Yeah, plans are fluid.

Oh ye of little faith. The pictures from the cruise are posted!


Check out those hues of blue!! So beautiful that a camera can't possibly do it justice.

On the way back to the ship in Cozumel.

Dr. Who, the chef! The Mexican Cooking Class was the bestest excursion ever! If you go on a cruise and have the opportunity...DO IT!!!

View from the aft.

Check out sexy Dr. Who!!! (That's my dress, btw)

Dr. Who and I went on a cruise through the Caribbean instead of going on the motorcycle ride. We had a blast!! We did my all time favorite shore excursion of a Mexican Cuisine Cooking Class, alcohol included. Oh man....did we have fun!! If I get to it soon enough, I'll attempt to post some pics again.

9 days on the motorcycle!!!

Starting out first thing Saturday morning we're taking off for 9 days on the motorcycles!! Nate and hopefully Dr. Who on their bike and me on Little Red. The destination is the road...eventually leading us to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. What I'm learning though that the trip isn't so much about the destination as it is about the road that gets you there. I'm SO STOKED!

I finally bought myself some proper motorcycles boots and pants, too!! I'm getting Diadora (Italian leather) boots and Fieldsheer pants. The boots speak for themselves with the word "Diadora". The pants are kickbutt! They have protection for the shins, knees, kidney areas, and hips! Plus the material is abrasion resistant and waterproof!! They're going to look awesome with my Scorpian jacket! Can you tell I'm excited?

So...send us your prayers for safety while we're on the road. It's appreciated.

Going to NYC!

Photos finally worked!


Between the skyscrapers...

Central Park...

Empire State Building...

First subway ride ever (*note the worried look! Good thing Aunt Whiskey Girl is there.)...

in Central Park...

Still in Central Park...

View from Central Park (We go to the Big City just to find the closest thing to home!)...

I've tried to add photos to the previous post like three times but blogger is being disagreeable, or my computer needs to be cleaned up. One or the other, I don't have time to mess with it right now.

Tomorrow immediately after work I'm taking a plane to NYC. We're celebrating Mentsh and Dr. Who's birthdays. We have a lot of activities planned, and I think we'll have a blast. Unfortunately, I'll be arriving late Friday night and leaving Sunday evening. I couldn't afford to take a day off of work... :(

I'm stoked about getting outside of my comfort zone again. It's been a long while since I travelled. It's gonna be fun, and I'll be with my family!

See y'all later!

I'm in Panama City Beach!!

Mom and I decided a while back that we both were desperate to put our toes in the sand and walk the beach, so we made a pact to head to PCB for Labor Day weekend. One thing led to another, and I'm here with my mom, my sister Mentsh, her two daughters, and my stepmom. We are having a BLAST! This is the first time for the younger neice to ever see the beach. The older one saw it when she was a baby, so it doesn't really count, either. They are becoming quite the little beach babies!

Mom made a new creation on a variation of Fiesta Lime Chicken tonight...it was SO GOOD! We've walked the beach twice, built a sea turtle out of sand, swam in the ocean, had fish nibble at our feet, and went to a beachside restaurant. Tomorrow we're going putt putt, and I'm hoping to convince the others to go the jetski route.

OH! We were driving around and we passed by one of those places that rents scooters, and one of them had two SPYDERS for rent!! I was so tempted, but it's not something the others would enjoy, so it'll have to wait for another trip.

I hope y'all are having as great of a Labor Day weekend as I am!

Happy Birthday!!

Two birthdays today...my brother-in-law, Mike, and a friend, Phil.

Happy Birthdays, old men! I hope you're having a good one!

I'm in Michigan.

I drove here through the night last night after work with one of my girlfriends. As I drove through Indianapolis, yes, I thought of you, MM. It was 1am, and I don't have your phone number with me. Maybe if you get it to me by the time I pass back through on my way home, we'll stop by, and you can meet my dog!

I'm enjoying holding little Jackson in the picture in the post a few down. He is so cute and such an agreeable baby!

Funny video!

This is Titan at North Lick Creek. It should be called Slick Creek!

I can still barely breathe...

I don't think Titan will be chasing after skunks again.

Poor feller had been begging to go out for some time while I had my hands full coooking. So as soon as I finished up my cooking and cleaning up around 5am, I decided to walk him. He finishes his business, and we cut between cars heading back to my apartment, and suddenly Titan takes off running full force, dragging me about 15 feet behind on one of those retractable leashes, and boy am I thankful for those extra feet!

The foolish dog was going after a damned skunk! It was still dark, just starting to light up some, so I could see he went after an animal, had it in his mouth, dropped it, then I pulled him away, and I realized it was a skunk when I saw the white striped animal dash into a hole in the ground.

