Pipe cleaners…

So I attended a Sexual Assault Advocacy Course this week at KCSDV in Topeka.  It was very informative, and makes me realize how much I enjoy working with sexual assault survivors.  However, they give people things to do while listening to speakers to entertain themselves, because regardless of how interesting people are, it’s hard to sit for 4 days straight and listen to presenters.  Some of the things to do were: plastic slinkies, play dough, and pipe cleaners.  I got a little carried away with the pipe cleaners, and this is what I created:

Yeah, it’s a playground.  It all started with the tricycle, I was inspired by the red and white pipe cleaners, and it all went down hill from there.

So here’s by tricycle close up, with my sandbox turtle beside it:

Here’s my tricycle and wagon, the monkey bars are in the back.

My sandbox close up:

B-ball court:

This is my least favorite, was supposed to be like a tornado slide, or tunnel slide, but kinda turned out poorly:

Teatherball, actually functional.

Swing set with slide.

Monkey bars (I actually think this one is my favorite.  Simple, but effective.)

Teeter-totter.  Actually teeters.  And totters for that matter.

Merry-go-round.  Does spin, but not well.

And that’s what I did for 4 days while listening.  Little carried away, but it was fun.  I gave them to the immigration attorney that works for KCSDV to give to her daughter to play with.  I didn’t want them to go to waste.

I’m back…

It’s been awhile, but I wanted to show off the downstairs bathroom project. 

Here’s it on Thursday with the nasty carpet that was in there when we moved in 2 years ago…

 

Then Cody ripped up the carpet and there was nasty green tile underneath it…notice there is no tile near the toilet…

And a close up of the tile…

Then Cody and Andy installed nice ceramic tile Friday evening, and grouted it this morning, and voila!  Pretty bathroom floor…

This was the neatest cut Andy made, I was very impressed with this cut.  It had 6 cuts to fit perfectly around the door frame.

The grout is still drying, so that’s why it’s uneven in color, it’ll be the lighter color when it dries completely,but it looks 110% better.   

Hoping to make you smile…

So I will hopefully be posting some New Kids photos soon, but until that project, here is what my today looked like, and I’m hoping to make you smile…

So we get day old Panera bread donated at the shelter, and the women like to feed the squirrels in the backyard.  Today as I was leaving to take a client to one of her appointments, a squirrel grabbed a WHOLE bagel and took off.  It was very cute.  I grabbed my camera as quickly as I could and this is what I came up with:

They get fatter as the summer goes on. 

Story two…

So Cody and I bought a weight system, and I started putting it together last night.  I got most of the main metal pieces together and I was going to do all the cables today.

 

So I started with the first cable, and then came along this stupid bolt…

I just wanted it a LITTLE bit tighter!  Well the ratchet slipped, and the damn thing hit me in the face.  And this is what resulted…

A nice black eye.  I’m super excited to go to work tomorrow and tell everyone I did this to myself.

So Cody saw these pictures, and started making fun of my somber face (I was actually just not making an expression on purpose), so I decided to take a really happy one. 

It just doesn’t seem right to smile in a picture with a black eye, so I decided to make a sad face…and then I was laughing so hard from before I couldn’t handle it and I cracked a smile right before the photo snapped, and this happened:

And when I saw it I started laughing so hard (because I am making such horrendous face) that I started to cry.

So I thought, “Here’s my shot to make a REALLY sad face with REAL tears!”

And that’s what I came up with.

Hopefully that made you smile at some point.  I feel like a moron.  But I thought all of you might want to laugh at my expense. 

**UPDATE: 7/7/09**

Guess what  Brody did to himself today?  He slipped in the tub…

So, since most things in my life come in threes, who’s next?

New purchases, and gifts!

So Cody and I decided that since we refinanced the house, we didn’t have to pay the mortgage this month, so that $ went toward a new patio furniture set.  Our old one was small, the glass was falling out, and it was rusting.  And I just wanted something prettier. 

So I checked out Target, Home Depot, Pier One, K-Mart, Waters True Value, Lowe’s online, and finally Sears.  And Sears had what we wanted, for a price that was more reasonable.  So after a little under two hours of assembly, here’s our new patio table! 

Sorry, this one is crooked, but I don’t feel like reloading it, so just tilt your head please!

Now I just need a chaise lounge, and I’ll be set.  They didn’t have a 7 piece cover, so we were able to get a 10 piece cover for the 7 piece price, and that’s good because when I get a chaise, it’ll cover it too! 

And the gift part…

I was kind of joking with my Dad, and he wanted to get me a web cam so I could talk over the Internet with him and my mom.  He got one for Nikki so he can see Royce and Brody, so he wanted me to as well.  I told him that I didn’t want to deal with all that with a laptop, the web cam and all, but if he bought me a laptop with one built in, then I would.   He was watching Home Shopping Network and saw this little thing, and bought it for me.  It has a built in camera and microphone, and it’s TINY!  And it’s brown!  And my favorite part is that it runs on XP so I don’t even have to mess with Vista.  I’m excited about that. 

It’s SO tiny!  It doesn’t have any kind of DVD or CD drive, but it has built in SD card slots and 3 USB ports, and it just so happens Cody got a DVD burnable drive that connects via USB port, so I can use that.  And I can just stick my SD card straight from my camera to the computer.  Pretty Cool.  I’ve been playing with it all night. 

Maybe this will help me blog more…

Good Article

This was sent to me through a work email.  The executive director of our state coalition, sent this around through a list-serve to the directors and administrators of all the Kansas DV/SA programs, and then my supervisor forwarded it on to us.  I think this article does a really good job of summing up what the media in America tends to do with what could be a really good moment to enlighten people about the realities of domestic violence. -Nan

Domestic Abuse Myths

Five mistakes we make when we talk about Rihanna and Chris Brown‘s relationship.

Raina Kelley

Newsweek Web Exclusive

Last week, R&B singer Chris Brown was formally charged with two felonies, assault and making criminal threats, in connection with the alleged beating of his pop-star girlfriend Rihanna on Feb. 8. Though we will never know exactly what happened that night, many of us have seen Rihanna’s bruised and bloodied face on the front pages and read horrific details of the alleged attack from the affidavit of a LAPD detective in which he describes contusions on the singer’s body. At same time, rumors are that the 21-year-old singer is back in a relationship with Brown, whom she has accused, according to the affidavit, of biting, choking and punching her until her mouth filled with blood.

While we can argue about how much of all that is true, it really doesn’t matter. This sad story doesn’t have to be verifiable for it to potentially warp how Rihanna’s hundreds of thousands of tween fans think about intimate relationships. We’ve all heard that this should be a “teachable moment”—a chance to talk about domestic violence with our kids. But children and teens aren’t just listening to your lectures, they’re listening to the way you speculate about the case with other adults; they’re absorbing how the media describes it; they’re reading gossip Web sites. When you tune into to all the talk about Rihanna and Chris Brown, it’s scary how the same persistent domestic-violence myths continue to be perpetuated. Celebrity scandals may have a short shelf life, but what we teach kids about domestic violence will last forever. So rather than “raise awareness,” here are five myths that anyone with a child should take time to debunk: 

Myth No. 1: It was a domestic argument, and she provoked him
We need to remember that any discussion of domestic violence should not revolve around what the couple may have been arguing about, or as one CNN anchor put it: “the incident that sparked the fight.” Nor should we be using the word “provoked” when describing this case, as in the Associated Press account that said the “argument” was “provoked” by Rihanna’s “discovery of a text message from another woman.” Domestic violence has to do with, well, physical violence, not arguments. There isn’t a verbal argument that should “spark” or “provoke” an attack of the kind that leaves one person with wounds that require medical attention.

Cable news has to stop referring to this incident as a “violent fight.” A “fight” involves two people hitting each other, not—as is alleged in this case—a woman cowering in a car while a man punches and bites her. If Rihanna had called the police beaten and bloodied and alleging an attack of this nature by a stranger, no one would be calling it a “fight.” They’d say that a man was being accused of severely beating and choking a young woman half his size.

