QueenBee and Company

Diary Thoughts

2012-02-06T10:43:00.000-06:00

Dear Diary:
Today is an awesome day. I am in the office alone and it feels great. The phones haven't rung much and not too many visitors either. I see the same ole crew walking down the hall past my office, but one or two have actually stopped by and they see the door to my boss office is closed and the lights off and they say, "Ohhhhh your boss ain't here today?" I reply with a simple, "No she is not here." They ask if I'm enjoying the time to myself. Duh, can't they tell! This would be perfect if I had a television in the office at this time to watch a marathon of movies on Lifetime, in betweeen working of course. The only thing that is different about this day compared to a day when the boss is here is that the time is flying by today. Any other day, I'd me saying in my mind how much I wished it would be 11:00 a.m. Now it is actually 11:00, but it seems as if I just got here. I may not get another day like this so I want to savor and enjoy it to the fullest. There is nobody coming in saying they have a problem with this or that and nobody constantly coming to my desk asking me if this document is ready or not. I love it! I would like to bottle up this day and use it for a rainy day when I absolutely need it. Now if only I didn't need to have this bra on, this would be an almost perfect day. WOOSAH!

Babysitting duties

2012-01-22T15:10:00.002-06:00

Hubby and I prefer our "normal" seat in church which seems to be somewhat closer to the front and Hubby and I also hadn't had little children sit with us ever since our baby will be 16 in a few days. Out of all the people that she passed before coming to us, the lady came to our pew and said she needed someone to watch her two small grandchildren while she sang. I looked at hubby and hubby looked at me. We were like, what the heck!

I wasn't used to having someone to tell to sit down, be quiet, stop playing. Then I had to find tissue in my purse because the little girl nose kept running. I am used to focusing on the church service and praising God how I want to. So I was sitting there and this little hand touched my arm and I leaned over to see what one of the young children wanted. He held his private parts and said he got to go and pee. The other one then said that she had to go and pee too. UGHHHHH. This is really one reason I don't fool with other people's smaller children. I don't even remember the last time I got up out of the middle of service and walked down the aisle so I didn't go. I asked hubby if he could look around and find an usher and have them to take the two small kids to the restroom. He looked around but the ushers were not looking our way. So he said that he would take the little boy and that he would find a female in the lobby to take the little girl. I didn't notice hubby come back but I looked around and saw where he just stayed in the back of the church with the smaller children.

Here is a rule of thumb for small children: Parents, keep your own children; if they are sick, keep them at home. If you know they are a hand full for you, they will be a hand full to somebody else. And that's all I have for now.
~QUEENBEE~

The water company is not my friend

2012-01-22T14:35:00.002-06:00

I was getting ready to turn on the water to take my shower when I heard the water turn on in the other bathroom. I knew it was our daughter because hubby wasn't home and our son had previously taken a shower. I finished with my shower, got out and dried off and put some lotion on my legs. All the while, I can still hear the other shower going in the bathroom. I have often emphasized, especially to our children, that I am not friends with the water company and they are not giving me any special discounts on water either and that they should try to conserve water and to use it wisely cause they sholl ain't helping to pay no water bill.

Well after I was coming out of the room, I still could hear the water running and so I walked down the hall to the other bathroom and slightly opened the bathroom door and called out my daughter's name and told her that it is not taking her that long to get cleaned and that once again, I am not friends with the water company and she needs to shut the water off.

Our daughter answered back and this is what she said, "Oh, I had to get out of the shower and take a poo and I decided to just leave the water on while I did my business cause I knew I had to get back in there" My reply, "Duh, then turn it off when you get out and then turn it back on when you get back in." When she came out of the bathroom, I told her that she had better not do that again while living in my house or else I'm gonna have to charge her a utilities rate. She asked me if I was serious and I said that I can show you better than I can tell you.
~QUEENBEE~

I just know what I like

2012-01-20T08:20:00.001-06:00

Hubby normally makes good burgers on the grill. So when he mentioned he was putting some on the grill last night, I was eager to get home and taste those delicious smoky burgers. He normally fixes my plate for me but instead he said that I should come in the kitchen and fix up my bread how I want it. No problem! We like to do burgers the old fashioned way with regular sandwich bread, so I dropped two pieces of bread in the toaster to slightly brown it, slapped a small amount of cracked pepper mayo on both pieces of bread, placed my lettuce, tomato, onion and provolone cheese onto the bread and then placed my hot juicy burger off the grill onto my bread.
I have a habit of cutting my burgers down the middle just to see if it is cooked to my liking, and so once I cut it down the middle, it wasn't the color I liked it, so I mentioned to hubby that he must have been in a hurry with my burger cause I don't do the pink thing at all. If that is what some people like, yoohoo for them, but for me, I like to have it cooked all the way through and probably darker than my skin color. Hubby said that he wasn't rushing and why did I ask him that. I told him I see some pink in my burger and I can't eat it. Keep in mind that this burger is all fixed up with the fixings. Hubby said that he will put it in the oven and let it cook some more, even though the fixings are on it, he don't mind it being crispy. He then takes the other burger that would have been his burger and go and puts it back on the grill to let it cook some more. (I didn't ask him to do that) So as he is doing that, our 15 year old son says to me, "Mom, you are spoiled." I didn't know if he was saying that to be offensive or just being funny, so I said, "I didn't ask him to go and put the burger back on the grill, I just said I couldn't eat it."

Our son then says, "Oh no, I meant you are spoiled in a good way." He said that for hubby to go and put it back on the grill means that he is trying to please me. I smiled. Our son, (15, almost 16) said, "That's good, I like to see that. I am taking notes for the future." I said, "Son, your mama just knows what she likes." And his reply was, "No, the Queen knows what she likes." I was touched.
~QUEENBEE~

Facial Expressions

2012-01-11T20:16:00.002-06:00

Hubby has decided that he wants to grow a beard. I personally don't care for all that hair, but it's him. He is already 62 years old and I have told him that when he shaves, for the most part, he either looks his age or sometimes younger. But with all this facial hair growing, he kind of looks like a grandpa. The one thing that would make this grandpa-ship complete would be to go and get a rocking chair and put on the front porch. He asked me to rub my hand against his face and it felt like a cactus was chasing me. He asked me to tell the truth and say that he is sexier growing a beard. I was silent because I really can't tell him that. He knows I want him to just break out any minute and pull out the razor and make it go away.

I can write all this about hubby because I told him the same thing. He looks like the boy who cried wolf, but instead he is the wolf. Our 15 year son peps hubby up telling him that growing the beard looks nice but I tend to beg the differ. Just because I deal with it doesn't mean I have to like it. I am so looking forward to seeing shaving cream.
~QUEENBEE~

Miss Piggy is on the loose

2012-01-06T20:49:00.002-06:00

I was being a hog, a pig, a porgy, a piglet or whatever you want to call it. It was just something inside me that felt that I had to go and devour.........hold up, I am getting ahead of myself. Let's slow this down a bit. It all started the day that Burger King gave away those free fries, the new fries. And I am not even a fry lover like that, but I told myself that when I found myself a lil change that I was going to go to BK and get me a large fry and just gobble them up. Sure enough, I scrounged around and found a lil change in the car and off to Burger King I went for lunch. I didn't want anything except them fries. I came back to work and just sat in the parking lot and devoured them fries. As I was reaching into the bag to get myself another fry, they were gone. I wanted more fries. I had to have more.

I told myself that I had to get me more fries, so on the next day, there I was digging in my purse for yet more loose change. Yippee!! I got it, and now I am going to get myself two large fries instead of one. As I sat there eating those fries, I began to get full and when I looked in the bag, I had tons of fries left. Whew! I took a sigh. I knew right then that my head had gotten bigger than my stomach. That was it, I don't even want any more fries for a while, no potatoes, no hash browns. Just thinking about it makes me wish I can go and get my money back. I will admit that I was being a pig and yes those fries were delicious, but it only takes one lesson to learn from.
~QUEENBEE~

In and out

2012-01-03T20:54:00.002-06:00

After I had gone to bed, an overwhelming smell overpowered me and I was actually awakened at 3:15 in dog gone morning. I was sleeping so good too, dreaming a dream like I never dreamed before. I turned over and saw hubby watching television and the smell was still there. It was so awful that I actually thought it was in my dream and that I should wake up to be rid of it.

I tapped hubby on his shoulder and asked him if he smelled that? He said no. So I said, "What is that pathetic smell?" Hubby then burst out laughing....and I sat up in bed and and screeched, "YOUR STANK TAIL POOTED". It was all under the cover and sheets. I told hubby to find air freshner NOW and spray our room. I know it was better out than in, but at 3:15 in the morning, I told hubby that something had to have crawled inside of him and just died, the whole carcas and all and that he needed an enema to get that out. I was so sleepy. I did manage to fall back asleep like an hour later and hubby still thinks it was funny. You know what they say about pay back.

Explain yourself, please!

2012-01-03T20:37:00.002-06:00

When I walked in my office after being off for two weeks, there was a sheet of paper on my desk with instructions from the boss. So normally to make sure we are on the same page, I often will ask her if this is what she means and verbally express it. When she agrees, I go ahead and proceed to work on what she has asked me to do. So when I see this sheet of paper with a sticky on it, I go in her office and ask her if she want me to send that sheet of paper via email to all the instructors that are on that sheet. She says yes.

While I am sending this paper out via email, at the end of the email, I mention to my boss that there are two classes that do not have an instructor listed to teach those classes and she said it was ok, and to send it to one additional person to let them know they need an instructor and so I did. Well one lady responds back and say that she would like to teach the classes that do not have anyone assigned to them. I told my boss that the lady wants to teach the class and all of a sudden, the boss says, "Barbara, you misunderstood, I didn't want you to send it to every person on that sheet." I give her that puzzled look and said, "Well you said for me to send it to every person and so I did." She then said, "Yeah, I know I told you to do that but that is not what I meant." I paused and just looked at her. I didn't say anything after that.

I wanted to say something but I didn't. I just gave her that puzzled look as I was about to walk away and then she said, "I know, I know, I should have explained myself better and that I wanted only a certain amount of people on the list emailed." My point exactly! Duh!! Maybe next time she will do a better job at communicating.

What does Christmas feel like?

2011-12-20T12:35:00.002-06:00

Not only have I seen statuses on facebook that say it doesn't feel like Christmas, but I've heard it from other people that just because it has been raining or it is not cold, they say it doesn't feel like Christmas. THEY say that it's not Christmasey enough. What the heck are they looking for then? Is Christ not Christmas? Is Christ not Love and Joy and Peace? Are THEY looking for materialistic decorations or an abundance of gifts or maybe even a tree?

So I pondered the question and asked myself, "Well, what does Christmas feel like?" Since we were not there when Christ was born, we can only imagine what Christmas must have been like to a woman who gave birth to a child in a place where animals called their homes, on something such as hay that animals called their food. There were no fancy decorated trees with dangling and sparkling bulbs, there were no strings of lights covering the entire stable where Jesus was born, there were no big screen tv's to unwrap and no keys to a car. There were no wreaths and mistletoe, no eggnog and no wine, and especially no jolly guy dressed in a red and white suit.

But one thing that was there was a Savior who had tons of love to give, so that we can try to be a better people. Too much emphasis is being put on what they didn't buy or how much they can run their credit card up to. What gift have you given Christ? Correction...what gift have you given Christ before December got here? What about Christmas in January, February, March, April and the other months in the year? So to me, it was already feeling like Christmas a long time ago. I don't know what THEY were talking about. Get with the program.
~QUEENBEE~

Grade A Value

2011-12-19T09:25:00.002-06:00

The Lord did it yet again...He has showed the slap out but I absolutely love it. He has used me as a vessel to go to work full time, go to school at night taking two classes at a time and make the grades of an A in one class and an A- in the other one. It is not easy doing all this and being a parent and wife too, but the Lord keeps reminding me that this ain't my battle to begin with and that he does things in his own time and in his own way. So I just step aside and watch him do His thing.

All I want for Christmas

2011-12-17T19:27:00.002-06:00

My hubby and children has asked me what do I want for Christmas. I keep giving them the same answer which is that I do not want anything and that I have all I need. They say no, what do I want???? Let me put it to ya this way, mostly anything I want that I can afford, I just go and buy it myself. So there isn't really anything I want or need. I am content. Christ is Christmas and Christmas is Christ every day of the year. I can't think of one single thing for them to buy me.....but then I thought about it....I do want something but it doesn't cost one single dime, only a little time....can I have a clean house for Christmas? I mean, can all rooms be cleaned, can the mirrors have a smidgen of windex and can the floors be swept, mopped, and vacummed? Can that black ring around the children's bathtub disappear and can someone, any one of the two will do, but can somebody pick up that piece of tissue on the floor that fell behind the toilet? That's all I want, really! Or is that asking for too much. I already know their response in advance: Who's coming to visit us? Excuse me, I don't have to have people to come and visit in order to want the whole house clean, do I? Of course not. I just want it, simple as that.

Since all of us will be off for the next two weeks, it would be a joy to walk by both of the teenagers room and not see one piece of clothing on the floor or more than one pair of shoes waiting to be pushed into the closet, with one shoe on the floor edging its way under the bed while the other one is wayyyy across the room somewhere. Why can't both shoes sit together? And that is what really drives me insane....everything on the floor is merely inches from the closet. I wouldn't even mind if everything was just crammed in the closet out of sight.

Ok family, yall heard it straight from me. That is my list and I even checked it twice and ain't no need to wonder if I've been naughty or nice. I hope I get what is on my list. We shall see.
~QUEENBEE~

Food for thought

2011-12-13T10:03:00.000-06:00

At my home town church in MS, our pastor used to say that we are a peculiar people. I didn't understand that concept in my teenage years but sure enough as I got older, I knew what it meant. We like this but don't like that. We do this but don't do that and we eat this and we sholl ain't gonna eat there. We like certain people because of this and even don't like them because of that. Yeah you are even nodding in agreement. Another thing that stuck with me is this: what if we didn't have a choice and had to just deal with it just the way it is. Here is what I am getting at: We are having a Christmas potluck at work and each person had to bring something to share, whether veggies, ham, bread, or whatever--the entire building is suppose to join in. I asked one lady this morning what did she bring to the luncheon and she said that she didn't bring anything because she don't eat everybody's cooking and that she was going to O'Charley's to eat. I kindly said ok and as she walked away, I silently had these thoughts....

Ok, so you may not trust everybody's cooking but do you know the cooks personnally at a restaurant? I don't think so. Just because it was cooked in a restaurant, there could be some nasty chefs back in the back as well, doing all kinds of stuff. When you drive through a fast food place or buy only organic foods, how do you know that these foods are safe? I will answer it for you...YOU DON'T KNOW!! That is why you have to say grace over food and ask for blessings from Heaven. You don't know where your food comes from, whether you buy it from Wal-Mart, Target, Publix, it doesn't matter. You can even cook it yourself, it still doesn't matter because what if you bought something that was already contaminated and didn't know it. My point is this: I am not going to not go to events just because I don't know who cooked the food, and I may never know and I will continue to say grace and eat, drink(not alcohol) and be merry. Good Eating!!

I am here

2011-12-12T10:52:00.000-06:00

I have a friend who lives about 12 hours away and always keep in touch through email just to say hello, and I, likewise, respond with well wishes too. We send each other birthday e-cards through the mail, Happy Easter, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Father's Day and all kinds of e-cards for whatever occasion that may come up. So basically we just keep in touch through e-mail. Well I hadn't heard from him in a couple of weeks so I thought I would send him an email, even though I was the last one to respond. Well even after I sent him the email inquiring about not hearing from him, I still didn't hear from him. Whatever was going on, I'm sure he would let me know in due time so I didn't send another email, I left him alone.

