Whoooooo Hooooooo! One more week until Christmas. Kiri has put a very large present under the tree for me this year, and I'm dying to know what it is. She, of course, won't give me any hints, the little vixen.
Ken and I bought a digital camera as a joint gift for each other, so pics will be posted very soon. That is if I can pry Kiri's fingers off the camera for 5 minutes to download the suckers. Santa has bought me a garlic press, and the new best of Korn CD, because Santa is a very smart gal who happens to know all of my very immediate needs.
Our dog, Lightning, received her new doggie bed a little early because we keep catching her sleeping on the couch in the morning. I think she is getting a little old and arthritic, and it is too uncomfortable for her to sleep on the floor anymore. She seems to like the bed, though I am a little worried she'll chew it to pieces, like she does all her toys.
My mother and father will be coming down to my house Christmas day. I guess Thanksgiving dinner was such a roaring success, they are ready to risk my cooking again. I think I will make Prime Rib.
I went to Chronicles of Narnia, LWW, with Becca last night. I loved it. It was so much how I pictured things in my head when I was a little girl reading the books. Though I must say, I never pictured Mr. Tumnis being such a smokin' hot fawn. I can't remember who played Mr. Tumnis, but damn, take off the ears, the bulbous nose, and the goat feet, and he is one fine looking dude.
I wish you all the happiest Christmas ever!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Weak with relief
Oh my God, what a stressful week. Monday I was running last minute Christmas errands (sorry Becca, I was so not avoiding you). Tuesday was spent at South Elementary doing Animal Adaptations. The first 3 classes were wonderful. Smart kids, interested, respectful of my awesome inspiring presentation. Then I hit the last group. Holy shit, what an unruly classroom. One girl, who I am sure is a very nice girl, would NOT shut up while I was talking. I tried to talk over her a few times, then gave up and had to become stern ranger and tell her to please save her comments for the end of the presentation. Even after that she had her hand raised the rest of the class, and when I would finally call on her, she would go entirely off topic and tell me what this or that uncle did or saw, or whatever. Then this other little boy, who I am sure was the class clown, fell off his chair (how?, no idea) and when the class laughed at him, he proceeded to continue falling off his chair at intervals for the rest of the hour. Of course you have the obligatory nose picker, the many whisperers, and those who just really could care less what I was talking about. Where was the teacher you might ask? Well, I guess she decided since I was in the class that meant it was free time for her. I was exhausted when the class was finally finished.
To top it all off, I was a week late for my period. I was totally fucking freaking out thinking I was pregnant. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't concentrate, and I kept going to the bathroom every half an hour in hopes of seeing blood. I would surreptitiously check my boobs to see if they were tender. I didn't feel pregnant. After I was 6 days late, I decided to get a tester just to ease my mind, or find out for sure. So today, I bought a tester. I peed on the thingy, waited 3 minutes, and guess what? I AM NOT PREGNANT! Thank you Lord Jesus, I am not ready to be a mother again. Of course, 2 hours after I took the test, I started my period. I'm thinking I freaked myself out, and mentally fucked with my menstrual cycle.
So, I'm heading over to Missuzj's for a bit. And I can drink alcohol without worrying about weather I've got a bun in the oven. No bun, thank God. The relief is overwhelming.
To top it all off, I was a week late for my period. I was totally fucking freaking out thinking I was pregnant. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't concentrate, and I kept going to the bathroom every half an hour in hopes of seeing blood. I would surreptitiously check my boobs to see if they were tender. I didn't feel pregnant. After I was 6 days late, I decided to get a tester just to ease my mind, or find out for sure. So today, I bought a tester. I peed on the thingy, waited 3 minutes, and guess what? I AM NOT PREGNANT! Thank you Lord Jesus, I am not ready to be a mother again. Of course, 2 hours after I took the test, I started my period. I'm thinking I freaked myself out, and mentally fucked with my menstrual cycle.
So, I'm heading over to Missuzj's for a bit. And I can drink alcohol without worrying about weather I've got a bun in the oven. No bun, thank God. The relief is overwhelming.
Monday, December 05, 2005
nicknames
I was reading Rob's post and thinking about some of the nicknames I have had throughout the years.
When I was little, my father called me Kodi bear. My brother would often call me Kodi and the Koala bears, and, strangely enough, Costa Rica. My maiden name was Kodi Roholt, which as a little girl, I couldn't pronounce, so I called myself Kosi Hoho.
In high school, my best friend called me Ko, and as her name was Lori, I called her Lo. My boyfriend in school called me Karody Rowyourboat, and others would call me simply Rolo. I also was frequently called Kodi Coyote.
Kiri never called me mommy. It was always Mama, Mom, or Ma.
My best friend Becca calls me by my favorite nickname, Kodikins. A really good looking seasonal ranger called me Kodelicious for a while.
As a waitress many years ago, customers would often ask me if my name was Kodi as in Wild Bill the cowboy. I would promptly reply that it was Wild Bill Hickcock, so they must mean Buffalo Bill Cody. Get your cowboys strait you ignoramus.
I used to hate my name as a youngster. I always wanted a feminine name like Heather, or Amber. But now, as an adult, I really like my name. It fits me, as I was never girly enough to have a name like Victoria.
As I posted a while back, Kiri was named after the slave/warrior girl from Beastmaster. I called her Kir most of her life, but sometimes referred to her as "the little shit", until she got old enough to understand what that meant, though I intended it as an endearment.
Kiri's friends call her Kiwi, which always sounded to me like they had a speech impediment, but whatever.
When I was little, my father called me Kodi bear. My brother would often call me Kodi and the Koala bears, and, strangely enough, Costa Rica. My maiden name was Kodi Roholt, which as a little girl, I couldn't pronounce, so I called myself Kosi Hoho.
In high school, my best friend called me Ko, and as her name was Lori, I called her Lo. My boyfriend in school called me Karody Rowyourboat, and others would call me simply Rolo. I also was frequently called Kodi Coyote.
Kiri never called me mommy. It was always Mama, Mom, or Ma.
My best friend Becca calls me by my favorite nickname, Kodikins. A really good looking seasonal ranger called me Kodelicious for a while.
As a waitress many years ago, customers would often ask me if my name was Kodi as in Wild Bill the cowboy. I would promptly reply that it was Wild Bill Hickcock, so they must mean Buffalo Bill Cody. Get your cowboys strait you ignoramus.
I used to hate my name as a youngster. I always wanted a feminine name like Heather, or Amber. But now, as an adult, I really like my name. It fits me, as I was never girly enough to have a name like Victoria.
As I posted a while back, Kiri was named after the slave/warrior girl from Beastmaster. I called her Kir most of her life, but sometimes referred to her as "the little shit", until she got old enough to understand what that meant, though I intended it as an endearment.
Kiri's friends call her Kiwi, which always sounded to me like they had a speech impediment, but whatever.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Some things that baffle me
While I was at work this week, and watching those around me, I began to ponder those strange idiosyncrasies that people have that puzzle me exceedingly.
For instance: Why do young women feel the need to say everything at the top of their lungs? In the grocery store, when two or more young ladies are masses together, they all yell, scream, and laugh as if they are all experiencing sudden loss of hearing. I admit, when I've had a few cocktails in me, I tend to up the volume, but hardly to the extent of the typical 19 year old girl. I noticed in Norway, that the young women there talked quietly, sans the shrieking. Maybe it's an American thing.
Why does NO ONE read a map before going on vacation? Even before I was a ranger, I planned my trips carefully, knew what freeways and exits to take, and had reservations for the places I wished to stay. Yet on an everyday basis, people come into our Visitor Center with absolutely no clue where they are or how to get where they want to be.
Why do people bring tiny babies into a movie theatre? If you, dear readers, happen to be one of these people, I hope to not offend. But, when I went to see "The Amityville Horror" I was completely dumbfounded when 2 couples walked into the theatre with very small babies, which proceeded to fuss and cry the entire show. Don't get me wrong.....I love babies, but when I attend a movie rated PG-13 or higher, I do not expect or appreciate being inundated by noisy children. If I attend a Disney movie, I expect noisy children.
Why do ATM's only spit out $20 bills? At my district, we charge a $10 entrance fee. I typically run out of change before noon, and must resort to begging visitors for the correct amount. I would love to personally take a baseball bat to all fucking ATM's on a daily basis. On the same note, why are people so reluctant to part with their tens or fives? Often I will SEE a ten in their wallet as they prepare to pay, but they pass it over and invariably hand me a twenty. What the fuck is that? It makes no difference what you pay me with, the entrance fee doesn't change, so give me the Goddamn ten dollar bill for Christ's sakes.
Why can't people have their check pre-written before their groceries are done scanning? I can write most of my check out before it is my turn at the cashiers. It's not hard. I promise.
Why can't my daughter tell time? I tell her to be home before 8:00, and 8:30 rolls around and no Kiri. When she finally comes home, her excuse is always "I didn't realize how late it was". You're almost 14 years old for cryin out loud. Learn how to read a watch! And don't give me shit when I get angry at you for being late. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a teenager to be able to keep track of time.
Okay, my rant is over for now. I was thinking about adding sections on people who make funny or disgusting noises unconsciously, mothers who are hard to please, stranded visitors who think I should leave my post to drive them wherever they need to go, idiotic locals who can't comprehend the concept of an entrance fee, fucking rejects who like to tell me stories about killing snakes and shooting birds, men who can't flush the toilet or rinse out the bathtub after using it, and husbands who are so fucking noisy in the morning a person can't sleep in on their day off, and much much more. But I don't want to sound like a negative person.
For instance: Why do young women feel the need to say everything at the top of their lungs? In the grocery store, when two or more young ladies are masses together, they all yell, scream, and laugh as if they are all experiencing sudden loss of hearing. I admit, when I've had a few cocktails in me, I tend to up the volume, but hardly to the extent of the typical 19 year old girl. I noticed in Norway, that the young women there talked quietly, sans the shrieking. Maybe it's an American thing.
Why does NO ONE read a map before going on vacation? Even before I was a ranger, I planned my trips carefully, knew what freeways and exits to take, and had reservations for the places I wished to stay. Yet on an everyday basis, people come into our Visitor Center with absolutely no clue where they are or how to get where they want to be.
Why do people bring tiny babies into a movie theatre? If you, dear readers, happen to be one of these people, I hope to not offend. But, when I went to see "The Amityville Horror" I was completely dumbfounded when 2 couples walked into the theatre with very small babies, which proceeded to fuss and cry the entire show. Don't get me wrong.....I love babies, but when I attend a movie rated PG-13 or higher, I do not expect or appreciate being inundated by noisy children. If I attend a Disney movie, I expect noisy children.
Why do ATM's only spit out $20 bills? At my district, we charge a $10 entrance fee. I typically run out of change before noon, and must resort to begging visitors for the correct amount. I would love to personally take a baseball bat to all fucking ATM's on a daily basis. On the same note, why are people so reluctant to part with their tens or fives? Often I will SEE a ten in their wallet as they prepare to pay, but they pass it over and invariably hand me a twenty. What the fuck is that? It makes no difference what you pay me with, the entrance fee doesn't change, so give me the Goddamn ten dollar bill for Christ's sakes.
Why can't people have their check pre-written before their groceries are done scanning? I can write most of my check out before it is my turn at the cashiers. It's not hard. I promise.
Why can't my daughter tell time? I tell her to be home before 8:00, and 8:30 rolls around and no Kiri. When she finally comes home, her excuse is always "I didn't realize how late it was". You're almost 14 years old for cryin out loud. Learn how to read a watch! And don't give me shit when I get angry at you for being late. I don't think it is unreasonable to expect a teenager to be able to keep track of time.
Okay, my rant is over for now. I was thinking about adding sections on people who make funny or disgusting noises unconsciously, mothers who are hard to please, stranded visitors who think I should leave my post to drive them wherever they need to go, idiotic locals who can't comprehend the concept of an entrance fee, fucking rejects who like to tell me stories about killing snakes and shooting birds, men who can't flush the toilet or rinse out the bathtub after using it, and husbands who are so fucking noisy in the morning a person can't sleep in on their day off, and much much more. But I don't want to sound like a negative person.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Nightmares
I had the worst dream last night. I dreamed that I was a chaperone at Kiri's school for a dance, and I couldn't find her anywhere. I was searching and searching, when I decided to check out the old dilapidated building behind the school (why there was an run down hovel behind the school never seemed relevant). I found Kiri in this dirty shed having sex with some dude, and I wigged out. I was screaming and crying, telling her I was sending her away to boarding school, and oh my god did you use protection, what if you're pregnant, my world is crashing down around me. And Kiri just calmly and coldly told me she could do whatever she wanted and there was nothing I could do to stop her. I woke up at that point, still crying. It was such a relief to realize it was a dream.
That made me think of some re-occurring dreams I have had all my life. I wonder what they mean, if anything. One common dream of mine is that I have super powers to shoot lightning out of my fingers, but I have to concentrate really hard, and sometimes it won't work. When I dream of flying, I don't flap my arms, but I swim through the air, or sometimes glide using air currents.
I often dream about hiding from someone that is trying to hurt me, and as I am running around evading this mystery killer, I realize I have forgotten to put on my shoes, and the loss of my shoes is more distressing than being chased by a maniac.
I have dreamed that I was a man on several occasions, and a very sexy man at that. I will even have sex with a woman, while I am a man in my dreams. Weird.
Dreams of snakes are also pretty common. I work with snakes for my job, so that's probably where the theme comes into the picture. Once I dreamed that my mail lady brought me a bucket of sea snakes, and we decided to go into my bedroom and smoke some weed. Whilst we were toking up, the snakes got loose, and the rest of the dream was my running around trying to catch them all without being bitten.
That made me think of some re-occurring dreams I have had all my life. I wonder what they mean, if anything. One common dream of mine is that I have super powers to shoot lightning out of my fingers, but I have to concentrate really hard, and sometimes it won't work. When I dream of flying, I don't flap my arms, but I swim through the air, or sometimes glide using air currents.
I often dream about hiding from someone that is trying to hurt me, and as I am running around evading this mystery killer, I realize I have forgotten to put on my shoes, and the loss of my shoes is more distressing than being chased by a maniac.
I have dreamed that I was a man on several occasions, and a very sexy man at that. I will even have sex with a woman, while I am a man in my dreams. Weird.
Dreams of snakes are also pretty common. I work with snakes for my job, so that's probably where the theme comes into the picture. Once I dreamed that my mail lady brought me a bucket of sea snakes, and we decided to go into my bedroom and smoke some weed. Whilst we were toking up, the snakes got loose, and the rest of the dream was my running around trying to catch them all without being bitten.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Funny Stories
Last week at work a very nice couple came into the Visitor Center. They saw the poster we have on the wall advertising the National Park Pass. The poster has a picture of Yellowstone with geysers and bison.
Nice man: Do you have buffalo in the Park here?
Ranger Kodi: No, that is of Yellowstone.
Nice woman: Geez, honey. Everyone knows that Yellowstone is in California.
I laughed under my breath, not wanting to offend anyone. I suppose a lot of people would get Yellowstone and Yosemite mixed up, but it was quite amusing as the lady seemed quite smug in her vast knowledge of National Parks.
We also had a Student Intern who wanted to know what kind of bats were in the Park. He was getting quite frustrated looking through the Bird book for bats until I informed him that bats were not, in fact, birds. Bats were mammals. He was quite sheepish.
I hiked Taylor Creek with some people from the BLM (A different federal land agency), and it was nice, but cold.
Kiri unbeknownst to me attended a rock concert on Saturday night, and when I found out about it I wasn't too happy. I reprimanded her for not telling me where she was and she replied in a very flippant way "Mom, it was a Christian Rock Band, there was no alcohol or drugs, and ALL my friends were there." That shut me up for a minute, but then I told her that if she ever goes out again without telling me, she would be grounded every weekend for a long long time. She didn't seem to feel the threat was serious because she just flounced away. I miss being her best friend. I miss her thinking I was fun to hang out with. I miss feeling close to my daughter. I don't want to alienate her, but I don't want to let her run wild either. I am at a loss on how to relate to her anymore.
Some good news. My parents are coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year. I was asking my mother what her plans for the holiday were, and she said she didn't feel good enough to travel all the way to my grandmother's house, and as she had inadvertently burned her oven up, as well as a good portion of the kitchen, they would probably eat thanksgiving at a restaurant. To which I replied "Come to my house!", and my mother's answer was "Can you even cook a turkey?". I assured her that YES, I can cook a turkey. Just because I was a tomboy throughout childhood, and had no interest in learning how to cook, I have since been forced to learn after the birth of my child. So indeed, Kodi can cook. And by God, it will be fabulous! My misspent youth haunts me to this day.
