Denise's Place

Over and Out

2009-07-13T20:52:00.003-05:00

Due to an apparent lack of interest in my blog, I've decided to go on hiatus from blogville. I've certainly enjoyed blogging and making the friends I've made.

Denise

Keepin On Smilin

2009-06-25T23:02:00.002-05:00

Today, in spite of the tragic losses of two icons from my teen years, was a good day. I was able to visit my friend, Butch,who is recovering from a stroke (I posted about him yesterday). I was absolutely elated when I left his room today. He has made remarkable progress just since Tuesday! He was talking more than I've heard since the stroke, and he actually moved his right arm and held it tight when I tried to move it. I am just so excited and so grateful to God for this wonderful answer to many prayers from many of his friends. Butch also dismissed me today and said, "bye" in the middle of my visit. I guess I was getting on his nerves because I was trying to talk to him and I think he was tired.

I was concerned about the possibility that he might be neglected in the nursing home, but today when I got there, his therapist was in his room working with him. I was so excited and when she was finished, I talked to her and she assured me that he was improving and doing just fine. She also told me that she comes in and works with him twice a day. YAY!!!

This makes me so very happy and I just wanted to share this.

Later,
Denise

Still Kickin'

2009-06-24T22:36:00.007-05:00

It's been so long since my last post; early May, I think. Life has kept right on going and much has happened. My only child, Brandon, graduated from high school. What an exciting and wonderful event. My niece, Kayla, also graduated from a different school. We had a big party at Maman'nem's for the two of them the Sunday following the ceremonies. I've also made a trip to my sister's house in AL to surprise her for her birthday. It was loads of fun and really cool because Michelle is not a cryer like Momma and me, but she really cried! We loved it! The son of a dear friend of mine was married in May. It was a beautiful wedding and I almost felt as if Brandon was getting married, because this young man has a very special place in my heart as I used to baby sit him when he was very little, and later on, I lived with his family for a short time. He married a lovely young lady and I know they will be so happy.

With all this great stuff going on, I also have experienced one quite devastating event. A very dear friend of mine suffered a stroke the day after Memorial Day. He is so dear to me that I can honestly consider him one of my true BFF's. He is 60 years old but he is not your typical 60 year old. He's my karaoke buddy and over the last 5 1/2 years, we have just become great friends, going out singing 3 times a week. Imagine my devastation when a mere acquaintance from the karaoke establishment we frequent sent me a text message first asking how he was, and then when I answered that I guessed just fine, asked me if he'd had a stroke. My heart sank and I felt my face become fire hot. I was sure it was a mistake and this person had the wrong guy. I was so wrong. He had, in fact, had a stroke and was in the hospital, unable to speak and paralyzed on his right side. Being a friend and not family, I felt I should wait before going to the hospital, to give the family time to visit while he was in ICU. No blood clots were found in the brain and his prognosis was good. It was several days before I was able to see him and until I did, I could only imagine the worst. I couldn't rest (and shockingly, didn't have an appetite) and couldn't get him off my mind. I wanted to see my friend for myself and let him know I knew what had happened and that I cared and I was there to help. Several days passed and he was moved to a regular room and I went to see him. It was quite a sad sight. My friend, who is so full of life, always laughing, always singing, always in a happy mood, was so pitiful, laying immobile in this hospital bed. To my surprise, he looked fine, as his face-droop had already corrected itself before I saw him. Still, he had such a sadness in his eyes. I wanted to cry but managed to keep it together while I was in the room with him. All I did was smile and encourage him. The next time I saw him, I actually got him to sing with me. Our "signature" duet is 'Cruisin' by Huey Lewis and Gwynneth Paltrow. I started it and he sang along with me, remembering every word, even when I forgot. He didn't move that right side at all. Soon afterward, his doctor and family determined he was depressed and uncomfortable having visitors see him as he was. He wasn't responding as he should and slept all the time. His family asked us friends not to visit for a while to see if maybe he'd come around and start responding and interacting more without the "threat" of visitors. It was very hard but I wanted what was best for him, so I stayed away. Last week, I was able to see him again and he seemed a bit better in spirits but is still not moving or talking. It has now been a month since the stroke and he was just moved into a nursing home, temporarily, because he had to be discharged from the hospital and rehab facilities turned him down because he does not respond or show initiative to start moving and talking again. He has a feeding tube in his stomach and is unable to eat or drink due to swallowing difficulties. My heart is broken as I see my friend going through this terrible time. I really believed he'd be well on his way to a full recovery by now because he's so strong and just loves life. However, we never know how the patient feels until we are in their "hospital gown".

All I do is pray and visit as often as I can. I don't karaoke anymore because it is just too sad without my buddy. I've decided that until he can sing again, I won't be singing again. Yesterday, I went to see him and on the way, I prayed for the Lord to give me some glimmer of hope, something to let me know his mind was good and he just needed more time, but would be ok later. My prayer was answered and the visit was good. He was alert and stayed awake the whole time I was there. He winked at me and held my had a lot. He sang 2 songs with me and responded to everything I said or asked him. He's still not moving on the right side and he's not talking except to answer, "yep" or say "alright". It's so weird that he can sing anything but won't speak more than those two words. Anyway, I feel better and I do still have hope. He's such a sweet, fun, friend to many and he just has to recover and be himself soon.

I've prayed so much for the Lord to heal him and let him make a full recovery, so I know this will happen. Now, my prayer is that he is not neglected by the staff at the nursing home and that he his receiving some small form of therapy now to help him gain enough strength to be moved to a more skilled facility to begin serious full-time rehab.

I know "this too shall pass" but it sure is painful right now. Thanks to anyone who has taken the time to read this post and I will ask you to please say a prayer for my friend, Butch. I'm a firm believer in the power of prayer and I will appreciate even the smallest prayerful mention of him.

I've updated my blog music playlist with my favorite songs that Butch sings at karaoke. These are some of his best and the most loved on his list by me and many other karaoke friends. If I could figure out how to download my CD with him actually singing, I'd put that on here but I'm not that savvy yet.

Later,

Denise

Ya Got ta Have Friends ~

2009-05-05T14:40:00.005-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I experienced the great pleasure of having breakfast with all my best girlfriends at one time. We all went to high school together and I'm proud to say, we remain close to this day. Of course, because we all have lives of our own now, there have been some time warps where some of us have gone a while and not seen or talked to some of the others, but the minute we do regain some contact, it's like we've never been apart at all.

This picture below was taken by a little old lady coming out of the restaurant we had been in. I asked her to take the group photo and she warned me that she was not very good at taking pictures because her hands shake. I think she did a fine job, don't you? :)

We have our 25th year class reunion this coming September and I just hope the rest of the class is as well preserved as we are.

I'd like to dedicate the song, 'Thank You for Being a Friend', to my best buds! The lyrics are written below for your reading pleasure.

Thank You For Being A Friend - Song Lyrics

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
your heart is true you're a pal and a confidant
I'm not ashamed to say I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow
And if you threw a party, invited everyone you knew
You would see, the biggest gift would be from me and the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
If it's a car you lack I'd surely buy you a Cadillac
Whatever you need, anytime of the day or night
I'm not ashamed to say I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won't you stand up and take a bow
And when we both get older with walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it's hard to hear I will stand real close and say,
Thank you for being a friend(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
And when we die and float away into the night, the Milky Way
You'll hear me call, as we ascend I'll see you there, then once again
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Whoa, tell you about a friend(Thank you right now, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend(I wanna thank you, thank you, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend !

Easter Cuteness ~

2009-04-08T09:20:00.000-05:00

Beware of identity theft this Easter :)

Have a blessed and happy Easter.

Denise

It's Definitely a Laughing Matter ~

2009-04-02T16:46:00.001-05:00

"Some people laugh through their noses . . . some people laugh through their teeth goodness sakes, hissing and fizzing like snakes . . . some laugh too fast, some only blast . . . others they twitter like birds . . . then there's the kind that can't make up their mind . . ."

These are a few lines from the song, 'I Love to Laugh', from Mary Poppins, sung by Uncle Albert, Mary Poppins, and Bert. The whole song and scene are quite amusing, as it is totally about laughter - hence the name of the song :P

As I have said over and over again, I really love to laugh and I love to make others laugh. There is just such a release that comes from a big ol' belly laugh. At work, there is a woman who sits across the building from me and has this really loud, funny, machine gun-like laugh and every time I hear her, I have to laugh too. Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere when everything is silent - what a joy! My co-worker, Andy, and I both enjoy her laugh and every time we hear it, we laugh with each other about this other person's laugh. We call ourselves the laugh connoisseurs of the office because we have always had a thing about the different laughs that our co-workers have and we decide if they have great or annoying laughs. I was surfing the net, looking for interesting laugh material, and I came across 'Types of Laughs', by Shi Hui Lim. I thought this was very amusing and want to share it with you. I really believe there is nothing we can't get through if we can maintain a sense of humor and laugh at least a little at ourselves and our situations. Which laugh best describes yours?

The first type of laugh, the BLAST, is a loud and long burst emitting from a person's mouth, followed by shorter and softer bursts that slowly die away. Blasts usually emanate from loud, outgoing persons, making them seem sure and confident in themselves. After all, it is a loud type of laugh that will attract attention from those around the blaster, which is not always a good thing. Outgoing people who blast their laughs usually have an interesting sense of humor, laughing at things that may not seem funny to others. This can be a problem in movie theaters and other public places where silence is needed. A blaster is also easy to pick out of a crowd, like a giant billboard advertising where he or she is. A blaster's friends will be able to find him/her easily, but the same could be said for enemies of the blaster. Others view blasters as friendly, outgoing people, easy to make friends with and always fun to be around.

The next type of laugh, the HISS, could be mistaken for an actual snake in the snake section of the zoo. These laughers sound just like snakes, laughing through their teeth as Mary Poppins rightfully put it. Hissers do not always fit into what society sees as a normal person. These are the 'oddballs', the ones that others do not wish to include in activities and are not well liked by other laughers. Hissers are cynical bystanders, watching and observing, never allowed and never wishing to partake in events, laughing at the stupid actions of others. The hissers are the smart ones, wary of their surroundings at all times, which is something that cannot be said for the next group of laughers.

The GIGGLE is a twittery, small, bubbly kind of laugh; one could say the cute laugh of the six. The same can be said for gigglers, usually small and very bubbly and bright kind of people, the most common being small children and girls. Gigglers are easy to please and laugh easily, having a bright and cheery disposition most of the time, but are also seen as dumb and bird brained. Gigglers are very nice to all they know and meet, reliable, trustworthy, and loyal as well. They make very good friends.

While gigglers are young, bubbly, and bright, WHEEZERS are older and have lived and seen it all. Not all wheezers are extremely old; some people are only a wheezer due to smoking or bad lungs. Most wheezers try not to laugh, as each time they do, deep gasping and coughing follows. They save their laughs for special times, only using it when something is extremely funny, not just merely. It is wise not to be the one who makes the wheezer laugh, for the next time a wheezer laughs, it may result in his/her death and it is the instigator who will feel the guilt. Wheezers are wise and know much about life, often telling stories and reminiscing about how life used to be.

Most people have heard a CACKLE, a high-pitched sort of squeal, usually by the evil people in old movies. In real life, evil people do not laugh like a cackler, rather those who are more annoying to the general population. Cacklers are the people that all others pretend to like. Everyone else puts up with them and tolerates them, but in reality, they are not liked at all. Cacklers are obnoxious and talk too much, usually about nothing at all. When intelligent conversation swirls around a cackler, all he/she does is add irrelevant information or act rudely and begin a conversation with another in a very loud voice.

SILENT laughers, where no sounds emit from a person's mouth and one only sees a silent laugher's body shaking and convulsing, are the exact opposite of blasters. Hissers and silent laughers are alike; both types of people do not join in activities and only observe. Unlike hissers, silent laughers are welcome to join if they wish, but are usually forgotten or too shy. Silent laughers are introverted, very quiet people, keeping their laughter to themselves and in their own little worlds. They are not well known to others and choose to spend time alone or with other like themselves.

Each laugh is very unique and different, as are the people who laugh the laughs. The six laughs each have certain advantages and disadvantages, not one better than another. Each laugh is special, fun, and interesting to listen to. If for any occasion one has an opportunity to listen to the many laughs all together, maybe at a party, sit back and enjoy the unique symphony of laughs.

I hope you are having a great week and have managed to get in a few laughs no matter what your current situation. Maybe this post isn't so long that you got bored before the end and didn't find the humor.

Denise :P

"Laughter is an instant vacation." ~ Milton Berle

"A laugh is a smile that bursts." ~ Mary H. Waldrip

"Seven days without laughter makes one weak." ~ Mort Walker

2009-03-31T16:58:00.003-05:00

My kitty katz made it home Saturday morning at 8:15 am. So far, pretty good. They seem to remember us. They are pretty affectionate but still just a bit shy.

This is Purrl, just as she always was, perched on the back of the couch.

Gonna have to sue Cassie for feline starvation of Jozie - she's so skinny!!! :)

Have a great week!
Denise

Party 'Til the Cats Come Home

2009-03-27T15:20:00.003-05:00

I am a real animal lover. All my life, there have been dogs in the family. When I was a kid our dogs were mostly strays that would come and go but there was always one or two around. There have also been a few fish and birds, but more dogs than anything else. There were never any cats because my mom, sister, and brother were all allergic to cats. When Brandon was little, we got our yellow lab, Buck, and then later, a black lab, Delta. We also had a hamster at one time, and then a guinea pig, that I loved very much. Back in 2003, I decided I wanted a cat. I was a grown up, married woman with a house of my own and we weren't allergic, so I decided to get a cat. The people across the street had a littler of kittens which included two calicos. I've always thought calicos were so pretty so I got one; long-haired, and named her Purrl. We already had 2 dogs but I still brought this cat into the home. Things were good. When my husband and I decided to separate, Brandon and I moved into an apartment and took Purrl, with us. Well, after she was a couple years old, I heard of another litter of kittens that would soon be abandoned so I decided to get one of those so Purrl would have a companion.

An adorable brown tabby, that I named, Jozie, was very sweet and playful. Well, Purrl was not so crazy about her new playmate. In fact, her personality changed so I knew she was angry with me and I don't think she ever got over it. I guess she preferred to go it alone, and needed no sidekick. Nevertheless, we then had two cats, and I had never had cats in my life - remember? I learned quickly what all cat owners know . . . "nobody owns a cat". Still, I enjoyed my cats and learned how to just let them be. Even though I loved my cats, I was missing the love and companionship of a dog. In 2006 I decided to get Shotzie, my beagle. I won't dwell on her because you all know her well. The next year, I found myself in such a financial hole that I couldn't dig out. Brandon and I would have to go live with Momman'nem for a while. As I mentioned before, my mom is very allergic to cats and mine were not invited to come along. Shotzie was invited to go with us but I had to find some other accommodations for the felines. I agonized and cried and asked everyone I knew until I happened to mention it to my hairdresser, Cassie, who agreed quite quickly to take both my cats and give them a home. She already had other animals but it didn't matter. She really did me a huge favor. I was so relieved, as I knew they would be loved and well-cared for. This was a temporary arrangement and I told her I'd take them back as soon as I could. Well, I stayed with my mom for a year, then I moved to an apartment where I couldn't have them because I already had Shotzie and had to pay a deposit on her; I couldn't afford deposits for 2 additional pets - uugghh. Cassie kept the cats and always told me how they were and would take pictures for me. Last year, I missed my cats and decided I would see about getting them back and just try to keep them hidden from the apartment managers, and not pay the other deposits. I mentioned it to Cassie, but I felt that she was attached to Purrl and Jozie, and really wasn't ready to give them up, and I wasn't going to ask for them back if I thought she still wanted them. So, I rescued a kitten, which I've written about in past posts, Moonshine (now, Moonie, for short). Moonie is now 10 months old and she and Shotzie live in blissful harmony. Last week, Cassie asked me if I was ready to have my cats back, which indicated to me that she was ready for me to have them back. I understand completely because Cassie now has a little boy who is crawling and getting around, and I know it must be hard to keep him out of pet hair and dirt. Of course, I told Cassie that I was ready to take the cats back, because after all, she did me such a big favor when I needed a home for them, how could I tell her no? She's an absolute angel and really saved me when I was in a bind.

Here is a glamour shot of the girls together shortly before they "moved away".

Tomorrow is the big homecoming day! I'm actually quite excited to see and have my girls back home, but at the same time, I'm very nervous because cats are just crazy and I know the fur's gonna fly when they come home and Moonie gets a load of them. I just can't decide who is gonna take it worse, Moonie, or the other two. Remember, Purrl never forgave me for getting Jozie years ago. Then, I gave her and Jozie away to another family. Now, they're coming back to me, where there is a new cat, not to mention Shotzie, who they were probably so glad to be rid of, back in the picture. I tell you, I'm scared. I've been surfing the Internet, looking for all the suggestions and helpful hints to keeping a clean, fresh house when you have multiple cats. The last thing I want is a cat lady house, that everyone dreads coming to because it stinks so bad. When I was a kid, there was a house like that (30+ cats lived there) next door to my grandmother - whew, what a stink hole!

Wish me luck. I've got a really big heart for animals but very little patience. I really, really want this to work out so everyone is happy. I'll keep you posted. If you have any helpful hints, please let me know.

Thank you, Cassie, for all you've done for me, to take care of my cats when I couldn't. I will be forever grateful.

Have a great weekend!

Denise

Are They Smiling Because They're Happy, or Happy Because They're Smiling?

2009-03-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

Friday Puzzler # 6

2009-03-23T12:37:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! I'm posting my Friday Puzzler that should have been posted Friday, today instead because I simply forgot to post it on Friday. Uuugggh!

Being the literary scholar that I am -LOL!!!, in all my 42 years, I can count on one hand the number of books I've read, besides those I was forced to read in the 4th grade by my beloved teacher, Mrs. Casey. I will never forget how disappointed in me she was when she found all of my unread library books shoved up under my desk to hide them from her because I hated to read. . . .

ok, out of digression and back to the puzzlement . . . I have always wondered why in the world would "they" decide to call a made-up story FICTION, and a true story NON-FICTION? That has always sounded very backward to me. Is it just me, or have you felt this way too?

A good example of non-fiction would be this biography of Lucille Ball's life. I have read this.A good example of fiction would be this wonderful classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. I have read this as well.

Have a wonderful week!

Denise

Honest Denise

2009-03-19T12:59:00.000-05:00

I'd like to thank my dear friend, Mia, for this cool "Honest Scrap" award. If you have not visited Mia, please go over to Mama Mia and check her out. She's wonderful! I actually received this award about 3 weeks ago and am just now doing my "honest" post. I am supposed to forward this to at least 7 other blogs that I find brilliant in content or design, but I think all the blogs I follow have already received this award, but just in case . . . . the following blogs are those that I bestow this award upon:

much2ponder at In Case You Were Wondering
Ellie at Welcome to My World through Brown Eyes
Jennifer at Brown Family Blog
Michele at Michele My Bell

Now, my award recipients should choose blogs that they find brilliant in content and/or design and reference those with links in their post and leave them a comment that they have been given this award. Have fun!

