His Phoenix

Please stay tuned...

2006-08-01T18:18:00.000-05:00

Regular programming will resume shortly... sometime this week.

We are officially moving! Yay!!!

You may want to go ahead and make your linkage changes now to http://his-phoenix.com.

Once Leanne and her wonderful creativeness is finished we will have a new blog and a site just for the cookbook!! Thank you Leanne!!

You may now return to your regular blogging... (insert funcky crackling and fuzzy TV noises here)

Exhausted Cookie

2006-07-31T09:47:00.000-05:00

I am one tuckered cookie. The heat is making it impossible to take a nap and it is not getting cool enough at night to sleep soundly. Have to count my blessing though... we are not near as hot here as it has been in other locales. We have not, thank God, hit triple digits - yet. (Not going to count my chickens before they hatch!)

Sat and Sun were spent cleaning, laundry and getting the youngin ready to start school tomorrow. Where did the summer go? I hate it because I could not take him anywhere this year, but the old man made up for that with trips to the lake and the local race track. They went Sat but were rained out... so they now will be going in Sept when that particular race was rescheduled. Instead they went over to a friends house and visited for awhile. I relaxed, trying to stay semi-cool and played some poker online.

Sunday was spent waiting for a poker tournament that started at 5:30 with a full roster of 8,000 contestants. Yes, 8,000 people! It was a higher stakes free play tournament, which means you are playing with fake money or chips. Usually you start the tournaments with 1,500 in chips, but this one started at 10,000 chips. It also had a longer sign up than the usual hour. You had 3 days to enter this one. I am proud to say that I lasted quite a while and it seemed that alot of people forgot the tournament. There were only two of us playing on our table. We finally got smart and started emptying the sitters (People who don't play, but sit out.) of their chips. We both ended up with about 45,000 each before we had more players. Payouts were from 1-801. The entry fee was 2,500 each. Top place would pay over 2 mil in free chips. I lasted quite a while and went out about 349th place. I am quite proud of myself and ended up with 14,000 as a payout.

I have to honestly say this was the most interesting and fun tourny I have participated in. I hope they do this again soon! It is a challenge of wits, bluffing and figuring out what the other person is really holding in their hand. I love the mental challenge this game gives me. It is not bad when you come up a winner either! This tourny in particular was different for me because I usually play hold'em or Omaha high-low... this was just plain old Omaha. The WH hates this game because it makes him think too hard. Hold'em you are playing all cards... same in stud, but in Omaha you are dealt 4 cards and 5 to the table. You can only play 2 from your hand and 3 from the table. Which means... if there are 5 hearts dealt to the table and you have just the ace of hearts in your hand... you still do not have the flush. You have to have two hearts in your hand to get the flush. See... a thinking game!

Went last night to the local super wally world and bought the youngin basic school supplies and two pairs of pants and two shirts. One pair of jeans do not fit, both the same size... one pair is about to fall off him and the other is almost too tight. I swear... if they can get the sizes close in womens clothes, then why not mens? *rolls eyes* I told him when I get paid again we will go buy him some decent cleats for football, and a few more pairs of pants. He is also begging me for a pair of New Balance tennies from the LL Bean catalog... Oy! He never asks for name brand but I think this once I will get him these. At least they will last longer than the cheap shoes at wally world.

That was my weekend... how was yours?

Another Cookbook Update

2006-07-28T13:55:00.000-05:00

We need recipes people!! lol Please send them to me via e-mail to cprpny at bellsouth dot net... Leanne and I can't complete this without your help!

I will be moving the blog to wordpress in 2 weeks time with help from Leanne! :-) I am very excited to finally be doing this. We will also create within the new blog a place for the cookbook and all its goodies... at least I am hoping it will work out that way. If not I am sure we will be able to come up with something.

I have decided to try and set a deadline of October 31st to have all recipes and entries in. This way the book will be ready for purchase in time for the holidays. What a nice gift that will be!

Remember...

There is a contest for the cover art (front and back). Please submit them in .gif, .jpg, or .pdf only. The cookbook title is "World Of Bloggers Cookbook"

There is also a contest for the dedication page. Please submit these in word format or via e-mail.

Also, if anyone would like to do some pencil or ink drawings for the content and chapter pages... they would be greatly appreciated. You will be given full credit for all your hard work!

We will need to set a deadline of September 30th for all entries. That will give us enough time to post them so they can be voted on!

So folks, get your entries and recipes in! We can't do this without you!!

Oops!! I almost forgot! Please don't forget that a very large portion of the proceeds from the sales of this book will be going to the charity of your choosing... another thing to vote on!!

Thursday Thirteen # 24

2006-07-27T06:08:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things About Phoenix

1. Basir won the naming contest. Thanks to all that voted!

2. We still need entries and recipes for the cookbook. To find more info go down a couple of posts.

3. I have become a smorgasborg of sorts for the local mosquito population. One of the disadvantages of no air is open windows. They hunt me out in my sleep and feed away. Ugh!

4. Did you know that only the female feeds on you?

5. The mosquito's visual picture, produced by various parts of its body, is an infrared view produced by its prey's body temperature.

6. The average life span of the female mosquito is 3 to 100 days; the male's is 10 to 20 days. (No wonder I am so eaten up!)

7. Depending on species, female mosquitoes may lay 100 to 300 eggs at a time and may average 1,000 to 3,000 during their lifespan.

8. Most mosquitoes remain within 1 mile of their breeding site. A few species may range up to 20 miles or more.

9. There are over 170 described species of mosquitoes from North America. Several species have been accidentally introduced from other parts of the world.

10. Depending on temperature, mosquitoes can develop from egg to adult in as little as 4-7 days.

11. Presently, the cues used by mosquitoes to find their hosts are poorly understood. Carbon dioxide (CO2), heat, octenol and light have been shown to be attractants. Other compounds tested such as lactic acid also have proved to attract certain species of biting insects.

12. You're more likely to be a target for mosquitoes if you consume bananas. Biting activity increase by 500 times when there is a full moon. A mosquito's wings beat 500 times a second.

13. Mosquitoes prefer children to adults, and blondes to brunettes. (I am a redhead... hmmmm)

XOXOXOX

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Calculating your age...

2006-07-25T18:08:00.000-05:00

Calculating your age the hard way...

A=Waking up 6:30 am + C=WH taking shower.

Distance of point A to point B= 4 steps.

Pause to wipe sleep from eyes X WH exiting point C.

Point C to point D= 4 steps.

Wipe sleep from eyes again.

Point B to point E= 4 steps.

Factor in WH not using towel on floor in tiled bathroom.

Add in 5' 7", aged, menopausal and sleepy woman stepping on a wet tiled floor.

Rate of descent= 1 parsec per feet of height + limbs flaying in desperate attempt to slow same rate of descent.

Limbs in askew in unnatural formation + decending upon trashbin + back raking down clothes hamper + not pee'd yet + gutteral obscenities + unsympathetic WH + a bladder weakened from a 9+ lb baby= 5' 7", aged, menopausal and sleepy woman with pulled groin muscles, bruises, aching back, sore knee and a wet bottom not from floor.

This 5' 7", aged, sore, and no longer sleepy menopausal woman is getting out the ben gay and taking out stock in the linen industry and Smith & Wesson Firearms...

I'm just sayin'...

Cookbook Update

2006-07-24T17:35:00.000-05:00

We are off to a great start folks! I am thrilled at the response this has gotten so far, but we need more! (Isn't that always the case?)

We have had several recipes sent in already. A big thank you to Steel Cowboy, Poopie, and Kenju for your contributions!

I already have one submission for the dedication page. Thank you Poopster! I will post all contributions at once, anonymously, and then you get to vote for your favorites.

I already have 2 wanting to try for the cover art. I can't wait to see your entries Leanne and Bobealia! (These will also be posted anonymously.)

Poopie has also given the cookbook a shout out on her blog. Huge thanks there gf! We need much more of this to get the word out and the entries and recipes in!!

Leanne also suggested putting this on it's own website. I would love to and will once some spare bucks come my way. LOL Of course Leanne will have to do the design... she is so talented!!

Remember... no one will know this is a happening thing if the word doesn't get spread across the blogosphere. I used to be the kind of person that would not ask for help... but over the years you learn help is neccessary to make your project a success. Thanks to all of you who have responded with encouragement and offers of help. They are appreciated and will deffinately be needed!

Desire

2006-07-23T11:14:00.000-05:00

Wanting all and nothing,
Desire floats on lifted wing,
Whispers of passions fed,
Lingering fears now shed,
Eyes drink in like wine,
All parts of you divine,
Drifting now on moon beams,
My wishes to you in dreams.

Phoenix, July 23, 06

Here Ye! Here Ye! Calling all Cooks!!!

2006-07-21T08:47:00.000-05:00

Mispelling is intended...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have decided to go ahead and do the blogger cookbook. It will not be as difficult as I thought and we can do something good with the profits. With that said, here is the deal I am proposing:

With the donations of recipes from all you wonderful bloggers out there, I will create and publish a World of Bloggers Cookbook. Once it is completed, I will donate a huge % of the profits to a charity that I will let you, the contributors, vote on. The cookbook will be available for sale here on my site, via either download or paperback (tossing around the idea of a hardback copy, but not sure yet). I will keep a running record of all sales for you to view so you will know how much the charity will receive through your efforts of getting the word out.

If we receive an overwhelming amount of recipes, we can always do a "Part II" book. Your recipe(s) can be anything you want: breads, meats, vegetables, desserts, or even drinks. You can submit as many as you want. I would love to receive recipes from around the world... the more the better, after all, it is a World of Bloggers, is it not? ;-)

A blogger cookbook is all about us, the bloggers. That said, I intend to make this completely all about you bloggers out there. So here is the rest of the deal:

There will be a contest for the cover art. Once all are submitted, the readers will vote on their favorite. (jpg, gif, or pdf files only please)

For you writers out there... a contest for the dedication page submission. It must be about what blogging means to you. All submissions will be voted on by the readers. (Word processing format please)

All contributors will be given credit for their recipes with their blog addresses and ID's on each submission (This includes the cover art and dedication submissions); real names will be not used unless requested.

If you are interested in sending in a recipe or are entering one of the contests, please send your contribution to: cprpny at bellsouth dot net.

Please help get the word out. We want as many bloggers to know about this as possible and the only way to do that is with your help! XOXOXOXOX

Thursday Thirteen #23

2006-07-20T03:40:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things AboutPhoenix

1. There is a tie with the new character name. Since you T13'ers don't read daily I am hoping to break the tie. Please pick between Basir and Orpheus and let me know your pick in the comments. :)

2. Thank you all for your support on the new chapter. Still looking for those helpful critiques!

3. My best friend and fellow author on this blog is going to be deployed to Iraq soon. I can't tell you the feelings this brings... fear and worry towards his safety are first and foremost on my mind. Please pray with me for the safe return of his entire unit.

4. I will be sending care packages his way. I want to make sure they stay entertained and do not miss to many of the comforts at home. If anyone would like to join me in sending them letters of support and care packages, please contact me at cprpny at bellsouth dot net. You can send all letters and packages to me and I will forward them on once we have a valid address to send them to, and we know what we can and cannot send. (He does not like the attention this will bring but oh well! He is getting it anyways!)

5. Still no air at my house but I guess if I can survive 100 degree heat without it, we can for the rest of the summer. Then maybe I can use the money I saved this summer to upgrade and repair a few things this winter. Nice thought anyways! lol

6. Has anyone seen UltraViolet yet? Man, I want that woman's body!! (not that way you pervs!)

7. I spent the money to go see a specialist today. It was a wasted trip... at least for right now. The tests I will need once a month are 156.00 a pop and the meds I will need are out of my ballpark range. Sigh... When it rains, it seems to flood at my house, but I am not going to let it get me down.

8. I just realised today that in two more weeks I will have been at my job full-time for 2 years... and add another 8 months as a temp worker. Time flies when you are swamped under paperwork! :P

9. The kid starts middle school on the first. Football season has started and it is time for school supplies and new clothes... need I say more?

10. I have been tossing around an idea for a recipe book, but from the blogging community. If you are interested... give me some feedback and I will see what we can come up with.

11. Is anyone else in love with Yankee Candle's as much as I am? Such clean, fresh scents! Right now Macintosh & Peach is my fav. What is your favorite?

12. Everyone please keep David and his community in your thoughts and prayers. Big Bear has been under the threat of two major fires. Pray for rain without lightning.

13. I am craving some ice cream... Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia to be exact. Yummmm!! What is your favorite?

XOXOXOX

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Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part VII

2006-07-19T15:16:00.000-05:00

Blueberry - Peach Surprize Smoothie

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup fresh or frozen peaches
1 cup lowfat milk
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1 tsp sugar or lowfat sweetner to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup ice

Blend liquids, then fruit and lastly ice until smooth. Garnish with blueberries and peaches.

Serves 2.

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part VI

2006-07-18T11:24:00.000-05:00

Veg-All Cassarole

2 large cans Veg-All (drained)
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can sliced Water Chestnuts (drained and chopped)
1 cup celery (chopped)
1 cup sweet onion (chopped)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonaise
1 stick butter (melted)
1 roll Ritz crackers

Pre-heat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl and pour into large cassarole dish. Spread evenly. Top with roll of crushed Ritz crackers and pour butter evenly over the top.

Bake 40 minutes.

Time to name a new character...

2006-07-17T16:37:00.000-05:00

I need your help again. As you may have read in the latest chapter of my book, there is a new character, a grumpy old owl.

Below is a list of names that have to do with the male versions of either wise, night or darkness. Please help me pick a new name. Thanks!

I had a poll on here but it was whacked out... so please vote for your favorite in the comments section. :)

Nishant
Orpheus
Basir
Otieno
Rajnish
Erebus

That powerful song

2006-07-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

Ok, I will try this again. Sorry to you all for the havoc that the video that I put up the other day wreaked. Instead, Phoenix and I have conspired to get the audio track uploaded. And that didn't work, either.

WARNING: The following song has strong emotional content. It is a rap song that deals with a heavy subject. I recommend that you find it and check it out, it is definitely worth it.

Happy Birthday by Flipsyde

Happy Birthday.
So make a wish.

Please accept my apologies I wonder what would have been.
Would you have been a little angel or an angel of sin?
Tomboy running ‘round hanging with all the guys,
Or a little tough boy with beautiful brown eyes.
I paid for the murder before they determined the sex.
Choosing our life over your life meant your death.
And you never got a chance to even open your eyes,
Sometimes I wonder as a fetus if you fought for your life.
Would you would been a little genius in love with math?
Would you have played in your school clothes and made me mad?
Would you have been a little rapper like your papa the Piper?
Would you have made me quit smoking by finding one of my lighters?
I wonder about your skin tone, the shape of your nose,
And the way you would’ve laughed and talked fast or slow.

I think about it every year so I picked up a pen.
Happy Birthday, I love you, whoever you would’ve been.
Happy Birthday.
Make a wish.
Happy Birthday.
Make a wish.

I got a million excuses as to why you died.
Other people got their own reasons for homicide.
Who’s to say it would have worked who’s to say it wouldn’t have.
I was young and struggling but old enough to be a dad.
The fear of being my father has never disappeared,
I ponder it frequently while I’m sipping on my beer.
My vision of a family was artificial and fake,
So when it came to create, I made a mistake.
Now you got a little brother, maybe it’s really you,
Maybe you really forgave us, knowing we was confused.
Maybe, every time that he smiles it’s you proudly,
Knowing that your father’s doing the right thing now.
I’d never tell a woman what to do with her body,
But if she don’t love children, we can’t party.

I think about it every year,
So I picked up a pen.
Happy Birthday,
I love you, whoever you would’ve been.

Happy Birthday.
Make a wish.
Happy Birthday.
Make a wish.

From the heavens to the womb to the heavens again,
From the ending to the ending, never got to begin.
Maybe one day we can meet face to face,
In the place without time and space.
From the heavens to the womb to the heavens again,
From the ending to the ending, never got to begin.
Maybe one day we can meet face to face,
In the place without time and space.

Happy Birthday.
Make a wish.
Happy Birthday.
Make a wish.

And people wonder why music is so important to me?

Carlo

Enough is enough already!

2006-07-14T19:20:00.000-05:00

Tell me folks... has anyone else gotten tired of THIS yet?

Doesn't she just make you want to smack the smug look off her face??
Her new video and song were cute in the beginning but enough already!

Or how about this?

Give up the baby pictures already so the press will shut up!
The conspiracy theory BS is getting old!

And then of course there is this...

If the woman wants to get married again or over Bradley Pittsky, then good for her.
People need to get a life and stop with the suppositions!!
Why would anyone care anyway?

Tell me:
Is there any celebrity news that is getting on your last nerve?

Thursday Thirteen # 22

2006-07-13T05:56:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things AboutPhoenix

1. I have stopped using Mr Linky. The scripting was messing with Haloscan and some people could not leave comments.

2. I found my muse again and finished the next chapter in my book! You can read it here: Chapter Ten - Defensive Actions.

3. Please leave comments over there to let me know you went to read. I also take criticisms well. It is the only way to improve my skills and the book. I know there are some gramatical errors as well. Please point them out, k?

4. Lost the airconditioning at work. Do I have luck or what?

5. I have discovered that, even though I am menopausal, I still get the symptoms of the monthly visitor. Grouchyness, bloating and all. How fair is that? lol

6. Please tell me how it is that you can stop drinking soda's, eat properly and drink plenty of water and still gain poundage?

7. Slept well last night for the first time in weeks. I guage it on wakefullness in the morning and how much pain there is. None this morning.

8. Did I mention that I wrote another chapter and it's here?

9. Chopper the pup has discovered how to open chain link gates. Oy Vey...

10. I think he is too smart for his own good and it is time to start teaching him some yard manners! lol

11. My auction for the home business never got a bid for two times running. I am trying to stratigize my next move. Maybe placing an ad in the local newspaper.

12. Thank you all for voicing your opinions on my hugging issue. You have made me realize that I can be myself and not to worry over upsetting anyone. If they do then they are the one's with issues.

13. Did I mention that my book has a new chapter? It is here!!!!

XOXOXOX

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I wonder…

2006-07-11T22:10:00.000-05:00

WARNING: When I wonder, there are usually a lot of politically IN-correct statements to follow, so, if you have been brainwashed, you might not want to read any further.

Where is it written that friends of the opposite sex are a threat to a romantic relationship? Please, somebody, anybody, give me that reference so I can read it. Because I disagree.

