All of my vicarious dreams are coming true!

On the second week of high school, the princess was nominated by the sophomore football team to be on the “Homecoming Court”. On the day that everyone learned who was chosen to be part of the royal event several kids congratulated her before she knew it herself. She thanked all of the congratulators, but naïve to high school tradition she whispered to her friend, “What IS that?”

The dress requirements were school colors, which are Kelly Green, Black and White. The senior girls warned her that white is reserved for them. She looked beautiful and that dress popped more than any of them on the field!

Jake escorted her during the pep rally the morning of Friday, September 26, 2008. His parents asked how we talked him into getting a haircut. All we said is that we were on our way and asked if he needed us to pick him up. He said that he would meet us there…

One of the seniors asked what kind of car would be parading her around the football field. When she told her that it would be a Bug, the girl scoffed at her because it wasn’t a pretentious Vet!

Kevin looked sharp donned in suit and tie, walked with the beautiful princess as the commentator read, “Sophomore Maid is Ms. Kamille W. Tonight she is being escorted by Mr. Kevin M. She is a member and All American Nominee of the VBHS Pointer Prancer Dance Team, member of FBLA, and Spanish Club. She attends First Baptist Church of VB. Ladies and gentlemen, sophomore maid, Ms. Kamille W.”

There is no dance for homecoming. It is for the alumni to come back home to their high school for the football game and are honored there at half time. They get to tour the school and have a type of reunion. By the way, this was the first game that they have won in a few years, so it was even sweeter (vicariously) being part of the homecoming court.

Arkie-ism

I’ve learned that there is more to the Southern accent than just a pronunciation. It is a completely different language!

Below are a couple of funny examples of how my daughter and I have learned this in some not so comfortable situations:

1. There was a little girl in the school lunch line when Kamee was in the fourth grade. We had been here a little less that a month. Kamee asked if she could “butt in front” of her so that she could be in line with a friend. The little girl looked shocked and stammered, “What’s wrong with my butt?” Kamee just asked if she could get in front of her in the line and then she seemed ok.

2. Shopping on the big day after Thanksgiving with my new mother in law, we were getting tired of the large crowds and missing out on the sales because of the long lines. With one store left and our nerves frazzled, I asked her if she wanted to “bag it”. She seemed repulsed! And said “Excused me?!” When I explained, “Do you just want to forget it?” She recovered quickly and said, “Oh, no.” I asked my husband about this strange interchange and he told me that the expression to “Bag it” was a derogatory statement!!

Some really funny Arkansas town names that I’ve found are below. Don’t believe me? Look them up! I wonder how they came up with all of these names. There has to be a story there…

Toad Suck, Waldo, Hickeytown

Blue Ball, Lick Mountain, Purdy

Smackover, Buck Snort, Flippin

Corner, Goobertown, Half Moon

Hogeye, Three Way, Fannie

Greasy, Furry, Hog Jaw

Stinking Bay, Sturkie, Rag Town

Old Joe, Hooker, Erbie

Monkey Run, Sprudel, Hasty

Knob, Chickalah, Nutts

Bald Knob, Nuckles, Bloomer

Nogo, Wampoo, Stumptoe

Poughkeepsie, Pee Dee & Kate

I have a new mission. To go get my picture taken at the welcome sign in Kate, Arkansas!

Love Spell Mishaps!

