Summer Storms

Quote of the Day: "Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." - Langston Hughes

I'll admit, I do enjoy the occasional summer storm. The back porch on my new house has a tin roof and that does have a lullaby-like quality when it rains and sometimes, it makes for a nice cozy day to cuddle up with a book or something. I even like to out into the rain at times which is probably just weird. But...at some point, when every day looks like the picture above, as Atlanta has for the last week or two, it gets a little old. I'm tired of the height of my hair growing two inches every day (and not in a good way), I'm tired of having to unplug everything, every time it starts to lightning (as I learned the hard way, is necessary in this house), I'm tired of having to do 45 when I'd normally go a nice steady 80 because I can't see ten feet in front of me on the expressway. Most of all, I'm tired of every frog in the free world showing up when I attempt to go for a swim, a walk in the woods, or even when I just walk to the damn car.

And for that matter, I haven't stepped foot near a pool in two weeks which is killing me.

Baby Blue

I was gonna write about Michael Vick tonight, but I need to get some work stuff done and I actually need to get some sleep tonight. I have a three-ish hour drive I have to make tomorrow and I'm all kinds of nervous and excited about it. Let's just say all of that combined with no sleep will not be good for any party involved!

Anyway, I haven't picked a song or quote of the day in a while so I thought I'd combine the two tonight! I'll admit, I have a love-hate relationship with Bob Dylan. Some of his songs I absolutely love ("Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" is one) and some of them make me want to stab my eardrums out. However, the music aside, I could sit and read his lyrics like a novel and did just that last night. I found some songs I'd never heard before and tested them on YouTube but I found a lot of lyrics I could relate to. I know I've been all about "change" lately (not the Obama kind, don't worry) and I really liked this. So lyrics (quote) and song of the day by Bob Dylan:

"Leave your stepping stones behind

Something calls for you

Forget the dead you've left

They will not follow you

The vagabond who's rapping at your door

Is standing in the clothes that you once wore

Strike another match, go start anew

And it's all over now, Baby Blue."

- Bob Dylan

And the actual song:

My Liberal Bath

Back around Christmas, my little GC and I decided to go shopping. He dragged me into this little shop, just inside Macy's, full of weird little balls and chunks of...stuff (really, it was like a big open market of sprite, elf, and fairy food or something). After staring at the products for a while, smelling them and finally working up the nerve to touch them, I'll admit, I was at a loss. He finally asked the salesgirl what exactly we were looking at and in the bubbly yet condescending voice of someone who takes themselves way too seriously, she explained that these products would save the earth! They were organic and vegan and made a big impact on the world and if we didn't buy any we may as well go kill some babies.

"Great, but what the hell are they?" I asked. She never seemed to have an exact answer as I'm not sure she really knew, either, but we managed to figure out that these little balls and chunks were some sort of bath products. Here's where I have to admit the somewhat girl-like creature inside of me is a sucker for cosmetics and bath products. I even have to admit, I am a sucker for girly liberals products (never met an Aveda product I didn't like), but this was a bit much. Of course, the GC, who is probably 100x more girl-like than I am, insisted we take part in their special "buy 39, get one free" sale and asked me to purchase one so he'd only have to get 38. I did.

I picked out a little white ball (about the size of a baseball) with glittery stuff in it that smelled and felt like laundry detergent (it was called something like "Winter Solstice Tree,") I paid the five or six bucks for the stupid thing and watched as the goofy salesgirl wrapped each one of our 40 balls and chunks in not one, but two individual pieces of paper, put each one in its own bag and then put them all in a big bag - her own personal contribution to saving the earth, I suppose!


Fast forward six or seven months and I'm cleaning tonight and I find the carefully packaged ball. What the heck, why not take a nice relaxing, hot bath and give it a try! I wasn't exactly sure what to do with it, so I dropped the ball into the tub and watched to see what would happen. I couldn't wait to get in and see if it made me wanna pay higher taxes or lobby for gun control. After all, the girl said it would have a big impact!

Before I know it, my bathtub looks like this:

Yes, the color is accurate and those little floating things are, as far as I can tell, confetti. Who wants to get into that? It looked like a sewer! One soak in that tub and I was sure to look like this:

Not the kind of impact I was looking to make on the world. Eventually the water got less orange-sewer-like and more of a looks-like-a-hippie-just-bathed-in-this-gray.


I did end up getting in at that point, but I didn't stay long. As I watched the pieces of confetti float around, sticking to my arms and legs, all I could think is, there is no telling what else they are sticking too. This crap could be appearing for days. Case in point, once I drained the dirty sewer water out of the tub, this is what was left over.



