It's Cryin' Time Again

I just got back from the Happiest Place on Earth...back to life, back to reality... Awhile ago, I put my hat back in the ring to apply for Intermountain's nursing program. I also upped my ante, and applied for Salt Lake Community College's nursing program. I jumped through all their little hoops, crossed my t's, dotted my i's, and sat back to wait...and wait....and wait some more. SLCC's website stated that NO notifications concerning the nursing program would be given until August 30th, no sooner, no later. Imagine my surprise when a letter arrives in my mailbox in mid-August from the nursing program....and my subsequent disappointment when they tell me, "sorry, you're really great and all, but....NO. Sorry, you are not a winner, try again!!" All hope was not lost however, because I have applied for another program, a program that I have been turned down for twice already, and have been assured by several people that "it's your turn, you're gonna get it this time, definitely your year, there is NO way they will turn you down again!" I just had to wait for October for the inevitable nod that was FINALLY going to come my way....Guess what....I was absolutely stunned to find out, that once again...it's still a BIG FAT NO! I was beside myself with the absolute injustice of it all! Are you kidding me???? My two coworkers got in, who, between the two of them, equal my length of service with the company. One of the girls I had much better grades than, and I had tons more experience in the field than either one of them. But Intermountain still didn't want me. I was not content to go softly into that dark night...oh no, not me. I wanted a darn good reason as to why I was being rejected, yet again. I called the program director bright and early the next morning, and got voice mail, left a lengthy message...and waited. No call came by early afternoon, so I called again and was rewarded by a live person on the other end. I stated who I was and explained my plight. I asked where my shortcomings were, what ousted me from this opportunity that I have wanted so badly? She told me that they look at many things, but this year again, they were really concentrating on the performance evaluations. I stated that I had not had my evaluation this year, so how could I have gotten fair consideration? Cold dread hit me in that moment...and I asked "So...the evaluation that you are judging me on is from last year?" She confirmed my worst fears...."Yes, the most current evaluation we have is from 2011." OH NO!!!! I informed her that it was that evaluation that cost me the program last year...and let me tell you....last year was my worst year EVER!!! I nearly lost my job, got demoted, and written up...it just plain SUCKED! And this was what I was being judged on? Awesome... She spent several minutes giving me advice to be a better employee, and to really step it up, and to not give up, and try again...blah, blah, blah...It all fell on deaf ears. I was in total disbelief! I was totally and irrevocably being shafted, and there was nothing that anyone could do. All I can say, in hindsight, is that there is absolutely no way that Intermountain was looking at any other factors, it was all based on the employee performance evaluation..pure and simple, that was the ONLY thing they were looking at, and mine was not current, and not good....enough. It also seems, that no matter how badly I want this, or how hard I have worked to get here, it just isn't time. I don't know when it will be, but it isn't now. Back to the drawing board...Hey, I'm nothing, if not extremely persistent!

Happiest Place on Earth

We had some drama in the neighborhood. It involved us, but was not started by us - just haters trying to blow a nothing situation in to all sorts of emotional turmoil. As a result, we needed some space from the storm, and a rather fortuitous option became available to us. My husband was perusing Facebook and came upon a post from an old school friend of his that was looking to give away some Disney Park Hopper passes to anyone who could make the time frame work. There was only 1 day left of the three days originally purchased, and they had to be used by September 30th. It was amazing how things just fell into place, Rob had the time off work, I had the time off work, and the funds we needed to make it happen were available. The only downside was that I had to work a night shift the night before we left. So I got everyone's things together before I left for work, and Rob tied up all the loose ends, packed everything in the van, and was there at 0730 at the hospital to pick me up. We were on the road all day long, and the trip was, thankfully, uneventful. We reached our hotel at around 5p.m. and got checked in and settled down for the night. All the older kids knew where we were going, but the younger two had no idea, and had never been before, so all of us were excited for them. I have to tell you, this was the quickest, and cheapest trip to Disneyland EVER!! We found a decent hotel through Priceline that cost us under $100 for two nights, we brought and prepared all of our meals and bought two additional park hopper passes for an extremely discounted rate. We set out for Disneyland bright and early the next morning and proceeded to spend the most enjoyable 16 solid hours imaginable there. The two youngest were so excited, I thought they were going to bust out of their skins! Three weeks later, the baby is still talking about the Snow White ride, and the Pinocchio ride, and her absolute favorite, It's a Small World (she went on it at least 4 times!). Her all time favorite movie of the moment is currently The Nightmare Before Christmas due to the fact that Disneyland was all done up for Halloween and she was able to go on the Haunted Mansion ride which was themed after the movie. She asks me for Skeleton Happy Halloween at least 3 times a day, and will actually sit through the entire movie at least once. Anyway, if you didn't get it from the above description, we had a wonderful time and made a lot of awesome memories! And what would a Disneyland post be without some pictures? Here you go! Enjoy!

