Back from The Trip

I don't have a lot of time to get into the details of the trip right now. I'm at the library and my time is almost out. Suffice it to say that it was AWESOME. I went with a friend of mine and she'd never been to California before, and she was definitely in love with it.

We ended up going to Reno, San Francisco, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, then back to Reno and then home. I am currently working on video collages and photo stuff.

Oh, by the way, during this trip Two Girls, One Road was born. We had so much fun that we are going to start taking regular road trips. Probably most local stuff for right now, but the goal is to provide the viewers with a taste of the trip as seen through normal peoples' eyes. That would be us.. normal people.. hehe.. Anyway, we haven't worked out all the details just yet, but when we do we'll probably have a blog and a website dedicated strictly to Two Girls, One Road.

Keep your eyes out as our first trip has been broken up into several segments. All filled with pictures and video commentary. We hope you enjoy them just as soon as we can get them posted.

Stay tuned....

Raven had a wonderful time in California with her aunt. She was happy to see me and had a good time on the second half of our journey. That's all I have time for at the moment.....

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California, Here I Come!

Tomorrow is the day. I work until 2pm then by 3pm my friend and I are gone to California to pick up Raven. My friend and I are taking a side trip to San Francisco to see the sights. She's never been there, and I haven't been there in quite a few years. We plan on seeing many things while we are there.

Reno hopefully will be good to us as well. She's never been to Reno and is looking forward to playing on the one armed bandits. Me too if truth be told, but money is tight, so playing responsibly is top priority.

I can't wait to see Raven again. She's been having a lot of fun with her aunt. I know she misses me, but will be sad to leave California.

More to come. Working now, and time is tight.

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Been another while

Chaos ensues, and it's been a while since I wrote last. Suffice it to say that I have been busy even with Raven in California.

This week has been a week of changes on top of all the changes that I have gone through with work the last few weeks. My schedule has been cut back to 22 hours per week, and I am still stressing out over what I will do for daycare when Raven gets back. I'm not letting that worry me too much, or trying not to. I have a few options that I will be looking into this week before I leave to go get her.

Another newsworthy note is that I am back into martial arts. A very odd form that I had never really heard of before now. Wing Chun. I don't even plan on getting into a fight, and I have never been on one before, but I find that having something to do helps me focus. And it's helped me to focus on other areas of life, like conquering my new job duties. My arms were bruised all this week, and my muscles sore, but I love it.

There isn't really anything else worthy of noting so I'll leave you to tend your lives.

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Something I Swiped From PB... Thanks! (Where's my Jelly!)

I swiped this from a friend, Psycho, and I thought it was a really great quiz. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did taking it.

Sheesh, when's the last time I said that about one of those quiz things.......??

How Many Things Have You Lived Through?

I have read a lot of books.

I have been on some sort of varsity team.

I have run more than 2 miles without stopping.

I have been to Canada.

I have been to Europe.

I have watched cartoons for hours.

I have tripped UP the stairs.

I have fallen down an entire flight of stairs.

I have been snowboarding/skiing.

I have played ping pong.

I swam in the ocean.

I have been on a whale watch.

I have seen fireworks.

I have seen a shooting star.

I have seen a meteor shower.

I have almost drowned.

I have been so embarrassed I wanted to disappear.

I have listened to one CD over & over & over again.

I have had stitches.

I have had frostbite.

I have licked a frozen pole and got stuck there.

I have stayed up til 2 doing homework/projects.

I currently have a job.

I have been ice skating.

I have been rollerblading

I have fallen flat on my face.

I have tripped over my own two feet.

I have been in a fist fight.

I have played videogames for more than 3 hours straight.

I have watched the power rangers.

I attend Church regularly.

I have played truth or dare.

I have already had my 16th birthday.

I have already had my 17th birthday.

I've called someone stupid.

I've been in a verbal argument.

I've cried in school.

I've played basketball on a team.

I've played baseball on a team.

I've played football on a team.

I've played soccer on a team.

I've done cheerleading on a team.

I've played softball on a team.

I've played volleyball on a team.

I've played tennis on a team.

I've been on a track or cross country team.

I've been swimming more than 20 times in my life.

I've bungee jumped.

I've climbed a rock wall.

I've lost more than $20.

I've called myself an idiot.

I've called someone else an idiot.

I've cried myself to sleep.

I've had (or have) pets.

I've owned a spice girls CD.

