# General Topics > Member of the Month >  MOTW - Mar 24 - Mar 30 2013 - Jenste

## Jen

Alrighty guys - 
It feels kind of weird to be writing an announcement post for myself!   I wasn't going to be doing an MOTW for a few more weeks, but this weeks member asked to reschedule for so I took the opportunity to jump in rather than have an empty week. 

Came at a fitting time too!   Well...better start brainstorming..... :Frog Smile:

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## Heather

Yay!!!  :Smile:  Finally, you get to be the highlight of your hard work  :Smile: . Congrats!

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## Jen

*Monday*, tell us all about you! We know you obviously like amphibians, but we want to know about the rest of your life. Details about you, your life, hobbies, families, past times, favorite colors, poems you have written etc etc....just use this post to brag/boast/bore us how you please.

Ok. About me. Here goes.

I am 25 and live in Rhode Island, where I have lived my whole life. Most of it has been lived in the same town, North Providence - same town where my husband and I have bought our home.  In a couple months I will be celebrating two years of marriage with my wonderful husband Steve. (Combining our names was the inspiration behind my username).  We actually met online almost 5 years ago and it was an instant connection  - we and our families just "knew" that it was going to be a forever kind of relationship.    He is not really into aquatics but he tolerates my obsession with fish and frogs as well as any man can who is creeped out by all things scaly, hoppy, slitherly, and crawly.   

Most of my free time, when I am not up past my elbows in one tank or another, is going to soon be put into painting the inside of our house.  Last spring (the first spring in our home) we dedicated all of our free time and extra money to fixing up the gardens and yard. This year we are working on painting the interior.  Yay!!  I have also been getting antsy for some major spring cleaning - my mother was one who loved to pretty much empty out every imaginable cupboard, closet, bin etc  in the house all at once and rummage through and reorganize the house in a weekend. I inherited this, much to my husbands horror.  He walks in and it looks like a bomb went off or I am auditioning suddenly for an episode of Hoarders. 

Hobbies?  Reading is a top one - I am currently plowing through the Game of Thrones Series.   We love the show and I love the written series even more.  That brings me to TV shows - oh boy.  Besides GoT, Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, New Girl, Hoarders, My Strange Addiction, Face Off, Americas Next Top Model (Don't judge me!), Grey's Anatomy, Pretty Little Liars (again, please don't judge me!)....that's all I can think off off the top of my head but I am sure there are others. 

Another hobby is cooking...or well expanding my limited knowledge of the subject.  My mom is not much of a cook and I was never taught my way around a stove. I started learning when I moved in with my husband while we were dating.  It has been interesting and I'd like to say I have significantly improved.... however any one who has ever tried cooking for my husband will say it is quite a challenge as he is SO picky! 

A hobby I would like to get back into is learning American Sign Language. I took seven semesters through out high school and college and would love to take refresher courses.  Unfortunately, I lost touch with most of my deaf friends (they have mostly moved away, and contact now is all through internet/text) so I have forgotten most of the language except for basic conversation. I would love to learn it again. 

I think that's all I have time for right now... hope you enjoyed reading about me.   Oh, my favorite color is like a blue/teal color.  And I won't bore you with poems I have written...they are all from a creative writing class in high school and I have no idea what I was thinking at the time!

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## Heather

Great post! It's nice to finally get to know the the hard worker behind the motw thread  :Smile: . 

You must never get bored, ha ha! Want to help me finish painting here? Just kidding  :Smile: .

Please do share some poems, if you'd like. 

Can't wait to read more and see some photos!

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## Lynn

Finally - our "_Member of the Week_" - girl gets her chance.  :Smile: 
You have been nominated a zillions times .Super nice to read this!
Game of Thrones - My favorite , too! This season is going to be GREAT ! Daenerys gets her ship ! 

I'm looking forward to your pictures ! I can't wait! 

Fondly, Lynn

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## Patsy

Great to learn more about you! We are Game of Thrones fans too but I don't know if I could read the books, I would constantly be comparing the two.  My mom was not a good cook either and always said "if you don't like what I cooked, then don't eat". So I learned how to really cook from watching t.v. and experimenting. I now love to cook, but hate to clean up!

It's also funny as to what creeps men out. My boyfriend likes my frogs but is afraid to touch them. Also, he can kill a bug for me but he has a problem going in the basement to get crickets to feed his bearded dragon. It's so funny.

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## Jen

*Tuesday*, tell us about your amphibians. How you came to keep them, mistakes/learning curves, species kept, breedings, how you found Frog Forum etc....we heard enough about you on Monday, let us hear about them frogs!

