Homeschooled

Every time I mention to someone that I was homeschooled, I get the same reaction.

A. "Really? I would have never known..." uhh thank you? Ha ha I'll take that as a compliment.
B. "Do you think you missed out on anything?" Well judging by your previous statement, I assume you think I'm socially competent and don't snort at jokes and accidentally drool on myself (which happens occasionally, but I hide it well).

And the answer to that is no, I don't think I missed out on anything. I know high school (in particular) is supposed to be this great place where you make great memories and BFF's (until you go to college and grow up and see that hardly anything lasts forever), but it rarely is. Public school's really aren't that great.

One thing that I am really thankful for, about being homeschooled, is that I learned to get along with some very strange/nerdy people. The 'socially awkward' that people tend to push away from, are actually some of the most incredible people I've ever met. It really taught me to find the unique things in a person, and really value them for that. We can be teased and put down because of our differences, but once we learn to embrace and accept them, we really begin to see things from a new perspective and continue to grow and evolve as a person. I have learned so much about compassion and forgiveness (among other things) from people that many others wouldn't look twice at.

It also really taught me that to be myself, and to be different than others, is really okay. I think we all have to learn it at some point (although some people can be in denial of it their whole life ha ha), but it was a lot easier for me to do that in an environment that loved and supported me.

I've always thought about it I had children, whether I would homeschool them or not. When I was younger I always said I wouldn't because I did feel like I missed out on a lot. But the older I get and the more I see of the world, I see how absolutely blessed I was to have that opportunity. Not to mention having my mom give up so much to do it for us (YIKES). Sending us to school could have been her free time to do what she wanted, but she gave it up to ensure we had a good education.

I do think being homeschooled can make some people very socially awkward, but I wonder if it is better for them to be that way and be comfortable with it, than be in a environment where they feel pressured to conform to someone they are not.

Weekends

Weekends at work have been kicking my butt lately. I usually work a 12 hour day between the two jobs and my feet have the blisters to prove it. I don't mind it because I'm finally making some good money, but when I get tired I tend to slur and stumble over my words. The most memorable incident was when I was (trying) to tell my table about how the fondue forks would get hot it left in the pot. I tried to say "That will be the hot part" but as I was saying it I was thinking about fondue forks in my head and took the "f" from it and said "That will be the hot fart." I promptly turned extremely red and said "I meant hot part" and tried to laugh it off. Umm awkward? Yes, yes definitely.

I just realized how quickly this month is coming to an end. The year is almost half over! My sister is coming to visit on Friday, and we're going to a baseball game on Saturday where I think... my boyfriend is going to propose :-D Very exciting!

Greece

I talked about wanting to take my future honeymoon somewhere in Europe a few days ago, and Amie suggested Santorini in Greece. Uhh best idea ever. I promptly spent the next 4 hours (obsessive much?) looking at pictures are researching different travel packages, which as she said, were pretty affordable.

This is Fira, the most populous city on the island. Look at how beautiful it is! It looks like the city Lena, from the Sisterhood of the dropping Traveling Pants, visited.

I can't even imagine how great that would be to go there. I'd have to fly from Athens to get there so I'd probably plan a couple days for us in Athens. Mainly because I LOVE world history (don't judge me, I was homeschooled) and would get to drool over things like the Acropolis.

Here is the dilemma though. While going there is definitely much more affordable than other places in Europe, it still it pretty expensive. And while browsing the hundreds of sites researching it, I came to find out it is a hot spot for weddings (no kidding right?). Would that be really selfish to get married there? My family wouldn't be able to afford to go... and would I even want to get married without them being present? Probably not. But we are going to be paying for our own wedding... so if we combined the expense of a wedding into a destination like that it would be so much cheaper. Why are weddings so ridiculously expensive anyways? A small wedding is starting to look more, and more attractive.

On another note I'm still watching Dollhouse where ever I can find it on the internet. Have you ever tried to watching an entire series online from one source? It's impossible! It's ridiculous and I feel like a crack addict searching all these websites trying to get my next fix/episode. Anyways that's what I'm off to trying to do now... wish me luck?

