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Yesterday we cooked ribs for dinner and hosted my mother-in-law. Because he haven't had ribs in a while, we didn't realize how long they take to cook. So, I took some time to make something from a new recipe book I just got, so that we would have something to eat as an appetizer. I made some shrimp cocktail with mango salsa from a cookbook called Nina Cucina, Your Healthy Gourmet. It turned out so beautiful and the tastes were perfect together. I cannot wait to try another recipe from this book! Just check out this picture of how it turned out. I mean, come on! So beautiful and delicious!  Click on any of these pictures to get to this yummy recipe book, |
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In continuing with my story from my previous post...
...I moved with my friends to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We didn't have jobs or a place to live, but we packed up our stuff (we had very little because we were in college) and just took off.
We camped in a KOA for a while, found jobs and then found a good deal on condos just at the base of the Tetons in Teton Village. I was never super happy during that time because I kept having dreams that I should go home to help my mother because my parents were going to get a divorce. Mind you, no one had told me that she was in need of help or that they were going to be going through a divorce. However, I just could not stop the urgency of the dreams from affecting how I felt in the day-to-day.
One day, I just called my parents, telling them I needed to come home.
I knew when I came home that something was up. Sure enough, the process of divorce started and I was there with a purpose. A purpose of taking care of my siblings and being the help my mother needed emotionally, and otherwise.
...I moved with my friends to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We didn't have jobs or a place to live, but we packed up our stuff (we had very little because we were in college) and just took off.
We camped in a KOA for a while, found jobs and then found a good deal on condos just at the base of the Tetons in Teton Village. I was never super happy during that time because I kept having dreams that I should go home to help my mother because my parents were going to get a divorce. Mind you, no one had told me that she was in need of help or that they were going to be going through a divorce. However, I just could not stop the urgency of the dreams from affecting how I felt in the day-to-day.
One day, I just called my parents, telling them I needed to come home.
I knew when I came home that something was up. Sure enough, the process of divorce started and I was there with a purpose. A purpose of taking care of my siblings and being the help my mother needed emotionally, and otherwise.
The adventure that I never wanted to have was beginning.
My naivete was about to implode.
My father was an LDS bishop. He had an affair with my friend's mother, stole tithing money, had credit cards in all of our names (stacks), was not reporting his taxes, etc. etc.
At the time, we had a huge house. Well, my father decided to take up residence in the huge room that was over the garage, while my mother stayed in the master. It was awkward, to say the least.
Because he knew that I was protecting my mother, my father would taunt me by saying things like, 'you'll never lose the weight. you'll always be fat' (because I had gained some weight from having mono), 'you're so stupid', etc. etc. Really not a very pleasant experience, but I was used to having unpleasant experiences around him so I held my own.
My naivete was about to implode.
My father was an LDS bishop. He had an affair with my friend's mother, stole tithing money, had credit cards in all of our names (stacks), was not reporting his taxes, etc. etc.
At the time, we had a huge house. Well, my father decided to take up residence in the huge room that was over the garage, while my mother stayed in the master. It was awkward, to say the least.
Because he knew that I was protecting my mother, my father would taunt me by saying things like, 'you'll never lose the weight. you'll always be fat' (because I had gained some weight from having mono), 'you're so stupid', etc. etc. Really not a very pleasant experience, but I was used to having unpleasant experiences around him so I held my own.
My father had horded all of the tax documents and other documents in that room, in our house. At night, I helped my mother by going up there with her, carrying flashlights, gathering documents...boxes of documents. These would be used in a divorce case that should become a criminal case.
If my father would have seen us, we would have been dead. We would have been one of those stories, read about in the newspaper and reported on TV. It was DANGEROUS.
Once we had the documents, my mother took them to the church and had the new bishop put them in the bishop's office for safe keeping. Then, they got transferred at least once more before they got to my mother's attorney.
My father happened to find out the documents were missing, went storming into the new bishop's office and was flying off the handle. The danger was why there wound up being a restraining order and why he had to move out. He was a dangerous person anyway, but when he felt even more paranoid and delusional, he was out of control.
If my father would have seen us, we would have been dead. We would have been one of those stories, read about in the newspaper and reported on TV. It was DANGEROUS.
Once we had the documents, my mother took them to the church and had the new bishop put them in the bishop's office for safe keeping. Then, they got transferred at least once more before they got to my mother's attorney.
My father happened to find out the documents were missing, went storming into the new bishop's office and was flying off the handle. The danger was why there wound up being a restraining order and why he had to move out. He was a dangerous person anyway, but when he felt even more paranoid and delusional, he was out of control.
Click on any of these pictures to get to this yummy recipe book,
NINA CUCINA, YOUR HEALTHY GOURMET
There were days that my father would come to the door of the house (even though he was supposed to be a certain distance away), pound on the door, and I would have to open the door and tell him to leave, while he would try to push his way in. Those were such terrifying times.
During this time, I got a job at a company, in a call center. I was selling medical coding books. This opportunity helped me greatly because I had a better self-esteem, being good at my job. I would work until the kids would get home from school and then would be at home with them so that they would not be home alone.
You see, I am the second oldest of six. My older sister was already married and away and my brother just 1 and 1/2 years younger than me was on an LDS mission in Japan. So, I took on the responsibility of being the mother to those kids when my mother couldn't. It was natural for me. I had done it when I lived at home before college.
This story is to be continued in tomorrow's post...
During this time, I got a job at a company, in a call center. I was selling medical coding books. This opportunity helped me greatly because I had a better self-esteem, being good at my job. I would work until the kids would get home from school and then would be at home with them so that they would not be home alone.
You see, I am the second oldest of six. My older sister was already married and away and my brother just 1 and 1/2 years younger than me was on an LDS mission in Japan. So, I took on the responsibility of being the mother to those kids when my mother couldn't. It was natural for me. I had done it when I lived at home before college.
This story is to be continued in tomorrow's post...
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