Junk kind of day!

I have not had even one meal today, but I have grazed all day long!

• shoestring potatoes
• root beer with real sugar
• banana
• grapes
• apple with peanut butter
• grilled cheese sandwich ( I guess that's a meal right there)
• key lime pie
• peanut butter cookies
• diet Big Red drink

Yep....I did manage to get in 4000 steps while eating all that food. I guess that was trips from the computer to the kitchen! GEEZE...what a waste of skin today...Actually, we had some rain today and I DID go out behind the fence with my pick axe and tried to dig a canal to let the water out of my back yard!

St. Jude Dream Home

Every year, even before I moved here, I have bought a ticket to try to win the St. Jude Dream Home. I never visited the home before the drawing, but today I did just that. It's a lovely home worth well over $300 grand and comes completely furnished. I am perfectly happy in my little patio home and am happy to donate to St. Jude because it is just an awesome charity. If I did win, I probably couldn't pay the taxes on the house or pay the electricity bill! I sure could sell that baby though....and, believe me, I would!!!!

Politicians...be damned!

My local council representative knocked on my door yesterday. He knew my name (Of course, it is on the mailbox), handed me his card, and then blew it! He said, "You are Stewart's mother, aren't you?" Ummm, No...he's my brother. Dude just lost my vote!!!! My brother is loving it. He's calling me Mom now!!! Crap, I knew I had aged a lot in the last few years, but I didn't know it was THAT much. My brother is younger than me, but only by 6 years!!!!

So glad I no longer have to evacuate!!!!

C-YA!

Fight organized crime.....re-elect NO ONE!

Read the directions, Dummy!

I have been a little disappointed in my new pedometer because everyday it
 resets itself. I just assumed I had managed to hold the button down for a second and a half while it is in my pocket, which is what is required to reset it. I was reading some reviews for it on Amazon and found out that it resets itself at midnight every night. I had the time set wrong on it, so it was re-setting at noon every day!! DUH! Now I am loving it. It's without a doubt the most accurate pedometer I have ever had....in fact, it's the only one I have ever had that worked right! I'm a happy camper now....a dumbass camper, but happy still!

Hey, it's a start!

All the research says we need to take 10,000 steps a day for fitness. Holy moly! That's hard! I even went out and walked in the heat for 20 minutes and still had a daily total of just over 3,000 steps. WTH! I guess I need to be taking steps all day long...no rest for the weary. That's going to cut into my Facebook and Bejeweled Blitz time! I can't be steppin' while I'm doing that!

Good intentions!

I did the research! Many pedometers have failed my tests...as recently as a few months ago, I bought one that fits on the arm like a watch. Damn thing was ticking off steps while I was sitting still. While that would help me reach the 10,000 steps a day needed for fitness, it wouldn't do a  thing for me. I chose the Omron HJ  112, but it was back-ordered from the manufacturer on all the websites except Ebay, so I got one from there in a few days. I got it all set and it started counting about 2:30 today. At 10 P.M. when I took it off, it had 2008 steps, 75 calories, .57 miles and 0 aerobic steps ( it measures fast steps, I think). I'm going to have to get moving to get in 10,000 steps a day!! Whew!

Being the sucker that I am, I happened to see on TV this morning this "Wave" contraption from The Firm exercise program. It looked like something I could do, so I am now the owner of yet another piece of exercise equipment and accompanying CD's. Hey, it's a start and it will store right along side my Wii Fit!!!!

Well, duh!

Please note that on July 16, 2010, I officially lost my mind! I went to Bossier to buy a piece of exercise equipment called The Wave and to get my hair cut at Super Cuts. I got half way home and got a glimpse of myself in the mirror and realized, "O, Crap, I forgot to get my hair cut!!!!" I guess I was so anxious to get home and try out my new pedometer and try out my new "Wave" .....wait...no, that can't be it! Today is the day IT happened! Sort of like losing virginity.....I lost my MIND!