I don't have to tell you how wretched that smell is...like something nasty was burning. I stood outside my door a moment contemplating how to approach the situation, while Titan is foaming at the mouth and drooling. I decided an immediate bath was about the best I could do with supplies on hand.

So now that he's been bathed, I had to throw away his nice leather collar. He's out on the patio until I'm convinced he's stopped drooling and stinking.

Anyhow...fun way to start a weekend, especially when I'm supposed to be gone all day today!

Announcing Baby Jackson!!!

One of my best friends, Andrea, has birthed her first child, third in her clan of kiddies. Jackson is his name, and cuteness is his game!! 6lbs 19" born 8 days ago. This is a pic of him today:

Did you know...

I find nothing quite as insulting as saying I'm not Southern.

And while I'm on the topic of things that irritate me, it really irks me when people call my dog that particular nickname I care not to share so as to contain the contamination.

Not many things can seriously make my muscles so tense that I have to consciously let it go so my shoulders don't get knots, but those do.

Quick update

• Life is good. I'm reconnecting with some friends from way-back-when and having a blast with them.
• My job is EXCELLENT. This has got to be one of the best companies to work for right now. Our managers, directors, and VP are extremely supportive and understanding. They make some hard calls, but that comes with the territory. I just completed a milestone on a project I've been working on for a while. I went out drinking with some coworkers last week and they were quite entertaining!
• I rearranged my living room furniture. That always renews my sense of life for some reason.
• I bought a WebKinz!! It's a virtual world for kids. I thought it would be fun because my nieces love it. I have hit the jackpot when it comes to having something that excites them to tell me about on the phone!
• I'm going through my apartment and throwing away stuff I'm finally willing to let go of, like old shampoo bottles! It feels so relieving to be rid of that stuff. I find it amazing how much "trash" I've been willing to live with.
• My girlfriend, Leann, is coming for a visit this weekend. We're planning on swimming at Nate and Dr. Who's and then to the drive-in theater!!
• Finding a house or property to build is not looking promising.

Desperation.

I am feeling desperate to go to the beach, if even for just a day. Can't wait until Memorial Day weekend!

Regarding Texas' discussion on secession

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion... We have had thirteen States independent for eleven years. There has been one rebellion. That comes to one rebellion in a century and a half, for each State. What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion?" --Thomas Jefferson to William S. Smith, 1787.

I say we're due.

Preds game!!!

This was Jeb's very first live hockey game! Jeb sat with Nate most the game. We had awesome seats given to us by my company, along with free food, always a plus! Also my step-sister got to join us...I was so excited that she was able to make it.

The most memorable part of the event was, as you can see, Jeb NEVER took his fingers out of his ears the whole time! (ahem, not even when going to the potty or washing his hands!!)

Happy Birthday!!

Today is Whiskey Girl's birthday. I won't say how old 'cause all who need to know already do... I will say, however, that she didn't blow out all her candles the first try!!!

I love you, and I'm honored you're my big sister!

Great fun!

Can you tell we had great fun on Sunday? I had the boys that day. We rode the Jeep and Cub Cadet, climbed the jungle gym, swang, dug in the mulch, piled mulch on the slide to slide into, played basketball, played dueling Guitar Hero on the Wii, watched First Kid, last half of Thumbelina, and the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show movie (which they said they want to watch every day now), and finally all three were in the tub when Mommy and Daddy got home.

It was a good day.

[On a side note, can y'all believe that I have pictures of Eli when he was first born on the blog?? April 2005. How fast they grow!!]

Where is the line in the sand?

Everyone I speak with seems to be struggling to determine where the line in the sand is for their personal lives, but what I want to know is where is the line for the nation? When will we collectively say enough is enough?

For the healthcare direction we're heading as an example. Now the government is saying they're going to "take care of us"...oh they'll take care of us alright! For one, I do NOT want the government actively investigating my medical records. That alone concerns me. But when the government starts footing the bill for people's personal decisions on the care of their bodies, what makes us think they will stop there, because they surely will not. When they're paying the bill, they'll start looking for ways to make that bill less expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if they start mandating diets and exercise routines that THEY see fit.

How far down this road must we go before people see they get better results when they take responsibility for themselves and their actions, or lack thereof? Is there even going to be an option for individuals to keep our personal choice at our own expense? I have my doubts.

Anyway...seeing the future of how government will soon be regulating the population's eating and exercising habits has had me thinking and I wanted to share.

It's about time!!

It has been freakin' cold here!! Someone might think it's winter or something. I just think that because I live in the South, and I have to put up with the summers that we have here, then I should not have to put up with temperatures as low as we've had recently during winter...and without any snow, even!!!

Well, I'll stop my complainin' now because today we had a high in the 60s and expect at least 4 more days of temps in the 60s. Tomorrow I plan on at least a short ride on the bike...that always serves as an attitude adjustment.

