Educational outing: Carolina Raptor Center / Latta Plantation

On Friday, I decided that Courtney and I should finish up our Christmas break with a different sort of outing. The weather was nice, sunny and in the 60s, so I decided to drive down to Huntersville and visit Carolina Raptor Center.
It was very easy to find, the directions on their website were very clear. Once off the Interstate, it was a nice drive with some pretty scenery. The raptor center is within Latta Plantation nature preserve, which I will write more about later.



We were very impressed with the raptor center. It was just 10$ for me to get in, and Courtney was free because she is 4 years old. They have a nice little gift shop area and they also sell some snack foods and drinks. Outside there is a picnic area. We went on a weekday so unfortunately there were no flight shows or up-close type demonstrations to watch, but the self-guided tour of the center was fantastic. They provide maps of the layout which are helpful and prevent you from missing anything. The exhibits are very informative both about the species of bird you are viewing as well as the individual birds, how they came to CRC, and so on. We enjoyed reading the personal stories about the birds even though most of the stories were very sad. Raptor Center is a wonderful organization, this is not just a "zoo" - not a zoo at all, really. They rescue birds of prey who either require rehabilitation in order to be released back into the wild, or who, for various reasons, cannot be rehabilitated. We saw many birds who had been injured by cars and no longer able to fly, wing injuries, etc. the Raptor Center provides a place for these birds to live peacefully instead of dying a horrible death if they were left to their devices in the wild. I think everyone who knows me knows that owls are very near and dear to my heart, and it makes me so happy to know that there is an organization that helps owls (and other birds of prey too of course) in need of rescue, medical care, a place to live. Owls are magnificent creatures and I don't think enough people realize that. (Yes, I am aware how borderline crazy the last couple of sentences make me sound, but I don't care, I love owls!)

A highlight of our trip happened early on. We were looking at the Magpies and turned to walk away when I heard a female voice say "hi....". I thought someone must be talking to Courtney and so I turned to acknowledge the person. There was nobody there. I turned back around and again we heard "Hi.....". After a few confused moments, we discovered it was one of the birds talking!

The trails are very well-maintained and easy to navigate. No stroller was needed, it is a nice little stroll in the woods but not so long that a young child would become tired. It is also worth mentioning that they had very clean bathrooms. Maybe I'm a freak, but access to a bathroom is very important not just because I have a small child, but also because no matter where I am, I want to know there is a bathroom I can use. I'm a weirdo. So yeah, they have clean bathrooms.

Over-all we had a great time, well worth the money, educational, fun...a very enjoyable day!

After we were done at the raptor center, we decided to drive on to Latta Plantation. It was literally about 2 minutes down the road within the nature preserve. It is a 7$ fee for adults to tour the grounds including a guided tour of the house if you so desire. Children 5 and under are free. We thoroughly enjoyed touring the grounds. The provided map is again very helpful and informative...it definitely helped me to seem like I knew what I was talking about when Courtney asked me questions! We took our time walking along the farm, seeing the animals and various buildings. It is a very pretty area and I got some nice photos.

We decided to do the tour of the house since we were there already and there was a tour going at 2:00. It was informative, the guide was very knowledgeable on the history of the house and land. It was interesting for me, but a bit boring for Courtney, who was a good sport anyway. The house itself is not very impressive as plantation homes go, it does not "fit the mold" of the stereotypical plantation home, but it is still neat to stand in a structure that has existed for 200+ years. The stairs inside were rather steep and Courtney had trouble going back down the steps, so families with small children beware of that. A major downside for me was that inside the house no photos were allowed. I don't even know why, because the inside of the house was sparse and not all that interesting? All in all, I was glad we toured the house because we both came away having learned something....even though I think Courtney's most interesting fact about that house was that the family used chamber pots and had no indoor toilet :-P
*Talking of bathrooms, the welcome center does have bathrooms, but beware their seemingly haunted automatic flush toilets that kept randomly flushing over and over again? It was kind of spooky, there was no one else in there with us yet all the toilets, 5 or 6 of them, kept flushing over and over again.
There is also a small bathroom further along the grounds, in a small building which is also surprisingly clean, well-maintained, and heated. Why do I feel like I am talking way too much about bathrooms all of a sudden?