Banks

I've never really liked banks. Maybe it's due to the fact that I rarely have a lot of money ha ha. They've always just made me feel uncomfortable and I used to hate them as a teenager because any time I went over on my account they would rape me with a $35 fee, repeatedly.

But today, I decided to open a savings account. It was spur the moment, sort of an impulse buy for savings (like how I just spent $30 at the dollar store, how does that happen?) but better because I get to keep the money. It's the adult thing to do right? So my teller introduces me to a short man named Mario who apparently is a banker and going to solve all of my saving (not plumbing) needs.  Now if I'd really thought this through, I probably wouldn't have picked today because I haven't showered for awhile, and I was just planning on running quick errands where no one would have time to see much of me. So I'm sitting in his office thinking about my decision and remembering another reason why I don't like banks... it takes FOREVER to do anything.

I also realize that this morning, when it was hot, I thought it would be a fantastic idea to wear shorts, without really thinking about the last time I shaved my legs (6 DAYS AGO). So I'm staring at my amazingly hairy calves thinking about how it will be ok, because he is on the other side of the desk. Then another teller walks in and is standing next to me talking to him, while I'm awkwardly trying to get as much of my lower leg under his desk so the teller won't see them, and silently pray that they won't notice my greasy roots. She leaves after awhile but keeps coming back which keeps me repeating the trying to shove my legs under the desk. Fortunately she didn't notice anything, as least I don't think she did because I didn't see any disgusted looks on her face when she looked at me which is always a good thing. One of these days I'll have everything together and look good all the time... hopefully.

So now I am the owner of a savings account, which I haven't had since I was 12. I'm hoping to start saving for a honeymoon! I really want to go somewhere along the Mediterranean and it is EXPENSIVE, so the earlier I start the better right?

The post where I become extremely nerdy

At work a few nights ago, a coworker and I were talking about video games. And yes, I am a video game nerd. I understand not everyone likes them, but I drool over trailers of upcoming games. I tend to drool a lot though on accident, which I blame on having previously having braces because I never drooled before (awkward). I blame my dad for the love of video games. We used to all go down to the basement when I was a kid and stand around watching each other play Microsoft dos games on the computer. Our favorite was Billy the Kid where you were the famed wild west bandit and had to make your way through the maze of the game. Later we moved onto better pc games, then nintendo and sega. In fact, I was going to originally move to Phoenix to be a video game designer. I found a school I was really considering that was affordable, and seemed really nice. Then I read a line about h

ow the closest thing they have to intramural sports... are LAN parties. LAN parties are where you hook up a bunch of consoles and have 16 player games. That was a bit too nerdy for me. I like video games, but I also like volleyball and boxing, and many other things that involve getting off of my ass. So I decided not to go.

Anyways, long tangent over. We were talking about Assassin's Creed and he was telling me about a show he had seen that was really similar to it called Dollhouse (at least similar in the way they manipulate your mind) and recommended it. I was skeptical at first but decided to check it out. So I start running it and it says "Created by: Joss Whedon" and I almost die from excitement. Joss Whedon? The creator of Firefly and Serenity? One of the most amazing shows I have ever seen. That Joss Whedon?

(My favorite show)

Yes, yes it was. So long story short I really enjoy the show and recommend it. It's not Firefly, but then again nothing is. If you haven't seen Firefly definitely give that a shot first because it is AMAZING!

After that I decided to look up Joss Whedon to see what else I was missing out on. Turns out he first started out working as a screen writer for Rosanne (very weird) and he is a 3rd generation screen writer. His dad was the screen writer for Golden Girls.

So genius must run in the family because I LOVE this show too. I know it's a weird combo to like but I just do. I really appreciate sarcasm and that comes out in the both of these shows.

So I will probably be watching Dollhouse for the rest of today ha ha. And maybe cleaning because my sister is coming in 2 weeks!

