And if you have to ask, you can kiss my Anglo-Saxon ass. -Kid Rock
Ha! Ha! My eldest niece is my age ..younger by about 6 days or so. Yes, in Texas there are some family dynamics. It gets lively around there sometimes. And, heavens, they do take their game playing seriously, although over the years, it has become more to the good natured side. They are a competitive group, too. I've never seen Scrabble played cutthroat style before.
The Senior Chief's family have an artistic temperament within them, as well. Some show it more than others, but it's present in all. It makes for some tiptoeing at times, but these people are so well rounded that I never, ever walk away from that house not having learned something.
Anyway, first of all, I understand what middle age means now. It does NOT mean the middle of your life, but if you have a large family, it means you are the middle PEOPLE. In other words, you have to watch them old people as much as you watch the young ones, because the old ones are stirring the young ones up so they can sit on the porch and be entertained watching it all unfold.
My niece and I decided that forty...feels rather rebellious. Those older ones will boss you around like you are a little kid still, too. And you find yourself sassing them back ..it's rather funny. And, they are just testing you...making sure the lessons they have taught have stuck.
Imagine this. Four (4) children with ADD no less..ok? In a house that an 85 year old woman lives in alone for the most part. She does need to just install a revolving door because every weekend, someone is coming to visit her. Anyway, knick knacks EVERYWHERE..and she gives these 4 kids...balloons. Oh yes she did. She got a kick out of watching all of us try and keep balloons out of her house.
Oh, and Mom's older brother popped in for a visit two days before we were due to leave..that was my surprise company, right? Oh lordy. And that man gives my 9 year old son his really expensive camera and all I did was go to the bathroom...and here comes little dude...running through the house, of course, with this camera. I mean, ornery people. He was having a good time, it looked like. And then they had gotten caught up in some high speed chase on 75 the day before and traffic here had them just a little freaked out. We put the news on and Uncle P. is pointing and saying.."Yeah, we saw that lady handcuffed on the side of the road!" Either he and his friend had never been to Atlanta before or it had been a long time because they had a whole new respect for us living in this part of the area and especially the senior chief because he drove there every day. This guy has got to be 87 or 88 at least though...
But man are there rules and rules and rules and rules and rules.
It keeps one humble and that is a good thing. But damn, I'm forty damn years old now, I know when my bedtime is, I know whether it's cold outside or not and I know whether my ears are cold or not and I know whether I'm hungry or not. So there.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Almost...
Well, I am almost caught up from being gone. Let me tell you...there is no city that is more beautiful than Atlanta..well, except maybe New York is a close second. Seeing Atlanta at night, perched up on the hill...what a sight for sore eyes.
It was a good visit, but I'm always glad to be home. Things within the family are shaking up for a bit, so we are revisiting our plans to move. I know, we'll probably change our minds again, but for now, it's not possible anyway. One of our nieces has a boyfriend that lives in this area. She went to high school with him and she will probably wind up relocating here. And, if she does, her sister will, as well. But, part of that is because we already live here...family is a part of it. How cool is that really? Very cool, I think.
It's funny how Georgia and Texas are so kindred in spirit. A lot of Texans have relatives in this area..funny, isn't it? I read somewhere once where a lot of Confederate soldiers relocated to East Texas in order to escape persecution by the government. It rather makes sense considering the similarity in topography and whatnot.
Anyway, I spent the day with my daughter in law to be and my new grandbaby yesterday. The family took a vote while we were gone and they want them to move in here with us, so I issued the invitation last night. We'll see. I told them to talk about it. They seem to think that my son got the diamond of the family. She's a cool girl, no doubt about it and I'd rather like some company during the day.
Oh, and the rest of the family boycotted China on their own, too. I have heard...Legos and Kinex are NOT made in China. I think some of the Hannah Montana stuff may be made in America as well. I did manage to find a bead set that was made in Taiwan, which is cool.
I surely hope all of y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
It was a good visit, but I'm always glad to be home. Things within the family are shaking up for a bit, so we are revisiting our plans to move. I know, we'll probably change our minds again, but for now, it's not possible anyway. One of our nieces has a boyfriend that lives in this area. She went to high school with him and she will probably wind up relocating here. And, if she does, her sister will, as well. But, part of that is because we already live here...family is a part of it. How cool is that really? Very cool, I think.
It's funny how Georgia and Texas are so kindred in spirit. A lot of Texans have relatives in this area..funny, isn't it? I read somewhere once where a lot of Confederate soldiers relocated to East Texas in order to escape persecution by the government. It rather makes sense considering the similarity in topography and whatnot.
Anyway, I spent the day with my daughter in law to be and my new grandbaby yesterday. The family took a vote while we were gone and they want them to move in here with us, so I issued the invitation last night. We'll see. I told them to talk about it. They seem to think that my son got the diamond of the family. She's a cool girl, no doubt about it and I'd rather like some company during the day.
Oh, and the rest of the family boycotted China on their own, too. I have heard...Legos and Kinex are NOT made in China. I think some of the Hannah Montana stuff may be made in America as well. I did manage to find a bead set that was made in Taiwan, which is cool.
I surely hope all of y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Returned
We have returned. Regularly scheduled programming will continue tomorrow! Hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
One of Those Questions
I just wonder..why do men attribute female...parts...to animals? We have beavers, and hooters..etc. I just wonder why this might be. And, they are the ones that call their own parts...snakes and whatnot...so, what's with the animal connection? And why such mean animals? Well, cats are usually pretty nice, except the big ones, and I guess that pretty much directly correlates there anyway.
Y'all have fun discussing this while I'm gone. I have to get busy and won't be back around until the 26th or so. Y'all play nice while I'm gone.
Y'all have fun discussing this while I'm gone. I have to get busy and won't be back around until the 26th or so. Y'all play nice while I'm gone.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Hope Shouldn't Ride Alone
I first found this via GuyK, who found it here... but the words of Sgt. Jeffers speak the loudest to me today.
Hope Rides Alone
By Eddie Jeffers
I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.
I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid... because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.
There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not.
And to think, I volunteered for this...
And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.
But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi , Iraq , the cries and screams and
complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.
I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.
People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes... only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.
Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam . In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with it's military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.
Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the Internet... and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed... for doing their job.
It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq ? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush was right.
America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a service member, its life as usual... the war doesn't affect you.
But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece together what's left of them after their service... where will the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.
We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor... we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our
cause.
Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't. Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight!
May God keep and bless you all.
Hope Rides Alone
By Eddie Jeffers
I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.
I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid... because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.
There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not.
And to think, I volunteered for this...
And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.
But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi , Iraq , the cries and screams and
complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.
I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.
People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes... only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.
Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam . In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with it's military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.
Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the Internet... and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed... for doing their job.
It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq ? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush was right.
America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a service member, its life as usual... the war doesn't affect you.
But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece together what's left of them after their service... where will the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.
We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor... we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our
cause.
Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't. Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight!
May God keep and bless you all.
Do You Think You're An Only Child?
This is a question I ask my kids, well not MY kids, but the 57 others who think they want to be our kids. Well, sometimes my kids, too, but you get the drift.
They come and tell me things and expect me to have the memory of an...elephant, I guess. Well, I TOLD you..is their plaintive cry when I inevitably forget something. As a solution to this, I usually have a piece of paper and a pen nearby any of my working areas within the house. Next to the computers, in my bedroom, near the phones, on the workbench, in the kitchen. Strategically located.
