1st day.

Yesterday was the 1st day of the assessment phase or as we call it at Qwest "do or die phase." My performance over the next 4 weeks determines whether or not I get to keep my job. I have to average between $700-$1000 in sales every day (NSR) to pass training. Here's the good news. I pulled in $1400 yesterday. Great start!

I decided to include this pic of Canon cause he is a cutie patootie..

I'm in business...almost!

I have the BIGGEST & BEST NEWS! I have been propelled into the 21st century! Thanks to the huge generosity of my family I am now a proud owner of a very snazzy digital camera! I know! I was shocked & overwhelmed too! I've taken a lot of pics of my 3 favorite subjects Mo, Canon, & Daphney of course! They're oh sooo cute!
At this point you may be wondering "well, where are the pics?" Good questions. The reason you see no pics is because as myself & my camera are part of the 21st century my computer is not. I have Windows ME on my computer & come to find out my camera requires Windows XP. Oh, well. As with everything becoming tech savvy is a work in progress & I'm one step closer.
Don't get to discouraged cause I'm going to see if Deb with let me upload my pics onto her computer so ya'll can see them as I know you're all so anxious to.

Life just keeps going...

Sorry I haven't written in a really long time. I guess I haven't had much to say. Actually I feel like not a lot of interesting stuff has been happening. Of course how boring and mundane you think your life is at times it still keeps going. Here are a few highlights from my life as of late.

• I quite my job at Call Assist! Yippee!! Actually that deserves a double YIPPEE! I quit Call Assist on Nov. 24th. Don't worry I have another job at Qwest. I start on Monday. I'm way excited. It's going to be a challenge cause it's very sales oriented & sales is not a strong skill of mine but I'm ready to make it a strong skill. The beauty part is that I only have to deal with one call at a time rather then 3! Brilliant!
• In my week & half vacation I've mostly been chillaxin. I've watched many many Red Box movies & have been reading a lot. I discovered the beauty of ordering books on amazon.com. They have a great Jewish selection, much larger then you can find here in Mormonville. I ordered 4 Jewish fiction books from amazon. ALL 4 books only cost $1.07! Of course you have to pay shipping and handling which brought my grand total to $17.03! Funny huh? Ok, let's review: 4 books = $1.07 S&H = $15.96. Still a very good deal so I'm happy & a bit amused.
  
• I spent Thanksgiving with family. The night before Thanksgiving I stayed at Deb & Jesse's house. It was so fun to play and bond with Mo. He might be the cutest baby ever. I bonded with him by reading to him and he bonded with my by expelling much bodily fluids onto my shirt. For sure I'm his favorite Auntie now, no question!
• I ended up having 2 Thanksgiving dinners this year. I must mention that this year was my first Thanksgiving without actually eating turkey. I've recently converted to vegetarianism. I didn't miss the turkey but I did miss the nostalgia of it. Ok, I'll admit I did miss the turkey with ranch & the week of turkey sandwiches that follows Thanksgiving day.
  
• The first dinner was with Jesse's family. They're fabulous! They're very loud, talkative, & there is many of them. The minute I walked in the door Jesse's grandpa said "make yourself at home." No prob, I was completely in my element with a bunch of almost crazy people laughing and talking all round me. There was a lot of teasing, laughing & a general feeling of welcomeness which is so much like my family. They were even ok with me spilling a large glass of water all over the beautifully decorated table before the dinner even started. Opps!
  
• The second dinner I went to was at my Aunt Marda's house. The house was bulging with people. I would guess that about 30 people were there. Of course it was noted that the crowd was a bit "small" this year! The best part was when my cousin Jana not so nicely kicked me out of my seat at the table cause she wanted to sit across from her daughter! I thought she was joking at first when she told me to move, but oh no, she was serious. It was quite funny. I'm hoping to bring it up in following years to make her feel "guilty" about being rude. :)
• I do have exciting news. Deb & Jesse are moving to Logan in 2 weeks! They have already found a cute house. It is even cheap and close to campus. The best part for me is that it has a stoop & a small porch! Can't you just picture me sitting on the stoop holding a glass of wine, laughing and carrying on in all my glory! I can't wait. I'm so excited to have them close. I can't wait until they actually get here.
  