I’m convinced that Victoria Secret’s Love Spell body spray is love juice for all kinds of bugs! It has the opposite effect of Deep Wood’s Off! Which by the way, does not deter fleas!
At the beginning of the summer on one of my many trips to the mall, I fell in love with the scent, so I bought a bottle. Since that day when I feel the Love Spell need, I’ve noticed that if there is a bug within a thirty mile radius, it is attracted to me! I’ve had bug run-ins with fleas and a gigantic red wasp, all while I was wearing the Love Bug Potion!
My flea experience was the worst bug experience of my entire life! Being from the desert fleas, as well as other life forms, do not live there easily so I’ve never had a flea encounter before. Well, there is a first time for everything! Most bugs that bother me are usually big and ugly. Not anymore. I’ve added teeny tiny black and ugly to that list too!
This is how it all went down: I blame the stray cats (we had five one night hob knobbing under my car) for infesting my yard with their vile fleas. I park my car near the grass. I love to leave the car windows down to air out said car. It rains. Fleas flee to dry place, ie: Car. I enter car with delectable Love Spell bug magnetism spray, fleas cling to the Love, if you know what I mean! Fleas hitched a ride into house on pants or shoes, and that is when I freaked out and hit the roof, because before then I didn’t know what they were or that I had them. It makes me itch just thinking about it! Eww! Did you know that fleas are attracted to some and not others? Probably only the ones that use VS Love Spell “Come and Get It” bug, I mean body spray, because husband and Kamee didn’t have one bite on them! I was the only one! About 20 of them on my legs!
Thank goodness for Seven Dust. We sprinkled the lovely white powder all over my house and car against the warning label on the package that said it was for outdoors use only. Then my husband called the exterminator and he sprayed the yard the next day. Yay! All is well and fleas are dead. Love is restored! Zen…
About two weeks later, I had a burning Love Spell desire. That afternoon when I got home from work, I noticed fresh bites on still healing legs! A new Freak that lives within me, emerged! Husband got right back on the phone with the exterminator to make life easier on everyone! Fleas again disappear from yard and household. I’m skeptical, wondering if the exterminator is trustworthy in my defense against the repugnant pest… After a few weeks of being nuisance free as well as Love Spell free, I return to happy, easier to live with self.
Fast forward to the day when “Oops I Love Spelled it again” with renewed confidence that fleas are not longer habituating in my life. For most of the day, I forgot all about bugs and body spray. Just went about my work day, outside for a few free minutes to soak up some of the last rays before a storm was due. Back inside, I was chatting with a gal pal in her office when I notice something on my flip flopped foot! It looked like it had long legs, like a light brown spider… I Bucked Like A Mule! Gal pal said, “I think it flew outta here!” We looked around for it, but I told her that it was probably down in my office waiting for me. Back at my office, other gal pals and I were reliving my latest bug event, when out of nowhere this colossal wasp is flying right for me! He had me in his radar, blinded by the lure of the Love Spell! In my desperation for cover, I slammed the door shut! An office buddy clubbed the wasp to death and I have made detailed plans for prompt disposal of Love Spell!

Remembrance of High School

1. Did you date anyone from your high school? In HS yes, after HS no!

2. What kind of car did you drive? The 1^st Car that I had was a 1979 Mustang bucket of bolts! I then put about 9 quarts of oil in the 4 quart tank and killed it, but that made me happy because my mom wouldn’t let me drive to school. The bus sucked! After I killed the scrap metal mustang, I bought a Suzuki Samurai. It was my dream car at the time! I loved it!

3. Were you a party animal? Not really. I only went to a couple and they weren’t the type of parties that I shouldn’t have been at either. I think that classmates may have thought that I was, but I wasn’t.

4. Were you considered a flirt? Probably! Or maybe just desperate! LOL

5. Were you in band, orchestra or choir? I loved Choir! It was one of my favorite classes. Matter of fact, that was one that I didn’t skip very often.

6. Were you a nerd? Sadly, no. Looking back now, I wish that I would have been or at least cared more about my grades. I could have done really well if I had tried harder.

7. Were you on any varsity teams? Right. No. I was not a jock at all.

8. Did you ever get suspended or expelled? I’m proud to say Nope! Thank Goodness! I would have had broken arms! LOL …and I only got detention once, pretty good for hardly going to any of my classes during my junior year!

9. Can you still sing the fight song? I stole this from SalGal, because I didn’t remember it until I saw this and remembered that no one could hear what the La La La’s were! LOL and then they would sing: Sky----Line! You Go Girl!!!: “Sing it with me now! “La la la la la la la la SKYLINE! La la la la la la la la something! La la la la la la la la SKYLINE! La la la la la la la la JOIN. TO. GETH. ER! La la la la la la la la SKYLINE! La la la la la la la la something… We will cheer and sing together, make the rafters ring as never, blue & gold for Skyline in the sun!”

10. Who were your favorite teachers? Chas Adams, we understood each other! Mrs. Sweeten, she pushed me, and Mr. Davis because he let me play “Dirty Harry” with the gun in Law Enforcement class. There is also Mrs. Faggergren, the foods teacher! She rocked and gave me my huge figure today! LOL

11. Where did you sit for lunch? Usually in West Parking Lot in someone’s car. Even when it was snowing!

12. What was your school’s full name? Skyline High School

13. What was your mascot? BEagles, I mean Eagles!

14. If you could go back and do it again, would you? NO FREAKIN WAY! I had a hard enough time being there the first time! It would be suicide for me to try it again!

