Ants in my pants...

My 6-year-old daughter was telling me how much she hates ants because they make her feel icky. She emphatically stated, "In fact, I'm glad you're not an ant, or I would have squished you already!!!" I'm also glad I'm not an ant ... :)

Two quick Photos

I have been busy uploading old and new photographs on my Deviant Art website...
Check them out...

http://houstonryan.deviantart.com/store/

Sprinkler problems never end...

I replaced a few more sprinkler heads, and dug up a 9 foot section of pipe in the backyard that all had to be replaced. I am about tired of sprinkler problems. What a pain...

"We wear short shorts....If you dare wear short shorts..."

I went walking with my sister the other night to exercise, as I have been working out pretty regularly and wanted to get a little cardio in. I was wearing some runner's shorts which are kind of short compared to the knee-length shorts I usually wear. We were running through town, and I noticed some kids out on a porch. I didn't think anything of them, as I was engrossed in the conversation with my sister. Well, about 5 minutes later she asked me if I had heard the boys...I guess they were singing really loudly, over and over and over again. My sister was afraid I was going to hear and yell at them or something. :) I think I will only wear the short shorts at the gym, not in redneck-ville...

"I don't like catsup, Daddy!"

I went to my sister's graduation on Friday as she was the class valedictorian...(three valedictorians in one family isn't too shabby). We grilled hamburgers afterward and I made some for my little girls. My 6-year-old told me, after I put catsup on her burger, "I don't like catsup, Daddy!" I told her that she had always liked catsup before and if she didn't want it, she would have to scrape it off herself. "Fine!" she replied. She opened it up and stared at the catsup for a minute trying to determine how to best get it off. Finally, after several seconds, she decided to scrape it off with her fingers......then suck the catsup off in her mouth. :)

Success...

I am definitely blessed...I received a call from a respected local psychologist who interviewed me the next day and wants me to start working for him. There is the opportunity to eventually run his Utah County office for him and the pay is 50%, minus 8% taxes/liability insurance, of whatever money I make for him. He has contracts with the state and I will be able to do a lot of assessments and hopefully expand his business in our county. I will probably start next week and I am excited. The reports will be of a more manageable length and I will be able to get a lot more work done in an actual office (as opposed to working from home). I will also receive training in neural remediation and helping ADHD kids learn to concentrate better via playing video games that only work when their brains are producing the brainwaves associated with concentration. If I enjoy that work, I will be running this Dr.'s neural remediation lab in Utah County as well. Overall, I am very pleased with this opportunity...Thanks for any prayers on my behalf.

(This came just in time, as my other boss just informed me there is no work this next week either)

Employment Woes...and Hope....

I have been having employment difficulties again. Apparently, the umbrella of businesses I work for is now the target of a class action suit and an internet smear campaign by a competitor. They are getting a lot of bad press, and the number of admissions has been rapidly declining. That means there are less kids to test, and I have not worked there in 3 weeks. I thought he would have work for me today, but he didn't. So, now I am in the process of looking for another part-time to full-time job. I am sure things will even out at the other place, but I can't rely on an income that is there some months, and dried up the next. I need something a little more stable up here, and maybe I can work 2 weeks a month down there.

So, I have spent all week changing sprinklers and calling every Salt Lake City, Utah psychologist listed in the aol.com directory. That is several hundred psychologists. Since psychologists are generally with clients, I have left several hundred voicemails as well...Luckily, things are looking up. I had one man call back and he has an office about 5 minutes away, and another office 30 minutes away. He wants me to meet with him tomorrow at 9AM and I might be able to start working right away. That would be a Godsend...I would get paid 50% of whatever money they make off of my services. Hopefully, there won't be a lot of non-paying clientele on my caseload. I also got two other call-backs, one man might have some work, and the other is hiring, but wants me to check out his website to see if I think I am a good match for his Christian counseling service. So, wish me luck and keep me in your prayers so I can find a bit more stability in life...and my poor wife can be home more and not have to work so much overtime... :)

Sprinkler Fun...

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to replace about 10 sprinkler heads in our yard...It took me half the day to dig them up, replace them, buy new ones, etc. I also have a few broken pipes to replace--maybe tomorrow. It is actually really easy to do and I can't believe I have paid people to do it for me in the past. So, if you need any sprinkler advice...I am now close to an expert. :)

Stenciling T-shirts...for Flies Without Wings...

I remember when flieswithoutwings purchased or built a silk screening machine to make t-shirts...I thought he might be interested in this website where some German woman teaches how to use stencils to make cool t-shirts...

http://www.ammiteir.com/?page_id=9#comment-6

Jazz Come back with Monstrous Game 4...

This team has heart. They came back from a thorough butt-kicking in game 3, losing by 20 points, to win one on the road...Hopefully they will close it out in Game 5 back home in Salt Lake City...Congrats guys...and happy Mother's Day to all your mothers who raised such resilient children. :)

New Pics from the last 2 days...

Our New Black Mastiff Puppy...(Yes...My Wife Always Gets What She Wants...)

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler Composite Photo

Yellow Warbler Eating Caterpillar

Three Seagulls

American Goldfinch (Male)

Found a cool website for artists/photographers/writers

I had heard of this site before, but never actually looked at it until today...

I uploaded some of my pictures from my work computer and they are up for sale...

http://houstonryan.deviantart.com/

Check it out, but also check out the many other artists/photographers/artists

I especially think FliesWithoutWings and NativeMinnow will like it...

Obsessing....

I hate when I get a thought in my head and can't stop thinking about it, or brooding over it. It usually only happens with relationship issues and jealousy, but I hate it...

Two bird pictures

More random pictures from Cinco de Mayo...

Y mountain on Cinco de Mayo





Squaw Peak and low-flying clouds

Mount Timpanogos Snowy sunrise









Lesser Yellowlegs Near Palmyra, UT







My Favorite shot of the day...International work truck







Chevrolet Farm Truck









American Avocet near Palmyra, UT

Delirious's cool dragonfly shot...

I saw this shot and thought it was great...

I wanted to illustrate that you don't have to have an amazing camera to make cool, sales-worthy shots, you just have to have a good photo-editing software and know some tricks...

What do you think of this? I duplicated the layer, changed the blend mode to multiply to make the colors more rich, flattened the image, and sharpened. Very cool photo...Nice job Delirious...

Jazz Fever...

Congratulations to the Utah Jazz for winning a Game 7 on the Road in the NBA playoffs and making franchise history in the process...They played great tonight, especially when the Rockets were making a run. They didn't give up in the 4th when the Rockets had them down by 4. Those players who struggled in the first few games, contributed largely to the past two wins. They never gave up. I am proud of this team and wish them luck against Golden State on Monday...Home Court Advantage...

Utah Bird Site

I found an amazing site that documents the birds of Utah...I have started sending in my photos to them, but my photos pale in comparison to the guys that have 600 and 800 mm lenses. Check out their pictures at this link

http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/Photographers/PhotogMain.htm

You can see my name there too, but they don't have my pictures uploaded yet.

Psycho

Cattle Egrets near Spanish Fork Utah