Tammi's World

Road Trip

I had such a lovely evening!!

I had to run the west coast stores this week to help out one of our reps that has been sent to some secret location regarding his Reserve's duty for this month. I'm not sad about that at all. I'm home. I'm in Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa for 2 glorious days...

AND, as if that's not enough - I got to spend the evening with Lee Ann and her darling husband. AND they took me to dinner - Mexican and Margaritas - AND I got to play with they sweet puppy.

Hurricanes? What flippin hurricanes??? Life is pretty good right now.

Heading back to Orlando tonite, but what a lovely and surprising evening it was. And no......there are NO belly pictures this time!!! Hell, I just did finally get that damn UT cleaned off!

He's In The News

One of my favorite MilBloggers is really making a name for himself.

Sean over at DocintheBox has gotten some pretty great publicity (and even I am reaping the benefits).

Seems it started out with an AP story where his blog gets a very nice mention.

Now I see he's been interviewed by his local NBC station (in AZ that is) and now an interview with Lester Holt of MSNBC. Damn, I missed that.

Sean has done a fabulous job blogging about the war, both in words and photos. He is an outstanding example of MilBlogs.

So, those of you that are clicking over here from Doc in the Box, welcome! I hope you enjoy what you see and please - take the opportunity to click through the blogroll. Many Many good sites there that are just more examples of what this thing called a blogsphere really is.

My Two Cents Worth

Bou has a very interesting post up in response to something over at Frizzen Sparks. Of course I do have something to add. And, like Bou, it's not bashing, it's not femisist - it's just what I've experienced in my career.

I've always worked in a "mans" world. The industries that I've worked in and the jobs I've chosen are those usually done by men. It was never intentional, it was just what I wanted to do.

I've always had to work harder, longer and with little support. Part of that was because I am a woman. Part of that is because I was never able to finish college. Nope - I'm about 6 months shy of my BA. And believe me when I tell you I pay for that every time I turn around.

To me.....that is unfair. Now let me be specific. If I'm in my 20's and starting a new career I expect to start at lower pay, hell I expect to have to work my way up in order to prove that my lack of a sheepskin does not mean I'm not bright. And I have, with almost every position I've ever had. I take what ever I can get, and bust my ass to get ahead. I knew that was how it was going to be and accepted it.

But....let's fast forward to now. 20 years experience. Awards aplenty. Technical training documented. Proven track record. Going for a job in my field, and someone comes in with a degree in forestry (yes, it really happened) and not only get's a job, gets the job as my boss. Not because they know a damn thing about the industry but because they are 1) A Man and 2) have a degree. No, that doesn't really work for me. And just so you know, I ate his lunch. He didn't last more than 6 months. I didn't start out to take him down, I did it because he was an ass. Nothing personal, just happened that way. He actually did it himself by alienating himself from the team and acting like I couldn't possibly know anything - you know, since I didn't finish college.

And many times I've had problems because I was a woman. Especially when I was married, as they worried that my duties as wife and step mom would intrude on my work. So, I had to work 2x as hard to show them that wasn't the case. They worried that I'd leave to have a family of my own. I actually had to tell a perspective employer that I couldn't have children before they would consider me for the job. (I turned it down later, because I had a bad feeling about it.) But seriously that should NEVER have been a factor. Look at my history, look at my accomplishments, look at my track record - then make your decision.

I've seen plenty of women that milk the system. It makes me crazy. But on the flip side, I've seen just as many men do the same damn thing. What it boils down to is character, work ethic and drive. Some people believe in always doing their best and always trying harder. Many don't.

So......what I'm trying to say is that in my perfect world it's all about performance. Once you reach a certain point in your career - what should matter is what you know, how well you perform, and if you have the skills to do the job. That's it. Simple as that.

Bonfire of the Vanitites

I did it I did it. I finally wrote something SOOOOOOO bad I qualify for the Bonfire of the Vanities. WooHoo.

This week it's being hosted by Kin's Kouch and I get to teach Home Room!!

What? I'm not SUPPOSED to want to be in the Bonfire? Well shit. At least I can say I was the worst of the worst. I read the other stuff from this week and actually thought it wasn't too bad.

Ok - so this time I qualify as the worst of the worst!! Hey, at least it's something!!!

Go ahead, see how bad it can really be!!

Because I Love Ya!

Seem's my Blogfather had kinda of a rocky day yesterday.

Harvey is always doing little things to brighten our day and make us smile. I really hate it when I hear he's having a less than good day.

So I started thinking. What can I do to put a smile on Harvey's face?

Hmmm.....so I figure since a picture's worth a thousand words, I'd load 'er up.

This is for you Harvey!! A few of your favorite things! Hope it makes you smile!

Feeling any better yet? Wait....there's more.....

There's that smile. We're not done yet.......

Oops - Sorry - that last one was for us girls! :)

Distractions

My niece rocks. She just sent me an email with a bunch of very cute pictures. Don't know where they come from but can tell you they were needed today! :)

So I thought I'd share some, with my own editorials added in - of course.

Me this past Sunday!!

They told me it was a bottomless glass Dammit!!

Please, just one more!!

Ahhh.....Sleep!!

Say A Prayer

Pop over and leave an encouraging comment for Pam. She's kinda scared right now, and a kind word or funny story would be a good thing.

Sending many prayers and good thoughts your way Pam. Keep us posted.

Hee Hee

Bou's busy cleaning up after Frances/Jeanne. She's always impressed me with her practicality. Now, we have proof. Oh, and a great picture in the process.

She claims she looks like a dork. Personally - I'm just so damn glad to see her, and her house, all in one piece - I think it's a GREAT picture!!!!

One More Thought

I was just reading this article in TheStar.com about Florida, the hurricanes and politics. Yeah, I got news for people, most every one in Central Florida is a little busy right now. It's tough to poll anyone. If you can reach them, they're probably putting their lives back together, fixing roofs, windows and such. Trying to find out if they have jobs or not. You know - little things.

So trying to find out if Bush or Kerry is leading the vote down here is a bit tough.

Add to that Carter's little article saying that it's going to be another quagmire down here and everyone's in a panic. One piece of information that keeps coming up is about the fact that felons are not allowed to vote down here. And that about 22,000 people (mostly African American Democrates) have been disqualified for voting. I got something to say about that.

If you are a felon, in my humble opinion, you don't have a right to vote. I don't care what color, race or gender you are - that's a fact. And yes people, voting is a RIGHT. A basic right, but still a right. So....you committ a felony you lose that right (along with a few others). Don't want that to happen? Then obey the law. Pretty simple.

Noble Eagle has a post in reaction to Carter's piece. He brings out the point that, to Carter, we in Florida are worse off - in regards to running an election - than Venezuela. Horse Hockey. Bull Shit. Nonsense.

Just because the election may not result the way the Democrates want, they are already starting to hedge their bets. Pave the way for the aftermath. I see it all the time in business. When you know you're going to lose market share, or not land an account, instead of dealing with the real WHYs they respond by pointing fingers, laying blame anywhere they can.

Well I got news for them.......hurricanes and felons aside...it is what it is. We'll vote. Yes, we will. And right now many people are pretty damn grateful to the Bush Brothers. Jeb has done a damn good job with all these storms. He's been calm, and focused and up front. Are things running perfectly yet? No. But each storm is different and there are constant updates on what's happening, where to find relief and how they are correcting any issues. GWB has been here, giving us a virtual hug - and trust me, that does mean something to many people. Not everyone appreciates what's being done, but if you expect to hear otherwise you don't know human nature.

