This is Just Weird.

This picture is classic. Honestly, why we were sleeping in the carport (which was referred to as the "screened in porch") is beyond me. We both had perfectly useable beds, which would have been much more comfortable, no doubt. We are probably doing this, not because we want to, but because mother thought it would be "fuun" and damnit yew gurls, yew are going to stop fighting and enjoy this right this minute or yer gettin a spankin!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Notice how everything follows the yellow-orange-brown color scheme in our house. Also notice how I'm crammed into the corner, and how my sister is trying her best (and no doubt loudest) to a) appear to be having FUUN! and b) to make me as uncomfortable as possible in the process. I think she still does this sometimes, but don't tell anybody...
And here we have another one of our wacked out parties back in 1982 or so. This one was a Bible drama. That's me in the middle, dressed up as Laban. I think that's supposed to be Rachel and Leah beside me. I had one line, and I think it was "NO." I was outraged that they made me, the cutest little blonde there, play the old fart.

This was around the same time that I got in trouble for drawing a picture of a church during the meeting. Just saying.

In current news, I got my ring back!!! It's sparklier than ever. I love it!

And Mom is having her surgery today at 3:45. I wish they'd done it earlier in the day, but who knows why or how doctors do anything anyway? Hopefully they can fix her this afternoon...

I'm a Little Monster..

Ok, Yes, this picture is horribly cute. Despite the hideous couch. I swear... That's got to be the godawful ugliest couch I have ever seen in my life. It was velour too. I had blocked it out of my mind, so that when I first saw the picture, I was open-mouthed with shock... and then I remembered.

In this picture we see that I have taken back my crib from Kimmy's dolls, and then some... Now I'm sitting in their crib. How about them apples?? My hair has also begun its revolt, which you can see more clearly in the next picture:

My mother tried and tried to get my hair to stay slicked back, but it always struggled free, no matter how many barettes she put in it. Notice the 4 or 5 in evidence here, and my hair is still out of control.

I actually remember this. We were on a camping trip in West Virginia and I was picking flowers!! And nobody was yelling at me for it! Yeehaw! I hated that sweater though. It was a hand-me-down from Diane Capps or somebody and Mom always tied the drawstrings too tight.

You Asked For It

All right. You want more old pictures? I've got old right here. This is Mom and Aunt Jean, circa 1955 or so. They are way too cute to believe, and GM didn't dress them too funny either.
Here's Mom in first grade, around 1956. GM said she told her to make sure she took her sweater off and combed her hair before time for pictures, and she did neither.
And here's where it starts to get a little warped. 1959, 8 1/2 years old. The lace collar makes its first appearance. Peter Pan collars were around well before this, and they are really tolerable on the very young. (I object to them on ME on general principle, but .. you get the picture). The lace is the beginning of a very, very bad addiction for my mother. The dress fabric is pretty mod looking tho.. and Note the strategically placed buttons...

She's still cute, bless her heart. ;-)

Dress Update.. I found it!!!!

Here's my dress!!! I finally found it online. What do you think???

Dresses!

Ok.. here are the results of my dress-trying-on excursion yesterday: The first specimen for your consideration is from David's Bridal. Price: $399 Pros: The price is right, and it's cute. Cons: I don't love it.. and I do look every bit as short as I am in it.
The second is my favorite.. It's at Dimitra Designs, and I can't actually find a picture of it anywhere on the net. This is as close as I could find. Anyway, Price: $602 Pros: It's stunning. I love it. I look like a tall, thin Hollywood star in it. Cons: Are there any?
And last but not least, this gown is by Private Label by G. Price: $958 Pros: It's very sexy, with just a touch of the Victorian. This picture doesn't really do it justice. Cons: The price! And the fact that I like #2 better.

Ok, so tell me what you think...

Feeling Good is Easy

Ok, I am in a ridiculously good mood today, despite having had to get up early for a meeting. I am going to try on wedding dresses in a few minutes. We'll see how that goes.. there may be pictures later. Then again, maybe not. Who knows?

Tomorrow I am going to the studio to do some singing, and I think I am going riding either tomorrow morning or Sunday afternoon.. or possibly both. That will depend on when I get around to cleaning Trigger's saddle like I promised him I would.