A friend, as defined at the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is,

“1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem b : ACQUAINTANCE
2 a : one that is not hostile b : one that is of the same nation, party, or group
3 : one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)
4 : a favored companion”

Now, technically speaking, a friend looks out for their friends’ well-being, and, therefore, would purposefully NOT endanger a friend’s romantic relationships. That being said, any “friend” that would attempt to undermine someone’s romantic relationships is, BY DEFINITION, not a friend.

So, let’s extend this discussion to the online community. First and foremost, if a person that you have never met it real life gives you a cyber hug, how can that be a threat to a good relationship? If your significant other actually feels threatened by a woman that types, “Hugsssssssss” at the end of a comment, then maybe, just maybe, you ought to take a long look at where that relationship is.

I wonder if she’d be threatened by a real hug from a relative. How about a hug from a childhood friend, is that threatening as well? Where is the line? Now, for the big question, should any one person change how they interact with their friends just because their partner is immature and jealous?

Does that jealousy apply to a symbolic hug from a person that you’ve never met?

Are people really that f*#king petty?

Carlo

**********ADDENDUM**********

Maybe I should have titled this post, "Let's get ready to RUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBLE!!!!!!!!!!!"

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

2006-07-11T20:01:00.000-05:00

I got nothing today... cept a bunch of thank you's to all those that responded to my last post. You made me feel much better!

So I am sharing an e-mail that I received a few days ago that I thought was interesting.

Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths conisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealhy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat." Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust". Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if theywould wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

And that's the truth... Now, whoever said that History was boring ! ! !

Lesson On Southern Women

2006-07-10T11:23:00.000-05:00

Southern women in general are outgoing people. I was not born here, but I have lived here most of my adult life, and I am somewhat a bit more overly friendly than I should be. This comes from years of waitressing and bartending I guess. I treat men and women the same. They are all called sugar, sweety, or darlin' and are all given hugs if we are close enough friends. I am a hug person. Always have been and always will be. It all should be taken with a grain of salt. Of late, though, this has come back to haunt me.

When I comment on other blogs, most often than not, I will sign off with a hug. It is not meant to be forward or an attempt to "man shop" or flirt with that person. It is just my personality coming out in words. I am too old and too far away from anyone to be man shopping via a blog. I am not exactly available to be doing so any ways. I am just trying to be friendly and show a side that is a part of me when I comment.

Lately I apparently have stepped on some toes on more than one blog. My comments are being censured on these blogs, and even worse... deleted. Again, I am just too darn old to be walking on eggshells when I comment on those blogs. I feel uncomfortable doing so and this is not a good feeling. My point here is, I will be reading you, but I will not be commenting. If your women are censuring you because of me, I am sorry... but maybe the relationship needs a closer look if they are complaining about this old woman from Georgia. Trust is a two way street, and apparently there is not enough trust on one or both sides. Is that any way to live? In my world, NO. But it is not my life and not my say.

Please understand... I care about each and every one of you out there, male and female. I still read all of you faithfully each and every day. Right now I am feeling the loss of some friendships, but that too will pass. It is a fact of life and one that I have dealt with in the past, so it is nothing new to me. Maybe someday I will comment again... but right now, eggshells on these tender tootsies are not a welcome or wanted feeling. I hope you will all understand and have patience with this old redhead.

~~~~~~~~~~

On another note: I had a sad weekend. I had to take the two pups I could not find homes for to the pound. I was given an ultimatum and was told if I wanted to keep the one, the other two had to go. The ride there was the longest of my life. I managed to keep my cool until we drove home. My son and a friend of his was in the car and I could not let loose like I needed to. The pups were terrified and had to be carried to the quaranteen cage. That is when I lost control. I cried silent tears all the way back home.

I felt like I gave those two sweet babies a death sentence and it was and is too much to bear.

Stumpy and Tippy Toes please forgive me.

If there is an doggy angel up there listening; please find them new homes.

~~~~~~~~~~

Update: 1:44pm and I just checked my mail from Saturday. Talk about adding insult to injury... I just received my very own AARP card.

I think I am going to be physically ill now...

Just some parenting advice

2006-07-08T19:49:00.000-05:00

Mind you, this only applies if you are taking MY four year old son to an amusement park, but somebody may benefit. NOTE: The following advice comes from yesterday’s visit to Six Flags Frontier City.

1. Bring a lot of cash. As you can probably guess, the parks won’t let much of anything from outside come in, so you have to pay ridiculous prices for food and drink. Of course, since Frontier City is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the summer temperatures hover somewhere about 100° F, they make a LOT of money on drinks. My goal was to not use the ATMs that the park had available.

2. Get a good pocket map of the park. This way you won’t have to stop and look at the large posted maps while an impatient 4 year old tugs on your arm.

3. Find a ride/playground that your child really enjoys and can do alone. This way, you can get them to go to a place where you can sit and relax. I know that I needed it.

4. Be prepared to say, “No,” a lot.

5. Don’t do anything that will give you something that you have to carry until you are almost ready to leave.

6. Wear synthetics and sandals. Sounds dumb, but synthetics dry more quickly and, after three water rides in a row, I regretted not having shorts that would dry quickly, and the same goes for shoes, wear sandals with no socks for the same reason.

7. Take lots of pictures.

8. Enjoy every smile and laugh that you see and hear.

I had a blast, and so did my son. He will be talking about it for a while.

Carlo

Sage Words Of Advice

2006-07-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away. If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be.
Slower is better.
Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't "be friends." A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
Don't settle. If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.
Don't stay because you think "it will get better." You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.
Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women. He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?
Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.
Never let a man know everything. He will use it against you later.
You cannot change a man's behavior, change comes from within.
Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are... even if he has more education or in a better job.
Do not make him into a quasi-god. Remember he is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man. If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.
A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
All men are NOT dogs.
You should not be the one doing all the bending...compromise is a two-way street.
You need time to heal between relationships... there is nothing cute about baggage... deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.
You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you... a relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals... look for someone complimentary... not supplementary.
Dating is fun... even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr.. Right.
Make him miss you sometimes... when a man always know where you are, and your always readily available to him- he takes it for granted.
Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need. Keep him in your radar but get to know others.

How I Spent My Fourth of July by Phoenix

2006-07-06T18:50:00.000-05:00

Friday:

Worked and enjoyed airconditioning.
Did not want to go home.
Picked up WH @ 5pm and sweated in Jeep because "running air takes too much gas".
Got home and melted in almost 100 degree house.
Showered with cold water.
Played poker and stayed up late waiting for house to cool. No such luck.
Went to bed, alone, and melted during night hours.

Saturday:

Woke up in puddle of previously personal body fluids.
Took cold shower.
Picked up after boys.
Laundry
Melted in 97+ house.
Took cold shower.
Played poker a little.
Went to see the movie "Cars".
Enjoyed airconditioning.
Did not want to leave.
Ate really late meal at Waffle House, cuz oven would have made house hotter.
Watched WH squirm when cop pulled us over at 1am for tail light out.
Waited another 30 mins while boys fixed light.
Home and 2 or 3 hours of poker waiting for house to cool off.
Went to bed, alone, and melted during night hours.

Sunday:

Woke up in puddle of previously personal body fluids.
Took cold shower.
Picked up after boys.
Laundry
Played poker.
Blogged.
Prayed for rain.
Got none.
Melted in 90+ degree house.
Took cold shower.
Played 2 or 3 hours of poker waiting for house to cool off.
Finally got rain.
Yay.
Went to bed, alone, and melted during night hours.

Monday:

Woke up in puddle of previously personal body fluids.
Berated self for staying up late waiting for house to cool.
Took cold shower.
Went to work.
Worked 4 hours without break.
Caught up invoices.
Yawned... lots.
Went home and lost more personal body fluids in hot Jeep.
Took cold shower.
Read a few blogs.
Wanted nap but got dragged off to step daughters for dinner.
Boys and all went swimming in pool in her complex.
Could not go (no swim wear).
Wanted to cry but fell asleep.
Slept hard.
Ate.
Yawned.
Came home to hot house and melted.
Listened to thunder and prayed for rain.
Got none.
Went to bed and melted off more poundage.

Tuesday:

Woke up in puddle of previously personal body fluids.
Took cold shower.
Laundry.
Poker.
Blogged.
Got dragged off to step-daughters house for fireworks display near her house.
Ate.
Got sleepy.
Stayed awake (barely).
Watched fireworks from step-daughters parking lot.
Melted in humid air.
Oooo'ed and Awww'ed
Got ate up by mosquito's.
Left right after display was over.
Mistake.
HUGE mistake.
Took over an hour to drive home.
We live 15-20 mins away.
Watched bunches of idiots speed and get pulled over.
Prayed for rain.
Got some!
Came home to hot house.
Took cold shower.
Passed out.

How was your weekend? lol

Independence Day

2006-07-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

Happy 4^th of July to you all. I was just sitting on my front porch watching (and listening, of course) to all of the impromptu fireworks displays that people were setting off, and I began to wonder something.

You see, the fireworks that we use to celebrate the birth of our nation actually signify something, and they represent something. My question is, who knows what they are supposed to represent?

It is easy to get caught up in the tradition of fireworks for their own sake, and to spend your money to celebrate just because “that’s what we do.” We have holidays that signify certain, specific things, and the way that we behave on those holidays comes from what they mean. For instance, Memorial Day is a day for reflection and remembrance; Thanksgiving is a day for feasting and family; Christmas is a day for giving (forgive me, but I am NOT brainwashed, errr, politically correct, and I was raised in the Christian tradition); Labor Day is the irony of the bunch – we celebrate working by not working. What about Independence Day? What causes us to use fireworks?

I guess that you could say that this is my patriotic trivia question. Why do we celebrate our Independence Day with fireworks?

Carlo

I will give the answer tomorrow, if I remember…

**********************ANSWER************************

The answer is to remember the battles fought in the War for Independence (what we call the Revolutionary War). Ironically, the fireworks more resemble tracers fired in the air today than they do the muskets and cannon fired then.

Carlo

OK, ok, I know that two posts on the same day is a bit much

2006-07-03T20:07:00.000-05:00

Music… Why does music fascinate me so much? I don’t mean a specific style or type of music, I mean music in general. You see, I have always been the geek that never played a musical instrument, but who reads the liner notes of an album (I know, they aren’t albums any more) or a CD the first time that I play it. I’m the guy that recognizes producer’s names. You know what I mean?

Yes, music gets me fired up, in many ways and on many levels. I am the guy that, at my own birthday party, couldn’t just put the CDs in the player and let them go at random, nooooooo, I had to get in there and pick the next song just to fit the songs together better. Ironically, I had a great time at that party, even though my wife-at-the-time couldn’t understand that I was having fun.

Some of my friends, Phoenix and Gidget included, could tell you that when it comes to music, I know an awful lot, most would say too much. With all that in mind, I must say that I am rather proud of the fact that I could go into a Tower Records type store with ten thousand dollars (yes, I said $10,000) and spend it all without buying just the music that I want.

I had a friend of mine call me the (musically) craziest person that he knew because, on a compilation tape that I made about 12 years ago, I put a Crosby, Stills and Nash song right next to one by Metallica, and I made it work! Actually, I’m rather proud of that.

The more that I learn about music, the more that I realize that it is the most universal language that humanity has, and I realize that it could be the key to our finding and maintaining a lasting peace. Until then, however, I will continue to enjoy it in all of it’s many splendoured glory.

Carlo

Live this life, because if you don't, you might as well be dead

2006-07-03T10:21:00.000-05:00

I posted a song quote the other day, and then I went back and listened to the song and realized how great of a song it is. I figured that I would share. I highly recommend that you find it and listen, because, musically speaking, it’s a powerful song.

“Live This Life”

by Big and Rich

Met a man on the street last night
Said his name was Jesus
Met a man on the street last night
Thought he was crazy till I watched him heal a blind man
Watched him heal a blind man now I see

I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Then I will walk yes I will walk
With patience through that open door
I have no fears, angels follow me wherever I may go
I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore

Met a girl in a chair with wheels
But no one else would see her
Met a girl in a chair with wheels
Everyone was so afraid
To even look down on her
And she just spread her little wings and flew away yeah

I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Then I will walk yes I will walk
With patience through that open door
I have no fears, angels follow me wherever I may go
I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore

Met a kid on a bridge last night
Contemplating freedom
Met a kid on a bridge last night
And he said
I'm tired of this maddening life
And I'm ready to go meet Jesus
And I said he's a friend of mine
Met him just last night
And it's alright
Yeah it's all right
Yeah

I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Then I will walk yes I will walk
With patience through that open door
I have no fears, angels follow me wherever I may go
I live this life until this life won't let me live here anymore
Live here anymore

Met a man on the street last night
Said his name was Jesus
Met a man on the street last night

I hope that you enjoyed it.

Carlo

We Shall Remember

2006-07-02T19:35:00.000-05:00

Happy 230th America!!!

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Message behind the quotes

2006-06-29T17:53:00.000-05:00

I originally started this 13 with David from Sugarloaf Mountain in mind. His post here prompted some philosophical deep thinking within myself. With this post I am breaking my first cardinal rule... blogging about religion. But there are some things that just can't be left alone or unsaid at times.

Please don't be offended or take to offense the following post. This is only my deep thoughts on the subject matter. If you feel the need to comment on what I say, fine, but don't start or try to start a religious bloodbath here. Go to your blog and do it there... k?

I love to see people bathing within their religion, to a point. Soaking it all in and letting it wash over you is something that many can't do, so when I see it... it becomes a delight to see it happen. But, when it takes over your whole self, or becomes a ruling factor in not living life to the fullest, I tend get nervous for that person.

There is a breaking point with me personally. When I feel that something is controlling my thoughts, actions, and life in general, I start to feel cornered. Like a mama bear protecting her cubs, I will fight to break loose. I am strong minded and sometimes pity those that are not like-minded as myself.

Bad trait, I know.

The more I thought about Davids post while reading it and after, I began to wonder if he is bathing in the glory or is he letting it rule his very essence. Is he, with these thoughts, living life itself or letting his church and savior rule it for him. There is a point, a very fine dividing line, that one is lost and the other can start to rule you... in everything that you do, day to day.

Is that living? I would think not. The theme here is living life, celebrating it to the fullest and giving a higher being the credit for allowing you to do so. Morality takes a huge part in day to day life. If you are a moral and honorable person, then when the time comes to meet your maker you should have no fears about going on to a higher plain. If you are immoral and dishonorable, then you deserve whatever final resting place you get.

The 13 quotes below this post all but say that. The part that everyone missed, because we are a fast-paced, fast-living and fast everything society, was that no matter what religion, faith, belief, time zone, race, or era you come from... the message is the same.

Live
Respect
Morality
Honor
Harmony
Peace
Joy

Life is meant to be lived, respect all things, live a moral life, be honorable, live harmoniously with mother earth, live peaceful existences and find joy in others.

Raggedy was almost on top of the answer... so she wins the contest. I am giving her a guest post on her thoughts on the subject. Thank you all in advance for letting me get this off my chest, so to speak. ;-)

Thursday Thirteen # 21

2006-06-29T07:42:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Special Quotes

1. "What could be greater than to be Wakan-Tanka's mind, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, arms, hands, legs, and feet here on earth?"
--Fools Crow, LAKOTA

2. "Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well."
--Mahatma Gandhi

3."We walk by faith, not by sight."
--Bible, 2 Corinthians v. 7.

4. "He deserves Paradise who makes his companions laugh."
--The Koran

5. "We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."
--Buddha (563 BC - 483 BC), The Dharmapada

6. "To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue...[They are] gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness."
--Confucius

7. Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.
--Saint Thomas Aquinas

8. "The goal of life is living in agreement with nature."
--Zeno, from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers

9. "One single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer."
--G. E. Lessing (1729 - 1781)

10. "I believe in God, only I spell it Nature."
--Frank Lloyd Wright (1869 - 1959)

11. "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority."
--E. B. White (1899 - 1985)

12."And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."
--Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)

13. There is a theme here, but I want you to tell me what it is saying to you.

XOXOXOX

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part V

2006-06-27T17:35:00.000-05:00

Todays recipes are my traditional holiday casseroles.

The first is just a twist to your regular green bean casserole dish.

Phoenix's Green Bean Casserole

4 cans french cut green beans
2 cans mushroom soup
2 small cans sliced water chestnuts
1 small package of slivered almonds
1 large can Durkee fried onions

Mix all of the cans of beans and soup without adding any more liquid and stir in the almonds. Open cans of chestnuts and drain well. If you can't find the kind already sliced, you can slice them up yourself and add to your bean mixture. Put mixture in a large casserole dish and top with the fried onions. Bake at 350 until the onions have browned.

The chestnuts and almonds give it a different, but wanting more taste.

-----------------------------------------------------

Phoenix's Apple & Sweet Potato Casserole

6-8 large sweet but firm apples; pared and sliced.
3-4 large sweet potatos, pared, sliced half inch thick and par boiled lightly (they can soften quickly!); let cool.
1 cup apple juice
1 extra small can apple pie spice (has all of the ingredients you would need already in one can)
1 small package of dark brown sugar
1 stick butter; melt and set aside

In large square casserole dish place in alternating layers, sweet potatoes and apples. On each layer sprinkle some of your apple pie spice. Once you have all of your layers in add in the last of your spice. Top the layers with brown sugar, covering completely. Over the top pour your stick of melted butter and apple juice. Bake at 350 until sweet potatos and apples are soft but not mushy; approximately 30 - 45 mins.

Serve and enjoy the rave reviews!

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part IV

2006-06-26T18:17:00.000-05:00

Breakfast Cassarole (not for the cholesterol conscious!) Borrowed from my Aunt Rosalie and changed up a bit.

This recipe is for a large group or party.

Large lightly greased glass baking dish
1 package or roll of sausage; broken up, cooked and drained
1 sweet onion; diced
6-8 eggs; scrambled
several slices of bread; wheat or white lightly toasted
2 large potatoes; grated or you can use prepackaged
1 bellpepper; grated or diced fine (You can substitute with Jalapenos)
1 package grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste.

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Line the glass dish with the toast. Add in half the cheese, onion and pepper to your eggs and mix well. Layer in your sausage evenly and pour the eggs in. Top with your grated potatos and the rest of the cheese. Bake until the eggs are done and the potatos are browned.

Will serve 8 to 10 people.

5 days left...

2006-06-25T15:54:00.000-05:00

Still hoping that someone out there knows someone that might be interested in purchasing my business. I really am desperate here. Anyone? You might know someone that might know someone?!? LOL

My Business Auction

Here are a few of the details...

Almost all items are used. Most items are like new collectables, there are many first edition books; a few are signed and some still have the letters of introduction that includes the authors pictures.

There are rare books (1 is a rare Masons Bible that is leather bound, one owner and only 1 line filled out from the 1930's; est value is over $300.00), college text books, cookbooks (2 containers full that are like brand new).

