I can see clearly now...

I called in sick today.  My tooth was pitching a fit for me to so I did.  I fully expected to have that root canal today, although this doesn't feel root canal worthy.  And I've had four root canals so I know what's worthy.  That extremely painful constant throbbing that will only stop when you throw cold water on it.  Yeah, that's worthy.  This is nothing like that.  This is a dull ache with an occasional sharp pain thrown in there just for giggles.

So I stayed home and called my dentist when her office opened and she called me in some meds to Target.  Yay!!  Another reason to go to Target!!!  :)  I'm waiting this thing out.  I don't want to have a root canal if the nerve will just calm the hell down and chill.  You know??

It already feels much, much better.  The 800mg Motrin took care of any inflammation in there and it's just a tiny bit cold sensitive now.  We might just make it!!  I've sure been praying over it.

I had an eye appointment this afternoon so I kept that and got me some new contacts.  A little stronger.  I'd gotten to where I couldn't see anything, especially those itty bitty numbers on those wires at work.  So we upped the RX a little and now I can SEEEEEEE.

And then I came home and cooked that eggplant and those 'maters and okry that I got yesterday from my mama and daddy.

Fried eggplant on pasta with marinara and grated parmesan cheese

This is just about my favorite thing at Olive Garden and mine tonight tasted pretty dang close!  It was delicious!!  Got some for lunch tomorrow, too.

Yummy stewed tomatoes and okra

I even halved and tossed some of those cherry tomatoes in there, too.  It turned out great!!

For a Monday, it wasn't even that bad. 

...and died with a toothache in his heel...but wait, M&M cookies!

My family had a birthday party for my niece, Jessi, today and I didn't get to go because I've been nursing a toothache since last Monday.  I got a pretty deep filling in a tooth Monday afternoon and Doc said I may need a root canal.  Well, that tooth has hurt ever since the shot wore off!!  Shots, actually.  She had to give me two 'cause I'm a whiney-butt cry baby.  I've taken Motrin just about 'round the clock and last night, I took three of my Neurontin pills left over from my trigeminal neuralgia treatment (which I STILL have!  September will be TWO YEARS that the right side of my face has been numb.  I'm so used to it now, I doubt I even notice that it's well IF it ever gets well.  Argh!!!) and was so stoned, I walked into the hearth with all five toes stickin' out.  Yeah, ow.  But the tooth quit hurting and I slept like a log in the woods all night.  I have hope that the nerve in there will settle down eventually and I'll avoid that root canal.

So I didn't go to the party but in Mama's fashion, she hooked me up anyway and Ami and Brian brought me my stuff that she and Daddy sent.

Just LOOK!

Eggplant, figs from their backyard tree, peaches and fresh cherry tomatoes and okra from their garden.  Daddy also made me some deliciously awesome peach ice cream and he sent that, too.  They are just too good to me.

I can't wait to fry that eggplant up and make Eggplant Parmesan and make a big pot of stewed tomatoes and okra.  Yum yum!!

I mentioned last week on Facebook that I was craving some of my mama's M&M cookies.  Guess what??  Yep.  Three bags of 'em.

I truly don't deserve my parents but I am so thankful that God gave me to them!!

Happy 4th!

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?

Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?

And we'll be free some day soon, 
and it's gonna be one day...

Pink weekend

Normally, pink is my favorite color.  

I LOVE summer.  It's hell that I'm not real crazy about.  We're in for a triple-digit weekend and it just hit us all of a sudden.  We had the mildest June that I can remember.  Cool mornings and upper 80's in the afternoon.  Just WEDNESDAY, I was wrapped up in a sweatshirt for roll call at work!

Today, however, felt like the devil had eaten habaneros for lunch.

I was lucky enough to be somewhere air conditioned for most of the day today, though.  And it was HOTTTT in that hangar OMG.  We have air conditioning in thin plastic ducts that run up and over the top of the plane but when it's 100 degrees plus and both hangar doors are open, what's the point??  It's really just wasting electricity.  But lemme tell ya, this girl has learned how to plug up, hook up and turn on that huge van-sized air conditioner and cut holes in that duct!  

The supervisors grilled steaks for us today and us girls, few that we are, did the girl thing and set everything up, made the baked beans and grilled Vidalia onions, took everything over to where we were going to be meetin' and eatin' and cut the 28 cakes and pies that we had for dessert.  And then we cleaned up afterwards.  You know, the girl thing.  While the guys did the guy thing.  Worked on the airplanes.  Ha!

Along with our steak, the beans and grilled onions, we had potato salad, rolls and roasted ears of corn.  I made Dr. Patrenos' world-famous brown sugar brownies and they got gone quick.  We had apple pies, peach pies, five chocolate cakes, pound cakes, red velvet cake, a candy bar cake, key lime pies, peanut butter pies, blueberry cobbler, apple blueberry crisp, 'nana puddin', cookies, cupcakes, pretty much if you wanted it, we had it.