What am I getting at in this ramble? Simple. Florida is the big unknown right now in regards to the Presidental election. That's scaring the Dems to pieces. It should. You know gators swim silently, but can strike in an instant. Just keep that in mind Kerry.

1st Gear

I was a little mopey yesterday. Still feel that way today, but also realize I gotta get out and do SOMETHING. Didn't lose anything in the Thunderstorms, so that's something to be grateful for. So today I'm going to leave the house. YEAH! Well, sorta.

I really need to head to Daytona, but need to wait until I see what the gas situation is. I really need to check on my customers in Lake Wales and Sebring, but also know there is nothing going on right now, except trying to get the basics for survival. I guess that leaves downtown Orlando. From what I understand the power company has done a fantastic job of getting everyone back in power. There are still outages, but progress is being made at a pretty fast click.

I've managed to hear from most everyone that I was worred about. They are all doing fine. My one cousin was pretty sick yesterday, but managed to get into the doctor and was feeling better last night. My other cousin and her family lost power for 13 hours but are back up and running. I guess it pays to be on the same line as a high school. They're really working to get the kids down here back in school. I haven't heard from Lee Ann, but know she doesn't live in a flood zone and that there are somethings going on with her, so won't worry quite yet. I'm also having phone issues - hard time getting calls out and don't know if I'm getting all my calls in. But if it comes down to it, I'll drive down there and check on her.

Anyway - I'm going to step out into the big bad world today. Not sure what I'll see, and really not looking forward to it, but a girl can't hide forever. It's kinda funny - people are responding to all this in a couple of different ways. Some are acting like this is no big deal - old hat by now. Other's are just spent. Done. Exhausted. Down. So it makes it tough. No matter what category you fall into at this point, you run into the other and it's making tempers very short and patience at an all time low. Talk about walking on glass. Yew.

I found an old disposable camera during the storm and took a couple pictures. Going to take that with me and take some more today. Even if no one else really cares, I want to document what I see. (Am hoping to never go through this again.) The camera is kinda old, so I'm not sure the film is still good, but it's worth a try.

Ok - enough stalling. Gotta kick it into gear. (And reverse probably wouldn't be the right choice at this time!)

**Applause**

WOW. Questing Cat has thrown down the Guantlet. And how.

In case you haven't been visiting QC and Jersey Cowboy, they are a couple of guys, in the military, stationed in the Sand Box. Their site is a combination of things, they tell us what's going on (all within OPSEC) they vent their frustrations, they share stories and in this one post QC tears a piece of hide off of Kerry. And I stand here applauding.

A while ago, QC was pretty down. He made the comment that he was going to refrain from voting this year - what was the use. Well it seems he's changed his mind. In a big way.

He explains just what he thinks about the man that voted to send our military men and women into harms way, and then voted AGAINST giving them the tools they need to stay safe.

He admits right here and now that he is voting AGAINST KERRY and why. And then challenges anyone to post a reason he SHOULD vote for Kerry.

Now I realize the majority of my readers are not going to be voting for Kerry, but you still need to read this post. Then do as he says - link back to it inviting the discussion, the debate.

I'll be honest, I've been a little out of politics the past couple of weeks. Not as focused as I should be. However, I watched the first part of GWB's interview last night on the Factor and that started the engine. QC has got me sitting up again. Trust me, go read it - you'll be glad you did.

Family Business

I have a new blogbro. Jeff at Au fait has offically been voted in to the Bad Example Family.

Jeff....remember that old saying....Be careful what you wish for!! hee hee hee He has NO IDEA what he's done!!! ;)

So stop on over to Au fait and welcome him aboard. But be nice, we don't want to scare him off right away.

Oh and Jeff?? You'll be getting my bill via email soon!

Thankful

Finally got some sleep last night. WooHoo. Woke up this morning and saw sunshine!! It's gone now, and we're looking at some serious thunderstorms the rest of the day, but I saw it. I even pulled a chair out by the pool so I could feel it on my face.

I got cable back. Now I can actually SEE what they're talking about. I feel much better about that. However, I can no longer call out on my phone. I can recieve calls, just can't make any.

I'm going to stick close to the house, clean up the crap in the yard before the storms hit later and try and catch up on some paperwork. I just found out I'll probably have to go out of town for a couple of days in the next week or so and need to dot all my I's and cross all my T's before hand.

It's been hell down here for the past 6 weeks. Let's just call a spade a spade. Both personally and professionally, life has been a nightmare. I'm luckier than many. I still have a home, I have the basic comforts and some wonderful friends that while not near by, have been such a support. It may seem like a small thing, but a phone call can be a life line at times. And I want to thank all those that have left comments. You put a smile on my face, make me laugh and let me know that I'm not really alone out here.

Professionally it's bad, it's really bad and it's only going to get worse. But there again I'm fairly lucky. I've swallowed my pride and made some phone calls. While there is nothing to fix the situation, I'm going to be doing some contract work that will allow me to continue my current position and earn some extra money - so I can pay my bills. I'm so grateful for that. Words just can't express.

So for a few minutes, I'm going to sip my coffee, smoke a cigarette and count my blessings. Then it's back at it. But in the midst of all that's going on, I'm just so thankful.

A Smile

I found the Bucs game on the radio. Life is very good right now!! :)

Whistle Not A Howl

FINALLY things are slowing down. The wind is a whistle instead of that steady howl. We are still seeing some decent gusts, but it's much better than it was. Now we're starting to get bands of thunderstorms but that constant, pounding rain and wind is done.

Whew.

I did finally drift off to sleep late this afternoon for a couple of hours. I didn't realize how very tired I was. Glad I didn't sleep too long, so that I can sleep tonite.

We are under curfew until dawn tomorrow so I'm hunkered down for the evening. Honestly - I have no where I want to go anyway. I'm half afraid to go out and see the damage.

The highlight of my day - well other than my house is still standing intact - was when Bou called this afternoon. She's fine and actually has power already!! WooHoo. They were only out for 12 hours. There is some damage, have no doubt there. The way she put it is that those that had light damage, have more. Those that had serious damage - well, you can imagine. The boys are fine, and she was out and about to check on some people she was worried about. I was just very relieved to hear from her.

I can't believe I'm hearing that people are out and about so much today. Maybe it's because I don't have TV but based on what I'm still seeing it's not clear yet. But then again, I keep thinking that people are using common sense and that's not always the case.

So that's whats going on here. I'm going to put in a movie to entertain myself and try and keep from thinking about the football game I can't watch. Then am hoping for a nice quiet nights sleep. We made it through another one. I'm just so grateful.

Holy Cow

I just heard that a shopping center in Lakeland went into a sink hole. Gone. Just a big gaping hole with a light pole sticking out. Holy Cow.

I'm afraid of what I'll see when I leave the house.

Bou Is Alright

Via a guest blogger I learned that Bou and family are alright. Thank Goodness. No power but they are alright. I guess it got a bit rough for a while, but Hubby and Sons are taking down the storm shutters (well the ones that were still up that is).

Go and leave a comment. Let her know you were thinking of them. Now the hard part - cleaning up.

BTW - still pretty serious winds here with no relief in sight. *sigh*

Looking for Info?

Ok - I don't know about you but I'm desperate for information on what's going on outside my backyard. So, just in case, I thought I'd share.

Here are photos from The Palm Beach Post

Heres what Tampa Bay Online is reporting

Orlando Sentinal has some coverage

There are pictures as well as information linked within each of those.

