Closed Doors and Open Windows

So much has happened it seems since my last post, most of them not fun. I'm going to skip that though because I want to close that chapter, I don't need to think about it. I have come to realize ever since I moved home, despite the hardships I've had over the last 9 months that life is a road and there are bound to be potholes, I guess I tried to swerve around the potholes and flew into the ditch for a while because I really struggled with just about everything. The beginning of June was seriously the lowest point in my life I feel like so much happened to stop me from getting back to my feet and even though I was already down I just kept getting kicks to make it worse. I got to the point where I felt like nothing I did no matter what it was was good enough for anyone and didn't see the point in trying anymore. Why try when its never good enough?

I found myself with a lot of spare time, and I thought to myself, am I going to let the decision of others and what they think and say destroy me so completely that I just want to give up? There has to be one thing in this world that I know I can do well. Something that I don't need someone to say hey that looks good or good job. Something I knew I had to find within myself. Something I knew with 100% confidence that if I started, if I did it, if I put everything I had into it - it would be amazing. So using a home program I designed my own cross stitch, got the supplies for it and got started on it. I can honestly say I haven't been this excited about something for a very long time. And it worked, this is something I don't need someone to tell me I do well because my work speaks for itself. It is one of the most incredible things I've ever done and even though it is only halfway done I am so pleased with how it looks. What I hadn't expected was how it would help me deal with my depression. Not only did it give me something to look forward to doing, it let me release my frustration, hurt, anger, and every other negative feeling that has been building up and festering for months. And it feels so good to release that - as well as feeling good about myself again.

Thanks to that, and with the support of my amazing family I know I'm out of the ditch again. I find joy in little things again. I've been on a cooking spree, much to my brother in laws expense since he is my guinea pig for these new recipes since we work at the same place now. Poor guy. But he's been a good sport about it. I've tried several new things. I made my first ever cheesecake. And a new kind of pie. I made a pretzel chocolate cookie my mom loves and today I made candy cookies with some of my favorite candies.

I'm finding myself more at peace and relaxed than I have been for a while and I'm thankful for every day I have. I know I never would've gotten this far without my family, my amazing friends, especially Chantel and Sarah. They have been big lifelines for me always letting me vent when I needed to, hearing me out and supporting me. And I know that I could always pray when I needed that support as well. Talking to the Lord was better than talking to a therapist. I don't need some stranger telling me how screwed up in the head I am. Or pumping me full of drugs. I believe in that saying. When God closes a door somewhere he opens a window. I found my window. And I'm not outside anymore.

Turning Point

Well I've been through a few rough patches over the last several months but I've had my good times too. December especially was a really rough month for me, it should have been good as my divorce was finalized and I got everything I wanted in my divorce. The judge pushed it faster for the emotional abuse and I have officially been divorced from Mike for a little over two months. Work was going well, at least so I thought, but on the last day before our Christmas break Joseph gave me a nasty shock telling me that he and Mindy had decided to let me go - but it was ok because he was giving me a Christmas bonus. I nodded my understanding, thanked him for the job, and left for the last time. I immediately called my old grooming teacher Crystal, who'd I'd already talked to about working over the Christmas break so I could earn a little extra money. She gave me a job, for which I was very grateful, so within five minutes of losing my job I had a new one. I went home but didn't keep it together long before I completely fell apart. Melinda, Brent and Molly were over for movie night but I just couldn't keep a happy face and retreated to my room after my mom had gotten me to confess what was wrong.

I could tell I was really worrying my mom over the next week or so, I didn't like to leave my room - and after a fight with my dad my mom found me determined to sleep in my car with the dogs and had to beg me to get me to go back in the house. I was starting to feel like I didn't belong anywhere and was once again seriously wondering what the point of trying was. Christmas had very little appeal for me and I wasn't looking forward to putting on a show for family and pretending I was happy when on the inside I felt like I was screaming.

I started my new job at Crystal's Dog Spa - now Crystal's Dog Spaw as she broke the business deal with her old partner and restarted the business on her own. I knew I had a lot to learn still, as did Crystal. I was terrified I was going to let my old grooming teacher down, I really didn't want to disappoint her and have her regret hiring me. And at first I was only working once or twice a week.

But after I'd been working there for a few weeks Crystal told me that she was going to move me up from back up groomer to her second groomer as I'd proved to be responsible, reliable, and dedicated. I've really liked working for Crystal - I've had my rough days, but I've continued to improve in my grooming and have gotten so many more compliments from both Crystal and her manager when she isn't there, Marci, that it has been a much more pleasant working enviornment for me. I feel like I am more appreciated where I am and I like that when I drive to work I don't have to keep driving around all day. Crystal also lets me take Jack and Priestly to work once a week so they can have a free bath. Jack loves going and playing with the toys in the playpen - but he's recently discovered that he's big enough he can jump out - so if I don't pick up the toy he drops for me he'll jump out and carry it over to me. Priestly loves going - until he realizes he's getting a bath. Then it isn't fun anymore. But I love taking them to work with me. Priestly just tends to sleep on Jack's back for most of the day - though he will bark at the dogs that come in.

One thing I really like about working for Crystal is she knows I'm doing my best - and with her tips and encouragment I've continued to improve. The other day I was halfway done on my last dog and Crystal had already finished - she left to ran a few errands then came back to see how I was doing and was very pleased with how my dog was looking. And yesterday the first teddy bear face I was doing on a dog who's owner had taken a pair of scissors too and made it look awful Marci told me it looked very cute and I'd done it all by myself. I can't say how satisfying it is to know that my work is improving. And I really enjoy working with Crystal again - we can laugh and joke and have a good time at work and sometimes if we are hungry when we are done at the same time we go out for dinner. I have been very blessed to have Crystal as a friend and teacher. She's been very good to me.

I am also very grateful for my parents who've been supportive and have helped me out more than I can even say over the past few months, helping me through the dark pit of depression I've fallen into. I still have my rough days, but I've reached a turning point. I'm getting there. I'm slowly crawling out and I know I'll get there.

Striking gold with a side order of laughter

So my favorite brother in law has told me that he is so happy I have the job I have now. He loves the stories I come home with, although Mindy was a little worried about that when I told her that he said that. She asked me what kind of stories I was telling them and I reassured her it was nothing too embarrassing. But hey what would the fun of being a groomer be if there weren't a few laughs along the way.

I was so happy my family, with the exception of dad because he had to work, got to meet Mindy and Joseph so now they know who I'm talking about when I tell them my stories. Everyone in my family liked them and I always have such a good time at work when I'm with them. I decided I'd better start writing some of these things down before I forget them.

Today for example started off kind of shaky. I haven't slept well in the past two days and I was tired. I did the first dog - a little Yorkie, very cute but not as cute as Priestly I have to stay loyal to the little jewel of my eye, Mindy worked on the van while I tried to wake myself up. But then to my surprise Mindy suddenly declared that she had forgotten her phone. Not moments later my phone rang, so I went to grab it from my purse and surprise surprise it was Joseph calling. He asked if he could speak to Mindy, so smirking I handed the phone to her. Joseph then informed her that she had forgotten her phone. As if she hadn't noticed. Snickering I went back to work while Mindy talked on my phone.

The second dog we did was a bear - a short-haired German Shepherd. That dog looked like a bear my goodness he was big. And he shed all over we could have made two small dogs with all the hair we brushed out of him. But he was rather cooperative so I won't complain about him. The groom went fairly fast but because he was so big and had so many clumps of loose hair it tooks us a while to brush them all out. But finally we did we both gave him a bath and while I was waiting for the last of the water to drain from the tub some hair got caught on the hair catcher and made a rather loud raspberry. But the funniest part about that was that it was completely quiet at the time the tub made that noise. Then Mindy and I both burst into fits of laughter. Mindy told me that she thought it had been me farting and had been surprised because I've never farted in front of her and I hadn't given her any warning whatsoever. However, when the raspberry sound that the tub made lasted longer than a normal fart would she realized it wasn't me making that sound. I would have been rolling around on the floor laughing if it hadn't been covered with hair. But the thought that she thought I was farting in front of her just really tickled me. We giggled about that the rest of the groom before heading to our third dog.

The third dog we did was a Shih Tzu. Mindy told me to do the teddy face so she could see what it looked like because I am going out on my own again tomorrow. So I worked on the teddy face while she worked on everything else - nothing really eventful happened, unfortunately, but we had some interesting conversations talking about the presentation she'd given for her class the day before, what I had done during my day off, and the up coming holidays. After we bathed and dried the Shih Tzu I went to work adding the finishing touches to the teddy face and when I told Mindy I was ready to inspect she didn't have one thing to touch up. I was thrilled and Mindy was so proud of me. I think if I had felt any higher I would have sprouted wings and flown away. Mindy is the toughest critic I've ever had and for her to say my face was perfect was such an amazing thing to hear. So we gave the dog back and headed to our next one.

