Fres-NO

Almost

CONFERENCE!






I was really looking forward to Conference and now I am bummed. I mean, I am still looking forward to it in the usual ComeListenToAProphet'sVoice kind of way... but not a SitVeryCloseToACuteBoyAndProbablySmellHimSmellingAllCleanAndChurchy (NotThatHeDoesn'tUsuallySmellFineButYouKnowWhatIMean) kind of way. Stupid Rental Agreement. *Grumble grumble*

I just... miss him. Okay, so there are a lot of times I love the long distance thing, because too much THERE-ness tends to freak me out. But right now I hate it and need him to be here in Utah. At the same time, I am glad he's not because my depression is NOT doing so great and it is bad enough dealing with it in PRIVATE, without worrying it is going to weird him out. BLEH.

Okay, now it is Friday (last sentence it was Thursday.) and I am still missing him, but thanks to having GREAT friends I am feeling better. :O)

Work was LONG today. Left my house at 10:30 to go help with a 5th grade field trip on the farm. Got a short tractor driving lesson from Rinny during it.

Taught some of the parents of the kids about ducks

Fed kids cheese flavored (but REAL) mealworms, etc. Then I spent several hours doing research at the dinosaur museum. Trying to write curriculum, I figured I should know it in chronological order. Anyway, walked a lot in there, till I thought my feet would fall off, went back to the office to work on it there. Then went with Rinny to buy supplies in Salt Lake (for a Relief Society thing and for work, both). I wasn't heading home until 7 something, when CC and Stewie called and said they were on their way to my house! YAY!

We hung out, ate at Carl's Jr. (Fried zucchini! Mmmm! And nobody tried to kidnap us. Hee hee!), and went to look at another castle! One in Cedar Hills. It was funny AND cool! Then we picked up Stewie's kiddlet, Munchkin (one of my favorite kiddlets. Seriously, she is right up there with Bucksome's Little Buck, Bestsariah's Corina, and T-La's 3 boys in sheer funniness.) from a sleep over she wasn't sleeping over at and CC and swung on the swings. (We are SWINGERS! HA!) However, doing so, after too much fat in our meal, and following it with chewing gum too long, well the combo made me sick to my stomach and was just about to say so when CC said SHE felt sick with it, too. Anyway, then she needed to go pick up Cupcake from a mission reunion (I should probably have gone to MY mission reunion, but the only people I care about from the mission probably wouldn't BE there (either from distance or disinterest) so I didn't) so CC drove me home.

I watched Scrubs, and now Perry Mason, of course. Friends like CC and Stewie really help fix a bummer day. JD and Perry don't hurt, either. Hee hee! Thank you, you guys. Seriously.

He better not give me Bird Flu.

I have this thing about castles. Blame reading too many fantasy novels. But when I see something that looks like a castle in the middle of Utah, I HAVE to investigate. It's happened 3 times now.

The first time was out in southern Utah when I was going to SUU. Cousin Jas and I found a castle out in the middle of NOWHERE by Cedar City. Drove through a little trailer camp to get to it, but got chased away. (Later we found out that some rich guy one of our poker friends knew owned it. I think he invited Coats out there with him for dinner, but he was interested in her and she was not interested in him, so she blew him off. I would have gone, just to see the castle.)

The second time I was driving down the freeway with Patrice when we thought we saw a PALACE. So I pulled off the exit and drove to it. It turned out to be the Hari Krishna Temple out in Salem. It is a really interesting place, but then, I am *fascinated* by religions. Because, oh yes, I made Patrice come with me for a tour of the place, much to her absolute HORROR. It was fun.

And now the 3rd time. A day or so ago I had to take a different way home from work and saw what looked like a castle with poker thingies on it and another building with a gorilla on top! Out in a neighborhood!

Well, I was in a hurry to get to a play (Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business at the Scera) so I couldn't go and explore but I HAD to know what it was. I planned to go back, but asked my Mom about it. She said it was a sort of private park built by a well-to-do man for his granddaughters to play in. She said he is trying to get approval to make it available to rent for receptions and such, that she'd just read about it. It is called Hatfieldadelphia. She said you could not go in it, yet though. However, I just HAD to. And, luckily, there was a back entrance to this mysterious place through some construction by it... apparently ALSO owned by the Grampa Hatfield. But a back way meant I could go in and make sure that the No Trespassing signs were the LAST thing I'd see, not the first. Which meant if I got yelled at I could honestly say, "No, I DIDN'T see any signs. I am sorry!" But I DIDN'T get caught... and it's not just a castle!

It's a castle, a witch's house, a soon to be MOAT, a playground under the Big Top (topped with that gorilla thing I saw), an Indian tepee, famous statues, pathways, swings, benches, just a DANG cool park thing! And it looks like a lot more will be done, too. But I didn't stay TOO long (didn't want to press my luck). Just enough to get some pictures...

and wish *I* had a rich grandpa.

Especially if his name was Hatfield.
Especially if he was MEAN! I would call him HateFilled!
Oh wait. If he was mean he would not build me a castle with a moat. Thus defeating the very purpose for wealthy grandfathers.

Never mind.

An odd thing happened BEFORE I left work, too. I was leaving Farm Country where I had clocked out and someone yelled my name from across the street at the Art Institute! I can't see that far, so I started across, thinking it must be one of the Cowboys that Rinny had introduced me too. But the voice sounded way too happy to see me to be business. He called me again and I said "Hi?"
"Do you work here now?"
"Yes?"
"Don't you remember me?" and that's when I WAS close enough to recognize him as my slightly druggie friend from high school AP Art classes! "I'm [RubyDoobie]!"
"From art!"
He looked kind of dejected then and said "well, and MySpace."
I had forgotten about that.

And that he had sort of flirted with me. And sort of was sounding like that now. Ummm... oops?

Anyway, he asked why he hadn't seen me in there at the studio yet and I told him because I hadn't GONE there yet. He said I needed to and come learn to blow glass. And so, yeah, sometime, I will.

