You might be a…

Greetings, readers!

This week we’re pretending to be Jeff Foxworthy and making up our own “You might be a ___ if…” lists.  I thought about a handful of different topics to do; Crafter, Knitter, Aunt, Sister, Biracial, etc.  But to be honest, I’m typing this while I’m supposed to be working a on report for work so all I can think of is work. 🙂  Therefore I give you…

You Might Be a Social Worker if…

• You say things like, “So what I hear you saying is…”
• You often wish you had a social worker of your own to do the things for you that you do for your clients.
• You think it’s fun to watch episodes of Hoarders and Intervention.
• You enjoy reading psychological evaluations.
• You regularly use words like “intervention,” “substantiation,” “central registry,” and “assessment.”
• When you enter a room, you have to sit somewhere that you can view all entrances and exits.
• Your “flexible schedule” means that you have no life and have to drop everything to deal with client needs.
• You’re considered a “moblie worker” which means you don’t get a desk and have to work wherever you can find room for your laptop.
• You often dream of quitting and going to work at Target.
• When people hear what your job is they say things like, “I couldn’t do what you do.”
• When you see a former client in public and can’t remember their name you hope they don’t see you.
• You get excited to go to training because it means you don’t have to do home visits.
• You’ve called the police on your clients.
• You can pick up the smell of weed like a hunting dog.
• You know what the “dirty house” smell is.
• You dream about your cases.
• The only time you’re up to date on paperwork is when you’re about to go on vacation.
• The sound of your phone ringing/text message/email alert fills you with dread because it could mean a work crisis.
• You have no savings, no retirement (because the agency froze it after you were hired), and live paycheck to paycheck.
• You could use assistance as much as your clients do but you “make too much money.”
• You eat meals in your car between home visits.
• You’ve been in homes that could’ve easily been on Hoarders.
• You’re basically a counselor, teacher, daycare worker, maid, driver, advocate, and personal assistant all rolled into one job that pays less than all of those titles.
• You get annoyed when other people talk about how hard their jobs are and how broke they are when they’re making double what you make and don’t have to deal with anything close to what you deal with each day.
• You get home but you’re still not done working and your family doesn’t understand why you can’t just spend time with them.
• You choose family over paperwork even though you know it’ll just put you further behind.
• You get excited for cases with babies because they can’t talk back to you and generally enjoy a good snuggle.
• When a client asks you if you have children you want to say, “If you had cancer, would you only take advice from a doctor who’d had cancer themselves?”
• You know what Compassion Fatigue is and you’ve had it for a long time.
• You regularly search for a new job.
• It totally makes your day when a client who you totally didn’t think liked you says something nice.
• You see the statement, “I didn’t go into social work for the pay” and follow it up in your head with,”But I expected to be able to pay my bills.”
• You can make just about anything strength based if you have to.  She’s not a liar, she’s a creative thinker!
• You’ve been told that you’re not a “real” social worker unless you have a MSW.
• You have stories that would make people laugh, cry, and be totally grossed out.
• You often find yourself feeling like crap and then realize that you haven’t eaten all day because you’ve been so busy dealing with other peoples lives.
• Family members and other professionals look down on you for being a social worker but you’re the first person they call in a crisis.
• You know that despite how absolutely insane your job is, you’ve planted a lot of seeds and hope that you’ve made at least a little bit of a difference in your client’s lives.

And let’s see what the other ladies have come up with this week. 🙂

Bronwyn | Kris | Gwen

Wednesday Words: Difficult Words

This week we’re supposed to be talking about the most difficult thing we’ve ever written.  Because I almost always have a song in my head that relates to what I’m talking about, I’ve been singing this song every time I think about typing this post. LOL

I suppose the most difficult thing I ever wrote was a short story that I wrote for a creative writing course that I took for fun between degrees.  I can’t remember what the prompt was, but I wound up writing a true story even though it was supposed to be fiction.  I wrote about my experience the night that someone in my family attempted suicide and II made it into a first person story.  The subject was difficult, of course, but more so was putting words to all of the feelings I had that night and following day.  Then of course there was the worry that the story wouldn’t be “good enough” for the class.  I remember getting the paper back from the teacher, who was kind of an asshole and didn’t understand the creative part of creative writing.  He didn’t particularly like the piece, but of course he didn’t know that what he read had actually happened. I was just happy to have finally written it out for myself and shared it with the class even though people didn’t know it was true.

