Princess Rhonda (aka OkieMoe)

Disturbing and Really Frustrating, To Be Honest...

2009-07-31T09:49:00.003-04:00

I just read a really heartbreaking and upsetting article this morning. It presented the findings of a report recently published by the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth (DELEG). Apparently, 1 in 3 Michiganders - that's 1.7 million people - "cannot read well enough to be hired for a job that will support a family. More than 40% of those potential workers, all who read below a sixth-grade level, also lack a high school diploma."

It goes on to provide the example of Greenville. A refrigerator plant closed down, putting 2,700 people out of work. However, a solar energy factory came in, creating an opportunity to put these people back to work. Unfortunately, most of them weren't able to because they didn't have a reading level high enough to take one class at the community college that was required for employment - the class taught the new technology this company was bringing to business.

You can read the article for yourself.

So basically, the problem isn't JUST that there aren't enough jobs available in Michigan, the problem is finding someone with higher than a 6th grade reading level to fill the vacancies. I know this sounds bad but reading this makes me even MORE tired of the complaining when part of the problem for some folks is just that they can't read. When you're a kid, granted, it is the responsibility of the teachers and your parents to ensure you are equipped with those basic skills. However, once you become an adult, if you weren't blessed enough to have good teachers or parents who cared enough, you gotta' now step up. You're now old enough to recognize that there's a problem and only YOU can take the steps to remedy the situation. So, these people didn't/wouldn't get themselves more prepared and now it's someone else's fault that they can't get a job? Ugh. I know that sounded much harsher than I actually wrote it to be. Please understand - Michigan has lost THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of jobs. Our unemployment rate is more than 15%! And most of these lost jobs are gone for good. And it isn't pretty. I'm extremely sympathetic because Mark and I have seen some of our best friends get laid off for reasons only due to the economy. Mark's company has had to lay some people off so he's seen it first-hand. As a state employee, I am required to take 6 furlough days that began on June 19 through the end of this fiscal year (September 30)...and it's VERY likely that there will be a lot more of those in the next fiscal year, even as much as one per pay period. And Mark and I feel so blessed that we can still pay our bills and keep our home and have healthcare benefits.

But there are still some places that are hiring. Unfortunately, a lot of these available jobs are things people don't want to do, like convenience stores and fast food place. And now, according to this article, there may actually be a few more jobs available than we realized but people aren't smart enough (i.e. being able to read...)

And don't get me wrong, I realize that illiteracy is a huge problem nationwide, but the problems addressed in this article have a lot to do with the age of manufacturing here in Michigan, when people either dropped out of high school or just got passed carelessly up the ranks to graduate high school so they could go to the factories and work. Seems to me that education should have always been a priority, if for no other reason than to have a sense of pride and feel good about yourself.

Ugh. And fortunately, I received an EXCELLENT education and also was blessed enough to have parents who engaged with me, having me read to them and going over my homework assignments to ensure I was hanging on, so I'm smart enough to know what's going to happen next...I'm going to have to give more of my tax dollars towards new programs that the state will HAVE to put into place to get these people educated and up to par. Is this perplexing to anyone else when we're already paying money towards the state education system (that we don't even have children in yet) and now we'll have to pay more to educate those who didn't get educated the FIRST time????

And this report was just put out, so this is not COMPLETELY to blame on the manufacturing mentality. This is also poor school systems, horrible teachers, kids out of control because of no parent involvement...that's what is truly heartbreaking about it all.

Just disturbing...and extremely sad.

As always, thank you for indulging me....

Your Favorite Princess and Mine....*me*

Crazy Wonderful Stuff I've Found on the WWW

2009-05-26T16:21:00.022-04:00

(Brace Yourself. You're about to have a moment: Close your eyes and hear the trumpets blaring announcing her arrival. The Princess enters. Wild, Uncontrollable APPLAUSE!!) *sigh* Hey, back off! A girl can dream.

I have come across some (in my gracious and quite important opinion) cool/fun/helpful websites out there lately and as my arsenal of resources keeps expanding, I thought I should start sharing. You may already know about some of these, but maybe not. So here they are, in no particular order: (ahem)

Spendji: This is a GREAT resource for completing a project that involves several people. It allows you to create task lists, budgets, etc. and because it’s web-based, everyone involved with the project (as long as they have an email address and internet access) can pow wow together without having to have/purchase special software.

