where would we be without kids ?

howdy folks !!! finally, i have enough life back in me to give you this much of our vacation -- in motion. i double dawg dare ya NOT ta laugh !

i haven't had so much laughter- sun - our time outside in the passed six months , as i just had in the last week. i want to live there !!!



enjoy ! we sure did.



more photos to come --
love, me

( CLICK TWICE AND WATCH FULL SCREEN ON U-TUBE )

dedicated to soulman - from soulkid :))

WE LOVE YOU SOULMAN

thought i forgot (again) didn't ya?

HA! i didn't :))

i JUST remembered -
the Brenda photo challenge !

subject 'Bedtime'

where in the hell does the time go ?

mornin peoples -
how's it goinin?




here? well, i can't complain. actually i can. and most likely, somewhere in this post, i prolly will. it's not intentional you know. it's just my nature. it just happens. sometimes it seems to be a bit therapeutic for me, yet, at times, i know it gets a bit nauseating. i apologize. apparently tho, most of y'all are used to it by now. those who have - or had - a problem with it, are long gone by now. what can i say? ore vois. yeh i know, i don't spell that right -- i have been corrected - but i like the way i spell it.

so anyhow-- that isn't why i'm writin today. i just came in to mention the fact that time has totally gotten away from me. i mean as in losing total concept of time. i would say and space -- but no. i do know where and who i am. even though i'm sure some of you might question that at times. i think that may have only literally happened to me once in my life :))

seriously though. i think i mentioned that yesterday, i had to knuckle down and play catch up in soulland. i had gotten so far behind in business stuff here i surprised even myself that i was able to get even close to up to date. but i did. and in so doing? i opened up a five gallon can of worms. ERG. for real.

one of the major things i came to realize was that our vacation i have been talkin about for maybe the last two months? that i still was thinking was at least two weeks from now? is not two weeks away -- but -- FIVE DAYS away. OMG. we are no where close to prepared to hit the road in five days.

where in the hell did the time go? i hadn't made the dog boarding reservations. i hadn't bought - or administered the animal flea medicine. (Eevee has an awful flea allergy right now-- the kennel will only make the fleas worse-- she will literally be left alone to chew herself apart there.) we haven't gotten the float tubes , or the pull tube dug out of the garage yet. i haven't got the travel budget together - or bills and prescriptions organized ahead yet. it was literally a drowning feeling yesterday as i sat amidst a sea of TO-DO's. and MUST-Do's. wanna know the worst of it? or seemingly so? i wasn't even SURE of our cabin reservation days! am i not THE most responsible person you have ever known in your entire life? i was literally ashamed of myself.
BUT -- i am ON track. does that surprise you? nah. tell me it doesn't. surely by now - y'all have seen me in situations like this before? i may panic when i find myself buried in disasters of my own creation -- but do i not dig myself - and the soul clan right back out in a flash? i amaze even me sometimes. then again, there are times that i allow myself to be sucked into the rip-tide and stay there until someone else - such as soulman , pulls me out and performs CPR, until i can function again. but this time -- i am on a roll, and so far , so good.
i made the dog reservations, confirmed the cabin reservations, got the money situation, and bills all taken care of, got r/x's ordered, dr appointments made. and some other stuff. and the rest - i will take care of today. ahhhhhhhh.
the sweet smell of moving sloth mold in the air.

about the dr's? one is just a regular monthly follow-up. the other is with neuro. just so ya know Sis... the everlasting migraine? still a thorn in my side. ok a knife in my head. i get seen the day before we head out. no one should ever have a head ache for over two weeks runnin. so i'm goin in. if i get any news i shall pass it along. of course - i don't expect to know anything til i get home -- 6/29.. even if they do have time to do a scan before i leave - it takes time for the results.

so --- on that note-- i have a very busy day ahead -- so i shall see ya later peoples-
happy humpday !

PS -- LOOK how GOOD Skelly is lookin these days ! this is your donations at work !

re- post of fish pix

i still don't know why the pix in the below post won't behave -
so here they are -- some are re- runs.
some , just stubborn.

