I finally got to particapate in the Trail of Tears motorcyle ride. I rode in this because my husband says that I never do anything he likes to do.
After 4-5 hours of sleep the night before, the clouds rolled in as I rolled myself out of bed for a rough ride on the iron horse.
I got wet and cold, my butt was sore. My neck hurt from holding a heavy helment on my head.
I don’t think the majority of the riders gave one hill of beans as to the ride they were supposed to be commenerating. More than likely, the pack of riders just wanted to show off their bikes and ogle at the other bikes.
I did it once, it is off my list; however, there will be other things to enjoy with my husband other than motorcycle riding. Unfortunatally, he has plans to ride to the beach…{sigh}

Times are hard

To say that times are hard in an understatement. The transmission went out on the car a couple of months ago and I can't afford to get it fixed. I can't afford gas to get to work in hubby's big truck but if I don't work I can't make the house payment.

The light bill was $70.00 more this month! Starting in October, the rates will be raised by 20%

Things are being cut back. No eating out like we used to. Ramen noodles, pot pies, tv dinners and beans are what I stocked up on. No unnecessary trips to town. The only bills I can pay are the the ones we need.

Petty soon, I will have to get the cable cut off and the high speed. Oh well, gotta do what I gotta do!

Something I know nothing about/learn 3 things about it

I have a new goal and that is to learn 3 things about something a know nothing about. Today is the first of many since I LOVE to learn new things.

Today, I will learn three things about Albert Einstein

1. He was born to a jewish family in Ulm, Wutternburg Germany on March 14, 1879 –and died n 17 April 1955 of an aortic aneurysm.
2. He is best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass-energy equvilance, E = mc 2.
3. Einstein became a citizen of the United States in 1940.

Sunday-Day of rest.

1.Scrubbed the deck down with clorox/water.
2.Scrubbed the front porch down with clorox/water.
3.Gave 2 dogs a bath.Washed the living room curtains.
4.Cleaned the spare bedroom.
5.Loaded the dishwasher.
6.Made my bed.

Now I am off to play, read and relax!

100 best novels of the 20th century

ULYSSES by James Joyce
THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
CATCH-22
DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler
SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry
THE WAY OF ALL FLESH by Samuel Butler
1984 by George Orwell
I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves
TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Theodore Dreiser
THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers
SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
NATIVE SON by Richard Wright
HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow
APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA by John O'Hara
U.S.A. (trilogy) by John Dos Passos
WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson
A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster
THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James
THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James
TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald
THE STUDS LONIGAN TRILOGY by James T. Farrell
THE GOOD SOLDIER by Ford Madox Ford
ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James
SISTER CARRIE by Theodore Dreiser
A HANDFUL OF DUST by Evelyn Waugh
AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
ALL THE KING'S MEN by Robert Penn Warren
THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY by Thornton Wilder
HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster
GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
THE HEART OF THE MATTER by Graham Greene
LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
DELIVERANCE by James Dickey
A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME (series) by Anthony Powell
POINT COUNTER POINT by Aldous Huxley
THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
THE SECRET AGENT by Joseph Conrad
NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad
THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence
WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence
TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
THE NAKED AND THE DEAD by Norman Mailer
PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT by Philip Roth
PALE FIRE by Vladimir Nabokov
LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner
ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett
PARADE'S END by Ford Madox Ford
THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton
ZULEIKA DOBSON by Max Beerbohm
THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy
DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP by Willa Cather
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY by James Jones
THE WAPSHOT CHRONICLES by John Cheever
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess
OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham
HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad
MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis
THE HOUSE OF MIRTH by Edith Wharton
THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET by Lawrence Durell
A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA by Richard Hughes
A HOUSE FOR MR BISWAS by V.S. Naipaul
THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by Nathanael West
A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway
SCOOP by Evelyn Waugh
THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Muriel Spark
FINNEGANS WAKE by James Joyce
KIM by Rudyard Kipling
A ROOM WITH A VIEW by E.M. Forster
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED by Evelyn Waugh
THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH by Saul Bellow
ANGLE OF REPOSE by Wallace Stegner
A BEND IN THE RIVER by V.S. Naipaul
THE DEATH OF THE HEART by Elizabeth Bowen
LORD JIM by Joseph Conrad
RAGTIME by E.L. Doctorow
THE OLD WIVES' TALE by Arnold Bennett
THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London
LOVING by Henry Green
MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie
TOBACCO ROAD by Erskine Caldwell
IRONWEED by William Kennedy
THE MAGUS by John Fowles
WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys
UNDER THE NET by Iris Murdoch
SOPHIE'S CHOICE by William Styron
THE SHELTERING SKY by Paul Bowles
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain
THE GINGER MAN by J.P. Donleavy
THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS by Booth Tarkington