Y'all enjoy this wonderful break in the weather if you're anywhere nearby!!

You asked...

Nate got me the Autocom Pro-Rider: Super Pro AVi kit.

It is freakin' awesome!! It's noise cancelling. I can hook up my phone, iPod, GPS or bike-to-bike radio! I can be listening to music, and when the phone rings, it will mute the music and put the phone through. When speaking bike-to-bike, it will lower the volume 50%. This thing is freakin' awesome...Oh, wait, did I already say that?

Sigh...

I am in such a wonderful place in my life right now. In no particular order: I start my new job on Monday! (I got promoted!!!!) I have a lovely apartment that I enjoy. I'm a Tennessean again. Nate got me a sound system for my motorcycle for Christmas. I'm surrounded by a family that I love and loves me. It's just all good right now.

I'm happy.

Getting a bug...

If only I were referring to the fact that I've been a little sick the last couple weeks, I would be better off. However, I'm referring to the obsessive thoughts of going for a ride on my motorcycle. I had so much fun on the Natchez Trace, I can hardly wait for the next adventure. I'm looking forward to using what I learned to make the event even better.

After two and a half days of riding, I finally got really comfortable that I can maneuver however needed, to trust the bike and the fact that it wants to do the right thing on the road. Another thing I learned is that a seat pad is worth it's weight in gold, and I bought one shortly after returning home. I also look forward to getting a sound system for my bike/helmet. No more earbuds for me!! I think I got the packing right last time, I had all I needed, and didn't bring hardly anything I didn't use (just a few emergency items).

Anyway, I'm getting the itch, and winter doesn't even start until tomorrow!!

Couldn't tell from watching the news...

But I guess it's official that Obamination is the president-elect now that the electoral college has voted. Can you tell I'm excited yet?

What a day...

So my former college suitemate comes up to visit me for the weekend. We're veggin' out watching movies. We're in the middle of a horrible movie (I'm too ashamed to state which) and we hear someone banging on the door. I hestitantly open the door because I'm still in my pjs, not quite decent for public viewing, and there are 3 fire engines, 2 ambulances, half a dozen police cars, and they're all going up and down the stairs to the apartment above mine. I grab my coat and walk out with my neighbor, who was the person banging on the door, in the cold to find out what's going on.

I hear talk of carbon monoxide and I see girls crying. I notice some residents gathering and get the quick version. Some one tells us they're evacuating the building so I run in to put on some clothes and get my dog. During the 5 seconds I'm inside someone else comes banging on the door saying everyone must vacate the premises immediately. At least I had time to put on some clothes and grab some socks.

So we're standing outside for a couple hours, begging for information from anyone official-looking as they walk by. My dog gets a lot of attention from the cute firefighters and cops....hehe... ;). Here's what I got, though it seems incomplete still:

The two new girls that moved in above me last weekend have been vomiting and have had headaches all week. That morning both had passed out/fainted. One even hit her head when she collapsed in the kitchen. (I had slept in, so I didn't hear the loud thump.) They reported it and called 911. Upon inspection, it turned out to be a bigger deal than just their apartment. It was ALL the apartments in my building, 20 units, had a gas leak. Well, one apartment didn't have a leak, but it was the only vacant apartment! Go figure. They said that my apartment was actually worse than the one above me where the girls passed out. And when I heard that, I immediately started feeling nauseated and got a headache!! Amazing what our minds can do to us.

So we hung out a bit longer with the cute firefighters so we could flirt anytime they came by to pet my dog. We hear they're not going to let us in for at least one day, maybe two. They start escorting us in one by one with a firefighter carrying a meter to quickly gather some clothes and necessities for a hotel.

Then we go to the apartment's clubhouse where we all wait for word on which hotel they're sending us to. The apartment manager arrives to approve the hotel and get a handle on what's going on and talk with us all. She's a dog lover, so she makes certain to find a pet-friendly hotel.

By the time we get to the hotel and check in, it's been about 4 hours. I immediately go to Target to buy a carbon monoxide/gas detector. And now I'm chillin' in the hotel. They now let us in to our apartments, but we cannot stay there more than a few minutes.

Family

I just want to post some pics of my family because I love them and miss them.



and...

Scenery pics for MM.

The Indian Mounds

The Old Trace where merchants who floated down the Mississippi to sell their goods in Natchez, MS, would walk home back to Nashville, TN.

The grave markers of a few unknown Confederate soldiers.

A waterfall where the water tasted great!! Naturally filtered running over the slate.

An overlook at one of the stops.

The Ride...

Now it is my turn to post pictures from the Natchez Trace ride!!

Equipment check after first hittin' the road and consulting the TomTom on where we should stay the night.

Dr. Who at one of the Indian Mounds historical stops on the Trace.

Little Red is ready to go!

Aww!! Ain't they cute?! If you can read Nate's shirt, it's funny.