So, this weekend, one of the 57 that thinks they want to live here, the 27 year old. I actually think he's gearing up to ask to live here because he mentioned that his parents gave him to the end of the month to move out. He ain't moving in here, that's all I can say. Shoot, I love the kid and all but he works my last nerve, honestly. I think he might have sensed that because he's been giving me a bit of a wide berth lately. The senior chief thinks he has a crush on me or something...whatever...eye roll...anyway, he always is just a smart ass. He came up hinting that I needed to add some sweet stuff to my repertoire of food. So, he gave me a web address of a place for some recipes. Hey, that's cool, but when I wrote it down..he was all ...smart assy...you know how the young males are...all testosterony and everything is a challenge. You're supposed to be a walking computer..or whatever. Anyway, he says...in this snotty voice..."You have to write it down to remember a simple web site?" I wanted to just smack him.
I just asked him, though...Do you think you are an only child? Do you think you are the only one that comes up with something for me to do that I might be interested in? Do you think you are the only one who gets excited about stuff and wants to share? Do you think you are the only one that expects me to stop what I am doing in order for you to share this information? He grinned, and was glad I wrote it down.
That one is funny because he really does let me boss him around like I'm his mom. I made him eat some damn vegetables last weekend when he was over here ...(every Sat. like clockwork..if you cook it, they will come) anyway, he's been bitching about his weight and how he wants to eat better and all that and then he gets this big ol' plate of meat and potatoes and no vegetables. Oh yeah, I made him put a spoonful of vegetables on his plate and at least try them like I would any little kid of mine. Damned if he didn't and damned if he didn't sneak back for seconds when I wasn't looking. My 19 year old got a kick out of that. He gets a kick out of me making anybody eat his vegetables. We power struggled for a little while over food, he and I. I think I won that battle..(giggle).
So, then, my eldest called. He forgot my birthday entirely...oh buddy, brownie points lost there, big time. Anyway, he calls and wants me to run him to Wallyworld for diapers...I told him that my schedule was booked so 19 yr old and 27 yr old decide they don't mind because they want to go anyway...
They were gone for a long time and THEN came back bitching that eldest son went GROCERY shopping and didn't even get diapers. I just laughed. I told them I did not volunteer them, they volunteered themselves and I didn't want to hear any bitching about it. See, he even fights with my kids like he wants to live here. Hey, I was happy to hear that the kid was laying some groceries in the house. Good to know, but I also have experience with him and his quick little errands always turn into some drama laden affair and I'm just not playing anymore. If he was to call up and say ..Hey, I need to go grocery shopping, that would be fine, because then I know how much time to plan for..but he doesn't so I won't. Pretty damn simple as far as I am concerned, nothing to get all worked up about. I told those other two to let that be a lesson to them and to make their future decisions accordingly.
They come and tell me things and expect me to have the memory of an...elephant, I guess. Well, I TOLD you..is their plaintive cry when I inevitably forget something. As a solution to this, I usually have a piece of paper and a pen nearby any of my working areas within the house. Next to the computers, in my bedroom, near the phones, on the workbench, in the kitchen. Strategically located.
So, this weekend, one of the 57 that thinks they want to live here, the 27 year old. I actually think he's gearing up to ask to live here because he mentioned that his parents gave him to the end of the month to move out. He ain't moving in here, that's all I can say. Shoot, I love the kid and all but he works my last nerve, honestly. I think he might have sensed that because he's been giving me a bit of a wide berth lately. The senior chief thinks he has a crush on me or something...whatever...eye roll...anyway, he always is just a smart ass. He came up hinting that I needed to add some sweet stuff to my repertoire of food. So, he gave me a web address of a place for some recipes. Hey, that's cool, but when I wrote it down..he was all ...smart assy...you know how the young males are...all testosterony and everything is a challenge. You're supposed to be a walking computer..or whatever. Anyway, he says...in this snotty voice..."You have to write it down to remember a simple web site?" I wanted to just smack him.
I just asked him, though...Do you think you are an only child? Do you think you are the only one that comes up with something for me to do that I might be interested in? Do you think you are the only one who gets excited about stuff and wants to share? Do you think you are the only one that expects me to stop what I am doing in order for you to share this information? He grinned, and was glad I wrote it down.
That one is funny because he really does let me boss him around like I'm his mom. I made him eat some damn vegetables last weekend when he was over here ...(every Sat. like clockwork..if you cook it, they will come) anyway, he's been bitching about his weight and how he wants to eat better and all that and then he gets this big ol' plate of meat and potatoes and no vegetables. Oh yeah, I made him put a spoonful of vegetables on his plate and at least try them like I would any little kid of mine. Damned if he didn't and damned if he didn't sneak back for seconds when I wasn't looking. My 19 year old got a kick out of that. He gets a kick out of me making anybody eat his vegetables. We power struggled for a little while over food, he and I. I think I won that battle..(giggle).
So, then, my eldest called. He forgot my birthday entirely...oh buddy, brownie points lost there, big time. Anyway, he calls and wants me to run him to Wallyworld for diapers...I told him that my schedule was booked so 19 yr old and 27 yr old decide they don't mind because they want to go anyway...
They were gone for a long time and THEN came back bitching that eldest son went GROCERY shopping and didn't even get diapers. I just laughed. I told them I did not volunteer them, they volunteered themselves and I didn't want to hear any bitching about it. See, he even fights with my kids like he wants to live here. Hey, I was happy to hear that the kid was laying some groceries in the house. Good to know, but I also have experience with him and his quick little errands always turn into some drama laden affair and I'm just not playing anymore. If he was to call up and say ..Hey, I need to go grocery shopping, that would be fine, because then I know how much time to plan for..but he doesn't so I won't. Pretty damn simple as far as I am concerned, nothing to get all worked up about. I told those other two to let that be a lesson to them and to make their future decisions accordingly.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Starting Early...
Well, tomorrow is my birthday so I decided to start celebrating a little early. I did get some of my favorite wine, but I'm also baking some cupcakes. The kids want to decorate cupcakes for me, so cupcakes it is.
This makes me laugh, but I do enjoy it. I have to plan my birthday just like everyone else's. If I want a cake, I must go to the store and pick it up. I don't, however, have to pick my own presents. I said I didn't want presents this year and I really don't. Really. I just got 4 new tires for my car that cost a pretty penny, I really don't need or want anything else.
I know...it makes me very hard to shop for, in some opinions. The truth of the matter is, that I am very easy to shop for. I appreciate every gift from the heart and I already have too much stuff that I have to clean up after, and anything else, well, that would distract me from the task at hand.
I mean, if I had to choose a gift, besides books, and book shopping on my birthday is a treat I established for myself long ago..anyway, if I had to choose, it would be a particular video game..The Sims2...anybody play this? But, I won't..because I would play the hell out of that game instead of doing anything else. Hell, the computer is a distraction enough and he just got me a new one of those...so I really, truly, do not want anything. I want to go to Texas and hang with his women and that we are doing real soon.
Anyhoo, I got a fat Smithfield ham to cook on Saturday, with beans and then chili to follow...tomorrow, though is going to be barbecued ribs with twice baked potatoes and some kind of salad. Maybe I'll switch those meals because there's more time to bbq on Saturday. Anyway, we are going to feast this weekend.