Scrapblog: This is a free service that let’s you capture memories online - and not just scrapbooks, but also holiday cards and such. How COOL is that? For any of you scrappers out there who 1) hate all of the trimmings and other leftover trash you are blessed with when scrapbooking and/or 2) every photo you have in your possession is in electronic format and to print them all out to put in a scrapbook would cost a fortune, this is a perfect alternative. Click here to peruse the site's FAQs. Here's some 411:

- You can either use one of their preset themes (there are a TON to choose from - most are free, but some do charge a small fee), or if those creative juices are pumpin', you can be brave and start completely from scratch (which is completely free).

- It's completely user-friendly, utilizing the 'drag and drop' method for building your pages.

- Share How You Want: People can follow your scrapblogs just like any other blog; Embed it into your own blog; Email a link to people, Have it printed.

- To print it, you submit a printing order to the company. Choose a hard or soft cover keepsake book, postcard, or holiday cards. Voila'! It's shipped where you choose - Definitely check it out!

Food Tidings: This online tool is GREAT for coordinating meal service for someone in need, whether it’s helping out someone who’s sick or has lost a loved one. You are able to organize everything right on this site and, just like Spendji, as long as they have an email address and internet access, everyone involved can access the group’s site. You can create the entire food schedule here. This would definitely come in handy for local assistance and bereavement groups, including churches.

Trip It: Ok, this is one of my faves and it even has an app for the iphone so you can use it anywhere. It's a trip planner - no big deal, right? All of the travel sites have them - Expedia, Cheap Tickets, blah blah blah...BUT, you can only use those if you make your travel plans using THEIR service. This is wayyyy cooler. You can keep all of your trips organized here and can share trips with people you designate. And here's the coolest part - after you make a reservation for something (airfare, car rental, whatever) and you receive the email confirmation from wherever you just made a reservation that shows your itinerary, you forward that itinerary email to plans@tripit.com and it automatically pulls the information from that itinerary and lays it out in their format. So, I just bought plane tickets. I forwarded the email and *poof* there's my flight itinerary. Then, I rented a car. *Poof* Inserted appropriately within the flight itinerary are the details about picking up/dropping off my car. NICE...very handy. Finally, it gives the weather for all of the days of your trip to wherever you're going to be. And you can edit this to coordinate with your trip - taking a road trip that will have you in a different city every day? You can input a different city for each day and it will lay out the weather predictions for those days.

OK Moments: If you aren't from Oklahoma or don't have any interest in Oklahoma, then you can stop reading. If you're still reading, then you should definitely go to this site and sign up for 'Your Daily Insights into the Oklahoma Spirit' - Once you subscribe, you will begin to receive a daily 'OK Moments' email with a link to a little video clip (I really mean little...like, one minute or less) about something neat/cool/interesting about Oklahoma - inventions, people, events...it's cool. The video is different every day. So far, I've learned about the shopping cart and the parking meter being invented in Oklahoma, the USS Oklahoma Battleship, Will Rogers, and on and on. You definitely want to check it out! In fact, TODAY'S clip is about Sam Bradford and Blake Griffin - two very cool, very talented dudes who have made Oklahoma proud. (And the site archives the videos so you can flip through past clips and see what you've missed!)

99 Things on the Internet: Pretty self-explanatory. "Greg Rutter's Definitive List of the 99 Things You Should Have Already Experienced on the Internet Unless You're a Loser or Old or Something" Click on them one by one and see for yourself - some you've seen, possibly some you haven't. Some are fun(ny), some aren't. But these are deemed the 'classic hits of the internet'. Time Magazine even did an article about this list. Don't miss out -

Mozy: This is probably more for you techies out there. This is a secure, online backup storage system for your computer files. You can get 2 gb of storage space for FREE. If that's not enough room, you can get unlimited storage space for $4.95/month. It's completely secure and because it's web-based, you can't lose it if something happens like a fire or something that would normally wipe out your computer AND the back-up stored ever so safely in a file cabinet somewhere in the vicinity.

