FOR MY HUBBY

I love you, LORD God,
and you make me strong.
You are my mighty rock, my fortress,
my protector,
the rock where I am safe,
my shield, my powerful weapon,
and my place of shelter.
I praise you, LORD!

Psalm 18:1-2

FISHIES

I hope I haven't become one of "those" people!

My first choice would be to have two puppies, but because of our living arrangements, that is not possible. It's quite depressing for us, but at this point in time there's nothing we can do. Many of you knew our sweet cocker spaniel, Sandy, and how much we enjoyed having a cuddly puppy waiting for us at the door every day.

But until then, I still have this strong maternal desire to nurture someone or something. So this past weekend, my patient and loving husband took me to the pet store to buy some fish, the only pet that will work in our current apartment. So after several visits to several pet stores, we bought 2 Bettas (pronounced "bet-tuh", not "bait-tuh" like so many people incorrectly do.) I had fun watching them explore their newly decorated homes (in 2 different bowls, because the male badgers the female too much and so they have to be separated). And we laughed a lot coming up with their names, Peanut Butter for the male, and Jelly for the female.

However, I hope that in my excitement to have 2 new pets that I don't become one of those fish fanatics that can't think or talk about anything else. I certainly hope that I don't become addicted and before too long have 25 bowls of fish all over the house. I promise that I won't dress them up for holidays or send pictures of them in every email. I also promise I won't include them in this year's Christmas card. I may talk to them, but I'll try to restrain myself when we have guests. And I will post them on my blog with a picture, just once!

MY NEW FRIEND

I'd like to introduce to you my new gorilla friend. We recently had the opportunity to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo in downtown Chicago, and I met MANY new friends. I think I could have spent all day sitting and staring at the monkeys in the Ape House and Primate House. However, since we were with friends, I didn't feel right forcing them to spend all day with the monkeys. Plus the echos of screaming children on field trips got to be too much after a while. So stay tuned for more stories and pictures from our trip.

DANCE, DANCE, DANCE! (Part 1)

Dance like nobody is watching!

A walk down memory lane, plus a few chuckles for the day:

Footloose (1984)
Ren: Hey, hey! What's this I see? I thought this was a party. LET'S DANCE!

Angus (1995)
Angus: I can't dance. My limbs are lethal weapons. Innocent people got hurt trying to teach me dance.

Garden State (2004)
Sam: I can tap-dance. You wanna see me tap-dance?

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
D-Qwon: Welcome to D-Qwon's dance grooves, are you ready to get your groove on?

Back to the Future (1985)
Marty McFly: Wait, you don't understand. If you don't play there's no music. If there's no music they don't dance. If they don't dance they don't kiss and fall in love and I'm history.

Elf (2003)
Papa Elf: You can bake cookies in a tree. As you can imagine, it's, uh, dangerous having an oven in an oak tree during the dry season. But the third job, some call it, uh, "the show" or "the big dance," it's the profession that every elf aspires to. And that is to build toys in Santa's workshop.

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
Tevye: And I'm going to dance with my wife!

The Story of Us (1999)
Katie: That's not why I'm saying Chow Funs. Funs, I'm saying Chow Funs because we're an us. There's a history here, and histories don't happen overnight. In Mesopotamia or Ancient Troy there are cities built on top of other cities, but I don't want another city, I like this city. I know what kind of mood your in when you wake up by which eyebrow is higher, and you know I'm a little quiet in the morning and compensate accordingly, that's a dance you perfect over time. And it's hard, it's much harder than I thought it would be, but there's more good than bad and you don't just give up!

EL PARTIDO Y CELEBRA!

Happy May 5th or Happy Cinco de Mayo, whichever you and your family celebrate. If you happen to live close to one, I hope that you were able to have a taco at Taco John's. I've only visited a Taco John's once in my life and while the food was okay, the best thing about it was their mascot, Whiplash. Goce hoy y recuerde, los monos son realmente lindo. (That's funny!)

HAPPY OJ DAY!

Did you have yours?
I had mine.

"Refrigerated juices and juice drinks should be used by the date stamped on the package." - Minute Maid

OJ DAY!

Tomorrow, Thursday, May 4, is National Orange Juice Day. If you don't have OJ at home to celebrate, you better run by the store tonight.

DO YOU KNOW?

