GunDiva: A Brief Driving History (and a long post)

This is the car I learned to drive in:

1977 Toyota Corolla 5-speed, total baseline model, no bells and wistles.

This is the car my parents let me take my driver's test in:

Or thereabouts.  No matter.  The point is, that it's roughly three times the size of the Toyota, with power steering (yes, I tried to kill the examiner while turning a corner), automatic transmission, and power brakes.  Yeah, even at a fairly early age my parent's were trying to off me.

After I graduated from high school, I took my grad gifts and bought this (only mine wasn't in nearly as good a shape as this one)...

Yup, paid $300 cash.  Had to bleed it's brakes every time I drove it.  Not once a week, not once a month.  Every. freaking. time.  Yup, got good at bleeding all four brake lines by myself.  Drove it 'til it died.

Since I bought that gawdawful Ford Courier in 1989 (I think the one I bought was early 70's), I've driven pretty much disposable cars my whole life.  My all-time favorite disposable car was this one...

Okay, my Mighty Mav wasn't even close to being in this good of shape.  I picked up the Mighty Mav from a friend whose best friend had driven it through the front doors of our local Diamond Shamrock (I paid $100).  I was then hit by an idiot a year later, who knocked the rust off of the original dent.  A cop saw the idiot, wrote her a ticket that pretty much guaranteed that I would forever love the Mighty Mav.  The idiot's insurance paid me a couple of hundred dollars for the "damage" incurred by their insured's idiocy.  I drove it 'til it died.

Thus has been the story of my long and semi-varied car past.  There's been a Chevy Corsica that my ex-husband tried to slide down the side of one of the dams at Horsetooth, a Ford Taurus that I got in exchange for the child support my ex-husband wasn't paying that left me stranded in Denver when the transmission exploded, untold number of 80's Honda Accords (my total go-to car).  I'm pretty sure I've thrown in a Toyota or two as well.  And a Jeep Cherokee that was killed when a ramp on wheels ran a red light and flipped us over.  Oh...and a couple of minivans.  Thanks to Mom and Bill during the rough years when they were the ones who let me use the Jeep (RIP) and the minivans.  You know, right up until they died.

So, basically, I've only ever driven disposable cars.  I've never paid more than $1800 E-V-E-R for a car.  And I've always driven them until they died.  Wait...I sold the Suzuki Samauri...that one didn't die.  But only because I sold it before it died.  That's another car I loved.  Had to spray starter fluid in the air intake to start it most of the time, but it loved the cold weather.  Ran at its best when the temp dropped below 40 degrees (but the heater - not so much).  Damn I miss that Sammy.

Yesterday, marked the first day of my "grown up" ownership of a car.  I broke out of my $1800/car rut and bit the bullet.  I mean, I've already got $62k in student loan debt that I'm paying on, why not add another $20k ($17k plus taxes and dealer handling, of course)?

My demands were simple: a car that would get at least as good gas mileage as my '89 Accord (30-32 mpg), under $20k, that I could haul my trap thrower, guns and horse crap in.  RockCrawlinChef and I wandered car lots on Sunday and found a few that fit the bill: a Kia Soul (love them hamsters), a Scion (xB and xD), a Honda Fit (ugh, hideous, marked that one right off the list), a Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Cube (oh, hell no, I'm not buying a "cube Mobile Device"), a Toyota Corolla (remember, I learned to drive in one).  Yes, you will notice that there are no American cars on the list.  That would be because this is the American car I want and I can't even come close to affording it...

Now, this is a S-E-X-Y car.  To borrow from the Ashinator, if I was a car, I'd so have sex with this car.  Lots and lots of sex.

However, the Challenger is definitely a look-don't-touch car and wwwwaaaaaayyyyyy out of my price range.

