Lovely Owl

How could you not love the Lovely Owl?

Ma Earth

Happy Earth Day, Folks!

• Each person throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day. GROSS!

• We each use about 12,000 gallons of water every year.

• Approximately 5 million tons of oil produced in the world each ear ends up in the ocean.

• The amount of wood and paper we throw away is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years

RECYCLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Love You Mom!" Sponsored by Visit Victoria's Secret

Pura Vida! Costa Rica!

I just returned from 8 days in Costa Rica. What a country! The people were incredibly friendly, fun and happy to have us bopping around. It was such a unique experience. We spoke as much Spanish as we could and tried our hardest to understand what was said back! We found ourselves eating at delicious local restaurants that were nothing but cement slabs covered by tin!

We started out with a 3 hour car ride (driven by our favorite private driver Luis Chinchilla!) up and down some windy mountain roads. The drive was action-packed with car sickness and spectacular views. They didn't seem all that spectacular while I was getting sick out the window, but now that I look back, the drive was quite beautiful. Our first stop was at a small family-run hotel/cabin type place called "Arenal Green" in a town called La Fortuna de San Carlos @ the base of the Arenal Volcano-the cabins were amazing, cute, clean and personal. We really felt it was an intimate and special place. The owner dropped us off at the hot springs (EcoThermales) for some relaxation followed by a big meal at the hot springs restaurant. The springs were heated naturally by the volcano so it was like sitting in a hot tub minus the gross chemicals!

For the next 2 days we spent our time in the Arenal National Park at the Observatory Lodge, hiking, relaxing and gazing at the active volcano. You could actually SEE lava at night when the clouds were cooperating! We had our last meal at a place called "El Novillo" a local Costa Rican steakhouse. We had steaks the size of our heads for next to nothing. What a wonderful place.

Back in the car with Luis after 3 days at the volcano! Only 5 hours to the beach... I took the front seat and chatted w/ Luis the whole way. My poor boyfriend slept in the backseat and tried to avoid getting sick for 5 hours. I had a BLAST looking at the sites and enjoying the views. Mike did not have such a blast but he lived. We arrived at around 2pm at Manuel Antonio, a touristy area on the Pacific Coast.

We stayed in Manuel Antonio for 5 days. We enjoyed ziplining, hiking, looking at monkeys and eating at great places. Aside from Mike getting a stomach bug and our car sickness, we had no problems. We stayed at a great little place called the Cabinas Espadilla about 500 yards from the beach! The food was great, the atmosphere was laid back and the colors were breathtaking!

This trip was too short. I can't wait to return to Costa Rica to explore more! Definitely visit this place!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merwyn Succat, Crack and Soda Bread

St. Patrick was not Irish. He was said to have been born in either England or Scotland and his real name was Maewyn Succat.

The soda in soda bread is baking soda (buzz kill.)

Craic (pronounced CRACK) ... is a common word used in Ireland.. sort of means "fun" or "good times" (loose translation) ...can't really explain it... you just have to hear it in context and eventually understand what it means and how to use it in a sentence. Just know that when someone asks you if there's "any crack" or "what's the crack" they're not asking for drugs.

Barack Obama's great great grandfather was from Co. Offaly in Ireland.

The very first St. Patrick's Day parade in America was hosted by the Charitable Irish Society of Boston in 1737.

There are more redheads in Scotland than Ireland. Approximately 10 percent of Irish people have red hair.

If you donate 1 pint of blood to the Irish Blood Bank in Dublin, you get 1 pint of beer (Guinness is recommended as it contains a lot of iron)

The original Guinness Brewery in Dublin has a 9,000 year lease on it's property, at a perpetual rate of 45 Irish pounds per year!

One of the most popular radio shows in rural Ireland is still the weekly broadcast of local obituaries.

The tallest identical twins ever born were the Knipe Brothers from Co. Derry who were 7ft 2in. They were born in 1761.

I'd like to know more about monkeys...

... if you are constantly telling yourself that, I've compiled a list of random monkey facts you may or may not know.....

• Monkeys are most easily distinguished from apes by their tails. Apes have no tails.

• Monkeys express affection and make peace with others by grooming each other
• Most monkeys eat both animals and plants. Some also eat dirt.
• Monkeys peel their bananas and do not eat the skins.

• Howler monkeys are the loudest monkeys. Their howls can be heard for about two miles in the forest and almost three miles in an open area.
• Monkeys don't catch colds
• Orangutans aren't monkeys but they are photogenic so I included their photos.
• Monkeys are often offended if stared at.
  

Friday the 13th.... lets compare the good and bad!

Since there can only be a max of 3 Friday the 13th's occurring in 1 year and 2009 is one of those years, and today IS one of those 3 days, I decided I'd post about Friday the 13th...

Apparently there is a name for people who fear Friday the 13th ... Paraskevidekatriaphobia. As you can see, the word is as ridiculous as the phobia itself! (say it 5 times fast... i dare you) - Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13..... why not just Thirteenaphobia or "I'm a wuss"

Here are some interesting things I have learned about Friday the 13th... enjoy!

• "fear of the #13 costs American a billion dollars per year in absenteeism, train and plane cancellations, and reduced commerce on the 13th of the month."-Smithsonian Magazine...
• The Olsen twins are born on Friday, June 13, 1986. (some may think this is bad... others, good I guess...
• Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or
  professional 14th guest.
• Roger Clemens recorded his 4,000th strikeout and earned his 300th win on Friday, June 13, 2003.
• Many buildings don't have a 13th floor. Many hospitals don't have a room 13
• Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born
  on Friday, April 13, 1866.
• 
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus was born on a Friday the 13th.... now THAT is a positive.
• In 1939, a small town in Indiana forced all black cats to wear bells on Friday, 10/13...nothing bad happened so the people in the town thought the bells prevented the cats from doing any harm- this practice continued for 3 years.
• On any Friday the 13th, if a redhead walks under a ladder, picks up a black cat and sprinkles salt on it, he or she will be hanged at exactly 13:13 (1:13 on a 12h clock)

(I made the last one up)

I'm sure there are tons more interesting good and bad things that have happened to occur on Friday the 13th's .... The next Friday the 13th will be in November....So for all you Paraskevidekatriaphobics out there, you have exactly 8 months to relax...

PS, For those of you superstitious people out there with a fear of black cats, the cat in the photo is my cat Mack. He is not scary and he will not cast any weird spells on you. He's incapable. He's just a cat.