Work

Sometimes my work is very difficult. Sometimes I wonder why I do it. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth it.

I was just getting ready to leave work the other day when a crisis call came it. Wanting to leave, I became really annoyed but sat down and picked up the phone. On the other end was a man who was completely manic. He was rambling on about how he "knew too much" and he could not bear it anymore. He was talking about the government and god and everything in between. He then stated if he had a gun he would shoot himself, and began to sob. I asked him where he was and he stated he was driving home from work. Now a realize a hysterical man who is very ill should probably not be talking on the phone while he is driving, but I felt like the safest thing to do would be to talk with him until he got home. So I did. He spoke of having a gambling problem and had done well for a few years, but started again a couple of months ago. He also said he had been giving money to a woman, because she needed it, and his wife new nothing of any of this. I spoke with him for a half an hour until he pulled into his driveway. He thanked me for talking with him and stated he had pulled it together and would be fine. I gave him my work # in case he needed to call again and hung up.

Here is where I had my dilemma. He was feeling suicidal and I knew that was something I could not ignore, but I also knew that I could cause him a lot of trouble at home, especially with his wife. i felt pretty sure he was not actually going to kill himself, but what if I was wrong? I wasn't sure what to do. So I called the police and asked them to do a welfare check. I went home and worried the whole night about how I had probably ruined his trust in me. It was really bothering me, but I knew I had to do what I did.

The next morning I went into work and had a message on my phone, and sure enough it was from him. My stomach dropped when I heard his voice. He was much calmer and actual sounded pretty rational. He said that he wanted to call and thank me for talking him home, and helping him through a really rough moment. He stated he was surprised when the cops showed up at his door, but it actually was a good thing, as he and his wife had one of the best conversations they have ever had. He stated he was going to try and get back on track with his medications and with his gambling. He again thanked me for being there for him when he really needed someone.
That is why I do what I do. I deal with a lot of things that do not end up that way, but it is worth it when they do. There are times I doubt the things that I have to do, but if it helps just one person, then I can take the heartache. My work is hard but it is a lot harder to be that person on the other end of the phone, and for that I am grateful.

On another note, it snowed in Vegas today. Why me?

Thanksgiving and beyond

I haven't felt like blogging lately so I am going to do a little catch up here. I went home to Utah for Thanksgiving and it was great to see all of my family, especially my sweet little niece and nephew. I can't believe how fast they are growing up! I also did not have to go see Twilight by myself and Jamie and I went and had a great time (minus the police involvement!). I was upgraded to first class for my flights (thanks Steph!) and got to watch Donny Osmond sleeping! The only down side to the trip was I did not see the sun for 4 days and was glad to come home to that!

The new promotion at work is going well and I am a LOT less stressed! I am learning a lot and find it very rewarding. I am also working on my application for grad school so wish me luck! My raise kicked in and I really appreciated the extra money as I had to get my brakes done. I called my good buddy mechanic Wayne and he fixed me right up! He is a sweet old man and always treats me right, which is nice in this town!

I was pretty busy this week. I had a date, which did not work out the way I planned, but really how often do my dates work out? Maybe I have a glitch in my Karma somewhere and it is playing out in my dates. The search continues. I also went to an amazing art show at a place called The Arts Factory (http://www.theartsfactory.com/index.html). I work with a therapist who owns a gallery there and he had a showing. I loved the paintings but prices were a little out of my league, $3,000 out of my league to be exact! There was another artist I really liked and to check out her work you can go here http://www.nikijsands.com/ It was really neat to check out such great artists.

Today I want to lay on the couch all day and watch movies, but I will actually be cleaning my house, doing laundry, grocery shopping, and heading to the bookstore, I mean there has to be some pleasure in there somewhere! In parting, I leave you with the question mechanic Wayne asked me "Why are you still single? I hear the Irish have no trouble finding mates." Huh?

Dreams

I hardly ever remember my dreams, but when I do, they are very bizarre. Here is the dream I was having this morning upon waking......