After spending Sunday walking the lots, we came back and did research and I did side-by-side comparisons of the cars we'd looked at.  I promised RCC that I'd test drive all of them, but alread had my heart set on the Kia Soul.  Monday, after RCC got off of work, we set off to the dealership.  I drove the Soul in a standard transmission and really, really liked it, but wanted to drive the automatic.  I hated it.  Had I not driven the standard first, I would have walked away.  Since I'd promised RCC we'd test drive them all, we left the Kia dealership and headed over to Toyota to drive the Scion.  I didn't like the xB - the a-posts were in the way and I was unpleasantly surprised by a bicyclist suddenly appearing in the road.  I did, however, love the xD.

I didn't actually drive all of the cars on our list, as I'd already narrowed it down to two in my mind. It was a toss up between the Scion xD and the Soul. I liked them both equally. True, the Soul had a few more creature comforts, but I could have gone either way.

Let me tell you, the ONLY reason I bought the Soul over the Scion xD (yes, it was that close), was the salesperson.  The Kia salesperson was pleasant and easy to deal with.  The Toyota salesperson was a moody little bitch (and he was a boy) who had nothing to say to either of us during both of our test drives.

Let me introduce you to the newest member of the family...

She's yet unnamed, but I'm sure we'll come up with a good one for her.  Afterall, she's my first ever new-new car and I'm almost forty years old.  I'll take my time to come up with just the right name for her.

Gather 'Round, T!nK Could Use A Favor

Most of you know my bloggy "son", T!nK (Nathanael), from This Is How It Feels: A Survivor's Guide.  And most of you know that he was honorably discharged from the Army because he's gay.  He had to fight like a tiger to get his honorable discharge; it's actually a dishonorable discharge offense.  Can you believe that happy crappy?

Anygovernmentbullshit, T!nK has applied to be a cast member on a documentary called Out in America, about what it's like to be GLBT in America.  I think he's got an incredible story to be told, and his is just one of many.  One of the factors involved in being cast is open voting.  To vote, click here and find Nathanael (hint: he's the one stuffing his face with Ramen).  Currently, due to the number of votes he has, he's on the first page.

Monday Minute

Continuing the co-hosts, this week it's Jana from Boobies, Babies and a Blog. Jana wrote the last four questions this week cause she rules like that.



Has anyone you've known personally lived to at least 100?
Nope, but Grandma Mary's well on her way.  Nine decades down, one to go.
What material possession do you value the most?
Currently, Eloise, my nook.
What do you think happens to us after we die?
Haven't decided.  Guess I'll find out at some point though.

Most embarrassing item in your house?
The state of my house, not an item.  But I can't afford a maid yet.
and finally...
If you could rename yourself, what would your name be?
I actually like most of my name.  The part I don't like, I just abbreviate.

Momma, Momma Fargo, Where Are You?

I think the naked crazy guy on I-80 could have used a little Momma Fargo time.  At least, I'd love to hear her take on it.

I mean, you really can't make this shit up.  Some guy starts ramming other cars on the road, then gets out of his car - naked - and runs back and forth across traffic, then tries breaking into cars that are stopping to help, steals a gun out of one of the cars and shoots up the car from the inside, before getting back in his own car and chasing down the car that he'd originally hit.  And that's just the tip of the iceburg.  Click on the link to read the article.  Really, I couldn't make this shit up. 

Well, I could.  But you wouldn't believe me.

Handwriting Schmandwriting

Meg over at Mind of a Mad Woman tagged me for a fun me-me thingy.

How many times have you wondered what someone's handwriting looks like?  I mean, we all have certain fonts that we associate with our blog friends, and we can usually identify who wrote what, just because we all have different writing voices.  So...just for a fun peek at each other's handwriting Meg's friend came up with this Handwriting Project.

Of course, there are rules, otherwise, how would we know what to write.

The "rules" say to write down the following stuff, then take a picture & post it for y'all to see before tagging a few of you so that I can see what your scrawl looks like.
1. Name/Blog Name
2. Right Handed, Left Handed or Both
3. Favorite letters to write
4. Least favorite letters to write
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps: CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics
8. Tag 7 people
9. Any special note or drawing

Got those rules?  Great, here's my writing sample...

