Wednesday, August 30, 2006

My Crazy Job...

I'm not one who loves to post pictures of myself, but today's entry is kind of a Peek-a-boo into my job. I had an opportunity to work on a sort of high profile job in Culver City. Actually, I was training a newbie geologist how to log borings - down in the hole. Now to most, this seems a bit dangerous. Yes, it is, but it is also part of my crazy job. I don't know what it is, but I love being in the Geology! The picture on the right is the jobsite - yes it's on slope.




They actually had to hire a crane company to hoist and place the drill rig onto the slope face










They drilled down to a depth of approximately 40 feet...











Then...it was my turn to "downhole log" the hole. The 24" diameter hole! Ahhh, I've been doing this for 12 years now - no biggie!

















Too bad I will never let Shayna go down any of these holes!



Saturday, August 26, 2006

So Much Fun!

Shayna is becoming more of a funny little girl every day! There are no words to describe her cute personality - other than, hilarious. She is always laughing and playing with either her "Little People" or her Hokey Pokey Elmo, which she likes to put a hat on. You also can't leave the bathroom door open anymore because she either grabs a 12 foot long snake of toilet paper or just splashes around in the toilet. It's a challenge - but we love it!










Shayna is still throwing her food and other meal time items. We know when she is about to throw these things and so we TRY to keep her from actually doing it! When she does throw her food, we get her out of her seat and onto the floor where she picks it up and puts into a garbage bag. I think that this has really been a deterrent because she will now hand us food if she doesn't want it...sometimes...





Shayna has also been getting more proficient with her eating utensils. She can now eat yogurt without turning it upside down. She actually eats it by herself - YIPPPEEEE!







Thursday, August 24, 2006

Circle of Life...

From last week's sad news... to this week's happy news... - My brother, Josh, has asked his wonderful girlfriend, Mindy, to marry him! She said, "YES!" I am so happy for the two of them! They are so cute together and I can't wait til they start having babies! LOL! Josh and Mindy were on a beautiful beach in Cancun, Mexico when Josh popped the question... what a romantic guy... I wish them all the best!







Here's a pict of the gorgeous Mindy and her engagement ring (which they had to cut off while on their trip, because it was too small!). When they arrived back home, the ring was fixed, sized, and hence, the Circle of Life is mended...






On the homefront, Mark is doing much better! He is out of his sling and has been doing some physical therapy on his own! He is still in pain but it gets better very day...

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Goodbye, Grandma


Last night, Mark's Grandma Jenny passed away. We will miss her VERY much! Here's a picture of her with Shayna last year... Shayna shares her November 1st birthday, as well as her middle name with Grandma.
We love you Grandma!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Break Time...NOT!

Ok... this is the first time today that I have planted my butt to anything and, sitting in a car doesn't count! Mark had his shoulder surgery today and it has been non-stop in this house since 6 am! He is doing really well considering what he went through. Here is a picture of the patient.
That tube going down into what looks like a cooler (cuz it is a cooler) is attached to a pad covering his entire shoulder which circulates ice water from the cooler throughout the interior of the pad. It's really neat technology! Hopefully, he'll be ready to mozy on over to the couch tomorrow because he is already going stir crazy in bed! I'll try and post tomorrow to let you know how things are going.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Please Pray...

....I don't feel much like posting tonight.... Mark's Grandma, Jenny, is not doing so well today. Please pray for her recovery. Thank you.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Midweek Musing...

Just thought I'd share a cute kitty story... A gal in my office found some kittens on her porch this morning... she had no choice - either leave them at home to die, take the day off to care for them, or bring them into the office. Well, she brought them into the office...ahhhhh They are sooo tiny! They were either born last night or this morning!


Not too much going on here at the Bartee household, so here's a cute picture of Shayna to hold you over 'til my next post! Hope it's a little more interesting next time!


Monday, August 07, 2006

Baby Steps

I was going to title this post, "Big Steps," but I decided against it and you'll read why. Shayna has been really acting like a toddler lately, especially at meal times. We have been letting her feed herself with her own Elmo fork and spoon. It's great for the first 5 minutes...then presto, she turns into a mini Nolan Ryan...hurling food, silverware, plate, & sippy cup at 90 mph towards the table, or whoever is in between. Mark and I are at our wit's end. We both decided that maybe...maybe...if we took her from her high-chair and put her in one of those booster chairs, then maybe she'll feel more a part of the whole dinner conversation and therefore won't need the extra attention by throwing things. Yeah, right... Here she is in her brand spankin' new booster chair. Look at that big girl! It's so nice and clean! Well... she did eat some of her food, but after about 5 minutes she grabbed a handful of food and unloaded! Back to the drawing board...again! Thank G-d that most of the people who I know have toddlers who do the same thing! Some people have even asked their pediarician about it. The doctor's answer is (as always), "it's just a phase." I guess Toddlerhood is just a phase that EVERY parent has to endure. I am so NOT ready for the teenage phase yet! I guess that this is G-d's way of preparing parents for that!
Here's a cute one of Shayna with her ice cream cone!
(Please note that she's in her high-chair!)

Saturday, August 05, 2006

Lovin' Life!

Last night was a weekly trip to the park for the Long Beach Concert in the Park series. It was so pleasantly warm outside with a delightful cool ocean breeze... couldn't ask for a better time! Shayna had loads of fun, too! Click on the picture below to see her rockin' out to the beat!

Today we decided to enjoy the cool ocean breeze during the day, so we hopped into the car and drove over to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Preserve. It is so beautiful over there! I have lived in and around this area for 12 years and have never been here... I have passed it more times than I can count either by car or bicycle (and have always wanted to stop) but have never taken the time to enjoy this beauty...
I don't know who had more fun, Daddy or Shayna...Shayna did take a 2 1/2 hour nap, which she started in the car on the way home!