Well a few weeks after that, my friend emailed me saying he has been depressed because he went home for Thanksgiving and his mother, who had been in a nursing home with Alzheimers for some time, doesn't recognize any of her relatives and I was guessing she didn't recognize her first born son either. He went on in the email saying that he was having a few problems and was in search of other employment than where he is now. I could have replied and said that you have me here worrying over here about you, but I didn't. Instead, I just let him know that I was here for him and if he needed an ear to talk, I am here. Sometimes we get the wrong idea when people have a problem, we want to instantly solve it or tell them what they should or should not do, what they should or should not feel or what we have done in that situation to help us get through. All I wanted to do was let my friend know that I was here. I may not can solve money issues but with me being there, even if it is 12 hours away, a listening ear can stretch farther than the widest sea.
~QUEENBEE~

My new space

2011-12-11T18:42:00.002-06:00

Well, I have officially moved out of my office into my new office. It is much nicer and bigger too. The new space is somewhat different than the old space. I am so used to people coming in and out of my old office in the other building and now that I have moved, it is much quieter and we don't get as many visitors. I like it, but just got to get used to it. One thing about my old office is that I stayed busy, or looked busy anyway because there was just always so much to do; but in my new office, the work load is much lighter but I am not complaining at all. In my old building, you were either hot or cold but in my new building, there is a comfort level all around. I am getting used to my new space. You must come and visit me SOMETIME.
~QUEENBEE~

Birthday wishes

2011-11-22T20:23:00.002-06:00

Wow, can you believe it? I celebrated my 41st birthday this week and I had a great time. Yes, I admitted my age and am very proud to be blessed to make it to this point. God is definitely a great God! The people at work showered me with this and that and I was indeed grateful and I never ask them for anything, they just do it out of the kindness of their heart. As a child, one may say, "What are you going to get me for my birthday?" But one lady, a few years ago, told me this: "It's your birthday, do something for yourself." Those words stuck with me and so I decided to dress it up in gold for my 41st birthday. I bought myself these pair of jeans that hubby had been asking me to get. The jeans had gold all down the side of the pants on both legs, then their was the matching jacket and of course the gold shoes. I was a superstar for a day. When people saw me come in to work, I walked in their with boldness and confidence. It was like watch out world, QueenBee in the houuuzzzeee!!! People came by and asked what was the special occasion and said that I was wishing myself a happy birthday. They were like, "you're happy you're getting older???" I would reply with a yes, yes I am. I was celebrating life, and celebrating me. I was joyful and content. I enjoyed the gifts that I was showered with but the greatest gift I had was the fact that I was alive and kicking. God woke me up not only to see another day but another year. I am thankful for today and if I never see another day, you best believe that I made turning 41 the best birthday I had ever had.
~QUEENBEE~

You stank and I smell it

2011-11-16T21:36:00.002-06:00

The fan/vent in the ladies restroom at work had suddenly stopped working. I am one to say that the value of this fan was greatly missed today. I had to use the toilet and I have come to a point in life that I am not going to be trying to hold my pee. When I got to go, I got to go. There is also a can of air freshner that is normally in the restroom but I do not know where it disappeared to today. I walked in and the smell of do-do was all around the bathroom. I tried to hurry up and let this stream of urine come out of me so I could get out of there. I was gasping for air but no air was to be found. Each whiff felt like my lungs were being contaminated. I do not know who was the person in there before me but I know they have got to feel a whole lot better because whatever they let out was happy to get out. I tried to hold my breath in the bathroom but didn't want to be found collasped on the floor in this horrible smell. That was just no way to go. I couldn't wash my hands fast enough. It smelled like two camels gave birth to a midget giraffe. The smell was hideous.

Getting to the door seemed to take forever. I thought I was surrounded by a fog of spoiled eggs on a bed of tainted calimari. Nope - it was like raw liver and fish mixed with turtle eyeballs and racoon pee that had been out in the sun for the umpteenth day. So when I did manage to open the door, I coughed profusely that I actually thought I was gonna upchuck my tongue. The smell had gotten inside my goozer and I was wishing that I could have taken my nostril lining out to wash it clean with bleach. I know that every body has to drop a turd and it may have an unusual smell but it don't linger that long, but this couldn't have been no ordinary turd from whoever was in the restroom. This person must have eaten skunk meat.

When I started coughing, the lady in the next room came to see if I was ok and all I could say was, "Pretend that this restroom is Jim Jones, so don't drink the kool-aid." She laughed out loud and I started laughing too. It was good to breathe right again. I'm gonna start carrying air fresher in my purse.
~QUEENBEE~

Key points

2011-11-15T09:40:00.003-06:00

The lady across the hall from me lost her office keys. My office keys were on my desk and so she just walked over and grabbed my keys without asking. I said, "Excuse me, where are you going with my keys?" She said that she was going to go and unlock a few rooms. I looked at her like she was crazy because she knew good and well what I meant which was, "don't just come in here grabbing my keys without asking." She said, "Oh I'm sorry, I figured you didn't mind." But I do mind.

See, the principle isn't that I would mind her using the keys, the principle is that I am responsible for these keys and if she already lost hers, I need to know where my keys are at all time. Not only that, don't just be coming up in here grabbing my keys off my desk. Day number two came around and I didn't have my keys directly on my desk, I had them around the corner of my desk where my computer was sitting and so once again, the lady comes into my office and didn't see my keys and said, "Where are your keys?" I replied, "Who wants to know?" She said that she needs them. Uhhhh excuse me, don't come in here telling me what you need of mine when what you need to do is find your own keys. I said maybe if you ASK if you could use them, then I might not have a problem with it. She said, "Fine! May I please use your keys?" And just because she said it with attitude like I got to it, I almost said no you can't. So I reached from behind my computer and gave her the keys.

When she came and brought me the keys back, she just placed them on my desk and walked away...whoa, whoa, whoa WHAT? No thank you! You are probably reading this and thinking to yourself, Duh, Barbara, they are just keys but they are not just keys. These keys can open some very important things around here and my thing is this: The scripture says that if you are faithful over a few things, then God will make you ruler over many.

Anyhoo, on the third day when I used my keys to open the office, the lady across the hall was just standing there wanting to know if I could unlock her office and I just laid it on the line for her that I may not always be here and that she either needs to find her keys or pay the fine to get them replaced. I know she is just avoiding paying the fine for lost keys but she is going to need them plus it says on the keys that copying is prohibited so that is why I can't make her a copy. So later on that day when I went to lunch, I took my keys with me and left them in the car instead of bringing them back in. Sure enough the lady comes from across the hall and looks around on my desk and I asked her what was she looking for, she said that she was looking for my keys. I told her that they were in my car and that I was not going back out to the car to get them, so this time she had to call security to open up the doors for her. A light bulb went off in my head, DUH, that is what they are here for....either call them or get replacement keys. I think she has backed off from coming in my office looking for my keys after that. Good, because she was getting on my last nerve!
~QUEENBEE~

Deal or No Deal!

2011-11-13T21:20:00.002-06:00

About a year ago, there was a free golf subscription just for filling out a survey and so I complied and got it for hubby, knowing my husband does not play golf nor had he even had an interest in playing golf. So when the first book came, hubby acted like he was all interested in this magazine and golf all of a sudden. Well the year is almost up for this free subscription and the golf magazine sent hubby this renewal subscription for 10.00, plus give a friend a subscription for free, plus a free bag.

So hubby mentioned it to me and I told him that we have enough bags at the house and that the deal was that yes, he find a friend to give the subscription to plus give the bag to the friend as well. Hubby said no deal and that he get to keep the bag. I did not like his answer. NO DEAL! I told him that adding another bag to the house is just stacking up on the junk that we already have and do not use. He CLAIMED he would use the bag, just like he CLAIMED he would use the other 15,999 bags....ok maybe not that many but it seems like that.

So I said ok, let's make another deal....I told him that if he gets to keep the bag that he would have to get rid of one of the 72,987 bags that he already has that is lurking under our bed and he agreed, but it was a slow agreement....but it was a start. DEAL! I WIN!

Kids say the darnest thing

2011-11-13T21:09:00.003-06:00

I was talking to our 15 year old son one day and we were talking about peer pressure and not doing things just because everybody else is doing it. In doing so, I thought I would throw in an analogy and asked our son, "If everybody jumped off the bridge, would you jump too?" I really expected him to say, "No mother, I would not jump because everybody else is doing it and that would not be the right thing to do." Instead, this was his reply, "It depends on how deep the water is."

I was done. I threw my hands up and proceeded doing what I was doing.
~QUEENBEE~

Moving

2011-10-29T21:40:00.002-05:00

My boss came to me and said that she needed to talk to me in her office. I didn't know what was going on but I went in with an open mind anyway. She started out asking me if I was ok and I said yes. My open mind was now shut. What did she want me in here for? I sat in the chair and proceeded to listen to what she was about to say. She said that she had gotten offered the position of Dean (a higher position) and that she accepted the position. So with her accepting that position, that means she would be moving from our department and our building. I did not express any emotion at that point and I continued to listen.

My boss took a deep breath and said, "You are moving with me." I didn't know what to say. I had so much going on inside at that point because instead of thinking of me, I thought of all the 70 people I work with and I was just one admin and how they would be lost without me. I started to think of what they would say when the announcement would be made that I was moving out of my department. Then my boss said that the move should take place real soon. That is now the talk around the office of what they will do without me being there. I want to be excited but I do not know what to feel. It's like a bittersweet moment.

I know I will be in a better looking office and I am so grateful that I still have a job and I also know it will give me an opportunity to move up. I have packed up everything in my office and there are 5 boxes sitting there. The people that used to come by and say hello says that they just can't come down the hall like they used to because they can't bear to see me leave. They see the boxes sitting there and says that it just don't feel the same. They are happy that my boss chose me to go with her but they are definitely not happy that I have to leave. I know it can't go both ways. I am so used to the office being somewhat noisy with people coming in and out, people down the hallway...and this week has been the quietest week EVER!! All I know is that moving day will be approaching soon and I have to go and I tell the people in my department that they can come and visit me in my new office but they say it just will not be the same.

Puppy sitting

2011-10-29T21:20:00.003-05:00

I have never really been a fan of having animals myself but when my daughter's friend gave us a puppy at the beginning of the year for free, I went on and agreed because it put a smile on our children faces to have a dog....and I was the first one who said that I would NEVER get a dog. Well when the puppy died a few months ago from Parvo (a disease that dogs get) again, I said that I do not want to get another dog.

Hubby asked me one day not too long ago if we could get another dog. I was adamant about my decision and said no, no, no, no, no. I did not want the children to get attached like they did before and I was content on how things were. Well one night, after I came home from my class, the children met me at the car and said, "It wasn't our idea, it was his (speaking of hubby) and I asked them what it was and they said that we had a puppy. I knew it wasn't April Fool's Day but somehow I felt like I was getting punked.

I got out the car and walked inside and asked hubby if there was a puppy here, he smiled and pretended he didn't know what I was talking about...until I heard some barking outside. I looked at hubby and even though I was upset that he strictly went against my wishes, I said, ok what's the story behind the puppy being here. He said that it was a friend of his puppy and that now the friend is being charged $200.00 a month for the puppy to be there and that the puppy just had nowhere else to go....and I looked at him again and said, "So you said the puppy can stay here?" And I said, "I hope it's temporarily, right?" Hubby was silent and started humming like he didn't hear me. I told him that he should have consulted me first.

Well after having this puppy for a week, both of our children went to the fair and left me and hubby with the puppy. At first we had the puppy out on the patio but she started whining because she is used to the children (mainly our daughter) tending to her and her whining actually made me feel sorry for her, so hubby made her a bed on the floor next to the couch where I was sitting so the puppy can lay there. She wanted to run around but I told her that she was going to sit right here until the children come home. The puppy knew something was different but she stayed right there. I never would have imagined me doing this in a million years. Now here I am puppy sitting!

The day the squirrel went beserk...AGAIN.

2011-10-18T22:39:00.002-05:00

If you have never heard about the squirrel that went beserk in a Mississippi church, you may want to see this video before proceeding.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K16fG1sDagU ..... but if you have heard about the Mississippi church who had a squirrel in it, then here is a story for you.

It all started Friday evening at work, most of the people had gone home and the supervisor was out to some meeting and that left me, a student assistant, and about one or two people in the building. It was almost close to 4:00 (closing time) and I was just finishing up a few things on the computer....I was just typing away, when.......I heard this man down the hall say that he thinks a squirrel got in the building. I stopped typing and began to listen to the conversation because I know if a squirrel had gotten into the building, that I may need to leave before 4:00. I walked to where the student assistant was sitting and asked her if she heard the man say he think a squirrel got in the building and she told me that I must have good ears because she didn't hear anything.

When I looked down the hall, there were two instructors standing there with a student and I kindly interrupted thier conversation and said, "Excuse me, I'm sorry to be nosey and get in your conversation, but did you say that you think a squirrel got in THIS building." One of the instructors said that he thinks he saw it out of the corner of his eye but he wasn't sure. The student then said that as he opened the door to come inside, a squirrel got in but don't know where it went. I immediately grabbed my purse and figured that we should shut down and get the heck out of there. One of the instuctors (A TYPICAL MAN) was trying to act macho and say that it was just a squirrel and that it won't hurt ya. But don't squirrels carry rabies and such if they bite you!!! My point exactly!!

Well no one knew where this squirrel ran to, but I know it wasn't in my office and I already had keys and purse in hand, so I don't know why they were still pondering if they should leave or not so me and the student assistant got our things and we left. Well Saturday and Sunday passed and Monday rolled on around and we didn't really think anymore of the squirrel until someone mentioned they heard something in their office. I was like WHOA!! I HOPE IT'S NOT IN MY OFFICE OR I'M GONNA HAVE TO TAKE LEAVE and go back home. It was not in my office but when the instructor went in her office, she said that papers were scattered everywhere and there were little animal droppings in her office. We all were on the edge.....she sat at her desk and said that she could hear some scratching in a desk drawer and when she slowly pulled it out, there was the squirrel. Now I am sure inquiring minds want to know how this squirrel got in the drawer in the first place. It had been in her office the entire weekend.....just thinking about it makes me want to spray everything down with bleach.

So she said that when she left, she shut the door and just left the window open all weekend. Not to mention that a thief could have come in the window and took the computer and stuff but she said she was just hoping if she left the window open that the squirrel would go out the window. When we all walked in on Tuesday, you could hear a pin drop because we wanted to know what happened to the squirrel.....it must have found its way out the window because he was no longer in the drawer of the instructor's office. I know one thing, I would never use that drawer again....EVER!!!

Never mess with a black woman's hair!!

2011-10-17T11:01:00.002-05:00

Some black women may want to wear their hair natural, or kinky or whatever the term is today and I'm cool with that. I mean, it's your hair, you can wear it however you want to wear it but don't get upset with me about how I want my hair. Well, this weekend hubby was grilling a few things and so I figured that since he was grilling, that I would volunteer and go and pick up his medicine from the pharmacy since it was suppose to close at 6p.m. I looked up at the clock and said to myself that I had better go on to the pharmacy since it was almost close to closing.

As I was walking out of the house, hubby decided that he would water his newly growing collard greens that he had set out and I specifically said to him, "Let me get by so that I can get in the car and go and pick up your medicine." I knew he wanted to be playing around and just spray me with the hose and I specifically said to hubby, "You can spray me all you want, BUT DO NOT SPRAY NO WATER IN MY HAIR." He decided to continue to play and skeet bits of water here and there, as if to spray me. I then gave him THE LOOK.

As I was getting in the car, hubby took it upon himself to spray the hose a little harder and sure enough, the water hit my hair and some got in the car as well. He laughed so hard, but I did not see anything funny. I immediately got out the car door and walked back toward the house and told him that I was going to go and pack my bags and leave. (Keep in mind that I really need to get to the pharmacy) He was still laughing and asked where was I going...I told him that I didn't know and that he had pissed me off so I was packing my things and leave. I told him that I really don't have time and that I was going to pick up his medicine and that I would finish this when I got back.

I returned home and hubby had a friend in the yard as he was still grilling and I walked toward the door and hubby asked if I was still going to pack and I said yes. He apologized and said that he was sorry for spraying water in my hair. I wasn't really going to pack, it's just the principle that I asked for water not to be sprayed in my hair and even though I know he wanted to be in a playful mood, I was trying to get to the pharmacy so I can get back to doing my homework. So hubby said that he now knows not to mess with a black woman's hair.

The Mushroom Saga

2011-10-15T20:19:00.002-05:00

I used to really like mushrooms with my juicy steak off the grill, along with my sauteed onions...YUM. I use the words "used to" loosely because I think I might be changing my view of mushrooms. I am taking this substance abuse class at the university and so hubby and I were watching television and it talked about how mushrooms were once considered a drug. I wish I could have had a rewind button because I know they didn't say what I thought they said...yeah they said exactly what I thought they said. Anyhoo, I told hubby that I don't think I want any more mushrooms and he said that the kind we eat are not poisonous and that I didn't have to worry.

Well on another note, hubby decided to cook something (I don't even remember what it was) and he took it upon himself to try a different mushroom from what I was used to eating. And these things were big (I don't do big mushrooms, it's just my thing) and floppy (yuk), not like the little ones that he has always sauteed for me. Soooooo, I looked at these giant floppy fungi and told hubby that I am not eating those mushrooms. He said that I haven't even tried them and don't know if I like them or not....I don't care if Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Daniel and the Hebrew boys put them mushrooms on my plate, I wasn't going to try them.

Well about two, maybe three days had passed and hubby finally put my steak on the grill and he sauteed them onions at the same time and I knew this was going to have to be entered in a delicious steak of the month club because hubby always has good steaks off the grill. As he presented my plate to me, I looked down at it and almost felt like Shug Avery when Mister brought her that food and she threw it at the wall. Hubby had the audacity to put mushrooms on my steak, after I asked him not to....AND....(yall ready for this???) he also had the audacity to put them big ole floppy mushrooms on it too...BUT...he had them disquised as the little mushrooms that I like...he actually took the big floopy shrooms and cut them up, as if I wouldn't know the difference. He asked me how was my steak and I told him that I would let him know as soon as I scrape them mushrooms off...