So, other than that( the next day):
*I finally saw Stranger Than Fiction. Very good flick, that!
*I got attacked by Buddy, the new parrot. Stupid jerk of a bird. My thumb was almost sliced to the bone. I do NOT love him right now. He's semi-evil.
*I cried in the car after work. Because Rinny died.
Okay, fine, so it was Rinny, Jr. But still, I did cry. She was SO CUTE. And it makes me mad because I am pretty sure *I* could have helped her make it.
*The heating element in our dishwasher malfunctioned and almost started a fire! We smelled smoke and melting plastic and looked all over the house and couldn't find the source. Finally, I walked past the dishwasher... which burned my hand to TOUCH. And it was OFF. Opened it up and the dirty dishes were COOKING in there and the tupperware was burned and melted! I took everything out (with hot pads) and called my dad. He came over, fiddled with wires and finally just had to shut it off at the circuit breaker! And as soon as we switched it back on, same thing. So for right now we just have to hand wash and keep the machine's breaker off to avoid a fire hazard until Padre/Landie gets it fixed or replaced.

Anyway, yeah. Castles.

And in OTHER Categories; Paul the Apostle, Jesus Christ, and Perry Mason.

I like boys. I always have. I was a tomboy all my life and my best friends were always boys till I got into high school, and I didn't become all *girly* then, either, I just became shyer and awkward. Anyway, I pretty much have the BEST boys in my life right now. Of course, there are my "Lost Boys." Those "adopted" little brothers that I have collected... Parker and Jeppers from the Fringe, Cousin Jas from SUU, Gilch the JW in DC, and a few others. But mostly there is the Brother and the Boyfriend. BoyKid and Fresno. I think BoyKid and Fresno are the 2 best boys I know. Funny, righteous, good.

This week's letter from Anziano BoyKid was just so HIM. He wrote a whole page about how much he KNEW that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of the Lord. He talked about truly having the Gift of Tongues with the amazing speed he was learning Italian. But he ALSO wrote:

Okay, I have 2 stories for ya. Story 1: My companion was trying to kill me (with love. (I think!)) and I defended myself with hand sanitizer. It worked and was really funny until it got in his eyes. Then I felt really sorry. But he forgave me, mostly. Story 2: One of the Sorelle has the weakest stomach in the world. Me and my companion made her throw up (Accidentally! I promise!) 2 times by telling her stories. It was fantastic! She forgave us, I think.

It is just nice to know that the MTC hasn't given him a personalitiectomy. Just like before he left, he is still very spiritual and yet very much a teenage boy. I so love my little bro!

[I will continue this... probably with a lot of blabbing about Fresno... tomorrow. Because my Turtle's basking lamp has gone off and I decided that is how I would make myself go to bed by 1. Anyway, Yeah. Time to feed the furrbabies, Besides I SHOULD have gone to bed even EARLIER since 1. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow. 2. I have work all day after that. I am working on writing Dinosaur Museum curriculum. It is an Office Day. Not QUITE as fun and random as Farm Country days, but I like the dino museum, too, and I will need to hang out there a bit tomorrow between office times. So it is good.]

So, yeah, Fresno is, well, pretty perfect.

He is SO stressed right now. First of all, hello, the ROBBERY. But also, his french shower of landlord may ruin his much needed break from things there to come here to Utah for LDS General Conference. HOW, you may wonder? GOOD FREAKING QUESTION. His Landie [claims he] thinks that if Fresno goes to Utah [for the WEEKEND!] that he won't come BACK, won't pay his rent or find him a renter. OKAY, that is RIDICULOUS, but whatever. SO he says that if Fresno leaves the state before the house is rented he is "not consider ANY renters until after the lease is up" and that Fresno will be responsible for every cent of that rent till the end of June. SO STUPID! But, yeah technically legal. Sure, legally he can't forbid him to leave California. He's a landlord, not a parole officer! But he CAN legally hold him to the contract of his lease. Catch 22. POO! GRRRRR!

Fresno is honest to a fault! He would NOT skip out on his rent ANYWAY, but this jerk KNOWS that and therefore he has been turning DOWN rental applications left and right that Fresno sends to him. I think he doesn't WANT to accept anybody because none of them will be as reliable as Fresno anyway. What a great reward for being such a reliable tenant, eh?

Grrrr!

Anyway, yeah, he is very stressed. And that stresses ME. But to be honest, finding that out about the Landie made me much LESS stressed. Don't misunderstand. I DO want him to come this weekend. I have been missing him a LOT lately. But right before he called and we talked about that being why he was sad, he had sent me an email that just said "Can I call you tonight? We need to talk." And with that my girl brain went OH NO OH NO OH NO! and when he called he was all "hey" and sounded super sad it was like OH NO OH NO OH NO! Because yeah, my dumb brain.

And the affect boys have on it.

Fame... but no Fortune

Today at TGP...

Okay, wait, I got corrected on this. I should actually call Thanksgiving Point, TPI as the actual "company" is called Thanksgiving Point Institute. And Thanksgiving is one word anyway. It's like on the mission, in Texas, there was this place called Bodacious BBQ. But a certain really dumb Elder (who we hated) would call it the BDB. (No, not Parker. We LIKED him.) So it became a Fringe thing to say because it was stupidly funny. Because Bodacious got 2 letters and Barbecue only got one, never mind the actual restaurant was named BBQ not Barbecue.

Anyway, random. And, just like still saying BDB, I probably will continue to call Thanksgiving Point, TGP.

SO, today at TGP I had "Guest Services Training." It was 6 hours of being talked at, and I was EXHAUSTED. However, the presenter was actually very good. And she used a number of videos to illustrate principles and they were funny. Here are as many as I can find (the first is my absolute favorite). For SOME REASON, Blogger is giving me fits about embedding tonight. I USED to be able to do it fine. Now, apparently it only likes links. Sorry for that. GRRRR.

Escalator
There is a longer version, but we just saw this one. I had seen it before but it still cracks me up.

Canceling AOL
By the way this is so SO true. SERIOUSLY. I once tried AOL and I got ALMOST this much trouble trying to cancel.

FedEx
So, it makes me return to my frustration that they didn't list Wilson, the volleyball as a character in the credits of Cast Away. That would have really made me happy. Anyway, this has nothing to do with Wilson. It just reminded me. Oh, and if you haven't seen Cast Away is isn't AS funny, but still really good.