The next one was a Labradoodle and he was HUGE! I've seen Labradoodles before but this one took the cake and the icing with it. Luckily we were only giving him a slight trim and brush and bath. Nothing really exciting happened during that groom either until after we'd bathed him and Mindy started to dry him. She left him in the tub to dry him and I watched after sweeping up the hair and clipping his nails. She was only halfway done and the tub was covered in black hair - so I smirked and told Mindy that she might have noticed I'd shaved my legs in the tub again. She laughed and told me she'd prefer that I shave my legs at home - I told her the reason there was so much hair in there was because I'd shaved my armpits too - she giggled about that for several mintues while more black hair flew off the dog and clung to the sides and basin of the tub.

The next dog we did a pug. Well, I think she was a pug she didn't have the squashed in face most pugs do. It was just another bath and brush. Mindy wanted to see how long it took me to do it. She said it should only take me twenty minutes... so I went to work while she watched. Twenty minutes later... and I was taking the dog back into the owner. Mindy was so thrilled.

The final dogs we did were an English Sheepdog, which Mindy had to shave bald because he was so matted, and a Shih Tzu who wasn't in much better condition. Mindy and I chatted a little about Tuesday when I had been out with Joseph and she mentioned the Schnauzer I had done who had tried to bite me every 5-10 seconds. He was a nasty little booger and I had muzzled him after he'd tried to bite me before I'd even touched him. I've learned by now that if a dog is acting aggressive it is better to be safe than sorry. I'm glad I did as he was going to bite me to really get me rather than bite me to warn me. But Joseph had called me Wednesday afternoon to see if I remembered anything growing on the Schnazuer's but - a lump. I told him I had and that I'd pointed it to him when I'd been grooming him. Joseph realized I'd pointed it out to him and said he felt really stupid because when the Schnazuer's concerned owner called to inquire about it Joseph told her he didn't know anything about it - but I had shown it to him and he had seen it. So he had to call her back and tell her that he really had seen it. Those last two dogs were such a mess they took us a while to finish. The English Sheepdog kept farting and stinking up the van and Mindy would cry out in disgust every time he did. I didn't know whether to laugh or keep my mouth shut so I wouldn't inhale more than I needed to of the disgusting fumes the dog was releasing so I opted to bite my lip and pretend I couldn't smell it. By the time we'd finished we were both tired and ready to call it a day.

Some of my favorite highlights of the day were the bathtubs funny noises, Mindy keep having to ask me if she could use my phone, Joseph calling my phone and asking me directly for Mindy, Mindy forgetting that she didn't have her phone and reaching for the GPS to call a customer, Mindy being proud of my grooming.

I'm Official

Well Mindy finally got around to updating the website and I am offically on the website. Mindy thought I was hilarious when she told me that today and I gave her a great big smile and told her Priestly was famous now because his picture was on her website. She had to laugh because I felt like that was so important to me. She said that people what to look at me and my entire profile is basically about myself but the first thing I thought about was Priestly. I guess it was funny but Priestly is my little pride and joy - he is such a sweetie.

And I am going out on my own officially for the first time tomorrow. I'm so excited to test my wings and see what I can do. Mindy told me that I was going to drive a little bit today so I could get used to the van. She forgot that I've driven it a couple times now - even on the freeway once. I think she had her hands clamped to the seat I usually sit on - or she wanted too. LOL. Not that I'm a crazy driver she gets car sick when she is sitting backwards so she was sitting sideways in the seat looking out through the windshield while I drove and told me where to go. She is so funny.

It made me laugh Saturday when Brent came over and told me that he was so happy I had this job because I came back with the most fantastic stories. I need to get a journal so I can write some of these things down so I'll never foget them. Even if Mindy cringes when I tell her what stories I tell - I can't help it. They are so funny.

If anyone wants to see the official website it is www.k9designsonline.com

Note to self - losing temper is not a good thing

Man I don't know if it is just me or the stress I've been under or everything that has been going on in my life lately but I pretty much let a customer have it today. Although in all fairness she was rude first.

After spending an hour and a half grooming and brushing out her horribly matted dog we took it to the door, Joseph had already checked mine to make sure it looked good so I wasn't worried about it. But when she looked at him she said in the snootiest rudest voice I have ever heard "He is a mess!" I was shocked for a second then angry the next. She told me his face wasn't even clean. Now that wasn't true because I'd scrubbed it with the soap - problem is that the fur was stained and the shampoo won't take the staining out. So I told her that I had washed his face. I think she was just used to him being fluffy and sometimes our dogs are still a little wet. We don't have the battery power in the grooming vans to completely dry every dog. If you want it a little drier we will be happy to go back and dry it some more - otherwise we get it almost all the way dry and give it back. She then said "what happened to his face?" This dog had had eye crusties so bad they looked like marbles that needed to be cut out. She honestly seemed surprised by this. So I told her his eye crusties had to be cut out and that I had washed his face - I don't think I said it very nice though, probably not because she looked angry. She then told me his face was dirty and again I assured her it wasn't. I should have just bitten my tongue and agreed with her. So we took the dog back to the van and blow dried it some more so it was "fluffy" and did a little touch up job. When we took it back she was fine with how he looked but she was so angry with me. I have the feeling this is not the first time she's talked to a groomer like this. Especially since she never takes care of her dogs and that much is obvious. But again I shouldn't have said anything - I should have just agreed with her and told her she was right and asked what she wanted us to do to fix it instead of telling her that I had cleaned his face.

She then gave us the money and said that she normally tipped but because I was rude she wasn't going to. Now normally I don't say anything and even when she said that I bit my tongue because I was just being honest with her - and with as snotty as she was being I thought I was pretty polite with her. Still I have to remember that I have to keep my emotions way down. Despite the fact that she never brushes out her dogs and his tail alone took me thirty minutes to demat because all it was was a giant mat I should have known better. Ah... well guess I'm going to have learn my lesson.

Life As A Dog Groomer

I'd have to say in my short career as a dog groomer I have never been happier than I am right now with any other job and I have the most amazing people for my bosses. On top of them being patient but critical teachers, who are determined to make me the best groomer I can be they are also LDS members so I never have to worry about them saying things that will offend me or making me do something that will make me incredible. The Lord certainly knew what he was doing when he gave me this job. There hasn't been a day that has gone by that I haven't been grateful for it.

There are downsides of course, there are always downsides when you are working with something that can think for itself. Trying to avoid getting bitten when doing something like shaving pads or clipping nails is usually the downside. But I've only had one dog try to take a snap at me usually Joseph is the one who has to jump away to avoid getting bitten. I teased him about that a bit telling him he brought out the worst in every dog. He laughed and told me from now on he'd give me the mean dogs. Mindy almost got bit last week - but luckily she is pretty fast on the draw and the dog missed.

This week has been interesting. I learned how to put bows in a dog's hair and do it well. I did a little victory dance over that and it made Mindy laugh at my antics. I also learned not to hold my hand close to where the dog pees when you blow dry them otherwise you'll get pee all over your arm like Mindy did. I had a hard time keeping my face as stoic as possible and it only lasted for about 30 seconds before I busted up laughing. Mindy didn't find it as funny until I pointed out if it had been me that had been peed on she would have been laughing at me. She had to admit that I was right.

I have really learned a lot from Mindy and Joseph. And I'll continue to learn as I continue to groom. I really couldn't have asked for a better job or better people. I feel so blessed.

The New Me

I have to say it has been a long time since I have posted anything here. But what would I have really said about myself? I work, go to school, eat and sleep? Because that is basically all I was doing. I was working very hard to try and ensure that I'd have a job after I lost my job at the post office because one thing was certain I was going to lose my job. So I was going to school to learn how to be a dog groomer and I discovered I really loved grooming dogs. I found my dream job. Working with dogs all day without the horrors of seeing them torn open by a car or skateboard. For our final dog we had to do a Schnauzer and I was so terrified since I'd only done the cut once but the dog I groomed was named Teddy and she was such a sweetie that it made it much easier. And on my final written I scored 50/50 so passed my course and I am so glad I decided to take the risk and do it because I found something I love and something that'll give me job security for the rest of my life. As a graduation present Crystal (My grooming teacher) got specialized cupcakes made for me and my fellow student Kelly it was so fun. I still keep in contact with Crystal and we hope to get together sometime soon to catch up with everything.

