AB + PT = GT

No, that's not an algebraic equation, but rather it means, Adult Beverages + Pointy Things = Good Times.

I've talked about it before, but one of my favorite things to do to pass the time is shoot darts.  Naturally, with every good dart shooter, there is also an adult beverage involved and of course, I am no exception.

Well today, for my Merry Christmas to me, I bought myself a new set of darts.  I'm thrilled because they are identical to a set that some drunk walked off with years ago when I was shooting at the professional level.

They say that it's not the arrow it's the indian, but in my case, the right arrow really does help.  Back when my other set walked off, I did replace them, but it just wasn't the same, they didn't 'feel' right between my fingers.  Tonight, when I picked up the new set, it felt like home.

This year, I will be shooting in the Texas Regional Bullshooter competition which is coming up really soon.  I go every year, but this year will be the first in a long time that I will actually be excited about playing.  Something about having 3 old friends with me...  yes my new mini-missles.

I'll be blogging lots that weekend, I'm sure because I get to stay in the hotel and in between events, will have nothing better to do than order room service and blog, which I'm so happy about!

Now that the holidays are almost over, I should be able to post more interesting things rather than the random blather that you all have been getting from me lately.

God My Ass is Cold Part 2

About a month ago, I told a little story about my first ski trip and promised another part to that story, about my first trip on the big kids’ run filled with excitement, humor and all around fun.  Well, I don’t know if it’ll be all that, I mean, what could be better than wrasslin a 60 pound outboard motor, but I’ll do my best.

So the husband and I were on our honeymoon and I had taken a little spill down on the bunny slopes.  I discussed the parts of a crash, the mental, the ‘oh shit’ moment, then the actual crash itself.  Of course what always follows that is embarrassment and in some cases tears, whether the tears are from being injured or embarrassed depend on the severity of the fall.

After taking the spill down below, the husband and I decided to go ahead to the top of the mountain and ski up there for the rest of the day.  We got on the lift and went up to the top and skied to mid mountain for a few hours.  There wasn’t a lot of snow, as it was early in the year and there was a drought happening.  We ended up having to take a blue (intermediate) run called West Fork but it was a nice wide run so I could traverse the mountain well enough to get by without falling on my rear or worse my face.

A few hours later, my confidence level was up (amazingly, I am a natural skier) and so was my appetite, so we decided to ski all the way to the base of the mountain and grab a bite to eat and possibly an adult beverage before heading back up to top off a wonderfully perfect day of skiing.  We took this green (beginner) run called Demon Run which was kind like a very wide half pipe.  It was a long straight shoot with really high walls.

I was skiing down Green Demon and was doing well, but I was going a little fast and the ski patrol guy yelled at me so, in trying to slow down, I turned my skis sideways and shot straight up the wall and into the trees.  I didn’t fall down, I was so proud, but was a little afraid of having to ski back DOWN that wall to get back to the run.  I took a deep breath and off I went, down the wall, back to the run where my darling man was waiting for me at the end of the run.

So we’re standing at the end of Green Demon where it turns into a blue run, also called Demon Run, so for the sake of this story, I will call it Blue Demon.  Now, before I go on with this portion of my story, let me explain that I learned after all of this that the color coded runs are not relative to skiing level, but relative to the mountain itself.  Green Demon, on a different mountain would have been Blue and Blue Demon elsewhere would have been Black (advanced).  That said…..

I’m standing there at the top of Blue Demon, looking down and thinking to myself, “Oh my God, this is STEEP!”  I looked up at my husband and said something akin to, “Are you crazy?”  He looked at me and told me to just follow him, and I will be fine.  Easy for him to say!  I’m looking down at a steep ‘bowl shaped’ slope, I’m NOT fine!

So off the husband goes and he, of course, made it look easy.  I took a deep breath and started down this nightmare of a run (remember this is my very first ski trip).  So things are going fine, I’m traversing the slope like a pro, but am beginning to pick up speed.  I keep trudging along and I get getting faster and faster, which makes me a little uneasy.  Suddenly, I hit a bump in the slope and my skis are airborne.  Now, it was probably only a few inches in the air, but might as well been a few feet.  Either way, my skis were in the air, NOT on the mountain!  I landed with relief only to immediately find myself in the air yet again.  This is where my mental crash started to happen.  I knew I was going to crash and I began to panic.

So, when my skis finally touched ground (only a second later, but felt like hours), I tried to hockey stop by turning my skis sideways.  This was the ‘oh shit’ moment, I came right out of my skis while dropping my poles all at the same time.  My body flies through the air and I land on my back, spread eagled and began to spin down the mountain, like a pinwheel on my back.

I’m looking up at the treetops, spinning above me while I’m digging into the snow with my fingernails (my gloves came off in the fall) trying to stop myself.  Finally, I stopped with my head down slope and my feet upslope.  I tilted my head up and could see these two guys gathering up all my stuff that came off me along the way.  My poles, my skis (which were together and perfectly perpendicular to the slope) and my gloves were all gathered up by these young gentlemen.

Meanwhile, I’m getting to my feet, my headband was all pushed back and my sunglasses were catty-cornered along my face.  I swear if I would have slid any further down that mountain, I probably would have ended up naked!

You might be wondering where my husband was during all this…  he was way ahead of me, waiting for me and realized that I had fallen down, but was the epitome of patience and concern, but knew that I was okay since I was standing up.

So the boys get to me and they’re in their 20’s and they say, “Are you alright ma’am?”  I sniffled, the tears flowing down my face and said, “Yes, I’m fine, I’m just really embarrassed!”  They said, “Oh no! Don’t be embarrassed, you looked really cool!  That fall was awesome!”

The youngsters helped me into my skis and assured me that I had made it down the worst part of the run, the rest was a piece of cake.  So, I nervously set out on the second half of the run, and yes that part was a piece of a cake.  We went and hand our lunch and I stayed in the bar the rest of the day having adult beverages.  I was NOT going back up that mountain that day!