I've owned a britney spears CD.

I've owned an N*Sync CD.

I've owned a backstreet boys CD.

I've mooned someone.

I have sworn at someone of authority before.

I've been in the newspaper.

I've been on TV.

I've been to Hawaii.

I've eaten sushi.

I've been on the other side of a waterfall.

I've watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies.

I've watched all the Harry Potter movies.

I've watched all of the Rocky movies.

I've watched the 3 stooges.

I've watched "Newlyweds" Nick & Jessica.

I've watched Looney Tunes.

I've been stuffed into a locker/I have stuffed others into lockers.

I've been called a geek.

I've studied hard for a test and got a bad grade.

I've not studied at all for a test and aced it.

I've hugged my mom within the past 24 hrs.

I've hugged my dad within the past 24 hours.

I've met a celebrity/music artist.

I've written poetry.

I've been arrested.

I've been attracted to someone much older than me.

I've been tickled till I've cried.

I've tickled someone else until they cried.

I've had/have siblings.

I've been to a rock concert.

I've listened to classical music and enjoyed it.

I've been in a play.

I've been picked last in gym class.

I've been picked first in gym class.

I've been picked in that middle-range in gym class.

I've cried in front of my friends.

I've read a book longer than 1,000 pages.

I've played Halo 2.

I've freaked out over a sports game.

I've been to Alaska.

I've been to China.

I've been to Spain.

I've been to Japan.

I've had a fight with someone on AIM.

I've had a fight with someone face-to-face.

I've had serious conversations using IM.

I've forgiven someone who has done something wrong to me.

I've been forgiven.

I've screamed at a scary movie.

I've cried at a chick flick.

I've watched a lot of action movies.

I've screamed at the top of my lungs.

I've been to a rap concert.

I've been to a hip hop concert.

I've lived in more than 2 houses.

I've driven on the highway/been on the highway.

I've driven more than 400 miles in a day/been in a car that went more than 400 miles in a day.

I've been in a car accident.

I've done drugs.

I've been homesick.

I've thrown up.

I've puked on someone.

I've been horseback riding.

I've filled out more than 10 myspace surveys.

I've spoken my mind in public.

I've proved someone wrong.

I've been proven wrong by someone.

I've broken a leg.

I've broken an arm.

I've fallen off a swing.

I've swung on a swing for more than 30 mins straight.

I've watched Winnie the Pooh movies.

I've forgotten my backpack when I've gone to school.

I've lost my backpack.

I've come close to dying.

I've seen someone die.

I've known someone who has died.

I've wanted to be an actor/actress at some point.

I've done modeling.

I've forgotten to brush my teeth some mornings.

I've taken something/someone for granted.

I've realized how good my life is.

I've counted my blessings.

I've made fun of a classmate.

I've been asked out by someone and I said no.

I've slapped someone in the face.

I've been skateboarding.

I've been backstabbed by someone I thought was a friend.

I've lied to someone to their face.

I've told a little white lie.

I've taken a day off from school just so I don't go insane.

I've fainted.

I've had an argument with someone about whether cheerleading is a sport or not.

I've pushed someone into a pool.

I've been pushed into a pool.

I've been/are in love.

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I have lived through 110 things. Find out how many things you have lived through by taking the survey at TheTopTens

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All Good Things End

Well, the spiraling energy that has been building up has finally come crashing down around my head.  As of tomorrow I will no longer be in Work Force Management at work.  I have been given the opportunity to go back on the phones, which some of you are saying, "Awesome!  You're still employed, great job!"  To that I say that they are setting me up for failure of mass proportion.  Not only am I not qualified to be in the training class next week, I haven't taken a phone call in over a year.  So many things have changed since I was a phone advisor that I am not sure how long it will take me to get back into some semblance of a groove.

Yeah, they were trying to cut back on costs and they were chopping positions in several sites.  Unfortunately, I'm the only one who got chopped in this building.  They went by seniority and even though I've been in this position for over a year, I am still the "new girl" and so off I went.  It really wasn't fair because I felt that they should have gone by performance.

I suppose I could go on and on about how unfair their decision was, but I'm almost a bigger person than that.  I will tackle the transition class to my best ability, and see what happens from there.  I am thinking that I will probably continue to look for a new job and see where that takes me.  I really don't want to be unemployed as I am a single mom and as it is I make too much to get any assistance, but almost not enough to survive on.  Daycare is expensive you know!

