2012

ok it has been a long time since i blogged. a lot has happened. i will try and remember them, but mostly i will just spotlight ish.
september 2011- came and went with not too much but work going on. work is still work. boss still not a good boss. and that's about it.
october 2011- we moved back in with mom & dad (smith) at the end of the month. trying to stay and get ahead on bills. moving sucks. i don't like packing and all the stuff you can't pack until last minute and then figuring what needs to go into the storage unit and what needs to stay out. it wasn't fun at all. but we got it done. and then, the day before we moved out, the water heater broke. water went all over the hallway and caused quite a mess. we rented a rug doctor and used an outside hose to fill the machine to clean the carpets. hot water works so much better to clean, but with the water heater breaking, we did the best we could. halloween was fun to see all the kids in costumes. i didn't dress up, but i found out my boss sort of wanted us to.
he dressed up and let me just say, i don't ever want to see him like that again. it was creepy and disgusting. he wore a fake velvet suit. it was purple and had leopard looking collar. then he had his face painted pale and wore an afro black wig. it was not a good look. weirdo....
november 2011- thanksgiving was a lot of fun. i got to go out to colorado to see my family. zach was going to come, but then his work sprung last minute "you have to work or you won't have a job" crap on him. so he had to stay here & ended up going with kendra & golden's family & miah to golden coral.
colorado was a lot of fun. i went out sunday afternoon and got there just before it got dark. the drive wasn't bad. no snow, not really any traffic either. i almost made it on 1 tank of gas. brooke & chris hosted a pie night with all of their colorado friends, neighbors, and ward members. it was fun. i chased the boys around when they weren't playing with their friends. i cannot believe how big chan, wyatt, and carter are getting. chan is almost as tall as me now. almost. i know he will be taller than me, but it is just crazy to see how much they grow in just a year.
monday we just hung out. i took my massage table out with me since i owe peeps massage that would be coming and to brooke (whose house we all went to). we had fhe with ma & pa (snyder) and it was a lot of fun. i miss seeing everyone.
tuesday adam & cedar came. chan was stoked. he got to shoot guns with adam & cedar (on wednesday so there was light outside). i loved watching how much the boys love adam & cedar...esp cedar. they wouldn't hardly let them breathe. i can't wait to see the kids adam & cedar will have. they will be great parents. both are so good with kids.
wednesday my dad, mary, dj, and the girls got there. lily wasn't quite as open as izzy & maddy were. we got them warmed up though. it was fun to watch them all run around with the boys. all of the kids are getting so big.
essie couldn't make it out. it was the most tragic thing of thanksgiving.
i can't remember which day it was, but i introduced chandler to the game "guard the puddle" my grandpa used to play this game with us. brooke & i got quite a few good laughs from chandler. he didn't get the point of the game, and kept wanting to play again and again and again.
if you don't know this game, i will explain it.
you have 2 people. one has 2 spoons (1 in each hand). the other has a rag. you pour water into a puddle on the floor. the person with the rag tries to wipe up the puddle. the person with the spoons has to guard the puddle. the person with the rag then pulls the person with the spoons into the puddle. this makes the puddle soak into the spoon person's pants.
the first time i pulled chan through the puddle he just laughed and said, "oh nice one beanie! let's play again" that is when brooke and i started laughing really hard. chan started laughing really hard too. brooke asked him what he was laughing at, and he said he didn't know. this of course brought on a whole new round of laughing. it was pretty funny.
so i kinda counted how many massages i gave over the thanksgiving week... i think it was 9. one of them was on chandler. i about died laughing during his massage. he didn't quite understand it, so brooke and i explained it to him. we had him keep his underwear on because when brooke first said to take off all his clothes, he wasn't sure he wanted a massage anymore.
he is still little enough, i just used 2 big towels instead of having to pull out all new sheets and such. chandler was a little tense at first, but when i started to work, he relaxed. then he started to make "ooooo" and "oh yeah right there" and "ahhh" and "that feels so good" noises. i was having to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. chan then asked me, "do you have one of those thingys that massage your head?" to which i replied, "i use my fingers & hands to do that. would you like your head massaged?" i think that was his favorite part (his head massage) chan was so relaxed that he slept so good. in fact he slept so well that he had an accident in his bed. we know now that he can't have massage right before bed anymore.
thursday was a fantastic dinner. i didn't get to eat nearly as much as i wanted... mostly because i sadly got sick and threw up the day before. but it was all really yummy and i wanted to just binge on all the good food. we finally told my family about our news.