(if you missed the post below - read it , so ya know what the pix are about.)

some folks have 5 pound babies !!!!
that is a dang FISH !

anyhow , i have let my business stuff fall waaaay behind since i've been home from the trip to arkansas. just recoverin, playin around, and bein the sloth that i am. today i must get back ta biness. well... after the smoke n choke of course.

happy tuesday to all you folks in your own worlds. hope somethin surprising and happy comes your way -- just cuz.

latah babies -

did ya miss me? :))

just askin (if ya missed me ) - or did ya even notice i was gone? the weekends around blogland do seem to pass without folks sayin much on their blogs , so it could go either way. i did have a MIA alert in my email tho -- so that was a bit refreshing. maybe refreshing isn't the right word, but at least someone noticed i wasn't around :)) i actually do sometimes worry that i'll end up one of those folks who's dead for days or weeks, and no one finds out til someone accidentally finds em. like a creditor, or a mailman, or somethin.

(*side note)

so anyhow folks-- it is at this time of day 6:33 on monday morning. i just spent over thirty minutes correcting the many 'sleep blogging typos, and continuing this blog entry for today. apparently, even tho i was prepared to be awake all nite last night- seems i wasn't. i remember soulman rescuing me from the sleep blog disaster at some crazy zero dark thirty ness in the night. can't blame me for tryin can ya? luckily the messy post was somehow saved to draft, so it wasn't a total waste. i salvaged it-- and here it is, just for you. have it with your coffee.

also - for some damn reason all my pix are givin me fits!
refusing to post.. maybe it will fix itself later-- but i have no idea what to do about it (right now. i see em here on the post page- but not after it's posted WTH?
i've spent an hour on it already . anyhow- i'm so done with it- i'll try later.)
AHA- after re-readin , i noticed a secret- where you think might be a pic ? put your cursor there- if the little hand shows up- CLICK, and the pic comes up. :)) some don't but some do - try it-- also don't forget - to enlarge any, just click em. :))

so anyhow-- wanna know where i been? or where we've been? we went out of town on a fishin excursion. yep we did. i told ya i fly by the seat of my pants. soulman got paid on friday -- so by - saturday afternoon we loaded up the boat, dropped off soulkid at a friends house for the night and off we went . to where? to fish at a nuclear power plant lake that - up until two or three weeks ago - hasn't been fished , at all, since 9-11- 2001. almost ten years, and no fishin pressure? (squaw creek power plant lake).





man, you know i was thinkin my ten pound bass is in that lake ! bring it on ! well, we were both excited and had big expectations. we got a motel room there, and were third in line at the gate this mornin.... to be one of one hundred boats to be allowed on the lake for the day. not bad eh. didn't bother me any. we ended up with a -- of course, non-smoking motel room, so as i usually wake up early, i was fine with the notion of sittin in the truck for my mornin "smoke-n-choke". (which, if you don't know by now, is in the morning when i drink a bunch of coffee and smoke about a pack of cigs in a couple hours. just to start my day out right :)) and in a non-smokin hotel ya can't really do that. so we grabbed coffee and off we went to wait in line.

so we sat in line there for an hour or so til they opened the gates and we launched the boat. well.. the way it works these days -- he launches the boat - then i park the truck and walk to the dock to get on the boat. back in the day, i was a whiz at either launchin, or backin the truck-- but now with such minimal range of motion in my neck etc... no more backin the truck on the ramp-- or launchin the boat. i've grown quite wimpy in my old age. but it works out fine the way we do it. well for the most part.


well ya see the thing about this lake.. ? -- because it is a nuclear power plant lake, the water temp is frickin HAWT. we were in water temps ranging from 92- 97 degrees. it made it really hard to fish with the outside temp nearing 100, and or decide where to fish in such hot water. we found a few good spots, we thought might hold fish... but only one place really did. that we found.

maybe it's here - or not

and finding that spot was purely accidental. and right about the time we were both ready to give in to the heat and exhaustion-- and boredom. we'd been up - and out since like 430 a.m. hadn't had a single bite- not to mention, any fish all day long. (it was maybe 1030 a.m. , we were both starvin. the wind was blowin like crazy - i was woried soulman would fall off the front of the boat - he'd lost his footing several times by the rocking boat.) we were just worn out, and ready to go.

