Tibby Tuesday: Study Time

It's time to study again for the Architect Registration Exam!  My Saturdays are starting to be filled again with study sessions.  This time, T and I decided to incorporate homework into our sessions to encourage ourselves to study more at home.  I think it's working so far, but I'll see when my exam date for Site Planning & Design gets closer.

Last Friday, I got a new study partner as I completed my homework:

I think he understands this stuff better than I do!

Tibby Tuesday: Did I do that?

Long time no see!

Right now, I'm wrapping up Project C.  Because of this, a lot of my posts have been limited.  It sucks, but that is a consequence of Architecture!  Anyway, Mr. Tibbs has been greeting me everyday after a busy workday.  He has been wanting to be on my shoulder or my knee more than usual, so I've been taking advantage before his mood changes.  The one thing I forget when he get affectionate is that he still isn't a fan of the guest room.  It has a television, but he doesn't have his cage with all his toys.  He has gotten better over the past year, but he still prefers our room when I have him with me.  He let me know that again last week:

He loves landing on our bookcase. 
Excuse the dust!

I'm still learning, lol.  I can't wait to be greeted with kisses from my two favorite men!

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Tibby Tuesday: A Picky Eater's Favorite Fruit

Ever since I adopted Mr. Tibbs in 2008, his Vet has always told me that Mr. Tibbs needs to eat more fruits and vegetables.  Brian and I have been trying for years to figure out what he likes and usually his Vet fusses me out when we come up empty handed.  We had a couple of hit or misses, but we figured out earlier this year that he loves Fuji apples.  Last week, we found out his favorite fruit of all time!

A couple of weeks ago, our church gave all the members free fruits, vegetables and snacks.  We ate some of the food within the first week, but we ended up saving the fruit salad for Mr. Tibbs.  I went on Cockatielcottage.net to see what foods were safe to eat, and we put them all on a plate and took them upstairs for Mr. Tibbs to try.  As you know, Mr. Tibbs is a picky eater.  If you want him to try something, you either have to bring his bell to the plate or taste it in front of him (monkey see, monkey do).  Some food required a lot of convincing while others didn't. 

Here are the results:
Tibby Yummy Meter: 1 (yuck) - 5 (yum)

Blueberry TYM - 1: Wouldn't get near it.

Pineapple TYM - 2: Licked it but didn't like the taste.

Honey Dew TYM - 3: Ran to it because it was green (he loves green food), but didn't like it.

Fuji Apple TYM - 4: Like it and took a few small bites.

Watermelon TYM - 4: Like it and took a few small bites.

Cantaloupe TYM - 5:  FAVORITE FOOD OF ALL TIME (other than seeds).  He took huge bites.

The start of his love for Cantaloupe.

If it wasn't his bed time, I think he would have eaten all the cantaloupe pieces.

Brian and I don't like cantaloupe, but I guess Mr. Tibbs gave us a reason to buy them.  Go Mr. Tibbs!

Tibby Tuesday: Molting Season is Over!

Molting season is ovvvvvvvvvvver!  Woooo!

Since my last post, Mr. Tibbs has been slowly getting back to his regular self.  He spent the weekend whistling, squawking, playing, going to bed on time and keeping his feathers to himself.  Our naps times are cut short again.  I can't even leave the room anymore without letting him know that I will be back.  Even though it's  frustrating, I'm glad my little one is feeling so much better.

This is how he greeted me this morning:

(L) Mr. Tibbs: "Kiss me!  Wait, you're taking pictures?  Here's my pose!"
(R) Mid-whistle.  I'm surprised he's excited to take a picture.

Gotta love Mr. Tibbs!

Tibby Tuesday: Molting Season

Floor covered in feathers.  Quiet time during naps.  Hours worth of eating and preening.  Staying up late.  That can only mean one thing: it's molting season for Mr. Tibbs!

Here is Cockatielcottage.net's description of molting:

"Molting is the shedding (replacement) of old feathers with the simultaneous growth of new ones.   ...After the first molt, healthy cockatiels have a normal molt 2-3 times each year.  It takes 7 to 10 days for a new feather to begin emerging after one was shed then an additional 6 to 8 weeks for the feather to grow in completely.  ...When molting, birds will be less active, napping more often, and they will be cranky."

While feathers in his cage and the floor were our only worries, this year, Mr. Tibbs has not been his normal self.  Here are some differences:

Nap activities:
Off season - Playtime while Brian and I are trying to sleep.
Molting season - After spending the majority of the morning eating and preening, he takes a big ol' nap with us.  We have had probably about 2 months worth of awesome naps because he takes one with us!

Playtime:
Off season - Will play anytime.
Molting season - Will only play if you bring his bell.  Other times, he will hiss if you interrupt his preening time.

