Merry Christmas, Eat Chocolate!

One more thing The Pickle will hate me for when he gets older. At least I didn't put naked pictures up.....

Hell Yeah!

First of all, anyone that has Hell Yeah! in their songs is AWESOME! And let me tell you, he was Awesome, Fantastic, Legendary, and any other phrase of coolness out there!

It was a fabulous night for a concert. We put on our 'best shirts ever' and off we went. Even with the snow coming down and a sardine stuffed Trax train, nothing could stop us from seeing Neil.



We had great seats. Just to the side of the stage and at a perfect level you could see Neil live and on the big screen. We were the youngest in our section and had a few moments of standing alone, but eventually even the 90 year old in front of us was up dancing. Nobody can resist Neil!

Now, hold tight, there are a lot of pictures, but I wanted you all to see the fabulousness I experienced. (And it is nice to make you jealous as well - I embrace my selfishness.....)

Now, let me just tell you, Neil can dance and sway with the best of them.

So I was going to add a video clip I took, but I can't seem to get it to upload. And I don't know how to make it smaller and all that other technical stuff. I will keep working at it, but if not, you'll just have to live through the photos....

A Week In The Life....

Here's my work schedule for the past two weeks:

Thursday - Price all day
Monday - desk work, involving making dozens of phone calls without any response (and if there is a response, it generally involves yelling directed at me) and tons of typing
Tuesday - 3 interviews in Spanish Fork, meeting in Salt Lake, interview in West Jordan
Wednesday - Logan in the morning, Clearfield in the afternoon
Thursday - Price all day (only found 4 kids out of 12 - dammit!)
Monday - Price all day (and night)

I hate my job.......

The only thing keeping me going is Neil..... only 4 more days. I love him!

A Rant....

I have been stewing over this for several days, and things still don't seem to be settled. Generally a few days of moping and yelling and thoughts of stabbing (they're only thoughts, I would never act on them) make things better, but not this time. So I decided to have an all out rant and hope it makes for calmness again (since I can't avoid my boss forever, although that does sound nice!) Here goes.....

Apparently one person makes a comment regarding my work, and a BIG issue is made. And it all started over me being nice and allowing an outside agency to 'assist' with my interview. All this led to was heartache and misery. Guess I won't be doing them any more good deeds - stupid asshats!

On top of that, my worthless supervisor (now, I should've prefaced this by saying she isn't completely worthless in regards to working, just for my particular area of work) thinks I need to be doing therapy with every single child I interview. Because for the last six years I have not "bonded" enough with the children - although more than often (seriously, it's a good 90%) I get a disclosure of abuse or neglect. Oh yeah, and one more thing - although it is not required by policy, I need to have more "personal" contact with my clients. Even though my cases span the entire state and I only work 4 days a week, I am expected to make numerous attempts to talk to the client in person.

Not going to lie..... I thought about running over her damn rat dog numerous times!

Ok, I'm done. Now let's hope I can be the grown-up I pretend to be and get on with work.

Perfection

Home-made macaroni and cheese and Dirty Jobs...... nuff said!

Creativity...

As I have said previously, I love (this might even constitute a lurve) Christmas. So after perusing (ok, stalking - admitting your faults is the first step) many a blog today I decided I needed my blog to represent my love of Christmas.

Now, I enjoy doing creative things, but I am much better when someone else discovers the creativeness and I just copy it. Hence 'the cutest blog on the block' making loads (re-discovered favorite word) of creative blog layouts and making my job easy. Seriously, I am not the most technologically advanced - remember the cell phone incident of 2008 (that title just sounded fun, it would have been better had it happened longer ago, since it's still 2008 - Crap!)
Anyway, thanks to the makers of 'the cutest blog on the block' for recognizing those of us capable of creativeness with just a little guidance. (And if you would like to be creative too, just follow the link at the top, I'm not joking with how easy it is. Took me all of five minutes.... ok, more like fifteen minutes because there were too many options and I wanted to try them all, and work is boring, and, and, and.....)

