Me and My Boo at the Zoo

Saturday was a date day and dates days are my most FAVORITE days. Since it was a day I was looking forward to, I of course woke up not feeling well at all. This tends to happen to me for all important events. Stomach virus two thanksgivings in a row which not only prevented me from having a turkey sandwich but also prevented me from shopping the day after. You know that it was serious if I wasn’t shopping. There’s no joking about that.

Eddie got me a ginger ale and I packed a baggy full of saltine crackers and we decided to give it a go. So we headed off to Cola to the zoo. Yup – the zoo – a place where they keep the animals in captivity so that the public can stare at them from behind a fence. Of course I totally prefer this option over seeing them in the wild – mainly because in the wild there is a higher possibility that the animals can run after you and eat you. I’ll take my chances at the zoo thanks. Another reason to visit the zoo – they have animals from other countries – and since I don’t have a travel budget – nor do I ride airplanes - I’m sort of limited to possibly ever seeing US, Canadian and Mexican animals. I really wanted to see the Koala (originally from Australia) so we probably saved thousands of dollars in air fare and hotels by seeing the fuzzy little thing two hours away from home at Riverbanks instead of going to Sydney.

I bought Eddie a behind the scenes tour last year as part of his Christmas and we decided that since this was the only free weekend we’d have before it expired then why not head on down. I made it through the car trip and once we arrived I still felt kind of crappy, but I forged on. It was sort of hot and the sight of two hundred billion other people all wandering through the gates didn’t help matters much. Eighty degrees, lots of hot sweaty people and lots of hot sweaty animals. Awesome – we maybe should have just stayed home and watched Animal Planet.

We had some time to look around before our tour started so off we went. Now that I look back, I realize that the highlight of the day for most people had to have been at the Riverbanks farm where we not only saw a cow but could pet it too. Some of those kids about lost their minds over the cow. Never mind about the endangered birds or the lion cubs right down the path – the cow was awesome. And we could have seen it at home.

We also went through this really weird enclosure thing where there were flocks of birds just flying around inside. The good folks at the zoo allowed regular joe people to go in and feed them or interact with them. I would have rather pulled my eyelashes out one by one than walk through that enclosure where the possibility of having my eyes pecked out was more real than not real. However, being the awesome fiancée that I am, I gave it a try. But you know what? Those birds didn’t even go on about their birdy business. They just kinda sat there looking bored. Thank goodness we didn’t buy the food to feed them. That is when they would swarm near you. I’m not into that. They were however really really pretty (as seen here). PS – thanks Lisa for the use of your camera for the day.

We were able to get up close and personal with the giraffes – they are so pretty – no wonder Dooney & Bourke wanted to use them to make purse patterns from. Seriously – this picture is not zoomed in at all. He (or she) was just right there all up in my face waiting for me to feed him (or her). I would have liked to have gotten there a little earlier so that we could have actually fed one. Did you know that giraffes can lick their own ears? They can. Regina told me, and as you all know she is an ocean of useless knowledge. She is the reason that I also know that coke was originally green in color.

Our behind the scenes tour was with the elephants. We went to the elephant barn and were able to meet the elephants and their trainers. The elephants are always behind those bars. The trainers never have free interaction with them like at the circus. It’s all about safety folks. I mean they weigh a ton. They did a few tricks for us though. They are so well trained, and we learned loads of interesting facts about them. I don’t remember any now that I’m writing this, but there were some I promise. On our way out we saw a painting that one of the elephants had done. They give them giant paint brushes which they can hold with their trunk, and then they can swirl the paintbrush on the canvas and make some pretty cool art work. Who knew elephants were so creative and artistic?

After the tour in the barn...I got to ride one of the elephants! It was all I ever dreamed it would be. Eddie got to hang out with some monkeys. All in all it was a good time. Our little group of 10 got to do some really neat things in "Employee Only" accessible places. It was definitely nice to not be in a crowd, especially when that crowd is standing really close together in hot weather.

We also got to feed some meerkats. They were cute little things, however don’t let that cuteness fool you. They eat worms…and centipedes…and other gross things. Oh seriously we get to feed them? Awesome. I tried to just take pictures of Eddie feeding them, but I didn’t want to be outshined by the 5 year old in our group so I let our guide put a worm in my hand and I tossed it to the meerkats. Gross :) Last stop of the tour was the animal hospital – or as Eddie and I would say Animal Doctor Movie. It was definitely interesting seeing the charts for the animal patients (whose ailments varied from arthritis and diabetes to hairballs). We also got to see some xrays. The craziest one by far was of a monkey that hasn’t been eating and was acting pretty sick. They brought him in to check him out and what do they find inside….41 pennies…. Isn’t that crazy!

