Pumpkin Pie Pudding

In the style of the other family conversation I wrote about, here is what happened on Tuesday afternoon at my grandparents' house. Pawpaw baked me a pumpkin pie for my birthday, and there was an interesting conversation that followed! KFC buckets litter the dining room table. Pawpaw and I are scarfing down delicious pie.

Pawpaw: You can buy that pizza crust in a package like a cookie thing. You just add hot water to it and mix it up and let it sit.

Stuart: I know what you're talking about. We haven't done it.

Pawpaw: It will almost make a 12 inch, but I think it call for a 10 inch to make it right, but it still - as thin as I pressed that out - it was still a real thick crust on it.

Stuart: You ever seen that, baby?

Me: Mm, no!

Stuart: It's like a... yeah, it's like a dough. You just add water to and mix it together.

Pawpaw: I think it's Betty Crocker. It's about like a (holds up his hands) about that size!

Stuart: We did make pizza at home awhile ago. It turned out really good. We just got the Pillsbury dough in a can, you know, and popped it open and pressed it out onto a rectangular baking sheet, and it turned out pretty good. She liked it. I was actually surprised. We just used the same --- are you making a video?

Me: (whisper) Yeah.

Stuart: Ok. We just used the same...

Pawpaw: This is good! You can almost call this pumpkin pudding with crust!! Good, good, good!

Me: Well, if you had put it in the fridge! It didn't have to be pudding!

Nanny: I don't know why he didn't.

Pawpaw: What?

Nanny: Put that in the fridge!

Stuart: Well, mine's going in the fridge. I like my pumpkin pie cold!

Pawpaw: I just done the cooking. I can't think of everything!

Nanny: Everything he cooks falls apart.

Me: Just like the lasagna.

Nanny: Mhmm!

Papaw: (To Stuart) Put it in the freezer!

Nanny: And the meatloaf. Even though I mix it up and put it in the oven, he'll take it out and cannot wait two seconds for it to cool before he cuts it, and then you got one meatball mess to eat and it makes me ill! (Points at me) Uh oh! She's got taking ---

Me: Oh! No!

Nanny: I SEE THE GREEN LIGHT!

Pawpaw: Green light!

Stuart: She's learned not to mess with my cooking. She's learned to stay out of the kitchen.

Pawpaw: It's a good thing I've got a spoon!

Nanny: (To Stuart) Well, it's different. You two aren't married. I can't get rid of him!

Pawpaw: It is good though, wasn't it? Regardless, it's good! You want another piece?

Me: I ain't finished yet!

Stuart: So?

Me: (To Pawpaw) You want another piece?

Pawpaw: Not yet! I'm gonna put it in the freezer cause it's still warm.

Nanny: Well, no wonder it fell apart. Now we know.

Pawpaw: Meh, I'll stick it in the freezer!

Photo of the Day: May 26

I haven't been doing very well with my Photo of the Day posts... it's more like the Photo of Every Two Weeks!
This photo was taken in the summer of 2009. KATE HAS A MOHAWK OF WATER!!! 

A Typical Family Conversation

This conversation was recorded yesterday while at my grandparents' place. We were walking around the yard taking the dogs for a walk when we came upon my grandfather's beehives.

Anne, 6-years-old: Where do they sting you?
Christine, aunt: Where do they sting? I did get stung by one of these bees.
Ma: I got me stung one summer by the cicada killers.
Christine: Ew!
Ma: And, the thing got me here and here. That was excruciating up to the shoulder for a good 15 minutes. And, usually bee stings don't bother me. It was excruciating. I mean, it felt like it had driven a nail clean through my hand. It was awful.
Christine: Hm!
Ma: That thing was that big. I've seen 'em dragging cicadas across the grass, like I was looking over the edge of the pool and I happen to see one dragging a cicada.
Christine, spots the camera: What's in there?
Ma: Look, I bought the Amazon butt cooler.
Pawpaw, grandfather: The what...?
Kate, 17-years-old: THE AMAZON BUTT COOLER!
Ma: That water's cold!
Anne: Mommy!
Pawpaw (talking about the bees): They gonna be alright. Go over there and tap on the hive. See if any of them come out.
Ma: Ok!
Anne: OH NO! DON'T GO NEAR IT!
Seth, Kate's boyfriend: You can kick it and run, but that's about it.
Christine: He threw a rock at it...
Seth: I would run!
Pawpaw: Let's go, Boog.
Ma: Threw a rock at it?
Pawpaw: Get your camera ready for the black snakes.
Me: Ok! I've seen one down there before. Kate, come take this dog!
Kate: No!
Me: This dog... it won't walk!
Kate: You have a bug on your arm.
Me: What?
Kate: You have a bug on your arm.
Me: Where?
Kate: Your other arm.
Seth: You got a bee on ya.
Anne: (screams)
Me: EEW!! It's sucking me! Get it off! (Ma slaps it) OOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!
Ma: I got it! Look at that.
Christine: EEWWWW!
Anne: I wanna see!
Christine: That is nasty!
Ma: Sorry!
Kate: This dude in my fourth period confessed... never mind.
Christine: Good idea.
Kate: That he drank his own blood once. Yeah.
Anne: Wait, where's the other thing that you had?
Christine: It's right there.
Anne: Ok, good!
Christine: I got it, honey. I got it!
Me: Tara, there are snakes over there. Watch out for the snakes.
Anne: Wait, Christine! Come back. Why are there snakes over there? 'Lexa, why are there snakes over there?
Me: Uh, cause there's wood over there.
Kate: Oh, look a rock!
Anne: Would you pick me up?
Christine: WHY?
Kate: Anne, no!
Anne: Would you pick me up?
Ma: Come on, baby.
Christine: It'll be ok. Because it's easier to run if we're not carrying you.
Pawpaw: Come on, Boog.
Ma: Honey, they're not gonna hurt you.
Christine: We will run like the wind if they come out.
Anne: Are they mean snakes?
Christine: I know but we can move faster if I'm not carrying you.
Tara: There they are.
EVERYONE GASPS!
Me: Oh my gah, that thing is HUGE!

