The smell of poop

In our home (which is really the bank's home, because we still have 29 years of payments to make), there was an odour. It's not uncommon for my TRAINED dog to leave us a fecal deposit when she decides she doesn't want to squat outside. We have been working very hard to make sure she gets out frequently, she just doesn't WANT to go outside. We live in the country and there are miles an miles of open fields in which she can run and poop, but the basement floor is simply more convenient. I take some solace in the fact that some famous people I have seen on television (the Osbourne's and Tori Spelling) also have dogs which do this to a much greater extent than our dog.

The other day it smelled BAD in our house which is the first indicator to me that Tora has pooped. So I took her to the door to force her outside - a little late I know - and when I opened the door the smell outside EXCEEDED the offending smell inside. Lucky for us, we live near a pig operation and the prevailing winds were from the northwest. We are directly in the path of pig poop odour. THEN, the farmers surrounding us decided that they would apply fresh manure to their fields. WOW. The smell is insane. The cold doesn't kill it and the 70 kmh winds we have had the past week have not dissipated it any quicker. ARG. The thing about this odour which is particularly offensive to me is the fact that I watched a special on PBS where they talked about smells and how a smell is really small particles of substance floating through the air and entering your nostrils. That's pig poop floating on the breeze. Particles of poop entering my nose. There was a time, when smells were so strong I thought it was a good idea to breathe through my mouth instead of my nose, so I didn't smell the grossness in the air. I no longer do that - since the thought of pig poop in my MOUTH is more offensive than pig poop in my nose.

I sure hope we don't have a winter of stink. Poor Tora took the blame (ONCE) for something she didn't do. I just don't know how to keep the outside smell out!

unconscious mutterings

Contemplate :: reflect
In the house :: warm
Classical :: music
Quest :: video games
Best friend :: BFF
1991 :: Long time ago, but some good music
Never will :: never say never (but I'll never eat lobster!)
Fool :: why do fools fall in love?
Unhappy :: pain
Best man :: My brother's and my dad

Friday Fill in

1. Right now, I'm feeling like I want this weekend to be over already.

2. Finished doing room assessments and in my bed is where I want to be.

3. How does one balance work life and home life when there's too much to be done?

4. My list of things to do keeps me on track.

5. Please don't make excuses for not following the residence rules.

6. Playing with my boys fills me with joy.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting done at work as EARLY as humanly possible while waiting on people to check out, tomorrow my plans include getting out of dodge and Sunday, I want to relax, but I have to work!

foster parent appreciation week

Apparently this week is foster parent appreciation week. We heard about it yesterday (Wednesday) when our foster parent support worker (whom has never visited our house) called and left a message saying that we were invited to a "tea" at the Provincial building where cookies and coffee and juice would be served.
I am feeling very appreciated.
It is almost as appreciated as I felt when I got my 5 year service award from my place of employment - in interoffice mail.
It's nice to feel needed.

ten on tuesday - ten favorite meals

I think I have actually posted something like this before, but I am happy to do it again. This week the topic on "ten on tuesday" is ten favorite meals.

1. When I was on my mission we would rely on church members for meals. For the most part in my mission this was very successful and we were fed well (we did eat some scary things still). One of the most memorable meals for me was prepared by an Iranian family who fed us Chelou Rice and Tadig. It was SOOOOOOOO yummy. I have never had it since, but one day I will find a way to try and recreate it. It is rice which is cooked with saffron and yogurt and the bottom of the rice makes a crust. It looks something like this:

2. From the Union Grill in Ogden, Spaghetti with browned butter and Mizithra. YUM.

3. From Ogden Pizzeria. Pizza. I have eaten all kinds of pizza from all different places and so far none of them have beaten the pizza from Ogden Pizzeria. My spouse and I would eat here and make plans on napkins. It is a "tradition" of ours to write on restaurant napkins.

4. Also on my mission, we had an appetizer of Artichoke hearts at one meal. (it is not typical to have appetizers for meals, but in one place we did!) I had never had artichoke hearts before and I was a little nervous to eat something that resembled a cactus to me, but I tried it out. Simply eating the artichoke dipped in butter was a great culinary experience.

5. I seem to be on a mission memory lane here, so either I ate good food on my mission and haven't eaten as well since, or as I prefer to think of it, there is a lot of good food in Seattle! We went to a restaurant, whose name I cannot remember but I am sure I could find it if I looked hard enough, and for dessert we had grilled peaches with whipping cream. It isn't something I would have picked off the menu and said "hey - this looks yummy" but the people who took us recommended it and I am glad they did. I would go back just for dessert.

6. My mom has three recipes which I LOVE. The first is Margie's Chicken and Nuts. I happen to really like my mom's cooking and I particularly like it now that i have moved away from home. When mom comes to visit I request these meals.

7. The second is Kedgeree. My mom says there really isn't a recipe for this and I suppose she is right. My spouse makes it and I enjoy it as much when she makes it as when my mom does. Basically it is just broiled haddock over rice. For someone who does not like seafood, I LOVE this dish. (It has been accused of being "bland" which I suppose it is.)

8. The last is one she started making after I left home but which I had in Singapore when I visited them there. It is called "chicken balls" and it is chicken wrapped in pastry with cream cheese, onions etc.

9. While I LOVE eating the tacos my spouse makes (mentioned below), we had a great meal at Diana's in Southern California. I have a bit of a Mexican food obsession.

10. Since moving to Canada my spousal unit and I have missed Mexican food TERRIBLY. We have had friends send us chorizo and corn tortillas in the mail so that we could cook for ourselves. A few years ago we went to San Francisco for my in-laws anniversary and we ate home made Mexican food EVERY day (Interspersed with El Pollo Loco). I was not sick of it at all, even though we had the opportunity to eat elsewhere, we declined in favor of home made tacos.

BONUS: Since I gave a few "home" recipes as favorite meals I am going to add two more. When I was in Singapore my family went to eat at a Thai restaurant and the meal was DIVINE. For dessert we had mango sticky rice and it was something to be remembered for sure. I am also a huge fan of thai fresh spring rolls. FRESH being the operative word. There was a restaurant in Ogden where we could get these and I did - as often as I could - and especially when I could take them to work and eat them in front of my co-workers as obscenely as I could.