No blogging

No! I don't want to blog today. I am having a brain fart. I want to read Twilight and relax, so get off the computer. I will not blog, I don't wanna and you can't make me.....whine, whine, whine!!! Oh, good grief, now I sound like Bella, all she does is whine, whine, whine and that is in the first chapter. Maybe I don't want to read then. I can't take much more of it. Woe is me. Agony! {sigh} I did buy Eclipse. I can't believe I paid good money to listen to a teenager whine, moan and complain. Afterall, I have one of those at home.

Bought #3 on the list.

Number 2 of the series

YEPPERS!! I got #2 yesterday!

BBC- Aug 29th

CONGRATULATIONS TO SPLUMMER> YOU WON THE DRAWING!

Since I will not be here for a couple days, I will go ahead and post today. If you are still reading this then you know that tomorrow is my day to give away a prize.

What are you? Do you like living in the city or the country? If you will look to the right of this post, you will see a poll. You must vote and you must also leave a comment here. Sorry, only BBC'ers are allowed to receive the prize.

I love the country. I was raised in the country and I will always live in the country. There is just something about sitting on the front porch with a good book and a cold glass of lemonade. Listening to the night life (ie, frogs, katydids, crickets, etc....my type of racket) I tried living in the city but I could not sleep due to the urban noise.

Ah, to feel the warm dirt between my toes after a freshly broke garden is soothing. And the harvest, who can resist fresh purple hull peas, corn on the cob, fried okra/squash, a piping hot slice of cornbread and big ole' plump juicy tomatoe on the side. Now that is my type of country cooking!!!

What is your reasoning for liking where you live? Please leave comments. Thanks

BBC August 27

Five songs that you like to hear
Journey- Wheel in the sky. I love Faithfully also but could not embedd it

Rascal Flatts-Stand
Nickelback-Photograph
How Great Thou Art
Johnny Cash-I walk the line

BBC 8/25 and 8/26

Five favorite links you recommend or visit.
1. Great website for setting goals and receiving cheers. http://www.43things.com/
2. For us baby boomers who are don't like my space or face book http://www.eons.com/
3. When you get writers block/journalers block, check out http://journalingprompts.com/
4. Want to know what everyone is reading? http://www.anobii.com/
5. In need of some awe-inspiring photographs? http://www.flickr.com/
6. Increase your vocabulary while feeding the hungry. http://www.freerice.com/

Three favorite quotes.
1. "All art is but imitation of nature." Lucius Annaeus Seneca
2. "Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you... while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." John Muir
3. "The woods are lovely, dark and deep.But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleepAnd miles to go before I sleep." Robert Frost

BBC August 23

One 8oz can of drained tuna.
One box of mac and cheese
One can cream of mushroom soup.
1 Cup of grated cheese.
1 cup of milk.

Stir all together well. Bake at 350 degrees till bubbly. Enjoy.

I GOT IT TODAY!!!!!!

