Tuesday 29 March 2011

Baby Beardie!

Travelling home was fairly uneventful, considering the usual way our train journeys go. This time we only had two out of the three engines break down and fail, requiring a change of carriages and an hour's delay. Thankfully Ema was delayed too, so it was only the taxi man that was a little bit narked.

By the time we got home, Kyle was in a terrible grump, but she soon forgave me when she discovered I'd brought a box of locusts. I then hauled all the bags upstairs and grabbed the dustpan from the cupboard to empty snake's old tank...

But before I knew it, the doorbell rang and my new baby dragon had arrived!

Oh, she's so cute and wee!

Such a cute little leatherback; she's so light and her tiny legs so strong she can literally fly... I popped her safely in the dragon basket with her new orange towel whilst I got cracking on the old snake tank.

Whilst clearing out the old bentonite flooring, I discovered the ceramic bulb had blown. Luckily I had an old 60w standard light that would do in there as a temporary measure. The government don't understand just how difficult they've made life for reptile keepers by blanket banning standards for energy savers... Never mind, that just means I have to pay out a tenner a time for new bulbs instead of 60p.

I would like to say thanks to Nana Cats for doing such a nice job on my broken necklace - go steady, m'kay?

"You look like a blueberry!" - "Kaiser Wilhelm's Mental Bitches.

Monday 28 March 2011

Awake Too Late...

I've been arranging to get a new baby dragon at long last - my treasured blood-red leatherback beardie - and I've found her. It's taken a few days, but I've finally got everything sorted out.

20:13: Emasmad the courier has gone to collect my baby dragon!

23:22: ‎15 mins to collection - 3 hours til dropoff. I'm knackered but will be worth it

02:25: Still awake, still waiting. Last I heard was motorway closed. Was asked if tomorrow ok - difficult, but what time says I, an hour ago. Nothing since, though phone rings. Mind you, not supposed to answer whilst driving I guess.

03.30: Road closures has caused serious travel problems - Ema's had to go home to cover for her partner. However, I discovered she lives in Somerset like we do! So it was a simple matter to arrange for baby dragon to be delivered to OUR house when we get home instead. Saves having to haul her along on the trains, and Ema kindly said she'd feed her for us.

However, staying up so late, I watched a LOT of junk TV just trying to keep awake - and I'm b
eginning to understand why Nan prefers only to watch BBC channels. Some of these adverts are
just hideous, for many reasons. (Though I'd rather suffer the adverts than pay for a license - if only it worked like that.) For example, I hate that Werther's chocolate advert that says "It conjures up this image of boiled sweets - it's none of those things!" ... what, none of those ONE things?!?!

Worse is the Whiskas blackmail: "My cat loves Whiskas - I love my cat." Translates: You don't love your cat if you don't buy them this overpriced crap.

Better yet is wording in some adverts, such as: "Nothing hidden - just the facts." So, the facts are hidden then? Or is that just me being awkward?

Then there's the "AUGH! GERMS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!" insanity of the modern age. For example: Vanish and it's "scary!" germy sheets; because I can remember the last time I caught the black plague off my duvet. Or there's my real bugbear: Dettol's "No Touch" hand sanitiser. "Never have to touch a germy soap pump again!" - uh yeah, because you're soooofar away from anything that could clean your hands with... like... uh... soap?

Leading hand sanitisers claim they can kill 99.9% of germs. Chuck Norris can kill 100% of whatever the hell he wants. Please, read this.

My favourite targets? That facecream that's "inspired by the science of genes" - meaning it has absolutely nothing to do with genetic research, but hearing the phrase gave them a great idea to make the advert. I particularly hate all the adverts with made up chemical names, like "Pro-Gen", "Pro-Xylane" (the "green" innovation) and "Pro-Calcium"- this one's a favourite: I love the way they give you the option to "learn more" and give you ALLLLL of this info! It's almost TOO much! (I hope they don't start a school.)

So, L'oreal, why don't you save everyone time and add some Moronic Acid? Alright, it's not just L'oreal but pfff, they're all guilty. Fucitol and g'night.

Thought for the day: Does it still count if your touchpad mouse doesn't make a click noise?

Sunday 27 March 2011

I'm not as think as you drunk I am!!