Shortly after I graduated Mike had a stroke because he decided he could stop taking his blood thinner and I was stressed out of my mind because at the time I had no job, very little money, Mike was barely working, and we had no insurance. I wasn't sure how we were going to pay the hospital bill and no matter how hard I prayed it just seemed like hit after hit kept coming. I kept faith though that the Lord would help if I kept my faith in him.

Mike spent four days in the hospital and when he came home my dad, sister and brother-in-law Brent came over to give Mike a blessing. I spent the next three days catering to every one of Mike's wishes, making sure he was well cared for but realized quickly that he didn't appreciate anything I was doing. He started saying very rude things, demanding without being appreciative, and if I didn't do something fast enough he'd throw a temper tantrum or call his mom to tattle on me. After he fell asleep I'd have my cry so he wouldn't hear me and I prayed that the Lord would just let me die because I didn't feel like my life was worth living anymore. I felt trapped in a horrible relationship where my husband didn't appreciate anything I did, where he was always beating me down until I felt smaller than an ant, and nothing I did was good enough. I was so tired of carrying all the financial burdens and all the house work as well. I told the Lord that I needed help, that I couldn't do this on my own, that it felt like I was carrying too much and I'd break under the weight. And then I remembered one of my favorite poems in the whole wide world. "Footprints in the Sand." The very last line gave me comfort. "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you." I know that the Lord has been carrying me and helping me through the rough times. So I thanked him for the strength he has given me and prayed hard about what I should do and to please help me get a job.

The next day I was sending out applications and cover letters again, something I'd been doing for almost a month with no luck. I saw a dog grooming position available for K-9 Mobile Grooming so I sent my cover letter and resume. Twenty minutes later I got a call from Mindy. She gave me an over the phone interview and wanted me to come down and go on a trial grooming with her. So that Monday I went down and went grooming with her, she hired me that afternoon. I was so grateful. Not only did I get a job in the field I went to school for but it also would allow me to make more than double what I was making at the post office.

Mike called to see if I got the job and when I told him I did I could just hear him relax over the phone because he knew the financial responsibility of the family was once again off his shoulders and it made me realize something. He was never going to change. He is always going to sit back and let me take care of everything because he knows I will. His house will get cleaned, the bills will be paid, and his meals will be cooked because I take care of everything. Because of all the stress I've been under my body broke out into hives, when I told Mike he laughed, and my hives spread covering most of my body. I knew then what I had to do, my own health was in danger because of the stress and it wasn't handling it well, between the hives and my high blood pressure I knew if I kept this up the stress would end up killing me.

So I finally got up the courage and told Mike what I've been feeling for a very long time now and then told him I want a divorce. After that I packed up my backpack, grabbed Priestly and we went down to my parents. And I have to say this week has been the happiest I've been in almost two years. My stress levels have come down considerably. My blood pressure is getting under control again and over the past couple days my hives have really started to fade. I find I'm not so tense and because of that I'm more pleasant to be around. I've done things I've found enjoyable and I've found my love for life again. I told Mike he has three weeks to pack up and get out otherwise I'd take my name off the lease and he could handle paying the rent, the power, utilities, and gas bills by himself. I've been paying for everything and I'm not going to pay for it if I'm not living there. I talked to a long time family friend Sue and she said I could move in with her for less than half of what I'm paying now and that I'd be able to take Priestly with me. I have my whole family behind me to back me up and support me in this decision, and my friends are so relieved because from what they've seen and what I've told them they haven't liked how Mike has treated me.

He has beaten me down emotionally time and time again and I really had to step back and take a look at my life and realize that this isn't what I wanted. So I plan on getting my car paid off, and save up for a place of my own. Hopefully somewhere closer to work so I don't have a 40 minute drive to Orem every day. But I know that this decision is the best one I've made in over two years and it makes me so happy. I'm going to think of what I need first for a change since I haven't done that in two years. With Sue I'll still feel independent but I'll have a friend to live with who loves and cares about me but won't care if I feel like cooking dinner, who won't care if I want to go to my room and read. I have many amazing people in my life, my friends and my family, and I am so grateful for each and every one of them. They held me while I've cried, they've listened to what I've been through, and they've understood and respected my decision as well as supported me. I know with my family behind me I can get through anything. As hard as this will be I know it will be worth it. I'll be a much happier, much less stressed, much wiser, and more appreciative person. I'll be a new me and I'll be much better for it.

Farts are funny

You know it never seems to amaze me how so many people at work seem to think we can't hear when they pass gas because they are wearing headphones. They can't hear it so naturally no one else can either. I've grown accustomed to the rude noises people make at the REC. And the majority of them don't bother excusing themselves, because again they think no one heard it.

When I first started at the REC I made the mistake of sitting close to the bathrooms... I don't do that anymore unless I find it absolutely necessary. I won't post the disgusting details to that one... but trust me I'd rather sit anywhere else because people also seem to think if they are in the bathroom you can't hear what they are doing and the sounds they make are anything but musical.

Melinda, Brent, Mike, Stephen, and I often joke about disgusting noises that the body makes. While Melinda was still teaching school she said her kids would always laugh when one of them farted and she'd have a hard time getting them to calm down just because farting is so funny. If you stop and think about it... it kind of is.

Well today I've been with my dogs and being myself and as curious as I get about thing sometimes I decided to look up what causes dogs to have such bad gas. We all know it isn't pleasant when somebody has bad gas, it stinks up the room like a stink bomb and no matter how you try to air it out it perfumes the room for hours. But when dogs have gas it always seems to be a hundred times worse. So I looked up the reason on why and came across this article that made me laugh so hard I just have to share it.

Dogs don't get embarrassed about farting like we do. In fact, they are so relaxed at it, you usually don't hear a dog's fart and only know it's occured because you smell it. Dogs farts are more stinky than human farts for a number of reasons inculding the fact that dog foods are often soy-based. This makes them full of sulfer. Dogs seem to enjoy smelling disgusting things, so while they enjoy the smell of human flatuance, we don't really enjoy their farts quite as much. And it almost seems as if dogs wait until we have company visiting the house until they decide to fart and when they do, the room seems to fill with horrible gas faster than a speeding bullet.

The article then went on to explain why dogs get such bad gas. I skimmed through it, giggling the whole time over that first paragraph and then at the very end there was the perfect ending to such an article.

Let's face it dogs just have gas.

We've been lucky enough that I've only caught Priestly or Pattie farting a couple times. Jack on the other hand wasn't so shy about it. When we were living at the big house in Salt Lake he would get up on the bed, turn so his head was towards our feet and fart in Michael's face. Michael hated this. I thought it was so funny that the bed would shake as I giggled. Jack would give me his happy face as if he knew he'd made me happy.

Ahh, I think that Heavenly Father has to have a sense of humor, and he gave us creatures like dogs who are so pleased with their stinky gas that it just has to make you smile. I'm so grateful for my dogs, they make life so much better.

Our New Place

Well the past few months have been busy for us. We had our first wedding anniversary on November 27th. My Mom gave us a pass she had for a free night at a hotel in downtown Salt Lake. Stephen was nice enough to come down and stay in our apartment with the dogs over night so Mike and I went out for dinner and then went to a very nice hotel for the night. We had to leave early the next day because Mike was working a double shift.

Our second Christmas together was much better than our first. Mike took sleeping pills our first Christmas together so he slept the whole day while I played solitare by myself in the kitchen. This Christmas I got us a Christmas tree, and I got the puppies some cute Christmas outfits.

We spent Christmas Eve at my Grandma and Grandpa Condie's house. We were quite entertained by how impatient my cousins were for their turn to open funny stocking presents. I remember how hard it was to wait while the adults opened their "boring gifts" when I was younger and how tempting those presents were. Parker kept counting down how many people were left before it was his turn - and kept asking why the adult gifts were so funny. The biggest joke for Mike and I were the bugs in our apartment, we got a lot of bug killing things as well as a bug game.

Christmas day Mike and I packed up our gifts and the dogs and went down to my parents. I was really excited for my Mom to open the gift I gave her - I got her one of her favorite Disney movies The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. I really wish I hadn't forgotten my camera but she loved it and was so surprised. After that we went up to Aunt Shirleen's for dinner and presents. We were pretty tired after that though so we didn't stay very long after that - just enough for Mike to have a piece of pie and for me to cut up the fudge and serve that while my chocolate cream pie disappeared. I think my chocolate pie was the fastest to go.

