Review

Wow. Okay, so, since I last wrote here...

• I went to the Ostleparkwells (Megan and T-La's house (which includes Megan and her hubby and her retired racing greyhound, T-La and her hubby and her 3 hilarious little boys and her dog (Just one. RIP Sydney :( I will miss him.), and my Aunt and Uncle. They have a pretty full house... but a FUN one!)) for Thanksgiving!  My stomach is still an utter mess due to Gastroparesis and who knows what else so I hurt a ton even though I only ate, like, a roll and sweet potatoes. BUT it was still SO much fun to see those guys.  I love them so much!  Especially Megan who is the BEST bestfriend/cousin I could ask for.
• Saw a turkey pardoning. REPORTED on said turkey pardoning. 
• Mom and I got in a car wreck. Pretty serious.  Okay, not THAT serious. (We walked away with just bruises and such)  But not minor. (our car is bad off and the car that caused it is TOTALED and basically we were all really lucky.) A MEDIUM SERIOUSNESS CAR ACCIDENT.  We had just stopped at a light, but it was backed up pretty far.  The car full of teenagers behind us wasn't looking, they slammed into us.  It felt like a bomb going off. The force shoved us into the car in front of us. The car in front of us got a little scratched and dented. Our front bumper is basically hanging on by a thread (or magic). Our back bumper is miraculously better, because the car behind us looks like an accordion.
• Had a Critters 2 Go party. It was a good one.  But then...
• My frog died. No, I know what you are thinking, that I DID already write about that. THIS IS MY OTHER FROG, Mab.  So did my mantis, Johnny Cash.  Her days were numbered as it is winter and she would have died long ago were she out in the wild.  But I still miss her and I just really didn't want to be mourning these girls right now.  Even though both could have been old age. (Mab I have only had 3 years, but 5 years is a normal amount for Greens and I don't know how old she was when I bought her at that expo. I know she was an adult... I mean, she wasn't a TADPOLE... but I have no idea. I just... she was such a pretty little frog.  Her name fit her well, queen of the fairies. She will be missed.
• I discovered (and read several years of posts) Regretsy.  I have laughed SO much, but I can not in good concience RECOMMEND it to most. It is definitely PG-13 + fair.  The millions of F-words (not to mention more needle felted vaginas and polymer penises than you can shake an over-priced bedazzled stick at).  But up there with CakeWrecks, though CakeWrecks is MUCH more family friendly, even with it's occasional naughty cake.
• Went to the Provo "Lights On" Parade (which was a pretty pathetic affair involving a lot of golf carts) BECAUSE.... my little bro, BoyKid, the future Leslie Knope, was in it on his motorcycle as TRON!!! p.s. it was freezing cold, I don't know how he survived. Hee hee!
• Went to BYU's Divine Comedy. I love them. It wasn't their BEST, but the "AladdYn" part was hilarious. 

And the day after tomorrow, I get to swallow a camera. Things are not boring. *sigh*

Alone.

Really Scrubs? REALLY?

A guy is dying for the whole show and it ends with Death Cab's Follow You Into the Dark, which is one of the saddest songs in the world to me.


Why should a little Death Cab for Cutie and a Scrubs rerun make me cry?  Because I am just a little... emotional. Emotional and just plain sad.

At the beginning of the week, I came home from a bunch of tests at the hospital to find my little baby Pacman frog, Ms. dead. I cried for a few hours, but felt too crappy to mourn for long.

But the thing is, things got worse, on Tuesday, my uncle died.  Uncle Ken, one of my favorite uncles (I have quite a few. Both my parents are from large families.) has died of cancer. Ken, who is Brady's dad.  It feels so unfair, that they should lose Brady, and then lose Uncle Ken, too.  Of course, they are an incredibly awesome family, and they have a much better attitude than I do.  My cousin, Ryan, posted to Facebook that there must be an awesome reunion going on. He is right, I am sure.  But it is just another example of how great THEY are.

When Brady was killed in 9-11, I was bawling at the funeral.  Brady's wife and Aunt Kay, his mom, both comforted ME.  They earned that grief so much more than me... but they comforted me.  They are such a good example to me.  They do so many good things.

I am not at the funeral.  Mom, Padre, BoyKid, and Rinny are. They are in St. George for the funeral, but I can't do that long of a car ride right now. Still too sick.

So I am here at the house, mostly watching TV, taking care of my pets, and crying at Scrubs.  Also, hurting a lot and wishing the doctors could find me some answers.

I just... argh.

We will miss you Uncle Ken.

Phisherman.... I'm grading them now

So, I used to play with those who tried to toyed with me (see what I did there? Toy? Hee hee!) Now, apparently, as I am teaching more, I grade them.  As phisherman goes, this one ranks pretty high up there! So I thought I'd share!

Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
New York USA




Date: Nov. 9th 2011

Sir,


RE URGENT NOTICE

Records shows that you are among one of the individuals and organizations that are yet to have their consignments with the Hartsfield Jackson International airport Atlanta Georgia delivered. We noticed from our investigation that you have two metal trunk boxes to be delivered to you which you have abandoned for a long time due to your non compliance with the Airport authority directives thereby putting the delivery process on hold. Our further investigations revealed that some people took advantage of this to extort money from beneficiaries claiming to be the staffs of the airport due to the fact that they are aware of the existence of the boxes in the airport.


The Cyber Crime Division of the Home-land security gathered information from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (ICCC) formerly known as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) of how some people have lost outrageous sums of money to these imposters. As a result of this we hereby advise you to stop communication with any one not referred to you by us.

We have negotiated with the U.S Treasury department that your consignment delivery to your address from the Hartsfield Jackson international Airport will be handled by them since our investigations revealed that the content of the boxes are money totaling $16,500,000.00. (SIXTEEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS) which has been tested and approved by the U.S. Treasury Department before they accepted the offer that it is not a counterfeit and that you are the rightful owner of the consignment.