#7 song lyrics:  Jimmy Dreams, Jimmy Buffett

#8 People I'm tagging:

• 
  
  Mr. Daddy
• 
  
  Rachel
• 
  
  Crazy Texas Mommy
• 
  
  Mrs Mom
• 
  
  T!nK
• 
  
  Sara
• 
  
  Aunt Crazy

Ready...set...go!  I'm waiting to see your handwriting.

Adventures of Ashinator: Back From Vacation

Guess who's back, back again, Ash is back, tell some friends.

Guess who's back! Guess who's back! Guess who's back!

Yup, I'm back, and loving the weather.

It was 105+ degrees everyday I was in AZ. It was horrible, but great to see my family again. I love them and miss them so much. My sister is here in CO for a week so I'll get to spend time with her some more!

I had so many adventures and I have no idea what to write about!

OHMYGOD! THE YANKEES GAME!

I had the pleasure and honor of attending my first Yankees game EVER while in AZ.

Oh my goodness, I was overwhelmed. I was so close to Jeter! And A Rod! And Rivera!

Okay, well, Rivera didn't get to pitch but he was there! Pettitte pitched 7 innings and he's a great pitcher too.

It was the greatest experience ever! Especially to get to gloat to all the damn D-Backs fans that weren't even actual fans they just wanted to pretend. Kinda like when the Rockies made it to the world series against the Red Sox (BOOO!) a few years back and all of the sudden EVERYONE was a fan. Bullshit. They just wanted to see the Yankees. And man did the Yanks OWN THEIR SHIT. Final score 9-3.

Oh man, I could go on for ages about that game.

Over the next few weeks I will expose all of my AMAZING adventures in AZ!

But for now, I'm going to go color in my new Toy Story coloring book!

WOOHOO!

-Richie Valens

Random Meeting Thoughts

Warning: Foul language post today.  If you don't want to read bad words, click the little red "X" in the upper right-hand corner.  Also, if I work with you, this is totally not about you, it's about all those other idiots in the meeting.  If you're a co-worker reading this, I totally love you.

Here's a quick sampling of the thoughts that run through my brain at meetings:

• Good Lord, if that woman doesn't shut the hell up, I'm going to swallow a bullet.
• Oh. hell. no.  I'm not going to swallow a bullet, but I just may kill her with it instead.
• Will my co-workers help me post bail if I go up for homicide?
• Seriously, is there an abundance of stupid today?
• That's it.  I'm going to fucking kill her.  Who gives a damn if my co-workers won't pitch in for bail?
• Will she ever shut that big mouth?
• Well...I see someone is fond of flaunting an uneducated opinion.
• Jee-sus Christ if he would let someone else talk, he might learn something.
• Didn't the mediator just clarify that point three times?  Oh, that's right, she couldn't hear the clarification because she was flapping her gums.
• Can I dig my eyeballs out with this pen?
• No, I'm going to stab this pen in my ears instead, then I don't have to hear that voice.
• I wonder if I could hire that guy who came to enroll with the 20 year-old felony for throwing Molotov cocktails to kill all these people who are pissing. me. the. fuck. off. 

Obviously, this was one of those days when just the fact that there were other people being allowed to breathe got on my last nerve.  Mostly, I have a good time in meetings.  Today, I was homicidal.  And I wasn't the only one.  At one point, two other people were arguing so loudly we thought they were going to go to blows. 

I put a stop to it before it went to blows and then instantly regretted it. 

It might have been a fun diversion.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

And I don't mean babes as in babies, I mean babes as in hot mommas.

My Grandma Mary, at 90, is still one of the most beautiful women I know - she's the babe I'm talking about.

Grandma had a stroke the other night.  We were lucky, she'd already been admitted to the hospital for what were probably TIAs (transient ischemic attacks - "mini strokes").  So she was in good hands when she stroked.

Anyway, the damage to her brain is minimal and the doc expects a full recovery.  I sat with her at the hospital all day yesterday and she was complaining about how little sleep she was getting.  She said, "they keep waking me up so all I can get are...little sleeps...you know..."