december 2011- it went by too fast. i was trying to be a sneaky wife and not let zach know what i was getting him for christmas and that i hadn't done any shopping for him... well that didn't work out. he knew i had already done my christmas shopping for him, and he pretty much guessed what i got him. it was a good christmas. all of the smith family was able to get together and we had quite a party for christmas/new year.
i suppose i should tell you what zach got me. he bought me a really nice necklace & earring set. i also got some clothes, books, a survivor bracelet, a thera cane (a massage tool for self massage on knots & sore spots), candy, and baby stuff.
oh yeah... we are expecting our first baby april 5, 2012. we are having a boy. mostly likely to be named: kyan john smith.
now on to january 2012- pregnancy hasn't been bad. i haven't had morning sickness to any great lengths. i really have only gained 10 pounds so far. our doctor says all looks great. we only have a few more months until baby gets here. i am finding zach & i trade our excitement back and forth. i'll be excited and he will be freaked out ish. then i am really freaked out, and he is way excited.
work is getting a bit more difficult, but my baby bump isn't really that big. most people don't notice it until i say something or someone says something.
the hardest part is that i smell things that really aren't too noticeable to others. it got me in trouble at work. but whatever. i won't be there much longer. there is no incentive to go back to massage envy after the baby comes.
here's why: my boss is a major jerk. he says he has an open door policy, but won't really talk to you. he avoids being at work and gets mad when you call him at home. he makes the receptionists do the "dirty" work and turns the therapists against each other. most of my paychecks are not correct. they are short on hours, bonuses, or requests. it is a battle to get my boss to pay the difference. my paychecks have been off anywhere from $1.00 to $200.00
that is quite a bit of a difference. i did get a raise for christmas, but it doesn't help when the check isn't right to begin with. i have also had 2 paychecks bounce. that makes me question things. which also got me in trouble at work.
i have been handed other therapists cash tips, and when i ask which client it came from, i was given a name i hadn't worked on. not all the therapists ask what client the money came from. most just take it and don't say anything.
i have also been confused with another therapist. the person thought my name wasn't my name and would schedule appointments for the other person instead of me. i would also see tips up front for the person who i supposedly was when that person wasn't even working that shift. but because i am an honest person, i wouldn't take another therapists tip if their name was on it. i only take what has my name.
the building is always dirty. there is dust in all the rooms. the carpets have lint and dust all over them. the ventilation isn't that great, and smells linger in the rooms & halls. most of the equipment is breaking or is broken. the blankets on the tables are not always washed each day or week even. no one cares to clean. it isn't a given responsibility. therapists don't want to do it because we only get paid when we are giving massage. the receptionists don't want to do it because it takes too much time or they just don't want to do it. most follow the example of the boss. he sits at the computer all day when he is actually there and plays games. if the boss won't do it, why should we.
i probably won't even really go into the fact that you may or may not be sexually harassed while at work. the boss has wandering hands that will grab your butt, your shoulder, your back, or if he has a towel in his hands he will towel whip you. thankfully he has only touched my shoulder. i think word got out to him that if he ever touches my butt, i will put my knee in his groin and my fist in his face. he did towel whip me one day. it was while i was washing up after a session. i turned around to yell at him, but he had already run away laughing. it makes me sick that he would even think that it is ok to do that.
oh so i got in trouble at work. in fact it was kind of a write up. supposedly all of my coworkers are sick of listening to me say that it stinks and that my paychecks are off and that my clients are being told i am not available (when i really am). my boss wouldn't even listen to a word i had to say. so i just sat there and let him yell at me. he said, "if you were a mediocre or so-so of a therapist, i would fire you right now. you are free to go at anytime you want" that is seriously a direct quote. i almost did walk out right then. the only thing keeping me there is that i need a paycheck until baby comes.
so yeah, that's why i wouldn't go back to that place. i feel for my clients. they want me, but i'll be gone. some have asked if i will see them outside in my own private practice, but i can't really do that. it breaks my contract and that isn't such a good thing. at this point, i almost would take what clients will follow me, but most have the membership contract that they can't really break.
on happier news: zach got a second job! he got on with diamond ranch academy. it is a youth facility. sad news, his shift is on sundays all day, every sunday. good news, he will have ample opportunities to move up and grow. he actually applied monday and was given the job on tuesday. he started today. so zach has training today, tomorrow, and saturday. then he gets right into the job on sunday. he is still working the hp job, but now he will be at diamond ranch on sundays. it is defiantly a good and bad thing. i am so happy he got another job and i am sad that he will be gone on sundays. i am really hoping that our financial burdens will get easier with this 2nd job. well, i think we are all caught up. for now. and i am really hoping 2012 will be a great year. i know there will be lots of new opportunities. until next time then :)