Gumballs

I love my family. We are easily entertained. Tonight my mom mentioned she was surprised about how long the gumballs in the star dish had lasted. That led to a conversation about the best tasting gumballs which led to controversy over whether or not they differ in taste...which led me to asserting that I, indeed, could taste the difference. From there I closed my eyes while my dad picked the lucky gumball. Unfortunately I really could not tell at all. I said "I can't taste purple" (see the movie "Martian Child" to understand reference). I figured I had at least a 1 in 9 chance. Nope, orange. I'm not surprised. I prefer the white or green ones...so orange was foreign to me. Hmmm. Off to brush the slime off my teeth. Merry Christmas Eve Eve everyone.

Redolph and The Sad Face

Today during one of my sessions a darling little girl was

trying to talk a little too fast and got all twisted up as she said:
"Red-olph the Rude-Nosed Reindeer"

I knew exactly what she meant and I didn't laugh out loud but

I did write it down so I could smile about it later. If you could

have seen her face as she said it...

In another session a different little girl was not having such

such a good time of things and was crying. I made a comment

about this and she looked at me with big tears and said:

"Well, look at my face, am I smiling or am I...sadding?"

Yeah, that pretty much killed me.

Oh honey, you are sadding.

I wish so much that you weren't sweet girl.

Sadding...

Boat Parade

Amazing things happen in Arizona. For instance, December 8th is not a holiday. It is not the day Arizona (or the USA) won a war, Independence, or really anything (as far as I know). Yet, tonight at 5:45 there was a boat parade. To celebrate Christmas and the fact that you can make a boat look like a sleigh with a little creativity, a few strings of lights, and one jumping reindeer.

Families gathered together with blankets, lawn chairs, hot chocolate, mittens...waiting on the grass by the lake we all pass by daily. It was like the 4th of July...some of the floats (literally, I guess) even threw candy. In some ways it was better: NOT 127 degrees, there was Christmas music in the background, and it was still and quiet and lights on water are really quite breathtaking. Add to that Santa walking down the sidewalk passing out candy canes out of a basket with lights. Quaint. Small town. Love it.

Christmas Do's and Don'ts

Welcome to Christmas 2007

The Christmas season is upon us. In order to make this season Merry and Bright, I thought I'd share a few tips that may help you have a memorable season. Now these are just suggestions so if you're the type of person to NOT do what someone asks you to do, consider yourself excused.

Do: Hang Christmas lights on the house. A little time consuming. Totally worth it.

Don't: Consider buying ANYTHING inflatable for the yard. Ever. Unless it's a kiddie pool or beach ball. And that's just for summer. Nothing inflatable in winter.

Do: Dring eggnog at least once. Unless you hate it....then drink spiced cidar. If you hate that too, shoot, drink some tepid water.

Don't: Listen to Feliz Navidad more than once. (Once a week at the very most). Avoid it at all costs. I heard a woman call into the radio to say that next Christmas she's having a Feliz Navidad-themed wedding. Every 15 minutes they will play that song. The radio hosts tried to talk her out of it. I'm just glad I'm not her friend and don't have to be at the wedding.

Do: Sleep in flannel sheets and/or pajamas.

Don't: Wear sweaters with bells sewn in.

Do: Wear Christmas socks. (Yes Kat. DO!!!)

Don't: be tempted to buy friends and family gifts from the endcaps...dangerous.

Do: sit in front of the illuminated Christmas tree for hours.

Thanksgiving 2007

So. Here we are...we are getting to be a big family. This session of "family photos" was conducted at a park in Kansas. Despite the fact that it was about 32 degrees, it went well, was done quickly and was relatively painless. Linds and I had a fun time on the slides nearby (those photos coming soon).