He paused....and I told him that I know these were not the same mushrooms....and again he paused like he was just caught red-handed and then he said, "How did you know?" Duh, I just know what I like and I told him to stop trying to trick me, even though he claims this was his first time. The mushroom saga continues.
~QUEENBEE~

Animals are smarter than humans

2011-10-06T08:29:00.002-05:00

I don't believe that for one single minute that animals are smarter than humans. I was in the bathroom getting ready for work when I heard something on television that said animals are smarter than humans. I did not go and see who was saying it or what show it was, I was just listening. Here are a few reasons why I think animals are not smarter than humans.

1. They can't drive.
2. They poo and pee all over the place.
3. They can't read or write.
4. They have to wait for someone to give them their food.
5. They lick their own balls and bathe with their tongue.
6. They can't get a job.
7. They can't go on dates.
8. They can't tell me how much they love me.
9. They can't let themselves back in if they get locked out of the house.
10. They abandon their young to go and get more puppies
11. And lastly, they screw any and everything....oh wait....some humans do that too.
~QUEENBEE~

Back off

2011-09-30T08:25:00.002-05:00

It's not that I mind people using my stuff in my office but I do have a problem with you assuming that I do not want to be asked to use it. I have this compartment on my desk and it has all different kinds of labels in it. The lady across the hall from me had asked if I had any labels she could "borrow". I don't know how you gonna borrow labels, because that would mean you would have to pay them back and I knew if she asking to use some of mine, then she don't have any to give back. I told her that I could give her a few labels and that was that.

Until.........

I was sitting at my desk the other day and she walks across the hall to my office. I could see her coming out of my peripheral vision or however you spell it...but anyhoo, I see her coming so I figured she was gonna ask if she could "borrow" more labels. NOPE!! She just walked over to my compartment tray and grabbed the labels and walked back across the hall. STOP THE PRESS. Did she just.....? Yeah she did!!! Did she even ask me if she could get my stuff off my desk? And then.....not even say a thank you behind it. Oh heck the nall!! I told her that this is my stuff on my desk and I don't just walk over to her desk and grab stuff and I would certainly appreciate it that she ask me before assuming. Heck, I might not feel like sharing that day.

But the audacity to just do it is cause enough for me to try to break her hand off the next time she does it...oh my bad, there probably won't be a next time because I am moving everything around....but why do I have to move my stuff in my office!!!! I hope she don't think that just because we work in the same building across the hall from each other that my belongings equals to her belongings as well. It doesn't. She should get some stuff for her office like I do for mine. She better back off....don't let my cute face fool ya.
~QUEENBEE~

Abundance of blessings

2011-09-28T12:19:00.002-05:00

I tell ya when the Lord says he will open up a window and pour you out blessings that you won't have room enough to receive it, you best believe it is true. Hubby and I plans out our grocery list together and we even put a price next to the items what we think it will cost and this is done every two weeks. Well I came home from work one day and there was this box of food sitting in the floor and hubby had mentioned that one of our friends had given us this box of food because they wanted us to have it. I am glad I wasn't too proud to receive it, even though we had asked for nothing. I started going through the box and we could use everything in there, it's just that we had no room in the pantry for it so we let it sit in the box and used it when we needed it.

About two days later, there was another box when I got home. I wanted to ask why we got this food and what did we do to get it but I was grateful for the blessing. Again, it could not fit in the pantry, so now this box sat on top of the other box in the kitchen. I looked in the refrigerator and we had more than one dozen of eggs, juices, sausages and breads. Hubby had mentioned that he was helping someone out with something and this was their way of paying us. Even though we didn't ask for pay and it was from our heart, they rewarded us with an abundance of food that we did not have to go grocery shopping for at least a whole month. We were beyond grateful and were not too proud to receive it either. So whenever I get ready to have a cook out, I will let you know.
~QUEENBEE~

A Loss of Time

2011-09-08T20:30:00.002-05:00

Yes, I must admit that I have a colored watch that goes with just about everything I wear (except green, but I'm working on that). That is just my thing. I can't even begin to tell you how long I have been doing this. Well today I wore my red top and my blue jean shorts and I already knew the navy blue watch needed a battery so I didn't reach for that one, but I did not know that the red watch had died on me. So I grabbed the watch and headed on out of the door.

Halfway down the road, I just so happen to glance at my watch just to make sure I was on time in getting to work....and when I looked down, I was like what the sheezy!! My watch was dead. Noooooooo!!!!! I started to just take it off but I know it is all in my mind that if I don't have a watch on, I somehow feel naked. I kept looking at my watch, forgetting that it was not working, and was at a loss of time all day. It threw my entire day off because each time I looked down, it still said 6:45....well at least it was right at least twice today.
~QUEENBEE~

Only God...

2011-09-04T23:24:00.002-05:00

We were driving back to Florida from a family reunion in Philadelphia, MS. The weather was kind of crazy and hubby don't normally go too fast on a slippery road. As we got into Mobile, AL and had to drive over that long bridge, I could see that hubby was in some kind of hurry. I didn't ask him about it because I thought he was just looking out for me, being that I was tired and sleepy, I thought he just wanted to hurry up and get me home. Normally, I would ask him why was he driving (not mainly fast, but faster than what he normally would drive while it was raining).

So hubby zoomed through one lane, then zoomed through another. Then I thought that maybe he had to drop a load and was trying to get off the bridge to get to a toilet but when he passed by the exit to get off, I knew that wasn't it. Hmmm, I didn't want to disturb him so I just let him be. He zoomed through another lane and all the while I am thinking to myself that he is really crazy right about now.

Well, by the time we actually drove across the Florida state line, the rain was still coming but it had ceased just a smidgen. When we got home and all got inside, hubby asked me if I knew why he was driving so fast and I said no. He said that as he got on the bridge in Alabama, he thought he saw a tornado cloud and he didn't want us first of all to be caught in it, and second of all, to be caught in it on a bridge. He said he didn't want to tell me in the car to scare me and he said he was just hoping I would not ask him why he was trying to get home like he did. Lo and behold, after he had told me that, he does what he likes to do the best....watch news.....and right there on the screen, the newsperson showed videos of people who had recorded a tornado on the bridge we were just on......AND...check this out.....the newsperson said that a tornado just touched down in Alabama. We just looked at each other.

All I could say was ONLY GOD!!! That was so powerful right there that I just had to share it with you. WOW!!! TOTALLY AMAZING!!!
~QUEENBEE~

Are you sleep?

2011-09-01T21:48:00.002-05:00

It had been a rough day after being at work all day then going to classes right afterward. I came home and was exhausted. I ate some dinner, took a bath and came in the bedroom to just relax in the bed. The lights were off, the tv was off and it was just total silence. It was nice. As I lay there, hubby bust in the room like he forgot to stop, drop and roll and said, "You sleep?" Correction, he didn't say it.....he shouted it as if he was the bear to help you prevent forest fires. I rolled over and said, "No, I am not sleep, what do you want?" He says that he didn't want anything, he just wanted to see if I was sleep.

Don't you think that if I was sleep, that this unnecessary outrage would have waken me up! I said well since I am not sleep and you busting in here, you had better want something. He said nope he didn't want anything. That was so stupid. I then asked him why did he come in the room like that and it was like I was talking to Helen Keller cause he said, "Come in here like what?" I said, "why did you bust up in here like you were on fire?" He said, "I did?" Ok, this isn't going anywhere.....so I just told him to go somewhere so I can go to sleep. The next time he ask me if I am sleep....how about I just answer yes and then maybe he will actually want something or just pretend I am and not say anything.
~QUEENBEE~

The Cricket

2011-08-31T08:41:00.002-05:00

There was a cricket that got in our house. I didn't hear it the first night but our daughter said she heard it but hubby assured her that it was probably on the patio and definitely not in the house. As night number two approached, I was watching television and our daughter said that she heard the cricket again. I turned the volume down on the tv and sure enough I could hear it too. This little thing chirped constantly, nonstop. I walked over to the kitchen and the closer I got this box we had in the corner, the more I could hear it. I said that the cricket was in the house and not outside and therefore asked hubby if he could get it out. He said he would.

The third day, I could hear the cricket down the hall and so went into the kitchen but this time, the noise was no longer coming from the corner, it was coming from somewhere, but where? I was determined to get it. He was so annoying. I asked hubby again to get it and this time his tone of voice was like I was aggravating him so I said to just forget it and that I would find him myself. We looked under cabinets, behind the microwave, in the pantry and all over the kitchen and each time we heard the chirper, we thought we were getting close to killing it. This went on for like two more days of non-stop chirping. We sprayed raid in cracks and crevices, but still this thing kept chirping. Oh my gosh, I could not hear myself think, so I had to go in the room to actually do my homework.

Well on that fifth day, I woke up to get ready and did not hear the cricket. I was hoping it just starved itself to death and died. I walked in the kitchen and right there laying on its back was this cricket, trying to turn itself over. Today was not his day because I reached for the raid and sprayed him. Our son got a napkin to pick it up and threw it away. One little cricket made all that noise, but I am glad it is gone now. Peace at last.
~QUEENBEE~

A sip, then a swallow

2011-08-26T19:20:00.002-05:00

I am not a fan of V8 at all. I've tried it, and it's just not my thing. Well hubby was going to try the V8 in the can all because it was given to him. He opened the can and took a sip of it and said, "Whew, this needs a little something added to it." Now, hubby and I are not drinkers but he took it upon himself to make a pretend homemade Bloody Mary. Visualize with me if you can.....he put some salt in the can and then put some hot sauce in it. As he is mixing his homemade drink, I tell hubby that if it is hot going in, then it will be hot coming out. (The children thought that was very funny.) Ok, back to the point....so hubby has mixed his ghetto drink and sips it and says that the salt and hot sauce did the trick.

Now in comes our 15 year old son who thought he should taste hubby's mixture and so our son asks hubby if he could take a sip from it and hubby agrees. Instead of a sip, our son gulp down a whole swallow. When he did get it down, he said, "Dad, that is the most disgusting thing I've ever had." He then added, "That tasted worse than my throw up in the back of my throat." I told him the moral of this story is to be content and not always wanting what somebody else has. Our son said that he hopes he learns a lesson from that. I sure hope so too.
~QUEENBEE~

Time to let go

2011-08-26T19:07:00.003-05:00

Several years ago, hubby, the kids and I were in Gulfport, MS at the outlet shop. I am not one of those people who feel that everytime we go out somewhere that I have to buy me something; but I did see these pair of jeans that had this beautiful design at the bottom of them and thought to myself that I really wanted these jeans. I just knew that absolutely nobody in Pensacola would have these jeans and that when I wore them to work, I would be envied. I kept passing by the jeans up but indicated to hubby how beautiful these particular pair of jeans were. Now with me being a plus size voluptuous full figured sexy woman, these jeans were actually in my size. Hubby egged me on to go and try them on and so I did. Oh my gosh, they fit my curves perfectly and I was just so in love with these jeans that hubby told me that I should get them. We had the money to get them and wasn't going to be in a bind or anything. I was like, "I don't know." Hubby said to me that when we leave Gulfport that we wouldn't be back no time soon and that I should get the jeans.....and so I did.

The jeans had this design around both legs that I could wear two different colored tops at two different times. Everytime hubby would wash and iron them, I had my tush right back in them. Well over the years, the material wore out on the jeans. The zipper had broke twice and each time hubby repaired them, the button had broke and hubby put another button on it. The seams on the side were coming apart and he knew how much I loved these jeans and he offered to sew them. This time I declined to let him fix them. I had these jeans over 8 years and it was time to let them go and so I made my way over to the trash can and dropped them in. I believe it was time.
~QUEENBEE~

Divas On A Mission

2011-08-26T18:57:00.002-05:00

I have created a new facebook page. It's called Divas On A Mission (DOAM) It's just for all the females. It was just something I felt I needed to do. I can't explain it. We don't have to be friends in order for you to like the page, nor do I have to know you. You tell a female and so forth and so on. If I knew how to link it to this blog, I would....but since I don't, just go to facebook and type in Divas On A Mission (DOAM) in the searchbox and like my page. Make sure you type it in with the parenthesis. To know you are on the correct page, the picture that I chose is a silhouette of a woman and she has her head down like she is holding the walls from collapsing. My mission as a diva is to try to send out an encouraging message daily via my status. If I should miss a day, it's because I may have gotten tied up with either work, school work or the hustle and bustle of this beautiful thing called life. We all are divas, we just don't know it yet.
~QUEENBEE~

Fish Tales

2011-08-20T00:55:00.002-05:00

I love me some good ole fried fish, I even eat it baked...depends on how it is cooked. Well someone gave hubby some fish and their was nothing wrong with the fish, it was just some big fish. That was some thick looking fish, and I already knew this was not my kind of fish. We were thankful for it but when hubby was cleaning it, I kindly asked him that when he got ready to cook the fish not to cook the whole fish and to cut it and cook it and then he and I could share just one fish. He said that he wanted to cook it whole and I had a difference of opinion and I specifically told him that would be entirely too much fish.

But noooooo, hubby had to be the hard head man and cook this whole fish. When he brought it to me, I just looked at it like it was an alien or something. I began to eat the fish and it tasted funny. I asked hubby what kind of fish was this and he told me some name that I wasn't even familiar with but I was grateful for it and tried to eat it anyway. He noticed that I wasn't eating the fish like I normally eat it and I told him something different was with this fish. He then asked me if it had an oily taste, not because it was fried, but the meat itself tasted oily and I said yes. I really can't describe it.

I am not one who likes to throw away food but I actually had to throw the fish out. I kind of felt bad for doing that but I just couldn't eat it. After eating those few bites, I felt like I needed to drink pepto bismol or something. Forget the spoon, just give me the whole bottle. It tasted like I was eating a baked tree after being dipped in lard. I wish I could think what hubby told me this fish was called but I don't want that anymore. I want to stick to what I know.
~QUEENBEE~

Saying it without actually saying it

2011-08-16T12:16:00.002-05:00

I just believe that there are some things you have to be bold about when saying it. What's the worse that can happen, right? A student came by the other day because she missed taking her test at the regular time and wanted to know if she could make up an exam. In order for her to do that, she would have to take it over at our testing center and not in the classroom. So the young lady made an appointment to take the test and we had to make sure the test was over there before 9:00 a.m. Well by the time we had gotten to work at 7:30, the sun was already beaming and it was hot outside. I made my way into the cool air and was just about to unlock the doors when my boss said that she forgot about the test and that it needs to go over to the testing center. I looked around and saw that it was just me and her, so I said, "Why don't I make a copy of the test and send it as an attachment to the testing center and that way, they will have it and all they need to do is print it." It sounded like a good idea to me. My boss then said it was a nice day out and she will walk it over to the testing center.

See, in a hidden-behind-the-bush kind of way, she was really asking me to get in that sun and walk and in a hidden-behind-the-bush kind of way, I was letting her know that I was not getting out in that sun. I'm sorry if this comes out ugly, but I did not put on my nice white shirt that my hubby took the time to iron for me to get out in the heat and sweat while walking across campus and then come back smelling like a musty stallion. Yeah I said it!
~QUEENBEE~

My neighbor is really psycho

2011-08-15T11:36:00.002-05:00

There were these boots that hubby wanted me to have. He said that I should order them before it gets cold and before the price goes up. I looked at the boots and thought that if he wanted me to have them, then I would get these boots. I received an online notification as to when the company was shipping the boots and when they would be delivered at my house. Well that night that the boots came, the delivery people dropped the package off at my neighbor's house and not our house.

So, the doorbell rang around 7:00 a.m. the next morning and hubby got up to answer the door. I was sound asleep so I didn't even know the package had arrived nor did I know that the doorbell rung. When I woke up, hubby said to me that I had a package in the living room and that it was delivered next door. When I went to get the package, it was all torn up so I asked hubby why was it torn like that...and this is is story.......

When the neighbor brought the package over, hubby asked the neighbor why was the package torn all open like it was....the neighbor said that he knew he didn't order anything and he knew his wife didn't order anything, so before he even looked at the name on the package, he tore the package open because he said don't nothing come in his house without him seeing what it is first. Hubby told the neighbor that my name was on it and that he should have looked first to see who it belongs to. The neighbor then said no, he did not look at the name. The neighbor then said that his wife can't order anything without him looking to see what she ordered first. He said his wife can't go and get a bottle of nail polish without him looking in the bag first. So my hubby asked him what if she was trying to get something for a surprise for him. The psycho neighbor said that he don't wany anything by surprise and she better not bring anything in HIS house without him knowing about it first.

