Okay...Nicklaus is 9 and a bit sheltered, I don't let him watch whatever he feels like on TV, or listen to music that uses adult words and such. We all expect our kids to one day ask the question, "So, how do babies get here, really?" I will explain this to him when he is old enough to grasp it. I am not one who thinks we should teach our kids the proper names for everything and go into detail for every question they ask. When I was pregnant with Nathan, Nicklaus asked me how the baby got in my stomach. My reply? I told him God didn't think I had quite enough on me yet so he decided to pile another one on. It's kinda like an experiment, He's waiting to see how long it will take me to lose that last little bit of sanity I am clinging to. I don't recall the word penis or vagina ever coming out of my mother's mouth and I am not emotionally scarred, feel like my "private" parts are nasty or have any big hang-ups with sex because I wasn't taught the "proper" name for it. Anyhoo...vagina just sound like something sick...as in she's got angina in her vagina....and Penis?? That's a word that sounds like it needs to be whispered, like on that game show "The password is Penis." Anyhow, this post does have a point...just bear with me. When Nicklaus was a baby I didn't think much about what in the hell to call it, I just knew that it wouldn't be something stupid like peter (there's a skeeter on my peter knock it off...) or dick (there's a tick on my..you get the idea) ding dong is something a doorbell does (ding dong your avon penis is calling) or pee pee (that's what comes out of it when you go potty not the actual "thing." So, one day I'm bathing him and what highly desirable name did I come up with? Well honey let me tell ya...I have a habit of just saying whatever is on the top of my head...so, I told my cute little baby to stand up and let me wash his woozle....Yep...Woozle, my sons, both of them, have been cursed to call their penis (ugh) a name that came from a bear named Pooh and his friend Piglet, I don't have to explain to you the giggles that occur everytime Pooh is read. But, if you look at the words of the Heffalump and Woozle song, it does kinda fit, doesn't it?

The lady in front of us at the traffic light tonight. When I went to pick up Nicklaus from Vacation Bible School (Noni's spending the night with Nanny) anyhoo...she had a "Honk if You Love Jesus" bumper sticker. My son reaches over and blows the horn, the lady flips us a bird, I tell my son, "Honey, she's obviously Hispanic and Jesus (Hay-Zeus) not Jesus (Gee-Zus) is her husband or boyfriend, and his name is the same as the guy we saw on America's Most Wanted a while back.

Well, since Katy said she likes thrifty moms...I thought I would share with you a tip every once in a while that a) shows how cheap I really am...and b) maybe give y'all an idea or two to use in the future. My very first tip is, (drumroll please) How to Save Money on Kidz Bubble Bath Ever been in the store shopping and you pass the bubble bath aisle with the kiddie stuff on it. Realize that it's huge mistake because this aisle is the beginning of hell. Please mommy I need some Barbie Bubble Bath or Spiderman, or whomever else they have in stock. The bubble bath is soooo overpriced just because it comes out of a pink bottle from the the heads of whichever character you bought...like oozing brain matter, squeeze, squeeze "see kids, this is what happens in the car when you don't wear your seat belt...you wanna end up like Barbie here with stuff coming outta the top of yer head? LOL.... Well, I broke my kids from doing that because they always have a FULL bottle at home. Nicklaus just could not comprehend a few years ago that his Scooby Doo was not some miracle that should be shouted about from the rooftops, like that woman in the Bible that shared her last bit of oil...and something else, I forget...anyway like that woman's oil supply, his Scoobster Bubble Bath never ran out!! Okay, here's the tip.... See those bottle down there? These retail from $2.99 up to $5.49 for 11 ounces of bubble bath. And you go through it in about a week...so...if you bought a bottle every 2 weeks or so...you'd spend anywhere from $72.00 to $132.00 a year! May not seem like much...but if you are on a budget..then yes..you could use that money for fun stuff, like add it to the car payment fund, or utility bill collection!

So, what you need to do with these is buy one for each of your kids in whatever character they want. Then go and get another bottle of bubble bath or baby shampoo. You can get the store brand items for about a dollar.


