Once a Duck. Always a Duck.

I spent the weekend in Oregon for my brother's PhD. graduation from the University of Oregon.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

Hogwarts professor or PhD graduate?

Visiting with Kaydi Rae.

Portland Rose Garden.

Blue Lake Regional Park.

Relief

I turned in my resignation letter this morning and my last day working for the state will be August 27th. I'll soon be a private support coordinator doing the same job I currently do, but working from home. In my free time, maybe I'll write a book. Learn to cook. Improve my musical abilities.

Life is good.

Shoot!

What did I do over the weekend? I'll show you.

Woodland creatures courtesy of photoshop.

*No animals were harmed during this shooting extravaganza. I cannot say the same for the watermelon, cantaloupe, or lettuce.

I'll Wait for You

My friends and I were leaving a fireside and noticed two guys looking at us. We got in the car and that's when things got interesting. One of the guys came to my window and handed me the following note:

(I have crossed out last names and phone numbers to protect the young, but not-so-innocent guys. If you would like their numbers to ask them out or last names so you can add them as a friend on facebook, let me know).

We responded with the following message and their response is also included:

Ah, the innocence of youth. At this point a guy on a motorcycle pulled up and asked what was going on and then drove off. Our response was "Good luck. Unfortunately, we are a little older than you." Our car was separated from the guys and we again saw the guy on the motorcycle. The driver of our car rolled down the window and let motorcycle guy know she did not appreciate him cheating on her with someone else. And no, I was not the driver.

I do hope Stephen has a great mission and may Sam find love.

Rise and Shout

My friend Kristen and her husband Rob bought a house 8 months ago and vowed in this post to paint over a blue Y on the basketball court. I visited their home yesterday for Kristen's baby shower and this is what I found in the backyard.

Go Cougars!

VIP

I love summer. I love concerts. I love summer concerts at Red Butte Gardens. I saw Chicago last night and Indigo Girls in July. My friend's employers gave us VIP tickets which meant we sat on chairs provided by Red Butte and had access to an unlimited supply of bottled water.

We don't live in a vacuum

I was sitting in on a therapy session for a client and the therapist said something that resonates with me. "When life gets tough we push away the people closest to us."

Guilty.

Stop! I'm tired

Rugby tournament. 100 degrees. Black shorts. Black shirt. Running. Tackling. Exhaustion. Dehydration.

One rugby player loudly exclaimed "Stop. Stop. I'm tired." Everyone, including the player, started laughing and yet, you could tell there was some truth to his statement.

There are times in my life when I also want to yell "Stop! I'm tired." Those are usually the times I pack up and head to Idaho for some much need rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. You see, I'm not one of those people who receive energy and strength from spending time with others. I need some alone time. Scratch that. I crave alone time. And I guess the important thing is that I recognize when I've stretched myself too thin and need to take a step back. It can be easy to simply go along with life without much thought as to where I'm going and then one or a dozen things happen that cause me to realize that life is both precious and great. People care and want to help.

Life. Running. Ruminating. Tackling. Exhaustion. Joy.

Pesto Mayo

My friend Lisa and I met at Mimi's Cafe for lunch today. The server was bringing the food to the table and I heard her say she dropped the cup filled with pesto mayo. I looked down and didn't see mayo on the floor, but I did see it on my shirt. The server apologized and I laughed while cleaning the mayo from my shirt. The ladies at the table next to me offered assistance and Lisa was kind enough to help clean the mess I couldn't reach. The manager offered me a free meal and I gladly accepted. In the rush of trying to clean my shirt, I forgot to take a picture. This is not my first encounter with Mimi's so I think I'll wear a poncho over my clothes the next time I eat at Mimi's or maybe I should stop ordering the condiments on the side.

Countdown to September 5th

On September 5, 2009, I will be here cheering for BYU. I may not be a Dallas Cowboys fan, but I am definitely taking the $15 tour of the stadium.

Another Break

My brother in law Travis was 4 wheeling with friends at the Sand Dunes in St. Anthony, Idaho when he flew over a hill and crashed. After a bumpy ride on a sand buggy followed by an ambulance, Travis found himself admitted to the hospital where he learned he broke his left forearm and his right shoulder. He was in surgery for six hours and has pins in his arm and a metal plate, screws, and pins in his shoulder. He has a long road ahead of him but the doctors are saying he will have a full recovery.
On the bright side, his daughter Avry is no longer the only one in the family with a broken arm.

