Internship

I think I've found my dream job! The process for starting my internship took MUCH longer than I expected. But, I finally started and I love it!


I have said many times through out years that I never wanted a desk job because I would hate to just sit all day. I also didn't want something that required hard labor, and I wanted something that had to do with kids. This internship is the perfect match.
They have me picking up foster kids, supervising the visit with the parents, taking notes on behavior and actions and conversations. Some times the parents really lack any parenting skills at all, and I'll have to tell them things when they are being dangerous.
There was a developmentally delayed boy who has been working on crawling. I was sitting in the visit and suggested to the mom that we encourage him to try walking. With a little coaching, by the end of the visit he took his first dozen steps from me to Mommy then back to me. He seemed fascinated, and it was thrilling to witness.
Another child was very delayed in her potty training. When I first met her she would cry if we even suggested going to the toilet. Now when she first sees me she runs up proudly squealing, "Anna, Anna, I went potty all by myself!"
One 4yr old boy met me on my first day of the internship. He made it very clear that he did not like me, and did not appreciate me being there to pick him up to visit his parents. Even his younger sister mentioned to him at one point, "You're being a little mean." The next time he saw me, he ran up and gave me a hug. I was shocked that he was so happy to see me again. The time after that I was driving him home and he asked me to be his wife. That conversation itself was a crack up. "Anna, will you be my wife?" I said, "I'll be your best friend." He said, "Ok, but will you marry me?" I said, "Don't you want to marry some one who's not too tall to put your arm on their shoulder?" He said, "Oh yeah, and it would be really hard to kiss wouldn't it?" Made me laugh out loud
One time I was driving a 2yr old to his foster home. I took a wrong turn and got lost. It started getting frustrating and I was letting out, "Oh, Arg, Grr." All this was made more entertaining and some what relaxing by the cutie in the backseat copying me then giggling. I asked him, "Are you being cute?" He stroked the side of his hair and went, "Har har har" When I finally found the house, he threw his hands and let out a "Yeah!". (Pretty hilarious sight from a toddler)
It is a very rewarding role with something new and adventurous everyday. A few of the kids I recognized from the news. It was great to see how healthy and happy they are now compared to when their story was on tv. I get to see the happy ending that most don't get to see.
Not only do I get to see their health and wellness improving, but I also get to see parents cleaning up their own lives (some anyway). Going to rehab, leaving the abusive partner, taking parenting or anger management classes, finding a job, quitting drugs.
It is always inspirational to me to see a person motivated to improve their life. I definitely feel I have found my "thing"

Life update

Normally on Fridays I update on how my weight loss is going. I haven't lost any weight this past week. So I decided to use the free space to update on my life.
I have about another month until classes start again. I will only be in 2 classes, the other 3 are online and only pertain to my internship.
Yesterday I met with the volunteer director at Child Protective Services to fill out the paperwork they needed for me to intern there. There were two kids with their families in the waiting room the same time as me. Just seeing them and hearing the one talking got me excited to start doing things there.
They sent out character references letters to 3 people and have to get 2 back before they can let me start.

I am excited and yet still a bit nervous as to how it will work out. I have tried doing things like this in the past and it always hit some kind of dead end. Now it's extremely important as my college degree depends upon it.

I can get a job at the state as an assistant once I have this degree, but I have to have a Bachelor's degree to do what I really want to do, which it be a social worker. There are also no promotion opportunities with out a Bachelor's.

This means I will have to go onto university, which means I will have to get a loan. I don't really like that being I had hoped to start out life debt free.
I am looking into ORU in Oklahoma again. I had very badly wanted to go there two years ago.
My senior year of high school I had applied for over 50 scholarships and didn't get squat. There was one full ride through ORU that looked very hopeful, but in the end I missed it by 10 FRIGGIN points on my SAT.

Lately I have been thinking about ORU a lot, and am growing warmer and warmer to the idea of trying again. I have made up my mind that I don't mind if I have to get a loan, but I need to get at least one scholarship of any size to prove to me that I belong there.


As most people know by now, I have been jogging this summer. I am getting tan and thin and loving it. I honestly feel the best I have ever felt. Seems every day I have some kinda adventure or laugh while I am out. Recently I had one of my most memorable. A dog bite!
A couple months ago my mom voiced her concern about the areas of town I jog through. I kinda rolled my eyes and thought, "oh mothers!".
She talked me into buying and carrying a bottle of pepper spray. I got to use it for the first time, and was very grateful for it when the dog kept coming back trying to attack me.
Mom's advice also came in very handy last week. When Nick and I went on our road trip she hounded us to buy AAA. Both of us brushed it off, so last minute she ended up getting it for us. THANKFULLY we did not end up needing it 1,000 miles from home!
This past week I went to an African orphanage benefit dinner out in Portland with one of my girlfriends. AAA came to the rescue and towed me home when my truck had a fire on the freeway on our way home.
Appearantly Lexy and I both get very giggly when nervous, so we were quite the show for the tow truck driver. Let me say that guy was awesome. He was cute, and funny, and fun(making me even more nervous, thus more giggly, thus more entertaining for him).
I could tell you a lot more about my car blues, but I think I gave it enough attention in yesterdays blog.