Well, I went back the next day and we found an alternate route to the bottom of the mountain that had a few hairpin turns that you certainly didn’t want to miss as you would end up in the trees with a 3 foot drop, broken bones or sudden death assured.  Worse part about that run were the bare spots in it, but those were easy enough to miss.

It was a fun trip but my lesson learned is that I will not go so early in the season ever again!

Until Next Time

Merry Christmas!

I love Robert Earl Keen but this song is a great one.  He and Lyle Lovette were roommates in college.

Merry Christmas From the Family
Robert Earl Keen

Mom got drunk and Dad got drunk at our Christmas party
We were drinking champagne punch and homemade eggnog
Little sister brought her new boyfriend
He was a Mexican
We didn't know what to think of him until he sang
Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad

Brother Ken brought his kids with him
The three from his first wife Lynn
And the two identical twins from his second wife Mary Nell
Of course he brought his new wife Kay
Who talks all about AA
Chain smoking while the stereo plays Noel, Noel
The First Noel

Carve the Turkey
Turn the ball game on
It's margaritas when the eggnog's gone
Send somebody to the Quickpak Store
We need some ice and an extension chord
A can of bean dip and some Diet Rites
A box of Pampers, Marlboro Lights
Halelluja everybody say cheese
Merry Christmas from the family

Fred and Rita drove from Harlingen
I can't remember how I'm kin to them
But when they tried to plug their motor home in
They blew our Christmas lights
Cousin David knew just what went wrong
So we all waited out on our front lawn
He threw the breaker and the lights came on
And we sang Silent Night, Silent Night, Oh Holy Night

Carve the turkey turn the ball game on
It's Bloody Marys
Cause We All Want One!
Send somebody to the Stop 'N Go
We need some celery and a can of fake snow
A bag of lemons and some Diet Sprites
A box of Tampons, some Salem Lights
Halelluja, everybody say cheese
Merry Christmas from the Family

Feliz Navidad!

Good Article

The Lee's Summit Conservative has a wonderful article over there about our personal freedoms, in particular our freedom of speech.

I do have to amend a little something that he wrote over there.  He said, "For all of us to sit idly by and allow the Obama Administration, or any administration whether Republican, Libertarian, or Democrat to further curtail the freedom of speech, the freedom of openly sharing ideas and concepts and even arguments, is to relinquish the rights our forefathers fought to create and to preserve."


While I agree with him in principle, I have to disagree with the premise that our founders created our rights. Our rights are not granted to us by a benevolent government, our rights are inalienable and can never be taken away, they can only be violated.


The moment that we start thinking that someone other than our creator (whatever that may be, intelligent design, or fluke of nature) gave us our rights, is the moment that they can take them away.  Our rights as human beings do not cease to exist simply because a government refuses to acknowledge those rights.  They still exist.  As rational creatures, we must always keep that in mind and always fight to prevent our rights from being violated.


Until next time

It's Almost Over

I guess all the years that I worked retail in my young life has really affected my view of Christmas.  I've come to dread it in my adult life, although, I do have to say that last weekend really reminded me of how joyful it can be when you have small children.

My kids are all grown but my oldest daughter, who pretty much made a mess of her life when she was a teenager, really made me remember of much more fun times when the kids were all small.

My daughter completed her first semester at college without dropping her class and giving up.  So my husband and I surprised her with a laptop computer. We were at my mother's house at a family gathering and she opened her gift, and it was the last thing she expected to get and the look on her face reminded me of a time when Christmas was magical.

She ran to me and jumped in my lap (she's only 4 foot 11 inches and 23 years old) and hugged me so tight.  Tears were flowing all around.  It was a terrific day.  I can only hope that my other grown kids are as appreciative, we'll see.

Sporadic Blogging

I know that you all haven't heard from me in a while, I apologize for that.  It's crazy for me right now at work and the holidays... well...   UGH!  They are busy, too.

Things are good...  am still alive and kicking which is much better than the alternative.  I'm still hoping that Congress will continue to let me keep my hard earned dollars...   of course they keep saying that they are giving tax cuts?  What the hell is that all about?  They are keeping taxes the same, they aren't cutting anything, though I wish they would... starting with cutting their stupid tongues out of their mouths and cutting their crazy budget!

Anyway, soon enough, I'll be blogging more often and probably boring you guys to tears!  Until then, if you celebrate it, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

It’s our money, NOT theirs!

I keep hearing from the MSM how extending Bush’s reversal of Clinton’s tax increases will cost the government x amount of dollars.  When will they ever figure out that this is the money that WE the PEOPLE earn and it doesn’t belong to the government!

How can something that they aren’t already getting cost them money?  Of course, they are deficit spending out the wazoo and they were expecting to get a nice tax increase in January.  You know, if I am expecting a raise, I don’t go out and spend that raise, I wait to see if it actually comes.  Of course they can’t possibly expect to keep the same standard. 

Hypocrites.

The Human Spirit

There is one thing that I have noticed about liberals in general, their hatred of man.  Many of them believe that humans are somehow outside of nature and that what we do destroys rather than builds something productive.

We are, for some reason, supposed to feel guilty for building a livable society.  We are supposed to express the same amount of self-loathing that they undoubtedly feel.  I reject this notion.

I believe that man is basically good.  That what we, as human beings accomplish is within the balance of nature and that whatever odd weather patterns are taking place has little to nothing to do with mankind.

Yesterday, I took my mother and my oldest granddaughter to see The Nutcracker at the Houston Ballet.  It was a first time to see that show for all of us.  I have to say that watching my little granddaughter’s eyes widen when the ballerinas started to dance made me truly believe that the human spirit is alive and well.  It was magical.

As I watched the show in utter amazement, I know that the values that I hold are true.  There is something profound about watching a person perform a craft that they have worked their whole life to accomplish.  This holds true for every profession, but watching the dancers, knowing the countless hours they put into their performance, really moves me.  How can anyone believe that humans are not a part of nature? 

Yes, the human spirit is alive and well.

We are Soooo Screwed!!!

