Playing With the Boys

Kayla has been moonlighting as a keeper on my brother Dusty's soccer team. The unusual thing about this is that this is an all-men's league, ages 18 and up.

It's made for some interesting times.

Here's something from their last game:



After the crash, she seemed like she was hurting a bit. When she came in for half-time, I asked her if she was ok. She said yes, no problem. "Are you sure?" I ask. "Yes! I do have two built-in-airbags, you know." And off she went to play more soccer. :)


UPDATE: I have just found out about a contest on YouTube. If you’re interested, visit SanDisk’s Life Moves contest page and enter your video clip for a chance to win prizes (I entered this one!). Then, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and enter their contest for even more prizes!

Yeeeessssss!

I have just found adventure!

At Applebee's.

In the kids' menu word search.

Insurance Intelligence

Yesterday I had to call my health insurance to ask about a claim. I had taken three of the girls in for annual physicals, and the benefits statements just showed up. For two of the girls, it was just the regular co-pay. For Violet, though, her urine test was an extra charge.

I asked why they paid for the other two girls' pee tests were covered, and Violet's wasn't-- they said that the visit itself had been coded as a "Preventative Exam", but that the pee test was coded with a diagnosis.

Me: "What is the diagnosis? All she had was a regular physical like the other two girls."
Insurance: "The diagnosis is for scoliosis. Therefore, it is not just a regular physical. That's why we didn't cover her urine test."
Me: "During the regular checkup, the doctor suspected that she might have scoliosis. It was just part of the checkup."
Insurance: "Then the doctor must have ordered the extra test because she had scoliosis."
Me: "Are you telling me that a doctor diagnoses scoliosis from somebody's urine?"
Insurance: silence
Insurance: "I'll send this claim back to be coded properly."

Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here

Ahoy, mateys! Greetin's from Pegleg Jackson. Batten down t' hatches, and prepare t' be boarded. It be....

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

So, be ye goin' t' join in t' fun today? Ye can land here t' search for yer pirate name. If not, jes' slink away like the scurvy dog that ye are. Arrrrr!

Ye best be learnin' t' be talkin' like a buccaneer, if'n ye know what's best for ye, ye scalliwag. Else it be Davy Jones locker fer ye!

(Yo, ho... yo, ho... a pirates' life fer me...)

You Say Po-tay-toh, I Say Po-tah-toh

My kids are always making fun of me because I pronounce the word "measure" differently than they do. I say, "may-zure" and they say, "mez-zure".

So in the cafeteria today, one of the managers was laughing because people were making fun of how he was pronouncing different words. He said, "It's because I grew up in Oregon." Hey, now... I grew up (mostly) in Washington. Maybe that's the missing link...? I asked him how he pronounced "measure". Guess what? It was "may-zure". :)

My official scientific experiment has proven to me that I suffer from "Pacific Northwesternism".

Dang... I should have asked him if he says "law-yer" or "low-yer". In the meantime, I've just resigned myself to saying "attorney" to avoid any further pronunciation embarrassment.

Wordless Wednesday

I Like It!

Black Boxing has exposed me to something in the blogging world I was heretofore unawares of... Wordless Wednesdays. I guess the idea is to post a photo of something that speaks for itself.

I like this idea.

I think I will start today by photographing something off my desk at work.

Happy Wednesday!

Working Woman

The Black Box has led me to many interesting blogs. I've been currently reading Joe's blog, who (from what I can tell) is a HR guy. This kind of sent me into thinking about the various interesting HR situations I've been in.

Like, when I was newly married, and 5 months pregnant-- "I'm sorry, but I can't hire you for this job because you're pregnant."

Or, upon giving my two weeks notice to the chauvinist computer store owner I worked for, said to me, "You know, the only reason Microsoft would hire you is because you're a woman."

My current manager wrote me up based on what someone told someone who told him what I did. This is also the same guy who tried to dictate what I could and could not do on my lunch break, and also tried to institute a dictated work schedule because I had "missed so much work". (I was off on FMLA for medical reasons, hello....?) He's also the one who delivers back-handed "compliments" like, "Suz was in charge of this project, but it turned out good anyhow."

I keep a comic strip up on my cube wall. It's in honor of the men who somehow think that my skills and knowledge are inferior, just because I'm a woman. Ha!


(Click on the comic strip to make it bigger...)

Black Box

Jen had this on her blog, and I thought it rather interesting. Make choices that are in the Black Box, and you can have the chance to visit a mystery blog of someone who has made the same choices as you.

Kind of fun! Give it a whirl. :) If you found my blog because of the Black Box, please leave me a comment and tell me what choices made me your mystery person. If you can remember. :)

(P.S. If you came via the Black Box, you have landed just on my Black Box post. Poke around my blog a bit, if you'd like. Links to recent posts are under "Leftover Jello" to your right and down a bit.)



FOLLOWUP: I have decided that the black box is picking websites randomly. People's choices to come here do not necessarily match my own. So chaos is in control, people! :)

FOLLOWUP TO THE FOLLOWUP: After receiving further light and knowledge, the Black Box is attempting to match people up to me. Things are starting to be more than just random picks. I guess that's what I get for spending WAY too many hours playing with a certain little widget...

Mom-In-Law

Ron received a call last night from Lana. She and Nate apparently got married on August 26th! I'm so happy for them, and glad they decided to elope. Weddings are a huge pain in the butt. **grin**

Wow. I'm a mom-in-law now.

I feel like I've entered a new "stage" in life (but haven't left the last one yet). And the weirdest part is realizing that the "grandchildren stage" is just around the corner.

It's almost surreal.