Things I’ve learned from working in a jail…good, bad and funny…

1. Never have your phone number and address listed in the phone book, because you never know who might look you up!
   
2. Never let your guard down…not even for one second.
   
3. Assume that someone's watching…
   
4. When you think you know everything about someone…think again.
   
5. Truth isn't always face value.
   
6. People can lie as easy as saying their name and you would never know…we (social workers) have a name for these people and it is; sociopath.
   
7. Remember…you just never know!!!
   
8. Great stories can come from working in an interesting setting.
   
9. When you think "you've heard it all", something else blow's your mind and you can't believe that it actually came out of someone's mouth, but you continue like you never even heard it.
   
10. Drugs/alcohol kills brain cells and thus the fact that we have so many stupid people in jail.
    
11. "Weed isn't a drug and it will be legalized"….SURE, keep telling yourselves that….
    
12. Looking at the face of a woman who killed her own children is an eye-opening experience, literally…and make sure a trash can is near you so you don't have to run far when you start vomiting.
    
13. Not all criminals are bad people, just most of them…(but that doesn't mean they can't be helped).
    
14. Telling someone over and over that they can't have sex with an 8 year old when they are 55 and they still don't get it…write a letter to the court explaining incompetency and suggest they be locked away for the rest of their life…and pray the judge sees it the same way.
    
15. We (tax payers) spend too much of our damn hard earned money on making it comfortable for individuals who have decided to go against the laws of our society.
    
16. Correctional officers are sometimes more incompetent than the inmates they supervise.
    
17. "Pet calling" is absolutely unnecessary and I will write your ass up in a heart beat for it.
    
18. "Fuck" is just another word.
    
19. "Hey girl…how you doin..are you my lawyer?"…makes me bite my tongue and wish I could say, "get a f***ing life and do not speak to me again" but instead politely say, "No sir, I am a social worker, not a lawyer and I don't think I'm here to see you".
    
20. That it could snow outside in September, and you would never know; there are no windows.
    
21. That sex abuse of a minor and murder cases would be my dinner table conversation with my husband each night.
    
22. CIU (Crisis Intervention Unit) is like a different world..(my favorite unit though)..you NEVER know what you'll see…and then you can't help but stare.
    

23. That inmates will do anything for you to be their social worker

I'm sure there are MANY more, but these are the ones that I came up with just off the top of my head…

I hate it when photos do not post in my blog...

especially when they show up on my Microsoft Word Blog Post!

So my question is...whay do they dissapear once I click publish???

What’s up with us?

Well, I know it's been awhile since I posted on here….but things have been busy (even over Spring Break). So here's what's been on our minds lately…

1. We are on Month 11 of TTC. This month we are again doing one last IUI before moving to IVF. I know to some of you, 11 months does not seem so long, but you have to take into consideration all that I have going on inside my body. First and foremost, I have Stage IV Endometriosis, which is the main reason I am not getting pregnant. My fertility doctor, who is amazing, does not want to do another surgery on me, but instead would move to IVF. Of course, this is a fertility doctor talking, and all they see is dollar signs when speaking of IFV. But even my endometriosis doctor agrees, it's better to take my chances on IVF, instead of another surgery right now. Second, I have very high cholesterol and have been off of my medication for almost a year now, which is not so good for my heart and body. I constantly am monitored and watched to make sure that I am healthy enough to carry a baby to full-term (or even two J). And third, and most important, I have like the best insurance in the world right now and IVF is COMPLETELY COVERED! That is like, unheard of! But the only bad thing is that I can only keep this insurance until July 31^st because it is through my graduate school and I am graduating in May. So it has taken us a long time to come to this decision. Two weeks ago, we said we would stick with the IUI's until the insurance ended and if nothing happened then we would see what my next insurance covered. We were fine (kinda) with that. And then on Monday I had the privilege of meeting some wonderful women and join their support group for women struggling with Infertility. There are seven of us, and many I had seen in the waiting room each month, right alongside of me. They are amazing, and most of them are going through IVF, which was great to get my questions answered. When it was my turn to talk about my journey of infertility, the women were jumping on me that I had to give IVF a chance, since my insurance covered it completely. To hear their stories of spending $60,000-$100,000 on IVF procedures and here was me, just thinking, nah, that's ok, I'm not ready. I was floored and as I thought about it on the drive home, I felt God was trying to tell me that this is what we need to do. It might not be what my heart really wants at this time, but it is what our minds/finances are telling us. We have prayed about it and really feel that if this is what God wants for us, then he will make it happen. We are ok, whichever way it goes, but to know that we gave it a chance when we could afford it, that will mean more to us than anything.

So IVF, it's going to be a lot of work, that's for sure. I thought I knew the basic process…yeah, NO, think again. We are excited and our families are excited but the medications, shots, hormones, procedures, blood work, sonograms and visits to the doctor is going to take every ounce of me! We both know it's going to be a long, hard process but we are optimistic and hopefully. Luckily, my internship ends in four weeks and school ends in 7 weeks. I have plenty of time from when my internship ends to when I can get a job after graduation. So hence just another reason, why this plan seems so perfect. But ya never know, it could happen this month and we won't need IVF. Who knows…it only takes one! We will keep everyone posted about the process. We want everyone know, we aren't ashamed of this at all and we feel it is good to share our story and give others hope.

2. Someone smashed into Tim's car last weekend and damaged it pretty badly (see photos below) and not to mention left the scene! So, we have no idea who hit it or when it happened. We asked all the neighbors and no one saw anything, so they said. Tim parked his car Friday after work and I noticed it Saturday evening when coming home from running errands. It just goes to show you that people out there really are not so nice. I know I wasn't raised to hit a car and then leave without telling the owner. Who does that? Stupid redneck kids in our town with big redneck trucks and then don't know how to drive them. Ugh, it made me really mad but Tim surprisingly took it really well. I was really shocked, knowing how much money we have put into that car of his…I hate it. This will probably cost around $3,000 dollars to fix, Tim estimated. We need another car so badly but just can't afford it at this moment..until I get a job that is.

 

So, that's about it. We were planning on going to the cabin and skiing again tonight through Sunday but with the 65-70 degree weather we are having, we decided to stay home and do more projects around the house. Oh, I'll have to post photos of some good recipes we have made and my new closet upstairs that Tim and I built last week!