april_drawing is having an October drawing challenge! I figure it's a good excuse to make myself draw something everyday..hopefully I can keep up better then I did last april..lol! Anyways, the theme for today was "Warm Up" so I warmed up by drawing a gal doing warm ups.....



Whee!!

Also, here is a photo of Oskar since I promised one ages ago but he was too camera shy to let that happen...as you can see he's gone from shy to a ruffled back the f@#$k off! ;)



We're still working on him, my hands are healing somehwhat...but he has learned to mimic "Peeper peeper peeper!!!" (I call him Mr. Peepers, because Oskar isn't cutsie enough for me). He will not say "Peeper peeper" when I am with him however, it's more of a "you're far away and I want a cheerio" trick that he pulls.. ;)

I would just like to take a moment to thank the world for baby aspirin, because this weekend it saved me $400.

My poor Kiki hurt herself at my parents house while we were all out to dinner. My best guess is that she pulled a back muscle jumping on or off the couch. Her lower back over her hips was all sore, and she was MISERABLE...so miserable in fact that she punctured my fingernail with her teeth when I tried to check her over for breaks or wounds. My poor baby! Why does nonsense like this ALWAYS seem to happen on a holiday weekend when a $400 visit with a random emergency vet tech is a guarantee?

I immediately called my Aunt, who is our family dog "doctor", being that for as long as I've know her she has never had less then 6 dogs at once and has years of rescue/foster work under her belt. And she recommended we give her a baby aspirin and wait a few days to see how she feels.

Let me tell you, aspirin in a MIRACLE DRUG. Once we persuaded her to take it, she turned into a new dog. She's still not back to her full self, but now that were home again and away from the chaos that a with a house with 5 other dogs can be, I think she'll start rebounding faster. At the very least if she doesn't seem to be improving I can take her to our usual, though still expensive but at least well qualified, vet.

GOD BLESS YOU BABY ASPIRIN!!! My still-trying-to-make-it-on-my-last-unemployment-check-until-my-first-freelance-payment-comes-through ass is in debt to you...

First, look who I found sleeping in the laundry today!



Due to the Holiday weekend and a comp day earned by some overtime last week, I now have a 5 DAY WEEKEND OMG!! Weds should always be Fris, man...so AWESOME. I am looking forward to this VERY much, because it's been a rough month and PMS is kicking my ass right now and a break will be very very welcome.

Tomorrow my parents are coming in to give me my long promised Birthday present. I've been DYING for a haircut for AGES and back in OCT my mom said she'd take me to the salon of that guy on "What not to Wear" because she LOVES that show, so I said why the hell not! So tomorrow we'll be heading down to Nick Arrojo's Studio to meet David to get my hair did. I am excited, because my hair is so long that it brushes my elbows and freaks me out. Dinner and sightseeing will hopefully follow.

Friday I am HOPING that Matthew can take off to and we can have fun together. The goal for this weekend is to finish our front hall, put up molding, paint and assemble my new desk so that we can take my poor Imac out of it's box and let it BE FREE!

And also I want to see Star Trek or I will cry.

Heres hoping for a productive/relaxing/ happy fun times weekend! Why is it not 6:30 yet?

Matthew sent me this piccie to cheer me up!  AWWW  KIKI BELLIES!

GUH It's been a rough few weeks...Can I just say that I am SICK TO DEATH of having to fight Health Insurance Companies and Doctors AT EVERY SINGLE TURN.  I mean lately it's been like pulling teeth just to renew the SAME prescriptions that I have been on FOR LIKE 8+ YEARS for conditions I have had ALL MY LIFE.  THIS IS NOT NEW STUFF PEOPLE.   I promise I will not go into a full blown rant, because I might pop a blood vessel in my brain, but HOLY HELL.  People that whine about Nationalized Healthcare because they fear the inefficiency of the government have OBVIOUSLY never had to deal with private Insurance companies.  At least with national healthcare we would ALL share the frustration (and ya know GET AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE OMG! CONCEPT!)