I could see she was getting frustrated trying to gather her thoughts, so I just let her take a minute to gather her thoughts.

"You know...sleeping...sleeps kitty...sleeping kitties."

And then it dawned on me - catnaps!

But I kinda like sleeping kitties, I may keep that phrase.

Photo cred: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2119/2229784555_aa2dd3a585_o.jpg

Dashurie's Road Trip

With Ashinator in Arizona visiting her daddy Dashurie's been sulking around.  She definitely missed her mommy, so I decided that I'd take her up the hill with me today.  Unbelievably, Mom and Bill hadn't met Dashurie in real life.  When Ashinator got Dash, it was too cold up at the lodge to take her up there.  But now that it's a million degrees down here, it's only a half a million degrees up the hill and thus warm enough for Dash to take a road trip.

I put her in her new hobo sling carrier from CSN Stores, which she loves.  I was pleasantly surprised when the bag came, because I was worried about the vents not being able to provide enough air flow.  The pictures on the site don't show the vents, but when I saw the bag, I noticed that there are two fairly large vents in each side panel of the bag.  The bag also came with a removable fleece bottom, which I took a picture of, but little Miss Dashurie had - ahem - soiled the fleece.

The bag may be a bit big for her, since it is really a dog carrier, but she's not complaining.  She's got room to move around and arrange things the way she likes (she's very particular) and play with her toys.

Of course, we had to put her up on a saddle and get pics, but she's a quick little critter an only one of them turned out...

She got to spend her day in Scooter's house (Scooter is the lodge turtle who is currently living with Nebalee) and had a grand time.  I haven't seen her so active in a long time.  She spent a good half an hour exploring her new digs and arranging her "blanket" just so before she settled down.  When I saw her try to eat the gravel I ran to get her some cat food instead.  She was just beside herself when she got to eat "good" cat food - Science Diet - instead of whatever is on sale that we buy.

She looks kind of scary in this picture, but she was gobbling up the Science Diet so fast I couldn't get a good picture.

Sophie Littlefield Q & A

Sophie Littlefield, author of A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.  Now, when I decided I wanted to do a Q & A with her, I had a million questions I wanted to ask.  And then I got finger-tied when I tried to actually type them into the computer.  Instead of thought-provoking, deep investigating type questions, all I could come up with were pathetic easy ones, but she was kind enought to answer those too.


1. I love Stella's "side job" - where on earth did you find the inspiration for her job?

My husband is on the board of a women’s shelter, so it’s an issue close to the heart of our family, but my own experiences go back to a time when I didn’t even know what domestic abuse was. When I was little, a beloved older relative was treated shamefully by her husband. He didn’t beat her, but he was cussed and mean, and even as a child I understand that she was limited in her responses. She couldn’t fight back directly, and she was the glue that held a huge extended family together, and it seemed unthinkable that she had the option of leaving.

I still get angry thinking of the indignities and just the general everyday vitriol she had to put up with. If I could go back in time and give her husband a piece of my mind, I’d welcome the opportunity. Creating Stella was a sort of wish fulfillment – that women in a tough spot could have a badass fairy godsister who would have their back, no matter what.

As far as the methods Stella uses…the bondage gear and firearms and general creative mayhem…that’s just the product of an overdeveloped imagination!

2. Can we expect more adventures from Stella and Chrissy?
Yes! Books three and four in the series will be out in Spring ’11 and ’12. I’m working on the fourth right now, and I’ve enjoyed coming up with adventures for them, as well as developing some of the characters further.

3. Will Sheriff Goat continue to look the other way or will he start throwing cases Stella's way?
Oh, Goat…they will continue to explore their attraction and they will continue to find themselves at cross purposes professionally. It’s the thing that keeps their relationship interesting, in my mind…the fact that they share values and even, in some sense, goals, but their approaches could not be more different. I think it makes the spice spicier that they are bound to continue to hinder and undermine and even enrage each other – but at the end of the day there’s that incredibly strong attraction.