Nice man: Do you have buffalo in the Park here?
Ranger Kodi: No, that is of Yellowstone.
Nice woman: Geez, honey. Everyone knows that Yellowstone is in California.
I laughed under my breath, not wanting to offend anyone. I suppose a lot of people would get Yellowstone and Yosemite mixed up, but it was quite amusing as the lady seemed quite smug in her vast knowledge of National Parks.
We also had a Student Intern who wanted to know what kind of bats were in the Park. He was getting quite frustrated looking through the Bird book for bats until I informed him that bats were not, in fact, birds. Bats were mammals. He was quite sheepish.
I hiked Taylor Creek with some people from the BLM (A different federal land agency), and it was nice, but cold.
Kiri unbeknownst to me attended a rock concert on Saturday night, and when I found out about it I wasn't too happy. I reprimanded her for not telling me where she was and she replied in a very flippant way "Mom, it was a Christian Rock Band, there was no alcohol or drugs, and ALL my friends were there." That shut me up for a minute, but then I told her that if she ever goes out again without telling me, she would be grounded every weekend for a long long time. She didn't seem to feel the threat was serious because she just flounced away. I miss being her best friend. I miss her thinking I was fun to hang out with. I miss feeling close to my daughter. I don't want to alienate her, but I don't want to let her run wild either. I am at a loss on how to relate to her anymore.
Some good news. My parents are coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year. I was asking my mother what her plans for the holiday were, and she said she didn't feel good enough to travel all the way to my grandmother's house, and as she had inadvertently burned her oven up, as well as a good portion of the kitchen, they would probably eat thanksgiving at a restaurant. To which I replied "Come to my house!", and my mother's answer was "Can you even cook a turkey?". I assured her that YES, I can cook a turkey. Just because I was a tomboy throughout childhood, and had no interest in learning how to cook, I have since been forced to learn after the birth of my child. So indeed, Kodi can cook. And by God, it will be fabulous! My misspent youth haunts me to this day.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Some more ancient history
In answer to some of the questions concerning why I can't talk about Endangered Species, let me quickly explain. In Utah, there are several animals listed as endangered, including the Utah Prairie Dog and the Spotted Owl. Both of these animals are endangered because of loss of habitat. To protect habitat for these animals, certain restrictions have been enforced that anger the local population. If, by chance, you have Prairie Dogs on private property, the landowner cannot develop his land at all because of the animal's presence. So, that really pisses people off. The locals here do not care at all for the local wildlife population unless it can be hunted. So I hope that helps with your questions.
Some of you expressed interest in the tales of my first marriage. I'll go into some of it now.
I met Eric when I was 19 in one of my college drama classes. He was gorgeous, 6'4", and muscular. I was surprised and deeply flattered that he showed interest in little ole' me. It was a whirlwind romance, and he was kind and generous. I fell deeply in love with him, and we were engaged 2 months after we met, much to my parents chagrin. They tried to talk me out of marrying him, but I was sure he was the one for me. There were warning signs for sure, like his fascination with knives and guns, and some of the stories he told me about his life struck everyone as fairytales, but I ignored them.
We were married 1 month after the engagement, and then my eyes were truly opened. For one thing, he couldn't seem to hold a job down for more than a couple weeks, yet had plenty of money. He was insanely jealous, and I slowly distanced myself from all my friends and family because he would fly into a rage if I showed affection to anyone, including my father. We fought constantly, and this soon escalated into physical violence. I would often go to work, waitressing, with bruises and my co-workers would ask me what happened and I would tell them with a laugh that I fell off my horse, or I was wrestling with my husband and it was an accident.
Eric would secretly follow me everywhere, and one time he was watching me at work without my knowledge. When I got home, he was livid, screaming at me that I was flirting with the customers, and bending low over the tables to pour coffee so that the men could look at my cleavage. This fight was the worst ever. We yelled and screamed for hours, at one point I tried to leave and he grabbed me on the sidewalk outside our home and tried to drag me back into the house. Some kind stranger stopped in her car, and told me to get in, that she would take me wherever I needed to go to get away from Eric. Eric verbally abused the woman, then threatened to kill her if she didn't leave. She did leave, and to this day I wish I knew who she was so I could thank her for her kindness. The fight continued in the house. Eric was much bigger than I. At the time, I was 5'3" and around 100 pounds. The stress of the marriage had caused me to loose 20 pounds in about 2 months. He would throw me around like a rag doll. I finally told him I was going to bed, and I couldn't fight anymore. I had to go to work in a few hours. I tried to ignore him as he continued to tell me I was a slut and a fucking whore. At one point he pulled out his hunting knife, and I truly thought he was going to kill me.
Because I was stupid, I stayed with him, suffering more fights and abuse for another month. Then he got arrested for impersonating an officer, and burglary. Now I understood where the money was coming from. He was a thief.
My life was pure misery, and I had no one to go to. I was too embarrassed to go to my family, and I had cut off all my ties with my friends. Then I found out I was pregnant. When I told Eric I was pregnant, he told me it couldn't be his child because he knew he was unable to have children (a total lie). He accused me once again of having an affair. When the fight became violent, I was afraid of losing the baby. That is what gave me the courage to leave for good. I grabbed as much stuff as I could and ran for the car. He punched the window of the car in and tried to pull me out, but I was able to start the car, and leave. I filed for divorce the next week. When I say that my daughter saved my life, I really believe it is true. If I hadn't of gotten pregnant with Kiri, I would have stayed with that fucking bastard, and he would have eventually killed me.
I moved in with my parents, who were so relieved that I was back and away from Eric. Within a couple months of leaving Eric, I went back to college and finished my Associates Degree at home. Then I moved into my own apartment, and finished up my Bachelors at Southern Utah University.
Eric tried to intimidate me to come back to him, but none of that worked anymore. All I cared about was Kiri, and her well being. Eventually, Eric just disappeared. I do know he was in prison for a couple years for burglary. I had his parental rights terminated, and that was that.
The hardest thing for me was that I had always thought of myself as a strong woman, someone who wouldn't take shit from anyone. But Eric showed me that I was weak and afraid. It was a huge blow to my self confidence and self image, and I suffered from depression for a long time after the divorce. Now, I think I am somewhat cold, and I don't open up to people very well. Becca and my friends here are the first friends I've allowed myself in a long time. The frienships I have now have helped me to be less negative and bitter. Kendall is the exact opposite of Eric, soft spoken, laid back, quiet. I think that is why I married him.
Anyway, that is my sad story. I am no longer ashamed of my first marriage. It taught me to be independent, and that I can achieve my goals without any help from anyone.
Some of you expressed interest in the tales of my first marriage. I'll go into some of it now.
I met Eric when I was 19 in one of my college drama classes. He was gorgeous, 6'4", and muscular. I was surprised and deeply flattered that he showed interest in little ole' me. It was a whirlwind romance, and he was kind and generous. I fell deeply in love with him, and we were engaged 2 months after we met, much to my parents chagrin. They tried to talk me out of marrying him, but I was sure he was the one for me. There were warning signs for sure, like his fascination with knives and guns, and some of the stories he told me about his life struck everyone as fairytales, but I ignored them.
We were married 1 month after the engagement, and then my eyes were truly opened. For one thing, he couldn't seem to hold a job down for more than a couple weeks, yet had plenty of money. He was insanely jealous, and I slowly distanced myself from all my friends and family because he would fly into a rage if I showed affection to anyone, including my father. We fought constantly, and this soon escalated into physical violence. I would often go to work, waitressing, with bruises and my co-workers would ask me what happened and I would tell them with a laugh that I fell off my horse, or I was wrestling with my husband and it was an accident.
Eric would secretly follow me everywhere, and one time he was watching me at work without my knowledge. When I got home, he was livid, screaming at me that I was flirting with the customers, and bending low over the tables to pour coffee so that the men could look at my cleavage. This fight was the worst ever. We yelled and screamed for hours, at one point I tried to leave and he grabbed me on the sidewalk outside our home and tried to drag me back into the house. Some kind stranger stopped in her car, and told me to get in, that she would take me wherever I needed to go to get away from Eric. Eric verbally abused the woman, then threatened to kill her if she didn't leave. She did leave, and to this day I wish I knew who she was so I could thank her for her kindness. The fight continued in the house. Eric was much bigger than I. At the time, I was 5'3" and around 100 pounds. The stress of the marriage had caused me to loose 20 pounds in about 2 months. He would throw me around like a rag doll. I finally told him I was going to bed, and I couldn't fight anymore. I had to go to work in a few hours. I tried to ignore him as he continued to tell me I was a slut and a fucking whore. At one point he pulled out his hunting knife, and I truly thought he was going to kill me.
Because I was stupid, I stayed with him, suffering more fights and abuse for another month. Then he got arrested for impersonating an officer, and burglary. Now I understood where the money was coming from. He was a thief.
My life was pure misery, and I had no one to go to. I was too embarrassed to go to my family, and I had cut off all my ties with my friends. Then I found out I was pregnant. When I told Eric I was pregnant, he told me it couldn't be his child because he knew he was unable to have children (a total lie). He accused me once again of having an affair. When the fight became violent, I was afraid of losing the baby. That is what gave me the courage to leave for good. I grabbed as much stuff as I could and ran for the car. He punched the window of the car in and tried to pull me out, but I was able to start the car, and leave. I filed for divorce the next week. When I say that my daughter saved my life, I really believe it is true. If I hadn't of gotten pregnant with Kiri, I would have stayed with that fucking bastard, and he would have eventually killed me.
I moved in with my parents, who were so relieved that I was back and away from Eric. Within a couple months of leaving Eric, I went back to college and finished my Associates Degree at home. Then I moved into my own apartment, and finished up my Bachelors at Southern Utah University.
Eric tried to intimidate me to come back to him, but none of that worked anymore. All I cared about was Kiri, and her well being. Eventually, Eric just disappeared. I do know he was in prison for a couple years for burglary. I had his parental rights terminated, and that was that.
The hardest thing for me was that I had always thought of myself as a strong woman, someone who wouldn't take shit from anyone. But Eric showed me that I was weak and afraid. It was a huge blow to my self confidence and self image, and I suffered from depression for a long time after the divorce. Now, I think I am somewhat cold, and I don't open up to people very well. Becca and my friends here are the first friends I've allowed myself in a long time. The frienships I have now have helped me to be less negative and bitter. Kendall is the exact opposite of Eric, soft spoken, laid back, quiet. I think that is why I married him.
Anyway, that is my sad story. I am no longer ashamed of my first marriage. It taught me to be independent, and that I can achieve my goals without any help from anyone.
Monday, November 07, 2005
ho hum
It has been a week with a whole lotta nothin'. The only bright spot in the entire week is when I had friends over on Saturday night. We watched a little "Scarface" and mostly just talked. I had a great time.
Not much going on right now. I am going to do some school programs tomorrow for a local 4th grade class. I always enjoy that. I am not sure if I'll be able to bring the snakes, as it is quite cold outside. The don't do so well in the frigid arctic air. It's the whole ectothermic thing. But here is a list of things I have learned while doing programs at elementary schools.
1. Never ask "are there any questions?" without qualifying what exactly you mean by questions. If there are no limits, the children will tell you fantastic stories about cobras coming out of their grandmother's couch, fathers killing a rattlesnake 10 feet long, or the time they stuck their tongue on the ice in the freezer and it stuck. So instead you must say "Are there any questions? and by questions I mean sentences starting with who, where, what, when, why, and how that relate to the subject I have been discussing for the past hour."
2. Never leave your cool props and visuals unattended in a classroom. The children don't steal them, but are so fascinated they cannot keep their hands off and usually end up breaking something.
3. Warn the children before pulling the live snake out of the bag unless you want mini burst of mass hysteria.
4. Never mention hunting, endangered species, or environmentalists in the classroom, or you won't be asked back the following year. I find it challenging to teach these children without talking about these topics, especially endangered species, but these are touchy subjects and many parents will call and complain if they knew they were being taught in class.
5. Be careful what games you play in the class to demonstrate your point. I usually play a web game with string and the children are different plants and animals all connected in a pretend ecosystem. Some child invariably puts the string around their neck (why?) and pretends to die in a dramatic tumble to the ground.
6. When playing a variation of tag that involves some students being deer and others being cougars, make sure you let them know this is touch tag, not kick tag, hit tag, trip tag, or tackle tag, or the blood will flow.
7. If you do your best and let them see how much you love your job, and enjoy being in their classroom, the kids will remember you forever. I had one girl recognize me in the grocery store and scream "Ranger Kodi!" and give me a huge hug. All the while her mother is eyeing me like I am some kind of pervert until I explain that I once did a program in this girl's class, and she must have liked it.
Cheers!
Not much going on right now. I am going to do some school programs tomorrow for a local 4th grade class. I always enjoy that. I am not sure if I'll be able to bring the snakes, as it is quite cold outside. The don't do so well in the frigid arctic air. It's the whole ectothermic thing. But here is a list of things I have learned while doing programs at elementary schools.
1. Never ask "are there any questions?" without qualifying what exactly you mean by questions. If there are no limits, the children will tell you fantastic stories about cobras coming out of their grandmother's couch, fathers killing a rattlesnake 10 feet long, or the time they stuck their tongue on the ice in the freezer and it stuck. So instead you must say "Are there any questions? and by questions I mean sentences starting with who, where, what, when, why, and how that relate to the subject I have been discussing for the past hour."
2. Never leave your cool props and visuals unattended in a classroom. The children don't steal them, but are so fascinated they cannot keep their hands off and usually end up breaking something.
3. Warn the children before pulling the live snake out of the bag unless you want mini burst of mass hysteria.
4. Never mention hunting, endangered species, or environmentalists in the classroom, or you won't be asked back the following year. I find it challenging to teach these children without talking about these topics, especially endangered species, but these are touchy subjects and many parents will call and complain if they knew they were being taught in class.
5. Be careful what games you play in the class to demonstrate your point. I usually play a web game with string and the children are different plants and animals all connected in a pretend ecosystem. Some child invariably puts the string around their neck (why?) and pretends to die in a dramatic tumble to the ground.
6. When playing a variation of tag that involves some students being deer and others being cougars, make sure you let them know this is touch tag, not kick tag, hit tag, trip tag, or tackle tag, or the blood will flow.
7. If you do your best and let them see how much you love your job, and enjoy being in their classroom, the kids will remember you forever. I had one girl recognize me in the grocery store and scream "Ranger Kodi!" and give me a huge hug. All the while her mother is eyeing me like I am some kind of pervert until I explain that I once did a program in this girl's class, and she must have liked it.
Cheers!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
My little girl
I'm going to steal from my friend's blogs once again and tell you some things you may not know about Kiri.
1. She kicks ass in science (A daughter after my own heart)
2. She is very shy and quiet most of the time.
3. She was named after the warrior/slave girl from the movie "Beastmaster"
4. She loves her Grandpa Reed almost more than she loves me
5. She is an incredible creative writer, but too shy to show her work
6. She gets her feelings hurt very easily, and unfortunately most of the time it is my fault.
7. She can play a mean game of basketball
8. She is the most kind and loving person I have ever met, and I am proud to be her mother
9. Her first word was Baba
10. She started walking at 81/2 months of age
11. Her middle name is Aase, which is my Norwegian grandmother's name. I wanted her to know and love her Scandinavian heritage
12. She once threw up all over me in the Science Building as I was heading in to turn in some homework for the class I missed because she was sick.
13. At 2 years old, she pulled the fire alarm on the Science Building while I was talking to my genetics teacher and the entire building was evacuated
14. She is smarter than I was at her age.
15. She has started a blog herself and you can link to it from my page.
I love you baby.
1. She kicks ass in science (A daughter after my own heart)
2. She is very shy and quiet most of the time.
3. She was named after the warrior/slave girl from the movie "Beastmaster"
4. She loves her Grandpa Reed almost more than she loves me
5. She is an incredible creative writer, but too shy to show her work
6. She gets her feelings hurt very easily, and unfortunately most of the time it is my fault.
7. She can play a mean game of basketball
8. She is the most kind and loving person I have ever met, and I am proud to be her mother
9. Her first word was Baba
10. She started walking at 81/2 months of age
11. Her middle name is Aase, which is my Norwegian grandmother's name. I wanted her to know and love her Scandinavian heritage
12. She once threw up all over me in the Science Building as I was heading in to turn in some homework for the class I missed because she was sick.
13. At 2 years old, she pulled the fire alarm on the Science Building while I was talking to my genetics teacher and the entire building was evacuated
14. She is smarter than I was at her age.
15. She has started a blog herself and you can link to it from my page.
I love you baby.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Trip to Monument Valley
Here are some pictures of Kiri (she's the cute girl in the cowboy hat), and one of me and Kiri on our horses. I threw in a couple pictues of Monument Valley as well.
