~*My Trip Report*~

For the sake of the fact that some people may actually stumble upon my blog-yanno, not like you fine readers who sit perched at the re-fresh button waiting for my latest escapades to be brought to you in b&w. I need to start out by saying That I visited a lil piece of paradise this past weekend, that Paradise can be found in the State of Arkansas within the lil town of Eureka Springs…those of you that have been there know what I am talking about,those of you that haven’t, really should go check out this cool,hip,swanky,romantical lil town-where you will find NOT one stoplight!

Ima gonna fast-foward past the bean drop-offs and say we hit town a lil after noon-a tad bit later than I had hoped, but Kendra’s BFFL(best friend for life) made us take things a lil slow.

We checked into our room at the Swiss Village Inn, the room came complete with a king size bed,very roomy jacuzzi,nice sized tv with cable,microwave & fridge. I am happy to report our room was very clean, NO silver fish or bugs of any kind were found(per a trip advisor report)…we were happy with our $55 being spent towards this room…I hear they have “great” hourly rates

After unloading some “baggage” we decided our slim fasts from 7am this morning were wearing off and decided to give the award winning Oasis a try. I had the chicken & mushroom enchiladas and mr gp had the roasted chicken burrito both were great choices and I gotta tell ya their salsa is FAN-TAB-OU-LOUS(a lil shout out to any OU fans who may run across this blog)

After lunch we did a lil bit of shopping, not a lot of downtown shops were open and I was worried all my tourista dollars would make it back home with me. I did find some very cute items at the jewerly shop in the old Christmas Time store across from the Grand Central Hotel for my girl beans, her prices were so great I only spent $10…I am keeping my fingers crossed for Saturday-I gots some $money$ to unload….

We decided that it was time for a beer and The Lumberyard was our watering-hole of choice,they had $1 draws and we couldnt resist- it was HAPPY HOUR and we were HAPPY!

After spending awhopping(yes thats one word) $6(tip not included) at the lumberyard to get a good lil buzz goin’ we headed back to the room for some jacuzzi time-I got my jacuzzi bubbles that I bought in town-yes I am a resposible jacuzzi-goer,did you know you should not bring your bubble bath from home to use in the jacuzzi’s? If you have ever had a bubble-over-flow on the scale of useing dawn liquid detergent in your dishwasher-then, you just may know what I am talking about…so for the sake of your Inn keepers and their maids/housekeeping staff, stop at either the Spa Shop or Scarletts or one of the other fine establishments in town that sell “jacuzzi” bubble bath and buy yourself some!

Ima gonna fast-forward here in case any minors happen upon this blog and say after my jacuzzi bath I gave Jan a call to see if we were still on for some type of a morning get-ta-gether. She said yeppers lets meet at 9am at The Roadhouse,she also asked me “IF” I knew where it was…yep, yep I do was my reply-I even repeated“THE ROADHOUSE RESTAURNT”to mr gp & Jan-yeah!!!! I am all set for my Saturday Morning.

Friday night dinner time is typically an easy decision for us,but with the change of hands of one of my favorite restaurants we were faced with a dilemma….where to eat din-din??? We decided this weekend  would be a weekend of firsts, we would try some new places and we had already done that with the Oasis, so why not keep on, keepin on???

We ended up at The Rowdy Beaver and let me just tell ya-it was awesome,mr gp said TRB was his “new” fav in ES. We had the 1/2lb peel n eat shrimp for an app the cocktail sauce is to-die-for, it was a good decision! For our main course mr gp had the grilled salmon with rise-pilaf & ff which was awesome! I had the chopped steak with grilled yung-yins and cheese,loaded baked potatoe and a salad,our dinner came complete with some yummy warm baked bread. The service was impecable, Amy our waitress was a doll(I think she is an occasional geekster) and the live entertainment(I like to call it dinner and show) Jerry(Oh I so hope I remember his name correctly) had a super voice and we were really glad we decided to dine in the bar area of the restaurant.

We had a fairly late dinner-at least late for us…I mean dont get me wrong we arent like the Seinfeld’s but 7pm is late for us. After dinner mr gp was feeling extra groovy and wanted to stop off for more drinks-where to go??? This again is a first, mr gp, typically likes to have dinner then go back to the room for some, yanno… he calls it “exercise” BUT noooo not this fine Friday night,he wanted to PARTY so we decided to be responsible and park at our room and walk over to Shawbees. The parking lot was full, we were worried we wouldnt get a table or a chair(I mean where else would I dance?) We were in luck and the parking lot was decieving-it wasn’t near as crowded as we thought, so we meander into Shawbee’s like we belong,trying to not look like the touristas we are, find 2 seats at the bar and order up some beers. Zac was runnin the bar and he was almost as hot as my gaylord poster! So mr gp and I sit there drinking, chatting,havin a great ol time when I look at the clock, it’s 9:30 Oh my Good Grief-we will surely turn into pumkins or something….it’s getting really late I tell mr gp….naaaa order another round and off he goes to the jukebox. He returns with a huge smile and says your gonna LOVE the songs I picked out!

