School Daze

A friend of mine posed a question on Facebook today: Who was your favorite elementary school teacher/year?  Everyone commented stating how they loved Ms. So and So and why.  I racked my brain, trying to think of what my teachers' names were, let alone which year was my favorite.

The thing is, I don't remember elementary school.  Period.  It's a blank slate.  I've got nothin' except for one time one of the boys in my class made me cry.  I know what school I went to and I know some of the people I attended class with because I was in school with them up through high school.  However, I can not recall anything from elementary school.

Does that make me a freak?  Should I be worried?  I have a few ideas as to why this is so, but they are just ideas and not worth sharing with anyone.  It makes me a little angry.  Everyone is so happy with all their happy memories of these super inspiring teachers that made him/her feel special and I have a foggy blankness.  Was I the smelly kid?  The weird kid (ok, yes I was probably the weird kid).  I remember not having a lot of actual friends in school.

The point I'm trying to make is that I'm glad I'm past that age.  I am glad I am grown enough that I don't have to go to school and I can surround myself with people who love and support me.

I hope your children are happy with school.  I hope they do not encounter bullies and they like their teachers and they make memories that they will actually be able to remember 25 years after the fact.

Yay for school because knowledge IS power.  It just makes it better when you can remember.

For something happy and inspiring, please watch this.  (You know, to end on a positive note!)

Rooster Fridays

As some of you may know, Calico Jack and I have recently acquired a new pet.  His name is Señor Edgar Hernandez Riggs McMillan Williams.  We call him Señor Ed.  He is what's known as a gallo, or rooster (in English).

You see, Señor Ed came to us by way of Calico Jack's Grandma Riggs.  (May she rest in peace. XO)  We consider it an honor to have Señor Ed in our home, however, he needed to meet our other fur baby Oliver.

The following is evidence of the first meeting between Señor Ed and Oliver.  I am presenting this evidence so that everyone will know that it was Oliver who attacked first.

 Señor Ed hopped on the kitchen table, fully expecting to have a nice visit with his new sibling, Oliver.  He was excited to finally get to meet the cat because Calico Jack and I were biding our time until we could properly control the environment in which they were meeting.

Initially, Oliver and Señor Ed just smelled each other.  Calico Jack and I were both really excited that this initial meeting was going so well.  Everyone was behaving and appeared to just be curious about one another.

 Then, Oliver started to get nosy  He was smelling the back of Señor Ed's head and body.  As could be expected, Señor Ed was a little taken aback by this violation of his personal space.
 

 Oliver then informed us that Señor Ed had passed his inspection and he would allow him to live in our house.  Of course, that decision was not really up for debate, but it was nice to know that Oliver approved.

That's when all hell broke lose.  Oliver ran back to Señor Ed and bit him on the top of his head!  At that point we helped Señor Ed back to his perch to recover from this viscous cat attack.  He was quite shaken and he asked for a Valium.  I couldn't blame him for being nervous and scared!

 When we turned around, we found Oliver snoozing, content with his taste of chicken.  This barbarian cat has no shame!  I always knew he was a little shady...

 By the time we were ready to go to bed, we checked in on Señor Ed.  We found him saying his rosary and asking for protection from the hairy beast that he was now having to live with.  Poor Señor Ed.  I will be keeping a close eye so that he is safe in our home.

THE END

P.S.  Stay tuned for next week when Señor Edgar Williams shows you one of the many attractions of New Orleans.  I think it will be good for him to get out of the house away from the barbarian cat!   

P.P.S. Please excuse the spacing of the pictures - I am working out the kinks of that!

The Past is the Past

I have been going through my old posts from years ago on this blog and I realized that I was all over the place with what I was writing.  For those of you who used to read me and have started reading me again, I thank you for not giving up on me.  Seriously, thank you for giving me another shot.  A lot of what I wrote before, which I have subsequently taken down because no one should relive that, simply doesn't make sense.  I am reading these posts that I kind of remember writing and I read really manic.

