for the record, I'm 5' 7"

this morning I was lamenting to myself that I had nothing to say, yet I have a blog to update, so come up with something, and it better be good.

and then I remembered that I had to go pee in a cup and give blood for life insurance testing. surely something would occur there to write about.

and it did. and now I'm really mad.

the usual routine went like this: pee, get weight, get height, get blood pressure three times, get blood, see ya.

my routine went like this: pee, get weight, get height, no really get height, get blood pressure three times, get blood, for the love of god get my height, see ya.

here's the discrepancy. since turning 13 I have measured 5 feet and 7 inches. always dead on. never wavering no matter where I'm measured. until about 6 weeks ago when I measured 5 feet and 7 1/4 inches. cool. taller I can handle.

today's results: 5' 6 1/4"; 5' 6 1/4"; 5' 6"

seriously? shrinking? an inch in 6 weeks?!?!

the first two times I thought, this thing must be off. dad was measured here wednesday and also was surprised to hear himself almost an inch shorter than usual. but the third time a different person was brought in to reevaluate.

still not convinced.

so I promptly measured myself upon returning home. and in an attempt to prove to the world my true height, the following photo montage:

photo 1 next to the measuring tape

photo 2, not much better

this is getting funny

put a book on your head, that will help show where you measure up to. right...

okay, like as a kid, put a mark on the wall.

I don't know, that looks pretty close to the 7, right? I used two 60-inch measuring tapes, with this 7 coming off the second. that makes 5 feet and 7 inches. or pretty damn close to it.

now we just have to measure dad. and call the lab to tell them their chart's off and I'm not shrinking.

and I had to add this, because it's adorable.

bug update

the bug sent to me from New Mexico is actually an arachnid from the family Solifugae. they can bite humans, but aren't venomous. and apparently they're really fast. they are known as sun spiders, wind scorpions, and camel spiders. these guys are found all over the world in hot, arid areas, hence a New Mexican high desert origin for our visitor.

I wrote to my mom to see if she knew what it was and it was identified as a "child of the earth". this name applies to the creature above, and this scary looking thing, known as a Jerusalem cricket:

I'm not sure which I'd rather have arrive in the mail. but I'm sure the cricket would have met the same fate as the sun spider did.

Weekend update

last week we received a most wonderful package of goodies from grandma Olsen that included this:
I was putting all the packaging away when I saw something in some of the plastic. I looked closer and found the above, immobile, even when the plastic rattled. I thought it was dead. the biologist in me was all, look at this cool thing, wonder what it is. so I poked it. and it moved. and I freaked.

that plastic went right back in the box where it was sealed until dad could get home, take pictures and kill it.

now the biologist in me is all, what a wuss, it's just some bug, you've seen dead bodies and stuff and didn't freak. but I don't know what it is or what kind of damage it could have done to me or my lovely family (who I would like to remain lovely).

any ideas as to who our visitor from New Mexico was?

in other news, we went berry picking today and got tons of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. there is something quite satisfying about picking your own food. just to see where it came from and see who grew it is cool. and hd loves running around on farms. so many rows to run up and down, chickens to see, and berries to pick and eat.

actually, she called them boobies. we picked boobies today. hee hee.