Pictures of Things I've Done Recently

I haven't posted pictures for awhile. So here are a bunch!

Andy graduated! We're by the flowers in front of Northrup.

Aunt Jean in front of Rick's tree in Rockville.

Mark, Nancy, Mom and I at the Indy 500.

Top three: Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan on a yellow.

Our view of the pagoda during clean

Chip and I took a walk and this field hasn't been planted yet.

Probably the cutest picture of Chip ever taken.

Little Chip in a big wide world.

I want a baby Emu

This is the cutest thing I've seen in a long time.

Politics

Alright, the primaries are over and we finally have a democratic nominee. It's time to get down to business. I'm going to be honest, I haven't been following this race very closely. Mostly because it bothers me when no one speaks about important issues. My biggest desire I want out of the next president is someone who can do things. Not only talk about change, but enact change. I haven't heard any candidate speak about how they are going to make coalitions, bring our nation together and accomplish great things. Maybe that democratic agenda that was supposed to be enacted 2 years ago. I'm incredibly disappointed in our democrats for not actually doing anything despite having a majority in congress. The next president needs to actually put words into actions, I hope Mr. Obama will not disappoint.

Here are some things I would love to have considered for the future:

• Alternative energy solutions - maybe change all subsidies for alternative energy from something specific (corn ethanol) to something general to promote new solutions
• End oil subsidies - to make oil companies accountable for the prices they charge and create fair competition for new fuels
• Getting out of perpetual wars - creating war does not create peace, I would like to see actions in the Middle East that encourage education and mutual understanding so that we may all understand each other.
• Putting money into education - I believe the most important part of any one's life is to be educated. Allowing college tuition to increase without a comparable increase in the quality of the education or utility of degree is deplorable and putting today's educated population deeply into debt without anything to show for it. Increasing the intellectual challenges of high schools or offering alternatives for students who seek a different place to learn.

Here is what I don't want to hear anymore about because they are issues not pertinent to an intelligent discussion of the future (in another list):

• Barak Obama's former pastor
• Whether Barak Obama stands/puts his hand on his heart during the pledge of allegiance
• Barak Obama being a Muslim - even if he was, what does it matter? Don't be a bigot.
• Hillary Clinton not dumping Bill Clinton after Monica - that's in the past and very personal, wouldn't you rather have a president who could love and forgive than one who was vengeful and spiteful?
• Women can't lead countries because other nations wouldn't respect them - this is just ridiculous because women lead other countries too.
  

Best Work Week Ever!

This past week was a wonderful week at work. In general I like where I work and all that, but this week was especially rewarding. Tuesday I got to go into work late. I had to stay late, but I did like spending my morning relaxing and such. I had to stay late for orientation and it didn't go as bad as I worried it would be.

Wednesday was Administrative Professionals Day! My job as an administrative assistant falls into this category, and so I was celebrated. It was a wonderful surprise, since I had no idea that day existed. My boss took me out to Starbucks for tea and a snack with my coworkers. And then I got a gift bag full of wonderful goodies. It was really fun!

Then Thursday I got a promotion! One of my coworkers has decided to move on to another job, and Kelly and I shift up our positions. So now I will be an HR Representative and do interviews, and hiring people. It'll be a lot of fun. I get a cube and a salary! (Instead of hourly wages).

Later on Thursday we had a quiz sent to us and the first two people who answered correctly got grab bags full of stuff. I guessed an answer and it turned out to be correct! My favorite part of the grab bag was the actual bag. I've already bought groceries and put them in it. There also was a little socky thing for my iPod. Which it is currently sitting in, looking cute.

I start my new position in two weeks, my training starts on Monday. I'm learning a lot at work now, and I really like it.

Camping!

This past weekend Andy and I took a trip down to Frontenac State Park for a camping trip! This was our first time camping together and it was loads of fun. We reserved a sweet cart-in site, where we packed up our stuff in a cart and pushed it about a 1/4 mile to our site. Think of it as one step away from car camping.

