The Art of the Chip Sandwich

So, as many of you know, I started my first "Big Kid" job last week. I am doing in-home therapy services and am loving it so far. One thing that I am NOT loving: I am SOOOOOOOO tired!!! The first day of work I came home at 6 and tried to crawl into bed at 730. Jeff did not buy my reasoning that the sun was going to set soon and we needed to be in bed to prepare for the sleeping. That is essentially the way the rest of the week went; brain overloading during the days and trying to go to sleep as early as possible in the evenings.

As you can probably imagine by the title of this particular blog entry, I reconnected with an old friend: The Chip Sandwich. I was reminded of how much I missed it, and Jeff was reminded of why he banned them from our apartment last summer. For those of you still wondering what the heck a Chip Sandwich is or how to make it, I have decided to give you a step by step instruction.

Ingredients needed: 2 slices of bread, 2 slices of American cheese (I use Borden's), Chips (I use Lay's Cheddar and Sour Cream potato chips, but feel free to experiment)

1) Take the chips and put them on 1 slice of bread. Pile them on high.

2) Take the 2 slices of cheese and put them on top of the chips.

3) Place the 2nd piece of bread on top of the cheese and smash down. If you don't hear them crunch, the sandwich is not going to fit into your mouth.

4) Microwave for 15-25 seconds. Keep in mind that the more you microwave, the more moist the bread at the bottom gets after you take it out. You want the cheese to be slightly melted but not cold. I typically go for 20 seconds, but this is really an approximation.

5) Eat. Pieces of chips will fall out as you are trying to eat, but that just means you get to have a Chip Sandwich with a side of Chips. ENJOY!!!

I tried to take pictures to go along with this blog, but for some reason the Chip Sandwich disappeared long before the camera could capture the true essence. Also, I didn't want to risk getting drool on my camera. I hope you understand.

So this is how the week went, but the weekend was different and full of excitement... I will let Jeff tell you all about that. :) Until then, hope your Memorial Day weekend was restful and that you took a moment to remember the fallen. Have a great day!! :)

Graduation!

For those of you who live under a rock or deep in a cave, I was hooded at graduation this weekend!!! The last two years culminated into one eventful day. My family and Kym drove from Spearville, my Uncle Frosty and Cathy came from Salina, and my longtime friend Kerri came from Wichita to celebrate the day with us. Here are a few pictures.

Amanda and I entered the program together and made it through together!

My family in front of the Jayhawk

Allison and Michael, Adam and Amanda, and Jeff and I in front of the Hawk

A group of us that had classes together

Jeff and I shared a quiet moment before graduation began

But of course, as usual, we made a bit of time for shopping. :)

Can you believe it?? I DID IT!!! :)


A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to everyone who supported and encouraged me through it all... it's been a BIG 2 years!!! THANK YOU to everyone who came to the graduation party. It was great to celebrate this accomplishment with people I love!!! :)

Hope all is well with you and yours!! :)

Officially Employed

Yesterday morning I accepted an offer for a position as an in-home therapist. :)

This is GREAT news!!! Even better news is that once the job starts, I will have medical insurance, vision insurance, and dental!!! AND even better I will be able to help with groceries, bills, and rent! Yippee! :)

It all happened pretty quickly. I was offered the position on Friday and accepted yesterday morning. Because the job is through a hospital, they require a pre-employment physical. I arrived the same day for said physical and received quite the surprise. Yes, friends, gone are the physicals of yesteryear where the Dr simply checks your vitals, bones, joints, and then has you bend over to make sure there is no curvature of the spine. Today's pre-employment "physicals" hoisted me into shock as I was patted down, inspected, and measured.

First, because my wearing glasses was not proof enough that I need glasses, I had to pass rigorous vision tests. Next came the measuring of me. Apparently my BMI is crucial to my work ability. Finally came the part that still makes me break out in anxious sweat: the pee test.

It's not so much the pee test that freaked me out. It is what happened surrounding the pee test. Ok, first, she patted me down. PATTED ME DOWN. Had me remove everything from my body that was removable and locked it up. Gave me the key. Asked me to pull up my pants to my knees or the top of my socks, whichever was higher. Ok. Done, no problem. Next, she gave me a quick tutorial on the cup with the built in temperature gauge should I try to use someone else's pee (the gauge was, of course, located mid cup which certainly allowed NO ROOM for mistakes, if you know what I mean ladies).

So she shows me to the bathroom, sprays blue dye all over, yada yada, turns off the water, blah blah, tells me she will be standing by the door when I am finished, yada yada .... wait, what? That's right. She would be standing right next to the door WHILE I WAS GOING to LISTEN and make sure I wasn't trying to "cheat the system." NOT COOL NOT COOL NOT COOL!!! The "accuracy cup" (as I like to call it) wasn't bad enough, now this lady was going to listen to me pee???

My anxiety kicked into overdrive. Needless to say, some pee anxiety hit and it took me a lot longer in the bathroom than anticipated. Furthermore, her anticipatory throat clears (her attempts to make me hurry or her attempts to remind me that she was there...???) did not help the situation and I'm fairly certain only served to make me look like more of an idiot.

However, I got through the day, managed to get lost TWICE on the way to the main campus location to sign papers, and called it a day!!! WOOHOO for employment!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Post-exam

Ok. So to catch you up on my pathetically boring life, I passed my exam, have been filling out applications for employment praying desperately that someone will need my services BEFORE I run out of loan money, and reclaiming my title as a Domestic Diva. Ok, you 2 in the back row can stop laughing, because there was a smidgen of hope for a minute that this could happen.

