Stuff . . .

Decisions, decisions

2012-02-15T08:48:00.003-06:00

I think I've pretty much decided to move back to Utah. It feels right. I was thinking about this summer, but now that the decision has been made, I'm antsy and want to go now. I don't think finding a job will be a problem (famous last words!), but I'm worried about finding somewhere to live. I have a dog that doesn't get along with my parent's dogs, so I can't really stay there until I find something else, but I might have to anyway. My mother will have a conniption fit. She is not my dog's biggest fan! Grrr . . . What to do? I actually do need to stay here for at least a few more months-moving in the middle of the winter in Wyoming is not something that is easily done. So maybe by spring/early summer I'll be in Utah again! Whoohoo!

For Meagan

2012-02-09T21:10:00.007-06:00

My last roommate, Meagan, keeps bugging me about updating my blog, so here are some random pictures of our brief cohabitation from my phone:

This is the one bonfire we had in our backyard. We couldn't get it to start, so I whipped out some bacon grease to get it going. It actually worked fairly well. The picture taking did not:

My pasta salad that Meagan loves:

Her sweet dog, Vixen (and my dirty laundry):

There's a creek/crick/slough that runs through her parent's farm. The area where the cows live during the winter is right by the water, so when we saw something weird in the water later in the spring, we thought maybe a calf had fallen into the water and drowned as it was being born. Turns out it was just some paper.

A frightening number of cats live on the farm:

Meagan and her mom, who is one of the coolest ladies EVER:

Trying on hats at TJMaxx:

The puppy (named Veronica Mars) who Meagan convinced me to get. She only lasted a couple days before I gave her away. I am not a puppy person.

an update

2011-12-19T20:48:00.002-06:00

Job's good. It's really cold. I'm super psyched for Christmas. Ugh. Alright, I guess I can do better than that. Hmmm . . . let's see . . .

I'm liking being the boss (well, one of four bosses) at Christmas. I've been getting lots of treats. Of course it also means I have lots of staff to give something to. I decided to do cake balls because I pretty much like anything that has balls in the name. Instead of making them with frosting I used cream cheese. They are so much better this way.
Netflix is taking up way too much of my time. I started watching The Vampire Diaries and I can't get enough of it. Stefan needs to go, though. I'm all about Damon. Stefan is far too whiney and depressing. He's like Edward Cullen without the glitter.
I got a puppy over the summer and named her Veronica Mars. She lasted two days and then I gave her away. I couldn't handle the getting up every two hours during the night and the constant chewing of my furniture. It's probably a good thing I don't have children.
Now I have Walker. He's a treeing walker coonhound. I got him from the local shelter where he had been for a year. He's super cute, but also super pesky sometimes. Today I came home from work to find my 25 pound bag of potatoes strewn all over the living room. He also really likes to chew on plastic food storage containers.
Someone is doing the 12 Days of Christmas for me. There are few things in life that are better than coming home to a present every day. Yay for presents!!!
I've been kinda seeing this guy, but I really don't like him very much. I don't not like him, but I don't like him, if you know what I mean. He always wants to talk on the phone. I'm not in junior high anymore-I don't need to talk on the phone for hours. I keep coming up with reasons not to talk to him or go out with him again and I need to just suck it up and tell him I'm not interested. It's hard to blow people off in a small town. The chances of seeing them around town are very high.
I got a little obsessive about Christmas this year and got out my decorations the first week in November.
I've been doing a weekly game night with some friends. Apples to Apples is a great way to get to know people. People have learned that I rarely go with the obvious answer. I'm all about creativity and humor. If you don't amuse me you won't win.
It's really cold up here. It was like 2 degrees mid-day today. I always know it's really cold when I take the dog out and my nose hairs freeze and tickle me when I breathe. Since it's been so cold we haven't had much snow and now what snow we do have looks all weird like fish scales.
One of my clients is constantly amazed to see me. I go say hi to her every day and every day she looks at me and says "Kim?!?" like she can't believe it's really me. Then she runs/toddles over and gives me a big hug. Then when I see her later in the day at her house, she is again amazed to see me. It's great.
I'm going to attempt to keep track of the books I read next year again. I tried this year (see sidebar), but when I updated it with a bunch of new titles I forgot to save it. This of course irritated me and I gave up on it. I'll try again next year. Not that anyone ever looks at the list anyway-it's much more for my own information.

Alrighty, that's it for now. I would say I'll try to be more regular with my posting, but I'm guessing it probably won't happen. I will try to update after Christmas though. The nieces and nephew are coming, so hopefully I'll have some cuteness to share.

Yellow

2011-10-14T07:58:00.002-05:00

An email I just received about a conversation between my nieces and sister in-law:

My conversation with the girls today...

Ashley: When are we going to see Kimmy again? I want to go to Wyoming.

Sariah: Kimmy lives in the yellow stuff.

Me: What? What is the yellow stuff?

S: You'll just see when you get there.

M: Ok, but what are you talking about?

S: It's just the yellow stuff. And she has a fountain that has really stinky water. And there are lots of trees and mountains. And Kimmy lives outside. She doesn't have a house.

M: Kimmy does not live outside. Do you mean Yellowstone?

S: Yeah. Yellowstone.

(She continued to refer to it as yellow stuff for the rest of the car ride.)

And now it's October!!!

2011-10-11T19:51:00.004-05:00

My cousin lovingly and kindly brought to my attention that it's been a while since I updated. Wendy, your wish is my command. Here's what's been happening:

I ended up applying for and getting the management job. I told them I would commit to two years. It's good so far-the hours are definitely better. Being on salary is also great. I have a feeling, though, that being the only single and childless member of management is going to mean a lot of travel for me. I went to Laramie last week and I have to go to Casper next week. I volunteered for the Laramie trip and was informed that I was going on the Casper trip. I can't be too bitter, though, since it's for Special Olympics and I love Special O.
My roommate moved out, which really, really sucks, but it's good for her, so I guess I have to be happy. :(
My parents are coming up to visit this weekend and since I now have a free second bedroom, they're staying with me instead of at a motel. I was going to go buy a cheap bed from the Penny Pincher, but my mom informed me that she didn't want to sleep on a used bed, so I bought a new bed yesterday. Fortunately my parents paid for most of it. I currently have a full size bed and the new one is a queen, so it's totally going in my room and the full is going in the spare bedroom. This whole thing means that I have a place for people to sleep when they come and stay! This means people need to come visit me!
This has all made me feel very grown up. At 30 I finally have a career-type job, my own place without a roommate and actual furniture. Yay me!!!
Last weekend was my roommate's last weekend in town, and because she requested it, I went with her and other friends to the bar. A guy asked me if I wanted to go next door (to the hotel) and have a good time. I politely declined. Maybe next time.
Did I mention that you should come visit me? Seriously. No excuses.

It's September!!!

2011-09-01T09:21:00.002-05:00

Holy crap, this summer flew by! I guess it doesn't help when the snow doesn't melt until May-summer seems really short. There was a change in the air when I left work last night. It's definitely starting to get cold, at least at night. Anyway, here's today's question of the day:

Q: If you had to move where would you like to live?
A: If money were no issue, I would love to live in New York City for a while. If we're being realistic, though, I would consider southern California. It's not too hot or too cold, there's tons to do there, it's pretty, and most importantly, my nieces and nephew are there. Unfortunately, the financial situation there is . . . um . . . lacking. I'm guessing that in my line of work, where a lot of our funding comes from the government, there probably aren't a lot of jobs in the state of California.

Question of the Day

2011-08-31T10:50:00.003-05:00

There are several questions for today because my answers are short and sweet.

Q: What's the most significant problem facing the world?
A: Stupidity

Q: If you could do something dangerous just once with no risk, what would you do:
A: Swim with sharks

Q: Would you be likely to survive alone in the wilderness?
A: Hahahahahahaha!

morning visitor

2011-08-31T10:19:00.002-05:00

Woke up to this little one in the backyard . . .

Pardon the cell phone camera quality! And that's wood for the fire pit, not a pile of crap. :)

Bonus Q

2011-08-31T02:02:00.001-05:00

Q: What vice would you indulge in if it had no negative side effects?

A: Duh, all of them!

Question of the Day

2011-08-30T14:08:00.003-05:00

Back by popular demand (from one person), I give you the Question of the Day . . .

Before I get to the actual question, I feel I should let you know that the first question I pulled out of the deck was "Which one sexual activity would you like to try if there were no negative consequences?" As a couple of my family members read this blog, I'm going to go ahead and skip that one. They just don't need to know about my predilection for whips and chains. So here's the actual question:

Q: Which long lost childhood object would you most like to find?

A: In 1986-87 my family lived in Spain while my dad was doing research in the archives there. (Let's pause for a moment to reflect on my glamorous life . . . ) We took a trip to Portugal and I of course brought along my beloved stuffed koala bear. This bear went everywhere with me and was the best friend a girl could ever have. Well, until I grew up and discovered other things to be my best friends, but I digress. We checked out of the hotel and a short time later I discovered that my koala was nowhere to be found. We went back to the hotel, but couldn't find it. It was devastating. My parents tried to tell me that koala wanted to stay behind to eat the eucalyptus leaves in Portugal. Ha! What did they take me for, a fool? Just because I was little didn't mean I was stupid. My sweet baby koala would never abandon me like that just for some stupid leaves. To this day I still think one of the maids stole it, because really, who wouldn't want a dirty, worn out stuffed koala bear? Last year my parents finally bought me a new stuffed koala, which now sits on my dresser as a constant reminder of the tragedy that nearly ruined childhood for me. So . . . to answer the question, I really want my koala back. I'm pretty sure that this devastating event led to questionable choices in my adult life, as well as a lifelong distrust of maids.

Emergency situation!

2011-08-29T11:15:00.003-05:00

It's official-Wyoming has turned me. This will come as a shock to those of you who know me, but I spent the whole day yesterday fishing and . . . wait for it . . . I liked it. I am not the kind of person who likes dirt and bugs. In fact, it's hard for me to fathom that there are people who do; so when a friend of mind invited me to go fishing yesterday, my natural instinct was to say not just no, but f*ck no. Fortunately, my roommate was being a bump on a log and wouldn't get out of bed, so I decided to go fishing. Of course I only planned to stay for an hour or so-that way my nature allergy wouldn't cause too many problems. I also thought my friend and I were going to just sit around the campfire while her husband and kids fished. This was not the case, however. She made me go out on the water with her. Keep in mind that this is a glacial lake and thus the water is only slightly above freezing. At first I just sat there, but then there must have been a breach in the space time continuum or something, because I found myself doing crazy and bizarre things like putting a worm on the hook and grabbing little fishies to pull the hooks out of their mouths. I not only had dirt on me but also worm innards and fish slime. It gives me the shivers just to think about it now. We stayed out on the lake for a few hours, then went back to shore and I planned on leaving. Somehow I ended up going out again for another few hours. What has happened to me? With the recent plethora of natural disasters, I'm wondering if maybe there was an earthquake in the area I was not aware of and it shook things up in my brain. That's the only possible explanation. This is not normal behavior for me. Quick, somebody give me a UA-someone must have slipped me some drugs!!!