I'm sitting here in L's office while he works, on his spare computer. The dogs are sprawled on the floor like a gigantic set of rugs, snoring. I am sure they must be tired from howling all night. :-\

Ok, I promise to post something fascinating later. I'm going to try dresses now. Wish me luck..

PS- My sister is so freaking cute. Just thought I'd throw that in. Look at her profile pic: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/slamin2005/Picture069.jpg

Overload

So I have come to a decision about my overly-packed schedule and the new opportunities that have very recently come my way:

I dropped my class today. Graduate school will have to wait.

I feel kind of bad about it, but then I know that between my sick mother and the wedding and the band and the grantwriting and Trigger, I barely have time to do the laundry and feed the cat, much less cram studying in there, too.

So, yeah. My tenure as a student has been short lived so far.

It's Just Iodine

Yesterday was interesting for several reasons:

1) I completed the preliminary wedding budget, and it was, of course, too high. We have no idea what we're going to do about this, but we have to confirm with the lady we saw Monday by tomorrow if we want to hold our date. And that IS the perfect place for the wedding. The question is, can we swing it?

2) I went to see Trigger yesterday afternoon. It's time to clean all his stuff, so I stuffed his saddle and saddle pad and brushes, etc into the car on my way home, so I could clean, oil, and otherwise disinfect everything. Trigger himself got brushed and combed and scrubbed and massaged, which he seemed to enjoy once he resigned himself to the idea. He wasn't too wild about the iodine I put on all his spots, though. Just to keep the usual scrapes, etc from getting infected or anything.. but apparently he thought it smelled funny. He is a funny horse sometimes. Still a baby, really.

The Stepford Child of the Damned

This, my friends, is terrifying. I found it while looking through some old pictures. SOMEONE (probably my mother) cut this out of the newspaper. Why, I don't know.

This thing just looks evil, from its squinched up little face to its huge, alien eyes, to its gigantic, bulbous head. Yet for a while in the late 70s and early 80s, this sort of thing was considered just so cute! And they all tried to dress their children like this. My mother succeeded most of the time.

*shudder*

Mom probably saved this picture because she and Grandmother planned to paint it on something later... Thank God she didn't. I don't think I could ever have slept as a child knowing that was in the room with me...

I Love These Pictures..

Trigger's barn name has been changed now. He is now known around our barn as "Blogger." And for the record, he does NOT have the Dread Disease after all. They don't know what it is for sure, but it isn't that. So ok. It's going away anyway.
We went on a great ride yesterday. We loped and even galloped, and at one point, even jumped! It was great fun and I stayed in the saddle the whole time, so I really can't wait to do it again. :-)

This morning I went to church with A1 and CJ and (will wonders never cease!!) L. L did great.. he sang the hymns and only rolled his eyes once. We went to lunch at Olive Garden after and stuffed ourselves with pasta.

All in all, a good day. Tomorrow, we're going to see the place where we're hoping to have the wedding.. fun stuff! Tomorrow: Pics of the Ryan Nicholas Inn, maybe?

And sadly, I am out of horrid childhood pictures for the moment. I will have to scan some more. ;-)

So THIS is Why My Sister Loves the Tanning Bed...

Little Miss High Fashion, circa 1984-1985.. white tights and capris.. with a SWEATER. We never had any understanding of fashion on any level. What I love about this picture is my sister's certainty that she is the IT girl.. you can see it on her face. Well, if you look real hard underneath the glasses. They did seem to grow right along with her, didn't they?

I also must go on record to say that I absolutely abhor the decor of our house back then. This was before the Big Divorce, (we refer to this as B.C.P. or before contact paper). After the Big Divorce, the kitchen got a contact paper makeover. But the floor was still orange, green, yellow, and brown. So if you didn't look down, it was okay, I guess. They should have provided airsick bags for in case you did look down, though.

Damn, girl. Those are some WHITE legs..

All of the indoor pictures of when we were kids are terrifying because of the sheer junkiness of our house. I always remember Mom frantically scrubbing and cleaning and screaming at us to move our crap somewhere out of the main traffic areas, but still, in every picture there are mountains of junk threatening to collapse and bury us like Vesuvius buried Pompeii. But once again, I digress.

