Just Jennie

Karma Killer

2010-07-02T23:26:00.002-04:00

Do you believe in Karma? You know the thing in which I am speaking is, superstition I suppose. The sort of thing that you know if you do a certain thing one way, and not the right way,so then it backfires? Sometimes I feel like I deserve it to backfire, especially when I don't follow the rules. When it happens, I only have myself to blame. It's like those sayings, you have to give to get,and work if you want to play, and study if you want to pass, etc... Why can't I just once receive the prize without having to play the game? Man, is there any such thing as a karma killer?

Young Love?

2010-04-27T10:17:00.002-04:00

I have created a monster... I made the mistake of sharing some (some, not all just rated g stuff) of my past relationship stories with my daughter Sabrina, and now it's biting me in the butt.

I may have shared in my past that I had crushes on boys too, at a young age. It started in second grade, I loved my friend Tyrone, in Cali. He lived in the same apartments as I, just a few doors down. He fit the typical description, which is my ideal boy, athletic, and dark haired. I stopped him one day while he was riding his bike, and I just randomly kissed him on the cheek. He rode away of course, and after that, his mom kinda kept us apart. So sad... Anyways, later I had a boy that was my pal, Peter, to whom I would settle for, but he was kind of a geek. But then love struck once more, in fourth grade, I became obsessed with Kasey McIntosh-Wells, a boy one grade older than I. He looked like Tyrone. And he was on my soccer team for two years in a row. This was my worst crush ever. So afraid to even say a word to him. In a previous blog, I shared the story of how I revenged his take down.

Anyways, then came Jeremy. Who was a blond, but I think our feelings were mutual. He lived far away and I only saw him at church activities. I considered him my first real boyfriend. He gave my gifts and he was the first boy I ever danced with, I thought I might marry this boy, someday. But I did a very bad thing... Because we hardly saw each other, I got kinda of confused about the love I had. I also loved another and another at the same time! I was a foolish girl. It was Rob, who was in my classes, always flirting with me, the cutest boy in the school, I believed. Then along came Danny, who was in 9th grade. I really didn't love him, I just went along with it because he was the coolest kid on the bus. He was too old for me. He wanted to hold my hand, and wanted me to sit in the back seat with him. His friends chewed, and it was gross. I know now, he liked me more than I knew. He made me a wooden heart in shop class, that said Danny loves Jennie. Very sweet. So I finally broke it off with him, just a little creeped out. I would still be thinking of Jeremy, and marring him someday, but then he moved away, and we wrote letters a couple of times until I moved to Alaska.

The reason why I am sharing this, is because I think the same thing is happening to Sabrina. She loves the attention the boys give her. So far, three boys have professed their love for her this year. And each time, she said it back. So I asked, why? Do you really love them? She replied," Well what am I supposed to say?"
I told her, to tell them that your too young to know what love is. Or that's nice, thanks. But either way, it's going to hurt their feelings. Better to tell the truth. So, this year, she had the most popular boy as a boyfriend, and he said he loved her. A week later, she dumped him for another. Who said it also to her. Her ex hates her with a passion now. And her new boyfriend is very loyal and has been her friend for two years. He was always waiting in the wings to have his chance. BUT, this is going too fast. And the fact he says he's a vampire, is too weird. And I already gave him the Virtue talk. And this past Sat. we went to Skatetown as a fam, and he met us there. And things became very awkward. Because a older taller boy, who says he's home schooled, made it painfully obvious that he was smitten by her. He and her boyfriend both held her hands with her, during the couples skate for two songs. We left early when Ian shoved the kid away. It was getting out of hand, because she would not tell this boy to buzz off. And as we walked out the door, she secretly gave him her number... The next day, he said he loved her, and she gave him the same response! And I said why? I told him, not text her anymore and she was too young. I also told her it wasn't fair to Ian and she should tell them both, she can't have any boyfriend. I grabbed her cell this morning, and that boy texted her over 100 times, in one day. Next step, I took away her phone minutes. But the thing that is biting my butt now is, she told me, "Mom, even you had two boyfriends at the same time, so that's what I am doing" What? WHAT! Oh man....

Where Have I Been?

2010-01-22T23:43:00.002-05:00

I am going to make it a mission to write more often. SO many things has happened, that I, myself, (the one with such a great memory) can not remember everything that has happened lately. I think it's because I have tried to block some of it out. I must be doing a good job of it.

You know, haven't you had some of those days or moments in your life that you wish you were too doped up to remember? Well, I haven't been doping myself, but sometimes I wish I could. One of the things that keeps me going on in this life is the fact that someday, in the future, life will be better for us. And this crap that I deal with emotionally, will be a distant, slightly humorous memory.

I hate having to be the human calender or I guess, Blackberry for my family. Jason is a grown man, we have been married for almost seventeen years! I am sick of the excuse that he is a typical man, doesn't know any pin numbers, passwords, account numbers, birthdays, sizes, etc., etc. Not fair, I say. Is it too late to opt out having to know those things too? I could try, but all of us, especially the kids, would suffer for it.

(thinking....)

I guess I rather not have my memory wiped any time soon. That would surely suck. But that doesn't mean I can't pretend. Isn't blogs great? It's like cheap therapy.

Twilight Spoof

2009-11-23T11:44:00.001-05:00

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

You Don't Know What You Got, Til It's GOne....

2009-11-02T15:28:00.003-05:00

Here is a example, I am currently using a Library computer to write on this blog, so I have to be quick...How many things do you have right now that you take for granted? Have you lost something, and then realized that it was missed or needed? Right now I can think of many things, some things I can get back and some I can't, and it sucks when that happens, because if you can't get it back, it seems like it was one of the most important things ever! Do you know what I mean?
I miss my computer. I did not treat it well, so it is now broken. My bad! I am now suffering the consequences...
If we were to make a list, it would be VERY long, but if you want to accept the challenge, go on and share it...
This is just something to think about, while I am waiting to get regular access again so I can talk about other things, like New Moon, which will be coming out soon, Yeah!!!!!

2009-08-24T14:57:00.001-04:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

I'm Fine...

2009-08-20T17:40:00.003-04:00

That seems to be the answer that every one gives when asked, How are you? Why it is that people feel compelled to ask that always as part of a greeting? And then of course it's either, I'm good, things are going great, I'm Fine, or if your unlucky, it opens a whole can of worms of how things really are.
Some people lie, and just say they are fine but they aren't. I on the other had have resorted to saying, I am just Dandy! Well I know I have made some people the victim, when I decided to vent and unload on them. I am sorry! But it happens every once in a while and so I try to be more understanding when people do the same to me. I just thought this was a interesting observation, people need to start being a little less generic, and start being real. Then maybe when that one friendly face says hi, you won't end up scaring them with T.M.I.

The Hardship Letter

2009-08-13T01:08:00.002-04:00

Pride is a awful thing...Once there was a stake guy who came to speak in a meeting, and he started out introducing himself and talking about how happy he was to see his children succeed on going on a mission. He stopped short before he used the word "Proud." And then he said something about how being proud, was a bad thing.

Well recently I had to write a hardship letter for something that needed to be dealt with, and to do so, I had to throw "Pride", right out the window. Have you ever had to do that? Allowing yourself to share all of your vulnerabilities? For some people I guess it comes easily but I have had to swallow it a few times, and it does not get any easier! In fact it is harder, and more depressing, especially when you think that this will be the last time ever, that we would have to go through something like this. Wouldn't it be nice to just succeed in every aspect in life? That there would be no worries, and we could be proud of what we have accomplished?

Life, whether we have religious beliefs or not, is just too precious to waste on crap! And the crap I am talking about, can be lots of different kinds of crap! This includes pride...

I don't want to waste it. I want what I need, and that is to keep a roof over our head, clothes on our back, healthy food, clean water and air, medication to keep my son alive, a running car to get to work in, and the love of my family, friends, and Heavenly Father. That is all I want, and what most humans would want, I would think. So why can't a company like a bank or hospital understand that? They are controlled by humans, aren't they? Sometimes I don't think so.

How do we feed the beast? We go along with their beliefs, and their wants and their needs. What are they? To grow larger, and prosper, right? I could not say for sure, I could just assume. And so, here I am, after I just wrote a depressing hardship letter. ( It's not fun at all!)

What A Vacation

2009-07-19T12:02:00.003-04:00

In June, my in-laws came to visit Virginia for the first time. For old people, I was surprised how good they looked, and how they had the desire to travel as much as we did. Let's just say, it was not a boring trip! Here is a
First Day: They arrived at night on a Friday. We hung out for a bit and went to bed.
2nd Day: Went to breakfast with my parents and headed to Williamsburg to stay in their time share. They had a heated pool that was open late and we had our own private hotub in our suite.
3rd Day: We, I mean Jason, got lost in Williamsburg trying to get to Jamestown. It was a beautiful very humid day. We did the Jamestown experience for hours. Then we (Jason) got lost trying to find historical Williamburg, so we could walk the streets and see the reenactment of something with a fake George Washington. It was also our anniversary and we got to go to the Olive Garden.
4th Day: We went to Norfolk and took a tour of the Battleship Wisconsin. So cool. Then we went to the beach. We did not get lost, because I drove. But at the beach, I got too brave and hurt my self jumping waves! So dumb. I felt my knee go over to the side and it still felt like it was out of place so later that night, Jason and I spent the night in the worst ER ever! I returned to the hotel bound to not ruin our vacation no matter what.
5th Day: A day of rest. The kids went swimming as usual and to play mini golf.
6th Day: We heading to D.C. for the day, first to the Temple. It was wonderful. Then I took them on quest to see everything they could around the capitol. (I would not let Jason drive!) At the last minute, I decided to show them the National History museum. Thank goodness I had a wheelchair and pain meds. Then we went back to Williamsburg, and the kids swam.
7th Day: We got up early to head to Gettysburg, PA. The whole way there we hit traffic, storms, and the kids cried they had ear infections from swimming too much. It was torture but we got there, and I picked the first crappy motel I saw to stay in, which happened to be across from a cemetery. After a hour being there, the kids were spooked in our room, thinking they saw shadows on the wall. We then took a ghost tour around downtown which was awesome. I rode in a wheelchair, lucky me. Then later that night, Clark and my mother in-law saw a ghost through the peep hole of their room.
8th Day: Did not get much sleep. My in-laws and Jason went to check out the graves and then we did some other stuff. But mostly we had a long drive to Niagara Falls, NY. We were all tired, and we arrived around 10:30 pm. and went straight to the falls to see if they were lit. There was a lot of people, out so late at night. We got to the railings, fireworks went off. It was beautiful. The falls were rainbow lit. Then I ask if they wanted to stay until tomorrow to do a boat ride but everyone was too tired. So then we headed towards Palmyra. And got another crappy hotel room.
9th Day: It rained and rained. BUT we were bound and determined to see everything. So we arrived at the Visitor's center near town, and Clark got lost for twenty minutes outside in the rain. Then we went to the grove and toured the homes and went on the trail in the pouring rain. Even I did. I wanted to stay in the car. But the center had a scooter, so I went out through the puddles with Viv on my lap driving, in the pouring rain. We were soaked but we managed to check out the bookstore and at that moment, it was a rush to hurry home so we did not have to get another hotel room. We arrived home almost 2 am. Just so we could get ready to go to church the next day.
The went home on the 11th day and but I missed them already. Inspite of my accident it went well I think.

Excuses, Excuses...

2009-06-06T08:44:00.002-04:00

I can come up with some good excuses to get out of stuff, but I hate it when my kids try it on me. Most of the time their excuses are unimaginative, and they just poor excuses so I can't stand to listen to them.

For example. When I ask a kid to do the dishes or clean up something, they will come up with the reply of " BUT it's not my turn! "Or, "What is the other kids doing?" Sometimes they say both, but out of all of my kids, Erick is the worst serial excuse maker, and there is a 98% chance he will say one or both of those replys. So what do I do? Beat his butt? I can honestly say that there is a switch that goes off in my head, that makes me feel the power of anger when he says those things.

Because of Erick's shinny example, the kids are picking up on this and they copy him. When I was a kid, I had good excuses, but most of the time, my butt would get beat if I did not comply. I on the other hand did do chores and what I was asked because I loved my parents and was grateful for the things they gave me and did for me. So does that mean my kids aren't grateful? Does that mean they don't love me?

The other excuses they come up with are, actually blaming Vivi for what ever reason why something happened, instead of just admitting their own mistake.

For example. The air conditioner falling out of a second story window a few days ago. It was Sabrina's window, but Viv was to blame. Instead of saying, there was a accident, Viv was trying close the gap in the window so the birds would not fly out, all of the kids said, "Viv is stupid! It's all her fault!" For one, I was surprised that Sabrina was allowing Viv to be in her room, and second, do you think Viv would actually do it on purpose? Poor girl, she did make a mistake, it's something we all can learn from. Their punishment will be, that it will be awfully hot upstairs this summer.

I want no more excuses!!! About anything, I just want straight up honesty! Erick has recently been making excuses about his behavior and why he can't do something because of diabetes. Which might be true, a fraction of the time. YES! I have sat down with them, and let them know about how their excuses tick me off and it's just plain disrespectful. I have punished them for their poor whimsy excuses when it comes to chores. But it's not working, grounding and taking things away are not working. Clark thinks he can get out of any chore by locking himself in his bedroom and crying himself to sleep, chores like drying the dishes!!!! Yes, to him, it's that bad. Oh Poor Clark! How dreadful! I am so sick of the excuses, and I afraid my kids are going to grow up just making excuses for everything! How do I over come this?

Tick Tock!

2009-05-28T22:22:00.002-04:00

On our Memorial day, we went swimming, had a barbecue, and settled down to watch a family movie. Half way through the movie, Sabrina discovers something under her armpit, that made her itch. In the darkness, I saw something, and I sent her straight to Jason to check it out in the light. Guess what is was!

Yes, it was a tick! I guess that is what we get for going to the lake. It was not filled with blood yet, but it sure did have it's head buried in. Poor girl would not hold still, and we called a nurse's line for help. They said it had to come out no matter what! And now it's body and parts are in the freezer. Oh joy! But not really...Because we have to wait for a few weeks to see if she comes down kind of disease.

Ticks totally freak me out! I have had one or two before, and if they weren't potentially dangerous, I would not fret as much. Am I making your skin itch with all this tick talk? I am...Ever since this has happened, I have been on tick alert! I am now starting to second guess my lake pass, and the plans to spend a bunch of time hanging out there. I am also worried about ticks ruining my girl's camp experience in July. I will be out there, as a counselor, and the girl's are going to look up to me for help, and possibly tick removal. Yikes! That is not my thing...but I will suck it up, and do what I have to. In the mean time, I am preparing for my trip.( I am buying a mosquito net for bed space) Also, I am waiting and praying that Sabrina will not get sick from this experience.

Up, Up, And Away....

2009-05-04T08:42:00.010-04:00

A few weekends ago, on a beautiful warm Saturday, we set out to have a full day of activities. The girl's had back to back games in the afternoon in Churchville, and at night, Sabrina had a play performance where I was doing make-up and hair for. As I had already ad plans, Jason decides to tell me he had something he had to do Saturday morning that was quite unusual...

He said he was going to be one of four guys to pull a plane for publicity at the local airport. Wow, that seems exciting, so we all went to watch him do that. BUT when we got there, the kids had a unexpected opportunity to fly in a plane. It's the young Eagles program, headed by Harrison Ford, where pilots teach kids how to fly small planes. So COOL! How lucky they were, no one was waiting in line, and it was so simple to sign-up that and just go, it made me nervous, especially with all my kids in the air at the same time in different planes.

The girls' rode together and Clark and Erick went by themselves, much to Erick's dismay. I thought he would never get off the ground, but he did. Here are some pics of the day....

The Great Boyfriend Debate

2009-04-25T08:26:00.005-04:00

I have been told more than once to look out for my girls because they are cute and boys are going to be a issue when they are older. Well that time has come, already.

I can't lock her up, I can't dress her like a Amish girl, (though she would still look cute) and I can't let Jason threaten every boy that is a friend, that he is going to body slam him, like he did to her first boyfriend. Yes, that is true. It was no wonder that poor six grader boy Ryan #1, dumped her at Christmas time. I thought it was kind of sweet but he called Sabrina every day and rode his bike to her cheerleading practices to watch her. But she is only in sixth grade! I didn't have a boyfriend that serious about me in sixth grade! What is going to happen when she is older? Now I am kind of getting worried.

As for Ryan, he was history during Christmas break, and on the first day back, she got a new one. I had to check out this kid, did he look like a skater dude like Ryan? Nope, in fact, he was a cute little shorter than her kid, that looked like Jonathon Lipnicki. I thought, okay, no threat there. And after a week, she said he was boring. On the same day, Ian, her friend asked her out, she said yes, and she broke up with him in a hour, to go out with Woody. I kind of feel bad for Ian, he has liked her all along, not a bad kid, but Woody?

Yes, I met him, when Sabrina started making arrangements to meet him on the sledding hill. He called just about every day, and I had to get after him. He is popular, cute with black long hair, but the kind of boy I do not approve of. He told Sabrina he wanted our parents to meet and go out to dinner together sometime. He wanted to come over and visit, since his mom let's him ride his skateboard downtown. He told Sabrina he would not sit with her at lunch unless a certain girl was removed, and so Sabrina told her friend to move. I thought that was awfully shallow. I thought great, he is already telling her what to do and she is complying.

Woody was history last week, when Sabrina fell for a 8th grader, Ryan #2 (it's sounds bad) But I am relieved because is a really nice kid. He was the star of the play, and he looks like Erick. I met his mom, and he said she is the first girlfriend he ever had. She has no classes with him, and can't eat lunch with him, so basically, now the play is over, they see each other in passing in the hallway. (That works for me!)

It may seem weird that I might know just a little too much about her love life, because I rather know than not know. Growing up, my mom NEVER talked to me about boyfriends. She knew I had them, but never questioned it. I really could have used some advice. So, I am doing what I can to make sure she has support and so she is open with me. I want her to have high expectations, be treated like a princess, and never give in to a boy's demands. At this stage, having a boyfriend is more for reputation status. It's all about bragging rights. Thank goodness! But I know, that it will eventually change, and she will really fall in love, which is kind of scary. Right now, my message to her is...telling her that you can be friends with boys without being a couple. But does she get that? Hmmm, we shall see how long Ryan #2 lasts.

Things I Appreciate...

2009-04-21T08:22:00.002-04:00

Things I Appreciate That Properly Go Unappreciated...

Street Lights, sometimes I hate them, and sometimes I don't.
Sidewalks
Extra toilet paper in the restrooms
Good windshield wipers
Manners, such as opening the door or holding it for me
The welcome I get when I walk into Food Lion
Short to the point prayers
A reminder call on the day before a Doctor's Appt.
Spam and Pop Up Filters
People saying Happy Birthday, on my birthday
A waiter or waitress that actually care about their job
People who stay to help clean up
Coaches that let all kids play
People who pick up trash along the roads
My brother for giving me Direct TV
Scripture Tabs
Mile Markers, occasionally I have used them
Gas pump shelters that cover your walk to the cashier
Clean portal potties
Railing where there are steps
Missionaries, don't know what you got, until it's gone
Friends who call to say hi
When a baby smiles at me
Free or Cheap ATM's
Free Air pumps at gas stations
Facebook, it has brought me closer to some old friends and some current ones
Kids that do things without having to be asked or told
Church programs
Coupons
People who do their church calling the best they can and don't complain

There are properly a billion things that I could list, but those are just some of the ones I can think of right now. I am sure some people can come up with even better things that I did not list or at least agree with me on some. What would be your list?

Let's Play Ball!

2009-04-13T17:00:00.002-04:00

It that time of season again. I enjoy it. I never played girl's softball when I was young but I think I might have liked it. This year, Jason is help coaching Vivienne's team. This is her first time, and she seems to be a natural, so we thought. She was happy at first when Jason was going to be helping with the team. She likes to cling on him, and now, I think she is getting jealous of his attention to others.

Today is a cold day of practice, feels like it might snow. In the past it has, and in the past we had a hard nosed coaches that would make them practice no matter the weather, as long as there was no lightening. That is one of the reasons why Jason got involved. The unwritten rule of missing a practice was not a option, if someone did so, they would lose their position to someone else. Since Jason has helped out, he made it more equal. It's usually the parent's fault that someone misses.

I enjoy watching the games, not just because my kid is playing but for the occasional excitement happens. Like the last season, when our coach threatened the umpire, got thrown out, and the cops were called. Or when we got a drunken parent, who started a argument with the opposing team, and the cops were called because he waited in the parking lot to fight. Ahh, good times! The kids aren't so innocent too, there are some real charmers. Kids from the teams have these not so sweet little chants they yell out, to distract the opposing team that is batting. Like I said, good times! But really, since Jason has helped out, it has gotten better and this year, we are in a different league and hopefully we won't have all that ruckus! My kids of course are darlings. And because of that, Sabrina had a coach that told her that if she did not participate in the chants, that she must not want to play bad enough. That year, that coach was fighting with league officials and there was so much chaos, she finally got fired when we were in the playoffs. Nevertheless, softball is good for the girls, and we shall see how it turns out this year.

Something New...

2009-04-11T20:03:00.003-04:00

I love new things don't you? So as unpredictable as I want to be, and maybe I am, I changed my background again! I like this one so much, that maybe I will keep it for a bit longer than I have been keeping them normally. I hope you like it.

Worn OUT!

2009-04-04T22:31:00.002-04:00

I am worn out. But not burnt out. Here is a update of what is currently going on...

-I am happily teaching Seminary every weekly morning, preparing for at least a hour every day, & trying to read the scriptures so I know what I am talking about.
-I am hopefully going to have a successful Easter Brunch on Saturday, in spite of almost nobody confirming they are going to come.
-I have to prepare for another school dance, the last one of the year, call for chaperones and for ticket sellers. But I know no one wants sell tickets, and I am going to end up at the school doing it all week with this really annoying lady.
-Soon I am going to find out if I am going to be a part of the leadership in the dreadful P.A.T. ( which I know I said I was done with them, but if I am in charge, it can't be that bad, can it?)
-The girl's started softball practice, and Jason is going to asst. coach, so when the games start next week, we are going to be gone a lot.
-My parent's were going to throw out good dressers that had slight fire damage, so in order to put them in my house, I have to spend all of my extra time this week cleaning them up. (my dad is REAL impatient)
-I am tired right now because I stayed up all night trying to help birth kittens. She has one on it's death bed, and will it be wrong to end it's suffering? Sabrina whaling all day, does not help a thing either.
-Spring break is this week and we aren't going to do anything special. :( feels like a waste.
-Clark still is in a cast, and he is sick of it. His crutches are making him sore on his chest, he has no fat there, poor guy.
-Viv was invited to a birthday party at Build A Bear workshop during the Easter Brunch, should I let her go? I thought about saying no way, but the lady said, it's for her foster kid who is Autistic, and values Viv as one of her only friends. How can I say no to that? Now not even my own kid is coming to the Brunch.
-Our van started running real crappy, and the engine light came on. Jason bought a bunch of stuff to fix it, then claimed it was fixed, but it wasn't and bought more crap, and same thing happened. Now, he wants to buy even more crap, but we can't afford it. What to do? He did get a degree in this...
-I have a talk to write for Sunday. And Sabrina has one too. I keep telling her, she is writing her own but will I give in? I guess the longer hers is the better for me right?
Well that's all I can think of right now, I like to post these up dates for my friends who like to get the load down. I am going to bed.

I Admit IT, I AM A Flip Flopper!

2009-03-31T09:58:00.002-04:00

Recently, I have been really thinking about what I believe in, as far a politics goes. I have been a Democrat forever, not because my family is, but because usually the guy I choose to vote for, promises something that I want. Well, as I have been watching the news, I have been a bit disappointed in the choices that Congress has been making and I have been praying to get over my stigma about being a rebel, and being a Mormon. What answer I got was through preparing my lessons in Seminary.

Contention is of the Devil. That is a fact. If politics is causing contention, than should I get as passionately as involved as I have been? I finally came across some scriptures, that Jesus Christ himself taught, "if we are not one, we aren't his." I was teaching a lesson about faith, and why it is important to band together as a members of our Church. That is reason enough for me, to put aside everything I have been arguing about to give in and have the faith to just not rebel anymore. It's not that I am conforming to running with the crowd, because most of my friends seem to share the same opinions of Gays and what not, but because the leaders of our Church follow Christ, if I am disagreeing on anything they say, I am not obeying Christ's teachings.

It is really hard for me to give in, and just allow myself to stop being stubborn and admit maybe some people are right. Though I am going to stop calling myself a Democrat, I am not going to call myself a republican either, in fact, I am not going to call myself a Independent either! I am not going to work at the voting booths anymore and I am not going to side with any political laws or views. If anything, I am going to start my own party, and consider myself a Middle Person. If I vote again, I am going to really consider what J.C. would choose if anyone. Being a Middle Person, does not always have to choose, like for example when you see two teams going to the Superbowl and you don't care who they are. Or when your parent's are fighting, you love them both, but each one wants you to take a side, that is a Middle Person. Why can't we all just get along? My view is, that the Second Coming is coming no matter what, and I have to live my life the best way I can, I am not going to waste it on contentious ideas. That is all I going to say on the matter, again. (or at least I am going to try to)

Margaret

2009-03-26T15:15:00.004-04:00

Today is my mother-in-law's birthday, she is 75 years old. She lives in South Jordan, UT, on two acres in a house that she and her husband built over 40 years ago. I love her, and I wanted to let people know how wonderful she is.

She is a very generous and caring person. Not one person could ever speak ill of her. Currently she is a temple worker with my father- in- law in the South Jordan Temple. We miss her and hopefully in June, she will feel good enough to come here. Her name is Margaret and she is half Danish. Her family came from Holland as Saints. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and the sweetest smile. She really is like what a picture perfect grandma is suppose to be like.

Jason is the youngest of 12 kids. Four of those kids were adopted. Her heart is so big, that she litteraly had foster kids through all of Jason's life. He knew no different, he shared everything, even underwear. Two of the adopted where mentally handicapped. This was no challenge to her, she treated them as her own and I didn't even know they were adopted until a while later. She loves old horror and suspense movies, and books. She can also make anything from scratch whether it was food, clothing, or decor. She agrees with everyone, about everything, because she does not like contention.

She loves loves animals, and currently she has seven cats, three birds, 2 horses, and a bunch of dogs,and fish. Over the years, she had goats, pigs, turkey's, ducks, geese, chickens, a rooster, and a lamb she even let in the house. The city will no longer let her have her farm animals, after the horses are gone, she is not allowed to have anymore. Mainly because the neighbors have all sold their plots around them to home builders, and the home builders want their land. They live across a elementary school, and a church, that is beside that. Sounds like the perfect life huh? It's all because she made it that way. Jason's mom made it a big plus to marrying him.

Guns, Abortion, and Gays

2009-03-24T13:11:00.003-04:00

Okay is this a hot topic, which everyone has a opinion on. When I vote, it's on the person not because of the party, though most people think I am one track minded like some other people I know. I am not, especially to the violent point like that some people, who seem to be very passionate about their beliefs. I don't push mine on others. My ability to look at things from both sides, sometimes makes life a little confusing for me. I think it is okay to own a gun, for sport. I think some people need it for protection. Our family owns several guns, and on special rare occasion, we liked doing some target practice. BUT, the truth is, no matter how much training we have or our kids have, having guns at a easy access is dangerous. NRA people say people kill people, and anti-gun activists say guns kill people. I say it's both. And the more likely you show your kid how easy it is to use your gun, the more likely I believe they are going to want to get it out when your not home and show their friends. For example, a young eight year old boy, Viv's age, who for what ever reason decided to kill his dad and his dad's friend with a gun. It was in AZ, and the boy said he learned how to shoot and use a gun through his own father. If a gun is around, the more likely that at the spur of the moment, maybe out of anger that someone would use it. Another example, crazy Phil Spector. He was obsessed with guns so much so, he would wear them in a hoister around the house. He would shoot at things at random in his own home out of boredom, and finally it ended up being a person. I don't want to take the rights of gun owners but I do believe certain kinds of guns, like machine guns are not made for hunting animals. Just because someone can create it, does not mean it should be available for just anyone to buy.

