The last of the animals

And now, for the last of the animals from our trip...

A peacock hanging out in the tree.

A condor spanning his giant wings.

A group of giraffes feeding in the sun.

A panda checking us out.

A momma napping while her cub plays.

A gnarly orangutan posing for us.

A big pig-like animal snoring away.

A flock of bright flamingoes.

A cuddly koala chomping on some bamboo.

A giant python actually moving around.

And, a two-humped camel slobbering all over itself.

Crock Pot Crap

As a high schooler, anytime I knew that Sunday's lunch was cooking in a crock pot, I searched for friends to go out to lunch with. I groaned when I knew I was coming home to eat a roast.

I really wasn't sure why I even registered for a crock pot when we got married. Crock pots meant no flavor. Hubs also was not a fan of roasts, so for 2 years our crock pot sat in the cupboard. Then my Hy-Vee man talked me into trying a roast. I did it; it didn't turn out well, but I was willing to try again.

Now, as a working wife of 3 1/2 years, I love finding tasty recipes made in the crock pot. And, I love my roast - Hubs likes it too! Perhaps just knowing I did not spend 45 minutes in the kitchen dirtying many pots and pans contributes to the flavor and fondness of the dish. I don't think that it tastes bland, but actually has tons of flavor - thank you lipton soup packets. It is such an incredible relief to come home on Thursday from work (Thursday is our busy night) and know that dinner is cooking and I have time to do other things. I should clarify that I only cook the meat in the crock pot, so I do still have a little bit of preparation for the veggies.

I have tried some nasty recipes in my crock pot. I have also not mastered how to cook everything in there. But, I am content with my 2 good recipes and I hope that in 20 or so years my children will not cringe when they learn supper is in the crock pot!

The Pole o' Gum, and other oddities

We've all heard it...stories about those crazy Californians. While we were there, we saw a few things that may only be seen in Cali.

We came across the Pole o' Gum the first day. Hundreds of pieces of gum stuck to this pole from the bottom up. Extreme grossness. But, better than stepping in it on the sidewalk I suppose.

Do you see anything odd about the insurance offered at this place? The entire stay we tried to figure out what Mexico Insurance is. We saw it offered at a few different places. Hmmm.

We were pleasantly surprised to see a very large number of people with dogs. They actually have not only a large dog park, but a beach dedicated to dogs. The boardwalk is constantly full of dog-walkers. It is a very pet-friendly area.

But wait. Is that a...a pig?

Why yes, yes it is. Come to find out this pig wasn't lost, but his owner was around. The pig attracted lots of attention and tried to mooch food off of everyone. He was just enjoying the beach as much as everyone else.

Here the pig meets with another type of Cali's popular citizens...transients. EVERYWHERE we went, we saw people who obviously have no home and prefer to live that way. The bus. The trolley. The sidewalk. The beach. All over. You can usually pick them out by the lack of personal hygiene and the bags upon bags of their stuff they carry around. An odd way to live, but to each their own.

Plans thwarted. A happy ending.

On Thursday morning Hubs and I walked down to the concierge desk to figure out how to get to Sea World. That's when we found out that Shamu in Orlando caused a trainer to die and thus Shamu shows everywhere were shut down. They should resume the next day.

Instead, Hubs and I went to the Zoo.

On Friday morning Hubs and I learned that Shamu was not performing again, but would be back on schedule on Saturday. Saturday was schedule for lots of rain. Since the dolphins were also not performing, we decided to not spend $70 if we couldn't even see the main events.

Instead, Hubs and I soaked up the sun by the beach for the day.

On Saturday, it was raining. We decided to take the bus downtown to tour the USS Midway - a retired aircraft carrier. As we rode the bus, we talked with some locals who told us we must visit the La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) cove where we could see the seals. They told us of some great restaurants in that area and said that it would clear up and the sun would shine. So, we saw the Midway and he sun came out. We quickly made a stop at the hotel to change my shoes and then headed out to La Jolla.

We missed our bus stop. The bus had been stopping at every other corner until we missed ours. Then the bus travelled 1/4 of a mile further before dropping us off in the pouring rain. We had a one-person umbrella which served to keep our faces semi-dry as cars drove by spraying us with water. Determined to at least see these seals, we walked and walked, searching for the cove.

We found the cove and the seals - though it was now so windy, rainy, and cold and our shoes and jeans were so drenched that we didn't get any closer than this:

We decided to forgo dinner in order to be dry and warm, only to arrive at the bus stop just as it was pulling away. After running after it and failing to catch it, we stood and waited - soaked and cold - for 20 minutes until the next one came. We ended up ordering Chinese and Hubs ran through the now hurricane-like weather to pick it up.

On Sunday we woke up to clear blue skies. We got to airport security to find that the snow globe Richard had bought for one of his coworker's children would not be allowed in carry-on luggage. He went back and checked his bag, then stood in the security line again.

In Denver, we were offered 1st class tickets to take a later flight, as well 2 free round-trip tickets good for a year. Considering we took this trip on free round-trip tickets, we were pretty excited about this! We got to Wichita very late and, after some searching, found Hubs's checked bag made it safely.

Although the trip didn't go as planned, we still had a happy ending.

Lions, and tigers, and bears - OH MY!

The zoo is one of my favorite places. I love seeing different animals and Hubs and I are constantly talking in the voices we give them and saying what they must be thinking. Two things I noticed that were different at the San Diego Zoo. One was the activity of the animals. How often do we actually see the big cats walking around? Usually they are napping; never have I seen them play or interact with one another. And, two was the proximity of the animals. The cages were feet from the viewers.