Muscles Will Make Anything Better

So as previously posted, "Ho Ho is scary!" And since this holiday season brings many opportunities to visit with Ho Ho, I figured I should help The Pickle overcome his fears. He is so good at showing his muscles, I told him to show Ho Ho his muscles, and how strong he is. Well, for some odd reason, it worked. And here they both are demonstrating their strength....

Stuffing vs Dressing

Thanksgiving has come and gone again. I love Thanksgiving mainly for the fact that you can stuff your face without anyone complaining about it. Not that I don't stuff my face on a regular basis, but any day designated to it, makes me smile.
This year we had the glorious feast at my mom's house. She has that fantastically large kitchen, she might as well use it. And as usual my grandma made her delicious stuffing. Now, I enjoy all the other elements of Thanksgiving - turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy - but I LOVE the stuffing. I crave it all year long. And it was as good as I remembered (and I have enjoyed it for several days since....)
I also ate my share of rolls, pretzel jello, celery stuffed with (the good) cheese, and olives. And I gloriously avoided the sweet potatoes, cranberries, and pickled beets - all causing me to gag a little right now - bleck!
Then to top it off we had numerous pies (but I was too stuffed to eat them until late that night, and the next day, and the next - leftovers, Yum!)
So that's it. It was nice to all be together and to eat and remember how grateful I am for my family.

Why Christmas is Fantastic!

I love Christmas! I have been listening to Christmas music for a month, I own loads (I won't tell you the exact number because it is really sad) of Christmas CD's, I can't wait to get a Christmas Tree, and I love all the Christmas treats (fudge, See's Dark Chocolate Nuts and Chews*hint, hint*). So this year we had a Christmas Party a little early to include Boogers - since California is so far away.

Here are some pictures of the festivities:

They really are a cute bunch. Although Stinky Pete has a hard time wrangling all of them (Slippery little devils...)

I did Neil Diamond proud! He wants me as a side-kick for his tour....

Oh How Lovely...

Look at this, it is almost complete. One more temple along the Wasatch Front - how amazing is that?! (Again, sorry for the poor quality - took it while speeding along Bangerter Hwy, did the best I could).

Santa is scary...

Made a trip to the Family Christmas Expo last weekend with Grandma (or if you prefer, Hey-sus), Erin, and The Pickle. Erin really has been talking up Ho Ho (how The Pickle refers to Santa Claus) to The Pickle. Apparently last year at the family Christmas Party he was a mess. I didn't see this, but I can imagine - I have seen him as a mess before.... it is not pretty :)

The Pickle was nervous while in line, but Erin just kept talking about how fun Ho Ho can be and everything else. It looked like things were going well until Ho Ho spoke.... "What's your name?" The Pickle responded, then immediately started crying. He took his candy cane and had to be hugged by Grandma to make it all better.

Sitting in the train alone was much more to The Pickle's liking.

The rest of the Expo consisted of us finding a lot of junk - seriously, I can't believe people try to sell this stuff or worse that people buy it - and collecting free candy to feed to The Pickle (this favorite aunt stuff can be hard work!)

Got Voicemail? Use It

So anyone who really knows me is very aware of my absolute hatred for anything bathroom related.

I will nicely exclaim during a movie that there is never a need to shoot a scene in a bathroom.
Seriously, 99% of the stuff movies show in bathrooms could be done in any other nicer location. We all know what the bathroom is for, why do we need to be constantly exposed to it?! Also on the top of the list is talking on your cell phone while using the bathroom. (Now, my dear friend Mama Linda on occasion will take her phone in her bathroom while at home. Although I still don't approve, at least it is in the privacy of her home).

So with these bathroom issues comes my dreaded disgust in using public restrooms. There have been many mishaps while in a public restroom, and if I can avoid them I will. But with all this traveling I have to do for work, and after 5 Diet Pepsi's, I just can't hold my bladder anymore.

I search out the cleanest looking joint in the neighborhood (not an easy feat in some small towns) and proceed to the restroom. Then of all things, I hear the lady next to me say "Hello....." So I think she will have a quick conversation - consisting of, I'm busy let me call you back, but NO - she just talks as usual. I did my business, washed my hands, dried my hands, then left and she was still just talking along. Seriously, the world is not going to end because you missed a call. You have voicemail for a reason, and this would definitely be the time to use it! And you don't even want to know of the dry heaves (heeves?) that will ensue after the person on the other end realizes your were on the toilet during the entire conversation.