Okay, so I am watching TV and a commercial comes on.  It's a commercial for none other than the CIA.  Apparently they are recruiting for agents....  what the hell is that?  The last line of the commercial is "don't just watch the news, live it"

What the hell????????

It's a sad day when the CIA advertises for agents.  How many of my tax dollars went for that crap?  What's next?

Speaking of Work

I got home from work today and went out in the backyard where Miss Kitty was pretending to be the great mighty Lioness, and stalking a bird.  She kind of reminded me of Snoopy in the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, crouching through the pumpkin patch.

Anyhoo, so when I opened up the back door, the bird flew off.  Miss Kitty immediately gave me the stink eye for chasing off her potential kill.  Penny, the dog, followed me out the door and Miss Kitty was looking as if she was about to start stalking her.  Miss Kitty outweighs Penny 3 to 1 so I guess she figured that if she couldn't have a bird, the dog would do just fine.

Fortunately, Miss Kitty was foiled again as Penny followed me back into the house.

Work Work Work and more Work

I need a vacation to recover from my vacation!  Work has me way busy at the moment so haven't posted.  Never fear though, part two of God My Ass is Cold is coming and it should be good for a laugh or two...

Skating with the Stars

This is week two of Skating with the Stars and I have to say that I'm a little disappointed.

I love ice skating, I think that it's a beautiful sport and the idea of stars getting out there and learning to figure skate is appealing.  Especially those stars that are out of their element, learning something new.

I think that I'm a little let down because I keep expecting it be as fun and exciting as Dancing with the Stars.  The fundamental difference in the two shows is simply the hosts and more importantly, the judges.

I think that these three judges can't hold a candle to Dancing's judges.  Len with his curmudgeonly ways, Carrie Ann and her excitement in the art of dance, and last but certainly not least, Bruno with his crazy metaphors and his ability to utterly annoy Len!

No, I don't think that Skating will be around for a season two unless they get some different judges and a different host.

God My Ass Is Cold!!

So we just got off the pier and it’s a bit chilly.  My butt is what is equivalent to an icicle from sitting in a lawn chair out there.  There was an annual boat parade to be watched and the boat parade was nice, but small this year, no doubt a sign of the economy.

I can remember another time when my ass was as cold, it was on my honeymoon.  Now, before you think that it was a lame honeymoon, stop right there.  The honeymoon was awesome, just the outdoor activities left me a bit chilly at times.

It was my idea to go skiing despite the fact that I once swore that I would never strap two boards to my feet and slide down the side of a mountain.  So imagine his surprise when I suggested to my better half a Durango ski trip to celebrate our marital bliss.

Having only water-skied before along with ice skating, I had never been on snow skis.  In fact, I had never been in snow that deep before in my life.  I have to say that it was amazing to see the lovely white powdery blanket on the slopes.  Wait, did I say powdery?  I meant slushy man-made snow, as it was early in the year plus they were having a drought so they were making the snow.

I did what every beginner should do and took a ½ day lesson with a ski instructor.  I took to it very well and before long, I was taking that bunny slope like a pro (ha ha).  After my lesson was over, I went up to the restaurant and had lunch with the husband and afterward, we decided to go back down to the bunny slope before heading to the top of the mountain.

There was a little trail that led down there, which was called the ski-way.  It was a Snow Cat trail so it was very narrow and a blue (intermediate) run.  So, I ski down this thing and when I was almost to the end, I had to make a hard right turn as to not end up in the trees.

This is when I realized that there are two stages to a crash.  First, there’s the mental crash, then the actual crash itself.  I see the trees coming up on me very fast and my mental crash consisted of my panic and muttering ‘OH SHIT’.  I made the right turn beautifully and was home free when the second, “oh my god I can’t believe I made it” phase commenced.  This is where the true mental crash came and I yelled out my husband’s name and dropped my poles.  The dropping of the poles signaled the rest of my body that was time for the physical crash.  I went down hard and fast, but was unscathed, just a little shaken up.

So I was sitting there on the snow, thinking, “God my ass is cold” as I watched my wonderful man take the little ski-lift up to the top and ski down to collect my things.  I got back up and skied the bunnies a couple of times before deciding that it was time to brave the big mountain.

So that I don’t bore you to death with a story that is way too long to do justice in this post, I will stop here and pick up with a part two of this post in a little while.

Until then………….

What is wrong with these people?

Ridiculous!

Girl gets suspended from school over what she wrote on Facebook.

I am both shocked and a little saddened that we live in an age where a girl will post snarky comments about another girl on Facebook, get her butt kicked by said girl, but end up suspended for writing it in the first place!  Whatever happened to the old saying, ‘sticks and stones’?  Why is it that kids today are being taught that something someone says is so emotionally awful?

Yes, words can hurt, but people should be teaching their kids that they are just words.  Why is it that a school will dictate to kids what they should or should not be posting on a freaking webpage?  Why are we, as parents allowing the schools to raise our children and dictate their morality?  It’s madness!

The girl who invoked physical violence against the other should be the one getting suspended, not the one posting on facebook.

Girl says to other girl, you’re a poopyhead.  Other girl jumps the first girl and beats her up.  School official asks second girl why did she beat up the first girl, second girl says, “she called me a poopyhead!”  School official suspends BOTH girls?  Idiots!

No Fish...... *Big Sigh*

Well, my vacation is almost over and I have to say that thanks to mother nature, fishing just isn't in the cards.  The past few days it was way too windy and then of course the rain, which led the way to the cold front that has set in and I'm just not in the mood to sit on the boat freezing my ta-tas off while waiting for some poor unsuspecting fishie to bite my hook.

It's been a great week though and I'm happy to have gotten the much needed R & R.  No fighting hoards of shoppers and no gropings by TSA agents.  All in all, life is good.

Tonight is our last night of peaceful bliss and it promises to be a good night.  We get to stand outside freezing our ta-tas off while we watch the annual boat parade.  Folks down here decorate their boats with lights and festive decorations, indulge in adult beverages and cruise at a slow pace up the creek, entertaining the masses, who are also indulging in adult beverages.  Gotta love it!

