It will be fun. I'll be taking lots of pictures then too.

6. Lastly, I mentioned this the other day but this really makes me happy and it's my damn blog so I can talk about it again. My doctor told me a year and a half ago not to have any babies for 2 years and I cried for days over it. But now that it's been a year and a half, I'm thankful that the time is passing by because January will be the last time I have to take radioiodine for at least five years(keeping my fingers crossed that the scan will be clean which is %99 likely) and it will be safe for me to have a baby. heeheehee I get all giggly just thinking about it. But ok like I said, I'm not to dwell on it anymore. That's the last you'll hear about it from me. For a while.


So there you go. Feel free to steal this post since it was never my original idea in the first place.

Still around

I had some routine bloodwork done last Friday and found out yesterday for sure that I am not anemic. For now. Which is good. I still haven't heard from my endocrinologist but I imagine things are going well because she's of the freakout variety so I would have heard something by now if there were anything to freak out about. I have yet another yearly appointment with my "girly" doctor today that I'm trying to get "mentally ready" for. Lately I've been having a lot of pregnant dreams and I think it's because I know I've hit my year and a half point into my 2 year "safety wait". Hopefully by next January, I'll know whether or not I can....ok I'm not even going to talk about it anymore.

In the meantime. I'm getting ready for my trip north to visit my sister and nephews and also MrPea and I are planning a trip to the Gulf Coast. I can't wait to find some shark teeth there and hopefully a megalodon tooth if I can get over my fear of diving! I haven't been out to the beach much because it is HOTDAMN and there has been no seabreeze in my parts so I'm waiting for the winds to change. It's been hard because low tide has been just right but ever since my thyroid was removed, even though I'm taking a hormone replacement, I can't handle the heat as well as I used to. Oh well. I don't mind so much that it's over 90 but when it's over 90 and no wind on the beach, I just can't. I don't leave until the 27th so I'll be around peeps.

Always be our Baby no matter what your age

Happy Birthday Little Jr! 20 years old and this is the way I will always think of you. Is it any surprise that I'm the one who took this picture? We were in my room I told you to make your best Teenage Mutant Ninja pose. I'm so proud of who you grew up to be. As long as I'm breathing, you will always have a cheerleader on your team. All 6 of the grandchildren in our family are loved. No more, no less than each other. But you were the first. And the special thing about being the first is that we loved you the longest. Keep on being who you are.

Tips from Pea. The beginning of a new era of knowledge from me to you.

Back when I actually posted more than once a month I had quite a few emails asking for beauty tips. This was pretty funny to me since I am 4'11" so I'm obviously not in the running to be America's Next Top Model. Also I didn't start wearing make up or really care about my hair until I was about 25 but, ok. I don't have very many beau-tay secrets but I do have a few misc. tips and product reviews I can pass on to anyone who might be of a mind to ,er,want to know. Feel free to add your own or shoot mine down but here are a few to tide you over until next time:

1. I hate bugspray. I hate the smell of bugspray. I live in Florida:mosquito breeding ground of the USA. Solution for this problem is Avon Skin So Soft bath oil. I buy it in a spray but the lotion works too. One squirt on my hands is enough to rub on my legs and arms without feeling like a greasy frenchfry. It smells good and for some reason mosquiters don't like it. Buy it. Try it. You won't regret it.

2. I have sensitive skin. I also break out easily. I usually hate most face products aimed at sensitive skin because for some reason everyone in the "skin" industry assumes that people with sensitive skin also have bone dry skin thus creating the heaviest, oiliest face creams that I would only buy if I somehow mutated into a lizardwoman and decided to live in Death Valley. Aveeno Clear Complexion is my go to. Now I've told you. Now you know. Rejoice in that knowledge and spread the word.

3. Ok the Baby Powder in the hair trick. I've heard of this before. Yeah it doesn't work. Don't do it. I tried it once because my hair was flat and oily and I didn't have enough time to rewash. Um. Yeah it just made me look like I had BABY POWDER IN MY HAIR. Maybe my hair is too dark for that trick but I'm not going to dye it just to find out.

4. I drink skim milk because I like to put half and half in my coffee. This isn't really a "tip" of any kind but it's something I do that makes me feel better about how heavy I like my coffee. I play several mind games with myself like this. I feel skinnier already just from telling ya'll.

5. Feet. I have to talk about them. Those of us who spend our lives in flipflops know the horror. Vitamin E. Not the gel that's sold in drugstores in the summer time-although that's pretty good for scars. The cream. Right now I have the BJs store brand and that seems to work well. Vaseline under your socks over night is a squishy thought but trust me, it works.

I have thousands more but I'll have to ration it out, peeps. All 3 of you that are left :O)

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