My mission...and I choose to accept it is.....

to find Heritage Dr. Pepper. I may have to take a road trip to find it because I have exhausted all sources around here. It is sweetened with REAL SUGAR instead of high fructose corn syrup and is in limited distribution right now just like the Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwbacks! Looks like I may have to head toward Texas looking for it. It is different from the Dublin Dr. Pepper that is bottled year round in Dublin, Texas. It has the old logos on the label just like in the "old" days. If anyone sees any of this stuff anywhere, please let me know. I will come get a trunk load of it! High fructose corn syrup is EVIL!

Borrowed from a Facebook post!

Recently large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Arizona instead of Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration.

Certain people are angry that the US might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into this country and, once here, to stay indefinitely.

Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests. ...
Let’s say I break into your house.
Let’s say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave.

But I say, ‘No! I like it here. It’s better than my house. I’ve made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors. I’ve done all the things you don’t like to do. I’m hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters:

You are Required to let me stay in your house
You are Required to feed me
You are Required to add me to your family’s insurance plan
You are Required to Educate my kids
You are Required to Provide other benefits to me & to my family

My husband will do all of your yard work because he is also hard-working and honest. (except for that breaking in part).

If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my RIGHT to be there.

It’s only fair, after all, because you have a nicer house than I do, and I’m just trying to better myself. I’m a hard-working and honest, person, except for well, you know, I did break into your house
And what a deal it is for me!!!

I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of cold, uncaring, selfish, prejudiced, and bigoted behavior.

Oh yeah, and I DEMAND that you learn MY LANGUAGE!!! so that you can communicate with me.

Why can’t people see how ridiculous this is?!

America is populated and governed by idiots.

If you agree, pass it on (in English).
If not blow it off………
along with your future Social Security funds and a lot of the former benefits of being an American Citizen.

Crappy day!

First, I took Mom to Wal Mart so she could get her own groceries, after which, I took her home. There, I found two more of my tomatoes gone....victims of cutworms. These tomatoes were nowhere near the place where the cutworms got my others. I wrapped foil around the bottom of the 3 that are left and turned on the soaker hose that my brother fixed for the new row. It had a hole in it! I went and got the soaker hose that I bought this year for the other tomato row and brought it and set it up on the new tomatoes. IT HAD A HOLE IN IT! I went to get something out of a cabinet in Mom's carport and the whole door fell off on me! I went in and told her I was going home! Since I have been home, nothing has happened....YET!

Waste of skin!

What a lazy block of stone I have been today! The only thing slightly useful that I did was go out behind my fence with a hoe and try to make the water drain out of my back yard. I'm delighted to have rain, but I do have a problem with drainage. I don't know why. I live on a freakin' hill! I have completely undone my landscaping in the back to try to solve the problem. I even put a drainage pipe through the flower bed and under the fence and I still get standing water in a corner. It hasn't been tested much because we have been in a severe drought. In fact, I don't think we have had flood type rains since I have lived here, so it's been basically untested. I have lifted all the paving stones that I had set up in the corner. Still doesn't seem to have solved the problem. I am going to be mad if I have to call in a landscaper to solve this!!!!

Awesome!

The crepe myrtles this year have  really been showing off...not just mine, but everyone's! The blooms are so heavy that the limbs are bending down.

Decisions, decisions!

Which to read first? I have both!

OR

Well, CRAP!

Now my very favorite musician of all times, Jimmy Buffett, has opened his mouth  and shown his ignorance of politics. He has blamed the oil gusher on George Bush because he was "too cozy" with the oil companies! I am so disappointed in Jimmy. I will never be able to listen to him the same way again. Why can't singers just shut up and sing???

Rockwell Moment (ripped from an email)

Finally!

I have been able to leave all the water hoses and sprinklers put away for a whole week. Thank God we have finally had a few showers and a break in the weather.

Also, I was finally able to find a few Heat Wave tomato plants, so I planted them today before the rain. I hope we can grow a few tomatoes on our last attempt this year. My brother fixed a new place to plant them, has a soaker hose along the row and lots of pine straw to help with the grass and weeds.
He also wants to plant some pumpkins. We have never grown any pumpkins although Dad always wanted to. Don't know why he never planted any.

I made it through the reunion with only one episode of watery eyes when my cousin got up and talked about Dad. Still....it's an event I don't enjoy going to. Most of the people there are people I don't even know even though they are distant relatives.

