Monthly Archives: April 2013

04.09.13

They say that aquariums and oceans are relaxing.  Calming if you will.  Some people even use them as forms of meditation.

Yet every time I get into a reef forum or Facebook group, someone is causing a ruckus.  It got so bad in our local group that all the comments had to go through moderation before posting.  In this hobby – like most hobbies – everyone has their own opinion.  Some things work for some people, and for others they are a disaster.  Like wipe your whole tank out disaster, but that is no need to go yell at the person advocating “macaroni dosing”.  You just have to do your research.

you didn't know

Please don’t research macaroni dosing though, I made it up.  Although I may be onto something.  Patent pending okay.

Recently, the hot debate has been the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishing a proposed rule in the Federal Register (77 FR 73219) in response to a petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity to list 83 reef-building coral species as threatened or endangered  under the ESA.  When this first hit the forums everyone was really nervous that this would kill the reef-keeping hobby.  By making the buying and selling of these corals illegal, the hobby would become like selling cocaine to the Cartels.  There was even talk of undercover agents at frag-swaps and conferences.

sneaky little boogers

I will admit that reading through the panic did give me a couple nightmares of being arrested for coral trafficking, but after further research my fears have been stifled.  Quite a few reefers have taken it upon themselves to call NOAA to get more information on what exactly will be illegal.  It appears that the only thing illegal will be buying and selling these corals for commercial use, and keep in mind it isn’t law yet.

The biggest fear is that the agents enforcing these laws won’t be able to decipher the different species and would ultimately confiscate the wrong corals.  Sort of a slippery slope.

Don’t get us wrong, anyone that is involved in this hobby wants to preserve corals, reefs, and the ocean habitat in general.  We just don’t want to become convicts for admiring their beauty.  Our personal belief is that reef keepers are ultimately trying to preserve the futures of many species of corals and livestock as the wild becomes a harsher and less sustainable home.  At least that is our goal.

I am sure Federal Regulation is not as juicy as Kim K’s sex tape, or as crazy as Miss Lohan’s shenanigans but you should see some of the cat fights going down.

Have you been following this topic?
Been involved any Spears-sized drama lately?
Want to try macaroni dosing?

For more information on this topic check out these helpful links and resources:
Overview of ESA from NOAA
NOAA’s contact information
Threatened Species
Good overview and spicy comments
Some Forum fun

Written by Christina and Tim
04.08.13

Man oh man…what a weekend.

We went bowling, had a bonfire, and worked in the yard all weekend long.  I even got a little sunburn on my nose.  I guess I forgot to go all lifeguard with the zinc-blue nose.  Did you do anything fun?

This should be an easy one for everyone…in case your weekend wore you out.  Even those of you that went out riding mechanical bulls can handle this. monday matter We all have those books that are just lying around collecting dust.  If you like to read like us then you probably have tons and tons of them.  You may choose to dress them up, or put them in a gorgeous library, or you may want to clear up some shelf space for your new adventures.  I don’t think this Monday needs much convincing, but just in case. the facts the plan Can you even imagine a life without books?  It is so sad that this is such a reality for so many little ones.  Let’s help them out shall we.

Speaking of books, got anything amazing you’ve been reading?
What was your favorite book as a child?
Have you seen the “book instead of card” trend catching on for showers?

Inspired by the book “Every Monday Matters

Written by Christina and Tim
04.05.13

It is Friday, we should hug.  Another week bites the dust and we couldn’t be more ready for the weekend.  Hopefully every one will have beautiful sunshine and a pool boy to bring you lemonade.  I am still working on that last part.

I found the cutest Etsy shop yesterday and I just have to share it with you.  I wish I could have included more of the awesome art from Parada Creations but she just has so many options.  Here are some of my favorites, with lots of words to live by.  Those dishes can wait, amen. parada creations I think you can find anything your are looking for at Parada Creations, except maybe that pool boy.  There are woodsy prints, colorful prints, typographic prints, prints for kids, abstract prints, funny prints, zodiac prints…and I think you get the picture.  Somehow, even with all of those options Susana remains true to her style.  You must check it out, that’s an order.

In other bloggity news, I found a ton of inspiration and had quite a few laughs this week….and I am willing to share. studio diy Who wants to let me throw them a party, because I am dying to make these hats.  Kelly from Studio DIY took some gorgeous ranunculus blooms and made them into the coolest party hats I’ve ever seen. eating bird food Please tell me I am not the only one that scarfed down my Girl Scout cookies and then felt insanely guilty about it.  Well Brittany from Eating Bird Food is here to solve all of our problems, she is showing us not only how to restock on my favorite cookie….but also how to make them a little less guilt-inducing.  She calls them Sinless Samoas and I can’t wait to get them in my belly. because i am addicted I didn’t even know that flower farms existed until I came across this post on Because I’m Addicted.  I want to get lost in the miles and miles of color and wonder that these fields promise.  And please, just for a minute think about how fantastic that would smell.  Take me there, now. i wore yoga pant to work Remember these hot thangs…Whitney from I Wore Yoga Pants To Work is cracking me up with her Spice Girls Life Lessons and taking me back to my puka shell necklace days.  Bring me that L.A. Gel I need to scrunch my hair.  She also broke the news that Bradley Cooper has a jerry curl – say what – yes it’s true and yes it’s as bad as it sounds.  You need a laugh?  Then mosey on over and crawl in Whitney’s lap….she will have you in stitches in no time.