Nate paying his repsects at the gravesite of an unknown Confederate soldier.


I taught Dr. Who how to ride my motorcycle!!

Democracy?

Mentsh has something to say, folks. Go check her out.

Too perfect!

While this may not be my dog, Titan, it sure fits him! Same breed even!

Titans!!

So I went to my very first Titans game yesterday. Nate took me. It was awesome. Julie let me borrow her light pink Titans jersey, and I wore a light purple bandanna. I was totally dressed the part. hehe.

Isn't that just like a girl? I go to an awesome game and the first thing I think about is what I wore. teehee! Being from a family of women, I don't know much about football. Mom taught me the very basic rules of the game when I would go to Mentsh and Dr. Who's games while they were in the band in high school. Well, on the drive to the game, Nate gave me the low-down on a couple of standard Titan plays, and it was fun to try to watch something besides just who has the ball.

Anyway, aside from the sunburn, it was awesome! I had a blast. Thanks Nate and Dr. Who!

Should I or shouldn't I?

Some guys at work are puttin' together a skydiving trip. One of them does it all the time and wants to expose others to it. He invited me today when he saw me riding my motorcycle, and figured I had the personality for it.

Would y'all jump out of a plane? Do you think I would enjoy it?

Graceland.

So I went to the King's mansion. It was interesting. Pretty much just a shrine. I think I enjoyed the company the most. I spent the day with a handsome little boy attached to me, holding my hand. He was a lot of fun to hang out with.

Also THOROUGHLY enjoyed the barbeque chicken pizza at the Memphis Pizza Cafe. The service was lacking, but the pizza made up for it.

I also really enjoyed the conversation time on the ride there and back. I went with my best friend and her family and it had been a year since I had seen her, so it was really good to have that time to catch up.

Anyway, if ya ever happen to be in Memphis, Graceland is a fun thing to do, though I wouldn't make a trip specifically for that.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Jessie!! I can hardly believe you are already SIX years old!!! I love you, darlin', and I'm so glad I was able to be there with you to celebrate the big day!

Oh, and you did a wonderful job at your recital!

Happy Birthday!

Shout out to my girl, Melbelle!! Happy Birthday! We're not 30 yet!!!

My return home.

I may have never lived in Nashville before, but it sure does feel like home. Being back in Tennessee has provided a weird sensation of newness and return to home. It has been a long while since I've felt that feeling of being at home. Now don't get me wrong, I love North Georgia and the life I had there, but it didn't feel like this.

I just wanted everyone to know that I'm happy and lovin' life here. I'm developing new friendships and reconnecting with old ones. Life is good.

Apparently I chose the wrong job...

According to this article, I should've become a research scientist in Antarctica.

Antarctica: Winter’s favorite destination

Thanks

I had the most excellent weekend. The one exception was being called in to work on Saturday. But that only lasted a couple hours.

To all those who helped make my weekend awesome....thanks. You were great. ;)

Update of sorts.

Things are going really well. I am so happy to be here. Titan is adjusting to being alone all day again, and he seems to be taking it well. He's found a happy spot in his kennel right up by two windows, and sometimes I practically have to drag him out of his happy spot.

I'm really diggin' this gettin' to hang out with the Family C whenever we want. It's NORMAL now! It's not some special occasion that took a lot of doin' to make happen.

I really enjoy my coworkers. They are all very helpful, and I look forward most days being with them. We crack jokes and comiserate when we have the fire alarm go off three times in a timespan of about 3 hours. It's awesome.

I really feel like I am starting to settle in here. It's great. That's all for now.

Red letter day coming up

Whisky Girl graduates to being Dr. Whisky Girl on Thursday and Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!! Her hooding ceremony is on Thursday and her graduation is on Friday. It's been a rough week for her though, having her wisdom teeth removed, but she's a strong girl, and is doing okay from what I hear.

All in the family are excited beyond belief for you, Dr. WG. We love you and are very proud of you. I'm excited about this weekend in celebration of you and your hard work and determination.

My new job!

I am LOVING my new job! It's a great team. Everyone helps everyone else, we constantly have fun, and they give me free Mountain Dew...what more could I ask for?!??!

Today was my first day answering phones with no help. Up until today I've been doing some behind-the-scenes type stuff, like sortin' emails. This has really been a great job for me and a perfect fit. They guys and girl are totally great people and have me looking forward to the next day to see what they will have me laughing at next.

I also got my apartment today. My mom and WG are driving up all my stuff tomorrow after loading it all up...don't have a great family that would do all that for me?!?! THEY ROCK!

I just scheduled to have my cable installed in a week, which means I will be without internet for a week, and I will miss the next new episode of Lost!! Being without internet doesn't bother me as much...after sittin' in front of a computer all day, I'm not anxious to go home and do it more.

