Ready as I'll ever be...

That's it-I've done as much as I can do---at work, at home...we're ready. Packed. Need to try and get some sleep---didn't get much last night due to high winds, humidity, stress and excitement.

Hopefully we'll have internet service in Johannesburg. We'll see.

Until then......

Still Trying

....with pix and placement...who could resist this pudgie face?

Running out of time....

Quick

9:o1 pm...spent the last couple of hours trying to organize the essentials into some type of order...bathroom, first aid, in the bush, checked, carry on...there's not a lot of stuff, it's just a matter of where to put it. I don't want to throw everything into a bag and have to dig and search when we get there. Got most of it together, I think.

Busy day at work training my sub---she's got two and a half more days (yikes!!) to get it and she's on her own. I'm outta there at noon on Friday....Getting down to the wire...calling SAA tomorrow to confirm our flight...a few more ends to tie up and we're done!

No playing with pictures tonight. Bringing my computer to work tomorrow-maybe while she's doing my stuff I'll play, but for now I'm crawling into my bed with my book and hopefully will sleep....gym 4:30 tomorrow morning....yuk.

PS---is that my LauraL following me???? We'll talk tomorrow...xxoo

This is a test...

of the Fledgling Author broadcasting system...

Can I successfully link my Picasa web album to my blog? Can I figure out how to get a Picasa web album url to allow my family and friends to view said web album? Can I determine how to upload a photo from said web album to blog? Can I understand why it is that I am using said language? What is said language? Who said it? And why? Who cares?

Let me give this a shot..it is currently 8:24 pm...any wagers on how long this will take me?

....tick tock...

8:48....tick tock...

still trying...

damn it! It says image is uploading and nothing comes up.

WHERE THE HELL IS IT GOING????!!!!

OH-OH -OH---THERE SHE IS!!! Not exactly where I wanted to place her, but she's here...8:54pm---thirty minutes for one friggin' little dog. That's Sydney, by the way. She's an English Bulldog who owns our friend Doug. I took this in our front yard in June, when she was about 10 weeks old but she's a big girl now!

Let me try another...

OK-this is going to take some practice...thirty minutes to get the dog photo in the blog, ten more to get the sunflower, but I need to figure out how to control the placement. Glad I started this four days before we're in Africa and didn't wait until I got there. Too bad I didn't THINK of this 6 months ago. Oh well, with age comes wisdom...

"I am slowly going crazy...1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6 SWITCH

Sharon, Lois and Bram's ---OMG--THE ELEPHANT SHOW!!!!!! (Hope the link showed up...) If anybody gets this, it'll be Meredith and possibly John.....love you guys...xxoo

"It's 4:03 and I can't sleep..."

It's actually 5:06, but I've been awake for hours. These last ten days or so, I go to bed exhausted and sleep until 11 or 12, then it's been toss and turn for the rest of the night. Once my head starts going, I can't shut it off, thinking about the trip, and things to do before I go. This morning, I couldn't get the ideas of my mini voice recorder and Picasa out of my head, so I finally decided to get up and do something. Spent the last 90 minutes reading the recorder instructions and trying to make it work. Dennis got it for me for Christmas a few years ago, and it's been sitting in my drawer because all the options frustrated me and I didn't take the time to learn how to use it. Last time I checked, it worked fine, but this morning, it won't do anything. I put brand new batteries in, read the reset instructions and it seemed dead. I left it sitting while I tried to look up trouble shooting on line, and a few minutes later, I glanced over and the little red record light was on. But it still wouldn't do anything. I think it may be because I left the old batteries in too long from the last time. They weren't leaking or anything, tho, so I don't get why it doesn't work. Figures. I wanted to learn it now, and take it with us so I could record while we were out with our guides. I guess I'll have to either go without it or get another one. Shit.
Yesterday, I found out that internet use in South Africa can get a little pricey, so my blogging may not be exactly what I was hoping. Which led me to my other bouncing brain activity this morning---getting my friends and family on Picasa, so they could look at my web album. That 's my next project and hopefully it won't be too complicated. It's all this little last minute stuff that keeps popping into my head that's been making me crazier than I already am. I hope once we get over there, my brain slows down a bit. I'll probably crash and sleep for 2 days while everyone else is out on game drives.
Going to try and get a few more zzzz's now, before it starts getting light.

Heads Up Warnings

Hi to anyone who received my message today about my new email address and blog! Keep in mind that when I write I try to keep as true to my own voice as possible. So if you tend to be offended at occasional --or frequent--colorful language, consider yourself forewarned--there will be obscenities peppered throughout the entries.
That's it for now...