The next day we went to Arla's for dinner and to spend some time with Becky, Colton, and Matt. Unfortunately Mike and I were both not feeling very well so we didn't feel up to playing games afterward. But it was nice to see them again anyway. Matt and his family also brought their new addition. A little Yorkie puppy named Reece's I'm not sure if that is supposed to be Reece's Peanutbutter Cup or not. But that's how I remember her name. Colton loves her.

January I spent most of the month getting us ready to move into our new apartment. But on January 31st when I went down to get our pro-rate to stay for the next few days while our new apartment was getting cleaned for us we were told our apartment was rented and we had to be out by the end of the day. I hadn't even finished packing yet. So in a panic I called my Mom and asked if we could stay with them until Saturday, which she said was fine and Dad said he'd pick up the trailer and be over to help as soon as he could. Chantel told me she had some extra boxes we could have so I dropped the dogs off at my parents and picked the boxes up at Chantels and then went back to finish packing. By the time I got there Stephen and Dad were already there and were moving things down to the trailer. It was a very long very tiring day. But the good part was that our new apartment complex had a different ground floor apartment available for us so we could move in that day. So we got moved into our new apartment five days ahead of what we expected. We were happy to get out of our cockroach infested apartment and into our new one - and we haven't seen a single bug since we've moved in. I feel bad for those new tenant who are going to have a massive cockroach problem in their new home.

I haven't gotten a few things I want for our new apartment but I'll add pictures when I do. But our new apartment is huge compared to our old one! And it is so nice being on the ground floor! I was so tired of hauling groceries up three flights of stairs it was such a pain!

Priestly has adjusted well to our new apartment, and Pattie is slowly getting used to it. She has been a little naughty but she'll adjust. But they love chasing each other up and down the hall. They've got more room to play here and I think they love that. I'm still getting used to it myself, but I've really liked it so far - hopefully things will continue to go up from here.

October - Month of Scares

Well it has been an interesting and definitely not boring month. Proabably the scariest thing that has happened to us was someone trying to follow me to my car as I was walking over to it to go to work one morning.


It was about 4:30 in the morning and I was walking to my car, fairly quickly because it was cold outside, and I heard someone start to wolf whistle me. Now I've only ever heard teenagers and people on TV actually do that so that made me pause and turn. Which I really wish I hadn't. There was a tall guy, with his face hidden in shadows, not too far from me. He was watching me as I walked to my car. When I started to walk again he wolf whistled me a second time, and then started to follow me. I jumped into my car and locked the doors, pulled out and drove quickly away.


Mike didn't have to work that day because he had a job interview somewhere else. So I talked to him on my lunch to make sure he was going to be home when I got home as I didn't want to come home to an empty apartment. He promised he would be - and when I got home he thought I was going to tell him I was pregnant. But I'm not - I told him what happened and he was very angry - insisting on walking me to my car in the morning from now on. And he did, it felt nice not being alone although I felt bad making him get up so much earlier than he had to.


Later that week Mike went to bed early as he had to go to work the next day and since I didn't have to go to work I was up watching a movie with both puppies curled up on my lap. About midnight I heard the door rattle. I thought it was my imagination at first but then it rattled again and the door knob started to twist. Priestly woke up with a start and started to growl. I panicked, grabbing both puppies I dashed into the bedroom, woke up my husband and trembled so hard the bed was shaking. I didn't sleep well, I kept having nightmares and when I finally got up the next morning I didn't want to stay here alone - I took both the puppies to my parents and I went shopping for black sweats to finish my Halloween costume. I called Mom and I told her what happened. She was very upset - and told me if we didn't have the money she was going to buy me a baseball bat. But we have Mike's cricket bat here in the apartment so I don't need one. It hasn't happened since and thank goodness for that.


I have both of the puppies costumes though and I got what I needed to finish my costume. Mike also got his costume last weekend and we had a Halloween party at Mom's yesterday. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but it was still a lot of fun - I was so tired though after working a full week, getting our apartment ready for bug spraying again as the whole building is having problems so they are spraying every apartment in an attempt to get rid of them and I have to finish that today, doing tons of house work, and cooking dinner at Mom's for everyone that I fell asleep during the movie. I wasn't disappointed about that it was boring. We left soon after that.


Halloween is coming up this week - Mike and I are going to Mom's to pass out candy in exchange for watching scary movies on the big screen and enjoying some of the candy ourselves. I just hope it isn't raining again.


Happy Halloween everybody!

Finished Products Are So Satisfying

You know how it feels when you finish a project you pour hours of work into? A scrapbook, painting, quilt, knitting, etc...well for me it's cross stitching. I love to cross stitch, not only does it distract me from some of the harder days I face and give me the stress relief I need it also gives me some gratification that I can take something so simple as a blank cloth and turn it into something beautiful. Sometimes it is hard to say good bye to the things I stitch as I put so much of my time and myself into these projects. I pick designs that I find beautiful because of what they are or what they represent.

This last week I finished a wolf cross stitch for my friend Mike Wilde. Last year while I was living with my Grandma and Grandpa Condie out it Tooele I was working on a wolf cross stitch to give to my Mom for Mother's Day. When I finished it I gave it to her early. She told me she couldn't take it to work with her because if Mike Wilde saw it he'd be jealous. He loves wolves. As a fellow wolf lover I immediately bought the colors and cloth I'd need and I began working on a new wolf cross stitch for him. But between the time I started it and the time I finished it I would get married, add two new puppies to our lives, and move twice, therefore delaying my finished project. But I finally got it finished, and with a month to spare before his birthday.

All my cross stitched projects take up a lot of time, and most of them I've spilled blood while working on them as I've jabbed myself with my needle. But for me it is all worth it in the end to see the finished product. As frustrated as I can get at times, as hard as it is to have to go back and undo stitches when I've miscounted, as frustrating as it can be when my progress feels so slow it is all worth it in the end when I see the final picture. I love cross stitching and I love the feeling of accomplishment when I'm done.

This Buck was the first big cross stitch I ever made. I gave it to my Dad for his birthday in 2006.

My friend Becky asked me if I would make two horse cross stitches for her nieces for Christmas in the year 2006. She said she'd pay me for them. The first horse I made for her was the Arabian. It took me four months and countless hours to get it done - I'd get up and work on it, I'd go to work for four hours as I was only working part time at the time and then I'd come home and work on it until I could no longer stay away. It was beautiful in the end but not one I'd like to do again.

This paint horse was the second horse cross stitch I did for Becky for her neices' Christmas presents. This one was much smaller so it only took me a week to get it finished. It might look simple but a lot of details were put into this for the shading and especially the grass and shadow of the horse. I wasn't sorry to see both of these projects finished as I was very stressed out at the time to get them finished before Christmas. I think I had them finished with five days to spare.

When I was dating my old boyfriend he loved Superman - and had a lot of Superman stuff. So I went online and found a DC Comic Cross Stitch Pattern book and I made this Superman cross stitch for his birthday only three months before we broke up. He might have thrown it away I don't know what happened to it now.

My sister Melinda and her husband Brent got married in December of 2008. I had no idea what to give them for a wedding gift and so I started to think. When I saw this pattern book of wedding cross stitch designs I bought it and immediately began to search through it seeing which pattern I should make for them. That way it was something personal and something that will hopefully last a lifetime. I spent three months and again countless hours making this for them, but they were both so surprised and they loved it. I know Melinda especially appreciated it because she knows how many hours I dedicate to these projects so I knew I picked the right gift for them.
This wolf cross stitch took me nearly two years to complete because I had stopped not long after beginning it because it was much more complicated than I had expected when I had bought it. But I loved the pattern so I started it up again when I moved out to Tooele to live with my Grandparents. It took me six months to finish when I got started up again and not two weeks after I finished it I gave it to my Mom for an early Mother's Day gift. She keeps it in her room and she loves it - not because she loves wolves but because she knows I made it for her.

And this is my gift for Mike Wilde. As simple as it might look it still took me over a year to get it finished and endless hours. When I saw the pattern in the book I didn't really care for it all that much but the more I worked on it the more I loved it and I realized just how beautiful the pattern really was. So I hope he likes it when he opens it next month when my Mom and I take him out to lunch for his birthday. Mom says he will for three reasons. 1. Because I made it just for him. 2. Because he knows how much time and effort goes into projects like these. 3. Because it has a wolf on it.

I'm now working on my newest project, it's called In Harmony and it is another wolf cross stitch. I haven't finished it yet because I just started it last week but below is what the project will look like when it's finished. When I have it done I'll post a picture of the actual cross stitch for you to see.

