So much news!

I'm falling behind on my blog... if that's possible.  (Is that possible?  It's not like I have a schedule, or due date for postings.  But sometimes big things happen in life, and they are so big that I'm working on sorting them out, and only after the fact do I have the time and emotional energy to post about them.)

Anyway!  first, I get to brag.  It's a parental right, and one of the rewards for 9+ months of your clothes not fitting and several hours of excruciating pain and really, really hard work.  =)

Rachel has been asked by her animal anatomy professor to do some research and to apply for an ORCA grant !  If she gets the grant she will be doing research on rattle snakes and how varying levels of rainfall affect their health by looking at isotopes of certain elements in their rattles.  (did you get that?)  This is something that has apparently never been researched before, so her chances of getting a grant are pretty high.  One of the cool things is that, of all the kids her professor teaches, the professor asked Rachel to do the research and apply for the grant!  What a compliment!  Way to go Rachel!  =)

Back here in Virginia, many of our family members recently submitted writing and other art forms to the Book Arts Bash.  And several of our entries are being considered as finalists!  You can look on the Book Arts Bash web site to see our entries.  (If they are not posted yet, keep checking back.  Or I'll tell you here when they are up.)  You'll find some wonderful poems, great artwork, and all-around incredible writing, if I may say so myself.  =)  And the prizes?  

Drum roll please....

Having your work reviewed by some of the biggest names in the industry, including Lois Lowry (The Giver), Robert Pinsky (Poet Laureate), Sara Gruen (Water for Elephants) and Bruce Coville (Unicorn Chronicles and many, many others), to name just a few.  Holy Cow!  Who wouldn't write their heart out for a chance like that?  Keep your fingers crossed!  =)

Our well-entertained fish (see my previous post about Peter dancing for the fish) have been moved into new and improved, luxury dwellings.  I think this was filling some emotional need on my part.  Clearly the fish had not asked for the move.  But I've been feeling so trapped lately, (just think of the housing market!) that looking at them in their 2 cup containers only made me feel worse.  None of us could go anywhere!  Swim to the right.  Turn around.  Swim to the left.  Turn around.  Swim to the right.  Turn around.  Repeat.  Forever.  Until your eyes glass over, you go belly up and get flushed down the toilet.  I could relate a little too well.

Since I'm not going anywhere exotic any time soon, I moved my fish to new, exciting locations.  We got two huge (if you're a beta fish) 5 gallon tanks and decorated them with pebbles, a sandstone arch from our family vacation to Arches National Monument (one of my all-time favorite places on Earth), a lovely blue castle with a mysterious cave, and other lovely and exotic findings from places as distant as the garage and my kids' bedrooms.  I was sure the fish would be thrilled!  

But apparently beta fish are not the high adventure types.  The one we left in the front room seems to be faring well enough, although he spends most of his time in one corner of the tank, as far from that foreign arch as he can get.  The other one we moved, not only to a new tank, but also to a new room, and it appears that may have been a little too much change for his poor constitution.  His color is not looking so good, and instead of gobbling down his food, he just stares at it.

Darn it all.  I offer a little excitement and then find out they are fish of a different color.  They remind me of some of my in-laws.  No sense of adventure.  (sorry, family.  no offense intended.) 

Rebecca

who is dreaming of touring Antarctica, climbing to Machu Pichu, exploring the Galapagos, and sitting on the crumbling remains of Ancient Greece.... sigh....