P.S. It's possible that I'm going camping and fishing again next weekend. What has happened to me?????

Attention, Utah peeps!

2011-08-19T15:35:00.001-05:00

I'll be in Orem this weekend for my little bro's homecoming. Please stop by and say hello . . . I would love to see you!!!

Decisions, decisions

2011-08-16T16:05:00.003-05:00

I'm supposed to be applying for a management position in the company I work for. It would be a great opportunity, but the past couple of months I haven't been able to shake the feeling that maybe it isn't what I should be doing. Today I put in my official letter of interest and now I have this overwhelming, horrible feeling that I'm making a huge mistake. So . . . do I follow my gut or not? I keep saying that whether or not I get this job will decide for me whether or not I stay in Wyoming, so I guess if I don't even apply for the job, that kind of makes that decision for me. Although really, it doesn't have to. Sigh. I don't know what I'm doing!!! Obviously not much has changed since my last post! I'm going to discuss it with the fam this weekend and see what they think, but I think I've already made up my mind. Anyone else want to chime in with their thoughts?

Sigh.

2011-07-30T17:09:00.003-05:00

It's happening again. I'm feeling antsy. I need a change. I'm on vacation in California right now and getting some distance from Wyoming has made me realize that I don't really want to go back, but I don't know if I don't want to go back to the job or the state. I definitely want to go back for the people and the scenery. Maybe I just need to change my hair color or rearrange my bedroom. I don't know. I went through this a couple weeks ago and was trying to decide if I wanted to move back to Salt Lake or stay in Wyoming and I decided on Wyoming, but now I'm not sure. There was a job factor that was making all the difference, but now I don't know if I want to deal with the job factor. I don't know what I want. Sigh. I know, my life is super difficult-I live in a gorgeous place, I have awesome friends, and I am gainfully employed. What's a girl to do!?! Anyone have any suggestions? Please, solve my life's problems for me in the comment section!

thoughts

2011-07-16T01:58:00.003-05:00

I have so few Facebook friends that it would be sad to lose any, however, every time I log on I want to delete people based solely upon the number of times they update their status each day.
I went to a class on autism this week and it's pretty fascinating. I plan on doing a lot more studying up about it. Now I have to go and teach all of the staff I work with about it.
The place I work was having a yard sale as a fundraiser, so I went through all my stuff and got rid of quite a few things. Why does it look like I haven't even made a dent?
Have you seen the new show, "Roseanne's Nuts"? I love me some Roseanne. She's crazy, but in a good way.
What is everyone thinking about this season of So You Think You Can Dance? I haven't been feeling it so much this season. There are a couple of people I like, but I'm not really connecting with anyone. It's all just kinda meh to me.
I heard last week that the first snow is predicted for six weeks from now (or rather, from last week). Upon hearing this news, I vomited a little in my mouth.
One of my best friends always says "To be truthfully honest . . . " Is there any other kind of honesty?

Long time no see!

2011-06-30T11:17:00.009-05:00

So I've been home sick all week and I thought that in between trips to the bathroom (TMI, I know!), I'd update my blog with what's been going on the last two or so months since I last posted. And just so you know, if this post does not illicit a sufficient number of comments, I'm never posting again!!! (Possibly kidding, but not sure at this moment, as I'm kind of finding myself over the whole blogging thing!)

I moved into a new apartment. Same area, just slightly further out of town. This is my backyard:
Speaking of the backyard, I came home the other day to find a herd of buffalo in the backyard:
To go in my new place, I got a new couch:
My new roommate has this cutie:
Her name is Vixen and she likes to snug in bed with me:
Down the road is the following sign and every time I see it, I swear it says Flying Whores:
Also down the road is this cute goat:
The weather here has been kinda crappy:
In fact, it actually snowed the other day:
I’ve been spending a lot of my time lately doing quite a few things I never thought I would ever do. You see, my roommate’s family has a farm and I love it there. Love everything about it. It’s possible that I’m turning into a farmer. This is the view from their porch:
One of the things I definitely never thought I would be doing is branding a cow. No, not just watching the other people brand cows, I actually BRANDED A COW!!! I know, it’s like I’m a completely different person! Here’s a cow in the trapping mechanism. It’s not the one I branded, but it’s possibly related, and it's the only picture I took, so here you go:
Speaking of cows, I had my first farm heartbreak with the little darling below. She wasn’t doing well and I did what I could to help, and I thought she was making a comeback and would be o.k., but then she died.
And since we’re on the subject of cattle, let’s talk bulls. And their penises. I got to witness bull semen collecting! See that pink thing sticking down in the first pic? Yeah. What you can’t see in the second picture is that while the vet is down there with his little cup, his helper is sticking what looks like a black missile in the bull’s rear end. I felt like I was watching a prison rape scene or something.
Remember a while ago when I blogged about having seen the eggs coming out of the chickens and I couldn’t eat eggs for weeks? Well, here are the culprits:
Also on the farm are sheep and goats:
This little cutie is Bonnie. She and her sister, Emma, are my favorites:
And this little rascal here just had his um . . . (how do I say this delicately?) . . . well, he had his little goatie balls banded. Instead of just cutting them off, they put rubber band thingies on them and then they just fall off. I can only hope that some day soon I will be walking along and discover a couple of goat balls lying on the grass. So anyway, sadly, his humping days are no more.
This is my partner in crime. Her name is Lacey and she’s the biggest sweetheart ever. I love her to pieces and force her to ride along with me on the back of the four wheeler. Some day I'm going to dognap her and never give her back.
There are also geese on the farm. See that white one? His name is Frederick, but it should have been Little F*cker. No really, he comes at you and is like an attack dog! At one point I had to flee to my car with him sitting outside, flapping his wings at me, waiting to peck me to death. If ever I have a chance to run him over or accidentally stab him with a pitchfork, I will.
I’ve been doing a little bit of traveling for work lately. I made a road trip out to Nebraska to pick up a new client and sadly, this is the only photo I took. Nebraska is gorgeous, by the way. The cow feedlot we passed along the way, however, made me want to vomit.
I also went with my clients to Special Olympics in Laramie. Since everything involved clients, I obviously couldn’t take any pictures, but I had a great time. Remember that commercial from years ago that may actually have been for Special Olympics, wherein they’re running a race and one of the competitors fall and the rest of them stop, turn around and go back to help that person finish the race? Well, imagine three days of that. I was slightly emotional.
So I think that’s about it for now. Sorry this was such a long post. As a reward for finishing, here’s another shot of the bull peen:

my heart just broke a little

2011-04-22T01:52:00.003-05:00

I found out that one of the most bad*ss characters in one of the most bad*ss movies ever has just been cast on The Young and the Restless. My grandmother is now going to be enjoying this guy as much as I do, and that's really kind of weird.

This gave me chills

2011-04-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

herpes

2011-04-05T12:00:00.002-05:00

Remember this post? Well, the following search terms have lead people to my blog:

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I'm so proud to be the definitive source on information about Celtic Thunder and herpes! (Is it sad that the previous statement was in no way sarcastic?)

ABCs of Me

2011-03-23T21:34:00.004-05:00

Age: 29 (30 next month-I can't believe it!)
Bed Size: Full
Chore You Hate: Cleaning the toilet
Dogs: Lizzie and Mr. Darcy
Essential Start of Your Day: Check my email, work stuff, Facebook and blogs
Favorite Color: Purple
Gold or Silver: Silver
Height: 5'6ish
Instruments I Play: Used to play the piano.
Job Title: Lead Direct Support Professional
Kids: Yes, please!
Live: In the frozen tundra of Wyoming
Mom's Name: Margie
Nicknames: Kim, Kimmy/Kimmie
Overnight Hospital Stays: several
Pet Peeve: tardiness
Quote From a Movie: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Right or Left Handed: Right
Siblings: 2 brothers
Time You Wake Up: Usually around 8:30
Underwear: I really like those boy short things.
Veggie You Dislike: Brussel sprouts, eggplant
What Makes You Run Late: I don't believe in being late. If I am, though, it probably has something to do with not being able to find something to wear.
X-Rays You Have Had: Teeth, back
Yummy Food You Make: enchiladas, Texas sheet cake, ham dip, pasta salad, various soups
Zoo Animal You Like Best: I've never really thought about it. Monkeys, I guess.

Happy Spring!

2011-03-22T12:42:00.001-05:00

The view outside my window right now . . .

I'm not bitter at all.

Really? REALLY?

2011-03-22T09:35:00.002-05:00

Just checked the weather and there's a Winter Weather Advisory. Eff you, Wyoming!

Note to self

2011-03-20T21:09:00.003-05:00

Do not tell any resident of Wyoming and/or Idaho that you thought an elk was a male deer. They will laugh at you. (In my defense, I don't come from an outdoorsy family. While all of y'all were out hunting and spending time in the great outdoors, I was going to museums and historical sites.)
While it may be exciting to see the egg come out of the chicken's butt, it will make you never want to eat an egg ever again. Next time look away.
It is never a good idea to kill time at Target. It is also impossible to just buy one or two things there.
If a guy sticks his tongue in your mouth try really hard to not think of Ron puking up slimy slugs in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Asking about a person's tattoo is a great way to get a quiet person talking.
Clothes can be washed-the love and snuggles of a muddy dog are priceless.
Eat all the vegetables you want, there's still nothing better than a good steak.
Sometimes honesty isn't the best policy. Sometimes you have to make up a story about a co-worker falling and breaking her leg.

Moose Watch 2011

2011-03-16T15:10:00.005-05:00

Here are the moose pictures from yesterday. These aren't the best pictures-the camera I was using wasn't that great. I haven't seen them around today, but word around town is that they're across the street and down a couple houses. Apparently people over there have a hay stack that the moose are eating from.

This picture was taken from my kitchen window. The two little ones were about ten feet away from me. You can also see the present they left for us in the yard.

Mama moose.

I was a little concerned about leaving to go to work because mama moose was pretty close to my back door. When I closed the door, all three of them jumped to their feet and I had to sprint to my car. They were actually probably scared and not wanting to come after me, but you never want to take a chance when it comes to a moose!

moose update

2011-03-15T15:50:00.000-05:00

They are so close I can smell them and hear them chewing! Holy crap!

