Cinderella

I went on a little trip. RB and I headed out on our first romantic getaway in several years. (Good Lord... why did we come back?) I was pampered and waited on for 5 days. Treated like a queen! People cooked breakfast for me and then delivered it to me. People cleaned my room and made my bed as I dressed up and ate fine dinners. People snuck in and left chocolates on my pillow and turned on soft music as I sipped wine and listened to live music. They even chauffered us around and recommened all sorts of fun things to do. Yep, it was some vacation. Now this is how life should be.

We went to North Carolina to the Biltmore Mansion. We stayed there at the Biltmore Inn. This is the most unbelievable place in the world! We experienced the "romace package" and let me just say we lived like Kings for the week. The staff was so friendly and seemed genuinely to love the place. Everybody had a story to tell and all the staff knew each other like good old friends. The property has several dining options and we found every morsel of food to be DELICIOUS. The weather was perfect, the people nice, the food fantastic, the scenery gorgeous, and the trip divine. We took tours, carriage rides, shopped, dined, tasted wine, had tea, got massages, and even took a second or two to take in the local beauty. I would certainly say go if you ever get the chance... uh, leave your diet at home though.

Getting back home- we picked up the kids. We were so happy to see there little faces and hear all their little stories. They seemed to have grown and changed so much in just those few days. Happy, happy, happy. We were so happy to see them and them us... we were happy to get home... we were happy to sleep in our own beds- Not so happy to get back to life though.

Hunter got up early and made me a birthday breakfast. I thought the sentiment was lovely but the stress of seeing him adding to the house work load to be done was hard to get past. Greasy breakfast mess... try to remain calm. He is quite the chef even grating potatoes to make hash browns. At 13 he still has some studying to do in the cleaning up department. Pancakes, sausage, eggs, and hash browns. YIKES! Did I mention how much food we ate on vacation? I gotta get back to some normalcy in my diet! Still-Sweet...he is very sweet!

With breakfast all finished, house work was first agenda for the day. YUCK. RB had gotten up early and was back to work too. Life had resumed and I was finding myself a bit depressed. The attachment for the vacuum had gone missing and I was holding back tears. Maybe it is just hormones.

I turned 34 on the drive home from NC. RB and I celebrate 10 years of marriage this September. Bitter sweet is what that is. Happy to be here. Happy to be married to a great man and have 3 beautiful sons but sad to see life zooming past at such unbelievable speed. Back to the day to day where you so easily forget what a blessing life is... you get stuck in the rut and forget to look around and "smell the roses".

Cat litter box and frog tank to clean and lots of dog and cat hair EVERYWHERE. Yep, it is easy to forget about smelling roses.

Friday- RB is done with work for this week. We have big plans to take the kids and Ma to see Wall-E. HOW CUTE! We all loved it. Kan was super happy to munch his goodies and watch his voovie (movie). When it ended he said "Mom, I watch this 2 times". Apparently good enough for an encore.

It is good to be home with these boys... cat and dog, and even frogs.

Another movie and book review for you:-)

Last night RB and I went out to see The new M. Night Shyamalan flick The Happening. As we were leaving the theatre I heard a lady say... "Hey remember when he wrote great things like Signs?" YES I DO. What in the world happened? I used to know when I went to see one of his movies that things would be strange, eerie... He would surprise and there would absolutely be some plot twisting. It was a mystery and a thriller all in one. While I would say this one is mysterious and does have some spooky moments, it was disappointing. The acting was very theatrical and the reactions by the actors to incidents in the movie were ridiculous. Definitely no oscar winning moments in here. I think perhaps he has lost his touch but I will not write him off just yet. I am giving him one or two more tries but then I am certainly going to have to throw in the towel on Mr. Shyamalan.

