Tuesday, August 29, 2006

i love a man on a harley


my brother-in-law loves harleys. when hubby and i got married (10 years this friday) we had a picture taken of the two of us on jefro's bike. actually, i wanted my new brother to drive me, in my wedding gown, to the wedding reception on it... but for some reason no one else thought that was a good idea.

every year jefro (not his real name... really!) participates in a ride(s) for a cure for something. this year he's riding for a cure for autism.

this was his email:

Friends and Family .... attached is the link to view my personal web page for the Cure Autism ride event scheduled for September 17, 2006. Every year I get involved in Muscular Dystrophy and American Diabetes events however this Cure Autism Ride is extremely important to many of us ... may I please ask you for a $10 donation for a wonderful reason.

i'd feel funny posting his real name here, but i have NO problems giving you this link and asking you to make a general donation.

right before we received the final diagnosis that the silent prince was autistic i heard hubby telling someone that his brother was wearing one of those plastic bracelets (the new hipper form of a colored ribbon) for autism. and i cried... not that sad kind of cry, but the kind where you get emotional because someone did something that really touched you.

there really is something about a man on a harley.

God's peace y'all

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

big butts, books, and blog polls

senior year in highschool i was voted best butt. it was one of those unofficial polls, but i won hands down. malcolm nominated me and everyone else agreed. (i had an enormous crush on malcolm, which i supposed matched my j-lo-sized backside so i accepted this honor with great humility and much joy.)

three years later a rapper know as sir mix-a-lot recorded a little diddy (no, not "p" diddy, a "little" diddy) called baby's got back. in 1993 he was awarded the grammy for best rap performance and babies with big butts were given the accolades due to them.

today, as i was perusing my favorite blogs, i noticed that abb had a great post on books. it's one of those blog-polls and i posted that i was gonna steal it. so here goes...

One book that changed your life. Are you there God? It's me, Margaret, by Judy Blume. what adolescent girl wasn't changed by judy blume?

One book you have read more than once. The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley this bok inspired my very first tatoo.

One book on a desert island. Ok, ok... my Bible... the NRS version. if i'm alone on a deserted island it would certainly be comforting... and it would need the apocrypha to keep me interested.
One book that made you laugh. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, by Louise Erdrich. i mean i laughed OUT LOUD

One book that made you cry. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. oh, this was a beautiful and tragic book.

One book you wish you had written. i am working on it now.

One book you wish had never been written. i offer the same answer as abb... not a one.

One book you are currently reading. The Lady in the Tower , by Jean Plaidy. i love historical fiction and i am fascinated by ann bolyn.

One book you have been meaning to read. the not-yet released romance by the pobble herself. i have an autographed copy printed from her very own computer.

and what do big butts, books, and blog-polls have to do with one another?

this

God's peace y'all

Friday, August 18, 2006

a plug


i've been so negligent in reading other people's blogs that i have missed the fact that the book i contributed to is now out in print!!!

here is the link to purchase your very own copy. proceeds go to charity.

and if you like words (i love them!) don't forget to check out the pobble's "test words you should know."

God's peace y'all

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

jesus loves you, but i'm his favorite


or so says the coaster that my friend bought me... "because i needed it."

still trying to figure out where to display that one since my sense of humor is a bit off and not eveyone appreciates it.

i've also found mary phillips. (one of her napkins is above). pobble, i got you a magnet 'cause i couldn't afford the other stuff... heck, it was when i was on vacation, i could barely afford the magnet.

the new (and first) bumper sticker going on my truck is an obx, with a jolly roger and the new adage: well behaved women rarely make history. (if this is true, by now i should be a legend).

i wanted to write a blog on vacation entitled: drunken blogging, but i couldn't find the computer room at the time.

hubby had the idea to fly naked years ago...














he is a prophet.

and that's all for now.

God's peace y'all
(don't you just love it when i ramble about nothing?)