This one can be bought for $.99 most days at Wal-Mart and it's 32 ounces!! So, when the kids bottles are getting low, sneak them out if you have to, pour the cheap stuff in them and then when they start begging for more of this stuff all you gotta say is "I don't think so, you have a full bottle at home so....give it a rest. You're not getting a $4 bottle of bubble bath when you haven't finished the bottle you have now!!" LOLOLOLOL

Damn...I'm a penny-pinching, cheap ass Georgia girl...ain't I...but remember the more I save at home the more I get to spend on other stuff....

I read the paper earlier and saw this in the obituaries, it made me search for a little more information...The following is what I found on this site How in the hell could something like this happen? The ordeal that this family must have went through is too much to even comprehend. Another fallen hero for our country, gone before his time and no closure for this family, just a roller coaster ride through hell. Thank you Captain Phillips, sorry it's almost 40 years too late.


Air Force officer's family finally gets answers Capt. David J. Phillips' remains will be buried in Savannah 40 years after Vietnam jet crash.

Adam Crisp


Although it has taken nearly 39 years, the family members of Air Force Captain David J. Phillips will finally have the funeral they say their father deserved. Although it has taken nearly 39 years, the family members of Air Force Captain David J. Phillips will finally have the funeral they say their father deserved.
Phillips' F-5 fighter jet was shot down over Vietnam on July 3, 1966. His family - his wife, Peggy and three daughters - believed their father died in the plane crash. But they began to doubt that conclusion in the years that followed.
Although a Memorial Requiem Mass was held a few weeks after Phillips' jet was shot down, a bogus list released in the 1980s contended Capt. Phillips was one of nine men being held at a Vietnamese POW camp.
"Mom worried that when that list came out in the '80s, he was being tortured on a daily basis over there," said Davida Stubbs, Phillips youngest daughter. "We weren't sure that he did actually die during the crash anymore." While the list proved to be false within just a few weeks after it surfaced, Stubbs says her family often wrestled with the notion that her father was not resting in peace after all. Her mother, Peggy, died a few years after the controversy.
Through the years, the military continued to look for Capt. Phillips. From 1993 to 2002, joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams conducted four searches in Vietnam, looking for signs of Phillips or the downed jet. Larry Greer, a spokesman for the Pentagon's MIA/POW search efforts, said each time the teams went to Vietnam, they inched closer to uncovering the mystery behind behind Phillips' location.

During their visits, investigators contacted villagers who eventually led them to the site of Phillips' crash.

According to Stubbs, a villager had recovered her father's remains shortly after the crash. He buried them in a grave, marked with a large stone.

Phillips' remains and a few personal effects were located in March 2004 with the help of the Vietnamese villager who had buried Phillips' body four decades earlier.

Stubbs and her two sisters, Linda and Donna, have been given a book from the military that includes a patch of Phillips' flight suit, a pocket knife and a pendant, along with photos that document the seven-year search efforts.

Finding remains of soldiers 30 or more years after their death is not that unusual, said Greer.

"In the case of the Vietnam War, we are bringing back remains on a monthly basis," Greer said. "We're announcing identifications several times monthly."

The Pentagon estimates there are 88,000 Americans still missing or imprisoned from various wars. Of those, 1,833 are from the Vietnam War. Another 750 Americans have been identified since the war ended in 1975.

Phillips' family is planning to bury their father's remains July 3 - exactly 39 years after he was shot down - in a family plot in Savannah's Bonaventure Cemetery. While details haven't been finalized, the family is hoping the funeral will be an event where their father will finally get the respect he deserves.

Greer says providing the families with closure is rewarding, although it's often bittersweet.

"The saddest part of our business is to learn how the families have been hurt and mislead," said Greer.

"It depends on how the family feels, but usually the news helps with the bereavement process - to be able to get on with your life. It finally gives answers."


Yep, I say some sort of closure is in order, wouldn't you? If you'd like to read the obituary, please click this.

You must be pretty peeved right now then, eh?

What pisses you off?