The next thing I hear is this lil diddy OK the songs ok,especially if your at home possibly loaded n high completely veggin…just not my type for a hoppin night at the bar,which is a rarity for me! So I give mr gp a hard time about playing the song-he swears this wasnt part of his song list and says just wait just wait….so I wait and the next song I hear is this 2nd lil diddy OK are you trying to put me to sleep??? My buzzz is seriously going downhill,I punch mr gp and ask him if plans on sleeping with me the rest of the weekend, again he swears not his song!!! Needless to say after CryBaby and Tiny Dancer I was ready to put on my PJ’s(no offense to any JJ or EJ fans-just not when I am trying to get my chair dance groove on PLEASE) We send a shoutout to gigi an mr gigi and clank our glasses in their honor!

Right when mr gp’s AC/DC song was gonna play the jukebox was paused and I am at this point getting a second wind from giving mr gp a hard time….it is KAREOKE time and a LIVE DJ woooohoooo….we turn around and look at the room behind us and slowly realize how “touristy” we look-every single table in the bar had been pulled together to form these long trains of locals who all knew each other!!! ahhh what the hell we order another ’round and decide we are not nearly drunk enough-I mean, we hadnt even tried to pay “Zac” with a pack gum yet and on the possible fact it might actually work I check my purse for my “dirty mouth” gum and keep my eye on the girl trying it for possible pointers…We had an absolute blast at shawbees and met some fun and fab locals. I even had several people come up to me and say I look sooooo familar-I get all excited thinking oooo they have seen my blog,I am famous,I have made it to the big time now, then the next thing I hear is, ooooo I know what it is-you look just like Renee Zellweger, Oh yes I have gotten that before, granted it is definatly more Bridget Jones’ Diary than Jerry McGuire Renee, but heck they are all drunk what do I know, so I do what any good tourista does and chugs another beer and says “You had me at Hello” yep they buy it,at least for the night I am Jerry MCGuire Renee!

Saturday Morning 7am comes mighty early but I have a breakfast date with the J&K and ummmm 2 locals and possibly 2 semi locals (I have promised to change their names to protect the innocent-I have since decided that unless your under 9 your no longer innocent).

I am ready to go at 8:15 so I head for the SMOKEHOUSE, I need some go-go juice,I walk into the empty smokehouse cafe and say I need a table for 4,5 maybe 6 or 7, I really am uncertain, I just know I am early,my eyes are bloodshot and I NEED some go-go juice. The waitress was super nice and got me set up with my go-go juice, at about 5 till 9 I am looking around where is everyone??? I mean I know J&K wouldn’t stand me up and I was suppose to meet lamb choppe and ummm possibly artteacher and her hubby…at this point I feel like a local and am up getting my own coffee and visiting with the new waitress who has just clocked in(you will have to forgive me typically I try and take names…so I can “name drop” at a later date-but I musta still looked like I felt and takin names completely escaped me) she brings me some “real” cream and readies for the rest of the breakfast party,we visit about mr gp,the beans,ES school system vs BA school system and how excited I am to be meeting with my breakfast party….at around 9:17(Jan can verify per her cell phone time stamp-I may be off by a minute or 2) I decided to give Jan a call and ummm make sure I am at the right place…

Me: hey we are meeting at the SMOKEHOUSE right?

J: noooo the ROADHOUSE

Me: lots of dorky laughter of oh my goodness

J: gives me directions starting from Broken Arrow…lol

Me: I’ll be right there

I honestly don’t think either waitress believed I was actually meeting anyone for breakfast,that I had a mr gp,or even beans…I personally think they thought I had partied all night and spent all my $$$$ on booze and just needed a free cup of joe, I say that because they said “oh honey don’t worry about the coffee”

I make my way from one side of ES to the other,(cursing myself for being a complete and udder digrace to blondes across the universe-I mean a true blonde woulda showed up at the “Roadkill Cafe” and sat outside in her car because they didnt open till 11am…) where I find J&K,Lamb Choppe and Kendra-we had just a fun’o fun conversation,I learned lots n lots,laughed lots n lots and Ms Lamb Choppe, I dunno which Howie is scarier, with hair OR without! Kendra and her love of the groundhog and my fear of ummm The King no I’m not talking Elvis…I am talking the Burger King, King!!! That dude should be banned from every TV station in the world! Jan trying to convice me to spend some of my tourista dollars on a “chipindales’esque” bowtie for middle bean…for his ummm youtube milkshake video debut…

BUT wait folks the fun isnt over….if you ever needed proof for one second that my life IS as crazy as it sounds,well get a load of this…during breakfast my cell rings(let me apologize for answering my celly during breakfast-that was very rude of me) it is my middle bean and he informs me his 10yr old lil sister bean is trying to “blackmail” him, ya see aparently he snuck/brought a lil bit of “contraband”  with him to his “Ultra” religious Grandma’s house-the movie “Superbad” apparently mr gp had told him he couldn’t watch this movie and his lil sis was blackmailing him by saying “IF you dont let me sleep in here with you ima tellin mom on you for bringing superbad to nannies house!!!” so he decided it was better to come clean with me during my breakfast and confess his lil heart out,so his lil sis couldnt hang it over his head the rest of the weekend…I did ask him why didn’t just bring “The Sound of Music”

After a wonderful breakfast I followed J&K & LC to Eureka House to get the tour-I found out what most of you already know…it truly is a BEAUTIFUL house-they have done such a great job,it is hard to pick out just one fav about this lil property! Thanks so much Jan,Kim,Cindy and Kendra for a wonderful saturday morning…

I arrive back at our room to a very hungry mr gp…he had wanted to try the roadkill cafe and who was I to argue? I had left him in the room to rest without transportation. We ordered burgers and he really enjoyed them both(I was still full from my morning breakfast) I gotta tell ya, the possum pie, is, to say the least AWESOME!!!! I really don’t think words can describe how good this pie is! I am wishin I had some right now!