Anyway, it wasn't all YouTube, unfortunately, we actually had to learn stuff (hee hee!) but it was pretty interesting. And during a break the presenter lady and a few of us were talking politics. And I feel a little famous and proud. Because we were talking about No Child Left Behind and I said the reason it didn't work was, like many things, it was a perfect concept, but for imperfect people. And she asked if she could QUOTE me, like in an article. And she kept thinking my points were good. So I was having a smart moment.

Oh, I had one of those awhile ago in here, in my blog. Because someone commented on one of my silly Phisherman responses and said:

stephanie said...

nice. i'm always so happy to stumble upon good literature when all i set out to do was confirm my suspicions of this crook...
having worked abroad with Docs w/o Borders and Oxfam in England I was curious at best, but entirely skeptical...
you're blog is a special piece of pop-culture, in a way. Or shall become one after half the country receives this ridiculous email.
do you write professionally?

She asked if I wrote professionally... so come on all y'all, who's going to step up and start PAYING me to blog? Hee hee hee hee hee! Come on people, I am only going to make about 7 bucks an hour at T[G]P(I). If you want to pay me use one of my links to shop at Amazon or something. Or, you know, just send me money for spinning a pretty phrase. I would totally be cool with that.

Okay, to be completely honest, I would LOVE to be paid to write. Or draw. Or take care of my critters. Unfortunately, nobody seems to be hiring professional author-artist-sugar[glider] mamas. So I will have to settle for low-wage earning farmer-dinosaur teacher-birthday party hostess-office geek-goat photographer-pony poop scooper. And that's okay for now. :O)

Anyway, I am going to go to bed early tonight. Hopefully my earlier exhaustion will help me fall asleep. Just feed the babies, read a little scripture, talk to Fresno (if he calls), pray, and *hopefully* drift off into slumber before I wake up and go to work tomorrow feeling LESS like a zombie.

I. Totally -Didn't know what I. King-Jordan looked like till now

I had a bad (and weird) Depression day. I don't know why. Wasn't logical, had to mostly be stupid and chemical and indicative of a need to change meds which I have known for awhile but still trying to schedule doctors and stuff. But whatever the reason, today I have been bawling at the drop of a hat.

I went to the pool with my mom this afternoon and somehow ended up crying my head off. In front of people. And get this, it was mostly over a conversation that I need to get some good FARM shoes that are easier to clean than my sneakers, but the same comfort level. I don't know WHY that made me cry, really... and my mom sure didn't either. She was looking at me like I was crazy.

For good reason. It WAS crazy! So freaking embarrassing. Crying my head off about... shoes?! DUMB DUMB DUMB. Bleh.

And even while I was crying I was thinking "This is stupid. WHY AM I CRYING?!"

I mean, when we talked about missing BoyKid, THAT made both of us almost cry... but not even past almost. No, it was talking about shoe shopping that pushed me over the edge. Good hell sometimes I hate myself.

Okay, happy thoughts to keep me semi-sane:

*I did my water aerobics. That was good of me.
*I cleaned the glider cage, so my babies are happy and unstinky for right now.
*The Roomie and I worked on training the new bird, Buddy and her other parrot, McKenzie and made SOME progress with both of them. I like working with the animals, and The Roomie is a VERY good trainer and seems to be able to get them to do just about ANYTHING for her. Like Dr. Doolittle. (The REAL book, not the movies, mind you...)
*I LOVE FiberOne oats & chocolate bars. They are my new mostly healthy candy bar fix!
*THIS made me giggle... a lot. I *HEART* the quote AND the Lego-ified vignette! Sherpa, that totally cracked me up

Also today I watched a really interesting documentary about Deaf history called Through Deaf Eyes. It was FASCINATING, funny, sad, just an all around good documentary. It should air again tomorrow night, I think. I think I'll record it and keep it with my growing number of videos in American Sign Lagugae that I keep hoping will help me learn. I have been thinking more about what the heck I am going to DO with my life. And I think, though not YET, I am going to go back to school to finish what I planned on before getting sick... get my ASL interpreter's license and my Bachelor's degree. (Deaf studies and ASL... with a possibility of someday getting my Master's in Library Science.) But for now I will just work as much as I can at TGP and start practicing more on my Signs and then after awhile hire Thai as a tutor. Sometime later I will go back to UVSC.

Oh, but I suppose it might be UVU by then... I am not sure when that happens for sure. I still think the name is annoying. I voted for just shortening it to Utah Valley State. Chisel off the C on the signs or something... much smoother than Utah Valley University. But whatever.

Anyway, I need to go to bed. I have to be to TGP by NINE. That means waking up VERY early for me... actually by this time I may have better luck STAYING awake all night. SIGH.

Getting Punched! (You know... SORT of.)

Seriously, could I be more of a klutz? I dropped a 3-hole punch on my ankle just now and I am wondering if I BROKE it. "It" meaning that dumb little sticky-out ankle bone the "talus," not the 3-hole punch. It hurts SO BAD I want to scream. Add that to my shoulders post-pony and I feel like eating a bottle of aspirin.... and crying. But I promise I won't as it wouldn't help. Actually, that promise is only for the first thing. I did/am/will the latter.

I *am* going to take an ibuprofen, though, and maybe wrap it. Then if it still hurts this bad tomorrow for the field trip I MAY have to get it x-rayed. Yep, tomorrow is a Farm Country field trip, if I can handle it. I don't know yet. Yesterday was an in the office day. That means a whole lot of time on the computer (mostly at the UEN's site for Core requirements) trying to write some curriculum and put together booklets for each grade for the dinosaur museum. It is an ongoing project, obviously. I can't do it in one day. But it is going much slower than I would like... I have been out of education other than just substitute teaching for way too long. I am rusty at it, lesson plans and the like. It used to be second nature. Now I struggle. But still, I like having work, in general, though the money isn't much. But having something to do, somewhere to go, things to learn... keep me from going crazier than I already am. Chemical Depression and stuff is annoying enough without unemployment putting an extra strain on it all.