• I'm finally getting over my cold but my ears hurt like mad! It's mostly my right ear but my left does hurt sometimes too. I've tried to see the doctor a couple of times but they can't fit me in. They keep telling me to go to insti-care but I can't afford that. Grrr! I'm a bit worried that my ear drum will rupture or something horrendous like that will happen. Oh well, I'll just have to wait and see how it plays out.
  
• One last thing. Poor Canon & Daphney have been trapped in the house for about a month. This isn't from the cold weather but from the 2 huge black dogs that my upstairs neighbors have. Poor little shuges. My apartment is just way to small to be stuck here all the time.
  

Waiting for Mo.....

Waiting for Moses Clloyd LaGrande Stevens:

He is due October 11th so all that we know is that he certainly WON'T be coming on that day! As the day approaches I've had to do a few things to prepare.

• Deb & I have agreed that she will ring me to let me know that I must start driving south when her contractions have become a bit regular but are still far apart. This is a good plan cause I anticipate it will take me about 3 hours to get to Deb & Jesse's house considering all the variables of packing, traffic & who knows what.
• I've made sure that Deb has multiple #'s to reach me at.
  
• I have a list of things I have to do once I get the call: Pack, get gas, & remember to drive safely!
  
• I put in my time off request from work months ago.
  
• I found someone to feed Canon & Daphney while I'm away. Thanks Sammie.
  
• I've tried to prepare by reading many books about how to be the best birth partner that I can be.
  
• Try to keep up on my wash & house cleaning for the next two weeks so I have enough clean cloths & Sammie can find her way into my apartment without inflicting too much physical or psychological pain on her. Side note on this one: I still have to do my wash & clean my apartment. :) I'm banking on the hope that Mo won't come today.
  
• I still don't have a camera but I don't think I'll be able to get one before Mo comes so I guess I can cross this one off. :( Plus I still don't know if I can upload pic onto my computer. I keep forgetting to ask the Geeks I know (Andy, Matthew, & Tommy). If any of the wifes of these geeks read this tell your husband to ring me please.
  
• And now we wait................
  

My sausage

Here is a cute pic of Canon from this morning. I was getting ready for work. Daphney & Canon were on my bed grooming themselves. As you can see Canon was laying on his back trying to clean his belly. I grabbed my camera phone. I tried to get a pic of him while he was grooming himself but that wasn't working so said "Canon look at Momma." This is what I got. He's such a poser! :) When I put my phone down he immediately went back to licking himself. Funny baby boy!

Poor Baby D

Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I've been told that my fans are anxiously awaiting an update on my "exciting" life. Well here's a story for ya'll.....
It's all about my little boy Daphney:

Friday morning I was standing naked in front of my shower waiting for the H20 to get warm when I heard the most horrid, deep male voice grunting behind me. Of course I was terrified that someone was in my apartment & had found me in my birthday suit. I turned round in a startle and only found Daph behind me. How can such a little body make such a horrid noise? I'm not sure, but he sure was. I guess he was unsuccessfully trying to vomit. I wasn't too worried cause on occasion he has been known to have stomach issues after eating to many treats or something of the like. Anyway, I was relieved that I wasn't being attacked, asked Daph if he was ok and proceeded to take my shower. Daphney left the bathroom so I thought everything was ok. When I got out of the shower I found Daph on my bed curled up & "acting funny." I'm not sure how to describe how I knew he as "acting funny." Just that I did cause I know my boys. As I was running late for work I asked Daph again if he was ok, resulting in a sad look from Daph, & I headed to work.

When I got home from work Daph was still in the same place as he had been 8 hours earlier. While this may be normal for Canon it is not normal for Daph. The thing that really made me worry is that he didn't even get up at all for his after work treat which he loves. I decided to inspect him for any wounds from a cat fight. I found what looked like to me a hurt whisker on his right paw. It looked like a white hair that had been curled and had split ends. When I tugged on it Daph cried out in pain. I also found a small cut in the same area. I put hydrogen peroxide on the wound and hoped he would be ok.

