How I Spent My Vacation, pt. 1

Yay, I'm finally back from vacation! Did ya guys miss me? I missed the internet, my own bed, and a few things like that - but I'd really rather just be on a permanent vacation. However, I am so far behind reading all of the blogs I am addicted to that I don't know how I'll ever catch up.

But, who cares about any of that? Let's get to the good stuff. Now, some of you already know that the Disney World vacation was cancelled because with rising gas prices and other stuff going on, it just wasn't the smartest thing to do financially. So, my vacation was spent bumming around and doing whatever struck my fancy at the time. For example, my first day of vacation was Saturday, July 7 and I spent it with family and friends celebrating my cousin Sabrina's 30th birthday. She's a local celebrity in our small hometown because she was the only baby born (in that town) on 7/7/77 and she weighed 7 pounds and some odd ounces, there are 7 letters in her first name, blah, blah, blah. I could go on, but we all just get so sick of hearing about the wonderful Sabrina. Actually, I'm just joking - we all love Sabrina and she truly is wonderful. She's my favorite cousin, except for all of my other cousins who read this blog in which case they should know that they are actually my favorite.

Anywho, for Sabrina's b-day a huge group of us went to Hinode in Springfield and had an outrageously wonderful dinner. If you are not aware of it yet, Hinode is my absolute #1 favorite place to eat ever! I highly recommend you smother all of your food with their "shrimp sauce" because there is nothing better in this world. And the chefs are highly entertaining. Because there were so many of us, we had two table/grill combinations reserved and therefore we ended up with two chefs. One of their favorite tricks is to try and flip a piece of shrimp into a customers mouth. I've seen it done a million times and it's usually about 50/50 on whether the person actually catches the shrimp or just barely misses it. So, of course we all died laughing when Travis agreed to try and catch a piece and then didn't realize the chef had flipped it yet so that while he sat there with his mouth wide open the shrimp bounced off of his forehead before he ever even moved. After we all finished, we went back to Sabrina's house to have a little party in her honor.

On Monday, July 9th, I convinced my mother to call in to work with personal business and go on an adventure with me. I had been wanting to check out Grand Falls in Joplin for several months now. Somehow I have managed to live in this area my entire life and had only recently learned that this place even existed. But I didn't want to spend an hour drive time for that 1 activity, so I took the opportunity to show my niece and nephew, Jessica and Charlie, just how big Big Brutus really is. I had been there a few years ago, but I really enjoyed it and I knew the kids would too. It is located in Kansas, but not really very far from Joplin. Now I had an excuse to stop by and see the falls.

Plus, I knew that on my way to Big Brutus, I could easily swing through Webb City to see the Praying Hands statue that I had never managed to drive over and see. And to top it off, I have recently started becoming obsessed with Route 66 and I knew we would be close enough to Carthage that I could swing through town on the old highway and try to find the old bridge that I've heard so much about. We did not find the bridge (apparently there's more than one alignment of Route 66 through Carthage?), but Jessica idolizes me and consequently loves everything I love so she was excited to get to stop and eat at a joint on Route 66. Overall, we had a pretty awesome day. Below are quite a few pictures of everything, sorry if you are on dial-up.

Praying Hands - Webb City, Missouri.



Big Brutus - West Mineral, Kansas. Doesn't look so big, does it?


Jessica and Charlie in front of the left, front "crawler" (wheel).


The kids standing inside the bucket scoop.


Going up and inside the belly of the beast.


Boys love to play with big toys.


One last look from a distance.


Grand Falls in Joplin was beautiful.






Dead snake!


Playing in the water.


The falls trickle down through the surrounding rocks.

Just A Reminder

I just wanted to remind everyone that I am currently on my 11 day vacation and that is why there has been no activity here. The Disney World trip fell through and I decided to use my time for much cheaper activities, so once I get back to my own computer I will be posting several posts to catch you guys up with what I've been doing. Wednesday night I should be able to start blogging again, so be prepared for several long posts at the end of this coming week.

Playing Tag

A few days ago I was tagged with the latest internet meme that required me to share 8 things about myself that others may not know. Now that I have completed that obligation, I am passing the fun along to others. I am now officially tagging Scott at The Blarg and Lola from Life As Lola. Sorry guys, but I had to pick on the two of you. Have fun.

I would also like to tag Amy from GentleWhisper.com but I know she is currently on an adventure, and her life is crazy busy anyway. So, I will let it slide if she's too busy.

I've Been Tagged

Louis, from Relevant To Me, has tagged me in a blog-tag game where I am supposed to reveal 8 things about myself you may not know.
So, here goes:

1. I am employeed by the hospital I was born in
2. In high school I was voted "most intelligent"
3. My middle name (Rose-Ann) is hyphenated because it is my mothers maiden name, followed by her first name
4. I have been interviewed on both radio and tv as a child; I have also been interviewed on both radio and tv as an adult
5. As a child, I fell and broke both bones in my left arm in two seperate places at the same time
6. I love to color and still occasionally buy coloring books for myself
7. I only wear silver jewelry, no gold
8. I love to drive, no matter where I am going

Happy 4th of July

Here are a few firework pictures I took on Monday night at the Seligman celebration. Even though it's such a small, trashy little town they put on a really good fireworks display. This year my sister Wendy and her kids, my brother Chuck and his kids, my cousin Sabrina and her kids and my friend Bobbie and her kids all attended the event and we had a great time. The kids were in awe and I got to play with the "fireworks" setting on my Nikon Coolpix L1 digital camera. If only it were an SLR.

Happy Birthday !

Today is my sister Wendy's birthday and I wanted to show you guys the cake I got for her. Last September, on this very blog, I posted a few pictures of the birthday cake that my friends Charlie and Rachael brought to me at work on my birthday. It was a cake that the multi-talented Rachael had made and decorated herself and it was AMAZING!

