hiya!

I'm surprised I remember the password to the Dashboard!

I have been so busy! If I'm not working my butt off to meet 13 deadlines in one week, then I'm babysittin'. And in the rare occasion I'm not doing either one of those, I'm entertaining guests at both my house and Mom's.

And to throw in some more fun, Titan got wicked sick. But I think he's seein' the end of it. I had to stay home all day yesterday so I could rush him out the door when the occasion called...and it did...many times.

Well, I'll be in this mode for another couple months, then I'll come up for some air and go up to help where I can with Nate and Who's move to the great state of Tennessee.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

What does this mean?

You scored as Republican. <'Imunimaginative's Deviantart Page'> Anarchism 83% Republican 83% Fascism 42% Socialist 33% Green 33% Nazi 25% Democrat 0% Communism 0% What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In? created with QuizFarm.com

Happy Birthday!!

Today is my Mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, Momma! I love you!

Do I love this?

OH! yes. I do. I now have cable internet again. I've been living with dialup for over a year now since I returned from Colombia. But now all is right with the world again! Have a good day, you guys, 'cause I know I am!

Record Highs

Today we're supposed to reach record highs in the Atlanta area. Thus far the record is from like 1918, I think, at 77 degrees. Today we're supposed to reach about 80. Too bad I don't have time to go ride my bike today.

Wow.

This has been a very long month. We have had houseguests since October 1, and the last one just left today! This is why I've not been online much to chat or post. But at last, life will be returning to some level of normalcy soon.

So I've now officially been blogging for a year. Wow, think about it. It's been 10 months since I returned home from Colombia. It hardly seems possible. Yes, I still credit that "Y'all were right". Though, I still hold to the truth that if I hadn't gone to Colombia, I'd still be questioning "what if" like I had been doing ever since I was 16 years old. It took me almost a decade to get that idiocy out of my head. And now I feel robbed of those 9 years. I don't believe I have learned much from the experiences of my various trips south of the border, but the one thing I learned was that I wish I had never gotten that craziness in my head from the beginning. But all the wishing in eternity wouldn't get me anywhere, so I move on.

Nate finally got to see Little Red. And my helmet came in on Saturday. It's sweet. Everybody's first reaction to seeing me drive up on my bike is "I didn't recognize you!" It's probably because I finally found a way to make myself sexy enough to be notice. (No, I'm not cutting myself down, but merely recognizing that sometimes a girl has to work at it.) Along those lines, how come is it that I get more attention from guys when I look nasty, like super nasty. Rememer when mechanic dude asked me out? Yeah, that day, I was wearing clothes that not only had I worn the day before, but ALSO slept in! Hair was pulled up and gross, and no makeup. But it seems when I put effort into looking nice, guys seem to ignore me. Maybe it's when I'm not looking good that I'm more self-conscience, and therefore take notice when someone notices me. I dunno.

Right now I'm a happy girl though. I got a quiet house, full tummy, and a dog lying on his bed in front of a fire, albeit a gas fire, but nonetheless, a fire (less effort, just a flip of a switch). Speaking of Titan, this dog is SO spoiled! I'm taking him up to TN for Jeb's birthday, and I am bringing his kennel and bed for him to sleep in Nate's parents' garage, but being that it's starting to get cold at night, I'm bringing an electric space heater to put next to his bed. See?! He's spoiled. But I only do this because he has NO FUR! The dog is bald on his undercarriage. He starts shivering if it drops below 45 degrees. I feel sorry for him. I've raised him indoors, so it's not fair to him to suddenly stick him outside for a cold night. Yeah, I spoil him, but I don't have a boyfriend or anyone else to distract me, so he gets my attention.

Ok, I've gotten a decent start on catch-up, so I'm quitting for now...bye!

Happy Birthday!!

Today is MY birthday! I turn 26 today. I'm officially in my "upper 20s". I think I deserve a treat, too.

Happy Birthday!!

Today is Titan's 3rd Birthday!! WooHoo!! He deserves a treat!

It's FALL!!!