We head downtown where it is bustling! Lots of shops open….score-lots of goodies for the beans,it is cold and misty and it doesnt deter us….I am ona mission,I even found the new webkinz duckie for lilest bean in Glitzees. After spending lots of ca$h we head back to the room for some R&R-well at least R&R for me-I apparently am a serious power-napper,I was down for 45mins and woke up rarin to go.

Where to go for dinner? mr gp wanted some tex-mex or mexican and he settled on Cafe Sante Fe-their salsa was verrrry good,I had the chicken fajitas and he had the Colorado burrito,the service was excellent-ever notice how much better your food tatstes when you have great service!?!

We had an early evening,my liver and kidneys couldnt handle another shawbee night…so we settle for the jacuzzi and a lil SNL….I’m talking Saturday night live here, not naughtiness…the opening monolgue was hysterical and Huckabee on the weekend update was pretty funny too!

Sunday mornin came wayyyy to soon,we loaded up the car and turned in our room keys and headed back to Broken Arrow,the beans were very happy with their goodies,I was very happy to have gotten away for the weekend and feel like I will be a better mom & wife thanks to our lil trip to ES.

My confession for today: I am subbing for the next 2 days if you do not hear from me…call the morgue!

Roots N’ Wings Continued…

Yanno when I published my last blog it really got me to thinking….about music….

Whats so wrong with being a product of the 70′ and 80’s and then I took a walk down memory lane…do you wanna walk too? Be prepared this is a clickin blog….

Who’s your Personal Jesus ? So what if you wanna wear your sunglasses at night …and let Steve take you to a Higher Love. You know starship Built this city and they built it on rock n roll…and I always wanted to be a Cenerfold! Now every-body’s who’s ever heard Billy Squire and doesnt wanna have that kinda stroke…If your in the game…and wants someone to want them to want them and who doesn’t want a lil magic in their lives?

Yanno this blog has a lot to do about music…because well music makes the world go round according to the beans-they live for their ipods and mp3 players…but yanno I always wanted to be Jessies girl and I wanted to be a Jenny and have my number broadcast across the radio waves….and as much as I can’t dance I always wanted to be a Dancing Queen!

I remember driving to Texas to see my Uncle Johnny and Aunt Dorthy listening to TulsaTime and dont even get me started on Mickey Gilley I mean arent we all just Looking for Love ? Yep Johonny Lee Rocks…shhh dont tell the beans, they might actually like the song…then discover I like it and NOT like it any more….gotta love some Urban Cowboy…

I could go on and on but I just dont think the Fergi’s of today even amount to my musical background even if they are Glamourous! and yes even if her boy friend is super hot and I so Love his show Las Vegas-they got nuttin on the songs of my era….now if only I can convince the beans of that…

Huey Lewis could try and convince them(yanno I saw them in concert-in mohawk park-do you know they rock’d?) Lets get BLUE and ya know I’m burning for you! and who could ever Fear the reaper? If you put another brick in the wall it still wont compare to  Comfortably Numb for me OR wish you were here! YES I have watched the wizard of OZ to Pink Floyd….

I am a huge Nazareth fan and let me say yesss Love Hurts  and did you know Love leads to Madness we will be bringing our  Nazareth Classics Vol 16 with us to ES…DYK I also fall asleep every night to this cd or…..

Tom Petty yep I love the tomster and I love free fallin to sleep…and feeling like I am a refugee…

Since I could go on and on with music from my hey day, and I have barely skimmed the surface…I wanna leave you with Phil Collins….

SO I got a lotta work to do with the beans yanno they think their music rocks….and I got roots to plant…

Yep thats my confession….roots to plant…..and if you click all my links you sooooo deserve somthing!

Roots and Wings

I once had the neatest sign/plaque hanging on my wall-back when my house was all cutesy-cute country,back when every single bit of wall space was covered(you know the houses),back when I collected “rabbits”. The sign/plaque read: There are two things we can give our children… Roots and Wings

The sign and it’s message are now in my hope chest-one of the few things I took from that d-i-v-o-r-c-e(sings that Tammy Wynette song), but never far from my thoughts.

Before I start this lil blog I want to make a disclaimer while I think my beans are perfect in every-way I KNOW they are not…yes oldest bean has been sneaky and not told me the whole truth about things,middle bean well he’s middle bean and he is just a full on boy-potty mouth and all, my lil man-whom once found an unused condom and thought it would make a really cool balloon to share at show-n-tale on Fridays at school or the time he needed a stick for a mask project at school and used a tampon(good grief the letters I got from his teachers) and youngest bean whom is a gift from God-she literally saved my life…but she is a mix of above 2 beans which can make for a scary combo looking at it from a moms perspective…

My oldest bean, Abby Lain is 14 & 1/2, my middle bean Reese O’Niel 12 & 3/4 and my youngest bean Jessica Leigh 10 & 1/2. Those fractions added in up there, are the beans doings-they never, for one second, let me forget the fraction part of their ages-as if somehow adding a 3/4 or 1/2 here n there is going to give them wings… While I am franticly working on the Roots part of the message they are  franticly working on the Wings part. God Help Me!