Ok, that's it for now - Just sharing as it comes to me. Happy surfing!!

Princess R

My Reality TV Hangover...

2009-05-21T14:45:00.006-04:00

Oy. I'm hung over. But not just any hung over. REALITY TV hung over. No, I don't have the typical issues associated with the usual hangover but what I DO have is an extreme case of tired, mixed with occasional 'YAHOO!' while pumping my fists in the air and jumping up and down, and once in a while, a total recap in detail of the historical significance of the results shows.

First, Dancing with the Stars. This is the first season I've ever watched this show and I LOVED it. I sit there, swaying majestically to whatever music they are using to perform the 'Haitian Love Conga' or whatever, all the while imagining that it's actually ME being swung around, levitating above the ground with the utmost of grace...heck, just imagining ANYONE being able to pick me up, with or without background music, is a common pasttime...*sigh*

I have specifically been watching because of Shaun Johnson. I think she's adorable. And she continued to be adorable on the show! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that she's a member of the 'Thick and Proud' club - she's adorable, she's sexy, she's comfortable in her own skin, and she's several pounds shy of being anywhere NEAR considered 'petite'...She is the ideal role model for young girls. Why can't teenage girls look up to someone like her? And I also thought it fun to see if I could spot any clues besides my own musings that she and her professional dance partner, Mark, are sweet on each other. Oh, don't worry, I KNOW they are - I was just hoping to catch 'em in the act!

With each week, the world and the media continued to feel more and more certain that Cheryl and Gilles were a SURE THING to win the competition. Even standing there on that finale night, you could see it in Shaun and Mark's face that they were ready to be second place. What was more adorable than anything was seeing their faces when THEY won! They were so taken back - and there I sat on the couch, three little weiners snuggled up around me and when they announced Shaun and Mark's names, I let out a whoop that I'm sure the neighbors heard, startled the weiners, and Norman even started trying to chew at me, certain I was an intruder who had interrupted their slumber. It was awesome!

That was Tuesday night.

Tuesday night was also the last performance night for American Idol.

Now, if you've been around me even for a minute or two, you are well aware that I do not like Adam. I am intolerant of his high-pitched warbling, and even more put off by the obvious bias displayed by the judges, then the media, then the rest of the world. People think I'm horrible, offensive even, because I don't have Adam's text line number to vote locked in my speed dial. Uh, no. Eww. Is it because he looks like the Tin Man??? Or Edward Scissorhands??? Nope. It's because he warbles..and it hurts my ears...and he's not very smart. He insists on being 'gender neutral'. Really?? Do you think that's necessary when there are photos all over the internet of you making out with men? Do you REALLY think the world NEEDS you to confirm or deny your sexual orientation because it's that big of a mystery? Get over yourself - quit swapping out gender specific terms like he, she, and me for less gender specific ones like it, us, you, we, baby...blah blah blah. I guess I could understand hiding it if it really was that unknown to the world but in order to successfully keep something secret, you should probably make sure all of the photos and youtube videos have been completely removed from the internet. Otherwise, you will be as successful as, say, Kris trying to stay 'relationship neutral' in order to hold on to more female fans while still wearing his shiny wedding band. Hmmm, not a very well-kept secret.

But I digress...

So, just like with Dancing with the Stars, the media and the people went on and on and on about how Adam was a SURE THING...even Simon Cowell verbalized this message and he NEVER does that. And then the finale...let's see now, the ways it could have been the PERFECT finale...

- No horrible duet with Queen Latifah and what's her name.
- Steve Martin's banjo band WITHOUT Megan Joy...(it's the biggest night of the season-couldn't she have had the decency to at least LEARN THE WORDS??)
- Some kind of something for Matt Giraud. (Hello?? People who got booted BEFORE Matt did got to do a duet with a celebrity, but he didn't. What in the world is up with that?)
- Less glorification of Adam Lambert prior to the announcement in a generalized anticipation/assumption that he would be the winner.

What I LOVED were the American Idol Awards. First, I think Norman Gentle is the coolest thing since powdered donuts. He's hysterical and last night proved no different.

