A lovely bellowing lion...

A Scarlet Ibis preening itself...

A Bald Eagle taking a bath...

...And, an elephant playing in the dirt!



More pictures from the day can be seen on my Flickr page -- see badge in sidebar under "credits".

Labels: animals, dc, flickr, fun, outings, photos, recreation, weekend, zoo

Another thing I love...this box...it contains my collection of tavern puzzles. They often get mistaken for Medieval torture devices which rather amuses me. But, I also think they are beautiful examples of Blacksmith art.


I do not have a very large collection -- I only have eight puzzles currently, but I would like to expand it further. This is a good Christmas gift idea for anyone who wants to jot it down [Hint: mom].


We have pictured here, left to right, top to bottom:

Row 1: Double Bypass, Blackbeard's Revenge, Dirty Dog
Row 2: Patience Puzzle, Long Island Catch, Satan's Stirrup
Row 3: Double Trouble, Matched Set



For more information on these puzzles, visit the wonderful world of Tucker-Jones House, Inc.

Labels: art, beauty, design, favorites, games, gifts, hobbies, photos, puzzles, recreation, TuckerJonesHouse

I picked up this fun little game from one of my favorite sites -- Casual Gameplay at http://jayisgames.com!





It is called JIG. The object? Put the pieces in order to complete the scene. Play it, enjoy it, let Jay know that you like it (at his site)...and, you can even support it by adding it to your own site!

[ The code can be found at jayisgames.com on the sidebar. ]

Labels: blogs, code, cute, design, favorites, Flash, games, jayisgames, recreation, web

Sorry. I have not been much in the mood for blogging this week. We have been a little bit busy with stuff I will tell you all about another time.

Since the Facial Symmetry Study of Amber Valletta was enjoyed by all, I thought I would show a few more of other famous people. Many of these faces have much more asymmetry...as you will see. Watch out for Meryl Streep -- she's a beautiful lady, but not when it comes to symmetry! And Sarah Jessica Parker's Right-Side Symmetry looks like it could be her transexual brother! As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.


















Photo Credits:

Ray Romano Photo
Photo by Lester Cohen - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Sarah Jessica Parker nonTAN Photo
Photo by Steve Granitz - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Sarah Jessica Parker TAN Photo
Photo by James Devaney - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Tom Cruise Photo
Photo by Lester Cohen - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Jerry Seinfeld Photo
Photo by James Devaney - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Meryl Streep Photo
Photo by Steve Granitz - © WireImage.com - Image courtesy WireImage.com

Labels: art, asymmetry, experiments, famous faces, funny, hobbies, photos, recreation, studies, symmetry

I have been trying to get into doing my yoga on a regular basis. This does not happen, of course, but I am trying... Which kind of makes me crazy -- because it really does make me feel good when I am doing it -- and when I am done. You would think that it would be pretty easy to get into something like that. I have all of my fun accessories...my colorful mat...my bricks...my strap...and my really great instructional DVDs, courtesy of Seane Corn. But, alas, I do not do it enough. I think this has something to do with feeling like I have such a long way to go...in terms of feeling like I did when I was my most fit. It is discouraging and annoying not to see results quickly. Yes, this is probably the crux of the matter! But no excuses, I just have to do it. Eventually, I will start to see something happening and not just feel achy all over.

Things I do feel differences in pretty quickly are: my lower back usually feels better, a truly deep breath actually feels relaxing while I am doing yoga, and I sweat like a maniac, which is great for my skin.

The thing that I have a hard time buying? The whole idea of the yoga poses and the twisting "squeezing toxins and waste materials" out of my organs. I have read that this is true -- because the contraction of muscles helps to move blood and fluids through the body, the faster they move through the body, the faster your body can process them and move them out. From a circulation system standpoint, this all sounds perfectly reasonable. But, it always irks me when the yoga DVDs mention this during an exercise...because it sounds so similar to the language that the "high colonic" nutjobs use...and, from what I understand, colonics are total bullshit. I think colonics appeal to people's psychological hangups about poop and disgust with their bodily functions -- that if they could just get the "dirty, dirty poop!" out of them faster, they would "feel cleaner" or "feel empty" -- all under the guise of "removing toxins" and losing 3lbs faster...

So, what am I saying, here? I am not sure. I guess, if someone would like to show me some real medical evidence that colonics are good for you, then great. I might even consider having one -- it's not bloody likely that I would pay for one, but if I could do it myself, I might. In the meantime, I will continue to push myself to do my yoga. And, I will grit my teeth and take a deeper Vinyasa breath when Seane mentions the squeezing of my toxins, trusting that she is not a total nutjob who is putting me on. Conscious intention of breath, whatever.


All I know is that, even with crunchy-granola Seane Corn having a chunk of one of her eyebrows missing, I still like her WAY BETTER than that condescending bitch, Suzanne Deason and her f'ing crooked, sideways-talking mouth! I can not abide that woman talking about squeezing my toxins. I would like to squeeze her toxins, with my hands on her neck...while I am in Downward-Facing Dog position, of course!

Labels: annoying, exercise, health, learning, pet peeves, photos, recreation, videos, yoga

We took the Lizzard to the range and taught her how to shoot. She did great!!! You can take a look at her targets on her blog...

Here are the targets from my second visit to the range:

Labels: bang bang, lizzard, mom, photos, recreation, scary

Went to a firing range recently --- and tried out shooting a 9mm pistol --- a Walther P88 to be exact. Here is my first target...I would say I did a damn good job, in spite of the powerful recoil and my nervousness!!!


That wide hole is from two separate bullets that I shot in the same spot! The shot directly in the center of the "10" I must confess, was not me --- that was the boyfriend testing the sights. But, considering this was my first time, I sure did get a lot in the center area! I also got a terrible headache from all the noise, even with my ear protection...SOOOO LOOOOOUUUUUD! Although, not as loud as the .357 Magnum that the boyfriend was trying out --- a veritable hand-cannon! Yikes. It was nice to leave the guns and noise behind.

Labels: bang bang, loud, recreation, scary