Maybe the sight of purple stars and glittery squares left in my bathtub is supposed to make me happy. Like hey, let's do away with the military and go roast marshmallows and talk about puppies and kittens and rainbows with Mahmud Amandeninwhatever happy. I don't know, I haven't figured that out yet.

I just know I feel dirty. Like so dirty I need to go shoot some wolves and say a prayer to Rush Limbaugh, stat.


Update: it has been several hours since the bath and I have not done any of the following:
- bought a hybrid car
- recycled my toilet paper
- raised money for people in a country I haven't thought about since a 7th grade geography test
- shopped at my local Apple store
- voted for hope and change

I guess I didn't bathe long enough!

Sgt. James Crowley, Barack Obama & Race : A Rant

With all due respect to the President...okay, I can't even finish that sentence without laughing. But what I want to say is, I'd rather have Sgt. James Crowley protecting my community than Barack Obama organizing my community any day of the freaking year. I'm willing to bet Sgt. Crowley does more for the citizens of Cambridge, Massachusettes in four weeks - no, days - than Barack Obama will do for me in four years. I'm also willing to bet Sgt. Crowley doesn't walk around reminding everyone of his job title and probably doesn't go around poking his nose in where it doesn't belong. Obama, on the other hand, well, let's just say you can't watch a single interview/press conference that man takes part in without knowing he's the President of the United States, dammit, and he really had no business poking his nose into the Cambridge Police Department's business. I know, some will argue that he was asked the question by the idiot reporter, sure (but come on, you get to ask the POTUS anything and that's what you choose?), but he began his answer with the statement, "I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts..." Well, when you don't know all the facts, shouldn't you keep your mouth shut until you do? Common sense aside, don't they teach you that sort of thing in law school? What happened to the phrase "no comment." Not sure that's in the Big O's vocab, seeing as how he has a comment on every damn thing that happens these days, but that's a rant for another time.

Anyway, going back to the actual arrest and the race issue. I wasn't there and don't know all the facts, either, so I can't say whether or not the police acted stupidly. Having worked in a police department, I can assume this case was just like many others that these guys face on a regular basis. Race-related or not, you can't get it right all the time. You gotta go with your training and with your gut instinct in order to protect the people in your community. Sometimes the details have to play out after the initial moment is over. That's why we have a legal process. A few things do stand out to me, though, and there's just no good way to organize them so here goes:

1) As Rich Lowry quite simply points out (h/t Pat) one of the main officers handling the arrest is black. Unless his name is Uncle Ruckus and I'm willing to bet it's not, doesn't that mean anything?

2) Say there WAS someone breaking into the house. Say he told the cops he lived there (wouldn't be the first time a criminal said that) and they said, "Great, sorry to bother you, sir, have a nice evening" and drove off. What would Gates have to say when he came home and found his house broken into and especially once he learned how the police had reacted? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm thinking most normal people would be happy the police were looking out for their best interests.

3) I don't think people realize this and of course, the media never reports it right so why should they, but in situations like this, people like Gates aren't usually arrested for the original sin, ie. supposedly breaking into the house. They are arrested because they are arrogant assholes who think they are above other people and should be treated accordingly.

It makes me think back to the time when Cynthia McKinney assaulted a police officer because he committed the ultimate act of racism (or so she would have you believe), he asked her to show the required identification before she entered a building. It also reminded me of a story that happened in my hometown. A "Muslim" woman was asked to remove her headscarf before entering a courtroom per the rules set to protect everyone else in said courtroom. The local and even national media breathlessly reported that this woman was arrested for not taking off her headscarf. Not true at all! She was arrested because not only did she start acting like a freaking nutjob, screaming obscenities at the officer(s) and being erratic and all that good stuff, she waltzed right on in to the courtroom anyway, after she was told not to. But of course the NAACP and Al Sharpton and all the other radical groups and individuals who DO practice racism on a regular basis got involved and what was a local matter turned into a huge story that it shouldn't have been. Which leads me to my final point...

What matters most here, to me anyway, is that this never should have been a story that made national news. This never should have been a story that the President of the United States was questioned about when he was supposed to be talking about health care on national television during a primetime event. This should have been a local matter, a Cambridge PD and whatever other agencies were involved matter. The media made this story what it is because like the President and Gates and other people who walk around with a chip on their shoulder, many members of the media, hell, most liberals I know, try to paint a picture of things in this country that aren't there. Or if they are there, they try to make them appear bigger than they really are. I'm not denying acts of racism don't exist. They do and as long as we are all human, they will. Just like sexism, classism, anti-semitism, and a million other discriminatory acts you can name, racism does exist to some extent. Everyone deals with discrimination at some point in time on some level because it's our nature to be wary or those who aren't just like us and some people don't handle that as well as they should.