15. What do you remember most about graduation? I sat next to JD Norton, Maddie Knox was on his other side and I was nine months pregnant. Everyone was shocked that I was. JD teased me about going into labor, since I was due two weeks later. I was so proud that I made it! I took classes at Bingham High School for Teen Mothers the second semester of my senior year and my counselor (Mrs. Kelly) worked with Granite School District's School Board to accept the credits so that I could graduate with my class at Skyline. It was the first time that I felt like someone at the school really cared about me as a student.

16. Where did you go on Senior Skip Day? It was more like senior skip second semester for me…I did a lot of growing up at that time in my life!

17. Were you in any clubs? No, I wish that I would have looked into them. They may have been fun. And while we are on the subject, I wish that I had of tried out for Cheerleader in Junior High School, because it would have given me reason to do well in school. And maybe show up.

18. Have you gained weight since then? Oh yes! But whatever, who really cares? I like food, so, so what!?

19. Who was your prom date? My Junior Prom, I was Jeff Bentonson’s "mercy date". It was one of the worst dates that I’ve been on ever! And I made Kamille’s dad take me to my Senior Prom. No one even knew that I was 6 months pregnant! I really didn’t show that much until I was 8 months along anyway. That’s when it was unmistakable!

20. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Well, I moved out of the state a year before that, so I didn’t go. I heard that it was lame, so I didn’t feel bad about missing out. I did go to the 5 year and that was a blast! Too bad there wasn’t a 15 year. Oh Well.

Saved From Egg Faced Revenge

After plotting with a little help from my office gal pals, we came up with a couple of great ideas! Let me run them by you:

* Listing tickets to an University of Arkansas Football game (worth gold to most people in AR) in the Bargain Column of the local newspaper...only make them for $5.00 each with her phone number so that thousands of people call asking to buy them.

* Since her yard doesn't have any trees worthy to showcase the good long streamer effect, we thought that beanbag stuffing all over the lawn would be a nice touch. I don't think that a rake would work on that stuff! I can only imagine that a shop vac would work.

Armed with these two very good ideas, I needed to make sure that I was going to return the favor to the right person. I don't feel good about doing it only to have egg on my face later when I find out it was another TP Bandit! I called my BFF, asking her if she had heard any rumors about who may have rolled my house over the weekend. She just started laughing! And laughing. I brushed it off, and went right on to tell her that I have revenge planned if it was the neighbor who threatened it at the game.

My BFF told me about a time when her house was forked and rolled so bad that it took a few hours to clean it up. She sought revenge too, dumping all of the forks and TP on the front porch of the family that she knew for sure was guilty. Then one day someone else confessed!

This stopped me right in my tracks! What?!? So, let me get this straight: "You don't want me to seek revenge on the wrong person, because you know it wasn't who I think it was!" She said that she would never tell me who it really was, but that my target was off!

I vowed not to entertain any more devious schemes of revenge, even if they are pretty good. No more seeking punitive damages for snide remarks from a husband who loathes those unreachable white ribbons that adorn the tip tops of our trees. No more prospects of sneaking off into the night to be a juvenile delinquent again. Fine. But I've got something else planned for my BFF! LOL

Happiness Tag Challenge

I'm up to the happiness tag challenge listed on Darci's blog... She challenged readers to list ten things that make us happy excluding kids and husband, because we all are pretty happy with them (at least most of the time...when they aren't making offensive comments at high school football games :).

1. Staying up late and sleeping in... My grandma says that she hates to go to bed, but when she finally gets there she hates to get up. That's where I get it from. When I was a teenager I was a night owl. Now, not so much, because I have to go to work and get Kamee Sue off to school. But most nights I have a hard time talking myself into going to bed and when that alarm goes off in the morning, I swear to myself that I'm going to bed earlier that night because I hate to leave my warm bed!

2. Music. I love everything from Hard Rock to Opera and Hip Hop to Country. It adds mood to every minute in my life. It gives emotion to what I'm experiencing and allows me to vent, rejoice or just relax.

3. A “Just can’t put it down” book. I love to get lost in someone’s creation of adventure, drama or romance. When I read the world could come to an end, but I’d be too busy reading to notice it.