Just Me

Jeanne is now a Tropical Storm. However, let me tell you a little secret - I think someone forgot to tell HER. She's still here blowing away. Now, not like this morning or when I was in the eye wall, but it's still flickering the power. The wind is strong enough that since I checked a half hour ago, the neighbors solor blanket for the pool, rack and all, has blown through their pool screening. (Hmm, maybe should have put that in the garage, don't ya think?)

The new lake behind my house continues to grow. I'm not worried about it reaching all the way up here - but it's about 5' deep now.

I hear my roof moan and groan. I keep hearing things hit my house. It's the flippin' neighbors trash cans and garbage. I wonder if fate is trying to tell me something - throwing trash at me like that.

The natures preserve behind the house has been thinned out. Drastically. I'm afraid I may not see my eagle anymore. He was still around after Charley and Frances, but it was much worse around here this time around.

They are saying on the radio that the worst is over for me. I wish I could see that for myself. It's not that I don't trust them, it's just that I don't trust them.

Anyway - that's it for now. I'm gonna check what I can find around here and see how my Bucs are doing out in LA. I don't remember what time the game is but I still need to think about something other than this storm and how my friends are.

Damn. Just Damn.

Part II

The wind has just changed direction. That tells me I'm on the ass end of the storm now. Another 5 hours (or so) and it should calm down.

I've been slammed with extremely high winds since last evening. Remember Jeanne was a Cat. 2 when she first reached me. Now - things are weakened and we're getting hit from the other direction. Kinda like when you're trying to break something....you bend it one way to weaken it and then the other way to break it. Yipee.

The only good thing is that, since the seals on my windows are weakened, I'm hoping that the driving rain won't keep coming through since it's coming from another direction. Still....need to keep an eye on that.

Who'da Thought

I never knew you could see white caps on a pool.

Hmmmm

Stone Age

Can I just say I HATE dial-up!! Oh, I'm grateful to have access period but this is killin' me!!!!

Still blowing like a SOB.

I feel somewhat vindicated. People were laughing at me that I took the precautions that I did. Let me tell you folks - they give you a cone of probability for a reason. No One Knows where these storms will go. If you are within the cone - TAKE ACTION.

The pool screens and debris I see around me is due to the fact that people didn't prepare. They left their garbage cans out, they left the pool furniture outside. It's not enough to just move it close to the house - get it inside. I don't like crawling over this stuff anymore than the next person, but I'm also not wanting to chase it down the street or apologize to my neighbors for the fact that my chair flew through their window.

Common Sense. That's all I'm asking for.

**I'm hearing Lakeland has taken a hell of a pounding. I can believe it. I know what I am seeing, I know Lakeland pretty well. My heart goes out to them. I don't think the reports that will go out as this storm subsides will be good. Not at all.

Assholes

People are calling in. EOC is telling everyone to stay off the roads. Duh.

BUT some employers are telling people if they don't show up for work they risk being fired.

HOW FLIPPIN' STUPID IS THAT!!!

Jeanne is still a Cat. 1 HURRICANE. Wind gusts are strong enough to lift cars off of the road.

That's just stupid. It's not right. I, for one, plan on looking into that more and making sure EVERYONE knows what business are pulling shit like that and KNOW what assholes they are.

Idiots.

Still Standing

Son of a BITCH. What a nite.

I'm still here. I have power and phone, but don't know for how much longer. From what I can tell the eye is almost over Tampa. I'm in the North East eye wall right now. I'm on dial up but I wanted to let you know I'm talking with Laughing Wolf off and on and he will post updates if I can't get back on.

It was one hell of a night. About 2:30am I gave up the fight and went to the safe room. I have a habit of closing all interior doors just in case a window blows out I won't have extended damage. (Humor me, it sounds like a reasonable thing.) I was in the middle of the house, all doors shut, in a closet with the radio going and the wind kept me awake. Damn...

Around me is damage but I've been lucky so far. My screening is tearing, but still standing. Not so with my neighbors. The roofs are holding up well. Trees - not so good. I keep seeing tops of palm trees flying by my window. Not a warm fuzzy feeling.

My cousin in Sarasota has lost power. She lives east out by 75. She called me from an interior room, because the roar from the Gulf of Mexico was so loud she couldn't hear me.

They are reporting hail in Bradenton and Plant City. That is very unusual.

South of me 3/4 of the county is without power. 1/4 of the county is out of phone service.

It's not close to being over.

In Melbourne a special needs shelter lost it's roof.

Water plants are down. Boiling water alert is on.

I gotta tell you folks. This has not been a good 6 weeks. I find myself listening to the damage reports, hearing the weather updates - who is seeing what - and I breakdown in tears. This is just so much in so short a time.

I heard that West Palm Beach has seen a lot of damage. Prayers to Bou and Bug.

Please pardon the lack of links. Dial up sucks and I don't know how long I'll have a connection.

Anyway - that's how it is for now. They say another 7 hours of crap here. Tornado warnings over this entire area.

Like I said - if you don't see updates here, check with Laughing Wolf. I'll post when I can.

Oops

Well it's almost 1:00am and my power has flickered a couple times now. I didn't expect it this soon. Had actually hoped to not lose power at all - I haven't in the other 2. Don't think I'll be so lucky this time.

I went ahead and moved the hard line phone much closer to the safe room so that if I do lose power and things take a downward trend, I can still call out (please Lord, don't let me lose phone service too.)

More later.

More Updates

Jeanne made landfall in Stuart Florida late Saturday evening, a Cat 3 with sustained winds of 120mph.

TBO (Tampa Bay Online) reports this.

Some snippets:

A hospital lost part of its roof, said Tom McNicholas, an emergency management spokesman in Martin County. Dozens of patients at Martin Memorial Hospital North in Stuart were moved to other floors, but no injuries were reported.

Elsewhere in Stuart, part of a condominium roof collapsed. One person was rescued.

In Florida, waves of 24 feet were reported ahead of Jeanne and were moving toward the coast, where six-foot storm surges were expected. Powerful swells knocked pieces of mobile homes out to sea on the central coast.

*****

Here is the Orlando Sentinal Hurricane Weblog.

Update

They just shifted the track slightly south of what has been plotted once Jeanne came inland. That is not good news for me.

As Jeanne continues on a more westerly direction I will end up on the NE side of the eye wall. They refer to that as the "bad side". Big T's galore. They are saying we'll see 100mph winds.

I felt better when the eye was passing over.

What it means to those just south of me is even worse. Lake Wales, Haines City, Sebring took severe hits with Charley. I mean severe. Then came Frances. Not as bad, but bad enough. My heart just bleeds for these people. This is not a rich area. Last time I drove down that way to visit my customers you saw blue tarps every where. Debris every where. So much has been lost.

And the really scary thing is that many have not gone to shelters. There a many older homes, not built to the code my home is. State EOC is hoping that people made the short drive to shelters, as that wouldn't show up in traffic numbers. Last I heard, there were only 700 people in Polk County shelters. When Frances hit, there were 3000+.

So.....it's going to be very interesting to watch if this monster takes a northern turn or just keeps heading west.

Watch out Tampa. You might wake up to a bit of a surprise.

Too Much Coffee

Ok - maybe making that 2nd pot was a little mistake. Just a bit too much energy for 10:00 at night!

Anyway - I just realized the coolest thing. I have these funky racks in my HUGE - and yes, it is huge - walk in closet in my master bathroom. It's my safe room and I'm getting stuff put in there - Just in case.

So, I carry in the water and a couple plastic cups. Some cookies, crackers, blanket, pillow, my purse - Important stuff. I'm trying to figure out where to put it so I still have room to stretch out. Voila - that rack is perfect. The only thing that doesn't fit in the shelves is the gallon of water.