Broken

My niece Avry fell Monday night and fractured her elbow. She will have a soft cast until the swelling goes down and then will have a hard cast. As the Dr. was applying the soft cast Avry said "Stop! I changed my mind. I don't want to do this anymore."

Spotted on 33rd S...

A man riding a motorcycle with a blow up doll behind him. For a moment I thought I was dreaming or I was in the movie Lars and the Real Girl. Sadly, no pictures were taken to document the moment for I was too shocked to get my camera out before 'they' drove by.

Love Story

I need this sheet music. Anyone play the cello?

I can do hard things

5 weeks down, the rest of my life to go.

Wild Things are Coming

A day in the life of Shellinskaya

Once upon a time there was a girl named Shellinskaya who liked to sit and read by her pool. She read all sorts of books: books about love, books about vengeance, and books about how to win friends and influence people. One day, as Shellinskaya was sitting in her favorite spot by the pool, the sun beating down on her intent figure…

A handsome young brute happened by and said "My...what a nice figure." He said this to himself because, well, thinking aloud is generally frowned upon. The strange thing about the brute is that he was lost. He had been busy fighting dragons and slaying filthy rich rastards from the Netherlands when suddenly, *POOF!* he happened upon the fair Shellinskaya at the pool. It seems he'd entered some kind of time continuuuum vacuuuum wormhole and nobody has ever understood those so just go with it.
He greeted Shellinskaya with a "Holla back now!" Shellinskaya battered her eyes. Actually, she battered her fries and batted her eyes. Yes, that's it. Her eyes. "What up, G?" The Brute, thus addressed, firmly replied, "Wiggidy wack. Love." His name was Peter. Oddly, the main character in our heroine's book was named....Petro.

"Do I know you?" Shellinskaya asked wondering where the brute came from and why he was talking to her. Peter explained that he was a secret agent for the Russian government and was fighting dragons from the Netherlands. The last word Shellinskaya heard Peter say was Russian. You see, Shellinskaya loved Russian novels and dreamt of visiting the motherland one day.

The odd thing about Shellinskaya is that although she had a Russian name and loved Russian literature, she was actually a very small and shrewd African-American who has been denied all the luxuries of life--thus we enter into a B-movie with little to no plot line but some very good dancing...

Peter and Shellinskaya continued their strange conversation, which only continued to get stranger as Shellinskaya confused Peter with Petro, the character in her book (Petro, as we all know, means Peter in Icelandic). Peter explained, as people often do in these sorts of stories, that his greeting to Shellinskaya was actually a secret code...that she failed with flying colors.

The even odder thing about this odd pair is that they had managed to enter the time vacuum device together and now found themselves on a beach in Madagascar. You know, spider monkeys and such. Well, thankfully S-Dawg was a small shrew--er, shrewd--Africanish woman, so she knew all about spider monkeys. But did she know about mad, rabid, evil-terrorist-plot spider monkeys? A good question. That's where our story gets interesting. Spider monkeys are known for their anti-Russian-African-Scandinavian-American tendencies, and this one was no different. As soon as he spotted the twitterpated couple he began plotting against them. The goal? To kill their love, their puppy, and their very souls. In that order. Or maybe love and souls are synonymous. Semantics. (Narrator interjection: If you'll recall, semantic is different than semitic. So if you hear a band called Anti-Semantic, don't alert the ACLU. Can't we all just get along?)

So anyway, the evil arachna-monkey anxiously awaited his opportunity to destroy our main characters. And he waited with a switchblade...

I not

I not going to smile for pictures.

Happy Spring

I'm local. I live here.

I'm looking out my window at work and I see blue skies and yet I know that it's not warm outside. I wish I could go back to December when I spent a week in Hawaii. I realize I never posted about my trip so I will do so now. I'm not going to write much about any injuries that may have occurred while in Hawaii, but you can read about one injury here.
Flying solo to the island of Oahu was a great experience. I sat next to an elderly man who tried to get me to join a telephone marketing scheme and a couple of college guys asked me to spend time with them and wanted to know where to buy pot on the island at which point I laughed and walked away.