I am on my way to work, it is a bright, sunny morning, when I start into the construction that is going on near my house (true). As I start into the "cones" it becomes pitch black and I realize there is smoke and crumbling asphalt everywhere. I begin to panic a little because I cannot see anything, not even lights from the cars that were ahead of me, and I am worried about driving into an accident. All of a sudden I see construction workers, one of them being a friend of mine. They stop my car and make me park it and tell me I have to follow the crowd down through crumbling stone. My friend makes a comment about my high heels saying I am going to need something sturdier and points down to her cowboy boots. I ask her if there was an accident and she insinuates that it is terrorist related. I ask her if it is terrorists and she tells me no, but it is a quarantine and no one is allowed to leave the area. I get the feeling that this happens occasionally in Vegas and that I should not be alarmed. At this point I look around, and it is now bright daylight again and I can see the area is blocked off on all 4 sides by massive port-a-potties. All I can think about is how my boss is going to be mad at me if I do not get to work but I don't dare to call and tell her what is happening. I then notice that everyone is assigned a "cabin" which is the size of a small outhouse. My number is 237 and I begin to look for it. All of a sudden, Stephanie is there and is helping me look for my "lodgings". As we are walking this HUGE man storms past us towards another small man and starts bashing his head against a wall over and over. People around us start yelling for him to stop and he turns around to leave when he sees another man and starts to choke him. Now I am yelling for him to stop when he digs his fingers into the guys eye sockets (sorry, its a little graphic). No one is doing anything so I grab a dumbbell, which of course just happens to be lying there, and I smash him in the head with it and he falls over unconscious. Stephanie and I start on our way again towards the huge port-a-potties this time and a car full of girls flies by us, almost hitting us, and they are singing and hanging out the windows and I yell at them. They run into wet cement that the construction workers have been pouring and the workers start yelling and that is when I woke up.

Strange eh? Like I said, I do not remember my dreams very often, and when I do they typically have to do with destruction. Lots of darkness and the crumbling of structures, and I am always afraid in them. I think the last dream I remember having (and this was months and months ago) had to do with meteors hitting the earth and me trying to escape. I had my mother with me and we were in one of those old hippie VW vans with a bunch of other hippies. Again lots of darkness and destruction.

Conversation in a grocery store

Guy: Hi.
Me: Hello.
Guy: How are you doing today?
Me: I'm good, and yourself?
Guy: Good. If you don't mind me saying, you are one nice thick woman.
Me: Thank you? as I walk away

Apparently thick is the new fat? I guess I will take it as a compliment.

I have not felt like blogging this week so I will update. The firing of the poor old lady went without a hitch other than the fact she took all of the knowledge of her job with her. That's right, I am once again thrown into a position where nobody really knows what I will be doing. Good luck to me! My employees were very sad, so that of course always makes you feel good! I start officially on Monday and already have some things due that I have no idea how to do! Again, good luck to me!

The weather here is still heaven! We hit 78 today and had beautiful blue skies! I sat out on the patio this morning and read an entire Ann Rice book, it was WONDERFUL! I also made the Pumpkin spiced truffles, which actually turned into fudge as it was too sticky to form into balls. I don't know if this was user error or recipe error, but whatever it was, it was a mess! They were delish, but I do not think I would put the name Pumpkin in the title. This is really something I should be talking about on my recipe blog. The day has been great and relaxing, and the only time I got sad was hearing about my sweet nephews birthday party, which I obviously missed. Time goes by way too fast sometimes!

I had some friends come into town this past weekend and we had a lot of fun. Lots of gambling, lots of losing, but I did have a great run of luck at the Black Jack table, so I can still buy groceries this week. I have been debating on whether I should post the pictures and finally decided to do it as comic relief. Can you tell what I may have been embarrassed about?
Oh how I wish this bike was mine! So cool! And apparently very hot!
Me and famous Marilyn Monroe. Hot but not that hot!
Me and Arnold. Thankfully not hot at all! Well maybe a little.

