Although you all know i'd love to be spending my 4th at a Beach somewhere (Sullivans, IOP, Folly, Surfside, Garden City, Oak Island oh just any ol' Beach would be fine & dandy!)

I am most thankful to be with my loved ones, Stacy and Madison and Reilly.

What I plan on doing today:

* Sleep as late as I want (which will probably be all of 9:00 if that long but hey when you have to be to work at 7 a.m. that's pretty good!)

* Eat some good corn on the cob with real butter and salt on it. Yummmmm!!!!!!!!

* Eat some cold Watermelon

* Eat something cooked on the grill - not sure what yet.

* Lay out and get some more sun (yeah age spots, wrinkles I really need THAT)

* Go to the races and cheer on my favorite driver(s). With any luck Stacy might even get to drive.

* See some really pretty fancy Fireworks that aren't TOO loud LOL

Yep that sounds like a plan to me.

Anybody have good plans (except for Cheryl at http://lifewithcherylwray.blogspot.com/ who ALWAYS has great plans pardon the link I no longer know how to do it where the name is hi-lited).

We are going to the races and they always have GREAT fireworks. I am looking forward to that.
I do wish we were having a cook-out with a few people and lots of different yummilicious food. Unfortunately that won't be happening as i'm not that great of a cook. We'll just grill something, probably have some corn on the cob and call it a day. I can't complain though - many people won't even have it THAT good!

So...... are you a fan of fireworks or no? Being one of the few states left where fireworks are still legal we usually buy them at Christmas and the 4th of July. I am a chicken and don't like to light them (leaving that to the menfolk) but I do love the ones that shoot up into the air and burst into brilliant sparkles of color. I think they are festival balls or something like that. The bigger the better! I have always been terrified of firecrackers though... and cherry bombs. Which are now illegal.

Boy this is an interesting post, I am seriously half asleep myself already! LOL Happy Early 4th in case I don't get a post set up to go tonight!

To the mouth-breathing, waddling, ass-kissing bitch who is passive/aggressively training (I use this term loosely) me on one of your job functions. Please know that I am totally ON to you. Nice in front of boss, snarky when we're alone. I'd stomp a mudhole in your ass - except it might actually be an improvement.

To My Boss: We have known each other for almost 20 years and I never really realized what a narcissistic asshole you are. Wonders never cease! How your wonderful SO Tim puts up with you, is a mystery to many.

To My Precious Momma. I worry about you. I know you have health problems but you have GOT to stop wallowing in self pity. It's not healthy. It's not good for you. I miss the strong woman who kicked breast cancer's ass - twice. Where did she go??? How can I get her back???

To someone who I will not mention out of fear that someone close to you may read my blog. You think you are the smartest thing to ever walk this earth. She thinks you are sexy and handsome. You are both out of your m-f-ing minds. You are the most boring, egotistical, misogynistic man I have ever met and trust me, whether she admits it or not she was just looking for security but she bit off more than she can chew now. I hope she wises up and dumps your ass - and soon.
P.S. The way you try to grab me hugging and trying to kiss me makes me want to HURL. I wish one day I would hurl - directly on you. You are creepy.

Whew that felt better getting all of that negative crap out! Nothing like a good PSA once in awhile huh guys?

I'm late - but i'm here. I was late for work and it just put my day "off" already. Thankfully so far no one has commented on it but they are sneaky around here. *shrug* Oh well it is extremely rare that i'm late so....... que sera` sera`!

Things I am Thankful For:

My Husband - Even though he probably thinks otherwise this morning, I am. He is a very "take care" kind of guy. We are lucky.

My Babygirl- She is headstrong, she is a handful but she makes me laugh and smile and I wouldn't know what in the world to do without her.

Reilly- He is just the best dog. Everyone told us when we had Madison he would take a backseat but nothing really changed. He still gets his playtime when she goes to sleep and they are really becoming buddies now that she is growing up.