It's official! It's now Fall! This makes me very, very happy. I love Fall. It's by far my mostest favoritest season of all. Last year I only got to see the very last three days of Fall. That's it! Only 1, 2,...3 days! So it's been 2 years since I've been able to see the change of color in the trees, and watch the leaves fall, and see new wardrobes coming out. Have I mentioned that I like Fall?

long time, no post

Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? I apologize. Kinda goes to show there ain't much accountability over the internet.

Updates. Work has been busy. This is our season for revising/writing books. My mom/boss is an author, and she revises her books once every year or so. That means now we're revising 3 books and writing a 4th one. Deadlines are passing like crazy. Author Firsts are just now getting going good, and Author Seconds are already creeping up on us.

I've been spending a lot of time with my nieces. I get to go up and babysit them at least once a week. It is the highlight of my workweek. I love being an aunt. It has to be one of the best positions in a family. I get to spoil them with gifts, I love to buy clothes for them, help out with their daily routines when I happen to be there, like meals, baths and bedtime, and when they get fussy, just pass 'em back to Mom or Dad. And I've learned that if Mom and Dad aren't around, they aren't nearly as fussy, and we get to have a good time all day long.

I've not been on my bike nearly as much as I'd like. I get out about once a week. Yesterday was the first time I used it to actually go somewhere specific. I met up with a girlfriend for a movie and dinner, we went to Macaroni Grill and then to see Must Love Dogs. It was fun. What I didn't account for was that I'd be driving back at night, and I only had a shaded visor. I really need to get a new helmet, one with various visors and that matches the bike. I feel like a dork riding around in nonmatching attire. I also want a tailbag. I've found a couple bags online that I like. But I'm still at a loss for what kind of helmet to get at a decent price.

Well, that's all I've got for now. I'll come up with something more later when I find the time again.

The wave.

So all you riders out there, I need some help.

Now, I know that there's this rule about wavin' to other riders. Now what are the conditions of this rule? I know that there's no prejudice about the type of bike rider you're waving to. Do you wave to the guy stopped at a red light in the other direction? Someone who passes you? [Yes, people still pass me, remember I'm a newbie.] Do you vary your wave based on the type of bike rider you're waving to? I've noticed other riders waving at me, they never lift their hand above their elbow. Is that standard? expected? Is it odd if I do a Queen Mother wave to them? hehe.

Tell me, what are the rules?

My exciting news!!!!

Ok, my mood is over, so now I'm excited again. I bought a MOTORCYCLE!!! It's a 1998 Kawasaki Ninja EX250. It's red with purple accents. I got it ridiculously cheap considering the condition. It's only got less than 2600 miles, not a scratch (not even from keys near the gas tank lock!), perfectly polished, never dropped...need I go on? Anyhow, it's the perfect bike for me, and I'm beyond myself with happiness that I have it.

I must say, that as far as moms and motorcycles go, I have a VERY COOL Mom! She drove with me the hour drive all the way there to look at it and possibly buy it. She then followed me home to make sure I arrived home safely. Also, shortly after arriving back at home, I was still over at her house, and she walks into the room where I'm on the computer and goes, "Let's go outside and brag on your bike some!" I'm glad that she is supportive when most moms abhore their children mixing with motorcycles.

I laughed at it

So I'm posting it. They just paved almost all the roads in my subdivision, without any warning, so this happened...

Post coming soon...

I have exciting news, but something killed my mood, so I'll post on it tomorrow when I'm excited again.

Eww!!!! Eww!!! Eww!!

Fellas, I'm in some deep trouble. I found a dead mouse in Titan's treat bag tonight. And I've spotted droppings inone other location in my home, the kitchen cabinet where I keep my pots and pans. I think this might be where they're coming in from my neighbor's house.

I HATE this. I LOATHE this! I detest this! I despise this! It's aweful! I do NOT want to deal with dead mice. I don't want to SEE dead mice. I do not want to THINK about dead mice. I don't want to put out poison 'cause then there's a risk, even a slight risk, that it'll die and stink. I HATE that smell as much as I hate the sight. And I don't want to set out traps 'cause I don't want to see or be near dead mice.

