A sensitivity to WHAT???

Most of you know that I have had issues with chronic pain for the past 6 1/2 years. Well, I went to the doctor today because a recent medication change has had me in more pain than usual. His conclusion, I'm sensitive to estrogen. Weird, I know. The reason he came to this conclusion is that, when I was getting shots that shut down my ovaries, I had very little pain. Almost as soon as he switched me back to a regular birth control (containing 70X the normal estrogen that I make) the pain flared up again. I have to ship off my new prescription, and then we'll see where it goes from there. Who knew that there was a problem with being sensitive to estrogen?

On a happier and less weird note, Clint and Ambrie have been preparing the house for their new arrival. This weekend that preparation consisted of tearing up all of the carpeting and baseboards in the house, and putting up new baseboards. The carpet was supposed to be laid yesterday but . . . I digress. Clint's sister, Stacy, and his brother-in-law, Kevin, come to help out with these projects. On Saturday I stole their daughter, Hayle and we took the "boys" for a walk to the Junior High near my house.

When we got to the athletic fields, football was just finishing up for the day. We were walking along and Hayle and I noticed that someone got a little bored during practice/the game. They made this smiley face out of torn up grass, and we found it entertaining.

Hayle impressed me, not only with her gymnastic skills, but also her maturity. It was a lot of fun getting to know her better, but makes me miss my nieces and nephews that much more :)

As we were walking to the school (sorry this is a bit out of order) I noticed that the curb had been freshly painted, but there was something odd about it. Upon closer inspection, I found that the city had first painted the curb, then killed the weeds growing along it. I don't know who's idea it was, but it made for beautiful "natural art" as Hayle said. I think it is pretty cool!

Erica and I decided that this is the best picture, in the compositional sense. Ok, it is just the best picture ever!!

On Sunday I was laid up in bed b/c of my pain, so I stole their other daughter, Ainsley (not sure on the spelling) and took her out to my room to play with me. I was bouncing her up and down and singing "Little baby Ainsley" over and over. Every time I said her name she would shriek and smile in delight. In case any of you are wondering, I still think babies are yucky.

Little baby . . .

AINSLEY!!

Fun stuff! Don't worry, I'll have more fun stuff soon!

Financial Stress

First of all, thanks for all of the comments on my last post. It is fun to hear what you all think. Unfortunately, the state of the economy . . . fine! The state of my personal bank account was making me stressed, so I returned the two tall ladies and the egg. I know most of you would have gone for the African bust, but I LOVE it, and she doesn't creep me out at all.

I H-A-T-E paying full price for anything, and that is why I chose the egg. I'm pretty sure in a few months it will go on clearance and then I'll get it for half as much. The tall ladies, I liked them a lot, but they were still on the expensive end for me. Honestly, I'm not going to take any of this stuff with me when I die, so there isn't really a good reason to pay a lot of money for it, right? Clearance, clearance, clearance! I'm all about it!

Let me just say that this is my favorite Halloween decoration yet. It is on a house that I pass everyday on the way to and from work each day. I don't know exactly what it is about it that I love so much, but there you have it. I know it is kind of blurry . . . WHAT? There was someone sitting in that car while I taking a picture. I didn't want them to yell at me.

Cassius (Clint and Ambrie's [my landlords] dog) is a very enthusiastic greeter. He just loves the people so much! The other day I was wearing shorts and I noticed a line on my leg. I thought it was dirt and tried to wash it off but no luck. It may have had something to do with the fact that it wasn't dirt! I took me awhile to figure out what it was from. Yep. It is a "Welcome home! I love you and I can only express that by jumping!" bruise from a Cashy claw.


That is it for now. Sorry if my leg makes you uncomfortable. I think it is a kind of funny picture b/c look how small the things on the floor look! (I'm giggling about it right now!)

New Stuff!!

So, most of you know that I have a LOT of stuff, but I guess it just wasn't enough. There were still some bare spots in my apartment, so last night some friends and I went to Pier 1 and I did my thing! I don't think I have any skill with decorating (in case any of you think that I'm trying to brag.), I just get stuff that I think is fun/interesting and, most importantly, on clearance!
I found these funky dogs awhile ago, but I wasn't willing to pay full price for them (I am hardly ever willing to pay full price on non essential items), so I waited. There is a Basset Hound and an Afghan Hound.

As you look at the pictures, please remember that they are taken with a camera phone, thus some are pretty blurry. The pictures where the walls look white reflect the actual color of the dogs the best.



Then there are these ladies. A splendid combination of ceramic and metal (and wood, but just as the base), I think they have a lot of character, especially for people without faces!!! Again, I've had my eyes on these for a few months. They were still on the more expensive end, but there were only two left, so I splurged. (No worries, I didn't cross the $20 line on either one.) This picture is particularly blurry, I'll try to get a better one during the daylight hours sometime.


I'm big on texture, and glass. I love smooth glass (much better than jagged, trust me!) This paperweight was full price, but I needed some color, and you'll see why in a bit. It is heavy, smooth and cool. Holding it makes me feel very calm. I think it is almost perfect for the OCD sufferer, only thing is, it ISN'T round. Then it would be perfect.


