Todays thought...Wal-Mart is evil!

Have you ever noticed that you can't go into Wal-Mart without spending WAY MORE than you went in there for? MR2 has given it the perfect name. We went to Wal-Mart to finish both his Christmas shopping and mine and Pooh Bears Christmas shopping as he was working.

It's the $50 rule. Put simply, you cannot go into Wal-Mart without spending atleast $50 on yourself. Whether you went there for someone else or not. It's evil! No wonder they make so much money every year. At one point I may as well have been paying them rent I was there so much.

I warn you people now...DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THE $50 RULE! Rules were meant to be broken. Don't let the evil Wal-Mart take all your money. Now I'm not saying I will stop shopping at Wal-Mart...I LOVE THE PLACE! But it's EVIL! Take my heed...DON'T GO IN THERE WITH MORE THAN $30 IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT OR POCKET! YOU WILL GET SUCKED INTO THE RULE AND IT WILL OWN YOU!

I say adieu to you and tell you to have a good night. I'm going back to Wal-Mart!

Todays thought...Thanksgiving...an update on Saturn and Puck...and a tribute to Ford.

I'm sure that you can all tell...I have redesigned my website. Well...I should say that MR2 redesigned my website. Yep...he was the creative genius behind my new design. I love it! I am a HUGE F-150 fan. If you can't tell. My family (Mainly my mama and daddy...and well...me) have been Chevy fans. Well...we have now converted. We are born again Ford lovers. Its true. My daddy drives a Lincoln, my mama...the most awesome truck in the world, and yes...the $100 wonder car is a Ford.

Onto Saturn and Puck. Puck was born 11/28 at 7:27 pm. 9 lbs 14 oz, 21 in long. A little bundle of joy for the world to love. He is so beautiful. It is a wonderful think. Both mom and baby are doing great I am proud to announce. As I have previously mentioned Saturn is a great friend of mine and I am so glad that I have come to know her and was able to experience her friendship. She will be moving soon...and I will miss her greatly. But Saturn...as I have told you a thousand times...I'm a phone call away. Don't hesitate! I love ya girl!

And lastly, as I did not have the opportunity to say Happy Thanksgiving to all...I will say it now. Mine was good. Family came in from out of state and it was a wonderful get together. I truely am thankful that I have my family there. And we of course spent time with all of Pooh Bears family as well. I love my mom in law. She calls me her Damn Yankee and I call her my Damn Redneck. I wouldn't change it for nothing in the world. After an early dinner there Pooh's little bro ... I will call him Rock ... took me out to shoot a gun for the first time. It was very exhillerating. I got to shoot a 22 riffle and a 9 mm. It was very scary, and a major adrenalin rush at the same time. I was thankful that he allowed me the opportunity to get more comfortable with the though. Thanks Rock. Thanks family for being here and thanks Pooh. For hanging on as long as you have. I know for a fact that I am not the easiest person in the world to deal with. Thanks.

Well...I guess that is about it for now. I hope you all enjoy the redesign as much as I do. And if I don't make another entry before 12/25...MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Todays thought...a little about bugs, a little about my neighbor and a little about a song I heard while watching one of my my favorite shows on television.

A little about bugs. The thought was brought up at work the other day and I began thinking about bugs I will tolerate and bugs I wont. The bugs I will tolerate list is very short and is as follows; Lady Bugs (Good Luck); Lightening Bugs (Any bug that glows is cool in my book); Praying Mantis's (Awesome to look at) and Walking Sticks (Self explanitory). Then it also got me to thinking about the fact that some people think that bugs are just for dirty houses. Well let me tell you...my house may not be white glove testable...but it is certainly not dirty by any means. However...I have on occasion had a wood roach or centipede. Wood roaches are not to be misconstrude with the common cockroach. They are about 3 times the size of cockroaches and are pitch black, as cockroaches are brown. They also feast on wood that is old. Centipedes as well will come from when anyone is doing any type of excavating or what not within a 500 yard radius.

A little about my neighbor. My neighbor is awesome. I love her to death. We first met when I approached her about her cat and she and I got into a conversation about her having surgery. I agreed to help her while she was down and out from the surgery. That was 4 years ago...and now we have a friendship that is beyond compare. She spoils me rotten as she knows of my obsession for Mac and Cheese and as she has done on so many occassion, if she catches it on sale she will buy me a few boxes and it will usually last for a few days. I will call her Sam. So I say to you Sam...Love ya chickie...and keep the mac comin!

And now...a little about a song I heard while watching a favorite show. TV land did a 48 hour Baywatch marathon this past weekend. Yes...yes...I know...Not your typical non male watching Baywatch...but I love it! Anyway one of the songs has a line that goes "We dream in color but we live in black and white". After thinking about it...it begun to make sense. I mean...think about it...when you dream...you dream in color...there are no boundaries. No lines...no rules to make you color in between the lines. But when you live...you live in black and white...where there are boundaries. Most of them written down in a textbook by someone a long time ago and taught to us growing up that there are boundaries in the mind that we have to abide by. But just think about the statement that the average human only uses 10% of his brain. What is the other 90% doing? Makes ya wonder huh?

I end this blog with one final not to all. On the bugs issue...bugs are a typical every day thing. You are not impervious to them no matter how clean you are...or how rich you think you think you are. On the neighbor issue...Sam...Love ya girl. You go out there and you do your thing and you don't care what anyone thinks. Thats so Me of you! And on the dream in color live in black and white issue...use your mind. Don't be affraid to go the extra mile. If you think you can and you believe you can...I don't think anything is impossible.

Todays thought...An Ode to my mama.

My mama has been pretty much shit on lately. Life has definitely thrown her a few curveballs. And I can proudly say that while she has hit a couple of foul balls, she hit one over the fence and out of the ball park. She has kept a strong will about here and has been able to carry on. I know she doesn't think that it's anything major...but I'm so proud of her. She has toughed through the work, the family and all the other issues hampering her and yet she still is able to say "You know what...you live, you learn, you spend a lot of money on expensive diapers and then you get Luvs."