And then BIKINI GIRL - LOL! Once again, Kara showed her up which is just perfect. She and her new twins needed to decline the opportunity to sing. Yes Bikini Girl, it WAS as bad as they said it was. Oy.

So, two hours later (that's 120 minutes of all kinds of crazy), they make the less than one minute announcement of the winner. (Note: It's shows like this that remind me why I LOVE my DVR!) KRIS ALLEN!!!!! The world stood staring at their televisions with their tongues hanging out of their mouths while I, once again sitting on the couch with three weiners snuggled around me (do you see a theme here?), nearly came out of my shorts in a dance of jubilee!!! I was so happy. Not just for the obvious reasons, but like with Shaun, Kris always was who he was and was comfortable with that. He never tried to be something else in an attempt to sway America. He just was. And THAT is why America fell in love with him - he didn't need platform boots or metal cage-like angel wings strapped on to feel 100 feet tall~

What a week - and I couldn't be prouder of the winners that came out of this week.

Someone told me that now that these two shows are over I can start watching 'So You Think You Can Dance'. No, not so much - I don't think I have the strength.

Well Done, Chase!

2009-05-20T13:23:00.001-04:00

Well, I must once again take time to rave about a good thing done by a ‘Corporate Giant’. Chase Bank/Credit Cards…whatever – For our purposes here today, we’ll just call them ‘Chase’. Now, before I start, let me say I know some of you reading this don’t have a good opinion of Chase – I’ve heard plenty of bad about them, in fact. But in spite of that, I think it’s important, maybe even more important for you skeptics, to see that they did a good thing…So the story begins –

Mark and I have a Sony Rewards credit card. It doesn’t have a huge limit on it, which is fine for us – Mark uses it when he travels, I use it to purchase Mary Kay…things like that. And we are great cardholders – always paying way more than the minimum and always on time. So one night, I sit down to use the card to pay for a Mary Kay order and it got declined. I knew something was up because this card doesn’t get maxed out. We don’t use it like that.

I start looking at my account online and notice that in the ‘Available Balance’ spot, there is $0.00. WHAT??? So I keep digging and finally realize that my payment scheduled for April actually went through early, missing the line by 2 days, and got applied as a second payment in March. SO, April not only showed no payment but also a $39 late fee.

I immediately got on the phone to talk to customer service. I explained the situation to the gentleman who was so fortunate to take my call – You would be so proud of me, I maintained the nicest tone of voice for the duration of the call…sometimes at varying volumes, but always a pleasant tone – But I digress. He told me there was nothing he could do about it. I asked him why since he could plainly see by looking at our account that we were excellent customers. He continued by saying that with ‘the way things are now’ they just can’t refund those fees. ‘They used to do it all the time’ but now they don’t unless they determine that it’s something they can do. I asked what criteria they used to determine they couldn’t do it on my account??? “It wasn’t our error.”

No he din’t. So, with my much louder pleasant tone, I pointed out to him that my husband and I and the millions like us who pay our bills, live within our means, and make the necessary sacrifices to always be responsible for our commitments, WERE NOT the reason the country is in the sad state it’s in, ‘you realize that, right???’ I think the poor guy thought I was about to make him get down on his knees, confess his sins, and walk him down the Romans Road to proclaim his love for Jesus right there in his little customer service cubicle, headphones and all… “Get down on your knees right now. GET DOWN now! Do you love Jesus? DO YOU? CONFESS YOUR SINS, you ungrateful sinner. CONFESS!”

So, showing me the love of Jesus, he offers to let me speak with a Supervisor. I obviously accept. Surprise! Voicemail. Double Surprise!! The dude/dudette didn’t call me back. SO, you’ll never guess what I did next. (yeah, right) I sat my butt down, googled and googled until I located the email address for Mr. Dimond, Chairman and CEO at Chase Bank (and in the process, also found the email address for the CEO of Credit Cards at Chase – heck, why not? Put his address on there too!), and proceeded to share my story with the head of Chase.

Would you believe it? Two days later, the assistant from Mr. Dimond’s office calls me back on my cell phone to discuss. She not only refunded the late fee, she also explained that after another billing cycle, the late payment would cause my interest rate to go up to 29%! I nearly swallowed my tongue. But she put a reminder on her calendar for the week following the run of the next billing cycle to go back and check and if the interest rate had gone up, she will not only take it back down to what we currently have but will also refund any additional interest and fees we paid because of the increase.