You see, what happened was I was sick and I didn't know it.  It took a major incident for me to realize I was sick and to start on this path that I have now been on for 3 years and counting.  Am I cured?  No.  Will I ever be cured?  No.  But I am better equipped to handle life's ups and downs.  I have great care and an even better support system helping make sure that I stay on the right path.  I think some people might think that I am weak because I must have this kind of support, but I like to think that I have this support because I'm loved.  All you need is love, right?  Love and lots of medicine (in my case) and love. 

I lost a lot of friends because of this illness.  They simply walked away without taking a second look back.  That's on them and proved to me finally that they were never really my friend in the first place.  For those of you who stuck around, you're the good ones.  Am I happy all the time now?  No.  Who is, though?  It has gotten easier to deal with my condition the longer I pushed through the cobwebs in my mind and I'm going to continue to push.  I have to.  Don't we all?

What I went through was scary and I wish I could have run away from it, snapped my fingers and made it disappear, but that is not how things work in my particular situation. 
I don't wish my condition on my worst enemy.  It is a terrifying place in which to find yourself.  Because of my experience with my condition, I have been humbled.  Humility is a great attribute to have, in my opinion.

It is hard for me to read my older posts when my illness was gaining momentum, but it is nice to look back in order to realize how far I have come.  One thing has remained constant for me, and that is I really enjoy writing.  I was radio silent for a long time because I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say.  I had lost my voice.  It feels like now is a great time to start over.  New look, new posts, hopefully new friends in the blogosphere, and a sense of joy for what I am writing about. 

So, thank you.  Thank you for coming back or just starting reading this humble blog.  It means a great deal to me and I promise that I am writing from an honest place in my heart. 


 

Life Surrounded by a Meowing Cat

The Most Influential Book I've Ever Read

Photo from Wikipedia.com

Ahhh...how do I even begin?  This book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is probably the single most influential books that I have ever read.  I think it's because of the time when I initially read this book and the message of the book in general.

I read this book for the first time as a sophomore in high school.  I had a wonderful teacher in English that year (racking my brain to remember his name) who was a football coach and an English teacher.  That in itself wasn't the norm for me.  Most coach teachers were in charge of Social Studies.  Anyway, I remember really breaking this book down and talking about the many facets of the meaning of this book.  It includes all kinds of themes in it: racism in the South, coming of age, the creepy, secretive neighbor down the street, kindness, and generous friendship.  Our teacher allowed us to really debate these themes and I had my first taste of what it was like to learn in college.

First off, racism in the South.  I can now officially say I live in the Deep South and I am still fascinated with the divide between races here.  I didn't really experience that growing up in Texas, while it is a Southern state, I wouldn't consider it the Deep South.  To think that only a few short years earlier our country had such a divide between the races seems appalling and unjust, but the proof is in the history lessons.  The way Atticus so boldly represents Tom Robinson is admirable, especially given the time.  I loved Atticus.  I loved the name Atticus.  I loved what Atticus stood for.  He was a good man.  He fought hard for the underdog!  (Side note: in college I had a cat I named Atticus!)

The coming of age aspect was melancholy for me.  I suppose there comes a time in every young child's life where they realize they are no longer a child and must put away their toys and start acting like a grown up.  I particularly like how Scout had to have tea with the "ladies" of the neighborhood and how she always wanted to be out playing with her friend Dill.  Growing up sucks, but everyone gets older...

And then there is Boo Radley.  Ahh, Boo!  Probably one of the kindest (next to Atticus) and mysterious persons in the entire book.  So many rumors swirl around him and ultimately he turns out to be a reclusive guy who generally looks out for those kids.  I particularly like when he puts the blanket over Scout's shoulders during the fire and she doesn't realize until later it was him.  I had a Boo Radley on my street growing up.  His name was Ronald and we called him Ronald McDonald (yeah, we were jerks).  I believe he actually had Downs Syndrome but his mom never would let him play with us, therefore creating a mystery around his presence.

