Memorial Day Weekend

Well, folks, I'm heading off to Destin, FL, tomorrow morning. So I shan't be postin' much, not that I have been anyhow.

Every year the cell group from my church I attended in Chattanooga goes to Destin. I went 2 years ago. I had a blast. We rent a condo for the weekend and pack as many in it that want to go. This year there will be 16! 9-10 girls and 6-7 boys.

With this many to split the bill with, the trip can be quite inexpensive. Two years ago it was $75 + one meal in a restaurant. That included food, room, and gas.

We drive, swim, eat, sleep, play sand volleyball, sit in the sun, shop, drink, and make multiple runs to the package store. It's a blast. Every once in a while we must cook and clean up, but we share those duties, too.

So life ain't half bad. I'm VERY much looking forward to the fun. I just bought 6 waterguns, so we can fight.

We're takin' my Rodeo down there. My sister, The Whiskey Girl, is awesome. She borrowed my truck to help move stuff around because she's watchin' over Titan while I'm gone, and before she returned my truck to me, she picked up all my junk in there and vacuumed the interior. I plan on runnin' through a car wash on the way out tomorrow, so we're smooth sailin' in a fine lookin' truck. It's awesome when all the chrome gets a chance to shine. Two years ago, the trip to Destin was my Rodeo's maiden roadtrip. We're happy to get to go again.

I hope all y'all get to have as fine a weekend as I plan on havin'.

Gun and Knife Show!!!

There is a Gun and Knife Show at the Gwinnett Co. Fair Grounds today and tomorrow. Me and Nate are going and maybe Whiskey Girl, too, if we can convince her there are enough adults left here to take care of the four youngin's. This is gonna be fun.

UPDATE:
It sucked royally. It was a shack with like fifteen people inside. Nate and I didn't even bother to get out of the truck. Oh well, we tried.

How irritating.

You know that cardinal rule to driving? "No cop; don't stop." Well, this no longer the case. There is now an intersection in Atlanta that I will from now on avoid. It's the crossing of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Pleasant Hill Drive, near Gwinnett Place Mall. There are now cameras at the intersection that photograph license plates as they pass under the traffic light. I was doing business at the bank, and there was another lady there that was telling everyone about these cameras. She got a ticket for over $100.00 for passing under a red light by 1/32 of a second beyond the yellow light.

We can kiss judgement calls goodbye. Our reflexes will now have to be superhuman. And now there will be more accidents because not everybody is aware of said cameras and will assume that the person ahead will go through the yellow, this IS Atlanta, after all.

A miseducated youth.

I remember when I was in elementary school we studied the Civil War. I learned that it was over slavery and that the South was inhabited by immoral rebels. What's sickening is that I learned this in a school in Manchester, Tennessee, IN THE SOUTH. But what's even worse is that I believed it because it was what the school said. History is fact, right? You just can't go back in time and change history. Or can you?

I can testify that the re-education of the South has been successful. I grew up thinking that the North was right, and it was a good thing that the North won. I remember actually stating that I was glad that the North had won. When we watched videos in school, they had me trained to cheer for the Yankees. They taught me in the South, people didn't believe that blacks had souls and that they abused their slaves. The North was our saving grace. They trained me to be ashamed of being a Southron, ashamed of who I am.

Then came along Nate. Nate had been enlightened about the War of Northern Aggression. He then tried to open my eyes to the deception. But you know what? It never really sank in until this past Fall when I read a documentary by some very pissed off authors, the Kennedys. Their book is called The South Was Right! I read it while I sat and watched my students on the playground during recess in Cali, Colombia. I would read this, and then it would have me fuming because the deception was being revealed, and the people around me wouldn't understand because they didn't know US History.

So it is finally sinking in, and it's pissin' me off. I came to understand that this isn't just a thing of the past. It is still very present today. It even got to little ol' insignificant me! Nothing makes me angrier than to learn that I've been decieved and taken advantage of. I see how the torture and the pain that my ancestors felt of their rights and freedoms being yanked out of their reach is still happening to us today. I think it's even worse today than it was back then. I mean think...not only are we being raped and plundered, but we're believing that it is the right and moral way to go. I shudder to think of how far this will go until it changes.

And people wonder why I'm a bit of a recluse that hates the public.

Let be heard now that I am damn proud to be a Southron, born and bred, and I shall never be ashamed of my heritage again.

This is so bizarre...

