New Favorite

I've recently discovered how much I like Joss Stone. I think my new favorite song is "Right to be Wrong" She has a beautiful voice. I haven't really heard her sing anything that I don't like.
She has a voice that is much more mature than most the 19 year olds.

Unfortunately, I don't know how to attach a music file to my post, because if I did you would be able to listen to her sing.

Busy, But Alive and Well

Work and school has kept me very busy. I haven't even really been able to keep up on my reading of blogs either.

Even my spring break was full. I had to work, but I had visitors. A friend of mine that had been here maybe 10 years ago, brought her daughters during their spring break. And the day they left I went to lunch with another friend & her husband that were in town with their daughter who was touring colleges. It's funny how both of these people hadn't been to Atlanta in years, and they both come in the same year.

Not much has changed, the D-O-G is still spoiled. As a matter of fact, I have a feeling that he has claimed the guest room as his room now. LOL

I finally bought a bed for it just before my visitors arrived. The other morning when I came out of my bedroom, he wasn't at my door to greet me. So I called his name, and he didn't run up the stairs, as he has done in the past. So when I walked into the room, he jumped up surprised, from where? The middle of the bed. That mattress must have been oh so comfortable for him.
I have to get some sleep, but I am going to try to post regularly.

Just a little update

It seems like there a major assignment due in every class that I have.

Although Saturday I was able to squeeze in some fun.

I went to the mall and lunch with my mom. And returned home to sleep in my own bed. Yeah, yeah so what people do that every day, right? Well, she lives over 500 miles away in Virginia.
Maybe next time I will be able to stay longer. But I was able to fly there in the morning and caught an evening flight home.

We had calamari, and she tasted first, and then asked what it was. I paused before I told her. I'm glad she liked it. I had to promise that I wouldn't say "Taste this" and then inform her that it was snails. LOL That was NOT a difficult promise to make, because I won't be eating that myself.

I apologize for the brevity and rambling post...so I will go to bed now.

I hope your Valentine's Day was great!

100 Things About Me (Pt. 1)

I have been working on this for awhile, so here is the 1st fifty.

1. I was an only child
2. My mom was an only child.
3. I went to Catholic elementary school.
4. I was raised Catholic, but as an adult I attend a non-denominational church.
5. I lived in Germany before I started school.
6. I grew up in Texas.
7. I was an Army brat.
8. I was an Army wife.
9. I am now an Army mom.
10. I was an Air Force Reservist.
11. I was a brownie and a girl scout.
12. I had dogs growing up, but not house dogs.
13. In states that I have lived more than 2 years I have lived in the Capitol city.
14. My 1st major in college in the 80's was interior design.
15. I like to go to new subdivisions and look at the model homes.
16. I love peanut butter & other nut flavors like almond, but I will not eat nuts
17. I was hit by a car once.
18. I like power tools.
19. I love to go to the movies
20. One of my cars burned up on the side of the highway.
21. I used to take ballet & tap when I was little.
22. I was The Little Red Hen in a school play.
23. I wanted to be a nurse when I was young; now I get queasy when I see blood.
24. I have only hospitalized 3 times; once includes when my son was born.
25. I don't mind shots (vaccinations), but can't stand IV's.
26. I wear contact lenses.
27. My uncorrected eyesight is so bad, I am almost considered legally blind.
28. I lived in Texas 22 years and never crossed the border to Mexico when I lived there.
29. I have been to Mexico 2 times in the past 3 years.
30. My favorite color is purple.
31. My favorite sport to watch is football.
32. I am not good at any type of sport.
33. I love warm weather.
34. My favorite car is almost any convertible.
35. I wear a size 7 1/2 shoe.
36. In the summer I hate to wear socks, love sandals.
37. In the winter I love to wear boots.
38. I have a major crush on Her.m.an Ed.war.ds coach of the KC.Ch.iefs.
39. I was on the ROTC rifle team in high school (drill team, not marksman).
40. I was also on the drill team (dance, with the marching band) in high school.
41. My S.A.T. score was the reason I got my college scholarship when I graduated high school.
42. I met Bar.ba.ra Jo.rdan.
43. I have been to the St.at.ue of Lib.er.ty.
44. My favorite band of all time is EWF.
45. I love Mexican food and I make a mean guacamole.
46. I can not make a good gravy or sauce of any kind.
47. One of the few things that I can make from scratch without a recipe, I learned from my dad.
48. I am a big fan of Den.zel Was.hin.g.ton.
49. I love seafood.
50. I like to travel and wish I could do it more.