As many people know, I am a writer. I have had the goal for about 5yrs to get a book published. The last story I wrote about a year and a half ago was 32,000 words long. All the places I sent it said it was way too short. The past six months I have been working on a new story called "Visionary". I am about 3/5ths the way done and am at 77,000 words. I am very excited about it and am hoping it will finally be the piece to accomplish my dream.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. Cheers!!

~Farewell~

Please click play before reading this entry. Makes the experience much more real.

If you ask any older person it seems they could talk for hours on the stories about their first car. Today my first car is on the last bit of it's life. I figure maybe someday if internet still exists, my kids might be looking through this blog, and will appreciate this kinda entry.
If I am like every other old person, I will probably want to sit back and reminisce on it. So I figure right now in the present is the best time to document my first car memories. Kinda as a farewell letter I guess you could say. :D


It's a little 1990 Ford Ranger. Being that it was created the same year I was born, I tell often like to brag to folks that I am doing a lot better than it is. My grandpa picked it up for $800 in 2007. I have had a lot of memories with it. Some that show physically.

One of the first physical traits about it that makes me giggle feeling hillbilly is the duct taped front.

There was a time that I went out for a random joy ride in the country. It was a Wednesday. I was supposed to be in a meeting, but it got done way sooner than scheduled. My mom, dad, and brother were all at church. Coming around a corner, I didn't realize just how sharp of a corner it was. I slammed on my breaks and went off the pavement a bit. This made my tires slide, causing me to spin a 180. All I can remember was the big drop off I saw up ahead, and thinking, "Oh great, they will never find out what happened to me." While still screaming and trying to stop, my truck crossed lanes and I slammed into the side of the hill.

I was still quite a bit dazed when a car full of boys my age came driving by. With their jaws all dropped, fingers pointed at me, they all laughed hysterically as they passed me and kept on driving. I was about ready to burst into tears over the fact they didn't help me. Don't know how, but I some how manage to not shed a single tear over the ordeal. A while later a guy and his granddaughter came by and were able to stop and help me get back to civilization.
The front fender was busted off and the body was smashed in. But my dad did an impressive job of hiding the fact.

Speaking of my dad makes me think of another dent in it. On the side on the back end.




My dad drives a big ole diseal truck. Comes across as tough and rough. But one day while coming down the driveway with a trailer attached, he accidently drove the side of his truck into my parked dinker. His had to be repaired at a shop. Mine just got this tiny dent.

Ha ha! I guess that's why they say, Built Ford tough!


My truck has so many miles on it, that the mileage display reset. So in a way, it has only driven 30k miles in 20 years.



One day I was driving home and I heard a loud scraping beneath me. Freaked me out a bit. Pulled over and saw half my exhaust pipe was being drug along by the tiny bit still attached.

TIRES!

Tires are possible the most aggravating and yet hilarious parts of my trucks legacy. I have the absolute worst time with them! The guys down at the tire shop laugh every time I pull in. It's always the same, "Again?! Ha ha ha"
Some of them even wave at me when I see them in the grocery store. Their work is like my 2nd home.
It's something different every time too. Oh! There was one day that my starter went bad at work. My dad had to drive 30 minutes to come help me. Once he got it started he said the tire was also bad. Made my co-worker laugh when I told her my car wouldn't start, but she saw us changing a tire.

With all that said, I am sure glad I had something to drive these past 4 years. It drove me to sports practices, to friends houses, it drove me to my high school graduation, to my first day of college. My first year of college was so extremely hard on me emotionally. Through every bad day, if I was too upset to want to go home, it was there to drive me around until I felt calmer.
It's funny when I actually take a minute to think about it. A car is the thing that is with you for part of all your memories. It takes you to that great day at work, or to that funeral, or to that party. For some people it's the birth place of their child!
So I believe my truck has lived a long and fufilled life. All good things must come to an end. I hope it will hang on a little while longer.......until I can find something new!
Oh, and hopefully my next blog will have mention of something new?????

The day I ran away

This picture is me, my brother, and an old neighbor friend Steven.
Thinking about Steven and his family, I always remember my first time ever running away.
We moved to my home when I was 5 years old. It was a property right next door to my uncle and aunt. So one day shortly after the property was bought(I was 4), we visited my aunt and uncle.
There was no house yet so we had not moved out of our apartment. My dad wanted to take my brother to show him the property. I wanted to come along but Dad wouldn't let me. He told me to stay in my uncle and aunt's back yard and jump on the trampoline.
Let's just say I was less than thrilled about it. I felt it was my God given right as the little sister, to be invited to everything my brother went to. I yelled and whined as they walked through the brushy trail to the property.
Once they were out of sight, I decided that if Nick got to go explore that direction, then I should be allowed to explore the opposite direction. So that's what I did. I walked through the woods for a bit, and popped out at the driveway.
The very imaginative person I am, I told myself it was some ancient trail to another world. I clearly remember walking up the driveway trying to figure out how I would speak to the village people if they spoke a different language.
It took a while for me to reach the top where the driveway met the road. When I got there, I figured out where I was and recognized the neighbor friend's house off in the distance.
I decided it would be ok to go see if they were available to play. Standing in the middle of the gravel road, I paused and giggled with excitement a bit, knowing this was my first time going somewhere unsupervised.
I made my way to their front door and knocked. The mom answered the door, and for some reason that I cannot remember, I asked if I could eat with them. She seemed a bit confused, but welcomed me in.
I remember seeing a big cantaloupe up on their fridge and thinking how much I wanted it, but she offered me a pear instead. I wanted to ask for the cantaloupe but felt it would be rude. So I ate the pear.
Still wanting the cantaloupe, I told her I was still hungry hoping she may offer it to me. Instead she offered me an apple. Again I felt it would be rude to say no, so I accepted. She was cutting up the apple for me when some one knocked at the door.


