Turtles

It is World Turtle Day ! I heard this on the radio on the way to work. I like turtles so I thought I would celebrate this day! The website above tells me that I can honor turtles by protecting and advocating for them. If I see a turtle crossing the road I should brake for it (I have never seen a turtle crossing the road in Oregon, or anywhere for that matter.) And I can help by keeping the beaches clean!

Some random turtle facts:

There are about 270 species of turtles, tortoises, and terrapins worldwide.

The Galapagos tortoise is the largest living species, weighing in some cases, over 570 pounds.


The oldest known tortoise may have been a radiated tortoise from Madagascar (Astrochelys radiata), which died in 1965. She was at least 188 years old, having been given to the Tonga royal family, by Captain Cook in 1773 or 1777.

Some female turtles produce eggs four years after mating.


Many snapping turtles have been known for biting for no reason at all and not letting go. (ouch!)

Happy World Turtle Day everyone!!!

Random Thoughts and Happenings

Ok, so a pet peeve of mine is when professionals talk to you. Let me clarify. I don't like it when my dentist or doctor or eye brow lady talk to me. When I go to see one of these people I don't want a play by play. Just do what you gotta do. There are some graphic examples of this but I'll give you the not so graphic one. The other day I go to have my eyebrows waxed. Call me, sadistic, but I really enjoy having my eyebrows waxed. But not the other day! The lady talked to me the WHOLE time. "Opps, I missed two little one, have to go back and tweeze." "Ummmm, and I should get that hair . . . . must shape them nice and even . . . . . . . . now a little cooling cream for your brows" STOP TALKING!! Please just wax my brows!!


I've been eating healthier lately. This is a good thing. It's been a strange experience though. I feel very trendy (as many Portlanders are vegetanians or vegans and know exactly what is in everything you are eating.) I even went to Wild Oats the other day. For those of you that don't know what this place is they sell all natural food or what "they" affectionately call organic. (See definition 3b.)


The other day I was driving to work and at the stop light next to be was a car full of teenage boys, but in the back passenger seat was a dummy. A red sweatshirted man made dummy, with garden gloves duct taped on as hands and duct tape for two eyes and a mouth. Very interesting.

Inventions

Ok, so I've been thinking about this invention stuff. While cleaning this weekend I thought of something that would be very useful. I would like to invent a small vacuum that connects to your broom or better yet your dust-pan! You know how you have to scoot you dust-pan back like 5 times just to get all the dirt in it? Well I think it is annoying and want a little vacuum to suck all the dirt up. Maybe it could be a whole other tool. The kitchen floor vacuum!

Random Thursday

I've been thinking a lot about the randomness in this world. All of the random ideas and thoughts. Recently I have watched several episodes of American Inventor It really is an interesting and random show. The things that people think up! Here are some random inventions

The Twirling Spaghetti Fork

Noodle Fan

Umbrella Rain Tube

Plunger Hat

Water Cooler Clock

I got tell you that I think the Plunger Hat is awesome! It stops your head from bobbing around when you fall asleep.

Oops!!

So on Saturday I went to graduation. It started raining and the reception had to be inside. After making the rounds Josh and I decided to take off. We wanted to make a quick escape so that we didn't get too wet,so we ducked out the back door. About halfway down the wet, slick metal stairs my feet started to come out from under me. I slipped down two steps and then slid with my arms at my side and finally stopped hitting my back pretty hard on a step toward the bottom, all the while screaming "the scream of death." Josh quickly came to me to see if I was okay and tears instantly came streaming down as I told that I had hurt myself. As I inspected the battle wounds I began to cry harder. People had heard the "scream of death" and began to look down the stairs to see what had happened. Shortly after the fall (but still on the stairs, crying, in the rain) an old professor came down the stairs telling us to be careful and that the stairs

were slippery and we should hold on to the railing. Well, thanks for that!

Could they go all the way?

Yeah Kings! Keep up the good work!

Beer Meanderings

I felt like I needed to write a profound and meaningful blog. I have written them before Really, I have! The problem with a meaningful blog is that it takes thought! So here is what you get today!

Today I was driving on a main road and had to take a detour through a small quaint neighborhood. As I twisted in and around all these nice house I thought how it really was a strange detour. In front of me was a Budweiser truck. For some reason a Budweiser truck driving through suburbia was humorous to me. Then I though about how if we were driving through
Springfield and past the Simpson household that Homer
would start chasing after the truck. So here I am, on my way to a very important appointment picturing Homer chasing the Budweiser truck. So how about that for your meaningful blog?

