Attack of the Killer Knife (A prelude to the Halloween season)

So this evening Mike and I were getting our respective dinners together (we had a bigger lunch this afternoon so we were scavengers for dinner.) Mike wanted to heat up some frozen meatloaf patties I had in the freezer. They were frozen together and between them was some wax paper he was determined to get off. I told him "Hunny, if you put it in the air cooker for 2 or 3 min it will de-thaw enough for you to pull them apart." So what did he do?? He put it in for one min. Then he impatiently took it out and starting cutting between them with a fillet knife. Since they had de-thawed slightly the amount of pressure he was putting on the knife sent it right through the meatloaf and into his thumb!! OUCH!

I love my husband very much, but if there is one weakness in him it is his intolerance to blood. As soon as he cut himself and saw the blood he stared to panic a little (an in all fairness there was a TON of blood.) He handled the pain very well and didn't cry (which I would have been doing.) So I wrapped a warm wet hand towel around the cut so he could compress it. He started shaking a little from all the blood that was coming out. I ran to call my dad (the doctor) to see how deep a cut needed to be to get stitched. I quickly realized that we would be making an impromptu trip the the ER rather than spend time with friends. I wasn't so sure poor Mike was even going to make it to the car. He had thrown himself to the floor in angst (seriously, he does not do well in these types of situations. He really almost pasted out)

By the time we got him to the hospital he was soaking wet with sweat ... literally the back of his hoodie was dark gray with sweat marks. The ER wasn't to bad. Kind of annoying was the fact the three people ahead of us were there for coughs and colds... I mean really can't it wait 16 hours till your doctors office opens? Anyways 2 hours, 4 stitches and a tetnis shot later we were at home triumphantly eating the meatloaf that had caused our evening adventure.

THE CUT

I think we left his finger to soak in this stuff for 1/2 hour.

Poor guy. He was in a lot of pain when they had to give him the localized anesthesia shot, that thing did not look like fun, AT ALL.

THE STITCHES

The bandage!

So maybe no basketball this Tuesday? We will see!

Beehives and Cupcakes

On Friday I had my Beehive class over to the house for a Halloween Party. I think it was a success. The girls seemed to really enjoy themselves. We stared off the evening making mummy pizza's . You cut english muffins in half, put pizza sauce on them, peel string cheese to look like the wrappings and you can use olives as the eyes, but I use mini pepperoni. They are a pretty tasty little treat.

After pizza we moved to dessert. I had the table set with tons of candy to decorate cupcakes with. I thought I would have a ton of candy left over... boy was I wrong... they used it all and made some pretty cute cupcakes!

(These are the ones I did before the girls got there to give them an idea of what to do)

I love this picture for some reason.

After the cupcakes I had the girls make "Halloween/we miss you" cards for an inactive beehive. They turned out really cute.

Finally, it was time to settle them down so we put on Hocus Pocus. One of my favorites! A lot of the girls hadn't seen it before so they were way into it.

By 10:15 the house was clean and the girls were gone. Not to shabby. I really enjoyed having them in my home and being able to get to know them all a little better. These are some seriously good youth. I'm so grateful that I get to be part of the Young Womens program. I hope I can be an influence for good on these girls as my YW leaders were for me!

PS- The only down fall to the party (as Mike will say) was 8 beehives + candy = lots of giggles and squeals and NO Studying! lol. Poor guy.

Pressure Sales...

Let me tell you a funny story. Well funny to me. Since I no longer have a YMCA membership and its getting to dark and to cold to plan on running as a constant form of exercise I needed to find a gym. Since LA Fitness is a mere 5 blocks away I took a stroll down there to investigate the situation. I walk into the decent work out facility and am directed to the store manager (who could very well be a cast member on Jersey Shore.) First he sits me down and interrogates me on why I want a gym membership. Isn't the answer obvious? I just want a place to work out. But there is something about the way it all went down that bothers me. I mean I know I need to loose a few lbs, couldn't we all get a little healthier? But do I want to talk about my weaknesses with someone who looks like he has none in the "physically fit" department? NO THANKS. It makes me feel worthless and intimidated. So since I'm hesitant to share with him what I am looking for he puts the words in my mouth and apparently I wanted to get toned, lift weights, take classes, ect. ect. ect. Actually all I'm really looking for is some cardio machines.

So the tour is over, time to get down to buisness... pricing... they want $150 for a joining fee and $49.99 a month

ME: NO FREAKING WAY

JSM (Jersey Shore manager): Ok let me see what I can do. How about we bump down the signing fee to $100 and the monthly to $34.99.

ME: *Hesitation* I don't know that is a lot for a signing fee.

JSM: Well you tell me what you want to pay.

ME: $75 (Which by the way I still think is ridiculous!)