Abortion. This morning I was reading about the ordering of the FDA to have 30 days to allow seventeen years to go buy the morning after pill without prescriptions. I am against that. Because it's available, it will make it a excuse to have even more pre-martial sex without consequences. The pill is only to be used within the first 24 hours of unprotected intercourse. But how are the pharmacy people going to know that? I am worried that even more people, not just teens, will use it beyond the night after. I can imagine people getting mad, or having a bad day, deciding because it's there and so easy to buy, that they will use it to kill their fetus, no matter how far along they are. I can imagine the harm it would do, if it did not kill them but made them deformed and defected some way. It would be like a horror movie.

I don't get how some people can complain about their gun rights, saying government wants to control everything but those same people want the government to control the gays ? Aren't they hypocrites? I understand their reasoning behind it. Mostly because of their belief in God. But not everyone believes in God. Aren't they pushing their beliefs on others? It's just a observation. I love our country and the freedom we do have compared to some other countries. I supposed if anyone disagreed with our core beliefs, they have a right to their own opinion and they can move out if they choose. I understand we have to have certain rules to protect the innocent. Does that include two men kissing? Chances are, most everyone has seen it already on TV. So if we deny the gay people should have rights to insurance and civil unions, shouldn't we go as far as completely taking it off the air? I mean, in other countries, like in the middle east for instance, the media is controlled by the government or/& religion in power, everyone must believe in the same thing or else. Do you know the answer? Ellen is married,so she says to a woman, shouldn't we burn her at the stake?

Geesh, this is just such a hot topic and I am just sharing some thoughts. Like anyone of them matter, to anyone who is in charge. I know what I believe in, I don't push my opinion on others, and I am trying to remember that Jesus loves everyone, so should I.

Always Moving...

2009-03-23T08:57:00.002-04:00

I have moved a lot. From State to state. Across the country. Literally, I moved 12 times, during all twelve years of school. I am not counting before school age or after. It took some serious thinking to figure it out, sitting down with my mom. It seems so unreal, that it had been so many and not due to my parents being in the military but because my dad was like a Jack of All Trades, and I think he had ADD.

I have fond memories of moving and some not so great. The earliest I can recall was when my dad was a trucker. It was the summer between kindergarten and 1 st grade when we moved from S.L.C. to a trailer town in the middle of nowhere called Wamcenter, Wy. The trip was a bad one because I remember having my kitten, Snowball (the one I stole) in the back of the sleeper in my dad's truck with me. It was night and as he was driving, that stupid kitten got her nails stuck in my thigh. I screamed and screamed until he stopped and he had to unlatch her from my leg. Then she got kicked out, she had to ride with my mom, who was driving a pick-up, and I guess, that kitten went crazy on her too.

I can recall just about all of my trips, but the ones that stood out, were times like when my father had the bright and brilliant idea of hooking a full sized semi-hay trailer to our pick-up and it ended up almost making us go off a cliff. It made us fish tail from guard rail to guard rail, and when the guard rail ran out, God saved us, because the trailer turned on it's side before we went off the edge. It was just me, my baby brother,my mom, and a cat with kittens, sitting in the front seat. Later that night, we stayed at a motel, and people in the town helped set up a huge bon fire where they burned all of our broken stuff. Including my doll house, that had a elevator.

We had good moments too, on all of our moves, we manged to take in any sites that were near by. I think my favorite time moving was when we came from Juneau to Utah, because we got to ride the ferry for three days during Halloween. The kids and I, literally ran from one end to another, and we found kids are board who would play tag with us, but the Purser sure did not like it! So we did get into trouble.

I could talk and talk about all of our moves, as an adult, I too tried to incorporate some sites for our kids. On the way here, we stopped at the Glen Dam in AZ, and we had plans to stop other places too, but it was a week before Christmas and we were sort of in a hurry. In Texas, we ran into some heavy fog going across the pan handle. And in Oklahoma we had snow and ice. The bad thing was, right before our trip we bought a duo DVD players and one of the kids stepped on the cord and broke it. Our heat went in our van, so then we were freezing. That made things miserable. I also tried a energy pill that I got from a gas station, and I remember thinking I was going to die because my heart was having some serious misbeats. I don't think Jason knew it was a bad as it could have been. The kids were great though, even Clark and Viv got along.

There was one other trip, I have to include, was the move from Ohio to St. George. We were on a deadline because Jason had a job to go to. And before the trip, I was sure to save plenty of money to go. But the days before we left, we had to clean our house. I had to pay my sister and her boyfriend to help because I was in such a rush. We gave them a old car, we gave them money, but it wasn't enough. She begged and begged, and we ended up giving her a total of $300, thinking maybe this would be the last time I would see her. When we left, Jason drove a huge U-Haul ,my brother in his car, which had two of my kids behind us, and I drove a old pick-up loaded with a 3 wheeler and stuff. On our move, we got a flat tire in Indiana, and then I lost a tire in Missouri going 72 miles per hour, late at night. Should have seen the sparks fly! It actually caused our back axle to break. So then we ended up getting a car hauler from the U-Haul, so we carried on. By the time we were in Colorado, we were just about out of cash. It was a big mistake to go through the mountains in the fall. We stopped in a small ski town and a nice lodge owner next to a gas station we were at, took us in for just $15.00. The next day, we did run out of money, and the kids ate pop tarts all day. When we arrived through the Utah border, we ran out of gas. So we had to wait for my parents to drive 6 hours to meet us. Talk about a trial and a blessing. Who knows what adventure awaits us in our next move, whether it be small or large. I miss the fun of having the CB radios, making a big deal out of seeing the state signs that greeted us at the borders, and all of the new places to see.

Modesty Should Be For All Ages, Especially In The Locker Room!

2009-03-17T21:26:00.003-04:00

There is a problem. Well, I guess it's my problem. I have images burnt in my brain that I wish I could erase. I am sure my kids do too. Mostly because of being members at the Y.M.C.A. I know some people make think I am shallow, or overboard. But, honestly, shouldn't people try to make a effort to cover up when small children are around? ( or me?) Today, I walked right into the locker room and I could not look away fast enough when a older, non fit naked lady walked right towards me, in which anyone standing outside of the door could have clearly seen her. It is really difficult to train yourself to look at the floor when I walk by the Sauna and right there, in plain sight would be a old naked lady, sitting right in front of the window. It has happened more than I could count. We have dressing rooms, and even corners, but it seems like I am the only person who has a problem with this. I did not want to have the image of some nude person bending over, or what kind of scars they have. Even if I had a pristine fit body, I would still cover up. I know in other countries, nudity is no big deal. But what about the innocence of children? It's hard to keep Viv to refrain from making a comment, too.

The boys are having just as hard of time in their locker room. Their stories are grosser than mine. They have a steam room with a sign on the door saying you must wear a towel. But hardly anyone obeys. The fact is, I doubt those benches get cleaned often. Modesty should include not only young people but old. I know some people when they get older, that get past being embarrassed. All of the prodding and poking over the years by doctors, properly had something to do with that. I for one, believe that when I get older, I am going to make a effort to be modest no matter the circumstance. I just wish other people felt the same way.

Jumping On A Trampoline Is Better Than Playing Video Games, Right?

2009-03-11T10:46:00.005-04:00

We have been sick for a while and then the weather turns out really nice. My parent's gave us their trampoline because they moved into a town home after the fire. So, what do you think happens when the trampoline has been up less than a week? Well...I just turned the computer on , which was upstairs, and I heard Clark screaming bloody murder! It's was loud enough to hear through the walls and closed windows. So, then I knew it must have been serious.

Before I got downstairs, I could hear the complaint. His right ankle had already begun to swell to abnormal size. Jason said it's just a sprain. But judging from the way it looked and how he was acting, I was not sure about that. I needed to stay calm, and remember all the times I had to teach first aid to Scouts. So, I called my mom. She said take him to the hospital. So I said okay. Then Jason said "no", but in my mind, I was conflicted. So I talked to Shawna, and she had the sense to tell me to call the doctor. So I did, and they told me if he can move his toes and foot, he will be fine until the morning. Huh? That is not what Web MD says! So, I told myself, just calm down, he stopped screaming, and I should just go ahead, wait, and enjoy myself at the RS dinner I was going to. And that is what I did.

When I got there, Lori, who is a RN, told me that if it started to heal, they would have to rebreak it in the morning, if it was broke. That would be torture on the little guy. So I left the party to take him, and I am glad I did. Hours, later, Dr. Carter (Stake Pres. Carter) let us look at the films, and sure enough, there was a difference in both of his ankles. A gap between his growth plate, which is right at the knuckle of his ankle. OUCH! What can be done about that? I don't know. And not knowing is making me sick. We are still waiting for the radiologist report. S

So, what to do about the trampoline? The last time we owned one, was back in the spring of 2005. One night Sabrina broke her arm on the neighbors, trampoline! It was a buckle break, ( where bone over laps the bone) near her right wrist. It could be visably seen, but she didn't seem to cry about it much at all, until we went to he hospital and her sweet smile was wiped right off her face when they failed to numb her enough to reset it! She had a awesome hot pink cast, for the whole summer, and even into September because it was having a tough time healing. Right after this happened, it sat in our yard, childless, until we decided to give it away to some friends. At first, I wanted to burn it, but what good would that do? It's great excerise, even I can vouche for that. (because I secretly get on it at night) Any suggestions?

Where's The Beef?

2009-02-28T09:27:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Jason, Sabrina, and I went to the Depot Grill. It was our first time there. Since I am so picky, I chose to have a cheeseburger well done. Jason tried the Bison burger. The waitress said that the Bison burger was lower in fat and had extra taste. So, I tried of piece of his, before he took a bite, and it was really good! He said it was okay. I was thinking I wanted more! (If anyone knows me, I do not try new things! Especially when I am on the verge of being a vegetarian.) But before I kept on to that idea, Jason said, "You know that this is not regular beef, it is actually Bison/Buffalo meat..." It took a minute to realize it. Then I felt sick. I couldn't eat anymore. How did I get tricked into this? The first time I had deer meat, I gagged! The smell was bad enough to knock me down. (Okay, you are wondering why am I making such a big deal? I need to get over it!)

Like I said, I do not like to try new things, it's sad that I am missing out on things. I could never do Fear Factor, or go on Survivor. And if I got lost in the woods for days, I would not eat maggots! My brother Dan is the same way, but he is far, far pickier than I. In fact, his fear factor would consist of any normal home cooked meal. Like that last thing he would eat is a cheeseburger! There was a time, I could never forget, that my dad offered $500 cash to my brother if he just simply ate a whole country fried steak. (my mom's steak was so good, especially when it was crispy) At this time, my brother was in high school, we lived at the farm, and my cousin Chad was there visiting from Utah. Danny said okay, with Chad encouraging him the whole time. I watched him to make sure he did not cheat. But he was taking forever to finish it! With each bite, he quickly washed it down with Chocolate milk. With a quarter of it left, everyone had left the table but Chad and himself. I went and sat in the TV room, bored. And it seemed like everyone else disappeared. Then it happened! He did not finish it! With just a few bites left. I could not believe what I was hearing, he was throwing up in the kitchen sink! I did not get up, I plugged my ears, and my cousin Chad came in laughing! Then my dad came in, and I tried to stop him, but before I could he went over to the sink. (my dad has a weak stomach) He gagged and gagged, and I laughed, and gagged, and laughed some more. My poor dad actually had to clean it up. Then I swear, never again, my brother will eat beef. So where's the beef? Oh yeah, it's in the kitchen sink! LOL

I just had to share this story with you!

I Am A Mutt!

2009-02-26T15:36:00.004-05:00

I am a mutt... What I mean about that is, that I am a mixed breed of all sorts and in different ways. For one, I hate it when someone asks me where I am from, that isn't a easy question for me to answer. If you want where I was born, that's easier. Who are my ancestors? Well, that's tough and confusing too. I have Scottish, German, Irish, English, and Cherokee blood.

For the longest time, I didn't care about St. Paddy's day, because I have Scottish blood, and since I have always had a thing for Sean Connery, I thought sharing this small common thing, made me feel superior. (it's a funny thing, Sean portrayed a Irishman in a movie I loved him in, Doobie O'Gill and the Little People) But in time, I found out through genealogy, the Irish snuck into my family tree.

On my mom's side, her parent's were Irish, Scottish and German. On my dad's side, it was English and Indian. The heritage I have always felt closer to is, of course that of the Cherokee blood. Hence, my dark brown eyes and brown hair. It's the most blood that I contain,(I think) because my great grandma was full Cherokee. My grandma, Genny, was half. So she always use to tell me that I had her eyes, and I use to tan quite easily. Why I don't now is a mystery. So that's it, not much tell, I am a mutt, and so are my kids. What about you?

The Sweet Hearts Dance, the night I fell in love...

2009-02-09T09:09:00.004-05:00

The Photo above is Not me...

When I moved to Utah from Alaska in November, I had left a boyfriend behind, promising to come back and be loyal to him while I was away. Ha! Of course that was too much to ask of me, I was only 17! Moving to Utah for only my junior year, seemed hard on a kid, but I did it, and quickly made new friends. I was loyal to my guy for about three months, the first week I was there, I was asked out to go to a Jazz game. But I had no idea what the Jazz was, and I said no.( I wish I had gone now) When I met my friend Shannon, I became part of a small pack of LDS kids, gone awry. She was in love with a boy, who happened to be related to Jason. At this point, I did not meet him. Because of Brian's strict parent's, they did not approve of her going out with him. So she had this idea that I would pretend to be his date, meet his parent's and then we would switch at the movies. The only thing was, her date, was his best friend, and he was not my type!

For one thing, I did not like to date guys my height or close to it. And that he was. He was nice, but he liked me more than I liked him, let's just say. Shannon thought our scheme was such a success, that she wanted to do it again. I went along with it reluctantly. Then things got unbearable, so I asked Shannon to find me another date, for the upcoming Sweethearts dance. So one day, about two weeks before, we were sitting in the commons area, Shannon told me about Bear. That is Jason, in high school, it was his nickname, people knew him by. I thought Bear? Oh brother...Then I saw him, Shannon told me he was as cute as Brian, tall with dark curly hair, but he wasn't. I admittedly said no way! Bear was wearing huge tinted glasses, the tightest pants I ever saw on a guy, and a deer on his sweater. I decided then that I would go with Aaron instead, so I did.

Before the dance, we went to a fancy restaurant all decked out. Aaron knew at this point that I was not into him, and he tried to make me jealous by paying special attention to Jason's date, Jenny. There were eight of us in total, sitting in the candle light. Jason and Jenny sat at our end. Aaron was not really talking to me, nor I to him. It was then, I noticed him, when he spoke to me and acted like such a gentleman. He wore contacts, a red bow tie, black slacks, with red suspenders. I thought he was so cute! He had good teeth, which was a plus and a must. I was smitten. And when we got to the dance, I told Shannon, we had to get rid of this Jenny girl. She agreed, and from then on, it was on to hatching more schemes, all in the name of love.

To Be Continued....

Procrastination is Of the Devil?!

2009-02-05T15:34:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have those days where you know there are things that have to be done, but your just not doing it? Move body move, think brain think, you would think I was born a blond! (no offense to those who are) I just want to do nothing, I admit it. I don't want to physically do anything, but yet if I don't I will pay the consequences. Right now, I have about a million things to do, but guess what, I am on the computer! It's not that I am sitting being possessed by it or anything, I had a reason to be on here. But really, I having having some issues right now, and I am venting.

Oh great, now the kids are home! That makes everything even better! At this point, I love being home alone! I sometimes daydream of having my own apartment, everything is clean, and I am alone! (that sounds crazy huh?) I also think that my cat is pregnant, what a hussy...geesh she gets around. She had two different boyfriends a few weeks ago, hanging around our house. They are both orange, she is not. I would be relieved to finally get some kittens that aren't black. (not to sound raciest, but over the years that is all we have had pretty much) I guess I need to get over this and just do what I have to! The last few nights I have had a hard time sleeping thing about this dinner/dance at the church and then of course the hundred phone calls I had to make for the dance at the school next week, I am in charge of. I will be relieved to have everything done. I had a list of things to do yesterday, and it all got blown by being tortured by the dentist from 10:30 to 1pm! Then again today for a hour. Plus I have this guilt to drop everything and help my parents when they need it. Which they suddenly do, and the last three Fridays, instead of having our date day, Jason and I have been working for them.

So what lesson did I learn? If I would have made the phone calls along time ago, I would not be doing this now, at the last minute. If I had insisted to move and clean everything until it was done for my parents all at once, it would be done. If I would have gotten the cat fixed, I wouldn't be complaining. And if I would have stayed off this computer, I wouldn't be in such a time crunch. Okay, enough said. procrastination

Over the Hills and Through The Snow!

2009-02-04T08:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday it finally snowed good enough to enjoy it! I have got my fill now, I am good. Today it's about 13 degrees, bitterly cold, and I see that mother nature is still playing tricks on us. In a few days, the snow will be gone, and it will be near 60 again. Thank goodness we got our flu shot! Anyways, it seemed everybody got a snow day but us. The kids had to wait until they got home to go sledding. And so we did. Is it terribly wrong to laugh when your kid gets ran over by a girl on a tube? Or is it wrong to give a good push to your husband, who is much to big to be on a tiny round sled, in Superman position, which causes him to almost go faster than a bullet? Is it wrong to trick your kid into going down on the hill where I know there is a big bump in the way that will cause them to fly off their sled? I am bad, very bad....

When we went sledding on a Mary Baldwin hill, I was remembering how ruthless I was with my younger siblings that I never gave them a reason to trust me, but they still did. In my earlier blogs, I talked about having to sled to school down one of two hills from my apartment complex. Buttbreaker or Killer Hill. (I did not name them, it was known to everyone) The Buttbreaker path was the quickest route to school, it was a wide path through the trees and it did not go straight down. It was loaded with stumps from trees that had been cut down but not pulled out. When it snowed, they were completely covered. It really hurt sometimes to go down it.

Next was Killer hill. It was very steep, next to impossible to walk up. It was like a 90 degree angle almost. The only way up was hanging onto the smaller trees on the side of it. One dark day, I took my sister and brother to go sledding. Many other kids had the same idea, along with some people on skis too. I always talked the kids into connecting sleds and going down together in a big mob. And it just so happened that later, I pushed my little brother Danny by himself in a huge long sled. He laid down in it, because he was so light, as fast as he went he crashed big time. Afterwards, he did not get up. He laid there. And I had to slide down on my pants. I knew something was wrong, and I had that feeling it was my fault. He was acting funny, and would not walk. So I let him lay in the sled while I dragged him up, pulling myself with one arm onto the trees. When I got up there I was mad we had to leave, but he was asleep in the sled, and I took him all the way home by myself leaving my sister. I let him lay in the sled when I had to walk up the three flights of stairs to get my mom. I still remember this guilt I was feeling. I shouldn't have laughed about it, when it happened. My mom ended up rushing down, worried, He did end up having a concussion. Not a good thing. Why is it that people put sledding videos on America's Funnest Home Videos? Why do we laugh at it? Why do I?

Turning My Smile Upside Down...

2009-01-27T14:29:00.003-05:00

Who ever said it took more muscles to frown than to smile? They are stupid!

Most of the time my smile is fake, even when I am happy. One day, about six years ago, I became friends with my pal Kristie. I was a Primary teacher at the time and my friend Kristie told me I looked mad, so she didn't talk to me much. I told her I wasn't, it's just my normal relaxed face, it's just too much effort to smile. Since then, I have made an effort to do so, and I noticed Jason had the same problem too.

With all the crazy crap that has been going on, I have been fighting it for years, I decided I am not going to fake smile any more. I am just too lazy! I am tired. Since I decided to do this, I notice that my look effects other people. People who are kind enough to ask what is wrong, and I just tell them nothing. Sometimes they don't even say anything, like a cashier's smile will wipe right off when she sees me. Inside, it makes me secretly laugh, because I am realizing that because of their reaction, it's making me grin. I have also noticed another good reason not to smile is because I don't want to get laugh lines. (wrinkles) Do you agree? Or am I just crazy? Okay, enough said....

The Five Things List

2009-01-26T16:34:00.004-05:00

I was tagged and I thought it would be fun to answer...

5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago, At This This Time:

1. Jason and I were in negations for building a house in Hilliard, Ohio
2. I was the Enrichment leader in our ward
3. Clark was about 5 months old, Sabrina was 2, Erick was 4
4. I weighed about 40 lbs. lighter
5. My grandmother had just died of cancer, and we disowned my Aunts and Uncles because they put Royal B**** on her head stone and did not tell us that she had died until days later! (It's a story for Dr. Phil)

5 Things That Was On My List Today:

1. Clean the kitchen and dishes
2. Write on my blog and read my friend's blog
3. Finalize preparation for the school's carnival with guests
4. Watch the episode of Days, that I missed on Friday
5. Figure out how I am going to use the toilet paper holder my dad gave me

5 Snacks That I Love:

1. Buttered Kettle Popcorn
2. Carrots dipped in French dressing
3. Strawberry Toasted Strudels
4. Chocolate covered Macadamian nuts
5. Oreos dipped in skim milk

5 Things I Would Do If I Became A Billionaire!:

1. I would first Pay Tithing and thank the Lord
2. Pay off my debts
3. Move my family into a modern home that over looks the sea, in Auke Bay, Alaska
4. Invite all of my friends to come visit and I would find a way to pay them back for their friendship.
5. Invest in future technology that helps the environment, people, and makes more money.

I am tagging, Nikki, Kristie S. , Candy G.

The Literal Mountains, We Face.....

2009-01-25T15:33:00.003-05:00

On Friday, I had a opportunity to go to Massanuttan with the youth group to go tubing. Though it had been 60 degrees earlier in the day, the machines there had produced a good enough snow pack to have fun on. It was our families first time there, and before we began, I told myself I was too chicken to go down it. I was afraid of getting hurt.

It's hard to believe that I am scared of heights, and Massanuttan is nothing compared to Park City, Utah or Eaglecrest, in Alaska. Everyone knows by now that I learned to ski when I was in eighth grade through our school in Juneau. It was part of our gym class. First I learned how to cross country ski, which was terrifying because the ski's are longer and thinner. If I ever tried to turn, I would just fall over. It was also quite a work out. Our school even took us out into the wilderness to go on these cross country trails. It was so much fun. After this, we leaned about downhill skiing. Which was a tad bit harder.

I can't remember all that had happened to me, but if you ever saw Goofy in a Disney cartoon about skiing, that was me! I got the complete outfit, and I tried really hard to never fall down. (It seems, if you fall down once, it happens over and over) I remember I was one out of a few teens that had to get the beginning lesson and I thought the bunny hill was frightening. I couldn't stay on the pole that took me to the top, and I would snowplow all the way to the bottom and past that. I had some friends who wanted me to go up with them, (to the tamest hill they said) on the second day of lessons. So I did. I can not count how many times, I had a accident.

The chair lift was scary, no seat belts! I learned to hang on to my poles, or else they fell down below. I learned not to click my ski's together, or else they would fall too. I learned not to ride the lift if it was blowing snow, because it would shake so badly, and I thought I was going to die.
I also learned the hard way, to be ready to get off the chair, because it was not going to stop! I learned through trial and error, it's amazing I did not get killed. That first trip, my friends rode right off the chair and left me. Though the run was wide, I still managed to find trees. I tried to do a zig zag down, and at some point, I ended up bombing it, and so I did what I saw over people do and held my knees together. I lived. I lived even though the time I slid down the hill with one ski on my back. I tried and tried and I got better. But then, I got cocky. And that was a mistake!

Don't we all do that in real life? We go to face a obstacle, it's hard at first, and then we end up able to manage it but if we sit there, and say, it's not so bad, it bites us in the butt? Well I did that. After a few times on the highest lift, a few years later, I let a boy talk me into going on this expert hill, that had mobiles and because he had been ex-ski patrol, I wanted to show off my skiing abilty too. It was a quiet afternoon, no one on the hill, and I when we got off, we had a corner we had to go around, he took off like a light! I wanted to catch up, and I tried, but before I knew it, I hit those little bumps in the run, and I did a flip! I remember sitting up and my legs were criss-crossed, my poles were lost, and someone came down to help me. To make a long story short, it was embarrassing, my gym teacher's dad was the ski patrol leader and he took me down in a sled to the medics office. I dislocated my knee again, and had to wear a neck brace for a few weeks. It's another lesson I learned the hard way, and since then I had only skied once, a year later. I was really careful, and I did not fall on the hill but I did, in the parking lot. The other night, before it was time to go, I faced my fear and went down on a tube. It was not bad, in fact it was awesome!

P.A.T. is like the P.T.A. but it's more like a secret cult!

2009-01-15T07:53:00.003-05:00

In the past, I refused to pay the ten bucks to be a part of the P.T.A. This year, I decided to get myself more involved, because for one, I did not have to pay and for two, I haven't done it before and so I thought why not?

The group at the Middle School is called the P.A.T., I am not sure what it stands for exactly. It's like the P.T.A. but is not associated with the national group. When I did things for them before I just signed up to help out with a book fair or something small like that. When I lived in St. George, I went a little further and agreed to be in charge of creating a spook house for the middle school's Harvest Fair, and it was so much fun. Everything went according to plan, I got my whole family involved, and I still didn't have to join the P.T.A. to do it. That is far as I went with it, until this school year.

The reason why I decided to write about this is, because my fears of joining have confirmed exactly what I did not want to happen! In my recent experience, I have met some real power hungry moms that are the kind of people who ignite Lifetime movies and soap operas. (And I thought the cheerleading thing was bad) Why do people have to make life so difficult for the rest of us? The purpose of having a P.T.A. or P.A.T. is to help teachers and students, right?

My first impression of this group was strange, I signed up for a few things on a paper at the open house. I knew something was weird when a lady ran (yes, she did run!) out the door to stop me from getting in my van. She was the President of this group and she wanted me to be the a chairman for the middle school dances. I said okay, but I have never done it before. This should have been a warning sign!

My first meeting I found out how serious of a group they were, it last almost three hours! When I saw the money that they had in their treasury, (about 12,000!) I thought wow. Half of that was from a CD, they were going to cash this year. The police officers from Lee and the middle school asked us for a $1,200 donation for trailer for a go- cart they already bought. We also voted to buy projections for classrooms, I thought that was cool. Then it was also fundraiser time and I did not enjoy this process at all. For one thing, they tried getting me involved with it, and I when I heard that my President will not spend her usual $900 of personally buying stuff due to the economy, it made me sick. (because I hate buying anything from stupid fundraisers) I did end up buying the most cheapestly made $6.00 item in the whole magazine, so that my daughter was allowed to attend the fundraiser party.

My part in this fundraiser was helping sort the stuff at the school to deliver, and when I was there I had a chance to mingle with the President, Karen. She was stressed out. Apparently she was having problems with the fundraiser and getting parents to pick up the stuff. Some of it sat there for two weeks and she wanted to send it home on the bus but the Principle was against it. (he was not against the money it made!) She also gave me a warning. She told me that she could not wait to be out of it all, she also told me to watch my back, because I seemed nice and that some of these woman love to take advantage of others. She said she has never dealt with a more backbiting group than these people and if I ever was in charge of something, I would find this out! I thought this was really strange! She was really serious about it.

Why do I always have to learn the hard way? I could go into this in detail but to make a long story not as long, I will try to sum it up. Through this, I thought if I was just nice to everyone, I would be okay. Not true! I found out that I can trust no one, and everyone is my enemy, that is true. (as far as P.A.T. goes) I found out that looks could kill, and that e-mails will always be shared with others. I found out that some people can be very immature, in spite of their age. I found out that some people apologize and they never tend to mean it, and it's just another tool to use to be a meaner person. I will never be involved again! I am currently still in charge of the dances, and I am finishing up my duty with the school carnival, and then I am done. I will never get involved again unless I am directly helping a class or teacher. I even went as far to voice my opinion with some of the ladies and they agreed with me, in fact they want me to be more involved next year. BUT I do not have it in me to be their liberator, I don't want to fight with other people, not because I am not good at it, (I am actually really good at it) but conflict is of the devil, and I don't want to go there! I hope none of what I am saying is to any offense of other parents who love being involved with their schools, maybe for some reason, it is only this particular group that has mental problems.

Y.M.C.A.

2009-01-10T10:07:00.002-05:00

We have the Y nearby and it's natural that we would want to go there to try to get ourselves healthier. It's cheaper compared to gold's gym and others, but because of that, we have to deal with things like poop in the men's swimsuit dryer for a week, the rest homes unloading people there for most of the day, towels that have yellow stains, and so on. We put up with it, because we desire to be healthier. (and it's a easy way to get our whole family showers at once!)