4. How difficult was it to master writing the dialog so that the Missouri came through so clearly?
Well sugar, I’m afraid there wasn’t any real talent involved there. That was just the product of growing up in a particular place for the first eighteen years of my life! I am actually very fond of “Missouri talk” – when I very occasionally hear it, it makes me feel right at home. I am hoping to take a vacation to the Ozarks in the coming year or two, perhaps a writing trip, so that I can just soak it all up for a few days.

Sophie's also got a fun blog, Can't Stop Won't Stop, that I recently began to follow.  There's more information on her books at her blog and she recently ran a fun contest for aspiring writers.  Hop on over there and leave her some comment love (after you leave some here, of course).

Book Review: A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY and a True Story Tuesday

Disclaimer: Other than receiving a really cool hardback book, I've received no compensation for this review.  Also, my TST, as it ties in with the book, is found at the end of the review.

In May, Tony from Minotaur Books offered me the chance to review Sophie Littlefield's new book, A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY.  This is the second in a series of crime novels featuring Stella Hardesty, a sewing shop owner who has an interesting side job "rehabitilitating" men who don't treat their women so nice.

Tony had advised me that it was a quick read that wouldn't interrupt my reading schedule too much and he didn't lie.  I finished this book in a mere 2 1/2 hours and loved it!  Usually when I burn through a book that quickly, I have to go back and re-read it for all of the little things I missed, because I always miss something.  Unfortunately, that re-read will have to wait, as Ashinator has taken the book with her on her trip to see her dad in Arizona.

I truly enjoyed this book, but I can't decide which I enjoyed more: the fact that Stella is a "real" woman badass with real body flaws and insecurities or the dialogue. 

I love that Stella is not a young woman, she's got some years behind her, which equates to experience.  You know the saying, "Old age and treachery will always trump youth and skill"?  Stella exemplefies the saying.  I also love that she's not a perfect size zero and that she has aches and pains like the rest of us, but works through them.

As for the dialogue, it took me back to when my great-grandma was alive.  Grandma Wheeler talked just like the characters in the book do, so it was very comforting for me to read and just the dialogue alone brought back some warm childhood memories.

I also enjoyed the little bit of sizzle between Stella and the Sheriff, who may professionally at odds, but are otherwise pretty darn compatible.  Stella's side-kick, Chrissy, is a little spit-fire who makes no apologies for who she is and knows how to work the boys to get her way.

There are a couple of things that I would have liked such as a little more backstory on why the Sheriff calls Stella "Dusty" and how it is that Stella and Chrissy became so close.  Both of those questions were answered when I read the first book of the series, A BAD DAY FOR SORRY.

I've been playing around with a ranking system for when I get to do reviews, you know something gun related, like a 21-gun salute, but I haven't figured it out yet, so I'll go with the standard 5-star thingie. 

I'd give A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY four out of five stars.  It's a great sit by the pool and have an umbrella drink afternoon read.

Sophie was kind enough to indulge in a little Q & A, which I'll post tomorrow.

In the same vein as Stella's character and on behalf of my grandma's 90th birthday, I've got a great TST.

Jump on over to Once Upon A Miracle to join up or find more hilarious, tell-on-ourselves stories.

Grandma Mary grew up the oldest of nine living siblings (three died in infancy and one died before his fifth birthday) and just celebrated her 90th birthday.  They were raised on a farm and were so dirt poor, they didn't even realize the Great Depression was going on when they moved to "town".  They'd grown up picking beans and potatoes for the farmer.  Everyone worked, even the youngest children.  As a result, Grandma had what she describes as "man" arms.  Being the oldest child, and a female, not only did Grandma have to work the fields, but she had to corral the younger children and keep them working.  On top of all of that, she had to help her mom, my Little Lita, with the cooking and cleaning.  To say that my Grandma was a tough cookie would be an understatement.

Grandma was "old" when she and Grandpa got married; she was 25 and Grandpa was in his thirties.  Getting married didn't mean any less work for Grandma.  Not only did she have her own household to run, she continued to help run Little Lita's household until the day Little Lita died.