25 Years And Counting

Well I guess it's official. I'm 25 years old today, no more teasing Rose and Chantel that they're old because I'm just as old as they are now. That's just sad. :) It was fun while it lasted though.

Mom took me out for lunch yesterday - I told her I was in the mood for a hamburger so we went to Hires and I ordered chicken strips - mom found this very funny. When we were heading back to her office Mike called he told me he wasn't going to go into school on my birthday so he could spend the evening with me instead. I was surprised, but pleased as well knowing I wouldn't be by myself on my birthday.

We had a hard night last night, Priestly was up and down all night and woke me constantly, we had a thunderstorm around midnight that terrified Jack and he jumped onto the bed and was shaking so hard he made the whole bed shake with him. I tried to calm him down while trying to get back to sleep because I had to go to work in a few hours.

By the time my alarm went of I was tired because I hadn't gotten much sleep. I went to work and by the time I got home I was feeling my sleepless night. Mike called and said he'd be home in a little while. So I changed out my DVD's in my CD case so I have something new to listen to at work and was just barely starting to put new DVD's in after putting the others away when Mike got home and told me to hang out in the bathroom. So I went in the bathroom, taking Jack and Priestly with me. After a minute Mike called me back out to the living room and he brought me my gifts. He gave me gift cards for Best Buy, and Barnes and Noble. I also got an iTunes gift card and a new new playstation game - he also bought me a dirty outfit that made me blush. He said there are a couple of other things coming but he wouldn't tell me what so I'll have to wait and see what they are when they come.

After presents Mike took me out to dinner and we came home afterward to just relax. We are both tired after getting up so early and having so little sleep. My phone has been going all day from people wishing me happy birthday and I've had several messages from friends on face book as well. It's been a long day, but a good birthday this year. And now it's my turn to plan for Mike's birthday as that is coming up in about ten days now.

Our New Place

Well as you all know from my previous posts Mike and I moved out of the big house and into our own tiny little apartment. Grandma and Grandma Condie, Melinda, and Mike's twin Matt came to help us move. I was a little terrified because I wasn't sure what our apartment was really going to look like because the one bedroom we saw before didn't have the washer and dryer hooks ups in it and ours does. That apartment looked very cramped, the living room was small and so was the dining room. The bedroom was ok. But we loved it anyway - I was just worried with all that we were bringing that we wouldn't have room for a lot of our things so I only packed the essentials when we moved. I told Mike to do the same - but of course he didn't listen.


Moving was rough, we had had to change to a top floor apartment because the couple in the apartment we were going to have decided to stay for another month. And walking up and down those stairs over and over, lugging in boxes was very wearing. We started at about quarter to 3:00pm but around quarter after 4:00pm we decided to call it quits for the day. We thanked everyone for their help and Mike and I decided we'd finish unloading the truck the next morning.

By the time I got up at 6:30 the next morning Mike had already been awake for an hour and there were only four boxes left to bring in. Then he left for a job interview and I got to work setting up our new place. I couldn't stand having boxes all over because we couldn't move around at all. I worked non-stop for 9 hours setting up our apartment and by the time I called it quits our kitchen, living room, bathroom, and most of the bedroom was done. All that was left were a couple of boxes of Mike's things he'd need to sort out, our wall hangings that I wanted Mike's help with, and Mike's clothes. So in less than 24 hours I made the place look like home. We love it here and our neighbors are very friendly. The kids seem fascinated with our small dogs - and one of them was brave enough to come up and pet Jack the other day. Priestly even let one of the kids touch him. Pattie of course loves everyone.

We haven't had too many problems, except we need to call Sears because our dryer isn't working. And our garbage disposal stopped working this week - but that's the apartment building's job to take care of. So hopefully they'll send someone soon. Jack got sick this week so I took him down to Dad's for a few days so he can have access to go potty when he needs to go rather than waiting for us - he wasn't very happy when I left him there though. I'll pick him up and bring him home this weekend. Dad said that Jack's having a great time swimming in the swimming pool he bought for him. When I dropped him off I even let Priestly have a go at the pool, holding him under the chest while he doggy paddled and splashed Jack in the face. They miss their big brother and it is very empty without him. But he'll be home soon and we'll be a complete family once again. Anyway here are some pictures of our new place.


This is part of our kitchen and bar if you stood at our couch. I let Mike set up his computer here and used the space above our cupboards to place some of our wedding pictures. Since our apartment is small it has forced me to be creative in decorating.




This is our entertainment center - we don't have a dining room because our apartment is so small, but we hope to get a folding table and chairs for when we have guests visit. We improvised with the TV area, using the coffee table Arla gave us to put the TV, DVD player, Playstation and eventually Mike's game system when he gets that set up.






This is our bedroom.




As you can see the dogs have taken to our new place well. They all feel right at home making themselves comfortable on our bed.





This is our kitchen - and I was very surprised and pleased to discover that everything we had at the big house fit easily into our small kitchen here. Even our food storage. Our pantry is skinny but deep so we weren't even short on space for our soups!!!!






This is a corner of our living room. It took me quite a while to get all the DVD's put back in order but in the end it was worth it.



This is our couch and dog pillows there on the floor. Plus a box of Mike's that has been moved since I've taken this picture. I'm hoping to get some of our picture frames filled with our pictures soon because right now they are just the custom pictures the frames came with. Now that Mike has a job though we might be able to afford it.

Jump Rope

Does anyone remember those songs we used to sing when we jumped rope at school or at home when we were kids?

Cinderella dressed in yellow,
went upstairs to kiss a fellow.
Mad a mistake and kissed a snake
How many doctors did it take?

Or...

Hot fudge, call the judge,
(Kid's name) is gonna have a baby
Wrap it up in tissue paper
send it down the elevator what's it gonna be
Boy, girl, twins triplets...boy, girl, twins, triplets...

Or...the hardest one for me anyway

Blue bells, cockel shells,
Easy Ivy, overhead...
Then they'd swing the rope as fast as possible, probably trying to trip you up so they could have a turn. :)

Ahh, the good old days when life was much much simpler. Where the hardest thing was getting good grades in school, staying out of trouble and coming up with three names when you had triplets in your jump rope game. :)

Changes

A couple of weeks ago I came home from work to find Mike very upset. He was staring at his computer screen applying for as many jobs as he could. He turned around when he saw me and said I'd better start packing we were being kicked out. That sent me into a panic with me the only one working we were barely making ends meet as it was, let alone trying to find a new place to go and have to pay rent on top of it.

Needless to say I had a total breakdown that day, and I scared one of my best friend's half to death when she called me and I was crying so hard I could barely breathe let alone talk to her. I managed to choke out that I'd call her back, but she only gave me two minutes before she called me back in a panic, thinking something was seriously wrong and I couldn't breathe. She was on the verge of calling an ambulance for me. I managed to calm down enough to calm her down, then after talking to my sister Melinda I followed her advice and started looking up nearby apartments. The trouble was our three dogs, most of the apartments I looked at would only accept two and I knew if I had to I could give Jack back to Dad, but I didn't want to do that. I owe Jack my life the least I can do is give Jack a good one in return.

I heard back from the manager at Mountain Shadows Apartments about half an hour after I sent out e-mails to apartments that didn't give a lot of info on their pet policies. I asked how many pets were allowed and if they had a weight limit because a lot of places do. Jennifer, the manager there, told me that they had no weight limit. I told her we had three dogs and what breeds they were and she said even though they normally only allow two pets she'd make an exception for us because two of them were small. Plus it would only be $40 extra a month for all three of them instead of paying for them individually. I couldn't believe our luck. So we went down the following Monday to actually see the apartment, and despite that it's small, we love it. We could afford it if we were careful with our money so we went ahead and put down a deposit on it.

They even told us they could have it ready for us July 6th so that is when we are moving, within our three week time period that Arla gave us. Then on Wednesday Mike was offered a job, not only that a job he liked and he gets paid almost twice what I get paid. So he rubbed that in my face. I was very grateful and at the same time I felt very guilty. On Friday when I was having my breakdown and I had thought that maybe God had forgotten about us, that he'd stopped listening, or simply didn't care. I'd been so angry.

Of course as soon as Jennifer agreed to let us take our three dogs I instantly felt regret and I was on my knees instantly begging for forgivness as well as thanking him. I've always turned to my favorite poem when I've been most troubled because it makes me think that maybe, just maybe, while I'm focusing on just the one set of footprints in the sand I'm not focusing on whose prints they are and that this may be one of those times that the Lord is carrying me. I'm going to add it here because I just love the way this poem makes me feel.

