Finally a Decision!

Joe's pretty indecisive. Since the beginning of the year, he has suggested the following projects, none of which have come to fruition:

• put our condo in the market
• buy a new furnace
• put new windows in our condo
• fix his broken-down truck
• buy a new Subaru
• buy a new ANYTHING

Well, he finally made a decision -- that I should get a new car! What a nice husband. So here I am, rolling around in my (barely used) 2009 Nissan Rogue. With tinted windows. I should get some rims and a sub woofer.

Dear Ty, my old boss from Jerry Seiner. He hooked me up. But he doesn't know SHIT about colors. I told him I wanted gray, black, or silver. Anything but red, blue, or white. So he calls me: "I have a really nice white one! Just come check it out."

So I show up, dead set against it. He pulls it out of the back. It's not white. It's DIAMOND white. BIG DIFFERENCE. Ty doesn't think it matters. But it does! White is boring and ugly. Diamond white is sparkly and sexy. I might have ranked that color had I thought about it. He almost lost that sale over a "white" Rogue.

Bottom line is, I love it!

No Dinner For Me

I bought some cookie dough to support a coworker's kid's school fundraiser. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, if you must know. It sat in the freezer @ work for almost 3 weeks. She didn't tell me it was there for 2 weeks, and then it took me another week to remember to bring it home. I finally brought it home today. It was going to be my dinner since Joe is working late. I opened the peanut butter tub to find the plastic peeled back and some "samples" missing. Then I opened the white chocolate tub and even more if it was gone. I'm pissed. Not because someone ate it (I don't need the calories) but because I don't know if the robber wiped their ass without washing their hands before digging into my dough. Stupid a** social workers.

Public Service Announcement

This morning I got a call from some foster parents that I worked with last year. They called with concerns about their extended family. Apparently the 12-year-old female has been having sex with various boys in the neighborhood, including her younger brother. Finally the brother started saying "no" which triggered physical fights between the two of them. Both parents and both kids are both cognitively impaired.

The foster parents' question to me was, "What should we do?" The answer is obvious to me as a social worker, but maybe it's not that clear to the public. So here's a little quiz for you. Would you...
a. Try to give the family advice first. If they don't take the advice, then you should worry.
b. Call the police.
c. Call DCFS.
d. Do nothing -- it's their family's personal business.

And the correct answer is...C! These foster parents knew in their hearts they should call, but they were worried that it might not be true, or that the family would get in trouble, or that the family would find out who turned them in and retaliate, etc, etc, etc.

Let's consider what might happen if they did NOT call...
1. The kids could keep having sex with each other forever, leading to incestuous, even lower-functioning offspring.
2. The kids could end up emotionally scarred, angry, violent, suicidal, and overall a risk to the community and themselves. Think Mackenzie Phillips.
3. Flowers in the Attic. That's all I have to say.

versus if they DID call...
1. Maybe the report is false. Then DCFS will close the case "unsupported" after a thorough investigation and go on their merry way.
2. The family probably wouldn't even know who reported it because all referents are kept confidential. Even if they did assume who made the report, they might be mad for a while, but at least they would get the help they need.
3. The kids could end up in foster care or a treatment center for a while, but they would be SAFE and they would get HELP so they could go back home.

You many not know this, but Utah law requires ANY PERSON who is aware of abuse or neglect to report it. That means if you don't call, you are breaking the law and could be charged with a class B misdemeanor! And you are harming children! So if you have reason to believe that a child has been subjected to abuse or neglect, or if you have observed a child being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in abuse or neglect, you shall IMMEDIATELY notify a peace officer, a law enforcement agency, or the Division of Child and Family Services!

(800) 678-9399

Experiment Week 3

Monday -- Went to the Jazz game. Offered to the be DD so Joe could drink. Got along all night!
Grade to myself: B

Tuesday -- Worked late. Didn't spend any quality time with Joe.
Grade to myself: D

Wednesday -- Went to sushi with the family and then hung out with Joe afterward.
Grade to myself: B

Thursday -- Don't remember!
Grade to myself: F

Friday -- Joe had the day off. Hung out with Steph who was in town from Houston! Went shopping, which I hate but Joe likes.
Grade to myself: A

Weekend -- Spent lots of time together over the holiday weekend.
Grade to myself: A