Here we have the Little Trailer on the Prairie..

They MUST have been going to another wedding. Dad wouldn't have been caught dead in that otherwise. His bowtie is singing "I'll Fly Away" at the top of its lungs. It's certainly large enough. His shoes don't match either. And Mom and Lil Kimmy both look like they're wearing nightgowns.
Public Service Announcement: THIS IS NOT A HALLOWEEN PICTURE! Believe it or not, this was for a wedding shower.. we were doing a Hee Haw Show. How completely f---ing appropriate.

I am the one in the black shoes, with my socks pulled up as high as they will go. The other kid is my best (translated: only) friend.. because my mother didn't want me to hang out with anyone else. She was an Approved Associate, you know. Because Bad Association Spoils Useful Habits. Bleah! Hurl! Auuughhhgggaaahhhtyrhsdkjhg!!!!

The masks were made from Clorox bottles and I remember ripping it off repeatedly because it was making me dizzy. It positively reeked. It's a wonder I didn't asphyxiate. But it's a cute picture, and we all know a cute picture is worth ANY price.

Aside from L: Damn, y'all took too many pictures when you were a kid!

Pulling the Trigger

Trigger was kind of a brat this evening. I think he was offended by the tests he had to have today, and possibly by the fact that I didn't come out there to be with him until afterward. At any rate, he got an attitude with me when I went to halter him in the pasture, and we had to have a talk with Jesus.

I just lunged him a bit and then brushed and combed him out. He's covered in mud and truly looks like a brown horse much more than a palomino at this point. Bless his fuzzy little heart. I still say he is gaining weight admirably, though.

So now I am sitting at L's computer, drinking a martini (gin today, instead of my usual Goose) and doing some internet surfing while L watches TV and reads the newspaper.

He keeps coming up with these awesome wedding ideas, like imprintable invitations, and little wedding veils for the female guests under 10, and a nursery attendant for people who want to come but have nowhere to keep their boisterous offspring during the ceremony... I swear he is the best ever. I never imagined that a guy would want to be involved with the planning anyway, but he is interested. And a much better planner and idea man than I can ever hope to be.

What can I say? I'm a lucky girl. (Obscure equine ailments and all!)

How Many Gallons of Hair Spray..?

Good morning. I am sure that after the fork in the electrical socket and the 14 gallons of hairspray required to achieve that hairstyle, we are all very very awake now. This is my sister, circa 1988-1989 sometime, with her boyfriend at the time, who we all thought was so cute at the time.. Now that I look back, his eyes are way too close together, his nose is crooked, and his teeth look like chiclets. My mother made my sister's dress, by the way. It had a peplum and a funky mermaid-looking skirt, as I recall. I had to wear it later, when my sister outgrew it and I (sort of) grew into it.. only by then it was WAY out of style.. but that's the way it always worked.
Here we have a rare moment of not-trying-to-kill-each-other... although my sister does look like she is thinking about going medieval on my @$$..
I can't remember if I have posted this one before. If I have, sorry about it, but I just have to say.. that's the steepest staircase I;ve ever seen! This was at a beach house we rented.. note that my legs don't even reach out far enough to bend my knees.. I wonder how I got down from there?? LOL

Ok, I'm getting back to work now. I may go to see Trigger this afternoon, if the supposed "wintry weather" cooperates..

I Can't Resist

I posted this as a comment on my previous entry, but thinking about it, I can't resist posting it on the "big screen." Heh!

Stat Counter is a really cool tool. I can see, for instance, that someone at USDA read my ENTIRE BLOG yesterday.. not just the posts about Trigger. So, yeah.

Shout out to USDA in Ft. Collins, Colorado.. I hope you enjoyed the crummy wedding pictures and the embarrassing personal commentary. ;-)

No Horsing Around

Today we have learned a valuable lesson:

Big Brother is indeed watching.

I made a (now deleted) post about an obscure livestock ailment, and the next thing you know, I'm getting calls from the gub'ment. Goes to show, ya don't post anything on the internet if you got the info third hand and you're not sure it's at least 150% accurate.