So I have a gland problem! I am still very thick!

Promotion

After 5 months here in Vegas, I have apparently earned myself the opportunity of another promotion. It is not technically official until next week, but they are getting rid of the person in that position tomorrow. I am excited about this position and think it will be very educational and great experience for my career. My new title will be Director of Care Coordination. My job will entail keeping track of all the patients that need to go inpatient for any mental health or substance abuse issues. I will keep track of their stays and then make sure they have the follow care they need post hospital. This is the part I like. I will also be responsible for getting the crisis workers out to the E.R's when they call in. The not so fun part is having to deal with insurance companies who do not want patients in the hospital because it costs them money. Aw money, the root of all evil! I know I will have a difficult time denying someone access to something they may truly need. The other bad part is trying to fill the shoes of the woman who has been in this position for quite some time, and trying to deal with the angry people she has worked with, who are going to be upset that she has been let go. Back to a good part is of course a raise, which is ALWAYS nice! I will also not have to supervise a bunch of people, which is great, because let's be honest, I don't think I am really "boss" material. I mean, I can do it, and I am good at it, but I hate it. All in all I think this will be a good change for me and a little less stressful. I do wish I did not have to be at work when they actually let her go though.

Books

I met with my book club on Sunday and we discussed "A Thousand Splendid Suns"by Khaled Hosseini, also the author of "The Kite Runner". Such a great read although very sad. Our book for November is "The Almost Moon" by Alice Sebold.
I am excited to read this and if you know her other books "The Lovely Bones" and "Lucky", you know what a great writer she is. I have really missed book club in Utah. We have not had a very big showing to the one I am in here, and honestly the discussions are lacking. I am considering starting a 2nd club to try and see if I can find some more interesting people.

I love to read and I tend to go through phases where I find a series of books I like and can't seem to put them down. The Twilight series was like that for me and I have now been hooked on Ann Rices' Vampire Chronicles. You know "Interview with a Vampire"! I am on the 3rd book right now "Queen of the Damned" and I am hooked! Apparently I have a thing for vampires! Speaking of vampires, I have no one to go see "Twilight" with when it comes out and since I am not missing the opening night, I may be forced to go alone. If anyone wants to come to Vegas at that time, the movie and popcorn is on me!

Now in the spirit of the election, get out and VOTE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aBaX9GPSaQ

Halloween

First, I am legal and officially have internet now. Thanks Cox Communications guy!

I love Halloween. It has always been my favorite holiday and I love to dress up. That being said, I did not dress up this year and although I was invited out, I did not feel like going. Work has been overly stressful and I just wanted to go home and relax (There is another promotion in the works though). I decided that I better grab some candy before I went home for the little trick or treaters. This is what the bowl looked like at the beginning of the night.....
And here is what it looked like at the end of the night......
That's right, the same (minus 2 Dove dark chocolates, I admit I bought them so I could have some!). I did not have any trick or treaters. Not one. I should have known, I am in Vegas after all. I don't think kids are allowed to trick or treat here. Come to think of it, I don't think I have seen any kids since I have been here. Oh well, I will be a hit at book club tomorrow with goodie bags!

In parting here is a picture of a particularly bad hive day. Enjoy!

Recipe Blog

I have decided to start a recipe blog (link is on my page under Lilikoi's recipes). I love to share yummy recipes that I find, and instead of taking up my "blogging journal", I decided to use a different blog so that I can print that as a recipe book at the end of the year. Feel free to check it out and share some recipes of your own!

Recipes

Quinoa Egg Bake w/ Spinach and Garlic

1 tsp butter
½ c uncooked quinoa
8 eggs (I used 4 eggs and 4 egg whites)
1 ¼ c milk (I used unsweetened Soy milk)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 c packed baby spinach, roughly chopped (I only had frozen so I thawed it and used about a half a cup)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper (I think not)
1 c finely shredded parmesan (I used Feta and just sprinkled it over the top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 8x8 glass or metal baking dish with butter and set aside. Rinse Quinoa in a fine mesh strainer with cold water and drain well (I did not do this).

