Over the past few years, my oldest son has shown a great interest in reptiles. Quite honestly, he has enjoyed reading books about snakes and lizards all his life. He has his favorites that he enjoys gawking at in zoos or pet shops too. He loves to collect facts about any reptile, especially venomous ones.

About 2 or 3 years ago he asked me if he could get a leopard gecko as a pet. I am not fond of reptiles. They give me the heebee jeebees! I feel like they give me that “evil-eye” stare. Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine. Well, I knew what I wanted to answer but I also knew my husband would have gotten upset with me if I answered so quickly without discussing it first. So, I told my son to go ask his father. :-S

Yeah right! I had my chance.

Well my husband thought it was a great idea! I think he saw me freakin’ out though, because about that same time, he told my son that he must first learn everything he could about Leopard Geckos before he could get one. My son was so excited! He dug through numerous books and spoke to several sales people in the pet stores. Once he learned all he could, he began collecting everything he needed to care for it.

A couple days ago, we had to make a trip to the pet store. We had to purchase some Anacharis (a fresh water aquarium plant) for his Biology lab. While there, he just had to show me the Leopard Geckos. As we began to browse the store, he reminded me of other things he needed in order to complete his lizard setup. So, I bought a sifter to clean the droppings out of the tank and a cricket cage because Leopard Geckos prefer LIVE food and crickets are at the top of their lists.

Well, the following day I finally broke down and bought him a Leopard Gecko. It was fun to see the expression on his face when he became the sole owner of this lizard. As I mentioned, Leopard Geckos love to eat crickets. They DO NOT like freeze-dried or dead crickets… They like to hunt for their food… So, that means my son now has crickets that he has to keep alive too… Well, he has to feed them for at least a week at a time. Can you sense my anxiety? I know what I’ll be dreaming about at night!

New Pet in the House!

In my mind, I picture my house with crickets jumping all over the place. I will have to release the gecko to eat the crickets! OMG!!

Crickets in Captivity (Hopefully until death!)

Lord have mercy!

More later…

Technorati Tags: Personal Note

So much has happened over the past month. People ask why I don’t blog… I have been so busy trying to unpack our home AND work on Christmas. There just hasn’t been a lot of time.

My parents drove from northern California in their RV about 3 weeks ago. My brother and his family have been great hosts for my parents as they enjoy looking for a house to move into. I only wish I could have helped with their accommodations. I know that my brother and his family had an incredibly busy month… First, they housed us for a couple of days before we could actually move here to our new home, then his inlaws came for a welcomed stay before they left for Texas, and finally our parents came for the Christmas/New Years holiday. (I think I’ll leave my brother and his family alone for a while now.)

I love to take my time picking out gifts for my family and friends, but this year I couldn’t do that. First off, our house was in complete disarray. (It still is, but it is getting better.) Making sure we had beds to sleep on and clothes to wear was very important.

Finding adequate shopping spots wasn’t difficult, just getting there was. I became very dependent on my cell phone’s GPS and Google Maps. That posed another problem… driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding my phone to view the map… Oh my! Tucson is incredibly large. I have never seen so many MALLS! There is the Tucson Mall, Foothills Mall, El Con Mall, Park Place Mall, and then there is the Mall just west of the I-19 corridor that I can NEVER remember it’s name. Needless to say I don’t lack for shopping!

Then there is all this dang construction! Not just on the freeway, which is bad enough, but then there is construction either at the Malls or around the Malls, which makes for some interesting driving!

Anyway, I digress.

It has been so many years since we have been NEAR family, it became difficult to know what to get for them. (I am still not done shopping either!) I am a firm believer in GETTING gift cards. I love them. I know, I know… Gift cards say, “I didn’t know what to get you, so you find something for yourself that you like.” Yep… that is what I have become, a gift card giver. (It’s also an excellent way to stay on budget.) However, when you are trying to tell a family member that has been distanced for a very long time that you love them and care about them, gift cards don’t work! So, I did do some shopping with my sister in law who was able to shed some light on the subject… thanks Cher.

Well, for the most part, the holidays were very nice. We watched movies, sat in a hot tub, watched football, and the kids got to play XBox 360 with there cousins.

Now the parents are home safely and the new year has begun. It is time for me to get my head back into business. Even though I have been working on business stuff over this last month, it hasn’t been as dedicated as usual. With personal stuff out of the way, now I can begin getting my head back into the game.

Have a happy and prosperous new year!

More later…

Technorati Tags: Personal Note