We guarantee 100% delivery of your boxes, because we have perfected everything in regards to the release of your boxes to be 100% risk free and free from any hitches as it’s our duty to protect citizens of the United States of America. (This is as a result of the mandate from US Government to make sure all luggage’s belonging to citizens of America  are been cleared for the betterment of the current economic status of the nation and its citizens as he has always believed Our Time for Change has come because Change can happen.

In response to this letter we will advice you on whom to contact at the U.S Treasury department who will cross check with the airport authority to find out the exact amount due to your boxes to be paid to the airport authority which they are going to handle themselves to avoid any impostor who might claim what he is not, note that that you are not allowed to deal directly with the airport authority as all dealing must go through the U.S. Treasury Department to avoid any further delay and all interactions must be through email to help us checkmate all the discussions for record purposes.

Finally, you have to be aware that Homeland security and indeed the United States Government can not be held responsible for any further delay or loss of your boxes if you fail to comply with the directives of this office.



Mr. Frank Navarro.
Director of Operations,

What they did [remarkably] right:

•  Grammar! Spelling! AMAZING!  Apparently a home-grown scammer who passed their college English classes for a change. Impressive!
• Cryptic inspirational message for kicks and giggles with unnecessary capitalized word. "...he has always believed Our Time for Change has come because Change can happen."

What they did wrong:

• Told me right out they would be taking money from me. "check with the airport authority to find out the exact amount due to your boxes to be paid to the airport authority"
• Told me "Don't call the airport or anyone involved in this! Just email us... I mean them!" "you are not allowed to deal directly with the airport authority as all dealing must go through the U.S. Treasury Department to avoid any further delay and all interactions must be through email to help us checkmate all the discussions for record purposes."

HOW STUPID DO I LOOK?!

The dreaded tomorrow

For over a month, I have been having really bad stomach pain.  More than I ever have before with my Gastroparesis.  So began the last little while of test after test.

Blood tests

CT Scan

XRay

Fecal Tests (everything comes down to poo!)

Urinalysis

Gastric Emptying Study (eating radioactive scrambled eggs and watching them digest)

I've had a few results (Gastroparesis is a lot worse, my white blood count is up, and so is my sed rate.)  but I have also had a very harrowing ER visit, and am hurting worse than ever, which brings us to today. Today I am prepping for a short hospital stay and going under so they can do an endoscopy (a camera goes down my throat)  and a colonoscopy (a camera goes up my... well, you get the idea).  Have I mentioned anesthesia is pretty much my biggest fear? I HATE the idea of being out of control of my senses. Actually my BIGGEST fear, and I mean very biggest fear is that I will be PARTLY under, like under enough not to speak or move but not under enough not to feel and they will start procedure and I will be screaming inside... basically, that movie "Awake" that came out a few years ago? The trailers gave me panic attacks, no lie.

So, that probably won't happen. And if it did, this is a colonoscopy... not surgery. So it would be really uncomfortable, not, like, kill me.

RIGHT??? *sigh* I hate hospitals soooo much...

BoyKid and Mason sitting in a tree

I feel bad having not mentioned it, because it was a big milestone in my little bro's life, and was quite the talk of our family.  And now it's over?

BoyKid had a girlfriend. Let's call her Mason for reasons she will never know.  She was the first "official" post-mission girlfriend he has had, and in only the space of a week they went from finally having a DTR and saying yes, we are boyfriend and girlfriend to her saying she was "equally" interested in someone else and breaking up. Poor BoyKid.  Poor Mom.  She has been talking about how well Mason would fit into our family, how it will be to finally have a kid-in-law, etc.  And, I'll be honest, I am not sure Mason won't be back.

I think Mom may be thinking, correctly, that BoyKid is her best chance at [non-fuzzy] grandchildren.  Rinny and I are pretty dang relationshiptarded.  Rinny MAY even be more screwed up than me, but with my health as it is, it's not like I am exactly dating.

A List

1. a) talk cute to my animals, even the not-so-cute ones.  If you have nice things to say about my Giant African Train Millipede, Millie the Thoroughly Modern Millipede you are pretty golden. b) be good with kids. Especially be down with adoption. c) do interesting things. Things like model rockets, dinosaurs, ice blocking, etc. d) not be afraid to get dirty.  I do not like wussy boys who are too worried about their nice clothes to lift wood for a fire or check an engine or plant a garden. e) use passably correct grammar and spelling.  You don't have to be an English major, but be well read and don't say "liberry" or "suposably" or "fustrated."
2. People should be able to keep animals that they can safely and responsibly care for!  Should everyone have sugar gliders? Or tigers? NO.  But not everyone should be allowed to have DOGS either.  People that know what they are doing, and can care for an animal CORRECTLY, should have the right to do so.  I can provide correctly for my gliders. So I can own them. I could not care for a tiger (few, outside of Zuzuna, could) so I shouldn't be able to.  Z wrote a good opinion piece on it, here.  This Ohio thing has been a TRAGEDY.  I just wish it didn't cause even more hurt by prompting bans. :( BOO.
3. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns My mom loved this book and I kept meaning to read it. I finally did and apparently it's hereditary. I LOVED this book. I loved how the characters were complex... nobody was all good or all bad, they were very real. And I could see various points of view. I loved the rich descriptions, the culture, so different from my own, the history. THIS is a good book.
4. This one is going to be embarrassing. *SIGH* 

• Woke up, very tired
• dressed Halloweeny
• took pills, drank breakfast
• went to work. Read Dinosaurs' Halloween, passed out dinosaur masks and helped children make dinosaur Trick-or-Treat sacks
• Came home
• watched Grudge 2 (LAME.)
• Spent way too much time on Facebook and Pinterest
• ate a cardboard pizza, regretted it immediately after.
• watched Gremlins (still love it)
• fed the lizards, frogs and turtles
• watched the Office
• Blogged
• Fed the fuzzies
• Going to bed with a book now... I will finish this list later!

