Update... I guess?

When I started this blog I didn't have in mind that it would be one of those diary type blogs. You know the kind, where people tell you all about their problems, what makes them happy etc.  However, I know its time for a new post on here and all I can think about is my 'life' in general. So I guess here is an 'Update' on my life:

As you may know, I was cast as 'Ruth' in 'Pirates of Penzance' for my high school's spring musical. This past week there has been practice from 10-4:30 everyday. Except today, which went until 6. That will give you an idea of why it's very hard for me to think about anything else.

This is my fourth year in a row as belonging to this particular theater group, and I've learned a lot about the people around me and about people in general. At Greater Portland Christian School, which is the school at which I do theater, the kids are really... different. Four years ago when I joined, more than half the school kids didn't know who I was and didn't care. I hung out with the fellow home schoolers and had a great time. However throughout the years I've really started to belong with the school kids. Particularly this year. Also, when I first started going to theater here back in seventh grade, I looked up to the big kids as the most perfect people in the whole world. I thought that because they got the leads in the shows and that they actually knew where they were going to college that they were completely perfect, and I wanted to be just like them. This year however I am one of the 'big kids' or 'leads'. I have a few little girls following me around, wanting to talk to me or get a piggy back ride whenever possible. This got me thinking: Why is it that they think I am any better than they are? I surly don't feel any better. I do have a lead in the show, but that is because during auditions the director liked the way I sounded. Not because I was a perfect singer who was going to be a famous person some day. Although I don't mind the kids attention I just wish I could tell them somehow that I'm no different than they are.

As it is spring, school is a pressing issue. This week I haven't been able to do much school at all, in fact I really haven't done any. Tomorrow, my first day off since last Sunday, is going to be 90% filled with school. The other 10% is for Mass. I am hoping to finish school by the end of the first week of June. I've been thinking a lot about this and I've gotten myself worried. Then I realized that it doesn't matter when I end. I'm going to end at some point, and next fall I will be starting Junior year. Why not just take time and enjoy life AND enjoy being a sophomore while I can? So that's my plan. Work my butt off trying to finish, just so I can have a nice summer vacation, but not worry so much about is, as most people do.


I think that's quite enough for one post, don't you?

As my friends in the theater call me,

     Mooroo

Ralph the kazoo-ing bear.

There once was a man who lived in Kalamazoo. He provided for his family by playing kazoo. Only on Sunday's would he take a break; H'd sit down with his family and eat some nice steak. One day on a Sunday afternoon, he took his family too see the new zoo. They saw many animals that sunny day, but one special animal made them all stay. His name was Ralph and he was a great bear; for years he had stayed in his cage in a chair. But one thing was special about this bear in the zoo- he was known for playing a special kazoo. The man and his family were so very ecstatic; but the zookeepers cautioned, 'his behavior's erratic!' But the man and his family had such great faith. They knew this bear needed a happier place. They then left the zoo, leaving the bear; making a promise, a great thing declared: "we will return, and get our friend!" So when night fell, they hatched a great plan. "He'll come live with us!" shouted the man. The family donned ski masks as they let for the zoo, preparing to take the bear with kazoo. They arrived at the zoo and snuck into the grounds, making sure nobody was there or around. They went up to the cage and broke off his lock, the bear stepped out smiling saying "let's rock!" The whole family pulled out there fancy kazoos, and they all played a tune as the ran from the zoo. The family got in the car with the bear in the rear. And when they got back, the bear was in tears. He was happier than happy that he was now free, and he cordially thanked his great new family. They all played the kazoo like never before, and the old silence on Sunday tradition was no more. Here we end our tale today, they all lived well, happy and gay.


