The Mysterious Reappearance of my Belongings

And Other Tales

Okay. So Monday evening, my neighbor comes over and tells me she has my suitcase in her home. YES! I'd asked her Friday, along w/ most my other neighbors, if they'd seen it, which she hadn't. She said she found it on the lawn Saturday and rescued it. I can't even fathom what happened to it. Where did it go? How did it get back home? Nothing appears to have been touched, let alone taken, however there is a new big black smudge on the exterior. That's okay; I have a phone that works now. HOORAY!

Random

In other news, my trip was pretty fun. I like my sister. And her husband. And her son. Oh and guess what, I set my cousin up with my friend Ben so hopefully they get married becuase I dig Ben and I'd like him to be in my family. :D Hehe.

Halloween and Twilight

Tomorrow is halloween and I am going to be a sparkly vampire. OH! Speaking of, I did finish the Twilight series, and I would recommend to stay away from it. Do yourself a favor and read Goosebumps instead. Or Good Night Moon. Your time will be better spent, trust me. The only one remotely worth reading is the first one, and if you read the first one, you have to read the second one because whatever Meyer lacks, it's not lure. She does have the talent to make you want more even if you can't figure out why. The final book is the biggest letdown imaginable. My advice: don't waste your time.

Also -- don't shoot me if you read it and loved loved loved it. We can still be friends. We'll just set aside our differences and never discuss the mess that some dare call literature.

The Economy Comes to Rexburg

Yesterday at work we were all called to a meeting with the company president. "There will be no more raises, ever" he said. Well, that's what it sounded like. No raises until the economy "turns around." Ha, as if that will happen without a war. As if that will happen in just a few months. So. Bleh. I haven't even had a raise yet. And now I won't get one. At least the meeting wasn't to let us know that there will be layoffs. I think that one's in the future, though. Hooray, I will ever be frozen at sucky-pay/hr! As Cadee (from work) would say, find joy in the moment.

Hmm, speaking of joy. I was looking for Heather's parent's house -- Heather is my cousin whom I drove to Utah -- to pick her up Sunday and head back to Rexburg. She lives on this mountain. She gave me directions. I never saw the road I was supposed to turn onto, and I kept climbing this mountain thing, and pretty soon there were no houses in sight. So I thought maybe it was around the bend. But there was nothing. So then I whip out my phone but it doesn't get service where I was! So then I started to cry. Shut up, okay, I was pretty stressed. Then I remembered Cadee saying "Find joy in the moment" and I laughed aloud! So that was pretty funny. I dind't find any joy in that moment, but I did laugh. So. There ya go then.

Verve

This blog needs some verve, yo.

Let me tell you about my way totally awesome day. I woke up a little earlier than usual (5:30) and finished packing. I'm visiting my sister. Do I have money for this? No, I do not, but I have two extra passengers who are splitting the gas equally, so I'll end up spending like $15 on gas total. Way rad. Anyway, sis lives near Lehi, Utah. OKAY. So I got up to finish packing my very large suitcase. There will be a trunk or treat in Melanie's ward this weekend so she commanded me to pack costumes. I did so, I even packed mine. I packed all our clothes (my good pair of jeans, the kids' good winter clothes, my favorite pajamas, Anna's new pajamas, etc.) and our personal stuff like makeup and deodorant and toothbrushes. Yeah, and I included my new dressy boots. And my phone charger so I would make sure not to forget it.

I lugged the suitcase downstairs to the parking lot and opened the trunk. Got the kids all buckled, and took off to work. Noticed my trunk was still open when I stopped at Matthias' daycare, so I shut it w/o bothering to peak inside. Dropped Anna off, and went to work, where I was actually on time. Neat, considering how busy I'd been.

Right after work, I was going to pick my kids up from their respective daycares and then pick my cousin, Heather up and her roommate, who were my passengers. Their families live near my sister. I was going to text Heather when I was almost there but then I realized I'd left my phone at work. Brilliant. That's never happened before, if you can believe that. Well I opened the trunk for them when I got there and that's when I realized it was much too empty. My suitcase wasn't there. You've got to be kidding me. Well, what the beans did I do with it after I took it outside? I must have just left it there in my parking lot at my apartment. Brilliant. Please, oh please let it still be there. So we drove to my apartment and it wasn't there. So I went to the neighboring buildings hoping a neighbor had seen my very large suitcase in the middle of the parking lot and had taken it into saftey. No. Whatever. So I shoved a handful of clothes into a Wal*Mart bag and hoped it would suffice. So embarrassing, cannot imagine what Heather and Kelsey were thinking of me. So then we had to go back to my work to retrieve my phone. Thank goodness it was just where I'd left it. As we're drivin to the highway, I call the police station but no one's turned in a very large suitcase filled with clothes, personal items and halloween costumes. I stop at my landlord's building to see if someone's returned it there. No.