....Remind me never to borrow anyone's cell phone!

Inadequacy

I admit I randomly have down days at work (as anyone can see from my previous entry). This week I actually worked efficiently on Monday - seriously, I closed five cases before noon.
And today I've been busy again - driving to Ogden and Layton. Now I have a little bit of down time and realize I haven't posted for awhile. Then I start thinking, I didn't do anything "exciting" all weekend, or even yesterday when I had the day off. Then I worried that people are cursing my name because they LIVE for new posts and I haven't produced any for almost two weeks. What a freaking slacker!
So here I am posting nonsense and hoping you are all satisfied with my lack of excitement for the past week or more. (Although I did do things. I entertained Stinky Pete and The Pickle on Friday. Then had this horrendous side pain on Saturday and almost burst into tears at cRoss Dress for Less from the pain. Oh, and I ended up returning a sweater yesterday and scored 2 pairs of pants and jacket for only $14 - seriously, that is some good shopping).
Ok, I hope you're all pleased. I'll get back to work now. Although I'm bugged as usual because I had a scheduled visit with a client earlier today and she wasn't home. That totally pisses me off. But I sit here patiently waiting for her to call me to reschedule. I'm so nice.....

Is self-harm the answer?

Is it bad to consider stabbing your own arm so you can have an excuse to leave work? (You'd think self-harm wouldn't be necessary, considering my track record of personal injury... but for some strange reason I have been injury free for a couple years - crap I just jinxed myself - expect to see my in a sling or cast within a month). Anyway, I have been pondering the self-harm thought for nearly four days now. I refuse to take annual leave and go home - especially when I have nothing fun planned. Instead I choose to take a mental health afternoon..... seriously, my mental health is at risk due to the mindless hours of sitting at my desk stalking blogs (don't judge you all do it!)

Respect the 'stache

Now, the only ones sportin' mustaches (and yes, you can spell it that way or the original, ever popular way moustache - both are correct, I looked it up!) these days are Mexicans and cops. Well, that is just not right - although unless you really have a good mustache you just look like a child molester (and yes, I should know!) To honor the glorious caterpillar upon the face, I decided to have a Mustache Party..... or 'stache bash. And since Halloween was coming up, we combined the two and partied it up.

I gave the men in the family plenty of advanced notice (seriously, they would need six months to grow even a sparse mustache) but they all whined and ended up shaving what little hair there was off before the party even began. It was still fun....

Here are some pictures...

We did a little pumpkin/mustache bowling....


Donut eating contest (and I should have won, but Chris has always had the bigger mouth!)

And we ate yummy (do-it-yourself) calzones on mustache plates - seriously, I'm so freakin' crafty!!! (Erin also has some other pictures, so check her out as well).

Vision Problems

So I'm not sure if The Pickle is having some vision problems. Apparently, he pointed to the shirt his dad was wearing which featured Rocky and Apollo Creed and upon pointing at Apollo Creed exclaimed, Mom!


Here's a picture of both for comparisons, and you be the judge....




Now, I could let that one go, then it happened again. As he was sitting at grandma's table, his mom pointed to a picture of grandma and grandpa in their younger days. She asked The Pickle who was in the picture, and he quickly exclaimed, Pop! Then she asked who else was in the picture and he paused for a minute looking serious, then stated, Jesus!


If you need to refer to grandma in the future, please use the Spanish pronunciation... Hey-sus.

Scarecrows, Pumpkins, and People Oh My!

Went to the Scarecrow festival on Saturday. The original plan was to go to the corn maze with Stinky Pete (seriously, it's in the shape of David Archuleta's head - you all want to go!) but figured we would hit the Scarecrow festival instead - more things to occupy our time.

Basically it was a bunch of bounce house slide type things that weren't all that exciting. Stinky Pete did get to go on the trampoline/bungee jump thing-a-ma-jig (after waiting in line for almost 2 hours!)

