Emily Bloss

Today, Aunt Susie and I went to Homosassa Springs State Park to visit the manatees. It’s been cold the last few days so we hoped for manatees gathering at the springs. We did see two wild manatees, hanging out and eating. Here are 5 of the 6 female manatees at the park.

This image has not been squished! Manatees are just really portly like that. And wonderfully graceful in the water - I got some great video of a manatee named Rosie. She was swimming around and around the observation area, and doing barrel rolls on one side of the tank. It was awesome. Perhaps I’ll post a video.

What is it? Guess in the comments.

I use Opera as my primary web browser and email program. I just love it! One of the great features of Opera is the way it remembers what web pages you had open, so whatever you were doing, you can mostly just pick up and go the next time you go into it. The picture below shows what can happen when you’re interested in many things… a lot of times I find a page that looks interesting but I don’t have time right then to look at it or act on it, so I just leave it open, intending to go back and do something. I counted 48 open tabs in this screen shot (click on it for a larger version):

The irony is the middle tab in the pic! See the red O? That’s an article from Oprah.com on Information Overload. Well, at least I can close that one now.

Here’s an artist who does amazing things with paper and glue:

Peter Callesen

This is one of those sites where I can spend a loooooong time just looking at all of the neat stuff.  Thanks, Trav!

Ok, so here are my picks for the top 5 guys and girls this year. It’s really hard to pick the best girls - they’re all so good!

Guys:

• David Archuleta - He’s just so cute! And he’s got a great voice and personality. I went to elementary school with Michael Archuleta and I keep wondering if this is his son… he very well could be, based on age and looks.
• Michael Johns - He reminds me of Jim Morrison, only better, ‘cuz well… he’s alive hehehe. Seriously, though, he has a great voice and is very entertaining to watch. It’s a tie between him and David for who’s my favorite.
• Robbie Carrico - I’m glad there’s a good rocker in the mix.
• Jason Castro - Another cute one and very talented, too. I like his guitar playing.
• Chikezie - Trav & I disagree on this one, but I like his performance and personality a lot. He’s got star quality.

Girls:

• Brooke White - Far and away my favorite of the girls. She just radiates goodness and purity.
• Syesha Mercado - Great performance style makes her stand out for me.
• Alaina Whitaker - Another pure and innocent girl… what would we expect, she’s only 16!
• Carly Smithson - She has an awesome voice but I’m not sure she’s going to go very far in the competition - Simon doesn’t seem to like her much.
• Ramiele Malubay - Cute and sassy, she has real potential.

Based on the previous seasons, I’m sure my favorites will be gone soon… I guess I don’t fit in with the mainstream very well?!? Story of my life.

I’ve been very, very busy lately and haven’t had much time to write. I had a whole big plan about how I was going to pick my top 12 for American Idol, but I haven’t gotten to that yet… maybe this weekend I’ll get to do it.

Today we were reminiscing about living in New York and the subject of indians came up. I was curious about the names of the tribes that live in the Jamestown area, and I found Maps of Native American Tribes. I learned a bit about the indians that used to live in Florida, too… a very sad story as several of the tribes are now extinct. And I was surprised to learn there are currently 21 different tribes recognized in Arizona. Very cool!

We celebrated Valentine’s Day yesterday, by going to see The Golden Compass at Cinema Grill - a theater where Trav gifted me with my favorite flower… hops!! How many hops flowers are in a beer, I wonder? After the movie we had a delicious dinner at Carrabba’s which included tiramisu for dessert. MmmmmmmMMMmMMm!!! It was a wonderful day… thank you, dear!

My mom sent this today - I just love this stuff!! I had been looking for ideas on things to make in addition to Cream Cheese Penguins, and here it is. Thanks, Mom!

What Chefs Do When They Are Bored

I think the next time I have to bring a dish somewhere, I’ll try the frogs and sheep. Also be sure to check out some of the links below the pictures… there’s some funny stuff on there!

What is it? Guesses are welcome in the comments!

For those of you us with a nerd, geek or other techie in your life, here’s a great article with very good insight on understanding your egghead…

The Nerd Handbook from Rands In Repose

I especially like the section about “The Cave.” Hehe!