Today we are all planned for a trip to the lake- big surprise right? RB and I had hoped for a romantic couple getaway this weekend but Kan decided not to go to Grandmama's on Thursday as we had all planned. That kid is obstinate, opinionated, and stubborn... need I say more? He said he didn't want to go and no amount of bribery or promise of fun was gonna change his mind. Not kitties, puppies, sleeping with Grandmama, ice cream... NOTHING. Oh well, we tried. He is never going to be the same now that the whole Russia incident happened, I guess. He fears us abandoning him and thinks he must keep us in sight lest we disappear again. NEVER LEAVE YOUR CHILD FOR 4 WEEKS. Don't do it. I would never make that decision again. N E V E R. I was so naive... I had no idea. I was afraid to take such a little guy to a foreign country. What if he got sick? What if there was some emergency? What if he accidentally drank some bath water and got Giardia? VERY NAIVE. Well, live and learn right?

So, I have to tell you about this new book I am into. This one takes the cake. The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire . This guy is all in your face with his opinions. He is macheteing the government left and right and even infiltrates a TEXAS church to expose the bizarrities of the Bible belt beliefs. It has made me laugh out loud several times. This is an outsiders absolute experience in a Texas church. Trust me - I have been one many times. I have no idea what non southern churches are like at all but this guy nails the whole church thing that I know. HILARIOUS! He gives excellent insight to church and how it has become littered with government propaganda. He exploits the whole Republican/Religious affiliation and he points out just how whacked out people can become when they get too caught up in conspiracy notions... You just gotta read this one! Texans, if you can't laugh at yourselves just a little here-- you are just sad. I have also learned some stuff... I had never even heard of the AIPAC- yes, I live under a rock. I am now beginning research to find out just what all this stuff is about. Why do Christian churches preach about this and support it? What is the connection? While I have some rudiment ideas, I must delve further to find the wholeness of the reasoning. The sinister tie seems to be in the connections between AIPAC and the CUFI. CUFI is said to be sponsered by the AIPAC or perhaps more appropriately said to be receiving financial support from...Obviously, liberals are opposed to this mess and that churches are breaking their promise of being non-political for the express purpose of remaining tax exempt... I am compelled to continue to investigate. John McCain is said to be connected too so that has my name all over it.

Much to learn. Much to learn.

RB is prodding me to get going. The lake is hours away and we have much to do to get ready. I will be out goofing in the sun until Monday so I will see you guys then!

Bye!

Science and stuff.

I am ditching two of my kids today... :-) Grandmama is ready for a visit. Grandmama has been fighting off an end of the season case of bronchitis. Poor Grandmama. I am still celebrating the fact that I did not have that battle (so far) this year. HOORAY! I am looking forward to the time off. I can surely get a book or two read in the coming days. I am such a nerd.

I spent the morning with Ma watching a Discovery show about the newly found Gospels of Judas. Very interesting. I am very intrigued by all this religious stuff. I am dumbfounded at how certain texts are easily discarded by churches. What's up with that? Why do some make it and some don't? Weird. If the texts do not fit their ideal of what things are supposed to be like, well... we simply discard those. Trash. On to the next historic writings to be discovered in some obscure cave. It is also very noteworthy that any text that ever gave the common man any connection to God directly, rather than through a church, got cut SUPER QUICK. I wonder if that could be because it threatens the power of the church? Actually, no- I don't wonder about that... I see it for EXACTLY what it is.

The discovery shows really baffle me. I am completely unable to believe that we have this information and instead of it being news, it is simply put into documentary format and sold as entertainment. HUH? I think I could have been far more educated in science through the new TV programs than any of the boring crap they taught at school. I find myself completely enthralled in everything from space, military intelligence, biology related things, lost H-bombs, black holes and even Einstein's theories. Good grief- and I hated science!

Yep, I am getting to be an old nerd.

Did any of you catch the show about the lost H bomb in the ocean right off of Savanna Georgia? Sheesh. That is a bit worrisome isn't it? 100 times more powerful than the bomb used on Hiroshima... lost. Well, that will certainly make for an interesting dinner conversation. RB and I have certainly got lots to chat about during dull moments in life.

I have kids to ready for travel, a bed to make, and I need my shower. I guess that means I better get going.