5. Fresno - I never pretended to be someone I wasn't. EVER.  Anything you expected of me that I wasn't was made up in your own mind, and that's not my fault. I am me. I need to find someone who likes THAT.
TexasBoy - You ended things like an immature baby. That was a really jerky thing to do. Poetry Boy - I ended things like an immature baby. That was a really jerky thing to do. I am sorry. Not sorry like we should be together, but sorry I didn't end it like an adult instead of moving away and not giving a forwarding address. Ola - I still love you, but I also truly believe you are meant for bigger things. I believe you will do GREAT things for your people. I am so proud to have known you. Please find happiness. You are my hero.

6. Most of it sucks. There is too much sex, too little poetry.
7. a) People who can't be bothered to spell check things they post online. When you are online, often all you KNOW of someone is what they write... can't you at least be bothered to spell check it?! b) People who irresponsibly let their pets breed for whatever stupid reason. Are you a breeder with a registered dog with necessary health and genetic tests for both animals and you are prepared to find excellent homes for their offspring? No?  You just want fluffy to have cute witto baby wabies? DON'T BREED!!! c) How feeder crickets die before I can feed them to my frogs. d) How my padre watches his news shows SO LOUD in the room next to my bedroom early in the morning.  We have 3 TVs. Couldn't he blast it on one of the other 2? e) People who think of pets as disposable. I don't care if it's a fish or a dog, pets are not disposable.
8. So far? A Slimfast, a sugar cookie, and a Vanilla Coke Zero.

9. Education is one of the most important things in the world.  But not all of it is formal education.  I believe your education in this life is one of the ONLY things you can take with you into the next life after you die. It is eternal. So learning should be eternal.  But a lot I have learned has never resulted in a degree. MOST, actually. But it has made me who I am.  I recently started back at school though, to further my education on the degree side. At first it was Vet Tech, now it is ASL and Deaf Studies.  But I feel, wether I am in college or not, I should ALWAYS be learning.

[It is now a few days later. So pardon the weirdness.]

10. Shuffled Playlist:

1. Kiss Me Through the Phone by Soulja Boy 
2. The Book of Love by Peter Gabriel 
3. White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane 
4. Your Love is My Drug by Ke$ha
5. Need You Now by Lady Antebellum 
6. Honest Face by Liam Finn and Eliza Jane
7. Muita Bobeira by Souza
8. Symphony No. 3 in E Flat major, Op. 55, "Eroica" by  Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia
9. Question by Old 97's

11. For the purposes of time and space, I am going to leave out furrbabies and other pets and extended family (like my cousin/BFF, Megan) even though they sometimes even out rank my direct fam. But yeah.  Padre.  Professionally, he is a property manager. However, he spends more time golfing.  He is also the Ward Clerk and loves being "in" on all the ward stuff. He loves church business more than anyone should. Mom. She teaches the 6 year olds at church.  She had a stroke a couple years ago and still has memory problems, balance problems, and sees double, but works very hard to overcome it.  She is one of my best friends. We do water aerobics together. Rinny. My younger sister and boss at Thanksgiving Point.  She is the Education Director there.  She is pretty much as bad at dating as I am which is why she even though she is super cute, dances, and cooks like a pro she is over 30 and single. Boy Kid. My baby bro.  Goes to BYU, majoring in the business side of Recreation Management. (Like trade fairs and event planning).  Awesome on the guitar.  Incredibly funny and GOOD. So good... one of the most righteous people I know. SUCH an example to me.  Usually found riding his motorcycle or his longboard!

12.

Heath Ledger </3 *sigh* :(















Olakunlemi. Real. Real wonderful and real cute, too.



















A two-fer! Ewan McGregor and Josh Hartnett. Mmmmm....

Seth Green. So nerdy. So darling.

13.Ugh. My body? My BIGGEST complaint is that is keeps malfunctioning on me. Gastroparesis, bad liver, migraines.  But also I really am unhappy about my weight. Some people might read this and think, okay, then change it!  Well, here is the problem I AM. I am working with my doctor on it, actually.  I take pills, but I take pills that make you GAIN weight. I do water aerobics, but I can't do other exercise because I will get hurt.  And I eat a very strict diet for the most part (esp. with my worsening Gastro).  But I am still a big girl and probably always will be.  My doctors and I ARE discussing more drastic actions further down the road, but those scare the h**l out of me.  There ARE things I like about my body though.  I have killer calves.  My lips are pretty awesome, as are my eyes. So I am not a complete waste.
14. It was church, so I wore sort of a crinkly black and grey flower peasant skirt, a denim skirt, and a hematite necklace.  I will tell you a secret, I was secretly longing to top the outfit off with my pair of black cat ears. Because it is the day before Halloween. But I resisted. :P

15. I am an Aries. According to the all-wise internet, that means I am...
Adventurous and energetic
Pioneering and courageous
Enthusiastic and confident
Dynamic and quick-witted
On the dark side...

Selfish and quick-tempered
Impulsive and impatient
Foolhardy and daredevil   .

That doesn't really sound like me at all. (Okay, maybe I am "quick witted")  Since I don't really place any stock in horoscopes that doesn't surprise me.  THOUGH that same site also said THIS:

"Aries governs the head and brain, and Arians are said to be prone to headaches, particularly migraines, sunstroke, neuralgia and depression. Indigestion and nervous disorders are also threats to you, and your rashness, impetuosity and wholesale physical commitment make you liable to accidents and physical injuries."

Spooky!
On the other hand, while I still don't BELIEVE it, in the Chinese Zodiac I am a sheep (interestingly, Aries is a goat) and I fit THAT description pretty well!
16. I always wonder what if I hadn't lost touch with my best friend, Jonathan from 1st grade. He moved to Idaho and I was so sad. Would we still be friends? Would we have dated?
17. I am super proud of my animals.  I enjoy showing them off to people.
18. My problem right now is that this is an EXTREMELY long survey and I have a short attention span!!!
19. a) a yard big enough for a turtle pond and tortoise garden b) an indoor swing c) an indoor slide that runs along the stairs d) a pet capybara (like Caplin and Galibaldi) e) a Paper Airplane kite!


