You Are a Sleek Black Bra!

Subtle, sophisticated, and classy. You're not the first woman a man notices in the room... But you're the one he remembers a week later. You need a guy who will make a lasting impression on you too!

What Kind of Bra Are You?

Heat

Summer is here alright.. temps are in the mid 90's. Countdown to the end of school is... 3 days away. I've had teens swarming around, picking up prom photos. I think some of them have forgotten how to say "Thank you" or "You're welcome." It reminds me of that movie "take the lead" with Antonio Banderas--the movie where he teaches ballroom dancing to deliquent teens. They were lacking manners when he began and at the end, they were graceful and elegant, etc...all because of ballroom dancing. Maybe some of the kids should take this up at our local High Schools.

I went into the attic last night and found 5 bags of clothes I forgot I had put up there: Summer dresses, shoes, shorts and tops. Plus some houseware stuff. I had the most fun going through them. Some of it is going on the yard sale, but not all. I feel as if I went shopping. I'll send tonight washing and drying this stuff...so I can wear it.

Placed an ad in the Fayetteville paper for the yard sale. It will run 3 days and it puts me $27.50 in the hole. Let's hope I make it up!!!!!

I have a confession to make... I'm addicted to Suduko puzzles! I can't sleep until I do at least two. I've completed 2 books and am working on a book of 400! William keeps asking me how to spell it, even as he looks at the cover of the book. I wondered why he was doing this, and decided to misspell it on purpose. His look of triumph as he corrected me told me why...he's been hoping I'll screw up so he can be King Spelling Bee guy. Kids!

Haven't done squat today.... due to having to give out pictures to the teens. Maybe sometime tomorrow I'll get a chance to finish the Summer issue of my mag... let's hope so. I know my adoring fans are waiting. haha

storms

We had some rough stormy weather Sat eve and yesterday. The street in front of Al's house flooded. His trash can was swimming in it. But as soon as the rain stopped, the street cleaned up. We stood on his porch, looking at the water. It looked like a mini river, whirlpooling around debris. Al described how the boy drowned in 2004, the one he tried to save. I could see how the kid didn't see the drainage canal. The rain water pools heavily in all the yards on the street. If you didn't know better, you would think it was a normal rain puddle.

It was a fun weekend. I actually drank too much wine and had a giddy buzz going on. Al pretended to take advantage of me...and I pretended to let him.

Yesterday I didn't feel so great...probably from the wine. So we hung out and did some house chores. Watched a few movies and played cards.

Going to have my yard sale this weekend. Got all the stuff I want to sale out of the studio. I still need to work on the attic and one closet. I'll do that tonight.

School's out on Wednesday. The nephews are really excited. I hope they don't get too bored over the summer. Saturday they had all their stuffed animals out on the couch. They played 'buy and sale'... which was sort of cute because Ben can't count money yet (they had play $$$) and William helped him. They took turns buying and selling. The last time they played "Pet Store"...Ben 'hired' William and when William got tired of playing he asked Ben to "Fire" him. Then later when he wanted to play some more, he re-applied for the position.

My workload is light this week. Thank heavens. Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Didn't get to shop due to the rain. So I've got to go shopping this week for Al some stuff. And think of what kind of cake to bake for him. He requested a "pie" but I can't really write what kind...wink wink.

I talked to my friend Sam on Saturday. We've had hit and miss calls for the last few weeks. He left a message on my cell phone's voicemail that he would be working Sat and for me to call him, because he was spending the night at a haunted hotel. So... I called and he had some wild things to happen to him. We talked for over an hour...something we haven't done in ages. I realized after we hung up that I miss him a lot. He's become a good friend over the years. And can be a bit of a devil at times. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh well... there goes the phone... back to work.

Hello June

What the heck happened to May?

Well, things are slowly slowing down. School is out this coming Wednesday, and we'll have all our school photos out by then. I've slowed down some in the restoration department. I've got enough to keep me steadily busy. To be honest, I hate working on quick deadlines when really bad photos need restoring. I feel as if I don't do the work justice.

Things with Al are really good. I found some old journals I kept back in 1998-2000. This was the era of our bad break-up and the fallout from it. I wept after reading some of it... alot of the entries were 'Al called last night. He was drunk and irate." Or "Al called a while ago. He was drunk and crying, begging me to get back together." I really believe that if you give love a chance to breathe and find it's proper place, it will reward you to the fullest. I can't say it's perfect between us, because he is a literal person and I'm not. I think in shades of gray, he sees only black and white. But we've created a balance that works for us. And I think I fall deeper in love with him every moment we spend together. He's made me cry in the past but he's made me laugh more in the present. If anyone appreciates that second chance at love, we do.

His birthday is June 11. He'll be 47. I guess I should start birthday shopping... hmmm Victoria's Secret seems like the perfect place to look...lol.. and No, Al doesn't wear ladies lingerie... though once he had on my sheer black nightgown as a goof... talk about funny... a man with a 'stache and hairy legs wearing a sheer nightgown... priceless.