Photo of the Day March 9

Don't. Tick. Them. OFF!!

Photo of the Day January 21

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GREATEST SISTER IN THE WORLD!!! I LOVE YOU!!

Photo of the Day December 20

Because I am spending the majority of my Christmas holiday with Stuart, I demanded that we decorate for Christmas. This involved getting a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, making our own stockings, and buying a 2011 ornament for the tree. Stuart had to go along with it or deal with a very unhappy girlfriend. One of my favorite things about Christmas is the decorations and the time spent decorating with family. Last night, Stuart and I decorated our tree at 12:30 a.m. when he came home from work.
Originally, I had planned to pick out a mass-produced ornament at JC Penney or the like with Stuart. Instead as I wandered through the mall yesterday, I found a small cart selling ornaments that you could personalize. Stuart and I picked out this one, which now hangs as the centerpiece of our tree!!! I LOVE IT!!

Random Memory: Grandpa Menz

This memory needs a bit of background information...
I was a wild child growing up! No, seriously... like scary wild. I pretended to be a cheetah and ran around the grocery store growling at people, I never stopped moving, and had way too much energy! I was like a jet pack that never ran out of fuel! I'll never understand why my mother had more kids after me. She must have the unbelievable tolerance of small children I've ever seen. I was a handful!
So, whenever we visited my grandparents on my father's side, I was usually... well, bored. My grandfather worked at Helping Hands and did handyman tasks. There wasn't a thing he couldn't fix. I'm talking squeaky doors, broken bicycles, spammed computers, unflushable toilets, a bat stuck in the chimney. He was the poster child for that era where a man did everything himself and did it well. He rode his tractor around their expansive backyard, grew vegetables in a garden, sang in the church choir every Sunday, and made himself a fish pond full of monstrous carp (at least they were monstrous when I was 9). He was that guy in their small South Carolina town who was a grandfather to everyone's kids at church and that guy you called when you just didn't know what to do about anything.
My grandmother is ULTIMATE GRANDMOTHER! She sings in the church choir, she plays the organ, she gives piano lessons, she sews (she made me an overstuffed ottoman for my birthday!) and stitches, she cooks like a madwoman, and has gray wispy hair. She's the grandmother from Little Red Riding Hood, is Mrs. Cunningham, and Aunt Bea.

I love them both in my own way, but in my fits of fiery energy, I never sat and enjoyed their company. As far as I can remember, I played on my own and zoomed around the backyard and the apple orchard. My grandma tried to teach me piano... I had no patience for that. I learned "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and that was the end of my pianist career. My grandma tried to teach me to sew... I had no patience for that. She gave me a latchhook rug pattern in the design of Scooby Doo. The box says it's "easy" and "fast." ...I've been working on it for at least six years! 
The times I looked forward to seeing my grandparents was when my dad's twin brother Uncle Brad appeared on his rare trips from Atlanta, GA. Uncle Brad! Uncle Brad was the man!!!! He was this cool, laidback dude that owned a cat and just chilled in his condo in Atlanta with no wife, no kids, and no responsibilities. Kate and I tortured this poor man whenever he visited, making him play with our dolls and out in the yard. I think I am single handedly responsible for Brad never wanting to have children.