We got praise for working so hard and I had to stifle a giggle at that.  We do our work but we do not work hard.  The routine out there has taken some getting used to.  What with the breaks and pre breaks and after breaks, I've never seen anything like it.  Plus they give us three hours a week to go work out at the gym.  I'm not knocking it by no means, it's just different.  A whole new wonderful different world.  :)

So I was happy to know that we're doing a good job, getting the planes out on schedule, rewiring them right so that they don't crash.  That's a biggie.  :)   We're the best of the best and I'm excited that they are letting ME be a part of that.

It's stupid hot, y'all.  Stay safe out there, ya hear??  Check on your pets and the old folks.

Happy Birthday to me!

Thanks to Facebook, I got wished a happy birthday about 130 times!  Well, I stopped counting somewhere around there.  Awesome.  

I spent the day with Larry, the absolute sweetest thing in my life.  I truly don't deserve him.  I got told that by a friend not too long ago.  After meeting him a few weeks ago, she said, "Larry is so sweet.  You don't deserve him!"  I busted out laughing because he has always told me that he doesn't deserve me.  I think we both got lucky.

He sang "Happy Birthday" to me and hid a little drawing he did of the two of us under our pile of snacks so when we got to the bottom of the pile, there it was.  See, sweet.  I told you.  And then he tried to throw it away the rest of the day 'cause he's a dang young'un sometimes, too.  :)  He drew his hands on my face 'cause he does that a lot and then I kiss his palm.  He likes that.  And he also drew stubble on his face 'cause I like that!!! 

He sent me a couple of cards this week, too.  This one he made for me.  Awwwww!   

Mama and Daddy sent me this card and a pretty pair of silver hoop earrings.  Daddy drew a little airplane inside the card!!  So cute.

My birthday cupcake! 

Mama and Daddy sent it home with me last Sunday and I kept it in the fridge all week.  It was actually still good and moist today!  Not at all like year-old wedding cake.  Ha!

I had a wonderful weekend.  I saw Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter yesterday and loved it!  It is so well-written and acted.  I went in there thinking it'd be silly but I was surprised.  It was gory, funny and pretty close to history.  Well, kinda.  We didn't win battles against the North because we had vampires on our side.  At least I don't think we did.  :)  I really wanted to yell at Abe at the end, "Don't go to the theater!".

I came home to these two little guys today.  Golden Birthday Mushrooms in my front yard.  It was a great day.

Birthdays past

When I was born, my mama started a baby book for me.  She did one for my brother and sister, too.

In those baby books, she lovingly and painstakingly chronicled our lives.  When we were old enough to take care of them, she gave them to us and they came to stay with us in our homes.

When I say my parents are two of a kind, I'm not just saying that.  They truly are.

This is what she wrote for my 1st birthday.

We went to my grandmas' houses and then to Lake Blackshear where I swam with my daddy.  Everybody was there except for Uncle Freddie.  It was 1968 and Uncle Freddie was in Vietnam.  I got lots of stuff for my birthday!  Toys and clothes and a bath tub.  This girl loves toys and clothes and bath tubs.  :)

Mama wrote stuff like this for every single birthday until I was eight, when she ran out of room in the book.  She then started a School Days book for us to keep our memories in.

Here's Birthday #3!

And lots of cool stuff about my favorite playthings and pets.

Thank you, Mama, for doing this!!  

She also kept my cards, gift tags, napkins and birthday candles.

Crazy story and I don't even know how it happened.  Those two dragon cards I got for my 7th birthday were from my grandparents, Maw and Paw.  I don't know if they were already divorced at that time, but they weren't living together, yet they both got me the same exact card.  That's SO cool!

Here are some hilarious pictures from my 4th birthday party.  June 26, 1971.

I do not know why I was so pissed off that day!  I got my Buffy and Jody paper dolls and I was the center of attention.  Oh, yeah, that.  Maybe that was it.  I never like being that.  And I probably needed a nap.  I always need a nap.

I don't even know what to say about this one.  Here I am, sitting on a jack-in-the-box, showing my butt panties, being completely antisocial.  I remember vividly making eye contact with Sophie (the cute little redhead looking at me) and the look on her face was something like, "why you akkin' a ass at your birthday party??"  

That's better!  Terry and Candy's mama, Nedra, took my ill butt into the kitchen and made me smile and got this one.  I remember that very well, too.  She was a mess and could always make me laugh.

I can't believe that Sunday, I will have had 41 birthdays since this one.  I still show my butt from time to time and I'm still a little antisocial sometimes but for the most part, I'm that little girl in the last picture, finding a reason to smile despite all the chaos around me.

I'm just thankful people love me anyway.

Howdy, Summer!

Summertime, 

Child, the livin's easy.

(Janis Joplin)