YummY! Down on This

Archive for May, 2010

There is a store here in town called Exotic Underworlds.  Its a fairly awesometastic place to visit.  It’s full of fish and reptiles for sale.  It has a whole little room of saltwater fish and its like visiting an aquarium, except you don’t have to pay anything unless you want to leave with a fish.  And they are fancy fish.  And not cheap.

Like here is a shy clowfish hiding in his nemony.

And here is a large and intimidating lion fish and its puffer fish buddy.

We did go in with the intention of leaving with a fish, but not one of the expensive saltwater ones.   I wanted a betta.  Just a simple little betta fish, and maybe a handfull of tetras to keep him company.

We took our son with us.  He’s been to stores before, but he had never been in a store full of living things before.

Alas, his interest in all things that swim was pretty slim.  In fact, he mostly seemed to like the reptiles.  There were snakes in there large enough to eat him.  No, there were REALLY snakes in there large enough to eat him.  I didn’t take pictures though, cause I thought maybe the people who work there might get slightly annoyed at us taking pictures like it was a tourist attraction and not a place of business.

I did get a picture of this whopper though.  You can’t tell it from the picture, but he was really big enough for Parker to have ridden on.

Well, after we looked at every living thing in the place, I found the betta fish I had come for stacked in tiny cups on top of each other in one hidden corner.  I picked out a lovely bright colored fan tail betta.

We looked at the neon tetras there, but they wanted a bit much for them. We went to a smaller less fancy store and got me a half a dozen neon tetras to live with my pretty betta.

So, we went home with the fellas cause its not really nice to leave them floating in plastic baggies of water for too long.  I already had my aquarium set up and plopped their plastic baggies of water in for them to acclimate before I put them in.

By the way I think that I have the most awesome aquarium in the whole world. Its full of gargoyles. I put a couple of plants in there after this picture was taken though.

The lady at pet shop #2 told me that my betta could not live in peace with any other fish, but I had researched it and many places said that even male bettas can live in peace with certian other species and the neon tetra was one of them. And sure enough, they are living together in fishy peacefulness.

And here he is in all is beautiful shiny glory. My fantastic new betta fish.

We named him Sawyer, after the character of the same name in LOST, since he came into our lives the same weekend that LOST ended.

We recently lost our betta fish. His name was Bruce and we had him almost 4 years. Recently he lost his appitite, and a couple of day later he died. Just plain old age I guess.

Today we’ve decided to get a new betta. I brought in my old 5 gallon mini-bow fish tank instead of just a betta bowl, and we’re gonna get some neon tetras or maybe white clouds to live in the tank with him (I’ve read they can all live together in peace)

We’re going to a local store known either as Kreatures and Koi or Exotic Underworlds. They have TONS of fancy saltwater aquariums and reptiles too. Its almost like visiting a mini-aquarium instead of a pet store.

I always enjoy visiting and just looking around, but we don’t have to go too often since the only fish I buy are bettas and I always manage to keep them alive for several years.

We’re taking Parker along instead of leaving him home with Gramma. I hope he’ll enjoy his trip to the aquarium/fish store. Maybe he’ll help ups pick out the new betta.

We do, however, need a name for our new little friend.

Any ideas?

Okay, so I bought a postal scale.  I really did.  It came in the mail today.

I bought a postal scale so that I could weigh stuff and charge people the correct postage. 

I did this because, in theory, I’m going to start trying to sell stuff.  Namely cross stitch.

This, of course, means that I actually have to MAKE a new cross stitch.  Or two.  Or, if people buy them, maybe even three.

See, I acutally LIKE doing counted cross stitch.  The downside is that I have no TIME to do anything I love to do.  Including but not limited to cross stitch.

That means I have to give up something else I do after Parker goes to bed in order to make time to stitch.  I’m either going to have to give up reading, the internet, or taking a bath.  Seeing as how I’m quite fond of all three of those things I’m not sure what else to do.  I mean, if I stay up any later I might as well not go to bed ot start with.

Exactly how long is it before sleep deprivation starts screwing around with my reality?

Of course my “reality” is pretty screwy as it is.  I’m hearing voices in my head now.

Well, we got new head gear at work, so instead of being paged over the PA we get to talk to each other all private like on these walkietalkie thingys.  Well, its private in so much as only anyone wearing a headset, meaning pretty much everyone who works there, can hear you.