I fear I might have to rip somebody's ears off  if I have to get on ONE MORE customer service call.

Thank god it's Lost night tonight. 

So after living in our apartment for a YEAR, we have finally decided to get around to...ya know making it look like a house. Usually we try to paint a space before we move in, but when we bought our apartment it was all such a crazy move-in schedule, that we never got around to it. And THUS, it never got done. But since we recently decided to make our front hall my work/computer area, we've decided to get on the ball.... But OMG IT IS SO SOUL SUCKING! We cannot find a color we like. I think the problem is, I know the MOOD I want but I can't find a color to fit. I want my "office" to be cozy warm, but also bright because our apartment is on the 1st floor/back corner of our blg and is dark, dark, dark!

To give you an idea of my conundrum, let me show you a FRACTION of our paint chip collection:

Kiki and Georgia are confused and not amused. Keep in mind that these are only some of the chips we pulled for the hallway, and does not iclude to HUGE STACK of ones we also pulled for the bedroom and trim.

We've put the past two weekends into this operation, and let me show your our progress so far....

( ONWARD!!! )

For folks who may have been wondering...the doggy situation seems to have righted itself!



( Doggies! )

Lets see...what else is exciting.....Theres a Reptile Show on Sun..I am SO EXCITED!!
( Froggies!! )


The Dr Who Finale was..interesting...
( Dr.WHOOOOS )

OMG Why isn't today over yet? WANTS MUH WEEKEND!!

OMG GAIS! ARTSES!

Last night I was cleaning up my desk, and I found some papers that I had doodled on at work when we were searching for our new puppy baby..I guess I was a little "obsessed"....I'm surprised I didn't freak my coworkers out, it's amazing I'm still allowed in the building... ;)


( 1 MORE! WOOF! )

EEEEEEEEEEEEE! LOOK WHO I'M MEETING ON SAT!!! EEEEEEEEEEE!!!

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=10765622

She's SO PERFECT!!! I hope she's as good in person, and that she and Georgia get along!!!

OMG I'M SO EXCITED I THINK I'M GOING TO BURST!!!!!! XDDDDDDDD

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone you left a comment on my last entry...you guys are amazing, and it really helped to read your words of comfort... Also super hugs to my friends at work and macbeemer for being super awesome and sweet and supportive in person on Friday it really made a hard day easier to get through...you guys are the best!

Matthew and I are in NJ this weekend at my parent's house, dog sitting. It's good to get away and hide in the comfort of suburbia for awhile. We're still sad, it still hurts, and I suppose it always will, but everyday seems to get a little bit easier. I think I have to come to terms that I will never really "get over" my baby Mr. J, but thats okay. He was amazing and sweet and affectionate and the happiest dog I've ever seen, and I will always love him for that, I need to focus on that right now, not on the horrible memory of Wed. night.

Georgia is doing alot better with her 4 furry cousins to entertain her. She really is a dog oriented dog, Jasper was more focused on people, so I'm going to feel awful when we leave tomorrow, and bring her back to our empty apartment. I think we've both decided we need to find her a new companion. It might take awhile, we both feel so sad, and guilty, and the thought of a new dog is exciting and sad at the same time, but she really needs a friend, and I think a new baby will help us too. I don't want to rush into anything though, we need to find her the right companion, someone submissive and playful so they can keep each other company during the day, and also affectionate and cuddly to us like Jasper was. Definitely don't want a puppy, but a 2-4 yr old rescue dog will be good, and since Jasper and Georgia were both rescues it seems right. I think we both want another chihuahua too, I think I'm just hoping for someone who will remind me of my Mr. J...but we'll see who comes along.

In the meantime its just one day at a time....

Thank you so so much again, everyone. I really can't say how helpful your kinds words have been! They really have meant so much!

