HD Chic

Life is a highway....

2011-03-21T11:17:00.002-05:00

Yeah, so things come and go in my life, nothing seems to be permanent. Funny thing, I hate rollercoasters but that is my life...ups, downs, twists, turns, upside down, right side up, always in motion, never stopping. That being said, here is whats been happening...

When we moved here to this farm in Colorado, we knew it was a mistake. Dry, desolate, and dead. Nothing grows here, and keeping animals around is near impossible. So, we were immediately looking for another job. We started here in Sept, and now its March. It got so bad here, that I finally said "Ok, thats it, I'm rejoining the military!" So I marched my ass over to Pueblo and talked to a recruiter. We got paperwork started for the Army, since the Air Force said I was too old, lol. This process started about a month ago. Just when I thought I'd be allowed in, they come along and say "Nope, you were in the AF too long, new rules say NO" *sigh* So, I wrote a letter to the state Senator, and he sent a letter to the Army Liason at the Pentagon. That was about 3 weeks ago and still nothing. I wrote to Obama, and to Oprah! Still, nothing. Dammit.

In the meantime, we contacted the old company we worked for that had us giving hearing tests around the country. We talked to them last week and they are hiring us back. We start next month in the middle southeast, then in June will probably move to the east coast. Things are supposed to be different, and by that I mean, I will be trying to have a better attitude, and DH will be trying to give me space. I layed down the law, stating I didn't need him up my ass all the time, asking who I was texting or talking to on the damn phone. I also said I was going to be in charge of part of the money. I will be in charge of our salary checks. This, hopefully, will help us save. If nothing else I'll be able to save MY money.

And on top of all of that, I was able to aquire 2 new tattoos since being here. One on my foot, and one on my left thigh. The foot has healed, the thigh is only 2 days old. Also, I've been working out. I've lost a few pounds, and inches, but up here in this high altitude I just can't breath, so its hard. Hopefully I can do better at the lower elevation.

So there ya have it....I'm still holding out hope the Army will call, if they do, I'm on it!!!

Surprise!!

2011-02-15T20:44:00.002-06:00

I'm BACK!! hehe There is so much going on in my life right now that I don't know where to begin. So much, yet so little. I'm bored as hell every single day here in the asshole of Colorado. I haven't had a purpose. But I do now...at least, I have a bit of one. I don't want to jinx it, so I won't talk about it right now, but if it all comes to pass, I'll have a purpose every day! YAY!! So I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and doing little things each day to help me towards this one thing I'm trying to get to.

2010-12-13T09:47:00.002-06:00

Life sure is fickle. One minute you think things might be looking up, then the next minute you have no idea whats going on.

The guy up the road that trains dogs called me last week, telling me he was still sick, and was also swamped with dogs because the economy here had set everyone back. That tells me he's not hiring.

Hubby has been looking for other jobs, and found one in Alaska, to which he applied for. I doubt we'll get it. If he is hired, the location is at the very top of the state, a town called Wainright.

I'm also working on getting a new tattoo. Today I'll be going to Taos to try and get an appointment to get it started. It will be a vine, winding up my leg. I want the roots on top of my foot, wrappping down down towards the ground....symbolizing being grounded to Mother Earth. Hubby, in the last 2 months, has got 2 full tatts and an addition to one of them.

Beyond all of that, I don't think there is really much to discuss, so I'll leave it alone!

Potential?

2010-11-29T08:08:00.002-06:00

A few nights ago, DH and I were casually watching TV and surfing the 'net, when DH looks at me ands says "Did you know there is a K-9 training facility just up the road?" and he gives me the website of the facility. trains Slovakian GSD's, for everything it seems. Personal protection, Explosive/Narcotic detection, and much more. At first all I could think was, how did I miss this? So, I sent the owner a message, explaining my 8 years of EDD(Explosive Detector Dog) experience and letting him know I'd like to get back into the field. So last night he called me, and despite the shitty connection, we were able to discuss a few things. He seemed like he was interested in my EDD experience, and will call today to set up a meeting. I just hope he understands that I don't work for free. I'm not sure even IF he'll hire me, and I'm also not sure that if he does what his pay rate would be. Anything at $10 or less per hour is out of the question. If I'm going to be TRAINING his dogs, I'm looking at $15+. But we'll see what happens.

In other news, Old Man Winter has, I believe, officially moved in. The temps have been below freezing for several days, and the surrounding mountains are getting snow. DH left last night to head south for the dairy to deliver more hay. We find it works better if he leaves the evening before, then he is able to deliver first thing in the morning. But yesterday evening he actually encountered snow, snowplows, and salt trucks. I think if he'd have waited until later in the evening, or even today, I think he'd have had a rough go of it. But I believe that by the time he starts his journey back (6 hours one way) that the snow will have melted off the roads.

A few days ago I rode along to deliver hay to a different location. A farm outside of Springer, NM. The woman that owned it (with her husband) was there and she was really cool. She shared most all of the same hobbies/interests that I did,(only she has the money to support said hobbies)so we had a nice time chatting. She gave me a tour of her greenhouse. WOW. She had a really, really nice one, with heat sensors to auto vent the house, a heated floor, and wonderfully terraced benches for all her plants. It was dug into the ground, so the bottom half was well insulated. It also had a root cellar of sorts dug further into the small hill, where she could store her veggies. Slate floors, and even using slated sandstone that made the walls to her terraced raised beds. Soaker hoses ran throughout her raised beds as well. She uses organic potting soil, simply because she doesn't have the animals to provide the manure to make her own soil/compost. She then gave me the most wonderfully tasting pumpkin muffin, baked from pumpkins she'd grown herself. Again, WOW. soooo yummy! Yesterday DH delivered another load to her, and was treated to a slice of pumpkin pie, of which he raved about for what seemed to be eternity! LOL I just wished I lived closer to her, (she is 3 hours away) so that we could share ideas and our hobbies. Yes, I like living in the boonies, and so does she, but we both agreed that having someone with a common interest close by would be nice. Oh well. Maybe one day it will work in my favor.

So, there is much going on, but nothing going on, all at the same time.

WOW!

2010-11-26T08:16:00.002-06:00

That term applies to a couple of things.....

One is that I'm able to type this today. In days past I haven't been able to get on Blogger due to my connection. But today the internet gods have granted me permission to type.

The second is that I saw the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. WOW!

So, now that I can type...what to discuss??? Well, I managed to get pretty much everything unpacked. Everything that needed to be anyway. The rest got hauled upstairs to the "attic converted to 2 bedrooms now storage area". One room has things we either don't need or will use later, the other has empty boxes. Not knowing what will happen in the coming months, I want to save all the boxes. They were hard to come by, and I'll be damned if I'm going to burn them all. I saved the newspaper too!!

Things around here are pretty mundane. DH pumped out all the sprinklers, the equipment is winterized and put away, and all he's been doing is hauling hay. Thats fine, gives me time here alone to get shit done. He just gets in my way most of the time.

Next week, sometime, his folks are coming to Colorado to visit. They won't be here at the farm long, maybe an afternoon, but they have relatives up north in Denver that they're staying with. I'm hoping the predicted snow storm will keep them up there. I don't need them down here rediculing every thing. His mom hates the dog, and her sole purpose is to nose around so she can talk about it to everyone back in Illinois. Drives me crazy.

In other news, yesterday was Thanksgiving, and DH took me to Taos, NM for lunch and a movie. I have seen all of the Harry Potter movies, and this one was by far the best. I cried! There was so much unsaid emotion, it really was a great movie. It was 2 1/2 hours of great dialog and effects. It went so fast that I didn't even realize that it was over until the credits started rolling. I highly recommend this movie!!

I've also come to a sort of odd decision. I had thought that when Ben passes that we would get something only slightly smaller, like a GSD, but these last few weeks has had me thinking something even smaller. I didn't like the JRT we had, but he also had a lot of competition. I was alos thinking maybe a miniature Schnauzer, but I don't want to do haircuts, lol. So today I'll be looking through my breed encyclopedia and getting an idea of what would we best for us.

Not sure if I mentioned the cats in my last entry. Either way, I now have 3 of them on my enclosed back porch. Two kittens and mama cat. The mom is friendly enough, although I don't think she'll ever accept the fact that Ben will leave her alone, so she gets all pissy when he walks by to go outside. There is one kitten, Tangerine, who is the friendliest. I've brought her inside to sit with me on a couple of ocasions. Her sister, Trouble, is just too flighty to mess with. She wants nothing to do with anyone. On a rare day I can manage to snatch her up to pet her, but its certainly not often enough. I brought them in simply because I don't think the kittens would survive the temps over the winter. Hell, its 4* below 0F today!

Anyway, thats all I have for today.....maybe tomorrow I'll be able to do this again!

LONG time!!

2010-11-14T17:49:00.002-06:00

Ok where do I start? My last post in August was about my dog, so I guess I should update from then...

Well, we've moved. DH was scanning the internet one day while sitting at a truck stop and stumbled upon a farm job in Colorado. It advertised a 3,200 acre hay farm, house provided, utilities paid, plus a small salary. So, he called the owner and chatted for a bit, called me and we chatted for a bit, and the next thing we knew, 2 days later we were on our way to a farm 1,000 miles away! How crazy is that??? We initially said, "Ok, we're going for 30 days, and if we don't like it, we're back to Illinois." We thought, what have we got to lose? Well, that was 60 days ago! LOL Ok, so its not the best job, simply because our boss and his wife are quite possibly the worst managers ever. However, there MIGHT be some good news about it all.....more about that later.

So, what does this job entail? Well, 22 hay circles growing alfalfa, with center pivot irrigation. It is cut 3 times each year, and I've managed to learn to run almost all of the equipment. I can run the swather, the rake, and to drive the semi as well as the loader. I've also learned how to get completely covered in mud and clippings while using the power washer to clean the swathers, as well as back up the rake that is on a 3 point hitch.....this is harder than backing with a normal ball hitch. This job, during cutting season, can encompass up to 30 days of work, with no day off, and days lasting 16 hours at a stretch. Its long, and boring, and back breaking all at once. In between cutting times, its checking sprinklers morning and evening, maintaining the grounds and doing any equipment maintenance. In the winter, DH will haul hay via semi truck to the main farm in Las Vegas, Nevada.

So, what is the POSSIBLE good news? Well, let me start by saying that the DH has been hauling hay to a dairy farm. The guy that owns this farm owns the 2 largest farms in New Mexico. He has some serious $$$. So he was talking to DH about purchasing the farm in Colorado. Yes, its for sale. Anyway, he voiced the fact that he would only seriously consider purchasing it if DH and I came with the farm. If we quit, all deals are off. Now, he talked extensively with DH about what it needed, how things were done there, and what DH was getting as far as salary. DH was honest, told him all of the pros and cons....like the fact there are NO tools whatsoever, the fact that our farm truck is on its last leg, and that the house that was provided is not what it should be. So, the dairy farmer promised that if he were to purchase this farm, that everything would be taken care of. He promised that no matter what we needed (tools, trucks, tractors, etc) would be purchased, we would be able to do some serious home improvement, and our salary would increase exponentially. We would also get 2 weeks of paid vacation each year, and a Christmas bonus. None of which we get now.

Ok, currently, we had to come back to Illinois to pack up our house and to go to my stepson's Army boot camp graduation. So, we got him graduated and are now overwhelmed with packing up a 2,500 square foot house. We have been working on it for about 2 days, and have 2 days left.....I just hope we can get it done.

As a side note, if the dairy guy decides not to buy it, well, we'll be looking for another job.

On a lighter note

2010-08-20T07:55:00.002-05:00

Seems I only blog when I'm pissed off about things. Today I'd like to share some thoughts about my Mastiff, Ben.

Ben is and English Mastiff. Now, this breed isn't like other breeds. So lets discuss that aspect first. Every breed was originally bred for a purpose. Standard poodles, although cute and extremely smart, were originally bred and used as a retriever, just like the Lab. German Shepherd Dogs were used by ancient sheep herders to do just that, herd and guard the flock. They were later used as police dogs, but their origin was a herding breed. Smaller breeds, like the Shi Tzu were bred specifically for the laps of Japanese Emperors. So it goes without saying that the Mastiff had a specific job. Guarding.

Now, they weren't bred for their loud bark. Nor for their agility. They were bred for stealth and intimidation. Used as ancient war dogs, they donned spiked collars and armor in medieval times and went to war with their masters. Later, they were used to guard the castles from intruders. So you might ask, how did they do this? A 200+ pound dog who doesn't bark? Let me explain.....

These dogs, originally (before us "modern" humans screwed them up) were independent thinkers and fiercely loyal. They would sit outside the castle watching silently. They weren't pacing the fence, or whining with excitement. The sat calmly, quietly, watching. These dogs are stealthy, silent and can squeeze and slink through seemingly impossible areas. They watched, and when an intruder would dare set foot on the property, the dog would go. Not a loud, crashing through the timber run. Not a barking, growling frenzy. No, a fast, quiet run of surprise. Leaping into the air, they would hit the intruder full force....200 pounds of mass hitting you at a dead run would knock down even the largest of men. Sporting the spiked collar, and too much skin to get a hold of, they were a force to be reckoned with. The bad guy on the ground, the dog would, by his sheer weight alone, keep him pinned until his master or guard arrived. Typically they wouldn't need to bark, as the screams of the intruder would suffice. No biting, no thrashing, just knock 'em down and hold 'em.

Ok, why, you ask, am I telling you this??? Because my boy Ben let his ancient blood show yesterday.....twice.

Ben was out on the deck, sunning himself as usual. I decided to go out the front door to get the mail. Ben heard the door, and instead of racing around the house barking and freaking out, he silently stepped off the deck, went to the side of the garage and slinked his way silently along the wall. Going between a small shed and the garage wall, he peeked around the corner, then carefully walked between the garage and the front of the truck. Never made a sound. When I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye, I looked over and for a split second the looks on both our faces were priceless. His was in complete ancestral mode. Looking at me, actively thinking about what to do next. Me? I thought "Oh shit", LOL It didn't last longer than the blink of an eye, but it was there. Of course, he immediately knew it was me and came wagging and lumbering over to me with the "Hi mom" look on his face. But for that one moment, he was a force that, were I a burglar or other "bad guy", I would have resigned my fate to his will. I was so proud!!

The second incident happened last night. As we know, the neighbor's dogs have been coming to my yard at night. Just the other day they killed 3 of my hens. The won't come into the yard when Ben is out during the day. They know he sleeps inside at night. Last night it was well after dark when I let him out for the final time before bed. I did my usual routine of shutting down the computers, getting coffee ready for the morning, etc. I went to the back door to let him back in only to see him sitting on the top step looking west towards the neighbor's house. He wasn't tense with anticipation or excitement. He was still as a statue, ears up, and intent. He was waiting patiently. It was a beautiful site, for those of you that understand what I'm getting at. I stood at the door in awe at not only the site of him sitting there, but at his whole demeanor. I knew instantly that if one of those Labs were to even set a toe across the "line" (both parties know where the property line is) that they would be in trouble, BIG trouble. He was so calm, never wavering, and seemed to just know what to do. I think I stood there for a full 2 minutes watching him, and didn't see so much as a hair twitch. For me, it was so completely awesome, I don't even have the words.

I tell you all of this because I believe that no matter how badly we mess up a breed, that somewhere deep inside the ancient blood still flows. I see Mastiffs in the show ring....obese, and looking miserably dead in the brain. My boy comes from show lines, champion lines, in fact. But to me, seeing what the "champions" look like, I give that title no credit. For me, a champion is one that can do what he was bred to do, and be sound in body and mind while doing it. The old ways of selective breeding are gone. Ben's breeder said he was of poor quality, and should never be shown. I say he'd put all of his competitors to shame. Am I biased? Maybe. I say the next time you buy a dog, the first choice is to adopt from the shelter. If, for whatever reason you cannot do that, then find a breeder that isn't in it for the money. Doesn't have puppies living under the porch. And knows the history of his breed of choice. And you should do the same. Know what they were bred to do, not for today, but originally. Do your research and you won't be disappointed.

2010-08-12T07:23:00.002-05:00

Well shit. That didn't go as planned. That stupid bitch calls at the last minute telling me "Well, I'm just bringing Royalty back, can you pay for the gas? I'll bring Tom back." Are you fucking kidding me??? UGH So she arrived and I was a cold hearted snob. I had Tom out and ready. She acted all happy and trying to be sweet. She got Royalty out, I took her and put her in the pasture, giving the bitch her halter back. I then got Tom, swapped halters, and handed him over. Not once did I acknowledge her. She loaded up Tom, I handed her $30 telling her she wiped out my account. She was all smiles "Oh, thats ok, I was thinking $40 but this is fine" WHATEVER you drunk bitch. She then proceeded to.....wait for it.....HUG ME!!!! Can you believe the audacity??? "Oh honey, it will be ok, I'll keep in touch." all I said was "Yep." and turned and walked away. I was in the pasture with Royalty before she even got in her truck. I didn't say anything else to her, didn't even look at her. Fuck her.

I typically don't wish ill on people. I won't use this as an exception. I WILL however leave it in the hands of Karma. She'll take care of things for me, and all I have to do is sit back and watch.

In the mean time I'm trying to sell Royalty. During that time, I'm going to try to ride her a bit more. I'll put a tight tie-down on her and hope she doesn't rear up on me. We'll see.

2010-08-11T07:16:00.004-05:00

Things are just freakin weird around here anymore. Life is always feast or famine it seems, but what is up with people??? Why can't I just connect with NORMAL people? Instead I draw in drunks and psychos. That being said, lets get down to the facts....

The girl that swapped horses with me can't seem to make up her mind. "Oh, you keep him, I want you to be happy...." then the next day "I want him back...." and on and on. She got pissed because my FIL decided I couldn't use his truck and trailer. I have no control over my FIL, and if he chooses to change his mind (that is a whole other story) then I can't help that. So, when she first tells me "I can come get him no problem." (she wanted the horse in her son's senior pictures, wanted me to bring him to her)then gets pissed when I tell her I can't bring him and she refuses to come get him, then I get confused and frustrated. She's also pissed because I didn't crawl up her ass and hound her about the whole thing. Not my job. She's older than me but a severe alcoholic. She can't have a straight thought to save her. Anyway, I get a text message late last night saying she's sold Royalty, will bring me the money, and pick up her horse today. Um, ok, what the hell??? What brought this on? Because I wouldn't cater to your needs?? Because I can't go where you want me to at the drop of a hat??? Screw that.

The other issue is a woman I met through the attempted sale of Royalty a month or so ago. This girl is an animal control officer in Chicago, but has a farm with her boyfriend about an hour south of me. She rescues everything, and also has mules that she rides. She wanted me to come down last Sunday and ride her mules with her. Well, it came down to basically I didn't want to go, so I made some bullshit excuse and apologized for the fact that I couldn't make it. Haven't heard a word from her since. Oh well. I don't need that shit either.

On the lighter side, I met some people who have Belgian draft horses. They are really nice, and the father (an 81 year old farmer who's seen it all and done it all I do believe)really seems to like me. He had me ride one of the horses in a parade, and also had his son show me how do drive them with a plow. I had a blast!! It surely was a dream come true for me....just being around them was awesome. I was a little kid living out something I've wanted to do my whole life. The old man kept wishing out loud that I live closer. Saying if I did he'd give me a team to "play" with and learn with. I almost shed a tear! When we were leaving he hugged me, telling me to call him or come over to his farm any time I wanted. I'll see them again at the end of the month, I can't wait!

Bad Day

2010-08-03T19:47:00.002-05:00

I would ask if this day could have gotten any worse, and I know my own answer would be YES. However, in the moment, and even the residual effects are still shitty.

I made the first mistake of telling my neighbor about wanting to fix up my FIL's old horse trailer. He in turn took it upon himself to tell my BIL who "approved" it. WHAT? Its not even HIS to approve! But I digress, that was 2 days ago. I say this though, to illustrate the fact that I'm a slow learner.

The second mistake was posting on FB that I was going to a horse auction. Why is this a mistake? Because, by opening my big mouth AGAIN, I caused today's events. See, I traded my mare for a gelding, with the agreement that I would also pay $600 on top of that. Ok, fine. I told the girl I didn't have the money, and it would be a slow pay. She said it was no problem, pay when I could, she just wanted the gelding in a good home. Ok, fine. So here we are 2 weeks later and I post about going to the auction. Suddenly she's messaging me wanting money. I didn't say I purchased anything, I just went. Anyway, since DH and I have been living on literally nothing for the last 3 weeks, I tell her that I might be able to give her some. Then I change my mind and tell her we can trade back horses. She says "Ok", and that was it. So I ask when she is coming to get him, and her reply was "I'm coming today". Now, in talking to her at a rodeo last night she said she was going riding all day today. Then I ask her "What time will you be here?" To which she responds "Well, I won't be there til tomorrow, we're going to a fair right now"....um WHAT??? First you're going on a ride, which you begged me to go on, then you say you're coming here, then, and only when I press you, you say you're going to a fair!!! What the fuck???? Can you not make up your mind? How about making up mine??? I should not have to ask for each bit of information.

So, here's the deal....

SUPPOSEDLY she is coming tomorrow to pick up the horse. Fine. BUT, supposedly, she also has a buyer for the mare. She tells me "she can pay you next week, is that ok?" I tell her thats fine, but "is she going to mail me the payment or what?" ....."Oh, ummm, I'll check and get back to you"....again, did you NOT THINK about this when you were rambling your drunk ass around the country??? Jeez, just typing about it raises my freakin blood pressure and gives me a headache!

There is other parts to this story, like how she blew me off last night yet wanted to chat this morning wondering "what was wrong?". But really, at this point, does it matter??? I have learned 2 lessons here

1) Keep your fucking mouth shut.

2) Stop being so trusting of people. Nobody is your friend, they're all out to screw you in some form or fashion. I refuse to be an option in anyone's life. I'm not a "friend of convenience" or a "last choice".

Who am I?

2010-07-30T07:11:00.002-05:00

I swear, I write better blogs in my head before falling asleep than I do the next morning when I'm actually able to type them out. I had a great one last night, and will try to duplicate it here....

I've noticed that these last few years, and especially this one, that I've done a lot of inner thought. Here's what I've come up with so far....

I am human, with feelings and thoughts. I am not a religious person, not affiliated with any religious group. This does not devoid me of having the same thoughts and emotions of anyone else.

I am not afraid of doing things alone. I am content with my own company, but this doesn't mean I don't enjoy getting together with friends.

