What was I thinking?

What was I thinking....

I was just having a conversation with Christy about the crazy stuff we did as teens. What started this was something that happened today. See, my daughter is really into the pop music scene now. Yeah shes only seven. But to hear her tell it, with hand on the hip, shes almost eight. Well in two months she will be. Kid, believe me, you dont want to start the stuff of trying to be older now. It catches up to you. No, dont roll your eyes at me. It WILL catch up to you. Enjoy it while you can.

Today we went to the mall with my father. Entertaining as usual but something struck me. Her birthday is coming up and soon. What will I get for her. Shes really big on Hannah Montana. Everyone else on Disney as well. Nothing to do with Mickey though. Its all the teen stuff. Shes even reading BOP magazine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I did the same thing. But Im not telling who.

So anywho, last night I bought her the new Hannah Montana CD set and put it away for her birthday. But simply cant just get her that. So I saw that KMart has all the Hannah Montana bedding on sale. I put the comforter, sheet set and another fuzzy blanket on layway. I had to. It was about $100 total. Yeah, imagine that. I dont even have bedding that expensive.

So during this conversation, we took a stroll down memory lane. What a scary trip that was. We talked about the hair and the clothes and all the wild stuff we did. I remember being in elementary school and the biggest thing for me then was horses. I had three of them so I pretty much dressed the part. Jeans and boots. I also went to a rural school too. But when 5th grade was over, I moved to the 'burbs and somehow got caught up in a whirlwind of hellish fashion trends. The first week of school in one of the ore prestige areas was completely terrifying and crazy. I learned that jeans and boots no longer existed. Its now monogramed sweaters and turtle necks with tight Jordashe jeans. Oh and on Wednesdays, the girls wore their riding outfits because that was the day they all went riding after school in a club thing. I went once. Are you for real? I know how to ride english style but this made me sick. I prefer riding western thank you. Much more easier on the back.

Anywho, time goes on. I end up in a school thats more my style. Instead of being in the upper class, Im now back to the middle class. So six months of hell was enough for me. Not that I couldnt fit in, because I did fairly well at it, I wasnt comfortable with it. But this also opened alot more doors for trends. Im in a mixed dimension here. There is punk, metal, preppy and geek all in one place. Which ever I chose will be acceptable. Well I chose metal. What? You dont think that Im a heavy metal chick? Ahhh, thats because you havent seen me that way. I lost the big hair about seven years ago. Yeah it took me that long to put away my can of hairspray and the hair pick that make it all stand up. That hairpick must have been able to walk on its own. It was so sticky with hairspray. What was I thinking?

So thinking back on the fact that my daughter is into the current teen scene, it got me thinking to my own. The music now isnt too bad. I listen to it. But then again, music is a huge part of my life. So yeah, Im up an up to date mom. However, my mom wasnt. Im sure I scared her a few times with the stuff I was blasting through the house. Im sure I gave her a few heartattacks when I dressed to go out. I think back on those outfits and I think I scare myself. For school, I pretty much wore tight jeans and the spike heeled boots. You wouldnt catch me wearing Members Only. Oh no. That was a no-no in my closet. Although I do know what that all is and I had some friends that wore it. I wasnt in any particular clique. I hung out with just about everyone. But I do have a few people on here that know me in person and knew me in person then. You know who you are. He he he.

But then there comes the big hair. This was not an easy task. I think the worst part of it was waking up in the morning and your head is still the same as it was when you went to bed. This shit didnt move. A gust of wind was no match for AquaNet in the light blue can or Rave No.4. And if your hair did get messed up in your sleep, it was hell and high water to get that crap out of it. Funny thing is though, I never used mousse. What the hell was that stuff anyway? It just made my hair even more stickier. Goopy stuff that comes out like shaving cream should not be placed on the head unless you expect something weird to happen.

So the first step is to go into the shower and wash your hair like three times to get all that crap out. And dont forget to condition your hair at least twice. If you dont, then all the perms and hairspray will literally eat it off. Oh dont forget the perms. You HAD to have one to be able to get this right. I think what scared me the most was that the guys during this ear had bigger hair than the chicks did. And they wore more makeup. Freaky I know. But remember that we drooled over them. And some of us still do. Im not saying names. You know who you are. And the guys wore jeans so tight you could see... oh never mind. Lost my train of thought there for a second.

Anywho, now that you are done with the shower. What? No Im not going to finish telling you everything I did in there. I shaved my legs. Happy now? Bah... Shut up. Im not telling you so stop begging. lolol. So anywho, before I was interupted, you have to start with the makeup. CoverGirl eyeliner in the little red pencils was the choice. But you had to melt the tips before using. The black stuff went on easier if you did. I had to explain this to my mom of why I needed a lighter. And I kept it in my makeup bag. Shhhh. I had another in my purse for other things. More makeup I swear. I had to do touch ups during the day.

So now you have the makeup thing going. And dont forget the pink blush. Now comes the hair. I have straight hair. There in nothing going to happen to it if I didnt do all that crap first. It just doesnt go the way you want it to. And that way was up. I have baby fine hair but I have alot of it. So it pretty much was just flat and straight. So off to the salons for perms. This killed my hair. Which is why I had to soak it in conditioner all the time. Anyways, you towel dry your hair and now it looks like someone put you through electric shock therapy. Its everywhere. You now have two choices, let it dry like this and spray it up that way or you took a brush to it and a blow dryer and pray for the best. I chose a blow dryer because I was too lazy and slept later in the mornings. I didnt have time to let it dry on its own.

After its dry and somewhat styled, you took a curling iron to it. You didnt curl it though. You seperated the top into rows all the way back. During this process, you lifted the hair straight up and then sprayed it. After all the rows were done, you then picked it all out. Only the top had a small curl in it so that when it was picked out, it curled torwards the back and sides. What a friggin' process this was. Took hours to get it all done. But you cant leave a hair out of place.

Now comes the time to get dressed. This was yet another process. Jeans. Skin tight jeans. Ones that you put on wet and let dry to your skin. You were lucky that you could sit down without your legs busting out straight in front of you. But you had to make sure that you put your shoes on first before you pulled them up. If you didnt, you would be in deep trouble trying to do so. You cant bend over. There is no way, no how to do this any other way. Its why 80s sports cars had the seat so low to the floor because you just cant sit in an upright position. Your legs have to extend in front of you. But now comes the hard part. Zipping them up. You had to lay flat on your back on your bed to be able to do so. You sucked in your breath and prayed that you didnt catch skin in the zipper. And to think that we make fun of women in the 1800s for wearing corsets. We cant breathe in tight jeans.