I am getting ready for my favorite holiday in the world, HALLOWEEN! Yipeee! I am doing the easy thing this year and wearing a silly fish hat. Kiri is going as a dead bimbo (NOT my idea), but as long as her ass and boobs are covered, I'm not going to make a fuss.
Missuzj and Sophie dropped by this morning. I was still in bed because I'm a lazy bum on Monday's. Soph was wearing her funshine bear costume and was adorable. God, I love Halloween. I always laugh every year when all the crazy zealots start calling Halloween a satan worship day, and try to get everyone to boycott it. Whatever. It is fun to dress up and get treats, so chill people. I am not so sure that the Devil gives a crap about little kids in princess costumes.
Have a great spooky Halloween everyone!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Horse boogers
I met up with the farrier (horse hoof trimmer and shoeing type person) today to get my horses hooves trimmed up. It was colder than outer darkness (you other mormon people will enjoy the reference). My horse likes to put her head on my shoulder while I scratch behind her ears, and she did this while the farrier was working on her feet. Next thing I know, I'm covered in horse slobber. I mean she soaked my whole left shoulder and ran down my back and in the front past my boob. Nothing better than horse boogers right before you go home to watch Survivor and eat pizza.
The farrier was a young man around 25, and totally adorable. Cuter than....well, cute. Very smart and witty as well. So, it wasn't all bad.
I got Kiri's grades for the first semester. She got 4 A's, 1 B, 1 C+, and 1 F. How do you get 4 A's and one F? It really baffles me. She blames it on the 3 days of school she missed last week because she was sicker than a dog. I guess she missed a test. But even so, how does one test drop a grade to an F? I don't know whether I should talk to her teacher and see if she can make up the work and get her grade changed, or just hope she does better from now on. What do you all think I should do?
A quick memory I have of my brother and I when we were around 9 and 12 years of age ( I was 9, he was 12). One winter our outside faucet froze solid, and we had to haul buckets of hot water from the house to the horse trough, a total of about 300 feet one way, back and forth until the trough was full. The water had to be hot to melt all the fucking ice already in the trough. This had to be done in the morning before school and again after school, all winter long. We would bundle up in my dad's heavy overalls and oversized coats, and haul water back and forth. We would race each other, and end up spilling half the bucket on our pantlegs, which would then freeze solid. The sun would start coming up just when we were finishing up, and I remember watching the sunrise with my older brother, in complete silence. Even though that sucked ass carrying water, the sunrise was always beautiful, and made the task not so terrible.
That same winter, it rained then froze, and our whole field was one solid ice rink. Shane (my bro) and I got our old wooden sled out, the kind with the wooden planks on top and metal skids on the bottom. We'd take turns running with the sled towards the ice, then hurling ourselves forward and sliding forever. Then Shane decided he had to get the farthest out yet, and ran full bore towards the ice, leapt on the sled too far forward. The sled tipped upwards and he smacked his face on the ice and slid a good long ways on his face, with his legs up in the air on the tilted sled. I ran over to him, laughing my ass off of course, and helped him stand up. Then he spit blood all over the ice and I saw his lips were mangled. I did quit laughing when I saw that.
I also accidentally kicked my brother's two top front teeth out once when he was tickling me. He to this day says I did it on purpose, but I swear to God it was an accident. He was a cool brother. I love that dude.
The farrier was a young man around 25, and totally adorable. Cuter than....well, cute. Very smart and witty as well. So, it wasn't all bad.
I got Kiri's grades for the first semester. She got 4 A's, 1 B, 1 C+, and 1 F. How do you get 4 A's and one F? It really baffles me. She blames it on the 3 days of school she missed last week because she was sicker than a dog. I guess she missed a test. But even so, how does one test drop a grade to an F? I don't know whether I should talk to her teacher and see if she can make up the work and get her grade changed, or just hope she does better from now on. What do you all think I should do?
A quick memory I have of my brother and I when we were around 9 and 12 years of age ( I was 9, he was 12). One winter our outside faucet froze solid, and we had to haul buckets of hot water from the house to the horse trough, a total of about 300 feet one way, back and forth until the trough was full. The water had to be hot to melt all the fucking ice already in the trough. This had to be done in the morning before school and again after school, all winter long. We would bundle up in my dad's heavy overalls and oversized coats, and haul water back and forth. We would race each other, and end up spilling half the bucket on our pantlegs, which would then freeze solid. The sun would start coming up just when we were finishing up, and I remember watching the sunrise with my older brother, in complete silence. Even though that sucked ass carrying water, the sunrise was always beautiful, and made the task not so terrible.
That same winter, it rained then froze, and our whole field was one solid ice rink. Shane (my bro) and I got our old wooden sled out, the kind with the wooden planks on top and metal skids on the bottom. We'd take turns running with the sled towards the ice, then hurling ourselves forward and sliding forever. Then Shane decided he had to get the farthest out yet, and ran full bore towards the ice, leapt on the sled too far forward. The sled tipped upwards and he smacked his face on the ice and slid a good long ways on his face, with his legs up in the air on the tilted sled. I ran over to him, laughing my ass off of course, and helped him stand up. Then he spit blood all over the ice and I saw his lips were mangled. I did quit laughing when I saw that.
I also accidentally kicked my brother's two top front teeth out once when he was tickling me. He to this day says I did it on purpose, but I swear to God it was an accident. He was a cool brother. I love that dude.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Some background info
I figured most of you don't know much about my background, so I'd write a little about where I came from and big events of my life. Lets start out with my childhood.
Overall, I had a happy childhood. There were some ups and downs of course, but I had a loving family and great friends.
I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was almost born in Red River, New Mexico. That's where my folks lived when I was conceived. The nearest hospital was 2 hours away, and the doctor decided it would be best to fill my father in on how to deliver a baby in case they didn't make it to the hospital on time. My father promptly packed his family up and moved to Salt Lake.
One of my best childhood memories is of my best friend Brandi. We would play for hours every day. One of our favorite games was pretending we were King Kong and our barbies were Jessica Lange.
When I was 6, my brother, cousin and I were crossing a busy street to get to Sunday School (which for some reason was held on a Wednesday). I remember the day fairly clearly. We had just learned about looking both ways before crossing the street in school that week. So I looked both ways....no cars. I started running across the street and then darkness. The young man who had hit me got out of his truck, and seeing the damage the 6 year old girl had done to his vehicle, then exclaimed "MY TRUCK!" Fucking Prick. My brother saw and heard the whole thing. I was in the hospital for 2 months with a fractured skull, broken ribs, broken hip, ruptured spleen (which was quickly removed) and a mouth full of broken teeth. This would not be the last time I busted out all my teeth. The man who hit me was uninsured, and left town after a insincere apology to my parents.
At the age of 7, my parents decided to live in the country. We moved to Hinckley, Utah. I thought my life was over when I said my last goodbye to my friend Brandi.
My father is an electrician, but was raised on a farm in Preston, Idaho, and always craved the small town life. We raised 180 acres of alfalfa, had numerous chickens, dogs, cats, horses, and pigs. I found that farm life suited me just fine. I was a tomboy who loved the outdoors, my horse, and privacy.
At the age of 12, I was in Karate class and blew out my knee. I had surgery, and recovered fairly quickly. When I was 13, I got bucked off my horse and busted out all of my front teeth, six teeth total. I still bear faint scars on my face from that incident. At 14, I was playing football with my friend Becky and her very cute brothers and blew my knee out again. This time I not only tore tendons and ligaments, but I broke the knee cap itself into 3 separate floating pieces. The good part was when Becky's hot brother Mel carried me to the car and drove me to the hospital. That part was heaven.
That was my childhood, the quick version. Perhaps when I am feeling melancholy, I'll relate my first marriage to you all. It will take about 4 paragraphs as I was married of a grand total of one year, but only with the man for about six months. Just long enough to get pregnant. I still believe to this day that having my daughter saved my life. Both physically and mentally.
More to come another day.
Overall, I had a happy childhood. There were some ups and downs of course, but I had a loving family and great friends.
I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was almost born in Red River, New Mexico. That's where my folks lived when I was conceived. The nearest hospital was 2 hours away, and the doctor decided it would be best to fill my father in on how to deliver a baby in case they didn't make it to the hospital on time. My father promptly packed his family up and moved to Salt Lake.
One of my best childhood memories is of my best friend Brandi. We would play for hours every day. One of our favorite games was pretending we were King Kong and our barbies were Jessica Lange.
When I was 6, my brother, cousin and I were crossing a busy street to get to Sunday School (which for some reason was held on a Wednesday). I remember the day fairly clearly. We had just learned about looking both ways before crossing the street in school that week. So I looked both ways....no cars. I started running across the street and then darkness. The young man who had hit me got out of his truck, and seeing the damage the 6 year old girl had done to his vehicle, then exclaimed "MY TRUCK!" Fucking Prick. My brother saw and heard the whole thing. I was in the hospital for 2 months with a fractured skull, broken ribs, broken hip, ruptured spleen (which was quickly removed) and a mouth full of broken teeth. This would not be the last time I busted out all my teeth. The man who hit me was uninsured, and left town after a insincere apology to my parents.
At the age of 7, my parents decided to live in the country. We moved to Hinckley, Utah. I thought my life was over when I said my last goodbye to my friend Brandi.
My father is an electrician, but was raised on a farm in Preston, Idaho, and always craved the small town life. We raised 180 acres of alfalfa, had numerous chickens, dogs, cats, horses, and pigs. I found that farm life suited me just fine. I was a tomboy who loved the outdoors, my horse, and privacy.
At the age of 12, I was in Karate class and blew out my knee. I had surgery, and recovered fairly quickly. When I was 13, I got bucked off my horse and busted out all of my front teeth, six teeth total. I still bear faint scars on my face from that incident. At 14, I was playing football with my friend Becky and her very cute brothers and blew my knee out again. This time I not only tore tendons and ligaments, but I broke the knee cap itself into 3 separate floating pieces. The good part was when Becky's hot brother Mel carried me to the car and drove me to the hospital. That part was heaven.
That was my childhood, the quick version. Perhaps when I am feeling melancholy, I'll relate my first marriage to you all. It will take about 4 paragraphs as I was married of a grand total of one year, but only with the man for about six months. Just long enough to get pregnant. I still believe to this day that having my daughter saved my life. Both physically and mentally.
More to come another day.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Doodle bug
So, I'm finished with my supervisory training for the year. Thank the Lord. The lecturer wasn't so bad, fairly entertaining actually, but I must occupy my hands somehow during endless hours of listening to someone else talk. I ended up going through my entire training guide, coloring in all the letters that have holes (does that make sense?), and doodling little pictures in the margins. It was pretty informative, though I have done the personality tests so many times with different results that I must be trying too hard.
So I was pleased to see that Missuzj has tagged me. Here goes.
Ten Years Ago: Okay, lets see. I was 24. I had been divorced for 3 years, and still pretty bitter about it. I had just moved to Cedar City the year before to finish up my bachelors degree, and was struggling with school, taking care of an almost 4 year old girl, and feeling desperately lonely. I had zero friends, no family in the area, and living in a dump of a basement apartment that I couldn't afford. I had been seeing Kendall for a while by then, and enjoyed dating him, but was so against the thought of marriage or commitment that I often gave him the cold shoulder in hopes he would get frustrated and quit calling me. He had asked me to marry him earlier that year, and I laughed in his face. I seriously can't imagine why he stuck around. Except for Kiri, my life sucked. The only things that kept me from an total mental breakdown was the fact that I loved my little girl more than anything, and I was driven to excel in my studies. I cared about little else besides those two things.
Five Years Ago: I had been working for the Park Service for 2 years and been married to Ken for 3 years by that time. I had found my greatest treasures unexpectedly in Becca, Kelli, and Jennifer. Kiri was 8, and still thought her mother was the smartest, prettiest, greatest woman in the world. We had just moved into the little white house in the center of town, which just happened to be a block away from Missuzj. Missuzj quickly became my mentor, confidante, and closest friend. Kendall nicknamed our new home "the covered wagon" because it is as old as the pioneers (or damn close).
One Year Ago: Kiri and I had just returned from Norway one year ago. It was a fabulous trip, though Kiri was a little grumpy and impatient at times. I snapped at her a couple times, and then felt really bad about it. At one point she was rolling her eyes and being a general pain because she didn't like our choice of activity and I yelled at her "I should've just left your grumpy ass home." Another time I told her she was ruining my vacation, and hurt her feelings really badly. Overall, we got along well and enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Five Snacks: Cheetoes, deep fried motzerella cheese (which I love to eat but cannot spell), twix bars, kettle corn popcorn, hot fudge sundae.
Five Songs I Know All the Words To: Son of a Preacher Man, Dream On (Aerosmith), They Both Reached For The Gun (Chicago), Sandman (Metallica), Pinball Wizard (The Who).
Five Things I Would Do with $100 mill: Put Kiri through college, buy a new house, buy my parents a new house, build a fantabulous horse arena, donate to Lupus research.
Five Things I Would Never Wear: a dress, stiletto heels, Ug boots (ala Brittney Spears), leather chaps paired with only silk panties (ala Christina Agulera), thong underwear.
Five Favorite TV Shows: Forensic Files, Survivor, Jeff Corwin Experience, VH1 specials, Going Tribal
Five Biggest Joys: Kiri, snakes, Kendall, my animals, my friends.
Five Favorite Games: Solitaire, Trivial Pursuit, Black Jack, Dominoes, Scrabble
So I was pleased to see that Missuzj has tagged me. Here goes.
Ten Years Ago: Okay, lets see. I was 24. I had been divorced for 3 years, and still pretty bitter about it. I had just moved to Cedar City the year before to finish up my bachelors degree, and was struggling with school, taking care of an almost 4 year old girl, and feeling desperately lonely. I had zero friends, no family in the area, and living in a dump of a basement apartment that I couldn't afford. I had been seeing Kendall for a while by then, and enjoyed dating him, but was so against the thought of marriage or commitment that I often gave him the cold shoulder in hopes he would get frustrated and quit calling me. He had asked me to marry him earlier that year, and I laughed in his face. I seriously can't imagine why he stuck around. Except for Kiri, my life sucked. The only things that kept me from an total mental breakdown was the fact that I loved my little girl more than anything, and I was driven to excel in my studies. I cared about little else besides those two things.
Five Years Ago: I had been working for the Park Service for 2 years and been married to Ken for 3 years by that time. I had found my greatest treasures unexpectedly in Becca, Kelli, and Jennifer. Kiri was 8, and still thought her mother was the smartest, prettiest, greatest woman in the world. We had just moved into the little white house in the center of town, which just happened to be a block away from Missuzj. Missuzj quickly became my mentor, confidante, and closest friend. Kendall nicknamed our new home "the covered wagon" because it is as old as the pioneers (or damn close).
One Year Ago: Kiri and I had just returned from Norway one year ago. It was a fabulous trip, though Kiri was a little grumpy and impatient at times. I snapped at her a couple times, and then felt really bad about it. At one point she was rolling her eyes and being a general pain because she didn't like our choice of activity and I yelled at her "I should've just left your grumpy ass home." Another time I told her she was ruining my vacation, and hurt her feelings really badly. Overall, we got along well and enjoyed ourselves immensely.
Five Snacks: Cheetoes, deep fried motzerella cheese (which I love to eat but cannot spell), twix bars, kettle corn popcorn, hot fudge sundae.
Five Songs I Know All the Words To: Son of a Preacher Man, Dream On (Aerosmith), They Both Reached For The Gun (Chicago), Sandman (Metallica), Pinball Wizard (The Who).
Five Things I Would Do with $100 mill: Put Kiri through college, buy a new house, buy my parents a new house, build a fantabulous horse arena, donate to Lupus research.
Five Things I Would Never Wear: a dress, stiletto heels, Ug boots (ala Brittney Spears), leather chaps paired with only silk panties (ala Christina Agulera), thong underwear.
Five Favorite TV Shows: Forensic Files, Survivor, Jeff Corwin Experience, VH1 specials, Going Tribal
Five Biggest Joys: Kiri, snakes, Kendall, my animals, my friends.
Five Favorite Games: Solitaire, Trivial Pursuit, Black Jack, Dominoes, Scrabble
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Hangin with my pals
This is how I feel today. A little silly, pretty tired, and on the edge of complete insanity.
I took this picture of myself, for some strange reason. I look like a toad.
Kiri has been very sick, and I had to go back to work, so I'm a bit overwhelmed right now. I'll get over it. The following are some pictures of the hike I did with my two good friends, Jen and Paul. We did this hike back in September, and it was gorgeous. So enjoy. I'll try to blog more later this week. I have to go to training for two days, so I'm sure I'll have lots to vent about later.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
My ass hurts from all that driving
I'm back. Hurrah! I missed all of you terribly. The trip was fun, and I definitely want to go back again, but it feels good to be home.