This is bizarre because it is actually accurate, and it got these results by asking me questions about animals! Go figure.

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like for your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

http://www.blogthings.com/keystoyourheartquiz/

Another reason I need a man...

One other reason I need a man is for the manual labor. I'm workin' on furnishing my new place that I got upon return from Colombia and have been buying furniture. Unfortunately, I'm having to move all this furniture in by myself. It was not a pretty picture this past Thursday. I just went to the Bombay Company, and purchased 11 items. All were heavy, and all were difficult to get up the many stairs, being that I live in a townhouse. Fortunately they're still in boxes, so I can "slide" them up the stairs, but even that doesn't work that well. It was a step by step process. But, being that they're in boxes, it means that they still require a bit of assembly, so that means a little more work. Fortunately the one that I've already assembled, a rolltop desk, was already partially assembled before being packed for shipment.

I have GOT to ge a man to help me with this stuff. By the way, Nate, while you're staying with me in a couple weeks, you're helping me move a desk downstairs. The desk can no longer remain in the dining room area being that I now have a dining room table, still lacking chairs though, but I'm getting to 'em. I've already spotted which ones I want to buy, but I've not had time to go get 'em since I decided on 'em.

When I get done decorating, I'm gonna HAVE to post pictures. I'm going to have put a lot of effort into it.

Seduction...

Your Seduction Style: The Natural

You don't really try to seduce people... it just seems to happen.Fun loving and free spirited, you bring out the inner child in people.You are spontaneous, sincere, and unpretentious - a hard combo to find!People drop their guard around you, and find themselves falling fast.

http://www.blogthings.com/seducerquiz/

A favorite song...

The Mississippi Squirrel

Well, when I was a kid I'd take a trip every summer down the Mississippi
To visit my granny in her antebellum world
I'd run barefooted all day long climbin' trees free as a song
And one day I happened to catch myself a squirrel
Well, I stuffed him down in an old shoe box, punched a couple of holes in the top
And when Sunday came I snuck him into Church
I was sittin' way back in the very last pew showin' him to my good buddy Hugh
When that squirrel got loose and went totally berserk
Well, what happened next is hard to tell
Some thought it was heaven others thought it was hell
But the fact that something was among us was plain to see
As the choir sang "I Surrender All" the squirrel ran up Harv Newlan's coveralls
Harv leaped to his feet and said, "Somethin's got a hold on me", Yeow!

Chorus:
The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In the sleepy little town of Pascagoula
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They were jumpin' pews and shoutin' Hallelujah!

Well, Harv hit the aisles dancin' and screamin'
Some thought he had religion others thought he had a demon
And Harv thought he had a weed eater loose in his Fruit-Of-The-Looms
He fell to his knees to plead and beg and the squirrel ran out of his britches leg
Unobserved to the other side of the room
All the way down to the amen pew where sat Sister Bertha better-than-you
Who'd been watchin' all the commotion with sadistic glee
But you should've seen the look in her eyes
When that squirrel jumped her garters and crossed her thighs
She jumped to her feet and said "Lord have mercy on me"
As the squirrel made laps inside her dress
She began to cry and then to confess to sins that would make a sailor blush with shame
She told of gossip and church dissension but the thing that got the most attention
Was when she talked about her love life and then she started naming names

Chorus

Well seven deacons and the pastor got saved,
Twenty-five thousand dollars was raised and fifty volunteered
For missions in the Congo on the spot
Even without an invitation there were at least five hundred rededications
And we all got baptized whether we needed it or not
Now you've heard the bible story I guess
How he parted the waters for Moses to pass
Oh the miracles God has wrought in this old world
But the one I'll remember 'til my dyin' dayIs how he put that Church back on the narrow way
With a half crazed Mississippi squirrel

Chorus

Snag-a-man

So, say I've found a guy that embodies everything I want, but I don't think he notices me that much. What can a girl do to grab a guy's attention and get him to see her potential? How does a girl lure a guy into wanting a relationship?

So guys: How were you caught?

Gals: How did you catch your man?

