The Oregon Zoo

So this post dates back from when we were actually in Oregon, like over two months ago. "Better late than never!", has become the theme of my existence for longer than I would like to discuss, but really I have a hard time calling this "late" because we are on MY time people! In my time it's on time because I say so. I'm the boss. Yeah. Fo sho.

Anyhoo... whenever we go to Oregon to visit, we HAVE to make sure that we go to the Oregon Zoo. When we lived there I tried to go a couple times a month, and oftentimes once a week. We love it because it's got such a versatile group of animals. When we went to the Phoenix Zoo for the first time we realized just how good the Oregon Zoo was! I'm not sure if it's because of the sweltering temperatures or what, but after the first couple times we went, the novelty of it all was gone.

We went with Heather, Addy, her brother Steven, two kids he babysat, and her cousin Cindy who is actually from Mesa. We had alot of fun even though the children outnumbered us, and for the record, I didn't lose Sydney once! Those of you that have gone out in public with us can truly appreciate that one!

One of my favorite exhibits there are the Polar Bears. They always give us a good show!

I am not the only one with a strange fascination with goats. Just so you know.

All in all it was a good day despite the fact that one of the Lorakeets gave me a poo shower! Yep! My hair, my shirt, and even my bra was saturated since it ran down the front of me. It doesn't get any better than that eh?

Walmart- A Study of Contrasts

There are times I wonder that I ever want to go out in public. Not just because of my children and their antics that I have discussed at length in previous posts, but because the world can be so unpredictable and ugly.

Earlier today I wound my way through the obstacle course of death that is the Walmart parking lot on any given day. As I avoided getting my car mangled by yet another auto backing up at mach speed without looking, someone passed me on the right giving me the finger for not doing the apparent posted parking lot speed of 55 mph. As I badgered my daughter to walk faster because we were in the cross walk and the car beside us was creeping forward, hoping to hurry us along, I thought I wanted to hurry him along somewhere too, but instead we just hurried. All of this I did so that I could frequent my favorite movie rental box and spend a mere dollar to entertain myself and the girls on a rare, rainy Arizona afternoon.

As I wandered the crowded aisles with the latest kid movie jostling in my purse, I wanted nothing more than to find some popcorn to go with the movie and to escape the insanity that is Walmart. I was thinking that maybe spending nearly five bucks on a movie rental may be worth it and that maybe the world was more angry than I realized. Was it the economy? Because it was Thursday and not Friday? Maybe they were angry because their dog died, or they were missing a loved one. Regardless, I was thinking that I didn't want any part in it, until I heard a soft voice talking to Punkin who was huddling in the cart pulling the shy card. I smiled and chastised Punkin about needing to be more polite and thought that would be the end of our interaction. Instead, the woman asked me in her soft voice that was laced with a sweet southern accent if I went to church. I said "yes", and "no" and wondered to myself how I felt about that. I meant that yes, I am usually a church goer, but that somehow, somewhere I've fallen away. I just left it at my conflicting response, vowing to bring my guilt about that answer out to play another day. She gave me a flier and as I grabbed it from her and stared into her rich coffee colored gaze that matched her flawless skin, I felt the sweet embrace of her kindness and the light of true love. Not crazy romantic love, but the love that can only come from those that believe in the principals that are above our measly human existence and more elevated than my present mindset. It made me want to attend whatever it was that she offered so that I could look as content as her amid the craziness of a busy Walmart. I could still feel the glow of her enlightenment as I walked off with a promise to try to attend, and I wondered about what an amazing study of contrasts one trip to Walmart could offer.

Satan Invented Ding Dongs

Anything as good as Ding Dongs has to have been created by the Father of Lies and Deceit. Only he could create something that would be such a great temptation and mean such happiness while creating so many problems in life. Hello, fat ass? Yeah, that's me. Thanks Satan.

In any case, I was lying here in bed thinking that I should get up and make myself a healthy breakfast shake, followed by my pile of vitamins when my dear, sweet child came in with her hand held out. No she was not begging. Worse. In her hand was a round object wrapped in silver foil. One of the basic foods that sends me spiralling upward on the scale. Did I do the righteous thing and drop to my knees and pray for strength? No. I took the dang thing and requested a soda to go with it. Hello Satan, ya wanna hang for a bit?

FYI- I have been behaving of late and lost 8 lbs. in 11 days. I deserve that Ding Dong. Right. That's right. Fo sho.

Love, Love, Love...

Let me start by promising the few but faithful followers that actually follow my ramblings, that I plan on updating all of the craziness that has been going on these last few months. It has been a busy time for us, full of good and stressful times, but life is that way eh?



