Office Critters

Today was a fun day at work for me.... I got to buy some pet gerbils for the office! This spring, the Warrick County Extension office is going to be offering a program called "Munchy Adventures". The goal of the program is to teach kids how to make healthier food choices and teach them about small pet care. The original mascot of the program is a guinea pig named Nicky...but any small pet will work. Since I have experience with gerbils ...gerbils is what we have! My second grade teacher bought some gerbils for the classroom... she started out with 2 and ended up with about 40...so we all got to take one home at the end of the year. I named him Ralph. Mom hated him because "he looked like a rat". While they do resemble rats...they are so much cuter-the hair on the tail makes a big difference in the level of cuteness.
It's been awhile since I've been a gerbil owner, so I was doing my homework today. Did you know there is an American Gerbil Society? No lie! http://www.agsgerbils.org/ There are even gerbil breeders! I guess if my gerbil sexing skills are rusty and we end up with more gerbils than we bargained for, I can become a gerbil breeder. They even have gerbil shows...complete with the gerbil olympics. I'm going to start training mine right away.... the one we named Nicky (in honor of the original Munchy Adventure mascot) is already on the path to gerbil olympics stardom, I think...he spent about 2 hours running on his wheel this afternoon. The one we named King Ralph (or Ralph the second- since my first gerbil's name was Ralph)...has the same philosophy to life that I do and is content to hang out at the food bowl...and spend the rest of his time sleeping.
Funny thing though... no one else in the office is quite as excited as I am about our new co-workers. Wait until I put them in their ball and they venture out into the office! I bet they'll like Nicky and Ralph the second a little better after they have them show up at their desk! My mom LOVED the ball...especially when the lid came off.
Work just got a little more fun for me!

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Happy 20th Birthday to my little sister, Miss Emily!!

It's a new decade...sure to bring new opportunities and many happy memories!

Happy Birthday Jen!

Having a birthday close to Christmas is not nearly as special as having your birthday ON Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Jen!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Dave!

With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I realized I forgot to wish some very important people Happy Birthday!!

December 23 is my Grandpa Dave's birthday...

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Dave! Sorry this is a little late on the blog.

A Look Back- The First 30 Years

I celebrated my 30th birthday this past Monday. I thought it might be fun to take a look back at the first 30 years... so here we go:

Anyone who knows me well....knows that patience is not exactly my strong suite. This personality flaw began early...and after missing out on the fun of Christmas 1978, I was determined not to miss New Years- even if it meant I was born 9 weeks early. I weighed in at a whopping 3 lbs 3 oz (ahhh the good old days), came out feet first, and spent a couple months in the hospital (I had quite a flair for the dramatic entrance).

Me and my grandpa Dave...we've always had a good time together.

I've always been an animal lover- me and Jolie.

Me and Mom all dressed up for Aunt Lisa's wedding.

A picture history of my youth would not be complete without the red nightgown, nylons, and shoes I wore every single time I went to my granny's house. LOVED that outfit.


On my strawberry shortcake bike...which my dad still has in his garage.

Me and my uncle Jay- who I have forgiven for hanging my cabbage patch doll from my bedroom doorway and pretending to flush my toys down the toilet. It's funny now... but it wasn't funny then.

Fishing at my grandma and grandpa Oshinski's cabin on the lake in Fremont, MI (I always caught really big fish). Vacations to the lake were always fun and relaxing - and the lake became a nice retreat for me a few years later when I was in grad school at MSU.

Ahh...marching band...colorguard...and the very lovely colorguard outfits.

And now for college:

Me and Rebecca...and our science lab gear. Nothing makes you look quite as cool as goggles.

While attending the SAS-ASA meetings in Salt Lake City, Utah, I decided to hang out in the hotel lobby and study for an econ exam ...while my friends went out and had fun. Sometimes being a nerd pays off...especially when the LA Lakers are staying at your hotel!! (As I recall, though, I didn't do very well on that econ exam).

But I didn't spend all my time studying...

Hanging out with friends was a must!

Graduation day from UI in front of the Morrow Plots.

Then it was north to Michigan State for grad school...research plots, classes, thesis writing- oh my!

Pumping the water off my flooded soybean plots (in my UI hat) my second day in grad school after 10 inches of rain turned my plots into a small pond.

Graduation from MSU with my M.S.... I'm offically smart.

After graduation, I started what could possibly be the worst job ever as an agronomist for a commercial potato farm. It was made bearable by only my now dear friend Amy and because my great aunt Chris and uncle Hal lived 15 minutes away and invited me over often for good food and fun company.


Me and Aunt Chris.

After surviving about a year of slave labor with a paycheck... I moved to southern IN and started my career as an ANR Educator with Purdue Extension. I found the work to be much better...and met Nick a couple months later.





Wonder what the next 30 years will bring.....

Stay tuned!!

Christmas 2008

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone" ~Isaiah 9:1
"For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful." ~Isaiah 9:5-6.

Christmas with the Williams Family.

Santa brought Pepper a bone that she has spent the day moving from one hiding spot to another. Santa brought Nick a new Colts santa hat. And for me...a new book that I immediately got comfortable and began to read.

We wish you a Merry Christmas season. May the joy and peace of Christmas day be with you today and throughout the year.

Operation Cookie - 2008 Edition

Over a decade and a half ago .... I was searching for gift ideas for my dads, grandpas, and uncles. Boys are hard to buy for... but they do like food. Since I was (and am) the baker in the family, my mom had a great idea- why don't I make several kinds of baked goodies and make Christmas baskets for the guys in the family. What a great idea!! And that's what I did.... and that is what I still do. I tried to get out of it one year, but when I mentioned it to the recipients of the baskets, the response was not overly postive...so every Christmas, I put on my Christmas music...my snowman apron....dance, sing, and bake.

Nick offered to help this year- and I'm no dummy- I readily accepted! And help he did!! He made two different kinds of fudge and was in charge of wrapping the cookies in addition to his usual job of getting things off the top shelf for me. Pepper even helped by being in charge of floor clean-up in the event of a spill. She takes her job VERY seriously.

MMM...cookies. I think I will have a glass of eggnog (another Nick specialty) and do some quality control.

Now I just need someone to come do all the dishes....