Andy being my pack ass. On the way back I carried the backpack.

The pooper wasn't too far from our campsite.

Only one other couple and their dog was camping in the same area as us, so it was really quite and nice. The site was nice too, except it was really muddy due to recent wetness. The first day we set up our site, ate a snack, and then took a hike around the area. We saw some large birds of prey, though we weren't sure what kinds of birds they were. We were able to get pretty close, until Andy stepped on a stick and scared them off. A bird book might be helpful for identifying the birds we see on future hikes. A tree book would be nice as well, so that we know what trees we're looking at when they start to grow leaves.

Andy enjoying a delicious snack.

Andy and I by Lake Pepin.

Birds! They have red faces, so I really don't know what they are.

After hiking Andy built a fire and we started cooking our dinner. I don't think I've ever been camping without some sort of camp stove and guaranteed method of cooking, so I was a bit nervous trying to cook without one. We planned on cooking brats and wieners; however, we forgot a utensil for taking our cooked wieners off the grate. In Wabasha we went to a very friendly hardware store and found this nifty clamping grate thing that we could stick in the fire and cook our dogs. It worked beautifully! Much to my surprise.

Cooking wieners.

The finished product! A delicious dinner.

After that there wasn't much to do and it was getting pretty cold. So we retired to the tent and Andy tried to patch his Thermarest, it didn't hold. My air mattress is in Indiana still, so I slept uncomfortably on the hard ground. It was terribly cold that night and I couldn't sleep because I hurt on all sides from the ground and I had to pee, but I didn't want to get up again in the dark. Finally when it was light I ventured out and relived myself. I was able to get back to sleep and wake up to the wonderful words, "Amanda, I got the water boiling!" Andy had managed to get the fire going enough to boil our water for our morning tea and oatmeal! It was a wonderful start to the day.

Andy enjoying his morning tea and oatmeal.

We then took a morning hike in the fog and started down the side of the bluff. It was a really pretty walk down and exciting to get closer to the water. On the way up the fog burned off and it turned out to be quite a beautiful day. After packing our stuff up and heading out, Andy and I stopped at the Whistle Stop cafe in Frontenac Station for lunch.

The foggy road.

These are the switchbacks that lead down the side of the bluff to Lake Pepin.

Me in front of the steep climb.

One of the few things that were actively growing.

My artsy reflection picture.

Camping was a lot of fun and Andy and I plan on doing a lot more. We've decided a blow up air mattress and a camp stove are two important things that we should get in the future. Hopefully since it's getting warming freezing to death at night won't be as much of a concern now. We've also discovered campsites that you can hike into that are 1 to 5 miles from parking. This is our next step as we get better at this whole camping thing.

I am a Consumer Whore

It's been done. I've done it! And I'm not taking it back (hopefully). I purchased an iPod today. A little blue Nano. I'm still thinking of a name. Lil' Blue didn't like my laptop, or my laptop didn't like the new iPod. So I've set it up on my desktop and everything works fine.

I have discovered the vast and fascinating world of PodCasts. So far tonight I've listened to Garrison Keillor tell me about what exciting things happened this day in history, and I've seen how to cook an asparagus omelet. It's quite exciting for me to discover these things. My reading might be slowed down now.

Speaking of reading! I've discovered a most wonderful author, Michael Chabon (possibly pronounced: Sha-bone). As of today, I've read 2 books and 1 novella by dear Michael, and I've loved, loved each one of them. It's so great! I'm also currently reading H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds and it's great as well! Books can be so invigorating.

Hopefully this little iPod will help me block out the annoying noise of people on the train and I can relax more on my way to work. I'm looking forward to listening to new and exciting Podcasts and possibly learning something new.

This week I have a Wednesday night bike ride planned, which will hopefully be well-attended and fun. Then over the weekend Andy and I plan on doing a little anniversary camping down south. Possibly visiting a familiar Red Wing coffee shop and getting our frequent buyer cards stamped. Good things!

Cats in Sinks

If you don't think this is adorable, you better start looking for your soul.