Habibi looking comfy. ❤️

Habibi looking comfy. ❤️

Habibi took a large shit in her cat tower.

Habibi took a large shit in her cat tower. Neither me nor Shaun feel well enough to hose it out at the moment, so we just removed it from her house for now. I think she's bored. Poor sweetheart.

We'll get it cleaned and put back ASAP, but today is not our day.

"Excuse me, do you have any rats?"

"Excuse me, do you have any rats?"

I haven't posted this kiddo in a while. But she's such a doll.

Did you catch that? She.

Last year, we messed up and fed her on a puppy pad, and she ate part of it. We read that sometimes if handled after a meal, they will regurgitate. We handled her right after eating. We moved her around. We tried a bit to stress her out. She was SO passive. She was SO good. She was holding down her rat pad tortilla, and that was that.

We ended up taking her to the vet, and she was great there, too. They said it looked like she would pass the puppy pad, and she did. Thank goodness. But while at the vet, we found out that our sweet boy, Houdini, was actually a girl.

So now we call her Habibi, which means "beloved."

This is the sweetest kid and we love her to pieces. 😊

She's currently eating in her feeding tote, where she's always eaten except for that once. We learned our lesson. No more rat stinky puppy pads, because she doesn't discriminate when she's hungry. 😂

Oh my gosh.

Oh my gosh. Now he's finally trying his basket.

Gonna be honest:  I really thought he'd cinnamon-bun up in that bitch, but do you, Houdini. ❤️

Why is he so cute!? 😭

Why is he so cute!? 😭 I just wanna kiss him! ❤️

Just chillin' like this.

Just chillin' like this.

Head in the Hide = Hidden. 😂😂😂

We've been waiting for so long...

We've been waiting for so long for him to get in this ball. Tonight was the night! Look at this snug little snake! 😊❤️

Houdini is hiding.

Houdini is hiding. Head in the ball. Butt in the ball. What else is there? You can't see him at all. 😂😂😂

He's such a goof. 😊❤️

Houdini is exploring his new house! ❤️❤️❤️

Houdini is exploring his new house! ❤️❤️❤️

We got his heat tape today, so could finally complete the setup and move him in. He's been alternating between exploring his new setup and chilling in his warm hide.

I'm happy to see him moving around. I hope he'll eventually make use of the higher basket and hanging ball. So far, he's only gone into the bottom 2, but he's got all the time he needs to find the comfy, cozy spaces.

In other animal news... The neverending vet bills continue. Shaun and I woke up to a message from Kira saying that Leon (our Gramson) had blood in his pee. Our wonderful vet office worked him in, and he has bladder stones, too. Antibiotics for now, surgery the 23rd. Kira's medicating and keeping a close eye on him. At least she's excited to see him in a cone. 😂

So this is Houdini...

So this is Houdini (and my handsome Shaun). He (Houdini) pooped in his temporary house, so we figured it was a good time to get him out and feed him. We wanted to get him on a schedule to eat at the first of the month, so we're working our way there. But the timing worked out this time because the accessories for his permanent enclosure will be here early next week, so he will have digested enough by then to be moved from his temporary home without a tummy upset.

We're excited to get his permanent house set up. We've both done a lot of research and hope he likes it a lot. We'll post pics as soon as it's ready.

We haven't handled him a super lot, but he seems fine when we do. We're going to work on spending more time with him, but we wait until Bear is in bed and usually Shaun is crashing out by then. 😂 So our timing isn't great. But we'll figure it out.

Anyway, he's about 10 years old and around 6 feet long. He's a boa with a handsome mustache and freckles on his belly. He's a curious and social guy and we're excited to have him here. ❤️

I went out of town for a few days...

I went out of town for a few days to see some friends and pick up my snephew. He'll be staying with us indefinitely. We can't wait to introduce you all to him.

Shadow made the trip with me and it was fun to have him to myself for a bit. I love our family, but the days of just me and my Shadow will always be special. We talked so much during the first day on the road that my throat hurt by the time we got to the hotel. He's an excellent travel partner.