Another thing that I wrote that was difficult was my coming out letter to my family.  I’m naturally shy and so telling my family anything was difficult.  I also didn’t want to be like,”Gather round, everyone, let me tell you a story!”  So I wrote a letter, printed it out and mailed a copy to my mom, dad, brother, sister in law, and my sister in law’s mom.  :p  Not only did I come out as bisexual, but I also told them for the first time about my dysthymia and that I was taking medication for it.  I don’t know why I was so damn scared, because they all took it really well, but I was terrified that at least one of them was going to be a jerk about it.  Well… someone was a jerk, but not to my face.  Honestly, I think I was most worried that my being bi would seem like a let down to my mom or dad because there was the possibility that I wouldn’t have a traditional marriage/relationship which I assumed they always hoped I would have.  But now that we’re seeing marriage equality slowly but surely sweeping the nation, I’m not so worried about that anymore. 🙂

Now, let’s see what the girls all had to say about this topic. 🙂

Jess | Jessica | Kris | Gwen | Bronwyn

Wednesday Words: Thank You

Dear Michigan,

Thank you for being shaped like a mitten so that we always have a map of the state with us.  For being surrounded by awesome huge Great Lakes that are like oceans without the salt and sharks.  For being so darn pretty and having four different seasons.  (Even though it’s sometimes so cold here that it literally hurts.)

Thank you for the monks you house in the UP who make amazing muffins and who one day might possibly make bagels for Norris.  Thank you for having the panic inducing scary-ass Mackinac Bridge… without it we’d have to take a ferry from the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula and it would take way longer to get to lunch at Clyde’s. 

Thank you for the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons, and the Michigan State University Spartans. And for putting GVSU only an hour and a half drive from me since having my baby brother further away would be torture! 

Thank you for funky city names like Sagautuk, Okemos, and Kalamazoo that help us identify outsiders when they pronounce things wrong.  Thanks being so close to those awesome Canadians and for letting us use most of the Canadian coins here without trouble. 

Thank you for Faygo, New York Seltzer, and Vernors. Thank you for using the word pop instead of soda.

Thank you for Kid Rock, Eminem, Unckle Kracker, Fun., JK Simmons, Magic Johnson, Taylor Lautner, Derek Jeter, Michael Raymond, Jenny Trout, Bronwyn Green, Lara Zielin, Jessica Jarman, Kellogg, Motown, and yeah… Even Madonna. We still claim her even though she doesn’t claim us. 

Thank you for being my home!

Love,

Kel

  

Bronwyn | Jess | Jessica | Kris | Kayleigh | Gwen

Wednesday Words : Favorite Websites

This month’s list of favorite things is all about websites.  So here we go!

Imdb.com – I love that at any time I can look up an actor find out what they’ve been up to, settle a disagreement about a movie or tv show, and view trailers. Today we were watching The Bodyguard and I thought, “I wonder what the guy who played the little boy Fletcher looks like now…” Thanks to IMDB, I know. 🙂



Instagram.com – I’m a photo junkie. Always have been. I love that IG is kind of mix of Twitter with pictures but without the bullshit drama often found on Facebook. I get to follow adorable animals, celebrities, fellow crafters, and all sorts of people. Plus, the IG community is kind of amazing.  (My IG link is in the sidebar.)

Facebook.com – Time suck galore, but I love being able to connect with people all over the world so easily.

Google.com – The Google is my friend. 

Ravelry.com – Knitting/crochet community, database, pattern resource etc. much like Pinterest, it can be a massive time suck that avtually takes away from actual crafting… But I love being a le to search for patterns and see what other people are making. 