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, garlic, salt, pepper, and quinoa. Stir in spinach and pour into dish. Cover with foil and jiggle dish gently from side to side so the quinoa settles to the bottom. Bake until just set, about 45 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle top with cheese. Return to oven and bake uncovered until golden brown and crisp, about 10-15 minutes more. Set aside and let cool briefly, then slice and serve.

*Fact* Quinoa is a super grain as it contains all 8 essential amino acids-this makes it a complete protein!

Healthy Zucchini Brownies

2 c grated zucchini
2 tsp vanilla
2 c whole wheat or whole grain flour
1 tsp salt
½ c olive oil
1 ¼ c maple syrup
¼ c cocoa
¼ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients and mix. Gently stir in the zucchini and pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake 25-30 minutes, testing with a toothpick. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting. Serves 24 (yeah right!)


And for the Pumpkin Lover………………

Pumpkin-Spiced Gingersnap Truffles

1 ¼ c semisweet chocolate pieces
¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp. vanilla
½ c whipping cream
¼ c chopped gingersnaps (about 10 cookies)
1/3 c finely crushed gingersnaps (about 7 cookies) and/or ¼ c unsweetened cocoa powder

In a medium bowl combine chocolate pieces, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla.

In a medium microwave safe bowl, place whipping cream. Microwave on high for 70 seconds or until boiling (or put in a saucepan and bring just to boiling.) Pour cream over chocolate mixture. Let stand 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Stir in chopped gingersnaps. Cover and refrigerate 1 ½-2 hours or until firm but soft enough to form balls.

Place crushed gingersnaps and/or cocoa powder in small bowl(s). Using a small spoon, scoop 1 tbsp portions of truffle mixture and shape into balls. Roll in cookies or cocoa to coat. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store covered, in refrigerator, up to 3 days. Makes 20 to 25 truffles. Yummy!

Pumpkin Bourbon Pudding

2 tbsp bourbon or 2 tbsp orange juice + 1 tsp vanilla
¼ c golden raisins or dark raisins
Nonstick cooking spray
1 slightly beaten egg
1-15 oz can pumpkin
1-5 oz can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
½ c packed brown sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/3 c quick-cooking rolled oats
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp butter or margarine, melted

In a small saucepan heat bourbon or orange juice and vanilla just until hot (do not boil). Add raisins and set aside to cool.

Lightly coat eight 6oz soufflé dishes or custard cups or a 1-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Place soufflé dishes or custard cups in a shallow baking pan for ease of handling, set aside.

In a large bowl combine egg white, egg, pumpkin, milk, the ½ c brown sugar, and pumpkin spice. Stir in raisins and any liquid left in the pan. Spoon mixture into prepared dish(es). In a small bowl, stir together rolled oats and the 2 tbsp of sugar. Stir in melted butter and then sprinkle over pumpkin mixture.

Bake in a 375 degree oven about 30 minutes for the cups and 40-45 for the larger dish, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool 1 hour before serving. Makes 8 servings.

No internet

I have been trying to steal internet from all of my neighbors since I moved here and apparently they all smartened up and I can not access it anymore, ergo I have not been blogging. So I am sitting at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf trying to catch up on everything and it may be a long one (although it is FREEZING in here so we will see how much I can stand!). I am enjoying a Pumpkin Latte because I have to try and find Autumn somewhere!

Work has been a nightmare and I am working 10 hours a day right now. Hopefully I will get some new staff in this week and start getting them trained. All I can say is they are not paying me enough money and I WILL be asking for a huge raise come January!

I was able to get in some fun times and went to the Renaissance Fair last weekend.

No I did not wear this the whole time!

There were a lot of these back in those days!

Nothing like flogging a teenager (I'm not kidding) Seriously people, this is supposed to be a family event! The fair was actually quite comical and for some reason people thought that in the renaissance days you dressed like a Gothic fairy. Lots of black eyeliner and wings!

