playing house...

a while ago i was relishing the in the fact that i got to house sit for a week while my bosses were out of town.  it was so delightful, and came at a convenient time, as there were about four girls (on top of the four i already live with) who were squatting at our house because they were kicked out of their houses and either waiting to go home or waiting to get into their new houses.  it was just the kind of mini vacation i needed.   plus it was fantastic being able to wake up at 7:15 when i have to be at work at 7:30...

she looks nice there, doesn't she?

view from the top

the only downside was that i missed this little guy...

but it was really fun to 'play house' in a nice family home, even if it was only for a short while.

shower me with love....

this past weekend my friend dee and i threw a surprise baby shower for our good friend stephanie.  since this is her second child, she wanted a relatively low key affair.  so we rounded up 10 of her close friends (a few of whom were unable to attend) and had a grand old time talking story, and NOT playing annoying shower games.  

the single girls

the kimono that liko made steph

the pouch carrier (sorry i can't remember the real name for it) that melissa made

such a crafty bunch of ladies were in attendance...

the "nsmh" side of things

the "non-nsmh-ers"

more great presents-nursing pads, gotta love em

the spread ( i was in charge of the food).  

breakfast casserole, cranberry scones, pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon butter, oreo truffles (which i stole off of someone elses's blog-and they were a big hit, so thanks!) fruit salad, and pog.

party favor/gift table

lesson the second

dear taco bell employees:

please take note, when assembling a taco, the proper order is meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato etc.

putting the cheese on top of the lettuce only makes the lettuce warm (yuck) and does not allow the cheese to get all melty and good.  

so let's review:

Correct:

Incorrect

3 down and counting...

so i just got word that a third grandparent, (or great uncle i think...the father of the woman that married my mom's brother) has passed away.  i actually didn't know him that well, but it's still family, and i know that my aunt was very close to her parents.  

here is a link for the obituary for my grandfather, who passed a way earlier this month: http://obit.desmondfuneralhome.com/obitdisplay.html?id=651838&clientid=desmondfuneralhome&listing=Found

he was a pretty sassy guy...which is probably where i get it from.  

i guess i just have to focus on the fact that i'll get to see all these people again someday, but until then, i'm going to settle for some serious moping...

whoever said money can't buy happiness...

well they obviously haven't set their eyes on this bad boy:

this is the taylor 714ce guitar, and i have wanted it since i was 18.  for those of you keeping track, that's almost 10 years.  and i'm pretty sure i'd be happy for the rest of my life if i had this little gem in my guitar 'quiver'...or at least have the satisfaction of knowing that at one time, i could afford a $4,000 guitar.

all i have to say is that one day, 'she will be mine.  oh yes, she will be mine.'

it makes things magically delicious...

have you ever bought one of those costco sized crates of mayonnaise, but don't quite know how to finish it off?  well here are a few suggestions on what to add it to, courtesy of my lovely co-worker...

stir fry

spaghetti

chili

beef and broccoli

fish

i had no idea it could be so versatile!

salsa from scratch vs honoring the sabbath...

as happy as i am to keep the sabbath day holy, there are times that i wish that i could do fun things like this:

i mean who wouldn't want to learn about making 'perfect paninis' or 'simmering sauces'?  i suppose i could probably get away with it if i had to pick up someone from the airport, or had some other sort of engagement in town.  since the classes are free it wouldn't technically be breaking the sabbath...anyone want to join me?

delights of working with the mentally ill...

having worked in an office that deals with severely mentally ill patients for about a year now, i pretty much know what to expect when clients call in.  like the other day, an enraged man called after having complained to my boss that i had brought my baby to supervisions (supervisions, which i don't do, and furthermore, i don't even have a child, but i held my tongue).  he was also ranting about how a phone call about a new worker 'should have come from me', even though he was already fully aware of the situation.  so i finally said, with a very sarcastic tone, "oh!  so what you're saying is that the phone call should have come from me?"  to which he responded, 'yes, it should have come from you'.  i then asked when he wanted me to come to the meeting that he was trying to have me set up, to which he responded "oh i don't need you to come.  so i guess she can just call us directly".   it took all the strength i had not to reach through the phone and strangle him.

story number two is a tale of a crazy lady saying that she works for our agency, when in reality she was fired about four months ago.  she actually had the audacity to go to another agency and claim that there were some clients of hers that were there, and she was there to help them, when in reality, they belong to another one of our case managers. 

another delightful anecdote involves one of the inept case managers who works with the program i run.  basically she does not understand english, and is always trying to get me in trouble.  after calling me twice in a 24 hour period she freaked out and called the parents of one of my clients, bitching and moaning that she could not reach me, and that i wasn't responding to her calls.  this was after she hung up on me after our most recent phone conversation, but before she decided to make me drive all they way out to kailua for a meeting, that will quite honestly, take about 15 minutes.  i might kill her at the meeting on monday.  

did i mention that these are just employees and parents, not clients?

i have to say that our clients are sooooo much easier to deal with, only because you expect them to act out in some way.  it's when the 'regular' people start to act like clients that i start to get worried.  how can we expect the mentally ill population to become more self sufficient when the 'normal' people that are walking around are just as crazy as they are?  and with the government making crazy cutbacks to mental health funding...it's absurd.  

from the same show that brought you connie francis...

how do you top connie francis?  (that creepy little girl from britian's got talent)  you take one part old lady, a cat named pebbles, the fact that she's never been kissed, add a sassy personality, and poof:  you have susan boyle.   i couldn't find a version of this clip that i could embed, but this lady is probably the cutest, sassiest lady i have ever seen.  and she can sing.  and she has a cat.  basically, she's what i hope to be when i'm 47...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRmM1J1sfg

found the love of my life...

why are you so good to me?

it's about time that i confessed my love for you, i mean we've been in a relationship for over 10 years now...

all good things...pt2

so a few years ago, my good friend anna 

started hanging out with this guy:

and they did all sorts of cool things together...

this made him so happy, that he felt like he could fly!

so that winter, amidst the 52 days of rain, he asked her to marry him...

and she said yes! (and magically it stopped raining the next day)

she even made her own dress...

to celebrate the special occasion

and together, they brought a beautiful baby boy into the world...