I am extremely sarcastic, most people confuse that with bitchiness. This, in turn, keeps me from having 'normal' friendships.

I am harsh. I shoot from the hip, and again, this keeps me from having the typical girlfriends that most women have.

I love taking a nap. I see no problem with a pause in the middle of the day to re-energize.

I am solar. I do way better on sunny days to get things done. But cloudy rainy days are good for naps!

I might be crazy, I might not be. Depends on who you ask.

I have eclectic taste in everything...music, food, activities, home decor, tv, and people. I love to ride my horse as much as a Harley. I like having my garden as much as I like eating a pizza.

I am hyper, and I am lazy.

I can drink a beer with friends as easily as I can drink a soda with my son.

I have no patience for people. Limited patience for animals. Although I have learned to slow down thanx to my farm.

I miss lots of things from my past, but look forward to events of my future.

I have no regrets.

I do not tolerate deceite, lies, conning, sneaking, and theft. I do not believe in taking advantage of family.

I am, at times, too trusting of people.

I do everything I can to help friends. I will give all I can, but usually get screwed.

I have many things I'd like to do, but don't forsee doing them.

I believe in past lives.

Some things I have a hard time letting go of.

I keep a lot of things deep inside.

I'm into weird, childish things like fantasy books and movies. I believe there is another world within ours that we are either kept from seeing or just refuse to acknowledge.

I am many things, and nothing at the same time.

No Sympathy

2010-07-26T07:28:00.002-05:00

Big rant here.....

Last night I was watching Dateline NBC with Ann Cury. She was profiling poor families in America, and her team had been following several families for 9 months. I only felt any sympathy for 2 people on the whole show, and I'll tell you why.

One woman had quit a good job and moved herself and 4 kids into her parents' home to help take care of her father. In doing so, she was unable to find work after her father passed and thus lived in poverty in her mother's home. Ok, at first I thought "wow, sacrifice", that is until I saw her whip out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes. She'd been crying about how it was so hard to keep her kids fed, how they lived in filth because it was just so hard. This after they showed how her brother had lost his house and decided to bring his entire family to mom's house as well. Now, why in the hell would he do that? We're talking about a small 2 bedroom home. And its not like they tried to keep things clean, or help out. No, one woman (the daughter) did everything. Fourteen people living off of mom's social security check. Again, I thought about feeling sorry for them, until she was smoking and her sister in law was weighing in at well over 400lbs, sitting on the couch, dirty, slugging Pepsi out of a 2 liter bottle. Oh no, I don't feel sorry for any of them, except the kids who have no choice.

Another woman they profiled ran a food pantry. I did feel bad for her. She was trying to help so many people, and it just seemed they were taking advantage of the situation. Extremely obese people standing in line to get food, laughing and carrying on like they were at the grocery. In the final month when she thought the pantry would have to close she received a check from 2 people to help her out. Its sad she is doing a good thing for people who truly need her and she is getting taken advantage of. Seems thats how people in this country have decided to live....take advantage of those who try to help.

Another man, whom I did have sympathy for, had 2 sons. I believe the mother had basically walked out. Anyway, he was layed off from a job he'd had for 15 years and couldn't find work. He lost his house, and a neighbor allowed him to live in a run down house he had. All he had to do was pay utilities. HA! This man had no money, thus no utilities. He got his water from a creek and boiled it on a wood stove that was in the house. Being winter time, he would wake every 3 hours to keep the stove hot so his boys wouldn't be cold. They recycled cans, newspapers, bottles, etc. He flat out said "Even if I could find something in another state, I would go immediately go, but how would I get there?" He had makeshift beds for all of them, and bought food with the money he got from his recycled items. They had no TV, no cell phones, nothing. He's still out there with no job.

I can keep going.....but my point is this: Don't cry about being poor and live in a shack when you're wearing a gold chain around your neck, your kid has a cell phone, and your neighbor has a pool (inflatable or not. ) and you're watching TV while drinking soda. I don't care if you are living in a run down camper.

I've said it many, many times before. Things are going to hit the fan and soon....people like this will NOT survive, simply because they rely on handouts, instead of developing skills. I don't know much, but I'm working on it. I can grow food so my family doesn't starve. I know how to make do with nothing and not freeze to death or live in squalor.

I have no sympathy for people who refuse to try to help themselves.

2010-07-21T08:06:00.002-05:00

Although not much is going on here at G Bar J Farms, I'm still busy. I took some veggies to the Farmer's Market and made $55, so I was happy about that, despite sitting in the rain through it all, ha! We also got a hog processed so I'm working on canning the meat from that. Its not hard at all, just time consuming.

In other news DH was looking around on the internet and found a beautiful Belgian draft horse team for sale. They are in Wisconsin :( but not out of the picture just yet. The owner is willing to do some trading for them, and I think I can accommodate him in that regard. First I need to sell the horse I have. Today might be the day....if not I'll probably take her to the sale barn. That would be at the first of Aug. I've got a friend that will help me with that. In fact, she wants to ride her today. I'll be taking the horse to her house which is about an hour up the road. She has a few other horses, and she's planning on us riding this afternoon. Not sure what will come of it all, but I'll at least get to ride with someone. :)

The draft team is multi-functional. They can plow, pull, and be ridden. They are 17.2 hands high (5ft 8in ) at the shoulder. Thats as tall as me just at the back!! WOO! I don't know though.....I have to be careful and not get too excited.

In other news, I've decided that the person that had Ben while I was gone turned him into a vegetarian. Sounds funny, but he'd rather eat green beans and tomatoes that a slab of meat. Can you believe it? I don't know what to do with him. I guess I should be glad he's at least eating his dog food.

The potbelly pigs have recovered from their castration. You wouldn't know there had ever been an issue. DH dug a small trench in their pen and lined it with a tarp. We filled it with water (its only about 4 inches deep) and presto! Piggy Pool!! They loved it so much they promptly peed and pooped in it, HA! Oh well, they play in it, put mud in it, and generally enjoy it, so I don't care. I need to change out the water, but thats no issue.

There has been more rain here. In the last 24 hours we received 4 inches of rain and of course that caused lots of flooding. Things here are swampy. Just when I thought we'd get a break, it looks like it will rain again today. *sigh*

On another topic I'm really enjoying my new found friendships. How great is it to not have to feel belittled all the time? Awsome!! To chat with someone who loves playing in the dirt, who isn't scared to have a good time, who isn't prissy, and who is secure enough in their faith that they aren't worried about mine??? Again, Awsome!! She is fine with her beliefs, and knows mine....she doesn't feel threatened, and I don't either. In her mind/heart, she believes in the Christian God, and doesn't feel that she has to prove anything, or gain "points" to get to heaven, nor does she feel that I make her "walk" difficult. As I said, she is very secure in her belief, and doesn't judge or dump people for not believing the same. Its great! I'm quite happy to have found her after all these years, and I really think this happened for a reason. People in my past are there for a reason, and as much as I wish I could keep the old memories and not have the now tainted ones, it was a lesson learned and as I've always said....Life Happens.

Just Rambling

2010-07-15T07:12:00.002-05:00

No real story to tell, just rambling about the things going on here.

The 6 kits (baby bunnies) have all died. The strongest one died yesterday, and I believe he caught a cold from his mom. She's had a snotty nose since she got here, and he had the same thing when he died. I think mom might have to go as well, she is not getting better and I don't need her making the others sick.

New additions to the farm are 3 pot belly pigs. They were all boars when we got them, and since the DH castrated them they are now called 'barrows'. I had no idea until he told me. Speaking of DH, he found a job! He's hauling livestock and seems to be liking it...as much as anyone can enjoy working.

The chickens are getting more and more brave these days. They are so used to getting food from me that they follow me around like a pack of dogs. Its gotten to where I have to literally wade through them just to get across the yard. The Guinea keets (chicks)are getting big and really stretching their wings.

The garden is doing fair. The tomatoes are really getting going, and the corn is coming around as well. The weeds are doing better! I'm still getting a fair amount of green beans, and plan on taking those and some tomatoes to Farmer's Market.

Yesterday was the hottest day on record. I don't know what the world is doing as far as Mother Nature is concerned, but its definitely raising a ruccus . We've had rain more this year than in the past, tornadoes and earthquakes all over the world. Crazy hot and cold spots, typhoons, hurricanes, etc. On top of all that, the human element has got things going from bad to worse, and now we're finding out about hidden agendas withing the governments. I swear every day that goes by I see more and more and wonder when it will all collapse. I just hope we're ready.

Other things in my life.....as you all know I had a complete falling out with a friend from high school. I don't regret that at all, as it was a learning experience for me of how people change, and what life and what a corrupt religion will do to a person. But Karma has a way of doing things, and that person has since been replaced by someone whom I never spoke to in high school, but seem to have a lot in common with. She is down to earth, honest, and from what I'm seeing so far, will prove to be a way better friend than the other person ever was. There's no competition, or need to be in charge. She's not the type to have to always be right, or always be better, she is who she is and she's happy with life. She enjoys her family, a good beer, being outside, and camo! LOL We have way more in common that we ever knew, and I think a lot of that has to do with how our lives have gone over the last 20 years. In a nutshell, I'm happy we're chatting and getting to know each other. Sadly, we live over 1,000 miles apart, so I'm still stuck sitting here alone. But its better than no friends at all. And I'll ALWAYS have my best friend, no matter how far away he is.

2010-07-07T06:44:00.003-05:00

I think there has been a breakthrough!

As most of you know, I've recently (within the last couple of months) got my Mastiff, Ben back. For the first few weeks, he had a pooping problem, but that remedied itself once I got him on a regular feeding schedule. After he got 'straightened out', he began not eating. I am a stickler for a feeding schedule with all my animals, so when he wouldn't eat at his scheduled time, I would leave it out, simply because I didn't want him getting sick. He would sometimes eat but many times wait til supper time. So, after consulting with my best friend/fellow dog handler, we decided to start giving him a time limit. So far it seems to have worked, as now he eats as soon as I put it down for him. So ok, that is hopefully solved.

The other issue I had was his brain being mush. When he left here he was a social, yet semi-independent dog, with a great physical presence. Upon his return, (he was neutered while gone) his skin hangs on him, he has little energy, is clingy, and seems to have no brain. Its as if he had little stimulation while gone, so we're having to start over. I told the DH last night, we're going to start at the beginning. Basically square one, as if he was a puppy and just start over. We'll see how that goes.

And finally, the good news....I've been working with him around my livestock, mainly my chickens. It only took one day to get him to understand that the goat was not food, but the chickens are a different story. I've been tieing him out when I let the chickens out to free range, but I've been slowly introducing him to the flock. He does remember the "leave it" command, and each time we go outside I've kept him close to my side. We've been walking through them, and I've been making him sit and stay while they wandered close by. Yesterday he walked, unattended yet supervised, from the deck to the garden, (about 100 feet) through the flock and didn't miss a beat. He really did great! This morning was even better. While I was doing all of the chores (feeding, watering, changing rabbit bedding, etc) he was wandering around as usual. He went up on the deck (he does this to tell me he's done with his 'business') and so I decided to let the chickens out. While I was tieing out the goat, Ben decided to lay down with his head on the top step. As I approached the deck, I noticed the chickens gathered around the bottom of the stairs, but especially one chicken on the step just below the top step. It was pacing back and forth in front of Ben, and he just laid there, as if watching a parade. I was so proud!

I'm not throwing all of my trust in him, he will still be supervised while outside, but this is an awsome breakthrough for him. I'm hopeful!

In other news, DH has got a couple of job leads, one driving a truck cross country, the other is more recent....working for a trucking company but driving local. He would be working nights, taking a truck to St. Louis and getting it loaded (and doing a few other dock work chores) then bringing that same truck back for the day shift guy to take and deliver what DH loaded. He would work a 12 hour shift, get paid by the mile to drive down and back, then get paid by the hour for his dock time. He would work Monday - Friday, weekends off, and home every day. I don't like the night shift thing, but its a job and a paycheck I can actually count on. A steady check and I'll see the same amount each week, allowing me to actually budget and save. That alone is worth it.

2010-07-01T08:13:00.002-05:00

Things here have been hectic. After my son's visit, which makes me realize how different his world is from mine, I really got after the garden. Things have finally been dry enough for me to get out there and get work done. One of our rabbits, whom we were hoping was pregnant, wasn't. We are now watching another one who is "supposed" to be preg. Should be next week when she kindles. The other 2 that we thought were preg I don't think are. So, we'll see what happens. I've got several broody hens, but I'm pulling the eggs because I don't think our roo is really doing his job, lol. On a good note, the keets are growing nicely! They are testing their wings and the hens are keeping an eye on them.

Ok, now for bad news. DH is unemployed. He applied for a different trucking job, and they called and said "Ok, come up to Ft. Dodge and we'll put you through 4 days of orientation, then you'll get your rig and drive home"....so he quit his old job and I drove him the 4 hours to the office. Two days later he calls to tell me to come get him....WHAT??? Seems this isn't an orientation, but a PRE-SCREENING!!! Seriously? Oh yeah, he had to go through a series of tests, and he was passing with flying colors until it came to the sleep study. They sent him to his motel room with a breathing monitor and told him to wear it to bed. We knew he had sleep apnea, and sure enough, he failed this test. This completely disqualified him, unless of course, he spends a serious amount of $$$ on a sleep study. We're talking over $1,000. Needless to say, he was pissed. They also told him that his optimal weight for his height was 189 pounds....are you kidding me????

So anyway, he is now on the hunt for a job. A few prospects, but nothing confirmed yet. *sigh*

In other news the garden is doing well. I'm trying my hand at drying seeds to replant next year. If I can get that skill down then I won't have to ever buy seeds again. Peas are done, green beans are coming in nicely, and I'll be digging the last of the potatoes probably today. Then the long tomato season will be here, and my days will be spent hovering over the canner and strainer. How many different ways can I prepare a tomato? LOL I also need to get to work on more deer jerky, make and can some soup (using more deer meat), and hopefully get some rabbits raised for butchering. I also need to get this damn horse sold. I'm hoping to have a buyer. This woman is into mules, and needs a good broodmare, which is exactly what Royalty is good for. She is impossible to ride anymore, even for a seasoned rider. So I'll hopefully find out this weekend if they want her or not.

Nothing else really going on here, so I'll just say hope everyone is having a good year...its half over already!!!!

2010-06-23T08:24:00.002-05:00

So I was sitting here watching the news, and thinking about the homeless shelters not only for street people but for young mothers. This led me to wondering, why are we donating tons of food that will be gone in a matter of months? Why can't we donate seeds, soil, fertilizer, and land and teach them how to grow their own? Why not have a working farm, where homeless folks can live, build, and tend the land? They live in a large dorm type setting, so why not convert a farm house into the same ordeal? Have a huge barn, like back in the day, with animals to care for, and land to plow. They can grow their own food, raise their own meat/eggs, and actually contribute to their own well being? They could learn to preserve what they harvest, sell their excess, and be productive. They could have a site manager who would ensure they keep the buildings in good condition, the animals fed, and the equipment running. Could this even work????

2010-06-20T18:32:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I'm a spoiled brat sometimes. But I think people should stick to their word, and when they don't I get pouty.

See, today was a family gathering (again) and last week my MIL had said "If you go get the DSS, I will take him back." Ok, agreed. Well, it just so happened that the other grandparents of my stepson were in Dubuque already, and said they would bring him back with them. Sweet! So he arrived, albeit late, on Sat. evening. Ok, thats fine, less stress for me. Anyway, I find out last night that the MIL has decided that she just can't take him home as she had said, "I think I'll just be too busy"...um, shit. The last thing I want to do on a Sunday is make that 6 hour round trip drive. Its boring and I don't like it. Not to mention we'd already had an agreement. It is not my fault my end was covered by his other grandparents. Yes, I should be the good stepmom and take him home, but hey, a deal is a deal.

So today, as the time drew closer, I got more and more pouty. I sulked, I sighed, and I openly admitted to the DH and one of the SILs that I wasn't happy. I admitted to my inner 5 year old taking over and pouting horribly. So my DH said "I bet I can get mom to take him back if I put them up in a hotel".....of course I didn't argue but encouraged. Five minutes later he came back and said "No worries, she'll take him, I'm booking a room now"......he has enough hotel points that he could do it for free. WOOHOO!! So I got my bratty ass out of that stupid drive. *happy dance happy dance*

In other news, I also went today with a bitch in my heart. Yep, since one of my SILs had decided to completely ignore me (she is the one who is the wife of the BIL who had a fit about the horse) at a nephew's birthday party, I went to this gathering determined to play this game and be a bitch right back. Well, it worked, she was following me around and finally sat beside me in the grass under a tree and talked. We didn't talk about the past, we just chatted about other things,.....things we used to talk about before all this shit went down. I'll admit it was nice, but I didn't trust her with any information. I didn't fall for the "I'll be your best friend" tactic she was trying to pull. I chatted, gave her just enough info to keep her baited, and now she's texting me and thinks all is right with the world. Well, between her and the other SIL, I'll let them both think I'm that stupid. Karma, in the end, will prevail and I'll be smiling. I do my good deeds, and their games will bite them in the ass in the end.

Anyway, enough bullshit. I'm playing Wii with my son, enjoying the time, and just chillin out.

Hope all the dads out there had a great Father's Day :-D

2010-06-17T07:53:00.002-05:00

As we all know my life can go from 0 to overdrive in less than a day. Lately its been no different.

This past Sunday I picked up my son, and it seems we've been on the go ever since. I had purchased tickets for Steamboat Days so I can take him to see Zach Brown Band. We were supposed to also see Billy Currington on Tuesday. We got there and after getting our seats and a hot dog, it started to rain....then pour. We tried to sit it out, but he looked at me and said "Mom, lets go, we can go home and watch a movie." Great kid, right? So we ate soggy hot dogs and fries on the ride home, and of course it cleared up after we left. He didn't seem to mind.

Yesterday we played Wii and cleaned house, then went to the woods to try our hand at building an outdoor kitchen. It turned out well but I noticed my son is lazy. He lives with his dad in a subdivision and has no clue about life outside the pavement. I asked him "Have you done dishes at home?" his answer was "Yeah, I put them in the dishwasher and press Start"....ugh. So there was a lesson in hand-washing dishes properly. After watching me take clean ones out of the drying rack, he asked me "Mom, where do they go when I get done rinsing them off?" DUH, right where I just took the clean ones out of! He had no idea. When we were in the woods I told him to mix me up some mud....you'd have thought his hands were fragile. He acted as if it was a problem, and did the whole thing half-assed. When I would make him hold something, or try to show him how to tie a knot, he would sigh as if he was bored out of his brain. He won't do anything by himself unless its watching movies. If I'm beating him at a Wii game, he just quits and goes to watch a movie. But if he is winning, he wants to play all day. He has no desire to actually practice to get better, he just stops and pouts. I've been trying to encourage him to practice things, and get involved with projects, but hell, he acted as if picking peas in the garden was a complete hassle. He's killing me!

I've got another week with him, and plan on seeing a movie or 2. He loves the horse, but if I get her out, he'll only mess with her if I do, and again, then its only half-assed. I show him time and again how to brush her, and its a lost cause. Same for the dog...he had no clue how to scrub him. Anyway, if I had more time, or if he was in my custody, this would be rectified, or it would never be an issue.

Now his dad is another issue. He's been very deceitful about things lately, and I'm not sure why. We've always been on the same page with things, but it seems he's siding now with my family. Yep, the bitch that gave birth to me, and her daughter. The ex has decided to not only befriend them but also allowing my son to hang with them. He also has chosen not to tell me about it. HELLO! ITS MY FREAKIN RELATIVES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!! Why would you not tell me? And why would you not consult me on this decision? They are freaking criminals!!! I sent him an email explaining my feelings, and I'm sure it will do one of 2 things.....it will either make him stop and think about his choices, or cause him to get pissed off and cut my visitation, or have me put in jail for being behind in my child support payments. All I can do is hope its the former. I wish I had joint custody. I don't quite know how to go about it, and damn sure don't have the money for a lawyer and court fees, but bet your ass if I could file for it I would.

In other news, Royalty seems to be getting worse about her attitude. So I've got a friend's son coming out sometime this weekend to ride her and see what I need to do to get her brattiness adjusted.

Beyond that, I don't have much else. Its horribly humid, which means I just don't want to be outside, which means the garden is getting out of control. I just need to suck it up and work on it. I wouldn't mind it but there is no breeze so the flies are horrible.

Anyway, hope you all are having a great summer...or winter, depending on where you are! :D

2010-06-10T08:11:00.002-05:00

Misc. bullshit is the topic for today. I really have nothing exciting to blog about, but then again, do I ever?

Yesterday I spent all morning on my hands and knees crawling through the 6,000ft garden pulling weeds. I should be out there this morning again to run the mini-tiller but I'm just not in the mood. So instead, I've opted to clean house and do some general pick up. DH and I are going to pick up my son on Sunday, so I really need to get things in order here. Not that he cares, he's 11 for crying out loud, but his allergies can get bad and I need to make sure a majority of the dust and dog hair is cleaned up.

In other news, DH applied for a local job. He would be working in a warehouse running a forklift and also delivering orders. Its for a fertilizer company here, and hell, it can't pay any worse than his trucking job he has now. Not to mention he'd be home every night, weekends off (usually), and better hours. Obviously there would be room for advancement. He goes for an interview on Monday.

The past 2 Monday's I've been taking Friendship Bread to the Farmer's Market, and have NOT done well at all. I was going to try to take some veggies to sell this Monday, but have decided just to forgo the whole thing and just put up what I harvest. Yesterday I canned 2 pints of peas. Not a lot, but its the start of the season. Soon the green beans will be ready, as well as the tomatoes and potatoes. I'll have my days filled then with canning it all.

I have decided to sell my horse. She is too 'barn sour' to do anything with. I took her out to the very far end of the pasture and started working with her stops. She wanted to go back to the barn so bad she threw several tantrums. Rearing up more times than I can count, prancing, head throwing, etc. I just can't have a horse like that. I've also sworn off mares. Geldings only for me, thank you very much.

I'm hoping that one of my meat rabbits is pregnant. Yes, I said meat rabbit. I will be raising rabbits for food, so no reason to get all "cute fuzzy bunny" on me. As I've ranted before, things are going to go downhill fast before long, and we'd all better have food and skills or we'll die. I was thinking I should let one of my broody hens go ahead and hatch out some eggs, just to replenish the stock. I need to run that past the DH and get his thoughts.