Did you find anything good this week?  Are you sipping lemonade with the pool-boy?  Can I borrow your pool-boy?

Written by Christina and Tim
04.04.13

Yesterday we had a pretty major event at our house.
Only the A-list celebrities were invited and we popped bottles.

Bottles of flea shampoo.  And by A-list celebrities I mean Snoopy, Mr. Ed, Lassie, and Old Yeller.  No one showed up, but that didn’t stop us from celebrating because our old man turned 12 yesterday. howdy happy birthday Yes that hat was impossible to keep on his head…he’s not as into the whole “dress up” thing as like I would like him to be.  I guess I will never understand boys, even if they are of the canine variety.

Tim has raised Tajjie since he was a pup, check out this throwback. whoiscuter I honestly don’t know who’s cuter, the 18-year-old version of my man or the pup.

The short story is that Tim rescued three pitbulls from the back of a truck of a mean, mean man on a cold night.  The long story could bring you to tears so I will spare you, and instead invite you to party with us.  Or at least laugh at the photos while I lust over my younger boytoy.

I stopped in to Treats Unleashed to pick up a couple presents for just such an occassion and decided to make the big one-two super special for Taj.  They did such an incredible job on his cake and let me tell you a little something about customer service, they should teach a class.  I sat there for the entirety of my lunch break deciding on shapes, flavors, colors, and toppings.  Who knew you could have a custom cake, gone are the days of little old raw hides.  Consider me impressed….and a life-time customer.  The pups couldn’t be more thrilled. haveyourcakeandeatittoo Speaking of the pups, they went crazy on this cake.  Taj was so sweet to share with his little sister, not like he had a choice. sweet big brother Please don’t call PETA, we did not let them eat the whole cake.  We actually froze most of it and will give it to them when they don’t bark at the mailman.  The gift that keeps on giving, right?

Have you ever thrown your dog a party?  Been to a doggie wedding?  Please tell me someone else makes their dogs wear silly hats for fun.

Written by Christina and Tim
04.03.13

I have been staring at a few books that just don’t make sense for quite some time now.  They aren’t Quantum Physics or anything, just mismatched craziness.  The problem is I can’t throw them out.  One is a Barbie chronicle that any girl who grew up with Barbies would cherish like their first born….maybe.  One is a St. Louis landmark book, and one is a Ripley’s believe it or not book with a super fancy 3-d cover.  None of them are very “pretty” per say but I love looking through their pages and learning.

You caught a glimpse of them in this post.  And I was so embarrassed of their mis-matchedness that I actually hid them in this post.

I finally decided to do something about it.
Super fast, super easy project comin atcha… wallpaper your books You want to know how easy this was?
I walked downstairs and dug out some pretty scrapbook paper and the I just made simple bookcovers.  Twenty minutes tops.

Now I can just sit and stare at my pretty books.

Which brings me to my next point…I am so happy that publishers have started making book covers almost art-like.  All of the books I have bought recently are gorgeous enough on their own I will never have to wallpaper books again.  I’m not hating on Barbie and Mr. Ripley, ok maybe I am. the change up Have you bought any pretty books lately?  Ever dressed up your library?

Written by Christina and Tim
04.02.13

We have been as busy as we can be between blizzards and BBQ’s, but we have managed to squeeze in some bathroom time as well.   The renovation kind not the we-are-going-to-need-an-air-freshner-kind.  We have made quite a few changes to the existing layout after taking a few years to figure out what is not working.  Here are the major changes.

the rundown

The shower always felt cramped which was especially bad with all the grime.  You can see the kickout and the low ceiling pretty well in this photo.

kicking it

So we ripped out the ceiling and after careful deliberation a closet as well.

  the new shower

That took a lot of convincing on my part since Christina was convinced our four vacuums (yes four) would never find a home.  It added over two feet to the shower and we are now brainstorming tiled benches and jellyfish tanks.  Ok I am brainstorming about shower fish tanks and Christina is brainstorming about redecorating the foyer.

We also decided to add more lighting.  No compromise needed on that one.  With no windows for natural light we wanted to make sure we had plenty of light by adding three can lights and a fan-light combo.

We also replaced all of the plumbing and most of the wiring, thanks to a ton of help from my parents.  Christina is so excited to not be standing in a puddle in her shower since we also took this opportunity to snake out her drain.

Thanks to the suggestion of some of you all on our Facebook page we are also putting our outlets in the medicine cabinet so thanks guys.

We are getting drywall up this week so the room can actually start to feel like a room again, although we are loving the ability to walk in our front door and straight to the bedroom.

Thanks to my lady for making all the graphics for this post, where would I be without her.  And she was so excited to announce the winner of the giveaway, so she made a graphic….of course.

winnerwinnerchickendinner

Written by Christina and Tim