We left early Monday morning and drove all the way to Page, Arizona. As we pull into the restaurant in Page, my car starts making a god awful noise, and I'm thinking "Shit, there goes the vacation". Kendall makes me stick my finger through the hubcaps and feel if there is any pad left on my brakes. All I feel is HOT metal. So we see a Big O tire, and it's only 4:00 p.m. Arizona time, so we decide to try and get them fixed pronto.
We walk into Big O and wait at the counter. And we wait, and we wait, and we wait. I'm all for going to eat, and try again in the morning, but Ken wants to get them fixed NOW, so he marches through the EMPLOYEES ONLY door to the garage. I can only hear his side of the conversation but it goes something like this.
Ken: I need my brakes fixed today
Big O dude: mumble mumble mumble
Ken: You don't look busy
Big O dude: mumble mumble
Ken: I need to speak to your boss
Big O dude: mumble mumble (a note of distress in his voice)
Ken: What is your boss's number, I'll call him at home
Big O dude: mumble mumble!
Ken: You bet your ass I'll call him at home, now what is his number
Big O dude: mumble, mumble mumble (a note of resignation in his voice)
Ken: Hey, thanks man, I really appreciate it.
Ken then sticks his head back into the waiting area, and tells me to pull my car around, they were going to fix my brakes right now. Thirty minutes later, we had new brakes. Ken supervised the entire installation, making sure it was done correctly, then tipped the guy $10 after it was all finished. Sometimes it is nice to have a pushy man around to get things done. I would have never dared to walk into the garage and threaten the mechanics into submission.
We left Page and drove to Navajo National Monument. I hiked around there, looking at petroglyphs and Anasazi ruins while Ken stayed with the dog (who was not allowed on the trail). This arrangement pleased everyone because Ken doesn't like to hike, and I don't like to hear him complain when I force him to hike. When I got off the trail, I purchased a Navajo cookbook from the gift shop, and am looking forward to making fry bread. I can also now cook a prairie dog, as there is a recipe for that in the book, but as the Utah Prairie dog is an endangered species, I don't think I should try that dish just yet.
Then, on to Monument Valley proper, stopping at all the Native American vendor booths all along the way. We must have stopped fifty times, and I eventually purchased a beautiful silver bracelet. Again, Kendall sprung into action, haggling with the vendor. Summary of the conversation follows.
Kodi: How much for this bracelet?
Native American woman: $65.00
Kendall: We'll give you $30.00
Native American: I can let it go for $55.00
Kendall: $35.00
Native American: $50.00
Kendall: All I have is $40.00. That's as high as I can go.
Native American: okay
I was blushing the entire time. I hate when Kendall haggles with people. He grew up in this area, and he tells me the Native Americans expect you to haggle with them. I don't know about that, it seems somewhat like taking advantage of them, but Ken says that haggling is part of their culture.
Monument Valley was stunning. I know this is a cliche, but it was truly breathtaking. I can't wait to post the pictures I have of it, though I really don't think they will do the place justice.
We spent the next night in Mexican Hat, then toured around Hovenweap for a few hours, which was very cool AND they allow dogs on the trail. I pondered on going to Mesa Verde, but Kendall wanted to head back to Page and head home the next day. I decided that Mesa Verde could wait. We had seen so much already, so we decided to head back.
Now I'm here, a day early and very happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed tonight. I'll post pictures soon.
We left early Monday morning and drove all the way to Page, Arizona. As we pull into the restaurant in Page, my car starts making a god awful noise, and I'm thinking "Shit, there goes the vacation". Kendall makes me stick my finger through the hubcaps and feel if there is any pad left on my brakes. All I feel is HOT metal. So we see a Big O tire, and it's only 4:00 p.m. Arizona time, so we decide to try and get them fixed pronto.
We walk into Big O and wait at the counter. And we wait, and we wait, and we wait. I'm all for going to eat, and try again in the morning, but Ken wants to get them fixed NOW, so he marches through the EMPLOYEES ONLY door to the garage. I can only hear his side of the conversation but it goes something like this.
Ken: I need my brakes fixed today
Big O dude: mumble mumble mumble
Ken: You don't look busy
Big O dude: mumble mumble
Ken: I need to speak to your boss
Big O dude: mumble mumble (a note of distress in his voice)
Ken: What is your boss's number, I'll call him at home
Big O dude: mumble mumble!
Ken: You bet your ass I'll call him at home, now what is his number
Big O dude: mumble, mumble mumble (a note of resignation in his voice)
Ken: Hey, thanks man, I really appreciate it.
Ken then sticks his head back into the waiting area, and tells me to pull my car around, they were going to fix my brakes right now. Thirty minutes later, we had new brakes. Ken supervised the entire installation, making sure it was done correctly, then tipped the guy $10 after it was all finished. Sometimes it is nice to have a pushy man around to get things done. I would have never dared to walk into the garage and threaten the mechanics into submission.
We left Page and drove to Navajo National Monument. I hiked around there, looking at petroglyphs and Anasazi ruins while Ken stayed with the dog (who was not allowed on the trail). This arrangement pleased everyone because Ken doesn't like to hike, and I don't like to hear him complain when I force him to hike. When I got off the trail, I purchased a Navajo cookbook from the gift shop, and am looking forward to making fry bread. I can also now cook a prairie dog, as there is a recipe for that in the book, but as the Utah Prairie dog is an endangered species, I don't think I should try that dish just yet.
Then, on to Monument Valley proper, stopping at all the Native American vendor booths all along the way. We must have stopped fifty times, and I eventually purchased a beautiful silver bracelet. Again, Kendall sprung into action, haggling with the vendor. Summary of the conversation follows.
Kodi: How much for this bracelet?
Native American woman: $65.00
Kendall: We'll give you $30.00
Native American: I can let it go for $55.00
Kendall: $35.00
Native American: $50.00
Kendall: All I have is $40.00. That's as high as I can go.
Native American: okay
I was blushing the entire time. I hate when Kendall haggles with people. He grew up in this area, and he tells me the Native Americans expect you to haggle with them. I don't know about that, it seems somewhat like taking advantage of them, but Ken says that haggling is part of their culture.
Monument Valley was stunning. I know this is a cliche, but it was truly breathtaking. I can't wait to post the pictures I have of it, though I really don't think they will do the place justice.
We spent the next night in Mexican Hat, then toured around Hovenweap for a few hours, which was very cool AND they allow dogs on the trail. I pondered on going to Mesa Verde, but Kendall wanted to head back to Page and head home the next day. I decided that Mesa Verde could wait. We had seen so much already, so we decided to head back.
Now I'm here, a day early and very happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed tonight. I'll post pictures soon.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Hurray for Vacations!
Ken and I are getting ready to go on vacation next week. We are heading into Monument Valley, stopping by Natural Bridges National Monument, and Hovenweep National Monument, to eventually end up in Mesa Verde National Monument. I am so excited. I've never been to any of these places, so it should be totally cool.
Kiri doesn't want to go with us. I really want her to go, but last year she had a beast of a time catching up on all the school work she missed when we went to Norway. She would rather stay with her friend and go to school. I have mixed emotions about this, as I really don't want her to miss school, but I'm wondering how much school work she will actually do while staying with her friend.
Speaking of school, I am getting ready to head over to meet with Kiri's teachers for an update on her performance so far. These used to be called Parent/Teacher conferences, but now have the happy euphemism of SEOP's. I have no clue what SEOP stands for (little help here Missuzj), but I liked it better when it was a Parent/Teacher conference.
I have mountains of laundry, so I'm keeping it short this time.
Kiri doesn't want to go with us. I really want her to go, but last year she had a beast of a time catching up on all the school work she missed when we went to Norway. She would rather stay with her friend and go to school. I have mixed emotions about this, as I really don't want her to miss school, but I'm wondering how much school work she will actually do while staying with her friend.
Speaking of school, I am getting ready to head over to meet with Kiri's teachers for an update on her performance so far. These used to be called Parent/Teacher conferences, but now have the happy euphemism of SEOP's. I have no clue what SEOP stands for (little help here Missuzj), but I liked it better when it was a Parent/Teacher conference.
I have mountains of laundry, so I'm keeping it short this time.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
I love rock and roll
I was tagged ages ago for my top five songs I'm listening to right now. I didn't do it at first, because I felt that most people would find my list ridiculous. But, as today I can't think of much else to blog about, I'll reveal my total lack of coolness.
Here goes, top 5 songs
1. Doesn't remind me by Audioslave
2. Sugar by System of a Down
3. Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield
4. Every song on the Flogging Molly Swagger C.D
5. Dragula by Rob Zombie
I know, many believe it is impossible to like Rob Zombie AND Dusty Springfield, but alas I like to sing, and Son of a Preacher Man is fun as hell to sing.
As a teenager, I listened to all those glam rockers like Tesla, Firehouse, Def Lepard. I loved that shit. And it was, truly, shit. I went to several crazy concerts. My first concert ever was the ....drum roll, Judas Priest/Raven concert, then came Bon Jovi/Cinderella at the Salt Palace. Then the largest and craziest concert I ever went to was the Kiss/Winger/Slaughter extravaganza. WHOOOOO HOOOOO. I was trying to get close to the stage when Slaughter was playing, cuz the lead singer was wicked hot, but with the masses of people pushing and shoving, I just managed to get felt up about a hundred times. Then, I enjoyed the Tesla/Firehouse concert on the lawn in Park City.
Now, I'm just too cheap to fork out tons of money to see mainstream musicians. I like to listen to them when I'm working out, and in the car. Good enough for me. Give me big bands on the radio, and local bands in the city park for free.
Kiri listens to 50 Cent, and Nelly, and Usher, and crap and crap and crap. I think it is in our DNA to hate the kind of music our parents listened to. One day she was playing 50 Cent's song "Candy shop" and I almost freaked out at how nasty the lyrics were. I mean, "She's my Cherry Pie" is pretty fucking tame compared to some of the shit she listens to. What do you do? You tell them you won't buy the C.D, so they get a friend to burn a copy for them and they listen to it any way. I think you can just hope at this point you've taught them enough, and they will not get pregnant immediately after listening to hip hop. I think that music forcibly causes a woman to ovulate. Just a theory.
Here goes, top 5 songs
1. Doesn't remind me by Audioslave
2. Sugar by System of a Down
3. Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield
4. Every song on the Flogging Molly Swagger C.D
5. Dragula by Rob Zombie
I know, many believe it is impossible to like Rob Zombie AND Dusty Springfield, but alas I like to sing, and Son of a Preacher Man is fun as hell to sing.
As a teenager, I listened to all those glam rockers like Tesla, Firehouse, Def Lepard. I loved that shit. And it was, truly, shit. I went to several crazy concerts. My first concert ever was the ....drum roll, Judas Priest/Raven concert, then came Bon Jovi/Cinderella at the Salt Palace. Then the largest and craziest concert I ever went to was the Kiss/Winger/Slaughter extravaganza. WHOOOOO HOOOOO. I was trying to get close to the stage when Slaughter was playing, cuz the lead singer was wicked hot, but with the masses of people pushing and shoving, I just managed to get felt up about a hundred times. Then, I enjoyed the Tesla/Firehouse concert on the lawn in Park City.
Now, I'm just too cheap to fork out tons of money to see mainstream musicians. I like to listen to them when I'm working out, and in the car. Good enough for me. Give me big bands on the radio, and local bands in the city park for free.
Kiri listens to 50 Cent, and Nelly, and Usher, and crap and crap and crap. I think it is in our DNA to hate the kind of music our parents listened to. One day she was playing 50 Cent's song "Candy shop" and I almost freaked out at how nasty the lyrics were. I mean, "She's my Cherry Pie" is pretty fucking tame compared to some of the shit she listens to. What do you do? You tell them you won't buy the C.D, so they get a friend to burn a copy for them and they listen to it any way. I think you can just hope at this point you've taught them enough, and they will not get pregnant immediately after listening to hip hop. I think that music forcibly causes a woman to ovulate. Just a theory.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Going Bananas
I walked out of the Visitor Center on Saturday, and I saw this tarantula. He was trying to get into the Women's restroom for some odd reason. I say he, because I am guessing it is a male wandering around looking for a girlfriend, as male tarantulas tend to do this time of year. Maybe he thought he would find his soul mate in the women's loo, but I was afraid his lust would get him squished. I took newspaper and carefully herded the spider out of the way and into the bushes, consequently getting my picture taken about 30 times by curious and fascinated tourists. It was kinda fun. The picture on the top left is of one of my favorite hikes. I have probably hiked this trail close to 50 times for my job, and I still love it. It is never the same, each time I hike it. Jennifer and I tried to hike it last February, but the footing was too slick with ice and snow. I, of course, slipped and fell right into the freezing cold creek, which thankfully was only a few inches deep.
I went up to central Utah on Friday to do a school program for 4th graders. I love doing school programs. The kids usually are pretty excited to see me, and some remember me years later. I usually take 2 live kingsnakes with me, but I didn't think it would be healthy for them driving in a car for hours there and back again. But I took a bunch of skulls, snake sheds, owl pellets, and raptor feathers. It was fun, yet draining, and I would have killed for a Mt. Dew by the end. I really admire teachers after visiting their classrooms. I'm only there for a few hours, and I'm physically drained by the end. Teachers do it every day. So, here is to all you wonderful teachers out there (especially Missuzj, Lonna, and Shawna) who inspire and educate. I raise my glass to you. I am in awe of your intelligence, patience, and skill. I admire you.
Monday, September 19, 2005
stupid mofo
I was going to upload some pictures, but they are all upside down and I can't figure out how to flip the som bitches. I'll keep trying. Stay tuned for pictures, one way or the other.
P.S. Can anyone help me with this?
P.S. Can anyone help me with this?
Much too much
I just returned from taking my dog, Lightning, to the dog groomer. She loves to go for rides, and was so excited to hop in the car. I felt a little sorry for her knowing I was taking my oblivious pet to a place that she loathes. We walked into the groomers, and as soon as she realized where she was, she started fighting against the leash. The collar promptly slipped up over her ears and we had a loose lightning dog running willy nilly, trying to find a place to hide. Poor thing. She is such a good dog, and I tried to not get angry as she avoided re-capture, but it was somewhat embarrassing. We finally trapped her and dragged her into the grooming area. Poor thing. But, I know she will be extra happy to see me when I pick her up.
The Sunday before Labor Day, my friends Jen and Paul and I went hiking down Ashdown Gorge. It was gorgeous. I've posted some pic's of us.
Kiri did a cheerleading clinic last week, and the did a dance/cheer during half time of the high school football game on Saturday. I paid $4.00 to watch her cheer for 5 minutes, but it was worth it. She did a great job. I was watching her and thinking how much I miss the elementary programs the kids used to do every year, dancing and singing. God, she was adorable. Now she is a young lady, and I have so much hope for her future. I would rather she pursue basketball, which she kicks ass in, than cheerleading, but whatever. I'll support her no matter what.
Kiri and I were watching this stupid show on MTV called "My Sweet 16", where these spoiled rich girls get lavish birthday parties thrown for them by their indulging parents with bands, and new cars, catering, and guest lists in the hundreds. Kiri told me she wished we were rich. I looked at these girls and thought, if that is how my daughter would behave if we were rich, I'm glad were not. What a bunch of brats.
Missuzj, Sophie, Jimmy and I all went to the park to play Saturday evening. Soph wanted me to exercise with her so we ran all over the grass. Then she had her mother play jack in the bean stalk, and I laughed my ass off. We threw Jimmy the pup's strange squirrel frizbee thing, then went home. It was a blast. Sunday we all went to see the horses, and Sophie went to feed my horse an apple, and the horse accidentally bit her finger. I felt so bad. I wanted Sophie to love my horses, and feel safe, and I fucking ruined it. I should've warned her to keep her fingers and her hand flat. I totally blame myself, and I hope she'll come with me again. I did, however, get missuzj on a horse. She rode around for a minute, and did incredibly well for someone who had never ridden a horse before. I told her she was a natural.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Of Mice and Me
I was reading Patrice and Nicole's blog about the mice, and it reminded me of a couple of funny mice stories of my own.
I used to live in a small town called Summit. It was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fields, so there were mice-a-plenty. One day, about 6 years ago, Kiri and I decided to go into town. I can't remember why, but that is irrelevant. I decided to take my old stationwagon that had been sitting idle for a couple of months in the back yard. Kendall had been urging me to drive it, saying something about if it sits for too long the tires will rot into useless lumps, yada yada yada.
