There were many, many smiles today but I think this one was the biggest!
Happy Holidays to you, your family, friends and neighbors from all of us at Vox.
See you in 2010!
See you in 2010!
I think I am quite fortunate that my injury coincided with Sofia and Natalia wanting to do things by themselves. It has been a huge help to have them dress themselves, put their coats and boots on, and even strap themselves into their car seats (and thankfully they cannot yet unbuckle themselves).
I am still amazed every time they discover they can do something new though. Today Natalia buttoned up her pjs all by herself. Not the snap buttons but the kind you have to put through the holes!
They were pretending to swim in the tub so they were kicking. The word in Spanish is "patalear" but since they couldn't remember, they went with "kickeando"
:)
They started to notice similarities between some words too:
- Muleta (crutch) v. Maleta (luggage)
- Oficina (office) v. picina (swimming pool)
But thankfully they have enough of a vocabulary that we can explain the difference and they get it!
I tend to be a bit of a purist about language. I don't like to mix them and it irritates me to hear people speak a mix of languages but be unable to speak one properly. Nevertheless, I admit there is something fascinating about how the mind tries to simplify language as much as possible.
Sofia started saying:
flushear - to flush the toilet
climbear - yep, to climb
stuckeado - as in, it is stuck
I did try to very subtly offer the correct word and she picked up on it really quickly but I thought it was interesting that she knew what the word endings would be if such words existed in Spanish. It is really interesting to see how both Natalia and Sofia know who to speak to in English and who to speak to in Spanish. And apparently, when they are stuck on a word, they try to figure it out based on the rules they have observed. Very cool indeed!
Well, it's Christmas at last, and from the sound of you all on Twitter your cards are sent, and your presents wrapped. It's been great hearing all your cries of delight recently, as your poor postmen and women have struggled with packages through the snowy weather!
Hope those of you who have time off over the festive season get everything you wish for, and those who are working have more fun than you might be expecting. We've published the dates we're working over the holidays, so if you find yourself in the office, you might well have company here in the UK, or over with the MOO Crew in the US.
We've had a great few weeks spotting unique gifts and ideas created with MOO, here's a few of our favourites:
A tetrabox advent calendar, by Bcome
Also by Bcome, this lovely looking memory game, complete with a great pattern on the back:
This super-cute Mosaic Frame, created by thisiswoly. Filled with 20 Minicards, it features the beautiful baby Sarah.
These wonderful looking alphabet game cards, by taraghb, which look like they were as fun to make as they will be to use!
And last but not least, look at this! another entry into our MiniCard Gift Box competition! Created by emusing-emma, it's really bought an extra flutter of Christmas cheer into MOO Towers. We love his little sledge!
Fancy joining in the fun? Closing date for entries to our competition is midnight PST 28th December 2009. Why not grab some festive paper, and see what you can do! More competition details can be found right here.
And now all that remains for me to say is a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone at MOO!
Nothing overly Earth Shattering.
I start my new job on January 25th. I am not very excited. I am trying to be. At least 5 day shift nurses are leaving the Hospital I am leaving. The Director really has not spoken to me about this, but he does have to do an exit interview. I do hear he has to somehow answer for why everyone is leaving the department, while thats nice to know, it doesn't help my situation!
I *AM* excited to be leaving East. It has been a great place to make friend and work, but over time, they have allowed the mix of experienced nurses to new nurses to become lopsided, and for some reason they have decided to promote some of the newest nurses to "managing" roles. No one really knows why. Well, someone knows why, but they aren't really telling.
I'm not really excited about going to a unknown length of time for night shift.
Looking at the bright side: I get a huge differential for working nights, so I will be making quite a bit more money. I will be in a new environment, which hopefully will be a little more logical. On occasion, doing the night thing has led to huge weight loss. I've gained a few unintended pounds and have found it hard to work them off....so who knows.
and the brightest thing, I do have a job.
My tendon, ankle thingy. I just finished a prednisone pack on Monday. My ankle is not completely healed up,but it does feel better. I am able to tolerate walking for somewhat longer without major pain. I'm encouraged by this. I'm doing a lot of swimming (40-45 min daily) and am hoping that maybe by February I can start jogging a little. I plan to actually use the Couch to 5K plan as a way to get back into it. It's a great plan for non runners to start running. And by that time I'll be a true non runner!
Not being able to run has been very unusual. I admit it has given me more time to socialize and indulge in my photography, and also to clean my home.
Last weekend, I put up a small sign in the employee bathroom about dinner, then I put up an invite on Facebook, and wildly, 17 people showed up. I had expected about 4. It was really fun.
But I admit, I still rather miss running, so I am hopeful the ankle keeps improving. It would also be nice to be able to walk for an hour with the dog without pain.
The Dog is doing great.
He seems to have received more CHristmas gifts than I did!
Here he is pictured with the peppermint scented Holiday "Lightbulb" from LLBeans. He loves it.
He has continued to become a better behaved dog over the past few weeks. Maybe he knows about Santa. Or maybe he is getting enough exercise. I'm not sure.
I hope he will adjust to me being gone at night. I have a feeling he won't care a bit either way, as long as he gets fed and walked periodically.
Family news: I finally convinced my Mom to agree to come to Florida for a Vacation! I'm taking her to do some birding and photographing. She is more talented than I am and can teach me some cool stuff!
Most importantly, I will get to spend some quality time with her doing something we both enjoy. She isn't that old, but then again, she isn't that young either. I'm trying to convince her to go to the Everglades, but she seems set on some smaller locations. At any rate, I am really looking forward it! We'll be going the week before I start my new job!
I'm starting to think of New Year Resolutions. But I'm not sure what they will be....