I looked out the window and what did I see?

2011-03-15T15:33:00.001-05:00

No, not popcorn popping on the apricot tree-it is still winter in Wyoming! But I did see . . . . . . . . . wait for it . . . . . . three moose! A mama and two babies! In my backyard!!! Pictures to come . . .

Celtic Thunder (From Down Under)

2011-03-08T22:26:00.006-06:00

I'm home sick from work tonight and Celtic Thunder is on PBS. I have a thing for anything Irish and some of their songs are really great, so I was totally excited to see this show was on. Sigh. The appeal has kind of been ruined for me now. Here are my reasons:

If you are going to choose to perform in kilts, you have to understand that anyone watching is not going to be focused on your music, but rather on what you do or do not have on underneath the kilt.
The audience was full of shrieking middle-aged women, along with an occasional grouping of men that I'm guessing were gay. Actually, come to think of it, it reminded me of a Cher concert, but with much less glitter and skimpy ensembles.
One of the guys has a ginormous cold sore on his lip and all I can think when I see him is HERPES! HERPES! YOU HAVE HERPES ON YOUR LIP!!! Please consider taking some of your (apparently quite large) budget for hair products and invest in some Abreva and/or quality stage make-up.
It's pledge drive time again at PBS and I feel very strongly that every time they say "If you would like PBS to continue to offer quality programming like Celtic Thunder . . ." everyone should have to shout "From down under" and take a drink. Not that I drink. But still, it would be an awesome drinking game.
If your only choreography is marching in place, along with an occasional fist pump when you sing something particularly pro-Ireland, then you might want to consider just not doing it at all. But still wear the kilts, though. Always wear the kilts.

****UPDATE****
They just did some other dance moves that caused two things to happen: 1. there was much shrieking and hands-in-the-air clapping from the audience and 2. one of the guys (the one with the long, luscious locks, I think) appears to be wearing brown shoes with gray pants. I'm simply stating a fact, not passing judgment. Well no, actually I am in my mind, but you can't hear it, so it doesn't count.

To my nieces and nephew

2011-03-02T12:02:00.004-06:00

My little nephew, T-Dub, turned one yesterday. This got me thinking about how fast time goes by and how my nieces are growing up so fast and how I just want to stop time, but I can't. So instead of trying to acknowledge his birthday in a way that a one year-old couldn't care less about (ie a phone call or a card or yet another toy), I decided to type up my best bits of advice. These apply to both him and my nieces and these are things I've mostly had to learn the hard way. This is long, but here goes . . .

Practice maintaining eye contact with people. It makes it seem like you’re really listening to them, even if you’re not. Good eye contact also makes it seem like you’re telling the truth when you’re not.
Junior High sucks. Anyone who tells you otherwise is clearly on drugs.
High School will most likely suck too. Anyone who tells you otherwise has been out of school long enough to have forgotten. Or they’re on drugs.
You don’t have to be what or who people think you are. Create your own expectations.
Just because your parents believe something doesn’t mean you have to as well.
Read. Well-read people are far more interesting than people who spend their time watching tv.
Focus on spirituality instead of religion. Doing so will save your sanity.
The world doesn’t revolve around you and while you may be special to your own family, you aren’t special in the big picture that is the rest of the world. This may sound harsh, but once you understand this, it will give you freedom. The world will not come crashing down based upon a choice that you make.
People don’t pay attention to you nearly as much as you think they do. Fortunately (or hopefully) this means they won’t remember all the stupid and/or embarrassing things you do.
Don’t try to be cool. Just try to be a good person.
The ability to carry on a decent conversation with anyone, regardless of how little you have in common, is priceless.
Pay attention to grammar and spelling. Even if you drop out of school in the fourth grade, proper grammar and spelling will make it seem as though you have received a good education.
Never be afraid to ask for what you want. You won’t always get it, but sometimes you’ll be surprised.
Thank you goes a long way. Always, always say thank you to cashiers, waiters, receptionists, etc.
Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned. This is a good thing. Much like being well read, life experience makes you a much more interesting person. Whenever things in my life are crazy, I just think about how it will make a great story someday.
Learn to take a compliment graciously and even though it’s hard, believe it when people tell you nice things about yourself. Don’t believe it when they say mean things; chances are, the person is just insecure.
Be yourself. It is refreshing to be around a person about whom what you see is what you get. Pretending to be something you’re not is exhausting and not worth it. Some people won’t like you for you, but that’s o.k. You don’t have to be best friends with everybody.
Always ask yourself “What’s the worst that can happen?” If the answer doesn’t involve jail, death or permanent injury to yourself or another, then do it. It may turn out to have not been the best decision you could have made, but it was your decision and you won’t be left wondering what would have happened.
Try not to lose your imagination. Most adults are really boring because they don’t believe in things like fairies and trolls and goblins. Just because a grown up says something isn’t real doesn’t mean you can’t believe in it.
The movies are not real life. Don’t believe in Hollywood’s version of anything. Don’t believe in their version of love. Don’t believe in how they tell you that you should look. Certainly don’t follow their example of how to behave. Think of Hollywood like it’s an animal at the zoo. It’s o.k. to look at it through the glass and think wow, that’s kind of cool. Maybe you can even tap on the glass to get the animal to come closer, but you never want to be on the other side because it stinks in there and sometimes animals eat their own pooh. Blindly following Hollywood’s standards is like eating your own pooh. It’s gross; don’t do it.

You make me happy

2011-03-01T01:49:00.003-06:00

Meagan's Bleu Cheese Salad Dressing (1 jar Best Foods mayo, 1 small thingie buttermilk, 1 thing bleu cheese crumbles, 1 tsp. garlic salt, 1 tsp. pepper)
The British version of Skins. The MTV version sucks.
Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper
Italian Sweet Creme coffee creamer over fresh strawberries
My Kindle
Free ebooks for my Kindle
Not having to translate semi-illiterate texts as though they were a foreign language. In case you were wondering, my name is spelled Kimberly, not Kimburley. And if you thought that was bad, let me give you an exact quote from one of dude's texts: "Hears haw it is, plain and simpel." Really? REALLY??? I am obviously not bitter at all!
A full propane tank
"Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
The end of Hollywood's award season. Could the Oscars have been any more boring? (Could I have sounded any more like Chandler when I said that?)
Jimmy Kimmel
The Cosby Show
Payday
Chicken enchiladas

Please tell me it gets better.

2011-02-25T22:03:00.004-06:00

I broke it off with dude tonight and to say he was pissed is the understatement of the year. I didn't even like the guy and the insults he was hurling my way were completely ridiculous, but it still kinda sucks. I'm tired of being alone, but I also refuse to lower my standards, so I'm kind of at a stalemate here. I'm also pissed off that I feel like something is wrong with me since I'm a couple months away from being 30 and I'm still single. This is not abnormal! The religion I was brought up in has brainwashed me to think (among other things) that there's something wrong with this scenario, but there really isn't! (Yes, I did just state my opinion on the Mormon church in a vague and roundabout way. Sorry if that offends you.) So please . . . tell me it gets better. Tell me that not all guys are jerks and that I will eventually find someone, even though I live in an area where there are more cows than available men. Also, if you could please tell me that I am the better person for not having the last word with this guy, that would really help.

I'm just not that into you.

2011-02-24T01:46:00.003-06:00

I would like to apologize in advance-this post is probably going to make me sound like a horrible human being. I have accepted this about myself and, in fact, have come to embrace it. So here goes . . .

Signs that I'm just not that into you:

I lose my phone or forget it at home a lot. (Yeah right, that thing is practically glued to my thumbs!)
I answer your texts with carefully worded responses that do not require a further response on your part.
I use lots of noncommittal phrases such as "We'll see." and "That's a possibility." My favorite is "We shall see . . . we shall see."
You initiate most of our conversations.
Everything I say is very general and in no way specific to you.
When you try to hold my hand, I give your hand a little squeeze, then have to dig around in my pockets for something or I suddenly need a sip of my drink.

Reasons why I'm just not that into you:

You text me stupid questions like "Have ya been thinking about me today?" Um . . . do you really want me to answer that?
Even after I text you carefully worded responses that do not require any further response on your part, you still keep texting me.
You are unable to spell basic words. Now and how are not spelled with an a.
Your favorite tv show is Two and a Half Men.
You keep offering to buy me things, and that kind of makes me feel like a prostitute.
Even though you claim you have no problem with gay people, you don't really want any of them around you. Unless, of course, you have been forewarned that there might be homosexuals in the vicinity. Then you're good. It's just when they pop up out of nowhere that it's an issue.
I'm happy for you that you go to the gym almost every night, but I don't really need to hear your gym experience described as including sweat, muscles and panting. That doesn't sound sexy, it sounds gross. And then when you add in throbbing muscles, it just makes me laugh at your attempt at sexy talk.

Reasons why I'm momentarily overlooking all of the previous items:

I really, really like it when you play with my hair for an hour and a half straight, even though your wrist is quite obviously hurting.
I live in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming; there really isn't much else to do.

update on my downfall

2011-02-17T01:39:00.003-06:00

It was brought to my attention that my last post sounded kind of b*tchy. There was actually more to the story that was causing me concern than just that he sent me flowers on Valentine's Day, but tonight I realized that perhaps I'm projecting lingering issues from a past relationship onto this guy, and that's probably not fair. We cleared up some confusion over certain issues and we'll see where things go from here.

my downfall

2011-02-14T22:49:00.002-06:00

So I got flowers for Valentine's Day today from this guy who seems to be very nice and at least semi-normal. You would think this would be a good thing, right? It's not. I already felt like this guy was clingy, and now I just plain feel smothered. I think my independent nature is going to be the downfall of my love life. I just really don't feel the need to account for what I'm doing all the time. It's not even in a demanding way, just a hey, whatcha up to kind of a way. And I don't need a good morning text every day. And I don't want to talk about hypothetical future plans with someone I barely know. And I don't need to be repeatedly called gorgeous (or, in his spelling-disabled way, geirgous). And I really don't want to snuggle. I am not a snuggly person. It takes a lot for me to even hug someone and when I do, it's usually a one armed, pat on the back kind of a hug. I've just realized that I'm the guy in this situation, and dude is the stage 5 clinger! Hahahaha!!! O.k., now that's kind of funny! I think I'm going to die alone.

questionnaire

2011-01-26T11:28:00.004-06:00

I copied this from another blog and there is no number 29. Maybe this other person didn't like the question or something.