It was great to be with everyone. Cayden is darling...red hair...fiesty...never stops running. Taylor, Ashley, Emily and Parker are all getting so big and so smart. Parkerwas pretty content to sit in my lap most of the weekend and I loved it. We had lots of playing time...Ashley was a tiger named snowflake, Emily was the mom, and I pretended to be the sick patient in the hospital (as this was the role that allowed me to lay under a warm blanket and sometimes REALLY be sleeping). We had fun sitting around and just laughing and talking. I really just like being with my family. (P.S. I had no idea the men in my family have had so many car-accidents and incidents...that night of stories really opened my eyes...and they say women are the bad drivers).

Thanksgiving dinner (as well as all the meals actually) was excellent. I really think Kim should be voted mother of the year. How many women who are 8 months pregnant would be willing to invite the entire extended family out for 5 days?

Mom and Dad financed the whole deal and worked hard to make sure everyone was happy and had a good time. I really have such a great family...

It was sad to leave. Looking forward to Christmas.

Day 1...

So. Started my job at LDS Family Services today. I'll be working there from 10am-9pm Tuesdays. Probably don't look for me on Tuesdays much...if my first day was reflective of all days, it's gonna be pretty busy. I'm grateful for all my helpful co-workers...I tried to not bug any one person too much and by the time I went home, I'm pretty sure I'd asked every single employee at least one question.

It was a long, exhausting day, but I'm excited. I love the feeling there. I love that the pace, issues, and atmosphere are so much different than community mental health. So...I'll be grateful for my Tuesdays but also for my other job M, W-F...they both have elements that I need and enjoy.

A few things I learned: 1-everyone is helpful but a few questions should be saved for the afternoon workers...they're extra helpful, 2-about once every 2 hours it sounds like a train is going to rip through my office. If I had a big enough window, I'd be able to see the tracks from it...very close. Gotta get used to that, 3-drinking fountain water=not filtered. Will check to see if kitchen has filtered water. Very important...

Happy Halloween!

Mom & Loodles, you've out done yourselves. Lobster-Dog?!?!? :) Amazing.

Suffering...

I often write about frivolous and random things. Tonight, not so much. Spent much of today thinking about suffering. The role of suffering in the development of the soul. The purpose and need for it in our lives. How much (but not all) of the suffering I see in my job stems from disobedience...to the laws of God and man. Sometimes we create our own suffering. Sometimes others help us with that. Sometimes it comes for no reason at all and seems to steal happiness like the drop of a roller coaster steals our breath...in a moment.

Although I need to maintain some degree of "distance" from the people and/or issues I work with in my job as a therapist, there are still moments when I fight to keep my own tears in. And in my mind rattles around all I learned in grad school about professionalism, empathy, the therapeutic relationship, and the sacred responsibility I have to balance each of these elements in a way that allows (and hopefully even helps), a person to heal.

In the moments when the tears almost come I feel worried and then relieved. It is good to feel. When I have a devastated 5 yr old in front of me, I feel. When I have a teenager who hates everyone and everything in the room with me, I feel. When I stop in the silent moment to notice how very green the grass is and that the sky is still so blue, I feel. When I run across a darling friend whose heart is hurting, I feel. And when I stand with a pal under a full moon on a perfect October night to laugh at everything and nothing in a ridiculous conversation that is as inconsequential as it is monumental, I feel.

Best Part of My Day...

When my 6-yr. old client stated to me:

"You Smell Like Crackers"

Quite honestly I don't know what that means. We were right next to the dry erase board and the markers do smell weird. I'm hoping maybe it was the markers. Or at least some good-smelling crackers. ;)

Marnin and the Mattress

So. Today I set out to buy a new bed. I am not as young as I used to be (ask Sher, she'll confirm)...and my shoulders and back are hurting in the mornings. Now this could possibly be due to the car accident that totalled my car 16 months ago...but either way, it's time for a new bed.

I have never purchased a bed, as I've always had the luxury of a borrowed Blair bed. I walked into the bed store of my choosing and was met by an eager salesman. Now, the idea of having an entire ROOM full of beds that are more comfortable than the one I currently own was great. What was NOT great was having a 45 yr. old man following me around as I tested them all out. It seems weird to talk to a salesman while you're lying down.