Then something happened. I grew up. I have the same energy, but now I know how to correctly use and put it toward constructive activities like biking to class or housework. And one weekend in the summer before I entered 11th grade at East Gaston High, my dad took my two sisters and I down to visit my grandparents. It was to be the last trip before school started, and I was a bit bummed about it because I wanted to spend my last days swimming in the pool and doing nothing. But away we went, and I distinctly remember it being an awesome trip. I started really hanging out with my grandparents, telling them all about my anticipated school year and what I'd done that summer. I have a sharp memory of laughter around the dinner table and learning so much about my grandfather all of a sudden.
On our last day, Grandpa and I had a battle of Solitaire. I had really gotten into the game on the computer as a way to ease summer boredom . Grandpa was also a master at the game, particularly at Spider Solitaire. However, game after game, I won easily! In fact, I ended up showing him a few tricks to help him with his game. He looked at me in wonder... or maybe it was horror at the realization of how much time I was spending on the computer. Either way, I have the strongest, sharpest memory of thinking, "I want to know more about this person. I actually can't wait to come back."

~~~

A day before school started back my mother comes into my room to wake me. Grandpa had gone to the hospital that morning for a scheduled triple bypass surgery. It would be the second in his lifetime. According to his doctors, he had a 99% chance of surviving. The surgery went fine. But afterwards, he never woke up. And per his request, my grandmother turned off the machines. 

And, I never got my chance. My only consolation is knowing that I had that last day, that God gave me that last day and made sure I appreciated it because He knew that it would be the last. 

I've never told anyone that. But it's a memory that's been bothering me lately, a memory that always pops up when school starts back again. I started my 11th grade year with the burden of my grandpa's passing and skipped out on Friday's classes to attend his funeral where I delivered a eulogy. I don't remember what I said. All I know was that I was scared out of my mind of giving a speech in front of a church of people. I also remember afterwards when I sat back down in the pew beside my sister Kate that it was one of the few times I've seen my dad cry. 

It's one of those memories that teaches a lesson, a reminder to never take that last moment for granted because it could be the very last. Nowadays, I don't get to see either my mother's parents or Grandma very much. It's hard living away from my parents who I have to drive to see. Unfortunately, my grandparents live in South Carolina and I can't see them all together. My parents' siblings don't live in North Carolina either. We see each other when we can. And, I never take a single moment for granted.

Graduating high school, Father on L & Grandma on R

Food for Thought

I don't consider myself to be a "foodie," not in the slightest!! I'm far too picky for that!!! However, this past trip to Mount Holly - it seemed that all Morgan and I did was eat AMAZING food! We ate and swam off the calories in the pool then ate some more!!! We ate from fast food joints, fancy restaurants, family-owned diners, and homecooked dinners.
Wednesday was by far the most extravagant eating day. Here's what was on the menu:

Breakfast... at Rita's:

• Scrambled eggs
• Freshly baked biscuit
• Sausage links
• Grits
• Water

Lunch... at various places:

The String Bean 

• Duck fat fries
• Fried Oreos and ice cream
• Water

Saki

•  Hibachi steak with vegetables and white rice

Dinner... made by Morgan:

Morgan's grilled peaches with glaze

• Hamburgers with Angus Barn beef
• Black bean soup
• Various chips
• Salad
• Grilled peaches
• 7-Up
• Johnson's lemonade slushie

  

Late Night Snack... from the kitchen cabinets

• Popcorn
• Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder with marshmallows

21. The Art of Racing in the Rain

Book 21: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (A++)

First of all.... GO OUT AND GET THIS BOOK NOW!!!!! IT IS AMAZING!!!
Now with that said, here's why:
Told from the viewpoint of a lab mix named Enzo, the reader watches the makings and times of Enzo's family. At the brink of his death, Enzo describes living among this family and how when he dies, he expects to turn into a man... his one true wish... based off a TV show he saw on Mongolia. Denny, his master, is a "minor league" race car driver looking for work. He has the amazing ability of racing a car while it's raining while everyone else crashes and burns. He acquires a wife, a beautiful woman named Eve. Together, they bring home a baby girl named Zoe, whom Enzo protects to the very end. Tragedy strikes, and Eve falls ill with a brain tumor. After her death, Eve's parents sue for custody of Zoe saying they have better means of providing for her. A three year battle ensues while being told through the eyes of an amazingly intellectual and intuitive dog.
I must say that the antagonist grandparents... I seriously want them to jump out of the pages of the book and appear before me just so I can punch them in the face!! Those rats!!! How dare they try to take a little girl away from her father!! It was sincerely heartbreaking to read about Zoe playing with her toys and repeating meaningless chants her grandparents had coached into her head to explain that everything "will be okay."
Enzo is a wonderful narrator full of spunk, sarcasm, humor, and sincerity. His one mission is life is to protect his family. His one dream is to become a man and use opposable thumbs.

When trying to prove that man's closest relative is the dog and not the monkey, he says, "Case-in-Point #2: The Werewolf
"The full moon rises. The fog clings to the lowest branches of the spruce trees. The man steps out of the darkest corner of the forest and finds himself transformed into... A monkey? I think not" (20)!
The book really demonstrates how when a dog's family goes through tragedy or stress, it affects the dog too. Just because they don't have a soul or the logical thinking of a human being doesn't mean they don't feel just as strongly as we do.
Here, Enzo explains pain when Eve begins experiencing the telling migraines of the brain tumor: "The intensity and arbitrary nature of Eve's affliction was far beyond Denny's grasp. The wailings, the dramatic screaming fits, the falling on the floor in fits of anguish. These are things that only dogs and women understand because we tap into the pain directly, we connect to pain directly from its source, and so it is at once brilliant and brutal and clear, like white hot metal spraying out of a fire hose, we can appreciate the aesthetic while taking the worst of it straight in the face. Men, on the other hand, are all filters and deflectors and timed release... They have no idea that the manifestation of their affliction... is merely a symptom, an indication of a systemic problem... Suppressing the symptom does nothing but force the true problem to express itself on a deeper level at some other time" (62-63).