As Wendy's b-day approached, I decided to ask Rachael if she would be interested in making a cake that I could take to Wendy. She immediately said yes and since my family is all gathering at grandma's house tomorrow, I asked Rachael if she could deliver it to me on Saturday night. So, she just dropped it off with me at work (cake deliveries after midnight, awesome) and I had to take a picture of it. This cake is the bomb. It is absolutely adorable. When I first asked Rachael if she had time to make one for me, she asked me what I wanted it to look like. I told her I didn't really have any specific ideas in mind, but I told her my sister loves frogs.
So, she promised me she would find a design that everyone would love. And she did.

Behold the magic of the frog cake:

Let The Frenzy Begin

I will admit, that is one cool-ass looking phone and I want one. However, not only do I not have the money for one right now (not to mention a contract with the right cell-phone carrier), I am planning on waiting a good 6 months or so before I seriously start considering purchasing the gadget. Why? Because I'm one of those people who believes that most items need a few months to work out the bugs and discover what needs to be improved on. See, if I had bought an iPod when they first came out, then I wouldn't have an iPod video right now. But, I waited until they made improvements. And I figure the same thing will happen to the iPhone.

But there were a lot of people who could not wait to buy the new iPhone today. Apple stores across the nation closed their doors at 2:00pm to prepare for the beginning of the iPhone era. The phones went on sale at exactly 06:00pm Friday, June 29, 2007. And it's a good thing that the stores took extra time to prepare, because it was a madhouse. People all over the country began lining up as early as Thursday night. I even read an interview with 2 teenagers in California who were waiting in line for their chance to buy 2 phones each and sell all 4 phones on eBay for a huge profit. Where the heck do teenagers get that kind of money? I used to be lucky to have $10.

We Are The Champions!!!

My niece, Jessica, has played summer ball for several years now. She has been lucky enough to stay with the same team the entire time. This summer was the first year Jessica's team (ages 9-11) moved up to the "player pitch" summer league. And on Monday night, they took 1st place in the 2007 Girls Summer-Ball Tournament for their age group. Which is awesome because some of the other teams were in "player pitch" last year. It was a great game, they won with authority. I don't exactly remember the score, but I believe it was 9 - 1.

Here's the team with their trophies, making funny faces. Jessica is on the right end of the back row:


And here's Jess posing with the team trophy and her individual trophy:

Yet Another Baby!

One of my cousins just had her second child, a baby girl who (I believe) is my grandma's 19th great-grandchild. Her name is Saige and she's soooo cute!

Random Pictures I'm Behind On Posting

Let's see....we shall start with a picture of my friends baby boy who I posted about on April 20th. At the time those first pictures were taken, he was 2 weeks old. He was over 10 lbs. at birth, a pretty big boy. So, it should be no surprise to see a picture of him at 8 weeks old crushing his 3 year old sister.

Next, let's move on to my cousin Josh's little boy. He is 2 years old and has obviously spent too much time watching his daddy on the weekends. Now, I don't want anyone out there becoming concerned - this is an empty bottle that he has and it was promptly taken away from him and disposed of. He's still pissed that we took it from him and his mad fit lasted forever.

Now that you're really bored, I'm gonna hit ya with some pics of the thistle that is overtaking my grandmother's field. She hates it because of the fact that the thorns on the plant stems, leaves and flowers prevent it from being eaten by livestock and result in huge areas of pasture land unsuitable for grazing. However, it did offer me a chance to spend some time with nature.

Crappy Flight!

SEWAGE FLOWS DOWN AISLES OF TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHT
10:55 PM PDT on Tuesday, June 19, 2007
By RAY LANE / KING 5 News

""I was more nervous than I had ever been on a flight," said passenger Collin Brock.
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash.– Passengers on a Continental Airlines flight had to hold their noses for hours as sewage overflowed from toilets while they were high over the Atlantic.
"To be blatantly honest, I was more nervous than I had ever been on a flight," said Collin Brock. The University Place man was on board Continental Airlines flight 1970 from Amsterdam to Newark, New Jersey last week when things went bad.
"I've never felt so offended in all my life. I felt like i had been physically abused and neglected. I was forced to sit next to human excrement for seven hours," said Brock."

rest of story HERE

I Am Such A Slacker

I don't know what the heck has come over me lately, but I have become totally lazy. All I do is sit on my ass all day and play video games or veg-out watching TV. What is my problem?

I need to go grocery shopping, dust the house, pay my bills, clean out my car, etc., etc. But do I do any of these things? NO!!!! Instead I sit around all damn day so that when it's time for me to go to work I can bitch at myself for not getting anything accomplished.

Does anyone out there know how to break free of these types of slumps? Cause I could really benefit from getting some stuff accomplished around here. I need some sort of motivation, a reason to get straight out of bed, take a shower and do something with my day. Who wants to meet me for dinner, or maybe check out a movie? Anyone?

5 Things I Dislike About....

....Lucky Charms:

5. They don't really come from Ireland - they're not even sold there. (it's true)
4. They seduce me with their marshmallow goodness and I am unable to resist
3. Everytime I eat a bowl, I speak in a really bad Irish accent for the next 30 minutes
2. The yummy marshmallows have been contaminated with cereal-shaped bits of toasted oats
1. People are always after me Lucky Charms!

Quiet Day

Today it has been 11 years since someone very close to me left this world. Yesterday was his birthday. He would have been 35. It doesn't seem like 11 years have gone by since his death. Even though it does somehow get easier each year, the wounds still seem too fresh to be 11 years old. My memories are too vivid.

But my memories of his death and the funeral and everything surrounding it are even more vivid. So, I know it's real. It was the hardest thing I've ever gone through. I can't even imagine what his parents and his sister feel when this time of year comes around. I know I usually have a few quiet days of reflection. Days where I listen to songs that remind me of him and thumb through old pictures of all of us.

I've heard people describe how when a loved-one dies they lose a little peice of themselves and I never really understood it until 11 years ago today. That may sound silly, but it's true. I'm simply not the same person I used to be. I lost a little bit of something in my personality. I blamed myself for not doing more. I still do blame myself for not doing more. I changed, and I will never be the same.