I wanted to shop around which displeased my little salesman enough that he suddenly wanted to pay my sales tax and throw in free delivery. Now, the delivery was probably always free, the sales tax a nice touch, but still. So I walked out but not before formally meeting my mattress man, Marnin. Yes, you heard me. M-A-R-N-I-N. It took me several tries to get it right and he finally said "it's unusual." I wanted to say "you aren't a a'jokin' pal."

As I got in my car to make my way to Costco to check out the Sealy they sell at a whiz-bang price, I called Mom to make sure I wasn't getting ripped off. After all, she's bought a lot of beds. She knows her stuff. I expressed my concern about not being able to find sheets (most importantly flannel sheets) for the 14-inch mattress that would soon be mine. She eased my troubled mind by telling me she at that moment was in her local Costco and had her very hands on a set of lovely flannel sheets that were guaranteed to fit up to a 15-inch mattress.

So, assured that Marnin was not messing with me, I picked up a nice pair of white-with-red-snowflakes flannel sheets at my local Costco and made my way back to Marnin my mattress man. The deal was made (after the demonstration wherein he poured coffee on a square cut from the "protect-a-bed" and told me how great it would be to extend the life of my mattress...I politely told him no thanks while I thought about saying "I don't wet the bed and I don't drink coffee so I think I'm all set Marnin, let's get this done.")

The bed will be here Monday. Hallelujah.

P.S. Based on the 1990 US Census, Marnin was ranked number 0 on the list of most popular boys' names in the United States. But, you can change this. Please see http://www.marnin.com/marnins.htm for more information. And yes, this is for real.

The World Needs a Hammock...

Today I was able to leave work for two hours due to a killer headache and the good fortune of having a few clients cancel. I came home and laid in my hammock and read for almost an hour. It was sunny and warm but not hot. The grass was extra green and the sky extra blue. The birds sang in just the perfect cadence, pitch, and rhythm so as to be an enjoyable background to my reading. These moments are few and far between. I remembered how much I love to read and thought about how I'm going to make more time for it. Also thought about how much I love my hammock. The world needs a hammock.

Reasons to Smile...

• pine-scented candles
• flannel season is upon us
• general conference weekend
• below 100-degree highs
• a new season of the office
• lisa comes this weekend
• the scorpions are starting to slumber
• pally's twins are now almost 3 lbs, doing well INSIDE the tummy (keep growing little wonders...just a little bit longer please!)
• i now have air conditioning in my office at work...
• therapy with a fiesty 4-yr old who hates me, loves me, and is a tiger all at the same time

Seat Dukes, Tangs, and Other Mysteries

My experiences this weekend led me to a few conclusions:

1. US Airways is NOT my preferred airline.
2. The people in Vegas are far more interesting than the venues.
3. While not practical, convertibles are a fun weekend experience.

#1-The US Airways motto is "Fly with US." My answer: "No thanks." To sum it up, their terminal is in a wing of the airport that you'd swear is fake, (I kept wondering if I was on the set of a low-budget film), their flights were NOT on time (our plane left the ground approximately 96 minutes after they said it would, and just as my slumber began the overhead monitors blasted me with ANOTHER presentation about safety! (Hello, wasn't the first one enough??! You're gonna make people think you're planning on a crash here...) AND the rear stewardess shouted orders...including yelling at the man who opened the overhead bins a moment too soon upon our landing...she ran down the isle to slam it closed to demonstrate her true authority. It took a lot of restraint not to jump up and start opening the overhead bins in rapid succession. Oh...AND...when passengers kept flooding into the plane before we took off, we heard a garbled message that sounded like "There are seat dukes, and we're really sorry, but please just sit down." Neither Jill nor myself knew what Seat Dukes were but we assumed they were not a positive or normal part of flying. We later figured out that she was trying to apologize for the "seat DUPLICATES..." So, US Airways, I will stick to another airline. Thanks for asking.

