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On Visiting National Parks

Surfing the Internet this morning, I came across an article in the Anchorage Daily News about a guy who got attacked by a rabid wolf. I read the short article, which led to this radio segment on the Alaska Public Radio Network. I only visited Alaska once (I will go back), but I’ve read quite a few books, too. The Kuskokwim River mentioned in the broadcast is very remote. While surfing, I stumbled across a cool, short video taken while some folks were kayaking at Kenai Fjords National Park. To see the video, look at this Blog post, making sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see the short video clip. It reminded me of our trip last year when the orcas swam right under our tour boat.

National Parks are cool. Hubby and I are going to have to make it a point to see more of the National Parks in Maryland. I think we’ve only been to six. Did you know the BW Parkway is a National Park? Hey, I could visit that one today! But why?

He and I are already planning to add some District of Columbia National Parks to our “visited” list in October.

I’ve never actually tallied how parks we have visited, but here are some of my favorite National Park pictures.

Glacier Bay National Park – Alaska


Denali National Park – Alaska




Badlands National Park – South Dakota


Devils Tower National Monument – Wyoming


There’s more, but finding and posting these images is far more time-consuming than I had anticipated. It’s a gorgeous day here in Maryland, so I need to get out and enjoy it!

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That One Sweet Shot

I take lots of pictures. Some are pretty good. Some are not so good.

But every now and then I capture that one image that makes all the trial and error worthwhile.

The girls and I stayed home from WV this weekend. I figured since I was home, I’d go see the grandkids.

Of course I had to ask them to line up for a picture. They complied nicely and I got this image.

Technically speaking, it’s not a great shot. I mean, it’s okay. They look cute and all, but don’t they always? The flash fired, too, so I’m not crazy about the light.

I asked Brianna to step forward a bit then clicked a few more times. That’s when I got this…

Is that priceless or what? I didn’t tell them to act goofy or anything. They just decided to ham it up for me. And I am so glad. I absolutely love this picture.

Amy doesn’t think they look normal in the second shot. I disagree. I think the second shot is way cuter than the first. It shows their personalities. The lighting was perfect, too, which always helps. Natural light is so much better than flash.

So that’s my one sweet shot of the day.

As a side note… a big thanks to those of you who admitted to following me. I’m still hopeful more will jump on the bandwagon soon. Seven followers is better than three, but I know there are more of you out there. Learn how to become a follower here.

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If Your Friends Jumped Off a Cliff…

…would you follow them?

I’m hoping you’re the kind of person that would say, “But of course.”

Because I’m about to ask something of you. You see, I am…

It’s pretty simple, really. I’d just like more people to admit that they actually read my blog. Or at least stop by periodically to see all my cool pictures, read about my wonderful Hubby, SNOOP, admire my dogs, marvel at my adorable grandchildren, follow our motorcycling trips and/or see just how boring my life really is.

Now I know there are quite a few people who read this blog. But only three have admitted to being followers. The funny thing is, I don’t know any of them. But I love, Love, LOVE them just the same. Because they’ve stepped up and admitted publicly that they read my humble little blog.

Becoming a follower is easy. If you are reading this through Facebook (or perhaps on your Crackberry), the first thing you have to do is go to my actual blog. Look for the followers gadget (shown in the following image at lower right).


It’s the little box that looks like this.
Click on the button that says Follow, and this window should pop up…


Use one of the designated account types to sign up and just follow the prompts that are presented.

It’s that simple.

I won’t know when or even if you are reading. So, you could sign up to be a follower and never come back again. If you wanted. By why would you do that? Then you’d miss out on all the fascinating and fun stuff I write about.

I ask this for a couple of reasons. One, it would just make me feel good to know I can prove the existence of more than three readers. Two, if new folks stumble across my blog and see that I only have a limited number of followers, they won’t think it’s worth hanging out to explore.

Besides, one day when I am rich and famous (as a result of what, I have yet to figure out), you can tell people, “I know ToadMama. I’ve been following her blog for years.”

Please sign up to be a follower.

Pretty please?

Pretty please with sugar, whipped cream and a cherry on top?

