Friday, July 31, 2009

Vacay Here Today and Gone Tomorrow

Well here it goes. The vacation (vacay) to Gulf Shores, AL with the Lace fam: Greg, Gina, Peyton, and Kayla PLUS the 2/3 Davis fam: me and Blakely.

Day 1: We leave the hub of Eastern Arkansas at 5 a.m. Just in time to drive through the lightning storm of the freakin' century! I mean it was a light show! Around West Memphis the sky lit up a beautiful shade of blue/green as a transformer was blown to bits by a HUGE lightning bolt. Nice. Then right before the Memphis bridge to my IMMEDIATE right another bolt takes out a small forest. I think years were taken off my life at the exact moment. If you are a regular blog reader you already are aware of my lightning issues. If you are new, well I have issues. Lots of them. LOL My husband, the cropduster/weather afficionado swears we will be out of the storms when we reach south Memphis. Note: we were still in the storms in Grenada, MS. GEEZ!

We are on a road trip and actually are having a good time. I mean we survived lightning strikes so we're now good to go. We discover that our driver, Greg Lace, subscribes to the 55 and arrive alive driving mantra. Which means he drives like a grandma! We get lost like 2 times but do manage to arrive in Gulf Shores by 3. I check us in and we got an extra night FREE! Which means our vacay is off to a smashing start! We decide to go drop off our stuff at the condo and go eat. We chose Sea N Suds which is one of my most favorite places! And we head to the souvenir shop for chairs and boogieboards. Then, ofcourse, we stop at a grocery store for a FEW supplies then head to our condo. We hurry up and load the cooler and head to the beach. It was an awesome end to a perfect day but wait...what? I did what?!?!? I managed to drop my brand new iPhone down the freakin' elevator shaft!!!!!!! What the heck?!? I didn't panic right away. This is where it actually becomes amusing. The night guards Paul (who Greg insisted upon calling him Carl) and the young guy that I never got his name. Greg is about 7 feet tall and 2 feet wide (I really, really hope he's reading this! lol) with bleached hair. It was supposed to be blonde but hey, it's bright yellow. He looks like a pro wrestler on the cheap circuit and Paul (who is really old and has a speech impediment) is kind of afraid of him. The one he should've been afraid of is ME. To make a long story short I get tired of dealing with these bozos (not Greg..not yet anyway) and I inform them as I pass the guard shack in a huff that I am headed to the store and would return. Now, I think I can get the phone with a long fishing net. When I return I see the 2 guards scurrying with some rod with duct tape on the end. Greg is nowhere in sight. Apparently they thought I was going to the store for a gun..they were a'movin! We get the doors open and I insist upon them using the net. Which they do and they get my phone on the FIRST try! Hellooooo. A woman knows how to rig stuff! I give a group hug and just because I'm cool like that..I give them 10 bucks each for their trouble. Or hush money. Whatever. I have my phone! I am an instant celebrity at the condo and all is well. Paul even comes to check on me later and to ask me to tell my husband..what? backup there Carl! He's not my husband. This elated Paul because he said he can flirt now. WTH? Actually, I kind of like Paul. He's very committed to his job and I kind of felt bad for him. He really is kind of panicky. Barney Fife comes to my mind. Carl the Mall cop comes to Greg's. Day one officially ends.

Day 2: All day beach day! We are burned and tired. Out to eat at LuLu's which was great fun but OK food! I did have an interesting frozen jamaican rum drink and a honey beer. Not too bad. Bought the obligatory t-shirt. Blakely got her hair wrapped and we bought more crap. We also attempted crab hunting. WhatEVER.

Day 3: We head to the outlet mall in Foley. The sky is overcast and we are burnt from yesterday so it's time to shop. Around 3p we start to get a little cranky. We want to go to Wal-Mart and just get some stuff to eat in tonight. As we are leaving, we hear a cccrrrruuuunnch. Are you freakin' kidding me?!? An old man has just rammed into my Armada. His car looks not great but barely a scuff on old Jezebel. His fault. We part ways and I am in a funk. I mean first the iPhone and now the car. It takes me awhile to get over it but really one can't be in too bad of a mood when you're at the beach. We do go down to spend the evening and that's when Hurrican Merlene hit. We scurried back to the condo in the nick of time and watched mother nature wreak havoc on umbrella stands on the beach. It was very cool! That was really the only bad weather down there and it really didn't affect us.