We are still looking for land. We want some with both timber and clear ground, in equal parts, and evidently its a rarity.

I turned 39 this past Sunday....and really, unlike many people I know, I don't get depressed at my age. What I mean is, I know some people who are obsessed with coloring their hair to hide the grey, wearing loads of make-up and using creams, lotions, and potions to get rid of wrinkles. Not me, I say let 'er rip! I'm not dyeing my hair, I'm letting the grey just go crazy. I don't wear makeup any more, nor do I have a nightly ritual of wrinkle preventors. I view them all as well earned badges of life, signs of wisdom and knowledge, and could really care less what anyone has to say about it all. After many trips around the world serving my country, having a kid, and not to mention putting up with everyone else's bullshit, I can do what I please and don't need anyone's approval or judgement for that matter.

I guess thats all the rambling I have for today. I think I'll crank up some tunes and get after this place. I feel the need to purge it , but have nowhere to take the crap to at the moment. I'd really like to have a yard sale, but not sure when that will come to pass.

So, off I go. Hope everyone has a good day.

2010-06-04T18:28:00.002-05:00

After spending most of the morning...ok, for me, it was most, I was out from 0730-1000.....driving from yard sale to yard sale, I finally got groceries and made it home. I then found myself sitting here on the couch, wondering what to do! I should have worked on the quilt, but didn't. I should have bathed the dog, but didn't. I should have done some cleaning, but didn't. Instead, I snacked around, watched some TV, and napped on the couch. LAZY!!

After my nap I felt a bit motivated, so I did the dishes, and went to the garden. I initially started out to just pick some peas, but found myself on my hands and knees pulling weeds around the beans. I should have kept going and worked around the tomatoes, but decided to call it a day. During my breaks (it was hot!) I had my goat out, changed out water for the chickens and goat, and brought out my horse to tether and graze. Once my weeding was done, I put the horse back out to pasture, the goat back in her pen, and brought the dog inside. Good timing, I must say, since it started a light rain just as I stepped inside!

A nice shower and some good homegrown eggs with sausage and I'm good to go. Now to chill out and relax. DH will be home tonight, sometime. Might do some yard saleing tomorrow, but will go to a nephew's birthday party tomorrow night. Sunday I'll spend baking bread for the Farmer's Market on Monday afternoon. Also on Monday, the farrier will be here to trim and shoe my girl. I can't wait, maybe then we can get some good riding in..woot!

When SHTF

2010-06-03T15:52:00.002-05:00

Look around people, if you don't believe me, just look around. Its not a matter of IF but WHEN Shit Hits The Fan. I am hoping for a later time, but the arrows are pointing to this year. I don't just mean the economy of the USA. I'm talking Mother Nature as well. Still don't believe me? Just Google 'earthquakes' or any other natural disaster around the world. Sink holes are everywhere, earthquakes that the news doesn't tell you about, extreme temps in places around the world.

I hope some of you wake up and take a look at whats going on. I sure have, and let me tell ya, I may not be ready for any given situation (nobody can be prepared for that) but I'll have the skills and supplies to get by for 6months to a year. After that? My skills will get me through. Will yours? Can you live without your Blackberry? Your laptop? Your SUV? How far can you get in your high heels or Italian leather loafers? Well that Coach purse help you? How about that Armani suit? Laugh at my lifestyle now, but I'll be laughing in the end. I have no problem peeing outside, not showering for 3 or more days, and eating wild game/plants.......do you???

2010-05-31T07:34:00.002-05:00

Went to my stepson's graduation yesterday. I was so relieved that he actually received his diploma! He did so poorly in school, it was a real hit and miss when it came to graduating. The really screwed up part was that his own mother didn't even bother to show up on time, ended up standing in the back, and didn't get any pictures. Pretty fucking sad. On top of all that, we get to their house for the "party" afterward, and its a damn filthy pit. trash on the floor, dog hair (chunks of it from their huskies) on every piece of furniture, every inch of floor. Supposedly, his mom had "spent all morning cooking" and it still wasn't ready. Ok, there was NOTHING that required all morning cooking. The only real cooking that was done was on the grill, burgers and hot dogs. The rest was finger food. The bad part of that was the fact that she didn't wash any of it. I had some of the veggies, and they were horrible, tasting like the chemicals it was packed in. Then, I stood in horror as I watched her smash trash down in a bag, then grab a ziploc of watermelon and with the same trashy hand get it out of the bag and put it on a tray. BLECK!!!

Now lets talk about the in-laws. Sadly we all rode together for the 3 hour drive up and back. The ride up wasn't bad, but the ride back was unbelievable. My MIL was trying to extract info about my niece and her "love life", and then she started on my dear cousin, who is gay.

"I just feel so sorry for him"......WTF??? DH asked "Why? What is there to feel sorry about?".....she sighed, contemplated her answer and then replied "Well, you know, he's just going to have a hard life."......I said "Just because he is gay, doesn't mean his life is hard. He is doing great, and is loving his life.".....FIL said "Well, he has a good enough personality I think he'll be fine.".....then, out of the blue, MIL asked "Is he permiscuous?"...EXCUSE ME???? Seriously?? First I wanted to ask why she cared, then I decided I'd just keep my mouth shut. All I said was "He is happy being single, so no, he doesn't have a boyfriend." I put a lot of emphasis on "boyfriend" and that seemed to shut everyone up. She is so narrow minded, and it drives me nuts. All she says is "I pray everyday that he gets over this phase".....PHASE?? Really? OMFG are you kidding me??? HA!! Oh, I feel sad for all the narrow minded people out there. I really do, because not only are they making themselves look completely ignorant, they are missing out on so many good people and good things. Truly sad.

I could go on and on about my stepson's horrible living conditions, and my in-law's narrowmindedness. But I'll end here.

Thank you to all the Veterans both past and present for their service. Its because of your efforts that we still enjoy our freedom today. Thank you.

2010-05-29T12:02:00.002-05:00

Last night proved to be interesting. DH has a trucker friend who is as redneck as they come. Great guy, a little goes a long way, but all in all a cool guy. Anyway, DH had been talking to him about me and Royalty(horse)......this guy was raised around horses, broke more than I can count, and knows his shit. Anyway, the guy came out last night to look at her and talk to me. I admit, I had to put my pride on the back burner, not because I know more than he does...not by a long shot...but because some things he was talking about and 'teaching' me, I already knew. I know he wasn't doing it to insult me, on the contrary, he was trying to be thorough. So I listened and watched intently as he worked the horse, telling me what he was doing and why, as well as why her reactions were what they were.

I learned about "personal space", which is hard for me because I like my animals to be close and affectionate. But evidently you really don't want a horse to crowd you, which on the safety side I can totally understand. I also learned what I was doing wrong when getting on and off, as well as where I should be sitting vs where I had been sitting. Now, this all sounds silly, and maybe even some people might ask "Didn't you have horses as a kid? Don't you know what you're doing?" Yes and no. First, its been 20 years since I've owned or been on a horse. Second, my horses were different. They didn't have voice commands, or even leg pressure cues. I rode bareback alot, and sat up close to the withers....this is evidently not where I should be, lol.

Anyway, I was given a few things to work on with her, and he might be out this evening to watch me ride, so he can correct me again! Ah well, I want this horse to be good, so I'll take the lessons where I can get them. I'd like for my son to be able to get on/off with me, and ride with me as well, so I better get my shit together!

On another and final note....allergies are still horrible, but I've purchase several different meds so something has to give. Its like they work for about 30min-1hr, then I have problems again. I've doubled up the dosage, and that seems to make it more tolerable, but I still just can't wait for this part of the season to pass.

2010-05-26T09:30:00.002-05:00

Where to start today's blog? Well, lets see...

My allergies are kicking my ass. The ditches around here haven't been mowed (typically the BIL's job), and that grass along with the pasture grass is going to seed, which means I have to stay inside until it dissipates. That sucks.

DH came home last night, and is still home waiting on dispatch to call and tell him where he'll be going next. That sucks, too, because sitting here doesn't make us a dime. In the meantime, he put up some more hot wire and expanded the pasture for Royalty a bit. Some of the grass adjacent to her pasture has grown up and gone to seed as well, and she needs to get in there and eat it down. So her and Bonnie the goat are working on it. He also raked up a shitload of mown grass so Royalty can have some when she gets the other eaten down. I went out and helped, but it made my allergies worse, plus walking in that tall grass for some reason got my legs to itching bad (I was wearing shorts). So, I had to come inside and wash. ugh. I feel bad sitting in here, but I can't go out. I have a big red blister on the end of my nose from blowing so much.

I've currently got a loaf of bread rising in the oven. It still has 20 minutes on this rise, I punch it down and let it rise again for another hour, then bake for 40. I could be working on the quilt, but I'm not ready yet. I'd like to stop sneezing before working around needles.

Oh, and I found out something this morning......if anyone recalls, the girl who claimed to be my best friend basically ditched me because, as she said "You don't have the same belief in God that I do, so I can't be your friend". Well, now she is telling people that I dumped HER because I didn't like the fact that she believed in God. Really? That's crazy, since I supported her beliefs, listened when she spoke about church and Sunday school, etc. I never once condemned her for it, never once told her she was stupid, crazy, or a fanatic. I never said a word. Why would I? Its not my place to tell her these things, and who am I to judge her? So, here we are, another person, claiming to be a "Christian", not only using their religion as an excuse, but hiding behind it as well. Fucking hypocrites. Just like DH's sister. Claiming to be all about "Christian" and god and whatever. The whole time judging him for something he did over 25 years ago. Holding that over him, being fake to his face, claiming one thing and doing another. Same as every other "God fearing" person. Hell, (haha) even the Bible contradicts itself. But thats another rant.

So what else? Well, we're still on the hunt for land. We'd really like to find one with some sort of building on it. Something to provide temporary shelter until we get the cob house built. We need to find it fast, as we want to be outta here by the end of July. Will it happen? No idea, but I'm hoping.

In other news, sometime around 12 June I should have kits. What are kits? Baby bunnies. Rabbits don't have litters, they "kindle" and their babies are called kits. My son will be here on 13 June, staying for 2 weeks. Maybe he'll get to see the kits.

I guess thats all for now. Time to go punch the bread......

Get a life....

2010-05-21T08:30:00.002-05:00

Its so funny....there are some people who have chosen to detach themselves from me simply because I don't hold the same belief system they do. This particular person has stated in their own blog that I was corrupting them, even though religion was never discussed. I was making them question their relationship with god even though I never said a word about it, and actually applauded them, supported them and their kids, with any church function they participated in. I respected their beliefs, and let them live their life how it was suited to them.

This person decided that I was too high maintenance, or too emotional, or whatever to be my friend. Despite the constant battles with depression this person supposedly has, they accused ME of being a problem. This person constantly ignored me, blew me off, and some days would flat out not speak to me. There was always an excuse "headache, kids, housework, etc" Whatever.

Anyway, we have mutual friends on FB. No biggie. But lately I have noticed that this person seems to be "following" me. By this I mean, I'll comment on a friend's post, and within 24 hours this person is commenting. I wouldn't care, but this person has RARELY, if at all, posted on these friends' posts in the past. Suddenly, in the past 2 weeks, they are posting everywhere I post, and throwing in snide, hidden comments such as "Oh, we'll have to hook up for a girls' weekend"......ok, YOU'VE NEVER CARED BEFORE ABOUT THIS PERSON!! YOU NEVER POSTED BEFORE, NEVER WANTED TO CONTACT THEM FOR A GIRLS' WEEKEND....NEVER. ugh this is the most childish fucking thing ever. I swear, I feel like I'm being stalked. Never before was this person on FB so much as they are now. WTF??

Anyway, I don't know if they read this or not, but just in case they do here is my message:

GET A FUCKING LIFE. STOP POSTING WHERE EVER I POST. STOP WITH THE BULLSHIT OF RUBBING THINGS IN MY FACE. STOP BEING A PSYCHO BITCH AND GET A FUCKING LIFE!!! LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!!

Making progress

2010-05-19T20:18:00.003-05:00

Today was another good riding day. I've been working with her to make her stand still while I get on. Its getting better every day. Today was a shorter ride than yesterday, but I don't want to do too much since she hasn't been ridden much in the past. I also want to get front shoes on her before we get too crazy.

In other news, I got the old chicken coop cleaned out, and some sewing done. Bad news is for some reason my sewing machine decided to go stupid on me and not only continuously break my thread, but also break 3 needles. I don't know what the hell was going on, but it was pissing me off. I only have a small amount left to do on a handbag, so to see it sitting there unfinished is torking me off.

Despite the sewing machine, we all had a nice day outside. The weather was perfect, and Bonnie spent all day with Ben outside. She even helped me in the old coop. I wish I would have had a camera rolling when she decided to try to jump THROUGH the chicken wire wall. I almost peed my pants laughing. Too funny!!

Anyway, that about covers it. Nothing terribly exciting. Supposed to get more rain tonight, which sucks because we really don't need it. However by Saturday it should be in the 80's which will be great for my tomatoes! So, until I have more exciting news......

Good ride

2010-05-18T18:57:00.002-05:00

After the spaztick episode day before yesterday with Royalty, I didn't ride yesterday. Today was too beautiful to pass up, so I got her out. Talk about a completely different horse! She stood still while I brushed her down, fell asleep while I was saddling her, and was so complacent with the bit I had to wake her up to get it in her mouth! Getting on wasn't NEAR the rodeo it usually is, and she went right to the road and did great. I was going to just take her for a 1 mile round trip. But she was doing so well I decided to take her "around the block", which is about 4 miles. She did great!! Very relaxed, going along with no problems. We were having a great time! Until.....

....until we got to the neighbor's house, where her stud "boyfriend" lives. OMG she freaked out. She wanted to go up the driveway so bad, and got pissed when I wouldn't let her. So, in retaliation, she reared up on me. Not once, not twice, but THREE times!! The 3rd time she came up so high I thought we were both going over backwards. So I just got off of her before we both got hurt and walked her home. She did fine, but its a lesson.....don't go that way!! LOL

I think the problems I had the other day had to do with the weather. It wasn't just Royalty freaking out, but the neighbor's horses, and even an experienced rider nearby got thrown. He is in the hospital with a broken pelvis and punctured kidney...peeing blood. I say weather because that evening a super-cell storm moved in, and it was major lightning, and about 2 inches of rain. I think the barometric pressure was affecting the animals. She was a completely mellowed out animal today.

Today was a good ride.

2010-05-17T18:01:00.002-05:00

Ok, so here I am again. Things here on the farm seem to be on hold, with all the freakin rain. The garden is flooded, and I'm sure I'll have to re-plant many seeds. My poor goat and chickens seem to be wading up to their "parts" just to get around, Ben can't go out and come back in without looking like he just swam the Nile, and my horse is up to her ankles. I'm just glad she can get in the barn (the stall is higher) where there is dry straw for her to stand on. It at least gives her feet a break.

In other news I'm working on making purses/bags out of my old jeans. They don't take long to make, and although I've seen similar types sell for $20, I'm selling mine for $5. I've got a couple orders already, so I'm happy.

As for the family issues, its become obvious that since things were said, nothing will be the same. I went to a graduation party last night and you'd have thought I had the plague. I made everyone uncomfortable, and when the initial offending group walked in, I promptly walked out. I have no use for bratty 36 year old men who think that they can control my life. I could go on and on about my feelings with this person and the whole situation, but I won't. My happiness is when I go out each day to the spot of pasture where MY horse is. I smile, knowing that my facts and the truth won out. He should know by now not to play games with me....I will win.

Life is unbelievable

2010-05-12T09:12:00.002-05:00

So much is happening right now, and the problem is I can't really talk about it. I can, but sure as shit it will come back on me. I'll just say that my in-laws are unbelievable. What posseses people to side with one sibling, or go against one child, with the entire family ganging up on that person, is beyond me. And how that one child, a grown man, can actually contact an entire town to get them to turn is even crazier. I refuse to be a part of this, and so does the DH. He's fed up, and is seeing the true colors of his family. He is seeing how they are all hypocrits. They claim to be God fearing Christians, but they have so far lived up to my opinion of all "Christians". Forgive and Forget is nowhere in their vocabulary, they hold grudges against each other from events that occured over 20 years ago, when there were outside influences, and for the last 20+ years they've been a hive of liars. The parents can't agree as to what is right, and everything for the last 35 years has been geared toward the youngest of the 4 getting everything in the estate. All land, buildings, farm equipment, etc. Its a fucking nightmare. So, until the dust settles, I'll have to just keep my mouth shut.

In other news, I'm not getting Emmett. The idiot that had the litter never let them around the mom except to nurse twice a day. He then weaned them at 4 weeks, and keeps mom away. They've got more worms than they should, and I refuse to support such a person.

I also got a horse. Her name is Royalty, and she is a 14 year old black/white paint. She is very spirited, and we both have learning to do about each other.

Anyway, for the moment, thats all I've got. So maybe at the end of the week I can discuss the bullshit going on here.

He's back!

2010-05-06T19:26:00.003-05:00

Benjamin is back! After roaming the yard, checking out Bonnie the goat, and the chickens, and the shed, and the fence, and the mailbox, and the burn pile, and the flowers, and the water hydrant.......he's now happily sleeping on the couch! Just like old times.....love you Snugga-Bear!!!

A horrible week....

2010-05-05T10:12:00.002-05:00

....and its only Wednesday!! This week started out with DH getting screwed on a load issue, so his miles will be low. Then I noticed my 5 week old buckling goat was bloated, and had to wait all day for the vet to show up. That night he was doing better, but the next day he wasn't up to his normal self. Tuesday night he didn't want to eat, and this morning I found he had died in the night. *sigh* I know its part of owning animals, and especially young livestock, but I have to say I cried. I buried him near where I had the Schnauzers buried, by the garden. The messed up part is that Clyde was such a sweetie. He loved to lay in my lap and sleep, or just stand by me and hang out. He loved to snuggle, and would put his nose in my neck and relax.

I hope to find another buckling this weekend, one that is already weaned. Bonnie, the doeling is almost weaned herself, so it would be a good match.

In other news, a bright note......a friend of mine whom I gave my mastiff Ben to 2 years ago has offered him back to me. I'd love to have my snugga-bear back!! I'm excited!! I've missed him soooo much!

Beyond that, I'm working on the quilt...still. Its all laid out on the living room floor, which I admit is not a good place for it, but I need to have the pieces laid out so I can see what I'm doing. I figure I'll need a dozen or so more strips to get it done. Its been slow going as most days I just look at it and say "um, no, not today". Today however, I NEED to be motivated to work on it. The garden is doing its thing, the animals are taken care of, and I've got nothing else going on at the moment. I'm sure I could find a thousand things to do besides the quilt, but I need to make some progress on it. If nothing else I need to get the pieces ironed out. ugh. I think my problem is that the sun is shinning and I'd love to be outside. Usually I save the 'inside chores' for rainy days, but then when those arrive, I just want to be lazy on the couch! So, I have to get my ass in gear and get to working on it. When its done, it will be 120" x 120"......possibly an inch or 3 bigger all around, once the edging is done. Big enough to cover a king bed with no problems!

And finally, another rant about the 'goings on' around the world. Lets see, we've got volcanoes in Iceland, rain in the Arctic, glaciers breaking up, oil in the Gulf, flooding in the southeast, and earthquakes daily that nobody seems to feel the need to report. On top of that, there is a rogue satallite in space threatening to take out 5 communication sattelites ....these cover the airlines. Go figure. I'm telling you, something is going down.....just look around and actually READ the news, all of it.....

Horrible events

2010-04-28T07:54:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to say that this oil issue off the coast of Louisiana really bothers me. The fact that 42,000 gallons PER DAY of oil is spewing into the ocean is atrocious. Whats worse is that they aren't able to do a thing about it....or so they say. Makes me sick....in the meantime the president is running around being social. The wet lands of LA and the Gulf Coast are going to be ruined, and if you ask me its another government scheme to imprison the people of the US. Making things irreplaceable, and putting us in a situation of being more dependent on the government.

Well, not me. I can do without the seafood, and although I find it extremely horrible that this is happening, I'm not going to be goaded into believing it was an accident or that there is nothing they can do about it. I'm not getting sucked into their ploy to make me depend on them for my every need. I can and will be dependent on myself and the land I live on.

Its coming folks, believe it.

Its been awhile

2010-04-26T18:45:00.002-05:00

Ok, yeah, its been ages since I wrote. Lots of things have happened, and so far it seems to be for the good.

DH and I have decided to work things out. You read that right. After all of my bitching, ranting, raving, yelling, crying, cussing, stomping, and even leaving for a month, we've decided to work on things. I came back here to the farm to await word on a job. We had time to have some good talks, and even a few yelling matches. But we got it all out, and have decided to start fresh.

I know I've neglected many of my readers (I say that as if I have a plethera) and for that I apologize....wait, no I don't. I was taking care of me, something I haven't done in a long time. I'm not sorry about that.

So now, I have 2 goats, 3 rabbits, 4 chickens, and in June I'll have a new puppy. He'll be a brindle Mastiff and his name is Emmett (after the awsomely strong yet sweet vamp in Twilight). I'm currently tending a 6,000 square foot garden, and am looking for more farm animals. We have plans for building a root cellar, re-doing the kitchen and downstairs bath to make room for a wood burning stove. We found one that will be able to heat the entire house (its 2,500 sq. ft) so thats a good thing. I'd like to learn to spin wool to sell, and have plans to take loads of garden stuff to Farmer's Market.

So there it is in a nutshell. I'm currently working (slowly) on a quilt using blue jeans that no longer fit us anymore. The ones we don't use or cut up will be donated to the Salvation Army.

Thats all I've got for the moment.

Changing

2010-03-09T15:22:00.003-06:00

Since my last post, I have changed. Changed locations, and changed mental status. I am currently in New Mexico, and as for my mental change, I've come to some new conclusions about myself.

I've finally come to terms with the fact that I should never really be in a relationship. And I will NEVER EVER get married again.,.,...EVER. I suck at it and don't want the pressure, or the hassle. I'm much better alone, or just with the occasional friend or 2.

DH are splitting, and as hard as it is, the hard ass in me has walled it all up inside. I've built that fortress and nothing will get through. I've put those feelings away in a box on a shelf in a dark place, and maybe one day I'll drag them out to look at them. For now, its all business. I'm not ready to deal with them yet.

