Month: October 2013

SO! What are you all going to be for Halloween!? Previously we never really had a dress up event at work but our new director really loves to play up all the holidays. She started a committee to do Fun Things through out the year and so far it’s been a lot of fun. Lotto raffles for St. Patrick’s Day was awesome and then for our fiscal year end we had a different theme dress up day every day. Like Crazy Sock Day, Crazy Hat Day, you get the idea.

Now I’m excited for Halloween because I’ll get to dress up at work for the first time! You’d think this would be hard considering the ridiculous state of the costumes you see in the Halloween stores right now. 99% of them are NOT work appropriate! But I already have a costume picked out! I’m going to wear my Science Officer Star Trek costume! Dress, black leggings, black boots, Spock ears, phaser, DONE! Cute and comfy and totally work appropriate! I’ll probably play up my makeup really fun too because it’s an Original Series costume and they used to do some really funky stuff with the eye makeup. As a Vulcan, maybe one of my coworker could dress up to be my immigration lawyer. Starfleet Academy won’t let just anybody in, you know. 😉

On Tuesday, because WHY NOT!?

When did you get your first cell phone?
It wasn’t MY phone but we got our first family cell phone when I was a Sophomore in high school. I wasn’t really supposed to use it but I did anyway. Pretty sure it was like $10,000 a minute an my mom ordered a hit on me when she saw the bill. 😉

How old were you at the time?
Umm, sophomore year would make me 14/15.

What type of phone was it?
It was this one. Sexy, right?

What type of phone do you have now?
I have an iPhone 4S still but I’ve been slowly saving up the money to get a 5S. I’ve almost broken down a few times and just ordered it knowing that I will be able to make up the rest of the cost when I sell the 4S but I’ve been trying REALLY HARD to stick to a budget I’ve set out for myself. I’m only about $30 short. SO CLOSE! Plus, this way I can put whatever I get for selling the 4S to my Christmas budget fund. So far I’ve been able to make it all up by selling stuff and blogging and I haven’t had to take on any odd jobs that require disposable coveralls. 😉

Do you prefer calling or texting/mailing?
I prefer to text short stuff like quick questions or shopping items I need. For anything more I prefer to call.

Summer Camp Safety Concerns All Should Know About

Summer camps can provide safe, adult or trained professional-supervised activities and explorations designed to keep children entertained, happy, and most importantly, out of danger. The safety of our children is of upmost importance, a sentiment that should be shared by those individuals we leave to supervise.

You should be wary of the type of people hired at the summer camp your child is attending, the culture surrounding the camp, and its procedures on how to deal with dangerous events and occurrences. You should know how background checks are handled by the summer camp’s program director and how he or she screens employees of the camp and volunteers. Make sure you are asking the right questions.

Criminal Background Checks

Ask the program’s director about the process for hiring and if employees and volunteers must pass a criminal background check before they are hired. More than likely, because the job entails working with children, the clearance of such a requirement is essential to the hiring process, but there is nothing wrong with double checking this.

Sex Offender and the National Sex Offender Registry

Be cautious and inquisitive when it comes to volunteers and teen counselors. You have the right to know if voluntary staff members have been checked and cleared under the National Sex Offender registry, even if you have been told that paid employees must be screened for such offenses. Knowledge of all persons that may interact with your child is your right as a parent.

Rules and Regulations

Ask program supervisors for a handbook or pamphlet detailing all rules and regulations regarding the safety and well being of campers. The regulations should go into detail about river and lake safety, outdoor activities, and forest animal interaction. Summer outdoor safety guidelines should be afforded to you before your child is registered to attend the camp.

Prevention

Inquiries about the prevention of bullying, sexual abuse, accidental poisoning, broken bones, etc. should go through your mind when sending your child to a summer camp. Be sure to ask program director’s about the steps taken to train and educate staff and employees on how to prevent accidents, sexual misconduct, the consequences if rules concerning sexual misconduct is violated, and if and when accidents occur, are staff members trained in first aid and medical care.