The next morning Daphney was still not acting himself. I wasn't sure what to do. I had to work so while at work I asked by friend and fellow cat owner and cat lover Melissa Whipple what she thought. She said she had a bad feeling about D and I should take him to the vet. Course I hesitated cause I have no funds for such things, but I decided to ring the vet and see if they had any advice they could offer over the phone. The lady on the phone said, "well you should really bring him in. Can you be here in 10 minutes?" I was at that very moment in my car parked in the parking lot of my work. I said, "yeah." I drove like mad home, barged into my apartment, grabbed the animal carrier, threw Daph in it, & then drove like mad to the vet, & yes I made it in the required 10 minutes."

You must know that Dapheny hates the vet with every cell in his body. He spent a few days on dialysis a few years back at the vet because of complete kidney failure. It was the worse and most complete kidney failure that the vet had ever seen but as Daph is a miracle kitty and a fighter so miraculously he lived. As a result of this experience every subsequent vet visit is a bit traumatic for both Daph and I alike.

When we got to the vet the tech asked if I could take him out of the carrier to weight him. When I finally got him out he was completely sopping wet with urine, & I mean SOPPING! Daphney had completely emptied his bladder in his carrier as a response to the fear he was feeling. Of course I was also now wet as I was holding Daph! Fanbloodytastic!! There was urine everywhere, all over Daph, me, the carrier, the bench the carrier was on, the floor, and of course the scale I had to put Daph on. After we got a weight the tech stuck us in an exam room with the promise that she would clean up the mess that D & I had just made.

In the exam room I grabbed paper towels and tried to clean up some of the urine. The tech came in to find out exactly why Daph & I were there, took Daph's temperature and even offered to rinse the D's animal carrier off in the tub. I asked if I could give Daph a bath in the sink while we were waiting for the doctor to come in to examine him. She said yeah and she would grab a towel for me.

Poor Daph now had a hurt paw, was dripping wet from urine & fear, & now was being drowned in a sink of water by his only protection from all of this....me! The tech brought a towel in for me. As I was drying Daph off the doctor came in to examine him.

This doctor was new to me and Daph but she was great. She was very understanding of all the trauma that was going on and seemed genuinely concerned about Daph. She examined his paw. I showed her the "hurt whisker" & she said, "that looks like a tendon to me, do you mind if I shave his paw to get a better look at it?" Wait what did she just say....A SEVERED TENDON!! I said "that was fine" & off she went with my baby boy. While she was gone I realized how much pain Daph must be in and started to cry. To stop the crying I focused on the fact that I was covered in cat urine and now stunk. I look off my jacket and put it in a Chico bag that I had in my purse and waited for the doctor and vet to return. When they did finally come back Daph looked a bit different...
He had this huge white and blue cast wrap on his leg. I know the pic is horribly blurry. I'll tell you why this is the only pic I have of Daph with the cast in a bit.

Turns out Daph did indeed sever his tendon in a fight and the tendon came through the wound and was poking out. Poor little boy! The doc cut the protruding tendon off, put some antibiotic ointment on the wound, & wrapped his leg up. She gave me some oral antibiotic that I have to give Daph for the next few days to prevent infection. I also have to take him back in 5 days to make sure he is healing ok. As I put Daph back in the carrier, grabbed all my urine drenched stuff and prepared to go pay my bill I wasn't sure who was more traumatized....Daph or me. This whole visit cost a mere $100! Ouch!! Good thing I wasn't laid off last week with the majority of my co-workers. Looks like I'll be visiting Harri's house a lot in the coming weeks for nourishment as I now have no budget to actually buy my own food. Although I am glad that I took Daph in even if it did cost a lot cause a severed tendon seems pretty bad and quite painful. After I paid the bill Daph & I headed home.