Footprints In The Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky,
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there was only one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat,
I could only see one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord, that if I followed you,
You would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you the most, have you not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"My blessed child, I love you and would never leave you.
During your times of trials and sufferings,
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

After Mike got his job this past week, and we found a place to live where we can take all three dogs, and knowing we won't starve I know that it wasn't that God wasn't listening, that he wasn't paying attention or that he'd stopped caring. He hadn't done any of those things. He was just looking at the whole picture while we can only see one tiny piece of the puzzle. Everything happens for a reason, I realize that now, and I'm so grateful for the blessings we've been given this week. Perhaps this was a test of faith for me, and I was tried to my limits, but then God made me see that in times of my hardest sufferings and trials I can always turn to him for help.

Mike and I have had trouble dealing with strangers coming in to look at the house for a while now. People can't seem to keep their hands to themselves when then come to look. They pet and play with our puppies, play our piano, eat our candy and throw wrappers on the floor. We've even had some things go missing right after they've left. So now Mike and I will have a place of our own where no one will come in and pet our dogs unless we tell them it's ok, no one will touch our things, take our things, or eat our food without our permission.

I've decided to give the piano to my sister-in-law Becky. We won't have room for it and it is an old old piano that weighs a ton, it'd be a pain moving it time and time again. We can always get another piano later when we buy a house in the future.

Arla also called this week. She is trying to get a job and saw that the Post Office is still hiring people where I work. I wasn't surprised they are always hiring. So Arla asked me how to apply for that position. I had to go online and look myself because they've changed it a lot since I got the job over two years ago. And before anyone sends me any hate messages complaining about the Post Office - I don't actually deal with mail pieces. I key images as they come onto a computer screen, that's it. What happens to them after they leave my screen is beyond my control. If it's return to sender, or postage needed, we are just keying what we are instructed to key. That's beyond us to do anything about it. I helped Arla get to the right place she needed to be so she could fill out an application. I'm a little worried about it though, I don't know if she understands just how stressful my job is. They expect you to be fast and accurate and if you get over a certain error % rate they fire you. Also if you are late even once you don't stand a chance for a career position, and they might fire you. If you are one of those lazy people who like to have a job but like to call in sick they fire you. When I was first hired on they put you on a trail period and when I came to the end of that my manager told me she was surprised to find someone my age with so much responisbility. I'm always on time, usually forty-fifty minutes early and I just read until my shift starts. I'm never absent, never call in sick, and I'm over 100% in every platform I key. I've had three different managers there now. My newest manager after I traded shifts told me I was a model employee and she said if all the other employees were like me we'd have a perfect REC. But I work hard at my job to be the best I can be. It isn't easy and yes I get stressed out a lot sometimes. But I still give it 110% all the time. It might seem like a laid back job, sit in a cubicle, listening to movies, music, audio books or anything else you want to listen to all day, but they also monitor your speed, your accuracy, and your breaks. Any mistakes and they catch you on it. It's a hard job - but I love it. I've never had a better one.

So over all, Mike and I have a new home, he has a new job, Mike, the dogs and I will stay together as a family, I'm doing great at my job, we aren't going to starve, and we will at last have a place to call our own where no one will barge in to look at it whenever they want. I look forward to being able to afford a house some day soon. Now that we can afford to do so we are going to start setting money aside so we can buy a house - a place we can truly call our own.

Ironic much?

So my first day back at work turned out to be a pretty ironic and stressful day, but that's mainly due to Jack. After Jack had his surgery last week I made sure he stayed inside and as clean as possible so he wouldn't get an infection in the surgerical site or pop his stitches.

Yesterday I took Priestly down to get his haircut. He was getting really shaggy and all his fur hung in his eyes. So I left Jack in Mike's care and headed out to get that done. When I got back Jack seemed fine, until I saw something hanging out of his side later that afternoon. It was a piece of hot pink string, or that's what it looked like but it was actually the stitching thread that they'd used on him he'd popped at least four of his stitches. So I called the vet's and made an appointment for him the next morning - Mike was anxious to get him in worried that'd bleed all over the place. Mike practically swoons at the sight of blood, even his own, and yet he pretends that he's a vampire? How can those two things co-exsist?

I was almost hoping that I could be the one to take Jack in just in case they needed to restitch him and I knew how Mike would handle that. But work was busy (which I'm grateful for more money that we need hooray!) and I asked Mike to send me an update on what the vet said about Jack's condition.

I got a text almost as I hit my seventh hour of work. Jack was fine, they'd decided to take out all the stitches for good this time. But on the bad side of things despite how careful I was Jack has an infection. Mike told me I'd have to be the one to give him his pills. Again squimish. How is he going to handle kids? :)

Unfortunately for him I'm going to make him help. Jack can only have his pills every twelve hours and he had his pill so late tonight I won't be able to give him one before I leave for work tomorrow. So I told Mike just coat the pill in peanut butter and that'll disguise it so Jack will take it easily. Bet you dollars to donuts Mike freaks out - but I sure do love him. There's never a dull moment when married to Mike.

Vacation Time

Well, last week I turned in 40 of my hard earned annual hours so I could take Jack in to the vets to get a large lump on his side removed. He's had it ever since we've had him and it hasn't been the first one we've needed to remove. It didn't seem to bother him unless we touched it and then he didn't like it but he wasn't very aware of it either. So I made an appointment to get him in to get it taken off.


I had to wake up early on Monday so that I could get ready and take him in. Of course Priestly threw the biggest fit when he saw Jack was going somewhere and as soon as I put him in his kennel he gave me the saddest eyes I've ever seen. Call me a sucker because I took him with us. We got down to the vet just in time for Jack's appointment. Of course he was nervous and tried to sit on my lap while we were waiting, which ended up with him knocking my purse to the filthy floor. Priestly was too excited to be nervous he knew that he wasn't in there for anything. But when I was asked to put him on the scale so we could weigh him Priestly had other ideas. When we finally got him to hold still long enough we discovered that he's gained almost two pounds since the last time we took him to the vet. I laughed because he doesn't look any different and he's still so light to pick up - I could hold him all day and never get tired. Pattie on the other hand if I pick her up my arms ache after five minutes. So Priestly is now a healthy 5 1/2 pounds of wiggling puppy.


After we were taken into the exam room and asked what we were in for I told him and he told me that I'd have to come back Tuesday or Wednesday to get that done because they were already booked up for surgeries that day. That made me very mad. There hadn't been any surgeries booked when I'd called and made the appointment and I'd even gotten the first appointment of the day. I told him that when I called I'd booked to get it removed, not looked at, but removed. He was probably very aware of how angry I was because he went and talked to the vet in charge of the surgeries who said we could get Jack in. Needless to say after I found out the price I will definitely not be going back to that clinc again. As far as I'm concerned they can burn his records.


Tuesday was Stephen's birthday. Jack was still very sore from his surgery the day before and has several stitches keeping the wound closed so he's not allowed to play until after those are removed. So I got up early and made Stephen's birthday cake then later that afternoon I loaded up the puppies and took them with me so Jack could get some sleep without the puppies howling downstairs.

It was fun, I still can't believe my baby brother's turned 22, but then again I can't believe I'm going to be 25 this year either. Mike wasn't able to go as he had school but I let the puppies out in the backyard to play and we did dinner and presents and cake. Brent kept saying that cake should come before presents because when you already had the cake it made you more excited about the presents. It made us all laugh. I went home right after cake so I could get back to Jack.


Wednesday we had a quiet day at home, something I'd hoped for when I asked for vacation time. Thursday I had invited Stephen up for dinner. He wanted lasagna with French bread and wanted to try my rainbow Jell-O. So I'd been working on the Jell-O for the past couple of days to get it ready as it does take quite a bit of time to get it together. I put that together as well as the lasagna in the morning and put them in the fridge for later. I told Stephen I'd go pick him up because he had no way of getting up here, but some friends were going to pick him up later because he was going to a dance. Stephen really enjoyed everything and had seconds of everything, but had a hard time finishing his Jell-O it doesn't look like much but it is actually quite a bit and that took him by surprise. We passed the time after dinner looking at some slideshows I've put together on my new laptop and watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and laughing at the jokes. Some things never change we both still like Ninja Turtles.





Friday I woke up very sick. Mike was alarmed at how warm I was and made me stay on the couch all day. He enjoyed playing doctor a lot. Running around and fetching things for me even though I didn't want them. He particularly enjoyed making me drink icky poo orange juice. Even though it is good for me I still hate it - but I drank it. Mom and Melinda dropped off some things for me that night and Mike had fun giving them to me. I think maybe he had too much fun playing doctor.