My little Chihuahua, Jasper passed away last night. We came home and found his little body in the livingroom. It was not expected. I think my chest is going to burst. The house is too quiet. It's too empty. I miss him so much, and I don't know what to do. It hurts to be awake, but I can't sleep. The only reason I got 4 hours sleep this morning is because I broke down and took a sleeping pill. I can't stand this..I love him so much..I can't stand waking up without him snuggled next to me...I can't stand the thought of sitting on a couch with an empty lap...I can't stand the thought of only putting out one bowl of food..what are we going to do? I hate the thought of Georgia all alone durng the day..I hate the thought of comming home to an emptier house..I miss his kisses and his snuggles and his sweet face..I miss playing with him and calling him baby names and kissing his ears....I feel so guilty and angry and helpless and scared and so so sad. It will never be the same without him, my poor little baby....It hurts so much....I want to get out of here..I miss my baby man......my lil' Mr. J...

Matthew just sent me this video about Poison Dart Frogs raising their young.



The video features the same kind of Dart frogs that Matthew keeps in his terrarium at work....


More pics!

Our trio at work have started having babies at an alarming rate! So far we're up to about 12 taddies in various stages of growth, and one fully developed froglet hopping around the terrarium. I'm so jealous, because he says he gets to see them do the same ritual you see in the video all day long, calling to each other and toting their babies to and fro! So amazing! Someday I'm going to make him build me teh ultimate Terrarium at home so I can watch the baby caring too (because sadly the frogs we have at home now are notoriously hard to get breeding..bah!)

YAY NATURE!

So, Matthew and I attended yet another reptile expo this weekend. I swear I need to stop going to these things...they will be the ruin of us! We went in only planning to pick up a toad or two to live in our new bathroom tank, and walked out with toads AND this lil guy:

New baby!!

Meet our brandy new crested gecko friend! He hasn't got a name yet, and he's still alittle flighty (which I hope is due to the fact that he's still young) but he's still adorable! ;) Matthew will be constructing a super deluxe vivarium for him this week so that he may strech his little feet. I still can't believe I bought him...we were just walking around the expo and one of the breeders had her crested walking around her display (he was wearing a little hat too!) It was to damn adorable to resist. I have to admit, I do feel like a fish out of water though, we're really mainly frog people, and we don't know ANYTHING about cresteds yet!

Does anyone out there have ay advice for a new owner? We set him up in a temporary tank last night, and fed him some small crickets (which I assume he ate since they seemed to be gone this morning), but I understand some people feed them baby food and or yogurt too? Any advice at all would be appreciated actually! LOL!

( MORE PICS! )

We had a little miracle last night at my house. You see.....about 4 months ago or so, Matthew and I went to our first NYC Reptile Expo, and amongst other things, we bought two Spiny Hoppers:



Sadly a month or two later they died (and I blamed myself since I kinda knew the breeder we got them from wasn't very reputible)...or at least we thought they did . One of them seemed to just disappear, there was no body to be found in the tank at all. We kinda assumed he had escaped without us knowing (though thats highly unlikely since the tank is on a high bookshelf), and after awhile stopped looking for him. We left the tank alone however, since we thought we'd use it for something else later down the line.

Well last night Matthew was feeding our froggies, and happened to look over at the abandoned tank, and what should we find but our lost little frog, hopping around and digging himself out from under the dirt!!! It was AMAZING! Apparently the little guy didn't die, he just decided to bury himself under the dirt and hiberate for 4 months... He must have buried himself deep to, because Matthew really tore apart the tank looking for him.

He seems to be doing well, we need to buy him some food, cause he must be STARVING. I think he's doub;ed in size too! Perhaps this weekend we'll get him a bigger tank and set him up in a nice new house...part of me worries he went in hibernation because his first tank was too small for the two of them to share...