20. It's Halloween and we all have things we are afraid of. What are MY phobias? http://phobialist.com/ 


Aphenphosmphobia- Fear of being touched (this is just more a REACTION than a true phobia, as phobias are IRRATIONAL fears. I avoid being touched as I have severe Fibromyalgia and hurts to be touched. So I try never to be bumped) 


Claustrophobia- Fear of confined spaces. 


Dentophobia- Fear of dentists. (so so much!) 


Equinophobia- Fear of horses. (a very LITTLE bit. ANd I am working hard to get over it as I work with horses and like them, they just scare me for no reason!) 


Nosocomephobia- Fear of hospitals. 


Trypanophobia- Fear of injections. (serious one) 


Though my biggest fear is not on that list. Fear of Anesthesia. I hate hate hate going under for surgeries. I am scared I will not wake up. But even more than that I am afraid I will go under just enough that I can not communicate but not enough that I can not feel and that they will operate ANYWAY. That I will feel the surgery but will be unable to scream. It started as a child. When I got my tonsils out, as I was going under I yelled "I'm still awake!" every 5 seconds (more and more garbled and slurred) until I was totally out so they didn't start too early. The surgeons thought to was HILARIOUS and kept laughing at me instead of consoling me at all. Jerks. I still feel that same feel and as I have many medical issues, I have to go under pretty often. I HATE it. 


I have so many mental and emotional issues, making a list like this probably SHOULD make me feel even crazier than I am! But instead, seeing ALL those crazy things people CAN be afraid of, it makes me feel pretty NORMAL! Plus a little brave. After all, I am NOT afraid in the least of spiders, bugs, snakes, blood (just the injection used to TAKE said blood!), germs or dogs! 


P.S. And for the record, can I just say... Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia- Fear of long words. That one's just CRUEL! 


21. Less painful. And lonely.
22. Going back to school soon. I can register tonight at midnight, but I don't know if I will. I really need to have a placement interview first.
23. I miss gambling with Trick-or-Treat candy with my sister after Halloween. GOOD TIMES!
24.

 "Bewbs""Audacity""The Fringe will Rear Again""Guy on a Buffalooooooo!""I have one minute weft in my bwain! Ime is wunning out! GUESS!"

25. My stomach. I am getting tests run right now.
26. I like that I am smart. I like my legs and lips (see question 13, just the end). I like my artistic sense. I like that I do not give up easily. I like that I have respect for living things.  I do not like my health, nor most of my looks (see 13 again). I do not like that I hurt. I do not like how scared I am in social situations.  I do not like how easy it is to compare myself to others.
27. "If you don't laugh you cry." I don't know who said it, but I live by it. OH! But I heard a related one, by a very admirable lady!

“The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” ― Marjorie Pay Hinckley

28. Australia. Just to visit. Mostly just to see the animals, especially gliders in the wild.
29. a) Baby Brussels Sprouts. YUM. b) the play, Urinetown c) Perry Mason d) My millipede, Millie, the Thoroughly Modern Millipede e) never wearing make up besides Halloween
30. One of the story times at work is the story of the Christmas Spider. It is a cute story, a cute craft, and I think it is hilarious to relate spiders to Christmas.  I am so psyched to tell that story!

Dolly Envy

Messing around on Pinterest today. I keep looking at Blythe dolls. BECAUSE I WANT THEM.  What is it about useless (but fun) expensive things that makes me want them so much just so my relative poverty can smack me in the face?

Useless, but like a combination of toy and ART! *SIGH*

On the other hand, my grand idea of stempunking Cabbage Patch Kids (under the name Steamed Cabbages, mind you. The name is one of the best parts!) has not exactly taken off due to my complete and utter lack of skill at sewing the awesome doll clothes in my brain. BUYING the CPKs, that I can do. I have, now, a closetfull of naked Cabbage Patches awaiting new identities and no real talent to do what I want with them. And that pisses me off. WHY CAN'T MY HANDS DO WHAT MY MIND DOES?!

<a href="http://pinterest.com/kipluck/"><img src="http://d3io1k5o0zdpqr.cloudfront.net/images/follow-on-pinterest-button.png" width="156" height="26" alt="Follow Me on Pinterest" /></a>

Who are you again?

SOOOOO the blog was hacked.  I have been through all the stages of grief, but denial took a couple weeks because setting up a new one and telling friends about it was just too daunting.

So here we are.

The worst part of it isn't losing readers (as I don't actually know that I had many anyway), it is losing links to all my friends that I listed on the side.  If you were one of those (or even if you weren't, but want to be) PLEASE tell me what your blog address is. We can rebuild it... we have the technology!

And I'm a Mormon.

Today is the start of General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This has been a BUSY week.  But I will get to that part later.  First, Conference.  There is the Saturday morning session, the Saturday morning session, the Priesthood session (just the men), the Sunday morning session, and the Sunday afternoon session. At our house we call it Pajama Church because it's broadcast on TV.  Even still, with my insomnia, the mornings are hard for me. Thank goodness for DVR!

But this time was super busy. BEFORE Saturday morning session I had to go to a work meeting. SOOOO EARLY.  I do NOT do early.  Rinny drove me.  She actually went in her pajamas.  I was in uniform, but hey, she is a boss, she can get away with being a slacker sometimes. ;)  The meeting was good... the gist was 1. we should be proud of where we work (I am. I love Thanksgiving Point.) 2. We are a not-for-profit and we are still not self sustaining, even for all that we charge. 3. We need a lot more money for the Museum of Natural Curiosity. Also, that the MONC will ROCK. 4. A spa and yoga studio will be opening on property, down by the art studio. (I didn't know that before!)