The book was amazing, descriptive, heart-warming, and raw. And of course as with all animal novels, I cried at the end. You can always foresee the ending of a book with an animal as the main character. Like Marley & Me and Where the Red Fern Grows, the humans continue with their lives and the animals pass on. The same holds true with Enzo's life, yet this time the reader knew from Chapter 1 that Enzo was going to die as he knows it is time and Denny even schedules a non-round trip visit to the vet. Still what's amazing here is that while the dog dies, the story continues for just a chapter more........ Read it!!! You'll love it!!

Works Cited:

Stein, Garth. The Art of Racing in the Rain. 

New York: HarperCollins, 2008. Print.

Charlotte doesn't Want us to Go. Raleigh doesn't Want us Back

Enjoying the pool

Last week, Morgan and I drove down to Charlotte to visit my mother and sisters. It was a full house that night with Kate, Kate's boyfriend Seth, Anne, Ma, Ma's boyfriend, Morgan, a dog, two cats, a turtle, a gigantic could-eat-your-hand goldfish, and myself.
Morgan serenaded our stomachs with Angus Barn beef burgers that left all of us crying over the beauty of such top quality meat that couldn't be found within a 100 mile radius of our local Food Lion and Harris Teeter.
There was a man of the house vs. me Wii tennis match. It took the three males and five matches to finally take me down and my Adam Lambert-look-a-like Mii! (Suck it!)
There was some intense swimming in the backyard pool, a luxury that Morgan clearly enjoyed.
I got to hang with my best mate MK. He recently graduated with his associate's degree from Johnson & Wales and I am oh so proud of him!
Overall, one of the best vacations ever!!! Then, we tried to leave!
After packing up the car, I followed Ma to a local country bar and line dancing joint called Coyote Joe's. There, Ma and her boyfriend met and line dance together to an assortment of country songs that follow the tractor trailer, love my hound, that woman's got some tight overalls, and swinging on the back porch swing is how I lost my virginity theme. For years, Ma has been trying to drag me there and finally, I decided to go to see what all the fuss was about and to wish one of my high school classmates the best of luck as he gets shipped off across the United States for some army training and work. Morgan, as equally unenthusiastic as me whose only connection to country would be if Metallica ever pulled a prank and covered a Toby Keith song, wanted to hit the road. I promised we wouldn't stay long.
And then, I locked my car keys in Little Honda in the parking lot of the club!!! (It was bound to happen some day!)
Thankfully, there was a friend of my mother's who carries around a break-into-people's-car kit in her back trunk. Dressed in her cowboy boots and country's finest blouse, she wretched open my car door with a rubber wedge and unlocked my car with a long pink hook as a small, curious crowd of country lovers gathered around the car. Instead of waiting an hour for AAA to show up, we gently applauded after 10 minutes of gawking at this woman breaking into Little Honda then spent a few minutes quarreling and yelling at each other as to how to turn off the car alarm that refused to be silenced!

~

On the road, things were good. Traffic was light through Charlotte and down into Concord where I-85 becomes two lanes and is a complete pain! We made it into an hour of our trip and since my cruise control is no longer working, I asked Morgan if he could drive for a bit. We pulled over at a rest stop and only then did I realize that my gas was low. It would have been more convenient to stop at a gas station and switch there. Now, we'd have to stop twice. Morgan got into the car and we took off down I-85 that had now doubled as I-40.

For those of you who have never driven the I-85/I-40 stretch toward Greensboro and Statesville, I'd like to point out that there is a long, terrifying stretch of NOTHING!!! No fast food restaurants. No state-owned restrooms. NO GAS STATIONS!! Can you picture where my story is about to head? Guess what area we were at when Morgan took over driving?!?!?!

Before long, the gas light went on. It's nearing 10:00 p.m.

I've never run completely out of gas before. Not in Little Honda, anyway. My dad ran out on the way to church or something like that when I was quite little. We had to knock on a stranger's door to use the phone (yes, people, there were no cell phones yet! At least not where everyone had one). Back to the story... I had no idea how long it would take before Little Honda called it quits. And every time Morgan let up on the gas, I felt my heart try to explode through my esophagus as I thought, "This is the end! We're stranded!"

We took an exit I thought had a gas station. Instead, it's a completely different highway that DOES NOT go back to I-85/I-40. Tensions are high and suddenly we're both snappy towards each other. It's eerily dark and there's a spooky mist over the road. We nearly run headfirst into a dump truck because the fog that randomly appeared as soon as we got on this nameless highway is so thick. I'm scared out of my mind. Not only are we now going to run out of gas, we're going to run out of gas on the side of a highway where we'll either be murdered in cold blood or dragged off into a cave by rabid wolves!!!!!! 

We turned around and somehow manage make it back onto just plain I-40 toward Durham. Then, the wait begins. We have no idea how long it will take to see an exit sign that has a gas station. A sign goes past. Another. 

My eyes are closed, my hands clasped together. Oh yes, the power of prayer has been evoked. I'm praying that I have as much faith as a mustard seed that God will allow us to see the beauty of a fluorescent light again. (I'm sure my mom is laughing by now as she's reading this. I'm also sure she's not the only one.)

Finally as soon as we hit signs that start advertising Greensboro, we spot a gas station! WE'VE BEEN SAVED!!!!!!! We pull into a gas station and I finally start to cry as Morgan fills up Little Honda's tank. 

"Baby, it's ok," Morgan said. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. What did you think would happen if we'd run out of gas?"

We'd walk for hours in the pitch dark with a pen light and two cell phones between us as we tried to find a gas station and then walk back to fill up the car. 