As a side note after D & I got home I rung my friends Melissa & Andy Spencer. We had plans to go to Anggie's for a late birthday lunch for me. I told Melissa about the new & not so popular "perfume" I was trying out & told her that I needed to quickly jump in the shower before I met them. I did finally make it to Anggies smelling much better & absolutely starving after this little adventure. Before I left for Anggie's I took the above pic of D with the cast on his arm but realized it was way blurry and figured I'd just get another pic to post after lunch.

While at Anggie's I of course told Melissa & Andy all about my morning. The best bit of this whole thing is that when I told them the white hair turned out to be a severed tendon Andy nearly passed out right there at Anggie's!! When he came to he said that all noise went silent, and everything turned to black! Funny stuff! Note to self..."never say severed tendon in Andy's presence." :)

After lunch I went home to check on my boy. I found him in the window and about 6 inches in front of him was the cast! He had managed to get it off his leg! When I said "Daph what did you do?" he just looked at me with the "it was annoying me" look on his face. Silly boy!

On a positive note Daph seems to be doing ok today. He is limping but other then that he seems like his old self.

May the guilty one raise his paw!

This morning I woke up at 4 a.m. in a bit of a panic cause I was running an entire hour behind schedule. This daylight savings thing is really throwing me off. Anyway, when I finally managed to pull myself out of bed I started my normal routine only to be halted by small gray things ALL over the floor. I'm a bit near sighted so I didn't know what exactly I was looking at. I initially thought that Canon or Daphney had carried in some weeds on their fur from their night cat adventures. When I thought more about this it didn't quite make sense. Logan in still blanketed in a foot of cold white stuff, not to many weeds about to bring in. As I made my way to the bathroom I inspected the mysterious gray "things" further only to
discover that what lay all over my floor were FEATHERS!! Yes, bird feathers were everywhere. As I entered the bathroom I found the poor bird the feathers had previously been attached to. The poor thing was laying in front of the shower where either Canon or Daphney decided to leave it. It completely broke my heart that one of my boys had killed such a small innocent creature. I know it's a felines innate behavior to stalk, hunt, & kill but it still tears me up every time. I also realize that cat experts say that domesticated cats leave dead animals as "gifts" for their owners, but alas this is one present I wish I were never given. If only Canon & Daphney could understand this.

My baby boys:

CANON & DAPHNEY

Most of you know that I have 2 little boys, Canon & Daphney. Yes, Daphney is a boy & no he is not confused about his gender...I was when I named him. Needless to say I thought he was a girl. Anyway, Canon & Daphney are the joys of my life. They completely fulfill all of my maternal "instincts." They have been with me for 8 years now. We have survived everything together. If you've ever had a pet you know that animals have very distinct personalities & will give so much more then they ever take. Canon and Daphney are not lacking in either personality or in bringing me happiness and joy. Daphney is a very sophisticated gray tabby. His mother was abandoned in a garage when her former owners vacated the house & left her & her small family behind. Sadly she starved to death feeding her 3 babies to keep them alive. I found Daphney in the abandoned garage when he was about 4 weeks old. Daphney loves everyone. If you come for a visit expect to have a gray fur ball on your lap about 90 seconds after you've sat down. Daph's adventurous, he loves to go outside. He'll often be gone on day long cat adventures, but he seems to return just about the time that I start worrying about him. He's eternally patient with me and Canon both. He'll wait for days patiently for me to give him food, water, or whatever he needs. Often times I'll go into the bathroom to find Daph just chillaxin waiting for me to notice that he needs a drink. He enjoys me filling the sink up a bit for him to get a fresh drink of H2O.

Canon of course is completely different. I adopted Canon from "Four Paws Rescue" at our local "Pet Smart" when he was about 8 months old. He was so small and scraggly I just knew he was meant to be mine. He is no longer small. He now weighs 20 lbs! And for sure his is not scraggly either. He is the biggest orange fur ball you may ever see...if he lets you see him. He is completely a Momma's boy.