So now you are ready for the scene. Dont forget your jean or leather jacket. And dont forget to roll the sleeves up to mid forearm. And you have to have some sort of design on them. I had patches of various bands or I drew them on with colored markers. Or someone else drew something on them. And there was even a time we wore a bandana wrapped around the knee or over the cuff of the boot.

Now you are in school. There is a trick to keeping this look all day. You had to sit at your desk with a compact mirror to make sure you still had on all that makeup. Even at lunch time, you usually washed it off and added a new coat of it. But you never had to redo your hair. You simply ducked into the bathroom and just stood there. Everyone else in there was fixing their hair and you would catch the mist while standing behind someone else that was at the mirror. Worked perfectly. But the trick was that you had to be able to see in there. The room was clouded over with smoke and hairspray. Its a wonder that no one caught fire. That room and the ones surrounding it would have and should have exploded into the next town.

You wouldnt be caught riding a bus either. That was a no-no. Everyone had cars. And even a numbered parking spot. This and the smoking area had to be approved by your parents. And little stickers were placed on you student ID card. But..... yes this is a but...I was in the AV club that did this service. I myself and alot of friends had these stickers without parental approval. Seems funny how the freshmen were also allowed into the senior lounge huh? Ahhh the joys of that.

Its funny how I can look back on all this and think of how the hell I survived it. I know there are still a few of my friends that still havent quite let go of this era. Hell, even the stores are selling 80s stuff again. But it seems to be that bright colored stuff worn by those that wee into the whole punk and pop scene. Flash backs of WHAM scare me. I didnt like them then and I damn sure wont like them now.

But one trend is still out there. The studded belts and arm bands. I wore them. Sometimes four or five belts at a time. These were not worn to hold your pants up. They did that on their own. But you wore them hanging loose over your hips. Some crossed and some didnt. Depeneded on what you wore with them. Im sure that I gave my mom a hell of a scare when I went out to hang with friends or to concerts. You can look up these looks by just googling the bands that were popular then. I would do it myself but I may have too many flashbacks. I would also add some of the things we did for fun but that would only get me into trouble. I swear I was a good girl.

Dont look down.......

Dont Look Down....

If you do, you will either crap your pants from the height or pee them from laughing. First off, I will include a disclaimer to all those in reference to "yuppies", "city folk" or just plain ole stupid people. This disclaimer is about those that I "met" along the trail. I will also include some back story about myself. Im a country girl. Born and raised in this area that Im posting about. The smell of cow chucks dont bother me. The fact that houses are far and few are a blessing. And also that the "locals" find it amusing when the city folk come around. We have to have entertainment somehow. Not like there is anything else to tickle our funny bones. But I will also state that I currently live in the city. Its not by choice. Trust me, I hate this place. And that damn smelly tree.

So here is where the day begins. I should include some pictures and I just may. Well that is, if I dont get too lazy right now. Im really tired. Ok. I get my sorry ass out of bed about 9am. Yeah it was a struggle. I ate some pancakes because I knew that if I didnt eat something now, it was going to be a long time before I did. Packed a picnic lunch and got ready to leave. I made sure that we all wore pants because of where we were going to go. Lots of hiking means scraped knees and gawd knows what else. Im smart.

We loaded up the truck and headed out of this gawd forsaken city that I hate so much. We are headed to the mountains near my home town. My favorite place to be in up in the mountains. I will also include to you the term redneck. Yes I am one and Im damn proud of it. Im not inbred though. Sorry if that confuses anyone. This is New York. Oh wait. There are inbreds here. Oh well, Im not one of them. And I have all my teeth.

So we hit the back country roads. These roads are well known to us. Hell, we have lived on these roads. But it makes me sad to see the precious land go to hell with the yuppies moving in. Extreme houses and fancy schmancy cars. Wait til it snows, bub. You wont be driving that car for much longer. One of the locals will be pulling your ass out of a ditch. And ya know what? You will have to pay them to do it. But if you are one of us, you will share a beer later on at the local tavern. One of the many perks.

So anywho, we are driving along and Cami is in the back seat listening to her headphones and singing at the top of her lungs. This is amusing because for most of the songs, she doesnt know all the words. So the la la la and the humming gets pretty funny. Ask Christy, shes heard it. Now everything is going smooth when suddenly a cardnial comes flyng out of nowhere and cuts in front of us. You cant miss this because its bright red. Ok Ok..... Im awake now. But it gets even better. Down the road about a mile or so, something else decides it wants to do this as well. But a small bird wouldnt be a problem to the grill of a Dodge Ram. But when flew out next would have ripped the front end up pretty bad. It was a turkey. Yes, turkeys can fly. They have wings. They are a bird. Most people usually see them with a side of mashed potatoes. So this one decides to make an appearance and the breaks are slammed to the floor to avoid being asphault and feathers. Well it did leave a few feathers. Quite a few to be exact. We planned on picking some up but there was some jackass in a BMW behind us. So the bird lands and takes off into the woods. And to think that Mr. Beemer honked his horn at us. Ya know what? We should have let your sorry convertable ass hit it. Then there would have been some real entertainment.

So onward we travel. Up and up the mountain we go. We are headed to John Boyd Thatcher State Park. Now I mean that this is truely a state run park. You have to pay $5 to park in the parking lots. Well all of them except the lookout lot. Thats only because it is seperated from the main picnic area and the Indian Ladder Trail. The back story to this is that the trail runs along what we call and escarpment. And escarpment is an area of a mountain where glaciers or high waters erodes the area and huge parts of the rocks break off and slide down to the valley below. Thus leaving a flat wall on the face of the mountain. Well this particular escarpment runs along a section of the Helderberg Mountains. It runs for miles. It a very beautiful sight to see.

This is what the escarpment looks like from the ground.

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In that last one, remember the brown house that you see. You will see it later.

There is a trail that runs along that rock wall. Right up aganst it in the tree line below it. In some parts, there is no railing or ropes to protect you from falling to your death over 100 feet below. Im sure the trees will break your fall. And break your neck while you are at it. But thats besides the point. Thats where alot of my amusement came from while hiking the trail. There were some pretty crazy idiots out there that just couldnt get it through their heads that you have to keep your children close at all times and that wild flowers on the side of the cliffs, and the drop off below, are not meant to be picked. Oh wait, these must be the city folk, yuppies and the generally stupid people that I was refering to earlier. Yep. Its them alright. In these pictures, you will see the trail and the rock walls. In some of them you will notice that you see sunlight at the top. Thats because I was looking straight up while taking the pictures. No way in hell is there a way to stand on the trail and get a wide angled shot from where Im standing. I like my life, thank you.

So we start our trip on the trail by pulling into one of the many parking lots. There is a little booth at the gate where there is someone lounging in a lawn chair catching the sun. Usually these are the locals that are hired for such position. And usually they are hung over. This one sure was and I was expecting to see a glimps of a 6-pack somewhere in the booth. Well whaddya know, There was one. But this guy was smart. It was Pepsi. Im sure the Park Rangers were pleased. Yes there are park rangers that patrol the area for idiots that they have to rescue. So we pay the guy and get our stamped ticket so that he can go back to sleep.

We park the truck and all get out. We are at the lot where one end of the trail is. Its doesnt matter which end you start at. Its a hell of a climb down either way. So I will post a series of shots on the way down and some of the cave openings and rock walls. Over all, I took 106 pictures but I wont be posting all of them.

Here we begin.

Looking back up at the steps leading off the lawn into the entrance to the trail.
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This is where the steps to go down begin. No shes not pissed. The sun was in her eyes so she looked away.
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Now we start the way down.
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Even though this picture was taken after we came back up, I will show it to you now so that you know what we were walking on.
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You can see the trail and how close it is to the rock wall. You will also notice that there is no railing or ropes at that point. You will see that alot. But there are areas that are protected. Only because there is nothing under you to walk on so they built a platform around the rocks that jutt out. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

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This next picture shows where the trail leads down to a cavern behind a waterfall. You can see where they are standing that the railing ends there. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/gammak/IndianLadderTrail057.jpg

This is a pretty stupid idea because of this idiots that come down there thinking that they can do as they please and wander where they please. These are the ones that will receive a Darwin Award in the future. You will see by the phots as I go along just how dangerous and stupid this is. But the waterfalls is really pretty. And the view from this point is amazing. Some of these shots are of the falls, behind the falls, inside the cavern behind the falls, and the idiots playing in the water.

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You can clearly see in these pictures, the trail we all came down on. Its along the tree line at the base of the wall. You can also see people playing in the water.
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Moving further on down the trail, we get to see alot of the vegetation that grows in the shade. And the vivid colors of the greens are amazing.
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Further on, we see another area where there is an overhang. This time there are ropes to keep you from taking the leap. At this point, we have passed a bunch of people that just dont understand what it means to avoid the edge when passing people on the trail. At least the locals we passed were smart enough to do that. And to make it clear that we knew these were locals, they were carrying beer.
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Now this next part will be amusing to those that know the meaning of the story that Im about to tell. We came across an area where there is an underwater stream that flows out from under the rock wall, under a bridge that we have to cross and then down a falls over the side of the cliff. This is where we divide all the terms stated in the beginning of the post. I will add that there are quite a few people gathered at this point. One of which was a park ranger. I know that he is a local for sure. He clearly understood everything being said. The pictures of the stream as it came out from the wall didnt come out because of the assh..I mean idiots that kept bumping into me on the bridge.

I will show you the picture first and then tell the rest of the story.
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While we were leaning over the edge of the railing, we can see down the falls quite clearly. All the rocks and stuff that have gathered there are visible as well. There was one lady that went down into the stream area to (are you ready for this) feel the moss on the rocks. The ranger was quite amused by this. Its obvious that we are in yuppy territory here now. She comes up out from the rocks and back up on the bridge where an oriental man immediatly starts to dust her off. Mind you that there is no dust on her. But she freaking out about it. And she was demanding that he dust off any bugs that "may have" landed on her. Excuse me while I put my finger down my throat and hurl.

Well there was a couple of ladies also leaning on the railing. Definately not of the local kind. We could tell this because of the way they were dressed. Hooded wind breakers and shorts with a polo shirt. Ok so that doesnt mean anything but the sandals with little heels most certainly does. And these werent of the young kind either. These ladies were most likely in their 50s. So yeah. Definately not locals. The ranger was amused by this as well. Oh, did I mention to you that Cami was trying to pick up little pretty stones all along the way? She claims to have a collection of them. Yes, as a matter of fact, she does. I make her empty her pockets out because she probably now weighs about 40lbs more than when she started.

So as we are all leaning over the railing, Bill makes the comment that you can all see an "ancient redneck fossil" on the rocks below. You should have seen about 20 people all rush over to get a good look at at and some even had cameras out. I took that picture just to show you what they were all rushing to see. The ranger busts out laughing. Yep, hes a local. So here they all are with their cameras ready asking "Where? Where?". Hahahahaha... So we tell them, "right there. Cant you see the beer bottle?" This got alot of angry stares. Like I care. Bah. Im laughing so hard that this is where I first discovered that I have to pee. The ranger is near to bursting. Hes cracking up.

Well the two ladies next to us then had this bright light bulb appear above their manicured heads when they stated that there was also a water bottle on the rocks as well. Thats when we said "thats an ancient yuppy fossil" and we walked on off the bridge. The ranger nearly fell over. I guess the ladies werent too amused because they were also carrying waterbottles. Now I wish I had gotten a picture of the looks on their faces. It was priceless.

So we move onward up the trail. The views are incredible. I have been taking some shots of the views along the way but Im not going to post them here. I will put up some of the views from the top shortly though. This post is long as hell. My fingers are killing me but I will keep on typing. This was a great day and I want to share it with everyone.

We come across another cavern area with yet another cave opening. There were several along the trail but they were all really up high on the rocks. I have shots of them but they all look the same. But I will show you the ones here.
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There is a little story here as well. In this area, we decided to take a rest. There are a couple of cave openings, as you can see. And there were a couple of large flat rocks to sit on and admire the view. It was at this point that I discovered that my camera card was full. So I sat down and deleted some of the pictures that I had on there from school that I havent deleted yet. In the mean time, several others show up. Including some smaller kids. Oh, I forgot to mention that back at the over hangs, you can see that there was some water that was coming out from the wall. These came out in the forms of small streams. Go back in the pictures and you will see what Im talking about. There were some people, kinds and adults, that wouldnt cross them because of fear of getting their shoes wet. *rolls eyes* And Cami made the remarks about them being sissys.

Anywho, that same group shows up again and the kids are running all over the place. It was like a friggin echoing zoo in there. Cami yelled out a few times that they need to grow up. The parents werent too pleased about this and I thought, what the heck, we wont ever see them again after today. But here is yet another example about who are the locals and who are not. These people clearly were not. So we decided to let them go on ahead of us and we rested a little longer. I was really not in the mood to have to deal with these kids running around on the trails. Plus I really didnt want to be a witness to them falling off the side.