25 months

Dear Max,
Wow, I don't know how the time has gotten away from me these past few months but it appears I have missed writing to you twice already. You are now a two year old and have entered this stage with fury. On your second birthday you woke up and promptly climbed out of your crib onto your change table where you got stuck and stood and called us until we came and saved you. I think you must not have liked the experience because (thankfully) you haven't done it again.
With all the time that has passed since I last wrote you would think I have a whole lot to say....
When you get up in the morning you walk with me to the back door when I leave for work. A few times you have been upset that I am leaving and it breaks my heart to close the door and walk away from you. I never thought that would happen to me!
Now that we have another little baby in the house your sensitive side has come shining through. You are so gentle with him and he is captivated by you. He watches everything you do and smiles at you constantly. You pat his back and put his soother in his mouth and are very loving with him. You rock him in his little chair, luckily you haven't yet rocked him OUT of his chair with your enthusiasm. When he arrived your mom got you a baby doll so that you would have your own "baby" to carry around and feed and burp etc. we thought it would help you to have your own baby, but you were completely uninterested in doing anything other than dragging it around by the head. Then when you were in the store with mom you picked up a stuffed tiger and you haven't put it down since. You carry it everywhere, try to feed it, you pat it's back and sleep with it, but it was the beginning of an amusing obsession with stuffed toys. Starting out with tiger you have now added to your menagerie a polar bear, a cat, and a dog. They ALL go everywhere with you and I have to pick them all up out of bed before you will get up in the morning and they all have to go with you in the van and to your naps and around the yard... everywhere. I now avoid walking you past any other stuffed animals because there soon will not be room in your crib for you!
Your mom called me at work the other day to say you had something to show me when I got home from work. When I walked in the door and you came around the corner I thought you had cut your own hair! That wasn't what your mom was talking about - she cut your hair (but I'm still telling people you did it!) - you found a hiding spot under the sink in the bathroom and think it is hilarious to hide under there and open the door and say 'HI!" when someone walks into the room.
I don't know if I mentioned your biting in the last letter I wrote to you. When you get very excited you bite. You don't do it often, and after the bite you gave me on my shoulder I have come to recognise the "bite approach" and avoid it. Poor Tora also recognises the bite approach. She isn't as fast moving as your ninja mommy and so she has been bitten a few times. So far she hasn't bitten you back, she really lets you do anything to her at all (including inspect her teeth and gums) but she is not a fan of the bite approach. I don't blame her.
Now that the weather has changed we have put away the fans in the quonset and relieved ourselves of your fan obsession. Not to be outdone, you now have an electricity obsession (to go with your phone and remote control obsession) and continually turn lights on and off and are drawn to anything which plugs in. We are trying to adapt, but you are hard to outdo! I am afraid I will never find the remotes if I put them in a place you can't think of.
Well bud. I will sign off for now.
I hope I have the strength to deal with you for the next 11 months you are a 2 year old. Be kind to your mommies!
Love mom

unconscious mutterings

Check out more unconscious mutterings participants by linking on the photo:

Magical :: mystery tour
Shrimp :: Bubba Gump
Project Runway :: haven't seen it
Economy :: Killed by George Bush
Porch :: Wrap around
State of affairs :: poor
.com :: Al Gore
Fifty cents :: not enough to buy anything
Ripping :: paper and throwing it all over the floor - as my son and spouse do for fun!
Bull :: Pukky

Friday Fill in

1. Follow the rules.
2. My toothbrush is something I always take with me on vacation.
3. To achieve your goals, you must have a goal to start with!
4. I work hard is something I'd like you to know about me.
5. I have a life.
6. According to Monty Pythonand the Holy Grail, witches (and wood) float.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting out of school, tomorrow my plans include Costco and Sunday, I want to nap!

Husband Meme

This is called the Husband meme and I took it from Emerald City Guy. It made me laugh when I saw it because when we came to Canada and had to fill out our marriage licence, I am listed as the "husband". Unfortunately Canadian forms are not changed at the same speed with which the laws are changed, so gay couples have to choose who will be the "husband" and who will be the "wife". I guess that's how many people think of us anyway!

What is her name? Spousal Unit
Who eats more? She drinks more Chocolate Milk and I eat more of everything else.
Who said I love you first? I'm sure it was me.
Who is taller? Moi - no matter how much she WANTS to be taller.
Who drives most when you are together? Actually, when we moved to Canada she couldn't drive so I drove all the time. Now I drive out of habit. She actually LIKES to drive more than me and I like to let her.
Who’s more sensitive? She absolutely is. I lack sensitivity.
Who does the laundry? She does, I try to help out, but don't do as much as I should.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Which is the right side? when we are in bed she is on my left.
Who pays the bills? I do, but just because I have reliable internet access from work.
Who cooks more? She does and I should do more. She is a great cook.
Who is more stubborn? OOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhh. I think we are equally stubborn.
Who is the first to admit they are wrong? She isn't wrong much. I'm wrong more, so I will say I own up to it more?
Who has more siblings? I do.
Who wears the pants? We both do, but I am more comfortable in a skirt than she is. She is the boss but lets me think I am. The pets all respond to her and completely ignore me. I think that says it all.
What do you like to do together? Look at houses, read, watch movies, go to the theater.
Who eats more sweets? I eat more of everything.
Guilty pleasures? A day in bed with good books and some movies. We haven't done this for a LONG time.
How did you meet? We met at work. I was "straight" and I thought she was dating a dude who turned out to be her gay friend.
Who asked whom out first? I held her hand one night, she asked me what it meant and I said I did NOT want a serious relationship. That was 12 years ago.
Who kissed first? I kissed her or it never would have happened.
Who proposed? I think I did.
His best features and qualities? She is very kind hearted. A hard worker and most of all she puts up with me.

6 Random things

My friend Ranavan tagged me on her blog to post 6 random things about myself.

Here are my 6....

1. I sleep with one hand above my head. If I am sleeping in a bed with a headboard I touch the headboard while I sleep. If I am in a bed without a headboard, I touch the wall.

2. I decided this week that my absolute FAVORITE sound is when my son giggles. He has lately started copying my spouse and I and when we laugh, he laughs aswell. It is super cute and funny. He thinks he is in on the joke.

3. I can (often) change my dreams as I am dreaming them. I used to have a recurring dream of falling and hitting the ground and one night I changed the ground into a pool and didn't crash upon impact.

4. I like to make lists. I have all kinds of lists. I like to check things off my lists. If I do something that wasn't on my original list I will add it so I can check it off.

5. I don't think I will ever be the kind of mother my mother was to me. She was/is amazing and I hope I can do for my children just a part of what she did/does for me.

Obviously I cannot count. Thanks Ranavan for pointing out my error and here is number 6!