When we made it to Jajuan and Janet's house, we were greeted with hugs and tears from Janet and the super adorable 5-year-old Momo inviting us in. I haven't seen Janet (or Jajuan) in probably at least 10 years and she's one of my very best friends. She and I sat up until 4 in the morning just talking, even though we've phone and video chatted over the years. It's just never the same as being together in person.

I had a great time being with them and my heart feels happy. I'm so proud of what they've accomplished and I adore their daughter. It's funny because she's about the same age Shadow was when he first met Janet.

The drive there and back was pretty uneventful, except for the one car who decided to "thread the needle" between me and another car at a stoplight. They hit my driver's side mirror and knocked it out (and kept driving), but thankfully it didn't break. It was dangling by it's electric wires and I clipped it back in. We got them on camera, but there's not even a scratch, so probably nothing to be done. I'm choosing to believe that was their way of avoiding a rear-end collision and not them just being douchebags, but you never know.

Not relevant to anything at all; I just thought it was neat:  At 1:58 pm we had 1 hour and 58 minutes left of our trip home.

I'm all settled in and it's time to go to bed and sleep with a cat on my head. I've missed my bad little Scar. I missed everyone. Cub made it known that he missed me, too. He's a sweetheart. Shaun sent video of Bear seeming to look for me and spending time in my chair while I was gone, but he wasn't excited when I got back. I got kisses and deeply sniffed and that was it. 😂 My weird child.

Anyway, goodnight. 😊❤️

Today has been a really mixed bag.

Today has been a really mixed bag.

We got our solar panels installed so that is great.  We just have to go through an inspection and get our electric company to sign off and we'll be set to use them.  I'm hoping it won't take too much longer because this was supposed to be finished in December, but I am patient and realize that COVID is impacting the workforce everywhere.  I'm just excited to have it done.

The solar company called me at 7-something this morning so I had to get up and open the garage and give them access to our attic.  No big deal, but I didn't sleep well and had to be up and I honestly have felt like crap for most of the day.  It was also super noisy with them doing stuff to the roof so even though I miss Rose I am grateful that she didn't have to experience today because she wouldn't have liked it.  Cubba handled it like a champ, though, because he's always been pretty chill.  The worst thing he did today was having to poop at the same time the solar company was arriving and ran mid-shit with a poop hanging out of his butt to bark at them.  😂😂😂  Dogs, man.  🤦‍♂️  After that he was all good, though. 😁

Shaun ordered food from Chili's since our vehicles were blocked in by the solar company and we called that Valentine's food.  We ate together on the couch because I felt like crap and because the solar crew might need in at any moment.  I didn't eat very much and then fell asleep as soon they left.

I woke up around 5 (this afternoon!) to a bear cupcake and one of the most delicious cake pops I've ever had - both made by Kira, of course.  She said she took photos of them so as soon as I get those I'll post them.

Our ball python, Bruce, was acting strange last week and we were really worried about him, but we were also dealing with the Rose situation.  I adjusted his temps and humidity and that seemed to help him a lot because he started acting normal again.  Shaun had bought him a new house 2 weeks ago that we hadn't moved him into yet, and his new humidifier arrived today (he had one, but it was older and getting loud so we didn't want to be caught in this dry climate without one).  We decided to go ahead and move him into his new home today and we found him passed away.  I'm shocked and we're all sad.  Bruce was such a friendly guy and he really changed my life / perspective of snakes.  That's a story for another day, but needless to say my heart is broken.

One other thing to say and I guess I'm done:  I ordered Shaun a ring from Etsy back in December for Solstice because that is what he likes to celebrate.  It didn't arrive until the night before last so I gave it to him and joked that it was his "Solstice-tine's Day" gift.  It was engraved with what I was led to believe was the passage on the ring from LOTR, but he looked it up and it's just the alphabet.  😂😂😂

I feel strongly that the seller's listing was misleading, but we both think it's pretty damn funny and I guess we're keeping it.  The seller is straight up printing the alphabet in Elvish on rings unless you customize it another way.  I could leave a review saying as much - and maybe I should because they didn't seem to care when I brought it up to them; lots of their reviews are for the ring "as is" which I think customers wouldn't buy if they knew it said "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz," but what do I know.  Maybe people really wouldn't care.  But Shaun being a huge fan wanted to make sure the translation was correct and that is what he discovered.  😂

Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed your day whether you celebrate this as a holiday or not, whether you're single or coupled or throupled, whatever you do - I hope it's been great.  It hasn't so much been for us, but that's ok.  Tomorrow is another day.  ❤

I haven't really said much on here since announcing my graduation...