Since his death, I feel disconnected somehow from his parents and his sister. I guess it's because of the sadness and my feelings of guilt. I just feel awkward around them now, like I'm an intruder into their world or like I might trigger some memory of the bad times. Because I was his roommate when he died. So, I should have been there. It's crazy. It's tragic. It's difficult. It's 11 years later and I still need my quiet days.

Ha Ha - I've Corrupted Someone!

Looks like my brother, Scott, has decided to return to the world of blogging. Oh, excuse me. I meant he has decided to return to the world of "web scribing". Jeesh, I knew he was a picky asshole when it comes to food, his house, etc., but I didn't realize that words bothered him so damn bad.....okay, I lied, I already knew that he was anal about the English language.

Are you confused yet? Click on Scott's blog The Blarg and you will.....actually, you will probably still be confused. But that's alright. You should be able to get a chuckle regardless. He told me that my blog inspired him to finally sit down and begin one again. Bleh! Like I'm supposed to believe that type of sentimental bullcrap coming from my little brother. What he really meant is that my useless dribble is embarrassing the family name and now I have forced him to say all sorts of witty things in an effort to restore some honor to our ancestors.

Be sure and check it out. Here's the link again: The Blarg and it has also been added to my favorites list over there ----->

Da Blimp, Da Blimp

This story should have been posted a week or so ago, but what the hell - better late than never. It was a dark and dreary Tuesday in Seligman, Missouri. The 29th day of May, 2007 to be exact. I was at my brother Chuck's house playing with Jessica and Charlie. My sister-in-law, Ruthie, was in the kitchen working on making some food for us and Chuck was outside in the backyard doing some sort of psuedo-manly redneck thing that he enjoys doing, when suddenly he starts bellowing at us all to run outside. I instantly pictured him making a scene over something stupid, like "hey look how I taught the pigs to sit up and beg". But, I was mistaken.

He had heard a weird noise and looked up to see that the Goodyear blimp was making a beeline for the house at a considerably low altitude. Now, let me assure you, the blimp may not be super exciting, but to see it in Seligman, Missouri of all places and to witness it flying so very low to the ground was really quite neat. The kids, of course, thought it was the best thing ever. And because they fly fairly slow (blimps, not kids) we got to watch it for a good 10 minutes or so. Plus, it really did fly directly over Chuck's yard, so the kids kinda felt like it had dropped by for a personal visit or something.

The only thing we can figure is that it was trying to head towards Wal-Mart country in northwest Arkansas because their annual stockholders meeting was in full swing that particular week in Fayetteville. And the impending doom of the storm was causing it some minor flight problems. You could definitely tell the pilots kept trying to turn towards the south but the wind was simply not allowing them to do so. And I'm sure the wind and clouds were responsible for the low altitude. These theories were mostly confirmed the next day when I made a trip to Rogers, AR and saw the aforementioned blimp parked at the airport there. Right next to the Wal-Mart hanger.

So thank you, Wal-Mart. Because of you the kids got a visit from the Goodyear blimp and they were thrilled. The first picture is of the back of Chuck's balding head (he's going to kill me for that one) so that you can sorta get a perspective of how close to the ground the thing was really flying. And then the second picture is when it was directly over the yard in front of us. I actually took several stupid pictures of the stupid thing, but amazingly enough it looks the same in every picture. So I will only post these two.

Cell-phone Sunset

I know these pictures are crappy, but as I was leaving the house tonight to head for work I was completely enamored with the gorgeous bright pink streaks of today's sunset. (Today referring to Wed. 06/06 - it will be Wednesday in my mind until I go to bed at 09:00 am Thursday morning. Oh the joys of the graveyard shift).

But I digress. Back to the crappy pictures. As I was saying, the sunset was too pretty to pass up and since I did have my Nikon with me but the batteries were dead, my Motorola Razr was my only choice. The pics aren't bad considering it's a cell phone, but they sure don't do the deep blues and bright pinks much justice. I hope you guys were all able to admire the colors for yourselves earlier. If you didn't get a chance to, you really missed out.

My List Of Excuses

Wow! It has been awhile since I posted anything new here. Wanna know why? Because I was beginning to bore myself to tears with my own posts. Which totally blows chunks because I truly want to be a real blogger and actually have an interesting blog. It just hasn't materialized yet. But, no worries. I am not yet giving up.

I think a lot of the problem is linked to my lack of sleep which is a problem that just keeps getting worse and worse. I hate sleeping, I really do. I am always afraid I might miss something. No matter where I'm at I make sure I am the last person to head to bed. Why, you may ask? Duh! Isn't it obvious? What if I go to bed and then the other people that are awake suddenly remember they forgot to tell some juicy gossip about someone we all know. I would totally miss out. Or what if I go to bed and suddenly the funniest commercial in the history of the world is shown and my brother got to see it, but I missed it. That's just not acceptable. I have to be the last one awake.

I don't have to be the first person awake, however. Just have to be the second person awake and I better be waking up less than 5 minutes after the first person wakes up. Which actually does happen 99% of the time because I am a very light sleeper and as soon as someone opens a door, turns on a light, etc. it wakes me right up. That way I don't miss anything in the mornings either.

On top of hating sleep, working 3rd shift makes it worse. How am I supposed to sleep during the day when the rest of the world is awake? Plus, in about 6 weeks I will be changing shifts to a mostly normal shift and the closer it gets, the more my body refuses to sleep during the day. It's like I am already adjusting my sleep for my new hours even though they haven't started yet. I have a life-long habit of only averaging 6 hours of sleep a night, but now that I'm down to around 4 1/2 or 5 hours per night, it's really fogging my brain. And a fogged brain is not conducive to blogging.