1. I wear my feelings on my sleeve. I really do, and I really wish I didn't. The very last thing in the world I would do is hurt someone's feelings intentionally, and I sometimes go quite a few extra miles to keep from hurting another person's feelings. However, there are people in my life that just say exactly what they think and if it happens to hurt feelings, well the truth is the truth and I just have to deal with it.

2. I am a CocaCola holic. I LOVE Coke, real, sugar-full, syrupy-sweet Coke, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I do feel that I'm in a small group that is the last of a dying breed because most everyone else seems to love Diet Coke or now, Coke Zero. Uggggh - I just cannot make myself like Diet Drinks. I do drink lots of water though, because I really love it too, especially in store-bought bottles. I guess I feel that I drink enough water to offset the long-term effects of Coke.

3. When I was 7 years old, I was once on a local TV show called, Magicland with Dick Williams. It came on Sunday mornings on channel 5. I sat in the audience with a bunch of other kids while Dick Williams, who was a magician, performed magic tricks and introduced cartoons that we, the studio audience couldn't even see. We did all receive a McDonalds hamburger - yep, just a plain hamburger without cheese, and had only one pickle on it. No Coke. No fries. I was disappointed in the snack and the cartoon caper but all in all, it was a fun time.

4. I love my job. I am an Administrative Assistant for a product development group, which is mostly made up of male engineers. We have a few women but not many, so there is lots of harmony. I do not care for working with women in general because there is always something going on when you - women are so catty. Anyhoo, I've been in the same department for 10 years now and don't have any plans to leave it. We're like a big ol family and we have a good time at work while we do our jobs. I'm very lucky!

5. I have a serious spider phobia. I don't know why but I have always been absolutely terrified of spiders - even little ones. One time while my family was camping (I was a teenager), someone told me there was a spider on me and I freaked out, went into a crazed panic, and stripped my swimsuit off right there in front of the whole family because I was so horrified by the thought of a spider being on my person. Everyone laughed, but me - I cried. Never did find that spider. There have been many more incidents, but I'll save those for my "Scary Spider Stories" post :)

6. I'm fascinated by Cemeteries, but afraid of dying. I am afraid of dying (I know I'm saved and going to Heaven, but I still fear actually dying and being dead) and finally being a cemetery resident, but while I'm still walking around, I do like to look at the names and dates and try to imagine what those people were like or what they might have died from. The next time I'm in New Orleans, I plan to visit one of those really old ones with all the crypts above ground - really fascinating!

7. I was such a nerd in high school that I went to school on Senior Skip Day, just so I'd have my teachers all to myself in hopes of being able to talk and visit with them on a personal level. I craved positive attention from authority figures when I was a kid.

8. There is one (and only this one, ever) person that I am purposely not nice to. I know this may contradict some of what I said in #1, but I didn't think of this while I was way up there. This person (a woman, of course) is a friend of other friends and I've been acquainted with her for several years now within this particular group of friends. I know that she is not what she appears and I've endured snide remarks and false faces from her for a long, long time and I've always been nice, but I've finally decided I've had enough and I'm not going to be fake with her anymore. I don't like her and I don't want to be around her. When she speaks to me, I will speak and be "sort of" polite, but she can tell by my tone that I really have nothing to say to her. I don't wish her any harm but I do wish she would go away and never come back. I know this is bad, but I'm just being honest.

9. If I had a choice right this minute, of going on a trip anywhere I wanted, I would choose Hawaii. Of course there are other countries I'd love to visit some day, but I feel like I just have to see Hawaii some day. I understand from people who have visited there, that it truly is exactly what you see on TV - a real paradise on earth.

10. I love to make people laugh, and I love to laugh.

Friday Puzzler #5

2009-03-06T15:32:00.018-06:00

What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

You put your right leg in,

you put your right leg out,

you put your right leg in

and you shake it all about.

You do the Hokey Pokey

you turn yourself around,

THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs to all,

Denise

Snowfall 2009 - Horn Lake, MS - WooHoo!!

2009-03-02T11:45:00.001-06:00

I love snow but because I live in the South (as do most of my blog followers), we rarely have the pleasure of the pretty white stuff. This weekend we got a wonderful gift and enjoyed some really beautiful snow and it was so perfect . . . . no school or work was interrupted, there was plenty of time to play in it (for those who like to play in it - I don't like to mess up it's perfection), and the roads were slick but if you were careful, you could go where you needed to go and get back safely, and now most of it is gone except for a little on the grass.

I would like to share some pictures I took at my place, while I was awed by this perfect snowfall coming in just when Spring should be on it's way! By the by . . . this coming weekend, our temps will be in the 70's - go figure! Go get your pedicures, gals - :)

Saturday afternoon it started coming down in big pretty flakes. Look closely and see the squirrel on the skinny branch getting an aerial view of the snow.

Just another view through the trees in the front yard.

This brightly colored cardinal looked so pretty against the snow!

Two more little cardinals out pecking around in the snow.

A view of the pond through the trees as the snow came down.

The next morning we were blanketed with bright whiteness!

My "Christmas Card" house - LOL!

These icy daggers were hanging on the back of the house and falling on our heads at random - yikes!

I thought this was a lovely picture of the pond in the morning sunlight with the snow all around and a goose couple (husband and wife, I suspect) came out to walk along the shore. See them on the far left.

A closer look at my goose couple as they enjoy the snow.

"My" horse, Brownie, enjoys a morning stroll in the snow. Well, he's sort of mine . . .

Shotzie shakes off the snow after a romp Sunday morning.

Shotzie enjoys the snow.

Brandon's truck enjoys the snow - looks like about 2 or 3 inches on the left side mirror.

Have a wonderful week!

Hugs to all,

Denise

Friday Puzzler #4

2009-02-27T13:05:00.007-06:00

Why is it that we wear a "pair" of panties,

but just a "single" bra?

That was supposed to be the end of my question but as an afterthought, and because girdle is my very favorite word to say - girdle, girdle, girdIe :) I now wonder why a girdle is singular when panties are plural . . . .

Man, I hope I can sleep tonight . . . . .

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

Hugs to each of you,

Denise

Friday Puzzler #3

2009-02-20T15:30:00.000-06:00

Why is it when we're running the vacuum we keep running over that "hard to get" piece of string a dozen or so times, then we reach down and pick it up, examine it, and put it back down to give the vacuum cleaner one more chance?

Here I am doing this very thing last night :)

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Love,

Denise

Fruity or Flowery - It Doesn't Really Matter

2009-02-19T18:02:00.007-06:00

Do you keep a can of air freshener out (in full view) in your bathroom? This is something I never thought I'd care about, but many things change when a person reaches 40 something. I'm about to get up close and personal but I don't really mean to pry or gross anybody out. We are all friends here and I'm just curious if any of you have really thought about this.

Have you ever been visiting someone's home and had to go to the bathroom - I mean REALLY go to the bathroom? Of course, no one wants to do this at someone else's house, even a friend's, but it does happen, on occasion, out of nowhere to us 40 somethings and beyond. Well, I'll just be frank, it has happened to me on more than one occasion. Here I am at Bunko, at a shower, at a jewelry party, etc. and I find I need to use the facilities. I try to wait it out as long as possible, but finally have to give in and go. Well, there is usually a main bathroom for all the company to use, and then a private bathroom in the master bedroom that I might consider off-limits, depending on how well I know the homeowners. Of course, as soon as I'm done, another person could feel the need to come in immediately behind me. I'm dreading leaving the room in case there is someone waiting just outside the door. The first thing I do when I go in is start looking for any sign of air freshener/room deodorizer, cause you just never know. Once in a blue moon, I find some, but in most cases I do not. This is so embarrassing to me, first of all, having to go, but then having no way to cover up that I went - uuugggghhhh! Now, when I said "in most cases" above, I don't mean to imply that I always have to do "this" when I visit, but in most cases I do have to visit the restroom for a #1, and maybe to re-apply lipstick. Even in these cases, I look around for the can.

Surely I'm not the only one "this" has happened to, but maybe I'm the only one redneck enough to admit it :) Anyway, for a few years now, I've made sure I always have a can of air freshener displayed in my bathroom, and I think everyone should do this. It may not look especially pretty sitting out, but it sure does help a little in an embarrassing situation.

Stuff always happens to me. There was this one time I stopped up a toilet while visiting omeone's home, which was a really mortifying experience, and even a can of air freshener couldn't help, but I'll save that story for another post.

Give this a little thought and maybe if you haven't already, you might soon be adding a new "knick-knack" to your bathroom decor :)

See you later,

Denise

PS - I'll understand if none of you want to invite me to your house ;p

B-R-A-N-D-O-N ~

2009-02-18T17:18:00.003-06:00

Best kid I could have ever wished for
Really cool about his parents and family
Artistic genius
Never gives us any trouble
Darth Vader is his favorite villain
Only child but never a brat
Needs a part-time job :)

I love you, Brandon!
Mom

The Gobloots Are Gone ~

2009-02-16T18:13:00.010-06:00

Anyone out there a real Lucy fan? If you are then I hope you will remember the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy was faking an illness, and when Ricky found out that she was faking, he got a real doctor friend to come over and examine Lucy and he determined that she had the Gobloots. It comes into the country on the hind legs of the Boo-Shoo bird!

Well, I have had the Gobloots. I have been so sick since last Sunday afternoon with the Flu and Strep together. It was so awful and I had to stay home from work all last week. I could barely drag myself out of bed. I finally made it to the doctor by Wednesday morning and found out that I would live after all. I really don't think I've ever been that sick in my life before. I went back to work today and I must say I feel really great! It was so nice to be clean, made up, and out of sweats for a change today.

That is what I've been up to for the last week but I'm back. See you tomorrow!

Love,

Denise

Friday Puzzler #2

2009-01-30T15:10:00.001-06:00

Still staying in the "road" (see my post from last Friday if you haven't already) - when you see a dead dog or cat on the road, in many cases, it is over to the side and laying on its side like it just fell over there. What do you think about that? The same is true for wild forms of roadkill also. I'll see a possum, a raccoon, or an armadillo just laying over to the side, in the curb/shoulder area. No, I don't live in Dogpatch but I'm close to it :)

Just this morning on the way to work, I saw two different dead animals (and one single shoe - a dark oxford - uugggh!) that were both on the shoulder of the interstate. I have seen dead animals in the middle of the road and mangled, but more often, to the side. Do you think someone actually stopped after they hit something and just picked it up and laid it out of the way so others wouldn't continue to hit it? Maybe the animal's adrenaline kicked in and it ran out of the way before succumbing to injuries? Hmmmmmm. . . . .

Have a great weekend!
Love,
Denise

The Boob Tube is Back ~

2009-01-28T16:38:00.009-06:00

After 4 months, I finally have television again!!!! My Direct TV has be reinstated and I'm back "in the know". I don't have a radio in my truck, and not having TV or Internet at home, I just felt like I was in a hole. If it hadn't been for conversation with others, I wouldn't even know who the new president was :) It has been tough but fortunately for me, I've collected lots, and lots, and lots, and lots, and lots of movies and they have kept Brandon and me company during these last few months. All this time, I thought I owed some money to Direct TV, and I just have no extra money so I put it off and put it off. Last payday I decided I was gonna get it straightened out and get some TV going again. To my delight, I did not owe any money and they set me up for a technician to come out yesterday and get me hooked up. Someone was supposed to come between 8 and 12. He was late but I didn't care - yesterday, that man was my favorite person in the whole world and I really wanted to french-kiss him but I refrained (to his delight, I'm sure).

Since 3:30 yesterday afternoon, I've learned all about Adolf Hitler's manager, Albert Speer, who was an architect and built the concentration camps and used slave labor in rock quarries to get a certain kind of rock to build with and how he was actually a very close, best friend to Hitler (he didn't have many of those) - very interesting. He only received a 20 year prison sentence and was responsible for thousands of deaths. I also found out a little history on witches. Did you know they started out pretty and through the ages ended up as hags? Go figure! I watched some Family Guy, some Scrubs, and finally, what I'd been waiting for all day . . . . . . . Nip/Tuck. I will admit that Nip/Tuck is probably one of the most vile shows on TV these days but I am absolutely hooked. It's like a train wreck - I gotta watch! By the by . . . when did David Letterman switch channels? This morning, I was able to find out all about the beautiful snow we were having and that Brandon was getting a snow day today. I got an update on the Octuplets that were born in California a few days ago - they are all still alive and doing well - praise the Lord.

I'm a happy girl and loving me some TV once again. What's your favorite show?

Love,

Denise

Goosey Goosey Gander ~

2009-01-26T17:36:00.007-06:00

Saturday morning when I got up and went outside with Shotzie, we found all these lovely Canadian geese in and around our pond. This is the first time since we moved in (Thanksgiving) that I've seen geese at our place. Most people find them a nuisance but I find them lovely. Shotzie did too and wanted a closer look at their loveliness. She was cautious though and approached slowly. The geese that were on the grounds honked loudly, telling the others to "get out of the way, we're coming in" and trotted off in a line to the chilly, but safe water. Beagles do not care for the water so she did not pursue :)

Our geese returned yesterday as well.

Please enjoy the pics I took of my new friends.

Love,

Denise

Friday Puzzler

2009-01-23T17:07:00.006-06:00

One of the greatest mysteries of life to me is "what's up with all the single shoes laying in the road?" Probably 7 out of 10 journeys I make, near or far, I see that mysterious lone shoe laying out in the road somewhere. It's always different types of shoes from all "walks" of life. I've seen a sneaker, a loafer, a flip flop, a house shoe - you name it. I've pondered it over and over but cannot really come up with anything I can totally believe. My most recent theory is that maybe this happens when people are moving and a shoe falls off their load and into the road. Now, I don't know why it wasn't something besides one shoe. I haven't thought that far.

What do you think? I know you've all seen that one shoe in the road from time to time and it must make you go, " . . . hmmmmm?"

Each Friday (for a while, anyway), I'm going to let you in on something that makes me go, ". . . .hmmmmm?" and see if the same thing has puzzled you and maybe you can set me straight on the subject or at least give me your opinion.

Have a great weekend!

Denise

What's Going On?

2009-01-22T16:29:00.017-06:00

Right now I am:

Just knowing that you think this picture of my mom and me is the cutest, sweetest one ever

Wearing brown pants, a green sweater, and brown boots

At work but winding down for the day, waiting for 5pm

In a happy, upbeat mood

Wondering how my new makeover I gave myself today has gone over (no one commented)

Excited about tomorrow being Friday and payday

Wishing I had a new car (not necessarily brand new, but new to me)

Afraid of sounding ungrateful for my truck because I want a nicer vehicle

Looking forward to picking up Brandon after work, going to eat dinner, and heading home to see Shotzie and Moonie (my dog and cat)

Thinking that I'd like to meet my bloggy buddies in person

Trying to figure out when I'm going to be able to have my Direct TV turned back on - I've been without TV for almost 4 months now - uuggghhh

Very grateful that I have a wonderful, loving family and wonderful, loving friends - "my cup runneth over"

Making a list of songs I'm planning to sing at karaoke tomorrow night

Hoping and praying that America has chosen the right person for our new president

Applying Vaseline Intensive Care Total Moisture lotion to my winter-dry, scratchy hands

Listening to several different conversations going on in the cubes and offices around me

Making plans to go to lunch at The Italian Rebel with my lunch bunch friends tomorrow

Drinking a hot Coca Cola that has been on my desk all day - but I'm really thirsty

Curious about the Oscar nominations; I haven't heard them yet

Hearing some people in the cube next to me say Dr. Bolonaisie over and over again - Bolonaisie is a cool name but I don't think I'm spelling it right

Imagining how sad it must be for my friend, "Ethel" to see her husband so sick as he goes through chemo and radiation together to cure his head and neck cancer

Relieved that "Fred's" cancer prognosis is very good and though the treatment is very aggressive, this type of cancer is eradicated in many cases

Praying for "Fred and Ethel"

Getting ready to call it a day

Realizing that even though I have my trials and tribulations, life is quite delicious

Wishing you all a great evening and a greater tomorrow.

Love,

Denise

2009-01-17T15:00:00.000-06:00

ANNOUNCEMENT . . .

Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music. The iTit will cost from $499 to $699, depending on cup and speaker size. This is considered a major social breakthrough, because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts... and not listening to them.

Have a fun weekend, full of laughs!
Love,
Denise

Taking a Breather ~

2009-01-16T15:08:00.001-06:00

Since we are all best friends here in blogland and I have absolutely NO secrets from my best friends, I've decided to share a little something about myself that I haven't shared before in this circuit. A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. I hate it because I consider this a fat person's condition. The only reason I think this is because everyone I know who has it (including me) could stand to do a little pushing away from the table - and I mean this in the nicest way possible, bless their hearts :)

I started snoring quite a few years ago. At first it didn't bother me too badly because it was just my husband who would tease me about it and talk about how the window blinds flew in and out all night while I was asleep - loving stuff like that. Later on, I'd go on trips with girlfriends and they would make fun of me and just have the biggest time at my expense. On top of that, I started having lots of trouble staying awake when sitting down to watch TV or riding in the car, etc. and anyone who was around when I did this would, of course, notice the sweet sound of my dainty, feminine snore - NOT! It is really, really bad. I would fall asleep driving, sitting at my desk at work, and again, in front of the TV. Finally, after having Brandon in the car with me one night and I fell asleep at the wheel and scared him silly, I decided to get checked out. Sure enough, I had the fat person's Sleep Apnea. Like everything else, this is mostly caused by being heavy. That little flap in the back of your throat closes up on you while you are relaxed in sleep. After having a couple of sleep studies done where I would go to a clinic and spend the night and have my sleep monitored by being hooked up to 14 jillion wires, I was prescribed a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. The study showed that I stopped breathing 10 times per hour, and I was not entering into REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which is the most restful stage of sleep. I'm to attach myself to my CPAP machine by a hose and mask every night so that I can breathe better and sleep better, thus making me rested and able to make it through my day without falling asleep. The machine is wonderful and actually makes me feel like a new person when I use it regularly. It is a little uncomfortable, as you will see down below, but when I wear it enough to get used to it, I do just fine. However, I have always been a stomach sleeper and you just can't manage that with this mask on.

