Another Vacation... sort of

We started out thinking this trip would be traveling on Friday, visiting Saturday, Sunday and Monday and traveling home on Tuesday.

Tom has completed the work he wanted to accomplish so we are leaving tomorrow morning after taking Goldie in for boarding. We will stop half-way, spend the night in Birmingham, Alabama and travel the rest of the way on Wednesday and spend 5 days with Chris and Kelly.

We planned on making a trip to South Carolina to see our nephew, Jon, but he has decided to make the trip to Georgia instead. We are so anxious to visit with him and meet his wife and daughter. We haven't seen Jon since his high school graduation in 1991.

I don't know if I'm going to take my computer or not. If I do, I will post updates. If not, you will just have to wait until I return.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!

Chains do not hold a marriage together. It's threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years ~ Simone Signoret

Today is Mike and Kathy's 21st wedding anniversary. Twenty one years together and now they have three kids, the oldest of whom is 17 and has a soul patch (yes, it's a boy) !!



You would think after so many years I would have many "married" memories of their life together, and you would be right. But, I have one very precious, very special memory.

When Mike and Kathy were dating, they had an automobile accident and both of them began visiting Dr. Wofford, the same chiropractor I had been visiting.

One afternoon when I arrived at the parking lot for Dr. Wofford's office, Mike and Kathy were just leaving. I pulled into a parking place and stopped my car just across the aisle from them. They didn't notice me because Mike had parked his car in the same direction as mine, but I saw they were having a conversation. Mike was sitting in his car with the door open and Kathy was squatting down on the pavement, holding the inside of the car door for balance.

I put my car in park, set the emergency brake and turned off the ignition and as I gathered up my purse and jacket, I looked up again and saw that Mike was talking, but rather than look at Kathy, he was looking out his front windshield. Kathy still in her squat, holding steady, was looking up at Mike with full attention, her eyes wide.

I sat still, watching them. I didn't want to interrupt but I still felt like an intruder. I don't think it was meant to be, but this was a private moment. I watched Kathy's face, the way she looked at my son, and I started to tear up. Oh my God, she's in love with him, I thought. Not just in-like, but really deeply in love with him.

Mike was still talking, but he turned to face Kathy, then reached down and touched her cheek briefly with his fingers. She didn't move, but continued looking at him.

Whew! How did I miss that? Where have I been? Mike was no longer "mine," my little boy, my teenager, my growing young man. I hadn't noticed before that moment that he was already gone, already living another phase in his life. But, when I saw them look at each other; when I saw the way she looked at him, I knew he would be okay.

Happy Anniversary, Mike and Kathy !!

Some Things Friday for August 22, 2008

I took my Real Age test back a few months ago and updated it again this morning. My actual age is 62.2 years old, but my "Real Age" is 59.8 years, up 6 months from when I took it last. Crap, I'm still aging.

But my skin still looks pretty good. Mind you, I do have some wrinkles, but I try to take pretty good care of my skin. I've been using Estee Lauder products since my mid-30's. I think using the same line of products provides some consistency, however, the names of the products now include words like "extra," "anti-wrinkle" and "repair." I also use a honey/almond scrub occasionally that is not in the Estee Lauder line. It actually has ground almonds in it so when I apply it to my face, it feels like I'm rubbing off the top layer of my skin. I guess I was hoping the wrinkles were only one layer deep. No such luck, but I use it anyway... just in case. So, anyway, my skin is somewhere between "smooth as a baby's butt" and "wrinkled as a prune," and I'll leave it at that.

Moving right along. . .

Some Things I Love:

1. I want to send all my love, support and comfort to my sister, Karen, whose best friend is dying of cancer.

2. Today is Mike and Kathy's wedding anniversary. I will deal with that in another post. I will merely say here that I love them very much and wish them many more years of happiness together.

