Creatures' Greetings

Did you know there are different animals and things that live here in Mississippi than Grand Rapids???? It's true. Sometimes, they show up in places you don't want them to. I came home from work at the bagel shop the other day and this was on my bedroom wall...


I texted this picture to my friend and her child determined it was a wall lizard.
"Ahhh, there's a lizard on my wall in my bedroom!"
My kids would love to help you.
"I wish they were here"
My son says it's a wall lizard
"Does he have a suggestion on how to remove it without touching it?"
Do you have a butterfly net?

"No, I didn't happen to bring one with me. I have a cup or a bowl or a broom. I'm guessing the creature would like to live so I'm thinking more of the catch and release method than the smack and flush."
He suggests holding a trash bag under the lizard and then gently nudge it with the broom.
"Ok, he may just have to live on my wall til after ballet tonight when a roommate is home to help me. If he's gone by then, I'll assume he found a way outside...oh wait, then maybe he'll climb on me when I'm sleeping, EEEWWWWW! Well, I'll try it by myself. Thanks for the suggestion. I hope it doesn't jump on me."
"Will it bite me if it touches me????"
Probably not. If you grab it and hold onto it, then it might bite. But just brushing against you shouldn't make it bite you. It won't hurt if it does bite and lizards aren't venemous.
"ok, I'll try and get it then. I most definitely will not be grabbing onto it, so it should be good. If it fals it will land in my bed. I sure hope I get it."
You can use a towel or something between it and your hand. It's worth a try. If it disappears you's know it's still somewhere in your room.
"yeah, that's the scary part. I don't want it somewhere in my room, I'd rather him just stick to the wall...it'd help if I wasn't so short., grrr"
12 minutes later...
"I win! He fell off the wall and started climbing on my bike and then I trapped him in the bathroom and chased him around for a while and directed him into a bag. Now he's in the bag outside, he hasn't come out yet so I'm just leaving him there and he'll come out eventually. *Shudder* I did not like that"
Way to go! 

I went to ballet and he was still in the bag. So, I left him there. When I got back from ballet, I was talking to the same person on the phone. I reached out my hand to grab the doorknob to get inside and there was a huge spider right about where I was going to reach! I did not have so much mercy on the ginormous spider. Then there was a spider crawling on my floor!!!! You have to understand, all spiders are gross, but these are especially unpleasing to look at or crawl on your floor for that matter.

Thanksgiving

Plans were all set. I was heading to North Carolina with my roommate. We were leaving at 5am, I believe. That is very early. Since I had been on the morning shift all week, I was used to being up around that time so we decided that I would be the first driver. We get into Squirt's car and I start backing out, we've got 14 hours ahead of us. I look at her car and there is no input for an ipod. No big deal, we'll just use some CDs. Just kidding, no CD slot either and I most certainly didn't bring tapes because I don't think my car has a tape player. But that wasn't too much of an issue, we could use the radio or just not listen to anything and talk.
I got over the no music thing very quickly and easily. We start going and I'm driving on the freeway and go to set the car on cruise control...there isn't one. So now we've got 14 hours of pushing the gas pedal.
It ended up working out just fine. Out of 28 hours of driving, we spent about 30 minutes listening to music (both of our ipods have speakers).
Now, of course, this is Squirt and I, so we didn't really know where we'd be passing through or anything. But eventually we got to Lexington, South Carolina. I texted my friend from Alaska because she used to go to school there and just said that I was thinking of her cause I was driving through there and eating my halfway treat :) She immediately called me and was like, I'M HERE!!!! I haven't seen her since being in her wedding and no plans to fly up to Alaska, so we were able to have lunch on the way back home and that was really nice.
The break in North Carolina was great. I got to meet my roommates' family and that was very enjoyable. It was fun to see where she grew up and to meet a lot of the people she loves and cares about and talks about. We especially had a great time hanging out with her little sister, Katie. I also got to meet some of her friends. We had Thanksgiving meal at her Grandma's and they basically have the same types of things we have in the north. We mostly just hung out with the family and that was really fun!
On the way home, we mostly just talked the whole time. Squirt slept some, but I couldn't really sleep. I rested a bit, but sleep was not my friend that day. So we talked and talked and talked and it was super great. Then she sang to me...I will always love you. Haha, she's very funny.