So by the time the meeting ended and Conference was starting I was exhausted and ready for a nap.  So I did.  (Yay for DVR)


[Image]I slept all through the 1st session.  Then the Saturday Afternoon session was about to start when we heard a LOT of sirens.  I assumed it was an accident til Padre said, "did you see what's going on?"  We went outside. In our quiet little Orem cul-de-sac there were AT LEAST EIGHT cops around our neighbor, They had tasered him and he was yelling, "Go ahead! Hit me again!" CRAZY!  We don't know what he did, but it must have been bad enough that they felt they needed more than half a dozen officers to arrest ONE GUY.


So, THAT was pretty exciting.  Then I watched conference.  There was so much good, true counsel.


Awesomely, Elder Bednar talked about tweeting, which was hilarious because many of us were watching while tweeting simlutaneously. “Your fingers have been trained to text and tweet to accelerate and advance the work of the Lord”

WHY is Twitter plus General Conference such a winning combination? I will tell you. It's like watching Conference with a room full of friends.  Some spiritual. Some snarky.  All with fun, differing viewpoints.  Much better than just watching with my family.  One of my favorite's being By Common Consent. Insightful AND funny.

Cancer Sucks, Deaf Fest Doesn't

Today was more than usually productive! Go me!  Also, because I am dizzy and unable to drive or walk around unaided, Go BoyKid! And Go Rinny! Because they really helped.

The morning started with a baby shower for our friend Katie.  She is a "Chum" as in she is in a group of friends (Megan, Gina, and Katie) that were The Chums.  I LO

VE the Chums.  They all, every one of them, rock.  I associate them with knitting/crocheting, harmonicas, Muppets and all good things.  It is weird because now the Chums are doing things like, well, getting married, having kids, moving to other countries.  But I still love and admire them.

Katie's mother, Sue is also a really good friend of ours.  She is awesome.  She also has cancer.  This just breaks my heart. It seems like all the really awesome people are dealing with terrible things.  My former bishop's wife has Lou Gehrig's. My Uncle Ken has cancer. So does my Aunt Cheryl.

And that kind of crap is just a suck fest.

But what isn't a suck fest is seeing old friends. Plus also, they had good food... CREPES. Mmmmm... So it was great seeing a preggy Kate, her mom, Sue, and a few other people from the old 'hood (Gina's mom for one!)!  But NOT Mali, though that IS that 'hood, since she is still off being British. ;)  I went with Mom and we both did so with the balancing arm help of Rinny. Mom is always a little unbalanced due to the stroke. And I am wobbly as can be on the new med.  Bleh.  So Rinny was on double duty.

So after that I went home to count out ONE HUNDRED Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches to a guy who was buying them. Because it was such a big order I agreed to meet him part way, in Sugar House.  Only, like I've said... I can't DRIVE right now.  So BoyKid to the rescue!

He drove me to Sugar House.  And the roach guy? TOTAL hippie.  Like 2 foot long dirty blonde dreds and alluded to the fact that they are into that garbage picking food movement type hippie.  And his hippie chick and baby.  SUPER nice, mind you, and they were very excited to get the roaches (which they directly deposited into their shoulder bag and rode off on their bike), but definitely interesting characters.

Then we had 2 other goals while in SLC... Deaf Fest and Guitar Store.

Deaf Fest. A bunch of booths, a LOT of signing, and free ice cream!  Eavesdropping, I could understand a lot of what was going on... but I was pretty pathetic talking to people.  Obviously, I am going to need some review classes... and a lot of practice at home (watching stories at home, talking to myself in the mirror, and maybe signing up for an ASL MeetUp group).

But it was interesting!  I also got to tell BoyKid a lot of Deaf culture facts (to keep him from doing things like walking right between 2 signers, talking to interpreters instead of the Deaf, etc.) so it was good I at least remembered etiquette.  And they gave out free ice cream so he had fun, too. (He's easy to please!)

Then for him, we went to the Guitar Store.  He played with some guitars, looked at kay-poes (I am sure that's not how they are spelled. They are a guitar thing.) Then we headed home.

OH AND I quilled some cards for church... birthdays, 1 funeral... and one for Katie.

I think it's working! I think... scratch that.

The good news is that the new meds I am on really are lessening the headaches! The bad news is that they so far make me too dizzy to drive or read very well, so that better fade or it won't work.  I need to get rid of the pain... but I need to be able to drive and read, too.

A day later, I feel like I may have spoken too soon. MAJOR migraine PLUS dizziness today. Bleh.  No motivation, either and I have a ton of work to do.  A bunch of lessons to write, need to talk to an academic adviser about school, need to make cards for church... sigh.

Yarrrrrgh! Hamsters!!!!

It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, me hearties! And I would be true to this day celebratin' the buccaneer, but me head be swimmin' like sharks and my stomach is churning like the waves of the briney blue.  So I am to belay this silliness and talk like a landlubber!

I have been SOOOOO SICK today.  I have been dreading work tomorrow (when I even think about it... mostly I just don't think. I just sit around in a stupor.  I drink Gatorade, eat saltine crackers, and watch DVRed Psychs. But I do not do a whole lot of prep work for story time.).  I finally drew some Brachiosaurus heads, made a sample, too.  The other thing I am not doing that I should be doing is writing an Examiner article.  Right now I am writing something about hamsters.  I am also trying to talk my fam into letting me have a friend's (well, a friend/coworker's daughter's) little male Robo.

Though what I want more, and what I am in major negotiations for is a hedgehog.  Dad says I can have one... IF I get rid of my tortoise, Bratanik.  I tell him, No, I love Bratanik. He says, he's boring, etc. I tell him, he's not supposed to be exciting. He's a tortoise. And I love him. I love to watch him eat (he reminds me of a dinosaur). I love that I rescued him and made him healthy. I love to teach kids the difference between a turtle and tortoise and let them touch them.  I know that Bratanik doesn't love me. He is a TORTOISE. But I love HIM.

