I'm slimy - Its working

The water softener seems to be a success. I am slimy!

Next on the horizon...... the dish washer, clean it out and see if the soft water helps to get things clean!

And finally, I will be buying lumber this week to start framing the basement. A living room, a extended bathroom, a large boys bedroom, a game room and a door to the cold storage.

It needs to be completed by Thanksgiving.

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Water water soft and wet

Is it bad not to remember the beginning of the work day?

Oh thats right, I set off the alarm at the branch. I was the first one in today. No one told me that they changed the code yesterday. I spent the day driving to and from St George for work. Home after 9:00 pm.

Arrived home then spent the evening with the help of a friend installing a soft water system in the basement. I am still wet from the shower while cutting through the main pipe. I am crossing my fingers!

I am hungry.

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Beginnings - And Her Blood Ran Cold……

Maggie placed the small cloth purse on her lap and held it in a clutch like a child would a rag doll. She wasn’t truly far from being a child herself. The metal bench was cold against the back of her bare legs, which protruded from a tattered black miniskirt like carrot sticks, thin and shapeless. She had always thought that her legs were her worse feature. This had been confirmed time and again by countless “johns” who cared less about her feelings then about getting their eighty bucks worth.

It was too cool for a late May evening and Maggie shivered involuntarily. She had been sick, a cold, maybe a slight fever, who knew for sure. There was no one to check her temperature and she had no where to go so she stayed on the street, huddling against the chill, sneezing and sniffing.

The thin cotton jacket was more for show then for warmth and barely kept out the wind. Underneath, a tiny sleeveless thing, designed to emphasize cleavage, gave no insulation to her narrow ribbed frame.

She waited at the bench for no one in particular, simply to give her feet a rest from the pinch of the cheap plastic high heels. Traffic was slow tonight. There was very little movement on the streets, just a few girls like herself, standing in little groups, waiting and wondering.

The night seemed heavy, as if pressing in around her. It whispered a message of foreboding as if the darkness was trying to warn the frail little girl of danger.

During the final years before Maggie ran away from home, her mother would often slouch on the edge of Maggie’s bed, late into the night, spewing forth philosophy on men and the world. Thinking back, Maggie had never given much credence to her mother’s bitter blusterings. Frankly, it had been difficult to even understand her mother through the thick slur of the alcohol induced stupor. One thing her mother said, though, had stuck with Maggie, something that her mother had firmly believed and repeated time and again.

She would suddenly become still, drunkenly lean toward her and then hiss in a hushed and determined whisper.
“Maggie, listen well to the night. It will talk to those who want to know. It will tell you the good and the bad. It knows.”

It might have come from her mother’s own mystic upbringing. The daughter of a backwoods bible thumper father who fancied himself “touched” by the spirit and a mother who claimed to read fortunes, good and bad alike, in the scattering of chicken bones, kept in a small dirty sack, which would be spread across the end an upturned whiskey barrel like rolled dice.

To Maggie, it didn’t make much sense but she still remembered. She strained to listen now, to feel the night’s warning and she thought of her mother.

The doctor stepped down from the van and adjusted the heavy coat. He wasn’t accustomed to such coats, thick and bulky, preferring the starched white clean lab coats that befitted professionals of his caliber. This subterfuge was beneath him.

The doctor walked quickly to the side door, slid it open and leaned inside. Everything was prepared and ready. He placed the bottle and the rag in the coat pocket and slid the door closed quietly, leaving it unlocked. This shouldn’t take too long. He had seen one sitting alone on the city bench, just around the corner.

He approached the specimen from behind, shuffling silently in hospital slippers hidden under the low cuff of the wool knit pants. All part of this “common person” disguise that he despised so. She heard his final foot falls as he reached for her throat. She grabbed instinctively for his hands. Too late, a wet, sour tasting cloth rag was pressed over her nose and mouth, cutting off the chirp that was to become a scream for help. Methodically now, he held her close from behind, fending of the weakening attempts to scratch at his gloved hands. Foolish girl, he thought with contempt, I will take you like the others before you. These vain and feeble attempts to struggle will afford you nothing but a more painful death.

Glancing from side to side for possible observers, he pulled her head against his chest and stepped backwards toward the shelter of a grove of pine trees. The movement lifted Maggie’s frail, barely clothed body up and over the back of the bench. Her purse fell from her lap and flopped into a muddy puddle of water. She became frantic. As the doctor continued to pull her backward, she began kicking and swinging like a grasshopper stuck to board of foam with a needle.