Y'all be good! or don't...just have fun!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my nephew, Eli's, THIRD BIRTHDAY!! It is hard to imagine that he is already that old! He's growing up so fast! I remember I was in Colombia when Dr. Who told me she was pregnant with this little tike, and I've never regretted leaving South America so I could be a part of the lives of the following generation who keep nipping at my heels!

Happy Birthday, Eli! I love you! I hope you had a good one!

MY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

I'm moving!!! I accepted a job in NASHVILLE, more specifically in Brentwood. I start in a week, and I'm very excited. I'll be working in the HelpDesk, which is exactly what I want to do, so save your "I'm sorry"s for someone else.

I've yet to find a place to live, be it an apartment or a house. This has proven to be more difficult than I expected, so in the meantime I will be bunking at Dr. Who and Nate's place. That is a bit of a commute, to say the least, so I will be motivated to remedy this soon.

Anyway, this is the big change going on right now. I was planning on moving with WhiskyGirl to Pennsylvania for her residency, but Dr. Who jumped at the opportunity of my finally being willing to move and found me a job near her. This is a great opportunity and is a really good fit for what I want. Even WG admitted I'd be crazy to pass this up, so I moved on it with her blessings.

Change

Ok, folks,

Lots of change happening around me, and as soon as decisions are made, I'll clue y'all in. Too much to do to prepare right now for anything more to say.

Look what I did!

Ugh

Food poisoning sucks.

Interesting

Most of the people that read my blog already know this, but it can't hurt to post it anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ4G1N0cKcE

Happy Birthday!

Today is my niece's 4th birthday! Four years ago not only was my sister recovering, but so was her husband because he had to deliver his own daughter at home...unplanned. Mentsh went into labor faster than she expected and got caught. By the time the paramedics got there, the job was done.

Well, Happy Birthday, darlin'! I love being your aunt!

Chin Chin

That's the name of the new Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood. It is awesome! It has a great atmosphere, not religious like some Chinese restaurants. The staff was so friendly, and it's definitely a family restaurant. When we arrived, we had like a 10 minute wait because we had 7 in our party. (2 nieces and one new nephew included) While we waited at the bar, which was empty, the bartender took a couple of those drink umbrellas and put them on stirrers so that it would spin like a pinwheel, and gave one to each of my nieces. Then a couple minutes later he served them a Shirley Temple each! I was so impressed. While we ate, they brought the girls chopsticks with the rubber band around them so they could learn to use them. The staff kept stopping by to ooh and ahh over the baby. We were really pleased. On top of all that, the food was great. And the best part was my fortune cookie...

"You have a keen sense of humor, and bring out the best in others"...in bed.

SNOW DAY!!

Now the ground has a more solid cover, and it's STILL snowing! There are about a dozen kids outside playing in it. There's a dad out there making a huge snowman. It's beautiful. All these pics were taken from my front kitchen window.

Time for a haircut??

Okay, people...As much as I would love donating my hair to Locks of Love, I still want to keep my long hair. I am thinking of chopping off the layers, which would take off about 6". Is it time for a haircut?

Guess what I did this week.

I went to Galveston Island in TEXAS!!

(There. Now ya got yer new post! hehe.)

Mourning

Y'all remember back in June when I told you about Titan getting into a dogfight? It was with a Rottie named Zeus. Well, I found out not too long ago that Zeus passed away. He was like 12 years old, and just couldn't get up one morning. Even though he and Titan didn't get along, I could tell that Zeus was a good dog. His owner, a single gal like me, is truly mourning this loss. My prayers go out to her.

Turkey Day success!

I realize this is a tad belated, but here it is anyway. Pictures of the Thanksgiving Day feast!


Yum!



That's my niece peeking at the camera!



Yeah, that's me with the silly smile!

Happy Turkey Day!

I hope y'all's Thanksgiving was as good as mine!

Thanksgiving cooking...

...has commenced. Tonight I am in the middle of making sugar-coated pecans. They're currently in the oven and do the smell GOOD! I even bought a cute little half apron to wear while cooking T'giving dinner. I had a bottle of wine to drink while cooking that Mentsh and Mike gave me, but when I went to open it, I realized I didn't have a corkscrew....guess I don't drink wine enough! I've been drinking chocolate milk instead. I'll have to return to the store for the fourth time to get one...or steal my mom's. I think that is a better idea. I'll steal mom's corkscrew. She's in Thailand. She'll never know. hehe.

Ok, so I just went to stir the pecans and one fell onto the counter, so of course I had to eat it...it was gooooooooood. To those of you that are coming to my dinner, at least we know this will be good!

My house is a toasty 80 degrees inside! And that is with the heat turned off! I had to open my doors and windows to cool things down to 70. Living in a townhouse means I share two walls with neighbours, and they heat my house in the winter. It's nice to be able to air out the house in the middle of November!

