Jennifer

On November 19, 2010 an old, dear friend friend of mine passed away. It's been hard to swallow. And it's taken me time to talk about it without breaking down with the overwhelming sadness. I was unable to go to the funeral because it was in Georgia and I just wasn't able to get the time off and what not.

Anyway, I wrote a poem for her on the day that I found out and I thought I should share it.

We Are Changed

(For Jennifer)

There is a quite place

In a forgotten patch of woods

Where an abandoned deer stand

Remembers two young girls.

One is light haired,

The other dark,

One is tall,

The other short.

They used to come nearly everyday,

The magic drew them

Down leaf strewn paths

And over tiny brooks

To this place

Where they could share their secrets.

Nearby there is a tiny island

Nestled between two streams.

Here they spoke of God,

Of Nature, and those things most sacred to them.

They imagined other worlds

Full of magic and happiness

Where they could escape to.

They spoke of their dreams.

As they grew older,

The two became young women

And they came less

To their Holy Ground.

They became consumed by the Present

And began to forget.

Little things tore at them

And time went swiftly by.

They drifted apart

The bond growing thin

Until it broke.

But always

There is something there,

An invisible, silken thread

Anchored deep within the heart.

For they were changed

For having known each other.

A piece of each resides in

The other's soul.

No matter where we go,

No matter the distance or the time

That separates us,

We are bound

Because we have known each other

And we are forever changed.

And one day

We will meet again

In that quite place

In the forgotten patch of woods

Where the abandoned deer stand

Remembers us

And all our secrets.

This poem can not even begin to encompass all that is and was Jennifer. She was quite but passionate. She loved deeply and was loved in return, whether she knew it or not. She inspired me and helped me to realize my dreams. I wish I had been able to tell her that.

Religion is a Choice

Back in either my junior or senior year of high school I remember sitting and talking to an acquaintance in my Drama class named Ali. We were discussing religion. It was a very interesting topic because I am Mormon (or LDS if you prefer) and she was a practicing Wiccan. I don’t believe you can find two more different religions.

This was not the first time we had talked about religion. Growing up in the middle of Georgia, just south of Atlanta, both Ali and I found ourselves outcast. Surrounded by a bunch of self righteous Christianities, we were both told we were going to Hell numerous times. I’m sure in many people’s minds Ali and I were both evil Satan worshippers.

So, one day as we were exchanging questions and answers about our religions, Ali asked me, “Were you just raised Mormon or did you choose it?”

The question threw me for a moment. No one had ever asked me such an intelligent question regarding religion. Most questions went along the lines of “Do you have horns?” or “How many moms do you have?” (seriously) After a second of thought I said, “Well, yes, I was raised Mormon. But now that I’m older, I have chosen to be Mormon.”

I remember Ali smiling and being impressed with my answer and I felt very proud. I believe that the conversation then went in the direction of talking about how most people just go with the religion they were born with and never question or find out for themselves what is true.

And now, 5 or 6 years later, I still remember that moment. I think that might have been the first time I really owned being Mormon. That I wasn’t afraid to say it and that I wasn’t afraid of the ridicule I might get. Admittedly, this didn’t mean that I was shouting it from the rooftops, not that I needed to, most of the people I grew up with already knew.

I believe in people making decisions for themselves. And I also believe that whatever decision you make for yourself about religion you should do it for yourself. Choose the religion that is right for you. That makes since to not only your heart, but to your mind as well. And even if in the long run you choose a religion that isn’t the most correct, I believe that God will give you bonus points for faith and dedication.

Religion is a choice, so choose wisely and be grateful if you live in a community and/or country that allows you to make that decision.

And if you’re interested in learning more about the Mormon faith, feel free to ask me questions or to visit this very cool web site [mormon.org]. And the next time that pair of nicely dressed young men riding bikes and wearing name tags come to your door, let them in and talk to them. They pay money so that they can come talk to you and your neighbors for two years. Give them a little slack. :D

New Blog Theme!!

So I was reading a very interesting article in this month’s issue of Writer’s Digest [http://www.writersdigest.com/GeneralMenu/] (they don't have the particular article on their website yet, but here's the website) about blogging and how to make it more successful. And it gave me some ideas of things I could do with this blog.