The doctor was tired of playing with this insolent girl. He had tasks to accomplish of which she was but one. Much more important tasks yet awaited him. As they disappeared from view between branches, the doctor lowered his chin towards the struggling girl’s ear and whispered.
“Do you know fear? Your blood will run cold before the night has ended!”

Maggie’s eyes widened for a fraction of an instant before rolling back into her skull. She became limp in his arms. A rush of accomplishment filled the doctor. But only momentarily, a doctor must remain calm, collected and in control at all times. He removed the cloth and lifted the body, cradling the girl in his arms. Walking through the trees, following the street, the doctor returned to the safety of the van. He opening the side door with two fingers and, unceremoniously, dropped the lifeless form onto a mattress lying on the floor. She landed with a muted thump, her thin carrot stick legs sprawling into very unladylike positions. The doctor huffed in disgust.
“Dirty Whores!”

Now, less concerned with discretion, he slammed the door closed and rushed around to the driver’s side, pulling off the coat and gloves as he went. Once behind the wheel, the doctor reached under the front seat and pulled from it a syringe filled with amber liquid. He turned in his seat, pulled off the needle guard and plunged the narrow shaft of steel into the pale white skin of the girl’s exposed upper thigh.

“Sleep, glorious sleep…..” The doctor rolled into high pitched falsetto song as the van pulled from the curb.

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It will be an early Christmas

It will be a ..GIRL..
claims the doctor (right...Deb)

Due date: December 13th

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Beginnings - Cement City

Lemon drops rained from the shattered glass dispenser along the back ledge, fronting the wall length mirror, and bounced in all directions across the Italian marble floor of the ancient corner candy and ice cream counter.

“The next one is in your head!” snarled the menacing yet clean cut hulk of a man in the midnight blue, hand tailored suit, holding a large black handgun. Smoke eased wistfully from the black eye of the muzzle. The man’s attire spoke of money and power, from the hundred dollar haircut to the four hundred dollar pair of black wingtips which glistened from hours of polish and buffing.

He spoke, like one who was accustomed to getting his way, to the smallish, frail old balding man in the red apron, cowering near the floor. In an angry yet controlled hiss he spoke again.
“Now then, we will try this again. Where is your boss, McCloud!”
The shrinking man, clung to himself and squeaked faintly but did not reply.

The large suit stepped around the corner and strode toward the quivering mass. In one gloved fist, he grabbed the old man’s shirt and lifted until the man’s tan loafers hung in the air above a scattering of yellow marble sized confections.

“Charles!” reading the name off a faded badge pinned to the crumpled man’s apron, “Charles, you don’t want to die, protecting scum like your boss McCloud, do you?” He waited, holding the man aloft as easily as if he were a holding a finger in the air to check for wind. “Now answer the question!” He screamed suddenly, shaking the man in the air.

“I….don’t…know where he is…” Charles finally sputtered. “I haven’t seen….him since…Saturday morning, Mr. Woods.”

“You know me? Huh!” Mr. Woods chuckled with more menace then humor.
“I’ve heard..a..heard of you, of course.”
“Well, then you know that I am not a patient man, Charles. Especially with people who are loyal to scum bosses and who lie to me!”

But..bu..bu” Charles stammered like a rapid spattering of hiccups.

But Mr. Woods was done chatting. He dropped Charles to his feet, with a thud by releasing the grasp of his left hand while instantaneously bringing his right around in a tight efficient swing. The swollen right fist, holding the gun by its barrel, came down against the side of Charles’s skull with a crack. Charles collapsed without further sound into a limp pile on the Italian marble among the scattered yellow lemon drops.

Mr. Woods stepped, dismissively, over the mess on the floor and walked with purpose towards the front door but not before stepping to the counter and, with one meaty arm, knocked every glass candy container to the floor, leaving the floor covered in broken glass and colored sticky sweets.

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Frustration

Spent the day waiting.... waiting for the underwriters to look at the loan files and generate additional conditions or to clear them for loan documents.

I waited for clients who don't seem to be nearly as motivated as I am to finish up their loans. "No, I didn't get to it this week.... we had company over the weekend so I couldn't sign the disclosure..... my accountant went camping this week." Meanwhile when their locks expire and they can't get the same loan rate....are they going to blame themselves for it....NO.... Right here! The big bald guy. He's the jerk who couldn't get it done. The FAT man!

Waiting for a company to fill out some questions on a third of a page of paper about employment of one of their employees.....all day.....no return fax.... probably still sitting on someones desk while they pick their noses or talk on the phone about their plans for the long weekend.