Tell your friends to sign up, too. And tell them to let their friends know, as well.

Won’t you please help? Click that Follow button now. Or click here.

As Oleta Adams sang, “I don’t care how you get here, just get here if you can.”

Thanks in advance!

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September’s Thirsty Third Thursday

Yesterday was the last Thirsty Third Thursday (TTT) of 2009 for Shannon, the oldest of the three younger humans we parented. She’ll be leaving for her around-the-world journey in less than two weeks. Yikes! The closer it gets, the more real it is starting to feel.

Anyway… since she’ll be away for a while (a year!) we decided last night should be special. Not only did we let Shannon pick the place, we let her invite two guest revelers, too.

The place was none other than Helen’s Garden, a cute little restaurant in Baltimore’s Canton neighborhood. That’s my absolute favorite TTT venue.

Helen’s has a very nice happy hour. You’ll especially like it if you are a wine drinker. They have half-price appetizers from 5:00-7:00 PM and half-price wine all day until 8:00 PM. Any glass of wine on the wine list is included, which is cool because you get to sample all sorts of wine that you may not take a chance on otherwise. They’ve got great food, too. And an awesome bartender, named Tim. He’s this nice, wholesome, down-to-earth guy (not one iota of bartender sleaziness) who is very good with wine recommendations and takes fabulous care of us when we’re there.

The guest revelers were Shannon’s very good friend, Laura, and Laura’s baby, Ruby.

Shannon has known and talked about Laura for years. I’m so glad to have finally met her. She’s an absolute delight. Amy and I decided she could be one of our TTT stand-ins while Shannon is away. We haven’t told her that yet, but I’m sure she’ll be happy to oblige.



Ruby was a big hit. She is just under six months old, and was very well-behaved.

Tim, the bartender, was nice enough to snap this photo for us.

Here are some other random images from the evening…



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What’s the Difference?

Many of you have noticed that I haven’t said much about my running lately. That’s because I’ve really been struggling. And no one likes to blog about what a failure they are.

I’ve never liked distance running. Not even when I was young and in my athletic prime. I don’t like it any better now, but I know it’s a necessary evil. What I don’t know is why I can run better/farther/faster on some days than others? What’s different?

Is it something I am eating/not eating or drinking/not drinking? Is it the temperature? How about the humidity? Is it the route? It can’t be the shoes.

Or is it because as I struggle to run three miles I’m thinking, “If three miles is this hard, what’s ten going to be like? TEN. More than three times as far as this.”

I did get a bit off track in late-August when I had to have some medical stuff done. I didn’t quit, though. But when I resumed training, I was nowhere near being able to run for 29.5 minutes (my personal best, sad as that is). I think 15 straight was the most I achieved over the past few weeks.

Yesterday was a bad day for me. For whatever reason, I ate more for dinner than I have in weeks (2 large slices of pepperoni pizza and a salad). Then later, I ate a bowl of ice cream. I’d eaten ice cream the previous night, too.

So this morning, as I set out, I wasn’t all that optimistic about my chances. But here’s what I managed to do… run for 22 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, run for 3, walk for 2 and run for 1.

Was it all the extra carbs? I hope not! I can’t make a habit of that. I’m only 8 ounces shy of my 30-pounds lost milestone.

Or was it the extra water I’d taken in? The cooler temperature (63 degrees and cloudy)? The fact that I ran a counter-clockwise instead of clockwise route? The fact that I avoided a couple key hills? Or is it because I’m not carrying that 10-mile monkey on my back, as my friend Kathy referred to it?

Unfortunately, you read right. I am not doing the Army Ten-Miler after all. Call me a loser. Go ahead. You can. I know it is disappointing. But I also know that 10 miles is just beyond me right now. If I liked running, maybe I could do it. Maybe. I don’t know.

I do know I’m going to keep plugging away. It would be nice to be able to say, “I run three miles, three times a week.” And I am still losing weight. My BMI is right on the edge of “normal” and “overweight.”

It would make me even happier to say I have finally returned to normal.

Time will tell, I guess.