Relationship

For all you people out there with more experience than I have, which isn't saying much:

1. What is the difference between settling and allowing him to not be perfect?

I have the impression that it is a fine line, and if I cross it, then I'd better come to terms with it fast or I'll be miserable. I recognize that I'm not going to find perfect. I don't deserve perfect because I'm not perfect. But I also don't want to settle with someone who won't honor me or cherish our relationship. And with the way society is raising these so-called "men", the outcome isn't looking good. (Society's version of "women" today sucks, too.) I guess I'm just starting to doubt that the good men won't recognize me because of the jaded point of view because of all the "today's women" that they encounter. I've read that there is this "Men, Stay Single!" push out there now because so many people have been allowed to want what is bad for them. I don't think that staying single is going to solve the problem. I believe that we should recondition ourselves and what we look for in a mate. We need to look at what has worked in the past. Find people celebrating their 60th anniversery. Shoot, nowadays, finding a couple celebrating their 15th is a feat in and of itself. We need to learn what it means to be sacrificial, to put others' needs before our own, but also know how to not be walked over.

I say all this because I don't want to settle for an effeminite guy who thinks he's becoming what women want by getting in touch with his feelings. I don't want to settle for a guy without integrity or honor. But then, I come back to the question of where is the line between settling and allowing him to not be perfect? Is it okay if he can't get along with my family? I've experienced the heartache that can cause. Is it okay if he doesn't agree with a gun in the house? I mean, where's the line?

B. What is the difference between expecting change and expecting growth?

I know it isn't right to try to change a person, as much as it isn't right for someone to expect me to change for them. And I recognize the difference between adjusting to a person and changing for a person. I guess a lot of why I don't understand this is because I don't understand men. I grew up in a household with a mom and 3 sisters. That's it. My dad was absent, and I never lived with brothers. People tell me men are simple to understand, but it's not that easy when I'm struggling to figure out the women I've lived with. I think my biggest problem is that I've not had a MAN to be around and learn what it really means to have a man in my life to where I could recognize one when I see one. So what are the differences between a boy and a man, and a loser and a man?


Sorry about the bit of a lecture in there, but I'm discouraged. It seems that when I think I've found someone that is a good guy, he doesn't recognize me or he's all about being single. And then someone who I don't think is going to turn out to be my type does ask me out because I can already see signs of how he assumes all women want the "sensitive" type.

I want a man who will be a man. A man who is willing to be responsible as the head of the house. A man who has integrity, honor, valor, courage, determination, wisdom, and patience. I understand that I'm not going to find all that in a young man. But I'm uncertain what to look for that shows signs of these to be grown into.

Okay, with this, I will leave it up to y'all to comment or leave me with bits of wisdom and discernment.

Links!

I'm so proud of myself right now. I know nothing of this linkage stuff, and somehow I was able to figure it all out by simply copying and pasting in my template. So now Nate can no longer complain about not being able to link to other sites from mine, and having to use the "Back" button, 'cause you know it's such an imposition. But anywho. I'm really proud of myself for figgurin' it out! So y'all have fun surfin'!

Carrot emergency

That's all I remember. I cooked for my mom's dinner party that was last night. There were 12 people there. The menu was pretty good:

chicken casserole
sour cream mashed potatoes
steamed carrots
green beans with almonds
baby spinach salad with poppy seed dressing
homemade dinner rolls
sweet mint iced tea with half an orange slice in it
coconut cream and keylime pies (bought)

Well, it all turned out well, except the carrots. Everything was ready to go, and the dang carrots were still sitting in the steamer and hard. It's funny. Two of the ladies that were there both gave me tips on how to cook carrots. And one of them who writes books on social graces fixed the table b/c I had it set wrong. I thought it looked pretty, which I thought was all that counted, but apparently I was wrong, again. In the end, all the guests gave me a round of applause for a "job well done", cheesy, I know, but it made me feel appreciated. The evening was a success as far as my part was concerned.

This doesn't work.

I keep checking this blog, and for some reason the site owner isn't keeping it updated. I look at it almost everyday, and Darlin' Joy just doesn't seem to add anything. Weird.

Flashback from hell

I had a moment of panic today. I was taking a shower and all of a sudden the water got cold! I thought "Oh no, this isn't supposed to happen here! The hot water heater must have blown out. I'm in the United States of America now! This only happens in Colombia!" Then I turn around and notice that I had knocked the handle to COLD. Whew! That was a close one!

It's about time!

Finally! I figured out the secret...girls, listen up! If ya wanna get asked out, go get your oil changed.

I'm about to head up to Nate and Julie's, so I needed to get my truck serviced. I always go keep an eye on what they're doing to my truck, so I also get to chat with the mechanics in the garage. While I was standing there, the mechanic and I struck up a conversation, Alex is from Mexico and studying ESL so you can see the connection. Another mechanic came up and started givin' him a hard time, so Alex told him to go away 'cause he was tryin' to get "hooked up". Funny. Well...my truck was done, so I say bye to Alex and go in to pay.