then suddenly- soulman starts gettin excited, says he's got a fish-on! i can tell my his actions, and his rod tip-- well rod top half -- that is a big fish. as in BIG. so i start scramblin for the net. y'all know how graceful i am. yeh.. the bull in the china shop thing? someone wrote that line about me. :)) so after rippin the first layer of skin off one of my knees, and bruising the other -- on the windshield of my dash... i finally got the friggin net! go ahead - you can laugh-- i'm sure you have the image by now.
finally i get up to the front deck. i'm of course having trouble with the new 'telescoping net' - since when did technology enter the fishing net industry. it's a damn NET! eventually -- now remember- this all happens in a matter of seconds-- less than a minute-- I am a SLOTH. i don't make fast movements on a regular basis, so it is quite clumsy and comical --- to say the least. we finally see the fish begin to surface. it's a friggin monstah ! soulman is so excited, both in anticipation, and excitement of the size of his catch, but also the fear of losing it before we get it in the boat. and me? of course-- i'm excited and happy for him, it's a very nice fish, and the size i was expecting bot of us to be catchin all morning on a lake closed to the public for the last near ten years. also-- i was in near panic mode that i be responsible if it got off or not in the boat for some reason-- even if it wasn't my fault. but look y'all!
what a team we are. this baby weighed in right at 5 pounds.. my exact guess, when i saw him surface.











oh anyhow-- to change the subject. i was finally able to get the pic from soulkid from the night of the concert -- she was so happy to meet the guy from the band.. i couldn't spell , or even remember his name if ya paid me. but she jokes around and says she will marry him someday :)) ahhhh to be young, and dream again. my sparks have all but drowned, and i have no fantasies up in my frazzled mind. but i sure do love to listen to her and her friends talk of theirs.

he signed her ticket!

have happy days in your worlds-- i'll be seein ya-

wanna see a lame excuse for a poem? by mois?

heart on my sleeve

if you know me at all then you're surely aware
my heart lies exposed on each sleeve that i wear
it's there for the world to examine each scratch
the choice isn't mine if they're salted or patched
the road that i walk leaves my heart scarred and worn
yet, i wear it as armour growing tattered and torn
this heart may be hanging by a thread on my sleeve,
it still is an honor , because it has made me be me.

BMB 6/12/10

girls week FINALE

mornin peeps .

ok, this is it. i spose i need to return to real life and grow new blog fodder, after today. but as for now, as promised -- i bring you-- stolen video from my sister smocha's blog , of girls week 2010. as i still await photos that are in the 2nd video -- get on it smocha -- please? i even got cd's to put the pics on-- but she actually did run out of time to do it before i left. so i still wait.

(ya need to click the video -- then click again - cuz it's messed up-- full screen watch it -- i don't know-- or watch it on her blog -- the link is in the post -- 'smochas blog -- above) sorry -- it uploaded wrong -)

anyhow-- i just left her blog and she did get these videos up.. not much else because i am sure both the girls are totally wiped out after finally getting back from graceland last night. so, as i have had a couple days to recover-- their recovery only now is beginning.

so anyways -- my friends -- i bring you -- girls week -- live -- :)) enjoy :))

girls week part deux

hiya peoples-- how are ya on this fine fine thursday mornin?
things are not too bad here. i think i may have fully recovered from our little getaway. well, as much as i expect to at least. i have been a vegetable ever since we got home the other day (tuesday evening-ish). man i was whooped. i hit the bed and didn't move til the next morning, then yesterday - i ran kids around a little , went to sonic with soulkid in between taxi rides, then got back home, and what did i do? yep, sat back on my couch and did computer stuff. i blogged and worked on my bank etc. it was really a drag to see how much money was actually spent over the few days we were vacationing. money was no object-- except in my mind of course :)) i did worry some about the cash outflow - but there really wasn't a lot i could do about it-- so i tried not to think about it. i dealt with it yesterday tho. we still have enough money for our TN vacation.. it just may not be as care free financially as i had hoped it would be, but that's alright. it aint about the money anyways- right?