Ask about all training procedures staff members must go through in order to awarded a position at the summer camp. For instance, New York summer camp counselors must receive 8 days of intensive pre-camp staff training, interactive seminars, and must study modern concepts in child care and motivational techniques. The more you know about the camp and its staff, the safer you will feel about sending your child to the camp.

Licensure

Ascertain that the summer camp is certified by the state, have passed all necessary tests and trainings, and have received all licenses to operate.

Summer camps and their employees should be considerate of your concerns regarding the care of your child and the preventative steps they have taken to ensure the campers’ safety. Not until you are completely satisfied and content with the answers you have received from the program coordinator should you sign your child up for the summer camp.

Additionally, talk with your child about your safety concerns and what they should do in the event that they feel threatened or unsafe. Discuss their concerns, as well. Children may be apprehensive towards attending summer camp for the first time so address their questions and concerns openly and honestly.

All steps by each party involved that can be taken to ensure the safety of your child are necessary to take. Establish a piece of mind and send your child to a summer camp you both feel is a safe environment.

Information Provided By http://www.chateaugay.com/

After three weeks off because of all this horrible sinus crap that I’ve been going through, I got to do a FULL WORKOUT for the first time. I did have a bit of pressure during the squat track but I just paused to let my heart rate drop down a bit and was able to get back at it after resting for a rep or two. Normally I’d be really hard on myself for that but I’m not feeling to bad about the fact that it was only my head holding me back and not my body!

I did notice that while doing the deadlifts and deadrows that I have the tendency to pull my shoulders up towards my ears expecially towards the end of the track when those muscles are getting fatigued. I made sure to watch my form in the mirror after that and REALLY focused on my back and squeezing my shoulder blades together and MAN, can I feel it today. It’s such a good feeling! That slight twinge of soreness that reminds you that you are growing muscle and STRENGTH. I absolutely love it.

And no I’m super excited to get back into a normal routine! Perhaps after an amazing massage. 😉

The housing market is copious with foreclosed home deals for homebuyers. However, the money you believe you are saving through purchasing an older, foreclosed home could be all smoke and mirrors. The benefits of buying a new home are vast. From personal touches to lack of repairs and inefficiencies, buying a newly built house can be more economical to owners who are looking to avoid additional hassles and headaches during the long process of home buying.

Efficiency standards are more rigid than they were just three years ago, and the penalties for violating energy conservation standards can be pricey. Newly built homes will already meet the necessary criteria to match the standards set by the International Energy Conservation codes. More secure living spaces to prevent conditioned air from escaping through seals and triple- or quadruple-paned windows to minimize the transfer of heat are being built into new homes.

New homes are often installed with “greener” appliances and systems. The money to be saved from more energy-efficient appliances can far outweigh the money saved from buying an older home in the long term. The purchasing of new, more energy-efficient equipment can be costly for homeowners with older homes. Both energy and money can be saved when buying a newer home.

Years of surviving the elements may cause serious damages to an older home costing owners thousands of dollars in repairs. New homes will have little to no repair costs and many are built to minimize the costs of maintenance due to the fragile economy. Potential homebuyers should be aware of the costs concerning the upkeep and maintenance of a home and how much they could save in both the short and long term.

Warranties from new homes could save thousands more in repairs, damages, and maintenance. In many cases, builders will agree to a warranty of a year or so to have any damages fixed during that time period when someone offers to buy a new home. Appliances and systems may be under warranty for even longer. Having to repair a cracked foundation or leaky rook could be detrimental to homeowners and their funds.

Bargaining power is in the potential buyer’s favor when buying a new home, in most cases. Individual sellers will look to make the most money they can from selling a property they have owned for an extended period of time. Builders are looking to sell and sell quickly after the construction of a property. Because builders are typically in better financial standing than an individual seller, they may be more prone to accept a loss on a property. In addition, builders are more likely to work out a financing deal with potential buyers due to ownership of their own mortgage companies.

If for no other reason, new homes are preferable over older homes due to their location and property values. New home communities are exactly that: new communities. These areas and their surroundings are typically more valuable than an older community that has not been updated and renovated. New home communities are usually built around newer schools and newer roads with shopping centers and malls within reasonable distance. Perhaps shopping is not very important to you, but when looking to resell you home, it could be very important to potential buyers and could entice them to pay a little more than they originally planned.

