Henceforth the dwelling formerly known as 18 blah blah blah shall be known as:

End of the Rainbow.

Ahhh.

Some places...

Some places hurt. Tienanmen Square in Beijing is one of them.
The concrete cries out with the agonies of of violent death.
Our walk across the city center was a trial of sorts.
It lasted long enough for us to take our picture with Mao (something simply everyone who goes to Beijing must do)(that's him in the very back teetiny as can be) and rush across as though the hounds of hell were nipping at our heels.
While we were in China we saw many wonderful and interesting things and had some fabulous experiences.
We saw three men with two sledgehammers deconstruct a seven story brick building over the course of a year.
We saw people die in bicycle car accidents nearly every week in every city we visited.
We also saw a man paraded through the early morning streets on the back of a truck, his crimes written in red on banners and loudspeakers blaring commanding all to gather at the local sports stadium to witness his very public execution.
We witnessed a man being beaten nearly to death with 2x4's ostensibly because he had skipped out on a restaurant bill.
We saw a woman whose eyes had been put out in childhood to make her more pitiful in her job as beggar and street musician.
We saw wire crates filled to the brim with puppies and kittens, crushed and suffocating, waiting to be purchased for supper.
We saw starving people who couldn't afford a grain of rice.
We saw filth unimaginable.
We saw the extreme disparity between the haves and the have nots.
We came back to the States, quite happy to be living where we do.
But our eyes have been opened.
We see.
What we see is a damn shame.
It is a damn shame that our personal liberties are disappearing more and more every day.
It is a damn shame to see people go without health care in what is still one of the richest countries in the world when even the meanest of peasants in China could expect a modicum of health care.
It is a damn shame that our education system is so corrupted that our students can no longer think.
It is a damn shame that our people are so ignorant that they don't even see that there are questions they should be asking.
It is a damn shame that we are living in such an environment of fear.
It is a damn shame that we are being manipulated by fearmongers.
It is a damn shame that the fearmongers are people we trust.

I'll be honest though.

As long as we are healthy and there is food on our plate.
As long as we live this fat life.
We won't think about change for the better.

We are the goddamned frog sitting in the skillet that is slowly getting hotter and hotter, killing us by degrees.
Clueless
Until it's too late
That we are in one of those...
Places that hurt.

That's all I have to say about that.

Orange (you glad it's not a banana?)

Nej responded to an orange challenge and I know I've got at least one good orange photo and more than a few not so good ones, and thought I'd hitch a ride on the theme bandwagon-plus the Kid and I have been saying that silly knock knock joke to each other all week so I feel I must respond due to my "strange things in 3's" OCD compulsions.

Here we go!

Sunset at Wrightsville Beach North Carolina

The most perfect mango I have ever seen or tasted and it came from my Mom's mango tree.

One orange cat with glowing eyes-kindof a freaky thing to see at night

NO BANANAS!

Modern Machines

The Elliptical Trainer.

It may be low impact but when one has barely moved for 7 weeks...

Well.

It kicked my ass.

In only 10 minutes I might add.

We are meeting up again tomorrow for Round 2.

*whew*

(image from Fitness Plus)

I was wondering...

How many bras are too many?

If you think this is crazy you should see my purse/bag collection.

We won't even talk about the shoes.

Back to the bras. Having been blessed/cursed with rather large hoohas, and ones that definitely need a support group of their own, I am often on the lookout for a bra that fits and fits well. When I find said contraption I do purchase it. Because bras wear out. Especially when they work as hard as mine do carrying around heavy loads for 18+ hours a day. I am so glad that there is a Dillards clearance center near me where I can find those weird sizes(34G) in quality undergarments for a very reasonable price. I am especially pleased with my Freya collection- acquired for about $45 ($400 retail value). One of the pluses of having so many bras is that I have been able to maintain them in pretty good shape since there is a large pool to rotate through. The only downside is hand washing those suckers which can take forever. And then the drying! You know the scenes in old movies where the ladies bathroom is draped in unmentionables? Drying rack to the rescue. Only then it's the kitchen or living room graced with the presence of my plethora of over the shoulder boulder holders.

In other news, perhaps the best news in fact...I HAVE BEEN CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF!

What I mean is it has been okayed for me to return to the gym-as long as I don't do any squats or dead lifts(like I do that kind of stuff hahahahahahahahaha!) and stick to low impact and careful upper body work.

HELLO ELLIPTICAL!

I will figure you out and you will become my new best friend.

But first...a massage!

(Thanks Big Daddy D!)

My To Do List

Keaneau Reeves
Clive Owens
Vinnie Jones
Sam Elliot
Rachel Weiz
Andrew Zimmern
Vin Diesel
Mike Rowe
Shemar Moore
Josh Hartnett
Dane Cook
Patrick Warburton
Michael Strahan
Alton Brown
John Cusack
Jake Gyllenhaal
Heath Ledger *sigh*
Giovanni Ribisi
Edward Norton
Burt Lancaster

I don't know.
Maybe I watch too many movies and too much TV.
Whatever.