3. Goldie is now heart worm free or, as Michelle at our vet's office put it, the party is over. The great thing is that we can now begin to take her for long walks and maybe a run or two. That's what Tom has been doing the last three evenings, but last night he ran her quite a bit. When they got back, Tom let her out into the back yard where she could drink some water. She was panting so hard and fast that she could hardly control her tongue to lap up the water and she splashed it everywhere. It's no different than a human, I suppose, when we exercise really hard, probably beyond our normal capabilities, it takes a while to catch our breath. When I let her in, she ran to the den and laid there panting (pant, pant, pant, pant) really fast for quite a long time and looked right at me while I was folding the laundry. Every time I would look down, she was looking at me. When I left the den and went into the kitchen, she moved to the doorway and laid there panting, but looking at me. Poor thing, I thought, I know exactly how you feel. I'm old and fat, too, and it's a bitch to get back in shape!

4. We didn't really have a great spring this year. The weather went from cold to hot. Well, now we are having spring-like weather and it's been great. Temps in the low 80's, occasional thunderstorms and some heavy rain. Look what it has done for my pampas grass! Last summer they only bloomed a couple of fronds on each plant. All of these puffy fronds have come out in just the last week and a half. Considering this is only their second summer and they started out in gallon containers, they look amazing don't they!



5. I couldn't find my "life" book. It's a small leather bound notebook with a lined tablet on one side and pockets on the other. It's not really an organizer because I don't use a calendar or anything, but I keep my old Christmas lists, all the paint chips for all the rooms and trim in the house, business cards, notes to myself, post-its, paper clips and a pen in that little notebook and I take it with me everywhere I go so I always have my notes with me. When I travel, I do the mapquest thing and put my directions in it ~ from home to the destination hotel ~ from the destination hotel to the house or other location ~ reverse directions home. I don't go anywhere without it, but I could not find it anywhere. I looked in every drawer, every purse, every cabinet, every closet multiple times for about 2 weeks. No deal. I was sure I had lost it; maybe left in a cart at Home Depot or Lowes or Kroger; I had no idea where else to look. I was almost in tears. Now, when Tom was growing up Catholic (bear with me... this will make sense...eventually), he had all these little prayers he used to say for everything and I remembered one of them was a prayer for lost items. Did you know there was a Saint of lost things? I didn't. Anyway, he would say this little prayer, Please Saint Anthony, look around, something's lost and must be found. Amen. Simple little prayer, right? Although I'm not Catholic, I thought, hell (maybe I shouldn't have started with the word "hell") what can it hurt. Besides, I was desperate. Well, I sort of remembered the prayer and, although I didn't get the actual saint quite right, I was very sincere. So I sat in a chair, took a couple of deep breaths, closed my eyes, clasped my hands together in my lap and said, "Please Saint Christopher, come on down, something's lost and must be found." I felt pretty silly saying "come on down." It made me think of the Price is Right. Anyway, I sat there for a minute and thought about where I should look and had a little mental argument with myself. Okay, look in the Chrysler. No, I've already looked in the Chrysler three times, under the seats, in the glove box, in the trunk, everywhere! Well, look again. No, it's not in there. I've looked in the Chrysler and I've even scoured the Expedition, too. LOOK IN THE CHRYSLER! So, I went to the laundry room, opened the garage door and stood there for a second looking at the Chrysler. Then I walked over to the passenger side, opened the door and looked under the front passenger seat and THERE WAS MY FREAKIN' BOOK!! When Tom came home from the lake, I told him I had found my book and after some discussion about where I found it and all the times I looked in the car, etc, I asked him about the prayer he used to say as a kid when he lost something. He said that, yeah, he used to say a prayer to Saint Anthony, (oh, crap, wrong saint) the Patron Saint of lost items.

ME: "Oops. I prayed to the wrong Saint. I didn't remember it was Saint Anthony and I prayed to Saint Christopher."

TOM: "Saint Christopher is the Patron Saint of Safe Travel."

