Still here

I'm still alive. About a week ago, I woke up with a sore throat that evolved into the cough from hell. I've been a complete diva because I've felt awful. I've hardly exercised and still can't sleep because first the sore throat and later the cough keep me up. Even codeine cough syrup has only helped minimally.

I did go to church on Easter, though! All by myself, since Holland was at work. Because I went to church later in the morning, it was packed and there were lots of children because there was no daycare. I spent most of the time trying really hard not to cough on the baby sitting right next to me. Next year we're going to the 8AM service!

Anyway, I should be back in the swing of things soon. I felt marginally better today and I went straight to bed as soon as I got home. I've been up for about three hours now eating dinner and such. Now it's back to bed.

Oh p.s. I checked on the birds yesterday and the nest was empty! I checked on them last week and they were still there, sitting on the eggs. I read that the gestation period for birds can be somewhere around 10-14 days and I don't know how old the eggs were when I first saw them. So I'm going to assume they hatched and hopped off and lived happily ever after!

Bird update

When I left the VA Wednesday afternoon I noticed someone had put a circle of larger red rocks around the nest so no one would step on it. The nest was unattended, which I had never seen before. I wondered if they had left because they didn't like the rock circle. A storm was coming in and the wind was blowing hard. I felt sad and thought that was probably it for the eggs. It ended up snowing that night (although it didn't stick).



I trudged in the next day, dreading seeing the destroyed nest. But lo an behold she was back. The male had joined them later that afternoon.


I didn't work at the VA Friday or this weekend. I'm at the university tomorrow but I'll have to make a special trip to check on the birds.

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ick!

Wow! I just realized all my recent pictures are of terrible quality! =( I apologize. I'm due for an upgrade in June so hopefully I can get the new iPhone with its nice new camera.

How Jipsy spends pretty much all day, every day. Except for sleeping and eating.

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Bird

Yesterday, I was walking across a bed of rocks on the way to VA clinic when I noticed a bird that was was standing there and didn't move when I got close to it. In fact, it just tweeted angrily.

Later, I walked back by and it was still there. I decided it must be hurt or sick, which made me feel sad.

It wasn't until the third pass that I realized what was actually going on- it had eggs! Little speckled ones that blended right in with the rocks.

I still feel sad because it doesn't seem like a very smart place to lay your eggs. I was worried about how she would eat but then I saw this morning that a smaller and friendlier bird seemed to be keeping watch (the male?). The big fluffy one was back this afternoon.

You can barely see the eggs if you're able to zoom in. Perhaps someone can tell me what kind of bird it is? And whether laying its eggs on the ground is normal behavior?



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Holland came to Vicksburg!

Everyone was so excited to see him. We had a great time!


And here is Wally, my mom's very sweet and very obese cat...smothering Holland while he sleeps:


And again the next morning:


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Breakfast at El Tovar

This morning on our way out of the Grand Canyon, we decided to have breakfast at the historic El Tovar hotel. It was actually built by the railroad company when they first started running to the Grand Canyon. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it!






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New shoes old shoes

Holland and I are at the Grand Canyon right now. We hiked partially down and back tonight and are so sore! Here are our shoes prior to starting our hike today. Holland just bought shiny new black hiking boots and I am jealous because mine were shiny and new last summer but look how scuffed up they now are!



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Spring snow

It was 74 degrees yesterday BTW



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Location:E Princeton Ave,Salt Lake City,United States

Life's tough

Jipsy is so tired from her busy day today, which included getting in a huge fight with the cat next door. Holland ran outside to break it up and said there was fur flying. I'm hoping she doesn't have any wounds that will require a vet visit and that the neighbor's kitty is okay. I've pretty much just decided that I can't let her outside anymore.


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Vacation!

Holland started our vacation early! It was in the 70's today and beautiful! We are headed up to Park City tonight to celebrate his brother Rob's birthday and to go skiing tomorrow. Then Sunday we're going to the Grand Canyon! After that it's home to Vicksburg for a few days. Callooh! Callay!




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