#2-3. So. My pal Jill and I arrived into Vegas much later than we anticipated and were shuttled to the mega rental car center supreme (you'll see what I mean next time you're there). In line in front of us at the Dollar hub was a woman probably in her mid 40's with wild, wild hair. Wearing a black skirt and shirt, paisley-type scarf, nude-colored hose and most noticeably, a large chunk of fuschia lipstick on her front tooth. She was accompanied by her (boyfriend?). Tall, skinny, wearing black jeans and lugging the faux-leather fold-over clothing bag, which apparently kept him too busy to kindly warn her about the tooth-stick she was wearing. Well, as we made our way out to what we thought would be our economy $10-a-day Kia Rio, we were delighted to discover that due to the circus at US Airways, we were just late enough that a forced upgrade to a shiny red PT Cruiser Convertible (see image above)...and we were much elated. As we checked out our new ride I heard an excited shirk of "We got the TANG!!!!" repeated very many times. I was confused until I looked over to see my Dollar line friends with their forced upgrade, a red Ford Mustang. Apparently it's normal to call them"Tangs?!?!?" She had an accent, and I recommend that you hear it like this: "Hunny, we got the TAY-ANG!!!!" As Jill and I drove off we noticed that the luggage boy was only allowed to back the car up, but Mama Lipstick...well, she got to drive.

To sum it up, we had fun with the convertible and forced ourselves to suffer extreme cold and a smidge of heat to fully take advantage of it's convertibility. We made it to St. George around 2 am. Syd's wedding was amazing, the St. George temple is beautiful and the the day was great. Had fun at the wedding and reception and later with the girls for a night on the town. Spent ALL of Sunday driving (and I do mean ALL) home to phoenix...

What a weekend.

Truths I Have Learned...

1. Working with children is exciting and fun, even when we are working on difficult things. I am so grateful for the opportunity to know some very amazing kids.

2. My heart will always hurt when I leave Utah.

3. Number 4 is the toaster setting that allows for a perfect darkening of the bread. Three is too light, 4 1/2 is too dark. 4 is just right.

4. I will forever have a severe aversion to a sink full of dishes. Drives me completly crazy.

5. I look forward to the day I will live in my own home to have complete control over number 4.

6. I hate losing things.

7. The red water bottle really was a great purchase.

8. You can never please everyone.

9. My parents are willing to do anything for me.

10. Spending time with Lindsay is always fun.

You learn something new every day...

Today I learned a very suprising thing. I like to golf. I decided to go to the "K Porter (bishopric member) Invitational" and since we were playing "best ball," it wouldn't matter if I wasn't good. And it's good because I wasn't good. But I had a great time. I will not deny that WATCHING golf is exceedingly boring. But playing golf is actually kind of fun...and hard. The Sunland Golf Village Club is a great deal; short course, not crowded and only $15 if you don't mind playing golf in 104 degrees. Gonna get a smidge more expensive here come October, but still. I just might take lessons...

If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words...

Running for Nothing

My last blog was a little somber. Jules is back and ready to thrill you with other information that may or may not change your life.

1-Currentcodes.com...do not buy anything online without consulting it. There are also many others...retailmenot.com...just google whatever site you're on and chances are, you'll find a killer deal. My dear brother (thanks Rand) informed me of this great technology. Today I saved 25%...just for looking...and there are almost always free shipping codes.

2-I promised I wouldn't talk about scorpions unless it was noteworthy. I think having found our 50th is noteworthy. Fifty is a big number. I'll alert you when we get to 100.

3-My trip to Vegas with my friend Natalie was great...It was quick, less than 36 hours but we packed a lot into our time there. It did involve a two mile run to terminal 3, missing our flight despite our 2 mile run, a gaping hole in my foot, and a near-concussion. But other than that, everything was perfect...stay tuned...I'll tell the story in my next blog.

