cuttle bugs and mutts

well, the cuttle's system has been taken down for full-on revamp.  i had been housing a few of the darwin occy clowns in the top tank and a few feeders (silversides and ghost shrimp) in the bottom tank .. with a handful of frags scattered between the two as well.  everyone has since been relocated; the clowns and silversides moved in together (and are getting on quite nicely i might add,) the ghost shrimp are now exploring the display reef and the coral frags are hanging out in limbo for the time being.  i've yet to decide on a specific plan to improve the set-up for a new batch of cephs .. but can't wait to have a few of the little characters back in my days, i really do miss them.

the remaining wildlife in the house all seem to be consumed by a marathon crabassin' session, brought on by old man winter.  the 3 mutts are not impressed, nor is the boyfriend.  (yes, he counts as wildlife!)  any more than a dusting of snow and arnold, the black chihuahua, is forced to follow premade paths that the girls have cleared before him .. or face the challenges of a low draggin' belly.  you think you've got it bad?  try on a pair of 4" legs and let arnold know how that works for ya.  tassi and teej (pictured to the right) are constant warm hogs, whether it be the real estate in front of the fires or the last square inch of blanket to be swiped.  not a fan of winter to be found in this household.

with that being said, i say it's time i light a fire (literally and figuratively) and get the few bits of wrapping taken care of so i can wrestle the beasts for a spot on the couch and enjoy a night in with the family.  merry christmas, folks!  enjoy!

well, hello there! nice to finally meet you!

Scientists find new species in Papua New Guinea - Yahoo! News

24 frog species, around 100 insects .. and not so fortunately, "scores" of spiders. yes, i could do without the 8-legged demon spawn discovery.

it only adds to the mounting excitement to explore such unchartered territory.

MACNA 2010 et al

the way i see it, there's no better starting point for a blog than MACNA xxii .. it was, afterall, a bubbling cauldron of memories being made for the fish geek masses.  perfect.

i'm always a frazzled mess the days prior to leaving, this instance was no exception.  in spite of my skatterbrained self, i made it out the door thursday morning at the uncivilized hour of 4:30am.  (oh, and i do apologize to anyone that had the misfortune of crossing my crabby ass path that morning!  poor Joe took on the job of braving my foul attitude and getting the coffee IV started for me .. he most likely saved someone from bloodshed.  thanks, babe!)  once we finally landed in orlando the blur began!

this is the second year for Hughie and i to take part in the adventure better known as MACNA.  friends, new and old, fishes, corals, gear and more information than humanly possible to cram into one weekend .. that's what fishgeek paradise is made of!  well, that and the after parties after the after parties .. can't forget those.  ORCA made one helluva host, outstanding job!

MACNA in review is simple .. one word captures the entire weekend;  phenomenal!  the Orlando Reef Caretakers Association pulled off a smooth, well orchestrated conference at a gorgeous venue, packed full of the latest and greatest vendor exhibits and products, a fully stocked agenda of presentations by the industry's best, 3 full days of top notch raffle swag, more freebies than most of us could squeeze into our luggage, meals fit for royalty .. and most importantly .. over a 1000 of the coolest people in the nation that share in our obsession.  REEFERS UNITE!


selfishly, i must confess the raffle as being the highlight of the weekend for me.  i was sitting in the back by myself as my dad had just stepped out (not realizing the grand prizes would be drawn next.) i swear the gentleman calling the raffle somehow slowed time down to barely a crawl as he announced the winning ticket number for the PNG trip. i'll never forget .. 0 .. (a few random groans rise up from the crowd) .. 7 .. (and then a few more) .. 6 .. (dead silence) .......2. time came to a grinding hault as i stared blankly at my ticket stub. OH MY GOD! THAT'S ME!! (insert ear splitting scream here!) the next few moments remain a blur .. the only thing i'm positive of is that i was reduced to a babbling fool amidst the circle of people that had started forming around me, hugs and tears were plentiful! i had asked friends a few rows up to please go find my dad, he came rushing in just as David handed me the guide book on speaking Pidgin.  i overheard him tell someone, "this is the first time i've cried in 60 years!" and i thought my heart might explode then and there.  last year was our first MACNA as well as where we first learned of the SEASMART program.  we've talked about PNG ever since and what awesome work is being doing there, that booth was our first stop at the conference.  (once again i must extend an apology, this time to anyone we may have trampled over in our mad rush to get to the SEASMART booth when the doors opened friday!)  we've jokingly argued about who was going to win since the day we heard there were trips being raffled off. (which, by the way, may very well be the first time i've ever won an argument against that man!)



i haven't a clue how to summarize what this means to me.  if there are words out there that embody the level of thrill i feel i don't know what they are.  the SEASMART program is doing amazing things for not only the aquarium industry, but most importantly for PNG as a whole. and now the chance to actually experience it firsthand is a reality!!  seriously?!!  i still can't wrap my head around it!


from that very special moment on, the outpouring of enthusiasm and support has been unbelievable!  i am so grateful for each and every person that has extended a congratulation, offered their time to answer my questions, spent a moment to listen to me tell my story over and over and over again.  THANK YOU AGAIN!!


PHEW!!  what a weekend!  it's going to take me a month or more to process everything!  be sure to take a moment to check out the gallery page and enjoy a little eye candy.