My Parents - Although I get frustrated with them in regards to the fact that they are not "storybook grandparents who want to keep Maddie every week-end" they do love her to pieces and they have been there for me and Stacy more times than I can count and they always give good advice.

My Family and In-Laws - We all have our moments but I could do worse - a whole lot worse.

My Blog Buddies - Y'all are here day in and day out listening to me vent, doing so many nice things and entertaining me on what is usually a boring day.

The Fact that My Boss is out this whole week. Blessed peace and quiet. No nagging or paranoia. I love it!

Okay i've rambled on enough. I did get to go to the beach for a couple of days and i'll have some pics soon. I had to finally break down and buy a new battery for my camera but i'm not sure if I screwed up and threw the new one away and kept the old one - that remains to be seen. I've charged it now we'll see how long it lasts!

Yep I hope to getting a little more sand between my toes this week-end. No those are not my dirty looking feet LOL I stole that pic from Google Images.

A day at the Beach is better than a day NOT at the Beach in my book *grin* Next week being 4th of July on Friday will be VERY quiet at work Thank God. I can use "quiet" at work.

Wishing you all a sand-between-your-toes kinda week-end!

I REALLY love this auto-publish feature. It allows me to go ahead and do posts so I don't break my weekly schedule.
Of course I can't always do it but I can now so... without further ado .....

Thursday's post is about books I had as a child and I had to give them to my younger cousin (who was NOT even a reader) and they all burned up in a housefire.

I need to really work on trying to replace them.

I've got some replaced (Complete Little House series, Through Fairie Halls, Norman Rockwell's Christmas book to name a few) but here is my wish list *sigh* and i'm sure some i'll never ever ever replace................

The old Bobbsey Twins books I had my Mom's when she was a girl. More current ones just aren't the same..................


Some of my favorite poetry of all time... every child should read this and I WILL be getting it even a new version would be okay with this one.
I loved the Donna Parker books, again I think my Mom or older sister's read these also..
I am currently re-reading Mary Poppins borrowed from the library and realize I want my own copy!
Trixie Belden ........ she was right up there with Nancy Drew for cool girl detectives but somehow I liked her books even better. Again there may be a current version (as there is for Nancy) but NOT the same. I also had my Mother's old Nancy Drew books.

There was another girl detective that I LOVED too, ooh.... I can't remember her name. She called her parents by their first names and had a best friend who had alot of siblings. I remember one book had her and her friend going to Blueberry ____, ME and they thought they discovered a coven of witches. Oh hell i'll be trying to remember this all week-end now!

There you go........ maybe i'm just nostalgic for my childhood right now.

Anyone else used to read Cricket Magazine for children back in the early to mid 70's? I loved loved loved it. It featured Old Cricket and Ladybug and oh, I don't know who else. Maybe it originated in England or maybe i'm just getting myself confused with their version of football called Cricket *giggle*

I won't be at work today or the rest of the week but I will be accessing blogs today but then MIA Thursday and Friday but i'll get caught up maybe over the week-end! I feel like I JUST got caught up LOL Here is my beach baby in the surf.
She is NOT afraid of the water at all. A fact which i'm not sure tickles me or dismays me
She is just as happy sitting in the sand digging or hunting for shells though
She really loved having Gavin there. They really miss not seeing each other everyday
They were working on some sand-filled project here!
I sure did enjoy my beach stay as you can see. Trying to plan to go back again maybe in September when the prices go down. It is still plenty warm and the water is still warm too. I hope it comes to fruition. We'll see!

** I have NO idea why these pics are so small, i've got them on "large"! *shrug*

Madison and her cousin Juliana eating Ice Cream - yep the Ice Cream Man even visits on Islands! How cool is THAT?! When we were kids it was Mr. Softee - who was your IC Man?

Ya don't mess with dese gangsta bitches with their fronts

Grillz Girlz

Who can't smile at Spongebob Ice Cream?