When hubby was telling me this story, I was like, Are you for-real? I t0ld hubby that was insane. Hubby agreed. I don't know whether I should feel sorry for the neighbor or his wife. That man is psycho!
~QUEENBEE~

Role Reversal

2011-08-12T21:44:00.002-05:00

Hubby and I normally go grocery shopping together. We make out our list and put prices next to the items what we think it will cost. If we have any coupons, we separate and sort them. We get up early and do what we have to do. I would say that we have a system going and it works for us. Well today was a different kind of grocery trip. Hubby had things to do at church and I was ok with that so when I mentioned to the kids that I would need help in grocery shopping, I didn't expect that the both of them would volunteer their precious teenage time to help me.

Our son pushed the cart for me and our daughter had a buggy of her own. I told her that she would take the coupons and go and get everything on our coupon list and then we would meet back in the middle. She did it without complaining and with a joyful heart. That was a blessing in itself.

The two of them were willing to get up early just to meet my needs and they assisted me in grocery shopping like hubby normally does. Today was a good day.
~QUEENBEE~

Doing it for the very first time

2011-08-08T13:47:00.004-05:00

No silly rabbit, I am not talking about sex. Bring your minds back to this side for just a few minutes. I was listening to either the radio or the television as I was brushing my teeth and I heard someone say that we should at least try doing something that we have never done before. I don't know why that kind of hit me and wanted me to actually do it. But at that moment, I thought to myself, "Hmmmm, I think I will bake a cake." No, not a cake mix cake, but that good ole country cake from scratch. I had never done that so I was on my quest to get it accomplished.

As a child, I had watched my mother and my grandmother in their own kitchens get the ingredients together and put them in a bowl and when all was said and done, a delicious cake would be there to eat. I never thought that as I watched them, that I would be in my own kitchen trying to make a cake the same way they did. I wanted to call my mama and ask her what were her ingredients but I decided to try it on my own and call her later and so I began.

Everything that came to mind that I remember about this cake, I put it in the bowl and watched the mixer go round and round. The sugar went in, the softened butter went in and then the flour and the eggs. It was beginning to actually look like cake batter. I was getting so excited about doing it for the very first time. I poured the batter in the pan and watched it carefully as it cooked. When it did come out of the oven, OH MY GOSH, it smelt just like mama's. The family wanted to taste it and so when it was cool enough to come out of the pan, we all stood around in awe. Before I even had a chance to take a picture of it, the children took the knife and cut into it. They absolutely loved it. I was so happy. After all that, I called my mama and told her about it and she told me I put in all the ingredients correctly. My daughter has already asked when do I plan on making another one.
~QUEENBEE~

Where they do that at???

2011-08-01T08:19:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, I know that you don't end a sentence with a prepositional phrase. I know that! But I was in awe when I went home to MS this weekend for my c/0 1988 picnic. There were really some characters there and they weren't afraid to let it be known that they are still as wild as ever. The picnic was outside under a few tents with these huge fans blowing some kind of decent air. Even though I have attended the 10th, 15th and 20th year reunions, I have never attended any of the picnics.

So we are all outside with shorts on, some had on skirts, and even a few of them had pants on. We had on our typical sandals and some even had on tennis shoes...you know, something that you would actually wear outside in the grass and since the majority of us are 40, 41, somewhere around there, one would think you would dress a certain way and hopefully some of the wild ways have left. So we were just sitting there and this car pulls up with thumping music and I immediately thought they had the wrong place. When this person gets out of the car, I really did think that she just had on a shirt and nothing else. The only way I knew that her shorts were shorts and not underwear was because it had a pocket on the back.

She got out of her car with these three inch heels that tied up her leg. It was like everything was now in slow motion. Every head that was outside turned and looked that way. But it didn't last long because the first thing that was said was, "It ain't even that kind of party" The next thing was, "Really? Does she not know this is a family oriented picnic OUTSIDE IN THE GRASS?" And then, "She still wild as ever." Yeah, we just want to know Where they do that at? Seriously!!
~QueenBee~

Try me and see

2011-07-26T10:39:00.002-05:00

There is an instructor who works in my department came into my office with a student and they were looking for my boss. I told them that my boss wasn't in and if there was something I could help them with. The instructor, who does tend to have a nasty attitude at times, asked when will the boss be back. I never give a specific time because things happen that may prevent her from being back in the office at that time so I answered the lady and told her that the boss would probably be back in about 2 hours or so and again I asked if there was something I could help them with. The instructor then said, "There is nothing you can help me with because you wouldn't know the answer to this question."

So I'm sitting there with this look like, "you don't know until you try me and see." So that is exactly what came out of my mouth. I try not to be rude anyway but sometimes you just have to stand your ground to let these people know where you are coming from. So the student began to speak and say what he had to say and right then and there, I was able to answer the question and give him the info he needed. The instructor looks at me like I wasn't suppose to know the answer, like it was beneath me or something. I kindly asked if there was anything else I could do for them and they said no, and as the student and the instructor were leaving, the student turned to say thank you. I told him that he was welcome. Before assuming you think I don't know the answer to something, try me and see. Let me be the one to tell you that I don't know. You don't know what I know.
~QueenBee~

Is there anybody up?

2011-07-23T02:57:00.002-05:00

I am sitting here watching the clock. I can hardly believe I am still up at 2:58 in the morning. The only thing that is open this time of night is legs and Wal-Mart. Well my legs aren't open and I don't have a reason to be at Wal-Mart. This is just one of those random nights that I am not sleepy. It could be due to the fact that I didn't have to go to work today and I chilled with all the homework I been doing. Oh don't worry, I will do more homework tomorrow in order for it to be done on time.

I never can tell when my clock says 2:58 in the a.m. because I am always knocked the slap out with that good ole thing called sleep. Ahhh how blissful. I need sleep now but can't go. I am wide awake looking at the surrounding lights around me as my daughter tries to sit up and hang with me. She is in here talking about how she would love to see a sunrise just above the horizon. That sounds nice, but actually sleep sounds nicer. I tell you what would sound nice too, if there was some adults who I can engage in adult conversation with and have a banana popsicle at the same time. SIGHS!!

I am going to be extremely sleepy once the daylight breaks. I can handle that because with all this homework that I have been doing lately, I haven't been sleeping too good because I wanted to first make sure my homework got done on time. Since the next homework isn't due until Tuesday, I decided to take a break tonight and then once I do get sleepy and fall wherever I may, I'll get some rest and then go back to doing the homework. Anyhoo, it is now 3:10 and I'm eating a small pack of M&M's and drinking water. Hubby is snoring like an aardvark on fire. Good for him. I will be snoring like that in a few hours. I can already feel it, this is going to be some real good sleep when it does come. In the meantime, I will leave you alone for now. Yall have a good night/morning. Peace out.
~QueenBee~

Unusual Text

2011-07-23T02:36:00.002-05:00

I was sitting here minding my own business when I get this text from the same area code as mine. I normally do not answer texts where the number is unfamiliar but I did on this particular text. I answered the text because on one or two occasions my children have called me on someone else's phone because they ran out of minutes, so even though my children were home, I thought it was someone who was trying to get in touch with me and something was wrong with their phone.

The text came in and said, "Is your texting working ok?" I replied that I did get their text and my text was working ok. The person replied and this is what the text said, "My dad's phone broke and it is not working and he is depressed, sitting in a hotel room and I need you to call him to cheer him up." At this point, I'm trying to think of who in the world this could be but nothing came to mind. So I texted this random stranger back and asked who was this and who was their dad. The reply came back as Taylor. I texted Taylor back and told him/her that they must have the wrong phone number because I don't know anyone named Taylor.

I waited for a reply but nothing came. I silently said a prayer to myself that whoever this was that they were ok and that the dad finds comfort in whatever it was that was bothering him. It may have been meant to come to me, I don't know but I do know that you don't have to know someone to say a prayer for them.
~QueenBee~

Embarrassing Moment

2011-07-20T21:48:00.002-05:00

Hubby and I were at CVS to pick up his medicine. I told him I was gonna sit in the car while he picked it up but he asked me if I would come inside with him and so I did. We walked to the pharmacy to drop off another prescription and decided to just wait for it. While we waited, we browsed a few magazines until his name was called.

To the pharmacy we go and since neither one of us had any cash on us, I pulled out my debit card from my mini wallet to pay for hubby's medicine. As I pulled the card out, a tampon falls to the floor. I didn't see it at first until hubby told me that something fell out. I looked down to the floor and there it was, an O.B. tampon still in its plastic. Hubby looked at it like he didn't know what it was and I said, "Oh, my tampon!" It was an embarrassing moment but I wasn't the one who was embarrassed, it was hubby.
~QueenBee~

She is on the phone!!!

2011-07-19T09:04:00.003-05:00

I know I've blogged a few times about this lady I work with named Sarah. She has a very nasty attitude and I have tried to be patient with her numerous of times. She just comes into the office and demands to see the boss with stupid stuff. As she walks into the office, I say, "She is on the phone" but that does not stop Sarah, she just walks in there and starts talking while my boss is on the phone. The boss has to put up her hand to let her know that she will be with her in a few minutes. Sarah just stood at the door waiting on the boss to get off the phone. I said to Sarah, "I will have her to call you when she gets off the phone.".....She just stood there.

So I told my boss that the very next time that Sarah come bustin up in here like she the incredible hulk or something that I was just gonna shut her door because I find it very rude that someone is standing at your door while you are on the phone and listening to every word you say. My boss told me to do what I had to do and that she didn't mind one bit. That's all I needed. I was ready for Sarah now.

Sure enough, about two days later, here she comes and sure enough my boss was on the phone. So once again I said, "she is on the phone" and Sarah seemed to ignore me and stand there and I said once again that the boss would call her when she was done and she still stood there as if I was invisible and I calmly got out of my chair, walked right in front of Sarah, closed the door to my boss office and calmly took my tail back to my chair and continued to type. Sarah gasped! And oh no she didn't put her hand on her hip and I turned and gave her the look as if to say, How you like me now...and then turned back to my computer monitor and continued working. Sarah didn't like that at all and I said, "I told you that she was on the phone, now what can I do for you?" She walked away. When the boss came out of the office, she smiled, gave me a thumbs up and said Good job!!!

~QueenBee~

What's in a title?

2011-06-27T19:30:00.001-05:00

I work as an Administrative Assistant at the college but that is just a title, that is not who I am. My name is Barbara. Simple and to the point. A lot of people use titles as if it is suppose to change who they are, make them sound smarter or to be distinguised by their peers. This is actually my first time mentioning what I am about to say: My boss came to me about a few weeks ago and told me that beginning July 1, that my title will change from Administrative Assistant to Senior Administrative Assistant. I said, "OK" and kept right on working. She was in awe that I didn't seemed impressed or even grateful and indeed, I am grateful to God for allowing that to happen but when she told me, it wasn't like I became a new person because yet, I am still Barbara.

She mentioned it to me again and I said, "Thank you" and still kept right on working. She asked me if I was excited about having a different title and I told her that people seem to let their titles get to them and that is how they are introduced as Dr. so and so, President so and so, Honorable so and so and that they tend to lose focus on who they really are and I told her that I didn't want that to phase me or change me. She said she never thought of it like that. I want to stay focused on what I have to do, because just as easily as it was given, it can be easily taken away. My boss went away learning a lesson that day. I haven't even mentioned this to my family because I don't want them to make it more than it really is. In the end, I am still Barbara.

A fullfilled journey

2011-06-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

It has definitely been a journey. Our 18 year old daughter finally finished high school. I never doubted God but I sure as heck doubted our daughter. We have pushed and pushed harder so that our daughter could graduate with her class. There were times when all she wanted to do was watch television and text and hubby and I had to stay on her and to keep telling her that she has got to finish high school. Whenever she would come in from school, we would ask how school was that day and her reply was, "SCHOOL SUCKS! IT IS BORING!" Hubby and I would see this child of ours go in her room and the first thing she wanted to do was to turn on the television and catch a good movie. We would say, "Don't you have any homework today?" The answer was majority always no. We stayed on her though. We said to turn off the television and the radio and to put the phone down. We told her that she couldn't go places with her friends and that after church on Sundays, she was to stay in the books. She was trying to be the wind that blew us away but we stood our ground and we did not back down. We were not giving up on her, we saw potential.

I used the soup commercial when it says, "why settle when you can select". I told her why settle for a C when you can select a B. Even though we were not the parents who tells our children that they have to make all A's and B's because not every person is an A and B student, but each child does have that will and that drive within themselves if they see that someone else cares about their grades as well. Even when our daughter came home with a grade lower than what she thought she did, I kept throwing graduation date in her face and telling her that she has to make the mark and finish on time. She kept wanting to throw in the towel and she even said that she didn't think she could do it. Hubby and I told our daughter that we believe in her and that she could do it.

As the months started turning into weeks, our daughter finally got excited. And then the day finally came, she graduated high school on June 7, 2011. Amen thank ya Jesus. There were a few of her classmates that didn't get to walk in the commencement exercises nor did they graduate, a few of them were her friends. I was sad for those youngsters but as a parent, we must encourage our children to strive to do their best and we have to believe in them as well. This has certainly been a journey and now that it has been fullfilled, it's now time to start my next journey as our daughter prepares for college in August. I guess it never ends.

Precious, priceless moments of time

2011-06-05T18:16:00.001-05:00

I just really love the way our church celebrates education every year. It is so amazing to see the little children being promoted into the next Sunday School class and get their certificates and then stop to get their pictures taken. It is always a proud moment to see the little ones with their caps and gowns on who are going to kindergarten and then to hear the excitement of the next age group who are going to first grade. These are indeed priceless moments. Today, our 15 year old son got promoted to a higher Sunday School age group and then our 18 year old got recognized as being a senior of 2011. It was a special celebration today because one thing aboout getting older and moving on, is that they will never come back to this point in life.
All we will have hereafter are priceless memories that can only be cherished. It was more special that my parents got to come and see the first grandchild celebrate education and will be here to see her walk across that stage to get her high school diploma on June 7, 2011 (two days from now).

Here is a picture of my mom helping our daughter get her collar ready on her gown.

We may experience this when our son graduates high school in 2014, but we will never be able to experience how touching it was for my mom to help our daughter get ready. Our daughter, who, in August,, could hardly wait for school to be out, said, "Now that it is over, I wish I could do it again." WOW!

...on turning 18...

2011-06-04T21:30:00.000-05:00

Our daughter just turned 18 this week and I really believe that the very instant that she crossed the threshold of 17.999 into an 18 year old, that somewhere in her crossing that she bumped her head and all the gushy brain matter instantly seeped out. It must have seeped down the street, and then went around the corner but it was far from my house. The night before she turned 18, our daughter asked me if she could go with a friend girl of hers. I asked where was she going and she was like, "Mommmmmmmm, I'm going to celebrate my 18th birthday." I was like but WHERE are you going? She proceeded to say they would be going to the mall to "HANG OUT." That answer wasn't sufficient enough to me so I started to ignore her while her beating around the bush answer was not fitting well with me.

She said to me that if she was turning 18 that she should be able to go where she wants to do. (IN MY CALM VOICE....) I said, you are right. 18 year olds should be able to go where they want.....in their own house. I told her that turning 18 doesn't make you grown nor does it make you an adult, it just means you went to bed at 17 and woke up at 18 and should be thanking God for that transformation and for another year. (18 YEAR OLD SIGHS!)

I told her that whatever it is that she wants to do that there will be plenty of time in her life to do that and that just because she turned 18 doesn't mean that I'm suppose to let up on my rules at the house. I told her that being "grown" comes with maturity, not with age.....and somewhere in that cranium, I think she is going to get it......by and by.

Laughter is good for the soul

2011-06-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

Hubby heard about this website that gives away free stuff. Hubby then asks me to go to the website to see what they were giving away for free. It sounded like some kind of hoax but I went to the website anyway. As I was going to the website, I asked hubby what was he looking for as a free item and he said that whatever they were giving away, he wanted it. So again I asked hubby what if it was something that we didn't need or couldn't use....hubby said that it didn't matter and to just get it for free just because it was free.

So off to the website I go and the freebie was.....................................a free condom. You know how you ponder to yourself and put your finger at your head hoping that some lightbulb will go off instantly????? Yeah, that was me when I saw the free condom and I said to myself, hmmmm, hubby is 62 years old, what the heck is he (we) gonna do with a condom....and before I could finishing thinking to myself, I found myself putting in his name to get a free condom. I can hardly wait for the mail to bring it.....his eyes will pop out of his head and I'm gonna be ROTFLOL, really loud. Whew, I'm laughing from the mere thought of it. Somebody pray for me......right now. LOLOL

Just chillin'

2011-06-03T00:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally made my way over here. It's not that I haven't been wanting to blog, it's just that.....well, you know the story, school and work keeps me busy.....mainly school. Well I just wanted to come by and see how everyone was doing. Been to work today, then school, now I'm home and chillin. Thank God for next week, I will be off from work...THANK YA JESUS. I have too many hours and so, therefore, I am forced to take a few days off (OF COURSE WITH PAY, SILLY) I do not return to work until June 13, 2011. I will take the time and enjoy family. Ok, I will be back with more blogging.......when I can. Love, peace and hairgrease, I'm out.

