I’m so happy to finally have my little Megara.  She hops around like a little bunny. We are enjoying having her light up our home.  I am looking forward to documenting her growth and sharing her cute “adventures” on my blog.  For the record, Max doesn’t like her much yet.

I have gone crazy taking pictures of her and decided to post this one, more pics here.

A couple of weeks ago while watching TV with S, I got the idea to do a terrarium (or two). I started looking for all kinds of different bottles and jars to use. Every piece of glass suddenly became a candidate for a terrarium. I searched every nook and cranny of the house and garage.  I dove into the web looking for examples and tutorials.

I found one site that used a tabasco bottle, this gave me the idea to try one for S in a Bud light lime bottle.  He also has a cool Jim Bean bottle that I plan on using in a future project.  A Yankee Candle jar is on my list (once I finish burning the candle), and I picked up another candle at Target over the weekend just for the shape of the jar.   After a disappointing trip to Pier One (they had lots of nice jars, but most did not have a lid), I searched the web for wide mouth jars, preferably one gallon or larger, and also posted on freecycle.

I ended up getting a response from a local free-cycler not too far from my house that was willing to part with (3) 1-gallon jars.  I was tickled to go pick them up and start working on a concept.  For the Bud Light bottle, I oped to use seeds (as they are easier to plant than small plants in the narrow opening).  He has this bottle next to the window on his desk.  A few of the seeds are starting to sprout and I will post pics when they have grown a bit more.  Then I headed to Lowe’s to look for some tropical plants to arrange in one of the gallon jars, which look like old pickle jars.  I was excited to come home and get started.  It is amazing how small plants look at the store and then how big they really are in the jar.

I ended up using a nice tropical center plant, a couple succulents, ivy and a rock accent.   I am happy with how my first attempt turned out.  See more pics here.  And I look forward to trying different things with more jars down the road.  I got another idea today to turn an old 15 gallon aquarium into a terrarium, maybe even make it tree frog friendly.

The one thing I am really interested in getting for future projects is moss.  I have done some research online and found a few places to buy spores, but need to learn more about them first.

If anyone has information about terrariums or moss, please post a comment.  I would love to hear from you.

PS  Here is an incredible site I found.  She has the most amazing terrarium creations!    http://www.paulahayes.com/terrariums/

A few nights ago, I got my final project grade back from my Java professor. I had been waiting for weeks to get my grade. The Project2 was a large portion of my final grade and would put me a little closer to the end of the class.

I was pleased with the grade, but then I read his comments.

Very nice work w/Project2! The project requirements were met, and for the most part, the application functioned well. Just as importantly–from a sales standpoint–the Web app. was nicely designed, and illustrated an eye for layout and color! … blah blah blah….Overall, very nice job!

Then he added this:

As an aside, the file named Document.rtf was a bit disturbing. It appears that you may have things going on in your life that you may want to consider discussing with someone–as sometimes we all need. If there is anyway that I can assist or point you in a direction for assistance, please do not hesitate to call me.

I started to freak out. I had no idea what he was talking about. Document.rtf? What document could be hiding out in my .zip file that would cause my teacher to have such concern. I immediately logged onto the class website and pulled up and opened the attached .zip. And there it was, Document.rtf. I had absolutely no recollection of the file. I just had to see what this was all about and this is what I found:

Depression
Life is like a horrible nightmare
That I can’t seem to wake up from
A never ending dream
Gone terribly wrong
Dreams are meant to be comfort
But all I get is pain
Nightmares seem to find me
Even in the brightest domain
I hide in the shadow of my existence
Wondering when the sun will shine
In the darkness I lay
All is quiet
I hear my heart sigh
As tears fall away again
There is no one here
In my deepest obsession
With black and red
And all that is shed
My life has become a hole
A hole so deep
And never ending
I fall in spiraling circles
Down and Down
Into the depths of
Depression

Then I started to laugh so hard my sides began to ache. I know this doesn’t sound like the kind of poem to laugh at, the funny thing was that I hadn’t written it. DQ had. She had written it in the midst of some teenage angst and had asked me to preview / proof it to see if she should use it for her Poetry final project for her Language Arts class. She was concerned that it might freak out her teacher. I had downloaded it from my email to my PC and assured her that it was a great poem and that there wasn’t anything too dark about it. I added that her teacher understands what young teens go through and probably gets literary work like this often.

When I showed DQ my teacher’s comments, she asked “Mom, what document did you send him?”. Then I showed her. She immediately burst out, “Hey, that’s my poem. You can’t take credit for my poem!” Pausing from my laughter, I explained I had no intention of stealing her work and that I found it incredibly funny that she had been worried what her teacher would think. Now, my teacher was beside himself trying to figure out how to help this poor college student that was obviously reaching out to him.

I guess when I downloaded it, I must have been working in my java project folder at the time and then it ended up zipped up with my other java files. The next day, I was able to chat with my teacher on the phone. I was worried that there was no way I could possibly convey my complete embarrassment as well as the extreme humor of the situation in an email, without sounding like I had made up some far fetched story that would further cause him distress over my well being.

By the way, DQ wants me to make sure I let everyone know that the above poem entitled Depression is her intellectual property and not to steal it, use it, or turn it in for any class assignment.

I swear she never gets tired looking for a new place to hang out.

The answer to the second Where’s Mocha: in the pantry closet.

Post a comment with your guess. The correct answer will be revealed when the next picture posts.

I have been on the South Beach Diet for 10 days (and lost 9 pounds so far YAY!). In phase 1 – first two weeks, you are suppose to eat proteins, nuts, and veggies, including low fat dairy. This has not been an easy task for me. Don’t get me wrong, I like meat, but it seems that everything I can eat is missing it’s important counterpart, the bread, pasta, rice … the carb!

I am a carb-o-holic and not having any baked goods has been the toughest thing. Sugar and starches are prohibited and this is suppose to help cure the cravings for sweets. But the one thing I am still craving are cookies. Last night while watching TV with S and watching him snack on oatmeal cookies (while I munched on a couple of pickles), I decided I was going to figure out a way to make some cookies that I could eat.

And so the Cookie Quest begins.

If you know of any good sugar-free, white flour-free (preferably South Beach Diet Phase 1 ok), please leave a comment.