Cool - I wondered what to put in there. I'll just stock it like the pantry till "season" is over. Plus - it's alot closer than the kitchen when I get those midnight munchies!

That Reminds Me

Michele, Blogsis-o-mine, just left a comment in the previous post that reminded me of something I just heard on the radio - I mean TV.

They were saying that we are seeing history with this storm. 4 major hurricanes in 6 weeks. The quote that caught my attention? "No one alive has ever seen anything like this."

Ok - maybe it's just me, but when I'm looking at a night with a Cat. 3 hurricane, not to mention that I'm gonna be closer to the NE corner of the eye (yipee) so we can expect the Big T's - the last flippin' thing I wanna hear is that NO ONE ALIVE has seen something like this. Geez folks. Come on - use some common sense.

I can see it now - I'm gonna switch careers and go in to TV Broadcasting when all this is done.

The Sky

I was sitting in the family room talking with my best friend up north. I look out and told her I was watching a hurricane. You can imagine her response (she's just like me).

Really - it was light enough that I could watch the cloud movement. It looked just like it does on the radar screen (without all those damn colors). It was actually pretty cool.

The winds are really starting to pick up here. I got some pictures from the front door of the palm trees and such bent over. Pretty much all the tourists around me are gone. The management company moved most of them out. I hear a group playing out in the pool across the way from me (WTF?) but other than that it's pretty quiet.

A funny thing - my mom keeps a Central Florida road map out on her kitchen table so that when we talk and I'm traveling she can figure out where I am. (It must be a single mom thing, I don't ask - it's just Mama Vi's way). Anyway - she says she keeps hearing about how Lake Wales and Haines City got the eye of both Charley and Frances and the eye of Jeanne will pass right over also. Then I hear pages turning, quiet. "Sweetie, that's you!" I almost wish she wouldn't have figured it out.

I still think it'll be fine. This house is only a year old. Was built to withstand a Cat 3. It may be scary, it may get ugly, but I think it'll be fine. I'm just worried about losing power. With my luck, it'll be my ex husband from Indiana that comes to fix it. That may not be a good thing. :)

Anyway - that's it for now. I took a nice long shower, made a fresh pot of coffee and am hunkering down.

It's gonna be a long night.

Here We Go!

It's raining. It's windy. It's starting.

I'm hearing now the eye looks to come in at Vero Beach. Damn - that's where we met Frances.

It's not too bad here, but it's rather unnerving hearing how Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton, St. Pete are all preparing also. This is gonna be one big storm (again).

I've called everyone to let them know I'm staying at the house. I've got everything ready. Safe room is set up with water blanket, pillow, flashlight, book and my favorite cookies. I'm doing laundry right now and finishing up cleaning the kitchen. Hey - at least my house has been cleaned pretty well with all the storms - you know my saying - Can't have a dirty house with a hurricane comin'!

So....as things progress I'll let ya'll know. Right now I'm worried about Bou, Bug, Pam and every one else down there.

I'll worry about me around Midnight - unless they tell me otherwise!!

Stayin' Home

I finally got my work done and have heard that Gov. Bush is encouraging everyone to head WEST not NORTH. Well shit. I4 is backing up. I REFUSE to be a sitting duck on a highway when this storm starts. I'm staying home.

I have water. I have cigarettes. I have food and I have all the other things I need to get through.

They are saying this will be a 24 hour storm. Oh Boy. Here is what all the models are saying will happen.

View image

Try as I may I don't see a single option there that I really like.

I will publically admit that it is better for the surrounding community if I stay bolted in my house right now. When I went to get gas it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 30 min. wait, of course only top grade gas available, but at least there's gas to be had. The only hard part was getting out of the flippin' station. PEOPLE ARE ASSHOLES!!! You need out so they can get in. They won't budge. You can't. They get mad. Me? I get PISSED OFF. All it took was me getting out of my car and that SOB backed right up. Hmmmm, do you think it was the United States Marine hat I was wearing?!?!?

THEN..the grocery store. Some stupid son of a bitch from a small state in the north east thinks he owns the flippin' parking lot. Lot is PACKED. (remember this area is largely tourists renting houses while in Orlando) Everyone is in a panic. I just want a couple gallons of water and some chocolate. Jewlery Man is going the wrong way down the isle in the parking lot - flipping people off and yelling out his window when they are in his way. Lucky me, he parks next to my car. In the store - stopping in the middle of the aisle, taking his time, yelling and basically being an ass. Every time I turn around he's there.

I check out, tell the girls to be careful and hunker down. I'd check on them Monday.

Get to my car - Jewlery Man. He's blocking me with his cart and I can't put my stuff in the car. I wait. He finally get's in, I get stuff in the car and get in. He pulls just far enough out to block me and stops. To make a phone call. I wait. I honk. He flips me off. I flip my lid. I got out of the car and knocked on his window. I won't repeat what I said, just know it wasn't polite. It wasn't soft spoken. There was nothing nice about it. He opened his mouth to reply - I told him I didn't think that was a very good idea - just put that MF'er in gear and get the hell out of my way.

He did. The wrong way up the isle. Then blocked the drive through so he could go back into the store. Stupid SOB.

I came home, put the car in the garage and bolted myself in. I'm not safe right now! :)

SHIT

I know I need to step back, but I've always believed forwarned is forarmed (however that's spelled).

Just saw this in the Palm Beach Post.

The following blogs are keeping this updated as time goes by. If you're interested in following events here you go:

Eye of the Storm
Florida Cracker
Debwire
Boudicca
Kathy's got a very good round up of Florida Bloggers
WeatherBlog

These are the ones I'm checking regularly, along with
Weather.com
Wunderground.com
Terrapin

That will at least keep you up on what's happening where.

Also - I've added a seperate section of my blogroll for Florida Bloggers. (Please drop me an email or a comment if I missed someone). I'm sure they'll be mentioning this every now and again.

Due To Circumstances

there will be NO Saturday Question of the Day! I can't think of some "out there" question that just makes you stop and think about something not so important. Feel free to use the search feature on the side bar and browse back through previous weeks.

I got nothing.

EXCELLENT POST

I found this on Debwire. It is one of the best pieces I've seen about hurricanes and getting through the aftermath - emotionally.

Even if you're not going through it, this is a must read.

Amazing - I just want to know where the damn camera's are in this house - they NAILED what I'm going through!!

Thanks Deb!!

Early Morning Thoughts

Well, I managed to get about an hour and a half's night sleep. As tired as I was I just couldn't shut off the mind. So much going on.

Ya'll think you're tired of reading about hurricanes? You should try living with 'em. I know, I know - live in Florida, deal with hurricanes. But I can honestly say this is way out of the norm. Way Way out of the norm. And it is just draining.

Beyond draining. It's numbing.

Bou is seeing her #1 son deal with it. You know, it's tough on adults, but imagine how difficult it is to be a child. Hear about it, see your parents prepare, live through one, lose your school, see the devastation and then WHAM here comes another one. Damn. My heart hurts for them.

Personally I'm about all in. These damn storms are literally ruining my life. Really, I'm not being overly dramatic. Let's see if I can explain (bear with me folks, I gotta get this out).

I'm in sales. I get paid based on how my sales go. In order to build sales I need to foster relationships with my customers, train them, and open new accounts. In order to do that you have to be focused, organized and out there.

So here comes Charley. Shit. Tears up the southern part of my territory pretty damn bad and does one hell of a number on Orlando. When power is out, stores are closed. Oh, you gotta figure things will pick up when the insurance vouchers come in, but there are a couple of factors involved there also. First, this is CENTRAL Florida. Not a lot of people have hurricane insurance. If they do the deductible is incredibly high. So....no insurance, when they replace their mattress it isn't going to be a really expensive one. If they do, they gotta wait for the adjuster, get the house fixed and THEN replace the stuff. All that has a long wait attached.