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT? I have a scar between my thumb and finger on my left hand. When I was 2 or 3 I was trying to cut an orange with a sharp knife and instead stabbed myself.

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM A calendar, family photos, a quilt, and a wooden thingy I got in Peru that has necklaces hanging on it.

3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP? If I fall asleep on my back, I snore and I've always talked (and done other things) in my sleep.

4. WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO? A little bit of everything. The only thing I really don't like is heavy metal.

5. WHAT TIME WERE YOU BORN? I think it was around 2:30 am.

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW? Sappy answer-a family. More realistic answer-a chai latte from Starbucks. Most unrealistic answer-a million dollar gift certificate with which to buy books on Amazon.

7. WHAT DO YOU MISS? My family and dogs. Possibly not in that order! Ooh, and warm weather!

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)? I can't think of a most prized possession. I guess if I had to grab one thing if the house was on fire, it would be my laptop because it basically has my life on it, including family photos.

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU? 5'6"

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC? No

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK? Yes. This is why I don't watch scary movies. I have a very active imagination.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY? Oprah and her new sister.

13. WHAT'S YOUR WORST FEAR? That my parents will become mentally or physically incapacitated and need caretaking. Or that something will happen to my nieces or nephew.

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON PEOPLE YOU'RE ATTRACTED TO? No preference. My only request would be if the guy has blond hair, that he not grow one of those weird flesh-colored beards. They're creepy.

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF PROPOSING? I'm pretty sure I won't be the one doing that.

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK? Coffee.

17. FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING? Cheese, cheese and more cheese.

18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Thanks to the previous question, I'm now in the mood for pizza.

19. FAVORITE COLOR OF ALL TIME? Purple.

20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH? Um . . . no. Why would I do that?

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECEIVED? Nothing really comes to mind.

22. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH? Try like 50! If we're not including celebrities, then maybe 2ish.

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED? Yes, my fingertips bend. That is double jointed, right? Or does it just mean I'm freakish?!?

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND? Old Navy

25. WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FEMALE/MALE CELEBRITY? No overwhelming preference for either.

26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW? My dog lives with my parents, so not really. Although if I could steal my neighbor's dog and have them not notice, I would do it in a heartbeat.

27. WHAT KIND IS IT? The dog that lives with my parents is an Australian Shepherd. The neighbor's dog is a Great Dane.

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING? I would probably try really hard not to, but in the end, yes.

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED? I don't want to.

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES? Neither.

32. FAVORITE QUOTE?

"I have sought rest everywhere, and have found it nowhere, save in a little corner, with a little book."
-- Thomas à Kempis

33. FAVORITE PLACE? My bed.

peeping tom #2

2011-01-22T22:25:00.002-06:00

Peeping Tom!

2011-01-19T01:36:00.003-06:00

It was warm (relatively speaking) over the weekend and all the snow slid off the roof. Right outside of the kitchen is where the most snow piles up because two slopes dump their snow right there. Saidy, the neighbor's dog (who Lorri refers to as my child), has taken advantage of this and here is what I discovered when I looked out the kitchen window this afternoon . . .

the big date

2011-01-18T00:47:00.000-06:00

So remember how I was complaining because I had a possible date for last Saturday, but I ended up having to work? Well, I found someone else to work, so the date was on. Things didn't really go as I had imagined they would. It turned out to not so much be an actual date as it was this dude was just dropping by to meet me and if I proved to be acceptable, maybe in the future there would be a real date. That was problem number one. Problem number two was that he showed up in coveralls and mud boots and he looked like Grizzly Adams. Problem number three was that we had only slightly more in common than Hitler and Gandhi do. For example, he doesn't watch t.v. Crazy, right?!? I mean really! Really!! We actually ended up talking for about three hours, during which time I learned the following:

Goats have a really thick skull in front, so when you kill them you have to shoot this one spot on the side where the skull isn't. If you just shoot them straight through the forehead, it'll only stun them and they'll keep popping back up.
When you are hunting, the meat will taste less "gamey" if you don't run the animal. If you just sneak up on it and shoot it, it won't release hormones and sweat and stuff, which changes the taste.
You can get some kind of chip or something to make your car have more horsepower. This is a good thing because the more horsepower you have, the more of a man you are.
UFOs fly around Area 51 all the time and Big Foot is real.

I'm sure I learned more, but I'm still processing the whole experience, so I'll have to report back on it later. Oh, and one other thing . . . if you use the phrase "I'm not racist, but . . ." multiple times when referring to different ethnic groups, you might just be racist.

so dramatic

2011-01-13T23:33:00.004-06:00

I feel unsettled and anxious. This is not good. When I feel this way I start to think and question things and want to make changes. Nothing good has ever come from a decision I've made while feeling like this. And I don't know why I feel this way. I think it's partly because I have discovered that a relationship is not what I thought it was. And maybe partly because I am finding that I am not willing to do some things that are expected of me. And also a little bit because my work schedule is such that I have far too much alone time.

It is always unsettling when you find out that the relationship you have with someone is possibly not what you thought it was. What makes it really suck is when you find this out through information that wasn't meant for your eyes. This means you can't question the person about it without bringing up the fact that you read something that was supposed to be anonymous. And I'm probably over-analyzing what happened (ha! imagine that!) and taking it the wrong way, but that doesn't change the fact that now I'm wondering if things are not what I think they are with other people as well. Maybe I don't have people figured out quite like I think I do.

Someone has asked, or rather told me, that I need to do certain things, and this person is holding future opportunities over my head if I don't do these things. It's nothing horrible, but it's definitely stuff that I think is unnecessary and I don't want to do it. I think that it will turn me into someone I don't want to be. I have already dabbled in this endeavor and was far from pleased with the outcome.

I work from 4 until midnight, Monday through Friday. My roommate works pretty much the exact opposite shift as I do. We're lucky to see each other for about an hour each day. I know very few people in the area and am not sure how to go about meeting people, given the hours that I am available during the day. This means I spend all day by myself. It's never good to have that much time on your own. Or at least for me it's not. Normally I would have the weekends to go do things, but it seems like we're always short staffed, so I end up working part of the weekend. And my roommate has her daughter, who is disabled, at the house most weekends, which I love, but it also means we don't really go anywhere. And I think people here are all kind of in hibernation for the winter. Everything closes earlier in the winter and it's dark and cold and snowy, so really, why would you even want to leave the house? So I guess the rambling of this paragraph can be summed up by saying I'm a wee bit lonely.

Alright, so there's my little pity party, written out for everyone to read. I'm going to try to go ahead and get over myself now. :)

some stuff and some grrrrs

2011-01-11T23:23:00.002-06:00

My friend, Emily, came up for the weekend and we spent most of the time up in Jackson, seeing as how there's pretty much nothing to do where I live. Jackson was fun, though. We ate some good food and did some good shopping. At one store we did both. There's this cool new place called Vom Fass that sells flavored vinegars, oils, and spices. Jars with spigots line the walls, and you can taste whatever you want in cute little miniature Asian soup spoons. I bought several vinegars and have spent the last couple days dipping lettuce leaves in vinegar. It makes me feel very cool to have specialty vinegars. It's the little things.
I just colored my hair again. The color I used is Chocolate Cherry, which sounds like an African-American-themed porn to me. Bow chicka bow wow!
I'm getting a little tired of picking up extra shifts at work. I had a date tentatively lined up for Saturday, but because we are neverendingly short staffed, guess who has to work on Saturday! My boss keeps saying we have to make do until we can find a new employee. I didn't realize that making do was secret code for "You are a peon and as such, you have to work everything that no one else will work, which, by the way, is everything involving a weekend. So pretty much say good-bye to any little shred of hope you had left of having a social life." At least I'm the lead peon, though, right?!? I can't decide if that makes it better or worse. Oh, and all of those people in my company who complain all the time about wanting extra hours, but then will never work extra hours if it's a weekend, are little bitches. (I would apologize for the unladylike language, but I feel no remorse whatsoever.)
I'm off the meat again. I am now taking spirulina for protein. It's algae and it's 60-70% protein, verses the 22% protein content in meat. It comes in powder form and is a gorgeous dark green color. Unfortunately it smells like pond scum. Fortunately, it doesn't taste like pond scum if you add it to carrot juice or Vitamin Water. Unfortunately, it does taste like pond scum if you burp within a couple hours of drinking it.
I swore I would never be the kind of person that wears Uggs. They're far too trendy and really, they're pretty unattractive. I've been sucked into their web of fugly comfiness, though, and they're all I wear now. My reasoning for succumbing is threefold: 1. They're really comfy, obvs. 2. They're really warm, which is of the utmost importance, here in the frozen tundra of Wyoming. 3. If I wear them under my pant legs instead of having the pants tucked into them, then you can't really see them. Oh wait, there are actually four reasons: 4. As long as I don't wear them with cut-off jean shorts to the gas station to buy Cheetos (with my nasty weave showing, btw), then I feel as though I'm rocking a much classier Ugg-look than Britney Spears, which is who I think of when I think of Uggs.
I got an AeroGarden for Christmas. I like it a lot. I want like five more of them with which to grow other things since the growing season in Wyoming is about 3 days long.

double standard

2010-12-22T00:33:00.003-06:00

I was listening to the song "Callin' Baton Rouge" by Garth Brooks the other day and for some random reason it struck me how if it were a girl singing the song, the message would be completely different. One of the lyrics is "stoppin' every hundred miles callin' Baton Rouge." Now when a guy does that, it's just as sweet and tender as can be because he's just oh, so in love with this girl. If a girl were to do that, though, it would mean she's a stalker. And then there's the line "And it won't be long until I'm with you all the time, But until then I'll spend my money up right down to my last dime callin' Baton Rouge." Telling someone that it won't be long until you're with them all the time is a little creepy to me. I feel like it should be followed by "because I'm a psycho who's going to break your ankles like Kathy Bates in Misery so that you can't escape me." And if you're just about out of money, then you should probably go ahead and stop calling me.

Failure!