Hopefully, the senior chief will be able to have his car back together. Oh, that's a story for another day, let me tell ya, but this mix matching materials for engines..that blows..I do not understand why you wouldn't just stick with one material..his heads are aluminum while the block is cast iron. Cast iron and aluminum do not meld well together unless there is a special gasket in there...something about them expanding and contracting at different rates...and so therefore the torquing is special and there is a special procedure and special gasket..none of which was taken into consideration by the dumbass we bought it from...but it's all cool..got the right stuff now. Just more proof of how stupid people are. Sigh.
Anyway, so today I am planning my party. I love it, I do. Those guys used to feel a little bad until I explained that we cannot just change who's responsibility is what at this time of year. This is busy season at work and school...it really is...and they just do not have time for all the ..touches.. unless I do them. My daughter will make some decorations, though. That girl is a WHIZ with some construction paper and a few markers. Holy cow, she can make some stuff. Right now, my front door is decorated with a tree shedding it's leaves..it's really creative and beautiful.
I look forward to what their imaginations produce every year and I am never ever disappointed.
Oh, come on, admit it y'all...you do wish you were as spoiled as me!!! I am truly rotton, I tell ya.
To me, I spent enough time alone...this is all I want for my birthday..to be surrounded by those I love.
This makes me laugh, but I do enjoy it. I have to plan my birthday just like everyone else's. If I want a cake, I must go to the store and pick it up. I don't, however, have to pick my own presents. I said I didn't want presents this year and I really don't. Really. I just got 4 new tires for my car that cost a pretty penny, I really don't need or want anything else.
I know...it makes me very hard to shop for, in some opinions. The truth of the matter is, that I am very easy to shop for. I appreciate every gift from the heart and I already have too much stuff that I have to clean up after, and anything else, well, that would distract me from the task at hand.
I mean, if I had to choose a gift, besides books, and book shopping on my birthday is a treat I established for myself long ago..anyway, if I had to choose, it would be a particular video game..The Sims2...anybody play this? But, I won't..because I would play the hell out of that game instead of doing anything else. Hell, the computer is a distraction enough and he just got me a new one of those...so I really, truly, do not want anything. I want to go to Texas and hang with his women and that we are doing real soon.
Anyhoo, I got a fat Smithfield ham to cook on Saturday, with beans and then chili to follow...tomorrow, though is going to be barbecued ribs with twice baked potatoes and some kind of salad. Maybe I'll switch those meals because there's more time to bbq on Saturday. Anyway, we are going to feast this weekend.
Hopefully, the senior chief will be able to have his car back together. Oh, that's a story for another day, let me tell ya, but this mix matching materials for engines..that blows..I do not understand why you wouldn't just stick with one material..his heads are aluminum while the block is cast iron. Cast iron and aluminum do not meld well together unless there is a special gasket in there...something about them expanding and contracting at different rates...and so therefore the torquing is special and there is a special procedure and special gasket..none of which was taken into consideration by the dumbass we bought it from...but it's all cool..got the right stuff now. Just more proof of how stupid people are. Sigh.
Anyway, so today I am planning my party. I love it, I do. Those guys used to feel a little bad until I explained that we cannot just change who's responsibility is what at this time of year. This is busy season at work and school...it really is...and they just do not have time for all the ..touches.. unless I do them. My daughter will make some decorations, though. That girl is a WHIZ with some construction paper and a few markers. Holy cow, she can make some stuff. Right now, my front door is decorated with a tree shedding it's leaves..it's really creative and beautiful.
I look forward to what their imaginations produce every year and I am never ever disappointed.
Oh, come on, admit it y'all...you do wish you were as spoiled as me!!! I am truly rotton, I tell ya.
To me, I spent enough time alone...this is all I want for my birthday..to be surrounded by those I love.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Annual Eval
That's one thing I've kind of kept from the military. I give myself my own annual evaluation, I guess.
I usually do this around my birthday, a lot of people do it at New Year's, but to me, birthday time makes the most sense.
I set new goals based on the progress that I have made over the last year. Some goals remain the same but I continue to explore new ways to reach them or overcome the barriers that are preventing me from reaching them.
I think it's bad to stay in one place and not continue to actively try to grow as a person. That's the joy of being a person, there's always something new to learn and someone to learn it from.
This year is the big four-oh. You know, big deal. I mean, I still look like I'm 17, according to SOME people. Of course, I'm not going to have a baby this year to make me feel old, like the senior chief did when he was 40, haha! Seriously, though, I wear it with honor. I've actually accomplished quite a bit for 40.
Not that there's still not stuff to accomplish. I really need to kick the nicotine habit, for instance. There's other things as well. Most of them are already plans in progress, believe it or not. More focus on organization this year. Of course, I would LIKE a house that Helen Keller could live in and function in, but that..that would be an unrealistic goal at this point.
Every time I feel bad about it, I go to see my mom in law, whose house is uber organized. That was one thing I loved about my father in law. That man kept a strict schedule. He had to..diabetes does that to ya. Anyway, her place is very organized and still, when all of us come it takes a week before we are all just searching for stuff. And we all work real hard to put stuff back where it goes, too, but it happens anyway. I have come to just accept that a certain amount of it comes from just so many people.
I know, you'd think I'd have stuff like that figured out, but I only had one brother growing up. I sure understand my one girlfriend's mother a lot better these years. Trying to mobilize eight people and get them all to one place, in one piece, and on time. That's why I was left in charge of a carful of people driving from East Texas to Fort Worth last year...my mom in law knew that my people would be there dressed, ready and on time..and by god we were.
Hey, I noticed something the other day that just tickled me pink. The senior chief is a whiz kid, let me tell ya...he's almost to the idiot savant stage, (only with social skills), he's so smart, and I'm not saying that, I know smart when I see it...just sayin'. Anyway, he's really fast with the math, too. He can add up shit in his head faster than I can enter it into a calculator. It's intimidating at times...until...
The other day, and this is the second time or so that it's happened, but the math in question was fractions, and haha...*I* looked like the whiz kid then...and then it dawned on me...we each just use different math every day and use it or lose it is a fact, jack. He gave me the look that I usually give him in such instances. I had to laugh a little and just hold up a measuring cup.
People get intimidated by smart. It bugs me, too, because it's not like being smart means that you know everything, it means that you have the capacity to learn. If you don't ever test those limits, then you aren't going to learn anything..so maintaining smart is different, and that requires work. So, yeah, I'm a little proud of being smart, because I put a lot of work into being smart, if that makes sense. Knowledge doesn't just come to me in a dream or anything..you know sometimes you have to actually make an effort to expand your knowledge.
Cool, I don't think I have to flog myself this year or anything. I have got to get better with remembering birthdays and stuff....
I usually do this around my birthday, a lot of people do it at New Year's, but to me, birthday time makes the most sense.
I set new goals based on the progress that I have made over the last year. Some goals remain the same but I continue to explore new ways to reach them or overcome the barriers that are preventing me from reaching them.
I think it's bad to stay in one place and not continue to actively try to grow as a person. That's the joy of being a person, there's always something new to learn and someone to learn it from.
This year is the big four-oh. You know, big deal. I mean, I still look like I'm 17, according to SOME people. Of course, I'm not going to have a baby this year to make me feel old, like the senior chief did when he was 40, haha! Seriously, though, I wear it with honor. I've actually accomplished quite a bit for 40.
Not that there's still not stuff to accomplish. I really need to kick the nicotine habit, for instance. There's other things as well. Most of them are already plans in progress, believe it or not. More focus on organization this year. Of course, I would LIKE a house that Helen Keller could live in and function in, but that..that would be an unrealistic goal at this point.
