A new camera

 Santa Dwight bought me a new camera so today has been a day to try and learn as much as I can about it and I'm learning... in the meantime, these are a few shots

Memories

Xanderisms

I wish I could remember all the funny things Xander says, but maybe this will give you an example of why I laughed this weekend.

Scene 1: Dwight, Xander, Oscar, and Dixie were in the basement putting wood in the furnace. Dwight turns around and there's a puddle on the floor.

Dwight asks "Did the dogs do that?"

Xander (smiling) "No, that was me"

Not wanting a repeat performance of Scene 1, I take Xander to the bathroom a couple of hours later. I put him in front of the toilet and all things look like they are a "go"

Xander says "Sorry, it's empty"

Later, I'm fixing dinner and Xander says" I have a problem"

Me"Ok, what's the problem?"

Xander "I can't find the ball"

I find the ball and crisis is avoided.

Fifteen minutes later

Xander "I have another problem"

me "Ok, what's up buttercup?"

Xander "My cup is empty"

Juice in the sippy cup and all is well again

Ten minutes later

Xander " I have a big problem"

Me (trying not to laugh, how big can a three year old's problem possibly be?) "What is it?"

Xander " There's poop in the hallway"

Sure enough, someone had an accident-probably had the crap scared out of them by airplanes and multiple balls being thrown. Cleaned up. All was good for a while.

The next morning started around 3 am (no friggin' joke)

Xander is flying his airplane and the little man falls out.

Xander just looks at the fallen man and exclaims "Poor little fellar"

Mean while, I'm choking down some coffee and preparing chocolate gravy-the only thing I am capable of making at three am.

Xander eats about half his bowl and gets down and tells me

"Chocolate gravy makes me run fast"

Me "Let's see"

so he runs to the end of the all way and back and makes a couple loops around the kitchen table.

Then another bite

"See I told you"

and he continues this Indy 500 race lap until the gravy is gone and I'm trying very hard not to laugh as he falls back asleep by 6 am.

The Green Monster

Every one knows jealousy is an ugly green monster, but some times you can tame that green monster into something manageable.
The green monster reared it's head when I was watching my father-in-law and my grandson play with air planes in my living room. They made different air plane noises and laughed and played and they went outside for a walk. I love to watch them hold hands.
I never me either of my great -grandfathers. They were gone before I arrived. The same for my father's father. I knew one grandfather. I don't remember us every playing airplanes or holding hands. I know he drank his coffee black, but I couldn't tell you his favorite kind of ice cream or if he even liked ice cream. He didn't know of any of my tickle spots. I don't ever remember hearing him laugh or seeing him play. He must have, he was a boy once.
My grandson and his great grandfather took a walk to the air plane hanger. Xander had his first plane ride with his great grandfather aka Poppa Ralph. I was so surprised that Xander was so brave. He loved every minute of it and I'm glad my husband got their landing on video.
My grandpa flew a plane too, but I never saw it. I don't know if it was sold before I arrived or if it was just too dangerous for children and that's ok with me-I'm just excited that Poppa Ralph and Xander can share their love of planes.
After the adventure on the plane, Xander decided he needed some action on the ground and told his Poppy that it was time to ride the lawn mower. Of course, the John Deere came out of the basement and it was used unit it was lunch time.
There there was time to ride the four wheeler, eat ice cream, and play fetch with the weeny dogs.
I remembering talking to my grandpa and maybe walking around his house.
I hope one day that Xander realizes how truly lucky he is to know his grandpa and great grandpa. I hope he treasures memories with each one. Not everyone can remember back to being three years old, but there are photos and videos to help him remember.

Rainy days

So when it's rainy out I feel like Dixie and I don't want to get out of bed. We both hate the alarm clock with a passion.

