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*

Thanksgiving and the Boob Blanket

BoyKid and I went to UCMT for their 2 for 1 massage special. BoyKid has never gotten a massage before and sadly didn't love it. But mine was very helpful. A lot of good massage therapists come out of there, though... Thai, Ehu, apparently The Irish, too, who we saw after. She ran up to me and hugged me and said "Why didn't you request me?!"
"I forgot you were going here! Sorry?"

Anyway, it was probably good for my sore muscles. Fibro is doing a number on me.

Also, BoyKid bought a blanket. He was all excited because it's the size of his room and, as the package says "extremely soft and supple." I told him I have never heard the word SUPPLE used in relation to anything but BOOBS. I said it was a Boob Blanket and he was mad at me, which was pretty funny. Yes siblings are awesome, I know. hee hee!


My FAMILY is awesome. I loved Thanksgiving. Even though I ate (not like turkey or anything, just "allowed" Gastroparesis things like the sweet potatoes and rolls) and therefore HURT a LOT, it was so much fun to see everyone. I love my cousins! Megs and Jake came, T-La and Lester and their little boys, Aunt Claire and Uncle Lynne, and Uncle Pat. Aunt Shy and her partner couldn't come this year as they were going to her family's house. But it was super fun.

OBSERVE!!!

Thanks!

This Year I am Thankful for...

Jack's little gecko smile

NCIS

my mom surviving her stroke

Muppets singing Bohemian Rapsody

my Blackberry and the awesomeness of checking email in line at Walmart

effective sleeping medicine

the blessings of taking the Sacrament

BoyKid

BoyKid's guitar and him to play it for me

my cute little tree frogs and long tailed grass lizard

reusable grocery bags

the idea to start Critters 2 Go

finding a nice wagon at DI

my aunts, uncles, cousins.... and those semi-relatives like ex-uncles and ex-aunts who are still part of things and aunt's lesbian partners and coiusins' awesome spouses, etc.

Brazilian Cheese Roll mix from Sunflower Markets

the distraction of boys even if they are only sort of "practice" relationships, since they are so far away... Brazil and Spain.

the chance to tend the puppy, Ratchet

Ratchet finding a real, forever home

my hilarious sugar gliders and their antics every night

being able to help educate people about gliders via Twitter

my Cali Cat coming back and being friends again even after betraying her by holding a puppy right in front of her!

SNL skit about Lawrence Welk

"Artctic Shatter" PowerAde

The Living Planet Aquarium

G2 Gel Pens

Nice Weather!

Holy Tea

Perry Mason

knowing how to raise my own mealworms so that the shortage did not affect my animals.

Visiting Teachers

audio books

a little motivation to work on my portfolio so that I would start drawing, painting, and doing other art again.

a room with a window

REXANO people

Sugar Glider People

Russian Tortoise People

Medicaid accepting me again

Friends who've known me for more than 5 years and are still friends

baby toys from Big Lots

my Job!

Axert

a New-to-me Computer

this day. :)

Colbert could kick Fresno's Butt

I learned from Stephen Colbert that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is "No Complaints Wednesday." So I thought I better post this TODAY as it IS a bit whiny. It's just a few things I WISH is all.

Like I wish I wasn't sick all the time and could go back to school full-time to be a vet tech. I think I would be good at it. But right now I couldn't even pass the CLASSES because I wouldn't attend half of them.

I wish that Fresno wasn't one of the biggest words down in that tag cloud of blog topics. I mean, seriously, why did I have to talk about him SO MUCH?! I talked about him even more than my sugar gliders? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? I rarely shut up about my suggies, as my family and friends will attest.

I wish I wasn't randomly losing control of my hands! They are spasming and not only is it WEIRD but it is DANG inconvenient while typing. I have to get into my neurologist ASAP about that one.

Feast with the Beasts (AND with the BEST[cousins]!)

Indeed.

This was a GREAT Thanksgiving. Thanks to the awesomeness of my Cousins, Animals, and the letter Y. Okay, not the letter Y.

For the past week I haven't even known for sure WHERE we were having Thanksgiving. It's been all "Oh, in Vegas with [Uncle J and Aunt J]" (Padre's favorite brother) one day then "We'll stay here and invite [Ostlparkwells] over here"(meaning Mom's favorite sister, Aunt Clare & Uncle Lynn/T-La & Les and their 3 adorable boys, Gabe, Caleb, and Elijah/Megs & Jakey/and probably Uncle-who's-not-really-our-Uncle Pat). So even though I kept pressing for REAL PLANS I got none, So I had to plan for either... like trying to get together a hotel workable travel cage for the suggies. And Nani was sick and on twice daily meds. Only weather seemed to be a major factor with Vegas. BUT having just moved to the new house, that seemed a stressful thing if we stayed. I just kept trying to get firm plans so I could KNOW where we were. And I kept trying to get a promise of if we are in Vegas, to go to the Secret Garden again to see the tigers and lions and dolphins and such. And if we DIDN'T go to Vegas to take everyone to the ZOO! Because I have been mounting a campaign to go to the zoo for a WHILE and zoos are more fun with people. Especially little people. But I really didn't know the plans for SURE till the day before and the AWESOME Ostleparkwells had us over THERE and PLUS ALSO I didn't know that it was a SPECIAL zoo day... Feast with the Beasts!

