what's new in the redneck hood

very little, so even the least little thing is exciting...

that's why the appearance of these little furballs was monumental last week....the newest additions to the feral pack that has been living in and under our house for almost 4 years...we saw them first about 6 weeks ago when the dogs did what dogs do and found them...probably the day they were born...no sight of them since and were surprised to see them pop out from the broken vent last week...each day they're a little braver, especially the gray one....



the other thing is that we finally have new neighbors across the street, it's been 9 months since anyone lived in the house and now there's a pack of them too (though we hope they aren't feral)...

this is part of the sea of vehicles I see every day from our porch....I think there's 10 alone in the picture and a bunch more to the immediate left out of the shot...



our new neighbors account for at least 2 trucks, 2 cars and a motorcycle...they seem to fit right in though, before all their furniture was unpacked, a big ole redneck had crawled up under his truck, and was changing the oil in the driveway...I think we need to have a block party

Bubbles....blblblblblblblblbl

long relaxing weekend + hectic work week + crazy MILs = a need to blow bubbles

in a totally loony way

but there is this cool bubble wrap bikini
and another one

or a bubble bath machine

or a rocket (yeah sure) full of...bubbles

or these bubbles which disturb me just a little

google image search is my own best enemy

High School Memories Meme

LOL, stolen from dawn...I'm feeling lazy and vacation like...though I do want to talk about sleep wear at some point

1. Who was your best friend?

Jamey...he turned out queer too...no big surprise...we actually grew up together for all practical purposes, lost touch a few years after graduation...he sort of turned into a pissy queen...oh well

2. What sports did you play?

yeah right...debate

3. What kind of car did you drive?

this hurts...74 Honda Civic - turquoise blue, shaped like a roller skate...63 Corvair Convertible, Candy-Apple Red...67 Convertible Corvair, stick, Cream exterior and exterior...76 Volvo Wagon - most reliable and kept me out of lots of trouble....may have been one or two others...those are the high-lites...all came to unfortunate fates at my hands

4. It's Friday night, where were you?

football game, party at someone's house whose parents were out of town, once I turned 18 at the gay bars after hours...I stayed busy

5. Were you a party animal?

a little

6. Were you considered a flirt?

nooooo

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?

no

8. Were you a nerd?

I don't think so...more freakish and/or weird

9. Did you get suspended/expelled?

god no...Santini would have KILLED me

10. Can you sing the fight song?

after enough beer

11. Who was your favorite teacher?

Capt. Sineath...geometry and math...retired Navy, great approach to teaching his classes how to learn as opposed to specific things...really eccentric, interesting old guy too

12. What was your school's full name?

Brookland-Cayce

13. School mascot?

Bearcats...I actually designed our Senior t-shirt...it was our mascot, the bearcat, choking our arch rival h.s.'s mascot, the eagle...essentially it was a maroon tiger-ish looking thing choking a blue chicken...looking back - I'm so proud..wish I had a t-shirt or the original sketch now

14. Did you go to Prom?

yes...my senior and someone else's junior...there's a picture of me at my senior prom somewhere in the archives...I'm not gonna link it

15. If you could go back and do it over, would you?

noooo, don't think so

16. What do you remember most about graduation?

surprising everyone by pulling out an honor degree at the last minute...

17. Where were you on senior skip day?

drinking?

18. Did you have a job your senior year?

oh yeah, ever since I was 15...at that point I was getting into the used book business though...stayed there for another 7 years officially and have never quite gotten out of it since

19. Where did you go most often for lunch?

hmmmm...canteen? smoking area? to sit in other's people's car and goof off? not the cafeteria

20. Have you gained weight since then?

no

21. What did you do after graduation?

dinner with the family at some japanese steak house and then to a party some friend's parents were throwing for the gang...aka drinking...loaded up with Jamey for a few days at the beach with my fellow graduates the next day

22. When did you graduate?

1985

23. Who was your Senior prom date?

cute little Henry Watson...he looked sort of like Weird Al Yankovich without glasses...I named a dog we had for 15 years after him, J says she didn't realize it until he was 10 or so...LOL, he made great strawberry daquiris - my prom datem not the dog

24. Are you going to your 10 year reunion?

definitely didn't and missed the 15 and 20 too...plan to keep that tradition going as the years go by

25. Who was your home room teacher?

it changed every year...I don't remember, but I sat next to the same classmates for YEARS in homeroom...we were on the alphabetical system

this was funny to do...an interesting tidbit, in an odd way, I currently live a block or so from my high school, we can hear the band practicing and football games from our back yard....sometimes I can steal a wireless connection from there...

