Hi Steemit, It's Me Again!

It has been just over an hour since my (first) introductary post, Pt.1 - Roots and I have already recived several Hellos, Welcomes, and kind words... Thanks Steemit! You're awesome :)

So, let's see... where was I?

Oh, yes, I remember...

(We traded in the big kitties...)

(...for little kiddies!)

After the whole 'first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage' part, I started a whole new set of adventures. Being a stay-at-home-mom from the time that The Girl was born until The Boy started school, gave me some extra time to do a lot of reading, learning, and exploring... and that's when I began to fly my Nerd flag high.

Wings

As a kid, I was a A and B student, as a teen I was a straight F student until dropping out (halfway through my 2nd freshman year) and was supposed to get my G.E.D. - which I did not get until I was 25 and pregnant with The Boy.

(Better late than never, right?)

I am now an Honors student at OTC where I am working on getting my Associate's degree in Biology as well as serving on the Honors Student Council. I stay pretty busy, and I have have to pour hours into my math homework (while intermittently beating my head against the table), but it's SO worth it. I love college.

(I'm a Carl Sagan Fangirl!)

I also get to work for an awesome company called Mad Science that goes to libraries and classrooms all over MO to do hands on science experiments with kids to help them truly understand the world around them and how it works. That's right, by title, I am a Mad Scientist!

(Building a Rube Goldberg Machine in the background.)

And just yesterday, I was hired as the newest volunteer at the local Natural Science Museum! I will (hopefully) get to help in setting up the largest Triceratops ever found. This place even has a pristinely preserved Ice Age cave where they have found a LOT of amazing discoveries! (More on that in future content.)

(North American Giant Short Faced Bear skull next to a Black Bear skull.)

Like I said before, I live a very weird and charmed life.

As a teen I got to work with both a no-kill animal rescue shelter for several years, and earn school credits working at the zoo close to the school... and I loved it! So, once we had a place, I started rescuing/adopting animals myself. Most came to me when people simply couldn't care for them anymore. Here's my other roommates (besides the kids and hubby), in this crazy house:

(Penny the Red Doberman is never quite sure what to do in photos)

(Rocky and Starlet the Spotted Turtles saying Hi)

(Tesla the Bearded Dragon hanging out in the lemon tree)

(Shark the Ball Python on the hunt)

(Moxie and Gizmo napping and cuddling)

(Hubble and Marie napping and cuddling)

(Thumbs and Batty napping and cuddling... shesh it pays to be a cat!)

Whew

Why do I do all this? What is it all for? I ask myself these questions late at night, sometimes.

I cut my teeth on National Geographic magazines as a child (both literally when I was teething, and figuratively when I was first reading) and fell in love with the research and process that Dr. Jane Goodall was doing in Africa. At 4 years old I knew that I wanted to follow in her footsteps.

(Photo by National Geographic)

I strive to work for conservation, both locally and globally, as well as science education and science literacy for everyone. And I am fascinated by the brain - specifically animal cognition. I'm even that nerd that gives lectures about it at regional Honors Conference events (two years in a row, baby). This is where I hope to use my degree(s). But I have still have a looooooong ways to go before I get to where I'm going! So in the meantime, I'm living it up and learning along the way.

In my nearly non-existent spare time, (mostly in the Summer) I make Tree of Life jewelry, go on nature walks, save turtles trying to cross the road, and get political (my guilty pleasure).

(Ooh... ahhh)

(I need my sunshine!)

(They hate being saved)

(March For Science)

(Can you guess what parade this is?)

I enjoy laughing as much as possible, helping others, absorbing all things science (especially animals, space, and the mind), going on weird and crazy adventures and even writing about them time to time. (wink, wink)

I had been mulling over thoughts and ideas of creating online content for a few months now; plus I have been getting tired of Facebook's empty content (like empty calories - it's there, but there's not much substance); plus I like "Liking" all the great posts that my peeps make; plus I like making money, so... as my buddy @mattie.b-leaver hinted, "it's a natural fit".

So here I am.

In a nutshell... a 32 year old wife, mom, college student, Mad Scientist, Museum volunteer, and home zoo keeper, working towards my big crazy dreams, and living it up along the way!

(Life is good)

I am so excited to be here, and I hope to see you around!

Until next time... Stay Curious!

Much Love,
Nerd Girl