I remember when we first moved here, we got a pass. That spring, people were using the pool often to prepare for the Special Olympics. Michelle G. was working there as a life guard, and two times in a row, I am the one to discover poop in the pool! I learned not to step on a brown particle in the pool, it might smear! This problem, added with the rumors of gay men having a meet and greet in the locker room made us quit going.

This summer, we decided to go back since we moved so close. Surely those problems were gone. I am very cautious about things floating in the water, and I try to avoid old men who will sit in the hot tub for hours looking to start up a conversation. (Ulgh, no offense to anyone who is old that reads this, I consider any one old that is 35 +) I am no catch and I am not pretty in a swimsuit, but they always talk to me unless Jason and the kids are with me. Then the boys have complained that naked men walk around the locker room, even though there is a sign posted against it. The latest problem happened on Saturday, when we went. Clark discovered poop in the swimsuit dryer after a older man used it. The boys did not tell me about it until that night and they did not tell the staff. They figured that someone else would. Then we went there on Monday night before closing. Same thing! I told the life guard and she said it would be taken care of. BUT it was not. We went again on Tuesday night, THE SAME THING was there, and we told a friend who works there. (judging from the guy's reaction, I think he didn't want to deal with it) So do you think it was gone after that? Well...we went yesterday,(Friday) and Jason says there are tiny particles left. Gross.... I think every time I hear that song, I will think of that, whether I want to or not.

Cat Scratch Fever!

2009-01-06T20:57:00.003-05:00

I am sure you have heard about what happened, this time last year. It was cold, I had been sick practically the whole month of December and I felt like I was never going to get better. I was demanding to be babied like Jason demands when he just has a cold. It had been real cold outside and the last thing I wanted to hear was that he had some kind of cramp. So then one day, a few days later he said he had a hard bump on his left pelvic region. It was true, and unnatural . It worried me and I told him that I would take him to my doctor. (He has rarely gone to the doctor for anything) Then suddenly after he had carried a bucket full of huge logs for the fire, he complained his pain was worse.

I called the quick care and they referred him to the ER. He gave me such a hard time, he really wanted to go, but when he walked in the door, he saw the people and ran out! (Oh brother!) After arguing with him about it, I called my parents and they told him to go in. So then he did.

At least a hour passes and we get in there, this was about 11pm. We were both so tired. What could this be, I worried. When we were there, we saw the doctor once, no test, and then a surgeon came in to our surprise. We had no idea what were they thinking when we were waiting. Jason wanted to walk out the door. The surgeon felt it, and then said he knew exactly what it was, a strangulated hernia! He drew us a picture, and said it could be fatal if he didn't get worked on right away. Suddenly my heart dropped, poor Jason! Here, I was being mean to him. The doctor said he had been working all day but he can get this done in 30 mins. After that, things moved really quickly. Too quickly! I called Bro. Swinson to give him a blessing and he arrived there as they were wheeling him away. Did I add that Jason was scared too?

We sat there, together in the waiting room. One am rolled around and Jason's surgery was a hour in. I had so many worried thoughts. It helped to know that he was there to comfort me. Then as the doctor came back, he tripped because he was so tired! (I thought that was not a good sign) He told me it was not a hernia, which could have waited until morning, but it was a infected lymph node that did not appear normal. He said it would go in for biopsy .

After a week of not knowing, we went to see the doctor. We prayed it was not cancer. He said it was something unusual. He said it was either one of two things, a rare disease found in Asian decent, or cat scratch fever. What? That darn cat! (We had three at the time.) He said if our cat was a carrier, any of us could of gotten it, and we still could get it. He didn't need surgery after all, if he would have gotten a simple blood test, he could of had meds for it. The disease could have caused swelling on any lymph mode. Usually happens in neck. It did for my friend Diana, who lived down the road from us. She contracted it in the spring and because the doctors were baffled, she went through some really scary moments and costly tests! Doctors from AMC told her because of it's growth rate, they thought she had cancer and they needed to get all five swollen nodes out! Which would have made horrible scars. The doctor sent her up to UVA to see a surgeon there. He was a older, more experienced guy and he had her tested for the diease, and yes, that is all it was! Now her neck is almost back to normal. Unbelieveable!

This was another lesson learned the hard way! I hope people who read my blog, will learn from all of my stupid mistakes! I write this stuff so that I may remember and not make these costly mistakes again! But it seems that I am still making them, when will I ever learn?

Happy New Year, GOOD-BYE CURSE!

2009-01-01T09:46:00.003-05:00

2008 has been one of the worst year's ever in my life! Anyone who knows me well may have heard me talking about my curse. I truly felt that way. Every week something bad has happened. Of course good things happened too, I am aware of that. But because it was a year's worth of stuff, I can't remember everything thing that happened, but here is a example...

-In Jan. Jason had unnecessary surgery, which we believed for a week he may have had cancer, and it ended up being cat scratch fever, and left us with a big bill!
-Mortgage and house problems (too numerous to recount)
-The whole we are going to move and not going to move, and then did move thing, it was awful! That was two months of torture!
-We gave our dog away, that was sad for the kids
-We had problems with neighbor kids at our old house.
-My parent's having fights, and I got in the middle of it, which I should have not.
-Worrying about my parent's going to hospital for stuff.
-Dria almost lost her eye.
-Car problems with the black car and being stranded twice.
-Replacing 5 tires on the van, because of holes in the tires.
-Problems with neighbor over the cat.
-Having two cats die, in my arms, each suddenly, one week apart.
-I had a huge fight with old friends which resulted badly.
-My sister drama
-My brother drama
-Having the power off for a week because my payment was lost in cyber space, during the time I had company visiting!
-Laptop cord issues
-Issues with cub scouts
-Cheerleader disputes
-Thinking I got the art job again because I was asked to come back and then it was given to someone else, that was heartbreaking, it's one of the reasons why I didn't sub this year.
-Finding out why Erick had lost more than 50lbs in a few months time and why he was doing badly in school, is because he has diabetes. That was a life changing thing for all of us.
-Getting stomach flu more than a few times in my family.
-The dentist torturing my mouth more than once, and this final time, he really hurt me and half of my tongue is still numb on one side! This happened on Dec. 23rd, and the office is closed until the 6th, I don't know what I going to do about it.
-My big TV blew out
-Finding out jobs we thought were promising, didn't work out for Jason.

The list goes on and on. I guess I am just a complainer, and I know everyone has problems, we just have to get through them the best we can. I wish my curse was gone, but as we settled down on New Year's Day, we discovered that my dad's wallet was missing. So what is the magic words? Abra-ca-dabra? I would think the magic words would start out as "Heavenly Father..." Maybe I haven't been praying hard or sincerely enough to turn things around. What can I do? Well I guess I just have to try harder to do what the Lord commands, and maybe the curse will go away quietly. Here's hoping that 2009, will be better for everyone!

What's Important...

2008-12-30T00:46:00.003-05:00

Recently, you may have heard that life has just got a little more complicated for me and my family. Just when I started thinking that with the new year, that my curse, my family curse was going to be gone with the change, it happens...

Where do I begin? Right now, I am sick of it. I am sick of hearing and telling the story over and over to everyone, who asks what happened. So I figure I will write about it, so that in the future, I will have this to come back to, and be thankful it was not worse.

Late Saturday night, Jason went to go pick up Erick from the Stake dance. I was downstairs playing video games alone, when all of the sudden, a flipping bat, (yes a bat!) flew wildly around Erick's room. It scared the crap out of me. I thought Jason was just going batty, when he said it happened to him one night, in the summer. But we never found it, and we could not imagine how it got in there. So I got a hoody on, and a broom and went back to see what I could do. It swooped down at me, back and forth, until it landed on the wall, and it stuck it's self there. Then I decided to just wait for Jason to come home but as I was standing there, I got a frantic phone call from my dad. It just a few words, he yelled out that the house was on fire! I asked him, "are you kidding?" He said no. Then told me to call my mom and then he was cut off. Suddenly the bat did not seem so scary.

Their home was a nice double wide trailer. It had 2000 sq. feet. What had happened, according to the fire chief, was that the cat must had knocked down the Christmas tree and it set on fire. It was a Scotch Pine, and it was loaded with lights. My dad even made the comment before, that is was the fullest and most beautiful tree they have had for a while. My dad does not remember getting out. He does not know how or who helped. When he heard the alarms go off all at once when he was in his bedroom, he said the cat came running, he saw the glow through the black smoke, he grabbed the cat and tucked it under his shirt. Then he ran to the back door, which was seized by the heat and banged on it. The neighbor who was in the shower, heard his calls for help, and her husband saw it was on fire. Several neighbors came and they all tell a different story, but none of them say who helped him out. One says he was on the ground. They all say he was already out when they came. My poor dad, my mean old crazy dad, is totally traumatized. He has been having nightmares, and he says the flames were right up to him. He last remembers kicking on the door and seeing the flames above his head and thinking he was going to die.

He got out of the hospital late Monday night. He did get some burns, and he had damage to his lungs and throat. The doctor says it can be months before it's healed inside. But they released him because he can breathe on his own now. I am doing what ever I can, I even cleared out Clark's room and bought a bed for them. Their ward members have been awesome! Dria's basketball team, and the varsity gave her tons of bags of stuff and a card full of money. I think she will be okay, but she has been in shock for two days, acting as if nothing happened. But yesterday, it has hit her, and she isn't the same.

Tragedy happens to everyone in some form. I hope we never experience anything worse. I do know what is is like to lose everything in a fire. My family was in a wreak with our moving trailer while on the way to Alaska when I was ten years old. Everything we had was in a stupid trailer meant for hay. When it was destroyed, all of the stuff was burnt in a giant bon fire, set by my dad and his friends. We had no insurance on the things and so we didn't have anything for a while after we moved. In fact, we went on to Fairbanks, and we lived in a tent! (well I slept in the front seat of the pick-up) Life went on, and we made do with what we had, each other. So with this, it will be another story to tell, a lesson learned, and a chance to start fresh for my parents. Most importantly, I do believe everything happens for a reason, even if it has the outcome we do not like, but Heavenly Father has a plan, whether we live die now or die later. I really believe that. Thank you for all of your support and love, but we will be okay and we will survive.

I Am Hauling Out The Holly!

2008-12-27T15:02:00.002-05:00

It is just a perfect day to put things away, nice, sunny, and warm. I am letting my tree stay a day longer than it should, because I am focusing on outdoor stuff first. I already changed my profile, as you can see, I just couldn't wait. It's my New Year background. I love changing things, I wish I could get some snow before spring, but I am ready for a clean, simple house again.

When the holiday season is over, I begin my spring cleaning early. (I have to do it when I get the motivation) My dream is to have everything labeled, and put in a proper storage box. (no cardboard allowed) I want to get rid of my junk, and I have plan to get rid of anything I haven't touched in a year's time or more. A few things could stay, that are momentos, but really, I have to get real, some things are ridiculous to keep. Like clothes that don't fit, but wish that someday they could...Extra pots and pans, when really, I only have one favorite that I ever use...Toys, especially happy meal toys! And of course, anything I hang on to because I got a good deal on it, it half works, or because I had it when I was a kid. The truth is, and what I keep on telling myself, is...that somebody else could use it now, and would be thrilled to have it. So why not just give it up? That is what I tell myself, every year or every move. I don't need five totes full of Christmas stuff, so that is my goal, to downgrade it substantially. You should try it! It is like my own personal anti-depression , self-cleansing, refreshing thing that I do, to keep me happy and sane.

All I Want For Christmas is...Everything!!!

2008-12-22T20:44:00.002-05:00

When I was a kid, I was pretty sneaky, or so I thought... I had to believe in Santa, and if I didn't, my mom said he wouldn't come to me. But I believed...kind of, because I never once found out how and where they would hide our presents!

I admit, I was a bit spoiled. Every year, I had a tall order for what I wanted. If my mom insisted there was a Santa, I figured I can get everything I wanted. And most of the time, I did. My list was not outrageous, but it did consist of numerous things. Literally I would get about 15 presents most of the time. My parent's were not rich either, but I had no clue that they were paying for it. I just figured, I must have been good enough for it.

It was exciting, very exciting, on Christmas Eve night. I would look out the window for Rudolph's red nose, and I thought I even saw it. Then I would end up falling asleep and I would, every year, get up in the middle of the night to discover first what we got. Being the oldest of a crew of four, I didn't always wake the others because they would be too loud. I never got caught, that I can remember, as I crawled on the floor quietly to inspect the area in the dark. A sibling or two would end up almost spoiling it, for I did threaten them if they made a single sound. After I judged which was mine and who's was who's, I would go back to bed. I would even go as far as unwrapping a gift or too, and putting it back together!

My parent's must of known something was up, because every year they tried to fool us by putting a weird name or symbol on the package so we didn't know who it belonged to. One year, I got up as usual, and went to the living room to find one huge taped up box! That was it, all the gifts inside. It caught me by surprise, and I wasn't able to open it to sneak a peek. I never told my kids about this, because I didn't want to give them any ideas. But nevertheless, I have been careful and now I don't care. If they want to spoil their surprise, they can. I just want them to wait until a decent time in the morning to do it. Man, I must be getting old!

I think about how great my youth was, all those presents, really never lasted. Not even the doll houses I had, or the stereo or even the TV. I thought that is how many presents a person was supposed to get if they were good. It took me until my senior year, when Jason came to visit Christmas morning and he saw what we got for Christmas. I would never forget how he shocked he was. He being the youngest of twelve came from a humble home, his gifts were few and practical. I felt bad. But he didn't say much. Then when Erick had his first Christmas, I went totally overboard! It was stupid! Because after watching the video tape, Jason and Erick opening gift after gift, it was apparent that it was too much. So over the years, it took me to realize that it's not about the gifts, that prove how much you deserve it. So this year, the kids are getting three gifts each, using the three wise men as a example. That is the way it should be, remembering it's someone's birthday, not theirs and that they are lucky to get anything at all. I just love Christmas...

Christmas Crap

2008-12-21T12:32:00.002-05:00

I feel like blah!
I was feeling better for a day, but then after I had to clean up Clark's barf in the bathroom, at 3:15 am, I am so sick to my stomach again. Why do we have to be cursed? Why did Clark not lift the lid before he barfed? Then after I cleaned it , I was so tired and I scrubbed my hands twice with soap and still they smelled gross? Why then afterwards I heard the cat barfing on the stairs and I didn't throw her out in time? Why, Why, Why? I was going to make some Christmas cookies today for my neighbors, and do you think they would appreciate some stomach flu to go with it? I am also sad we missed going to chuch today, and though we are stuck here, waiting for the rest of the kids to bring more Christmas cheer, I thought maybe I would feel good enough to clean a little. But Jason refuses to do anything. He was sick two days ago and he never had to vomit, but he was well enough to play video games. I am trying to get my stomach settled enough for lunch, and to make everything worse, Jason has two dead deer hanging in the back yard! Anyone for deer meat? It makes me gag at the thought of it. Why, Why, Why? I am just sick of all this Christmas crap! That is all I have left to say.....

Do I Really Wish I Could Read Minds?

2008-12-14T19:49:00.002-05:00

If I could read minds, would I like what was being said in them? When we all watched Twilight, I think everyone could agree that the scene in the cafe about mind reading was strange. I didn't expect it, and I guess it added a little extra humor when Edward mentioned the guy thinking about cats. In Sabrina's case, that would properly be true. But would I want Edward's gift? Yes and no!

I was not going to write about my experience creating the Christmas dinner. It is over with, and though some see it as a success, I see room to improve. Most people know it's not easy being a person with authority. Mine was not much, but my goal as the church's new activity coordinator was to impress the congregation so that they would accept me, and come to future events. I really wanted to make it special too. I wanted to share the Christmas spirit all around. As if you seen my blog early on, I have been in the Christmas spirit for some time. But again, I can't read minds, and it was obvious that some people were not sharing in the experience through out the week preparing and through the event it's self.

I went through a week of heck about meat! What a stupid thing to stress over, and when all the griping was done, and I had to make a executive decision over it, I ended up with too much of it. I felt because I had to make that decision, I thought the person I was dealing with was mad at me. If I could of read her mind, I would have slept better on Friday night and would have known that she would have came to help me after she said she wouldn't. It worked out. I was thrilled. The decorations turned out just the way I planned. It was beautiful. I wanted people to be in awe. It made me so happy and thrilled that all my planning turned out nicely and that people would be happy. All I had to do then was to sit back and enjoy the moment. BUT that moment was soured by a few minor things and people. I tried to turn the other cheek and think to myself, what was going on in their mind. I should have known that no matter what, things were going to get knocked over, people were going to complain about not finding a seat (which were many and I can't help that our church is so small and I used all the tables I had), and that people were going to be so indecisive about performing or not. I had people mad at me for their inability to bring their Nativities on time. I had people mad at me because I asked them to perform before people began to go home. I had people mad at me because I bought ham instead of turkey, the list goes on. All this complaining made me for one moment rethink about doing this dinner again next year.

I am still upset about it, and I prayed not to be. It made me feel better today that more people than complainers actually thought the dinner went so well. It made me feel good, and I had so much praise, it was almost getting annoying. Maybe if I could have read their minds, I would have not let the problems get the best of me. And maybe I could have avoided some unpleasantness. Perhaps I wish people could read my mind and they would know that I was trying really hard to please everyone and my heart was in the right place.

Candy Canes and Canker Sores

2008-12-10T08:17:00.002-05:00

Candy Canes and Canker Sores, don't mix! It seems like it's the season to be fat and jolly, it starts in October and ends with a all out party on the last night of the year! Why, oh why, do we fall into this trap? Goodies and more goodies every where and every day, all in the name of a holiday. You know cankers feel, Clark gets them very often. I caught him sneaking dry juice mix and eating it! The packets are sugar free and is supposed to make up a gallon of juice, but he has been eating it like his own private Pixie Stick!

* warning, may contain gross content*

We all went to the dentist this fall and I am the one who ended up with six cavities! Oh brother! I had to go, because when I ate something chocolate, I began to feel pain. I went on Friday and it took them a hour to do one tooth! It took so long mainly because it was really deep and I couldn't get numb enough. I won't go into details but one I have to admit I was nervous, I was even shaking. Before we started, he asked me about about the tumor I had in my mouth that I had removed years ago. I think that was as close as I will ever get to real torture! I had surgery to pull down a tooth out of my pallet and was awake for it, but nothing can compare to what I had to endure! In as little details as possible, it was in my bottom jaw and it grew so big it covered my bottom teeth! I was awake for everything, and the smell of burning flesh will never leave my mind. The surgeon warned me that if it grew back for a third time, I might lose a portion of my jaw and teeth! I was super scared. After the second surgery, I looked in the mirror and saw what looked like a horror movie, my jaw bone surrounded by burnt flesh! (I will not describe what the tumor looked like after they removed it.)

My dentist on Friday brought back some of that fear, after he begun drilling the first time and I was not numb enough! I could not help but have tears roll down my eyes. Then he gave me all he could, he said, and I still felt it sorta. But for hours later, I could not talk right or eat. I survived and I think this is a lesson to be learned, for my kids, that need to lay off the candy. I haven't bought any Christmas candy for their stockings, and I might not.

Ice, Ice Baby....

2008-12-04T12:12:00.003-05:00

This time of the year, when it gets cold outside, I walk very carefully to avoid falling. But every year I always manage to have one great fall that shatters my nerves, and makes me afraid to walk where ever ice is possible. So then I end up walking like a granny. (no offense to anyone who is..) It's hard to believe that there was a time in my life that I use to love the ice. I was not the greatest skater, nor the fastest, but when I played hockey with the boys, I can admit, I wasn't bad. I only played for fun in gym, recess, and after school. Yes, our elementary school Woodriver in Fairbanks, was so awesome, that we had our own skating rink!

I never played on a real team, but my brother's did when we lived in Evanston, Wyoming. Jason was my new husband at the time, and I pushed him to play with my little brothers all of the time. Since I was unable to skate any more because of my knees, he did. There was only one outdoor rink that anyone can use. When it wasn't being used for practice or games, it was open to the public and there were skates avaible to rent.

Well one night, when I was visiting my mom while Jason was out skating with my brothers, something happened. Something, gross and disgusting. I still remember the moment when I was eager for Jason to be back and my brother's came into the kitchen being loud as usual. Jason came in and acted as if nothing was wrong and he sat down to take of his wet boots and then said something to the effect of needing a bandage or something. I can't remember then, what my brother's were saying, something like how he got to drive Jason home and that he swore! (Danny was only in middle school at the time) but Jason pulled up his pant leg, and exposed this giant bloody hole! Yes! It was a pretty bad wound and Jason was even smiling. What is wrong with him? My mom rushed to his side, she being a nurse, she was always the one to go to for help. I could barely look at it, just the thought of where it came from was enough to be sick about! Apparently, the rink did not have any hocky skates for his size, so...he wore figure ice skates while playing around with my brothers. Showing off, I am sure! He fell and the long end of the skate went right into his leg! ALL THE WAY TO THE BONE! He pulled it out through his jeans, and the meat stuck into the inside of the pants. According to Jason, and then he swore for the first time in front of my brother's, who were totally shocked by this!

(Okay, you are proberly thinking this is the last of my gross stories, but nope, there are plenty more...ha ha ha)

I had to make my mom stay home while I personally drove him to the hospital. He didn't want to go. He said he was fine. When we got there at that little hospital, we were like the only ones there and they seemed to give us a ton of attention. They first did not believe the story, they thought it was a bullet hole! It certainly looks like one! Poor guy, he may be able to stand blood on animals, but he is a complete baby when it's his own. They had to clean him out, and when they shined the light inside, they let me look, and yes, there was the bone! I asked if they could just sew it, but they couldn't. So they packed it with a long piece of cloth, which had to be changed a few times a day until the hole closed up from the bottom up. You can image what that looked like, when they pulled out the blood soaked cloth. They sent him home the next day, after they fed him IV stuff, and then after that, it was a process to go through twice a day to get cleaned and restuffed. So, so, so gross. He has a scar for life that looks like a bullet wound. After this, I never ice skated again and neither did Jason.

Why Yes Vivienne, There Is A Santa Claus!

2008-12-01T08:17:00.003-05:00

*CAUTION MAJOR SPOILER ALERT! KEEP KIDS AWAY!*

To tell or not to tell, that is the question. Should I tell Vivienne the truth about Santa? I wanted to but Jason didn't. I was going to tell her anyways and asked her some questions about it, and she responded with some innocent answers. She really believes in him , and I didn't want to crush that Christmas spirit gleam in her face. Though last year we told Clark the truth. He accepted it and has been really understanding. This year I told Vivienne the truth about the Tooth Fairy because trying to lie about it was just getting ridiculous! So I didn't tell her and her belief in Santa will continue for another year.

I know some of you have never did the Santa thing. The stories they come up in movies make the whole thing even bigger in some kids minds. I for one turned out okay, for as I believed in Santa far into my high school years. Even when I saw the presents my parent's bought and even if I heard them wrap things far into the night as a child. Some how and some way, even when my parent's were going through tough times, I still got just about everything I wanted! So he had to be real, to get the things I wanted even when my parent's were poor.

There is no doubt that I have a big imagination, and on Christmas Eve, I would stare out the window, looking for the Christmas star and Rudolph's shiny red nose. One year when I was in third grade, I could have sworn that I saw it and I told everybody I did. It was properly a plane but I believed. Especially when I have met the real Santa! There is a man (maybe crazy) that lives in a town called the North Pole in Alaska, who claims to be Santa Claus. I believed because I went there, and I saw his house, his workshop, and his reindeer. There was no Rudolph. So am I warped because I believed? My mom told me if I didn't Santa would not come.

I think it's not healthy to lie to your kids, but do we tell them everything? I am certain that all of can say we have lied to them for a good reason, at one time or another. Believing in Santa makes Christmas more special. Of course we know what the true meaning of Christmas is. I think I already explained in my last post, Christmas has become more than just our Savior's birthday. It has become a time where we should act more Christlike in honor of our Savior. The image of Santa carries that love on. Especially in time where people do not believe in our Savior at all, little do they know that Santa himself is helping people get into Christ like activity. BUT of course it's important to not let Santa over shadow our Savior, or worship him as if he was the Savior. Some people get confused, there is always going to be people that go overboard, commercialize Christmas, and take advantage of people during this time.

Believing that there is someone good in this world who cares about little children is a positive role model for our kids. Why would I want to take that away? Why is it any different than having other fictional characters as role models? Kids aren't stupid, they may wish to grow up like Santa, wouldn't that be better that Miley Cyrus? I enjoy playing Santa to my kids every year, it makes me happy. And temperorarily takes us away from reality of our troubles. I am sure someone can agree? It would be sad without Santa. What do you think?

Bah- humbug! To You and You and You!

2008-11-28T21:30:00.003-05:00

We put our tree up this year On Wednesday. We put on lights up a week before. Does it makes sense that we got a live tree or endure the amount of the electricity bill next month? It does not make any sense at all. Or does it?

I had a few moments in the past couple weeks where I was thinking, I wish that we could skip Christmas this year...It did not help when my dad and Dria were saying they didn't want anything for Christmas this year, nor are they going to put a stupid tree, or waste their power putting up lights. All that talk just made me mad. I didn't want to hear it. So then I thought, maybe they are right. Maybe we should skip all that extra stuff and find our selves a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. But I changed my mind. ( remember I like to rebel?) I just refuse to let them be right, I refuse to feel sorry for ourselves and ruin my kid's Christmas. So I wanted to skip Thanksgiving, I decorated my blog and I set my alarm clock to Christmas music when I woke up. My kids got so excited to see the lights outside and when we got the tree, I let them put whatever ball they wanted up, instead of what I wanted. I am also going to make a effort to mail off Christmas cards, which I haven't done in a long time. I am even making the kids watch Christmas shows on TV. I want to surround my self with Christmas, is that so bad?

I took the kids, reluctantly to see Santa arrive at the mall, like we go every year. Three of them know the truth about Santa but it's the point to get into the Christmas spirit. It was a sad arrival, he was late, it was cold, and only half of the people came as they did last year. I thought it was depressing, no one waved but me, Sabrina, and another mom! He was looking at the people and they weren't excited at all. I told the kids to not make him feel bad, wave and smile! So Sabrina started jumping up and screaming SANTA, SANTA! He had a huge smile when he saw her, and when he came over, he gave her a big hug.

I know some people have gone overboard with Christmas, and have you ever wondered why? Some people even keep Nativity's and trees up all year round! Do you think they do it because they are lazy? It's because it the spirit of Christmas they wish they could feel all of the time. It has become something more that just of Savior's birth, it has become a time where people should give a crap about other people. A time to be with and think about family. A time where kid's can be hopeful, and dream happy dreams. The lights are a symbolism of the Christmas spirit, and when I see them, it makes me happy. I think it would be easy to be down with Christmas when things look bleak, when loved ones are gone, when your in financial peril, or even if your sick. That is when you have to fight back, and let a little bit of Christmas in your heart.... It can do a body good, so pass it on! Don't let the news ruin it for you, there is always going to be bad people and bad things happen to good people. And sometimes we will run into a Scrooge or two, that will try to damper our day. So get revenge! Tell them Merry Christmas and just smile!

I Survived Twilight!

2008-11-22T08:13:00.005-05:00

I wasn't going to do this, run home a write about Twilight, but then thought why not? I stayed up until 1am looking for reviews or information on it. I couldn't find much but the reviews I read were either really hateful or extremely positive, there was no in between.

I am going to miss all the hype, it was fun to talk about something that everyone seemed to love with your friends. I felt that it brought us closer, the books I mean. I haven't quite been this excited about something besides the election, with a pack of people like this before on this level. I am not one to be gitty, jump up and down, to scream, or rock back in forth in my seat like Jennie L.. I sat between Shawna and Meg, there were 15 of us in all. Shawna was super excited, I wasn't sure if she was able to drive to the theatre safely! I told myself I wasn't going to clap, but when roller coaster screen came up, people clapped and I found myself doing it out of instinct. (how corny, I thought) I hope the girl's didn't think I was a party pooper because I was unable to show my emotions that way. Trust me, I would be calm if I won the lottery, and I have been when ever Christmas came. I am very excited in my own way.

I am not going to tear down this movie, I believed it served it's purpose. To visually give us Edward, Bella, Jacob and the others That is what we wanted to see right? It wasn't the best made movie ever, but I liked it. I would like to see someone do better. It wasn't exactly the easiest book to bring to film, since it was so unbelievable. People are going to gripe, I say, "SHUT UP!" Give me a break, give them a break! I have to admit though, there were some really funny moments, well more like looks, like Billy driving by, Edward in class, Edward sucking out the venom, and of course Bella going cross eyed while dying! I am trying to resist telling Jason all about it! I want to go with him when he goes, I just wish it wasn't so expensive! I just have to see this movie again to believe what I saw.