As I sit here listening to my new Jason Mraz cd and start to mellow as he croons about love, love, love, I try to embrace the emotion in my heart. Hours ago I was weeping as I ordered my oh so healthy dinner at KFC because someone made me feel small. I wasn't weeping because I believed that I am less than anyone else, but because I was angry that many people feel that it's acceptable to act bigger than others. I'm ok now because I know that I am a person of worth and that nobody can tell me differently. Sometimes I'm just stunned that people aren't able to separate their personal frustrations from their interpersonal relationships, and I let it shock and affect me. I like to think that I am pretty good at giving people the benefit of the doubt. When a clerk at the store is rude, I try to empathize and assume that maybe something really bad happened to them that day. I'm not saying that it's acceptable to be rude to innocents, but sometimes it just happens. I like to hope that all people are intristically good, and that sometimes people get dealt alot of negative situations that color their lives, making them negative people. This is sad, but deep down they are still good right? I have to hope.


One of the things that I think is so important in this world of strife, is that we try above all else to love and respect one another. We don't have to be best friends with everyone, but if we can appreciate our differences, respect them, and wish them well, this world would be so much better off. This is the one thing that I want to pass on to my children above all else. I would rather they treat people appropriately than sit still. As they get older they will naturally settle down and behave in restaurants and such, but it is so much more important that they can be good, respectful, loving and positive human beings.


People can fail us, but only if we call it a failure. We can always pick up, smile and think of it as a lesson and know that not everyone will fail us. And as I look back on this, I realize that the reason I am so unable to understand how people can be so indifferent to others is because I have always been surrounded by people who love and respect me. For that I will always be grateful. Peace out.

Family Picnic 2008

Nearly two months after the fact, I thought that maybe I should write about the family picnic that we specifically went to Oregon for. I have babbled on previously about our other adventures while we were there, but I have missed a few other notable events that I need to get updated. Procrastinator? Yes. Lazy? Yes. Going crazy with three evil wee people bent on my destruction? Heck yeah! So here are the details (as I know them at least, so assume that something important will be missing):

The annual family picnic is referred to as the "Steele Family Picnic". This is because there are lots of Steele's there, or previously Steele's in some cases. Who are the Steele's? Well, let me tell ya... My great-grandmother Alicia, (sound familiar?) married a man named Donald Steele and they had seven children with my grandmother, Dianne Alicia (still some familiarity with the name) being the oldest. The other six were Linda, Leanne, Donald (Don), Dave, Myrna, and Jan. In any case, between all of them having kids who had kids, who have had kids- there are alot of us! The picnic has been a tradition since before I was born and hopefully will continue for many more years to come. We all get together twice a year and try to remain in contact somewhere in the middle. It is always a good time!

I do have to confess that this year I fell down on the job as far as taking pictures. Not sure why, or how, but I ended up with no pictures of the event that was so important that I would travel 1500 miles for. I suppose that makes me *special* in a helmet wearing sort of way. Anyway, my dear friend Heather bailed me out as always. *hugs*kisses* She took a break from her usual subject which I was grateful for. This is Addy's 2,986,002'nd picture of her life. Heather has a compulsive disorder involving her daughter and the camera.

I kinda can't blame her there, because who could resist this face?

This is me and my Aunt Jan from San Francisco. She is fun and wise and I love her!

And here, well, what was it I was saying about helmet wearing? I wonder if my Uncle Neal thought his would weigh him down in the water?

Aunt Lisa bought the girls new swimsuits for their birthday, so they got to sport them for the first time at the picnic. Syd was in and out of the pool all day, but Mel only got out to eat a few times and spent the other 8 hours or so in the pool. She may like the water a bit...

The highlight for many of us was when it got dark, Neal hooked up Guitar Hero to a projector so that we could play on a screen that was large enough to make a drive-in theater proud. Awesomeness... All in all, a great reason to travel 1500 miles. In a car. With three children. And Jack. Ooooh, and Jack. And three children. In a car. Crap, it was horrible, but worth it.

In Memory of...

"What up wit' it homie?"

Today has been a dreadful day. After five days of worry and drama, we had to put our baby Smudge to sleep. It was a really hard decision and one we had hoped never to make, especially not yet since he was only two, but one that was necessary.

It all started Wednesday night when he was out playing with the other dogs and we noticed his eye was a little buggery. Thursday morning I took him to the vet at 8:30 am, where I left him to have surgery on his eye. Apparently he had some sort of ulcer on his eye or something and they ended up sewing the cornea back into place because it had come through. Then they sewed the eye shut to allow it to heal. The next day I was gone all day because I had to pick dad up at the airport, so when Jack came home and let him out and saw that he looked like he was blind in the other eye he freaked out. The first clue was when he ran into a cactus. Anyway, he rushed him to the vet which was closing and they directed him to the emergency hospital in Tucson. Smudge spent the weekend there getting drops and such in his other eye until the cornea came through and punctured it, thus destroying any hope that he would be able to live out his life as a one-eyed dog. Since he was in pain and the other eye was still looking like a mess, Jack made the call.

I am devastated to have lost my most favoritest "little bastard", "bane of my existence", and baby boy. I miss you already Smudge.