I try, so to speak to stay connected,be informed,be in-the-know…I know who, Kanye West  is, Paramore  Beyonce and even Flo-Rider Heck the beans are even to blame for my love of Sean Kingston I am NOT proud of the above admissions-except I do really like Sean Kingston… I watch MTV,UPN,USA,TBN,ABC,NBC,CBS,BET,HSN,OLN,NICK,Disney,Cartoon channel and the UFO network(there really isn’t a ufo network but I was ona roll…and you do know, how I roll…) All to be as informed as I possibly can be.

Those big hoop ear-rings are back in style, I once tried  to tell my oldest bean I used to own several pairs of colored hoop ear rings-I was met with a face of shock n awe!  Sometimes I will hear a remake of a song, of a song, of a song and… I actually know the words…again I am met with “the look… ”   They actually think poor Paula Abdul got famous on American idol…I’m forever your girl….

My Ena one Christmas wrapped up a pair of my “pink very 70’s bell-bottomed” jeans that she had saved and gave them to me thinking one of my girl beans would wear them-especially since bell-bottoms were back in style-no suck luck. I tried telling the beans I used to have John Stamos,Huey Lewis & the News & Madonna hanging on my wall and that all my music “used” to be vinyl and or cassettes…oooo and Rick Springfield-they look at me as if I am crazy….Vans  and Converse are cool-but because I owned a pair-not so much…My vintage 80’s new balance(NB) tenni shoes-which I think rock-don’t actually, rock,according to the beans…shut down yet again…Atari, while target had it on special during the holidays-it made for a great gift…. pong was super duper cool until the beans realized PONG was famous in the 80’s-what is with them? I am trying to help them! They do however, really Like, the Beatles,Ozzy,Blue Oyster Cult and Pink Floyd! They do think the Breakfast club,Pretty in Pink and Sixteen candles are pretty cool movies…I think they just like to see how people use to wear their hair and their clothes from that era…

Ok, so I am, in no way shape or form HIP or COOL -which I am reminded of on a daily basis…I can’t dance(I mean I couldn’t even do the two-step-Thank God) I am a chair dancer-I sit in the chair and meticulously move my arms like I know what I am doing….I have NO rhythm, but I do try to know whats going on in my beans life. Sometimes I think I have too much time on my hands but I want to give them the things I didn’t have as a bean. I am not talking toys….

I realized the other day that my beans have no idea what it means to be a latch-key-bean, something I was from the age of 8 after my parents first divorced(yes they divorced but got back together to only re-divorce again)… I, like I typically do every week, drive to Muskogee and get my Ena(that’s my Grandma-but because my cousin couldn’t say grandma-all she could muster was Ena-it stuck) and take her to town(I have to stop and giggle here-going to town is something country folk say…I may live in the city now, BUT I was raised in the country, on a farm and I know all too well what it meant to, “Go To TOWN” and I still say it to this day) I was running late and had to call the school to get my beans a message that I wouldn’t be there to pick them up(Ena and I had a lil too much fun “in town”) at preciously 2:41 I get a call it’s oldest bean MOMmmmmm where are you? Didn’t you get my message? YESsssss, but MOMmmmm at 2:42 I hear a beep-it’s middle bean-So I ask “is your brother with you?”  “yes”  was the reply… “well why is he calling me too?”  “he wants to know if Kyler* can walk home with us…”  Needless to say by the time I made it home they had only tried to kill each other 3 times and burn down the homestead twice….They are lucky  that I can be home with them but it is a financial sacrifice,something they know nadda about…I mean they think money grows on trees…

You can bet come Friday night they are planning and scheming and trying to get plans together with 10 of their friends to go out I try and remember what I was doing at that age and quickly put the thoughts outta my head,deciding, going to the movies with a group of 9 other beans isn’t such a bad thing…it could be worse…much worse

We eat supper or dinner around the dinner table-ok, wait, does anyone eat supper anymore,cuz when I was growing up on the farm…  I mean we had a, gasp “icebox”,”a party line” &  a ”devan” “B&W TV set with rabbit ears”… I could go further and say when mama and daddy moved away from the farm to “the sticks” and we were really “uptown” we had oil lamps for light,our telephone was a cb radio and my parents handles were moonbeam and flintrock(yep we even belonged to a CB club) and yes we pulled our water from a well-which in turn we had to heat on the stove for a bath and to flush toilets…I have since learned that WAS NOT how most people lived…but daddy was a very simple man and not into the bling bling of the 70’s…I LOVE My Daddy!

Ok where was I oh yes…supper/dinner…we always come together at this time in the day to share,well, our days-it’s a joyous time, a time where we put aside the outside world and nothing else on planet earth matters, except these 5 people! I so love this time, even after I have slaved over din-din and I get the wretched cries of “Your trying to kill me”  this has yung-yins in it…no one else’s mom cooks this stuff to try and kill their beans… mom! I Love it…one day their taste buds will change and they will be grown and call me and ask me to cook this or that and yes it will have yung-yins in it… and yes I will oblige every single request.

