Your History Lesson for the Day

This past Saturday we went to the 12th Annual Eagle Festival in Blackwater, Maryland. Adam was super stoked to see an eagle out in the wild, even though we got there too late for the guided "Eagle Prowl" (we really like our weekends for sleeping in, what can we say?)

 We were stocked up with snacks, binoculars, and sweatshirts, but it turned out we didn't have to go very far at all! They had an eagle there who was living in captivity because she can no longer fly.


This little lady may be a little disheveled, what with her messy feathers, missing wing, and cranky face, but she still had her dignity.

The park ranger told us that Benjamin Franklin disagreed with the decision to make the Eagle our National Symbol, as eagles are known for stealing meals from other animals after they've done all the hard work to obtain it.

"I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character, he does not get his living honestly, you may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing-hawk, and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to its nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him.... Besides he is a rank coward; the little kingbird, not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest. . . of America.. . . "           (Source)


Benny boy would rather have seen the Turkey as our National Symbol.....




But I was still curious why we did choose the Eagle. Here's what I found online:

The bald eagle was chosen June 20, 1782 as the emblem of the United States of American, because of its long life, great strength and majestic looks, and also because it was then believed to exist only on this continent ...   The eagle represents freedom. Living as he does on the tops of lofty mountains, amid the solitary grandeur of Nature, he has unlimited freedom, whether with strong pinions he sweeps into the valleys below, or upward into the boundless spaces beyond. 

It is said the eagle was used as a national emblem because, at one of the first battles of the Revolution (which occurred early in the morning) the noise of the struggle awoke the sleeping eagles on the heights and they flew from their nests and circled about over the heads of the fighting men, all the while giving vent to their raucous cries. "They are shrieking for Freedom," said the patriots.    Thus the eagle, full of the boundless spirit of freedom, living above the valleys, strong and powerful in his might, has become the national emblem of a country that offers freedom in word and thought and an opportunity for a full and free expansion into the boundless space of the future. --Maude M. Grant

And if that just completely bore you, they also threw in some owls at the festival, and that's when things got reallly cute:

NO? That didn't help? You're still bored? Well, so is this guy:

I really wish I had gotten a picture of the lady holding him. She did her make up to perfectly match her owl's face (though I couldn't tell if that was intentional or not), and she kept sweet talking to the owl: "He knows who his mama is, doesn't he???" When she saw me with my camera, she swiveled his head around to face me, and this is the thrilled look I got. I'm sure this is only a preview of what my poor son will go through..... :) 

And then, at the very end of our adventure, just as we were walking to our car, three eagles soared directly over us. They stayed long enough for us to whip out our binoculars, watch them dance with each other for a bit, satisfy Adam's desire, and then they moved on. It was spectacular and made the whole day worth it.

Conversations through a Megaphone

So, I want to tell you guys thanks for your lovely comments.

Sometimes blogging feels like having a blind-folded conversation into a megaphone, not knowing who is listening and never knowing who will reply.

While of course this blog's main function for me is a journal of sorts, something I will one day print out and let my posterity read like my other journals, and it's also a way to keep those far away updated on our lives.

But, it's nice to know I'm not just shouting into the wind for nothing.

And then sometimes I just feel like having a conversation but I can't think of the *right* person to have it with. Get it? 

Like, either I can't think of a person who would care to have that particular conversation with me, or, if I think they would care, I don't think they would have much to contribute to the conversation (like my grandma, for instance).

So usually I just end up having these conversations with myself.

I will give you two examples (and sorry, both have something to do with Twilight).

1) Why do people feel the need to trash talk Stephanie Meyer? 

Look, I'm not a huge Twilight fan. I read the first book, and it was pretty entertaining, but I couldn't finish the rest of the series. Just not my thing. No big deal. And I don't think the movies are all that great, but I think that has less to do with Stephanie Meyer than many other factors. 

But that's not the point. 

The point is not about whether I like her novels or not, the point is, 

Don't you have anything better to post as your Facebook status? 

Don't you have any other photos to have in an album besides 'I Hate Twilight' collages?

I was reading a girl's blog where she actually said she

hated Stephanie Meyer 

and that she had come up with a list of

reasons why Stephanie Meyer should be dead

("First of all, obviously [she doesn't understand] the real world. How [does she] survive in it?)

This absolutely blew my mind.

How dare one person say that about another! 

Come on, guys, we all know that we really don't care if her books are crappily written or not, if you are trash talking her, you're probably just jealous that she made millions of dollars off a love story. In fact, I'd even venture to say, 

She's a freaking genius.

She must be.

She has captured the hearts and money of people around the world in four novels.

Could you do that?

I certainly couldn't. 

One of the smartest girls I know drew serious inspiration from those novels for a large chunk of time --- I don't know why, I don't get it, but I respect her and therefore I must say there must be something to it.

...Sigh. Anywho, that's one conversation I have had with myself, and now I'm shouting it into a megaphone, though I'm not really looking for a heated discussion on this (a conversation is different indeed from an argument).

2) The next conversation I've had running through my head with myself is,

Are Robert and Kristen (the real life Edward and Bella) actually getting married?

If so, HOW COOL IS THAT?????