Day 4: Our last day at the beach. It's a beautiful day and we live on the beach. Boogieboarding, sunning, laughing, staying hydrated, snacking, etc. It can't get better than this. Seriously. We alternate between the beach and the pool but it's alot of fun. This is the night we MUST take family photos on the beach. We get ready and take them in the total heat of the afternoon. Like 5pm. In spite of all the sweating, they turn out really good. We attempt to eat at the Oyster House but it has a 2 hour wait! Uh, I don't think so. So, we take our kids to a bar. The Pink Pony Pub. LOVE it! I ate and drank like a queen. And laughed out loud OFTEN! Our kids loved it as well. To top it off we went to Scoops for ice cream. I think I had like 7000 calories on Wednesday. LOL

Day 5: We get up and head out. Daylight Donuts a must. We have to wait until 9 to leave because I must get shrimp for my man. I mean he paid for the trip so I MUST. We have time to kill sooo what do we do??? Go souvenir shopping! LOL Had a ball! Best shopping we did all week and we ended up with airbrushing! We just thought we were going to get out of Gulf Shores without it. HaHa! We get on the road around 10 and immediately hit storms. Storms seem to follow this group. Tornados in Mempho and North Mississippi...great. Thanks to CBass aka Greg AND my dad we detour through Marks, MS. We miss it all and arrive safely at home at 630pm. Not too shabby.

VACAY WRAP-UP: A GREAT time was had by ALL! Thanks to my man for the money to go and the Lace's for the road trip! Hope to do it again NEXT year! And thanks to the man upstairs aka God for making the beach. There's nothing quite like a beach at 530 in the morning viewing a beautiful sunrise and enjoying the sounds of the calming waves. Two thumbs up!

Friday, July 24, 2009

This, That, and the Other

What is up with THIS weather?!? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining but is it summer or is it fall??? Basically this means that August through October will be scorching hot. Short sleeve Halloween costume for sure!

I have been remiss at blogging lately. Lots on my mind and actually quite busy. So here goes it:

1. Picked Blakely up from Brookhill on Saturday. She had a BLAST and can hardly wait to go back next year! She did mention she missed me a little so all's good. ;) Spent this week hauling her to EACC Enrichment Camp at 830. She learned to play chess. Bless her heart! She had fun but is tuckered out. I did use the time wisely. I worked out every day. I am sooo not buff but I am learning to enjoy weights.
2. The best thing EVER happened to me on Tuesday. I got an iPhone!!!!! It is absolutely hands down the best phone! I can do lots of cool things on it. I downloaded a free app called LoseIt where one can keep up with what they eat...believe me when I say you really eat more than you think you do in a day. And I dl'd espn and cbssportline because fantasy football season is fast approaching. I am joining a couple of my past students this year in our own league. I am sooo gonna kick their butt! I also synced (cool lingo, huh) my ipod to my iphone. Genius!!! Why oh why did I not have this sooner?!?!
3. I talked with my graduate advisor and worked out my class schedule. I will be taking 13 hours this fall (not all graduate..thank goodness) so I am thankful beyond words that Lee Academy didn't work out for me. God always knows the better path and for once I actually listened to Him. I am moving forward with my life and I am positive that THIS is the direction I am to go in.
4. I took Mitts the cat to the vet yesterday and she is good to go. Will get her fixed in about 3 months. She is still so little. We should have called her Sally, as in Long Tall Sally. She's going to be one of those naturally tall lithe cats that all the other cats hate. You know the kind that can eat whatever they want, wear size 2's, and never have to exercise. LOL

OTHER than this there's not been much else going on in my life. I could ramble about my opinion of universal health care but eh, don't want to ruin anyone's day. I would like to know the mortality/life longevity rate of the UK and Canada because they have universal health care. Just curious. Probably will google and get back to you on that one.

Well, hope all have an absolutely stellar weekend! Later blog readers......

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Camp, Ca-Ching, and the Casino

Spent most of Sunday getting my kid ready for camp. Gone for a WHOLE week! It's horrible on mean old mom here. It was the same feeling last year but atleast I didn't cry this year! I really don't like that I can't see her or talk to her for 6 days. Really stinks. BUT she is having a BLAST and that's worth every minute for me. I can't believe she's growing up so fast. Time really does fly.