Look what Nate did...

Santa is dead!!!!

Too soon!

There is a house in my subdivision that already has Christmas lights up!! What's up with that? I thought tradition dictated that Christmas decorations were not to go up until the day after Thanksgiving. Oh well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! I guess I'm gonna have to put up my decorations now, too! Man, I love this time of year.

I'm making my first Thanksgiving dinner for the family this year! So I apologize in advance to my family if things do not turn out as planned. Either way, we're gonna have fun!

Happy Halloween!

So...Halloween has come and gone this year. I'm disappointed with this year. Our subdivision got larger, yet there were fewer kiddies. I ended up talking with my neighbor most of the night. Turns out he's a good person to know, as he is a manager at the Krispy Kreme!

I'm looking forward to the next holiday, Thanksgiving. My plans are still not solidified yet, but I'm working on it. My mom and sister will not be here, so I'm on my own.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Titan's birthday!! He turns 5 today! Unfortunately, he had a vet appt today, but he's healthy, so it's all good. He weighed in at 99lbs! We went to Petco and got some fun toys and chew bones, and all is well with the world. After that we went for a mile and a half stroll on the greenway. He is now sound asleep, as a good Weim should be!

Happy Birthday, Titan!

Happy Birthday!

Seein' as how my birthday is being spent primarily alone...I feel the need to sing happy birthday to me:

Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday, dear DJ!
Happy Birthday to me!

hehe! I am in a good mood today. It's such a beautiful Fall day today! WONDERFUL!

I met up with a guy friend, Doug, and the two of us and our two dogs walked the greenway for about 3 hours. It was awesome.

I celebrated my birthday early with my family. We went to my favorite restaurant and they even arranged for me to have a Tiramisu cake!! A WHOLE cake of that goodness! It is a beautiful thing! I also got flowers, Irises and Stargazer Lilies. They're beautiful, too!

Today is indeed, a good day! I hope everyone else is having a wonderful day, as well!

Whisky Girl disappoints...

Ok, I'll try to fill in some details on the camping trip.

WG and I decided, fairly last minute, to go camping. We leave around 5pm, still uncertain which campground to grace with our presence. So we must explore our options before it gets too dark. We head up to Sarah's Creek campground and the map we have of it is not complete in our opinion and according to rumors heard there was more offered at this site, so we seek out the validity of these rumors. We head up a Forest Service road in my Rodeo with the back loaded up with two 80lb+ dogs and all our camping gear. We ford a stream a couple times while still encountering campsites. This is where we encountered the scary mountain men camping way back in the woods. None of these were worthy of our purpose this trip so we continued on.

This is when we went off the map. There is probably a good reason why the road was not on the map...it should not have been driven, however my Rodeo handled it without even a hiccup. (Praise God for 4 wheel drive!) We were climbing inclines of more than a 60 degree angle with HUGE holes at least 7" deep to make the ride bumpy on a gravel "road" (if it dare be called a road.) We forded 3 more streams, bottomed out once, but no fear, I got skid plates. WG kept asking if I was sure I wanted to continue, but heck yeah, I was having me some fun! We did notice that a few times there the dogs looked a little worried about the two of us. ;)

So we notice dusk settling in, the headlights were actually being useful, so just before we forded the 6th stream we turned around. (Do the math, I got to drive through moving water 10 times!!) Since we decided not to camp here, we had to go check out the other campgrounds which put us arriving at the final destination next to a beautiful river well past dusk. WG and I got the dogs settled, set up camp, ate supper, made a fire, and drank some sissy wine coolers.

Next day we took it slow. I got both dogs into the river and tossed some tennis balls. That water was COLD! Even the dogs started shivering...eventually. It doesn't matter how cold or tired they are...if a ball is thrown, it MUST be retreived. I think they both slept for about two days after this trip.

Anyhow...this is the run down on the trip, WG, if you think of anything to add, feel free. Embelishments are welcome!

New nephew!!

I now have SIX nieces and nephews for me to hold and love! Daniel James was born September 27 around 6:30pm. He weighed just under 8lbs and 21.5" long. The absolutely awesome part is that I got to cut the umbilical cord... :) I'm spending a couple weeks with my sister helping her while she recovers and gets used to the new "normal".

Request to WhiskyGirl...

WhiskyGirl may be the only way you'd believe the recollection of our exploring the north GA mountains last week. I would appreciate it if WG would type up the story so I can post it.

Counting a blessing

One year ago today my father was in a car accident, and almost died. When he unexpectedly pulled through emergency brain surgery, the doctors told us he would likely need a year to recover fully. Three months later he was returning to work, almost completely recovered. I just want to take a moment to thank my Lord for protecting my father and my family one year ago today.

Thank you, God!

And also a thank you to my Dad for fighting for his life and pulling through a speedy recovery! I love you, Dad, and I'm happy you are still with us, hopefully for many years to come!