BBC August 20-21-22

How do you rate as a 1930's Housewife? EEK! I took the test and let's just say Mrs Clever and Lucille Ball....I am not!

Create a mail art envelope and post it.>>>> EHH. What the.... Never heard of that one. Something new to learn.

Something funny a child said or thought. Now that I can do. Let me tell ya'll the joke my son told me when he was around 8 years old. Ready? Don't bust a gut now, ya hear!! Okay, here goes. "One time there was this man who worked on a roof. He was so slow climbing up the ladder at breakfast, that by the time he got to the top he had to climb back down again because it was lunch time!!"

HHHAAAHHAAAAAHHHHAAHHHAAAAAAA I guess he was referring to the old man {his stepdad...photo above} who used to be a roofer!! ROFL!!

Out of the mouth of kids. Yes, I have a layout planned for this as well.

Aug 19th BBC

Did you ever give up on something andlearned a lesson?What did you learn?

I did not go out on a first date till I was 18. I never got to do the things a 'normal' teenager does. I was mentally and physically abused growing up. My life consisted of school, cleaning and church. So, when I got out on my own at 20 I went hog-wild!! I thought I could find love by giving a guy whatever he wanted (if you know what I mean). I gave up myself looking for myself. I had my first child at 21. I love him but I learned I had to love myself before anyone else would.

I am working on a layout intitled "I want to know what love is" in dedication to my son. The lyrics remind me so much of my childhood and past. I did find someone to love me and that was my son. {PHOTO ABOVE}

BBC-Catching up

Aug 11-What book influenced your life? Bible mostly but all books in general. Reading was my escape from the meanness at home when I was a child.

Aug 12-Write about one of your pets. I have four pets. Like my children I have no favorite. Petey-Rotwiller/lab, Shorty-chihuahua, Toto-Yorkie, Griff-cat.

Aug 13-Name 5 tools you can't live without. Pens, pencils, paper cutter, scissors and glue.

Aug 14-Create a tag. Will do!

Aug 15-A picture.

Aug 16-Do you have a favorite talk show. The today show if that counts.

Aug 17-Name 3 favorite one hit wonders. Funkytown, Supersonic and Cotton-Eyed Joe

Aug 18-What childrens literature books where your favorite. Little house on the Prairie, Nancy Drew

Aug 10 BBC

Write about a funny story.

Title-DID I SHAVE MY LEGS FOR THIS!

My son can be so goofy. A few years ago, we went camping and he wanted to sit the tent up in a low-laying spot. I told him that it was a wash out area, "Look how the leaves are piled up on either side!" He insisted that this was the perfect spot. (I think he was trying to impress his girlfriend)

Dreading the impending forcast, I let him have his way all the while telling him if our sleeping gear got wet, he was going to find a laundry mat and dry them.

The tent goes up and would you know it. Here comes a summer thunderstorm. It's raining buckets!!! My daughter and myself take cover in the car. Not my son....NO...he is the he-man. He is going to save the day and prove our tent will not flood.

After about an hour of sitting in the car twilding our thumbs, the moonsoon lets up and the sun comes out. We squish to the tent, pull back the flap and YES, a homemade water bed. Every item of clothing, sleeping bag and blankets are soaked.

Hang on, it gets better. We stuff all our wet items in the trunk and race off to find a laundry mat so we will have a dry bed. We drive out of the state park and to the nearest town about 20 long miles away. NO laundry mat in site. Son comes up with a new plan,"Let's just stop off at this hotel/motel and use their dryer!" Bright idea for once, son! He goes in to the desk manager and asks where the dryers are. In broken English the clerk states, "Tha air dryers re in tha room, lad." "Clothes dryer, man, clothes dryer!" son shouts. "No, we ave no clothes dryer, lad!!!" {Way to go son, piss him off!}

We drive another 10 miles or so...NOPE!!! Not a laundry mat to be seen. There is a McDonalds, halleiugh....supper is served.