I'm considering just turning off the TV. There is so much stuff that makes me mad and question the sanity of the politicians, especially Obama and his minions.

• WTH does NASA have to do with Muslims? Why has the director of NASA been told to engage the muslim world?
  
• Why is the USA (OBAMA) suing Arizona for trying to protect its own people?
• Why are people who know how to stop the gusher in the Gulf being ignored?
• Why are the people who know how to clean it up not allowed to do it?
• Why has the Jones Act not been lifted?
• Why is Louisiana not allowed to put boulders around the marshes to protect them from oil?
• Any why are 1st amendment rights being ignored down on the Gulf Coast ?

I just can't understand how people can be so damn STUPID!

Happy Independence Day!

Fourth of July has always been reunion day for my dad's family. I am not looking forward to the first one without him. His sister is the only one of them left. She is 94 and was recently moved to Virginia to live with her daughter, so she will not be there either. Dad always looked forward to this day, but I never did. The only reason I ever went was for him. He liked to show off his kids....even when we weren't kids anymore!

Yum!

Well, I gotta get it while I can. Fresh vegies just aren't available but a short period of time! Must take advantage. Trust me! I don't eat like this often!
Tomatoes, okra, creamed corn, steamed squash, and hot buttered cornbread...all fresh out of the garden! Life is good!

Too much time on my hands tonight!

My brother is sooooo funny!

My unreasonable fear of snakes and all other varmints has always been great entertainment for my brother. I blame him for some of my jumpiness! He has always been a practical joker and I have always been his favorite victim! Today, I went to Mom’s to pick the okra. As I walked down the road to the okra row, I happened upon a black snake diligently placed and staged. It was dead, but it scared me much! I called him and asked him if he left that snake for me, knowing full well that he did. He died laughing and blamed it on his wife! Of course, I did not have my camera and forgot about the camera on my phone. I was too traumatized to take a picture anyway! I think it was the same snake that I saw in the beans a couple of weeks ago...at least, I hope it was!!!!!

Unfortunately!

Finally finished!

I seriously don't quite get all the hoopla over this book. It's OK, but was just not a page turner for me. At least, I did finish it. Usually, if it is not a real page turner, I don't finish it.

Ripped from an email and Dr. Seuss!

I do not like this Uncle Sam, I do not like his health care scam.

I do not like these dirty crooks, or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,

I do not like their secret deals.

I do not like this speaker Nan ,

I do not like this 'YES WE CAN'.

I do not like this spending spree,

I'm smart, I know that nothing's free,

I do not like your smug replies, when I complain about your lies.

I do not like this kind of hope.

I do not like it you BIG Dope.

I do not like it NOPE NOPE NOPE!

Nostalgia!

I took a detour through my old college campus yesterday while I was in that college town on a mission to find peaches. After all, Ruston is the peach capital of Louisiana and they were having the Peach Festival. Of course, it has been a very long time since I lived in Ruston and not much is the same. The one thing that has not changed is the dorms. All the dorms I lived in are still there! They still look lovely, but those suckers are old! They weren't new when I was there. I didn't get out and walk in the areas where cars are no longer allowed because it was too freakin' HOT! I would like to go back sometimes and find the brick that I purchased with my name and year of graduation on it!

You know you want some!

Some of these peaches magically turned into this yummy peach cobbler!

Don't be jealous!

And I even forgot to put peas on the plate....fresh peas, okra, corn and the essential hot, buttered cornbread!

SOS to Billy the Exterminator!!!

I went out to pick peas in the garden this morning and kept hearing a sound of metal against metal under the pear tree. My brother had set his coon trap under the tree just to get it out of the way. Apparently, it had some food still in it. I went over to it expecting to see a coon in his trap. But, NO....it was a SKUNK! WTH! I didn't get close enough to take a picture because I didn't want to get sprayed. I called my brother and asked him if he knew there was a skunk in his trap....he likes messing with me, so I thought he might have left it especially for me! He did not know, but he came over with his gun and shot the skunk. Of course, the skunk sprayed when he shot it. Condolences to PETA! Once again, GET OVER IT! I don't care! Our pea picking was over temporarily. Why am I ALWAYS the one who finds the varmints????   I don't like varmints! I don't even have a dog!!!!