Hurting is a pain (no pun intended), but I really do need to look at my life in a happier way. I mean, look. I have a job, a decent roommate, influence of the Lord's Gospel, cute sugar gliders, a sweet boyfriend, supportive parents, DSL, indoor plumbing, and a cell phone. And I am pretty blessed. If I can just focus on things like that, then I should be a pretty cheerful person.

Being positive is good, right?

But so is getting sleep. So with that I am off. Peace out!

Poop & Puke... Pardon my Fringe!

Okay, I am skipping Sunday School because I needed to come home for an Excedrin. I have a migraine. (but not The Headache, so still better!) I should lay down for a migraine nap in the dark and quiet, but as I am exhausted, I just know I won't wake up for Sacrament Meeting no matter how many alarms are going off. Therefore (Okay, just a little English lesson I gave myself via the internet...

there·for /ˌðɛərˈfɔr/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[thair-fawr] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–adverb

for or in exchange for that or this; for it: a refund therefor.

---

[Origin: 1125–75; ME therfor. See there, for]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

there·fore /ˈðɛərˌfɔr, -ˌfoʊr/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[thair-fawr, -fohr] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–adverb

in consequence of that; as a result; consequently: I think; therefore I am.

---

[Origin: 1125–75; ME ther(e)fore, var. of therfor therefor]

—Synonyms hence, whence. Therefore, wherefore, accordingly, consequently, so, then all introduce a statement resulting from, or caused by, what immediately precedes. Therefore (for this or that reason) and wherefore (for which reason) imply exactness of reasoning; they are esp. used in logic, law, mathematics, etc., and in a formal style of speaking or writing. Accordingly (in conformity with the preceding) and consequently (as a result, or sequence, or effect of the preceding), although also somewhat formal, occur mainly in less technical contexts. So (because the preceding is true or this being the case) and then (since the preceding is true) are informal or conversational in tone.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Yeah. "Therefore.") I need to just take meds, stay awake and pray Heavenly Father makes this one subside so I can go back to His house today. And that, my friends, is why I am blogging in the middle of my church meetings. (I mean, time-wise... not physically. I don't bring a laptop to church. hee hee hee!)

But HOLY HANNAH what a weekend it has been!

Saturday I was scheduled to work an Environmental Science scout class from 9am to 2pm and then a Cowboy birthday party from 2 to 6. Knowing that it takes me awhile to get out there (commute + construction) and that waking up might prove an impossibility, Friday night I fed the critters then grabbed my stuff and headed over to the Padres' so that no matter how tired I was, at least they could DRAG me out of bed if needed.

I stayed in BoyKid's room. It made me miss him terribly, seeing all his old toys, mostly boxed up as the padres prepare to move. I listened to part of the "Side-Ways Stories from Wayside School" book on tape of his several times (the rest of the book is missing, so I just listened to the end over and over.) because I was bored and could not sleep but FINALLY fell asleep... and too quickly it was morning.

[More about ^THAT^ after church!]

I was, of course, exhausted already but add to that all day at the Children's Discovery Garden with some 50 Boy Scouts, hiking around, trying to get them to listen in various classes and activities about water pollution, habitats and niches and such... YEAH. DANG tired. We made biodegradable plastic out of cornstarch, counted fishes in a pond, set up GPS hunts with different environmental careers at each geocaching point, had debates about the best method for cleaning up an oil spill, and listened to boys present reports on endangered or threatened animals in Utah. And before I knew it I was sick and sitting on a bench trying to get over sunstroke. I am pretty burned anyway (because, dummy that I am, I didn't think to put on sunscreen for work), but the dizziness and dehydration was worse. I didn't even notice because I didn't feel hot. In fact, when it really hit hard it made me have chills!

I will NOT be that stupid again. I just have to work past the blisters and sore muscles associated with my very physical job... but I will definitely now make sure I wear sunscreen (Thank you, Mr. Luhrmann) and carry a water bottle at ALL times.

The sunstroke didn't really floor me until it was almost time to go to my other assignment of the day, back at Farm Country. So, I just finished coordinating some GPS unit thingies, and headed over to the "Birthday Barn/Classroom." I am still, of course, TRAINING, so I was really just *assisting* Cowboy Matt as he, quite literally, showed me the ropes (and ponies and hay and goats and balloons and and cake and Coachman tractor/car thingy and face paints).


[It is past bedtime now and the Gliders need their food and I need my sleep if I can get it. I have developed a very persistent, very ANNOYING eye twitch. It has been all week now, but today and yesterday it went on ALL DAY! So I may actually have to go to the doctor for it because it is beginning to affect my vision. Anyway, I will continue this TOMORROW. (Though I work tomorrow too, so later.)]


Also that is when Fresno FINALLY called me back (I left a gazillion messages saying, in essence, that while I am NOT a You-Must-Call-Everyday girl, when your last message contains something something DANGEROUS like robbers (or hurricanes) YOU CALL or I PANIC!). He is fine, but understandably stressed.

Anyway, the party was BIG. 24 kids, plus parents. They were random cousins and such, so they were all different ages. And the birthday boy/girl was, in fact, BOTH. As in they were twins... not a hermaphrodite. 5 year old twins. Very whiny ones at that. But they were not the worst. See, besides the games, one of the big things about birthday parties at the farm is that the birthday kid gets to pick ANY one of our animals to be brought INSIDE the room for a visit! A pony, lamb, calf, bunny, chicken, etc. Well, not surprising the most popular is the pony (even though they get pony RIDES, too.) and the only pony at TGP who comes inside rooms is Chief. Chief is a cute pony. I am pretty sure, however, that Chief HATES me. Anyway, he doesn't listen to me.

Cowboy Matt taught [okay, TRIED very hard to teach] me how to harness a pony. I think I pulled every muscle in my body from the waist up. Ponies are FREAKISHLY strong, it turns out. And to give me practice, after Cowboy Matt harnessed Chief he UN-harnessed him and made me do it and lead him inside. FREAKISHLY strong... and hates me.