Christmas Wishes

As long as I can remember, I have asked my kids to give me a Christmas with at least five things on the list. They should expect only three and I would do my best. When they were toddlers, I did this to make Christmas a little less of an overload of toys-their aunts, uncles, and grandparents all bought for them and it was a LOT. Later, I did it to make things easier on me-I wasn't trying to run down 20 things for each kid and remember where I stashed them. Add to that my hatred of wrapping-and you got it-three things for each kid. Wrapping less than 10 things, This I could handle. Then, Beth got married, I got two step sons, an added daughter,  and a grand child. Still I can handle wrapping for 7 kids. But, things have changed for me. It's not about getting them what they want, it's about seeing them happy. Truly happy. This isn't something I can find in a store or wrap in a box. Honestly, it's not even up to me. The only person that can make you truly happy is yourself. So, I'll pray that they find this happiness. That they love themselves as much as I do and that they realize how uniquely gifted and special that they are.

No deer today

Well once again Bambi is safe. I saw three does and managed to get a random shot off as they ran past my stand.
But, it was an interesting day to go hunting. The moon was not full but very bright. Bright enough to cast shadows. I walked to my stand solo. Half of the trip I tread very quietly through the leaves gripping my loaded gun. I was being so quiet until the coyote let out a howl. I don't know how close he was, but I made it up my stand in record time. Never mind that the ladder had frost on it and was very slippery-I bounded up all thirteen rungs. Then I watched the stars twinkle for a little bit and the dawn break. I really miss having a good camera when I see something like that-it was a pink, purple sunrise. About thirty or forty minutes after sunrise, a fog rolled in. The fog looked really pretty if you didn't pay attention to the lovely temperature. You would think that the sun's arrival would raise the temperature a degree or two. Nope, a balmy twenty-eight degrees all morning. I think the doe were running to stay warm.
Better luck tomorrow.

Last chance week end

If you don't drive a four wheel drive or tote a gun, you probably don't realize that this week end is the last week end to kill deer with a modern gun. I have not shot one this year-shot at one and missed but nothing in the freezer was killed with one of my bullets which really sucks because I've found a new recipe for deer meat and it's wonderful-really I've made it and watched it disappear faster than a buck evading my bullets.
Here's the recipe. Wish me luck in the woods.

Korean Beef Bowl

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Yield 4 servings

Cheater korean beef bowl - tastes just like Korean BBQ and is on your dinner table in just 15 minutes!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Cooked rice, for serving

Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat. Stir in soy sauce mixture and green onions until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
• Serve immediately with rice.

Thanksgiving leftovers

Since I'm still eating turkey sandwiches, I feel it's totally appropriate to share the Thanksgiving Notes written on my Thanksgiving table cloth. If you didn't get the memo, you were supposed to write something that you were thankful for on the table with the red marker. There were 20 people there Thanksgiving Day and only 18 notes so I'll omit the names.
1. "I am thankful for the Indians trusting Americans to create this great holiday-I am sure the Indians regretted that."
2. "I an doubly blessed-two wonderful families."
3. "I am thankful for Mom"
4. "I am thankful for turkey"
5. "I am thankful for my wonderful family"
6. "I am thankful for family and love"
7. "I am thankful for my boys...& wine"
8. "I'm thankful to always be surrounded by people I love no matter where I am"
9. "I am thankful for the supportiveness of my wife as I pursue my ambitions"
10. "I'm thankful that I get to be with Family this Thanksgiving"
11. "I'm thankful for this team and this family and Robyn and Connor"
12. "I'm thankful for second chances"
13. "I am thankful for beer & pizza...oh, and my family"
14. "I am thankful for guns & buns (my honey bun)
15. "I am thankful for you all"
16. "I am thankful for mopar, my girl friend and wonderful family and my third grade teacher"
17. "Thanksliving-living each and every day being grateful for you all!I love my family"
18. "I am thankful to be here with people that I love"

All in all, I love the table cloth and will treasure it for years. I had a great time and have lots of happy memories.