Now, we just get most places back up and running after Charley and WHAM here comes Frances. (bitch) Slow and steady she works her way across the state and spreads the mess. There goes the eastern part of my territory. The only part NOT effected by Charley. Shit. More down time, more destruction. Longer waits for repairs and insurance.

Then the threat of Ivan. Everyone panics. No one moves. We watch, we wait.

Hell, you get a stiff breeze and a couple drops of rain and people are reeling. I've been in stores where customers are calling and canceling orders saying they'll just wait until AFTER hurricane season is over before they replace anything. I can't blame them. Not one bit.

So......sales suck. That puts a bit of strain on a person. No pay, kinda tough to afford gas, paper, ink, food - you know, the things you need to just do your job.

Now let's look at the mental mess these hurricanes leave in their wake. Folks, there is a hurricane coming and every one of the FLORIDA BLOGGERS on my blogroll are saying the same thing. I'm tired, I'm spent, I can't do this ONE MORE TIME. As worried as I am, it's like watching things from outside my person. I see all that I need to do, but I just can't make myself move. I just sit here thinking - Yeah, I ought to do that. And then just take another sip of coffee. It's not that I don't care. I'm just...well, you know.

So - That's it folks. Those are the thoughts going through this woman's mind early on a Saturday morning, trying to balance work, home and hurricane yet again.

Pray - Please. We need it.

It's the weekend...

So, what are you're plans?

Me? Oh, so glad you asked.

Let's see.....I just got home from work, traffic is a bear. There are a lot of people on I4 heading west. Hmmmm that's strange.

I went to the grocery store and bought some interesting items. Water, Ice, nonperishable food, toliet paper, shelf stable juice, you know - the run of the mill stuff.

Tomorrow I think, just for shits and giggles I bring in all the pool furniture I JUST GOT PUT BACK OUTSIDE. Yeah, I kinda miss climbing over all that stuff to get to my bedroom.

Tomorrow night, I'll be heading over to St. Petersburg. It's west of here and looks to be getting some decent weather.

Yep - just a normal weeked anymore - ANOTHER FLIPPIN' HURRICANE!!

Jeanne is looking at coming aground pretty close to my friends Bou and BUG. Then she'll either take the scenic trip up the coast or just head right on in here to Orlando. (Damn, she must have heard from Frances and Charley how nice it is over here!) Either way, we're taking another beating. My concern is my friends in the "landing stage" as they just got hammered a couple weeks ago, and things are weakend right now.

Hell, what am I saying - the whole flippin' state is weakened right now.

I've got lot's to blog, but am going to go and put on my favorite jammies and hunker down for the night. A lot of the weather channel and a bit of sleep and tomorrow is just "get 'er done".

Geez - this is getting real old!!

You KNOW She's On It!

Jennifer Martinez has a wonderful follow up on the soldier that was attacked after a Toby Keith concert in Ohio, while on medical leave.

According to one article she links to Toby Keith will be calling PFC Barton on Thursday. (I'm not surprised by this at all.)

There has been an out pouring of support for this young man. (As there should be!)

Go and read it.

Thanks Jen for keeping us updated!

We Got Jammies!!

Aren't ya just a little curious as to what your favorite bloggers are wearing when they blog? Come on....admit it. You know you are!

Well, Havey has posted with the first Carnival of the Pajamas. There is a slew of links to browse. Hey, I got some great jammie ideas! Oh, and if you read through you can see what Harvey wears!! No, he's NOT the babe in the bikini! He's Mr. Money Pants (appropriate on many levels).

Go check it out - it's a great way to start the weekend!

If It's Not One Thing It's Another

It's not enough to be having job problems let's just add THIS to the mix.

It almost funny. But Not.

So......

Anybody need a sales rep? An Analyst?

Not a good day. Not a good day at all.

Carnival of Recipes

It's that time again. Time to get your recipes posted and ready to go. This weeks host is Jennifer at Mellow-Drama. Either post and link back to her or if you don't have a blog, type out an email and send it to recipe(dot)carnival(at)gmail(dot)com.

My entry this week comes from one of my favorite cookbooks. Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes. It's a really good sweet cornbread recipe, that's always a favorite.

Honey-Moist Cornbread
6 servings
30 minutes

1c all-purpose flour
1c yellow cornmeal
1/4c sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1c whipping cream
1/4c vegetable oil
1/4c honey
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in remaining ingrediants - just until moist. Pour into greased 9" square baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 mins. or until toothpick (wooden) inserted in center comes out clean.

(Can easily be doubled - if you're a bread lover like I am)

It's great with stews, Ham & Bean soup, and my favorite greenbean, ham & potatoes. Yummy.

Gettin' Some Attention

Personally I think this is pretty cool.

I read last night that The Truth Laid Bear had a mention in Time Magazine!! Congrats!! You know why he got the mention?

Here's a piece from Bears piece from the Times piece:

Bush staff members rely on technorati.com and truthlaidbear.com, which track political blogs and websites to see what items in local papers, on websites and in blogs are getting the most hits. "If a story moves up through the rankings and linking, we can know," says one of the Bush staff members assigned to alert the rest of the team about which stories are moving through the blogosphere. "We can get indicators about stories before they break elsewhere. It's like an early-warning system."

Go read it - it's pretty interesting.

Then I see over at Laughing Wolf that he had some unexpected guests.

Hmmmm......I'm seeing a pattern here. I think it's pretty interesting. Wonder what will happen next?

UPDATE: Key over at Key Issues has a round up of Headlines from MSM regarding bloggers......

It's Never Easy

It's never easy to say good bye to those you love. Even when you know you must, for any number of reasons.

As so many know Grey Hawk at Mudville Gazette is stepping into A sandbox. We knew the time was drawing near. Well this morning I found his post ON LEAVING.

Stop by, and let him know how much we appreciate his sacrifice, and that of his family. Let him know that we care. And then KEEP stopping by and reminding him of all that.

GH - Be safe in your travels. My prayer is for God to watch over you and your loved ones, and give you strength and peace while you are apart.

Let us know if you need anything, or if there is anything we can do for you or your loved ones.

Thank you Grey Hawk, and God Bless.

FYI

Just because a black marker says "washable" doesn't mean that it really is!

4 days and I STILL have these damn letters on my belly! Geez.

Walk Down Memory Lane

A friend of mine has an interview for a sales position back in the beverage industry. She's been out of it for about 5 years now, I've been gone for 3 but still keep my fingers in what's going on. So we agreed that she would call tonite to just do beverage talk and kinda get her game face on.

She's gonna do fine. She loves that industry (as do I) and it shows in her words, tone of voice and (having seen) on her face. It's in her blood.

The beverage industry is incredibly competitive. And once you've existed in that enviornment, it's really tough to change. For instance, when I worked for Tropicana, owned by Pepsi, you only drank product offered in our portfolio. You go into a resturant, ask for Diet Pepsi, they ask if Coke is alright you answer No, I'll have ....... You only bought Pepsi products, you only drank Tropicana OJ and you only ate Quaker cereal. Period. (Only problem is that I think Diet Coke mixes better with Cpt. Morgan.)

It may sound stupid, but hey - our retirment was based on how well our company did, and you'd be amazed at how many resturants will change their soda provider if they get enough answers like that. Hell, if we went to a place we KNEW didn't carry Pepsi products, we'd bring our own in. We were hard core. It was soooo fun.