ME: "Yeah, well, I realize that now. But it worked anyway because I found the book!"

TOM: "So, Saint Christopher was actually pretty close then because you found it in the car!"


Some Things I Hate:

1. Politics this year.

2. That our flip has not sold. Yes, I am now starting to freak out. It will be on the market a year next month.

3. I have decided I don't like driving trips. I use to, but not any more. I'm old, I get tired easier and it's harder and takes longer to recuperate.

4. Zits. Not on other people... on me. I got a couple of zits on my chin the other day. What the hell is that? I am far...far...far...from puberty!

5. Bright orange or yellow blonde hair with gray roots on old, old ladies...older than me. However, when I turn 80 and I dye my hair and think it looks really good, I trust you will keep your mouth shut.

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Who are the Jonas Brothers??

2. People who judge others based solely on where they live.

3. I haven't watch one Olympic event. It's not that I don't like the Olympics. I do. I am thrilled for Michael Phelps, the women's soccer team, the volleyball players and all the other medal winners. But, this time, I just don't have the desire to watch them achieve their lifelong dreams. It's almost un-American.

4. When I was younger I couldn't get my fingernails to grow, so in my late 30's and 40's I had acrylic nails. Every other week I would make my trek to Belinda's house for a "fill" and manicure. When we moved, I couldn't find anyone as good as Belinda, so I took the acrylics off and tried to let my fingernails grow. Forget it. They always cracked, then peeled and I'd have to cut them and start all over. I tried nail polish, nail hardeners, Knox gelatin, almond oil... nothing worked. Then about 5 or 6 years ago, after working on the farm ~ feeding and grooming animals, gardening, mixing cement, cutting limbs, helping mend or remove fences ~ I decided to keep them really short and, on a good day, use a little clear nail polish. And, wouldn't you know it, now, when I WANT them short because I'm gardening, painting and grouting, my fingernails are growing like mad and I have to cut them. Go figure.

5. Tom didn't start getting tattoos until after he was 60. Definitely old enough to make an informed decision. When he got finally started, he just went for it, full blown guns. Now he has a sailboat on his left wrist surrounded by flames (it's a 1950's guy thing); a hammerhead shark protecting a scroll inscribed with the names of our grandkids on his right wrist; a Portuguese Man O' War and Nemo on his right shoulder; and Poseidon (Neptune) on his left shoulder. But, his parents don't like them. Okay, that's not really accurate. His mother doesn't like them. Every time he wears a sleeveless shirt (to obviously show them off because HE loves them), she just looks at him, shakes her head and mutters, "Oh. Tom." His dad reacts a little differently, more like curious. Every time we see his dad, he will come over to Tom and look really close at his arm. Then he will stand up straight, wet his index finger and try to rub off the tattoo. And, every time, they have the same conversation.

TOM: "Dad, it's permanent. It won't come off."

TOM'S DAD: "Yeah, I know."

But I think he checks just to make sure.

A Sense of Entitlement

I have been pretty silent lately about The Precious. Well, okay, I did a short little post nine days ago, but I really only made one little snarky comment. I even withheld commenting on the Saddleback Forum, although I have to say that I agree with Michael Graham's article this morning in the Boston Herald. Democrats have sure changed.

In 1948, they had Harry Truman and “The buck stops here!”

In 2008, they’ve got Barack Obama and it’s “above my pay grade.”

I'm going to go on record as saying that I don't care what the question was or whether you think he was trying to make a joke. In a public forum where a person is attempting to convey to an audience his/her competency to be the Leader of Free World, "it's above my pay grade" is NOT a good answer. If it's above your pay grade now, the presidency is above your pay grade.

Then, last week we got to hear from our Democratic leadership:

• Obama says "We're not talking to those people," meaning those of us who are PUMA or just not squarely on his cheer squad
  
  
• Leon Panetta calls us "inbred" and "entitled" in this quote
  
  
• Pelosi tells us to just get over it and that he (meaning BO) is "God's gift."

