I’ve been tagged…..

She got me!

Here are the rules:

A)Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves.

B)Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game.

C)You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog.

D)You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they I have been tagged and to read your blog.

1) I love water and being around it (beaches, rivers, etc.)
2) I was raised in the DEEP SOUTH, but have lived all over.
3) I am engaged and get married May 31, 2008.
4) My creative side has been coming out over the last 5 years (I was previously a 100% LEFT BRAIN thinker). I love to sew, knit, make stuff, etc.
5) I love traveling and seeing and doing new things while in that new place.
6) I love dogs and hate household cats, but LOVE the big cats (panthers, tigers, lions, etc.).
7) At this point in my life, I know who I am and what makes me happy.

Now, I have to tag some folks. I am tagging those who I think will participate. Hey, I’m in a good mood today……

Well, I now tag Gladys, Allison, Angie, KiKi, Erica, Sara and Quarterlife Mocha Girl!

Where to find the lowest priced gas in your area?

Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the lowest prices (and the highest) on gasoline in your zip code area. It’s updated every evening.

http://autos.msn.com/everyday/gasstations.aspx?zip=&src=Netx

BACK!

Yeah, I’m back from Cancun (can you say HOT?!) GEEEEEEEZ!! I grew up in Mississippi and dealt with heat and humidity, but DANG, it was HOT in Cancun!!! HOT (did I tell ya’ll it was hot)?! HOT!! It was hot in the SHADE!!!!

Um, typically, I don’t care much for commercialized type places on vacation (like, I really don’t want to see a McDonalds, etc., when I go on my “typical” vacations (Alanna knows what I am talking about). Cancun was very commercialized. It was a cool trip, though.

Had fun. Relaxed, took TOO many pictures, got sunburned on my shoulders and chest (YES, MOM, I used sunscreen and reapplied it, but I am convinced that those parts burn easier). Later, taters…..

Jill ought to be TICKED!

Jill Scott that is…….

I like Beyonce, as an entertainer, but er um…..B……don’t EVA, EVA EVA EVA try to sing another Jill Scott song! Ya heard?!

Here is the link

Can I Take A Plate Home?

Growing up, it was my “job” to set the table for dinner, every day. I never saw the use in it, when growing up. My Mom would ask me to set the table, PROPERLY (napkins, plates, glasses, flatware, etc.). For holidays, this required MORE work because the GOOD stuff was pulled out (don’t act like ya’ll didn’t have that china that SAT in the cabinet ALL YEAR until a holiday!) and required more flatware and plates. I HAD to set the table properly.

When in doubt, that 1956 2nd edition Betty Crocker Cookbook was pulled out (the one that now has a synthetic GREEN disco tights-type material wrapped around it at our house). Before then, it had a rubber band around it. That very BASIC cookbook had the use and placement of EVERYTHING that goes on ANY table (formal, buffet, etc.) plus some BANGIN’ simple recipes for ANYTHING you could think of.

When I go home, it’s still (and probably forever will be) my job to set the table. I don’t mind, though.

As an adult, I now see what my Mom and others were doing. When I go to a restaurant, I know what EVERY utensil that is placed before is supposed to be used for and when to use what. THANK YOU MOM!

See, in the DEEP SOUTH, manners matter. Entertaining, party manners and courtesy are human nature. You SPEAK when you walk into a room with others, you don’t overload your APPETIZER PLATE with food, you ALWAYS RSVP with a proper number, you don’t SLURP at the table, etc. These things were embedded in our brains growing up and I used to always say, “I’m at home….who’s looking?!”. Both of parents would say, “What you do at home, you’ll do in public”.

This brings me to my top 10 pet peeves I have with table and party manners:

10. I understand that some us didn’t go grocery shopping and didn’t cook, but, if you are at a public happy hour and heavy hors d’oeuvres are being served with appetizer plates, that does not mean OVERLOAD YOUR PLATE! The plate is LITTLE for a reason and they are hors d’oeuvres, not entrees!!

9. Please RSVP for events when folk ask you too. Don’t show up with some EXTRA folks, talking about, “XXXXXX was in town and I brought them, their spouse and their KIDS (<–note PLURAL) with me….hope you don’t mind". Actually, 90% of the time, that person does mind and it’s rude.

8. Always work from the outside, in, with utensils.

7. The word SALMON is pronounced SA-MON….the L is silent!

6. Please don’t REACH over people’s plates! It won’t kill you to ask someone to pass you something.

5. Eating off other’s plates when they didn’t offer you JACK! If I don’t offer for you to taste, DON’T TOUCH MY FOOD! See, that’s how folks get cut…..

4. This is for the servers: Don’t put your nasty hands around the mouth of my glass! ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHH! Grab the glass from the bottom to refill, not around the mouth area!!

3. Splitting the bill with larger parties: either have cash or don’t eat or be prepared to pay what everyone else paid, EVEN IF YOUR MONKEY BUTT GOT salad and water!

2. ALWAYS offer to bring something to someone’s house, even if it’s wine, dessert, etc.

1. If the HOST/HOSTESS does not offer for you to take a plate home, DON’T ASK!! I don’t care if your Momma and ‘nem couldn’t make it! If the host/hostesses doesn’t offer, don’t ask! That is RUDE!

RANT – updated!

This is a REAL RANT here, …..I have a right to it…it a BLOG for crying out loud!

I’ve lived here in the Washington, DC, area for 6 years now. It’s been an INTERESTING ride….

I love the area for it’s diversity, things to do, proximity to other metropolitan areas, and the area gets all 4 seasons. There is always plenty to do, see, eat, walk to, ride, etc. I love the area for that.

