Pablo

I realized a while ago I've never done a post about our one and only pet, Pablo. For those of you who have ever visited us in Chicago or ever visited one of Alex's apartments/ houses while in college- you know Pablo. If not, he's our bearded dragon of 9 years. I meant to post about him a long time ago, but forgot- sorry about that Pab!

Anyways, Pablo has been with Alex for nine years now- since Alex was a senior in high school. When he first got him he was about 5 inches (head to tail) long. Now, I'd say he's about 15 or so inches long.

This is basically what Pablo does on a daily basis.... lay around on his rock or log, eat lettuce, and poop all over his cage. Alex really hates it when he does that on his rock- not as easy to clean. On occasion, we'll get him crickets. But, we don't live near a Petsmart or anything like that, so his diet is mainly lettuce.

Every once in a while we will get him out of his cage, but not too often- he's pretty skittish.

He does shed his skin a few times a year, and this is probably the most active (other than chasing crickets) you will see Pablo. I think it itches him, so he kind of goes crazy- scratching at his cage non-stop.

As the weather gets cooler, he does some sort of a hibernation. He never did this until Alex changed the rocks in his cage to sand. I think the cool sand makes his natural instincts kick in. But, I'm not an expert- its just a guess.

However, one interesting fact about bearded dragons- they are attracted to the color yellow. Specifically neon yellow, like in hi-liters. If you hold a yellow hi-liter to his cage he will follow it around- its awesome!

On the first day of school this year (teacher meetings) we had to introduce ourselves and say an interesting fact about ourselves as well... well I don't think I have too many interesting facts, so I decided to share that my husband and I have a pet bearded dragon. It got a good laugh... :)

Here are some pictures of our beloved pet...

You know.... just hanging around.

He looks intimidating... don't let it fool you!

I guess its been awhile...

I don't know how I let this blog go so long with being ignored.... sorry about that!

Here's what we've been up to:

• Back to school- I've been back at work for about 10 weeks now. I guess you can put part of the blame of not blogging on that. Things are going good this year. I have 32 students in my class, just like last year. We just finished our first quarter of school, so now I am on Fall Break for the week. :) Still in 2nd grade, this is my 3rd year teaching that age level.
• Ryan's Birthday- Over Labor Day weekend my mom, Shannon (Ryan's fiancé), and I planned a surprise birthday party for my brother. We had a great time at the party! Lots of family and friends, and Ryan was totally surprised! I made a picture slideshow for him that, as always, made my mom cry! :) I love making those slideshows! I have an EASY program on my Mac called iMovie, which makes it super simple. If you are in need of a picture slideshow and need some help... let me know! I have a blast making them!
• Purdue Football- We've been able to go home twice for Purdue football games. We love going back to cheer on our Boilermakers. Over October 1 we played Notre Dame (unfortunately, we lost BAD), but we had a great time tailgating with my family and seeing some friends like the Wither's and Jay's parents, Jeanne and Alec.
• San Diego- During the last weekend in September Alex was coaching a negotiation competition for his old law school, John Marshall. Well, I decided to tag along as an inexpensive weekend get away. The first day we were there, Alex was busy with his competition, so I spent my day walking around San Diego and checking everything out. That night we had dinner and went out with a small group from Alex's team. On Sunday, we went over to Coronado Island and rode a ferry back over to San Diego. We had a really great time, just wish we could have spent a little more time there to see it all. Oh well, I was just excited to get away for a few days and see something new.
• Mad Men- Do you watch this show?? If not, you MUST check it out! We love it!! They've had it on Netflix instant stream, and it took us about 2 months to watch the first four seasons. The fifth season will be on AMC in March. For those that are unfamiliar with the show, its basically about Don Draper, who is an ad man (works in advertisement) on Madison Ave in New York City and it takes place in the early 60's. I love all the references to the 60's, fashion, and it cracks me up how scandalous his life is. Not exactly a role model, but you can't help but love him! Maybe because he's such a stud! haha
• Bears football- Well, our Sundays and for this week, Monday nights are now dedicated to the Bears. I'm not overly as excited about it this year as much as I have been in the past... not sure why. However, I must give a huge shout out to the Detroit Lions... WHAT?! My dad grew up outside of Detroit, and this is also where Ryan and I were born.. so being a Detroit sport fan has been instilled in us from a very early age. The Lions play the Bears tonight for Monday Night Football, so I told Alex I was playing it neutral tonight- just call me Switzerland. Plus the Tigers are in the playoffs.... way to go Detroit! My 93 year old grandmother is probably one of the biggest Tigers fans I know. :)

So, that's the latest with us. Hopefully I'll be better at keeping up with this.