So my response to the arrogance that is permeating what is left of the Democratic party? I will hold my tongue for a moment or two.

So, moving on to why I am in such a snit this morning. This morning I read Monday's article in the New York Daily News.

"Barack Obama offers campaign gear from Isaac Mizrahi, Derek Lam, others

BY ELOISE PARKER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, August 18th 2008, 10:50 PM

Forget buttons and bumper stickers.

Barack Obama's team is taking campaign merchandising to a whole new level - with the help of a few handpicked supporters from the New York fashion world.

Some of the country's biggest style stars, including Isaac Mizrahi, Derek Lam, Tracy Reese, Diane von Furstenberg and Russell Simmons, clamored to create signature items. From T-shirts to tote bags, the items will be available on the campaign's Web site next month."

What is this? A presidential campaign or freakin' Project Runway??

Why don't we take just a moment and let's just imagine that, shortly after being declared the nominee, Hillary Clinton does the following:

• Rents a football stadium for her acceptance speech while not yet formally having enough delegates to claim the nomination
  
  
• Moves the Democratic National Committee office to New York City
  
  
• Invents and flaunts a lame ass faux-presidential seal
  
  
• Takes a self-coronation tour of Europe
  
  
• Names her campaign plane H-Force One, paints her initials over the American flag on the tail and has "President" stitched on the back of her recliner in the plane.
  
  
• Goes on vacation while the other "losing" candidate campaigned for her
  
  
• And, since she is NOT AN ELITEST, adds haute-couteure t-shirts, tote bags, sweat shirts and other items to her campaign merchandise

So, the question that continually haunts my political being: What is wrong with these people ??? Can they be any more out of touch? Any more arrogant? I don't think it is possible, although they prove me wrong on a daily basis.

Finally, how do I respond to the accusations that I feel a sense of entitlement and the admonitions that I should just bite the bullet and come into the fold?

Simply. I have a right to my political opinions, one of which is that I Own My Own Vote. No one candidate should harbor the expectation that I will vote for them because they or someone else tells me I should; or that the candidate would be mad at me if I don't; or would call me names... like "racist" or "bitter" or "inbred" or "entitled"... if I don't.

If Obama wants me to vote for him, he has to make the case that he is the best candidate. He has to speak to my needs and values (and haute-couteure is not is not on the list). It is not my job to give him my vote just because he wants it and is in the same political party. It is HIS job to sell himself, not MY job to recognize his immense wonderfulness, despite my very legitimate doubts and concerns, which he validates daily with his behavior.

I am not putting gender or race ahead of qualifications. I do not support Hillary Clinton because she is a woman. I support her because she represents the possibility of qualified and competent leadership in the White House. I don't feel entitled to a Hillary Rodham Clinton nomination. I feel entitled to a fair and democratic process and, assuming that the process worked the way it should have, Obama would not have been the nominee.

Entitlement? It's a little late for that, don't you think? The dude embodies it.

You're not 40, you're eighteen with 22 years experience. ~ Author Unknown

Today is my oldest son, Mike's, birthday. He is 42.



What a handsome guy, don't you think?

Mike had just turned two years old when Tom and I married. Tom reminded me just the other day that I have loved Mike longer than I've loved him. Yes, indeed.

Happy Birthday, Mike !!

Grasp your opportunities, no matter how poor your health; nothing is worse for your health than boredom. ~ Mignon McLaughlin

I'm bored. Really, really, really bored. I pay the bills, do the accounting for Tom's business, do the housekeeping, do laundry, paint cabinets and walls, run errands, cook (although you couldn't tell that by reading my cooking blog)and a bunch of other miscellaneous, very boring stuff.

I read in our local paper that a local magazine is sponsoring a women's book club. I love reading and the club is brand new and I would be able to start right at the outset, so I thought I might go to the first meeting. Whoa, wait a second. What was that? I have to complete an application? And it has to be approved before I can become a member? Looks to me like all members are not welcome, so I think I will pass. (sigh) That's just not my kind of club.