I do most of my blogging at work, which means in the middle of the night while sitting in an office by myself quietly staring at a computer screen for 10 hours a night. And if you think it's easy to stay awake after only sleeping 4 hours since being at work last night, you're sadly mistaken. But, I do stay awake. I entertain myself by blogging. And now you understand why this blog is so lame, random, boring, irregular and in need of some help. Seriously, I am not fishing for compliments here. I don't need my 1 reader to post a comment stating that they think my blog is just fine. That's not what I'm going for. I'm just trying to explain why it's been the way it's been.

Also, I wanted to inform you that I am working on turning things around both with my blog and with my foggy brain. For my brain, I have turned to drinking green tea to help promote mental focus. And for my blog, I have turned to drinking green tea to help promote mental focus. Hopefully, the green tea helps. Especially since I am using it as the solution in two seperate problems. I realize that what I should be concentrating on is getting more sleep, but that will come naturally when the new person who was hired here has gone through all of her orientation and training and is finally ready to replace me on 3rd shift. Then, I will be able to sleep at night when the rest of the world is sleeping and I can finally return to my normal 6 hour night. Seriously, I can't wait. It will make a huge difference, you'll see.

Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds

Wednesday evening I got a rare chance to sit with my sister Wendy on the front deck of her house and visit with her before I had to drive back to Springfield and head to work. During our chat we were able to enjoy watching the hummingbirds swarm the two feeders that were hanging nearby.

These particular birds belong to the species Archilochus colubris, or Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, and are one of the most common types of hummingbirds found in this area. Due to Mother Nature's bizarre sense of twisted humor, it is the male bird that gets to sport the very pretty, very colorful "ruby throat". The females have no red on them at all, but they get their revenge by having longer bills and being bigger in size.
Here are a couple of shots of the males that were hanging around.





Both male and female have the gorgeous emerald green backs which were really lighting up when my flash was hitting them. You can easily see what I'm referring to in this picture.



Even though there were at least a dozen or so birds in the area randomly fighting over only 8 feeding holes, this delicate little female got a chance to sit and relax for a minute.

5 Things I Dislike About Living In The Missouri Ozarks

5. It means I don't live in Tampa Bay.
4. It takes new music 6 months to reach our radio stations.
3. I live way too close to Arkansas!
2. People automatically assume everyone here is a hillbilly.
1. I'm surrounded by hillbillies.

5 Things I Dislike About Don Imus

5. He is way too old to try and wear his hair long.
4. What is with the shades? You're indoors dude!
3. The caterpillers that live on his forehead have always disturbed me.
2. Only cowboys, country music stars or HOT SHIRTLESS GUYS should wear cowboy hats.
1. I'm generally nice to people and he is the one who is rich and famous.

Jerry Falwell & The Teletubbies, Don Imus, & Other Funny Articles

I just wanted to share with you guys a few articles I've enjoyed reading on the web this week. Keep in mind, these are all satires and jokes and are not intended to offend anyone. Also, I did not write any of them, only chuckled when I read them, so do not hold me responsible if you don't care for them.

Here we go:

Tinky Winky says bye-bye to Jerry Falwell

Regular-Hair Hos, Other Hos Yearn For Publicity In Wake Of Imus Controversy

Giuliani Challenges Himself to Debate

An Alcohol Coma: Your Ticket To a Good Night's Sleep

Today's "5 Things I Dislike About..."

Five things I dislike about....Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

5. They never changed clothes. Would it have killed them to wear pastels during the spring and summer months?
4. In the 80's version of the series, April was a TV reporter. Now she is "a former lab assistant" so I'm beginning to think the truth is not being told.
3. The turtles were all named after famous Renaissance-era Italian artists, yet no art is seen ANYWHERE in the sewers.
2. They never got in trouble for getting dirty and fighting with each other like me and my brother always did.
1. I never see them dip their pizza in ranch dressing, and we all know that's the only way to eat pizza!!

Lyrics: "Right Here" by STAIND

STAIND LYRICS
Right Here

I know I've been mistaken
But just give me a break and see the changes that I've made
I've got some imperfections
But how can you collect them all and throw them in my face

But you always find a way to keep me right here waiting
You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting
And if you chose to walk away I'd still be right here waiting
Searching for the things to say to keep you right here waiting

I hope you're not intending
To be so condescending it's as much as i can take
and you're so independent
you just refuse to bend so I keep bending till I break

But you always find a way to keep me right here waiting
You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting
And if you chose to walk away I'd still be right here waiting
Searching for the things to say to keep you right here waiting

I've made a commitment
I'm willing to bleed for you
I needed fulfillment
I found what I need in you

Why can't you just forgive me
I don't want to relive all the mistakes I've made along the way
But I always find a way to keep you right here waiting
I always find the words to say to keep you right here waiting

But you always find a way
To keep me right here waiting
You always find the words to say to keep me right here waiting
And if I chose to walk away would you be right here waiting
Searching for the things to say to keep me right here waiting

Today's "5 Things I Dislike About...."

Five things I dislike about...Elvis

5. He died.
4. He never bought ME a Cadillac.
3. He is best remembered as the sequined-jumpsuit-wearing Elvis of his latter years, thus resulting in all Elvis imposters dressing that way instead of imitating the HOT Elvis of his early years.
2. He shook his hips so provocatively it was censored, so we have no clear pictures of his behind.
1. He’s the reason why I can’t eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches without being made fun of.

Life Is...Boring

Although hopefully it is only temporarily boring. And maybe boring isn't really the right word. It's just been fairly uneventful lately. Still working on getting the house setup after moving (also still waiting to move a few final things, without which I am unable to get the house setup).

I bought some new shoes today so that was kinda cool. I had been needing some for quite a while now. Otherwise, I have nothing for ya. So, peace out.

I Finally Got To Play A Wii

...and it ROCKED!! I am definitely going to have to buy one of those little buggers. It was a total blast AND by the time I had beat 7 or 8 computer opponents in a row at boxing I was covered in sweat and all pumped up like I had been at the gym. That is exactly what my fat ass needs to be doing cause that was way better than, like, walking and stuff.