Easter

So I had been hassled about calling Josh "my special friend." I have also been hassled for other reasons that I will not go into detail now. So my response is to post these pictures! We had a great time in California and a wonderful Easter!

My Favorite picture!

I know this picture is so far away, but I didn't have a stand and had to set it on a rock. I've made a copy of it closer but couldn't post that one, so this is what you get!

Eating the Easter Bunny (Chomp!)

Random Thursday: California

It is California Day!! Well, at least the day that I get to go to California! It also happens to be random Thursday! So here are some random California facts. And who knows you may be able to use these on Jeopardy someday!

• California is known variously as The Land of Milk and Honey, The El Dorado State, The Golden State, and The Grape State.

• More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States

• California Caverns claims the distinction of being the most extensive system of caverns and passageways in the Mother Lode region of the state. (I worked in one of these Caves!)

• If California's economic size were measured by itself to other countries, it would rank the 7th largest economy in the world.

• The highest and lowest points in the continental United States are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney measures 14,495 feet and Bad Water in Death Valley is 282 feet below sea level.

• STATE:
  Flower: Golden poppy
  Tree: California redwood
  Bird: California valley quail
  Animal: California grizzly bear (1953)
  Fish: California golden trout (1947)
  
  Have a great day and a Happy Easter!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

I get to go to California on Thursday!! To visit my family! It has been about 4 months since I have seen them, and I miss them. My "special friend" Josh is going with me and that is very exciting! Now if it could only be Thursday! This week is just slowly ticking by.


(If you look closely at the map; just southwest of the crook at the green mountain looking county called Tuolumne. That is where I am from and will be in a couple of days!)

Random Doggie Daze (Thursday)

FYI: The last post with the pictures, came from typing "random" into the tool bar of google images.

I WANT A DOG!!!!!!!

I want a dog so bad! It's all I think about. Anytime I see a dog I have this deep longing for one. On the Today Show they talked about training dogs. I could train a dog! As the weather gets nicer I am finding myself daydreaming about taking my (fictional) dog to the park and playing Frisbee with him. The reason I do not have a dog is because I feel that I do not have the time for a dog. I work 10 hours four days a week and am generally very busy. I have an apartment with no back yard. That would be unjust right? And I can't keep house plants alive.

NOW SOME RANDOMNESS

There are approximately 65 million owned dogs in the United States.

Thirty-nine percent of U.S. households (or 40.6 million) own at least one dog. (I want to be a part of that 39%!)



Some Jokes:

What is more amazing than a talking dog?
Sent by Lee, age 10, Texas USA

Answer: a spelling bee


Where should you never take a dog?
Sent by Joseph, age 8, Vermont USA

Answer: a flea market


What does a dog call his father?
Sent by Lyndsey, age 10, Ohio USA

Answer: Paw


Why did the dog wear a watch?
Sent by Amber, Age 12, Kansas USA

Answer: He wanted to be a watchdog.


What do you get when you cross a dog and a phone?
Sent by Tyler, age 8, New York USA

Answer: a Golden Receiver


Why did the Dalmatian go to the eye doctor?
Sent by Ben, age 9, Michigan USA

Answer: He kept seeing spots.


How does a dog stop a VCR ?
Sent by Abigail, age 7, Connecticut USA

Answer: Presses the paws button

I found this great website about how you can be a puppy raiser. During the first year of a puppies life you get to take care of it and socialize it, but then you give it back for advance training. Too bad the organization is in Virginia.


So, people I shouldn't get a dog . . . right?

Random Thursday

Adulthood

Lately I've been saying things like: "When did I become an adult?" "How come I have to be an adult?" and "I want to quit this adult life."

Really! I don't know when it all happened. All of a sudden I have to pay bills, work all the time and make tough life decisions. It really is not very fun and I don't like it one bit!

When I first got my apartment I was so excited. My first place! Now I dread paying rent, I hate it when the toilet gets clogged and keeping it clean is a whole nother story.

For the first several months it was exciting getting bills, writing checks and sending them off. (Or paying online). Not anymore.

At first a real job was great! I felt very grown up and loved getting a paycheck. Now . . . I dread having to go to work. Why can't I just sleep in!?!?! And my paycheck just goes to bills.

I don't feel prepared or mature enough to be an adult. I don't want to take my car in when it is not working properly. I don't want to make doctor apoinment when I am not working properly. I don't want to make important decisions about my life, i.e. grad school, moving ect..

How do I get off this adult life track?

