The Girl Who Cried Wolf

So I got home last night and was just minding my own business when my mother-in-law's phone rang. She answered and I could hear from her side of the conversation that someone slipped on some ice and fell and they think that they broke their arm. She was asking the person if they were going to go to Urgent Care but I guess they were going to go to the doctor the next day (today). My mother-in-law gets off the phone and this was the conversation that we had:

 

Me:Who fell and broke their arm?
Cheryl: Heidi did but that's not the worst of it...
Me: What, did she get fired from Target?
Cheryl: No... it's worse than that...

 

So I think to myself, What could be worse than getting fired from your job?

 

Me: What is it then?
Cheryl: Heidi has BREAST CANCER...

 

Now this is where we get into the "Girl Who Cried Wolf" part of the story...

 

Backstory

To say that Heidi has made up some tall tales or is prone to exaggeration is an understatement. To put it bluntly, Heidi is a BIG FAT LIAR. Here are some of the whoppers that I have heard, in no particular order of heinousness:

 

• When she was young and they didn't have any money her mother made her steal... Verified lie by her mother
• She left Kien finally because he beat her and she was afraid of him... Verified lie by Kien - he grabbed her and shook her but did not hit or "beat" her
• She had herself checked into the mental hospital because she tried to commit suicide ... Not a "Verified" lie but certainly not 100% truthful as Minnesota Statute 253B.05 EMERGENCY ADMISSION states that if the examiner is of the opinion, for stated reasons, that the person is mentally ill, developmentally disabled, or chemically dependent, and is in danger of causing injury to self or others if not immediately detained. This detention is usually for 72 hours. Heidi was out in less than 24 hours. Like I said, maybe not a complete lie, but certainly an exaggeration.

And those are just to name a few... Notice that I didn't even mention the money she stole from Joe and I on our wedding night... oops. LOL

Get back to the point Jen...

 

Pretty much everyone has heard of Aesop's fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". The moral of that fable was Even when liars tell the truth, they are never believed. The liar will lie once, twice, and then perish when he tells the truth. It's the same for Heidi. She is such a liar that I just can't believe anything that comes out of her mouth.

Reasons why I don't believe Heidi:

• There was no mention of a biopsy.  You have to have a biopsy in order to determine whether or not you actually have cancer and what stage it is in... which leads me to...
• There was no mention of what stage of cancer she has
• She "allegedly" has cancer in both breasts - one is the size of a marble and the other is the size of a pea - and found out about it a month ago.  Hello!  If you've known you have breast cancer do you sit on it for a month or do you start treating it right away?!
• There is no family history of breast cancer in her family.  I guess someone has to be first???

Final Thoughts...

• I think it's very convenient that "a month ago" she told Kien (her ex-husband since September or so...) about being diagnosed with "cancer" when it just so happens that about a month ago was when Kien was finally offered a job after being out of work for over a year. 
• Heidi did go over to her father's house and told him and her stepmother and probably her sister about her diagnosis.  That's a risky move if you are faking an illness especially since her stepmom is a nurse.
• She claims that eventhough there is no family history of breast cancer she was more likely to contract it because she has a condition where she gets cysts in her breasts.  I was informed by her aunt that she has the same condition and no doctor has ever warned her of an increased risk of contracting breast cancer.

The bottom line...
I don't think Heidi really has breast cancer.  I think that this is either her way of being the center of attention or it is a sympathy ploy to try to get back together with her ex-husband (which she has been trying to do basically since before the divorce was even finalized... eventhough SHE was the one that cheated, lied and said that another year of marriage to him was like being sentenced to another year in prison!)
I really hope that Heidi doesn't have cancer because despite the fact that I can't stand her and think she's a terrible human being and would be happy to never hear or see from her again... I would never wish this on anyone.  And if she actually does have cancer then I really hope that she is able to get treatment and get through it.

But what does Joe think???
Hey, if Heidi dies I get 5 days off paid for bereavement...

I'm Feeling Outshined...

So I had the idea to start a blog a few weeks back when a friend of mine at work showed me her blog. I thought, what a great way to vent and share my feelings! Plus, I have always wanted to be a writer... not many people know that. I even thought I would try to write a book once, but it was so hard for me to come up with an idea (considering my level of comfort in the creativity department is zero) and even if I did, I am so darn detailed the reader would probably lose interest after a few pages.

OMG she is still describing what the house looks like and it's been 15 pages already!

So a blog (in my mind) is the perfect creative outlet for me! It's just short enough so that I don't bore people (I hope!) but in it's entirety of posts it is a collected works all about little ol' me!

So now the hard part - being creative and thinking of a title.

Of course, my first inkling was to go to Google and search "blog name ideas". Well nothing really seemed to speak to me, plus they all were already taken! So then I thought, think Jen, what is unique about you? --- Nothing --- Sure there is! Keep thinking and something will come to you! So I thought and thought and tossed around a couple of ideas with my sister Erica who is my sounding board. I even had one "decided on" but I wasn't really happy with it and didn't want to settle for something less than great. Then this morning I was listening to the online radio station AOL Radio - 90s Alternative and a Soundgarden song came on and I thought hey, they have that one song that says "looking California but feeling Minnesota"! I should see what that song is about and maybe use it to spin a blog title from it!

Guess what I did next? Googled "feeling minnesota". It took me to Wikipedia where I was reminded that not only was it a lyric in the song "Outshined" by Soundgarden but also is a 1996 American romantic comedy film, starring Keanu Reeves, Vincent D'Onofrio, Cameron Diaz, Tuesday Weld and Courtney Love. haha

So again I go back to my trusty Google and googled "outshined lyrics meaning" and I was taken to a couple of different websites where various individuals talked about the meaning behind the song and their interpretations of it. I think my favorite was from Noah in New York, NY who wrote "The song is clearly about Beverly Hills 90210. It is told from the perspective of Brandon Walsh, in the first season, who has moved to Beverly Hills with his family from Minnesota. He feels intimidated and 'outshined' by his glamorous new friends. Even though he quickly adapts to the fashionable Beverly Hills style, when he looks in the mirror, he's 'looking California but feeling Minnesota.' There are many other Soundgarden songs about 90210. I have proof. Somewhere." LMAO

According to a few different sources this is the actual origin of the song: "In an interview, Chris Cornell said that the base of the song came directly from Andrew Wood (Chris' former roommate and lead singer of Mother Love Bone who died of a heroin overdose on March 19, 1990). He said that Andrew always 'Outshined' him when he was alive. He explained that he felt that Wood was above him as a vocalist and a lyricist. Simply put. Chris also said that the line "Looking California, Feeling Minnesota" ended up being one of his favorite Soundgarden lines that he wrote."

Fun Fact: Unless you were a teenager in the 90s you have never heard of Mother Love Bone is but I bet you've heard of a little band named Pearl Jam that some of the former MLB members formed after Andrew Wood passed away.

Lately I have been feeling a little "outshined" myself. My evil sister-in-law Heidi has been a source of discord pretty much her entire life and despite our attempts to avoid it, everything came to a head on Christmas Day. Not going to go into that now but let's just say that with Heidi it's "all about her". Always has been and probably always will be. So yeah, feeling a little insignificant these days. Had difficulty enjoying Christmas, the weather in Minnesota sucks right now, I miss my family and kinda wish I was back in California. I'm looking California (putting on a shiny happy face on the outside) but feeling Minnesota (kinda sad and dreary on the inside).

So thanks blog followers, for listening to my ramblings and I hope to entertain you in my future posts with wit and sarcasm about my crazy husband and even crazier mother-in-law and the other unique facets of my life of a California girl living as a Minnesota transplant.