I have gotten out of the habit of CPAPing up at night and managed to do ok for the last few months but since about the first of December, I've noticed I'm more tired and sleepy, and I've started dozing while driving and working. Scary, I know - the driving part. So, this Tuesday night I decided to get the machine out and hook up and get back to luxurious slumber. Although my son is no stranger to this machine, I thought he was gonna bust a gut when I put it on this time. You see, we share a bedroom. I know that sounds very weird but I promise it isn't. It's just that our little house we can afford only has the one bedroom, that is very large, so we have to deal with it. He has his double bed and I have my queen bed. We have a night table between the beds. It looks like a hotel room. I am digressing so I'll get back to the real story now . . . . my first night back on the CPAP . . . . after I got the mask on and turned on the machine, it made a slight noise and I'm having to breathe in and out of my nose only, I wear a chin strap to keep my mouth closed so there is no snoring. I was breathing a little heavy while I was getting adjusted to total nose breathing. Brandon, who is a huge Star Wars fan, said, "Goodnight, Darth." Well, for some reason I found this very funny and then had to laugh while only breathing from my nose and the harder is was to do this, the more I laughed. He then said that he couldn't wait to tell his friends that his dream had come true and he found out that Darth Vader is his mother! Funny, funny kid he thought. Well, I just kept laughing and so did he. Then, he kept saying, "Brandon, I am your mother" in his Darth Vader voice (like when Darth told Luke he was his father). Maybe you'd have to be there to appreciate the humor but I'm glad that my son doesn't let the fact that his mom has a sleep disorder/medical condition get him down :)

Preparing for the night of fantabulous sleep.

My face-flattering mask and chin-strap.

Relaxing and adjusting to total nose breathing.

Aaaahhhhh . . . . me and my chins have just settled down for a long winter's nap.

All week long, I have felt like a new woman and I'm not falling asleep when I shouldn't. You are welcome, drivers and bossman!

If anyone out there has or thinks they might have Sleep Apnea and has ignored it, I highly recommend getting a check up and find out if the CPAP machine is right for you. It will change your life.

Love,
Denise

She Made My Day ~

2009-01-14T17:42:00.005-06:00

I am so excited! I have been out of blogland since Christmas, and I have come back today and discovered that I've been given an award. My sweet bloggy friend, much2ponder, who resides at, In Case You Were Wondering, presented me with this precious gift, The Lemonade Award.

The purpose of this award is:

to give it to someone who is showing gratitude or a good attitude
("if life hands you lemons, make lemonade") within their life or blog.

This is what she had to say about me/my blog . . . ."because she has dealt with some major changes over the past year and has been able to enjoy life and touch the lives of others with her smile and positive attitude in spite of her own hardships. Blessing to you my friend."

Thank you so much for this award!

If you have not stopped by In Case You Were Wondering yet, please do. It is an incredible blog that you will enjoy very much.

Love to all,
Denise

Buck and Me

2009-01-14T15:26:00.009-06:00

I'd like to introduce you to Buck Lee McIlwain. He's our 11 year old Labrador Retriever. My husband has custody of Buck and Buck's wife, Delta (a black lab mix). We've had Buck since he was 6 weeks old and he's been the most wonderful dog we could have ever asked for. Over the holidays, I saw Buck quite a bit and took this great picture of him. He suffers from arthritis and has trouble getting around, but his tail never stops wagging and he's always smiling. He is the reason I cannot go see "Marley and Me".

Please do not give up on me . . . . I promise to get back in the swing of blogging. I have become so busy at work and just don't have time to get online much. I don't have the internet at home. I am catching up on all your posts and will be leaving my comments.

Love to all,

Denise

2008-12-24T14:04:00.007-06:00

Christmas blessings to you all, my wonderful, bloggy friends!

I've gotten to where I like "Happy Christmas" for a change, instead of "Merry Christmas". They say "Happy Christmas" in England. I know this, not because I've been to England, but because my favorite Christmas movie is, "A Christmas Carol", and since I have not had my Direct TV on in about 2 months now, I've watched a whole lotta Christmas Carol! In case there is someone out there who has never seen "A Christmas Carol" - and I certainly hope there is not - it takes place in London, England. I collect the different versions. I think my favorite is the one with Patrick Stewart playing Ebeneezer Scrooge. I also have a musical version with Kelsey Grammar (Frazier) playing Scrooge and it is really good.

I had to work today :( We don't get Christmas Eve off anymore but depending on how the holidays fall, we might, some years. We are getting Friday off which will still give us a nice long weekend. I am taking vacation all next week too, so I am very excited.

Tonight, we're headed to Moman'nem's for supper and fun. No gift opening though, because we are strict Christmas Day openers in my family. My sister is coming home from Alabama to spend Christmas with us and we are very excited. She and her boyfriend get in today and they are going straight to Moman'nem's. As soon as I get off, Brandon and Ex-hubby, Steve, and I will all head on over. My step-sister, Jolie and my nephew, Zachary will already be there. We're all spending the night there and will all get up to see what Santa Claus brings Zachary and Brandon (yes, Brandon still gets Santa Claus visits at 17 ). My sister's 3 kids will be over tomorrow, as they will be with their dad tonight. We're having barbeque, potato salad, slaw, and beans for supper tonight - yum, yum! Tomorrow, we're just having snacky stuff besides a Turkey. My mom and I both work at the same company and we both received turkeys for Christmas from the company this year, so we got plenty of bird to eat.

We'll probably spend the whole weekend at Moman'nem's having a wonderful time just being together and eating and playing games - we are so much fun!! :)

Happy Christmas to you all!

Love,

Denise

You Like Me, You Really Like Me! ~

2008-12-10T17:30:00.004-06:00

I am just so excited because I have received my very first blogging award! Shelly at Smiling Shelly's Shell has presented me with this award and I am so very grateful. She is such a sweetheart and I'm so glad she's one of my blogging buddies! Please stop by her blog if you haven't already and you will be very glad you did. Always a fun read.

Please forgive me for taking a couple of days to relish in this award before I pass it on. I want to savor it for a little while.

This has really made my day - YAY!!!

Denise :)

Home Sweet Home ~

2008-12-08T18:03:00.004-06:00

Just had to show off my new little house I rented and moved into over Thanksgiving. Please see the slide show to the right - my very first slide show attempt - hope it's right. This house is definitely an answered prayer and a dream come true. It looks so small but the inside is very big. It's so quaint and warm. My landlady is an angel and I already love her. Please enjoy these pics I have taken so far. I'll have more to come later. Brandon wasn't home over the weekend so he's not in any of these but he'll be in the next set.

We love this house!

Thanks so much for your sweet comments and promises of prayer for my friend, Yvette. She's doing pretty good and has an appointment with a temporary agency in the morning.

Denise

A Sad, Sad Day

2008-12-05T16:34:00.006-06:00

I'm very sad today because my best friend, Yvette, became a victim of this nightmare, called the economy that we are all in now. She was fired/laid off due to downsizing. She was absolutely shocked and never saw it coming. At 10:30, she was called in the office and given the news, and told to leave. She will not receive any severance pay and will get her last check next Friday. She's a single mom and has a pretty rough time of it already. Why does this seem to happen right at the holidays so much of the time? I guess because it's the end of the year, but still . .

I would think that here in the United States of America working people would be protected from this kind of thing; if nothing else to be given a little notice, or a month's pay. I guess she will be eligible for Unemployment. I hope it starts very soon. She worked for a very small company. Maybe they do this more often that larger companies. Who knows?

Please keep Yvette in your prayers.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend. See you next week.

Denise

A Fun Way to Start ~

2008-12-04T12:50:00.001-06:00

This is a fun Christmas survey and I wanna know. I have already put my answers in. If you want to participate, just copy it and put your own answers in and send back out.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper (with hand-tied bows)

2. Live tree or artificial? Live

3. When do you put up your tree? Thanksgiving weekend

4. When do you take the tree down? The first week of January

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Purple bicycle with a white banana seat and a basket on the front.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes

8. Hardest person you buy for? My mom

9. Easiest person you buy for? My son

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A fancy crystal whiskey decanter set (I'm just not the fancy decanter set type)

11. Email or Christmas cards? Christmas cards

12. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Carol (I collect all versions - Alastair Sim version is my personal fav)

13. When do you start Christmas shopping? December

14. Have you ever re-gifted a Christmas present? No, but this year someone just might get a fancy crystal whiskey decanter set :)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Dressing

16. Clear lights or multi-colored? Multi-colored

17. Favorite Christmas Song? Do You Hear What I Hear

18. Travel or stay home for Christmas? Stay home

19. How many Christmas parties will you attend this year? 2

20. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes

21. Angel or star on top of the tree? Star

22. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Christmas Day

23. Most annoying thing about the Christmas season? The rudeness of the other shoppers and the sales clerks

24. What do you love most about Christmas? Spending Christmas Eve night at my mom's with the whole family and we all wake up together on Christmas morning and it's just like we were all kids again

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A red coffee maker and Clinique Happy perfume

Little House in the Big Woods

2008-12-03T10:21:00.008-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that all is well and I'm still around. I have had a hectic couple of months and have just moved from my apartment into a lovely small house I'm renting from a woman who has a really big house on about 4 1/2 acres. It's a wonderful place with lots of trees scattered around the property. I have a front porch with white rockers on it - the kind they sell at Cracker Barrel! Brandon and I got moved in over the Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, due to other issues, my mom moved our Thanksgiving dinner day to Saturday, so we ended up moving on Thursday and Friday. I don't have any photos yet but hopefully after this weekend, I will have some nice pics to post of my new place. Until then, please enjoy this drawing I did so you'd have an idea of how it looks. As you can tell, I'm sure, Brandon gets his artistic talent from me :)

Wish I could say the move was uneventful but it wasn't. For the first time in my life, I have a real laundry room! I love my laundry room because I am an ironer. I iron a lot because my mom instilled in me the importance of ironing your clothes. I will admit that I have relaxed it a bit when it comes to jeans and also things that look wrinkle-free when I get them straight out of the dryer, but for the most part, I iron a lot. Anyhoo, I can leave my ironing board up all the time and just go in there, plug in the iron, and iron my clothes without a lot of hassle. I know I'm digressing so I'll get back on track now . . . . . Friday night, I put a load of clothes in the washer and then I took Brandon to my mother's house for him to stay the night. I was gone about an hour and when I returned, my living room carpet was soaking wet, the kitchen had water running coming half way into it, and my laundry room was flooded!!! My washer hose had somehow come out of the drain and shot water all over from the whole wash cycle. It was horrible. I have never had anything like this happen before and I was horrified that the carpet in my great little house that was just cleaned by my landlady before I moved in, would be mildewed and ruined. I was sick! I used every bath towel, hand towel, wash cloth, dish towel that I could find and still had water going everywhere. I mopped too but that was pretty fruitless. 3 1/2 hours later, I got all the water up out of the laundry room and kitchen. I soaked up the carpet water as best I could and have just waited it out. It seems to be drying very well but there is a stain. I'm going to try to use a carpet shampooer and see if I can get that out before I have to own up to what happened to my landlady - who, by the way, is an angel of a woman. She's so great and I think we are going to be great friends.

I have definitely learned a hard lesson about leaving the house while the washer or dryer is running. The hose came out again Monday night, but I happened to be in the kitchen and heard it so I was able to catch it before the water ran anywhere other than the laundry room floor. I have since taped the hose down to the drain and I'm hoping it will be ok now.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm still eating dressing - yum, yum!

Love,

Denise

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow ~

2008-11-05T17:47:00.005-06:00

This used to be me when I would forget to pluck my mustache and beard and my 5 o'clock shadow would get the best of me.

Not any more! This past Saturday, I went to get my hair cut and I also decided to get my eyebrows waxed. Now, we've had the eyebrow conversation before and everyone knows I hardly have any. However, there are still these little annoying stray hairs that grow and need to be removed. Cassie, my wonderful hairdresser, waxed them for me and then I decided to have her do my lip and chin. Being a natural brunette, I have more facial hair than is considered desirable by our American standards. Cassie complied with my wishes and waxed my lip and chin. Then, I asked her to just do my jaws too. She made sure I was serious and again, she complied. Well, let me tell you . . . . that HURTS!!!!! After the pain stopped, my face felt so great to the touch. It was the softest skin I had ever felt. I was so excited! I was feminine again! My 5 o'clock shadow was gone! No one would mistake me for Mr. French anymore!

That was 4 days ago. . . . . now, I'm wondering if I didn't make a mistake. My face is not so soft as on that first day. It's also a little bumpy - I've had few breakouts. It even seems oilier than before. Worst of all, I can't help but wonder if my facial hair might come back with a vengeance and grow like this - uuuggh! What if it does? I guess I will have to have it waxed on a constant basis, or maybe start shaving. I did see a newscast once about women actually shaving their whole faces to exfoliate and renew their skin . . . .

Once again, I'm craving cuteness. I just hope I didn't go too far this time. I'll keep you posted.

Denise :)

The Bride Wore White ~

2008-11-03T13:05:00.003-06:00

Halloween has come and gone again. Some of the left-overs are pictured here today. . . . .

I had decided Friday morning that I was not dressing up, or going to the annual party at my regular karaoke establishment because I had not had the money for a real costume and I wasn't happy with what I had to work with. Finally, at about 5:15 Friday afternoon, I decided to "just do it". I had already purchased the "dress" for $3.00 from the local Goodwill Store and someone had loaned me some Frankenstein boots. All that was still needed was a little make up and some white spray for my hair. Within an hour and a half - Voila! The Bride of Frankenstein 2008 was born. My husband was busy wandering around Transylvania, scaring the yell out of the locals, so I went to the party and had a spooktacular time by myself. I didn't win a prize but I was comfortable and able to sit down and really enjoy myself. As usual, there was a glitch or two - my neck and wrist stitches kept rubbing off and just looked like black smudges. I finally gave up after re-applying 3 times. No one seemed to notice.

Don't we make a goulish couple? Brandon dressed as Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. He looked so great! He didn't go to my party but he had his own "thing" going on. Below he's pictured with Braxton, who is dressed as one of Joker's goons.

BeetleJoos pictured here with his lovely bride, went home with the 1st prize of $75.00. He looked really great!

My dear friend, Papa Smurf, pictured below with The Leopard Woman, went home with the 2nd prize of $50.00 - way to go Smurfy!

I think a great time was had by all.

Have a great week!

Denise

2008-10-23T17:03:00.001-05:00

I love to dress up for Halloween! In fact, I believe I like it much more as an adult than I did as a kid. I usually attend a party at the karaoke establishment I like to frequent. They always have a cash prize for the top 3 winners. In 2006, I won the top prize of $200.00 for this one: Bubble Bath. I was accompanied by my dear friend, Cereal Killer, who won $50.00. I looked these up on the Internet and they cost us practically nothing.

Last year, I was Static Cling. I didn't win anything but I loved my costume. I think I love it most because I was very comfortable. When I was Bubble Bath, I was miserable - my "bubbles" kept falling out of my "tub" and I couldn't sit down all night.

In 2005, I went as Tabitha Witch, and was accompanied by my dear friend, Spider Witch. We didn't win any money but we sure had fun!

Many Halloweens ago, I went to a friend's house party as the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. I really put on the dog for this one. I had a fake nose with a mole and a fake chin. My nose and chin were rubber and stuck on with some type of cosmetic glue. Well they kept sweating off and I was constantly trying to discreetly press them back into place so I wouldn't lose them in the punch bowl or the dip! I had the voice and that loud, shrill laugh down to a tee. The only thing missing was the Flying Monkeys! If I could still fit in this dress, I'd be this character every year. I was really GOOD!

This year, I plan to go as The Bride of Frankenstein. Of course, I'm very low on funds so it will have to be pretty much a home-made frock. I'm thinking of using white sheets but am still working out the details. I'll be sure to have pictures and will let you know how it goes.

Brandon is going as The Joker from The Dark Knight. He gets out in the neighborhood with all the other "kids" and has a great time handing out candy and doing a little trick-or-treating. Neither of us will ever grow up :)

If any of you have any old or new costume pics of yourself, please share. Also, if anyone has any ideas on how to fashion my bridal gown out of sheets (preferable with little or no sewing) - let me hear 'em.

AaaaahhhhhhhhOooooooooh!

Denise

Give A Little Love ~

2008-10-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

Monday night, just before I went to bed, Brandon announced that I would need to accompany him to school the next morning. I knew this meant he was in some kind of trouble but Brandon never gets in trouble. He's just a good, go by the rules, no waves kid. When I asked him what was up, his answer came as a surprise. He was written up for giving his girlfriend a kiss in the hallway. Well, all I could do was smile. I found this so amusing and was almost proud of my son. I know, I know . . . not the typical reaction from a mom whose son has gotten into trouble at school. I'm not a typical mom. Before I got too proud, I was sure to ask what kind of kiss it was, and was very relieved to learn it was a simple, quick peck that was hurried because they had to get to class. I still couldn't believe this happened because Brandon is just not the kind of kid to do anything like this. He said his girlfriend asked for the kiss and when he hesitated, she told him to just do it and not be so afraid. Well, he did it, and then came the consequences. Yep, the Adam and Eve scenario - ha ha.

If I didn't go to school with Brandon, he'd be suspended until I did go in and show myself to the authorities so they'd know I was fully aware of the heinous crime my son had committed. So to school we went yesterday morning, where we met with Mr. Wigley (giggle), who is an assistant principal, or some other type of authority figure under the principal. Mr. Wigley (giggle) shook my hand and greeted me, then apologized for having me take my time to come in. I just smiled and greeted him back politely. We sat down in his office and he told me that he just needed to make sure we knew that this kind of behavior would not be tolerated at school, and if it happened again, Brandon would be suspended. He also said that if Brandon wanted to kiss, he could do it somewhere else besides school. Brandon said it would not happen again, and I just continued to smile and never said a word. I was then asked to sign a paper acknowledging our meeting and then Mr. Wigley shook my hand again and thanked me for coming in. Brandon went on to class and I went to work. I don't know if I was expected to scold Brandon in that meeting, and personally assure Mr. Wigley this would not happen again, or if it was just a formality to follow procedure but I just found the whole thing ridiculous, even though rules are rules.

Wrong or right, here is my perspective:

Brandon is a high school senior, who will graduate in May. In all these years of school, this is only the 2nd time I've ever had to escort him to school because of any kind of trouble. The 1st time was last year because he had his cell phone at school, which I knew about anyway. If this is the worst thing I have to worryabout for 12 years of school, I'm pretty lucky, and I have a pretty great kid, which I knew about anyway :)

Until next time . . .

Kisses to you all!

Denise

M ~

2008-10-16T17:12:00.001-05:00

Here is the latest photo of my Moonshine Kitty. She's 5 months old now.

Mischievous, Monster, Magical, Meddlesome, Majestic, Messy, Maniacal, Marvelous, Mystical, Magnificent, Mine . . . . That's what the "M" on her forehead stands for :)

Meeeoooowwww!

Smilin' Through the Rain ~

2008-10-15T16:25:00.002-05:00

I've decided to share some of what's been going on with me recently, while I was out of touch with Blog Land. I feel much better now and I'm gonna be fine but I just thought I'd share since I received many sweet, concerned comments from my blogbuds. After this, I will be back to the more upbeat, somewhat humorous posts I enjoy writing much more. Warning . . . I am an open book and will tell just about anything about myself to total strangers, so if this becomes boring, I totally understand. This my longest post to date. You guys will probably be thinking that "more is less" as you read along.