Room Temperature

There are days of my life when I feel as though things are kind of "just the same." Room temperature. Neither too hot, nor too cold. Like a shower or swimming pool that feels like...the air...so much so that you don't know you're even in water...just feels like air of a thicker consistency. Or something.

Like when friends I haven't seen in forever ask what's new in my life and I think "Job...not new, house...not new, calling...not new, scorpions...old news, boys...zero, children...still no" so I change the subject to talk about their 4th pregnancy or son getting baptized or something that seems a little more newsworthy. Yet nothing is bad...just everything is...the same. I realize I should be grateful that things are not horrible. I have all my appendages and a reasonably good job and amazing friends and family and car that treats me well and only a minor problem with potentially deadly insects. But still...for at least tonight it feels amazingly and disappointingly...tepid.

Quench, the Passion

I don't know when it began. I can't fathom the day it will end. It came on rather suddenly and will most likely be with me all my days. It's true, I am passionate about water bottles. Of course, not just any water bottles, there are certain specifications. (Please don't buy me any because I alone can determine if they meet the stringent specifications required to be accepted). They must be indestructable, they must hold 20-36 ounces...and they must be beautiful. This is my newest. I keep telling myself I will stop, but as this is a legal, harmless and fairly inexpensive addiction...it's likely that I may not stop just yet. I now have 7. Five Nalgenes, a camelback and my favorites...two cheapola "quench" Bed, Bath and Beyond wonders that are tall and narrow and easy for my small hands to grasp. They are by far my favorites. There was a semi-serious problem last week when I couldn't find my pink quench. Looked for it for a week. Turns out my roommate took it to work. Then she went on vacation. She now knows where I stand on sharing water bottles (at least those of the rare quench variety). But I did tell her I would buy her her own Nalgene. That seemed like a fair compromise.

Trying to Cut Back...

You know. I realized that 9 of 24 (or 37.5%) of my blog entries (now 10 of 25 or 40%) have been about or have at least mentioned scorpions. While that would probably be okay if this blog were an off-shoot of welovearachnids.com, I feel that my blog readership is down (judging by the number of comments left). So I must cut back on what I report about my pest problem. And so, I pledge to only report on scorpions when something major happens. For instance, if one of us gets stung and/or killed, or we discover a nest of 498... something along those lines. Please see my "scorpion count" ticker for up-to-date info on numbers. Personal requests for additional information and/or updates may be sent to this writer at her personal email address. If you don't have it, you are not allowed to ask. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

The Scorpion Has Left The Building

I realize that you were probably sick of hearing about scorpions by about #7. That doesn't change the fact that they are a daily part of my life.

Today, Natalie found #40. Unfortunately she found it at Delia's Cleaners in front of the girl who was about to dry clean her clothes. As Natalie handed the girl (who was on the phone) her clothes, the scorpion made its appearance. The girl screamed (the caller on the other end hung up). It's one thing to deal with them at home, it's another to start taking them places with us.

I have to give the Delia's girl credit though, after the whole ordeal (which ended when Natals killed the scorpion with a stapler), she still gave Nat a discount and told her she could be a VIP member for $9.99 "as long as you promise to shake the scorpions out of your clothes next time." I don't know that the lady who hung up will come back, but we sure will. Thanks Delia's.

Warning:

So. I just thought I'd "mix things up a bit with my blog" and look for a new template. Yeah, now it looks like a circus. It's 12:50 am and I have church in the morning. So...yeah, I'll get it fixed. Sigh. Shouldda just left it how it was.

Scorpions, Specks and Strawberries

Found 4 scorpions in 2 days. Now we have 10 in the cool whip container in the freezer, which reminds me...Taylor asked me to send him one. Need to ask Jeff and Kim if they're okay with their 8 year old having a scorpion. I figure that's gotta win some big "show and tell" points at school, right?