On the way out of the park, we stopped at the Nature Center, which is free to visit. It didn't have much but there were some interesting exhibits such as snakes, frogs, a large window for bird watching, etc. Courtney enjoyed it and the girl at the front desk was very friendly. They also had a large picnic area, access to hiking trails, and a vending machine.

We had a wonderful day out and I would recommend these destinations to anyone who wants to have a relatively inexpensive (but still fun) day out. We plan to go back in warmer weather and explore the walking trails!

I'll be your Chillow...

Oh yay, product review!

So I got one of these for Christmas:



Per their website, a Chillow is described as this:

"The Chillow is like an oasis for your pillow... cool, soothing and relaxing. This added comfort increases your chances for better, more restful sleep. It's like sleeping in the shade with a gentle breeze."

I immediately wanted to try this product because of its name. Chillow. How fun! It sounds like a chinchilla and an armadillo got together and had a monstrously ugly baby with an adorable name. So after a day of walking around randomly saying "chillow" and amusing myself with things like "I saw an armadillo, sleeping on its chillow!" and "It's a chillow! it's a pet! it's a chillow pet!", I decided to get down to business.

The directions intimidated me because it looked confusing. Lots of pictures, bold font (thankfully not Comic Sans), and specific instructions. I read them carefully and it actually turned out to be very easy. Pour the water in carefully and then smooth out the air bubbles. What you wind up with is a vacuum packed looking flat "pillow" with what looks like a gel pack inside. Then you store it in a cool, dark place for 3-5 hours and it will be ready to go.

I tried it last night. The verdict? It will be wonderful in warm weather, or if I ever run a fever/have a headache. It feels nice, but it was too cold last night to be of much use. I am soooo excited to try it again under warmer circumstances!

Edited to add: I had a headache Wednesday night and my chillow was a godsend! I highly recommend that everyone get a chillow.

Best Buy

I took a trip to Best Buy this afternoon to research laptops and netbooks. When I walked through the doors, I was instantly put off by the aroma of body odor with a hint of Indian food. Body odor curry. Yikes. Suggest Best Buy do something about this such as insist their clientele take showers before coming to their store.

Ants: Menace to society

Anyone who knows me knows I suffer from a mild to moderate phobia of ants. It doesn't consume my life completely, but it has a strong hold on me, especially in the spring and summer months. It is a gripping fear which influences my decisions on footwear, outdoor excursions, and other things. I am somewhat obsessive about ant poisons (shout out to Amdro Ant Block for being the greatest product of all time. OF ALL TIME.)
I was just writing an email about my fear of ants and how much I hate them. I recalled an incident from childhood and wonder now if this was the event that created The Fear.
I was probably 7 or 8 years old. Carefree.
I was playing in my backyard, a supposedly safe place. I had a swing set with attached slide. I was climbing up the slide ladder when I spied an at at the top of my slide. More annoyed than fearful, I flicked it away. Callously, carelessly. I continued my ascent towards the top of my slide.
When I arrived at the top, I sat down, ready for a super fun trip back to the ground.
Instead, a black ant, suspiciously similar to the one I had recently flicked away, came running up to me and bit my hand. I was shocked. Was this the same ant I had just battered? Was it one of his friends out for vengeance? I'll never know. But I know I have hated ants for as long as I can remember.
And I always will.

There are many things I hate about ants. Their legs, their bodies, their faces. I hate how they travel with their posse at all times. They have no qualms about showing up at your house with their entire family, and making themselves right at home. "Oh hi, we're in your kitchen drinking the water out of your sponge. Hope that's cool."
They have no fear of humans. An ant will come right up to you, look you dead in the eye, thump its own chest and be like "And whut? Whutchu goin' do?" They don't care. Any other insect will crawl/fly away. An ant will pull a switchblade on you in a heartbeat. Do not be fooled by movies and programs that attempt to make ants loveable or even "cute" (A Bug's Life, ANTZ, Ms. Spider's Sunny Patch Friends.) This is crap and propaganda. Ants are not cute, they are vicious and heartless. They do not have souls.

do not be fooled by this. ants are not cute, they are not capable of smiling, and they are not your friends. they will eat you alive if given the chance.

