Well hello there LJ. How you been?

I had a lovely weekend.

It wasn't busy at work on Friday so I left a little bit early and headed down to the Minnesota Zoo. The giraffe feedings were done for the day, so I didn't get to feed Sweta or Zawadi. I did see leopards & bears though. And I hung out in the butterfly garden for a while.

Friday evening was spent just relaxing at home while Rick was out for guy's night.

Saturday I was going to get up early, but I'm just not a morning person. lablynne from Hasty Brook had set up a day of birding for Birders Who Blog, Tweet and Chirp. I joined the group for lunch and then went on to Hyland Lake Park Reserve for some birding.
I met a ton of cool new folks, including:
Virginia from Bees in the City
Ruthie Johnson the Nature Knitter
Dawn and Jeff from Dawn's Bloggy Blog
Roger Everhart from Minnesota Birdnerd
Hap in New Hope
Mike and Lizette from Mike and Lizette's Travels and Thoughts
Penelope from Penelopedia: Nature and Garden in Northfield Minnesota

Virginia keeps bees over in St. Paul, so I'm looking forward to finally getting to go see some beehives in action!

I wasn't able to join the group for Birds & Beers at Merlin's rest, because there was shrimp to be eaten! Jeanine & Curt were doing a shrimp boil at Jeanine's house and when a trained chef is cooking, you go! The food and company were both excellent, and the Zoe dog was a beautiful as always.

Today hellbob & I got up kind of early and headed north to Paynesville where we met his dad, stepmom, stepsister and her husband for brunch and then headed back to the cabin to see the new carpet & tile down in the basement. We relaxed on the deck, the boys all watched golf, and after a yummy dinner we headed back home.

Yup, all in all it was a very nice weekend. I'm not sure I'm ready to return to work tomorrow!

I've put it on my calendar, now you guys just need to help make it happen!

February 20 to March 3, 2010 I will be on the trip of a lifetime!

A cruise to Antarctica aboard the Lyubov Orlova.

OK, so it's not official. I sort of have to win this contest first. But, I have the most awesome LJ peeps, Twitter tweeps, and Facebook friends so I know you guys will help make it happen for me!

Here's the deal:

BLOG YOUR WAY TO ANTARCTICA
Travel on a $20,000 Expedition for Free!

Quark Expeditions is searching for an Official Blogger to join a voyage to Antarctica. Do you have a passion for the polar regions? A commitment to the environment? An insatiable urge to photograph penguins?

Post your entry and tell the world why you should be our blogger. Be creative! On September 30, 2009, the entrant with the most number of votes will be selected as the winner.

The Official Quark Blogger will travel with a guest to Antarctica in February 2010 and blog about their experience, chronicling the action, the emotion, and the drama as their polar adventure unfolds.

My entry is HERE

Seriously people. I KNOW you can help make this happen.

Can you just imagine the pictures I would return with?

The winner of the trip will be determined solely by the number of votes. So please, go to the site, register, and vote for your favorite HellZiggy & Moose! Oh, and pimp me out to all your friends too. Do it for the Moose.