We'd sit in the car waiting for help and an 18-wheeler would go off the road and smash into our car. 

Someone would try to pick us on the side of the road and we'd never be heard from again.
We'd actually find a gas station and end up back in Raleigh.... haha, just kidding!

"All I had to do," Morgan continued, "was call AAA and we'd wait for them. And we'd be on our way."

....Oh yeah, that special service Morgan has! AAA, a three time duplication of the letter A that rescues drivers everywhere. WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THAT BEFORE??  I honestly believed he had tried not to imagine the worst. He probably won't admit it, but he was probably just as freaked out and nervous as I was. 

~

Now, we're back. Morgan's at work. I'm at the apartment trying to keep the place as cool as possible. The air conditioner has picked the best season to call it quits. I actually have a temporary job starting on Saturday. I'm caring for a woman's cat while she's on vacation. I'm honestly looking forward to it! It won't be heavy cash, but I got extremely lucky that she picked me over anyone else! Her little kitty is going to be the happiest cat in the whole world for one week! I'll make sure of it!

Being Handed a Prize

It turns out that today was just as good as my unofficial "last day."
As you all know, May 21st was not the Rapture. That, or I was left behind and so was everyone else! However, I tried to live my May 21st like it was the Rapture and spent the entire day with my family.
First, Ma and I remembered the old times by reenacting stories, telling new tales, and basically just laughing hysterically so hard that I made her eyes sting because her mascara ran from tears of laughter. Then, we did the woman thing to do and laid out by the too-cold-to-swim-in-yet pool and basked in the sun to where Ma suddenly raised her head and shouted, "Wow! There's a lot of wildlife today!" at the squawking birds, rustling lizards, and barking dogs. Then, I dined with Kate at Panera Bread - food that is so good it's worth shelling out way too much money for! I feasted like I'm a poor college student on a whole pumpkin muffin, a crispy apple, and hot macaroni and cheese with a small orange juice.

Kate and I haven't seen each other since she was diagnosed with asthma (sorry, Ma, if you haven't told the distant relatives yet and were saving that information for a lengthy phone call in the near future. Hi, everyone!). ...My baby sister has asthma. My other sister is profoundly deaf in one ear. I have hypoglycemia (or something a lot like it). Seriously.... Seth, Morgan... RUN!! You do NOT want to breed with us!!!! We have scary DNA and it'll pass along to your future children should you marry us. RUN AWAY before you catch it, too!!!
After lunch, I watched The Fighter with Ma back at the house. Holy crap, awesome movie! If you haven't seen this film yet, go to a Redbox quick because you're missing out on cinema awesomeness! It is not just another "sports" movie where that's all that matters and the loser rises to the top. The story is so much more... even though the trailer doesn't make it look that way. And yes the crackhead former legend brother is played by Christian Bale - that same guy who growled his way through Batman Begins and The Dark Knight (also good movies, if you haven't seen those then we're no longer speaking!!)
Then it was time for dinner and my "last meal" was a big, fat piece of juicy steak and an equally fat baked potato topped with butter! Delicious!!! I didn't come up to breathe until there wasn't any meat left on the bone. I took off soon afterwards to visit with my dad where we watched bits of Cartoon Network with Anne before I hit the road.
My last hour was spent clutching my teddy bear Mr. Mars as we cruised down I-40 through Asheboro territory, home of the NC Zoo. I sent Morgan a text during saying, "Baby, I love you so much. I can't wait to hug you." 9:00 came. 9:00 went. I continued to drive down I-40.

~

Today continued to be just as amazing as yesterday. What was a trip to see the border collie sheep herding demonstration at the Got to Be NC Festival turned into your stereotypical Nicholas Sparks couples date to the state carnival trip. Morgan and I pulled up into a large field and walked across the street to the fairgrounds where we instantly headed to the Grandstand for the demonstration. Two border collies - one long-haired and one short-haired - proceeded to show us different techniques in herding sheep. It was fascinating to watch these intelligent animals work. The long-haired, Ranger, was a young and obviously inexperienced. He wanted nothing more than to get at those sheep. Morgan and I watched transfixed as the dogs herded the sheep around cones, into a pen, and over a small bridge. 

When the show ended, we walked around the entire fairgrounds then stopped at two booths to get drinks. I got a strawberry daiquiri smoothie in a long tube of a plastic cup and Morgan got lemonade and strawberry "Moose Joose Slush." We drank our beverages away from the warming sun near the coolness of a large fountain at the far end of the fairgrounds as families bustled around us with their strollers and dogs. We attended the end of the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show where we saw an ax throwing competition and a dog named Sandy beat a man at log rolling. 

Our last activity was Morgan proving he has the skill (that will never be used in real life except for that moment) of throwing a ping pong into the smallest fish bowl imaginable. To escape winning a live fish as we need no more pets in this apartment, Morgan had to throw the ping pong into just one bowl - the one on top of a pyramid of bowls that was perfectly blocked by a low hanging sign in the center of the booth. And on his third try, he landed that ping pong in the center of the red bowl!!! I was beyond thrilled and so proud of my baby!! Then, I was handed an orange plush clown fish that had been dangling over my head as I snapped pictures of Morgan proving his manly worth of winning his woman a toy from the carnival. We walked away with me cooing over my new toy and Morgan feeling pretty proud of himself. 

Remember when I was complaining about going to a carnival last summer with father...? ...And I wanted that Nicholas Sparks carnival moment so I won my own toy?? I find it ironically funny that then I won myself an inflatable clown fish that made me happy yet depressed at the same time because I was alone and heartbroken but I wasn't going to let that stop me. And now, a year later I have this amazing guy win me a plush clown fish. To whatever female pop star who says they don't need a man... getting handed a fish by the guy who just won it for me was so much better!