Waiting at the church in a white straight jacket and tie, after wolfing down a wonderful dinner so that I could be on time for interviews planned at the whim and choice of the bishop..... only to discover that, after opening the church, the bishop's office and the clerks office and adjusting the air conditioning in the bishop's office so that he would be more comfortable, that after twenty minutes where no one showed, to call the bishop who is still sitting in the comfort of his home and have him tell me that he decided to move them back two hours. "oh, I tried to call you but no one was home. maybe I should have tried your cell phone." Or, I have an Idea, how about just leaving a message on that little thing I call the idiot box or the sifter of stupid phone calls.

Coming home from the church, to watch my daughter be oblivious to cars while she rides her scooter on the streets and to have some MORON, who obviously beats his children and wife, after stopping as my daughter dawdles by the front of his suburban, then lay into his horn for twenty seconds to prove some point or teach a lesson. If I had been close enough to yell at him, I would have taken his horn and performed an intimate colonoscopy, gratis, through his nose!

Now, I sit, knowing that I should be doing something productive, but, trying to let the day fall away.

Frustration!

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Bread

The long green tubular veggy that grows inches overnight while you slumber has been the source of my focus for the past two days.

I shredded 6 cups of the stuff, which equated to 2 oversized veggies. This has become six loaves of bread. 4 on Saturday and two more on Sunday afternoon.

The nine brown frozen bananas in the freezer also gave of themselves to become 3 additional loaves. 1 last night and two more this afternoon.

I purchased two glass loaf pans a few weeks ago and I am having a ball using them!!

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another day

Off to scout camp for the day tomorrow morning.

Spent today collecting loan conditions on various loans. Drove to Fillmore for more conditions, no lunch, left work at 7:00pm.

My headache continues for a third day. I don't normally get headaches.

My hands continue to twitch more and more consistently over the last six months. It was just in the evenings initially. Now it goes on throughout the day. I don't know what it is.

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Payson Lakes

Returned yesterday afternoon from a fun but wet 11 and 12 year old scout fishing campout.

I camped with my boys and we had fun fishing on one the Payson Lakes. We used orange swirl and green powerbaits and landed 18 rainbows and 1 brook trout. We brought 12 home and gave the rest to the other boys.

It rained throughout the night but was clear both for the evening and morning fishing.

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Changes at work

I was nearly let go from work two weeks ago. Family first is currently restricted from doing business loans.

The president of the credit union decided to let me try to pick up mortgage loans for the time being, hoping that the restrictions will be lifted soon.

If it is not and they want me to stay on doing mortgages then they will probably require that I move to commission only. I don't know this for a fact, it is just an assumption.

I am trying to pick things up.

Mean while I am having more business loans go bad, people not being able to pay their payments. This is not good to the tune of 1.3 million dollars today.

Fun in banking land.

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Monday

Work was work.
I spent the day trying to complete a quarterly report due last Friday. This required a review of my tickler. (my portfolio of loans) I updated the payoffs in the tickler to help me with the report. I went with friends and coworkers Todd and Mark to Cabelas during lunch where
I looked at the fish and the rifles while they purchased ammunition and boots. The fish, I found out, are fed every evening at 6:00 pm and on Fridays and Saturdays at noon and 6:00 pm. I want to go back and watch them feed them.
I worked on the report in the afternoon and submitted it by about 4:00 pm. I also did other misc stuff for my boss and other members. I am working on a helicopter overhaul loan. Boring, tedious and something I don't want do. But I am stuck cleaning up a messy loan from someone else. snooze
Family home evening was a great evening. We had a group mile run for my oldest at the junior high for his pe class. He needed to run and be timed. We then hit the dollar menu at wendys, Dad's treat with a few extra dollars found unexpectedly. Then the meat of the evening was spent as a family canning in the basement. 150 cans of wheat, sugar, rice, flour........ They all pitched in, good attitudes and no fussing. Finished by 9:30pm to get the kids in bed and clean up. Tomorrow, fire line to put them all into the cold storage! yea!!!

I learned lessons this week from my second oldest son and Meridith. They both told me, in their own way, to back off with my typical teasing. I was teasing Meridith about eating many helpings...usual stuff, but she informed me that it was quite annoying. No more teasing Meridith. All grown up and too old for teasing from her older brother. I will put the picture thing to rest once and for all as well. I'm sure that is annoying too. I will try not to tease people anymore. My son thinks that I mock him too. I didn't realise but I probably do tease him too. Not a good week on that front. Or maybe a good revealing week on needed behavior changes.