Considering it's March, it's surprisingly cold in Lincolnshire still. There was a distinct sharp edge to the air, and we pondered the intelligence of going out on the lash... But hellfire and hang to the temperature! We had a great night at the Barge with the gang last night and, miraculously, I didn't even wake with a hangover - despite the 12 shots of various liquors. I also discovered that I can fluently recite tongue-twisters whilst heavily under the influence of imbibements (though I suspect I have my mother to thank for all the years of vocab training)!

Mind you, I did come home with a random bottle of correcting fluid tucked down my bra... Not sure what that's all about!

This evening my mother bust out Ruby Slippers and Mojitos for after dinner drinks. It's always fun having drinks at Mum's; you never know what concoction you'll get! Whilst not as lethal as some drinks we've had in the past (Electric Blue Margarita for example - tastes like rocket fuel and just as potent!) they were still remarkably tasty. Ruby Slippers are made using vodka, grenadine and bitter lemon, if you want to try one yourself.

Thanks also to my little brother for being "barman" for the evening - cocktail sticks, cherries and lemon slices all included.

Thought for the day: Why is it that even though I'm so hammered that I have to rest my head on the wall to lean over, is it that I can still spell "antidisestablishmentarianism"?

Saturday 26 March 2011

Sayonara Snekkit

Getting snake up this morning was an interesting challenge. Instead of sleeping in her tube like she usually does, she decided to sleep BEHIND it - and she was NOT happy when I woke her up at 6am. I gently nudged her with the end of her tube, which prompted her to lash out, spitting and swearing, smacking into the tube and telling it to back off.

It took nearly 20 minutes for her to miss a hit and throw herself into the tube by mistake. I quickly flipped it up, tipping the angry snake through the tube and straight into a pillowcase at the bottom. Thankfully she calmed down once she was in there and slept for the entire journey.

When we got up North, WG was delighted to see her - she's settling nicely into a temporary tank and gone blue-eyed again as she begins to shed. I'm very glad she's got a great new home - we will miss her.

Friday 25 March 2011

Seeya Snekkit!

We're taking Eden up to Lincolnshire this week, as my friend Wills would like a snake very much. His wifey has been interested in cornsnakes for some time, but wasn't sure where to start.

Wills was delighted to discover Snekkit and thinks she is the most beautiful and extraordinary reptile - he's absolutely delighted and offered to set a new tank up there and then! Do you know, he's even got food in all ready for her!

She's going to be spoilt rotten: I'm very happy because I know she'll get more handling than I'm able to give her, and she'll be very pleased at getting a larger home and new people to abuse. She's a people-snake you see, and enjoys making people stand at ridiculous poses to accommodate her every whim. Or stealing their boots.

But don't worry - she gets to take her favourite bed tube with her. It reminds her of my Mumma's boots and you can't get her out of it for love nor dinner if she doesn't want to come out. We also gave her extra dinner this week, so she's very happy indeed.

I know Wills will send us pics, movies, texts, emails and all manner of snake related updates and questions; he already does with his cute little dragon Jim and Jim wasn't even mine! Hehehe.

Tuesday 22 March 2011

For the Love of...

I love customers. No really, I actually do - I can have really good days and I love my job when I can help someone make the best of their accounts. However... somedays I don't like my customers. Somedays I look at them and wonder.

My particular favourite this week was when I was trying to get my customer to use their card in the reader, and it went a little like this:

Me: "Ok, if you can put your PIN in please..."
Customer: *looks at me*
Me: "Your PIN?"
Customer: "Oh, right." *numbers*
Me: "Ok, if you can just check the amount and confirm by pressing enter?"Customer: "What?"
Me: "Check the screen and press the green button please."
Customer: "I don't get it..."
Me: "Screen. Yes? Green."
Customer: "Hold on love, let me put my glasses on - I can't hear a WORD you're saying!"
Me: *baffled* "Uhh, okay..."

Though I'm not the only one, I'm glad to say. If you work in any form of customer service, you really, really need to have a look at this site: http://notalwaysright.com It'll make you feel a whole lot better.

It's not just you.


Word of the Day: "Glump" - describing a glum grump.

Sunday 20 March 2011

Thumbs Up!

I had a really good day today - on top form! I did three loads of washing, two of drying, uniforms nearly ready, and painted the rest of the bathroom. We sorted three big bags of rubbish and chucked them out from the junk room, including one BIG box of burnables... so why the house still looks a mess, I'm not sure!

I bathed and fed the dragons, got one article submitted, worked on another and got a new one under construction.