6. Lately I have craved cheese and pickled onion sandwiches. I have one every night before bed.
My spouse - and the baby - are not fans of me eating pickled onions before bed.

ten on tuesday: ten bands that remind me of highschool

1. Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians: What I Am
2. Information Society: What's on your Mind
3. B 52's: Love Shack
4. Roxette: The Look
5. Fine Young Cannibals: She Drives me Crazy
6. Janet Jackson: Miss U Much
7. Def Leppard: Rocket
8. Aerosmith: Love in an Elevator
9. Billy Joel: We didn't Start the Fire
10.Bangles: Eternal Flame

National Coming Out Day

October 11th is National Coming Out Day.

I have no internet access at home, so I won't be posting on the 11th but I think it is an important day and wanted to say something about it.

I have been "out" for a long time. I live in a country where my relationship with my partner is acknowledged as a legitimate one by the government and we are able to be married. We are even able to jointly adopt our son - which we are getting closer and closer to each day.
A LOT has changed for homosexual people in the last decade, but unfortunately not enough.
There is still widespread misunderstanding, and even hatred towards gays and lesbians.

I try to live my life without regrets. When I was in university I was pretty involved with the student association. At one point I seriously considered running for student body president. At the time, I was BARELY acknowledging my own sexuality even though I was dating my now spouse. A lesbian woman at the school had singles me out as being gay and was bound and determined to "out" me. The constant badgering and comments to me compounded my insecurities and I made a decision that I regret and did NOT run for student body president because she was going to use me to advance her political beliefs about gays in the community. There is SO much emotion for individuals who are questioning - or even KNOW that they are gay and have to "come out" to family and friends. It is life changing. It can be devastating. Although I come from a very loving family it has even, sadly, changed the relationships in my life. I am lucky now to have a supportive spouse, supportive friends and some supportive family members.

It is sad that we STILL live in a day and age when being gay is an issue. That Clay Aiken - whom I totally laugh at - has to "make an announcement on a magazine" that he is gay.

I posted about Clay - and someone commented on my post "ha ha ha i was laughing my a** off when I read it on yahoo headlines, I was like yeah...so what's new! maybe (s)he realized that "she" prefer to be a mommy to "her" son." I was shocked at the response. Being gay has nothing to do with wanting to be the other sex.

This topic for me obviously is close to my heart and I could write about it for ever. I will just leave it at this....

If a loved one comes to you to tell you they are gay, that event is HUGELY significant in their life. Put down what you are doing and give them a hug. It can't be expressed the impact you will make in their life.

Friday Fill In

Check out more participants by clicking on the logo here:

1. One of the best concerts/plays/movies I ever saw that I really didn't think I'd like was Evita. (this one was difficult because if I don't think I will like something I typically don't watch it.)

2. Home made spaghetti is a meal I recently made (or meal I recently ordered) that was delicious! (we don't have a "recipe" for spaghetti but we eat it often. Sometimes it is really great and other times just "ok". I made a GREAT one last month. I wish I knew what I did.)

3. It's time for Canadian Thanksgiving.

4. A full night of sleep is quite refreshing.

5. If I never hear the word homework again, it'll be too soon.

6. To one side of the curving road was a mountainside, and on the other was a sheer drop off.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching tv shows I recorded last night, tomorrow my plans include taking a nap and Sunday, I want to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with my family!

wiper warmer

When I was living in the USA I had the opportunity with my spouse to look after a baby girl for one of my professors. we would go in the morning while our friend would teach and her husband was at work and we would look after her newborn.
It was an interesting experience for us, because our friend is a sociologist who has published a lot on the topics of gender and work and she has some very strong opinions which she shared in class. To see the way she lived in comparison to the beliefs she so strongly espoused in the classroom was a topic of mush discussion for my spouse and I, but that's not what i want to post about.
She had a diaper wipe warmer. Oh, I laughed. Who would have a warmer for diaper wipes? I thought it was an example of the extremes people will go to for their children. I thought it was silly.
Ten or more years later and now with children of my own. I would give just about anything for a diaper wipe warmer! In fact, If I can ever find one I will certainly buy it and if any of my friends have kids I will try to find one for them as a baby shower gift. These things ROCK and I have totally changed my mind about how silly they are. I have seen the error of my judgemental ways. Babies should not ever have to experience the numbing chill of frozen wipes. I think the incidences of parents getting urinated on would be reduced of more babies had warm wipes. The shock of cold has something to do with the spurt of pee we are constantly bathed in - I'm sure of it.

gripe water

A few weeks ago I made a comment about gripe water and Janet asked what it was.
I have been meaning to answer her, but I got sick, thought I was better but I got sick again, so I haven't come back to the question.
Gripe water is a "home remedy" for babies with colic or other gastric problems. You can buy it over the counter and you are supposed to give it to babies in a dropper to relieve gas pain. According to Wikipedia it is of questionable reliability. I know gripe water from when my younger siblings were born. I loved to dip my finger into the bottle. I don't think we have ever dispensed it through an eye dropper, we just dip the babies soother into it and then pop the soother into their mouths. Max wasn't such a fan of it, but CJ seems to like it.
It basically has bicarb, dill, and some other things in it. I love the taste of it and always have. it has proven to be something that works for us with CJ -but I am very clumsy in the middle of the night and I have knocked over more bottles than I can count. Watching it spill at 3am can bring a tear to my eye.

ten on tuesday: ten great/not great things about television

I am posting a day late this week, I have been feeling very flu-ish and haven't been online much. I wish I could just go to bed and sleep until I felt 100% but having a whole family of sick people does not make this possible. It would be great if we could ALL just go to bed.

Anyway, I hate missing ten on Tuesday so here in my addition a day late.

1. Great: PVR
Taping shows and being able to search them, forward through commercials etc is awesome.

2. Great: Grey's Anatomy. The writers and the actors of this show are fantastic. sometimes the story lines get a little too "fantastical". I mean how many times can Seattle have natural disasters, ferry crashes, snow storms? Thank goodness that global warming keeps all these disasters happening.

3. Great: Reality shows.
These are in my great and my not great list. I LOVE house hunters and restaurant shows. I will watch survivor every year even though they never seem to have new or different challenges or personalities, I can't get enough of it. I have been a fan of reality television since the very first season of Real World on MTV. Although "reality" is not what I consider to be "real" I have fun watching these shows. I also like watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 (except the beginning where they show her seriously distorted belly),

4. Great: Satellite
I love that I can watch the BBC and other networks that in days of yore I had no access to. Having more than 3 channels to surf through is loverly.