Kiri and I jumped into the wagon, which amazingly had almost a full tank of gas, and jumped on the freeway. We got about 3 miles out of town, going somewhere around 70 m.p.h, when I saw this little furry creature crawl out of the hood of the car and cling onto my windshield wiper. It was a mouse. And he was holding on for dear life, his little gray mousey fur blowing wildly in the wind. He turned and looked right at me through the windshield, and I swear I saw the fear and confusion on his face, just as if he was saying "my God, one minute I was sleeping peacefully, and the next I'm careening down the road on this god awful machine, and I don't know how to get off this ride!" He stayed on the hood the whole 15 minutes I was on the freeway, frozen with fear, or maybe exhilaration. When we got the the bank, and stopped the car, he ran back under the hood. I opened the hood, and the little monster had made a nest right on top of my battery. I looked around for him, and eventually saw him jump out of the bottom of the car and take off. I still crack up when I remember the look on that mouse's face, and his fur flying wildly around.
A different story, many years ago when I was only 6 years old or so, I was out playing with my cats (we had multitudes of cats, many of which were feral, but I was determined to tame them all, and spent many hours doing so. I cringe now when I think of all the diseases those poor cats had). I saw one of the cats had a mouse in his mouth, and it was still very much alive. My heart just broke when I looked at that poor mouse, and I stupidly tried to save it. I thought in my blind innocence that the mouse would know I was trying to save it, but of course it didn't, and the sucker bit me when I got it away from the cat. I told my mother what happened, and ended up in the hospital getting tetanus shots and crying hysterically. Not the greatest memory, though I do remember vividly my older brother making funny faces and telling me jokes while I was in the stupid hospital. What a great brother.
On a different note, I have to say I am destined to be a hobbit, methinks. I hiked and hiked last week and lost nary a pound. I just get muscle under my chub, making me think of a hobbit or Gimli the dwarf. I'm short with curly hair, so I think I must be related to one of little middle earth species. Maybe I'm an orc.
My new horse also ran into me yesterday and sent me spinning, the little hussy. She was just playing around, but it hurt, and I called her lots of nasty names, which bothered her not at all as she came over immediately and tried to sniff out the carrots I had in my pocket. I am soooo unappreciated.
I used to live in a small town called Summit. It was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by fields, so there were mice-a-plenty. One day, about 6 years ago, Kiri and I decided to go into town. I can't remember why, but that is irrelevant. I decided to take my old stationwagon that had been sitting idle for a couple of months in the back yard. Kendall had been urging me to drive it, saying something about if it sits for too long the tires will rot into useless lumps, yada yada yada.
Kiri and I jumped into the wagon, which amazingly had almost a full tank of gas, and jumped on the freeway. We got about 3 miles out of town, going somewhere around 70 m.p.h, when I saw this little furry creature crawl out of the hood of the car and cling onto my windshield wiper. It was a mouse. And he was holding on for dear life, his little gray mousey fur blowing wildly in the wind. He turned and looked right at me through the windshield, and I swear I saw the fear and confusion on his face, just as if he was saying "my God, one minute I was sleeping peacefully, and the next I'm careening down the road on this god awful machine, and I don't know how to get off this ride!" He stayed on the hood the whole 15 minutes I was on the freeway, frozen with fear, or maybe exhilaration. When we got the the bank, and stopped the car, he ran back under the hood. I opened the hood, and the little monster had made a nest right on top of my battery. I looked around for him, and eventually saw him jump out of the bottom of the car and take off. I still crack up when I remember the look on that mouse's face, and his fur flying wildly around.
A different story, many years ago when I was only 6 years old or so, I was out playing with my cats (we had multitudes of cats, many of which were feral, but I was determined to tame them all, and spent many hours doing so. I cringe now when I think of all the diseases those poor cats had). I saw one of the cats had a mouse in his mouth, and it was still very much alive. My heart just broke when I looked at that poor mouse, and I stupidly tried to save it. I thought in my blind innocence that the mouse would know I was trying to save it, but of course it didn't, and the sucker bit me when I got it away from the cat. I told my mother what happened, and ended up in the hospital getting tetanus shots and crying hysterically. Not the greatest memory, though I do remember vividly my older brother making funny faces and telling me jokes while I was in the stupid hospital. What a great brother.
On a different note, I have to say I am destined to be a hobbit, methinks. I hiked and hiked last week and lost nary a pound. I just get muscle under my chub, making me think of a hobbit or Gimli the dwarf. I'm short with curly hair, so I think I must be related to one of little middle earth species. Maybe I'm an orc.
My new horse also ran into me yesterday and sent me spinning, the little hussy. She was just playing around, but it hurt, and I called her lots of nasty names, which bothered her not at all as she came over immediately and tried to sniff out the carrots I had in my pocket. I am soooo unappreciated.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
And the Beat Goes On
Okay. I'm finally posting again. It has been a hectic week. I was laboring on Labor Day weekend, and it was busy as hell. In the midst of all the chaos, one visitor told me I was the most helpful ranger he had ever met. That made me feel good. It also made me re-evaluate my attitude. While I am always pleasant and polite on the outside, sometimes I am irritated and frustrated on the inside. I love my job. I love the people I work with, and I enjoy the many people who visit the Park. I love to share what I know about the Park with the visitors, and sometimes I loose sight of why I became a ranger. So, here is my list of why I love being a Park Ranger
1. Sharing my knowledge
2. Feeling pride in the system I work for
3. The sense that what I do makes a difference to the environment, and to visitor's attitudes towards the environment
4. Getting paid to hike is the biggest bonus
5. Being one of the few lucky individuals who get to work in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
6. Meeting all sorts of people from all over the world.
That really only touches the surface of what makes my job so wonderful. Here are some pictures of the Boy Scout jamboree I attended in Virginia this summer. I have to head to work, and I am super sore from hiking with Jen and Paul this Sunday, so it's a short one. I'll try to blog more often now that things are slowing down for the winter.
1. Sharing my knowledge
2. Feeling pride in the system I work for
3. The sense that what I do makes a difference to the environment, and to visitor's attitudes towards the environment
4. Getting paid to hike is the biggest bonus
5. Being one of the few lucky individuals who get to work in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
6. Meeting all sorts of people from all over the world.
That really only touches the surface of what makes my job so wonderful. Here are some pictures of the Boy Scout jamboree I attended in Virginia this summer. I have to head to work, and I am super sore from hiking with Jen and Paul this Sunday, so it's a short one. I'll try to blog more often now that things are slowing down for the winter.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Tales of the 34 year old grandmother
Yes, I'm a grandmother. I should clarify. I'm a step-grandmother, but my step-daughters don't see the distinction, and tell me I am a grandma. Not that I mind, I don't. The kids are wonderful. David is 1, and Alexis was just born last week, the cute little tyke. It does feel weird being called grandma, but I have always thought the world of my step-kids, and now I get to spoil their children for many years to come.
Alexis was born on the 24th. We rushed down to Vegas around 8:00 that night (and let me tell you, finding that hospital was not easy). She was born by C-section at 11:30. We were all a little tense because the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck and she wasn't breathing when they first delivered her. But they got her breathing, and the doc said she was going to be just fine. The mother is doing well too.
I just got back from my parents house, where I exchanged my fathers horse (which I had borrowed) for my horse (the one in the pictures that I got for my birthday). Everything went swell until I got home and introduced my horse, Mimi, to Kiri's horse, Musty. A horse fight ensued, with me holding on for dear life, trying to separate the damn horses and not get trampled, kicked, or bit in the process. Having been trampled, bit and kicked in the past, I was not keen to repeat the experience. So, now they are in separate corrals, starring each other down to see who will blink first. Christ, why can't anything ever be easy.
I must say, I am quite excited to start riding my new horse.
Funny Visitor Question
Visitor: Which hat should I wear on my hike?
Ranger Kodi: eh?
Visitor: Should I wear the ball cap, which I usually wear in forested areas, or should I wear the visor, which I usually wear in hotter weather?
Ranger Kodi: Either one will be fine. (while secretly thinking, Dude! It's a hat, for Christ's sakes)
Quick note: We had a search and rescue where this silly man was rappelling into a very difficult canyon, and a big boulder fell on his foot. Unfortunately, the man was wearing sandals, and had to have 3 toes amputated, though the boulder did most of the amputation before the doc did the rest. The multitudes of unprepared, ignorant hikers lacking any common sense whatsoever never cease to amaze me.
Alexis was born on the 24th. We rushed down to Vegas around 8:00 that night (and let me tell you, finding that hospital was not easy). She was born by C-section at 11:30. We were all a little tense because the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck and she wasn't breathing when they first delivered her. But they got her breathing, and the doc said she was going to be just fine. The mother is doing well too.
I just got back from my parents house, where I exchanged my fathers horse (which I had borrowed) for my horse (the one in the pictures that I got for my birthday). Everything went swell until I got home and introduced my horse, Mimi, to Kiri's horse, Musty. A horse fight ensued, with me holding on for dear life, trying to separate the damn horses and not get trampled, kicked, or bit in the process. Having been trampled, bit and kicked in the past, I was not keen to repeat the experience. So, now they are in separate corrals, starring each other down to see who will blink first. Christ, why can't anything ever be easy.
I must say, I am quite excited to start riding my new horse.
Funny Visitor Question
Visitor: Which hat should I wear on my hike?
Ranger Kodi: eh?
Visitor: Should I wear the ball cap, which I usually wear in forested areas, or should I wear the visor, which I usually wear in hotter weather?
Ranger Kodi: Either one will be fine. (while secretly thinking, Dude! It's a hat, for Christ's sakes)
Quick note: We had a search and rescue where this silly man was rappelling into a very difficult canyon, and a big boulder fell on his foot. Unfortunately, the man was wearing sandals, and had to have 3 toes amputated, though the boulder did most of the amputation before the doc did the rest. The multitudes of unprepared, ignorant hikers lacking any common sense whatsoever never cease to amaze me.
The spell check wanted me to replace Christ with crust. funny
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
For you, from me
Okay, Katy tagged me for the seven things thing. So, here goes......
7 things I plan to do before I die
1. Go to the Mediterranean
2. Read Charles Dickens (keep meaning to, haven't yet)
3. See my Daughter's college graduation
4. Get my Master's degree
5. Milk a venomous snake
6. Hike the Appalachian trail (or some of it, anyway)
7. Go whale watching
7 things I can do
1. Ride a horse
2. Hike 14 miles in a single day
3. Identify snakes in the wild
4. Rappel down a cliff
5. Read a map
6. Party like a rock star
7. Castrate a pig
7 things I cannot do
1. Stop obsessing about my weight
2. Rock climb
3. Rope a calf
4. Quit saying Fuck all the time
5. Cook well
6. Play soccer
7. Push ups
7 things that attract me to the opposite sex
1. Nice body
2. Intelligence
3. Self confidence
4. Sense of humor
5. Good kisser
6. Outdoorsy type
7. Athletic
7 things I say most often
1. I mean...
2. Dude
3. Whatever
5. You bet
6. The fee is $10 dollars
7. Fuck, Goddamn, Jesus Christ (had to put all three because it's a tie)
7 celebrity crushes
1. Brad Pitt
2. Clive Owen
3. David Boreanz
4. Viggo Mortensen
5. Hugh Jackman
6. Eric Bana
7. Jason Stratham (Handsome Rob in the movie "The Italian Job". If Katy's Handsome Rob is as handsome, I'm moving in on the action)
People I want to do this
1. As all the people
2. I know who blog
3. have been tagged
4. already, I
5. don't think
6. I can add
7. anymore
I loved reading everyone elses 7 things. I usually pretend I didn't get tagged, but this was fun.
Quick note: A boy scout came into the Visitor Center the other day, and out of the blue looked at me and said " I like your pigtails" Totally made my day.
7 things I plan to do before I die
1. Go to the Mediterranean
2. Read Charles Dickens (keep meaning to, haven't yet)
3. See my Daughter's college graduation
4. Get my Master's degree
5. Milk a venomous snake
6. Hike the Appalachian trail (or some of it, anyway)
7. Go whale watching
7 things I can do
1. Ride a horse
2. Hike 14 miles in a single day
3. Identify snakes in the wild
4. Rappel down a cliff
5. Read a map
6. Party like a rock star
7. Castrate a pig
7 things I cannot do
1. Stop obsessing about my weight
2. Rock climb
3. Rope a calf
4. Quit saying Fuck all the time
5. Cook well
6. Play soccer
7. Push ups
7 things that attract me to the opposite sex
1. Nice body
2. Intelligence
3. Self confidence
4. Sense of humor
5. Good kisser
6. Outdoorsy type
7. Athletic
7 things I say most often
1. I mean...
2. Dude
3. Whatever
5. You bet
6. The fee is $10 dollars
7. Fuck, Goddamn, Jesus Christ (had to put all three because it's a tie)
7 celebrity crushes
1. Brad Pitt
2. Clive Owen
3. David Boreanz
4. Viggo Mortensen
5. Hugh Jackman
6. Eric Bana
7. Jason Stratham (Handsome Rob in the movie "The Italian Job". If Katy's Handsome Rob is as handsome, I'm moving in on the action)
People I want to do this
1. As all the people
2. I know who blog
3. have been tagged
4. already, I
5. don't think
6. I can add
7. anymore
I loved reading everyone elses 7 things. I usually pretend I didn't get tagged, but this was fun.
Quick note: A boy scout came into the Visitor Center the other day, and out of the blue looked at me and said " I like your pigtails" Totally made my day.
Friday, August 19, 2005
sooooo slleeepppyyy
I'm so tired. Long day at work. I'm so looking forward to the weekend. I'm just gonna sleep and sleep. Thank god school has started, now I can sleep in on Mondays with no one the wiser.
Kiri seemed to enjoy her first couple days of school. She has been getting up pretty early to do her hair and makeup, which is okay until I try to get into the bathroom to brush my teeth or pee, or brush my teeth while peeing (hahahaha). I forgot what a bathroom hog she is. We need a bigger house with 2 bathrooms in it, damn it! The thing is, I don't want to CLEAN a bigger house. I tend to just find a drawer or closet and stuff things in them, and I know a bigger house would not cure me of that. I laughed at Becca's blog about things piled on the bookshelf when only books should reside there. Currently in (and on) my bookshelf I have....
1. books (but not neatly tucked as they should be but stuffed every which way because I have too many books and not enough room).
2. A teddy bear I brought back from Virginia
3. Photo albums
4. An eagle sculpture collecting mounds of dust
5. A toy car my dad gave me ages ago
6. Earrings (Kiri's)
7. nail file
8. School papers
9. bobby pins and elastic bands
10. bic lighter
11. Postcards I filled out while in Virginia and never sent off
So, I'm a bit of a slob. Not hopelessly so, but I am somewhat of a clutter person. About twice a year I get the "I'm going to get organized" bug and clean furiously, finding the right place for all my things, and throwing away or giving away all those things I don't want or need anymore. It lasts about a week, then stuff starts getting piled up again.
My husband on the other hand is a clean freak. He is constantly vacuuming, picking up, and throwing things away. I get very angry sometimes when he throws my stuff away, but then I say to myself "Kodi, if you would've PUT it where it belonged instead of piling it on the kitchen table, he wouldn't have thrown it away." It keeps my clutter in check. He drives me crazy with the throwing away of things, but I'm sure I drive him crazy with the clutter. We even each other out.
Unfortunately, Kiri takes after her mother times 10, and her room is a disaster. I can't even look at it. It even drives me crazy, and I'm pretty lax on the cleaning stuff. But, my God, at least my shit is stuffed away out of sight. You can't even walk into her room without tripping, or slicing your foot open on some object or another. I gave up even trying to keep her room clean. Now, when she wants money, I make her clean her room. Bribery is the only way to win. How sad.
I was embarrassed when Becca and Sophie came to visit, because Soph wanted to see Kiri's fish and they saw how messy (and messy really doesn't even come close to describing it) Kiri's room is. But I know Becca and Soph love me and Kiri anyway, so whatever. I had a lovely visit with them, and felt silly that I forgot to offer Becca a glass of wine. She always offers me a drink when I visit her, and I totally failed in the hostess department. Sorry, Becca. Love ya girl.
Kiri seemed to enjoy her first couple days of school. She has been getting up pretty early to do her hair and makeup, which is okay until I try to get into the bathroom to brush my teeth or pee, or brush my teeth while peeing (hahahaha). I forgot what a bathroom hog she is. We need a bigger house with 2 bathrooms in it, damn it! The thing is, I don't want to CLEAN a bigger house. I tend to just find a drawer or closet and stuff things in them, and I know a bigger house would not cure me of that. I laughed at Becca's blog about things piled on the bookshelf when only books should reside there. Currently in (and on) my bookshelf I have....