Raven is still going to visit her aunt in July.  That has to happen.  The only other thing is that I will have to find daycare for her for the few weeks before school starts and then she'll go back to her current daycare which will be located on her school premises.  I just hope that with all the changes going on I will still be able to get down there to pick her back up.  I have no clue what my schedule will be like after next week.

This training class scares me to death.  Technically, I'm not qualified to be in the class, but they made an exception for me so that they could keep me from being laid off.  (Personally, I thought they should just lay me off and allow me to collect unemployment for a bit so I could find a new job, etc....)  I am freaked out because of the length of time it has been since I've taken a call.  I'm freaked out about the fact that I know nothing about the products that they will be talking about.  I do know that there will be people there who will be willing to help me and most of them are jaded because I'm the one who keep asking them to take an extra call when it's busy.  None of the phone advisors like my job very much.  I don't think they dislike me as a person, but I am gearing up for some animosity when I get out there.  I hope that they will be a bit more grown up than that.

What's more is that they just had a class that would have gotten me halfway qualified.  Two classes, actually.  I wish they had the foresight to know that they were going to kick me out of my current position a few weeks ago, at least then I would have had a fighting chance to get ready instead of being set up for the ultimate failure.  I guess I can make all the wishes I want, but it isn't going to change the fact that I'm being screwed here.

I will keep my mind open to all the options that the universe might present me with.  It's all I can really do.... really.

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Out of Control Spiral

I know we've all been there, but I am going to blog about this anyway because blogging helps me get the chaos into some semblance of order.  I feel like I'm spiraling out of control.  No, it's not a drug spiral although sometimes I feel like that would be easier. Ok, not really.

Anyone who has been following my blogs knows that I work some pretty funky hours.  During the time that I'm not working I volunteer at the VA hospital and I do volunteer work with Soldiers' Angels.   Someone told me to be careful that I didn't spread myself too thin with everything that I'm doing.  I thought that I was doing great, and in the beginning, I was.  I was motivated to write letters, put together care packages, send out post cards and all that wonderful stuff that goes along with being an "angel".  Don't get me wrong. I still LOVE being a Soldiers' Angel, but there are times when I feel unmotivated to do much.

I think the real reason I am feeling so very down is because my apartment is STILL a mess.  I have also been working tirelessly on my costume for the midsummer festival.  A lot of people have helped me work on and pay for the components for the costume.  Pictures to come.  I don't feel like I deserve all the help that my friends have given me for this.  I guess I have a hard time dealing with that because I have always been the one to do everything for myself, whether I have friends or not, in a relationship or not.  I suppose that is another story.

I dropped the ball the other day with a project that I was going to try to help out with.  I ended up not being able to go and do what I said I was going to do, and that really irritates me.  I didn't keep the line of communication open and even though it looks like the project will still go forward, I still feel bad about dropping the proverbial ball.

The Midsummer festival is this Sunday so after that I won't have to worry about my costume anymore.  Actually, my part in the construction is finished.  The only thing left is the wings, and my friend working on them will be done by Sunday so I'm not worried so much about it.  They are looking great.  I can't wait for the festival.  It will be so much fun.

Ok, so I know that I'm not feeling very good because my apartment isn't clean.  I know that I had gotten all excited about doing spring cleaning a few weeks ago, but I never got around to finishing it.  I have loads and loads of laundry to do and even though I weeded my garden a few days ago, it needs it again already.

Some of you might say that I need to take a break and take some time for myself.  Well, I already did that when I went to Utah.  I put all my SA stuff on hold for the most part.  I also think that is the reason that I'm not feeling as together.  I am now having to regain the momentum that I once had.  It's not as easy as I thought it would be.  But, no matter.

I think I'll end with that.  Thanks for reading.

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"Who Vacations in Orem, Anyway!"

The last five days were pretty awesome if I do say so.  I wasn't at work, so that made it all the better.

The drive to Utah did not take as long as I thought it would.  Raven and I left the house around 7am and arrived in Salt Lake City by noon.  There we met up with a friend that I haven't seen since high school.  Seeing him again was really great.  His family is very nice.  His wife was especially nice and very understanding.  She was a lot of fun to talk with.  They gave me an open invitation to come visit anytime.  I was especially surprised by the fact that he carried a picture of he and I in his wallet.  It is the same picture that I have in a photo album, one of us sitting on Santa's lap during my senior year I believe.  He also showed me something I thought I would never see again.