Myth No. 2: Evolution makes us do it
Steven Stosny, a counselor and founder of an organization that treats anger-management issues believes that the tragic tendency of women to return to the men who hurt them (battered-woman syndrome) is a product of evolution. Stosny was quoted on CNN.com as saying “To leave an attachment relationship—a relationship where there’s an emotional bond—meant certain death by starvation or saber-tooth tiger.”

Apologies to Mr. Stosny, but that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. This is the kind of argument that really boils my blood because it seems to naturalize the torture of women. Very little is known about the emotional attachments of early humans. And trust me, after 50,000 years, our fear of saber-tooth tigers has abated. In most domestic-abuse cases, we’re talking about a situation where one person is wielding power over an individual through pain, fear and domination. It’s not about being scared to leave because of the dangers that await you in the world, it’s about being too scared of what’s at home to leave. 

Myth No. 3: People make mistakes. Give the guy a break
When singer Kanye West talked about the Rihanna-Brown case with his VH1 audience recently, he asked: “Can’t we give Chris a break? … I know I make mistakes in life.”  Kanye’s not the only one saying this kind of thing, so let’s get something straight: People leave the oven on or fry turkeys in the garage and burn their house down. One may even accidentally step on the gas instead of the brake and run over the family cat. Mistakes resulting in tragic consequences happen all the time. But one cannot mistakenly beat someone up. You do not accidentally give someone black eyes, a broken nose and a split lip.  

Myth No. 4: Brown said he was sorry and they’re working it out
Experts will tell you that domestic violence is an escalating series of attacks (not fights) designed to increase a victim’s dependence on her abuser. According to the police documents released last week, Rihanna told police that Brown had hit her before and it was getting worse. Sorry means you don’t do it again. In discussions about abuse, we need to make it clear that sorry is not enough.

 Myth No. 5: She’s young, rich and beautiful. If it was really as bad as the media says, she’d leave
The secret to the abuser’s power is not only making his victim dependent on him, but convincing her that she is to blame for the attack. No amount of money or fame can protect someone from the terrible cycle of emotional dependence, shame and fear that keeps them with abusive partners. Women who are abused look for ways they may have “provoked” an attack, finding fault with their own behavior to explain the unexplainable—why would someone they love hurt them? And it doesn’t help when people outside the relationship blame the victim. In this case, Phylicia Thompson, a cousin of Brown’s, told “Extra TV” that, “Chris was not brought up to beat on a woman. So it had to be something to provoke him for Chris to do it.”  As the rumors swirlabout whether Rihanna is back with Brown, understand that those who are abused do not stay with their abusers because they want to be beaten again, or because they are really at fault; it’s usually because they feel trapped and guilty.

 You may have noticed that the words power, control and domination running through my rant. That was purposeful. What we need to remember, and what we need to teach our children, is that yes, you should never hit anybody and you should never let anybody hit you. But, we also need to tell them that love does not guarantee respect and that any relationship they find themselves involved in should be based on both equally. 

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/188353

I’m still uncertain…

I keep saying that over an over again: hesitant, uncertain, not sure.  All those things I keep saying over and over.  But that’s the truth. 

So I’ve just been sick of my hair lately, and I wanted to cut off  like 6 inches.  But then I kept thinking, 6 inches, I need 10 to donate it, and I don’t want to cut off 6 and waste it, so lets just cut off 10.  So Nikki and Royce had a hair cut on Saturday, and I asked Kelly if she wanted to cut 10 inches off (which she’s been trying to get me to do for like 5 years).  She said she could squeeze me in, so I said “just do it.”  And here’s what happened…

My poor hair…

I sent it off in the mail today.  I just hope some girl gets a nice wig out of it.  She needs it more than I do, but I sure do miss it…

Here’s what it looks like straight and air dried, also I just took it out of a pony tail, so it’s not lookin’ too spiffy right now…

But I did it, and there’s no going back now.  My pony tail is so short!  My hair seriously hasn’t been this short since I was in 3rd grade.  I know, all the more reason to cut it, but it’s just so weird.  I don’t even look like myself!

But my shaggy dogs don’t seem to care…

I’m laughing because Annie just tried to lick my teeth, and I wasn’t too excited about that.  That’s her “I just got shut down” look.  And little Henry just likes to lick air, so he’s just chillin’ with his tongue out.