I love this lady. I did cross the $20 line with her, but I HAD to have her. There is a paperweight at an antique shop in Orem that will go well with this piece, and it was on clearance. I really love Egyptian stuff (Mom and Dad, if you want to include the "Book of the Dead" papyrus with the Acorn bedroom set when you die, I'd be OK with that.) If you click on this first picture of (I call her Nefertiti, I know that isn't really who it is . . . ) you can see the reason the egg-paperweight was such a perfect choice. Leave a comment explaining why you think it is such a good choice!

Yeah, another one.

and yet another, I want you to get the full effect!

The base is black wood.

Now, I bet you are wondering, "how did she put this all together?" Keep on going, and you'll see!! I put the lemon trees up b/c they need to be somewhere semi-warm (aka, not out in the freezing cold) for the winter. I think I may need to find something live to go there when they go out next summer, but I've got a couple of months to decide.

Now, if you think I have hideous taste, I'll be fine. What matters is that I LOVE to look at this stuff. Hey, it's my apartment!

Leave comments, I love hearing what you all think!

Love you all (that it is appropriate for me to love!)

Da' BIRD

More Randomness

Sorry my blog is so random! It is just that, I don't have my own camera, so I have to post when people get pictures to me. So, LET'S GO!!!

This is a golden lobster that is on the wall at the Thai Village. This picture is from when Erica and I went there for her birthday.


This is me, at the Kennecot Copper Mine. I had never been before, and when my Mom came to visit Erica took us there. I was so amazing. I think I want to work in a copper mine . . . (Lauren, if you are laughing at me, I can be a fire woman, forensic anthropologist, egyptologist, frankincense harvester, firework chemist, transfer specialist AND a copper mine worker.)

This bucket is HUGE (for those of you reading this blog who are blind), but I managed to lift it.

Erica, My Mom and Me in front of . . . the big tire. (Kudos to all of you who identified it before you read what it was.)

On Saturday, Erica came to take me to the Thai Village for MY birthday (Lauren suggested we just go once and pay for the other person's meal, but then we only get to go ONCE). We got all the way to American Fork only to find that it wasn't open yet! It was 3:30 and they didn't open for dinner until 5:00. We drove around, looking for good places and finally decided that the answer was IHOP. (There wasn't a Denny's on the other corner though. I know Don was wondering.) This series of pictures is Erica trying to get a picture for me to put on my blog, but I was really tired and so I was being silly. I was doing my AMTM pose, just like at Erica's Birthday, but I was so entertained by myself that I burst out laughing. Picture three is me, bursting. Erica told me which moment she had caught on camera and I thought it was so funny, I laughed until I cried. As I write this, it isn't very funny, but it sure was then!!!





These are my super-cute shoes that I bought. I was getting breakfast at Einstein Bros Bagels and decided to take a picture for my mom.

These are my new winter boots. I wore them for the first time today on my way to work. Lauren said she probably wouldn't go to the L. L. Bean website to look at them, so I decided to put them on my blog.

I love my life! It may seem weird to some of you who live structured lives, but I really like it!
That's it for now.
Da' BIRD

Various Hayden Sleeping Pictures

Hayden is a pretty funny dog, but I find him especially entertaining when he is sleeping.

Hayden gets kind of annoyed when I stay uplate reading. He usually sticks his nose under the blanket, but sometimes he just smooshes his head into whatever is most convenient.

At other times, he uses his paw to cover his eyes.

I'm not quite sure how this position is comfortable . . . Hayden seems to like it. He sleeps like this a lot.

Here we go, sticking his face under the blanket. He does NOT like the light.

and then we have Cassius, who likes to sleep on the garage floor, but I convinced him to try the couch one day. I'm not sure how he felt about it.

Random stuff!

One day Cassius came out to the apartment to hang out with Hayden and me. It was a pretty chilly day, and apparently Cassius didn't want to lay on the cold floor.

I think you can tell what hayden thinks of Cassius taking over the bed!

I guess we all know which way Cassius is voting this year!

Just a close up of Hayden. I think it's funny how saggy his face gets.

I went for a walk with Hayden last Sunday and I saw this HUGE squash hanging from a chainlink fence. I took the picture with my hand in it for reference.

Sherrina and Monica got this bag for me for my birthday. They also got me a yoga mat. I love them both!

Most of you have probably already seen this. I like to call it "Where's Hayden". Can YOU spot the puppy?

What? He gets cold in morning. I'm up and getting ready, so I let him use the bed.

Oh, look at that face. It is just SO precious.

YAY! I had a birthday!

My friend, Alyssa, threw me a surprise party at my favorite restaurant, Carrabba's!

Sherrina, Monica, (There I am!) and Heather are my co-workers who came. As soon as I get more pictures of the event, I'll post them. I was very flattered that Alyssa took the time to plan this for me, and that people came! I think of people as my firends, but I'm not sure if they always feel the same way and so this just made me feel so loved!