Today In History - Kent State Massacre

37 years ago, President Richard Nixon announced in a televised speech that U.S. forces had invaded Cambodia. This news sparked massive anti-war demonstrations around the nation as people (especially college students) protested the fact that President Nixon was now expanding the war which he had once promised to help end.

On May 1, 1970, a few days after the Cambodian invasion, a demonstration was held on the Commons area at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Later that night some minor vandalism occurred, a small crowd of protesters gathered, and police were dispatched to quiet the crowd. Beer bottles and rocks were thrown at the police that arrived and obscenities were screamed at them. After about an hour, the police had gained control and everything became quiet.

The next day, during another protest rally, the ROTC building on the Kent State Campus was set on fire. The mayor declared a "state of emergency" and requested help from the National Guard. As firemen and police officers attempted to extinguish the building they were pelted with rocks and bottles. That night the National Guard arrived on campus and began using tear gas and making arrests.

By May 3rd, nearly 1000 members of the National Guard were present on the campus. That night another rally was held on the Commons, but tear gas was soon used to disperse the crowd and the Guardsmen announced a campus curfew which forced students back into their rooms.

May 4, 1970 was the date a scheduled protest was to occur on the Kent State campus. Officials at the university tried to prevent the event by handing out thousands of flyers claiming the event had been cancelled. Regardless, approximately 2000 people gathered in the Commons area. The National Guard troops were again called on to disperse the crowd. The tear gas was mostly inneffective this time due to the wind. Students began throwing rocks and even threw the tear gas cannisters back at the soldiers. As the crowds became more unruly, a group of 77 National Guardsmen began to advance towards the students in an effort to control them.

Over the next several minutes, chaos ensued. The protesters retreated up and over Blanket Hill and out of the Commons area. Some of them did disperse and head towards the parking lot, but the majority of the angry crowd stood just to the left and the front of the troops which had followed them over the hill. The soldiers had topped the hill and found themselves facing a fence which enclosed a practice field. The Guardsmen did not want the students to believe they were retreating by retracing their steps back to the top of the hill, so they stayed in their current position against the fence. After about 10 minutes, the troop finally decided to head back towards the top of the hill. As they did, the students began slowly advancing towards them. As the bulk of the soldiers came back down into the Commons, some of the Guardsmen who had just reached the top of Blanket Hill turned and fired their semi-automatic weapons into the students.

In a matter of 13 seconds there were 67 bullets fired by 29 Guardsmen. 4 students lay dead and 9 others were injured. 2 of the 4 students killed that day had been protesters who were participating in the demonstration. The other 2 had simply been walking to class and were not involved in the incident at all.

Moving Sucks...

For the past week I have been working on moving. Not just moving like normal people, but moving from the 2 houses I have been living in to just 1 house in a completely different location. That's not to say that I'm the only person having a bad week. My brother is moving also and he's got way more responsibilities, chores, etc. than I do.

So, I'm tired & cranky. And I have nothing to blog about.

Retrospective Perspective

Advice columnists are popular people. They receive millions of letters and emails written by the confused, the angry, the love-sick, the needy and all sorts of other human beings who are searching for answers. But what do we really know about these unseen experts? Generally they are people who are educators and professionals, but not always. Sometimes the columnist’s picture will be posted next to their newspaper article or web page answers, but not always. We know nothing of them and yet we let them advise us on how we ought to handle the situations that are affecting our lives.

Well, no more sisters! It’s time to rise up against the secret world of advice columnists! Damn the man, save the Empire! Instead of seeking help from these unknown entities, wouldn’t you rather communicate with someone you sorta know? Someone you used to have a crush on perhaps? Yes?

Then I have some good news for you. Now two of the most popular heartthrobs from the 80’s have an advice column and are waiting for your questions. That’s right – Corey Feldman and Corey Haim are here to help. Simply go to Dear Corey at MSN TV and feel free to ask them whatever your heart desires. You know, important things like "Hey Corey's, why couldn't you have stayed young and gorgeous forever?"

My Grandparents: Part 2

As my visits with my grandparents naturally dwindled as I got older, they seemed to become more tense. Now when I was there Grammy would mention that I NEED to make sure I come by more often. Then I started getting little religious speeches about going to church and she would quote bible verses to me and tell me that she prayed for me daily because of the life I was living. Please, I'm a fat chick - I was not living life nearly as dangerous as I wanted to because no one wanted me. But anyway, after a year or so of these little lectures taking up more and more of my visits, I realized it wasn't fun going there anymore. I was being scolded instead of welcomed. My visits became even more infrequent. And amazingly enough Grammy's bad attitude towards me increased. She began yelling at me that I didn't love her just like my Mom yelled it at me. Now, I don't know what made these 2 women think that screaming at me and crying hysterically would make me want to spend all my time up their asses, but apparently that was their goal. Both of them started going out of their way to make me feel bad about anything and everything they could.

I would cancel plans with my friends because Mom would call and ask me to go to Wal-Mart with her and me saying "I have plans" launched one of her crying spells that was so pathetic you actually thought she might shoot herself if you didn't go to Wal-Mart with her. Because we all know that saying "I love you" means nothing compared to being guilted into a 30 minute trip to Wal-Mart. But, this post is not about Mom - it's about Grammy. As I neared the age of 30 I began feeling sorry for my Mom because I realized she was a product of her raising. And my grandmother was 100 times worse than Mom was.

