Thursday, June 21, 2007

Space Stuff

Seriously, my NASA TV addiction is sickening. Only one or two more days of it, though. I honestly feel bad for Ben, cuz I know the guy has got to be sick of it. But I can't help it.

Even at work, I have NASA TV running on my computer 24/7. But it's so neat getting to see live video streaming from space. I feel like I know the awe that people must have felt in 1969 when Neil and Buzz landed on the moon. It just is so cool that we have this technology, that we live in this day and age. Too bad that so many people just don't even have a clue. But I know the interest is there, because when I tell people what I do, I always get a barrage of questions asking me about astronauts, the shuttle and the space station.

I just wish the media gave more attention to the space program, but since they don't, people don't know much about when missions are ongoing. I understand that people have lives, and hobbies and other interests. I know how hard it is to keep up with all the information that comes from NASA, but these are your tax dollars at work, how can you not pay attention to something so fascinating? How often do you find something that you pay for with taxes interesting? Almost never.

Oh well.... maybe when we go back to the moon people will pay attention again. If not, at least landing on Mars will catch their attention. (I hope.)

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Racing for the Cure a la St. Louis Style

I'm still waiting for final numbers, but it was predicted that at least 64,000 people participated in this morning's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in St. Louis. Here are some of the awe inspiring pictures taken during my time in the "Fun Run" (during which no actual running occurred on my part).


Ben and Me


The crowd stretching out in front of us


The crowd behind us


Near the finish line


(From left to right: Jennie, Craig, Ben, Jessi and Tiff)

UPDATE: According to ksdk.com, the number of participants for the Komen St. Louis Race for the Cure is over 65,000! Read here.

Also, check out this guy's commitment to finding a cure:

You're supposed to be looking at the guy in the center of the picture, just below the sign "Friends of Jenn."

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Sad Day in Science


Yesterday, Don Herbert, best known as Mr. Wizard, passed away. I watched his TV show on Nickelodeon when I was a kid. It was great. He showed all kinds of great science experiments and explained the science behind them in a way that a third/fourth grader could understand.

RIP Mr. Wizard

Monday, June 11, 2007

Housewarming Party

It's been six months since Hubby and I moved into our new house. So, we' figured it was about time for a housewarming party. We also made it a M-I-L birthday party, since his mom's birthday was this past Friday.

The party was a typical June BBQ. We had grilled garlic butter shrimp, bratwurst and burgers. There were all the normal BBQ party sides, plus my yummy cute cupcakes. I forgot to take a picture when the cupcake holder was full, so you'll just have to imagine it full.


Top View


Side View

The cupcakes are Pillsbury Funfetti. The frosting is Pillsbury Classic White Extra Creamy. The sprinkles are daisy shaped, and super yummy. Finally, I got the cupcake holder at my local grocery store (Dierberg's). It also has a top that locks the whole thing together so you can carry the cupcakes wherever you want to go! Since they weren't all gone by Sunday night, I took these (plus the four that got eaten today) to work with me. I'll just have to bring them back tomorrow so Ben and I aren't stuck eating all of them. Although, we will be having cupcakes for dessert tonight.

Oh yeah... the best part is that I made these cupcakes in silicone baking cups. That means they are reusable, so they're better for the environment than throwing away more paper baking cups. I hope the FlipFlopMamma approves.

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Miscellaneous

Well, it was another good weekend. And it's not even over yet.

It started with our friend Bob staying at our house Thursday night so he could see a doctor for his Vitamin D stuff. Also, we were going to be leaving that day to drive to Louisville, Kentucky to see my bro-in-law graduate. The drive down was uneventful until we got to Louisville and realized two very funny things (they're funny now, but they weren't funny at 11:00 p.m. Friday night).
1) Louisville city planners apparently really like making people search high and low to find street name signs. They are not posted uniformly around town. So it's a real pain in the butt to figure out where on God's green Earth you are to figure out where you're supposed to be going!

2) Our hotel is the same dumpy hotel that we swore we wouldn't stay in ever again. Granted, we made this promise to ourselves about two years ago, the last time we visited Louisville with Mattito. Next time, we're totally staying at the Marriott.

So, my bro-in-law graduated Saturday morning and he is now officially a doctor. Not the medical kind, the kind that tries to fix your head. A psychologist. After graduation, Ben, Matt, Bob and myself went to Wal-Mart and Target to find the Optimus Prime voice modulating helmet. We found it at Target, and had a hell of a lot of fun with it. First of all, it makes you sound like Satan. Secondly, it looks hilarious on people. And we've only had adults wearing this thing. Ben sang me lullabies with it on while I was trying to take a nap on our dumpy hotel mattress Saturday afternoon. That was really funny.

We also have decided to see how the cat reacts to it. I'll have to update you all on that front later. Ben is currently out at Toys-R-Us to return this helmet for one that has Peter Cullen's voice instead of Garry Chalk's. If you don't know who they are, don't worry, I didn't either until I met Ben. They are the two semi-famous gentlemen who have voiced Optimus Prime over the past 20-odd years. Here's the helmet ad picture:


Here's what it looks like on people I know:


The top picture is my father. The bottom picture is the newest doctor in our family reading the card I got him (with the voice changing microphone turned on). I'll try and take a movie of someone talking in it to post.

Here's a YouTube movie with the voice changer on: