Here I am

I've been in Utah a week and a half now. In this week and a half I:

a) found two part time jobs that pay extremely well (more than I was making in Chicagoland) One of them I am even a supervisor and get my own desk. *grins* I was a bit worried about no longer teaching, since I like it. Then I got the second job, where I get to teach instead of supervise the teachers. So basically, the two jobs balance each other out!  And overall income is 25% more than I was making in Illinois. So all good!

b) Got my car inspected for safety and emissions and then registered in Utah for an outrageous fee of $260. WTH??? Next up, drivers license..

c) Spent an amazing amount of time with my family. My dad was in town from Portland and my mom is still in town from Washington (state) because my Grandma is on her deathbed pretty much. Also getting to see my niece and nephew and spend time with them :)

d) Had my hair done by a friend I have had for over 20 years now.. the wonderful Ginger. She cut it short (six inches off the front and about 8 inches in the back) and dyed it a loverly color. I FEEL pretty.

e) Went to the dentist and established a plan to make my teeth beautiful (German dentists don't believe in polishing teeth so my teeth needed some tender loving care!) No new cavities but he does want to rip out the old metal ones in my mouth and replace them. It will all cost me $700 after insurance. Not too bad considering I need two crowns-- my awesome insurance means I only have to pay $268 out of my pocket per crown.

d) Built my self-esteem up as much as I could. It was long overdue. I needed it. Still working on that one though.. it will take time.

Stupid. Idiot. Fat. Ugly. Liar. Thief. Disgusting. Bitch. Lazy. Worthless. Might as well jump off a bridge. Nobody likes you. You have no friends. Trash. Dumb.

This is what I have heard almost daily for the last six years and this is why I left my husband today.
I've driven across two states so far and I have two more to go until I get to my sister's where I will attempt to put my life back together.

This, then bed

Age: 30s
Bed size: It's a queen, but from Germany so it's a few inches wider than an American queen
Chore you hate: Toilets! Yuck
Dogs: I wish :(
Essential start to your day: Bathroom
Favorite color: Black, red and pink
Gold or silver:  White gold
Height: 5’10" (almost 5'11")
Instruments that you can play:  I've played the clarinet and the ukulele. Doesn't mean I can play them now though.
Job title: Direct Support Professional/Advocate 
Kids: No thanks
Live: Chicagoland
Mom’s name: Susan
Nicknames: the husbundt calls me 'baby'
Overnight hospital stays: 4
Pet peeve: ignorance
Quote from a movie: "It's so FLUFFY I'm gonna die!" Despicable Me
Righty or lefty: Righty.
Sibling: Two older sisters, one younger half sister, three older step brothers
Time you wake up:  10 or 11am on weekdays, 5 frikkin' 45 on weekends 
Underwear: boy shorts
Vegetables you dislike:  Chinese mushrooms and brussel sprouts
What makes you run late: my husband!
X-rays: teeth, hand, fingers, face, chest, knees, hip, shoulder and an MRI
Yummy food you make:  I make an excellent lasagna, chili, veggie soup. Actually, I'm a good cook :)
Zoo favorite animal: polar bears

Incredibly Sweet

Jenner at Jennerally Speaking gave me this award!  :)

Now I'm supposed to post five random things about myself. I like randomness :

1.  I was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Grew up in Utah. Moved to Germany. Then moved to England. Back to Germany. And I've been back in the USA for two months now. Funny thing is, I'm not in the military!

Three continents & four countries later..

2. I've recently become allergic to carrots. No idea how this came about as I've eaten them my whole life, up until 6 months ago when I had my first reaction. I thought maybe it was just German carrots and I tried them again upon coming back to the States. Nope. Still allergic. It's tragic really.. I loved cooking with carrots and I especially loved them in my salad.   

I'll miss you :(

3.  Freaky, big-eyed dolls! I never really had dolls as a kid. I was a complete tomboy playing with GI Joe action figures, Hot Wheels, sticks and play guns etc. I never owned a Barbie.
Now I love creepy dolls! I have four Blythes. I also have two Susie Sad Eyes from the 1960s and one Little Miss No Name from 1965. I really, really want a 1972 Emerald the Enchanting Witch doll now. 

Isn't she lovely? (not my photo)

4. My husband is German. Like 100% German and from Germany. I find this 100% a bit odd as most of us Americans are 20% this and 70% that. He isn't big on his own culture though. Meaning you won't find him dressed like this:

My husband doesn't even like BEER

5.  I'm extremely neat. Obsessive compulsive about it really. I'm a bit like Monica on Friends. If I had a label maker I would use it, I don't so I make my own labels :) I like compartmentalizing everything in the house. Putting things in boxes. Boxes inside of boxes. Everything in order and everything in it's place. You could ask me where anything is and I could tell you.. down to which drawer and which side of the drawer. Probably even what it's next to.

Yes, my drawers DO look like this

Random Happenings at Work Tonight

1) We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. One of the boys, who isn't completely coherent when it comes to making sentences, picked up the meatloaf on his fork and asked in a very serious tone "Is this poop?" I about died laughing. I had to leave the room. I heard him ask about four times until he was absolutely sure.

2) Much later in the evening when most boys were in bed.. our resident 'juvie' was hanging out and talking to staff. I noticed his hands were really dry from doing the dishes and asked him if he wanted some lotion. He said he had some in his room. I went to find it but couldn't. All he had was shampoo, a small tube of Vaseline, toothpaste and deodorant. I went and got the community lotion from the laundry room for him. When I handed it to him he said "This isn't mine" I told him "I couldn't find yours, all I saw was a small tube of Vaseline and I figured that was for something else." He didn't even miss a beat and said "OH HELL NOOOOO"
OMG I didn't mean it like that! I swear I was the one blushing! I'd just figured the Vaseline was for his lips. Kid thought I was calling him out on something! 

I doubt I'll ever be able to eat meatloaf again, or view Vaseline in the same way.. but I do really love my job :)

Grammar

It's bad enough that my co-workers say "axe" for ASK and "woke" for AWAKE..  now I've got people on Facebook saying "take it for granite" instead of GRANTED.

What, did they think it was marble? Quartz?

Oh, and that Gain commercial where they use the word "gooder?" It makes my skin crawl!

Ugh.

Strohwitwe

Olaf just left for Toronto/Waterloo for work for this week. I won't see him until I get home late Friday night. I probably won't have the chance to actually have a conversation with him until Saturday afternoon.

In German they call this "Strohwitwe" and I make reference to this often. It basically means that your spouse is away and you are home alone. The English translation that I found says "straw or grass widow" which to me doesn't mean much of anything..  unless one of you knows something I don't!