So we just take off. It could be worse; at least I still have my purse with me. Maybe Monday it will turn up. :(

WOW. A series of poor, scatter-brained choices. Seriously, where was I today? I don't even know.

So my sweet boy is at a new daycare which I don't like at all. It's called Little Academy and I really feel uncomfortable leaving my son there. The workers seem nice, but they seem like they don't enjoy their job. I really miss Apple Tree for him. Anna still goes to Apple Tree. A.T. is a superior daycare, and now that I've seen what else is out there, I really appreciate it much more. They're so structured and organized and planned and I really like that I can count on them for that, and the kids can count on them. Chaos seems more prevalent at Little Academy. Oh well, it's only a short time. I have some good news for once, my son was "accepted" to the state Child and Family Resource Center. They work more one on one with the kids and they focus on kids with behavioral issues. I guess they believe that my son is naughty enough, and he'll start next Monday (the 3rd of Nov.). I can't wait, really. I know he'll be in much better and more capable hands and I hope he'll learn appropriate behavior. He is a very moody child. He can become very, very angry, often seemingly without reason. Like his dad. But he's only three. But he's so sweet. He's very precious and special and deserves the best only. And he doesn't need to be beating up other kids for no reason. He's so sweet.

I'm at my sister's now. My nephew, Morgan, who is 2 tomorrow, was so so excited to see my kids. I have never before witnessed such a reception. He started screaming "Anna! Anna!", and by "screaming" I mean exactly that, and he jumped and ran around the room, shrieking in ecstasy, and he threw himself to the ground and kicked his feet, screech-laughing. It was very funny.

I should be well into my third crazy dream by now. Bye then!

Weblessness

WELL I had to cancel my internet service because I don' t get paid much. Sad day for me, I tell ya. I'm at the library now, anxious that my kids over in the kid section will start screaming any minute, or that Matthias will randomly pummel and innocent child with no provocation.

My Life: The Short Answer:
Matthias was kicked out of daycare for being a bully. His daycare suggested that he might have asperger's syndrome. Odd that I never thought of that myself, since I've noticed he's a little different, and his brother Kadin has been so diagnosed. I'm now working toward a diagnosis. He does exhibit many of the characteristics. For those who don't know, Asperger's is a high functioning, mild form of autism.

I was accepted to BYU-I and, by a miracle of God, I will start in January. Don't know how I'll collect the funds, at this point.

I got a new phone and number. Verizon screwed me so I bailed and joined a family plan with my dear sister and brother in law.

Elections approach and I don't know for whom to vote.

I love blogging because it gives me a chance to say very little in many words to very few. :D I sorta stole that.

Alright then. Goodbye.

And Another Thing

I should be sleeping but instead I'm on YouTube watching all the videos of my favorite song ever ever, The Prayer. No song has so much power over me as this one. I could listen to it for hours. This song actually makes me cry, that's how amazing it is. It's not even the lyrics, it's the brilliant music and the construction of the music -- amazing, it is. I have it on my playlist, but not my favorite version. I was actually looking for my favorite version on YouTube, but alas, it's not there either. My favorite version features Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban and Charlotte Church. The only ones I can find have just about all combinations of two of the four artists. I'm bummed. The one with the two men, though, is outstanding.

I was reading the discussions on YouTube about the various versions, and the general opinion seems to be that Charlotte Church "blows Celine Dion out of the water." So... I'm like, WHAT? Okay, Church is amazing and intensely talented. But, this is Celine Dion we're talking about here! Well I thought I'd give both a fair listen before making my final judgment and compared Dion/Groban to Chruch/Groban. Do these people even have ears? Groban totally overtakes Church in their duet during the most intense part, insomuch you can scarcely hear Church. She's amazing, but Celine Dion IS song. She sings. She sings with every part of her. I've long been a fan of that voice of hers. She is so, so powerful and I can't understand how people believe Church is a stronger companion for Groban. It just simply isn't true. If you care to compare, do it and report! Oh, and if anyone knows where I can find the version with all four, please inform me! I would save $$ for a year if it meant I could own a copy of it.