Anyways, back to work... thanks for hanging in here, gang.

PS... K... email me your photos and I'll see if I can touch them up.. NO Charge for you.

The Secret Old Folk Driving School

I believe when you hit 70 years-old or so that there's a secret old folk driving school that you're sent to, which teaches the elderly how to drive ...crazy...

On the way from office depot, I have to hit at least 8 traffic lights...and the old blue hair lady in the caddy in front of me, stopped at every red light, every yellow light and yes, every green light....

I prayed for patience because I'm figuring if I don't lose my temper with senior citizen driving, then I've earned the right to drive the young folk drivers crazy when I'm over 70 with blue hair, driving a caddy where I can barely see over the steering wheel!!!

Amendment to the previous post

...if you do go see the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End movie...make sure you stick around for "Easter Egg"...after the credits roll a scene appears which adds to the ending... so don't forget to watch it. I didn't know about it until another person told me about it.

If you don't know what an Easter Egg is... click here

Fizzle of the Caribbean (spoiler alert)

Went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End (#3)... and left out of the theatre, saying to the ticket taker guy, "The ending sucks eggs, dude." He said, "I'm just the ticket guy. Not the writer."

All that hype about Keith Richards playing Jack's dad...and he's on for about 5 mins or so, and acts subdued. Didn't he do his homework???? His makeup gave him a doughboy face. I was disappointed.

There were a lot of moments when I laughed out loud, and there were some great fight scenes...and some shocking moments, like at the beginning with the gallows scene. At one time there was a Mexican standoff where even the monkey had a gun... now that was priceless. I guess if I have to give it a grade it would be a B-. Too many subplots, too much betrayal and some personal agendas that seemed pointless most of the time...

Surprisingly it seemed to be Keira Knightley's movie...I'll stop there... I'm about to write waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much.

All I can say for now...is that if there is a 4th, they need to get better writers.

Yeppers

I know...those quizzes I just posted don't make up for all the days, I've been neglecting this blog...and other things.

Life's been hectic this month...at the studio, we're in the last few days of our school pictures and are working on a tight deadline. Plus I got in kegger of work and had to get it done by some tight deadlines... and home life has been fairly busy too...

life... how it get's in the way of online stuff. But I don't complain, a few years ago, I spent entirely too many hours online and caught up in too much online drama.

I wouldn't give up my life now for the past...for any amount of money offerred.

Al and I are getting along really great. We have our up and down moments, but both of us work hard to keep them up. We listen to each other and try to compromise when we disagree and if we can't... I remind him that it's ok to have opposing opinions, as long at they don't crush our relationship and they won't if we don't let them.

William and Ben are excited that school will be out less than 2 weeks. They've done great this year and I will have to come up with some sort of reward..maybe a day trip or something.

Been working on articles for a June issue of the magazine... that's right... a June issue. I've decided to limit the issues to Bi-yearly: June and Dec. I just don't have time to work on a monthly issue.

I spent the whole week working really hard on retouching and restoration. I bet I finished 30 or more sets of photos. All turned out great. I figured if I got ahead of the game, then I could take a 3 day weekend and get back to the grind on Tuesday without the frantic feeling of falling behind and never catching up. Going to Al's and hanging out. He may have to work but that's ok. I've got a wading pool that the boys have outgrown but I can fit in comfortably. I'm taking it to Al's. If he's not around, I'll fill it with water and have a lounge about in the coolnes of it. The weather has been rather warm lately. Maybe I'll sip some brewskies or wine coolers... and contemplate perfecting the perfect kiss....

if there is ever such a thing... I like to keep trying...

You are a Great Girlfriend

When it comes to your guy, you're very thoughtful But you also haven't stopped thinking of yourself You're the perfect blend of independent and caring You're a total catch - make sure your guy knows it too!

Are You a Good Girlfriend?

Your Love Song Is

Yellow by Coldplay "Look at the stars, Look how they shine for you, And everything you do, Yeah they were all yellow" You're so in love, it's like a drug.

What Love Song Are You?

Your Beauty Element is Fire

Wild and sexy, you keep your beauty style smokin' hot. You're not afraid of glamour or showing off your assets!

What's Your Beauty Element?

Your Love Life is Like Casablanca

"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time." For you, love is never finished. If you've loved someone once, you'll always love them. You're an old fashioned romantic... even if your relationships don't end up as romantic as you'd like. Your love style: Traditional and understated Your Hollywood Ending Will Be: Complicated and ambiguous

What Movie Is Your Love Life Like?

Al and his Kitties

Al's cat "Slick" (I call her Mamma) had 4 kittens about 6 weeks ago. She brought the kittens to him a week ago. Here's a picture of him in the hall holding two of them. The other two were in the closet. He's found homes for them. My favorite was a little tiger tabby. It followed me everywhere. If I had a place to keep it, I would have but it will make a nice pet for a child. All of them will.