Friday, August 04, 2006

Aloha Friday

Here I am at work, busy as a bee, typing reports, drafting, and consulting... I love working as a Geologist! One perk about being a geologist is that I get to work with really cool people that have common interests. For instance, it is Aloha Friday, meaning that we all wear Hawaiian shirts to work... yipppeeee.... how exciting.... Also, we all really love what we do, even though we would all rather be outdoors. Personally, I would much rather be with Shayna, who, by the way, is getting all of the rest of her baby teeth at once. As of today, she has 8 teeth coming in...at once... poor baby... molars, canines, and incisors... maybe it's better that she's with daddy today and mommy is at work in her Hawaiian shirt...

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Top 10 Cool Moon Facts

NUMBER 10
The Moon was created when a rock the size of Mars slammed into Earth, shortly after the solar system began forming about 4.5 billion years ago, according to the leading theory.
NUMBER 9
Perhaps the coolest thing about the Moon is that it always shows us the same face. Since both the Earth and Moon are rotating and orbiting, how can this be?
Long ago, the Earth's gravitational effects slowed the Moon's rotation about its axis. Once the Moon's rotation slowed enough to match its orbital period (the time it takes the Moon to go around Earth) the effect stabilized. Many of the moons around other planets behave similarly.
What about phases? Here's how they work: As the Moon orbits Earth, it spends part of its time between us and the Sun, and the lighted half faces away from us. This is called a new Moon. (So there's no such thing as a "dark side of the Moon," just a side that we never see.)
As the Moon swings around on its orbit, a thin sliver of reflected sunlight is seen on Earth as a crescent Moon. Once the Moon is opposite the Sun, it becomes fully lit from our view -- a full Moon.
NUMBER 8
More than 400 trees on Earth came from the Moon. Well, okay: They came from lunar orbit. Okay, the truth: In 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa took a bunch of seeds with him and, while Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell were busy sauntering around on the surface, Roosa guarded his seeds.
Later, the seeds were germinated on Earth, planted at various sites around the country, and came to be called the Moon trees. Most of them are doing just fine.
NUMBER 7
The Moon's heavily cratered surface is the result of intense pummeling by space rocks between 4.1 billion and 3.8 billion years ago.
The scars of this war, seen as craters, have not eroded much for two main reasons: The Moon is not geologically very active, so earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain-building don't destroy the landscape as they do on Earth; and with virtually no atmosphere there is no wind or rain, so very little surface erosion occurs.
NUMBER 6
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. Right? Maybe not. In 1999, scientists found that a 3-mile- (5-kilometer-) wide asteroid may be caught in Earth's gravitational grip, thereby becoming a satellite of our planet.
Cruithne, as it is called, takes 770 years to complete a horseshoe-shaped orbit around Earth, the scientists say, and it will remain in a suspended state around Earth for at least 5,000 years.
NUMBER 5
The Moon is not round (or spherical). Instead, it's shaped like an egg. If you go outside and look up, one of the small ends is pointing right at you. And the Moon's center of mass is not at the geometric center of the satellite; it's about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) off-center.
NUMBER 4
Apollo astronauts used seismometers during their visits to the Moon and discovered that the gray orb isn't a totally dead place, geologically speaking. Small moonquakes, originating several miles (kilometers) below the surface, are thought to be caused by the gravitational pull of Earth. Sometimes tiny fractures appear at the surface, and gas escapes.
Scientists say they think the Moon probably has a core that is hot and perhaps partially molten, as is Earth's core. But data from NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft showed in 1999 that the Moon's core is small -- probably between 2 percent and 4 percent of its mass. This is tiny compared with Earth, in which the iron core makes up about 30 percent of the planet's mass.
NUMBER 3
Our Moon is bigger than Pluto. And at roughly one-fourth the diameter of Earth, some scientists think the Moon is more like a planet. They refer to the Earth-Moon system as a "double planet." Pluto and its moon Charon are also called a double-planet system by some.
NUMBER 2
Tides on Earth are caused mostly by the Moon (the Sun has a smaller effect). Here's how it works:
The Moon's gravity pulls on Earth's oceans. High tide aligns with the Moon as Earth spins underneath. Another high tide occurs on the opposite side of the planet because gravity pulls Earth toward the Moon more than it pulls the water.
At full Moon and new Moon, the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up, producing the higher than normal tides (called spring tides, for the way they spring up). When the Moon is at first or last quarter, smaller neap tides form. The Moon's 29.5-day orbit around Earth is not quite circular. When the Moon is closest to Earth (called its perigee), spring tides are even higher, and they're called perigean spring tides.
All this tugging has another interesting effect: Some of Earth's rotational energy is stolen by the Moon, causing our planet to slow down by about 1.5 milliseconds every century.
NUMBER 1
As you read this, the Moon is moving away from us. Each year, the Moon steals some of Earth's rotational energy, and uses it to propel itself about 3.8 centimeters higher in its orbit. Researchers say that when it formed, the Moon was about 14,000 miles (22,530 kilometers) from Earth. It's now more than 280,000 miles, or 450,000 kilometers away.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Happy Birthday, DAD!


We celebrated my dad's birthdays last Sunday night with my uncle, aunt, and cousin Brian. It was really nice to see everyone. Shayna loves to blow out candles. She is just so darn cute!
Everyday is something new. Everyday she pronounces words better, will tell us what something is that we don't remember ever telling her what it is in the first place. Mark and I just look at eachother in amazement.











A heartfelt get well wish for Jackie's father, Murray, who recently had a heart attack. We are praying for a speedy recovery! If you don't know my Aunt Jackie, she is married to my Uncle Mark (my dad's brother).

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