No...seriously though...no matter what has come her way she has gotten through it...gotten stronger from it and is thriving very well. On the lighter side of all of this there is an opportunity that has been made present that my mama MAY qualify to have Cochlear Implants. For those of you who don't know what that is..it means my mama may be able to hear for the first time in her life without the use of hearingaids. She goes in soon to find out and I hope and pray beyond all reason that she will be able to take the opportunity by the hand and run with it. It is believed that she has a profound enough hearing loss that she will be able to qualify for it. I will definitely keep you posted.

To you mama...I love you ...and I am SO PROUD OF YOU! You have been a standing tree in a forest of seedlings. You haven't let any of this bring you down at all and you have stood there knowing that no matter what happens...you will be alright. And no matter what...I am here for you. Just give me a call if you need to cry or vent. I Love You....Chickadee

Todays thought....Election day

Hello Everybody....Its Election Day here. Well...election night rather. There is a lot of goings on in my place of work and out in the streets at my house. People holding up Bush/Cheney signs as well as those holding up Kerry/Edwards signs. People driving by one particular couple of people were honking and waving peace signs in the air. When the guy holding the sign turned around you could see it was a cardboard sign done by him and his companion with big bold letters saying "God Bless America...Vote Bush!"

It is interesting to see how well people are reacting to this election. They say that people are coming out of the woodwork this year to vote. I think everyone should vote...no matter who they are voting for. I used to have an attitued of 1 vote doesn't count. I used to think...What is my vote going to matter? I'm just one person. Until the infamouse 2000 Florida recount took place that is. Then it dawned on me...that my vote does count. My voice does matter. Then it got me to thinking...if everyone in the US had an attitude that I used to of thinking that my voice wouldn't matter...we would have a pretty run-over nation. If that was the case...then we wouldn't have the democracy that we have today. We would have a dictatorship.

If no one decided to vote in issues that they found important...then what choice would America have than to become a dictatorship. It would show an attitude of America that we don't care and since someone has to make decisions...then why don't we just let someone do it for us. Why not become a dictatorship instead of a democracy. Lets just become like Russia or Germany. Or even Iraq before we went over there a few years back. Just think about that dictatorship. Or how about the dictator that ruled over Germany a few decades back.

I don't know about you...but I am DAMN GLAD we live in a democratic nation and not a dictatorship. We have a voice America! Stand up and use it! If you have something to say...say it! Don't feel like I did 4 years ago and think that one person can't make a difference. Look at it this way...If you read this blog...and you think about what I just said...and you feel better...and possibly change your thinking that one person can't make a difference...then I just made one!

Don't get me wrong...I may not change the world...but if I only change one person for the better by reading my blogs...then I just made a difference. And thats worth it to me.

Think about it!

Todays thought...Stupid people.

Ok...so last night a massive amout of rain dumped on our area. It caused flash flooding in many areas. I'd gone over to Floors houseand Pooh and I had decided to go on ahead and hang out over there until the worst was over.

Around 1:30 in the morning we decide to head home. Both of us tired and not thinking about it too much we decide to cautiously take the back roads home. On our way down one of the roads almost home, we come across about 3 cars in the road, one in the ditch and a massive SUV, down in the ditch on the other side about 50 yards down from the first ditched car, turned on its side covered half way up in the standing water caused by the massive amounts of rain.

Pooh of course stops on our way to make sure no one needs help. Of course, no one has notified the police yet. So Pooh calls 911. They answer, he tells them where we are at and in the process of this we pull The $100 Wonder Car, crossways into the middle of the road so that no other cars try to pass the roadway as they would lose it.

Trying to recreate a little bit of the conversation between the dispatcher and Pooh Bear I hear him tell the lady "There is someone coming up behind us and around us in a van. He just went almost in the ditch to get around me and Oh No!..." Then I hear the lady on the other line go "Please tell me he is not going to try and go through it." About then...sure enough, the guy guns his van and tries to blow through the water. Pooh Bear tells the operator "Yep he's goin throug
it...And he's floating. Yall need to get someone out here as soon as you can and get this road closed."

So we await help to get there in the middle of the road until they show up. In the midst of all of this Pooh opens up the trunk, gets his rain gear and his life jacket and walks over to help the person in the van. While doing this he yelled to the man in the van to ask if he was ok. There was no response so he yelled again. Finally the man yelled back that he was alright. Pooh thought about going out there to get this guy out of his van but after thinking about it he'd decided not to. One there was no telling where that water came from and two, he cannot swim very well and while there looked like there was no current on the surface, with as deep as it was, it was surely a creek that ran over and there was no telling what was in the water.

We waited until our city Emergency Management got there, talked to them about it and when everyone got there, we headed home. Finally getting there we came in, turned on the TV and went to bed. It was about 2:30am by this time. At about 4 I was awakened by the thunderstorm approaching and looked at my television to see the minivan driver being inteviewed by our local news station.

I find that the man had 2 children in the back of his van and he lied on camera and said that he had no idea that the water was that deep on the road. Thus starts my rant on this blog today.

HOW STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE, TO SEE A HUGE SUV TURNED ON ITS SIDE IN
THE DITCH HALF WAY COVERED IN WATER AND THINK WITH YOUR CHILDREN IN THE VAN "OH, NO WORRIES! I CAN MAKE IT! JUST BECAUSE AN SUV LARGER THAN MY MINIVAN DIDN'T MAKE IT, DOESN'T MEAN I WONT." COME ON PEOPLE. DUH!!!!
YOU CANNOT DRIVE THROUGH THE WATER WHEN THERE IS A FLASH FLOOD!!! GOOD
RULE OF THUMB...IF YOU CAN'T SEE THE LITTLE YELLOW LINES THAT ARE
SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD...DON'T GO THROUGH IT! YOU
MOST LIKELY WON'T MAKE IT! YOUR VEHICLE IS DESIGNED TO KEEP WATER OUT
AND WILL FLOAT! YOU ARE NOT JESUS AND CANNOT WALK ON WATER NOR CAN YOUR CAR! PLEASE...DONT BE LIKE THIS GUY WAS. DON'T PUT YOUR CHILDRENS LIVES IN DANGER BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE IT. IF IT LOOKS IFFY AND IF
YOU CANNOT SEE THE LINES ON THE ROAD...DON'T TRY IT!