I am sorry to say, we missed some of it (Like the cool stuff on this video :O( )because of my stupidness in waking up. I really hate that about me A LOT. BUT we still got to see a lot of fun things. We saw the elephants squishing little (meaning NORMAL sized) pumpkins and eating them, black bears eating veggies out of turkey pinatas, the tiger completely snubbing a meat-filled pumpkin in true cattitude, etc. It was awesome! And the little boys had LOTS of cute comments. Because, well, they are cute.

We arrived at Hogle Zoo and picked up the schedule of the feeding. We started rushing down to the Black Bears which were being fed right then BUT got distracted by the fact that the elephants were smooshing pumpkins and eating them! It was so cute!

(Meggy and I later decided that Pumpkin would be a really great name FOR an elephant. We didn't know they liked them so much! But they seemed to really think they were delicious!)

Anyway, when we got to the Black Bears we realized a few things. First of all, that the "featured" animal being fed meant it was REALLY hard to get close and so it was hard for the kiddlets to see them and second of all, that the bears were NOT being fed turkey. Instead, they were being fed veggies and stuff in a Turkey-shaped pinata! The first part was disappointing, but the second part was funny. (The second part was disappointing to PADRE who kept saying they should feed the carnivores LIVE turkeys. Umm, yeah, like THAT wouldn't traumatize the children for life! YIKES!!! Besides, I think the bears (omnivores) seemed plenty impressed with their carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.)The whole time Caleb kept saying he wanted to see the "crocodiles and alligators." He told me they were his favorite animal. We THOUGHT they were in a certain exhibit that we kept passing so we were very glad to see a couple lazy little crocodiles in the reptile house. However, for all his excitement, apparently, Caleb was really SCARED of them. He kept asking us about the glass and touching it to be sure it was still THERE (thank you, Harry Potter.) He stared at them very bravely, though, for a LONG time. He also whispered, very seriously to me, "I think THAT crocodile is LOOKING AT ME."
"Are you sure, Caleb?"
He nodded, looking a little terrified.
"well, would you like to leave?"
"NO."
"Okay. We can keep watching them."
THEN, one of the crocs (the one NOT looking at him) actually moved. Caleb leaped back towards Megan pretty quickly. He DID go back up though... after checking the glass again since "that one came over closer to us!"

I think he was pretty proud of his bravery. So was I, and well, it was pretty dang cute.

One of our favorite animals was the Tiger. Part of the reason Megs and *I* loved it so much was because of how sad the old "cat house" used to make us when the Tiger would just pace around inside looking miserable and how much happier he looks now. Also he is just a BEAUTIFUL animal. I love that cat!!!!

We was just so... chill. Like, oh, no problem that you are all watching me... I think I will just siddle up to the glass and take a nice COOOOOOL bath. Ahhh.





Awesome awesome awesome.

Aaaand... Rinny randomly started dancing by the carousel while the boys had a potty break. And so did Padre. Scary.


ANYWAY, moving on...

The Ape House was hilarious. The little boys AND the apes were both adorable. There was a Gorilla, I think it was, and he had a blanket over it's head like it was sulking or something. Little Eli goes, "I think he's saying 'I'm in time out.'" We cracked up, but so did random strangers who passed the quote around and just cooed over his cuteness.

And then we watched Acara the UBER DARLING baby orangutan show off like crazy. She stood on a bucket, put hay IN a bucket, did somersaults, made faces... everything RIGHT in front of us, like LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME! I AM SOOOO CUTE! (She is right. She IS.)

*sigh* I SOOO love apes.

I also loved when the drinking fountain didn't work, but still got THIS expectant face.

And when we rode the Zoofari Express and Gabe wore a conductor hat.

And when Eli thought he was Hercules pushing that ball in the water.
The zoo was just a really fun time all around. I already want to go back. BUT by this time we were all really ready for T-La's EXTRORDINARY sweet potatoes. (and, for some reason, Mac&Cheese?) so we left and played the funniest game of "Eye Spy" I have ever heard in my LIFE. Adults included.

"..do YOU know what it is anymore, Caleb?" "Umm... I'll go again."

"..something Goldenrod..."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!

Pieces of Eight

Pilfered from T-La

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch
1. The Office
2. Heroes
3. Chuck
4. NCIS
5. Perry Mason
6. Gilmore Girls
7. It's Me or the Dog
8. Bones


8 Things that Happened Yesterday
1. Went to the Doctor *sigh*
2. Texted back and forth with a "Koda Bear" who has been doing so off and on, like, a year, and he asked me OUT. I said maybe sometime. But I probably won't. Because he is kinda weird. I've never met him. It is WEIRDER, somehow, than online. Texting some stanger out of the blue. SERIOUSLY. Who does that?!
3. Went to the pool and swam a bit
4. Watched Chuck and Heroes.
5. Felt like CRAP.
6. Started drinking the barium "smoothie" (vile stuff!) for today's CT scan of my stomach.
7. Tried very hard not to throw up said "smoothie."
8. Prayed a lot for a lot of people. <:O( See Wishlist, I guess.


