fish tales.

Since I have absentmindedly ignored updating the blog for several months, I feel the need to get you up to speed on the latest happenings in our "house." Don't worry, I will keep it short; or at least I will try.

About two months ago, my wonderful husband finally convinced me we were ready for parenthood. NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT. But since we aren't allowed to have dogs or cats at our apartment, a perfect little ten gallon tank that has sat empty for many years, started calling his name. If you don't know that story, follow along.

Once upon a time, I had two beautiful roommates who blessed me with this complete ten gallon fish tank set for my birthday. It came complete with gravel, water heater, lid and decorations. I, of course, jumped the gun and immediately hopped in my car and went to the closest pet store. I carefully chose the "prettiest" fish and brought 14 of them home to my new tank. I named them all. And when I woke up in the morning, I rushed to that tank to greet my new scaly friends; and found a graveyard of what had once been neon tetras.

I tried out a few more fish, but those too died. The only thing I seemed to be able to keep alive was a pretty little beta, also a birthday gift, given to me by my good friend Brandon and appropriately named Sheena Fish. But eventually, Sheena Fish died too. And it was then that I swore I would never try to become a fish mama again; I just didn't think I was cut out for it.

Back to present day, I found myself staring aimlessly at the selection of fish at the pet store. We walked up and down and examined them all very carefully, knowing this was a large step we were about to take. I walked gingerly past the tank filled with neon tetras, remembering vividly the smile on my face as I brought them home and the sinking feeling in my stomach six hours later when I found them all lifeless and strewed about in miscellaneous fashion. Was I ready? We talked for a long time with the "fish expert" each time we visited the store before finally making an educated decision the fourth time around. Each person we talked to seemed to know just a little bit more than the other and so our knowledge, in turn, continued to grow.

Finally, we had made up our minds and decided we would begin with just two mollies based on their hardy nature and ability to fit well in a ten gallon tank. We were given a male and a female, which we didn't realize until many weeks later; one was a subdued yellow hue and the other, bright orange. Appropriately, they were given the names Belle and Crush, and they are the very beginning of our ever fascinating, fish tales.