Canon absolutely does not like anyone except me. If you do get a chance to know Canon's personality you'd love him. He is extremely dramatic. I often say that if he were a human he would be a gay man with a huge feather boa and a diamond studded tiara strutting his stuff. Canon loves to cuddle and have his belly rubbed. He is very talkative and must be the center of attention. If he's not you'll hear all about it. He enjoys going outside but only to sun himself. Of course a "princess" does not do real physical activity. They just lay about having everyone wait on them hand & paw. :) Canon also enjoys the sink beverage. Rather then me filling the sink up for him Canon prefers to just drink out of the faucet.

THEY'RE SO STINKIN CUTE I CAN BARELY STAND IT!!

Weekend Mini Trip South

This weekend was the baby shower for my cousin Tommy and Jenny's new son Carter. Of course I wanted to go meet the newest Tolman so I left Logan Saturday morning and made an event filled "mini trip" out of the whole thing.My day started at 4:00 a.m thanks to my 20 lbs orange alarm clock that goes by the name of Canon...thanks Canon!! I left Logan at about 7:30 a.m. I arrived in Salem around 10 a.m-ish. I went straight to my cousin Emily's house cause the shower wasn't until 11 a.m. Em was making deserts for the shower and realized she forgot to buy mini marshmallows for one of the deserts. I offered to run to "Fast Gas" gas station to pick some up. While I was looking for the marshmallows I discovered that "Fast Gas" had my absolute favorite gum: "Extra Cool Green Apple Gum". Now you must know that Logan, or Cache Valley for that matter hasn't had even one package in the whole county for nearly 2 years. I can say this with great certainty cause I ALWAYS check whenever I'm in a store that sales gum. Needless to say I was ecstatic to see that Fast Gas had 11 packages just hanging out on the shelf. I bought all 11 packages!!

We then headed to Jenny's mom's house for Carter's shower. This is a darling picture of my cousins Emily (L) Megan (R). Aren't they beautiful! Now why didn't I get some of those beauty genes? Megan being Megan...completely spastic! Can you believe she is going to be a doctor in a mere 15 months? Yeah, I know......

Me and Carter....so perfect...him not me. Course I look fab too. :)

The newest Tolman! Well done Tommy and Jenny! Well done!

My Great Aunt Marda holding Carter.

My Great Aunt Shirly doing some visiting at the table.

*****
After the shower I headed north again to Deb and Jesse's house to stay the night. Deb and I planned to go out to eat. It's always fun to go to SLC cause they have so many restaurants that Logan doesn't have. Deb and I love seafood so we decided to go to "Red Lobster." As we were headed out the door Jesse came home so he got to go with us. Perfect timing!

This is what I had. It's called the "ultimate feast." It was a bit spendy but oh so worth it! Delish!!

For desert I wanted something fab. I was thinking ice cream, particularly ice cream that you can't get in Logan. As we were driving around looking for something fab we stumbled upon the most fantastic frozen yogurt shop "Spoon Me." They specialize in "natural frozen yogurt"....whatever that is. They have 3 flavors, natural, green tea and acai. I had natural and acai mixed with pineapple, kiwi, & blackberries. Truly delish and completely fab! If you're ever in SLC you must stop at "Spoon Me." It's located at 532 E. 400 S. in Salt Lake. Seriously give it a go. I'm for sure going to be a return customer. Yum!!

Deb and I then decided to help make "He's just not that into you" the weekends top grossing movie. Total chick flick, but so funny and cute. I for sure want to see it again. Loved it!!

After the movie I decided that I needed to purchase yet another copy of the book that the movie is based on. I have purchased this book twice previously, but I keep lending it out cause it's so brilliant. Trouble is the people I lend it to never return it. I now own my third copy of the book. Well worth it? Yes! Cause reading it is like having a secret way of decoding guys right in your hands. If you are a women for sure get your hands on a copy. Maybe if we all become aware of why guys do or do not do things perhaps guys will shape up and start treating us like we should be treated...with respect. Actually that will probably never happen but at least we're on to them now.