I stayed on a military base with my friend Amanda and her family and visited Mike who was attending BYU-Hawaii. Here are some highlights from the trip:

Rain. Flooding. A lot of rain. A lot of flooding.

Matsumoto Shave Ice.

Dole Plantation.

Making and eating delicious food with friends.

Overall the trip to Hawaii was great, even with all of the rain. In addition to spending time with friends, I made some new friends, and learned more about myself and life in general.

Aloha!

Day of Faith

Washington Post journalist Sally Quinn spoke to a panel of Harvard students about their various religions. Rachel Esplin was asked about her faith as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and I was impressed with how eloquently and honestly Rachel answered each question.




Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

On Hold

The following is my most recent phone conversation with Syden:

"Hi Shae!"
"Hey Sy. How are you?"
"Good. I'm drawing a picture on papa's computer."
"Fun. How is school?"
"I like it."

Syden then started talking to his sister and stopped talking to me. I patiently waited and eventually Sy began talking to me again. Until...

"Shae, can you hold on?"
"Uh, I guess so. Why?" "Sy?" No answer, but I can hear him talking. "Sy? Give the phone to grandma. Sy?"

After what seemed like an hour, Syden picked up the phone and said he stopped talking to me so he could finish his drawing on the computer.

"Love you Shae. Bye."
"Love you too! Bye."

BBC Reading List

BBC Reading List
The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. I saw this list on a friends facebook page and decided I wanted to see how many I have read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (X)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (X)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (X)
6 The Bible (X)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (X)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (X)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ()
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (X)
Total: 9

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy ()
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (X)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare ()
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier ()
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (X)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( )
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (X)
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ( )
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ()
Total: 13

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (X)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (X)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens ( )
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy(X)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams ()
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ( )
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (X)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (X)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame ()
Total: 19

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (X)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ()
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (X)
34 Emma - Jane Austen (X)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (X)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ( )
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (X)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (X)
Total: 27

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (X)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (X)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (X)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving ()
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ( )
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (X)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ()
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ()
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (X)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan ()
Total: 32

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (X)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert ()
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ()
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (X)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ()
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ()
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (X)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (X)
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (X)
Total: 38

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (X)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ()
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ()
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (X)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (X)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac ()
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ()
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding ()
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ()
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (X)
Total: 42

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens(X)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (X)
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ()
75 Ulysses - James Joyce ()
76 The Inferno - Dante (X)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ( )
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( )
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (X)
80 Possession - AS Byatt ()
Total: 47

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ( )
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker ()
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ()
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (X)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ()
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (X)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (X )
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (X)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ( )
Total: 52

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (X)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (X)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ( )
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams()
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ()
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute ( )
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (X)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (X)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (X)
Total: 58

I'm not entirely shocked that I have read more than 6 books on this list and yet there are still so many that I want to read. I better get started now so don't be alarmed if you don't hear from me for the next couple of weeks.

Birthday Weekend

I spent my birthday weekend in Moab, Utah. Now, I will state for the record that Moab isn't exactly the 'it' place to visit, but I had my reasons for going. One of the reasons was to hike to the Delicate Arch. Meags and I asked a man to take our picture and for some reason, he only captured a small portion of the Arch so we took matters into our own hands and took a picture of ourselves.

Some friends came over for a Wii party and I sang my little heart out while singing for the American Idol game. Simon Cowell told me I could sing the phone book and it would sound amazing-definitely a highlight of the night. There were too many pictures to choose from so I made a slide show from the Wii Party and birthday dinner. Enjoy!

Down on the farm

Pink little pig says, "Oink oink hi!"

Mouse whispers "Squeak! I'm a little shy."

Sheep says, "Baa! I like dressing up too!"

I believe

In an attempt to have some alone time, my mom went to her bedroom and found her granddaughter Avry wrapped in 'Avy Shae's blankie' watching tv. Soon after my mom lay on the bed, Avry wrapped her in 'Avy Shae's blankie,' patted her shoulders, and lay next to her without saying a word.

I believe there are times we each need to be 'wrapped in a blanket' by someone we love and many times, words are unnecessary.

Mr. Sun

Meags and I went to St. George for the weekend for some much needed warmth from the sun. The inversion has set in and I'm afraid that I've forgotten what the sun looks and feels like. Meags, Lori, and I set out early Friday morning and our mood gradually changed as we headed South. We spent time basking in the sun... and we may have watched a little rugby as well.