New Post

It had been mentioned to be that I needed a new post. Some of my friends are having a dry spell. I however are not. I have plenty of things to blog about, but no time to do it. There are many stories floating around in my head that will make you laugh, cry and think. So I promise that soon I will tell these stories. SOON!

Some Travel Stories

Traveling can be a love hate relationship but mostly I enjoy traveling and all the quirky things that happen while traveling. Here are some stories from my latest journey! FYI I flew from Portland to Las Vegas, Vegas to Dallas, slept several hours then drove from Dallas to Abilene and back slept for a few more hours then flew from Dallas to Denver and Denver to Portland all in about 2 and 1/2 days!


This is what I heard over the load speaker in the airport “would the man who ate at Gustav's and ordered chicken noodle soup and a baked potato with extra butter please return for a lost item. The man who ordered chicken noodle soup and a baked potato please return to Gustav's for a lost item.”


I swear I saw both Moana from the bachelor at one airport and the e-harmony guy at another.


I almost missed my connecting flight form Las Vegas to Dallas. I was on the same plane but I decided to get off to stretch my legs and get some food (see the story below) After getting some food and seeing the door was shut to the runway I decided I needed to play the slots. After playing $5 and winning $5.25 I thought I should check on the flight again to see if we were boarding. As I approach the gate I hear “Passenger, Kristi Beeman, this is your last and final boarding call.” As I approach the front desk they ask where I’ve been. I sheepshly asked if all the other passengers were on the plane already. And they were, so I had to walk the hall of shame, all the way to the back of the plane where my seat was.

I was grabbing some food at a popular fast food restaurant (side note: it was the same restaurant my car got towed from a week ago) so I get to the counter and order what I would like and they tell me they are out of that. The woman precedes to tell me everything they are out of, which includes just about half the menu. Many of the things she named were ingredients that would be included in many different orders thus knocking them off the eating menu. So this is me, “Uhhh . . . Well then . . . . Can I have. . . . . Uhhhhhh . . . . You said you were out of __________ (ingredient)? . . . So then . . . . I think I will have . . . . Ummmmmmmm . . . .” All the while I’m trying to figure out what I can orddoesn'tat doesn’t include the 10 ingredients she sdidn'tthey didn’t have. I finally figured out what I could order and did so. But here’s the thing. As I sat and ate, somewhat indignantly, I listened to her tell other customers what they were out of and ALL of them ordered something else without missing a beat. So I guess the moral of the story is that I am slow.


In Denver there were birds in the airport. I’m not kidding actual birds. How they got into the airport I have no idea. Did they sneak in before the runway could attach to the plane? And they flew down the runway into the airport? It’s a mystery to me. But these birds flew right by me. As I let out a small scream many individuals looked at me. Sheepishly I looked back at them, pointed and said “birds.” No one seemed at all phased that there were birds in the airport.

In a public restroom in Texas they had these turbo hand dryers that said "feel the power!" I tried them and man were they powerful. They actually moved the skin around my hand. I was tempted to put my mouth on the thing and see if my cheecks got big like a dog who has his head out of the car window. But then I thought that was probably not sanitatry so I didn't do it.

Where's the sparkle???

I'm not a completely messy person. My my house, like everyone else's gets messy. And it seems like the busier I get the messier my house gets. So lets just say that I have been very busy lately. So most of my Saturday was spent cleaning my house. Now I'm not just talking about picking up my clothes and bills that are scattered througout the house. I am talking about DEEP, under the surface, music blaring cleaning. I don't think you understand people I got down on my hands and knees to scrub the floors!! I picked the moss out of my plants with a fork (you know from all the Portland moisture.) I mean I cleaned this weekend!!

And after I was done I was exhausted but I was so proud of myself. I spun around taking in the clean smells, the apartment in all its glory and sparkle . . . Wait . . There was no sparkle.

"WHAT! NO SPARKLE!?! My house is supposed to sparkle after I spent hours deep cleaning it!!! June Cleavers house sparkles when she cleans it!!! WHYYYYYYY????? It's not fair!" (This was the inner monologue that went on inside my head)

So how come her house sparkles and mine doesn't? Does your house sparkle when you clean it? I feel very disillusioned.

See the sparkle in this kitchen?

Mine does not sparkle like this

AHH MY EYE!!!

For most the day the whole world seemed off. I didn't know why. Then midday, maybe three-ish I looked at the white board outside of my office and across the narrow hallway and it hit me!! I was not seeing clearly. I closed one eye and then the next and sure enough the right eye was very fuzzy. So I took my right index finger stuck it in my eye and drug my contact from far left outer space to the center of my eyeball and Voila! I can see!! I can't believe I've gone practically all my work day with a sideways contact!