I also went to "Rock Band Live" at the Hard Rock with my friend Abby from work.

Panic at the Disco
Dashboard Confessional

Plain White Tees were there too. It was open to people of all ages so of course it was FULL of middle school aged kids. We stood closer to the back of the event.......next to all the parents. Man I am getting old! This actually turned into a bit of a blind date in which I got into a political debate with this guy and needless to say we would never work out! He did however buy us all dinner at a fancy sushi restaurant, Nobu, in which we had deep fried snapper!
He ordered for everyone without even asking, which is another reason we would not work out. I try people, I really do but it is hard to meet quality people in your 30's. I have found that it is especially hard in Vegas where people just aren't very friendly. Oh well, the search continues!

As promised here are a few pictures from Barry Manilow.


Book Club friend, Sameya

I have quite a few more but my toes are about to fall off from frostbite and I really need to get into my 100 degree car.

And lastly for Amy, I had great intentions of putting my recipe down for the Quinoa quiche and of course I left it on the counter. I did however have a picture! I will get it to you soon! I also found a great recipe for Pumpkin Truffles, Pumpkin Bourbon Pudding, and Zucchini Brownies that I want to share with you!

Forgot

I forgot, I also went to Art in the Park in Boulder City on Saturday and it was sooooo cool! Imagine the arts festival in Salt Lake but triple the size. Anyway here is the link to an artist I really liked.

http://www.orasart.com/

Quick update

I have not had any internet for the past week so I am going to do a quick update and then I will have to post the pictures at a later time. Barry Manilow was AWESOME! Seriously I forgot how much I love him. My parents had a record with his music when I was younger and I used to torture Stephanie by playing that record over and over and singing on my "stage" with my "microphone". The best part is he sounds the exact same and thanks to plastic surgery, his face looks the same too! Pictures will follow soon!

I went to book club on Sunday and we discussed "The Kite Runner". I have read this before but it was such a great book, I did not mind doing it again. Our book for next month is "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by the same author. I am also reading a couple of books by author Michael Chabon who is actually going to be coming here for a book signing and I thought it would be fun to read some of his work and then go meet him and hear a reading and have my books signed!

I also just got invited to go see Panic at the Disco and Plain White Tees at the Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow night, so I am looking forward to that and will let you know how it goes! I am trying to do as much as I can outside of work because work has been Hell lately! I had to get rid of 2 people which takes my call center of 5 dow to a center of 3. Needless to say, I am working alot and feeling the pressure! Yesterday I got the, "Are you ok? You look really tired!" Thanks for telling me I look like crap!

Red Rock

Sunday I decided to pull out the old hiking shoes and I headed up to Red Rock Canyon with a friend from book club.It made me so happy, the happiest I have been since I moved. It has been such a long time since I have been in any sort of canyon and it was so great for my soul! Here are some pic's!

There were pheasants EVERYWHERE! My friend kept thinking they were rattlesnakes in the brush-too funny! She was a bit of a wimp!Most of the rocks had this pattern on them and I loved the way it looked-therefore the picture!

It really doesn't get much better than this! The temp is getting a little better here, so I am really looking forward to weekly trips out here as it gets even cooler! Worth every penny of the pass to the canyon!
I am trying to focus on "living" so my adventures continue tonight with "Barry Manilow at the Hilton"! Stay tuned..............

Benadryl Please?

What do you get when you mix fingers covered in allergens and itchy eyes?
Oh the bane of my existence!

New Olympic Event?

