Charlotte All-Star Race

My very first trip to Charlotte for the All-Star race!

very good seats

very nice sunsets

very cool pre-race show

very cool driver introductions

very important driver #1 (Mark Martin)

very important driver #2 (Dale Jr)

very last race for Dale Jarrett

very close to the start of the All-Star race!

very badly-placed pole

very excited winner Kasey Kahne

I've got to learn how to use my camera better in certain situations. Maybe it couldn't be helped... but as you can see, many of these pictures are dark. I could either get bright, blurry pictures, or dark, sharp pictures. Oh well... it was still fun!

Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks to all those who have served our country and made it possible for us to continue enjoying the freedoms that we take for granted these days. And an even bigger thanks to those who have died or been wounded while serving our wonderful country. THANK YOU!

Relay

Our Relay for Life was last night. The small county that we live in has about 10,000 residents, and we raised about $46,000 for the American Cancer Society this year. Woohoo!

Our team holds a womanless beauty contest each year. Here are the three contestants from this year:

Amelia Rodriguez

Hermistine

and our Queen, Bertha the Bearded Lady

Needless to say, a fun time was had by all. =)

ugly princesses DO exist!

I see SO MUCH wrong with this cake... but my cousin liked it, and it tasted good. That's all that really counts anyway, right?

Speaking of wrong...

that's racin'

This would be the burnout smoke of the winner (not Jr) of the Richmond race...

This would be Kurt Busch's car being hauled away...
This would be my Marky-poo...
This would be Juan Pablo Montoya, who arguably received the loudest "boo" before the race. Who knew that the guy standing next to him, Kyle Busch, would receive the loudest "boo" after the race, along with a wave of middle fingers as he circled the track...
These would be some of the most patriotic people in our country (and watching the Blue Angels fly over was, for lack of a better word, AWEsome)...
And this would be an explanation of what happened if you don't watch NASCAR.

poopie puppy

So, if you were ever wondering how to give a dog Pepto, try this:

Yes, I realize this looks disgusting, but ... whatever works! My poor puppy has had runny poop (some was downright watery) for a week now. The vet recommended Pepto. If you want to see something funny, just put a little dab of Pepto on your finger and let your dog lick it. The face they make trying to get that crap out of their mouths is hilarious! Anyway, since we really needed our poor puppy to drink the Pepto, Alpine suggested mixing it in rice. She loves rice. I usually make it with chicken broth if she's got an upset belly. She smelled the rice and was really looking forward to eating it... what an unpleasant surprise she got! hahaha... I think her love for rice overcame her distaste for Pepto, since she got most of this awful-looking pink nightmare down. The verdict is still out on the poop, but we successfully got two doses in her!

anniversaries

The first will probably be the worst... but Virginia Tech will be surrounded by an entire nation tomorrow.

destruction

Friday as I finished up lunch and got ready to head back to work, the sirens came on and this is what I saw (this was the tail end of it... you can hear the siren wind down). It isn't as dramatic as the swirling I first saw when I looked outside, but it's still swirling:

There were 4 confirmed tornadoes in our county that day within about 10 minutes of each other... and not far from our house! This first picture was taken just over the hill from my house, where the video was taken. It was one of the two F-1s... the last two pictures were taken in areas where two F-2s hit.

Did I mention that I'm not real crazy about tornadoes?

Hello, nurse!

So, Alpine took his LPN board exam Friday, and sweated all weekend. I mean, really sweated, and tossed and turned and ... Sunday, glorious Sunday, he found out that he passed his exam! Even better, yesterday Alpine officially became Alpineman, LPN, according to the Kentucky Board of Nursing. Woohoo, Alpine! (sorry I couldn't find an appropriate male nurse image out there... =)

my inner nerd

A fellow nerd sent me this game. My first go of it, I only got 17... the second time, I got 26. I can't seem to remember 26 anymore, but it's fun trying. You may or may not enjoy it! Check out some of the other games as well... Presidents, States, etc.

http://www.sporcle.com/games/elements.php

race weekend

I went to Bristol a few weeks ago... but the only day I had tickets to the track was rained out! I had a ticket to Pole Day Friday... here are some pictures:




















































Dale Jr's new ride
















F-18s practicing for the prerace show
















Dale Jarrett's final race
















Inspection
















Jamie McMurray being interviewed (then a fuzzy zoom)
































Bobby Labonte































Kasey Kahne

more snow pictures

Here are some more snow pictures - this time, after the sun came out. Some of the prettiest snow pictures include the bluest sky... but the snow doesn't last long under that blue sky!

snow!

Since we’ve not seen snow in a while, I thought it’d be nice to remember some pointers:

First, make sure you don’t eat any yellow or dirty snow. Here are some examples of what I’m talking about:

Once you know what to look for...

...then you can enjoy the scenery...

...and have some fun!

what the...

First of all, I don't understand the violence or the desire / will to kill someone. Don't get me wrong - I've known a handful of people that I think the world would be much better without - not to mention those "famous" pieces of crap that have left their mark on the world. But never would I be ok with actually pulling the trigger on someone who wasn't trying to kill me first.

Next, I don't understand why people still believe that "gun free zones" are safe and - gasp! - gun free. Since last April - not even a year! - we have had Virginina Tech , Louisiana Technical College, and Northern Illinois University. Now, in just two days, we have two more college students shot and killed on or near campus: the first at Auburn, the second at UNC - Chapel Hill.

I realize that these last two incidents are quite different from the first three, but I can't tell you how many times I had to walk across a large campus at night... early in the morning, late at night, whenever. Once, in broad daylight, I was followed by a bum for a couple of blocks when walking home from campus. I wasn't about to lead him to my apartment, so I went to a nearby Burger King. So did he. I went straight to the bathroom and stayed there for 10 minutes... luckily, he was gone by then. I was not on campus at the time, but I came from campus. Had I been able to carry, I may not have felt as helpless and afraid. I currently work on a college campus, and assume the position of "sitting duck" if someone came into by building with a gun. "Gun free zones" are only gun free for those who follow the rules. Doesn't anyone realize that criminals don't follow the rules?!? Why doesn't this make sense to otherwise sensible people?