The Fish Hatchery in Lacombe, La with the Wolf Cubs

 

Last Saturday my dad (Den Master) and my son (wolf cub scout) when together on the trip to the fish hatchery in Lacombe, La.  My dad and mom picked up my son and I met them out there about two hours later to pick my son up because my parents were heading on to Florida for a mini-vacation. 

After my son left with my parents I fell into a deep sleep and was awoken by my mother’s phone call begging me to bring her Starbucks.  So up and away I went and enjoyed a beautiful morning drive to Lacombe.  When I got there I found my mother in her minivan looking frantic… as usual. 

                                                                          

This is the video I have of her (most regretfully) explaining what she was doing there.  Just a note for quick reference, I suck at using my iPod for video taping and you have been warned (except for the nose part, I was doing that on purpose).

I saw that the gang was heading back from fishing so I just snapped a quick photo of the place.

And of course one of Mom and TomTom before we headed home for our weekend.

Harry Connick Jr comes back to town.

I went to see Harry Connick Jr Monday night and it was AWESOME!  It was exhausting considering it was a Monday night, but I got home in enough time to get a reasonable amount of sleep.

The night started off rushing across the lake to New Orleans after leaving work early (Thank You Boss Man!)  for a dinner at Houston’s.  The menu has changed, but the Chicago Style Dip is still the same – YUM!  And the drinks were double (in shots and price)  after a huge bill we decided to head down to the theater.

I was tipsy and we were reminiscing and the next thing you know we hit the traffic for the parking lot.  We miss our left turn off of the interstate so I decided to go down and do a U-turn and get in the line coming that way for the parking lot.  On our way to turn we saw the back of a statue and I asked if my friend knew what it was – she had no idea either (it was a man, but we don’t know who).  Once we got our spot in line I decided since I had been drinking I should buy a pack of smokes to enjoy a few.  So we went down and passed the traffic and did a U-turn.  Now we are right back where we started looking for the gas station I knew we passed.  It was right at the same turn as the statue so we had a short chuckle because we were passing it again.  I decided we had stopped for a long time due to traffic so we might as well make the U-turn and hope I can get over three lanes – no such luck.  Down we go and pass the parking lot traffic, back to take the U-turn and end up right where we started…. what the cops must have thought :)  And we end up at the old faithful statue again and I ask my friend if she wants to hop out and see who it is because obviously we may be doing this for hours.  Then we both had the same thought - “Look kids!  Big Ben…. Parliament!”  from The Griswalds and their European Vacation.  Since we both said this at the same time and I was happy on Jack and she on wine, we got the giggle fits.  This time around I made it into the gas station, bought my smokes, and we headed back to the parking lot line.

We finally make it out of the car and into the theater as the rain starts coming down in buckets!  We slipped into a side door and off to our seats via the bar for one more drink before the show and then our long drive back to Covington.  This is the photo I took while we were in line for our drinks.  It shows the huge chandelier in the lobby area of the Mahalia Jackson Theater.

We settled into our seats just as the show was starting as we were serenaded by the door man singing “The very thought of you….” and that set the mood for the rest of the night.  There was no opening act and Harry played without intermission.  He was up, he was down, he was talking, and everyone was having a good time.  I had my binoculars on hand so I could get up close and personal even though my hand could probably brush the ceiling of the place.  It was a packed house. 

Harry had his dad come up and sing a song with him – the man sang better than Harry did!  He also had Ellis Marsalis on hand to play a piano tune while his son Branford played along on the sax. It was a performance that many would wish they would have witnessed.  There was one part where Harry and his trombone player shimmied across the stage from one end to the other with their backsides to the audience and everyone almost died laughing.

He is definitely a white boy.  He danced like my Grandpa and it made me giggle – he even had the white man’s over bite.  I remember noting to my friend that his daughter is probably like – Dad! Stop it!  You're embarrassing me! Whenever he dances like that around her.  Oh!  He’s a cutie!  His encore was “You Oughta go see the Mardi Gras!”  and it was spectacular.  A great ending to a great evening!  We love you Harry! And we hope you keep that gorgeous head of hair!

