Well hell.

I'm trying AGAIN to start keeping up the blog. MAYBE I'll be able to keep signing in to post. It's always such a fucking trial. I usually have to jump through all the hoops and reset the password, after I figure out which of the emails or things it wants me to use this time.

AnYWAY.

The boss fired the other groomer right after christmas. The new one starts on wedsday. Suck. I didn't like her to begin with when she came by. Work has been slow to okay, not super busy, not making tons of money. I can pay my bills and I love my job, and I adore my boss. So life isn't bad at all regarding my work situtaion.

In other news, I have a broken tooth that needs to come out. I've put it off through Xmas so I wouldn't risk not being able to make it to work. Now I put it off antoher week hoping that I'll have enough funds to have 3 taken out, rather than taking out the painful one, then needing to go back in a week or two to have the 2 abcessed ones out. Also, I have a complete terror of dentists to begin with.

I painted the CoverGirl figure into her old tan uniform. I forgot to get brown paint for her damn boots though, so I have to go to Hobby Lobby and get red and brown. Red for another figure, brown for her boots. ALso, I broke apart two figures and used the parts to build a Kamakura figure, which I'm painting. The paint job looked factory perfect, until I took it out into strong sunlight, where it looks like shit. Lucky I have to change the color to a more grey-blue and a lighter Army green. So the last coats to change the shade will finish the coating. Hopefully.

The house is still a disaster, although I have made a LOT of progress! The bedroom's display cabinet is completely cleared off, a cloth cover put on it, and the Joe vehicles displayed on top. The bookshelves over it are almost cleared off and reset. I have to decide which books are going where before I can set them up. I'd like to also put my favorite action figures up there, or put them with the vehicles. That'll get done along the way. Still need to find a new bed for back there.

Writing is going along quite well. I'm currantly working on the Rendezvous fic and the male pregnancy story. I finished the crackfic and posted it. Lots has been posted in fact, including the smut fics.

Joined a cool GI Joe site, theterrordrome. Very nice folks there, friendly and mostly G-rated, so it's not like the hiss place with all the vulgar people who just bash everything in the universe. The only positives I've seen there were people praising some custom figures. Otherwise, they bash everything in nasty ways, and so I don't go there anymore, just stay over on TD.

Snakes are breeding, and I'm hoping to get some nice eggs. I just paired up the geckos to see if they'll breed too. Hoping for that to go well also. The monitors skipped this year for eggs it seems. Wilson is being a total ass like always. Moggie is mostly mellowed out and hangs out or eats or sleeps. Typical.

That covers just about everything for now. I'll be updating along the way much more, I hope!

I was just saying that my life has been uneventful lately. Yeah, I should have kept my mouth shut. On my drive home, I was tooling along on 207 at a 'good clip' which translates to about 73 mph. I suddenly spot a poor confused snake in the center of the road. Now.. This is a divided 4 lane highway(2 lanes each direction with a wide median), so it's on the yellow line between the fast and slow lanes. It's gonna die. I mean, there's no way this poor snake will ever make it the rest of the way without help!

It's Super Wolfy to the rescue!! Yes! Faster than some elderly turtles, able to leap to conclusions in a single bound, I jump into action! I pulled over immediately, and grabbed my handy snake hook from behind the truck seat.

What? You don't carry snake capturing equipment in your vehicle as a matter of routine? Tcch tchh. But I digress...

As I'm grabbing my hook and getting out and looking at traffic, part of my astute brain is identifying the snake from the brief glimpse I got as I passed it. I'm pretty certain it's a water snake, non-venomous but feisty, but it could be a water moccasin or even a dark rattler, perhaps a pregnant black racer..

I check traffic, and wave at a oncoming truck to move to the fast lane so I can trot out to capture the snake which hasn't moved. I'm hoping it's not already injured, but certain it seemed lively when I passed it. As I get out into the road I move up carefully, completely aware that it could be a venomous(and ticced off) snake, and I do NOT want to get bitten.