And thats what I have to say for tonight.

Todays thought...President George W Bush.

My Pooh Bear is a major bass fishing freak. Every chance he gets he
will watch Outdoor Life Network on the digital cable. We have what
is called On Demand on our digital cable and we are able to watch
shows that have been on previously. Tonight Pooh came home and turned
on his fishing show and of the list of shows there was a show that our
President of these United States was fishing with Roland Martin.

I just want you to know that it really brings perspective to the
thought of one person who will go on a fishing show and talk about it.
Apparently Bush and Roland know eachother and Bush agreed to do a show
with him. He begins the show talking about his 11 acre pond out on his
property in Tx. He put in all kinds of sticks and bushes in the bottom
of the pond before filling it.

To those of you who do not know, you put that stuff in the bottom of a
lake before you fill it to give the Bass that you are going to place in
there a place to hide in. You do this to make sure that your fishing
experience on the lake does not get mundaine.

Now apparently he had started building this lake 5 yrs ago. He goes on
to talk about the fact that he has allowed Roland on his lake so that
he could do his show. Bush explains that he is there to learn tips on
bass fishing. It pans back to show our President in everyday clothes.
He wasn't wearing high priced fancy clothes or high priced fishing
gear. No...he was wearing a pair of Wranglers, a plain blue button down
shirt, sunglasses, a dark blue baseball cap, and a pair of tennis
shoes.

Now I ask you...do you think that Clinton or Kerry would pick up a
fishing rod in plain clothes and go on a fishing show? The answer is
No. You wouldn't. Bush then goes on to explain that when he was
entertaining the President of Mexico, they went fishing and he cooked
them fresh caught Crapi from his own pond at his home for dinner.

Now you would think, that with all the money he has as President of the
United States, he could have cooked the President of Mexico anything
while entertaining him. Sea Bass, Filet Minon, a massive 72 oz Texas
Steak...anything. No...he cooked fresh caught Crapi. Just like any
other Southerner would do while entertaining a guest that has just
been to the lake. You would have a fish fry and cook the fish that was
caught.

Now look at that and tell me that Bush is not a regular man. Tell me
that he is a man that is not intelegent. Tell me that he is just some
dumb redneck. I'll give you...he is a redneck. But so is my Pooh Bear.
My Pooh Bear is not some dumb redneck. He is an extremely intelegent
man who lives by the means and circumstances thrown at him one at a
time.

In my opinion...that makes one hell of a man. And makes for a good
president.

Todays thought...The Ark...2004

This blog is dedicated to a piece of paper my mama got from a co-worker entitled simply The Ark 2004. I want to share it with you all now as I rolled from laughter when I saw this as well as taking a good look around and thinking about it once in sunk in. It goes like this...


The Ark 2004
The Lord came to Noah, this time in America in the year 2004. Earth was wicked and overpopulated. The Lord instructed Noah to build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing with a few good humans. "Here's a blueprint", said the Lord. "Hurry, in 6 months I will start and unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights." Six months later, the rain started. The Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his flooded yard - and no ARK.

"NOAH" He roared, "Where is the ARK???"

"Forgive me, Lord", begged Noah. "Things have changed. I needed a building permit. I have been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I have violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the ARK in my yard and the height limitation being exceeded. We had to go to the development Appeal Board for a decision. Then the Transportation Dept and the Dept of Highways wanted a bond posted for future costs of moving power & other overhead obstructions to clear the passage for the ARK's move to the sea. I argued the sea would be coming to us but they would hear nothing of this. Getting the wood was another problem. There was a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the Environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owl. NO GO! I gathered the animals but then I got sued by an Animal Rights Group. They insisted that i was confining wild animals against their will. They argued as well that the accommodations were too restrictive and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in so confined a space. The Environmental Protection Agency dedided that I could not build the ARK without filing an environmental impact statment on your proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew. The Trades Union wants me to hire only union trades, people with ARK building experience. To make matters worse, Immigration Services and the Internal Revenue Services have seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally as well as with endangered species. So, forgive me Lord, but it would take at least 10 years to finish this ARK."

Suddenly, the skies cleard and the sun began to shine. A rainbow stretched across the sky. noah looked up in wonder, "You mean...you're not going to destroy the World?", he asked.

"NO, said the Lord, "YOUR GOVERNMENT BEAT ME TO IT".


This again is a dedication to this paper. Again...I rolled on the floor laughing but I put it to you now...read it...let it sink in...and ponder that one for a little while.

Todays thought...Wal-mart..and a few other things

First off...Wal-mart. Where else in the world can you go to one store, do your grocery shopping, buy a new outfit, get your nails done, eyebrows waxed, hair cut, buy a guitar, get some colored contacts and get your picture taken with all of that while your car is getting an oilchange and a new set of tires. And...might I add, where else can you meet Chuck Norris and get his signature at his book signing. Right there at good ole Wally World. And you've gotta love the place. You can take anything back there and they take it back with a smile and a receipt. Ahh Wal-mart. Thanks to the founders of this wonderous place that you can do it all in one stop.

Next...an update. Lil' Floor is getting bigger than ever. I got to see her smile for the first time yesterday...It was so cute. And Sniper Jr is just the most protective big brother. It is just the cutest thing.

Then we have Saturn. She's doing good. I cannot express enough how proud of her I am. She's going back to school and everything once Puck is born. I am so excited for her. Just a few more weeks to go. She's picked out a beautiful name for him composed of her Dads name, her Grandpas name and her other Grandpas name. I think it's wonderful.