One night, as the story goes, Grandpa had had a nip or two too many of his drink of choice.  Grandma called him on it and an argument ensued.  Being the man, he thought that maybe a little slap would end the argument.  After all, during that time, it was considered okay to discipline one's wife.

Somebody forgot to tell Grandma that.  Grandpa slapped her and she picked up a cast iron skillet and performed some "rehabilitation" of his attitude (and his nose).  When he asked her why she did that she told him that her father never once raised a hand to her and her husband wasn't going to either.

From that point on, when they'd have an argument and he'd say, "Maria, you make me so mad I just want to hit you!"

And she'd just smile and look at the skillet.

Monday Minute for Flag Day

1 - What's the specs of the first computer you owned?
Holy cow, that was so long ago, I can't remember.  I bought a PC when I went to college and at the time it was a "big" (lots o' memory) computer that I think my SmartPhone now surpasses.

2 - Are you on Twitter/Facebook/etc, if so link it/them up.
No Twitter or Facebook for the GunDiva.  I have a private FB, but thanks to crazy stalker dude, I try not to put my real name out here, so forgive me for not playing along with this one. (Guess we just found out which question I won't answer. Funny, I thought it would be something racy.)

3 - Who's more to blame for the oil mess in the gulf - BP or the Gov't and why?
BP should have stepped up to the plate and been more aggressive in their efforts to stem the flow; however, as much as I hate to say this, when it was obvious they were just pointing fingers and not doing a damn thing, the government had a moral and ethical obligation to step in.

4 - What's your favorite Dr. Suess book?
Sadly, I'm not a big Dr. Suess fan, so I can't really answer this.

5 - What did you want to be when you grew up?
A firefighter.

Adventures of Ashinator

"You birthed me you can eat my saliva!"

Directed at mom who wouldn't eat my noodles.

Because, ya know how if you get a long enough noodle you can swallow it and then pull it back up.

Yeah, I did that and then mixed the noodle in with the rest of the both.

It was gross. But hilarious.

Well, today is my Great-Grandma Mary's 90th birthday party.

I love my grandma so much, and I'm glad they're having this party to honor her. She's my hero and my inspiration. (She's the one whose initials are tattooed on my arm forever.)

ALSO! CJ and I are leaving for AZ for two weeks tonight! YAYY!

I'm excited for the plane ride...oooh I love them. Especially when you hit turbulence and watch everybody freak out hahahh.

Oh, also, Digger decided I'm a disgrace to my gender.

Here's how it went down:

Dig: Hey RCC, Tuesday apparently is National Man Day

Ash (looking to mom): Looks like you'll be makin' lots of sandwiches!!

HAHAHAHAH.

RCC even laughed.

You know it's a good joke when RCC laughes.

Oh we went to the zoo on Wednesday, and met the two cutest kids known to man.

Even mom said they were the cutest, and it's hard to get her to admit that any kids are cuter than hers.

I gotta go now.

Be back in two weeks.

-Johnny Cash

Book Review: PARAFAITH WAR

A while ago, K over at Preachers and Horse Thieves won one of my book give-aways and reciprocated by sending me not one, but two, books.  The first review can be found here.

First, a disclaimer.  K is like that super-smart friend whose IQ is light years greater than mine.  You know the kind?  I was by no means a dumb kid in high school, but I always managed to surround myself with people so smart that it made my head hurt.  Guess I was hoping some of their smarts would rub off on me.  When K asked me what type of books I liked to read, I flippantly answered, "ones with words."  You know, you shouldn't say things like that to someone like K.  What does he come up with?  A hard-core sci-fi for me to read.

Now, I read approximately 1,100 wpm.  Usually. 

I can burn through a book in just a couple of days (another reason I love Eloise - when I run out of books, I just download a new one).  Usually.

