We thought he was gonna throw the coaster on the floor, but...

We thought he was gonna throw the coaster on the floor, but he fell asleep instead. Look at him! ❤️

I've had this bruise for a few days.

I've had this bruise for a few days. I just noticed that it looks like a heart.

Bear was playing the other day and ran up to me and bumped me there with one of his bottom teeth. I know he doesn't mean to do that; it's just because of the shape of his face. He also bruises my lips when he gives me kisses sometimes. It depends on how excited he is in the moment.

I could never be upset by his enthusiastic lovings or his accidental bumps. He's a sweet boy just doing his best. ❤️

I was watching a show...

I was watching a show with Shaun and there was a contest to identify a photo as being of an alligator or a crocodile. It didn't look like an alligator to me, so I said crocodile. I was right.

That's a skill I didn't know I had. Guess I'll be adding that to my resume. 😂

I feel like I'm in an anxiety-induced depressive spiral...

I feel like I'm in an anxiety-induced depressive spiral. I'm having trouble doing anything productive.

Look at the flowers, though. It's the pink one's first time!

Greenhouse photo dump from the last few days:

Greenhouse photo dump from the last few days:

I don't know why these randomly decide to crest, but they're definitely never dull. 😂

So many buds!

A few buds and a bloom.

I was surprised to see these beauties today. 😊

I've had this cactus for YEARS and she's finally gonna bloom!

My little conjoined twin cactus has some buds.

I think this one is enjoying the shadier spot.

Anacampseros flower!

Orange blooms in front of a Prickly Pear.

I can't believe this one bloomed again ALREADY.

Caitlin, she's putting on new growth!

This little weirdo has bloomed again. ❤️

I didn't really feel like talking about it on Friday...

I didn't really feel like talking about it on Friday and I don't even now, but I'm not a secretive person, so:

I was laid off at the end of last week.

It's a bummer because I had no idea it was coming. I was billing, I was meeting my goals, and I thought I was doing well. One consolation is that it took my coworkers by surprise, too. At least I wasn't doing a bad job with everyone but me knowing that I'm next.

I'm pretty sure it's just an economy thing, but it still hurt.

Anyway, I'll be ok. I have my Math and CS degrees, I have marketable skills, and I usually figure things out. So I'm not in panic mode, but putting myself out there again is giving me a bit of anxiety. I think that's normal.

If y'all know anyone looking for a ServiceNow dev, send me their way. ❤️

I got this crazy Aloe...

I got this crazy Aloe from Bitis Botanical yesterday, and it's gorgeous! I potted it up today and did some other stuff in the greenhouse.

I repotted around 50 plants today. Most of them were my small Echeveria. I had noticed at my last watering that some weren't fattening back up, so I uprooted them early last week and saw that my soil mix was off and their roots were in rough shape. I cut their roots and left them out to callous until today. Then I hit them with some rooting hormone and potted them in a much grittier mix today. They are in a shadier spot for now. I'll give them some days before I water them. I think they'll be ok.

I also had 3 trailing succulents that weren't doing as well as I'd hoped. I think the pots they were in were wayyy too large. So they were put into a grittier mix in smaller pots. I think they'll be ok, too.

Years ago the plants would have probably had to get into worse shape before I knew to take action, but these days I am better at spotting when something isn't right. I don't get out to the greenhouse every day, but when I do I'm testing the plants for thirst, watering the ones who need it, and checking within the next day or so if they've drank or not. If they haven't, I know something is wrong.

I'm posting this picture just because it's pretty.

This last photo is one of the plants that got mealy bugs last year. I sprayed it down with alcohol to kill the bugs, which worked; however, it messed up the farina (the powdery coating on succulents), and that's why the lower leaves are orange. The blue/pink/lavender growth at the top/middle is what it's supposed to look like. I'm happy to see that it's doing well after that ordeal.