Story #1
So last Friday I was out knocking doors and it was about 4:45. I had an appointment with a home at 5 but really needed to use the bathroom so I went to the local Dunkin Donuts to use their bathroom. I was wearing a jacket since it was chilly outside and as I hovered over the toilet and starting to go to the bathroom, my phone in slow motion came out of my jacket pocket and plopped into the toilet. Though grossed out by my own pee, I dove in after it as soon as I could but watched in horror as the screen went black. I am happy that the bathroom was only for one person or I would've struggled at this point. I wobbled over to the sink with my pants still down and washed my hands. I debated about whether or not to wash the pee off my phone but decided that would make it even worse so I just held it until the hand dryer. I walked out of their with my head hung low and drove to my appointment and luckily got the sale. I explained to them what happened with my phone so luckily they let me use theirs. I went to T Mobile after that and they said they would overnight me a new one. The next morning in one of my sales, the technician came in and I asked if I could use his phone. He said laughing, "Oh yeah, your customer yesterday told me you dropped yours in the toilet." Not funny.
Story #2
Memorial is a pretty big day for selling because it's a holiday which means most people are home, not at work. So we went out knocking bright and early to get a head start on the day. The very first door that I knocked went like this...
Me: Hey I'm just here about that security sign out front. Did you guys put that in or was the system in the home when you moved in?
Man: We had that put in, why?
Me: Oh we're just coming through the area to some homes that were set up a few years ago with the older equipment wanting to update the systems.
Man: Well we don't even use the security system anymore so we're not interested, but do you have a card?
Me: Actually I left them in the car. If you're really interested I'll go grab one but if not no big deal.
Man: Oh ok, then no.
Me: Ok see ya
5 minutes late I'm driving in the van and a cop flips around and pulls me over. It went like this...Just picture the cop being a total jerk and loving that I'm crying...
Me: Hey
Cop: What are you doing out here? Are you soliciting?
Me: Huh? What do you mean soliciting? We sell security systems...
Cop: Why are you doing that on a holiday?
Me: Holidays are a big day for us cause everyone is home.
Cop: That doesn't make sense at all. No one is working today. Don't you see how that would be suspicious? Someone called in saying that you were asking if their security system was working and you wouldn't give them a business card.
Me: I didn't ask them if it worked, I just asked about it. And I told them my cards were in the car but I'd get one if they wanted it.
Cop: What company are you working for anyways? How long have you worked for them? They just send you out here to bother people on a holiday? I need your license and registration.
Me: Its called Pinnacle, we do this every summer and this is my second year.
(He goes back to the car with his buddy. My tears start to flow. 5 minutes later...)
Cop: Have you ever been arrested before?
Me: No
Cop: Are you sure you've never been arrested before?
Me: Yes I'm sure. Why?
Cop: Because your license pulls you up as a convicted felon. Why would it say that if you've never been arrested.
Me: I don't know, because it's wrong. Are you guys just messing with me?
Cop: This is no joke mam. What were you arrested for?
Me: I've barely even been pulled over, I've never been arrested. What does it say I'm convicted of?
Cop: It's still trying to pull that up. Why would it say you were a felon if you weren't?
Me: Sir, I don't know but I'm not a convicted felon.
Cop: We're probably going to have to tow this van. Have you been to jail before? Is there someone else working with you here?
Me: Can I call my husband?
Cop: Sure but I'm not talking to him.
Me: (calling Trey about 15 times in a row and he won't answer...more tears)
To make a long story short...Jeff showed up to help me out. They told me they were giving me a break by not towing my car and not taking me to jail, just giving me 2 tickets and suggesting I look into why it says I'm a convicted felon. They were totally nice to Jeff as soon as he got there. Meanwhile I was traumatized for the rest of the day and had sporadic spurts of tears. I now hate all cops and get nervous every time I see one. Rewriting that dialogue brought back the emotion, now I'm pissed.
Merry Christmas everybody! This is by far my favorite holiday and I can't wait for Trey to open his presents. I think I get more excited than he does. Maybe it's because I start making a list for him somewhere around August or September. Maybe I should get a life.
Our seats were a little high up as you can tell from this picture. It was my first NFL game and it was so much fun! I wish Utah had a team cause I sure hate the Jazz.
And here he is trying to take some credit for my work of art :)
It turned out pretty well for the most part. Kind of a waste of time though since it was carved a day or 2 before Halloween. Oh well, the kids had fun. I was too busy to notice, but someone told me they did.
I'm not as lame as you think. I don't ever dress my dog up in clothes, but he really does shiver when I take him out. And plus, this is a very manly hoodie. And his collar has fake spikes on it.
The aquarium had a 4-D movie theater, which included water being sprayed in your face, a stick jabbing much too hard in your back, a nice mildew smell and lots of screaming children who did not appreciate being sprayed in the face. Taya and Ash had to spend most of their time outside.