But I am trying to talk him into, if he is so intent on "trading," trading my tank of hermit crabs.*








*and maybe sort of secretly keeping the crabs but keeping them in a small 10 gallon in my room because like he'd even notice anyway. Shhhh....  ;)

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Week!

The last couple days have been pretty interesting. Here is a recap filled with thrill! chills! pills!

(Last) Thursday BoyKid tried out for Divine Comedy! We got to watch. Try outs were SO funny to watch.  There were a few people that were not very good at all, but most were VERY funny.  It was stiff competition.  He didn't even make it, and can say with all honesty, BoyKid's song was excellent.  If I can ever convince him to YouTube it, I will post it here.  Better luck next time!

Friday, I had an appointment with Dr. Bones, the specialist at the U of U.  My headaches are still super bad, so he is trying me on a new med, which is so far making me dizzy, nauseous... and feel slightly as if I am having an out of body experience.  This disjointed, out of it experience is very disturbing. Hoping it is one of those side effects that starts bad, but then dwindles after awhile. Because UGH.

Then I did a Critters party. A cute group. The adults were as interested in my presentation as the adults. They asked a million questions. They owned a chinchilla themselves and wanted me to check him out after the party, asked for tips on taming him (they could barely pet him and certainly couldn't hold him like I do Baby Fable), wanted to make sure they had the right set up for him (

they did), and asked about getting him fixed and getting him a friend. 

Saturday I did some quilling for church ladies.  Pretty good ones, I think.

(by the way, Ehu, that one with the quote about being "beautifully made?" The quote is Ola, MyNigerian. Is it any wonder I am still in love with him?)

Sunday was 9/11.That was hard. I think of Brady a lot, but it is hard to have everything rehashed all day on TV and on the internet.  Anyway, I posted about that a bit already.

Monday I sold some roaches to a boy, probably around 13, and his dad. They were really excited. I was pretty excited too because I recently finished The Cockroach Club part of my site!  But the most exciting thing about the day was THE ARRIVAL OF THE MANTIS NYMPHS!!!! 11 teensy tiny mantis babies! They are so so cute!!!

So, all week, Padre has been talking about this "Super Secret Surprise" at 5:00. 1st though, I had story time at the museum.  We read Zack’s Alligator Goes to School by Shirley Mozelle and made clothespin alligators. 

THEN I had a dentist appointment. Bleh.

So, then 5 rolled around and we are headed to Salt Lake!  Then Padre starts singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and we pretty much figured out we were going to Mary Poppins the Broadway musical.  It was really fun.  Before we went to the show we went to dinner at Olive Garden. The Gnocchi soup was very good.  When we were done we had left overs, but Rinny had brought a cooler.  So we were walking back to the car with our food and there was a homeless guy.  I knew my dad would NEVER let us give him money because he might buy drugs or alcohol with it, but I asked if we could give him our left overs. At first he said no, then I said "just a bag of bread sticks?"  He said okay and proceeded to take OUT 2  breadsticks of the bag leaving 3. *rolls eyes* REAL generous, Dad. But whatever, better than nothing. BoyKid and I ran back and gave it to the man.  When I asked if he wanted some bread, he smiled so big and said "Sure!"  Really motivated me to get working on those "Blessing Bags" like I've seen on Pinterest.


My dad is not really selfish.  It's just that he feels strongly about HOW he should be generous.  Like when he is donating to the poor, he feels like he should ONLY do so through the Church. I think that is a good thing, MOST of the time, but sometimes you should go elsewhere, too.  He also believes in taking care of your family first. I agree with that, too, but I think he still acts like we have money... going to expensive plays and out to dinner... when we don't. We are in debt.


ANYWAY, before the show there was this art instillation next to the theater with these weird wobbly things that apparently represented grass.  But to me it felt like we were fleas on a dog.  I LOVED IT!  I took a million pictures.

Finally we actually went in.  The play was much better than I thought!  They did a lot of very tricky things... very magical.  Though that new song about being nice to your toys? SUPER CREEPY!!!  One bad thing is that my new pill from Bones is STILL making me really sick and basically feel out of my body, so I had to leave for a bit and miss a song.  But over all it was still fun!  Very different than the movie though. (Also different from the Simpson's "Sherry Bobbins" which is what BoyKid and I kept remembering instead! Ha!)

 So then today for Tales for Tots we had the author and illustrator of "Invasion of the Grumpies" to come read their book.  It was fun.  The book is cute, though a bit wordy for the age group we cater to (though obviously a self-published deal) but clever writing.  And they were both really interesting guys.  I plan on having them come back again and we bought a copy of their book for the education department.  They took a LOT of pictures (you can see them here) They also had the kids draw their own Grumpies to put on the Facebook page.  Again, our group was a little young for that, so it was mostly MOMS drawing and then kids scribbling, but we teachers decided to participate. Mine is the one reading the red book. Rinny's is red (It's angry)


Several mantises have not made it, I think we are down to 4 or 5. :(  They are so cute, though.  I hope SOME of them thrive!


Anyway, that's the news!

Brady, I miss you, but today more than most.

Brady Howell was my cousin and my friend.  He was funny, let us follow him around when we were little calling him "Brady Bunch" but he was also a great man.  He was someone who could be looked up to and deserved it.  He was a hero.

This is a good audio interview with Uncle Ken and Aunt Kay, Brady's parents.

This article is about my cousin, Camille, Brady's sister.

And then this, well, it's just cool, too.


And that is all I am going to say about it all today.  Because other than recognizing how blessed I am to have the family I do, have the gospel in my life, and to live in this country, today just makes me feel sad.

Migraine of All Migraines!

It is so hot in here right now. Ugh. So tomorrow, if my head can stand it, we are trying out our new Pass of All Passes at 7 Peaks.  BoyKid was the instigator.  He got one to go with friends, mostly to the Trafalga that used to be Liberty Land. They have laser tag there and mini-bowling. Then he convinced me, Rinny, and Padre to buy in.  It is good for NEXT summer, too, but tomorrow is the last day to go to 7 Peaks this year.  So we are going tomorrow morning.  But I should seriously go to bed to even have a chance.
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So much for THAT. Had a horrid night.  Leg cramps and very little sleeping. So when the boys were ready to go to the water slides, I pretty much felt like crap on a cracker. So no, I did NOT go. 