More flour?

"Can I help?"
"Sure," I responded as Syden ran to the bathroom to wash his hands before I had finished telling him he could help make tortillas.

Syden stood on a stool with a look of excitement and wonder as we mixed flour, baking powder, salt, shortening, and water to make what he liked to call 'stickiness.' His favorite part of making the tortillas was rolling the dough into a flat circle. It became a competition to see who could roll the most balls of dough and Syden was kind enough to allow me to roll 2 of the 15 balls of dough-he's such a fierce competitor. I impressed the crowd of one as I flipped the tortillas in the pan and at that moment, I knew I had a loyal fan for life.

I believe

I was at a stoplight in downtown Salt Lake City and saw two blind girls walking across the street with a man I assume is their guide. The guide walked beside the girls while letting the girls lead the way from one side of the street to the other. As the girls approached the front of my car, I noticed one of the girls was leaving the crosswalk and moving closer to the stopped cars. The group passed my car and the 1st girl continued to walk near the cars and eventually ran into the car next to me with her white cane. The 2nd girl heard the 1st girls cane hit the car and was startled. The guide remained calm and waited for the girls to get back to the crosswalk and reach the other side of the street. Once again on the sidewalk, the guide spoke to the girls and I imagine he asked what each of the girls learned while crossing the street.
As the light turned green and I continued on my way, I reflected on the role the guide plays in the life of the girls. The guide could have grabbed the 1st girl so she didn't walk into a car, but instead, he watched as she found her own detoured way across the street. He was standing by to assist as needed, but wasn't overbearing which lead to the girls being able to find their own way with the skills and knowledge they possess.
I believe some of the most important life lessons are learned when we 'safely crash' with guides nearby to support and give guidance as needed.

O Come Let us Adore Him

When my 3-year-old niece wants to be held, she reaches her arms out to a family member and asks, "Please, can I hold you?" I think about that simple movement in the life of Jesus. Surely as he began recognizing Mary and Joseph, he reached his arms out to them for comfort, for security, for love. Later, that same gesture would punctuate his life as he reached fully to father in heaven.
If we will not only believe in this sweet Jesus whom we adore at this time of year, but will also behave according to that belief, we will someday adore Him in fullness. Not in mere confessional kneeling, but without hesitation as we bathe His feet with our tears for a reaching that could not have been done by any other.
My heart is full of thanks as I plead to the Holy Child:

Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever and love me I pray.
Bless all thy dear children in thy tender care
And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.

Christ came to lead us back to the love of God and Christmas is all about that love. God's love for his Son. The Son's love for us. And our love for others.

I'll be hearing about this all week

I was walking down some stairs in the rain when I slipped on the last step. I caught myself before I fell to the ground and in the process I hurt my toe. And of course it is the toe I hurt earlier in the year. Mike, who happened to be present when I hurt the toe the 1st time, popped my toe and I didn't even cry. Whine? Yes, but only a little.

A Heart for All

I am borrowing the words of my sister-in-law who wrote so eloquently the feelings of my heart that have yet to make it to the written page.

My brother, the doctor

A teacher once told my parents that my brother Clay wouldn't make it in the 'real world' because he lost so many homework assignments. How I wish that teacher could have seen him defend his dissertation for his PhD in Chemistry this past week.
Growing up, my brother defended and protected me and I helped find lost shoes, made sure he made it to church-mostly on time, and gave him advice as needed. He was one of my best friends and I dreaded the day he went away to college, then joined the military, went on a mission, got married, and eventually moved away.
My brother married Tennille while they both working on their undergraduate degrees. Tennie now has an MBA and my brother is a doctor, but not the kind that helps people(just kidding Clay). I always knew he'd be successful, even when others doubted. Way to go Clay. And no, I will not be calling you Dr.