Things to write ...later

I am way behind in blogging. Here are some posts to look for this week:

1. Pictures of the beach trip.
2. Pictures and thoughts on the zoo trip.
3. An update on my writing and upcoming projects.
4. Al and his new kittens. He's such the cat daddy.
5. Birds
6. And other groovy cool stuff.

Happy Birthday to J... The lumberyard guy

I was going to bake you a cake but figured you might some hot crossed buns better.

Enjoy your day, J.

Happy Birthday!

Another Hump Day

Where did the last few days go???? I thought I had blogged but I guess I was daydreaming.

I've had to work on the Bridal Portraits from hell these last few days. Dad tossed the files at me Friday as I was leaving work. So I came in Sat and worked on them for 5 hours...then Monday and Tuesday, I invested another 14 hours (total) and just now have finished--that's another hour. Basically, these photos (5 in all) have sucked the life out of four days! Now I'm behind in my own work and...on top of it... I promised William I would go on his field trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia SC tomorrow.

Al and I finally went on our fishing trip. Our plan was too leave at midnight and fish the incoming tide. I thought to myself, 'Hmmm... better check the tide charts.' So I discreetly went online while he talked to one of his Lumberton friends. High tide wasn't in the am, it was at noon. I kept the page open and when he was done with his conversation, I called him into the computer room and showed him the chart. He wouldn't have believed me otherwise...lol..he would have accused me of faking it so I could sleep in. He knows me too well... heh heh.

So we left at 7 am instead and got to Holden Beach around 10 am (Al is a pitstop kinda guy--while I'm a let's hurry and get there girl). We had a lot of fun. Didn't catch anything because the water was too cold. I was so excited that I drove Al crazy every time the tip of our poles bent, mainly from the surf. He sent me on a 'snipe hunt'--at the beach aka as a shark tooth hunt. I let him think I wasn't aware of it and enjoyed a long walk down the strand and back. We left around 2 pm and drove to Myrtle Beach. I think we got home around 10 pm. Both of us were tired. I got a slight sunburn on the back of my neck and the tops of my feet. While I was lathering 45 SF lotion on my skin, Al asked me to do something for him and I forgot to finish applying the sunscreen. Yikes! It's a lot better today.

We had a lot of laughs. The Swamp Fox rollercoaster in Myrtle Beach is gone now. But there are still a lot of other famous sites still up. I took a few photos and will get them posted in the next few days.

The Jukebox in my Head

Taking turns playing on the jukebox in my head today are: The Curly Shuffle and the music that plays when the cowboys get together in Brokeback Mountain...lol.. what's up with that???

I watched it the other night...was in the mood to see it from start to finish..I think it's one of those movies that you can't watch for enjoyment... you have to be in a solemn or intense mood to watch it.. Heath Ledger sure does play a great role. I have to say it's his movie for sure. And he plays the role of Ennis Del Mar with an intensity of emotion that leaves me feeling his loss and grief.

...which is probably why the Curly Shuffle keeps interrupting the music for Brokeback.. it's hard to think about a doomed love affair when Curly interrupts with "look at the grouse" .."Woof woof"

Windy today Chilly Tonight

Boy, did we get some rain and wind this weekend. The rain was very heavy and the wind was so strong I feared the trees around the house would fall over. Didn't get to go fishing like planned. We're shooting for this weekend.

I'm horrified over the shootings at Virginia Tech. From what I've read online, the guy had been exhibiting disturbing behavior. It saddens me that he resorted to murdering people. I tried to imagine getting a gun and shooting people but I can't see myself in that role. I would have to be deranged and out of my mind to do something like that. Innocent people have died and many are wounded. Families are grieving and the jerk is dead. He doesn't have to deal with the aftermath. But his family does. They are victims too.

I agree with what J wrote in his blog. We should hug not only our children but all whom we love, tell them how much we care and that no matter what is going on with them, we're there to listen and to help if we possibly can and if not, maybe help them find a solution to whatever their problem is.

Will Ferrell Movie Generator

This is a hoot!

Will Ferrell Movie


an example:

Will Ferrell plays Matt Simmons, an egotistical, obnoxious drill sergeant at the top of his profession. He and his sidekick, played by Jack Black, seem invincible until their dominance is threatened by a new rival. Matt Simmons's excessive pride causes him to spiral downward to comical lows. When he is at the depths of despair, he removes his shirt and bellows,

Your tree is a marmalade, a languid marmalade!

After a wacky training process featuring a surprise cameo by Jon Heder and a marginally-developed romantic subplot, he enters into a climactic showdown with his rival and emerges victorious - but not without learning a thing or two about friendship.

Estimated Opening Weekend Box Office Returns: $54.3 million

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

I knew I would be a Mermaid!