it's on The December Challenge

I marveled at Lee's commitment to doing one full month of blogging. She works full time, volunteers in her community, and has two active boys. So what's to keep me from trying the same thing?
Well, I'm unorganized as hell. The dauchunds might hit the delete button-they've been know to do that,  and it's Christmas season-the busiest time of the year for companies like the one that I work for.
On the other hand, putting things down might help me get a little bit more organized and motivate me.
So let's start with some celebrating.
I have my Christmas cards done-not addressed or in the mail, but printed out (much thanks to Lee).
I found eleven cents on the ground today-beats gum or dog turds on the bottom of my shoe.
I remembered to make Dwight's dinner and bring mine to work.
My dogs have not eaten my salt dough ornaments.
I wore some new jeans today-and they fit which is really amazing since I bought them a size smaller than I normally wear (but they were so cute and I really, really liked that pattern on the pocket). So they fit-my butt is happy. This size smaller is less than a week from Thanksgiving mind you.
About the jeans, if you contribute twenty dollars to the Angel Tree at work you can wear jeans the entire month of December. I see a lot of denim in my future.
So there you have it-the start to a month of blogging and maybe my celebrations might get a little wilder.

Going Places

The Dali Lama has been quoted as saying "Once  a year go someplace you've never been before"
I really thought I had met this yearly requirement. I saw the Oregon Coast, Mount St. Helen's, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Valley of fire,  Devil's punch bowl,  Devil's churning, Long Beach, Glacier Park, Yosemite Park, the West side of the Grand Canyon-you get my drift. I've been a lot of places this year that I haven't been before so my adventures have been put on hold and I was getting ready for the upcoming holidays.
But sometimes God has other plans and you don't have a choice.
I ignored some chest pains until they returned a third time with a vengeance. I left work and checked into the hospital in Harrison. They immediately went to work -did you know that there are three types of Nitroglycerin? Got to try them all-not a fan, but no complaints. They won't let you check out of the hospital if your blood pressure does not read normal.
I got to do a stress test, then take an ambulance ride (my very first and hopefully my very last). Then, I checked into Washington Regional hospital. I've visited both hospitals before, but never as an overnight patient. Nice people. Clean rooms. Shitty food menu. I was served English peas at every meal. No joke. I requested pizza and beer and they gave me English peas.
I lost track of how many times they drew blood, but once is much too often in my book. Why can't they just scan your finger like they do when they take your temperature? On Friday morning, I under went a Heart Cath. It's a pretty neat procedure where they send a camera up your arm to look in your heart. I saw my heart, saw it beat, and felt it flutter. Never really wanted to see this, but I'm glad I did.
I wouldn't repeat this whole experience for anything. I'm sorry my loved ones had to worry about me, but I'm grateful for the love and support that I have. My heart is healthy and full of love.

Where? Count down

So every Tuesday I have decided to wrap at least 3 presents. Hopefully, I can get around to getting them all wrapped up before Christmas. If I find them.I know I bought a certain thing for a certain person and I put it in a safe place. So safe, in fact, that it isn't easily seen or found. Not upstairs, not in the blue room, not in my Christmas box. I've got 43 days to find it.

Fate?

I had an interesting conversation with my oldest daughter Beth Sunday morning. She's in a group called the "Environmental Law Society" and they were looking for some non-profit groups that needed a little help. 
Beth told them about a no-kill shelter in Sebastian County that's due to close in a month due to a lack of funds and they all agreed to raise money for the shelter and decided to take it one step further. Surely, there was grant money out there that would help-they wanted to help find grants to keep the shelter solvent.
So with plenty of legal expertise, the group put Beth in charge of contacting the shelter. She had no idea who their grant writer was or if that person would be offended at the offer of more help. Beth put contacting the shelter off to a business day and headed to the dog park on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. With so much homework, this was a treat for Beth, Mellie, and Loki. 
She wasn't there long when a lady commented on her dogs and asked their ages. Beth rambled off Loki's birthday, but told the woman that Mellie was a rescue and so her exact date of birth is unknown. The woman loved rescue dogs and had started working at the Sebastian shelter. She was preparing to start some classes on how to get grants to help them. Beth explained who she was and explained that her friends wanted to raise money for the shelter and write grants too. The woman was thrilled-she almost didn't go to the park that day and now she has professional help with grants.
What if it had been raining that day? What if the woman hadn't spoken? 
I'm glad some people believe that fate stepped in. Me, I think God really likes dogs. Cats, too, but mainly dogs.