Want to know the scariest thing about ants? they can bite over, and over, and over again, and nothing happens to them. a bee, if it stings you, is going to die. they commit one act of revenge or self-defense, and then they die. a spider? a spider is not going to mess with you unless you make it fear for its life. it doesn't bite purely to be a bastard, it bites for a reason.
ants? they bite just because. they're crawling across your leg? "oh, let's randomly bite this person for no reason. they didn't do anything to me, but I'm going to bite because I'm an ant" Ants are jerks. AMDRO ANT BLOCK FOR LIFE.

I leave you now with some original art work. I know, I know, raw talent....should be in a gallery....hear it all the time....but I do it for the art. And the hatred of ants.

Random observations from recent weeks...

I haven't been using my blog lately and as a result the only real collection of my thoughts comes from my Facebook in the form of status updates. So I've decided to pull a few of them and compile them into one blog post. Maybe I will do better with updating this, it is always somewhere at the back of my mind. The way back. Covered in dust and spiders. It's scary back there.

Without further ado, my life in the form of Facebook statuses (stati? I never know which is correct?)

November 25th, 2011: so I just taught Courtney how to lock/unlock the doorknobs throughout our house. i kind of feel like i'm in that moment of Jurassic Park where the people have realized that the velociraptors can open doors.


November 19th, 2011: tonight when I was walking my dog, Murray ,he snagged and carried with him some trash. I assumed it was a fast food bag or some other paper product. He carried it for about 2 miles and when we returned home, I took it from him to see what it was. It was a bunch of ruled notebook paper, soggy with Murray slobber. Upon further inspection, it was a collection of love poems very obviously written by a teenage girl (complete with text style misspellings and dotting her "i" with a big dumb circle) for a boy. I'm sad to say the boy must have thrown her anthology out on the street for Murray to find and drool on, and for me to read out loud. Thanks Murray!!!! ♥

November 16th, 2011: while watching Oswald with my daughter this morning before work, she turned to me and said "I don't like that rabbit" - the character is this weird creepy rabbit that doesn't talk. He always kind of freaks me out too, but I never said anything. I asked "Why don't you like him?" and she turned to me with eyes big as saucers and said "because he never, ever talks, and waves with his ear." When I asked if she thought he was creepy, she said "YEAH!" lol i was so relieved to find another person who finds that rabbit unsettling!!!
(note: only appreciated if you have small children and are very familiar with Oswald)

November 14th, 2011: a rogue ant just crawled across my bedroom wall. this is november. why??? at least now i know my heart is working, because i'm pretty sure it stopped beating for a second before it went into absolute hyperdrive. sooo scary :( was able to recover from the paralyzing fear enough to smash it with a notebook but now i am totally freaked out. they aren't supposed to be around in the fall/winter, they terrorize me all spring and summer and i think that's enough. i need 2 seasons of the year where i can live without fear, that's all i ask.

November 9th, 2011: for those who have had falls and accidents and such, i can top them all. i mopped the kitchen floor tonight. i was aware that a mopped floor would be wet and therefore slippery. i gave the floor what i thought was enough time to dry, and eventually went back to the kitchen to put a bag in the garbage can. i walked into the room at a normal pace and the floor slipped out from under me. i crash-landed in a decidedly not-so-graceful manner. my ego was severely bruised during this fall, and my clothes were wet from the definitely NOT dry floor. also I may have broken my toe, no big deal.

November 6th, 2011: i don't want to brag, but i have a sneaking suspicion that i am some kind of technological mastermind as i have just successfully reset both of my digital watches to reflect the time change. don't hate on these mad skills.

December 17th..wool overload

just returned from a feeble attempt at winter clothes shopping. currently suffering from PTSD [post traumatic shopping disorder].
it was awful. sweaters everywhere. so much wool.
I tried on a replacement for the Granny sweater but my oh-so-helpful 4 year old kindly informed me that it made my butt "not look good" (it was a long sweater) so I hung it up on the rack of shame. There was a shirt I liked, and she told me it didn't look good. Usually when I am in a dressing room I am left alone with my embarrassment. Shopping with a 4 year old ensures that anyone else trying on clothes nearby can share in my humiliation! Oh joy!

She said she was playing a game. A game where she told me what looked good, and what didn't. I think it was more like a "How low can Mommy's self esteem go" game. Self esteem limbo!!