Created by ptocheia

As mentioned before, I am the daughter of a Baptist minister..an edumacated one..he has a Ph.d honey....but yeah, a preacher's kid...hell yes...we are the worst kind! I have to say that my Dad isn't a close-minded, judgemental, hypocritical, hit ya with the Word up side ya head for everything man....in other words, he ain't one of those that's gonna hear "Depart from me....I know you not!!" Just to illustrate my point, and further explain where I get some of my sarcasm from I'll share with you a few things I've heard my daddy say...and it's not childish to call your father Daddy, unless you ain't in the South or he ain't a Daddy type!

Example 1: While riding with my dad and two other men, one a deacon I think, those two men had put down just about every race but the White one in an hours drive...very stupid things were said, Dad just kept driving....finally one of those buffoons shuts his mouth long enough to draw a breath and asks my dad this question, "Pastor, settle this thing once and for all...what color do you think God is?" My dad not wanting to get into the whole explanation of God not having a color per se...I guess he figured that would just fly right on over these idiots heads...paused a moment, (We were at an extremely long red light) winks at me, and turns around to face those two nuts, then just as sweet as you please honey, He says, "Well, after listening to your comments over the last half hour or so, I can't figure out really which you hate more, Black people, Asian People, Mexican People or the others that you've mentioned, I can only pray that when you get up there, and all people will eventually, I hope when it's your turn to face God that He's whatever race or color that you've talked about and hated the most." He then turned around and continued on to our destination. The car was kinda quite after that...LOLOLOL

Example 2: Different people, same idiot status, while arguing about religions and which ones are "right" my dad had to contribute this....He told the two or three guys a "joke" he'd heard once...Seems St. Peter was leading a group of people through Heaven...Old Peter was pointing out different areas, there was a Catholic section, a Methodist section and so on and so forth, however when the group approached one section Peter stuck his finger to his lips and said "Shhhhh...that's the Baptist room, please be quiet, they think they're the only ones here."

And my last example. A guy that was in a hospital waiting room when my dad was there with one or another of the church member's family overheard the fact that he was a minister. Not to let this golden opportunity slip by, he began a conversation with my dad. Let him know in no uncertain terms that he'd never grace a church with his presence, too many damn hypocrites. How could any rational person hang around such a bunch of hypocritical people. My dad, not trying to be unjust, just stated and affirmed his belief that for him church is an important part of his Christian life (I must state here that my dad is retired, he preaches at our church, a small church for a salary that will basically be enough to maybe pay for his and my mom's dinners out after church, he ain't doing this to get rich, he's doing what he feels he was called to do) anyway, my dad then states, "Hmm...won't go to church with a bunch of hypocrites, but you'll hang out and drink with them every weekend, shop in the same stores they do, and work with them...makes sense to me." And then continued on with whatever he was doing.....
I love my daddy!!!

One of the first blogs I started reading was The Grass Isn't Greener!! Katy is a Hoot, an Army wife and Texas Girl!! She named me her Wednesday Wonder Blog. To quote Katy herself, "Holy Ape Shit Batman!!" Thanks girllllllll....even if you ain't from Gawja (that's Georgia to those who cain't speak Suthern) you alright girlfriend!!

I couldn't write a post about thanking someone without mentioning my new friend Sam, we're gonna meet one day...hafta she's an F-ing-ham girl too!! (that's Effingham, y'all) I look forward to seeing you and Stacy soon!! Leave the crazy people back in Texas...Hey Katy...you know them loons? LOL

And this lady, I love her...in her own words she's crazier than bat shit...she's a hoot and a holler, Check out Livey - PLEASE BE SURE TO TELL HER THAT RUTH SENT YA!! She'll get the joke..promise..and if she doesn't...you can sleep sound, she doesn't know how to find ya...or does she?? LOLOLOL