I would be just tickled pink if Jenna and John (real life Jim and Pam from The Office) were to hook up (though I realize both are already married to other people). It would be like The Office wasn't just a tv show, but reality, and I could  believe everything on it were true and that their happily ever after actually did happen and that unicorns really do exist and that eating donuts everyday won't make me fat and that I will find a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow.

And then I'd really be satisfied.

But maybe Twilight fans aren't all that excited about it? Probably not, now that I think about it. They will probably just be upset that Robert isn't an eligible bachelor anymore. 

I guess I just love to see love happening in others, because I've already found it for me (ahhh.....)

Well.

There you go.

Two wonderful examples of fulfilling conversations I have had with myself, that I am now sharing with you through my giant megaphone of a blog.

And if you just don't care, or have nothing much to contribute,

that's totally fine - I don't even mind. 

I will definitely have a more exciting blog post in the near future.

For one, my dog is turning one tomorrow.

(wahoo!)

And for another, 

I only have five months left until this baby comes.

And I've got some thoughts on that subject.

So. I quit my job.

Like, a month ago. And maybe one day I'll tell you that story. But for now, I'll just tell you what I've been up to with all this free time on my hands!

-I've been keeping up with the latest episodes of The Office. Though I'm just never satisfied with it these days, now that Michael is gone. My favorite one so far? The Incentive. If you haven't already, watch it. Even if you don't follow the show. It's hilarious and heart-warming all in one. All the others so far this season have been meh, so-so, but this one reminded me why I fell in love with this show to begin with.

-I've started a new episode-watching-trend with New Girl. Pretty cute, mostly. Though I probably shouldn't be proud that I've added another tv show to my list of things to do.

-This is my new thing. Window painting.

-And we went to a Halloween party. Though what we really wanted to wear was this:

We actually went dressed like this:

Can you guess what we are?? .....

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich!!! We were singing "It's peanut butta jelly time!" all night.

-My aunt visited us a few weekends ago and we picked out some pumpkins to carve from the local Papa John's farm. She decided to carve the least amount possible, making slits for eyes and a mouth - so I did the opposite. Wide eyes and a huge gaping mouth. Sadly, this technique meant that he didn't last too long, and our little friend is no longer with us, but his memory lives on.

-I've committed to NaNoWriMo. Though I don't think I've fully grasped yet what all that will entail. And I probably won't until I'm staring at a blank computer screen for 9 hours on November 1st, and I realize I only have 29 days left to write a novel (less if you remember the fact that my mother is visiting for 10 days over Thanksgiving break).

-We went to New York City (see post below)

-I finished a photography class with the local community college. It was sometimes boring, but there were a few new tricks I learned that will be helpful in the future. Plus, a kid gave me a macro coupler (which is like a magnifying lens cover) for free. Not exactly as nice as a macro lens, but still awesome.

-We moved apartments, and now have an extra den for only $10 more a month. This was 4 weeks ago, and my back has still not recovered. I am momentarily paralyzed every time I sneeze, and I've concluded I need a cane for my middle-of-the-night bathroom trips. I do believe I may have a serious problem that should probably be checked out. Soon....now....

-Reading! I've begun the Harry Potter quest all over again. I have never. never. never. read them all, one through seven, right in a row. In fact, I've only read #'s 5, 6, and 7 once. It's been fun going all the way back to the beginning, and forcing myself to pretend like it's my very first exposure to the wizarding world and the three amigos.

-I've been trying tons of new recipes out. When I was working, I barely had time to put a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner. But now, I can spend as much - or as little - time on making a freshly made, homecooked meal. It makes such a difference. When we are eating junky, quick, easy, cheap, crummy food, both Adam and I feel just like that: junky and crummy. And we say, "Ugh....nothing sounds good..." all the time. Now, we enjoy a variety of meats and veggies and dinners every night and Adam can take leftovers for lunch rather than eating out, and everyone is just happier all around. Here are some of the meals I've tried so far:
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Chicken Wraps w/ Malibu Dipping Sauce
Sweet Pork Burritos
Meatloaf (not a new recipe)
Butternut Squash Pasta (unfortunately I didn't write down the recipe to this, as it was kinda made up. But, neither of us really liked it too much, so not much of a loss there....)
Pork Chile Verde

-I've joined pinterest (pinterest.com/mrose0905) It started as a great way to organize all the fun recipes I wanted to try out, but since has grown into an everything organizer. Now when I check magazines out from the library, I mark every article that I think had something interesting or useful in it, I look up that article on the magazine's website, and then I pin it. I can then return my magazine to the library, while keeping a virtual copy of my favorite articles. It's great. I'm also determined not to become a poser pinner - if I'm gonna pin it, I've got to do it....

-With that being said, here is the beginnings of the apron I'm working on. I have never owned a cute apron before. And the only apron I once owned was so ugly my dog thought it appropriate to rip it to shreds. Sigh.

Those frills are ridiculous to deal with, by the way...

So! This makes me feel better, at least. Seeing a nice long list of the productive things I've been doing, because sometimes it feels like I just lounge around in my pajamas all day......oh yeah. I do that too.

Cell phone photos that show the excitement of my life.

I'll start with the MOST exciting. 

I got these boots for NINETY-NINE CENTS.

I hang out with boys too much.

I need more girls in my life.

He's lucky he's cute.

Sometimes we go swimming. That's a lot of work.

Here's me with chicken pox.

End of story.