In some of my past postings, I've told you that I am terrible with managing money and that I don't have any extra. The majority of my problems are financial ones brought on, in the long run, by myself but still . . . .

I am pretty much single, meaning that my husband does not live in the house with me, and that I am responsible for all of my own living expenses. Brandon lives with both his dad and me, so there is no child support exchanged from either side. Dad's financial situation is just as bad if not worse than mine, except he lives in a 3 bedroom house that is paid for, and has pretty much no expenses except food, lights, gas, water, and TV. We both get paid every other week, and on opposite weeks of each other, so when one of us is at the payday and no money to make it, the other one sometimes steps in with a loan until that one's payday arrives the following week. I would consider us very good friends. I think he would too but I've never asked him.

I'm not in debt because I paid off my debt when I lived with Moman'nem a year ago. I should never have taken this apartment that I live in now because it is too expensive and I pay way too much for what I have. However, I felt like it was time to leave my mom's because I didn't want to impose any longer, after I had been there a year. I don't think my mom would say it was an imposition but she just great that way. Along with the apartment rent, I also have electricity, Direct TV, and cell phones for both Brandon and myself. I make decent money but it's just not enough to manage all of this as a single person. I've really tried but I think it's pretty much impossible. December 1st will mark 1 year since I moved out of Mom's place and I've been struggling ever since. Throughout my struggles, the Lord has always provided and helped me make it. I've not had much "extra" but I've had the necessities. Even when I've made it because of someone else's helping hands, I am fully aware that God put those people with the helping hands in my life. I know we've been promised that the Lord will not put more on us than we can take, but I tell you sometimes I think I'm at the very end of my rope with only one hand still holding on.

I've had my power turned off twice recently but managed to get it back on by writing checks that I knew would not clear the bank but it did buy me time with lights on. I've had my cell phones turned off many, many times and had to wait quite a while to get them back on. This is kind of hard because we don't have a home phone - we rely solely on the cell phones for outside communication. I cannot even count the times my Direct TV has been turned off - it's off now but oh well, I've got a really large collection of DVD's I can watch. The worst thing to hit me lately is car troubles - MAJOR car troubles. The used car, that I love so much and just bought in April of this year with all the money I had from my income tax return, has a blown head gasket and I cannot afford to have it repaired. There was a problem with the radiator also and I opted to have it replaced, hoping I could still drive the car by using a head gasket sealant that a friend was going to try for me. Well, I paid $360.00 for the new radiator the same week that my rent was due so I let the rent go, to be late until I get paid this Friday. When the rent is late, it's an extra $80.00. After that $360.00, I am still unable to drive the car because the sealant didn't work. My friend spent a whole afternoon, out in the pouring rain, trying to make this work for me but it didn't. This is my 3rd vehicle in the last year and a half that has been rendered completely undrivable due to major shut down. The reason I had to buy this recent car is because my beloved Jeep Grand Cherokee that I've had for the last 10 years, lost it's motor on me - it burned up while I was driving it home from work one day. I had only been driving it for a few months because previously, the transmission had gone out on it and I was unable to have it fixed for almost a year. After the transmission deal happened, a really great friend of mine GAVE me a van that he had as an extra vehicle. It was so nice and fully loaded with all the extras, including a DVD player. Wow! My friend is truly a Godsend. I will be forever grateful. I managed to drive this van for about 8 months before the transmission went out on it. For those who might not know, transmission jobs are about $1700.00. I found myself with not one, but two vehicles now without transmissions, and no other means of my own transportation. My wonderful mother and my friend, Yvette stepped in and hauled me around wherever I needed to go. My mom and I work for the same company so she made sure I got to and from work. Yvette took me around on my various errands. This lasted until it was income tax return time, and I decided to take my money and have my jeep transmission repaired instead of the one in the van. I'm really more of a jeep person and I had missed it so. Ex-hub said he'd take the van off my hands and would have it fixed eventually, so I gave it to him so that if he did have it fixed, it would be his to drive because his car is on it's last "wheel" also (another story, that would be his to tell and not mine). Along with all this, I am constantly worrying about being able to get my son a vehicle to drive soon because he is 17. However, he is not very interested in driving and has not even gotten his permit yet, but I think it's because he knows he has nothing to drive and just doesn't say anything about it. He just acts uninterested in pursuing driving at all. Also, being that Brandon is a senior, there are lots of things he needs this year that I can't afford to buy him. That bums me out more than anything. Now, back to the jeep . . . I got the transmission in it fixed and drove it a few months before the motor burned up. Then I bought the used car that just blew it's head gasket. I was back to riding to work with Mom, and everywhere else with Yvette. Once again, almost shockingly, the Lord provided another friend with an extra vehicle not being used regularly, and he offered it to me to borrow for as long as I needed it. I busted out crying because I just couldn't believe it! This friend recently bought a new truck and had an old one he kept around for hauling dirt and such. He was completely honest and told me up front that the truck was no prize but it ran and would get me from point A to point B. It stays parked on the street and had been hit a couple of times in the driver door and because of this the driver cannot open the door from the inside, so you have to scoot across to the passenger side to get out, or reach out the window that only rolls down half-way and try to reach the outside handle. I didn't care; I needed this vehicle and I was gonna take him up on it. I did. We went to pick it up that evening and when I actually saw it, I was a bit surprised by just how damaged the driver door is but I couldn't let that bother me. Brandon, however, loved it and said the huge dent gave the truck character! I've been driving this truck a couple of weeks now and this is the first time I've been ecstatic to embrace "function over form".

Since I borrowed the truck, my friend has decided to just sign over the truck and give it to me. We both (and Brandon) think it will be a great first vehicle for Brandon when I am finally able to get something else for myself. We're going to replace the door (I think I can find one at a place called, "Pull A Part") and it will be good as new - at least for a young guy. The more messed up, the better they like them!

This Friday, my late rent has to be paid because I have already been threatened with eviction if I didn't pay 5 days ago, but I couldn't so we'll just see what happens. The last check I wrote to have my power turned back on last week will be bouncing this week also, so I honestly have no idea at all how I'm gonna make it on this next pay check, but after this thing with the truck, I've decided that I'm through feeling sorry for myself. I'm throwing all the pity party favors away, and I'm gonna stop all the crying. I do have a shameful confession to make . . . because I am a girly girl, I have had occasional thoughts of resentment for this truck because it isn't exactly the vehicle I would like to be driving right now, as a 42 year old woman who should have it more together. I'm embarrassed to drive it to work and have to slide over to get out of the passenger side. I have tried to hide it's imperfections as much as I possibly can by parking away from my usual spot. I'm so ashamed of myself because this truck is such a blessing. So, I've made a small list of positive things about my truck and I'm feeling better about "Ol' Bentley" now: My truck is green, which is my favorite color! My truck has a really cool radio that folds in and out depending on whether the truck is on or not to keep the radio from being stolen! This cool radio in my truck picks up my favorite "Oldies" station that my car radio would not pick up! My truck runs like a top! My truck came with a full tank of gas and I haven't had to refill yet! And last but not least, my worries are over about being able to afford a vehicle for Brandon! What a great truck :) All that is missing now is the sticker I'm going to put on the back window that says, "Silly Boys Trucks are for Girls" ;)

I feel like everything will work out because it always has. I just can't see how it could yet. I am going to start looking for a part time job. Hopefully, places will be hiring to extra holiday help and it won't be too hard to find something. I think with a part-time job, I could make it and still keep in my apartment. I have no ideas about another car yet but I'll have to worry about that later.

In the meantime, I'm gonna reflect on a song that my karaoke buddy, Butch, sings all the time. It's called, "Keep On Smilin" by Wet Willie. If you've never heard it, you chould look it us - cute song. I tried to attached a YouTube video and it was here at first but now it won't open, so I removed it.

Lunch With the Bunch ~

2008-10-13T13:07:00.005-05:00

Happy Monday, all! I'd like to introduce you to my daily lunch bunch from work. This is the group I eat with most every day and we have such a wonderful time "letting it all hang out" during our free hour in the day. Here is a secret for you . . . . most of the time we take an hour and 15 or 20 minutes - shhhhhh! In these photos we were at a great local meat & veggie place called, Dale's. We were having a "send-off" lunch for our expectant mother in the bunch- she's the one in the hot pink top (giggle). Since this photo was taken, a couple of months ago, the little momma has had a set of beautiful twins, a boy and a girl. She's on maternity leave now and the lunch bunch misses her very much! I really look forward to lunch with these great friends every day. We usually end up laughing so hard, some of us are either crying, or peeing, or both! By the by, no one peed at Dale's. We try our best to maintain our self-control when we make that rare venture off the premises to eat among civilization.

We usually eat in our company's on-site cafe, "Cafe Bon Appetit", where we either bring our own lunch or buy lunch from a large selection of daily delectables. It really doesn't matter what we're eating because fun is always the main course on this group's menu.

If any of my lunch buddies read this post, I'd like for them to know that I love our lunches together and always look forward to 1:00 pm - what a bright spot in the day!

Only once before have I had the pleasure of a daily lunch bunch that I looked so forward to visiting with. Sandra, if you are reading this, you know that I mean the lunch bunch I used to share with you years ago when we worked together. Back then, that was also a big bright spot in the day and I have never forgotten it and never will. I am very fortunate to have found as great a bunch in my present job as I had 10 + years ago.

I miss you, Sandra.

Bon Appetit, all!

PS - The word lunch is mentioned 60 times in this post. There is a prize for the first reader to find them all. JUST KIDDING! :)

Still Clinging to the Face of the Earth

2008-10-08T15:30:00.004-05:00

Greetings to all my bloggy friends!

I am still around but I'm just going through a rough time in my life right now. Yes, I'm mourning Paul Newman's untimely death. Just kidding . . . although I was very sad about Paul's passing, I've not been in mourning over that, rather just trying to deal with everything in my life falling apart and snowballing downhill. Please don't think I am not interested in blogging or reading your posts anymore. I am still very interested. In fact, today, I am going to start trying to catch up because I just believe I will be cheered up to downright blissteria if I read all your great, humorous, touching, insightful posts.

I was on vacation Monday and yesterday, and today I had lunch with my usual lunch buddies here at work, and they helped cheer me up for the day. They allowed me to vent and while I was venting, I added a little humor and made fun of myself, thus, laughing it off and making them laugh too. I feel much better already.

One thing I've managed to remember is that stressed is desserts spelled backwards! I haven't lost an ounce during my less than happy days.

Don't give up up on me; I will be back soon!

Love to all.

Grazie Mille! Amy ~

2008-09-04T15:35:00.006-05:00

I'm a little verklempt today.Yes, I've been to Amy's blog and she has posted my interview for her fascinating spot, "Inside the Blogger's Studio". What an honor! Thank you so much, Amy. You have really made my day and I do so appreciate you thinking of me and "highlighting" me in such a way. I had so much fun with these questions and I appreciate you not giving me any really hard ones :)

Amy is such a sweet, lovely friend to me. The funny thing about our friendship is that we don't even really know each other in person.

We've only met a couple of times through her mom, when she and I used to work together, but other than that I have just gotten to know her through her blog. She's witty, clever, creative, totally charming, and a joy to "read" every day. She always takes the time to read my blog and leaves me sweet, encouraging comments. We're gonna get together very soon, in person, and have a nice, long visit - and see Mama Mia!, even if it's on DVD. Until then, I'm going to keep reading her blog each day, and for those of you (if there are any) who may not have had the pleasure of visiting Amy's blog, I highly recommend it. You'll be so glad you did.

Amy, thank you so much for believing that I am interesting enough to be invited "into the blogger's studio". I thoroughly enjoyed it. Much love and many, many hugs to you!

On another, but indirectly related, note I have had a case of blogger's block for the past couple of weeks and I've just been sad and worried that I had nothing else to "say". I enjoy this so much and want to continue to be a part of the bunch but have had nothing to share. Once again, Amy has inspired me. Because of her, I had lots to say and share - at least for today.

My Bucket List

2008-08-26T14:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm sure by now you know all about the 6lbs. of lipstick we all consume in our lifetimes, so I guess it's time to move on . . . .

Recently I saw the movie, The Bucket List, with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I certainly hope you have already seen this movie but if you haven't, I highly recommend it. It did not receive much hype to promote it and I don't think the reviews were that great. I was told that it wasn't that good so not to bother seeing it. So, I never thought anything else about it and skipped it. A few weeks ago, I was in the video rental place and could not find anything to rent. Finally, my friend said we should try The Bucket List since there was nothing else we wanted. Reluctantly, I agreed and rented it.

To my surprise, it was a fabulous, heart-warming, humorous (not hilarious) movie that really, really touched my heart. You have never seen Jack Nicholson quite like this (in some parts of the movie) before.

The movie was directed by Rob Reiner, who is a great director, and has some really good movies under his belt.

I'm not going to give anything away because if you have not seen it, you really should and I'm hoping you'll take my advice, however, anyone who has heard of the movie knows that they make a list of things they want to do before they die, which they call, The Bucket List - before they "kick the bucket".

I have a list that I started a few years ago like this but I didn't call it a bucket list. That sounds kind of morbid to me, but since I saw the movie, I have changed mine to a bucket list also. I'd like to share my bucket list with you today. There is no order to this list, it's just numbered for neatness. These are all things that I really intend to do before my time is up. I'm 42 now, so I better get busy . . .

1. Learn to play the piano. I've always pictured myself sitting at a piano at Christmastime while my family is gathered around and we're all singing Christmas Carols while I provide the beautiful piano music to sing by.

2. Learn to read music. This may go along with the first one but you really don't have to be able to do one without the other. I love music and would just like to know more about it. When I was in the choir, I used to look at the music at practice and long to actually be able to read it. You don't have to read music to sing, but I do think it helps.

3. Learn to make balloon animals. It just looks like a fun thing to be able to do. I can see myself getting a part-time job at Margaritaville, in Destin where I go around the restaurant making balloon animal hats and such for kids. My mom actually bought me a balloon animal-making kit for Christmas, I was too distracted to make any animals back at Christmas, but I plan to pick those studies back up very soon.

4. Own a Mustang - the car, not the horse. Mustangs are my favorite cars of all time. I really love the 1965 but the ones on the road today are really great-looking too.

5. Learn to juggle. Another fun thing to be able to do, I would think. I already have some juggling balls, and a friend at work tries to teach me ever so often. One day soon, I'm gonna be able to mark this one off the list!

6. Vacation in Hawaii.

7. To have every episode of I Love Lucy. Believe it or not, I do not have all the episodes.

This is a very small list right now, but I think long and hard about this stuff and am constantly adding.

Please let me know if you saw the movie and what your thoughts were about it.

Interesting Fact ~

2008-08-18T16:42:00.013-05:00

Did you know? . . . .
A woman can consume 6lbs of lipstick in her lifetime.

That's one "painted up, wicked, city woman" - as Cousin Ernie Ford (on a hilarious episode of I Love Lucy) would say :)

Have a wonderful week!

Yvette

2008-08-13T16:07:00.003-05:00

This is my dear friend, Yvette. We've been friends since high school. I'll say since 9th grade but it was really 8th grade. However, Yvette does not remember me in 8th grade even though I sat right behind her in Mrs. Crider's English class!

Yvette is my party buddy and my "swimming" buddy. We are at karaoke together 3 nights a week, and we usually go to dinner together and take our kids with us, at least once a week (Anyone for Mexican? Ole'!). Every weekend that the sun shines brightly, you can find us in a pool, on our neon-colored floats, working on our savage tans and wondering what the poor folks are doing. Right now, we're pretty dark and "skinny". We both go to Cassie to get our hair cut, we go to the same place to "get our nails did", we go to the same gynecologist, and we both love a good fried bologna sandwich at JD's BBQ :) ~ thank you, Yvette! We are always struggling with our finances and never have any money. When we do have a few extra dollars, one of us'll say, "Let's go buy a shirt." That's just our thing. We're not too interested in what goes on the bottom part but we want the top part lookin' good!

Yvette singing some karaoke - Shakin' by Eddie Money is her theme song.

Every year we say that we're going to the beach in the summer, but we have yet to make it. For the two of us sun-worshipers, laying on a sugar-white Destin, FL beach for a week, or even a long weekend, would be a little slice of Heaven. Maybe one day, but until then, we have a pretty good time right here in the armpit of the south. We've accompanied each other on many milestone events: we went together and got our cartilage pierced (for those who don't know, that is the top of the ear ;), she went with me to get a tattoo, I went with her to get her nose pierced, I helped her move out of her house when she and her husband split up, and she helped me move out of my house when me and my husband split up. When we moved me out of my house, it was literally she and I all alone, driving the moving truck and doing all the lifting - we were such WOMEN that day! I'm sure you could hear our roars but didn't know what was. By the by, we have both moved around a few other times after the initial split from the husbands. We have tried to get a place together but since we each have a teenager and they are of the opposite sex, we would need 4 bedrooms and we can't really afford a 4 bedroom place. So, for now we each have our own place but we're just right down the road from each other.

My favorite picture of Yvette - taken a couple of years ago.

Yvette once told me that I was the kind of friend you could just sit with and be silent, without feeling uncomfortable. That was a great compliment to me. That's just the way we are - totally comfortable at all times. I know that I could call and wake her up in the middle of the night if I needed to, and she knows she could do the same. I did find out a few years ago, however, that I should never again ask to borrow a pair of panties ~ a story for another time :) We say what we feel like saying and if we get in a tiff and need a few days of space, we take it. It's a wonderful friendship and I'm very blessed.

Yvette, I hope you read this post because I am really gushing over you!

Love,

Your BFF ~

Happiness Is . . . .

2008-08-08T00:35:00.000-05:00

Being the first one to dig into a brand new jar of peanut butter.

Having the swimming pool all to myself.

Sleeping on fresh, clean sheets the first night.

Hanging out with Brandon just laughing and talking; having a geniunely great time together, doing nothing.

A refreshing shower after being really hot and sweaty.

Having everyone in my "Lunch Bunch" at work, present at the lunch table.

Someone telling me I am beautiful.

Getting to sing more than 3 songs at Karaoke.

Having a total stranger at Karaoke come up to me after I sing and tell me I am really good.

Coming home from work and no one being in my parking space.

Making it to payday without being in the negative.

Getting a pedicure and they polish my toenails and paint flowers on my big toes.

Finally getting the internet at home so I don't have to "illegally" blog at work.

What makes you happy?

Have a wonderfully fun weekend :-)

Tribute to a Comedic Legend

2008-08-06T15:07:00.000-05:00

Today would have been Lucille Ball's 97th birthday. She is my very favorite celebrity of all time. She was one of a kind and there will never be another one like her.

She was born Lucille Desiree Ball on August 6, 1911, in Jamestown, NY. She became a model in 1929 and appeared in quite a few movies (small roles) throughout the 1930's.

