Just a cool picture looking upstream on the Truckee River east of Sparks where I helped do some surface water sampling a few weeks ago. FYI, the Truckee is the only outflow of water from Lake Tahoe. It flows through the Reno/Sparks area and is their main water supply. What remains of the Truckee after that, plus the treated effluent that gets returned to it, flows into Pyramid Lake, which is a terminal lake...meaning water flows in, but nothing flows out.
This past Sunday was my 25th birthday. I'm officially half-way through my twenties...a quarter century old. Ugg. But yeah, I guess I should look on the bright side--I can rent a car on my own now! My birthday was a lot of fun. Justin got me a dozen pink roses and took me to see the broadway show "Oklahoma" at the Pioneer Center in Reno. It was a great show. I even think Justin liked it! We then went out for a few drinks with some friends followed by dinner at the Ichiban Japanese steak house. That place is cool. Dinner and a show. Thanks to all who sent me b-day cards! I really appreciate it.
Tossing around bowls of fried rice.
And another successful trip has been completed...and a good time was had by all. Wednesday night I flew into Houston and almost drown from all the humidity in the air. You really do have to breath harder in a climate like that! Mom, Dad and I stayed in the plush camper, until we had camper Evac. 2006. See the Green's page for details. We went to east beach on Galveston Island on Thursday just prior to seeing some loggerhead sea turtles and did some home searching for Rob and Melissa. Sure wish houses were as cheap in the Reno/Carson area as they are down there! It was great to see and spend time with the family. We celebrated Luke's b-day on Thursday (his actual birthday) and mine on Friday (two days early). I have yet to take a picture of my birthday present...I'll post it as soon as it is installed.
Luke had fun with his toy bus on the beach. Notice the Thomas swimming trunks, shirt and water shoes! This boy loves his Thomas!
Luke with his new Thomas PJ's and hat from Grandma and Grandpa
The whole Green fam-damily.
I'll be traveling to Texas on this week to spend a few days with my brother and his family. My parents will be arriving too. Thursday is my nephew, Luke's, 2nd birthday...so we'll all get to celebrate it with him, and my b-day is Sunday. Here's a recent picture of Luke and his folks.
So, as I'm prone to doing, I locked my keys in Libby last night. It's usually when I am talking on my cell phone and arrive at my driving destination. I'll sit there in the car talking and do not leave the car until the conversation is over...this time I was talking to my Dad. (No fault of yours Dad!) Then I simply get out of the car and lock the doors...you know, the same routine everytime. Except the keys are still in the ignition. No problem....realizing I have this bad little habit, I went and had 2 spare door keys made and placed them in "key" locations (I only have one ignition key because it's electronic and I would have to pay over $100 to get another one.) But the problem was that they keys did not fit the dang door!!! And yes, I know you'll are thinking, "didn't she check to see if the keys worked when she had them made?" YES, I did....well kind of. I had one made, checked it, but realized it wouldn't work in the ignition so told the guy I didn't want it. Then went back a few days later to have a few made just so I could get in the door...and I didn't check those ones. So, my bad.
Anyho...AAA to the rescue! They came within a half hour and just slid an over-sized metal nail file with a hook on the end between the door and the window and within 30 seconds the door was open. The guy told me "oh yeah, Jeeps are really easy to bust into." Great...exactly what I wanted to hear!!
After two weekends spent at Lenscrafters, I (and in this case when I say I, I mean Justin and I) finally decided on a new set of frames for me. Here's a before and after shot.
Justin and I have been taking west coast swing dance lessons since last November (well we just started up again after a 1.5 - 2 month break...I'm just outta town too much!). It's a ton of fun and we've started in the "novice" class or Level 2. When most people think of swing dancing that that big band music starts playing in their head. It's just not the case for west coast...that music in your head is called east coast swing. Here's a good explanation of it from the swing dance club in Reno called the "Biggest Little Swing Dance Club" http://www.blsdc.org/
West Coast Swing is a grandchild of the popular "Jitter-bug", also known as the "East Coast Swing" and "Lindy", of the 1930's and 1940's. In the 1950's, when dancing was very popular and dance floor space was at a premium, Southern California dancers refined their dancing to dance in what is called a "dance slot", as opposed to dancing in a small circle. The "slot" method allows more dance partners on a dance floor than that of the East Coast, Lindy, and Jitterbug swing varieties.
Since it was invented on the West Coast, it became known as "West Coast Swing" or WCS for short. West Coast Swing is danced to blues, funk and R&B music, which is a slower beat than that danced by the other swing dances. There are basic patterns with quick turns and spins, but as the dancers improve, they are able to improvise and syncopate to the music so that what you see is a sexy, smooth dance, that is timed to the beat, lyrics, or various instruments of the music being played. "Once you see West Coast Swing, you'll want to learn it."
Is spring ever going to come?
Saturday Justin decided he had enough of his beautiful curls and shaved them off! By the time he was done the better part of a 5 gallon bucket was full of locks. Just kidding, but there was a lot of hair in that bucket...talk about some thick hair!