When I was younger, I was a lot more creative and I used to write a lot of poetry and short stories.  I had written him a poem and given with them a set of candles.  He told me that he would send me the poem.  I remember the premise, but not the actual poem/story.

We met up with my mom and stepdad in the park, and it truly has been a while since I've seen my mother.  She looks great for her age, but she still looked a lot older than the last time I saw her.  I will be very glad when she finally moves back down to the Lower 48.  They have been considering moving to Emmett, which is not far from where I live.  I think it would be nice to have her closer.

The whole point of the trip was to watch one of my cousins graduate high school.  I have not seen her family in roughly 13 years, less my uncle who is a truck driver and has made several trips to the Boise area.  None of my cousins really remembered me, my sister or my mom, their aunt.  I am not surprised by that, but it felt really weird.  I don't like being so out of touch with family.  They moved around a lot to various states following the work, but still.

The graduation itself was the same as every other graduation I have been to, including my own.  The smart kids made speeches and the staff spouts off how this class is the most special and talented of any of the classes they have ever had the pleasure of teaching, just like every class before them.  Just once, I would love for the speech to be about how we barely made it, and the future might be so bright that we actually need a flashlight instead of shades, but the illusion of future success is important to young minds, I suppose.  Overall, it wasn't terrible.

My sister and I spent Sunday together.  It is no secret that we don't really get along that great, but this trip we didn't really have any issues.  Sunday was a bit odd for us.  Since Orem is so heavily populated with Mormons, the Orem mall wasn't even open.  I'm not much of a mall rat, but my sister needed to find a dress for a wedding she is attending.  We found out that the Provo mall was open, so we drove on down.  It wasn't that far.  We arrived to find that the mall didn't open until noon.  We got there around 10am.  NOON??? Really?  Might as well not have been open at all that day for as much good as it did for us.

We drove back toward Orem and found a Savers thrift shop had opened.  It was previously closed the first time we drove by it and I assumed that it was closed on Sunday.  I was glad that I was wrong.  My sister ended up finding the cutest skirt.  Actually, I found it for her, but it looked great on her.  She ended up saving tons of money that she would have spent at the mall.  Sucks to be the mall!

We ended up going back to the hotel for the rest of the afternoon.  There wasn't else much to do anyway.  While we were at Savers I found a Brad Thor novel to go with the set.  It is a book that doesn't come until later so it will sit on the shelf until I've read the rest of the books.  I also found a brand new copy of Star Trek Next Generation: Q & A.  It is a 20th anniversary novel that stars Q, my favorite Trek villain.  I have never done this before, but I read the entire thing in one sitting!  Six hours, roughly 400 pages.  I really scared myself with that one.

I did drag my sister to sing karaoke with me on Saturday night.  We ended up at a cafe, yes a CAFE, and when we got there, there were only three patrons in the entire building.  I like it that dead.  It give me a chance to try new songs with little chance of sucking in front of too many people.  By the time we left, there were about a dozen people in the cafe, and I had sang about a dozen songs.  The crowd, such that it was, was really tough and we left out of sheer boredom.

Swimming was awesome while we were there.  The weather was great.  I got back home to grey skies and RAIN!  More rain!!!  I couldn't believe it.  I couldn't even go swimming when I got back.  I managed to let Raven go swimming for a short while yesterday, but it was too cold for me.  Brrrrrr...

Anyway, long story short. The trip was good.  I am glad to be home.  I have so much cleaning to do that I don't know where to start.

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Raven's Quote de la Semaine

I've decided that these are too good not to repost.  My daughter.. My 5-year-old Raven says some of the most interesting things. Most kids do at that age.  Little do they realize just how intelligent they actually are.  Or, perhaps it is just that childlike wisdom that we tend to lose as we get older.  Anyway, on with today's Quote of the Week:

"Food needs our brains!"

Now, like you I am sure that she meant t say "Your brain needs food", but I have really pondered the absolute meaning of that particular statement. It rather coincides with the fact that I am getting ready to go back to school and quicker than I thought.  Apparently, the deadline to get everything taken care of is tomorrow.  My enrollment advisor emailed me some paperwork that I need to fax him tonight before I leave for my trip tomorrow.  Classes start a few days after I get back.  Wow!  That was quick.