But am I the only one who sees the irony here when the black President of the United States is standing at the podium being asked about a black Harvard Professor and both of them are whining about how racist everyone in the country is?

I'm glad Sgt. Crowley didn't apologize. Obama's half-assed, not quite an apology wasn't enough for me. And I'm actually shocked that Crowley hasn't been subjected to a media witch-hunt yet (see: Joe the Plumber), but I hope he keeps his head up and keeps on doing his job regardless. I don't know all the facts and I wasn't there, so until it's been proven otherwise, I'm going to assume Sgt. James Crowley and all of the other officers involved did exactly what they were supposed to do.

P.S. Sgt. Crowley, if you're single....oh never mind. But come on, that's a good looking man!

End of Innocence

"Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shine down upon us to let us know they are happy." - Eskimo legend

At some point, last night, during a much needed break from work, I was reading the blog of a Twitter friend, This Side of the Radio. One of her posts titled "Sometimes it Makes You Cry" really touched me and made me think back to my own law enforcement days. Granted I wasn't there very long, but there are still a few situations that haunt me to this day. Usually, I was left shocked that people actually lived the way they do and managed to keep my personal feelings aside from any situation, no matter the magnitude. Sure, it's hard not to get upset when dealing with a child who is afraid of her own parents or with a man who wakes up to find that his wife of fifty years died unexpectedly in the middle of the night, but you do what you have to do.

But there was one incident that really bothered me, still does, and after reading her post last night, I went back to see when I had blogged about it. Turns out, it's been almost a year to the date since it happened. I'm pretty sure I still can't go into detail, but it had to do with the murder of a baby and I learned a lot of lessons during those few days that I dealt with it, both professionally and personally. Just weeks after starting the job, it seems like it was all just thrown at me out of the blue and my supervisor decided it would be a good learning experience for me to handle the follow-up. I did as best I could. I pretended it was just another day on the job. But after a day of filing loads of paperwork, hearing stories from other people who were dealing first-hand with the same case, and watching the vultures that are the local media land in my town, I went home and realized it wasn't just another day on the job at all. I watched the news and got mad when the reporter couldn't be bothered to get the details of the child's two short months on this earth correct. Didn't he even deserve that much? That's all it took for me to lose it. As I've stated, I don't cry a lot but I cried so hard that night. I cried for that poor baby who never even stood a chance. I was mad at the jerk reporters for embellishing the story to make for better TV. I wanted to make the short drive to the jail and do exactly to the person who committed the murder what he'd done to that innocent newborn. I was even mad at myself for how easy it'd been to spend the day dealing with the situation, essentially unaffected.

Anyway, I don't mean to keep up this chain of "life-changing," downer posts but when I realized it was the one-year anniversary of that whole ordeal, I thought the least I could do was remember it in my own way. I have a sad feeling, that aside from maybe a few of my former co-workers, very few other people are remembering that sweet little baby this week.

“Life is one grand, sweet song..."

QOTD: "They may become harder to achieve, but your dreams can't stop because you've hit a certain age..." - Dara Torres

The other night, I spent a long time reading some old blog posts and some other old things I'd written and that quote is actually from a post from about this time, last year, when Dara Torres became the first female swimmer beyond the age of 40 to compete in the Olympics.

So, yeah, if you read my little blog bio on a regular basis, you may notice it no longer says one of the things it used to say. That's because I don't and I no longer intend to. That's all you need to know about that. Kidding. Seriously, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately, remembering what I really want from life and rethinking lots of stuff. I have some new career-type plans (well, actually, they're sort of old, but whatever) and I guess I just sort of got lost over the last year or so as things went a little hectic. This wasn't a decision I made lightly; I've been working on it for the last couple of months, really, but lately, it's just hit me. It was probably prompted by any number of things, but that one quote really stood out. She's right. You can go for what you want or you can make a million excuses but you never know until you try. Personally, I think life is too short to not get what you really want out of it.

As a matter of fact, the title of this post came from another great person who didn't seem to let anything get in the way of accomplishing things and every time I go to bright wing bliss, I'm reminded of this quote, “Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.” - Ronald Reagan

I'll stop there before this post turns into some sort of Oprah moment. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, well, that's okay, too. I didn't want to get too specific because my plans aren't yet too specific. Just know I'm content and will not post anything of this nature again for a while! Got it?