Old

I can not wait to be old. I think a lot of people dread it, but hopefully after 60-70 years on this earth I'll be ready for it.

First of all you can do almost anything you want in public and get away with it because people will excuse it due to your old age. Your pants can fall down, you can swear for no reason at strangers, you can sing little songs to yourself all the time, and no one really expects you to be completely sane anymore. As my grandma likes to say "You can fart and no one cares!" I'm not excited about that part of it especially, but obviously she it. My aunt was telling me how one day, her and my grandma went to Office Max to get some office supplies. They asked a sales associate to help them find something they needed. He took them to the spot where it was and it was on the bottom shelf. When my grandma bent over to get it she uhh.... let one rip. My aunt said she ran away one way down the aisle, and the associate ran the other.

One thing that would be hard though, would be much slower you get .Awhile ago when I was a waitress in Idaho, a really small town was having their 40th class reunion at our restaurant and I was serving their table. There were probably 8 or 9 older couples there. That day the fans in the kitchen went out, so eventually the smoke from the grill set the fire alarms off. Everyone bolted out of the restaurant except for my table of quite elderly people. They moved so slow that by the time we got it figured out and had the alarm turned off, they were only halfway to the door ha ha.

But overall, I think it's going to be a great age and I plan to enjoy it to the fullest.

Jinxed

Last night I was walking out to a table and in the hallway, a busser tried to avoid me (unsuccessfully of course of this story wouldn't be interesting) while carrying a large tray full of dirty dishes. He ended up knocking the tray against the wall, and the whole thing fell to the ground. I felt responsible because he was trying to avoid me (which made me feel like a huge fatass because he couldn't get around me) so I helped him clean up by sweeping up the glass. 10 minutes later, I hear another crash and go back to the same spot where a server has fallen carrying a tray of dessert. The reason he fell was because of the puddle left from the glasses of the last tray, that wouldn't have spilled if I hadn't been in the way. Oops!

So I was feeling pretty jinxed this morning at work to say the least and I was telling my coworker about the incidents from the night before. After awhile he went to get some water and, as he was pouring, the entire lid came out of the pitcher, as well as the contents of the full water pitcher, and spread all over the condiment counter and floor. He simply turns to me and says "You just refilled the water didn't you? And you didn't put the lid on tight enough..."

I'm pretty sure I should just be sent home early tonight because I've managed to cause a series of extreme messes, and all without directly doing them myself!

Not again

Know what is driving me nuts? Is when girls/women who weigh considerably less than me, complain about being fat. If they're fat, then I must be obese (and I'm not). It especially bugs me when they complain about their butt or thighs, that probably easily fit into a size 3 jean. I was nicknamed "thunder thighs" for a reason, muscle builds easily and quickly for me in the area and I'm pretty sure I've got twice as much as they do. And, they probably all shop in the petite section because they are tiny. GAH!

I've also decided that public restrooms are one of the most social awkward places to be in. You basically have to sit down and do your business 2 feet away someone, with a small piece of metal partition to separate you. And you always have to do it as quietly as possible, and you have to hurry because you're afraid someone might judge you if you're in there for awhile. It's just extremely awkward. Now I know why a lot of women I know don't use public restrooms.

There was a woman in the stall next to me the other day talking on her cell phone. How rude is that? What if someone in there had really bad gas? How would you explain that over the phone? "Oh sorry about that, the woman next to me is taking a gigantic dump, excuse the noise it should be over soon." Ridiculous.

Training

I finished training over the weekend. It was pretty interesting to say the least. One server got overwhelmed when he got 2 tables at one time and FREAKED out, punching the walk-in refrigerator (and denting it considerably), breaking a couple of bottles of wine in the process.

We were given 3 shifts where we were supposed to follow a server to learn how to do everything, before we served tables solo. One server that I trained with had to do a 4th follow because he wasn't ready to start serving. His training server said he was just really slow and didn't seem to be picking things up (which was probably due to the two 32 oz. beers he had two hours before his shift).