I haven't really said much on here since announcing my graduation because we've been busy moving.  I guess this is me checking in.

Before the pandemic hit I told Shaun that I wanted him to make the BIGGEST deal out of me graduating because it's been such a hard journey and it would be a massive accomplishment for me.  I don't care to recap every negative thing that's happened to me since I started college in 2015, but suffice it to say I've hung in there despite a lot of stress and major losses, and poor physical and mental health.  I'd planned to attend the graduation ceremony and I wanted a dinner party at Baja, at the very least.  Obviously none of that is going to happen and while I have a small amount of disappointment over it I know that FAR too many people have had much bigger losses due to COVID so I am not complaining.

In other news:  The house is coming along nicely.  The sun room looks great in my opinion.  We have about half of the animals moved in.  We brought Bruce (ball python) the other day, and brought the tortoises last night.  Tort Baby (predictably) dug a little burrow and went straight to sleep after the car ride.  Nom, on the other hand, peed and pooped in his carrier.  BLEGH.  It was probably a good thing, though, because there was a lot of poop and it looks like he might have been constipated.  On the bright side, he did not seem to mind riding in the car.  He didn't attempt to get out of his carrier.  Just chilled and pooped.  😂😂😂  I love having a utility sink in the sun room because it was super convenient to give him a bath before putting him in his new house.  Unlike Tort Baby, Nom explored and walked a lot and then pooped some more.  I bet he's feeling a lot better today.  I noticed he hadn't been his usual social self and I was wondering why.  I hope that explains it.

Last night despite the rain and darkness Shaun and I moved our big ass couch that we got in February to the house.  I don't think we'll ever buy another couch that isn't a sectional because we moved all but one piece of it in two trips in our little cars.  Not having to carry / maneuver one big piece of furniture is AWESOME. Also, I think it looks great here; it fills out the living room nicely.  Shaun's been doing a ton of work around here, but I could tell his brain was done working on anything else until he got the living room set up.  I totally understand preoccupation and mental blocks, so I was like "Yeah, let's do it.  Let's move this couch in the dark and the rain so we can move on to other stuff."  😂  I can tell he feels happier having a place to rest and take a break.

Other than that things have been going pretty well in regards to moving.  Shaun and I have decided that since the lease for the kids apartment is up in mid-January, they'll be staying in our house in Anniston while we get it ready to sell.  While that house is in a far better neighborhood than the house I owned for 14 years, we're still not comfortable leaving it empty.  I think that will work out great.  No rent for the kids and we get the benefit of their presence and their help while they are there.  So we are trying to go ahead and get moved out so that they can move in.

Anyway, I'm staying busy, as usual.  My stress level has dipped knowing that I passed my class, which is nice.  I basically went straight from the school mindset to the moving mindset, so the fact that I'm done with college hasn't really sank in.  I felt excited knowing that I passed my class, but that hasn't translated into "no more classes or homework" in my brain yet.  I am planning to don my cap and gown and take some photos at JSU (hopefully this week), though.  Maybe that will help it feel real.  Without a graduation I just haven't felt that there is a period at the end of the college sentence.  I know that probably sounds goofy because a lot of people skip the ceremony, but I earned it.  I need something to punctuate the end of this chapter.

Well, I'm off to go try to get some things done.  I hope you all are doing well.  If not, don't forget that things can change in the blink of an eye.  Hang in there.  That's the only advice I can give.  ❤

It's been a busy day.

It's been a busy day. Kira's butt-probing went fine. They didn't find anything wrong, thank goodness. We're hoping her pain and other symptoms can be attributed to the gall stones. We'll find out more about that on Wednesday.