The house that built them

This isn't my story so I'll stick to what I've been told. The house behind these people are where Dwight's grandparents lived until they built the house on the hill. Dwight is pictured with his cousins that attended the fall get together down in the holler. Most of these people remember playing at this house and in the Sheldon branch just a couple of yards away. Behind, the house is a cave where Grandma Vernie kept butter, milk, and eggs cold. Grandma was a tall woman and sent her grandkids to fetch things from the cave for her-they didn't mind because she was usually preparing something good to eat like fried pies or cat head biscuits. Grandma Vernie gave birth to her last three children in this house. Ralph was so small they kept in a shoe box to help keep him warm. There were five kids that lived in this house- Edna Leigh, Gail, Fern, J.D. and Ralph. If you were in a walking mood, the Buffalo River is less than a mile away.  Ralph learned to swim in the creek bed leading to the river. Grandpa farmed and ran a saw mill. 
This house is really small for seven people, but I assure you every corner was filled with love.

Another Cold Case file bites the dust 30 years later

yes-you know Halloween just passed and I keep hearing Mom telling us to get our asses to Mr. Beard's house to clean up the mess, but I never rolled Mr. Beard's house.

Umm.....I did.

I rolled some others but not his-didn't matter-what???? you devil you

So you were getting in trouble for the time I rolled his house?

LMAO

hell yes had to clean it up

LOLOLOLOLOL

Hysterical

Mystery solved, eh? LMAO

Nancy Drew at her best

Exactly!

LOLOLOL

Sorry you got busted for something you didn't do. *evil grin*

Happy Birthday Mom

This was taken just three short years ago at Mom's 70th birthday. It's amazing what life can throw at you in three years and how much things can change
and some things don't
Fall will always remind me of Mom. She loved to look at the colors of the leaves changing. She loved the cooler temperatures that inspired more baking. She loved Halloween and dressing up. I think she even loved to tell her grand kids about what rotten teenagers their parents were and what Halloween trouble we had gotten ourselves in.
I had wanted to create a random act of kindness day as a way to remember her birthday so that people would get out and do something nice for others and may be take  their minds off missing her so much, but each time I went to "Create an Event" the words just wouldn't come. Sometimes the tears would, but words escaped me.
So life just went on, and there are a lot of birthdays in October. I bought one for Casey, then Chris, and Beth and I was on my third "Happy Birthday Mom" card before I realized what I was doing and put it back. I got my shit together and braced myself for today. I didn't really need facebook to remind me that it was her birthday, but I enjoyed seeing pictures of her- especially ones that showed her laughing and smiling. And just like always, watching her smile makes me smile.

Patsy Cline - " Crazy" I'll be damn

I have a strange love for Willie Nelson. It's not that he's a looker or even my favorite singer, but I enjoy his songs. I enjoy them, but I don't go belting them out as I clean house or drive down the road unless you count "All of me" . I'll sing along to "It's all going to Pot, Highway men, Blue Eyes crying in the rain" , and even" Whiskey River". I just don't attempt them solo. Imagine my surprise to find out that he wrote on of my all time favorites. I'm so glad he offered "Crazy" to Patsy Cline. I don't think anyone could sing it better.
Still can't believe he wrote it. Butter my butt and call me biscuit.

For dog owners

He is your friend, your partner
your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours, faithful and true, til the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.... author unknown

