City or Country Mouse

::note I actually HAD pictures of this, with all intentions of posting. But Mike decided he wanted to hear himself sing while playing guitar, so he used our new camera and "needed" the space. ::

We had a mouse. This wasn't some slow country mouse. This was a street smart, city living mouse. We had been "fighting" it for about 2 weeks! Put out traps all over the kitchen and it avoided every one. This guy (or girl, I never checked) even had the audacity to run through the kitchen while we were sitting only 10 ft away. Our heroic Oklahoma mouse hunter (July) was useless to this mouses sneaky ways.
So Mike reset all the traps one morning a waited. Then I get an email at work saying he heard something coming from behind the cabinet and we went to go look and the trap is missing. As in not where he placed it and he can't find it. And there is squeaking.
So by the time I get home, there is still squeaking, and I try to figure out where trap AND mouse exactly are. I am picturing the worst, be honestly was hoping that it didn't die somewhere in our walls. About 9pm I, hear a racket from the oven, so I look around and then in said oven, eventually opening up the bottom drawer style broiler and taking out all the trays. Low and behold there is the little mouse, intact, sitting there staring at me. He looks fine, but then he tries to jump or get away and he isn't really going anywhere. Needless to say the trap had gotten hold of this little guys tip of his tail and he had been dragging it around until he went through a hole small enough that the trap he was dragging couldn't fit. He didn't really understand backtracking so there he was stuck. He also didn't get the square plug in a round hole concept either, I did call him street not book smart.
I will spare you all the detail of how we got him OUT of the oven without turning on the broiler. But it involved another trap, which still didn't do the deed and one strong willed husband. July and I were hugging each other in the living room supervising.

I will stick with "f'"'s FIRE!

So long story short, our VW Passat caught fire on Friday. Not a little fire, a BIG flame licking fire. We have proof from a snap happy BGE (baltimore gas& electric) worker who jumped out of his truck to take some "during" pics. I got there are they dragged her carcass onto the flatbed tow truck. So we are in the market for a new car.

No husbands were hurt in the making of these pictures, as proof here he is taking life into his own hands (and my brothers) flying in his first small plane right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ef77EG1SAA

My Bro has some pretty cool pics from all his travels which you can see here.

Fusion or Fission

I normally don't complain about gas prices mostly because I never really had to commute that much to really care. Now that my daily grind includes a bit of a commute it is a factor I have been paying more attention to. In fact it is hard NOT to pay attention when I fill up with 14.5 gallons and it costs me $47.00!!!!!!! Yes that is alot of exclamation marks. I paid $3.25 for regular at the pump in the city yesterday, and although it is not the highest in the nation, it was certainly not the lowest. So now I am complaining about it and wishing I had a DeLorian with a convenient Mr Fusion.

Smarty Pants

I am driving to work today, my normal 20 miles: could take 35 minutes could take an hour kind of drive and what blows past me doing 65? A Smart Car. I wish I got a better look at it but alas it was flitting in and out of traffic, going where no normal sized car could go, like a hummingbird, one minute you see it then you don't. I didn't want to risk life an limb this early morn following the little sucker. Now I am thinking maybe it was a figment of my imagination, a car THAT small would never make it in the US, home of the Hummer, "everyone needs to be able to drive through streams" and "never really pick up anything" Pickup enthusiasts.

I have been motivated to get my blog moving, FINALLY. A fresh start for a new town. I have erased all old posts and hopefully will be able to keep all of our family and friends near and far updated on what is going on with me. Here is a 6mth recap...

Sept '07 moved to Baltimore...We live in a "row" home, brick, two story, plus basement. Have small deck and 2 car length small yard out back (unusual in this area), plus a parking pad. It is a long skinny lot. Sorry don't have better pics yet.

The weekend after moving in, we went on vacation for a week at Barnaget Light, NJ to celebrate my parent's 35th wedding anniversary. Who doesn't need a vacation after moving cross country, right? The first pic always makes me laugh cause the timer was to short and it caught Mike doing his "Capt Morgan" pose.

We were lucky enough to go to a few Ravens games this year, Mike's first professional games!

We also went to the Annapolis Boat Show,

"I survived flu season 2007-08", here I am with my huge spreadsheet at work

Went to NYC for my 30th birthday, (thanks Er!). Meet up with long time friend Courtney whose birthday is 1day before mine and bestie nestie Con.

We spent Thanksgiving in NJ, sorry no pics..

Christmas in Tulsa, Day 1 Southern Hills brunch, Day 2 IV& Olivia christmas eve dinner, Day 3, deathly sick on Christmas..bleh

Then Christmas in NJ, Mike apparently is going through a "funny face" phase...

New Year's was uneventful, but the inner harbor fireworks kept us all up til all hours....PLUS I had to drop off Mike at the airport only a few hours after the clock struck midnight. (lucky duck got to go to Hawaii AGAIN without me) So when we were heading out, we saw most people who were just coming in for the night.

With the New Year, came a resolution of mine to get in better shape/practice what I preach, so I started a ballet class at the John's Hopkins Peabody School for preforming arts. It is serious business, tights and all. Small pic on purpose....

In Feb our car got broken into, we have to do a better job of not leaving anything in the car.

So that is me in a nutshell, I am trying to keep in better touch with friends and family and trying to leave a smaller environmental mark on the world while still making a lasting impression.