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.

There was a to-do in our capital city of Columbia,SC yesterday regarding a proposed gay/straight club in a local school.

I sent the following comment to our State newspaper:
"As the parent of a child who I don't yet know will grow up to be gay or straight (she's three) I definitely support such a club. I believe God loves all of his children and we should be preaching acceptance not rejection. There is too much hate and negativity in this world as it is. I would love it if the South would shed some of it's backwoods narrow-minded reputation in favor of open-mindedness and tolerance."
I posted my full name, would have gladly posted my address and telephone number too.

I am never ashamed of what I have to say and anyone who knows me definitely knows I support gay rights. I am striving to instill those values in my child and never pass up a chance to pass on the message to anyone else either regardless of age/sex/creed/religion etc.

Some of my family members are very close-minded and my open-mindedness disturbs them (as their close-mindedness disturbs me). They love to try and bait me and argue but I am a pretty smart cookie and can usually get over. I love to see the steam coming out of their ears when I hand them a little bit of rope and let them hang themselves.
Happens every time so far.

You see I am a FIRM believer in "wrong never truly wins".
Maybe a small battle but never a war, my friends, never a war.

I just hope the kids in Irmo win the right to have their gay/straight alliance.

Okay I know my co-workers are nosey concerned but their nosiness concern is getting a bit old. Because I am getting sick and tired of the not-so-subtle sneak peeks, the outright stares, - the questions on why I have my ear in a big ol' white nut cup, I will let you pick what excuse I will give tomorrow when asked:

1) Got shot in a drive-by shooting

2) A shark snapped it up while I was swimming at Myrtle Beach

3) The ghost of Leonardo Da Vinci attacked me last week

4) I donated it to little deaf kids in a Thirld World Country

5) Madison took my ear to school for a science experiment

6) Stacy bit it off during hot wild monkey sex

Vote dear Blogreaders! My sanity just might depend on it!

I am so down and frustrated tonight about my ear. Ugh. Just sick of it. I am going to try and figure out a way to wash my nasty nasty hair tomorrow. It just HURTS all the time and itches, which means it's healing but Arrgh...
Okay pity part of one - OVER.
This little guy is sitting here begging me with his eyes to get off the computer and play with him for crying out loud! When sister goes to bed it is our time to play fetch and me baby him. He makes me smile. He is the best dog. Me, Stac & Maddie are so lucky to have him in our lives. He may be little but he's five pounds of pure heart. (and yes I know he needs groomed - badly but he gets a bath every week and has no fleas I swear!)

She can run a front-end loader... in pigtails no less. She's a rockstar like her Mamma who used to tear down Transmissions for a living. Rawwrrr....

What odd job did you have that would surprise me? Feel free to make something up (*cough*Grant*cough*) OR if you would rather just tell me what the coolest job you could ever do would entail.

Well I know it's only been a few days but my lord do I have some catching up to do!

It was a rougher surgery than last time as I said before. Still alot of drainage that I didn't have before.
He found a tumor the size of a pearl and he said in two months time we would have been right back where we started. What we do now, I don't know.
I was in no shape to really discuss it when he called to check on me last Thursday night but I go back on June 4th to have the inner ear packing taken out.
I have rested until I can rest no more!
Stacy has taken excellent care of me and Madison too and God Bless my sister "K" who cleaned my house from top to bottom on Friday even steam cleaning the carpets. Nothing soothes the soul like knowing your house is clean.
I am back at work but it should be a quiet week with the boss not back until Thurs/Fri and then if I can get through next week I am on vacay to Oak Island, NC for a week. My toes will be in the sand. I bought a few cute sundresses including a flowered terry short one that feels very seventies!
Anyway i'll be able to get caught up on reading blogs today as no one is around to really bother me I HOPE.
Thanks again for checking up on me and all of the good well wishes and comments. VERY much appreciated. It's nice to be liked!

Stacy snuck in and took a few pics of me sleeping ... attractive I know but I really couldn't care less.

This has been harder this time. More bleeding from the incision, I don't do well with blood either. Ack.

Anyway hopefully i'll get caught up on the blog reading soon. Thanks for all of the well-wishes and for checking up on me.

Stacy, Maddie & My big sis have taken excellent care of me. Time to go lay back down. I did want to give an update though.

Hugs and have a wonderful Memorial Day Week-End.

Many thanks for the veterans who gave of themselves to fight for the freedoms we enjoy every single day. Don't ever take it for granted!

Well I may be back online Friday depending on how I feel. Y'all know me - I can bounce back pretty quick!
Thanks for all the get well wishes and good thoughts. I really appreciate it!
I'll be going to the hospital early in the a.m. hence the writing the night before :)
I might have to go have another cookie because I can't eat or drink after midnight (something I HATE but who doesn't?).
Happy Thursday All!

From Loving Annie three dozen Toll House Cookies. OMG words fail me to tell you how good these cookies are.
I caught Madison climbing on the counter trying to sneak one after we both ate one and I told her to leave them alone until her Daddy got home.
They are "risk-a-spanking good" LOL (for the record I would NOT spank her over that!).
Thank you so much you sweet, wonderful, thoughtful, kind lady.
I have learned so much about the human spirit and grown through reading your blog.
I will miss you and hope that you reconsider and decide to start blogging again when the time is right for you.
Again thank you for your random act of kindness. It will never be forgotten!

Indulge me while I post a few more pics - my SIL Buffy took tons of them. The lighting was weird but that's the way it was on the stage and I couldn't crop them...

Here is Maddie and Daddy - Thank Heaven For Little Girl's!

If you look toward the bottom you can just glimpse her roses..

Performing "Genevieve The Giraffe" - it was the CUTEST!

For Little Girls Grow Up And Go Away........

"There are many things that children have to know...." from("This Is My Left Foot")

Entering Stage Right.......

Anxiously awaiting her debut! (see the concentration on her face!) She was SERIOUS!

"Jeremiah was a Bullfrog" (sang VERY loudly!) LOL

"Singing Joy To The World!"

"I Wanna put on my~my~my~my~my Boogie Shoes!"

"and Boogie with You"!

Madison and her partner-in-crime Kaitlyn

Madison is the only three year old in her class and she was two when she started and two when she first danced in public at the Sweet Potato Festival. I think she has done remarkably well. Miss Patsy's babies have already been booked to perform at the Catfish Festival next November in Society Hill, SC. Don't you just love these southern festivals LOL I sure do~! They had the Pine Straw Festival in Patrick, SC last Saturday but we, of course could not go.