In the past I have just treated this blog as an online, public journal of shorts. It was very boring for the most part and the posts that got the most comments were ones with funny stories and such, like Daniel’s post “Fly Wars” [http://kricketskonfessions.blogspot.com/2010/08/fly-wars-special-entry-from-daniel.html.] Most blogs have a theme of some sort and I decided that mine needed one too. But what could I write about that would be different/interesting compare to everyone else’s? I already have a blog for just writing, as sadly unkempt as that is, so I needed something that truly reflects me.

Thus, I made a list of things that describe me, what I am. Here is that list,

I am:

o A wife

o A working mom

o A Mormon (LDS)

o A writer

o Southern born and raised

o NOT a Utard

Upon looking at this list it dawned on me that I have a lot to write about. I have a lot to say and a lot of opinions that I can share. And maybe, just maybe, there are others like me who view the world in a similar way. I’ve always prided myself on being different, but sometimes, being different can be kind of lonely. So I’m hoping that in this way I can find and connect to others that, despite what cultural boundaries one was raised in or lives in currently, look at things from outside the box.

The name of this blog is still going to be Kricket’s Konfessions (did you know that confessions spelled with a “K” is actually how it’s spelled in German? I didn’t know that until after naming this blog), because I have finally found what it is I want to confess. And I will now be posting on a regular basis; I’m thinking every Tuesday and Thursday. And maybe on Saturdays, just depends on what I have to talk about.

So I hope y’all will enjoy this as much as I and please feel free to comment and tell me what you think! :)

Scentsy!

I am now a Scentsy Consultant! Very exciting. If you want to know more, then visit my website: https://ksiemens.scentsy.us

So I had my first party about a week ago and it went really well. Everyone bought stuff and I've booked 3 parties from it. I even got my mom in Georgia excited about it and we're trying to figure out how to do such a long distance party. I'm having a lot more success than I thought I would this early on.

It helps that's I'm really excited about the product. I love this stuff. I just bought my fourth warmer the other day and a bunch of new scents. I'll have to take pictures of what I have so that everyone can see how very awesome these things are! :D

Road Trips!

The past two weekends, Daniel, Will and I have been doing a lot of traveling. The weekend before last we drove to Denver, Colorado to visit my sister Michelle and her husband Josh; and then over Labor Day weekend we drove to Idaho with Daniel’s brother, Jared, to visit our friends Josh and Calli. I have found that road trips are very educational. And here follows a list of things that I have learned.

1. Cruise control is the best invention since the car itself. When we drove to Colorado, I started the 8 hour drive. After weaving our way through the mountains to get out of Utah I felt my right leg start to cramp up from my ankle to my knee. Holding the same position for that long, pushing down on the gas pedal, my leg was in rebellion. I was looking for a good place to pull over when Daniel asked, “Are you using the cruise control?” “This car has cruise control?” For some reason it never crossed my mind to check, maybe because I thought my car was too old for that sort of thing. So after spending about 10 minutes trying to figure out how the darn thing worked I was set! I could have driven the whole way like that if it wasn’t past 5 pm when we started. I drove a little more than half way though.

2. Short cuts are not always short. So someone in Daniel’s family told us about this short cut from I-80 to I-25 in Wyoming so we decided to take it. It starts in Laramie, WY and takes you to around Fort Collins, CO. Basically keeping you from having to go to Cheyenne, WY. So at first everything was going good, the road we were on was a little slower than the interstate, but it was late at night with no traffic. But at the end of the road we ended up having to weave our way through a bunch of little neighborhoods to get on to I-25. When you’re driving 20mph for 10-15 minutes, it totally negates any time you just saved. Needless to say, we didn’t take the same way going home.

3. Wendy’s doesn’t believe in changing tables, apparently. We stopped at a few Wendy’s on both trips and none of them had a changing table, 0! It was a little bit ridiculous. But, in retrospect, the front seat of my car is probably the cleaner of the two.

4. Formula To-Go is ingenious. Gas stations would make a killing if they sold them.

5. Will loves dogs and dogs love him. I’m sure one of the first things he’s going to ask for as a birthday/Christmas present will be a dog. Michelle and Josh have two dogs and they were very well behaved.

6. There are a lot of cows in northern Utah and Idaho, and where there are cows, there will be flies. Always make sure you have lots of washer fluid and good wind shield wipers, it’s very hard to see through bug guts.

7. Wyoming is quite possibly the most boring state to drive through. There is nothing out there. Just a lot of wind, and scatterings of windmills (which are kind of fun to watch for some odd reason).

