Chris' Birthday

This was right before we went to a wonderful Italian restaurant, La Nonne for his birthday dinner. I'd recommend it to anyone.

I tricked him by taking him to Borders and seeing what book he wanted. He basically picked out his own present : )




And I had to try a cupcake to the face to see if 22 had slowed him down at all... I think it might have.

He blew out all of the candles, but I don't know what he wished for.

Chris' birthday was on Monday the 27th and I make a birthday cupcake cake. It turned out pretty well and tasted delicious. I also got a couple of present to surprise him with.

Chris' Halloween Hair

Here are some pictures of Chris' festive hair... it turned out pretty well.

Halloween!

Although I love trick or treating, dressing up, and enjoying the fall I haven't carved a pumpkin in a very long time. So this year Chris and I decided it was time! We bought a pattern book at Sm
iths, which included some great tools to get the tiny intricate patterns perfectly carved. I chose an ambitious design of a haunted house on a hill.

I think it turned out pretty well... although the middle building lost the door and window due to a poorly planned move by my thumb.

Chris on the otherhand, decided to go for a more traditional but modern pattern. I like the strategically placed eye patch over the eye. I also love the little teeth. It was a lot of fun to carve these pumpkins, but I think I'll be happy to wait another year before I carve another pumpkin.

In other news, we even tried to bake sugar cookies and to decorate them with frosting. It was the most frustrating thing in the world and I wont be baking anytime in the near future. I had help from my lovely sister in law Ami and our creativity went beyond the mere cookies and we made the spirit of Halloween dance with frosting. Alright enough with the douchey language.... here are some pictures of the cookies and some decorations.

This is abstract cookie decorating.

And here is my cookie.....

And this is Ami's pumpkin of death.

What I've read

Brisingr is part of the Inheritance series that follows the life of Eragon. Although I usually do not read a lot of fantasy stories, as of late I have been fascinated by them. The character's are so complex that you find traits that are so similar to your friends, and yourself. I have started the education courses which are enlightening and extremely important to a teacher's education but very boring. Reading about hypothetical classrooms and then talking about them bring up valid points but don't leave much room for entertainment. Therefore books have again become a vital part of my life outside of school. I'd recommend this series to anyone interested.

This novel is a sad, gripping, and horrifying story of the sexual slave trade that happens on a daily basis and affects thousands if not millions of children. Lakshmi is a 13 year old girl who lived in a mountain village with her mother, baby brother, and gambling step father. Throughout the rainy, dry, and every other season Laskmi's family stayed together through disease, hunger, and despair in hops to gain financial stability through their small farming. However, the gambling of Laskmi's step father puts the family in a new level of poverty previously unknown to them. Thinking that she will be going to the big city and be a maid for a rich family, Lakshmi is sold into a brothel. The story's reality hits home for the reader in a profound way. You read the words about an innocence that is ripped away and you wonder what can I do?

So with the release of the last book in the series, Breaking Dawn, I was on a pursuit to read all three again and finish the last book. I was very happy with my decision because I was able to get wrapped up in the love story before the ending came. Although I am sad that the story is finished I enjoyed Meyer's writing style throughout the series and wish, just like Harry Potter, there would be 50 more novels. The books are super, super trendy these days which makes reading them kind of douchey. But, let the books speak for themselves and you can decide when you finish the series.