The truck that moved to the fast lane for me passes and I can concentrate on the snake and I immediately realize that this is the VERY rare Northern Tattered Cable. Now, Tattered Cables are fairly common on most roadways, being found throughout the United States anywhere that vehicles travel. But Northern Tattered Cables are not so common and so I was indeed lucky to happen on one, not only in the open road, but in peril so I was able to assist it!

I cursed rather loudly and creatively in order to soothe the Cable as I expertly tailed it and lifted it's length on the snake hook. Moving it carefully across the roadway, I placed it into the ditch where it can live out it's days in happiness and safety.

Note: Although Tattered Cables of all localities are non-venomous, they have been known to draw blood, so careful handling is always advised!! Also, please note that at no point should anyone endanger themselves or other drivers/passengers in cars by 'darting' into traffic to assist any creature. Please be safe when attempting rescues!!

At any rate, I did rather wish I'd gotten a picture of the lovely creature, but I'll have to be content with my memories of such a exciting and successful rescue!

My monday of the week

Since i work tues-sat.. today is my "monday".

Got met in the parking lot of the shop by my neurotic client, who detailed out how she wanted her dog done.. then she repeated it all once she followed me inside. Since she wanted the Standard poodle's topknot shaved off.. with eyebrows left.. and the rest shaved.. I did try gently to dissuede her. She insited, I agreed.

Once I got her shaved down.. her topknot shaved off.. the owner calls.. "Oh about those eyebrows.. I'm not sure.." "TOO LATE!" So she ended up having me remove the eyebrows too when she picked up.. meaning she looked like a pinhead.

Got off work and got my check in the bank, got my mail from the post office, got a new comic, yay!, got a card from my friend.. not that bad.

Stomach is still upset, but it's doing better. Got almost an hour of chores done. Boys weeded the flower beds today. Pics are of the snapdragons and my rose bloom.

Down day

Yep.. really down today. With stress and everything, I've just felt very depressed. So I've been sitting around doing next to nothing useful. I watered the plants outside.. did a load of laundry and baked some bratwurst for dinner.

Otherwise, it was hot and clear and sunny and the dogs have lain around all day too. Gave Groo some scratchings and fiddled around and wrote a few hundred words, talked to a few folks online or texting.

Yawn. Slept in until 11am and still feel like crawling back into bed all day. Even Lil Beachie made himself scarce all day.

So new news

Sorry it's been sooooo long. Not that many folks read this. But I always have the MOST trouble signing in to post a blog here. No idea why.

I've been okay.. although there was a fairly major upheaval and change in my life, and it was sufficiently upsetting to me that I was ill a few days. With any hope, it'll mean my life is less stressful. I can only hope. With no fallout or crazyiness, it will.

No python eggs, but I do have 4 gecko eggs in the incubator. The male AFT gecko died though. The snakes are mostly doing fine.

Groo woke up! Yay for awake tegu lizard. She's starting to get active too. The dogs are all fine.. the cat is doing as well as can be expected.

I recently went to a event and got everyone(nearly) to write notes to Shobin who is over in Kuwait now. Took a group picture too, so hopefully that packet will arrive in a timely manner and he'll like it. Sis is doing much better with her broken legs and finally is back at Benning so I'm hopeful that she'll get back into the OCS program quickly.

And... snapdragons are blooming! Putting a pic of them up here. Lil Beachie has been DARNED busy and there's lots of pictures up on his twitter, so check it out.

Writing has gone okay lately.. since I had the laptop implode from the virus.. then get wiped and redone(thanks to my most awesome brothers!) the writing has gone pretty well. I enjoy it and feel acomplished when I post a chapter up. I also got some really AWESOME artwork commissioned, will post that up too.

With any luck I'll be posting more often here. Shrug.. who knows.. I've said that before!

For shits and giggles

Kind of literally...I have a trio of African FatTail geckos. I just discovered today that one is gravid with what looks like three big eggs in her belly.

I'm very excited, have not previously bred this species. So I'm rushing about to be sure I have everything I need to incubate the eggs once they are laid. I don't, but that's a different story.

I sat back down at the computer, to check on the caresheet info on incubating one more time. Looking over at the cage, I see the gecko lifting it's tail and straining and OMG! IT'S LAYING EGGS!!!!