If you really think about it, how have any of us survived until now? If you consider all the warnings we were given as children and the way we cheated death everyday, we were little demons riding waves of destruction!! **Note, this is not directed to those girls/guys who were way to prissy to dream of getting down and dirty with the rest of the youngins***I was one hell of a tomboy, ground in dirt on my knees and elbows, dirt necklace to wash off every night, it was balls to the wall and the weakest kids lose!! But, bear with me a moment and see if you can relate to any of the following examples of how most children (the Southern ones anyway) cheated death nearly every day:Remember pine cone fights? Sometimes referred to as wars? You'd try to find the smallest ones possible, why you ask? Because the smallest ones weren't open yet, those things flying through the air hitting you in God knows what body part stung like hell...the big ones? You'd be lucky to get an ouch out of those huge bastards, but those small ones? Dammit man...and all the better if they're still green....those have the points sticking out and they don't feel good!! Now in the midst of this free-for-all maniacal frenzy at some point a parent would come out...if it was a dad, most likely he'd say "you kids be careful now," and he'd continue on his way. A mom? Well, my mom specifically, would freak. I guess I need to explain that I have the world's most Jewish mother -OY. We're not Jewish, but she agonizes over the million or two things that can and will kill you. OY VEY. Anyway, if my mom came out and saw us hellions chunking pinecones at one another, she'd go off the deep end. Seriously, I fully expected to see sackcloth and ashes at any point. I bet you have no idea how many ways a pine cone can kill you, do you? Well, let me point out the most memorable ones, 1) you could escape death but be blinded, those things can fly up in your eye and rob you of your sight, 2) you could be unlucky enough to get a bruise which could clot and then you could die or be in the hospital with needles and tubes, 3) you could get beaned on the head hard enough to cause a loss of consciousness and subsequently lapse into a coma, thus you were either left to spend you life as a vegetable, or be hooked up to machines, tubes and needles. My all time favorite, "what if one of those things killed you, what would you do then young lady?" Ummm...I don't know Mom...nothing? After reading this don't you feel like the luckiest shit in the world...you cheated death, the dreaded pine cone massacre passed you by. I guess I forgot to mention the most horrifying act of all concerning pine cone tossing, it happened to me just the other day. My 2 oldest, Nicklaus and Noni were in the yard, yep, gathering pine cones to begin what looked like a horrific battle and before Nicklaus could launch his first assault on his sister, I ran out screaming, "PUT THAT DAMN THING DOWN, YOU COULD GIVE HER A CONCUSSION OR WORSE!!" OY VEY!! I'll venture into another death defying rite of childhood later. I'm telling ya...it's a miracle that we're here!! Here are a few pics to illustrate my post a bit. I've included the scientific name of each for you as well.

Moms May Cause Death Pine Cone 

A few more pointy things and this would hurt like hell pinecone 

Ain't gonna do a whole lot to ya Pine Cone 

Wouldn't hurt a fly pine cone 

DO NOT CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK AROUND CHILDREN, YOU MUST HAVE A STRONG STOMACH AS WELL...AGAIN, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK IF CHILDREN ARE PRESENT ADULT SITE....

I was reading this blog, and this link is on yesterday's entry. Please click it and experience the same horror and desire to hurl, do not be alarmed...this is a normal reaction...Personal to Livey...I think I've located Ruth...LOLOLOL

Vacation Bible School started at our church last night. During the assembly the youth director/VBS Coordinater/My Niece asked the kidz about things God made on a particular day. When asked what He created on the 6th day, my princess, Noni, raises her hand and yells out, "MONEY." Also the question was asked, "does anyone know what an expedition is?" One little girl replied, "I do, we used to have one but sold it."

