Land Hermit Crabs and Sea Shells

It’s not empty shells. There are living things –hermit crabs- inside those beautiful houses. Last Sunday, one seller at a temporary market in Sempur field (Bogor, Indonesia) sold them. It’s just quick shots, as I had to rush to catch up my husband in the crowd ahead.

Hermit crabs will use empty seashells as shelters for their soft bodies, and they will retreat back into their shells if threatened, leaving only the hard tips of their claws exposed. As they grow, they will have to find larger shells.

If you are interested to buy few hermit crabs as pets; here is information that you should know first (compiled from several sources). Having hermit crabs as pets is both a fun and educational experience. They are clean, low maintenance pets that can live up to 60 years of age if properly taken care of.

Housing and Habitat

• Don’t place your hermit crabs in a small plastic container. It’s one of the major reasons why so many hermit crabs die early on in captivity. 
• Hermit crabs need lots of space, so buying a large glass terrarium is a must.
• You should also have at least 2 as hermit crabs are very social animals and live in colonies of hundreds of crabs in the wild.
• The temperature in the terrarium should be kept at 70 degrees or more. Humidity should also be higher than 70%, anything lower and your hermit crab will start to slowly die. Buying a temperature and humidity gauge will help you to keep the temperature and humidity in the terrarium at an ideal level.
• At least 6 inches of sand at the bottom of the terrarium as hermit crabs love to dig and burrow themselves in the sand.

Food and Water

• Avoid commercial hermit crab food at all costs. It contains lots of preservatives, cheap fillers, toxins and more. Hermit crabs are omnivores meaning they eat both meat and plants. Substitute commercial hermit crab food with organic fruits and vegetables, meal worms, crickets, etc.
• Avoid giving any processed foods.
• Provide both a saltwater bowl and a fresh water bowl for your hermit crab pets to drink and bathe in. Don’t use tap water as it has chlorine and other chemicals in it. Use filtered water only. To make salt water add a dash of cooking sea salt to fresh filtered water.

If you’ve done it all, your hermit crabs will live healthy and happy!

Read more...

CC: What We are Thankful For

Is it important to be thankful? I’ll say,”Yes, of course!” I consider it as my way to look at the bright side of my life. Every time I feel hopeless, sad, and gloomy; I’ll start writing out things that I’m thankful for –as many as possible- and look at them every day for a while.

I’m thankful for the special people in my life:
My husbandHe’s my best friend. He gives me unconditional love and acceptance, and he always makes me feel like I’m a special woman. He also can cook, hehehe.

My parents and my father in-law
My mother and father give me wonderful childhood. My mother was my best friend. I always feel their love and support. My FIL treats me like her own daughter; thanks to you!

My brothersWhen we still lived in the same house, I feel that they always protect me. We are not only siblings; but also good friends. Now, after they have their own family, we seldom meet and gather together; but I always keep in touch with them via facebook and other communication way.

My brother and sister in-lawsIt’s especially for brother and sister in-laws in my husband’s side; as I meet them more often than my siblings. We are close each other. I’m also thankful because I have cute nieces and nephews.

My relatives and my friends
They all are people that care for me.

I’m thankful for God’s blessings:
Good health
Being able to earn extra money by blogging (at least to cover my own needs)
A happy marriage life
We’re not rich; but we can enjoy our simple life. We love our debt-free life!
Living in a modest but comfortable home and friendly neighborhood
Our dream car. It’s not a new one, but comfy enough for us.

Read more...

Around Sempur Views

I took all these pictures last Sunday. When I was at the right side of Sempur field (Bogor, West Java, Indonesia), I can hear the sound of flowing water. I think it's good enough to share it here, especially this old bridge.

My entry for Watery Wednesday

Read more...

Sunday Morning in Sempur Field

Sempur field is a famous field in my city (Bogor, West Java, Indonesia). As a free public place, many people use it everyday, especially for playing football, basket, volley, running around the field and doing wall climbing.

But on Sunday morning, this field changes into a temporary market, it’s for about four hours. You can see lots of sellers there. If you’re interested to buy some stuff there, you can be confused as there are lots of things to sale: from toys, clothes, foods, accessories, underwear, fruits, animals, hand phone accessories, kitchen and home equipment, to motorbikes, television, other electronic equipment, and many more!

Last Sunday, I and my husband visited Sempur field to have chicken porridge for breakfast. It’s already 9.00 am in the morning, several sellers have packed their stuff; but many other sellers still display it. While we were eating our breakfast, suddenly we heard and saw some men were chasing someone and yelling,” Pickpocket…pickpocket!”

It turned out that a while before, a stupid man (a pickpocket) has taken a bag that belongs to one member of a basketball team. Poor man. It’s not hard to chase and seize the thief. It’s really a stupid decision to do a criminal thing in a place that full of people like that. I was afraid to see and take pictures, my husband said that the thief was being hit by several people and then brought to the police office nearby.

I also did a little shopping. I bought two legging pants, as the price is very cheap! Before going home, we saw for a while children that were doing taekwondo training.

Read more...