May 21st

So it's all over the news that tomorrow, May 21st, is the official Christian Rapture. According to a man and his followers (who predicted once before then said their calculations were wrong), the Rapture is tomorrow due to Biblical calculations and number crunching. For someone like me, a Baptist and true believer, I find the whole thing to have lots of holes and just another frenzy of trying to predict what we do not know and what frightens us. If you've read Matthew 26:42-44, then you're in the know. Still, the craze and the hubbub over the whole thing, like December 2012, is a bit daunting and freaky! As soon as I heard about it on Facebook, I immediately hit Google News and looked up different news feeds of where this information was coming from. One website I found was quite a catch. It had 21 reasons why it couldn't be the end, including "they haven't made a movie about this date yet" and "the iPhone 5 hasn't been released yet."
While I believe the prophesy that us Christians are going to be taken tomorrow at sunset is a hoax, I sat in Raleigh wondering what would I want to be doing if it was actually the end. I sat there on Morgan's couch watching another epsisode of "Brothers & Sisters" on NetFlix and thinking... this can't seriously be how I spend "my last day on earth!!!"
So I texted my mom and told her I'd be down in Charlotte in about four hours. And now here I am... where I grew up, the home that is the love of my life, with my family and the cat I never get to see, going to lay out in the sun tomorrow and go swimming. It's where I want to be.
Now, don't get too flustered or concerned about Morgan. I didn't choose my family over him. Tomorrow, Morgan will be spending his "last day" working a 16 HOUR shift at The Angus Barn!!! Even if I had wanted to spend my hypothetical last day with him, he wouldn't have been available to hug. I would have been watching more NetFlix at his apartment bored out of my mind while he raked in the overtime pay. While I want to be with him, no, I'd rather be here surrounded by my family.
The trip down here has already been worth it. While driving on I-85 near the Concord exit, the sky lit up with white light. At first, I thought it was lightning and I was going to be driving through a storm. But no! As I rounded the bend, fireworks lit up the night sky while Adam Lambert sang "Come Home", a song about a woman singing to her husband in the army to come back to her, on my iPod. Reds, blues, greens, yellows, and purples took up the majority of my windshield as my speed slowly drifted and slowed to catch as much of the show as I could. Even if the rest of this trip is a complete bomb, at least I got that beautiful surprise!!
So what do you think? Do you think your religious family members or you yourself will be taken in the Rapture tomorrow?

But more importantly.... what do you want your "last day" to be like????

Summer Begins

For college students, summer has begun! Last week, Stuart and I packed up the majority of my belongings in Cullowhee and crammed them into his already filled apartment. I brought my TV, my DVD player, my framed poster of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” my stuffed animals, and all of Sparta’s things. We were a silly-looking caravan driving down I-40, me with a cat wandering around in my car on top of garbage bags of clothes and Stuart’s boat of a car filled to the brim with shelving units and random items.

The "new" living room

In the beginning, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the prospect of moving in with Stuart. I hate the city of Raleigh for some reason I can’t explain and I kept wondering what would happen if we broke up over the summer. I didn’t have a job, but I didn’t have one in Cullowhee either. At the end of April, I officially ended my employment at The Western Carolinian, which was just as sad as leaving The Flaming Arrow at East Gaston High School. Now, I am actually enjoying Raleigh (for the most part) and now that I have my own belongings and personal flairs, such as my Van Helsing and Adam Lambert poster, tacked up on Stuart’s walls, I feel much more at home and happy.

And, I just found out yesterday evening while Stuart was grilling steaks on the landing that I have (finally) have a new job!!! After months of filling out application after application, I turned to my roommate’s mother for help. She’s in the journalism business and helped me contact some insider people. Meanwhile, I also applied for a job as an “examiner” at Examiner.comwhere I would write about a certain topic for the local audience of Raleigh. While I’m still waiting to hear from the insider people, I got an email from Examiner that said they’re happy to welcome me to their team as the Raleigh Pet Photography Examiner. While the pay probably won’t be near what I had at The Western Carolinian, income is income. I’ll be doing something I love about a topic that I love for a few extra bucks. 

Sparta and Stuart

In other news... Sparta is doing well at his new home. He absolutely adores Stuart's place with its long hallway that he can sprint through and the large windows in the living room where he can bask in the sun every morning and watch the birds every afternoon. Yesterday, he spotted and guarded his apartment against two stray cats in the parking lot.  The other day I dragged him to PetCo in Cary. I wanted to introduce him to walking on a leash inside of a building. While everyone in the store swarmed around him with coos and pets, Sparta was beyond annoyed, and after picking out a toy for Nutmeg, we left as quickly as possible. 

Nutmeg is also doing well. She's been a wonderful addition to the family. Every night, she scampers around in her exercise ball through the apartment providing entertainment to herself, Sparta, and us humans. She goes by several names, include "hamster," "Hamtaro," and Stuart occasionally calls her "rat" which I admonish him for!

So far, she's been easy to care for while providing fun and something new to love. It was interesting to see how something as small and simple as a hamster has really strengthened mine and Stuart's relationship as we jointly care and provide for an animal that depends on us. Whether he believes this to be true or not, I find myself mentally bearing all the responsibility for Sparta. At the end of the day, Sparta is my pet that I have brought into Stuart's life. Nutmeg, we bought and decided to buy her together. Sparta is like a furry kid from a previous marriage. He was part of the package of dating me whether Stuart liked it or not. Luckily, Stuart adores Sparta and vice versa. In fact, the whole reason Stuart and I got to know each other for we started dating was because he started coming to the apartment more to see my crazy, dog-like cat that liked to play fetch and use the furniture as a jungle gym. The fact that he liked my cat was one of the characteristics I found attractive about him. 