I gotta tell you, PARAFAITH WAR by L.E. Modesitt kicked my book-lovin' ass.  I enjoyed it, but my speed reading slowed to a crawl.  Heck with 1,100 wpm, I was lucky to get 11 wpm.  It took me two weeks (or more) to finish the book - the only time that happens is when I'm reading an eight- or nine-hundred page book.  This was not an eight- or nine-hundred page book.

It took me a while to get into the book, simply because I wasn't familiar with the vocabulary and I had to make the transition from "my" world to that of Modesitt's.  Once I was able to make the switch in my head and got comfortable with the vocabulary, I really enjoyed the book and looked forward to bedtime so that I could stretch out on my belly and read my ten or twelve pages before my brain started cramping up from thinking so much.

The book is about a turf war, essentially, between two cultures of differing faith (sound familiar?).  One culture is busy planoforming and defending themselves, while the other culture is busy over-populating their world(s) and attacking the planoformed worlds for growth.  Like most wars, this one has dragged on for years and is pointless.  War is just what they do; both cultures have been at it for so long that they've forgotten the reason.

The book follows Trystin Desoll's military career from a border guard to an intelligence agent for an interested third-party.  As he grows in his military career, and with help from the third-party, he starts thinking a little more than an average grunt should and creatively comes up with a way to end the senseless war.

Yes, I've far over-simplified the gist of the book, but that's about it.  It was a good read that flexed my thinkin' muscle, and I enjoyed it, but I think I'm going to leave sci-fi to my smart friend, K.

Thanks, though, K for helping me try out a new genre.

LIB update

Yes, it's a loss, but I'm not happy with it.  I snuck a peek at the scale on Sunday night and I was about a pound and a half lighter than this.  And then that anniversary wrecking bitch showed up on Tuesday and bloated me right the eff up.  Guess I should be thankful that she only bloated me a pound and a half - the bitch has been known to add five pounds in the past.

So, this morning's weigh-in: 186 # (BMI 35.7), down 0.5# from last week and a whole whopping pound from my original weigh-in.  Not much movement, but at least it's progress.

Small Town Fun

The first Saturday in June is Barbeque Day in RockCrawlinChef's hometown.  It's a town-wide celebration that begins at 4:30 am with the town's volunteer fire department driving through town with sirens wailing.  My first exposure to Barbeque Day encompassed the whole experience, sirens at O'God Thirty and all.  This year, 4:30 came around super early, but I was home snug in my own bed.  The alarm went off and we crawled out of bed.

Yeah, the picture's a little blurry, but so am I at 4:30.

I stabbed my contacts into my eyes, pulled my hair into a ponytail and stumbled into some clothes before heading one town south and one town east for the much-acclaimed Fireman's Pancake Breakfast.

5:00 am and at least it's pretty out (and less blurry).

We passed the fire department on our way to RCC's parents' house and at ten after five, there was already a line of cars parked along the street.  Arriving at his parents' house, we roused everyone (apparently the sirens weren't very close to the house this year) and loaded up to go to breakfast.

The line wasn't too bad when we got there, but by the time we left, it was down the block.

Those firemen do it up right!  Pancakes, eggs to order, hash browns, sausage, and ham.  Even though this is a new tradition to me, I love it.  After breakfast, a nap.  The parade didn't start until 11:00, so there was plenty of time to sleep off the food coma from breakfast.

The parade had a little bit of everything: marching bands, cheerleaders, horses, politicians, churches, high school programs.  Heck, even the Chick-Fil-A herd.

Unfortunately, I had to head home after the parade.  I've got a ton of homework (yes, I know I'm supposed to be doing it right now instead of blogging) that I have to get caught up on.  However, the party's going on without me.  There's the big water fight between the neighboring fire departments.  A big barbeque/craft show in the town park.  A fishing derby.  A homerun hitting contest (in which you can bring your own pitcher.  My question: the kind of pitcher that throws you the ball or the kind of pitcher out of which you drink a frosty beverage?).  And to top it all off, after the sun goes down, a fireworks display.

And here I am, trying to be studious.  Next year, I'm staying for it all.  Period.  Homework be damned.  Of course, if I am a good girl and stay on schedule, I'll be finished with my Master's by then anyway.