Goodreads.com – I love being able to keep track of how many books I read each year, find new books to read, save lists of book I want to read, and occasionally write a review if I feel like it. 🙂 

Oh and two bonus sites that make me giggle til I cry…

Damnyouautocorrect.com – I can’t go to this site often because I laugh so hard it hurts. Seriously, best mood enhancer ever.

Stuffonmycat.com – I used to visit this one daily. It’s just silly goodness. 🙂 

Happy surfing!

Jess | Bronwyn | Jessica | Kris | Gwendolyn | Kayleigh

Wednesday Words – 5 words or less

Myself
Weird
Shy
Creative
Passionate
Depressed

My Life
Hectic
Stressful
Random
Colorful
Mine

My Family
Fun
Multiracial
Blended
Crazy
Talented

🙂

Bronwyn | Jessica J | Gwendolyn | Kris | Jessica D

Wed Words: Anti Bucket List

Okay, so I’m not going to lie… I had no freaking clue what an Anti Bucket List was. Then when I read the description of “things not to do before you die” I still didn’t get it. I was like, “Isn’t that just a list of things opposite of my dreams? That’s stupid.” LOL but I called on my good friend Mr. Google and decided to see if there was a better explanation since no one else had asked for clarification of this week’s topic (and I didn’t want to be the one who pulled a “I don’t get it…”). 🙂 In my search, I came across this Anti Bucket List post and suddenly it made sense! Yay! It’s not really opposites of my dreams, it’s more like, “You couldn’t pay me to…” which technically we already did last year so now I have to think of a new list. :p

I’m struggling though because I’m kind of a “never say never” kind of girl so I don’t want to jinx myself. I mean, I used to say I’d never go on a cruise but now I’ve been on two and love them… I’m totally singing Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never” now, by the way.

Anyway let’s see what I can cook up…

I will never be a hunter. I know that most hunters do it for a good reason, but it’s just not something I can do. The only animal I’ve ever intentionally killed was a bat and it was awful and I’m pretty sure I’m suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of it. I eat meat, but I don’t want to be the one who kills it. I sometimes even get weirded out when cooking meat.

I will never like bats. I don’t even like writing, typing or saying the word but I’ve already said it twice in this post. *does heebie jeebie dance* I am 100% absolutely terrified of them. I tried to face that fear last year and it only made things about 10,000 times worse so no… Never. (Note: please don’t tell me your experiences with the flying rodent bastards in the comments or tell me how much you love them. It doesn’t help. It actually makes things worse. It’s kind of like buying a pit bull for someone who is terrified of dogs. Just say no.)

I’ll never ride a motorcycle. I’ve known too many people who have died in motorcycle accidents. I’m not a fan. I did ride one once as a kid, but never again.

I’ll never like raw tomatoes. They’re slimy and nasty. I’ve retried them many times. No bueno.

I’ll never go on a haunted anything. I believe in spirits and ghosts and stuff but I don’t want to seek them out. I don’t like ghost stories, I don’t see movies about hauntings, and I’m never going to be like, “Let’s go stay in that haunted hotel, it’ll be awesome!”

I’ll never go scuba diving. I’m a Cancer and love the water but I also fear it. Most specifically water that is deeper than I am tall and wider than I can see. As cool as I think scuba diving could be, I know I could never do it because just the thought of the hugeness of the ocean freaks me out.

So there you have it… My anti bucket list.

Let’s see what the girls won’t do. :p
Bronwyn | Jenny | Jessica | Kris | Gwendolyn

Wednesday Words: Top 5 Writing Distractions

Squirrel!

Ah, distractions… I have many. 🙂 There’s pretty much always something getting in my way of doing the things I want to do. So much, in fact, that I often wonder who the heck is in charge of my life because it doesn’t seem like it’s me!

When it comes to writing though, my top five writing distractions are:

* Me – Probably the biggest thing that gets in the way of my writing is my own head. I’ll sit down to write and my head will think of ten bazillion reasons why I shouldn’t be writing or why I suck at writing or all of the other things I should be doing instead of writing. Yeah, my head can be a pretty busy place.