Little did I know at the time, that a missing 4yr old child is a very upsetting thing for a parent. I sat at the table hoping it may be her son at the door, so I could play with him. But instead the mom called out, "You're mom is here!"
I was thinking everything was fine. I thought she must have known that I went to play. I was wrong! When I got to the door, I saw my mom's face was bright red.
She very sternly ordered as she pointed her finger, "You! In the car. Now!"
Mom took me back to my uncle and aunt's house, where she and my dad both chewed me out in unison. Dad's face was just as red as Mom's.
I wanted to argue that Nick got to explore, why couldn't I too......but I figured with how mad they were it was best to stay quiet and take it.


Every night before bed, Mom would make up a story for us and called them, "The Nick and Savanah story"
That night Mom's story was about Savanah getting lost out in the woods and Nick and his trusty dog, Max, having to go look for me.
As I sat and listened with entertainment, I decided the day had been pretty good. I got to explore by myself, got some yummy fruit, and it ended with a good Nick and Savanah Story.

That cantaloupe would have made it better though lol

Watch out, she gonna blow!

You know those days when you are exhausted and want nothing more than to get home and lie down in your bed, but the rest of the world decides it wants to keep you away from home as long as possible? Well I had one of those days. But life decided to keep me from home in a quite unique and entertaining way.



Ok I admit it wasn't quite a nuclear explosion like the picture, there wasn't actually any fire at all........just the threat of it. LOL



Just across the street from my work there is a gas station that I love going to. Their prices are always lower but especially I like the people who work there.
This one guy has figured out I always get $20 worth. Every time I go I find myself hoping he is working just so we can have our little joke. He starts giggling every time he sees me pull up and greets me with his Spanish accent, "Twendy dollas right?"
It's gotten to the point that I look forward to going just to hear him say it.

Monday night I got off work and wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. I grumbled a bit when I saw my gas gauge on E; knowing that I had to run to the ATM to get $20, then go get gas delaying me a good 20 minutes from making my way home.
So I strutted along, finally making it into the gas station, saw my fave guy was not there, grumbled a bit more, then put on my half awake happy face and told the clerk I wanted $20 worth.
They young guy put in the money, and reached to put the nozzle into my tank.
In seemingly slow motion, a young lady came running out of the store, waving her hands and wailing, "Nooooo!"
Then there was a click sound, as the clerk started the pump, then a spraying sound, then I saw for a tiny glimpse of gas spraying through the air then the pump stopping.
The gal ran over in a panic and told us, "Some guy drove off with the spout still in the tank. He ripped the hose off the machine. I was trying to fix it but it kept coming off. So I just went inside to get a cone to say out of order."

The guy then reached up to the top and tried to mess with the hose to get it screwed onto the machine. When he did, gas came spraying out again. He did this three times before the girl screamed at him, "Stop, stop it! Stop trying, you're just getting gas every where. Cancel the order and switch her over to tank 10!"
He pulled the nozzle out, reached over, and put another one in.
A total of $1.79 in gas had sprayed out of the first one. As my tank filled up from the not broken machine, the girl shuffled back and forth grabbing her head nervously. The guy and I both remained silent, with expressions of trying hard not to laugh. Just then gas started trickling out on it's own from the broken hose.
I poked my head out the window and asked if I could get out and help some how. The guy said with horror, "No! There's gas every where! Opening your door could make a spark. It only takes a tiny spark and this whole block will be in flames! Just stay as still as you can." So I got myself comfy and slurped my chicken noodle soup and watched the rest unfold.

Quickly all 5 employees surrounded my truck trying to figure out how to stop it.
One female got on the phone and called the owner. He instructed her how to kill the machine and said he'd be down in a few minutes.
Once the machine was off, and the gas had stopped dripping, all 5 nervously giggled with relief. Then another spoke up, "What about the gas that's everywhere?"
The first girl pointed to the girl holding the phone and barked, "Call the fire department!"
At this point I finally broke, and couldn't hold it in any longer. I let out a loud laugh and had to ask, "Is this a joke?"
The panic was very obvious in her voice when she replied, "Ma'am, please stay calm. Everything is going to be alright. Don't panic. The fire department is going to help."
I could not stop my laughter, so I covered my mouth with my hands to try and hide it.
The girl spoke on the phone and told them what had happened. Just then I heard a fire truck siren coming down the street. I thought to myself, "Goodness what have I gotten into?!" With the image of a bunch of firemen surrounding my truck in my head.