Welcome home:
Off season - Will whistle 5-10 minutes before I get home and rush out the cage to greet me with a kiss.
Molting season - Stays quiet and will stay in the cage when I get home from work.

Bedtime:
Off season - Goes to bed between 8 - 9pm.
Molting season - Goes to bed between 930 - 1130pm. 

All this stuff came to mind after Sunday when he stayed up super late.  On Sunday, Brian and I did our usual routines: church, nap and cook dinner.  Mr. Tibbs took a nap with us, and while we cooked, he spend the majority of his time playing with his toys and preening.  We talked with my sister on Skype and ate a little late.  When we came upstairs, it was 10pm.  By this time, Mr. Tibbs is usually in bed.  Mr. Tibbs wasn't even yawning!  He remained active and played some more while I finished cleaning the room.  By1122pm, he finally was ready for bed:

Tibby: "I do what I want!"

Now that we know the reason behind his wanting to stay up late to play, eat and preen; we have to do the following to make his molting season a good one:

Tips by Cockatielcottage.net:

1. "Your bird will appreciate bathing or water misting baths to help soften and loosen the hard keratin coating on new feathers." Mr. Tibbs looooves these, so I will do this early in the day so he doesn't get sick.
2. "Birds will also appreciate some gentle scratches...because they are unable to reach these areas to preen off keratin." Mr. Tibbs only allows me to be his perch, not his back scratcher, so I can't use this tip.
3. "Molting is a stressful time for your bird and stress can impair the immune system, making it easier for your bird to get sick.  Serve nutritious foods that are high in Vitamin A, calcium and protein." I may have to mix these items in his seeds since he is a picky eater.

I will try some of these tips tonight to see if it makes Mr. Tibbs feel better (and also making him go to bed early)!

Week Wrap Up With Photos

This post will contain all the weekly themes, enjoy! 

Guys, I'm tired.  Not just physically, but mentally.  Today is my first slow day in the past week and I finally get to sit down and post.  The times I thought I could post, I just didn't have the energy to do so.  This caused a semi-hiatus.  My blog wasn't the only thing that suffered, but so has my studying.  I know my exam is on Monday, but studying has not been first priority thanks to a couple of deadlines.  Here was the schedule I thought I was going to have this week:

Monday - Friday:
830am - 1pm: Work (with a hint of studying)
1pm - 2pm: Study
2pm - 530pm: Work (with a hint of studying)

Saturday:
STUDY!!

Sunday:
Relax but lightly go over some the information I don't understand.

Here's what really happened:

Monday:
Travel to Savannah with my boss.  If you don't know, it takes 4 hours to get from Atlanta to Savannah.  Originally, I wasn't suppose to go, but my co-worker had a meeting and I had to step in for him.  This was my first time going, and since this was a long trip, I used the 8 hours of travel to my advantage.  The travel wasn't the part that was draining, it was the HEAT.  While Atlanta got rain, Savannah was bright and sunny.  Normally that would be awesome, but I had to climb a flat roof and walk around a site.  My hair even suffered from all the heat and felt so dry (I had to do the LOC method when I got home).  Gosh, 85 degrees feels more comfortable than what I felt.  Here are some pictures:

Roof and site visit adventure. 
(Lower right) I'm the one in the pink.  By this time, my shirt was stuck to my skin.

Yummy food from The Pirate House

I finally got back in town at 10pm.  I didn't see Mr. Tibbs all day and he was been semi-cranky all week because of missing me and molting.  He finally started acting like his normal self last night.

Tuesday - Thursday:
Work on Marketing project.  I love marketing projects.  It reminds me of Architecture school; there are a couple of restrictions but you can be as creative as you want to be.  No details, just conceptual designs.

The difference between Architectural school and marketing projects, there is a shorter deadline.  We had to design everything in 4 days and present it.  Thank God I'm not part of the presentation group.  The design group produced everything from hand sketches to 3D models.  The presentation group presents it today, so hopefully we get the project!  I feel confident that we will.  Because of this project, I couldn't study during lunch like I planned.  I did study here and there once I got home.

Friday:
Studying.  Remember I said some people from our firm will be presenting the project?  Well because of that and other people taking vacation today, there are only four people working today.  Do you know what that means? Study time!  Right now I'm typing and reading.  I guess the closer the exam date, the more I'm loving it.  Last weekend, this was me:

Today this is me:

This week, I was able to fit in some study time, but not what I originally planned.  I went over the material again and it's sticking but nerves are starting to kick in.  I'm scared about Monday.  When I feel like I'm "beastin' it" I find out I'm not there yet:

Oh well, Monday will let me know!  Wish me luck!