after a great weekend in Buffalo and returning to metro dc/baltimore/virginia, I have now broken out in a rash or hives or something. it is extremely disgusting. my boss suggested that perhaps I am allergic to this area. hmmm, could be...
I really believe it was the delicious clams that ate at Old Man River yesterday afternoon. Steamed clams, butter and tabasco sauce! Yum. But now my face looks like crapola & my eyes itch and burn too! I love seafood - I can't imagine growing older and becoming allergic to something I love so dearly ;(

most people wander through life in an organized manner. Planned Vacations, Adherence to work schedules, daily routines outlined, etc...
I love organization but I cannot ignore the part of me that craves spontaneity!
this may be a minor disorder or maybe not...
the idea of jumping up and hopping on a plane to spend the day with a friend to celebrate their birthday or hitching a ride to the city for a night on the town is very much part of who I am just as much as the part of me that likes to do absolutely nothing but sleep 10-14 hours straight!

But I don't want to end up the "single life girl" for ever...
When everyone else has a planned out life or I should say a life with certain boundaries that are often inconvenienced by people like me.

but oh well, I am just going to do me for now...

so, I am almost out the door headed for Buffalo to at least buy my very "Great" Friend a drink on her birthday!!!

small glitch: she doesn't know I am coming yet. Just a minor detail. right?

anyone else going to Buffalo Rocks the Harbor tonight?

I need some new hobbies. the "boys as friends" thing doesn't quite cut it anylonger and frankly I am sick of 'em. I never saw it as a hobby but perhaps in the end, they did!
Perhaps I should crochet, read the book of word, or invest in #200 cats and call it a life!!!
(no offense to anyone who leads a life that resembles the above thought)

I need a nap.
But before you fall asleep, remember to VOTE: Buffalo's Best Blog: www.elmwoodstrip.com

part of me can't wait til tomorrow 4:30pm!well most of me can't! ! !
Hittin' the road again; Headed for the Big Apple for the weekend. This weekend I have no idea what's in store but I guess that makes it interesting.But at the same time I have no momentum to do anything right now to prepare... like stepping away from the pc, turning off the tv and packing.
I may get the chance to see my niece and nephew and their parents over the weekend. Bonus! I miss them sooooo much!!!

H *** O *** T !!!

It was 89 here with a heat index of 96+ and it was 84 and climbing inside my office bldg today. Just our floor on 10, the penthouse. Everyone else below was cooler than a cucumber!!! The vents only blew out hot air (that's called HEAT)!!!
So we left! Two days straight of hot temps inside and humidity outside. Now I am in the comfort of air conditioning at my computer compiling complaints... or conversation?
anyway, got errands to run.
Hey does anyone know if (e:Flacidness) moved to NYC yet or whatever?

While my friend Lisa was here visiting we did a lot of sightseeing of DC. (I have a ton of photos-better than these below)
One of the neat things we came across was this relic from the Guaranty / Prudential Building downtown Buffalo onChurch and I think Pearl . I used to work in this building before joining forces with Sam the Man.
The Views were phenomenal! The photos that I took of the bldg when I was there were not digital but film based and I have not scanned them into my digital library of photos yet.
But here is a link of some great shots of the majestic beauty!
And these below are inside the Smithsonian Institute...



I loved the location. Commuting downtown via the trolley train. Going to Market on Thursday afternoons! The live entertainment showcased by M & T in the Summer on the Plaza,Thursday in the Square just around the bend, etc...

Definitely Good Times! Oh and don't forget Pearl Street Brewery just a hop & a skip (no jump necessary) away!!!

I think it's nice to have a little bit of "Buffalo in the Backyard" here!!!

I wish I had my little babies in the pool today! They would have loved the cool blue water. Splish Splashin' all around and smiling!

This means I must start planning another visit to Buffalo soon to see my niece and nephew oh and my peeps of course ('cause I am dying to cut the rug with the true dancing machines up north!!!)!

being my first summer without the taste of buffalo, i must live through you guys on the site. so please post pics for the rest of us <insert sad, pouty puppy face here>
Thanks!
Here are pictures from yesteryear of My Niece @ her first taste of Buffalo!



...meanwhile, I will be lounging in the pool today.

the Giant Panda @ the National Zoo gave birth finally after several years of trying

The National Zoo's panda Mei Xiang gave birth yesterday to a squealing, squirming cub the size of a stick of butter, and elated zookeepers said she is giving it the tender care that befits its status as one of the world's most endangered animals.

Even as they rejoiced in their first panda birth after years of effort, zoo officials cautioned that the coming days are critical to the cub's survival. They praised the mothering skills of Mei Xiang, who was holding a rubber toy at the moment of birth and at first seemed surprised by her squawking cub. But she quickly gave it her full attention.
    

Dr. Suzan Murray, chief veterinarian at the National Zoo, monitors the newborn panda cub Saturday at the zoo.
Dr. Suzan Murray, chief veterinarian at the National Zoo, monitors the newborn giant panda cub via video Saturday at the zoo. (Ho - Reuters)
ABOUT PANDA CUBS

Taken from the National Zoo website:

1. Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and eight years of age; they may be reproductive until about age 20.

1. Female pandas come into estrus (heat) only once a year, in the spring, during a short period of two to three days.

1. When female giant pandas ovulate but fail to conceive, they undergo seudopregnancies, where hormonal changes and behaviors are identical to a true pregnancy, which makes it very difficult to determine if a panda is pregnant.

1. Panda gestation length ranges from 90 to 185 days, with an average pregnancy lasting 135 days. This two-month variation in gestation occurs because the fertilized panda egg usually floats free in the mother's uterus before it implants and begins developing. Once the embryo is attached to the uterine wall in late pregnancy, its development continues until a panda is born

1. A newborn cub weighs 3 to 5 ounces and is about the size of a stick of butter. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for a marsupial (such as the kangaroo or opossum), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother's size.

1. Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months.

1. Any baby born to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian would belong to China, and the National Zoo would likely return the cub to China when it's two years old, so that it could become part of the breeding population there.

1. The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union's Red List of Threatened Animals. It is one of the most critically endangered species in the world.

1. There are about 1,600 left in the wild. More than 160 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, mostly in China.

1. The Smithsonian's National Zoo is one of four U.S. zoos that exhibit giant pandas. The other zoos are in Atlanta, Memphis and San Diego.

"She looked kind of startled for all of about two minutes, and then she picked the cub up," said Lisa M. Stevens, associate curator for pandas and primates. "She picked it right up and began cuddling and cradling it. The cub responded immediately and settled in."

It may be weeks before keepers can get close enough to learn the cub's sex, because the mother will hold it close and they will not intervene unless something goes wrong. A photo released by the zoo shows the newborn -- which weighs perhaps a quarter of a pound compared with its mother's 250 -- resting on Mei Xiang's arm in an indoor den at the Panda House as staff and volunteers watch via closed-circuit cameras in a nearby room.Quoted from: Zoo's Pandas Produce First Cub, High Hopes