Song of the Day: "Lost" by Coldplay - I know technically, you're supposed to hate Coldplay, and don't worry, I do, but I do like this song and I think I can relate to the lyrics right now.

Sgt 1st Class John C. Beale

Wow. In the past 24 hours I've: gotten maybe an hour of sleep. I cussed like a sailor as I carried my aunt's stubborn basset hound down about 20 very steep stairs in the dark. I sat, very impatiently, for two hours, trying to fix my computer because it wouldn't connect to the internet. I wished I didn't have to do any work today. I got worked up over the President's BS. I longed for the past. I got annoyed with my mother and a very good friend over silly things. I groaned about how sore I am from all the working out I've been doing lately. At some point, this morning, I had a little hissyfit because it seemed like nothing ever goes right. Basically, I found every reason not to be happy about or grateful for anything. And then I saw this video. In it, you see the Henry County PD escort the body of Sgt 1st Class John C. Beale from Peachtree City to a funeral home in McDonough, Georgia. According to the video caption, a notice was placed in the local paper, indicating the route and time of the procession. Just watching the video, I was overwhelmed at the number of people who showed up. It brought tears to my eyes, but at the very end, after the music, the sound of Taps being played really got to me. I am generally not a big crier, but I totally lost it watching this and I realized all that stuff I listed before doesn't mean a damn thing, really.

R.I.P. Capitalism

"Why is our free-enterprise system so strong? Not because it stands still, frozen in the past, but because it has always adapted to changing realities.” - Lee Iacocca

The first thing I saw when I woke up this morning was some moron whose name I can't even remember on Fox News, talking about health care. I didn't see the whole interview but when the anchor asked him a simple question such as "what about competition" (you know that thing that's sort of the foundation of capitalism), the moron replied, "Competition is only good when it's fair and the government doesn't think it's fair." WTF? Who suddenly gave the government the right to decide what's fair? (Answer: themselves.) There is nothing about health care in the Constitution. Hate to burst your bubble, people, it's not something that's owed to you; it's not a right. I guess we have four more years of this crap to look forward to. My question now is, will we ever be able to bounce back? Lee Iacocca's quote there is very true - but our free-enterprise system is not being given the option to adapt to "changing realities" and that, my friends, is what will eventually screw us out of our freedom and liberty and all the other good stuff outlined in the Constitution. Ahhh, the Constitution - remember the good old days when it was more than just a piece of paper/history lesson? I live in a freaking twilight zone.

Now...got that rant out of my system. Back to work.

Today's Workout Notes

I'm thinking this should never be its own post but I've spent most of today with a migraine (first one I've had in a LONG time) and have nothing else to report. No quotes, no politics, no Sarah Palin love.

So, I've been trying mix up my swimming a bit and doing a mixture of strokes, even though I'm still convinced a breaststroke done correctly works more muscles and I think the new found definition in my arms, shoulders, and legs and shrinking waist is some proof of that. Today, I did 20 laps with just arms, 20 with just legs. Then I started in on some backstroke like yesterday but soon realized that was not gonna be compatible with my headache, so I ended up doing every other two laps breaststroke and freestyle (or crawl if you wanna be picky). I got about 70 laps in before it started thundering. So...I came home, did some reps with the weights and ended up walking about a mile because of course, it quit thundering once I got back. I've started exploring the woods around here more and finding some new little walks to take. It's great because I don't have to hang on to the leash - Gabby can run free without worrying about her getting in any road! And it's good when I don't have time to hit the park! I'm thinking about starting next week (because this week is all messed up because of the house/dog sitting thing) getting up and walking to my parents' house and back every day before work.

And that's my workout for the day! I feel like I could have done more but like I said, this week is just nuts.

Sotomayor Observations

Quote of the Day: "Hey, has anybody asked Sotomayor which newspapers she reads?" - Jim Treacher

So, I haven't really been paying too much attention to the Sotoymajor hearings. I'm just not in the mood to watch Patrick Leahy hug her during their recesses or listen to Chuck Schumer tell me how "down-to-earth" she is. I mean, I enjoy our legal system, but let's face it, this is all fluff. She's gonna make it through. The deepest thought I've had about the whole show was when I tried to decide whether or not Russ Feingold was hot.
But then there was Lindsey Graham. (Don't worry, not gonna talk about how hot he is.) For a moment, I saw some hope. Graham turned into the stellar lawyer I hear he is and backed Sotomayor into corners using all sorts of obvious tricks and tactics. Sotomayor had a bit of a "deer in the headlights" look. It was good TV, but better yet, he was asking tough questions (and being a bit of a condescending jerk but whatev) and it was beautiful. He brought up Sotomayor's association with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund - a group with which she spent 12 years. According to Graham, the group has likened denying a woman the right to have an abortion (using tax-payer funds!) to slavery. Of course, Sotomayor said she had no idea this was the case.