8. DON’T FORGET THE STROLLER! Babies are heavy. You should only carry one while walking around a park if you’re trying to get a workout.

9. DON’T FORGET THE DIAPERS! Yes, you can go to the store and buy more, but it’s still a hassle.

10. Tacos are a favorite when you have guest coming over, apparently. That was dinner in both Colorado and Idaho, and both on Sunday night, strange…

11. Be nice to semi’s and they’ll be nice to you. I’ve always had this rule when driving, but it’s always very important to remember while on long road trips. I believe that every time you are nice to a semi you get a couple more points in the Car Karma department and that comes in real handy when you’re milliseconds away from getting in a wreck. Trust me, it works!

And there you have it, the things I’ve learned on our recent road trips.

On a side note, I’m writing this post at work right now, and it’s my birthday. L I hate having to work on my birthday. But I’m 24 today! Yay, I’m old!

Fly Wars! A Special Entry From Daniel!

So for the last couple of days we have been attacked by some crazy killer flies. It started with one fly. It was huge and pestered me by dive bombing at my face and then spinning circles around my head while laughing hysterically. I thought this fly is not going to get away with this. It Must DIE!!!!

Since we don’t own a fly swatter I resorted to other means of fly destruction, the rubber band gun. For those that don’t know, a rubber band gun is a very effective way to kill flies. And it’s fun. The problem with fly swatters is when you miss, the fly takes off and you have to chase it around waiting for it to land on a flat enough surface to smash the pesky thing against. Not so with rubber band guns. Almost any surface works and, if you happen to have a nice repeating semi auto rubber band gun, the flies don’t move if you miss! They are totally oblivious to the fact that a whole bunch of killer high speed bands of rubber are smacking the area around them. Once your aim is honed in they’re done for. There is a down side to rubber band guns though. That is the slim but possible chance of shooting your eye out. So far it’s never happened to me; knock on wood.

So I dug out my trusty rubber band gun I made while I was a teenager. It’s a single shot rifle with a wire connecting the classic clothes pin to the trigger allowing for a nice gun feel and better accuracy. (I’m not obsessed really!!!!) So I dig out my rubber band gun and come to find out I’m out of ammo. I dig through the whole house looking every where to find even one rubber band. …..nothing. I am rubber bandless and the fly keeps mocking me with its hysterical laughter and its loops around my head.

So the fly lives another day and I don’t know how it happened, but it seemed that the fly either thought this was so funny he called in two buddies or he strangely separated into two more smaller flies. So now I had three pesky flies zooming through the house like the Red Baron. Dive bombing me and driving me nuts with the buzzing. I decided I was done!

I resorted to an ancient art I learned from an old shaman aka my father in law. I decided to go at these flies with hand to hand combat using a technique I’ve come to call Flyjitsu. In order to master the technique you need to be as stealthy as a hawk and as quick as a snake….well not really its actually pretty easy. You place your hands in the clapping position about eight inches apart. Wait for the fly to land then go right above him and simply clap. Flies really are dumb creatures. They will see your hands move and think “Oh NO I better take off!” Then being your hands are above the fly they fly right in and are smashed. Then of course you must wash your hands. I killed two flies this way almost in a row but, the other one must have been watching cause he figured out Flyjitsu’s weakness.

Flyjitsu only really works when the fly lands on a flat horizontal surface like a table. If the fly lands on a vertical surface, like a wall, the fly has the option of flying up or down and always picks the opposite of where your hands are. So this pesky. little green. nasty fly seeing its comrades go down decides it will have its revenge by pestering me more and not landing on any horizontal surfaces EVER. It buzzed around for half an hour with out landing at all. Then when it did land it landed on every vertical surface in the apartment. After about an hour of this I had had it. So I called around trying to find any body close by that could get me a stupid rubber band.

My sister Sarah came to my rescue and brought a small rubber band ball she had laying around. I pulled a rubber band from it and went hunting! I spotted the fly and followed it until it landed on yet another vertical surface, which is actually perfect when it comes to rubber band guns. I got in position, aimed and fired. In one shot the fly was down. It’s little life ended with in ten seconds of me having received the rubber bands. I stood pleased at the perfect silence that now filled my apartment. At least until another bullet bike went by.

I felt very accomplished and was very happy to now live in a perfectly flyless apartment. I looked around holding my rubber band gun like an old western sheriff looks over his now peaceful town. Then it hit me. I had all these rubber band’s, a good rubber band gun, and no flies! I’m bored again!!!! All well maybe I’ll take it to my parents house.