8 Favorite Places to Eat
1. China Bowl (BEST. Egg Drop Soup. Ever. Even if she is the Soup Nazi of Chinese Restaurants. "Yeah, can we get Lemon Chicken Dinner to go?" "NO. You had that too many time. You have something different today. You have Coconut Shrimp. You like." "Oh thanks, that sounds good, but..." " NO LEMON CHICKEN. You Have Shrimp! You like! Very good!")
2. Macaroni Grill (Shrimp and Pine Nut Portofino, hold the mushrooms, please!.... mmmmm.... and the BREAD.)
3. Betos
4. Skipper's (too bad it's GONE!)
5. that Brazilian place on State Street that has the cheese rolls sold seperatley. Mmmm... I want some NOW.
6. Cafe Rio (Pork Salad!)
7. Target (Yes, THAT Target. They have Sushi.)
8. Cold stone. I like to eat at coldstone. Does having ice cream for dinner count? <---YES. It Counts, because ME TOO!!!


8 Things I Am Looking Forward To
1. The 2nd Coming
2. being healthy and DONE with all doctors, tests and meds.
3. the Holidays
4. Ooh, one of those cookies my mom is making for someone else. Hmmm...
5. taking a bath
6. The next Heroes (yes, I AM that big of a geek)
7. My Baby Bro Spencer coming home from his mission
8. Thanksgiving Dinner (with the Ostleparkwells... or some Tigers. If we are home we are definitely having it with T-La and Megs and their Fam. But we MAY be in Vegas. If that is the case I am pushing to go back to the Secret Garden. I swear, am packing a lunch and staying the WHOLE DAY in there. I love those cats.)


8 Things on My Wish List
1. For an online friend of mine who once was looking into the LDS Church to do so again and feel the truth of the gospel and mostly how it could HELP his life.
2. That those who are so full of HATRED about Proposition 8 in California could just... CHILL and have softer hearts. Disagreeing is one thing. For me it was hard to stand behind Prop 8 100% because I have friends and FAMILY who I love dearly that struggle with SSA. I knew this would hurt them. BUT I know that the leaders of the church SPEAK FOR THE LORD. And for whatever reason, they have asked us to take a stand on this cause. And, honestly, if it's causing THIS MUCH of a fight... mobs attacking temples and stuff, then, it must be super important.
But I just wish the contention would STOP. Why is it ANGER and screaming and picketing? I just think of sadness...
3. My home was clean and organized...
4. And that I was LIVING there. :OP
5. I wish could get healthy. Get a healthy weight so my dumb diabetes under control. Especially now, because, oh, my doctor thinks I may SORT OF have TYPE ONE Diabetes as well as Type 2. Like little kid Diabetes. Just not really bad. How crazy is that? Anyway, losing 100 lbs would be REALLY great.
6. a Ferret. He is adorable and I love him. He is silver and white, and follows me around the cage in Petco, and snuggles with me. But I can't have him. But this is a WISH list dang it all!
7. Hey, while I am wishing for things I can't have, how about a funny, cute boy that likes me and DOESN'T live far away, etc.?
8. Money. Or at least a job that I like that gives me more of it. *sigh*


8 People I Tag
Umm... you... eight.

Things I Am Grateful For...

50 Thanks for this special Thursday!

1. My Mom

2. cold packs

3. bathtubs deep enough to cover your whole self and a tall cup of ice water to drink

4. uncooked tortillas

5. Father's priesthood blessings

6. swimming

7. Heroes... yes, the TV show

8. Fat-Free Brownies

9. warm, fluffy bathrobes

10. meds that WORK

11. working for my sister so I'm not fired yet

12. SoftLips

13. Supportive friends, online and RL, too

14. Gaia

15. Insurance when it actually covers something

16. Cousins!

17. Cynthia getting to twirl her baton in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

18. VCRs so I don't actually have to wake up and WATCH the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the off chance we can see Leslie when the American Fork band goes by twirling her flag

19. heating pads

20. nice nurses who are REALLY good at finding veins

21. Paul the Apostle

22. Non-LDS friends who stand up for the LDS church when they hear lies about it

23. Hilarious letters from BoyKid

24. cute boys that are marginally distracting

25. our cherry tomatoes still popping out red all over despite the rather frigid weather

26. FINISHED laundry

27. good, comfortable chairs

28. Bishops and counselors who listen

29. hot, comforting, egg-drop soup with cabbage

30. pumpkin seeds

31. sugar gliders that forgive me even when I don't play as often as I should, and still let me cuddle their soft fur

32. Shasta that welcomes me home, waging and barking

33. Perry Mason, when I can still find it

34. pumpkin, the wonder food for ALL living things!

35. Bratanik, the Tortoise, getting healthier and more adjusted to his new situation

36. good sugar-free gum

37. General Conference talks

38. pancakes

39. cell phones that carry a charge longer than a day

40. my Wonder Woman journal

41. safe little heaters in my house

42. non-idiot doctors

43. parties with LinkUp friends

44. fascinating photography and art

45. Missions and missionaries who know why they are REALLY out there

46.Hope, when it's there.

47. the END of day light savings time

48. the Russian Tortoise group on Yahoo

49. good dreams

50. You.

Things I am not Grateful For...

Yeah, I know. I am a jerk. But hurting everyday and feeling like I am being pushed into becoming a drug addict is just pissing me off.