So we come to the end of the trail. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/gammak/IndianLadderTrail008.jpg

We had to climb up yet another set of those metal steps. I didnt take a picture of this because, I will admit to this, my lungs have pretty much given out on me. Remember that I am allergic to tree pollen and at this time of the year, I was coughing the whole way on this trail. Sad, I know. My sinuses are swollen but I didnt complain. I really enjoyed this trip. I have lived in this area all my life and have never taken this hike before. I have partied up on the top part in the park itself many times but thought twice about being drunk on the trails and just never went.

So we went up the steps and thats one of the landings that we ended up on. See picture above. Also this was on the wall.
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The date is clearly on the bottom of when it was put there. Really cool huh? Cami swears that there was a butterfly on the bottom of it and that I didnt get it in the shot. Ummm Cam, that wasnt a butterfly.

But here is a funny shot of her asking.... "do I really have to go up those steps?"
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Interesting story on here. I wont get into that one because of the whole history about the Torys in the area. Maybe sometime I will just look up links and post them back here for you to read about them.

But the hike isnt over yet. We still have to walk all the way back to the truck. Only this time its above the trail below. We are back in the sunlight and the wind is really nice. Made for a cool sunny day. And a hell of a long walk back. There are alot of lookout points along this trail. The city of Albany can be seen in the distance. There is one shot where I zoomed in on it. Also there is a shot of the top of the waterfall. Remember that brown house from the beginning of the post? Look down in the valley and you will see it. The large area of white buildings is an industrial park. Just to clear that up. The tall buildings are the city of Albany. The mountains in the distance are the Adirondack Mountains.

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The Helderberg Mountains are not an overly high mountain range. But they are definatly a beauty. They are nestled in between the Adirondacks and the Catskills.

Now here is another part of the hike that amused me. You can see in one of the pictures that there is a sign in the water about not throwing things over the edge. That is the top of the waterfall. While on this little bridge, a family came up and also leaned on the railing. The conversation cracked me up. Also a good example of who arent the locals.

Mom: What a great view.
Son: You can see the houses that we passed while coming up here.
Mom: Yes you can. Isnt it great?
Son: But most of them are hidden in the trees.
Mom: Thats what makes this so great. You cant see them from here because there are so many trees.
Son: Thats not right. The trees are blocking my view of te ground.
He then stomps off. Clearly pissed.
Mom: But breathe in the air. Its wonderful.

I nearly died at this point. So onward me walked towards the truck that was still about a mile away. Along the paths there are open lawns for games and sun as well as picnic tables and those little old rusted cookers on a pole. You know the kind that Im talking about. They have been there for longer than I have lived. Now mind you that you have to bring a small rack and some foil if you want to use them. The racks that came with them are long gone. Oh and there are some fire pits as well. But the thing that caught my attention was a family that was set up with a very large picnic at one of the tables. There were a couple of cooler and the father (I presume) was standing there in front of one of the cookers with a plate loaded with burgers and hotdogs. I nearly fell forward and skinned my knees when I heard him say "How do you work this thing?" And to make it even more amusing, there wasnt a bag of charcoal in sight.

This also goes along with the family parked on the side of the road because they were too cheap to pay the $5 to park a very expensive truck. But the funny part was that they were dragging, yes dragging, a very large expensive gas grill down a slight embankment to a picnic area. I was waiting for it to tip over.

Well that was the day for Saturday. I hope you enjoyed my story and pictures. Im sure that if you are one of my readers, you have clearly understood the meanings of everything I have posted. I will state my disclaimer once again that I mean no harm against yuppies and city folk. But you can see why they really shouldnt be doing things like this without some research first. Its good that they do get out and experience this. But please, next time take the time to fit yourself into your surroundings better. This is how you can seriously harm yourself and your families. Plus, the locals will be entertained at your expense.

Schools Out For Summer.....

School is out for the summer. It was a long year and it was a great one at that. Im sure this post will be a rambling one because I have alot of stuff on my mind. Between all the field trips and blogs that I havent posted yet. I also have ones from a trip I took today and also LW leaving for the summer is going to be nerve racking.

Cami did great on her tests. Shes at a much higher reading level than what her age is expected to have. She can read and understand 6th grade books but her level states 4th grade. Her math was really good as well. She struggled this year with the kids she had in her class. Some of these kids were complete animals. Im sorry to state that but its true. And they picked on her alot. She dished it out back but a few times she got into some trouble for it. I dont blame her for it though.

Shes now going to be in 3rd grade and the teacher that I requested will be firm with her and the rest of the class. She got her report card and yes, it is him. Hes a great teacher and alot of fun for the kids. But he doesnt take the bullshit. She celebrated her birthday in class on Friday but its really not until August. She made sure that her new teacher got a cupcake. That was sweet of her.

As many of you know, the bull that I went through last summer and all the way up until November was hell. Pure hell. Well this year I got the notice that stated very clearly that I will resume my job in Sept at the current school. But Im not going to hold my breath. There are some that have a higher seniority than I do that werent placed there. They made it clear that they are going to fight it. This means that I will probably be booted out once again. We shall see when the letters come in. I will fight it back though. Technically I am supposed to move up with my kids. One of these ladies is also in the same job status that I am in. So we shall see what happens there. Also there will be 9 new teachers coming in for September. This is going to be a little crazy next year.

Oh, I should add that I also received yet another letter in the mail today confirming my spot for next year. I will be signing my papers for it and returning it soon. I will also be including a letter about the problems of last year and demanding that my spot not be dumped for seniority. Hope that works.

Over the river and through the woods....

Over the river and through the woods......

And the kid doesnt shut up......

I know I have been posting some weird stuff lately but you can blame it on all the meds that I have been taking. Im feeling pretty darn good today. Id like to get used to it but you know that wont happen til that damn tree is removed. It smells like someone either puked on it and it grew into a life form or something died in it. Either way, its the same thing. Its really sad that the squirrels dont even go in it. Its also split down the middle so that could be contributing to it.

Anywho, this post is pretty much going to be some ramblings that I havent posted about yet. Alot of things have been happening while I was sick and I just couldnt put things together. Not that I can when Im well either. Last Saturday I went to a party. Yeah, can you tell I dont get out much. Well this was a pretty special occasion. It marked my step-grandfather's 90th birthday. Its not that often that you get to hang out with someone that has been around that long. But to meet this man, you wouldnt know he was that old.