1. books (but not neatly tucked as they should be but stuffed every which way because I have too many books and not enough room).
2. A teddy bear I brought back from Virginia
3. Photo albums
4. An eagle sculpture collecting mounds of dust
5. A toy car my dad gave me ages ago
6. Earrings (Kiri's)
7. nail file
8. School papers
9. bobby pins and elastic bands
10. bic lighter
11. Postcards I filled out while in Virginia and never sent off
So, I'm a bit of a slob. Not hopelessly so, but I am somewhat of a clutter person. About twice a year I get the "I'm going to get organized" bug and clean furiously, finding the right place for all my things, and throwing away or giving away all those things I don't want or need anymore. It lasts about a week, then stuff starts getting piled up again.
My husband on the other hand is a clean freak. He is constantly vacuuming, picking up, and throwing things away. I get very angry sometimes when he throws my stuff away, but then I say to myself "Kodi, if you would've PUT it where it belonged instead of piling it on the kitchen table, he wouldn't have thrown it away." It keeps my clutter in check. He drives me crazy with the throwing away of things, but I'm sure I drive him crazy with the clutter. We even each other out.
Unfortunately, Kiri takes after her mother times 10, and her room is a disaster. I can't even look at it. It even drives me crazy, and I'm pretty lax on the cleaning stuff. But, my God, at least my shit is stuffed away out of sight. You can't even walk into her room without tripping, or slicing your foot open on some object or another. I gave up even trying to keep her room clean. Now, when she wants money, I make her clean her room. Bribery is the only way to win. How sad.
I was embarrassed when Becca and Sophie came to visit, because Soph wanted to see Kiri's fish and they saw how messy (and messy really doesn't even come close to describing it) Kiri's room is. But I know Becca and Soph love me and Kiri anyway, so whatever. I had a lovely visit with them, and felt silly that I forgot to offer Becca a glass of wine. She always offers me a drink when I visit her, and I totally failed in the hostess department. Sorry, Becca. Love ya girl.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Count down to first day of school and my relative freedom
I say relative freedom because Kiri will still demand to be driven to BFE every day after school and on the weekends. But I will get 8 hours of no child and no husband every Monday, which will be fabulous.
Kiri and I went to back to school night on Thursday, and she is in for a tough year. She is taking some hard classes and someone needs to light a fire under her ass to keep her on top of things. I guess the fire lighter will have to be me, as Kendall is A. Working all the time and B. Too laid back and easy going to argue with Kiri to do her homework.
We walked into her science class to meet her teacher, and holy shit. Both of us couldn't quit staring, the man was gorgeous. I wish I would've had a good looking science teacher. Kiri turned and whispered to me "Is THAT my teacher?" and I nodded dumbly, as the man was just too cute for words.
Kendall and I went camping on Saturday. It was lovely. Ken made hotdogs and hamburgers on his new space aged grill that cost way too much while I drank vodka. We rode the horses until dark, then cuddled up in the tent right when it started raining. Can I just say how much I love my husband. I think most of the time all I think about or talk about is the negative bullshit with my husband. But truly he is a wonderful man.
I took some pics of us at the mountain, soon as I develop them, I'll post them (prolly next year, ha)
Kiri came back from a friends house with a dog. Ken put his foot down and said absolutely NO. Kiri was devastated, and I felt bad for her. Sometimes it is a good thing that Ken is so stubborn, because I probably would have caved and let her keep it. I was pissed at the lady who gave Kiri the dog without checking with her parents first. So today the dog goes back to it's original owner, and Kiri will cry her eyes out, and I'll feel like shit. God, who does that? Just gives a kid a dog without informing the parents of the decision? Jesus, I hate when she cries from real hurt and sorrow. Kiri will cry over being angry or over petty things sometimes, and that doesn't affect me much, but when she cries over being truly hurt in some way, I feel miserable too. When her tree frog died she cried for 2 days and I really felt bad. And I am always the one to dispose of the dead pets, which sucks. The tree frog had escaped and was a dead frog glued to the carpet of her bedroom, which I had to pry off the carpet as he fell to dead frog pieces. Gross. I flush the fish, I bury the hermit crabs and pet rats. Why do I give in so often and let her have these silly pets that never last more than a couple of years? I love to be miserable I guess. But I tried to tell her when she couldn't keep the dog that she has plenty of pets. She has a dog (lightning) and 2 fish (Mr. Crab, and Bullwinkle) and a horse (Musty, I know silly name). She really doesn't take care of the dog or horse, so I don't think another dog is a good idea. Whatever, she'll get over it soon.
I'm watching Sophie right now and she wants me to pretend to be a puppy, so I better go. She is so fun and smart. I love playing games with the sweet girl.
Kiri and I went to back to school night on Thursday, and she is in for a tough year. She is taking some hard classes and someone needs to light a fire under her ass to keep her on top of things. I guess the fire lighter will have to be me, as Kendall is A. Working all the time and B. Too laid back and easy going to argue with Kiri to do her homework.
We walked into her science class to meet her teacher, and holy shit. Both of us couldn't quit staring, the man was gorgeous. I wish I would've had a good looking science teacher. Kiri turned and whispered to me "Is THAT my teacher?" and I nodded dumbly, as the man was just too cute for words.
Kendall and I went camping on Saturday. It was lovely. Ken made hotdogs and hamburgers on his new space aged grill that cost way too much while I drank vodka. We rode the horses until dark, then cuddled up in the tent right when it started raining. Can I just say how much I love my husband. I think most of the time all I think about or talk about is the negative bullshit with my husband. But truly he is a wonderful man.
I took some pics of us at the mountain, soon as I develop them, I'll post them (prolly next year, ha)
Kiri came back from a friends house with a dog. Ken put his foot down and said absolutely NO. Kiri was devastated, and I felt bad for her. Sometimes it is a good thing that Ken is so stubborn, because I probably would have caved and let her keep it. I was pissed at the lady who gave Kiri the dog without checking with her parents first. So today the dog goes back to it's original owner, and Kiri will cry her eyes out, and I'll feel like shit. God, who does that? Just gives a kid a dog without informing the parents of the decision? Jesus, I hate when she cries from real hurt and sorrow. Kiri will cry over being angry or over petty things sometimes, and that doesn't affect me much, but when she cries over being truly hurt in some way, I feel miserable too. When her tree frog died she cried for 2 days and I really felt bad. And I am always the one to dispose of the dead pets, which sucks. The tree frog had escaped and was a dead frog glued to the carpet of her bedroom, which I had to pry off the carpet as he fell to dead frog pieces. Gross. I flush the fish, I bury the hermit crabs and pet rats. Why do I give in so often and let her have these silly pets that never last more than a couple of years? I love to be miserable I guess. But I tried to tell her when she couldn't keep the dog that she has plenty of pets. She has a dog (lightning) and 2 fish (Mr. Crab, and Bullwinkle) and a horse (Musty, I know silly name). She really doesn't take care of the dog or horse, so I don't think another dog is a good idea. Whatever, she'll get over it soon.
I'm watching Sophie right now and she wants me to pretend to be a puppy, so I better go. She is so fun and smart. I love playing games with the sweet girl.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Dentists suck
I'm off to the dentist. Not for me, but for Kiri. She has braces. $4,000.00 worth of braces. I had to get a stinking loan to pay for said braces. Every month these braces are tightened, and Kiri gets some weird new color of holders on her braces. One month it is purple, the next green. Whatever. I don't care what damn color they are, I don't see how they could possibly be worth $4,000. What a joke. And her dentist is too damn nice. He talks to me like I am a child, and I want to grab him by his nards and let him know in no uncertain terms that I am not stupid. I went to college for Christ sakes, I know where the fucking mandible is located. So take my money, and shut the hell up and fix her damn teeth.
I am thinking how fun it would be to go to the dentist drunk. I mean no inhibitions, say what you think, find yourself hilarious drunk. Totally tanked. I think the dismay and confusion on his face as I first tell him he's an overpriced hack, flirt with him outrageously, then barf in his spit sink would be priceless. Too bad I have to drive to the dentist, or the drunk thing might be a fun experiment.
Work was interesting today. It rained buckets last night and the rocks came tumbling down. We closed the scenic drive to move the gigantic boulders, and I had to deal with all the disappointed visitors who wished to visit. Not the much fun. One lady did bring in her own pink toilet seat cover with yellow daisies on it. Got a good chuckle over that. As I am not a germaphobe, I love to watch those people who are. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with being concerned about germs, but it certainly makes life more complicated, like, for instance carting your own toilet seat cover around where ever you go.
Gotta go see the dentist and smile while he asks me if I want to pick a toy from the magic treasure chest.
I am thinking how fun it would be to go to the dentist drunk. I mean no inhibitions, say what you think, find yourself hilarious drunk. Totally tanked. I think the dismay and confusion on his face as I first tell him he's an overpriced hack, flirt with him outrageously, then barf in his spit sink would be priceless. Too bad I have to drive to the dentist, or the drunk thing might be a fun experiment.
Work was interesting today. It rained buckets last night and the rocks came tumbling down. We closed the scenic drive to move the gigantic boulders, and I had to deal with all the disappointed visitors who wished to visit. Not the much fun. One lady did bring in her own pink toilet seat cover with yellow daisies on it. Got a good chuckle over that. As I am not a germaphobe, I love to watch those people who are. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with being concerned about germs, but it certainly makes life more complicated, like, for instance carting your own toilet seat cover around where ever you go.
Gotta go see the dentist and smile while he asks me if I want to pick a toy from the magic treasure chest.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Push the button
As many of you know, my friends and I are Karaoke junkies. Once Paul brought his extreme karaoke machine to a party at Becca's house. My wonderful, beautiful, gorgeous friend Jennifer and I commenced to hog the microphone and sing multiple songs in a row, laughing our asses off the whole time. We had a few drinks, and were feeling freaky. At one point, Paul came into the room to try and talk some sense into us about SHARING the karaoke time. Jennifer and I listened quietly, and nodded our heads appropriately. When Jen figured Paul was finished, she pointed at the karaoke machine which was paused on our next terrific number, and said simply "push the button." Now this may not sound hilarious to you, but I found it absolutely hysterical. I laughed long and hard, and often tease Jen by out of the blue telling her to "push the button."
It so happens when I was in Virginia, I was in an elevator with total strangers. At the time I was feeling rather numb from lack of sleep and intense humidity. The elevator doors closed and the stranger lady looks at her husband and says "push the button". At that moment I suddenly missed my friends so badly, I actually felt like I might cry. I didn't, but the possibility of tears was very real.
The feeling passed, and I had a wonderful experience in Virginia, but I just remember how melancholy I felt just by hearing that silly sentence.
Being rather sick at the moment (the snot factory is still in full production), I feel somewhat on the irritable side. So, I will take a clue from Becca's blog, and make a list of those things that really drive me crazy.
Things that drive me crazy
1. Redundancy (hahaha, damn I'm funny)
2. Snoring husbands
3. Snoring dogs under my bed
4. Doing all the dishes, then finding 10 empty cups and bowls in Kiri's room
5. People who drive across the country without doing any research what so ever on the places they wish to visit.
6. Rude flight attendants
7. squeeking Styrofoam cups or plates
8. Any kind of clicking, snapping, or beeping noises
9. People touching my face. I know that's sad, but for some reason when someone touches my face, it pisses me off
10. People invading my personal space. My friends have worked hard to cure me of this, and I can finally hug my friends freely, but there was a time when that made me very uncomfortable. Mostly now it only bothers me when people I don't know very well invade my personal space. I still can not stand to get a massage. Too much touching and closeness by total strangers.
11. Bad tippers. I've been a waitress, I know how hard it is, and even the best waitress has a bad day. And many times, bad service can be the fault of the cook, not the server. So, no matter what I always tip well.
12. Someone correcting my grammar. I actually have a great vocabulary, and very good grammar, but sometimes when I am excited or stressed, my grammar reverts to small town Utah talk. It also seems to be that the person who is correcting the grammar wishes to prove how much smarter they are than you, and I really hate smug grammar correctors.
13. When someone puts in a music CD, and doesn't listen to it completely or in order. I don't know why this bothers me, but it is along the same lines that once I start a book, I finish it, and I don't skip ahead. I must listen to a CD all the way through without skipping songs, or it bothers me.
So, now you all think I am a cranky bitch. Here are a few things that make me happy, just to even things out a little.
1. Buying t-shirts with cute sayings on them
2. Loosing 5 pounds
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Lusting after unattainable movie stars.
5. Boxes of wine
6. People who ask me questions about snakes, and are really interested in what I have to say
7. Seeing a black rat snake in Virginia
8. All of my fabulous friends, and their wonderful daughters.
9. Reading all of your blogs, and laughing out loud. You are all a witty bunch.
10. Riding my horse
11. Calling my brother when I'm drunk, and making him laugh.
12. Reading Jane Austen over and over
13. Brushing my daughters hair, though she doesn't let me do it very often any more.
It so happens when I was in Virginia, I was in an elevator with total strangers. At the time I was feeling rather numb from lack of sleep and intense humidity. The elevator doors closed and the stranger lady looks at her husband and says "push the button". At that moment I suddenly missed my friends so badly, I actually felt like I might cry. I didn't, but the possibility of tears was very real.
The feeling passed, and I had a wonderful experience in Virginia, but I just remember how melancholy I felt just by hearing that silly sentence.
Being rather sick at the moment (the snot factory is still in full production), I feel somewhat on the irritable side. So, I will take a clue from Becca's blog, and make a list of those things that really drive me crazy.
Things that drive me crazy
1. Redundancy (hahaha, damn I'm funny)
2. Snoring husbands
3. Snoring dogs under my bed
4. Doing all the dishes, then finding 10 empty cups and bowls in Kiri's room
5. People who drive across the country without doing any research what so ever on the places they wish to visit.
6. Rude flight attendants
7. squeeking Styrofoam cups or plates
8. Any kind of clicking, snapping, or beeping noises
9. People touching my face. I know that's sad, but for some reason when someone touches my face, it pisses me off
10. People invading my personal space. My friends have worked hard to cure me of this, and I can finally hug my friends freely, but there was a time when that made me very uncomfortable. Mostly now it only bothers me when people I don't know very well invade my personal space. I still can not stand to get a massage. Too much touching and closeness by total strangers.
11. Bad tippers. I've been a waitress, I know how hard it is, and even the best waitress has a bad day. And many times, bad service can be the fault of the cook, not the server. So, no matter what I always tip well.
12. Someone correcting my grammar. I actually have a great vocabulary, and very good grammar, but sometimes when I am excited or stressed, my grammar reverts to small town Utah talk. It also seems to be that the person who is correcting the grammar wishes to prove how much smarter they are than you, and I really hate smug grammar correctors.
13. When someone puts in a music CD, and doesn't listen to it completely or in order. I don't know why this bothers me, but it is along the same lines that once I start a book, I finish it, and I don't skip ahead. I must listen to a CD all the way through without skipping songs, or it bothers me.
So, now you all think I am a cranky bitch. Here are a few things that make me happy, just to even things out a little.
1. Buying t-shirts with cute sayings on them
2. Loosing 5 pounds
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Lusting after unattainable movie stars.
5. Boxes of wine
6. People who ask me questions about snakes, and are really interested in what I have to say
7. Seeing a black rat snake in Virginia
8. All of my fabulous friends, and their wonderful daughters.
9. Reading all of your blogs, and laughing out loud. You are all a witty bunch.
10. Riding my horse
11. Calling my brother when I'm drunk, and making him laugh.
12. Reading Jane Austen over and over
13. Brushing my daughters hair, though she doesn't let me do it very often any more.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
I'm back, from outer space...er, Virginia
HELLO!!!!!! I'm back. God, it is good to be home. What a trip. I can hardly think where to begin. Well, I guess I'll begin at the beginning.
The Boy Scout Jamboree, by kosihoho
The plane ride over to Virginia was uneventful. I did see the Washington monument from the plane as we were landing, but never had the time to visit much. I was picked up at the airport by my old friend Bruce, with whom I used to work with. I was wandering around with my stupid Park service ball cap on, hoping someone would see it and think "oh, there is the girl I'm supposed to pick up at the airport." Someone very smart was in charge, and sent the one other jamboree participant who would recognize me. Bruce is a great guy, and it was a lot of fun to work with him again.
As it turned out, the smart someone in charge was a funny lady named Jodi. What is really mindblowing is that she and I look a lot alike. Eerily alike. I'm Kodi, she's Jodi. Both Park Service employees, both Leave no Trace master educators. We're both short with cute little pixie noses, and blue eyes. Same build, same crazy hair (mine is colored blond however), same interests, like the same books and movies. People kept asking us if we were sisters, or would think we were the same person, and be all confused when I didn't know what the hell they were talking about because they had discussed it with Jodi. I finally met my twin in the world. It was very cool, and we became good friends immediately.