5. Not great: Dr. Phil
When this show first started I enjoyed it, I am certain I have even quoted the good doctor on some occasions. however as years went on I feel the show has deteriorated into a daytime equivalent of Jerry Springer. The people he has on as guests are just there to be made fools of and they are more and more outlandish as time passes. I used to think he was a straight shooter - telling people how it is. He no longer deals with people in the same way. I think getting an invite to be a guest on his show is a set up for public humiliation. He is a bully. A television version of Dr. Laura.

6. Not great. Reality Shows.
Really? The Kardashians, hulk hogan, etc. etc. etc. who cares? I will admit I watched Jessica Simpson when she got married, but I don't think I would watch her again. These shows are a train wreck and while I don't watch any of them I think I have to tune in to Paris's search for a BFF. How funny is that?

7. Not Great: Back in the day we used to have a "season" of television. All the shows would start, they would run, they would end. Now a days you can't ever find what is starting, what is ending, what is being repeated. When the seasons DO start the shows are on for a week and then preempted for presidential debates and other things so you watch one week and then you think you are going crazy when you can't find the show again. This is irksome. (LOL at my use of an unconscious mutterings word).

8. Not Great: Shows that don't run the full hour, or are weirdly timed. I think networks are reacting the whole tivo, PVR, DVR thing because they want to get ratings for their show so they make it a minute longer, or start a minute earlier. This is VERY frustrating to try and watch or search for shows when the timing is messed up.

9. Not great: Shows I love being cancelled. ER, Third Watch, etc. This also goes for Pilot shows which start up in the fall and you watch four episodes and then they totally disappear never to be heard of again.

10. Not great: MTV.
I want my MTV. Show a video already! What happened to the "M" in MTV?

unconscious mutterings

Insight :: dreams
Irksome :: dealing with some people who never change
Maybe :: maybe not
Confirmation :: email
Bib :: drooling child
Stop! :: in the name of love
Lobster :: boiled alive
Boys :: my brothers :) Love them!
Fire away :: go ahead
Give up :: the ghost

Adoption Frustration

My spouse and I tried for years to have a child of our "own". When we were unsuccessful and we moved to Canada we decided that we would foster children as a way to impact the lives of children locally in a positive light. This process of fostering has been a frustrating one. The children that have come into our home have all made an impact on us and we hope we have made an impact on them. Some of them we have been lucky enough to keep in contact with after they have been removed from our home and others we know nothing about, nor can we "ask" about because of privacy laws.
The politics of fostering is frustrating. The "perception" which others have of foster parents has been an interesting one to encounter and not always positive. I think after having worked within this system for almost five years my spouse and I are ready to be "done" with the process.
We have been blessed through this experience to have our son. We call him "Max" but that is not his legal name.
Max has been with us since he was one month old. We picked him up the day he was released from the hospital and he knows no other family or parents than us. When he was a few months old he became "legally adoptable" and my spouse and I decided to adopt him ourselves. From that moment the process has been EXTREMELY frustrating. The only thing that keeps us "going" is the knowledge that this little dude is WITH us. I have a friend who is adopting from Ethiopia and she and her husband are still waiting to hear that they have a child and can go to pick it up. I am grateful every day that we have Max with us, however the fact that his adoption has not happened and he is now over two years old is increasingly frustrating.
In our "region" of fostering we know of at least three other families who are facing the same opposition as they try to adopt children who have been placed with them on a long term basis. We discovered this week that a family close to us, who has been fostering a child since the child was less than one year old had now had that child (at age 6) removed from their home because of other political reasons. It BLOWS my mind. It absolutely terrifies me. The truth of the matter remains that we are still "ONLY" foster parents. We have loved and cared for and worked towards adopting our boy for over a year and a half, but the reality remains that we are not entitled to him in any way and he COULD be removed from us at any time. It kills me. The system is SOOOO screwed up.
We have done everything we can possibly do and we now wait for social workers and permanency workers and case workers and others to process files and make things happen on our behalf. The reality is that they don't care about "US" and they have no motivation to do anything to move our file forward. On the day that our little man became legally "adoptable" his file needed to be transferred from a social worker to a permanency worker who worked in the SAME office building. It has taken more than 18 months for that transfer to happen. There is no legitimate reason for the file to NOT move.
My partner and I have been so very careful to "keep our mouths shut" simply because if we anger the wrong person we could lose our son. We were completely frustrated at one point and asked to meet with the supervisor to check on the status of our file. We made an appointment. She cancelled. We made another appointment, she postponed it. When we finally met we arrived in the meeting with a list of concerns and we enumerated them to the supervisor. We met with her for close to an hour when it became obvious she was ready to end the meeting. As we concluded she made the comment "well I haven't looked at your file yet so I can't tell you what the status is...." I was shocked and I think I didn't hide my surprise very well. She hadn't even LOOKED at our file? She knew what we were coming to meet about, she knew what our concerns were, she had delayed the meeting repeatedly, and yet she didn't even look at our file.
A few months ago (6), we met with a permanency worker who was transferring our file to another worker who was hired to work in our immediate community. At that meeting we were told that in two weeks the file would be transferred to our town. We waited, and we waited, and we waited. I called the new worker to find the status of our file after three months and she hadn't even seen it yet. She called last week to say she had some good news and some bad news. The good news was the file had arrived in her office. The bad news was she was leaving the office and the file was being transferred BACK OUT of our home community because there is no longer an adoption worker here since she is being transferred. The file now goes BACK to the other community and there is no worker assigned.
I think we are now looking at adoption worker number 6 or number 7.
I have been reluctant to post about this - because I fear some kind of repercussion and the possible loss of our little man. I think that people's fear stops things from ever changing. I know that I have decided to be more vocal in the fight for my family. This is my first "action" but I will keep you posted on other decisions we make and carry out as a family in our quest to permanently "bring Max home".

Palin

I spent some time watching the vice presidential debates and I was struck by the communication "STYLE" which Palin adopted. I know that all politicians do it, but Mrs. Palin was blatant in her avoidance of questions.

From the transcript of the vice presidential debate: link here for the full transcript

BIDEN: Number two, with regard to bankruptcy now, Gwen, what we should be doing now -- and Barack Obama and I support it -- we should be allowing bankruptcy courts to be able to re-adjust not just the interest rate you're paying on your mortgage to be able to stay in your home, but be able to adjust the principal that you owe, the principal that you owe.
That would keep people in their homes, actually help banks by keeping it from going under. But John McCain, as I understand it -- I'm not sure of this, but I believe John McCain and the governor don't support that. There are ways to help people now. And there -- ways that we're offering are not being supported by -- by the Bush administration nor do I believe by John McCain and Governor Palin.
IFILL: Governor Palin, is that so?
PALIN: That is not so, but because that's just a quick answer, I want to talk about, again, my record on energy versus your ticket's energy ticket, also.