Holy Ravioli!!! So, as I’ve said so many times before, I am a huge proponent of complaining to the company because I’m also a huge proponent of complimenting them. I have complained and now I’m complimenting – it’s all in finding the balance in life.

In these extremely hard times we’re in that are only going to get harder before they get…um, softer…it’s important to find some way to keep an eye on the positive, and more importantly, the ability to turn something that wouldn’t normally be positive into a positive…Positive is relative.

Love, Kisses, Hugs, and Misses~
Princess Positivity

Marley's Home!!!

2009-04-26T12:45:00.003-04:00

In an earlier blog, I wrote about the stray dog that befriended us for a weekend. Needless to say, over the past two months I have been checking the humane society's website regularly in hopes that I wouldn't still see his smiling face on the 'dogs available for adoption' site...but over and over I was disappointed. But not anymore!

This past Thursday, Linda, my friend who works at the humane society, called and left me a voicemail: "Rhonda, I was just looking in Kipper's (that's the name they gave him) file and it was two months ago today that you brought him in....and he just walked out with his new family!" My heart just started dancing! And he had become quite the little star since we first took him there. He was selected to be one of the two dogs they featured on a segment of the local news promoting rescue animals. Anyway, the teenage daughter of the family had come in the week prior and looked at Kipper. Then this past week, she came back because he had wormed his way right into their hearts just like he had with me and Mark! He's sneaky like that! :0)

So that's my really good news to the world today - another pet has been rescued from a shelter and now has a forever home with a family that will love him forever! Yahoo!!

Love, Peace, and Paw Prints...
The Princess

AI: Cheers and Jeers - Week 2

2009-03-19T19:56:00.004-04:00

Alright..I know you've all been waiting patiently, longing for my thoughts about this week's Idol happenings...so here we go... (and forgive me for not remembering names - that's not my strong point. Don't worry - I'm GREAT at describing so you'll know who I'm talking about).

Let's start with the bad stuff. I'm torn about Alexis getting ye olde boot in the booty. I mean, the girl is great. I remember her in the first batch of 12 - she was the only one that we knew for sure would be going into the top 12. She was 'DOPE'. So why in THE WORLD did she pick a sacred tune? Why oh why did she take that sacred tune and drag it along like a broken toy on a string? Jolene should only be sung at one tempo and by only one specific bleach blonde...*sigh* And then, to make the situation worse, the judges tell her that they will consider saving her based on her 'Goodbye' performance...no fair! Having to sing that song, she was doomed before she even opened her mouth...and then she opened her mouth...and it was WORSE than the night before! Alexis, Alexis, Alexis...or Allison, as Randy liked to call her. (How embarassing was THAT??)

And since we're talking about the bottom, I absolutely believe Michael should have been standing there with her. IN FACT, I could have sworn he would go home last night because technically, she's better than him. She just picked a horrible song to sing which helped him stick around for another week. But I think we all know that there are key people who were not absolutely going home until they had made it into the top 10 in order to keep the group diverse as possible...the blind guy with the sweet precious demeanor, the rocker chick, the country singer, the girl with the flu...

Speaking of the girl with the flu...

Megan Joy - Can you say ewwww? I still like the quirky sound of her voice but I gotta' ask - was it just me or did her dress give a whole new meaning to 'lift and separate'? I mean, she was so lifted and separated that it looked like she was flat chested so the stage people put an orange on each side to spice things up. I just watched in horror and kept thinking to myself...please stop moving. STAND STILL. Ick. Big time ick. And flu or no flu, she's a weak one. She could go at any time.

Speaking of going at anytime, Lil Rounds. She's still bad in my opinion. Don't get me wrong. I KNOW she can blow. But last night, she BLEW in a bad bad way. And does anyone else have a hard time listening to her talk? I know it's a singing competition, but they should really shy away from lengthy interviews with the ones who's speaking skills are just a step better than nails on a chalkboard (ok, admit it - when you read that, you shivered, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU? I did. Ooooh - do it again. MuFASAH! Ooooh...but I digress) She will be going home soon too if she doesn't get some Mary J. pumpin' pretty darn quickly.

