"The Cove" Documentary and "Blood Dolphins" Mini-Series

I'm sure most of you have heard of this documentary about the killing and capturing of thousands of dolphins in Japan.  It was shown as a 2 hour special on Animal Planet on Sunday night.  Well, I watched it and let me tell you, it is one of the most awful things I have EVER seen in my life!  What happens is the Japanese herd all these dolphins into this cove off the coast of Japan.  Once they are in there they look at all the dolphins and pick out the ones that are the most beautiful and perfect. Those will be captured and sold all over the world to zoos and places such as Sea World where they will be trained and put on display for the public to see.  The dolphins that are not seen as perfect and beautiful are then dragged into a portion of the cove were the public cannot see what happens to them.  They are all slaughtered and then sold as meat.  There are so many dolphins slaughtered at once the the water is completely red because of all the blood.  It is truly horrific!!!  The documentary was shot through secret cameras that were placed at the cove in the middle of darkness.  People from the U.S. are trying to show the world what is done to these poor creatures so we can put a stop to this!!!

I would recommend that everyone take the time to watch this.  Yes, it is awful to watch, but we need to know what is happening in the world around us!!!  I am disgusted that people can actually do this.  Also, there is a new show coming on Animal Planet Friday nights called Blood Dolphins.  It shows what people are trying to do to solve this problem... as well as other areas in the world that this is happening.

I'll leave you with some video clips of the documentary as well as this new show...

The Cove



Blood Dolphins



After watching this, I refuse to go see dolphin shows of any kind nor do I even want to go to the zoo again. It also reiterated to me the importance of being a vegetarian.  I don't even know if I can bring myself to eat fish or eggs anymore. I know that I can't do a lot to help this cause, but I will do what I can...

The Big Two-Six!

This weekend was pretty good.  It was actually extra long for me...

Friday... I decided to take a vacation day.  I am actually feeling pretty on top of things with work (right now) and I figured it would be the last time for a looonnnggg while that I got to take a little time off.  It was actually a nice day.  Dan and I got to take Remi to the vet together for his monthly appointment and we just hung out together.  We don't get a chance to do a lot of that because of our messed up schedules so it was nice to be with him.  Plus, he was leaving for Washington, D.C. for the weekend that evening at 3:30 so some quality time was much needed.  Myla and Valerie from work also took me out for dinner that night at Bravo!  It is one of my favorite places to go and I appreciated them doing that for me :)  It is always nice to feel cared about :)

Saturday... Mom and Dad came to Indy to visit me :)  I miss them so much and can't even tell you how much I wish they lived closer to us.  We didn't do a whole lot, but I love having them here with me.  We ended up having lunch at Oaken Barrel Brewhouse and then went to Lowe's to pick up a mum that I wanted to plant in place of a bush that we just ripped out :)  I hated to see them go :(  After they left, I went outside and watered all my plants.  I thought I would include some pictures to show you what a good gardener I've become :)

Here's my clematis that I thought I had killed, but it has started growing quite well again.  I have been taking good care of it since it started spouting new growth :)

Here's my new mum that I bought to replace the ugly bush that Dan ripped out for me :)  Dad helped me plant it!  I hope it makes it through the winter time :)

Here's my flower bed that is full of Vincas. They have done surprisingly well in this hot hot weather :)

Remember the orchid I have that had spouted a new leaf??  Look at that leaf now.  It's huge!!

 

This is the other orchid I have at my house.  I noticed that it just spouted a brand you leaf too.  Look closely... you can barely see it :)

After all the watering, I cleaned up the house.  It was pretty messy since I haven't done much with it for the past couple of weeks.  The amount of dog hair I picked up from the sweeper was soooo gross.  I guess that's what I get since I had two doggies in the house for a period of time :)  Anyways, I'm feeling so good now because my house is nice and clean for a little while at least :)  Then later in the evening Remington and I took a long walk after dinner.  He had been soooo good for me this weekend and he hadn't been out of the house in a few days so I'm sure he enjoyed going on a walk and smelling all the new smells :) 

Sunday... Dan made it home from D.C. at around 8 in the morning. Both Remington and I were happy to see him and glad he got home safe and sound.  Of course Remington showered his Dad with lots of kisses.  Below, Dan posted a blog about his weekend in D.C. Make sure to check it out :)  I spent the rest of Sunday getting my stuff together for school on Monday.  YIKES!  I'm taking 2 classes this semester which kind of freaks me out since usually I only take one.  I hope I can handle both of them and working full time....