This really struck me - especially as a parent of a two year old. My spouse and I are working very hard with our son to learn proper communication styles. We are emphasizing eye contact and appropriate response to questions. We reiterate with him that he must answer what we ask and acknowledge that he hears and understands our questions.

I am not yet the parent of a teenager, but I have worked with them for years in corrections. I have also been married for over 11 years. None of these things individually make me an "expert" in communication, but I know a thing or two about what makes for successful conversation.
If I were ever to have answered my parents questions in the way that Palin did, or talk to my spouse (or have my spouse talk to me) in the way that she did, we would have some severe relationship problems.

What I don't understand is how we accept this behavior from someone who is nominated to be the US vice president when we wouldn't tolerate the behavior in our children or our spouses - and can you imagine if we went to work and responded to our bosses in the way Palin responded to questions? There would be a heck of a lot of unemployed people. Why do republicans continue to defend her nomination?

city

I had to come to the city for work. I tried to get out of it. I really tried. While I don't mind being in the city, in fact I love visiting the city, however, the reason we needed to be here in my opinion was not necessary. I am feeling sick AND I had class this weekend. For me missing class is a big deal. I miss an incredible amount when I miss two classes. We only meet five times totally, and so missing one whole session can really impact me.

One thing I LOVE about coming into the city is getting to see my family. Yesterday I went across to the mall and met my brother for lunch. He is so cute and I love spending time with him. Tonight after we were done I was able to drive out to his house and see his wife and kids. I love my niece and nephew. I took them each a t-shirt which they put on immediately. I was actually surprised that I got the sizes right! My nephew put on his tae kwon do Gi for me to see him in and then took me into his room and "read" me a book. He is so smart, he has basically memorised the book and all he has to do is look at the pictures on the next page and he knows what comes next. My niece showed me her room and she let me help her put her pants on, push her on her bike, and read the notes her mom wrote for them this morning (over and over and over again -LOL!) We didn't have a lot of time to visit, we had supper and played outside for a few minutes so I love it that even my little niece did not "play strange" with me. They have piles of leaves in the yard which we buried ourselves in and I watched them ride their bikes.

I hate living so far from them because I love being a part of their lives and we only see them once a year - if we are lucky. At least we now live in the same province, so they do know who we are. Next summer we are planning on going to the lake with them for four days (renting cabins). It will be the first time that we have rented a cabin ever, and the first time we have taken a joint vacation. I am certain it will be a success and I hope it becomes a tradition for us. It was great to see them, but I am very excited to get home and see MY boys.

Friday Fill In

1. October is the best month of the year because it is my birthday month AND Halloween!
2. Horror movies scare me!
3. Leaves are falling all around, it's Gonna be a long day of raking.
4. My favorite horror movie is none because they scare me too much so I dont watch them.
5. Halloween in Singapore when I was a bunch of grapes = good memories.
6. It was a dark and stormy night when I accidentally left the puppies on the doorstep because I didn't know they were outside. .
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping in my super deluxe hotel room, tomorrow my plans include working at the open house and Sunday, I want to get back to my family!

ten on tuesday: ten things that freak me out/scare me

Ten things that Freak me Out

1. BLOOD (click on the link and check out the cool youtube video)

I am NOT a fan of blood. I don't even like the "V" word (the thing like an artery that carries blood). It makes me queasy just to hear the word. For some reason getting a needle is not so traumatising, but having something stuck in me to REMOVE my blood is just wrong. A vampire or a heroine addict I would never be. Watching ER, (even though it is my FAVE show) and Intervention can make me ill. It even makes my palm sweat to have someone touch me in the crook of my arm where one draws blood from. I had a friend once videotape a surgery and then want to watch it with a group of friends. That is twisted.

2. Swimming in a lake where there are grabby things that touch your legs. I have no problem swimming in the ocean, but lakes with stringy ankle grabbing stuff freak me out.

3. Proposition 8. Proposition 8 is titled "Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry". It is an initiative measure on the 2008 California General Election ballot. If passed, the proposition would amend the California Constitution to remove the legal ability of same-sex couples to marry. A new section would be added stating "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

What ACTUALLY freaks me out is the fact that many of my extended family members are in support of this proposition. It just freaks me out that in this day and age, there is still such opposition to people being equal. I can rationalize when it is strangers - they don't know me, they know nothing of my life and although it annoys me, it is not nearly as scary as FAMILY advocating legal action against gays and lesbians.

4. Scary Movies. I am not a fan of scary movies and I have known to find myself scared of cartoons. Monster House creeped the bejeebers out of me and as much as I love Scooby Doo, even Scooby has been a little too intense at times. I have the Scooby Doo PS2 game, even the game was a pushing it for me in terms of scariness.

5. Checkouts. I am freaked out by paying for things at the checkout. It seems to happen to me OFTEN that I am at the checkout ALONE and my debit card for some reason does not work. It never happens when my spouse is there with her cards to bail me out, but only when I am alone and have no backup. I know (logically) that if in case my card doesnt work, I can leave my stuff and walk out and return when I have gone to a debit machine or straightened something out, but it freaks me out still. Yesterday we were in Walmart and my spouse offered to take the kids to the van and wait for me while I paid. While it was easier to unload the cart without "help", I could have an anxiety attack waiting for the debit machine to show "approved".

6. Haunted Houses. These are not such a big deal where we are living right now as they were when we lived in the USA. Especially at Halloween, haunted houses cropped up EVERYWHERE where you could go in and pay to have people scare you. The concept eludes me. PAY someone to scare the shiznet out of you. Knowing they are there, and knowing they are paid (minimum wage) to jump out at you is freaky. Knowing it is fake doesn't make it less scary to me. I have better things to waste my money on thanks.

7. Corn. I like corn, don't get me wrong. Nothing makes me happier than to buy fresh corn in the fall. What freaks me out about corn, as the mother of a two year old who also loves it, is that no matter how many times you CHEW a kernel of corn, it comes out "whole". You know what i mean. It's freaky. You can chew that corn until it is completely unrecogniseable and you will still poop a kernel. It's like there is some little stomach gnome, that takes corn pieces in your belly and reconstructs them. Seriously, for little babies you can buy creamed corn babyfood in jars. you feed that to them and corn kernels are pooped out. No word of a lie.