oh and i did catch a huge break in hot springs at the toyota place. my car was making a weird and scary noise up at the front right tire area. ever since the incident on the hi-way. so i was real concerned that it might be something important.. like a tie rod.. or bearings.. or something that could make the ride home not so safe - ya know. so i needed an oil change anyhow-- so i decided to take the ole girl in for a check-up- and oil change (etc).
when i picked up the car, i just knew i was gonna be droppin 100.00 or so. in order to keep my warranty in effect i have to do my oil changes at toyota. it runs around 80 bucks here. i expected similar there. plus - any extras.
well. they did find the cause of the mystery noise... it was some kind of under carriage mud guard -- but they called it somethin else... my car is under warranty still-- so that didn't cost me anything to fix. they also did whatever they do for the accelerator recall thing. all i had to pay for was the oil change, and since they kept my car an hour longer than they told me they would? guess what i paid em? 16.27 !! i was thrilled! and they even gave her a bath! :))
so anyhow-- it was worth that, just for the piece of mind knowing my front end wasn't gonna fall off on the way home.


ok - so anyhow-- i have a lot of comments below- so i reckon i shall just work off of those for this post-- get some coffee, pull up a chair, and get comfy :))





Blogger Brad said...

Helo Dear! - Glad to see you all had fun, and I'm stealing a copy of the pic of the four of you!

===== yep brad, we had a real good time. couldn't have begged for better. go ahead and take the pic-- i suggest ya click it first- it gets bigger. i won't say better. ;))
but we do look pretty good for a bunch of ole ladies eh?
soulkid doesn't count-- she'll be beautiful forever.

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Blogger Golden To Silver Val said...

So glad you had a good time and are safely back home. Nice to get away....but always nice to get back home. You and soul-kid made some good memories. Why does your arm hurt....did you pull something trying to keep the vehicle under control or what? Anyway...feel better soon! C

====== hiya c --

no. my arm pain, was actually from my neck and shoulder. then radiated through my arm. the worst of it was at my right shoulder blade, and back... it was nerve pain, burning- hurting- awful pain, and i had run out of pain meds on the trip- cuz i had an everlasting migraine.
we still had fun though--- and i did my best to not complain about it. you know the first thing i did when i got home tho-- was hit the med chest ! it's better now.


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Blogger Donna said...

Glad you enjoyed yourselves! AND you lived to Tell about it! Wow!
Great shots girl!
hughugs

==================hiya d-tx..

whatever am i to call you two donnas? you both comment here-- and i just don't know how to keep ya straight. that's ok tho- i'll get it worked out-- how's the d-tx thing work for ya? of course the other one :)) would be d-tn. works for me.
anyhow-- yes we did have fun. and yes, thank God we didn't crash. but i won't take credit. my drivin skills suck. i even somehow managed to drive into my sises security gate at her condo-- leave it to me. i refuse to ever drive again. oh how i wish i could get away with that. soulkid gets her license on july 1st. maybe i can hang up my keys forever??? i really shouldn't drive these days. anyhow-- happy day to you- hugs-


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Blogger Brenda said...

Welcome home! Glad you had fun and I LOVE the pics!

==== geesh you sure are talkative brenda. what's goin on in your world lately? i still haven't made it to anyones blog since bein home -- i'm workin on it. i'm worried boutchya - i'll be over soon.
xo
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Blogger Cheryl said...

Great travel blog. It sounds like it was an almost perfect trip. The car incident scared me! So glad you and Soulkid had such a great time together.

========= i was so happy it went well cheryl. i thought of you a lot on our little trip. it's amazing how these girls can be so sweet-- when they want to. maybe you and yours can have a mommy daughter getaway??? they are growin up so fast. how did i miss so much?
anyhow-- hope you're both doin good.. hug her when ya get the chance.. next thing we know - we're gonna be watchin them drive away for good. awwwww. (TEAR)

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Blogger ethelmaepotter! said...

Ah, nothing like a nice, relaxing vacation!

Seriously, you do carry adventure with you, don't you? And even with all your stories, the first question I have is...How did you manage to keep the cat in the stroller while you were fishing?!