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
(Isaiah 40:28-29)

APRIL CONTEST

I almost let April slip away without the monthly "Write the Caption" contest! Once again I'm giving it over to the blogworld experts. What do you say? You can't win if you don't play!
** remember, if your vote is not chosen, you may not pout, boycott or throw a temper tantrum (bcm)

MORE PARTY PLANS

Since I started throwing out ideas for the best party EVER (see Wednesday's post), I figured I should include information on party games as well. I've never really been a fan of piñatas. I think it's because I don't really care for violence, and whacking the heck out of a person or animal-shaped piñata is really quite depressing to me. Well...I found this really cute piñata. However, the thought of pounding this adorable monkey just to get some Dum Dums, candy-coated chocolate Gems, sugar wafers, and other cheap candy treats, is just appalling to me. So I suggest that this sweet monkey be used as a decoration ONLY! Just give away crappy candy and forego the beating!

MONKEY NEWS

"Nineteen-day-old Enzo makes his first media appearance at Kolmarden Zoo in Sweden on Wednesday. Enzo is the first gorilla ever born in captivity in Scandinavia."

Don't you think he's the cutest baby gorilla ever?!?! I'm not sure why he's sticking his tongue out, but maybe it's because he doesn't like having his picture made. Or maybe he's just playing a game with someone. Or maybe someone just gave him a spoon of peanut butter. What do you think?
(AP photo by Pontus Lundahl)

MY NEXT BIRTHDAY CAKE

Yes, I know it's 4 months away, but doesn't this cake look scrumdillyumptious! My only concern is that they are located in London which means I will either have to plan a trip to England in August (highly unlikely) or find someone in the US who can copy this awesome gooey-ness (somewhat probable). There are others available but, of course, the monkey is the best!

WHAT A MARVEL!

I know that all of you have been waiting on pins and needles to know someone who has actually seen what is possibly the World's Largest Cheeto. Well, look no further...I'm your gal! Mr. PoMonkey and I headed west for the Easter weekend to the vast farmland of Iowa to visit some great friends from Trinity (actually they are the first friends we made when we got to Chicago). I must say that we thoroughly enjoyed the scenery of rolling hills (as we passed the Mighty Mississippi) and the beautiful open spaces dotted with hundreds of silos. We made our way to the town of Algona, population 6,000.

Saturday evening we headed to Sister Sarah's Restaurant to view the Cheeto. As you can see, it was encased for protection and laying eloquently on a much deserving pedestal of purple velvet. Sadly most of the people sitting at surrounding tables seemed to be ignoring that they were in the presence of such wonder!

(I apologize for the glare in the photo.)

EASTER MONKEY???

Did you know? There's an Easter Monkey! Apparently the Easter Bunny needed help getting Easter eggs to the jungles of the Congo. Curious George was nice enough to help the Easter Bunny solve this problem:

Curious George's sister was dating the 70s cartoon icon Grape Ape, whose cousin used to hang out with Lance Link-Secret Chimp, who was pals with Chim Chim, the monkey that pals around with Speed Racer's little brother Spritle. Chim Chim had a friend whose brother's girlfriend's second cousin just got laid off from the banana factory in the Congo because he was eating all the profits, so he needed a job. The Easter Bunny got his number, gave him a call, and said, "Hey, I could really use your help. I'm having trouble getting my eggs to the Congo & if you're willing to help I'll hire you to deliver my Easter eggs.

I can't believe in ALL my years...I had no clue about the Easter Monkey!
(Thanks, Melinda Sue!)

STILL SWINGING

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday, dear CHEETA.
Happy Birthday to you!

Cheeta, Tarzan's sidekick and the world's oldest chimp, turned 74 today.
FYI: Cheeta is a diabetic and so his cake was sugar-free.

(Thanks to Wince and his dad for sharing this exciting news with me.)

NEW FRIEND

I'd like to introduce you to my new nephew, godchild, and fur-friend. This is Caribou (or Bou) McWhite, new fur-child of our friends, Bryan and Leslie. They adopted him on Saturday and even let us go with them to Puppy Class! Of course, Caribou needed a monkey pal and so I happily supplied him with his first monkey (with a squeaking head)! You really can't beat our afternoon yesterday...being outside all day and playing (and sleeping) with sweet little Caribou. (It was finally nice enough weather here in Chicagoland to sit outside in the sun...in long sleeves and a jacket, of course!) Click here for more pictures and a mini movie.

I like Caribou...he makes me laugh!

FRIENDS

Well, I'm not feeling very cheerful today so I needed to post something that would make me smile. My wonderful hubby sent me these pictures and they made me smile!

"Two are stronger than one, for if one falls, the other will lift him up again." Eccl. 4:9-10

EBERT LIKES MONKEYS!

Thanks to the research of my friend, Wince, I now have a better picture for Monday's post.