When I grow up

"Boom. Boom. Boom" is what Joseph repeated every time a student walked by his desk during the Halloween parade. Hannah Montana, Gabriella from HSM, Rapunzel, a pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, and many other 'characters' made an appearance.
I watched with wonder as the students interacted with one another and the teacher. Attempting to take a class picture was comical as kids were karate chopping each other, trying on tiaras, and dancing around the room high on at least 2 lbs of candy. Spending time in the classroom taught me the following:
1) Being a 1st grade teacher takes a lot of patience.
2) Kids learn at an early age to bargain and trade for what they want most.
3) Calling a student by name makes them feel important. I learned this lesson as I watched the principal address each student by name during the parade.
4) Kids want to be accepted by their peers and teachers.
5) Lessons learned in a 1st grade classroom apply to people of all ages.

I love your blog

I have been given an 'I love your blog' award. Bless you Kaydi Rae.

1. Where is your cell phone? not sure

2. Where is your significant other? uh, Mexico?

3. Your hair color? natural hair color? brown

4. Your mother? listener

5. Your father? strong

6. Your favorite thing? being with family and friends

7. Your dream last night? I'd rather not disclose that information

8. Your dream/goal? success in all aspects of my life

9. The room you're in? office at the U

10. Your hobby? happiness

11. Your fear? failure

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? clogging my way to fame. hee hee

13. Where were you last night? Halloween dance

14. What you're not? married(Lisa, I wrote that for you)

15. One of your wish-list items? trip to Russia

16. Where you grew up? Blackfoot

17. The last thing you ate? oatmeal

18. What are you wearing? sweater, dress pants

19. Your TV? fuzzy

20. Your pet? I don't have one

21. Your computer? work computer-in use. home computer- not in use

22. Your mood? content

23. Missing someone? yes

24. Your car? clean

25. Something you're not wearing? earrings

26. Favorite store? Borders

27. Your summer? unforgettable

28. Love someone? absolutely

29. Your favorite color? ever changing

30. When is the last time you laughed? 1 minute ago

31. Last time you cried? months ago

Friends

Kimberly(in the middle) is getting married November 1st and I attended her bridal shower this past weekend. Kristi(on the left) is married and has a 2-year-old son and is pregnant and due with her second child in 2 weeks. The summer before 5th grade, my family moved across town and I met a girl with amazing red hair named Kimberly and we've been friends ever since. Kristi and Kimberly were in the same kindergarten class and the three of us became even better friends in high school and were roommates in college.
Kimberly and Kristi have more stories about my growing up years than any other friends. Some of my favorite experiences include being asked to come in and have cookies while toilet papering, dressing up and walking around the greenbelt, walking home from school and being yelled at because a driver thought I flipped her off, and standing behind a huge sign near campus and scaring people as they walked by. From a parent's heart surgery to death of a sibling to marriage to birthdays, we have supported each other. And even though lives change and a few miles separate us, we make the most of the time we do spend together and cherish the memories and the friendship that will last forever.

I walked into the room for the bridal shower and I saw my friend Jerilyn from my first year in college. Jerilyn and I were in the same FHE group and our apartments spent a lot of time together. Recently, I found a couple letters from Jerilyn and wondered where was living. Jerilyn met Michelle and Kimberly while living in Provo and I'm so glad we've reconnected.

Fore!

The 2nd Annual Golf Tournament for the NBC was held earlier this week. I didn't know I was on a team until a few days before which meant I didn't have time to say no. We arrived at the U golf course and the first question my team asked was if anyone is left-handed. A loud groan could be heard through the Salt Lake Valley as I admitted to being left-handed and I thought I would be shunned the rest of the day. My team decided it would be best if I used right handed clubs for driving and a left handed putter.
My fears due to the lack of any golf skills quickly diminished as Al and Dr. L offered helpful tips and told me which club I should use for each hole. I laughed a lot during the day, learned a little about golf, and actually did well...all things considered.

Perfect for each other

Co-workers, friends, and family think I should date the following guys:

1) A guy who plays many musical instruments, has a graduate degree, and is so nice but don't you dare break his heart and what are you going to wear and what will you talk about. Oh and you should wear flat shoes. I will wear clothes. We will talk about politics, the weather, and my love of BYU. Flats? I'm more of a stiletto girl.

2) A guy who is unemployed and is doing little to find a job. Or making plans to go to school. Or doing anything else besides playing video games all day. Oh, and he has other 'issues.' I'm a social worker so I can solve anything.

3) A maintenance guy in town who also happens to have 4 kids. Hello instant motherhood. Step-motherhood that is.