I FINALLY got that dang pony inside and all the kids oohed and ahhed and then Chief lifted his tail and pooped on the floor and they eeewed... except one kid... WHO BARFED. He seriously started throwing up everywhere because he saw PONY POOP. It was gross, but honestly, it was SO FUNNY! I just have to think that kid has a HARD life ahead of him if just poop makes him retch. Oh and as everyone ran outside, his mom said "He has a very sensitive stomach. Sometimes when he potties if he looks he throws up, too." HA HA HA HA HA HA! SO glad that's not MY kid. We took Chief back to the pasture and then we had to clean the floor while the party played on the farm so that it would be all nice when they came back to open presents and stuff.

After that, Cowboy Matt and I went to do the dishes (just the cake knife, spatula, etc.) and then he sent me off with one of the volunteer kiddlets to feed the calves! That was fun, but SLIMY. Baby cows slobber a LOT. But they sure are cute, especially the 2 little Jerseys.

Then Cowboy Matt attempted to teach me to drive stick. FIRST TIME EVER, I drove a clutch! Just the little Coachman, something like a tractor and a golf cart combined. But it was hard! I still suck at it. But I am trying.

OH! And then around the farm, I saw vomit kid again. He was by the cows and suddenly pointed to a cow patty and said "Mommy, LOOK!" *BLEH!* Yup, he threw up again! HOW FUNNY IS THAT?! That kid must be trouble. I mean, if his stomach remains that queasy it's not like he could ever have a pet... or a baby in diapers. Like the book title says...

When the very long day was over I went to the padres' because my stuff was still there. But before I gathered it up I watched Office Space on cable but fell asleep. Mom woke me up and I went home to go to bed early.

But when I got there, there was a letter from BoyKid! Just for me! And he's speaking Fringe! (And no, not Parker-isms for Sex!) As he said, after much cute and spiritual stuff, "Oh! and I pretty much love (how did you put it? Lock your heart love?) any I lock heart love our Sorelli." AWWW! Yay for my little bro being appropriately friends with Sister Missionaries! The Fringe will Rear Again!!!

Then Fresno called again and we chatted awhile before I finally went to sleep so I could wake up for church. And I DID! ALL 3 hours... oh, except, you know, skipping SS.

Then I went to the padres for dinner and me and mom were hanging out and flipping channels when she settled on some stupid Disney channel movie. It was hilarious though, because we had only seen about 30 seconds of this boy who kept getting thirsty. Mom said "Oh I bet he's Diabetic."
I said "I bet he's a MERMAID. It's Disney."

I was RIGHT. Hee hee hee hee hee hee! It was called 13th Year or Year 13 or something and it was about a boy who turns into a merman. How funny is that?!


"Mer-MAN, Pop! *cough cough* Mer-MAN!" - Zoolander

Macho is SCARY!

I am a BAD Girlfriend. Last night I was not feeling good and the phone was in the other room and I FIGURED it was Fresno but thought, Meh... he'll call back. I'm not getting out of bed to answer. But when I listened to his message I felt TERRIBLE!

HIS HOUSE HAD JUST BEEN ROBBED! He came home (to his old house where they are in the process of moving, but he was the only one staying there that night) and thought his roomies had done more packing, because things were missing, but then he saw broken things all over and that the door was kicked wide open! He sounded so scared on the message it made me cry! And you KNOW this wouldn't have happened if the dogs had been there. Even though they are really just sweethearts, you wouldn't go into a house that had 2 monster canines barking in it. He was just SO upset, though!

"They took everything! There was money, spare car and house keys so they can come pack, watches, a ring I was going to give you, a wallet, silverware and it's not fancy silverware, but everything! Some pretty expensive stuff!"

Obviously, hearing that message I was pretty scared, too... though in a different way (RING?! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!). But mostly I just felt bad for poor Fresno! At the end he sounded ready to CRY and just said "I wish I was living in Utah NOW."

So do I. (But not ready for that whole, uhh RING thing, so I am just pretending it was a mood ring or something innocuous like that.)

But it's NOT really "Happy Valley" anyway. I mean, I was living in Provo, Utah when my Jeep was stolen. And my identity... still dealing with that. You are really not safe ANYWHERE. That is just so sad.

I hope he calls back soon! He STAYED there. I would have gathered up all I could and went to the new house IMMEDIATELY! But he has to be all dumb and manly and stay there "in case they come back." Hello, that is why you should LEAVE! IN CASE THEY COME BACK! He needs to hurry and call me. And hurry and move. I just don't like it AT ALL.

Anyway, right now I have to leave because we are going to a St. Patrick's Day dinner and to read BoyKid's new letter! I am sort of wondering now if my padres plan on having a dinner for EVERY time we get a missionary letter. Either way, free food and fun letter to read!

Aaaaand we're back!

I love my baby brother. Who is THAT spiritual? Like reading his letters, it's just... yeah. WOW. The kid is way more in tune than I ever was... or likely will be. And yet he is still a silly teenage kid and you can hear that, too.

But, I admit today my brain is still elsewhere. Fresno better call soon.

I have some sad and shocking news for you. The dinosaurs are DEAD.

I am tired and my feet are KILLING ME but today has been a good day. Why? Because in one day I got to... witness the miracle of birth, spend hours with little kids on a field trip to a dinosaur museum, get flirted with by a high school boy, and finally spent awhile talking about Fresno's mother's surgery and other such stuff. Check it out! I had a whole lifetime today!

First day at TGP and while I can foresee this being a very HARD job, it was cool!

Started off normal enough. HR. Paperwork. W-4 forms. Employee Handbook. Time cards. Then me and the other girl being hired the same time met our boss... Rinny. She took us on an abbreviated tour of Farm Country while explaining a little about the job in general.

But when we were by the turkeys we heard a little girl start CRYING and a huge group gasp over by the goats. So we booked it over there. ONE OF THE GOATS WAS HAVING BABIES! Well, technically, she was having the third of her triplets and the placenta after birth stuff. (which terrified the 3 year old child, apparently) Yeah, pretty gross... but COOL! I didn't get most of the pictures until AFTER work (both mine... AND Mama's) but at least you can see them a couple HOURS old, and how teeny they are! The runty third is about the size of a KITTEN!