I thought Rob Pattinson did a good job acting, because people believe he is really Edward. In real life, he is such a dork! His hair, well, it's awful, he can't keep his hands out of it. When he was on Ellen, he touched his hair and it stuck up the whole time in a funky way. I feel for the kid, his 15 mins. of fame has turned into more. He doesn't know what to do. I just hope he handles it well, I hope he doesn't turn to drugs or alcohol to overcome this insanity! Poor guy! He has young girls, gay men, hot chicks his age, and old ladies throwing themselves at him! That would be freaky, if I were in his shoes. He is too nice, he puts up with a lot.

Do you want to know what was my favorite part? The prom of course! It was basically the whole movie which I loved, though it was different from the books, I think of the movie as another companion piece to the book. I certainly hope they make the other movies, if anything, to just see the actors enter act again. After the movie we all went to dinner to a Thai restaurant, it was my first time. I am a very picky eater and so I didn't eat much, in fact the lady didn't make me pay anything because I had some white rice with a couple drips of sweet and sour sauce on it. I think we all could have talked forever, it was a conversation we could talk and talk about. I am glad the girl's had fun, and I am glad I was part of their Twilight click, it will be something to always remember. Thanks girls, and thanks to Stephanie Meyer!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2008-11-20T12:45:00.006-05:00

My first thought of every morning is, has it snowed enough, so that Seminary and school will be canceled? I often wish it would snow, though it has happened many times of the past, a dusting gets everyone excited here. If it snowed a inch or two, you would think that they would declare a state of emergency! I often remember what a real snowfall was like, it has been so long time. Sometimes I tell the kids how it was when I was a kid. The snow had to be removed on your roof top with a shovel, and when we did that, we would a make pile we can jump in. The snow would completely make our parent's car disappear, and if they were on the curb side, the plows would make it unbearable to dig out. I even remember having the snow up to our windows, and my dad would make a tunnel like path to our door, how cool is that? I love the snow because it makes everything clean, white, and quiet. (Until it starts melting, then ugh!)

When I lived in Alaska, we never had snow days! The cars would all have studded tires with chains on them. In Fairbanks, we sled to school, I think I already wrote about that. We still had recess when we had school too. The plows would create a mountain for us to tunnel in by the end of the parking lot. As kids, we would spend all of our free time perfecting a cave or tunnel. And if it got boring, we played a real rough and mean game of King of the Hill.

No one could tell if I was male or female. I wore a hat with a face mask underneath. I would wear a coat under my one piece snow suit, that my dad put reflecting tape on. It had to have that tape because it was always dark in the winter, and I loved to play outside. I always wore Long Johns under my clothes, and two pairs of socks. I remember it being so cold that my eyelashes would stick together if I didn't wear goggles. I wore a pair of mittens inside of my gloves too. That was real snow, and occasionally, since I have moved, I got to experience some good storms in Wyoming and in Salt Lake. Here, the ice storm are pretty scary, but I have yet to experience anything worth mentioning. It is sad when the snow disappears the next day, or even on the same day. It does scare me to drive around people who don't know how to drive in the snow though. And one thing that drives me mad, is the fact the forecasters can not get anything right! Last year it seemed like they cried "Snow", a few times, and everybody would run to the store in a panic. I laugh! But I am guilty of going along with their madness, I didn't want to be the only one with out a extra milk! The stores must love it!

Jason, I told you so!

2008-11-17T12:32:00.002-05:00

It is no secret that Jason was once a terrible driver! In 1992, on April fool's day, he caused a four car accident on the way to school! He wasn't paying attention and he rear ended his shop teacher, which rear ended someone else and also cause someone to rear end him! He was okay, the air bag was deployed but the car was a total loss.

Then one day while driving his brother Dan's Jeep, he backed out too quickly and got hit by oncoming traffic. Then another time, we were in his brother Kevin's car, when he got too close to someone in front of us on a hill. I told him, why are you so flippin close, back off! He said he was fine. But the light changed, and the car in front of us, had no choice but to hit the front bumper, when they took their foot off the brake. I told him, I told you so!

When I met Jason he had the biggest, ugliest 70's style brown striped van, with a huge dent in the side. I guess his parent's felt it would be safer for him to drive. When I moved away to WY, after he had graduated in UT, I still had my senior year to finish. He would come and visit me up there, while driving his red hard top Jeep. I was deathly afraid of his driving when I rode with him in that. When it snowed, it was even worse! One day, on the way up my parent's windy road, he took a turn too quickly on the ice. I told him to slow down! But we ended up over the curve on someones lawn, and then I told him so! I should have known that this was a warning sign!

He moved up to WY in January and worked for my dad at his shop. He lived in the apartment above, rent free. My dad always gave him a hard time about his driving mishaps, and swore that he would never ride with him! Until one day, I heard that Jay was coming over for dinner, and that he was going to give my dad a ride. At that it time, the streets were snow covered, and it was dark out as usual. My mom begun to get frustrated because they were late! And I walked outside to wait for them. Then I heard the sirens, and then rushed towards them, to look over the hill, down to where one of the curvy roads which lead to our street. There was a accident. And I quickly got in the car to check it out.

When I got there, I had to get out to see beyond the emergency crews surrounding Jason's red Jeep, on it's side! The first thing I saw was my dad's feet hanging out the window! HOW? Jay was wearing his seat belt, but not my dad. They ended up being cut out of his Jeep. My dad was never going to let this one down! They ended up okay too, you would think after this, Jason would be a little more careful!

But again, there was another told you so moment! A year later, we were married and I was five months pregnant. When he decided to take the steeper icy drive way out of our apartment complex, instead of the safer one. I told him not to. He didn't listen. He got up half way up the drive, when the wheels spun out. The the right of us, was the curve, and a steep hill that led to our apartment on the bottom floor. After trying, and trying, I got scared and told him I was getting out. So I unclicked my seat belt, and suddenly at the same time, the Jeep quickly learned to the right side and slid into the corner of our building! He used super human strength to pull my body over him, so I wouldn't get hurt! The whole passenger seat was caved in! If I had wore my seat belt, who knows what would have happened to me or Erick. I did go to get checked out but I was fine. Thank goodness for insurance, and for Heavenly Father watching out for us! I wish I could find the picture I have of this accident, it was crazy! But finally after that, he started listening to me!

A baby for Thanksgiving...

2008-11-13T09:22:00.003-05:00

Sabrina was born two weeks early, on November 25th. The day before Thanksgiving. It wasn't planned to have her early. I had a cesarean with Erick before but I really wanted to try having her the right way. I didn't have much choice, but the doctor's assure me that she was going to be fine.

I was a bit nervous, of course they didn't try to stop it at that point, but after my water broke, my labor stopped. I had to have the c-section, and on top of everything, I had a team of medical students that I let be a part of my experience. Was I going to tell them no, when they are all standing there? I couldn't remember how many there were, at least eight of them. They came in the operating room at the same time, and one of them took pictures for me, in graphic detail! She was born at 11:11 am. Officially they said 11:12, but they waited a minute to call it. I felt this was a sign, because as a kid, and even now, 11 was my favorite number. I used to make a wish, whenever I saw the time was 11:11 on a clock.

I had her name all picked out before she was born, and I knew what she would look like. I wished and prayed for a girl who had curly hair like Erick, and I wanted dimples! The day she was born, everyone told me she was the most beautiful baby they ever saw. She had dark brown hair, it was slightly kinked at that point. And of course she smiled, and was able to lift her head up off the nurse's shoulder, showing off her dimple. (I have a pic of that) I was so pleased! I couldn't stop staring at her, she was so quiet, and she had one small flaw when she was born, one of her ears were folded, but it was still cute.

The day after, it was Thanksgiving. Jason missed out on the big dinner with the family, but my mom came and brought us some of it. My room was really big and nice, it had a wooden floor. Jason slept in the chair next to me, he was very sweet to be with me all of the time. By this point, I barely went anywhere, because I had a history of blood clots in my legs, and I had this thing on them to heat and massage them. On that night, I was dozing off because of the pain killers, I was on, and at that point, Jason was holding the baby up against his shoulder. I didn't realize it, but he was very sleepy too. When I had my eyes closed, all of the sudden, I heard a loud smack on the floor....Yes, it was the baby! I knew exactly what it was, when I heard it, and I hopped up so fast, and I bent down to get her, she wasn't crying!

Even then, as I was screaming for the nurse, he acted as if he didn't know what had happened! Two nurses came, and they rushed her away to check her out, I was left there, with him alone, because they wouldn't let me go. I tried to limit talking to him because I wasn't going to say anything nice to him. He felt very bad. When people came back to talk to me, they said she was fine, and it was luck that she hit her head where she did. She just had a slight bump. BUT they weren't going to do anything else about it but watch her! I told them no way! I want a cat scan! So after insisting on it, I was allowed to go where the radiologist was and watch the images download. He pointed out that she was fine. I prayed and prayed that she would be.

Afterwards, I wouldn't allow Jason to hold her. And I was even worried about my own ability to do so. So I left her with the nurses as much as possible. When it was time to go home two days later, after I got dressed and signed the discharge papers. I was waiting to go, when I was laying on the bed, and I suddenly felt a gush of warmth down my legs, and to my knees. I looked under the blanket and it was blood! It was a lot of blood, and it was coming from my belly! They were panicked! So was I! Because of my sudden jump up when the accident happened, and because I was taking shots in my stomach for clots, I tore my belly open!
(Okay at this point, you're thinking, Jennie's blog is just too gross to read anymore, but it really happened!)

To make a long story shorter, I wasn't healing very good. I had to be readmitted and I was put on the surgical floor, in a room the size of a closet! I felt left alone there, and because the baby was discharged, they bent the rules to let her stay with me, but they weren't going to take care of her! I was not allowed to have anyone else stay either, nor was there room, because the bed was against the wall, they had to pull the infant unit they let me use, out into the hallway, to even walk on the side of the bed! I really tried to fight depression, and when they thought I was ready to go home again, when I stood up, the blood would come rushing out! Before they could glue it, they treated it like a wound, and they packed the holes in my belly with white gauze. I had to watch them remove it, and feel it, when they stuffed it in and out! It was a horrible two weeks! I felt so alone.

But I got through it, and even when I came home, I was on restrictions, and I had to give myself shots in my belly for a while. But Sabrina was fine, she slept through the night like a pro. I dressed her up like a doll, and even though some people say it was gas, she smiled at me everyday! I know Heavenly Father blessed me with her. I know people have those jokes about being dropped on your head as a baby, but that is nothing to joke about. I would have never told anyone, but I feel it was a true test of spiritual strength during that time. My faith was sort of weak, but my prayers were answered. I didn't care what pain I went through, I would have done anything to have gotten to her sooner. Accidents happen, it could have happened to me, or even a nurse. I forgave Jason shortly after, I trusted him with her and all of the rest of my babies. It was just a lesson we had learned through the hard way, unfortunately. Nevertheless, I was grateful things turned out okay, and it was certainly a Thanksgiving I could never forget.

Stranded...

2008-11-11T14:29:00.002-05:00

Through the years we have had our bits of car problems, and I think just about everybody has. Sometimes it may be because of something stupid, such is driving on a empty tank, and the worst is losing a engine or transmission in the middle of no where! That has happened to us, more than once. Because we love to drive and we push our vechiles to the limits sometimes, like passing people going up a steep mountain like Parley's, in Utah and losing our transmission on the way, so stupid! Or taking the risk driving with a engine light on, and ignoring it. What ever the reason, it has happened to us, and it sucks when it does. There has been that rare occausion, where we had minutes on our cell phone, it was not out of range, and we had AAA to bail us out. One particular time where I was extremely grateful was when we had to rely on the kindness of strangers.

We lived in St. George at the time, about six hours away from South Jordan, Utah, when we took our old used van to go visit my in-laws for a few days. We left on a Sunday and missed church because of it, and we hadn't planned on breaking down on the way. We had our large white husky mixed dog with us, named Lightening, he took up his own seat, when he rode with us. We couldn't leave him down in the deseret heat for days. So we went, and on the way there, without warning, we lost the engine when we were between towns. (if you ever took that drive, you would know that there are plenty of vast land between towns) We didn't have a cell phone with us, and it was too hot to stay in the van. We didn't even have any extra water either. So we decided, let's try to walk to the next town. We said a prayer and we began walking, away from the road, in tall weeds going north. We figured we had a hour or so of sun left and possibly we would get somewhere before long, but there wasn't any building in sight, either way!

As we walked (this must of been a pathetic sight to see), we had walked for only like 15 mins. at the most, when suddenly a small compact car stopped and honked at us. In the car, was two old ladies, who were sisters and they told us to jump on in, without even discussing our sitiution. The dog too? I thought, and top of everything else, in the back seat where two large coin filled water cooler containers that took up a bunch of space. They tried to stuff it in the trunk, but they would not fit. So Jason and all four kids stuffed themselves in back seat with the coins. As for me, I sat in the front area, sharing a seat with the lady, and the dog on both of our laps! To make everything worse, he was really panting, because he was hot and he weighed a lot! The ladies were as nice as can be, they were on the way home from Vegas, going to Park City, and they stopped because we had a dog! Usually people thought he was a wolf when they saw him, bright white fur with his pale blue eyes, when he stared at you, they looked mean. But he wasn't, he was just a big furry baby.

We were extremely grateful to the ladies, they drove us to the nearest town, and since this was still so far away from where we were going, they did something even nicer. They bought drinks for us, and offered to take us the rest of the way! Jason and Erick stayed behind though, so they could wait until help could come get our van. Luck was on our side, because Jason's brother owned a repair shop. We never heard or seen the ladies again after they dropped us off at my in-laws house, I even offered to pay them for gas. But I feel like the Lord did indeed answer our prayer and ever since then, I have felt compelled to stop and offer help to others when they are on the side of the road broke down too.

November is the Time for Thanksgiving...

2008-11-10T08:11:00.001-05:00

After I first got my blog rolling, people may have noticed that I enjoy changing it as often as I can. The colors and designs are endless, which reflects my many moods, any special events, and seasons of the year. I try to control myself, and limit it to a once in a month thing, but something new always comes up! I am excited about Christmas coming up soon, I wish I could just skip Thanksgiving altogether. (the stores already do it, why can't I?)

But that's not going to happen this month, because I have had plans since the beginning to have blog themes, like the one I am going to have this month, "November is the time for Thanksgiving". This month will be filled with stories, things, and people that I am thankful for. There are many stories to share, because though I may not show it, I actually pray to Heavenly Father everyday to thank him for certain things and people. I have a lot to be thankful for, even when it seems like I am going through one of these poor me moods. I still will not deny that I am cursed, and people around me are starting to believe it for themselves. I just have a hard time getting past that, and thinking positively like I should. Because of this, I have tried to be prepared for life's problems, almost expecting it. When it does happen, I try to get a grip, and take a step back. Sometimes hearing another person's problems, makes your so minor. And that makes me for grateful for what I do have to deal with. But of course, there is only so much someone can take. And truthful right now, I am just about to that point.

I just want to make a shout out to the people that I am grateful for this week, that tried to make my frown, upside down when I tried to to lie with a fake smile, and say I was fine. And that is my neighbors, the Coiners who are like a second set of parents, whether they wanted to be or not. Micah who helps out more than he knows.

I am thankful for the understanding by Erick's teachers, counselor, and nurse, who I think show they care quite a bit when they are meeting with me on a non conference day, when they are so busy.

I am thankful for my sister Ann, Jay and her kids for coming all the way out here from California just to visit us for a weekend. Which wasn't long enough, but I was so happy to get what I could out of it, even if we had other problems going on at the same time. They didn't judge me, and they were so fun to be around. I just love them!

I am thankful for the manager I spoke to over the phone, who finally believed me, and helped me after I spoke to several people for him, that wouldn't. That really means a lot to me, and I am thankful for my status, even if it's may be short lived.

And finally, I am thankful for my parent's, even when sometimes telling them I have a problem, may lead to more. They usually have a unique way of dealing with things, and working angles that I never thought of. The thing about them is they would really do anything for their kids, if it was in their power, and I know that. I try to return the favor whenever I can. I am thankful for their love, and their resourcefulness.

Burnt OUT!

2008-11-05T13:32:00.004-05:00

When you read my title, please understand that I am not burnt out on life, or any other of my responsibilities, just about election related stuff! I am sure like a lot of people, has been so caught up in the experience that now that it is over, you want it to be over. I can compare it to things like, when you invite someone over for dinner and then after you have cleaned, prepared, cooked, and entertained, you feel like, enough is enough, goodnight! But then they won't leave, they linger behind, still wanting to have the same conversation. I know it's strange, for me to be saying all this, because I have been looking forward to a win for so long, after being lifted up and inspired twice before and only to be knocked out once, and conned another time before that. I should be happy and thrilled!

I am sort of...I am hoping now, not be let down, and I am hoping for Obama to be a Superman, to do all he promises, and to prove to all those who doubted him, to never doubt him again. Does that ask for the impossible? I know I am not the only one who feels this way. I know how Republicans feel about losing. (it's about time, lol) They think this country is going down the toilet, they think they rather now live in Canada, and it's a sure sign of the Apocalypse! The country has already gone down the toilet, and now, we have hired a plumper, hopefully he can do the job.

I worked the polls yesterday, and was so thrilled to do so, even though I was sick, and was working with one, particular annoying person, who caused some grief during the most busiest time of the day. It's a long story, but without problems, it would have been completely boring! Before the election, I attended a meeting the week before, and they gave us more worries to think about on our big day, than before. The county sheriff came in and briefed us on about some threats that had been received, regarding the election. Besides dealing with obsessive party fans, our lives will be in danger? Sweeping for bombs, and possibly expecting crazy people to try to vote with guns, that sort of thing, hardly makes the pay worth it. Why is race make people so crazy, I hope now, people will move on about that, and just people!

So my other comparison about how I feel, is what someone might feel on Christmas morning. After months of waiting, talking about, singing the songs, and dreaming about want you want, it's finally here, and you wake up, and you got what you wanted. Just about the day after Christmas (I have to control myself from doing it on the night of), I want to put everything away, and I am then totally sick of all that is Christmas! I don't want to hear the tunes, or see the decor any more, I just want to everything to be clean, and I am ready for the new year. That is how I feel.

Go Out & Vote!

2008-11-01T11:09:00.002-04:00

People in America take so many things for granted. One thing in particular is our right to vote for a new leader of our country. It doesn't take watching Jay Leno's Jaywalking bit, to see some of America's finest citizens in action. We are surrounded by people who are clueless or just lazy when it comes to politics, people in the line, parents at the games, people in our own homes, etc. Do you know what got me teary eyed, a while back when I watching the same old news about the war in the middle east? It was when I saw woman cry because she was allowed to vote for the first time for the President of her country. Besides braving the thought of riots, bomb scares, and prejudice against her, she had dark blue or black ink dyed on her fingers, which she wished she could never wash away. Woman are still treated like second class in some countries, some had never had such a opportunity. Of course I recognize the reason why she was allowed to vote in the first place, and that was because of our own country. It makes me feel proud that we care about others.

I think everybody knows by now that I am a election officer. NO big deal to some, but I take it very seriously! I feel like I am doing my part, to contributing to our country. In which, some people don't seem to really care about their right to vote. They just figure it's all in the delegates hands, or their vote will be canceled out by the friend or spouse who is voting for the opposite candidate. But it's the purpose, the right that we get to do so, that is one of the most important things. What if only a small percentage of people only chose to vote? What if the government realized that, and decided to give the responsibility to only a handful of people who are dedicated to doing it, so they stop wasting all this money on paying election officers , voting supplies, & machines? Don't you think that it would save a ton of money for the government and candidates who spend a ton of money trying to influence your vote? I am sure someone has thought of that and maybe prefer that. Maybe some dictator or party that wants to be in charge. What does that remind you of?

Just go and do it, it's not like it's such a chore, though this election may make you wait a bit, with other people who are just as anxious. That's no different than standing in line at Wal-mart at Christmas time. (or anytime,lol) Just be patient, especially if you come to my precinct. But that's another story for my blog...

It Must Have Been My Imagination, Right?

2008-10-30T12:24:00.004-04:00

Have you seen shadows in the corner of your eye, and quickly turned your head, to find nothing there? I have some more questions for you, see if you can relate...

Have you ever taken a shower, when your alone in the house and you heard something, and then opened the shower curtain half way, so you could watch the doorway?

What about seeing shadows move in the TV set reflection, when it's turned off?

What about getting crank calls, late at night, asking you, " What are you wearing and telling you, that they were coming over?"

What about sitting there reading at night in your recliner reading, and for two nights in a row, the basement door would pop open real fast and then start to close?

What about laying your head on your pillow and hearing screams?

What about walking outside on a dark cold, and starry night alone, and then suddenly looking up, and seeing a massive fireball going across the sky as if it was crashing near by?

What about being awoken by finding out that your right arm is straight into the air, and feeling as if you can't move it, because it feels like someone is holding your hand?

What about getting up in the night to chat with you brother, in the room across from you, and then you both notice, down the hallway, there is a green ghost with a dog?

I could go on and on, these things have happened, to either Jason or I. I love spooky stuff, but I do get chicken too. Sometimes I try to ignore it, and then there has been times I had to cast it away! You can believe if you want, and /or just consider me crazy. I know what I heard, seen, and even felt! I have sensitive hearing and a good sense of smell, and I can't sleep well if there is a sound. Nor eat certain things, or work in a candle shop because the smell drives me nuts. I rarely wear perfume. But that's normal for most. Could phantom cats be the product of our imagination? (Jason &I) Well, I think I am done for the Halloween season of my spooky stories. Perhaps next year, I will share our experience at the Farm house, and the story of the Boogerdy, Woogerdy Man...HA ha ha...Sounds silly huh? Well it is, especially if you are scared of things that you don't understand or is really your imagination. truth is, most things happen for a reason, or there is a unparanormal explaination for it. I always try to debunk it, and when I can't or it's just too scary, I pray! I hope you have a awesome holiday and happy haunting!

The History of the old Hale Farm House

2008-10-28T11:41:00.003-04:00

There are too many scary stories to share, that came about because of visiting or living in the old Hale farm house, in Waterford, Ohio. The farm is no longer in our family, it had been in for generations, and had hundreds of acres of land, which was divided by a killer road.

The farm had been first owned by my Great-grand parents, then for a brief time owned by another family, the Pottmeyers. After that , my grand parent's owned it, then my Uncle roy and then my dad. It was quite old, it withstood the Civil War days, it still had a building out back, that used to be the kitchen. It had a full sized basement, two floors, and a full sized attic. Which I wasn't sure what I was scared of most, the attic or the basement.... Across the street, there was a huge, double story barn, a large equipment shed, and a large modern shop.

The stories consisted of my great grand parents, they were very strange, silent people. My grandma said she was afraid of her in-laws. They didn't have electricity, which she was used to, for her parent's were a upper class family. My grandma Genevieve, told us about how they made her sleep in a seprete room than her husband, after they had been married for years, when ever they came to visit. She also told us that my Great-grandpa Fred Hale, who used to sit on the front porch naked, had lived to be in his ninties. He one day, had laid down on a bench in the dining area (she pointed to where), and died. Very strange huh? So it was no doubt then, that someone had died there. Reason enough to be haunted right?

Another death that I know of, was a farm hand boy, that worked for my grandpa. He took my grandpa's four wheeler one day without asking, down the gravel road, and crashed into a tree. His parents were awfully upset about it, mainly that he had wrecked my grandpa's ATV. When we were there for a visit in 1994, before we moved there, the family had just returned the four wheeler, all fixed and looking like new. All of us were warned to not to mess around on it. My grandpa then died of cancer, that fall, at home. Shortly after, we moved there, into that house. While my grandma lived down the road, in another house, less than a mile away.

Jason and I had been married for more than a year at this point, and had Erick, it was not fun moving into my parent's house again. Later in the spring they built a brand new addition, a huge bedroom for themselves, and a luxurious bathroom. We moved over to a new trailer, far across the street, on the other side of the shop, next to the fields, and woods. (also the cow graveyard)
So now that you know a bit of our history, in the next blog I will share with you how it was, living there.

Is my blog too scary for you?

2008-10-25T09:13:00.003-04:00

I wonder why no one seems to be commenting on my blog since I changed it over to my new spooktacular page? So in question, I wonder if anyone is even reading it. Well, I care, and I don't. I love to write. I try not to seem so vain about it, but maybe someday, I can take these memories and thoughts and put them together for my kids to read someday.

As for the spooky stuff. Just because I love Halloween and scary things, doesn't mean I am evil. People are starting to get to know me and realize I really dig that kind of stuff. But to pretend that it don't exist and this world is not a scary place, is ignorance. I believe in protecting your mind from thoughts that are bad. Especially protecting your children from certain things too. But what happens when something really bad happens to them? Or they see something shocking and then they are scarred for life? I think you know what I mean. My kids know about the news, and dang it, they are going to fight if they end up kidnapped someday. And if they end up being chased by a axe murderer or get scary phone calls, they will know what to do. I am just preparing them in my own way. Also having the scriptures, prayer, and the Priesthood, will help them combat evil. Evil does exist, and if anyone thinks that it don't, they are foolish! As a parent and as a person, I combat evil every day in some kind of form. Don't we all?

I am not harping on anyone, and I apologize for making fun of anyone who doesn't like scary things. If I scare you, I am just trying to help you prepare for real scares in the future. (your heart, for example) And of course, I do think it is entertaining... It's okay, I will let you be, if you can't take it, for real. I just get frustrated when people make Halloween more evil than it is. Like for example, when people post signs on the door like, "Jesus lives here, so don't knock!" warning trick or treaters away. The schools here don't have costume parades, and most of their parties are labeled fall or harvest parties, instead of Halloween parties. Out here, in the area of so many churches, they have such a double standard. They treat Sunday like a extra Saturday, they drink at every event they can, coaches cuss at their players, they preach hate against other churches, and I can go on and on. BUT yet, some they think it is a sin to participate in Halloween? That is whacked. It reminds me of Carrie's mother, that to me is scary! (Carrie, the movie) I am surprised there isn't people out there banning and burning the Twilight books, because they are about Vampires and Werewolves. Give me a break... Okay, enough said, just thinking about this makes me miss being in Utah, just a little more.

Let's Go Toilet Papering!

2008-10-21T10:01:00.003-04:00

Have you ever gone toilet papering? I admit, I have, just a few times and most of those times, it was met with disaster. I am sharing these little tid bits, of my wild youth, which have nothing to do with Halloween except for the fact, sometimes people do it on that night. I can strike at any time. Just a warning...

When I was in high school in Juneau, I first heard about the idea of toilet papering and messing with people's car for fun, through my friend, Stephanie's mother. She had got my parent's car, the one I drove, really good one night, and my parent's didn't think it was funny. I of course struck back, in a wimpy way, with putting TP in their yard. It was fun, and scary too, the thrill was so exciting. I had went along with some friends who really put the TP high up in these trees at a girl's house one night, and I escaped without getting caught. Well then I got braver, and I decided to go extreme.

One night, I gathered a mob of kids to go do a job in celebration of a friend's birthday, who lived two streets away in a cul-de-sac. It was dark, quiet, and I had bought a bunch of real cheap toilet paper. I was so afraid I was going to get caught, so I sent kids out to do most of the work for me, while I hid behind a bush. When they were done, they had a bunch left, and somehow, the idea of using the rest on the bushes in the cul-de-sac, were a good idea. Well, I hid behind some bushes on a guy's lawn from across the street, and I heard kids telling me they were done. I was crawling on the lawn, with my brother behind me, when I kid you not, this is really how it happened...I stopped when I noticed a man's bare feet standing in front of me, I looked at his calves, they had some muscle, and then I looked up, and there was a man, in a red bath robe with his hands on his hips, staring down at me! I didn't even get up! I was scared to death! All of the kids had disappeared! Even my brother behind me! When I looked at him, he seemed so angry, with his brown mustache, I had finally realized who he was, a man I have met before. A man, who had stopped me when I was driving, and only gave me a warning, it was Officer Hernandez! How could I have not known that he had lived here? I am so stupid! I certainly would have thought twice about doing what I did, if I had known, let alone be crawling on his lawn!