Could be, could not be. I guess we'll all find out.

Trigger had no idea that when I bought him, he'd become the center of so many controversies.

Anyway, the whole incident makes me think about things people say offhand, even as a joke, that could end up causing them grief.. I used to know someone who used to joke all the time about having an obscure African flesh eating virus. Of course he never did, but anytime he was mad, had the sniffles, or anything else, he'd say "Yep, I've got the obscure African flesh eating virus."

I just picture the Feds breaking down his door and dragging him off for some invasive tests. Tee hee.

...Not that they'd do that. I'd never even imply such a thing, as a matter of fact..

(backing away from the computer..)

A Marriage Made in Hell- Part 3

Let's talk for a minute about wedding fashion, shall we?
Brown is back in, so I'll spare the comparison to certain types of dirt, soil, and other brown substances. I mean, you could spill coffee on your bridesmaid dresses and your groom's cumberbund and no one would even notice. This is The Supermodel from the other wedding pics I have posted. She was always so tall and thin and beautiful.. but still, that hat. My God, that HUGE hat.. and as if that weren't enough... the umbrella!!! Indoors!

Also, you can see the lovely Kingdom Hall decor in action here as well. Fluorescent lighting.. what every wedding needs!

Here are the unfortunate bridesmaids and flower girls.. They look like Miss Kitty clones on a forced march to church. Note the use of Indoor Umbrellas once again, as if it is suddenly going to start raining inside the KH at any minute. Perhaps they are actually there to impede from view any tiny bit of skin that may show through the high collar and long sleeves. These dresses are certainly MODEST, if not attractive..at least there's that...

Seriously, this is hideous beyond belief. And every one of those kids knows it.. note the sour expressions that seem to say, "someday, when i grow up, you will all pay for making me wear this ridiculous get-up. Mark my little lisped words, Pa Kettle!"

Ah, Half Pint(s), aren't there some cows that need milking somewhere??

This one actually isn't as bad as it could be. My only objection is to the muffs and the yarmulkes. And the color, but that's just on general principle. Mauve is for old ladies. My sister, the flower girl, is cute here, even if her head is in danger of being taken over by a Giant Bow of Doom.

And remember: "[Jehovah] am with you"! It's like Star Wars, only... not!

But this, ..this.. is the prize of my collection of horrid wedding pictures! The colors alone are enough to scald the eyeball! Hot pink! And RED VELVET! On a pea-soup green background! Aaaagh! With fluorescent lights and old salvaged movie-theatre seats!

Actually this is the desperate wedding choice of someone who has always secretly wanted to celebrate Christmas, but was never allowed. The signs are all there.. the candles, the red velvet and white fur santa capes, the fake greenery..

My mother is the maid of honor, the only one who escaped the deathly pink-and-red combo.. She looks like Mrs Claus in younger years.

Sadly (or not, depending on who you are in the soap opera), this marriage was doomed by its erratic color choices and didn't last long. Well, from what I hear the groom was insane, too. I am sure that and the color choices were enough to terminate the relationship. My aunt's second marriage took place in our backyard, in front of the treehouse, and despite obvious similarities between groom #1 and groom #2, it has been successful. They're still together, anyway.

How the heck would I know? They don't talk to me anyway.

I'm Ringless Once Again..

Ok, before you freak out, we just sent it out to have it resized.

;-)

Sorry for the blah-blogs lately, but I haven't had any time to devote to my faithful readers for the last few days. I do still have old pics though. Maybe I will just post one, for the fun of it...

This is my sister, at the ripe old age of about 9 or 10. Maybe she was 11. Maybe. This was one of our famous late-fall, early-winter trips to the beach, as I recall, but that wasn't stopping Little Ms from lying out in the sun! With a Coke! Because our family thinks EVERYTHING is better with caffeine!

Um.

I am insanely busy.
I think I am definitely going to need multiple adult beverages by the time Friday gets here.
Just saying.

Later: Something more interesting.

There's No Place Like...

I have never been so glad to arrive anywhere in my life.. I am so glad to be home. L made dinner and I sat right down on the couch to watch NCIS and snuggle. A good end to a pretty bad day.