I found out later the fire truck was unrelated, being a call for a customer with chest pains in a nearby restaurant; but talk about funny timing!
The employee repeated what the fire station said. They said the gas had most likely evaporated already, but to spray the area with water to be safe.

The 4 employees walked into the store to grab buckets and fill up with water. The original gas clerk stood by my truck, with bright red cheeks, and laughed with a near hysterical tone, "I'm so sorry ma'am. This has been a very weird day."
It took a few minutes before the 4 came out with their buckets of water and stood in line to splash my truck and surrounding ground. They all sighed with relief then the girl said her apologies to me and said it was ok for me to leave now.
As I began to drive away, I shouted out the window, "I hope your day gets better!"
I only made it about another mile down the road before I had to pull over because my tears of laughter made it too hard to see. My side ached from laughing so hard, as the tune played in my head, "When you least expect it, you're elected, you're the star today. Smile, you're on candid camera!"

!!Adventure!!

I and my lovely buddies Lydia and Lexy made an all day trip to Sauvie Island on June 29. It was a pretty hilarious start to the day when Lydia got out of the car and had to use the out house. We all held our breath as we heard her awe struck gawks at the stench, and felt the fear in our hearts that something alive might be in there. But, SHE SURVIVED!!! No animals or anything =-)Well, not in the out house any way!

Let me tell you, I never knew how intimidating bulls were until walking next to one and all the images from "The run of the bulls" went racing through my mind.
We, not so calmly, crept past a big giant black Angus bull. He just friendly mood at us then walked away. Once we were past him, we all laughed with relief. Turns out I wasn't the only one who's heart was racing.
We found a log that we thought was a perfect photo spot, so we used it for just that












After a while we stopped to have a picnic. We had German rolls stuffed with beef. I don't remember the name but they were home made, warm, delicious!
And the mosquitos made a meal out of us :(
Poor lil Lydia got bit right on her eye

We sat and talked for about an hour. Those girls are SO funny!




On our long walk back we passed a big beautiful field. Lexy and I wanted to go explore, but Lydia said she didn't want to. So we left her behind for a few minutes. Turns out Lydia is a pretty smart one!
We wandered a bit and had fun. I lead the way, therefore I was the one who's feet got drenched as I walked right into a big body of water hiding in the grass. Needless to say, we decided it was best to go back to Lydia after that LOL! I had to literally ring my socks out they were SO wet.

We passed the big bulls again, but this time we said hello instead of being nervous. Well, I think Lexy was still a tad nervous.
We came to an opening next to the river, with a little cliff that we sat and hung our legs over and enjoyed the view.

Lexy snapped this shot that I thought was purdy neat.






Our dear Lydia is moving to Kansas for University in just a few days. I am gonna miss that girl so much. We have shared so many adventures in the two short years we've known each other.
I couldn't have asked for a better final adventure before she leave.
Lydy, thanks for the great fun. Miss ya buddy!

Half way there!

November 17 I got all dressed up and went with some friends to the mall to freak people out in our wild outfits. We were celebrating "International Make A Stranger Feel Awkward Day".
I made this little video.


As I edited the video, I had the thought pop up in the back of my head that from the back side, I looked very similar to some one I know. That's when it really hit me. "I am a single 20yr old college girl who's butt is comparable to a 60 yr old mother of 5."
Thanksgiving night I had a long hard talk with myself, and made the goal to lose 50lbs by Christmas 2011.
This picture was taken for documentation on Thanksgiving Day 2010


By May I was VERY frustrated with myself because I had only lost 15lbs. I found some pants that I used to be able to wear but did not fit into anymore. I made them my goal pants for the half way mark.
I could get them up, but I could not button it. I figured I only need another 10-15lbs to be able to. So I made it my goal to be able to wear them again
I took a picture the 1st day, then the day I got the button on, and then today.
Guess what else I did today? I hit 25lbs today!



I got a nifty little pedometer to set goals for my exercise. Today I ran for the first time. You have no idea how big of an accomplishment running is for me.
I am the girl that convinced my PE teacher I could not run in PE because it was against my religion.

I also got this cool water bottle the other day that holds your entire daily amount of required water. Let me tell ya, it has been exhausting trying to drink it all each day.


I have another 25 to go before my goal, and I have a little more than 5 months to do it.
Guess there's just one thing left to say..........................







Almost there!

Weird food,Gooodwilling, and a sandy diaper

Had some experiences today, too fun not to share. So here I go!
Woke up and had to go to work at an hour far too early. I am a waitress at the restaurant inside a retirement community. Today I laughed as I got all sorts of odd ball orders. With each one, it got weirder and weirder.
There was "Lettuce tomato sandwich, oh, but no lettuce please" So basically this was a tomato with bread.
Then there was "Bacon swiss sandwich with no bacon, oh and make it grilled" "Um, so do you want it like a grilled cheese sandwich?" "Ewe, no that's gross. Just put some white bread and swiss cheese on the grill."
Then a Bratwurst's on a hamburger bun, and then, two raw eggs.
These were some of the strangest orders I have heard in my 2 and a half years there, and they were all on the same day!
I think this beat my old favorite of grilled cheese on raisin bread



When I got home around 3, my mom asked me to go to Goodwill with her to help pick out some light t-shirts for her upcoming trip to Mexico.
I'll have you know I am very proud of the fact I convinced her to go to Mexico in the middle of July wearing a Snoopy Christmas t-shirt! I told her I cannot wait to see her all hot and sweaty in Christmas wear. Therese, maybe you can make sure and get a good snap of it?