This is actually a very fitting week to be MOTW.   I have started keeping frogs again!
Due to personal reasons, last year I had to rehome my stock. I am very very VERY excited to share that I am now the proud owner of a colony of young ADF.  
Currently I have 10 in a 20 gallon long. In the future I hope to increase that number and hopefully breed down the line. 

I have kept three species of African Clawed frog  - Xenopus Laevis, Xenopus Borealis, and Xenopus Tropicalis.  For Laevis, I have kept natural/wildtype, albino, golden albinos, reticulated albinos and piebalds. The piebalds particularly were my treasures and it was very upsetting to have to let them go last year. 
I did have the pleasure of breeding my ACF and boy was it an adventure!  

I have also kept Axolotls and had a group of 7 breeding adults going when I had to rehome them last year. I had wildtypes, wildtype GFP, albino and leucistic.  Raising their young was more of a challenge than raising ACF as this was my first time using growing my own brine shrimp.  I hate brine shrimp now haha. I felt like a mad scientist with all these bubbling things around me.  

I started keeping frogs back when I first started keeping my own aquarium, which was a gift. I look back on the stocking now and cringe  - Tank was given to me with fish and frogs and it was a nightmare...tropical and coldwater mixed, completely different requirements needed, I had no idea about water changes/filtration/over feeding/anything.  Most of my stock died, not surprisingly, and I mainly was left with an ACF and a few adf in the same tank (they were all still really new and young).  By looking around on line, I found this forum.  It was still a while before I joined but by then the addiction had taken a deep root and I was hooked to aquatic frogs.

Now I am happy to say I have really done a 180* and my tanks are a source of pride and not shame.  
Besides my 20 gallon long ADF tank, I have a 72 gallon bow discus tank which is my display/show tank in our living room.   
I also have a breeding pair of angels who have gone crazy keeping me busy raising their numerous spawns.  All in all this has taken up my 26 gallon bow, multiple 10-30 gallon tanks and tubs.

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## DartEd

Congratulations.  :Smile:

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## Jen

Picture time!   Warning...might be a picture overload!   Hubby recently bought me a new camera and I am having way too much fun learning how to use it!

Here are my new ADFs in their 20 gallon long.  Please forgive the current set up, it is still new and the plants need time to grow in. 






Chubby belly after lunch


They love the lilies!  They are about 1/2-1/3" below the surface, just relaxing





You can't see me!  The water wisteria on the right has become a favorite spot for them.  I can not wait for it to grow into a thick bushy froggy paradise

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## Jen

My Discus tank,  The only changes since the photos is the lily plant has been moved to the frog's tank and most of the water wisteria has either been given away with my baby angelfish or moved to the frogs tank.

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## Jen

My Angelfish pair and some of their spawns  (some of these are older photos taken with my phone)

Pair, female on left male on right (phone pic, sorry)

Female


One of their spawns right after being laid


Mama with fry newly freeswimming




Three weeks old




Short video 
VIDEO0241.mp4 Video by jenstefrog | Photobucket

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## Heather

Very pretty tanks and fish  :Smile: . Your frogs look very happy  :Smile: . Nice homes for them!

Looks like you're getting a knack of your new camera. Great photos!  :Smile:  What kind of camera?

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## Jen

Thanks Heather!!
 It is an Olympus SP-720UZ.  It was a gift from hubby when I set up my Discus tank a few months ago.   I was dying for a decent camera so I could take nice photos....you can only do so much with a phone!

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## Hidr

Wow very nice set ups. Love the frog only set up for your ADFs.  Your a brave one to take on discus.  I love them but their care scares me. lol
Gratz for winning.

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## Jen

Thanks! They are a bit of work but worth it.  They are gorgeous to watch.

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## Heather

> Thanks Heather!!
>  It is an Olympus SP-720UZ.  It was a gift from hubby when I set up my Discus tank a few months ago.   I was dying for a decent camera so I could take nice photos....you can only do so much with a phone!


So true...the iPhone blurs with even a speck of movement and with the photo delay (as would be shutter speed) you can miss some great shots. 

Sounds nice! Do you have a macro lens?

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## Jen

No Macro lens, just a macro setting. 

The tank that gives me the most trouble photographing is the bow fronts. The curve of the glass makes some GREAT photos some "eh" photos instead because the slightest movement bends the light differently and I haven't figured out how to adjust for it yet

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## Heather

I could see where the light would bend. You're photos look great! Especially for just getting the camera  :Smile: .

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