Slapping folks silly left and right

2011-05-13T13:14:00.001-05:00

I had to tell my mind to calm down several times at work on yesterday. You see, sometimes my mind has a mind of its own. Yeah, you read it right. My mind goes off on these delirious rants and then I have to be the one to get it back in line. I will set the scenario up for you. There is an instructor who will be working in the math lab at work. When she came to my office to fill out the paperwork, I informed her that she needed to have a background check and a drug test done. She informed me that she don't do drugs and haven't done anything criminal. I told her that is good to know and that in order for her to work, she will still need to get it done and that the cost was gonna be $85.00. I also told her that it would be taken out of her check every other week because the company wasn't gonna take out the whole 85 at one time......this crazy lady went into a rant about how it would then be worthless to work there and that would probably be all the money she would make....SERIOUSLY - and I know people need their money but I told her that is the policy. She kept yapping and yapping and yapping and at that point, my hand felt a tingle to just want to slap her silly. I controlled myself but I told her if she wanted to work there, then she gonna have to do the background check and drug test and that was the end of that conversation. She wasn't too happy with what I said but she ended up doing the paperwork in the end.

Next scenario - There is a lady who is out at work in another department and has been out for about two weeks and don't know when she will be back at work due to surgery. So my boss thought I was gonna take over her work and do my work as well. That was not going to happen. She kept sneakingly passing off work to me here and there because the boss of the other department would ask my boss if she mind me doing this and that. I asked my boss if she wanted my work to be done or the other departments work to be done and that I couldn't do both - they both almost got slapped - because they first could have asked me if I wanted to do it instead of assuming, and then maybe if they would have offered more pay......so the other department had to hire a temp person until the other lady gets back. Shoot, I already got too much going on in my own department.

Last scenario - Remember the lady who came in my office in scenario one, yeah the one who didn't want to pay the 85 dollars? Well she comes back to my office close to the time of me about to get off work. I was cleaning off my desk, so I could get ready and go to class. She comes walking in there with her posse as if that was suppose to scare me or something. I was finishing up a phone call and at that very minute, she says, (in her bratty voice) - "I need you to fax something for me." I gave her that "excuse me" look and said, "I am on the phone." I finished up the call and told her that I don't fax stuff and that our department is an independent office and that I will SHOW her how to use the fax machine. She said she aint got time and I said neither do I and that I'm about to get off work. She said, "So you don't go over and beyond!" (AND YOU SEE, YOUR HONOR, THIS IS WHY SHE ALMOST GOT SLAPPED) Again, I gave her that "excuse me" look. I told her how to put the paper in, put her fax number in and then send and on that note, I was walking out the door. She and her posse were still talking when I walked out and she said, "that is my favorite administrative assistant." My mind was like, "YEAH WHATEVER!!"

Superwoman status

2011-05-13T12:32:00.001-05:00

I may not be faster than a locomotive or even a speeding bullet but I have just learned to accept that I am superwoman. At least that is what my brain seems to think. No, I don't mean that I can do everything and do it perfectly, it's just that whose idea was it that women have to compete to be as good as a man? Ha!!! Well, I'm not trying to compete, I'm just trying to make it do what I can do while I can do it.

With me going to work full time, going to school part-time, a mother to two savvy teens, the queenbee of my colony, a cheerful and bubbly wife and (IN MY SPARE TIME) - making invitations and cards, while at the very same time - preparing for my daughter to graduate (WHILE HELPING MY SISTER PLAN A GRADUATION CELEBRATION FOR MY DAUGHTER) - active in my church and then of course taking time to bathe in between all of that.......WHEW.....what a sentence run on!

I should change my facebook status that says: DOING IT ALL AND STILL MANAGING TO STAY SANE. It may seem like I am overly busy with so much to do but I do know that going back to school is going to pay off. I may not see the light at the end of the tunnel just yet but I do know that I'm more closer to the finish line than I am turning back. Now that I have that off my chest, I'm going to go and put on my cape. I've got things to do.

Surfin' USA

2011-04-29T09:41:00.001-05:00

I don't know why Escambia County, FL decided that I and our children should be on separate spring breaks this year because we normally are. Well, I decided that since they were going to be stupid and do that, then I would just take off work the last two days that the kids were off to spend time with them. I already forewarned them that going to a water park was not an option and that I was working with very limited funds. The teenagers opted to go to the beach but they wanted to bring friends with them. I agreed. I would be the person to go and pick up their friends and drop them back off at home.

So off to the beach we go....and as we were going to the beach, we were gonna pass by Krispy Kreme doughnuts so I asked them if they ate Krispy Kreme and they all answered in excitement, so we pulled into the place where the hot doughnuts sign flashing will make you run into a tree. So I had my two children and two other children and they each got 3 doughnuts a piece. So off to the beach we go. The only rule was that if they couldn't swim then stay out of the water cause if they drowned, they would just be dead cause I wasn't coming in no water after that. They thought that was funny, but I declare I was not kidding. I had asked them what time would they be ready to go and they said around 5:00 and I told them they needed to meet me at the car at that time or they would be considered missing. They all were there with about two or three minutes to spare.

Afterwards, I took them to the park and told them to go and play....the looks on their faces were like, PLAY??? I said, "yeah go play" and my daughter's friend say, "but we are teenagers, we don't go PLAY!! I turned around and looked at her and said, "if you don't get your tail out of this car....." and that's all I had to say and then I made them to clean out my car for all the trash they left in there. I told them that if I could drive them to and from the beach and feed them Krispy Kreme, then they were gonna do something for me too.

They had the time of their lives and my kids even thanked me for taking the day off and making it fun for them. I'm glad I did it and I'm glad they had fun.

Another Year....Oh my!

2011-04-24T19:35:00.001-05:00

I have been so busy with school and then of course preparing for my daughter's prom and then graduation...but all that will come later but I just had to come and give a shout out to my own self for my 2nd year bloggerversary. Two years already? WOW - that is awesome, except I won't have to experience the terrible two's any time soon.

I'll holla!!!

I feel like bustin' loose

2011-04-12T10:18:00.001-05:00

As I got ready to take a bath, our 15 year old son went ahead and got a shower in their bathroom. (I really don't know how he and our 17 year old daughter can even stand to be in their bathroom - it looks like it has been invaded by the grinch who stole Christmas.) Anyhoo, our son went in their bathroom and I went in my bathroom. I could already hear the water running so I figured our son wouldn't be too long. I had finished with my bath and had dried off and even gotten my night clothes on when I could still hear water running.

I'm saying to myself that I know good and darn well that this boy ain't still in this bathroom bathing...he ain't got got that much to wash and he must don't know that we are not friends with the employees of the water company. So I was about to bust up in that bathroom and tell him to shut that water off but then I thought if I really wanted to see my 15 year old son dancing around in the shower like he was some kind of monkey. I probably would have scared the behoovers out of him and he probably would have peed in my face. That definitely would not have been a pretty site.

Of mice and men

2011-04-04T21:28:00.000-05:00

Our 15 year old is always trying to act macho around the house. He shakes his head at me and his sister when we say we hear something on the patio or in the backyard and he will rub on his moustache and say that he will go and check it out. Well we had to go and get the puppy some shots and our son said that he would go with us just in case the puppy needed to be held. When it was time for the puppy to get his shots, Mr. 15 year old Macho, Macho man said, "I can't stand for him to get a shot, I'm gonna close my eyes." Yall, that was the funniest thing ever. I was like whhhhhhaaaaaatttttttt!!!!

Midnight train to...well it ain't Georgia

2011-03-30T01:27:00.003-05:00

I don't know where the midnight train is going but it sholl won't be Georgia. Here I am sitting up way past midnight wondering what the heck is on tv but yet can't find anything except George Lopez. I am usually in bed this time of night but here I sit in my recliner (I say mine because I have left a butt inprint in it) eating leftover fried corn from the day before. And I know good darn well that corn makes me all gassy inside but I said, "what the heck, just take the risk and just poot all over hubby's leg when I do go to bed." I am on spring break this week from work and tonight is the very first night I've had an opportunity to just sit up late because the other two nights I had to go to school, which meant going to bed at a decent hour.

I told hubby that I just had to sit up late at least one night just to see if I still got that midnight skill. So far, so good. I could just go and comment on everybody's post on facebook and when they look and see what time I posted it, they will all be in awe because I am never up quite this late. They might even be inclined to call 911 and report it and say that something was mighty suspicious at my house. I could just sit and paint my nails but darn, it might hinder the children's sleep for the mighty smells of nail polish remover and then I would feel guilty because they have to get up and go to school while they whine and want to stay home with me, but that's not gonna happen. I love them but not like that. LOL at myself...really LRL at myself because everyone is now asleep. (DUH, LRL is laughing real low----I made that up, can't you tell?)

I did, however, get a chance to register for fall classes at 12:17 because when I logged on to the university's website at 12:00, EVERYBODY AND THEIR MAMA NEM was trying to register at the same time. It took exactly 17 minutes for the registration site to load. As one of my friend says, "I must be some kind of geek to register for fall classes when summer hadn't even come yet." Shoot, a girl has to do what a girl has to do. I could create me a Twitter account and then delete it once I'm sober. Yall know I don't drink cause if I put the fun in dysfunctional and I don't drink, just imagine if I did....whew, that would be some kind of skaaeerrryyy! Uh-oh, how fast does food work? The corn is about to come out of its husk and the train is still stuck on the track while flipping channels over and over and over again.

Caught off guard

2011-03-29T08:29:00.001-05:00

As I was sitting in class trying to write notes as the instructor talked, I was caught off guard when he said, "BARBARA, so what is police discretion?" Did he just call on me and I am writing?!?! Yes he sure did. So I put down my pen and thought in the air for a minute and said, "It is when the police try to keep things a secret." He said that I must mean being discreet and that discreet and discretion are two different things.

I was like, now if he see me writing that means I'm trying to keep up with all that he is saying and if he would have discussed police discretion then come back in a few minutes and asked the class or me, for that matter, what it was, then I probably could have told him.
.
Don't be expecting me to know it and you haven't gone over it. I know I have a responsibility as a student but you also have a responsibility as a teacher...you teach it, I learn it. I think he was just trying to play me for a fool that day cause when he asked the class to help me out, they all gave him a blank stare as if they all were a couple of deer caught up in headlights. He then proceeded with his lecture and included police discretion in it. Duh, I know what it is...NOW.

Before and After

2011-03-28T09:03:00.001-05:00

This is before

and this is after:

A change is gonna come

2011-03-24T21:56:00.001-05:00

I have decided that I am totally crazy and that I may need a check for putting the fun in dysfunctional.........my kids have told me I am crazy. My friends have confirmed it as well and I just might as well accept it.......NOT!!!

I have decided that I am going to cut my hair. That's a statement, not a question and I say that because when I tell people that I am about to cut my hiar, the first question they wanna ask is AM I CRAZY?.....The second question they ask is ARE YOU SURE?..... and the third question they ask is WELL WHAT DOES YOUR HUBBY SAY?

No, I am not crazy, not today anyway. Yes, I am sure and my hair and my hubby's hair are two different heads of hair. I don't have to get my hubby's PERMISSION to do something to my hair. We may be as one, but geez, I am my own person too. I just feel that I want a change. I've even gone to get some hi-lites put in my hair (see photo above) and the new me is gonna be steppin' out in her swagger......I can hardly wait. More to come when the change is taken place. Holla!!

Let's get ready to rumble

2011-03-23T20:01:00.001-05:00

As I was sitting in class tonight, all I can hear was rumbling going on in my tummy. I tried to control it by holding my stomach but the noise kept getting louder and louder. At an instant, I realized it was not hunger that was making my stomach growl like it was, it was rumbling because I needed to let out a poot. At that instant, the instructor gave us all random group assignments and our group was to go first. Oh no, I felt a need to go out of the room right at that instant when our instructor walked over and asked us (Group 1) if we were ready to present. To stall a little, I asked the group if they had any questions for the instructor while he was there (and I felt that this would be my exit strategy) and just at that very minute, I felt a warm igniting poot seep through my buttocks while I sat in there.

My group consisted of 4 men and then me, one lady.....so I was waiting to see if I would be able to smell anything and we could just blame it ~~on the alcohol~~, on one of the stinky men that were in my group. I knew if I left to go outside that my group would be counted off points and I thought to myself that I could hold this in at least until after we were done. I heard that rumble again and so I coughed, hoping that whatever was gonna come out needed to come out at that point. Our group got up to present and I felt like I wanted to hop up there like peter cottontail and bust through my clothes like incredible hulk. So the five of us stood up front and since I was the only female, I had already told my group that I'm going first and they can go after me. They were all relieved when really I was the one who was relieved which meant I could step back and try to get this gas off my stomach. Now that's what I called relief. Whew!

Seriously???

2011-03-20T21:09:00.001-05:00

I can't believe an instructor came to my office and said, "Guess what?" I was very hesitant to answer what because of the person he is.....but to get him out of my office, I said, "WHAT?" He said that it has been 3,000 years since Julius Caesar passed.....................................................

....................................and all I did in that moment of awkward silence was to think to myself..........................................~~YOU MORON OF AN IDIOT~~............SERIOUSLY? He has a freaking Master's Degree and the only thing HE can do is come by my office to say is that it's been 3,000 years since Julius Caesar passed? I would say I don't care....when actually, I couldn't care less than what I cared before............................................. SERIOUSLY, MAN!

Open Hands

2011-03-20T20:41:00.001-05:00

I don't want this to seem like I am talking about anyone.....but what's a blog for if you can't express your thoughts? I know this lady who actually goes to church with me....every once in a while. She has this daughter who comes to church.....every once in a while. I'm not a judge or a jury but don't come to church just to get something out of church in a selfish kind of way.

You see, my children were brought up in Sunday School and church....that doesn't mean they won't go astray or do anything wrong. But this lady I know know who has this daughter is a senior in high school, just like my daughter. So now all of a sudden, they want to come to church every blue moon just because this is the daughter's last year of school and I guess they are expecting something. They don't participate in any activities, don't go to Sunday School or anything like that. It's all good that she and her daughter comes to church.....but not just because your daughter is a senior now.

On days when this lady do come to church and the daughter isn't with her....she says that her daughter was sleeping and she didn't want to wake her to come to church. {Now that is something I'm definitely not afraid to do. } I just get frustrated at stuff like this and I really shouldn't let it bother me....ok I'm rambling on and on...I just had to vent.....I'll take this as my exit for now.

Wayyy too much information

2011-03-20T19:52:00.001-05:00

Hubby celebrated his 62nd birthday a few days ago. When I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said all he wanted was an ice cream cake. I thought I could do that, nothing too expensive and I could just swing by walmart on my way from work. I did find a cookies and cream ice cream cake and he was just overjoyed at his cake. So today, while having a not so serious conversation, I asked hubby if he had eaten all of his cake up and he said that he had one piece left and that he was gonna save it for later when he gets in bed.

Not knowing that our daughter did not have her headphones on like she normally does, I said to hubby in a jokingly kind of way if he wanted to take that piece of leftover ice cream cake and put it on my belly and lick it off. From down the hall, we heard our daughter say: OMGosh that was totally disgusting and disturbing...wayyyyyyy too much info mom. GROSS.....Of course hubby and I laughed and I'm sure she will not get this out of her head for some time now.

Give me what's mine

2011-03-19T23:20:00.001-05:00

Our 17 year old daughter came to me and said, "Mom, when I move out, will you pay a month's rent for me?" My reply was, "What's the point of moving out if I gotta pay your rent...so HECK TO THE NALL." A few minutes later, our daughter comes to me again and said, "Mom, when I get me a car, will you pay the first note for me?" I asked her where was she going with all of this. She said that she just don't know if she will be able to make it on her own when she gets older and that she wants me to take care of her when she moves out.

Now, I don't know what other parents do but I'm not that parent and my child has lost her everlasting rabbit mind because no human in their right mind would ever bring that notion up that I continue to take care of her after she has moved out. I did tell her that she can stay here until she gets herself together and save a little money though. I told our daughter that is the point of growing up and moving on is to do things for herself and to put her priorities first. She asked me how will she eat and pay bills and still have money to spend....my answer for her was to have more than one job. She wasn't too happy about that and asked me if I was insane.

For every question our daughter asked, I had an answer for her. How will she wash her clothes? My answer is to go to the laudromat. She said she thought she could just pack up her stuff and come over here and do laundry. Hold up...I don't take my clothes over to MS and use up my mama nem water. That's their life and their house, not mine and if our children is wanting to have the title of adult, then they got to be treated like adults, even if it's that tough love mentality.

The point I'm trying to get our daughter to understand is that she will have to pay for everything herself and all she sees is that "our money" (which amounts to none) should be rolled over for her money. I was like, "WHAT???" She expects to go to work but the money she makes will be just for her and that she will "use" us for everything else. I told her that she has it all wrong and that she will understand it better by and by.