Saturday I felt a little better so we went to MAHARG night for dinner. But by the time we were done with that and our early Father's Day I was exhausted and just wanted to go home. So we came home around 8:00.


Sunday passed in pretty much the same fashion I was still pretty sick so we stayed home so I could rest up and try to get better before I have to go back to work tomorrow. I went downstairs and finished my bottle of water then refilled it with tap, sticking it in my usual spot on the second shelf. When I went to get it later I was surprised to find it gone. I asked Mike if he drank it and he smiled and shrugged. I told him that was my icky sicky water and he was going to get my sickies because he drank it. He told me it was only a little bit gone but then I revealed that I had just refilled it. That threw him for a loop and he made such a fuss that it left me rolling on the floor holding my sides to keep from falling apart I couldn't stop laughing.


Overall it was a pretty good vacation. I got to go see Chantel and the new baby again while waiting for Jack's surgery to be over with, I got to bake Stephen some of my favorite things to make, Priestly and Pattie got to run around Dad's big backyard, Jack now has two shaved areas - on the surgical site and on his leg plus he has hot pink stitiches - that way you can't miss them. Mike almost threw up when he saw Jack's stitches and that made me laugh, our small fan pooped out on us so now we have a bigger one and Pattie loves to sit there and let the fan blow the hair from her face, Priestly hasn't been allowed in Jack's kennel in case he pulls at Jack's stitches so he's discovered the joys of sleeping on the bed next to me. And I've discovered something too - no matter how rotten a week is you can always go back and recall things you really liked about parts of it.

Long Few Weeks

Well, it has been a long few weeks, and super busy at best. And I doubt this next week will be much better, not with everything I'm doing. It feels like I've had very little downtime for myself lately, and Mom pointed that out to me last Saturday.

I guess it started a few weeks ago, Arla is still trying to sell the house we are living in even though no one is interested in buying it. They just want to look around and the Relator Arla hired hated our dogs. Like with a passion hates them because they barked at her when she showed up three hours late and no one was home. Of course Jack is going to growl and bark at her we have "Beware of Dog" signs on the sign on our doors for a reason. Priestly has also started playing the part of guard dog, a habit he's picked up from Jack, but Yorkie's are known to be good guard dogs. Priestly thinks he's the biggest dog in the house and puts even Jack in his place. When Jack has enough he tries to smack Priestly with his paw but Priestly is too fast for him.

Anyway, Jack had been feeling sick that week. Mike had woken up Tuesday morning to Jack breathing in his face. Mike pushed him away and rolled over to go back to sleep. Then he heard what he discribed as a wet raspberry sort of sound coming from the corner of the bed where Jack was and then it began to stink. Mike just thought Jack was farting at first but then the smell didn't go away. So he got up to check and was very angry when he saw Jack had had an accident because his stomach was so upset. I wasn't angry with Jack he had tried to let Mike know that he had to go out but Mike had ignored him. I was upset when the light was turned on at 2:00 in the morning when I had to get up to go to work in less than two hours. Mike cleaned up the carpet muttering to himself the whole time then went to his office to wait for me to officially wake up so he could clean the carpets with the shampoo machine. I couldn't fall back asleep so when my alarm went off at 3:30 I just rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom to get ready. Mike had put Jack in there so Jack kept me company while I got dressed and ready for work.

When I came out Mike was standing there, hands on his hips, glaring at me. Now, what happened wasn't my fault and I wasn't going to take any crap from him about it. When Mike told me what happened I couldn't help but laugh. The situtation was anything but funny but the faces Mike was making and the sounds he used to add to the story were too funny not to laugh at. Mike saw the funny side later that day and he got over it.

That Thursday I woke up to Jack breathing in my face and I rolled over to go back to sleep but when I heard him pass gas I was up and out of bed so fast that Mike thought something was wrong. He shot up and asked me what the matter was, but I didn't have time to answer I had grabbed Jack by the collar and was hauling him to the bedroom door, where I quickly unlocked and opened it for him, he ran down the stairs and was waiting by the back door to be let out. I felt relieved, until I got a text from Mike later that morning. He said that Jack had had not one but two accidents and that it was high time Jack got a kennel. So I took all three dogs down to my parents that afternoon and I went shopping for a kennel.

Now we have kennels for the puppies - they are the ASPCA brand and were only about thirty dollars each for their size. For Jack's size they were between seventy to eighty dollars. We don't have that kind of money right now so I looked for something else. I found a nylon kennel that you can fold up and store for only thirty dollars. It was perfect so I got that one and pulled it out for Jack to try when I got back to my parents. Jack seemed to like it, but unfortunately, Priestly liked it too. I couldn't get Priestly out of it, and finally turned it up so that the door was facing the ground and shook it gently to get Priestly to come out.

That afternoon Dad asked if I'd color for him. It turned out that he had a project he needed to get done for his safety calling for the stake. He had to outline and color certain areas on the neighborhood map and then write in the house numbers on larger maps. I colored two of the smaller maps and then wrote the numbers in on the larger maps. Dad was so pleased he asked if I'd finish them for him. I told him I'd finish them if I could take the smaller maps home because I wanted to go home. I was getting tired at this point and I still had to work the next day. So I packed up the colored pencils, markers, and maps as well as the dogs and headed home. I set up Jack's kennel in the kitchen with a few pillows and he seemed content enough to be in there. All three dogs slept in their respective kennels while I worked on the maps for four more hours before finally calling it a night and turning in.

Mike got home early from school and we went up to bed. But were not able to go to sleep thanks to a chorus of howling from downstairs. First Jack would howl then Priestly would echo him, then Jack would howl again and Priestly would echo him. Mike went down there to tell Jack to be quiet but came back fairly quickly and told me to come look. I got up and went down to look and saw Jack's kennel stuck in between the baby gate and the kitchen wall, he'd managed to flip his kennel over to the baby gate and push it open slightly but had gotten stuck. So we put him back and went upstairs. Mike bet me a dollar that Jack would get out but I told Mike he didn't have any dollars to spare as he doesn't have a job. A minute later Mike went to get a drink, but hadn't even left the room all the way when he called me again. I went over to see Jack sitting outside our glass livingroom door smiling a doggy smile at us.

Irritated and angry I grabbed Jack and took him back to his kennel before heading back upstairs. But I only made it halfway before I heard a thumpety-thump thumpety-thump and so I turned around and sat on the stairs to watch. Jack was standing up in his kennel on his hind legs and was pushing against the roof of the kennel to flip it over to make it move. Mike found this very funny. We decided that Jack would find a way to get up the stairs one way or another, kennel or no kennel so we let him out, took the kennel upstairs to our room and put him back in. He didn't move or make a sound the rest of the night. I still didn't sleep well because Mike was laughing so hard over the image of Jack flipping the kennel around the kitchen he made the bed shake all night.

I finished Dad's maps the following day after another 4 1/2 hours and about a week later I finished the large maps for him too by writing in the numbers. Victoria's family was going out of town and hadn't invited her so she asked to stay the weekend with us. So I had to go down there to pick her up Saturday night, even though she wouldn't get off work until 10:30pm. I told her that was fine.

The Thursday before she was supposed to stay our second microwave pooped out on us. So I had to go buy a new one Friday. I went with my Dad and when I stopped at the house Mom told me that we were invited to go celebrate Grandma Condie's birthday with her by going up to Tooele for dinner if we wished. Mike was all for it so I told her we'd go. Mom picked us up for dinner and we enjoyed spending the time up with my Mom and Grandparents exchanging stories and visiting. After dinner we went to Grandma's to watch her open presents but by this time I was getting tired. It was after 9:00pm and I'm usually in bed by then. We finally left close to 10:00pm and we got home a little after 10:30. I didn't get to bed until after 11:00pm and got up at 4:00am the next morning to go to work. So I was pretty cranky and tired.

I got a call from my friend Chantel around 6:30am that morning telling me that she had had her baby even though she was five weeks early and she wanted me to come see her in the hospital. Since I was going to Riverton anyway I decided to go down and see her that day. Mom called me later and told me to try and take a nap if I got off work early before coming down to Riverton. She said I'd been doing things for everyone else lately and she knew how tired I must be because we hadn't gotten home until late. I didn't have time for a nap though and I knew it. I wanted to get the bathroom cleaned when I got home and get some laundry going. Work was busy so I worked a full day and when I got home Mike was waiting for me. He told me that I looked exhausted and to go relax while he cleaned the bathroom for me (isn't he sweet?) so I relaxed for about forty minutes before getting ready to go.