And the last...Pooh Bear, MR2 and I went to Mammoth Cave for a little mini vacation over Labor Day weekend. We had a ball. On the way up there we stopped at the National Corvett Museum. They were having their 10yr anniversary celebration and boy was it fun. Next stop...Park City. We got off there thinking that you got to Mammoth Cave that way. WRONG! We stopped at a hotel there off the exit. There was a sign for horseback riding and a train ride and it looked quaint. We stopped to find out that I don't think the horseback riding was still going and we know that the train wasn't running any longer. The hotel look very old and almost creepy.

Upon entering the hotel we found that the restaurant we'd intended on eating at (As we were all famished) was not to open for dinner until 5pm. We'd contemplated on staying at that particular hotel until we saw this HUGE clock. Very old...wasn't even running. We'd looked at a little slip of paper from the newspaper that had run a few years back that tells about the clock. Apparently it had been made by hand back in the 1800's. Not sure of the exact date. It looked very creepy. I looked at Pooh Bear and I said "Honey...I love you very much. You mean the world to me. But I want you to know...that if this clock starts moving...I will haul ass to the car and leave you here." MR2 couldn't have said it better when he said "It's the Shining...In Kentucky".

We made our way at that time to Cave City. The next exit up. Very fun! We went to Cracker Barrell and ate lunch. After that we went and got a hotel room and we were off to Dinosaur Land. We had a blast. It's a place for adults and kids. Great for kids. You walked down a trail that had foliage...and little life sized replicas of the dinosaurs in their "Natural habitat". It was so cool. Pooh Bear and I got a little 3-D puzzle of a T-Rex...that now I think about it is still unfinished in the trunk of our car. Oops.

Next we were off to Gun Town Mountain. Up a little foothill that you had to take a ski lift to get there. Ok...so here's me...affraid of heights. Yeah right. Thankfully they had a trolly you could take (On the ground) and Pooh Bear rode with me. We'd gotten up there late and were able to make the "Cancan Show" and the gun fight. It was really fun. On the way back...the trolly of course is full...so I decide to take the ski lift. BIG MISTAKE! We'd gotten about 1/4 of the way down and I froze. Wasn't breathing too well and would not talk. Poor Pooh Bear was just freaking out about me as bad as I was freaking out about being that high off the ground. About 10 minutes later...WE LAND! I was so relieved. I had to stop for a moment to gain my composure. Then it was back to the hotel we went.

We went to sleep and got up the next morning ready to horseback ride. There was a riding stable called The Jesse James Riding Stables. We all loved horseback riding and all went out there to take the trail taken by Jesse James and his gang back when he went through there. There were cave openings that they speculate he and his posse stayed in to evade the law. Our guides name was Matt and he had a beautiful paint. She was gorgeous. My horses name was Buckin Bill, Pooh Bears was named Buck, and MR2's was named Gypsey. We had a blast. Even when I was getting off of my horse and hung my shirt on the saddle horn and ripped a big hole in it as my sandle fell off my foot. And let me correct myself on that...it was one of Pooh Bears work shirts.

Then we were off to Mammoth Cave! Now here comes another thing that scares me. CAVES! I don't know if Pooh Bear knows that but I went into that cave for him and him alone. Well...first off...here I am...at the cave...about to take a tour when MR2 brings it to our attention that I have sandles on...and you really do not need to go into a cave without atleast tennis shoes. So...then we had to go about 7 miles back int Cave City and get me some tennis shoes and a T-Shirt...because I was hot.

Back at the cave...we get our tour started. Once in the cave...I again get quiet...as I am freaked out. It's just freaky to be in an enclosed space like that...that could...well, nevermind. Anyway...2 hours later we are out of the cave. Once again just glad to be on solid ground. Not above it...or below it...but on it!

Once done there (After visiting the giftshop and Pooh Bear buying me a Sterling Silver bracelet)...we went to a place called Big Mikes. It was a little shop that had souveniers...a house of mystery...and Big Al...A massive dinosaur head found in an Archiology dig not far from there. We got our tickets to go through the house of mystery. It was SO MUCH FUN! It was 1 dollar per person to go through and I think that was the BEST dollar we spent a piece since we'd been there. It wasn't scary, or haunted...it was simply all an optical illusion. And a GREAT ONE at that.

By that time...it was time to go home. We had been there for 2 days and I had to work that Tuesday. We had a great time and it is most definitely a mini vacation (Or road trip as MR2 would say) not to be forgotten.

Todays thought...9/11/01

People tell me that I have a way with words. They say I can paint pictures in the minds of those who read my entries. This one is about how my life was affected September 11, 2001.

Pooh Bear and I were actually on the interstate when we heard the news. We had turned on the radio to get the traffic as where I worked was a high traffic area. Especially during rushhour. We did the same as we had done every other morning. But this morning was different.

We turn on the radio to hear talk. We didn't pay it much attention because the normal usually goes on with the local morning shows. So we changed the channel. Again, more talk. After changing to the 3rd station with more talk, we'd decided to just leave it on. As we listened, we heard something that neither of us will ever forget.

They started talking about the first jet hitting the North Tower @ 9:02 EST. Pooh Bear looked at me and said "Oh my God...This is a terrorist attack." I looked at him like he was nuts. I said "No...its not either...." And just as soon as those words came out of my mouth, it came across the radio that the South Tower had been hit by another jet. 9:18 EST. I looked at him again and I said..."You're right. This is a terrorist attack" As we drove on to get me to work we contemplated on me even going in. But I worked in a home health company and people get sick no matter when it is or what is going on. I had a job that had to be done.

By the time I'd gotten to work, everyone upstairs was in a mass huddled around the television and all of us downstairs had our radio's on listening to the news as it came in. My first line of thought...even before my patients...was my mama. I called her at work in tears...first telling her that I loved her, and next, asking her if she'd heard about it yet. She'd been at a job where she went in at 4:30 in the morning and as far as I knew, there was not a TV in the building. Getting the call through I found out she knew, and like everyone else, she was huddled around a TV watching this aweful tradgedy and travisty unfold.