So my mom and her boyfriend picked me and Cami up at the house at about 10:30am. On a Saturday that is pretty early for me. And they didnt even stop to get me coffee. I havent even had a pepsi yet. What does that tell you. Im half asleep and pretty grumpy. Nah. I wasnt grumpy but I could have been. So off we head to the Thruway. Now mind you that we are all in a minivan. A very comfortable one though. Just sort of cramps the style.

We are heading down the highway and mom decides to let Mouse know that we are getting off at a specific exit. So we continued down the highway talking and chattering with Cami about her week and how school was. You know, basic banter to keep her occupied. She was watching the mountains and the river. Things she normally doesnt see when we are on the road. Even though she has been on this road a few times. Shes young and forgets. But also remember that she never shuts up.

So we are approaching the exit where I got off to pick up Mindy and mentioned it. Mouse asked mom if that was the exit they needed to get off at now and she said yes and told him what route he needed to be on. So he gets off, pays the toll and then mom says...oops.... She got off the wrong exit. So I tell him to get to that route that she wants to take a right and follow that through. I know where Im going. Even if she doesnt and she once lived here.

Mouse: Is this the exit we need to get off at?
Mom: Yeah and turn right onto route ~~~.
Me: No this isnt the one she wants.
Mouse: Are you sure?
Me: Yes Im sure.
Mom: Yes this is the exit.
*Mouse gets off and pays the toll and stops at the intersection*
Mom: Crap, this isnt the right exit.
Me: I told you so.
Mouse: Now where do we go then?
Mom: I dont know.
Me: Turn right onto ~~.
Mouse: Are you sure?
Me: Yes. Take that road for a few miles and you will come to Route ~~~.
Mom: Im lost.
Me: Duh.

All in all, it was a nicer ride than the Thruway. We passed through small towns and Cami was full of questions. Even saw a few cows. Ok, so we saw alot of cows. We are in dairy farm country. But it was a nice peaceful ride. But mind you that she still isnt shutting up. So I got him to the right road that he was supposed to be on and mom now recognizes where she needs to be. Sheesh. You would think it was harder than this. Im not even from the area and I know where to go. No, you dont have to tell me again.

Our first stop is to go to see my great-aunt Irene. Shes on my mom's fathers side. His sister to be exact. She lives in a nursing home. She will be 93 in August. Shes still very active and gets around quite well. She has a walker because she had hip surgery. She was quite the wild child in her day and remembers it all. I love sitting with her and listening to her tell her tales. I love to go and visit her. Cami thinks shes the greatest person in the world and thats a good thing that she has someone to look up to like that.

So after that we decided on a snack before we head out further. We are having a huge dinner later. Mouse is diabetic so we need something for the time being. What do you think Mom gets? Doughnuts. Yep, those sugary things that make little kids bounce off the ceiling. But while I wasnt looking, grandma gets her a scoop of icecream with sprinkles. Oh and she gets one for me too. As if that would make things better. She truely doesnt know what she is in for. Usually she will give the kids sweets and send them home. Not this time. She will sugar her up and have to spend the rest of the day with her. Shes in for a fun ride now. Not my fault this time. Note that I said, this time.

Oh, and her and Mouse had hotdogs. Yeah, Stewarts Shop hot dogs. Gross if you ask me. Not exactly the thing I would be getting. Those things have been on a roller all morning. They should be pretty much alive by now. And not only that, they put hot peppers on them. Yep, just the thing for a long car trip. Makes you hate sitting in the back seat. And also Cami had a chocolate milk. You know, the one in the large plastic bottle that only has a snap-on top. Now where will she keep this thing in the van? Ha. In the cup hold on my side. Remember that one because you will find out what happened to it later.

So we are back on the road again. Going through the town that my mom grew up in and shes telling Mouse all the stories that I have heard at least a hundred times over the years. I still like to hear them because they are quite funny. Now you know where I get it from. Next stop is the restaurant where they are having the party. The invitation says to be there at two o'clock. We pull in and Mouse gets out and changes his shirt. Yep that was an interesting sight for all those that are standing outside. And yes there is quite a few out there. But this is redneck country. Not that they care or anything. Not that we do either.

Anyways, we start walking in and we have to cut through this crowd of people. Now mind you that I wont recognize most of these people because I dont really know that side of the family. So we enter the place and there are alot of people in there as well. They are packing up food and walking out the door with it. Ummmm.... Huh? Then the waitress asks us if we are there for the main dining room. Of course mom said no. That confused the waitress. Then she asks if we are there for the birthday party and of course mom says yes. She then informs us that its not going to start until 3pm. Its 1pm now. The invatation said 2pm. Why we are there an hour early is beyond me but according to her, we are now there two hours early. Now Im confused. Apparently we walked into the end of a baby shower. Well no wonder we didnt recognize anyone. And Mouse made the comment that we should have showed up earlier for the food then and we could have had more later. Leave it to him to say that.

So we left there and decided that since we have a couple of hours now to kill, lets head to my step-grandfathers house. Ok, Im game. Its on a road that my uncle used to live on and the memories will be nice. I havent been on that road since I was 15. Yeah, that long ago. So mom is once again giving directions. Scary huh? But we got there without getting lost this time. We didnt get lost the last time, thanks to me. But if I was giving the directions this time, we might have. It was nice to see all the fields and where the house used to be. Pretty much nothing has changed but for the fact that the old shacks and run down trailers have been replaced with actual houses. Yep, those folks sure are moving up in the world. The junk is still in their yards but that doesnt count.

I explained to Cami that when I was her age, I used to ride my bike and the horses on these roads. She couldnt believe that I was that young before. *rollseyes* It was fun trying to explain to her that out here, riding around the block was an all day trip on a bike. She couldnt fathom that either. Oh well. Maybe someday I will do that with her. Yeah right. If I tried that now, I would end up killing myself halfway there.

So we get to his place and pull up in the driveway. Now mind you that he still lives in one of those run down trailers. My grandmother passed away in '92. But when she was alive, the place looked worse than it does now. Explains alot about her huh? In case you are wondering, I personally never liked the woman. She was a mean one. Anywho, this isnt about her. So Cami gets out and gives him a hug. Then he proceeded to chase her around the yard. Quite a sprite for someone who just turned 90. He gets around better than someone much much younger than he is.