GA Trip Pictures!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=2152437&id=46705106

This is the Facebook album of some of the 500 pictures that Daniel and I took while on our trip.

Facebook was easier to use to download the pictures. :)

The Vacation Log!

Yesterday, Daniel, Will and I returned from our week long vacation to Georgia. We had a blast! But before I start on the log I'll say now that pictures will be coming soon. All the pictures are currently sitting on Daniel's camera, waiting to be downloaded.

Anyway, we flew out to GA on Saturday the 24th at about 1am. Will slept the whole time; he was restless, but he slept. Daniel and I watched Date Night (very funny) and got an hour of sleep here and there. We landed in GA about 6:30am local time (it's a 3 & 1/2 hour flight) and my parents came to pick us up.

This was the first time my dad has ever seen Will. My mom got to see him when he was three weeks old, but my dad wasn't able to come out to Utah then. We went back to my parents house, ate breakfast, talked and napped. My sister Carrie came in from Valdosta, GA around noon and then my mom, Carrie and I went shopping.

I got a new shirt for work and then feel asleep in the dressing room while Carrie and Mom tried on clothes. Went back to the house and took another nap, dinner, talk and then to bed for the night.

The next day, Sunday, we all went to church and it was nice to see some of the people from the old home ward. Carrie left later that afternoon and the rest of us spent the day packing for our road trip to Louisiana the next day.

So, around 7am Monday morning, we drove to Slidel, LA (a 6 hour drive). Most of my extended family lives there and that's where my parents grew up. I hadn't been there for about 4 or 5 years; not since before hurricane Katrina. We stayed at my Grandpop's house (my dad's dad), visited my Grandmother (mom's mom), and played a lot of Wii 100 pin bowling with Grandpop.

On Tuesday, Daniel got to meet a couple pairs of my aunts and uncles and learned the art of poker (they don't play with real money anymore, but trust me, they used to :P). And then we drove back to GA on Wednesday.

On Thursday we went to the Georgia Aquarium where Daniel took about 500 pictures of fish and Will was captivated by all the color and movement. Daniel and I bought a couple shirts and got a cute little book about dolphins for Will that he can play with in the bath.

On Friday Daniel and Dad went shooting (any reason for the boys to play with Dad's AR 15) and I hung around the house with Mom. That evening Daniel and I went to visit my old friend Gina, her husband Josh and their little boy (who's only a month younger than Will) Breyden. It was so much fun to reconnect and catch up on each other's lives. We stayed there way too late and we still had to pack to go home the next day.

So Saturday, we headed home. Our flight was delayed, but not much, and we got back to Utah around 10am. Will was awake most of this flight and only a little fussy because he got tired of being stuck on Mommy and Daddy's laps.

Over all, it was a fantastic trip! Will was in a good mood 90% of the time. He was happy and smiling and friendly and I am so proud of him. He got dragged all over the country and was pretty easy going about all of it.

But I know we're all glad to be home. I love Georgia and I miss it all the time, but it's good to be back in my own space and not be living out of a suitcase. I know Will is glad to be home, and we got back just in time because he's teething again.

It was a very successful trip and everyone was happy. And now i's time to go back to work and back to the real world. Boo! :(

Home

I am currently sitting at one of my old computers at my parents place back home in Georgia. It has been over a year since I have been here. Last year, Daniel and I came for my sister's wedding and I was 4 to 5 months pregnant. Now we're back with an 8 month old. A lot happens in a year.

Yesterday we got back from a short trip to Louisiana to visit a bunch of my extended family. I haven't been down there in about 4 or 5 years. It was nice to see my Grandpop and some of my aunts and uncles.

We now have a couple more days left here in GA and I'm hoping to be able to hang out with some of my old friends here before Daniel, Will and I head home to Utah.

I love being on vacation! :)

Wild Feral Baby!

Daniel made this video this afternoon and I had to post it! There's two parts, an intro and then the main program. Enjoy!

NTech Duo Podcast!

Today I helped my brother Michael and his friend Zach record an episode of their podcast, NTech Duo. I got to do the intro and closing lines and put in my random, non-tech, opinion. I was surprised that my voice actually sounded decent and I made a few intelligent comments.

So here follows all the shameless plugs you can handle!

NTech Duo Blog
The Podcast
Follow on Twitter

Independence Day!