Good grief but Mother Nature is amazing! I can't believe an animal could live without food or water for 4 months.... It absolutely fascinating! I love owning frogs..LOL! *dorks*

So, Matthew and I went to the Petco in Union Square today..mainly to get crickets and fruitflies for our froggie children...but we always take a peek to see what they have frog wise just for fun. Ya see, I love Whites Tree Frogs. Folks might remember that Matthew actually bought me my first pair as a V-Day present 1 year ago. We still have Fred, and are currently on George III, but I am always on the look out for more. ESP. Special morphs (ie. different colorings that are rare). We actually really lucked out with Fred, since he turned out to be a blue morph. His skin is missing yellow pigment, so instead of changing from green to brown like a common WTF, he changes from light green to a beautiful light turqiouse. George the III, we were hoping was going to be a high-green morph, but alas, he seems to remain common brown most of the time (on the up side he is HUGE now, he's nearly 4in long and abnormally large for his age). The benefit of checking out Petco is that they NEVER know what they have as far as WTFs go, so if you're lucky you can get a blue morph (which would run you about $85 at an expo) for $19!

So I always check hoping to find another Blue morph (cuz I love the coloring!) However today we looked in the tank and found THIS little guy:

I have NEVER heard of a yellow/golden morph before! Matthew and I couldn't believe our eyes!! Obviously we snatched him up. 'Charlie' has joined our froggie Weasley family!! XD He needs some fattening up, but he's hunting well and getting along with his new brothers so I think he'll be fine! (fingers crossed!) ( MORE PICS!! )

I realized I never posted the results of our trip to the Reptile Expo a few months back..so I thought I would share some photos of our newsest family members.  We aquired 3 beautiful Bumblebee Poison Dart Frogs (or Dendrobate leucomelas for you scientidic folks).  Matthew had been working on building them a new home for a few weeks prior, so it was sooo nice to get them home and set them up in their new habitat.  I think terrium building is Matthew's new favorite hobby.....

The wee family!

( More pics under the cut! )I still haven't decided what to name them.  I originally wanted to call them Albus, Aberforth and Dumbledore (Bumblebee Darts..get it? Hurhur!)  but Matthew wants to name them Bo, Luke and Daisy (cuz they're Leucs..heeeerrrrher).

We're such dorks... ;)

Next I'll need to get photos of Fred and George the Third, you guys won't believe how much they've grown!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! SO EXCITED! On April 28th and 29th the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens is having a huge Cherry Blossom Festival, the Sakura Matsuri. Those who know what a huge Japan-o-phile I am will also know how freakin' excited I am that this will be going on a few blocks from my Apartment! EEEEE! I cannot wait! 

EDIT: ZOMG!!!  The Reptile Expo is actually on the 22nd!!! YAY!  Now I can go see the Kimono show and be a great big giant DORK!  HURRAH! 

Sadly, I am going to miss the kimono fashion show! I am sooooo disappointed, I REALLY wanted to see that! But I have already promised Matthew that we would go to a huge Reptile Expo (heehee we're Herp dorks) in White Plains on Sat. and I doubt we'd be home in time.

Ooooo Cherry Blossoms and Reptiles in one weekend!! I can't wait! XD

Also, OMFG YAY IT'S FRIDAY! YAY WEEKEND! XD

Dood I am so excited! Today after work I am going to see my puppies! We weren't able to bring the fuzzy kids to Brooklyn with us, because our backyard wasn't fenced in well enough, and we have a HUGE pitbull and rottie living nextdoor.. (And just so you know, I am not a breedist, I've done alot of rescue work with dogs and I know those breeds are really very sweet, infact the two nextdoor seem very friendly towards people, but I also know that teeny tiny breeds sometimes set off the 'prey' instinct in larger dogs, and my JR Georgia already has a fear/aggression towards big breeds, a fence is better safe than sorry!)