I was at my parents house one day about 5 or 6 years ago when the phone rang. I answered it and it was my grandmother. "Hi Grammy" I smiled into the phone while rolling my eyes. Immediately the side of my face became drenched in the venom that was being spit through the phone towards me. "Oh, it's you!!! I can't believe you even recognized my voice as much attention as you pay to me. You obviously don't remember where I live. I haven't seen you in over a month, after all I did for you when you were a kid. God is watching you, are you going to church yet?" I started to say something along the lines of "I'm sorry, I've been busy" because my guilt always caused me to lie to her and Mom about where I really was and what I had really been doing. They didn't actually care anyway. But before I could finish my sentence, Grammy interrupts me with "You listen to me, Young Lady!! If you cannot figure out how to come see me at least twice a month, then you don't ever need to come see me again. Do you understand me? That's an order!" At which point I turned and yelled for mom that she had a phone call. Of course, Mom was filled in over the phone about how disrespectful I had just been (? I don't get it either) and she started an argument as soon as she could. I told her Grammy had made the decision not to see me and that was fine with me. But guess what? Mom CRIED! And guess what else? I felt bad.

So after several months I started contacting and visiting them again sporadically. But things were never the same. I would call and say "Hi, I was calling to see how you guys were doing" and would hear "We're fine. Thanks for calling. CLICK!" Or, I would stop by for a visit and as soon as I stepped into the door I would get "Oh, I'm so glad you're here because the living room windows need washed on the outside. The ladder is in the garage." So I would go out and do the damn chore for her only to get done and be told "Well, it was nice seeing you. Come back again sometime. Be careful driving home. SLAM!" So, things just got worse and worse. And a few months ago the biggest blow up yet occurred. And because it's all so ridiculous I am just done with it. I am not speaking to her. Mom, of course, is about to lose her mind over it. But, I don't care anymore. That's the awful truth. I don't care anymore. Not just that I don't care whose mad, I mean I really don't care about my grandmother anymore. I know that sounds harsh, and I don't mean I won't be upset if something happens, it's just that I don't care to see or speak with her.

There are a lot of details and conversations that were left out of this post because of it's length. But what it boils down to is this: When I was little I felt so loved by them. I never wanted to be anywhere else. At the age of 4 I ran away from home (for like 10 minutes) but had to come back to ask how to get to Grammy's house. Unfortunately, my grandmother has issues. For whatever reason she only associates love with how much time you spend with her. It doesn't matter to her that I loved her every day for many years and have such fond memories of being with her. It only mattered that as an adult who worked full-time, attended college and tried to find someone to love me that I didn't see her a certain amount of times each month. It's sad, but it doesn't bother me anymore. I just hope it doesn't get that bad with Mom but I can definately tell she is her mother's daughter. The older we get, the more trouble we have. But I'm trying to hang in there. I wonder if my Grammy ever wishes she had hung in there?

My Grandparents: Part 1

When I was a little girl I loved to spend time with my Grammy & Grandad. For those of you who don't know me really well, those are my maternal grandparents. When their first grandchild was born (I was the second) they got to pick what they wanted to be called and my grandmother apparently decided she was still a bit too young to be called Granny, so she changed the "n"'s to "m"'s and we've been stuck calling her that ridiculous name ever since. It wasn't anything I noticed as a kid, but once I reached high school and beyond I began referring to her as "my grandmother". Anywho, I'm getting way off course here.

So, as I was saying - I used to love to spend time with my Grammy and Grandad. My days there were filled with fun as a youngster. I have such great memories of Grandad teaching me and my brother to play pool on the pool table downstairs, of always getting to play in the sprinkler in the front yard, of eating macaroni & cheese with peanut butter on toast off of plastic Ronald McDonald plates, of getting to watch MTV back in the 80's when it wasn't offered through the cable provider we had at home. Oh, and Nickelodeon too. I always wanted to be best friends with Moose on "You Can't Do That On Television". None of these things would be memories if it weren't for getting to spend so much time at my grandparent's house.

They were such good, attentive grandparents too. Always willing to go out of their way to do something special everytime we visited. And there were summers where Chuck and I were there all day Monday - Friday while Mom & Dad were at work. It's not like they did something special because they only saw us 4 times a year. We were there all the time. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the tire swing in the backyard. Man, we spent a lot of time on that tire swing. It was hung from the perfect tree, in the perfect location. I can still see the extra thick black & white rope that Grandad used to hang it with. I never could figure out where he got such a thick rope that wasn't even rope-colored.

We got a lot of ice cream there. In fact, that's probably where my ice cream addiction first began. There was also a lot of Jello and Jello Pudding. My grandmother was even one of those people who would actually make the gelatin or pudding and then actually put it into individual little parfait cups (like the directions say to) in the fridge instead of leaving it in the mixing bowl and spooning it out for use later (which is what I do). It will really make a kid feel good when they not only get a dessert, but they get their own little individual dessert cup which has been lovingly topped off with whipped cream and a cherry.

I don't know if she still does that for people or not. I do know she doesn't do it for me, and honestly if she did I guess I would never know it. See, my grandparents and I don't speak anymore. At all. And yes, I'm the one who stopped speaking to them. So, in theory I'm the asshole of the story. But let's take a closer look at what happened.

We'll start with the fact that my mother and I have never had the best relationship. A lot of fighting and stubborness between us. But I had a very happy childhood and never hated Mom or anything. However, when I first went off to college I started noticing changes in Mom's attitude towards me. It seemed like the more I enjoyed college, the more I was in trouble and getting yelled at by her. Eventually I realized what the problem seemed to be. She didn't want me to have a big group of friends and enjoy being away from her because in her mind that meant I didn't need her for anything and didn't love her anymore. It wasn't hard to figure out that's how she felt because if she called me to come home for the weekend and I already had plans she would scream "YOU DON'T LOVE ME ANYMORE" into the phone and then hang up sobbing hysterically. Of course, I have always been Miss Guilty Conscience U.S.A. so that would really eat at me.

After years of that crap happening constantly, I began to realize that she developed that behavior because her mother, my grandmother, was the exact same way. It wasn't as noticeable to me in the beginning because I had a pretty good habit of stopping in to visit Grammy & Grandad several times a month. They were always happy to see me and there were never any issues. But the older I got, the busier I became and by my mid- to late-20's my visits to my grandparents dwindled down to about once a month. Not only was I working full-time and paying bills and living a life, but I also had a social life to attend to and my grandparents lived approx. an hour away from where my job and social activities all centered.

