Iguana Hugs

Hi friends 😀 How are you? Hope your weekend is off to a great start.

Since I was exhausted from waking up early to teach a non-existent class, I took a little snooze,

munched some lunch

taco

(leftovers from last night’s Mexican feast)

and we picked up my brother Trev for a random adventure:

zoo

The zoo!

Any day I get to see iguanas hug is a good day indeed.

iguanas

So nice 🙂

As much as I love seeing the animals, I don’t like the fact that they live in captivity. I’ve seen The Cove, which broke my heart and traumatized me… am hoping that the zoo is a *little* better? Guess I need to do some research.

The good news is that our zoo is expanding to give the animals even more room:

construction

The giraffes were so beautiful,

giraffes

pilot

loved the rhino

rhino

otters

otters

and turtles 😉

boys

I like turtles.

Seen the video? You understand 😀

After the zoo, I was supposed to get my TB test, but they took blood instead. I was so confused, but wasn’t about the remind them about the TB test. I am a giant wuss and will probably have to go back :/

At least this guy was with me so I could death grip his hand until it was over 😉

us

We’re off to the gym, so I’ll catch ya later 😀 Enjoy your evening!

See ya tomorrow.

xoxo

Gina

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39 Comments

  1. Sana on May 27, 2011 at 8:22 pm

    The TB test does not hurt at alll! Plus you have your main man!

  2. Dynamics on May 27, 2011 at 8:26 pm

    TB skin tests do not hurt. Not like needles. Piece of cake. Kids do not even cry. Go for it Gina. blink and it is done.

    • Fitnessista on May 27, 2011 at 8:27 pm

      i know i’ll have to do it eventually… i just magically got out of it somehow today haha

  3. Lindsay@LivingLindsay on May 27, 2011 at 8:27 pm

    OH my gosh…I think I peed my pants when I watched that video clip. The funniest part is the news lady’s reaction. haha 🙂

    • Fitnessista on May 27, 2011 at 8:28 pm

      i know! she was so nice about it, and totally trying not to laugh at the situation

      • sarah on May 28, 2011 at 8:17 am

        Bahaha I love that video! It’s on my list of things to watch when I need a laugh. “I like turtles” is a good non sequitur, FYI…I may or may not say that to my fiance quite a bit.

  4. Danielle on May 27, 2011 at 8:30 pm

    I have the same love/hate relationship with the zoo. I love going and seeing them, but then I feel bad because they are caged up. My husband tells me that they have the life because they don’t have to work for their food and they are not endanger of being hunted.

  5. Paula on May 27, 2011 at 8:31 pm

    They can test for TB by drawing blood too! Then it only takes one visit. I hope that is the case for you 🙂

  6. Chloe (South Beach Girl) on May 27, 2011 at 8:32 pm

    I also don’t like zoos, especially ones that hold elephants. It makes me very sad, although the animals are beautiful to look at.

    Any tips for re-heating mexican? I always seem to end up with a big pile of mush!

  7. Christy @ So I Follow the Sun on May 27, 2011 at 8:38 pm

    I love the giraffes! At the zoo around here you can feed the giraffes. It’s pretty much the greatest thing being able to feed a giraffe a graham cracker. But I know what you mean about the animals living caged up. It’s not a natural thing to cage up animals and have people pay to see them. I prefer the Wildlife Sanctuary. It’s free and the animals are being rescued and given lots of room to roam (not to mention the hundreds of ducks).

  8. Mary on May 27, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    I work in a TB research, & there’s a test (called Quantiferon-Gold) that tests by taking blood… so maybe it was that?

  9. Jen on May 27, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    I’ve been to that zoo a few times….did you feed the giraffes? We love doing that!

  10. borntocare on May 27, 2011 at 8:49 pm

    I am a nurse and my workplace draws blood to test for TB too… Like Mary said there is a special blood test, so my guess is that you are all set (you won’t have to return for another test) and you’ll get your lab results within the week 🙂 Glad you had the Pilot there to help you pull through it!

  11. kate on May 27, 2011 at 8:49 pm

    awwww I love giraffes!!!

  12. Sarah on May 27, 2011 at 8:52 pm

    Unfortunately, zoos aren’t any better. I had to do a report in college for an Animal Ethics class– animals in zoos are extremely stressed because they aren’t in their natural environment where they can roam miles. The swaying and pacing you see are repetitive behaviors caused from the stress. Some people interpret it as “dancing” and you’ll often see videos of animals doing this in captivity. Additionally, lifespans are greatly decreased. An elephant lives 50-70 years in nature, and only 16-18 in captivity. Sorry to be the Debbie Downer, but it’s important to get the word out.

  13. Michelle on May 27, 2011 at 9:14 pm

    They could have been doing a quantiferon gold blood test for tb. Many organizations are using those now. If it’s the other kind, it’s seriously nothing at all. I work in health care and have gotten a lot and given 1,000’s to employees, really isn’t anything to even think twice about. They wouldn’t do the other one today anyways. It needs to be read around 24 hours, so weekend plus long holiday weekend would make it a no go today anyways.

  14. Britney on May 27, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    I feel your pain about the TB test. The last time I had to get one (before college) I was fine until I looked at the skin area…and then I passed out. Now I make sure to lie down whenever I get a shot or blood drawn and I don’t look at the area until there’s a band aid on it.