Back to the state park we go, dreading a sleepless night in the car. We stop at the manager's office and ask him would he know where the nearest laundry mat is in town. "Why sure, it is right behind you in the check in building!" Talk about duh!!! {slapping forehead}

We dry our sleeping bags and covers. Smarty pants (son) decides he is going to wash his clothes he has on. "Goof ball, you don't have any dry clothes to put back on." I laugh. "Sure I do." he grins. He grabs my one piece bathing suit and dashes to the bathroom. Being a scrapper, I am never without my camera so I take a few photos. Even have the LO to prove it.

Finally, clean clothes and dry covers, we drive back to our floating tent and move it to higher ground. Make our beds, fall asleep with visions of soggy toast and runny jelly for breakfast.

BBC catch-up

Aug 2-What TV home or apartment would you like to call your own home? Little House in the Big Woods

Aug 3- Post a funny photo. WIIL TRY!

Aug 4- What are your favortie magazines? Country Home, Cooking Light, All-You and Scrapbookk ETC.
Aug 5-What was your first car? The green tank. 1970? Plymuth. No heater, big dent in the trunk where I backed into a tree trying to high-tail it work without being late. Sold the thing for a whopping $300. Yet, I had to buy a car heater to go in the thing before they new owners would buy it. I probally made $200 on the thing but I thought I was rolling the green stuff....money that is. Looked like the photo above.
Aug 6- Have you ever won a contest? I won $300 dollars playing bingo in Las Vegas. I jumped up and hollered "BINGO!!!" All around me, I could hear, "DANG IT!!"
Aug 7- Create an ATC card and post it. Okay
Aug 8- Name 5 songs you can't stand. 1) Whoops, I did it again. 2) JoAnna (sweeny todd muscial) 3) Achy Breaky Heart 4) My Humps 5) She thinks my tractors sexy
Aug 9 -What was your first job? Cook/cashier at Pasquales $3.15 an hour
Aug 10-
Aug 11-
Aug 12-
Aug 14-

BBC

[URL=http://drawahouse.com/houses/show.asp?houseID=600207&houseHash=3a2dc18eca90e59d3876f8f05920d403][IMG]http://drawahouse.com/houses/2008/8/2/600207_t.gif[/IMG]Click here to view my house[/URL]
You are sensitive and indecisive at times. (YEP, describes me to a T!) You are a freedom lover and a strong person. (sure enough) You are shy and reserved. ( Allright, this is getting creepy because RIGHT AGAIN!) If you've drawn a cross on each of windows, you always want to live alone. (Nope) You are very tidy person. (hahhahhhahahahhahaahhahahaha what! Me? Martha? ROFL) There's nothing wrong with that because you're pretty popular among friends. (shakes head)Your life is always full of changes. (same ole boring self)You will avoid being alone and seek the company of others whenever possible. (Peace and quite is more like it, thank you very much)You love excitement and create it wherever you go. (Like I said, I am pretty boring)You see the world as it is, not as you believe it should be. (And the world is going down the drain)You are not a romantic person by nature.(got that right, just ask the hubby) It also safe to say that others don't see you as a flirt.(FLIRT! With who? Oh, right, I did tell you to ask hubby.ROFL) You don't think much about yourself. (That is okay, hubby puts me on a pedastal)

Bucket list and other nonesense

I have my list of things to do on 43things.com. So far I have 27 things on my list.

Journal more--I got my journaling things in order. My pencil has a sharp tip on it and my paper is crisp. Ready and raring to go!
Wake up earlier--Duty calls! Well, I got up early. 6:30…after hitting the snooze several times. Hey, at least it wasn’t 10:00 people! After all, I did have to go to work…lol.
Start a blog-- — Bogged down with blogging. I now have my blog off and running! Hooray for me!
Read more books--RIF (reading is FUNdamental)I picked up a book last night. I am working on the 50 book challenge. I have my list started and if I do say so myself, it is a pretty good list of books. Yay for me!
Lose 18 pounds--That cake sure was good today. Yesterday, I had 1300 calories and did pretty good. I didn’t do so swell today. One of the doctors had a birthday cake and it suuuureee was goooood!!!! Slow and steady wins the race, aint that the saying?!

