From Nestlings to Fledgings

I think my babies are about to fly the coop... Which is so exciting. I've had them hardly a week and they are already starting to hop around and trying to leave the nest. Couple more days and I think they will be flying. Their wings are coming in so nicely. I have two right now that are the bravest. They like to sit on the edge of their bowl and look around at everything. Teddy likes to sniff at the them but for a dog he lacks the enthusiasm to actually try and "get" them. Mike will be cleaning up our "flying" box soon and then when they are able to fly and get food on their own we'll be having a freedom celebration. Have to go to the pet store an stock up on mill worms and a pair of tweezers. This should be interesting... Here are some pics.

New Babies: Day Two

I now have the babies responding when I whistle or kiss at them. All but one opens their mouthes in hopes of getting their next meal... which is progress I guess. The one is the smallest of the group and I know you aren't supposed to name an animal you have no intentions on keeping but I can't help call him Grumpy. He always has this pissed off bird look on his face (and I'm not entirely sure if it's a boy or girl) I couldn't get him to eat at the morning feeding but I was able to get him to take quite a bit at the noon feeding. Unlike babies with no feathers these guys don't eat every 20-30 minutes. But they have been getting to the point where they cry out for the food. I really need to be feeding them with separate syringes but they are all nest mates and show no signs of disease so I think I'm in the clear. If I can only get Grumpy to welcome food like the others.

Side Note: Looks like I have to keep my laundry room open at all times. I saw a momma bird fly in there earlier (not the same momma bird of these guys like I said before their nest was originally 3 miles down the road.)

Interesting Day

Today started out like any other day but by the end of the day I had 4 new mouthes to feed. Was outside with my parents and my two kids helping plant a garden when my husband called my dad and asked him to tell me to come up to the shop. I walked up there and low and behold Mike had found 4 baby birds and one unhatched egg. The nest was in a boat t-top that was down at the road at a family friend's business having some work done. Dad and Mike picked it up today and Mike was stripping all the usable parts off of it and discovered the nest. Normally we would have left it alone until Momma bird was done rearing her young but since was moved over 3 miles from it's original location we knew without our help all four babies would perish. So Mike called me up there to run to the store to get the supplies to take care of the babies. All 4 babies have their eyes open and some feathers and fortunately none of them have any signs of avian pox. They were taking the food from me today and digesting the food okay so we have high hopes for them. It will be nice when they are done being raised that they have a safe spot to live. We live close to some woods and the river so I'm sure after we set them free they will find a new home, but I thought it would be neat to journal their progress and take some pics. Teddy (our Collie/Shepard mix) doesn't quite know what to think about them but the kids like to watch momma feed the new babies and everyone knows that the babies need to be handled as little as possible.

If it ain't one thing it's another...

This morning hubby pissed me off. No there isn't trouble in paradise. Him and I tend to piss each other off but give us an hour or two and we've forgotten all about it. So I went to the gym mad, let the kids get on my nerves, and was cut off twice on the interstate. Like I said... if it ain't one thing it's another. After arriving alive at the gym I headed off to Beginning Zumba class to see if this class would be something I liked. I like music and love to dance (even if it's while I'm cooking dinner or cleaning around the house) so I ended up liking the class alot. And afterwards I was sweating and smiling even though I rolled my ankle at the beginning of class and was in a little pain. I had a lot of fun and even met another woman there around my age, which was great because the Y is full of people my grandparents ages... ;P Apparently there is another Zumba class tonight after hubby gets off work so I may be going again!!! :) Looks like I have a couple followers now which is neat. HEY GIRLS!!!! Gotta get back to my short hour of the kids taking a nap so I can watch Hercules... (Cheesy acting but with those muscles... I'll deal with it!)

New Blog?

Okay so I was trying to find a better name for my blog because I don't want people to be under the impression my blog is all about Scuba Diving. This blog is about me striving to fighting to be the person I want to be, which isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination. I was reading the FLYladies blog and one thing that made sense to me was baby steps. Even though I don't have any followers as of right now I want to let EVERYONE know that my blog is not going to be focused on just diving but more of my life. Yes there will be some diving in it but more importantly it's going to cover my journey to get back to a scuba life. I have to get in shape, lose weight, and build myself into the person I know I can be. This year my biggest focus is on change. My changing for the better and I hope that my story will inspire others to focus on themselves instead of everyone around you. Yes I firmly believe that everyone should give back to the community but before you can get to that level you need to accomplish goals in your own life. Hopefully through this blog you will see me accomplishing my goals for a better me and I hope it encourages you to do the same.

A Brief Introduction and History Lesson

Where to begin? Well you will notice that the title of my blog is "One Diver's Life" that is because I am a scuba diver and have been for about 12 years now. I know some of you are thinking WHOA... she's old... I'm 24. That's right I've diving since I was 12. Do I have any other certifications? NO... I never got past Open Water Diving. I love it. There is nothing like that feel of water holding you and the sound of real ocean and nothing else but your own breathing. I quit diving for a while after I turned 17... why? Well a couple of reasons played into it. One... I lost my diving buddy(my dad who moved to Mobile to open his own business) and two... I met a boy. **I'm smiling now too** This wasn't just any "boy"... I was 17 and in love and busy trying to map out who I was going to be after high school. My husband (the boy I met at 17) was certified about a year ago along with my baby brother (who really isn't a baby any more). I went along for the certification dive just to keep an eye on things. Boy that went over well. I got a rude awakening when I couldn't fit my shorty anymore (bc I had gained ALOT of weight) and then on top of it I found out I'm not in the same physical shape I was at 16.

The day started like any normal dive would. We hit Vortex Springs for the freshwater portion and yeah I got in that cold ass water without a wetsuit in October. I didn't freeze or catch hypothermia like most think I would have. I was raised swimming in Wakulla Springs and I was pretty comfortable with the water temperature. Well after everything went well for the spring dive we headed for Panama City, FL for our shore dive. This part is where it got a little scary for me. I thought I would be okay to swim with everyone and I was for the most part. I achieved a neutral buoyancy (I wasn't on the bottom and I wasn't on the top for you non-divers) and was hanging out with the group having a good time. Then I got caught in a rip current that shot me to the top of the water before I could get anyone's attention in the group. Once there I went ahead and filled my BCD with air so I could float with ease. Then I looked around for help. Luckily there was a fisherman on the Jetties... I got his attention and let him know I was caught in a rip current and needed help. I saw him and a couple others whip out their cell phones and they also got the attention of a free diver who was video taping grouper in the Jetties and he came to my rescue. I remembered my training and went ahead and started swimming parallel to the beach until he caught up with me and with his swimming skills and that HUGE monofin he had on I managed to get back to shore just as the Coast Guard showed up to help. Exhausted, pissed at myself, and shaken up but all in all ok, I called my dad (my original diving buddy) and cried on the phone telling him about it. I decided then and there I was going to get a handle on my weight issues and my physical wellbeing.