Shankpea Compabba

Geof is playing with two toy snakes right now. One is male the other female and her name is the title of this post. Isn't the imagination of a child the most wonderful thing? I just wonder what my grandchildren will be named.

Hank III

I love it when I rediscover a musician. Today it was Hank III. The first time I saw him live was at The Orange Peel, I was 9 months pregnant and both Geof and I enjoyed the show! In fact, Geof is still enjoying the show. He's 3 now and has quite a taste for music. Right now we're listening to "Tennessee Driver" for the 5th time in a row....at his request. That's muh boy!! I may be from the south, but my neck isn't as red as it could be, but damn it if Hank III doesn't bring out the hellbilly in me! If you aren't familiar with Hank III, his shows (at least the 2 I've seen) are done in two parts. The first half is all country, like the stuff his grandfather did. The second half is a complete 180 degree turn-around. It's hardcore-kick-your-mama-in-the-mouth-and-drink-the-free-flowing-blood metal. Not exactly my cup o' tea, but I can get into it just because he and his band have incredible energy onstage. I can't explain it. Part of my fascination is the fact that they are so good to their fans. They play music for all the right reasons. It's so obvious when they are playing that every last one of them is giving 100%. I like feeling appreciated when I go to see a band! If you'd like to sample some Hank III check out a Myspace dedicated to him. That's what Geof and I are using to quench our thirst. We keep going back and forth between "Tennessee Driver" and "Low Down". Listen to those two at least and you'll see what I mean about the whole 180 thing. Enjoy!!

Dirty Rat Bastard!

See that big ol' fat rat on the far left? His cousin is my new enemy....Rattus Norvegicus or, Norway Rat, is the current plague o'er this house. Same damn thing happened last year about this time. This time the little bastard is coming in via the hose for the dryer vent. The hose runs down into the crawl space and then outside. I figured that it had chewed it's was through under the house, crawled up and chewed it's way out once inside. Last night I just happened to be in the kitchen and looked out the window only to see the huge rat in the flesh just outside. I opened the back door which is off of the kitchen and saw perfect little rat prints in the snow leading to and from a gigantic hole in the ground. Today my mission was to destroy said hole and find out where he's been hiding. I went outside armed with my drill and flash light and set to work. I took the outside vent off and peeked inside. Apparently the hose had come loose and was just lying on the ground making it that much easier for the rat to climb on inside. Then I had to stick my arm in to the hole for the vent that was just big enough for me to reach in up to my elbow and retrieved the hose. I put everything back together and now I'm hoping this will be the end. I taped up the holes that I could see on the hose inside and set out some uber sticky traps. Maybe I'll be able to sleep tonight!

Last year another rat climbed where the pipes to the kitchen sink run in. After several baited traps were foiled, our cat, Elwood, came to the rescue and took care of it in no time. Elwood ran away last year around Mother's Day and Illinois, our current cat, hasn't seen the latest rat yet. If all else fails I'll borrow the neighbors two cats. Surely with 3 cats in the house that rat won't have a chance. We'll just have to wait and see...

Careful What You Wish For

Well, I wanted snow, and damn it if I didn't get it!! It's been snowing here for as long as I can remember....actually only 2-3 days...I think. Luckily it's the kind that stays for a little while and then most of it melts only to have more added later. I think in all it's been about 4 inches total. Not too shabby. I'm ready for Spring now...as I'm sure most of the people on the east coast are as well. Geof and I played in it the first two days, but today was too cold and windy. I spent most of the day cleaning all the little nooks and crannies that are neglected during more pleasant weather. I also did a little crocheting and napping, my most favorite of hobbies!

Just Thinking Out Loud

If you notice the ticker at the top you'll see that, as of today, Nathaniel will be home in 2 months 3 weeks and 5 days. That thing has been counting down 1 year. The end is in sight!...maybe. I've been doing the whole holding down the forth thing for a while, so you would think that I'd be used to it by now. I am for the most part, but I still have my days. Like last night, I was watching the weather channel's local on the 8s. They showed the radar for basically the eastern half of the country and I got this weird pang of loneliness. I blame the sappy depressing music they play while showing all the various graphs and maps. I get too emotionally involved in music, always have...I'm weird. I was saddened because I knew that somewhere on that map was my husband. Where exactly I didn't know, but he was many miles from home. I look forward to the day we can put this behind us, but I'm a little worried at the same time. It's weird to have him home and in the flesh. Don't get me wrong Geof and I adore him, but our little routine gets thrown off a bit. I'm sure we'll get used to having him around again. Before he took this job with Schneider he had been home for 6 months while looking for employment. We had actually just gotten used to being around each other. We argued all the time for the first 4 months because we were always together, we were able to laugh at ourselves though, which was nice. Who knows, right now he has a few options for when his contract is up...

• Stay with Schneider and become a trainer. This means that he'll be on the road for another 6 months before he'd work out of Charlotte and be home about 4 nights out of the week...I think. This also means that we'd be moving back home...well, to my hometown. We plan to be back there by this time next year anyway....we'll see.
• Find another job driving some humongous vehicle that would allow him to be home every night from the start.

To be honest, I want him to stay with Schneider. I know, I know, I know at the beginning of this blog I had nothing but horrid remarks about the company. In my defense those were made during Nathaniel's time as a grunt, still proving himself. He's earned some respect now and gets more miles, and less crap runs. Things are improving, but Schneider is still a big business with one goal...making money...it's no secret though that I detest big business. At any rate, they have a great 401K plan, excellent benefits, etc. In the long-run, it's not too bad, at least there's room for advancement, which is important.

Well, I'm going to end this post here. Geof keeps running in here making me dance like a monkey, tiger, and elephant (FUCKING WIGGLES!!!!). I'm not sure if this post is coherent, and I don't have time to proofread.....that's a lie, I do, but I don't feel like it. So, dear reader, take care and enjoy your children if you have them because they are an endless source of entertainment and headaches, and if you don't have children enjoy that too because sometimes for one brief moment I wish I could remember the sound of silence.

Humor Me!!!

Here's some more funny stuff. I think I'm on a share-the-humor kick. I found these while surfing today...

Airplane Mechanic Humor ...mechanics are funny
Rules of the Air ...silly rules for pilots
Air Traffic Exchanges ...actual air traffic exchanges
Minnesota Temperature Guide ...for all you Minnesotans out there
How to Write Gooder...for all you English majors out there!
Deep Thoughts...random quotes

I Guess You Really Do Get What You Pay For...

My Mom likes to send me weird emailings sometimes...this is the latest one, I thought it was pretty funny so I figured I'd share it....

Ever wondered what a free male stripper looked like? Well, here ya go!!



Sexy, no? His wiggly giblets crack me up!