4) A guy who recently returned from his mission. According to his grandma we would be perfect for each other and she really wants me to be part of her family. I'm fine with dating a younger guy and who wouldn't want me to be part of their family? The issue is that I'm pretty sure all woman 70 years or older still think I am a 20 year college student.

Let it be known that I don't mind going on blind dates and I have found that guys are better at setting up two people rather than girls. For some reason, they base the reason for the match more on personalities and less on the simple fact that I'm a girl and he's a guy.

A whole lotta money

I took my car to the dealership for an oil change. I walked around the car with the car adviser and then went to the waiting room. Greg, my favorite car adviser turned mechanic walked into the waiting room and said he would be taking care of the oil change. Greg returned to the waiting room and said he had some bad news. I was assured by Greg that the repair needed was minimal and yet, I still braced myself.

"You have a power steering leak and it will cost $1700 and you will not pass safety and emissions to register your car in November if you don't take care of the problem."

$1700 is a minimal repair? Sure, it could have been worse, but that's a lot of money. I left the dealership wanting to vomit. I called a friend who is a mechanic and he was very helpful. I planned to take the car to a mechanic I know in Idaho, but a co-worker recommended a mechanic and took a look at my car.

"Have you been adding power steering fluid to your car?"
"Uh, no."
"That's because you don't have a power steering leak. You need a new gasket and a something something needs to be cleaned so it will cost $100."

I thought about kissing the mechanic but that would have been inappropriate and awkward.

Degrees of Separation

The above picture is of my friend Deanna and my cousin DaJon. I first met Deanna at BYU through my roommates brother. Fast forward a few years when Deanna and her husband Charles show up at my condo to visit my roommate Shannon. I soon learned that Deanna and Shannon were roommates in Provo. Earlier this year Deanna and her husband and daughter moved to Georgia and the missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped them move into their new place. Deanna read my blog about visiting family in Blackfoot and made the connection that my cousin was one of the missionaries who helped with the move. Deanna and her family were involved in a serious hit and run accident in July and survived with less injuries than one would suspect after seeing pictures of their totaled car. My cousin recently broke his elbow so he and Deanna are now broken arm friends.
What a small world.

Life is funny

I stepped near my closet this morning and the carpet under my feet was wet. I looked around and there wasn't a bottle of water or anything else that could have soaked the carpet. The baseboard next to my closet had mold and I opened the door to where the AC is located and found more mold. I've been out of town for over a week so I didn't notice the problem before. I laughed as I thought about my experience as an assistant estimator at Servicemaster and was grateful to know people who could help me. I called my friend Duane who works with AC's and he said to check the filter and he would come by later in the day. I called Michelle at Servicemaster and soon Father Bob was at my place to see what he could do. He cleaned the filter for me and told me to stop by the office to get a fan to dry the carpet and he told me how to take care of the mold. I called Jen who owns the condo and told her what happened and what was being done to remedy the situation and she was grateful the situation was being taken care of. So now, I am dealing with the mold, drying the carpet, and organizing my room.In the midst of the mold infestation, I received an interesting phone call. The person on the other line said they worked for Medicaid in Idaho and they were investigating a company I worked for 7 years ago. I asked for more information and was told that Medicaid wants to interview me about my time working for this company, but I did not need to worry because I had done nothing wrong. She asked if she could drive from Boise today to meet with me, but I said today wasn't a good day so she's coming tomorrow. I should also mention that the interview is expected to last 2-3 hours.

When I grow up

I spent this past week in Idaho visiting family and decided to spend my mornings working at the Eastern Idaho State Fair. I was at the fair by 8 each morning and went straight to the accounting office. One day, the door hit me in the face because my arms were full with the money bag, my water bottle, and book and I wasn't paying attention. At least the security guys had a good laugh at my expense. Each morning I was given a money bag with $600, signed a paper saying I received the money, and then a gate superintendent(my dad is one of the superintendents) walked me to my booth so I didn't get mugged. At the end of my shift, I was escorted to security and turned in the money and the auditors checked to see if the register was over or short. Of course I balanced everyday.
On the second day of the fair a man who had been drinking walked up to the ticket window and started swearing at me. He said that he got a stamp when he left the fair the night before and now the ticket takers at the gate wouldn't let him in. I explained that he needed to buy a gate ticket everyday and once again he started to swear and as he walked away, I noticed he had peed his pants. Another time, a group of college guys came to my window and tried to get a discounted ticket. One of the guys said he would give me $4 and sing a Johnny Cash song. Tempting, but I told him he could give me $5 and still sing a Johnny Cash song. In the end, he didn't have $5 so his friends paid for him. I read 2 books during the week, drank a lot of water, ate breakfast with my family at Wimpy's, saw friends from the past, went to the rodeo, Poison concert, and Motocross Freestyle. Going to the fair is a family tradition and I look forward to going next year.