* Work – You’ve heard me talk about the woes of my job. On call 24/7, no set schedule, near constant crisis mode, and tons of paperwork. Need I say more?

* Family – It seems like when I finally do have some time to sit and write, one family member or another is needing or wanting my attention. Right now, for example I’m doing an overnight with my monsters and just as I sat down to write this, the youngest monster suddenly wanted to know how many dollars 50,000 pennies would be. 🙂 Now he’s telling me how good his best friend is at Guitar Hero. :p

* Pain/Fatigue – Let’s just say that having chronic pain sucks ass. I can be in the mood to write but my body physically can’t do it. Either my tendonitis is flaring up and my fingers hurt, or I have a migraine, or every joint in my body hurts. Then there’s the fatigue that comes with chronic illness. When I’d like to write but I’m simply all out of energy for the day.

* Moving – Okay, this isn’t a regular occurrence, thank goodness! But this week, it’s getting in the way. This week I have three days of work, then I’m off for a week for moving purposes. So we’re packing and purging and cleaning and planning, oh my! Friday we get the keys to our new place and start moving things over the weekend. So next week when it comes time for my blog post, I’ll be doing it in a whole new place!

And there you have it… five things that get in my way! Have a great week!

Bronwyn | Gwendolyn | Jessica | Kayleigh | Kris

Wed Words: Actors & Actresses

It’s time for a favorites list! This time I only struggled a little. LOL We’re supposed to share our favorite actors and actresses but I specifically tried to choose people this time that I haven’t gushed over before. Because yeah, we’ve already done celebrity crush type posts and I could just list all of the same peeps again. So here are several people that I love like whoa. The ladies are up first, then the boys. 🙂

 

Mae Wittman.  I’ve loved her since she was an adorable child actor and still love her now that she’s all grown up.  She’s adorable and a great actress. Look for her in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Parenthood.

 

Rose Byrne.  Honestly, I can’t name more than a few things off the top of my head that Rose has been in, but I love her. I think she’s gorgeous and I love her voice and she was freaking hilarious in Neighbors.  I’m looking forward to seeing her in the new Annie remake. 🙂

Emma Stone.  She’s perfection.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in anything that I’ve disliked.  I’m also amazed that she looks good in absolutely any hair color.  Did you know she’s a natural blonde?! 🙂

Diane Lane.  I’ve been in love with her forever.  She’s gorgeous and sexy and amazingly talented.  Adore!

Jennifer Lawrence.  I love her.  That’s all. 🙂

Miles Teller.  The first time I saw this kid he was in the remake of Footloose as Willard.  I laughed so hard during his learning to dance scene that I snorted.  I’ve loved everything he’s been in (although it’s SO hard for me to watch him as a mean guy in Divergent!).  He’s a great actor.

Chris Pratt.  I’m so happy for this guy!  I have loved him since he was on Everwood and have always thought he was just this amazing actor… so for him to finally find so much success this year with Guardians of the Galaxy makes me so damn happy!

Luke Evans.  *swoon* I can’t say how much I love him.  He’s just gorgeous and sexy and British and yeah… looove! I still need to see Dracula Untold. Yum! He’s also the only reason I want to see the Hobbit movies. :p

Adam Driver. I’ve only seen him in one movie that I can remember.  But this guy was so good in This Is Where I Leave You that I want to see everything he’s been in.  Plus he’s going to be in the new Star Wars so yay!  (No, I’m not one of those Star Wars fans who is all bitchy whiny about the new movies… I’m actually excited, so take that!).

Henry Cavill.  Again, I’ve only seen one of his movies, Man of Steel, but I fell in looooove with him, and not just because he’s ridiculously hot.  Despite what my niece and nephew think, I thought that Henry was the best Superman we’ve seen in a really long time.  I think he’s absolutely perfect for the role.

