Minnesota Make Out

I want to bring to light something that I think is SICK AND WRONG.  Well, I guess it was already brought to light when this video went viral.  I will admit, it's kind of funny, but it really is disgusting, and it makes me wonder how many parents would go along with this.  HERE you can find the report that CNN did on it, including an interview with the principal.

Watched the videos?  Alright, here I go.  WHAT IN TARNATION?!?!?!  While I wouldn't say that this 'offends' me, it disgusts me.  WHY?!  Why would any parent do that?  I will say, my high school did something kind of similar, but it was a kiss on the cheek.  THAT'S OKAY.  But did you see on the video where one kid and his mom had moved from kissing to ROLLING ON THE FLOOR?!  I definitely think that there are some better ways to get kids 'pepped'.  Go back to the first video and pause it at about :28 or :29 seconds and you'll notice that OMG! THAT MOM IS MAKING HER SON GRAB HER ASS!!!!!  And some of those embraces from father to daughter?  That would make me VERY uncomfortable.  Also, somewhere else I read that this is an ONGOING TRADITION that they do every six years.  Um...what?  A lot of people are actually saying that people offended by the video just need to get a better sense of humor.  What?  What is wrong with people?  Maybe they need a little visit from CPS.

For those of you still looking for a career, I suggest you move to Minnesota and become a therapist, because you'll probably be set for work for the rest of your life.

The Time I Was a Witness...

To a WEDDING!  I love weddings, and I didn't even realize it until today.  And I wasn't a witness to just any old wedding.  The groom was my ex-boyfriend and the bride was my ex-worst enemy.  I KNOW!  I dated him my senior year and it ended kind of bad, but we were still kind of friends.  She was his girlfriend after me.  We didn't know each other, but she had a problem with me for some reason unknown to me.  And that was back when we were you and crazy and she thought she was a chola and I knew I was a bad ass, but I didn't have time for drama because I was too busy being awesome.  Obviously.  She even threatened to jump me, but that was right after we had BOTH found out that we were pregnant, so there was no knock down drag out going on.  We mostly just glared at each other.  (Am I the only one that thinks that the last few sentences sounded REALLY ghetto?)

Anyway, we ended up having to put up with each other because him and Cangrejo grew up in the same little village in El Salvador and they're good friends, plus his sister, Jackie, who she was friends with, was one of my bride's maids.  Over the last year we've become pretty good friends and we go out together about once a month as couples.  Also, their son was born about a month and a half after Isabel, and so when we hang out they get to play together.

At about 4 this afternoon they called us and said they had just decided to get married and asked us to be witnesses.  They were already planning on getting married this month, but for some reason they decided to do it today!  So we met them at the county clerk's office while they were getting their marriage license and then they got hold of a judge.  The judge could do it at 7, so we went to dinner and then went to the little 'chapel'.  The judge had built it himself, and it's adorable.  It kind of looks like a shed, if you just drive past it, except it has a little cement porch and a steeple on top with a little white picket fence in front of it.  Adorable.  It's only 10x12 feet, so inside there's a tiny little space heater, and 6 chairs on either side of the aisle.  At the front there's a white altar with a few vines, some twinkle lights, and some sheer fabric draped on it, plus a little table with the Holy Bible and a ring bearer's pillow.  It's a pretty stinking adorable little place.  The people that came were me and Cangrejo (THE WITNESSES!!!), their son, the bride's parents, and the groom's 2 younger sisters (equipped with a video and digital camera.)  I'll admit, I kind of cried a little, especially when I noticed that the groom was choking back tears.  So the whole thing was short and sweet and fast.  And I got to be a witness.  I don't mean that in some cheesy, grateful for the experience way, either.  I was just excited because now I can say that I've done that, and I felt really important for a few minutes.......alright, I still feel important.

First Snow

We got our first snow the other day.  I'm not a huge fan of winter, and when you grow up in northern Utah, most of your life is winter.  We're talking 7-8 months out of the year.  Snow can start as early as the second week of October (possibly sooner) and it can snow as late as the beginning of May (or June).  I love certain things about winter.  I learned to ski when I was little and then in 9th grade I started boarding.  I love it, but it's kind of expensive so I haven't been in a couple years.  Also, I love Christmas.  I'm that obnoxious person that starts pulling out as much Christmas stuff as they can the minute they get home from trick-or-treating.  I have at least 5 books of piano Christmas music that I play, plus some sheet music.  The point is, I love Christmas, I hate winter.  I should have stayed in Texas.  I would much rather be too hot than too cold.  ANYWAYS.  First snow.  Isabel was around for last winter, but she didn't really care because she was so little.  So when I woke up the other day and saw that it had snowed, I couldn't wait to show her.  Even though I hate winter, there's a little bit of a thrill that comes with the white snow.  So we put her boots on over her pajamas and headed outside.   