If I recall correctly, a man named Samuel Alito took all sorts of crap from Senator Ted Kennedy about a group called Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a group which he was very loosely involved with (meaning I'm too lazy to look up and remember the details, I just remember it was a supposedly sexist/racist group but his having to do with it wasn't that big a deal). Kennedy was belligerent in his questioning and accusations. He was combative. Alito's wife cried. But in the end, I guess you could argue, Alito was allowed to pass, too.

As I said, I know Sotomayor will go through. I've heard so much media talk of "This is not the GOP's battle to pick" and I'm so tired of everyone looking at everything that way. I don't want to go off on a tangent about "right" and "wrong" but I'm sick of people thinking down party lines. What happened to standing up for what you believe in? What happened to holding someone accountable for their words and/or actions? How is that we're so willing to put a woman who is for all intents and purposes a racist, who spent twelve years heavily involved with a group that is at best wacky, on the highest court in the land because "this is not the GOP's battle to pick?" I don't give a crap! It's the American people's battle and I think if most people paid any attention or had the slightest idea of some of the things this woman has done or said, they wouldn't want those who represent them to vote for her, red state or blue state. While I appreciated Graham's tough questioning, it's almost as if he did and will let her off the hook. I know the thing's not over, but it's as predictable as a watching golf.

Because I can possibly make everything about Sarah Palin, I keep seeing this headline, "Palin drops a bombshell." When you click the links, or stay tuned for the breathlessly reported story, you get something like "Palin to campaign for Democrats!" First of all, O-M-G. Is that really a "bombshell?" Hell, I voted for Zell Miller (D, GA) in 2000. Did I just drop a bombshell on you people? Second of all, the "bombshell" term actually refers to the following quote made by Palin, herself, "I will go around the country on behalf of candidates who believe in the right things, regardless of their party label or affiliation." If there was ever any doubt in your mind that the media twists things to fit some sort of agenda... And as for the people who buy into the spin, back to what I said in my long Palin post a few weeks ago. We sit around and argue for change, for new ways of doing things, out with the old, in with the new. If Palin stumps for Conservative Democrats who hold your same values, is that a bad thing? Isn't the goal to get people in office who can offer up that change, not focus on little R's and D's by their names?

But back to the topic at hand: I will say this, if Judge Sotomayor is listening, we could totally bring out your eyes and take care of that little shine thing with a quick trip to the MAC counter (though I'm not sure that will get you anywhere with Senator Graham, could help with some of the others)! But let's face it, you're already gonna be the prettiest lady on the Supreme Court, so your call. Just sayin'.

(And re: last paragraph, I'm kidding, people!! Besides, she's much more of a Lancome type, I'm thinking.)

Dumbass of the Day - Me

So, I said the other day I'd try to pick back up with "dumbass of the day" and it's sometimes hard to narrow that down, especially after spending the day watching the Supreme Court stuff, but I've been urged to pick myself today. This really isn't as funny as I think some people think it is, but I guess it'll give you a little insight into how it is I go through life, the type of person who manages to run over themselves not just once, but twice within a year. Because I'm sure you all wanted to know!

About two weeks ago, Kroger had a big sale on twelve-packs of Coke products. Being that I drink Diet Coke 24/7, I took advantage of said sale. Being that I am lazy, I brought in only as many of said twelve-packs as I could carry in one trip that day. The rest stayed in the trunk of my car until I ran out and then I'd bring them in, one by one. Well, today, I stepped out to get the last of the twelve-packs and as I'm walking back to the door, the box breaks and the thing hits the ground. Diet Coke was spewing in every which direction, so I found a few that weren't busted and left the rest of the pack sitting outside so it could do its thing and not make a mess of my house.