About then I heard on the radio that the South Tower had collapsed. Heartwrenched I made a few calls to my patients to make sure that they were all ok through all of this. Thankfully all of them were. About to call my mama about the news about the South Tower, it came across that the North Tower had fallen. I called Pooh Bear and debated again on going home. All I wanted to do was to be with my family. To be with my mama, daddy, Pooh Bear, and everyone that meant something to me. That was all I could think about the entire day as my heart grew sadder and sadder as I heard the terrible news more and more.

As the morning went on, I heard about the jet hitting the Pentagon, and lastly the jet that went down in a field in Pennsylvania that they believed was headed to the White House. By the time Pooh Bear got to me that afternoon after an extremely long day of listening to the radio, they had stopped all air traffic.

All planes, jets and commercial airliners had ceased flight, and at that point, had not even made it to their destinations when instructed immediately to land at the closest major airport they could. Amazingly...and miraculously...of all of the air craft that landed at every major airport in America, single file...one right after another...it went off without incident.

Living fairly close to a major airport myself, it was extremely eerie to get home and not hear a single one go over the house...when ordinarally, you hear them all day, and all night. Pooh Bear and I obviously spent time around the TV ourselves, holding eachother, talking to our friends and family on the phone, extremely saddened at what had taken place, but at the same time (Not to sound insensitive) thankful that we live so far away from the East Coast. It brought a whole new meaning to family, patriotism, freedom, humanity, and an extreme sense of unity to every American out there in this great land.

It brought out some of the best in people. You would look down the street and everyone had an American Flag hanging from their door. Some were big, some small, some were the original flag, some were the others that had all 50 stars and 13 stripes, some were hanging from a flagpole in the front yard, others were on a stand outside the front door. You could see bumper stickers and magnets to go on your vehicle with the American Flag, they were hanging out the car window, the local stores were giving them out left and right.

Then you saw the real unity of the American people. The Red Cross called that there would be a blood shortage due to all of the victims in the hospitals and those who had not been found yet. The owner of our company told us that he would allow us to stay on the clock, and go down the road to give blood. There were so many people donating, that they ended up having to dispose of half of it because there was too much, and blood will only stay good for a little while. There were lines on top of lines of people trying to get through the door to donate.

A couple of days after that, they let the air craft once again take flight. Most everyone was able to make it home, who had not already rented a car and drove home by then. I will never forget that day as well. Pooh Bear came and got me from work and we had gone to Wally World. Again, with a pretty good sized airport close to where we live, and Wally World even closer, while walking in, a commercial airliner was making a landing. I noticed the entire parkinglot full of people just stop and stare...and hold their breaths...as it went overhead...and then take a sigh of releif when it was out of sight.

This experience has changed many of us as Americans. We have become a more patriotic people...and are now beginning to hold true the saying on our currency, "In God We Trust" and "E Pluribus Unum" (Which for those of you who are not aware...Is Latin for United We Stand). As an American myself, I say unto you, I DO trust in God, and I will continue to Stand United. The question now is...Will You?

Todays thought....An update

Ok...so Lil Floor is here. 6lb 4.5oz and 19in long. Just the cutest little bundle of joy. Just a little over 3wks old now she has been in the hospital once. Turned out she had a virus. Bless her little heart. But she's home now and doing much better.

On another note..my husband, mama and daddy and really good friends of the family went on a vacation together. We paid money and rented a houseboat from Eastport Marina for 6 nights, 7 days. We rented the boat Sun Cruisin. It is 54' long and sleeps 6 people.

We had a really good vacation despite all of our setbacks. I feel I should say this now before I get into depth with our trials while on this particular houseboat. And mind you now...I cannot speak for the rest of the housboats available for rent at the marina, this is just our experience, with this particular houseboat.

Our first night on the boat we found that we could not flush toilet paper down the toilet. There was just not enough water pressure for it to go down. I leave it to your imagination to what else would not go down the toilet.

Before setting out the next day to enjoy the majesty and beauty of the lake we were on we were told by the marina owner that when we tied into a cove for the night that the front of the boat was to be 75' off the shore line and the two back lines were to be out at a 45 degree angle so that the boat would not be blown by the wind into the shore. We get into a cove to run from a thunderstorm heading for us to find that the front line was only 35-40ft long at most and the backlines were a hair longer. With that being said, the reason the back lines were longer was because they had been spliced, and more line had been added on to them.

We also found out while trying to hide in the cove, the depth finder on the boat did not work. We were going blind hoping that we did not run aground because...lets face it...its impossible to stop a 54ft boat. It's not like there's breaks on the things.

After being out there for the second day and running from the storms, we found that after 2 full days of running wide open down the lake and 2 nights of running the generator...the gas gauges didn't work.

By Tuesday we docked into Sulphur Creek Marina to fill up on gas since the gauges didn't work and we didn't know where we stood on gas, and decided to stay the night there. That night a massive cold front came down from the North (Which from here NEVER happens that the storms come from the North and move South) so you can imagine how bad it was. Wind is blowing the boat everywhere tied to the dock, we're trying to save the boat and some little push carts that the marina has there for their customers to load and unload luggage on to their boats...and the list goes on. While trying to save all of this stuff from being blown away in these 90-100 mph straight line winds, the restaurant staff at the marina comes by and says not to worry about the boat, they'd get it later and we needed to follow the restaurant staff up this massive hill to get to the tornado shelter they had. So we did, wind blowing, lightening everywhere, spitting rain. After about 30-45 min we got back to the boat and they made sure all was fine with us before going any farther.

While on the trip we also found that the navigational lights didn't work (Which for those of you who may not know, they run at night to let other boaters know that you are there), there were ants in the wall of the kitchen, the fire extinguisher was not charged (Thank God we didn't need it), the oven wouldn't light and to top it all off, the last night we were on the boat, we turned the generator on and it caught the batterie charger on fire. We were pulled in at the dock of the marina next to the gas tanks.

I think the thing though that made it so bad for this place was the owners completely nonchalant attitude about everything. When we told him about the nav lights he told us that the nav lights go out on his boats all the time and if he took the time to replace them everytime one went out he'd be working 24-7. He told us that the toilet flushed better than some of the others on his other boats, he told us that to fix the depth finder he would have to pull the boat out of the water and he had no intentions of doing that until fall. When aproached about the fire extinguisher he shrugged it off.

