You'd think I'd be better at this by now.

How is it that after 16 years of shaving my legs, I still cut myself?

So maybe I lied when I said I cry only twice a year...

Hailey (during her night time prayer while I was visiting last weekend): "Please bless mommy that she's having lots of fun in Heaven..."

...I just couldn't help it.

Does this mean it's all downhill from here?

I stopped into Old Navy tonight to pick up a few items -not generally one of my regular stops, but I had a 30% off coupon and they had some great tights and a killer purse. Anyway, the shopping trip went as usual...I breezed past all of the cable knit sweaters and ugly stripped numbers and found the few items I came for. I was feeling great about the deals I had just scored as I swiped my card, but in an instant all of my post-purchase glory vanished as the sales associate mistook me for a teenager's mother. The conversation went as follows:

18 year old ON sales associate: "Are you CeCe's mom?"

Me: "Um, no." (somewhat quizzically- hoping that CeCe is a small toddler)

18 year old ON sales associate: "Oh, cuz you look just like one of my friends from school!"

Me: "Haha" (uncomfortably laughing as I realize that CeCe is not a toddler, but an 18 year old girl).

She might as well have asked if I was pregnant while she was at it.

Home Sweet Home

I've lived in Utah for about 8 years, but Clovis will always be home. I don't care if I live here the rest of my life (well, actually I do care and I don't plan on it...), it will never feel like home to me. That's not to say that Utah doesn't have its perks- it certainly does (i.e. 7-11's on practically every corner, the seasons, temples, great people, etc.). I wouldn't live here unless I liked it, but it'll never give me the rush of warm, happy feelings I get when I turn onto Sunnyside Ave. I had the chance to go back to Clovis a few weeks ago and while I didn't recognize most of the city, my old neighborhood took me right back to high school- the fact that all the radio stations seemed to only play music from the late 90's may have also had something to do with it too. Seriously, I don't think I've heard so much Natalie Imbruglia and Blink-182 since I was in the 11th grade.

Sunnyside, just the way I left it.

When did the trees get so big?

For real?

So I'm not in charge of the animals at work, but turns out that in addition to my counseling and assessment responsibilities, I am in charge of the Lost & Found (kind of random). Lost & Found in an Alzheimer's community? Isn't everything/everyone lost? I thought for sure it was a joke they were playing on the "new girl", but turns out it's not. This should be interesting.

Sometimes I hate being a girl...

...because it makes me do things like burst into tears at Sunday dinner with my parents. I only cry like twice a year (although I tear up daily while watching Oprah and such), and for some weird reason, yesterday was one of those days. Somehow I ended up laying in my mom's lap in the rocking chair while she reminded me that at least we're not pioneers that got all the way to Utah and then didn't even have a rocking chair to cry in when things got hard. Needless to say, the tears quickly turned to laughs. Thanks mom for making it better.

P.S. Dad, you were right, we should've just stuck to talking about Bret Favre or something.

Just another day at work...

Contrary to popular belief, I work with old people (and their families), not animals. But there happens to be a kangaroo, 6 dogs, a few cats, some birds, and a bunch of fish that also live in the Alzheimer's community. Oh yeah, and sometimes we have visitors like ponies and camels. And yes, Oscar the kangaroo is wearing a diaper- luckily that doesn't fall under the umbrella of my job description.