Do you ever feel like you clean and clean and clean and nobody notices? Are you tired of working hard to have a nice home, and just once you would like some recognition? Then have I found the thing for you.......
What is this you may ask? Well let me show you!
That's right! The housekeeping Olympics! Always wanted a gold medal in something? Well here is your chance! I cracked up when I saw this in the paper, and especially when I saw these pictures.
Look at how much fun she is having! I have NEVER had that much fun vacuuming. I wonder if I am even using the proper technique? Oh dear, I am not sure I want someone judging me on that.
Oh the pain, sweat, and glory of toilet plunger racing! I really hope she won! I personally would be holding it by the handle.
I don't know about anyone else but I despise cleaning! The LAST thing I would want to do is practice it more than I have to in the hopes of winning an award. Seeing how it is Saturday and most people deep clean on Saturday, I thought I would give you a little laugh to get you through!

Green Thumb?

I love plants and I love having them in my house. When I moved I had plants that I had loved and cared for, for over 10+ years. If you recall, I murdered them by putting them in my car for "safe travel" and they burned to death in the hot Nevada desert. This is the only plant that survived because it was safely out of the suns rays in the U-Haul.
As you can see, this plant has been through quite a bit and has some serious wear and tear but I have had this plant for 13 years and since it was about 6 inches big. We have a very special bond!

I have looked for house plants off and on in various stores since I moved here but have been unable to find any. On Saturday I noticed that a nursery had opened up down the street and decided to stop in. Well I found a glorious arrangement of house plants and the best part of all, they were only $1.98 each! Here is what I scored and please ignore the cable chord in the photo....
My apartment already feels brighter and lighter! Such a small thing for large happiness! I just hope I don't kill them!

Update

The previous post was unfortunately cancelled so I am sorry Brian, no ideas on how to fake your own murder. I know, it disappointed me as well. That was going to be my goal for 2009.

Work is keeping me insanely busy but I guess that is good as I would otherwise be bored! Just to give you an idea of what work is like for me here are some statistics. In the month of August my 5 person call center had approximately 20,000 incoming and outgoing phone calls. We had 1108 NEW patients to be split up among 3 different offices and 40 different providers. This averages to about 27 new patients per person a month. Remember this does not include their existing patients. We are the ONLY provider for a few insurances and if we do not have good access we refer some patients to outside providers. In August we referred out almost 500 people. It is mind blowing to me the amount of people in need of help! Needless to say, I don't really stop from the time I get to work until the time I leave.

*Vegas facts*

• If you are in need of money for whatever reason, it is ok to roam in an out of moving traffic to knock on windows and ask for it.
• Matinee movies are not actually cheaper, just earlier. ($8.00)
• Grocery stores do not only have food samples. You can also sample booze!
• There are only a handful of ACTUAL post offices in this huge city. You can pick up some stamps at "Terrible's" gas station though!
• No store here is ever really busy. You can go right after work or on Saturday and there are never really any crowds. I don't know if this is because everything is open all of time but it is quite nice!
• Vegas would not be trying to get water from Utah if the Bellagio wasn't using so much for it's fountain! I about died! Talk about a waste!

Great band? I think not!

Let's just say that Frankie may be super hot with his dark handsome looks and his tattoos, but the next best thing he is not. I am really not a music snob and I tried really hard to get into the band but let's call a spade a spade.....Frankie you are just another Vegas lounge act!
I went in thinking I was going to be turned on to some great new music and left thinking I was really in Vegas. I should have known as I was walking into a lounge at the Golden Nugget Casino that I would be hearing "Luck be a Lady Tonight" before the night was over.
I try really hard to make the best of every situation I am in though and I still had a great time. Apparently Frankie has a few very big fans which include the people I went with as well as the very loud drunk girl in the corner who kept yelling "woo hoo"! That alone is entertainment enough! It is a good think Frankie and his band mates are good looking as it made listening to them a little easier!

I also got to ride in a Prius which was VERY cool and so environmentally friendly!
Next on my adventure list is an invite to this on Wednesday....

The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) is sponsoring this incredible program on called "Tom Martinez" and it is about:

"This former extremist and member of The Order will share the story of his decision to turn his back on these groups and become an FBI informant. He will tell why he did it, how the FBI helped him stage his own "murder" and why he now devotes his time to speaking about his experiences and transformation."

Stay Tuned!

Tapped Out!