I still hurt everyday and nobody can see a reason why.
I am scheduled for a colonoscopy next week.
Dr. ScrewIt told me he doesn't see any reason why I should hurt and that I should just "walk it off," "push through the pain," "play broken," and about 19,000 other sports metaphors until I "lose ONE HUNDRED POUNDS" and hopefully "that should take care of it."

Oh. Well, is THAT all. Just lose 100 lbs, WHILE having debilitating, unexplained pain no less, and maybe it might not hurt. Be a druggie a year or so. No biggie. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT?!

He is not nearly as cute as before.

And I am still hurting just as bad and still have little to no hope.

O Tanning-Balm O Tanning-Balm...

Today (as in Saturday... I know, technically, it is Sunday now) was actually pretty good! The weather was PRETTY and I decided that tomorrow (technically today) I will put up Christmas lights on the outside not just on our Charlie Brown Tree. No, WORSE than a Charlie Brown Tree because at least that one had an excuse. At least it was REAL. mine is FAKE and 24 inches tall... but it is MY TREE DAMN IT ALL!!! And I WILL have a tree no matter my situation. That is why I bought it a few years ago. It is pathetic. But it is PERMANENT. Also, with us not being AROUND this Christmas, I may not get a real tree but I will have just a fraction of that tradition here at my own little "Ark."

Our Tree at home has the weirdest ornaments. There are these hideous 70's ones from when my parents were first married, a gingerbread clay "Christmas Frog" that BoyKid made in kindergarten that looks like (I am not exaggerating) a pile of dog poop with a paper clip in the top, fancy ornaments friends have given us as gifts, Popsicles stick frames around pictures I made in 2nd grade... our tree is NOT the prettiest, but I love it and it means Christmas to me more than anything else because it means memories and family.

My little wannabe tree only has about 25 ornaments total, but it is the same sort of thing. There are 3 or 4 people gave me on the mission, a couple I have made, a few cheap ones I bought with roommates ate various apartments. It's not quite the same, but it's colorful and fun and it makes me happy to sit and stare at it. I even put my 4 or 5 Christmas books under it. (At home before there were gifts, there were the books. Any Christmas books were out and under the tree so we could climb under there and read one. I loved that and it totally works with my view of books (And I am so putting up that SinFest Comic, later Steph, but NOT on this post.))

Anyway, I just got a little Nostalgic there. Hee hee hee hee!

SO, the other reason today was good was I went to ShaBang's Waffle, Christmas Stories, and Pajama Party. Okay, so that is what I called it when I told Fresno about it and he was teasing me. "So what are you going to do? Are you allowed to do anything NOT in the title?"

Later I asked him about his Work Christmas party. He called it his "Walk Around Talking to People Normal and Wearing Normal Clothes Drinking Punch Party."





Punk.



I *SO* Like Him.

He wants to see me NEW YEARS. Hello, he JUST saw me Thanksgiving, but yeah, he wants to make ANOTHER trip and well, if he is okay with it, *I* sure am... SIGH! Actually we may play in Vegas. I know, Sin City... but we promise not to Sin... or City. I am so loopy. Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!



ANYWAY, sorry I am easily distracted.

The party was fun. People brought kids which always makes things funnier. We told Christmas stories and it was just funny because most people told them out of picture books, with us all sitting around in a circle on the floor in jammies... and yet they ONLY ones actually sitting and listening to the stories are us supposed grown ups and the kids are all over the place but NONE of them are anywhere near the stories. hee hee hee! (By the way, I have heard Wings That Work before and this just renewed the fact I need to own that book!) However, eventually my head told me to go home. Not my BRAIN, I mean my actual head which did it's hurting dizzying thing hard core. Still, I am glad I went. It was good to see so many awesome friends from LinkUp. (Pssst... a few (though not all) are listed to your LEFT there with Blogs of their OWN! (btw, if you HAVE a blog and read me there is a good chance I either DO or SHOULD BE reading YOURS, so if you aren't listed at left, let me know. Because, you know, I need people to know my equally interesting friends have equally interesting blogs!)

So after I left and went home I remembered I was going to find something for someone, but couldn't in the dark and then a cop was following me and although I assure you I was doing nothing nefarious it DID look really suspicious so I decided I better go home for real and turned onto other brighter streets till the cop decided I probably was going home and went home. Actually I went all the way HOME-Home, to my Padres. That got me thinking about the Tree. And there ya go. But now I will take more meds and pass out awhile and hopefully have better dreams than last night because last night I had nightmares.

The End and to all a Good Night!

Centeni-post and I'm in Deep Smit!

So it is my 100th post! And I have a ton to tell! But I don't want to type it all!

And I can't! Stop! Using! Exclamation! Points!!!!!

So, Friday it was late afternoon when Fresno arrived at the door of my parents' house and I was SOOOOOO nervous!!! He came in and he was really tired from driving so we just talked for awhile in the living room. It felt comfortable and normal pretty dang quick though, for having never met. Then I took him out to Thanksgiving Point and talked to turkeys and goats and froze our fingers off. Poor Californian. I probably gave him frost bite.