After we finally got home I gave my turtle and tortoises new dirt. Tomorrow Bruce and Koopa get fresh substrate, as well. I'm trying to make the most of my week off. I do have some homework, but all of my kids come first. My brain needs a break, anyway.

For now I'm off to hang with Shaun and the dogs, and possibly paint my nails. I hope you all have a good week! ❤️

I was sitting in my bedroom floor...

I was sitting in my bedroom floor talking to Shaun and looked over to find a sweet little Bruce had let himself out during the night and snuggled into some blankets. I don't usually sit in the floor... I feel a tinge of panic thinking that I could have gone all day not knowing he was loose. He's never done that before. He could have gotten hurt! 🙁 He appears to be asleep so I'm not going to bother him yet. But when I do I guess I have to figure out how he got loose. Bad little baby!

Snakey snuggles. ❤️😃❤️

Snakey snuggles. ❤️😃❤️

I swear this is one of the most chill animals who lives here, but most people won't give him a chance. He is a good boy, though, and we love him. 😍

Bruce has been playing in an empty Amazon box for the last 15 minutes.

Bruce has been playing in an empty Amazon box for the last 15 minutes.  Pretty sure he's a cat, despite his sweet little puppy face.  LOL

FINALLY almost done with notes.  Getting a headache.  Feeling pretty good about mammals and birds, but fungus is less easy.  Hoping to be in bed by 3.  Maybe 6 hours of sleep combined with my 3 from earlier will be enough.

Felt like a long and tiring day.

Felt like a long and tiring day.  Got home, crashed at 8.  Woke up at 11, which is lucky because I (according to the syllabus) have a Biology test tomorrow.  One that we haven't gone over any of the material for, but that really doesn't mean anything.  I'm about to read my notes and get together a comprehensive hand-written summary.  Helps it stick, and sometimes we're allowed to use hand-written notes on the tests.

I was planning to sit on the couch to do notes, but Bruce is doing his "let me out" dance on the glass, so maybe I'll do them in my room so he can come out.  Maybe he won't go back into his hiding spot in my closet.  I don't know that I could find him if he didn't choose to come back out.  He hides like a dang cat.  LOL

They can also be exceptionally goofy. LOL

They can also be exceptionally goofy.  LOL

Last night we changed out Bruce's bedding from just coconut dirt to a mix of that with cypress mulch.  I also changed his heater from one of those stick-ons to heat tape with a thermostat.  While he was out roaming my bedroom he went to check out my box of recycle paper.  I don't know why every animal is into that, but Scooter used to shred it for me when he was a puppy.  LOL  So Bruce just slithered around in all the paper for a while before he went exploring elsewhere.

We finally finished up his house and put him back in it and the next thing we know he's burrowing under the bedding and comes up with a pile of dirt on his head.  How anyone can fear an animal who is so curious about the world and who's first defense is to ROLL UP IN A BALL is beyond me.  Yes, I was raised to fear snakes and yes, old Bruce-y did give me the jeeblies the first few months he was here, but I am a firm believer that getting to know someone who is different than you - no matter what you've been taught about them - is the best way to get over fear and to find something to love.

I cannot even tell you how happy it makes me that this lesson comes from a SNAKE - one of the generally most hated and feared animals I've ever met.  Open your hearts and minds, people.  You might be surprised by just how much being open can enrich your life.  ❤

I had an Algebra test this morning.

I had an Algebra test this morning.  I made a 98!  I'm excited!  😃😃😃

I wasn't on here much yesterday, but that's because I was studying and also doing very important work around the house.  Since Pomona passed away I decided to move Nom into Pomona's large and empty old house.  Then I moved the turtle into Nom's old place.  Everyone got an upgrade.

I did that purposefully so that all of my good habitats would be occupied.  Really, the last thing I need is to take in more animals right now, so I figured that would be a good deterrent.  Maybe not, but it's worth a shot.

And for anyone who was worried about Bruce, he's cool.  His breathing is fine, his nostrils are clear and cute as ever, and he's had no more scary, giant, noisy snake farts.  I need to get some new photos of him soon.  I swear, he's so big and beautiful!  ❤