8. Mormon Missionaries. I am a former Mormon. I have moved countries and moved homes NUMEROUS times since the Mormon church notified me that my "lifestyle" was inappropriate and I was not welcome to participate in church any longer. Since that time the missionaries continue to find me in hopes that I will abandon my sinful ways and rejoin the flock. How do they find me? It's freaky how those twosomes get around and find people that no-one else in the world can find. I think the US government should have hired missionaries to find Osama Bin Laden. I swear those kids would have him by now if they had gone door to door in Afganistan.

9. People that I care about dying before me.

10. Driving at night when I can't see and I know there are animals in the road.

The Name of the Meme

The Name of the Meme

Blogenstein did this one.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Aphrodite Tinkey Winkey
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Vanilla Birkenstock. That's so gangsta. I'd be laughed all the way out of the hood.
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Green Elephant (seriously?)
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Catherine Gwelo
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first three letters of your last name, first two of your first name): byrju - Not bad!
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Purple Pepper. That's just not right.
7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Joe Eric. LOL. I think there already is a nascar racer with that name - or a few dozen fans.
8. STRIPPER NAME (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): This one really didnt work out for me. Somehow CKone Peanut m&M is not a good stripper name.
9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your fifth grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Fifth grade? I have no idea what country I was living in when I was in 5th grade. Calloway Chicago
10. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Easter Orchid. I'd fool people with that name for sure.
11. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Raspberry Underwire Bra. There's a cartoon with an R rating right there!
12. HIPPIE NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Banana Baobab

Friday Fill in (on Monday)

I am late getting this done, but I have a lot of fun doing it. Thanks to Janet for putting it together.

1. My birthday, my spouses birthday and halloween are some of the things I'm most looking forward to in October.

2. Sometimes I am wrong, but not often.

3. I am a married lesbian and that's why there is a saying, "never say never"!

4. When I'm down, I want to be left alone.

5. At work is where you'll find me most often.

6. A rainy day is good for staying in bed with a book.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include sleeping and Sunday, I want to sleep!

Shut UP. Clay Aiken is gay?

I don't believe it. Clay Aiken has come out of the closet.

Was there anyone in America who DiDN'T think this kid was gay? I can see how someone looking at the picture of him above would think he was straight. NOT.

Check it out in his own words here

television

I think I have previously ascertained that I watch a lot of television. We have this great thing which I think is something like a tivo, called a PVR. It's like a built in recorder and you can program it to record shows. The thing I love about it the most is that you can fast forward through the commercials and it keeps a nice little log of what shows you have, how many hours you have remaining etc. It's WAYYYY better than a VCR tape where you have to fast forward and rewind through tons of garbage to find the shows you watch, or you accidentally record over shows you haven't seen.
So this summer there has not been a lot of good shows to watch. On the Home and Garden Channel there is a show called House Hunters. I think I have watched some of the episodes about ten times but I can't seem to get enough of checking out the homes people look at and then chain themselves to (with 30 year mortgages).
My spousal unit and I try to guess which house the people will choose and I like to add my little comments about why they were dumb to choose the one they did (if it wasn't my guess).
OK. ( It took a long time for me to get to the point here).
This week we were watching one episode and the realtor made such a stupid comment it has stuck with me ever since. Yes, I even rewound it to listen to her say it again. She said "This has been wired for electricity"
You heard it here folks. "wired for electricity".
I won't go into the long discourse I subjected my spouse to, you can come to your own conclusions. Such a great show.

ten on tuesday: ten great things that happened this summer

This week the topic for ten on tuesday is "ten great things that happened this summer". Since I worked all summer and used my vacation days to go to school, I thought I would write about ten things that have happened at work since school started.

#1. I am the emergency on-call person. Usually I only receive calls when there is a REAL emergency but occasionally my idea of an emergency is not the same as others. Last night I got a call that there was a lamb on the loose on the farm "in case" I wanted to do anything about it. While the dorms are sometimes a bit of an animal farm, I have nothing to do with the REAL farm and a lamb on the loose is the least of my concerns.


#2. We implemented a new check in procedure that for the most part was extremely successful and saved a WHACK of time for me and my staff.
#3. We implemented a new payment procedure that for the most part was successful and has saved a WHACK of time for me and my staff.
#4. A student was found passed out on the grass outside. The security report (as usual) said absolutely nothing other than "student found outside on the grass passed out". I don't know how much more training I need to do to get security staff to write more information. I can't do much with this lack of information.#5. A student got electrocuted by the outlet in his room. He does not wear a pacemaker so at least it didn't kill him, and we had a good laugh as I was trying to remember the word "pacemaker" and my gesturing made him think I was asking if he had boobs.

#6. A student locked himself out while cooking. He was the only one home. One of the things about loving where I live is that it is NOT close to campus. The whole time I was driving into town to let him in I was thinking of the fire video I just watched where a dorm room is incinerated in literally 7 minutes. I didn't make it to work in 7 minutes but he had broken in by that time, and just forgot to call me to let me know he was in. So do I fine him for locking himself out? Fine him for breaking in? Or just thank my lucky stars that the place didn't burn to the ground?

#7. I had a grand master plan to put mini fridges into every room in the dorms. One of our biggest problems is students arguing over food and stolen food. Putting mini fridges (in my mind) solved this issue, but in our moving efforts we inadvertently took mini fridges from rooms where students were storing personal belongings. When they returned they all thought someone had stolen their fridges. Whoops!
#8. I didn't hire the five extra students I need. I am still trying to find willing bodies.
#9. I heard about parties after the fact (sometimes I DO hear about them before they happen), but I was hopeful (translate: in denial) that the parties wouldn't start happening quite yet. Please don't ask me why i was hoping for this. Students always party most enthusiastically the first and last weeks of school.
#10. I finally ordered "staff parking only" signs and I will put them up. I have prolonged it for many years even though I have wanted them and get tired of walking to the back fourty when I get off work at midnight. I will take bets on how long they will last before facilities comes and takes them away - like they did with my garbage cans. (They took my garbage cans because..... it "promoted" people throwing trash on the ground!)

unconscious mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Heist :: Money
Hack :: Computer
Dane :: Great
Stings :: Jelly Fish
Monkey :: See, Monkey Do
Junkie :: Intervention
Pumped :: Ah-nold. Skit on SNL
Brass :: Knuckles
Fight! :: UFC
Vouch :: for me

Sick family

This past two weeks have been something like I imagine hell would be. Everyone in the family has been sick. I am not good at being sick. In addition to feeling like I was hit by a mac truck, being sick makes me feel sorry for myself.