There's a story behind it

There's a rumor I may have visitors this holiday season, so I'm trying to rearrange/organize the house. I'm starting in the kitchen because that's where people usually enter. My kitchen theme is antique versus country so there's no reason a manatee should be on my wall.
But there's a story behind my manatee. I can't remember if my mom or Aunt Mary gave it to me, but they were both there for my story with the manatee. My kids, my mom, and I were with Aunt Mary and she was taking us places we might get to see manatee. Manatee have no set schedules and are not creatures of habit so they're unpredictable and were endangered at the time so sightings could be slim. We stopped at a river and thought we saw one. I immediately became too excited to think rationally and swam out in the water-you can swim with them but not towards them. We had seen a manatee and in a mater of minutes she came very close to me and I rubbed her belly. She indicated she liked the rubbing by waving her flippers and came back for more. Then she dove down and rubbed her back on my feet. Then back up to the top for a belly rub and back down to my feet. The kids swam out to me and she went out to them too. Then, she just disappeared. We treaded water for a couple of minutes and talked about what a remarkable experience that had been and while my kids and I were talking she swam back to us with her baby. She not only came back, but brought her little one.
That plastic manatee reminds me that dreams come true when you least expect them to. Sometimes, after a rough day, I drag my butt through the kitchen and that plastic mammal makes me smile no matter how tired I am.
There are three barstools at the bar and they have their story too. They are over 30 years old. They have paint on them and are of different heights. But  a long time ago, Dwight worked as a carpenter and helped make chairs and stools. I think this was his first paying job that didn't involve babysitting or yard work.  His boss was a wonderful man named Charles Christian. Some of Charles' chairs have sat in the white house. I'd like to think that they're still there.
There are cake pans on my walls. Some came from Dwight's mom and some came from my own mom. They both made extra money selling cakes and loved to make them for family. I didn't get to see any of Betty's cakes, but I remember the doll cakes my mom made for me and how much I loved them. I always felt sorry for kids with store bought cakes because mom's tasted better.
So my organizing not going as planned and if you should see something a little out of place, I'm sure there's a story behind it.

Treasures

The  24, 25, and 26 of September are the dates for the annual Junkfest. It runs along Hwy 65 starting in Leslie and going as far North as Western Grove. Let's be honest, there is a lot of junk but one man's junk is another man's (or woman's) treasure. I'm sure today was a little slow, being the first day and being a day that a lot of people have to work. I still managed to find a few treasures and spent a whopping ten dollars and fifty cents.

I found some china cups (for a future Pinterest project), a skirt, a container, a ceramic eagle with no chips whatsoever, an antique salt and pepper shaker, and a princess costume for Dixie.

Recipe Nine Texas Caviar

This recipe has nothing to do with Caviar and it's not really spicy, so I have no idea as to how it got it's name "Texas Caviar," but it's really easy to make, It's tasty. I made it for a food day at work and it went really quickly so here it is.

Texas Caviar
2 cans of drained corn
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilies-drained
1 14 ounce can of green chilies drained
1 jalapeno with seeds taken out and diced
1 diced red bell pepper-again no seeds
3 small green onions-thinly sliced
3/4 cup of sour cream
3/4 cup of mayo
1 to 2 tsp of garlic salt
Blend all together and serve with chips

Heavy Heart

It is with a heavy heart that I read that the wild fires in California continue. As of four minutes ago, the "Rough Fire" has consumed 129, 877 acres. I had hoped that maybe the rain we had last week would give them some relief or that fire fighters might catch a break and defeat these monsters.
I had a lump in my throat as we visited The Sequoia National Park. We watched helicopters and planes carry water to areas. Several roads were closed to visitors as safety precautions. The smoke was heavy as we visited and I wondered how long they will be there.

Touristy Stuff

Dwight and I both enjoy nature but sometimes you have to let loose and do some touristy stuff too.
So here's Dwight in Las Vegas-I'll spare you the photo of me losing money.

 And here's me in Fisherman's Wharf minus the musicians.

 Sorry had to get back to nature just a little bit, but this tree isn't one of the biggest and was just on the side of the road. Can you imagine? For reference Dwight is 6 foot one.

Sticking with the reference thing-I am five feet five inches-and this tree's diameter could easily be 8 feet.

Vacation Reality

I didn't get to see the Northern Lights, but Glacier Park was so beautiful that I did not want to leave and we camped in 34 degree weather.

I got to see the Avalanche Gorge, Avalanche Lake, The weeping wall, Going the Sun Road, Lake McDonald, mountain goats and for the first time ever-big horned sheep!
The picture below is Avalanche Gorge:

We got to see some magnificent water falls

and due to something I saw on Pinterest we visited the Devil's Punch bowl-We made it for low tide so it wasn't the same as Pinterest had it pictured, but while we were there we got to see whales and ate some clam chowder while we watched the whales (Dwight's first clam chowder).