There were quite a few more safety issues as well but I won't get into that right now. As I said, all and all we really did have a great time. One of the friends of the family who had been affraid of the water for 20 years got in the water. It took some finess and we had to convince her that as long as she had her lifejacket on, she was going to float. That I think was the hilight of the trip. We did have a couple of beautiful days in, got some fishing in and when in our last cove before going into port we were just up from a nest of baby bald eagles. However...I can honestly say we will never rent from that marina again. As I said, I cannot speak for all of the man's boats, but I can speak for this boat that we were on and I can speak for his attitude toward us.

On a lighter note to my blog...Saturn is pregnant. I was so tickled to find out. I got to be there when she found out that it is going to be a boy and he is due in November. I will reffer to him as Puck (Short for Hockey Puck). I have plans to take Saturn somewhere to see something that she loves...but it is up in the air right now because she may be giving birth at that time. That will most likely be my luck after I've bought the tickets. That's ok though...Puck is more important than something that will be back into town again. If we can't make it then Saturn...I promise I'll take you to whenever it's back.

Todays thought will be a little long. Its an update and a copy of an e-mail I received.

First, my update. My Floor is about to pop. Lil' Floor is due any day now and I am so excited. I ofcourse will be there when she was born as I was when Sniper Jr was born. Which brings me to an update on Sniper Jr. He got his first haircut the other day. 13 months old. Let me tell you, if anybody ever argued before that he was not his fathers son, you can't now. He looks just like his daddy. And spoilt rotten to the core. He's just a doll baby and seeing him and when I see Lil' Floor when she is born makes me all the more blessed that Floor and Sniper are in our lives. There is so much joy when we are around them and hopefully, they feel the same way about us.

On with the update...my little bro and Red are apart. There is a whole lot to that story that I'm not going to get into, but they are no more. I think it was for the best...for both of them...and am glad that they were able to find this out before they got married. Nothing against either one of them...but I've been there before and am glad that they don't have to go through that.

I guess that's about all going on here. Nothing else very major has happened. The rest of my family is all good. Now, for the e-mail.


In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a
laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's
not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson
asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the
attacks on Sept. 11).

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I
believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've
been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and
to get out of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can
we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He
leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I
think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body
found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we
said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school the Bible says
thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as
yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they
misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might
damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an
expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they
dont know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers,
their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I
think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world
is going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question
what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire
but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice
about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and
workplace.


Are you laughing?


Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on
your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what THEY
will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about
what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one
will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back
and complain about what bad shape the world is in!

Todays thought...The weather.

Last night in my region was a terrible night. We've had nights like this before as well. Pooh Bear and I had to pack up my girls and head to Saturn's place who lives nextdoor. Massive thunderstorms came through and begun to tear up every place in its path. There was tornado after tornado. It reminded me of last year in March when this happened before.

We had a major storm system come through and were up all night. Last March we came about 45 miles to my mama and daddys house to make sure they were ok and we went to Pooh's best friends house (Mr2) to make sure he was ok. Now, Mr2 lived in a trailer, so at 3 am in the morning, we knocked on his door and brought him back to our place.

We'd known that there was another line of storms coming back through again, but what we didn't know, was that we were going to drive through it. On the way back to our place we side swiped another tornado ripping through. We were in a brand new car and at one point I just knew that we weren't going to make it. Thanks to my Pooh's reactions and driving skills, we arived just fine. Getting back to last night, it was much of the same.

Watching the news they were doing their regular warnings and showing the doppler radar. The storm line was still about 30 miles from the county we live in but the meteorologist told us that we needed to take the tornado watches as a tornado warning. At that time our tornado sirens went off so Pooh Bear, Mr2 and I packed my cats Booby and Baby Girl in duffel bags to get to Saturn's, put Hershey in her crate and headed over.

Saturn was at work and I called her to let her know we were on our way. She has a safer place than we do. She told us that she would be on her way when she got off work. So it really started to come down by the time she did get home. I called her and she told me that if it got bad, she would stop at a local restaurant and get in the cooler. She did make it to her place.

So, here's me hiding in her laundry room with my cats, and then Saturn and Pooh Bear are setting there watching it come through. That's just not my thing I guess. I finally came out of hiding and sat in the livingroom with Saturn until it had passed. Then we packed up and left.

I end this blog with the condolences to those who lost family members. 9 died in this aweful line of storms. May you all keep the silver lining and the end of the rainbow in sight. Keep your chin up and know all of those who love and care for you are there for you in your time of need. All you need to do is ask.

Todays thought...The cell dogs program

If you are not aware of it let me just tell you, there is a program out there about cell dogs. It is a show on Animal Planet and it is about jails and prisons that use the inmates to train dogs. Hence the name of the show "Cell Dogs".

It is an extremely educational show. I love the thought of it and it makes me feel good to know that we are about to have this program in our area soon. I will not disclose my exact area as I am not sure that this is exactly public information yet...though I do know that it is not exactly privelaged either. The county/city will take abandoned and abused dogs and use them for the cell dogs program.

In the program these dogs are trained to be adopted out by the inmates. They are trained basic obedience as well as temperment tested and loved by these hard core inmates. For whatever reason they are in there, it kinda makes ya feel good to know that they are almost getting a second chance to build a relationship with someone other than another inmate.

In closing today I will just go ahead and quote my mama on this. If you watch the show, you should notice, that the dogs come in all shapes, sizes, colors and situations...As do all of the inmates that assist them. Maybe we can all learn something from this program.

An addendum to todays thought...Driving a manual.

They say that once you learn how to drive a manual transmission you will never go back to an automatic. Well let me tell you how true that is. I've had a manual 5 speed transmission on every vehicle I've owned except for this one and my first one. Which of course when you're 16 yrs old, and don't know how to drive a manual. But once I actually got the hang of it...I was hooked. And in that let me tell you...I get the oddest looks from salesmen at the dlrships when I go to purchase a vehicle and I tell them that I want a 5 speed. Of course because I'm a woman and want a manual.