Another fact about me is that I am a sucker for witty and original t-shirts.
That being said, today I found the perfect shirt that I could not walk away from. Most who know me, know I love to write. The shirt I found made me and my mom laugh out loud. If you know me well, you are probably laughing too, knowing my little joke I have been dragging on for years now. Every time some one offends me in even the smallest way, I tell them I am going to put it in my autobiography.


My final funny story.


Later in the evening I went for a walk through town. I passed by a sandbox. A iddy biddy boy, couldn't have even been two yet, sat digging with his shovel. Somehow just then, he decided his diaper was lacking sand.
He picked up a big scoop of sand and dumped it down his diaper. I only vaguely caught the first scoop. But when I saw the second scoop go down it caught me off guard and made me momentarily laugh out loud.
All this happened as his 5 foot skinny as a toothpick mother stood only a foot away gabbing with a buddy. Hearing my laughter made her look down in perfect timing to see his third scoop go in. His diaper was now bulging.
I figured she would screech, or groan, but she surprised me when she broke out in the loudest, deepest, most hilarious big belly laugh. I mean seriously, this laugh came from such a small woman, sounded like big Bertha the cook at the highway diner who's specialty is pork rinds.
Even better, instead of stopping him, she announced loudly as she threw her hands in the air, "Oh, where is my camera? Bwa ha ha! I gotta get a picture!"

It was thoroughly entertaining!
Any way, that was my day. Hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of it!

Drinking and driving ~Star Ryan Dunn dead at 34~

I never got the chance to know my Uncle Steve, he was left in a vegetative state after drinking and driving. My 3rd grade teacher was left with daily agonizing pain after a drunk driver came into her lane and crushed her legs.
That same year, a 2nd grader was left with a crippled arm after a drunk driver hit his car on the way home.
Every single person has been affected by drinking and driving some how. Today it has claimed 2 more lives. Jackass star Ryan Dunn and his unidentified passenger.
It always saddens me to hear of some one dying in a needless death. It angers me to hear a death was totally preventable. I hope this may remind people not to drink and drive.
Have fun with your friends, but call a cab!
Here is a powerful poem I found
Take the Keys
By Angela Rouse
As you walk from the party,
Think you're O.K.
Get in the car and drive away.

Go to switch lanes,
Have to swerve to the right,
Can barely see.
It's the middle of the night.

Hit the sidewalk,
Don't know what you did.
Get out of the car,
Realize you hit a kid.

You go to check,
Make sure he's alive.
God, he must have only been 5.

Cops show up,
Cuff your hands.
Take you to prison,
Ruin all your plans.

You were gonna go to college,
Start a career.
Now you're locked up
For at least 20 years.

You realize you made
The biggest mistake of your life.
Decide one day,
To end it with a knife.

Now you're dead,
And so is he.
This all could have been prevented,
If a friend would have taken the keys!

Commander Kellie and memory lane

JP was over at our house the other day. My brother thought it would be funny to put in an "entertaining" video for him. Nick dug through our video cabinet and pulled out the VHS, "Commander Kellie and the Superkids".
I was amazed Josh had never heard of it; being he is only a year younger than me, and grew up around the same crowd.
A futuristic 90's video, it was all about a group of kids using faith to get out of situations. Watching the video effects, we laughed at how our modern technology for video effects has made anything over 5yrs old look hilarious.
Nick could only handle a few minutes of it, before he put in Nemo. Babysitting little Kendall back when she was three, she was obsessed with Nemo. She'd watch it every time she was at our house.
Both movies sent me down memory lane. It made me giggle to think of how little kids obsess over their favorite movies.
I was seven years old the first time I ever heard of Commander Kellie. I only ever got to see tiny clips of it, but it was all my friends ever talked about. Out on the playground, they would all get together and act out the movie.
I can recall, Holly(blondie) always played the character of Missy because she was blonde. Katie played Valerie because she had the same brown hair. I remember one time the two getting into a tear filled argument because one was upset that the other always got to play that character just because their hair color.
I never knew the whole story, so I would jump into the game and start making things up. Every one would shoo me away because I was doing it all wrong.
It turned into almost a joke for me, because EVERY SINGLE TIME it would be put on to watch, something would come up, causing me to have to leave. I would see the movie on the screen and would laugh, "Oh, must be almost time for me to go, Commander Kellie is on." And without fail, the teacher, pastor, aunt, or mom would always show up and say I had to go because of this or that.
It became a mission of mine to see the entire movie. I tried so hard for so long. Along the way.....the story teller I am.... I would spend my bedtime hours laying there imagining what happened in the next scene that I didn't get to see. My theories got very elaborate and very exciting.
I talked about it constantly to all the adults in my life, hoping maybe one of them could help get me to see it.
Sadly, it took until my 12th bday for my aunt to buy the video, so that I could FINALLY watch the entire thing. I was very disappointed because it was not at all like I imagined, but I was thrilled that I had finally accomplished my goal after all that time. Even worse, I got to school and wanted to finally be included in the conversations about it, and there were none to be found. Every one found it strange that I wanted to talk about a little kids movie. NOOOOO! Ha, ha.
I was rather mad about it at the time, but seeing it again recently, made me laugh to think of all the times I tried and tried and tried to see it. Nothing ever worked!
Come to think of it, that happens a lot to me.I missed my chance for a full ride scholarship to the university of my dreams, because my SAT's were off by 10 points. The day I was sick, the news people talked to my class about the new building. My first time buying a scratch it, the person in line behind me won $100.
All my childhood I was madly in love with Michael W. Smith. I dreamed of getting to meet him; he was all I ever talked about. Once when my dad was in the hospital, he was only allowed to leave for an hour. Dad went with us to a meet and greet with Michael. We were standing in line for so long, but we had just reached the point where I could see Michael off in the distance. I was so squealing excited, when Mom announced Dad's hour was up and we had to leave!