'Skeleton Happy Halloween!'

One of many trips through Small World

End of the night, we were exhausted!

A Fond Reunion Due to an Unexpected Farewell

I went to a funeral last week, the funeral of my first 'official' boyfriend - Gary Anthony Stubbs. It was a beautiful and brief service, and I know he was there and happy that some of his closest buddies had shown up for him.

I had reconnected with him through facebook about a year ago, before that, it had been almost 20 years since I had last spoken with him. Finding him again was nice, and a little sad. I could tell he was troubled by something and that life had not been kind. I wanted to reach out, and we did chat some - but our different life choices put some distance between us. I am a married woman with multiple children, and he was a single dad who adored his little girl. I let him know through our chats that my friendship was always there, and that I would help him if he needed it. He was grateful for that, but kept his distance. I would see occasional posts from him here and there, and then....he just disappeared.

Gary had been crossing my mind a lot lately, and I knew something was going on with him, that's when I discovered his facebook account was no longer, so I had no way of checking up on him. Then, on June 26th, my phone rang and another blast from my past was on the other end. It was Steven Bradford, and I knew that anything he told me wasn't going to be happy...He shortly confirmed that feeling after apologizing for not contacting me before now. Gary had taken his life on Saturday, June 23rd and his funeral was tomorrow. What news! It was a shock to say the least, I was reeling just a little bit. Steve told me what he knew, and we did some catching up, he was definitely going to the funeral the next day, and I started getting busy making arrangements. After saying goodbye to Steve, my very first call was to my old friend Sandee (Beraz) Robison. She had JUST moved from Davis county to the city right next to mine. What a way to get together after 20+ years of not seeing someone, eh? Well, Sandee was as floored as I had been, and had definite plans of attending the service, and offered me a ride..I accepted without even hesitating. If I couldn't be there when he needed me in life, I was definitely NOT going to miss this chance to pay my respects and say my goodbyes!

I had a shift to work at the hospital that Tuesday night, so I went and worked. Then I went home and crashed for about 4 hours before suddenly waking up at noon and hurriedly getting myself ready before Sandee arrived. We drove up to Farmington where the service was to be held. It was a small, intimate gathering, and there was this wonderful peaceful spirit there. I knew my friend was there, as I have mentioned before...his presence was palpable. I could feel his excitement over the fact that his closest high school friends had come to wish him a fond farewell, and that there were others who couldn't make it who were there in spirit as well. I knew that where ever he was, he was happy, and at peace - something that had always been a struggle for him in this life.

I shed quite a few tears during his service, a select few members got up and shared experiences that they had had with Gary, they were wonderful. It brought me comfort that he was surrounded with such love.

So, what ever you are up to now Gary...I wish you the best, and I hope to see you again someday, my good friend...you will be missed!

Hey Daughter-In-Law...I'm going to miss you..

My husband's aunt, Lindi Ellsworth Fox, passed away after a long 9 year battle with cancer. We had a little 'inside joke', if you want to call it that...She was born in September of 1972, I was born in June of 1972...making me 3 months older, but in the Fox clan, I'm a granddaughter-in-law. Here's some brief Fox family geneaology for you. William and Joyce Fox had 7 boys, Lindi married Ken, son #7. I married Rob, the second son of William Fox, who is son #1...making me the granddaughter-in-law, and Lindi the daughter-in-law..get it? I'm sure when I see her again we'll giggle about it, but until then, I will just miss her.

Here is a beautiful video that was put together by a friend of my husband's who does professional photography. Be warned, it made me cry, so have tissues on hand. The love that radiates from this woman is tangible.