This week I've learned:
1-brush your teeth with your sonic mega turbo jet-powered toothbrush BEFORE putting on your black shirt...or half way to work you'll wonder "what the heck are all these white specks?!?!"
2-Saturday errands + 4 billion people + 113 degrees = Grouchy Jules
3-After two years in AZ, I STILL am not used to the water, therefore I think I can safely assume I will not ever like AZ water. Sick. Family and friends in Utah, be grateful.

My favorites this week: 1-strawberries from Fry's, 2-my pink water bottle, 3-Pumpkin Flax Crunch cereal (9 grams of fiber, folks), 4-three day weekend, 5-several great conversations with some of my favorite friends...

From Rand

For those who aren't prone to read the comments, you need to know of Rand's creativity. Nicely done, little brother. :)

"She is The Blogging Queen, not a Clogging Queen, older than seventeen
Blogging Queen, previewing her blog on her 17” screen.
She can type, she can comment, recounting the stories of her life
See that girl, counting scorpions, dig in the Blogging Queen!"

Rand's Song

"i'm never gonna blog again,
busy fingers, i've got no ti-me
though it's easy to pretend, i know you're not a fo-oool
should've known better than to lead you on
and make you think that i'd keep blogging
so I'm never gonna blog again...the way i blogged be-fo-oh-ore."

Just Stuff...

1. I love the gospel.
2. I love cloudy days in Arizona. I love rainy days even more. I love cold days the most. (Well, days between 60-70 degrees, I mean).
3. I have an amazing family.
4. I'm glad Lindsay didn't die in the freak ikea lamp/couch inferno. (Lindsay, you need a blog, that's a great story).
5. I guess I'm also grateful for 911. Now I see why I pay the service fee. In case my little sister is about to die in a couch fire.
6. I have great friends.
7. Only one scorpion in 16 days. That's something to celebrate.
8. My life is really pretty good.

ps...hey bon, recognize my new picture? ;)

A Good Education

so. i work with kids. lots of them. sometimes they have little pearls of wisdom for me. here is a random sampling of a few of my favorites:

• "last one there is a ROCKIN' egg"
• "you should only call 911 like if your mom dies or your house gets robberized"
• "i think i should eat more potato skins because i'm forgetting everything these days"
• "i didn't see a video, it was a MOVIE!!!"
• "duh, dynamite is out, bombs are now"
• upon pointing to a headstone i drew and asking what it represented, a client answered "rest in pieces!!"

P.S. you may notice that my scorpion count has not been updated for 14 days. this is not because i have gotten lazy. we have been scorpion-free for 2 weeks. either the new weatherstripping on the doors or the rain is the cause for this great thing in my life. either way, hallelujah!

It's the Little Things...

After a week away from work, I wasn't especially looking forward to coming back. I felt a little better when after opening the small envelope I found in my box. It said "To: Jooly" (backwards J) and had a picture of a rose on in. There was also a small rock taped to the envelope. Inside was this picture from one of the darling kids in my group. This isn't so bad after all I guess.

Too Much Fun For Words...

Dora

Last Thursday after finding 3 scorpions in one day...we were trying to come up with things to make us feel better about it all. My roommate Amy decided maybe we should name them alphabetically, like do with tropical storms...so we can see how far into the alphabet we can get. I left before we established the names of the Thursday scorpions...but tonight's will be known as Dora. Not only are we naming them, but we are keeping them. For a purpose I am not yet at liberty to disclose.

P.S. First rain/lightning storm of the monsoon season! It was pretty wimpy, but I know there's more coming!!! Love it!

Viewer Discretion Advised

Gilbert-Police are calling this morning's incident at in a Gilbert home a double homocide. It appers that two Gilbert residents were found dead on the tile floor of the two-story home.

Officer Sam Speltiz was the first on the scene and reports what he saw: "They were just laying there... It was obvious there had been a struggle. One of the victims was missing part of his leg...and there was evidence on the scene that gives us reason to believe this was a pre-meditated crime. You know, I've been in this business for years, but sometimes it's still hard to have to see what we see."