But on a fun note, Cody got his hair cut on Friday, and sometimes he has Kelly do fun things with it.  Not the cutting, just the styling.  So Cody had Kelly give him a Mohawk.  Here’s the front view…

and the side view…

Ok.  So that’s the big news for the week.  Hopefully it grows fast.  My hair, not Cody’s…

Timely Notification Bulletin

So Washburn started doing this thing about how they send out Timely Notifications if there is any threat on campus, and it seems like I get at least one a week.  It’s either someone around campus has a gun, shot gun, shoved a girl down while running, etc.  But this one I found rather humorous…

“Washburn University Police Department
Timely Notification Bulletinpolice@washburn.edu

**Tuesday, September 16, 2008 **

In compliance with the “Timely Notice” provisions of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Actof 1998 the Washburn University Police Department is advising the campus community of:

** Lewd and Lascivious Behavior **

Reported Offense:

At 05:14 A.M. this morning Washburn Police received a report of a male exposing himself in Parking Lot 11 north of the Law School.  The victim reported she was walking near the Law School and saw a truck pull into the parking lot and a male subject get out of the truck and remove his clothes.  The suspect left north bound on MacVicar Avenue as the victim went to the help phone to call police.  If you have any information about this incident please contact the Washburn Police Department at 670-1153.

Suspects:

The suspect in this incident is described as a white male in his 40’s or 50’s.  The suspect was approximately 5’06” tall with a thin build and had no facial hair or glasses.  Prior to removing his clothing he was wearing a button down shirt with dark pants and a tan hat.

The suspect was driving a full size pickup truck dark in color with gold or tan around the bottom of the truck.  The truck was described as being newer, probably 2000 to 2005.

When conditions exist that pose a threat to the students, faculty, staff and visitors of Washburn University, it is the duty of the University to give warning of possible “dangerous conditions” on or near the campus.

If you have any information that might be helpful in this investigation, contact the Washburn University Police Department by telephone at (785) 670-1153; in person at our office, Morgan Hall Rm 156; or by e-mail at

Submitted by: Sgt. C. Enos, WUPD
Target: Students, Faculty & Staff
Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2008″

My favorite part is where it says “prior to removing his clothes” this is what he was wearing…

I’m glad she wasn’t hurt, there are some real perverts out there, but what a horrible thing to see 5:14 in the morning.

I am so glad I don’t live in Topeka anymore…

 

 

 

I agree with Edith…

…having a blog does make you want to carry your camera with you everywhere.  And here are a few examples of why this is the case:

I was driving back from Wamego at the end of the day a few weeks ago and this is what I was following home.  I was trying to take a good picture, and I could not get close enough to get a good one and maintain a safe following distance.  So, I stalked this car for a few miles until we came to a stop light so that I could get close enough to take a good picture.  I just hope this person didn’t realize what I was doing, because according to her back window (I’m assuming it’s a girl’s car-I can’t imagine any boy doing this) she’s not a person that I want to be messing with…

 

But if you notice, she’s from Pottawatomie County, so at least I can say she doesn’t live in my county.  The stars just crack me up.  Like stars are going to make it less offensive.  My car says bitch on it, but don’t worry, there’s stars surrounding it, so it’s ok for your 5 year old to read it.  I did my best to cover her license plate number, so she won’t come back and sue me for posting her car on the Internet.

Ok, example two.  I carpool with my supervisor to case management on Tuesdays in Junction City, and as I was driving to her house, I passed this sign.  I just had to pull over and take a picture.  It’s priceless.

If I was a dog, I would walk right up to this sign, and squat.  And I would leave one hell of a present behind.  I have so many problems with this sign on so many different levels.  I realize that no one wants dog poo in their yard, but seriously.  Signs are not necessary, especially when that sign is a picture of a dog taking a dump.  It should just be expected that you clean up after your dog when you are on a walk.  I do it, and it’s not that hard.