When Priestly saw I was leaving again he threw a big stink. So I loaded him into the car and took him with me. I dropped off my items at the library and Priestly at my parents then went down to the hospital to visit Chantel and the baby. Then I went back to my parents and that was when I finished the big maps for my Dad. Then very tired at this point as it was almost 10:00pm I got Priestly into the car and we waited for Victoria in the parking lot.

Victoria spent the night and all of Sunday with us, and I took her home Sunday night. Monday I was so tired from doing things for everyone else all weekend I just wanted to stay home and relax. Mike, however, wanted chocolate chip cookies bad and begged me to make some. So I spent the next three hours making cookies and fixing dinner. I talked to Chantel who had brought the baby home and she too said cookies sounded good. Since we had a lot I promised to bring her some later in the week.

On Wednesday after I got off I went down to visit Chantel and to take her some cookies. It was nice just spending some time with her and seeing the baby again. To catch up on girl talk and just let off some frustrations that we both had been storing up.

So here it is Saturday again and this next week I'm on paid vacation from work. Jack is going in for surgery Monday morning to get a lump on his side removed so I want to be home for recovery time with him. Tomorrow we are going to Aunt Shirleen's for Alexis' graduation party for a bit, Monday is Jack's surgery and I'm going to see Chantel again while I'm waiting for him to be finished, Tuesday is Stephen's birthday. We don't have money for gifts so he wants me to make him my chocolate cake with homemade frosting and mini chocolate chips on top of it - it's Mike's favorite cake. Thursday Stephen is coming down for dinner one last time before they go to Thailand for a month. Saturday we are doing game night and Father's Day at Mom's and hopefully the rest of the week I can spend being with my dogs and husband and enjoying my time off. But that doesn't seem likely.

The Rule Enforcers

Yes, ok, I know that enforcers isn't a word, but it is now. It has been the new title given to my Mom and Grandma Condie. This all began a few months ago I suppose when Melinda sent out her graduation time and date to family through e-mail. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go as work has been reluctant to give anyone time off lately because they don't know how busy it will be. So when I got my schedule I had to e-mail Melinda and let her know I couldn't go as I was working. I asked her if I could get her a card and candy bar or something. She told me absolutely not. So I ignored her and got her something anyway.

As it turns out I was able to go after all. Work turned out to be really slow so when they offered and early out I seized the chance and hurried out so I could make it to Melinda's graduation. I got to Mom and Dad's and helped Mom finish her hair so we could go. On the way up to Logan I snacked on pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and got melted chocolate on my fingers. I'm a messy cookie eater. :)

When we got up to the graduation ceremony area Dad and I went in to save seats for the rest of the family. Well, as always they had roped off a small section for photography so we sat in the row behind that. We saved ten seats. And after a few minutes we saw two very familiar people on the opposite side of the building sitting down. Dad tried to call them to tell them where we were, and I had to laugh as he struggled to get a hold of them. Finally after calling twice Grandpa called him back. We waved to them so they could see where we were so they came over to sit by us. I soon spotted Mom and Brent as well. When Brent's parents arrived Brent went up to get them and when he brought them I exchanged my nice warmed up seat for a freezing cold one. I regretted that the second I sat down.

Well, the graduation ceremony was scheduled to start at 1:30pm. At 1:20pm a lady and her daughter came down, looked around and discovered that there weren't any front row seats left. So she pointed to the taped off area and started to count chairs as she pulled the tape off.

My Mom, sandwiched inbetween my Grandma and I, was very irked by this. And their following conversation went something like this...

Mom: "Um, hello, excuse me."

Snobby Rude Lady: (turns and looks at my Mom): "Yes?"

Mom: "You can't sit there it's roped off."

Snobby Rude Lady: "Yes, but it says photography section." (She holds up her camera)

Me: "It means professional photography."

Snobby Rude Lady's Daughter (counts the rows on with her fingers, maybe she can't add in her head?) "But there are six rows reserved."

Grandma: "Yes but they're reserved for a reason."

Snobby Rude Lady's Daughter: "I don't think they're gonna have this many professional photographers for this graduation."

Mom: "It doesn't matter you aren't supposed to sit there."

At this point Snobby Rude Lady and her Daughter look at each other give all three of us dirty looks and walk into the aisle again.

Snobby Rude Lady: "Fine, whatever."

Snobby Rude Lady's Daughter: "Gee, thanks for enforcing the rules."

Determined to have her own way Snobby Rude Lady went down to one of the camera guys and asked him, of course he was on the ceremony floor so she just undid the chain and let herself. (Can you believe the nerve of some people? Seriously?) Apparently he told her she could sit there. So she goes to sit in the middle section on our side, but then thought better of it. Maybe she thought her hair would catch fire as Mom and Grandma were looking at her with such red hot eyes I'm suprised she just didn't combust right then and there. So she undid the chain and they walked across the ceremony floor to the opposite side and sat in the section opposite of us in the taped off section. But she couldn't seem to make up her mind on where she wanted to sit. First she had them sit in the middle, then a few minutes later she moved them to the aisle seats.

After the ceremony began we discovered why those sections were taped off. It was so family members could move around easily while taking pictures. Of course thanks to Snobby Rude Lady others followed her example on the opposite side and sat in the taped off section. So the poor family members over there had to sit in the aisles to take pictures. I don't understand how some people can think they can just arrive ten minutes before something like this starts and get a front row seat.

So my mom now has a new "best friend" and Snobby Rude Lady might think twice before crossing my family again. But it was so worth going yesterday. Not only to see my sister get her degree but to see my Mom and Grandma be dubbed "The Enforcers".

Rediscovered Joys of Life

For the past couple of weeks Mike has been working the night shift at work, leaving me completely alone with hardly anything to do in his absence. Fortunately I came upon the idea of asking my Mom if I could borrow a couple of puzzles that we used to do growing up. She told me that I could keep them as she didn't want them. So Mike and I went down to their house last Monday and to my utter surprise, when I told Dad why we were there he promptly loaded up every puzzle they had in the closet. I had only been hoping for a few but he gave me a lot.

That night when Mike went to work I went down to Tina's to have my hair redone. It didn't take as long as she thought it would. So I stopped in to say hi to Sue and to drop off The Bean Trees for her and then I came home and started working on puzzles. I did the Beauty and the Beast puzzle before moving on to the Disney Fantasy puzzle. I didn't finish the Fantasy puzzle because I grew too tired and went to bed.

The next day after I got home from work and after putting in a load of laundry I sat down with the dogs and began to work on the puzzle again. Priestly seemed very interested in the pieces of the puzzle, but didn't ever seem curious enough to pick one up so I paid him no mind. I regretted that. He wasn't interested in the pieces I was using he was interested in the pieces I had left in the box. After half an hour or so I heard an odd grinding noise, so I turned to check on the dogs and to my utter horror Priestly was on the back of the couch chewing on a puzzle piece. I managed to snatch it away from him, but now we have a puzzle that has puppy teeth marks on one of the pieces. Oh well, the puzzle was missing pieces anyway what's a piece with a few teeth marks on it?

The next puzzle I started was a Seascapes puzzle called Search For Harmony. It is really pretty with dolphins swimming around in the water and the sun setting over the mountains. So there are a lot of blues and purples and pinks and some green. I thought...wow it's so pretty and it looks simple enough. Ha! Did I eat my own words, I hadn't even finished the border when I knew this puzzle was going to be the hardest puzzle I'd ever done. But I started it and I was determined to finish it.

Mike said he would come home after work and could tell when I'd worked on the puzzle as I'd put it on the kitchen counter as it has smaller pieces and I was worried about the puppies swallowing a piece. So he could see my progress as I worked on it each day.

When Arla and Albert (for those who don't know they are my mother and father in law) came over Sunday for dinner Arla was delighted to see a puzzle on the table and tried to put a few pieces together. After a few minutes she got discouraged and told me she wasn't sure how I could stand doing this puzzle as it was quite hard. I agreed, I've never done a puzzle over 500 pieces before and this one is 750. But I was determined to finish it. So I worked on it after they left and today Monday April 19th, I Candace Christine Funk have finished the puzzle! I was so proud of myself. I had to do a victory dance while the dogs watched me in rapt amusement. But I didn't care the puzzle was very hard and I was very frustrated at times as it felt as though I weren't getting anywhere with it. But I did and you know what I look forward to taking it apart and doing it again some time. It was a lot of fun. It was nice listening to movies and working on something that was stimulating enough for me to have to try and search out each piece, which is probably why I like puzzles so much. The Disney ones are simple as they are much larger pieces, but I look forward to doing more like this.