Anyways, today is my 26th Birthday!  I cannot believe I'm that old!  However, I know I'm extremely blessed.  I have a wonderful family, husband, friends, job, etc.  I couldn't ask for a much better life :)  I'm so thankful for all I have :)  HAPPY 26 BIRTHDAY TO ME :)

8/28 Restoring Honor Event

FYI:

This post has been  done by Dan.

As some of you may know, I made a trip to Washington D.C. this weekend to attend the Restoring Honor event on Saturday.  I did not go with anyone I knew but it was one of those things where I knew I would be disappointed if I did not attend. I joined up with a group leaving from Louisville that had 7 full charter buses going.

The buses left Louisville at 7pm on Friday evening and we drove straight through to DC. We arrived to DC around 7am on Saturday. 

Here is our buses lined up with others trying to get into Arlington National Cemetery to park.

My Mother saw this segment on ABC that focused over Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor event and was very worried that I was attending a "hate rally" similar to a KKK rally. The message of the of the event was about restoring Faith, Hope, and Charity in each of our individual lives. The event was also about turning to God, regardless of your individual religion. It was about judging someone by the content of their character and not by the color of skin. Not once were politics mentioned.

Anyone who says that Glenn Beck is a hateful person is only distorting his words and taking him way out of context. If you actually take the time to watch his shows in their entirety, instead of a 5 second clip,  you would begin to realize that he is not spreading hateful rhetoric. 

The following video is just some clips put together while I was at the event.
 

In conclusion, I am very happy that I decided to go. It was truly an amazing experience. This concludes my likely one and only post on the Rhoton Family Blog. I will leave you with some more pictures from the event.

A shot from across the Reflecting Pool.

Here is a shot from where I was standing.

Here is a shot from above. They have not yet released the number of people in attendance but there were at least 500 thousand people. Wow!!!

Falling into Fall!

As the month of August ends and September approaches... I have felt the need to switch up the blog a bit with a new design.  I don't think I could have chosen anything better than beautiful Fall leaves :)  I love Fall the most out of all the other seasons.  The weather cools down, the leaves change colors, and I get to switch out my wardrobe a little bit..... ahhhhh... what a wonderful thing :)  So for the next few months, I hope you enjoy this new seasonal background :)  Everyone enjoy falling into Fall :)

 

We all know Remington will :)

Baby Andrew...

Well, as I've mentioned quite a few times before... MY BEST FRIEND IS HAVING A BABY!!!  I am so very excited for her!  The baby right now has 6 more days to make his grand entrance into the world and if not Kristin will be induced on September 1st.  I can't help but hope that Baby Andrew comes on his Aunt Kay's B-day... August 30th :)  Kristin has uploaded some pregnancy pictures to Facebook that I just had to share with the whole 2-3 people who read this blog.  Just looking at them makes me a bit emotional... I'm just so happy for the two of them!

Congratulations Kristin and Duane!!!  I love you both so very much!

Over 2 miles!

Okay, I know this doesn't sound like a lot to most people, but for me it's a lot.  Dan and I ran 2.23 miles tonight.  The longest we have ran straight at once!  It was a great night time run.  The moon was out, the wind was blowing.  It was the best night we could have picked for our first 2.23 miler :) ... sigh...

And the Rhotwins keep growing...