    • Fitnessista on May 28, 2011 at 12:44 am

      if i look, i pass out. no question about it

  15. kristi on May 27, 2011 at 9:20 pm

    Many zoos no longer take animals from the wild, but instead rescue them. I know at the zoo near us, the tigers, snakes, bears and alligators were taken in after they were found in a drug houses after raids, the seals were found injured (one blind) on shore, etc.

  16. Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga) on May 27, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    I just posted a few days ago about iguanas! REAL ONES! Here in Aruba there are tons and tons of them…I actually am not a fan of them b/c they climb the sides of the houses and have caused thousands of dollars worth of roof damage and I had to replace my tile roof b/c of them. They are quite destructive to property here, but hey, they’re animals and they don’t know any better:)

    TB test. They can do it either by skin prick or if they are already drawing blood anyway, can test for antibodies that way. I’ve had tons of them, both ways. So you may not even need to go back if they check the blood they already drew today. Wouldnt that be nice!

  17. Michelle on May 27, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    Woops! I see some others posted the same info, I didn’t mean to be redundant!

  18. Dana Marie on May 27, 2011 at 10:07 pm

    Any NYC readers know of any cheap shares opening up in July?
    and if you want something to do on Memorial Day watch Gettysburg on the History Channel! I’ve been on my feet 12 hours everyday this week in Bryant Park to promote it!
    http://www.history.com/shows/gettysburg

  19. Babs on May 27, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    I like the idea of being able to see animals up-close, but I stopped going to the zoo years ago because of all the stress they feel and the terrible things they endure.

    Mexican leftovers looked good

    **runs to get food to stop belly growling**

  20. Laura on May 27, 2011 at 10:16 pm

    The picture you have of iguanas hugging actually shows bearded dragons, not iguanas! 🙂 They’re so cute!

  21. Tara on May 27, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    I’m pretty sure my brother works at that zoo! I haven’t been out to visit him since he started working, but he is in Tucson and works at the zoo.. so I’m assuming that’s it!
    I absolutely love the “i like turtles video”. The kid is creepy and cute. Too good!

  22. Holly @ The Runny Egg on May 27, 2011 at 10:51 pm

    I love how that iguana (or whatever it is) is giving you the evil eye for peeking in on their alone time. 🙂

  23. jen on May 27, 2011 at 11:33 pm

    TB test is easy I’ve had it done alot due to being on immunosuppressants, its no worse then an allery skin test. they most likey did not do it because they normally don’t due them on a weekend because you have to go back in 48 hrs to see if it has had a reaction. by the way having blood drawn is worse!

  24. Stephanie on May 28, 2011 at 12:12 am

    Haha! I live in Portland (transplanted from Jacksonville 2 years earlier! :)) and most of the people here are just like that little boy. “keep Portland weird!”

  25. Allison @ Food For Healing on May 28, 2011 at 12:26 am

    i have never seen a giraffe in my life, i really wanna see one!
    god i am so jealous of the beautiful weather there, all that sunshine and nice scenery. totally jealous.

  26. Sara on May 28, 2011 at 1:31 am

    Those are some great pics! My favourite zoo animal is the otters because they genuinely look like they are having a great time. Happy little things.

  27. chickster on May 28, 2011 at 5:41 am

    The Cove totally ruined Sea World for me! Thankfully we were members of the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park which has a pretty good zoo rep. Now I just try to convince everyone to go there instead of Sea World.

  28. Sarah K on May 28, 2011 at 6:23 am

    eww I hate needles, I am totally not a fan of TB tests or blood draws. The zoo looked like a lot of fun though! I love rhinos!!!

  29. Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin on May 28, 2011 at 7:53 am

    Aww, otters were always my favourite zoo animal! 😀

  30. Paige @Running Around Normal on May 28, 2011 at 7:59 am

    Some zoos seem better than others…you know? At least there weren’t any dolphins/whales/sharks there, right??
    Love the pic of your bro inside the turtle 🙂

  31. vicky on May 28, 2011 at 9:39 am

    Aw if you like hugging animals, check out this video.. sooo precious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw4KVoEVcr0

  32. Shawna on May 28, 2011 at 11:11 am

    I don’t think those cuties are iguanas, they look like Bearded Dragons 🙂 The only reason I know is because we have one, lol. Either way….Adorable! Love relaxing days at the zoo. I know you come to Jacksonville a lot, have you been to our zoo? It’s really grown since we first moved here back in the 90’s. The Komodo Dragon exhibit is pretty cool, the feed them around 11ish and it’s amazing (and gross!) to watch.

  33. DC on May 28, 2011 at 10:42 pm

    Those little ones are Bearded Dragons…my kids have a Bearded Dragon, a girl, named Bridget. Bearded Dragons are actually really sweet reptiles. Ours eats from our hands, lays on the kids shoulders, follows me around the kitchen, and loves to sunbathe. Obviously, we keep her in a cage because she needs warmth and UV lights, but when it is warm enough for her to come out, we take her out and let her play!

    • Fitnessista on May 29, 2011 at 1:56 am

      bridget is an awesome name for a bearded dragon 🙂

  34. Tiffany K. on May 31, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    LOVE your tank – super cute for summer! Where’d you get it?

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