My Pooh Bear and I are currently owners of a '92 Ford Tempo. We call it our $100 wonder car because we bought it off of a good friend (MR2) for $100. It is an automatic trany. I miss my manual. Today I had to actually go pick up MR2 at work because his other vehicle broke down. He has a little Ford Escort and it is a 5 speed. I'll tell you what...After not driving one for over a year I realized tonight just how much I miss it. And I'll tell you another thing. It's like riding a bike. Though you may be a little rusty on it, once you learn, you never forget.

This blog entry addendum is my ode to the 5 speed transmission. I miss you old friend. But fear not, my next vehicle, with all luck, will be a 5 speed and we can once again be reunited. For it is as I have said before....You will never get the full potential of enjoyment out of your vehicle unless it is a 5 speed. Take my word on it.

Todays thought...getting older.

Yesterday was my birthday. I will not disclose my exact age at this time. I almost cried at the thought of getting older. I took a week off work for myself and have had a great time setting home doing nothing.

Then it made me think. Back when I was younger, the thought of getting out of the house and partying was a great idea to me. But as I've gotten older, it has been more enjoying for me to stay at home than to go out. Of course my Pooh Bear wanted to carry me out but he got off work way too late. But it was an absolutely wonderful day for me. Infact..To be completely honest...I didn't even get out of my pj's. It was a good day.

My week off has been just as good. I've been getting some much needed laundry done and things around the house that need to be done. And I don't know about anybody else...but it's easier for me to get things done when no one else is here. Don't get me wrong. Pooh Bear and I share the load around here but I like to get things cleaned and reorganized when I'm here alone.

But back to the thought of today...getting older is just one of those things. I guess with life you have age. And wisdome. I get told I have a little bit more wisdome than others my age but I think that is because I've experienced more in the years that I have been alive than most people will experience in a lifetime. But it just goes with the flow of things.

I guess Gump's mom was right. Life is like a box of chocholates. You never really do know what your going to get. Like a bad poker game. You can keep your poker face on but you never know then hand you'll be dealt, until it is there in front of you. Then of course, the ever faithful choice, to ride it out or fold. Including a couple of bluffs along the way. Well everyone out there, when your birthday rolls around this year or even if it already has, just keep in mind...Keep that poker face on, don't let your guard down, don't ever show anyone your hand, bluff if you have to, ride it out. And no matter what you do, or don't do...Don't fold.

Todays thought...My loves

I've done enough blogs about my pet pieves. So now, lets talk about a couple websites that can give me what I love. I now invite you into the mind of a mid 20's child. Scared?!? You should be....

Of course...my main love is my family and my loving husband (Mind you...this includes all of my animals). One of my other main loves is Killer Whales and Manatees. Also known as Orca's and Sea Cows. My entire livingroom is Killer Whales. Infact I got sick one morning and when I woke up in my floor the paramedics around me asked me if I liked Killer Whales. You definitely notice it when you come in my house. I have found a website that can give me my daily dose of Orcas. It's Shamu.com and the website is amazing. If you have streaming video capabilities, get onto the main site, go to Shamu Cam and set back and watch. They have 2 camera feeds in the main tank in San Diego Ca that runs live feed from 9am to 5:30pm Pacific time and from 5:30 to 9 the next morning they replay the feedback from the day. I love it and I love to get on the website.

The other thing that I love is miniature things. I have an infatuation with mini things. I have mini TY's, miniature dice, I just ordered my miniature Dominos on line and I have mini playing cards, mini Uno, mini Connect Four and anything else moderately priced that I can get my hands on that is mini, I will probably try and aquire. Which brings us to the other website. Its a company called Biffleys and they deal with games of all sizes. I got my dice from there and that is where I just ordered my dominos. Its at biffleys.com.

I close my blog entry with a look at one of my food loves. Mac and Cheese. I am an avid fan and eat a lot of Kraft Delux. I love the stuff and again, eat it all the time. Infact, I'm going to go make some now. Later.

Todays thought...The family grows

My little bro actually broke up with his long time girlfriend. They were just not working out so long distance and it seemed to get to more of a bill collector than a love/love relationship. After doing that he had met and started anew with a relationship with a wonderful girl. I will reffer to her as Red.

She is good people. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and is actually keeping my little brother in check. Something he desperately needs. They have been dating now for about a month. From what I have seen she is very nice and seems good at heart. Now call me crazy but I am what people call a precog. I can sense things. When I see her, I don't sense anything bad or sneeky. Maybe a little stuborn and headstrong, but hey...that means that she will fit into this family perfectly.

I won't go into major detail about her because that would be her life and not mine...but I do like her. She is very personable and we seem to get along real well together and from what I can tell...my family likes her a lot. And more to that, she's here. So we can get together and talk and stuff.

Yesterday she broke the news that she and my little bro are engaged. I have to admit...I was a little taken back at first, but they are going to take it slow to marriage and wait a year. They live together and much to my daddy's detest...I think its good. My Pooh Bear and I lived together before we got married and I honestly think anybody should before getting married. I told Red this for the reasoning that if soemthing happens, and it doesn't work out...there are no ties there.

I think this may work out and there is a year to go. I will keep you posted. To you Red...I really like you as a person and even if it doesn't work out in the long run...I hope we can be good friends and look forward to a long friendship down the line.

Todays though...More scrutiny for Bush

Ok...so lets look at the political side of me for today. I am very upset at what is going on right now with this whole 9/11 review. From what I can see...and I could be wrong on this, they are trying to see if Bush could have prevented this or not. Now with this entry I am going to voice my opinion very openly so if I offend anyone...that is not the intent. But I am going to let everyone who reads my bloggs know, just how I feel on this matter.