Have a good day and try not to be blown up by any lost H bombs:-)

We have begun our summertime, weekend, lake visits. We head out every weekend to our boat and cruise the lake all weekend long. RB and I have become true lake rats. Who would have thunk? I used to be too prissy for dirty fish water... much preferring the clean chlorinated water of our swimming pool. Nowadays, with the whole "natural" thing, I actually feel less poisoned in the fish water. We had planned to dig a pool ASAP when we moved into this house but now I am torn. Do we really want the hassle of a pool again? Yeah, it's fun. Yeah, the kids love it. But- it is expensive to upkeep and a big ole pain with parts failing, leaves falling, and the hassle of trying to keep the stupid thing clean. I am not sure I want one now. Some days I do, others- not so much.


This in no way says that I have overcome my fear of the lake. I do have a bit of panic about what else is swimming about in there. If I get the guts to jump in I totally freak about my feet hitting a fish. I still have panic attacks every now and then about some crazy Texas-visiting gator biting my feet off. Fish DO come up and bite you now and then... (RB got bit this last time and yep, it WAS funny! He got out almost as fast as I do when they bite me:-) My two oldest and RB have no fears. They jump in and never think twice... they laugh at crazy ole Mom who has to talk herself into being able to enter even with one toe at a time.


My first 2 boys grew up in the pool. Hunter could swim almost as early as he could walk. Jay swam with a swim vest but still, he swam. They both took over the pool before they ever reached the ripe old age of 3. Now my Kan-Kan is another story all together. Even though he was introduced to the pool quite early...
and the boy LOVES water, he also fears it. Even with a full fledged life jacket he will not let go of the ladder on the boat. He shrieks and screams if we try to take him off and swim with him- NO WAY. What can I say? I guess he has a bit of Mom in him. Last weekend I lured him off the ladder to swim with me and finally got him to calm down and laugh when I told him we had to catch the boat... He helped me swim and try to get back to the ladder, of course this was all a big ruse to get him to relax. When he finally did get back to the ladder he was clung like super glue again and refused to willfully come swim with me again. SHEESH. We bought a water play pen if you will last summer and blow it up for him regularly while we swim.

He flails, jumps, splashes, and laughs as he is in his little oasis but, try and coax him out... I don't think so. He is having none of that. I have no idea when he will outgrow this faze and come in to swim with us. For now he plays catch with us and has a ball from his little island haven. I must say having a flailing 3 year old in the island oasis makes it a bit less "oasis-ish" for us big folks. There is no sitting back drinking a beer and relaxing in there. Welp, at least the fish can't bite yah in there... that net bottom might not stop a wayward gator but it totally saves us all from the fish nips.

It is lunch time and I am still pajama girl. I truly am getting to be really laid back. :-) hee hee.

I better get Kan some lunch and see if I can get a few things done around the house here. Have a good day!

My hair, my hair...

Thank God for the bed head style.

I have baby thin, curly/frizzy, unruly hair. I have tried the sleek, angular, looks and they end up being - well, sloppy-ish on me. No matter how straight the cut, my hair has just enough curl to look jagged and completely uneven but never actually ringletty. (Um, except in high humidity when I become Goldy locks.) If I do not have a hairdryer to iron out my bangs they stand up all wavishly and then they look sort of like I fell asleep on my face and then just got up and went to town. Yeah... as a matter of fact if your toddler has ever fallen asleep, gotten really sweaty while knocked out, and then woke up with their hair in disarray from being smashed into a wacked out mess on a pillow- thats my hair do!!! If I fall asleep with wet hair it is actually more manageable than if I get out of the shower and just let it dry without a blow dryer. Now, with a blow dryer I can manage a tiny bit of making it do what I want... mind you, I am not asking for much. If it will not frizz up like bubbles in a hot tub, not curly Q right into my eyeball, and not sneak it's way out of whatever apparatus I have selected to tame it for the day- I am pretty happy.

I am in a huge debate with myself over letting the hair grow out... and chopping it off for the ease and summer friendliness. Long, it will forever be swept back in a ponytail or up in a barrette. Short, it will be a mass of wavy/curly mess but at least look like I meant for it to be that way. Either way I will long for the other at times. What's a girl to do?