4. Bubble baths. For serenity and reflection. Being the grown up forces me to be on “do duty” all the time. Some of my best decision making is done in the bath tub where, for just a few minutes, I’m just me and not the mom or the wife. I have some time to think and not do.

5. Lightning Bugs! Not only are they a sign of spring, but they just float there looking like stars close enough to touch. The first time I saw one I was elated and each spring I look forward to seeing their buoyant twinkling glow.

6. My scrapbook buddies. Sometimes we get a few pages done and sometimes we just make each other laugh. I’m really blessed with this group of friends to share with and to be inspired by! Thank you, Ladies!

7. Flowers. Any flower will do, but my most favorite flower is the Stargazer Lily. They smell so wonderful and are so beautiful with bright pink and white trumpets. They look like they are singing!

8. The Drum Line. Those drummers show off talented precision and fun beats that I can feel in my chest. It takes great effort to be in time with each other and they make it sound so easy! I could listen to them all day long!

9. Photography. Sometimes I have the camera in time to snap the perfect picture and other times I commit the scene to memory because I didn’t bring it with me! Either way, I love pictures of everything! Landscapes, animals, people, or just junk. That is also the meat of the whole scrapbooking thing that I love to do…

10. I saved the last one for my most favorite place on earth, Bear Lake. Living far away from the lake has been harder than living far away from my family! The sounds and smells and the gorgeous blue water live in my veins. Sometimes, when I’m down in the dumps or can’t sleep at night, I vision myself lying on that beach and I can feel the sand beneath me. I can hear the waves and the nearby children playing and laughing soaking up that glorious water. I can smell the exhaust from the boats drifting by with a skier in tow. And I can feel the sun raining down over me. It brings me a little closer to my mom, where she and I used to play when I was a teenager before she passed away. I guess that I look at the lake as an old loved one. It’s such a happy place to be…

This was super fun to do! It has really made me think about all the things that make me happy and how many times I wanted to list something that my husband or my daughter do that makes me happy, but that is obvious. I’m glad that I did this! So, I hope that all of you, who ever you are…if you are reading this and haven’t already done it, try it. It makes you happy!

Why do they have to TP my house?!?

It started with my husband's ability to irritate people with his witty comments and this particular occasion was at the legendary “Battle of the Bone” High School football game. I'm unsure which comments he was throwing around, but one neighbor suggested that she make a trip to the local Wal-Mart to get some toilet paper. Of course, all lies in jest, but the moment that she said it, I went into beg mode! Please don't do that to my house! The last time we had to clean up toilet paper, my husband made Kamee climb the trees to get all the little pieces out of the top branches! He swore he was going to get surveillance cameras to prove who did it when he pressed charges! To make matters worse, he was cleaning up the front yard in his green bath robe, and his over sized Pluto slippers! I didn’t notice what his ensemble consisted of, until a lady drove by shaking her head with disapproval!

Sure enough this morning our front yard trees were subjected to a 24 pack of the expensive quilted double ply! Sadly, we were out late last night at a baseball game, so we slept in until 11am! I bet that everyone coming and going loved our new yard decor! Kamee and I started cleaning up all that we could reach however the tops of our trees are a good 20 feet above my house and there is only so much a rake can reach. A man from across the street brought over a cane pole and my husband proceeded to gather the TP from the tree tops with the worst of attitudes ever! At least he left the slippers and robe inside the house this time! And he wasn’t even ranting and raving! There is still some at the very tops of the trees, but it isn’t all over the power lines anymore…so the possibility of a fire is no longer there. Thank goodness!

Now for revenge…or was this the revenge of some offensive comment my husband made at a high school football game? It could possibly have been someone else… but I don’t think so. My sister suggested that I put her house up for sale by owner…which is pretty good. I may just do that. A for sale sign could cost something more than a 24 pack and take less time to take down. I will have to think of something that will be just as good…

My First Blog

I guess that everyone starts out on a blog for the first time saying "This is my first blog" and thinking "so now what?". I'm there. This is all new to me, but I found such inspiration from my new facebook friends and reading their blogs that made me think that I've got something to say too...and maybe some feelings to vent, and it may sound good. From what I've read so far, none being their first blogs, I've been really impressed. Hopefully, you will be as impressed with mine as I am with theirs.....