I also ended up finding some other books I wanted to purchase...of course! Really I should not be allowed inside bookstores. It's a sickness, really it is! I just can't help it.....
I started reading this book this morning and am completely fascinated by it thus far. Actually I have big plans of continuing my reading as soon as I finish this ridiculously long post.

I scoped this book out the last time I went to SLC & couldn't resist buying it this time. Can't wait to read it.

Deb and I got home at 10:30 pm. from our adventures. Good times but I was completely exhausted! Don't forget that Canon had waken me up at 4 a.m. I went straight to bed and slept like the dead. Thank God for that cause I was beyond tired.
*****
This morning Deb & Jesse cooked breakfast. Deb found this fabulous recipe for Greek taziki (sp?) yogurt & cucumber sauce. Yum! Deb made sausage and eggs and Jesse was in charge of the hash browns. So tasty and fabulous.
After we had breakfast we just hung out and I tortured Deb and Jesse by making them listen to many of the songs on my play list & singing along to them. There is nothing like a live Kins rendition of "Jambalaya!"

Deb busted out the hookah....to deal with my singing? Perhaps. :) This is a tradition every time I go to SLC. Don't worry we only use hookah tobacco cause Deb doesn't want any of that "other herb" in her hookah.

Jesse being Jesse! I love you Jesse!

Then I decided it was time to head home. Deb and Jesse walked me out to my car. This is Deb being fab.

I gave Deb & Jesse one of my 11 sacred packs of "Extra Apple Gum" as a parting gift cause I love them. Jesse decided that the occasion deserved a special dance of appreciation. This is Jesse preparing for the dance. Inspiration is coming........

And....."the apple eagle" is born!!!

That was my weekend mini trip south. Good times!

A month later.....

I have happy news:Through many attempts and even more Torah induced naps I finally made it past the 36 chapters of Numbers in the Torah and am now on chapter 3 of Deuteronomy. Well done Kins, well done!

In celebration, Jewish tradition, and just because I had so many left over from our bagel breakfast feast yesterday at work. I have now consumed my weight in bagels and smear. Ok, that is an exaggeration but for sure I've consumed Daphney's weight in bagels. Good thing he's the smallest out of Canon, Daphney, & I. So much for trying to loose weight. How long can one survive on bread & whipped cream cheese before one literally turns into a bagel? Back to salads for lunch tomorrow for sure!

The Y chromosome

One of my struggles this last year has been dealing with .....MEN!As you may or may not know for most of my life I thought I was a lesbian. After 2 long term lesbian relationships I've now decided that I am in fact not gay. Perhaps bi. After many years of thinking about my sexuality I've decided that I thought I was a lesbian because I have a firm belief that NO man would ever be interested in me. I'm not sure exactly where this belief comes from. I have suspicion it comes from my feelings about my weight. This belief is upsetting to me so I try not to think about it so much. Consequently I don't have as much insight on it as I do about other personality quirks of mine.

After 31 years of not dating guys I decided to give it a go last year. My friend met her husband on the free dating site plentyoffish.com so I decided to create a profile in March 2008. This started a roller coaster year like non that I could have ever imagined. I won't go into details cause if you've been a part of my life this last year then you already know way to many details. If you haven't been a part of my life you're probably better off not knowing.

Through my experiences I have learned that humans carrying the Y chromosome are a completely different species then humans not carrying it.

I have discovered that men are not genuinely interested in me as a person. This saddens and perplexes me because I have no answers as to why. This last week I was letting this fact depress me so I was discussing the issue over with my friend Amanda. Prior to talking to Amanda I always thought that guys weren't interested in me cause of my weight. Amanda & I are very similar in size & she always has boys chasing her. I decided that I must be putting off an "I'm not interested or looking vibe." How do stop doing that? How do I send a flirty vibe? I have no idea.

People always tell me to be the person I'm looking for. I think I am. I'm looking for a Jewish black man! Does that not perfectly describe me? Hehe! Actually I do think I have many qualities that are desirable.