This all led to a funny story one of our retiailers asked us to participate in a golf outing tht they were doing for charity. No Problem. Being me - I started 2 days ahead of time arranging for all the sodas, waters and juices, double checked that my beverage cart was there, bought the ice myself and reconfirmed (several times) the number of participants.

The morning of the outting dawned and I was at the golf course at 5:30am. Complete with all my drinks, ice, banners, flyers, gadgets, hats and shirts. Give aways are very important. We had coordinated with the entire team to all wear tan shorts, white trop shirts (with black trim) and black Trop hats. We were styling.

By the time everyone else got there, I had the cart loaded and everything ready to go. I did notice a competitor's team was there around 7:00 but they were just standing around. They were all dressed in a hodge podge of golf shirts. (I notice those things)

Tee off was at 8:00 and I was in charge of driving the beverage cart - I don't golf.

As the time to start approached, I hear our competitor on his cell phone screaming and cussing. Oops. It seems their local office had forgotten all about it so there was no product there. :) Not to mention no freebies. :)

They had brought along a GB Packers football player (don't remember who at this point) that played in their foursome and did some autographs.

It's Florida. In July. Really Hot. Really Humid. Really Hot.

The only thing to drink were Pepsi Products.

They refused so much as a bottle of water. Now I need to admit we would have done the same thing. Actually - we would have gone out and BOUGHT what we needed, but that's just us.

Luckily, by paying attention to the amount of paticipants, I brought more than enough for everyone. Afterall, I figured everyone would perfer my stuff anyway - so that's what I planned for.

It's hot. They're thirsty.

They looked rather foolish.

Finally the Packer grabbed his bag and told them to go to hell. He was riding with us. #1 we were more fun. #2 we had stuff to drink and he was damn thirsty.

Hee Hee. They lost 5 displays in the local store due to that. To us. The customer was very disappointed in their level of participation. I can't begin to calculate how much lost revenue that worked out to be, but it was HUGE.

And it was Hot. They were thirsty. They got chewed out. I rubbed it in.

Ahh yes, the memories.

A Country Girls' Solution

I got this in an email from Mama Vi. Don't know where it originated, but it sure does sound like something she'd say!

Is it just me or does anyone else find it absolutely amazing that the U.S. government can track a cow born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she sleeps in the state of Washington, and determine exactly what that cow ate.

They can also track her calves right to their stalls, and tell you what kind of feed they ate.

But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around in their country, including people that are trying to blow up important structures in the U.S.

My solution is to give every illegal alien a cow as soon as they enter the country.

Neither of These Make Me Happy

Not Panicing. Not even worried yet (too tired to be at this point).

Just watching and waiting to see what the next 3 or 4 days bring.

But Damn Jeanne - Just get over yourself already.

(Personally - I have a theory. I noticed when Chap was down here these storms were staying away. They leave port - and voila - Jeanne makes a sharp left turn - CHAP!!! PLEASE COME BACK!!!!!)

69 days until the end of Hurricane Season. Ohhhhhh it's gonna be a long couple of months.

This Is What It Boils Down To For Me

You need to go to Mudville and READ THIS. And then head over to Jen Martinez's place and watch THIS.

Right there, those two items are exactly why I WILL NOT VOTE FOR KERRY.

We've said over and over again that in this election you have to choose what is most important to you and vote accordingly. Well, the security of my nation is important to me. Our military is important to me.

I will not support someone who I feel will not keep me safe. And just as important, I will not support or vote for someone who has SHOWN US that he has no respect for the military.

Again - actions speak louder than words.

Poison Gone Now

Back to lighter things now. I've got a fresh brewed cup (HUGE CUP) of coffee and a new pack of cigarettes and things are looking a bit better now. I probably should explain.

I ran out of cigarettes late yesterday afternoon. I was in the middle of a couple projects and didn't really want to leave the house so I figured I would see how long I could go without. You know, another trial on the quitting thing.

I went 11 hours. 11 whole hours. I know what some of you are thinking, "Well, you were sleeping for part of that time". And I'll give you that - but only 3 hours of that time. So I went 8 hours without a cigarette.

I just got out of my jammies and went and bought a pack. I couldn't take it anymore.

Remember about 6 months ago I was trying to quit. I was serious. Very serious. And I still want to. But I'm really having trouble with it. The medications don't help, the patch is a joke and that gum just works if I chew it with a cigarette for a good (and legal) buzz. I don't want a miracle drug (well, yeah, I really do) I just need to find something that will help me get through the first 3 weeks of cravings.

I started smoking when I was 9 years old. Mama came out to the kitchen one day and found me sitting at the table smoking a cigarette and drinking a cup of coffee. When asked what I was doing, I responded that I was trying to stop growing and everyone said if I did these things that is what would happen. By the age of 10, despite all of my mother's efforts I was up to a pack a day. That is the least amount I have smoked in the past 32 years.

I hate the way it makes my house smell, my car smell - hell I hate the way it makes ME smell. I'm ashamed when I'm in public to be seen smoking, but I can't stop. I've been told that getting off cigarettes is as tough as getting off heroin.

I heard people's stories of stopping cold turkey, it's a matter of mind control, Just Do It, yeah, I've heard it all. And I admire the hell out of anyone that has quit. They say you can't until you really really want to. I thought I did - so what's that say about me?

Anyway - just thought I should explain why I've been a tad bit testy. (OK, you probably only REALLY pick up on that if you've had an actual conversation with me). But it's better now.

I'm not gonna worry about not smoking for a while. Obviously it's not the right time yet, I'll just work on slowing down. Baby Steps.

While I'm at it

I saw this over at Noble Eagle, before I ran into at a couple of other sites.

M Moore, rallying the supporters. What a F'ing joke!

It Just Really Pisses Me Off....so I figure we're just going to get out the poison out of Tammi's system in one fell swoop.

Go read it. I put my response in comments and am just flat out too pissed off to write any more now.

Oh, except for this of course - Michael Moore Is An ASS. Pure and simple, no doubt about it, true blue Ass.

Time To Speak Up

I saw this story for the first time at Smash's last night. Then I had an email from Kat and saw the write up at her place. Then I pop over to The Donovan's and see a great write up there. And even with all of these great posts out there, spreading the word and taking a stand - I have something to say.

This Soldier, Foster Barton, was home on medical leave from Iraq. He almost lost his leg due to an IED explosion. He's healing and was preparing for the return to his unit.

So, he takes a bit of time and goes to a Toby Keith concert. As many know, Toby is a HUGE supporter of our troops and has made several trips over to the sandbox(es) to show them how much he appreciates them. (picture via HillClimbers B Co. 214th Aviation Regiment website and photo album.) Reviewing this story at Blackfives, I gotta think Toby would NOT BE PLEASED.

So....Barton took the opportunity to attend a Toby Keith concert when it was in Columbus Ohio just recently. He wore an Iraqi Freedom tee-shirt. He was attached from behind. Now, his return is delayed until his nose (which was broken) has healed. His biggest issue - that he wants, NEEDS to get back to his unit - The First Calvary Division. They've been hit recently and suffered some losses and he wants to get back there as soon as possible.

Bartons is 19 years old, has been awarded a Purple Heart for his service to date in Iraqi and is heading back to be with his unit.

WOW.

I wonder if Toby Keith knows what happened in the Parking Lot after his concert? It might not seem like much, but I want to think that He would want to know that something like this occurred following one of his events, and would have something to say. But that's not my main point.