Random Humor

THOUGHTS FROM LARRY THE CABLE GUY.......
1. A day without sunshine is like night.
2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.
7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese
in the trap.
9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines
23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.
24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates . . it's more like a jar of
jalapeno's. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

New Baby Alert!

My friends Joey & Lisa just welcomed home a new baby boy. He's so adorable. And strangely enough, everytime I look at him I think he looks exactly like my friend Charlie. But don't worry, Charlie and Lisa don't know each other at all so there's nothing fishy going on. Just so happens that Charlie looks like a chubby-cheeked baby.

P.S. - Isn't his little outfit dangerously cute? He even has little baseball shoes on. I could just eat him up.

I'm Doing The Happy Dance !!

But only for a few minutes. See, I am finally getting a chance to change shifts at work. But, my new shift is almost as crappy as my old one. So, I'm only slightly happy. My current shift has me working overnight from 09:30pm - 08:00am on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday so I obviously don't get any weekend nights to go hang out. But, I do have time to go running around during the day constantly. And I have Sunday off which means I get to go to Sunday Dinner at Grandma's house which we have all been attending for YEARS! Sunday Dinner is THE BOMB! My g'ma makes the best desserts. And the best mashed potatoes. And a pretty mean meatloaf. I just love Sunday Dinner.

But my new shift will be Sunday 07:00am - 05:30pm, and then on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 10:30am - 09:00pm. So, as you can see - NO MORE SUNDAY DINNERS! That sucks. Really. Muchly. Sucks.

But, I have spent 15 months having to leave everything at 08:00pm so I can go get ready and leave for work. I have not seen a movie in so long, I don't even remember what the last one was. I have had to leave my friends at bar-b-ques right as they're getting ready to turn up the radio and crack open a beer. No drinking for me. I have to go to work. Blah! Working the weekends has sucked ass. So, I decided to make the switch when they offered it.

Because when your days off are Sunday, Monday and Tuesday the rest of the working world doesn't care that you want to go to the movies or go out and have drinks. They all have to get their kids home, get in bed and be prepared to be at work in the morning. So, I'm really gonna miss Sunday Dinner. And on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday I won't have anytime in the morning or the evening (those hours suck). But, I got my weekends back! Well, as soon as they get someone hired and completely trained to take my spot. But, 10 weeks from now or so - I got my weekends back!

No Thank You!

I think I'll just stick to the old-fashioned way:

Doctors Try New Surgery for Gallbladder Removal

By DENISE GRADY
Published: April 20, 2007

"Doctors in New York have removed a woman’s gallbladder with instruments passed through her vagina, a technique they hope will cause less pain and scarring than the usual operation, and allow a quicker recovery. The technique can eliminate the need to cut through abdominal muscles, a major source of pain after surgery."

Rest of story HERE from the NY Times.

How To Get To Paris, France

According to Google Maps, if you want to get to Paris, France from New York City it's pretty simple. Just follow the directions below. Although you may want to carefully read # 23 before you pack your bags.

1. Head southwest on Broadway toward Warren St 0.2 mi 1 min
2. Turn left at Park Row 0.1 mi 1 min
3. Slight right at Frankfort St 0.3 mi 1 min
4. Turn left at Pearl St 56 ft
5. Turn right onto the F.D.R. Dr N ramp 0.4 mi 1 min
6. Merge onto FDR Dr N 7.7 mi 12 mins
7. Take exit 17 on the left for Triboro Bridge/Grand Central Pkwy toward I-278/Bruckner Expy 0.4 mi 2 mins
8. Merge onto Triborough Bridge Partial toll road 0.4 mi 1 min
9. Merge onto I-278 E via the ramp to I-87 N/Bronx/Upstate N Y/New England 0.6 mi 1 min
10. Take exit 47 to merge onto Bruckner Expy/I-278 E toward New Haven 1.9 mi 2 mins
11. Take the I-278 E exit toward New Haven 0.3 mi
12. Merge onto Bruckner Expy 5.0 mi 6 mins
13. Continue on I-95 N Partial toll road Entering Connecticut 62.1 mi 1 hour 12 mins
14. Take exit 48 on the left to merge onto I-91 N toward Hartford 36.8 mi 37 mins
15. Take exit 29 for US-5 N/CT-15 toward I-84/E Hartford/Boston 0.4 mi
16. Merge onto CT-15 N 1.7 mi 2 mins
17. Merge onto I-84 E Partial toll road Entering Massachusetts 40.7 mi 38 mins
18. Take the exit onto I-90 E/Mass Pike/Massachusetts Turnpike toward N.H.-Maine/Boston Partial toll road 56.0 mi 56 mins
19. Take exit 24 A-B-C on the left toward I-93 N/Concord NH/S Station/I-93 S/Quincy 0.4 mi 1 min
20. Merge onto Atlantic Ave 0.8 mi 3 mins
21. Turn right at Central St 0.1 mi
22. Turn right at Long Wharf 0.1 mi
23. Swim across the Atlantic Ocean 3,462 mi - 29 days 0 hours
24. Slight right at E05 0.5 mi 2 mins
25. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto E05/Pont Vauban 0.1 mi
26. Turn right at E05 Partial toll road 17.3 mi 22 mins
27. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto A131/E05 heading to A131/Rouen/Paris/Evreux Partial toll road 9.1 mi 8 mins
28. Take the exit onto A13/E05/L'Autoroute de Normandie Partial toll road 20.3 mi 17 mins
29. Take the exit onto A13/E05/L'Autoroute de Normandie Partial toll road 56.5 mi 47 mins
30. Take the exit on the left onto A14 toward Nanterre/La Défense Partial toll road 12.5 mi 16 mins
31. Slight right at N13 1.4 mi 3 mins
32. Turn right at Avenue de Neuilly/N13 269 ft
33. At the traffic circle, take the 4th exit onto Avenue de la Grande Armée 0.7 mi 3 mins
34. At Place Charles de Gaulle, take the 5th exit onto Avenue des Champs-Elysées 1.3 mi 3 mins
35. Slight right at Voie Georges Pompidou 1.4 mi 3 mins
36. Slight left to stay on Voie Georges Pompidou 440 ft
37. Slight right at Quai de la Mégisserie 377 ft
38. Continue on Quai de Gesvres 0.2 mi 1 min
39. Turn left at Place de l'Hôtel de Ville 194 ft

This post brought to you courtesy of Bate's Klog which is where I stole it from.