Every time I feel bad about it, I go to see my mom in law, whose house is uber organized. That was one thing I loved about my father in law. That man kept a strict schedule. He had to..diabetes does that to ya. Anyway, her place is very organized and still, when all of us come it takes a week before we are all just searching for stuff. And we all work real hard to put stuff back where it goes, too, but it happens anyway. I have come to just accept that a certain amount of it comes from just so many people.
I know, you'd think I'd have stuff like that figured out, but I only had one brother growing up. I sure understand my one girlfriend's mother a lot better these years. Trying to mobilize eight people and get them all to one place, in one piece, and on time. That's why I was left in charge of a carful of people driving from East Texas to Fort Worth last year...my mom in law knew that my people would be there dressed, ready and on time..and by god we were.
Hey, I noticed something the other day that just tickled me pink. The senior chief is a whiz kid, let me tell ya...he's almost to the idiot savant stage, (only with social skills), he's so smart, and I'm not saying that, I know smart when I see it...just sayin'. Anyway, he's really fast with the math, too. He can add up shit in his head faster than I can enter it into a calculator. It's intimidating at times...until...
The other day, and this is the second time or so that it's happened, but the math in question was fractions, and haha...*I* looked like the whiz kid then...and then it dawned on me...we each just use different math every day and use it or lose it is a fact, jack. He gave me the look that I usually give him in such instances. I had to laugh a little and just hold up a measuring cup.
People get intimidated by smart. It bugs me, too, because it's not like being smart means that you know everything, it means that you have the capacity to learn. If you don't ever test those limits, then you aren't going to learn anything..so maintaining smart is different, and that requires work. So, yeah, I'm a little proud of being smart, because I put a lot of work into being smart, if that makes sense. Knowledge doesn't just come to me in a dream or anything..you know sometimes you have to actually make an effort to expand your knowledge.
Cool, I don't think I have to flog myself this year or anything. I have got to get better with remembering birthdays and stuff....
Good Morning!
Finally, the sun is in accordance with my daily clock again. It felt wierd to be all tired at 7 pm and have the sun still out. Now it makes more sense.
Got new tires for my car yesterday..woo HOO! I've been watching racing long enough to know that 4 tires is always better than 2. This is actually the first time since I've owned this car that I've been able to get a matched set. They had the Cooper Cobras on them when we got it, but those puppies are expensive. I'll stick with the Goodyear Eagle GT's with race wrap technology. I just like saying that ..it sounds cool. Seriously, though, I did a little research and that's the best tire for the money. They are speed rated at 10mph faster than the car is supposed to go and believe me, that's fast enough. As well, they have the longest mileage on them compared to the others, and they have the best temperature rating and all that.
But, my god, that is the kind of work and research you have to do before you ever go buy stuff like that. You cannot trust a soul out there, not even some simple tire changers. I am like that anyway, but still, it was merely reaffirmed to me once again. Incompetence rules in this country, for sure.
Incompetence and greed, names of the game.
So, first of all, I was glad that I didn't have to drive over there on the donut tire. The senior chief came home from work before the tires came in, so I sweet talked him into driving me over there. He had to get a radiator for the truck, and he had the card, so I went with him and we combined our errands. So, we get to the tire place, no problem, although it was a bit of a tense ride. Not fun driving with those little tiny spare tires and I've written enough posts about how it's just all crazy around here now...well, anyway, tense ride.
So, then the guy keeps asking the senior chief all the questions, which I answered, but that dude would not look at me. I said it was MY car, I ordered the damn tires for it...but whatever, that actually hasn't happened to me often, but I gotta remember these guys were just tire changers, it's not like they were real mechanics or something.
I think it's probably safe to say at this point that I will never get tires there again. Anyway, so on the phone, the guy doesn't want to sell me the tire I want to buy, he wants to sell me some damn foreign tire..I should have just skipped it then, but he said he could have mine in a day...
My baby would just up and die on me if I put a foreign tire on her. Ugh. I did run the numbers for my eldest son's tires, but I was a little uncomfortable with how much that would lower the car. It's pretty low as it is.
So, then we get to the tire place, and a different guy tries to pull a slick salesman routine on me AFTER not looking me in the eye and tack an extra hundred bucks to the bill. I almost had a stroke right there. The senior chief could tell, too..his eyes were getting big like he was scared I was going to make a scene. I very rarely make a scene in a store, but if I do, look the hell out, because everybody and God is gonna know I'm pissed and why I'm pissed.
But, since I didn't have to tell him more than once the price that I was quoted over the telephone, he got to keep his face intact.
I was glad, also, that we had decided to wait, because I could just tell, this was one of those places, that if we hadn't been there, you bet your ass they would have "test driven" it. He revved the engine up far too much just pulling it into the garage. I was real close to snatching his ass right on out of my car and doing it myself. It was way too much car for him to handle, him bragging about his Mustang...ha...you just cannot compare six cylinders to eight...brands aside.
And, my god, it took them forever and a day to change four tires. Of course, if that's ALL he would have been doing, it would have taken OH so much less time, but when you loosen a bolt, stop, talk to your buddy, run answer the phone, place a few more orders, come back loosen another bolt, and so on...
And then there was like 5 guys around my car at any given time. Haha, that made me laugh because on the outside, my car is pretty beat up and rough looking. I mean, and on the interior, there is no headliner and that black crap that was under the headliner is just coming off, and all of that, but man, what is under the hood is beautiful sounding. She's not always going to look rough...we have to make her look as pretty as she sounds, but still..it makes me laugh.
They finally got on it when I asked them if I needed to finish up myself and the senior chief started walking around picking up parts..haha!
I have mastered the ability to be a complete pain in the ass if the occasion calls for it. I try to save it, but good lord, you should not have to have your wits about you THAT much when just getting to go get a set of tires.
Oh and when we got done with all that, he and the 19 year old installed the new radiator in the damn blazer in the cold last night. It got cold just as soon as the sun went down..whew...
They were happy when they came in and ate the tomatoe soup and grilled cheese sandwiches I made for them. Chili is on the menu for this week, too.
And after ALL that, I got home, looked at my receipt, and it had my son's name and his car listed as the person and car they installed these tires on. Unbelievable.
Got new tires for my car yesterday..woo HOO! I've been watching racing long enough to know that 4 tires is always better than 2. This is actually the first time since I've owned this car that I've been able to get a matched set. They had the Cooper Cobras on them when we got it, but those puppies are expensive. I'll stick with the Goodyear Eagle GT's with race wrap technology. I just like saying that ..it sounds cool. Seriously, though, I did a little research and that's the best tire for the money. They are speed rated at 10mph faster than the car is supposed to go and believe me, that's fast enough. As well, they have the longest mileage on them compared to the others, and they have the best temperature rating and all that.
But, my god, that is the kind of work and research you have to do before you ever go buy stuff like that. You cannot trust a soul out there, not even some simple tire changers. I am like that anyway, but still, it was merely reaffirmed to me once again. Incompetence rules in this country, for sure.
Incompetence and greed, names of the game.
So, first of all, I was glad that I didn't have to drive over there on the donut tire. The senior chief came home from work before the tires came in, so I sweet talked him into driving me over there. He had to get a radiator for the truck, and he had the card, so I went with him and we combined our errands. So, we get to the tire place, no problem, although it was a bit of a tense ride. Not fun driving with those little tiny spare tires and I've written enough posts about how it's just all crazy around here now...well, anyway, tense ride.