What I REALLY want to know is when is the DNC going to come out and ask their supporters to stop with the violence?! Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not hearing about any Bush supporters relying on violence to make their point. Think about it for just a moment. DNC protestors vs. RNC protestors, which convention had the biggest issues with protestor? Hmmm, just a thought. Wait, there's more - what about a Soldier abused while marching in Parade, soldier attached while wearing a Iraqi freedom tee shirt while leaving a concert, child harassed at protest, are you seeing a pattern here, folks?! I am.

If I am a leader, the point person, the rallying point - I should also be a spokesperson. You know, really lead, not just be a figurehead.

For better or worse Kerry IS the rallying point for the Democratic Party for this year's election. He Da Man, as it were. SO....many of these actions are being perpetrated in the name of anything BUT BUSH, or Pro Kerry (2 different areas of the same group). So they are being done in the name of the campaign, in the name of the DNC, in the name of Kerry for President. Now, I don't know 'bout ya'll but I take ANYTHING done in my name pretty serious. I'm pretty big on honor, and don't like it much when my honor, my name is drug through the mud due to actions I did not approve or support.

There is a pattern emerging on these attacks on our service men and women. Kerry has chosen to run on his status as a Veteran. He claims that he will be the BEST Commander and Chief, the leader of our Military. Then WHY ARE WE NOT HEARING HIM TELL HIS SUPPORTERS TO STOP THE MADNESS?!?!

Speak up man! Let me hear you say the words that it has to end. That disrespecting our military men and women is NOT the way to settle anything.

The animals that are taking these actions are supposedly Kerry supporters. I hear Kerry say the words that he supports our military, I see his lips moving but somehow I still just don't see it - I Don't See The Actions - and to me it's always been what a person DOES not what just what a person SAYS. Kerry needs to be a leader and speak up - unless he doesn't care. Unless he doesn't think what is happening is wrong. Hmmm....do you think that could be the case?

So....this is my point. Mr Kerry - I need to hear from YOU. I want YOU to take control of your supporters, your party and show exactly where you stand in regards to all the abuse our military are taking from the very citizens that they are sacrificing all to protect. Don't you have a problem, an issue with what is happening? Don't you think it's wrong? Be a leader, be a man. Or don't you know how?

Well, Isn't THIS Interesting

According to this AP piece, Kerry fund raisers actually attended a meeting with a South Korean Intelligence Agent. There was talk of creating a new political group of Korean Americans.

He, Chung Byung-Man, worked as a consular officer in LA, but actually worked for the South Korean National Intelligence Serive.

Now to give the Kerry Campaign their due, they say they had no idea that he was an intelligence agent. They also returned $4,000 in contributions due to concerns over their origin. Also - the AP was tipped off to the story by Democratic donars and fund raisers.

There are a lot of South Koreans right now that would LOVE to see Bush out of office. It just makes ya wonder, doesn't it.

Plus, in my mind, it's just one more crack in the foundation of Kerry's presidential bid. It just doesn't look good.

Hrumph

Kerry is here in Florida giving a live news conference. I gotta say, from what I can hear, they ain't cutting him much slack. :-)

BTW - I have yet to be able to follow a complete line of thought from him, other than Bush Bad, Kerry Good. Ick.

"I would" "I will" "I am"
"Bush Bad" Bush lied"

Yada yada yada - nothing new here - at least nothing I've heard so far.

A Dating Story

I had a mini email conversation with a friend yesterday which reminded me of this silly little dating story. I thought you might enjoy the chuckle.

I used to do the Match.com thing. It just seemed a more comfortable way for me to meet men - I do NOT trust anyone that try's to pick me up in a bar! Anyway, I ended up corresponding with a guy that seemed pretty cool and we decided to meet for drinks one night after work.

Now, I probably should explain, my friends are VERY protective of me. And that is in no way shape or form an understatement. My friends are my family of choice and we look after each other in a way reminisant of mama bears and their cubs. The majority of these friends also did not approve of the whole "computer dating" thing.

So......I didn't tell them right away what was going on. I figured I'd save us all the aggrivation of the situation. I show up for work the day of the big Meet and Greet dressed a little "different" than normal for a day in the office. J immediately picked up that something was going on. After a few hours of constant and intensly focused questions I broke (yet another reason I wouldn't cut it in the CIA). I 'fessed up to the date and even mentioned the location.

She immediately contacted Papa Bear M and a plan was hatched. They would be at the bar (with Miss T in tow) at least an hour prior to the meeting. They would stay out of the way, but would observe "just in case".

Please keep in mind folks - I don't usually have much of an issue with taking care of myself - but it is kinda cute to think they were there to protect me!

So....everything goes as planned. I arrive at the appointed time, and of course there they are at the other end of the bar. We pretend not to know each other - as this was HIS turf and we were deep undercover.

My date arrives - (about 20 mins late) and we order and begin talking. I realize pretty quickly that this wasn't going to work. No, not so much. But there was no way for them to overhear or know what was going on.

He has to use the gentleman's room. M realizes what is going on, J tells him to get in there and keep an eye on him. To hear M tell it - he took one for the team that day. He followed my date into the bathroom. Not for any other reason than to see if the dude had enough class that he washed his hands after he was done (don't ask, but it's a pet peeve of ours). OK - dude passes the test. BUT....standing at the sink he begins a conversation with this "Stranger" about his date - saying things that almost got him a bloody nose. (I'm told I would be flattered in a perverted, sick sort of way.)

Anyway - date ends, we all leave and our group meets up at OUR favorite place to debrief. We all agreed this one wasn't gonna fly.

But I just thought it was hysterical that they would go to all that trouble, just to make sure I had a good date.

Hmmmm...I have very good friends.

He's Back!!

After a hiatus for business my friend (and a damn good blogger) is back and On A Roll!!

Laughing Wolf is back and not sparing a moment in getting caught up on what has been happening over here. Oh sure, he has to tease us with really good Coffee (not to mention food), but I would expect no less from him. ;-)

He also gives some interesting insight into Kerry's sister's visit to Austrailia, having over heard some "interesting' conversation.

And don't miss his letter to Rather and Mapes on their journalistic integrity. He knows of what he speaks and let's them have it with both barrels.

Welcome back LW - we missed ya!!!

They Say It's Your Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday BloodSpite!!!!!!

BS was one of my very first commenters, way back 6 months ago, when I started this adventure. Over the months he has turned in to a good friend. I know I can always count on him for a funny comment or rousing support, an email just checking on me or sharing some news.

He's had some major changes in his life this year. He got married, and is gonna be a daddy!!

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish a very special guy A Very Happy Birthday. I consider myself lucky to count you among my friends.

A Bet is A Bet

Ok - it's pay up time at Tammi's house.

As most of you know, I made a bet with Eric over at Straight White Guy that the Florida Gators would beat the UT Volunteers. I lost.

So.....I had to, some where on my body, write the word volunteers and post the picture.

There was only one problem. The only place I could write the entire word out was across my ass, and I'm not posting that anywhere near the internet. So I fudged a bit.

I had my friend write UT on a part of my body and take the picture. And then she took another to prove that, yes it is me.

That all took place after many many many many Tropical Margaritas. (Yes, those really are my eyelids drooping excessively. Hell, folks - I was plastered.

Anyway - without further ado - my version of a UT tatoo ( with a little moral support)

Yes - it's really me.

Excuse me, I have to go to the gym now.

Calling All Jammie Wearing Bloggers!!

My Blogsister Michele, along with help from Blogdaddy Harvey, are putting together a Blogger Fashion Show.