2010-12-19T20:41:00.003-06:00

I am once again failing at being a blogger. It's just that life is so darn busy, what with my grueling schedule of tv watching and online shopping. I've also started but not finished about 10 books. Oh wait no, that's a lie. I did finish one of them. Matched by Ally Condie. (Whose child I happened to teach in Primary. He was not one of the demon children, fortunately, or I would be forced to hate her book on principle.) So anyway, here's yet another bullet point themed blog post for your reading enjoyment:

Pretty in Pink is on right now and I just had a WTF moment. I've always bitched about how Blane (That's a major appliance, that's not a name!) said "You said you couldn't be with someone who didn't believe in you. Well I believed in you. You just didn't believe in me" Well, apparently (according to the Bible of IMDb), he actually says "Well I believed in you. I just didn't believe in me." I guess that really would make more sense, but whatever.
It's snowed like a foot here in the last 24 hours. When I checked the weather forecast on Friday, I swear it said an inch. I take consolation in the fact that we're almost through with two months of winter. Only five more to go!
Lorri and I just watched the Oprah from a couple weeks ago where she goes back to a town in West Virginia where she did a show in 1987. The show was about a gay man who had AIDS and how he was treated by the town. It was really uncomfortable to watch how hateful those people were. I realize that back then we didn't know as much about the disease and how it was spread as we do now, but a lot of the hurtful comments were about the fact that the guy was gay. It always drives me crazy when people cite the Bible as a reason for being anti-gay. If we're going to go by what the Bible says, we should probably start stoning people again. Oh, and according to Mark, if you get divorced and then marry someone else, you've committed adultery. I wonder how many of those people were (and still are) on their first marriage.
Remember a little while ago how I made a client cry twice because I made her do her laundry? Well, I managed to make her cry again. This time it was because she lied to me about eating Christmas candy. That makes me sound horrible. I didn't get mad at her or anything, she just felt really guilty and didn't want me to tell her mom. So really, in both incidents, I didn't make her cry, the consequences of her behavior made her cry. Somehow that still makes me sound horrible, doesn't it!
Does anyone watch The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? (I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I do.) The last episode was cray cray!!! That psychic lady (I'm afraid to even say her name-she might put a hex on me or something) is truly insane. I won't ever be able to see a cigarette again without thinking of her creepily puffing away on her fake cigarette. I'm getting the heebie jeebies just thinking about her.
I'm not usually a huge Kenny Chesney fan, but I can't get enough of this song:

I'm also enjoying "Long Time Coming" by Delays. If you actually watch this video, can we please talk about how creepy twin children can be? For other examples, please see The Shining and, let's be honest, pretty much any Olsen twins movie.

O.k., just one more song! Since I invited myself on my parent's trip to Ireland next summer, I've been watching Irish-themed movies (great excuse to watch The Boondock Saints again!!!) and one of my favorites is The MatchMaker. This song is in it and I can't stop listening to it. It's "Haunted" by Sinead O'Connor and Shane MacGowan (original lead singer of The Pogues).

a momentous event

2010-12-09T23:26:00.002-06:00

I was described today as being perky. Did you ever think that word would be used to describe me? I told my mom and she was a bit skeptical. She just needs to not let the first 27 years of my life bias her opinion.

I've been reminiscing . . .

2010-12-08T15:34:00.004-06:00

My favorite picture of all time. My mom and the grandkiddos.

Neti pot!!!

One of too many nights of insanity at Ryan's.

Yard sale at Amber and Tyler's. Don't know whose van that was, or why we were documenting our (their) butts for posterity.

After we went tubing under the road. Our version of tubing included a giant piece of cardboard instead of an actual tube. And mud. And not bothering to actually put on swim suits.

Me and little Melissa. I'm not sure why she doesn't have a shirt on.

My birthday 2005, after a little cake fight.

Trying to force niece number one to take a "nice" picture with Aunt Kimmie. President's Day Weekend 2007.

cheeriness

2010-12-08T11:07:00.001-06:00

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

worst blogger ever

2010-12-08T01:34:00.003-06:00

I don't know what's happened; I used to be so great at blogging! Sigh. I need some inspiration. Oh well, here are some nuggets:

A client told me yesterday that she was going to send me to the Obama White House and have me taped to the Christmas tree there. I'm not entirely sure what she meant by that, but I don't think it was good.
I made the same client cry twice later in the evening because I made her do her laundry. I should feel bad about this, but I don't.
I have now gotten all of my coworkers but one hooked on Veronica Mars. I've also begun indoctrinating the clients as well. It's a sickness.
I just bought a Berkshire Fluffie blanket and it's awesome. This is possibly too much information (not that that's ever stopped me before!), but I just want to wrap up in it naked because it feels that amazing. You need to get one.
My new obsession is buying used movies off of Amazon. I can usually get them for about 4 bucks and since that's about how much it would cost to rent them at Blockbuster, I'm buying stuff I have and haven't seen. None of them fit in my PO box though, so the post office lady has to do her job and hand them off to me. I think she's getting irritated.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno is on. I love Justin Long in this movie.

That's all I've got for now. Oh, and Cary, I know this will make your day-I've finally found my set of Table Topics, so start looking forward to more Q&A's!

Sarah Palin's Alaska

2010-11-22T15:12:00.002-06:00

Are you watching Sarah Palin's Alaska on TLC on Sunday nights? I'm a little bitter about it. It has made me actually start to like Sarah Palin. Now I'm not saying I want her to run my country, but I am saying I would be pleased to continue to watch her club fish to death and then gut them.

the forecast

2010-11-22T11:12:00.004-06:00

Nothing gets you in the mood for Thanksgiving like sub-zero temperatures!

what I've been up to

2010-11-17T11:51:00.003-06:00

Um . . . not much. Here are some tidbits; some exciting, most not:

We're doing a Thanksgiving dinner this weekend for the clients and their families. And when I say "we're doing a Thanksgiving dinner," I mean I'm coming in on my day off and will probably end up cooking most of it.
The weather here has been crazy. Yesterday morning, I was awoken at 6:30 am by what sounded like someone in my attic. Turns out it was super windy and really warm (relatively speaking), so the snow was sliding off the roof. Then, like two hours later, there were blizzard-like conditions. You could only see a couple feet in front of you. Then it got warm again and most of the snow melted. Then it got super cold and all my car doors and windows froze shut.
I just read sTORI Telling by Tori Spelling and it was so enjoyable that I read it in one evening whilst ignoring my clients.
Did you guys watch the Sarah Palin Alaska extravaganza on TLC last Sunday? What were your thoughts? I liked it, other than the fact that I felt like she was turning every single thing she said into a sound bite. Like the part when she was talking about the mama bear fighting for the future generation, or whatever. I think I would have liked the show better if it had just been about Alaska, and not the Palins. :)
I'm going to Ireland (and possibly England) next summer. I'm more excited for this trip than any other trip I've been on.
I have become obsessed with cereal. It is delicious.
I had an Aha Moment the other day when watching Oprah. It was the reunion show with the cast of The Color Purple, and as I was watching it I realized that my favorite color is purple and I was like holy crap! O.k., I didn't say it was a good Aha Moment, just that it was one!
Have you tried the new Suave Rosemary Mint shampoo and conditioner? It's amazing. It was on sale at Smith's the other day for $1.33 and I bought like twelve of them. (In case you were wondering, no, we don't have a Smith's here. I got them when I was in Idaho Falls, which is possibly my least favorite city on earth.)

Seriously?

2010-11-11T09:42:00.002-06:00

I think I have officially adjusted to life in Wyoming. I went outside this morning to go warm up the car and was amazed at how warm it was. Yeah, it's 17 degrees.

sick . . . sick . . .

2010-10-25T22:44:00.003-05:00

In addition to having a great time at the conference (see the last post) and learning a lot, I also picked up a nasty, little bug. I spent the entire weekend doing one of the following:

sleeping
trying desperately to breathe
trying desperately to swallow*
blowing my nose
shopping in Jackson (hey, I gotta go when I have time off!)

*Keep it clean, Edvalsons!

the conference

2010-10-25T22:12:00.004-05:00

I spent last week in Laramie with a bunch of the clients where I work, attending MEGA Conference. (I don't know what MEGA stands for, but it's always capitalized, so there you go.) In case you were wondering, the drive to Laramie is awful and ugly, and the city itself is a shit hole. (When I told my parents that description, they were not amused!) I do not like Laramie and I couldn't wait to get home. The conference was really good, though. They do it every year and it's for people with disabilities, as well as their caregivers and family members.

There's a keynote speaker every morning and then breakout sessions. The keynote speaker this year was actually the same guy on both days, but he talked about different topics. Anyway, this guy was awesome (and super hot!). His name is Kevin Connolly and he was born without legs. If you've never heard of him, you can check out his website here, his photography work here, and his YouTube videos here.

I went with the clients to their sessions, so we learned about fire safety, voting (which was good, since sadly I have never voted), how words can hurt, and some other ones I can't remember off the top of my head. My favorite, other than the keynote speaker, was the session on how words can hurt. They had several people with disabilities get up and talk about bullying and how people have treated them in the past. They also then talked about the support that they have received from people around them and how little things can make a difference. It was really touching.

The last night of the conference we went to a banquet and dance. I wanted to avoid the dance because I have an insane fear of public dancing, but I ended up kind of participating. You see, one of the clients has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. It took a while for her to want to get out on the dance floor, but when they finally played some music she liked, she asked me to take her out there. I helped her dance for about an hour and a half and it was amazing. Her favorite person in the whole world is Martina McBride, and when they played "Independence Day", this girl danced her heart out (meaning she moved her arms around 'cause that's pretty much all she can do), and sang every word. The look on her face was one of pure happiness. I will be the first to admit that it made me cry a little. We tend to think of these people as being handicapped and forget that they're people first. It was really awesome to see all of them out there dancing, having a great time, and not worrying for even a second about how they look or if they're doing it "right". Seriously-it was awesome!

So, all in all, I had a great time, despite the conference being in Laramie. It was really eye-opening and a little (actually a lot) humbling to be around so many people with disabilities. During these past couple of months I've learned to see the person first, and not their disability. In the past, if I have ever encountered someone with a disability, I didn't know how to act, so I avoided them. Now I think I would feel comfortable being my normal, friendly self (hahaha!) and interacting with them. I think about the number of people I've met that have been rude or snobby or whatever, compared with the number of people with disabilities that I've met that have been rude (a big, fat zero!) and I wonder who really has the disability. Huh . . . that was really profound! Hopefully you didn't skip this blog post because it was long, 'cause that means you totally missed out on that little nugget of wisdom!

Grrrrr . . .

2010-10-15T14:25:00.003-05:00

I went to get my Wyoming driver's license today and since I wasn't born in the USA, I couldn't get it without my birth certificate or passport. Nevermind that I have a valid Utah driver's license and wasn't required to have anything extra when I got it. Grrrr. Plus, the DMV here is only open on Thursdays and Fridays and apparently there's only one person who works there. And the line was long. And I was stuck behind an old guy with an oxygen tank.

here's what's been going on . . .

2010-10-11T09:51:00.004-05:00

Work, work, work.
And when I'm not working, I've been enjoying these new tv shows:

(Sister Wives on TLC-more on my thoughts about this show later.)