Yesterday, I went shopping with two of my favorite people, Ashley and Trish. Teacher buds from LA. We left at 9 and didn't get home until after 6. We had such a good time. Trish and I discovered we have similar shopping styles...we are the blitzkrieg attack shoppers. We scan the store and can assess, in a fairly small amount of time, whether we are interested in buying anything from there. Ash on the other hand is a browser. She literally looks at every shoe and every accessory and every item of clothing. We soooo rushed her! LOL We laughed ALOT and gossiped a little ;) One of the best times I've had in awhile.

Today was my bi-yearly trip to the casino with my Aunt. Here's the deal: I drive. She pays for the gas, the eats, AND the gambling! I am soooo spoiled! We always have a great time! She's very cool. She sits at the slots and I go to the poker tables. I know this is going to sound stupid but I just like to meet people. I love to talk to different folks at the table and I've found that most of the time you sit with the same guys for 3-4 hours. It's FUN! Got home with extra money too!

Random: If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me about LA and me going back..heck, I could go to the casino daily! LOL So here's the deal: NO, I am not returning to Lee. I asked for a salary that I would've made if I had stayed full-time. I did this because of my husband AND because I would work everyday 8-12 (4 classes instead of full 6)and attend the 2 classes for my Masters in ADDITION to Spanish 2 and an Intro to Fiction on-line class. With the standard tuition break and no morning duty. I felt this was fair given my circumstance. I'm sure others don't see it that way. However, it was left open to negotiation but don't really think that was ever an option. I know they have asked a couple of people and one is deciding. I think it's really for the best. I just wanted people to hear it from the horse's mouth instead of what some think they may know. It's hard enough on all of the teachers at LA as it is, ESPECIALLY on the high school end. They are doing the very best they can and this too shall pass. Cut 'em some slack.

Later blog readers!

Friday, July 10, 2009

And the Days Just Fly By

This will could be a lengthy blog and I may ramble..so try to keep up! ;)

July 4th weekend: We flew to Gaston's Trout Resort for the weekend. It was AWESOME! Great weather on the flight up. It only took about 35 minutes to get there vs. 4 hours in a car! I love my pilot! We just hung out and ate ALOT!!! Blakely and I took goofy pictures and had the best time doing it...Anthony not so much. LOL Gaston's let us take one of their vans into Bull Shoal's. We went to an old-time village and some caverns. It was kind of neat. We visited the Dam visitor center and that was way cool. We came back for the fireworks on the dam for the 4th. They were great! No mosquitos!!!!!!!!! That's worth repeating...NO MOSQUITOS!!!!!! Loved it. We got up early on Sunday the 5th and had brunch with some friends. The weather was looking dicey so we decided to go ahead and leave. Good thing we did..we had to dodge thunderstorms all the way home. I really prefer to fly in blue sky only so I was glad to land. It was a wonderful family weekend that we never get to do enough of because AD always has to fly in the summertime. Good memories.

This whole week has just flown by...I can't say that I've really done anything very productive except for paying bills and washing clothes. And oh yeah, looking for our kitty cat Mitts. She is the cutest little thing. Seriously little. She apparently rode my truck down to the curb and got lost. Blakely was distraught and AD secretly was as well. I wasn't thrilled either..I mean I've paid for this cat to have shots! AND I happen to enjoy her just a little. So I canvas the neighborhood and actually find her. Oh happy day...oh happy day! She's back now with a bell collar. I am pretty sure she didn't enjoy her little escapade because she has not left our garage since! She's a pretty cool cat.

Now is where my week gets interesting. On Wednesday, as I am headed to the best dentist in the whole world, Dr. Ricky Price in Wynne, I receive a phone call on my cell. It's Mr. Billy asking me if I am ready to come out of retirement. You could have knocked me over with a feather! Soooo did not see that one coming. I said I would need to talk to AD and would give him some sort of answer that evening. As expected, AD not too happy about the idea. I explained it would be part-time and I think I could do it and grad school. He conceded for me to atleast meet with Mr. Billy and ofcourse gave explicit instructions on the conditions I could return. Ex..salary, perks, exact hours/classes, etc. I met with Mr. Billy yesterday and I doubt I will be returning. I understand his position and I hope he understands mine. I hope they find someone that will do a good job for the kids and Lee. If not, I'm always available provided a little negotiating. I have no doubt that all will work out for the best. God always knows what He's doing.

This weekend is hopefully going to be a relaxing one but everytime I say that..it's NOT. Later blog readers...hope you're having a great summer so far!

Friday, July 3, 2009

1st Things 1st..then...Happy Birthday USA!

First things first: I am back on Facebook. I have no idea if it was the mini-protest from some of my fb friends or what. But I'm thinking the fb team didn't like all those emails from others. LOL Much, much thanks to ALL (especially LD)!