Last night we went and saw the Riverton fireworks with Daniel's family. I was really nervous about bringing Will because sometimes he gets really upset by loud nosies, especially at night when he's most tired. But he surprised me, he was fascinated by them. :) He just stared at them and you could see the little wheels in his head turning. He was just trying to figure out what they were.

We had a lot of fun over all and I'm excited because I got a very long weekend. I don't go back to work until Thursday. Woohoo!

In other, work related news, I got a new position. I will now be working at a different branch being a receptionist. I'm going from 30 hours to 40 and it's a $1.20 raise. I interviewed for the job Friday and found out I got it just a few hours later.

This has been a great Fourth of July weekend!

New Blog!

For those of you that follow this blog of mine, I started a second blog that will be just about my writing life. You should go follow that one too! Here's the link http://kricketwrites.blogspot.com/

Writing Prompt: Romeo & Juliet

Found this prompt here: http://blog.writersdigest.com/promptly/Writing+Prompt+When+Romeo+And+Juliet+Goes+Wrong.aspx

There are two versions here, the first one was just a cold writing, the second in the revised version.

WRITING PROMPT: Romeo and Juliet, Derailed

You watch the play.

"I don't remember Romeo and Juliet going like this," you whisper to your companion.

500 Words or less.

It’s such a classic play that it’s almost not worth paying the money to see. We all read it in high school and, most likely, you watched the 70’s movie version. I remember my 9^th grade English teacher hurrying to cover the screen during the scene where you see just a flash of Juliet’s breast.

But, the tickets where cheap, so my husband and I thought, “Why not?” From the get go, we could tell something was wrong. At Romeo’s first entrance he nearly fell off the stage.

My husband leaned towards me and whispered, “Is he drunk?”

I grinned, “Looks like.”

He chuckled.

As the show went on Romeo seemed to regain his composer. He never stumbled with his feet or his words and I began to be impressed with his performance. Then the dual scene arrived. Again, I noticed that Romeo wasn’t quite right.

He was clenching his fist and you could see the sweat glistening on his fore head. All his lines came out in short, angry burst. All the other actors were watching him with mixtures of fear and concern.

“…And so, good Capulet,--which name I tender as dearly as my own,--be satisfied.” Romeo practically barked.

My husband and I traded askance glances. As Mercuitio and Tybalt began to duel I saw the Romeo looked eager to jump in to the middle. As he leapt into the fray, Romeo pulled out his sword and instead of trying to block Tybalt’s sword from reaching Mercuitio, he swung at Tybalt.

Tybalt leaped back his a shout of surprise, barely blocking Romeo’s wild strike.

"I don't remember Romeo and Juliet going like this," I whispered to my husband.

“Me either,” he replied.

There were whispers all around us as the audience watched Tybalt desperately defend him self. It was only then that I realized that there was a distinct difference between the two swords. Tybalt’s sword was dull silver, like painted wood. But Romeo’s sword was bright and shinny and every time the swords struck a small piece of Tybalt’s sword flew off.

“That’s a real sword!” someone shouted from the audience.

A woman screamed as Romeo slashed down, his sword biting into Tybalt’s right shoulder. I found myself standing with my hands over my mouth before I even knew it.

“Take that you bastard!” Romeo screamed as Tybalt crumpled to the floor. Several men came running from the wings and tackled Romeo to the ground.

As the men wrestled him, trying to keep him still, Romeo just kept screaming, “How dare you! How could you sleep with her! You said you loved me!”

My husband was standing beside me and all we could do was stare at each other. Four men finally managed to drag Romeo off the stage while others ran to help Tybalt. Someone called for a doctor and an older man wearing a green tweed coat came on stage and asked us all to leave, promising in the same breath to refund our tickets.

We all filed out of the theater, every one muttering about the night’s events.

“Well, that was entertaining,” my husband said.

All I could do was laugh.

Normally I wouldn’t bother going to see Romeo and Juliet because everyone has read the script at least once in high school, but, the tickets where cheap, so my husband and I thought, “Why not?” From the get go, we could tell something was wrong. At Romeo’s first entrance he nearly fell off the stage.

My husband leaned towards me and whispered, “Is he drunk?”

I grinned, “Looks like.”

He chuckled.

As the show went on Romeo seemed to regain his composer. He never stumbled with his feet or his words and I began to be impressed with his performance. Then the dual scene arrived. Again, I noticed that Romeo wasn’t quite right.