He yelled down at me, something like what in the heck was I doing? And then yelled out to inform anyone else who was hiding, to come put and clean up this mess! But they didn't! My little brother came out, scared to death, and I stood up, then started gathering all of the paper that was strung out everywhere. He stood and watched me the whole time, when we cleaned everything up, and he even watched me walk down his street towards my house. It was a lesson that should have been learned. My friend, Mark didn't even know that his yard was trashed for a few moments.

I didn't do it again, not while I lived in Alaska. I had the idea to try it when I lived in South Jordan, UT. I was brave enough because I went and gathered seven teen aged boys from my sister's Civil Air Patrol unit, and they stuffed themselves in our Colt Vista, loaded with TP. I drove over to a boy's house that I was not exactly getting along with at the time, named Aaron. His parent's house was huge, and very tall. They really didn't have many bushes or trees to mess up. I sat in the car, engine running, and saw the boy's surround the house, and try to throw TP over the roof! Then suddenly, chaos! Aaron had his friends over at that time, which included, my friends, Bob and Jason. My sister was screaming and I saw kids running down the streets in different directions, some came to me, while they were being chased with golf clubs! I of course put the petal to the metal, and left most of them! I came back around though and picked them up in different places, it was such a rush. No body got hurt, just scared. After this, I didn't dare do it again. How do people do it and not get caught? Have you ever done it?

Haunts of Douglas Island, Part 2

2008-10-16T14:20:00.001-04:00

The story continues... While walking back, in the dark damp woods with Scott, Mohan, and Tara, we found a little trail on the right side that led straight down the hillside. We took it, and it was a short trip to the beach, which was nice. We hung out a bit, and then walked right back up onto the main trail, that led to where the trucks were. We came across the brick wall again, and I remembered that the trail which we found earlier, was something I wanted to check out. At this time, they agreed to go, but as we walked, it got extremely narrow, we had to walk in a single line.

Why we kept walking, who knows what we expected to find. We all ready found the ruins of the mental hospital, and this nature hike in the dark, was getting a bit tiring. Mohan led the way, then me, Tara, and Scott. The trees were really eeery, they seemed to curve around the trail. As we walked for about ten to 15 mins. it was then, we see the same flickering lights in the trees that we saw before. "Oh ya, I wonder what they are." I said. We were quiet, and as we got closer, we discovered it was tiny flames that were creating that light. When we came into plain view of the area, we stopped dead in our tracks. The trail ended in a muddy water. So we all just stood there, quiet, staring at the unbelievable thing we saw! I whispered, "someone must be here still," and Scott said something, like be quiet, someone is watching us.

There against the hillside, was a large old brick wall, with dozens of tiny lit, white candles, flickering in the slight breeze. All of the candles were lit and just floating there, spaced out, all over the wall. In the center of the wall, there was a dark hole. In front of the wall, was a tiny brick building, that had a black iron gate. From the trail, to the wall, water surrounded the area, so none of us walked over to it. Except for Mohan. Scott seemed scared, he wanted to turn around, but I told him to wait because Mohan had took off to the wall. I was so afraid that he was making too much noise! He walked over there and took one of the candles! We all whispered to him to take it back! But he didn't listen. He brought it to me, so we can see it. It was just a normal candle. Almost all the wall melted. He dropped it in the water. And suddenly, I can't remember if we heard something or what, but we were on a dead run, down the trail and to the trucks. We were all so scared and heavy breathing, I just couldn't believe it was real. What was that? Was it the devil worshipers that I heard of as rumors, while hanging out at the coffee shop? We went our separate ways and agreed to check it out the next day, while in day light.

The next day, Tara and Mohan couldn't skip class to go with us, so Scott, his friend Richard and I did. We drove over there during school, (we just made it a extended lunch) so that we can see everything in the daylight. Every looked different in the day, even the time walking on the trail took a short amount of time too. We walked to the ruins again, and the looked over the cliff at the end of the main trail, there were water falls there! Then we went to that freaky place, when we got there, the water was all gone. Just a bunch of old dried leaves. But there were no candles on the wall! The little building looked like a little grave thing, but there were no signs or words written anywhere. On the wall, we looked into the hole, and nothing inside it either. We did however find a little candle wax, but no candle holders. Strange, it was like they were stuck on the wall with wax. Rich laughed at us, while we told the story, in fact nobody hardly believed us at all. When we started walking back, there it was on the ground, the candle the Mohan had dropped.

So what do you think it was? I guess we are lucky we didn't find out, no matter, somebody had been there, and if so, how many were there? What if I went alone? I guess these questions will always go unanswered.

The Haunts of Douglas Island...

2008-10-13T14:28:00.004-04:00

I remember this well, how scared I was, and how stupid, foolish girl I had been, when I was a teenager. I am not sure of when this happened, just that it was during my Sophomore year, at Juneau Douglas High School. I had worked at McDonald's at the time. My boss, Mrs. Tran, was a superstitious woman. Her son, Hal, who was my friend, sort of, had told me of a place that was said to be the haunting ruins of a burnt down mental hospital located on the hillside of Douglas Island. When he asked her about it, because she had lived in the area for a long time, she freaked out, and yelled at me, warning me to never go there! I thought it was funny, she was a very dramatic person when she spoke, and that made me want to go and check it out. Hal was going, but she forbid him, and I lied to her, saying I would stay away. But as soon as I could, I talked my friends, Tara, Scott, and Mohan into going with me.
(Eric C., Steph, or Shawn, do you remember this?)
I am not embellishing any part of this story, this is how it went down. In Juneau, there is a island that blocks the city from the wide ocean. The island is inhabited, it has a ski resort, some huge fancy houses on the hillside, and a thick lush forest. It also has a beach, which was a popular hangout, called Sandy Beach. Well anyways, on the South side of the island, there is a road that goes to the beach and it goes just a little further and ends right into the forest. Somewhere, in that forest, if we follow the trail off of the end of the road, we would end up finding the old ruins. Neither of us, have explored this trail before, I was simply going on Hal's instructions. How he knew all this, was beyond me, after I tell you this story, you might have a clue why.
When we got out, doing all of this on a school night, we brought only two flashlights among us. (very smart!!!) We started walking in the dark forest and right away, on the left of us, down the hill, we saw dozens of twinkling lights through the trees. We discussed it, we figured we would check it out on the way back, besides it was properly a house anyways, I thought. As we were walking, Scott tried to scare us, on the right of us. Scott would take off into the trees and pop out every so often and we would freak out. As we were walking, we noticed a brick wall on the left, with a whole bunch of graffiti on it, how strange! We agreed, this was weird, so we walked around it, to see if this was part of the ruins, but it wasn't, it just was a free standing brick wall in the middle of nowhere! On the other side of it, was a small narrow trial, leading down the hill, and along the trail we just walked on. Very spooky! But we continued on. We walked and walked, in the pitch dark blackness. Tara was cool with it, she was the only one really afraid though. Mohan led the way, then I second, with Tara sometimes holding on to my arm. Scott kept on goofing off! Then we suddenly found it!
There it was! It wasn't very large, maybe it was a three story building, and where I stood, I could see the large fireplace in the middle of the bottom floor. I didn't go in it, and it had defiantly been in a fire of some sort. The guys explored it a little and then we were bored. What now? The trail still went on past it, and we walked, shortly after we heard the sound of water, and discovered, the trail coming to a end at a cliff. The flashlight didn't work that well, we figured somewhere near by, there were water falls. That was cool. And we finally turned around, to walk towards home. To be continued!

What's That Smell?

2008-10-09T09:21:00.008-04:00

I think people know that Jason and I get a kick out of going to Spook Alleys and Haunted Houses. Utah is really big on them, in the Salt Lake valley, in October, there will be at always at 12 of them. We liked to go with friends, and take family sometimes. Our own kids are too young, and nothing hardly scares us any more. Some of these places would be so outrageous! The art, special effects, and actors would really put on a show, some were professionals straight out of Hollywood. So who cares if the lines were long, that was to be expected. I can't even count how many we went to, or tell you all that I have experienced. But one experience I could never forget, that I had when Jason and I were newlyweds, we had taken my two twelve year old cousins, Mindy and Lisa.

We went all the way to Provo, to attend the Haunted Asylum, and we stopped on the way to eat at Taco Bell. It was a really cold, dark night. The place was really located in a empty old part of a existing asylum, up on the hill. I had never been there before so I didn't know what to expect, all I knew was a rumor that I had heard, about actors working there. It was said to have had real patients working as actors! Scary! My cousins were kind of scared about that, and I told them that actors were not allowed to touch you, no matter what. So we went.

When we got there, it was like a half mile long line and about six people wide! And the worst part was, in winded up a hill side, which led to the entrance. It was really spooky, almost looked like a castle. The hillside was steep and was outlined by trees, and the other side of the line, was practically a cliff! We were really getting anxious as we got closer, and we were bored too. I had a hard time trying to keep Mindy and Lisa out of the trees. When you are standing there, there is nothing to look at or listen to but other people. It was kind of entertaining. People talked about being scared, and how cold they were. In front of us, there was a older guy, who had slicked back black hair, cowboy boots, and a greaser style black leather jacket. He thought he was cool, his date was a taller blond chick, which he kept his arm around the whole time. I was just plain freezing! Pacing back and forth, and then I suddenly smelt it! The worse, foulest, most potent smell, that just seemed to hover around us and never leave! I am not even exaggerating. I plugged my nose, looking toward the people in front of us, how disgusting, " who do you think did that?", I asked Jason. He didn't say a word. I went to go retrieve the girl's again, I made them stand right next to me. They made such a fuss, being loud, they let everyone know something smelt wrong here, and then they took off again into the trees. Then suddenly I heard the sound of someone gagging, it was the greaser guy, with one hand holding himself up on a single small tree, spitting something over the cliff, towards the crowd below.

Then it grew, the crowd behind us in line, people were horrified at the smell, it seemed to travel down the line, and I turned around to watch the people make such a big deal of it. HOW on Earth can it still be around? I heard plenty of comments from people, I couldn't smell it anymore, but I laughed, and my cousins came back, and they laughed too. I heard some dude proclaim it was him, that he just had Taco Bell, before he came! And quickly after, Mindy looked at Jason, still silent and staring ahead, keeping warm with his hood on and his hands in his pockets. She pointed and started yelling, " It was you! You did it! It was Jason!" I looked at him, and I knew then that it was, I can't believe it, is that what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life? Is that what I married? Then I felt bad for him, he was trying not to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about. I scolded her, and Lisa too, I knew the poor guy was really embarrassed. I looked around, and the greaser guy and his date were no where to be found, they must have left, even after in being in line for a hour.

As for the purpose we were there for, the first room was a wacky, foggy, hospital room, which had several clown like doctors, that you had to walk by. That wasn't scary, until one of them stabbed me in the leg with a huge fake syringe! Then I was scared! They must be real crazies! After that, we practically ran through the whole thing!

Here is proof that I was right... I found newspaper articles, written about it after I wrote this blog. One of the articles said that the actors/patients would actually grab people and lock them in a real coffin! I guess I got off, easy.

In Utah, the Daily Herald has called for resurrecting a Haunted Castle at the State Hospital, which for 26 years featured patients as "performers." The attraction ended in 1997 after NAMI Utah strongly protested the violent stereotypes associated with it as perpetuating stigma -- along with ethical issues involving treatment and exploitation of patients. Funds raised from the annual event paid for half of the hospital's recreation budget.

My Black Cats: The Phantom Cat Part II

2008-10-06T14:21:00.003-04:00

One night, right before I nodded to sleep in my dark bedroom, I was closing my eyes. Then all of the sudden, I felt a movement at the bottom of bed. At first, because I was so sleepy, I figured it was just my cat, coming up to lay next to my legs. My eyes remained closed, paralyzed with fear, when I realized, that I did not have a cat anymore! With in the seconds of coming to the realization, I opened my eyes, and looked down towards the spot, that had a slight round depression there. This happened time and time again, after the first time, through a period of six years. Jason eventually bore witness to this phenomenon, but after a few times, it wasn't so strange, it felt natural.
The phantom cat never visited us when we had other cats in the house, and it only happened severval times, not every night. Then it stopped. The last time I noticed it, was when we had lived in Columbus, Ohio. I oftened wondered if it was my beloved fat black cat, Bear. My cat Bear, I had before Spooky, Salem, and Freighty. He was truly mine, since the day I noticed him in a Juneau pet store, there was a sign on the cage that said, "sold, to Terri Hale", my mother. He slept with me every night, though he was heavy and restricting against my legs, it was very comforting. Well, Bear was a strange cat indeed, he had long black fur, and he loved to lay on his back and get his belly rubbed. He often loved to lay on the stairs, taking up the whole step, trusting people to walk over him. He also had a familer strange low howl he used, instead of meowing for something. He was afraid of the light in the day, he would ask to go out at dusk, and sometimes late at night, he would cry at my window. What a smart cat, I thought. He even was caught on the roof of our porch, one time in the night, and I went outside, held up my arms, and after a few tries, he jumped down on me. But not without a little scratch or two.
The reason why I believe that my phantom cat was him was because he met a untimely, aweful death! We moved from Alaska, to Utah, and then to Wyoming, and he was my loyal favorite pet during that whole time. He was the greastest to me, but he got a urine infection in his last few months before he disappeared. So, he peed on the all the dirty laundry in the basement. My dad was beside himself with hatered for my animal. We took him to the vet, and they gave in medication. But my dad wasn't convinced he was cured. Well, in 1993, Jason and I got married, and then moved into our own apartment. I missed Bear, but he belonged to the rest of the family too. So then in October, weeks before we were all going to make the big move to Ohio, Bear suddenly disappeared! My mom and I drove all around for days looking for him. I checked the shelter and the sides of the road. Where my parent's house sat, it was on top of a hill, which had empty, plain, dirt lots across from it. Days later, I have given up hope finding him, my mom accused my dad of taking him on a long trip far away. But he lied and said, he had no idea where he was. Then when I was walking around outside in the bright sun, I saw him!
Poor kitty! I ran down to the dirt area where he was, he didn't run away from me or howl to me, like he would usually do. I picked him up and kissed him, and carried him home. He looked just the same, but he had no personality. He didn't cry, or try to escape, at home, he even went and laid on his stair like he always did. When my dad came home from work, he insisted that it wasn't him. But he didn't say why. That night my mom let him out and he disappeared again. We searched for him but had no luck. So then we ended up moving with out him.
My dad a few years later confessed to Bear's disappearance, to Jason. He told him how he hated black cats, ever since he was attacked by one in a barn when he was younger. He told Jason what really happened to Bear, and how it was completely impossible that he could come back, to life! He couldn't figure it out, where that cat came from, he thought he was cursed and if the cat hadn't taken off that night, he would have gotten rid of it too. It took me a few years to forgive my father for what he did, and now he feels bad about it. Maybe the phantom cat should have paid him a visit in the night, that would had been funny!

The Wild Man, Dance, and the Ambulance...

2008-10-03T06:02:00.003-04:00

I will try to keep this as short as possible, but this is a interesting true story, I promise... When I was in high school, I once helped with putting on a spook house there, the night of a Halloween dance. I was all charged up, very excited. I helped set it up, we decorated a few rooms, which people had to travel though, via guide, leading the way. I was a guide of course, but that was kind of boring so I came up with something to include me in the spooking too.

The room was near the end, it was dark and was made to look like we were outside in a park somewhere. In the middle of the room, was a big wooden bridge, and a hut over in the corner. That part wasn't my idea, my idea was to lead people into the area, where I would stop on the bridge, and a person, a "wild man" would come and grab me and carry me away, while I pretended to be scared to death, screaming... My friend Don was perfect for the part, he was a ex-body builder, muscle clad guy, who looked absolutely crazy after I painted black stripes all over his body. The other part that made him seem crazy was the fact that he would be there, squatting in the corner hut, with a bowl of actual pig guts! (scraps from a butcher) This wasn't my idea either, thank goodness I wore a long sleeved sweater. He would make grunting noises, while squishing the meat between his fingers, pretending to eat it. Then when people came in, they would see this site, he would throw some pieces towards them, and me. When he got up, people didn't know if they should run, scream, or throw up! It worked like a charm, I would try to hide behind people, and he would snatch me up and carry me off over his shoulder. It was really funny when my mom and siblings came in! He really went after them, my little brother almost knocked down the place running away!

When we were done with the event, we went to join the costume dance in the near by commons area, already in progress. I get a little carried away when I dance. In the fourth song that I danced to, the song "Oh Yeah", was playing. That is a very long song! I felt something strange in my left knee! I fell to the ground, Scott, whom I was dancing with thought I fell. I swear it seemed like a minute before he helped me up. All I knew was that I felt a pop, and my left knee cap had moved to the left of my leg! When I was on the ground, I looked at it, and pushed it back, without a second thought. It was soooo soooo painful to move! My friends helped me move to the side wall, where I sat, surrounded by my friends. I can't remember if it was a teacher or the Principle that called my mom, but she came as fast as she could. It seemed like a long time. I tried not to cry. As long as I wasn't moving I felt okay.

When my mom came, it was too painful to get in the car, even if one of my friends carried me. So for the third time at a school, I rode a ambulance to the hospital. There they tortured me by moving it all around. I ended up in a leg cast! I was sad thinking no one came to see me after I got there. Until the nurse told me a wild looking man, tried to see me, but they wouldn't let him and so he left. I don't think it was the make-up that got him turned away, but the fact that he was hardly wearing anything. That was the first time I dislocated my knee...

My Black Cats, Spooky and Freighty Part 1 (not a scary story)

2008-10-01T07:58:00.005-04:00

It's no secret that in my lifetime I have had a lot of cats. I am not going to name them all. I can safely say, that almost my whole life, I had always owned one.

When I started out I had a obsession for white kittens. Remember I stole it when I was in kindergarten? It was weird, it went to white cats to a black and white, to black ones. Now I have mixed ones.

When I lived in Juneau, we had left our wild cat Kitty behind at the River House. When we were packing the back of the trailer, she had a litter of six kittens, mostly black, somewhere in the back of the truck. The boxes were stacked to the ceiling, and I had to crawl up there, in the extreme heat, and limited space, with a flash light. I found her kittens in the worst spot. I had this Barbie motor home box that I had filled with stuffed animals. It was standing on it's tall side, with of course the box side flap missing. She had them there, and I had to reach down, pushing the toys aside, feeling for kittens! I thought I was going to die of the heat, I pulled out six, hoping that was all. Later I didn't discover any dead ones, but my stuffed animals stunk and were stained with a bloody fluid. I was happy she had them before we left, but I was sad that we couldn't take them with us to Alaska. We had to leave them behind. Good thing, Kitty was a good hunter.

The reason why I told this story is because, later on in the year's, when I moved back to Ohio in 1994, we went back to the River House for a visit. My parent's still owned it, and had no renters at the time. When I was walking around the property, I heard a meow from the woods. I called for it, and two black kittens came out. I wondered if they were related to the kittens we left behind? One kitten was more friendly than the other. I grabbed them both and hid them in my jacket. Jason knew my dad wouldn't be happy about this. We already had a cat with kittens in the barn. They were both males, I named them Spooky and Freighty Cat. Freighty ended up road kill about a year later, and Spooky, well he became the biggest baddest cat around. He had pure muscles, he survived many cat fights, at which would keep us up at night. He even survived getting hit by a car. He used to follow me around when I walked far in the woods. But after I moved, he wasn't happy with me, the last time I saw him, he actually attacked me! When I from Columbus to visit the farm, I couldn't walk anywhere outside without the cats bugging me. In particular, Spooky. As I walked, he started jumping up at me with his claws out! It was quite strange, and I think he wanted me to hold him, or stop walking. But when I tried, he clawed me on the side of my thigh while I was standing! I had to run away from him, while he chased me into the house. I think he was ticked that I chose his son, Salem to live with me. I had Salem for about two years, and then I am not kidding, he disappeared the night we had a bad thunder storm.

Halloween Stories

2008-09-30T09:41:00.002-04:00

In the month of October, I will be posting my scarey, gross, and Halloween related true stories. So to get you in the mood, refer back to the month of August and read about the Poop Massacre, and Part 1 & 2 of the River House from the month of July...

The Most Embarressing Moment, Ever!

2008-09-25T08:04:00.005-04:00

Through the years, I have had some moments where, well, things would happen and they would be rather embarrassing for me. My moment isn't as bad as Jennie L. 's red Kool Aid story. But I have had things happen to me regarding woman hood, and gross moments, that I will never write about, because it is so bad, I would die of embarrassment! You wouldn't want that would you? The reason why I am choosing to tell you about this story, because recently, it was brought up again by one of my good friends of the past, who is still upset about it.

When I was young, I attended three different high schools. I lived in Juneau for 3 years in row, starting with my eight grade year, where I met two of my friends, S.A.W. and S.J.M. We stuck together like glue, the three of us, having adventures, and experiencing the typical teen stuff together. We called our selves the Three Amigos. I doubt they remember that now, but anyways, I was forced to move to Utah in October of my junior year, and then moved to Wyoming for my senior year. So, I have always considered Juneau Douglas High School as my high school, where I made the most memories at.

After I moved and moved again, I always kept in touch with my friends, in fact S.J.M. became my maid of honor. I promised them for years that I would come back, and that I would see them again. I even planned to go back to Juneau after high school to attend school there at the University of Southeast Alaska, and thought we can be roommates at the dorms together. But it didn't happen. And I was sad, things changed. But I tried to keep informed about my old friends at JDHS, S.A.W. and S.J.M didn't even live there anymore.

So what did I do? Well Jason and I got our first computer back in 1998, and later on we discovered the Internet and got a scanner. When I got the scanner, I went through all of my pictures and picked the best ones to scan and shared them with my family and friends. Isn't that what other people do? Well, I also discovered a site called Classmates.com and it allowed me to put in all the high schools that I have attended. When that happened, I began receiving news information on the different high schools, in particular, reunion information. My class reunion was coming up, and a person contacted me from JDHS to talk to me about it.

Well at first, I was excited, that someone cared to contact me, even if it was a girl that I didn't really like back in the day. (I am feeling like I want to hyperventilate just thinking about this!)She was nice, she asked me how things were and what has happened to me since I left. Of course I told her all about me, and she asked my about my friends, S.A.W. and S.J.M., and I told her innocently about them, just shooting the breeze. As I was telling her about my fabulous married life, she asked me if I had any pictures to show her. So I did! I sent her just about every picture that I had scanned, putting them in little thumb nails on one page so see can see them all. I was thrilled to show them off! She told me they were great, and we chit chatted a little about them. THEN she told me, that she would like to use one, for a photo thing she was putting up for the reunion party. So I told her, just choose which one, it didn't really matter which, because I had sent so many! The pictures included, pictures of the past, with me and my friends. Pictures of my wedding, family, vacations, etc. Well, then she asked me if I could give her contact information about my friends, so she can talk to them about the reunion. She then told me that she was going to put the information in a book, a book that was going to be given everyone at the reunion party. I told her it was okay to put my info. in the book if she wants, though I didn't even graduate with you, wouldn't that be weird? She again graciously invited me to come anyways and told me there was going to be a reunion website posted soon. SO I said okay. And I waited.

The night after the reunion, I checked the website for any news. On the website, there was a montage of pictures of who attended, I was so excited and surprised how different or same some people looked! It made me gitty! (This is making me sick and dizzy to write!)Then, there was a posting of the film that displayed during the reunion for everyone to see. So I watched, the first picture that came up was one of mine, then another, and then another, and so on! (I have a headache now!) ALL OF MY PICTURES I had sent to Andrea was in the film!!!!And then there were just a few from other people...

( I am trying to breathe now!) What in the heck did everyone think? I just ruined their reunion! I didn't even graduate with them! After I watched it, I again checked out the pictures of the reunion, some people didn't look happy, looking up at something...Was it my imagination? Afterwards, my friend Heather who went, told me about it. Then she stopped writing me. Everyone who graduated from there got a book. I didn't and I had no idea what was written in it. I felt like dying! My excitement turned to anger and then feeling of being just plain stupid!
Soon afterwards, my friends, S.A.W. and S.J.M. called me. I was happy to hear from them, because we only spoke to each other a few times a year. If that. I wanted sympathy from them, because surely they would feel my pain, and I guessed right! They weren't embarrassed but angry at me! They didn't want to be in the book, and had talked to Andrea about it, but apparently, Andrea took it upon herself to take what I said about them, and put them in the book anyways! To this day, I still have no idea what was written! I know I didn't say anything bad about them, and I surely would have never said a word to Andrea or sent her any pictures if I would of known this was going to happen! My friendship was permanently damaged! And neither of us, has gotten over it. I have tried to laugh about it (what happened to me), thinking I may never see these people again, but it still haunts me to this day. It was the most embarrassing thing in my life....so far...This is a lesson I never wanted to learn the hard way! (I am truely sorry S.A.W. and S.J.M., expecially for using your names in my blog, which nobody hardly reads anyways, let alone, anyone who knows you...)

Twilight Cult or Club?

2008-09-19T15:01:00.005-04:00

Warning

*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!*

If you haven't read all of the books and intend to, do not read this blog today!

I finished the last book on Friday morning. Hooray! I am just as shocked as you all are! I did not think I was capable of reading one, in 24hrs., let alone 4 huge paged books in the amount of time that I did! To my friends, I must apologize, you are all right! I finished a on Friday morning, and I have been detoxing myself from it, ever since. I did not expect to feel emotional in any way about anything that I read. As some of you know, I think crying is for wimps. I still think so...I didn't shed a tear, but I was close! I was sad at the end of the last book because I get it, I sensed the tone of our basic faith throughout most of the book. Did you too? I also felt sad that it was over, I just read the Midnight Sun book, too but she didn't finish it. Last week at home, while I was reading these books, I have not done the dishes, nor watched Days of Our Lives, ignored phone calls, and have been zombiefied by reading these books. I even have lost some weight too!

Bravo to Stephanie Meyer, how could I even think I could write like her? For a Mormon girl, she certainly has a creative and warped mind! When I read the first book, I thought, ''how sweet, it's a classic love story". Then I quickly read the second book, I noticed that she wrote more about thoughts, than script. Like many others, I wanted Edward back into the pages, as soon as possible! Then I was desperate to get the third book, (my favorite, I think) to find out what happens. I couldn't believe she mentioned the University of Southeast Alaska! If I didn't marry Jason, that is where I would have gone, I loved the campus, surrounded by woods, up high. It would have been a perfect place for vampires to live! I also noticed that the adult content was more appealing to me, than I thought it would be...Then finally of course, the last book, I couldn't even have imagined that it would have happened the way it did. How is it even possible to put all of this in a movie? It would certainly be rated R.

As I read, my jaw would pop open with unbelief. Did yours too? Some jaw popping moments were of course,: Edward leaving, both times Bella was being kissed by Jacob, the night Bella was proposed to, Jacob and her in sleeping bag, Bella's honeymoon, Bella's pregnancy, Edward asking Jacob to make her happy, and of course, Bella's stomach ripping and the whole birth chapter, even being bit by kid....there is no words for this..... That was gripping, I had no idea that was going to happen, but I did figure she would become a vampire.

So kudos to Stephanie Meyer for coming up with something original! I loved the fact that her vampires were not the same as norm. I am also amazed that she was able to write in such detail about the transformation of being a vampire, I really liked that. But of course I do have questions that I can't help but wonder about though, that maybe I missed it and somebody can explain it to me, please...

-Like, I know Bella looked like a super model after her transformation, but it didn't really say if she lost the pregnancy weight, and her skin healed after being torn apart.

-Nor did she have scars now, from Edward biting her all over, or even the baby's bite.

- So I guess the bowels don't work do they? But if they consume blood, where does it go? Even Edward ate something once, where did it go?

-After being transformed did everybody turn out skinny? I know that the Irish vampire was big, but no others.

- Does their hair grow? If they lost it in a battle, would they have to wear a wig?

- Why didn't she write about bella meeting her old friends after her transformation, that would have been interesting..

- I know that old men can produce children, but it stops producing I am sure, if they are dead!

If they can produce that, why not tears? What about spit?

- And finally, if all they wanted to do was to make the Voltri stop and listen to their side of the story, Why didn't they make a video, send a e-mail, or call them to tell them about the kid, before they came? Even a nice letter, and some pictures could have made it there by a month's time.

