Time flies! (and baby otters kill with cuteness)

Wow its been awhile. Not too much has been happening since last post. Working, planning,school, house reno's, rehabbing...busy,busy.

I did get to snuggleandsqueeze pet two baby otters though! Mary Jane is rehabbing them. I was dropping off mealies and picking up a trap when I heard chirping from one of her large cages. I wasnt sure what it was since it wasnt quite birdlike. She lifted the blanket that was covering the cage and the sweetest little face popped out from underneath a pile of newspapers!

So cute. Seriously, I fell in instant love. The otter has officially jumped to the top five in the infinite  long list of favorite animals. She took the little boy out and he was like a little kitten! All playful and clamoring for attention. He was no bigger than ruler and so soft! Their fur is thick but velvety. She says she hasnt had otters in 10 years so she is really enjoying them. I feel so lucky that I got to actually pet a baby otter. What a treat!

Of course, I didnt have a camera but I am hoping for a pic when I return the trap. Hopefully, she will still have them!

I googled a pic because now I am all otter giddy and this is pretty much the same face that greeted me!

Love!

Ever feel something was so stinking cute that you just wanted to bite em haha? Not in a sick twisted way but in a Iamgoingtoimplodefromthecutenessoverload type of way?


My parents taught me not to bite so consider me dead from self-implosion.

Hot times

I know that most of the country is rejoicing in this especially mild winter that we had. Being from Michigan, I do understand how nice a reprieve from shoveling snow and icy roads are.

But I'm in Florida now (miss the seasons sooooo much=(  where its hot 80% of the year as it is. I was looking forward to the crisp cool mornings and hoodie weather the last 4 months was supposed to afford. But, alas, not this year (and I am concerned about years to come).

It was in the upper 80's the past few days. Not typical which means the scorching, humid miserable summer is probably coming earlier than I would have liked this year. Le sigh.....

The possible up side is maybe my veggie garden (which I have yet to plan, yikes!) will be a success this year. That is if my black thumb of plant death dosent go all grim reaper the whole thing.

Happy day

St Patty's day was a good day! We did a two-fer and celebrated our 5th (!) anniversery (March 18) and Chris's birthday (March 28th) as well by taking Mariana to Boma. So goood as always. It's an African Buffet that serves the most amazing food. The carrot ginger soup is to die for! I am also a big fan of their sirloin and fufu (african yam dish). I also have to admit I frequent the kids buffet for the mac and cheeze! haha! Buts its so creamy and good!

I love Boma cause we can literally walk outside and see Giraffe, Zebra and Crowned Cranes grazing around the premises since its located in the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

Greater Kudu at AKL

We always joke about how there are a few dozen other places to eat at at WDW that we want to try but we love Boma so much that we just keep coming back! AKL is kinda our special place though. It was the first real weekend we spent together after we started dating (Chris surprised me with it!). So much so that when we booked a cabin at the Disney campground on property a few years ago they ended up overbooking them and we were relocated to the lodge. I was soooooo disappointed not to finally stay at the cabin (we were planning for months) but ended up loving AKL the 2nd time around. After that, it has and will remain my most treasured place to be with my mister.

Animal Kingdom is my favorite park and I loved working there in education. I suppose it sort of fits that I am drawn there.

We had thought about heading over the Magic Kingdom to top the celebrating off with a fitting Haunted Mansion end but we were so sleepy and stuffed that we decided to head home on the condition that we would make our own shamrock shakes (yes, more food!)

So we had a grand time making a huge mess in the kitchen. Lots of laughter due to my inept skills at controlling how much mint to add to a shamrock shake (needless to say we had to use the whole container of ice cream to dilute the mint =P) Mariana was a good sport as the taste tester although my mad mint shake skills sent her to the sink  to spit out the overly minty shake at some point.

It was a good weekend!

Happy St. Patty's day!

Proud to be Irish!

Look who's staying for dinner....permanently

"Grim"

The lost, stray, cleverlittlehousecrasher sweet little tuxedo kitty formerly known as Mclovin.

I wish I could blame it on the fact NO ONE called about him in the past 4 months to adopt or even inquire about him (so sad). Well, that IS part of it. Primarily though its because we are rather fond of him and as you can see, he is quite comfortable in is new digs.

Grim getting his chill on

Oye, another big mouth to feed =p

and friday, Im in love

I am itching to do some renovations around this house. It will be a few years until I move so I want to pretty it up a bit.

Dream Bathroom!

Dream Kitchen!

my (kinda) dream hallway!

We have some bits started in our Haunted Mansion Hallway but we are getting to this effect very slowly. The wallpaper would make it all work but its expensive! We also need the stretching portraits and the arm sconce and I think we would be pretty much set. (althought the servants quarters bat sign would be AWESOME for the door of the bat room!)

We have ideas but need to build it slowly due to funds. I would LOVE to DIY stuff! Which we might have to do!

Dude, this is the best shit evah....

cats getting their high on

remember that garden we planted for sleepy? Well, the cats claimed the indoor lawn....