I have hard to find Disney Movies (Black Diamond), rare anime DVD's and PS2 games.

I have hundreds of CD's that are hard to find from the 70's on up to todays music. There are a few new, still in the wrapper CD's. There is a signed CD with Hype Williams and LL Cool J's signatures.

100's of DVD's, 100's of books, 100's of VHS movies, and 1000+ CD's.

There are 100's of cassette tapes with hard to find artists, 70's vinyl albums that are pristine and some antique vinyl "78's".

There is shipping supplies (boxes, etc) and storage containers that are brimming with books and such, over 28 tubs! I also have some replacement CD covers and new VHS shells, never used.

The estimated net worth (per listing values on Amazon.com) is 50k+ ($58,001.77 to be exact), with many more items not listed!!!

I will take cash, cashiers check or partial trade of a working vehicle and cash.

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part III

2006-06-23T21:05:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all the love and support today. I needed it badly. Things are not improved, but at least I got lots of cyber hugs and that made a difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today's recipe is my 5-alarm chili with a twist. This recipe is a combination of two recipes that when mixed together, became something rather phenominal. I have received special requests to make this for friends and for party events. The twist comes in handy at Super Bowl parties!

This is not a small recipe. It makes 5 quarts of chili and if you cannot use it all now... freeze the rest for a later time.

2 lbs ground chuck
2 sweet onions, chopped (have a third onion ready for garnish, diced)
1 garlic clove crushed, or you can use the bottled pre-crushed kind.
4 cans Bush's Hot Chili Beans
4 cans Hunts Tomato Sauce
1 med size can Hunts Tomato Paste
6 fresh jalapeno's chopped
Arrowroot
cummin
chili powder
tobasco
cayienne pepper
salt & pepper

Garnishes
Sour Cream
Diced onion
Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
Tobasco

Open all the cans and put them in a large pot and place on simmer. Stir until your paste is mixed in well. Brown the beef with one onion and the garlic clove. I add in some of the chili powder and cummin so the beef can absorb their flavors. Drain.

Add the beef to your already simmering sauce and beans. Add the rest of the onion and the jalapeno. Add approximately 4 tbs each of chili powder and cumming. Dash the salt and pepper to taste. Add in 1 tb of the cayienne. Dash the tobasco to taste. Allow to cook at least 2 hours on low heat; stirring often so the chili does not scorch or burn.

Use the Arrowroot if the mixture is too thin. I prefer my chili very thick(sticks to the ribs better!) and Arrowroot will thicken without adding taste. Continue to add cummin until your chili tastes like chili. I have been known to add almost a whole bottle, depending on how the mixture turned out on that particular day. What most people don't realize is that the cummin is what makes chili taste like chili. Don't add enough and you will just have tomato sauce with beef in it.

Now for the twist. If you are having a party and you know children won't be present, then you may want to try this.

An hour before your chili is ready to serve add 1 half pint of Bacardi's 151 rum to the pot and stir in well. Most of the alcohol will cook off and you will be left with some GREAT tasting chili. I have made this for several Super Bowl parties and I never had any chili left over at the end of the day.

I will usually place out bowls with the garnishes and let my guests serve themselves. No fuss, no muss and happy party goers. Enjoy!

Faith

2006-06-22T21:08:00.000-05:00

It is hard to keep inner faith in yourself at times.

I try hard daily to look at the pluses in my life. Family, fairly healthy and friends. Sometimes I stop and list the pluses and the minuses and wonder how I make it day to day. I have my own shortcomings and I am realistic enough to know I have them. I am not perfect and will never profess to be.

What I AM is horribly lonely. Yet again, I have people around me. Still, there is a void that cannot be filled by them. Try as they might... they cannot fill the emptyness that surrounds my heart. Forget the wants because my needs are just not being filled.

Instead of happiness and laughter, I get anger and bitterness. There is a constant battle going on around me daily. From the moment I wake, to the moment the night envelops me... angst, tension, nit-picking, and constant compromise on my part.

I am told to leave; get away from it. My response is always "How?". It is just not that easy for me to walk away. It is my income that keeps the roof over my sons head. Barely, but it does. I have a great job that pays well. Just not well enough to get me out of the hole I am floundering in or to buy a car to escape at least for a little while every so often.

I have even resorted to auctioning off my business. Yes, it is that bad. The dreams I had with it are gone. It is all just sitting here gathering dust bunnies and is a constant reminder of my failure to yet again make something work right. Even the auction is failing. No one is even looking at it. If you know of anyone that might be interested... it is here.

Yet, I still try to keep my faith. I can't give in to all of this. If I do, life is just not worth living out.

As many know, I wear my heart on my sleeve. Yet, when I try to share it... it is usually "borrowed" without returning it. Realistically, my looks are not every mans fantasy. Genes and Mother Nature made sure of that. So I try to fill that void with smarts, good nature, caring and honesty. Has it paid in dividends? No, but I have not given up the good fight.

I am not even sure why I am writing this. I am not exactly depressed, yet I am. Loneliness does that to people. Facing another night of sleeping alone after years of an empty bed does that, to me anyways. Facing another day of arguements and bitter rages can do it as well.

Where is the good, when all you ever see and hear is bad? When will it be my time to be happy all the time? I just have to keep telling myself... someday.

The world is so full of angry souls. I feel the pressure of it constantly. In the news, at work and at home. Bickering everywhere. Killing, fighting and mayhem seems to be an ever present thing. What happened to the days of sunshine and roses? Peace and love, not war.

John Lennon said it best:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

One can only imagine these days. That is what keeps the fire burning deep within my soul. Someday I will know peace, love and a bed filled with a warm and willing body... I would just like it to happen before I pass on to the next life is all.

And the answers are...

2006-06-22T18:42:00.000-05:00

:)

1. McDonalds Big Mac
2. Colgate Dental Cream
3. Mr. Bubble
4. ABC
5. National Airlines
6. Coke
7. Terminex
8. Twix
9. Toys R US
10 Toyota
11. Alkaseltzer
12. Burma Shave
13. Lays Potato Chips

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part II

2006-06-20T21:56:00.000-05:00

Today's receipe is Stuffed Peppers. I make mine slightly different than most do and I hope you will find this version tempting.

**4 Large peppers, cleaned and halved. I like to use green, yellow and red bells for color and taste. When cutting your peppers try to halve them so that you have the best flat sides to rest the peppers on.

1.5 lbs lean ground chuck
1 half cup rice, cooked and drained
1 egg
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 or 5 fresh mushrooms, diced
celery salt, garlic powder, pepper and Mr Dales Steak Seasoning Sauce to taste. If you don't have Mr Dales, you can use soy sauce.
1 bottle of Newman's Own Alfredo Sauce (Save this for last)

Pre-heat your oven to 350. Mix all ingredients, except the alfredo, in a large bowl. If the mixture is still not holding together, use some crushed saltines to absorb some of the moisture. Place your peppers in a large non-stick pan. Pack the peppers with your meat mixture until all is used. They all should be brimming with the mixture. Cover your pan with aluminum and bake 45 mins to an hour. Remove the aluminum and pour part of the alfredo sauce over the tops of your peppers. Save some for spooning on later. Bake another 5 minutes and remove to let cool some.

**As Carlo has pointed out to me, not everyone likes bell peppers. If you don't, then you can take this same recipe and make a meatloaf with it. Pour the alfredo sauce over the top like you would a tomato sauce, but make sure to wait until the end or the cheese's in the alfredo sauce will burn.

Serve with your favorite veggies or salad and savor something different!

Carlo's 100 Things

2006-06-19T21:35:00.000-05:00

1. I have been told that I am “the most intense person” some people have ever met. I guess they didn’t get out much, huh?

2. I was born in New Hampshire, grew up in Rhode Island, but I consider a lake in Maine to be home.

3. I cannot stand heat and humidity. If the temperature is above 75 or so, I am MISERABLE.

4. I love movies, music and books, not necessarily in that order.

5. My children are my greatest joys and my failed marriages are my greatest regrets.

6. I have been married three times. Three strikes and I’m OUT!

7. I hate being the center of attention. This means that I don’t like my birthday.

8. I think differently than most folks. What I mean is, I interpret things from a completely different perspective than everyone else I know.

9. I am nervous about relationships.

10. I recently bought a Kawasaki Vulcan 750, and I absolutely love it!

11. My parents divorced when I was five and I split my time between their houses until I was fifteen, when my relationship with my father imploded.

12. I have a brain full of useless facts, a.k.a. trivia.

13. I love all types of music, and I have no one favorite song. The music I listen to fits my mood at the moment.

14. I am the same way about movies.

15. I am not much of a people person, I am a people watcher.

16. My mother has described me as a person that “wouldn’t say a paragraph when a sentence would do, and you wouldn’t use a sentence when a word would do.”

17. My father is an English professor at a New England state University.

18. That’s why I detest misspellings and people that cannot speak or write clearly.

19. The big joke is that I am always “clarifying” what I meant so that any misunderstandings can be corrected.

20. I have been a soldier for more than eighteen years.

21. The reason that I stayed a soldier is that I love the relationships that are formed in the Army.

22. www.patriotguard.org ‘NUFF SAID!!!!!!!!!!

23. I never would have thought that I could go to a stranger’s funeral and feel both honored and welcome there. I was so wrong.

24. I hate stereotypes. They are almost never true, and they only lead to discrimination and hatred.

25. I find something beautiful every single day. In my opinion, if you can’t find any beauty, then you have to suffer through the day instead of enjoying it.

26. I learn at least one new thing every day, as well. Any day that I don’t learn something new is a day wasted.

27. I have been accused of being a “know it all,” however (comma), the most important thing that I know is what I don’t know. That way I can tell someone honestly that I don’t have the answer to their question.

28. I’m shy. I don’t talk with strangers easily, ESPECIALLY women.

29. I hate stupidity, yet I am surrounded by it EVERY FREAKIN’ DAY!!! Ironically, the stupidity usually comes from the people with the most college. Hmmmmm, don’t they have a “common sense” course in college? They ought to!

30. I have extremely varied political views, so don’t try to pigeonhole me into one political party. I am a square peg, parties are round holes, and if you hit me on the head, I will do violence unto your body!

31. I truly love being an American, and I don’t understand people that feel guilty that they are one.

32. My two favorite holidays are Independence Day and All Hallows Eve.

33. That’s because I like to blow things up and sneak around in the dark.

34. Why can’t people be open-minded and LISTEN to other viewpoints? If you close your ears and your mind, you demonstrate how stupid you really are.

35. I love to flirt, but I feel uncomfortable initiating the conversation (see #28, above).

36. My son is named after my and my ex-wife’s grandfathers. His first name is from my Grandfather; his middle name is from hers.

37. I have tried to explain why I go to the funerals of fallen military people, and the only way that I can describe it is to say, “I don’t like to go to the funerals, but I need to go to them.” I need to show a grieving family that I respect their sacrifice and that I honor and respect the sacrifice of the fallen.

38. I have turned into a biker. Hard to believe that I’ve only been riding a month, eh?

39. I recently read A Child Called “It” and I cannot comprehend how a parent can abuse a child. My children bring me the most joy of anyone on the planet, I couldn’t hurt either one of them.

40. I don’t know how I am going to deal with my daughter turning fifteen next year.

41. I retire in either 2007 or 2009. Then I have to decide what I want to be when I grow up.

42. I am a hopeless romantic and I get a little overly emotional about things. Yes, I own “The Sound of Music,” and I love it.

43. I know the lyrics to hundreds of songs.

44. I never learned my multiplication tables.

45. Combine numbers 43 and 44 and you might understand just one of the ways I drove my mother nuts when I was younger.

46. I have been working on this list for more than a month and I only have 46, I may have to change it to “Carlo’s 50 things.”

47. I cannot wait ‘til I get my new leather vest! I already have a number of patches and pins to go on it. Now, all I have to do is wait for the shipper to send it out and the US Postal Service to get it here. Hopefully it won’t take too long…

48. I got my vest yesterday, and I have some (as in 3 of the 11) patches getting sewn on.

49. I am really starting to not like people. People in general, I mean. I will make exceptions for specific individuals, however (comma), I must say that some people are real idiots. The specific situation is a friend of mine came back from Iraq a few months ago, and seven (7) days after, his wife hit him with divorce papers. Rant to follow on the blog…

50. Holy struggling writers, Batman! Half way!

51. I have higher standards for myself than I do for anyone else, and I don’t meet them, most of the time.

52. Others usually live down to my expectations of them, so I am not surprised when they do dumb s@#t.

53. I have to agree with my mother that, in most cases, bureaucracies promote people to the level of incompetence, i.e. they get promoted one level above their optimal skill level.

54. Superfluous means extra, not needed, unnecessary (argument at work, sorry).

55. I must say that I am pretty pathetic. I don’t like to go out, but I crave intimacy; I don’t like people knowing me really well, yet I crave intimacy. Hmmmmm, there’s a pattern forming here.

56. I have been told that I have “amazing potential” and that I’m a “great guy,” but I’ll never get promoted and the women I’m interested in aren’t interested in me in the same way.

57. Maybe I should lower my standards…

58. Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, I’m not the Army, I will find the right woman eventually.

59. Patience may be a virtue, but being patient SUCKS!

60. Some days I feel like Mad Max, a man who fought his way through madness and found his humanity again. Other days I just want to kill someone.

61. Why do people hate? I don’t think I will ever understand how one person can hate an entire group of people based solely on something as ridiculous as skin color or ethnicity.

62. I can usually find an appropriate movie quote for almost any situation. This annoys the HELL out of some people, and I really like that.

63. Can you tell that I LIKE my attitude problem?

64. And I wonder why I’ll never get promoted?

65. Sometimes I wish life could be as simple as in the movies, and then I realize that I’d be bored to tears if I could solve my problems in 95-130 minutes.

66. http://www.myspace.com/carlo_shannon check it out, if you really want to see more of what makes me tick. Or don’t, it’s all the same to me…

67. Since I have gotten my motorcycle, I have a bunch of new goals, and I have a new lease on some old ones.

68. I want to spend 24 hours (or more) in all 50 states.

69. I want to ride Route 66 from end to end.

70. I want to ride across the country, coast to coast.

71. I want to do the “Run for the Wall.”

72. I want to take a month and just RIDE.

73. Mom Carver, welcome to the Patriot Guard Riders. Thank you for your commitment.

74. Why is it that land-locked states sometimes have higher humidity than states on the ocean? Could it be Mother Nature hates me?

75. I really love a good movie. I took my son to see “Cars” last weekend, and he and I both loved it. A well made movie can make you forget that it’s a movie and make everything seem real.

76. Then, you get slapped in the face with a wet noodle and have to come back to reality.

77. OK, I have been working on this 100 list for two months and I’m only at 77. I might just cut this short.

78. Back to my goals: I want to find “the one” and, as they say in “The Italian Job,” “…hold on to her forever.” (told you I could find a movie quote for any situation)

79. I want to see my children happy and together as often as possible.

80. In my opinion, I am a horrible leader and a neglectful person, but some very special people love me. I am fortunate in that.

81. I have met some famous people and I have to say that, while I appreciate their support, I’d rather sit and talk with them for an hour or so, you know, to get to know them.

82. I have two favorite movies about musicians and I appreciate them both. “Eddie and the Cruisers” and “8 Mile.” They both show the passion and dynamics of music, and I can appreciate the artistry of both styles, too.

83. I speak American (I say that Americans don’t speak English) and German fluently, with a smattering of Spanish, Italian and French.

84. See what 14 years in Europe does for you?

85. Since I have had my bike, I have not spent any time playing computer games, and, two years ago, they were my escape. Imagine that…

86. I hope to NEVER work for another bureaucracy. I cannot bear the politics, the people there to justify their paychecks, and the lack of responsiveness to new situations.

87. I would love working for a company like Pixar… I wonder if they have an opening for someone who’s skill set is based on blowing things up?

88. The two most useless objects on the planet – a dull knife and an unloaded gun.

89. An optimist says that the glass is half full.

90. A pessimist says that the glass is half empty.

91. A realist (me) says that the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

92. I actually thanked my mother for putting up with me and raising me right when I was about 24. I noticed at a young age that I was a hellion.

93. My most difficult birthday was my eighteenth (18th). That’s when I realized that, if I got caught I would be tried as an adult.

94. The Republican and Democratic political parties may as well combine into one and make the “Republicratic” party. The so-called conservatives no longer want small government.

95. This is the problem when one allows people to become “professional politicians.”

96. And we complain that they keep raising their own paychecks?

97. Does anyone remember the saying, “Power corrupts: Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”? And they wonder why politicians keep covering for each other?

98. I am tired of bad news television, so I stopped watching the news.

99. I watch American football, soccer, hockey, and racing (all kinds except horse).

100. Finally, once more, I am a proud member of the Patriot Guard Riders.

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part I

2006-06-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

Over the next few days, I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes... you know, the ones that everyone around these parts feels the need to brag upon. :-)

Today I will share with you how to make perfect Teriaki Wings AND Hot Wings. The recipes are similar so you get a double dose!

1 bag of chicken drummet's and wings
1 large bottle of Texas Pete's Hot Sauce
1 regular (not the smallest size) bottle of Tobasco Sauce
1 lb of butter (use real butter)
2 large bottles of Teriaki Sauce (chose your favorite here)

In 2 medium size pots melt 1 stick of butter each on the lowest setting so it does not scorch. In one add 1 bottle of teriaki and in the other add half Texas Pete and half Tobasco.

While the sauces are heating, deep fry your drummets and wings. Once cooked, add half of the wings to each pot and turn up the heat under the pots slightly. Let the wings cook in the sauces at least 10 mins. Once you are done steeping in the sauces, place on a plate.

DO NOT pour the left over sauce on the wings. It makes them messier to eat and is not really needed. As the wings steep, they will absorb the sauces. Continue to add butter and sauce as needed to your pots until all wings are done. There should be plenty of sauce ingredients to complete a large bag of wings.

You should have wings frying and steeping in the sauces at the same time. It can be a process... but everyone will rave over your wings.

Garnish with Blue Cheese and/or Ranch dressings and celery, carrot sticks.

BTW - The hot wings are not for the faint of tongue. Have plenty of cold drinks available! ;-)

Fathers Day

2006-06-17T23:29:00.000-05:00

Fathers Day. This is a day that should be celebrated with the man that helped to bring you life. I wish that could be so... or not. You see I can't be sure of how I feel about this day. You see my dad was never there for me. Ever. He missed many things because he left us when I was three. I was not the only child victim of this man. He did the same thing to 2 more children before me. They were also young and needed him around. You can see why this day is not a great one for me.