The day goes on, I do my work, eat my lunch, drink my last Diet Cokes and watch Sotomayor fumble about like a woman does when faced with tough questions and at some point, I get up to go look outside. I do this often throughout the day because 1) I get bored, just sitting here typing and 2) I like to see how many frogs are in the holes in the little cement steps that make up the little walkway at the side of my house. Well, instead of frogs or any other unsightly creatures, the first thing I notice when I look outside? A twelve-pack of Diet Coke sitting at my door. My first thought? "Wow, someone must have brought me some Diet Coke." Most of my family pretty much lives within a mile of me and my landlord is really nice like that. What a coincidence, I'm out of it!

It only takes me a few seconds more to realize that I'm the dumbass who left it sitting there and I'm still gonna be without Diet Coke tomorrow. So, yeah, that's how my brain works, people. One track mind? Out of sight, out of mind? I'm sure there's some saying for it.

P.S. Not gonna make a whole post about this but 140 laps before my knee starting acting like a pansy. Mixed in some backstroke today. Gonna try to do some weights beore bed!

Steven Crowder Goes to Canada

If you don't know who Steven Crowder is, I have a feeling you will soon. Just recently, he went to Candada to get an idea of what their health care system is like and what sort of system we have to look forward to if the Big O gets his wish. (Just watch; it's funny, informative, and Crowder is adorable...even if he's only about 12!)

Random, Boring Stuff

So, I've been slacking on the whole "updating the blog" thing, this week. Shocker. Anyway, I've got a pretty busy week ahead. Last week, I pulled some all-nighters, still didn't finish what I needed to finish, and foresee the same sort of thing going on this week. I really need to buckle down and start making my full amount of work hours, I promised my aunt I'd take care of her house/dogs while she's out of town (which means spending half nights there and half nights here so Gabby's not alone all night)...actually, I'll spare you my list - just trust I've just got a lot to do. I'm actually wondering if I can hit the Big O up for one of those fancy czars everyone's talking about. Though as I pointed out on Twitter earlier today, I think they're more like nannies, less like personal assistants.

First, some blog stuff. 1) I wanna say thanks so much for all the great feedback on my Sarah Palin post! I haven't budged on my thoughts at all - still really looking forward to see what she can bring us in the future. 2) You may notice my "Good Blogs, Great People" list is missing from the side over there. Well, my friend Candice changed her blog over from blogspot to wordpress and I went to update the link so it would be accurate and well, somehow, I managed to delete the whole list. So, if I'm no longer linking you, never fear, I should have it back up and running in a few days. (And I totally blame Candice for having the nerve to switch, not the fact that I'm tech-retarded.) 3) Working out - I've had two a lot of people say "your workout posts motivate me to do it" and so now I feel like a jerk because I haven't posted anything after making a big deal about it! That's partly because weather, time, frogs and a potentially dislocated shoulder have sort of put a damper on things this week. Last night, I finally got around to swimming laps and I only got 50 in because of the shoulder but this week, I'm gonna try to get at least something in every day.

I haven't had a quote of the day in a while, so I'm gonna go with this, which I totally think should be South Carolina's new state motto: "We're not just yard sales & golf courses, ya know." - that comes from twitter friend @bhaddad in response to me saying something dumb about not knowing there were mountains in the state. (And if you're on Twitter, you should totally be following him! I swear he's one of the only people who has been able to crack me up over what have been some of the worst few weeks of my life! ...and he takes great pictures!)

Okay, if you're totally missing me, you know you can always check out Women of the GOP. (<-- not really that conceited, just trying to score points with the bosses) Another goal for this week is to update it more and I have some great ideas so keep checking back each day! The last thing I wrote was about Michele Bachmann, who Seann Hannity called "The GOP's 2nd Most Hated Woman." I'll admit, I didn't know a lot about her and one of the neatest things I read is that she has fostered over 23 kids! I love hearing about stuff like that!

I know everyone's dying to know how my house decorating is coming. Really, it's not. Remember that awful blue bookcase I bought? I've been trying to paint it black for about three weeks now. Between the mosquitoes and rain, I'm not having tons of luck. After that, my goal is to get my sofa covered (and by get my sofa covered, I mean beg my mom to make me a sofa cover because I don't know a damn thing about sewing). I finally found some fabric I really like:


Kind of goes with my whole green, white, and black/natural/outdoorsy theme I'm working on. And next time I decide to actually decorate a room, I'm going to buy furniture that doesn't have to be painted or covered or anything more than delivered to my home. Character is overrated.

I feel sort of out of the political loop this week, especially since Roxy is in the process of moving and we've had to put our podcast on hold (I swear I will post more details when we get good and settled) but as always, my friend Pat at And So it Goes in Shreveport keeps me up to date on what I need to know and even what I don't. Did you know there is an entire store in DC devoted to the Obama's? I kid you not. Check out Pat's blog for more on that!