Hamtaro

Today was a rather unlucky day (it is Friday the 13th). I am under the impression that I have strep throat and might have to go to the doctor's soon before it turns into something worse. I feel completely useless as I've slept all day or been lying about on the couch unable to focus on whatever TV I've been watching. Hopefully, I'll get better within a day or two and I continue enjoying my summer with Stuart. We have so many plans, so many adventures we want to have together.

Kodak Moment: A Moment with Ma

In celebration of Mother's Day, I will post a few pix of Ma and I. I don't think she'll mind. Everyone in a 20 mile radius of Mount Holly knows who she is. You might say that living with the most popular high school science teacher in the county is like living with a local celebrity. You could probably get more people to come to your event if you get her to come to your event as a judge or MC. She has the same power as my high school journalism/English teacher who was not only popular but also young and hot! I say that carefree because he doesn't have a Facebook and probably isn't aware of my blog... Everyone knows it. Am I right, Warriors?
But back to Ma...

Lighting my birthday candles on a cake she went and got specially made

Riding the waves in the Outer Banks

At Catman's. Ma was the one who encouraged my love for animals

She drove all the way to Cullowhee to see me dance for five minutes

Shopping at Kohl's

Kodak Moment: Photo of the Day Feb 12

One morning Morgan and I were sleeping in his room in Raleigh when his mom came into the room. Morgan was still half asleep and I was pretending to sleep when there was this sound of something falling before Morgan's mom left.

"What was that?" Morgan asked.

"I think it was your mom," I answered. "I think she dropped something on the air mattress."

In our sleepy state, we forget about the whole incident until about 20 minutes later when I was sitting up in bed and spotted what had thudded on the air mattress.

MUFFINS!!!

"Aaawwwwwww, baby, look!!!" I cried delightfully and scooped up the package of muffins. "Your mom brought us muffins!"

And I immediately ate a lemon poppy seed.



Misunderstanding

A few days ago I wrote a post that was talking about the problems I will be facing over the summer when I transfer from Western Carolina University and essentially lose my job.

Unfortunately, what I wrote was slightly misunderstood. My mom took it that I was complaining about life and that I didn't want to deal with my problems. She got the idea by my first sentence in the last paragraph. Maybe you remember it: "These are not things a 19-year-old and a 22-year-old should be worrying about..." I made it really big and really bold because that was my "rock" statement, the statement that is supposed to "wow" my audience or whatever. Anyway, the statement was misconstrued as I was complaining about how horrible my life is.

The message of that post was actually that I was venting my frustration because I have this pile of problems but I can't solve them as of yet! That's the important part: they can't be solved right now. I don't mind solving the problem. In fact, I want to be the one who does it. I wasn't trying to say I wanted my problems gone. I want to find the perfect place to live that I'll love and find a job I'll at least semi-enjoy and pick out the university that will give me the best education. That's what I want to do! The reason I was so upset is because I'm someone who wants to just get things done or else I'll never stop thinking about them! And right now, making decisions and fixing problems is what I can't do because I have to:

• wait for my lease to run out
• wait for UNCG to respond to my application
• wait to see if Morgan and I continue to be in a relationship to know if I even need to find a job in Raleigh or camp out here in Cullowhee until I can move

It's just a lot of waiting, and I'm a horribly impatient person.

I'm sorry for those who didn't understand my meaning in the last post. I just wanted to get out there what was going on and get some support from the important people in my life.

Thanks to everyone who responded and reached out to Morgan and myself.

SHOUT OUT

I just want to give a huge shout out to my mom's parents, Nanny and Pawpaw!! They are absolute angels in my eyes for what they've done! I don't know how to thank them. They have given me such a gift. Thank you, thank you!

Hug!



It's a Cliche to be Thankful

It's the first holiday where I'm not in Charlotte. I've never spent a holiday without my family.
On one hand, it's easier. There's less stress because I know I'll get along with Morgan's parents seeing as I've never met them before and we all walk around being polite to each other and saying things like "how did you sleep?" and "that's a lovely skirt you're wearing." It's been hard since my parents split during the holidays. Which parent are you going to spend it with? How many turkeys are you eventually going to end up eating because you have to celebrate in more than one place? There's a lot of stress! And lately, holidays haven't been going smoothly around the house because you're dealing with four girls in one household without any male supervision.
On the other hand, it saddened me for a week or so that I was missing out on my family Thanksgiving: watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning with Anne and pointing out the giant Hello Kitty balloon, laughing at Ma scrambling around the kitchen like a headless turkey herself trying to make everything perfect, settling in for an after-dinner round of Rummy, Kings in a Corner, or Texas Hold 'Em, being the last person awake and dancing about the kitchen in my socks. It hurt I wasn't going to be there. At first, I wasn't going to be there at all, but Morgan and I worked out a plan that we'll be back in Charlotte for tomorrow. At least then we get the leftovers of Ma's turkey and side dishes.

Still, it'll be different. I'll be constantly enthralled with Morgan making sure he's not left out of the conversation and that none of my outspoken family has said something offensive or downright strange! What if he doesn't like my family? Or what if he has to witness some blowout fight when my and Ma's Scorpio stubbornness hits head-to-head? An even better question: Where are we going to sleep? My one and only bed is back home at apartment. That leaves a love seat too short for me and a couch the dog has made into a nest of nastiness with a pull-out mattress of unbelievable harsh springs! Ahh, too many questions!!