Me and my luck lol! Well let's hope if I do ever get to meet Michael, it will be different than the experience of getting to see the Commander Kellie movie. Hopefully it will be as cool as I hoped when I was little, and hopefully people will agree with me that it was cool.
Moral of this story....If I ever tell you I got to meet Michael W. Smith, squeal and jump and be very excited for me, no matter how you really feel about it! LOL




Here's one of the clips I found that kinda made me giggle.




Oh, p.s. THANKS FOR THE VIDEO AUNT TERI! You made a dream come true =D Love you

My unique disability

I was just an iddy biddy girl when I first knew something was different about me. It finally clicked on a day our family made a trip from Portland to Molalla.
Driving down the highway I saw a dead skunk in the road. I had always thought if something looked gross, you said it stunk. It's guts and gore made me go, "Oh man that stinks, uh that's terrible!" *grabs nose*
That's when my older brother, Nick, said, "It doesn't stink, it's just gross."
He and I got in a big argument over weather it stunk or not. I pointed out all it's nasty details, and said that it was the worst smell ever. I was near furious when mom agreed it didn't stink.
I can remember thinking, "What is wrong with these people? How can they stand the look of it?"
Nick said the way something looks does not make it smell. Then he mentioned smell being the taste in your nose. I thought he was crazy for saying that my nose could taste. Several arguments and a doctor appointment later, I found out I have no sense of smell.
Think of your younger years, waking up to the smell of you mother making pancakes. Coming home from school, you walk through the door greeted by the smell of cookies baking. When you finish mowing the lawn you look around at your accomplishment and sniff in the smell of victory. When you got your first new car, the excitement of it is even better when you were surrounded by the new car smell. Going to the ocean and breathing in the refreshing air. All these things, I have never experienced. This is because I was born with Anosmia(the inability to smell but still able to taste).

A good side to not being able to smell is that boundaries are broken with me working with people. Whe doing humanitarian work in other countries, some places tend to have such a bad odor, other workers have to leave because they cannot bare it. I can sit and talk with a person for an hour who has not showered in a month.



Often I am told to clean the toilet, pick up the dogs poop, and to clean the trailer bathroom when we go camping, all because I cannot smell. I am always told to do the dirty jobs because I cannot smell. Let me tell you, dirty jobs are still dirty when you cannot smell. Hygiene is the biggest problem for me. I never know when I need to take an extra shower because how hard I worked that day, brush my teeth because the lunch I ate, or if the perfume I am wearing is bad or not.


Many times when I tell some one I can't smell, they call me a liar. Once they believe me, they usually start listing all the things I cannot do. Um, HELLO! If some one told you they were blind, would you do that to them? Wtf?
One time in 7th grade, I was talking to the new girl. It got brought up that I couldn't smell, and she was shocked. She was holding a container of lotion. She shoved it to my face too quickly, and accidentally smashed it into my face, covering me with lotion and asked, "You mean you can't smell this?!"

The saddest part is that I do not qualify for any scholarships for students with disabilities. Trust me, I have tried =(

Usher Concert May 26

A friend of mine won 3rd row tickets to see Usher. WHAT A HEART THROB!


I have to say the bass was so strong that there were times I had to grab my chest to stop the vibrating, just so I could breathe. It was epic!


At one point he was looking through the crowd for some one to come up on stage with him. He ended up picking the girl right in front of me. Part of me was sad that he didn;t choose me, but not too sad. LOL



There were two girls next to us who had had a few too many before the show, and they made it even more entertaining for us sober folk. Here is my friend Laura with one of the girls


We tried asking the one girl to get a picture of us, but a camera was a bit too complicated for her to figure out. It was pretty hilarious to witness her repeatedly blinding herself with the flash.
Finally we got a different person to get a picture of the two of us.


Akon was the opener. I normally don't care for him, but he puts on a great concert. He was the cause of the only fight that broke out. He threw his sweaty tank top into the crowd and two girls started yanking each others hair for it. Girls!
I didn't get a shot of him throwing his shirt, but here's a good after shot. RAWR!


Over all, this picture pretty much sums up how I felt about the night.