I guess I will go pay some bills and paint some cabinet doors.

Efforts to Shut Me Down Are Thwarted...

When I attempted to sign in this morning, my account had been disabled with no explanation.

In my inbox, I received 8 emails from Google between 11:46pm to 12:30am last night because someone was trying to sign into my accounts. I was in bed asleep, so it wasn't me.

When I checked my stats on my hit counter, only one person was visiting my account at that time. I know the person's IP address, city and state.

After some communication with Google, as you can see I am back up and running again, but I have a message to the person who attempted to access and disable my blog:

I've seen your IP address before this incident and I know that you are a frequent visitor. My question is, Why?? Apparently, whatever you read here, whether it be personal or political opinions, angers you. However, be advised that I will continue to write MY opinions and MY truth from MY perspective with MY words, basically, what I want, how I want and when I want, although I may move my blog to Wordpress since they are less likely to overreact to reports of spamming.

Now, I believe in free speech (I'm a liberal Democrat, remember?) and believe that you have every right to express yourself and, if you so desire, write your own blog. It's easy to set up and, if you are capable of attempting to hack my blog, I am sure you can figure out how to set up one of your own. Or is it the anonymity you love?

In the meantime, when you read my blog, you don't have to like it or believe what I write, but if reading what I write irritates you, I would suggest that you simply stop reading my blog altogether.

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. ~ Robert Frost

The dictionary defines grief as "intense sorrow caused by loss of a loved one (especially by death)."

This past week we learned of the death of Bernie Mac, gone at age 50. Isaac Hayes is gone at age 65. A horrible shock to their families.

My sister, Kim, lost her battle with cancer in April. She was only 56. My brother-in-law and Kim's husband, Tony, died in March of this year, too.

After a misunderstanding or disagreement (whatever you want to call it), my son and daughter-in-law have decided that they do not want us in their lives.

But, thank God, life goes on if you let it.

Kim's death gave me the blessing of reconnecting with two of my sisters. We had Tom's family reunion in July and reconnected with family members we hadn't seen in over 15 years.

Over the Labor Day weekend, we will be able to reconnect with my nephew, whom I have not seen since his high school graduation in 1991, and his wife and young daughter, whom I have never met.

Life, indeed, does go on. Over these last few months, I have tried to figure out the dynamic that takes place when people (including me) are confronted with grief, but at the same time experience joy and renewal. The pain of grief is not meant to be an isolating emotion and forces us to reach out beyond ourselves for comfort and consolation. Grief changes your perspective and gives you the ability to see things within the context of a much larger picture. The deeds, actions or words of others that once seemed devastating, overwhelming and intolerable are measured differently through grieving eyes. I have come to the conclusion that grief, no matter how painful and raw, leaves your heart open wider.

"Consolation" by Lora Shelley

Aw, Geez. Another Freakin' Book

The cover is already on Amazon.com:



Personally, I think I'll pass. I'll wait until he rewrites the Bible and inserts his name.

Like.. are you... like.... racist or something?

Like... I would totally like to give my Home Dog, Hillbuzz, a shout out for this totally awesome video, or at least I will when I'm done flipping my hair.

Some Things Friday for August 8, 2008

I am tired today. I haven't had a decent nights sleep all week. I don't know if it because it has been so hot or I am just getting freakin' old, but I am very tired.

Last week I primed the kitchen cabinets, so the first part of this week I started painting them. I was able to get two coats of paint on the uppers. Next week I will do the lower cabinets.

I mentioned here that Tom took the cabinet doors to have them sanded, primed and drilled. Well, they are done already. So when I finish painting the lower cabinets, I will paint the doors. Then we will be ready to put the doors back on the cabinets. Whooo Hooo !! It's only been almost a year since I took the old doors off the cabinets.