On another note, my kitten is driving me nuts! She's very defiant with me, it's actually kind of comical. She's not that way with the bf, if she's scratching something and he tells her to stop, she does. If I do, she throws a fit and runs around furiously. She's a little suck up with him too ha ha. In the morning, if I get up first to go to work, she gets under the covers then pokes her head out where I was laying and looks like she's trying to be a human and sleeps next to him. It's really cute. Except that when he gets up first she doesn't keep sleeping. Oh no. She goes under the bed and starts ripping at the mattress with her claws. This has been happening consistently over the past couple months so that by the time he leaves the moment I hear her claws start ripping I'm ready with a glass of water. She still does it though. I think she's trying to usurp me as the woman of the house ha ha.

I like...

It when people in SUVs or trucks go over speed bumps slower than the extremely old person in front of them did. As if their suspension on their 4 wheel drive vehicles can't take the bump.

Bing

I really like the new search engine by Microsoft bing.com. It seems like the links are more relevant and quite a few less of them that don't relate to my search at all.

I was on their website a few days ago and was typing in "How to make bbq chicken in the oven" and when I got to How to make... the most searched option right underneath it was "How to make your man feel like a man." Ha ha ha why would you search for that? Which of course then got me really curious and I ended up following some of the links. Funny stuff.

I tried to find it again but I guess it changes all the time based on the most popular searches. Here is what I got this time:

I'm not sure what a diaper cake is... and I don't think I want to.

New job!

I have orientation today at my new job at the Melting Pot! I'm really excited. I've always LOVED starting new jobs, I think new things in general make me happy, which is really weird because I'm a very long term employee. Or maybe that's the reason why, because I wait forever until I can't stand a job another second, then I work at if for a few months then get a new one. Maybe.

So I'll obviously be writing about my waitressing experiences quite a bit more. I'm hoping the majority of the redneck stuff I was subjected to in Idaho is now behind me... but irregardless of the class of people, they are always some crazies to bring a spot of sunshine to my life. My sister had a great conversation with a woman at one of her tables awhile ago.

We'll call my sister Toodles because that's my nickname for her. Her other childhood nickname was Pooter (or Poot n' Tooter if you want the full version, don't ask me why) and she'd probably murder me in my sleep if I used that.

So Toodles asked the people at her table if they wanted desert and the woman sitting there said:

Woman "Tell me about the red velvet cake."
Toodles "It's a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting."
W "Oh, so what's the red velvet cake like?"
T "It's red, and it's a cake. Red velvet cake."
W "Ohhh, so it's like chocolate cake?"
T "No, it's like red velvet cake. It's red, and it's cake."
W "Yes, but what is it like?"
T "Like cake, that's red."

I guess the woman, who was in her mid-forties, had never had red velvet cake. Which brings up the good question of how do you even describe it? It has a very unique taste.

So, I'm going to a birthday party tonight for a girl from work. It's nice actually having people invite us out ha ha. At least my friends anyways. I'm really starting to feel like this is home now.

Potty Talk

The bf and I have been trying to eat healthier. And by that I mean we eat lots of fruits and veggies, ate sushi 4 times last week, had hotdogs for midnight snacks, a dinner of only wings, cheesecake, and beer, and pretty much ate everything in site over the weekend. Ahem. So we agreed last weekend was our last "binge" weekend because he wants to get back into body building. So lean meats, veggie, and fruits from here on out. Which I'm down for because I'd prefer not to have my love handles hang over the side of my bikini. One thing about Phoenix, with the weather so nice, you ALWAYS have to be swimsuit ready. Sucks.

So I made him a good breakfast this morning, and a healthy lunch and I get this text later.

I just pooped a horse :( 

Umm sorry? Ha ha. I'll try to feed you non healthy foods from here on out.

Speaking of potty humour, I always have the weirdest things happen to me in public restrooms. First of all they're extremely awkward because where else are there bathrooms with gigantic slits of the walls missing? No where. And little kids are crazy, like the one that pulled herself into my stall for a little chat.