Thought I would do this here........

The Big Guy posted this over at his blog, the BBC's Top 100 Books and thought I would do the same here.  He's a very well read guy, puts me to shame and I'm no slacker!  Maybe this means that my taste in books stinks?  Nah, couldn't be.

Instructions:
Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt. 

1. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen    
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien  
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling (all)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee    
6 The Bible   
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte  
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell    
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman  
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens    
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott  
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller  
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare    
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier    
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien  
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger    
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot    
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald    
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens  
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams  
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh  
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky  
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck  
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll    
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame    
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy  
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens  
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis  
34 Emma – Jane Austen    
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen    
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis    
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Berniere  
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne  
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell    
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown  
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins  
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery  
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood  
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding    
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan  
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen    
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon  
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens    
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley    
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon  
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez  
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck  
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov  
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt  
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold  
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas  
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac    
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding  
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville    
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens  
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker    
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett  
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath  
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome  
78 Germinal – Emile Zola  
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray  
80 Possession – AS Byatt    
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens    
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell  
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro  
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert    
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White   
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle    
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad    
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery  
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks  
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams  
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas  
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare    
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl    
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo 

Thanksgiving.....

The holidays are always kind of a bittersweet time of year for me.  I have fond memories of times past as I make  more cherished memories to hold for the future.

The memories of the past, sometimes make me a little melancholy on days like today as I remember my wonderful childhood and the fun times that I had growing up with my grandparents, my parents, my aunts and uncles and my cousins, most of whom are at least 7 years younger than me.  I cherish those moments, but am sad that they're gone.

Grandparents are all gone to hopefully a better place, along with my father, who I miss every single day, and my mother in law, whose loss I also feel deeply.  The aunts and uncles are still around, but have all scattered in the wind as they all became grandparents and established their on extensions of their own families.  We all try to get together once a year for a Reunion around Christmas time, but even that is not the same.  I guess it kind of sucks growing up.

The very bright side in all of this is that I have a family of my own, extensions of myself, and two beautiful granddaughters that I get to create memories with, and god willing, they will grow up to cherish their times spent as I do now.

The past few years, I've created a tradition of coming to the creekhouse for Thanksgiving and then my father in law, my mom and step-dad and my brother all come down for dinner.  Our kids alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas with the exes and so they aren't here this year.

It's traditional to express what it is we are thankful for, and I for one, am thankful for the family that I have now.  I am so fortunate that I have such a loving husband and a father in law that I love every bit as much as my own dad.  I'm thankful that I had an opportunity to know a mother in law, whose strengths were inspirational. I'm thankful to have a sister in law that I admire and cherish, whose perseverance in her own life, inspired me to seek higher education and better myself.

I'm thankful for my children, all four of them, and my grandchildren.  I can't express how thankful I am for my mother and our relationship, though for a long time was strained, but we've grown closer than I could ever have imagined.  I'm thankful for my brother and my Uncle, who are both the last bits of my father I that I have.

 I think that one of the things that I am most thankful for, is my childhood.  I had a really good one and growing up with the two most wonderful parents in the world, parents who worked through their problems and stayed married until the day my father passed away.  It's a rarity in this day and age and I was lucky.

All in all, it's been a wonderful life and I am working hard to keep making good memories for not just myself, but my family.  I love them all.

Mud Rasslin'

It was a wonderful day, though only tiny fish were caught, I did see some good friends in the intra-coastal waterway and in the channel at Mitchell’s Cut.  I saw, for the second time in 10 years, porpoise swimming around.  It was a great sight, and I loved every second of it.

It seems to me that more often than not, when the husband and I go fishing, at some point we are going to end up in the mud.  Of course, I’ve mentioned that it usually ends up with me bailing over the side of the boat to push us out while he masterfully mans the helm. 

You may be thinking that we are horrible sailors, but you really need to understand that where we go fishing, it gets very shallow, very quickly in a lot of places.  Our little bay is only about 5 ½ feet deep at its deepest point.  Ending up in the mud is no anomaly around here, even for the most seasoned captains.

Today, was a little different.  While we did get stuck in the mud, I didn’t have take a trip in the water to get us out.  I was thankful for that, though we damn near blew up a $10,000 outboard motor, not to mention the water pump to the bait well.  Fortunately, all is well on that front.

This, of course reminds me of a time when we ended up in the mud in the johnboat and we had a buddy of ours with us.  So without further ado, I am going to tell that story in an attempt to entertain the masses once more.

My husband, our friend Willam, and I were in the johnboat, headed down to the cut to go fishing.  My husband was at the helm and he ended up making a wrong turn.  In all fairness, the channel markers were really unclear and so he was a little confused.

Anyway, he makes his turn and suddenly we are at a dead stop, the motor is churning up mud, we had run aground.  William had this adorable ‘deer in the headlights’ look and he was just looking at me, then at the husband, then back at me again. 

Finally, I spoke up and said, “Fine, send a woman overboard to do a man’s job!” And of course, swinging both feet overboard, I descend into the mud.  The problem here was that I sank into that mud thigh deep!

Of course, not to be outdone, William decides that he’s not going to let a girl get the better of him and he decides to join me in the mud.  In doing so, the poor man only stepped out of the boat with one foot and as he began sinking in the mud, the side of the boat proceeded to play TSA agent and plant itself right in his boys.

The look on poor William’s face as he made an “OOF” sound and proceeded to fall overboard was classic.  He knocked me on my rear end in the mud which was a whole other bikini bottom issue for me, but despite it all I, was doing my best to stifle to a laugh as I fixed my issues and then helped him up.  We did get the boat out of the mud and get back into the water and made our way to our destination.

The moral of the story, when you have to go overboard, do so with both feet, you never know about those soggy bottoms!

Until next time.

