if only i were a hillbilly

this demon squirrel that runs up and down the fence outside my office window is driving me nuts...no pun intended.

2 days later

For the record this is why Monkey is not allowed to come to parties...2 days after partying with her aunties for the Georgia game and she is still down for the count...

debate time bitches!

Although I'll be out tonight during the debate I have every intention of watching it in its entirety first thing when I get home...I am so glad McCain decided he could handle more than one issue at a time and showed up in Mississippi this afternoon.

I have all the confidence in the world that McCain will come off looking just as confused and hypocritical as he has over the course of his campaign.

no surprise but still a good thing

okay so Clay Aiken wasn't fooling anyone except maybe some teenage girls and this bitter old bigot that i used to work with but, hey, we all know how those types like to live in a world of fantasy.

i had once told that bitter old bigot that i thought someone had to blind, deaf and have an i.q. score in the teens to believe he was straight. she of course was an anomaly with only 1 out of the 3.

that being said, the Gayken is out and although i'm not in the least bit surprised about his sexuality i am taken aback by his choice to come out on the cover of people magazine. his reason to finally come on out of the closet...his son.

he said he didn't want to raise his child to believe that lying and hiding things were okay and i have to say that when i read this it really warmed my heart.

i was very lucky in the facts that i didn't care what my family thought and that most of my friends were already gay. this made my coming out really fairly easy. this unfortunately made me very judgemental about those who still lived in the closet. what was the big deal? come on out you big babies!!

fortunately, with age i was able to shed some of my ignorant views and i try to withhold any judgement for those who choose to be closeted.

it is not a life i can understand but i'm sure to make that choice you must have some pretty compelling reasons. my heart goes out to you because i can't imagine a worse life lived than one that is not your own.

so good for you Clay...and even better for your son. i still hate your music but my respect for your person has risen significantly.

the incomparable rat ashley

rat is the first one on the left...i'm thinking more "bulldog"...but i'm sure he scored this incredible nickname in his youth and god, how i wish i knew why.

thanks to C for forwarding this photo to the wife. i am thrilled to have a face for that name!

i'd also like to state for the record that i am sure rat is a lovely person and it seems he is an involved and caring citizen in his community. i mean no disrespect to his character...only that ri-donk-u-lous name.

only in the south...i hope

i am so ticked that i missed the opportunity to take a photo of an election sign we saw in bumble south georgia...as soon as i fished the camera out of the backseat we had crossed into alabama and surprisingly enough they had nothing to compare.

the sign was for a person running for the local school board...what is so funny about that? well you know how some people who go by nicknames will put it in quotations on their signs? i suppose this is so joe blow voter won't get confused by their christian name. i've seen quite a few signs with "bubba" in it over the years but this one took it to a whole new level...

RONNIE "RAT" ASHLEY

i googled him but found nothing...sad, sad, sad...i'd really like to know more about this guy. and i'd pay money to see a picture.

public apology

i am officially apologizing to Pablo for arguing with him about SNL no longer being funny...

a breath of salty air

just got back from a week at the beach. leaving was weird because we knew we wouldn't be visiting the family condo again until 2011...at the earliest.

of course while pointing this out to the wife I also said i doubted either of us would be dreaming of pc beach while traveling the world. but there are a few things i will miss...

~ the ease of vacationing there...nothing to do and nothing to see
~ she-crab soup at captain anderson's which was as divine as always last night
~ white sand beaches (the gulf has ruined me from appreciating any other color sand)
~ the steamed tiny little crab claws and raw oysters at billy's
~ the great people watching on the beach (i spy a mullet with my little eye)
~ being able to read at least 3 books in one week
~ totally avoiding all "real world events"...i only watched cnn once and only for about 15 minutes

it was a nice break and as we are foregoing our normal christmas trip this year, it will be the last extended one we get until we leave in 4 months.

on a non-political front

so i was watching jon & kate plus 8 last night...which by the way, if you are not watching you should be...anyway last night's episode had them camping in their backyard. this is about as close as i came to primitive camping as a child. my cousins had a camper and i was a bit of a princess.

in recent years i've really come to appreciate camping and now i am totally itching to go. i want to get out of the city and roast some freaking marshmallows. maybe even do a little fishing...get back to my country-girl roots...or is that my lesbian roots?

whatever it may be i'm desperately searching for a weekend this fall when the weather will have turned cool but not too cold (cause i'm kinda still a princess) there isn't a football game and at least a couple of our friends can come.

so email/call me if you're interested.

i know hody is already dialing my number to rsvp...

from the mouth of celebs

I think Matt's got a pretty good point here...Palin becoming president would be like a really bad Disney movie.



But I have to say I like the way Pam just says what we're all really thinking...

ms. streisand

i know i'm in the minority in my generation when it comes to loving Babs but i love this quote from her because it is what i've been screaming since he made that ridiculous choice, only said better.