 

we will miss you dearly, kessie family!

it's a small world after all...

once in a while i find myself encountering, what i like to call, 'it call comes together' moments.  it starts off with the vague recognition of a person, place, or thing, and ends with the realization that they were someone/something who did something very significant in my life.  this, combined with the fact that the lds church is so tightly knit, has led to some very entertaining situations.  

last night i had the privilege of attending the kula manu award ceremony with my friend, kathleen.  when we got there we sat towards the back, behind a woman and her boyfriend.  when i first saw the woman, she looked familiar...but i couldn't quite place her.  then i heard her very distinctive laugh, and the little asian inside of me started to panic...

later on, while we were enjoying our refreshments, i tuned into one of the conversations she was having with some of the people who were sitting in front of us, and i heard her introduce herself as krysta.

and that's when it all came together.

when i was sent to boarding school in utah, we had 'counselors' that would look after us when it wasn't during 'school hours'.  there was a girl who worked for the school for a few months named krysta.  she was  nice, but somewhat vanilla.  i do remember that she liked to sing, and LOVED the movie 'a walk to remember'.  i think she took almost all of the girls to see it.  

now if you thought the little asian in my head was wigging out before, well let's just say that it was in full fledged panic mode now.  i couldn't believe it.  i didn't get to talk to her before she left, mostly because i was in shock, but it was crazy to encounter someone from that part of my past.  

i think the most shocking part of the whole situation, for me, is when i think back to where i was during that time, and how far i have come since then.  my life has changed so vastly, and morphed into something so far from what i had originally planned for myself. 

hey ahab, watch out for those african pirates...

you know it's going to be a great day when there is breaking news like this: 

"Ship's captain held by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia"

pirates...really?!  i thought we lived in the age of terrorists.  what qualifies them as 'pirates?'   i guess terrorism is 'so last season'...and pirates are really trendy right now...

cross somalia off my list of places to visit, unless of course i get to sing a sea shanty with some eye patch wearing, peg-legged pirates...

all good things...pt. 1

this week has been particularly quiet, due in part to the fact that my co-worker has been on vacation, but she comes back to the office tomorrow.  

on monday, one of my friends, who has been in hawaii almost as long as i have, is leaving the island.  

another byuh semester comes to a close, taking some really great people along with it.  some will be back in the fall, and some won't be returning at all.  

so i guess now it's time to say goodbye, to all our company...

and the saga continues...

so i came into work today to find, that once again, the toilet is clogged.  thankfully i got my car working on saturday, so i didn't just have to suffer through the day.  

and i have to say, that EVERYTHING that dane cook says about public restrooms is true.  

(the restroom part is about 3 minutes in)

finally starting to get it right...

i am so excited that 'gravity' is the next single off sara bareilles' cd.  it's probably the best track off of 'little voice' and her 2003 ep, 'confessions'.  i could listen to this song and julie moffitt's ep 'stolen' over and over again for the rest of my life.  (much like the verve pipe's song 'freshman', right matt?) 

Gravity - Sara Bareilles

every time she hits that high note, it gives me chills.  

good samaritans do exist...

even though i had to take the bus to work, there were some nice people at the bottom of the hill that gave me a ride up to my boss' house.  

thank you stranger wearing jeans!

making lemonade...

since i have been feeling so negative lately, which a six thirty bus ride, and then hike up the vertical hill to my work today did not help, i wanted to post about some things that i have found amusing lately.  

1.  i received a lovely crockpot from my co-worker the other day.  i am so excited that i don't know what to make first...any suggestions?

2.  since i work in an office that happens to be attached to my boss' house, we have to go inside to go to the bathroom.  this is normally not a problem, however, recently they have been having trouble with their septic tank.  not fun.  it's already caused the toilet to overflow really badly, and it was starting to back up again the other day.  once roto rooter came out, they were finally able to pinpoint the problem:  someone had flushed a tampon down the toilet.  since my co-worker and i are the only two people who use that particular bathroom, it had to be one of us.  i was very bemused to find out that it was in fact my coworker, and that she had been doing it all her life.  (apparently no one told her that tampons expand when they hit liquid, who knew?) watching my coworker realize that she was responsible for clogging their toilet, not once, but twice, was priceless.

3.  finding out that my cute little office manager, and surrogate mother to me in hawaii, loves the david archuleta cd.  one of his songs came up on my pandora, and she was standing by my desk and said, "oh i like his cd!  i had it on repeat in my car for like a month."  this is really only amusing if you know her...but i always find it interesting to find out what sort of music other people enjoy, it gives me insight into their personalities.

taking a vacation from dealing

so when new years came around this year, i vowed that this year would be better than the last. (kind of like the counting crows song).  however, i have to say that this year has kind of well....sucked so far.  in particular, this past week has been NOT GOOD.  let's just say that i am minutes away from recording a country album.  between missed opportunities, dead grandparents (yes that's plural), and my car not starting yesterday i have been left with one undeniable decision:  i am taking a break from dealing, happily vacationing in the land of not coping.