I do have more questions, but I don't want to over do it. I don't want to destroy the story. Jacob imprinting with their kid grossed me out, but it does leave room for another story. I have a theory too, about reading all those books, in time that I have, and how the story seems to be stuck in my mind still...I wonder if I read the scriptures, with the same passion, until I conquered them...would I be constantly thinking and remembering them as well ? Hmmm, something to ponder, it's not like I can pronounce and understand every word written in them, which always seems to bore me. The scriptures how ever, does have action, love, gore, and horror, as well as feel good stories..how could I be bored? I think perhaps my problem all along has been, making the time, and reading it every chance I get until finished. This will be a new goal, but for right now, I guess I am the newest member of the Twilight Cult, I mean Club...I will no doubt do, what all the Twilighters do, but discuss the books non stop, check out the many websites related, watch the trailer over and over, and count the days until the movie comes out.

So are you happy now? Shawna, Lori, and Sarah? I have been touched by these books, Twilight being the first book ever that I have read in my adult years. It will be hard to forget. Okay, enough said, but if you think I am going to wear a Team Edward shirt, or anything of the sort, I would have to be stoned or something.

The Twilight Cult

2008-09-15T16:07:00.002-04:00

Everywhere I go, that is all I have heard for the last couple of months, Twilight this and Team Edward that, etc. in which, I had decided to rebel against, because that is all I heard about. I was totally out of the loop and my friends had already read the fourth book... It's no secret that I rather watch the movie, and that is what I reserved myself to do...I never read any of the Harry Potter books, like everybody else did, and I am not going to start now, doing what every body else is doing. That is not me... So I didn't get their inside jokes about the book, or understand why they would be sooooo obsessed over Twilight! Give me a brake! Besides everything, I made it no secret also, that I am not a reader, in fact I hate to read! I have told people before, I try to read the scriptures, but end up not remembering anything I read, plus, who has the time? I much rather listen to CD's that we have or learn about them in Sunday school. (It's amazing that I have actually learned and remember what was taught thanks mostly to Bro. Fordam!)

Since high school, is the last time I read a book, and it was because a teacher made me. I know, that sounds totally, what's the right words, I guess dumb, whatever..., you know what I mean. I like to write but not read, does that make sense? Well, my first book ever, that I read on my own, (and for a book report) was "Dracula, Go Home!" A stupid book, I bought from the book fare because I liked vampires SO much. I was in third grade, and I reread this book for my other schools and did a book report on it was well, over and over. But now, I can't remember much about it. So when my friends told me it was a book about vampires, I should have been all over it, but I wasn't, it had to do with the whole Twilight Cult thing, I guess. I was afraid to be a part of it.

Then, last week Sabrina brought home a copy of Twilight from her school library. She wouldn't put it down, she even took it to cheer leading practice. She said she was in a race with a friend, to finish it first. I was amazed how glued she was to it. Jason kept on nagging me to read it, then he started reading it himself. So I gave up, I told them I would just wait until they were done. I didn't even look into it...BUT then, less than 24 hours ago, I started reading the hard back copy that Shawna sent home with the girls from church. And I finished it this afternoon!

I know what you are thinking, I must have cheated somehow, I always find a way to cheat. But I can promise you this, I read the whole thing and understood every word! I think there might have been one or two words that I didn't understand, but it was quite simple...I was indeed secretly obsessed with the book too! I even dreamt about it! Of course, this was hard on my body, I am not used to reading so much, I neglected everything, but it didn't matter...The kids were happy I was reading, not watching TV or being on computer, and thank goodness Shawna sent over the over the second book for me to read tonight and tomorrow!

First of all, as I was reading, I couldn't help but be jealous of the writer, Stephanie Meyers. I understood her way of thinking so well, as if I could have wrote it myself. Especially compared to the stories I have wrote in the past, it is the classic, helpless girl, good looking prince charming, but he is dangerous and their love can with stand anything, even if it's the end of her! I love it! I mean, of course at times it was a little annoying that one girl could be so special that every boy wants her, and of course that she is so abnormally accident prone. And the fact after hundreds of years he managed to never have loved before? I find myself almost ruining the story because of my practical way of thinking. He is stalking her, and when he admitted to watching her all night, did he seen her undress? Go to the bathroom? What if she farted, would that smell sweet? What if she was on her period, what drive him mad or gross him out? I mean, come on, things like this I wonder about...

As for what I thought, well I do feel sorry for Mike, and for her Dad, it seems like now, she is owned by Edward, now and forever. Like he has all of the control, mind you, she is just a young girl. I remember being in love at that age, and nothing seemed to matter, not even grades or parents. But in a sense, he is a much older man, in mind too... What in the heck is he doing going after teenagers? Is he hoping to find one as young and innocent, pure as her, so he can change her before she gets tainted, in worldly things, so she would know no other difference, or love any other? I guess he gave her fair warning, and so I guess I will stop questioning every thing. Maybe things will be more clear in the other books. I just hope she sticks to Edward, I am grossed out by the thought of her liking Jacob, mainly because he is as young as my own son. En spite of he only being a little younger, every year counts in the maturity department for teens. I guess my imagination is quite big, and that is what helped me read this book. I think also seeing the actors who are going to play the parts, helped me even further, so that reading the book was like a movie in my mind. It was awesome, thanks to my friends who didn't give up on me. Now we shall see if i read the other books. What am I saying, of course I have to read the other books!

RockStar!

2008-09-11T09:25:00.003-04:00

When I was young, I dreamt of becoming a rock 'n roll singer! It finally came true! I am a hot, skinny, rock chic with bright pink hair, and the best thing is, I can play the guitar and I have a my own band. Didn't you know about my secret life?
My secret life is real, with the help of my brother's X-Box 360, I look totally rad, and I can jam with the band! It is fun, but sometimes a little challenging, but Jason, Danny, Jennifer, and I aren't afraid to make a fool out of our selves and sing until we have no voice left! My brother really isn't a bad singer, I have to admit, I thought I was the only one with that talent in our family.
People wouldn't know it now, but I use to have a loud, beautiful voice...I have lost it, and I have to admit, I am not always on tune as I once was. When I lived in Fairbanks, at age 11, I tried out for the Fairbanks children's choir and got my first sense of what it was like to be in a real choir, singing with real music. Not the elementary stuff, that kids sing at that age. I loved it, and I got a minor role in a production of the Velveteen Rabbit, that year. When I moved to Ohio, I joined the Marietta children's theatre, and they were doing the Velveteen Rabbit too! So then, I got the part of the real rabbit, and had a solo. I was so pleased, not afraid to try anything. Then people had me sing at church, I sang the song, "I believe in Christ", which has special meaning to me. The branch would request me to sing for baptisms and even a funerals. I felt special, like a star! I even got braver when I moved to Juneau, my mom got me a vocal teacher, who had a lot of confidence in me, enough so, that he made me sing in the mall. Do you know how embarrassing it is to sing in the mall for no reason, when people walk buy? Maybe he thought I would bring new clients into his music shop. He got me a few jobs at local churches, where I was payed to sing, I was paid only $15 dollars, and I still have that first check, that I didn't cash. His teaching ended, when he moved to Russia after a year. But I was so busy anyways, I was in concert choir and Jazz choir, tried out for state choir, and I was in every musical production the school put on. Which is a whole other story, I wasn't the best actress, and I will blog about that, another time.
When I moved to Utah, I did well, had wonderful experiences singing in three choirs there, but then I had my accident and I moved my senior year, to Wyoming. When I got to Evanston, the choir was so lame! It was like 6th grade choir stuff all over! So I quit, after I had a argument with the teacher about the songs he chose. Since then, every once in a while, I would get brave enough to sing, but now, my voice is as if it was never trained at all, what happened to it? I used to be louder than everyone else, loud enough to sing on stage without a mic, and over power anyone near me. I know now, when the Lord gives you a talent, don't waste it!
Going back to my dreams, I wanted to be a rock star, and I also wanted to sing in the Tabernacle Choir, that kind of came true. In Utah, I got to sing with the choir, in the Tablenacle at Christmas time, that was real special. I just wish I had it on tape. As for now, I can pretend to be a awesome rock star, with a hot bod, when I visit my brother, and when I am driving in the car. Rock On!

My Blog

2008-09-08T15:32:00.002-04:00

Year's ago, when I first started hearing about people writing blogs, I thought it was kind of lame...I mean, at first, I thought that only famous people wrote them, because their careers were going south and nobody was listening to them. I didn't know that normal people could, so I just avoided it all together.
I don't like doing what everybody is doing, I like to rebel! That is my nature, and to make fun of myself and life. BUT, as you can see, I love writing in my blog, can't you tell? Will I get bored with it and quit? Maybe, but just maybe, after I share all my gross, scary, funny, and adventurous stories with you that I can remember. I know, I haven't been around the world, and not to every state in this country. (almost) I also know, that I have yet to experience some things in life that my older friends have. I know that I haven't gotten the education that others have too. But one thing I do know, this makes me happy, especially when people read my blog and have positive things to say.
I just wish some people in my family would read it too, but they won't. They think I might write something bad about them. (I wonder why?) I may have, if it's the truth, but as my early readers know, I deleted my blog post where I vented about certain people in my family, because I was mad. That is wrong, that is not what I intend to do, while blogging. I don't want to be compared to Rosie O'Donnell Ever! I am trying to be more sensitive, there are some things in my life I will not share, that are shocking, maybe too gross, and incriminating. I am not a perfect person, nor do I pretend to be. The purpose of my blog is to not bore you to death, but for your entertainment and information. I hope you all enjoy what I write, and if there is something too negative, or if my facts get screwed up, let me know. Thanks, and have a good day!
Oh by the way, I can't wait to share some special stories during my favorite season in October. I am chopping at the bit to do a spooky blog transformation!

How the kids have been lately...

2008-09-04T09:34:00.002-04:00

Am I bad parent if I let Clark continue his front seat antics? Yesterday, Jason told Clark he could sit up front if he promised to say "hi" to everyone he sees, while I was driving. I tried to keep a straight face, but it was funny. Clark was waving and yelling to everyone, even saying stuff like, "I like your pants!" and "Happy Birthday!" It was really silly, and he even got embarrassed when he realized that a girl walking with her dad, was a girl in his class. So far, people's response has been positive, with the goofy face Clark pulls, they can't help but smile and say "hi", back.

Clark is good student, is is disciplined in that way, but he still has anxiety and anger issues. When ever somebody gets on his nerves, watch out! No matter how small or unimportant it may be, he gets so furious! When that happens, I take away his video games and wrestlers. Yes, he does cherish those things, but it works. He loves wrestling, this fall he is going to try it. He already has had some practice when he grabs a hold of Vivi and Erick. Sabrina doesn't play that way. He also didn't do football this year, though he was so good at it. When he played, he really enjoyed himself, and if they lost a game, he would laugh about the other kids crying about it. When he was on the line, he would dance, because he was so excited. And he was never afraid of someone bigger than him. I told him to treat them like a bull, and just move to the side, and he did. But his ankle got sprained and that was the beginning of the end, after that he said he hated football.

Sabrina is a tigeress, her love for cats is beyond normal now. She is into the big cats, and if I find my camera cord, I would post a picture of her running beside lions. She wants a jungle themed room, with everything tiger and cheetah patterns. Besides her love for cats, she is very artistic. I was too at her age, when I was young, I had every part of my walls and even ceiling covered with pictures I painted or drew. In the past six months, she has become a picky eater! She is close to being a vegetarian, like me, but she won't even eat burgers anymore. I am proud she chooses healthy choices, like spinach salad, and fruits. Her picky choices has made it harder for me to make her happy when we have dinner, she won't eat any kind of pasta, not even mac'n cheese anymore. I am afraid this will be a trend that Vivi will follow, because Vivi copies everything, Sabrina does.

Sabrina never has a hard time making friends, but she is picky when it comes to who can be. She has a best friend who is really smart from her last school, she talks to Courtney every Tuesday. Courtney and Sabrina write stories together in notebooks. They even illustrate them too. Her other best friend ended up in the same school, in the same classes, and next to her locker. How lucky is that? She had been friends with this girl since we moved to Virginia, and her friend had moved a year ago. But not every thing at school is great, a girl on the cheerleading team started calling her names, last week, and this girl is just plain mean. Because Sabrina had to sit across from her, this girl said her hair was a rat's nest, and made a comment like, "I know you want my looks." This made Sabrina feel real bad, her only comeback was calling her four eyes. I have to restrain my self, because I can teach her a thing or too about comebacks. BUT, I won't, I want her to be a nice girl. Her troubles will never be over I am afraid, because she is so pretty, even a boy cut a two inch curl off yesterday in art class. This is just the beginning!

Vivi is my Jennie Jr, my wild child, and Sabrina's copy cat. I think it is cute, and sweet that Vivienne wants to be like Sabrina so much. But Sabrina hates it, she gets so angry over the slightest hint of drawing or making anything like her. They play together well, but only to Sabrina's benefit. Sabrina always has her way when it comes to Viv, and Viv don't mind most of the time. Viv likes cats, cheerleading and dancing. She loves to watch the Barbie movies over and over. She is also very lazy when it comes to cleaning up anything, even if she risks losing it in a vacuum. Everyone also knows that she is not afraid of strangers, this can be a good and bad thing. She likes to go swimming, and has never been afraid of the deepest water, even when she wasn't able to swim. I guess I am going to have to watch out for her because, she is a dare devil.

Finally, she was able to go on the big roller coasters, after years of tantrums and crying because she was too small. Like me, she also likes to watch scary shows, but I don't always let her. Because she will end up in my bed. In school, she does well, but I am sure she annoys the teacher with her willingness to help the teacher and ask questions.

Erick is a whole other thing, he is going through the voice changing thing, and it is hilarious when he whines. It reminds me of Peter Brady, when he talks. I didn't notice this until recently. He has gotten taller too, but not much like I thought he would be. So we shall see, what happens in the next year. Because of his weight loss, most of his clothes are too big for him. He is happy about that. As far as school goes, he is much shorter than other kids.

I am happy that he is in honors classes but he never brings homework home. Isn't those classes supposed to be harder? Erick's attitude has gone to extremes too, one minute he is way over confident and the next minute he is down on himself . He is really hard to get out of bed too, and every Sunday he is the last person out of the house. Last week he got this idea that he wanted to skip a grade, but it isn't as easy as he thinks. The school counselor told him he had to get straight A's for two years before they would consider it. So that is his plan for the moment, I think more power to him! But I know it won't happen, for now, he is excited about being in Pop Quiz. It's a team of smart kids that use buzzers to answer questions. Each kid on the team has a speciality and guess what his is! It's all video game and technology stuff! There are different rank teams, according to their intelligence. He made the "B"team, which is cool, because they won't let freshman be on the "A"team, which competes on TV. Maybe next year...

Erick is really making me proud that he is handling his new life so well. I am proud of all the kids, they really care about him. My toughest challenge with Erick now is, trying to get his spirits up, making sure he doesn't sneak things to eat that he can't have, making sure he isn't spending all his time in the nurse's office when he doesn't need to, getting after him when he leaves his needles and blood strips around, and when he shows off his stuff to other kids at football games, making them think he is a druggie of some sort. Things will get more interesting if he is going to try out for the soccer team. I don't know if I am ready for that now. That is how the kids have been lately.

Rawhide!

2008-08-31T16:49:00.003-04:00

We lived on my parent's farm back when we were a young married couple. Jason was going to college in the next biggest town that was about a 45 min. drive. The farm had been in my family for generations, it was truly the most haunted place I had ever lived, but I am saving those stories for October. Our town Waterford, was on the edge of Appalachia, were people were truly poor. Jobs were really hard to come by, so Jason became one of 3 hired hands my dad paid to work on the farm. I of course, had worked for free. When my dad took over after my grandpa had died, the farm had over 300 acres of land, and the main crop was hay. He had pure bred, mean, Percheron horses, and a large head of pure breed Charlas, they are huge white cows. My grandparent's didn't use them much for anything, but breeding and for show. The bull they had for that year was Norm. He was a huge white bull that loved to charge you, if you acted frightened. He had a big golden ring in his nose, that would add to his handsome looks, along with his curly white head. My dad liked him, but he sold him along with the rest of the heard after he decided get a new heard of a different kind.

My dad wanted to make some money, but it had been a while since he had taken care of anything at this scale. He went and foolishly bought a couple hundred of young steers before winter, in which a quarter of them didn't survive. When one was discovered of having Phenomena, they almost all got it. My job was mainly on lost cow finding, but ended up more like dead cow finding... On the property there was two different streams, ponds, woods, and long fields. I loved going out for long walks, but I was a tad bit nervous around cattle, so I would take a cattle prong with me. I would get on the four wheeler sometimes and travel to every corner of the fields looking for cattle that wouldn't come up to feed. I would find them dead in the creek, dead in a ditch, dead in the woods, and half dead, which I hated because that meant it would be dead by a gun. I didn't end their misery, I would go find Jason and my dad, they would decide whether or not a vet could save them. It was nasty work, especially when they were bloated, but usually I would find them by then.

In the spring, I would never forget the time that I had discovered that there was a dead steer in the big pond, which was used to fish in, swim in, and for the farm's drinking water that was used for the animals. It was a cloudy day, in which the pond sat down at the bottom of two hills, and because the horses were using it at that time, it was really muddy by the water. Jason told me to come help and we would get the rope, and he would try to pull it out. But it didn't work, it was down , deep in the water, I could only see the shape of it's head under water, it must had been there all winter long and we didn't even notice. So, he got a idea, how about towing it out with the four wheeler? I got my brother Danny to come help out. I tricked him, I didn't tell him why he was needed, or else he would have hidden. He was easily grossed out like I was, when it came to real gore. And yes, this was really gory! Because what happens next, is so disgusting, I can't believe Jason would handle this! Really he did, because when he tried wrapping the lasso around the head, he had to try to lift it so he could, and the skin rubbed off in his hands! He also mentioned at that time the fish must had been nibbling on it, including it's eyes! I stood, up on the hill, afraid that Jason would fling some of it at me for just for kicks! Danny, was on the verge of gagging, but he stood away from the water too. Then they hooked it up to the four wheeler and tried to pull it out, but it wasn't strong enough to get it out all the way and up the hill. I couldn't help but stare at the carcase sticking out of the water.

Next, Jason went and got the tractor, this would surely do the trick. Jason used the rope to pull it out and it was Danny's job to tell him whether or not it was working. And it was, unfortunately, disgustingly so! As he pulled it out, I looked away, holding my mouth, trying not to barf. Because, as he was dragging it, so went it's hide with it! As Jason was driving up the hill, I looked at my brother who was down closer to it, spitting on the ground, which, I wasn't sure if he did lose it or not. Jason laughed, as he looked back for a moment and proceeded to the dead cow pit, that wasn't far from our trailer, but far from the pond. I ran into the farm house and told my mom all about it, while they were handling the rest. After seeing this , I could ever look at my mom's country fried steak again, the same way! And so this is to be continued...

My Political Drama...

2008-08-26T10:47:00.004-04:00

This is a subject that I am very passionate about. It has been the source of tension in many discussions I have had with people, especially with my own family members, and they are on my side! I am a life long Democrat, I have to admit, it's scary to say that amongst fellow church goers that usually sway for the elephant party. (Please do not bring torches to my door at night or disk me because of this) Regardless of their party backers, I think we all can agree, that the Presidential race is a popularity contest and who has the most money. I am doing my part to be involved in the voting process, as a county election official, and I have taken great joy doing so, for the last three years. I haven't missed a election since I started, and though it is boring to some, I have so much fun doing it, even if I seem to be the youngest person working.

This election, I have no idea who I am going to vote for. I don't vote for my party just because, like some people do! I usually have a thing for the underdog, but I am realizing, that my vote doesn't matter anyways, it's all up to the delegates who get wined and dined during election year. It makes me mad, I can't help but think I may have to vote for Mickey Mouse this year. You would be surprised how many people do! But nothing makes me madder when people vote for someone just because of their faith, race, gender, sexual preference, political party, their looks, their war record, and because their parents or spouses tell them to!

I am conflicted, and I am sick of all the money going down the drain on stupid ads, fuel wasted on their trips, and all the money making a elaborate fancy expensive four day events, like the Democratic convention! I am sure the Republican one would be just as bad! Can you tell I was disappointed when I auto tuned the convention on Monday night, and found out it was going to go on for four days, who has the time! I love the news, but I am so sick of the coverage of this race! In the world we live in, isn't there anything else to cover? I am also mad at the fact that the media seems to want a war with Russia, but that is another story! Please if you read this blog, think before you vote! Look at all of the candidates, compare their soon to be broken promises, and back grounds. I think their voting record has a lot to say about who they are, and it seems like that is ignored by a lot of people. As far as beliefs go, that is what people choose them over, but if you look at their records, you may find out, it doesn't matter. Because they often say what ever we want to hear, and what ever is popular at the time. They are all guilty of this, and they all are flip floppers in one way or another. That is all I am going to say about this subject, I could write about it forever, but I am not going to waste anymore time, after the race, I will try to detox myself from it, as usual and focus supporting America as we all should.

The Game of Life...

2008-08-26T08:56:00.002-04:00

When ever I play games, I play to win...It doesn't matter what kind of game, I like to win! And sometimes gloat about it...Sometimes, I even try to cheat, but I usually I get caught! But seriously, I will do what ever it takes to win. So if life is a game, where there can be more than one winner, will I do what it takes to win?

With me, there has been times I have lost a game, and it though I don't show it, it really bugs me! Why do I lose? Maybe because I am too anxious to hurry it up, sometimes the cheating thing doesn't work, and when I have won or it looks like I am winning, I get really cocky! Before Chicken Little, I used to jump up and sing, "I am the Champion", in which everyone around me, gets really annoyed! This is something I plan on changing, I want to win fairly, and I want to be modest about it, but I enjoy rubbing it in my fellow players face so much, especially when it's family. Does this mean I am who I am, and I can't change?

Jason and Erick have talks coming up, and I decided to help add my two cents worth, at the request of the husband. I can write pages in 20 mins, to his two weeks worth of two pages. He has been working on it, but he is representing the family, and I can't let him tell all that personal stuff about us. Yes, there is more to me than hauntings, goofiness, adventure, and gross stories. I realize that I haven't shared anything about faith on my blog yet, which I do have, but lately it has been tested. In the game of life, I may sway either way, I am not sure if I will win this round. But I try, but I don't try hard enough.

When I was 15, living in Alaska, a Patriarch came to town from Anchorage. I had no idea what one was. He was making the rounds, giving people in our two wards, blessings. When I heard, I wanted one too. Will he predict my future? Oh no, I thought, maybe he could see right through me and see the terrible things I have done. He came to my home in the middle of the day, with only my mother there, with his wife, who came to be a witness and record it. I had no idea what he was going to say, he was a nice, tall, old man, he didn't know me at all. I remember trying to think positively, trying to send good vibes through brain power. As he was speaking, I did feel the spirit, and then I knew it was a good thing.

My blessing ended up being a couple pages long, is that normal? Should it have been longer? I won't tell you everything, just the thing that if I were faithful, a man would seek me that would offer a temple marriage. I was also blessed with children, and that our home would be a place where others would want to be, because of it's spirit there. It also said I would never have a cause to grieve, and that I would be blessed with good health if I continued to follow the path of righteousness. It also let me know that evil would be a presence in my life. Just great, I think some of it is true now, but I am not the missionary it said I would be, yet. And I got sealed in the temple after I got married. Also, I have been plagued with health issues. So does this mean if I did what I always should have, would I be better off now? Maybe, but if I had the faith, I know I would have been better off now. Can I change this for the better?

Jason has a blessing too, and he has more pages than I. He has great and wonderful things in it, which I am afraid I may have screwed it up for him. His mother always said she never heard a blessing like his, especially compared to his eleven older siblings. Every couple of years, I would get them out and compare them, and the weirdest thing would happen! I can swear on a stack of scriptures, that his has changed every time!!! At first, when we first compared them, I wrote down all of the similarities and differences in our blessings to see if they fit together. I was a little superstitious that maybe we were wrong for each other, because he had so much more faith than I. So I wrapped the blessing together with the papers I wrote on and stored it. Later on, and even to this day, they are different each time. Why? My only guess is, because we were younger, I didn't understand the language in it as I do today. Or just maybe, it magically did change!

I know this post is long, and some may not have the time to read it, but to me life is a game, and if it was Monopoly, the Lord is the almighty Banker and maker of the game. I am determined to not lose this time, and I am going to try and try to get my act together and have some faith, that things would get better. How are you playing the game?

Jennie needs...

2008-08-23T23:35:00.003-04:00

Here is the response to Dianna's blog fun...

This is a game where you go into Google, type your name plus needs and write down about ten phrases you find of what your name comes up with. I guess some of the stuff that comes up, are kind of funny.

Here are my answers for "Jennie needs":

1. Jennie needs our backing to beat scourge

2. But Jennie needs to milk the cows.

3. Jennie Needs A Shooter

4. Jennie needs to understand that Adam does not carry his violent responses beyond his tools

5. Jennie is very smart and does know some commands. She just needs someone who is willing to work with her.

6. Jennie needs her girls to win the Ultimate Dancer Championship, and the prize money, to expand her business

7. Jennie needs to stop lickng her teeth

8. Jennie needs to hide her tone body

9. Jennie needs to quailfy as a Renaissance woman

10. Jennie needs a kidney transplant to be able to survive.

Interesting huh? What does your name come up with?

Taking a ride on the short bus...

2008-08-20T22:48:00.007-04:00

Today I decided to hurry up and take the boys shopping for some school supplies while the girl's were at cheer leading practice. As always, my children get into these crazy, silly, moods. If I am in a good mood, I am amused easily by the actions of theirs as long as it's not too bad or rude. Clark is a silly brave boy sometimes. A few years ago, he came up with this thing where he blurts out "HI" to people, and other strange phrases to see what their reaction would be and laugh at them... For instance, at parades, Clark thought it would be funny to yell out, "Merry Christmas!" to Independence day goers. Or at Christmas, "Happy Halloween" and stuff like that. When he went trick or treating, he would say funny stuff too to people. I have to admit, it is kind of funny. Now, his big thing is to bang on the window when we are parked next to someone in their own car. He does it at stop lights, and if the have their window down, he says silly things to them..Some people get frightened, some people laugh, some people say stuff back, and some give a really dirty look. Am I wrong to let this behavior go on? Or am I to blame?

Perhaps I am to blame. In my past I did some pretty demented things to amuse myself and entertain others. I am sure everyone has a horrible, embarrassing car story, my parent's were really poor at times and we had to ride in transportation less than desirable. At one point in my life, my dad got a steal of a deal from the state auction, a big bright yellowish orange construction van. It had clear windows all around, no seats, no carpet on floors, and no air conditioning! My dad found two blue van seats to put in it, he bolted them to the floor. I was just turning 14 and I hated that van! Nobody had a van like it except for highway workers, and that was even rare to see. When we rode in it, we had plenty of space, but people always stared at us where ever we went! I got it in my head to start acting the part. I felt like I was in a handicapped bus, so I let people think so. Not long after we got it, we were on our way to Alaska from Ohio, in which we were bored to death. So while we were on the freeway, I got my brothers and my sister to act up and put on a show for highway drivers! My mom was really annoyed, but she didn't even know what we were doing half the time. We would act like we were choking each other, make faces, mess up our hair to make it wacky, post signs with "help" on them, and our favorite was pretending to eat our boogers. I can't help but laugh at this now, but certainly, I wouldn't want my kids to act that bad!

That stupid van made it to Alaska, and soon after it arrived, I got it into a small bumper thing and it saved my parent's life after getting hit head on by a log truck. So it did have a purpose. But then, my parent's got the Juneau Junker, which was even worse! It was a long pale yellow car, that had a loud spitting muffler and a serious lean to one side. It was so tilted that we, as kids would crush the person on the right, and the back bumper would make sparks when we turned corners. I made my mom drop me off at the corner of the school parking lot, it was that bad!

Welcome to Spanish Class!