And during all of this, I'm finding I'm being judged on my actions. People whom I thought would stand by me, aren't. Well, they were until I explained my situation and now they've left me hanging. *sigh* Just because I don't do things according to their views or values, or because I seem so 'rebelious' in the way I deal with things, doesn't make me any less of a person. Doesn't mean I'm going to hell (personally don't think it even exists, but thats another rant), and certainly doesn't make me less of a friend. But hey, in a personal crisis is when you find out who your friends are, and boy am I surprised. But hey, if thats the game they want to play, so be it. I don't need that type of "friendship". Fuck that.

Life shouldn't be so hard

2010-02-25T18:58:00.002-06:00

Marriage shouldn't be hard. It takes work, yes, but it should not be a hassle. It should not be a constant battle, or worry. You shouldn't have to worry about walking on eggshells, or think that every decission is hurting the other's feelings. Or maybe I shouldn't be married to a man who is constantly upset. I don't want to go to the store, he's upset.....I don't want him to go on a walk with me, he's upset. ugh, I'm so tired of it all. I'm so tired of being married to a baby. I'm tired of being married to a nit picky, self pittying, insecure, mama's boy. I'm tired of staying around with someone who won't listen, or whom I feel responsible for if they die. I don't want that guilt. I feel responsible for every emotion, and it wears me out. There is no independence of either of us. I feel opressed, really. I feel controlled. I hate it. But he's flat out said to me....."If I lose you I'll kill myself". ugh, not cool.

Testing

2010-02-22T14:50:00.003-06:00

Testing my blog feature on my DROID

Testing

2010-02-22T14:50:00.001-06:00

Testing my blog feature on my DROID

2010-02-19T20:20:00.003-06:00

Crazy things here at work.....we still aren't sure if we're keeping this territory. The wife of the cancer guy called and said "Send everything back, except..." and she named one item. Why?? Why not that one item? Well, too bad, I'm sending that, too. Its a fragile item, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be responsible for it any longer than I have to.

They haven't found a Dr. to treat him yet, but he is out of the hospital, just not fit to work. She is taking 1 week off per month, milking the insurance and paycheck. I'm sorry but I am a realist. If I had a rare form of terminal cancer that only 1 in 1 million has, the last thing I'd be doing is working. I'd tell my spouse "c'mon, I don't know how long I've got so lets live it up!" Not "You keep working, I'll keep praying"......NO. Yet, she keeps thinking 'all will be right with the world" ....she is in denial.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condemming the guy to a death sentence. But I am a realist. I don't wish ill on him, and its not admitting defeat.....its knowing when to accept what is, and go on.

So there it is.....there might be one couple that is working the east coast that would want this territory, and if they do, thats fine. I won't complain. I've got a year and 9 months left at this job, I'm just hoping it goes fast.

2010-02-18T21:10:00.002-06:00

Why do some men have to be so stupid? Why can't they just let things be? Why must it all be full of drama? BAH! "bad hormone day" means "Leave me the fuck alone!" DUH!!

2010-02-17T20:15:00.001-06:00

I've decided that there are some things, and some people, in my life that I just HATE. You may say hate is a strong word, but so is LOVE yet we throw that one around like its nothing. So yes, there are things and people out there I hate. End of story.

Some things....

2010-02-12T20:39:00.003-06:00

Some things you can blog about, and others you can't. I'm at the "I can't" point. I have so much on my brain, so much emotion, yet I can't say a word about it. Why? This is a public blog. I know too many people who 'drop in' from time to time who would not understand my thoughts, or my emotions. Some would even tell others, and chaos would ensue. This I cannot have. If things are going to happen, it will be because Fate and Karma will it to be so.

So, forgive me fellow bloggers if I do not post for awhile, or if my posts seem lackluster and boring. I've just got so much swirling around, I need to be the bear that I am and hybernate.

El Paso, TX

2010-02-09T06:07:00.002-06:00

So here I am in El Paso, TX. I've been here 1 day. I hope it gets better! I guess the crazy thing is seeing the border fence as I drive along I-10. Seeing Juarez, Mexico just on the other side is interesting. As I drive along and look at the houses across the fence and wonder how many are just shelter for those attempting to cross. I know many have permanent residents, but some are so run down that it seems almost impossible for them to be anything but a stop over.

I'm hoping to explore this city a bit more. There seems to be a lot of culture, several museums and art galleries. I'd like to see the prettier part, if one exists. We are currently staying in a hotel downtown, but I swear it seems like the seedier part. Lots of congestion, buildings crammed on top of one another, and people everywhere.

Of course a topic I shouldn't discuss is the language issue. I don't care if Mexico is 100 yards away across the fence, you are now in America, learn English. 'Nuff said.

So as I find out more fun facts here in El Paso, I'll be sure to post them here.

Tombstone, AZ

2010-02-07T10:59:00.002-06:00

This past weekend we visited Tombstone, AZ. I had always wanted to visit this historic town, and it was a bitter sweet trip. Let me explain:

This town has tons of history, and even more potential. And it also has its fair share of issues. Lets start with the good. There are plenty of shops, and fun locals walking around in period (1880's) attire. There are stagecoach rides, gunfights, horseback riders, outlaws, and other neat tours. If you are just passing through for the day, its a fun stop. However, if you are really looking for authenticity, or a real entertaining time, you'll be disappointed.

Most of the shops are the same....jewelry, postcards, and leather goods. There are about 2 or 3 shops that offer period clothing.....bring plenty of cash as a jacket can run upwards of $300, and a dress about the same. This isn't counting the shirts for the guys, pants, boots (cheapest was about $150 for the pair), and a hat. Plus the vest, spurs, and any other accessories. For the women, its not just the dress. Its the stockings, corsett, pettycoats, boots, hat, jewelry, gloves, fan, purse, etc. As I said, its cashy. Then you have the typical tourist shops with 'junk'....crappy souveniers, postcards, magnets, and what they claim to be 'authentic' Native American jewelry. However while chatting with a merchant, she swore to me that the wolf was NOT a symbol of the American Indian. Um, whatever. It just happens to be one of the major symbols, but who am I?

This town is corrupt. It has a ver horrible Mayor, who doesn't want the town to survive. What it needs is someone to come in and inspire the people to not only work together but to clean up the town. The houses and yards are trashy. Nobody seems to care, and its as if they don't realize their own potential. My thought is, if you don't want tourists wandering by your house, then don't live in a historic town. Don't get me wrong.....there is a load of historic value to be gleened from Tombstone. You just need to ignore the repetitiveness and the filth.

2012....Part 2

2010-02-01T11:32:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I'm not in a panic by any means. Heck, anyone that knows me knows that I like to be prepared.

I've been running various scenarios through my head, "what if's", to make sure I've got what I need. I'm not hoarding things, nor am I really "stocking up"....not yet at least.

I look at it this way......I've been given the opportunity to travel the country for a living. This gives me access to many things I wouldn't normally have were I staying at home. Thus, I am taking full advantage. I've been going to military swap meets (the last one landing me the 'motherload' of stuff), surplus stores, flea markets, etc. I'm gathering all of this stuff in order not only to be prepared shout Shit Hit The Fan (SHTF), but if it doesn't, I'm fully prepared by Jan 2012 to be self sufficient. My dream of living off of what I produce and not the government will finally be a reality. So there it is......whether it does or doesn't, I'm prepared.

As we all know I've been wanting to live off grid, be SS, and basically tell society to fuck off. I'm using this job to do that. Getting all my ducks in a row is a lot easier when you have a steady income, and the opportunities to find what you need. I've made project lists, inventory lists, and am currently amassing as many books as I can on being not only self sufficient (SS) but also living off grid, or, in a worst case scenario, should SHTF in a major catastrophe sort of way, I can survive. I'll know how to live off of the wilds of the land until I get my feet back under me. Hunting, trapping, gathering, shelter building, etc. Again, not saying it will happen, but if there is one thing I've learned.....the more skills you have, the better you are.

2012?

2010-01-19T11:31:00.003-06:00

There has been so much hype about 2012....

"end of the World!"

"enviromental catastrophy!"

"Apocolypse!"

So what will happen? No idea. The ancient astronomers say it will be a solar flare of sorts. What will that do? No idea, I haven't researched it enough. What do I think? I think I need to be prepared for anything.

I've had many thoughts and discussions about being more self sufficient. I've also had discussions with The Handler as to our plans should any major catastrophy occur. We've had those plans in place for many, many years. So what about the NOW? What if its not something like you see in the movies? What if its just a financial/economical collapse? How will I be prepared?

My first and foremost want is to be completely self reliant. If the electricity goes out, I won't be affected. If the water gets shut off, I won't be affected. If the grocery stores get looted bare, I won't be affected. I want to be growing my own food, producing my own power, and not relying on Big Brother. So what does this mean?

It means every chance I get, when I'm home, I'll be working on preparations. Digging the well, building the windmill or solar panels, getting animal pens ready, etc. Am I in a panic? Nope. I just believe in being well prepared. Plus, this just expedites my plans for being SS and quiting this job. Its not that I don't like it, I just want to do things for myself. I want to be home digging in the dirt, and cleaning up after my animals.

One day shit will hit the fan, and this country, or even the world, will collapse. I'll be ready.

Wild Wild West

2010-01-17T20:58:00.002-06:00

Ok, so once again I've been a slacker in blogging....but give me a break on this one, I've been busy in the new territory.

Our first week started us in Lubbock, TX for 2 days. I will say that it started out great. No crappy accents, so fake bullshit, nice weather, and nice people. We left there and headed to Albuquerque, NM for one day. It truely wasn't bad, except for one idiot. Of course, there is always one, but I didn't expect him to surface so soon. Yep, the first stupid comment of the year goes as follows (keep in mind we give hearing tests):

"You should give this test in sign language so people can get a better score"

WHAT THE HELL???? I don't think he thought about what he was saying when it came out of his mouth....but then again, maybe that is his mentality. Who knows, but that is by far, the dumbest thing I've heard since starting this job. Hell, I think its the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life.

After New Mexico, we landed here in Arizona. Kingman, to be exact. We'll be here through Wednesday morning, then we'll head to the Phoenix area. We'll stay here in AZ through the 2nd week in Feb. It will be great missing the hellish winter we were going to be subject to had we not been sent to this territory. I am a happy camper!

We still aren't sure how long we'll have this territory. The man side of the team that was here had a 7lb cancerous tumor removed from his abdomen. Its such a rare form of cancer, that he has to be treated at a completely different hospital than the one he is in. The problem is he can't be moved until this huge incision heals, and that is projected to be at least a month. As for treatment.....nobody seems to know if they can cure him or not. He is 62, and his mother died of cancer at the age of 65. We don't know if they can cure him, or how long it will take. This means we don't know when or if they will be back to work or not. So until then, we work around all of their things that were left in the truck.

As I said, we are in Kingman. Located in the north-west corner of AZ, its close to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and California. Its also home of the heart of Route 66, the Mother Road of the USA. The original cross-country highway, starting in Chicago, IL and going all the way to California. And until the interstate was built in 1952, it was the only way to get between the 2 places. Talk about a road trip! Hubs and I have always wanted to travel this historical highway, and we really want to do it on a Harley. But for now, we'll see what we can at the cost of our company...hee hee. Today, we decided to take a portion of this highway from Kingman to Oatman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oatman,_Arizona If you are inclined to read the article from this link, you'll see that the town was named after a daughter of a man from La Harpe, IL. My house is in La Harpe, IL. My husband and his family have been residents of LaHarpe, IL for 3 generations, at least. So I found it both awe inspiring and a certain connection to this little mining town. How crazy is it that we visited????

Tomorrow we are going to an indoor archery range for about an hour, then after that I'm not sure. Is Martin Luther King, Jr Day, so many places will be closed.

Beyond that, I have nothing else to report, so I'll leave you to read about Oatman, AZ

More updates

2009-12-29T21:07:00.002-06:00

Things here on the home-front are not so good.

First, yes, the stepson is going to be a dad. They've been having sex, oops, I mean "dating" for 8 weeks.....she is 8 weeks pregnant. So, now that I've simmered down a bit (after giving him a solid piece of my mind on the matter) I'm going to sit back and watch. Nothing more I can do.

In other news, hubby's dad was scheduled for neck surgery today. They've known for a month it would be today, so originally, it was no big deal. Routine. That is, until hubby's mom has to be taken to the emergency room the day prior to his surgery. Why? Something called Siatica (thats not how its spelled, but I'm close). Basically, she has a pinched nerve in her hips. This comes from 40 years of being a secretary and not doing much standing, then retiring and standing and going 'hard' all at once for the first year. This pinched nerve decided to have a royal fit, causing her to be in severe, debilitating pain. She couldn't move, and could barely talk from the pain. So off she went to the ER. Her hubs took her, brought her home, took her back again because the pain meds they gave her weren't touching it. So he took her back, got her good and loopy, then brought her home. At that time, her best friend came to spend the night with her. Father in law then picks up his eldest and only daughter and off they go for the 2 hour drive to Springfield. Today, we get a call that she needs to get home because her hubs is having a cow. ALso because nobody will be able to get her son off to daycare (its about 100 yards down the street and her hubs is completely incompitent in these issues). So, since the other sibling are "just too busy" here we are. Me, hubs, and son, all in a hotel in Springfield, IL. Lovely way to spend my vacation and precious time with my son. *sigh*

On top of it all, we actually had to call the youngest sibling who lives 1 1/2 miles away to tell him and his wife "go check on mom" because she didn't take her meds on time and was again in horrible pain. So they go over, and wife and best friend end up taking her back to the ER. I just got a text from my hubs saying things were fine with his dad, but not so with his mom. Thats all I know. I'm 2 hours from home, no car, in a hotel, with no news. Hows that for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year???? I soooo wish his other 2 sibs would just take some sort of responsibility here. What if we weren't here to take the reins??? And they say we're the bad ones? The black sheep? These 2 sibs, 2 younger brothers, the older of the 2 was the first 'born' to his mom and dad, since hubs and older sis were adopted. So he is considered "chosen by god". Then, the youngest, well, of course he is the Baby and will never be made to have responsibility or to be held accountable for his actions. That leaves hubs and his sis. But they'll always make an excuse for the other 2 (mom and dad will, anyway).

So there you have it. My final week of vacation in a nutshell.

Update

2009-12-27T09:41:00.002-06:00

An update on the stepson front....

It all was so confusing, until we went to pick him up. Once in the car, we pounded him with questions for 4 hours. Here is what we know:

They've been dating for 2 months.

She had only been on the pill for 2 weeks.

Her parents told him he doesn't have to pay for any prenatal Dr. visits.

She is supposedly going to keep it, and finish school, with her grandmother babysitting.

He 'says' he is joining the military, and yet when I asked "Are you going to send money to her for child support?" He looked away and wouldn't answer.

She has a Dr. appointment on Monday.

Today, he will announce his delima to the family here...yes, all of the bible thumping hypocrits will hear of his fuck up. Merry Fucking Christmas everyone!!

We don't anticipate them staying together much longer. Hubs is giving them 2 months, which means he probably won't see his own baby, and we won't see it, either. Stepson isn't being made to be held accountable for his actions, so its no wonder he doesn't show concern. This is how kids are being raised these days.

So, I'll keep things updated here as I know them.

You're kidding, right????

2009-12-24T16:49:00.002-06:00

Thats what I wanted to ask my stepson, who will be 18 in 2 months. Are you fucking kidding me? You got your girlfriend PREGNANT??? Seriously??? I couldn't believe it. And his dad asked him "why didn't you tell me?" His answer was "well, its awkward" No, its not. You simply say "dad, I think I got my girlfriend pregnant" and then he would say "where was the birth control?" and we all have a nice discusssion. You don't lie about taking her to the doctor with the "I have to work" excuse. You just say it, straight up.

Ok, so thats my rant. We find out today that its about a 99% possiblity that she is preggers. How do we know that for sure? Well, here is the lame story he is telling us....

She hasn't had her monthly cycle for 2 months. She took an At Home Test this past Sunday. The test was positive. She's been puking for a month or more. Her mom took her to the doctor because she thought it was Mono. Doctor said "No, but she might be pregnant" . All families have discussed it (minus us, of course, guess we don't count) and have concluded that she will go to the doctor on Tuesday. Stepson will take her for the test. When asked about birth control, he said "I used a condom".....uh huh. "I guess it didn't work"......um, WHAT??? NO, thats not acceptable. *sigh*

Ok ok, I'm not surprised. I guess I'm just more pissed off that he didn't say a single word. I'm also pissed because, should this come to pass, I know that A) he is going to totally fuck this up, B) DH will not get to see his grand-baby, like .....ever, C) his whole future is fucked up, and D) he's more than likely going to be that guy who lives in his mom's basement with his girlfriend and kid. How fucking pathetic. This kid has his problems, no doubt. He's supposedly been diagnosed with ADHD, but I never bought it. His mother has ruined him beyond imagine. He's stayed with me for a month and not one day was he on his medication. He followed my rules, ate my food, and did what he was told when he was told to do it. His mother has fucked him up royal, obviously.

So what am I going to do? Nothing. We go to get him tomorrow evening, and take him back Monday morning, I believe. Its always stressful for me when he comes, has been for 10 years. This time I'm going to try to just stay the hell away...or at least keep my mouth shut. we'll see what happens.

Getting rid of drama

2009-12-22T18:15:00.002-06:00

For 30 years (or more) I have put up with more shit than I care to think about from my immediate family. Between my mother setting me up for beatings from my father, to the mental abuse she loved to impart on me, to the backstabbing from both her and my sister. It wasn't until about 5 years ago when I called them out on it, and just the past year or 2 that I decided enough was enough.

At the beginning of 09 I washed my hands of the woman who gave birth to me (aforementioned as 'mother'), and as of today, I have washed my hands of my sister. Many people ask "What about your dad? He kicked your as daily!" Yes, he did. But guess what.....he admits it. He acknowledges it and I know somewhere deep down he regrets it. The other 2? HA!! Not a chance. They will not admit to stealing from my grandmother, or from me. They will not admit to backstabbing me, or lieing to me. If you ask them, they have done nothing wrong and that I'm the psycho liar.

I won't bore you with the details. We've been down that road. Today I washed my hands, my life, of her and her ex husband, and her boyfriend. I am done with them all. I speak on a regular basis with my father, although I don't trust him enough to tell him anything of importance. There are 3 people I trust with my life, and thats it. None of them are related to me by blood. Sad, isn't it?

Point being, the drama from them is over. I feel, as I did with the bitch, that a weight has been lifted. I feel sorry for my niece, but by her attitude when talking to me, I can only imagine the atrocities my sister has told her about me. Its really too bad. However, from now on, I have a father....nobody else except The Handler, the hubs, and my high school girlfriend. Thats it for me.

On a happier note, hope everyone has a great season, and here's one for the New Year!!!

It happened

2009-12-05T20:42:00.004-06:00

Yep, we're moving territories. Over the last week or 2, after my initial temper tantrum, I've come to the conclusion that Karma will help me on this one. I've been ytrying to see the good in the move, and that has helped as well.

If you look at a map of the USA, and find I-80 which runs from Chicago, IL to Salt Lake City, Utah. You will also see that I-70 runs from St. Louis, MO to Richmond, UT. Its a big rectangle, and that is our basic new territory. Yes, there will be towns/cities slightly outside of those areas, but thats the general area.

I'm looking forward to new sites, seeing old friends (from Jr. High[8th grade]!), hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and a variety of other things. I was born in Colorado, and lived there til I was 13. I do look forward to going there again. I've been several times, but only for a day or 3, nothing long term. I miss it. The one thing I'm not looking forward to is the cold and snow. Bleh.

So, when I get home this coming week, I'll spend time going through all of my winter clothes, seeing what still fits, and what I've 'outgrown' . It will also let me play with my new toy!

I need lots of practice, as its not romotely the same as shooting a gun, but I'm having fun working on it!

So, in conclusion, the weasel got us booted out of our plush beach digs. Karma is already coming around, though. It seems that he's received quite a bit of flack from someone (or maybe more than one) because he told us the company will pay for the UHAUL trailer we will need to haul all of our crap home. They are also paying for the hitch we have to buy that needs fitted to the car in order to pull said trailer with the Buick. He also had no problem talking about moving us before, yet now he 'doesn't want to talk about it'. So, how are things going to go at the annual meetings? I'll let you know when it happens. Until then, I'll keep playing with my new toy, buying camo clothing, and working on my plans for the final dream. Explaination of that to follow in another blog.

Change is inevitable

2009-11-25T15:29:00.004-06:00

I don't usually mind change. I'm like most folks, as long as its for the better, I'm good with it. And I guess I should have known that, like most "too good to be true" deals, this one wasn't going to last.

I'm speaking of my job location.

Let me tell you the whole story....it gets confusing, so try to stay with me.

Lets start with 3 couples, or, better said, 3 sets of Techs. We (DH and I) will be C1, the couple that runs up and down the Mississippi River is C2, and the couple that runs the Rockies is C3. Ok, that said I'll try to explain as best I can.....

C1 starts this job in Jan,09. They are told they will have the Southern Region, which encompasses Florida all the way across to Louisiana. C1 is thrilled because this is what they were hoping for. They do a bit of training with C3 before moving down to their truck in FL. Its during this first couple of weeks in Jan that C1 learns about C3's thoughts of quitting. Wow, too bad, they were a nice team. March comes along and C3 does indeed quit. Main office decides not to hire anyone new, but to expand the territories. Ok, fine. C1 doesn't think much else about it. The Fleet Manager (FM) decides to ask C2 to move territories to the Rockies. This, in turn, expands the territories of other Techs. Still no biggie. However, unknown to C1, the FM made a deal with C2. This deal is "If you move to the Rockies, I'll get you to the Southern territory where C1 is. Now, for a whole year, FM never tells C1 of this deal, even though it involves them!!!

So, you ask, how does C1 find out? Oops! One of the morons in the office spills the beans. Now its on. C1 calls FM and says "WTF? Were you going to tell us?" FM responds "Well, its not set in stone. " ummm, well, when will it be 'set in stone?" He has no idea.

First let me say, I've left a lot of 2 hour conversations out of this blog, as its redundant information. Us pleading our case, clients here who requested us being back, our numerous letters of appreciation and kudos. Add to that the fact that DH's doctor (recall the heart attack in Feb) is here. Seemingly, it has no effect on the FM. He, nor the aformentioned morons in the office care about what the customer wants. Shuffling techs around, no matter the report with the clients. BUT....he still, after 2 weeks, refuses to give us a solid answer. We need to know! We have lots of stuff to get shipped home, wardrobe changes to make (south to the north? c'mon!) Going from the beaches to the Rocky Mountains.