So, then the guy keeps asking the senior chief all the questions, which I answered, but that dude would not look at me. I said it was MY car, I ordered the damn tires for it...but whatever, that actually hasn't happened to me often, but I gotta remember these guys were just tire changers, it's not like they were real mechanics or something.
I think it's probably safe to say at this point that I will never get tires there again. Anyway, so on the phone, the guy doesn't want to sell me the tire I want to buy, he wants to sell me some damn foreign tire..I should have just skipped it then, but he said he could have mine in a day...
My baby would just up and die on me if I put a foreign tire on her. Ugh. I did run the numbers for my eldest son's tires, but I was a little uncomfortable with how much that would lower the car. It's pretty low as it is.
So, then we get to the tire place, and a different guy tries to pull a slick salesman routine on me AFTER not looking me in the eye and tack an extra hundred bucks to the bill. I almost had a stroke right there. The senior chief could tell, too..his eyes were getting big like he was scared I was going to make a scene. I very rarely make a scene in a store, but if I do, look the hell out, because everybody and God is gonna know I'm pissed and why I'm pissed.
But, since I didn't have to tell him more than once the price that I was quoted over the telephone, he got to keep his face intact.
I was glad, also, that we had decided to wait, because I could just tell, this was one of those places, that if we hadn't been there, you bet your ass they would have "test driven" it. He revved the engine up far too much just pulling it into the garage. I was real close to snatching his ass right on out of my car and doing it myself. It was way too much car for him to handle, him bragging about his Mustang...ha...you just cannot compare six cylinders to eight...brands aside.
And, my god, it took them forever and a day to change four tires. Of course, if that's ALL he would have been doing, it would have taken OH so much less time, but when you loosen a bolt, stop, talk to your buddy, run answer the phone, place a few more orders, come back loosen another bolt, and so on...
And then there was like 5 guys around my car at any given time. Haha, that made me laugh because on the outside, my car is pretty beat up and rough looking. I mean, and on the interior, there is no headliner and that black crap that was under the headliner is just coming off, and all of that, but man, what is under the hood is beautiful sounding. She's not always going to look rough...we have to make her look as pretty as she sounds, but still..it makes me laugh.
They finally got on it when I asked them if I needed to finish up myself and the senior chief started walking around picking up parts..haha!
I have mastered the ability to be a complete pain in the ass if the occasion calls for it. I try to save it, but good lord, you should not have to have your wits about you THAT much when just getting to go get a set of tires.
Oh and when we got done with all that, he and the 19 year old installed the new radiator in the damn blazer in the cold last night. It got cold just as soon as the sun went down..whew...
They were happy when they came in and ate the tomatoe soup and grilled cheese sandwiches I made for them. Chili is on the menu for this week, too.
And after ALL that, I got home, looked at my receipt, and it had my son's name and his car listed as the person and car they installed these tires on. Unbelievable.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Flaw
Here's the flaw in the concept that what we, as stay at home moms, produce is independent, productive adults.
I suppose that is true, in a way, but this kind of thinking forces us to live off their accomplishments and take credit for their accomplishments and when do their accomplishments become purely their own?
This is the conundrum a lot of stay at home moms find themselves in. Those aren't MY grades they are bringing home from school..those are grades THEY earned. But, by assuming that my 'product' is the child, that makes them my grades, too and that just really doesn't work for me.
As well, what happens when one of them isn't as productive or even interested in things you are...do we call these defective products? Are we to live in shame forever because one of our 'products' is defective? You can't recall your defective product if you are a mother...
We need MORE than that. We need to have something tangible to show for our work, and not a grown eating machine, either.
This is the conundrum that all stay at home mothers find themselves in and why you hear so much whining from this group. We have nothing tangible to show for our work except what our children and husbands do and that's just not cool. So, mothers get jobs outside of the home in order to feel productive, and we can see what kinds of prices you have to pay there...so the solution must be to be able to define what it is we produce, and what would happen if we stopped. Well, everybody knows what would happen.
Morning conversation with the husband...Him..searching around everywhere...Me.."What are you looking for?" Him.."The brush" Me.."SIGH" and hands him the brush. Him.."Why is it that when I am looking for something you think you HAVE to get up and find it for me?" Me.."The same reason that you feel like you have to fix my car when it breaks."
Production of food...that's cool, but it's not going to leave a lasting legacy unless you are Mrs. Smith, eh? Food falls into the category of you are only as good as the LAST meal you cooked...what have you cooked lately, kind of deal.
This was the whole real deal to the women's movement. Women were tired of feeling like consumers, they wanted to be recongized as thinking, productive citizens, but the only way to do that is to have a job. In many cases, well, at least in my case, it just would be cost prohibitive for me to have a job.
So, we have left, our creative outlets. Many women still engage in some kind of craft as a hobby..painting, music making, writing, decorating, needlework, baking,..cooking is very creative, but once it's gone, it's forgotten...
Logistics is the biggest part of it, really. I mean, most women I know have a very wide variety of skills and could get jobs in pretty much any industry they want, but knowing you could and actually doing are two different things.
Women have found a way to be productive over the years, hence products like Mary Kay, Tupperware, and Avon...
You know, I liked how my in laws did things. They had a joint hobby, but it was separate, too. He had a woodshop and he'd cut things out for her, and she'd paint them and decorate. We have many hand made ornaments and whatnot from them.
I'm getting off subject a little bit, but I'm thinking out loud, too....
I suppose that is true, in a way, but this kind of thinking forces us to live off their accomplishments and take credit for their accomplishments and when do their accomplishments become purely their own?
This is the conundrum a lot of stay at home moms find themselves in. Those aren't MY grades they are bringing home from school..those are grades THEY earned. But, by assuming that my 'product' is the child, that makes them my grades, too and that just really doesn't work for me.
As well, what happens when one of them isn't as productive or even interested in things you are...do we call these defective products? Are we to live in shame forever because one of our 'products' is defective? You can't recall your defective product if you are a mother...
We need MORE than that. We need to have something tangible to show for our work, and not a grown eating machine, either.
This is the conundrum that all stay at home mothers find themselves in and why you hear so much whining from this group. We have nothing tangible to show for our work except what our children and husbands do and that's just not cool. So, mothers get jobs outside of the home in order to feel productive, and we can see what kinds of prices you have to pay there...so the solution must be to be able to define what it is we produce, and what would happen if we stopped. Well, everybody knows what would happen.
Morning conversation with the husband...Him..searching around everywhere...Me.."What are you looking for?" Him.."The brush" Me.."SIGH" and hands him the brush. Him.."Why is it that when I am looking for something you think you HAVE to get up and find it for me?" Me.."The same reason that you feel like you have to fix my car when it breaks."
Production of food...that's cool, but it's not going to leave a lasting legacy unless you are Mrs. Smith, eh? Food falls into the category of you are only as good as the LAST meal you cooked...what have you cooked lately, kind of deal.
This was the whole real deal to the women's movement. Women were tired of feeling like consumers, they wanted to be recongized as thinking, productive citizens, but the only way to do that is to have a job. In many cases, well, at least in my case, it just would be cost prohibitive for me to have a job.
So, we have left, our creative outlets. Many women still engage in some kind of craft as a hobby..painting, music making, writing, decorating, needlework, baking,..cooking is very creative, but once it's gone, it's forgotten...
Logistics is the biggest part of it, really. I mean, most women I know have a very wide variety of skills and could get jobs in pretty much any industry they want, but knowing you could and actually doing are two different things.