We try to get the beans involved in activities of their choosing, oldest bean is a member of advanced drama,NJHS,FCS,on the cheer squad,Honor roll and recently named best smile of 8th grade & princess of 8th grade,middle bean also in FCS,On the honor roll,Invited to take the ACT’s as a 7th grader,Scream team, and actively involved in football… Forever-Orange and youngest bean was a cheerleader with the youth football association and is a honor roll student. I am so not wanting to sound “bragish” but I/we are very proud-they have, Thank the Good Lord, not done any window sneaking out,drugs or other ruckus that can be so enticing to young adults these days-Let alone, so far, crosses fingers, acted like I did as a bean-they are good beans!

I just want to instill that “root” part so deeply in their little veins,I want them to come over for Sunday Supper when they are grown and have their own families,I want them to think I was a good parent and maybe instill some of the things I have,I want them to know how much I Love them,I know I have to let them have their wings and learn that it’s ok to make mistakes…that,thats how we learn Life’s Lessons…and let them grow up.  

We take our summer vacations together as a family, mr gp & middle bean hunt together NOT for sport but rather for food and 9 times outta 10 I think they merely sit out in the quiet of the woods and bond or fall asleep because they rarely come home with food…youngest bean thinks playing dress up means puttin on your camo and draping as many deer,duck, and turkey calls around your neck as you can. We have taught them the importance of being an OU fan and that your favorite colors shall always be “crimson & creme” We visit my ena on the family farm at least once a month-ahhh the farm where playing on hay bales,making mud pies and helping in the garden were a common past time of mine growing up-now those are roots! 

Things were  different when I was growing up in the 70’s & 80’s and surprisingly while the world and times do change  it is still the same on the farm. I get so much joy watching the beans on the farm,even though not one of them looks like me-I can see a lil part of me while they jump from hay bale to hay bale or run through the rows of corn-it’s as if time has stood still and I could sit and savour that moment forever…they don’t complain there is no xbox,or wifi or that you can’t put yout tp in the toliet…nope they enjoy their time on the farm-it’s the one place they can run and roam and be free without worry of the outside world.

My point of this blog is, it’s hard raising beans in this fast paced,technology driven world.I don’t know about you BUT I sure didn’t get the new parents instruction manuel when we left the hospital…

 I want the best for them, I want them to want the best and always do their best. I so would love to live on the farm and teach them all the things my papa & ena taught me…even though we do things together, is it enough? I have tried to raise caring,loving,giving beans who are not materialistic-they don’t get everything they want and they have to earn what they do get,nothing worth having in life is free or easy-they may not understand this now but one day they will. So they do little chores around the house to hopefully prepare them for the big bad world that one day will await them and hopefully if I have done my job right it won’t swallow them whole and then spit them back out…

My confession for today is I can’t wait till Friday and I am in Eureka Springs-hopefully instilling in the beans the importance of taking time for yourself!

We Have a winner…

While all the entries were great… 

esweekender has won the $15 amazon gc with “georgieporgies puddin’ pie”

If you would please “pm” me your email on the park bench I will get your amazon code to ya.

Thanks for playing…

1,467

Yesterday was full of DRAMA…  

My oldest bean is a member of advanced drama and she had a day long Theatre Festival-which means all the middle school drama classes,along with the 2 intermediate schools and the high school come together on this day and make you giggle your hearts out!

Oldest beans play was called “Check Please”  and the play is set in a restaurant with varing dating disasters-at first I am thinking what could 8th grade beans possibly know about dating yet alone dating disasters… My precious bean was suppose to be a 24 yr old young lady(gulp) who was set up on a blind date with a young man who thinks he is 9! It,she,he,they were VERY funny! Bravo,Encore I yell…I am the proud mama, I mean I could have  the next Audrey Hepburn living under my roof! Mr Georgieporgie grabs my arm and pulls me back into my chair-”hun, the play isn’t over” he informs me…OHhhhh OKkkkkk… Ya-see I get very excited when it comes to anything my beans are doing,maybe it’s because I moved schools every single year until the 7th grade,sometimes twice in a calendar school yr! Or because I could NEVER  do what my beans have accomplished…at any rate I was very proud of her!

I realized they didn’t need to know one thing about dating disasters-they had a script and a wonderful drama teacher guiding them to surely “Oscar Making History!”  What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday…

When we arrived home the sperm donor errrr ex was waiting with my middle bean-(whom he picked up Friday evening) to pick up oldest bean-how dare he miss one of the most important days of her young life…ah-ha, not one, BUT two flat tires…I keep my comments to myself, just like I have done for the past 14 & 1/2 yrs and let him know he missed a great show! I help her pack a bag and give her lots of hugs n kisses and send her off with her father.

Mr georgieporgie is working weekend nights meaning he leaves at 6pm and returns home at 7:30 the next morning,so he is getting ready for work when my youngest bean comes to me and says “Mommy can I go to Julie’s* house and stay the night?” Huh? What? Ummmm….well…. “I know you will be all by yourself mommy and if you want, I won’t go, BUT  I really wanna go” This is the child who NEVER leaves me-I don’t have to share her with anyone, except the occasional Grandma over-nighter,whom KNOWS how to dress for a Tea-Party and she wants to go stay the night with a friend? (yeah I know I have some abandonment issues I really need to deal with) So I let her go-she hugs me and kisses me and tells me “Thank You Mommy”  I ask her to call me and tell me night-night-I get, “the look!” Ok, Ok I will call you and tell you night-night, again, I get, “the look!”  Reluctently… Okayyyy I will see you in the morning…

WoooooHooooo I am free,I have the house to myself,I don’t have to answer to anyone! Let’s P-A-R-T-Y! So, I do what any, self-respecting married,mother of 3 would do…

I visit my local video store. According to Super Video, I have rented 1,467 movies…some may say “Georgie, you REALLY need to get out more!” BUT we all know what happens when I “get out more” and if you dont click here and be prepared to spend the day in the life of a substitute teacher.