The Bucket and the String

My husband is such a character.  They always say that you end up with someone who is like your father, if you're a woman, and if you're a man, like your mother.  I am a classic example of this theory.

My dad was a classic jack of all trades, but he was a master of many.  He did have a funny way of rigging things up to fix them in a pinch.  The best one, I think was a wire hanger sticking out of the lawn mower engine, why I don't know, but it was there to fix something or other and we got a few good years out of that mower.  My dad could fix about anything, though and that's one of the best memories of him that I have.

My husband, who is downstairs as we speak experimenting on painting techniques for his van, is another one that can fix about anything, especially if he has a book in his hands.  He re-built a transmission from a book, and he rebuilt a lower unit on a boat, again from a book.  The man is a genius.  His boss calls him MacGyver because once he fixed a cabinet drawer with a rubber band and a paper clip.  To quote a movie, 6 days 7 nights, he's one of those guys with skills, that can build you a shopping mall with a q-tip and pocket knife.

When my husband and I were dating, his hot water heater for the townhouse was leaking onto the shelf on which it sat.  Fearful that it would rot the wooden shelf and cause a whole other problem, my husband decided to fix it.  He goes into the house and comes back with a bucket and a string.

Puzzled, I asked him, "what are you going to do with that?"  He said, "Just watch."

He tied the end of the string around the spicket that was leaking then stretched it tight and tied the other end to the bucket handle.  Then, he maneuvered the bucket to where the string was directly under the drip.  I'll be damned if that water didn't roll right down the string and drip in the bucket!

I know it sounds simple, but I was amazed and impressed.  I think that was the moment that I knew that I was going to marry that man.  I was over the moon in love with him as it was, but that instance really sealed the deal.

I am a lucky woman.  I'm not really sure what I did to deserve him, but I'm thankful just the same.

Until next time.

Ahhhhh...........

Vacation at last.  8 whole days of R & R on the water, fishing, boating (freezing, I'm sure) and eating and having some adult beverages.  I promise that I won't be rasslin any motors though, but I'm sure that I'll have some stories to tell.

A trip in the boat with the husband usually means something fun will happen, I just hope that I don't have to bail over the side of the boat to get us out of the mud like I so often have to do......

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.........

I have been reading the Harry Potter books for years, and I've seen every movie to date.  All of the books are fantastic and well written.  As the series gets more involved and the books get longer, how Ms. Rawlings managed to keep up with all the twists and turns is amazing to me.

Movies rarely do a book justice.  Hollywood has a way of trimming down a book to where you end up disappointed.  There are a few rare exceptions, but for the most part, a movie is never is good as the book.

In the Harry Potter movies, the first three movies were pretty close to the books, of course the books are shorter than the last four.  Once Goblet of Fire hit the theater, I was sorely disappointed because they cut out so many important details that had I never read the book I would have been left confused.  As it was I was merely let down.

After that let down, I still went to see the Order of the Phoenix and The Half Blood Prince in theaters, in hopes that Hollywood would either, make a longer movie with an intermission or maybe do them in two parts, releasing them within a couple of months of one another.  They, of course did not, and I went from feeling let down, to annoyed, to finally, disgusted.

The special effects in Goblet, Phoenix and Prince were outstanding, but there was just too much missing from the movies that are crucial to the connection of it all.

Loyal Harry Potter fan that I am, I decided to go and watch The Deathly Hallows, glad that they did it in two parts, but without getting my hopes up.  I have to say that I walked out of the theater very pleasantly surprised and excited for the next part to come out.  Hollywood, finally got it right!  While there are missing bits in this movie, all in all, I think that they have done well.

The movie is long, so I suggest that you use the restroom before you go in and buy a small drink rather than a large.  You don't want to miss a minute of this one.  The special effects are fantastic and the kids (now all grown up) are much better actors.  There are laughs, (when Harry, Ron and Hermione are at Mr. Lovegood's house drinking tea, watch the look on Ron and Hermione's faces when they sip their tea in the background, it's funny) and there are moments that will make you cry, there are scary moments as well and parts that will make you jump out of your seat.

Warning, this is not a movie for little kids.  I do not suggest taking your elementary school kids to see this movie.  There are a couple of risqué scenes (though mildly so) that aren't kid appropriate and like I said, there are some scary parts as well.

All in all, I give this movie a huge thumbs up.  I'm so ready for the final movie!

Until next time.......

I can see it now...........

You remember how when you were kids and you would play 'post office' or 'doctor'?

The new game curious kids will play will be, "Hey, wanna play TSA agent?"

Hello Russia!

I'm not sure who it is, but apparently I have a reader or two in Russia.  Whoever you are, hello to you!  Not sure what you find interesting about what I'm posting, but thanks for reading!

One of my favorites.....

Just gotta love Annie Lennox's voice. She's truly a classic.

Cheap Thrills and Inconveniences

Airport security now offers either a cheap thrill or a major inconvenience, pick your poison.  You can now either get some security person off by being scanned (no nook or cranny unrevealed) or you can get mutual gratification by getting felt up by some security person.

Well, okay, that's what you would call hyperbole, but if the cheap thrill fits.............. well, you know the rest.

In all seriousness, my tendency towards intellectual honesty makes me see these things in two different lights. First, I am unwilling to give up my individual liberty for the sake of feeling 'safe'.  I do not want some government worker to have their hands on my body, nor do I care to have them laugh (or enjoy, either or) at my nooks and crannies (or as Brigette Jones would say, "My wobbly-bits")  in the screening room.  I believe that I should be able to get on a plane and travel with minimal inconvenience to me that can reasonably be expected.  What gives the government the right to perform what equates to a strip search without probable cause?  The answer to that is, we did.  Remember the Patriot Act?

Then there is the other side of this and that is simply that if I want to fly on an airplane, then I must comply with the security screening rules, or I am free to drive, take a train or a bus.  Flying on an airplane, really isn't a right and no one must fly, we do have other options.  Those who are on business?  Well, maybe they can come up with a an alternative for them, such as fingerprinting (something else that I'm not a fan of) or some kind of pre-screening.