I've also been watching and rewatching my niece, Sariah, preparing for when she turns 18 and can audition for So You Think You Can Dance.

I've also been obsessively listening to these songs:

I've also (since last night) been wanting to make this cake.
I've also been spending a good deal of time avoiding deer in the road. I saw 24 on Saturday and 17 yesterday.
Oh yeah, and I've also been enjoying views like this:

(None of these pictures are my own. So sorry if you are the person I stole them from. Nice picture-taking, though!)

randoms

2010-09-28T11:56:00.004-05:00

It's sad how excited I get on Saturdays when it's time to go pick up our produce basket. Unpacking it is seriously the highlight of my day. This week we got bananas, apples, Asian pears, green plums, peaches, onions, acorn squash, celery, broccoli, romaine lettuce, grapes, and okra. I also ordered the Italian pack and in that we got red onions, garlic, basil, rosemary, flat-leaf parsley, zucchini, eggplant and mushrooms. I can't wait to cook.
Lorri and I went to Idaho Falls (The Big City) over the weekend to get stuff for the house. The whole time we were there I felt weird, like something was off and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Finally, as we were leaving, I figured out that there were no mountains. It was disconcerting and it's kind of weird that it bothered me so much. I guess the dominant feature in both Orem and Star Valley is the mountains and when you take them away, it's like taking my security blanket away or something.
It has been unseasonably warm here lately. Not hot, but like 80 degrees. When your morning starts off around 30 degrees, it's weird to be so warm during the day. I'm ready for it to cool off-I want my hoodie weather!
There's a conference for developmentally disabled people coming up in October that a bunch of the clients are going to, and I get to go with them. It should be fun. Laramie, here I come! I've never been to Laramie, but whenever I mention it to anyone up here, they laugh. That's probably not a good sign!!!
The Special Olympics are also coming up in October. The clients here are doing bowling and are super excited about it. I love how enthusiastic they are about pretty much everything in life. If ever you are depressed and need a quick shot of gratitude or joy, spend some time with someone who is handicapped or developmentally disabled. They definitely have their grumpy moments, but seeing their faces light up over something simple is pretty darn awesome. It's really hard to be in a bad mood after that.
I also love watching them try to figure things out. They have no poker face. You can see the wheels turning and sometimes it takes a little bit, but when they get it, it's like magic.

Say what?

2010-09-25T10:17:00.003-05:00

So you know how I've been at my job for less than a month? Well, I was just promoted and am now in charge. I'm happy to see that someone (other than myself) realizes just how fabulous I am!

Why I love Star Valley

2010-09-22T23:14:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know these could totally apply to a plethora of other locations, but I don't care. Leave me alone, I'm tired (see previous post)!!!

There are no traffic lights for miles.
There is no mail delivery-you have to have a PO Box. You would think this would be a negative, but I hate having to check the mail every day and I always worry that the postman is going to yell at me for letting the mail pile up, and I also worry about leaving important information out there for somebody to steal. If you have a PO Box, they don't care, and no one can steal your stuff.
My town has a population of 431 people. I guess it's actually 433 now. You know how I feel about large amounts of people, right?
Everywhere I go is within two blocks of my house. Since I moved here a month ago, I've only had to buy gas once.
I love it when the farmers have been cutting hay and then it rains. The smell is divine.
It's much more casual here. I barely wear make-up or do my hair anymore and I don't feel bad about that for even a second.
It's really easy to get to know people in a small town. There are only so many people to talk to.
Because it's so small and everyone knows everyone, there's always help available if you need anything. I was checking the oil in my car one time at the gas station and there was almost instantaneously a guy wanting to help me and then another lady was checking to make sure everything was o.k.
It's just plain gorgeous up here. At least every other day, if not every day, I think to myself, "Holy crap, I actually get to live here." I usually don't use the word crap, though.
For some reason, life is more calm here. Even when I'm working 80 hours a week, I still feel far less stress being here than in Utah.
You can leave your car running here when you run into the gas station and not worry that someone will steal it. I don't actually do this because I still have that "big city" mentality from living in Orem. :)
There are lots of cowboys here. Let's take a moment to picture in our minds the tight Wranglers. Yes, life is good here!

I guess to be fair, I should list the reasons why I don't like living here.

There's only one grocery store in town and it's small.
The cell service sucks at my house, so we had to get a landline. When they hooked it up they switched the lines with someone else in town and they still haven't fixed it, two days later. When Kylie's (whomever she may be) grandma called last night, Lorri had to explain to her that she needed to call our phone number instead of Kylie's. Hopefully it will be fixed soon, but according to Kylie's grandma, we shouldn't count on it.
Freakin' tourists! I've only been here a month and I'm already sick of them. Well, to be fair, I'm mostly just bothered by the ones that arrive by the busload. They descend on the gas station (I go to the gas station a lot for beverages), make a mess and then complain that the coffee isn't as good as Starbucks. Well no shit, Sherlock! You're in the middle of Wyoming . . . at a gas station. What do you expect?
If you want to buy clothes here your options are basically the Family Dollar or the consignment store. This should maybe go on the list of good things, considering my issues with shopping.

I'm sure as I live here longer (and spend a winter here), I'll find other things that bug me, but for right now, I'm loving it. Life is pretty darn good these days.

tired . . . tired . . .

2010-09-22T22:59:00.002-05:00

I apologize in advance if this is not an upbeat, funny post, but I'm tired. Things at work have been crazy and I've been picking up extra shifts right and left. It's only Wednesday and when I finish my shift tonight, I will have already worked over 50 hours this week. For someone who was used to working a maximum of like 10 hours per week at BYU, this has been interesting. Fortunately, for the next two days, instead of working from 9 am until midnight, I'm only working from 4 until midnight. I've been thinking the last couple of days about how exciting it will be to sleep in tomorrow morning, but then I remembered that the cable guy is coming tomorrow morning to finally set up our cable. So yeah.

Fruit Crisp

2010-09-16T16:21:00.002-05:00

Chop up a bunch of fruit (if it's juicy fruit, mix in a little flour) and dump it in a cake pan. Mix up some flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in some butter until it's chunky. Spread it on top of the fruit. Bake at 350ish until it's brown on top. That's a stupid direction-the mixture is brown already. Bake it until it's even more browned and looks done. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Sorry this isn't a more clear recipe, I just make it without thinking. It's a great way to get rid of extra fruit. Last night I used apples, nectarines and plums. My favorite, though, is rhubarb. I also always make about twice as much of the crisp part because that's my favorite. For the crisp part, I would say I probably use equal parts of flour and brown sugar, and then two parts of oatmeal. Actually, maybe one and a half parts of brown sugar. I don't know. Just make it however you like it!

Beef Taquitos

2010-09-16T16:16:00.002-05:00

1 lb. ground beef
1 c. salsa
1. c. grated cheese
flour tortillas

Brown the hamburger, then add in the salsa and cheese. Put about 1/2 cup of the mixture in a flour tortilla and roll it up. Line them up on a greased cookie sheet, then bake them at 425 degrees until they're golden brown.

****I think this would also be good with shredded chicken and with enchilada sauce and cheese on top.

Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

2010-09-16T16:12:00.003-05:00

3 tomatillos, peeled and quartered
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. sour cream
1 pkg. dry Ranch dressing mix
1 c. fresh chopped cilantro
6 green onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 T. sugar
1 jalepeno (How on earth do you get the little squiggly over the n?)

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Chill for 1 hour.

****I was eating it with a spoon before I chilled it and it was delicious. Had I not been serving it for dinner, I may have started drinking it right out of the food processor bowl. I've made other Cafe Rio knock-off recipes, and this is far and away the best. I also drizzled it over a slice of pizza and it was awesome. I'm pretty sure you could drizzle this stuff over anything and it would be amazing.

Green Poblano Rice

2010-09-16T16:06:00.002-05:00

1 2/3 c. chicken broth
2 poblano peppers
12 springs cilantro
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. oil
1 c. rice
1 small onion, diced
5 garlic cloves

Combine broth and peppers in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and simmer on medium for 10 minutes. Pour into a food processor. Add cilantro and puree. Add salt. Heat oil in the same saucepan on medium. Add rice and onions. Cook and stir for about 5 minutes, or until the rice looks chalky. Add the garlic and cook for a minute longer. Add the poblano liquid and cook until the rice is done.

*** The directions said to strain the poblano liquid, but I wanted the extra color and flavor, so I didn't. I also added fresh corn partway through cooking the rice and a little bit of extra liquid because the poblano mixture didn't seem like enough liquid for the rice.

Who knew?

2010-09-16T16:01:00.002-05:00

So apparently all it took to get me out of my blogging funk was some delicious food. I should have known! Last night we had a "Use Up All of the Leftover Produce from the Produce Basket" dinner. I made beef taquitos, Cafe Rio tomatillo dressing, poblano rice and an apple, plum and nectarine crisp. It was all delicious and I am now referring to this meal as my get a husband meal because I'm pretty sure that any guy who eats this will quickly fall under my spell. Or at least his stomach will.

*I'm posting the recipes separately so that when I click on the recipes category, they'll show up individually instead of in a post called "Who knew?"

so . . .

2010-09-14T13:55:00.004-05:00

Apparently when I moved to Wyoming, I left my desire to blog in Utah. Admittedly, I've been super busy with work (yesterday I worked from 9am until 1:30, and then 3:30 until 8 this morning), so I haven't had a ton of time, but the truth is, I just don't really care anymore. Hopefully that feeling will go away soon because I do kinda miss it. So until I get back into the swing of things, here are a couple of pictures to tide you over . . .

The place that I work gets produce baskets every week from Bountiful Baskets. Since I go to pick theirs up, I decided to just go ahead and get my own. For 15 bucks, I got honeydew, butternut squash, corn on the cob, tomatoes, bananas, grapes, apples, plums, nectarines, cabbage, romaine lettuce, avocados, mushrooms and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. We also added on the Mexican Pack and for $7.50 we got tomatillos, garlic, onions, limes, jalapenos, and poblano peppers. (You best be believin' I'm going to be making some Cafe Rio tomatillo salad dressing!) This company operates in several states in the area, so I would highly recommend that you check them out. They do this year-round and it's a great deal.

A couple of weeks ago we took the clients to Kemmerer to visit the people who live in another company-owned house down there. Here they are playing at the park there. It was a great park, btw. Should you ever be unfortunate enough to find yourself in Kemmerer, make sure you check out the park.

awesome blossom, extra awesome

2010-09-08T22:32:00.004-05:00

So my friend wrote a viewpoint for the BYU newspaper and now there's drama. All I have to say is way to go, Cary!