Eat Pray Love

I also wanted to blog about watching “Eat Pray Love” this weekend.  I thought it was freaking awesome.  There was a lot of lines from the movie that hit home with me.  Then when I researched the lines to put them down in my blog correctly I found even more lines from the book that weren’t even in the movie.  I am going to have to read that book one day.  One of the parts that hit home with me was when Richard and her were sitting at the table having a “thumbs up” and he tells her that if she let go of all the… I don’t know it word for word.. basically all the time she spent obsessing on her guy or her failed marriage - if she let go of it, it would open up a doorway, a vacuum into her soul.  And he asked her if she knew what the universe would do with that doorway?  Then he plunged towards her head with his hands to make the point that it would just rush in.  It would show her so much love… more love than she could ever imagine and that he thought she was capable of loving the whole world.  I thought it was just beautiful.  And she said she missed him (her ex-guy).  And he said so what!  Miss him - send him light and love every time you think of him - and then drop it. 

WOAH THERE’S A CONCEPT.  LET IT HAPPEN AND THEN JUST DROP IT.

We can’t let these things consume us.  It’s basically what i am letting life do to me right now.  It’s killing me.  People can’t live like that.  It’s so not right and you can feel it in your bones.

I am going to post some of the quotes that I really enjoyed in the future.

Goals, revisited.

Lately 11 Pm is the regular time I’ve been falling asleep – or later.  I haven’t been working out, which is getting to me because I feel like I’m not hitting my goals and I’m pretty sure I have gained back the seven pounds I lost.  Right now I just feel like I need a big ole break.

Another one of my goals is to plan a weekend with TomTom.  We have a long weekend coming up, which is Easter, and I would like to go out of town with just me and him.  I was thinking about going to Orange Beach but the prices are getting higher and higher and I am trying to get my mom to book her time share which is a big discount on the price.  Then I talk to her and when she has something important to say she demands my attention and I have to listen, but when I have my turn to talk she starts with the “uh huhs”  and “okays'” before I even finish a sentence because she is ready to hang up the phone.  It is just frustrating and on top of the week I had, honestly, I’m tired… I’m past that point – I’m exhausted… and I’m emotional.

I had recently set some goals for myself based on sparkpeople.com’s book, “The Spark”.  I have them written down to share, broken up into short term, medium goals, long term goals.  I’m trying to do the many things associated with that - I bought planner pages to keep up with everything to help with meal planning, exercise and logging who, what, when, and where.  It is a start even though I haven’t logged in my meals or exercise in about a week and a half.  It’s just so much right now, and I know it’s not going to last forever, but I do need some sort of mantra to get me through the rough times.  I need something to say like I did when I was on TomTom’s bed Tuesday night waiting for him to actually wash his face.  This type of thing is another part of these goals.  It is to be used when I get overwhelmed and I can just say it to myself to remember what is actually important.  One of the things that came to my mind immediately when I had the moment was… I can do this!  My back might be hurting from shoveling mud all weekend (Thanks Dad!)  I might be physically exhausted with five more things waiting for my attention before I am done with this, but I can do this.  I can be here in this moment and I can get the next thing done that I need to get done.  I can do it without getting upset at the little obstacles that want to show themselves along the way.  I can do it without the emotion if I just let go, if I just let go and I float in the moment.  I have to let it be... let it go… let it be and let it go. 

Or something along those lines.  It’s a start at least.  

Do you know?

Do you know what it is to fight for something?  To constantly remind someone that you are fighting for something in particular and they are choosing not to hear you.  You keep saying the same thing but the lack of care from the person you are telling it to does not allow it to register in their time zone.  Then when it is said and done you have accomplished your mission.  You have protected the one thing you were fighting for and all is well. 

That person will never know that you fought for them.  They will never know the repeated times you brought up the fight, and you defended it, and you have justified it to others that want to ignore it.  They will even reward others or show gratitude to others who had nothing to do with your fight or expressed any concern regarding the situation. 

It is at that point you realize how little of the truth is out there.  You realize how little of your effort and energy is not even recognized by the very subjects you are fighting for in that instance.  They just don’t get it.  That’s the saddest part of it all.  They think they know so much, but they have no idea… whatsoever… not even the slightest inkling of a notion. 

And then life goes on and the whole incident is completely forgotten, buried underneath the next pile of bullshit in your life.  And the bullshit is great compost for flowers.  I should know… I have about ten bags of compost and manure right outside my back door to put in my flower beds. 

PMS VS. THE FLAMINGO

I think my time of the month may be coming very shortly because these are the thoughts I have running through my head right now.  If you were here with me now overhearing all of this you would understand why...

I have got my own problems, my own bullshit.  I don’t need to sit there and console you with yours.  I need to take care of my own issues.   