In high school you could not have paid me to wear a pony tail to school. I have no idea why either. I had long hair and everyday it was strung down my back... whew, that made volleyball a truly sweaty sport. Now a days if you see me without a ponytail you might not even know it was me at all. Heck, I even SLEEP in a loose pony tail these days! Funny thing about my ponytail is that whether I am showered and ready for the day, or if I just woke up and threw it up for the morning coffee- IT LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME. There is no neat precision. There is not sleek coif... there is messy, pulled spots, and fly aways all over the place. That's what my hair does. I wonder if girls with thick, straight as a board, sleek, DONE, hairstyles look at me and think: "Wow, that girl looks like she is on a three day drunk" or "Gosh, I wish I had some curl to look so bed headed and girly." I am figuring it's more option 1.

For now I am keeping the mid-length/ ponytail do. It will either turn into a long hair thing or I will give in to my urge and chop it all off. You never know with me. My moods change with the breeze and today is GUSTY!:-)

Son #3 just awoke. He is already shooting down the house with one of his make believe weapons. I promised son #1 that I would go and get his best buddy Trey for a visit today... let's hope Trey leaves all his hyper at home. Trey is the one who once got stuck in our laundry shoot. GOOD GRIEF!

Better get going... have ponytail will travel.

Stirring the pot...

I am going to expose allot of my self here today (again). I am, for some reason, compelled to "start some shit". I suppose it won't be as much as surprise to everyone as I think it will be. I have no idea how I will come off or how wacked out you will think I really am. (I wonder-If you know you are nuts then does that mean you are not considered to be medically "crazy"? I mean knowing you are a bit off keeps you from being delusional about yourself but can someone be crazy and know it? I am anti-social and cannot get along with my peers... it doesn't help that i realize it either.)

Yesterday I did something I knew I shouldn't... I went into a place where I somehow knew without actually even seeing IT -I would find something I would be offended by and dislike. I went anyway... that is the nature of my beast. But wait... let's get some history first...One of my "friends" here in blog world got tiffed at me a while back about a "Bush" email I sent her...well, I doubt that was actually her only problem with me but it is where she decided she couldn't hack me anymore and stopped all appearances of being nice. I guess this is absolute proof that I am pretty darn hard to take when just knowing me through a blog is so nerve wracking... anyhoo, despite my email apologising for the "Bush" email that so offended her and my subsequent efforts to drop by and post comments on her blog (something she begs people to do on a regular basis) she remains indifferent. Okay. I am a big girl and I will get over it. I do not need acceptance of my apology. I see that you are not in the mood for forgiveness or tolerance and I accept it. I still visited her blog occasionally and even said howdy once in a while. Hey, I still care. While her every post is not amazing and she is somewhat in love with herself at times:-), she was someone I have known through blogland for years now and had some background on, she often had handy tips and was downright creative... I liked her take on things and her ability to laugh at life. I was still friendly enough to sift through the put-me-to-sleep posts to get to a funny little thing she might say- come on we all have our off days... UNTIL YESTERDAY. Here in blog world it is sorta a kindness to others that if you have a link to their blog on your blog they do the nice thing and add you to theirs... well, that is how it has always worked as far as I knew and a kindness I bestowed to my readers... She has apparently taken quite a few of her "friends" off her list and has this to say about it:

If you aren’t listed here it is likely because you either don’t have your site on a feed, you are set to invite only and I am too lazy to log in to Blogger and check your site, or I once read your stuff but find it not that thrilling anymore. Yep… I said it. I have a short attention span and get bored easily. Don’t judge me. It is a good possibility that I still check in on you from time to time. If that is the case, lucky you. Please don’t email me and tell me that you should be on the list. I only have so much time in the day and I hate writing out links. If you want me to read your stuff hook it up to a feed reader and be interesting.