Anyway, then we went inside to the Dinosaur museum which was funner and warmer. (Yes, I know my idea of a date may sound like a field trip.) I love the dinosaur museum, especially THIS one. I love all of the kids' hands-on displays. And we had tons of fun. Then we realized if we did not hurry and leave half way through we would be late to Steph's semi-impromptu Bunny House Not At The Bunny House Party! So we rushed through the rest of the museum with plans to probably come back, hopped in the Jeep and headed north.

However, THAT was scary because I got sick and had to stop somewhere for a bathroom, and stopped at a Carl's Jr. Well, I was in there awhile and this MAN opens the door to the Women's restroom and I guess I THOUGHT he said "are you okay in there?" because I was sick but now I don't think he did, I don't know WHAT he started to say, but then he said "come out here and sit with me."
"Uhh, I'm fine. No thanks." [from inside a STALL feeling fully creeped out!!]
" Come out and have something with me. Let me buy something for you."
"No. No thank you."
"I'll be waiting out here."
"No."
"I'll be waiting."
"No."
Ummm... yeah. not a conversation you want to HAVE on the toilet. And when I came out, there he was some freeky creepy bald dude by the window as soon as I came out and said "you, come sit here by me."
"No."
"Are you alone?"
"No, I have someone in the car! And I have to go. Now."
"Come sit by my for a minute."
Yeah, I booked it out of there and jumped in the car and told Fresno "See that guy in the window?! HE IS CREEPY!!!" (I also pointed to Fresno as I drove by the window because Creepy WouldBe KidnapperMan totally was WATCHING and even though I would probably have said I wasn't alone even if I was it was nice to be RIGHT and I wanted to sort of rub it in scary mans face. Because Fresno could have TOTALLY taken him. hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!

I was creeped out.
Felt almost kidnapped.
But dang it all, I am a girl with a CUTE GUY, so TAKE THAT!!!

Anyway THEN we went back to the Trax station to meet Steph and Janessa so she could drive to Alicia's house for Pizza. We played pool (badly) were entertained by Scooter and Alicia's (respective) kiddlets, and just hung out etc. Unfortunately, at this point, Fresno was practically dead. He was exhausted from not sleeping and then driving all day, and was hungry because he didn't think he wanted anything for lunch when he got to the house, and regretted it. He was NOT impressed with Scooter, however, because he has BIG issues with what he took as disrespect to women (and also because he was tired, didn't know the group well, and was misunderstanding the dynamic a little, but I still saw where he was coming from).

But yeah, he was falling asleep at the party, (NOT the party's fault, like I said) though I think he would have been happy to play with Scooter's little boy the WHOLE TIME, he just kept gushing about him the whole ride home (Fresno really wants babies).

So when we got home he pretty much crawled to bed in a coma and I went home. I told him to call me when he woke up and I'd come over asap.
(Then I told my mom to call me and wake me up so I could be awake and cute WHEN he called before. Hee hee hee!)

So this morning I went over to the Padres and had breakfast with Fresno before we checked out Cabela's because people kept saying "you should take him to Cabela's! That store is amazing!" And yes the store ended up being GIANORMOUS! But you know what was the coolest? He was so NOT impressed by all the dead things! I love NON-Hunters!!!!!!! SIGH! He's not a vegetarian, but totally agrees with my view on hunting for sport. So that was nice. Though we did have fun playing with puppets, making jokes about the camouflage dressed baby dolls, etc.

Then we went back to the padres because the family was having a huge football party to celebrate the big BYU vs. U of U football game. Now, I am not actually all that interested it normally but 1) there is a party involved 2) Richard LOVES Football 3) it is a big rivalry game 4) the game was SUPER DUPER intense!!!! 5) I was sitting with Richard's arm around my shoulders.

Okay, actually, the FIRST part we go downstairs to the party and there are all of these random cousins and stuff! Okay, I was not THINKING about that, and so now Fresno is ALL over the family gossip. Second of all my dad like SEATED us.... as in WAY separately. It was way funny. And then we made face at each other from behind my dad's head. But then some cousins moved finally and Fresno came over and we sat together. But the game was stressful and fun and then "we" one and we all were cheering and screaming and hugging it was just good.

Fresno was "supposed" to leave at 4, but stayed till after the game. And yeah... we DID kiss. And I really need to somehow get better at it, with out, you know, practicing on other people besides Fresno. ;O) Hee hee hee hee! Because I am a really bad kisser. But in my defense, I have only kissed one other boy prior to Fresno... and that was once, like ONE kiss... which I didn't kiss back. So really, Fresno was sort of the first boy *I* attempted to kiss BACK. SIGH.

But he left now. He drove away. But he said he WOULD come back! And maybe move here! And he still likes me! A lot! The exclamations are back!

I! So! Like! Fresno!

Leftovers

The highlights because I SHOULD go to bed posthaste.

T-La's boys were adorable and funny and worship Spencer...

Mom made Cranberry stuff for the first time ever and it was yummy, actually...

Spencer has learned a song on the guitar...

Rinny ate mashed potatoes...

Jake and Megs are awesomley awesome...

The chocolate silk pie may KILL me but may be WORTH IT...

T-La seemed to feel it necessary to announce at least 5 times that she was done having children... after which dad, oblivious, totally asked if she would have 2 more by the time Spencer got home from Italy so THAT was secretly very amusing...

Megan and I talked about how we DON'T intend to talk about our (respective) reproduction with our families at Thanksgiving (hee hee hee hee!)...