So, can you tell I'm in a pissy mood? Even though our 100+ weather has broken (it should be about 90 degrees for the rest of the weekend and all next week), I'm still in a bad mood. This morning at 6:10AM I was yelling at the guy on the television for being so stupid and pronouncing a word incorrectly. Tom called me out and said I was an "anger ball." He's right. I need to get back to my Couch-2-5K program; I need to finish working on this dang house; I need to sell our flip; I need my shoulder to heal; I need a decent nights sleep. Am I asking for too much?

Some Things I Love:

1. We are going to the lake again tomorrow, where I will sit in the water in my new floaty, probably get sunburned again and blister and peel (oops, sorry, this is things I love)... so this is my new floaty, complete with drink holder:



I just tie a rope to the handle so I don't float off into the middle of the lake and Oi la! Complete relaxation.

2. I was going through all of my computer files and came across a couple of pictures of artwork done by Susan Rios. This is one of my favorites. It's titled, Catalina:



So, I combed the internet and copied a bunch of pictures of her paintings and they are now in a file I use as my screensaver.

3. Shopping for books.

4. When Tom cooks. Last weekend, he made Paella and it was awesome. You can read about it on my food blog, but here's a photo of the finished product, just to make your mouth water a little:



5. It is pretty cool that my hit counter on both of my blogs records every visitor's city and how they found my blog. Besides regular visitors who visit using my web address, by far, the most hits I get on my food blog are as result of someone googling "Mexican marinated carrots" or "upset stomach diarrhea." Go figure that one out.

Some Things I Hate:

1. What is not so cool is when I see that someone has googled my name, looking specifically for me. It's actually happened four or five times. That's kind of spooky.

2. Tom is a movie buff. Well, not just a movie buff. He's rather obsessive about it. Oh...My...God... he will watch just about anything. That's not what I hate. What I hate is that he will watch really, really bad movies all the way through, then when it's over and he's seen the whole thing, he'll say, "That was awful." Last night he rented Nim's Island (Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin). By the time we were halfway through it, I felt like I was being dragged on my stomach through glass ~ it was that bad! So the conversation went like this:

Me: Are you going to watch this whole thing?
Tom: Huh?
Me: Tom, this is a really awful movie!
Tom: Yeah, I know.
Me: Then why are we watching it?
Tom: I thought maybe it would get better.
Me: Like when? At the end? Can we watch something else, please!
Tom: (reluctantly) Okay.

3. Have you seen that new program, Wipeout? I have... once.

4. Who in their right mind would pay $2.69 each for an avocado?? Not me. But that's the going rate at our local market, Kroger. And, $.99 each (not a pound...each) for oranges. Uh NO!

5. Science Friday on National Public Radio. I never knew how boring science could be until I listened to that program one afternoon. Ugh!!

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Headline: "Suri Cruise STILL Drinks From a Bottle!" Why is that any of our business? It seems to me that Tom & Katie are Suri's parents and they are free to raise their child as they see fit, absent abuse. Coulda, woulda, shoulda....shut up, already, and back off.

2. The other day I heard some talking head say that Brett Favre (formerly retired Green Backer Packer, now unretired and traded to the New York Jets) should have stayed retired because he is too old to play. Huh? He's in his 30's and in top physical condition. What's the guy supposed to do for the rest of his life ~ like 50 more years? Knit?

3. Reading the comments on some of the news articles concerning Oprah's impact on Obama's campaign, you will find that people actually admit that they voted for Obama because Oprah told them to. Is this any way to elect a president?

4. Photos of a two-faced kitten made front page news on the internet ~ front page? Somebody please explain to me what makes an animal born with some sort of a deformity important news.