Shortly after, I even did my nails - a meringue gold base, with gold glitter hearts and black liner to really make them stand out. I give a "lovely" thumbs up! Well, I have to get some use out of the extensive collection of colours in the drawer - and the meringue gold goes perfectly with the Barry M 27 Iridescent Gold eyeshadow I accidentally bought last week. That Superdrug opposite the far-away branch is just too tempting...

Oh yes - and watch out Lincolnshire: I'm coming to visit next weekend!

Random Word of the Day: "Lentibulariaceae" - 10 points if you can pronounce it. It's the name for a family of carnivorous plants, specifically Butterworts, Bladderworts and Corkscrews.

Friday 18 March 2011

KitKat Kitty Kats...

I'm seriously impressed. His Lordship stole my KitKat and let me spend 30 minutes looking for it late one evening before He 'fessed.

Hang on a minute, I have to go shout out of the window; there're cats fighting in my garden again. Times like these, I wish I had a monitor lizard. "Here kitty kitty, taaaaaasty kitty!" (I like cats normally, but these ones are scraggy mutt-cats.)

Oh great. Now the gecko has joined in. He always gets extra bouncy when he's managed to catch a moth. Shuttup you sticky pain in the.... At least he's feeling better now.

Anyway, the point of this post was to say how impressed I was with Himself, at his creativity in apologising for stealing my chocolate. I especially liked the customised carrier bag.

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Aww, Gecko...

Little sod. Terry started banging on the glass again - he's being a little ratbag. I scratched his head, sprayed in some water and fitted his door wedge, so he packed in. You wouldn't believe just how loud he can slam into the wobbly door... Doncha just love geckos.

Actually, Terry is feeling sorry for himself. He's been a bit sick this morning: I think he's eaten something he shouldn't. I've given him plenty of water and he's in "bed", licking his nose miserably. Repashy food with Reptaid and calcium tonight. He doesn't much like it, but he'll lick it off. Will do him good.

Gecko feeling much better now. He's just eaten two mils of special blend gecko food. Extra vitamins and calcium boosted out with a drop of reptaid and extra banana nectar for super-tasty goodness. Blickyblicky goes the long rosepetal tongue..

Thought for the Day: My nonstick pan doesn't.

Friday 11 March 2011

Saturday 5 March 2011

Hot Stuff!

Comin' through!

Ya might have noticed I've updated the ol' Blog a bit. I spent about four hours tweaking and battering my Neopets profile after TNT changed the layouts and completely destroyed my old one - and I liked the colourscheme so much I brought it over here.

Thanks to His Lordship for doing my funky wallpaper! Mind you, He's not only hot on the graphics deeley... He managed to get raw chilli oil in his ear whilst cooking - says it's taken nearly an hour to stop burning.

Talking of burning, I ordered some new Dragon Bulbs last week, as they need replacing every year. They arrived yesterday, just in time for Tsam's bulb to fizz, pop and burn out. Kyle's wasn't far behind (developing black spots on the arcpoints of the bulb), so it seems I timed that nicely! Admittedly, the bulbs were a couple of days late and Danny's Beardie Burrito hasn't got to him yet - it's got stuck in the post.

Found some rocking pink boots in the RSPCA shop too, Hot Pink. I was walking past the store and looked at them, thinking "They look big...". Walked past at lunch and thought "They DO look big...", so I stuck my nose in to find out. Lo and behold, the beauteous shoes were indeed big - my very own size 8!

Couldn't believe my luck, and purchased them sharpish. Matched up with my favourite hot pink T and a lace shirt, plus Barry M's new season 23 and 930 Hot Pink kohl and glimmer dust, and we're well away. Tsammy likes the lace shirt - it's grippy.

Thursday 3 March 2011

Mmmmm TASTY!

Terry Tackety-Toes loves his dinner so much - especially on the rare occasion I find a freshly shedded morio worm. Juicy and soft, Terry shakes them like a terrier with a rat, then slurps them down; it makes for a very happy gecko. I had to laugh that he was looking for more worms, looked at me and then pitifully licked his plate. "It tastes like there might be more worms here..."



Oh HAHAHAHAH! I just saw the best thing ever: a badly confused snake trying to work out what to do about the blueberry she viciously attacked! She went "POW!... WUT?!" and freaked out with the blueberry in her mouth, looking all around to work out what happened. The best bit was when she sort of shrugged and ate it anyway.

It's funny enough she goes psycho and tries to attack things through the glass when she smells dinner in her tank but I wish I had that moment on video...

Though I did discover I don't much like Acai Berries. More like Icky Berries.