I love America. I am red, white, and blue through and through. I am patriotic to the nth degree and LOVE our history. As a woman, I am eternally grateful that the good Lord allowed me to be born on this free soil. If you think some other place is better than here, you are WRONG. Sorry, but you just are.

I love our democratic process. I love that we can truly do anything. Yes, anything. That doesn't mean that we won't get into trouble but we have the FREEDOM to CHOOSE. I support our President. I did not vote for him, but he is the President of the United States of America. I will respect him and the office. I do not have to agree with him but I will not bad mouth him. The office is so much bigger than the man. Plus, in 3 short years we will go through the presidential election process AGAIN.

Which brings up a pet peeve of mine..if you are eligible to vote and you don't... you should be ashamed of yourself. And I'm not talking just voting in the biggies (prez or congress) but all the state and local races as well! It is a right and a privelege. Especially as a woman, for what those who fought to get us the right went through, there is NO excuse. VOTE PLEASE!

I love that people can get on tv, radio, internet, etc. Or in print, and state their opinion. Everybody will not agree with everybody. How boring that would be if we did?? And sometimes, if you listen, you can learn something from the person you may not agree with. How cool is that?

I love that we are soooo diverse. No other country in the world has our ethnic make-up. This is unique AND a GOOD thing.

We can actually criticize our government without fear. Way cool.

The Constitution is the greatest living document ever. This is what makes us...well..us. I love the preamble and wish everyone would read it AND the Declaration of Independence. WOW! Smart men they were.

I could literally write forever touting the positives of our country but I'll spare ya. ;)
Bottom line..tomorrow is our Independence Day. Remember how and why we got here and who we are. We ARE the greatest country in the world. With flaws and all, there is still NO place I'd rather call home. Happy Birthday America! Let Freedom Ring!!!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

What a Difference a Day Makes

If you read my blog yesterday I am sure you could sense my hostility/resolve. I am standing by the post. It was my mood and I find that writing down "in the mood" is some of the most satisfying blog entries for me. So I stand by it.

However, three things happened yesterday in this order:

1. My facebook account was disabled. I cannot log on and facebook customer service, to date, has been no help. I received an email instructing me what to do because apparently I have been "phished." My McAfee has me clear so I'm not really worried. At first this really stressed me out. I really enjoy facebook. However, I didn't realize that apparently I was addicted to it! It has been a withdrawal process. If they ever allow me back on I vow to NOT obsessively check it. If they don't, I will permanently disable my account and move on. Actually, this could be a GOOD thing. I need to spend more time studying which brings me to #2.

2. I am accepted into ASU Graduate School for the fall semester! It is official. I plan to go full-time and get this Master's party started. I am a little nervous BUT it's OK. I can so do this.

3. My good friend, Craig Jones, announced his candidacy for State Representative District 51. If you read this blog and live in parts of Lee, Monroe, and/or St. Francis, please vote for this guy. He will represent us well in Little Rock. The election is 11 months away BUT it's never to early for word of mouth. I set up his facebook page which now as I think about it probably got me thrown off of facebook. LOL

Well, that's about it for my life to date. Stay cool blog readers...later.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

WhatEVER

Just when you think you have life figured out...BAM..no ya don't. I am tired of feeling bad about the way I "supposedly" am..I happen to like me. Sometimes one's biggest flaws turn out to be one's greatest assets. I am outspoken, opinionated, and fairly intelligent. I know alot of things about alot of things. I am not going to apologize for who I am or what I am. If you don't like me and/or want to change me, you might as well move on. Look up stubborn in the dictionary and you WILL see my face. That being said, I am strong enough to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em know when to walk away and know when to run. Cheezy Kenny Rogers song but the story of my life. I am an excellent judge of character and call things as I see them. I am rarely wrong. My sixth sense is just that good. It takes alot for me to cut my losses but I will cut them. Don't expect me to wither in front of you because even if I wanted to you would never know. It takes alot to keep me down. I am an eternal optimist and truly believe with each bump in life it is a learning experience NOT a mistake. I try to do my best everyday and find that most people have NO idea who I am. I am all the things above but I am also one of the most compassionate people on the planet. I empathize with those who have nothing and wish above all else (except the best life for my daughter) that I could go on mission trips to 3rd world countries and put MEANING back into MY life. You only get one shot in this life and I need to grab the bull by the horns and remember that. The end.