Since I have no answers to those questions, I guess this is the time when I tell you what I'm thankful for. But that's such a cliche! I can be thankful anytime I want. In fact, prepare for a blog post in December dedicated to everything I'm thankful for!!! Take that family-tradition-prayer-of-What-I'm-Thankful-For-around-the-dinner-table-before-eating-and-forgetting-what-everyone-was-thankful-for!!!! Aha! Oh if only my sociology professor had been here for that statement.
"Now, Lex, how does that relate to society's views of family?"
Professor, I still don't know!!
Anyway... this post is not about the issues I have with Professor Guinness who was a great teacher and then turned psycho!
This is about Thanksgiving. Though considering it's only 10:25 a.m. there's really not much Thanksgiving to write about yet. I'm mostly online because Morgan was cooking and he's not a great talker when he's cooking because he gets "in the zone" and all serious which is the same how I get with writing... which is why he, currently no longer cooking, is getting ignored in return.
So I'll guess I'll write again after more Thanksgiving has happened. The forecast predicts a slow, easy, relaxed day of walks with Morgan, turkey, snuggling on the couch, and more turkey! Now that's something to be thankful for!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

Created Cried Laughed Loved

****This post just might make my mom cry. In fact, it could get the whole family. It made me cry. You have been warned.

I don't dwell on this thought a lot. It's hard to remember most days. It's hard to remember to remember there should be another face in the family photo. But, I think about this during this time of year, around my birthday.
Did you know I have a brother? Most people don't. He's not here to speak for himself so most people assume my parents only had three children and I'm the oldest sister of two little girls. But I have a brother, too.

His name is Israel James. He would have been eight this year.

I am extremely imaginative and have to put my thoughts into pictures. So when I say I have a brother named Israel James I need to make it clear: I don't really know if my unborn sibling was a boy or a girl. And, he or she was never given a name. But this is who he is to me, a little baby boy who I get to meet in the next life.

The day after my birthday in 6th grade, Ma broke the news to Kate and myself that she was pregnant, and just in time for Christmas when everyone is celebrating the baby Jesus, the virgin Mary holding an innocent, sinless babe in her arms, Ma found out she was no longer carrying a living child due to no fault of her own or anything else. It just happens. And, our family members quietly took back their baby item Christmas presents for more appropriate gifts like a bigger, fancier coffee maker or like my dad's mother did... an blue-cloaked angel ornament for the Christmas tree. It has a white halo, glittery wings, and our German blonde hair.

Then, I didn't understand that my baby sibling. How did it affect me? I had never heard the heartbeat. I had never seen his face. I had never felt him kick. Instead, I sat back bewildered as my parents crumpled away and apart.

Now, I know better. As the oldest, I live my life as an example to Kate and Anne... and I live my life for my baby brother who didn't get to see this world. In my past 18 years, I have made mistakes. I have a suitcase full of a regrets. But there's not one I didn't survive and learn from.

Israel would be eight... learning how to play football from Father, telling me stories about elementary school and how girls are gross. I would teach him how fragile little girls are, how breakable their hearts one. To remain true and faithful to the ladies he would date in the future. How never to lie. How to make and keep strong friendships. The importance of creativity and sportsmanship. Being who you want to be even if it doesn't fit in the box society wants to put you in. I would teach him things I have taught Kate and will teach Anne. I would teach him a few other things I don't want my beautiful sisters to know about, things I've done that I fear would make them look at me different. I would tell him (when he was much older) the story of The Viking. And afterwards, I would make him promise on his life to never go down that road.

I've never been outside of the United States. I've never eaten octopus, shark, or a live worm. I've never gone skydiving or bungee-jumping or para sailing. I've never given life to another small human being. But I have lived. I have created something new for nothing with my two hands. I have laughed until tears ran down my face. I have helped a stranger. I have cried, heartbroken, then pieced everything back together. I have discovered a God worth living for. I have loved so strong and so deep!

As I turn 19, I will continue to live, laugh, love, cry, and create and when I stop having birthdays, I will meet Israel James or whoever he or she is and tell him or her all about it.

Dear Family Members

Ma and Father are very different people, but usually always convey the same message. Look up the characteristics of a Scorpio and a Capricorn. They are different! So when I sent out a mass email to Father, Ma, and my sister Kate, these are the responses I received:

To Ma, Father, and Kate
From Me

"Dear Family Members,
 Howdy!!! I knew I wouldn't have time to call you all individually and since you guys never communicate amongst yourselves, I am sending this mass email. Also, I didn't want you to see over Facebook and not hear from me.
As of last night, I am in a relationship. His name is "Morgan." He is a food and hospitality major from Raleigh.
Ma, he's a Capricorn!
Kate, he's got an awesome body!
Father, he loves guns and shoots a Glock, still waiting to see if he's a football or guitar fan. He is a really nice guy, and I think he's going to be good for me.
Anyway, I don't know when you'll be able to meet him. He works a lot and is participating in a gun competition over Fall Break so he'll be in Raleigh the whole time. I think maybe he'll be able to come down if we last until Christmas Break.
Holy crap, I'm gonna be late! Ok, gotta go!
Love you all!
Bye!"

To Me
From Father

"Hey,

I saw your relationship status change on FB (Facebook) this morning. That is wonderful news to hear! So is being a Capricorn a good thing? And how do you know about his body!?

So what is your home schedule? Birthday, fall break, etc.?

Love,

Father"

To Me
From Kate

"Awhhh yay! Send me a picture! Tell him if he's not good to you I'll beat his ass (: "

To Me
From Ma

"Ahwww honey that is very good news!!  Hi "Morgan!"  Sounds like he is very nice and I hope you guys get along well and hopefully we can meet. Hey, when is fall break? 
Well you guys have fun and lemme know about when you are gonna be home next weekend.
Thanks for sharing the news!!

I love you lots!
Ma"