The Bait and Switch

So if you talk to us on a frequent basis you are probably aware of our newest and largest by far dilemma. We got married in June and got dental and health insurance starting on the day of our marriage. Some might argue that this is marital bliss... however, we have reached the end of ignorance with the screwy world we live in. We both went to our new dentist with our new dental insurance to get our six month cleaning (something that is covered 100% by our insurance) and while we were there we set up three different appointments. One was for a simple filling for me, the second was for a simple filling for Chris, and the third was for a simple moulding of Chris' teeth to get crowns made. Prior to this dentist Chris had two root canals and crowns made for his farthest back molars. But because the last dentist he felt comfortable with drilled into his nasal cavity he has not returned to get any dental work finished. I don't blame him, its sounds pretty freaking painful and the worse experience I have ever had with a dentist is getting my wisdom teeth out and feeling them crumble underneath the dentist's giant metal stick. Anyways, when we made the appointment we talked to the receptionist/insurance lady to get an estimate. With all of our insurance information in front of her she quoted us $500 for the crowns and that the insurance would cover it. So we went ahead. However, after baiting us to make the appointment they have screwed us over completely. Chris went in without being told that they were performing more prep work (we understood the appointment was for mould to be made) and stayed there for an hour while the dentist did "extensive" prep work to his teeth. At the end of this "simple" appointment the receptionist informed Chrish that our insurance didn't cover major work for 12 months! And then they gave the bill $1480!!!!!! He had to take a loan our through their credit services before he could even leave.

Now I come into the story. I came home from school and found out what exactly they had done and was pissed. After crying for awhile I was a woman on a mission who was determined to let the f*cking receptionist now just how pissed off I was. We "chatted" to put it in lighter terms for about 20 minutes. I have replayed the conversation many times in my head and wont repeat it all because of censoring issues : ). However, all the work is stopped and the receptionist informed me that giving an estimate was a simple courtesy that they perform for their patients and it wasn't in their job description to inform us that our insurance wouldn't cover major work. Wouldn't you agree that it was in their job description to inform us that they were going to perform major work before he got the bill. They told us nothing! And they are a horrible example of a business. After many phone calls I found out that the only way for us to have known that we weren't covered for 12 months was by contacting Cafe Rio's human resource department and asking that very specific question. The insurance company didn't provide that information in our booklet or send out a letter stating that we weren't covered for a year. I was shocked out how horrible and twisted insurance and medical offices can be.

Thankfully we aren't going to pay the full amount and will of course NEVER go back to that dentist. Thanks for reading!

Work

So while I have lived up in Logan for school I have transformed my work ethic to be almost obsessive. I think the beginnings of my change came from Cafe Rio. I went from working on the line making food to working up front and being in charge of the front end. I dedicated a lot of time to my position and found little satisfaction in my work. However, I was determined to stay at Cafe Rio and see this job to the end of my college career. After my position was consolidated in the front end I remained as a cashier excited for the break in responsibility. The break was great until a douchey area coach targeted me as a slacker who needed to work more and to devout my entire life to Cafe Rio. Even though the area coach had it in for me I stayed as a cashier for Cafe Rio and endured countless idiotic employees and people who quit when they wanted to go to the rodeo and couldn't find someone to cover for them. But in the end I will be leaving Cafe Rio to pursue my other two jobs and to hopefully add another crappy job during the Christmas season.

Although I am leaving Cafe Rio I would like whoever reads this blog (highly doubting there is anyone out there who reads this) to know that Claudio is not the one who got rid of me... but he's still a douche.

I would also like to dedicate the picture to Claudio who (with his name) should be on the cover of a romance novel.

What I've Read This Summer

Right now I'm read Eldest which is a great fantasy novel. It is a complex story with characters that everyone can connect with. The story is consistent and dramatic and I think any age group or gender would love this series. I can't wait to finish this novel and read the third when it comes out in September.

This novel A Clockwork Novel is a great but horrific novel. Its interesting if you read the introduction before the novel. You get a good idea of the author's state of mind while writing the book and your learn about the differences between the American publishers and the British publishers. I would also recommend watching the American movie version of the novel. It follows the American publisher's ending and is said to leave a bit of content out of the ending. Its a in depth example of unbiased violence that is scary to think about.

Atlas Shrugged is written by Ayn Rand who is the best character developing author that I have ever run into. Although I haven't read an enormous amount of novels I really feel that Ayn Rand has the ability to create a character that is loved, hated, and adored by any kind of reader. I recommend this novel to anyone who has the persistence to finish.

Next on my list to read before school starts is Sold and A Thousand Splendid Suns. I will keep you up to date about how those novels turn out.