I guess a dead mouse is better than a live one. THIS, my dear friends, is why women should NEVER have to live without a man in the house to go around checking the traps three times a day to insure that I don't come across it myself.

Did I mention how unhappy I am about this yet?

I am so embarrassed.

Well, I'm home from Austin now. Something terrible happened during my trip. Something that I am so ashamed of that I have to blog about it. I went to last Friday night's Midnight Book Release Party at Barnes and Noble of the sixth Harry Potter book. My friend in Austin claims to not be a fan, but if he's at the bookstore at midnight just so he can have a copy of the book in his hand before the preordered one arrives later the next day, that, my friends, is a fan. Now that I'm done pointing the finger elsewhere so as to get the attention off of myself...

It was embarrassing to be there. The place had hundreds of people there filling out trivia questions so as to win some kind of Harry Potter doodad. There were quite a few dressed in costume with cloaks/robes, broomsticks, wands, and those black round eyeglasses. What's worse, is that the costumes were aweful. Some were wearing cheap graduation gowns for the cloaks and straws with ribbon attatched as wands, or plastic GREEN handled brooms swiped from the kitchen pantry as their witch's broom. It was painful to watch.

For me, the only way to redeem this evening was to buy A Twist of the Wrist about cornering on a motorcycle.

Something interesting...

http://www.cedarislandpark.com/Models/Rides/DarkFunhouse/RAH749.htm

Apparently "Joy" isn't always a good thing.

I'm in TEXAS!!!

Hey everybody! I'm in The Great State of Texas!! There are things that I love about Texas, and then there are things that I prefer about my home states. I sometimes have to remind myself that I'm still in the United States because of all the Hispanics I see around here, but that's okay. It feels more weird about that because I'm not on my own turf, so I feel more like I'm no longer in the US. But Texas is still a great place. I feel weird about not having my gun with me. I feel like I don't belong, 'cause you know everyone here has a gun. I'm also afraid that people will think that I'm a yankee because I have a bit of an Atlantan accent, a yankee city. It is REALLY hot here. But it's worth it to put up with the heat to be in such a great state. They just put in an express lane on their death row, so this place can't be all that bad. Anyhow. I got things to do. I'll talk at y'all later.

I am SO getting a motorcycle!

Ok, so I finished the motorcycle safety course. And I passed! Considering I didn't even know how to turn on a motorcycle when I got there, I think I did darn good. There was a little bit of classroom time, but it wasn't a focus. The instructors really wanted us to get some good time on the bikes. I used a Honda CB125T for learning purposes. It's a pretty small bike, but it was perfect for my comfort level. There were a couple Nighthawks and a few Suzukis, but I like the one I got, plus, mine was RED.

One of the most difficult things they taught us was the U-turn. They put us in a box about the size of 5 parking spaces and told us to make a figure 8 inside the boundries of the box. I only managed to do that once the whole time I was there. They also taught us how to corner, using the outside/inside/outside method on curves. There were times when I was at a 45 degree angle to the pavement...it rocked. They taught us to swerve quickly. That was fun. They taught us how to come to a quick stop. They taught us other stuff, too, but it's too much to just list.

So...now I can be a safer motorcycle rider. Also I get a discount on insurance and sometimes they say dealerships will give ya a discount if you took the course. All I gotta do to get my endorsement on my license, is to wait for my certificate of successful completion, take that to the DMV, pay them $15 and get my new license! WooHoo!

The class had 12 people, 4 of which, including myself, were women. All passed, but two of the women, the oldest, about 60, and the youngest, about 21/22. Most of the guys were older gentlemen who used to ride years ago and were wanting to get back into riding and wanted a refresher course. It was an interesting mix once you threw in the two instructors. One had really long hair that he banded up in a long pony tail. They were funny. We all teased the chain smokers who kept trying to sneak off for a smoke. We had fun. I really enjoyed my time there. And I'm glad I did it.