A lovely story by Than Peterson, written on my iPhone just for me. :)

How to Make an Amazing Moist Reptile House

This morning I woke up and looked at my leopard gecko's 50 gallon bow front tank, and saw that it looked really plain and bad. I then decided that I was going to rearrange his habitat, and while I was doing this I thought of the following project that will turn any boring reptile habitat into something spectacular. Well at least, that would be nice right? Well, here goes:

Before I tell you what you're going to need to make this, I'd better tell you exactly what we're making. Most reptiles require a 'moist house' in their habitat for when they are going to shed their skin. This house must have a substrate that holds moisture very well, and the house must be pretty closed off, you know, sealed other than a door. That way the humidity stays very high in there. In the following pictures you can see that I used a diaper wipe box for my 'moist house' and this is because it is for my leopard gecko. If you have a larger reptile, use a larger, similar container.

Okay here's what you'll need:
1 container that will fit your reptile, and some substrate
Some reptile safe moss (I bought mine at a pet store, I recommend doing so)
A sheet of 'reptile carpet' (I used to use it as the substrate in my tank,  until I switched to sand. There are many natural looking colors and I had green so that's what I used)
Non-toxic hot glue gun, and glue for it
Scissors

Step one:
Cut out a piece of reptile carpet out that is a little bigger than the top of your container. Make sure to leave a little extra around the edges, you'll see why later.

Step Two: Cut out a strip of the carpet as tall as your container. Cut the carpet so that it sticks off a few inches off each side of the front. (See next picture) This will give it a more natural look at the end. Also, cut out a space where the door is. Make sure your door is small, but at least as big as the largest area on your reptile. I also don't recommend having a door on the roof, as many people do. A door on the roof will reduce the humidity level. After you have it all cut out right, hot glue it to the front of your container, being careful not to glue it to the lip of the lid, otherwise in the future the lid wont open.

Step Three: Take the extra carpet that is sticking off the sides of your front, and hot glue them around the corner of your container, they will hopefully cover both of you sides. 

Step Four: If your front strip of carpet didn't cover all of the sides, cut out small pieces of carpet and glue them to where the sides are blank. We will not be covering the back of this container for a few different reasons. The main reason is that it will prevent us from being able to open the lid easily. It also wouldn't make much of a difference because in my habitat the back of this house is against a wall, and not visible. 

Step Five: Glue on the piece of carpet that you have measured for the top. Also you're going to want to trim the corners off this piece a little, other wise they will stick off your container a lot. 

Step Six: Nope! We're not done yet! Now we need to add some bling. (Reptile bling = moss :) So you need to take some dry (it must be really dry) moss and you can actually just stick it onto the carpet. It should stick pretty well. If for some reason it doesn't, just use some glue and decorate until you are satisfied.

Tony seems to like it! I hope you and your reptile do too!

Thanks for reading,

as always, 

    Moira

Rachel deserves a blog post.

My Alter Ego, Rachel, was so thoughtful and made a whole post for me on her blog (http://nutshellinmaine.blogspot.com/) and so I believe she deserves to have her own post on my blog!

Dear Rachel,
I had the best three-day weekend with you these past few days. I really miss not hanging out with you for long periods of time. I'm so freaking excited that I'll see you tomorrow at chorus. Even though we'll only see each other for a little while, I'm excited.
         I love love love your hair skillz and I'm going to need them with my new due (Is that how you spell like, hair due? I'm not sure...) Oh, you need to tell me what to say at girls chorus related to hair. However, I don't think I'm going to girls chorus this week, oh well.
             By the way, I love you. <3
                               As always,
                                      Moira

History, of course!

Although I don't find History my favorite subject this year, this particular paper caught my interest for some reason. I recently found out that I got an A on it. I've been thinking for a while that I should post something that proves there's more to my life than my pets. And so, here is a paper that I recently wrote on the the First Punic War. I hope you enjoy!

(Yes, it's very long. But who knows, if you read the whole thing you might learn something new)

                                               Summary of the First Punic War

            The first Punic war was fought primarily between Syracuse, Rome, and Carthage; although a group of Italian mercenaries were the cause of the war, they did not participate for very long. This war was fought on the island of Sicily which at that time was divided into three. One third of the island belonged to Carthage, one third to Italian mercenaries and one third belonged to Syracuse. Also, a large portion of this war was fought by the Naval units.