We watched Cars and Over the Hedge...

Gabe made Jello all by himself and announced it in a low voice (because when you do grown up things you talk lower, apparently)...

Uncle Pat (not our real Uncle) and Uncle Lynn (our real Uncle) talked about movies and the war (not this one... Vietnam, mostly)...

I told Megs all about Fresno and told Jake PART of it but he was half asleep on the couch, being a bot and so only listened and made inappropriate comments to make us laugh then went back to sleep. Blame the trypophan...

it was a good Thanksgiving.

:O)


Now. If I can manage not to be nervous... and to SLEEP... and hope Fresno has fun tomorrow here. I just don't want to be boring... or too nervous... or... anything negative. I want it to be fun and funny...

and perfect. But you can't really bet on that.

Thanks-a-Giving!

I should give thanks ALL the time I am blessed as can be, but now is the season for it, so here you go!

I am truly grateful for...

1. The time I spend talking with my mom during Water Aerobics.
2. Steroid injections finally working for my 8 week headache!!!
3. Spencer's mission call to Milan, Italy.
4. Kind and ADORABLE flirting from Fresno, pretty much the CUTEST boy who has EVER liked me mutually!
5. Kettle Corn
6. The "COBRA" plan of keeping insurance I got through MyFamily.com that has probably kept me ALIVE this year. OH MY HECK. What a BLESSING!
7. Friends like Steph who is willing to listen to me whether I am babbling about boys or whatever... the mark of a true best friend. What would I do with out her on the other end of my IM?!
8. More peace in my mom's family with my grandma's passing, even after some trauma and drama my aunts and uncles are learning to talk to each other about it like grown ups.
9. Indoor Swimming Pools.
10. My BABIES! As in the Suggies. Seriously, they are my life. Have you seen how darling they are?
11. Entertainment that is actually FUNNY... ie: The Office.
12. Weight loss, though rare, is always fun. Especially when it STICKS. Yeah.
13. Having a good roomie. It's just nice not to worry about stuff.
14. The dogs. Yes, they are my roomie's. But they live here, too and I love these pups so much. They have hilarious personalities and they just crack me up. And of course, in addition to the dogs, the birds, my turtle, the gerbil, and the fish. I love having animals around me.
15. The number 7.
16. SoftLips.
17. FlyLady. I am TRYING. She is helping.
18. The gospel of Jesus Christ. Especially the basics. The parts that when the other stuff gets hard and I get shaky I can fall back on and start climbing back up again. Because I know Heavenly Father loves me... and so does his Son, Jesus Christ. Just remembering that, and keep on working toward them... following them. And following those that follow them better than me, because frankly, I am surrounded by fantastic examples.
19. Good DVDs that I can pop in while I am doing other stuff because I hate doing one thing at a time and... yeah. YAY for fun movies!
20. My parents supporting me financially through this really frustrating time of no work and no school since this health thing. With out them... well, I'd be really REALLY screwed. Because my savings is already almost gone ANYWAY even WITH help. (Hope nobody is counting on Christmas gifts!)
21. Clear-ish skin. It's true. I just don't really get zits much.
22. Tater tots and fry sauce. Yes, I know. I am such a Utahn.
23. Thick wheat bread for toasted cheese sandwiches
24. The Power of Preisthood Blessings, especially the direction given in Patriarchal Blessings.
25. Cranberry sauce.
26. Freedom and the United States of America!
27. Playing pool with the little cousins.
28. Jake's perfect devotion to Megs despite all odds, and the odds are often many! But HE is an awesome guy.
29. Megan being happy! Megan and her laugh! Megan and our countless private jokes.
30. Skittles... literally, but MOSTLY, figuratively. THE FRINGE WILL REAR AGAIN!!!!
31. Blogs of the most random people that are just fun to read!!!
32. CHOCOLATE.
33. British slang.
34. T-La the super mommy.
35. Also, Les, the super dad... and whatever genetic recipe gave the world THOSE 3 BOYS!!!!
36. Geeks!
37. My mission in Texas and the experiences there. Even the bad ones. I learned stuff. If nothing else, to LAUGH!!! If you don't laugh you cry. So very VERY VERY true.
38. BOOKS. Good literature.... reading... the BEST. I am such the hopeless bibliophile. I admit it. I helpless to resist a good Once Upon a Time....
39. Sugar-Free drinks that don't taste like it.
40. The IDEA of upside-down kisses from Spiderman. Are they really that great? Probably not. But come on now... Hmmmmm.... CURSE YOU TV, FOR PLAYING SPIDERMAN RIGHT NOW!!! Sigh. I LOVE this movie.
41. Well-trained and well-performed massage.
42. I am so grateful that I am not FORCED to watch ANY of these new holiday movies coming up. HOLY STUPID!
43. A working (most of the time) car. Even if my Jeep is pretty busted, it GOES.
44. History.
45. My hair growing back after Alopecia (this time, at least *knock on wood*)
46. Pumpkin ________ (Seeds, Pancakes, Rolls, Cookies, etc.)
47. A house full of house plants.
48. Brave men and women who join the armed forces, especially those in my family.
49. Scriptures.
50. Talented music people. Not ME, but people that ARE.
51. Cute boys.
52. My cell phone, especially text messaging.