Belated Birthday Wishes!!

While I was out of town, I missed posting two birthdays this past week. So...

Happy Birthday, Mentsh!!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Who!!

Doubt these are true, but they sure are funny!

Here are six reasons why you should think before you speak -the last one is great! Have you ever spoken and wished that you could immediately take the words back...or that you could crawl into a hole? Here are the Testimonials of a few people who did....

FIRST TESTIMONY: I walked into a hair salon with my husband and three kids in tow and asked loudly, "How much do you charge for a shampoo and a blow job?" I turned around and walked back out and never went back. My husband didn't say a word...he knew better.

SECOND TESTIMONY: (for hard core golfers) I was at the golf store comparing different kinds of golf balls. I was unhappy with the women's type I had been using. After browsing for several minutes, I was approached by one of the good-looking gentlemen who works at the store. He asked if he could help me. Without thinking, I looked at him and said, "I think I like playing with men's balls."

THIRD TESTIMONY: My sister and I were at the mall and passed by a store that sold a variety of candy and nuts. As we were looking at the display case, the boy behind the counter asked if we needed any help. I replied, "No, I'm just looking at your nuts." My sister started to laugh hysterically. The boy grinned, and I turned beet-red and walked away. To this day, my sister has never let me forget.

FOURTH TESTIMONY: While in line at the bank one afternoon, my toddler decided to release some pent-up energy and ran amok. I was finally able to grab hold of her after receiving looks of disgust and annoyance from other patrons. I told her that if she did not start behaving "right now" she would be punished. To my horror, she looked me in the eye and said in a voice just as threatening, "If you don't let me go right now, I will tell Grandma thatI saw you kissing Daddy's pee-pee last night!" The silence was deafening after this enlightening exchange. Even the tellers stopped what they were doing. I mustered up the last of my dignity and walked out of the bank with my daughter in tow. The last thing I heard when the door closed behind me, were screams of laughter.

FIFTH TESTIMONY: Have you ever asked your child a question too many times? My three-year-old son had a lot of problems with potty training, and I was on him constantly. One day we stopped at Taco Bell for a quick lunch in between errands. It was very busy, with a full dining room. While enjoying my taco, I smelled something funny, so of course I checked my seven-month-old daughter, she was clean. Then realized that Danny had not asked to go potty in a while. I asked him if he needed to go, and he said "No". I kept thinking "Oh Lord, that child has had an accident, and I don't have any clothes with me." Then I said, "Danny, are you SURE you didn't have an accident?" "No," he replied. I just KNEW that he must have had an accident, because the smell was getting worse. Soooooo, I asked one more time, "Danny, did you have an accident?" This time he jumped up, yanked down his pants, bent over, spread his cheeks and yelled "SEE MOM, IT'S JUST FARTS!!" While 30 people nearly choked to death on their tacos laughing, he calmly pulled up his pants and sat down. An old couple made me feel better, thanking me for the best laugh they'd ever had!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST TESTIMONY: This had most of the state of Michigan laughing for 2 days and a very embarrassed female news anchor who will, in the future, likely think before she speaks. What happens when you predict snow but don't get any! We had a female news anchor that, the day after it was supposed to have snowed and didn't, turned to the weatherman and asked: "So Bob, where's that 8 inches you promised me last night?" Not only did HE have to leave the set, but half the crew did too they were laughing so hard!

for your viewing pleasure...

Photos

I told y'all about my trip to Michigan. Well, while I was there, we went to a garden. Here are a few pictures from that little excursion...enjoy. I'm particularly fond of the first picture.

A feminist I am not!

You Are 20% Feminist

You are definitely not a feminist. In fact, you are every feminist's worst nightmare. You believe that women belong in the kitchen.... barefoot and pregnant.

Are You a Feminist?

Been busy, folks

So I finally got to drive up and meet my new nephew last week. He's ADORABLE!! So incredibly handsome considering his dad, but more believable when you look at his mom. :)

After that I got home just in time to unpack, wash clothes, repack and head out to Michigan. Crazy me decided to drive! I picked up two friends along the way. I drove through GA, TN, KY, IN, and MI...14 hours in all. Pretty good time if you ask me. My roommate from college, who lives in MI is adopting a little girl, so all us gals from college went up to help her get her baby room in order and do some catching up. It's hard to believe one of us is finally going to be a mommy now! It's about time! She's also the only one of us that's married. (We're all 27 or 28 now.) It was great having all four of us together again. We got to do a lot of catching up and hanging out.

I'll tell you what...those Michigan-lefts were starting to get irritating. For those of you who don't know what those are...in order to make a left turn, you have to turn right and then do a U-turn to get back to the original 'left'. I kept getting turned around. I'm glad we don't have those down here.