So my pups have been staying with my ever paitient parents for the past two weeks. However yesterday they finally got our fence in, and since Matthew decided to take a few days to go up to RI and get another load of our stuff I thought I might as well go to NJ and stay with my parents until he comes back. YAY! I miss them so much, I am totally going through doggy withdrawl.... Of course, I think the commute from Jersey might be a bit of a pain in the ass, but it's only for a day or two, and then we can bring Jasper and Georgia to their new home! (I just hope this whole moving experience hasn't traumatized them too much!) ;)

Hee...okay...so I got White's Tree Frogs for V-Day...and we love them..and they are awesome. And Matthew got jealous! LOL! So this past weekend we discovered a HUGE Reptile Showroom in Providence, and went to check it out. And when we came home, we had this little guy with us:

He's a Pygmy Dwarf Chameleon, and that is as big as he's gonna get! HEEE OMGWTFSOKYOOT!!! His name is Diego, and he is soooo funy...they move soooo slow and he thinks about every little step he takes..it takes him so long just to cross my hand!

More pic here: http://www.thecharacterbox.com/images/PHOTOS/chamcham/

Matthew originally wanted a real Chameleon, but those are outlawed as pets in RI (because they are apparently hard to care for) But this lil guy isn't a true chameleon, in the wild he's a ground dweller and spends most of his time in low branches so he doesn't require the same kind of care as his cousins. He now lives in a 10gal tank behind my desk, and has one of Matthew's baby bonsai's to climb about on, and a little waterfall to drink from. Eventually we'd like to get him a girlfriend, and name her Frida (we are such art dorks) and try to raise some artistic communist baby miniChams all our own....

Also, I got a little Tomato Frog to keep Fred & George company:



He's a ground dweller while Fred & George hang out in the tree all the time, and they are about the same size so they pretty much ignore each other. Thus, I thought Percy would be a fitting name for him...Not suprisingly, Percy spends most of his time hiding under his log not speaking to anybody heehee! *is sucha dork*

In anycase, Matthew and I are all excited about reptiles now...there are soo many we tthink we would like to own at some point, crested geckos, leopard geckos, assorted dart frogs, and a Bearded Dragon (I really really want a bearded dragon!!! They are SO cute and SO well tempered, they remind me of scaley rats (and thats a good thig!)) But I'm trying to restrain myself before this pet collecting gets out of hand...I swear I was Doctor Dolittle in a past life...

Guess what I got for V-Day? ;D


Heehee! Matthew got me two baby White's Tree Frogs! Aren't they too precious?! I've actually wanted a White's for awhile, in my opinion they are the cutest of all froggies. But I've never been able to find a light green one, only the darker brown. So yesterday we stopped into Petsmart to pick up numnums for our fish and our bullfrogs, and what should we find but a tank of wee bitty baby froglets!! EE!

I have tentitively named them Fred and George, because well..I'm a dork. But that is still subject to change if I find better frog names.. ;)


Fred

George

More Froggy goodness: http://www.thecharacterbox.com/images/PHOTOS/FROGS/


They currently live in my office, next to Man-Fish's tank (my betta) in their precious little terrarium complete with one of Matthew's Bonsais-in-training. XD

So I'd say V-Day was a success! It was an awesome day! I got my work out of the way early, and suprised Matthew by telling him we were going to visit The Bonsai Club of New England (the hubby is a major bonsai geek and enthustiastic hobbyist). It was SUCH a cool place! They have 8 green houses of some of the most beautiful Bonsai's I've ever seen, and even if you've seen Master bonsais in books, it's NOTHING like seeing them in person, they take your breath away! Matthew got a butt-load of supplies and a mini boxwood to work on, and a membership to the Club as his V-day gift. They offer lessons, and training sessions with master bonsai sculptors from Japan...he is sooo excited! And I am so excited for him!

After that we went to grab some lunch/dinner at the most AMAZING BBQ restaurant in RI. Which was utterly delicious and sooooo satisfying. And when we got home Matthew suprised me with a card and a box of chocolates ontop of everything else! It was such a perfefct day...and such a nice suprise since we really didn't plan on doing anything special at all! Mmmmmnumnum I LOVE my hubby.... :)