Now remember that chocolate milk? Well, it no longer exists. You see, the drink cup holder is on my right and Im in the right side seat of the van. So that means that its attached to the seat where the door slides open. Yep, I forgot it was there and opened the door. When I swung my leg over, it went right into the cupholder and spashed all over my leg and onto the ground. So much for my white sneaker and sock. Good thing there was a roll of paper towels and my mom always has a change of clothes in a bag. So I put on a clean pair of socks and cleaned off my shoe the best I could. But I didnt hear the end of it that she didnt have her milk. But later I found out what happened to the rest of my pepsi. Which by the way, only added to her sugar high.

Now this man works as a grounds keeper at a golf course. Yep, he still does his thing. On his lawn he has a couple of those wood life size things that are painted black to make it look like a shadow of someone there. Id spell it out but Im too damn lazy to look it up. One is of a golfer and the other is of a hunter. Now why would someone want those on the front yard? So people can drive by and think that there is a golfer and a hunter standing there? Oh yeah, lets swing the club, hit the little white ball and the hunter will shoot it. Beats me. But somehow he decided that they would look better at the camp and made Mouse put them in the back of the van. Not like there was much room for them but to put them between the seats. Made for a fun ride for sure.

My Aunt shows up to take Harold to the party and we pulled out ahead of them. Mom tells Mouse to take a left and at the intersection they can go straight. Well my aunt comes out behind us and makes a left at the intersection. Hmmm.... Who will get there first. So we go through the country and see some of the farms and of course Cami is loving this. Mom shows us the old farm where she used to live after her dad passed away and all the places where her friends lived. Mind you that Cami still hasnt stopped chattering yet.

We get back to the restaurant and low and behold, they are there ahead of us. And there are some people standing outside like before. And just like the last time, we dont recognize anyone. But we go inside and see a few people that we do know. Soon the place starts to fill up. Im meeting some aunts for the first time. Ive heard about them but never met them before. Interesting huh? My brother, neice and her baby showed up. I wasnt surprised but it was just odd because I havent talked to them in about a year. Ran into a couple of cousins I havent seen in years too. It was a nice time.

I think the best was watching the look on my moms face when her childhood best friend walked in. They havent seen each other since just after highschool. This woman married my moms first boyfriend and my mom was the maid of honor at her wedding. Interesting huh. And the man in question was there. So I got to meet him. So the four of them all chatted about the old days while I wandered around aimlessly taking pictures of everyone. Which reminds me that I need to send them out to my aunt soon. I keep forgetting.

After the party we all exchanged addresses, phone numbers, email info and DNA. Oh wait, we already have that. But it was a really great day and we had alot of fun. Im sure that I may not see these people again for a long time. Well my aunt and cousin, I will. But who knows when I will see my step-grandfather again. And it was a great experience for Cami as well. All the way home, I was scraping her off the ceiling of the van. Well she did have cake at the party too. She even talked about the carpet in the van. Dont kids come with a battery compartment? Or at least an on/off switch? It was one of those rare times that I was begging for her to just take a nap on the way home. I could deal with her being up half the night later. At least she would be in her room watching cartoons. But no such luck. She was too wired.

I think Ive lost my lungs.....

I have a case of an upper resp infection....yet again. Doesnt help that I was out in the woods by a lake on a cold day. Yeah, yesterday was freezing out. But I will blog about that one seperately. This was something that came from my friend DJ. I saw it in my mailbox this afternoon and I nearly lost it because I was laughing so hard.

I wanted to pass this on to you because I thought it was worth sharing for a good laugh.

*SPEW WARNING*

This means that you should not be chewing or drinking anything while reading this. Also use the bathroom before reading this.

If you can read this whole story without laughing then there's no hope
for you. I was crying by the end. This is an actual account as relayed
to paramedics at a chili cook-off in Texas.
Note: Please take time to read this slowly. If you pay attention to
the first two judges, the reaction of the third judge is even better.
For those of you who have lived in Texas, you know how true this is.
They actually have a Chili Cook-off about the time Halloween comes
around. It takes up a major portion of a parking lot at the San
Antonio City Park.

Judge #3 was an inexperienced Chili taster named Frank, who was
visiting from Springfield, IL. Frank: "Recently, I was honored to be
selected as a judge at a chili cook-off. The original person called in
sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the
judge's table asking for directions to the Coors Light truck, when
the call came in. I was assured by the other two judges (Native
Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy and, besides, they
told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted and
became Judge 3."

Here are the scorecard notes from the event:

CHILI # 1 - MIKE'S MANIAC MONSTER CHILI...
Judge # 1 -- A little too heavy on the tomato. Amusing kick.
Judge # 2 -- Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.
Judge # 3 (Frank) -- Holy shit, what the hell is this stuff? You could
remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put the
flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy.

CHILI # 2 - AUSTIN'S AFTERBURNER CHILI...
Judge # 1 -- Smoky, with a hint of pork. Slight jalapeno tang.
Judge # 2 -- Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken
seriously.
Judge # 3 -- Keep this out of the reach of children. I'm not sure what
I'm supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who
wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer
when they saw the look on my face.

CHILI # 3 - FRED'S FAMOUS BURN DOWN THE BARN CHILI...
Judge # 1 -- Excellent firehouse chili. Great kick.
Judge # 2 -- A bit salty, good use of peppers.
Judge # 3 -- Call the EPA. I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels
like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now.
Get me more beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back, now
my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting shit-faced
from all of the beer.

CHILI # 4 - BUBBA'S BLACK MAGIC...
Judge # 1 -- Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
Judge # 2 -- Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish
or other mild foods, not much of a chili.
Judge # 3 -- I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was
unable to taste it. Is it possible to burn out taste buds? Sally, the
beer maid, was standing behind me with fresh refills. This 300 lb.
woman is starting to look HOT...just like this nuclear waste I'm
eating! Is chili an aphrodisiac?

CHILI # 5 LISA'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER...
Judge # 1 -- Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground,
adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
Judge # 2 -- Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must
admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
Judge # 3 -- My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and
I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me
needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that
her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue from
bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from the pitcher. I wonder if
I'm burning my lips off.
It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop
screaming.
Screw them.

CHILI # 6 - VERA'S VERY VEGETARIAN VARIETY...
Judge # 1 -- Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of
spices and peppers.
Judge # 2 -- The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and
garlic.
Superb.
Judge # 3 -- My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with
gaseous, sulfuric flames. I shit on myself when I farted and I'm
worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand
behind me except that Sally. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to
wipe my ass with a snow cone.