The hardest part of parenting

Parenting has never been easy for me. I think it all started with the loss of sleep. My fault for waking up to watch a baby sleep. Some how breathing was more assured if I watched for a couple of hours. Then, came kindergarten and my world walked out my door to a new world beyond. I swallowed the lump in my throat when my child pulled out of the driveway without me grabbing the "oh shit" bar. Along the way, I resisted the impulse to tan another kids' butt for breaking a heart so dear to me. I watched my baby grow and learn. Looking back, it happened in the blink of an eye. So much, so quick.
And the hardest part?
Letting go.
Letting the baby grow up like she's supposed to do.
The first one put me into a toxic relationship with tequila. The second left a huge whole in my heart. It wasn't if we didn't try to see each other every chance we got, but I didn't get to see him every day or every week. I don't know if he ate, or slept well.
Now it's time, for the last birdie to leave the nest and she's not flying around the mountain this time.
I'd grab hold of her leg and beg her not to go, but that wouldn't stop her and would look really awkward.
At some point, every mom wants her child to be happy. She puts her baby's dreams ahead of her own and let's her fly.
It's not easy  this letting go. I'd like to keep her wrapped up safely and close to me, but she wouldn't be happy there and that's just not acceptable.
So I'll do my best to smile when I wave her out of the driveway.

Happy Anniversary

Five years has never flown by so quickly with so much fun, excitement, and happy memories. Love you more today than when we first kissed and hope for many tomorrows.

Wonder lust part three

Vacation time is drawing near. Very near. So close I can smell it. We're doing our final plotting and making final adjustments to our plans. If traffic goes smoothly, we could spend Saturday night in Glacier Park. It would be cold (high today was a whopping 54), there are a few  bears, but there is a chance of seeing the Northern Lights. A very, very small chance-but a chance. They were last seen July 24, 2015.

I know the chances of seeing them are very, very slim; however, if we spend the night in the park we won't have to wait for it to open and I can take more early morning shots of Going the Sun Road, the Weeping Wall, Bird Woman Falls, Avalanche Gorge, McDonald Lake.

But I would really, really like to see the lights just once.

Lee Bell Hovland reading "Mom’s Last Wishes" and Why I love my dogs

So after Dixie and Oscar had played in the sweltering summer heat for a few hours, they came inside to join me for facebook time.  Dixie assumes her position to my left between my leg and the arm rest. One paw under my leg and one over my leg. Her head is resting on her paw over my leg watching the computer intently. Oscar is on the right, sitting in the crook of my arm. While it sounds a little crowded, it's not. We can all see the screen and no one is really cramped. A friend of mine had shared Lee's reading "Mom's Last Wishes". I have only seen it a hundred times, so I hit play once more. Oscar gives me the look-he tilts his head as soon as Lee's voice came on as if to say:"Mom, she sounds just like you." Dixie noticed it too and cocked her head and all three of us watched the screen, listening to Lee's voice.  At a certain point, her voice cracks and that's usually when my tears start to fall. Today was no exception. I'm trying to focus on what she's saying and reliving  the past so I don't notice that Oscar and Dixie have scooted closer to me. I don't notice them until they try ever so gently to kiss every part of my face. You can't be sad with tons of puppy kisses and so before I knew it I was laughing. I know there are scientists that would tell me that they were simply licking salt off my face, but for the record-sweat has much more salt than tears and they don't kiss me after I work in the garden. 

Summer check list

So Summer is well on to being over. Have you gotten your Summer on?

Watermelon? check

Floated the river? done

Enjoyed summer evening? yep

Happy Birthday Dixie and Oscar

 

Being a mother doesn't mean being related by blood.

It means loving someone unconditionally

 And with your whole heart

Hoping to share many, many more birthdays with the both of you.

Wonderlusting part 2

Still counting those days down until vacation. Why-oh-why did I think it was a good idea to wait until Labor Day to get a couple of more added days? We leave in a month and the suitcase is out.

The above picture is of Ramona Falls. We should be able to see it.
And this:

The Weeping Wall on Going the Sun Road in Glacier Park. Then Canon Beach is a given. Please tell me if there is any reason I should not get close to these little star fish. I find them fascinating.

Now this little jewel is nestled somewhere in the hills of San Francisco

and while some may think it's out there-I love it and want my picture taken on it.