A Sports Post....from ME!

this time of year is all about Women's College Softball for me...the World Series starts next week and Super Regionals are this weekend...

for the first time - there are more SEC teams in the Supers than Pac10 teams....

roughly translated that means....Redneck Girls Rock, hell yeah

however, my SEC girls did not fare as well as I'd hoped on the first day of a best of 3 series that began yesterday....and all but TN will have to win today or face elimination

starting at home....

Northwestern beat the Lady Gamecocks 6-1.....not a surprise, but disappointing since USC is probably the biggest underdog out there right now....I'm looking for the cute Drohan sisters to finish us off today, even though crafty Coach Compton may out dyke them yet

Washington beat Alabama 4-3....maybe the toughest series of the weekend, Alabama should pull this out by forcing a game 3...I'll be crushed if they don't...these girls are fun to watch and play serious ball...Roll Tide, I want to see y'all playing next weekend!!!!

Texas A&M beat UF 2-0...watched most of this one last nite...good game, excellent pitching on both sides....don't have a fave here, they're both great teams and play a lot alike...I guess I should pull for UF, but Gator hate goes deep here....also foresee a game 3 with this one and will go with the Aggies for the ultimate win

Arizona State beat LSU 1-0...another toughie to call and top-notch series to watch....LSU plays smart and AZ State has a softball legacy that goes back to the 60's...more serious pitching with Burkhardt and Turner....should go 3 games, I stick my neck out and say LSU goes to OK next weekend

best for last.....

Tennessee spanked Hawaii in 4 1/2 innings 9-0.....Monica Abbot, pitcher for TN, is un-freaking-believable....like Cat Osterman, Jenny Finch good....I would not want to be standing anywhere near home when one of her 70+ mph fastballs comes across the plate...no disrespect to the HI team, but hope y'all got plans to take in some sightseeing on Sunday....may I recommend Rock City and Ruby Falls in beautiful Chattanooga?...If TN doesn't win the Championship this year I'll be shocked. Go Vols!


and just because I think this is funny....Terri Clark will be playing at an event prior as part of pre-WCWS festivities next week....appropriate in so many ways....

Neighborhood Kids

School got out this week and the teenagers next door (Redneck spawn) can stay up much later with their herd of friends, skateboarding on the street in front of our house...

I've mentioned the skateboarders before...a pack of 13 year old boys (led by Boo Radley) that started congregating a few years back...now that pack has at least doubled because the little sister (Lolita) and her friends are now old enough for the boys to take notice and they appear to have attracted a gang of their own...

So for the next 3 months we will have our own SC version of the X-games (except they aren't good) until 11:00 pm each night....it would go on past 11, but that's usually when I go out on the front steps in my underwear and start yelling at them to go home...nobody wants to see or hear that....

I think year round school is way overdue...with uniforms and haircuts for them all.

different but the same

the sinus infection left me pretty blank last week and I'm doing some serious catching up online...I am sorry to report that there isn't an alien in my nose like I'd hoped, but 3 or 4 weeks of antibiotics and some steroids should patch things up through vacation and hopefully longer

I've drawn a bunch and have colored very little...coloring started out as a way to teach myself some photoshop and now I enjoy it as much as the actual drawing itself...3 images here...all the same yet processed differently...there may be some deep life lesson in that, but that's not my thing to figure out what it might be...feel free to speculate if it's yours







I kinda like the bottom especially - looks like a comic book I think...which makes me remember how sad I am that Heroes is over until fall...

my favorite new saying

Circling the Drain

also the way J's mother is describing herself lately...not in those exact words, but the sentiment is the same...it sucks to be her

Hard to Believe

The percentage of women 40 and older saying they had a mammogram within the past two years slipped from 70 percent in 2000 to 66 percent in 2005, according to the study appearing on Monday in the journal Cancer.