And there you have it! More people I love that I haven’t posted about a few dozen times. 🙂

Let’s see what the other girls have to share…

Bronwyn | Gwendolyn | Jessica | Kris|

Wed Words: Favorite Songs

It’s time for another round of My Favorite Things! This week we’re sharing favorite songs and as usual, I struggled with making my list. I LOVE music. I always have music in my head. I can’t tell you who my favorite artist is or what my favorite type of music is… I just like music. So here are a few of my favorite random songs.

There you have it! 🙂 Have a look and see what songs the girls have chosen as their favorites.

Bronwyn | Jessica | Kris | Jenny | Kayleigh | Gwendolyn

Wed Words – Happy

Apologies for being absent for a few weeks. Things around here haven’t been so great. In fact, I’m currently on a two week medical leave from work because things with my depression have been so bad. Which is funny considering I’m supposed to write this week about what makes me happy. That’s a really hard thing to ask of someone who is in a double depression. But, I’ll do my best.

* My Doodlebutt – I love my niece and nephews all so much that I can’t put it into words. But the youngest one, aka Doodlebutt, is kind of in his own special category. Maybe it’s because he’s almost 8 and still likes a good snuggle, or because he hasn’t grown out of Aunt Kellie being on the Cool list… But there’s just something about the kid that makes me grin. Yeah, he can annoy me at times, but generally he makes me giggle like a nut. He’s uber creative and makes up the craziest stories. He just wants to be listened to, and so I do my best to do that for him as much as I can. He’s the baby and his bigger sibs aren’t always so appreciative of his crazy creative spirit, so I give him as much love as I can, and he gives it right back.

* Knitting – I used to knit every day. Now, my hands wouldn’t really let me do that, but I really do enjoy a good knit session with friends. When Bronwyn and Jenny started knitting this year I was SO happy! I don’t get to knit with them nearly enough due to the fact we all live an hour apart, but when we do, it’s great. And I’ve been trying to make an effort to find time to knit with my local peeps more too. I’m working on a sweater that I cannot wait to wear! It’s the first sweater I’ve knit for myself. 🙂

* Medication – Okay, medication doesn’t make me happy, but it helps make it easier for me to be happy despite this annoying disorder.

* My Mom – My mom is kind of amazing. She puts up with me and never gives up on me even when I’m on the crazy train. I love her long time.

* Coffee – I’m not exactly an emotional eater, but I do tend to use coffee as a reward. Had a rough home visit? You deserve a trip to Starbucks! I know, it’s not great to reward with food/drink, but coffee really is a comfort to me and so is sitting in a coffee shop.

* Great Books – I love to get lost in a good book. I stayed up til 3:30 this morning reading Jenny’s The Bride before I couldn’t stay awake any longer. 🙂 Books always make me want to write too.

* Fall – Fall is my favorite season. I love the color changes, being able to wear jeans and socks, not being sweaty all the time… It’s bliss. Of course, tomorrow it’s going to be in the mid 70’s here, geesh.

* Friends – I have some pretty amazing friends. The kind who stick around even when I’m not myself and know that I’ll eventually get back.

* Movies – I would go see a movie every day if I could. They kind of fall into the same category as books and music… Great escapes. I saw This Is Where I Leave You last weekend and it was SO good! Great movies make me want to write as well.

* Backstreet Boys – You saw this one coming, right? I love them, they make me happy, I’m not planning on giving them up anytime soon. My first concert was 16 years ago last week. 🙂

* Blog Comments – Okay, this is a shameless plea… I KNOW people read this blog because I get notifications that the posts have been viewed and I have followers. But for some reason only a handful of you take time to respond. If you’re one of those people… I LOVE you! Seriously. Writing a blog that no one bothers to comment on is depressing. It’s like talking and feeling like no one is listening. Just take a minute to respond, please? It really isn’t that hard and I don’t have one of those damn password things that you have to type in order to post. 🙂 Even if you just say hi, it’s awesome.

So there you have it… What makes YOU happy? Let me know and then see what my girls have to say.

Kris Norris | Bronwyn Green | Jessica Jarman | Gwendolyn Cease