We went to the Coast Guard Festival while we were there. We got to see a few of the ships coming in to dock for the next couple weeks. Yummm...men in uniform. I probably ended up photographing them more than the ships...hehe.

Ok, well, that's a quick catch up...I got family coming into town today, so I'm gonna be quite busy for a while. I'll be back later on, I guess.

I'm an aunt again!

Baby was born. Check him out at Nate's blog!

Got this in an email...

Lawyers should never ask a Southern grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.

In a trial, a southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Sanders, do you know me?"

She responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Desmond. I've known you since you were a young boy and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit, paper pusher. Yes, I know you."

The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, "Mrs. Sanders, do you know the defense attorney?"

She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Cristofaro, since he was youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him." The defense attorney almost died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and in a very quiet voice said, "If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you to the electric chair."

I love dogs!

Oh, and Happy Independence Day!

Fortune cookie...

My fortune cookie tonight reads:

Your talents will prove especially useful this week.

I wonder whom I'll meet this week...

In honor of *you know who you are*

I received my very first drunkdial this past Saturday. Thankfully the reception was not very good, so he was spared much embarrassment...hehe.

Rules of Drunk Dialing

1. Only drunk dial when you are drunk. Everything else is false advertisement.

2. It is okay to call someone 27 times in one night. If you don't remember it, it didn't happen.

3. If you are going to drunk dial a family member, say something nice. Ex. "Mom I'm in McDonald's and they're playing our song. I love you"

4.Dirty talk while drunk dialing is always preferred. Who doesn't want to hear your best raspy, phone sex voice at 3 in the A.M. asking to bend them over something.

5. Voicemails are always better. This way your friend can let their friends have fun at your expense for days, even weeks to come.

6. Drunk texting is alright... If you are prepared to read what you wrote the next day when you are sober.

7. It is definitely a good idea to call all of your exes and remind them that you were the best lover they've ever had and everything they know, they learned from you. This way you can sleep well at night.

8. You can also call this same ex and let them know, that you know, that they still love you. Then explain to them that I would still love me too!

9. If you are a frequent dialer, never get mad if someone dials you. Be happy they thought of you in this special time.

10. It is always a good idea to sing on someone's answering machine or voicemail. Especially a show tune.

11. Drunk dialing should be fun and light hearted or dirty and sex crazed... Never angry.

12. Most likely you will never drunk dial your best friends. They are usually the ones taking your phone away and reminding you that "you have a problem".

13. If you deleted a number sober, it was probably for a good reason. Do not try to retrieve this number. Nothing good can come from it.

14. Always call someone you know. Finding random numbers in phone books is bad and usually leads to angry dialing.

15. If your cell phone dies, remember everything happens for a reason. Never borrow a friend's phone to do your dialing.

16. Drunk dialing to foreign country is usually too costly to be a good idea. But if feel like if you don't call this person you'll just die, break rule 15 and use a friend's phone.

17. Drunk dialing may lead to drunk a unwanted response.... Be prepared!

18. Never, I say again, never drunk dial your boss, preacher, grandpa, or friend's parents. If you are that hard up to call someone, there is an 800 number on Budweiser boxes. The person on the other line always sounds cute, plus I think they are used to drunk dialers

Bike troubles...help!

Ok, I am the furtherest thing from a mechanic...so I desparately need some advice. My Ninja is giving me problems. The battery kept dying on me because I wasn't riding it enough, so I bought a battery tender. Once it was charged again and I got it to start, it's still not happy. It won't idle. I have to pull the choke down all the way to even get it started, and at idle it always wants to die. If I rev it some, it will hang around 3000 rpms for a few seconds and then die. If I let up on the choke any it dies immediately. So you see the common theme here...IT DIES! You fellows got any ideas why or what I need to look at to find out why?

¡Feliz Día del Padre!

Happy Father's Day, y'all! My dad even got a card from the dog this year!

Take me out to the ballgame...

Mike, my bro-in-law, is taking me to a Cubs game that happens to be playing in the Braves stadium. I'll root for any team that is playing against the Braves. Mike is a Cubs fan, and therefore tonight, I, too, am a Cubs fan, complete with a Cubs t-shirt.

UPDATE: Cubs lost...oh well. I had a lot of fun anyhow. It's amazing how many Cubs fans were there. I guess that's due to Atlanta being a transplant city. There was the Atlanta drumline there performing on the way out. They were just a tad sloppy, but they were really there just to have fun, and they did. It felt good to have my innerds thumping to the beat of a drumline again...man, I love that feeling. Mike was great company. Thanks, again, Mike for taking me!

dog fight!

So apparently Titan and Wendy can hold their own when their arch enemy, a Rottie named Zeus, comes after them. But poor Titan's skin is so thin, he's got a puncture wound and a handful of scratches. All is well that ends well, though.