Catchphrase is fun! My son has it and we always play with three, too - Fred refuses to play any kind of manufactured game - his idea of fun and games involves lots of groping and panting and he always comes out the winner - so we manage quite well with three.

My emotions were all over the place in this post - happiness that you and Soulkid had a good time together, empathy with your pain, fear in the almost-accident, sorrow in learning of your boys.

Hey, Soul, you need a vacation!


============ it was relaxing EM!! that word isn't even in my vocabulary here at home. i don't even know why. i must just look for stuff to stress about. cuz it was just FUN. no worries. no stress . just a really good time. i enjoyed everyones company. no one was arguing. no animals to worry about. nuthin. just down home good times. and if i remember it-- it is all a nice memory to have :))
oh, the cat in the stroller (sounds like a childrens story :)) that is one of my sises cats-- i forgot to post a pic of her other one.

this one is "Cavuto"..

she also has O'Reilly.

cavuto does better in the stroller -- they wear harnesses. they love to go for walks , and cavuto is quite vocal about letting her know when he wants his walk. he gets into the stroller-- and tells her he wants to go. he's been going for walks so long now- he knows if he jumps out he will be hanged. :)) so he does stay inside. he looks around, sticks his head out etc. it is the cutest thing i have ever seen. when she was in England? she had to buy an actually baby carriage to walk him in!!!! i have never seen such spoiled cats in my life-- they wouldn't even eat the rib-eye steak i offered them "they like turkey". oh lawdy.
i am gonna get catchphrase-- it's great-- and i love your description of freds favorite game :)) classic.
i know what ya mean about the range of emotions-- i'm like that on a daily basis.
life is an adventure in soulland. :))
and i do need a vacation from my vacation.
but i wouldn't change a thing :))
hugs


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Blogger Donna said...

Ah, you had a good time! Woot, woot!!!

================ you d-tn, why so yacky? did you go on your trip yet? sorry, i haven't been to your blog either-- i guess i would know if i did read it. i'll be over in a few.
anyhow-- yes ma'am, as you have seen already -- we had a blast !
laterz- scab :))


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Blogger Blur Ting said...

For some reason, I couldn't see the photos but I'll come back later to check.

It sounds like a perfect 'bonding' trip with your kid. She must really appreciate this. Her maturity is showing through!

Oh, the near accident was scary. Glad you're back. Now is the time to rest and have nice memories of the trip.

Blogger Blur Ting said...

Oh, I could see the pictures now! All happy faces and soulkid is so pretty!!

====== she really is growin up (maturing) . she handled the cemetery better than i expected. and she had a lot more to say about that than i expected she would. i think this was a good age to take her there for the 1st time. (at an age that she knows what's goin on and what it means etc). it was tough, for both of us. but it was time.
yeh-- we did bond. it was a good, and needed time for both of us.. all of it.
oh yeh-- the almost wreck? i just hope that never happens again.
and unfortunately, rest time is over-- i must get-UP now, and be productive. whaaa. :))
glad you got to see the pix.
i hope you and yours are doin good out in 'my paradise' :))
any soul-dreams lately ? :))
good to see you here-- how's motha? yankee?
ttyl-

weeeee're baaaack !

GIRLS WEEK JUNE 2010

the golden-esque girls

phew! finally. we got back yesterday from a most horrible drive home from hot springs, arkansas. we had to take the long way home, which added at least an hour and a half to our drive. it wouldn't have been a bad ride, if not for the fact that i was in such agonizing pain i could have cut my own arm off - from the shoulder blade out. ugh. seriously, by the time we got home, i couldn't even use my right arm - at all. not good. but happy we got home safely. oh.. duh. why did we have to take the long way ? that would be because my child forgot to get her (expensive) camera from the motel we stayed at the first night we got there. we met the other half - and stayed there because it is only about ten miles from the cemetery - that holds my boys and half our (me, soulkid and my sises,) family . SO-- we had to go get that before goin home.

soulkid @ y-city inn

anyhow-- didn't mean to start out complainin, but that was the last and closest memory in my mind. seems i always tell my stories backwards--maybe that's why?? hmm.