(I really planned on being grateful for, like, 100 things. But I am tired of typing... and it is turning into the day AFTER Thanksgiving. So, I will just say:

ETCETERA

NEWS FLASH PART "DUE"

Little Elder Spencer will be preaching the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ in...

the Italy Milan Mission!
















And by the way, I looked it up, DUE is 2 in Italian. (Buon gusto means ENJOY) Anyway, YEAH! YAY for my little brother! COOL MISSION! He doesn't leave till MARCH, which seems forever away till him, really soon to my mom who is bawling all the time, and not soon enough to my Dad who seems convinced something will go wrong in that time. Hee hee! OH, and the padres have already decided we will take a family trip to PICK HIM UP! Granted that will be it 2009 and a wee bit ahead of ourselves to plan, but still, hey, ITALY!!!

I am proud of my little brother, really. He has lived an exemplary life that got him to this point and he is just AWESOME. I love that kid! And Milan?! THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is a pretty dang cool mission.




Diabetically? Today was BAD BAD BAD BAD. As in I was JUST checking my levels and I was not even a number. My meter just said "Hi" which unfortunately means not "hello, I am such a friendly blood glucose meter!" :O) but rather number too HIGH to record as in over 500. Yeah. GRAND. So not feeling so great.

But I am still excited for Thanksgiving with the family...

and maybe even more so the day after with Fresno and friends! Mmmmm-Hmmmm... SIGH. I am so pathetic. But like I have said about a bazillion times he is just... sigh... yeah. Heart-melty or something. I don't know, I have yet to find an adequate set of adjectives for Fresno. Working on it.

Now if we can just manage not to break each others' hearts this weekend...

this is going to be a long GIRLY week!

My computer hates me tonight. With no warning the screen went blank and GREEN! Twice now! WHAT THE?!

So I am not too fond of it, either! GRRRRRR! I wish I knew computers.
SIGH.

Anyway, I admit my mind is elsewhere anyway. (3 guesses where)
Due to some rescheduling Fresno is NOT coming to Thanksgiving... BUT he is coming the NEXT day and may stay Saturday too! So it's all good! (In fact got in a semi-argument with my mom about a HYPOTHETICAL relationship having an imaginary crisis which was both funny and irritating and we ended up being annoyed at each other yet laughing. But that is neither here nor there) ANYWAY, yeah, so he is coming to play Friday! And maybe staying Saturday! YAY! I am excited... AND NERVOUS.

And where *was* Willy Wonka in all this?!

Yesterday was a good-ish day, just long. And I am a bit preoccupied. But anyway, I just thought I would tell you because of my little Sister's work me and mom got to go with her to a CHOCOLATE EXPO!!! FOR REAL, she had to do research and we got to help! By help, it meant take a few pictures and eat samples. So that was cool. But mostly we just got to go because she got to. Now, the samples were YUUUUMMY but I was disappointed with the lack of everything being edible... and Oompa-Loompas... and stuff like that. And it just wasn't quite as fun to GO to booths touting the best chocolate as a Diabetic (not that I didn't do a fair amount of of delicious cheating.)

Anyway, that was the Chocolate Show. Then I had Physical Therapy. You know how people always talk about how impersonal medical care has become? Not mine. Mine has become WAY too personal. I have been fighting with doctors who have let their personal biases interfere with even looking at what MIGHT be wrong with me. Then I have a jerk of a Orthopedic Specialist, Dr. BreakfastMeat who refuses to try to help so I get another one who does help. So my PT who is AWESOME refers me to another one who DOES listen and gets me a program but recommends a different center than my PT works at... and so now the Awesome PT is totally offended.

EVERYBODY STOP TAKING THINGS SO PERSONAL! I JUST WANT TO STOP HURTING!!! (You know... like my HEAD?! It has nothing to do with my desire to insult various doctor egos?! qwrnihtnpqewv5g2tvmnt5 lp!!!!!!!!!)

So that part of the day was less than stellar.

Other than that... oh, I bought shoes at REI. Makes me sound way more wildernessy than I was feeling because sadly they were just SUNDAY shoes. But STILL.

Then I went to a little LinkUp party. It was funny, but short because my mom took me... but then, I almost didn't go. My parents heard I was planning and knew how my therapy went and how my head was and basically went into a worry tizz. But mom needed to take around some dead Grandma stuff to various cousins in the same area as the party, so, like a 10 year old she drove me to the party (with me laying down in the back) and picked me up. Dorky? Yes. But better, I suppose, than crashing or something.

As for today... I have been cleaning. Yeah, so exciting. Well, cleaning and stressing about how if things do not get move FORWARD with Fresno at Thanksgiving, if we don't totally hit it off, then I basically feel like I may lose one of the best things I have ever had this week. So yeah. A lot of scary here.

The Boy I can Say I Love to Out LOUD

Happy OOOP Day, Heebs! ((Observed) Out of Pouch) OOP Day is sort of the marsupial equivalent of a birthday. Not that that they don't HAVE birthdays, they just are a little harder to track than when they come out of pouch and so we celebrate OOP days. Only the thing is I didn't KNOW my little Heber when he came OOP... he was a rescue much later in his life. He'd been sold in Texas swap meets, lived on birdseed in a hamster cage, and basically is a true testament to his will power and luck and the help of LOTS of wonderful glider friends! But today, 2 years ago, is when I adopted my little boy Heber Lyman Nester the Molester, and I would just like to give him his due. I love this little guy. I love all my "kids" so much I can't imagine my life without these critters. They are a big commitment, and often a pain... but they are worth it. They are worth it to me, anyway. Seriously, look at his FACE! But besides that, they have saved my life more than I should admit.