Random News

WELL today I went to pick my kids up from daycare and my dear and wonderful cousin Jennifer was there. Cool! She moved her a few weeks ago for her husband's schooling. She was planning to kidnap me and the kids and take us to Idaho Falls to go shopping with her and her kids. She and her husband are ultra invested in the betterment of my life and I don' t understand what I did to deserve their devotion, but I hope they never leave me because they have been lifesavers. Well she took us to IHOP for dinner -- the kids ate free (Yay for Tuesdays!) and Jennifer paid for me. It was quite yummy. I had a New York steak meal! MMM! Haven't had steak in a long long time and it was so delicious. It was a really good price. Then we went to Ross because Jennifer wanted a sweater and I ended up finding a fabulous, fabulous coat for Anna. She didn't have a winter coat at all and at Walmart they're like $30-$40 and I can't afford that. But the one we found is one of those 2 piece coats, with an inner jacket and an outer coat, which will be very, very warm. And it was only $18. Score! I'm a little worried because I might not actually have $18 in my account when all my checks clear, but on Thursday I'm getting $30 so I think I'll be okay if everything doesn't clear tomorrow. :) I feel like a much better mother now that Anna has a really great coat. My heart rests a little. Most of you may be thinking it's only September, but let me remind you that it snowed here on June 11th. Rexburg doesn't allow normal warmth. I have had to scrape my windows twice this month already. So depressing.

In random news, you know how sometimes we shorten words? Like "puppy" becomes "pup" or "computer" sometimes is "comp," "pictures" is "pics," you with me? Matthias has made his own shortened word, though it's not really acceptable terminology. He has shortened "daycare" to "dayc." I'm not kidding, it's so funny. "Mommy are we going to Dake today?" It took me a few days to figure out what the beans he meant.
And the other day Anna was playing with Jenna (her 2nd cousin -- Jennifer's 18 month old daughter) and Jenna had a toy that Anna was trying to get. I reminded Anna that Jenna had it first and she needed to let Jenna have it for now. Anna's reply: "But, Jenna's not the princess, only I am."

Oh dear. What have I gotten myself into? I've created a monster! I think she's right, of course, Anna IS the only princess. But... I don't think it's a healthy way to look at oneself. I'm sure her mother calling herself the queen of the world has possibly been her narcissistic inspiration. But.... I AM the queen. What do I do?

Anna has an ear infection and Matthias slammed three fingers in the car door. But no one is dying. God is blessing us.

God bless you!

Do You Want me to Spank You?

So I haven't really explained work much. I now work as a customer service rep at a printing warehouse here in Rexburg. They print a billion wedding invitations, and related product, for several different lines. They employ probably about a fifth of the city of Rexburg. That's probably an exaggeration, but there really are a lot a lot of employees. I, again, work in the customer service department, where I take calls from bridezillas yelling at me because their order isn't shipped yet, or because their order was incorrect, or because the sage napkins don't look sage, or because Hurricane Ike delayed the shipment of their order, etc. Heaps o' fun. Ah, it's not so bad. I work for a line called "Invitations by Dawn." It was really hard at first to say that name "Dawn" several times a day because that's the name of the woman my ex traded me for. Maybe I have written this before.... I don't know. Sorry if it's a repeat. But now I'm used to it and don't think about being cheated on every time I hear "Dawn" anymore, so it's a good thing. :)

I work with super cool people. It's a little bit of a gossip fest there at times, though, which bothers me a great deal, but only because I'm totally perfect, and I feel sorry for these sinners. (please be aware that I'm being facetious.) But, really, I don't know what the point is of negatively discussing other people's absences or other people's weight gain, or discussing someone else's "she's a nice girl but she's annoying"ness. Whatever. If she's such a nice girl, why speak negatively of her? I know they talk about me when I'm not there, too. Wonder what they say. It's mostly only two or three girls who get into the gossip but it's a drag-me-down. And they don't think other people can hear but I hear it all the time. ANYWAY. All the people I work with are still super cool, despite their imperfections. Ah, if only all people could be just like me.

Nightmare.