            In 288 BC a group of Italian mercenaries took over Messana, which was one of the three parts of Sicily, which at that time was being ruled by Syracuse. After they had bitterly conquered Messana, without showing mercy they continued to raid the rest of the island of Sicily. By 265 BC the raiding had gone so far that Heiro II, the leader of Syracuse, decided to fight against the mercenaries and reclaim his lost land. Heiro II led an army into Messana and quickly injured the army, making it necessary for the mercenaries to find help. And so the Mercenaries asked Carthage for an alliance, and their immediate help. Along with asking Carthage, the Mercenaries asked Rome for an alliance and help. When Rome first heard that the mercenaries from Messana needed their help, they refused. Rome knew of the harsh way that the mercenaries took over Messana, and did not think that it was honorable for them to help such people. And so, Rome replied that they would not help. Carthage on the other hand agreed to the request and sent their army to Messana right away. This, however, worried the Romans. They feared that Carthage would gain dominance over all of Sicily. And so, Rome took back their first answer, and sent troops to help Messana. This was the beginning of the first Punic war.

 By the time Romans got to the island the Carthaginians had already taken over Messana completely. Now, instead of doing what they said they would do, fight Syracuse, the Roman leader insisted on meeting with the Carthaginian leader. Hanno, the Carthaginian leader, agreed to the meeting because technically the Romans and Carthaginians were on the same side. At least, that’s what they thought. Needless to say, the meeting did not go according to plan and Hanno ended up being threatened with death unless he left the island. After losing their leader the Carthage army did not want to give up, instead they went and asked to join the Syracuse army. Because Heiro II still had such a desire to overtake and regain Messana, he agreed to the joining of Carthage and his own troops. Because of their new larger size, the Carthaginians and Syracuse sent one navy and one army into Messana in hopes of defeating the enemy. Unfortunately they were crushed by the Romans and did not regain Messana. This small defeat for Rome made the Roman leaders believe that they were indeed the strongest army in the battle, which led to disaster.

Because Rome believed they were the strongest they quickly sent two armies out into Sicily. They were now attempting to gain the entire island of Sicily. In the beginning they defeated many cities and towns in Carthage. Once they had conquered almost all the cities and towns of Carthage, they started to put all of their forces on Syracuse alone. This worried Heiro II, the leader of Syracuse, tremendously. He decided the best chance for survival of his cities was to ally himself to Rome. He did so, making Carthage a very weak force. At this point the Romans had conquered two-thirds of Sicily: The Syracuse third, and the Italian third.  Now their only goal was to gain Carthage, the last third. And so they attacked Carthage, and almost defeated them. They took residents and sold them as slaves, and they conquered several of the towns of Carthage. However, Carthage would not give up, and insisted that they move the battle to the open sea. Carthage was known for their incredible seamanship.

Once on the sea Carthage had the clear advantage of seamanship and superiorly built ships. During this short comeback of Carthage, they conquered many of the coastal cities, around the perimeter of Sicily. However, their good fortunes did not last long. Rome knew at once that in order for them to win this battle they would need better ships, as theirs were getting easily thrashed by the Carthaginians. As luck would have it the Romans stumbled upon an intact Carthaginian ship that had been abandoned. They found this ship on the Italian coast of Sicily. There is no real evidence in history saying why exactly that ship had been left there. Rome realized its wonderful luck and began building ships of her own, using the Carthaginian ship as a model. They built hundreds of these ships, and took them to sea. Once again at battle, the Romans still lost a majority of the fights in which they engaged. However, because of this they were able to realize their errors and fix them. The Romans realized they needed to train their seamen. They did this. Realizing that they could take advantage of their land fighting skills if they could board the enemy ships, they devised a type of plan to budge between the ships. A successful venture, this resulted in the capture of 130 Carthaginian ships in 260 BC.