I searched for him once. I found out about the older kids and about some younger ones that fateful day. I found family I never knew I had. Growing up an only child, or so I thought, was difficult at best. Of those half-siblings, I have only met one. He is a real gem and is named after my father. I don't stay in touch as I should, but hopefully he knows I love him.

I also found out on that fateful day a few more things. First that he had died the year before of pancreatic cancer. Second that he had lived only an hour away from me growing up. How f'ed up is that? He never tried to search for me. He never cared if I was alive or dead. I am not sure how I would have reacted to him if he had been alive. Tears, anger, or questions... I just don't know. No way to know now anyway... and besides, I had some of the best father figures without him.

So on this day of honoring the dads of the world, I want to honor those that were my shining lights. My step dad I have now is at the top of the heap in my little world. He cares about my mother and me and would do anything he could for either of us. Don, you are more of a Dad to me than anyone ever has been in my life and for that you have my never-ending love, respect and admiration. You ARE my dad and I love you.

Next come those uncles I spoke about on Memorial Day. They were my inspirations, disciplinarians and teachers as a child and as an adult. My maternal grandfather was also a shining example of what a father should be. I was young when he died but I will never forget the things he taught me, like tying my shoes - backwards. I will never forget any of them and I hope I will see them all again someday.

My Uncles and my Grandfather, 1957

To all of you dads out there... Happy Fathers Day. Keep your children close. Hug them lots and never forget to say "I love you" to your kids daily. I promise you they will never forget you did, or did not.

Don't Ever Change

2006-06-17T09:28:00.000-05:00

Our 500th post. Wow. Pleasure comes in many forms, yes? ;-)

Sing along with the Beatles tune...

You come to read us in this place,
Friendships we could never erase.
You've always got the means
Even on Sunday.

So please don't ever change,
No don't you ever change.
We kind of like you
Just the way you are.

You always come and take a chance,
Even when we put you in a trance,
Your comments let us know
You're a lot to enjoy.

So please don't ever change,
No don't you ever change.
Promise you're always gonna be
As sweet as you are.

We love you when you're happy,
We love you when you're blue.
We love you when you're glad with us,
So how can we get tired of you?

A lot of other blogs we've seen,
They know how to treat peeps mean.
But you would rather die
Than ever hurt us.

So please don't ever change,
No don't you ever change.
Just promise you're always gonna be
As sweet as you are.

Please don't ever change,
Don't you ever change.
Please don't ever change,
Don't you ever change.

From Carlo and I, to you, our readers. Thank you for sticking with us through 500 posts, 19K+ page views, and 174 different sites linking to us. We have had some trials, a few tribulations, many celebrations and just some plain ol' fun. We would not trade the time we have spent here with all of you. We hope for many more to come.

Our Constitutional Rights (and my opinion, of course)

2006-06-16T12:42:00.000-05:00

You know, the older I get, the more philosophical I get. This can be a good thing, except when I am dealing with my younger soldiers, you know, the ones that don’t think about what they are saying, but they expect me to understand it anyway. But, I digress.

All of the people that protest and gather and speak their minds are exercising their rights as granted in the Bill of Rights (you know, the first ten Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America). I can honestly say that that is a good thing, after all, I have had to deal with direct government interference in my life for the last eighteen years, and I only have a few more until they can KISS OFF. Ooops, there I go, digressing, again.

There are, however (comma), two things that I don’t understand:

First is the fact that, when these protestors get out there to protest at a fallen soldier’s (or Marine, Sailor, Coast Guardsman, Airman, I have been in the Army for 18 years, that’s how I think) funeral, they are actually complimenting the fallen soldier, no matter how sickening, ridiculous, or hateful their message.

I know that it seems like a stretch, but, hear me out. These individuals are exercising rights (the right to free speech and the right to assemble) provided for in the aforementioned (yep, I just slipped “aforementioned” into a blog post, HEH) Bill of Rights. Now, that document is defended by the very same military that these people are protesting. For those of you that missed it, the oath that every member of the military swears when they join and when they reenlist starts with, “I, (state your full name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;” now, that being said, the very act of protesting is a compliment to the military, and, to the fallen that gave their lives to protect and defend the document that grants those rights.

Am I the only one that sees the irony there? I mean, you do something that my service ALLOWS you to do, and I’m supposed to get upset? Mind you, what they say sometimes disgusts me, and it ALWAYS confuses me, but I come away with an odd sense of peace knowing that me and my comrades have given these people the rights that they are exercising.

Second is the fact that the people that defend the freedom of speech and freedom to assemble and freedom of religion (which, by the way, is usually a misinterpretation of the actual amendment – read it for yourself, you’ll see) are the ones that violently oppose the second amendment, you know, the one that allows people to defend themselves and their rights.

Mind you, in today’s world, it is unlikely that, without the second Amendment, the government would become a tyranny, however, the possibility is there, and my (and my friends’) guns are the only thing preventing that.

Have you noticed that the loudest groups against gun ownership tend to not live in the same reality that I do? They don’t understand that, no matter what, some people are going to be violent; some people are going to oppress and kill; some people are going to steal and rape. You cannot change these people, you can only defend yourself, and my right to defend myself is granted by the second Amendment to the Constitution. Hmmmmmmmmm, they like some of it, but not this part, and now they are trying to go around it.

When are they going to figure out that if you circumvent the document that gives the government it’s authority and power, you make the ENTIRE DOCUMENT null and void, thereby (HEY! I got “thereby” into the same post) weakening the government, eventually leading to our way of life going away…

Just my thoughts…

Carlo

Drama or Dramatics?

2006-06-14T07:43:00.000-05:00

There seems to be plenty of both in my house these days. Yes, I am still alive but the activities at home and work have kept me quite busy.

Work has been very busy with stores stocking up our product for the impending holiday in 2 weeks. I have to not only send out the orders all over the US, but I also have to invoice all said orders as well. Yes, I barely have time to breathe, but I figured I better take a few minutes to let ya'll know I am still around.

Home is another story. I am still carless. I still have no air conditioning and this past week saw temps near 100. Yes, I felt like bread in a toaster. The storms cooled it down to mid 80's and it is tolerable again. The drama has been coming from the boys in my life and that term is used loosely.

The WH's brother is terminally ill. They live in Florida. He has stage 4 cancer in his lungs and that is apparently not the cancers originating point. That is all we have been told so far, other than his son and mother have not been told yet. His mother is 84 and they are worried that the news will literally kill her. The son is bi-polar and a bit schitzo... so they are not sure how he will take it either. The BIL is on his second chemo treatment and they know it cannot be hidden much longer.

The drama comes into play because I don't want to go down there. I have several reasons.
1. My health has suffered some with the baking of my body in the oven that is my house. This is a whole 'nother post, but trust me, a long car ride is not in my best interest, or anyone elses for that matter.

2. I don't handle angst well... my mother can verify that one. (This is my major reason for not going)

3. The dogs cannot be left alone that long. I don't trust my neighbors enough to leave them with the feeding and watering chores.

4. The poker tourney is this Sunday and I have planned a long time for this one. (This is not all that important... but dang it all, I want to play!)

5. There is tons of stuff I can get done faster and better when they are not around.

My son does not understand this. I have tried to explain, but he shuts out all of my explanations. He sees it as not caring. I don't know how to get it through to him that I would be a basket case before the weekend was over. He does not see anything else and it hurts me to see him stalk away time after time angry.

He does not see the big picture. I am willing to stay home for 4 days with no transportation to go ANYWHERE. I will be in a house with temps in the high 80's. I will be cleaning his clothes and his room while he is gone. I will be cleaning the house he lives in. I will be feeding the dogs and I will know they are taken care of. He will have them healthy and happy to see him when he gets home.

How do you explain this to a kid that sees only what he wants to see? The WH actually wanted me to leave the dogs alone for 4 days with no food. "Feed them late Thursday and they will be fine until Sunday when you can catch a ride home with so and so". WHAT?!?!? They are puppies and still growing and act like they are starving every time they are fed. High temps means the water would only last 2 days at best. See what I live with? This is only a fraction of what I have to deal with daily.

The WH I can tell to go to hell... but my son I can't. How do I make him understand my reasons? How do you get through to a closed mind?

Give me a HOO-RAH

2006-06-10T15:06:00.000-05:00

Oh yes, I am ready. ;-)

I have registered to play in the
PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem
event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 4247557

Anyone care to join me for a bit of fun? Anyone? Double dare you!!!

Heh... Maybe we need more of these

2006-06-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

Kinds of Judges!

Rock, paper, scizzors Judgement

Just out of curiosity I searched the rules for this popular childrens game.

The Rules

Rock, Paper, Scissors is a game for two players typically played using the players' hands. The two players each make a fist with one hand and hold the other open, palm upward. Together, they tap their fists in their open palms once, twice, and on the third time form one of three items: a rock (by keeping the hand in a fist), a sheet of paper (by holding the hand flat, palm down), or a pair of scissors (by extending the first two fingers and holding them apart).

The winner of that round depends on the items formed. If the same item is formed, it's a tie. If a rock and scissors are formed, the rock wins, because a rock can smash scissors. If scissors and paper are formed, the scissors win, because scissors can cut paper. If paper and a rock are formed, the paper wins, because a sheet of paper can cover a rock. After one round is completed, another is begun. Play continues until one player reaches a predetermined score, or whenever the players' boredom is alleviated. (Often this game is played to pass the time while waiting in line for something, or while on a long road trip [as long as the driver isn't one of the players].)

The traditional means of scoring, not used in recent years, is not to keep any sort of numerical score but rather to allow the winner of each round to punish the loser. The punishment is executed by the loser extending his wrist (the same wrist must be used throughout the course of the game), face up, to the winner. The winner will hold the loser's hand steady with one hand (not tightly or forcibly) and use the first two fingers (only!) of the other hand to slap the loser's wrist. Wetting the two fingers just slightly is permissible; this provides a somewhat sharper sting. It's also better to hold the two fingers loosely rather than stiffly so that they slap instead of hit. The winner only gets one shot; if the slap is bungled, the loser is off the hook.

Do sexy photos “objectify” women (or men for that matter)?

2006-06-08T21:34:00.000-05:00

I would have to say, conditionally, no. Obviously, the conditions are simply that the photos are taken voluntarily and that the subject (model) was not coerced, pressured, manipulated into being in them.

The reason that I have started in on THIS subject is that I have a friend of mine that poses for some pretty sexy pictures, and she is a damned sexy woman. Unfortunately, she has received some messages from people that have a rather negative opinion of her. Personally, I feel that she is doing a lot for herself, and that she is overcoming a lot of personal issues. Her modeling is simply a way for her to express her self confidence.

My question is, who determines whether nude or sexy photos objectify (make an object instead of a person out of) somebody? If the person being photographed does not feel that way, then how can somebody that isn’t there and doesn’t know anything about the model justify getting upset that she posed like that?

I have the feeling that there are a lot of people out there that feel threatened by confident people, and they use anything that they can to talk somebody with that kind of confidence down. Maybe it’s because they want to feel big by putting someone down, maybe it’s that they enjoy being mean, maybe it’s that their own insecurities make them lash out, I couldn’t begin to tell you. What I can tell you is that being rude, mean, and cruel to someone that you don’t know, simply because he or she took pictures that you don’t like is simply childish.

In the big scheme of things, your opinion really doesn’t count, unless it’s your opinion of yourself. So, to those that feel the need to grab a megaphone and rant about non-issues, I say that YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT, EXERCISE IT!

Carlo

Thursday Thirteen #19 - Updated with answers

2006-06-08T05:26:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things About
Phoenix (You have to guess which ones are true!)

1. I used to sell grave plots as a telemarketer.

Yes, this one is true. I was 16 or 17 and had to dial out on a rotary phone. My fingers stayed sore. The "office" I worked out of was a trailer in the back of the graveyard. Spooky eh?

2. I started working at 14.

Also true. I had to work to help keep a roof over our heads. My first job was at a Waffle House and my mother was the manager.

3. I have lived in or been through every state in the lower 48.

False. I have barely been past the Mississippi. I have lived in Michigan, Arkansas, Florida and now call Georgia home.

4. I have been in a wet t-shirt contest.

True. I placed second and could not stop blushing through the whole thing.

5. I have brothers and sisters I have never met.

True. Long story... another post perhaps?

6. I was a billiards shark at 16.

True. My uncles taught me how to play and then would take me to the local halls to make bets on me.

7. I was a dance teacher at 19.

True. I used to teach disco dance in Michigan at the local discotech. (I have pictures but I am not sharing LOL)

8. I used to race cars on back roads.

True and I used to win... ALOT. I had a 64 Ford Falcon 2 door coupe and she could not be beat in a 1/4 mile.

9. I have all my teeth but one.

True. I had one pulled because it was impacted... a wisdom tooth that grew in sideways.

10. I have never had a cavity.

True. Not one. :-)

11. I won a beauty queen contest in HS.

False. I was in a rodeo beauty contest, but didn't place.

12. I played 2 instruments in band while in school.

True. Flute and Piccolo (was the hardest) and Alto and Bari Saxaphone.

13. I was an exotic dancer.

False, but I could have and had many offers to do so, but I had more respect for myself than that.

(Mom you are not allowed to play LOL!)

The offer of making specific header graphics for your TT's still stands. Just ask and it is yours. I am working on the last two requests... you are not forgotten!!

Have a great week all!! XOXOXOXOX

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Things that make you go hmmm... wokay...

2006-06-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

Mon Jun 5, 8:31 AM ET

KIEV (Reuters) - A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in Kiev zoo after he crept into the animal's enclosure, a zoo official said on Monday.

"The man shouted 'God will save me, if he exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions," the official said.

"A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery."

The incident, Sunday evening when the zoo was packed with visitors, was the first of its kind at the attraction. Lions and tigers are kept in an "animal island" protected by thick concrete blocks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thu Jun 1, 8:31 PM ET

CORDELIA, Calif. - The International Bird Rescue Research Center in Cordelia plans to raise funds with an unusual duck X-ray. The bird came in with a broken wing, but when Marie Travers, assistant manager of the center, radiographed the duck, she was stunned to see a very clear image of what appeared to be the face, or head, of an extraterrestrial alien in the bird's stomach.

"Marie looked at it and all she could say was 'unbelievable,'" said Karen Benzel, public affairs director for the rescue center, which has been rescuing sick and injured birds for more than three decades.

Unfortunately, the duck died quickly and quietly of its injuries.

Initial reports from the center claimed the cause of the alien face was never determined, but Benzel said she was still awaiting results of a necropsy.

Either way, the center has come up with a way to turn its alien encounter into a fundraiser for the center. It will auction off the X-ray on eBay.

The one-of-a-kind image, which measures 17-by-14 inches, will be sold along with a certificate of authenticity. All proceeds will go toward funding the center's rehabilitation programs.

The auction begins Sunday.

And your thoughts are??

Want or need?

2006-06-05T05:44:00.000-05:00

As for old age, embrace and love it. It abounds with pleasure, if you know how to use it. The gradually (I do not say rapidly) declining years are amongst the sweetest in a man's life; and, I maintain, that even where they have reached the extreme limit, they have their pleasure still.
--Seneca

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who is this guy kidding? The word "rapidly" needed to stay in there! When you are young the time cannot pass by quickly enough to become an adult, once there it flies by! The mind plays tricks on you as well. The mind does not seem to age as quickly as the physical body does. I don't "think" my age... do you? Inside this mind of mine I am still in my thirties. I still have the same wants and dreams I did then. I still have the same needs, only time has passed and the needs are stronger.

I still want to:
-dance in the rain with the one I love.
-make love for hours trying to become one.
-see the world through their eyes.
-laugh more and cry less.
-watch scary movies while hiding in the safety of their arms.
-sit and watch the sunset holding hands.

This list could go on and on, but as you can see, it has a recurring theme. This is what is missing and this is my longing. I have not given up hope... but it seems to be "rapidly" passing me by.

Thank You!

2006-06-03T07:16:00.000-05:00

I think I can honestly say this was one of the best birthdays I have had in a long time and it all came down to the most perfect of endings, thanks to Carlo's post. Even though I had to work yesterday, it was still great. Why you might ask? Because for the last 20 something years no one (besides my mother) has acknowledged my birthday other than a verbal Happy Birthday, a card or other some such, well meant, acknowledgement.

I can't remember the last real birthday party... and this goes back to my childhood, which remains a fuzzy memory these days. I think the last time I went out to celebrate was back in my 20's when I used to work at what used to be the local ladies night out bar (male strip club for you non-bar goers). The parties there used to get quite... ummm... interesting, to say the least. No birthday was left to slide by there, EVER, because it was an excuse to drink and make merry.

Yesterday evening, when I finally got to get on the computer (WH was playing poker), made my heart soar. I felt young at heart again. To me, the thought that so many would acknowledge my milestone, was like having a party thrown for me first hand.

Carlo, bless you for doing this for me. I can honestly say I was so touched by your post that I cried tears of joy. Our phone conversation was just the icing on the cake. You made my day just that more special.

Mike, thank you for taking the extra step and sending me a birthday card. It was beautiful!

Vicki, thank you for the shout out on your b**g and for the early birthday wishes.

Mom, thank you for the absolutely gorgeous bonsai plant you sent me.

Finally, thanks to my co-workers (who won't see this post, but that is ok) who gave me a monetary gift to maybe help with the AC repair. That touched me as well. And to my boss, who went to his favorite bakery just to get me a special, one-of-a-kind, birthday cake. For those that want to know it was a pound cake that was sliced and then filled with fresh strawberries. They then rolled it all up like a jellyroll. It was topped with real home made whipped cream and sprinkled with chocolate shavings and then strawberry halves and chocolate leaves were imbedded into the cream. DELISH!!

This birthday was a tough one. So many things came to mind. The loss of youth, etc. I still have yet to know that true, first-hand love that I have so longed for. Will I be too old to fully enjoy it, if, and when it ever finds me? The past week at work and at home, I have cried for no reason, and felt pressure of unknown sources. Depression was a given. It all still hangs in the background of my mind and they will probably be there for some time to come, BUT... as I said, each and every one of you made those thoughts fade with your well wishes.

Thank you! XOXOXOX

Happy Birthday to our Phoenix!!!!!!!

2006-06-02T18:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Lady. I hope that you have a good day. I understand that it is unlikely, since the heat is getting to you with no AC and you do not have the best home life, but it IS still your day, and you deserve some joy…

Everybody, raise your glass to Phoenix on her day!