Okay, so I sit near Cadee and Ben, which is fine by me. Actually, it was perfect because they're the ones I like the best so I was way glad to get my cubicle assignment. Cadee is my parents' age and I've somehow convinced her to care about me and she worries for me and it's sweet. She's way cool to talk to and I like having her perspective about various Stephanie-life issues. I highly value her opinion. Ben is the cool guy I trained with. He's smart and cute and just only 22 but sometimes I wish he was 32 and single. Because then I would try to wordlessly convince him to ask me out. :D Except if he was 32 and working for pennies at Artco, that would be a little sad maybe. Anyway, reminding myself that we're in totally different life stages and that he's Jaybo's age keeps me behaved. Hehe. He's not flawless anyway. He disagrees with homeschooling, for highschool anyway. And he likes Lord of the Rings. Sigh, we can't all be perfect.

Man, I'm high today, like high horse high. :D

So. Ben and Cadee are way cool to talk to. Next to Ben sits a woman. I'm telling a story that I don't know if she'd be comfortable with me telling so I'll disguise her identity for now and call her Linda. Linda is very, very funny. She cracks me up daily. She is one of those people who say the strangest things at the times, very random. She's funny without trying to be, like my Mom, which is the best kind of funny I think. She pokes fun at herself, which I think is pretty cool. I'd guess she's in her late 30s. I don't know how to describe her, she's just Linda. But what I'm about to tell you is funnier if you can picture who she is. Oh well.

So Linda was about to leave for the day. She has known Ben since he was a baby I think, so sometimes they talk about mutual acquaintances. Anyway, so she's standing up to leave and she goes, in all seriousness, with no trace of intentional humor,
"Ben, you've been quiet today- do you want me to spank you?"

My jaw dropped a little bit and I slowly turned to face her, while I'm turning I'm processing in my brain her words -- Did she really say that? No, no, certainly I heard that wrong. But I saw Ben's face and I was leaning toward, yeah, she really said that. Ben answered I think but I don't remember what he said because in my brain I was hysterically laughing and that's all I could hear (I don't hear voices; I hear laughter). I'm thinking all he said was something like "Uhhhh. . . ." So I shut my brain up for a minute to say, "Did you really say what I think you said?" to Linda. And she said some nonsense about something in her childhood and how she thinks spanking kids is now illegal. What? Well, spanking your kids is still within the legal ranks but I'm pretty sure spanking your coworkers is against legions of laws.

In her defense, I'm certain she meant nothing sexual by it and I'm certain she didn't mean to offend anyone. But, I tell ya, there was quite an awkward moment of severe discomfort. I was burnin in my cheeks and it wasn't even about me! What an awkward thing to say to an opposite-sex coworker! Can you imagine? Okay, reversal time. I'm sorry, but if any, ANY male coworker said that to me, I'd be freaking out. Especially if he was older. Wow. It's just one of those things you don't say at work. Linda's great for shock value. Never a dull moment with her. She's the greatest.

Oh, Linda. Work would be so boring without you.

Oh, the pride!

My heart is swelled with pleasure and pride for today my daughter read. It's always an exciting moment in a parent's life when his/her child shows them some new and wonderful skill, like reading. Anna is a genius and a human so I knew this day would come. Today I tried and failed to have a yard sale (the depressing details of which I will not presently reveal, but there was rain). I brought everything up to the living room and there are boxes all over. Anna found a crayon and began coloring on one of the boxes. There are a few words she can spell and write and she writes them frequently. Such as, her name, "blue," "Mom," "Dad" and that's usually about it. So I started helping her write some words. I told her to write "C-A-T" and then had her sound out the letters and she soon figured it was Cat! Then, I had her write "D-O-G" and she instantly knew what that was so I think she's already learned to spell that. She told me she was learning the letter "Q" in daycare and I asked her what Q says and she told me and I reminded her that a U almost always follows a Q and that's how you write "Quah." Then I wrote "Q-u-e-e-n" on the box and she puzzled and pondered and then shouted out "Queen!" and we both rejoiced! Then I wrote "H-a-n-d" and she puzzled and pondered and then shouted out"Hand!"

My daughter can read!!! We'll be working more on this skill. She doesn't even start kindergarten till next year. She'll be so far ahead I'll hate to numb her mind with learning colors and letters and numbers and shapes; she's known her colors and shapes since she was two and letters and numbers since she was three. And she can already add two numbers if they're each less than or equal to 5. She fully comprehends opposites. She understands the concept of rhyming! She frequently astounds me with her genius, and today I was just so tickled to see her read.

Studies have shown that kids who learn to read early end up no more advantaged than those who learn in kindergarten. And, really, Anna's going to be 5 in 3 months. So maybe it's not THAT special, but I'm still thrilled. Because she's my daughter and she's the smartest little girl I know.