Afterwards I'm walking out to my truck, and one of the guys from behind the counter is also walking out to pull another car into the garage. He stops me and asks since I just moved down here, if I came to be near a man, or if a man came with me. I say no. He then asks if I like men. I say, well, I'm not a lesbian. He gets bright red 'cause he meant if I was heartbroken and angry. He then asks if I want to go get coffee. I ask, "well, first, what's your name?" He got embarrassed again because he had forgotten to introduce himself. Turns out his name is James.

Well, just about when James is as red as he can get Alex, notices what's going on, and pokes his head out the garage and yells, "Yo Alex, tu novia's on line 1!" which means his girlfriend's on line 1. Poor guy...I started feelin' sorry, so I gave him a break and let him go back inside with permission to call me sometime.

It had been so long since I'd been asked out, that I almost forgot how to react and what to say!

Change the subject!!

This picture is to serve as evidence that this actually happened. For some reason my phone wasn't charging. I just figured it was my car charger wasn't working properly. So that night I plugged it in by my bed to let it charge overnight. I woke up in the morning to the smell of battery juice. I checked out the phone, it was VERY hot, and it turned on just long enough to say that the battery needed charging. I took off the battery to preserve what little was left hoping to be able to salvage my phone book. When I popped open the back, it was stuck. I pried it open and discovered The Hole. Apparently there was a short in the charging connections in the phone, and it heated up so much that it burned a hole into the battery and the phone! That afternoon, I bought a new phone.

Something stupid...

Have you ever...

(x) snuck out of the house
(x) gotten lost in your city
(x) seen a shooting star
(x) been to any other country besides Canada
( ) had a serious surgery
(x) gone out in public in your pajamas
(x) kissed a stranger - one time I missed while greeting with a kiss in Colombia...oops!
(x) hugged a stranger
( ) been in a fist fight
( ) been arrested
( ) done drugs
(x) had alcohol
(x) laughed and had milk/coke come out of your nose
(x) pushed all the buttons on an elevator
( ) made out in an elevator
( ) kicked a guy where it hurts
(x) been to a casino
( ) been skydiving
( ) broken a bone - does fracturing or chipping count?
( ) been high
( ) skinny-dipped
(x) skipped school
( ) flashed someone
( ) done the splits
( ) played spin the bottle
( ) gotten stitches
( ) drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour
(x) bitten someone - I bit Dr. Who in the stomach when we were kids, I don't remember it.
( ) been to Niagara Falls
(x) gotten the chicken pox
(x) crashed into a friend's car - barely tapped the bumper, no damage
( ) been to Japan
(x) ridden in a taxi - One time our taxi wrecked in Colombia
(x) been dumped
(x) shoplifted - when I was like 4, and mom made me return the items
( ) been fired
(x) had feelings for someone who didn't have them back
( ) stole something from your job
(x) gone on a blind date
( ) had a crush on a teacher
( ) celebrated mardi-gras in new orleans
( ) been to Europe
( ) seen someone die
( ) been to Africa
(x) driven over 400 miles in one day - 36 hours straight driving from Mexico to Atlanta.
(x) been to Mexico
(x) been on a plane
( ) seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show
( ) thrown up in a bar
(x) set a part of yourself on fire - I lit my hair on fire blowing out my 21st birthday candles!
( ) eaten sushi
( ) been snowboarding
( ) met someone in person from the internet
( ) been moshing at a rock show
( ) been to a moto cross show
( ) lost a child
(x) attended an university
(x) graduated from an university
( ) done hard drugs
( ) tried killing yourself
(x) taken painkillers
(x) had someone cheat on you - well, one guy lied to me about the status of his previous g/f.
( ) cheated on someone

CAMMO ELI!!!!!

Where is he?? I don't see him!

Picture of Elijah John!!!

This is Elijah John! Isn't he adorable...reminds me an aweful lot of his father!

Love at first sight...

You know, I never believed in love at first sight...that is until I saw my sister's first child. At that very moment I fell in love. That child had all the love I have to offer. And now, I have four of these children to love with all my heart, for Elijah John was born tonight at 11pm exactly. 7lbs, 3 oz. 20". full head of dark curly hair. Dr. Who is doing great and is blessed with another son.