Wow, I almost forgot to post about this – I guess that goes to show how far down blogging has been on my list lately! But I thought you’d enjoy a quick look at me in my VERY UNFLATTERING Fish and Wildlife Service official uniform. I ordered the cargo-style pants, thinking that they’d at least be more stylish than the women’s regular pants that tend to gather up near my boobs and taper towards the ankle. However, I did not realize that the cargo pants are actually made of cardboard. And I checked the label on my shirt – 10% polyester, 90% potato sack burlap. So I was itchy and scratchy and very hot the entire day!

Oh yeah – where was I??? A couple of weeks ago I volunteered to help out with the Junior Duck Stamp contest at the San Diego Zoo. Which was cool, because this is the first year in the 20-some year history that the contest was held outside of Washington D.C. It’s like the regular duck stamp contest, but school kids (hence the Junior designation) submit paintings for the stamp. And I must say, many of the entries (one from each state) were AMAZING. I couldn’t believe that these were done by kids – it almost made me want to paint again! You can read more about the contest and see the winning painting here; the money from purchasing a duck stamp goes to conservation, so pony up, people.

During the contest I got to be a Vanna – that is, I paraded one of the top five finalists in front of the audience and judges. I believe the painting I was holding came in 2nd (probably because of my excellent presentation). But enough talk – we all know that a picture is worth a thousand words!

Go Vanna, Go!

These are actual ducks, not a painting, that were clamoring around the polar bear exhibit.