Well, it's 4:00 AM and I have great plans to be up in about three hours so I guess I'll leave it at that! Peace out, homies! Or, uh...have a good week!

Song of the Day: "Scarlet Begonias" - Grateful Dead...no reason other than I've been on a Dead kick lately and SB is probably my favorite song they do.

Confession Time!

So, I'm out of ideas for updates today and kind of short on time, but my friend Pat nominated me to do this "Honest Scrap Award" thing. I guess the goal is to tell people ten things about yourself that people may not know.

Let's see...

1. I studied acting at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and film at GSU when I was younger. Often contemplate actually doing something with it.
2. Despite that and what many people who meet me online may think, I'm really shy in "real life."
3. I have a tattoo
4. One day, I will learn to surf and/or scuba dive.
5. That said, I'm very clumsy. I can trip, fall, slide, and of course, run over myself with the best of them.
6. I've been a little right-winger since I was about five or six. I have the tapes to back that up; I just didn't know there was a name for it then. My parents thought I was nuts.
7. I am a sucker for visiting any and all historical touristy type places.
8. I can play the piano and used to could play the flute...haven't picked one up in a long time.
9. I'm a total George Costanza-like hypochondriac. If there is a disease to be had, I'm pretty sure I thought I had it at one point.
10. I have a pretty foul mouth. You'd REALLY have to get to know me to find that out but when I get going with certain people in private...eek!

I'm supposed to pick other people to do it but I'll let you decide amongst yourselves.

Happy Birthday to the GC!

I'm not sure which one of us should be more embarrassed by this picture.

Dumbass of the Day

It's been a long time since I've had a "dumbass of the day" but this one is a must post:

Family Sees Image Of Michael Jackson In Tree Stump (but read on; there's more!)

Dining room update

I have added candle holders to my dining room table. That is all.



Well, that's not all, I also put Gabby's chair over there in the corner. (If I ever get my bookcase painted black, it's going there on that wall.) She was not at all amused as I used to keep it parked over in front of the sliding glass door so she could look out, but an old ratty chair in the middle of the doorway just doesn't look good with my decor.

I surived!

First: I so need this!! Coming Tuesday!! Peanuts: 1960's Collection (2-Disc Set) on DVD

So, I survived the worst holiday of the year. Sure, my "unadulterated patriotism" still goes unmatched, but it's all good. I bet I'm the only person on earth who was asked approximately 1,015 times, both in real life and online, "What did you think of Sarah Palin's announcement?" Not sure if that's got anything to do with patriotism but I'm gonna pretend it does! And I didn't even get sad about the fireworks. As a matter of fact, I got pretty damn irritated when my neighbors started and continue to fire the things off because I have a headache and it's making my dog bark. I think this is the start of a new era in my life. Hello, old crotchety lady on the corner who screams at all the neighborhood children for walking across the front lawn! I did stop short of screaming "get a room" to my cousin and her boyfriend when they decided to start groping each other in the pool today, so maybe I'm not quite there...yet!

I kid, I kid! Hope y'all had a good one. Stay tuned, Monday is the GC's b-day and tomorrow, I'm gonna see if I can't dig up some old pictures of us from back in the day to post!

Song of the Day: "Battle Hymn of the Republic" - SheDaisy (I love this version of this song and had the hardest time finding it to post here...this was the best I could do!!)

Happy 233, USA!

Quote of the Day: America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. - President George W. Bush

Most anyone who knows me, knows I joke about hating the 4th of July. (You can read why here: Sarah Way Down South: Quote of the Day 7/4/08 - USA's DOB.) But the truth of the matter is, all personal goofiness aside, what this day stands for means more to me than I could ever put into words...especially when I have to be at my family's cookout in an hour!

So, what I'm going to say is this: I hope you all have a good one, enjoy your fireworks, parades, and cookouts, but also enjoy your freedom and liberty...while you still have it. Maybe if you get a moment, think about the people who have sacrificed to give it to you...from the founders of our country to the men and women who serve in the military! Such an overwhelming feeling!

Palin Resigns: Only the Beginning?

If you've already gotten a head start on your big 4th o' July weekend plans, you may or may not know that Sarah Palin resigned from her position as Governor of Alaska today. As everyone knows, I adore this woman and assuming there are no trips to Argentina hidden behind this news (and I'm going to assume there aren't because I may not have tons of talents but I am usually a good judge of a character and am seldom wrong about people), I can only say my opinion of her has not changed. Maybe I like her more.