I recently got on Facebook and saw some new pictures that Matt and Heather had uploaded of the twins and Hannah!  They are soooo adorable I just had to share :)

Blakely

Blakely

Max

Max

Max and Blakely

Blakely and Max

Big Sister... Hannah

Big sister... Hannah... once again sporting her awesome shirt that Aunt Kay and Uncle Dan got for her!

Blakely, Hannah, Max

Yeah, I'm not a proud Aunt or anything.....

Remington's Sunday Guest

So every weekend I always tidy up the house a bit and sweep the floors.  However, for the first time ever... I didn't do it this weekend!  Why you ask??  Because Remington had company!!!  Buddy, our friend Mike's parent's goldendoodle came over on Sunday because Mike's parents were moving his sister into college!  I figured, why tidy up now when two dogs in the house together are going to make a much bigger mess than usual.  Might as well wait until sweet Buddy leaves.

The dog sitting went okay.  It was a challenge, but we made it through.  I realized that I really take for granted what a well trained dog I have.  Not saying that Buddy won't someday be as well trained as Remington, but right now he is still in his learning phase.  It is so nice to tell a dog "DOWN" and he does it right away or "STAY" and you don't have to worry about them going anywhere, but when they don't know those commands it is a whole different ball game.

When Buddy arrived it took him and Remington probably four hours to get all their excitement out, but once things settled down a bit they were good friends :)  By the time Buddy was getting ready to leave, I think Remington had accepted his presence....

 

"Hi guys!"

"I just woke up from a nap!"

The boys getting to know each other.

Playing...

Finally... two calm dogs!!

Cuddling :)

All that I know is that those were two tired dogs by the end of the day :)

Early Birthday Celebration

Well, its been a little while since I last blogged.  Probably because nothing has really happened and I have been crazy busy.  I have been busting my butt at work so that I'm prepared for Phonathon to begin.  I feel right now as if I'm on top of things, but I'm sure that something unexpected will happen that will throw me for a loop :)  I have also been doing a good job of keeping up with my running schedule.  I have been running at night time since the temperatures are much cooler.  I also find it peaceful.  I have been running almost 2 miles every other evening and my pace right now is around a 10 minute mile... which isn't great, but it's better than it has been.  So I feel like I'm still on track with my pre-wedding tone up plan :)

Anyways, after a rough week at work I have definitely been looking forward to the weekend.  Since Dan is leaving for Washington DC next weekend we decided to celebrate my 26th Birthday this weekend.  Dan planned a very nice Saturday for me.  One of the things that I love to do is go down to the canal.  I just love walking down there and seeing all the people and dogs.  I am always begging Dan to go with me, but he usually doesn't like to go.  However, this weekend we went!  YAY!  Of course Remington Bear came along for the trip.

Remington and I in front of the mammoth!

And here's the close up :)

After walking half of the canal, we stopped to take a little water break.

Then Remington wanted to stop and take a picture with his Dad in front of these pretty flowers :)

When we were almost finished with our walk we saw these little teenage ducks all cuddled up together... of course I couldn't stop myself from taking their picture!!

This was at the very end of our walk.  Poor Remington was pooped at this point, but he let us take one last picture of him.  The things he puts up with :)

Later in the evening on Saturday, Dan took me to the Melting Pot for dinner.  Neither of us had ever been and Dan had gotten a gift card from a friend at work so we thought this would be the perfect place to go.  It was really nice.  It is like this four course dining experience of fondue.  First you get a cheese appetizer, then a salad, then you get your main course of meats, and lastly the dessert!  Dan and I ended up getting the Pacific Island Feast, which was the easiest way to try a lot of different things and get the full experience of the restaurant.  It was a very nice dinner and we really enjoyed ourselves the whole 2 1/2 hours we were there!  Haha... you cook your own food so it takes a while.

Here's Dan and I at the beginning of dinner :)

This was our first course.  We got the spinach and artichoke cheese.  Then we had chips, assorted breads, veggies, etc. to dip in it.  DELICIOUS!

Here's our main course.  Chicken, pork, steak, tuna, shrimp, and veggie wraps.  These are all raw to begin with and then you cook them in the boiling water they give you.  SOOOO GOOD!