Having sick babies is no fun at all. Sick babies can't eat, they can't sleep, they are generally grumpy. This is not fun to deal with at the best of times, but when you feel sick yourself it is downright hell. The only thing I have wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. Yeah right, that's a pipe dream.

This is the implement that we have for sucking snot from baby noses. This implement is not good at sucking snot, nor do babies like it shoved up their noses. If you happen to be lucky enough to extract something from the baby nose, then you have to clean this "bulb" out. Gag-o-rama.

Needless to say I have missed work and I have fallen behind in just about everything in life, including blogging. My apologies to my three readers.

You are all just lucky you can't catch my virus by reading this post. I promise you don't want it.

Friday Fill in

Check out more participants in Friday Fill in by clicking on the link above.

1. There is no need to talk to me so loudly when my head hurts so much.
2. Where in the heck did the cold wind come from when the weatherman said it would be warm today?
3.Get dressed and brush my hair is all I managed to do.
4. Prospects for coming into a lot of money anytime soon are dismal.
5. Drink lots of water, sleep, and get over this flu is the message.
6. Simplicity and tranquility are two things I am not experiencing at work right now.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Max's birthday, tomorrow my plans include Sleeping at every opportunity and Sunday, I want to feel better !

12 of 12

A while ago I came across this blog - (12 of 12). I loved the idea of taking 12 photographs on the 12th of each month and I couldn't wait to join in.

Unfortunately this month I had camera issues on the 12th, even though I was almost panicked to get them taken and get my name linked with others who were particpating. Since I missed the day I have decided that I will post 12 photos even though I won't link to the blog. since I didn't do it officially. Now I am on the countdown to next month. Here are my pictures:

I started out the weekend at school. Here is the view from the parking lot.

I have to stop on the way out of town at Tim hortons. This is what LOT of vehicles look like as they leave town. People drive long distances to shop here and do as much as they can. Even with the price of gas being what it is, it is still cheaper to shop here.

Iced Cappucino. YUM

Next stop Pizza Hut. We have no decent pizza in town and so every time we go we have to stop and pick up pizza to bring home. We will go so far as to ask people to pick us up Pizza when they are in town. Yea, we are that desperate for it. SOME PEOPLE (cough, K-LO, cough) "forget" to stop on the way out of town. I'm not bitter.

I was testing out the camera as I drove. It takes a decent steady shot. I figured if I can text while I drive I can take pictures while I drive.

The top of the hill. This is where cell reception dies. This is also where the road is falling away into he ravine inspite of being repaired repeatedly. I hope this is not where I die one day, driving as the road gives way.

Another view from the top

They are doing contruction on the bridge (Still) and as you wait in line to get across they have this sign posted. Unfortunately there is no cell phone reception where you wait to get across so I hope there is never an emergency as you would have to turn around and go back to the top of the hill in order to make the call. Hopefully the people on the other end of this line aren't working on the bridge when someone tries to call. That would be a pretty messy emergency.

The bridge

The bridge again

I have to admit I did not take these last two pictures. They were taken by my spousal unit after I got home. Both were taken from our yard.

I wonder if he has a better view of mice from the top of my truck.

unconscious mutterings

If you want to check out more link here:

I say ... and you think ... ?

Cut the crap :: Deceit
Scent :: Vanilla
Vanishing :: Act
Wetness :: Diapers (this was not my first thought - LOL)
Cheap :: Trick
Badges :: Name tags - HATE THEM!
Puppy :: Accidents
Problem solver :: Communication
Gambling :: Debt
Sophia :: Lady I worked with at WSU

litter boxes

When I met my spouse she was (what I consider to be) a "freaky cat lady".

She had a lot of cats. A LOT.

I am allergic to cats and I was purely a dog person. I was unfamiliar with the habits of cats, and with her cats in particular. I had never seen a hairball, heard a cat coughing up a hairball, been exposed to the treat of a cat bringing home a live, or half dead mouse. I had not had the pleasure of having my clothing dragged out of laundry baskets and deposited all over the house. I was completely unaware that a house cat, if treated well, could live long into it's teenage years or even longer.

My introduction into the lives of the cats was not an easy one. In fact it has been fraught with problems. The first time I heard a cat coughing up a hairball I was completely captivated. What was that sound? My SU informed me that it wasn't anything I would enjoy watching, but I needed to see what all the fuss was about. She was right. She knew of my weak constitution and we almost had to clean up cat hairball and human vomit. The sight of it made me gag. I have learned to remove myself from any situation when "hairball sound" starts.

Sharing the bed - with the cats - took a lot of getting used to. They were not very happy that I was taking up THEIR spot. Angry cats are not nice cats.

I have now lived with these cats for a long time. We have come to an understanding. They get their way. They sleep where where want. They drag my clothes from the laundry basket and deposit it all over the house. They bring me dead and half dead mice. And to tell you the truth, sometimes I don't completely hate them.

What I DO hate is kitty litter. I hate it with a passion. I hate it more than anything I hate in this world. I hate the smell of it, the texture of it, and most of all, I hate the weight of it. I hate the 100 pound boxes it comes in at Costco. I hate the 200 pounds boxes of used litter I have to cart up the stairs and out to the truck and to the dump. I hate the litter more than I love the cats. I cannot wait for the day in my life when kitty litter is no more.

I think there should be a lottery for cat owners - like the 1000 dollars a week for the rest of your life, there should be a ticket that would exempt you from cleaning litter for the rest of your life. I would seriously buy those tickets.

Friday Fill in

Check out more participants in Friday Fill in by linking here:

1. I enjoy laughing.

2. Improving the environment at work is something I wonder about often lately.

3. In your heart, you know I love you the most, nings back, so there, HA!

4. Take Corn Tortillas, add a little Chorizo and you end up with the taste of "home".

5. Life has gifted me with a beautiful family.

6. Dreaming or reading a good book is an instant vacation.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to class, tomorrow my plans include checking out new vehicle prices and Sunday, I want to chainsaw dead trees!

Ten on Tuesday: ten favorite movie songs

This week's topic is ten favorite movie songs. I like movies and LOVE music so this one is hard for me to narrow down.