A Croaking Toad

I saw this croaking toad several nights ago in our front yard. It’s raining that time. My husband assumed the toad’s sound as an annoyance (he can’t sleep every time he hears it); but I assumed it as one kind of music, hehehe…

Are you still confused to see the difference between a frog or a toad? Here’s a little bit information for you:

Frogs (we call it katak)They are members of the family Ranidae, containing more than 400 species. These frogs have the characteristics of:

• two bulging eyes
• strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming
• smooth, wet skin that looks slimy (generally, frogs tend to like moister environments)
• skinner bodies
• Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters.
• Members of this family include the bullfrog, common frog, green frog, leopard frog, marsh frog, pickerel frog, and wood frog.

Toads (we call it kodok)They are members of the family Bufonidae, containing more than 300 species. These types of frogs are characterized by:

• short hind legs (for walking instead of hopping)
• drier, rough skin that looks really bumpy, like warts (usually preferring dryer climates)
• wider bodies and look fat
• paratoid (or poison) glands behind the eyes
• Toads tend to lay eggs in long chains.

Reasons for Croaking

Toads croak for various reasons. The main purpose of croaking is for male toads to attract a mate. While some female toads may croak in response, croaking is largely a male activity in most species. Some male toads may croak as a means of marking territory or warning away another male that may accidentally try to mate with them.

Toads generally keep their mouths closed during calls, which moistens the volume of the sound. However, when a toad is being attacked by a predator, it may open its mouth in order to make a high-pitched distress call.

Read more...

CC: When We Wish Upon a Star

When I read this CC topic of the week, I remember this old song. Here’s a part of the lyrics:

When You Wish Upon A Star-Louis Armstrong

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to youIf your heart is in your dreams
No request is to extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do
Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
As sweet fulfillment of their secret drowns
Like a boat out of the blue
Fate steps in and see's you through
...

Of course, it’s not literally that we wish upon the star, as we must wish only to GOD that creates star and others, right?

I guess that there’s nothing wrong with wishing. Some people may say that wishing is only a passive thing to do; and it needs more that wish to make your dreams come true. Some other people say that you should wish that is followed by the visualization. If you wish to have a bigger house, you should visualize in your mind, every detailed thing in your new home and also visualize your activities inside. Have you ever tried it?

I think those all are true. Perhaps you’ve ever read about the power of mind, the attraction laws, and others. I believe that as long as God decides that your wish is truly the best for you, it will come true. What we wish for doesn’t always mean that it’s the right thing for us. Only God knows what the best is for us; or perhaps the time isn’t right yet.

But as ordinary human, sometimes, we -my hubby and I- like to talk about our wish. Just saying it can make us happy!

Here are some of our wishes: having smart and adorable kids, able to take care and give high education to our kids, successful business, a new house with bigger yard, getting old together, living healthy and happily forever, and I don’t want to bother you anymore with my other wish, hehehe…

Read more...

How to React to Your Child’s Tantrum

Perhaps every parent has ever faced child’s tantrum. It can happen anywhere, whether at the grocery or on an airplane. I’ll share here the tips that are written by Emily McBride. You can apply these tips to get your toddler develop into a more reasonable toddler.

A child throws tantrums in order to declare their independence. The trick is letting them feel their sense of independence while still getting them to behave well and follow the rules.

Realize that simply yelling “no” and stomping a foot is not a tantrum; it’s just testing the water. Don’t mistake this normal child behavior for a tantrum. Parents, here’s for your information: Tantrums are when the child gets out of control, whether physically or verbally.

Some characteristics of tantrums are pounding arms and legs on the floor, screaming, and getting red in the face. Not only temper-tantrums are unbearable and embarrassing in public, if you don’t get controlled your child from the beginning, he/she can lead to even bigger behavioral problems later.

How to respond properly? Here are some tips:

Ignore.Just ignore him or her (don't give any eye contact); but you should make sure that your child doesn’t hurt herself/himself. In many cases, once your child realizes that he is not getting any attention from his tantrum, he will stop. Most probably, the more agitated you get about their tantrum (yelling, begging, or getting emotional); your child will also get more agitated.

Trying to physically hold them still work not either, and usually results just in more struggle. Don’t worsen the situation. Obviously, if you are in a public place that needs to be quiet, this might not work. You might need to take your child out and away before you can start ignoring him.

Reward positive behavior.Studies have shown that gratifying positive behavior is actually persuades better behavior than punishing for negative. Praise your child when he/she is behaving well. When your child calms down after a tantrum, stop ignoring them and acknowledge them with a respect.

Start now.If you’ve been applying the tips and your toddler is still throwing tantrums, that’s okay. Ignore your child’s next tantrum. It will probably shock your child at first, but sooner or later they will realize that you aren’t going to respond to their tantrums anymore, and they’ll find another (hopefully better) way to get your attention.

When the right time to get expert help.Sometimes, tantrums are a sign of bigger problems. If your child is throwing multiple tantrums a day, or getting injured or injuring others through the tantrums, consult to your doctor.

Pick your ‘battles’ wisely.
As parent, you aren’t going to win every argument and tantrum. Every child is different; so, different techniques work best for different children. Be patient, this period of childhood won’t last too long.

Well parents, I hope these tips can help you to respond your child’s tantrum in a better way…

Rewrite source: family.tips.net
Image source:ucgmikebennett.wordpress.com

Read more...