Say hello, Rjjr!

As some of you may know, it's my life ambition to have a big, cuddly dog or three in my life at some point. However, I live in a little duplex that does not allow any such pets, and I probably couldn't afford the dog food, even if our landlord allowed them. So instead, we got Rjjr, a lovely little black and white rat. Actually, he's sitting on my lap right now, happily chewing a button on my sweater. He's no dog, but he's fairly cuddly and requires way less maintenance, except daily exercise.

Exercise, you ask? Doesn't he have a wheel? Yes, he does. He also has a clear plastic exercise ball. Unfortunately, he's pretty dumb even as far as rodents go, so he doesn't know how to use either device. (We tried to teach him a few times. No luck so far.) So I have to take him out and let him run around for awhile everyday. Good thing he's lovable.

He was getting a little antsy today,  so I let the little guy take a few pictures.

What a photogenic rat.

Also, this post marks the second week day in a row in which I have showered, cleaned, replied to my emails, taken pictures, and written something. Now if I can only finish my headband before I go to work!

Eh, well see. We're winners anyway!

Weekend of Fun #1: Carbondale Street Fair

Hello, loyal readers (all three of you)!

I was hoping to get around to writing this sooner, but it's been pretty busy around here lately. I started work, had a couple eventful weekends in a row, and got another pet (RJ jr, but more on that later). But alas, Sam has to go to a dinner with his advisor, so now it's just me, my computer, and a glass of my favorite cheap moscato. What else is a girl to do except blog?

 Seriously, it's Barefoot Moscato. Sorry to all the wino's who are rolling their eyes right now.

So to catch up on all of the goings-on, two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of selling at my first craft fair ever! I spent whole week doing nothing but making mosaics from the show. Making earrings, necklaces, window mosaics, and business cards all morning, day, and evening! Sam was ready for it to be all over. My house fell into disarray; I stopped showering and sleeping; I started talking to myself and even making up alternate realities and storylines for all of my pieces!! Okay, that last sentence was a lie, but my house did get really messy.

And this was just my workstation. Imagine what the rest of the house looked like!

We finally got there, and it was a... learning experience. There were quite a few "less-than-ideal" things about the show, but they were mostly balanced out by something good. So, in typical Alyssa fashion, here's my list of the bad/good things about the show:

1) Not very many people came to the show, and most who did were there for the wine, BUT I did make over twice my entrance fee! Plus, everybody wanted to touch my mosaics, so at least I know they are interesting!
2) There was a weird giant metal wine glass in front of us, but all of the drunk people loved it and took pictures with it.

It's just a big wine glass! I don't get it!

3) The music was local and the first band consisted of high schoolers, but those kids were seriously talented.
4) It was extremely cold, but one of the wineries gave us warm sangria for sharing our power strip!
5) It was also super windy, but none of my displays blew over because they were just open frames!

 So there it is. My first craft show. All in all, I wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact, it was so not-terrible, I signed up for another show in November! All for now, later, kids!

Welcome Home, Comango!

This weekend Sam's parents came to visit. It was super great for several reasons, 1) they are fun to hang out with; 2) they made of lots of good food and also filled our fridge; and 3) THEY BROUGHT OUR PETS!!!

Granted, our pets are a fish and lizard. Not super cuddly, but they are still pretty cute, and I LOVE having animals around.

So, my friends, meet I Don't Know, Finn (Finn for short) and Comango.

As you can see, I Don't Know, Finn is a beautiful betta fish. He currently lives in a lovely little dish on our kitchen table. His hobbies are floating around in his bowl, eating fish pellets, looking at people as they move around the room, and occasionally making a bubble nest at the top of his dish.

 So regal.

He also seems to enjoy spending time with his fake plant and traveling from one end of his dish to the other. He's truly a joy to be around. His name is a story I'll tell some other time. Or maybe I won't. I don't really know.

 

 He loves that plant.

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: Comango! He's an excellent desert gecko. He has fatty stores in his tail, and it looks like his head. Hence, Comango. Say it out loud, if I have to explain it to you anymore, it's not just worth it. Well, dear Comango enjoys sleeping in his cave, sleeping in the sand, sleeping near his rocks, and once in awhile, moving.

 Comango's Crib.

 He's a little cuddly!

His moving often involves crawling slightly outside of his cave and eating crickets. Unless the crickets wander in to his cave, in which case, he does not leave or really move at all. He's just the greatest lizard. He also has adorable feet.

What a sexy lizard!

The cutest feet!

Welcome home, guys! It's great to have you :)