Sunday, August 13, 2006

ahhh

we returned from a wonderful vacation late last night at the outerbanks, nc. specifically we were in corolla at a house called cabello (there were pictures of horses everywhere.)

this was the 5th summer we made the trip. the first summer was right after the silent prince was born and my dad had decided to take a sabbatical that ended with a family vacation. occasionally other people come along, but the core group that goes is: hubby, our two kids, me, my parents, my uncle (dad's brother) and with the exception of one summer my brother and his wife.

every summer has been wonderful, this one was no exception... in fact it was one of the best.

we began by stopping at hubby's sister and brother-in-law's home in delaware. it's about half-way and a great place to stop (she makes great drinks). after a very long drive we finally made it to delaware and stopped for gas and called aunt kimmy (hubby's sister) to let her know where we were. poor thing... her central air unit had died during the day and crabby bill (her hubby) was valiantly trying to put a new one in. meanwhile she was desperately trying to make the house silent prince-proof.

the moment we arrived she insisted we head to the pool in their complex. of course i hadn't packed the swim stuff in the overnight bag, but i was able to dig out bathing suits and towels for us to go swimming for about an hour. by the time we got back they had turned the air on (the house didn't actually cool off until about 4am, but at least it they were able to get the new one running.)

she served up some gin and tonics and spaghetti with meatballs for dinner and we had a lovely, although hot evening together then hit the road the next day.

the highlight of the drive for me was the wawa.

except for the years i was in college and a short time that i lived in the south with the pobble, i have never lived more than 5 minutes away from a wawa. there are no wawas here only dunkin donuts, subways, cumberland farms, and 7-11s, none of which measures up to the wawa.

wawas are 24 hour convenience stores that have delis and make hoagies (everywhere else they are called subs or grinders) and have amazing coffee. you can get just about anything at a wawa.

like... an english toffee cappachino and a tuna salad hoagie and a bag of lays potato chips. (which doesn't sound good all together, but really is).

yumm

the ride to the obx from de was fine until we hit the traffic going onto the obx. there is one road in and only two lanes, one for each direction. what should have been an hour ride turned into 2 1/2. my family is always the last to arrive at the vacation house, but at least that means that things were settled by the time we got there.

the new addition to the group this week was linda, who has known me since i was a fetus and she would sit and drink tea with my pregnant mom. it was great to have her there. we've been inviting her every year since the second year, but she was caring for her elderly parents and worried to travel so far away from them for a whole week. this was the first time she was able to come and her comment was, "i'm glad i didn't know what i was missing all those years or i would have been really upset that i couldn't make it before now."

here are some of the highlights from the week:

watching the sunset from the dining room table

going out to dinner with hubby, my brother and his wife. we wound up at our 3rd choice and it was unbelievable. i had a raspberry martini that was to-die-for.

skinny dipping in the freezing cold pool with my mom and linda one night

the silent prince and the princess kitty acting like fish in the pool

the silent prince seeing the ocean as if it was the most amazing thing in the world (as hubby put it... "why have you kept this from me all these years, mommy and daddy!")

sunday morning devotions on the deck instead of trying to find a church to attend, i started crying as we prayed, the good kind of crying, the kind i've needed to do for weeks now.

playing pool with my uncle and making 3 amazing shots in a row (we chalked it up to the mike's hard lemonade)

shopping with my sis-in-law, linda, and the princess kitty and finding the earrings i wanted.

laughing at hubby, who is undoubtedly the funniest person i know

taking the kids out for dinner and ice cream

sitting on the deck off of my bedroom and watching the egrets and other wildlife in the lake between our house and the sound. (the last night someone set of fireworks in the distance.)

i never want to leave that last night. i find it almost painful to pack and prepare for the early morning departure. we've taken to stopping on the mainland for breakfast. we wound up at mel's diner (kiss my grits and all). speaking of grits... i had cheese grits with my french toast and sausage... yumm.

the trip home was as awful as the week was wonderful. what could have been a 10 hour trip turned into a 16+ hour trip. we did stop along the way for more wawa hoagies and to say a quick hello to aunt kimmy and crabby bill (really, that's the name of his boat) and we stopped off at the christiana mall for dinner with friends we haven't seen in awhile. but getting home at 2am was for the birds... and they would have to be owls i suppose.

it was terribly difficult to wake up and go to church this morning, thank God someone else was preaching (as i told them in the pews... who knows what would have come out of my mouth if it had been me.) but now i have had a nap and it's time to wake hubby from his.

there is quite a bit of unpacking to do and settling back in, but i start tomorrow with a visit to the chiropractor (yes!) and take it fairly easy as i plan the rest of the week.

until later...

God's peace y'all

Thursday, August 10, 2006

in case you wondered


this is where i am until saturday.

(and just in case you have to scroll down it's caballo...
and it is heaven here!)



promise to blog all about it when i get home.
God's peace y'all!

"and vivian followed."

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