UPDATE: Here is BYU's reasoning for taking down the viewpoint. I'm not sure what they considered "offensive content." Would any opposing viewpoint be considered offensive? Do they not screen letters, viewpoints, etc., for offensiveness before printing them? I find quite a few of the letters to the editor in the Daily Universe to be offensive, but I am also mature enough to realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so I just roll my eyes and move on. I would certainly never censor someone else's thoughts. What makes this country great is that we can have differing viewpoints and open topics up for debate without fear of censure or retribution. Or is that just wishful thinking?

my new best friend

2010-09-07T21:38:00.003-05:00

This is my new best friend. She's our neighbor's dog and I have decided she needs to be mine. She's the sweetest thing and she just sits at the front door, waiting for me to come back outside. We have one of those outer doors that would probably normally have a screen, but it's Wyoming, so it's glassed in. I finally had to close the inner, wooden door because she just sits there looking all sad, wanting someone to give her some loves. It always gets me and I end up going outside to pet her for a while. It's possible that I occasionally let her inside.

so sweet

2010-08-18T18:34:00.001-05:00

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

words can't describe this

2010-08-17T18:54:00.000-05:00

change of plans

2010-08-17T16:48:00.003-05:00

So I'm no longer moving to Georgia. Now I'm moving to Wyoming. I went up there to job hunt yesterday and got the call today that I got the job I wanted. I have to be there Thursday (as in two days from now!) to get fingerprinted and take a drug test, and then I start Friday. I'm going to be working with handicapped people, specifically a married couple who have Down Syndrome. They're high functioning, so I basically just need to supervise and plan activities. (Last weekend they went to Yellowstone!) I think this will be a great way to get to know the area, so I'm excited about that.

So yeah. This is a big change and it happened really fast. I made the decision a week ago and everything just kind of fell into place. Yay!

Q of the Day

2010-08-16T21:09:00.003-05:00

Q: What amendments should be made to the U.S. Constitution?
A: O.k., so I feel like admitting this may possibly qualify me for an appearance on the Jaywalking segment of The Tonight Show, but I'm not entirely sure of what an amendment is. I mean I know they give us the right to free speech, to bear arms, provide a limit for Presidential terms, etc., etc., but I don't know what would qualify something to be an amendment to the Constitution as opposed to being a federal law. So instead of listing what amendments I would like to see made, I'm just going to list what laws/things I would like to see enacted. Some of these may qualify for amendment status, who knows. And yes, I know some of these would require lots of money and are not in any way realistic.

Legalize gay marriage.
Harsher penalties for people who abuse animals and children.
A ban on inhumane factory farming.
Rehab instead of jail time for first and second time drug offenses. (Unless they're trafficking or cooking meth or something like that.) And not the Lindsay Lohan version of rehab!
A complete revamp of the public school system.
Get rid of Monsanto and other like companies.
Ban reality t.v. unless it's educational. (Yes, I know I watch it and I'm a hypocrite!)
Make every student in junior high and high school do a challenge day.

Alright, those are just a few. Basically I would just like for people to not be jerks and not do mean things.

Q of the Day

2010-08-13T21:47:00.003-05:00

Q: Would you stop eating all junk food to live 5 years longer?
A: Hellz no!

Table Topics

2010-08-12T11:18:00.004-05:00

I was discussing blogging with some friends last night and realized that everyone likes something different and I can't please everyone. What Emily liked, Betsy didn't like and vice versa. I also realized that I've run out of things to blog about. Fortunately, I then remembered that a year ago I bought Table Topics and the cards are perfect blogging prompts. So here's the deal: I'm going to answer a question each day (theoretically) and it would be awesome if everyone would answer the question in the comments section too, so that we can all get to know each other better. Here goes:

Q of the Day: What kind of business would you love to start?
In a dream world, I would like to be a writer and start a multi-media empire in which I write wildly successful books, movies, tv shows, etc. However, in the world of reality I realize that probably won't happen, so my more realistic dream business is a catering company. I love to cook but I also want the flexibility that you don't get from being a chef in a restaurant. Catering would be a ton of hard work, but I think it would also be really rewarding. I just want to do something creative. I don't get near enough creativity in my every day life. Plus, I've also been told I'm good with my hands. Hehehe. (In case you couldn't tell, that was a lecherous hehehe!)

how technology has ruined me

2010-08-05T16:11:00.002-05:00

My attention span is teetering on the verge of extinction. If your story is longer than the length of a sound bite, I lose interest.
I asked a friend the other day how he knew this other person and he said "Through my friend, Hunter." I assumed he was referring to some new social networking site called myfriendhunter.com. He was not.
As I'm going about my day, I always have my own personal soundtrack going in my head like on The Hills.
It used to be that the first thing I did when I woke up was go to the bathroom. Not any longer. Now I pick up the laptop laying on the floor and before I even get out of bed, I check my email.
Checking my email is also the very last thing I do before going to sleep. See that list of books I've read this year that's over on the sidebar of my blog? It's never updated because I never read before going to bed anymore.
My thoughts now come in 140 characters or less, despite the fact that I never update my Twitter.
Nothing happens without me thinking about how I can turn it into a blog entry.

There's been research that says that the brains of today's children are being wired differently than ours were, due to today's technology. I'm pretty sure that my brain is starting to rewire itself as well and that's a little frightening!

more randoms . . .

2010-08-04T20:11:00.003-05:00

Have you seen "If You Really Knew Me" on MTV? Wow, this is one of the most touching and uplifting t.v. shows I have seen in recent history. Last night's episode had me sobbing.
It's once again Shark Week and I could not take my eyes off of these Top 10 Shark Attack Videos. I didn't know if I'd even be able to make it through the first clip without being traumatized, but then I ended up being mesmerized and had to watch all of them. There's one of a guy who kissed a shark and it bit his lips. He's an idiot.
If you have kids or ever plan on having kids, or if you are ever around kids, you must watch this TED talk about creativity. There's also a second follow-up talk. This guy is awesome.
I haven't even graduated yet, but the alumni association is already hitting me up for money.
I am loving this insane rainy weather we're having. Well, except for around 4:30 this morning when the crazy loud thunder woke me up.

some stuff

2010-08-03T21:41:00.003-05:00

27 days from now I will be on my way to Georgia.
I'm still obsessed with Veronica Mars and still plan on telling you exactly why you should watch this show. In the meantime, I am getting people hooked on it one person at a time.
In the case of my sister in-law, I'm getting her hooked, then taking the DVD's with me when I return to Utah. Sorry about that and I hope you found them at the library.
I have discovered the joys of Luxe Lavender nail polish.
I have also discovered the joys of coconut M&M's. In addition to being delicious, they also have a lovely color scheme of brown, green and white. They make me want to decorate something in those colors.
Some friends are throwing a going away party for me and I am extremely concerned that no one is going to show up.
Did you hear about the two-legged lamb?
I'm sad that I only get to hang out with my co-workers (the ones that don't irritate me) for a few more weeks.
"Cold Hearted Snake" by Paula Abdul is playing in my iTunes. I love shuffle.
I just bought this and this.
I'm selling my freezer. It's a 21.1 cubic feet Gibson. Any takers?
I'm also willing to sell just about anything I own because I don't want to haul it with me across the country. Email me if you want something, anything.
It has been brought to my attention that no one has heard of any of my songs of the day, except for when I'm all excited about discovering a new song that everyone else has apparently already heard and loved. Sorry about that. It's because I choose to educate myself musically instead of allowing myself to be force fed music by the radio stations. No, not really. I just hate having to switch stations all the time to avoid listening to commercials. So basically, it's because I'm lazy and would rather just push play on my iPod.

Oopsies!

2010-07-28T19:05:00.002-05:00

As you may have noticed, my Veronica Mars week was kind of a failure. Sigh. Life got in the way and now I have the blog blahs and this is the best I can do for a post. Hopefully I will be inspired soon and you will be inundated with post after post after post. In the meantime, go rent Veronica Mars so that we can discuss it and hopefully I'll be back soon!

Reason #2 to watch Veronica Mars

2010-07-20T18:20:00.004-05:00

It's sick how good the music on this show is. Here are a few of my favorites (top picks are "I Hear the Bells", "Sway", "Feel So Free" and "The Edge of the Ocean"):

And then there's "Momentary Thing" by Something Happens. Awesome song, but unfortunately it wasn't available through Playlist.com and most of the YouTube videos for it will spoil certain Veronica Mars storylines, so here's a random Joan of Arcadia themed video that includes the song:

Reason #1 to watch Veronica Mars

2010-07-19T23:10:00.003-05:00

These reasons are in no particular order, but this one is definitely near the top of my list. There's this character named Dick Casablancas and even just a look or one word from him makes me happy. He's hilarious or, more specifically, the dialogue on Veronica Mars is hilarious, especially when it comes from him. He's my Dad's favorite character too. I think we all cheer a little bit on the inside when he comes on screen.

One of my favorite Dick Casablancas (I have problems with not including his last name!) scenes. His fraternity is accused of raping women and he's asking Veronica for help proving they didn't do it.

And another video dedicated to the genius that is Dick Casablancas. My personal favorite moment comes at 2:22ish.

my new obsession

2010-07-18T21:43:00.005-05:00

So I recently discovered Veronica Mars and I'm completely obsessed. I watched all 3 seasons by myself, then got my parents hooked on it and rewatched all 3 seasons with them. Then I bought all 3 seasons on DVD (we had previously rented them). And then I found this awesome website that lists all the music from the episodes, and I downloaded all the music. So yeah, I'm slightly obsessed. In fact, I even bought the first season of Party Down, based solely upon the fact that it's from the same people that did Veronica Mars and has a bunch of the same people in it. (It is also awesome, by the way.) If you have never seen Veronica Mars, I would highly recommend that you check it out. The WB website rotates through the 3 seasons, so you can currently watch seasons 1 and 2 here. And also, if you have seen it, why is it that you never told me about it and I had to discover it on my own?

As you may have noticed, I've had nothing to blog about lately, so for the next little bit, I'm going to post on my favorite things about this show, in hopes that I'll convince you to go watch it. (Yes, I know I have no life!) For starters, here's a little promo clip for the show from Comic-Con:

song of the day

2010-06-30T23:00:00.003-05:00

Muse-Uprising

I heard this song for the first time literally about five minutes ago and it stopped me in my tracks. I was seriously mesmerized. I had to immediately figure out who and what it was because it was imperative that I possess it ASAP.

love it

2010-06-30T11:19:00.001-05:00

Just for you, Ambular!