Major headache, major Fibro pain.  Drank some of that cramp drink... I can't remember the name of it, but it is supposed to help with spasms.  I hate it. It tastes kind of mediciney. But I think it might help. I HOPE.

So, yesterday I got a new assignment with my calling (for those of you who don't go to my church, "callings" are like jobs in church you are asked to do. You don't get paid (not even the Bishop (kinda like a pastor)).  It's sort of a volunteer thing, except that they pick you. Of course, you can accept or not.).  I am currently sort of "Publicity" for Relief Society (women's organization). I make all the posters for our activities. Also, now I am making the birthday cards for all the women.  The presidency writes them, I decorate the front.  With quilling.  Because I love quilling. :OD

Next big news, BoyKid is AUDITIONING FOR DIVINE COMEDY!  Not Dante's. BYU's.  They are seriou

sly hilarious.  I love their shows. I love their songs!  Firebolt. Single Ladies.  FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY. I think my very funny little brother is a SHOE IN.  The audition is free to watch, Thursday 8-10 at TNRB (Turner Building? Maybe?) 151.  WOOT!!!


Aaaaaaand a few hours later, I finally put on my big girl panties and left the d**n HOUSE.  Headache or not, I went with the family to Pirates 4.  It was fun. Not great, but pretty cool.  Then I bawled the whole way home about how much of a suckfest my life is with this headache.  I just... ugh.

butterflies and books

Thank you, Pinterest.

But it doesn't make the decision to switch from vet tech to ASL easy.  However, my family is very happy with the idea.  My recent plan, well, we can't afford it.  Hence trying to find SOME help for paying with it.  But becoming even more buried in debt is NOT a way to start to become more responsible. 

So I just finished an amazing book. Hattie Big Sky.  I felt so sad when it ended, just because it was ENDING!  I wanted it to continue. I wanted more chapters. I wanted a sequel.  I got neither.  But I will read it again.  I recommend it, strongly. It is a beautiful book.  

I love to read.  I am almost always reading 3 or 4 books at once, as any who are friends with me on Goodreads can attest.  I am reading something in the bathroom, listening to an audiobook in bed, reading something in my purse, and reading the scriptures (either the Bible or the Book of Mormon) when I am being good. I admit that reading scriptures is something I SHOULD do, whereas a good novel, is like something I NEED for myself.

"Books have to be heavy because the whole world's inside them" - Cornelia Funke

SIGH.  I. Love. Books.

But I do like movies, too.  And right now I am watching Rio with Mom.  It's cute.  And it is about exotic pets, so I will probably review it for my column.  And maybe not surprisingly it makes me miss my roomie, Lark, and her parrots Buddy and McKenzie and the parakeets, Thomas and Critter,too. (She also has canaries, Igor and Celestra, but I wasn't that attatched to them. I am not a bird person, per say.).


But maybe a LITTLE surprisingly, it is also making me think about the BrazilianVampire. Rio recreates some pretty realistic, and beautiful, Brazilian landscapes. And Carnival may beEd still writes me all the time.  I write to him only occasionally.  Because I don't need to complication. Ed likes me. And, unlike other distant boys, he actually plans to move HERE.  However, he's also really wrong for me.  He also will never hold as big a piece of my brutally chopped up heart as MyNigerian, despite the fact that I believe Ola really does need to go back to Nigeria and create amazing social change and be a pioneer for the church... even though it means the end of US.  I admit occasionally, even though I really love Ola, and think there is a chance that I may not ever meet someone else... I sometimes let Ed flirt with me for my d**n self-esteem. Dangerous? Not too. Dumb? Yes. Painful? A little.  


I need to get a life. I need to get a boyfriend. One that lives in the freaking country.


No, I am not really that girl.  I have a LOT of things in my life right now (school, animals, family, work) I don't even know that I have TIME for a boy. But it would be nice.

Speaking of animals (I did! Remember, my last parenthetical comment?!), my USDA papers got REJECTED for Critters 2 Go.  I don't know why.  They lady said she would go over them and help me RE-apply (Oh the red tape!!!) once I get back the papers.  I get them back, with a letter, and call her for further explanation. SIGH.  And I WILL apply again.  I want to do Critters. I want to be SUCCESSFUL at it.  I have PLANS for it. New plans for the website, like a kids' section with games and activities and a Cockroach Club with info about Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches for those that buy them from me.  I have other animals, too, like if my mantis egg sack would ever hatch.  I plan to release most of them but keep a pair or so. I love mantids.  Of course, my dream is an Orchid Mantis, but the Chinese Mantises we have around here (that I can therefore hatch and release will be fun, too.

You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important!

Whoa. Ummm... I am not sure about this new Blogger format.  It is so... arctic and sparse.  I don't know what to think about it.  Guess I will see what happens as I write this, add pictures, etc.  See how it all works.

So, this whole deciding what to do thing, has me with a serious case of deja vu. I mean seriously, look at this.

Same quandary FOUR YEARS LATER.  THAT is screwed up.  What is WRONG with me that I am still in this spiral?!
NO BUENO!

So, on Saturday, I participated in a fun SCNAVTA activity (my last?). The Dog Wash.  I wrote about it in my column.  You guys ARE reading my column, aren't you?  Because I get PAID for that... this one is just for kicks and giggles... and self-therapy.  I didn't actually wash dogs.  My arm wasn't cooperating like that.  But I did get them all signed up, so I got to meet them all which was very fun.  We made almost 600 bucks for Jim Dix's reptile rescue!  Awesome.

Also, today was one of the best story times ever.  It was Six Crows and it was a great story but the turn out was good and I got so many compliments about the story, but also just the PROGRAM in general.  It was just really good.  Everyone is just loving the way the program is running, and that means a lot since I am in charge of it.