JSM: You're killing me, the only way I can do that is if I give you $24 from my wallet

ME: *Still hesitant* I just don't know. I think I could go to the Y and my husband and I could get something together that is just a little bit more (which is a lie I think its like $160 a month for a couple, but I wanted to see what that would do.)

JSM: OHH! Well look if your looking for your husband to we could do the $100 sign but a $50 monthly for both your husband and you. Thats only $25 a month. And if you want to freeze him for a few months that would be free instead of $10.

ME: Humm, I don't know. Can I go home talk it over with him and come back.

JSM: NO. Sorry we can only give you these low rate (low rates my butt) on your first visit. (DUMB)

ME: Well... *lots of thinking and feeling pressured to make a decision and don't forget how poor I'm feeling.)*

JSM: We can let you give it a try for 3 days and if you don't like it we will refund your money.

ME: *Dang it, that might be my best shot* OK fine.

So they swip my credit card for $200 and I leave in a tizzy.

I go back later that afternoon to work out. I feel a little awkward. I mean the people around me are buff and super fit and I'm just ... we'll call it average. I feel like I'm in a room full of people who were rejected from Jersey Shore auditions (and just so you know I don't think to highly of the people on that show... so me stereo typing the people in the room was wrong and I know that. But sometimes its hard not to... DANG IT!)

I tell Mike about it. He tells me I got worked over and they used basic sales tactics on me. That makes me made. I hear about another gym and start looking into other options.

I decide to cancel LA Fitness membership. I make a phone call to do so. They tell me to call back when JSM is in. I call back during his business hours. They tell me I have to come in to the store to cancel (so they can guilt me into staying...)

I go in. I meet with JSM.

ME: You know I thought about it and the cost is just to much and I don't know if I would use it enough to make it worth it.

JSM: Do you want me to do something about the price. I could lower the signing fee.

ME: What?

JSM: I can just cancel the signing fee and just go $29.99 a month.

ME *you told me if I paid $75 you would have to put in $24 of your own money and now you can not charge me anything?* No thanks. I just don't want to.

JSM: Are you sure it is so convenient for you.

ME: No thank you. I'm just not into it.

At this point he finally gives up and gives me my money back.

I was so frustrated by the way they pressured me into committing on the first day and then tried to talk me out of it when I cancelled. I found another place that is a little further away I can go it... the bad news is... they offer free tanning and free guest for $20 a month... Yikes.... I may start tanning again. Will it go against my commitment to quite if I'm not technically paying for it, per say? Not sure. Its really becoming a moral dilemma....

END OF STORY

Stability, where are you?

(Warning: A lot of feeling being recorded for prosperity. I don't want my kids to think all I did before they came along was go to basketball games and have parties. I have my own challenges, just like everyone else!)

Sometimes I get a little stressed about things. Wondering if I've made or am making the right decisions. In August I made the definitive decision to leave my job as a nanny. It was a pretty easy choice as one of my girls was becoming the queen of sassy and disrespect. I also knew that since I finally had my degree I needed to use it.

I originally started to look for special education aide positions in the public school systems. To hold this position all you need is a high school diploma. Surly I as a big smart college graduate would be a shoe in for one of these jobs. When I finally got a job interview (after 4 week of unemployment) it was with a group of 25 other people. Five of which were employees of the school district looking for new placement, 15 of which had their teaching certification and a handful had masters in education. WHAT THE CRAP! Needless to say that didn't work in my favor. So I decided I needed a job, even if it wasn't the most ideal situation. I accepted a position as a Substitute teacher at a private school in the area. I have to say although it's not the most stable job (as in sometimes I don't work at all and other times I work all week) I leave work feeling SOOO happy. I feel confident in my skills as an educator and know this is what I was meant to do. I feel inspired and I love the kids I work with. I really can't put into words how much I love it. Unfortunately as I mentioned I only work a few days a week (if at all.) This is a problem ...

For one, I can't stay home 4 days a week only to work one day. Do you know what that does to a busy body like me? It makes me lazy. If I don't have a call by 6:30 in the morning I sleep in till 8. I stay in my PJ's till noon (or longer) I facebook/blog stalk, look up vacations I can't go on until I have an income I can depend on and I get slightly depressed because I'm not contributing to society. Its actually awful. I can't go hang out in the city everyday (who would I go with and how would I afford my excursion. I can't go on shopping sprees to buy new clothes, decorations, or get a pedicure. I can however go to the grocery store figure out how to eat on a dime (another downside to leaving my nanny job is now I don't bring home gourmet dinners that I didn't pay for.) Sigh... I really could go on and on about this... but I will spare you.

*Sigh...* I long for the schedule and financial stability of a job. But I L-O-V-E my job as a sub! I love teaching and without certification this is the best I can do!