“I believe John McCain chose Gov. Palin because he truly believes that women who supported Hillary — an experienced, brilliant, life-long public servant — would vote for him because his Vice President has two x chromosomes. McCain’s selection of Governor Palin is a transparent and irresponsible decision all in the name of trying to win this election. John McCain has served this country. No one in this election is denying him that. But his selection of Governor Palin has demonstrated that he is willing to put his desperation to win this election above the welfare of the American people."

in happier news

we were honored to have attended the wedding our dear friends and neighbors this weekend. it was a beautiful union of two beautiful people. we couldn't be happier for them!

pray away the gay

This just makes me physically ill.

I don't know why I continue reading articles about this woman, I already know enough to give me nightmares.

I guess it is that old adage...keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

i heart jon stewart

note: i just realized that cassi also has this on her blog...so i'm giving her credit for posting it first. send her your HOPE pictures!!

be an educated voter

If you haven't read the email from Anne Kilkenny, you should.

hmmm

Heard an interesting view point today so thought I would share.

A military wife spoke about how every single military family she knew (she currently lives on a base so I'm assuming that is a pretty large number) found Palin to be a laughable choice for McCain.

Their reason...if he dies she becomes their Commander in Chief. Her husband is a Lieutenant and said there was no way a soldier would be comfortable with someone with this little experience and lack of global knowledge being next in line behind a 72 year old. I'm sure her being a woman doesn't help her much either.

This wife went on to say that along with herself many of these families considered themselves "independent" voters and that this choice alone has solidified their choice for Obama.

I have a lot of military in my family, they are all extremely conservative and they always vote Republican. I assumed the majority of troops would vote McCain but it looks as if this may no longer be true.

baa

I figured out that I could just listen to CNN on my computer while I work today. I have to say this is much more entertaining than listening to my pitiful selection of itunes and less annoying than Dave FM online which constantly goes in and out. It is, however, probably not good for my blood pressure.

I'm so infuriated with all these GOP supporters skirting around the real issues and blabbing on and on about how Palin chose to have a down syndrome baby and supports her teenage daughter's choice to have a baby.

I'm sorry but if this was Hillary Clinton or any other DNC woman the evangelicals would be praying for her lost soul. I can hear them now just going on and on about how awful it is that she chose her career over staying at home with not only 5 children but one with special needs!! That poor child! What a horrible mother!! Can you imagine how they would spin the teenage daughter's pregnancy..."see what sex education will get you, premarital sex and a shotgun wedding!!".

Listen, I could care less that her daughter is preggers. Good for her for having a situation that allows her to not only have her baby but to have enough support to care for it. And I obviously have no issue with Palin's choice to keep her child even after knowing about the DS. Again, good for her that she has the means and support to care for a special needs child.

What I do care about is the fact that this woman has NO EXPERIENCE and is truly a 72 year old's heartbeat away from the Presidency should the GOP take the Presidency. I also care about her uber-conservative views, her pro-gun rhetoric, her belief that rape and incest victims should be forced to carry a baby to term and her devout belief that my marriage is an abomination.

As I get older I have found that in general people are not as bright as I'd thought or hoped them to be. Sorry but you know its true and if the last two presidential elections didn't prove it I don't know what will. They just seem to follow blindly without realizing where they are being led.

At this point I am just praying that we can get enough sheep back into our fold to lead this nation out of disaster.

I realize that the majority of my friends are Democrats and that I'm really just preaching to the choir but to know me is to listen to me rant...if you don't like it I'd suggest skipping the next 60 or so days on the blog.

7 more days

The wife found out today that their annual conference had to be pushed forward a week due to a scheduling issue with the international team. New departure date is January 24th.

After being delayed 8 months I'm not really phased by another 7 days but I am ticked that I had to scratch out and rewrite the weekly countdown in my calendar.

I hate a messy calendar.

lessons

things i learned this last weekend of summer:

1. it feels freaking awesome to start a football season ranked as #1 in the nation! as the wife pointed out...all we have to worry about is ourselves. although that won't keep her from watching every other college game this season.

2. the GOP is officially retarded. i mean sure if i was going to pick someone with one foot in the grave i'd chose the most inexperienced and least intelligent person i could find as their back-up. i guess they thought america had a thing for that sort since they voted the reigning king of all morons into office twice.

3. adding cream cheese and condensed milk does make an amazing banana pudding and Paula Deen is still a genius.

4. i am not a 22 year old anymore and drinking like one will only lead to near death nausea and pain the next day...and yes i actually needed that lesson repeated twice this weekend before it really sank in.

5. a slider bar with gourmet toppings is an excellent idea and i'm totally stealing it from ms. payne for my next football party.

6. keeping your dog from taking their usual 47 naps per day will allow you up to 3 days of total peace afterwards.

7. don't start talking politics with practical strangers at their house when you've had a few gallons of wine/champagne and are in the midst of the most hormonal time of the month because the chances of you crying in front of them and making a total arse of yourself is apparently fairly high.

8. zeke-man is still, by far, the cutest baby on earth.



So bring on the fall, i'm more than ready, and heck, even a little wiser.