By the way, one of the Farm girl said she was naming the runt AFTER Rinny. Which I thought was pretty funny, but I am not sure if the other new girl did.
So, just FYI, if you are thinking you would like to have your kids come to Farm Country when there are cute baby animals (and MAYBE get to have a random lesson on the facts of life... meaning Biology... not the old sitcom with the Boarding School) DUDE, we are, quite literally BURSTING AT THE SEAMS with them. We got calves, we got cute little black lambs born this week, we got baby pygmy goats born TODAY(!!!), we got chicks, and there are going to be baby Nubian goats like anytime this week because Holy Hannah that one is SOOOOO Pregnant.

But anyway, yeah SAW A GOAT GIVE BIRTH AT WORK. How many people can say that?!*

It was sort of hard for ANYTHING to be that interesting after that, mind you, but we went on. With a little more info from Rinny back in her office, we were handed some materials and shepherded over to the Amber Room in the Dinosaur Museum to "shadow" a class (not a field trip, those are mornings, this was more like a day camp preschool thing.) called "In Search of Plant-Eating Dinosaurs" with 3 and 4 year olds. However, when dealing with kids that age "shadowing" is really just being another of the teachers, because oh my heck, kids are work. We colored pictures and made "Stegosaurus Hats" from paper plates. And then we went into the museum to search for plant eaters.

The funniest, though, was this one adorable girl, 3 years old, named Evelyn. First she tells me, "Teacher, know what? I'm crazy about Dinosaurs!"

"You are? That's great, Evelyn! Because that is what we are learning about today!"

"Yeah! And my favorite dinosaur is Brachiosaurus!"

So that was cute enough. But there was only one problem. When we got to the museum Evelyn started to CRY! She looked terrified and SO SAD! When I asked her what was wrong she was just bawling and said "I just wanted to see the Brachiosaurus! I didn't want to see their skelling-tons!"

"Oh sweety, I am sorry. There aren't any dinosaurs alive today."

"I didn't know they would DIE!!!"

Poor kid! She thought when I said TODAY it was like if she just had got here YESTERDAY she's have got to see her favorite all alive and well, but she was too late. Hee hee hee! It was adorably sad. She just walked around the whole time staring at the floor sad that she thought she had JUST missed those living Brachiosauruses, until we got to the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the head teacher told them all to pretend to be plant eating dinosaurs and run past it. Then Evelyn, who had seen Jurassic Park SCREAMS, very serious, "No, you can't run because he'll see you!" and starts to cry again. I could not get her calmed down for forever. She kept saying "No, no! He only sees if you move!" I told her about how it wasn't alive, how the bones were so old they had turned into rocks, but she kept screaming. She was honestly just terrified! I finally had to scoop her up and carry her past the scary "skelling-tons." After a story time under the precious Brachiosaurus we had an egg hunt for dinosaur eggs and served carrot sticks.

It was all fun, but a very long day and I was SO TIRED, but I needed cuttle bone for Tortuga and flakes for the fish and so I stopped at PetSmart in Lehi. I, of course, just planned to run in quickly, because I felt pretty beat, but as usual my gliders were sending me telepathic "buuuuuuy us tooooooys" messages so I had to look in all the usual places (cat toys, hamster/gerbil toys, and bird toys) for suggie-approved toys.

However, as I was looking, a little sales kid with skunk hair (seriously, like dyed black with a white stripe) asked if he could help me, to which I said no thanks I was just looking. But then he just continued to hover a bit and asked me if I had a cat (I was in cat toys at the time). I said no, Sugar Gliders. Then he started to tell me how much he wanted one and asking about them. But the funniest thing, is, and I COULD be wrong, but I could SWEAR he started FLIRTING with me! He had to be just 16, but still, it was funny. Not creepy even. He was a really cool kid. And so, we talked... meaning mostly HE talked, for 2 WHOLE HOURS! Even as I kept walking with my cart. He followed me and kept talking. It was funny. And then when I said, "well, hey it was good to meet you but I really need to go HOME" he SIGHED and said "Oh right. Sorry I kept you."

"Oh, no worries! You didn't keep me."

"Okay. Well, Do you want to... I mean, I guess maybe I will see you later. If you shop here."

I just said "Yeah, see ya!" and went to check out. Had he actually finished what he was about to which SEEMED like almost a date invite I would have told him I was dating Fresno. (Which would have been nicer, I figured, than ALSO bringing up the fact that I was at least 10 years older than him because he really didn't seem to get. (one of the things he talked about was that his mom said he couldn't get any more pets and when I said I lived with roommates he said "you have a roommate? That is SO COOL." Yeah, ummm... awesome?)Yeah, I don't think Fresno needs to be jealous, but it was fun and flattering anyway.

Maybe it is silly, but it doesn't much seem to matter WHO flirts with you, it is ALWAYS fun. Well, as long as they aren't, like, creepy... like trying to kidnap you out of the girl's bathroom in Carl's Junior. UGH.

When I DID get home I spent a good time on the phone with Fresno. He really is pretty perfect. He is funny and he is just LOVING his dogs! And we can talk so EASILY and he doesn't usually stress me out. We talked more about his plans to come out here the end of this month to play, and more about him moving, and his mom;s surgery not going good and to keep her in my prayers. It was just... GOOD. Yeah. I am pretty twitterpated with the boy.

All in all, GOOD DAY. (and yes, I know that this took so long to write that it will no longer BE today when you read it. Deal with it.) And now, I need to SLEEEEEEEP!

*(inside suburban-metropolitan Northern America. I realize that there are some people, like, well, FARMERS, that that is not that weird for. But for me, well, I was pretty floored.)

Productive Member of Society... Yes I am!

I GOT IT!!! I got the job at Thanksgiving Point! I am starting training tomorrow!

I am being hired to be Rinny's Nerd and Education Assistant. But what that means is, to get enough hours I will probably...

*try to build the youth volunteer program
*give tours to field trip kiddlets
*work with the animals (chickens, rabbits, horses, llamas, ponies, goats, sheep, turkeys, mice, cows, buffaloes, peacocks, pigs, and whatever else is visiting.) on the farm
*drive the tractor
*do scout badge classes
*help with their website
*write curriculum
*supervise birthday parties
and maybe even *tend Slumber Party kids at Dino-Snores... that means sleeping over in the DINOSAUR MUSEUM!!!!