Carlo

T13 Movie Trivia Answers ;-)

2006-06-01T20:30:00.000-05:00

1. All About Eve: Bette Davis (Margo Channing): Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!

2. Animal House: John Vernon (Dean Vernon Wormer): Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

3. A Beautiful Mind: Russell Crowe (Nash): Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.

4. Big Chill: Jeff Goldblum (Michael): I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.

5. When Harry Met Sally: Billy Crystal (Harry): Had my dream again where I'm making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I'd nailed the compulsories, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount.

6. Dirty Dozen: Lee Marvin (Major John Reisman): You've seen a general inspecting troops before haven't you? Just walk slow, act dumb and look stupid!

7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy): I couldn't do that. Could you do that? How can they do it? Who are those guys?

8. This was a trick question... I said it last week in my TT :)

9. Cain Mutiny: Humphrey Bogart (Lt. Commander Philip Francis Queeg): You tell the men there are four ways of doing things on this ship: The right way, the wrong way, the Navy way, and my way. They do things my way, and we'll get along just fine.

10. Catch 22: Alan Arkin (Yossarian): Let me see if I've got this straight: in order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy any more and I have to keep flying.

11. City Slickers: Billy Crystal (Mitch): Rollin', rollin', rollin', keep them doggies rollin', man my ass is swollen, Rawhide! Round em up, ride em in, get em up, get em dressed, comb their hair, brush their teeth, Rawhide! Tie me down, tell me lies, pull my hair, slap my thighs - with a big wet strap of, Rawhide!

12. High Noon: Lon Chaney Jr (Howe) The public doesn't give a damn about integrity. A town that won't defend itself deserves no help.

13. My Little Chickadee: Mae West (Flower Belle): Any time you got nothin' to do and lots of time to do it, come up.

Perfect Post ~ May (TT 13 Follows this post)

2006-05-31T21:51:00.000-05:00

I decided to participate in The Perfect Post Awards given out over at Petroville with MommaK this month. The reason is I have read the perfect post... or well, make that "posts" by one of my favorite bloggers.

He is talented, smart and he will make you think. He has a heart of gold and he is not so bad looking either! (He is taken gals hehehe)

This month he wrote about his own personal experiences with death. You see, he is a doctor, has been in the military and has pretty much seen it all. My perfect post award goes to Mike over at Ex Scientia, Veritas. Here are the posts that inspired this award.

Three Score And Ten

Three Score And Ten, Part II

Three Score And Ten, Part III

Congratulations Mike! You deserve much more than I could ever give you here... but these posts deserve some recognition.

My Thursday Thirteen post is under this one.

Thursday Thirteen #18

2006-05-31T20:45:00.000-05:00

Thirteen
Movie Lines (Guess the Movie - Bonus if you get who said it)

1. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!

2. Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

3. Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.

4. I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.

5. Had my dream again where I'm making love, and the Olympic judges are watching. I'd nailed the compulsories, so this is it, the finals. I got a 9.8 from the Canadians, a perfect 10 from the Americans, and my mother, disguised as an East German judge, gave me a 5.6. Must have been the dismount.

6. You've seen a general inspecting troops before haven't you? Just walk slow, act dumb and look stupid!

7. I couldn't do that. Could you do that? How can they do it? Who are those guys?

8. Real friends share your life, your loves and your most intimate secrets. What truer love can a person have?

9. You tell the men there are four ways of doing things on this ship: The right way, the wrong way, the Navy way, and my way. They do things my way, and we'll get along just fine.

10. Let me see if I've got this straight: in order to be grounded, I've got to be crazy and I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I'm not crazy any more and I have to keep flying.

11. Rollin', rollin', rollin', keep them doggies rollin', man my ass is swollen, Rawhide! Round em up, ride em in, get em up, get em dressed, comb their hair, brush their teeth, Rawhide! Tie me down, tell me lies, pull my hair, slap my thighs - with a big wet strap of, Rawhide!

12. The public doesn't give a damn about integrity. A town that won't defend itself deserves no help.

13. Any time you got nothin' to do and lots of time to do it, come up.

The offer of making specific header graphics for your TT's still stands. Just ask and it is yours. Have a great week all!! XOXOXOXOX

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Uhg...

2006-05-30T15:17:00.000-05:00

And my A/C is on the fritz! Sigh!

Canopy full of birds singing...

2006-05-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

My version of paradise. ;-)

Remembrance

2006-05-27T16:06:00.000-05:00

I would like to take this time to remember those in my family who are now gone from us, but never forgotten. They proudly served this country of ours in times of war. God bless all of those who have served or are serving now. We owe you our gratitude and thanks.

Warren Douglas Drew (Uncle Bud) - Born 1927, Died 1987
US Navy, WWII - Kodiak Island, Alaska

Morris Stanley Drew (Uncle Stan) - Born 1929, Died 1993
US Navy, WWII - Germany during Berlin Airlift

Richard Marlowe Drew (Uncle Richard) - Born 1941, Died 1994
US Navy, US Naval Band and Entertainer

James Michael Drew (Uncle Jim) - Born 1945, Died 2003
US Army, Korean War, Germany

These men were my uncles on the maternal side of my family. They were my support system growing up and my dads as well, in their own way. My grandmother had 8 children; 4 boys and 4 girls. They each had something to teach me and I hope I learned my lessons well from them. I miss each and every one of them and I am proud to call them my family.

Blessings and have a safe holiday.

The last 2 weeks and this weekend...

2006-05-26T18:22:00.000-05:00

Well, now that these last two weeks are done, I can take a minute and explain why I have been so silent. You see, over the last fourteen days, I have gone through a lot of changes and experiences. In chronological order, they are:

1. My section moved from one Battery to another;

2. We had to prepare for a field evaluation with minimal support from the new unit because they didn’t know what we needed;

3. We went through three (yes, THREE) broken radars last week, before the evaluation and one during it;

4. On Saturday I rode up to Augusta, Kansas to attend the funeral of CW2 Totten, a fallen soldier from Operation Enduring Freedom. It was the single longest ride I have done to date at 522 miles round trip;

5. On Sunday I rode up to El Reno, Oklahoma to ride in a fundraiser for the Gold Star Mothers and Rolling Thunder. They were passing through on their way to Washington D.C. for Memorial Day. This ride was 206 miles round trip;

6. You do the math, I put almost 750 miles on in two days;

7. We had to go to the field for two days and be evaluated;

8. We had to clean up the equipment (“recover it” in Army slang) in one day;

9. We had a “Safety Stand-Down” on Thursday that meant the only thing we did for the entire day was safety classes (I got to ride my motorcycle on the Ft. Sill “Freedom’s Thunder” Safety motorcycle rally in the morning);

10. Finally, all of this took place in 95+ degree heat every single day, so we had to worry about people possibly suffering from heat related injuries.

Needless to say, I have been a bit tired and miserable in the heat, and the stress hasn’t helped me AT ALL, however (comma), we are done with our deployment “train-up,” and we can get to the business of helping our new unit get prepared for their evaluations.

That has been my last pair of weeks, but that’s not what I wanted to write about. You see, the other night, I snapped at a dear friend of mine, and she didn’t deserve it. I wish I knew what got into me, but I truly hurt her feelings. I am sorry, Phoenix, I did not want to hurt you, I simply snapped.

This weekend is Memorial Day, and it is one of the holidays that I take seriously because I remember all the fallen military people, from the American Revolution to Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. I must say that THESE are the people that have protected and defended the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, in order for us to enjoy the rights and freedoms granted therein.

I hope that everyone has a good weekend, and please, take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices that have been made to protect our way of life. If you know a veteran, please thank them for their service. If you know a veteran’s family, please thank them for their sacrifices. The families do not get the recognition they deserve.

Carlo

Graduation Day

2006-05-26T14:54:00.000-05:00

You are no longer a boy, but a teenager on your way to middle school. Where did the time go? When I look at you I still see the baby boy that I cuddled at night. This transition has slipped up and caught me off guard. I want so much to grab hold and never let go; keep you little and dependant. Time will not allow that.

My miracle baby. My only child and now you are a young man. Your voice is cracking, hair is starting to grow on your face and the hair on your head is getting darker. Soon it will be brown like your dads. Time is going by too quickly. I am not ready for it, and yet you are in a rush to grow up.

When you look at me with those eyes of yours, I melt. They can hurt me just as quickly. I never seem to be able to do enough to make you happy. This is my fault for not being there more when you were a baby. Work kept me away so we could have a roof over our heads. I wanted to be home taking care of you 24/7 but circumstances did not allow for it. I had to make sure you had everything you needed to be strong and healthy.

You are your happiest when you are with your daddy. He lets you do more and get away with everything it seems. I am the decision maker, disiplinarian and the nay-sayer and you tend to stay angry with me. Maybe someday you will understand why. One can only hope.

Graduation day. Another year has passed and you are growing up. I hope this next year is everything you could ever hope for. I love you son.

Thursday Thirteen #17

2006-05-24T21:35:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things About
Phoenix And Friendships

1. I wear my heart on my sleeve and can be easily hurt.

2. I put a ton of faith in my friends who are closest to me.

3. Some days I eat, sleep and breathe and mostly worry about those friends.

4. Those same friends also keep me sane in my very insane life.

5. The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.
Carl Jung

6. I can count my real friends on one hand.

7. There isn’t much better in this life than finding a way to spend a few hours in conversation with people you respect and love. You have to carve this time out of your life because you aren’t really living without it.
Real Live Preacher

8. Real friends share your life, your loves and your most intimate secrets. What truer love can a person have?
Phoenix ;-)

9. I would lay down my life for my best friends if the occasion called for it.

10. As we change so do our friendships. It is the true friend that changes with you. I hope that I have followed that example.

11. Get not your friends by bare compliments, but by giving them sensible tokens of your love.
Socrates

12. I may not always stay in touch with those I consider friends, but they are never far from my thoughts or prayers. Love all of you!

13. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Unknown, (often attributed to Albert Camus)

The offer of making specific header graphics for your TT's still stands. Just ask and it is yours. Have a great week all!! XOXOXOXOX

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Friends

2006-05-24T21:30:00.000-05:00

There's nothing as nice as someone who shares,
your laughter, your secrets, your wishes and cares,
someone who's there through your good times and tears,
who stays by your side as your friend through the years.

- Autymn Skillings -

Idol Final Tonight

2006-05-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

I think the following lyrics are going to be Katherine's song tonight. Taylor won last night hands down. She was eh on the first song, great the second (but not as good as the first time she sang it), and so offkey her third song that I wanted to turn off the tube.

Bad Day by Daniel Powter

(Cut short for my own purposes lol)

Where is the moment when we need it the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue sky's faded to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carrying on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carrying on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

On the other hand Taylor could do no wrong. Even on the second song that was up against Katherines... it was great. His new single gave me the chills it was so good! I think with some rewrites in the beginning he has a hit on his hands! It sealed it when Simon told him he had justn won the whole thing. Go Taylor!!!

Life has a way...

2006-05-22T18:53:00.000-05:00

of coming up and reminding you that life is good. ;-)

For a long time now I have not felt the feelings that a woman should. As many of you know, I do not have the best home life. My WH does not now, nor has he ever treated me as a sexual being other than for his own pleasure. This is wrong in so many ways that I can't count them all.

A partnership is just that... a 50/50 relationship where giving and receiving is 100% shared in all things. It does not take much to please me. I am not prissy or a girly girl. I just expect to be treated as any woman does, with respect. We all need to be shown that we are desirable without the baloney that can come from a man that thinks only of himself.

There are no stimulating conversations of any kind in this household. It is mostly listening to ranting and raving. Nothing pleasant or life revealing is ever heard. Most of the time I retreat into my own little world to block out the unpleasantness that I am surrounded with.

A simple phone call on Sunday reminded me that life is good, pleasant and for me it was life revealing. Hours of conversation fed my mind and opened up a part of me that is usually shut away. I was reminded that I am a woman and as such, a needed entity in this world. I was fussed at for doubting it. I laughed along when my southern drawl got the best of me. I fussed a little back for the same self-doubts when they arose. I was satisfied on different levels from a voice many miles away.

Satisfaction can come in many forms... and I was fed the best of them. Caring, concern, comfort and playful banter. Tenderness for a friend and soul searching are still feeding my mind. I am still smiling from conversation shared over 24 hours ago. They will continue to feed me long into the following weeks to come. I opened up a small part of me, saw a new side of myself and I will never regret it. Am I greedy for wanting more? Maybe, but a light burns forth now with blazing curiosity.

Thank you for feeding my mind and my heart.
Thank you for being a friend I know I can count on.
Thank you for caring about my life and it's future.
Thank you for all that you are, and what you do daily for many.
Thank you for opening up that part inside of me that burns for more.
Thank you from my heart to yours.

A simple phone call can change much for someone far away. Who have you called lately and more importantly, who could use a simple phone call from you today?

Pool Halls and Poker Tournies

2006-05-21T14:34:00.000-05:00

I had sent in some phone picture posts that told the story of my day... but alas they did not seem to have come through. I spent the weekend watching my best gal friend and her team mates compete in a 9-ball city finals tournament.

Saturday we left here about 5:30 as her first match started at 7:30pm. We got lost trying to find our way there. It was just too funny. They have changed some of the exits on that side of town and it confused the hell out of us! After backtracking for about 20 minutes we finally found our way there with enough time to eat something first.

Got to the pool hall and the place was packed. They combined city 8-ball and 9-ball finals all on the same weekend. It was a mad house and the AC was not working. On top of that there were no waitresses and barely a seat to be found. I ended up watching some other people play because I could not get a seat over where they were playing. Made a couple of new friends and one captain tried to recruit me for her team, but they are way on the other side of town and I am not driving that far!!Besides, my friends captain is considering adding me to her team... and it is much closer.

They won their match Saturday and had to be back this morning at 8am. I promised to drive if she would drop by and get me so I could go watch again. So I was up at 6:30 and half awake by the time she stopped to get me. While we were switching out for me to drive, I knocked her coffee over right into my seat. Hot Pants!! It was too late to change clothes so I walked around all day with coffee stains on my khakis... ugh.

The gals lost the second round and before we left I stocked up on a few pool accessories I had been wanting... a pocket chalk stick/scuffer, a hand towel that hooks to your belt loops and 9-ball key chain. My friends birthday is just after mine and I bought her a belt loop magnetic chalk holder. She was grinning the rest of the day. (Apparently she has wanted one for a while now! lol)

We went back to Side Pockets (local tavern/pool hall) for some practice time for me on 9-ball rules and how to count it. (She kicked my patootie! - the Be-otch!!) They also had a Texas Hold-em month end tournament going there. What a sight! Apparently there is a league in these hyar parts! I am looking into joining them too. Sounds delightfully and addictingly fun! I am now home and pool halled out. Yawn... the boys are gone to pick up a new riding lawn mower the WH just had to have; over me getting a car to drive. Sigh... things just never change around here.

Hope your weekend was action packed and tons of fun! XOXOXOX

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2006-05-18T19:27:00.000-05:00

No time this week to do a TT, but I will make up for it next week.

It was time to make a change and with the encouraging words from Mom and Carlo, I made one. A life changing one.. and it was one I agonized over - ALOT. I have not told many that I have been suffereing with bad migraines. They have been affecting my tolerance to light and sound. The sound has been the worst. Loud noises have literally made me jump... and to the normal person they would not be loud. My ears are ringing non-stop (still, but easing) and I felt it was the weight of something I could fix quickly... but not without inner angst, my hair.

A suggestion from my mother gave me a reason to lose some of the angst and do a good deed in the process. I donated half of my hair to "Locks Of Love". This is a wonderful organization that helps children who have lost their hair to disease and cancer. How could I not say yes to that? I was not going to cut it that short, but what is a few more inches to put a smile on some childs face?

I found a salon that participated with them in my area, made a lunch appointment and went. I was nervous, but inside I was smiling. She measured my hair at 22 inches. Here is what my hair looked like upon arrival:

She then measured my hair into a pony tail at 11 inches and cut it. Here is the hair for donation:

The hairdresser then tok what was left and styled it into a longish shag... so it would frame my face sorta Jennifer Anniston style. FTS would be proud LOL! Here is the finished look after washing, cutting, straightening and then curling again:

As a side note: The headaches are easing and so is the ringing in the ears. Hopefully the migraines will be gone soon. ;-)

From February, 2004...

2006-05-16T10:30:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten this. I was full of pain and heartache. I never want to feel that way ever again... but we all know it is all part of the plan to put a speed bump or two in your way to keep it interesting. ;-) I think this could be rewritten just a bit and placed in my story "The Copper Dragoness", don'tcha think? XOXOXO

The Last Dragon

The dragon sleeps in her cave of fire,
Sealing out the new world with disgust,
Too much pain and death in this place,
Instead she dreams of once was; her shire.

She dared to love once upon a time,
When knights were full of chivalry,
Towns were filled with happy peasants,
A place made for singing and rhyme.

She fell for a knight in shining armor,
It was surreal, they were happy at times,
But every so often if she got too close,
He would say “I am not Camelot’s Arthur!”

Unconditional love is what she gave him,
She asked for nothing in return but his trust,
He could not give the gift she hoped for,
It did not matter, her love could not dim.

She left him finally on a cold, blustery day,
When she realized how foolish she had been,
What could he ever see in this dragon form?
She had opened herself up like an old cliché.

She watched him from afar in her lonely cave,
Her magical lake of fire showed her all,
He eventually forgot the one that loved him,
Yet she still yearned, forever chained; his slave.

Someday when this world has changed,
And all we know is gone from this plain,
She will be waiting for him on the other side,
There they can be together, open and unchained.

If the price of unconditional love is pain,
Why do we constantly put ourselves through it?
Is it archaic to want love stronger than time?
I refuse to believe it is esoteric and arcane.

February 20, 2004

Hell hath no fury...

2006-05-15T10:31:00.000-05:00

Like the sun avoided... for years - and even more years. This weekend we all gathered up to go watch the youngin in his first football game. I am very fair of skin and with partly cloudy skies and the occasional bout of light rain, well, lets just say I can give a lobster a run for the prettiest red color. By the end of the week you will be able to play connect the dots with the new freckles running across my cheeks and nose. LOL!

The youngin's team won a game and lost a game. His sister, her boyfriend and their baby came, as well as, my WH's best friend from highschool. He was a football star in his heyday and the youngin was excited to have him there. Around 3pm, the sun got the best of me and played games with my head and tummy... so I sought shade. At least I was able to stick around long enough to watch him play and win his first game!

There is another boy on the team that had all the parents giggling. He is a strapping boy for 13 (just taller than my son but the youngin out weighs him). He has this habit... and it terrifys the younger and smaller boys. He growls while setting up for the play... not just a small growl, but one that can be heard in the stands over hundreds of other players, coaches and parents talking about their kids. Click the video below to hear it. I took this with my camera phone... so the video quality is very sucky... but you can hear the growls and my hubby and step-daughter talking about the growling. The hubby is the one with the deep voice during all the clapping. It should give you a grin or two for this bright and sunny Monday!