Women have found a way to be productive over the years, hence products like Mary Kay, Tupperware, and Avon...
You know, I liked how my in laws did things. They had a joint hobby, but it was separate, too. He had a woodshop and he'd cut things out for her, and she'd paint them and decorate. We have many hand made ornaments and whatnot from them.
I'm getting off subject a little bit, but I'm thinking out loud, too....
Monday, November 05, 2007
Sausage Biscuits and Gravy
Sunday morning fare at our house. Sometimes Saturday. Depends. Sometimes it's other food. This weekend it was sausage gravy and biscuits.
I am so-o-o-o not a morning person and I have learned that the only way to survive in a house that has this many people in it, is to be the very first person awake by at least an hour and a half. Otherwise, if I get up AFTER them, then I won't even have a PRAYER of getting anything accomplished or formulating a plan. They hijack my train of thoughts and then jump the tracks if I don't have my wits about me. I am extremely noise sensitive, too, especially early in the morning and tend to get very testy at the slightest noise.
So, I get up first. Then, when I have my train of thought securely in motion, I will cook something yummy and that smells good in order to wake them out and execute said plan. There is nothing like the smell of bacon or sausage to drag a bunch of sleepy people out of their beds.
And only then when I am ready to deal with the endless questions, requests, and just general needs. God knows, they'd be able to find stuff easier if we could just all agree on ONE place to put things, but every single person has an idea of where it goes...so many of my waking hours are spent searching for stuff...I have to have my wits about me before the hordes descend upon me.
It's funny, but none of us were morning people and getting those boys off for school when they were younger was quite the chore. Except the senior chief..he's more of a morning person than I am. Hell, he won't even be real grouchy if we run out of coffee and that's unlike many coffee drinkers I know.
However, it is a LOT easier to get them up and moving in the right direction if I have cooked something yummy for them first. Funny how that works, eh? Hell, all the trash got taken out and a bit of yard work got done this weekend.
I am so-o-o-o not a morning person and I have learned that the only way to survive in a house that has this many people in it, is to be the very first person awake by at least an hour and a half. Otherwise, if I get up AFTER them, then I won't even have a PRAYER of getting anything accomplished or formulating a plan. They hijack my train of thoughts and then jump the tracks if I don't have my wits about me. I am extremely noise sensitive, too, especially early in the morning and tend to get very testy at the slightest noise.
So, I get up first. Then, when I have my train of thought securely in motion, I will cook something yummy and that smells good in order to wake them out and execute said plan. There is nothing like the smell of bacon or sausage to drag a bunch of sleepy people out of their beds.
And only then when I am ready to deal with the endless questions, requests, and just general needs. God knows, they'd be able to find stuff easier if we could just all agree on ONE place to put things, but every single person has an idea of where it goes...so many of my waking hours are spent searching for stuff...I have to have my wits about me before the hordes descend upon me.
It's funny, but none of us were morning people and getting those boys off for school when they were younger was quite the chore. Except the senior chief..he's more of a morning person than I am. Hell, he won't even be real grouchy if we run out of coffee and that's unlike many coffee drinkers I know.
However, it is a LOT easier to get them up and moving in the right direction if I have cooked something yummy for them first. Funny how that works, eh? Hell, all the trash got taken out and a bit of yard work got done this weekend.
Friday, November 02, 2007
One Snowy Day I Learned To Be A Plumber
One year, I can't remember which one, but I bet I've got a picture somewhere..anyway, one year, it snowed here. It was a really pretty snow, too, with big fat flakes and it left a blanket of white snow everywhere.
The senior chief and I knew it was going to freeze so we took all the appropriate measures and left a couple of drips going in the lines that were most likely to freeze. No problem. We didn't have any of our pipes freeze for this reason, yay.
The kids, of course, were really excited to have a snow day as only kids can be. I have to confess, though, I still retain a certain amount of kid excitement in snow. I love weather..it's unpredictable and it's fun to make hot chocolate and have snowball fights and all of that.
The older boys always tried to be diligent about taking care of those necessary outside chores for me, walking the perimeter, taking care of things that need it. This particular morning, Army boy, was the first up and about. He and the 19 year old were doing the perimeter check, looking for the best place to stage the snowball fight, thinking of watering down an area and making ice, that kind of stuff.
The senior chief was at work, bless his heart. So, I got everyone settled with breakfast and went upstairs to take a shower and whatnot and the 19 year old, who was a lot younger then..I want to say they were like 13 and 11 then..anyway, he comes running upstairs, all in a panic, telling me that Army boy needs me, it's an EMERGENCY. Oh crap. What could he have POSSIBLY done to hurt himself this time? Dammit. (Right?..haha!)
So, I pull my clothes on, (I was still in my damn bathrobe)..and run downstairs and outside..where Army boy is obviously not injured mortally, but instead, there is water POURING out of my house. How in the hell did that happen, I inquire in a not so nice tone.
Well, as it turns out, he was doing a perimeter check, saw water dripping from the outside faucet and "water conservation" was what was in his head, so he went to turn the faucet off. Well, though the pipes weren't frozen, the faucet was, so he couldn't turn it off. Instead of coming and asking me about it right then, he decided to turn it a little harder. That didn't work, so he went into the garage, got a screwdriver, wedged it in the faucet head (it was one of those round ones that were kind of open) and tried to force it closed. What he wound up doing was breaking the whole pipe..he was standing there with the faucet and the pipe in his hand. Oh.
So, here is this fresh blanket of snow on the ground and the cut off valve for the water is somewhere out there and I don't have a clue where to find it. Never before has my yard looked so vast...
So, the fastest thing I can think to do is to call the senior chief and ask him where it is located. And so I did.
It turns out that at that particular moment in time, he was giving a guy he worked with a ride home and this guy lived in the 'hood, and the real deal, beat the crack whores off the car kind of 'hood when I called...and his buddy got all stuck on how that was all I wanted, blah blah blah. Thankfully, the senior chief was able to drop him off quick and get the hell out of dodge, but now I was worried about that, too, eh?
So, while I am on the phone with the senior chief, Army boy had another brilliant idea and tried to put the faucet and pipe BACK, which succeeded in doing nothing but shoving the water...into the wall...and flooding my utility room. Now, what was relatively simple, has just gotten more complicated because I have to stop and yell at him to just keep his hands off of stuff while I find the cut off..and I found the cut off.
I almost had it fixed by the time the senior chief got home from work, too. Damn kids, anyway. But, in a way, I would have never learned anything about plumbing if he hadn't done that, so ..in a way it was a good thing, I guess. Well, that's how I choose to tell it anyway...haha!!! It is my firm belief that something positive is born from every negative..and only once has this belief been tested.
The senior chief and I knew it was going to freeze so we took all the appropriate measures and left a couple of drips going in the lines that were most likely to freeze. No problem. We didn't have any of our pipes freeze for this reason, yay.
The kids, of course, were really excited to have a snow day as only kids can be. I have to confess, though, I still retain a certain amount of kid excitement in snow. I love weather..it's unpredictable and it's fun to make hot chocolate and have snowball fights and all of that.
The older boys always tried to be diligent about taking care of those necessary outside chores for me, walking the perimeter, taking care of things that need it. This particular morning, Army boy, was the first up and about. He and the 19 year old were doing the perimeter check, looking for the best place to stage the snowball fight, thinking of watering down an area and making ice, that kind of stuff.