P.S. I am NOT fishing for compliments but I look like a dried up old hag with my hair pulled back. Ack. Note to self keep hair fluffy and full - 80's hair rulz for me especially!

Still super busy at work and unable to get around to blogs yet. I WILL get caught up. I promise. I hope to have a quiet week-end. I wish I was at the beach but how does that little nursery rhyme go? If wishes were horses.... beggars would ride :)

Anyway I wish you all a wonderful fun-filled week-end and i'll hopefully have my blog groove back on Monday.

Oh yeah....... i'm totally over the baby fever too! Just the thought of going through all the infant/toddler things again......... just when Madison can do many things for herself. Well I was just having "a moment" there. I'm over it now! I scared myself there for a minute or two though LOL

As several of you know I sent out an email bragging that I got all of my financial aide stuff in for school before the deadline. Now some might be thinking "big deal" but for me it's a HUGE deal.

My name is Patti and I am a procrastinator. A MAJOR procrastinator. I am also a chronically late person except for stuff that is work-related. If it is work I am all over it but other than that.. a total slug.

Anyway I am very proud and happy i've got my FA stuff in and also already had the transcripts from the two colleges I attended sent. I found out that I don't qualify for a PELL Grant (no big surprise there) but there is a special Teaching Grant just starting for 2008-2009 that I expect to qualify for. Cross your fingers for me okay?

I've really got to get in the swing of being a student again, OMG it's been almost 20 years. Hmmmm maybe i'll get a little plaid skirt, mary janes, do my hair in pigtails and then "forget my homework" and Mr. Stacy my teacher can spank me for being a bad girl *wink* *wink*

One of my dearest blog friends is currently pregnant and I am totally thrilled for her and love hearing what she's going through, thinking, feeling etc. Love it. Another blogger whom I consider a friend as well recently had a baby and i'm dying to send a gift. Looking at the video of her bringing the baby home from the hospital, the excitement of her other child over the new one, her sweet little family. It's bringing on baby fever. People i'll be 42 this year. My eggs are probably comparable to the ones they feed astronauts on the space shuttle. Still I am thinking i'd love to have a little boy to match my Princess. I know the timing would suck, my job is up in the air. Why am I even contemplating this? Stacy would probably faint dead away if I even voiced it so i'm writing it here. Somebody stop me before I do something totally crazy!

Here is Madison moments after she was born. There were complications, she wasn't breathing and had to go in an incubator and also receive oxygen. VERY scary time there!
I loved love LOVED this little duckie onesie. It was hands down my favorite.
God I wish I could lose weight and be this size again. I like my hair too. Doesn't Mad look like a little doll baby. Honestly? I could eat her up with a spoon.
I love this one of her, with her little widows peak (we teasingly called her Eddie Munster). She looks so bright-eyed like she knew all about everything even back then.
Okay somebody stop me here before I do something CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me and my sisters-in-law (Stacy's sisters). We get along so good. The camera lens was slightly fogged but I still love this pic! Outside of the Oak Island Lighthouse. Stacy, Me & Mad. This might be our Christmas Card '08
My little Princess outside the lighthouse. You couldn't go inside though.
My Madison when she was I think getting her nails done or something :)
Me and Chandler (my would-be son) everyone always mistakes he and Madison for brother and sister. He's Stacy's middle nephew

Three little upside down monkeys, Madison, Brittany & Gavin!
One of the medium sized crabs Chandler caught. I would hold the tiny ones but that is IT!
Everyone having fun catching fiddler crabs, what some call ghost crabs!
A gorgeous view of the sunset over the Inlet behind the house