Saturday night I was treated to dinner at the local China Buffet and I ~~pigged out~~ ate enough for 2. Mothers Day was spent doing laundry (you know, mom things), and relaxing until I was treated to a movie of my choice by the youngin. He received some late birthday money from a family friend and he chose to spend part of it on me. I sure do love that kid! The WH smoked some ribs and I grocery shopped. (Dangerous thing for me to do when I am starving!) I spent too much dinero, but we are set for the next two weeks. lol Do you shop when you are hungry?

XOXOX

Happy Mothers Day!

2006-05-14T05:01:00.000-05:00

A MOTHER'S LOVE

There are times when only a Mother's love
Can understand our tears,
Can soothe our disappoints
And calm all of our fears.

There are times when only a Mother's love
Can share the joy we feel
When something we've dreamed about
Quite suddenly is real.

There are times when only a Mother's faith
Can help us on life's way
And inspire in us the confidence
We need from day to day.

For a Mother's heart and a Mother's faith
And a Mother's steadfast love
Were fashioned by the Angels
And sent from God above.

~Author Unknown~

Love you Mom! XOXOXO

This should...

2006-05-13T08:52:00.000-05:00

fire up some conversation. I thought about this after hearing for the first time this song on YouTube.com. The connotations of the lyrics, to me any how, suggest immortality on a different level.

Being very open minded on this subject allows for some thought provoking possibilities. Here are the lyrics if you can't open the video link above, but it is the suggestions made in the video that struck me, not exactly the words.

Celine Dion
Immortality

So this is who I am,
And this is all I know,
And I must choose to live,
For all that I can give,
The spark that makes the power grow

And I will stand for my dream if I can,
Symbol of my faith in who I am,
But you are my only,
And I must follow on the road that lies ahead,
And I won't let my heart control my head,
But you are my only
And we don't say goodbye,
And I know what I've got to be

Immortality
I make my journey through eternity
I keep the memory of you and me inside

Fulfill your destiny,
Is there within the child,
My storm will never end,
My fate is on the wind,
The king of hearts, the joker's wild,
But we don't say goodbye,
I'll make them all remember me

Cos I have found a dream that must come true,
Every ounce of me must see it though,
But you are my only
I'm sorry I don't have a role for love to play,
Hand over my heart I'll find my way,
I will make them give to me

Immortality
There is a vision and a fire in me
I keep the memory of you and me, inside
And we don't say goodbye
We don't say goodbye
With all my love for you
And what else we may do
We don't say, goodbye

So now here is the tidbit based on the song and video.

Immortality
n.

The quality or condition of being immortal.
Endless life or existence.
Enduring fame.

Reincarnation
n.

Rebirth of the soul in another body.
A reappearance or revitalization in another form; a new embodiment: “The brownstone had already endured one reincarnation: In the 1940's, it was converted into eight studio apartments” (Ben Lloyd).

I believe that the first exists only in the second. Your soul has a purpose and until that purpose is complete, that soul will continue to come back. I believe this is what brings us many of those "deja'vu" moments in our lives. It also could explain those times when you meet someone new but feel you have known them all your life.

And your thoughts are?

Thursday Thirteen (I know it’s late, sue me)

2006-05-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

1. I just got back from Germany. I went to spend some time with my 14 year old daughter, Kimberly, for her Konfirmation (Confirmation).

2. I was reminded that my German ex-wife is one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world, and, I am glad to say, I am one of hers, too.

3. Kimberly’s step-father is a good man and I both respect and like him very much. He is good for both my ex and my daughter and I am glad that he is in their lives (sounds weird, doesn’t it?).

4. I am a slob. I didn’t get my house cleaned up the way I should have before I left, so I came home to a mess.

5. I had a one day work week, and I am glad that I have the weekend to get back into the swing of things before I get blasted with more work.

6. Why is it that even a few days off, spent relaxing can put a new spin on the old grind? I came back with a good attitude and ready to WORK.

7. I did miss some people, though. Phoenix, Gidget, Paul, Greg, and my guys at work. That may sound weird, but the people are what make the Army, and life, fun.

8. Why is it that there are some people that have wasted all their education? For example, to become a commissioned officer, a person MUST HAVE a Bachelor’s Degree at a minimum. Unfortunately, there are a lot of officers that I get to say, “All that education wasted on another idiot” about.

9. I absolutely love my job. That’s the irony of it all.

10. I have problems meeting people. Sounds weird, but I don’t like to talk to people that I don’t know, and that makes it hard to meet new people. I’m shy, I admit it.

11. I really don’t like cleaning. ‘Nuff said.

12. I got to see my mother in Germany, too, and that was fun. Even though she still nags me about things that aren’t her business any more.

13. I actually came up with thirteen things, wow. Now you understand why I am having trouble doing my hundred…

Carlo

Passionate Ecstasy

2006-05-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Don't forget the rules... keep it clean for the next persons thoughts. ;-) Word meanings courtesy of dictionary.com.

Passion

n.

1. A powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.
2.
1. Ardent love.
2. Strong sexual desire; lust.
3. The object of such love or desire.
3.
1. Boundless enthusiasm: His skills as a player don't quite match his passion for the game.
2. The object of such enthusiasm: Soccer is her passion.
4. An abandoned display of emotion, especially of anger: He's been known to fly into a passion without warning.
5. Passion
1. The sufferings of Jesus in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as related in the New Testament.
2. A narrative, musical setting, or pictorial representation of Jesus's sufferings.
6. Archaic. Martyrdom.
7. Archaic. Passivity.

Ecstasy

n. pl. ec·sta·sies

1. Intense joy or delight.
2. A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control: an ecstasy of rage.
3. The trance, frenzy, or rapture associated with mystic or prophetic exaltation.
4. Slang. MDMA.

Now it is your turn. What do these two words mean to you? Same or different?

Thursday Thirteen # 16

2006-05-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things About
Phoenix & American Idol

1. My local radio station gave tonights results away. There is apparently a website out there that monitors inbound calls to Idol. They have predicted 100% who is going home so far. This morning they told the listeners that the company had predicted Chris going home. I did not expect this result and apparently neither did anyone else. I fully expected Elliott to go home tonight.

2. Kat was in total shock. I think she was expecting it to be her. I thought that girl was going to pass out!

3. Now I believe Taylor will win the whole thing. I was tickled to see the girl from the X-Men movie make a request of the one song that Simon hated Tuesday night. Rock on Taylor!!

4. My best friend is home safe and sound! "Yahoooooooooo!!!" *grin!*

5. The youngin has his first ever football game this Saturday afternoon. The excitement is thick around here!

6. I also got his school pictures back and ordered another 8x10. Best pictures ever taken at school. Such a handsome kid I have here.

7. I have been buried in invoicing at work. On top of that, I have been given the aged receivables to research. The "controller" has no clue what she is doing and she has been asking customers to pay past dues that weren't past due. Oy! Maybe I should ask the Wizard to give her a brain?

8. We are getting lots of rain and this is a good thing... but when you are relaxing and playing poker, only to have a thunderboomer come out of nowhere and it is so close and loud that it shakes your whole house for more than 20 seconds is not the way to relax! I almost jumped out of my chair! It was the one and only of the evening... so it was very unexpected! (think I can run on that sentence any more? lol)

9. I am glad to see all the new people commenting lately along with those of you who are faithful readers. I am having fun digging new perspectives on old subjects out of you guys! It is like learning something new daily!

10. I would love to get some suggestions from you all on words and meanings you would like to see presented for the next tidbit. Suggest away! (For those of you that are not familiar with what I am talking about... go read the next three posts under this TT.)

11. I have decided to start working on "The Copper Dragoness" again. A new chapter is long overdue. David over at Sugarloaf Mountain reminded me that it does have potential, but only if it gets written! Thanks Dave!!

12. Life has many speedbumps to remind us that our life here is short in the big span of things. Please remember to look up or even just out at nature and say thank you every once in a while. I am sure the big guy (or gal) could use a verbal hug too.

13. I did a special TT header for a very sweet young lady this past week. Please go by and say hi to Libragirl. I had fun designing it for her!

The offer of making specific header graphics for your TT's still stands. Just ask and it is yours. Have a great week all!! XOXOXOXOX

P.S.: This is my Mom's first week with the TT. PLease go by and say hi. She is submitted for the roll but is not on it yet and she could use the cheerful comments. Mom Carver. Thanks all!

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Sensual Sexuality ;-)

2006-05-09T21:11:00.000-05:00

Define these two words and what they mean to you. Same or different? Remember the definition I am looking for is what the words mean to you... not the "official" definitions. (Definitions curtesy of dictionary.com.)

Sensuality

n.

The quality or state of being sensual or lascivious.
Excessive devotion to sensual pleasure.

Sexuality

n.

The condition of being characterized and distinguished by sex.
Concern with or interest in sexual activity.
Sexual character or potency.

Remember to keep it clean for the next commentor that visits. We are all family here. XOXOXO

Tidbit Two

2006-05-09T05:58:00.000-05:00

Last nights responses got me to thinking about these two words:

Karma:

n.

Hinduism & Buddhism. The total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny.
Fate; destiny.
Informal. A distinctive aura, atmosphere, or feeling: There's bad karma around the house today.

Fate:
n.

The supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines events.
The inevitable events predestined by this force.
A final result or consequence; an outcome.
Unfavorable destiny; doom.
Fates Greek & Roman Mythology. The three goddesses, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, who control human destiny. Used with the.

Now are they the same or different to you? Remember the keep it clean rule, but other than that state how these two words are different or the same to you.

Since my blog continues...

2006-05-08T17:10:00.002-05:00

to fly like a lead balloon, and since my last post rated 3 comments in 3 days (A Huge hug to those that commented! Thanks!), I will try a change of venue. I know my life is not all that exciting... so I will spare you the yawns for a while.

Welcome to my first Philosophy Tidbit.

This is how it will work. I will pick 2 words and post their meanings along with them. The words could be similar, but with different meanings or not. It will be up to you to give me your thought process on whether they are the same... or totally different and why. I shall remain totally neutral on the subject. OKay? Good. Off we go!

Todays subjects are taken from my last post.

Dream:

n.

A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.
A daydream; a reverie.
A state of abstraction; a trance.
A wild fancy or hope.
A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration: a dream of owning their own business.
One that is exceptionally gratifying, excellent, or beautiful: Our new car runs like a dream.

Fantasy:

n. pl. fan·ta·sies

The creative imagination; unrestrained fancy. See Synonyms at imagination.
Something, such as an invention, that is a creation of the fancy.
A capricious or fantastic idea; a conceit.
Fiction characterized by highly fanciful or supernatural elements.
An example of such fiction.
An imagined event or sequence of mental images, such as a daydream, usually fulfilling a wish or psychological need.
An unrealistic or improbable supposition.
Music. See fantasia.
A coin issued especially by a questionable authority and not intended for use as currency.
Obsolete. A hallucination.

Ok folks, I am turning you loose on these. Are they similar in meaning to you or totally different, and why?

Please don't refrain from saying what is on your mind about the subject. I just ask that you keep it nice and clean for the readers who come in after you, k? XOXOXOX

Fantasies Are My Dreams

2006-05-05T23:07:00.000-05:00

The dream always starts the same. I have won a large lottery and I use it to pay off all our combined debts, including the house. I also use part of the money to obtain a non-sticky divorce; in other words, I buy out the old man and send him packing without regret.

The boy stays with me and I find him a private boarding school so he can finally get a decent education. After the youngin is taken care of, I hire a company to come in and gut the house so I can have it rebuilt. I then buy all new furnishings to go inside of it. It seems to give me great pleasure to rid all bad memories of the house by making it all new again. A pool is installed in the backyard and I bring my parents up to live in it, rent-free.

While the house is rebuilt, I rent a home close by and move some mementos and antiques there for safekeeping. My best gal friend is hired to take care of all bills, watch and supervise the builders and I ask her to house sit the rental. I also set up a trust fund for the boy for college to make sure he will be set for all expenses. He is close to graduating and this has been a seemingly unobtainable dream before now.

I go on a small shopping spree, but only for specific items that are on a list that was made long before the windfall. First on the list is a Winnebago. Not a large one, mind you, but one just large enough to travel in comfortably. Second on the list is a Jeep. I find one that matches the colors of the Motorhome and I have them both outfitted with a trailer hitch and hook up.

My next things on the list are all about me. There is a purpose to my gleeful madness. There is someone that I want to go see, but not in the condition that I am in currently. I find a spa and stay there for the next year. During that year, I make myself completely over. Fitness training, healthy eating and some plastic surgery turn the clock back for me physically and mentally. Gone are the fat, wrinkles and depression that seem to accompany it. I have Lasik done for clearer vision and lose the glasses I have worn for the last 30 years of my life.

A year later, and I am at the end of the personal renovations. I look 20 years younger and feel like I am on top of the world. My time has finally come and I am ready to debut the new me. The Motorhome is packed up with necessities and I hit the road in hopes of finding happiness that has eluded me for so long in the arms of that one special guy.

It takes several weeks of driving and sight seeing along the way, but I finally reach the town that has been marked on my map with a big red circle. After several inquiries, I find that he has bought a house to renovate in the mountains near his home. He has been working up there for a while and has a few guys that come in and help him out during the week.

I drive up in the Jeep and after getting a little lost, I manage to find my way there. It is still a bit nippy in the higher elevations, so I am dressed in leather pants, form fitting vest, matching jacket and boots. Needless to say, I look hot. My hair is in up in a bun and with minimal makeup and no jewelry, it completes the look. The best part is he has not seen me in over a year. I will more than likely not be recognized by him and that part has me aroused with excitement.

I turn into the drive and I see that his helpers are working on some woodwork on the outside of the house. I turn off the Jeep and as I am stepping out of it I hear a low whistle of appreciation. Smiling I walk up and ask, "Is the owner of this house here?"

"Yes Ma'am, he is on the other side of the house trying to repair the well." the whistler replies with a grin. "Are you sure I can't help you?" he asks with another lop-sided smile.

"I am sure. Could you boys do me a favor and take an early lunch? Your boss and I have some catching up to do. It's been a while since he's seen me." I reply with a wink and even bigger smile.

With nods and shy smiles, the men walk by me to their trucks and leave as I place my finger to my lips in a "quietly please" gesture. Walking around the house, I spy him with his back to me. He is on one knee and bent over what looks like a pump, studying it intently.

On tiptoes to minimize as much noise as possible I walk over to him. Reaching out with one hand to his shoulder, I tap it and say in a soft, sexy voice "Hello, don't I know you?"

Turning his head but not getting up I can see he is scanning my body from my feet up. Finally meeting my eyes he says "I don't think so, can I help you with something?"

Looking down at him and slowly removing my jacket I say, "Why yes, I believe you can. See I came here to find this sexy guy I know who supposedly owns this house. I heard he's missing his Hamadryad* and was looking for a replacement."

Still confused he asks, "Um, what did you say?"

Dropping my jacket to the ground and reaching up with one hand to loosen my hair in the same motion I reply, "You heard me baby... no replacement is needed as your wood nymph has come to see you."

Instant recognition flies over his face at my words. Moving within arms reach, I reach up once more to pull the vest zipper down and shake out my hair. As he buries his face into my stomach I can hear him deeply breathing in my scent. His hand travels up to my vest zipper to finish pulling it down. I hear him groan his pleasure as it roams over the warm and naked flesh under my vest. As he pushes the vest aside I hear him whisper, "Oh God! I must be dreaming, but if I am, please don't wake me. I have waited years for this!"

Looking down at the man of my dreams and running my fingers through his hair, I reply "You are not dreaming love. This nymph is yours for as long as you want her."

Reaching behind me, he places his hands on my ass and pulls me even closer to him. The look in his eyes and the groan of pleasure that again escapes his lips is the only answer I need.

*ham·a·dry·ad (hm-drd)
n. pl. ham·a·dry·ads or ham·a·dry·a·des (--dz) ()

Greek & Roman Mythology. A wood nymph who lives only as long as the tree of which she is the spirit lives.

Curtesy of Dictionary.com

Photo Friday

2006-05-05T07:49:00.000-05:00

I have glancing at the news on the web and thought I would share a few photos with their captions with you. Todays theme: Babies

Protecting her cubs : A rare Arctic wolf originally from the Melville Islands west of Greenland, with her four recently born cubs, seen at the Amneville Zoo. (AFP/Jean-Christophe Verhaegen)

Kasih, a female organgutan born Jan. 27, 2006 looks out from her mother's embrace at the Phoenix Zoo, Monday, May 1, 2006. wld(AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

In this photo provided by Mississippi State University, a newborn gray fox sits in a shirt pocket Thursday, May 4, 2006, at the university's Wildlife and Fisheries Research and Educational Facility Thursday, May 4, 2006, in Mississippi State, Miss. (AP Photo/Mississippi State University, Russ Houston)

Have a great day! XOXOXOX

Thursday Thirteen #15

2006-05-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things About
Phoenix & American Idol

1. Well as Carlo can attest, I called this one correctly as well. Paris has a huge career ahead of her, but she is not an American Idol. At least not yet, that is. Some more years on her and she may become another Beyonce for all we know. She does need to improve her musical style and range.

2. I think Elliot is next on the chopping block. The bottom two were right on this week.

3. After next week it will be completely up in the air. I am not sure Chris will be top two though. Not enough pop music in his blood. I am beginning to think Kat will take it all with Taylor finishing in second place.

4. The youngin is back on the bus today. All I can say is "Thank God!!!"

5. He thinks he knows all about football now too. What is it about boys that make them think they know everything? Sheesh, between him and his dad, I am about to go bonkers.

6. Did anyone find Armando for me yet? I need a massage, a long luxurious bath, and all the pampering I can get. Top it off with someone brushing my hair and I will think I had died and gone to heaven.

7. The big boss has gone back to Belgium. Another "Thank God!!!" is in serious order here! ;-)

8. I have not been sleeping well. Tossing and turning does not make for a beautiful and gracious Phoenix. (Not that I was ever that way, but it could help.) lol

9. The manly issues that have been running rampant around here (IRL and cyberspace) have not helped. Nightmares tend to get added into the mix when I am stressed.

10. Have you ever had a repeating dream? Last night was a doozy. It was like being stuck in the movie "Groundhog Day". I would dream the dream, wake up at the exact same time, turn over, look at the clock, groan and fall back asleep... right back at the beginning of the same dream. I need drugs!