Some other things on my list are learn to sew, hike the AT, finish remodeling the house, ride a motorcycle on Route 66, help build a Habitat for Humanity Home, get a law changed, write a book, take a pottery class, take grandson to Disney World, go rv'ing, rock climb, make new friends, learn to clog, join a bowling league, go white water rafting, fly a kite, build a bird bath, own a cabin in the woods, scrapbook more, buy new clothes, go to bed earlier, organize my paperwork,

50 Book challenge

Starting August /1/2008-July/30/2009 I will read 50 books. Hopefully more, but no less. I used to love to read but with so many other hobbies and life, reading has taken a backseat.

Here is my list. I still need to add 25 more titles, so if you have any good recommendations, please feel free to list.

1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
2. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe?
3. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
4. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
5. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
6. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
7. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
8. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
9. The Alcehmist by Paul Coelho
10. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
11. The Chronciles of Narnia by C.S Lewis
12. Water for Elephants by Gruen Sara
13. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
14. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
15. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
16. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover
17. Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison (read)
18. The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards
19. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
20. The Shack by William Young
21. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski?
22. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
23. Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
24. Confessions of an Ugle Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
25. Why Your Life Sucks by Alan H. Cohen
26. Free Inside & Out by Marilyn Meberg and Luci Swindoll.
27. Dancing Bones by Patsy Clairmont
28. Southern Sisters Mystery by Ann George
29. The Penny by Joyce Meyer
30. Slow Moon by Elizabeth Cox
31. When the Heart Cries by Cindy Woodsmoll
32. Late Bloomer by Fern Michaels
33. One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury
34. On Every Side by Karen Kingsbury
35. Welcome to the World Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg
36. Pieces of My Sister's Life by Elizabeth Joy Arnold
37. Nightshade/Night Smoke by Nora Roberts
38. Little House on a Small Planet by
39. Ice Trap by Kitty Sewell
40. The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor
41. Moving Target by Cheyenne McCray
42. Below the Surface by Karen Harper
43. Secrets of the Highlander by Janet Chapman
44. Happeness Now by Robert Holden
45. House of Secrets by Lowell Cauffiel
46. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
47. When Crickets Fly by Charles Martin (read)
48. Rhett Butlers People by Donald McCaig (Boring! Did not finish)
49. Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore (read)
50. Where the River Ends by Charles Martin
51. Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin
52. Maggie by Charles Martin
53. Wrapped in Rain by Charles Martin
54. The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin
55. Strange Fruit by Lillian Smith
56. Forever Odd by Dean Koontz
57. A Brothers Journey by Richard B Pelzer
58. House of Secrets by Lowell Cauffield
59. A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
60. My Heart may be Broken but my Hair Still Looks Great by Dixie Cash
61. First Impressions by Jude Deveraux
62. Jimmy by Robert Whitlow
63. The Unwelcome Child by Teresa Pampellonni
64. The Unredeemed Capitave by John Demos
65. Goodnight Cowboy by Jennifer Weiner
66. The Maverick by Lori Copeland
67. Troublesome Creek by Jan Watson
68. Redeeming Love by Francis Rivers
69. Anyone but You by Jennifer Cruise
70. Sweet Water by Anna Jeffrey
71. Summer Breeze by Catherine Anderson
72. Marley and Me by John Grogan
73. The Kid who Climbed Mt. Everest by Bear Gryllis
74. Blaze by
75. A Sudden Country by Karen Fisher
76. Sweetwater Creek by Anne Rivers Sheldon
77. Montana Blue by Genell Dellin
78. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
79. Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen
80. Four Stupid Cupids by Gregory Maguire
81. Seven Spiders Spinning by Gregory Maguire
82. Rekindled
83. Gods in Alabama