I will admit, I do miss nannying at times. I miss seeing the girls everyday and I think about them often. I miss being part of a family since mine is so far away. (I miss the YMCA pass they provided me with :) I actually miss driving all over new canaan to get the girls to their activities. I don't miss changing there sheet or doing their laundry + my own. And I don't miss being treated poorly by someone 1/2 my age. But overall I do miss it. It's something I'm good at.

So I am interviewing for a few afternoon/early evening nanny positions. I'm hoping one of these positions could give me the stability that I long for. Somewhere to be every day and a set amount of money I can rely on (because my Wachovia checking account could use a bail out!)

I am really blessed to have a supportive husband. He is so wonderful about not putting pressure on me to find something more stable. He knows how much I love teaching and encourages me to do whatever it takes to stick with it. This is a blessing because I am hard enough on myself to pull my own weight around here that I can't imagine how I would feel if he was saying all the things I'm constantly thinking. I am also really lucky to have these kitties at home all day to keep me company. I seriously love these cats like they are my children and I am so glad they have taken to each other so well. Have you ever loved an animal this much?

So the morale of this story is... sometimes things are hard and you go back and forth over what is the right thing to do. And you may get discouraged and feel slightly depressed (note to self: if feeling this way, get out of your pj's {its 2pm for crying out load} take a shower and do your make up and you will feel so much better!) But as long as you read your scriptures, say your prayers and fulfill your church callings things will be ok. Money isn't important the support of your spouse and the love of your family (and kitties :) is. And as long as you have that (in my opinion) your pretty dang successful!

"Sitting court side Knicks and Nets give me high fives"

We have lived here for two years and we still haven't been to a basketball game or even an event at madison square gardens yet. We figured it was time to rectify that situation and went to the Knicks and Nets preseason game last night. We wanted to drive since taking the train would have been $40. We also wanted to park close to the stadium vs our normal spot close to the temple. We have driven in Manhattan before its never been that bad, but last night it was scary. I couldn't figure out why so many people were walking across the street and the amount of cars was tons more than we'd ever seen, and they were vicious! Then the things around me begin to become noticeable, and I put the cross streets together and I realize... WE ARE IN TIME SQUARE!! It was pretty scary. But we got there and back all in one piece!

Mike driving through Time Square

The Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden

Mike and I

Lisa and Moroni who joined us

The players

The dance team

The half time show: Wheel chair basketball, very inspiring!

The final score KNICKS WIN!!

It was a lot of fun and I hope we make it to a few more games this season!

More Goodbyes

Unfortunately, we have to say goodbye to yet another set of good friends. Aubri and her husband Thomas are moving back to Oregon so he can go back to school. Naturally we needed to have some type of goodbye party for them. We invited about half the ward to our apartment last sunday night for an open house. Thankfully (only for space reasons) not everyone was able to attend and only about 40 people came (which is still a lot.) But it was a lot of fun! I love visiting with people I don't get to see as often. I think everyone else had a good time as well.

The dessert table (way to much food)

We set up the Wii in the second bedroom for the kids.

(And put the movie Cars on in the bedroom for the little ones)

Once a lot of the kids had gone home the guys took over the Wii and had some fun!

Some of the girls from the party

A few of the guys.

I was surprised at how many people the apartment fit without it feeling to crowded. I think we will have a few more of these just for fun.

Canadian Thanksgiving, eh...

Our good friend Megan is a Canadian. So last Sunday night she hosted a dinner for Canadian Thanksgiving (which is the 2nd Monday of October.) It was a lot of fun. We all crammed into their apartment and had a great time stuffing ourselves and catching up. As a parting gift she gave us all a Wunder bar that she had he mom ship to her from Canada. They are pretty delicious if you ask me! At any rate I vote we make Canadian Thanksgiving a tradition!

Our Canadian host and hubby

Eating and visiting

manly talk circle

My lovey and I

Funny Faces

Cynda and Newlywed Nikki

Camille and Colleen

Allan and Corrine Broadbent

Corn Maze 2010 :)

Last Saturday Mike and I took an hour drive north to Lyman Orchard. It was a beautiful day for some fall activities. The drive up was absolutely beautiful as the leaves were finally changing colors.

We went to the orchard to actually do the corn maze. I'm a huge fan of mazes and this one looked like it would be pretty cool. It was shaped like the picture below.

We had a lot of fun trying to follow the map and navigate ourselves through the maze.

Mike wore shorts and flip-flops I told him he was going to be freezing. However, I ended up being way to hot. I think it was 75 and sunny. A lot warmer than when we did our corn maze last year.

Victory Pose

Frolicking about

After the maze we had lunch at the little store and got some cracked corn to feed the ducks. Mike loves feeding ducks and was disappointed that these ducks were so well fed they could care less that he was trying to feed them.

We drove around the orchard and took in all the beautiful scenery. I wish I had a better camera so I could capture the true beauty of it all.

After our drive we stopped at Stew Lenorads and picked out our pumpkins. Hopefully we find time to carve them. Life seems really busy these days.