Prom, panties and pink stuff

2011-03-19T15:29:00.002-05:00

Today was tiring. My daughter and I went to go and look at prom dresses. Oh my gosh!! I really didn't know prom dresses cost as much as they do today. When I was a senior, I do remember going to this place called Josephine's in MS where we could go and rent prom dresses and then take that dress back the following Monday. I can't find anyplace like that here in Florida. Of course I saw dresses that I like but of course the stuff I like, my daughter doesn't like. She wanted to break the bank and I told her that I had a job when I was a senior, and so therefore, I was able to help my parents with prom stuff. I know this is a once in a lifetime event but geez, we seriously need to find a place that rents dresses or I may have to take up being a seamstress.

There was one dress my daughter liked alot and it was very pink. It wasn't a bad looking dress but that 230 dollar price made me want to go and slap somebody silly. The dress was a smidgen too big and that was the only one they had. I told her that I don't think we will be getting that dress not today, not ever.

So as we were looking at prom dresses, our daughter saw a variety of underwear and stopped and said, "oooo these are some cute underwear." She started compiling her several ones and I asked her if she had any money on her, she said no. I told her that she need to put them back because she has plenty of panties and that my goal today was to try and find a prom dress. We did see one she liked, even though that price of 170 is still high, it's cheaper than 230. It's still hanging on the rack though. I don't know how my parents did this with four daughters. Any other suggestions?

The name says it all

2011-03-13T20:53:00.001-05:00

I have decided to rename both of my instructors, who just happen to be men. We are on spring break this week at the University. (YIPPEE....HOORAY!) I couldn't be happier......so I've decided that both of my instructors are octo-polar. Yeah, they are way past bi-polar because they have lost their everlasting rabbit mind. BOTH OF THEM. They are like eight different people at one time.

Not only did they each give us major homework last week where it took FOR-EVER to do the work, but one instructor gave us homework to do while we are on spring break and the other one is giving us a freaking test the same day when we get off of spring break. I mean, seriously! It's a reason why they call it spring break. DUH!! So I got to actually do work this week. Geeez, well just keep me in school then.

Yeah I am stull convinced, they are still octo-polar and that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Now back to homework I go.

Scared straight

2011-02-23T22:28:00.001-06:00

I am one of those people who can watch a scary movie and it does nothing to me. Most scary movies are so stupid that I can get a good laugh out of them every now and then. I can watch a scary movie in the dark, and then go to bed with all the lights off. The children tell me they can't do it. Yeah, they will watch a scary movie, but you best believe that Gulf Power is happy when they do because they have to have every light on in the house. I also like to watch those shows where they are solving some type of crime and they eventually catch the bad guy.

Well, let me tell you how I actually was scared straight out of my mind. But then I had to laugh about it in the end. I always park up front where the lights are when I'm going to class because I know it's going to be dark when I come out. A group of us always come out together and so when class ended last night, I got to my car and clicked the alarm for the door to unlock. I got in my car, put on my seatbeat and as I put the car in reverse, the glare from the light was on the back seat of my vehicle. The glare looked like it was a persons head, a head like that was from one of them scary movies and I so declare that I wanted to do-do in my pants. That scard the bejeezers out of me. The first person that came to mind was Freddy Krueger and then I thought that he only comes in your dreams. When I saw that it was just a glare, I took a deep breath and drove on home. Thank goodness it wasn't a head because the stuff is humorous on tv, but in real life, I was really skurd.

Penmanship is important

2011-02-22T10:58:00.000-06:00

When I went to class last night, our instructor put us in groups of three to do an assignement and I just so happened to be in a group with two guys. The assignment required us to write on a specific topic that the instructor gave us and I just can't help it, but when I have to turn in anything that is hand written, I like for it to be my best so these two guys decided that since I was a "girl", that I could do the writing for the group while they told me what they wanted written. Simple enough. "I could do that", I thought.

As I began to put my pen against paper, right there in the middle of me writing, one of the guys said, "Wow, look at your handwriting, it is beautiful." I thanked him and continued to write because we were on a time limit to do this assignment. The other guy then says to me, "Look at how your pen glides across the paper like that." I thanked him as well and looked up at the clock and said, "Ok, guys we got like two more minutes to finish this." As they talked on the topic, I wrote; but when the instructor called for times up and then we went on break, the two guys wanted to talk more of my handwriting.

One of the guys said that it looks like I wrote the Declaration of Independence and the other guy said, "Yeah, Thomas Jefferson said it and she wrote it." It was like I wasn't even sitting there because they started talking in third person but I do believe penmanship is important. When I was in elementary school, I practiced writing because I did want to have a nice handwriting and I guess practice does eventually make perfect but I declare I did not write the Declaration of Independence.

Telling it like it is

2011-02-16T08:15:00.000-06:00

As I was opening up e-mails this morning, this story came across my computer where this lady from PA blogs about her students. I didn't see anything wrong with it because she was just telling it like it is. What the heck, I'll blog about it then and see what they are gonna do about it. In her blog, she talks about how children at the high school are whiners, how they are lazy and really just expects a free ride. Yes, I do agree with her on that because my children are no different. Not saying that ALL are like that, but children will only go as far as you allow them to go and they will get away with what you let them get away with. This teacher talks about how parents want to be their children's friends and doesn't focus too much on trying to be the parent......I could go on but I don't want to steal her thunder.....well, here is the link to the story, go and read it yourself. Kudos to you Ms. Munroe.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_hi_te/us_teacher_suspended_blog

Crippling our children

2011-02-14T11:49:00.001-06:00

I was sitting in Sunday School class when my 17 year old daughter came by my class and said that she didn't know where her class was being held since they changed the high school seniors to another class. I told my daughter that the Christian Education Director was standing there and to ask her where the new class was because I really don't know. Just as I said that, this lady who was sitting opposite of me said, "Oh mama, she just wants you to do everything for her, how sweet!". No, it is not sweet. I'm not going to be asking questions and speaking for my daughter when she can do it herself. Get real lady. And I just listened to a good message and you want to come up here drinking kool-aid and don't even know the flava.

Even though my daughter did ask for herself but we, as parents, have some kind of issues within our own selves that prevents us from letting our children try things on their own. So what if they mess up? Then they will know that wasn't a good choice and they should try it another way. I told hubby that this will be the main reason for me and him to go our separate ways is because he thinks he should do everything for them. I am totally opposite. I tell them to try it first and then if they need help, I will help them but I'm not doing it for them. This goes for anything like ironing their own clothes, cooking or simply filling out forms. If we did everything for them, how in the world are they gonna become productive adults? YOU KNOW THEY WILL GROW UP AND BECOME ADULTS. Then they gonna end up coming in my office and I'll end up looking at them with THE LOOK when these grown folks come up in here with all that whining.

Let them make mistakes and learn from them. Let them fall sometimes and then get back up on their own. And as hard as it may sound, let them fail sometimes. All the "I told you so's" aren't really necessary because when they land on their face, they will think back and remember all the things you told them. They may not admit you were right but they will end up saying to somebody, "Mama (or papa) said that there would be days like this.Yep, she said it alright."

Disorganized

2011-02-09T19:48:00.001-06:00

I'm confessing. I did it. I am not proud of it and now I need therapy. I am somewhat of an organizer even when it comes to my clothing. I check the weather and then I get my clothes out the whole week on Saturday and I keep it that way, even church clothes. I don't have time to be getting up early mornings trying to decide what I'm going to wear. Not only do I get my clothes out but I put them in order by the day of what I am going to wear. That's just one of the ways I try to keep myself organized in order for me to function throughout the week.

Well, well, well, this past week has just been straight out hectic. It seems as if I have had more homework than the average american college student. I shocked my own self when I didn't get out my clothes on Saturday night. I was so out of whack. After working, then going to school after work then coming home to do homework....(and it takes me days to get the homework done).... I've been so tired that I've been getting up every single morning trying to get ready and pull clothes out to wear. That's a no-no for me. It has seemed like I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Have you seen a chicken with no head? Well that has been me this past week. Will somebody please put that chicken's head back on!

Dog gone it

2011-02-07T09:49:00.001-06:00

There is a new member of our family. Hold on. Stop the presses. I know yall ain't sitting here thinking I have either popped out a baby or have gone to some agency to bring one home. Nope, nada. Shame on you for even thinking I have that kind of patience anymore. The children have a little puppy. His name is Prince. He is six weeks old. My daughter has this friend who has this dog who had puppies and well, she gave one to our daughter for free. Everyone except me was excited about bringing home a little munchkin. Our daughter said that she would take care of him and spoil him. I told her that he would have to stay out on the patio. I did have a heart though when our daughter kept going out there to check on him and to make sure he wasn't freezing. She asked me if she could keep him in her room for the night. I told her that only if she put newspapers down and to block off her room so he wouldn't get out.

I must be getting soft as I get older because I really do think I am still in shock mode for even letting them get the dog. When I wake up, I will let you all know that it was just a dream. Prince hasn't been at the house for 24 hours yet and our daughter just carries him around like he really is some kind of baby. She didn't want to go to school this morning and I told her that she has got to go. He did whine when she left him out there on the patio. I'm not even a dog person but I felt so sorry for the little puppy when he whined. That was just so sad to hear him. I had to move on and go to work and our 15 year old son kept telling our daughter that Prince will be alright until they come home from school. There really was no choice except for him to be alright. It's a dog gone world out there.

Senior Moments

2011-02-04T23:20:00.003-06:00

LAWD, please help me to have patience. I am taking our 17 year daughter to go and get

her

senior portraits and cap and gown photos done on tomorrow. She has pulled out ~~every piece of clothing she~~ ~~owns~~ several outfits to change into. She has been playing in her hair for hours already. It's going to be a long day and I still need to come home and finish up my homework. SIGHS!

Just what I Knee-d (revisited)

2011-01-30T00:32:00.001-06:00

Well yall, here I go again. I think it has been one whole week since I told you about my knee. I was asked to come and give yall an update so here I am, doing just that. At first I was putting ice in a bag and putting it on my knee and that would work for a few hours but then I couldn't wear a bag of ice to work. I can just imagine the stares and glares of water dripping from under my pants. Yeah, that even sounded awkward to me. I will say that I appreciate you all for thinking of me and e-mailing me wondering if I was ok. I was down but not out. I was limping and I knew that God really had a plan for my knee.

So one evening after work, hubby called one of our friends in ATL who happens to be a nurse and he asked her what did she think was wrong with my knee. She said she thinks it is just sprained and that I may have just pushed too many weights at the gym and she then told us to go to Wal-Mart and go in the area where the medicated pads were and find this stuff called SALONPAS. I have NEVER heard of it before and if you haven't either, now doesn't it sound like something that a beautician would use? I don't know about you, but just the name of it made me think it was something that was for an eyebrow wax.

At first when our friend spelled it out to me, I thought she had made a mistake and was really going bonkers but off to the store we went anyway and found what she told us to get. SALONPAS are medicated pads and after we got home and I had taken a nice shower, I applied the pads to the front and back of my knee and kept them on all night and this was the first night since I had been having pain that I was actually able to sleep through the night. Yall let me be the believer to tell you that them dog gone pads work. I got up the next morning and felt like a new person with a new walk. I took those pads off and put on another set of pads before I left for work. I felt like I wanted to do a cheer. Yall just don't know! I wore them pads all day on my knee and then when I got home and got all cleaned up, I put on a fresh set of pads. It feels like I have a new knee. I sat back and thought how something so simple as walking can surely make you appreciate God even more. I'm all padded up and it feels great. Now yall go on out and get some of those pads and keep them in your medicine cabinet. Tell 'em that the Queen sent ya. I won't mind.

Something sounds fishy

2011-01-30T00:06:00.001-06:00

Our neighbors across the street were having a man thing going on frying fish and such. Hubby just couldn't wait to get back across the street to where I was to tell me that the fellows had just gone fishing and they have tons of fish. I was looking at him like, ~~come on with the darn story already~~ "and you're telling me this because....." He said, "Hun, when they finish cleaning the fish and start frying it, I'm gonna bring you a hot piece of fish." My mouth started ~~slobbering dripping spit~~ getting all excited about the thought of a nice hot piece of fish. So I figured that since I was gonna get me a piece of that ~~dead creature that once lived in water~~ fish, I didn't bother to get anything satisfying to eat.

I was beginning to get all antsy from just the mere thought of it. I felt like a bear who had been stranded in the wilderness and just so happen to stumble upon a flowing stream. A little time had passed and I was thinking to myself that the fish has got to be done by now. What is taking that hubby of mine so long in bringing the hot greasy goodness to me! Finally hubby comes through the door and what to my wandering eyes did I see? Not one piece of fish that was intended for me. I looked at his hands then back at him, then back at his hands then back at him and he began to tell me that other fellows had come over and there wasn't any fish for me. NO FISH? Ok, let's get this story straight: Hmmmm, so you (meaning hubby) ate fish. He nods and while you were eating, did you not once say, "Let me go on and take this piece to wifey since I told her it was coming. I asked how come he didn't think to bring it to me before everybody else came and the obvious answer came out of his mouth: I WASN'T THINKING. That is when our 17 year old daughter exclaimed to hubs - OOOOO YOU'RE IN TROUBLE NOW. I won't put him in the ~~fish~~ dog house this time.

Fish tales! fish on a hot tin roof, fishy fishy bang bang, it's your fish do what you wanna do, celebrate good fish come on, what's fish got to do got to do with it, so I guess it'll be hook, line and sinker....and I'm calling it a night on that note.

Happy Birthday, Son

2011-01-26T19:56:00.002-06:00

Wow, it's that time again. It is our son's 15th birthday today - Jan. 26. Happy birthday to the best son in the whole wide world. Much love.

Stuck in the middle

2011-01-24T20:11:00.001-06:00

When I went to class today, I found myself a seat and there were two empty seats on both sides of me. That was the best seat (at the time) because I didn't want to walk down too many stairs with the problem I had been having with my knee and then would have to walk back up. So I found this seat that was closest to the door and then I could stretch out my leg for a little while. Just as I was about to do that, these two young guys come in late and grabbed the two seats on both sides of me.

Even though my knee was feeling better, I was just silently praying that I would be able to withstand it not being propped up for a little while until I got home. Well sure enough, my knee didnt hurt but I so wanted to make a homemade tattoo for both these young bucks and marker lot their eyes with my highlighter. The guy on the left of me kept clicking his pen on and off and at that point, I wanted to snatch it out of his hand and just throw it in the trash can. The guy that was on the right of me must have had some kind of twitch cause he kept shaking his leg and the vibration went through the table. For a minute I just looked at his leg and then he stopped. Then something tells me he was having a bipolar moment cause then he just started biting his fingernails and spitting them in the air.

I wanted to say, "Yo dude, PLEASE STOP before I change my mind with the highlighter and make it a permanent marker instead." Or I could just take my ear-ring out of my ear and pierce his eyelid. I just glanced at him and pulled my books closer and he took the hint and stopped. This can't be like this on next Monday. I might have to take my lawn chair in my trunk.

Don't cross me

2011-01-23T10:43:00.000-06:00

I do payroll in my department. I don't write checks or anything. I just make sure all the time is turned in correctly and on time. So if one of my instructors has any problem with the amount of hours that were turned in, they need to see me. Point blank. Going to see payroll department who write the checks will result in them sending you right back to the department who turned in the hours. Point blank. The same thing goes for when an instructor goes to the department head regarding their hours turned in. All she is going to do is send you right back to me to see what hours were submitted for you.

With that being said, this numb-nut of an instructor sends my boss an e-mail and in the e-mail, this is what he said: "I dont think I am being paid for this semester of teaching. I want to know if you can check into this for me and get back with me because I don't see any money being direct deposited in my account." HA! And guess what she goes and do, she goes and sends me the e-mail and says for me to check on this and e-mail him back. Did he expect me to get in trouble for something? What was his goal in this?

Now if this idiot had read his dog-gone e-mail that I sent out two weeks ago to all instructors saying that your first check for the semester will be January 28 and not January 14, then he could have avoided himself a little stupidity. They should know that every time they try and cross me, it always come to bite them in the butt. So now that the boss wants me to e-mail him, all I'm gonna do is just forward him that same e-mail that I sent out the first time and in big bold letters it will say: PLEASE READ - IMPORTANT message. I'm not gonna add anything else to it. No, I'm not doing dirt for dirt but I work with some messy people and this is just to let him know, that when you dig one ditch, you need to dig two. If I was an evil person, I would accidentally on purpose not turn in hours for him in two weeks. Whew, I'm glad God has saving grace from all this foolishness.