Jack…

This is what Jack played for his last encore song, I was waiting the whole concert and of course he plays my favroite song last.  But, I thought you all might enjoy it, and if not, you should because it’s a good song.  This was recorded 1 week before the concert I saw, but it’s the same.  Jack’s so good live… I just love him…

Jack Johnson-Angel/Better Together

I think I need some help…

…I literally just cussed out the self check out machine at the Walmart.  I HATE the Walmart.

So let’s start from the beginning.  I HATE the Walmart.  It’s always SO busy, it’s taking over the world, and well, it just sucks overall.  It’s guaranteed that the minute I step foot inside the door, it’s going to be 3 hours before I can leave.  Ok, that’s a huge exaggeration, but I’m a little annoyed at this point in time while I’m typing.  But really, it’s guaranteed that it’ll be 45 minutes before I get out of there, even if I went for just one thing.  That’s why I HATE the Walmart. 

So Cody and I go to the Walmart to get 4 things.  It started out as one, some protein shakes that Dillon’s doesn’t have, so we went to the Walmart to get them.  Then I found coupons that expire soon, and we also got Puff’s facial tissue, some Biore’ face wipes, and the 4th item they were out of, but it was shaving cream.  So anyway after walking all around the store, because the Kleenex’s are on the complete opposite side of the store from the rest of what we needed (which I don’t understand why they’re on the food side to begin with-but that’s a whole other rant), we can’t find a line that is even remotely short, so we go to the self check out.  Which there are only 4 of.  And for some reason EVERY one of the machines (once we’ve already been in line for awhile) is acting up and the main lady (only 1 lady) that monitors them all, goes one by one to fix whatever problem they are having.  So finally, we’re up. 

I scan everything, the Puff’s, the wipes (2 boxes), and one shake box.  Fine, everything was fine.  Then I scan the second box of shakes (EXACT same thing as the first) and it tells me it’s not in the system and that I need to press “ok” and remove it the bag.  So I remove it, and try to scan it again.  It works.  Then tells me AFTER it scanned and charged me for the shake box, that it’s not in the system (then how did you charge me for it moron machine?!), and it prompts the lady to come over to enter in her damn code before it’ll let me move on. 

Well, someone else is having a problem at this same time, so she bypasses us, and says “Just a minute” and helps the other people, then 3 minutes later comes over and fixes ours.  She’s busy, I understand, but I can hear my life wasting away as I’m in the Walmart.  So finally we’re fixed and ready to move on. 

So, I can now enter in my coupons.  Biore coupon, good, easy, went smoothly.  Shake boxes coupon, good, easy, went smoothly. Puff facial tissue coupon, not good, not easy, DID NOT go smoothly.  It says on the computer screen “You have too many of item for coupon,”  What?  Are you kidding me?  So I scan it again.  Once again, it says I have too many.  What the hell does that mean?  I look at the coupon which has a picture of a 3 pack on the front (which is exactly what I had purchased) and it clearly says “any size puffs” on it.  Now if it would have said “not enough of item” I would have understood.  But how do you have to many? 

So by this point, I’m pissed.  I’ve already expressed my hatred of the Walmart to Cody like 5 times, and this was the last straw.  I believe I said, “How can you have too many, I hate this f***ing machine!” and I threw the coupon on the belt and pushed the checkout button.  The coupon was for 25 cents off, I didn’t care about the quarter anymore.  

Well, I think the woman working overheard all of this, because she came rushing over, saying “What coupon wouldn’t it take?” and did her special thing, and gave me the 25 cent credit (I feel a little bad at this point, but I’m still to pissed to talk to anyone), and Cody thanks her for me. 

So I pay, and we finally left.  All the while, I’m still ranting and raving under my breath about how you have too many of an item for a coupon.  Especially when what I got was the exact same thing as the damn picture on the coupon!  Seriously!  Seriously!!!!  Ok, calm down…breathe… 

So then we get to the car, I look at the clock and the whole trip inside the Walmart took 38 minutes.  38 minutes for 4 things, one of which they didn’t have!  I bet 25 of that was standing in line and the stupid check out machine! Oh, I just HATE the Walmart!

So I decided that I’m going to stop calling people I don’t like bad words, I’m going to call them “Walmart’s.”  That might make me feel a little better…

But really, I think I may need some help…  Seriously…