11. My guy on the other side of the states has gone into disappearance mode again and has been gone this time since February. Almost 2 months without a word. He refuses to give me any easy access to him... and after all these years you would think he would know by now that trust is a two way street. Sigh... should I be checking obits again?

12. My best friend and co-author will be incommunicado for the next week. Please join me in wishing him fair skies and safe returns. Love ya babe.

13. The offer of making specific header graphics for your TT's still stands. Just ask and it is yours. Have a great week all!! XOXOXOXOX

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Time for some giggles ;-)

2006-05-03T08:21:00.000-05:00

Stuff at work and home are starting to ease some... but I still have not had time to post much, so I am stealing a down moment to give you some smiles for the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit the car with her hands up.

He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday- School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk.

Naturally... I assumed you had stolen the car."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LIPSTICK IN SCHOOL -- PRICELESS

According to a news report, a certain school in Garden City, MI was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the washroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. He called all the girls to the washroom and met them there with the maintenance man. He explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, he asked the maintenance man to show the girls how ! much effort was required.

He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY..

There are teachers, and then there are Educators.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Read this question, come up with an answer and then scroll down to the bottom for the result. This is not a trick question. It is as it reads. No one I know has gotten it right--including me.

A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met this guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing! She fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him.

A few days later she killed her sister.

Question: What is her motive in killing her sister? (Give this some thought before you answer).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will answer this one in the comments this afternoon... make sure you come back to see!! :-) Until then, have a wonderful day and lots of XOXOXOX!!!

Men and Women

2006-05-01T17:53:00.000-05:00

I know that, as a man, I am a little biased, and that I will never understand women, but I am going to make a comparison that will probably set off the feminine readers and should (I hope) start an interesting bout of name-calling.

What is it about women that makes them assume that men will “just know” what they want/need/mean? I understand that intimacy leads to a deeper understanding that could increase understanding, however (comma), when a woman assumes that the man is going to look out for her best interests without letting him know what those interests are, then we have leapt from reality to the realm of sappy romance novels that nobody takes seriously.

The irony here is that when a man expects the same kind of understanding from a woman, she gets angry. Am I the only one that sees the double-standard there?

Next observation – SOME women seem to think that fighting fair in a relationship includes saving issues until the next fight and then dredging things up weeks, or even months, later. Ladies, for those of you that haven’t figured it out, THIS IS ANYTHING BUT FAIR!

I say this to lay the groundwork for a better understanding between men and women. If something bothers you (whether you are a man or a woman) then say so immediately. Don’t wait, don’t hold back, don’t figure, “it’ll go away.” Get it out in the open, because if you don’t, then the very behavior that is so bothersome becomes reinforced and will never be changed.

All of this started while I was riding home tonight. You see, I have started to call my motorcycle “Lady MacBeth.” There is one very simple reason for this. Any rider can tell you that the moment you fail to pay enough attention to the bike, the road, the traffic, and all the other things going on around you, your motorcycle will stab you, figuratively speaking (am I right, Steelcowboy?) This is exactly the kind of immediate feedback that I am talking about.

She doesn’t hide things, she doesn’t remind me of past mistakes, if I make a mistake, then I pay for it, right there. Hopefully, I can walk away from the lesson. I have caught myself in potentially dangerous situations, however (comma), I know the right answer to get myself out of them. Unfortunately, some women think that there is only one right answer, and they get upset when they don’t hear what they want to hear.

Don’t you DARE say that a motorcycle is more dangerous than a woman. If you believe that, then you are living in some Pride and Prejudice fantasy land. Women are the single most vicious creature on the planet. Don’t for a minute forget that. There is a quote that applies, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Any questions?

Carlo

Oy Vei

2006-05-01T05:36:00.000-05:00

Youngin + fight on bus + big boss in town until Wednesday + only 1 car + 3 day suspension from said bus = slightly irritated and stressed out Phoenix.

I will try to post something later. I need Armando!!!!!!!

P.S.: Add in a hubby home sick with an imagined Hernia and tonight is youngin's first night of football practice. (Insert mental picture of a bald Phoenix screaming and running for the hills here, k?)

Go by and say Hi!! Phoenix sent me :)

2006-04-29T18:11:00.000-05:00

I have been working on a couple of blogs lately and I would love it if you would go by and say hi to them.

First up is my friend Sally over at Whispering Hope. She had a very busy blog and was looking for something more serene. I think I managed that for her, don't you think?

Second up is my friend Steel Cowboy. I came up with an idea and between the two of us we came up with a great new look for him. It gives it that "biker" feel to it, and matches the wonderful person that writes over there!

This next one is extra special to me. I told you all a while back that I was going to create a blog for my mom for her birthday. Well, after much deliberation and a little bit of cursing at my flub ups... here is my Mom's new blog, Mom Carver! Please go welcome her into the blogosphere! :) Love ya Mom!!

I enjoy creating these designs. I believe that simplicity and elegance are my strong points. Especially, since I am still learning the codes. lol If you have been wanting a new look and you don't mind simplicity... well, I come cheap! ;-)

XOXOXOX

Green

2006-04-28T19:01:00.000-05:00

All in all, I have to say that I really don’t like green. I know, I know, green is the “color of life” and it shows a rebirth, especially at this time of year. However (comma), it also represents other things.

As you can see, southwestern Oklahoma is covered with green. That is not a problem considering that we need the rain. The problem is that I can’t afford rain gear, and my new lady friend is wasting away in the garage. So, as you (hopefully) understand, I am somewhat justified in disliking green, as selfish as that may be.

Carlo

Thursday Thirteen # 14

2006-04-27T17:16:00.000-05:00

Better late than never, eh?

Thirteen Things About
Phoenix & American Idol

1. I think we all knew it was Kelli's night to go and she did too. At least she was honest about the last two weeks, but I can't say I was sorry to see her go.

2. I could listen to Andrea Bocelli sing 24/7. What a magnificent voice and with his blindness he is so perfect in his pitch it made it twice as good. *note to self* Find this man's CD's!

3. Well, now that we are down to five... who is your guess for who is next. My guess is Paris. She does the oldies well, but fails in the music her age catagory.

4. Taylor did not do well, but I think his uniqueness and stage presence will carry him to the top 2.

5. I was shocked to hear Simon once again apologize for his remarks. Katherine sang very well and he was way wrong on Tuesday night.

6. Tonight is orientation for middle school. I swear every day there is something else to remind me he is no longer a baby.

7. I want to congratulate Carlo on his new "lady". I asked him if I should be jealous... he laughed. I was serious! LOL

8. We are being invaded by the Belgiums next week at work. U.G.H.! Uptight and tense is not what I am looking forward to! It has already started... the boss is feeling the pressure. Sigh... it will only be 3 days... it will only be 3 days... it will only be 3 days. Grrr it's not working!

9. My youngin got in a fight on the bus today. He has no idea the consequences of his actions. If he gets kicked off the bus then I have no way to take him to and from work. grrrr 1 car does not a chauffer make.

10. Yesterday was Administrative Professionals day. The boss gave us all flowers and one of the gals complained because hers were yellow and not pink like the other two. Oy Vei... ungrateful snit! What happened to Thanks and Wow, how nice of you! ?

11. Since when are secretaries called Administrative Professionals anyway? hmmm??

12. Got an inside snitch on the Auto I was looking at a few weeks ago. Turns out that I might be able to aquire it for half of what he was asking. Thank you's go to the dealership that offered him 1/3 of what he told us he wanted for it!

13. Don't forget that I have graphics for your TT's a few posts below this one. If you want something different or specific for your blog and don't know how to make it... just ask and I will do my best to make one for you. Yes, I am nice like that. :)

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This one goes out to Steel Cowboy...

2006-04-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen: contrary to popular belief, I AM still alive. This particular post is for all of you that have known me for a while. You see, I have, for a good portion of my life, wanted a motorcycle. I have a number of friends that kept telling me that riding is easy and that, since I can drive a stick, I won’t have any problems… Well, the rules in Germany are such that I never got the opportunity to get my license, without a license it’s pointless to get a bike, etc.

Well, I meant to post this last night, but I didn’t get home until after 10PM. I was out getting to know this lady…

So, I didn’t watch American Idol, like I meant to, nor did I do the cleaning that I need to do. Oh, well, you know how it is when you have a new lady in your life. She starts to dominate your thoughts and time.

Carlo

American Idol

2006-04-26T06:14:00.000-05:00

So... who do you think is going home tonight?

Kelli?

IMHO - She is getting worse than better. She just can't sing anything but country.

Tell me your thoughts on last night. ;-)

(Another post to come later... just wanted you to know I am still breathing. lol)

For your Thursday Thirteens...

2006-04-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

I have been playing with a program that I have had for quite sometime, but never used. It has been fun creating these headers. They are for your use... should you decide you like them. Some are light and some have darker conotations... but there are all kinds here; for the guys and the gals.

I will make more as time progresses... and I am submitting them to Leanne over at ThursdayThirteen.com. She may or may not post them there, but if you like them, please feel free to copy and save! :)

Better pictures of the tree bloom

2006-04-22T11:59:00.000-05:00

My camera phone takes some pretty darn good pictures! (click to enlarge)

And here is one of my rose after the rain storm last night...

A beauty I had not noticed before...

2006-04-21T23:44:00.000-05:00

I found this growing next door to us and I had never seen one before this past week. It is amazing to me that after all my years there is still so much I have yet to see in this big old world of ours. I will try to get a better picture. I took this one as I was sitting in my Jeep on my way back to work from a lunch break.

yellow-poplar Magnoliaceae Liriodendron tulipifera L

Leaf: Alternate, simple, palmately veined, orbicular, 4-lobed with an entire margin, 4 to 8 inches long, notched to flat top. Somewhat shaped like a tulip, light green to green.

Flower: Monoecious; perfect, showy, resembling a large tulip, but high in the tree, 2 1/2 inches long, with yellow-green petals and an orange corolla, appearing in late spring to early summer.

Fruit: An oblong (cone-like) aggregate of samaras (2 inches long), deciduous at maturity; each samara is 1-winged, 1 1/2 inches long, and curved upwards at seed cavity (resembling the front keel of a boat); maturing August to October and disseminating through late fall and winter; base whorls of samaras persist on fruit into following spring and resemble wooden flowers high in the tree.

Twig: Red-brown in color, often with a shiny appearance or a waxy bloom. Stipules are large and encircle the twig; buds are elongated and valvate, resembling a "duck bill". Twigs have a sweet, spicy odor when broken.

Bark: Light gray-green and smooth when young, later developing flat-topped ridges and conspicuous white colored furrows in diamond shaped patterns. On older trees sapsucker holes are common.

Form: In a forest, a large tree with a long, straight limb-free bole very often reaching over 100 feet tall. Open-grown trees have a pyramidal crown when young, becoming oval in shape with time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a side note, my Orchids are still in full bloom. Might have to commision a certain painter to put this on canvas! ;-)

Pictures were taken with my Motorola V360.

Replay...

2006-04-20T22:23:00.000-05:00

I have decided to go back into the archives and pull a post from June 23rd, 2005 out, dust it off and show it to people. I hope that you like it, because I think it's pretty good.

I remember reading somewhere that the real miracles are the little miracles. I know, I know, everybody prays for the big miracles. You know the ones, kids pray for Christmas presents, adults bargain that “If God will get them through this…” they’ll never get in that situation again. Things like that. Well, I continue to be glad for the little things. For example, the house I rented had a dishwasher but no refrigerator. That’s not the miracle, this is. It just so happened that Home Depot had refrigerators on sale that week. Hmmmmmm.

What about all the times when you have watched a full glass of somebody’s drink go wobbling around the table and stop, still on the base with minimal spillage? Or the times that you drop a glass in the sink (guaranteed to break, right?) and it bounces two or three times and then, clink, it comes to rest without even a crack?

Here’s one that we can all relate to. You have had the single worst day at work of your life. Everything possible went wrong, and you had to work three hours late to get it all fixed. You got absolutely nothing done that came in during the day, and you know that you are going to get buried again tomorrow because of it. Your stress level is somewhere in the stratosphere, and you know that you won’t sleep well. Then, you get home and there is a message on the answering machine from your best friend, or sibling, or mother, just calling to say hello, and to say those three magic words, “I love you.”

I know that they don’t fix the problems, but they fix your attitude. I have been at lows that Hell seemed like a step up, and that’s when I get those calls. It makes me realize that big miracles are the ones that we all want, but the little ones are the ones that we need.

Just give me what I need; I will eventually get what I want.

Carlo

Got my boots on...

2006-04-19T17:44:00.000-05:00

'Cuz it's getting deep in here! ;)

"We all come from the same root, but the leaves are all different."
--John Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA

"We all come from one Great Spirit but we are all different and unique. Nothing in the Great Creation has a twin that is identical. Even children that are twins are different. Every single person is extremely special and unique. Each person has a purpose and reason why they are on the Earth. Just like every leaf on a tree is different, each one is needed to make the tree look like it does. No leaf is better or worse than the other—all leaves are of equal worth and belong on the tree. It is the same with human beings. We each belong here and do things that will affect the great whole."

I got my youngins school pictures back yesterday and other than the 8X10 missing, they were the best pictures ever taken of him at school. As I was looking at the class picture, I started to reflect on my class at the same age.

Diversity is a huge thing with me. I believe it takes all kinds and colors to make this world tick. Back in the 60's when I was 13 we had smaller class sizes and even fewer kids of color or race. I was the only redhead in my class and as such, I was singled out often; the one kid who was teased unmercifully. We had very few (1 or 2) African-Americans in my whole school and none in my class. No other races were represented at my school at all. You could easily say we were 99.5% white in my school.

I was not raised to be predjudiced and never have been. I was just never exposed to other races to make distinctions or to develop any kind of other thoughts on the subject until I reached high school level. During those years, I made a point to be friends with everyone and for my efforts I was greeted with smiles and friendships daily to last me through those wonderful years of becoming who I wanted to be. I was nicknamed the "Hippy on horseback" and I loved it.

Don't get me wrong here. I high school we had seperation of kids or clicks... You had the farm kids who did all the rodeos and rode their horses. I fit right in with them owning a horse and riding in parades. I even went so far as to enter the Miss Rodeo Queen contest. I wasn't a finalist, but I gave it a shot. I wore my hair long and listened to rock and roll... so the hippy crowd loved me. I dated a biker and as such his crowd loved me too.

I loved to dance and that made me a hit with the blacks in town (dancing was a big thing back then). I was told I could dance quite well... and the boys loved to teach me all the new moves. I played in band and sang in the choir, so that group accepted me as well. Then of all things... I played chess and worked in the library... needless to say the nerds loved to challenge me in chess during their study hours.

This was the extent of seperation in my school at that moment in time: rednecks, bikers, shop boys, blacks, richies and nerds. Nowadays I wish it could be just as simple for our kids, but it's not and never will be again. Now you have gangs in school. Now you have many races. I tell my youngin to make up his own mind and he does. He shows no hatred of anyone and now I can see why. His class is the reason. He has whites, indians, mexicans, blacks and mixed races. Last names range from Beard to Patel to Gonzales. I am thankful for his diversity now... it will make him a better person for it.

If you're really listening
If you're awake to the poignant beauty of the world,
your heart breaks regularly.
In fact, your heart is made to break,
it's purpose is to burst open again and again
so that it can hold evermore wonder.

Andrew Harvey
Indian-born Author, Scholar and Mystic

Girls and their toys...

2006-04-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

Not THAT kind of toys!! Get your minds out of the gutter! sheesh! lmao

No, the kind of toy I am talking about arrived Friday and the rest of this toy should arrive by Wednesday. I am having a blast figuring out what this baby can do. Its sleek, lightweight and has a lot of options.

Hey! There you go with those dirty thoughts again. What am I gonna do with you people?

This is my new toy... ain't she purty? Just the same as a Razr without all the easy breakage problems.

Motorola V360

Here is the other part of my toy I am expecting mid-week...

Jealous yet?