Are you ready for some football?

I spend part of my time at a University of Utah health clinic which means that most of the employees are Ute fans. I didn't hide the fact that I am a Cougar fan, but I certainly didn't go around advertising my loyalty. Can't we all just get along? Okay. Maybe that's too much to ask. I'm the first to admit that if I know someone is a die-hard Utah fan, I will be sure to let them know of my love for all things BYU.

I received an email yesterday from my fellow Cougar Mark about a tailgate lunch at the U clinic in honor of BYU football which was followed by emails from the U fans that today is Red Thursday and everyone must dress accordingly. I knew then that today was my day to let them know how I feel so I wore a blue skirt. Walking into Rounds and hearing gasps, two cheers, and lots of mumbling was great. "I thought you were a Utah fan" was the response of one co-worker. Uh, yes, I do enjoy Utah sports, but I love BYU sports.

Mark's office was decorated with red U's, a red chair, red confetti, red jolly ranchers, and anything else they could find. I can't wait to help him decorate the entire office blue.

I found some

A couple of boys were running up and down the bleachers at a rugby game recently. I kept hearing one of them yell "I found some! I found some!" so I started watching the boys to figure out what had been found. I was pretty sure I knew what the boys were looking for and I was right. The boys were looking for gum and candy stuck under the benches or on the floor. One of the boys was scraping candy or what he thought was candy off one of the benches when I heard the other boy yell, "Hey! Give me some of that." At least they were sharing.

When I grow up

* For more information on "When I grow up" please read the post dated 8/14/08.

For my first "When I grow up" Friday, I shadowed Mike who is an estimator for ServiceMaster. Mike works on the estimates for insurance companies after a disaster which includes but is not limited to water damage, odor removal, smoke and soot removal, and others. I wasn't sure what time to be at work, but luckily Mike sent me a text that I should arrive at noon. I brought slurpees expecting to watch Youtube videos all afternoon, but that was not the case. We(and by we I mean that Mike worked on the estimate and I smiled and nodded when appropriate) worked for what felt like days and then finally took a break. Wait. Let me start at the beginning. I walked in and Mike said that he had been waiting. I sat down and he asked me to get out my paper and pen.

'Uh Mike, since when do you actually do work that requires pen and paper?'

I grabbed a sticky note and a pen and I started taking notes. Being an estimator is more difficult than I imagined. Mike explained the process for doing estimates as he worked and it was interesting. Tedious, but interesting.
Let's go back to when we took a break from working. We were listening to music on Pandora and Mike decided to see the music video on Youtube. That led to watching more videos and reading news about Bigfoot and the Olympics. The next thing I knew it was time to go.
Here is a list of the important things I learned as assistant estimator:
1) Always tear out non-salvageable laminate floor
2) Have a window open to Youtube for easy access during down time
3) Good headphones are a must
4) Save as you go so you don't lose information entered for the estimate
5) When in doubt, ask Chris. He knows everything about everything-including Bigfoot

Blogging Fridays

A couple of friends were helping me decide what I should do on Fridays now that I work 4 10s and it was decided that I should go to work with a friend at least once a month and blog about my experiences in a series called "When I grow up." Exciting right? Tomorrow I will be an estimator. I can't wait.

And the winnner is...Coventry

Ah, the blessed Olympics are finally here. My friends and I were watching swimming on Saturday night and I missed the end of one of the semifinals. I asked my friend Joe(name may have been changed) who won and he/she said "Coventry. I've never heard of that country before." I pondered for a moment and then realized he/she must mean that the last name of the winner is Coventry, not the country they are from. At this moment, Joe turned to me and said "Uh, the last name is Coventry. She's from Zimbabwe. I was confused because her swim cap says Coventry." Good recovery Joe.