It is only Wednesday and I had Monday off but I am DONE! Work has been crazy, life has been crazy and I am about to go crazy! So I decided I am going out. I am going to go see this band frankiemoreno.com at the Golden Nugget. My book club friend invited me and she knows the band and says they are great, so I am going! The band sounds like they are great and Frankie is HOT! (Yes, I will get to meet him!)
I will let you know how it goes and if I get lucky! (just kidding mom, sorry for my continual bad behavior)

Car

I got my car in 2001 and it has been the best car I have ever had. I have rarely had any problems with it and even paid it off a few years ago. My plan has always been to just run this car into the ground before I get a new one. My car has 105,000 miles on it so I knew it was bound to start having a few problems. Well a few weeks ago it started to idle a little funny and my check engine light came on so I ran it into Auto Zone for a diagnostic test. While I was there I met a guy who is a mobile mechanic and he gave me his card in case I had problems. The test said that it was probably a gas cap so I replaced it. It continued to idle funny and I am starting to get paranoid about breaking down in the middle of insane Las Vegas traffic, plus the fact that I HAVE to have a car here. About a week later the engine light came back on. I had a good feeling about the mechanic (Wayne) and gave him a call. I figured I could use a tune up as well and $250 bucks later I had a bunch of new parts in my engine! It was actually a pretty good deal for everything he did. So I left, still idling funny, light came back on, met with Wayne, ordered some parts ($100), and will get it fixed on Monday. I just keep telling myself that it is cheaper to do this than make car payments every month!

With that being said, here is my pool....


Man I love the sun!

I also picked up these books so that I can start exploring a little bit. I really miss the mountains of Utah but decided I can love the Nevada desert just as much! Sandy and Ben have been my inspiration!

Hives

This is what I have been dealing with for the past 3 months........
As you can see it is not your typical round hive. This happens because I feel a bit of an itch and scratch. Well that scratch turns into raised welts that just continue to itch worse. I only scratched this twice before this happened. I think I have narrowed it down to tomato based things and strawberries. Dairy was ruled out, which is what I thought the culprit was to begin with. All I can say is it is driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!

I have found a new place to do my grocery shopping and it is AMAZING! It is called the Fresh and Easy Market and they just started popping up in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Picture Wild Oats or Whole Foods but affordable! I just bought a huge things of Strawberries for $1.38! I also bought this huge Basil plant for $2.99! So cool! I have been eating so healthy for the past couple weeks and this store has made it possible for me! Who would have thought one would get so excited buying a bag of baby carrots for 98 cents!

Favorite Things

I was sitting and drinking my coffee this morning and started thinking about how much I love my coffee mug so I decided to blog about a few of my favorite things.

Since this is what started this post, my first favorite thing is my coffee mug.
Jamie made this for me and I love it. I don't just mean it's a great mug, I really LOVE it. My biggest fear is breaking it and I take great steps to make sure that never happens. I drink my coffee out of it whenever possible. I will even wash it first thing in the morning, even though I have other mugs, just because it is my favorite.

You all know I love to read, so my second favorite thing is this series.
Of course, this changes over time but right now it is this series. When I was a kid, it was Anne of Green Gables. I don't think I have ever got caught up in a book the way I did with these. Combined time of reading all 4 of them was 8 days. Soooooo good!

I will group the next 2 as they are food related. Of course there is the Pickles, but also my new favorite.....mmmmm Coconut popsicles! I think I could live off of these!

Moving to Vegas has given a new found appreciation for these......They are EVERYWHERE! I am in Heaven!
Even though it is very hot here, and I will probably have no use for anything I can make, I still love to crochet. I can just send things to my loved ones in Utah, where they can use it!
Last but not least is of course my love of the sun! I just spent 3 hours by the pool and am just loving all of the Vitamin D. Of course I use this....my favorite sunblock!

Here is my tan line!
So there are a few of my favorite things. Stay tuned, I may post 2 today as I want to show you a picture of my hives!!!!!