New Year's resolution

Well, I am completely baffled. My goal was to lose 50lbs by Christmas 2011. I bought a little pedometer last Christmas, and was going to keep track and improve my daily distance walking.
I started out at 1100 steps a day, of exercise beyond normal life. I am now up to 12,000. I have cut out 1000 calories from my diet. In almost 6 months I have lost a whopping 15 lbs! I am SO frustrated, I thought I would be a lot further by now.
It is making me think that maybe I am more fit that I thought I was, and just walking is not cutting it any more. So starting today, I am going to turn into fast walking, and faster every day, until I am buff enough to run. Hopefully challenging myself a bit more will be the cure.

Dreams

I found a book I filled out in 2nd grade. It was a big long questionnaire about me, and one page asked what my biggest dreams were for the future. It made me smile. So I thought I would share a few of my big dreams that I have in 2011. Soon I want to graduate college and get married, and watch my kids grow up....but here are a few of the more unique dreams I have:

1. Adoption -In the fourth grade I had the dream of having 27 children when I grew up. I told people I would have 10 and adopt 17 more. I know understand that, that is unreasonable, however I still dream of adopting children. I read a true story of a little girl who literally vanished in the foster care system, because there were so many kids, the state could not keep track of her. That day my dream of adopting foster children was formed. I would like to adopt children under the age of 6.

2. Published Author -I have always loved telling stories. I never liked writing them though. When I got into college, my writing professor made me love writing. He also told me I had way above college level writing skill. He encouraged me to start writing down all my stories and try to get some published. I finished one story that I really liked. I sent it in to a publishing agency. It was close to 40,000 words, they sent me a letter saying it needed to be closer to 120,000 words. I recently started writing another story, that is no where near done, and it is at 50,000 words. I hope to finish it and publish it.

3. Wealth -Of course I had to add this to the list! I am in college to be a social worker with foster kids. It makes good money, but still would make me middle class. I hope someday my job will be enough to support my living expenses, and my writing will be successful enough money for me to be free to have a lot of shiny things and adventures.

4. Go to Africa and Asia -I have for a long time held the nickname Africa bound chick. I was 4 years old when I formed the dream of being a missionary in Africa. All through high school the plan was to become a nurse and spend the rest of my life in Africa. Once in college, I formed new dreams and visions for my life. However, I do still want to spend at least six months in Africa at some point in my life.
My friends recently returned from a trip to Japan. I LOVED their pictures and stories, and it has made me want to go see it myself someday.

5. Have a chat with Betty Robison I greatly admire Betty Robison, and would love to sit and talk with her. She has lived the life I dream of living. I would love to ask her questions, and listen to her stories about all the amazing things she and her husband have done.

6. See the foundation grow -I dream of the day where the Sylar Newton Foundation is as widely known for helping abused kids, as the American Cancer Society is known for helping cancer patient. We just started this past November, and I have already been booked to speak at a few conferences, and been successful with several fundraisers. I believe big things are in store for the foundation.

20 Hilarious Facebook Pages (cause you know they're true)

In 2010 there was a massive fad with creating Facebook fan pages. I got such a kick out of it! Everything imaginable; there was a page for. It showed me a lot of things I do and think on a regular basis, but never noticed.
Here are 20 pages that made me laugh out loud:



1. Laughing so hard you clap like a retarded seal
2. When I see someone walking by me at night, I assume they’re going to kill me
3. Hate when nobody comments on your awesomely thought up status
4. You've been dating for 2 days - you don't love each other. Shut up.
5. I can't just push the crosswalk button once. I need to push it like 6 times
6. That moment your heart stops when your chair tilts back too far
7. The mini heart attack you get when you miss a step going down the stairs.
8. I have a bad habit of laughing at inappropriate moments
9. It's winter and you're orange. Something just doesn't seem right here.
10. The Mini Spaz Attack When Your In Bed, Half Asleep And Imagine Your Falling
11. Awkward eye contact with people in cars next to you at red lights
12. If Guns Kill People, Do Pencils Misspell Words?
13. I hate it when I'm making a milkshake and boys just show up in my yard
14. You need to discipline your kid before I punch them in the face
15. Thinking of someone when you become a fan of something.
16. How do bus drivers close the door after they get off the bus
17. That mood where everything seems hysterically funny
18. Awkwardly Trying to Run With a Backpack
19. Lowering the music when looking for a street address so I can see better
20. ''Batteries not included'' ruined Christmas day

25 things to do at Walmart

I have been working at a place across the street from Walmart for two years. That being, I have spent much of my break killing time in wally. Walmart is one of my most favorite places in the world because I am always guaranteed to laugh at something; whether it be the price of a product or the person buying the product.
I have compiled a list of things I have thought of doing. Sadly I must confess I have not yet done any of them.
Here we go!