Police have not yet released the names of the victims. Anyone with further information is advised to call the Gilbert Police Department.

Happiness is:

• Receiving a voicemail song from Sher called "Jules-er-ado" (sung to the tune, of course, of Desperado). "Juleseardo...why don't you come back to U-tar, cuz right now you live too far..." It's one of her best yet. Huh, pally? ;)
• Buying my Christmas airfare home...having it cost less than $250.
• Having fun with the 7-9 yr olds in my skillbuilding class tonight-hearing them laugh.
• Knowing that the AZ monsoon season is coming: http://geography.asu.edu/aztc/monsoon.html#monsoon (did you know there is such thing as a "gustnado?") This website is very educational. Chances are if you're here...you've got time...check it out.

Lava Hot Springs Addendum

According to onlineconversion.com, 10 meters is 32.80 feet. I'll skip the platform, thank you.

So Dangerous You'll Have to Sign a Waiver

Today I visited http://www.lavahotsprings.com/ to prepare myself for my upcoming Blair family reunion which is to be held there July 26-28. Upon perusing the site, I quickly found this picture.

From the moment I saw these platforms (about 7 minutes ago), I became bothered because I knew that I am going to want to jump off the tallest one...but am also a little terrified of even the thought. Let's face it...every year for swimming lessons at the Clearfield pool, I was probably the LAST kid to jump off the high dive. Once I did it...I think I was fine and tried it again, but I usually waited until we were packing up to go home before I could muster the courage to climb the 4,987 ladder steps.

I will probably spend at least a few minutes of every day deliberating this decision. Many reasons not to: 1-you have to sign a waiver-that means something, 2-the entry into the water could very possibly force my contacts right off my eyeballs, and I don't have extras, and 3-I'm afraid.

I was born an impossible mix of both my mother and father. A burning desire to live on the edge with a equally powerful desire to preserve my own life.

Things I don't like...

When people just go crazy with the way their words are apostrophized.

Example: "We are all out of Mango's." "Lot's of Car's on Sale!"
"The client brought 7 weapon's to his therapy appointment."

All are incorrect (and one dangerous). I have no problems with making up words, gross exaggerations of numbers, the over-use of commas, hyphens-and-ellipses...sentence fragments, beginning a sentance with the word "and," and even refusing to use correct capitalization. But please, if you're gonna use an apostrophe...

P.S. I have an equal aversion to "your" and "you're" and "their and they're"...especially if these words are to be printed on a T-shirt. I see many clients whose clothing throws me off for a whole session and I feel inclined to take a Sharpie to their shirts to ease my discomfort. I realize that this is my issue. And I'm working on it.

A Bit of Jules...

Little Doubter...

Yes little brother, my cyclometer has a temperature function. Dad asked me the same question. It is the Schwinn 17-Function Bike Computer...and one of its 17 functions to tell me the temperature (between -10 and 50 C...and they aren't joking about that-after 122 degrees Fahrenheit the thing gives up...but comes back when you park him in the shade). It also doubles as a pedometer, though I never use it for that. Jealous? I found it on clearance for $13 at Target. But apparently now you can have one for only $9.99 on Amazon. Steal of a deal I'd say.

A Little Bit of Nothing

Dear Blog,

I miss you. Good news-haven't seen a scorpion in 4 days. (Forgot to tell you that we found #'s 26 (he escaped and is living under the downstairs toilet as far as we know) and #27-found alive in the space between the screen and the window in Natalie's room-presumed dead as of last night considering he's all dried up and in the same place). So that's happy.

Not a lot to report. My work schedule is changing and I'm glad about that. Only took me one year to make that happen. Lol. Today it was mentioned that maybe we should have a strike to protest...and it might have been me that mentioned it.