• I'm smart. I was tested by a psychiatrist cause he thought I had ADD. Nope I'm just a bit hyper-vigilant and completely addicted to caffeine. I guess this can be perceived as ADD. Smart but still can't spell worth a fuck.
• I have a good sense of humor. I find that you have to either laugh or cry at life. I choose to laugh & often for that matter.
• I have well defined interests. These include British history, anything medical, the South Eastern United States culture, an eclectic taste in music, Judaism, reading, swimming, Canon & Daphney, & a small addiction to books...just to name a few.
• I genuinely find others peoples experiences and opinions interesting. I realize that in my life I can't do, feel, or experience everything. I find much pleasure in listening to other peoples stories about their thoughts and experiences. Especially if their experience is something that I would never ever in a million years attempt. What better way to see parts of the world that you may never see if not through the eyes of someone else. I love hearing about other peoples opinion on certain things. Sometimes I'm shocked & usually greatly entertained that people think an feel such things. The important thing is to be open minded enough to be completely fine that not everyone agrees with you. Differences in people make us unique and interesting.
• Good personality traits that I have the market on include being honest, generous, not materialistic, happy, good work ethic, stability, frugality. What would you list here? Deb, Megan, Beth this question is directed at you.
  
• I have hopes, aspirations, goals, big and small:
  
• I hope NEVER to have children.
  
• I hope to travel to England someday.
  
• I hope to convert to Judaism.
  
• I hope to find that one Jewish black man out there that "gets me...." where the fuck are you?
  
• I hope to pay off my credit card this year.
  
• I hope to get rid of all the stuff in the storage unit that I've been renting for the past 4 years. Just think, an automatic $25 saved each month. Anyone want to come help me sort through it....Deb? Jesse? Megan?
  
• I hope to loose weight and become the workout queen that I used to be. As for now all I can say is at least I'm not gaining weight!
  
• I hope to move out of Logan. Preferably back to a warmer climate.
  

This isn't an all inclusive list but it is a bit of what I have to offer. Now tell me why guys are not interested in me? This last year I read a book called "He's Just Not That Into You" by Greg Behrendt & Liz Tuccillo. This book gave me much insight into how guys think. It's brilliant...read it. Although, it didn't give me any clue as to what I'm doing or not doing that consistently makes guys not give me a second look. Perhaps I'm just asking a question that will never be answered. Kind of like why exactly was Stonehenge built, who brought the statues to Easter Island, or why are guys not interested in Kins? Things we just may never know.

Ok, I'm officially done thinking about this....for now. :)

This, that, & the other....

Here's an update on all that has been going on in my life lately:

• My new phone arrived! Yippee...sort of. Much to my despair I realized that not every phone comes with a camera as a standard feature. My Razr had one so I took it for granted that all phones have cameras. I realize that not all phones do but during the drama of when my Razr actually broke I wasn't exactly thinking about extra features that I want. I was just thinking "send me a phone NOW!" Opps! The day after my new Samsung arrived I called T-Mobile and ordered yet another phone. This one with a camera.

• Even though today is a holiday it was a very good mail day for me. Who knew UPS still delivers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Good thing UPS was out and about cause they brought me my 2nd new phone of the month. Camera & all. Yippee! Now I can take more darling pics of Canon & Daphney and send them to ya'll. Come on...I know you love pics of my boys as much as I do. :)

• UPS also brought me my new electric blanket. This blanket is replacing the one I got for Christmas that broke 2 weeks ago. Yippee for a WARM comfy bed.

• Day 13: Yup today is the 13th day that I have been sick. I now have gone through:
• 10 vacation hours missing work!
  
• 9 boxes of Puffs Plus w/Lotion. How can one human produce so much mucus?
  
• 5 bags of Ricola cough drops. One of the more tasty cough drops, but not in mass quantity!
  
• 2 bottles of cough syrup. Used in an attempt to sleep through just one night without waking up coughing to death. Hasn't worked yet but I still have hope. :)
  
• 1 doctors appointment. I only went as a last resort.
  
• 1 strep test, it was negative
  
• 85 dollars for doctor to tell me that I have a virus and she can't do a damn thing for me.

