Wednesday, August 3, 2011

tape it to paper

I asked my niece if she had any last minute advice for me before I left on vacation.  This was her reply, "If you find something that died in nature, tape it to a piece of paper."

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

You have to KISS him!

While working with a 6 year old client he looked over at my hand and pointed to my ring and started this conversations:
Client: Does this ring mean you are married? 
Me: No.  It would have to be on my other finger. 
Client (pondering): Well you should get married.
Me: Who should I get married to?
Client: Your best boyfriend.
Me:  Well what if my best boyfriend doesn't want to marry me?
Client:  Well then your second best boyfriend.  You should choose one or the other.
Me: Ok, Well how do I get married?
Client (in a whisper and a big grin on his face):  You have to KISS him! 
**I am quite frequently asked by my clients if I am married or not.  I am always amused by their child's view of marriage and what it entails.  Always good humor...

Monday, August 1, 2011

Fishing the Snicker pieces out of chocolate syrup ice cream soup

I am starting this blog off with a few first comments:

First off, I am not a true fan of ice cream or chocolate... it wouldn't bother me in the least if it fell off the planet earth and was never seen or heard from again.

First off, this has not been my week or day.

It all started 10 days ago... three of my sisters and two of my friends came from Michigan to visit.  Jody and Joella were staying in my bedroom, Mia was in the spare bedroom with her friend, and Jodi, Julie, and myself were spread out on the floor in the family room.  Finding places for everyone to sleep wasn't the issue, the issue was the air conditioner quit working..this was Saturday night.  Sunday the house stayed cool enough that sleeping in it was possible, and my guests had left so I didn't have to worry about them over heating either.  Snickers piece 1: I got to spend time with my sisters and good friends.

Along comes Monday.  Susan (the homeowner, lady land lord, and one of the best friends a person could have) ran into an air conditioner repair man who happened to have a client in the neighborhood who wasn't home, so to the Yucca Lane households luck, he was able to fix the air conditioner.  Snickers piece 2: The random meeting of an A/C repairman who temporarily fixed the A/C.

Along came Tuesday.  The air conditioner quit working.  Tuesday night was bearable to sleep in the house.  Also on this day I heard from a good friend whom I hadn't heard from in 5 months.  One could ask is she really that great of a friend if she hasn't called in 5 months?  Well, given the benefit of the doubt yes she is a great person- but she has her own struggles so I cannot judge her on this.  Snickers piece 3: Plans were made to meet up for dinner at the Tin Fish at Lake Calhoun.  Mind you, eating at the Tin Fish is one of the summers must do activities.

But then came Wednesday...  It was 87F and humid in the house.  (On a side note... I had washed clothes in preparation for packing for my upcoming vacation to Finland and Russia.)  Upon returning home from work I found that due to the humidity of the air all of my clothes are now damp and will need to be rewashed, but it will have to wait until the air conditioner is fixed.  It is impossible to stay the night in the house, in essence I became homeless.  Refuge was found at Sandy's place for the next three nights.  Plans to have dinner at the Tin Fish were postponed until Friday.  Snickers piece 4: Having a good friends place to spend the nights at without feeling like I'm intruding.

Thursday was hot and humid outside and inside, and due to this any amount of time spent in the house trying to prepare for vacation or to pick up clothes for the next few days left me void of energy, mush brained, feeling sick, and crabby.  So I consented that I just wouldn't return until the A/C was fixed. 

Friday was more of the same.  Unbearable heat/humidity outside.  The highlights of this day were going to lunch with my lady friends Chandra and her daughter Brylee, 

Lady friends: Chandra and Brylee
looking forward to meeting up with my good friend for dinner at the Tin Fish, and finding out that the A/C WOULD be fixed just not until Tuesday the 2nd of August.  So, three more nights of being homeless...  Nearing the time that I should have been getting ready to go meet up with my friend for dinner, I sent her a text wondering what time we should plan on meeting.  As the story goes... I got stood up.  There was no dinner and no meeting of my friend who seems to have lost her way in life.  This single event unfortunately struck such a strong sadness cord in my heart that it was difficult to see all the other positives things that happened this day.  Snicker pieces were found in the soup this day...

Saturday/Sunday I spent the day with family and friends.  Snicker piece 5: Spending unexpected time with my sister Lori, niece and nephew.  My homeless shelter is now at the Lady land lord's parents home.  Which is also home to the grandparents of my niece and nephew.

And then comes Monday, August 1st a day full of activity... The first item on my agenda was a Finnish Lesson combined with a morning swim.  I always enjoy my lessons in Finnish.  The second item on my agenda was to meet up with a client.  On my drive the client meeting was rescheduled to Tuesday.  I returned home, a major thunderstorm rolled through the area and I was able to cool off the house a little by opening all windows.  As I sat and enjoy the thunderstorm I realized that I was 1) exhausted because I haven't slept well in 6 nights, 2) I'm anxious because I have so many small things to do before I fly out on Thursday, and 3) I have one appointment for myself this afternoon.  Snickers piece 6: I look forward to my appointment with Dr. Josh. Thankfully I fell asleep in the hot humidity for one hour.  Following the nap, I took a shower only to find out that the water heater wasn't working, so I had a cold shower.  One thing I have failed to mention is that the water heater has also gone out three times in the past week.  Every time it has been the pilot light that has gone out.  Regardless, I head out to my appointment with Dr. Josh.  Snickers piece 7: Dr. Josh was able to adjust my lower back (this has been very difficult to do in the past) and I immediately feel like there has been a pressure release, and I am Thankful!    So I travel back towards the Lady land lord's parents house (where all 3 of the Yucca Lane Ladies have been staying for the past three nights) to arrive to an empty house and a locked door.  I head to the bookstore, find a few books and head back... to a still empty house.  As I am sitting in my vehicle I was reminded that due to the storm earlier today- this house has lost power so, NO there was no air conditioning here either.  And the house occupants were actually going to head toward our non-air conditioned house because we at least had power.  So I head out... I head for supper.  Someplace where I didn't have to think too hard to make a decision.  I head to Culver's...

First off (yes I realize that this is the third "First off"), I'm not a fan of Culver's or burgers from Culver's.  I order a burger, and an ice cream mixer with snickers and chocolate syrup.  I pull up to pay, they hand me my ice cream mixer and I pull forward to wait for a burger.  As I am waiting a car pulls up to me that reads on the side, "Moving healthcare forward." I started to laugh, I am fully aware of what I am about to eat, but it is an oxymoron to see this heathcare vehicle parked waiting for fast food with the slogan, "Moving healthcare forward."  I thought perhaps she should just move on without the fast food. 

I digress... I returned home to eat a burger that I don't like, and indulge in a dessert that I don't care much for.  As I am eating the ice cream I notice that it has actually melted from the heat and I am scooping into the chocolate syrup ice cream soup looking for the small piece of Snickers.  Snickers piece 8 or 9 (I lost count): the Snicker pieces in the ice cream soup.

Tomorrow is Tuesday, August 2nd... and yes I like Snickers; even though I don't care for chocolate that much.