Cute and Fascinating Too!

In my next life, I want to come back as a dolphin! If you’ve clicked the “Dolphin Bubbles” link in the right column, you know why! The videos of the Dolphins playing with bubbles art Sea World is just addictively cute!

The Sea World site has a new video up now with people from Sea World talking about the dolphin games. This is a relatively new phenomena in the dolphin tank. It started with one or two dolphins making a bubble ring with their blow holes and playing with it. They chase them, swim though them, bite them. It’s totally cute to watch. Like I said, addictively cute, and I mean that! This woman who gets irritated when Tori and Rina want to watch a rerun again a week later, clicks play again a few times when I watch!



If you visit the site now, you’ll see that informational video, telling about how they discovered the dolphins doing this and that more are doing it now. They aren’t sure if they are learning it from watching each other or if they are teaching each other, but they have noticed that at times they can get possessive about their bubbles when someone else wants to play. I think it’s totally fascinating to watch them make the bubbles and play with them and to listen to the theories and accounts of how it all began. It's a great site and wonderful video to watch with the kids!

After the interview video, you can choose other videos including the Dolphin Bubbles video that was originally up. Guess which one I clicked?

“Hello, my name is Nani and I’m a Dolphin Bubbles addict.”

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Tah-dah! Hairless Nani!

Okay, by comparison, hairless anyway. The whole point of having David take that picture that was the photoblog yesterday was to assess if I had enough. I did! Part of yesterday was my first visit to a hair salon in Toledo, where I donated three ponytails to Locks of Love!

If you’re not familiar with Locks of Love, they create hair pieces and hair prosthesis for children who have diseases that rob them of a normal head of hair. The hair pieces, high quality wigs, are available on an ability-to-pay basis for kids who have permanent or temporary hair-loss from illness or chemotherapy. I actually waited as long as I could to get it cut because I wanted to make sure I had the 10-inch minimum to donate.

I did my research at the Locks of Love website. I wanted to make sure of what the minimum was and if my color treated hair was okay. Color-treated is okay, bleached is not! It’s good color-treated is okay, because they don’t use gray! They’re making hair for children, after all!

The largest number of children who need the hair pieces suffer from alopecia. Alopecia wan cause hair loss in bands, patches or the entire head or body. For those children, they provide hair prosthesis, which are custom-fit to the child’s head. The prosthesis vacuum-seals to the wearer’s head without glue or tape. The children can even swim or shower with them on with no worry of them coming off. They have to be taken off by the wearer.

It takes 6-10 ponytails to make a hairpiece and the prosthesis would retail for $3500-6000. Locks of Love provides them at minimal or now cost. Sick kids shouldn’t have to give up the feeling of dignity or self confidence that something so many of us take for granted can provide and what their parents can or can’t afford shouldn’t make a difference. Locks of Love is an awesome organization that tries to make things a little better for kids who are living with illness!

Camelot Salon, in Holland Ohio, is a salon that does the cutting of ponytails for Locks of Love and will even send the hair in for you. I asked my stylist, Jamie, if she could have the ponytails sent. I didn’t need to do the “official” donation with my name on it. It’s not for the recognition that I did it. My hair is thick, healthy and grows fast. It always has, even when I permed on a regular basis, it stayed healthy with minimal extra conditioners. It’s very hearty! I can’t imagine what it would have been like if, as a kid, my hair wouldn’t grow, or I lost all of it, possibly to have it never grow back. It think it would have been devastating. It was bad enough for me when I played hockey and wore it short because it hurt when people thought I was a boy. As an adult, I understand how much difference it can make for a child whose hair won’t grow. As a society, we do place a lot of importance on appearance and as much as we may counsel a sick child on it not being important, it truly is for their own self-esteem.

I am very proud that I was able to donate my hair. Even if right now, it’s a little shorter than I’d like it, I know mine WILL grow back and I’m part of something great that will help a child whose won’t! If you are fortunate enough to have long healthy hair, please consider trying a new shorter style and donating a ponytail to Locks of Love. If the shorter style isn’t one you like, yours will grow back too. Aren’t ya glad?

For more information, visit the Locks of Love website
Locks of Love

I Found Nemo!

When I was in my early teens, I had a fish tank. It was a ten-gallon tan with fresh water fish I named after rock stars. I remember on Saturdays after my guitar lesson, Mom would take me to the fish store in town. I’d get food and maintenance stuff for my tank and sometimes a new “toy” for it or a couple new fish for my little wet community. I loved my fish, but I always remember walking slowly and longingly by the bright tanks in the back. Those were the tanks where they kept the most beautiful of the fish in the store, the saltwater fish!

In my cyber travels, I found an online saltwater fish store! They offer Nano Cubes, great for beginners in the hobby to get started and a huge page of those beautiful salties that I remember ogling as a kid. They have a bright blue chromis, neon accented salt water angel, a hot yellow seahorse a damselfish in my school colors (blue and yellow) and today’s salt water aquarium must have a clown fish, the kids will name him “Nemo!”

So, there would be the start of MY aquarium! I’d especially HAVE to have that seahorse! It is just too cool! This site also sells the necessary temperature control devices and there is free shipping available and the fish have a 14-day live guarantee.

Now, I wouldn’t want my seahorse and his mates living in just saltwater with nowhere to play or rest. This site also has live rock and coral. I can buy coral to put in my tank! I think that bright yellow seahorse would look so cool in the tank with some green people eaters. Think bright yellow fish and green coral! Okay, and I like the name too!

Now that I have my dream aquarium built, I need to figure out where we’d put it. But I think first, I’m going to go look at the fish page again! If you check out this site, come back and leave a comment about which fish you liked best!

Scrap Bird Crazy Prices Thursday!

It’s bedtime Wednesday here, but in the Scrap Bird homeland it’s been Thursday for a few hours already and the craziness has begun for this week!

There are some great deals on new and old products at Scrap Bird, including Anything by Digitalegacies Designs that’s over $2.00 regular price is slashed in half until 6:00 PM EDT. Stop by the gallery and see some of the new layouts from my CT with “I Feel Lucky” and “My Blue Heaven!”

Also while you’re at the store, check out all of the new designers! In the last week we’ve added some wonderful new talent! Pick up some of their sample and sale items to go with your deals from Digitalegacies Designs!

Photoblog Wednesday

Cousin It's sister??

I had David take this picture of my hair last night. No wonder I'm waking myself up at night! I roll over and it gets caught under my elbows! LOL