And then it starts….blah, blah, blah… anything you can do I can do better…. blah, blah, blah…… I can one up you on anything and everything….. blah, blah, blah…. ooo… do I hear someone else talking????  I don’t give a crap, blah, blah, blah……

SHUT THE F()(% UP!  CAN YOU JUST BE F()(%ING STILL AND F()(%ING SILENT???? DO YOU HAVE ANY F()(%ING CONSIDERATION FOR THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHUT THE MOTHER F()(%ING F()(% UP!

Overwhelmed….and whiney…

Let me say that I wrote this blog last night in a very bad mood.  I am feeling much better tonight despite the fact that I revised the below entry and my computer did not save it.  After even more huffing and puffing I am giving you the following with this prelude….

I know I have my own personality issues.  My particular things that aggravate the hell out of some people, but unfortunately they are not the ones writing this blog.

Today was a day from hell.  Everything I touched turned to absolute, positive crap.  It started with all the work I did… AGAIN…. calling people in, giving them a chance of hope, and then being told every day since then that we will have to send them home with no explanation as to why and no answers to any of my questions.  I’ve been fighting for these guys.  OH they have a job, they have a job… WAIT… noooooooo, they don’t have a job.  Get a crew, GET A CREW NOW… WAIT….. we need to stand down that crew and send them back home.  It’s absolutely ridiculous and seriously wearing me down mentally.

I’ve been trying to make time to write my blog, but I haven’t even been successful with that.  Right now my life has been slowly looming out of control.  Tomtom has baseball on Wednesday for an hour, and Friday for two hours starting at six.  This Thursday we have a religion meeting at 630 PM.  Today, Tuesday, is the only day we have nothing to do after school.  With that being said, I had to come home and weed eat because I want to cut the grass soon, but I have no idea when I am going to do that – but at least the weeding/edging is done so I just have to run the mower along the lawn… not to mention putting the lawn fertilizer down.  I also had to fix my garden because when it rained the other day all the mud basically slid to the front of that pond and dumped right out, cracking the mud, burying the plants, so that’s a disaster. I added some compost to the top of that, but I don’t know how the plants are going to take to everything that happened.  The lettuce garden is doing absolutely fine and I am beginning to think I should have just done both gardens that way.  But that’s another matter and I can’t worry about it right now.  I just have to see how it goes and make do with what I have.  It is also another blog that I will have to post in the future about my garden episodes this weekend. 

After that I came in and fixed dinner, did the dishes that have been piling up in the sink, took dishes out of the dishwasher, had TomTom help me with the laundry - which he was very good about that - and we ate our dinner together.  Then I got up and started vacuuming the front room and the HEPA filters because those lights were on.  Then he took his shower and I met him down the hallway in his room.  I went to tuck him in and he hadn’t washed his face.  He’s not listening, he’s not doing the things I ask of him and I have a very short fuse right now.  He’s got his moments when he is his shining wonderful self.  Then he has the moments where he just wastes my time because I have to ask him repeatedly to do things.  I need to make a chore and award chart so he knows exactly what he needs to do and he can mark it off when it is done.  He seems to like that, but then again that is time consuming and I am going to need to find some time to get that chart made up. 

So there I am in TomTom’s room and I figured out that he hadn’t washed his face, but he had told me he had everything done.  I screamed at him because he went and washed his face, came back five seconds later and absolutely nothing was wet on the child and he said he washed his face.   I angrily told him to go do it again, and then I screamed at the top of my lungs “Hurry UP!”  because he was dilly dallying in the hallway with the cats.  I sat on the bed and I said to myself…. I need patience, and I need to get rid of the anger that i have in me right now.  I’m so angry, so many reasons why, a lot of it is work and the way they treat people.  What am I saying?  It’s the way they treat everybody.  You're important in the moment that they need you and then beyond that, nothing.

Finally Tomtom came back in the room, with a clean washed face, and I got him tucked in and off to bed.  I then moved on to vacuum the cat room, then made fabric refresher to spray it on the furniture, and then I went back and mopped the living room.  I hope that tomorrow I will be able to come home after baseball practice and vacuum and mop the kitchen area because that hasn’t been done in forever and after dealing with the mud all weekend long (the future garden blog will explain more) it’s been tracked into one end of the house and out of the other. 

It is now about 1015pM and I am folding all the laundry because I hadn’t had time to deal with it.  I had just been moving loads and dumping the clean ones onto my bed. I can’t go to bed until I move that, and at the same time I was supposed to make my blog tonight.  I have so many things I have done that I want to write about but I haven’t had the time.  I even have the pictures, I just need the time.  All I can do is start with this blog and then as I get the time back track and get the previous blogs written and posted. 

Blah, blah de-mother-freaking blah, blah!