Hope you all have a nice Holiday. I will be stuffing my face at work.
- 08:28 Laughing at: "YouTube - Last Christmas - Literal Version" ( bit.ly/6Fiz7P ) #
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- 12:48 Mai szavazós: Felhasználó: Halász Beatrix - Partyphoto.hu bit.ly/7c6Raa #
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This weekend, I spent a very chilly windy day at one small part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It's about two hours from where I live. I was a little worried that I might get there and find acres of just grass. Not so!
The Refuge is incredible. It is 140,000 acres sharing a boundary with the National Space Center. It was originally set aside as a Buffer Zone for the Space Center in the 1950's.
The terrain is not impressive, but the entire place is massive.
Since that time It has been tinkered with in a variety of ways to make it more habitable for both wildlife and people. I was really really impressed with the entire set up!
Not only are there areas that are attractive to birds,it also contains an area of undeveloped beach which is popular with Loggerhead Turtles during breeding times, and the endangered West Indian Manatee. There are several miles of hiking trails, as well as a Manatee observation area.
In the winter the Wildlife Service allows the area to essentially "flood" the marsh areas. The flooding allows
for the growth of foods attractive to water birds and attracts many many water birds, big and small to the area. During the other months, when birds are not hanging out so predominantly in warm, sunny Florida the waters are allowed to ebb and flow with the tides of the rivers, which I think reduces Mosquitos as well as is a more natural state I suppose for the area.
(Above is a Flock of Pelicans, on their way to Pelican Island another wildlife refuge adjacent to Merritt Island).
What impressed me most is that a great deal of the wildlife is very accessible to people who are not huge hikers. There is a 7 mile "wildlife observation drive" which has been placed so that one actually can observe a ton of activity just from the road. In fact, almost all of my photos were taken from the road. I think sometimes that Wildlife areas are so lovely, but that many people don't even get a chance to get interested because if they cruise through by auto they see nothing, and think Booorrrrring This drive would have gotten anyone excited about seeing more. Not only that, but, access to this area is free! It really is accessible to all who can physically arrive in Florida on the Space Coast.
So without Further Ado, let me show you all what a real Anhinga, snake bird, should look like!
Anhingas are a little unusual. Once they get wet, they really have to dry their wings, so it's pretty easy to get this photo. I think thousands of amateurs like myself have this photo! It's so dramatic, but frankly, unless you really really purposely disturb this bird, it is not going too far until those wings dry up!
I can't help but share two photos, I couldn't decide which I liked better.
It was a very very windy day, making things rather chilly and sometimes blowing me around as I tried to hold the camera steady, you can see the feathers of this Great Blue Heron being upswept by the wind.
By far the most exciting thing I saw all day was the field of Roseate Spoonbills. I knew of the bird, but had never seen it.
A lot of Florida tourists mistake these odd looking birds for Flamingos. But, as Flamingo Dancer will tell you, a Flamingo has longer legs and a dark blackish heavy bill. Like the Flamingo, the Roseate Spoonbill gets it's pink color from the foods it eats. The Spoonbill mostly eats crustaceans. The algae that the crustaceans eat gives the birds their wild pink coloration.
They use their shovel like Bill to sweep from side to side...there are actually odd little sensors in their bills allowing them to sense their dinner.
They are really funny looking birds, who are extra social, and seem to spend most of their time in huge groups, unlike the Great Egret , which can be seen all over Florida, usually alone.
The Spoonbills are so social, they will even hang out with any other wading birds. They aren;t judgemental about others not being quite so pink and pretty!
I caught these Ibises flaying out of a group of Spoonbills.
The White Ibis birds are very common in Florida, and hang out at pretty much every retention pond in my area. I loved seeing them in a more natural atmosphere. They are easily known by the very obvious curved beak.
Most of the birds pictured here (with the exception I think of the Pelicans) were at one time threatened or endangered due to Hat fashions of the Victorian Era.
Thankfully, these hats have gone
rather out of fashion....and the birds have subsequently recovered.
All of the birds pictured here are considered "LC" or of the least concern these days.
And I am quite pleased to not have to wear such hats
to stay in fashion!
So, thanks to changes in fashion and sensibilities, we now have flocks and flocks of these impressive birds to challenge my photography skills.
I love this photo, If you look at it carefully, you will notice the bird, which was flying oddly solo, has the oddest little tilt to it's head. This tilt made me laugh, it gives the image of an aviator trying to navigate.
Most of the time, however, the Roseate Spoonbill in flight appears more graceful than the above photo.
This is the same spoonbill, with its head in a less cocked position. As you can see, they really are very very pink,
but they are clearly not Flamingos!
As I said, I was really really impressed with the area of the Wildlife preserve I visited. I was a bit concerned that I was going to prepare my camera, make a long drive, and find that the wildlife, being wildlife, would have retreated to areas that can't be accessed by humans, either on foot or in a vehicle! Instead, most of the photos were taken right off of the "wildlife viewing drive". The Drive is seven miles of gravel road, with 14 or so stops that are marked. At several of the stops are short 1-2 mile looping trails that allow people to get out deeper into the habitat. At stop nine (where the Spoonbill in flight pics were taken) is a 5 mile loop with an awesome observation deck). I walked the 5 mile loop. While the loop was fun...there were so many mosquitos, I actually eventually wanted to rip off my pants (which were being bitten through) and roll in the scratchy grass.
I would really recommend this to anyone who has even a passing interest in birds and wildlife. It's free, so you won't feel like you wasted a ton of cash on a short visit. I regret that I didn't have binoculars!!!
And on that note.....
I'll share the view I had, as the light started to go.
I hope you enjoyed the photos! (I'm a little overly proud of myself...)