CHILI # 7 - SUSAN'S SCREAMING SENSATION CHILI...
Judge # 1 -- A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.
Judge # 2 -- Ho hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of
chili peppers at the last moment. **I should take note that I am
worried about Judge # 3. He appears to be a bit of distress as he is
cursing uncontrollably.
Judge # 3 -- You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I
wouldn't feel a thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world
sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with
chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava
to match my shirt. At least during the autopsy, they'll know what
killed me. I've decided to stop breathing it's too painful. Screw it;
I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in
through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.

CHILI # 8 - BIG TOM'S TOENAIL CURLING CHILI......
Judge # 1 -- The perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili. Not too
bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
Judge # 2 -- This final entry is a good, balanced chili. Neither mild
nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge #3 farted,
passed out, fell over and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself.
Not sure if he's going to make it. poor feller, wonder how he'd have
reacted to really hot chili?
Judge # 3 - No Report

I hate getting old....

I hate getting old. And please excuse the typos because Im just too damn lazy to fix them right now.

Yeah its that time of the year again when you really hear all the snpap, crackles and pops and its not from your cereal. Also Im sick yet again. I swear this f****ed up weather is going to kill me yet. Either that or the tree next door will. I swear that if they dont cut it down soon, Im going to have to take drastic measures. An auger drill and some battery acid. You know, I would actually do this if it wasnt for the fact that there is a gas line right near it. My luck it would explode in my house. Then again, it couldnt do anything worse to the house than what already has been done before. But thats not my fault. It was like that for many many years before I moved in. I just made the inside look better.

Anywho, in case you are wondering, its my birthday again. Well not again again. Just again as in that its that time of the year. Im 28 again this year. Only this time I have 10 years experience. Last year I only had 9. Im moving up in the world. Oh joy. Now if only the rest of me will catch up. They say that you are only as old as you feel. Well Im feeling about 90 right now. Does that count?

Yesterday moring I was hit with one hell of a head cold and a sinus infection. This is all due to extreme allergies. Ive been having panic attacks recently and I dont know why. My doctor doesnt know why either. So he has taken me off all medications except for the Atenenol. Well wouldnt ya know it, without anything blocking the allergies, I was slammed face first into a concrete wall. This is quite painful. Its not something you deal with. Its something that causes you to freak out. When the back of your throat swells up so badly that you cant breathe, then you have a problem. Well I do anyways.

So all day yesterday, I suffered from it. I couldnt breathe and when I was having a panic attack (from fear of suffication) I went outside for air. Mind you that its been raining so all that pollen from that crappy tree was worse and making my sinuses worse. It was a non-ending cycle. I took every medication I had and nothing seemed to work. I finally gave up abot midnight and took some TheraFlu Severe Nighttime formula. I took about a third of the bottle and passed out. Literally passed out. I woke up this morning with the computer still on and my pants were still on.

Ok, so its my birthday. What shall I do today? I have to work. So getting out of that. So here is how my day went. I have to speak slowly to myself as I type because Im higher than a kite right now. Im pumped full of antibiotics and that nighttime med again. Please bare with me. Not that kind of bare but you know what I mean.

I woke up and decided that I didnt want to. Well I do that every morning but this time, I had already hit the snooze button way past 7am. Not a good thing. Means I have to rush. I hate doing that. So I jump in the shower. Literally because its a cold one. I had to do that this morning because if I didnt, I would not have woken up after all the meds from the night before. I hurried through my shower and put on some makeup so that I looked somewhat alive. Then I had to trun my head upside down to blow dry my hair. Yes, I do this and no, there isnt a way around it. So all that crap seemed to clog up in my brain again.

Brushing my teeth was a chore because I cant breathe through my nose. This is a pain in the ass to have to inhale through the mouth while its full of tooth paste. You would think the mint in the paste would achieve clearing the sinuses a little. Nope. Oh well, suffer I must. But at least I can taste it. I get everything going and get ready to leave. Im somewhat alive and conscious enough to drive.

I get to school and yes we are going to be outside on the playground. I look forward to this because the kids can run rampant and I dont have to control them too much. Im not in the mood to do so. And being that my ears are plugged, the screaming in the gym would have caused my head to explode. So yeah, the playground is good enough for me.

I make it through the morning without any problems. Its starting to look like a great day. Until lunch. Then all hell broke loose and I lost it. Yeah, can you imagine that. Me, the calm collected one, lost it. I got the kids lined up and we went down the hall towards the back door to the playground. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash outside. Now mind you that this is not a good sign when followed by thunder rolling. So I went to the lunch boss, who determines whether or not the kids are in or out, and told her that it was thunder and lightning out. You know what she tells me? If its not raining then tey go out. Are you kidding me? Ummmm, sorry but Im not bringing them out. She argued with me and got the principal to demand that I take them out.

So I took them out. Im literally screaming inside because to me this is an issue that Im not too please with. So out the back door we went and about 20 feet to the playground gate. I no sooner reach the gate and crash came the thunder and the lightning was unbelievable. Now everything out there is metal. So my kids all ran back inside. Some in tears. Ok, now Im pissed. I havethe kids headed back through the hall and wouldnt you know it, they are demanding that I take them outside. WTF??? Hell no and I continued down the hall. I told them that if they are to be outside then the lunch boss and the principal needs to be as well. They refused. I mean come on. The building shook. So inside the gym they went. I told you I would win this one. Oh wait, I didnt say that yet. But anyways, I won.

So about 15 minutes later I hear over the PA that we can go outside. I looked out the back door of the gym and wouldnt you know it, not a cloud in the sky and the sun is shining. So out we went. About 12:15, its time for them to come in and go back to class. I no sooner get them in the classroom and its a downpour. This is too weird. Ten minutes later, the sun was out and shining.

About 2pm, the thunder started again and the lightning was crashing. Then about 215, it was sunny again. At 3pm, Cami came in and got all the kids to sing for me. It was soooooo cute. Until they started counting. Are you one, are you two, are you three and so forth. They got to about 30 and then said, are you 30, are you 40. I nearly choked and told them that no, Im not that old yet. So Kim got them back on track. Please dont scare me with that big number yet.

So I got the kids off on the buses and Cami went home with her dad. So an easy afternoon for me to finish my paperwork in peace. About 4pm, it was a downpour again. Im glad to be going home but I wasnt thrilled about the race to the car. Im not that good at dodging rain drops. But with the way the day went, I figured that I can wait about ten minutes and it will be sunny again. Guess what? I was right. I went to the car all nice and dry. But it got hot as hell out. All that moisture made it muggy. I went straight home. I was given some Shrek cupcakes and that was a good deal. I havent had one yet though. Being sick, I just wasnt in the mood. I drugged myself up again because that damn tree was smelling something fierce.