so-- all in all? we had a really good time. and soulkid was a happy companion. she actually enjoyed herself being amongst a bunch of ole ladies, and spoiled felines. i'm sure she had lulls of boredom, and times she wanted to be home with her friends her own age. i know she did , cuz we talked about it. and we talked about her dad, alot. she missed him. i don't even remember the last time she's been away from him for that long. but- like i said... we all four had a real good time. even considering the not so great moments. and those weren't even horrible.


i did try, but fail to teach Vicki how to fish. ( my sis was too cheap to spring for a fishin liscense -- (11.00 for three days-- hell even i - el miser paid it.)
:(( she enjoyed it - but no luck. for any of us actually. i think it was the weather though. not the teacher. or her skillz. the fish shut down, but the skies were scary. we took the boat out, but we only lasted out there maybe an hour or two, when the lightening and dark clouds rolled in. we packed up and headed to the boat slip. just to be on the safe side. of course half an hour after we settled in at the house the sun is back out and blazin hot again. not a cloud in the sky.

scary storm clouds

we tried our luck again at the dock-- with the cat in the stroller :)) -- yet still, no fish.
it was a good time tho.


on the way out there? me and soulkid ALMOST got in a really bad car wreck. -- it's true. i could feel the car was on two wheels and we were slidin and whirlin down the hiway at 75-80 MPH. maybe at a 45 degree angle -- or worse. when i finally 'heard in my head" to let off the break.. and when i did i finally was able to get control of the car. MY instinct was to just let go of the wheel and 'give up' . i figured it was all over and we were gonna flip- we were already almost sideways . soulkid was asleep and had already been jostled- hit her head on the door etc-- i was scared to death... all because some fool decided to change lanes- directly in front of me goin like 60 -- ugh.
anyhow i got control back, and we were fine. scared, but fine.



so- moovin on --
the other girls were at the motel before us- and they were none too happy with the place. i told them - i think you two forgot where you came from. but i let them continue their "eeewwee fest" about the very old and run down motel. -- when she finally does post about it - all i can do is send you her way. -- my mocking them just won't do it justice. :))
they even made a video of their 'horror-and disgust.' it really is an old place- but it is where i have been goin ever since i put my son there - 21 years ago. ya know? soree-ya. it just has never bothered me-- until they nit picked it to death. it was good to hear when the owner told me they would be updating/upgrading after the summer :)) but really folks it isn't 'that' bad. no bugs or nuthin. just old. it's "nostalgic". :)) and just look at the hidden gem behind it !

soulkid at the motel creek

so anyhow-- on the way to her place in hot springs-- after visiting the cemetery the next day-- we stopped at the crystal mine and dug for crystals. me and soulkid didn't do too bad. we enjoyed ourselves. of course-- tweedle dee and tweedle dum, were hot, and let it be known. they DID have fun too though.

(soul - crystal diggin)

soulkid did really surprise me , and kept her whining to a minimum on the entire trip. she did of course have her moments-- but no way was she gonna risk those concert tickets-- her and a friend went to the concert last night-- and had a blast! they saw (MGMT)

(soulkid crystal diggin)

when we were at her house we did lots of old lady stuff but had a lot of fun doin it.
and believe it or not-- soulkid was an important part of our fun. :)) i don't think she even knew it. i'm glad she went along. i was worried at first that she would be bored and crybaby the whole time... she was very good to have along, and i think she is happy she went too. my sister seemed to enjoy having the time with her too. they haven't had much time with each other at all since soulkid was a toddler. it was nice to watch them bond a bit.

soulkid n aunt sissy :))

the best part of all? the whole trip was nearly stress free for me. seriously , even drivin. well, except the near fatal almost crash. that was pretty stressful, and it lasted a while. the drive home, was so painful, i didn't have a chance to feel any stress. soulkid thought i was stressin and started rubbin my back a little-- i told her -- i'm ok, really, i just hurt really bad. she offered to drive -- but that would definitely make me stress- and the traffic was hell. we were gettin close to home, near dallas, and no way, was i gonna risk it. but i appreciated the thought and offer. she really was a good kid the whole time. i enjoyed her company. and we don't get that opportunity near as much as i would like to.

soul n soulkid - road trippin

i definitely must go buy the game catchphrase. and so must Y'ALL. it was so fun!!!
we spent a lot of time playin that. no one ever plays games here-- but they will when i get that game. (it's made for 4 to play- but we managed with 3 when soulkid ditched us for phone calls :))

anyhow-- i hope you all are havin happy days in your worlds !
i'll be seein ya!
i'll have more about this another time-- plus a link when my sis gets her post up-- plus more pix when she ever sends me their pix.. there are so many more- and some on soulkids camera i haven't even seen yet -- so check back.

now i need to recover-- some more -- i'll catch up with ya later--

did ya get the memo?

it's in the comments below :))

see ya on the othah side folks

oh hell blanche died.