Anyway, back to "food needs brains".  I have come to determine, just as you have I'm sure, that food in this case is knowledge and brains is of course our minds, and there is so much knowledge out there that needs a place to live.  Going back to school is a great way for that knowledge to find a place to live.  Reading books, talking with people, developing confidence and esteem... all great ways to perpetuate a living place for food.  

I find great inspiration in Raven.  She is bright, fearless, and less a few minor flaws, confident in almost every way.  She has friends, she's smart, funny and loves being in the spotlight.  I'm pretty much none of those things, and I often wonder where she gets it from.  

After I finish my business degree (because let's face it, an AA is about as useful as a GED these days) I am going to pursue another degree.  Something challenging and something that will allow me to find a career that I might make a buck or two at.  I'm not going to say what it is just yet as I don't want any naysayers to chime in.  I am also not sure if it is what I will really be pursuing, but I think so.  There are times when I feel a little too old to be going back to school.  I'm in my mid-30s and think about the fact that if I go back for a Bachelor's degree, I'll be 40 by the time I finish.  I MIGHT get employed in that particular field and even then I'll be competing with those who are younger, stronger, smarter or whatever.  Then, if I do get employed, I'll have about 15 to 20 good years of working left.  I might be able to save up for my retirement.  Darn, I wish I had listened to my dad when I was 18.

Ok, enough of my own naysaying.  The fact is that food does need my brain and I will be glad to open it up and let it in.  How could I not?

Green and Crunchy

Wow!  That could bring up a lot of different images, couldn't it?  Well, get your minds out of the gutter, People!

I'm talking about my salad.  I harvested a few leaves of lettuce from my garden this morning and they were delish!  I think I'm going to enjoy having a salad bar growing in my back yard!  now, if only the tomatoes would hurry up and grow.

That's all.  Oh, and there's no refund on getting the last three minutes of your life back.

It's in the fine print.....

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up: Part Too!

So lately I've been caught with a case of the dreads over my current job.  Most people my age have not just a job, but a career.  Both of my siblings do.  My brother is in construction and my sister has her teaching degree.  She's been having a hard time finding a job as a teacher, but at least she's finished college.

It has come down to me dreading walking into work on most days, even though my job is easy, but stressful.  I think that it has become TOO easy.  Although, they are getting ready to change things up yet again, so we'll see what happens with that.

I have come to determine that I am one of those souls who will just have to spin a roulette wheel to figure out what she wants to be.  I know it sounds like I'm obsessing about this, but my dad always told me I should have learned a trade of some sort.  I'm getting to the age when I'm feeling almost to old to learn a new trade or go back to college.  I know that is ridiculous, but that is how I feel as of late.  I never really developed any talents that could be beneficial to my financial situation.  In other words, I should have taken up car mechanics instead of karaoke.. LOL

I am perusing the plethora of degree paths that can be taken online or at a local campus.  I had tried to get information about being a physical therapy assistant, but the information lady was rather presumptuous when I her if any of the classes were available online.  Obviously it is a hands on type of program.  I'm not THAT naive for crying out loud.  But when she said that there were no classes offered online for the program because their students require dedication, I about fell out of my chair with rage.  As if I have no dedication whatsoever.  Well, screw you lady.  I guess you won't be seeing my $390/credit tuition any time soon.

But, that is where I come to my conundrum.  I require online study because of my work schedule and how INFLEXIBLE it actually is.  I am sure that if I tell them that I need a specific schedule so I can go to school to learn widgetmaking 101, they'll laugh me right off the phone.  The truth is that I was going to school online for about two years and had two more to go when I got burnt out.  Actually, I hit a class that I wasn't doing very well at and decided that the program wasn't for me.  I don't think I'm ever going to get out of taking a Statistics class.  It's a tough class.  I could go back and finish my AA degree.  I only have four classes left, but ... ok, but nothing.  I should just do it.  speaking of which, I should check my email.  I sent them an email requesting info on how I would go about getting those last four classes taken care of.

Ok, just got that email back from my advisor.  Looks like he's interested in getting me going on that.  Goodie for filling out FAFSA forms!

Ok, now that that is over with, I can go on ranting about other things.....

I haven't started packing for that trip yet. I'll be doing that all on Monday.

Wait, I was talking about career paths.  One that peaked my interest was court reporting.  Don't ask me why.  My mind is full of chaotic thought patterns.

Gotta run for now.  Thanks for reading!

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