Here's another thought......  we could always profile like any other sane country would do and check the most likely suspects, rather than strip searching little old ladies with blue hair!

Of course asking our government to do anything that makes sense is a very tall order.  Another election in two years, sad thing is that the Republicans are the ones that gave us the Patriot Act...  joy joy!  Not much hope on the horizon, it's unfortunate.

Until next time....

What are they thinking?

Why are we funding this to begin with?  Why can’t the government and more importantly, why can't the people who are governed realize that for the government to be into the business of state-sponsored media, is just one more step towards government control over the information that we receive.  Not good.

I realize that we have funded NPR and PBS for years, but it’s time to stop.  I've seen PBS with an agenda for years, and NPR would be out of business if not for tax dollars.  It's time to let the programming stand on its own merit.

Can I Really Keep My Own Money?!

Thank you oh benevolent one!

This really irks me to no end. The government informing me that I get to keep the money that I earned that it doesn't consider me to be 'rich' by their standards. By what right do they do this to us? By what measure do they consider 'wealthy'?

$251,000.00 in Texas is living nicely, but in California? Not so much. Who do these fucktards think they are? Who are they to tell US how to live? I'm sick of it.

Let's hope that the results of this past election wakes the rest of them up and they realize that they need to actually listen to those of us out here who actually earn a living, rather than those who will continue to suck the lifeblood out of the rest of us!

Ayn Rand is probably rolling in her grave to see what has become of this great nation that she so loved!

Until next time.

I survived!

Shopping was actually fun today.  My daughter was sweet and we had a very nice girl's day out.  She ended up with lots of nice clothes and I bought myself a small bottled of Chanel No. 5.  The mall was packed today, which is frustrating to me, I don't like crowds.

I would have preferred fishing.

The Joys of Motherhood

Today I get the honor of taking my sometimes snarky teenager shopping.  I'm really looking forward to it because lately she hasn't been as snarky as her usual self.  I hope it's a good day.

I told her last week, "I'll be glad when you get older and have kids of your own so I can be smart again."

Gridlock and Pointy Things..

I couldn’t be happier at the election results this past Tuesday.  Well okay, that’s not exactly true, I would be much happier if the party that is taking over were Libertarian rather than Republican but it’s better than what we have.  The best news is that with Republicans controlling the House, and Democrats controlling the Senate, DC will be in somewhat of a gridlock which is a win for all of us.  When Congress can’t get anything done, we are all better off!

I have decided that we are better off when there are checks and balances, that way, one party can’t railroad the other party and pass laws that limit our freedoms, whether it’s a socialist agenda (healthcare) or a moral agenda (defining marriage) or an idiotic agenda (limiting the ability of law abiding citizens to defend themselves ie. gun control).  Right now, I’m so happy I could burst into a fit of the giggles.  Aside from Washington being castrated at the moment, I’m sure that over the next two years I will have plenty of material to write about.

On a lighter note, I am starting dart league again in a couple of weeks.  Yes, I love to throw sharp objects at stationary targets and at one time, I was one of the best women in the league, though I’m a little rusty right now because I have taken some time off.  I’m not sure what our team name is going to be but the players in the dart league come up with some funny ones, one year there was a team called “Drunks with pointy things”.

Funny dart story:

One night I was playing in a tournament and this drunken fool kept walking in front of my board.  I asked him several times to please not do that and he would just ignore me. Finally, the last time, I got a little forceful with him and he proceeded to tell me exactly what I could do with my darts.

I kept throwing and a little while later, I see him out of the corner of my eye, making his way toward me, soooooo…   accurate shot that I am, I led him a little and launched my dart, hitting him right in the arm.  Now, don’t worry folks, these were plastic tip darts so the points aren’t very long, but the dart did stick in his arm.  He squealed and screamed like a little girl.

Naturally, I apologized and explained, in my sweetest Southern Belle voice, that I didn’t see him coming and I reminded him that I did ask him several times to not walk there.

He wasn’t happy with me, but, he never walked that way again.

Until next time…………

Buh Bye, Good Luck, Good Riddance!

Ha!  I am watching the election returns and couldn't be more happy to see the backside of a Democratic majority.  I can only hope that they retain the Senate so that Washington will be gridlocked!  The less they do up there, the better!

Let's hope that if the Republicans squeak out a lead in both the House and Senate that they don't have a massive brain fart and squander their majority and hopefully, they don't try to be more like Democrats this time around!

Time will tell.

People Watching

One of my favorite things to do is go to a public place or an event and simply watch the people around me.  Sometimes they amaze me but most of the time, I find that the gene pool is slowly turning into a cesspool.

Okay, so maybe it’s not the gene pool that’s turning bad, but rather what our society is turning in to.  We are raising kids to not respect authority, to not really care about their behavior because they know that nothing can be done to them, and quite frankly, we are teaching them that they are entitled to receive anything that they want without that pesky little inconvenience of earning it.

Allow me to explain.  Thursday night, I went to a high school football game to watch my daughter perform her duties as an athletic trainer.  While I was there, the kids in the stands were shouting and chanting things like, “Kick their Ass, Kick their Ass” and other obscenities that when I was in school, the Principles or Assistant Principles would have been all over us for doing.  There are countless other examples that I have seen through the years as a volunteer parent at my kids’ high school.

One of the parents in the stands commented on the chanting going on and said, “When I was in school, we didn’t dare say those things like that, at least not chanting it at a school function, the Principles would have been all over us!”

I said, “Yes well, back in the day, the Principles would have pulled you from the stands and either, suspended you from school, or gave you a good paddling.  These kids aren’t afraid of getting in trouble anymore because they know that nothing really bad can happen to them.”

Gone are the days that you could get suspended from school and not be allowed to make up your work.  Now, instead of students getting suspended (they lose funding if a student is absent) they put them in On Campus Suspension, which is no fun, so that one is not too bad.

Gone are the days that a really bad kid, like a BULLY, would get kicked out of school.  They just get sent to an alternative school, with other bad kids and after they’ve done their time, they come back meaner than before.