My dirty dog of a husband snuck in and took this pic. Do I ALWAYS sleep with my mouth open. Gawd!
Mommy & Madison got their hair did in matching french braids. Look at the light/dark contrast
Me and my baby girl. I don't know what kind of look she is giving but look at my honker nose! Eeeeek!!!!!!!!!!! I look like Gonzo's older sister!
The ocean view from the front porch of the house. Where you caught the best breezes. Aaaah...
Lord willing MAYBE I can visit some blogs tomorrow. I may have to just wait until the week-end to get caught up. The boss is riding.my.ass BIG time. Big.Time. I am sort of hoping Stacy & Mad go to Summerville and I have the house to myself. After the hullaballoo of last week plus Aunt Flo etc. I just need some "me" time to read and i've got a few good books until next Saturday. Bliss! Nothing like a good book and i've read a few good ones lately. I promise I WILL get caught up on the blogs sometime soon and thank you for sticking by me and all the nice comments about how you missed me. I just want to especially give Daisy and Manblogger a big ol' HUG!

Well (surprise ~ surprise!) Blogger is being a big fat bitch and won't let me download any of my pics but i'll give you a run-down on some things I learned on the Vacay to Oak Island, NC. (my first trip ever to an NC beach)

1) I love the Beach even more than I possibly thought I did before.

2) This house and location and Beach itself was WAY better than the Isle Of Palms. WAY better. The prices cheaper on everything too.

3) I want to go back to the Beach as soon as possible.
I don't care if it's for a night or two nights or three nights.
I.Want.To.Go.Back.
IOP is acceptable as is Myrtle or any beach except the Lake does NOT count.

4) I learned some ugly truths about my family (and a few about myself). I was disappointed by a few people that I never thought would disappoint me (when will I EVER learn?)

5) I was quite hurt that the hubs never tried any romantic overtures, by the time we finally did anything that even closely qualified as "alone time" it was Friday night and it was a quick trip to the corner store (for beer) and a walk on the Pier and by that time I was so hurt and pissed that I didn't even feel like holding hands. Oh well it ended well though.

6) I learned my Pop takes amazing care of my animals and will let my dog sleep in the bed with him ON HIS PILLOW and spoil him way rotten. He will also try to unsuccessfully kidnap him. :)

7) I learned that there is no "perfect" vacation but I am VERY blessed and thankful to have the opportunity to spend the week I just did. Very.

8) I also learned that the Beach just isn't the same without Miss Cheeky and Miss Bella. There wasn't even a Low Country Boil :( Girls, you WERE missed.

I missed you all more than I can say and i'd rather take a baseball bat to the solar plexus than be at work today. That's all i'm going to say about that! Hope I get caught up in the next couple of days with you all! Happy Monday!

Don't expect to have any internet so talk amongst yourselves and i'll be back online maybe Saturday night June14th or Sunday June 15th! Time to relax, rejuvenate and drink some stoli/cran!

(Actually the bottom pic was when we first saw them) This is about the point where she jumped and charged and I ran screaming in the house! She was jumping up at the birdfeeder and I guess get the corn out I ran out to see if I could corrall the pigs because a man down the road owns them (and sells them for food YIKES)
You can tell they aren't pets by their feral little piggy eyes....
We were in the house when Madison saw the pigs and called my attention to them
Yes they ended up taking off down the road after bending the Shephards Hook and doing some damage to the birdfeeder but I didn't give chase. That man is on his own as far as getting those pigs back!

I'm really ready to dip these toes in the Atlantic Ocean and then rest them on the warm sand.

Cheeky and BELLA might remember these silk beach pants I bought on the Isle Of Palms, SC when we were there last August.

I went to the ear doc yesterday and got all of the inner ear packing out and he took off the bandaging from the back of my ear where the incision was. Yay! I was so glad to get the nut cup off! I can hear better too but he said after about six weeks my hearing should improve more so we shall see!

Anyway i'm trying my best not to focus on negative crap at work and just get through until my vacay. I don't care what awaits me when I come back. I hope if they are having a lay-off they go ahead and make the announcements and get it over with. The tension is mighty hard to work under. No matter what happens i'll make it through. Me and my sweet little family :)

Yesterday was Carrie's birthday.
Most of you know who she is but for those of you who don't, she was Madison's caregiver since birth up until the beginning of this year when we decided to put her in pre-school.