Anyway, I am super psyched to have a job, especially one I may LIKE! I am going to have income again! And even though it is going to be part-time (with maybe almost full-time hours) that means I can maybe get tutored in ASL (with Thai, who rocks) and get back on track for school eventually, like I had planned BEFORE HellHeadache 5.0.

I feel just like Farmer Grover! (do you all remember that book?)

History of Me (from a MySpace Bulletin)

PART 1: THE BEGINNING
__________________________________

Were you a planned baby?
I don't know for *sure*. I try not to delve to far into my parents' sex life because, well, EEW? But my mom has told me that when she thought she was pregnant she went to planned parenthood because tests were free there and she and my dad were poor, but really confused the PP folks because she was HAPPY and they kept thinking she didn't understand and kept saying "No, Ma'm, Positive means you ARE pregnant." And then they asked if she knew who the father was and she laughed and said "yes, my husband!" and left. That's Chicago for ya.

Were you the first?
Yes
What is your birth date?
April 9th 1979



PART 2: THE FAMILY
__________________________________

Parents married or divorced?
Married

An only child?
Nope, one brother, one sister.

If you have siblings are you oldest, middle, or youngest?
Oldest (Remember? I was the first?)

Which parent do you get along with best?
My Mom, definitely.


PART 3: THE FRIENDS
__________________________________

Do you have more than one best friend?
Yep
What do you like to do when you are together?
Whatever we feel like doing (to Kneel's I'd have to add "Gosh!")
No, but seriously even just hanging out when you are with friends is fun!

Which friend can you tell everything to?
CC, my Mom, and apparently Stewie?


PART 4: YOUR PERSONALITY
__________________________________

Do you have low self-esteem?
depends.

Do you get depressed about things easily?
When my meds are off, yes.

Are you happy right now?
Right now? Yeah.

Do you live life to the fullest?
Sometimes


PART 5: APPEARANCE
_________________________________
Are you comfortable with the way you look?
Not usually, but depends on my mood.

Describe your hair?
Curly and mostly light brown, sometimes redder than others

How do you dress?
comfortable and casual, I guess?


PART 6: GROWING UP
_________________________________

Were you a strange child?
According to my parents, teachers, etc., yes.
Do you have the same friends from childhood?
Very few... we move a lot.


PART 7: GROWING OLD
_________________________________

Are you scared of growing up old and alone?
Occasionally, but usually not.
Do you want to get married?
EVENTUALLY, yeah.


PART 8: THE OUTDOORS
__________________________________
Do you prefer indoors or outdoors?
Depends on the weather!
Do you like walking in the rain?
Sometimes?


PART 9: FOOD
__________________________________

Are you a vegetarian?
No... but I don't each much meat... and my roomie is.

Favorite food?
Ummm... popcorn, maybe.

What food makes you want to gag?
Any meat type of food that still has way too recognizable of body parts. Like Shrimp with *legs,* fish with *eyes,* BBQ Pig with a head, etc. EEW.
What is your favorite dessert?
Chocolate anything... or ice cream, I like ice cream... okay, really most any desserts.


PART 10: RELATIONSHIPS AND LOVE
__________________________________

Are you single or taken?
Single as in not married, Taken as in not available because I have a boyfriend. So we seriously JUST had a conversation about this, me and him. Weird.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
KIND OF.

Have you ever been in love?
PROBABLY, though I am not 100% sure about that.

Have they ever loved you?
Who is THEY?!

Many Pics of Tongues

So, Fresno is really good at cheering me up. I just got off the phone with him. Then read an email that he had sent. Then talked to him on the phone again WHILE looking at another email he sent till my phone died. That last one included pictures of the dogs!

He had a major run-in with one of the neighbors in the new house about those dogs and was all upset. A very scary neighbor guy's little dachshunds who were not on a leash came after Fresno and his ginormous wolfhounds who, of course, WERE on a leash. But the man (who was probably scared to death of Fresno's pups) starts yelling at Fresno! Well, Fresno is holding the leashes as tight as he can but telling the man to come get HIS dogs. The man yelled and screamed profanities and threatens to kill Fresno and his dogs. Even though I think the man was just scared of the big dogs and was just trying to sound tough I told Fresno he should tell the police (not 911 or anything, just the police office) just in case something happens, especially as he is going to have to deal with this guy everyday because he can not not walk his dogs or be afraid in his own new neighborhood.

We talked about that and he sent me pics of the dogs. Darby is brownish gray and his sister, Demi, is white. And he is SO smitten. He LOVES them and says they are just sweethearts and that I will adore them. And I believe him.

I'm excited to eventually meet them. Mom keeps teasing me, "And how is that going to be? You and your husband... in your first tiny house... with your 2 giant dogs... and your 3 stinky gliders?"

To that, I say :OP .

Anyway, his email before the dogs was just CUTE. Because, well, most of the time, he GETS me. And that is just NICE. Because even *I* don't always get me. But it was basically about whether or not I called him my boyfriend to my friends and stuff like that. (To which I said I definitely THOUGHT of him as my boyfriend even if the WORD boyfriend sometimes sticks in my throat and makes me giggle. And he says that is totally okay, so long as HE can call ME his girlfriend. Hee hee hee!) He is just so freaking NICE to me! And... yes... Fresno is my BOYFRIEND.

WEIRD.

Anyway, could be weirder... like my dream last night. THAT was weirder. I dreamed I wanted to PRACTICE kissing before Fresno came to Utah again. And so I was supposed to kiss this random guy (not a real person, just someone my dream brain made up) and we were kissing, but then he tried to French me. But him putting his tongue in my mouth SO disgusted me that I threw up... INTO the guys mouth. EEW?! I woke up almost feeling sick for REAL because it was so vivid and YUCKY.

I do not want to think about that now. *shudder* I do NOT need that dream again and I should feed my babies and go to bed. But I am feeling lazy. So I think they will have something I prepared before and froze. Probably Mango. That always goes over well. And then, of course, BML and a few wiggly mealworms.