I rsvp'd to go to a introductory seminar about the Nursing program at Utah Career College for Friday. We will see.

Mowed the lawn on Saturday and burned my head. My head will sure to be peeling by Friday for the seminar. My wife just says to tell them that it is dandruff. That will be much better.

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Life Update

Just finished watching "Bedtime Stories" with the family. One of Adam Sandler's best movies. I enjoyed everything but a few very unwelcome and unneeded flatulance jokes and a gaggle of times where God's name was taken in vain. Oh and the villian was named Sir Butt kiss, a needless addition to an otherwise enjoyable movie.

I am in the process of reading one of my favorite authors, F Paul Wilson. "All the Rage" a Repairman Jack novel. Fantastic as usual.

I have also been intent on growing my facebook farm in Farm Town. So far so good. I have increased the farm in size twice and am growing primarily potatoes, both for value and speed.

I start again tomorrow on a new push to diet and exercise.

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Beginnings – Someone to cry over me: The eggs have broken

(Sequel to “Battered and Beaten: Eggs on the run”)

She pushed my door open slowly, almost timidly. I could see the crimson colored dress through the blurred glass. I didn’t often have unannounced walk-ins and was surprised. Still leaning back, I pushed my ball cap up so that I could get a better view of my first visitor of the week. It seemed to take an hour for that door to swing open sufficiently to reveal the contents of that colorful dress. I waited, in a reclined, lazy, detective with a desk job sort of way, soda can in one hand, two cookies in the other, crumbs on the chin and shirt, sporting my best deer in the headlights expression. Her legs entered first. They rose like my blood pressure until disappearing underneath the swirl of lipstick red cotton pleats. Smooth, toned and golden, like a sculpted masterpiece, they moved, walking towards me like two quivering machines, tightening my shirt collar with every step, her skirt giving a teasing twitch.

As my eyeballs made the Everest like climb up her creamy thighs, my beloved wingtips slipped from the desk and smacked the floor, catapulting me forward. My soda went right, the cookies went left and I slipped off the front, down the slick vinyl, as my chair scooted backwards on rusty squeaky wheels. I landed with a thud on my rear. My arms, still up over my shoulders, clung desperately to the chair’s metal armrests.

I sighed. That was exactly the impression I was hoping to make to those legs! Dropping my eyes from the ceiling, I could look right under the desk. Two, small, perfect feet perched on top of four inch open high heels, stood together in front of the desk. I could see her tiny toes. They were the type that cried to be played with and tickled.

I had lost my hat in my little detective avalanche and now scanned the carpet for it. I found it by my feet, grabbed it, pushed it back down on top of my head, tried to straighten my tie, pulling it tight, and finally, sheepishly, looked up over the horizon of the desk.

She stood about a foot away from the front edge of the desk, at a slight tilt, looking down at me, a long curled, chestnut haired goddess. Her dark eyed gaze made my stomach buckle. Her smile was like dripping honey, so sweet that my teeth hurt. She looked down at me with a quizzical “am I in the right place” expression, her thin, perfectly plucked eyebrows curved downward into sexy little question marks. The dress was short sleeved and dropped in the front to a low v-neck.

I swallowed my embarrassment and, using my best, deep, testosterone laced voice, sputtered.
“And how can I help you?”
I knew that I looked and sounded foolish, peering up from behind my desk, my cap, off centered, pushed down to my ears. But you deal with the hand that you are dealt, so I pressed forward.

Her throaty seductive voice pricked at my libido and caused me to feel even more self-conscious.
“Are you the detective? Ah… a Mr. Jake…ah?”
I smiled. I couldn’t help myself. She had the cutest little wrinkle of the nose when she tried to remember my name. I felt so important.
“Just Jake is fine.” I assured her. “And, yes, I am the detective.” I said, deep voiced, giving it my best Bogart, while struggling to get to my feet, banging my hip on the desk and then smiling through the throb of pain erupting down my leg.

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Quip's Corner - Breath of the Dead

Breath of the dead, yellow and muddled, choking and seizing with lifeless spasms
Chaos and terror, suffocating pressure of screams stifled to the minds echoed chasm
Light extinguished, impending pain on unabated paths, flames of fear ignited
Abandonment complete, sorrow drawn to mute the prayers of innocence repeated
With limbs leadened, desperate escape retreats to forgotten caverns of dread
Drowning in a haunted elixir, loneliness consumes the senses with the breath of the dead

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Nursing?

Here is a great Nursing video that I found.

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