This news broke today...we saw the story again on the news tonite and after talking with J, I've decided to blog something I've never really talked about here...

J was diagnosed with a type of breast cancer 6 years ago because of a mammogram...it was scary, it was traumatic, it was unpleasant...but it was TREATABLE and it was detected early.

There are low or no cost programs available in EVERY US STATE if you don't have insurance....if you do it's typically covered as a part of your routine benefits.

I turned 40 this year and had my first one a few months ago...it was quick and painless...non-invasive and much easier than I could have ever imagined.

Breast health is no joke, monthly self-exams and following mammogram guidelines are important steps in early detection...if you're reading this and have been putting yours off...please schedule it soon....if you're a man and have women in your life, encourage them to do the same...BREAST CANCER DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A DEATH SENTENCE!

A while back, skeet said I was obsessed with breasts...and it's true, I am...I love them and I think everyone else should love them too...especially if they're yours.

tagged for randomness

7 random facts about me since Patti asked...



1 - I could live on fruit smoothies and juice...not necessarily this kind of juice, but it's a close second



2 - I am a former gardening junkie and made an unscheduled stop at our local farmer's market yesterday....spent an irrational amount of $$ on new plants for the first time in several years...these are some of what we got



3 - I love old stuff...vintage, retro, used, whatever it's called...this has led to a life of pack-ratting/collecting/hording...but you never know what you may find when you look around our house...for example, this is a cooler I picked up at the auction a few years back...later it will be filled with beer while we grill out with some friends - feel free to stop by if you're in the neighborhood



4 - regardless of what I say, I love our families for the most part...since it's Mother's Day, I'll leave it at that











5 - J sews and going to the fabric store is tortuous for me, and usually for her, if I actually get convinced to go...between my allergies and the absolute pain of looking at bolts of cloth I can't find anything good about those hellish places



6 - the phone is my enemy...I don't like talking on them, I don't like messages, I avoid them at all costs...and yes I do own that cute little figurine



7 - I do occasionally smile a little (that's me on the right) hard not to with the company I'm keeping in this picture :)

This is interesting stuff

I have new micron pens...that make teeny, tiny lines....I love teeny, tiny lines so much it isn't healthy...well, actually I guess it is because it's a good outlet for me, making all those teeny, tiny lines...much healthier in fact than other outlets, but that's besides the point....

and I think I'm going to use those new pens to start working on some stuff for this site - The Flaming Fire Illustrated Bible - it's very cool and worth a look, great illustrations and a unique idea...

but here's a request - what verse(s) to pick? any suggestions? any favorites or ones that come to mind that lend themselves to being illustrated? I haven't checked to see if some of the ones I have in mind are available....I really like the prophets and Revelations has tons of potential, but I'm open...feel free to speak up...

and because I said this was going to be interesting....here's a gratuitous beaver shot (spread eagle and surrounded by rope no less)...how much more interesting is there?

Caught

say it isn't so

my long weekend CANNOT be over....it CANNOT be time to resume normal daily activities....

damn my need for food and shelter...dammit all

Loretta

lots to say, lots of pictures....even some video....but until I get coffee'd up and feeling more human, here's a start..and we were on the front row...as in the row all the other rows are behind...

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Killing time, anxiously awaiting the Loretta Lynn concert tonite, I've been messing with the template again.....I think this actually formats correctly in FF and IE, which the old one did not, I realized just recently...I may mess with the fonts some more, but have exerted all the energy I can stand on html today...

I've also reverted to my henna hand icon picture after forgetting to remove the rainbow beaver a few weekends ago...thanks for the reminder Wen ;) always good to have friends that keep an eye on your beaver....

I have every intention of taking the camera tonite so hopefully there will be pictures from the show....

have I mentioned the Loretta Lynn concert is tonite???????????????

T Roy was so sure

his hunting buddies would be open to idea of Barbequed Tofu....imagine his disappoinment when no one showed up at his cook-out last Friday night.

when I run away to the Circus

to paint freak show posters....I'm taking Scout the Jack-a-huahua to perform her death-defying, rings-of-fire act....

I'm sure we'll be a hit