I do not think that Bush could have prevented this and I don't particularly care for the fact that they are trying to pin this on anyone except for the terrorists that did this. If anyone should be under scrutiny I think it should be Clinton. In 1993 when he was in office...and the Trade Centers were bombed the first time, it was brought to the attention of the American people by Osama that he would come back and finish the job. Now, unless that was just a rumor, started by the public, why didn't Clinton get off his democratic Butt and do something about it? He brushed off the threat as nothing, and took no action.

Now I would understand the reasoning that any kinds of acts toward anything or any types of decisions that are made must be passed by the house and the senate a while ago. But now, I don't buy it. Bush if I'm not mistaken did not make any attempt to get anything passed. He put his foot down and blatenly said, "I am the President of the United States of AMERICA. This is my home, my country and my people and let no one stand in my way because justice will be done." (Of coarse, those were not his exact words, but thats the brunt of it). He didn't wait for the house and the senate to beef out their differences. There was no time, something needed to be done and he took action and made it happen.

It has also been brought to my attention watching the news channels that the reason Bush is being questioned about this is because there was a threat, just after he came into office, that something would happen. So again, with him doing what he could, why are we now, after 4 years, trying to put blame on someone other than the terrorists. And further more, if Bush is being questioned for not taking action on a threat, why isn't Clinton being questioned for not taking action on a threat. Why didn't Clinton put his foot down to put a stop to this when it happened the first time. Why didn't he do anything to prevent this from happening again.

Now again, this is just my opinion on what I do know or have heard. I am not in the white house, nor am I a senator, or a house representative. I do not claim to know everything about this matter. I am simply an American citizen using my 1st Amendment right that says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the FREEDOM OF SPEACH, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Todays thought...Happy Easter

Today is a special day for me. Though it is Easter Sunday...already a day to rejoice...It is also mine and my Pooh Bears anniversary. 2 yrs ago today we got married. It was a Thursday I will never forget.

It couldn't have been more perfect. In my mama and daddy's back yard. I may have blogged about this previously but it is a story I love to tell. The first time I got married I was 16 and it was in a court house. Never really a chance for my daddy to walk me down the aisle, or a chance for my mama to help get me ready. Well after my divorce and upon meeting my Pooh Bear, when he heard that I had not had a real wedding, he vowed that this time I would.

When he asked me to marry him...we sat down and talked about what kind of wedding we both wanted. I told him that I had always wanted a small wedding on horseback. He told me at that point he knew there was a reason he'd fallen in love with me. Everything went right. He asked my daddy for my hand in marriage (Something very special for my daddy I'm sure) and we set a date. I was so happy. My family loved him and I knew it was right this time.

Our wedding was awesome to say the least. So why don't we start with the night before and get this story correct.

My Pooh Bear actually had to work on the 10th. He worked 3rd shift and his plan was to get off early, get home, get some sleep and be at my mama and daddy's house about 12:00pm on the 11th for the wedding. The wedding was supposed to take place at 3:00pm. So...since he was working...and the story goes...its bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the wedding day...I spent the night at my mama and daddys. My grandparents were down for the wedding and they were there so there was not a whole lot of room.

I did not have much of a bachelorette party but I didn't want much of one anyway. I think it was one of the best times I ever had. My Floor came to the house and we had Koegels hotdogs and Macaroni and Cheese. It was so cool. Then, it was...my wedding day

We got up in the morning as one of my other bridesmaids showed up for the "Big Day". She and Floor went to a little shop to get their outfits for the wedding. Everyone there, if they were in or there at my wedding was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. My bridesmaids all had black jeans and green shirts and my Pooh Bears groomsmen were in black jeans and white shirts. And they were all in cowboy hats.

As they went on their way to get some black jeans, my mama and I went to a little craft store to get the veil material for my cowboy hat and went to a local store to get the wedding cake. We got back to the house to get it ready for the ceremony. Sure enough, my Pooh Bear was late. He didn't get there until about 1:30. There was still plenty of time so it didn't matter. My bridesmaids had started arriving and I was at the barn, getting my red roan appaloosa Patience, ready for the wedding. We had gotten some little purple and white roses to go in her mane and tail (Which for the record...she was not happy at all with the braided "fru-fru" stuff in her mane and tail)

I had brushed her out, got her ready and saddled her up, waiting the time. My Pooh Bear had snuck to the side of the house while getting the trellas ready with purple and white roses for the ceremony so that I could get into the house and wait for the start. All of my bridesmaids were down in the living room with me while waiting.

You know they say that it is good luck for the groom to be late to the wedding. Well, he got his, but what does it mean when the preacher is late? It boils down to a miscommunication. The preacher thought we said the wedding was at 3:30, so he got there at 3:30. However, as I said, it was supposed to be at 3. Then, if nothing else could go wrong...they couldn't find the marriage license. And then here's little unbenonced me, setting in the livingroom just clueless, waiting for someone to come and get me to get the thing started.

Then...it was finally time. After long anticipation I went out front, climbed in the saddle and my daddy walked beside me and got to walk me down the aisle. We proceded in our vows. In the midst of all of this and unfortunately you can see this in the video of when it takes place, I had managed to somehow get a hair in my mouth. I almost made it all the way through the vows until it came to "I now pronounce you...man and wife...You may now kiss the bride." So in my video you can see me taking my hand to my mouth and wiping this hair off my toung and onto my jeans.

The reception went great and to beat all, the rain that was moving through the area seemed to hold off until after the ceremony. You could see all of this grey in the sky and then right where we were, there was this hole in the clouds where God was smiling on us and giving us his blessing with this massive ray of sunshine. The reception was great and sure as I am setting here today, after everyone had left, the sky let loose and the rain came. It literally poored. It looked like someone had just unzipped the cloud above us and just let it fall.

I guess I end this note with a few words to my Pooh Bear. When you read this, I love you with all of my heart and do not care who knows it. Thank you so much for being you (Even when you make me mad) and for letting me have my way with my daddy walking me down the aisle and my mama helping me with everything. I know you tell me that you didn't LET me do anything and that I did all of it on my own, but none of it would have been done if you hadn't been the man you are and fell in love with me. Happy Anniversary baby. And may we be blessed with so many more to come.