You know it’s really bad when, you have to take a movie to the counter and ask the clerk, “Can you check and see if I have rented this movie before?”  and their reply is… “Wow, you have really rented a lot of movies!”  I settled on 3 movies, The Bourne Ultimatium,Earth Storm and Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls…  I stay up until 3am because I “hear noises” and apparently so does Ginger(my lil wee-nee doggie) I pop a tylenol pm why:

1)That’s how I roll

2)It IS 3am

3)That’s how I roll…

I must have fallen asleep because I awoke at 11 am to a snoring mr georgieporgie(whom btw swears he doesn’t snore) and a wee-nee dog licking my nose…

My confession for today: Roots and Wings(which will be explained in a future blog)

Some of my Favorite Things…

Yesterday I was curled up by the fire with my favorite goose down throw,a book by one of my favorite authors, listening to the rain(another favorite-just as long as it’s Not Noah’s Ark Rain). Just so you know where the inspiration for this post came from…I thought “Oprah does a “Favorite” things-why can’t I?” Only difference here is, you won’t be jumping up and down screaming and clapping  going home with any of my favorites, I can however share them with you. Feel free to jump up and down and scream and clap!

Let’s start with one of my favorite author’s: Janet Evanovich with her Numbers Novels & Between-the-Numbers Novels. My neighbor turned me on to this book series-she had, at the time, all 12 books and let me tell ya, when I pick up a book,especially a good book, I don’t put it down! Yanno that asteroid I sometimes pray for? Well it could hit and I would be oblivious to the fact. That’s how much I enjoy reading this series.

Her character Stephanie Plum reminds me a lot of myself,except I don’t work for my cousin Vinny at his bail bonds office,I am not single,my best friend isn’t an ex Ho named Lula and unlike Stephaine Plum I have Never blown up a car let alone 8 or 9 cars! I do not have a Grandma Mazur-but good grief, I sure wish I did. I also do not have a mysterious boy*friend named Ranger,an unmentionable named Diesel(unless you count Gaylord) or an under-cover Cop named Morelli. Ok, so maybe, just maybe, I am not so much like Stephanie Plum-but she sure does lead a very exciting life! I would like to invite you all to visit your local library or used book store and check out the first book in the series “One for the Money” I finished “Plum Lovin” yesterday, it is one of those Between-the-Numbers Novels and if anyone wants a fun-quick read-I would be more than happy to send this book your way…just let me know.

Another of my favorite things is actually a person Chelsea Handler She reminds me a lot of myself, except I don’t have a show on E,my best friend isn’t a lil person named chewy,I am not a comedian and I was never on Girls Behaving Badly-Ok, again, maybe we are not so much alike, BUT her show Chelsea Lately does make me laff my bootylicious off! So if you do only one thing today-click that link up there and be prepared to find a new-found love for “the dickie”.  

Lay’s are another of my favorite things! Oh get your mind outta the gutter and click on kettle cooked japaleno potatoe chips. They are yum yum yummy good! They go well while reading your Stephanie Plum book OR while viewing the Chelsea Handler show.

As Good As It Gets is one of my all-time favorite movies. This movie has it all…heart,soul,love,compassion,comedy,tears and “Melvin”! In 1997 it won 2 Oscars and it’s just one of those movies that gives you HOPE! If you haven’t see it-rent it. I’d loan you mine-but I refuse to part with it…

Eureka Springs is my FAVORITE place on planet earth. Some of you know why, because you too, have expierenced what I have, have fallen in love with what I have and that is the fact that ES the most relaxing,peaceful,romantic town in the good ol’ US of A.  A town with no stop lights,with some of the best restaurants,one of a kind shops and some of the coolest locals one could ever hope to encounter. It’s a place that when you visit, a part of your soul is left behind and not in a bad way-but rather, a beckoning, the town that calls you back-over and over. A place that with each new visit,once you thought you had discovered it all, you discover yet again, something new,something exciting,something that was just for you. It really is a magical place. It’s the “one” place I’d love to loose myself in…time and time again and I plan to do that this Feb.

So there ya have it…a few of my favorites…

My confession for today: I learned how to put high-lightable/clickable links into my blog… without alcohol!

Let’s Talk Vacations & Flying

We are in the process of planning our summer vacation-Each year one member of the household gets to pick a destination-then I spend the next 6months of my life trying to Plan it. A few years ago I chose South Padre Island-I grew up going to Myrtle Beach SC and I wanted the beans to expierence the whole “beach” atmosphere. I loved it-walking along the beach at night-the beans chasing crabs,sitting in the sand,building sand castles,going deep sea fishing and getting sea sick-all that fun stuff.  Oldest bean didnt care for the beach so much-the sea-weed freaked her out-so she chose to sit under those big umbrellas and watch. Middle and youngest beans LOVED the beach-I am however still finding sand in my luggage…We even decided to “cross the border” into Mexico,boy was that an expierence, but one we will always remember-that’s what family vacations should be right?