Eugene was happy to just wander around and play with his balloon frog - too bad it popped in his face (but that's what happens when you bite a balloon).

Then Stinky Pete and Eugene (ok, actually Barbara since Eugene doesn't understand the concept and just wandered around saying pom-pom) decorated their pumpkins.

Oh yeah, and grandma had a candle in the kitchen and Eugene saw it and kept saying "Happy to you!" Until finally grandma let him blow it out just like it was his birthday :)

Pumpkins

I was suppose to babysit Stinky Pete and Eugene for the afternoon. So trying to think ahead and be the fun aunt I am, I bought stuff to decorate pumpkins. Well, plans changed and I was left with four pumpkins and loads of decorations.

Then, The Pickle came over! So we decorated two pumpkins and had a fabulous time. He was so excited once the hair started going on and then the face. It was so fun to see his eyes light up. And of course mine has a mustache (in preparation of my upcoming mustache party.... I'm so excited!)

Once we got the pumpkins outside on the porch Erin asked The Pickle if he liked them and he said, "I love them." Ahh... it's great being the fun aunt.

Get Real!

Went to the Inagural Game for the Real in their new Rio Tinto Stadium. Good thing Kelly works for Rio Tinto and got us free tickets! Took us forever to find parking - seriously Real management, you should work on that. We froze our buttocks off. In the end it was all good.... (and besides we all got a free hand towel - what more could you ask for?!)

Take Two Of These...

... And call me in the morning. Seriously, that is how I feel right now. I woke up Tuesday morning with a really stuffed nose, but chalked it up to allergies. I got ready for work and took an Allergy pill and didn't think anything of it. Then BAM! at 2:00pm the stuffy and runny (not sure how that works and it pisses me off) nose started and then the headache and pressure joined in. I ended up leaving work around 3:30pm. I realized at that time that I really need to get this cold fixed before next week when I will be at work alone.
So I took the dreaded pills the doctor gave me for clearing the nasal passages and anything else. Let me just let you know, these are horse pills that smell so horrendous you gag the entire time you are trying to take them. And then the taste lingers on your tongue and you have to hurry and eat something to avoid the stench. (And worst of all, the pills make your pee smell, so whenever you go to the bathroom your are rewarded by that horrible stench - which makes you gag all over again). Needless to say it is not a pleasant experience.
Anyway, the dreaded pills didn't clear anything up. I was miserable all afternoon and into the night. And I didn't sleep well because I couldn't breathe - it sucked! And today - two days later - I still have the dreaded cold and I don't think it has gotten any better.
Yesterday I had to stop and buy drugs (DayQuil - which I don't think is helping) and Kleenex's with lotion (which again I don't think are working because my nose is so sore and raw I get tears every time I have to blow it).
I want to go home and sleep, but I can't because my nose is too stuffed and I have work to get done - children to save and all. Somebody better appreciate all the work I'm doing!

I'm Makin' Waffles

So one of my favorite meals when I was younger was Waffles and Ice Cream. Seriously! My dad always made it for us, and I like to bring it up all the time - reminding him of the good times (ha, ha, ha). Anyway, last night, he made it for me....

Oh, the joy and happiness returned and even thinking about it now makes me smile....

Thanks dad for remembering and being so awesome, I love you!

No Responsibilities

So, somedays being single is really quite nice. For instance, this weekend just happened to be one of those times. Aaron (or as he would prefer - Wolfgang) found cheap tickets to Long Beach, CA and decided he needed a vacation. And he invited me - mostly because I'm old and can rent a car (he is still a baby in that respect!) Since I really had no exciting plans (Anna did ask me to help her move, dodged that one!) I went.

The entire trip was really quick, but actually quite enjoyable. We landed in Long Beach around 6:00pm and then had to drive to Santa Barbara. The drive was a little long, basically because we were tired and hungry. I did get some glorious In-N-Out food, still my favorite :)

The next day we ate some "pancake balls" and wandered around Solvang (cute little Danish town close to my bro's house). Oh yeah, and we stopped at the Indian casino (which I have never done even with countless trips all involving passing the casino numerous times). Wolfgang got his gamble on for a few minutes, I played a few slots. We lost and walked away poorer.