He was clenching his fist and you could see the sweat glistening on his fore head. All his lines came out in short, angry burst. All the other actors were watching him with mixtures of fear and concern.

“…And so, good Capulet,--which name I tender as dearly as my own,--be satisfied.” Romeo barked.

My husband and I traded askance glances. As Mercuitio and Tybalt began to duel I saw that Romeo looked eager to jump in to the middle. As he leapt into the fray, Romeo pulled out his sword and instead of trying to block Tybalt’s sword from reaching Mercuitio, he swung at Tybalt.

Tybalt leapt back with a shout of surprise, barely blocking Romeo’s wild strike.

"I don't remember Romeo and Juliet going like this," I whispered to my husband.

“Me either,” he replied.

There were whispers all around us as the audience watched Tybalt desperately defend him self. It was only then that I realized that there was a distinct difference between the two swords. Tybalt’s sword was dull silver, like painted wood. But Romeo’s sword was bright and shinny and every time the swords struck a small piece of Tybalt’s sword flew off.

“That’s a real sword!” someone shouted from the audience.

A woman screamed as Romeo slashed down, his sword biting into Tybalt’s right shoulder. I found myself standing with my hands over my mouth before I even knew it.

“Take that you bastard!” Romeo screamed as Tybalt crumpled to the floor. Several men came running from the wings and tackled Romeo to the ground.

As the men wrestled him, trying to keep him still, Romeo just kept screaming, “How dare you! How could you sleep with her! You said you loved me!”

My husband was standing beside me and all we could do was stare at each other. Four men finally managed to drag Romeo off the stage while others ran to help Tybalt. Someone called for a doctor and an older man wearing a green tweed coat came on stage and asked us all to leave, promising in the same breath to refund our tickets.

We all filed out of the theater, every one muttering about the night’s events.

“Well, that was entertaining,” my husband said.

All I could do was laugh.

Maybe I'm Trying Too Hard

Maybe I’m Trying Too Hard

I’m a working mom; I guess that says it all right?

Most days I feel like I’m going crazy.

The list of things I want to do

And the list of things I have to do

Will never collide.

So I try to simplify.

Just do one thing at a time.

Step by step, no matter how slow they are.

I want to believe that I am Super Mom.

I want to believe I can do it all.

Maybe I’m trying too hard.

I’m a writing mom; so what does that say?

The words refuse to hit the page,

They get cluttered out by the everyday.

And the things I want

And the things I need

Will never collide.

So I try to simplify.

Just do one thing at a time.

Step by step, no matter how slow they are.

I want to believe that I am Super Mom.

I want to believe I can do it all.

Maybe I’m trying too hard.

The picture was found here: http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=trying#/ddue6f I DO NOT OWN IT!!!! It's just pretty and it fit with the poem, please don't kill me. :D

Writing Update!

So I've outlined 4 chapters and I started actually writing chapter one. I'm so proud of me! I'm stuck on chapter 5 though.

One of my characters is a detective but I know nothing about real police work. My knowledge of detective work is limited to Law & Order: SVU, Bones, and Castle. Not exactly creditable sources. So if there's anyone who actually knows a cop or detective I can talk to that would be great. Otherwise I might just try to get in touch with my local police department and see if I can talk to someone.

Anyway, getting up at 5am to write every morning has been working pretty well so far. Generally, Will isn't up by then, so I can get a solid hour to write. I wish I had more time, but an hour a day is good for now.

Update and some Life Improvments

So Will is now 6 months old! It's so hard to believe that a year ago I was pregnant and that six months ago William was born. So much has happened in those 6 months. A lot of chaos but it's been worth it.

So we've all been super busy. I work 3 days a week and Daniel has a job that keeps him late everyday, but it's all good. My biggest problem is keeping the apartment clean. It's hard to get much of anything done when I'm taking care of Will. But we try.

So I came up with a new story idea that I'm pretty excited about. It's a totally different genre than I've tried before, but I think it can work. I guess you could label it as a crime/thriller type book. I won't go into the storyline too much here, but I'm almost positive the idea can sell.

Anyway, I've decided that I need to write/work on the story everyday. I need to just get it all out on paper. I need to prove to myself that I can, in fact, write a complete story. It's not right to call myself a writer if I've never actually completed a story. So that's the goal, write everyday and finish the story.

Also, I'll try to update this blog with my progress as much as possible. This way I'll have some accountability. I need something/one other than Daniel to poke me and tell me to write. So if I make it public, then I have to worry about my reputation. :)

More Thoughts From Work

This was all originally written as it was happening. Enjoy!