Speaking of angry people-today a man threatened to do a little bit of harm to one of our psychiatrists as well as the director. He got to spend some quality time with about 7 members of the Mesa Police Department. The people in the lobby quit whining about the Dr. being behind schedule when they saw all 7 police officers walk in. I think then they knew we weren't joking.

That is all for today.

Sincerely,
Your Boss

Simply Limeaid

I'm getting addicted to blogging. Mom, Rand, Suz, Sher, Bonnie...where are your next posts? Someone tell me the rules of good blogging...in terms of frequency? I would like each of you to post something new every day. Is that fair?

What else? Two important things:

1. The cyclometer on my bike does not work when it is hotter than 122 degrees. During my last bike ride (at noon last Saturday), it read 122 and I thought "This could possibly be the reason I am the ONLY person out here today." Turns out it was only 107. Apparently the sensor on the wheel picks up a little heat from being in motion or something. I don't know. Ask my dad. Regardless, I think I've decided to only ride when it's 105 and cooler. (Which means before 9 am.) For the sake of my cyclometer...and maybe my health.

2. Simply Limeaid is perhaps the best new beverage of the season. I highly recommend you go out and buy a bottle. You won't be disappointed.

Number 25.

Ulcers and Goodbyes

So. My new roommate (new as of today) found a scorpion in her room. A little welcoming present. I'm trying to remember if we told her about the little scorpion problem. Small oversight. I think it was either the 23 or 24th we've found. Don't know why we really bother to keep track.

Just came home from 6 hours of fun with my friend Kat...it was so good to see her. She is the first friend I made in Arizona...lucky to have her.

Said goodbye to my favorite co-worker Tere today. Hated it. She's moving back east Sunday. She gave me the furniture she doesn't want to take with her...so nice to finally have a kitchen table. The novelty of eating on a TV tray lasted for about 2 days...still, I'd rather eat off a TV tray and keep her at SBH with me...sad. :(

P.S. The ulcer on my cornea has healed. The dr. assures me the "scar tissue" is no big deal. Probably not to him it isn't.

The Haircut

There's a reason their website tries to get you to relax. Unfortunately by the time I realized this, I was already strapped in the chair.

Shevon began by saying "Yeah, when I moved out here they told me to watch out for Indians and Mormons." While she told me about her fears about Mormons and Indians, she began the haircut by putting curl.life contouring cream in my hair. This both perplexed and worried me greatly. I have this very product in my bathroom, but I could not figure out how it would be essential to be putting GEL in my hair prior to cutting it. I tried to calm my worries by reminding myself that "it's just hair, it'll grow back." When Shevon dropped the comb she was using I grew more concerned. I tried to remember if Cheryl Bailey ever dropped a comb.

I let Shevon go on for about 9 of the 11 minutes of my haircut, when I asked her "Well, so what do you think about the Mormons now?" She said "Oh, they just people, you know? They not so bad." I said "Well, good because you're cutting a Mormon's hair right now." She laughed nervously and said "Okay, okay...that's cool, that's cool."

I'll let you know after I attempt to do it today if I tipped her too much.

Cheating Death

So the scorpion almost got me. Almost. While trying to figure out how to fix the sprinkler timer with only the aid of a dim flashlight on my roommate's Nokia...the little guy came out fighting. Luckily my cat-like reflexes allowed me to drop the box right on the sucker and squish him dead. Phew.

Beyond that...no real victories today. Other than I surviving a day in the world with glasses. Pray that the curse of this eye infection goes away quickly so that I'll soon be back to contacts and not tempted to curse my mother for passing on the "legally blind" genes. :)

The Beginning

So. My little brother stole the coolest template...dark dots... but I cannot let that deter me from embarking on my journey. It is a smidge embarrassing that Mom had a blog before I did (no offense, Mom). And to be quite honest I don't have a darling baby boy... so mine will be the blog to be viewed only after Rand and Suz's blogs get old. (IF that happens).