Another time my sister and I were sitting at our favorite cafe, using the wifi to feed our facebook addiction. There was a couch facing the back of the cafe and we were sitting on it, facing the restrooms. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a guy walking towards the men's restroom. He opens the door, looks in then promptly shuts it and runs out of the cafe. Weird right?

So maybe a minute later another guy walks up, opens the bathroom door, says "OH SHIT" and runs away again. So by now I'm a little curious, and I watch the 3rd guy walk up another minute later. Same reaction. Opens the door, looks in, runs away. So I'm really starting to wonder whats going on and by now my sister has noticed too. So we wait for whoever/whatever is in there to come out. The door opens and....
a little girl walks out ha ha. She is mad as a hornet too, little arms are rigid as she stomps over to her mother (my sister and I couldn't stop laughing because this poor little girl was so enraged at being walked in on 3 times while using the restroom). Her mom is behind us and we hear her saying "Why didn't you use the women's bathroom?" and "Well why didn't you lock the door sweetie?"

I realize it wasn't that funny to the little girl but the best part of it was the reactions from the guys. They must have felt like total perverts and consequently just ran away instead of having to face this little girl when she was done.

America

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about Americans and the generation I'm growing up in. The more I look into it the more I feel like everyone is really messed up. 

I hear so much everyday (possibly because I'm into health and trying to eat right) about how fat American's are and how bad all the fast food diet is. 300,000 people die from obesity related causes every year. That means that 300,000 ate themselves to death, in a year.

Then on the other side of the spectrum there are TONS of people with eating disorders trying to make themselves skinnier. They also are destroying their bodies, but in a method that involves more control. Over 11 million Americans are diagnosed with having an eating disorder.

• 27% of girls 12-18 have significant symptoms
  
• 31% of female college students
  
• 46% of 10 year old girls are dieting, have a fear of “fatness” or are binge eating
  
• Doctors are seeing a growing group of women in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s with eating disorders
  
• Although less common, boys and men can also have eating disorders, especially self-induced vomiting and inappropriate laxative use 

(http://www.eatingdisorderfoundation.org/EDFFAQ.htm)
 
 10 year old girls! You know where they are getting this from right? Their moms. I used to have a friend, and her mom had recently lost a lot of (unhealthy) weight. The problem was is that it started focusing my friend on her body and her weight. The girl was taller than me and thin as a rail, and yet all she could talk about were her diets and how fat she was. She was sitting next to me one day and commented on how fat her thighs were, so since we were sitting next to each other I told her to compare our legs. Mine were quite a bit bigger and I said that if her thighs were fat then I was an elephant.

It used to drive me up a wall when I was working in a restaurant and some little 6 year old girl would come in  to eat with her mom and order diet coke. I wanted to slap her mom because:
A. Diet coke has aspartame, which is linked to head tumors.
B. If your going to diet, don't teach your kid that coke, which destroys the lining of you stomach and intestines, is ok because it says "Diet"
C. Why the hell is a 6 year old kid worried about her weight? That's morbidly disturbing and her parents are robbing her of her childhood.


I know you can argue that maybe she "likes" the taste of diet coke, but she wouldn't like it if it wasn't in her house in the first place, courtesy of her parents. Try getting her to "like" some juice or something that will actually give her body what it needs to function. Let her decide to destroy her body when she's older and smart enough to know the difference.


It would always kill me to, on the other hand, when an extremely fat little kid would come in, and their parents would let them order off the adult menu. Really? There that big and you think you should feed them an 1800 calorie Country Fried Steak, with 300 calories of extra gravy, and take the corn on the cob off for more mashed potatoes and gravy (500 more calories), start off with a 1800 calorie wing appetizer, and end with a 1200 calorie dessert. Wow, model parents right there. If you love your children you should take the time to ensure they are healthy and eat right. Not indulge them in whatever they want because kids are too young to decide what's best for them.