Rome’s success at winning battles continued throughout the next several years, during which Rome was able to conquer many cities, including some in Africa.  The battles continued for so long that ultimately Rome and Carthage were losing a lot of money. At the end, Carthage was forced to step back and let the Romans win the long war. As victors Rome made Syracuse sign a document stating that they would remain firm allies.

As for the toll that this war took, it was not a light one on anyone. More than 400 ships were lost by each side. Carthage was believed to have lost more than 100,000 men, whereas Rome only about 50,000.

            The first Punic war was an arrangement of battles between many cities including Carthage, Rome, Syracuse and Italian mercenaries, and at the end even Africa was pulled into the fighting. This war was fought both on land, where Rome had the advantage, and on sea, where Carthage had the advantage. It was a long, drawn out war that ended finally with Rome as victorious. 

If you've made it this far, congratulations! I really hope you did like it, or at least didn't hate it. 

As always,

     ~Moira

Part two leopard gecko breeding!

Before you start reading this post you need to know that I'm writing it on my phone. Although I'll be as careful as I can be, auto correct can have a mind of its own, and punctuation can be lacking. Also I am insanely tired and cannot think straight even if I try, so this post may end up... Interesting.

As you know from my earlier post, this weekend was the planned get-get-together for the geckos, and so far everything has gone according to plan.

Although before everything started I read that geckos almost always mate when no one is around (it's like how a horse won't give birth when people are in the barn, kind of thing) but we, the owner of the female and I, actually got to witness them. I thought that was pretty amazing. Because we got to see them there's a lot more hope that everything will go well from here on out, and less doubt that nothing will happen.

Okay I'm going to do a brief (that is, 'Moira brief') paragraph on how to start the process of gecko breeding.

If your female is between two and eight or so you'll have better luck. Your male needs to between one and three although older might be okay, I've only ever heard of breeding young males. Mating season is from February to late July or early August. Once it's breeding season all you need to do is put your male gecko into your female gecko's tank. Don't put your female into your male's tank, males are very territorial. If you are lucky, like we were, they will mate right away. No matter what happens right away you should leave the male in there for several hours. Five would be very ideal. After that, no matter what you've seen or haven't seen, take the male out and put him in his own space. This is for two reasons; first to give the female some time to relax, and second, to keep them interested in each other the next time you put the male back in. I suggest leaving the male out over night, then putting him back in with the female in the morning. You can do it the other way around though, because they are nocturnal that would be fine too. This on-off pattern should go on for about four days. By the end of those for days you can be pretty confident that if anything was meant to happen, it would have happened already.


That's all for this post! Although, I think it's a must that I add: I'm so excited about the possibility of babies!


As always,
~Moira

Part One Leopard Gecko Breeding!

                                                                          Part 1

This post is a part one, of a hopefully many-part post. This weekend I am breeding my male leopard gecko with a female gecko who my friend owns. In this many-part post I am going to bring you through all the amazing parts of developing eggs, incubating the eggs, and finally hatching the little creatures.

Anthony (My leo, pictured above) is about two years old. He is a tangerine/carrot tail color morph. Yeah that's a mouth full. Basically he is one good looking reptile. In the picture you can see his bright yellow body color, his tail has some bright orange, some dark purple, and white. Also, for the first several days after a shed, his head has a bright green look. 

The female is also a very good looking gecko. Although I don't know exactly what kind of color morph she is I know she has a beautiful purple look on her tail, and a darker body color. We are hoping to get 4-6 beautiful baby geckos. 

On this blog I am hoping to keep you updated on how everything is going. Like I said above, they will hopefully breed this weekend and if they do in about three months the babies should hatch. The process between now and then however, is incredible. 

I wont explain everything right now, I have to save some things to say in my next posts. 

As always,

        ~Moira