New Family Members

We have two new members of the family!

Those who know me, know that I am a great lover of animals. Recently, my beautiful betta fish, Rajion, passed away. Two moves in barely over one year's time was just too much for him;-(

Although I mourn his loss, I was anxious to get a new betta, as they bring me so much simple joy. So off the the pet store I went! I had in mind a nice golden or yellow male betta, and I found two very nice specimens. Just as I was about to make my final decision, I happened to glance over at the section of female bettas. And that is when I saw her - perhaps the most beautiful little she-betta I have ever laid eyes on! Her scales literally sparkled!

In keeping with the theme of dragon names (because Bettas are truly the dragons of the fish world), I named her Saphira, for her bright sapphire scales.

Not long after Saphira came into our lives, my SIL asked me if I wouldn't mind taking her Betta, Julio. She is expecting a new baby soon, and the tank upkeep was becoming a little too stressful for her. I was more than happy to take her little fish. Sadly, Julio has suffered from some sever fin and tail rot, and a loss of appetite. Fortunately, I have been treating him with medications, and he is doing much better. He may never again have the same splendid fins he once had, but my hope is that he is just happy and comfortabe.

We also gave him a new name, as we felt Julio was simply not a fitting name for any fish, LOL. Again, in keeping with the dragons, we named him Kokusho, or the Evening Star (those of you who play Magic: The Gathering may recognize this name). This seemed an appropriate name for an older fish past his prime.

And here is a pic of Kokusho when he was younger and healthier. Such a pretty fish!

In other fishy news, we recently had a scare with our two goldfish, Feather and Firefly. Moving fish can be so hard on them, and they became so stressed that they became very ill. One day, i found Firefly floating upside down in the tank!!! Feather was also floating, but not quite as bad. I was in a near state of panic, as I have become VERY attached to my goldfish. I immediately did a 50% wate change and fasted them for several days. Then I fed them a strict diet of peas (I, myself detest peas, but the fish love them). Peas are very healthy for goldfish, as they help clean the body of toxins, while adding vital nutrients to the body. And they are like candy to a fish - a very special treat! At any rate, I am happy to say that both fish are doing quite well now, much to my relief. Feather still gets a little floaty after he eats, but that is just him.

So, if you have any fish, and are in need of some guidance, feel free to ask me any questions! I'm always happy to help my little fishy friends:-)

A lil bit of Christmas

Ah, finally a moment to sit and blog about Christmas! Well, technically I still have LOTS more to unpack (I HATE moving!), but I am taking a little time out today.


This was really the first year that Cameron has really been excited about Santa Claus and presents. I thought about taking him to the mall, but I did not want to battle the crowds. But he was still able to meet Santa at the ward Christmas Party. What did he ask for? A new Lightsaber! Cameron is very big into Star Wars:-)


Even though we knew we were moving, we still decided to put up our own Christmas decorations. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I like to do it up right:-) We still have the little tree that I have had since my college days. Next year I plan to get a real tree, and then hit the after-Christmas sales for a nice pre-lit tree (do you have any idea how painfully annoying it is to string lights on a tree?).



We spent Christmas Day at my parent's home in Price, UT. Craig had to work both on Christmas Eve, and the day after Christmas, so it was a very shot trip for us. But since we still had so much packing to do, we felt it was probably better this way, anyway.

The guys had a lot of fun on the computer. They seemed to be glued to it almost the whole time.


It is rare to have everyone together. All the kids, in-laws, and grand kids were present. While the boys were busy on the computer, the girls were busy trading off who got to hold the newest addition to the family:-)

The Loot. And was there ever a lot of it! Granted, more than half was for my sis Jenny and her family with four kids. Makes sense. Still, it is fun to see so many presents under the tree. Adn that Tree! That is the only tree I can ever remember having. I think my parents got it when I was about 6, so it has been around for about 23 years!!!! Seriously, it looked like it was about to fall over. Time to get a new tree, don't you think?

And what did Santa bring Cameron? A new Lightsaber, of course! He was sooo excited to get it. He has hardly put it down since:-)

We had to leave before we could eat the Christmas Dinner. We wanted to make it out of the canyon before it got too dark. As it was, it was stil dark, and snowed a lot, but we took it easy and made it through okay. Cameron was so tired from the day that before we had even made it out of my parent's neighborhood he was sound asleep, and slept the entire way home! Unfortunately, that meant he was awake for a while after that.

It was a good Christmas, and it was great to see family again. Now I am looking forward to a new year full of new adventures!

We have a house!

Sorry I have not updated my blog in so long. It's actually kind of funny and ironic. I visit quite a few blogs, and sometimes I get annoyed or sad when people don't update their blogs often. You'd think I would learn to take my own hints.

So, the big news is that we are in a house! Our very first home! We moved in this past Saturday, and already we are in love with it. We now live in Layton, near the High School. At first, I was o sad to leave our apartment. We had so many good memories there, and I was sad to leave behind some good friends and a great ward.

But from the moment we moved in our new neighbors have been great. They are helpful and friendly, which is great. We had a slight hangup with the furnace. It is really old, and we discovered that it had a couple of little leaks. Nothing too serious, and the gas company was able to patch them right up. But one thing I notice is that the house is much colder than our apartments, probably because there is so much more to heat. The basement is like sitting in a refrigerator, which wouldn't be a problem normally, but we are using it as my studio and office space, so it needs to be warmer.

And yes, I know have space for my studio! No more rearranging my living room to put up backdrops! Now I can put them up and leave them up! I have TONS of room for the camera, lights, backgrounds, props, and people! I am uber excited about it!

I would show some images of the new house, but I haven't taken any yet (werid, i know!). As soon as I do I will post a few.

I will also address the subject of Christmas as soon as I get all those images onto the computer, so stay tuned!