Once we decided to leave Chicago, our next destination was straight home to Utah. Unfortunately, after just 3 hours of driving, the stupid van wouldn't start after we filled up for gas. We left it at the gas station and called the tow truck the next morning to come get us. So it turned out that Williamsburg, Iowa was our next destination, since we had to stay there overnight in a hotel room that could've been decorated by your local grandmother, with plenty of quilted and cross stitched items to go around. I was really surprised Trey wasn't that mad...he said he was just happy to be out of Detroit and going home.
After 5 hours of chilling in the auto shop we were finally back on the road again. Not the funnest time of my life but really no surprise since the vans have been breaking down all summer. We've made auto friends/enemies from Orem, UT to Jersey City, NJ and hopefully we will never have to see any of them again. I ended the summer with 90 sales, which was 10 short of my goal but 90 better than what I expected after that first week of tears. Hallelujah.
Just around the corner we found a lovely neighborhood that really helped to capture the beautiful architecture you will find here.
And across the street from this burnt down beauty was this...
Nothing like some inspiring words from the local church.
But this is the reality...
Big stars like Eminem and Kid Rock have come out of Detroit, making us all believe that's the caliber of people you will find there.
Let me know if anyone wants to come visit me.
When you're in the hood, you come across cars all the time that are worth about 2G's and their rims and lift jobs are worth double. I was entertained the whole time we were in Chicago and took pictures of every one that was worthy of holding a spot in my phone library. They came to be known as "Calendar Cars", or cars worthy of a calendar if we were to make one of ridiculous cars in the hood. In the above picture I'm glad there is a mini van in the back to help you judge how lifted this car really is. You also can't tell from the picture but this car has Lamborghini doors. Awesome.
#2 My Best Friends
#3 Vacations With Trey (Hawaii)
#4 Lake Powell With The Fam
#5 Rated Hero Shows
#6 Having a Tan
I could go on and on, but I don't have enough pictures to go along with every single thing I miss. Stay tuned for things I don't miss.
Clearly, this is a picture of us in front of the Rocky statue. And the one below is a Paul Revere statue I think. Who knows.
And I guess this place is the originator of Philly Cheese Steaks.
I'm going to leave the rest of the blogging up to Jenna. I don't have as much time on my hands as she does. Thanks.
This post is about 4 months late but I decided Walter needed a place in the blog world. He's the main reason why I hate going to work everyday. Oh, well...that and I have one of the worst jobs in the world at the moment :) Only 124 more days to go though. The only problem with having a puppy in the house while you're at work all day is the mess you are guaranteed to come home to. For instance, I'm pretty sure our DVD player is ruined. I came home today and the cord was almost chewed all the way through. The other day I came home to every single one of my shoes pulled out of my closet and laying on the living room floor. I guess he keeps it interesting for me at least.
These pictures were both taken with my phone so they're not the best but they do at least give a visual.
Trey has always wanted to get his picture drawn on the street by a one of those street artists so we decided to splurge since it was only $5 per person. The guy drew us in about 10 minutes but neither of us were super pleased with how we turned out. Trey looks super gay and I just look weird. You can kind of see how huge he made my butt in the picture below. It was fun though and definitely entertaining for those 10 minutes. 
Luckily we had to remove half the packed van to get to the tools and spare. That was awesome.
What was also great was that this happened right around 5 which meant that all shops were closed for the night. We were able to convince a kid with a swastika on his arm to hook us up with a new tire. So about an hour and a half later we were on the road again and only had to spend another $60! We camped out in some town in Pennsylvania that night and made it safely to Jersey the following morning. Needless to say, we were very happy to be done with that trip. Now we get a 5 month break before we get to do it again.
I don't remember being this age but I definitely remember my dad being into origami and making us crazy hats all the time like the one Ashley is wearing. He used to teach nursery so he got an origami book and the kids loved it. I have another picture somewhere of me wearing an origami graduation hat my dad made when I graduated from nursery. I also found this lovely picture...
I feel like maybe we were all too old to be naked in the bath together but I guess we were best friends so it's okay. Ashley and I were a little more modest than Jenna, who was not afraid to flaunt what she did not yet have. I still can't fathom the reasoning behind three grown girls taking a bath together. Maybe we were poor and had to save water. But at least we were tan.
My dad is building another egg farm in Pasco about 2 miles from our other one so we went to visit the new chickens. It was their big debut being Easter and all. All the white dots/circles in the picture are probably flecks of chicken manure floating around. I probably should have gone home and showered afterward but sometimes I guess I don't believe in being that sanitary.
My dad was kind enough to give us a tour of the place. This coop is not yet finished so we got to see it all nice and clean. It's two levels, 10 cages high...very big! I am really proud that I got to grow up on an egg farm. There probably aren't too many people in the world that can say that.