I didn't sleep well the first night due to nerves, and got up at 6:00 a.m. the next day (4:00 a.m. my time) a little groggy. We drove to the fort where the jamboree was held and got all of our stuff together and waited for the scouts to arrive. And boy did they arrive. Droves of boy scouts, all eager and cute in their uniforms. I have to say, my opinion of boy scouts has changed a little, after meeting so many eager, happy, well mannered scouts over the week.
When I got back to the hotel the first day of the Jamboree, I turned on the news and saw the story on the 4 scout leaders killed there. It was heartbreaking, and you could see a change in the scouts the next day. They were quieter, sadder, and somewhat somber. My heart really goes out to those poor men who were killed, and the poor boys who watched their fathers or leaders die right in front of them.
During my discussions with the boy scouts, I never really had much of a break throughout the day. When I had to pee, I would signal to someone to come take over my station, then I would have to walk a half a mile to the bathroom. So that's a mile roundtrip to pee, and no time for lunch. I would get back to the hotel ravenous and tired, so then would commence to plowing through a huge dinner and then collapsing on the bed.
Wednesday was my birthday, and we worked until 3:00 p.m. that day. They cut the exhibits short because the President was supposed to be coming. They visitors and boy scouts had to arrive at the open grassy field they called "the arena" 3 hours early and sit in the blazing sun forever, because the prez. wouldn't even leave Washington until everyone was seated. It takes a while to get 75,000 people through security and seated. The consequences of this stupid move on the organizers part was that 300 people dropped from heat exhaustion and had to be airlifted out of the base. For crying out loud, people! Use your goddamned brains for once. It was like 98 degrees and 70% humidity, so the heat index was somewhere around 115 degrees. What could they have possibly been thinking? I was very glad I decided to not go see the president, because I was not used to the humidity and already thought I would melt earlier in the day. A bunch of brainless assholes. And the President didn't even show up, he canceled.
For my birthday, Jodi took me to the movie that night. We saw The Island, with Ewan Mcgreggor. Wish I was on an island with Ewan Mcgreggor.
After an exhausting yet, I feel, a very fulfilling week, I'm finally home. I met Kiri at the Salt Lake airport with my sister in law, and the two of us flew home on a little tiny plane. I feel pretty good this morning, other than I now have a raging head cold and have become, apparently, a snot producing factory. I am now going to call my friend Becca and give her a birthday gift I found in Virginia, and find out why the hell she isn't blogging anymore.
Thank you all for worrying about me while I was gone. I am fine, and happy to be home. I will definitely go again in 2010 for the next jamboree, if they invite me.
The Boy Scout Jamboree, by kosihoho
The plane ride over to Virginia was uneventful. I did see the Washington monument from the plane as we were landing, but never had the time to visit much. I was picked up at the airport by my old friend Bruce, with whom I used to work with. I was wandering around with my stupid Park service ball cap on, hoping someone would see it and think "oh, there is the girl I'm supposed to pick up at the airport." Someone very smart was in charge, and sent the one other jamboree participant who would recognize me. Bruce is a great guy, and it was a lot of fun to work with him again.
As it turned out, the smart someone in charge was a funny lady named Jodi. What is really mindblowing is that she and I look a lot alike. Eerily alike. I'm Kodi, she's Jodi. Both Park Service employees, both Leave no Trace master educators. We're both short with cute little pixie noses, and blue eyes. Same build, same crazy hair (mine is colored blond however), same interests, like the same books and movies. People kept asking us if we were sisters, or would think we were the same person, and be all confused when I didn't know what the hell they were talking about because they had discussed it with Jodi. I finally met my twin in the world. It was very cool, and we became good friends immediately.
I didn't sleep well the first night due to nerves, and got up at 6:00 a.m. the next day (4:00 a.m. my time) a little groggy. We drove to the fort where the jamboree was held and got all of our stuff together and waited for the scouts to arrive. And boy did they arrive. Droves of boy scouts, all eager and cute in their uniforms. I have to say, my opinion of boy scouts has changed a little, after meeting so many eager, happy, well mannered scouts over the week.
When I got back to the hotel the first day of the Jamboree, I turned on the news and saw the story on the 4 scout leaders killed there. It was heartbreaking, and you could see a change in the scouts the next day. They were quieter, sadder, and somewhat somber. My heart really goes out to those poor men who were killed, and the poor boys who watched their fathers or leaders die right in front of them.
During my discussions with the boy scouts, I never really had much of a break throughout the day. When I had to pee, I would signal to someone to come take over my station, then I would have to walk a half a mile to the bathroom. So that's a mile roundtrip to pee, and no time for lunch. I would get back to the hotel ravenous and tired, so then would commence to plowing through a huge dinner and then collapsing on the bed.
Wednesday was my birthday, and we worked until 3:00 p.m. that day. They cut the exhibits short because the President was supposed to be coming. They visitors and boy scouts had to arrive at the open grassy field they called "the arena" 3 hours early and sit in the blazing sun forever, because the prez. wouldn't even leave Washington until everyone was seated. It takes a while to get 75,000 people through security and seated. The consequences of this stupid move on the organizers part was that 300 people dropped from heat exhaustion and had to be airlifted out of the base. For crying out loud, people! Use your goddamned brains for once. It was like 98 degrees and 70% humidity, so the heat index was somewhere around 115 degrees. What could they have possibly been thinking? I was very glad I decided to not go see the president, because I was not used to the humidity and already thought I would melt earlier in the day. A bunch of brainless assholes. And the President didn't even show up, he canceled.
For my birthday, Jodi took me to the movie that night. We saw The Island, with Ewan Mcgreggor. Wish I was on an island with Ewan Mcgreggor.
After an exhausting yet, I feel, a very fulfilling week, I'm finally home. I met Kiri at the Salt Lake airport with my sister in law, and the two of us flew home on a little tiny plane. I feel pretty good this morning, other than I now have a raging head cold and have become, apparently, a snot producing factory. I am now going to call my friend Becca and give her a birthday gift I found in Virginia, and find out why the hell she isn't blogging anymore.
Thank you all for worrying about me while I was gone. I am fine, and happy to be home. I will definitely go again in 2010 for the next jamboree, if they invite me.
Friday, July 22, 2005
My inconsistent ramblings
This will probably be my last post until I get back from the Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia. I should rename my blog to inconsistent ramblings, as I seem to only blog once a week. Often times I sit in front of the computer, and can't think of a thing to say. Being a Leo, I am compelled to be witty and wise at all times so as to remain the center of attention. If I can't think of anything incredibly funny or poignant, I tend not to blog at all.
I had a question in my comments from NME about my trip to Europe. So, here goes.
Last September, Kiri, myself, my brother, his wife, their son, and my grandmother all went to Norway. My grandmother was born and raised in Norway. She lived through the Nazi occupation as a teenager, enduring many tragic and horrific things. After the war, my grandmother and grandfather got married and (as usually happens) got pregnant. At that time, because of the devastation of the war, the Norwegian economy was in ruins, and there was no food. They toughed it out for several years, but things didn't get better. So, in the belief that life would be better and easier in America, they moved to the United States.
I am very proud of my Norwegian heritage, and we got this wild hair to all travel together and see the place where my mother was born and my grandmother grew up. It was fabulous. I really am at a loss for words at the beauty of the country. We saw Viking boats dating back before Christ, we saw wooden Christian churches dating back to 1100 A.D. We visited relatives I have heard of but never met. We rode on ferries touring the fjords. I saw so many waterfalls, my eyeballs almost bugged out of my head. As this was probably the last time my 83 year old grandmother would see her homeland, the trip was all the more precious. That my daughter could experience her heritage with her grandmother was truly incredible. I only wish I could've seen Norway with my mother.
My mother has Lupus, and can't travel. She still speaks fluent Norwegian, and remembers her 5 short years living there. She never got her U.S citizenship, because she really does consider herself a Norwegian living in the U.S. She has gone back to Norway a few times before she became sick. I hope someday when she is well she can go back again, but I don't know if that will ever happen.
Sorry to end on a depressing note. I'll blog again when I get back, and I promise to be witty and upbeat the whole time.
I had a question in my comments from NME about my trip to Europe. So, here goes.
Last September, Kiri, myself, my brother, his wife, their son, and my grandmother all went to Norway. My grandmother was born and raised in Norway. She lived through the Nazi occupation as a teenager, enduring many tragic and horrific things. After the war, my grandmother and grandfather got married and (as usually happens) got pregnant. At that time, because of the devastation of the war, the Norwegian economy was in ruins, and there was no food. They toughed it out for several years, but things didn't get better. So, in the belief that life would be better and easier in America, they moved to the United States.
I am very proud of my Norwegian heritage, and we got this wild hair to all travel together and see the place where my mother was born and my grandmother grew up. It was fabulous. I really am at a loss for words at the beauty of the country. We saw Viking boats dating back before Christ, we saw wooden Christian churches dating back to 1100 A.D. We visited relatives I have heard of but never met. We rode on ferries touring the fjords. I saw so many waterfalls, my eyeballs almost bugged out of my head. As this was probably the last time my 83 year old grandmother would see her homeland, the trip was all the more precious. That my daughter could experience her heritage with her grandmother was truly incredible. I only wish I could've seen Norway with my mother.
My mother has Lupus, and can't travel. She still speaks fluent Norwegian, and remembers her 5 short years living there. She never got her U.S citizenship, because she really does consider herself a Norwegian living in the U.S. She has gone back to Norway a few times before she became sick. I hope someday when she is well she can go back again, but I don't know if that will ever happen.
Sorry to end on a depressing note. I'll blog again when I get back, and I promise to be witty and upbeat the whole time.
Monday, July 18, 2005
I miss my sweet girl
I just got back from dropping my daughter off at my parents house. She'll be with them for a week, then she's going to Northern Utah with my brother for a week. That totals 2 whole weeks without my sweet girl. I miss her terribly already. I miss the way she makes me laugh, I miss her silly stories, I miss our deep serious talks, and I sorta miss yelling at her to clean her room.
Kiri is very excited though, because when I fly into Salt Lake City from Virginia in 2 weeks, she is going to meet me at the SLC airport and we are flying the last leg home together. She loved when we flew all over the place when we went to Europe, and is looking forward to a short fight on a "puddle jumper" plane rather than a big huge plane. I must remember to take my motion sickness pills with me, or I will be miserable the whole time, especially on that little plane.
I get to spend my birthday working in Virginia. I think I'll make my old work buddy Bruce take me to the tavern on my birthday and have a few drinks with me. I also need to look for cool unique presents for my mother's birthday, Kelli's birthday, and Becca's birthday (though I already got Becca a t-shirt of The Cure, I think I'll look for some Civil War something or other for her while I'm back east. Shhhh, don't tell her, its a secret!).
On Friday they are shooting a commercial in the Park for the Honda Goldwing. Which is a motorcycle I think. I get to do traffic control during the shoot, so that will be fun. I will also work a 13 hour day, which I haven't done since I was in my 20s. Should be interesting, and I am looking forward to it in spite of the long hours.
I think I will call Becca, and see what's up.
Kiri is very excited though, because when I fly into Salt Lake City from Virginia in 2 weeks, she is going to meet me at the SLC airport and we are flying the last leg home together. She loved when we flew all over the place when we went to Europe, and is looking forward to a short fight on a "puddle jumper" plane rather than a big huge plane. I must remember to take my motion sickness pills with me, or I will be miserable the whole time, especially on that little plane.
I get to spend my birthday working in Virginia. I think I'll make my old work buddy Bruce take me to the tavern on my birthday and have a few drinks with me. I also need to look for cool unique presents for my mother's birthday, Kelli's birthday, and Becca's birthday (though I already got Becca a t-shirt of The Cure, I think I'll look for some Civil War something or other for her while I'm back east. Shhhh, don't tell her, its a secret!).
On Friday they are shooting a commercial in the Park for the Honda Goldwing. Which is a motorcycle I think. I get to do traffic control during the shoot, so that will be fun. I will also work a 13 hour day, which I haven't done since I was in my 20s. Should be interesting, and I am looking forward to it in spite of the long hours.
I think I will call Becca, and see what's up.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Fire, fire
There is a fire in the Park. I drove up the road during a dry thunderstorm, and lo and behold, there was a fire. I called dispatch on the radio to report it, and stayed at work a little longer to monitor it. It is way cool when the helicopters fly over and dump gigantic buckets of water on the fires. Unfortunately this year I didn't get my red card to fight fires. I usually do, but when they call me on a fire they want a two week commitment. I have a teenage daughter. I can't be away from home for two weeks. So, I decided to not be a (sometimes, on rare occasions) wildland firefighter anymore.
Kiri and I are going to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tonight. I'm looking forward to it, with all its crazy oddball-ness of Burton and Depp. I'll let you know if it is good or not.
I'm getting ready for my trip to Virginia in a week. Kiri is spending two weeks with my parents while I'm gone. It should be fun, sort of. I will love seeing Virginia for the first time, and visiting all those Civil War Parks in the area. Maybe I'll even get to dress in Civil War regalia and drink ale in a tavern. But, the thought of teaching 50,000 Boy Scouts about Leave No Trace at the national jamboree is a little daunting. Boy Scouts are the bane of a Park Ranger's existence. Every year I deal with boy scouts chopping down trees in the Park (illegal), starting fires (really illegal), catching snakes and lizards (illegal and pisses me off), vandalizing Native American sites (stupid and illegal), getting lost (not the kids fault, but really idiotic leaders), picking flowers - carving names in trees - littering-and generally making nuisances of themselves. The Boy Scout program is a wonderful tool for boys to learn to love the outdoors, but the leaders don't inspire any standard of land stewardship or ethic. They think they can do what they want. And so, now when I hike in some of my favorite places, I see wreck and ruin. WE have a responsibility to preserve the wild places so our children can experience them in the same condition that we did. And a responsibility to teach our children to love, enjoy and protect the few pristine wilderness areas our country has left. If people continue to cut down trees in our National Parks, litter, and poach, VERY soon there will be nothing left. It truly makes me want to weep.
Sorry, I am now off of my soap box.
So, it's off to Virginia next week, and I hope I can make a difference in some small way. God, I love my job.
I was getting coffee the other morning at a gas station before work, and this fellow saw me in uniform. He approached me and asked how the fishing was at Navajo Lake. I get this question all the time. I used to get irritated and tell them that I was a Park Ranger not a Forest Ranger or a Fish and Game Warden. But, I now realize that most people don't know the difference. Our uniforms are similar, and unless you work for a Federal or State land agency, you really wouldn't see a difference. So, now I check up on all the local fishing area updates. When asked, I smile prettily and tell them "the fishing is really good at Navajo right now."
Even my mother gets it wrong. Last month I heard her tell a friend that I was a Forest Ranger. It is somewhat irritating, as I have been a Park Ranger for 8 years now. She also tells people that I am the Wildlife Biologist for the Park, which is completely untrue, but it makes her look good in her friend's eyes. I guess since I didn't pursue my original goal of being a Veterinarian, nothing is quite good enough for her. Whatever. It doesn't bother me any more. I love her anyway.
Well, I'm off to the movies. Love to all, and don't forget ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES (which is from the Forest Service mascot Smokey Bear. not Smokey the Bear, that is wrong. It's just Smokey Bear. No the in the middle. Park Service doesn't have a mascot. I'll have to create one someday.)
Kiri and I are going to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tonight. I'm looking forward to it, with all its crazy oddball-ness of Burton and Depp. I'll let you know if it is good or not.
I'm getting ready for my trip to Virginia in a week. Kiri is spending two weeks with my parents while I'm gone. It should be fun, sort of. I will love seeing Virginia for the first time, and visiting all those Civil War Parks in the area. Maybe I'll even get to dress in Civil War regalia and drink ale in a tavern. But, the thought of teaching 50,000 Boy Scouts about Leave No Trace at the national jamboree is a little daunting. Boy Scouts are the bane of a Park Ranger's existence. Every year I deal with boy scouts chopping down trees in the Park (illegal), starting fires (really illegal), catching snakes and lizards (illegal and pisses me off), vandalizing Native American sites (stupid and illegal), getting lost (not the kids fault, but really idiotic leaders), picking flowers - carving names in trees - littering-and generally making nuisances of themselves. The Boy Scout program is a wonderful tool for boys to learn to love the outdoors, but the leaders don't inspire any standard of land stewardship or ethic. They think they can do what they want. And so, now when I hike in some of my favorite places, I see wreck and ruin. WE have a responsibility to preserve the wild places so our children can experience them in the same condition that we did. And a responsibility to teach our children to love, enjoy and protect the few pristine wilderness areas our country has left. If people continue to cut down trees in our National Parks, litter, and poach, VERY soon there will be nothing left. It truly makes me want to weep.