¡Silencio, por favor!

Information overload. I guess there has always been background music when you are out, in stores or some public places. That evolved into commercials, or maybe an announcement that something is on sale in the store.

Even at the gas pump I have heard commercials over the speaker. However, recently I have been going to a gas station that has TV screens at each pump. Basically it's commercials, and the advertising for the gas station that I am already pumping gas...is a waste of time and money IMHO. It also had a traffic update, but I had zoned out, so it was going off when I realized that it was information that I could use.

It seems that no matter where I go there are tv screens with news or some sort of advertisement. When I rode the train into town to work...TV's were on the train, actually they were also on the bus.

Where can I go for a little bit of silence?

A Grave Mistake

I am not sure that if I was walking past a cemetary & I heard someone screaming for help that I would even stop. I'd probably run faster than I ever had in my life. LOL

I also can not understand why someone would want to knock over grave markers. But this guy got at least some of what he deserved. Here is the story.

Twenty-One Years Eight Months

Do you think that is a long time? Yes? No?

If I said that was the age of a soldier that died in war. "He died too young." Not a very long time on earth. So it seems like a short time, especially to me a 43 year old.

But when I say that was how long a man was in jail, and for a rape that he did not commit. OMG! That is a very, very long time. Here is a link to the story.
He is now 44 years old, and he was in jail for half his life. Fortunately, there was DNA from the crime, and the DNA tests were done to free him.

Doing the happy dance!

It's Friday! Not much going on here, not sure why Friday made me do the happy dance. It's not like I have a long work week anymore. I have quite a bit of homework I need to finish this weekend. I guess it comes from years of working Mon-Fri, so it's habit. LOL

I do start a part-time job next week. It has been ages since I was paid an hourly wage, and my hours ain't paying much. But I am excited, and I will have to manage my time better.

I did make it to the Aquarium for a short visit, and I must go back. I can because I have season ticket. I had to take my picture and meet a friend for lunch, so I was probably only there for an hour. I must say that standing under the walkway that had the whale sharks swimming over was pretty exciting. As I looked up the theme from jaws kept running through my head. Maybe I am a little strange.

Have a great weekend!

I'm just not in the mood!

Ok, maybe I am a witch...It's been a 12 hour day.

I was playing voicemail tag with a friend of mine. (We've known each other since, jr. high.) I knew that when I heard the message, and her grandbaby was saying call us, that I would wait until I thought grandbaby was in bed. Damn! I forgot they are in a different time zone.

I had the pleasure of starting the phone call talking to the 2 year old.

Me: Hello!

2 yr. old: Hello!

Me: How are you?

2 yr. old: lkj aig veb ub ub.

Me: Saying "Hey there Where is grandmom? " Me Thinking "Why aren't you in bed?"

2yr old: more unintelligible baby talk.

Ok, I won't take you through anymore of my painful phone call. Oh, except when she finally got on the phone she said (in her most proud grandmom voice) You got to take to "grandbaby"

Me: Saying "Yes, I guess he is getting to be a big boy." Me thinking "Yip(frikin)ee! Shouldn't he be in bed? Dammit!"

OK, I love them both...but I just wasn't in the mood.

Yes, I know you are thinking, "Shouldn't YOU be in bed?"

Thanks, I am going now. Sleep tight!

What are you doing to live the dream?

That was the question asked today by Atlanta's mayor. I feel like I should have done more than sit home and watch the celebration of Dr. M. L. King, Jr. Day on T.V.

I had planned to volunteer, but didn't take the time to register last week. I could have at least gone to the parade.

I know that there are many things that need to change, especially living here in the south. Although, Atlanta is different than some of the Georgia towns that aren't many miles away.

However, I must say that as a child growing up in the south (Texas) in the 70's, I benefited greatly from the sacrifices made by Dr. King and the many others that endured water hoses, and hate filled crowds to just do go to school, or to be able to sit where ever they wanted.