Ultimately this book is about justice, kindness and friendship.  Being kind to others, doing the right thing for the innocent, and keeping your friends close.  Scout and Dill are said to be based on Harper Lee's and Truman Capote's friendship.  I actually just learned that bit of interesting history fairly recently.  Dill was ever curious and always egging Scout on to do the craziest of shenanigans, and she would!

One of my most vivid memories of reading this book in class with that English teacher is when some stupid jock mouthed off with some racist remark and I spoke up with how I didn't agree with him.  My teacher asked me to expand on what I was saying and then said, "Well, it just looks like we have a racist in our class".  Justice for the underdog, right there!

I absolutely adore this book and have read it many times, but I actually don't own a copy of it myself.  I need to go buy myself a copy so I can read it a couple hundred more times.  It definitely makes my monkey heart go a-flutter!

What is YOUR most influential book you have ever read?  Tell me in the comments!

Red Lipstick & Feeling Pretty

I used to wear red lipstick all the time.  Perhaps it was the dancer in me, but I really liked red lipstick.  Then, something changed.  I can't place my finger on it, why I stopped wearing red lipstick, but I just stopped.  Then, something happened when I started feeling the feels again.  I realized I wanted to be THAT girl again - the girl that wears red lipstick.

So, my very generous Mother-in-Law took me to Sephora and purchased a shiny new tube of red lipstick.  It has always put a spring in my step and now I have it back in my life!  I'm still a little afraid to wear it during the daytime, as it is quite bright, but I know that eventually I'll just say "who cares what others think?" and I'll put on my red lipstick during the daytime.

Bold is beautiful and you shouldn't be afraid to rock out your favorite accessory! And anyone's best accessory is their smile.  Let it shine, make it bright, and show those pearly whites!

Thank you Universe for great Mother-in-Laws and thank you for red lipstick and giving me yet another day to smile and be happy!

This particular post is brought to you as part of the Curvy Girl Guide Community and Brittany's August 2014 prompts. 

Fear of Clowns

flickr.com

It's a thing.  Seriously, it's a condition called Coulrophobia.  My sister Jen suffers from this condition, which I can understand because - CLOWNS WILL EAT YOU!  Did you ever have a clown at your birthday party?  I think we (my brother and I) might have had a clown one time at our birthday party, or someone else's party.  I don't know, maybe I'm making that memory up, but still.  I have to side with Jen on this.


There are all kinds of clowns: nice clowns, scary clowns, and demonic clowns.  But don't you have to be a little demonic to be a clown?  Or, perhaps a little sad and you have lost your way.  "Here are some balloon animals, kids!  Pay no attention to my razor sharp teeth!  Plus, I'm probably half drunk on whiskey because, well, I'm a clown and to get through this party gig, I have to down SOMETHING to hide the pain of being a clown!"

I don't think anyone grows up and wants to be a clown.  Okay, that's not entirely true, as I am sure some people actually want to run away and join the circus.  There are clowns at the circus, but they aren't quite as scary as some other clowns that I have seen.  Wouldn't you eventually want to be a trapeze artist?  Plus, how do they fit so many people in their tiny car?!?

There is even a Clown Hotel!  (I included the Yelp.com link as they don't actually have their own website.)  Apparently it is haunted by hundreds of dead clowns.  Umm....yeah, I don't think I'll be road trippin' it with Jen to the Clown Hotel any time soon.  Unless I could revive her from her shock, but I'm no doctor!  Jen is so afraid of clowns that her personal hell would be inhabited by clowns.  But, she's a good person.  No clown hell for her!

Here's to all the coulrophobes!  May you never encounter a clown and may you absolutely never stay in the Clown Motel!  Also, stay away from circuses - especially if there are clowns involved. 

www.whyIfearclowns.com