Bluetooth HS815

~~~~~~~~
Got my tax extension filed, so now I can breathe a bit easier for a week or two... wow what a load off. This is the part I hate about owning my own business. Damn costs of just filing are outrageous!

XOXOXOXOXOX

Happy Belated Easter!

2006-04-17T05:50:00.000-05:00

Several things going on, especially my Easter wishes for all of you, but I could not take away from the post Carlo did on Saturday evening. It seemed more important to me at the time and still does. If you have not had a chance to do so, meander down a post and read. You and I will catch up later this evening, k? ;-)

For T-SGT Shannon

2006-04-15T18:55:00.000-05:00

Today I did something that I never thought I would do, until about 6 weeks ago. Today I went to the funeral of a man I did not know and I had never heard of, until they found his remains on the side of a mountain in Laos. For full details, click here.

We met in the parking lot of the New Church in Oklahoma City, and I got to meet “Otter,” the Oklahoma State Captain. He immediately did the one thing that would make me feel more comfortable (even though he didn’t realize it), he put me to work guiding the bikes in so that we could fit as many as possible. Of course, I didn’t think that we would get that many bikes, so I didn’t realize how close they needed to be parked.

This is part of what we got…

Needless to say, I was busy. I met some good folks. There were many different clubs there, all united in an effort to pay respect to T-SGT Shannon.

Then, Otter introduced the State Captains that were there, explained how this was going to work, and we got ready to roll.

Before I go any further, I must say thank you to the Oklahoma City Police Department. They stopped ALL traffic on our side of a six-lane road (three lanes in either direction with a median between them).

Rolling Thunder led us out, then everybody fell in behind, with trikes behind the bikes and us 4 wheeled vehicles at the very back. As we rolled to the cemetery, I started to get the chills. I didn’t realize the emotions that I would experience.

That continued when we got the announcement that, “The family has invited ALL of us to be at the graveside ceremony.” What a feeling!

I made it ok through the service, “Taps,” as usual, started me tearing up, then, this guy started playing “Amazing Grace,” and I was done.

Then, I met a man who led me down to “Charley’s Last Stand” and he treated me to a shot to T-SGT Shannon. Thank you, so very much.

After a while, I got a chance to talk with the Arizona State Captain, named “Hardbite,” and he has done amazing things. What got me about him was that, once he found that I was still Active Duty, he said, “Thank you for your service.” This is a man that served with SOG in Vietnam, and has done tougher things than I have ever thought of, and he is thanking ME? Would that I were truly worthy of that.

Thank you all for an experience that I will never forget, and for making this FNG feel welcome and important. I will be on every mission that I can be.

On the way home, I stopped here…

…and I found the one thing that I wanted to add to this post, the one thing that says it all.

Carlo

Take a moment, sit on the stoop and enjoy the roses.

2006-04-13T15:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I was reminded last night that it has been a month since I said anything to everyone, and I must apologize for that. I sort of got lost in my day to day life and the blog got left out. Fortunately for you all, I would say that I didn’t have much to say, unfortunately for me that means that I really did nothing of consequence. It figures.

Today, when I got home, I took the time to stop and look at the roses. I mean that quite literally, because this wonderful (sarcasm) house that I live in has a rosebush in the front yard. I didn’t realize that it had as many flowers as it does, and I am glad that I took the moment to look and realize that all of my little troubles are not really much of anything. After all, I get a little “wrapped around the axle” about things more than I should.

So, for all of you that stop by, take a moment and look at the beauty of nature. Here is my little piece.

Carlo

P.S. Apologies to Phoenix, I posted on the same day as she did, and I hope that everyone scrolls down to read her Thursday Thirteen.
C

Thursday Thirteen # 13

2006-04-12T21:36:00.000-05:00

Thirteen Things About
Phoenix & American Idol

1. I knew it was Bucky's night to go. He could not compete with Chris, Taylor and Katherine. I am sure that he will be picked up by a country rock band though. He is good, just not great.

2. Queen is one of the hardest bands to sing to. Why they picked this particular band is beyond me. Next week is Rod Stewart. He had a lot of ballads... but upbeat songs? Not many. Perfect for Taylor and Katherine to shine next week with their husky voices.

3.Did anyone else get grossed out by Kelli last night? The whole hanky thing could have been done without. I am over her naivete as well!

4. It looks as though I will not be carless for long. Apparently the person that bought my car is no longer going to need it. It has been sitting here the entire time and I am going to buy it back, since I wrecked the other one lol. It will be nice to go when I want to instead of checking if the WH needs the Jeep first.

5. WH has also been sorta offered a job in Florida... if he goes for it, then I will have a means to an end of this sham I am living. He will have to move down there to work there and I am NOT moving!

6. My youngin got his orientation notice this week for middle school. Oy, I swear the time is going by way too fast!

7. Friday night we are doing the birthday party shindig for him. He is also going on a field trip that day and won't be back until 7pm. Better late than never eh? His choice of eats and a movie maybe. I thought about bowling but there are not any lanes close enough to drive to. Maybe Star Time... eh, we'll see when the time comes!

8. I have been taking Claritin D over the counter meds this past week. Boy what a difference they have made! I can actually breathe without having to sneeze every 5 minutes. The only side effects I am experiencing is acute dryness and itchy ears of all things. I need an ear scratcher for the inner lining of my ears! What? They make em for backs, why not ears? *grin*

9. The older I get the more I have become allergic to pollen. Why is that? Shouldn't it be the other way around? lol

10. The special Patriot Guard ride is this weekend. Carlo is attending and I wish I could be there with him. That will be on my mind all day Saturday... along with a lot of prayers that everyone makes it safely to and from. There will be hundreds of motorcycles decending on OKC Friday and Saturday from all points surrounding it. Be prepared for it if you live there!

11. Apparently a micro burst or a small tornado touched down not even a mile from my house. There are trees snapped in half and uprooted all over the place. The clean up crews have made driving to work interesting to say the least. I am just grateful it missed us!

12. I upgraded my cell phone this week. I am so excited and FTS will be grinning when he reads it is the V360 that I upgraded to. I could have gotten a Razr, but my boss has had a lot of difficulties with his. They break too darn easy! I love new toys!

13. How do you like the new spring design? If I get enough positive feedback on it from all of you, I will submit it to Leanne to add to the gallery she has on the new TT.com site. I am ready to make more so if there are any special requests, I am happy to make them for you! Also, many thanks to Leanne for making us a code to shorten the blogroll for us! Click on the link below to get the code for yourself. You can see the way it will look over on my side bar. ;-)

PS: I went back and counted my TT posts I was off a few! This post has my correct #!

XOXOXOX and Happy Easter All!!!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Happy Birthday Son

2006-04-11T23:52:00.000-05:00

It seems it was just yesterday when you arrived into this world red-eyed and angry. It took you so long to arrive that I was wondering if I would ever get to see your face. You finally arrived after many days of hard labor and lots of people fussing over us. 6 days you pushed at my back trying to come out. 6 days I kept begging to go to the hospital, then was taken only to be sent home. Every 5 minutes you made your precious self known to me, and I wouldn't trade those 6 days and every 5 minutes for anything in this world.

We have been through so much in the last 13 years. You stayed sick the first 7 years of your life and I was there for you through every moment. You always seemed so frail and thin to me, but you showed me differently. You taught yourself to ride a scooter at 3 and when we gave you a tricycle, you immediately marched yourself outside and removed the training wheels. Speed was always your thrill and those extra wheels just slowed you down. I can remember holding my breath everytime you took off down the hill at breakneck speed, only to return grinning from ear to ear. Only once do I remember you wiping out on that hill and once I patched you up, off you went again. You have always been fearless in that sense.

The things that did terrify you were so insignificant that your dad and I would just shake our heads and giggle when you weren't looking. Bandaids, needles and holloween masks were your demons. All but the needles are things of the past. I know you will conquer your last demon when you are ready. It's ok though... I was terrified of them too for a long time.

I remember you turning your nose up at anything gooey. Ice cream, stewed fruits, pudding, jello, and jelly you would not touch or have any part of for the longest time. You hated getting dirty and now I can't keep your clothes clean. I remember many a time that you would spill something on your clothes and just burst out crying as if you had broken a bone. I loved you all the more for all those eccentricities. It made you different and yet showed you had a mind of your own.

I remember certain words always gave you fits. 'Vacanume', 'Amulance', and even your own sisters name. Cristy became 'Sissy' and still is her name today. Today you have a new word that gives you fits and it sends me into fits of giggles every time... 'seconth'. It matters not how many times you are corrected, you stand firm that your pronunciation is the right one.

You have gone from a thin, frail boy into a strapping young man. From pale and tow-headed to tanned and light brown hair. I thank the higher beings for leaving your eye color alone. Those eyes will melt some girls heart all too soon, because they do that to me already. They are steel gray and intense, showing everything you are feeling. You are now sprouting up and I am still amazed at the 3 inches you have grown in just the last few months. I can't rest my chin on top of your head any longer, and I miss it everytime you hug me.

13 years have flown by son. You are turning into a man slowly but surely. Your voice is changing, the hair on your head is thickening and you are sprouting sideburns already. The changes are happening and I am both excited and wistful because of them. I wonder how long you will let me continue to hug you, kiss your cheek and if you will ever want the confort of my arms when you are scared or sick from here on out. I want you to grow up and yet I don't. I guess these are things that every mother goes through. Nothing can stop it... but mom's can sure do wish they could.

I love you baby boy... and yes, you will always be momma's baby, no matter how old you get. Someday you will understand and smile back at me when I say it, instead of the usual "Nuh uh, I am not a baby".

Happy Birthday to my new teenager!

Swamped

2006-04-11T06:09:00.000-05:00

After last week of only half days and 1 day off, I am swamped under a mega-pile of orders waiting to be invoiced. I hope to catch it all up by tomorrow. I know... dream on right?

I will be by to visit when I can and will be posting something special this afternoon once I get home. You see, today is my baby boys 13th birthday. Please give him a shout out today when you stop by. Hugssssssss!!

I'm Alive ;-)

2006-04-09T22:08:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning was beautiful after the storm. I woke up later than usual and walked into my computer room to check my e-mail. I also wanted to see who was online on messenger. I didn't see anyone but said a quick hello to Carlo... when poof! My DSL went out.

I thought "Ok, no big deal. I will just reboot and all will be fine." Heh. NOT!

The storm knocked out the cable somewhere and I have had no internet all weekend. Through the miracle of duct tape and baling wire, the powers that be put my internet world back together just a little bit ago. ;-)

All is well though. I went to a friends house to watch some movies and munch on some KFC that I had brought with me. We stayed up late watching "North Country" and "A History of Violence" that I had also brought along. Drank a glass of wine and then ended up spending the night.

Tonight after the boys got home, the youngin and I went to see "Ice Age II: The Meltdown. I have never laughed so hard in my life. I totally recommend you go see this movie. I have to say it is one of the best animated's I have seen in a very long time. It is designed for all ages and it keeps you laughing through out.

It is late and I have not slept right since the boys left. Now they are home and this Mom can rest peacefully once again!

Hope you had a great weekend! I will try to visit all of you tomorrow!

Be still my heart...

2006-04-07T22:36:00.000-05:00

I should be asleep on the couch.

As you can see I am not.

Why you ask?

We are in the middle of a tornado alert and of course I am home alone - still.

Boys won't be home until Sunday.

Head started pounding so I decided the safest, most comfy place an hour and a half ago was my couch in the living room.

That was an hour and a half ago. Did I say that already?

I was just rudely awakened by a very loud boom that shook my house and that comfy couch.

Needless to say I was not asleep long, so the heart started pounding and the body shaking.

First thing that popped in my head was: "Omg, a tree hit the house! But, wait a minute! Why is there no thunder, wind, or rain?"

What woke me after only an hour and a half, you ask?

PUPPIES!!!

They are all frisky and shit with the weather. They also decide they are thirsty. Sooo....

They pulled a 5 gallon cooking pot full of water and soaking hickory blocks off a table and onto the deck.

Offending pot...
and some guilty puppies (notice mama dog is out of harms way, as she took off and hid when the pot fell lol).

I am now going to go find another comfy spot... after I admonish and water some dang frisky puppies. I promise no harm shall come to said puppies. Just a few glares and a lot of very unlady like grumbles under my breath!

(Pictures were taken by a sleepy bird with her Motorola V300)

UPDATE 4:30 am: Again awakened, but this time by my aged bladder. Was snoozing back on the couch. Get up to take care of the business of relieving the pressure, when over the TV I hear my city being talked about. Then just as soon as those words are spoken the front doors creak, the wind picks up, and a very loud rumble reverberates off the mountain behind us. The lights flicker... and I still have to tinkle.

Quickly I ran for the bathroom - scared to death of being electricuted, but the bladder won't wait. I never pee'd so fast in my life! The next ten minutes was spent praying the front doors would hold (very old french doors). The house creaked and scared me more than the storm did. Lots of lightning strikes, power outages, and prayers later... in a small span of less than 15 minutes the storm is over. I am shaking, but alive to post. 4 am to 4:15 am the storm rolled over us and I gained a new awe of mother nature.

The dang woman has no respect for aged bladders, that's for sure!!

One of those days when... :P (T-13 # 11)

2006-04-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

1. I don't have time to do my regular 13, so hopefully this will do! lol

2. I just had the most embarrassing moments and thankfully there were not too many people around! I was in the grocery store a few minutes ago grabbing some dog food. To save money I buy the big 50 lb bags - $9.99 for Old Yeller and the dogs love it. Of course those bags are always on the bottom shelf and my youngin usually gets them for me. No kid around this week, so I bend down (properly) to pick one up and the weight catches me off guard (I am still sore from tub moving). I get it up to waist level to put in the shopping cart and the bag catches on the corner and rips. I am hearing dog food tinkle all over the nice clean and newly waxed floors. I get it fully into the cart as quickly as I can. I then have to foot sweep the stuff on the floor to one side so no one slips on it. I paid for it, stuck some stickers on the bag to close it and got outa there faster than you can say embarrassed!

3. I am sore today... guess you surmissed that already! lol They always tell you look out for day two... Whoever "they" are can chalk up another one for being correct!

4. I am having trouble sleeping and it is only because the house is too darn quiet! Who'da thunk it?

5. I rented some movies the other night. I watched Domino night before last and was not all that impressed by it. Murphy's Law lived and breathed with that woman!

6. Last night I watched Brokeback Mountain. This will require a whole post of it's own. It broke my heart in more ways than one. Details later...

7. I put together a bookcase yesterday. I bought it to replace a smaller one I had. It is already full and turned out to be smaller than I expected. Guess I will have to invest in another one at some point. At least I put it together without the instructions and got it right the first time! hehehe being mechanically inclined has it's perks!

8. Got some more garbage out and there is way too much more to go. My name is Phoenix and I live with a packrat. I have been packrat free for 6 days. I WILL break him of his habit I swear! Never again!!!

9. I have come to the conclusion that no one at my job could give a shit if I ever got a vacation. The girl that is SUPPOSED to be giving me my now 1 day off has come up with a ton of reasons why she CAN'T. I was not going to rant and stay possitive on this TT... but geeze louise! I need a break dang it all! I now have to go in to work tomorrow for a few hours because I can't trust her to do my job. /rant

10. I am shocked that Mandisa was booted last night... but I can see why she might not have gotten the votes. She is a great singer; don't get me wrong here. BUT! She would have gone so much further in the competition if she had toned it down some. She is constantly over singing. She is way too loud... and sounds like she is screaming into the mic. A softer tone and she might have finished in the top 3!

11. There is a very special mission coming up with the Patriot Guard that I would give my eye teeth to go on. This one is special to alot of folks and needs much more press coverage than it is getting. There will be hundreds of riders showing up for this mission. This man deserves all of our thanks and his family will now find the peace they so long have been without.

Air Force Sergeant MIA from Vietnam War is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Tech. Sgt. Patrick L. Shannon of Owasso, Okla. Funeral arrangements are yet to be set by his family(Funeral arrangements have been made as of this post).

Shannon and 18 other servicemen operated a radar installation atop Pha Thi Mountain in Houaphan Province, Laos, approximately 13 miles south of the border with North Vietnam. The site, known at Lima Site 85, directed U.S. bombing missions toward key targets in North Vietnam.

In the early morning of March 11, 1968, the site came under attack by a force of North Vietnamese commandos. The enemy force had scaled the sheer mountainsides in the hours before the attack and overran the site. During the attack, some Americans made their way down to ledges, but survivors reported that several were killed.

Several hours later, U.S. aircraft attacked enemy positions around the site, enabling helicopters to rescue eight of the 19 Americans, although one of the survivors died en route to a base in Thailand. Later that day, and for four additional days, U.S. air strikes bombed the site to destroy technical equipment left behind.

12. Carlo will be joining this mission and I will be there with him and all of the participants in spirit. Bless all of our soldiers for the sacrifices you have made and will make. My prayers are with you all.

13. I will be unveiling a new blog design I did for a very sweet and dear woman that I have been working on tomorrow. I am having problems with Haloscan on her site. It is times like these I wish I had taken web page code classes! I could just write the code and be done with it! lol

I am off to the work 20 in a few minutes. Today I just don't feel like going in. Today, I wish I was in that jacuzzi in my previous post, with a beer and a man to brush my hair. (insert sheepish grin here) lol I hope you all have a great day and a bettter night! Hugsssssssss xoxoxoxox

Sore and tuckered

2006-04-05T00:21:00.000-05:00

Now this is what I need after todays self inflicted workout! A jacuzzi on a luxury yacht! :giggle: Like that will ever happen!

I came home from work and played a couple games of poker waiting for traffic to die down and the temps outside to cool off just a tad. It was a beautiful day out, but I knew I was going to do some major sweating with the task I had in front of me.

I had to move 20 - 50 gallon size tubs with lids that are full of books and other items out to my shed. Each one averages over 50 lbs apiece! I still have a few more to go but I did enough for one day. There were only 2 "light" tubs at about 30 lbs each. These tubs contain my internet business in them. Once I get all of their contents listed on Ebay I will be one busy gal!

Anywho... when I finished I was already feeling the 'burn'! Ankles and back were hurting mighty bad. I knew that I still had to do a little shopping so I quickly loaded up into the car and went down the road to Wally World to buy locks and some screwdrivers for another project. On the way back I hit Micky D's and Blockbuster for my relaxing time later. Ate supper watching Idol and boy this week sucked! But I digress...

After Idol I chatted my usual chat mulling over the nights performances with Carlo for about 10 minutes. I took a percocet and mis-judged how long it would take for that pill to take affect. Lets just say I just woke up on the couch 10 minutes ago! I was asleep before the 10pm news. lol (only me!) My shoulders are now feeling the burn as well.

Tomorrow is another day moving stuff out to the shed, putting together the shelving unit for the living room and throwing out a bunch of junk for pick up Thursday. Plus 4 more hours at the office for another half day at work. Things are starting to shape up around here! There will be 2 very suprised faces come sat evening when the boys return!

Hope all are getting to enjoy the beautiful springtime weather that we have been getting down here in Gawgia. Rain is in the forecast come this weekend, but until then it will be just gorgeous!

Have a great day!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a side note, I read this just a few minutes ago. Now doesn't this just make you want to upchuck just a little? This is the second time in the past 6 months that Homeland Security has been more like Homeland Threat to our kids!

His Phoenix

Please stay tuned...

Exhausted Cookie

Another Cookbook Update

Thursday Thirteen # 24

Calculating your age...

Cookbook Update

Desire

Here Ye! Here Ye! Calling all Cooks!!!

Thursday Thirteen #23

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part VII

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part VI

Time to name a new character...

That powerful song

Enough is enough already!

Thursday Thirteen # 22

I wonder…

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

Lesson On Southern Women

More music for your reading pleasure

Just some parenting advice

Sage Words Of Advice

How I Spent My Fourth of July by Phoenix

Independence Day

OK, ok, I know that two posts on the same day is a bit much

Live this life, because if you don't, you might as well be dead

We Shall Remember

Message behind the quotes

Thursday Thirteen # 21

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part V

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part IV

5 days left...

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part III

Faith

And the answers are...

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part II

Carlo's 100 Things

Phoenix's Favorite Recipes - Part I

Fathers Day

Don't Ever Change

Our Constitutional Rights (and my opinion, of course)

Drama or Dramatics?

Give me a HOO-RAH

Heh... Maybe we need more of these

Do sexy photos “objectify” women (or men for that matter)?

Thursday Thirteen #19 - Updated with answers

Things that make you go hmmm... wokay...

Want or need?

Thank You!

Happy Birthday to our Phoenix!!!!!!!

T13 Movie Trivia Answers ;-)

Perfect Post ~ May (TT 13 Follows this post)

Thursday Thirteen #18

Uhg...

Canopy full of birds singing...

Remembrance

The last 2 weeks and this weekend...

Graduation Day

Thursday Thirteen #17

Friends

Idol Final Tonight

Life has a way...

Pool Halls and Poker Tournies

Ch-ch-ch-changes

From February, 2004...

Hell hath no fury...

Happy Mothers Day!

This should...

Thursday Thirteen (I know it’s late, sue me)

Passionate Ecstasy

Thursday Thirteen # 16

Sensual Sexuality ;-)

Tidbit Two

Since my blog continues...

Fantasies Are My Dreams

Photo Friday

Thursday Thirteen #15

Time for some giggles ;-)

Men and Women

Oy Vei