In 1940, she met and married Desi Arnaz. In 1951, the two of them created one of the most popular TV shows of all time, I Love Lucy, which also made Lucille Ball a household name and one of the biggest stars of all time. The show ran until 1960. Lucy and Desi also divorced in 1960. She went on to have two more successful TV shows, The Lucy Show (1962-1968) and Here's Lucy (1968-1974).

I really love this picture.

She has many other credits to her name in movies and television, and has received countless awards over her career span of 56 years. She has also been given several posthumous awards since her death. On August 6, 2001, which would have been her 90th birthday, the United Postal Service honored her with a commemorative stamp as part of it's Legends of Hollywood series. She has appeared on the cover of TV Guide more than any other person, with a total of 39, which includes the very first issue in 1953. TV Guide voted Lucille Ball the Greatest TV Star of All Time, and later it commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of I Love Lucy with eight collector covers celebrating memorable scenes from the show and in another instance they named I Love Lucy the second most influential television program in American history.

On April 18, 1989, she complained of chest pains and was rushed to the emergency room of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was diagnosed as having a dissecting aortic aneurysm and underwent heart surgery for nearly eight hours. The surgery was successful, and Ball was recovering; she was walking around her room with little assistance. On April 26, shortly after dawn, she awoke with severe back pains. Her aorta had ruptured in a second location and she quickly lost consciousness. All attempts to revive her proved unsuccessful and at approximately 5:47 PST, Lucille Ball died at the age of seventy-seven.

I guess I cried off and on for about a month after Lucy died. I was devastated. She had been making me laugh since I was about 6 years old. She was like family. She had been in our living room more than anyone else outside the immediate family. There were so many nice tributes on TV - I saw them all. Many, many magazines came out with her pictures on the cover - I bought them all. Of course, I came to terms with the fact that she was gone, but thanks to TV Land and DVD's, she is still making me laugh today. I guess the thing I admire the most about Lucy is that even though she was quite pretty, even beautiful at times, she was never afraid to look or act too ridiculous to get a laugh. It was the most important thing.

I am very grateful to Lucille Ball for all the laughs, pleasure, and entertainment she brought to me in my life.

Happy Birthday, Lucy!

Love,

PS - My favorite episodes are: Vitameatavegamin, where she does the TV commercial and gets drunk, and the one where she babysits twin boys to make extra money and ends up in a show dressed as a cowboy with a frog down her back. What are your favorites?

Happy Belated Birthday to Brandon

2008-08-04T15:28:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday, July 31st, was Brandon's 17th birthday. I just can't believe it - where has the time gone? It seems like just a short while ago he was standing in the hallway at my bedroom door with his cowboy hat on and his cowboy pistol drawn and pointed at me, telling me to "get in that corner where the bad girls go". This was one of my fondest memories of Brandon as a little boy . . . he was about 4 years old and I had recently gotten on to him for something and told him to "get in that corner where the bad boys go". It was the one and only time I made him stand in the corner. I know now that you aren't supposed to call your kids bad but back then, I didn't think anything about it, and he was acting bad. Anyhoo . . . . a couple of days went by and I had forgotten about the whole incident but my little genius had not. I was in my room dusting and I happened to turn around and see him standing in the doorway, so serious-looking, with his hat on and the gun pointed at me. He said in a gruff little voice, "you get in the corner where the bad girls go." My first thought was how smart he was to change it from boys to girls when he said it to me. Then, I was cracking up but trying to hide it. I told him he better watch his little mouth and go on and play. He did, and then I really let loose some laughter. Ah, the memories.

Brandon's birthday was a little different this year. He didn't know what he wanted or what, if anything, he wanted to do. I'd ask, he'd say he didn't know. We went back and forth until Tuesday, the 29th arrived. I was piddlin' around in the kitchen that evening and he came in and announced, "Well, I'm throwing myself a birthday party tomorrow." Just the way he said it made me laugh - he's funny like that. He said he had invited some friends over to swim and then they were all going to the movies to see Dark Knight (Brandon's 3rd time to see this). He had to do it a day before his birthday because some of his friends had to work on the birthday - he was cool with that. Sure enough they all came and swam and they all went to the movies. When I got home that afternoon, he was a little upset. Being the generous soul that he is, he bought Domino's Pizza for everyone, and ended up buying movie tickets for 2 of the friends. He had spent way too much of his own money and he was not happy. This was not birthday money, but some money he had earned dog/house sitting for Maman'nem while they were on vacation. He finally got over that and the ones he bought tickets for have promised to pay him back - we'll see about that. The next day was his birthday and I took him out that evening to "find" his present. I ended up buying him a web cam so he can make his video clips and stop-motion movie shorts he likes to me - he's very, very good at this. We also got some Chick-fil-A for dinner - we don't have a lot of money right now. He was happy and I was happy that he was happy. The next day, Friday, Aug 1st, I took off work and we got him registered for his senior year in school, which he starts this Thursday. I still just can't believe it. I can't help but be a little sad for myself.

Yesterday, we were still celebrating Brandon because we had plans to be at Maman'nem's and he wanted us to wait and have birthday cake with them. So, I got a cake and took it there and we enjoyed it after eating some good ol' grilled burgers. He's like his mom . . . . makes that one special day last for a week!

He's a great kid, and I am one lucky mom!

Happy Birthday, Brandon - Still.

I love you,

Mom

To Amy ~

2008-07-30T12:55:00.000-05:00

Hello Amy!

I'm your Vitameatavegamin girl!

Are you tired, run down, listless (bored, sick of laying down, a little sad)?

Are you unpopular (bedridden with good hair)?

Do you poop out at parties (of going to parties)?

Well, the answer to all your problems is in this little bottle.

Vitameatavegamin.

Yes, Vitameatavegamin contains vitamins, meat, vegetables,

and minerals.

Yes, with Vitameatavegamin, you can spoon your way to health!

All you do is take a big tablespoon full after every meal.

It's so tasty too! Tastes just like candy!

So why don't you join the thousands of happy, peppy, people and get

a great big bottle of Vitameatavegamin.

That's Vita-meata-vega-min!

Amy, my friend, I sure wish a bottle of Vitameatavegamin could make you feel better so you could get up and around. I hope this at least made you smile - Lucy makes everyone smile! I know you are so tired of being in bed. When you are feeling better, and up and around, I'd like to meet you and your mom on a Saturday so we can go see Mama Mia!. I have seen it but I could see it every day - can't wait to see it again (did I say see enough?). I think about you every day, and I read your posts every day also. It is wonderful how you are still keeping your sense of humor when you are not feeling well. I am sending up prayers for you and I know all your other bloggy friends are doing the same. Hope you are having a good day.

Many hugs and lots of love,

PS - As you can tell, I do not know how to strike through words. Please give a girl some text formatting help when you can.

I Was Tagged ~

2008-07-30T11:47:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! I have been tagged for the first time as a blogger. Amy tagged me to tell six (6) random things about myself. By the by, Amy's blog is WONDERMOUS! Please visit if you have not already.

Huuummmm . . . . . what about me????

1. I am a true blue Lucy fan. I started watching I Love Lucy when I was old enough to watch TV, and have been loving Lucy ever since. I have so much memorabilia that I could probably sell it on ebay and make a small fortune. However, I have promised all of my Lucy treasures to Brandon upon my death - LOL! I have dolls, books, comic books, paper dolls, purses, t-shirts, posters, pictures, you name it. The thing I admire most about Lucille Ball is that she was never afraid to look or be totally ridiculous to get a laugh. I miss her very much!

2. I think I love to easily or too much. I fall in love with everyone who is nice to me that I will be in contact with on a regular basis. I don't mean romantically. I just really develop a love for people very easily.

3. I am terrified of spiders. I mean really terrified. When I see one, I am momentarily paralyzed, then if anyone is home besides me, they have to kill it. If I'm there alone, I can do it, but I'm wigged out a bit and it takes a lot out of me. I usually have spider dreams when I've seen on that day - uuuggghhhhh!

4. I laugh when people fall. I know, I know it's horrible but I do and I just can't help it. I'm still concerned and I try to see after the faller, but I have to get my giggles on too - I don't know why.

5. I really enjoy singing. Now, it's mostly karaoke, but in the past I've sung Church solos alone with just music and solos with the Church choir backing me up. I've sung at a few weddings. And once when I went to Florida with my friend, Nancy, we went to hear a band and she asked the band if I could sing with them and they then invited me up to sing 'Give Me One Reason' by Tracy Chapman - what fun!

6. I have a tattoo on my left leg just above my ankle. It's a yellow rose with a butterfly just landing on one of the petals. When I turned 35, I decided I wanted a tattoo and I was plenty old enough to get one if I wanted it - so I did. I have yet to regret it. It's not as big as it looks in this picture.

I think all 4 people who read my blog also ready Amy so I really don't have anyone to tag. This is fun though and I will be checking out all the other tagees for their interesting facts.

Attitude ~

2008-07-25T14:39:00.008-05:00

More days than not, I find myself complaining or feeling sorry for myself about my life's troubles. I received one of those "pass-around" emails today and was very inspired by it and wanted to share it with my friends. Enjoy this and have a wonderfully fun weekend!

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?" So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

"H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?" So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

"Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

"YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly....... Leave the rest to God

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

A Must See ~

2008-07-23T16:09:00.009-05:00

"We" all went to see Mama Mia! and just look at our smiles!

"We" LOVED it. You must go.

Mamma mia, here I go again

My my, how can I resist you?

Mamma mia, does it show again?

My my, just how much I've missed you

Yes, I've been brokenhearted

Blue since the day we parted

Why, why did I ever let you go?

Mamma mia, now I really know,

My my, I could never let you go.

Monday Movie Review

2008-07-21T12:12:00.013-05:00

The new Batman movie is OUTTA SIGHT! Brandon and I went to see 'Dark Knight' Friday night and we cannot stop talking about it. I don't know if any of you are big movie buffs but I am. Ordinarily, I'm not an action movie lover but I did see the Batman movie just before this one, called 'Batman Begins' and loved it, so now I'm hooked for as many of these newer Batmans(?)/Batmen(?)/whatever, that they plan to make. Brandon loves (obsesses) over every new action type movie that comes out but he is a real fan of super hero/comic book movies. We made a date months ago to go see this one on opening night. Now, for any of you who are interested in this and may have seen it or at least checked the reviews on the internet, you'll know it is not for small children. Brandon and I took a 5-year old with us. I mentioned in a previous post that Brandon is staying at Maman'nem's house, dog-sitting while they are in New York. Well, my nephew (Zachary) who adores Brandon wanted to go stay with him for a couple of days. When his mom called me and asked me if I thought it would be ok, I told her yes, and also mentioned we were going to see Dark Knight during his stay. We all thought it would be fine and I bought advanced tickets for the three of us. This movie has been anticipated by the whole family for quite a few months now. Well, as I started reading the reviews I knew this was no 'Batman and Robin' from TV Land! What was I to do? He already knew about it, so I couldn't tell him he couldn't go, and of course he said he would not be scared, and he was staying with Brandon and we had a date to go. One of my friends at work (a guy) really teased me saying, "oh that is just great; he'll be a serial killer in a few years!" Of course I was also afraid I'd be embarrassed when we walked into the theater with a small child to see this dark, murderous movie - uugghh! I kidded back to my friend that was teasing me earlier that Mama Mia had a showing at the same time so I could just send the kid in to see Mama Mia and he, being a he, said, "well, I don't know which would scare him more!" Anyhoo, movie time came and Brandon let Zachary wear his Batman hat, and we got lots of candy so he'd be happy during this scary movie. Brandon and I played "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see who would take Zachary out for bathroom breaks should the need arise, and I lost. Zachary was excited and looking forward to the movie and looked so cute in the Batman baseball cap that was too big. He had a giant Coke, and 2 boxes of candy to enjoy during the movie. By the time they showed the usual 2 jillion commercials, all the previews, and the opening credits to the movie, Zachary was yawning. He made it through the first 20 minutes and 8 murders before he fell slap out asleep! He slept all the way through the rest of the movie and never moved - not even a bathroom break. I felt kind of bad that he missed it because he wanted to see it, but I was really glad because it was much too violent for him.

The movie was great, and Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was remarkable and definitely Oscar worthy. If you, like me were very saddened by Heath Ledgers death recently, you will be glad to know that you can't even imagine him as you watch this. It is absolutely unbelievable! Brandon and I had a great time watching and will probably see it again in the theater.

Tomorrow night, I'm off to see Mama Mia! Can't wait!

M is for Mary ~

2008-07-17T14:00:00.004-05:00

Ok, I know I said I was done with kitten posts, but I decided to do just one more (for now anyway). My little Moonshine is a tabby cat. True Tabbies have an 'M' on their foreheads.

There are several amusing legends about how tabby cats got their 'M'. The most popular of these legends tells us that when the baby Jesus was lying in the manger he started to shiver with the cold. Mary covered the baby with blankets but still he kept shivering. Mary then asked all the animals to move closer to the manger so that their body heat would warm Jesus.
The animals stood as close to the manger as they could but the baby Jesus remained cold and shivering. After a time a small cat with tabby markings jumped into the manger and snuggled next to Jesus. Before long the baby had stopped shivering and was sound asleep, contented and warm.
In her gratitude to the tabby Mary made the mark of her own initial, upon the cat's forehead so that tabby cats will forever remind the world of how they warmed baby Jesus from the cold.

I heard this several years ago and thought it was so sweet. I was just reminded of it the other day and wanted to share it with you. I think it's true . . . .well, it could be??

Since this is my last kitten post for a while, I'll tell you that she and Shotzie are playing very well together now and I think they are on their way to friendship. I've been discouraged a bit because Moonshine has not been very receptive to Brandon or me. However, the strangest thing happened Tuesday night. She had tape worms and I got some tape worm pills for her. I was to give her one and I knew from previous experience that this would not be an easy job. Just imagine trying to cram a pill down the throat of something that has 18 (or 20 - not sure) little swords on it that are slicing at you from all angles! Anyhoo, I managed it after about 7 minutes of trying. She was struggling and slicing, but right after she swallowed that pill, she just fell in love with me! She got in my arms and let me hold and pet her, she crawled up to my shoulder and sat on it for a bit, she just could not get enough of me. She's been this way ever since. It is just so cool! Brandon has not been home because he's staying at Maman'nem's house taking care of their dogs while they are on vacation in upstate New York. Hopefully, she'll love him too when he returns.

By the by . . . . can anyone tell from pictures I've posted before, if this kitten might be long or short-haired? She's pretty fuzzy but I wonder if that is just kitten fur.

Take a Breather?

2008-07-16T16:44:00.004-05:00

Even if only for a few minutes :)

And the Name Is . . . . . .

2008-07-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

After 3 days and 3 nights of agonizing over what to name my new kitty cat (which incidently is my birthday gift to myself - tomorrow is my 42th birthday), I have finally settled on Moonshine. Contrary to what some may think, I did not name her after the alcohol made in a still by Granny Clampett. I just think that Moonshine is a pretty word. When you say it to yourself, don't you just think of something pretty?

Her full name is Moonshine Yvette McIlwain. These pics are the newest ones. I'll give you a break from the cat after this post. Just wanted you to know she finally had a name. I know now that she will be so excited over her name and will always come when called - LOL!

Have a great weekend, y'all.

Quirky or Weird? You Decide ~

2008-07-10T17:02:00.000-05:00

My friend, Tina (Golden Goodness), posted about her quirks this week, and I thought it was pretty fun to find out these little interesting things about her. I'm doing my own "quirk" post today but I'm not stealing from Tina. She invited her readers to do this and I'm taking her up on it. I think we should all do it for giggles.

* I have a "thing" about messy handwriting. I think I have a pretty nice handwriting but if I am writing something that someone else might read, I will re-write as many times as it takes before I think it is presentable. And . . a really big deal to me is if I order a birthday cake and the writing on it is ugly or messy. That totally grinds my gears! I won't usually say anything when I pick up the cake because I'm not big on making scenes, but you can bet everyone back at the house will get an earful!

* I really love to eat in front of the TV. Food just tastes so much better when watching a good show. However, I don't like to eat while a commercial is on, or while surfing for a show to watch. It has to be during the actual show only.

* I have a "thing" about people going outside in their sock feet. It really gets under my skin. If my son does it, I yell at him. If others do it, I just stare and wince. It totally ruins socks.

* I am a freak about washing my hands. I wash them countless times a day. I notice if people don't wash their hands when they are preparing food and it really gets to me. Every time my hands touch something while I'm cooking (which is not often), I have to wash and dry my hands and then go on to the next thing.

* I am a loyal Coca-Cola drinker. I don't do Pepsi at all. If I order Coke at a restaurant (which is rare because I find it ridiculous to pay $2.00 for a drink, so I usually get water) and they ask me if Pepsi will be fine, I have to say no and have them just bring water. Believe me, I know the diff.

* If I am in a public place and I hear a baby or small child crying - serious crying and not whining - it makes me tear up and cry.

* I really enjoy the smells of gasoline, and hair perms in a beauty shop.

* I sleep with a nightlight on.

* I have a "thing" about people moving stuff around on my desk when I'm away. I'm not like this at home but at work, it is another gear-grinder for me. I'm a real neat nick about my work area and if I've been out of the office and I come back to find things are moved around, or Heaven forbid, someone has left trash at my desk (coffee cups, personal notes, etc.), I cannot get do a thing until all is back in order.

* I keep all of my shoes in shoe boxes because I'm afraid of spiders crawling into the shoes. I know deep down that they can still get in, but humor me.

What are some of your quirks?

Found a Kitty Cat!

2008-07-08T11:04:00.014-05:00

I asked and I received! Yesterday, I sent out an email at work to a few friends of mine, asking if anyone knew of somebody who had kittens to give away. Within an hour, I already had a positive response, and I picked up my new little girl last night!

She had been abandoned near a hospital and was picked up by the woman I got her from. The woman (Kathy) said she just felt so sorry for her and could not leave here there. Kathy was unable to keep the kitten though, because her daughter is very allergic to cats. The daughter is not home right now but will be coming home in a couple of weeks. Kathy took her to the vet on June 26th and they estimated her age to be 5 to 7 weeks. She was wormed and given the first round of kitty shots. Kathy was just hoping to find her a good home before her daughter returned. When I sent my email out about wanting a kitten, a friend of mine here at work said she had just talked to her friend, Kathy on Saturday and was told about the kitten. I called, and was able to go over and pick her up last night. She came with food, litter box, litter, and a toy. The family was very sad and would have loved to keep her but they just couldn't. It was definitely a win/win situation. This little girl is a brown tabby with white. I'm hoping for short hair, but she's pretty fuzzy; looks like she may eventually have medium or long hair.

Shotzie really likes her but is a little too rambunctious just yet. I told Shotzie that she has to spread her love thinner and not try to shower the baby all at once ;-) When Shotzie runs up to the kitten, she bows up like a Halloween cat, and hisses - it is so funny to see this little bitty cat hissing. She is very small and you can barely hear the hiss. She tried to slap Shotzie's face once but Shotzie was too quick for her.