I have been on buses, trains & airplanes. Why is it that as children the seats on the back of the bus were the most coveted? LOL I have witnessed black men keeping their seat as white women had to stand; and then he gave his seat to a black woman. That tends to bring a smile to my face...am I wrong for that? I have even had the pleasure of sitting in 1st class on an airplane. Don't hate both times were for 45 minute flights, but it sure was nice. ;-)

And those are just the minor things. I do have to make it a point to volunteer more this year, especially since I didn't on this a "Day on, not a day off."

4 Bucks

I went to a matinee today, and I only paid...well you can figure that out. But I had to go at 10am, OK, so maybe I am crazy.

But the theater was nice & empty. There were a few other people, and a nice looking couple that was probably in their 60's. Which was good for me, because I was feeling a little silly about rushing to a movie about..."stepping". So I wasn't the oldest one there. LOL

I went to see "St.o.mp the Ya.rd." Hmm, let me see if I can tell you about it without giving telling too much.

I enjoyed it. Of course, it had the "love" story, and the "hard/bad luck" component to it as well. The main character DJ comes to Atlanta to attend Truth University after his brother was murdered. It centers around him and the 2 fraternities that compete for him, and always compete against each other in a major step show.

I think the love story between DJ & April is sweet as well as the one between DJ's Aunt & Uncle.

There are many underlying conflicts in the story. Educated vs. Blue collar; ghetto vs. non-ghetto (sorry I couldn't think of an appropriate antonym); old-school vs. new school. But I don't think that distracted me from the main story-line. I was a little annoyed with some of the close-ups during the step/dance competitions. There were a few great shirtless scenes for the ladies :-).

If you are interested in step shows, dancing and fraternity life, this might be the movie for you.

Shhh! I have to be discrete

And I absolutely hate it.

Is there logic to this union?
I am searching and sorting out the ways
to make this relation function.
It shouldn't be a conditional probability,
it must be a finite probability and have an expected value.
I'll be counting the principles;
I have to be discrete and I hate it!
But I'll be discreet,
I won't tell my professor that I hate math.

Wish me luck, I have to pass my
Discrete Math class.

Disturbing trend

Well, it disturbs me anyway. During my holiday time off, I have caught quite a few movies. I may do some reviews here. However, I never feel like I can do them very well without giving away some of the plot. But I guess I could work on that here.

Since I like going to movies so much, I tend to go during the day when it isn't as crowded, and supposedly when it is cheaper. But it seems that they are doing away with the matinee's. I am hoping that maybe I am wrong, and after the holiday season it will return.

Last year I went on a Saturday, expecting a matinee price at an "_ M _" theater, and was told that only the 1st movie of the day on the weekends had the cheaper price, so I paid the high price, and started going to their competitor. Then it appeared that only the movies that started before noon were given the cheaper price. Now, it looks like they are doing away with matinee prices all together. Maybe it will only be the weekend movies, and possibly only here in the Atlanta market. I will have to research it and see.

But it just seems to me that the way the industry calculates box office sales and the fact that they have made it too expensive for movie going to be a family outing that movie going may be a thing of the past soon. I know many people prefer to wait for video and watch at home, but I like seeing movies when they first come out. There is something about the big screen, and the smell of popcorn that makes that one of my favorite things to do. I know there are ways around the high prices of the snacks & the movies...and I will admit to nothing here. :-)

But I may spend less money if I invest in a big screen & popcorn maker at home. The prices are on the way done on the TV's.

I stole a New Year's MeMe

1. What did you do in 2006 that you’d never done before? I went to the Bahamas.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions? I don’t make them.

3. Did anyone you know give birth? One of my former co-workers did, it was baby #4 for them.

4. Did anyone you know die? No one personally, and I didn’t attend any funerals.

5. What countries did you visit? See # 1.

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006? More travel to other countries.

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory? My son’s high school & basic training graduations, and the day I quit my job of 13+years.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Returning to college

9. What was your biggest failure? There were a few tests. J

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I had a hysterectomy that ended an illness, and I am happy about it.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My car & my laptop.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? My son’s

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I can’t think of any

14. Where did most of your money go? School

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Well, if having an orgasm is really, really, really excited…then I would have to say sex. J

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2006? Anything by Gerald LeVert

17. What do you wish you’d done more of? Traveled

18. What do you wish you’d done less of? Watched TV

19. Did you fall in love in 2006? No

20. How many one night stands in this last year? one

21. What was your favorite TV program? Grey’s Anatomy

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? No

23. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Spending time with my mother.

24. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006. Having a laundry room upstairs is not as great as I thought before

25. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year? EWF’s “On Your Face” it is really my theme song.

He caught me cheating on him.

Have you ever been caught red-handed? I was today, dang I thought I was better at this.

I was on my way out this morning, and walked to the mailbox. It was pretty full there was a box, and when I looked up there he was standing in my driveway. Oh my! What are you doing here? You could tell by his posture that he knew he wasn't supposed to be in my driveway.

Maybe, just maybe...I looked up, and yes standing in the window, he was watching. Oh, I am soo busted. But I guess I have to finish this, turning my attention back to the cutie standing here in the driveway...

He's wagging his tail, and he comes up to me, ahh no tag. Who do you belong to? Go home! My D-O-G is in the window, don't you hear him barking? Yes, I guess you do "Lost D-O-G" there he goes running off down the street.

I am going to have some explaining to do when I get home...I better just pick up some doggie treats at the store. He'll understand...well, he'll be happy for the treats any way.

Happy Holidays!

I passed all my classes! Yea! I was worried about my math class.

I also made it through the flight. It was so fun! Taking off my shoes, taking out the quartsize bag and taking out my laptop and then getting out of the way of those behind me. And I forgot to buy gum on the way to the airport, so I had to spend big money on gum.

Oh, and where did I go on my short trip? I went to KY to see my son graduate from Basic Training. He did well, and I am very proud of him. I didn't actually get to see him until the graduation ceremony, and it took me almost the whole ceremony to be able to pick him out of the sea of green. And it seems that he has grown up soo much in 10 weeks. He is home for the holidays, and then he will go to another 6 weeks of training.

So we have a few holiday things to do, and he is catching up & hanging out with his friends.

I am sure I will be posting more during the holidays, but I still want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

A Joke to make your day

It made mine.

An extremely modest man was in the hospital for a series of tests, the last

of which had left his bodily systems extremely upset.
Upon making several false alarm trips to the bathroom, he decided the latest
episode was another and stayed put. He suddenly filled his bed with diarrhea
and was embarrassed beyond his ability to remain rational.
In a complete loss of composure he jumped out of bed, gathered up the bed
sheets, and threw them out the hospital window.
A drunk was walking by the hospital when the sheets landed on him. He
started yelling, cursing, and swinging! his arms violently trying to get the
unknown things off, and ended up with the soiled sheets in a tangled pile at
his feet.
As the drunk stood there, unsteady on his feet, staring down at the sheets,
a hospital security guard (barely containing his laughter) who had watched
the whole incident walked up and asked, "What the heck is going on here?"
The drunk, still staring down replied: "I think I just beat the shit out of
a ghost".

ISO 3 ounces

I realized that flying could be rather frightening now in these days of tight security. And no I don't mean that being on an airplane thousands of feet in the air at a very high rate of speed is scary.

The decisions one has to make in regard to what to take in carry on luggage. I am only going out of town for 2 days & 1 night, so I do not want to check my bags. So, I have to decide will I be ashy? Take my contact lenses yes, but I won't have fluid for them? Oh, maybe I can do without toothpaste. But I can take my corkscrew & cigar cutter, maybe I should start knitting, because I can take knitting needles. Who needs a corkscrew on a plane? Or shortly after landing? Smoking is not allowed, so cigar cutter? WTF?

What to wear? Cute boots boots with a zipper, or ugly shoes that are easy to slip out of, or better yet sandles. They go with socks, right?

And I am a black woman, lets not even go into the list of hair products that won't fit in a 1 quart sandwich bag. Decisions, decisions. But I can buy all of this once I have gone through security at the airport. Yeah right, I want a $20.00 bottle of lotion with that $5.00 pack of gum.

So if you are in the airport and see a woman with no makeup, ugly glasses, ashy skin, don't be scared, just ask me to open your bottle of wine with my corkscrew. ;-)

Don't give up

on me. :-) I am trying to finish assignments & study for finals. So after the 15th, I will probably try to blog every day until the next semester starts in January. I will also be catching up on all the blogs that I read as well.

I actually passed a math test, there IS hope!

Great Thanksgiving!

I had a very nice Thanksgiving Day yesterday. I spent a good bit of time on the road, but it was a beautiful day and traffic was moving smoothly. And I got home in time to get a phone call from my son.