• I'm still in "Numbers" in my Torah reading. Now I know why it's called "Numbers." :)
  

I now have big plans of taking some cough syrup, crawling into my nice warm bed, and trying to get a bit closer to "Deuteronomy".

IT'S OVER ALREADY?

MY YEAR IN REVIEW!

This year has been interesting. I've done a few things for the very first time and some things have stayed the same. Here's a short list of both:

THINGS THAT STAYED THE SAME:

Home:
I still live in my shoe box size, cheap studio apartment. I've been here for 4 years! After 80 moves who thought I would stay put for more then a minute. In 2009 I hope to move to Illinois closer to Beth and David. Deb don't freak out...this has been my goal for a few years now. We'll see what really happens. As long as my land lords don't sale my house I'll probably still be here come December 31st 2009.

Car:
My fabulous 1993 Geo Metro is still kickin it! Thank God for that. It's old and has a lot of rust spots but it gets GREAT GAS MILLAGE, and starts everyday with no problem. The Geo's not fancy, or flashy but it's dependable and in the end that's all that matters! I love my Geo! I did have to replace the clutch this year. I guess after 13 years it was time. In 2009 I have to get new tires and replace the muffler due to the gravel road I live on. I have holes in the muffler that makes my car a bit loud. You know I'm coming from a few blocks away. :) Fine with me as long as I'm still getting to my destinations ok.

Baby Boys:
Canon and Daphney both turned 7 this year! They bring me so much love and joy. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Work:
I have worked at Feature Films For Families/Call Assist for nearly 2 years. I'm very thankful to even have a job in this economy when thousands of people are getting laid off every month. My job pays ok...enough to cover my bills & a trip to Salt Lake City now and then to play with Deb and Jesse. The best bit is that I'm blessed to have fantastic managers, especially ones that will put up with my quirky personality issues. Ya just gotta love my regular emotional breakdowns at work!

2008 FIRSTS:

Coffee:
This year...thanks to Deb I became addicted to coffee. After making trips to 7-11 every morning and spending at least $1 every trip I decided to purchase a Mr. Coffee maker. Perhaps the best purchase I've made all year! I love nothing more then to hear my coffee maker turn on at 5 a.m. and smell the fantastic aromas that subsequently fill my apartment. I also found the most fantastic & delirious English toffee almond creamer that turns my coffee into a taste explosion. Delish....wait maybe I'll brew some now.

Deb:
So I found my best friend at the laundry matte! No I'm serious. Ok, let me tell you the story. So Deb and I have been friends for many years but in March of 2007 we had a bit of a falling out. This resulted in a year of no involvement in each others lives. In the end this turned out to be a blessing cause this incident was the catalyst for my meeting my fantastic neighbor and friend Helen Petterson. Because of the falling out with Deb I got to share in the last 7 months of Helen's life. She passed away from kidney cancer in October 2007. Isn't it interesting how things happen? Something that seems to be a negative thing actually is exactly what was supposed to happen.
I digress, so a nearly a year after our fall out I was doing wash at the laundry matte. The same laundry matte that I have done my wash at for the last 5 years. As I was waiting for my cloths to get done I was mindlessly staring out of the laundry matte windows. I was pulled from my daze by the sight of a familiar car. Deb saw me through the glass as she was pulling in to the parking spot. She immediately ran in, threw her arms around me, and said "can we be friends again?" At that very moment the whole year of not talking was washed away and she became one of the most important people in my life again. She is truly a "real sister in spirit" and my best friend!

Guys:
Hmmm...so what should I say about my experience with men this year? If you know me at all you probably already know far too many details. I'll just say that 1 free dating site, 12 guys, 4 pregnancy tests, & 2 negative STD tests (thank God) later I realize that I am happy alone. If I ever get to share my life with someone else then that will be grand, but if I don't then that is just fine too.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Canon & Daphney

Deb showed me how to post pics & images from my computer to my blog so I had to post this pic of my boys. Daphney is on the left, Canon is on the right. Oh they're so cute I just can't stand it!!!