My mom may not ever walk again. She's pitiful, really, and I am worried about my grandparents continuing to take care of her. She is hard to manage, with the walker and the wheelchair and the potty chair and not being able to do anything on her own. It's the most g-- d--- depressing thing I have ever seen.

And my family makes me nuts anyway.

So yeah, I am not in the best mood ever, but at least I am home. Mom has surgery on January 31, to take out the hip she currently has and replace it with another antibiotic implant. That means another three month wait to try once again to get rid of the MRSA infection. But the doctor said today that there is a possibility that they will never be able to get rid of it. In that case, they can never put a normal hip joint back in.. she'll have to continue on without one, which means no walking again, ever.

aaaaaaauurrrrghh.

Ok, I must get back to my snuggling.

Just Let Me Say..

The Jehovah's Witnesses are some of the most horribly misled people on the face of the planet. So misled that at the word of some ugly hateful old men they've never met, they would cut off their own flesh and blood for no real reason.

The worst is when a decade passes and they learn nothing.

Growing up, we never understood what it meant to have a relationship with the living God. Jesus was talked about a lot, but was never real there. Sad, because I know that I have something they never will.. no matter how many times God tries to speak to any of them, they will never hear him because they are too busy cramming their heads with legalism and falsehood.

ANyway..
I am at my father's house. My sister is violently ill and may or may not make her plane back to Florida today. I'm tired and ready to go home to L and our nice comfy house and our dogs and Monster and Trigger and OMG I am going to cry. LOL

Aside to PR: Thanks for the call the other day. I would gladly have had lunch with you if I had been in town. And unfortunately my phone isn't working up here at the moment, or I'd have already called you back. Thanks, really. :-)

On the Road Again

I'm getting ready to head out to North Carolina again. I am looking forward to it, and I'm not at the same time. I'm really very tired, even though I slept for about 12 hours last night.

I wanted to go ride this morning, but that didn't happen, and it isn't going to because I have to get my oil changed in my car at some point on this trip, preferable near the beginning. So.

Off I go. I will try to post something from NC, but the internet access there is going to be sketchy, unless I can plug into my Dad's.

I really do have lots of interesting stuff saved up to blog about, but no time to put it in any decent kind of order. I promise I'll do better when I get back.

Trigger Strikes Back

Yesterday afternoon i went to see Trigger after work. Obviously he is feeling neglected, even though I have been to see him every chance I've had.. just that I've had fewer chances in the last few weeks than usual. Anyway, he has figured out how to sidestep just enough to keep the saddle from hitting his back.

His saddle is heavy. And it hit the ground hard, sending up a cloud of sawdust. I swear I saw him snicker at me. The snicker didn't last long, though. We went out to the ring and did some work, and then he was much more amenable to being ridden, brushed, combed, and messed with in general. He's a good boy and lots of fun to play with. I just hope his pasture pals don't teach him any more nifty tricks.

So, now I have to go get some work done. Tonight I have to clean the house, pack my clothes, etc to go to NC again, burn a photo CD for my sister, etc etc etc. Hopefully I won't forget anything important, but I usually do.

Our New Year's Party

My sister and Muffinhead arrived to visit on the 29th of December. L cooked lasagna and a good time was had by all. We went to the Giant 99-cent Goodwill on Saturday and bought a bunch of clothes that used to belong to someone else. Muffinhead was amazed that some of those items were once bought on purpose by someone.. and not for Halloween either!

For New Year's Eve, we were supposed to go to Blue Fire Grill and then back to the house, but Margo had a wreck and we ended up on the side of the road with her for several hours in the mud and rain, with a tow truck and a surly policeman. We finally decided on steaks, wine, champagne, and dancing in the living room. We had more fun than any other NYE party I've ever been to.
Here's L and I in our driveway. This picture underscores my need to lost 18-20 pounds before our wedding. Just saying.
And here we have Sami and Muffinhead. They are constantly taking pictures of themselves for MySpace.

I'm an Idiot.

For my latest update, go to ORP Pics.. I posted it to the wrong blog again. :-(

Sheesh.