If you come up to my window on your phone do not expect to get the best customer service. If you’re not going to pay attention to me and what I’m doing with your money, why should I pay attention to you or ask you what you want to do with it exactly.

Why do old people always smell like mothballs?

I hate it when it gets warm out; everyone starts to smell like B.O.

What is it with foreigners not respecting personal space? You have no right to lean way over my desk trying to see the computer screen. It’s for me to look at, not you. Next time, I’m going to ask the person to move back, I don’t care how rude it is.

A. It should be illegal for any woman over the age of puberty to go out into public without a bra

B. Don’t blame me for not getting your debit card just because you don’t know your own freaking address

C. One of the qualifications for membership should be an IQ test.

Have you ever been biting the end of a pen and suddenly realized that it’s not yours? Yeah….

Easter Pictures!

A happy Will in his adorable Easter outfit given to him by Grandma Pilcher

The Siemens Family!

The Great Adventures of My Nose

On Saturday, Feb. 20th I got in a fight with a tile floor at work. The floor won. :) Actually, I simply slipped and fell so fast that I didn't have time to catch myself with anything but my nose. Apparently, the carpet right by our door that leads out into the grocery store was wet. So, my shoes got wet (without my knowing it), thus when I got to the tile and turned right to head down to the bathroom I slipped and landed face first. Way fun...

I was bleeding everywhere and someone called an ambulance. They checked me out and then my back-up lead Laura drove me to the ER. Daniel was down in Riverton at the time, dropping Will off with his Mom so Daniel could go to work. Daniel met me at the ER and we hung around there for a couple hours. I got an X-ray and they told me that my nose was fractured and I needed to see an ear, nose & throat doctor to have it looked at.

My face got all bruised up for a couple of days and my glasses had to bent back into shape. I went to the doctor later that week and he said that I needed to have surgery to straighten my nose and to clear up my sinuses.

So, this last Wednesday, March 3rd I had nose surgery. Everything went really well and I've spent the last four or five days recovering from that. Thank God for Percocet! It was hard though because I couldn't really take care of Will the whole time. I was in too much pain and doped up on drugs. I've had several surgeries in the past for my eyes, but I was never in pain after those; so being in pain this time was a new thing for me.

Anyway, today I went back to the doctor and he took the splints out of my nose. I feel soooo much better now. I haven't been able to breathe through my nose for the past five days and that's been really annoying. So now I'm all better. My nose still feels a little sore and beat up but otherwise, I'm great!

The only good things about all of this is A) it happened at work thus it's covered under Worker's Comp and B) the work the doctor did on my nose should help to clear up my sinuses from now on. But, now I can't say I've never broken a bone; I used to be so proud of that fact...

Budget Cuts

So, in an attempt to cut down on our monthly expenses, Daniel and I have cut the texting out of our cell phone plan. I was seriously tired of paying $100 a month for 700 minutes and unlimited texting when we hardly use an "unlimited" amount of texts.

We thought about just doing like a 250 text plan, but then we figured that we really could live without texting all together. Because, believe it or not, there was a time when we all had cell phones, but there was no texting. And somehow, we survived. Heck, my parents have had cells for years and never once texted, and they manage just fine.

Besides, texting is way impersonal and sometimes unprofessional. It's like we've become afraid to actually talk to people. Does the sound of a human voice frighten us now because we're so used to seeing our conversations in text form? I've seen people have full-out conversations via text that would take half the time to say if they just used the phone to do what a phone is supposed to do, and call the person.

Not to mention the whole, texting-while-driving-thing. If we all would just stop texting in general, we would find a lot less accidents on the road. It's one thing to be talking on your phone while driving, but people that text while they drive deserve a special place in Hell for their stupidity. But that's just me, being heavily influenced by Oprah... :P

Anyway, so Daniel and I cut the texting and now we'll be saving ourselves somewhere between $30-40 a month. It's a beautiful thing.

Thoughts From Work

And so here I am at work on a Saturday afternoon. I really don’t like working Saturdays because they’re generally really slow and boring. Most people are used to banks closing at either noon or 3, so after 3 pm we slow way down. We might get a little bit of a spike around 6 and there’s always one person that comes in right at 7. But other than that, the afternoons are soooo boring.