The senior chief was at work, bless his heart. So, I got everyone settled with breakfast and went upstairs to take a shower and whatnot and the 19 year old, who was a lot younger then..I want to say they were like 13 and 11 then..anyway, he comes running upstairs, all in a panic, telling me that Army boy needs me, it's an EMERGENCY. Oh crap. What could he have POSSIBLY done to hurt himself this time? Dammit. (Right?..haha!)
So, I pull my clothes on, (I was still in my damn bathrobe)..and run downstairs and outside..where Army boy is obviously not injured mortally, but instead, there is water POURING out of my house. How in the hell did that happen, I inquire in a not so nice tone.
Well, as it turns out, he was doing a perimeter check, saw water dripping from the outside faucet and "water conservation" was what was in his head, so he went to turn the faucet off. Well, though the pipes weren't frozen, the faucet was, so he couldn't turn it off. Instead of coming and asking me about it right then, he decided to turn it a little harder. That didn't work, so he went into the garage, got a screwdriver, wedged it in the faucet head (it was one of those round ones that were kind of open) and tried to force it closed. What he wound up doing was breaking the whole pipe..he was standing there with the faucet and the pipe in his hand. Oh.
So, here is this fresh blanket of snow on the ground and the cut off valve for the water is somewhere out there and I don't have a clue where to find it. Never before has my yard looked so vast...
So, the fastest thing I can think to do is to call the senior chief and ask him where it is located. And so I did.
It turns out that at that particular moment in time, he was giving a guy he worked with a ride home and this guy lived in the 'hood, and the real deal, beat the crack whores off the car kind of 'hood when I called...and his buddy got all stuck on how that was all I wanted, blah blah blah. Thankfully, the senior chief was able to drop him off quick and get the hell out of dodge, but now I was worried about that, too, eh?
So, while I am on the phone with the senior chief, Army boy had another brilliant idea and tried to put the faucet and pipe BACK, which succeeded in doing nothing but shoving the water...into the wall...and flooding my utility room. Now, what was relatively simple, has just gotten more complicated because I have to stop and yell at him to just keep his hands off of stuff while I find the cut off..and I found the cut off.
I almost had it fixed by the time the senior chief got home from work, too. Damn kids, anyway. But, in a way, I would have never learned anything about plumbing if he hadn't done that, so ..in a way it was a good thing, I guess. Well, that's how I choose to tell it anyway...haha!!! It is my firm belief that something positive is born from every negative..and only once has this belief been tested.
TGIF
Well, I am sure glad this week is over, and I think the senior chief feels the same way. On the scales of how weeks go, this didn't top one of the good ones.
The senior chief drove up yesterday, got out of his truck and pulled the radiator cap off,... water jetting everywhere, almost gave me a damn heart attack. Before I could even realize what he was doing it was done and then all I could manage was a weak..."Hey, you know you aren't supposed to take a radiator cap off a hot radiator." Thankfully he jumped out of the way real fast, but he still splashed a bit on his clothes. Then, he takes the eldest one to court and has to make a wide turn around an asshole and dropped off the pavement, puncturing my right front tire on the inside. Sigh.
I hopped up and down all pissed for a minute..not at him..just at the circumstances of it all, then it hit me...I get to get new tires on my hot rod because this isn't no one tire buying gal. I've watched NASCAR enough to know that 4 fresh tires is ALWAYS best. Hehe. Hell I needed new rubber anyway. I was just hoping to wait a couple of weeks. My car is in pretty good shape, all things considered. He says all he has to do to my clutch is rebuild the slave cylinder..no clue what that means yet, but I will learn. The hydraulic fluid has never been purged and it breaks down after awhile, so it sets my clutch to a buzzing and whining, almost like a power steering pump will do, and vibrating...whoa buddy. But, I'm sweet to her and she does me right. I don't make the clutch buzz like that, and boy howdy, when it grabs a gear, it grabs. Especially second gear.
The thing with tires, too, is even though I'm not near the wear treads yet on the rear, they are worn just enough to spin when I catch second gear before they grab and it launches, so, from here on out, it's all downhill. That's a pretty good sign right there to get new tires.
But, one thing I have learned living with all these people is that men are just hard on stuff. Period. Especially big men. They are used to just applying a little bit more muscle to get them through something when sometimes a little finesse will do. But, it's instinct, so you can only prevent just so much of it. I like going to work with the senior chief, and he's got some cool tools that help me do stuff just as well as him, so if I break a bolt or something, it's a RIOT...all of a sudden, where if anyone ELSE was to break a bolt, it would not even be noticed, but if *I* do it, then it's cause for...I don't know...men to come around, stand, point, and ask a bunch of questions about how I did that.
Anyway, I'm glad it's Friday.
The senior chief drove up yesterday, got out of his truck and pulled the radiator cap off,... water jetting everywhere, almost gave me a damn heart attack. Before I could even realize what he was doing it was done and then all I could manage was a weak..."Hey, you know you aren't supposed to take a radiator cap off a hot radiator." Thankfully he jumped out of the way real fast, but he still splashed a bit on his clothes. Then, he takes the eldest one to court and has to make a wide turn around an asshole and dropped off the pavement, puncturing my right front tire on the inside. Sigh.
I hopped up and down all pissed for a minute..not at him..just at the circumstances of it all, then it hit me...I get to get new tires on my hot rod because this isn't no one tire buying gal. I've watched NASCAR enough to know that 4 fresh tires is ALWAYS best. Hehe. Hell I needed new rubber anyway. I was just hoping to wait a couple of weeks. My car is in pretty good shape, all things considered. He says all he has to do to my clutch is rebuild the slave cylinder..no clue what that means yet, but I will learn. The hydraulic fluid has never been purged and it breaks down after awhile, so it sets my clutch to a buzzing and whining, almost like a power steering pump will do, and vibrating...whoa buddy. But, I'm sweet to her and she does me right. I don't make the clutch buzz like that, and boy howdy, when it grabs a gear, it grabs. Especially second gear.
The thing with tires, too, is even though I'm not near the wear treads yet on the rear, they are worn just enough to spin when I catch second gear before they grab and it launches, so, from here on out, it's all downhill. That's a pretty good sign right there to get new tires.
But, one thing I have learned living with all these people is that men are just hard on stuff. Period. Especially big men. They are used to just applying a little bit more muscle to get them through something when sometimes a little finesse will do. But, it's instinct, so you can only prevent just so much of it. I like going to work with the senior chief, and he's got some cool tools that help me do stuff just as well as him, so if I break a bolt or something, it's a RIOT...all of a sudden, where if anyone ELSE was to break a bolt, it would not even be noticed, but if *I* do it, then it's cause for...I don't know...men to come around, stand, point, and ask a bunch of questions about how I did that.
Anyway, I'm glad it's Friday.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Hmmmm....
You know, I've been thinking lately just exactly how to apply Ayn Rand's philosophy to the role of motherhood. It surely must apply, somewhere.
It does, I think and I'm going to throw these thoughts out here and y'all can add on or correct (ugh) or whatever....
In days of old, what women produced were the necessary things for living. Clothes, soap, stuff like that..gardening to put food on the table and most women back in the day were fairly good at handling a gun. Especially the pioneer women. Now, what do we produce besides children? I mean, things have gotten so easy, it feels at times like we are more consumers than producers. And, men have been the ones producing. I'll have to do some research, but I am pretty sure it was men who produced things like dishwashers...