Buying a new home is far more economical and budget friendly than buying an older one. Energy standards for the home are up to date and the resell value will be higher. Maintenance fees are significantly reduced and warranties can be afforded. Consumers should make the calculations for how much money they can save in both the short-term and long-term.

Information Provided By http://www.kolterhomes.com

So turns out after 10 days of antibiotics I do NOT have have a sinus infection. A CT scan was ordered by my doctor after I tested negative for EVERY SINGLE tree and pollen they skin tested for. I was just DONE. There was another day with no answers and more excruciating pain. I broke down explaining that all I had eaten in 24 hours was a bowl of soup because when I have a bowel movement, the pressure in my head is so horrible that I’m pretty much useless for the next 3-4 hours. I can’t poop, I can’t work out, if I get even a LITTLE stressed and my heart rate rises a LITTLE, pain. My life for a week has just been: Live with The Pain. Smile. Pain. Fake it. Pain. Go Home, try to sleep it off. Pain.

The CT scan shows a deviated septum on the right side with Haller’s cell present. I got a heavy dose of Prednisone which the doctor said should give me some relief pretty quickly. THANK YOU SINUS GODS!

But let’s go back to the last week. I was basically on no medication except a round of antibiotics that I couldn’t stop even though they weren’t working because apparently when you stop a round of antibiotics that aren’t working somebody punches a kitten in the face. Yesterday I’d already had one horrible bathroom experience that had me, literally, on the floor in the bathroom at work trying not to vomit from pain. Then I came home and it happened again.

I was done. I normally will never reach for something stronger than aspirin but I was beyond that threshold of pain I can deal with. I’ve had three tattoos and pushed a human out of my vagina, this pain far surpassed either of those. There is something about pain IN YOUR HEAD that is just so much worse than anywhere else. The blinding pain that stops you in your tracks, drops you to your knees and kicks you right in the face.

So I took some Vicodin. I have two reactions to Vicodin. 1) SLEEP ALL THE SLEEPS. 2) TRIP BALLS.

I was very happy that #1 happened. I slept for a solid four hours. The first solid block of sleep I’d had all week. It was glorious. However, you can not wake me up and expect me to have a coherant conversation. An example from when I woke up to my phone ringing.

Me: MmmHmm
Ben: Hi.
Me: Hi.
Ben: Do you think you can eat or should I grab food on the way home?
Me: I’m scared to poop.
Ben: Okay. So. Do you think you can eat or should I grab food on the way home?
Me: I don’t want to eat because I don’t want to poop.
Ben: Is Cassidy hungry?
Me: I’m not even sure Cassidy is here and/or awake.
Ben: Could you, you know, figure that out?
Me: CAAAAAAAAAAASSSIIIIDDDYYY!
Cassidy: Yep.
Me: Food. Ben’s getting it. Hungry.
Cassidy: Are you asking me if I’m hungry?
Me: …
Cassidy: I’m not hungry but I will be.
Me: At some point she has to eat eventually.
Ben: Does she want food?
Me: Do you want food?
Cassidy: Eventually. What’s he getting?
Me: OMG I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS RIGHT NOW ALL I HEAR IS AN ECHO AND I’M NOT EVEN SURE WHAT IS GOING ON!
Ben: I’m going to get food.
Me: I don’t want to poop.
Ben: Are you okay?
Me: I took a Vicodin.
Ben: Okay, go back to sleep, I’ll figure it out.
Me: Sound like a great plan.

After that I woke up enough to eat some soup and bread then realized that the Vicodin was wearing off when I had to bend over to pick up something that had fallen off the couch and if felt like perhaps my head had just been punted across a field. So I took another one.

And then reaction #2 happened and I spent the rest of the night TRIPPING BALLS.

I went to bed and fell asleep pretty quickly but the first dream I had was that I took the dogs out to potty before bed and Kumo pooped puppies. He pooped puppies out of his butt. When I took the puppies inside all, WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED, Ben didn’t believe me! And he tried to say that I was MAKING IT UP! And I was getting PISSED! LOOK AT THE PUPPIES!