Here is my problem, and its not the location. Its the fact that I feel betrayed. The dirty spineless FM made a deal and didn't bother to tell us, even though we were a key player! He did some shady dealings behind my back, after preaching all year "don't trust the people in the office. I'm the only one who you can trust, I've been in your shoes" WHATEVER. I can no more trust that sorry bastard than I can trust that bitch who gave birth to me. He keeps asking DH "Why doesn't she want to talk to me?" and his response is "Really, you don't want her on the phone, and you don't want to talk to her in person. She's pissed" That is putting in mildly. I have made the personal vow not to speak to him at all, if I can help it, during our anual meetings in January. He is spineless, gutless, nutless, and a fucking weasel. I trust no one in this company, including the techs that might be moving to our region.

We should find out something next week. I hope so, since we have 6 1/2 days (roughly) of work left at the time of this blog. I have lots of shit to ship home should this change occur. And even if we stay in this territory, I will NOT speak to that sorry ass unless its for work purposes, and even then it will probably be the DH doing the talking. Some might say "You're a coward for not speaking to him".....no, I'm saving his life. As the saying goes "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" He betrayed me, and I will kick his sorry ass should he push the matter. This isn't over by any stretch of the imagination. Don't fuck with me.

Run Away!!!!

2009-11-16T06:40:00.002-06:00

As the days drag on in seemingly endless monotony, I find myself yearning more and more for my new life to begin. Each day in this appalling society just reinforces my need to get away from all of it. What I wanted to be a slow, learning process may very well end up being the fast track, screw the mistakes.

What I'm referring to is society and government. Before proceeding let me clarify that no politics will be discussed here, nor religion. You all don't have enough time for that.

Society here in the good 'ol USA is going in the shitter. Children of all ages becoming more and more unruly. More rude and demanding. An parents becoming more spineless by the day. "No spanking!" "No telling them they did a bad thing!" "No correction!" "All dicipline is detrimental to their fragile minds!" "Everyone makes the team, No Disappointment!" Its all making me very ill.

How will our children deal with the disappointment of not landing a job? Or getting a low grade in school? Or not being accepted to their favorite college? If we don't help them now, how in the hell will they handle it?

Another issue is dicipline. I've discussed this before, and will continue to rant about it. Children running wild like a pack of rabid dogs in the streets. Children telling the parents what to do....demanding what they want, and getting it. Children being so defiant I'm surprised they haven't been killed. Its unbelievable.

I know, I've ranted about children before. But this is different. I don't understand how people who were raised with dicipline, and guidance feel the need to let their children do as they please. How will they learn? I don't want to know. I am going through each day with my goal of off the grid solitude firmly in the forefront of my brain. I damn sure don't want these little retards taking care of me or my country when I get old. I can take care of me, as for the country, well, nothing I can do about that. Am I putting my head in the sand? No. I am looking out for myself and my family. I can guarantee you that should a crisis come to the Earth, I will know how to survive without my computer, cell phone, and car. I will know where eggs come from, how to cook for myself over a fire, how to build a house and raise livestock. I will know that carrots don't come off a shelf, but out of the ground. I will know the skills to survive. I will outlive these heathin children, these spawn of technological laziness, these poor saps of their spoiled life. In part, I feel sorry for them, because they don't know any better. But again, its not my issue. Let them fight it out, let them tease those of us who know the old skills. Who is going to be begging for help, shelter, food, and guidance when shit hits the fan? They will.....will I assist? If they prove worthy, yes. Bratty? Hell No.

So call me running away, I call it survival.

Friends

2009-11-03T03:20:00.002-06:00

Webster's dictionary defines FRIEND as "One attached to another by affection or esteem". This to me seems a bit vague, but then again, its the 'general' definition. It doesn't specify "good" friend, or "best" friend. And truthfully, I'm not sure I know the definition for those. I do, however, know that sometimes I'm a shitty friend. I also know that I have a hard time keeping them, for one reason or another, of which I have yet to figure out.

Here is what I believe :

I believe a true friend will keep in contact with you. Call, write, text, email, etc., once a week or so. Not just whenever they find the time. I believe a true friend will talk to you about anything, and listen to whatever you have to say. They will stand by you, and have your back in any situation.

Friends are not to be treated as an option. They should be treated with respect, and love. Never should you disregard a friend, or believe they are less than you. Respect their ideas, and their life.

Time does many things. It can strengthen a friendship, or tear it apart. Friends from the past can change over time, and if you haven't had the priviledge of growing together, it may seem as a shock. They aren't the person you once knew. Not even close. Sometimes, its for the better, most times, not so. So what to do? What do you do when a reunion fails? Or seems fake? You move on, Be glad this person was/is in your life, enjoy their company when they offer it, but don't ever count on it. Don't count on them. Keep close your true friends. They are the ones that will carry you through.

I have been working hard to improve my friendship skills. Making time to stay in contact, even just to say Hello. Sometimes I fall short, and I apologize to those I have let down, or left hanging. I say to those who have stood by me through those rough times, a heart felt THANK YOU. You are my true friend, my best friend.

this blog is dedicated to The Handler

I am

2009-10-20T18:44:00.001-05:00

**I am better than you think

**I am not what most people believe me to be

**I am true to my roots, and more

**I am world wise

**I am more than what most remember

**I am not what some have made me out to be

**I am loud

**I am sometimes silly

**I am a lover of animals

**I am a believer in what is fair

**I am open-minded

**I am short-fused

**I am determined

**I am sometimes lazy

**I am not a whore, or a liar, as some like to think

**I am not stupid

**I am adventurous

**I am a lover of getting dirty, gardening, and reading

**I am sometimes impatient

**I am for fighting for what is right

**I am not for useless violence

**I am a master of the game

**I am a mom

**I am a biker

**I am a strong woman

**I am afraid of snakes

**I am a farmer, a hunter, and a fisher

**I am a cook

**I AM MANY THINGS--------MORE THAN YOU BELIEVE

No regrets

2009-10-18T16:39:00.002-05:00

Recently I posted on my FaceBook page that I have no regrets, just disappointments. And that is true. I never regret anything I've done in my life. Its all been a learning experience. Some are good, and some aren't so good. I learned with one of my most recent experiences that although people change, sometimes its not for the better. Or, its not quite what you expected.

I knew that 20 years would change a person. I figured they would grow with their life; mature yet stay with their root personality. I figured there would still be some of the 'same 'ol person' still showing through. But sadly, this was not the case. Instead I found something different all together.

I found a moody, and seemingly selfish and disconnected person. They didn't want to hear any of what I had to say, and would be so obvious about it. Not looking at me, not answering questions, or just flat out walking away in mid-sentence. Yet would proceed to beat a topic into the ground when they were talking. They were right, of course, due to their college education. Nevermind the real world experience I was speaking from. How I stood witness to what I was talking about, meant nothing. And they wouldn't let it go....hours later, they would come to me still driving home their point, or their 'knowledge'. I blew it off. I chose to let it go.

I felt as if they were trying to instigate a heated debate, or argument with me, and I refuse to do this. I've known this person for 25 years. Or so I thought. I actually have only known them for 4 years. The other 21 are a mystery. I'm not sure what happened to that original individual, but they are lost. I think they have chosen to forget that part of their life. And that is fine, but to completely change your personality? *sigh* Its sad.

I didn't want a lecture on things I already knew about. I know what I'm getting into with the events in my life, and just because you choose not to like the same things I like, or have the lifestyle I have, or are choosing to leave all aspects behind, does not mean you should tell me what I can or can't do, what I do or don't like, or that there is no way I could or should do things. I find that very aggravating. Disheartening even. Not what I expected, or wanted. *double sigh*

All I can say is......

Damn.

Drama

2009-10-11T18:33:00.003-05:00

I hate it.

Ever notice when you're trying to just go along, live you life, and mind your own business, DRAMA seems to follow you around like an annoying fly? It does to me. Just when I thought "Ok, I've got this pretty cool job that has me away from home, and away from the drama" BAM! Here it is!! DRAMA!!! ggggrrrr

I just wish that people would get the help they need (mentally) and realize their pathalogical lieing does nothing but make them look bad. It hurts their children. Their denial only makes it all worse. If you are told not only by a professional but also by your boss that you need therapy, then I'd say you need therapy. Yet, you insist that nobody knows what they are talking about. You show no remorse for your actions, no concience for those you hurt. You don't care about anyone but you. You SAY you care about your child, but its all a front to make you look like the good person. You'll do anything, and say anything to make yourself look good. And you don't stop there, oh no. You continuously bash those who you can't control, those that you believe have betrayed you, those who have a different opinion or who have the ability to prove your every move and lie to be wrong. Those who throw reality in your face are immediately condemmed to hell, told they are wrong, and then threatened with bodily harm. You then proceed to accuse them of atrocities that do not fit their character at all. And you also bash and spread rumors about anyone they associate with. Anyone who does not believe you, or conform you your lies and your lifestyle.

All of this, you bring on me. You seem to think that I am a complete idiot and naive to your ways. I have known you since the day you were born....32 years to be exact. I have watched you scheme and lie against me. I have watched you plot your ways, plot against people, including me. I've bore witness to your manipulation of your elders. One you have swayed to the point of no return. Another I believe I have made to see your ways, your lies, and your deception. I can only hope.

I have pushed you out, and yet you believe that "all is ok" only because I show concern for your child. You lie to me at every turn. Well, keep lieing. Keep thinking that I am stupid and that I believe your lies. Karma has a way of coming around, and it will find you. Of that I am certain.

So, until that time, I must sit and endure the drama. *Where is that damn private island when I need it?*

A wonderful dream....

2009-10-07T14:28:00.002-05:00

So there I am, sitting around, when suddenly the hubs says to me "How would you like to own an island? " ......"WHAT???"

And there he was, reading and researching owning a private island. Some cost more than others, some are bigger than others, and it all depends on what type of climate you want as to where they are.

Now comes the "How would we live?"......completely "off the grid". By that I mean, no electricity, no gas, nothing. We would live a total self sufficient lifestyle. Grow a garden, raise animals for milk, eggs, and meat. If there were other "wild things" on the island, we could hunt/trap as well. We would trap the rain water, and utilize any other natural springs on the island for hydro-power. Cooking over a fire, the whole bit. We would go to the main land about once a week if needed, mainly for mail and to sell any extra veggies; need money for gas for the boat!! LOL We would also sell stuff for other things like the tools for canning/preserving food, and as funny as it sounds, things like toothpaste and other sundries. Beyond that, we would be the only humans on the island. True Crusoe!!!

Will this happen? Oh how I would love it if it did!! IF, and I say again,....IF it happens, it will be a few years down the road. Don't need to rush into it and end up screwed. But can you imagine???

Could you do it????

Handicapped....who is and who isn't?

2009-10-03T08:57:00.002-05:00

I travel for a living.....I sit in restaurants, go to malls, and eat breakfast in motels. I see lots of people.

I witness more than most, and one of the biggest things I see are people 'feigning' a handicap. Just yesterday, whilst sitting and eating my breakfast, I watched a man walk down the hall of the motel, cane in hand. He wasn't carrying it like a stick, but pretending to use it. As in, it was moving with him, but he wasn't actually leaning on it. He walked to the table, leaned his cane on the chair, then walked around getting his breakfast....no limping, nothing. Walking perfectly normal. He turned and saw me looking, then limped a bit to his chair. Pitiful.

More than once, I see the car parked in the handicap spot at the store, and yes, they have a sticker or plaquard in the window stating they are handicapped. I watch them jump out of the car and run into the store. Not sure what the handicap there is, but evidently they are in some form or fashion.

I guess it just really bothers me to see legitimately handicapped people having to park 5 miles away, or they can't sit where there is room, they are forced to squeeze in where ever.

Someone please explain why people do this.......lazy maybe? Attention whores? Most likely. I wish they'd get over themselves and get on with life. Sad.

Hours of Operation

2009-09-24T19:03:00.002-05:00

So, how many of you still try to open the door at the doctor's office when you KNOW they close at 5? How many of you expect the man at the grocery store to open the door for you at 10min after closing? How many of you ask the clerk at the video store "Can you stay open another 2 hours while I shop around and wait on my family to get here? I don't know when they'll show, but they will eventually." ?

I will answer that for you......NONE. Not one person does that. Nobody says "Ya know, the gas station up town closes at 8, I know its 5 minutes til, and it takes me 15 minutes to get to town, but they'll stay open for me. " Nor does anyone stay after work without pay. So, my question is....why should I stay past my stop time? If my schedule says "Stop at 1pm" then why would I take people at 1:10pm? I lock my doors at 1.....why are you mad at me? Why would you call my office to complain?

This is how it is...people don't think about my hours of operation, they only think about theirs.

Geocaching

2009-09-13T18:50:00.002-05:00

If you've never heard of it, you'll stop and say "What?" So I'll explain it with a quote from a t-shirt:

I use multi-million dollar satellites to find tupperware in the woods.

Yep, I use a GPS in the biggest game of Hide-and-Seek in the world. And I do mean WORLD. This thing is global. You go to the website, get signed up (free accounts are ok, but to download coordinates into your GPS, the $20 per year membership is well worth it), then start geocaching! Let me say, that to spend the money on a good GPS is a must for your sanity. I will explain....

Hubs and I decided to do this about a month ago. We decide to go low budget and get a low end GPS from a pawn shop. Not good. The screaming and yelling (on my part) and the tears(again, on my part), and even more yelling (on his part) was appalling. More than once, ok, about a dozen times I swore I wouldn't go out again. Yet time and again I was subjecting myself to torture. Finally I had had enough. It was then that the hubs purchase 2 different GPS units, and even though they were from pawn shops, they actually came with the required software, cords, etc. Suddenly, finding the tupperware in the woods was getting easier. We were getting the big ones, and I was learning to trust my GPS. I was actually finding these things! However, I wasn't completely sold. So I told the hubs...."You know, why don't you do this on your own. That way we can have some alone time"....well, he wasnt completely sold on that idea either. So we discussed it and never came to a real conclusion. It was dropped.

Then we arrive here in Atlanta, GA and all I wanted to do was sit in the motel room in my pajamas and rest. Play on the computer, nap, whatever. Not to be. Hubs comes to me, hands behind his back at the end of the bed, shuffling his feet, looking like a 5 year old that is scared to death....."Honey, I know you said you didn't want to do this anymore, but would you come out with me today?" *sigh* "What have you got?" I ask...."Big ones, just a few....please?" ggggrrrr, fine, I'll go.

So I downloaded the coordinates into the 2 units, and off we went. Within 2 hours we'd found all 4, and made it back to the motel for more. Six more caches later, along with a few scratches from trapsing through the woods, we made it back to the motel by 6pm. We managed to get through this without fighting....not even a small bit of tension. Shocking. I contribute some of that success to the fact that we also printed out driving directions to get us in the general vecinity, then used our GPS to get us on target. Also, 7 out of 10 were large, the other 3 were pill bottles. I admit today was a fun day in all our days of caching.

So there ya have it..... www.geocaching.com

Not much....

2009-09-11T18:13:00.003-05:00

Nothing terribly exciting going on these days. There are some things going on, but I can't talk about them just yet. All I can say is if they pan out, in a few years's time I'll be a happy camper!

I keep telling myself I need to blog, but my rants are old, and anything else could be read by the wrong people. *sigh*....so until something awsome happens, I'll sit back and chill.

P.S. My condolences to The Handler and his Alpha upon the loss of their loved one. I am sorry for your loss. xoxo

Long overdue

2009-08-27T18:25:00.002-05:00

Many things, like this entry, have been long overdue. However, there was a Royal Reunion that took place last weekend, and I wish it could be repeated every weekend!

You see, 20 years ago I graduated from high school. Yes, that gives away my age of 38 years, but I don't care. Anyway, even then I didn't have the greatest relationship with the folks. Long story short, December of 1989 was the last time I saw my best friend. Yep, we went 20 years without any contact at all.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't for the lack of trying. She worked in the same department as the bitch that gave birth to me, yet, despite her inquiries, the bitch had 'no idea' where I was at. This, my friends, was a complete load of shit. She knew exactly where I was! Of course, neither one of us knew where to look, or if the other was married, etc. So it was impossible to find each other.

However, thanx to FaceBook, and after a long 20 years, we have reunited. On top of that, we both love the TWILIGHT series, and have hence named our selves after 2 characters. I am Princess Alice, and she is Queen Rosalie. Childish? Maybe. But I don't care. I am just happy to be reunited with my best friend. And let me say, I don't plan on letting her slip away again.

People change, its unavoidable. However, it seems as though her and I were never really 'seperated'. To get completely out of my character and mushy....we were always in each other's hearts. We still finish each other's sentences, act the same, think the same, and like all the same things. Its as if we never left. I am happy!!!

I don't get it...

2009-08-15T15:50:00.002-05:00

Call me what you want; scream at me; flame me ; whatever. But I am going to say my opinion, regardless of what you say, and here it is.....

For the life of me, I cannot understand why people here in the USA insist on adopting young babies/children from foreign countries. Famous people (Madonna, Brad Pitt, and countless others) as well as not so famous people feel the need to go to China, Japan, India, Ethiopia, Indonesia, etc to get their kids. WHY? There are so many children here in your HOME COUNTRY than need a family. All ages, all backgrounds, all needs. So please tell me why in the hell you would adopt from overseas???

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the foreign children are any less deserving of a home, but what is wrong with American kids? What makes them LESS deserving that the others?

The reason I've brought this up is because I was sitting in a deli and overheard 2 couples (they were well off financially) discussing the adoption one couple was in the process of. It was a nightmare listening to them brag on the "most adorable 2 year old Chinese child" they were adopting. I was sick. They were bragging about how they had to travel to China, and the cost, and how they had to spend over a week there going through all of the protocol. They were also discussing all of the medical screenings the child had to go through, and how they had to get a medical lawyer to do this. They were also talking about "how cute' it was that the child was able to say "mommy" and "daddy" in her native language.....this means the child is still living with her parents!!! ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME??? Nice, ripping this child from her family....of course, the parents are allowing this, but the child has no idea whats happening. How cruel.

My question is....WHY??? Can anyone offer any insight?

Graceland

2009-08-14T18:13:00.007-05:00

About a week ago, my travels allowed me to visit the famed Graceland....home of the late, great Elvis Presley. The original KING of Rock and Roll. The virtual inventor of it all. In my eyes, the man will forever be immortal. He is an icon that cannot be rivalled, not even by Michael Jackson. No, he wasn't in my generation, he died when I was 6 (or so they say). That doesn't mean I don't love his music any less that the older generations, or that I can't appreciate him and his music. My father made sure, if nothing else, that I had a well rounded musical library, and Elvis was at the top of the list.

So, it stands to reason I would want to visit Graceland.

I cannot begin to tell you the feeling I got when I walked through the front door. It was awe. It was an overwhelming sense of his aura. It was sadness. It was happiness. It was.....unbelievable. You all can think I am a complete nut job, but when I say I felt his aura, I mean it. This place was so saturated by his presence I was almost brought to tears. I found myself wanting to spend just one night in this house alone, hoping to see him. My only other wish during the tour was that everyone else there would have gone away. I wanted to see every inch of this place all by myself. I wanted to soak up every smell, every touch. The other visitors were in my way....and I'm sure they felt the same about me.

Anyway, enough of my sap....below are but a few of the 186 pictures I took of this wonderful place.

The front The living room

His parents' bedroom The TV room

The Jungle Room

His grave

Live on, King.....Live on

"If you had the opportunity, would you?"

2009-08-03T15:10:00.002-05:00

This was a question asked of me by my DH. He was referring to my past job in the USAF as an EDD handler.....Explosive Detector Dog handler. Let me digress and explain.

Way back in 1990 I joined the USAF. I had zero direction in my life, and even fewer skills. I needed structure, and I needed a job. I was 19. So there I went, signing up to be a cop, and hoping to be a dog handler. Back then (not sure about now) you actually had to fill out an application and try out, competing against others who wanted to do the same thing. Lucky for me, I made it.

I finished boot camp, and cop school, then went to Patrol Dog school. Learning the basics of dog care, handling, and bite work. I was in heaven!!!! Growing up I loved animals, and being with such an elite group of cops really was awsome. I was then sent to Hurlburt Fld, FL (in the Panhandle) where a really good Kennel Master taught me how to work a Drug Dog. I did that for 6 months, and she sent me back to Lackland AFB, TX for Explosive school. That was the best 6 weeks! I graduated top of my class, so I was stoked.

ANyway, I spent the rest of my 8 year career running bomb dogs and was loving it. The adrenaline rush, the challenge in training, the risk on a 'real world' situation, etc. Eventually I was stationed at Nellis AFB, NV where I met my male twin, hereby known as "The Handler". We had the same working style, and ideas, same interests in general. For 2 years we couldn't be stopped. Working with Secret Service, and doing many high profile jobs, as well as helping out the LVPD. We were the best. People in high places would need support and request us specificly. We were the shit!!

Anyway, 10 years ago I got out, and went on with my life, I thought. The Handler got out 12 years ago, and we've done a fine job of staying in touch. However it was brought to my attention last night that I talk about EDDs and training.....a lot. Like every day. I had no idea. He asked me:

"If you had the opportunity right now, would you work a dog again?"

I was stunned. Of course, my inner handler was screaming "Hell Yes you moron!!! " LOL but my 'other' self was saying "Now hold on, there is this life you've been living for 10 years you've got to think about"

So I thought, and thought, and thought. Ok, I was really holding in my inner handler who was just freaking out. lol I finally said:

"It would have to be the perfect mix, the "Perfect "Storm" so to speak. There are so many factors in play....I know what I'm worth, I know what is needed, and I know how much work is involved. Its not just a matter of 'get up and go work a dog', there are just to many factors to consider." I guess that wasn't the right answer, or the expected one. When I asked "Why?" I was told:

"You talk about it every day. You talk about setting up a training problem, or working something in 'real world', or how people need to pull their head out and think about the resources they are wasting. You say how 'if only', or "If it were me & [The Handler] we wouldn't do shit that way"....you always talk about it. Its almost like an obsession"

Ok, um, was I offended? No. Was I pissed? No. Did it make me think? Yes. And the screwy thing is, the whole time we were talking about it, I was running training problems in my head. LOL. Bad, I know. More discussion led to "If I had the resources and accesability [The Handler] and I would have our own business training, certifying, and selling dogs. We would even be privately contracted to work events. " But alas, I do not have the money, resources, etc. to take on such an endeaver. I have a better chance of running a Bed & Breakfast with my girlfriend from high school than I do of running an EDD company. Thats just the way it is.