I have not named the baby yet, as I am a total freak about naming pets and have the hardest time because I think I have to have the most perfect name there is. I usually pick a name and then change it 5 or 6 times within the first month. It really doesn't matter anyway since it's a cat - they don't come when you call them or even act like they know their name anyway most of the time ;-) I have looked at list after list of female cat names but still can't decide. I thought I might wait a few days and let her personality choose her name for me. However, If you have any name suggestions, please feel free to lay 'em on me. I would love to hear your ideas. As of today, I like Gidget, Shasta, Lottie, ZuZu, Catrice, Paisley, Chelsea, and Saturn. Thanks in advance for your help!

Looking for a Kitty Cat

2008-07-07T11:43:00.011-05:00

Happy Monday, all. I made it back from Alabama and all is well. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to show you. No photo op presented itself while I was there this time, but maybe next time. I had fun and enjoyed seeing everyone. My back is better too - hope it stays that way.

I've decided I want a kitten. I had 2 cats (Purrl and Jozie) but when I had to move home with my mom a year and a half ago, I had to find a foster home for them because my mom is allergic to cats. Cassie, my friend and hair dresser, took them in for me even though she already had a couple of cats and dogs. I will always be grateful to her for this because I was really in a bind and I felt so horrible having to abandon my cats. She has had them over a year now and both she and her husband have grown quite attached to them. I asked her if she'd like me to take them back now since she has a new baby (a human baby this time) in the house, but I got the feeling from her response that she wants to keep the cats. I certainly understand and feel like it is only right, if she does want them, to let her keep them after this much time. I sure do miss them though. I visited them a couple of times within a few months of moving them to Cassie's and they acted like they were not the least bit interested in me anymore - snooty felines! Anyhoo, I'm wanting another kitty cat. I think Shotzie will like a cat too. I had her for a few months before our cats moved in with Cassie and she loved them. They, on the other hand, were not quite as crazy for her. I'm looking for a female, short-haired kitten with a sweet personality. Purrl was a long-haired calico and probably one of the prettiest cats I've ever seen. When she was a baby, she had gorgeous green eyes, but they finally changed to gold. Purrl was sweet as a baby but when she grew up, she was one snooty feline!Everything was on her terms and her terms ONLY. She was the first cat I ever had so I was new to the ways of a cat, but quickly learned, "every cat owner knows that nobody owns a cat!" :) Jozie was a year younger than Purrl and was a short-haired grey tabby. She was sweet as a baby and as an adult.One thing that bothers me is the way a house smells when cats live there. I kept my litter box clean but still had odor. I tried to potty train P and J but they wanted no part of it. I believe I could have eventually talked Jozie into it, but not Purrl. Anyway, I want a cat but I don't want a stinky house. If any of you have any sure-fire remedies for a smelly cat house, please advise, and wish me luck in my search for a new kitty.

Goin' to Alabama With My Banjo on My Knee ~

2008-07-02T16:05:00.014-05:00

Brandon and I are heading out to Hazelgreen, AL tomorrow to visit my dad, George, his wife, Tracey, and my sister, Michelle. You have met Michelle in a recent post.I really won't have my banjo on my knee because I don't play the banjo and would therefore, have no need to take one with me. However, I would absolutely love to learn to play the banjo. Does anyone remember Wendy Holcombe on Hee Haw? (This is not her) As usual, I'm digressing. I haven't seen my dad in about a year and I'm looking forward to the visit. However, I have been having some back trouble and I'm so hoping it does not hurt too badly to make that 4-hour drive. I went to my MD yesterday and x-rays they took only show muscle spasms and inflammation. I was surprised because I am in some serious pain. I mentioned before that my chiropractor told me several weeks ago that my pelvis was rotated out. Well, these x-rays yesterday didn't show anything like that at this time. Whatever is wrong, I'm feeling it, as this candid shot of me below will prove. I was given 2 prescriptions: a mild pain pill that does allow me to sleep really good, and a non-drowsy muscle relaxer. I stayed home yesterday and took one of the pain pills. Today, I decided to go back in to work since I am on vacation tomorrow. I felt pretty good when I first got up this morning but by the time I twisted and turned in the shower gettin' squeky clean, pulled pants on, got in and out of the car, dropped my employee badge 3 times on the way in and bent down to pick it up, and walked 10 minutes from the parking garage to my desk, I was in some more really good pain. I thought I might have to leave early but I stuck it out - I am such a he-woman! This whole thing is probably due to the fact that I'm going to be 42 next week. Anyone out there who is in their 20's or 30's, be sure to enjoy every day, because it's almost like the day you hit 40, you need to start picking out your casket! ;-)

My plan is for us to leave our house around 3pm. I'd like to get in a couple hours of pool time since I'll be gone all weekend. If it is not sunny, we will leave by noon. We are taking Shotzie with us. Not sure how this will go over 'cause we've never taken her on a road trip before. She'll have the whole back seat to herself so you'd think she'd be nice and comfy and enjoy the ride . . . we'll see! She's gonna be a surprise to our hosts. You know the old saying - "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission." :)

I plan to take lots of pictures while visiting Pops so you will be meeting some more of my family next week. Michelle and Tracey are taking me to a karaoke bar - don't know why they think I would enjoy that ;-) but I'll humor them.

Have a happy fun-filled 4th of July! See you next week.

"Won" Word Wednesday ~

2008-07-02T10:31:00.003-05:00

Awwwwww!

Babies Are Good for What Ails Us ~

2008-06-30T16:53:00.007-05:00

My good friend and hairdresser, Cassie, had her first baby on Friday, June 27. Cassie was one of the lucky ones in her delivery. In fact, she was so lucky, I could just spank her good. She already knew she was going in to be induced. They checked in at 4:30am Friday morning. Usually, inducing slows down labor, but not this one. This little man was ready and came on into the world at 10:06am that same day! His name is Owen Brady Carwile (Brady). He weighed 7lbs 3oz, and is 19 1/4". Isn't he gorgeous?Did I mention that Cassie has no stitches, stretch marks, or extra weight to lose to show for all her hard work? Other reasons I'd like to spank her good. Seriously though, I'm so happy for Cassie and her husband, Dustin. Their new son is so precious. I went to see them at the hospital Friday night and I've already held the little angel. Please enjoy a few other pics I took at the hospital:

Congratulations, guys! Cassie, you cuttin' hair Saturday?

Love,

Ice Cream Social

2008-06-27T10:15:00.020-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I tried a new grocery store, Aldi. I don't know if you have an Aldi in your neck of the woods, but I had heard it was a lower priced store, but did not have the same name-brand items I was used to. I'm not a big name-brand person anyway except for peanut butter (Peter Pan or Jif only) and ketchup (I'm a Heinz girl). I liked the store but I did not buy any peanut butter or ketchup. I did buy some ice cream in a large bucket for $4.00. The ice cream flavor is Strawberry Swirl, which is Vanilla with some Strawberry glaze swirled throughout. It is very delicious! And $4.00 for a big bucket! Anyhoo, every day Brandon and I make plans to have some of the ice cream that evening after supper (because we are so weight conscious). A few nights ago, I put some of the ice cream in a bowl for Shotzie. I usually don't give Shotzie people food because she cannot just eat what you give her and go on. Instead, she acts like a complete freak and will not stay out of our faces after we give her something we're eating. The fact that she's a dog may have something to do with this but still - I cannot stand how she acts. I remembered that my Meemaw used to always give her dogs ice cream every night when she and my Popaw would have their own ice cream treats. Meemaw's dogs were always fat, but I don't know why. Well, I thought Shotzie might enjoy some ice cream too, in her own bowl. She loved it! Brandon just thought that was so funny for me to give Shotzie some ice cream. He didn't know why he was laughing so much but he said he couldn't help it. It's a good feeling to be able to amuse a teenage boy with so little effort.

Last night was another ice cream night at our house. I fixed big, heaping bowls of soft, creamy, cold mounds of sugary sweet Vanilla ice cream with the ruby red, fruity sweet Strawberry glaze running all through it for Brandon and me. I then fixed Shotzie her bowl (not heaping to our standards, but heaping enough for her) of what has now become her usual creamy delightful treat. Brandon started laughing again while he was watching her eat it. I told him that I could not believe he still thought it was that funny. He said, "Mom, I know this is not really a guy thing to say, but I think that is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Well, being the mom of a teenage boy, I thought that was about the cutest thing I had ever heard. You see, Brandon is such a cool kid. He enjoys watching I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith with me. He is sensitive to sad movies - like Sling Blade. He even liked and "got" Lady in the Water when we went to the theater together to see it. Heck, most adults didn't get that. He is not ashamed to have dinner in public or attend movies with his parents. And yet, he is totally straight. In this day and time, it seems to be so important for young boys to be macho and tough and have very little to do with their parents. I'm very proud to say that Brandon is not like that and we enjoy each other's company very much. We're going to see Mike Myers' The Love Guru this weekend - can't wait!

I hope you have a lovely weekend. See you Monday!

PS - I know the green is hard to read but the ice cream colors are so pretty :)

Cry Baby

2008-06-26T15:20:00.002-05:00

I'm on a crying jag today. There is nothing wrong with me or upsetting me; I'm just easily moved to tears - today more than usual. Every blog I have read this morning, except Amy's (in my life) has made me cry. Not sad tears, but moving, happy tears. I'm very sensitive anyway and will usually cry at the drop of a hat, over what would seem like nothing to most. I watched Sling Blade last weekend with my son, and I cried - it was Sling Blade! If you don't know, it does have some pretty touching scenes between Carl (the murderer just released from a mental hospital) and Frank (the 12-year-old boy who befriended Carl and thinks he's a good person no matter what). I always cry in sad movies, in fact, I can never, ever watch Ghost or Message In a Bottle again because those 2 movies deeply sadden me and actually hurt my heart so much, I cannot bear to watch them. Not to mention, The Notebook. I bought that movie and have only been able to watch it once so far because I cried so much throughout the movie, I wouldn't be able stock up enough on Kleenex.Some music also moves me to tears. I really love music but only learned how emotional it can be for me several years ago when I had the pleasure of attending a concert that was put on by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, which was honoring the composer of marching band music, John Phillip Sousa. I know it sounds boring and you may wonder, "who in their right mind besides military personnel, would enjoy this?" Well I did. The music was so beautiful it really made me cry. Another piece of music that makes me cry is the song, My Prayer, by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church, usually heard at Christmastime. Talk about moving to tears. Their voices are so beautiful alone, but when they blend them and with the music to back them up . . . . you just gotta hear it to understand.

I learned many years ago that my spiritual gift from God is Mercy. I feel very deeply for those who are hurting, whether it be physical, spiritual, or emotional. It is nothing for me to bust out crying at work (because I am so professional). Someone in my department just lost his father last week, and I was so sad and hurt for him that every time someone mentioned it I cried. I was unable to attend the funeral, but a couple of the others in our group went and told me about it. All I could do was listen and cry. Before the father passed away, he was very sick with cancer and it came on and wiped him out faster than I've heard of in a while - 2 months from the day of diagnosis. Anyway, when I would ask my co-worker about his sick father (which was not often because I know how I am) I would just cry during the whole conversation because I was so upset and hurt for him and his family, and the sick father who had been so active in his life and was suddenly and oh so quickly reduced to his bed or a chair. I felt so bad for crying because I was afraid it was upsetting him more but I couldn't help myself.

I really have a very strong, and maybe to some, weird, sensitivity to animals. Even spiders (not really animals, I know), which I am deathly afraid of and am instantly temporarily paralyzed at the sight of, have a needle's eye-sized place in my heart so that I really hate to kill them. However, I feel it is kill or be killed in these cases so they are usually gonners unless they run while I'm paralyzed and then I've lost them until the show back up later with all their friends and family. I'm digressing but it does kinda pertain to the story. Everyone has laughed at me because of my recent week-long stint as a Vegetarian. Several months ago, there was story that broke on the news about a beef recall (you will probably remember this) and footage was shown of a slaughter house facility where there were all these sick and crippled cows trying to walk and move but due to their sicknesses they couldn't, so they were being shoved by bulldozers and also were being prodded in the eyes and face by workers, with some kind of long rods. Well, this came on before I could change the channel and I was absolutely horrified and I cried, no, sobbed while I watched this. My son was with me and he didn't cry to my surprise because he is also very sensitive, but he was pretty upset. At this point, I declared myself a Vegetarian. Not because I have a problem eating meat, but because I was so shocked and upset by the cruelty inflicted on these pitiful animals who were already doomed to be on someone's grill soon. If anyone knows for sure, please tell me that this is an isolated incident and this really doesn't happen. Well, the Vegetarianism lasted a whole week until I went to Maman'nem's on a Sunday and they had made a roast. I tried to ignore the roast and concentrate on the mashed potatoes, bread, and green beans, but the family taunted me with the meat until I gave in. Then Patrick, my step-dad, did try to make me feel better. He said I could view this as a mourning period I had been through for those mistreated cows. That sounded pretty good and I ate roast. Still, I was a freak about these cows for a while. That is all I thought about and talked about.
I guess I may as well tell you the rest of the story . . . when I was a child, I would apologize to, and actually feel bad for all the things in the store that we were not buying that day. My mother will attest to this. If I got a new outfit or toy - oh, especially if it was a stuffed animal or resembled an animal, I would take a ridiculous amount of time choosing the one I wanted and then apologize to everything else because I couldn't take it home too. I know, I have been weird my whole life! And . . . chocolate Easter bunnies (Peeps too) . . .well, I just cannot eat them at all now, but when I was little, I would eat them because they were candy and I was a kid, but I'd start at the feet and cry and apologize all the way up. Wow! Actually reading this to myself is revealing to me for the first time just how totally weird I really am. Why do I tell people this stuff about myself? Some things should probably be left in the closet . . . . oh, well - now, you know. Besides, the one's who would make fun of me don't read my blog anyway.

All of this really does tie in to the fact that I am super sensitive and am an easy cry. The blogs I read that made me cry today were all sweet and touching about babies, children, etc. and I was just touched. However, I feel like it will be very easy for me to cry about anything else that comes my way today.

If you are ever sad and need someone to just listen and cry with you. I'm the one you need to contact.

"Crying"

by Galway Kinnell

Crying only a little bit is no use.

You must cry until your pillow is soaked!

Then you can get up and laugh.

Then you can jump in the shower and splash, splash, splash!

Then you can throw open your window and, "Ha ha! ha ha!"
And if people say, "Hey, what's going on up there?"

"Ha ha!" sing back,

"Happiness was hiding in the last tear! I wept it! Ha ha!"

Artwork Tuesday

2008-06-24T16:00:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd do a little more bragging on Brandon today. He'll be 17 on July 31, and a senior this coming school year. He's a great kid and I'm proud to call him mine. I've attached some more of his artwork for you to see. He absolutely loves Star Wars but surprisingly, I only have one Star Wars picture in this group. I have this framed at work. Here we have Yoda, Chewbacca, and Emperor Palpatine with some Tie Fighters flying around in the background, and also the Death Star just behind Yoda.

I am also including this photo of Brandon and his light saber. He is quite good with the saber and can fight just like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Needless to say, I feel very safe in my home and have no need to own a firearm.

This is Kim Possible. He drew her for a little girl's 5th birthday present. Her aunt works with me and paid Brandon $20.00 for this and she framed it for the little girl's room, which is decorated in Kim Possible. The child loved this.

We are Family Guy fans at my house. This is Brian and Stewie Griffin from the show.

Brandon went through a caricature stage and drew a few of those. Here we have the Joker from Batman.

This is Samuel L. Jackson from Snakes on a Plane. We are also big SLJ fans.

This is none other than Superman.

And . . . . last but not least we have yours truly and our dog, Shotzie. I believe I have shared this one before but I thought it was worth a second look. It is my favorite of the caricatures :-)

He owes me another caricature of my friend, Judy and her dog Roswell. He keeps forgetting about that but I will be sure to share it when he finally finishes it. I will also show other pieces of art from my wonderful artist son as they become available. See you tomorrow.

Eyebrow Update

2008-06-23T16:20:00.008-05:00

Happy Monday, friends. After doing some research, I learned that I cannot afford to have perma-brows applied. It will cost at least $500.00 for the pair. If you read one of my first postings, you know that I never have any extra money and when I do, me and Yvette go buy a shirt :-) These brows may as well be $1,000,000.00. Goof-ball me was thinking I should be able to have this done for about $100.00. Maybe the people who do this type of work consider themselved artists and you pay for their talent? Maybe "Tiny Tim's Tats and Piercing Emporium" down the highway would be cheaper . . . . but would they have many shapes to choose from? ;-)

Lo and behold, a friend of mine just got hers done last week (I didn't know she was doing it and she didn't know I was wanting it) and they are absolutely gorgeous! I'm happy for her but jealous for me.

Anyhoo, I guess these will have to do. Below are my brows today (very late in the day without any touch-ups). My brow hair stops where they should arch and the rest is pencil. I've also thickened them up in the front.

I practiced all weekend filling in and extending. I had them a little thicker, a lot thicker, and little longer, a lot longer, and this morning, I thought they looked pretty good. I do realize that the one on the right is all jacked up on top where the arch is, but maybe it will look better tomorrow. The one on the left is one good-lookin' brow! I'm so diggin' it. What do you think? The only problem is, I can never get them the same way twice. Maybe tomorrow the good one will still look good and the bad one will look better. I can only hope! Today, I was lucky that I didn't have one of them slide or disappear. I've tried to "keep an eye" on them to make sure they were still there.

Right now, I'm using the Maybelline brow and liner pencils - the red ones that come 2 in a pack. These are ok but surely there is something that stays on a little better. I use blonde even though my own brow hair is very dark brown/black. The blonde is just enough to fill in without me looking like Joan Crawford.

As for the rest of the weekend (when I was not worrying with my brows), I was able to spend all day Saturday and Sunday in the pool. Yep, I am skinnying up real nice. My hip trouble has gotten much better and I didn't even have to get a chiropractic adjustment. This problem must not have actually been the pelvic rotation that I had before, but it sure felt like it on Friday. I feel really good today. I am still sore and can feel it catch sometimes if I step down wrong or if I've been sitting for a long time and stand up. Other than that, I think I'm gonna be just fine.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and I wish you a lovely week to come!

Happy Weekend ~

2008-06-20T16:19:00.009-05:00

I sure hope everyone has a great weekend.