1. Get a stuffed animal and go to the front of the store and begin stroking it lovingly, saying “Good girl, good Nettie."
2. When there are people behind you, walk REALLY SLOW, especially in thin narrow aisles.
3. Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official tone, "I think we've got a Code 3 in Housewares," and see what happens.
4. Tune all the radios to a polka station; then turn them all off and turn the volumes as high as possible.
5. Walk up to complete strangers and say, "Hi! I haven't seen you in so long!..." etc. See if they play along to avoid embarrassment.
6. Ride those little electronic cars at the front of the store.
7. Set all the alarm clocks to go off at ten minute intervals throughout the day
8. Change all the clocks in the isle to be an hour off. (It will make other patrons internal clock be off the rest of the day.)
9. When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker, assume the fetal position and scream, "No, no! It's those voices again!"
10. Grab stickers that say “radioactive" and put them randomly on food items.
11. While handling guns in the hunting department, suddenly ask the clerk if he knows where the anti-depressants are. Act as spastic as possible.
12. Dart around suspiciously while humming the theme from "Mission: Impossible."
13. Say thing like, "Would you be so kind as to direct me to your Twinkies?"
14. Go to the checkout and buy a bar of candy. Repeat, going to the same cash register, until the clerk notices
15. Get boxes of Condoms and randomly put them in people’s carts when they don't realize it.

16. When people aren't looking, put tampons in their carts if they are a guy, or if they are a girl, put in a jock strap.
17. Rearrange items as you see fit.
18. Leave cryptic messages on the typewriters.
19. As the cashier runs your purchases over the scanner, look mesmerized and say, "Wow. Magic!"
20. Put M & M's on layaway.
21. Move "Caution: Wet Floor" signs to carpeted areas.
22. When someone asks if you need help, begin to cry and ask, "Why won't you people just leave me alone?"
23. Make up nonsense products and ask newly hired employees if there any in stock, i.e., "Do you have any Shnerples here?"
24. Set up a "Valet Parking" sign in front of the store.
25. Relax in the patio furniture until you get kicked out.

25 things to do at McDonald's

People loved my last post. So I thought I would post another list of 25 things.
Here are 25 funny things to do at McDonald's. Most of these are things I have witnessed. I have done a few of these things, others I have only heard stories of. In my opinion McDonald's and Walmart are the two places in the world where you can act as weird as you want, and fit right in.

1. Sit in a corner and pretend like you’re making out with yourself. (This works even better when 2 people are doing it separately.)

2. Pay entirely in pennies.

3. Tell them you require three copies of the receipt for filing reasons.

4. Order a shake, and tell them you want bacon with it. If they say no, complain loudly for others to hear, and scream out, "I guess you really don't wana see me smile do you, because right now I don't exactly feel like smiling in light of the extenuating circumstances!"

5. Ask to see the manager, then complain to him about all of life’s problems. If they don’t let you talk to the manager, walk out muttering, “You're gonna be reading about this in the papers.”

6. While you’re in line, jump up and down like you’re having a spazz attack and scream repeatedly, “YO QUIERO TACO BELL!”

7. Sell White Castle food in the restrooms. Then when people get food poisoning you can blame it on McDonald’s.

8. Walk in wearing a Burger King hat. (Great when 3 or 4 people do this at the same time.)

9. Bring in a fart machine and keep setting it off, meanwhile making comments like, “Man, I knew I shouldn’t have eaten here.”

10. Return your food and tell them you’re allergic to nuclear waste mixed with gasoline byproducts.

11. Bring in a video camera and tell them they’re live on 20/20. (You should see the looks on their faces!)

12. Stand on a table with a megaphone and whenever somebody complains say, “This isn’t Burger King, you can’t have it your way.”

13. Flood the soda fountain machine. (It’s more interesting than flooding toilets.)

14. Walk to the drive-thru window and order. (If you really wanna tick ‘em off, skateboard.)

15. Take about 30 or so straws and blow all the wrappers at people. If anyone gives you a look, act a bit too innocent.

16. Speak gibberish, and act confused when they try to tell you that they don’t know how to speak gibberish too.

17. Chuck something at one of the employees. (I bet you five bucks they chuck it back.)

18. Chuck Skittles, M&Ms, or other small candy back into the cooking area.

19. Take two bites out of your burger, then tell the employee it’s cold and ask for a new one. Then repeat. And repeat. And repeat.”

20. Act like a schizo while you’re ordering. (“I’ll have a cheeseburger.” “No, chicken nuggets!” “Cheeseburger!”) Slap yourself to make it look convincing.

21. Climb on top the Play Place. When they tell you to come down, fall off and pretend your hurt, then threaten to sue.

22. When it’s your turn to order, start a conversation with the employee. Ask them how was their day, etc. When someone gets ticked and calls for the manager, scram, or start a conversation with him too.

23. Try to stuff your coins sideways into the charity box. Then when they don’t fit, start complaining loudly about how McDonald’s is so greedy and how they’re ripping off their charities. (Act really outraged about it.)

24. Try to bribe an employee for cheaper food. (Keep any food they give you.)

25. Walk in and go sit down in a seat, then grab the little table advertisement thingy, (you know what I'm talking about, the triangular thingy by the salt and pepper, yeah that.) Well look at it turning it over and over and then say defiantly, "I know what I'm going to order, I'm ready!" After about five minutes, scream out, "Waiter!" Then after about five more minutes get up, and stomp out of the restaurant with the advertisement thingy. Then turn arround, come back in, and throw the advertisement thingy at the cashier and yell, "Your service sucks! You just lost yourself a customer, you hear that! A customer! Your not gonna see me smile!"