Ouch!

The rep from the monument company finally came today and we picked out a family monument with 5 foot stones. We chose a glossy black granite for the family name..then we will each have our own foot stone with the pertinent information on it. It cost nearly $10,000, but when we consider that all of us are now covered with the exception of dates of death, it's not a bad deal. Really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Mom basically knew what she wanted and my brother and I agreed. We should have a computer print out of them by tomorrow, but it will take as long as 10 weeks to get them completed and at the cemetery.

Untitled

It's time!

Time for me to suck it up and be a big girl. Father's Day was always a special day for me and I always tried to make it home to be with my dad on that day. Same for Mother's Day. I knew it would not be easy this year, but everyone loses their father at some point and I was incredibly lucky to have mine for 66 years. I miss him very much, but I will suck it up tomorrow and go to church on Father's Day. He would want me to be in church!

CRAP!

I had to suck it up and hire someone to do my yard for the hot, humid, hideous days of this summer! It was hard for me to admit that I just wasn't up to doing it as hot as it is. I am real picky about my yard and it must be done just right or I am not a happy camper, so I hope he will make me happy. He is a local firefighter who does this on the side, so I am OK with helping out a firefighter. I just wish I could do it myself! I will still do Mom's because it is all done on the lawn tractor and most of the time my brother beats me to it anyway. I think part of the problem is that I don't want to admit I am freakin' OLD!

Uh OH!

 Update: Chills are back again and fever is returning! WTH!

Well, I guess it was a little more than being tired yesterday. Turns out I had some sort of mysterious fever which caused chills and just made me feel bad. I finally took my temp last night after I realized I had a fever and it was confirmed. I took some aspirins and some time later woke up drenched in sweat. Today has been better although I still don't feel like really doing anything. Just another lazy day, but no fever so far.

A day off!

Once again I wore myself completely out yesterday and I guess it now takes me a day to recover. I pulled up every bean plant and picked the beans off of them after I pulled them up. I will never plant any more beans like these. They grow all down below the plant near the ground and it is just too hard on my back to pick them. They had lots of grass in them anyway and they were making our garden look bad. I also picked a lot more corn to give away. I'm done with cutting corn off the cob and freezing it. If I recover enough to get hungry today, I have okra/tomatoes, squash, green beans, cucumbers and hot buttered cornbread on the menu. When the heat index is 105, it kind of takes the wind out of my sails!

Ugh!

Spent hours doing the part of gardening that I don't like. Harvesting and "putting up"! Lots of corn ready right now. I picked, shucked, (Mom silked), cut off the cob, and froze 15 quarts of corn. That would be 62 ears. It's tedious and boring, but I sure enjoy some fresh creamed corn in the dead of winter! I will be cooking some of it for dinner tonight after a little nap to recover. Had to go to the Farmer's Market to get some tomatoes since mine are a dismal failure! Don't know why they aren't making...neither are my squash.

Success!

RIP

Well, not so much for the coons! We tried all the deterrents and they worked for 3 nights, but last night when my brother went to put Dad's truck in the garden with the radio going, he saw 3 coons coming into our corn. They were bold and brave and pretty much ignored him. He called his wife to bring his gun..C-ya coons. We planted enough corn for us and them, but they brought all their family and friends and got greedy. They are now in raccoon heaven. Get over it PETA!

New BP logo!

Hello!

Dinner

• Fresh sliced cucumbers w/Italian dressing
• Fried zucchini
• Fresh corn on the cob dripping in butter andidon'tevencare!
  

God smiled on us today!

I am so thankful for the rain today. It was only an inch and a half, but it certainly will help the garden. Today was another one of those "be lazy and never leave t he house" kind of days. I am reading a good book called The Help by Kathryn Stockett, so I was happy to not have anything that had to be done. I had a plumber come and change my sprayer hose on my kitchen sick, so the leaking would stop. That probably wouldn't bother most people, but I could not stand for water to leak out of it every time I turned the faucet on. Drove me crazy, so I sucked it up and called a plumber. He is a member of my krewe, so I was happy to give him my business.

Yep!