Get up come on get down with the sickness

Yep, I'm sick. Not sick have to stay in bed and do nothing sick. Walking sick, general miserableness. I think it all started with the stuffing yesterday. I was eating stuffing around 2:00 p.m, watching America's Funniest Home Videos, when something amusing happened, I laughed, and inhaled stuffing. I choked and gagged, and some of it went into my nose. Seriously, I was blowing stuffing out of my nose. After that, I had a sore throat which has progressed into headaches and coughing. Sucky stuffing. So a word of advice. Don't eat stuffing while watching funny videos.

I went to Vegas to see some very good friends of mine. Mizzusj and hubby were there. We ate massive amounts of food, and I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. Maybe that is why I'm sick. Who knows. Fun was had by all, AND I won $370.00 on my favorite slot machine Wheel of Fortune. So I came home with more money than I left with, and that was also great.

As I can think of nothing more to say, I though I'd do the tag thing, though I was never tagged. I will move on in the assumption that someone was thinking of tagging me, but forgot how to spell my name. Huh, I think being sick has made me even wittier. Imagine that.

FOUR JOBS I'VE HAD
1. Lifeguard
2. Pig farmer
3. Prairie Dog catcher/tagger/releaser (they are endangered in Utah, part of a study).
4. Park Ranger

MOVIES I CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN
1. Serenity
2. Snatch
3. Ghost and the Darkness
4. Bridget Jones's Diary

FOUR PLACES I'VE LIVED
1. Delta, Utah
2. Ephraim, Utah
3. Salt Lake City, Utah
4. Cedar City, Utah (yeah, I know, I need to expand my horizons)

FOUR TV SHOWS I LOVE
1. The Jeff Corwin Experience
2. Real World/Road Rules Challenge
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Firefly

FOUR PLACES I'VE VACATIONED
1. Norway
2. Yellowstone
3. Monument Valley
4. Disneyland

FOUR OF MY FAVORITE DISHES
1. Ice cream of any kind
2. Shrimp scampi
3. Mizzusj's chicken salad with ramen noodles in it
4. Cheeseburgers

FOUR SITES I VISIT DAILY
1. Mizzusj
2. Baby Attack
3. Moviemistakes.com
4. Animal Attack Files (yes, morbid, but fascinating)

FOUR PLACES I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW
1. Riding my horse
2. Norway
3. My brother's house
4. Hiking

Rangerin'

Today I am heading over to the local University to do the Career Fair. Yipee! I enjoy talking about my job to those who wish to join the ranks of green and gray.
The above pictures are of Zion after a storm, and me looking very tired after all that ranchin' in the desert.

Lots of driving driving driving

The following pictures are of the local family ranch located in Arizona. I would post more but I have to go get Kiri from Milford, which is an hour away. She was supposed to come home with a friend, but somehow that friend isn't coming back until 1:00 a.m. She can't seem to understand why I am angry at her for making me drive to Milford in the snow to get her. KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is my sweet hubby coming out of the shitter. He wasn't too pleased with me for taking that picture. The other pic is of a storm rolling in over the vermillion cliffs.

This rock was a piece of the set from the original "Planet of the Apes" that was filmed in this area. It looks real until you get up close and can see the holes that have rusted through. Ken's uncle was an extra in the movie and kept this rock as a souvenir.

In the Words of the Immortal Sophie "I'm a Ropin Cowgirl"

Yesterday, Kendall and I went to the family ranch to check on the cows. Ken's father usually handles most of this, but he just had eye surgery, so it was up to us. The ranch is around 3 hours away, located on the Arizona Strip, which basically means "out in the middle of the freakin desert".
They used to run about 300 head of cows out there, but because of drought, there are only about 100 head. We checked the water and made sure all was well in what is really cow heaven.
This is definitely something I could do for a living. I love the desert, and I love the isolation. This area of Arizona is truly gorgeous, and we had a great time. We saw a coyote, 2 hawks (Northern Harriers), and Golden Eagle, and spectacular red cliffs. So, as I am a total slacker in the blog verse lately, I thought I'd share some of the photos.

Trials of Motherhood

Kiri and I were reminiscing about her childhood, and the embarrassing things she has done over the years. She was a precocious child, and as a single mother I spent a good deal of time entertaining her. I was often forced to bring her along to meetings and such because of lack of day care or money, and the result often ended in the hilarious.

Once I took Kiri to McDonald to play in the (admittedly gross) playland. She was very recently potty trained, and had accidents occasionally. At one point during the playtime, she came running over me, and desperately told me she had to go to the bathroom NOW!. We were running up the aisle between the tables towards the restroom, but alas it was already too late. Kiri had pooped her pants and the balls of poop had rolled out of her underwear, down her leg and onto the restaurant floor. I saw the horrified and disgusted looks on people's faces as they were eating. I made a detour to the front counter and very calmly told the young teenaged worker, in these exact words "My daughter just shit on your floor." Then we turned and left the restaurant. We didn't go back for several years.

Another time, I had to see my Genetics teacher in the Science Building, and had no babysitter. I figured it would be a quick meeting, so I took Kiri with me. I was standing outside the teachers office door talking to him, holding Kiri's hand but not really paying attention to what she was doing. She tugged on my hand a couple times, and I turned to look at her just as she yanked the fire alarm lever down. The noise was deafening and Kiri bust into tears. I ran to the office to tell them it was a false alarm. So, Kiri evacuated 2,000 some students from the science blg that day. Later in the week, someone found out it was my daughter that pulled the alarm and he gave me a candy bar to give to Kiri, saying "Your kid saved me from a Physics test".

Around the same time, I had to attend the Nutcracker ballet for a class assignment. Of course, no daycare is open that late at night in this town, so I went with Kiri in tow. After 5 minutes of ballet, I was polietly told to leave as Kiri was having a good time banging people with her bottle. I should have guessed what a rebel she would be when she was kicked out of a FAMILY presentation of the Nutcracker at 2 years old.

I used to work as an aide for the Agriculture department. I had some paperwork that really needed to be finished before the next class, and of course, Kiri was sick. So off to the Science Building we go. I'm cuddling a sick Kiri in my arms, walking down the hall towards my office, when she suddenly barfs a massive amount of puke in my hair and down my back. I turned around and we went home a soggy mess.

She was a little cutie, a tyrant, a genius. I miss my little girl, but I love talking to the teenager I have now.