Welcome!
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I'm a database programmer, non-fiction writer, science fiction reader, world traveler, jade collector, genealogist, gerbil breeder, amateur photographer, pianist & violinist, and occasional video game addict. My research interests include South American marsupials, left-handedness, Norse mythology and Finnish mythology. There are 273 things on my to-do list of life - seriously. Luckily I'm making excellent progress on them! My husband and I live in Colorado with our two tri-color collies, gerbils, and assorted fish. |
Latest News
| December 2007 - Wow, what an end to November. A friend had his wedding celebration in Taiwan, so I took a week trip to Taipei, a week trip to Bangkok, and almost a week in Hong Kong before heading to my parent's home. During the trip I go to do two things from my life to-do list; visited an active volcano (Taiwan), and took a hot-air balloon ride (Hong Kong)! November 2007 - My father is having both his knees replaced, so I'll be heading to my parent's home for a trip while he recuperates after my Asia trip. My husband and I are also celebrating our fourth anniversary! October 2007 - My job of seven years has ended, so it's on to new challenges! Also, we're taking a cruise to the eastern Caribbean. We're touring a sugar, coffee, and rum plantation in St. Maarten's, visiting the Mountain Top (home of the original banana daiquiri) and Butterfly Sanctuary at St. Thomas and then going snorkeling at Turtle Cove. September 2007 - We celebrated our first year of bringing Kyrie home!
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July 2007 - Us at the Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas |
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June 2007: Alligator wrestling! I have an
official certificate of insanity now (har har har) received from the
Gator/Reptile Park in Mosca, Colorado.
I took a class on alligator wrestling and learned the finer points of catching and picking up the little ones, dragging the bigger ones up on land, tackling them, lifting their front legs off the ground, and then how to scramble up and back while letting them go. Later we were shown to walk through a swamp while ward them off, plus how to stick your hands in the fleshy parts of their mouths and pull their heads back. It was hard work but a lot of fun! The weirdest part was when they breathed, it lifted us up off the ground and you could feel the air rushing into the lungs. Well, that and sticking my fingers in the mouth of an enormous alligator. Luckily my friends and I got through the whole day without so much as a cut or scrape. The photos on the left show me with a small gator, medium sized, and then the bottom is the largest (10 feet long, 600 pounds). Compare the length of his head to my arms/torso! In other June 2007 news, we're heading to Santa Barbara for a cousin's wedding, then driving to Las Vegas. It'll be our first time to Vegas ever (for either of us) so it should be a lot of fun! We're planning on seeing some of the Cirque du Soleil shows, Penn & Teller and some other acts. |
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May 2007: We brought home our second puppy! We've named him Kerby (short for Kerberos). He's from Blue Diamond Collies in Ordaway, Colorado. His father's name is Traveler (a beautiful tri-color) and his mother's name is Joy (a blue merle). He's white-factored tri-color, which is why his front is white all the way down. He also has a cute little white stripe on his head. |
April 2007 was a busy month! Early in the month my husband had dental surgery that happily went very well. My mother came to stay with us for a week which was really nice. My best friend from high school and her husband moved to Denver from Egypt, so it's been great seeing them again.
In March 2007 we took a quick weekend trip to San Francisco to see a Blackfield concert at the Great American Music Hall with John Wesley opening. It was an amazing concert and a gorgeous venue!
In February 2007, we took a fun trip to Minneapolis to celebrate the wedding of two long-time friends. They had a lovely, intimate dinner at the charming Cannon River Winery. We walked through the entirety of the Mall of America, enjoyed the Minneapolis Aquarium, shopped antiquarian bookstores in Stillwater, Minnesota and tried some unusual restaurants. We had yak curry at a Nepali restaurant called Everest, and had fantastic chai at Da Afghan restaurant.
Snow!
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| Gerry had to shovel out a path for our puppy to go outside | Yes - that's snow up against our window! |
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Puppy! |
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In November 2006, I took a trip back to Wisconsin for the holidays.
Our Thanksgiving dinner had 6 people and 7 dogs! It was a lot of
fun, and I got to connect with some friends from high school. In September 2006, we brought home a sweet little tri-color collie puppy! Her name is Kyrie (short for "Valkyrie"). October was mostly us playing with the puppy, and in November I took a trip to Wisconsin to visit my family for the holiday. |
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In August 2006, we had sad pet news when our elderly 4-year old Brazilian short-tail opossum ("Mister Possum") passed away. In July 2006, my mother visited and got to see our new house! We went to see The Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and The Devil Wears Prada. In May 2006, we enjoyed a great cruise to Alaska - I got to ride a dog sled, pan for gold, touch a glacier and ride in a seaplane. The ship left from Seattle and stopped in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria, Canada. |
| My mother, my husband and myself on a dog sled in Skagway, Alaska |
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In April 2006, my mother and I met up in Chicago for a "girl's weekend" of fun. We dined at the Walnut Room in Marshall Fields and saw the concert Celtic Woman. We met up with a friend of mine from middle school for sushi and a community theater production of the excellent musical Secret Garden. Near the end of April 2006 we had a huge surprise - through a coincidence of genealogy research, we found out my husband has a newly discovered older half-brother (on his biological father's side)! It's been pretty exciting. |
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My husband |
His brother |
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In March 2006 we were utterly consumed by moving. Our house is absolutely gorgeous and I've really been enjoying settling in. We had the usual home-buying disasters (flooding basement!), but overall it was a very smooth process.
In February 2006, we bought our first house! Our upstairs has two bedrooms and two offices, our main level has a cozy family room with a fireplace, and we turned our living room into a library. Our basement is an entertainment area and library, with a guest suite (bedroom and very nice bathroom).
In December 2005, I took a trip to Egypt and Portugal. I visited my best friend from high school and her husband who currently live in Cairo. We visited the Pyramids and the Cairo Museum, took an amazing cruise on the Nile river and snorkeled in the Red Sea. Wow! |
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Our backyard pond |
Molly's Projects
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Gerbils, Short-Tailed Opossums, Siamese Fighting Fish and more! |
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Product evaluations and website links |
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An old research paper on handedness |
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My blog on marsupial-related news and events |
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Introduction to marriage types and history of laws |
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My collection of science fiction and fantasy author information |
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Bookmarks for good travel resources, plus buying guide research on down comforters and diamond rings |
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Austria, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Alaska |
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About Molly
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My collection of signed books (mostly science fiction). |
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My CD collection. Eventually I'll add Amazon links to them. |
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The DVDs my husband and I have collected. |
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Our wedding in Greece. |
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Our first home. |
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My answers to quiz questions. |
Updated 12/17/2007