I think it was after the tour that we had a dippin dot break – but I honestly can’t remember an actual timeline of events. I do however remember that the dippin dots were quite tasty. We decided to finish seeing the animals. A lot of animals must have sensed me and Eddie’s presence when we approached – because they would lay down and take a little nap to show that they were kindred spirits with us. We appreciated that. The little koalas slept practically the entire day away while lounging on their eucalyptus branches. Too cute right? I wanted to take one home. The turtles also put on quite a show I must say. Since neither of us paid attention that day in Biology when the teacher went over reproductive skills of turtles, it was the perfect day for us to see a real life demonstration. Parents were ushering their little kids right on past that “exhibit.” I’ll not be posting a picture of that action, but I will post one of Eddie hitching a ride from one of them.

I think our last stop was the bird house. I actually enjoyed the bird house since the birds were behind glass. I hearted seeing the little penguins diving into the water and knowing that one wasn’t going to run after me and attack me below the knees. I also really enjoyed seeing the peacocks. They were so pretty. One of them stared me right in the eye. I didn’t dare look away because I read or heard or maybe made up in my head that if you break eye contact with a mountain lion it will attack you. I’m not sure if the same applies to peacocks, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

I think the last animal we saw was the tiger. It was also one of the first we saw. It was asleep both times. I wanted to see it being all ferocious and GGGGGGGGRRRREAATTTTTTT! But alas, it was chilled out on a ledge in the shade. So instead I had to be all ferocious, and then I had to get Eddie in on the action too (but he won’t let me put his picture on here) :) There is one though…for blackmail purposes … just kiddin love! We had such a fun time. I think I’d like to go back and do a different animal tour next year – like an animal that doesn’t weigh over 900 lbs or something – maybe a penguin!

Sheet Rock My World

So the sheetrock guy rocked – literally! I told you people earlier that this was the first time we hired someone out to complete a project for us and needless to say – he got that project done way faster than we would have. It was lovely to see progress happen so quickly and at such a steady pace. Things like that don’t usually happen like that here.

I feel that over the course of this sheetrock project I have learned a thing or two or twenty about the topic and I’d like to share my findings with you. The whole sheetrock process pretty much consists of the following…smear mud over tape seams and screws…let it dry…sand it….smear on some more mud…let it dry….sand it….smear on even more mud…you get the picture. It sounds easy and honestly the mud looks like a huge container of cake icing….but there is nothing easy or delightfully tasty about it.

But guess what? Sheetrock guy finished up the bathroom and the den and now I can go to sleep at nite in McNest without worrying if the walls will fall down on top of us while we watch tv or take a shower. Bonus!

Moving on…our progress sometimes seems slow – painfully slow. I did some mental calculations this weekend to determine whether or not we’ll be able to live in McNest by March. I got confused converting project time into days and months, so I pulled out a Magic 8 ball and asked it instead. Of course it gave me a non-committal answer (reply hazy – try again). So I shook it again and got an affirmative answer that I liked better (It is decidedly so). Of course this is the same ball that told me that “yes definitely” a perm was a good idea in Junior High and boy was that ever a bad idea. So I’m not sure how reliable it is.

I’ve been struggling to emit any sort of productivity in regards to McNest (as evidenced by the lack of renovation posts). I got a small surge of energy from my Bagulful this morning(mmm thanks Kraft!) which inspired me to blog and tell you all something to keep you coming back for more, but that’s pretty much all I am good for. I’ll need more than a little carbohydrate high to do something productive house wise. We did meet up Monday evening to do a little painting of the orange persuasion. I feel like I’m the slowest painter on earth – I think it has to do with being a perfectionist. Eddie on the other hand is a speed painter. I’m almost afraid to stand still in front of him because he might slap a coat of Autumn Rust right on me.

Last night we started to put down the flooring in the dining room, and by we I mean Eddie and Cheryl. It may come as a surprise to you, but I’m not exactly qualified to put down a floor. I know right?! Reason 1 – I have no idea how to do that. Though I could google a “how to” article on putting down flooring I just really don’t think it would qualify me to put together a structure that is so complex and that people will actually use. I mean I could google how to perform open heart surgery but would you trust this face to do that? No. Reason 2 being it clearly falls under the realm of construction. Construction is not only hard but it’s dangerous. I’m used to sitting behind a desk all day. Not risking injuries. And construction sometimes involves wearing a hard hat. Oddly enough, that does little for this girl’s looks.

We still have a lot ahead of us, but I feel confident that it’ll all work out eventually. We may or may not be able to complete ALL of the things that we’re hoping to do (so I’ll be vague about future plans as to avoid embarrassment later). But soon I have the feeling that we’ll be joining the ranks of proud home owners worldwide! The Magic 8 ball says “without a doubt” :)