Just what I knee-d

2011-01-23T09:29:00.002-06:00

I don't have a clue what happened from the time I got out of my car Thursday morning until I got back in the car on Thursday afternoon but one thing I do know is that I walked in to work feeling all great and junk and feeling like I could leap tall buildings with a single bound, then by the close of business that day, I could hardly walk. All of a sudden my knee just started hurting. I thought it was something that would go away overnight if I came home and just rested but it didn't go away. I tried to think back if I bumped it or not but this pain is a different type of pain that hurts from within and not from the outside. I'm beginning to think something might be wrong....I don't know.

Hubby suggested I get in the tub and soak in some epsom salt and it took me forever to bend this knee and get in the tub. i actually had to sit on the edge of the tub and slide by big behind in the tub and that was not a pretty site. I asked him if he would help me get out and he said he would and all I kept thinking about is that he might get all excited seeing my sexy goodness in rare form. I had the water as hot as I could stand it and then I just sat in there until the water got cool. I was about to call hubby to help me get out but then our daughter came in and said that he had company and then I thought that would be more awkward for a stranger to see all my sexiness so I managed to get out and I tell you that I felt like shamu splashing water everywhere. I think I was in more pain than when I got in.

Hubby rubbed it down with icy hot and said for me to just rest and that is just what I did. I don't know how I've overworked one and not the other one so at this point, I still don't know the diagnosis of my knee and did I mention now I'm limping. It hurts in and out and then hubby asked me if I need to go to the emergency room and I do know how they take forever and I really need to finish up this homework for Monday and Tuesday class and I can't be missing no class. I know, I know my health is more important. I told him if I didn't feel better by the time I get out of my class on Tuesday, then we will go and check it out. I'm staying off of it today unless I have to get up and go pee and I'll let hubby continue to baby it for now. I'll keep you updated.

It's business, don't take it personal

2011-01-17T21:56:00.001-06:00

Remember the furniture that we were giving to someone because we were getting new furniture.....well hubby had mentioned that we should sell the furniture and asked me what did I think a fair price would be. I really couldn't think of a fair price because we had the furniture for so long that I really didn't know how much furniture would be. I told the guy to just give us $25.00 and that included a couch and a loveseat. A great deal of a steal.

The guy didn't have a truck so he couldn't come and pick up the furniture and so he called hubby and wanted to know if our neighbor would bring the furniture to him. I told hubby that now he is pushing it. We're practically giving away the furniture to you and the least you can do is find someone who can come and get it for you. Hubby and the neighbor went on ahead and took it to his place. When hubby got back, I asked him where was the $25.00. Hubby gave me that look as if he just out that somebody had died. I asked him what was it and then he said, "Ummmm, he can't pay me until Friday." I said, WHAT!!! It wasn't about the money, it was the principle.

I asked hubby why on earth would the guy call and say he is ready for the furniture knowing he didn't have no money on him. Yeah I know it was hubby's friend and all, but business is business. Hubby just said that he would get it from him. I wasn't angry or anything but I told him that he know I don't play that game and that his friend shouldn't take it personal. You wouldn't go in the store and tell the Wal-Mart manager that you're going to get a refrigerator full of food and a few electronics and then come back and pay him later. We always want the hook up, especially if they are our friend; well they have to make a living just like everybody else. Don't come asking a sister for no hook-up cause I'm trying to handle business, and you just might get dissed and be talking to the hand so don't take it personal.

Some kind of crazy

2011-01-16T21:16:00.001-06:00

I love the part from The Color Purple when it was said, "Bash Misters head in, think about Heaven later." That still cracks me up every time I hear it. We are in the process of getting new furniture. You would really say it's about darn time. My parents had this furniture for several years then passed it down to me. The furniture has now worn itself down or as my mom would say, "swanked" down. You can always tell us people from Mississippi because we just make up our own words.

Anyhoo, hubby had all this stuff on the couch that needed to be cleaned off before we let someone, who doesn't have a couch, have it. I just grabbed a bag and just started putting his stuff in this bag and he comes in there with this irate voice and says, "I WILL MOVE MY STUFF WHEN I GET READY TO MOVE IT. PUT MY STUFF BACK." I thought about my Color Purple saying and was thinking of Beyonce at the same time when I said to myself, "He must not know 'bout me." I was beginning to think if he was on the rag or something cause I surely could have offered him a tampon and an aleve. I said, "Look lil man, I was just trying to help out, so don't be getting upset with me because I was helping", and so I took everything that was in the bag and poured it all back on the couch. I then said, "When you get ready to clean this couch off, don't ask for my assistance."

When I got out of the shower, I saw hubby over there scuffling trying to clean the couch off. I didn't say anything. I just walked on by and I really wanted to ask him if he needed any help but I didn't, I just came in the room and started typing. I can tell by the way he glanced in my direction with that sullen look that he really wanted me to ask and yeah I know it was kind of crazy for me not to offer my assistance but I just kept on walking by.

Hubby and I like to watch this show called Undercover Boss, so when he came in the room and said, "You think we can watch the show together?" The devil almost made me do my cheer, "Heck to the N. Heck to the O. Put it all together and that spells Heck NO" As crazy as it sounds, I DIDN'T. I wanted to, but I didn't. Sometimes, every now and then, you just gotta be crazy though.

Loving all that I am

2011-01-16T19:48:00.001-06:00

Hubby and I had gotten our 17 year old daughter an outfit for Christmas but it was just a tad bit too small on her, so I told her that after the hustle and bustle of people exchanging gifts died down, that she and I would take her to go and exchange it for either a bigger size or something else. The outfit was no longer available so she opted on just getting something else. I told her to make sure it fits before she left the store. We came home and she was so eager to wear it to church that following Sunday.

After she put on her outfit, she was really fancy and stuff and I even gave her a compliment on her new outfit. She told me that moms are suppose to say stuff like that (but I would really tell her if she looked like a wild boar before she left the store.) So I asked her how did she think she looked in her new outfit, she said that she didn't know and wanted the opinion of our 14 year old son. I told her that she has got to think that she is poppin' her own self. She asked me what did I mean by that. I told her that she got to love herself first and that her opinion of herself is really what matters. She said that she does sometime....and I told her that she has got to love herself all the time or some man will tell her what she wants to hear and take advantage of her.

She asked me how do I have so much confidence and I told her that when she looks in the mirror and checks herself out before she walks out the door, this is what she should say, "Dahling, you look fabulous! Girlfriend, you look GREAT, BEAUTIFUL AND DIVINE." Of course she giggled and told me I was funny. I wasn't trying to be funny. I then asked her how did her outfit look to her. She was like, "I think I look okay." I told her that was the wrong answer and I asked her again how did her outfit look to her. She looked in the mirror and said, "Oh yeah, you look marvelous". I told her that's it's nice when people give her compliments but it is worthless if you don't believe it yourself. As for me and my plus-sized self, I'm loving all that I am and I'm doing it very well.

Ladies, it don't matter what size you are, how short or how long your hair is, what color your complexion is, how short or tall you are, do you! Get yourself an uplifting bra or a padded one if you have to and walk like you invented the word confidence. Stop wearing clothing that droop off you. Men, stop buying your ladies all these old looking clothes. It's nice that you want to buy them something, but let them choose what they want to wear or get it to fit. Love you and Do you.

Bountiful blessings

2011-01-10T13:44:00.001-06:00

There is a lab here in my department that closed down over our break. The people that were over the lab had to go in and clean out everything from all kinds of office supplies to a bunch of junk. Well, not bragging, but since I have always been nothing but nice to them, they told me they were giving me first dibs on all the office supplies and to take any and everything I wanted for my office and then they would open it to the other departments.

I keep the office pretty well stocked in my department and my faculty doesn't have a need for anything so I went over anyway and just brought back an abundance of office materials and supplies, along with kaboodles of colored paper and such. We already had colored paper and when I went to go and get more, it was like flowing out of everywhere and we didn't have room enough to even receive it. We had stuff stacked from the window to wall and then stuff started overcrowding my office. So I called another department who I know don't have a materials budget like I do and can just order stuff how I want to--I told her to come and get some of this stuff from our department so she could have some for her department.

Well, just as I told her to come and get it, there was a person in my department complaining that I was giving some of "our stuff". I was like, We have soooooo much stuff that we can afford to give some of it away and that we wouldn't even miss it because duhhhhh, I got it from the lab and we already had plenty of stuff before I even went over there. We were blessed with all this stuff so I had to bless another department with it as well. They were extremely happy and I was too. Ain't no way we would even begin to use all this stuff up no time soon.

I think I may be drunk...

2011-01-03T22:38:00.001-06:00

...Ok not really. I just typed that to get your attention. I am in no way perfect but I have never had an inkling to drink...EVER! Most people, when they are getting close to 21 would say that they can hardly wait so they can be legal to drink. I have never wanted to drink and I was hoping that when I turned 21 that God would bless me to turn 22. My mom called me a peculiar person. When my friends turned 21, they wanted to go out and celebrate and get their drink on. I didn't go with them because that was just not my thing.

Hubby asked me if I wanted to drink some wine for New Years. I was like, "Not really." He said that we would buy something cheap for me to try it since this would be my first time drinking the stuff. I reluctantly agreed and so off we went to the grocery store. There were so many to choose from. When I mentioned it on my FB page, my cousins and one of my sisters wanted to try and recommend a wine for me to try. Yeah, yeah, yeah I read the comments but it didn't phase me at all.

So hubby had the wine chilled and I actually felt like Betty Wright when she sang, "Tonight is the night." I felt all nervous and stuff and so our 17 year old daughter said, "Mom, it's wine. Jesus drank wine." I said, "Give it up for Jesus...woot, woot!!" She then said, "I wish I could drink some wine." I heard her and ignored her at the same time. So after the wine got all chilled, hubby said we were going to have a glass and he said he would give me the honors of opening the wine. I had no idea how to open it and that cork thing didn't want to come out and then it popped and scared the bejeezers out of me that I almost dropped the bottle. Hubby was laughing at me because I had never done that before. So I asked hubby if I can have some ice, he laughed at me again and said I didn't need any ice because it was already chilled. OH OK!

So I took one sip and then hubby asked me what did I think. I said, "I think I may be drunk." Everybody got them a good tickle and hubby said that I couldn't get drunk off one sip. OOOOOH OK!! I think my alcohol days ended the moment it began. Now I can say that I drank wine for the very first time and it wasn't all that to me. Oh well, such is life. Needless to say, that bottle is still in the fridge. My sister will chug-a-lug it when she comes to visit.

Keys to the kingdom

2011-01-02T18:57:00.002-06:00

A person's house is their castle, right? Well maybe not everyone but I feel that if God has blessed me to have a roof over my head and a couple of walls up, then that is my castle and we should take care of it even if it's not where you want to be. Our 14 year son is usually one who keeps up with his stuff so when he told me that he had lost his house keys, that was more shocking than anything. I asked him if he knew where he had his keys last and he said that he opened the door one night after a basketball game and don't know what he did with them after that. I was like, so you did have the keys to open the door and he agreed and said that the keys were probably somewhere in his room.

He always puts them in the same place and this one time, he had missplaced them and so when I told him that he should go and clean up his room to find them, he was not a happy camper. I tried to suggest places where his keys might be and each time I said something, he said that they were not there. My question was this, If you don't know where your keys are, how do you know they are not in the places I suggested? Hmmmm!!!! So our 14 year old thought he had a solution to the lost keys. He said, "Why don't we just go to Wal-Mart and get another set made." I told him that was not the answer and that all he had to do was look for them and they were in his room somewhere.

Each day I'd ask if he found the keys and each day he said no. The days turned into a two week search so I told him that I was coming in his room to help him find his keys. He told me that I didn't have to do that and I told him I'm doing it because I want to. When I walked in his room, he had so much stuff in his closet and I said that we must clean up first just to look for keys. He told me that sounded crazy and I said, "It's like this son, we have to take care of the little things (like a set of keys) and then we can be ruler over many things (keys to the kingdom). " I told him that if we clean up his room and put stuff where it go and get rid of stuff we don't need or use, then I bet your keys will show up. I figured he wasn't gonna get far searching for the keys alone, so I went in his room, sat on the floor and I started on the closet. He kept saying, "Mom, why would my keys be in the closet?" I told him that the more he keeps talking, the more time he keeps wasting and to start on the other side of the room.

Well do you know that when I pulled out all that paper and books out of his closet (and filled up two trash bags of junk), there was his keys. He beamed with joy like he had just gotten a new bike for Christmas. He giggled and could hardly wait to go show hubby and daughter. He laughed and kept saying that was too funny that those keys were in there. I told him to let this be a lesson to him and he asked what that could be. I said it is called responsibility and then I went on my merry way without preaching. He said, "Thanks mom for helping me." You're Welcome.

Lovingly yours,

How our new year got started

2011-01-01T23:13:00.001-06:00

Hubby is a wonderful person but majority of the time, he doesn't listen when I'm trying to tell him stuff. He
wants to venture out on his own and do it his way and I hate to be the person who says "I told you so" even though I try not to say that. Well, see what had happened was........

Hubby asked me if we could invite a couple of people over for New Year's Dinner. I graciously said yes and he said that all he wanted me to do was just have a seat and that he didn't need any help and that he had it all together. I said ok. I asked him why don't he cook the dinner on Friday and then all we would have to do on Saturday is to just warm the food up. Not to mention, I saw where it eas gonna rain. Nooooooooo, hubby wanted to get up on Saturday morning (after being at watch night service and going to bed late) and cook everything FRESH and told me it wasn't gonna rain. Well on Friday night before we went to church, hubby saw that there was a hole in the pot that he was to fry the turkey in. I mentioned to him that we should just go and get a pot before church and have that taken care of. Nooooooooooo, Mr. Hubby says that he can fix it and that it will work out just fine. That is when I threw my arms up and let him do what he do. Oh yeah and it rained.

Well, see what had happened again was.......hubby got the pot outside on Saturday and poured up the oil in the pot and as soon as he did that, oil started dripping out on the concrete. If you've ever seen The Color Purple when Miss Celie just sits back in that rocking chair watching Mister....until he gets the kerosene....then she was out of there. I was just gonna let him eat crow but I saw that oil dripping and I just immediately grabbed a pot and took it to him. He wanted to say thanks but I think his pride wouldn't let him.........then he comes to me and says, "Babe, you think we can go and get that pot?" I almost said NOOOOOOO and I told you so, BUT I didn't. I just said, "Let me grab my purse." Did I mention it is New Year's Day and we expecting company???????

So off to Lowe's we go to get a turkey frying pot because I know how much it meant to him to fry this turkey on New Year's Day since we only do it once a year. I didn't say I told you so.......but that flesh deep down inside wanted to jump out of me and say, "Nah, nah, nah, nah...I was right. I told ya." I let it go. So now he is behind in his cooking process of how he wanted things to turn out. Once again I asked if I could be of assistance to him and once again he said no. He finally got that oil hot enough to drop that turkey in it and I could see a satisfied look on his face. He even called me and said, "Come look at the turkey" (picture above) and I did. Our friends arrived and we had a real nice time talking, eating, laughing, eating, oh did I mention eating! Hubby and I enjoyed the fun, food and fellowship and now he is saying he can hardly wait until next year so he can do it again. GASP!

Lovingly yours,

Wisdom and then some

2010-12-29T13:02:00.001-06:00

I was watching the show 16 and pregnant the other night and I usually just like watching the show not because it is all that interesting to see a 16 year old pregnant, but that so they can see it's not as simple as they perceive it to be with a baby so young and yet so naive. When the show comes on, I will call our 17 year old daughter in so she can see the show too so that she will know that if you get pregnant while living in my house, there will be cirumstances to pay. One episode I was watching really wanted me to jump inside the television and just shake some sense into this 16 year old whose baby had not turned one yet and then found out she was pregnant again with yet another child. (And I wanted to shake the baby daddy too)

Her boyfriend was saying that a condom just don't feel right and the young lady was saying that she forgot to take her Depo shot and didn't know she could get pregnant if she didn't take it. Girl you know. Stop acting like yall are dumb to the fact that you don't know stuff. I mean, it's our job to tell you but it's your job to listen. We, as parents, need to teach our children, the young men and ladies alike to keep their private stuff to themselves and stop trying to please every Tom, Dick and Harry. Young girls need to keep their legs closed and young boys need to stop trying to force them open.

I grew up with three sisters in the house (no brothers) and my mom told all four of us girls that she wasn't gonna follow us 24 hours a day but she also put the fear of herself and The Lord in us. None of has had no babies while we were in high school nor living at home. I'm not saying what my children will or won't do but I have told them they better not bring no babies up in here or they might as well forget going to games, hanging with their friends and all the fun stuff teenagers like to do and I'm not gonna be home sitting raising no grand-babies, I already raised my children.

The girl from the show finally agreed to have an abortion and it really made me sad because there are too many people who want children and can't have them. Then she wanted to say that after all that, she should have listened to her mom and waited. The only thing that is open at 2 a.m. is Wal-mart and legs. Do you know where your children are?????????

