Posts

Youth Reform

I know racism exists.   I've experienced it and witnessed it. I remember my niece and my little brother being harassed at school because they are half black. I remember friends not wanting to spend the night at my house because they were afraid of my black step-father and the taboo of an interracial couple. I remember coming back to the states after two years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and having to defend Muslim friends during a time when people believed all Muslims were Taliban. We have come a long way, but there will always be ignorance to conquer. My opinion of the situation in Ferguson, Mo is fairly complicated because of two facts: I come from a liberal, ridiculously multicultural background and I am married to a white, police officer. On the one hand, I know there are police officers who probably should not be police officers. That goes for any profession. I know that the cycle of poverty is much harder to break than most people of privilege could ever unders...
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Let's Talk About Downsizing

As a realtor, I'm always seeing what's new on the market and it's difficult sometimes not to want the next best property that pops up. My husband and I had bought 3 homes in 5 years, which is a bit nuts if you think about it. I never really felt "at home" sort of speak. I have four kids and a full time job so the up-keep on my most recent home was overwhelming. I'd walk into my 3050 sq ft and instantly feel trapped in the cleaning cycle. I could never sit down, I could never relax, it was work all day and then slave until bed time. The worst part was that even after spending hours cleaning and straightening, I never felt done. Yes, our children helped us, but how clean can a four year old make their bedroom really?  The Why One day, my mom approached me on listing her rental property. It's a two bedroom 987 sq ft house with a one car garage. She had converted the garage into a large bedroom making the total heated area about 1200 sq ft. Her most recent...
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Is That Really Your Only Hobby?

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It's been a while since I've last written a blog and mainly that is due to the fact that I went back to work and had another baby...Working two jobs and having four kids kind of hinders one's ability to do basically most things. It also makes it much more likely that a Mormon will stop you and ask what Ward you're in, true story. As well as the likelihood of a friend without children saying the words, "That's your life right now. Whooping cough." My lack of ME, if you will, was brought to my attention especially last night when I was called by a telemarketer who was trying to get me to buy a package to go to Las Vegas. I kindly advised her that I was not interested in a trip, I just had a baby and won't be leaving town any time soon (if EVER).  She must've had a manager evaluating her because regardless of my answers she would not let me get off the phone. So she asks what other things I am interested in, what do I do for fun? I actually paused f...
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Man Vs. Poop

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So my husband and I have fairly often had this conversation: Him: Are you really mad at me for having to poop? Me: Yes. I'm certain some people will think this is too much information, but I must know if there are other women who feel that the amount of time men spend pooping is absurd.  Now before you think I'm a total whack job for putting a time limit on the facilities, you should know that I am not so much mad at the what, but rather the when. I suppose you don't really have control over when you need to go, but if it's so urgent that you leave in the middle of unloading groceries, or bathing the kids, or getting ready to leave the house and be somewhere, then how could it possibly take 45 minutes to get it out? Seriously, the only time I am relieved to hear he has to poop is when I have a show recorded that I want to watch and he's not interested. Then I'm like, "Perfect, I can watch my hour long program without interruptions!" ...
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Happiness in the Pursuit

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I haven't written a post in over a month! I've been THAT busy.  The Realtor who I've been working for is on fire and I've been trying to juggle the copious amounts of paperwork with my ever difficult five year old, two year old and chunky monk 6 month old. Being busy is good though, it's less time for me to over analyze existing in my overly hormonal, analytic, female brain.  I also decided to go ahead and get my Realtor license, which excites me, but now that I think about it, is only magnifying my neurosis.  What neurosis you ask? The constant "pursuit of happiness" neurosis. Or maybe even the ego satisfying neurosis, I'm not sure which one.  The other day I just felt completely useless. I mean I worked my butt off taking care of the children; never sitting down, fussy baby, fighting siblings, nurse, abcmouse.com, dog eating trash, toddler peeing on rug next to toilet, nurse, five year old sticking hand in baby's mouth, toddler refusing t...
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Leggo my Ego

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Recently, I was contacted by a high school friend regarding a relationship she's in that's leaving her feeling vulnerable and unfulfilled. She had read my post on marriage and was reaching out for more understanding of my relationship philosophy. Those of you who have had the privilege of knowing me since my early to mid-twenties will also know of my horrible, terrible, no good very bad relationship with a dude named, well...Let's call him D-bag.  I know you'd  know of him because in those years of my life I was consumed by this relationship and had a difficult time discussing much else.  In fact, I would argue that I had become an entirely different person whilst attempting to fit his fantastic mold.  He was handsome and charming and oh yeah, how could I forget, a complete sociopath!  He cheated and lied and made me feel trapped in a very toxic world of make-ups and break-ups for three years. I made a fool of myself in public...more than once. I l...
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Bullet For My Skinny Jeans

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I have been asked to share what is on the dinner menu in my home this week!   We are attempting to tackle the obstacle of eating organic, but also experimenting with both the "Zone/Paleo" combo plan and the "Bullet Proof Diet."  Both of these diets are similar in that they push organic meals made up of good fats, proteins and vegetables with very little grains. They also both agree on limiting your intake of foods that cause inflammation, which ultimately lead to diseases and cancers. Bullet Proof is a tad bit more hard core and a little off the grid in comparison to Paleo. The man lived with Tibetan Monks and did experiments on himself using tests on his brain and blood etc, so his findings are interesting to say the least. He highly recommends getting a blood panel done to find out what foods you should avoid because we are all different. He says things like, onions and garlic cloud the mind and make it difficult to meditate so try not to eat them regular...
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Nasal Drip Gypsy

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I think my two-year old broke my nose.  Well at least part of the cartilage. He was trying to sneak into bed with me because he has decided that now that the baby sleeps through the night, he no longer needs to sleep at all. In his stealthy ninja pjs he scooted back really hard, head-butting me straight in the nose. I heard a pop and now it hurts when I touch it. My husband says maybe it's a deviated nasal septum, but then I explained to him that I already have this injury from the first time I attempted snow boarding. It was in Santa Fe and I was trying to cut on complete ice. Needless to say, I was unsuccessful and face planted in something unlike powder. The "friends" I went with had left me much earlier than the incident and I was escorted down the mountain by a tween in an orange vest. As I made my way into the bathrooms people were staring at me so I wondered if they could tell I was crying. When I looked in the mirror however, I realize my allure. Two black ey...
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