She was looking out over our field and she just kept saying "Wow, Mommy, wow wow"

I lifted her up and stood her in it, and she bailed on that idea as fast as she could.

She was extra upset when she realized it stuck to her boots (which are her new favorite things).  She wanted to wipe it off, but she was afraid to touch it.

I think it's safe to say this winter will be interesting.  I think she's too small to go out and play in it, like with snow pants and the whole she-bang, but we'll figure something out I think.

4 Generations of Crazy

So I may or may not have mentioned before that about a year and a half ago, right after Isabel was born, my grandma got really sick.  She's always been a 'really tough old hag' and I say that out of complete respect.  She'd go out with my grandpa, my dad, and my uncle hunting, and she could out shoot all three of them.  She would take me fishing and spank my butt if I threw a fit about touching the worms or if I complained about being tied to a giant rock or spare tire.  (She didn't want me to drown.) 

This is my grandma, me, and my little brother, having a tailgate picnic during the deer hunt.  I think I was 3 here.

She's had several heart surgeries, the first of which when she was only 45, and other random things that just come with getting older.  Every day for as long as I remember she would get up in the morning, have something light to eat, walk up a hill, and then come home and eat a big healthy breakfast, and when I would go to stay with her, I would have to do the same thing.  "It keeps your heart pumpin'."  So it came as a big surprise to all of us when she was suddenly hospitalized in June 2010.  She had a form of the herpes virus that causes cold sores, but it had moved backwards into her brain and turned into encephalitis.  She was pretty much unconscious for almost 2 months, and we didn't think she would come out of it.  Due to the amount of time she spent in bed, her legs haven't been able to get strength back, and her mind isn't as sharp as it was before, but Grama is still crazy as ever.  She lived 3 hours away in an assisted living home near my uncle, and so when we get the chance we go see her.  We always try to make sure to take pictures when we go.  I went through a time in my life when I didn't fully appreciate her, and I always wondered what it would be like if my grandpa was still around, because he died when I was 4.  My dad likes to joke that Grama would have killed him off by now anyways, and how that might actually be what happened, because Grama didn't want an autopsy done. 

 I know she doesn't have a long time left, but I want Isabel to know about the lady that passed on her crazy to my dad, who then passed it to me, and I'm sure it's going to be an inevitable fate for Isabel.  A short temper, the inability to communicate normal human emotion, OCD, unreasonable reasoning (like voting for Bill Clinton because he has nice hair and that shows character.....), high cholesterol, and so much more.

She doesn't understand anything Cangrejo says, but she thinks he's handsome and so she approves.  I know she's losing it because she says that I'm looking thinner.  One thing that I've always based her crazy on is that she goes by her middle name 'Maurine' because she thinks the name 'Julia' sounds like a floozy.  She was raised in Dingle, Idaho.  Bet you didn't know there was a town by the name of Dingle.  They have raspberries there so there's like.....Dingleberries hahaha.  When she's gone she's going to come back and haunt us because she was born a Bear Laker and they're supposed to die Bear Laker's, but she's spending her time farther North.

Happy Halloween...one day late.

Last Friday my 2 older brothers went to their annual work Halloween party.  They brought their boys to the house and so we painted pumpkins and made s'mores with 6 boys ages 1-11 plus Isabel.  However, before my oldest brother left, we got a picture. 

That's him with the blond wig and the goatee (if you couldn't tell). He was Little Red Riding Hood and my sister-in-law was the Big Bad Wolf.  Seriously, I look forward to Halloween every year just to see what these two are going to dress up as.

Before Isabel went to bed I painted her hand to put it on her pumpkin.  She wasn't really sure what to think about it.

She didn't like me restraining her finger movement when we put it on the pumpkin, either, but by damn, we did it anyways.

Ta-daa!  Here's ME!  No one commented on my last post (thanks, guys) to help me decide which way to paint my face, but a bunch of people on Facebook did, and I ended up actually going with the least popular because I thought it was bad ass.  I didn't do it exactly the same, but whatever.  I still think it rocked, and I only scared two little kids when we went trick-or-treating.  I was worried that it would freak Isabel out, but she actually thought it was pretty funny.