Sorry, I am now off of my soap box.
So, it's off to Virginia next week, and I hope I can make a difference in some small way. God, I love my job.
I was getting coffee the other morning at a gas station before work, and this fellow saw me in uniform. He approached me and asked how the fishing was at Navajo Lake. I get this question all the time. I used to get irritated and tell them that I was a Park Ranger not a Forest Ranger or a Fish and Game Warden. But, I now realize that most people don't know the difference. Our uniforms are similar, and unless you work for a Federal or State land agency, you really wouldn't see a difference. So, now I check up on all the local fishing area updates. When asked, I smile prettily and tell them "the fishing is really good at Navajo right now."
Even my mother gets it wrong. Last month I heard her tell a friend that I was a Forest Ranger. It is somewhat irritating, as I have been a Park Ranger for 8 years now. She also tells people that I am the Wildlife Biologist for the Park, which is completely untrue, but it makes her look good in her friend's eyes. I guess since I didn't pursue my original goal of being a Veterinarian, nothing is quite good enough for her. Whatever. It doesn't bother me any more. I love her anyway.
Well, I'm off to the movies. Love to all, and don't forget ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES (which is from the Forest Service mascot Smokey Bear. not Smokey the Bear, that is wrong. It's just Smokey Bear. No the in the middle. Park Service doesn't have a mascot. I'll have to create one someday.)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Friends, vodka, camping, and general panic
It's official. I'm a blog slacker. I can't seem to make time to hit the computer after work. Things should get better now, though. We put the horses in the mountain pasture, so I don't have to feed them every night. So, here I am, finally blogging again, and I have much to report.
Friday Becca and I went over to Jen's house for a candle party (not Jen's, but a friend). We decided after one cosmopolitan to bag the candle party and just hang. We commenced to the drinking of much vodka. It was fun, though I had to work the next day with a slight headache and massive sleep deprivation.
So, I made it through Saturday, and my weekend finally started. We decided to take the horses up to the mountain pasture, as it was a very wet year and it is HORSE PARADISE right now. The grass is belly high to a Lightning dog. That's what my husband said, anyway. Actually it was belly high to Andre the Giant. Anyway, I decided to camp out that night on the mountain with the horses, just to make sure they adjust to the new digs. Ken had to work the next day, leaving the camping to Kiri and I. We pitched a tent, roasted hot dogs, and marshmallows, told stories, and laughed our butts off. Then we decided to ride the horses before it got too dark. We were riding around, enjoying ourselves when this truck drives through the pasture. It's this dude with sheep on the other side of us, and he uses our road to access his animals. He stops and asks Kiri and I if we were riding the horses out that night. I told him that the horses were staying in the pasture for the rest of the summer, so please make sure he closes the gate after him. He leaves.
Kiri and I spend more time around the camp fire, which was a rare thing for me because I teach and practice Leave No Trace outdoor ethics, and camp fires are one of the worst things you can do to trash a pristine environment. My husband feels this is hogwash, so he made us a fire in spite of my misgivings. And it was fun, though I made sure everything was burned to ash and cleaned up all our trash. Finally, around midnight we climb in the tent and try to sleep. But Kiri and I had the giggles, and she kept quoting Austin Powers, asking me if I wanted a "smoke and a pancake". Every time she said it with a Sean Connery accent, I would bust up laughing. A good hour later, we fell asleep.
A painful need to pee woke me up around 6 am. We got up, ate some pudding for breakfast, then went to look for the horses. Guess what? NO HORSES. I drive up the road and that fucking bastard from the night before had left the gate open after I asked him to close it. The horses could be anywhere on the mountain at this point. Kiri is in tears, I'm raging mad and worried sick. I tell Kiri to start walking one way, and I'll go the other then to turn around after a half and hour and meet back up. We walk and walk and walk. Then we drive and drive and drive. Still no horses. After 2 hours, I tell Kiri that the horses have to be in the pasture. That is where the water is. The pasture, mind you, is huge. So we go back to the pasture. Kiri walks one way, I walk the other. After climbing up a steep ass ridge line in cowboy boots (not good for hiking) for about 45 minutes, I find the damn horses. They were there the whole time, the bastards, probably watching us run around like crazy panicked morons looking for them. What a relief. So we go riding again and head home. I told my father in law about the fucker that left the gate open and he called the guy and chewed his ass. I've never seen my father in law angry before, and I was glad it wasn't directed at me.
All in all, it was a great weekend, with some good bonding moments for Kiri and I. It was nice to have just the two of us stuck together in the woods, forced to amuse one another and remember how much we like hanging out.
I think I'll go have a smoke and a pancake.
Funny Visitor Question:
Visitor: when do the self-guided tours start?
Ranger: uh, whenever you tell yourself to start them.
Friday Becca and I went over to Jen's house for a candle party (not Jen's, but a friend). We decided after one cosmopolitan to bag the candle party and just hang. We commenced to the drinking of much vodka. It was fun, though I had to work the next day with a slight headache and massive sleep deprivation.
So, I made it through Saturday, and my weekend finally started. We decided to take the horses up to the mountain pasture, as it was a very wet year and it is HORSE PARADISE right now. The grass is belly high to a Lightning dog. That's what my husband said, anyway. Actually it was belly high to Andre the Giant. Anyway, I decided to camp out that night on the mountain with the horses, just to make sure they adjust to the new digs. Ken had to work the next day, leaving the camping to Kiri and I. We pitched a tent, roasted hot dogs, and marshmallows, told stories, and laughed our butts off. Then we decided to ride the horses before it got too dark. We were riding around, enjoying ourselves when this truck drives through the pasture. It's this dude with sheep on the other side of us, and he uses our road to access his animals. He stops and asks Kiri and I if we were riding the horses out that night. I told him that the horses were staying in the pasture for the rest of the summer, so please make sure he closes the gate after him. He leaves.
Kiri and I spend more time around the camp fire, which was a rare thing for me because I teach and practice Leave No Trace outdoor ethics, and camp fires are one of the worst things you can do to trash a pristine environment. My husband feels this is hogwash, so he made us a fire in spite of my misgivings. And it was fun, though I made sure everything was burned to ash and cleaned up all our trash. Finally, around midnight we climb in the tent and try to sleep. But Kiri and I had the giggles, and she kept quoting Austin Powers, asking me if I wanted a "smoke and a pancake". Every time she said it with a Sean Connery accent, I would bust up laughing. A good hour later, we fell asleep.
A painful need to pee woke me up around 6 am. We got up, ate some pudding for breakfast, then went to look for the horses. Guess what? NO HORSES. I drive up the road and that fucking bastard from the night before had left the gate open after I asked him to close it. The horses could be anywhere on the mountain at this point. Kiri is in tears, I'm raging mad and worried sick. I tell Kiri to start walking one way, and I'll go the other then to turn around after a half and hour and meet back up. We walk and walk and walk. Then we drive and drive and drive. Still no horses. After 2 hours, I tell Kiri that the horses have to be in the pasture. That is where the water is. The pasture, mind you, is huge. So we go back to the pasture. Kiri walks one way, I walk the other. After climbing up a steep ass ridge line in cowboy boots (not good for hiking) for about 45 minutes, I find the damn horses. They were there the whole time, the bastards, probably watching us run around like crazy panicked morons looking for them. What a relief. So we go riding again and head home. I told my father in law about the fucker that left the gate open and he called the guy and chewed his ass. I've never seen my father in law angry before, and I was glad it wasn't directed at me.
All in all, it was a great weekend, with some good bonding moments for Kiri and I. It was nice to have just the two of us stuck together in the woods, forced to amuse one another and remember how much we like hanging out.
I think I'll go have a smoke and a pancake.
Funny Visitor Question:
Visitor: when do the self-guided tours start?
Ranger: uh, whenever you tell yourself to start them.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Least Favorite Holiday
The fourth of July has always been my least favorite holiday. Here are the reasons why.
1. I like to sleep. I like to sleep a lot, and I get extremely annoyed when all the stupid fuckers in my town feel the need to set off fireworks throughout the fucking night. The big town display is okay, some safe legal private fireworks before and after... okay, UNTIL the clock strikes midnight. After that anyone letting off fireworks should have a bottle rocket shoved up their bum. I usually have to work the next day, so my fuse is very short when it comes to interruptions of my much treasured sleep.
2. Fourth of July means it's time for the big Family Reunion for my in-laws. I love my Mother and Father-in-law, however I am NOTHING like the rest of the in-law family. I don't know how to talk to them, and they feel the same about me. I am a liberal in a sea of conservatives. I am a agnostic in the Mormon temple. I am a environmentalists in a jungle of consumers. I am a girl with a tattoo and a nose ring surrounded by slacks and modest shirts. I wear little to no makeup, and just let my hair hang loose and natural. They wear massive amounts of makeup, perfume, and have big hair with lots of hairspray. I would rather go home and sleep.
3. I never get to do what I want to do on the fourth. Someone will make demands of me that I would rather not do, but feel obligated to do anyway. For instance, my husband will want me to spend the day with his family, which is okay, but I'd rather spend it with my friends drinking wine and singing karaoke. Or my daughter will want me to drive her all over the place from one activity to the next. That's okay too, but I'd rather read my book. Or my step kids will want to go fishing. Fishing is fun, but I end up cooking the fish for dinner that night for everyone, which also means a trip to the much hated grocery store, and of course no one helps me carry the groceries into the house or put them away. I'd rather play backgammon with Becca or go hiking with Jen.
4. Can't think of a four, but will reiterate how much I hate the stupid bastards that keep me up all night with fireworks when I have to wake up at 6:00 a.m. for work.
As you can see, I am in a really cranky mood tonight. I plan on sleeping in, then drinking coffee and reading my book tomorrow. I am looking forward to the BBQ with friends tomorrow night, but even then I have the dreaded 4th looming, knowing that Monday will be misery.
I need to work on my temper and my lack of tolerance. Or maybe I will get the stomach flu, and have an excuse to lay around all day instead.
1. I like to sleep. I like to sleep a lot, and I get extremely annoyed when all the stupid fuckers in my town feel the need to set off fireworks throughout the fucking night. The big town display is okay, some safe legal private fireworks before and after... okay, UNTIL the clock strikes midnight. After that anyone letting off fireworks should have a bottle rocket shoved up their bum. I usually have to work the next day, so my fuse is very short when it comes to interruptions of my much treasured sleep.
2. Fourth of July means it's time for the big Family Reunion for my in-laws. I love my Mother and Father-in-law, however I am NOTHING like the rest of the in-law family. I don't know how to talk to them, and they feel the same about me. I am a liberal in a sea of conservatives. I am a agnostic in the Mormon temple. I am a environmentalists in a jungle of consumers. I am a girl with a tattoo and a nose ring surrounded by slacks and modest shirts. I wear little to no makeup, and just let my hair hang loose and natural. They wear massive amounts of makeup, perfume, and have big hair with lots of hairspray. I would rather go home and sleep.
3. I never get to do what I want to do on the fourth. Someone will make demands of me that I would rather not do, but feel obligated to do anyway. For instance, my husband will want me to spend the day with his family, which is okay, but I'd rather spend it with my friends drinking wine and singing karaoke. Or my daughter will want me to drive her all over the place from one activity to the next. That's okay too, but I'd rather read my book. Or my step kids will want to go fishing. Fishing is fun, but I end up cooking the fish for dinner that night for everyone, which also means a trip to the much hated grocery store, and of course no one helps me carry the groceries into the house or put them away. I'd rather play backgammon with Becca or go hiking with Jen.
4. Can't think of a four, but will reiterate how much I hate the stupid bastards that keep me up all night with fireworks when I have to wake up at 6:00 a.m. for work.
As you can see, I am in a really cranky mood tonight. I plan on sleeping in, then drinking coffee and reading my book tomorrow. I am looking forward to the BBQ with friends tomorrow night, but even then I have the dreaded 4th looming, knowing that Monday will be misery.
I need to work on my temper and my lack of tolerance. Or maybe I will get the stomach flu, and have an excuse to lay around all day instead.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Movie madness
I took Kiri and 2 of her friends to see "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" last night. It was a very cute movie, and Brad Pitt was adorable in it. I want to fight Brad, and roll around on the floor until we have an incredible aggressive kiss and start knocking things off the counter to have wild sex.
The funny thing was Kiri didn't want me to go with them. She threw attitude at me, saying I could see it some other night. I told her I really wanted to see it, and as I was already taking her and her friends, I might as well go as well. So then she comes up with a brilliant plan of me dropping her and her friends off at the theatre, then driving away and coming back 5 minutes later to then sneak into the theatre so her friends wouldn't see me. I told her it was ridiculous. When we got there, one of her friends was short on cash, so I went to the box office and bought everyone's tickets, including one for me, and just marched into the theatre. Kiri shot me a beseeching look, but I ignored her and had a great time, even though I sat all by myself (by choice) so her and her friends could giggle and talk without me hearing every word. She's a funny kid. I remember the days when she would cry if I didn't take her to the damn grocery store, or forced me to go see those seriously miserable Pokemon movies. It's sad yet also heartening to see her becoming such an independent woman.
I read her middle school year book and was shocked. There were several entries by boys mentioning the size of her boobs. My God! No one said anything like that to me in middle school and I had pretty big boobs. Well, once someone called me anonymously to tell me I had the biggest boobs in school, but no one dared write it down and sign their name after. I am dreading when Kiri gets into High School.
Love to all.
The funny thing was Kiri didn't want me to go with them. She threw attitude at me, saying I could see it some other night. I told her I really wanted to see it, and as I was already taking her and her friends, I might as well go as well. So then she comes up with a brilliant plan of me dropping her and her friends off at the theatre, then driving away and coming back 5 minutes later to then sneak into the theatre so her friends wouldn't see me. I told her it was ridiculous. When we got there, one of her friends was short on cash, so I went to the box office and bought everyone's tickets, including one for me, and just marched into the theatre. Kiri shot me a beseeching look, but I ignored her and had a great time, even though I sat all by myself (by choice) so her and her friends could giggle and talk without me hearing every word. She's a funny kid. I remember the days when she would cry if I didn't take her to the damn grocery store, or forced me to go see those seriously miserable Pokemon movies. It's sad yet also heartening to see her becoming such an independent woman.
I read her middle school year book and was shocked. There were several entries by boys mentioning the size of her boobs. My God! No one said anything like that to me in middle school and I had pretty big boobs. Well, once someone called me anonymously to tell me I had the biggest boobs in school, but no one dared write it down and sign their name after. I am dreading when Kiri gets into High School.
Love to all.
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Sunday, Lazy Sunday
I slept in until 9:30 this morning. Damn that felt good. I have a relatively clean house, the dishes are done, the laundry is finished, the carpet has been vacuumed. What shall I do for the rest of the day? Hmmmmmm. Maybe I'll go rent some movies and spend the day on the couch. Or maybe I'll go eat a sandwich at the new deli in town. So many decisions.
I will definitely go horse riding this afternoon when it isn't blazing hot. I have a major farmers tan happening, and I was telling my friends that I was going to go riding with a tank top and even things out a little. Some expressed their opinions on the intelligence of intentional burning of the skin, others gave me advice on the best way to tan and NOT burn terribly. I love my friends. Becca gave me a bumper sticker that reads "My friends kick ass". How true.
We made it to the Sportsman for karaoke on Friday. It was a hoot. I only got to sing one song, because I work on Saturday and had to get up early, so I felt like a party pooper. I REALLY wanted to stay longer and sing some more, and hear my friends sing, but my sense of responsibility made me go home after a couple drinks and a song and get some sleep so I could be cheery, happy, not hungover Ranger Kodi. BLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!(that was supposed to be the sound of a big raspberry).
I plan on going over and seeing Becca today. Happy happy happy Sunday.
I will definitely go horse riding this afternoon when it isn't blazing hot. I have a major farmers tan happening, and I was telling my friends that I was going to go riding with a tank top and even things out a little. Some expressed their opinions on the intelligence of intentional burning of the skin, others gave me advice on the best way to tan and NOT burn terribly. I love my friends. Becca gave me a bumper sticker that reads "My friends kick ass". How true.
We made it to the Sportsman for karaoke on Friday. It was a hoot. I only got to sing one song, because I work on Saturday and had to get up early, so I felt like a party pooper. I REALLY wanted to stay longer and sing some more, and hear my friends sing, but my sense of responsibility made me go home after a couple drinks and a song and get some sleep so I could be cheery, happy, not hungover Ranger Kodi. BLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!(that was supposed to be the sound of a big raspberry).
I plan on going over and seeing Becca today. Happy happy happy Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