I also had the opportunity to repair things that had been neglected in my time at school. Case in point: I decided to re-pot a plant. I have seen my old roommate Jamie do this many times (and I say "old" not because she's actually old, but because she is no longer my roomie). I figured it would not be that hard. After all, it was just moving one plant from a bowl thing to another bowl thing and adding extra dirt. All in all, I'd say it went pretty well.


It can still pull through, right? I'm rooting for it.

Saturday Jeff and Adam decided to take Amanda and I out for a nice dinner at McCormick and Schmick's on the Plaza to celebrate us passing our licensure exam. The food was fantastic and the company was even better.

It was apparently Prom night around town, because we got to see some wonderful dresses and suits. There were even 2 guys dressed up like Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber that Adam made stop in an intersection so he could get pictures of them. I was surprised by the amount of Party Buses driving around; High School has sure changed! (Anyone remember moving the combines out of Kathy's shed so we could have space for a pre-prom dinner and after-prom party?!) I also recognized the Mayor and his wife out for a walk, so I decided I should probably be neighborly and wave and say hi and take a picture. Adam got pictures of them looking terrified and quickly walking away from us. Next stop was Brookside for their annual art show. It was awesome, but by that time everyone's shoes were starting to get pretty uncomfortable and we headed home to nurse our ailing feet and ankles. All that dressing up and walking around is hard!

Then I filled out more applications.

Sunday our caterer invited us to crash a wedding so we could see the food layout and take home some of the deliciousness. I'm sure the Bride and Groom didn't mind, right? And even if they did, I was the best Chuck Vindaloo there could be (from the movie "Wedding Crashers"). It will be difficult to decide on our menu, as we are being forced to choose between DELICIOUS, DELICIOUS, and DELICIOUS. All in all, though, I think our wedding guests will be pleasantly surprised with whatever we pick. DELICIOUS.

Monday I filled out more applications (noticing a pattern?) and worked on the plant. Tuesday was my last Grief and Loss class, which I am partly glad. For those of you who know me, I do not do grief well and crying once a week was starting to get old. Also, Jeff says that I am incredibly morbid now and he does not seem to be appreciative of my efforts to pre-organize our estate should we pass in an untimely fashion.

Next up is my last Solution Focused Brief Therapy class, and then on to Graduation! Hope all is well with you and yours! :)

American Idol Predictions

Like many, we have been struck with the American Idol bug for the past three years. I would like to take a moment to discuss candidates and give my prediction regarding who deserves to win and who deserves to be voted off the island... er, show.

I would just like to highlight some of the contestants that are no more before moving on to my predictions:

Anoop - I was really sad when Anoop got kicked off. I think it was a natural reaction of America when Kutner from House completed suicide. I think people freaked out and the effect was a lowering of Anoop's votes. 'Cause seriously, this guy could really sing.

Megan Joy - You had one song, one style. Get over it. You should have been the first to go.

Michael - The blue collar theme kept you on. You were just "OK," and I think I once probably dated someone that sang better than you. If you had not been in the Oil Rig profession, you would not have made it to the Top 13.

Lil Rounds - You scare me. I think you were good for the first song in the Top 13, and then I think your talent took a nose dive. You sucked, you sucked, you sucked, and I think you should have been gone the 2nd round.

Scott - I think your voice was amazing, and I was also a little offended when they made you the "face" of all disabilities. People are individuals, and while I think it's wonderful that awareness was being raised about disabilities, I feel as though the focus should have been on you singing and you succeeding, not all the things that hold you back.

Matt - I have not seen the last performance, but you have been struggling for awhile. I am not surprised that you are gone.

Now, on to the Top 4!!! *disclaimer* We have DVR'd the last week's show, but have not seen it yet**

Danny - You have the super talented, incredibly attractive, emotional depth thing going for you. While I think it is horrible your wife recently passed, I think this information will work to your advantage while America cries with you.

Allison - Love the hair, think you will be ok for a career. Do not think you will win but think someone will pick you up ala Kellie Pickler.

Kris - You are the guy we forget week after week after week. I honestly could not remember you for the first 6 weeks! Every time you came on, I was surprised because I could not remember you! I also think it is funny that your wedding ring is so prominent... I tell Jeff if he ever goes on TV for anything, I will be making an extension for his wedding ring so it can rival yours and let all the world know he is taken. Overall, I think you are an amazing singer, but I think I would like to watch still photos of you with a sing-over. The thing you do with your jaw drives me nuts.

Ah, and finally Adam - I have loved you since your audition and since you said something about being on Wicked. While I am somewhat concerned that you seem to somehow sexualize every song (does anyone else see the hip movements????), I also think you have what it takes to be the next American Idol. I heard you were in the bottom 2 this week; I think if you go it will be reminiscent of Chris Daughtry and a deal you couldn't refuse.

I know you have all been dying to hear my prediction, so here goes:

The final 2 will be.... Adam and Danny. From there, the votes will split and Danny will get all the straight crush votes, empathy votes, wholesome value votes, and good song votes. Adam will get the gay crush votes, bi-curious and out votes, theatre and art votes, and young kids who noticed they can dial numbers on Mommy and Daddy's phone to make them match the ones on the TV!

It will be close from there, but I think Adam may win by just a few. Here you have it. May the cards fall as they might. :)

I hope all is well with you and yours.