Rileys post

Greetings! A blog post from the other fledgelings from the nest (Riley). I am taking this chance to brag about my hobby of keeping pets. But first I must apologise for the mess I have made of this blog. I absolutely HATE the setup of these blogs. I had a terrible time trying to get my pictures on and kept accidentally deleting them. Finally I gave up on organization and put my pictures on indiscriminately.

The corn snakes you see are two of my favourite pets. their is a male and a female. The males name is Julius Squeezer and the females is Scarlet. I got them as hatching's on August 30, 2009. That makes them about 5 months old.

In the plastic container pictures are before and after pictures. The one below the other is when I first got them and the one above is from a few days ago. They have both grown about 4 inches and will eventually get about 3-5 feet in length. Not your largest snake but impressive enough.

In two of the pictures you see Julius climbing on the handle of a door and then their is another picture of him climbing up in between the door without any support. This is a small example of their athleticism. I had to put clamps on their cage lid because they kept inch worming their way up the corner of the cage, pushing up the lid and escaping. They are constrictors and are quite Strong. Their is also a picture of Scarlet trying to be a hat on my head.

Their is also several pictures of my fire bellied toads. I got them for Christmas last year. They are very pretty and entertaining. You can tell I had fun designing their cage.

The picture of the Betta is a fellow I just got a few days ago. The plant in his boll is a live plant called a Java fern. He has been very entertaining to watch. Especially when you put a mirror up to him.

And lastly my least favorite pet. the garter snake at the top used to be my favorite but now he is about a year and a half older and a lot bigger and nastier. The cute thing in the picture is now about two feet long and has a grumpy disposition. He or she (I don't know which because it's wild caught) is relatively docile if you have been holding it for a wile but if you wake him\her up you might get bitten. Just yesterday I caught a night crawler for it and brought it up and the little devil bit me, then musked ( a nasty thing, garter snakes are somewhat like skunks in that respect, secreting a nasty smelling liquid when first caught, startled, or in this case just plane mean) then ate the worm. How is that for thanks? I am going to let it go this spring when it warm up more.

Random Dozen

Random Dozen


1. Have you ever fired a gun or shot a bow and arrow?
I grew up with three brothers, they didn't share there weapons very well but I did get to use their B. B. guns after they moved out and left them behind. our family had a perfect place to have a shooting gallery in the back yard.

2. Do you know where your childhood best friends are?
Yes, some.
3. Do you usually arrive early, late, or on time?
My husband broke me of the habit of being late, he is always punctual.
4. Are you more of a New York or California type?
Neither, I am 100% country girl, but don't care for country music.
5. Do you have a special ring tone?
no
6. What is your favorite type of chip?
I love homemade chex mix, I like to put candy corn in it. (sweet&salty)
7. Best comedy you've ever seen is ....
Abbot and Costello, Who's on first.
8. Have you ever cut your own hair? To quote Dr. Phil, 'How'd that work for ya?'
Just bangs, I always get them crooked.
9. If you were going to have an extreme makeover, would you rather it be about your house or your personal self?
My house! it was built in 1899 and hasn't had a face lift since the 1970's and it needs to be updated. I have gotten rid of the sea foam green and blue shag carpet, and orange paneling, but I have other plans I would love to fulfill.
10. Are you allergic to anything?
EVERYTHING !!
11. Why is it so hard to change?
It's not, I change my mind all the time.
12. One last question dedicated to February love: CS Lewis said, 'To love is to be vulnerable.' Please share one example of that assertion or share any thought you'd like to about this topic."
Don't get it.

Ice is the frosting

j

This is the whole flock of chickens. Whenever we let them outside, some of them won't go because they are afraid of the snow. It's funny to see their reactions.

These are some pictures of the beautiful weather outside. We have a family of eight to twelve blue jays that visit everyday to eat some bird seed.
Katie G. wrote this because she would do anything but the dishes.

new camrea

Random Dozen

Bugs in my soup!!!

yuck!

The organic long grain rice I bought from Meijer had bugs in it. They didn't show until after we already ate some of our soup. Otherwise it was so delicious.

Would you eat the soup if you found bugs in it? My son did.

1. Are you pleasant when you're ill, or are you a grumpy, fussy patient?
I turn in to a whinny baby who just wants to sleep all the time.
2. When you find out that school is canceled (due to inclement weather) what is your gut reaction?