Wacky Weather

It's Official! Springfield, MO has the most varied weather in the United States. And here's a map to prove it. (white representing the area with the most variety)


Check out the rankings of how cities measure up weather-wise on this page to see that "we're number 1" (and that's not a good thing).

Hillary Rodham Clinton - Picture from College

I'm not sure what I like more - the pants or the sandals?

Mute Math - Typical

The band, Mute Math, spent weeks learning to play and sing this song backwards before shooting this video. Once they had it down, the cameras never stopped rolling. The entire video was shot in one take, then reversed. It's AWESOME!



Mute Math, as a band, hails from New Orleans. But take the time to learn a little more about the members and you will find that the drummer, Darren King, is a native Springfieldian. That's right - the way this band is gaining popularity, Springfield, MO is going to have yet another claim to fame.

Meth Moths?

Student wins science fair award with new meth-finding tool
by Chad Plein, KY3 News

KAISER, Mo. -- A high school senior has piqued the curiosity of law enforcement officers by showing them a new tool in the war against illegal methamphetamines. The discovery came out of Lei’La’ Bryant’s science fair project and law enforcement officers say it works.

Bryant says, when looking for a project for the state science symposium, she started thinking about students and infants who she's seen affected by meth. Her project, How to Find Meth Labs, won a best-in-the-state award.

“I wanted to do something to change things,” said Bryant.

The evils of meth concerned Bryant so much that she hatched a plan to help law enforcement.

“It’s innovative to take something small and lead to chemicals,” said Camden County Sheriff John Page.

“Meth in Missouri has its own world ranking,” said Bryant.

Seven meth busts in her neighborhood over the last two years bugged Bryant. She had to find an answer.

“Yeah, I train moths,” she said.

That’s right: moths. The experiment is based on Pavlov's dog. She exposed moths to a meth chemical shortly before feeding them.

Rest of story HERE

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Nov. 11, 1922 - April 11, 2007

Kurt Vonnegut was not an author that was beloved by all. Most of his works were considered controversial and hard to follow. In fact, I only read "SlaughterHouse-Five" because I wanted to see what the big deal was with it. And after I read it, I liked it despite the obvious reasons most people don't.

My first experience with Mr. Vonnegut's writings was back in either junior high or high school (I can't remember which because it was so long ago)when our reading book included his short story "Harrison Bergeron". I knew then I liked the guy because that was such a great story. Unfortunately, the 2 works I mentioned here are the only things I've ever read of his. Maybe now I should find time to read some more of Vonnegut's works. I hear "Cat's Cradle" is a good one.

Random Thoughts For The Day

Thank God, the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals finally won a game this season.

I probably should have slept sometime between getting off work @ 7:00 am this morning and being back at work @ 09:30 pm today. I'm starting to feel a liiiitttle bit tired.

Cadbury eggs are the bomb!

Josh and I had a good day reliving our favorite songs from 80's hair bands.

Today, I got to eat some of grandma's world-famous sugar cookies that she is making for Easter. I got to sneak some 2 days early because I'm her favorite. Nananana booboo.

Okay, Josh got some cookies today too. And so did Sabrina. And so did the kids. But, she wanted me to get the first ones. I'm sure of it.

I'm going to Disney World baby!

I drank 1 wine cooler 3 1/2 hours before coming to work - don't tell my boss.

Have I mentioned that I'm tired?

Happy Hoppy Bunny Weekend!!!!

Daycare Easter Party

My little cousin, Keaton and Bobbie's neice, Lexi both attend the same daycare and today was the day they did their Easter Party. Bobbie and I were both available, so we went over to witness the little kids have their fun. They both got quite a few eggs and Lexi even found one of the special prize eggs *cough* Cordell accidentally helped her *cough*. I didn't get as many good pictures as I wanted because they were both running very quickly in random directions, and as soon as they stopped all 600 kids that were there piled in on top of each other and began dissecting eggs in search of candy. But here is one of each of them during the thrill of the hunt.

Random Picture

I love photography, but I have a 6.0 mp Nikon Coolpix L1 instead of a digital SLR so a lot of times my pictures are simply snapshots. But that doesn't stop me from one day dreaming of owning a Nikon D70 and it also doesn't stop me from trying to take fancy little artsy pictures with my simple little camera.

As a result, I end up with hundreds of pictures a week that I don't want to delete or store, but I digress. I also occasionally end up with a decent shot.

Here's one I took Saturday morning as I was leaving work and heading out to the parking lot. This is a shot of the new construction at St. John's Hospital. The weather was kind of cloudy and stormy, but there was still a hint of possible spring sunshine in the air and I just loved the way the newly installed glass panels were reflecting the sky.

Now It's Officially Spring

Do you know why it is suddenly official that spring is here? It's because last night I attended my first "hot dog-roasting" bonfire of the year. Yeah! We even had smores! Now my warm-weather hyperness has kicked into full swing.

We went to Chris' house where he and his friend Grisham built us a small fire:




The fire was awesome, but was not quite suited for roasting hot dogs - you couldn't get too close without your face melting off:



But, we finally managed to burn a few beyond repair and enjoy some good food and company:




After sunset, the fire was perfect for keeping us warm:




All in all, it was a beautiful spring night. Great times, great friends, and I guess I better say great family or else several of them might be offended.