I grabbed up my camera and tried to take some pics, and watched the strains. I'm yelling and shrieking happily as it pushes out.. a turd. Oh yeah.. that's the MALE gecko, the pregnant female is in the little hide box.

Yes.. if you've never cheered lustily as a gecko took a dump on camera.. you just don't understand me at all.

I laughed so hard that I stopped breathing and turned blue. Once I could gasp in air again.. I started laughing again. OMG. Only in MY life. I just thought someone might get a giggle out of it.

IHOP rules.. and here's why...

So I gotta say.. IHOP ROCKS. I'll tell you why later..

I went to the party. Was grand, got to see folks, people were friendly.

Lil Beachie went too, there's a couple pics I have to upload to his twitter(yes, he's been fussing about that, although he was QUITE happy to hit his bunk last night/this morning when we got home). Since the party was sort of short, I went back home, slept in my bed, and went to the Hoggetown fair setup this morning. It was a lot more convienant to be at home and only have an hour's drive to the fairgrounds.

So.. Hoggetowne fairgrounds we put up all the gigantic tents, went very smoothly. I managed to put in side poles, lay out ropes and poles, sledgehammer in stakes, etc etc. Lots of grunt work, which made me feel like I helped a lot.

Lil Beachie came along for that as well, and helped out. Pics also going up of that.

So after getting the tents all up, and crawling under the tent wall a couple times.. another thing.. I decided to reward myself for all my good deeds(I was social at the party AND helped at Hoggetowne, only yelled at one kid), with a waffle. Cause I love waffles. I've had a waffle iron before, but I have no waffle-waaaaa. .. cannot make them. It's okay, I can eat them.

So Lil Beachie and I went to the Clock resturant(greasy spoon) for a waffle. We were seated, and the waitress asked what I wanted to drink.. then snatched the 'extra' paper placemat almost from under Beachie's feet. I overlooked that.

After 15 full minutes, my soda hadn't arrived, and my order hadn't been taken.. despite the fact that there were all of 4 tables taken in the WHOLE DANGED RESTURANT. There were no less than 6 waitresses. No one brought the drink.. no one took the order.. even though I sat in full sight of them. So.. I plopped the menu back onto the front counter and left.

We went to IHOP. We were seated and a waitress came up and took my drink order. She brought it back quickly.. and took my order. She asked if I wanted anything else OTHER than just a waffle. Nope.. just a waffle.

She brings the waffle in a couple minutes. Lovely big waffle. She asked if everything was okay about 3 minutes later on another pass by the table, EVEN THOUGH the place was packed with patrons. PACKED. I told her honestly.. "The waffle is great, but Beachie is a bit annoyed you didn't ask if he wanted to order anything himself."

HERE is why IHOP rocks.

She looks at the tiny action figure who is standing on the far side of the table where a place setting would be. She says TO HIM... "I'm so sorry.. I assumed you were on guard duty."

Yes. So I pointed my fork at him and told him "I told you not to carry that gun into the resturant, that's a legit assumption on her part. He's fine, I'll let him have some of my waffle, he certainly doesn't need steak and eggs this morning." She nods agreeably and leaves again.

She comes back in about 4-5 minutes and asks "Okay.. who gets the check?"

Yes. I said I would pay, since he didn't order. Gave her a $20 bill. She came back with the change and I left it all for her as the biggest tip she'll be likely to see today(percentage wise). Because SHE GORRAM ROCKED.

Lil Beachie agrees, that IHOP is the bomb and we should go back there, despite it being across town for us to drive to.

Also went to Walmart to get a new pen to write letters with, because I've been going through all of mine and they dry up halfway through a letter. I forgot to check the toy department for the Lil Shipwreck, but that's okay, I'll be in town for Hoggetown next sunday, and I can go then, in garb.

Lil Beachie's twitpic page(you don't have to sign in to look at the pics and captions) cause a couple people asked me for the link recently.
http://twitpic.com/photos/LilBeachie

That's about it, I'm back home, a bit tired, but thinking of a nap.
tayla