2008-08-19T09:21:00.005-04:00

I have been to a bunch of back to school nights with the kids, this is the first time that I had three different schools to get through. I of course, can not follow any set of rules. When I show up, it's either really early or late. When I arrive, I make my own parking space, en spite of the dirty looks I get from other people who chose to park far away. I had the whole clan last night, Jason opted out this time, and usually some kid has to complain about coming, and of course, Vivi's hair was not brushed. She was being really wild, and Clark and her where picking on each other.
The first place was Lee High, yes it's true, my little boy is going to high school with some of these, tall and hairy manboys, gangster dressing wanna be rappers, well endowed and showing it all off (by wearing clothes from the small children's section)females, kids that wish they were Goth but have normal parents, tan barbie doll guys and girls who wear surfing clothes but properly never been surfing, and of course I have seen some stoners there, who properly will skip the first day of school. Erick to me, still looks like a middle schooler. We tried to get down the busy hallways, and occasionally, I would have to wait and remind Vivi to stay with me. Because of her, I don't think any teacher will forget us. Erick goes into "I am too cool to be here or talk to you mode," which is hard to deal with. He didn't want to talk to the nurse, in which we had to, and he didn't want to wait for his schedule, nor look for his locker, or find his classes, or talk to his teachers, it was ridiculous! I told myself I wasn't going to be so uncool, but like other parent's I saw there, I had the schedule in my hand and we went and did the stuff he didn't want to do. He told the nurse that he wanted everyone to think he was normal in class. So I had to talk to all of his teachers about it too.
The school had some kind of meet the teacher program in which I was not following there and we went to all his classes at the wrong time. The first teacher, was actually his last teacher he would have, honors Science. He wouldn't go in the classroom, neither would this cute girl, whose mom pushed her in and I soon made Erick follow. Viv was already in the crowded classroom of course and when the teacher asked if there were any questions, she blurted out that Erick has diabetes! He wanted to run away. I got after Vivi, and Erick wouldn't talk to the teacher, so she talked to me about it. Then we went to his Success class, she was very nice pregnant lady, then to his honors History, where the the man looked like a short Lex Luther according to Vivi, and he had to of been amped up on caffeine or something. He said he had a kid like Erick last year, told him to leave the class, when ever he felt like, so he didn't make a scene of it. Hmm, should I have said something about that statement?
Then finally, we went to his Spanish class. The teacher, was a nice man from Venezuela, he wanted to us to come in and sit down, so we did. Erick had only two potential classmates in there, and their moms. I did something I shouldn't have, I sat down in one of the small wooden desks and when the meeting was over, well....I...got up and had the desk stuck around my mid section, and when I tried quickly to sit back down, I got unstuck and it fell on the floor on it's side! I was so embarrassed! But I couldn't help but laugh, the teacher said it had happened to him before, and I was surprised the other kids weren't laughing when they walked by. I however, made to where, Erick may be known as the kid whose mom got stuck in a desk! How embarrassing! But it was really funny, it brought tears to my eyes, laughing about it. We left right after that to the kids school. It was crowded too, I just wanted to get home. We quickly went and met Clark's and Vivi's teachers and left. I didn't want to make another scene again. So that is how our night went, out of all the back to school nights I have been too, none have been this rememberable.

The Night of the Poop Massacre!!

2008-08-16T12:05:00.004-04:00

I have been thinking about telling this story in October, but I just couldn't hold it in any longer!

It was a dark, October night at our church building in St. George, where I was in charge of our troop's pack meeting, being held there in the primary room. I had put so much effort into this year's Halloween meeting, trying to out do the year before. I had everyone dressed up in costumes, including myself, as a clown. The party was going smoothly, I loved being Cubmaster, we had a lot of boys there, includeing some of their friends and their families. Jason was working and unable to help me, I had arrived hours early to deorate and I wanted this to be a night they would never forget. I always included all of my kids, and the boy's siblings too, in the activities. I was pretty busy, and by the end of the evening, I was exhausted, hot, sweaty, and ready to go home. I had to clean up everything, and all my leaders took off as quickly as they came. So I had my neice Dria and my four kids, doing the finishing touch-ups. I hated being in the church alone, but there was guy in another ward working in the gym for thier upcoming activity. When I had finished putting everything in the van, I noticed that one of my kids were missing...

So I went looking for him, in my clown suit, at this point, I had only taken off my nose, and I was upset and tired of chasing the kids around the building trying to get them in the car. When all of the sudden, as I walked towards the bathroom area, I noticed, someone had taken brown pudding with their hands, and made like a claw mark with it, across the carpet portion of the wall, leading towards the men's restroom. I thought, oh great, I guess I have to clean that up, we did, after all have worm n' dirt pudding cups. But as I opened the maintance closet door, next to the men's door, I noticed a terrible smell.... I looked at the door, it had brown stuff on it too, where the handle was. I went closer to the door and heard the sobbing of the lost child, that I was looking for. So I grabbed the edge of the door, and called out for him. Knowing that no one else was around, to the horror did I discover when I opened the door! When I saw it, I screamed! Dria and the rest of my kids came running, and even the guy in the gym... In which, I saw his face, and I never saw it again! He took off, and left the building!!!!

My child had locked himself, in one of the three stalls, in which he had locked all three to make it fun. I couldn't even walk to him, I couldn't even walk inside, because there was poop all over the floor, on the doors, on the counter, in the sinks, on the faucets, on the walls, on the bapitizm bench, and even the mirror! He put poop on everything, except for the ceiling! (he couldn't reach it I guess!) I gagged and gagged and closed the door, I had to get the mop out first, so I could clear a path inside. As I was preparing, I put my clown nose back on, I couldn't take off my clown suit because I was just wearing garments underneath. While this was going on, Dria had took it upon herself to call my parent's who lived near by, by using the church phone. Here is how it went...

Dria: "Nana, Nana! Come quick! It's all over , all over the place! We need your help! Bring towels!"
My mom: "What? Blood? It's all over? Who?"
Dria: "Hurry, hurry! Just come now! "

Then I noticed she was on the phone and I told her to hang up, because this was too embaressing and I would never hear the end of it! So by the time I made my way to the stall, I thought about being mad, but I just asked, why? He cried and cried, and said it was because he couldn't get his costume off and he had to go diarrea, and nobody would help him...So in other words, it's all my fault, I was too busy, and I let him pick out a costume that was a one peice!

My parent's arrived, just as I got my son to open the door, and I saw, it was even worse, inside and on him. I can't remember what my parent's said when they saw what had happened, I am sure my dad said, "What the he**?" He was nicer after that, he actually stuck around because they felt sorry for me, and knew I was at my wit's end. They were afriad that someone had gotten hurt and there was blood all over the place, not poop! My kids were running in the dark hallways, and I could hardly talk to my mom, because I was gagging, trying not to barf.

How did I get through this you wonder? Well, my dad had a idea, that they would clean up the kid, while I cleaned the room and hallway. My mom took off his Ninja costume in the bathroom, it was like unpeeling two peanutbutter filled sliced breads apart. Then they put him in the maintance closet spray area, and hosed him off! I got dish soap from the kicthen and then they wrapped him up with a garage bag to wear home... I cleaned everything at least twice, but the smell still lingered, even after I sprayed disinfectent everywear.

As usual, I hope by telling this story, so others may learn by my mistakes, and as a how to, and what to do if, kind of lesson. You may be able to guess what child this was, but please never mention it to him or in front of him, I am afraid it may have scarred him for life. I love this child, and normally this sort of thing doesn't happen in our household. Let's just say, since then, I would never buy a one peice costume that is hard to get off, or wear a clown costume again but I couldn't ever have done it without the help of my parent's and a clown nose!

Food, Folks, and Fun!?

2008-08-14T12:40:00.003-04:00

Do you know where that slogan is from? Well McDonald's adopted it around the time I worked there in 1990. I think it is stupid, I like "I am Lov'in it", better. I went to McDonald's today and was waited on a girl who reminds me of me. She had a fake smile, and seemed less than pleased to be working during a busy lunch hour. I feel her pain...People can be so rude when they are in a hurry, and even when they aren't. So then I started telling Sabrina about my good ol' days, when I worked there.

I had friends that worked at McDonalds, and so I got my second job there. Some people think that is is a brainless job, but that is not true. It's a hard job! Out of all the jobs I have had, working there was really tough! But I still managed to have fun in my own way...The position I loved most was the drive-thru. I could hide back in there, if some boy I liked came in and if some boy that liked me, that I didn't like, I would do the same. I had this really tough little Vietnamese woman who was my manager, who talked really fast and was hard to understand. She always wore a headset and would butt in when I was talking to someone. I have to admit, I mocked her alot, and my fellow crew thought it was funny. I even had her own son laughing. BUT he laughed at everything I said because he liked me. When she wasn't around, I would give people a hard time through the drive-thru speaker. Especially, old men...when I would notice one drive up, I would change my voice and mimic Mrs. Tran. They would get so angry! I would just laugh and laugh! When they drove -up, I would speak normal, and they would tell me how they couldn't stand that other woman's voice! I never got in trouble, because the guys in the back, who wore head sets, didn't speak English. They were native Alaskans.

The other thing about working at Mickey Dees, was the fact, that I could cook my own food, and get food for free. On slow nights, we would make all the food we would want, right before closing time, and then take it home. Everybody did it! McDonald's has a throw away after ten mins. rule, and we took advantage of that all of the time. I also would be able to collect all of the toys that came in the meals, if I wanted to.

The disadvantages were the fact that I had to wear a hat or visor! I preferred the hat, because back in those days, I spent a lot of time on my hair. Also I got to see what really happens in the back where they cook. The old guys working, always cooked things that fell on floor. That is why I cooked my own stuff if possible. I also had guys picking up on me all of the time, they were of all ages and types. Gross! Speaking about gross, I have a gross thing to tell you...

When I cooked my stuff, I was sure to burn it, even my chicken nuggets. One day when I was on break, I was standing in the doorway eating a nugget, when someone noticed what I was eating. Sticking out of my nugget was a huge red vein! I spit it out all over a tray, since then, it took years to eat them again. And even now, I eat the crust off first to see what the meat looks like. Then I have had almost broken my teeth on bones that I have found in the burgers, at least four times! Now I can agree with the nickname my little brother would call MD, McDogfood's. But he was only three, and he thought it was really called that.

Embarrassing moments were, when every time my family came to eat there. My mom always special order things, and then send it back, in a huff. It got to the point that she wouldn't have to, because they got to know her. Once my manager had to call 911 because my little brother Timmy, got his head stuck in the metal bars of the indoor play ground. (this was before the plastic play set) Firemen had to cut him out, and my manager was worried about being sued. It was embarrassing when my boyfriend brought me a dozen roses in the drive-thru. When girls that were fighting with my sister came and asked me not to beat them up, because she told them I would. (like I would?)

I also worked in the downtown store in Juneau at the same time. The tourist would come off the ship and the would go to McDonald's first thing. I loved meeting different people, from all over the world. They would be so nice, and they were very trusting! I never took advantage of their lack of knowledge of our money. The first time I worked with a new boyfriend of two weeks, I broke up with him over what he did to the tourist. Some nice people came from Holland, and they dumped a pile of money on the counter to pay for the food. I only took what was needed to pay with, and Channing, took more! He bragged to me when he was on break about all of the cash he got, and I told on him! It wasn't a hard choice to make, I didn't like him that much anyways... But knowing what I know now from all of my fast food experience, I do make a effort to be patient with them, as long as they seem like they are trying. I only worked at McDonald's for a year and a half, and then never again.

There is nothing amusing about the ride, the Gravitron!

2008-08-12T11:02:00.020-04:00

Yesterday, our family attended the fair. I had a good time, but because our kids are spoiled when it comes to rides, they were not really thrilled. Most of the rides were old, and showed some real wear and tear. (scary) They were appreciative though, in spite of the moans about watching the motorcross, circus, elephant show, and bird show. In the end, they liked it. This is the first time we have attended a fair in years. I really enjoy seeing the farms animals, even the cows! It makes me miss the farm, and when my grandparent's used to show off their cows.
The circus wasn't really a circus, it was just a high wire act. The kids complained the whole time we waited to watch this event. But they ended up loving it , because the wind knocked the guy off the wire. He's had cat like reflexes, and he was able to save himself by grabbing the wire with one hand! Wow! That made it interesting for sure!

Jason chose not to ride any rides, mainly because they are mostly spinning ones. I think the scariest ride is the ferris wheel but it doesn't stop me from trying it. The only ride I didn't go on , that was working, was the Spin Master! I used to go on those rides in a heart beat, but I felt sick from going on the stand up ride three times in a role! But now that I am bigger, it is not a matter of being afraid of going upside down, it's the fact that I have a large chest and I just don't fit! It stinks! I need to get rid of these things! I always told myself that because my Nana could ride with me on the Looper from the Lagoon, that I would never stop riding rides when I get old. Yes, I do have a great memory of my Nana, who I can remember looking at her upside down, laughing at me, with her long pearl earrings on! I was only in second grade. Viv is a lot like me, she went on everything, even the Spin Master!

There was a ride there called the Gravitron, it used to be one of my favorite! It looks like a space ship and it spins, sucking your body to the wall. Back in April 1992, when I was 17, I got a awesome job at 49th Street Gallery. It's a indoor amusement place with games, a skating rink, a bowling alley, mini golf, and a few rides. I loved that place! I was hired as a ride operator, and I worked there after school. Well one day, when I worked, I was operating the Gravitron, and something happened... It wasn't my first time, I preferred to work in there, though the music was loud and I had to clean up any barf that occurred. I usually stopped before it happened, and let people off if they were going to be sick . So on this particular slow day, I had one dad come in with two little kids and a teenager. The tape in the player stopped when I was spinning at full speed. I controlled the speed, the brakes, the door, and the music. It was simple, all I had to do was turn over the tape that was in the player above me on a shelf. Then suddenly...I flew out! I splatted like a bug on a windshield! Do you think I landed on a padded part, nope, it was the door! And the door was all metal!

I remember being embarrassed more than anything, the guy asked me if I was okay, but nobody could move until the ride slowed down! Luckily, it was a gas petal that controlled the speed and not a switch! I felt nothing, just shaky. The guy helped me to the center when it slowed down, and I got back into the seat and slowed it to a stop. But it was hard, because my focus was not all there, in order to open the door, I had to rely on the crack on the bottom of the door, to see where the stairs were, and I had to get it just right! I did it, and I refused people on, so I got on my walkie and called my manager, who was a 18 year girl.

She came and I told her what happened. She asked me if I wanted a break or something, and when I stood up I couldn't quite walk. She helped me to the office, where I sat in a big chair. Well, she called my mom, and my mom freaked out! She told her to call a ambulance but the girl wasn't sure. So she did, and they came, and it was really embarrassing!! When they checked me over, I had a knot on my head, my arm hurt, my leg hurt, let's just say my whole body started to hurt! They cut off my favorite jeans and when they saw that I had a hickey (on my neck), they thought it was a bruise, but I had to tell them and I told them not to tell my mom! In the end, I ended up with a concussion, a sprained arm, fractured ribs, damage to my hips and back, and a broken knee cap! So that is why I don't think the Gravitron is amusing in any way, actually to me, it's a crack up!

Alaska, where the streets are paved with gold...

2008-08-08T16:40:00.009-04:00

One subject that I could never stop talking about is Alaska... Here is a little bit of information of me and my past experince with Alaska. ( the picture on left is Mt. McKinley, center is Haines, on right is a giant bird of somekind..)

I was born in Haines, Alaska, a small native town, about 70 miles away from Juneau, the capital. I don't remember much of my hometown, but I did visit it when I lived in Juneau. It was very small, surrounded by trees and bordering the ocean. The Alaska highway went to Haines, but not to Juneau. So when I went there last, I took a ferry over there, it took 3 hours, to just attend a log fest and hang out with friends. The log fest was at a place near Haines, that is famous for having the biggest Bald Eagles population. Gosh I miss seeing them, everywhere. They would build nests way up in these very tall, skinny, pine trees. I would wonder how it would hold the weight of such a large nest!

My earliest memory ever was me in a high chair, looking at our dog Kimo, which was a German Shepard, who was sitting under a small square table. When suddenly the door opened and it was my dad, who had a big package of small glass bottles filled with formula, that he had sat on the table. When he opened the door, the dog looked up, and a brush of cold windy air blew in. It was also night time. I was really young at the time, that is what I was told, under a year old. My parents lived in a cabin before I was born ,and then moved into one of the few houses located in town. When I was born, my dad worked as commercial fisherman and harbor master, then he became the police chief, fireman, paramedic, and civil defense coordinator.( those four jobs, at the same time) Properly because he had a military background, and there wasn't much competition at the time.

My mom and dad both had a pilot's license, they could fly small planes. (Sometime I need to post the pictures of my mom flying my grandma up to see us.) When I was two, we lived on a sailboat. I have only seen one picture of me on it. I know, your thinking, none of this can be true. But it is! When you look at my parent's now, you can't imagine what they have been through, so many more adventures than I have been on. After my parent's lived in Haines, they moved to Denali National Park, where my mom and dad worked in the hotel there. Denali National Park is where Mt. McKinley is, the tallest peak in America. When I was 4 and 5, we moved to Glendale, California. I miss Alaska, I lived in Fairbanks, where the northern lights are rainbow colored and then down in Juneau, where the lights are green.

I hope it's not the end of my Alaska adventures, after I moved from there the last time. When I was forced to move my junior year of high school, I spoke about Alaska all of the time. My friend Shannon was so, so, so sick of it! Whenever someone would ask about it, I would begin to talk, and she would say, "Alaska, where the streets are paved with gold...don't get her started!" Nice friend huh? But I guess it's true to me. (I did pan for gold but just found shavings.) Someday I am going to get back there to stay! But they don't have many Wal-mart's up there. Maybe someday...

I have been Tagged...

2008-08-07T08:29:00.002-04:00

The girl's are playing a game of blog tag, and so I am planning on tagging my friend Kristie, Nicole, Jessica,Debbie, and Dianna.

How To Play This Game of Tag: Post these rules on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

Here is my list:

3 Joys

1. My family

2. My Religion

3. My Friends

3 Fears

1. One of my kids getting kidnapped, raped, and murdered.

2. Sharks, Spiders, Zombies, and heights.

3. Getting cancer

3 Goals

1. Lose weight so I can live longer.

2. Be temple worthy all of the time.

3. Have financial freedom and be debt free!

3 Current Obsessions/Collections

1. Being on the computer, playing games, and surfing online.

2. Going swimming

3. I have a small mint condition barbie collection.

3 Facts About Me

1. I hate cleaning, doing dishes, and cooking.

2. I was born in Haines, Alaska

3. I had braces the whole time I was in high school.

Lazy Days of Summer

2008-08-04T15:23:00.002-04:00

Who made up the phrase, the lazy days of summer? I know what it means, I am living in complete boredom....

My poor kids are bored too, they feel as though they have to be entertained every moment. I feel the same way too, it gets bad when you are looking forward to going to cheerleading practice. I hate watching cheerleading practice too, not enough excitement! I will miss going to Clark's football practice this year, because he didn't want to do it again. He was so good at it too! But I can't force him, I just have to except that I have nerds for kids instead of sport stars.

Maybe not all is lost, Clark wants to try wrestling this year, so we will see how that goes. It's not like it is on TV. Jason is very excited about that prospect. He finished in the top three, for state when he was a senior. When my brother Danny wrestled in high school, Jason was assistant coach. I wish I had those practices on tape, because it was very interesting. Jason was the hands on coach, not one kid could win against him, and they all tried too. It was funny, some kids were really serious about trying to pin him, but he was too strong. One time, another high school came over to do practice together, and they all tried to get him too. He ended up breaking a kid's ribs, but he didn't get in trouble for it. He only coached for two years and then we moved. But at the county fair, there was a kid who challenged him in the boxing ring, because he wanted to get at Jason so badly. That was exciting, Jason went in and he didn't even swing towards that kid, until that kid threw a bunch of punches that were meaningless. As I can remember, I think Jason only punched him one time to knock that kid down to the mat. And then it was over! That kid was a really cocky punk too, he was out for blood. After that one fight he did, he thought it was fun, and we considered entering him in the tough man contest that came to town, once a year. But we went, and we saw how bloody some of the guys got and decided not too. I of course,was all for it!

School starts soon and then I would be bored even more, unless I try to get a job. I can't stay in bed like I used to, my back gets all sore, and my heels hurt when I walk, after I get up. There is cleaning always to do, school supplies to get together, blogs to improve, and I could walk to the gym, but I am just too lazy...

Elvis lives?

2008-08-02T23:28:00.004-04:00

Jason, my dear husband is a cute guy I think! He is a manly man, not a metrosexual, like some, and certainly not vain in any way. He got his hair cut again today, it grows so very fast! I like the grey hairs he has, I think it's sexy! I always had a thing for men with settle greys, like George Clooney and like how Sean Connery used to have. His dad's hair is completely white, had been so at a early age, so his mother says. I don't mind, that everyone thinks he is older than I, even though he isn't by a few months!
Jason is a big teddy bear, he doesn't have a mean bone in him, really. He has put up with a lot of my bad hair cuts and has gotten teased quite badly because of it. In high school, he went for that typical early ninties do ( a bowl hair cut), and he would have the back of it shaped like a point sometimes. At that time he had a personal hair dresser he preferred. (it wasn't me) Then I tried to get him to grow it out, so it could look like Bo Brady's hair from Days of Our Lives. It took a few years to be able to get the side burns and the cool goatee. (Bo's hair was long enough to put into a short poney tale.) I thought it was hot!
After we got married, I talked him into growing his hair long enough on top, to perm it into curls. The hair dresser agreed. It was cool, but didn't last. When we moved to the farm, he was working outside alot, so I would cut it short. Sometimes I would suprise him and actually do a good job. But the last five or so years, now that he works with men whose wives don't cut their hair, he gets teased when I do. He gets teased if it don't get cut too! When it grows slightly long, and when he has sideburns, they call him the later years, Elvis. And when it gets cut into a flat top, sort of, he looks like Fred Flintstone. I have to admit, they are kind of right. But it's not right to tease him so much, he has feelings, don't they know that?

Give me a break!!!

2008-07-26T15:11:00.004-04:00

The other day, I had my usual brush with bad luck, and our new labtop cord stopped working for some reason. This happened right after I posted my story of the River House part 3. So the haunting continues.....

Well, anyways our car broke down too, all the way at Jason's work. That was a ton of fun, spending all day Friday getting it home. Don't you just love it when luck seems to be turning a corner and then something new happens? And most of all, when you have whiny kids at you at the same time?

I love my kids but one thing I can't stand is being hot, stressed, and having a kid whine for something or for nothing, because they aren't getting their way. Give me a break. They know better, why do they think they can get their way by acting like this? I have never caved in for anything. I don't beat them either (maybe I should start), when they crying like a someone ran over their dog, I ask them why, once. And then I try to block it out, but sometimes they get louder and louder, and then start screaming, they hate me, all because I wouldn't buy them a stupid stuffed animal cat! Well, I decided to start getting a little more creative to try to combat these actions. I do of course ground them, and they just get madder and louder, until their voice almost runs out. This week, with all the crap I am already dealing with, my oldest daughter tried to force me to take her to the mall to buy a stuff animal cat, that she doesn't even have the money to buy, plus she has so many of. Her whining, and crying, "My kitten!", over and over, made me want to burn all of the ones she had! But I kept my cool, and I did go to the mall, and went into the very store she wanted to go and asked the store people if it was free, and they told me the price, and then I told her, "even if it was free, and their where a billion of them, I would not allow you to have one, because of the way you acted!" and then we left the mall, with her crying of course, and threatening me, and I made her go into the house while I went to the the store. She was afraid of why I was so quiet. So she thought about doing dishes to make me happy.
Then on Friday, I told Erick, since we are going to Harrisonburg to get the car, that I would just check out what the prices were for a new cable at Circuit City. Jason and I had already to decided that we would try to get the cable through warranty and we had already told him this. We went there and the cheapest cord was $89.00, so I said, "that's what I thought". But Erick was having a cow, that we were leaving the store without it! So for 15 mins. at least, he whaled and cried about not being able to get on the computer, and it was all my fault! Give me a break! Because of his actions, we took them straight home, and Jason and I went out to dinner and to a ballgame all by ourselves!
I am not the meanest mom in the world like they think I am, but a few months ago, Jason and the kids had a fit because I made them beef stew for dinner, instead of buying pizza. I hate cooking but they get what they get, and it really ticked me off! So the whole family bickered and I, well...I, just told them I was sick of it! And I left without saying anything... I decided to go to the movies! I went and saw Vantage Point, all by myself. I really enjoyed it. After the movie, I thought about going for a ice cream, but I called home instead.. I guess they did care, the kids begged me to come home! Maybe, that is what I need to do once in a while, just give myself a break!

The haunting of the River House? Part 3

2008-07-23T10:01:00.006-04:00

There was no scientific proof that it was indeed, haunted, only eye witness accounts from myself and siblings. Do we have a over active imagination? Perhaps, but I know what I saw, heard, and felt.

Ever since we moved into the house, we heard noises that we couldn't explain. The old wooden floors made so much noise to walk on, the stairs creaked, and the stair railing was loose and made noises too. My siblings and I were constantly fighting, I guess because we were sick of each other. My dad would be gone most of the time, and we had nothing to do. At night, we kept our doors open. We would only sleep upstairs knowing if others were up there too. At first it sounded like someone walking around downstairs, thinking it was my mom, I dismissed it. Then there were a couple of times where we heard footsteps going up the stairs. We either, screamed for our mom or was too scared to move. I usually laid real still, under the covers and kept my eyes closed, because I was afraid of seeing something.

One night, I heard crunching sounds in the hall closet. For a couple of days it went on, only when it was night. It was really messy in there and I assumed it was a rat. I haven't seen any rats up to this point, but the holes they made were huge! So, finally one morning, I couldn't stand it any longer. I went into the closet and moved things around and I found the scariest looking giant black beetle, with huge pincher's in there! It was as big as the beetles I have seen in the zoo! I freaked out of course, it really was that big! We killed it with bug spray and a broom. Problem solved! But then the noises were downstairs, and my mom heard them too. It was in the kitchen, and in the cabinets. We never seen them, but the rats had been having a feast on our cereals and on our bag of popcorn.

I finally got to see how big they really were when I went down into the basement. My parents didn't allow us to go down there and I didn't know why. One day I did, and I looked around. It had old cobwebbed, covered stairs and a dirt floor. The smell was musty. The basement was a single room with with one light. On the left of it, was a passage way leading to the storm doors outside. I could see a little bit of light coming from it, but it was still really dark. The walls were a dark grey brick and there was a large hole in it by the area underneath the stairs. I was too afraid to look in the hole. When I walked towards the storm door, I saw a huge dead rat laying in my path! It was at least the size of an eight week old kitten! I showed my dad, he couldn't believe how big they were either.

A night after our first Christmas there...My dad was gone again. All the lights were on, and my sister and I were making a can chicken noodle soup in the kitchen. The kitchen was located just to the right of the dining room, where we suddenly heard my sister's ten speed bike, still in the box fall to the ground. It was loud enough, that my mom could hear it in the living room, while she was watching TV. My sister and I went over to the large box and looked at it. I noticed that it was standing against the basement door, and it was slightly open! So I shut it and put the box back. We walked back into the kitchen and it fell again! I turned around, the basement door was open! So then we shut it, and ran over to my mom to tell her. She didn't even get up, she thought it was nonsense. So we took a large green stool out of the living room, scooted it towards the door, which was open again, moved the bike box to lean against the table, and firmly put the the stool against the door. So I stirred our boiling hot soup and began to pour it into bowls and then I heard the sound of the stool scraping on the floor! It was a tiny bit, but the basement door was open again! We left it open, and my mom finally came to see it. She closed it and when she left, I opened it back up just a crack, because I couldn't stand to hear the stool moving again. My sister saw me do this and accused me of doing it all in the first place. I told her, " of course I didn't dummy! You were with me!"

I can't remember if anything else happened, just the occasional flapping sounds coming from the small attic door upstairs. My parents heard them too. They would open it up and see nothing in there. It could have been bats, I suppose. I just kept going to bed afraid when I heard something and I would hum church songs, over and over, until I fell asleep.

Living In The River House... Part 2

2008-07-21T08:41:00.003-04:00

Shortly after moving in the River House, I discovered that there was a calico wild cat living under the shed. I got to know her and I called her Kitty. She became a awesome cat. She got pregnant and bore four kittens in the chicken coup. Kitty was a awesome hunter, she even hunted a full sized rabbit once, and fed it to her kittens. It was like something out of national geographic or something because there was fur and blood everywhere! Her wild kittens would follow her into the woods and into the cornfield, all four in a row. Kitty did not care for dogs! One day a pack of wild dogs came onto the edge of our property. I sat on the porch watching. She and the kittens lit up their fur and she actually chased them away! So then on, she was known as our guard cat. At night, I heard a scratching on the window of my bedroom while I was in bed. I was almost too scared to move, until I heard a meow. It was Kitty, on the roof of the front porch! How she got there, I had no idea. I ended up having to let her in because she wouldn't go away. I have no idea how she got on that roof because it was so tall.