Gone are the days of corporeal punishment.  While I’m not a fan of this method of punishment, I do have to admit that it does tend to keep the kids in line if it’s absolutely necessary.  It is a great deterrent for the average kid to actually be afraid of their teacher paddling them.

Now what we have are kids who know that there are no real consequences for their actions.  More and more parents aren’t taking the time to parent their children, so kids are coming home to houses with little or no supervision.  Kids aren’t being taught to respect their elders, in fact, they are taught that they have a right to rebel, or that they have a right to be heard.

Try explaining to a kid that there is no right to be heard.  Sure you can speak, but our constitution does not guarantee anyone the right to be heard.

Any way you look at it, I see many kids that are disrespectful and unaware that they are spoiled and pampered and if left to fend for themselves, well, they will get nowhere.  I guess my point is that by and large, kids today don’t realize that they have it good, they take, take, take but give little back.

Sometimes, I look at the up and coming generation and I think, “God help us”.  I guess that means that I’m getting old because I'm sure my parents said the same exact thing.

Until next time.

Busy Busy Busy

It's been crazy busy this week, then last night I went to one of the best weddings that I've ever attended.  Then, this morning, I played in a company golf tournament and made one of the best shots of my life.  It was beautiful and of course the weather was beautiful as well...........

What a day!

Wow............

Okay, this blog thing is pretty cool.  I don't know why I'm getting readers across the globe but so far here is a list of places that are reading or viewing my blog:

United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Canada, Australia, Russia, South Korea, The Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico.  The only thing that I can think of is maybe some of Borepatch's readers are finding me.  I know that one did (The Big Guy) and made a comment.

I have a feeling that a lot of these hits are from US Soldiers stationed overseas who might read Borepatch.  If that's the case, I have to say that I'm honored and thank you so much for serving!

At any rate, it's nice to know that folks are out there reading.  I'll keep posting!

Thanks for reading.

Another Romeo??

I got home from the gym this evening and there, in my flower bed, is yet another peeping Tom...  literally, a different tom cat hanging around.

Would somebody please inform the neighborhood cats that Miss Kitty is not available for romance?  She's spayed!

Of course, it doesn't help that the little tart will sit in the windowsill and prance around like something straight out of the red light district!

But then with a face like this, the boys can't help but dream!

If they only knew that she was not very much a lady, she's a big bully (and I mean big, she's 15 pounds), truth be known.  She torments my poor little (5 pound) Poodle, Penny.

 


Until next time......

Gotta love a good party

Last night I went to a costume party, which was fun.  Here are some photos that I took....

This is me....   bad hair, but oh well.

Me up close......  now THAT's scary stuff!

My friends Becky (left) and Tara (right).

Me getting staked by my buddy and future dart teammate Lee....

If you look closely, there's a dancer in the cage!

By far my favorite costume...   pay no attention to the passed out dude in the left hand corner..

.  The Mad Hatter won in my book, hands down!

Butch up, dude!

It’s been kind of a hectic week this week so I haven’t made any posts.  That will happen from time to time because, well, life is just that way sometimes.

This week, the City of Houston hosted what they called an Anti-Bullying Summit, where they addressed the age old problem of bullying.  It’s not that I have a problem with addressing the issue, but what I want to know is why the parents haven’t taught their kids to stand up for themselves?

I realize that there is a bully in every school and also, not every personality is capable or willing to fight back, but sometimes, the kind, gentle kid just needs to hear from his/her parents, “It’s okay to fight back, I will stand by you no matter what.”

There is a ‘no tolerance’ policy in schools now days, so even when a kid is defending his/herself they will also not only get suspended from school; in some cases they will also get arrested.  I think, while this policy means well, it sometimes puts good kids in harm’s way by making them afraid to stand up for themselves.

My step-son was in a situation when he lived with his mother, where he was being bullied by the kids in his class.  It was really becoming a big problem for him, he didn’t want to go to school, he wasn’t eating, and he wasn’t sleeping.

My husband finally told him that it was okay to defend himself.  The boy child expressed that he was afraid to do anything because he didn’t want to get into trouble.  My husband assured him that while he might get into trouble at school, we would all stand by him and he would not be in trouble at home.  Picking fights gets him in trouble, self defense does not.

So about a week later, the kids (who are in general cruel by the way) all decided to play a little game of “Let’s kick my son in the nuts repeatedly” while they were on the play ground.  My son, who had enough of this, decided to bloody the ring-leader’s nose.

My son got in trouble, my husband had to go to the school and talk to the principle.  The principle was shamed into admitting that his teachers were not keeping close enough watch on the kids at recess and the best result of it all was that after that moment, my son was pretty much left alone.

So with all of these anti- bullying summits going on, I hate to say it, but it’s a waste of time to try and stop bullying.  Bullying is just something that is always going to happen.  There will always be cowards who pick on the weak, what we need is to teach kids how to stand up for themselves and fight back, and we need a little common sense in the schoolyard, not an across the board ‘no tolerance’ policy.

If we don’t teach our kids how to stand up and fight for their rights as children, they will never do it as adults.  That, my friends, can be bad for us all.

Until next time…………

Big Girls Don't Cry......

As promised in the comments section of Motor Rasslin, here is the story of how I cracked my heel at the creek house.  A big thanks to that tattling husband of mine for ratting me out.

We were dating at the time and I guess I was still trying to impress him, though I had, by this time won his heart.  Once again, those pesky adult beverages were involved and for whatever reason, I decided to attempt, at the age of 30, a forward hand spring in the front yard.  When I was younger, I could do them no problem, but at the time, my mind thought I was still young, my body; however, disagreed.

So, I took off running across the yard and completed my handspring, quite nicely, I landed on my heels though (I was barefoot) and ended up falling on my behind.  I got up, a little embarrassed and decided to try and save face and do it again, you know, to prove that I could really stick a landing.