5. Well, finally, it has been decided that Bill Clinton will speak at the Democratic convention. As if there were any doubt, given that he is the only 2-term Democratic president since FDR and is still immensely popular. That there was even a question as to whether or not he'd have a significant role at the convention shows how petty and irresponsible they are. But, here's the deal ~ I think this will actually turn out to be bad news for The Precious. Tuesday is Hillary's night. She will be incredible and there will be many who will wish she was the nominee. Wednesday will be Bill's night and whoever the VP is will follow him. That's like having the Rolling Stones as an opening act. The VP candidate will pale in comparison to William Jefferson Clinton. Thursday, all of the Hillary voters will tune out completely, and Obama will be speaking only to his converts. The reality here is, nothing either Hillary or Bill say can make me or others like me vote for Obama. They will only make him look like a lesser candidate than he already does even while praising him. Only Obama can convince me to vote for him, but he has failed at that task so miserably that I now turn him off with the remote as quickly as I turn off Bush. Throw in the abominable "free speech zones," and I feel like I am watching the Gestapo rather than my long-time party. Good luck Democrats, you are going to need it.

It's A Proud Day For Democrats...

Did you read the article?

From the Associated Press:

"Obama says give Fla. and Mich. delegates full vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic nomination for president, he says convention delegates from Florida and Michigan should have full voting rights at the party's national convention.

The delegates were originally stripped because the two states violated party rules by holding primaries before Feb. 5. The delegates from each state were given half votes at contentious party meeting in May.

Obama's former Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, had won both primaries. Obama, in a letter Sunday to the party's credentials committee, says "party unity" calls for the delegates to "participate fully alongside the delegates from the other states and territories."

Hillary asks for every vote to be counted = THAT BITCH! THE RULEZ! THE RULEZ!

Obama waves his hand and grants his permission for delegates to be seated = WHAT A GENEROUS, UNIFYING IDEA!

Well, isn't The Precious just Panderific ??!! Guess he just realized that couldn't afford to lose Florida.

Party unity?? No...

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. ~Jim Ryun

I have often heard that it takes 21 consecutive days to create a habit. The only activity I've done for 21 consecutive days is sleep... and maybe laundry. What does that say about my life?

It doesn't look like I will be running any time soon. As I write this, it is 3:30 p.m. on a very, very, very sunny Saturday; so sunny in fact that it is 104º, actually 104.5º to be exact. This morning at 7:00 a.m. it was already creeping up to 90º. Okay, it's just freakin' hot. And, we still have to get through August.

I tried to find the 2009 date for the Savannah Shamrock 5K, but it hasn't been set yet. When it is finally set, I will put a countdown widget thingy on my sidebar. The race is always in March (Duh! to coincide with St. Patrick's Day), so I know that I have about five months to get ready. And, yes, I know I have to start back on my Couch-2-5K program to get ready. Right now, it is just too hot to run. But, at least I run in my dreams. Last night I dreamed I ran a mile without stopping and at a mighty nice clip, too. But, I suppose that doesn't count.

So, I finally decided on the tattoo I wanted and I don't want to hear a ration of crap about getting a tattoo. If you don't like it, don't look.

I started with this picture:
I'm really drawn to this image because it represents balance (remember when I talked about balance?). For me one side represents my active, aggressive, controlling, passionate, strong and masculine side (Yang - the fire side) and the other side represents a more passive, receptive, yielding, soft, and feminine side (Yin - the water side). But, I wanted something a little more stylized and linear because I wanted it on my very lower back (and, no, I will not be wearing a two-piece bathing suit or low-rider jeans to show it off, so shut up!).

I went back to Brooke Cook at Primal Urge Tattoos here in Conway, Arkansas. She drew it up and I went in last Wednesday afternoon to have it done and Taaa Daaaa! My new tattoo...



Now, it looks bigger than it is because Tom took a real nice close-up and I cropped my stretch marked hips out of the photo. I didn't want you to throw up in your mouth. Anyway, I love it and Tom is jealous because he loves how Brooke drew and shaded the water and the flames (mine looks better than his).

And, just so you don't have to ask... Yes, it hurt like hell!