I found the stash!!!

Yes, I found the secret hiding places where the furballs hide all their "caught" mice (just toy ones! No real ones. LOL) I've been in heavy duty spring cleaning mode doing the once a year take down all the curtains, etc, move all the furniture to get the floors, walls, ceilings, whatever behind them. While cleaning my bedroom today (which is far from done BTW, I got stuff EVERYwhere and will be sleeping on the couch tonight since the bed has become temporary shelving until I get everything cleaned up and put away and the spare bed has been "shelving" for scattered books, etc for a few months now) I found many many surprises. I found probably FIFTY toy mice and assorted other balls, etc, even a pocket pack of Kleenex the cats stashed. Where did I find them? Under my chest of drawers and my dresser. Yep, not one but TWO secret stashes. LOL So now the toys are all over the living room till I gather them all up. Guess who is NOT getting any new toys for a while. Yep. LOL My babies must be the most spoiled rotten cats in the country.

Uh oh.. More storms coming. Just in time for a huge event

More thunderstorms tonight and a good possibility of more tornadoes. All
supposed to hit just in time for rush hour.

And even worse in regards to timing... Tonight in Dallas is a HUGE
charity event, Lift Up America, that I am working at as a volunteer.
(http://www.liftupamerica.org or
http://www.liftupamerica.org/videos/2006entertainmentdvd.html which
shows what's happening tonight). We had our training meeting last night
and they spent the bulk of the meeting discussing emergency plans in the
event of severe weather tonight. The event starts at 3:30 and goes till
10, and this is the prime time the storms are expected. I've got
auditorium duty so at least I'll be indoors all night. But some of my
friends who are also working tonight are on outside duty. But my job
will become a lot more involved if there is an emergency or anything.

So I hope the weather isn't as bad as is expected. They are expecting
3000 guests tonight which could get very hairy if the weather
interferes. I am really looking forward to this function tonight as is
everyone participating. So fingers and toes are crossed and a few
prayers sent out that everything goes smoothly tonight.

I'm sure I'll be talking all about it after the whole thing is over and
I get home tonight.

I got a Commander's Coin!

These are a HUGE deal to get in the Army and I received one today from
the Colonel on post. I received a General's coin over a year ago and
that was a huge deal too. It's such an honor to be recognized with one
of these coins as they aren't given out to just anyone.

The COL gave them to three of us in our office here as a thank you for
the commitment and support we've put into building this place up into
what it is. We've all worked very hard to improve the facility and the
programs and I was just thrilled that our hard work has been recognized.
Such a wonderful feeling to know how much I am appreciated. Makes those
frustrating days where everything is going wrong or worrying about our
contracts being renewed seem like such a little thing in the scheme of
things. Now I have a nice warm fuzzy to carry me through the rest of the
day.

I need to find a place that sells or makes display cases so I can show
off my coins. :-) The other one I received is in a drawer at home so I
guess this one will join it there in the meantime

up close and personal with a bald eagle!

Yep I got to do that today. L and I went down to Arlington for this festival I found out about completely by accident. http://www.indianmarket.net

 

It's a big market/show that only happens once a year here in Dallas for one weekend. I had heard them mention it on my radio station and looked it up online. Sounded like a lot of fun so I called L to see if she was free to go this weekend. Today she was able so we made plans to head down immediately after church. We met at the church for the service and left right from there.

 

It was great and I wish I had money! I saw a TON of gorgeous jewelry I'd have loved to buy as well as some beautiful artwork. But I resisted. LOL They also had dancers, singers, musicians, and there were a few actors from different movies floating around somewhere too. Didn't find them though. Probably because I didn't think to print the schedule of events for the day and take it with me. And of course you could buy some different kinds of traditional American Indian fare you could eat and of course some of the usual food you find at fairs everywhere.

 

Then I saw they had a few birds of prey there and I just LOVE raptors! They had a barn owl, a hawk though I forget what kind they said it was. AND a bald eagle! I've seen eagles in the zoo before but that's still something of a distance. (Always previously injured ones who cannot be released in the wild anymore. The laws protect them from being captured and kept at zoos and such unless the bird would not survive on its own.) They were selling pics with the eagle for ten bucks. So of course I had to get one! My God! Those are absolutely AMAZING creatures! Beautiful! I see them on TV and stuff all the time but there's nothing like seeing one from six inches away! And huge! And their beaks look wicked sharp! I so badly wanted to reach out and touch the bird's head but they can be so unpredictable even ones relatively "tame" like that one was, so I didn't. That and we weren't allowed anyhow. (Can you tell I was excited from all the exclamation points?) I called L over who tried to stay out of the picture but I wouldn't let her. LOL And the guy with the eagle put the bird right between our heads and it was literally only a few inches away from my nose. They are so amazing to see like that.

 

I've always loved eagles because of what they stand for and because of their history and near extinction and they are just so incredibly majestic. So in the next day or two I'll be scanning the picture in and posting it on My Space and maybe a few other places as well.

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