CELEBRITY (MAYBE) SIGHTING

We had a celebrity sighting on our trip to Madison, WI. He passed by as we were eating lettuce wraps and sesame chicken. (This monkey wasn't with him, but I couldn't violate my policy of having a non-monkey graphic on my blog and I couldn't find a picture of Ebert with a monkey!)

MONKEY BUSINESS

We're in Madison, Wisconsin for a conference this weekend...Mr. PoMonkey is speaking at a coffee house tonight on the campus of University of Wisconsin. Anyway, I figured I'd have nothing to post today about monkeys...thinking that there probably aren't a lot of monkeys in Madison. HOWEVER, I was wrong!! Madison is home to The Monkey Business Institute, an improv comedy company. Unfortunately, we didn't know about this until it was too late to attend last night's show. Doh!

SAD, SAD DAY

Well, I hope that you all exercised your rights and voted! (See March 24 post.) I am saddened to tell you that our campaign efforts for "Johnny 2006" will not come to fruition. The public has spoken, and they have chosen Kima as the name for the new colobus monkey that was born 19 days ago at New York's Central Park Zoo. Johnny was second with 28% of the vote. On Monday when the winner was announced, Johnny Singapore and Johnny SS Badger gave a moving speech at the campaign headquarters. Thank you for your support.

THE GINGER MONKEY

Because I have dedicated my blog to keeping you informed about monkeys (and about me), I would be remiss if I did not inform you of this. My marvelous sister-in-law in Singapore (who also happens to really like monkeys!) informed me that there is a restaurant/bar called "The Ginger Monkey" !!!

Now before you jump out of your seat, grab your jacket, and run out the door, it might be helpful for you to know that, sadly, "The Ginger Monkey" is located in Cambodia! For those of you who are geographically challenged, Cambodia is in Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. So unless you have crazy Cambodian spring break plans, you won't be able to buy "The Ginger Monkey Spring Break '06" t-shirt that is sure to be the biggest fashion on the runways this Spring. If I manage to ever get there, I'll be sure to buy you one too!

NAME THE MONKEY

Here's your chance to be involved in monkey world!

The Today Show is having a vote to name a new Colobus monkey that was recently born at New York's Central Park Zoo.
You have 4 choices: Johnny (no kidding!), Domino, Kubuka or Kima.

Do you really have to ask me which one got my vote? But it's close, so c'mon people, Rock the Vote!

A few interesting facts about Colobus monkeys that you've always wanted to know:

• They are black with white fur down the back (kinda looks like a skunk to me).
• "Colobus" is derived from a word meaning "mutilated one", because unlike other monkeys, they have reduced thumbs.
  
• They have a specialized digestive system, a chambered-ruminant stomach.
• The colobus baby is born all white, gaining its coloration gradually.
• They sometimes belch in each other's faces as a friendly social gesture. (Who doesn't?!?)
  

NEW EVERY MORNING

Just in case you need reminding today...

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are NEW every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
(Lam. 3:22-24)

AND THE WINNER IS....

"We all need some monkey to lean on."

Congratulations to Wince's mom! And to all of you naysayers out there...I didn't pick her caption just because she was the only chick to play. I hope that you will all play again in future caption contests.

NOW THAT'S A CHEETO!!

Thanks to our friends, Todd & Carrie, I was made aware of something monumental happening in Iowa. On Saturday, a GIANT Cheeto arrived in Iowa. "The Cheeto appeared slightly smaller than a tennis ball and dwarfed a regular size piece of the snack food. It weighs only six-tenths of an ounce but has quite a girth." It's going to be on display in Algona, IA at Sister Sarah's Restaurant, "as a tourist draw". So everybody, pack your bags! Get to Iowa! There's a giant Cheeto! (Johnny SS Badger and Johnny Singapore got together again to draw today's picture. They are so talented!!)

***This is the last call for the "Write the Caption Contest" from March 8. Votes are being tallied. Get your vote in soon!

FUNKY, INDEED!

Well, should I be embarrassed to say that I watched the movie Funky Monkey this weekend? Of course, I never expected an Oscar contender...it's about a monkey, for pete's sake! But I like monkeys, Clemens made me chuckle a couple of times, and it supplied background noise as I surfed the Internet. However, I am a little disturbed to just discover that there is a Funky Monkey 2.

Apparently, it's not too bad for a children's movie....

"I am 7 years old. I loved this movie because it was so funny! It has so much action! My Grandma let me write this review for her." --Amazon.com

MONKEY LINES #1

"If this world didn't suck,
we would all
fall off!"

(Rent-Alls marquee, Libertyville, IL)

MONKEY BREAD

I realize that most of my "readers" are men. (C'mon, Ladies! Help me out here!) But nothing says that men don't need a tasty recipe every once in a while. And what could be better or more fun than...