As I lived in that house, my siblings and I had basically nothing to do. We had no friends, and no cable. We explored the woods, and we would walk down the road to visit a field that had ponies. Or down the other way, to visit a Morgan horse in her pasture. We discovered a small run down empty house to explore. I would tell my younger siblings that it was haunted and I would scare them about it. It was hard to walk through because of all the plants and things grown around it, and in it. But that was all we could do until my dad put up a tire swing in our yard.

About the house, I never felt easy in it, unless I was in my bedroom. I had it looking so pretty and clean, my room was the only one to have a temple picture in it, because I got it when I went for baptisms. It made me feel safer, I also kind of blessed it in my own way. As for the rest of the house, it never was blessed. My parents were active in church but not fully converted. I had only been a member for a little more than a year at this time and before it, I didn't pray or know anything about any kind of church. My dad was a truck driver and we hardly seen him. At night all of my siblings and I would usually sleep with my mom, down in her room. Nobody liked being upstairs alone. One night when I was sleeping upstairs in my bed, I heard my mom yelling down in the hallway. I got up and came down the stairs quickly. All of the lights were off, and it was super foggy outside. Couldn't see past the porch. Our front door was covered in glass and had no curtains on it. I didn't see anything through it, but my mom was holding a shot gun and pointing it towards it. She told me to go to bed. And she was rude about it, and so I did, but I didn't sleep, I just assumed it was wild dogs again.

In the morning, I asked her, "what happened?" She said she was in her bed, (her room was covered in windows too, with no curtains) and she heard someone outside. So she looked out the window and she saw a shadow of a man down by our tree. So she grabbed for a gun and by that time, he was on the porch. He was a lost drunken black man who wanted inside for some reason. She didn't open the door, she didn't have too. When she told him she had called the cops and she will shoot him if he didn't go away, he got the hint and left. We never found out who he was. If he knew anything about the local police, we had just one fat lazy sheriff that would take him a hour or more to arrive, if he was called. Living in that house was scary without my dad, for all of us. But my mom would never admit to it, just never! Even when she had to have heard the stuff we did! To Be Continued....

The River House

2008-07-19T11:23:00.007-04:00

When I moved to a small town named Waterford, Ohio from S.L.C., I spent six grade to one month in 8th grade there, during that time. My grandpa, knew of a bargin deal on a house for us to move into, that was a civil war home, by a river. The house over looked a dirt road, then a corn field, and then the river. The home sat on a couple of wooded acres, in which our neighbors were nowhere in site! My parent's bought the home from a local bank, who said the people who lived there went missing, and nobody would consider buying it other than them. When we first saw the house, we thought it was huge! It was white, had no shutters, had a full length covered porch, and had it's own private driveway that lead to the back of the home, where it had a shed, a chicken coup, and a small barn.
I went with my uncle, and my dad to investigate the home. My grandpa said we were going to need the horse trailer to throw away all of their stuff. When I walked inside, it stunk so badly! The first room we came into was the kitchen. The refrigerator was full of rotten stuff and the cupboards had giant rat holes chewed into them. The table had what it appeared to be, rotten breakfast food, still on the plates, as if they just got up from the table and left! In the living room, it was painted an ugly colored dark rose, there was a dead Christmas tree leaning in the corner, some old furniture and rat poop all over the wooden floors. The dining room and den where much the same, and when I went up the creaky old narrow stairs, at the top was a little door, in which I was afraid to open.
The top floor had three bedroom areas, all with no closets. The first small room,was a baby's room, painted yellow. It had baby's things and a crib inside. The other small room was surrounded by four windows (three of them were floor length), close together, in which it later became my room. It had wall paper and some of it was torn, and in that torn area, the was a nesting of warps. There was a small closet area, that had a window but no door, it was just filled with trash. The other side of the top floor was a room the size of half the house. It had a black and white checked floor, trash, beds, and a red brick chimney from the fireplace below. The worst thing, besides the rat poop, feathers, and trash, was the outline of fur, perfectly shaped like a dark grey cat. But the freaky thing was, there were no bones or blood. Just fur! It had to be scraped off the floor!
After we cleaned it up, I painted my room a sky blue color and I had no choice but to have my bed next to the windows. At night, we discovered that it would be pitched black outside, except for this annoying bright light that was located outside, on the top of the side of the house, where one of my windows were. Because of it, all sorts of bugs would be on that window and even bats could be seen. ( we had a bright idea to get a fishing pole and try to hook one of those bats) If it wasn't pitch black outside, it would be extremely foggy! So bad, when we are on the porch, you can't see any of the large trees we had. I have a scary fog story, and more about the house, in which I know it was haunted but that is for a future posting! To be Continued....

(The river house is simlar to this one, but was on a larger scale, it had a fireplace on left side, and had more windows. Other than that, it sures looks much the same.)

I Must Be Getting Old!

2008-07-17T08:51:00.004-04:00

I love music, all kinds of music and I am finally getting to the point that some of the new stuff is annoying! I always said and thought, that I would never be stuck in my own times and just listen to my era of music, but I find myself doing just that! I used to love anything that had a good beat, regardless of the words, but now as I drive, I sometimes hear what my kids are singing and it really disturbs me! It makes me mad at myself for letting them listen to that crap! So now I find myself tuning into the modern rock station, in which I love anyways but all of the time. They sometimes have political meaning songs but I don't mind, it's better than singing about "girl's kissing girls and liking it", "beautiful girl you make me suicidal", and tons of other songs that talk about stripping, panties, putting a baby in you, cheating on girlfriends, and being a convict...
It's awful, I thought that the song back in my day of "Oh me so horny" was bad, but these songs have the f word bleeped out quite a lot. I like Justin Timberlake, he's a talented dude, but if you were to listen to his songs on the album, you would realize how many curse words he has in his songs. The B word is not even considered a curse word anymore! It's just plain sad, no wonder kids today grow up so fast, most kids listen to music and idolize the people singing them.

I am really disappointed of Miley Cyrus, she seems to be turning into a younger Brittney Spears. It won't be long, she will ruin herself and take our daughters down with her. (Check out pictures above, from little girl, to star, to messed up, confused teen. It's gets even worse, look up her name on search for images, and you will get really bad photos of herself that she posted on her myspace page. It's so bad, I can not post them on my site!) Who is she, to be important enough to pay a $100 a ticket to see? I wouldn't pay to see her even if the tickets were $20..maybe $10 though. But all this hype about her, is just hype that her management paid for, but yet people buy into it anyways. Viv has one thing Hannah Montana, and that's it. I am not going to buy anymore of her crap. Because in like two years,(may not even that long) she will become either a wash out or a Lindsey Lohan, or both. But nevertheless, I don't want my daughters using her as a example. Just like some are, by getting pregnant and 14 and 15 years old, so they can have a baby like Jamie Lynn Spears.
As for music, it's a battle, but at least I am trying to teach my kids it's not about the tune but about the words. I like some hard rock, and some people automatically assume it's bad, but it isn't unless the words are. Metallca for instance, are very talented, if you ever listen to their words to most of the songs, not that bad either. But it's true, if it does give you a bad feeling, you should not be listening to it. But anyways, I guess I must be getting old!

Da Dump... Da Dump...DA DUMP!

2008-07-15T23:50:00.004-04:00

Okay my title was suppose to be the description of the Jaws theme song, was I even close? Well that is what I am going to confess, my worse fear, sharks, and every thing that lives in the water. The reason why I am mentioning this is because while I was at the pool tonight, I panicked when I noticed a large grey stain on the bottom of the pool! It was in a oval shape, and I raced to the side to get out. I can't stand it, I know it's impossible, my parents have ruined me, because when I was young, they let me watch those horrible movies. Because of it, I couldn't use a toilet that had blue cleaner in it, and I couldn't take a bath that was too deep. I hate seeing the water ripple, I hate looking through water, I hate seeing under water scenes in movies or shows ( though I am getting better at watching it), I hate water beds, I will never scuba dive or snorkel, I hate to swim under water, and I hate looking at large aquariums. And not only because I watched the Jaws movies, but because of a few things that happened to me that made it worse.
For one, when I lived in Fairbanks, in fourth grade, I received swimming lessons in a giant u shaped pool. One end had swallow water, and the other was very dark and deep. One night I dreamt about going to the pool, getting into my end with my friends and then my instructor told us that we were going to go into the deep part with life jackets on for the first time. So in my dream we did, we went to the right side of the deep end and I jumped in first. I started to swim into the center and then a loud ringing bell happened! Suddenly, the instructor yelled, get out of the pool! And on the bottom, there was a huge grate that opened up and a big white shark came out under me and I was on it's back! I woke up and the next morning, on the bus, I told my friend Rhonda what happened exactly in my dream. She was a beginning swimmer too. When we got there, the dream came true! Well not exactly, but it all did to the point that I did jump in first, and held onto the side, then right afterwards a loud bell happened! The instructor told everybody to get out! I couldn't get out fast enough! I then noticed the grate, I was scared to death, and was my friend was too. Then the instructor came back, he said it was a phone call, that made that sound. We hard never heard it before that day.
I have had several bad shark dreams, and I wake up in the night, thinking I am on a raft and a shark might bite my foot off if it is too close to the edge of the bed. When I wasn't much older, we went to Epcot center and I got lost there in the Living Seas. My parents teased me, because I didn't want to go in, and I just sat where I thought I was safe. When everyone ditched me, I went looking for them and I went down a ramp that had aquariums on both sides, I looked at the floor the whole time. When I got to the end, it was nothing but glass, I looked up and saw a sign saying the word shark and then I saw one in the mist of the very blue water coming towards me! I ran and I felt dizzy and shaky, it is awful to be so scared!
Since I have grown a little older, I have tried to over come this fear by watching shark shows, drawing sharks, reading about them, and even going swimming in the ocean, but I don't go more than 3 feet deep. (Great Whites can as low as 3 feet deep) I love looking at whales, from the shore! Once I was with a friend and her dad in his boat, and when I was looking at the water I saw a flash of white near by, I screamed, Michelle seen it too and suddenly the boat tipped a little, we grabbed each other and sat on the floor in the center of the boat. It was a curious orca, that kept on swimming by, so Michelle's dad had decided to take us home.
I hope in the future this will go away, but every time I hear about it on the news, I want to hear more and I get nervous about going back to the beach.

BFF!

2008-07-14T10:07:00.003-04:00

Through the years, I have moved a lot! More than normal, all over this country! I can remember all of my best friends that I would make, that I would try to keep forever, until we just stopped talking to each other and that would be the end.
My first best friend in was in Utah, in kindergarten, Kim. Remember I stole her kitten and broke into her house? That was pretty much the end for that. Then I made another in Wyoming, I would put army ants with black ants together, in a old see through newspaper bag, to watch them fight for fun. We lived in a trailer park in the middle of nowhere! I didn't live there long to remember her name, but she had a bunch of younger siblings and one day when I was at her home, she invited me to go ride with her and her dad to go snowplowing. He snowplowed streets at night and I said okay. I ran back to my home to ask for permission, but didn't go inside, I was afraid they were going to leave me, so I told them I could go anyways and went with them. It was so much fun! But when I came back, the police were at my house, looking for me!
Then in second grade, I lived in some apartments in CA, I had a friend that was a real girly girl, I spent the night with her once and we dressed up and watch the Miss America pageant, it was my first time. We had a bunch of fun together, I can't remember her name either, but she didn't hang around me much in the apartment complex, you see, I was a ring leader of sorts, in which I would gather all of the neighbors and get them to do bad things! Like for fun, I said "Let's go find all of the snails we can and put them in this piece of old newspaper!" So, several kids did, we had so many of them, they would try to escape off of it, so I said hurry! Then we closed the one side of it and I told them we can stomp on it to hear the crunch! I opened it afterwards, some were still alive without their shells. And then we made grasshopper soup (I tried to get the smaller kids to eat it), I pulled all the legs off of them. I did that to dandy long legs for fun too. Then for our biggest endeavor, we put mud pies on everything in the entire playground! I won't even tell you what we did to the slide so no one would go down it! Good Times!
Then back in third grade in WY again, in a different town, at the end of the year, I was sat down with my two friends, Bobbi and Peter, and we were told we had to go back to third grade again because we talked to much, horsed around, and didn't know our times tables! My heart broken because I loved that teacher, Mr. Harmon that looked like Clark Kent! Me and my friends, rode the town together, we would go as far as we could! We would play Bloody Mary too, and scare other kids. We even got to miss recess together, and there were plenty of times that we had our noses against the walls.

Then I moved to Alaska for fourth grade, I had a best friend named Shelly there. She was a good girl. She didn't play hockey, football, soccer, or king of the mountain with me. But we wrote our first book together and we were tight friends. After I moved in the middle of 5th grade, she came to visit me in Salt Lake once. I moved again to Ohio that summer before six grade, and we lost contact! I was really sad.
I lived in Ohio for 6th, 7th and one month of 8th grade. I had two best friends. Samantha and Judy. They would come over and ride my horse, Then I moved to Alaska again, were I met some current friends, Stephanie and Shawnessy. Stephanie was a good influence on me, she was seriously dedicated to her school work. She got me into DECA and she helped me pass my math classes. I loved her family as my own. She knew everybody, and everybody knew her. She later became my maid of honor and we used to see each other once a year, for five years. But we hardly talk but once a year, now. Shawnessy, was nicknamed my shadow by my dad, we had so much fun together, we were a lot alike as far as trouble goes. She introduced me into international music, opera, Paul Simon, REM and Saturday Night Live. We tested how far we can go, and do. We never did or tried drugs! But almost everything else. We still talk time to time, not as often as I would like. She is still a fun person to hang with and know.
I moved to Utah for half of my Junior year, and met right away, Shannon. We really did some crazy things! I can't even say what we all did. We used to wish that she could marry Brian, Jason's relative of the same age, and I marry Jason so we can be related. It came true! But we had a falling out after I got married first. It was sad. After that, we would only see each other for family reunions. She and Brian just recently divorced.
During my senior year, Jason was my best friend, and still is! We have moved a bunch of times since then, and I have only really connected with a couple of people in various wards I have attended. But never to the level of what once was. It's hard to say goodbye to friends, and keep in contact afterwards, so I try not get too attached. I made friends with Kelly in Ohio, we went through some rough times together, but her support was awesome! Then in Utah, we met the Shirley family, we loved their kids! Kristie is like a little sister to me. I loved helping her out with her kids and giving her advice. We played cards, video games and board games together. We cried when we left them back in St. George. And now we are here, and I am happy to say, I am really enjoying the friends that I making here. Enspite of me telling someone that I didn't want to make any, because we would properly move again, that was rude thing for me to say. I have been here for three years now, and I have tried to move away! But I am stuck here, and I am happy, and I really like the friendship that I share with some wonderful ladies here. I have to mention Shawna as being one of them because we have so much in common. We know we aren't perfect, but we don't judge each other either. Except, she is a much better cook and wife than I am! Jason, my husband even mentioned that we ought to do the wife swap thing! (tv show, not for real) Funny huh? I know that I have ranted on but I really wanted to get this out there, so that new friends know where I am coming from. I love sharing my goofy stories and experiences, and this is the best way to do it.

Number from Hell?

2008-07-11T20:27:00.005-04:00

You know how when you are laying there, you may have the greatest thoughts and realizations? I do, all of the time. Last night I didn't get much sleep, for some reason I was thinking about the numbers in my newest home phone. I laughed and thought no big deal it has three 6's in a row, after all, I did ask for a easy number to remember! So far, this number has been great, nobody must of owned it for a long time because everytime, with out fail, out of all the times I have moved somewhere, I would get calls for someone else, and I hate that! Sometimes the calls would last years! But then, I have just thought about my cell phone number I had gotten last, it too has three 6's in a row! And also, on my knighthood game, a person I stole changed their picture to say the three 6's, but when I play with them, it don't. (it only shows up on my facebook page, I can't imagine what you must think) How come I didn't notice that before? I have had the cell phone number for at least a year too. Weird? Does it mean something? I guess if I want it to. My mother in law believes that everything happens in threes (three sixes?), she is a faithful member, wise old woman and temple worker,I can agree with her. We have been cursed lately, well for the last year, and strangely, I am now recalling that my worst troubles started around the time I received that cell number.!
No joke, I do believe that everything happens for a reason! Even when I don't want it to, or like it. I have had alot of bad luck and it seems to be getting worse. But some good things have come along to counter some of the bad. So am I cursed? I feel that something has been attacking us, and I have been praying, but not like I should. I am not doing all I can to combat this curse, but we are dealing with it, and we remain faithful. Should I change my phone numbers? It would be nuisance, after all it's a miracle Jason can remember them. Maybe I am just being superstitious, I do have a big imagination. I have had some past experiences with the occult, not that I believed in it or anything, but just foolish kid's stuff. Now that I have admitted that, friends please don't avoid me. I am not going to get into this crap, because it brings on a negative energy. I may in future posts, share my ghost stories though! What do you think?

Curtains For ME?

2008-07-10T19:09:00.004-04:00

Okay, don't you love it when you try something to get your way, and prevail? I get great satisfaction from this. Whether it's from winning a game of UNO, passing all the levels of a video game or even if it's just a argument.
Today, I went to Lowes', (I love that store, I wish I could have a shopping spree there, because it's so cool!) to buy some screws. For anyone who knows me, I never buy just one thing, I am always looking for bargins. So, I went pass the curtain area and I saw that the valance that I wanted was still there, but it's display had a sticker on it for $10.98. Two weeks ago I noticed this, but I controlled myself and didn't get it. So today, I saw that there were only a few left. The package sticker says $29.98, but I was determined to find out for sure. (Yeah, can you believe that one valance, similar to the one in the picture, can cost that much?) So I grabbed two of them, went to check out, and of course it wasn't on sale. So she called for a price check, and to make a long story shorter, three people later, I stood my ground, and got a $40.00 discount!
At first I called my mom, who hates it when I buy curtains, she was proud of me. Then I called Jason, who also hates it when I buy curtains, he just said okay. Then after I called them I was like, "Yes! this is my way of sticking it to the Man!'' But am I?
There is a moral to be learned...it's true, if you keep on trying, you may prevail at some point. I just wish that my same determination to win a game, would be used for good, rather than evil. If I really tried to lose weight, would I succeed? If I really tried to budget my money better, would I be rich? If I tried to follow all the commandments, the Profits, and the Holy Ghost, etc., would I be different? The answer is yes and no, I could succeed if I tried, but maybe it would back fire some how. I am not sure, maybe I was wrong to insist on having the discount because some stupid worker had put the wrong clearance sticker on the display. BUT, it was there for at least two weeks and how come the department manager did not notice? Well, I am sure if you work for Lowes', what I did isn't a good thing, because it all trickles down to them somehow. Everything trickles down to the consumer some how. In these times, companies are trying to ride out the bad times and people are getting more desperate, greedy, and poor.
I think just about everyone can agree, on what I am saying except for a elect few like my dentist. My dentist is a cranky, old, and opinionated man, who felt it was his duty to talk about the problem with America, while working on Clark's teeth. He said crap like there is nothing wrong with the economy, that we aren't in a recession, that people aren't losing jobs and that there were plenty...he went on and on! I just tried to let it go, even if I felt like giving him my two cents worth! I didn't, because he was the sort of guy that I couldn't possibly win over no matter what. I guess that is why I have a blog, because I can say what I want. It's freedom of speech, and we can agree or agree to disagree.

A Moose On the Loose!

2008-07-08T11:57:00.003-04:00

When I lived in Alaska, things were different with the schools there. It may not seem real but it was, anyone who reads this blog from Alaska, can tell you that Alaskan schools are the best! I can't possibly tell you all the fun adventures I have had at school or during school! Only kids that have been down in the states like I have, can tell the difference. In Fairbanks, it is very cold! If you had a car, you had to have two sets of keys, one to leave the car running while you are in the store, and one to lock it. Our car had a plug that came through the engine, that had to be plugged in, to keep it warm. That was in the eighties, maybe things are different now. But anyways, back to the school thing, school was never closed, unless the power was out. I lived in some apartments above the school on a hill. It was Woodriver elementary. We had only two trails we could take, my siblings and I, to get to school. The woods were thick, and you had no choice but to take either, Butt Breaker Hill or Killer Hill. (I did not name them, the name was know to everyone) Butt Breaker Hill, was a wide slope that was steep in some spots, then level, then steep again, with old tree stumps sticking out here and there. When we took a sled to school, (everyone took either a sled or snow mobile) you had to watch out for those bumps, and be a good steer -er to avoid going into a tree. Killer Hill was like a alpine slope, it went straight down. The only way you could walk up it was to have a walking stick and use the trees on the side to pull you up it. I have stories about sledding accidents, but that is not what I was going to write about today.
When I was in fifth grade, we took our class trip right after school started, so we had some daylight left to go camping. In early fall, we had sun and darkness, just like normal people. The cool thing was, the entire fifth grade got to go camping near Chena Hot Springs, for two nights. We stayed in cabins near the edge of a beautiful lake, girls in cabins on the left side of the mess hall, and boys on the other side. Each cabin had one single light that was automatically shut off at a certain time, and plain cots to sleep on. Our cabin had a big wooden door that had a gap on the bottom, where we could see if someone was out there, and a single wimpy metal hook latch to lock it. The toilet was just a out house that was located behind and between two cabins, behind it, was nothing but a big dark forest. Of course we were scared and cold. We didn't have a adult in our cabin, we also had to share cots. I shared a cot with my best friend Shelly, she was a little bigger than I and I felt squished. To be warm enough, I had all my clothes layered on, with my coat, and a sleeping bag, inside another sleeping bag, and I left just a little hole to where I could breathe, while I slept.
Early on, the girls in my class decided that we would take turns staying awake through the night in case a boy came or even a bear. We were told that we had to use the buddy system to go to out to the outhouse, if we needed to. So we thought, every girl can take a turn staying awake for a hour, then wake the next person when it's their turn and to be the extra buddy if we had too. Well Shelly had her turn and my wasn't until well into the early morning hours, I had no idea when it was, but I did have to do it. When I was awake, I sat up in my spot, between Shelly and the wall, and stared at the soft light that came from the bottom of the door. I could imagine seeing a shadow come by as if it was a bear sniffing through that awful gap. But it didn't happen, the wind did make the door move a little and my heart was pounding! So what do you think happened next?
I fell asleep, but I awoke to screaming, pounding, and the words of a girl saying, "Who was supposed to be on watch?" And then I heard, "Jennie Hale was supposed to be on watch! But she is asleep!" I was just laying there when I heard all of this, while facing the wall. The pound I heard did come from there, but I thought I was dreaming. So then I got up, when a woman came in and told us to stay in our cabin! When she left, we looked outside and there were people standing there talking, that pounding sound came from a moose! A girl from the other cabin went to the outhouse and a moose charged at her and hit the same wall I was facing! The screaming came from her and all of the other girls who heard her screams from the other cabin. As for I, I was really out of it, I was so tired, I just went back to bed while the other girl's stayed awake the rest of the night talking about it. So that is my moose story......

Silly Jen, Tricks Are For Kids!

2008-07-07T10:15:00.003-04:00

Some time ago, I use to do stupid things to get a boy's attention. When I began middle school, I became kinda boy crazy. I always would have a crush on someone, sometimes on more than one person, even if I had a boyfriend at the same time. You know that feeling, heart pounds, you dress your best around him, you spray perfume all over, you stare at him when he isn't looking, and when you walk by, you have that one moment of shared glances, that you make sure to smile. I did have friends that were boys, good ol' pals, and then I had a few that I couldn't get the courage to even talk to. Can you believe it? I didn't have the guts?
Well one guy in particular, was Richard. He was sort of shy himself, very tall, well built guy, he was cool, was a upperclassman, he reminded me of a James Dean kind, he was a manly man. His locker wasn't far from mine, and I took advantage of that. I had my own set of tricks I would perform to get him to notice me. I did, the drop everything in front of his locker bit, it worked. I would accidentally bump into him and say sorry. I would ask him questions about school activties and stuff, that I already knew the answer to. And I would walk by numerous times where he worked in the mall with my friends.
One of my best friends, Shawnessy, would join me in the quest and I would in hers. One day, we planned to ride our bikes all the way to his house on a bike trail. His house was a few houses down from the corner of a major road. We figured what time he would be getting off work and be heading home, and that maybe we can get him to stop by. To do this, my friend Shawnessy knew how to get a bike chain off and on. Our plan was to take off one of the chains and pretend we were helpless when he drove by in his Dodge Dakota. BUT, we had some problems. First of all, people kept on stopping by and offered to help us. At that time, he drove right by and parked in his driveway. So we thought we would get the chain on, and ride right in front of his house and have it off again, but he decided to get in his truck and go somewhere! So he drove away, we were really discouraged. So we went back to the corner and then he came back. So we tried again, the chain was off and he didn't notice us. He drove away again, and we decided to quit. But we couldn't get the chain back on! His buddy Phil stopped by and we took his help and when he was going to give us a ride home, Richard had came back to his house again! We totally failed, was it possiable that he did notice us? I guess, but even then I didn't learn.

Just Jen

2008-07-06T16:02:00.001-04:00

Cats! and More Cats! Everywhere!

2008-07-05T11:07:00.004-04:00

I love cats and I always have, since I was a little girl. I was just a little obsessed with them, like my daughters are today. When I tell you how I got my first kitten, you will certainly think I am a tad bit crazy and maybe you will decide to just stay away from me, but remember I was just a sweet little girl....
When I was a little girl in kindergarten, I was a little over confident, scheming, and cute. I was a brat, even my Aunt admits that being the first grand child, I was spoiled, and I was wild. I was bad enough that when my parents moved me, in that year to another school, I was so terrible in class, that they were forced to drive me back to my old one. That is the story about what I thought, was getting kicked out of school, but that is another story. Anyways, to get to the facts, my best friend Kim lived a street away and her cat had a litter of kittens. She had several in the litter but only one white one, in which I just had to have. Everyday I would come to see them, and I made it clear that I wanted that white one.
One day, they were not home, and I ran to the back of the house to look in the basement window. I could barely see them! So I went to the front door, and went inside! At first, I was greeted by their Irish Settler that was much larger than I, but I wasn't afraid. I thought, since no one was there, why not try to play some music on the record player. They had a big fancy stereo and I couldn't figure out how to get the automatic arm to work, so I may have broke it, I can't really remember if I did. I did make the mistake of leaving the class door open, letting them know I touched it. Then I proceeded down stairs, to snatch my kitten! After I started running home, I noticed a mob of people yelling at me, and they began to follow me home. I will never forget how scared I was, but I thought if I just get there, I would be safe somehow. When I got in the house, I went to my mom in the kitchen, and showed her my kitten. She said we properly couldn't keep it. I told her that Kim gave it to me. Then the door bell rang! I looked out the window, and it was a whole bunch of people on the lawn! I begged my mom not to answer it! I even told her that nobody was there! So then I ran and hid in my room with the kitten, holding it tightly. After that, I got to keep it,but I couldn't stay the night with Kim anymore, and then we moved out of the neighborhood! The kitten eventually got sick and died anyways, properly from being too young or from me not letting it go.
I have three adult cats now and two kittens. I am finally sick of them. Every day of my life, since back then, I have owned a cat or two. My kids have too. My daughter Sabrina is a little too crazy about them. She collects everything about cats, she loves house cats as well as wild cats. She acts like a cat, and when she grows up, she wants to be a cat lady. She always wants to be some sort of cat for Halloween but I try to stir her away from it, it gets old every year, just being a cat. And now I am trying to find a home for my kittens, and you would think it was the end of the world! But we can't have five cats!!!! So somehow I am going to try to find a solution for it. Wish me luck!!!

Me in a Nutshell...

2008-07-04T00:16:00.005-04:00

When I swim, I really don't swim, I find every excuse to be lazy, by holding onto a noodle, I kick my feet around, like I have flippers or something. But the thing I like about it most, if I am not being afraid of the water, I picture in my mind, something I saw on a TV show once, I too enjoy the water like these animals,----------->

Yes, I do feel free to float, splash, and kick around in the water like a big elephant. I also have another thing in common with this beast, I too, have a large flat butt! Other similaries include that elephants have wrinkles, so do I. They may feel intimidated when they first walk into a room, so do I. They may have a temper when they get poked and proded, so do I! The females run the show, so do I! They have big feet, so do I. They proberly have a very nasty period, so do I. They have nothing to wear, so do I. And finally, they have cute babies, so do I. I haven't really thought much about what kind of animal I would relate to, I was hoping it would be something more sexier. I don't even like elephants. They stink, and I guess, so do I...