Last year one of the beans chose Hot Springs another great vacation destination-I found this lil place called Willow Beach Motel-right on the water-nice and roomy and the beans and mr georgieporgie could walk right out our sliding door and fish. This place was really cool-had bbq grills out the back door,pic-nic tables,kitchens, even wifi(which would be great if I had a laptop) We met some great people during that week long stay-yanno the kind of people who wake at 9am and are already at the pool with a beer in their hands-now that’s my idea of a relaxing vacation! In the evenings we would all fire up the grills and gather to break bread or ummm burgers,dogs and beers together. We went right before the 4th of July and mr georgieporgie thought it would be cool to put on a fireworks display for our newly found friends-ya see, he is like a kid in a candy store when it comes to fireworks-yea, he really is that bad! Needless to say we shoulda paid better attention to Hot Spring Law-mr georgieporgie was ticketed that glorious evening…again another lasting family memory was made.

This year is youngest beans time to pick her destination-her choice-the Four Corners-Ok not really my idea of a “destination” but I can work with this. We could go to Vegas(I know Vegas is NOT a place for beans-it’s only for a day-so please reserve judgment),Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon,Four Corners,Mesa Verde National Park,Durango-the list just goes on and on while we slowly make our way back to Oklahoma. Keep in mind any and all “road trip” vacations we take are Very Very Giswald-I swear mr georgieporgie is just like Clark! So we are sitting around discussing the options and mr georgieporgie suggests we FLY out to vegas and rent a car and drive home….GULP

Let me take this point to stop and say I HATE (and I don’t use that word lightly) to fly!

Last August my Great-Uncle asked us to come out to Sierra Vista,Az to visit him and “pick out stuff”-Kinda morbid, I know, but that was his request, and he was sending us the cash to fly-another gulp…

I can get on a plane no problem,it’s when they start moving and going really fast and lifting off and you are going straight up, then it gets all bumpy and I close my eyes and I see those lil yellow face mask thingies falling down in front of me…ya get the idea-I do not like to fly. For some strange reason when we booked our flights there were no seats together-so mr georgieporgie and I had to sit, “not together” ! He wanted a window seat and I want to be not window-God NO I do not wanna look out the window and I don’t really wanna be samwiched in the middle seat either, so the ONLY aisle seat was 2nd to last row-I snatched it up-thinking HA take that-plus if we crash I will be the 2nd to last row to crash n burn…did you know it is really, really loud in the back of the plane? and when those leetle wheels go up, you can feel it??? I look forward, Praying to the Lord Jesus Christ-this is not how I wanna go and also looking for mr georgieporgie for some sign of “it’s gonna be OK” well he had the audacity to turn around and smile at me! He definately will NOT be joining the “mile high club” anytime soon!

 Once things smooth out and I am lil bit more calm I look around and I see 2 of the sweetest faces-these 2 lil brother beans were flying to their dads-ALONE-I smiled at them and offered them some of my $5 lay’s potatoe stax and I thought if they can do it,so can I. Our trip out there was pretty uneventful.

The trip home “NOT SO MUCH”  we were able to score seats together on the flights home-yeah-BUT, you smiled at me on the flight out here, soooo you still will NOT become a member of the mile high club! Flying into DFW we encountered a storm ohhh Lord-ta-Day-I lost it, the plane was shaking,it was bob-a-lin,it was not right! How could this happen to me-I was crying-the captain comes on that speaker system and says “we are expierencing some turbulance”  well NO shit-sherlock- he also informs us that “we have been rerouted, to try and fly around the storm” wait, first turbulance, now it’s a storm and I gotta be up here even longer now?

 OMG and let me tell you mr georgieporgie is NO help! He keeps telling me, “air-travel is the safest way to travel”…pffffft-I want off and I want off now! Don’t try and hold my hand,don’t talk to me-and NO I do NOT care that people are staring at me! We finally make it to DFW and we are put in a holding pattern,due to the storm, apparently a lot of planes were rerouted-I briefly contemplated “Going into Fake Labor”.  Once my bootylicious is planted firmly on the ground, mr georgieporgie grabs my hand and drags me into the nearest bar where he paid $12.50 for a double shot of ta-kill-ya. He places the glass in front of me and said “Drink”! So I drank and drank fast…(he still swears to this day that was the best $12.50 he has ever spent on alcohol)at this point I began to plead with mr georgieporgie that we could just rent a car and drive the 4& 1/2hrs from DFW to BA, PLEASE don’t make me get on another plane! I even said he could pretend to be Clark and I  could be Christi Brinkley! No luck-so we head off to find our gate and await our last flight-well guess what? That flight was delayed due to mechanical problems-wrong thing to say to me! I stand there asking the AA attendant all kindsa questions-he isn’t budging-all he will tell me is mechanical problems and Ma’am we wouldn’t put you on a plane if it wasn’t safe! pfffft!  So back to bar we go-typically when mr georgieporgie wants to get me good’n’snockered it’s for other reasons…I try again for the car rental…no luck…I drink all the way home on that airplane-

So ya see I REALLLLY don’t wanna fly to Vegas and IF I gotta fly why can’t we pay the $127 for a direct flight rather than $89 for a connecting flight in Denver? Do you REALLLLY want the beans to see their mother in this state??? Are you Crazy??? Note to self: If we do indeed fly to vegas I must go get drugs from the DR before boarding another plane!

