Um, Just Some Stuff

It's Friday, around 7:30 a.m. I've been up (as in out of bed) for 5 hours. I'm not sure I ever went to sleep. I have no idea why I've had such a hard time sleeping this week.

What I do know, however, is that my thoughts are a bit muddled and random at this point. Not knowing what else to post today, I decided to share some miscellaneous, unrelated images and musings to make sure you get your ToadMama fix for the day.

As I was playing Scrabble this morning (an addiction), I thought back to the moment when, at about age 13, I realized the guy I'd had a crush on for a while was really an idiot. We were playing Scrabble with some other folks. He spelled out "vakum" and argued for at least 5 minutes that it was a word.

I wish I'd known as a kid, or at least an adolescent, just how much I prefer being outdoors over being indoors. I would have studied Forestry in college and become a Forest Ranger. Wouldn't that be cool? Although, with my luck, I'd probably end up somewhere boring like Fort McHenry instead of someplace fabulous like Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska). Or maybe Zion National Park (Utah, first picture shown above).

The uniforms they have to wear are not very flattering. Especially if you're overweight like me (I am very close to being normal). Although, if I were a forest ranger, I'd be way more active than I am now. I'd probably be enjoying my work more, too.

Tomorrow is August 15. It's a very special day this year. It marks my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. They were married 8 whole years before I was born. And, at 42, I feel like I've had a pretty long life. Can you imagine 50 years of marriage? Wow. Hubby, Eric and I are taking them out for a nice lunch tomorrow to celebrate.

Speaking of my parents... I was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We moved to Maryland when I was about 18 months old. As much as I am sick of Maryland, I am really, really glad we left Lancaster. If I still lived there, I might be a Philadelphia Eagles fan. And they just hired a new knucklehead. How embarrassing for the team and its followers.

Any idea what state I was in when I shot the pic at left? Wanna guess? I'll narrow it down for you... it's either Maryland, West Virginia, Washington (state), Idaho, Alaska. You have a 20% chance of guessing correctly.

Hubby was very excited to see a Bald Eagle last week. We were somewhere near the Potomac River in Maryland or Virginia. We've seen our share of eagles, just not many in that area. I am not, by the way, suggesting that the bird in that picture is an eagle. It is a Great Blue Heron.

There are lots of them in Maryland, but there are also lots of them in MANY other places.

This is an interesting picture, wouldn't you agree? I found the scene interesting when I came upon it while on a trip out West. All those pretty, vivid butterflies. Then I looked closer and discovered they were dining heartily on scat. That's how people with Forest Ranger tendencies refer to poo when in the wild.

And speaking of being in the wild...

Here's another wilderness shot for you. Wanna guess the state where this glacier-topped mountain can be found?

That's about all the randomness I can take for now.

I hope you at least enjoyed the pics.