One might ask (because that's one does, is ASK things) how Corey's appointment went, does he go back to work, do you have plans for the anniversary thing?

The appointment went about as I expected. Corey is still off of work, for at least the next month. He's starting physical therapy, though, so at least it's another real step toward recovery. So I figured I could finally start making plans for our anniversary.

Until today. Corey got a summons to jury duty in the mail. We won't know if he has to serve on a jury until next Tuesday. This means that, once again, I have to wait on making reservations. It's either going to be all booked up or too expensive by the time we're able to finalize anything! *frustrated growling*

On a brighter note, we've acquired yet another addition to our menagerie. One of Chris's brothers had a ball python, and for some reason couldn't keep it. He handed it off to his other brother, who wanted nothing to do with it. Chris knew we had Pretty Boy, and offered to give him to us. So, we now have another snake. I don't mind at all - they really are pretty easy to take care of, and they're quiet. The poor snake was not in the best environment, though. He requires 40-70% humidity, which he wasn't getting at all, and he was living in a 10-gallon tank, which just wasn't quite enough room for his 20-inch length. He did have a hide, but it was ceramic or resin, and it wasn't quite big enough for him to fully coil up under. In total, we spent about $130 - we got a large water bowl and a large hide for Pretty Boy. He's nearly 3x as long as the python, so we gave the python his old bowl and hide, and Pretty Boy got the new stuff. We got bedding for both of the snakes, since Pretty Boy's needs changing anyway, a thermometer and hygrometer, a heat lamp, and we got a mouse since the python hadn't eaten in nearly two weeks. Kind of expensive, but at least we didn't have to pay for the snake, too - they're going for about $80 at the pet store!

He really seems happier in his new habitat. He gets out from under his hide and explores, dips into the water, and is just generally more active. We don't want to feed him in his home, as they're a little more aggressive than the cornsnakes, so we tried to feed him in the bathtub. He seemed very disoriented in there, and didn't even make a SLIGHTLY aggressive move toward the mouse - in fact, he seemed intimidated by it. I gave him another day to adjust, and decided to try feeding him in his old tank, where we kept the mouse until feeding time. They were together less than 15 minutes before he decided that the mouse was food, so I think we're just going to use that tank as a feeding area. Once he gets larger, though, we're going to have to get him used to a bigger area for feeding.

So the name, for now, is Babyface. We're sticking with that whole gangster theme.

Oh, by the way - girls are not the only ones who feel better after they buy themselves something.

Corey apparently woke up in a crabby-ass mood. He was crabby all damned day. I woke up at noon or so to a child throwing a stuffed purple claw-machine dog at me. I started to doze off again, but was startled back to consciousness to the joyous noise of my husband yelling at the kids. As I was drifting off again, I heard him yelling at the kids, so I gave up on sleeping any more. I got up and suggested that he take a break. He tried, he really did, but going to Walmart, for him, is anything but tension-easing.

When he got back, he took me out for lunch. On the way home, he wanted to stop at the Harley shop. He was looking at wallets, since he had a coupon for $7 off of any Harley Davidson wallet. He found one that was perfect, just his style, but decided to go for the one that was cheaper. I asked him why he didn't get the other one, and he said he didn't want me to get mad at him for spending too much money. I told him to get it, it was a better wallet and I knew he liked it better.

He was in a great mood the rest of the day.

the last trail...the next path