 I have since signed up for “The Ding”  it’s a lil thing that southwest offers and gives you cheap airfare for one way travel-If I gotta Fly then I am determined to get on a direct flight! BUT I really don’t wanna fly! Can’t we just go to Eureka Springs? I think next year we should re-vamp how we decide where to go! I am certain we will have a wonderful summer vacation-if we can agree how to get there…

My confession for today: DO NOT I repeat DO NOT fly without drugs! Xanex should do the job…

I feel like I’ve been run over by a mack truck!

I have known about this day for a week now, at first I was like, “sure I’d Love to”. As Feb 1st drew near, I started second guessing my decision. When I woke this morning I found myself wishing the schools would be closed for a snow day,maybe I would have a flat tire,pink eye is always good, or a big ol asteroid would fall from the sky, stopping time itself, anything, Please God help me out here. Ya see I am adicted to this blogging thing(Thanks J&K) and I realllly wanted to stay home with my life-size poster of gaylord and blog my lil heart out- No such luck!

 I haven’t really worked  much at the school this semester,but the few times I have, have been nothing  short of glorious-even scored a 5th hour plan(which means you are off from 11:17-1:01-woohooo was that ever nice)  

So I gather up the beans and head to school for another glorious day of subbing-or so I thought!

I was “suppose” to have 2nd hour plan-not bad, but, NOT a 5th hour plan time. As soon as I check in I am told “we are gonna have to pull you, to, fill-in 2nd hour, for art- we are 6 teachers down today”-WHAT? NO plan time? No free time? No break? Can I pee today, please…. Huh? Excuse me….Lord, if you can hear me-Please send that asteroid now!

By the end of first hour I was wishing I had brought a flask to school for a lil nip here n there…Hey so I got flipped off-no biggie right? If that’s all they got then I say bring it on! I shouldn’t have even thought those thoughts!

By the end of 2nd hour(my oh so needed plan time-that I wasn’t deemed worthy enough to recieve) I came to the conclusion that either the art room has a very funky smell OR the boy beans in this class smell, and I mean smell reallll bad! Do these beans not shower??? So now, not only am I need of that flask, but a nose plug is in order-I sip my water pretending it’s vodka!

3rd hour was a lil bit easier-maybe it’s because at this point I am actually believing my water IS Vodka! With every sip I can see my life-size gaylord poster and he is calling to me…Or maybe it’s because I realize God isnt sending that astroid I prayed for. I thank Gaylord for getting me through 3rd hour.

4th hour I am really getting the hang of this-give the beans a test,don’t get to close to the boy beans-they are smelly, then pop in a movie of the Oklahoma Land Rush-Oh you brought your ipods and you wanna listen to music? Sure-just be quiet Ok? I am liking this fantasy I got going on here! Plus I realllly gotta pee…and now I am thinking a flask wouldn’t cut it-I need the whole darn bottle. 

My day really started going downhill by 5th hour-I realized at this point, that I have gotten accustomed to a few things this week. Like this blog,hanging with my life-sized gaylord poster,visiting the park,yanno all the important stuff. 10 mins into my 5th hour a fight breaks out, and in my attempt to break it up(I mean, I have 3 beans, I am use to breaking up fights-right?) I get slugged right in the face,a desk is thrown on top of me and I am stepped on, because:

1)Thats how I roll(and I do mean roll, like fetal position)

2)These beans DO NOT  listen to me like my beans do!

3)My reaction-reflexes must be slow due to the fact I invisioned my H2O was in fact Vodka

4)I can’t think of a 4th…

Thank the Good Lord a teacher(who was fortunate enough to get HER plan time) passed by and heard the commotion and came to my rescue-Oh I am forever in her debt! Ya wanna know what I realized? Of course you do….you’ve read this far haven’t you? When a fight breaks out, these beans cheer the fightee’s on-yep they do! They do not at any point stop and think or say “Hey sub down!” “hey guys you just hit a sub/teacher” “hey guys you just threw a desk on the sub/teacher” etc….NOPE they cheer and they cheer loudly!  Luckily word travels fast at the beans school and there were many teachers to aide in stopping this fight and help me out of my fetal position-my neatly pulled up hair now looked like I had stuck my finger in a light socket,my leg hurt from where the desk hit me and my cheek was throbbing-one other thing I realized, those boy beans can hit hard and they are “equal opportunity hitters” it dont matter your race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. If you are in their way, you are fair game….

I am promptly escorted to the principles office(geesh I haven’t been in the principles office since my own middle school days) I was scared and I was shaking and I so wish this school was a BAR! I was fussed over, I was offered water,the school nurse came to check me out,the halls were alive with… did you hear oldest bean & middle beans mom was in a fight…I was a hero, I was a legend! I needed a drink! I was offered  the rest of the day off-with pay even…yep I was…but all I could see (besides gaylords life size poster) was my 2 beans faces-heck my deoderant even says “Never let em see you sweat”  I declined, I am NO quitter, plus the day was just getting good-I had to hold my head up high, for my sake and the beans!

Needless to say 6th & 7th hours were relatively boring compared to 5th hour,prolly cause I had a chaperone-I am a lil sore,a lil embaressed and already hitting the wine and I don’t expect to stop for several hours!

And the Barvarian said I need to get out more….see what happens when I get out????