As I told you all,( well the 3 that read this thing anyway) we just got back from a trip to Tennessee. It was awesome...now I will let you in on my little secret, the only damn reason we could go on this trip. You probably know I am a stay at home mom, I write for a local paper but I'm not going to get rich on that, and I have 3 children, a husband (technically this member could be classified Child #4 most days), a dog and the one fish that has managed to survive. We are not poor, well, most weeks anyway, but, we do not have a lot of extra money , certainly not for vacations to destinations over 700 miles away. So, how did we do it? I would love to tell you! I am what some would call thrifty, others would deem me just a damn cheapskate. I could give a flying shit what I'm called, we were in the mountains on vacation, call me a spotted flying shithouse hog for all I care. Honestly though, I like to think of myself as a creative finance diva, or queen, depends on my mood. The motel we stayed at was the Holiday Inn in Sevierville. The hotel charges from $80 to $130 per night. What did we pay? Well, we paid $49.95 for ALL THREE NIGHTS. We also rented a mid-size car from Alamo, a 2005 Pontiac G6 for 5 days, Wednesday through Sunday. The going rate for this vehicle with all the fees/taxes/misc. bullshit charges they always tack on? $128.99. What did we pay with all that stuff above included? $89.00!! The curiousity is killing you now isn't it? Okay, Okay, I will tell ya!! The room at that fantastic price was courtesy of Fairfield Resorts. For a whopping 90 minute chunk of time we had to listen to one guy sell us on the idea of time shares, then the second string, then the third and final guy. Was is boring? Kind of, but it was a little interesting to see the beautiful resorts they offer. Did we buy? HELL NO!! With 3 kidz...I'll tell you like I told the second string guy, "we have three kids, we don't have extra money for 2 weeks of vacation a year." His answer? "Well, you are on vacation now, you'll go on another one next year, why not go ahead and purchase this now and save all that money? You've gotten it from somewhere for this vacation." (I don't think the Fairfield sales staff is knowledgeable about the different methods used to get people in for these presentations) Anyway, I smiled politely and told him this, " Well yes, we did come on this vacation and yes we found the money, but in answer to your first question, we came this time because your company gave us 3 days and 2 nights in the Mountains for $49.95. Secondly, we do have money to spend, however, I must allocate most of it to feed those darn kids of mine, I knew if I started feeding them they'd never leave, all joking aside, my kids are gonna learn to love Hamburger Helper and Beanie Weanies for the next 3 weeks and in response to your last statement/question, we most likely will vacation again, and we'll do the same thing then as we are going to do now, spend money we shouldn't and I'll spend the next few weeks me writing a few more articles to be published and my husband is going to hang a whole lot of cabinets and we're gonna call it what it is, BROKE. He left me alone after that, (I guess I should note that hubby told me later the first sales guy was about to fall out of his chair laughing) the third string guy said I was "spunky," whatever and then launched into a sales pitch again. I told him "Look, I understand that you work on commission, and you aren't going to get any commission from a sale to us, all I was required to do is sit here and listen to your spiel, which was delivered quite nicely, but we are NOT going to give you $5000 today. " He looked blankly at me for a few minutes then asked me how many times I'd listened to a sales presentation, this was in an attempt to gauge my knowledge of such and how qualified I was to relay my appraisal of his performance in the form of a critique as given. I answered, "honey",(since he'd called me sweetie and sugar twice already, and lest I forget that damn Spunky remark, I wanted to return the condescending tone, that is the polite thing to do, right?) "I grew up around Real Estate Agents, Used Car Salesmen and the grandaddy of all high pressure sales jobs Manufactured Housing (thats a trailer for you all Yankees.) so, I feel quite qualified to tell you your pitch was, in essence, a great delivery aimed, unfortunately, at the wrong target. The sooner we can leave the sooner the next couple can be in here, and they might buy" We got to leave after that, I hope another one of these places calls soon, I can give them 90 minutes of my time for another cheap vacation!! And as for Alamo, I found a 20% off code good for all Wal-Mart Customers (comment or email me if you want links) and a coupon good for $15 off. Also, while there I made the comment to hubby that majority of those people looked like they couldn't afford new clothes much less a time share. Hubby said "you can't judge a book by it's cover," and I had to reply, "how right you are...look at us, riding around in a 2006 model car, staying at a $100 a night hotel, and paying for stuff left and right, I get your point, Hot damn some of these people may actually think we have extra spending money at the end of the week!!! Fooled them didn't we? Our cover looks a whole lot better than the inside story right now." LOLOLOL... So, yes, we had a great vacation, yes we are broke now, and yes...please, please if you are a telemarketer selling time shares, call me again, I love them, and may just be in the market someday for one...LOL

Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels and Firearms....ahhh...life doesn't get any better than this! 

Trying one last time before heading home...Damn...didn't work!! 

View from Tram 

AQUARIUM  

Horseshoe crabs 

No need to speculate anymore!! WE FOUND BRUCE WAYNE'S SECRET LAIR!! 

Fish swimming overhead 

Saw Shark  

Horseshoe Crabs 

Noni's reaction at seeing mountains for the first time!� 

Awesome site!!