I have plans to meet my best girlfriends for breakfast in the morning (Saturday) at Hazel's Family Restaurant. Sound's like a great place for breakfast - a country, home-cooking joint. Anyway, after that, I plan to spend most of the rest of the weekend at the pool getting skinny. This morning I hurt my back and have been in some serious pain all day. Maybe I'm having sympathy pains for Amy (in my life) - i'm with ya honey! I just went through this same thing a few weeks ago and my chiropractor told me that my pelvis was rotated out. Over the course of a week and a 1/2 and 2 chiropractic adjustments, the pelvis was put back in place and I've been feeling great until today. I never knew how it happened before. The doc said it could have happened in my sleep. Weird. Today, it happened again and I knew it this time - WOW! I was in the shower doing what I do every day - go figure. I couldn't go to my chiro today because the office was closed. I'm going to go on Monday. Tonight, I'm having to give up karaoke because I'm hurting so bad I just want to go home and go to bed. I am going to girlfriend breakfast in the morning though if I have to be rolled in on a gurney. I also think that if I can get some help from Yvette getting on my float, I can lay in the pool all day and be quite comfortable. Maybe she'll also bring me a drink and a snack now and then :-) I think the movement of the water will provide some therapy for me. I just hope the sun comes out and stays out.

I wonder if this has anything to do with my weight . . . . ;-)

Wanted: Eyebrows

2008-06-18T14:44:00.017-05:00

You all know from one of my past posts, that I am always craving cuteness. Well, there is a new aspect of cuteness in my crave craw now: pretty eyebrows. To me, beautiful, shapely eyebrows really make the most of a face.

When I was a kid I had 2 caterpillars for eye brows. They didn’t quite meet in the middle to form the infamous unibrow, but they were really noticeable. I was such a weenie that plucking hurt too bad.

(When I was young my eyebrows looked a little like Brooke Shields' brows, except I think mine were just a little thicker. They had no shape whatsoever, like Brook's.)

I would look in the mirror and try to pluck, but after grasping one hair, the pain was far too intense to keep going. Finally, by the 11th grade, I had enough of my bushy brows. One night, I got out a make-up mirror, took it to the living room and placed it on the coffee table, where I sat down in front of the TV and proceeded to “arch” my eyebrows. I knew absolutely nothing about arching or plucking eyebrows. I just knew less would be more and I needed to get busy with the tweezers. I used a warm washcloth to help with the sting as I was advised. Either it worked like a charm or I was so determined by this time and my adrenaline was kicking in, but I felt no pain! I plucked and plucked and arched and arched for quite a long time. Finally, I had the skinniest, pencil-thin lines for eyebrows I had ever seen. They were GORGEOUS!! You know how one eyebrow hair looks? My brows looked like I had a single straight line of those hairs above my eyes. Again, they were GORGEOUS! I was so proud and so happy that I would no longer have those unsightly thick bushes up there. It was much easier to keep them plucked now. I only had to pull out one or two hairs a week.

(My newly plucked brows looked a lot like this, except darker.)As I grew up and got really interested in make-up, beauty, and such, I decided I should have thicker brows than I did but, of course, not ever like I had before. Anyway, they grew in a little and looked better but to this day, I cannot get them to thicken up like I want them to. My hair and brows are very dark so I found that a blonde pencil used to fill in and extend a bit on the ends works pretty good. However, it’s nothing for me to take a restroom break at work around 11 and glance in the mirror and see that one of my brows has disappeared or is smeared. Well, I do carry touch-up make up with me but half the time I don’t carry it to the restroom. When I do reapply the brow pencil, my skin is usually too oily to “hold” the pencil, so I usually just wipe them both off and deal until the next morning ;-) The things we girls endure to be beautiful!! I work in a department full of men, so none of them ever notice the difference anyway. In fact, one of my male friends (Butch) tells me all the time that we women fix ourselves up for other women because men don’t notice. I would never, ever admit this to him, but I think he might be right . . . . .

I had this wonderful idea come to me last Saturday when I went to see my hairdresser and good friend, Cassie. My mom met me at the beauty shop and we both got haircuts and Momma wanted her eyebrows waxed. She has very nice brows. They don’t come out on the end very far, but they are thicker than mine and have a great arch to them. She can also raise one brow without the other - I love this and have tried it for years but cannot do it, but I digress. When she got her brows waxed, I decided I wanted mine done too. At first, I laughed at myself because these brows need anything but more hair-removal. But, you see, I absolutely LOVE to go to the beauty shop and have stuff done to myself. I don’t care what it is; I’ll try it. Anyhoo, Cassie explained to me that I should get them waxed because there were lots of little light stray hairs that I couldn’t see on the ends, underneath, and in the middle. I let her do it and I actually think they look better. I decided right then that I wanted to have permanent eyebrows tattooed on! I am so excited and I am really planning to do this as soon as I can find out some information on it. Where can I go? How much does it cost? Do they have lots of shapes to choose from? How much does it cost? Does it hurt? Etc., etc., etc.

( I wouldn't mind having brows like Elizabeth Taylor - but maybe still a bit thick?)

(This brow is perfectly beautiful. "One pair of this perfect brow, please!")

Cassie said that another hairdresser in the shop has a customer who had it done and she is going to find out from her some info for me. If anyone out there has had this done, or knows anything about it, tell me please. When I do have my brows done, I will post some pictures. I hope Liz won't be too jealous!

Dialin' and Drivin' ~

2008-06-17T12:39:00.009-05:00

Why is it that when people talk on their cell phones while driving, that they feel the need to slow down to about 20-30 mph? Uuuuugghhh! I personally see nothing wrong with talking on the cell while driving as long as you can do it without disrupting all the other drivers on the road.

Now, I am a pro :) I can make and receive calls and text while driving, as well as wolf down a cheeseburger, fries, and Coke never reducing my normal 75-80 mph. There is one thing I do not do though-apply make-up while driving. I actually have to see my whole face in a mirror for that and would not feel I was able to pay close attention to the road and other drivers.

I know there are some states that prohibit talking on cell phones while driving unless you use an earpiece. I don't know if my state has this law or not ;) I think that rather than punish the whole population by not allowing driving and dialing, a test should be administered instead, to weed out the incapables. When you go to apply for your driver's license (and every 5 years after) you should be required to take a driving test while using a cell phone and be graded on that, as well as on driving itself. Eating something while driving might also be another good area for testing. In most cases, the driving cell phone talkers who become totally oblivious to what's going on in the road are not even in the act of making or receiving the call or even texting, for goodness sake. They're simply engaged in a conversation and apparently have just removed their foot from the gas pedal and are just coasting along listening to or telling the good news.

This morning, on the way to work, I was in the far left lane to get onto the expressway when I noticed that I was only driving at a speed of about 15mph. I absolutely cannot drive that speed in the morning when I have already left the house 15 minutes later than I should have. I was huffing and puffing and finally when the sun was not glaring in my eyes, I noticed that the person in front of me was on their cell phone. Luckily, the next lane over was clear and I could get over and go around, followed by about 4 other cars. I'm certain he had no idea he was holding up any "late-for-work" morning traffic and didn't even notice everyone going around him to get ahead.

Oh well, I guess everyone cannot be the fantabulous driver I am! See . . . . here I am on my lunch hour, driving to the nearest drive-thru, with my seat belt on, handling an important business call, and maintaining my speed and accuracy behind the wheel. Shortly after, I was able to continue my call while eating my cheeseburger, fries, and Coke!

This guy is a good driving cell phone user like me. He is talking on the phone and enjoying his conversation while maintaining his normal speed and not getting on his fellow drivers' nerves. Plus, he is very cute!

This poor guy is not so good. He apparently slowed down to backing up and someone got so tired of him and had no room to go around, so they just busted him one, right in the back end to help him move it along.

Ok, I'll call y'all when I drive to Alabama in a couple weeks to see my dad and Michelle!

Michelle ~

2008-06-16T10:07:00.015-05:00

This (photo below) is my sister, Michelle. She's four years my junior, a taurus, and likes texting. Michelle has three kids: Kayla, Katie, and Christian. About 3 months ago, Michelle quit her job here (she, our mom, and I all worked at the same company) and moved to Alabama where our dad lives. It is so weird not having her here because we've all lived so close all these years, but she's happy, and we'll make the sacrifice. Not too long ago, her family and Maman'nem lived next door to each other on the same street me and my family lived on. I was across the street and about 4 houses down from them. Our family is pretty tight. Michelle is very funny but a little more reserved than I am. She has a great head for money and budgets and saving. I don't, as I've revealed in the past. She has tried to develop a budget for me on more than one occasion, but to no avail.

This a picture of us taken at one of our June Saturday parties. Her husband told us it looked like 4 tree trunks in a flooded lake bottom - family love abounds!

Here is one of us right-side up. Ain't we cute? Like two peas in a pod - NOT. We have never favored in the least. However, sometimes, our hair is the same color or close to it :)

When we were kids, we always shared a room. That was a disaster because we fussed and fought all the time. When our mom would hear us fighting, she made us actually kiss - uugghhh! It is hilarious now. Her girls like to fuss a lot too, and we always tell them they need to shut up and kiss! One of my fondest (now - not then) memories of us as kids was when Michelle was a baby and just learning to walk. She was the fattest thing and just waddled around. I was one of these kids who never lost or tore up anything and I would hide my toys if other kids were coming to the house. Some things I never took the wrapper off of so it wouldn't get messed up - yea, I was messed up myself. Anyhoo, I was sitting in our room playing with my Barbies and I had this great Barbie house. Here comes Michelle, waddling toward that house and it was like slow motion - she came in like the Stay Pufft Marshmallow Man from 'Ghost Busters' and just as she got to my Barbie house, she teetered, she tottered, and sat her butt right down in the middle of it! It was horrific for me then, but is hilarious now. Recently, when I moved into the townhouse I live in now, I found a letter that she wrote me on her dotted-line tablet paper when she was in 1st grade I'm guessing. I wish now I had scanned it so you could see it but it said:

Denise I Love you for a Sistr.

Frume Michelle Johnson

Dear

and

that

Will

awas

be.

I love this and will treasure it forever. I have it prominently displayed on my refrigerator door. I see it everyday and it always makes me smile :)

This is Michelle's oldest child, 17 year old Kayla.

This is 15 year old Katie.

And 12 year old Christian.

This is ex-husband, Darrin.

I love my sister with my whole heart and am so glad we are as close as we are. She is the smartest person I know, and I have a great admiration for her. I hear of people all the time who aren't close to their families, especially siblings. It is very sad to me because I cannot imagine what that would be like for me. I am very blessed and will never forget it. Thank you, Michelle, for being such a great sister. I love you!

"Sisters are the blossoms in the garden of life." ~ Author Unknown

Losin' It ~

2008-06-12T12:27:00.005-05:00

Well, friends, I think the time has come for me to get serious about losing weight. This morning, while I was having my powdered donettes and orange Fanta for breakfast, I looked down and noticed that one of my feet and the adjoining ankle was swollen. This has been a recurring problem for several months now and I just don’t know why. There is no pain, just a balloon-like lower extremity for no apparent reason. Even though I am a weight-challenged individual, I’ve always had slim feet and decent ankles, so this one fat foot is pretty noticeable. I’m not going to seek medical attention because I’m sure the doc will say it has something to do with my weight. Everything else does. I absolutely hate being fat and I want to be slim so badly, but I just cannot make myself push that plate away – or in my case, pass up the drive-thru. I am so tired of hearing about diets and losing weight. I had decided I didn’t care and I was going to embrace my queenly size, consider myself a big, beautiful woman and love me. I joked that I’d just get a tan because fat looks better tan (it really does). Every magazine I see in the racks has something about losing weight on the cover, and every time I sit down to eat my “2 Cheeseburger Meal Deal” from McDonalds and watch TV, the Nutri-System commercial with that obnoxious blonde in her purple pajama top, catching the football comes on – uuuggghhhhh!! I hate her. Anyhoo, I guess I’m angry because I have to be fat. Why do I live to eat instead of eat to live? When I was a child, I was very thin until I had my tonsils out at 8 years old. At that point, I started putting on weight and have been putting every since. Oh, what did they do with those tonsils?? I'd gladly put them back! One of my friends lovingly tells me that I just inherited the “fat gene” from somewhere in my family. No one else in my family is fat. If a family member decides they need to lose a few pounds, they just do it. Not me . . . I’ve taken every diet pill out there, I’ve been on Nutri-System (many years ago before that blonde was even born probably), I’ve joined fitness centers, I’ve done it all and spent lots of money trying to reduce. One time in my life, shortly after high school, I started taking prescription diet pills (Fastin) and in a year’s time, I had lost about 55 pounds and I looked great. I promised myself I’d never be big again. Also, the girl who never had a date in high-school managed to snag a man and marry him after I got skinny. It was total bliss being thin. That lasted about 5 years and the weight slowly started coming back. After I had my son, even more came back, and at lightspeed. Now, I’m about to turn 42 next month, and I seem to be growing by leaps and bounds – I have a built-in barrel now above my waist! Now, with this blown up foot, and recurring back trouble, and all the other discomforts that start in the 40’s, I guess I need to suck it up and call Jenny. I really love being in my 40’s but I don’t really want to be in my 50’s while I’m still in my 40’s. Wish me luck.

June Saturday 2008 ~

2008-06-11T10:58:00.028-05:00

This past Saturday was my family’s annual birthday bash, which we lovingly call June Saturday. The reason I’m writing about June Saturday on Wednesday is because I kept forgetting the pictures and I wanted you to get a load of us. The June Saturday tradition was conceived (giggle) several years ago by my mom because she could never remember Steve’s (my husband) birthday. She decided that we should pick a month in which no one in the family had a birthday (June) and we would celebrate all the adult birthdays on that one day each year. I came up with the name, which I stole from an old Shirley Temple movie where she and her parents had a May Saturday each year and they would go on a picnic and just be together. We chose the 1st Saturday in June and have been celebrating ever since. The kids are invited and have fun too but the celebration is really for the adults. We always order a big cake and bring gifts for each other, and have lots of food and drink. We usually pick a theme and play games and have all sorts of fun. The party usually gets started on Friday night and goes until Sunday afternoon, but Saturday is the feasting and gift-giving day. In the past, we’ve had theme parties such as: a Hawaiian theme, where we all wore Hawaiian shirts, a Carnival theme, where we played games that you would find at a carnival, such as Ring Toss, Darts and Balloons, etc., a Pool Party theme where we all wore our swimsuits and swam in Michelle’s (my sister) pool and had a water-based obstacle course, a Cowboy and Indian theme, where we wore “western-esque” clothes, cowboy hats or Indian feathers, and rode on stick horses, and this year was supposed to be a Mexican Fiesta theme. (The pictures right below are from this Saturday.)

In the last few years, our family has had some upsets because my husband and I separated, my sister, Michelle, and her husband divorced, and my step-sister, Jolie, and her boyfriend split up. Needless to say, June Saturday is not and never will be the same again. However, we made the best of it this year, and even though we decided not to exchange gifts, we still gathered at Maman'nem’s and had a wonderful time. My sister and her kids came home from Alabama, my husband came over, Jolie and her son came, and my step-brother, Jamie and his family joined in for the first time. The only ones missing were Michelle’s ex-husband, and their oldest child, Kayla. Kayla had to work. We did not decorate the house in Mexican décor but we had Mexican food: fajitas, tacos, rice and beans, chips, salsa, and cheese dip, and Margaritas. Patrick (my step-dad) put out the kiddie pool and got out the water guns, Jolie laid out under the sprinkler, and we all ate drank and were very merry! We had a family meeting before the party ended to discuss the future of June Saturday because the excitement in the past has waned a bit and we wanted to see if it was an event we all wanted to continue with or should we make this the last year. I am happy to announce that June Saturday 2009 is already in the works and will go on as usual. I’m already looking forward to it! (These pics are from 2006.)

Happy Birthday, Shotzie ~

2008-06-09T17:10:00.008-05:00

Yesterday was my dog’s birthday. Shotzie Jane McIlwain was born 2 years ago on June 8th. I adopted her on August 12, 2006, at 9 weeks old. I have always wanted a Beagle because I think they are the cutest dogs and seem to keep that puppy look about their faces even as adults. Shotzie has a beautiful face and has really nice markings. She’s black, white, and tan with red ticking on her legs. She was born with a crooked tail at the end, which used to be very noticeable but as she’s grown and the tail has thickened, you wouldn’t know it unless you feel it. One other interesting thing about her is that she does not bark. She has never barked since I’ve had her. She will whine a bit from time to time if she’s outside and wants to come in or something like that, but has never uttered the first bark. That's fine with me though because Beagles tend to have a pretty obnoxious bark. She got her name in a funny way . . . . I saw some reruns, years ago, of the Bob Cummings show, which was an old black and white sitcom. Ann B. Davis, who played Alice, on The Brady Bunch, was regular on the show and she went by the name, Shotzie (as best I remembered). I thought that name was really cute and always thought it would be a good name for a dog. When I got my beagle, I went through a gazillion names, as I always do when I name a pet. She was gonna be Dotty, Millie, Midge, Penny, and lots of other names. I was watching an episode of, That 70’s Show, one evening right after I got my dog, and the dog on that show was called, Shotzie. I got so excited and was immediately reminded of the Ann B. Davis name on Bob Cummings, and decided that would be my dog’s name. I explained this whole thing to my son, and he thought it was a great idea too. Shotzie it was! I also make it a practice of giving middle names to all my pets, and I gave her the middle name Jane after my mom, Mary Jane. Jane is a great middle name and sounds good enough with Shotzie that I could call her the double name if I so desired. Well, when I took her to mom’s to show her off and brag about her cute, clever name. My mom, who knew the Bob Cummings Show very well, told me that that character’s name was not Shotzie, but it was Shultzy. Well, we all had a really good laugh over that but I couldn’t change the name because Shultzy would be more suitable for a German breed, such as a Dacshund. Anyhoo, we left her name Shotzie and it suits my little girl to a tee. This dog is full of personality and is the most affectionate, loving dog I’ve ever had (and I’ve had lots of dogs throughout my lifetime). She sleeps with me at night and always has to be under the cover and right up next to me. She’s not a bad bed-feller at all. She was fairly easy to house-break after I quit trying to wee-wee pad train her. I think those pads are the worst idea ever for house-breaking a puppy. I would put the pad down and within minutes, Shotzie would grab that pad and run through the house at break-neck speed with it flying behind her like Superman’s cape! She always thought they were for her amusement, rather than their intended purpose so I put a halt on the wee-wee pads and started going outside more often. Beagles tend to be very stubborn breeds and Shotzie is no exception. I kennel-trained her with the intention of eventually allowing her the run of the house as she matured, but I quickly learned that she had some serious separation anxiety issues. When left alone, she always destroyed something. Many things have been destroyed over the past 2 years. Lately, I’ve been trying to let her earn my trust by leaving her out of the kennel when alone, for short periods of time and gradually allowing more time out. So far, she's doing pretty good. The other day, however, I left her out while I went swimming for a few hours, and the urge to invade my son's lair must have overcome her because when I drove up, I noticed his window blinds were boogered up, but didn’t really think much of it. When I got in the house and looked around, I was just about to praise my little angel girl for being so good, but I found an arm to some action figure laying in the den floor. Action figures belong to Brandon and they are off-limits to Shotzie! I scolded her a little but she didn’t care. Yesterday, I left her again to go swimming and came home to find an action figure body laying in the hall floor, and just so happens, that body belongs to the arm I had found previously. Needless to say, Brandon was not happy to learn that she had invaded his space, but he just needs to pick up his messes and leave nothing to tempt my little angel into “devilocity” (made up word).