Rue McClanahan , AKA Blanche Devereaux from the Golden Girls. three out of four are gone now. that only leaves Betty White. -- Rose. bummer.




that show was so great. i still watch it sometimes. i'm sure i've seen every one of em at least twice by now, but i keep watchin em. i can even 'still hear' the way my then 3 year old youngest nephew-- with a speech impediment (now fixed) would say the shows name. he had a 'speak' all his own. if you weren't part of the family, you were most likely not allowed to be part of his language. i lived most of his young life states away from him, but i was blessed enough to see him enough to learn and understand his special speak. and he also was a fan of the Golden Girls, even as a boy at the age of 3.... he enjoyed watching "the o'den oi'wez". don't ask.. you can only attempt to decipher it. try bein at dennys when he ordered - " bite and baby " which when interpreted was equivelent to "sprite and gravy." even his own grandmother couldn't figure out that one .. who did? yep -- mois :))

so anyhow -- enough of that.

i don't guess i have much else to say.

the a/c obviously is still out. since it isn't monday yet. right. luckily, it is surprisingly not 300 degrees in here. it's a bit uncomfortable, but maybe around 80 ish. not 95 like i expected. the previous owners installed that ' flash- insulation ' thing in the attic-- go ahead and laugh, i don't know what it's called. the silver alluminum lookin inside the attic roof thing. you know what i'm talkin about. so anyhow-- if you ever wondered if it works? it obviously does. but i have no idea what it costs cuz it was here when we got here.

other than that-- today is packing day for me, and i hope to get up early and get on the road to go see my sis. i'm ready for somethin different. let's just hope the drive doesn't kill me and make me a worthless guest to be with. i hope to teach them how to fish -- if i succeed i will have pix to show ya -- well, i'll have pix regardless-- but i bet my sis hasn't caught a fish since she was maybe 5 years old -- haha.

i can't wait to go. i almost wish i could leave right now.

see ya later folks-

waitin 9 to 5 (to life)

yeh, what a way to spend the day. if it isn't one damn thing around here - it's another. surely y'all know that by now. right? oh, and it never ever fails that the worst happens when we are trying to save money. am i complainin? you bet your ass i am. i have tried and tried my best to be grateful. like when the fridge went out. "thank you Jesus , we had the money for a new one, and didn't end up with a 100.00 POS."

or how bout - when the first 'bubba mobile' was dying? and the repairs outweighed the costs of a down payment of a newer truck? "thank you Jesus, for making seeing eyes blind!" :)) (and once again allowing us to somehow have the cash we needed on hand.)

or how bout the time -- all FOUR of my tires were bad right at the time my car was due for inspection? yep-- "thank you jesus - we happened to have 600.00 layin around."


are y'all gettin the picture? i'm tryin to be grateful. i have been grateful. oh hell. i'm kinda forgettin a couple of THE most important times that we had money-- when , as y'all know -- we are best known for our squandering. back in the day (s) when soulkid was in her biggest trouble, and pit of hell. the times that her medical care was to the point of live or die-- and into the thousands of dollars. --- not to mention , the fallout, and what it did and cost my own health... the money was there then too. literally , thousands of dollars. yes, we did without at times-- but we got through- and soulkid lived because somehow-- we had money.