The way of the fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. (Proverbs 12:15)

So remember, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7

Lovingly yours,

My money vs. your money

2010-12-28T20:26:00.003-06:00

My mother had given both children a gift card to use wherever they wanted to. Our daughter got an American Express one and our son got a Visa. They were thrilled to have "money of their own." So when our daughter asked when we were going to get out of the house so she could look around, we decided that today would be a good day. It wasn't too cold outside so I and hubby went with her. She wanted to go to one particular store and so I agreed to do so.

When we got there, our daughter wanted to try on a few things and I sat and waited for her to do that and so she said, "So mom, this is what I want." I said ok and she put her stuff in the buggy and we looked around a little bit more before we decided to go to the check out. When we got halfway to the check out, our daughter was in amazement that I wasn't paying for her purchase. She said that if she knew she would be paying for it with her American Express gift card, that she decided that she didn't want it anymore.

Excuse me!! She said that it's different when it's my money and her money. She said that she just wanted to walk around with money on her card knowing that she had money to spend. I looked at her and told her that she will spend it when she get to the register and that I wasn't buying her anything. She began to look sad and so I said to her, "You either buy it or you won't get it." She was shocked that the sad face didn't work. She went and paid for her purchase and we then went on home.

Lovingly yours,

Huh???

2010-12-21T19:30:00.001-06:00

I rarely watch news except to track a hurricane or catch the weather here and there. The news is for hubby and then he tells me what I need to know; but as I was getting dressed to take our daughter on an errand, I caught a glimpse of the news in bits and pieces and wondered what the sheezy fa heezy!

One person said that marriage is becoming too overrated and of course the old saying, "Why buy the milk when the cow is free" is really overrated. I mean, seriously, are you calling them a cow? Or that they are a milk-producing machine?

Another person on the news was talking about some sicko writing a book about how to be a freaking pedophile. This sick freak just left me speechless!

Then, there is the don't ask, don't tell mumbo jumbo. I sort of turned that around and said to myself, "What if my boss came up to me one day and asked what I was doing. Could I use the don't ask, don't tell policy on her?" Boss: So, Barbara, you got a lot of things going on today? Me: Don't ask me, and I won't tell ya. Nah! Even though I know it would be used totally in the wrong context.

Then of all things I saw on the news is the one where Santa is about to get ready and start making his runs......PAUSE......SILENCE.....Are you serious? Are you totally, like, for-real?

And the reason why I don't watch the news is because it is either depressing or stupid TO ME. I'll just leave the news watching to hubby and I told him to just let me know if a hurricane is coming our way....OR NOT!!

Loving yours,

Where are my pills?

2010-12-20T10:27:00.001-06:00

Ok, I must admit that I am really laughing at myself. Why? Because I really think that I am beginning to act my age because I have missplaced something and don't know where the heck it is. Our 17 year old daughter said that I am just getting old and that very well may be true, but getting old is mandatory; growing old is optional. Ever so often I may get a headache and I will need an aleve to quickly get rid of the pain. My daughter also needs one right before she starts cramping. So she came to me and said, "Mom, I need an aleve bad." The first thing I would do is just reach for my purse and give her one.

I started reaching in my purse and digging and digging. You would have thought that by the way I was digging that I was digging a grave. So I emptied everything out on the bed. No aleve! Hmmm, where are my pills? I thought to myself. I sat for a minute and pondered and tried to think that maybe they were in another purse and I hadn't changed everything out. I just sat there. Our daughter then exclaimed, very loudly I must say, "MOOOOOOMMMMM, I NEED AN ALEVE!!" Oh wow, Cruella Deville has just been released out of her. I calmly said, "Hun, I don't know where my aleve's are and besides, Jesus dealt with pain." I sort of kind of think that was not was she was hoping to hear. "MOOOOMMMMM, I AM NOT JESUS!" Was she yelling? Bah humbug, nahhhh, she was just in pain. But it didn't help either when I burst out laughing. It was like she was the devil and any minute she was gonna say that her name was Legion, meaning many devils.

She asked me if I was trying to torture her. I really wasn't, however, that was a good idea. But I really do declare that I didn't know where my aleve were. She said, "Mom, I think that since you don't have cramps that you like me to be in pain." Nah, I would never wish pain upon anybody, except...........nah, just kidding. But I told her that if I wanted her to be in pain, then I wouldn't be sitting there trying to find my aleve. She said she was just kidding though about that but needed some relief. I told her that she may have to take some advil or midol or pamprin and I already know that she has tried them and the only thing that works for her is an aleve. Poor child. I have gone through other purses and I guess my aleve just got on a reindeer and jumped ship and left. Oh well, off to the store I go to get another bottle.....and I just bet that just as soon as I go and buy some, the other ones will show up.

Lovingly yours,

Christmas in my heart

2010-12-13T21:21:00.001-06:00

Society has made Christmas too commercialized and we fall right into what they are marketing and selling. Our children see stuff on billboards and television and all we hear is, "ooooo, I want that, I'm gonna die if I don't get that." Well yall might as well get ready to come to a funeral because both my children will be in their graves then. True enough, we celebrate Christmas and go with the traditon of getting this or that for the kids, but we are not about to go in debt and break the bank because we know the real true reason for Christmas is Christ. No Virginia, there really is no Santa Claus. Boohoo, cry me a river!

A couple of weeks ago, my friend asked me if I was ready for Christmas. I told her that I was ready January 1 of this year because I celebrate Christmas every day. She gave me that puzzled look and I said, "Girl, waking up is a gift all by itself and for that, I'm already grateful. She agreed. I told her that Christmas should be in your heart and not about buying this or that. I mean, think about it, we get stuff all year long. There is Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Birthday, Anniversary....and really we do have ENOUGH stuff.

Not only with life, but health and strength, food, clothing, shelter, bills paid, color tv's, cameras, indoor plumbing, more cars to drive than there are people to drive them, floors with carpet, central heat and air, fake hair, fake nails, security alarm systems, private jets and so forth and so on.WOW! But yet, we still want more, and more and more. This isn't Christmas. When are we going to wake up people!!

I once told the children, "Why would I buy you all this stuff and then you won't have anything to buy when you get older and get your own job." The reply was, "Moooooooooooooooommmmmmmmm!!!!!! Ugh, Ugh, Ugh!

Keep Christ in Christmas and let it shine in your heart. Remember without Christ, it MAS not be. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Lovingly yours,

God's Favor

2010-12-12T18:01:00.001-06:00

Well, well, well....I've taken finals and now I am just waiting on my grades to be posted. But in the meantime, let me talk about the favor of God. Here goes:
After being at work all day and hen going to school at night, I'm mainly exhausted by the time I get to classes. So I basically prefer the instructor to talk and say what she gotta say instead of me having to talk as much. I mean, if I feel that there is something that I don't understand, I can e-mail her. Simple. Right? Ha! This past August when another semester of classes began, I went in to my Wednesday class thinking it was gonna be somewhat laid back like my Tuesday night class. NOT EVEN!! My instructor had the mind set that this is how it was gonna be, end of discussion.

So she mentioned on our very first Wednesday night what she expected of the class (keep in mind that this is August) and that she wants us to read the info in advance and then get to class and she go over a little here and there, but in the meantime, she said that she would just randomly call on us for us to answer questions. My mind was like, "Great! Just what I was hoping she was NOT going to do." So after that first class, I prayed as I was driving home and MY GOD said to ask for the desires of your heart and so I began to ask the Lord for favor in this class and that after work, I was tired and did not want my instructor to call on me but that at the same time, I wanted to be able to understand what she was saying in my own little way.

The following Wednesday, I went to class and sure enough, she called on people left to right, but she didn't call on me. So after class, I got in my car and thanked God for his favor that night. The following Wednesday after that, the instructor pulled out her roll and started calling on people again, and she looked my way, but she did not call on me. I thanked God again for showing me his favor. As time went on, each Wednesday would come and go and the Lord kept showing me favor. I was not called on and each Wednesday night after class, I would thank God again. Well, right smack in the middle of the term at the 8 week mark, my instructor came to me in the form of the devil after class and said, "I see you sitting there and I know I haven't called on you, but I will." I didn't say anything except, "Yes Ma'am" and then I left.

Yall, I wish I could make this stuff up but honest to goodness truth, week 9 came, week 10, then 11, all the way to the 16th week and not one single time in a 16 week period did my instructor call on me. Not once! And each single time I saw where the Lord showed up and showed out, I thanked him yet again because He didn't have to do it. When I mentioned it to my co-worker at the end of the 16 weeks, she then said to me, "Yeah, yeah, you got away this time, but watch and see that you will have to speak out in class next semester." I was like, "Get thee behind me, Satan." I don't know how God will work or when he will work. It may be for a semester, it may be through the entire time I'm in school, but this I do know is that what God has for me, it is for me and not for anyone else. I thank you Lord for favor.

Lovingly yours,

Stranger Danger - A must read!!

2010-12-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

Everybody ain't good people and we, especially parents, have to let our children know and instill that in them that even though there are some good people in this world, there are still very bad people too. With that being said, this morning hubby needed to take me to work so he could use the car. No problem. So we walked out the house and got in the car that hubby had already warming up. As we sat for a minute or two, we waited for a school bus to pass us and pick up a few elementary children that had been standing at least two houses down. Right before hubby put the car in reverse, we heard a sound that was screaming...."Wait, wait." We thought it was one of our children but when we looked at the door, no one was there, and then hubby said to me that a young boy from down the street was screaming wait. He had missed the bus and this young boy, probably no older than 8, was running as fast as he could behind the bus. He had his backpack on his back and he was going as fas as he could.

Just when he thought he had gotten closer to the bus, it left. I saw this young kid just fall to the ground and started crying. I don't know why he didn't go back home and tell his mom he missed the bus or even if someone was home to take him, but it was cold and he just stay there in the middle of the street crying. Ya'll know I felt so sorry for him so when we backed out to head to work, I asked hubby to pull up beside him. I rolled down my window and asked him what school did he go to. He told me the name of the school and it would have been just maybe 5 minutes out of our way to just drop him off.

Hubby told the young boy to get in the car and that we would take him to school. The young boy got in the car and I'm thankful that we were just kind and decent people, but this boy didn't know us from Adam and Eve. He got in and was very manerable and kept saying, "Thank you sir, thank you so much." Hubby told the young boy our name and that we live on this street and that we would get him to school safely. Hubby asked the young boy what his address was and he told us his address. Hubby mentioned to me later that he was just going by his parents house to let them know what happened and that we could have been anybody and the parents wouldn't have known where their child was.

When we got to the school, the young boy was still thanking hubby. I thought about that young boy as we continued to drive and thought that every parent don't teach their children the way we have taught our children about strangers. True enough, we were trying to help but that young boy could have only seen us with decent clothes on and that we were nice. But yet, we are still strangers to this boy. He wasn't reluctant about getting in our car and he didn't know where he was until we pulled up at the school and he said, "yeah that's the school", even though we did know where it was. I am grateful that it was us who was able to help him and not someone who was a bad person.

Lovingly yours,

Driver license renewal

2010-11-29T21:14:00.000-06:00

I had to go in and actually renew my driver license. The last time I renewed was online and that was about 6 years ago, so when I tried to renew it this time, I got a message saying I needed to come in and take another picture. I made an appointment and had it set that I would go in and get this picture taken and be done. NOT!! Well, I didn't have time to go by the bank and withdraw the money I would need to pay for my license, so I just figured I could just pay for it with my debit card that has a visa logo on it.

I was already flying through traffic when I left work so that I would not be late for my appointment and when I arrived and found a parking spot, I looked at my watch and realized I still had a few minutes left. I hurriedly walked inside to find a line and wondered if I could skip this line by telling them I had an appointment.....until I saw this big sign that said, "We do not take Visa, but we take Discovery and Mastercard." What the sheezy! Now what am I gonna do!!! I kindly asked someone in line where was the quickest ATM. The young man pointed up the road and said that one was at that store.

I looked back at my watch wondering if I got back in my car, then went to the ATM, then get back, would I still be on time or would I have to reschedule. Hmmm, no time to think...I hopped in my car and drove to the store....until I got to where I had to cross and wait for a light....that light took FOR-EVVVVVER to change. I kept praying the whole time that I would not have to reschedule. The light FINALLY changed and then when I got to the ATM, them jokers wanted to charge me a freaking $1.75 to use my own money. Holy crap!! I had no choice. I was up turd creek with no toilet paper. So I got the amount out for my license and proceeded to head back to the DMV......NOW WHAT!!!!!! Gotta wait for this darn long light to change again. By the time this light changed, I could have walked to Atlanta and back.

I finally arrived back at the DMV, short of a minute of being late.....but this time, no line. Whew. Thank ya Jesus! The lady asked me to come forward and I'm glad I had every document I could think of just in case because she asked for my passport or birth certificate (I had them both) my SS Card, a utility bill, my old driver license, and my car registration, and then it was over in an instant.... Now instead of the 6 years, Florida has changed it where we keep it for 8 years; but I got a pretty picture done that will last me until the next time.

Lovingly yours,

Back at work

2010-11-29T14:48:00.001-06:00

After returning to work after being off for a whole week, I walked in to find piles of work on my desk. I somewhat expected that and looked up at the clock and thought to myself that it's going to take me all day to get it done. I didn't see anything that had any deadlines on it so I just started at the top and worked my way to the bottom. Yes, the bottom. I finished every single thing that was on my desk because I am one of those people that even if I don't finish the work that at least my desk will be clean.

Now I am sitting back just waiting on the time to roll around so I can go home and start it again on tomorrow. Whew, that exhausted me......Side note: only 14 more days to go until I will be off for two more weeks for our Christmas break. Halleluyer!!

Lovingly yours,

Maxed out

2010-11-23T07:55:00.000-06:00

Here I am, at home. No work this week. We are allowed so many hours of annual leave, 330 to be exact. If we go over 330, then HR takes the excess and does something or another with it but the thing is, if you go over 330, then you can't get them back. I was like, "Huh!" Ain't no way I'm gonna be having hours that I've earned and for them to be floating around in a sick leave pool somewhere. It was a good thing I checked on this and when I did, I had just rolled into 330 the very same day. I told my boss that I needed to take a couple of days off because I was at my maximum number of hours and I didn't want to lose them. She agreed. I told hubby that I may want to take a couple of days off throughout the year so that I won't be forced to take off.

So here I sit at home...WITH PAY....of course and not doing a dog gone thing. I told myself that I would take this time off to work on my paper for class. When I woke up on Monday morning, I just laid around on the couch trying to find me a few lifetime movies to watch. Hubby said he was glad to see me resting and relaxing and actually NOT doing any school work, because it seems like that is my life now. It did feel good to do absolutely nothing but I will be working on my paper later on today and tomorrow also. I will not be working on no paper during Thanksgiving. That's gonna be my family time. I'm not even gonna take any books with me when we go to MS to see my folks. Somebody, please write that down! That's gonna be a miracle.

Lovingly yours,

Birthday Blah Blahs

2010-11-22T20:55:00.001-06:00

On yesterday, Sunday, November 21, 2010, I awoke to my 40th birthday. I was indeed grateful and thankful that the Lord allowed me to see such a glorious day and year. I had been waiting for my 40th birthday for such a long time. I can't explain why. I had wanted to go all out and throw a party for myself. It was something I had talked about for at least two years prior but nothing came into play. Life is what happened and I got busy doing STUFF. If it wasn't one thing, it was ten-thousand more. School had/has me busy like I'm writing a journalist column or something and then after my car ended up having to get fixed TWICE in one year, it just didn't happen.

I expected to feel some kind of difference on turning 40 but I didn't. You know like when you walk into a glass door expecting to walk inside or outside but instead you hit that door or when Patti LaBelle does her songs and it makes you feel like you are a backup singer for her..... WOW!

There was no one jumping from behind a door to punk me like Ashton Kutcher is always doing and Richard Gere didn't even take a limo here and surprise me. There was no cake and no ice cream, and not even no barbecue ribs off the grill. I do know one thing I did: I went to church and got a wonderful message and since there wasn't anything planned, I decided to pose for the camera a few days prior and have fun my own self. So here are my birthday pics just for you. Gotta luv yourself cause I know I luvs me sum me. :-)

Lovingly yours,

How mess gets started

2010-11-15T15:37:00.001-06:00

I was sitting at my desk trying to do a little work and an instructor came in and wanted to know if he could just sit and chill until his next class got started. I didn't have a problem with him sitting in there as long he didn't interrupt me from doing what I had to do.

Well he wasn't in my office long, when he said, "You drinking rum?" Yall know I had to look at him quiet strange because first of all, I don't drink and then second of all, it wasn't his business if I was. So I asked him what in the ham and cheese made him ask me that?

This is what he saw on my desk:

except that he said the other part was covered up and all he saw was rum and he was gonna ask me if he could have some. Even Stevie Wonder could see this wasn't what he thought it was. Some people, I tell ya!

Lovingly yours,