I took a nice long and quiet nap. I know I promised to be back on line in one hour but ya know what? I needed the sleep. So I took advantage of it. I woke up and took some more medicine. Im feeling pretty good but I just took some more. Im off to bed now to pass out yet again. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning because I have a field trip to go on with Cami's class. We are going to a day camp out in the woods. Yeah joy for me huh? We shall see what my allergies bring home this time. Im looking forward to the fun but not the pain in my face.

See you all tomorrow night when I can get a better grip on what to write.

Ive been tagged....

Fermicat tagged me so I need to come up with something for this post. Sad thing is that everyone I have on my list has been tagged already. So I guess I cant tag anyone. And I was hoping to be able to run around and .... oh never mind. That will only get me in trouble. He he he.

Anywho, here is my list of random things about me.

1. I am a trained Special Ed Paraprofessional. Basically my job is an enormous task that I take seriously but I have alot of fun at it. I work with selected children at an elementary level. Mostly in the past I have worked exclusively with kindergarten. I work one on one with selected students that cant keep up with the rest of the kids in a general class setting. Its good to have these children in a mainstream level to assure them the education they will require for a normal life. It also teaches the rest of the kids that everyone is not the same. But I also assist in the proper first step of diagnosing any physical or mental disabilities. I also have a great time playing and teaching. So pretty much, my job can be alot of fun. Some people will call me crazy because its like herding cats. Its a crazy and high paced job but I wouldnt change it for the world. Oh and I dont get paid alot to do it either. So yeah, call me crazy.

2. I have a silly sarcastic sense of humor. Life is too boring if you dont have one. I deal with daily stress and then set myself apart from it by being able to laugh at myself. If I can put a smile on someone elses face then I have done my job for the day. I am also very animated.

3. I have a heart that is way to big for myself. Sometimes it can be a good thing and sometimes it can be a bad thing. I give too much and take too little. I need to fix that. There are those out there that will take advantage of me and have. I do admit that I suffer pain on the inside but I never show it. I need to fix that too. But Im also the type that will allow people in but when they hurt me, I can be brutal. Just ask my family. I can hold a grudge if need be.

4. I love to cook. Well most people do but I think I take it to an extreme sometimes. I will take recipes and alter them to be my own. I add things that sometimes people wouldnt think to do. I also love weird foods that I wont name here because some people may get grossed out. Like mashed potatoes with cottage cheese. So we will leave it at that. I love italian food and especially meatballs.

5. I have weird allergies. I am allergic to tree pollen. But unlike most people, I put myself into the middle of my suffering all the time. Yeah I can be stupid like that. I love the mountains and the forests. So if I forget to take something ahead of time, Im screwed. I do that alot. But I cant take benedryl because my luck, I would be passed out in the woods somewhere sleeping with the animals picking at my hair. Im also allergic to chocolate. But Im addicted to it. So I have to limit myself. Its a very difficult thing to do. The most I can have is maybe a half a candy bar. Anything more and I get the hives. Scary stuff there. Im also allergic to touching garlic. I can eat it but just cant touch it. Hmmm makes me wonder what it does inside.

6. I have an addiction to crafts. I have a need to take myself away from real life by making things. I make jewelry to clear my head. Its good therapy but can also be frustrating when you cant see the damn little beads. So the other day I was out looking for reading glasses to help me. I didnt buy any but I did get dizzy. I love to paint but all Im good at is making stained glass stuff. I cant paint a picture to save my life. And if it involves a face, then you wont recognize it. I can sketch and use crayons really well. Goes good with my job huh?

7. My life is anything but simple. If I didnt have my daughter and my friends, I would have gone insane long before this. I love my family but sometimes they drive me crazy. Its dysfunctional with a capital D. I love my neices and nephew to pieces. But I havent seen most of them or most of my siblings in a long time. Too long. I tend to stay out of the main picture because I dont want to be accused of anything. Those that know me understand what this means. It seems that no matter what I do, I will be nailed for doing something wrong. Even if I didnt do it. But once again, my big heart will get in the way. I try my best but sometimes it isnt good enough.

8. Im afraid of the dark. And yes Im afraid of what is in it. So I sleep with a night light. I will panic in total darkness. And even though I love storms, I fear them because of the chance of a power outage. A few times during a storm, the power went out and I sat there and cried til it came back on again. I dont dare move. I also have a very real fear of suffication. So please dont come up behind me and put your hands over my eyes and say Guess Who? I will either jerk away or I will elbow you. Also dont put your hand over my mouth. That wont be fun for you either. I dont like things up in my face unless I allow it to. If I cant breathe then we have a problem. So lately, I have been having panic attacks because of my allergies and I have trouble breathing. I dont know why and my doctor cant explain it either. So I just deal with it.

There you go. Eight random things about me. Im sure I can come up with more but then that would be telling way too much. I try to hide in the shadows and not many people really know me all that well. Most dont even know what I look like. I hate being in the spotlight. But I love my friends dearly.

Dont feed the animals....

Do not feed the animals.....

Well looks like the kids dont get lunch. Ha!! Just kidding.

The start of the weekend proved to be interesting. The class went to the zoo for a field trip. It was a great day for it. It was hot and muggy out but the park is all under trees and quite cool. The kids had a blast. Even the adults did as well. Most of them fell asleep on the bus ride. I really dont know how that could happen considering that the buses really need to get better shocks.

I will make the comment of one though. It was hysterical. She was sitting sideways on the bus with her feet and legs in the aisle. She was leaning forward with a soda can in her hand. It was sort of balancing on her lap but tipping to the side ever so slowly. I grabbed it out of her hand before it spilled and handed it to someone a couple of rows up. I did this so that I could go for my camera. Yeah, Im evil that way. He he he.

Well just at that moment the bus hit a bump and everyone bounced up off their seats. She jumped up and the first thing she yelled was where was her soda. The girl that had the can yelled back that she threw it up here. I guess you would have to be there to get the whole effect of it because I nearly wet my pants laughing about it. I didnt get the picture though.

But the kids had a great time and it was a great way to end the week. Cami has a field trip coming up on Wed so that that should prove interesting. We are going to a day camp for fishing and boating. Yep. Should be a blast. Most of these kids have never left the city before and there will be fish hooks available. I will let you know what happens. More than likely I will be the one to get hurt.