Things on my mind...

So I've been finding a lot of overpayments at work lately. Part of my job is to report findings of overpayments and/or fraud. I am not sure where people think they can get away for not reporting their correct income or household members - the government has ways to find out. If I could warn anyone out there that would listen, I would hope they would learn what integrity is and change thier lifestyle - for their sake and their children's sake. These people are going to have to pay back years of assistance, but will they learn from it is my question? It has inspired me to ponder on integrity, God's viewpoint of it, and what sense of it I have. I think I will have to write about that one soon...

I planted 125 tulip bulbs today!

We're dressing up for Halloween, I can't remember the last time I dressed up let alone if Charlie has ever dressed up. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by! I am a little reserved however as I am not sure where my newfound Christianity fits in with celebrating Halloween - so I am again pondering on my faith, will I change this too? When? How? So much I still am learning and come to realize what is worldly and what is not.

In my old age I am finding I can make a few good points here and there. I had a person from our free two night stay in St. George call and try to sell us an upgrade. First he told my son that I needed to call by this week or I could lose my rooms. Then when I FINALLY got in touch with him he admitted that most people won't call back. He was trying to convince me that our rooms would be mom and pop style (duh like I would expect anything else for free) and that we needed to pay $88 for this upgrade cause we'll get cable TV and a breakfast buffet at a Best Western. I've been to the Best Westerns before and all they have is continental breakfast. He tried telling me we'd spend as much eating at Denny's, I laughed at him. I told him why would it matter to me to get a better room for a couple night stay with a breakfast buffet when we will not be spending our time in the room. "Uh well we don't make any money off of this..." My reply was, "Well then why are you pushing so hard for me to upgrade?" He let it alone and ended the call. I guess he didn't know he was dealing with a previous telemarketer who knows the business and has actually traveled before.

I made clam chowder last night...a bit too early for my desire as it is a fall dish, but my husband often asks for it. Usually when I make dinner it isn't appealing to eat, so I try to convince him to do the cooking so I can enjoy it better. I do have to admit that last night's chowder was delicious! I couldn't stay out of it. (See the recipe on my recipe blog) - we ate at Skipper's the other day and their chowder tasted like Campbell's cream of chicken with a few clams thrown in it. Blah!

Just another day at work, right?

I must be a ________ type of person. You fill in the blank: approachable, tolerable, sympathetic, compassionate, patient, sensitive, kind, understanding, etc. I don't see myself that way, but apparently others do.

When I first began this job I remember being yelled at for being too nice to someone's customer. I guess he felt threatened that I would ruin his reputation? I dunno. Since when did being nice become a downfall?

This is the second time I've been asked in a year to work with people who are needy. Don't get me wrong, there are many needy people in my line of work, after all it is the government and we are issuing benefits to the less unfortunate, but there are also extremes to neediness. Today I've been asked by the manager to take on a special needs case. AKA a person who cannot handle the same red tape that the others has to deal with.

I don't know her whole story yet but am sure to find out all about it tomorrow when I call her for about her application. I can relate with her in that I too have struggled with mental health issues. As many people as I come in contact with in this job, there is one thing most they share in common being that they have been in some serious trauma in their lives. The loss of their job, the loss of their husband, their family, and most of all their pride. And there are those too that just like to get by with as little effort as possible. Being a former customer myself, I can at least try to imagine the struggle they've endured and continue to endure. I owe that much to them.

Luckily it is not a case "load" like it was previously when I took on the counselor position. And luckily it is not work that must be done face to face with the person and it can be done over the phone. While my new customer will be a challenge, I am honored to know that I am respected enough at work to be the individual I am for my management to think of me for the position. Thesaurus so help me to find out what it is!

Time for Shopping?

As I looked in my closet this morning I thought to myself, "Oh Lord, help me." I really need to get new clothes. Sure I've bought a few things here and there, but the last time I really got new clothes as in outfits that could be deemed as a wardrobe was in October of 2007!

That's pretty sad. I guess it is time to go and do the dirty work. I am odd in that being a girl and I don't like to go shopping. Not for myself anyway.

I LOVE shopping for others though! I could spend all day shopping for my daughter for her clothes. I could spend all day shopping for various other things like bedding, towels, etc. for me or for others. Anything but not clothes for myself.

I know. I'm a weird duck.

Fall is on its way!

Two more weeks and it's officially Fall! I have been noticing it in the evening air -and why is it that the smell of the breeze changes when Autumn is around the corner? The sun is further away and is in now what I've heard it called as the "Indian Summer" -not sure why or where that comes from. Even the food at the grocery store changes too. Suddenly there are large amounts (ie. mass quantities as the Coneheads would say) of assorted cakes, cookies, doughnuts, and bread all made from pumpkin! Soon pumpkins will replace the BBQ grills and the patio sets outside as well. Costumes and candy are already flooding the seasonal isle.

I made chili last night too. Will be making chowder soon and some other seasonal dishes that I don't usually do in the summer. While I'll miss summer, I am looking forward to the change in season. I am getting stoked for the next few months up and coming!

Labor Day Weekend 2009

We had a great long weekend...the boys and Charlie did some yard work, we went shopping for groceries (two more in the family again = ouch!) and of course the usual weekly housework & babysitting nieces, but all in all it was nice and relaxing. We watched three GOOD movies, Knowing, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, & Seven Pounds. Very rarely do we find good rentals let alone all 3 in the same weekend. Best part of all I didn't sleep during any of them - so unlike me. My family seemed to make a joke about it in fact. I did too. The movies MUST have been good for me to stay awake. I admit they weren't our usual choice of speeding cars, shoot 'em up, sci-fi type movies so yeah, of course I stayed awake!

 

Labor day evening we took a ride up Provo Canyon through Heber and Park City. It was absolutely beautiful. Had I known the trees were changing color, I would have thought to take my camera. On our way up there were so many camping and other vehicles coming down through Provo Canyon that we decided we'd take the scenic route home and go through Park City to avoid much obnoxious traffic. I am glad we went through Park City, I just love the atmosphere of that place. I wanted to stop that very moment and get lodging and just vacation there. It is always so beautiful! We stopped for a bite at the last real sit down Pizza Hut I've been able to find in Utah for a long time. It was tucked away in a side street in Park City and we drove right to it! (The one in Heber was packed and was not restaurant style at all - what a big disappointment!)

 

Okay. I have to explain here. You see the night out at Pizza Hut thing is a tradition of ours that we started back when Charlie and I were dating. We would go as a family off and on and just enjoy ourselves. The boys and Charlie would play video games, I would pick a song from the juke box, and we'd just have fun enjoying each other's company. It's just been one of our things. For some reason they've shut them all down in Utah & Salt Lake County. I finally found a couple dine in restaurants in Wasatch county so we've been meaning to make a trip and go so what better day than Labor Day? Where we live now we can't even get it delivered to us, so it is a real treat more than it was before to go sit down and eat in one.

 

Some things are just like that. Sure it's a national pizza chain, but it's our thing. That's all there is to it. Hope you all had a fun Labor Day weekend. Fall is just around the corner! This year has gone by fast!