Here were all our sauces.

Oh yes, we also got broccoli, potatoes, and mushrooms.

Dan taking his first bite :)

And here's our last course... dessert!  My FAV!

This is what we dipped our dessert in... chocolate, marshmellow swirl, and Oreo cookies!  HEAVENLY!

Honestly, it doesn't get much better than this :)  

Even though it wasn't officially my birthday... I had a great time!  It makes up for Dan being gone during my actual birthday weekend.  However, Mom and Dad are coming up so I'm looking forward to that :)

There's got to be more to life...

For the past few days I have been kind of down in the dumps.  I just keep thinking to myself that there has to be more to life than this.  What can I say... it just seems to me like all Dan and I's lives consist of is work, school and our daily routine... nothing more, nothing less.  It just isn't what life is all about in my eyes.  Yet, how can we make life about something more when we have to work, have to go to school, have to do all the other things that life demands of us?  It's puzzling to me... but maybe one day I'll have the answer.

Office Photo Board :)

Among all the papers, pens, pencils, etc. that I have laying around my office at work, I also have a push pin board that holds important information.  The things that are on it include the academic calendar, phone numbers for all my co-workers, license plate info, student payroll schedule, pledge reminder schedule, as well as numerous other things.  However, in the right hand corner of the board I have my most precious items.  Those being pictures of my nieces and nephews.  This weekend Dan and I received some pictures of the twins in the mail so I was able to complete my board :)  Their pictures made all the difference :)

The board includes pictures of my best friend, Elliott, Mallory, Dan and I's parents, Hannah, and the twins.  What could be better to look at almost every day :)

Indiana State Fair

Well, the most exciting thing that we did this weekend was attend the Indiana State Fair (thanks Jim for the tickets and Debbie for drawing them out of a hat).  I haven't been to the fair since I was in High School.  We would go every year to compete in the cheerleading contest that was held there, but I haven't been back since really.  Dan has never been to the State Fair, so this was quite a treat for him.

When we first got to the Fair we hurried to the Dock Dogs competition site.  This was the one thing that we really wanted to see.  We got there in time to watch the Speed Retrieve Contest.  This is a picture of one of the dogs doing it's thing :)  The goal of the contest is to have your dog retrieve a disc the fastest!

These three pictures were of our favorite dock dog contestant... Charlie the Goldendoodle (hmmm, I wonder why he was our favorite :)

After the Speed Retrieve Contest was over with, we decided to go explore the rest of the Fair.  We came across the DNR building and I had to take this picture for my niece Hannah.  When we were in Arizona she loved going to the Bass Pro Shop to look at the fish, so this guy reminded me of our time with her.

Then we found this little petting zoo for kids.  I fell in love with this baby cow.  It had the longest eye lashes I have ever seen :)

We then came across a bunch of John Deere tractors, so we took a picture of this for my Dad and our nephew Elliott, since they both love John Deere stuff :)

It was around noon and we were both starving!  Dan has been DYING for a Ribeye Steak Sandwich so we stopped to get one.

Then then went to the Swine Barn to see the largest pigs.  This is first and second place.  Talk about disgusting.  I don't even know if these poor things could walk!

These were the championship piglets :)  Talk about cute!!!

This little goat was pretty cute too :)  I wish I could have taken him home with me :)

In the Horse Barn we found these beautiful guys!  Talk about huge!  They were very well taken care of!!

This cow was dying to have his picture taken :)

Right before we were getting ready to leave Dan saw these smoked turkey legs and had to have one of course!  I didn't think it looked that good...

All together the trip was pretty fun.  It wasn't too horribly hot on Saturday so we enjoyed ourselves much more because of that.  Dan's highlight was the horses that we saw.  But mine of course was the Dock Dogs competition.  I'll leave you with some videos we took of the contest!

This was the fastest dog...

And this was Sweet Charlie the Goldendoodle. He was the slowest... go figure :) HAHA!