So why is it that some people feel they have to fill in every line of a transaction ticket with zeros. You can save yourself the time and just leave it blank. We do know what it means, believe it or not.

And seriously, don’t act like you’re all smart when it is so painfully obvious that you’re not! And don’t you dare tell me that I messed up! I can not mess up when I’m only doing as YOU, f*ing retard, told me to do. I wish we could fine people for stupidity.

When I ask you “What can I do for you?” the answer is not, “Give me a million dollars.” The best answer I’ve gotten to that question is “Kill my husband. Or take him home.” I replied, “Sorry, I already have one.” And the member answered, “Can we trade?” And I just smiled. It was an odd exchange.

Don’t blame me for wasting your time when I told you from the beginning that this was going to take 10-15 minutes. Plus, why open an account just to cash a check when you can wait until Monday and go cash it with the bank that it’s drawn off of. I didn’t waste your time, you wasted mine.

Women should not burp. It is just wrong.

This was written while I was at work, while it was happening. I should do this more often.

My Sister's Keeper

So I finished reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult the other day and it is quite possibly the saddest book I've ever read. I'd been reading it mostly at work because the book actually belongs to one of my co-workers. I picked it up about a week ago and started reading the first couple pages to just see what it was about; and then I got hooked.

I've never read Jodi Picoult before, but if all her books are as good as this one, then I think I’ll be reading more of her. She's a master of first person and really getting into a characters mind. This makes it really easy to care about the characters and fall in love, or hate, them.

For instance, I can't stand the mother in this book. I just want to choke her and ram her head into a wall. She is so dead set on saving one daughter that she completely forgets about the other. For those of you who haven't read the book or seen the movie, the basic plot of the story is that there is one sister who has leukemia and one sister who has been donating her blood and bone marrow to the sick one since she was born. Now the sister who isn't sick is suing her parents so that she doesn't have to donate anymore, thus sentencing her sick sister to death. Twisted but really good at the same time.

Anyway, it's a super sad story. I finished it here at work and I had to work really hard to not cry at the end. Now I want to go and see the movie and I'm sure it's going to be a sob-fest.

Photo Dump!

Here's some more rescent pictures of Will.

Taken today. He turned 2 months old yesterday! :)
Daddy and Will napping together.

My two favorite boys in the whole wide world!

Excercising is Good for You

One of my New Years Resolutions this year is to lose all the extra weight I gained while being pregnant. Now before I go on, allow me to rant a little bit. I want to head all of you off at the pass labeled, "But you're so skinny! You don't need to lose weight! Now you look normal like the rest of us!" I am aware that to most of the population, especially the female side of it, I have always been smaller than average. Before I got pregnant I weighed 100lbs (and I'm 5'7", just for reference). Now, about 8 weeks after giving birth, I weigh 130lbs. 130 is pretty normal for women about my height, but not for me. Just think of it this way, I gained, and kept, 30lbs after giving birth (I was in the 150's right before Will was born and most of that was water weight that made my feet look like elephant feet).

Anyway, being 130 is defiantly not normal for me. And honestly, it's not about what the scale says, it's more about getting my body back. Because I don't care how big or small you were before you had a baby, afterwards, you're not the same person. Mostly, I want my flat tummy back. I was blessed to have one before without trying and it's a little depressing that I now have to work for it like everyone else. So, please no comments on how I don't need to lose weight or workout. If you've never had a baby you, frankly, have no room to talk; but if you have, then I'm sure you can understand.

Anyway... So I bought a couple exercise DVDs a while back and they just came in the mail earlier this week. I got one that it postnatal taebo and a belly dancing one. I started using the taebo one this morning and I like it a lot. I work out with it for twenty minutes on the mornings that I work and it gives me a light sweat and gets my heart pumping. Only thing is, it's made me realize how uncoordinated I am. I tried taebo once a long time ago and I thought I remembered how to do it, but I was wrong. But I'm sure I'll get better the more I do it.

My goal is to be able to fit into size 4 jeans, maybe 5. I was a 3 before pregnancy, but I really don't think my hips will let me get back into those, but we'll see.

Well, I better go finish getting dressed so I can get to work, yay fun.

It Begins!

I'm not sure how many times I've started and failed at blogging. It mostly becomes a problem of no one reading it. Blogging has become such a common thing now, it's almost sickening. But I do know a few people that use this particular blogging site so I'm sure to have some readers, and what's the point of writing if no one is going to read it?

So please welcome me with kindness! ;P