So, until I pull off the lottery and ATF approves me having a bunker full of explosives, I'll be content being the silent consultant to [The Handler].

The Man Store

2009-08-01T20:49:00.002-05:00

Today, whilst shopping at Belk's (clothing store) I noticed this particular store had a section totally devoted to men. It wasn't just a part of the store with a few racks of men's clothes, no, this was a whole seperate store. I decided to go in.

It was like nothing like I've ever been in. No music, no screaming kids, no bitchy women. Just men, quietly looking through the racks of clothes, shoes, hats, etc. Strategically placed around the store were leather chairs, looking at flat screen televisions playing any sport that happened to be on. NASCAR, golf, baseball, etc. The thing that was amazing was the men were actually shopping.....I am serious! They were slowly, quietly, looking through racks of clothes. Holding them up, checking prices, checking tags, etc. I was truely amazed! And the biggest shock? They were relaxed and totally at home doing so. I wish I could have videoed the whole experience. There weren't even any women clerks. Guys helping guys. "Can I see this shoe in a size 10?" "No problem, sir" and that was that!

Anyway, had to share that little experience with you all....something other than my usual bitch session :)

How hard is it??? Another rant about stupid people

2009-07-30T18:13:00.002-05:00

I know, it seems all I do is talk about how stupid people are. I can't help it. I am completely surrounded by them every hour of the day. More examples:

--signs on the doors to the truck "Do not knock, testing in session" and "Report to training room before coming to test"....why oh why do people insist on just opening the door then? "Nobody told me where to go!" (signs also on every door of the building where they work telling them "Report to training room for hearing test paperwork." )

--Me: "Hello, what is your last name?"

Them: "uh, ------"

They then proceed to grab the first form they see on the table, despite the fact that there are many stacks, because they are in alphabetical order according to last name. Evidently, I'm there just to hang out. Evidently, when they go to the doctor, they just walk on in to the back and find any open exam room, have a seat, and wait for the Dr.

Me: "WHOA! That is NOT your paper!"

Them: "What?" as they still are walking off with it.

Me: "Give me that!" Snatching paper from them

Them: "Oh. Uh....." Standing looking confused

Me: "here is YOUR paper, see, your name is here on the FRONT! Now, sit down, answer ALL of the questions (I'm pointing to the ENTIRE page) and once you are finished, wait until my husband comes in to get you."

Them: "Uh, ok"

They finish HALF of the questions, try to hand me the paper "No, hang on to it, have a seat, and we'll get you tested as soon as the group before you is finished"

"Oh, uh, I can't just go in there?"

NO YOU DUMBASS How many years have you been doing this? 20? 30? And how many fucking times do you just 'go in there'? ?????? AAAHHHHH!!! Fucking MORON. And they have the nerve to get pissed at ME???? HA! idiots.

Its 5 minutes after our stop time, we are getting in the car to leave....

Them: "Are you done for the day?"

(Bill Engval, where are you when I need you?)

Me: "Yes, our stop time was at ......"

Them:"Oh, so I can't test now?"

Me: "No."

Them: "Oh, damn. Um, so what do I do?"

Me: "Talk to your boss."

And I leave, muttering obscenities and insults as I go.

How fucking stupid can you get??? I mean, really? How stupid?

I could write for days on the stupidity that smacks me in the face every day. I'm just glad I work in 4 hour blocks. If I had to do 8 or 10 hours STRAIGHT of these idiots I'd have to be on blood pressure meds and valium....hell, I'd probably start smoking and drinking again.

Fucking idiots.

Humans are gross, and so is Montgomery, AL

2009-07-26T17:43:00.002-05:00

As you can tell, I'm here in Montgomery, AL. I am disgusted. I am disheartened. I am hoping it will be a long time before I have to come back here.

Every mall we've been to has things chained down, or taken away. Hell, the largest mall in the city is completely abandoned. Here at the Ramada Inn that we are staying at, the carpets haven't been vacuumed in years...the hall carpet is black. The entry doors have been broken into so many times, they don't even lock them anymore. The toilet in our room won't stop running, and there is but one trash can in the room. The maid (which is 2 dudes) left their one bottle of cleaning solution and a rag in our room. Not sure what they used for everyone elses.

Today, we had to sit in the lobby while waiting on our room to be cleaned (it was well after 3pm) and here is what I witnessed:

---One man, who while talking on the phone, shoved his hand into his pants (and underwear) and proceeded to scratch for an extended period of time. He looked right at me while doing this, then turned to face the wall. At that time, he pulled his hand out of his pants, and promptly smelled his fingers while picking his nose. Whatever the result of that action was, he immediately wiped on the wall, counter and anything else he touched while waiting for the front desk clerk to assist him. He handed her money with the same hand. (barf)

---Another young boy, who was wearing slippers that were way too small for him, was perusing the lobby and the remnants of breakfast. Mind you, this was only the cereal dispenser and coffee. After he had his hands (yes, that was plural) down his pants, he ran them along the food counter, and touched the handles of the cereal dispenser. He noticed me staring at him, so he turned and left.

---This morning, there was a woman who was wearing the same dress as yesterday morning, and boy did she smell! I witness her later walking out of her room into someone else's with an empty bottle of an unknown brand of liquor.

I have also been subjected to other acts of humans, and quite frankly, we are a really disgusting bunch. More examples:

---In a public mall restroom, someone decided not only to shit in the toilet, but not flush. They then unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper onto the floor....none of which hit the mark.

---Other restroom fiascos have been used feminine hygene products dropped onto the floor, nowhere near the trash; poop and pee on the seats, soap despensers have been emptied onto the counter, paper towels dropped onto the floor not near the trash, etc.

Will someone please tell me....do they do this at home? The sad part is...most of these things are in the high end areas!!!

Something else I want to know.....If a particular neighborhood/area goes downhill, people and businesses move elsewhere, do you think the people who caused this to happen realize it was them? Somehow I doubt it. They destroy an area's value, run out the businesses, then when their job is done, they move to another place, and another. They are leaving a path of destruction in their wake.

I've fought for me country, saluted the flag, made the pledge and given my allegiance to the USA....but some days, I really want to leave.

Un-freakin'-believable

2009-07-25T17:29:00.002-05:00

It is a sad day here in the USA when you walk into a clothing store, and have to ask permission to see an item you are looking for.....I'll explain.

We are here in Montgomery, AL and decided we would go to Dillard's and do some shopping. Now, Dillard's is a medium-high end clothing store, with good sales, but better merchandise. Anyway, we were looking for the Ed Hardy line of clothes, so we asked an employee.

"excuse me, where is the Ed Hardy line?"

"Oh, that is here behind the counter."

"Um, can I see it?"

"Sure, step on over I'll show you what I've got"

At which point she pulled out a stack of about 15 'sample' shirts for us to look at. Of course, we had to ask:

"why are they behind the counter?"

"because they grow legs"

"what?"

"a group will come in, with the 'getaway car waiting at the door, and swipe the whole rack on the run, and are out the door and gone before we can stop them"

"OMG are you kidding me?"

"nope, we've stopped carrying the pants all together. seems they like $200 pants"

I was appaled. Because of "them"....THEIVES, I cannot have a decent shopping experience. Ok, ok, we think...."Lets go see what else is in this mall"...fine.

Shoe store: walk in, no socks, a few hand bags, and what we think are plenty of shoes. Until I go to try a pair on....WTF? Why is there only ONE shoe in the fuckin box????? How the hell am I supposed to try on a PAIR of shoes, when I have to ASK for the other one? And do you know WHY this is like it is??? Because of the same STUPID FUCKERS that steal from the clothing store!!!!

My blood is BOILING!!!! Keep in mind, I'm not a racist, I don't profile (or try not to), I don't hold religion against anyone. But this particular mall really pushed my tolerance. I will NOT be shopping there...no wait, I will NOT be even be driving by said establishment!!! BAH!!!

How sad....

2009-07-20T20:39:00.002-05:00

Today made me realize how truly important literacy is. I guess I didn't really know how many people, I mean working adults, could not read or write. Today, I was given a taste of that. I find it sad that grown folks, people who have held a job for the last 35 years, were completely illiterate.

More than once today I was asked for help. And more than once I witnessed the pre-kindergarten writing provided for a signature. I know that in the area I'm in it shouldn't be surprising. These folks had to leave school in order to support their families. Some of them were not afforded the priviledge of school ever in their life. I really felt sorry for them, because you could see the humiliation in their eyes. And I know they've given up on learning. They've given up because in the beginning it wasn't needed, in the middle it was pride, and now at the end, its just age. They feel they are too old for it to matter.

I fear this is going to be the case again in future generations. As computers take over, more and more children They barely know how to spell, so I'm sure actual writing is soon to be gone, too. How sad.

Nice weekend...

2009-07-19T17:29:00.002-05:00

DH and I spent the weekend in Hilton Head, SC. Its a small island, 2 miles X 10 miles, with nice beaches, nice shopping, and nice restaurants. One of those restaurants happens to be called One Hot Mama's.

OHM is a biker/garage themed restaurant and bar. Everything in this place is cool, from the Harley Davidson ceiling fans, to the ghost flames on the door handles. The diamond plate steel on the tables, covered in thick clear coat (no need for a bumpy table posed to spill your drink on). The waiters/waitresses wear the traditional blue stripped mechanics shirt with jeans, each with their name on a patch over the right breast. When you get your eating utensils, you get a hefty set, nothing wimpy here! And the food? HA! I don't know when I've had a better omelet, other than my own (all from organic food I've grown myself). The fruit was so fresh I swear it was just picked, and the other items on the brunch buffet were even better than I imagined. I will definitely have it on my 'places to return' list.

The beach on Hilton Head Island was nice. Not the sugar white sands of the Gulf Coast mind you, but way better than the shit sand on the beaches of NC.

Anyway, after enjoying the sun and sand for a few hours, and getting thoroughly sunburned on my chest (no other part of my body, mainly my legs) seems to want to take sun, we went over to the mini-golf games. Taking the 'challenging' course, we played through a light rain. However, being surrounded by trees through the entire course, we barely felt a drop. It waqs a good time, and of course, I lost! LOL

We also enjoyed some shopping, and I was able to find the Ed Hardy flip flops I've been wanting. Both in white and black.

I was also able to find this awsome skirt

so all I need to do is find some solid color shirts to go with it.

All in all, it was an awsome weekend! I really love hanging at the beach, as long as its a good one! :D

I do want to send my thoughts out to my dear friend Jayne. Sweety, I know this is a hard time, and your nerves are shot, but try to see through! Its always darkest before the light.....things will work out, I just know they will!!!! Love you hun!!!! xoxox

Back to work

2009-07-16T18:20:00.002-05:00

Vacation is over, and I couldn't be happier. The intense, and STUPID drama at home was NOT what I anticipated, and it wasn't resolved in the 2 week period. Problem is, kids will suffer. Besides the drama, a very dear family friend passed, so the 1st 3 days of vacation were funeral proceedings. *sigh*

So, needless to say, I'm glad to be back to work. Back to being MANY miles from home, away from all of the bullshit. Its sad when you think about the next time you should be home, and cringe. I don't know what we are going to do as far as Christmas. It will probably be the last time we see the step-son for awhile, depending on what he does when he graduates High School next spring. I know he is a rebel, and once he turns 18 I have a feeling he's gonna graduate and run as fast as he can.

In other news, we are in Georgia for this week, and will be not only here, but in Alabama next week. Hubs has decided we need a vacation from our vacation, and has booked a room on the beach in Hilton Island, South Carolina. I can't wait. I want to just lay out, and RELAX, you know, what I was supposed to do on VACATION!! ugh. I think eventually, like around Oct/Nov time frame, we'll end up in North Carolina. Just a hunch, but I'm hoping so. I have 2 girlfriends from high school I haven't seen for 20 years, and since we found each other on FaceBook, we've been trying to plan a get-together. So, depending on all of our schedules, we'll be having a mini reunion soon. I can't wait for that either!

I wish I could elaborate on this whole issue, but too many people who are connected to the family and people involved read this. I'll leave it at that.

Lets just say, its great getting back to work!

Where is home?

2009-07-10T09:12:00.002-05:00

I was thinking about this question yesterday. Many people, like my husband, are raised where they were born. For 40 years he has lived and worked basically in the same area. My son, who is 10, has lived in the same area for 9 years. My BIL only moved 2 miles from where he grew up. You get the idea.

I however, did not have that option. I was born in Colorado, and lived there until I was 13. At that point, my father moved us to North Carolina. Not the happiest time in my life, to say the least.

Anyway, I managed to eek out 4 years of high school before hauling ass back to Colorado, where I joined the USAF. After that, I was moving on average about every 2 years. Don't get me wrong, I love traveling. But I got to wondering.....where is home? Can you actually define "home"? If so, what is it? I know the old cliche, "Home is where the heart is." or "home is where you hang your hat"....whatever. I guess my question is....is it where you've spent the most time? Where you are the most comfortable? Where you have the best memories? I mean, I've listened to songs on the radio that make me automatically think of this house, or smelled a smell that makes me go back to my old place in Colorado, even going back to where I used to run around in Florida makes me smile. But which is home???? I love all of these places. Hell, in Lincoln, Nebraska I had some nice times, LOL.

So, in all the places I've been, and all the times I've been asked, "where is home?" I just answer with my current residence. "I own a home in Illinois." LOL

Stupid people....

2009-07-05T09:59:00.003-05:00

We've all encountered our share. People that do or say things that make you stand in complete bewilderment, wondering ....WTF? I run into those everyday with my job. Here are but a few examples:

**Sign on door to trailer says "PLEASE DO NOT KNOCK, TESTING IN PROGRESS"....sign is posted right near the door handle. Every day, someone will....you guessed it...KNOCK. Usually right on the sign!!!! Or, they rattle the door handle!!! WHY?????

**Signs all over the inside of each booth and the trailer "TURN OFF CELL PHONES"....I even tell them "Make sure your phone, pager, or walkie-talkie is OFF" and Iget the "Why?" or "What if I get a call?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I can't even go into this without getting my blood pressure up.

**Picture on the wall where the headset hangs, showing the red earphone on the right side, the blue one on the left. Inveribly I get "Which one goes on what ear?" or "Does it matter how I put these on?" This usually comes right in the middle of my instructional speech. I reply, without even a pause to acknowledge the oh-so-rude interruption "The red one goes on your nose, the blue one on the back of your head, just like the PICTURE shows. " And I continue on as if their complete ignorance and rudeness never phased me.

**There is a small window in each door. I love it when we are testing and someone's face is mashed against one of them, and they are waving their paperwork wanting to come in....WHILE WE ARE TESTING!!!!

** I love this one "Can I switch headphones? Put the red one on the left ear? I can't hear out of my right ear, so this way I can pass this test." OMFG, SERIOUSLY??????

So you see, stupid people abound in not only your job, but mine. *sigh* Anymore, I just laugh and shake my head. I could post so many more comments/actions of stupid people I run into several times a day, but you get the point. I'm sure you have your share, too, so feel free to add to my list!! :)

Going home....

2009-06-26T07:53:00.005-05:00

Currently I'm in Bainbridge, GA. Today is the last day of work before vacation for 2 weeks, and as you can imagine, I'm more than ready! So much to do today, yet here I sit, blogging. Ah well, it will come together.

We are working til 10pm, then in the morning dropping the rig off for service/storage near Atlanta, GA. Then its hard cruising to Columbus, OH to pick up my son, AJ. That will occur on Sunday morning, followed by an 8 hour drive t

o home in IL. whew! We'll be there for 2 weeks, but I have a distinct feeling its going to be a whirlwind. Between DH's ex being a complete psycho bitch from hell, DH"s mother losing her brain over it all (she called this morning at 0530) plus all of the 'family functions' my in-laws feel compelled to have, I don't know that we'll get any rest. But, it will be good to sleep in my own bed for a few days, LOL.

Anyway, here are a few random pictures to keep you entertained:

Opp, Alabama

2009-06-21T17:50:00.002-05:00

Do not ever go there....ever. This is but one of many armpits of the USA I have been to. However, this is the first one I will strongly advise any reader to please not stop in this town for anything, no matter what. Here is my story......

This town is small, and rundown. Not the first one like it that we have been in. We are staying in the Best Western, which is new (thank the gods). However, the young boy at the front desk was lonely (its all I can figure). I asked a simple "yes" or "no" question, and the boy launches into a 10 minute retort. *sigh* He then proceeded to nervously tell us about our room, and wished us the best. We were to let him know if we needed anything. He then (as we were walking away) pulls out a map that someone had made on the computer showing the restaurants and gas stations around. Hhhmmmm....He starts asking what we like to eat, showing us various places, recommending the Mexican Restaurant. Ok, we drove by there and it was closed. This map also showed a WalMart just up the road......IT WAS 12 MILES UP THE ROAD IN THE NEXT TOWN!! Are you kidding me? But let me digress a bit....

We drive several miles, not seeing said WalMart, decide it doesn't exist, turn around and go to the Subway in town. I should have turned around and left as soon as I crossed the threshold. All I will say (so I don't get arrested for being a complete racist) is that the people running it were mising the red dot on their forehead. I stepped up to the counter, and the girl mumbles "one minute" because she is busy putting raw bacon into a container next to the tomatos. Again, I should have left because she proceeded to not just set it aside, but slowly put the entire 5 layers from the cookie sheet into this container. DH asked me "Are you ready to order?" (really loud) and she finally finished her ohsoimportant project to help us. I had to tell her "Foot long, on white bread, ham and cheese" THREE TIMES......she then got out the bread and slapped it onto the counter, looked at DH with a questioning look, and waited. He had to tell her TWICE "Foot long bmt on wheat"......after she cut open the bread, she just grabbed whatever cheese was handy and was literally THROWING it on the sandwich. DH piped up and said "pepperjack for me" and she proceeded to do the same. She then placed 6, count 'em...6 pieced of ham on my sandwich. Ham sliced so thin I could see through it. She then took the pre-measured amount of meat for DH's sandwich and just slapped it on. I had to tell her to place my cheese properly on the bread. I then told her I wanted tomatos.....mistake. They were almost green, and the stems were still on the slices. I immediately told her to take them off, because they looked awful. I received another blank stare, and again I repeated "take them OFF, they are GROSS"....she then grabbed them into a handful and threw them back into the container from whence they came. I said "ok, lettuce" pfffttt.....that was strewn all over, then I asked for lite mayo, which was squirted on as if she was having a seizure. Same with the chipotle sauce. ugh. DH had to go through the same bullshit treatment.....we should have walked out.....shouldn't have even ordered. Instead we expressed our disappointment as we left, although I don't believe she cared. \

We proceeded to the motel, thinking we would ask the front desk boy where the WalMart actually was. What did we find? A relative of the Subway worker.....gggrrrr....she was talking on her cell phone, and didn't get off even after DH stood right up at the counter. It wasn't until he started to ask her the question did she set the phone down....not hang up mind you....just set it down. She then informed him that WalMart was 12 miles away. Ok, where is the next town? 12 miles away....GO FUCKING FIGURE. We made it to WalMart, grabbed a couple of subs and a cheese tray, hit the 'self check-out' and were outta there. Stepping into the motel, we threw the Subway subs into the trash.

I am hereby boycotting Subway. There quality has gone to shit, ingredients and service are shit, and I am now done with them. I highly suggest you do the same. And for goodness sakes stay out of Opp, Alabama!!

Finally outta there

2009-06-19T09:34:00.002-05:00

Yep, finally out of New Orleans, and the whole state of Louisiana. I wasn't very happy there, and more so disappointed. In my humble opinion, the only real gem in all that filth is the Garden District. Gorgeous houses, quiet, tree-lined streets, and enough foliage to refill the rain forest. So quiet, and tranquill! Unlike the French Quarter, which, despite the nice shops (albeit way over priced) it smell of vomit, piss, and rotting trash. Not to mention the wafts of alcohol coming out of the bars, and the panhandlers trying anything to make a buck. Its all very stressful, despite the street bands/dancers, and small parks scattered about. Over all I just felt dirty there, and as I said, highly disappointed. The thing is, its not Katrina that did it, it was like that before the hurricane.

Anyway, today is Montgomery, AL, tomorrow is Opp, AL, and then on back to Jacksonville, FL, rounding out next week in Macon, GA. This weekend we are getting a motel room at the beach, and hoping the gods smile on us, having a nice relaxing weekend. I'd like to get good and burnt before going to IL for our 2 week break, LOL. On the 28th we are picking up my son in OH and rolling on to the house. Sis in law will have the A/C on, so we should be good to go. I can't wait to spend a week or 2 of getting up whenever I damn well feel like it. AJ is old enough to fend for himself on breakfast, and then we can do whatever we want with our day. It should be nice! I'll try to blog then, but may not have time (ha ha) or feel like it.....we'll see.

I'm sure I'll write again this week!

It happens everywhere.....

2009-06-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

Some things you think only happen in a certain state, city, town, or store. Some you think only happen in a certain country. But as I've found out this weekend, some of the same things happen on both sides of the world. I find it funny how my dear friend Jayne had a horrible experience at a pristene resort, and here I sit, in a 'high end' hotel, getting ready to throw down the gauntlet on the bitch wagon. Seems Jayne and I run in parallel worlds, despite the distance.

The story...

After a horrible work week last week, complete disorganization not only on the part of our bosses, but on the part of our contacts at each site, and adding to that the lack of power at each location, topping it off with our generator in the trailer deciding it needed service so it stopped working in the middle of a 95 degree day. This was on Friday at 10am when it decided to have its temper tantrum. Calling the office, our fleet manager was able to locate a place that works on this type of generator, therefore he scheduled an appointment for us for Monday. No problem, you would think. I mean, Monday is a 'comp. day' for us, which means 3 day weekend, which means we were really trying to plan something. HA. Those plans squashed, we then decide that after such a long week, we'd rather make the 1 1/2 hour drive on Monday, and not on Friday. Ok, no problem, if we had been scheduled to work that day, we would have to get up anyway. However the place servicing the evil generator wants us there as early as possible......they open at 730am. *sigh*

Ok, we think....lets use our Rewards Points and book a really nice room at a really nice hotel. Done. The place we book is new (only a few months old) and in an upscale region of Baton Rouge. We drive to this 'luxury hotel' on Saturday morning, with the promise of an upgraded room and breakfast buffet. We arrive and received the upgrade, and at first were treated like royalty. We were given our room key and proceeded to 'ooohhhh' and 'aaahhh' over the upgrade. Living room with seperated bedroom, awsome bathroom, towels that smell fresh, comfy bed and enough pillows for a sheik. Little did we know what was coming.