So, once again...Hey Daughter-In-Law, I'm going to miss you, a lot...From Granddaughter-in-law.

http://vimeo.com/37911263

Soup's On!

http://myblessedlife.net/2010/03/broccoli-cheddar-soup-panera-style.html I made this soup tonight and it was really good! I altered some of the ingredients because I just didn't have them on hand.. Broccoli Cheddar Soup – Panera Style 2 T. Butter, melted *1 large onion, chopped 1/2 c. butter, melted 1/2 c. all purpose flour *4 c. half and half *4 c. chicken broth *1 lb. fresh broccoli *2 cups, julienned carrots salt and pepper, to taste 1/2 t. nutmeg 16 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Whisk butter and flour over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add half and half. Add chicken stock, still whisking. Simmer 20 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots and onion. Cook over low heat until veggies are tender – about 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup will have thickened by now. Carefully transfer soup mixture to blender and puree. Return soup to pot (or crockpot) over low heat. Add cheese. Stir until well blended. Add nutmeg right before serving. Makes 8-10 servings. Enjoy! Instead of 1 large onion, I added about 3 TBSP. of dehydrated onion. Instead of half and half, I added 2 cans of cream of chicken soup along with 6 cans of water, this also substituted for the chicken broth as well. Instead of fresh broccoli, I used a package of chopped frozen broccoli. Lastly, instead of julienned carrots, I used about 1/4 c. of dehydrated. I own a Vita Mix, so it was super pureed by the time I was done with it, and there were no little nice flecks of green like in Myra's picture. My husband commented that it looked like mustard...but everyone had seconds and thirds, so it must have been good! I am currently sick with what I think is the flu...but what I could taste was pretty yummy!

Another One Bites the Dust...

One Mitsubishi Outlander driver side door munched - check
One South Jordan street sign flattened - check
One Rocky Mountain electrical transformer box obliterated and pushed half way off of its foundation - check
One 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan totaled - check
One driver of said Caravan shaken and totally pissed because of all this drama caused by someone NOT PAYING ATTENTION - check

Moral to story, if you are going to do something, go all out and do it well folks!

P.S. There were no injuries to either party involved and the two of us gals ended up getting along rather well. She felt horrible about the whole thing, and that pretty much caused my anger to instantly evaporate. Her insurance was extremely quick to amend things...Progressive...consider me impressed! The only downside is trying to find a replacement van by Monday, that's when we lose the rental...

15 years

I meant to do this post closer to the actual date...but life happens..so it didn't happen! Rob and I.....the story..... We met in a Young Single Adult Ward in Northern California after he had returned home from serving a mission in the Houston, Texas area in July of 1994. I noticed him right away, thought he was cute, but all the other girls seemed to be after him, and I wasn't interested in the 'stake a claim' competition that happened every time a RM came home.....ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND...I was dating someone else. We continued running into one another at various ward activities, then the stars finally aligned in late January/early February of 1995, and we actually started dating. It lasted an impressive 2.5 months, and we (I) broke up. A few months later, we tried again before he went out to Utah for school, and we broke up again right before he left. He came home for Thanksgiving break, we got together.....only to have me break his heart AGAIN before he returned to school...(heartless, aren't I?) Same thing at Christmas, AND when he came home for President's Day weekend, only that one didn't end so tragically! We actually kept the relationship going when he returned to school, and a rather large phone bill to boot! When he returned in late March, and we were still together, our bishop called us into his office and told us how happy he was to see us together, but then told us that we had better make this attempt stick, because if it didn't work out, and we broke up, he was going to get restraining orders for us that would not allow us within 500 yards of one another. We continued dating through that summer, and on September 7, 1996, he took me down into the coldest, most treacherous pool of water I have ever been in and asked me what I would be doing for the next 50 or so years, asked me if he could take me to the Lord's Holy House and make me his wife. I, of course, said yes, when I could finally unclench my chattering jaw long enough to operate it! We were married December 27, 1996 in the Oakland, California temple. The above picture is us on that eventful day, 15 YEARS AGO..... And on the same day, different temple (Sacramento, California). Our friend, Beth Caudle, tried to recreate the picture taken all those years ago.

 

Happy Anniversary Rob! Fifteen years and five kids later...the adventure continues...