In no particular order (and likely to change at any time)

1. Rainbow connection by Kermit the Frog from The Muppet Movie

2. Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls from City of Angels

3. Banana Boat Song from Beetlejuice

4. The Animal Song by Savage Garden from The Other Sister

5. It Must Have Been Love by Roxette from Pretty Woman

6. Pennies from Heaven by Billie Holiday from Corinna Corrina

7. Blood Money by Bon Jovi from Young Guns 2

8. Do You Hear the People Sing from Les Miserables

9. The Lonely Goatherd from Sounds Of Music

Weekend

I could not wait for this weekend to start. One would think because last week was a short week, that it would have flown by and been a nice little break. Unfortunately (for me mostly), the week seemed to drag on. I was extremely busy, and I was too too tired from night duty.
Our baby seems to be doing well. He is growing and eating more and looking healthy, but he is not sleeping any better. Last night I was on night duty. It was absolutely insane. He was up ALL night long. His crying kept waking Max and then Max would cry. Because I had the light on in the bedroom, the dogs bugged me CONSTANTLY to be let out. I finally relented at 5am and let them out, but then they didn't come back for half an hour. He would eat, then cry, over and over and over in about 20 minute cycles. AI AI AI AI AI. It didn't help any that in one of my frustrated "flopping on the pillow" moments, I knocked the night stand and spilled his gripe water all down the back of the nightstand, all over the wall and on the floor. Cleaning it up is not as tragic as not having any more.
I know that we have a lot of good days, but these last few were not them. This morning I was in bed and Max was playing with the spousal unit. He tries to crawl away from her and she grabs him by the ankle and it is all shrieks of fun. Only he seems to be getting faster - and Shel is as sleep deprived as I am and not as quick as he is. He managed to get away at full speed and tip right over the foot of the bed, while we both looked on as if it was all happening in slow motion. He has a nice scratched up nose to show for it.
I go back to work tomorrow and I am starting out the week in absolutely the worst way. I am absolutely exhausted and the list of things I need to get accomplished is longer than I can even think of right now. Of course that just adds to my problem - with everything on my plate I won't get a wink of sleep tonight either.
Thank GOODNESS for Max sleeping the whole night through. I just keep hoping that we will get to that point sooner rather than later with this little guy. For now I have to just look for pictures of Max having fun to remember that there IS fun in our lives. I am too far removed right now.

Friday Fill in

1. If I was to walk into your life, would you have a place where I could lay down and take a nap?

2. Catch a bright star and place it under your pillow.

3. And you can send me some chorizo and corn tortillas from the USA. Oh, don't forget the chewy spree.

4. ... but I'm dealing with a memory that never forgets. I have absolutely no idea how to start this sentence.

5. I'm the innocent bystander / Somehow I got stuck doing someone else's job.

6. What's keeping us apart isn't selfishness, it's the fact that I can't string together two cogent thoughts because I am so damn tired.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to sleeping, tomorrow my plans include sleeping and Sunday, I want to sleep!

Thursday Thirteen: thirteen things that happened at work this week

I am very lucky to live in a place I love, with a home in a location I love (surrounded by woods - lol) with pets I love, (even though they are bringing WAYYYY too many mice into the house) at a job I love, working with people I like.

This week for me at work is one of the most busy weeks of the year with students returning, new staff being hired and trained, and so on, and so on and so on.

Here are 13 things that have happened at work or related to work in the last week.

#1. I am the emergency on-call person. Usually I only receive calls when there is a REAL emergency but occasionally my idea of an emergency is not the same as others. Last night I got a call that there was a lamb on the loose on the farm "in case" I wanted to do anything about it. While the dorms are sometimes a bit of an animal farm, I have nothing to do with the REAL farm and a lamb on the loose is the least of my concerns.

#2. We implemented a new check in procedure that for the most part was extremely successful and saved a WHACK of time for me and my staff.

#3. We implemented a new payment procedure that for the most part was successful and has saved a WHACK of time for me and my staff.

#4. A student was found passed out on the grass outside. The security report (as usual) said absolutely nothing other than "student found outside on the grass passed out". I don't know how much more training I need to do to get security staff to write more information. There's not a lot I can do with this.

#5. A student got electrocuted by the outlet in his room. He does not wear a pacemaker so at least it didn't kill him, and we had a good laugh as I was trying to remember the word "pacemaker" and my gesturing made him think I was asking if he had boobs.

#6. A student locked himself out while cooking. He was the only one home. One of the things about loving where I live is that it is NOT close to campus. The whole time I was driving into town to let him in I was thinking of the fire video I just watched where a dorm room is incinerated in literally 7 minutes. I didn't make it to work in 7 minutes but he had broken in by that time, and just forgot to call me to let me know he was in. So do I fine him for locking himself out? Fine him for breaking in? Or just thank my lucky stars that the place didn't burn to the ground?
#7. I had a grand master plan to put mini fridges into every room in the dorms. One of our biggest problems is students arguing over food and stolen food. Putting mini fridges (in my mind) solved this issue, but in our moving efforts we inadvertently took mini fridges from rooms where students were storing personal belongings. When they returned they all thought someone had stolen their fridges. Whoops!

#8. I didn't hire the five extra students I need. I am still trying to find willing bodies.

#9. I heard about parties after the fact (sometimes I DO hear about them before they happen), but I was hopeful (translate: in denial) that the parties wouldn't start happening quite yet.

#10. I finally ordered "staff parking only" signs and I will put them up. I have prolonged it for many years even though I have wanted them and get tired of walking to the back fourty when I get off work at midnight. I think I will take bets on hoe long they will last before facilities comes and takes them away - like they did with my garbage cans. (They took my garbage cans because..... it "promoted" people throwing trash on the ground!)

uh... I need to come up with three more interesting things. I will add to this as I think of things!

soccer family

For as long as I can remember my family has been very involved in soccer. We have played together, we have played against one another. I played in high school, at university and after university. My brother's both played in high school and after high school. Both my sisters play.
(I think I am the only one of the kids in the family who doesn't play currently).
I have coached teams - including my old high school team and teams my younger brother played on. I have also refereed. Needless to say we all love the game.
My brother (J2) now has a family with two children. He works full time and his wife works and as he has gotten older he has sacrificed some of the things in his life that he did when he was younger. One of those thing has NOT been soccer. He plays through injuries and illnesses and he is darn good at what he does.
This year the outdoor season has just ended for him and he sent me a copy of the local paper which updates stats. My little bro is the high scorer for his whole division! He scored 18 goals this season.
Way to go bro :)

You can tell in this picture of him here what an athlete he was going to turn out to be. LOL

I like to think it has something to do with what an incredible coach I was when you were learning the elementary skills in days of yore.