I'm Loving...

underwire bras.
high heels.
nylons.
that natural childbirth can be a practically orgasmic experience.
men, they are wonderful when used according to the directions that are on the back of that deck of cards.
tight clothes.
flirting with nearly everyone.
that I have nipples.
feeling sexy.
being sexy.
that my body is soft and feels delicious to me.
sunshine.
homemade chicken noodle soup.
soft furry bodies.
standing on my tippy toes.
walking pain free.
LIFE!

Suck It!

Having been turned into what can only be described as a slug the past few weeks I have felt increasingly despondent about my lack of activity and slow but seemingly inevitable gain of weight.

Getting out of the shower and drying off I reach into the laundry basket and grab a pair of jeans. Not really paying attention I thrust my legs in and start pulling up.

Further evidence of my journey to flabbitude.

I jump.

Do the chicken dance.

The pants make it up.

The zipper and button meet and close without too much trouble.

Lots of muffin top but eh, whatcha gonna do?

Finally I look down.

And realize...

I JUST WIGGLED INTO B'S SIZE 3'S!!!!!!

Now as I've stated many times I have no desire to be a walking talking bag of bones, and really no desire to be a muscle bound hard body.

I am neither.

But that crazy voice I keep hearing in my head,

The one telling me I'm fat...

Can SUCK IT!

Hand carefully placed to disguise said muffin top cause you guys don't need to see everything!

Sunrise at Sea

Real

Moments like this remind me that I am real.
There are days that float by, or maybe I float through them.
Never touching.
Never being touched.
Just drifting through with no highs or lows, snags or glitches.
Those are the days that I look in the mirror and there is that strange fog in front of my reflection that leaves me wondering just who it is I'm looking at.

Not today though.
I'm all here.
And I should feel better now.
I mean I've run through my emergency preparedness list for the past hour and even if I was half asleep and none of it made sense at least it's done right?
And it's no big deal.
I simply have a great way of freaking myself out over some things-though mostly it's just on the inside, and really, that way if anything ever does happen then I already have a plan.
Plans are good.
Plans keep you sane.
Now worrying is another issue.
Worrying can make you crazy.
Worrying is like rocking I always heard.
A whole lot of work that gets you no where.
So I don't worry.
I think and I plan.
Not worry.

*snort* If you believe that, there's a bridge with my name on it that I'd be happy to part with for a very reasonable price.

After all, it's just a little day trip to Atlanta.
What could go wrong?

Don't answer that.

Well what do you know?
It is just another Fuckin Friday after all Ya'll!

What a nice day I've had.

I love my stripey socks.
I love my tight white tee.
I love my holey jeans.

These little things have made my day.

The sun finally came out, peeking around the clouds.
I got my shopping done-no more major trips to the grocery til after Thanksgiving.
Walking without too much of a limp.

A few more things that have made my day.

Now, on to the Greyhound!

Is it Thursday yet?

Sometimes when you put on those panties that look great when you are on your way to naked you forget that they don't work so well under your jeans.

I forgot.



WEDGIE.



Or forplay.

I can't decide.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

I wonder what this one has to say.

The Camo Cat-unretouched in case you're wondering.

My writer self has wandered and I was, you know, just wondering if any of you have seen her? If you do see her, send her back my way please. I kind of miss her and her words that captured my heart and soul and imagination in a way that I could share and through that feel connected to a world larger than the one inside my bed, my room, my house, my head.

"You only live once you know." said MIL

"I know, you might as well have fun, there aren't any do-overs." says I.

Big Daddy D pipes in, "I don't know, sometimes you get a phone number."

Speaking of...

It may be time to get Blue a blow up cat. Or take him in for a little operation. Blue is getting to that age where Mom's don't ask what their little boy is doing all that time in the shower.

Don't ask.

Oh wait, it's TMI Thursday so I'll tell you anyway.

I'm laying in bed minding my own business when Blue leaps up beside me for a cuddle/purr session. I'm petting his fuzzy ears when he squirms away and tackles my forearm. He grabs my wrist and licks/nibbles the back of my hand, straddles my arm and paddles his back feet and I'm going "HOLY SHIT! This cat is masturbating on my fucking arm!"

Which he was.

SNIP SNIP.

Conversations

I wanna go to KMart!

Why do you want to go to Kmart?

I wanna go to KMart!

Why do you want to go to Kmart?

I wanna buy sumfin.

Do you have money, REAL money?

Yes.

You do? Real money to buy something?

Yes.

Where is your real money?

In Daddy's pocket.

(The car rocks with laughter as Daddy says "Funny, Mommy says the same thing")

So what would you like to watch for your night night movie?

Mommy.

No, something else.

Ok.

What would you like to watch for your night night movie?

God.

Alright, "Prince of Egypt" it is.

(She thinks I'm more fun than God-isn't that sweet?)

(WAIT! Maybe she meant I was more boring than God...Oh well! =)