And here's my brujita linda!  (Pretty little witch.)  We went to my friend's store and she found a broom to play with, which was awesome and appropriate, so I took a picture.  Plus, she just looked so damn cute.

Here we are on the front porch :)  My mom took a picture of us almost every year when we were little on the porch for Halloween, so I considered it necessary.  Hopefully next year we can take the picture on our own porch, though.

It was a pretty long night for her.  She didn't really get the whole trick-or-treating thing, but she thought it was awesome that every time someone opened the door they let her grab as much candy as her little hands could, and this girl has enough dum-dums to last until her birthday so we're set.

So, now we're on to November.  I can't believe how fast this year has gone by!  I hope that November is better than the last few months have been.  I'm already working on a bunch of Christmas projects, as of next week I'll be working full time, and hopefully I'll be starting online classes on the 15th.  I can't even tell you how freaking excited I am.  I like studying, is that weird?  For someone that almost didn't graduate and basically got kicked out of school her 2nd trimester of her senior year, I love to learn.  Now that I'm doing it because I want to, I feel really driven and excited and I can't wait to start.  I'll be working a lot because we're hoping to go to California for Christmas and New Years to be with Cangrejo's extended family (whom I've never met) and we've got to save up extra money for gas.  It's gonna be crazy the next couple of months, but I'm looking forward to it!  So, Happy November everyone, be grateful and stuff.

Pick One

I was just going to ask for you to vote on these, but I decided to make it educational.  For Halloween, I'm not dressing up, mostly just because I'm lazy, BUT I'm going to paint my face like a calavera.  I could teach you about them on my own, but I'm feeling lazy and my husband is getting jealous of the computer, so I'm gonna give you a link courtesy of good old wikipedia.  You could also Google it, but you'll mostly find a bunch of stuff about Calavera County in California.  I suggest Google images.  Some of them are pretty.  Until then, vote on these!  Should I paint my face like the flowery, colorful one?  Or the cool, black and red one?  1 or 2?  I'll reveal the winner sometime after Halloween ;)

Now I Know My ABC's

Back in the day when people still used Myspace I was addicted to posting surveys about myself on the bulletin board.  I'm a little bit of a narcissist.  So, when I came across this ABC survey over at MrsPriss, I just couldn't help myself.  Here we go;

A. Age: 20 years 6 months and 5 days......approximately

B. Bed size: Umm....double?  I think that's what it's called.  Whatever it is, it's TOO DAMN SMALL.

C. Chore that you hate: Washing dishes.  I have issues with touching other people's food with bare hands.  Plus I have severe eczema and dermatosis (really dry skin) on my hands and if I have to get my hands wet too many times a day, I'm left in serious pain.

D. Dogs: I prefer big dogs as long as they don't jump up on me.

E. Essential start to your day: Changing a diaper.....

F. Favorite color: purple?  Today it will be purple.

G. Gold or Silver: SILVER or white gold

H. Height: 5’3″

I. Instruments you play: Piano and various percussion instruments

J. Job title: Temp. FML

K. Kids: Isabel Riley.  And as soon as we're out of my parents' house and on our feet, you best believe I'll be popping out another one.

L. Live: Northern Utah?  That's kind of sad.

M. Mother’s name: Lora

N. Nicknames: Joe, JP, J-Pard (that one's my dad's nickname for me...I don't get it either) Guera, Chuchis

O. Overnight hospital stays: Just when Isabel was born.

P. Pet peeves: Grown men that still think it's okay to be getting in fights, other grown men that think it's okay to beat on my friends, people that won't help themselves, Rent-a-Center........and that's just today.

Q. Quote from a movie: "I just feel like I'm excited, and I feel relaxed, and I'm READYYY to PARRRTAYYYYYYY oh, with the best of them, and I'm gonna go down to the riverrrrr!!!! -Bridesmaids

R. Right or left handed: Righty for almost everything.  I'm left handed when I shoot a gun.....because I'm left eyed, apparently.

S. Siblings: 3 brothers.  Riley 19, Mike 32, Vic 33

U. Underwear: Boy shorts or bikini or you know, thong, or whatever haha.  You name it, I own it.  I LOVE underwear.

V. Vegetable you hate: Brocolli, cauliflower, almost every other vegetable......

W. What makes you run late: My husband's hair.....or mine.

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth, wrist, finger, other finger

Y. Yummy food that you make: Salvadoran rice, goulash, and creamy cheesy potato soup.

Z. Zoo animal: Like: Elephants!  Dislike: Snakes and bats...........and I'm afraid of hippos.