That is why Hubs and I spent at least 30 minutes watching the lions. In the fenced area there were a pair of lions - one male and one female - they were mates. We happened to stumble upon this exhibit while the keeper was standing between us and the fence, answering questions and talking about the lions. We also happened to come to this exhibit right after they gave both lions beef bones to gnaw on.

This was super cool because they gnawed on these bones no more than 10 feet from us. We watched and listened for a while and then this big guy went to sit on the ground, even closer to the fence.

As he chewed, we could hear his rough tongue lick against the bone. We could hear the power behind his jaws as he chomped down on the bone. The keeper said they would work on these bones for a couple of hours before being done.

Meanwhile, the lioness (I don't have any pictures of her, but she was beautiful) got bored with her bone. She stood up and walked down by the big guy who is very protective of his bone. He semi-roared, or growled at her as she passed by.

That is one amazing sound, by the way. The keeper says that he does roar on occasion and it can be heard for miles. It makes your chest thunder and I can only imagine because this noise he made was no small thing. It was deep and guttural. It was majestic.

While the female went off to steal this guy's favorite toy - an empty plastic barrell - he took the chance to clean up her bone leftovers. Once he saw that she had his barrel, however, he trotted over, picked up the barrel in his mouth, and hid it behind a rock. He then went back to his own bone.

But, the lion keeper had gotten too close to his bone. He made some of those noises at her - warning her to stay away. She didn't move in an effort to let him know she was going to stay away. But, he wanted to make sure. So, he pounced at the fence! This fence, by the way, is not firm, but flexible. The fence gave out so that this giant lion was about 1 foot from his keeper. One time wasn't enough, though. He pounced again, growling the entire time. She slowly moved away, completely calm and collected, and he settled down again with his bone.

Have you ever seen action like that at a zoo? Have you ever been this close to the animals? It was amazing. I am always wanting to pet the lions and the bears, but this gave me a healthy respect for the "king of the jungle."

By the way, have you also ever seen a lion as well-groomed as he? They do not groom their animals, but  I think this is the healthiest, best-maintained lion I have seen. He looks like Mufasa from The Lion King, don't ya think? He should. They drew all the characters from The Lion King from the San Diego Zoo.

If you ever visit this zoo, be sure to stop by the lion pen. It is an amazing sight to see!

What a journey

Three months ago I was struck with the realization that if Christ returned or if I died and saw Jesus face-to-face, I would have not read the entire Bible. I would have to shamefully admit to my Savior that His words to me weren't important enough for me to read them all. Not to mention that at that point in my routine, I was actually rarely finding making time to devote myself to His words.

Thus, I began a challenge within our church to read the entire Bible in 90 days. I wanted to know what the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were about. I wanted to get an overall grasp for the flow of the Bible, the chronological sequence, and the details that I have never understood. I also wanted to make it a habit to set aside time in my day, mainly in the morning, to sit and read my Bible.

After 90 days, I happy to say that I got way more than I planned. The Bible is filled with mystery, scandal, adventure, romance, wickedness, disaster, and punishment. As someone who believes in the Bible's every word and as one who has a personal relationship with its author, however, it was even more. I learned about God - who He is throughout the entire Bible. How much He loves His children and how much we deserve death.

I read as God put the earth into existence. How He sustains everything. I read as His people continually chose other gods before Him. I read as they repeatedly turned away from God for their fleshly desires. And I thought, That sounds like me. 

I read as God sent His only Son to be a perfect man in order to save sinful man who deserved death. I read as Jesus, who did nothing wrong, willingly was mocked, beaten, and crucified in my place. I read as Christ then conquered death and rose again so that I could live with him forever and never fear death again. Then, I read as those who believed in Christ were persecuted: mocked, beaten, jailed, stoned, killed; all because they accepted the free gift of salvation and desired to share it with everyone they met so they too might have life. And I thought, That doesn't sound like me. 

Finally, I read the end. I read that it is a happy ending for some - those who have given their lives to Christ and accepted Him as their Savior. I read that it is an ending of torment lasting forever apart from God for those who don't know Him. And I thought, Who am I going to tell today?

Have you read God's Word? Have you accepted its truths? Dear friend, I cannot impress on you enough that life, peace, and joy can only be found through knowing Christ as your Savior. You must realize that you cannot get life, peace, or joy through any other way than through Jesus.

Now what? A few days ago Hubs asked me what I was going to do after this was over and I had no clue. I knew I wanted to study the Bible in a deeper way, not just reading it through as I had been doing. I had so many questions and thoughts. So, I have picked one of the books and I am going back to read it slower and study its words. I want it to penetrate my life to cause me to live differently. I want to cherish it and commit it to memory. I want to live by it and have it infiltrate my life so much that I base my every thought and decision on it. It is, after all, God's very words written to me. 

We're Back

And I've got lots of updates and stories which will come right after I start laundry and buy groceries. Since I just spent 30 minutes reading emails and catching up on blogs, I should probably get to real life sometime today.

Although our trip did not go as we planned, we still had fun and felt the warmth of the sun.

We saw things we had never seen before and enjoyed just getting away.

Being back is bittersweet. Sweet because I love being in my comfy bed, being around all our friends, and, of course, seeing our crazy dog again. Bitter because it is 32 degrees, cloudy, and not a large body of water for miles and miles....and miles.