9 times out of ten, the money was there because we were saving -- for something else. most likely vacations, visits to family, etc. maybe to pay down bills. but the fact is--- the money was available and ready, when we needed it. for whatever reason. when on any normal soul-clan squandering lifestyle day - we woulda been begging, borrowing, or stealing-- to come up with a fraction of any one of these needs.

which brings me to today. yes i know. i heard you. sorry. it's just the way i do things round here. ok up here. in my head. it just doesn't work the way most minds do. but hey-- admit it-- you like it.


anyhow-- today. it kinda sucks, to be honest. i got woke up this morning to a panicked and hurried soulman. he just had to tell me something. this never goes well. i'm barely conscience for the first twenty minutes out of bed. (sigh). he is trying to get out and go to work, and at the same time, tell me that - guess what? the friggin air conditioner is broken ! it's been runnin constantly all night long. well that's just friggin peachy !
there i was.. no coffee- no pain pill- still hungover from the night meds- trying to absorb his 'instructions.'
'you have to call the home warranty place, and get an A/C person out here today. our warranty expires in a few days. lemmee show ya where the breaker is in case it flips. i changed the filter. upstairs a/c is ok. i don't know what's wrong with this one. could be a switch inside. could be froze up.'

he went on and on -- fast too. cuz he had to leave. i caught like 3 words-- at the time-- and that was lemmee show you the breaker. he got upset when i said no-- i can figure it out. good lord i just rolled out of bed, and my back hurt and i wasn't about to go crawlin around the garage-- or go upstairs. for whatever he said was up there. UGH.

"i'll handle it dear--- go to work"
he left- grumpy , of course. i'm sure he was thinkin i wasn't listening-- well, i wasn't really-- but i think i know enough about making a few phone calls. besides-- i did catch enough of what he said to tell the a/c folks. geesh. so he left.

THEN, it was time to deal with teen hell. that's always fun, especially in the morning.
she's beginning to get brave--- and push the clock further and further each day. a couple times a week now, she gets to school with literally ONE minute to spare to get to class. she cannot do that at this school, and she knows it. they'll throw her ass out.
she has also been texting me during the day - two or three times a week - asking me to pick her up early ! OMG. is she trying to kill me? the last day of school is FRIDAY! two days. you'd think she would be on her best behavior , and doing her best to pump out as much work as she can this last couple days. is she? nope. looks like she has quit already. she is apparently done. i pick her up at the end of the day -- and she has marks on her face-- evidence that she has been sleeping-- somehow- somewhere.
and who gets stressed out for all of this? yep-you guessed it. dear ole mom and dad.
think she gives a rats ass? oh surely no.

save me. someone just help me. love me. talk to me.

my one saving grace? i'm gettin a break ! if ya haven't forgotten, i am skippin town early friday morning. yes i am. i will have over three days, all to myself. well, not all to myself. but i will be off to 'girls week' in arkansas. i will see my sis and her friend vicki - AKA desert dirt diva. day one may not be 'fun' in every sense of the word- as we will visit 'the cemetary'. it'll be ok, i'm sure. it is time for me to be there. i noticed a day or two ago -- my brothers birthday is july 6th, and my mom's death day is july 17th. it's kinda weird that she died so close to his birthday. at ,least i think so. (i didn't 'just' realize -- i mean i 'noticed'--ya know)

so. anyhow-- yeh .. i am trapped in a hot house til the a/c guy decides to get here. you know how that goes. i could melt before then.



and of course-- while i was on the phone with the home warranty people-- they talked me into renewing our contract. which i guess isn't a bad idea. we have paid out of pocket for inside and outside a/c unit before a few years ago-- and it ran us about 5 or 6 grand. on a payment plan-- thank God. no cash - like that on hand-- ever.

but anyhow-- like i said -- just trying to be happy that we aren't payin a fortune out of pocket. bleh.

oh -- guess what folks? hubby just this second called me. they - the A/c 'fixers' just called him... even tho i gave MY phone number to schedule with... this is just great. no, not really. they left him a message-- cuz he couldn't answer his phone in class.... they said they would be here SATURDAY! - to fix the A/C . that my friends is BS! for one-- it's pushin 98 degrees every damn day. and TWO? soulman works saturday-- and i will be out of town. howda think that's gonna work out? can i scream now?
guess we'll be movin upstairs for a few days.

my happy is nowhere to be found. have you seen it?

hope you all have good days in your worlds today
stay cool!