And then that will leave us with just one girl....Allison (I think that's her name...the redhead) She's just great. She's a rocker chick of the truest kind...she really has such a nice raspy edginess to her voice that's very easy to listen to. She is similar to Kelly Clarkson, I think. I could see her going very very far into the competition, but I can promise you - no girl is gonna' win this competition. Not with the kind of musical boy wonder deliciousness competing against them this year! Where oh where do I start...

Oh wait, before I get to the good stuff, there's something I gotta' say - Was it just me or did anyone else feel dirty after Adam's performance of 'Ring of Fire'? I couldn't decide if it was the American Idol version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show or if I had just worshipped satan. In the words of my friend, Muriel -I felt like I needed to bathe in holy water after he got done. Thoughts? The fire video effects didn't help it all... He just creeps me beyond belief and I gotta' tell you I think he thinks quite a bit of himself. Did you see sweet Randy Travis' face after he sang it??? LOL! Bless his heart, he just couldn't find ANYTHING nice to say, so he just laughed ackwardly as he looked away. Poor Randy-Don't worry, all of us watching at home did the very same thing.

So, now that the trash is taken out, on to the ear candy...

Anoop..shoop, a doop, shoop a...oh please, you know you've thought it before. I just happen to be the one who verbalizes what everyone else is thinking...Yes, he did a phenomenal job. And you could tell that Simon saying that he wished they hadn't made it a top 13 by keeping Anoop knocked the little guy down a few notches, which he definitely needed. But then, all it took was one good performance night and he's back up in his wherever he hangs out...Arrogance Land or wherever...Cockyville...I'm Too Sexy Township...wherever. I just don't like him. I don't. Not in the same way I don't like Adam, but once you're in the "Rhonda doesn't like me" boat, there are no subcategories to divide the boat up.

Kris (or Chris)...he sang Garth Brooks' 'To Make You Feel My Love'....no worries Chris, IIII felt it. Yes sir. Whoa, lots of love. He just sang the sweetest, creamiest love song all night. I felt like he swept the love song category. He'll be around for weeks and I hope he does another song like that again! (Ooohh, do it ag...um, anyway)

Scott - I'm gonna' say it. I think someone on American Idol has been reading my blog because they tamed the wild beast. Scott's curly locks were a wee bit shorter this week and had just a touch of a tossled look to them which was a great look. I just felt like the bad hair drew attention to him as the 'blind guy'. The tamer mane allowed his attention to be more 'just like everyone else'. He's got a lot of talent - no, his voice isn't near as strong as the others, but there's something to be said for someone who has to learn his words strictly by listening and memorizing AND learning the notes on the piano AND putting it all together while playing the RIGHT NOTES because he can't ever look down at his hands to make sure they're in the right place. And then he can sing to boot. I thought he blew that Martina McBride song out of the water. He's a musician by all accounts. What a gifted person!

Danny is just amazing. I mean, he seriously is. And I love his moments where he's power-ballading and he sounds like Michael Bolton! He's just awesome...but let's talk about his fashion. He looked like the Crocodile Hunter...or Milton on the Lido deck...not sure, but the jacket was bad...he looked like all he was missing was a pipe and an ascot...and maybe a cocked eyebrow. But when he was singing, I almost didn't notice what he was wearing. That's how good he is.

and finally, Matt. *sigh* Is it because he's a local boy? Is it because he's buttercream icing on the competition cake? I don't know but he is my favorite. I just wish he had the huge selection of fun eyeglass frames like Danny G. and he would be set. Hmmmm...I don't know if he could pull that off though. Better just stick with his pipes and ticklin' those ivories.

Well, that's it for this week. Sorry if it's a little lacking, but today was my very first full day of my Florida Excursion and, well, let's just say I'm ready to cheer on those Sooners...crispified. Any of you Michiganders need a little warmin' up this week with that next round of snow, I'm an all-natural heat source right now. Just come cuddle up next to me. And it's just hard to think clearly and maintain my bounce and sparkle when I'm on fire. I am now going to go lay flat and take out anyone that even thinks about touching me. Muuuuwaaahaaahaaaaahaaaahaaaaaaaaa.