Then he came to bed and when I woke up I told him about the dream and he didn’t seem that worried or impressed. PUPPIES OUT OF HIS BUTT, BEN! You keep saying that you want a 3rd dog, whey aren’t you more excited about this!?

The next six hour went something like this:

• DREAM CRAZY ASS SHIT!
• WAKE UP!
• CONTEMPLATE CRAZY ASS DREAMS!
• “I don’t understand why I’m not tired maybe I should drink some water but then I’ll have to pee and it will wake me up but it’s not like I’m sleeping that was a weird dream I should be more tired I’m probably never going to get to sleep I’m going to be up all night then I’ll be tired all day at work and why is that blue light flashing maybe I should check it out but it’s way over there and why is the bed shaking is KC licking her butt again oh crap KC isn’t even on the bed WHY IS THE BED SHAKING WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW maybe I should wake up Ben but what am I going to tell him other than MY MIND WON’T SHUT UP I’M GOING CRAZY! Okay I think my mind is slowing down now and maybe I can get some sleep if I just close my eye and relax for a… *snore*”
• Rinse. Repeat.

I woke up this morning feeling like I’d just run a marathon. With my brain.

As an example of how infrequently I take major pain medication, this bottle of 30 pills was dated August 12th, 2005 when I had three wisdom teeth pulled. There are still 8 left.

This is one of the more tame reactions I’ve had. I do not get how people take this on the regular. I remember having a similar reaction when I was 16 and had to take some to get through a serious bout of ovarian cyst pain. I decided then that I’d never be able to take any kind of hard drugs. If this is how I get off some pain meds, can you imagine the hot mess I’d be if I took anything harder?

Actually, imaging it. The visuals are awesome.

So I’m totally winning at The Allergies this year. I’m choosing to look at the bright side of this because the never stopping pounding in my sinus cavity are fulfilling All The Negative and I like balance. Before yesterday I was taking 1 AllerClear as soon as I woke up. Then right after breakfast an antibiotic, Fluticasone nose spray and an Advil Allergy. Then the Advil Allergy ever four hours till dinner time. At dinner time it was another antibiotic and a Benadryl. If I had my way it would be Benadryl all day every day but unfortunately I need to actually be awake to function in what society considers a normal fashion. And you if you are on Benadryl all day ever day you most definitely require the use of a translation service to decipher the directions on the rest of the medication you are prescribed to take for two weeks that aren’t going to work!

So now, unfortunately, I have to be off ALL the meds except the antibiotic (only two pills left!) and the nose spray once a day. The nose spray is good because it works for ONE HOUR then stops but the allergist promised me that it takes about two weeks for it to really start working so there’s HOPE. And after my allergy testing Friday I can be back on all the rest of the medication. So today is going to be ROUGH. This is my public apology for anybody that has to deal with me between now and tomorrow afternoon. AllergyAnna off meds is not a happy person to be around.

For Cassidy’s birthday we gave her some cash and took her to open her own back account. She is currently at the local out let mall, debit card in hand, shopping with friends. The guy that set up the account was really awesome and spent some time explaining overdrafts, savings, responsible spending, etc with her but I’m not sure how much of it really sunk into her 15 year old brain. I guess we’ll see in a few months if we are having to research north dakota bankruptcy laws or California, as in our case. 😉

I’ve been on a bit of a cleaning and organizing binge lately. CLEAN ALL THE THINGS! CLEAN OUT ALL THE DRAWER! THROW ALL THE THINGS AWAY! It’s a three month cycle with me. Usually I try and hit everything in a few days but I’ve decided that sometimes that leads to missing things or only doing a so-so job just go get to a state of: DONE. I’ve been doing one area at a time and not moving on to the next till the current project is done. I’ve been organizing, deep cleaning and using tools from placed like Reid Supply Industrial to fix broken items as I go along. It feels good to see areas cleaned and fixed and progress being made.

6:30AM Getting on the light rail to downtowm and the start of the race.

11:50AM FINISHER! 13.1 mile. Such a badass!