And apparantly, the evidence that they did too much was found in a nice green yak pile in the hallway several hours later.

speaking of babies

I sort of have baby fever lately. Something I thought would NEVER happen to me. I was adamant since I was a teenager that I did not want kids...ever. Just my farm with lots of animals!  However, lately I have been thinking that maybe I do want A kid, not kids, but one kid. Oh, and the farm with the lots of animals...kid or no kid that will never change.

It terrifies me though. I really dont know what kind of mom I would make. My pitfalls make me think I would never make mom of the year. I'm impatient, quick tempered, hate ill manners, easily annoyed and really enjoy my down time. Sheesh, I sound like a real drag, haha. Thank goodness all these shortcomings rear their ugly heads only on occasion...for the most part=p I also am aware that I am pretty selfish. I want to do so many things still.....vet school, travel, field work, buy acres and acres for the Ultimate Plan. It seems a kid might, dare I say, get in the way? Awful, I know. But I'm trying to keep it real.

In talking to Chris, I also mentioned that I feel this world is going to shit and fast. Did I mention I'm pessimistic as well? It would seem a pretty cruel thing to do to bring a kid into this world in the state that its in. Chris said that is one reason why I should have a kid. Someone who cares about the planet, about women, animals, who is kind, compassionate and wants to make a positive difference. All the things I want and strive to be.

I said it seems like I would be raising a soldier. I suppose I would be in a sense. A soldier for good. To help dispel the negativity that has us surrounded on a daily basis. A soldier that fights with love =) I suppose it would be like raising the white flag is I decided this planet isnt worth fighting for. I certainly dont want to do that.

I'm not claiming to be perfect. I fuck up on a daily basis but my hope is that I can nurture the positive qualities that we would bring to a kid. Human beings have inner demons, a dark side of the force in a way (haha) that linger in shadows of our subconscience or souls depending on your beliefs. Every human has it from Ghandi to Mother Theresa. I think though that they learned to acknowledge that aspect, respect that its there and maybe have a cup of tea and work out your differences. But, make it perfectly clear that he's never invited to the party. There is my deep thought for the day. lol.

I will be turning 36 this year(!) I dont feel 36 if thats supposed to feel any different then 30. Yet, I know my body is doing some weird miraculous crazy shit that I cant feel that is telling my mind I should probably start thinking about this baby thing more seriously.

Well, I already have thrown around some names...does that count? haha. I like Helena Grace (H.G Wells!) and Henry James Gerald. Chris like H.G but isnt on board for Henry. He says it reminds him of a serial killer. m'kay.

Harrison James Gerald is a good alternative I think. Classic and strong.

I guess we'll see what happens! 

Released my little girl evening bat admit last night! After several days of SQ fluids and rest, she started eating a TON of mealies. Like unusually large appetite for an evening. Maybe she is planning on being a mama? Wouldn't that be the icing on the already vanilla with filling cupcake......mmmmm cupcakes....

Can you tell I'm still on a diet? haha!

So glad that she is out there being a bat. I wished her luck and a long life with lots of babies=)

I love a success story!

Dr. C emailed me the results of the necropsy on Flapjack last night. She reported that all his organs looked normal except the kidneys were a little redder than she expected. She suspected that the cause of death was a kidney infection secondary to his thumb joint infection or an undiagnosed UTI.

I am glad, in a way, that it wasnt his liver since I am always worried about their nutrition. However, I am angry with myself for not being diligent in observing his elimination behavior. It may have clued me in if I noticed anything abnormal. I became lazy with my captives.

I learned though from Flappy's death. I reassesed the diets and am creating a chart for my remaining captives. I will be more aware of their habits and document changes as if they were one of my admits.

I removed his cage today and rearranged the bat room so hopefully I can move on from this. I miss him. Terribly. I miss giving him belly rubs with the tiny bat comb, I miss the cute little stretches he would do after a good meal. I miss how excited he became when I opened his cage and hand fed him is meals and water. I miss the way he would wrap himself up in his furry little tail and hang by one foot when he slept.

I wish he was still here =(

a needed break

My darling mister gave me the day off from the bugs and orders and gloominess of the warehouse after I told him I needed a mental health day. I'm so glad he did. He took over the orders today and I know he is tired. We (as in mostly he) have been replacing the carpet with laminate in the living room in preperation for his saltwater tank project.

He looked up some you tube videos on a DIY laminate flooring tutorial and they make it look so easy. Let me tell you, its not! What they say takes a few hours, has thus far taken us 2 days and not even half way complete. It stinks. By the end of the night we were hunched over with bruised knees and claws for hands. The bright side is that it looks great so far. Its so much better than the carpet which was NASTY. I mean, we knew it was nasty, but once it was ripped up it was way more nastier than even nasty can adequetley describe. Lesson learned though, no more carpet....ever!

At any rate, I have been attending to my remaining bats today. Doing health checks, assesing the diet, enclosures and such so that I can regroup since Flappy's death. I sent his remains to Dr. Cottrell last night for necropsy and he arrives today. I am just waiting on word in the next few days for any theories as to what may have caused my little loves demise. I'm anxious. I haven't been able to stop thinking about him and looking at his empty enclosure saddens me daily.

I was also to get a huge chunk of school stuff done that has been lingering on the back burner for awhile. I feel like I got quite a bit accomplished so far.

I love my boy.