2010-06-26T23:14:00.002-05:00

Dear Amber (everyone else, please feel free to ignore this post),

I read this article and immediately thought of you and this classic moment from Saved by the Bell.

Sincerely,
Kim

P.S. Where did we get Munther from? I've forgotten.

more sassy gay friend

2010-06-25T20:21:00.000-05:00

I didn't think this one was as good. They seriously need to do Bella from Twilight.

interesting idea

2010-06-25T10:44:00.003-05:00

Immigrant farm workers' challenge: Take our jobs

By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer Juliana Barbassa, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 24, 5:42 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – In a tongue-in-cheek call for immigration reform, farm workers are teaming up with comedian Stephen Colbert to challenge unemployed Americans: Come on, take our jobs.

Farm workers are tired of being blamed by politicians and anti-immigrant activists for taking work that should go to Americans and dragging down the economy, said Arturo Rodriguez, the president of the United Farm Workers of America.

So the group is encouraging the unemployed — and any Washington pundits or anti-immigrant activists who want to join them — to apply for the some of thousands of agricultural jobs being posted with state agencies as harvest season begins.

All applicants need to do is fill out an online form under the banner "I want to be a farm worker" at http://www.takeourjobs.org, and experienced field hands will train them and connect them to farms.

According to the Labor Department, three out of four farm workers were born abroad, and more than half are illegal immigrants.

Proponents of tougher immigration laws have argued that farmers have become used to cheap labor and don't want to raise wages enough to draw in other workers.

Those who have done the job have some words of advice for applicants: First, dress appropriately.

During summer, when the harvest of fruits and vegetables is in full swing in Central Valley, temperatures hover in the triple digits. Heat exhaustion is one of the reasons farm labor consistently makes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' top ten list of the nation's most dangerous jobs.

Second, expect long days. Growers have a small window to pick fruit before it is overripe.

And don't count on a big paycheck. Farm workers are excluded from federal overtime provisions, and small farms don't even have to pay the minimum wage. Fifteen states don't require farm labor to be covered by workers compensation laws.

Any takers?

"The reality is farmworkers who are here today aren't taking any American jobs away. They work in often unbearable situations," Rodriguez said. "I don't think there will be many takers, but the offer is being made. Let's see what happens."

To highlight how unlikely the prospect of Americans lining up to pick strawberries or grapes, Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" plans to feature the "Take Our Jobs" campaign on July 8.

The campaign is being played for jokes, but the need to secure the right to work for immigrants who are here is serious business, said Michael Rubio, supervisor in Kern County, one of the biggest ag producing counties in the nation.

"Our county, our economy, rely heavily on the work of immigrant and unauthorized workers," he said. "I would encourage all our national leaders to come visit Kern County and to spend one day, or even half a day, in the shoes of these farm workers."

Hopefully, the message will go down easier with some laughs, said Manuel Cunha, president of the California grower association Nisei Farmers League, who was not a part of the campaign.

"If you don't add some humor to this, it's enough to get you drinking, and I don't mean Pepsi," Cunha said, dismissing the idea that Americans would take up the farm workers' offer.

California's agriculture industry launched a similar campaign in 1998, hoping to recruit welfare recipients and unemployed workers to work on farms, he said. Three people showed up.

"Give us a legal, qualified work force. Right now, farmers don't know from day to day if they're going to get hammered by ICE," he said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "What happens to my labor pool?"

His organization supports AgJobs, a bill currently in the Senate which would allow those who have worked in U.S. agriculture for at least 150 days in the previous two years to get legal status.

The bill has been proposed in various forms since the late 1990s, with backing from the United Farm Workers of America and other farming groups, but has never passed.

I am currently enjoying . . .

2010-06-08T18:38:00.003-05:00

The Seventeen Magazine Project
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
The FURminator (Seriously-if you have a pet, you need this.)
Being outside (Yes, Traci, my deck does count as the great outdoors!!!)
Tootsie Rolls
Hoppipolla by Sigur Rós
Masterpiece Classic's adaptation of Little Dorrit
the countdown for the season finale of Glee tonight

Newsies + Gaga = Awesome

2010-06-07T17:09:00.000-05:00

Hey you guuuuuuys!!!!

2010-06-07T09:37:00.002-05:00

Today is the 25th anniversary of The Goonies!!!

several things . . .

2010-06-05T23:06:00.004-05:00

I just got an ice cream maker and I'm obsessed with sorbet. I've just been making a simple syrup and blending it with fruit. I've done blackberry and cherry so far. Blackberry was better, but both were really good.
Dinner tonight was delicious-grilled veggies and shrimp. We did leeks, peppers, zucchini, squash and cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes were awesome.
Just watched Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. It was cute and surprisingly funny.
I can't believe the season finale of Glee is this week. I hate it when there's a huge break in the middle of the season; it makes the second half seem ridiculously short.
Speaking of, in the last episode, when that horrible person, Jesse St. James, egged Rachel, I may have gotten a little teary. That was just taking mean to a new level.
I'm on a country music kick. I can't get enough of this song. Or this one.
These next couple of months before I move are going to kill me. I'm obsessing about it and time is just not moving fast enough.
I randomly went to Wyoming this week for a night. If ever you are going to be really sick or need medical attention, I would suggest that you do it at St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. It was the nicest hospital I have ever seen. No worries, though, I wasn't a patient, I was visiting a friend.
I'm giving up soda. Again.
I've been behaving completely out of character lately and spending time outside. And not only spending time outside, but actually enjoying the great outdoors. And by great outdoors, I mean sitting on the deck in our backyard. Baby steps.

The owls!!!!!

2010-05-27T11:07:00.002-05:00

5 Lovable Animals You Didn't Know Are Secretly Terrifying (Warning: contains swears, so don't click if you can't handle it.)

a quote

2010-05-24T09:07:00.002-05:00

"Never explain. Everyone is far too full of their own private worries and fears. They'll take you for granted as long as you just seem sure of yourself. It's a great mistake ever to say anything when you needn't."

I saw this quote from Agatha Christie on Facebook and I think it needs to become my new life philosophy. I don't know if you've noticed, but I tend to feel the need to explain everything, even if it's something that wouldn't have been noticed had I not decided to explain it. I would explain further, but I'll just leave it at that. :)

traumatized

2010-05-20T23:01:00.003-05:00

I just finished watching Grey's and it was the most intense episode of any show that I have ever seen. I was in shock and traumatized seriously every ten minutes or so. I won't even discuss the amount of tears shed. If there is anyone else out there who watched it, please let me know so that as soon as my heart rate goes back to normal, we can discuss.

mascara running down my face

2010-05-19T15:38:00.002-05:00

I just discovered this little clip and darn near died laughing. NPH and Jason Segel doing Les Mis. Pure genius.

The Maltese Falcon (AFI #23)

2010-05-19T11:53:00.003-05:00

This was not my favorite of the AFI movies. I only made it through the whole thing because I started reading my book like half an hour in. So I guess technically, I only really watched the first half hour and the last fifteen minutes. I just couldn't get in to it. I didn't care at all about the characters or what happened to them. I thought the acting kinda sucked (although Humphrey Bogart was o.k.) and I thought Peter Lorre was distracting. So . . . this wasn't the worst (remember Yankee Doodle Dandy?), but it definitely was not the best.

Side note: Every time I watch a movie in black and white, I spend an inordinate amount of time wondering what the costumes and set really looked like. Did they use specific colors for the way they looked in black and white? Did they use clothes that maybe clashed or looked garish in real life, but look good on screen?

feeling music

2010-05-19T11:26:00.002-05:00

Here are a couple of songs that when they come on, I have to stop what I'm doing, close my eyes, and just feel the music. I know that sounds weird, don't make fun! But really, can't you just see me sitting in my room with my eyes closed, "feeling" the music!!!

1. Ennio Morricone-Theme from The Mission

2. Yanni-Aria

3. A R Rahman-Latika's Theme (from Slumdog Millionaire)

4. Garry Schyman-Praan (otherwise known as the music from the Where the Hell is Matt? video)

P.S. These songs also possibly make me tear up just a little bit.

song of the day and a nugget of a story

2010-05-17T12:08:00.005-05:00

Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) by Shakira. It's the official song of the 2010 World Cup. And, because I think I might actually like this version better (which tends to be the case with most Shakira songs), here's the Spanish version . . .

And since we're on a Shakira kick, here's Gitana. I love this song because when my family lived in Spain I would go around singing about how I was a gitana (a gypsy). I would also try to sell flowers to the tourists in the park because that's what the gypsies did and I really wanted to be one. Sadly, due to my American citizenship (although I wasn't actually born here, a fact which could indeed further my goal) and non-nomadic lifestyle, I fear that dream will never be realized.

this made me cry

2010-05-15T10:33:00.001-05:00

and then I had to go watch this again . . .

and then go cuddle with my dogs.

my new obsession

2010-05-14T23:59:00.005-05:00

The soundtrack to In the Heights is one of those albums where the first time I heard it, I wondered how it could possibly have been in existence without me knowing about it. I keep listening to it over and over again and I'm still amazed by it. Seriously . . . why have I just now found out about this music???

The Philadelphia Story (AFI #51)

2010-05-14T23:44:00.004-05:00

I had watched Rear Window shortly before watching this movie with my parents, and we all agreed that Grace Kelly may be gorgeous to look at, but if we had to choose between them, Katharine Hepburn's spunkiness would win out every time. She's fantastic in a movie full of fantastic actors. Cary Grant is, as always, well . . . how do you describe him other than he's Cary Grant?!? He doesn't need a description, Cary Grant is the description. Jimmy Stewart (I can't call him James, it sounds wrong.) is hilarious, although I have to say, he (and everyone else) was upstaged by the little sister pretty much every time she came on the screen.

Letters to Juliet

2010-05-14T23:34:00.003-05:00

Loved this movie. Vanessa Redgrave is just . . . wow. I want to be like her when I'm older.

Jasmine Coconut Rice with Mango

2010-05-14T23:29:00.002-05:00

1 cup uncooked Soft Jasmine Rice (or long grain)
1 can Coconut Milk
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 mango

Cover rice with cold water and rinse. Repeat until the water runs clear, about 3 times, and drain. In a medium saucepan bring 1 and 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Add the rice and stir briefly. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the water is absorbed. In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, sugar and salt. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Pour the boiled coconut milk into the cooked rice. Stir well. Cover top of rice directly with wax paper or aluminum foil. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Peel the mango and cut into slices or squares. Spoon the rice, or scoop with an ice cream server onto a serving platter and decorate with mango slices.

Recipe from here.

song of the day

2010-05-05T17:54:00.000-05:00

Nina Simone-Feeling Good