We were told "we hardly have any children at all here, so the quiet you are looking for will be no problem". I recalled those words as children ran screaming through the lobby. Ok, I took a deep breath and kept telling myself I was on the 5th floor, and all would be fine. And it was, until Sunday morning, when we opted not to sleep in but instead got up at 800 to run down for the long anticipated breakfast buffet. And what to our wondering eyes did appear????

NOTHING. ZIP. NADA. ZERO!!

There were coffee dispensers, a few small boxes of cereal, and a pitcher of juice. We stood in the lobby in shock, like deer looking at the headlights of an oncoming truck. WTF? Where was the food? Were we early? Late? So we asked the girl behind the bar, who quietly replied "No buffet this morning." WHY????? "not enough people in the hotel, chef's decission". UMMMMM.....WRONG ANSWER. So we promptly went to the front desk, where the girl gave us the same answer. Are you kidding me??? "Yes, but you can order off the menu" we were told. It was then that I noticed that vacant look Jayne had described in her blog about her hotel clerks!! The really sad part was, out of 70 rooms in the hotel, 39 were filled. Thats over half full!! So how could they justify not enough people? Whilst trying to find the answer, we went ahead and ordered off the menu, as we were famished. In that time, we noticed at least a half a dozen people come down only to attain the same look we had...dazed and confused.

Finally, the front clerk came over, after chatting with the chef, and told us he would be right out to talk to us. Great. So after a heated discussion between DH and the chef, and nothing solved, (except some free sausage) we were obviously not happy. However, the front clerk told us to charge it to the room and she would remove the charge. Ok, $20 off....woohoo. We then quietly plodded up to our room. DH was on the phone in no time, calling the complaint department not for this hotel, but for the franchise known as "CHOICE HOTELS" whom we gain our points through. They could have cared less. We got nothing out of that phone call, except..."call back if it gets worse" BAH....whatever.

Moving on....I went yesterday and had my nails done. Nothing new there, every 2 weeks I get the acrylic filled and new polish. This time around, I needed the old ones removed and a new set. I also needed a pedicure. So they set me in the chair, nails soaking and feet getting the workover. After 2 people worked on my feet (so many people were coming in to the salon, they were bouncing around trying to accomodate everyone at one time), and an hour later, I was moved to a manicure station. The nails had not budged, so another person added their take on things. By the time it was all said and done, 4 people had worked on my fingers, and they were sore. I paid and left. When I woke up this morning, after everything had time to 'set up', I noticed that the acrylic was pink, which I specifically said that I DID NOT want. And there were more air bubbles in the polish than I could count. Which puts us back at Sunday....

.....after the breakfast fiasco, we came to our room, got cleaned up, and proceeded to head out for what we thought was a short errand. We were only supposed to drop off our laundry and get my nails fixed. This adventure started at 10am. We didn't get home (hotel) until 5pm!!!! It took another 2 hours to fix my nails (they had to be taken off and redone), not to mention the time spent just trying to find a good salon that waqs open! So much for my weekend of relaxation.....today (Sunday) my plan had been to lounge around in the posh hotel room and be lazy...even get in some time poolside. It never happened, and now I feel this room has gone to waste, and my much needed weekend of relaxing is gone as well. I think I'm just as stressed/pissed now as when I started this adventure. So you see, it happens everywhere.

I can only hope this next week goes better than the last.

Getting older and being a "late bloomer"

2009-06-13T20:51:00.003-05:00

Yes, it happens to all of us, we get old. And it seems that maybe this job has aged me a bit more than I'd like. All I really know is that I MUST wear makeup every day. No choice. I've also come to accept the fact that I will have this 'gut' forever. Unless I pull off the Powerball Lottery, and get the "Mommy Makeover", I'm stuck with it. Now I know there could be worse things in life, but at the moment, this is enough for me thanks.

I'm also what they call a 'late bloomer'. Nobody taught me how to put on makeup, when I wore it I just slapped it on how I thought it should look and went on my way. However, since being on this job I've had opportunities I've never had. One of them being a makeup make-over. I went to a store called Sephora (I highly recommend any makeup they sell, especially the Urban Decay line as well as the Two Faced line) and told them to teach me how to wear it. So they stripped off my old WalMart shit, and proceeded to make me presentable. It was unbelievable. I promptly spent $200 on the basics. This wasn't hard, as they aren't cheap. But as I've blogged in the past, you get what you pay for. Cheap make up does just that....makes you look cheap and trashy. So upon freshly turning 38, I've finally learned how to wear my face. I've also invested in a straightening iron for my hair, combining it with the Sephora hair straightening serum, I officially take an hour to get ready in the morning. Quite a change since it would usually take about 20 minutes at the most in the past. And that, is what you call 'high maintenance'.

Now if I can just get my hair to grow faster...HA!

I want to extend my sympathy to my dear friend Jayne (link to her blog via mine) after her horrific stay at what should have been a seriously high class resort. You poor dear, going with the full intentions of friendship and relaxation, only to be reduced to Pizza Hut and shitty service, not to mention people fucking with her Harley......good thing she didn't catch them, they wouldn't have lived to sit on another, thats for sure!!! So Jayne, my heart goes out to you darlin', and I hope your next adventure makes up for this last one! Love you!! xoxox

I could....

2009-06-08T21:19:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't written in awhile. I've been meaning to, really I have, but I feel like I'd just be whinning.

I could....

....bitch and rant about how my illusion of New Orleans have been sadly dashed, and I realize there are 2 decent areas to this city, one being the Garden District.

......bitch and rant about how so many people down here just don't give a damn about themselves or the city.

.....bitch and rant about how I will never understand why people do the things they do....vandalism, fires, looting, etc.

......tell you how after my 38th birthday 2 days ago I am realizing as each day passes that I want to live on the fringes of civilization, away from all of the completely lazy, irresponsible, non-caring idiots in the world more and more.

......bitch about people who stay in motels with no regard for anyone else.

......rant about maid service at motels.

.......bitch about people who have not enough common fucking courtesy to return a simple phone call, or even make one to pass along news that just MIGHT be helpful to others.

*sigh*

Yes, I could go on and on and on, but I won't. Seems alot of my blogs are of me bitching and ranting about shit. So I'll end with this bit of nicety...

DH took me out to a nice restaurant on my birthday. We had an excellent meal, and topped it off with a spoiling of banana cheesecake drizzled with caramel. Thank you love, you made my day. :) xoxo

A forgotten town, and my mixed thoughts....

2009-05-30T18:49:00.002-05:00

As most of you know, I've spent a considerable amount of time in Louisiana, mostly around New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Recently I spent time in a small unknown town called Venice. Venice is as far south as you can get, down at the very tip of Louisiana. The main 'commerce' here is the gas plant. Natural gas is harvested so-to-speak, from the Gulf, then processed and sold. Other businesses there include commercial fishing. I was told that some of the best fishing around was in Venice. However, the once prosper town seemed to be almost abandoned.

All along the side of the only road leading in to Venice were concrete pad where houses once stood. Near those pads ( a few, anyway) were FEMA trailers, and some even had single-wide mobile homes. Scattered throughout were remnants of buildings. Some were houses, some businesses. Boats scattered around dry land, and debris from trees and mud. Let me explain....

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall, Venice is the first place it hit. The storm-surge broke through the levees, and all of the back-pressure poored it into this town. As one man described it, it was like being on the bottom end of a waterfall. "It looked like someone took their hand and just wiped everything inland" ......I asked what Venice was like before the storm....booming town was the description I received. However, after Katrina, it looks like a ghost town. The few buildings that survived are boarded up or just completely abandoned. It was a truly sad scene.

But did any of us hear about Venice? No. All we heard about was New Orleans, and all of the people who chose to stay behind, living in the Super Dome.

This is where my mixed thoughts come into play......

You choose to live in an area that is basically below sea level; a bowl. You know the hurricane is coming, and you choose not to leave. The storm arrives and you are trapped either in your home, or in a shelter with thousands of other people who made the same decision as you did. Then you beg, plead, and play the sympathy card, making the whole world believe that you are genuinely stricken with a huge problem. "Katrina took out everything!" as you stand in front of the shell of your house. The government gives you housing, money, and the rest of the US comes to your aid. You still beg and plead, saying nobody helped you. Habitat for Humanity comes in and builds you new housing, and you still say you were shorted.

Not one time did you hear the people of Venice complain, beg, or scream. They evacuated as they were told to do. The storm wiped them out...COMPLETELY. Their houses weren't just flooded, they were torn from the foundation and pounded to pieces. Nothing was left for them but the cement foundation. NOTHING. Again I ask, did we hear about these people? No. The few that came back, the ones who still had work to do with the gas plant, put their families in the few trailers that FEMA was able to spare, and went right back to work. They have been busting their ass trying to get their town back. Some of them live several hours away, working 7 days on, then 7 days off. But they are working, and not begging from the government or crying 'poor me' to the rest of the country demanding a hand out.

Don't get me wrong....I loved visiting the French Quarter, and will be back in New Orleans in a week or so. I will be playing tourist again, going to the beautiful cemeteries, and other museums and places of interest. I guess now I look at it in a different light. I say to everyone out there, there was more to the devistation of Katrina than just New Orleans. Get out your map and look south....way south. Look past New Orleans, and all of the drama it produced. Look at the small towns and ask yourself "Did I hear about these places in the media?"

As for me, I don't feel sorry for the people of New Orleans. And the people of Venice don't want me to feel sorry for them, either. They just want to get on with their lives and put the storm behind them.

Pictures to follow....sometime

2009-05-25T20:17:00.002-05:00

So, before I'm off to dreamland, I thought I'd drop a note about my fun Memorial Day weekend.

DH had the awsome forethought to book a cabin out in the country for Saturday through Monday. It was soooo relaxing, being out in the 'semi-quiet' (more in a bit on that) area, with a dog or 2, a nice porch to sit on, a grill, and just nature. Almost.

See, at this place there are 3 cabins and a loft (above the main house). We stayed in the loft, which at first we thought was a not-so-good thing that ended up being a great thing. Anyway, in the Treehouse (pic later) were some school teachers....4 women...who were letting off steam from the just ended school year. Boy, did they have a lot of steam! They stayed drunk for a majority of the time, singing, yelling about things (hard to decypher), and screaming at the resident dog. Red, the dog, stayed wet most of the time because she loved swimming in the 2 ponds on the property. Red is also very friendly, and the teachers evidently were NOT dog lovers. No matter, her and I were buds the whole weekend (go figure).

As I was saying, the cabins....well, they were nothing special on the inside. A couple of bunk beds, an outhouse style bathroom (although they did have showers, some inside, some outside), and pretty much no room to even change your mind in. The loft, however, was much different. It was like a studio apartment. Full kitchen, living room, nice bathroom, and a seperate bedroom. So we were pleasantly surprised once we realized what we had.

Beyond that, there were 2 ponds, and plenty of ground to walk. We also found a place to go tubing. For those of you that aren't real sure what I am talking about, I'll explain. Basically, we paid our money at one spot, and the owner loaded us up (with our cooler) in a van and drove us 5 miles up river. He then handed us off to another guy who handed us 2 vinyl tubes, along with a square float to place our cooler in. We tied the 3 together, hopped on, and floated the 5 miles back to where we started. It was great! We stopped a few times at some nice beaches to have a sandwich and bottle of water, then moved on. There were a few spots were we had to really work to keep out of the protruding trees, as well as a few times where we got hung up and had to really work to get out of it....but it was so fun! Of course, today there are muscles that hurt that I'd forgotten I had, but it waws so worth it! By the time we were 100 yards from the start point, it had begun to rain. Our timing couldn't have been better, once we got into the car to leave it began pouring! It didn't let up for about 3 hours, long enough for us to grill some chicken. It started soon after supper and rained all night, and most of the day today. In between showers we managed to get the car packed up and then headed here, La Place, Louisiana. No, its not as its spelled. The 'a' in Place is said like the 'o' in 'dog'.

I've been told on more than one ocassion "Nothing in Louisiana is as it appears".....I'm starting to realize that.

Anyway, that was my weekend! Tomorrow and Wednesday will be hectic...0430-0830, 1000-1600; Wed is 0830-1200, 1330-1930. Long days for me! Hopefully things will go smoothly. So until I get through this week, the pics will probably have to wait. :p

Its a good thing....

2009-05-18T18:16:00.002-05:00

Its a good thing I chose to wait on typing hate mail to my ex-husband. Its a good thing I waited for him to call me and both of us figure out the miscommunication concerning our son, before I blew up. Whew. Evidently, words got mixed up in translation, assumptions were made on both sides, and everyone was pissed all the way around. Note to self: Don't trust a 10 year old to pass on a message.

In other news, I finally broke down and told DH that we needed another laptop out here on the road. In the evenings, if one of us is on this one, the other is hovering around, or impatiently waiting for their turn. Or, if one is on, the other is saying "hey, look this up for me"...ggrrr, so aggravating. So today we purchased a 'netbook' through our cellphone company, Verizon. Oh the relief! I'm keeping the 'big' laptop, as it has all of my stuff on it, to include music which he never uses, as well as my phone info for music, pictures, etc. Currently, he is busy setting it up, and getting all of his settings arranged. Peaceful bliss has arrived, LOL.

I've also decided to actually WRITE (blog) about things here in Louisiana, instead of copping out with pictures alone. So, here goes.....

We are currently residing in Hammond, LA. Its about an hour from New Orleans, as well as an hour from Baton Rouge. The road in between offers a glimpse of what it was like after Katrina. The trees in some of the swamps, or mainly around Lake Ponchitrain, are dead. New growth has started, but it looks like a bunch of sticks stuck in the mud. As for the businesses, the ones in the French Quarter are pretty well back to normal, but the ones around the lake that got hit hard, well, its hard to describe. Some have re-opened, some have opened as other things, some have just called it quits. So you have strip malls with 1 or 2 shops, car dealerships that don't exist, and it all depends on the location as to whether the street leading there is open or not.

As for housing, some houses in the subdivisions are boarded up, some are being gutted, some are being lived in (which is scary), and others that are just being demolished. After 4 years, many of the houses still have blue tarps over their roofs. If you look down the streets of these housing areas, you see many roll-away trash dumpsters, most of them full. So it seems there is still a ton of work to be done here. I want to tour the 9th Ward, but at the same time, I don't want to make these people feel like they are some kind of freak show attraction. So, I'll take what pictures I can, without being too invasive, and post them here. But the best is going to be my description.

I can tell you that the area around the Super Dome, where everyone evacuated to, still shows many signs of the damage. You can still see the water line on many buildings, and even more are still boarded up and completely abandoned. It amazes me that the French Quarter is so active, and really shows no signs of a hurricane even coming close. Geographic location helps, as its on the way south side of the lake, and with all of the buildings between that and the lake, it was fairly well protected. Many of the people are gone, too. DH was telling me that 'pre-Katrina', the main thoroughfare out of New Orleans (not the interstate ) was packed with people all the time. When he would have to drive his rig down through town, men would climb onto the truck and offer to guide him to his destination, and if he accepted, they would ride on the steps of the rig, holding onto the mirror, giving directions......I had to laugh! This all would occur, of course, for a fee...$5. I think that's pretty ingenious, LOL. Hell, there was a guy down on Bourbon St that saw us taking pictures, he was holding a sign that said "Big Ass Beer To Go", advertising for the business he was sitting in front of. So, this gentleman runs over to us, "You 2 hold my sign, I'll take YOUR picture!" At first I thought, "ok, what can it hurt?" then I looked at him and said "You better not run off with my camera, I'll chase you down."....he laughed and said "I can't take your camera, I would lose my job!" He then proceeded to say "I'll take 2 pictures of you holding the sign, for $5." to which I replied "$5? Its my damn camera!" and he replied "Your holding MY damn sign!" Of course, I laughed, as he had a point...so for the hell of it, we paid the man and went on our way, lol. I'll find that pic and post later.....

Beyond all of this, I'd say Louisiana is recovering well. Slowly, but doing ok.

more pics from Louisiana

2009-05-16T21:16:00.006-05:00

fishing shack
me being a dork

gator on the river

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

2009-05-16T21:04:00.006-05:00

Toured around a bit today....it rained a bit, but I tell ya, that doesn't stop a single thing in New Orleans! LOL

If any of you have read The Vampire Chronicles by Ann Rice, or her Mayfair Witches novels, then you KNOW how much fun I had in the French Quarter! I could finally see what she was writing about....the architecture, the streets, the people (even though they were modern and not from the 18th century, lol) My imagination ran wild, thinking of her books. I was also enthralled with the history, and plan on visiting more (playing tourist, of course). So hopefully the pics I'm about to post will show up correctly!

I swear, one day I will get this shit figured out....some days I hate putting pics on here when I can't move them around llike I want! I'll post more pics later, lol

Louisiana

2009-05-08T20:30:00.002-05:00

Thats where we'll be for the next 3 weeks. I'm actually really excited about the prospect! I want to totally play tourist....Garden District, French Quarter, cemetaries, voodoo queens, etc. I was thinking....which could I learn in 3 weeks, Voodoo, or how to speak Cajun? LOL

Seriously, I think I'll have a good time and I'll make sure and get some good pics to post.

The Original Oyster House in Mobile, AL

2009-05-02T19:15:00.002-05:00

Whenever we stop in a town to work, we ask the locals.."Where do YOU eat?" I can get Ruby Tuesdays, Applebee's, and Red Lobster anywhere. I want to go to the hometown spots, where the food is not from a frozen bag.

This trip yielded several people giving the same answer...The Original Oyster House. Obviously, if 2 or more people recommend it, and you drive by to see the parking lot packed, you must believe its a good spot to eat. Today, after touring the USS Alabama battleship (which was really fun, by the way), we decided to stop and have lunch at this 'infamous' place. Bad, bad choice.

Let me start by reprimanding people......stop eating shit fried!! For the sake of all that should have flavor, stop masking it with breading and oil. I know, I am guilty of eating fried food...but that was before the DH had his heart attack. Since then, it has become a job, literally, to find a seafood (or any other, for that matter) restaurant than has more than just fried food on the menu.

Anyway, I ordered the Steamed Luncheon Platter, which was supposed to consist of : steamed crab claws, steamed oysters, and steamed shrimp (unpeeled, head-on). Ok, no problem, right? HA! WRONG. The slop that arrived may have been steamed at some point in the last week, but certainly not when I ordered it. It was all so dry and rubbery, not to mention it had some sort of crust on it (from being dried out, I suppose). DH ordered a Grilled Mahi Sandwich. If it was 'grilled' I'll kiss your ass. More like pan heated. And taste? NONE. I am not remotely exagerating. He made it about 3/4 of the way through the sandwich, I got through one dry oyster, a few shrimp, and about 6 of the tiniest crab claws I'd ever seen.

Now before you say "Why didn't you send it back?" I will tell you why. Our server was a dazed and confused nimrod who had his mind on other things besides his job. He wasn't even the one to deliver the food to our table, however once it was dropped, he slid by long enough to say "Have everything?" and then we never saw him again. Not until it was time for the check. We paid, but just before leaving I scribbled on a napkin for whomever to see...."NOT IMPRESSED".

Needless to say, as we were leaving, we vowed to never return to that awful place. Now for the topper to the whole ordeal.......I believe I recieved a mild case of food poisoning from the place. Yep, we ate at around 1pm, and by 4pm I wasn't feeling well. By 630pm I was camped on the comode, and I'll spare you the gorry details from there. However, I've been visiting the potty about every 7 minutes. I've had worse cases, mind you, and no, its NOT SWINE FLU. LOL But that doesn't help matters. It just ruins the evening, and really sucks.

So to all of my faithful readers, and all who may stumble upon this blog I offer this warning:

STAY AWAY FROM THE ORIGINAL OYSTER HOUSE IN MOBILE, ALABAMA!!!!

I'll blog later about our tour of the battleship....time to make my potty trip.

More on unruly kids....

2009-04-30T20:51:00.002-05:00

First let me start with a question....can someone PLEASE tell me why people,....people with loads of unruly children, who have an ENTIRE restaurant to find a seat, choose to plop down as close to others as possible? Why is this?

So we went out to eat, as we usually do because well, we don't have much of a choice since we live on the road. Anyway, its a buffet, so we seat ourselves. I scoured the joint, looking for a spot (and there were plenty) a respectful distance away from other diners. We all like our privacy whilst dining, after all.

After finding a nice spot, we sit down and proceed to aquire our salad. We come back to our seat and just settle in when out of nowhere there arrives mom, dad, and 3 sons. Two boys are around the ages of 9 and 7...the third was 2. Placing the 2 year old in a highchair, 9 year old runs off to fill his plate, dad plops down and mom and 7 year old go fill plates. Mom returns with dad's plate, her plate, and 2 year old's plate, all heaping with greasy globs of unidentified ick. There is actually more food on the 2 year old's plate than even I would eat.

In the meantime, while mom is retrieving chow, 2 year old is throwing a tantrum in his chair, while dad sits in silence, ignoring the show. Now that mom has arrived, he escalates his fit. As they begin to feed, 9 year old opens his small container of butter and proceeds to scoop it out with his finger onto his roll. Following that up with a proper licking out of any excess with his tongue. He then tries to spread said butter with his fingers, giving up to use the handle of his spoon, and also giving that a good tongue lashing. As this is going on, the screaming tot has decided that the corn on the cob is too hot, the green beans are not remotely appealing, and the heaps of fried chicken are just not edible, either. So, he opts for his own container of butter, which he then eats half of with his fork (why you would allow a 2 year old to weild a fork I'll never know) and then lick the other half out. Yummy. He followed that with a couple of small bites of his roll, then washed it down with another container of butter. Mom and dad are evidently oblivious to this action, as they are emmersed in their own gruel.