In other news...

*I have a new physical therapy treatment plan and am getting a new dietitian and have a new orthopedic specialist that is not the uber arrogant idiot Dr. BreakfastMeat. (GRRRRRRR!) YAY!!! Maybe this can not just fix my head but get me back on track? ihopeihopeihopeihope. SIGH.

*Fresno really is coming to Thanksgiving! And how adorable is THIS? He asked what we wanted him to BRING! "Other than the turkey..." I told him , no, he needed to cook a turkey and drive it from California. *rolls eyes* So cute. SIGH.
Yes. I am pathetic. But really, I just... well, I am still sort of in shock that he likes me. We'll see if it holds after he MEETS me.

*I would literally cut off my leg for some peanut brittle. Okay, that isn't so much NEWS. Or true. But I want some. Now, though neither in line with my diet nor what we were talking about... I just have a major craving for some. Now.

*It is Thursday. Therefore...
13 States I have either lived in or visited for more than a day or 2
1. Utah
2. Arizona
3. New Mexico
4. Nevada
5. California
6. Idaho
7. Montana
8. Wyoming
9. Illinois
10. Texas
11. Hawaii
12. Missouri
13. Louisiana

Fresno in Utah

Because of family changes plans more than most people change underwear...

We will not be doing Disneyland:

*My stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid head hates me and I would likely be in terrible pain most of the drive and most of the rides.
*Rinny really needs to work mostly anyway.
*Spencer's papers are in and he may actually GET his mission call THAT WEEK and we don't really want to miss that if he does, apparently.

We WILL be having Thanksgiving dinner at our house:

*Megs and Jake will come!
*T-La, Les, and the cutest little boys IN THE WORLD will come!
*Other people will be invited too, but not sure if they will come, like Shy and her Girlfriend!
*AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND... that's right, Fresno is coming to Thanksgiving Dinner at the Padres'. I really really hope it's cool!

I told him I was nervous, but then we decided that the tryptophan and the nutmeg oughta mellow us? hee hee hee hee hee! Okay, in general we just had a really silly giggly conversation like usual. Which we do a lot. Because really... ARRRRRGH... HE IS SO CUTE!!!!!

And he likes me! And I like him! And he keeps teasing me about it! SIGH!

I. am. so. smitten.

does not compute!

I admit the majority of my relationshipial knowledge comes from sitcoms and chick flicks. Yes, I have parents, and every once in awhile I reference their relationship (usually TO them) in relation to mine to which my mom usually says "yes, but, you're dad and I are not normal." Hello, I think I know THAT! The funny thing is, my mom and I are a LOT alike in many ways, relationship-wise. Not in the kind of guy we like (sorry, Freud.), but well, when my dad proposed to my mom she got mad, started crying and said "That's not very funny, David!" And I think that says a lot about HER ability to not panic and deal with boys. Hee hee! They dated off and on with various freak outs for about 3-4 years.

So I come by my boy phobia naturally. (Except that Mom was a Lip Slut. And I sure missed THAT gene. Or rather the boys missed OUT!)

But my point is that every sitcom tells me that the boy is supposed to dread meeting the family. The girl is supposed to be all "Come on honey, they'll love you!" and the boy is all "but your dad has all those guns" and the girls is all "Daddy? Awww, he's just a big softy when you get to know him" and predictable zany hi-jinx ensues.

So WHY, when I like a boy, does he basically say "Kipluck, I'd really like to spend Thanksgiving with you and your family and play that week. What can we do about that?"

I WANT to... though I am super nervous... however NOT sure how my DAD is going to react to an extra addition to our vacation plans. So I just haven't told Dad.

What are you gonna do now?!?!

I am so weirded out. I feel OLD. Today the fam asked me to help with some stuff ("okay, we bought a digital camera. Can you develop it for us and put it in our computer?") in preparing Spencer's "Papers." Why quote "paper"? Well, because the whole thing is now ONLINE!!! WACKY! He has been talking about his Papers a lot lately, and now, well, they are out of our hands. Spencer, my baby bro, is going to go on a mission. Weird weird WEIRD.

After he finished the "papers" (and finished making me erase a shadow on Photoshop. (Why the child can not have a SHADOW behind him I do not know. *rolls eyes*)) we went out to dinner to separate and Spencer treated us (with his cafeteria money) at Legends Grille. Had a very yummy sandwich there. Felt a little surrounded, though. hee hee!

The Padres are having a hard time with the idea of their last baby leaving the nest. Mom is just having a hard time with him even being 15 minutes away at school. But Dad is in this Family Fun Panic to play before he loses his friend. hee hee hee... Okay, yeah, I am mean. BUT it MAY mean that in addition to HAWAII for Christmas...

We are going to Disneyland for Thanksgiving!!!

Plans still may change (like, for instance if my dumb head isn't better *frets*) but HEY! (maybe) DISNEYLAND!!!