P.S. I had much trouble trying to figure out how to spell voila. It was quite humorous trying to Google the word and use the dictionary. You should have seen some of the spellings I came up with, vwhalla, wiola, vwalla, all sorts of things! You know those crazy French words!

Happy Valentines Day

Yeah Yeah I've heard it. Valentines day is a fraud. It's a waste of time and energy and its only for the marketers to make money. Blah blah blah. While I do half believe this and I'm sure Americans spend millions of dollars on useless Valentines stuff, I don't hate Valentines Day.

I think that Valentines Day is fun whether you are single or with someone. Last year I spent Valentines Day with a group of 15 or so single ladies. It was so fun. We had food and games and I didn't even think about being single. (But I was also comfortable with my singleness)

Here are some things I hate:

• Calling it V-Day

• The large crowd in the Valentines card isle. Seriously people just pick a card and get out of my way! Yesterday when I went to get a card for someone special I had to navigate and weave in and out of people to find a card. I feel like I had to end up settling because I just couldn't take the people that were parked/camped out in the card isle.
  
  

Today on my way to work I noticed a large a popular pizza chain (I would say their name but then I would feel obligated to put a link) with Valentines stuff out front. It seemed odd to me that a pizza chain would be selling things like flowers and bears. And it couldn't have been a vendor who was selling outside their store, because there was no vendor in sight. And here is another strange thing; there was this HUGE bear on the table that was holding these flowers (that's not the weird thing) but it was raining! Can you imagine coming home to your wife with this soaking wet, flower holding bear? "Happy Valentines Honey. I hope you enjoy squeezing the water out of this HUGE bear I got for you!"

And call me crazy but I've noticed the color red more today!

Happy Valentines Day!

He IS Here!

Here in Portland we have been blessed with SUN! Sun brings many other things also. The squirrels have been running about, I pass bicyclists on the way to and from work and I can now see the glorious Mt. Hood.



I was thinking about how great and beautiful Mt. Hood and the other mountains/hills that surround this area really are. I was happy to see them as it had been so long. And I thought to myself about how I had forgotten about them. I mean I've known all winter that they were there but since I couldn't see them I wasn't thinking about them.

Very often my relationship with Jesus and God the Father is like this. I can't see them so I forget they are there. I know in my heart that they are, have always been and will forever be there, but I just mentally forget sometimes. Why do we do that? What is not seen in forgotten. Just like some old clothes shoved under the bed that I have forgotten I own.

Realizing this in myself has made me sad and frustrated with myself. I thought about how in order for me to remember, I mean really remember and know that the mountains are there even in the winter time I would have to consciously make a choice to think about them. I would have to think about them in order to remember them. I feel this can be applied to God. Sure I think about Him and go to church and pray, but I don't take enough time to know that HE REALLY IS THERE. I'm not sure at this time how to accomplish "knowing he is there" and making Him real in my life. Maybe it is prayer, maybe solitude , maybe I need one of those cheesy Jesus pictures. (sorry if you're offended by the comment or the picture below)

Insightful Morning

Typically on my way to work I am consumed with getting there. I ponder which way will be the quickest and have the least traffic, what I need to do as soon as I get there, what the day holds for me and WHY IS THIS CAR IN FRONT OF ME DRIVING SOO SLOW!!!!

This morning however, was a breath of fresh air. As I sat in traffic I watched two men working on a car together on the side of the road. The two men were working so cooperatively and I admired them as they demonstrated teamwork, friendship and comoradery.

As I pulled to the side of the road to let a hurried fire truck go by, I was not irritated by the loud sirens but thought about the men inside who were off to save the day! Hopefully they would put out the fire, saving a home and some lives. I wished them luck as they went whizzing by.

I pulled up beside a Fedex truck at the next light and was inspired by the thought of millions of packages being delivered far and wide. I thought about those taking their children to school and others headed off to work. I wondered what all of their days had in store for them. What days tasks were these individuals focused on? How long did the individuals at the bus station have to wait for their ride to arrive?

As I pulled into the office I noticed the "power-men" high above me and was thankful that they were working on the lines, because I know how irritated I get when the power doesn't work properly.

As I unlocked my office door I was covered by a great peace. I was not stressed out over the day that had just begun. It felt so good to reach far beyond myself and into the lives of others. At least to for several minutes stop being consumed with myself and notice others around me.