Don't forget to hop on over to Think Tank Momma's and join in on the Duck Fest.

This one's for the hard working parents(:

Better late then never right? Right!

Well, I got grounded this week, for leaving with out permission. The thing is, I asked for permission except not until I had already left. I thought she was going to say yes, seeing as I had done all my chores, but I was wrong.

So I was grounded until I finished cleaning my room, which was a disaster.

The first night of groundation I literally stayed up until 6:30 in the morning watching the first season of Glee on dvd.

I love that show, it's like my crack. And Fin is SO HOT.

Hmmm, let me think up something that pissed me off this week....

OH! GOT IT! 

CJ's mom. Threatened to cancel the check for his airfare to AZ to visit my dad with me. Why? Because my step-mom couldn't drop everything at noon to answer her 8 million calls questioning every single thing we're going to do when we're down there. I'm sorry, CNB, my parents work 60 hours a week, they don't have the luxury of controlling every second of every day. GRR. Then she started in on how they should show her some respect, and I told her that she should be civil to the people who are going to be taking care of her son for two weeks. Not everyone stays at home ALL THE TIME taking care of their kids, some people actually have to work for a living. (Not hating on single moms, I was raised by the most perfect single mom ever). That just bugs me that she got so uppity about it. Like, sorry lady, my step-mom works twelve hours a day and my dad doesn't get off until midnight, and the last thing they wanna do after a long day at work is talk to your crazy ass! Ya know?

Well th-th-tha-that's all folks!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Not A GunDiva will hence forth be known in the blogosphere as Nebalee!

And Nebalee's spawn delightful, precocious children, Autobot (formerly known as Niece #1) and Kyzzer (formerly known as Nephew) have started their own blog Floor, Highbar and Life.  Should be entertaining.  Life from the perspective of a 9 and 11 year-old.

And...drumroll...Niece #2 will henceforth be known as Asset.  As in, we finally got her ass-set on a horse (thanks Bill).

Weigh-in Wednesday

It's back!  I'm not thrilled that I didn't lose anything in the first go-round of Lose It Bitches.

Today's weigh-in:

Deep breath...My initial weigh-in for round two was 187# (BMI 35.9).  I then jumped a pound to 188# and held that for a couple of weeks.  Today's weigh in at 186.5# (BMI 5.8) made me happy.  I wasn't sure I'd see the scale move at all.

Haven't checked in with Not A GunDiva to see what her weigh in was.  But she did run the Boulder Bolder 10K race on Memorial Day, so she's definitely got a leg up on me in the exercise department.

I've Done It Twice Now...

...and it makes me kind of sad.

What is it that makes me so sad?

I just unfollowed a blog that I've enjoyed in the past.  Today's post did it for me.  Essentially, the author said that if you're her friend or family member, please comment.  If she doesn't know you - don't.  "Not cool" is the final sentence in her post.

Why am I pissed about this?  Look, if you don't want anyone to follow you, make your blog private.  If you don't want comments from people who don't "know" you, turn off comments or moderate them.  But, for Christ's sake, don't slap your followers' wrists for commenting.  I honestly don't remember if I've ever commented on her blog, but I'm sure the hell not going to follow a blog where the whole world has been told people who don't know her aren't welcome.  And it's a shame, because she's got a neat blog and I've enjoyed some of her posts.  All I can say is that it'll be a cold day in Hades before I ever visit that blog again.

The worst part about the whole thing is that now I'm second-guessing my desire to comment.  I've always assumed that because I love comments other bloggers do, too.  I personally like the interaction.  I'll typically follow someone and lurk for a bit before I comment, but on ocassion I'll see something that I just have to comment on during my first visit.  I mean, exchanging comments is how I've met some of my best blogging buddies.  Blogging has made the world a lot smaller (in a good way) for me.  I love meeting new people, even if it's via the internet.

So...what's your take on a blogger telling people not to comment unless they know you personally?  Am I wrong in assuming that other bloggers enjoy comments?