Of course this little monkey was the first one to run up and yell HAPPY BIRTHDAY and give her a big ol' hug and a kiss. She loves her some Carrie and still goes to spend the night once in awhile with her.

My other half Stacy. I love this picture of him. Even if he IS wearing that K*yle Busch hat. *snort* This guy is one in a million. He takes good care of me and Maddie and does for everyone. Plus he's sexy and funny. An unbeatable combo in my book!

Here's the birthday girl herself cheesin'! Yes Katie that is a Vera Bradley bag, the Raspberry Fizz pattern. Us southern girls DO love our Vera!

This is her cake from the Coldstone Creamery. It was a devils food with peanut butter cups on top. Pretty good (although chocolate cake is not MY personal fave.) I don't think Coldstone can make a bad cake!

Carrie and Madison. I love them so!

Brittany, Carrie's daughter. She is the sweetest child and will do anything you ask of her. She's Madison's special buddy also. They are just like sisters and yes they even fight like sisters sometimes :)

Here is my eldest sister - the one who cleaned my house for me last week. Words can't express how much she means to me. She has done for me and taken care of me my whole life and I love her so much.

Here is my Momma, my best friend (next to Stacy), I can count on her for anything and know she is on my side all the way. She instilled my love of books and reading at a very early age. She has battled breast cancer twice and won. She is my hero.

Here is my Daddy. He is the smartest man I know and fair to a fault. I get my stubborness and my solid work ethics and morals from him. He has set a wonderful example and is the rock of our family.

That sums up our little celebration. I think Carrie had a very nice day. She wasn't surprised, ahem, because Brittany let the cat out of the bag but what can you expect from an eight year old. LOL

I posted on Friday about a big brouhaha about a school in Irmo,SC who is divided about some kids wanting to form a Gay/Straight Alliance.

In responding to my comments (which were all good ones BTW) I got a bit "wordy" and decided I wanted to post further.

I remember in high school and even as far back as middle school recognizing some kids I thought were gay (and i'm pretty sure turned out to be).
It was never an issue for me. One girl who played softball with me told me she had a crush on me and I told her I was very flattered but unfortunately only boys interested me in a romantic way.

We were still friends, still hung out together, still had sleep-overs just like we always had.
Some of the other girls in school went on a campaign against this particular girl and came to me hoping to do some shit-stirring I guess.
They were all "Oooh did you know so-and-so is gay? We heard she is. You still stay over at her house and let her stay at yours? Oooh - do you sleep in the same bed? Gross!" that type of thing.

I told them in no uncertain terms that I didn't "know" if she was gay (Okay I lied but it sure wasn't MY place to confirm and Out this girl to those bitches) and they should grow up and stop acting so babyish and stupid. I said she was a really cool girl, an awesome ballplayer and a LOT of fun to be with. I really made them feel like bugs under the microscope and i'd like to think helped in the end of their campaign against this girl. Things did die down after that.

I still remember though, her coming to me and crying and thanking me for being her friend. I felt so uncomfortable because to me, it just wasn't that big of a deal. I was doing what I felt was RIGHT.

I also want to give a shout out to a boy who lived in my neighborhood and rode the same school bus named Tim Moon. Tim, if by some one-in-a-million chance you ever read this please know that I always, always took up for you and I beat up Bryan Bass when he called you a Faggot on the bus one time too many. Yes I did, punched him right in the face and jumped on top of him and beat the tar out of him. Tim had already gotten off the bus and although I tried to be friendly to him and we would exchange smiles we never really TALKED, but you could sure tell someone beat up Bryan for about a week afterward til' his boo-boos faded (snicker). The bus driver (whose name I recall was Ronald) never turned me in either bless his heart.

You moved away soon after that incident and I always hoped you ended up happy. You took so much shit from the little turds in our neighborhood. I am so sorry.