Later that afternoon we all went to the beach. Boogers ran straight into the ocean and chased the birds. Wolfgang tried the skim board and eventually didn't do too bad. I wandered the beach with Colleen.

What a perfect ending to a great day.....

Our last day we did a little wandering (trying to find NeverLand Ranch - no such luck).

After lunch, we headed back to Long Beach and flew home. Definitely a quick trip - but who cares, we're single and we had the money.......

And One More...

Yep, still more driving. Today I went to Manti. I've had to drive this Canyon three times in the past two weeks and never got a picture of these -




I think they are so awesome looking - especially when they are actually moving. (Although this picture does not do them justice). And it's always nice to know that they are actually helping the environment. And I actually pulled over to take this shot. Are you so proud of me?!



But this one I took while swerving along the canyon road. I am pretty impressed with myself and my little cell phone (which I now forgive for freaking out on me previously).

And again the fall colors were amazing! I really need to stop and take some good pictures..... wait, camera is still in Sweden. Seriously, how long has my mom been gone? (And I never realized how dependant I was on my camera).

On The Road Again...

(Obviously not sung by Willie Nelson - the whiny hippie that disgusts me!)

So for work I have had the glorious pleasure to take some road trips this week. I ended up in fabulous Price - where there really isn't anything fabulous. I even had poor cell phone service and the wireless network in the hotel completely sucked. You force me to embrace this technological era, then you rip away my devices when I least expect it - stupid Price!

After spending a very uneventful evening in a basic hotel, I drove to Green River - where they have nice melons - of the fruit variety (although I didn't get a chance to scope out many of the locals to determine if there were other melons that were nice). I literally drove to the school, talked to a kid, his grandmother, then drove back out. (Didn't even get myself one of those nice melons I've heard so much about - shameful).

Then on to Moab. Now I really don't have much to say about Moab. I enjoy the town. It is full of nature/tree huggers, but they are nice people. The down side was I hadn't planned on going to Moab, so I didn't have any of my necessary gear to enjoy the trip. I did wander from work duties for a brief moment and shop a little. Got myself two necklaces, a ring, and some earrings - fantastic!

Wait, there's still more.....

After Moab I headed down I-70 to Richfield (which was a complete waste - but I won't go into details... stupid caseworker). I was tired and a little annoyed, but the drive ended up being rather pleasant. For those of you who need some viewing of fall colors, this is the drive to take. Not only are the colors fabulous, you also get to see the amazing rock formations and other things that this great state is famous for. If I had more time and hadn't been stuck driving the entire day (and desperately wanting to get home and sleep) I would have stopped and taken a lot of pictures. Instead you are stuck with this one I got with my cell phone (while driving - which I don't recommend)(and my mom still has my camera in Sweden).

Assistance Please

So, somedays this Blogger thing really annoys me. I'll admit I'm a little (fine, a lot) obsessive compulsive. But that isn't always a bad thing. But this Blogger thing does not help my compulsions in the least. I HATE when the spacing around the pictures is all weird. Seriously, when I save it perfectly then go have a look and it is all messed up I want to scream - which on occasion I do.
Then I put it back into draft and try to fix it all nice again and it is STILL weird. That totally pisses me off. Eventually (after like five tries) I just give up, but then the next time I pull up the blog I am annoyed at the weird spacing.
Mostly I am annoyed all the time when looking and realizing all my hard work is wasted and lost somewhere in Cyberland.
You'd think they could fix this......

Shovelin' It In

None of us need an excuse to eat - so we do it frequently. This time we got together at Tracy and had a nice little reunion/picnic. Generally we do it earlier in the summer so we can swim, but apparently the parentals didn't get it done. We still had fun eating.
I played with the babies and showed them the fish - although really all we could see was gross seaweed (is it still called seaweed when it is in a lake?)
Some of us played a game of Sorry - although Julie didn't want to be mean to the little girl (Stinky Pete) and would keep sending me back to my start. I reminded her Stinky Pete can handle it and showed her how it was done.
Overall it was a nice relaxing day - and since the family is much like a soap opera there is plenty of gossip to go around.