I DISLIKE the area for it’s cost of living and….how do I say this, RUDE/MORAL-LESS/MANNER-LESS/PRETENTIOUS people (not all, SOME).

Attitude rant: I’ve just about HAD IT with people that talk to you any ole kind of way (cursing, talking AT you, LOUD, etc.). I’ve been told that it’s the nature of this area…BULL! Since their MOM, GRANDMOTHER, mate or whoever raised them didn’t tell them how to talk to folks, not my problem. I know of folks who urinate in the shower every day, that STILL doesn’t make it right! Interruping people while they talk, talking at a person, being LOUD with them, etc., are characteristics of RUDENESS! Um, yeah, RUDENESS!!!

If YOU are having a bad day and I had nothing to do with it, NOT MY FAULT, CUZ! Breathe, count to 10, meditate, but take your stank attitude and words elsewhere. We don’t need it!

Pretentious rant: I wish people would stop being concerned with what zip code they live in, what car they drive, what designer someone has on, who they work for, etc. When you die, do you REALLY think that is what matters? When you get to Heaven (um, I suppose that is where you want to go), do you really think that God is going to ask you what you drove, what you wore, etc.? Nope, nadda, negative. YES, it’s okay to have nice things, but GEEZ, don’t let material things DEFINE who you are. YOU are so much more than that! Clothes, houses, cars don’t make a person. If they do, hey, DO YOU, then. I think that this area has some SERIOUS pretentiousness issues that will never go away.

Oh, another thing. What gives someone the RIGHT to JUDGE others on what they have/don’t have? I’m at a loss on that one…..write me back if you have the answer! I am so SICK of folks JUDGING what others have and don’t have, ESPECIALLY if they feel it’s LESS than what they have (smaller house, less expensive car, job PERCEIVED not to be as important as theirs, etc.). Gimme a dang break!

Housing rant: If you have money for a house, can you PLEASE have money to MAINTAIN that joint? Like, we shouldn’t have to live in a neighborhood where 90% of the folks keep their yard up while the 10% let them just GO and the geese are their lawn mowers! NOT COOL! Speaking of yards, can you NOT work on your car(s) in the driveway like this is the public car repair shop? Can you PARK IN THE DRIVEWAY and not on the street, EVERY DAY, so some of us won’t have to DODGE your car, coming around the corner? CAN YOU PLEASE not park on the opposite side of the street AT THE END OF SOMEONE’S DRIVEWAY? The minute someone pulls out of their driveway and accidentally HITS your joint, you are going to be MAD.

Manners rant: Chivalry is NOT dead. Any call after 10pm is a booty call. My aunt used to tell me , “If a man calls you after midnight, there is only one thing open….your legs!”. It’s NOT okay for you to come over “only during meal time” because your broke butt wants a meal, but any other time, you are no where to be found. No, you can’t “tour my house”…..unless a person OFFERS, their house is not a museum. No, you can’t know how much someone paid for their house, who they voted for and how much they make! GET A LIFE! That’s PERSONAL!

Apathy rant: I am so sick of folks in certain areas complaining about their environment (schools, neighborhood, etc.), but THEY (the parents, kids, tax payer, etc.) aren’t a bit more involved than Adam’s house cat! Complaining, accepting “status quo”, not participating/donating (money isn’t the only donation that one can give….time is important, too) are not going to change things! Stop accepting what is given to you, if you don’t like it, get off your butt and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! GEEZ! It isn’t rocket science, people!!! You don’t like something, find out WHY it’s the way it is, look for solutions, garner participation/support for your efforts and see where it gets you. If nothing can be done, currently, don’t give up, keep pushing!

I’m done…….for today……

"Priviledge" at its Best

Auto Engineer Robs Bank, Economy Blamed

I see just justice system IGNORANCE on ALL counts with this story:

1. This fool faked passing out in order to avoid a struggle with police and to have a roof over his head? FRAUD

2. “Mr. Lawson is an atypical defendent…” Do tell what a TYPICAL defendant/bank robber is??? A THIEF is a THIEF is a THIEF!!!

3. Mr. Lawson was a laid-off automotive design engineer who was desperate, without housing, and had $15 to his name. GO GET a part time job SOMEWHERE or apply for unemployment.

4. “The criminal justice system is not a place for Mr. Lawson; he merely was caught up in Michigan’s devastating economic climate. I would like to turn a negative situation into a success story.” Um, then WHO is the criminal justice system for? I can name a FEW folks here in DC that would wear that suit QUITE WELL along with Mr. Lawson…..

5. A laid-off auto design engineer who held up a LaSalle Bank “merely was caught up in Michigan’s devastating economic climate,” says Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcya. And now the prosecutor, who’s reduced charges against the man, wants your help in finding him a job. ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME??? Is this prosecutor doing this for EVERYBODY that he/she defends (black, white, latino, hispanice, asian, NON-WHITE?). I bet a FULL PAY CHECK that he/she isn’t……Gimme a dang break.

This fool DESERVES to be LOCKED UP and treated as a CRIMINAL, as he is!!!

On the FLIP side, he just opened the door for people EVERYWHERE to claim the SAME THING…….IDIOT………

Lunch Time!

Sooooooooooooo, basically, you and your administration lunched, AGAIN……….

Warnings On Student Lenders Unheeded:Bush Aides Derailed New Rules in 2001

First, it was the money that was SUPPOSED to go toward reinforcing the levies in New Orleans, but it went to the War in Iraq. Now this…..

Initially, there was a DRAFT sent in 2001 by Education Department employee, John Reeves, a Clinton-era appointee who served as general manager in a unit of the Office of Federal Student Aid. Officials outlined, in a letter, a draft policy to clamp down on the student loan industry following allegations of impropriety.

Get it together!