Shotzie is a real joy to me because she’s right by me most of the time and is a couch potato just like me. She loves me unconditionally, and is always glad to see me, even if I’ve only been outside the door for 5 minutes. She is also quite a clown and keeps me laughing. I’m looking forward to many years with my little doll doggy!

Tiny Dancer

2008-06-04T16:46:00.010-05:00

I love music; especially tunes from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. One of my favorite performers is Elton John. I have had the great pleasure of seeing him live in concert on 2 occasions: once in the late 80's, and again 2 years ago. He puts on a wonderful show. Back in the 80's, he wore stacks, big hats, and crazy glasses. Today, he wears a wig, and wild floral suits with long coats, and he recently married his long-time boyfriend :) Whatever your thoughts on that may be, I certainly hope you can appreciate the musical genious Elton John is. My favorite song of EJ's is Tiny Dancer. I think it is sheer poetry. It was written in 1971 by Bernie Taupin. I'm always trying to find someone at karaoke who can sing it for me but it will take an exceptional singer to hit those high notes! Elton John was born in 1947 in Greater London, England. His real name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight. Today, he still so energetic and puts on a show you'd want to see over and over. He is in love with his audience and is having a wonderful time performing. At the last show I saw, he sang everything I wanted to hear and did three encores. I have the utmost respect for this great artist and entertainer. I have included the lyrics to Tiny Dancer. Sing along with me . . . .

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band

Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand

And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks out in the street

Handing tickets out for God

Turning back she just laughs

The boulevard is not that bad

Piano man he makes his stand in the auditorium

Looking on she sings the songs

The words she knows the tune she hums

But oh how it feels so real

Lying here with no one near

Only you and you can hear me

When I say softly slowly

Hold me closer tiny dancer

Count the headlights on the highway

Lay me down in sheets of linen

You had a busy day today

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band

Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand

And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Dirty Pool

2008-06-02T16:26:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I had a pretty good weekend in spite of my back trouble I've acquired over the last week. I spent most of Saturday laying out by the pool with my friend, Yvette. My apartment complex has a beautiful swimming pool area but for some reason the water is very, very dirty. I'm gonna have to complain. The pool is closed on Mondays for maintenance and cleaning. I personally don't believe any cleaning is going on. Saturday, there were dead bugs and spppiiiders, hair, bird mess, and all sorts of other trash in there. I got a net and went around, trying to get most of the debris out and it looked a little better when I got through. Now, I don't spend a whole lot of time in the water. However, I do like to take a dive and cool off after roasting in the sun for as long as I can stand it. Is it wrong to want clean water in the pool when I take that dive? I don't think so either. I had also bought a float this time to lay on in the water. I could just see myself laying out there with my eyes closed and floatin' around in a big ol' water web of spiders - EEEWWW! Then, I got hot and thirsty and decided I wanted an icy cold, thirst-busting Coca-Cola from the vending machine by the pool. Cokes are $1.00 but it's worth it because all that swimming makes you very thirsty. Well, the machine wasn't working. I'm gonna have to complain. Later on in the day though, my son's friend, Kevin, came over to swim. Kevin works at a local pizza place and let us use his 50% discount to order pizzas and drinks to be delivered to the pool. That was so cool 'cause all that swimming makes you very hungry. I got some very good sun and now I'm even closer to skinniness!

Sunday, I went to a baby shower. Baby showers are so much fun! All the oooing and aahing over the cute little clothes, rattles, passies, and such. My friend, Cassie, who is also my hairdresser, is having a baby next month, due July 4th. His name is gonna be Owen Brady Carwile, and will be called Brady. Down here in the South lots of people are called by the middle name (myself included). Brady is a very cool name though and not heard of much yet. Cassie is a beautiful redhead and is very afraid that Brady will have red hair. I tell her all the time she's gonna have a little Opie Taylor. I happen to think Opie Taylor was adorable. I sure hope y'all know who Opie Taylor is. Anyway, Cassie is hoping Brady will have dark hair like her husband. This is their first child and I wish them much happiness and excitement at this wonderful time in their lives.

Everyone Needs an Ethel ~

2008-05-30T16:43:00.010-05:00

My friend, Nancy, is my most fun and crazy friend. Now, I don’t want my other friends to get offended by this because they know I love them very much and each of them has their own special place in my heart (I already mentioned how much I love my friends in a previous blog) but Nancy is the one who sits on “ready” and always looking for a fun time and lots of laughs just like me.

I first met Nancy 16 years ago when I started working at a company she worked for. We became instant friends that very day. Since then, we have had umpteen adventures. We are so much like Lucy and Ethel, it is scary. However, since I’ve always been a big Lucy fan, she let’s me be Lucy and she’s Ethel. She is a few years older than I am but you’d never know it.

Nancy has taken me on several trips with her over the years, and had it not been for her, I would never have gotten out of Mississippi/Tennessee! We rode Hangman and Rockin’ Roller Coaster at Opryland in Nashville, we (Nancy) also talked to Fabio outside his limo in Nashville, we rode Hulk and Jurassic Park at Universal Orlando, we flew in a helicopter in Gatlinburg, we’ve been to ghost town in Arizona, we’ve been on a graveyard tour in St. Augustine, we drank Hurricanes at Pat Obrien’s in New Orleans, and we’ve been to a Cher concert in Little Rock, AR. These are just some of the highlights – she’s fun!!

This picture is of Nancy, me, and our friend, Cindy who went with us to Universal Orlando. We’re the ones in the raincoats. I know, I know, but it is a water ride.

This one time in Nashville, we decided to stay later after checking out of our hotel, so we could attend the opening of a new Hard Rock Café and see all the stars that were attending. Well, our Jeep was broken into and things were stolen but we didn’t know it until we were standing around eating snacks out of the back and happened to notice the broken window. We gals really like our snacks! Meanwhile, we had to drive 3 hours home with a trash bag taped to the door as it flapped and made this sound: ppppfffffffttthhhhh all the way – what music! By the by, the tip top of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s head looked really good from what we saw behind about a 10 foot deep crowd.

On another Nashville trip, we went to Opryland Theme Park and it rained the whole day. After walking in shorts all day and being wet, my fat legs were chafed in between. That night in the hotel room I was in so much burning pain, but could only laugh from being made fun of. Well, when I laughed, I peed, and that made the burning worse. Nancy did go to a local pharmacy and buy me some cooling spray to comfort the chafe – that’s what friends are for!

Nancy has a 2nd home in St. Augustine, FL and I’ve been there to visit a couple of times. The last time I went, we had 2 other friends with us. One day, we went to the beach club and everyone but me wanted to do water aerobics – I didn’t need any exercise that day. I needed to lay on my lounger and watch the class and make sure my friends were not goofing off, and catch some sun rays. When the class was over, one of our friends (I’ll call her Lil) got out of the water and came over my way. As she came towards me I noticed that her swimsuit boobs were very shiny – well lo and behold, she had that swimsuit on wrong side out! I thought I was gonna bust a gut laughing. I was trying to hold it in because I knew Lil would be embarrassed. She had gone all morning and been around the club and in the aerobics class with that suit on like that. I was able to tell her discreetly – yeah right - and we rushed over to a changing room where I stood guard and she fixed herself before anyone else got a load of her. I tried to hold it in and not tell the others but finally, that night as I was bunking with Nancy in our room, I had to spill it or bust. We laughed so hard, I’ll bet the next door neighbors heard us. Anyway, Lil told it herself the next day and it was still just as funny.

Nancy and I have been out to Arizona twice to see our friend Gloria. Gloria has a beautiful home there (this is not Gloria's home in this picture; we were at the ghost town) and was the perfect hostess for us on these two trips – we got freshly-made Bloody Marys with breakfast each day. The first time there, we went to a local Flea Market and I bought so much pottery, that I had to buy an overseas-sized suitcase so I could load it up with my pottery and check it on the plane. The 2nd time we went, we all drove from Gloria’s to Sedona (to date, the most beautiful place I’ve seen).

This one time in New Orleans, Nancy bought me a set of fake boobs (no photo available) and dared me to pretend they were my real ones and show them off in the French Quarter to get lots of Mardi Gras beads. Well, I’m not proud of this but I took on the challenge and am the proud owner of 5 lbs of red, gold, green and purple beads! Just kidding – it’s only 2 ½ lbs.

Nancy and I have quite a bit of fun right here at home too and she’s taught me a lot. My first time to ever take outside fast food into a movie theater was with her. There is just something about that and the fact that it is a no-no that makes the food tast so much better! We don’t just do snack stuff, we take hamburgers, French fries, and cobbler or other dessert in!

The first time I skinny-dipped (chunky-dunked for me since I’m weight-challenged) was with her and some other girlfriends in Pickwick Lake where one of our friends has a lake house. The rest of the bunch were seasoned skinny-dippers but I was new to the game. It was dark though, so I joined in. After I got in the water I became very scared that some fish or water snake, or some other amphibious creature might come up and bite me while I was nekked! That is very frightening to me. We do have our swimsuits on in this picture below.

Anyhoo, long story short, Nancy is a forever friend and I look so forward to making more memories in the future.

Ethel, I love ya!

'Nem is Special Too ~

2008-05-29T14:45:00.007-05:00

Down here in the south, we have our own version of the English language – yes, it really is English! One of the funnest phrases my family uses is “Maman’nem”. I know it is spelled as one word but it is more of a phrase. What this really means is Momma and Patrick. Patrick is my step-dad. He’s married to Momma. This little phrase might insinuate that he plays second fiddle to Momma. He really doesn’t. We always say Maman’nem when we talk about going to their house or anything that involves the two of them. I don’t know why; we’re just Southern. “Somebody”an’nem is just what we say down here instead of naming off the whole household or the entire group being spoken about. For instance, with this past weekend being Memorial Weekend, I spent a lot of time down at Maman'nem’s. Saturday, June 7 is my family’s annual “June Saturday” event where all the adult members of our family celebrate their birthdays together. Mamannem always host this party. My sister, Michelle and her family used to have a swimming pool. Back then, Michellean’nem always hosted a pool party on June Saturday. I used to go Christmas shopping every year with Judyan’nem (my friend Judy, her sisters, and step-mom). The one used most often around my family though still remains Maman’nem. That's Maman'nem's picture up at the top. Patrick (‘Nem if you will) is from upstate New York and had never heard this before he got in our family. You might think he would be offended by this hick phrase, but he doesn’t seem to be. I think at first he had to get used to being ‘nem and realize “who he was” there, but he has adapted very well over the last 8 or 9 years. I want him to know first-hand that being ‘Nem is pretty special and he should not feel slighted in the least. I think being ‘Nem is special because as long as your ‘nem, you’re always a part of a group and not alone :) So, to all the ‘nems out there and there are lots (Daddyan’nem, Aunt Peggyan’nem, Uncle Lutheran’nem, Amyan’nem, Grandpappyan’nem, etc.), I salute you – SALUTE!

A Brush With Fame

2008-05-23T08:00:00.029-05:00

Have you ever had a brush with fame? My one, brief brush happened to be with one of my all-time favorites. Ever since I was a kid, I have loved Dolly Parton. I’m not a loyal listener of country music, but I do like it when I happen to hear it. When I was very young, I spent most every weekend with my granny and she liked to watch all the country music programs on TV. Of course, one of those shows was The Porter Wagoner Show. I’m sure you know that Dolly Parton was a regular on the show and was a singing partner to Porter. My granny could not stand Dolly because of her high pitched voice, and because she wore a wig, but I just loved her from the very start. Maybe it was her gaudy, colorful look, or her twangy, country voice, I don’t really know but I liked her and never missed the show. I also thought she looked just like my mom’s friend, Celia, except Celia had dark hair. I liked Celia a lot too. But, I digress. Anyway, back to Dolly. . . . Several years ago, maybe 11 or so, I read in the paper that Dolly Parton would be making an appearance at a local bookstore to sign her new autobiography, 'Dolly – My Life and Other Unfinished Business'. Well, I knew I just had to go ‘cause this would be my only chance to see Dolly. I asked friends to go with me but no one would, so I took a ½ day off from work that day and went alone. She was supposed to be there at 5:00 but I was advised to go early and get a good place in line. I got there about 11:30, bought my book, and got in line. The line was already quite long. I hoped I’d get to actually talk to her for a moment and so I rehearsed in my mind all the things I would say in the few moments I was gonna have with Dolly Parton! I was gonna tell her what a great fan I was, and that my favorite song of hers was 'Hard Candy Christmas', and that I loved her in 'The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas', etc, etc. There was this college student in front of me in line who struck up a conversation with me and we talked quite a lot that day. We had nothing else to do but wait. Anyway, she was saying how she was going to ask Dolly to meet her later for an interview so she could write a paper for class, blah, blah, blah. I knew good and well, Dolly was not going to meet her later but I just encouraged her and let her hope for the best. Well, finally, the time had come! Dolly had arrived! We all stood up (we had been sitting in the floor all afternoon) and straightened our clothes and freshened our faces so we’d look good when we met Dolly. As I got closer to the front of the line, I noticed that people weren’t getting to spend much time with Dolly so I started cutting down my “speech” in my mind. Then, it was down to the college girl in front of me. Well, I’ll have you know, that girl tried to talk to Dolly about meeting for the interview and all this other stuff, and the guards were trying to move her along but she was very hard to budge, so they told me to just go on up. This girl was still talking while I was in front of Dolly and as Dolly signed my book, all I could get out was, “Dolly, I love you!”, and I was pushed out of the way along with the college girl that was still talking – uuuggghhhh! Of course, it wasn’t Dolly’s fault, but those guards should not have let that girl take up my Dolly time. That was it and I’ve never had the opportunity to see her in person again, but I’m still hopeful. I will say that I think she is very pretty and I was so close to her that I could easily reach across and touch her. She looked just as lovely in person as she does on TV. I was very surprised.

Throughout the years I have grown to appreciate Dolly Parton for the true poet that she is. She wrote the majority of the songs she sings, herself. For instance, these words to 'Love is Like a Butterfly: "Love is like a butterfly, as soft and gentle as a sigh; the multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings. Love makes your heart feel strange inside; It flutters like soft wings in flight. Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing."

Of course one of the very best is Coat of Many Colors, which was written about an actual event in Dolly's childhood. It always makes me cry, so I won't note any of those lyrics - just trust me . . . oh well, "They didn't understand it but I tried to make them see, that one is only poor, only if they choose to be. Though we had no money, I was rich as I could be in my coat of many colors that my mama made for me."

One song that I never cared for in the past was Jolene. I don’t know why I didn’t like it but it did not appeal to me at all. As I started to appreciate music more, I started to listen to words more. Today, Jolene is one of my favorite karaoke songs to sing, and I really like the song a lot. Just “listen” to this: "Your beauty is beyond compare, with flaming locks of auburn hair, with ivory skin and eyes of emarald green. Your smile is like a breath of spring; your voice is soft like summer rain, and I cannot compete with you, Jolene.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging of you, please don't take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, please don't take him just because you can."
Dolly wrote (and sang) with such passion about this beautiful woman about to take away the only man she's ever loved. The way she describes the woman makes you actually see Jolene in your mind’s eye. She knew she could never compare to that kind of beauty so she resorted to humbly begging Jolene not to take her man. How poetic is that?!

If anybody out there happens to know Dolly, tell her I’m out here and would really like to meet her – again.

Craving Cuteness

2008-05-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

I am a total girly-girl and I love "trying" to be cute all the time. When I was a kid I suffered with constant in-grown toenails, in my big toes, that were very painful and unsightly. When I was twelve, I had surgery on one of my toes and afterward, I never had another in-grown toenail. However, what was left was the most hideous, gross toe I had ever seen! I was so self-conscious of it that I made sure my feet were covered up at all times. I went through all my teen years never being able to wear the cute, trendy sandals that everyone else wore. When I grew up and learned about nail salons and "getting nails" (my finger nails weren't hideous, just short) of course I started going because that was just something else to make me look cute. After a few years of that I got up the courage to ask the nail tech if it would be possible to have a fake toenail put over my disfigured one. She said, "Of course you can!" Now any of you that "get your nails did" know that it didn't sound exactly like that, but I knew by her actions that the fake toenail was a go! I could hardly sit still, mainly because I was so embarrassed by having to unveil the toe, but also because I was so excited at the prospect of finally having a decent toe that I would no longer be so ashamed of. That is exactly what I got! It worked out perfectly and I started wearing open-toed shoes right then and there. I wore the little disposable foam pedicure flops right out of the shop that day. I started out only having the toenail done in the summer time, but then I graduated to year-round, and then finally to having free-hand designs painted on my pretty big toes by the nail tech. I am still doing this today and almost never wear closed-toe shoes. Even in the winter, if it's not too, too cold, I'll opt for flip flops before oxfords. After this childhood trauma and my new-found freedom to show off the tootsies, I take the following pledge every summer. I hope you will join me this year!

The Open-Toe Shoe Pledge

Alright Ladies, it's that time of the year again. Just a friendly reminder!!

Please raise your big toes and repeat after me. . . . . .

As a member of the Cute Girl Sisterhood, I pledge to follow the Rules when I wear sandals and other open-toe shoes:

I promise to always wear sandals that fit. My toes will not hang over and touch the ground, nor will my heels spill over the backs. And the sides and tops of my feet will not pudge out between the straps.

I will go polish-free or vow to keep the polish fresh, intact and chip-free. I will not cheat and just touch up my big toe.

I will sand down any mounds of skin before they turn hard and yellow.

I will shave the hairs off my big toe.

I won't wear pantyhose even if my misinformed girlfriend, coworker, mother, sister tells me the toe seam really will stay under my toes if I tuck it there.

If a strap breaks, I won't duct-tape, pin, glue or tuck it back into place hoping it will stay put. I will get my shoe fixed or toss it.

I will not live in corn denial; rather I will lean on my good friend Dr. Scholl's if my feet need him.

I will resist the urge to buy jelly shoes at Payless for the low, low price of $4.99 even if my feet are small enough to fit into the kids' sizes. This is out of concern for my safety, and the safety of others. No one can walk properly when standing in a pool of sweat and I would hate to take someone down with me as I fall and break my ankle.

I will take my toe ring off toward the end of the day if my toes swell and begin to look like Vienna sausages.

I will be brutally honest with my girlfriend/sister/coworker when she asks me if her feet are too ugly to wear sandals. Someone has to tell her that her toes are as long as my fingers and no sandal makes creepy feet look good.
I will promise if I wear flip flops that I will ensure that they actually flip and flop, making the correct noise while walking and I will swear NOT to slide or drag my feet while wearing them.

I will promise to go my local beauty school at least once per season and have a real pedicure (they are about $10 and worth EVERY penny).

I will promise to throw away any white/off-white sandals that show signs of wear...nothing is tackier than dirty white sandals.