Anyway, GOODNIGHT!

On the Ball... with a Martian Moose watching your every move

This weekend has been, at least, more social than usual. YAY! It is good to have friends and actually SEE them on occasion.

Thursday, Coats drove up because a lady in the grocery store that she did not know set her up with her nephew for a date in Provo. So before her date she came to my house to talk and hang out. That was fun because we just have not talked in some time. She then was going to stand the boy up because she was in an exceptionally pissy mood. Like I don't even KNOW the boy and I felt bad for him. I THINK I convinced her to at least not dog the poor guy, but I don't know. I haven't heard the post-date report, but she was already mad that they were meeting at Red Robin as she doesn't like hamburgers. Hee hee! She is so weird. But FUNNY.

Friday was the official "Damn Good Taco Night" at CC and Cupcake's house, "The Lodge." It was fun (well, most of it)! On the ride up there me and Stewie talked, mostly about Fresno and my relationshipaphobia, (and her kiddlet making a "robot" dog out of a radio) etc. Because that woman is WISE! Then we picked up Stef and continued to "The Lodge" which is basically a townhouse that has a rock path through beige carpet (sand?) and a lower level of greenish blueish carpet (a pond?) with a VERY SCARY moose painted on the wall with big alien eyes! CREEEEPY! (and the bathroom wallpaper is also HILARIOUSLY pornerific! hee hee!) However, hey, CC and Cupcake live there so it is cool by association. Hee hee hee!

A lot of people were there that I did not know, and to be honest, I felt very intimidated. Sometimes I make myself mad. I know, in my heart, I am an outgoing person. I am gabby and loud with my friends. But with strangers I sometimes want to shrink into the background until I disappear. The people weren't really all STRANGER-strangers... a few looked familiar and we got to see CD, of Cupcake's Blog (VERY cute, chica! Way to go!). And other people had met each other, it's just been awhile since I have been able to get out, so I felt a little lost.

When I finally WAS talking I was telling about Parker calling me to get the Birds and the Bees talk, but with the sex = basketball analogy the boys there just took that and ran with it, and basically turned all sports dirty, which was funny, but also made a few people uncomfortable and left. I didn't mean to do that.

Anyway, I was ready to go home when Stef and Stewbert were. It was a good party. I just had a bit too much on my mind to have a lot of fun. I was missing BoyKid... and Fresno... and thinking a lot about Megs... and wondering if I am ever going to get a job so that I can feel self-sufficient EVER in my life, etc. I really liked the brownies and ate 3 of them which was not wise, but I sort of didn't care because they were yummy and I was not feeling that stellar inside my own head.

Saturday, too, was a bit of a party! I went up to Salt Lake to hang out with Megs and St. Jake since she is home from the hospital and I still hadn't given her her Christmas present (which, btw, I actually have one for CC, but forgot it. hee hee hee. And yes, it is MARCH.). Her and St. Jakey collect those official Disney pins (they are both OBSESSED with all things Disney) and I had bought a Stitch surfing one in Hawai'i for her when I was there! She also had a Christmas present for me... a really cute journaly notebook with Wonder Woman decoupaged on it! SWEET! Anyway, St. Jakey made us breakfast for dinner... eggs, bacon, orange juice, the whole shebang! Then we 3 just hung out watching random interior design shows on HGtv. It was fun. I haven't spent near enough time with Megs and St. Jake. I so love them. SIGH!

Which brings us to today. I went to church, my own, slightly dysfunctional, ward even. Just Sacrament though, I could not mentally/emotionally handle more today to tell you the truth. I am glad I went, but only because I SHOULD go. Right now I just need to take what I can get from this ward, even if all it is is obedience because I don't really LIKE it here. I DO very much like the new-ish Bishop. Mostly because I know he is a man of God and REALLY appreciate the blessing he gave me prior to the scary nerve block thing with Dr. YeahBaby. So I go because I should and keep hoping my feelings about the other people in my ward change, especially now that The Roomie is 31 and has taken that fact as the chance to run from our ward, even if it is to an "older singles" ward. So I sit alone. But... yeah. Right now I am just patting myself on the back for showing up at all.

The Bishopric's wives sat right behind me today and were quizzing me on how I was doing during the opening song. It was kind of annoying, but hey, at least they missed me. Sigh. Anyway, church was good. The Relief Society president spoke about "raising the bar" not just for missionaries, but ourselves as members of the church. And she kept saying that chef's thing "Bam! Kick it up a notch!" which was funny in church. But yeah, it was good, just... frustrating.

However, during the sacrament I was thinking about Fresno (yes, bad me. I know we are supposed to be thinking about Jesus, but I was mostly thinking of the boy *blush*) and RIGHT THEN he called my phone! I HADN'T turned it off, but I HAD at least put it on vibrate. But I quickly turned it off right then. Still I thought it was pretty eerie for him to call WHILE I was just thinking of him.

Granted, later I decided it really WASN'T that spooky considering I tend to be thinking about Fresno the MAJORITY of my time and so it is only statistics that he would call during that great expanse of time. But STILL.

Anyway, that was today... and Saturday... and Friday... and Thursday.

I am going to post this and maybe go home. (Right now I am at the Padres' because they got a letter from Anziano BoyKid and I wanted to read it! Plus, I was driving home from church and saw some people making a MOVIE! So I was really curious and drove around the neighborhood they were in trying to figure out what they were doing. Yes, following their crew like a dork. Anyway, some how in my paparazziness I ended up by the Padres' house and wanted to read BoyKid's first letter home. TA DA!) TTYL, Journal Friends!

(btw, sometimes I forget that people read this. In fact, the other night Stewie mentioned someone reading my blog besides her, CC, Cupcake, Bobbie, Granola, Mali, etc. (she didn't mention those people, I am just saying she said somebody else) and it really surprised me. I guess I forget some people read with out responding. It is fine either way, I just didn't THINK about other people reading it besides my direct friends. I guess mostly because I think WHY? If I had an especially interesting life, I would understand. It is just funny that anyone but people who are my friends (and thus required to think I am funny) who give 2 pins about my life. Odd. Anyway, friends and strangers alike, have a good night.)