GOSH. That was harsh. Well, okay then. This reminds me distinctly of the movie "Mean Girls". She begs relentlessly for comments and votes on her sidewalk art yet this is the kindness she sends out into the world... Why do people flock to people like this? This is exactly why I do not have friends. Allrighty old girl. You have a huge following over there and more comments than I will ever get but I will be damned if I will hang out with you with this tackiness. My continued friendship was out of loyalty and familiar ism, some things I liked some things I didn't but you had enough of my respect that I would never have been so rude to you. Friend, you have officially been cut for going over-the-top with the high and mighty act. Even if I am a friendless, opinionated, bitch, I do have some decency to the people who read my ridiculous blather and would never be so rude. I have said many times that disagreeing with me is something that I expect and can get past with people. My political and religious opinions are out there and so, up for debate- and I deserve what I get...Blatant rudeness and undo disrespect for others creativity is not. Even as awkward and socially defunct as I am- this is a step I would not have made... and yet I am the one with no friends? I don't get it. ~Oh well.

As is my norm, I cannot keep my mouth shut and I air all the dirty laundry. I really do need to learn to keep my mouth shut. I realize that. Calling you out here is unnecessary and probably rates as one of my "up there" fruitcake antics. Yep, I know it- hopefully that makes me a bit less crazy. Sitting back and thinking what I think should be enough but that just wouldn't be me.

(By the way good readers- I DID NOT EMAIL AND BEG HER FOR A LINK HOOK UP. I AM NOT A GROVELER- I HAVE TOO MUCH PRIDE TO GROVEL FOR FRIENDSHIP. THIS IS NOT OUT OF SPITE FOR A PERSONAL DIS. IF IT WERE I WOULD HAVE SAID IT LONG AGO... THE EMAIL INCIDENT WAS MONTHS AGO. THIS IS FOR WHATEVER POOR SOULS DID EMAIL HER ABOUT THEIR MISSING LINK UP AND GOT THAT BITCH SLAP IN RETURN.) In all truth I will probably be ostracized for speaking out against the queen bee. That is par for me.

Here again, I am dumbfounded by the acts of a churchgoing person. What would Jesus do? What would Jesus say? "Your blog sucks... don't bother me anymore. So what if you like me and read my blog, so what if you comment and stay true... your blog still sucks and I can't be bothered to link to it!" Then my thoughts go to the fact that I am shocked by the old adage "To have a friend- be a friend"... BULLSHIT! To have a friends treat people like crap, put yourself on a pedestal, and talk to people like they are dogs! Obviously, it works for her! "All of you lack my talent and panache- come over, read my blog, worship me, and do not email me for favors you dopes... I am busy!"

Later I will wonder why in the hell I felt compelled to do this. I will wonder why I always have to say it out loud. I will think- Sheesh, you gotta SHUT UP! BUT, I will be glad I had the guts to say something and know I was true to me. Nice, be damned!

The Lake...

This last weekend we went out to the lake. We spent the night in what looked to be a nice place- only by morning the bugs had attacked. There were rollie pollies EVERYWHERE . YUCK. I couldn't even step out of the shower. EWWWW. Next we get out to our boat and RB realizes he has no key. :-) HMMMMMM.... Home is at least 2 hours away. Great. We called around to some local guys... a locksmith, no luck. Several area boat dealers and parts guys.... Finally,we lucked out when we found a nice fellow at a local dealership who got us a key. Now we are on the water finally. I, against my better judgement, decided to get crazy and ride on the inflated torture device being pulled behind the boat with the kids. RB slung us around like wet rag dolls. I laughed, I screamed, I got sunburned so bad I can barely sit down. Yep, even though I DID put on my Bullfrog 50 spf sunblock poison... I still got toasted. My arms, face, and front of legs are fine. I used a combination of baby sunblock and gel bullfrog stuff but on my rear view I used a handy aerosol spray type. Yeah, that didn't work at all. Luckily the kids were safe with their gel and baby block too- well, except Hunt. He got a bit toasty too. SHEESH.
I have abrasions on my knees and elbows from holding on for dear life. I look like I have been through hell actually. I sure had fun though.
See, I am not THAT old yet!