During this show, the 7 year old is shoving in mashed potatoes as if they are candy. He is also unaware of his older brother sprinkling a healthy shot of salt and pepper on his freshly buttered roll. Lovely. Suddenly 2 year old wants to eat his corn on the cob....WITH THE FORK.....one kernel at a time. This might have seemed like a good idea in his head, but as he stabbed each kernel, he promptly flicked it off the cob into space, all the while staring at his fork in bewilderment wondering where the corn went. After about 6 kernels, he gave up and went back to his butter. One container had fallen onto the floor, and mom was happy to pick it up and give it back to him.

Needless to say, we left before desert time.

Children in restaurants....

2009-04-27T09:50:00.002-05:00

If there is one thing that is extremely annoying, and in my top 10 Pet Peeves, it is an unruly kid in a restaurant. Right behind that is their parents. A child having a temper tantrum, running through the eatery, throwing food, standing on the chairs, you name it, will surely send my blood pressure into the outer limits.

As I watch these heathens reek havoc on the surrounding patrons, I also watch the parents who either choose to ignore this behavior (evidently in the hopes they will stop), or they make some half assed attempt at dicipline ( I use that term extremely loosely). "Now honey, we don't throw food across the room"..."sweety, please stop, please?".....or my favorite, while they are laughing "now really, do we have to do this?" WTF???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I'm not the perfect parent by any means. However, I will say that my 10 year old has known how to behave in a restaurant since before he was 2. In all of his short 10 years of existance, I personally have only had to swat his hand or butt less than half a dozen times. And honestly, it wasn't anything that inflicted pain, but it was the element of surprise. Follow that up with the look of complete and unwavering seriousness, and POOF....the child knows not only who is boss, but knows not to repeat the action again. And the best part is, one day, this ability to listen and do what he is told immediately, could save his life.

Here is the problem as I see it.....parents (if you want to call them that) have bought into the new age idea, (I call it a fad idea) that there is a kinder, gentler way of raising children. Somehow some idiot has managed to publish a book on how to talk to children, and the power of persuasion....the 'no hit' method. Ok, ok, now lets back up a step or 2.

I am a product of an abusive childhood. Yes, both of my parents were mentally and physically abusive. HOWEVER I made a choice when when I had my son that I was not going to continue their behavior. I made a CHOICE. Just like the other 'parents' did. I believe that children want and need guidence, they want and need dicipline, and they want and need to know where the boundaries are, with clear definition. There should be no grey area, and they should know that if they are told once, and make a concious choice to disobey, then the resulting consequences will be swift and sure. No wavering, no stalling. Immediate and with authority. Children today know that if they have a tantrum that mom or dad won't do a thing but give them what they want because they don't want to cause a scene, or raise a child that might be disappointed for a minute or 2...not to mention all the video happy assholes who think they need to tape everything they see and then publish it on the internet screaming about how the star of the show (the parent) is abusive and should not be allowed to have children. What they don't realize is they have created a generation of bratty, spoiled know-it-alls who have know idea what it means to be disappointed, or to earn a spot on the team based on skill, or how to WORK (gods forbid) for that car, cell phone, ipod, or whatever.

No, I do NOT agree with abuse. Why would I? I believe in education, guidence, and life lessons. How else will they deal with the big, bad world? We are creating kids who won't know how to deal with failure, or loss. We are creating job security for all of the head doctors, because every one of these kids will be in therapy because someone told them NO and they can't handle it. Not to mention these kids will be the ones taking care of us when we get old.....do we really want a bunch of germaphobic, lazy, bratty, unruly adults wiping our asses and purreeing our pees? I don't know about you, but I hope I don't live long enough for that to happen, because quite honestly, I don't trust your kids.

Shopping

2009-04-25T16:56:00.002-05:00

So we've arrived here in Mobile, AL and well, I guess I was expecting more. However, I believe the recession has again struck hard. Shopping plazas that were projected to be something great, are mere shells. Nothing in them, or only a store or 2 barely hanging on. Sad, really. There is, what I call anyway, a 'high end' shopping plaza that seems to be doing fairly well. It has several shops I've never heard of, and many I have. We went there last night be3cause its fun not only to shop there, but a good area to get our nightly exercise in. I'd like to go there this evening to try and get my hair cut. Yeah, I'm trying to grow it out, but it needs a bit of work.

We also found an outlet mall today, and it was ok. But outlet malls are all the same....same shops, same sales. We are finding out that the 'high end' malls are so much better. No, we may not be able to afford most of the things they offer, but the things we can buy are so much better in quality that its well worth the money. So, slowly but surely we are rebuilding our wardrobe. Dillards has nice shirts for the DH, at good prices when they are on sale. Sorry, I can't pay $85 for a shirt, but I can do $35. I can also do $20 for a good t-shirt.

Anyway, maybe I'm being a snob, but at this point I can't go back to shopping at WalMart....not for clothes, anyway. So, at the moment I'll keep going to those 'high end' areas, and a little at a time I'll build me a good stock of outfits. Same for the DH. Hell, if we're gonna be out here for the next 3 years, we may as well dress nice and take advantage of the bargains when we find them.

Ever wonder?

2009-04-20T20:07:00.002-05:00

Do you ever wonder certain things? Like, why is there brail on a drive-up ATM? Or, if a deaf person went on trial, is it still called a 'hearing'?

Seriously, while on our walk today, I noticed a lot of odd objects along the side of the road. Now, I have posed this question to the DH before, with no real answer, so I'll ask my faithful readers...

How is it, whether it be along a lonely road, in town, or along the interstate, you only see one of something. For example, one shoe, or one glove. A ball cap, or a sock. Why is that? Where is the mate? And for the god's sakes, how did it get OUT of the car/truck and onto the road to begin with? Are people on their way to the nudist camp whilst wildly flinging clothes out the window? Or are they doing the 'deed', again, flinging clothes as they go? How does this happen??? Anyone?

Being spoiled, a dead town, and possibly other musings

2009-04-19T18:26:00.004-05:00

So once again, I haven't blogged in forever...please accept my apologies.

Currently, we are in Perry, FL....I think at one time this town was actually something to see, however, it's time has gone. Like any other small town in America, it has suffered from the recession. However, I think it was suffering long before that. The motel we are staying at is clean, and somewhat spacious. Thats really all I can say about it. We drove around Perry (took about 5 minutes due to a stop light or 2) and landed at WalMart. That was our entertainment. We also ate at the infamous Golden Corral...HA!! I can say I've never been in one that was designed quite like this one. We almost had to search for the cashier, and evidently there is a 2 plate per person maximum. We wanted more salad and had to locate our own plates. Not to mention that every waitress (all over the age of 50) seemed stuck in 1985, or, at least their hair was. Thank the gods their make-up didn't reflect said genre. And I also find it funny how every waiter/waitress in the south seems shocked and on the line of appauled when you order UNSWEET tea....LMAO

Anyway, we are only here for one night, then moving on

after we test 10 people (that will take about 10 min). We start testing at 0700, however we need to be there at 0630,and we should be outta there by 0800. Then we drive 195 miles and a time zone change to Panama City, FL. Again, another fast job of 10 people. Then, thanx to our scheduler who seems to not look at where things are located when he books them, we are traveling 85 miles BACK the direction we just came from and going to Talahassee, FL for a whopping 14 people. I'm so glad I don't have to pay for the gas on these adventures!! LOL Thursday and Fr

iday we'll be in Alabama, another time change...I swear (alot) I'm going to be so screwy by the end of the week I won't know what time zone I'm in!!

Now, on to being spoiled. Generaly speaking, I'm low maintenance. However, my wonderful DH has launched me into another world on this trip. A

s much as I kick and scream, I have fallen victim to some points of the high maintenance world. Every 2 weeks I go in and get my nails done. Yes, they are acryli

c, and quite a thing to get used to, especially when typing. Another point I have fallen into is make-up. Not saying I never wore any, I just tended to slap it on in a hurry and go with it. Not any more. I went to a store called Sephora, where the girl plopped me in a chair, handed me a round cotton pad about 2 inches in diameter with a blue goop on it, and said, "wipe this on your eyelids, get off the make up you have on"...um, ok. She then handed me another pad with a clea

r liquid on it and said "wipe this over your face and get t

he rest of your make-up off". I will give her credit, she was very nice. After removing the mud from home, she put some wonderful lotion on my face, which greatly reduced the redness (possible rosacia) that I get every time I wash. It felt really nice, too. Soothing, even. I made a mental note to purchase the make-up remover and moisturizer. She then went to work on me, taking the time to give me a basic 'play by play' so I would know what to do when left to my own devices. As you can probably assume, that wonderful (not) woman who gave birth to me never showed

me the proper way to apply make-up, or how to dress like a woman. There are many other 'girl' things she never explained, either, which I had to find out how to deal with and how to handle on my own. Anyway, when all was said and done, I have to admit I looked really good, and not like a gooped up clown. By the time I left the store, I had a bag full of products. Today I put my knew knowledge to the test, and guess what? Much to my surprise, I came out looking just like I did yesterday....WOOT! DH also bought me some new jeans....th

ey were on sale at Aeropostle for $10, regular price $40, not a bad deal if you ask me.

In other news, time seems to just be flying by. Seems the weeks just begin when they are over. I keep telling people its like getting paid to be on vacation. I get to travel all over, meet new people and see new places. One girl in the nail salon said "wow, I go to the same building, the same cubicle, and look at the same computer everyday!" All I could

think was "Your choice."

Anyway, 20 Apr 09 is my youngest son's 10th birthday. So I'd like to say

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUBBA!!

I'll also say, I still wonder how Benjamin is doing, although no news has been posted, I assume he is still where I sent him, and still ok.

Reality Bites

2009-04-07T19:00:00.003-05:00

I've been away for awhile, I know. I know that it sucks to check someone's blog everyday only to see that they just aren't writing. I however, have an excuse...I think. Seems I'm full of those lately, lol. Anyway, work has been crazy, although easy. Short days, nice people at the jobs. I guess its just that the DH and I have been just filling our time off with other things. Shopping, playing mini-golf, we went to a movie, etc. So what I'm saying is, by the time we make it back to the motel, I am pooped. Even if its at a decent hour, I am mentally drained.

I was going to blog about my thoughts on people who abuse animals...for example, Michael Vik. I had a whole 2 notebook pages on the subject. Hell, I even joined a group on Facebook concerning the cause. However, right now, whilst I write this, I have nothing to say on the matter.

Tonight we are staying right on Daytona Beach. I guess I never realized how old this place really is. I mean, it is really dated. I'm talking from the 1950s. There is a stretch, about 2 miles worth I guess, that I believe has the same paint on the buildings from when they were new....in 1950. :p Kinda nostalgic, in a way. The old hotels, the old gift shops, etc. Probably a real cool place in its day. Don't get me wrong, there is a n ewer part that sports all the new clubs, bars, hotels, condos, etc. But this end is much cooler, more interesting. jmo.

In other news, we are going to head back north to Jacksonville to drop the trailer at the maintenance shop, the rig at its spost for maintenance, DH to the Cardiologist for a check-up, then up to NC to see my dad for 2 days. After that we'll be in the panhandle of FL, and in AL to finish out April.

Its funny, DH asked me the other day if I missed being home, or if there was anything I missed from home. I miss my animals...the dogs and chickens. I miss knowing that about now I'd be picking out seeds for the garden. I kinda miss being on my own schedule. However, I DO NOT miss the cold weather they are having. I don't miss the family drama. I don't miss being broke half the time. I like traveling around out here. I like finding new stores, new trinkets, new restaurants. I like all the people I meet. I can say we've met some real characters! Its been pretty cool, and quite a bit of fun! So over all, what I miss from home is outweighed by the fun things out here on the road. I can say, I miss my dogs the most. I think about them daily.

Anyway, it may be a few days before I'm able to blog again...time with dad and all. So until I write again...have a good weekend! :)

2009-03-30T16:53:00.002-05:00

as you can see we saw some huge gators at Busch Gardens!!

Amazing....

2009-03-29T18:37:00.002-05:00

It amazes me how many people just hate taking a hearing test. You would think we are3 the "Little Van of Horrors" the way people act. Some of it, like those who are claustrophobic I can understand. But others? I just don't get it. Some go so far as to either schedule vacation or call in sick. We have noticed though, that the folks who bitch about taking the test are the ones who can't hear. Now as for me, I want people to know that my hearing is bad so they kn ow how to talk to me....saves a lot of frustration for everyone. But I guess its a pride issue for most.

I find it funny, too, how some people try to place blame on me3. As if I control the fact that it is mandatory they take this test. I'm sorry, but I don't make the OSHA rules, the government does. I don't schedule the test, your supervisor does. All I do is give it,....nothing more. Believe it or not, I've had guys cuss me out for taking the test. *sigh* I just smile and say "talk to your supervisor"...that usually shuts them up. I can't get confrontational as it could cost me my job and in these times, I don't need to lose it.

It also amazes me how year after year these people fill out the same paper and take the same test, yet manage to fuck it up every time. "Where do I sign?....I didn't know I had to fill out a paper!....Can I just go now?....Why can't I test while the other guys are in there?"....and on and on and on. I love the person who says "Been doin this for 10 years!!" Then proceeds to not only complete the paper incorrectly, but puts the headset on wrong. Been doin' this for years, huh??? PPFFFFTTT

Some people think its funny to play during the test. For example, instead of pushing the button once when they hear the tone and releasing it, they think its funny to either hold it down the whole time, hit it many times in a row, or just not hit it at all. Its at that time that I stop the test, open the door and point them out. Its not funny after that. Or the person who swears they turned off their cell phone, only to have it ring during the test ....we point them out, too.

Of course, its easy for me to sit here and bitch, but in all reality, I do like my job. I like most of the people I meet, with the exception of the occasional asshole or two, but they aren't too often. I get to see how things are made and even get free stuff once in awhile. LOL And with the traveling, its almost like being on vacation. So I really can't bitch. But if I didn't rant about something, what would you read???

WARNING: This post gets weird and a bit intense!

2009-03-22T18:06:00.003-05:00

Yes, I've blogged twice today, (I think) but I'm sitting in the motel in Ft. Meyers, FL and keep thinking of things. I should really keep a notebook of my thoughts, then I can put them all into one entry and be done.

Anyway, I was looking at our schedule for the next week or so, and it looks like after testing in the morning (done by 0930) we travel 130 miles back up to Tampa. After testing for 1 1/2hrs there, its off to Winter Haven, then on Wed afternoon we head to Orlando, bouncing between there and Tampa for the next 2 days. We'll finally be hanging in the Orlando area (and surrounding towns) until 9 April, at which time we'll be in Daytona. But after the Easter holiday, we'll be headed for Georgia.

I have also been throwing around the idea on whether to blog about another issue in my life. Its a pretty serious one, and in my mind, its over. However, it may explain to some people who read this mess to understand my behavior, although its not by any means an excuse.

Lets go back in time about 2 years....

My sister moved to IL, about an hour from where I live. She moved there from NC. I have my ideas as to why, but thats another issue in and of itself. Anyway, DH and I bent over backwards to help her in her transition, even going so far as to build her a new set of steps from her 2nd floor outside entrance down to her back patio. Within that first year, I get a phone call from the woman who gave birth to me, saying "We were planning to come an visit you, and it just so happens to be the same year that your sister is there. Its not what it looks like." um, riiiight. So the entire 5 years I've lived here, you just NOW decide to visit? hhmmm....ok whatever. So she visits my sister, staying in a motel close to her, only dropping into my neck of the woods one day out of 7. No problem, I know what the whole point of the visit anyway, so no biggie.

The following year, she says "We are coming out again to visit"...ask me if I care. So they show up, but wait til the 2nd day to call me "Will we get to see you this week?" ....my reply was "Nope, I'm busy all week." She slammed the phone and I didn't hear from her for the rest of the month of July, all the way to late Feb of this year (thats 8 months, including Christmas) when she decided to call to say she hoped the DH was ok after his heart attack.

Lets digress even further back in time....

We are talking about a woman who watched as her husband kicked, punched, slapped, and otherwise beat her child (me). A woman who would watch for me to 'mess up' and then tell my father so he would beat me. A woman who not only chose to be married to an abusive man, but also chose to have not one but TWO children with this man. Yet somehow the second child was never touched. For 16 years of my life, I was fed to the wolf, and taught that I could not trust her. Anything I said was repeated. There was no 'mother/daughter bond'.

I have read extensively about a child's..no, and infant's intuition. Infants know when a person around them, such as a relative, does not like them, or isn't comfortable with them. This intuition embeds that persons scent, and face into that infant's head, making it impossible for that infant to be comfortable around that person even as they grow up. I firmly believe this is what happened with me and 'her'. Every picture of me as an infant is of me on her lap, crying....no, screaming. As I grew up, the pictures never showed me with her. Always by myself. However, the infant to child pics of my sister show the complete opposite.

Time moves on, and her mother dies. Gram had written in her Will that my sister and I were to get the entire inheritance, period. Well, you can imagine how pissed she was. The screwy part is that she knew this BEFORE Gram died, and proceeded to excicute her plot to get her share. There is more to this part, but I won't go into it here.

So lets go forward to Feb, 09. She decides after 8 months of nothing, she is going to start forwarding me emails about god, calling every weekend and leaving messages on my phone. I obviously refused to answer. Why should I? Now I know I'm leaving a lot of details out, but you get the general idea. I don't have the time nor the space to give out every gory detail. And you don't have the time to read it.

Two weeks ago, she decided since I wasn't answering her phone calls that she would email me a letter explaining how Gram was a bad mother to her because "she never took me to church". WHAT???? Are you kidding me? WTF???? She also proceeded to tell me that the DH was influencing my thoughts about her, and how I need to go with my heart, and not what 'outside influences' are telling me. Um, NO. DH has nothing to do with this, hell it started before I was even of age to marry!!! ROFLMFAO

After about 3 days of mulling it over, I had the time and most of the forethought to sit down and type out a reply. I feel better after telling her everything (well, most of it) that I knew, and my thoughts about her that I'd been harboring for well over 30 years. How I knew she'd been using me from the day I was born. The things I had seen and known about that she thought she was keeping secret from me. Everything. That was last week. I hadn't heard a thing back, thank goodness, and I would like to think that the line "all communication between us is over" might have actually been followed. Although I did recieve another "god" forward today. She's probably in denial of it all, thinking she is going to 'pray and save me'. She's always said I was posessed by the devil. LOL

Whatever. Anyway, I just wanted all of you out there to know that for now, the storm has passed. I feel refreshed and under less of a burden. I believe my mood has improved over the last week, and I look forward to better days ahead with less internal stress. Yes, its sad when something like this happens, but when there was nothing but hatred on both sides from the very, very beginning, then there really is no love lost, and therefore nothing to be sad about.

On another, happier note, DH and I had a nice, lazy day. We had a nice brunch, and even layed out by the pool for a couple of hours. I'm wanting to spend more time doing that...relaxing, working on my tan. So, here's to more time relaxing in FL!!

Shuttle launch, and other random things

2009-03-22T08:04:00.002-05:00

As you can see from the above collage, we watched the Space Shuttle Discovery launch. It was awsome! We bought tickets to take a bus out to within 5 miles of the launch pad. It was so worth it....we felt the rumble at take off, and since it was just after sunset, once it got above the horizon, the setting sun cast a shadow from the contrail of smoke across the sky. Too cool.

In other news, we are in Ft. Meyers, FL. We drove across 'alligator alley' from Miami, and that was some experience! About half way across is a truck stop, the only place to get gas between Miami and Ft. Meyers. Anyway, there is a spot off to the side that is swampy, and yes, there were 'gators! We were able to get really close, only because there was a fence, LOL. Not to mention all of the 'gators on the bank of the canal/ditch along the entire stretch of road. BIG ones!!

I was also wonderfully suprised when a friend from High School called. We had connected on Facebook, but had not actually spoken on the phone. It was as if we hadn't missed a single year! Same happened when I called my best friend from HS...we fell into conversation about kids, life, and other matters as if 20 years of seperation had never happened. I loved it! It was so nice to connect with them, knowing that they know you for the crazy kid you were, but also knowing that they accept you for that, and harbor no questions or judgements. I knew that when they said "we'll call next week" that they would. They do what they say they are going to do, and I have no worries. Its nice.

I have more to report.....Miami. For those who have never been, its definitely a new experience. And evidently in FL anything goes. And regardless of your weight, or shape, you wear the smallest, or tightest outfit possible. And no matter how much skin you show, anything goes. Personally, I'm a bit self-concious about my weight/shape. Hence, I wear clothes that hide, rather than accentuate. Apperently I'm wrong, LOL Also, just a quick ending tip for those that choose to visit southern FL...through all driving courtesy and rules out the window. Driving here is like dressing here...anything goes. If someone wants to be in your lane, they are going to go there whether you slow down and let them in or not. They don't look, they just go.

Thats what I'm going to do now....just go, LOL

Random Pics

2009-03-13T19:26:00.003-05:00

HD Chic

Life is a highway....

Surprise!!

Potential?

WOW!

LONG time!!

On a lighter note

Bad Day

Who am I?

No Sympathy

Just Rambling

When SHTF

Get a life....

Making progress

Good ride

Life is unbelievable

He's back!

A horrible week....

Horrible events

Its been awhile

Changing

Life shouldn't be so hard

Testing

Testing

Some things....

El Paso, TX

Tombstone, AZ

2012....Part 2

2012?

Wild Wild West

More updates

Update

You're kidding, right????

Getting rid of drama

It happened

Change is inevitable

Run Away!!!!

Friends

I am

No regrets

Drama

A wonderful dream....

Handicapped....who is and who isn't?

Hours of Operation

Geocaching

Not much....

Long overdue

I don't get it...

Graceland

"If you had the opportunity, would you?"

The Man Store

How hard is it??? *Another rant about stupid people*

Humans are gross, and so is Montgomery, AL

Un-freakin'-believable

How sad....

Nice weekend...

Back to work

Where is home?

Stupid people....

Going home....

Opp, Alabama

Finally outta there

It happens everywhere.....

Getting older and being a "late bloomer"

I could....

A forgotten town, and my mixed thoughts....

Pictures to follow....sometime

Its a good thing....

more pics from Louisiana

The French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana

The Original Oyster House in Mobile, AL

More on unruly kids....

Children in restaurants....

Shopping

Ever wonder?

Being spoiled, a dead town, and possibly other musings

Reality Bites

Amazing....

WARNING: This post gets weird and a bit intense!

How hard is it??? Another rant about stupid people