EASY MONKEY BREAD

3 packages of buttermilk biscuit tubes
1 cup sugar (divided)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Take 3 packages of buttermilk biscuit tubes (10 per roll) and cut each roll into 4 pieces. Drop roll pieces into 1 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. drop sugar coated pieces into a well buttered bundt pan (don't squish roll pieces when placing them in the bundt pan).

Put 1/2 cup of the left over sugar/cinnamon mix and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) into small sauce pan.

Bring this mixture just to a boil, take off heat right away. Carefully drizzle over the roll pieces.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. Cool slightly in an upright position, then tip pan over onto a plate to remove monkey pull-apart bread.

INAUGURAL

It's a PoMonkey first...a "Write the Caption" contest! There are just so many choices with this picture that I just couldn't decide on a decent title for the post. So, I'm giving it over to the blogworld experts. What do you say? ** if your vote is not chosen, you may not pout, boycott or throw a temper tantrum

OOPS! SORRY!

I should probably publicly apologize to my husband. On Sunday, we got what I think will be our last snowfall. It was coming down so hard and looked so beautiful that we decided to go for a walk in it. It was great snow for snowballs, so we tossed a few around. I got a little "pouty" when my husband continued to aim at my legs or back and continued to actually hit me. Of course, my aim was always WAY off from hitting absolutely anything. So, being the great husband that he is, he stopped moving and allowed me to attempt to hit him without defending himself. The first few throws missed, of course. However, the next throw that I was aiming at his legs somehow made it's way right to the middle of his face! Snow was on his glasses, in his nose, in his mouth and all over his face. It was priceless. My aim was WAY off, and he paid the price. What a good sport! Thanks, honey.

SAND MONKEYS

This is one of the sculptures from the 2005 Sand Sculpture Contest in Port Aransas, Texas. When I was young, I spent summers with my grandparents who lived close to the beach, and since my birthday is August 21 (write it down!), I always had a Beach Birthday Party...you can't beat that! And what is the one game you can do at a beach party? A sand castle contest! (For the record, my sand castle/sculpture NEVER looked like this.) Every year we had different partners for the contest. Usually, and even to this day, my sand sculptures consisted of me filling up the sand bucket with sand and then turning it over to form some kind of round, bucket-shaped figure. I would make several of those and stick a seashell on the top. And what a beauty it was! Ha! Well, I never "won" the contest, but I did always get a prize since I was the birthday girl. I suppose it was just an attempt to raise my self-esteem. I do remember that one year my partner was one of my brother's friends (7 years my senior; and who, oddly enough, is now my step-brother). And that year we won! Of course, I'm sure he did all the work as I just sat to the side filling up my bucket and turning it over...such incredible skills! In any case, I greatly admire artists who can take sand, ice, clay, etc. and mold it into something beautiful - or something fun like a monkey!

SOCK MONKEY MADNESS FESTIVAL

Well...my friends know me! I've received several emails from them telling me about this event. Can you believe it?!? A FESTIVAL OF SOCK MONKEYS! And it's only about 80 miles from my house! Oh boy! How can you pass up seeing a 7 foot sock monkey, sock monkey collections from around the country, and meeting the great granddaughter of the sock knitting machine inventor? PLUS, monkey accessories and DESSERTS! Can we go? Please?

I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER!

Did you know? Today is National Peanut Butter Lover's Day! You should have an extra dollop today. I personally like peanut butter sandwiches with mayonnaise and bananas. However, my husband tells me that that is weird and disgusting. I'm pretty sure that Elvis liked his peanut butter sandwiches that way too....okay, so maybe it is weird and disgusting. But that's not gonna stop me from eating my yummy and delicious peanut butter sandwiches! Sorry!

(This monkey is eating peanuts!)

JOIE DE VIVRE!

Apparently, these beads will be thrown at the Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans today. As much as I like monkeys, these look kinda scary to me. Maybe I would like them better if they were smiling bigger or if their eyes didn't look so wide and menacing. But I guess that Mardi Gras in New Orleans, in itself, is pretty scary. Even though I was born in New Orleans, I'm glad I'm not there today!
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about Mardi Gras. Since moving to Chicago, I usually do a small Mardi Gras party at work, not because I'm Catholic and not because I like the crazy revelry that is typical of Mardi Gras season. I do it because I like the Louisiana culture and most people here know nothing about Louisiana, it's people, and it's culture. I try to emphasize the unique things about Louisiana, it's food, and it's traditions. And I do hope that they realize I'm not promoting the extreme foolishness and sinful behavior of many people making the trek to New Orleans. I do not condone their Joie de Vivre! (Joy of Living). However, I do believe in the REAL Joy of Living...Jesus said, "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (Jn. 10:10 MSG)

LAA LAA

Too bad I don't live in London and too bad I don't have red hair. If I did, I could go to the London Zoo at a discounted price in honor of the birth of Laa Laa, a Francois Langur monkey with "bright ginger fur". She will remain a redhead for about 6 months and then will be a brunette for the rest of her life. Her parents are Max and Shaneka, and she has an older brother, Grub. That makes me laugh!

HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY!

In honor of President's Day, Johnny SS Badger and Johnny Singapore got together this morning and made a special picture to share on PoMonkey. Of course, after all their hard work, I couldn't refuse to post it! (I think they may have a new career on their hands.)

NEW SONG

"He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a NEW SONG TO SING, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the LORD." Psalm 40:3 NLT

I was reminded of this verse this morning and thought you would be uplifted by it also. Happy Friday!

ORDER IN THE COURT!

In honor of those who have Jury Duty. For upholding your civic duty, we salute you. And here's to not being sequestered!

I AM LOVED

a·dore
v : love intensely; to regard with loving admiration and devotion

In our 13 years of marriage, my husband usually signs love notes and cards to me with "I adore you". My heart still flutters every time I read that phrase from him. He always makes me feel cherished and adored...he makes me fly!

On this Valentine's Day and every day, I adore you too, honey!

NAME THIS MONKEY

So my lovely friend, Leslie, sent me this photo. Of course, I absolutely love it! But the mama monkey resembles someone, and I just can't place who. It's one of those things that is going to bug me until I figure it out! I think it's someone famous. So I'm asking for your help. Please help me solve this mystery! I'll let you know if I figure it out.

GO USA!!!

I'm so excited that the Winter Olympics have started! We watched the Opening Ceremony last night with friends, and my favorite part was the choreographed ski jump - a performance art demonstration by hundreds of performers onstage. It was also pretty cool when the Olympic cauldron was lit.

A DREAM COME TRUE

Some would say that it is a dream come true for me, but I wouldn't go that far. However, it was incredibly cool to walk down the sidewalks in Singapore last week with over 50 monkeys walking beside me. My husband and I went to Singapore to visit family for 2 weeks and had a fabulous time. I was on "monkey alert" the entire time, and was upset when days passed and no monkeys had been seen. Finally on our last day there, we saw an entire gaggle, flock, herd...what do you call a group of monkeys? Anyway, here are some photos of my monkey friends from Singapore. Many are out of focus because I was so excited to see them. I was also upset that in my excitement, I failed to get a picture of me with a monkey to prove that I was there. But trust me...I was there and it was awesome!

HAPPY THOUGHTS

So I've been pretty sick the last few days and, once again, today I had to come home and go to bed. My husband came home from one of his many trips to Borders bookstore and brought me a Get Well gift. It's a gift book titled Happy Thoughts by Toby Reynolds and, of course, it has a monkey picture on the front. Matthew knew the pictures would make me feel better, and they did. What a great husband!

WHAT A CUTIE!

In the spirit of true friendship, our wonderful friends, Kirsten and Vince Black from the far, far, far away land of Minot, ND, dressed their handsome son, Ezra, in a monkey costume for Halloween. I don't know if they did it solely based on my love for monkeys and their love for me, but I'll gladly take some of the credit for how cute he looked!

DID YOU KNOW?

There is now a retirement home for chimps! CHIMP HAVEN in Caddo Parish, Louisiana (my home for 14 years) opened on October 28, 2005 and is a "permanent home for chimpanzees that have been retired from biomedical research, entertainment, or no longer wanted for pets." Maybe I'll have to go visit next time I'm in town!

HOW FUN IS THIS?

I just learned about a new reality show in Prague starring...you guessed it, Gorillas! The Czech public radio and TV are going to air a show that will
"follow the lives of four gorillas living together at the Prague Zoo. The show, to be called Odhaleni (Discovery), will see the primates -- one male, two females and one baby -- battle it out for a grand prize of 12 melons, a delicacy for gorillas. Czech Television will set up 15 cameras to monitor the gorillas, and viewers and listeners of the show will be able to vote via phone messages (SMS) for their favorite contestant."
Don't you wish you lived in Prague??

CAN'T HELP BUT SMILE

My lovely friend, Leslie, just sent me this picture. It made my day! Isn't it funny how small things like this make you smile. My coworker tells me I'm just a kid at heart. So instead of stopping and smelling the roses, try stopping and looking at a funny monkey picture.