Seems they are asking for pictures of bloggers in their jammies, or pictures of jammies you wish you had, or jammies you have, or jammies you have but wished you looked like that in. Oh, here - Harvey explains it much better:

Post a picture of yourself (or a professional model whose picture you copied off some web page - like I'd know the difference anyway) in your favorite blogging attire. Leave a permalink in the comments to this post, send a trackback, or e-mail the link directly to me at harvolson@charter.net.

So here is my contribution to the show!

And in the name of honesty - yes I do own those boxers - they are my favorite. I just wear them with a solid cream camisole. (not much into print mixing). And NO I don't look anywear near that good in them (damnit)

So.....I showed you mine - now you show me yours!

Beat Me To It

I saw an ad last night that really sparked my attention. So, I decided to blog about it. But Twisted Spinster beat me to the punch - and did a much better job than I could have.

I've talked before about the fact that I am a "safety girl". Yes, I've made mistakes before, but for the most part, I'm pretty careful.

And yes, when I get home I either park myself in front of the computer or plop on my damn couch. I do eat chocolate and I do light up a cigarette. Hell, I even have a drink now and again. Doesn't make me a bad person. Makes me a bit less healthy, but that's my choice. I'm a grown up. I know the risks. I choose my own actions. And I reserve the right to bitch when I see the consequenses that will probably occur.

Now, I'm making some changes in my lifestyle. But NOT because some organization told me to. Because I want to. And you know what? After I walk 5 miles and do my work out - I'll either park myself in front of the computer or plop on the couch with chocolate, cigarettes and diet soda. Because I want to!

Hat Tip Accidental Verbosity

Like a Cold Drink of Water

Back in early August I posted about a campaign to write and send letters to our Military men and women, letting them know that they are appreciated, loved - honored. Then I posted my letter to the troops. Overall, 300 letters were submitted. What a wonderful response.

Well Slagle Rock and Mamamontezz have taken things a step further. They have developed a site where all of the letters and comments are posted for everyone to read. You really need to check this out. AND....there is a way to continue to submit your appreciation. Go and check out what a wonderful job has been done to encourage and bolster those that are away from their loved ones and in harms way.

Hat tip Bill posting at Mudville Gazette

May Seem Like A Silly Issue But....

I'm making a decision today. Not life altering, not earth shattering. But a decision none the less.

When I was told I had to relocate to the center of this state, away from my beaches I wasn't happy. I had already moved from Bradenton to Tampa in hopes of finding a job. I owned a little condo about 15 mins from Bradenton Beach, where I could run to Bridge Street and grab a fresh blackened grouper sandwhich at a moments notice. But there just weren't any jobs for me there. So I moved.

I moved to Tampa. I found a great little townhouse to rent, nice neighborhood and a view of a small pond. Found a job and was prepared to settle in. I was about 1 1/2 hours from Bradenton and often made that drive to sit with my toes in the sand of my favorite spot or visit with friends. Not the perfect solution but something I could live with.

Then they hit me with the fact that I had to move to Orlando or the surrounding area. No beaches. No REAL beaches. No salt water. 2+ hours from my friends and family. Did I mention no beaches?

So while looking for a home I had a couple of "must haves". I had to have a big enough house that I didn't feel caged in. I didn't want my work space and my living space combined any more than necessary. And I had to have a pool of my own. I didn't want to share with the neighborhood children, I didn't want anyone telling me I couldn't float in my floaty chair while sipping a tropical drink. I wanted to skinny dip at 2:00am if I so desired.

I found exactly what I asked for at a great price. Really, I got very lucky. Looking back, the only thing I would do different is live in a full time neighborhood. Not one that rotates people in and out on a weekly basis. Hard to make friends that way.

Anyway - back to my decision. It has to do with the pool. It's a heated pool. When I moved in I decided that I would NOT run the heater for most of the year, as it is Florida, HOT, and it just didn't make sense to me. I've lived here since June 1st. I've actually been IN the pool 6 times. Oh, I sit out by it often, it's just that every time I go to jump in the water temperature is around 83 degrees and that is just not comfortable. Not for me. And this was during July and August!

So....I'm going to break down and turn the damn heat pump on. I really didn't think that I would have to do that, not this early in the year. It'll make my electric bill skyrocket! But I think it'll be worth it. I miss being near the water. A pool is not the beach, but at least it's something. Last night I had trouble sleeping and went out to take a dip. Stepped down on the first step and it HURT the water was so cold. (yes, I am a wimp about cold water.) It kinda ticked me off. So today I turn on the heat pump. Damnit, I'm gonna use this pool come hell or high water. Afterall - it's what I said I wanted.

Word Is

CBS is making an announcement - possibly today. Brace yourselves, they think those memo's from the 60 Mins II show, the ones that put GWB in such a bad light - well, they think they might just be FAKE!! Can you believe it??

Hrumph.

Talk about comin' late to the party.

First I see it over at Smash's place. I'm with Smash on this - will Rather apologize? Will he have a job?

So then I'm visiting Beth at SWWBO and she is talking about how it's all too little too late. You're right Beth, it is.

All this I read while the news is playing in the background. About 2 hours AFTER I read the first piece I hear FOX NEWs mention that CBS is going to make an announcement.

Hmmmm....."breaking news"?!?! Yeah, Right.

And Yes - I'm wearing my jammies!!

I'd STILL Be Running

The other day I admitted I need a man. You remember, the snake in my garage? Yeah, well, this morning I read something that literally stole my breath.

Anatheatized tells about finding a snake, in a bag she was sorting, In Her HOUSE. And she's pretty calm about it.

Oh, No Way. I STILL haven't opened my garage door - it's been almost a week. I'm not even complaining that I keep burning my cheeks when I get in the car, because it beats running into that, that, that thing. I can only imagine my reaction if I found one in my house!!

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Honeys! I'm home!!!

Ahhhh, it feels so good to kick off my shoes and settle back in! I hate being away from home for any length of time, and that includes cyberly!!

I was posting at the Blogspot site and using this blogroll as much as possible. And let me just tell you, it was starting to get old!

Well as of this morning things are back over here so I packed my bags and headed home.

I'm still going to upgrade. And I've got updates I have to do to the blogroll. But I've cleared out over 200 spam comments that I couldn't get to and managed to tidy up a bit. Yep, it's feeling pretty good right now.

So....you have the original archieves as well as the posts from the past 3 weeks all over at blogspot. I've got the link on the left side bar, so if you need to review feel free.

I'm so happy to be back. Thank ya'll for your patience with all this bopping back and forth. I'm hoping this is it. I'm just too happy here to go anywhere else.

Old Habits Must Really Die Hard

Via She Who Will Be Obeyed, who led me to Captain's Quarters, I found this little tidbit of information. It seems John Kerry's sister has paid a visit to Austrailian. No big deal? Think again.

She went there in conjunction with a campaign called American's Overseas for Kerry, working to secure the votes of American's abroad.

She gave an interview to the Weekend Austrailian in which she informs Austrailians that their involvement in the Coalition puts Austrailia and her people in danger. More danger than before the war began.

You really need to read this article. Really.

My big take away? Didn't John Kerry take it upon himself to meet with the enemy while we were still at war with back in the 70's? So, now his sister (and his campaign by extention) is trying to undermine the Coalition WHILE WE ARE STILL AT WAR NOW??

And who the hell is this woman anyway? Someone who taught school abroad for 15 years. That's it. No political training, no creditials. Just a school teacher. Now, I'm not knocking teachers in any way - but she has no credibility. No RIGHT to visit another country and represent us. Nope - say what you want, but it's obvious to me that Kerry is playing the same damn game as he did in the 70's. Undermining his - OUR - country, while we are at war. Tells me he hasn't changed one damn bit in the past 30 years.