I always tease the kids like its torture,but I don't mind, I remember how fun it was to get out of school for snow days.
3. What is one domestic skill you wish you could improve?

decorating and arranging my furniture
4. Do you decorate your home for Valentine's Day?

I have a box of decorations in the attic, but I just can't get inspired to get them out.
5. What song is on your mind today?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
6. Do you prefer contemporary movies or classic?

Hallmark Movies are my favorite.
7. How well do you "compartmentalize" your feelings? For example, how well can you put aside a really trying moment to deal with the immediate situation which is not related to the trying moment, e.g., putting aside a tiff with your spouse in order to finish wallpapering a room.

8. What is the first thing that attracted you to your spouse? (Or if you're single, to your best friend.)

Eric has the most beautiful smile, and his quiet character.
9. When was the last time your heart raced?

10. What are your memories of Valentine's Day at school?

When I was a kid they always had a valentine with a skunk on it, and you didn't give that one to anyone you liked
11. If you were going to receive candy for Valentine's Day, which would you prefer?

Dove milk chocolate, please
12. Red or pink?

I can't stand pink any more, my daughters room was pink for ten years, and I guess it made me sick of it.

Another day in paradise.

St. Maarten was so beautiful. We took a tour of the island and spent some time at the beach. It was three days at sea before I could even interact with the sea.

I didn't catch the name of the artist who painted these murials, but they were fabulous. They were painted on a retaining wall on the side of a hill, it looked like a dangerous place to be, to stand and paint.

This was one of the best pictures of our cruise ship because it was so big it was hard to get the whole ship in one frame.

Random Dozen,cruse pictures

San Juan,Puerto Rico was our first port of call, how wonderful is was to get off the boat and see new sights.







shop,and see It was fun to The streets were very narrow and the reminded
us of Italy.
what they had to offer,















I wish I would have bought this hat,


I think Eric could use another hat besides farm seed company hats.
Nice change Eric.








The kids had four snow days while we were gone, and the grandparents kept there since of humor the whole time. P.T.L.

Well back to reality, I m hoping to cover The itinerary as we did on the cruise, the next island was so beautiful, St Maarten, we took a tour and went to the beach, see ya next time.

Now for the random doz. Thank you Linda for giving me a reason to blog when I have noting else to report.


1. How good are you at delaying gratification?


I have improved so much since I have been married and had children. I was so spoild by my Mom & Dad when I was living at home, I will always cherish the extra time I had with them.

2. Maybe a marshmallow wouldn't be too difficult a temptation for you. What food (or anything else) would be most tempting?



Chocolate, is the ultimate food. On the cruise I had a small bowl of M& M every day because believe it or not the desserts they served usually were not as satisfying as my old standby.


3. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being saintly) how patient are you?



It depends on how much sleep I had the night before,

plus the amount of caffeine,

plus the reason for the wait. So



S+C+W= 8 if all the desirable equations work out.



Otherwise minus one or more desirable equations I would be about a 5


4. Have you ever waited for something in life only to be disappointed upon realization of the goal/object/etc.?



Senior prom, I had a date set up by a mom in our church, He was so handsome and I always was to shy to talk to him, but he was a trouble maker, He was in prison on the day of the prom, I'm glade I didn't get to know him after all.



5. Are you a person who takes shortcuts?

Oh yes, if I can do it my way its usually the way I can do it most efficiently in my mind.


6. Which line is hardest to wait in?



Check out at Christmas.


7. Did you wait to discover the gender of your unborn child until its birth?



MY first we found out , but my second they wouldn't tell us,[ Grumpy tec.]


8. Are you more patient with children or the elderly?



Love them both but when kids are old enough to be bad mouthed disrespectful self centred human beans I loose my patients.


9. Did you ever sneak a peek at a present?



When I was a kid, My mom always had the same spot in her closet to keep all the goodies, I took a regular tour through her self just see what was new.


10. What is the longest you've ever waited for anything?



Heaven !


11. Who has more patience, you or your significant other?



Husband wins hands down.


12. Which of the following songs about waiting is your pick for the best? (OK, you may substitute another, if you like.)

A) Anticipation by Carly Simon
B) The Waiting by Tom Petty
C) Right Here Waiting for You by Richard Marx
D) Wait for Me by Rebecca St. James

My editor way too tired and busy with homework to make my post look smart, She is a great person. and wanted to have her own blog, what do you think? is it safe to let a almost thirteen year old going on thirty have her own blog? it doesn't seem to be any worse than face book.