I'm walking up through the yard, towards the house and I feel this slight pain in my right heel.  I decided to ignore that pain in my heel and try it again anyway.  So, once again I take off running, this time faster than before and I sprung myself forward, landing on my hands, then catapulting myself over onto........  that's right.. my heels again....   this time, the pain shot up through my heel, and up through my leg.

Of course, I landed on my backside again, but I was on my feet long enough for it to be considered a landing that stuck.  Lucky me ended up with a limp for years while my heel was healing.  A couple years after this happened we started playing softball, and when I ran, I favored that heel by running on the ball of my feet...  I ended up with shin splints.

My gymnastics days, are thankfully over.  My youngest daughter, who was 4 at the time, asked me "Mommy did that hurt?"  I said, "Well yes it did, but big girls don't cry."

It's amazing what we will do to try and impress our significant other.

Until next time...........

Robin Hood, Thief or Hero?

Last night while I was enjoying my wonderful meal of what was left of our live bait, cleaned and boiled, cocktail sauce and side veggies, my husband and I were watching Shrek.  Yes, I know, but it was the only thing that was on the tube that was worth watching.  In the movie there is a reference made about Robin Hood and how he robbed the rich and gave to the poor.

Quite frankly, it appalls me how so many people get the general concept of Robin Hood so confused.  I’ve even heard the concept of the heroic Robin Hood who took from the rich and gave to the poor referred to in defense of a socialist agenda.  Had Robin Hood simply been robbing the rich, I would call him a thief, not a hero. 

What part of the rich person’s profits did I earn exactly?  While they took the chance and invested or had a talent, or the ingenuity and entrepreneurship to build a multi-million dollar business and I did nothing, how is it that I earned a piece of that?  I didn’t.  Socialists will argue that it doesn’t matter, that it’s social justice, that for someone to become wealthy, they MUST have done something dishonest to obtain it.

The story of Robin Hood isn’t about taking from the rich to give to the poor; it’s about returning extorted tax dollars back to the people so that they can thrive on their own.  Remember, in the story, the people are dirt poor and taxed so heavily that they are desperate.  The people are enslaved by a greedy stand in King and a corrupt sheriff.

Robin was stealing tax dollars from the government and returning it to the hands of the people who earned it.  In that scenario, the true scenario, Robin Hood is my kind of guy.  In fact, we could use another Robin Hood in this day and age.

Until next time……….

You know it's really bad...

...when you go fishing and you end up eating your bait.  Look at the size of these shrimp!  I guess the bait-guy thought we were fishing for Moby Dick.  At any rate, dinner will be yummy!

Silly Falls and Motor Rasslin’

That’s motor wrestling for those of you who aren’t versed in redneck-speak.

My husband and I are down at the coast at the family house on the creek for a little weekend R&R and some fishing.  We hope that it’s a catching trip, not just a fishing trip, but either way, there’s nothing better.  We try to get down here at least once a month.  This house is very special to us since it’s the place where we spent the better part of our courtship.

This morning, I took the dog (Penny) outside to do her morning business.  The house is built on 12 foot pilings in case of flooding and so taking the dog out, requires a trip down the stairs.  This morning, that ‘trip down stairs’ changed from a travel type trip to a stumbling type trip and I’m lucky that I didn’t break my ankle considering that I missed the last step and stumbled to the ground, my ankle rolling forward.

Naturally, I had to stand up real quick and look around as if to say, “I meant to do that!” just in case anyone happened to be looking.  I dusted myself off and when Penny accomplished her mission, I went back upstairs and was reminded of another fall that I had about 12 years ago.

As I mentioned earlier, my husband and I spent most of our weekends at the creekhouse while we were dating.  The reason for that is that he has two kids and I have two kids and it was a good way for all of us to be together, and let the kids run and play and wear themselves out.

One weekend in particular, we didn’t have the kids with us so we decided to take the johnboat out on a fishing trip.  When we got back, we, of course had to clean up the boat and flush the motor and take the motor off the back of the boat (it was only a 14 HP motor with a tiller attached to it) and store the motor in the storage closet under the house.

Naturally, adult beverages were involved in this whole process, but I was really feeling the love that day and wanted to show my man that his woman can take care of herself.

So we flushed the motor with fresh water and washed out the boat so it was as pretty as a johnboat can be and my man goes to the storeroom to get the stand (or dolly, it had wheels) that the motor rested on.  At this point in time, KX59 (my man) was trying to hurry because he had a feeling what was going to happen next.

I don’t know what came over me, but I decided that I would lift the motor off the transom and walk it to the dolly, meeting KX59 half way.  Well back then, that portion of the driveway was made of limestone rock so there were a lot of large, loose rocks.  The motor wasn’t heavy, it only weighed 60 pounds, that was about half of my weight at the time.  The trouble was not just the terrain I was walking on, but mostly it was the fact that the motor had a long shaft so it was very awkward to carry.

So, I’m holding this motor, walking like a Geisha because that’s all that the long shaft will allow my feet to move; and suddenly I step on a large rock and all hell breaks loose.

First, I shout out KX’s name and then as creative and very skilled cuss words pass my lips, I begin to fall forward.  Not wanting to drop the motor, I pull it close to my chest as both my feet slide in an unnatural direction (skyward).  At this point, all I see is the ground coming at me and all I can think of is that I’m going to break the motor and I can’t afford to buy a new one! 

The motor hits the ground and I land on it.  It’s really more like I body slammed it and managed to knock every bit of wind out of my lungs and quite possibly crack a rib or two.  Meanwhile, KX59 has returned from the shed in time to see me falling down and immediately rushes to my side.

At this point, not only can I not breathe, my pride is crushed.  I rolled over onto the ground and I see KX’s face over me and I barely croaked out three words, “Don’t touch me!”  The pain that I was feeling felt like nothing that I had felt since I was a kid and fell out of a tree (a whole other story).  I felt like my lungs were on fire and I was all scraped up.

Eventually, the air came back to my lungs and we went upstairs.  I was fine, though my pride was not.  The motor was just fine as well, if not a little scratched up.

Love makes us do crazy things sometimes, doesn’t it?