THEN my sister/boss surprised us all with an "end of summer staff party"... seeing The Help in the theater, complete with large drinks and humungous popcorns (that I am paying for now. UGH.).  It was so good.  I was not surprised.  The book was excellent, but you never know, Hollywood often butchers good books.  But this one was great.  I highly recommend it. 

CHANGE IN PLANS MUST

Things are going to be CHANGE. But more about that later.  Right now, I am writing my Tales for Tots curriculum for work.  On the schedule for September are... 

Tuesday September 6^th

How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Wednesday September 7^th

Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino

Tuesday September 13^th

Zack’s Alligator Goes to School by Shirley Mozelle

Wednesday September 14^th

Invasion of the Grumpies by Thal Dixon

Tuesday September 20^th

The Three Little Dinosaurs by Jim Harris

Wednesday September 21^st

Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Land Crab Cakes Later) by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard

Tuesday September 27^th

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Wednesday September 28^th

What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Ann Schwartz

I am most excited for Zack's Alligator because we will make cute alligator magnets out of clothespins and What Makes a Rainbow? because we are doing MAGIC MILK!  I love magic milk!

Have you ever done it?

Magic Milk

Materials needed:

Whole Milk
Plastic Take-Out containers or Deep Plastic dinner plates
Food coloring
Dawn Dish Soap
Q-Tips

With just a touch of your little Q-Tip Wand, you can make EXPLOSIONS of color!

1. Pour enough milk in the dinner plate to completely cover the bottom and allow it to settle.

2. Add one drop of each of the four colors of food coloring - red, yellow, blue, and green - to the milk. Keep the drops close together in the center of the plate of milk.

3. Find a clean cotton swab for the next part of the experiment. Predict what will happen when you touch the tip of the cotton swab to the center of the milk. It's important not to stir the mix just touch it with the tip of the cotton swab.

4. Place a drop of liquid dish soap (the Dawn brand works well) on the tip of the cotton swab. Place the soapy end of the cotton swab back in the middle of the milk and hold it there for 10 to 15 seconds. Look at that burst of color! It's like the 4th of July in a bowl of milk: mini-explosions of color.

5. Add another drop of soap to the tip to the cotton swab and try it again. Experiment with placing the cotton swab at different places in the milk. Notice that the colors in the milk continue to move even when the cotton swab is removed. What makes the food coloring in the milk move?

How does it work?

Milk is mostly water but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution. Fats and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding solution (the milk).

When you add soap, the weak chemical bonds that hold the proteins in solution are altered. It's a free for all! The molecules of protein and fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions. The food color molecules are bumped and shoved everywhere, providing an easy way to observe all the invisible activity. At the same time, soap molecules combine to form a micelle, or cluster of soap molecules. These micelles distribute the fat in the milk.

This rapidly mixing fat and soap causes swirling and churning where a micelle meets a fat droplet. When there are micelles and fat droplets everywhere the motion stops, but not until after you've enjoyed the show!

There's another reason the colors explode the way they do. Since milk is mostly water, it has surface tension like water. The drops of food coloring floating on the surface tend to stay put. Liquid soap wrecks the surface tension by breaking the cohesive bonds between water molecules and allowing the colors to zing throughout the milk. What a party!

Repeat the experiment using water in place of milk. Will you get the same eruption of color? Why or why not? What kind of milk produces the best swirling of color: skim, 1%, 2%, or whole milk? Why?

Additional Info

Detergent, because of its bipolar characteristics (hydrophilic on one end and hydrophobic on the other), weakens the milk's bonds by attaching to its fat molecules. The detergent's hydrophilic end dissolves in water and its water-fearing end attaches to a fat globule in the milk.

So, ANYWAYS, things, they are a-changin'. Not just at work. Today I had 2 appointments.  One with Larry the Cucumber at Vocational Rehabilitation and the other with my therapist, Jan Levenson-Gould. My first was Larry the Cucumber.  Very nice, but blunt and informed, man. 

We talked about the job market, how much I could expect to make vs. how much I had taken out in student loans.  I was hoping VR could help PAY for school... apparently they can't help much at expensive private schools like Broadview.  If I was going to a state school they might be able to, like, cover the books that the Pell grant didn't.  And so we talked about that...

Not just because of the money, though.  Because my arm/spine thing, is hurting still and not healing yet.  And vet tech is a really physical major. A really physical CAREER.  And I am the kind of klutzy person who GETS HURT.


So, I might love animals, but maybe it is a bad move for me to be a vet tech.  


And the money is an issue.  Not just the school cost, but the fact that Vet Techs make around 25,000 a year... where as ASL Interpreters are, on average $38,850... but can be much much more.  As in, like $40 an hour. (I currently am at the top of my game at Thanksgiving Point at 8).  If I were to go back to ASL and Deaf Studies (which is what I was majoring in at UVU (then UVSC) back before the headaches began), become a 'terp, well, maybe I would have money to pay for a home of my own, have the pets I want, maybe do some rescuing.

Not to mention even if the economy gets even worse, there is a chance vet tech jobs will be even harder to come by... whereas social programs that need interpreters will still be needed.

The other thing is the education itself.  With the Vet Tech program I get a Vet Tech degree.  Which is good ONLY if I really become a vet tech. It's not a bachelor's degree.  But I CAN get a bachelor's degree in ASL and Deaf Studies.  A bachelor's I can do something else with, if I choose not to be an interpreter... a bachelor's I can continue with to get my Master's of Library Sciences so that IF a Children's Librarian job (ie: dream job) ever opened up, I could actually get it.  If it never did, I'd still have ASL.

So, in the next 2 weeks (because that's the date for UVU) I need to decide for sure, but I think I am going to change.  Change Majors... majorly.  Change majors, change schools, change plans, change identities... okay, so not that last one. ;)

BIIIIG Changes.  Kind of freaking terrified?