Ok, so women's lib is supposed to change that, so on the work front, women have the capability of being producers...but what about at home?? I mean, most of us don't sew our own clothes anymore, or chop our own wood for fires (although I do know one gal who does that), or any of that stuff, so what DO we do?
There are disposable diapers and baby formula...
I think I've hit on the plight of a stay at home mom. What exactly do we produce that is our very own. Thankfully, I have this blog...but it still isn't enough, I don't think.
The way I'm looking at it now is that men are the main producers and women are the mortar that fills in the cracks. It's hard to fathom what a woman brings to the table until she's gone, maybe.
That is why women are so into crafts. Well, obviously not all women, but it is the natural state of women to want to make things "pretty". They embroider pillows, paint things, redecorate the house for each season, so in a way, we create a home..an atmosphere conducive to creative thinking perhaps?
I mean, I produce supper out of thin air every night..does that count? I produce miracle solutions to seeming impossible problems every now and then..does that count?
I know that I love machines though. I don't spend nearly enough time around them and every time I get to help work on the cars it's a wonderful thing. It's why I love my car so much. That engine is a fine piece of machinery and I meant to bring my broken part to the meet...it would have amazed you to see that piece came out and that baby is still running. I took my car from Talladega home, then from home to Helen..on 1/4 tank of gas. Oh yeah, baby. And she sounds so ...sweet. Soon, she's going to get a face lift, but I'm keeping that bumper on it, and I'm having BITE ME stenciled across the back of it. Man, I wish my dad had a chance to drive that car. He'd have loved it and he'd love the senior chief's even more. But, he'd have been bitching because he was a Ford guy.
Oh yeah, and the one company I can see that fits Ayn Rand's philosophy is NASCAR. I think that's part of why I admire it so much. Those guys have to constantly strive to be better and better and better...remember when a 19 second pit stop was FAST? And, the way it came up and the sacrifices those guys made to build it. And there's not one damn driver out there that drives for the money...well, there's probably some now, but they aren't running very well. They drive for themselves, they drive to win. They drive because they love driving. Period. Although, if I was Jimmy Johnson last week, I'd have got out of my car and kicked my crew chief's ass for telling me to accept a top five finish because he didn't put enough damn gas in my car for me to win. Oh hell no ...I hate those fuel mileage deals. But, it would appear there was water in the gas and that caused a really ...strange ...finish...
Anyway, my point is...well, I guess I didn't have a point...I just wonder...I need to think about what would happen to the world if MOTHERS quit...I'm pretty sure of the outcome, but I'm not sure what the in between would be..HOW it would occur. We'd have a case of Lord of the Flies, I think...
It does, I think and I'm going to throw these thoughts out here and y'all can add on or correct (ugh) or whatever....
In days of old, what women produced were the necessary things for living. Clothes, soap, stuff like that..gardening to put food on the table and most women back in the day were fairly good at handling a gun. Especially the pioneer women. Now, what do we produce besides children? I mean, things have gotten so easy, it feels at times like we are more consumers than producers. And, men have been the ones producing. I'll have to do some research, but I am pretty sure it was men who produced things like dishwashers...
Ok, so women's lib is supposed to change that, so on the work front, women have the capability of being producers...but what about at home?? I mean, most of us don't sew our own clothes anymore, or chop our own wood for fires (although I do know one gal who does that), or any of that stuff, so what DO we do?
There are disposable diapers and baby formula...
I think I've hit on the plight of a stay at home mom. What exactly do we produce that is our very own. Thankfully, I have this blog...but it still isn't enough, I don't think.
The way I'm looking at it now is that men are the main producers and women are the mortar that fills in the cracks. It's hard to fathom what a woman brings to the table until she's gone, maybe.
That is why women are so into crafts. Well, obviously not all women, but it is the natural state of women to want to make things "pretty". They embroider pillows, paint things, redecorate the house for each season, so in a way, we create a home..an atmosphere conducive to creative thinking perhaps?
I mean, I produce supper out of thin air every night..does that count? I produce miracle solutions to seeming impossible problems every now and then..does that count?
I know that I love machines though. I don't spend nearly enough time around them and every time I get to help work on the cars it's a wonderful thing. It's why I love my car so much. That engine is a fine piece of machinery and I meant to bring my broken part to the meet...it would have amazed you to see that piece came out and that baby is still running. I took my car from Talladega home, then from home to Helen..on 1/4 tank of gas. Oh yeah, baby. And she sounds so ...sweet. Soon, she's going to get a face lift, but I'm keeping that bumper on it, and I'm having BITE ME stenciled across the back of it. Man, I wish my dad had a chance to drive that car. He'd have loved it and he'd love the senior chief's even more. But, he'd have been bitching because he was a Ford guy.
Oh yeah, and the one company I can see that fits Ayn Rand's philosophy is NASCAR. I think that's part of why I admire it so much. Those guys have to constantly strive to be better and better and better...remember when a 19 second pit stop was FAST? And, the way it came up and the sacrifices those guys made to build it. And there's not one damn driver out there that drives for the money...well, there's probably some now, but they aren't running very well. They drive for themselves, they drive to win. They drive because they love driving. Period. Although, if I was Jimmy Johnson last week, I'd have got out of my car and kicked my crew chief's ass for telling me to accept a top five finish because he didn't put enough damn gas in my car for me to win. Oh hell no ...I hate those fuel mileage deals. But, it would appear there was water in the gas and that caused a really ...strange ...finish...
Anyway, my point is...well, I guess I didn't have a point...I just wonder...I need to think about what would happen to the world if MOTHERS quit...I'm pretty sure of the outcome, but I'm not sure what the in between would be..HOW it would occur. We'd have a case of Lord of the Flies, I think...
Monster
| You Are a Witch (or Warlock) |
 You are deviously brilliant and a perfect manipulator. You somehow always end up getting what you want - without anyone knowing you're working behind the scenes. Crafty and cunning, you can work your way out of any jam. And it's easy for you to get people to do what you want, whether you're working for good or evil. Your greatest power: Mind control Your greatest weakness: Making people your puppets You play well with: Ghosts |
I stole this from Eric
White Elephant
Aren't they funny? Isn't it funny how people react to a white elephant in the room? I am one of those people, when I come across a white elephant, depending upon what it is..I won't ignore it.
Hell, I'll walk right up to it, name it, study it, try and figure out how it got there, how it got white, all that stuff. I don't know if this is a character flaw or not...hell, I've been the white elephant sometimes. I guess it depends on who you are. There's a few people that don't particularly appreciate this ...quality of mine.
I personally believe that people, in general, carry around too much shame for stuff. Most people are much harder on themselves than other people would be around them, believe it or not. Hell, most people want to know how to deal with the white elephant themselves.
I mean, really, just think of how much money we could save on therapy if we just learned to talk to each other...
Hell, I'll walk right up to it, name it, study it, try and figure out how it got there, how it got white, all that stuff. I don't know if this is a character flaw or not...hell, I've been the white elephant sometimes. I guess it depends on who you are. There's a few people that don't particularly appreciate this ...quality of mine.
I personally believe that people, in general, carry around too much shame for stuff. Most people are much harder on themselves than other people would be around them, believe it or not. Hell, most people want to know how to deal with the white elephant themselves.
I mean, really, just think of how much money we could save on therapy if we just learned to talk to each other...
Life Lessons
Caramel and dental work do not go together. Perhaps they should include caramel in that fancy shmancy glue they advertise.
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