Like, one night many minutes after we were closed people were still in the store and Lori asked Danielle to do another announcement that we were closed and Danielle said, “Do I have to be nice?” which of course my boss heard and was not happy at all!  And I do beleive that Lori put in her 2 weeks notice because she was angry that people just can’t joke and have fun anymore.

Meanwhile I got a check for $27 and some change from Inbox Dollars which made me full of happy and Listia has been getting me TONS of free stuff.  And by tons I mean some.  I keep losing a lot of the auctions cause I’m at work when they end which is full of suck.  BUT, I’ve gotten 3 books for FREE and have a 4th coming my way, and some earrings and a singing exercise care bear, so its all worth it.

So, getting back to my postal scale, maybe I should start bidding on free stuff I don’t even want on listia, and re-selling it on ebay.

So, Tuesday my hubby calls me at work and lets me know my Aunt Mae has died.

Since we are broke and I’m the only one with a job I opt to stay at work the rest of that day since I know I’ll be missing work cause I’m GONNA be at her funeral.  So I’m sad and upset, but I’m there darn it.

Well then…..it got BUSY.  Lines backed up and they called me to the front to get on a register.

I’m trying to weave my way through this admittidly long line of people waiting to check out so I can open my register, but of course none of them want to get out of my way despite my “Excuse me’s” and “Pardon me’s”  I’m gettingh ready to start saying, “If you don’t want to stay here all day get the hell out of my way already”

So i’ve almost made it behind the wall that seperates the registers from the rest of the store when some man behind me yells out, “Hey, LADY, can you open another register.”

Well, sometimes its wise to keep your mouth shut, so I don’t say what I’m thinking which is something along the lines of “If you fucktards would get out of the way I’d already be ON  a register”.  I just ignore him and keep trying to get the red sea to part before me.

So he yells out again, “LADY!”

Okay, I don’t like being called LADY any more than I like being whistled at like a dog.  If you’re shopping and you want my attneiont you should say, “Excuse me Ma’am” or I’d even respond nicely to “Miss” but you do not yell at me and call me LADY.

So I turn around and yell right back at him, “That is where I’m TRYING to go right now….SIR.”  And I pretty much yelled SIR out almost as loud as he had been yelling at me.

I know, the customer is always right and you shouldn’t yell at them even if they are being ass-hats of the nth degree, but by that point I didn’t even want to BE there anymore most less be there and be yelled at.

So, since I told him that I was in fact going to open a register, and called him SIR in a very loud manner he found someone and complained about me.  At which point he was told, “She’s usually the brightest friendliest person that works here, but she just lost a family member today,” after which point I hope he felt small and insecure about himself.

So Parker and I had a WIC appointment this morning, during which he and I were both weighed. 

He weighed 14.5 pounds and (according to their scale) I weighted 225.  I weighed 223 on MY scale this morning, but that was before the scrambled eggs and coffee I had for breakfast.

Anyway, after they ask me what HE’S eating they start on what I’m eating.

“Whats with you and the fruit?” the lady asked me.

“Whats with me and the fruit?” I repeated because that question really didn’t make much sense to me,.

“You put down that you don’t eat fruit every day.”

“Oh,” I said.  Because Oh was the only thing I can think of to say.

“Do you drink 100% juice?”

I brightened “Yeah, I drink juice EVERY day.”

That made her a little happier, but she really wants me to eat more fruit.  REAL fruit.

I’m not a fruit person.  I like all the least good for you fruits.  I like watermelon and bananas.  I like canned peaches but not fresh ones and applesauce but not real apples.

Is applesauce a fruit?

So, they want me to eat more fruit, but they’re also taking away MY WIC vouches, so I’m not getting the free $10 of fruits and veggies anymore so I’ll likely be eating LESS fruit and veggies instead of more because FRESH food cost too much.  The canned stuff is cheaper.

Meanwhile they are also not happy that I weigh 225 (according to their scale) which is MORE than I weighed last time I was there, but  didn’t point out that I had made it all the way up to 230 and back DOWN to 225 (according to their scale.”

So, I need to eat more fruit, but I don’t like a lot of fruit so does that mean I should drink even MORE juice.

Which none of that matters anyway, and this whole post I really about her asking me “What’s with you and the fruit?” which I think is the oddest question anyone involved with the medical field has ever asked me.