Books of Fury

A friend sent me this video and said one of the characters reminded him of me. Should I be offended? Not at all. Luckily, what happened in the video never happened to me when I worked at the BYU library. If it had, I would probably be on probation or in jail right now.

We can't afford to be innocent

I went to the Pat Benatar concert this evening with a few friends. We stood in line for less than an hour and ended up on the front row. My heart was beating as I thought about seeing Pat live and I'm pretty sure we had perma-grins the entire night.
Lindsay Rush opened for Pat and Neil and she was a pretty good singer, but all I wanted was Pat and Neil to come on stage. When Pat and Neil finally came on stage, the crowd went wild. Pat sang the songs everyone knows including Hit Me With Your Best Shot even though she doesn't like to sing that one anymore. At one point Neil looked at us on the front row and said 'many of you weren't born when we first started singing.' Pat smiled at me and she touched my hand. I thought about never washing that hand again, but I knew my health inspector roommate would not approve of that decision. And more importantly, I wouldn't approve of the decision to not wash my hands. I sound like I have multiple personalities.
Back to the concert. Pat was entertaining and sounds great live. We sang along to every song and lost our voices and hearing by the end of the night. I felt like I was in the movie Bucket List and seeing Pat put one more drop in my bucket. Such an incredible concert.

Movie Theater Work Out

I was talking about the Cardio Cinema room at Gold's Gym with some co-workers when Lisa jumped into the conversation and the following is my conversation with her.
Me: I love going to the movie theater room.
Lisa: You work out while at the movies?
Me: Yes, I find that it's best to go to a theater that has stadium seating so I can do squats up and down the stairs. Sure, people may get annoyed as I walk up and down the stairs, but we're talking about my health and exercising is an important part of my daily routine.
Lisa: Ooh. You can buy candy and use it as weights for an arm workout. And just lifting the large popcorn is a workout so you definitely burn calories.
Me: Exactly. I can also lay down in the front of the theater and work on my abs.
Anyone want to go to a movie?

I own the Boston Celtics

When I was in middle school, I was student of the month and at the end of the year, I won a prize. What prize? 1 share of Boston Celtics stock. I remember talking to a financial adviser and he told me about my new investment and all the money I would make with my 1 share. I have received a check in the amount of $1-2 every year since middle school and after awhile, I forgot about my share. Besides, I was told the stock would be sold to someone else after one year.
A couple years ago I received a letter saying that the Boston Celtics, or actually, Henley Limited Partnership, would like to buy my stock for $20. I signed a form and soon received the $20 check in the mail. I no longer owned stock in the Boston Celtics. At least, that's what I thought, until my mom handed me a check yesterday for $5.35 from Henley Limited Partnership as 'final' payment for selling my stock. The last paragraph of the letter that came with the check explaining why I received the money, said that I could possibly receive more money in the coming years.
I'm going to be rich. Go Celtics.

H-O-R-S-E

Mike asked if I wanted to play H-O-R-S-E and I wasn't sure I wanted to play because I haven't shot a basketball for quite some time. I decided to play and ended up winning. And by winning, I mean that there was no way I could lose. Maybe Mike was having an off night or maybe I'm just that good. On second thought, he probably was having an off night.
After Mike and I finished playing, Gundry, David, and Jennifer decided to play P-I-G so it would be a shorter game. Shorter game? Yeah right. A crowd gathered to watch the game and Elliott was a great water guy. We thought David was going to lose many times, but he always made his life saving shot. I was feeling pretty good about the game, until David started bringing out the props. 'This is what you're going to do. Jump over the chair and shoot with your right hand or run, grab the frisbee off the chair with your left hand and shoot with your right.' Luckily he either missed or Mike would miss so I wasn't forced to try sustaining a brain injury while playing. We should have worn helmets.
At one point, David stood with his back to the basket and threw the ball over his head and made the shot. Mike was after David and he too made the shot which meant it was my turn to do the same. A hush came over the crowd and I asked Gundry to make sure the ball didn't end up in the fire. I took a deep breath and tossed the ball. I didn't dare watch the ball fly through the air. The crowd went wild, high fives were exchanged, and I was in shock that I made the basket.
At the end of P-I-G, David won gold, I won silver, and Mike won bronze.