As you all know, I have been a fan of Palin's since she became the governor of Alaska for the same reasons that millions of Americans have fallen in love with her. She's authentic, she does what she says, she believes what she says, she stands up for what she believes in and she puts the interest of other people before her own. She stands up for those who can't stand up for themselves and she does it with honor and integrity. As she said in her speech today, she puts her family and faith first, and that's not just a line to win votes; she has proven that time and time again. I don't think I need to go on about how great she is because I have at length and at this point, those who get it, get it, and those who don't, don't. I understand that people are skeptical by anyone with the word "politician" in their job description and I don't blame them. Look at the ones we've had to put up with over the years.

But this is what I don't get. Many of us sit around saying we're tired of the same old ways of doing things. We're tired of the same old politicians. We have the tea parties, we protest, we blog, we twitter, we wear t-shirts and put up signs and bumper stickers, we wear our feelings on our sleeves. So when someone comes along who embodies everything we want in a leader, why is it that we turn our collective nose up at them. Why don't we give her a chance to be that person. Why don't we take her at her word and see what she has to offer? We say we're tired of "politics as usual," but when someone comes along who is anything but your usual politician, who doesn't "play the game" just because that's the way everyone else does it, we freak out. Is it because we don't know how to react? Is it because we are so jaded and skeptical? Is it because so many of us have become complacent and allow the media to filter our thoughts? I honestly don't have the answer to that question.

What I do know is this: there are few people in positions of leadership that I would trust with my life, my family's lives, and my country. Sarah Palin is one of them. Maybe the only one of them right now. I know I will get a lot of flack for saying this but that's no reason to back down from my feelings. So many people have raised the question of her running for President in 2012, only to turn around and say "bad idea." The media will crucify her. The left will ruin her. She's not this enough or not that enough. When did we become people who are scared of things such as that? When did we become people who sit back and let our competitors or the media dictate how we live our lives?

I don't really know why Sarah Palin resigned today. No one but she and maybe her husband and kids know the real answer. As I said, I take her at face value because I honestly in my heart believe she is good. There are few people in the world I can say that about. You can laugh at me, you can say I drank some sort of dreamy kool-aid with a side of idol worship. That's fine. If there's one thing Sarah Palin and others whom I admire have taught me, it's not to worry about what other people think about what I believe in. As a matter of fact, I was pretty burned out on politics and my hope for the general population until Sarah Palin was chosen as John McCain's Vice President. As I watched Governor Palin give her speech today (a transcript of the speech can be found here), as I watched her hold her head high, standing next to her family, fighting back tears, I found that same hope. In a world where Michael Jackson trumps ridiculous and excessive taxation in the news, I found that same hope. I saw that one person who is in a position to do something about it - not because she is a Governor or was a potential Vice President, but because she loves people and wants to help them and they trust her in return - recognize the direction in which this country is going. Palin did so much for the state of Alaska in a few short years. She did so much for women, especially Conservative women (just go visit Team Sarah to get an idea). But we never heard those stories because we were force fed the irreverent and have become too lazy to seek the truth.

Unlike recent speeches from individual politicians about "tragic love stories," I saw someone who was tired of the same old games. Someone who really wants to make a difference in this world and someone who will rise above the ridiculousness that has become our government and our media to do that. Someone who will, no doubt, become a leader again in some capacity. Someone who, if I ever have children, I will want them to look to as a role model. Someone who could be the person that saves this country, its people, and its ideals put forth in the Constitution from all who seek to destroy it, including most of the people we have in office today.

As radio host Tammy Bruce said today, "Palin has committed the unpardonable sin of not being destroyed by the Liberal Gestapos. Run, Baby, Run!"

Palin, who seems to be as big a fan of great quotes from great people as I am, quoted General MacArthur today: “We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.” If Sarah Palin meant that and is ready to lead some people in this country to real change, in or out of office, I stand behind her 100%.

And in the event that I'm wrong, in the event that Palin just wants to stay home and raise her children and spend time with her family, I wish her the best of luck. Even if her face never graces my television again, I'll always be grateful for what she inspired in me me and millions of others across the country.

"Now I know just what to do..."

Song of the Day: "Say Goodbye" - Fleetwood Mac ... I'd never heard of this song until last summer when I was all about the Fleetwood Mac, but I have still never heard a non-live version of it and I'm not sure that'd I want to. Watching Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham perform together is just amazing. I don't know if it's mostly for show or if it's really the effect of a crazy, tragic love story, but it's good stuff.