Later Idol Lovers~
Princess of Quite Crispy

American Idol: Cheers and Jeers

2009-03-12T19:08:00.002-04:00

Well, American Idol is over for this week. I gotta' tell ya' that as far as the girls are concerned, I just don't think they have as much hoowah as the guys this year. The guys, on the other hand, are all that and a bag of bon bons. What they might lack in talent, they more than make up for by being endearing and/or having one heck of a story. They are a powerhouse.

But at week's end, I absolutely agree with Jasmine going home but wish that Jorge had stayed a little longer. I just think he's so sweet...I realize that is completely not the purpose of the competition, but he's so sweet with a pretty good voice.

The girls can be summed up pretty easily...Lil Rounds is the next to go. She's the weakest of the three link chain. Alexis and Allison, on the other hand, make me want to go out and die my hair vibrant red...or at least a big stripe...just to pay homage to two rockin' chicks with pipes to die for. They are MEGA talented and I can't wait to see how far they go. Megan doesn't have NEAR the vocal ability of the other two, but there is something very unique and easy to listen to about her voice. But Rockin' Robin? Are you serious? Just because it was a Michael Jackson tune doesn't mean you should sing it. It's like the color yellow - just because it's been proven to make people happier, doesn't mean it is a color meant to be worn by people of any complexion... no no - yellow is best left to lemons, bananas, and the occasional VW Beetle. Nothing more. And Rockin' Robin should be left in the Wurlitzer where a quarter can order up a dose of nostalgia... and only those that can dance get up and do so.... ackward dancers, including Megan, should stay seated. But like I said, there's something I like about her voice - for her, it's all going to be about song choice.

I REALLY wish Anoop had gone home this week. I think he's waaayyyy too arrogant for the product he's serving up each week. And what is up with that 'power look' he throws out there at the end of every one of his songs...it's sort of 'I'll Be Back' meets 'Ralph Lauren Underwear Ad'...it's just not working for me. Someone should tell him he's not that good. Besides, who in their RIGHT MIND, would touch a sacred tune like 'Beat It'??? I don't care if they salt and pepper it, poor ranch dressing on it and serve it to you on a silver platter. Dude, you do not bite out of that one! What he's missing in his vocals, well, he's missing in his brains too. He's definitely gonna' be next if he keeps that up.

MY Sweet Baboo for this season is, without a doubt, Matt from Kalamazoo. He's a dualing piano player in a bar in Kalamazoo and he has got the blues in every shade of every color. He is all over the place and it just melts my butter...hooowee, I'm getting goosies just writing about it. He's awesome and he's from Michigan, so he's got my vote.

My second favorite is definitely Danny. I love the fact that he's a Christian (Music Minister), PLUS he has a heartwarming (and breaking) story, PLUS he's got vocal ability like no one's bidness. He's a triple-threat. And what is up with all the different glasses? That is just too cool - most men with that large of a selection of any accessory would be considered of the man loves man persuasion...but not him. He totally pulls it off. Which pair he's going to wear each week is as exciting as what he's going to sing. He's just awesome!

And my #3 is Scott. I think it's amazing that he's blind and can play the piano like he does. Plus, I thought he ROCKED on 'Keep the Faith' this week. No, he doesn't have the strongest vocals and he needs to tell the hairdressers to tame the wild beast that is his head full of naturally curly locks...but he gets the 'sooo endearing and actually has some talent to go along with it' vote. I just love to see what he's going to do next - He has one thing on all the others....he doesn't have to 'perform passion'. It just oozes out of him which makes quite a beautiful thing to watch. Yea him!

Michael and Kris - well, hmmm....ok, good luck to them, I guess. Nothing special except that Michael is a 'Rufnek' which happens to be what the student 'spirit squad' at Oklahoma University is called...so that's kind of cool. But that's it with them for me.

And finally, Adam. He just freaks me out. I think it's odd that he wears power eyeliner and just coincidentally sings like a girl too. Don't get me wrong, he's extremely talented. Extremely. He's great. But his freaky deaky outweighs his talent for me. I mean, if I can't even watch him because I'm too creeped out, who cares how great he is, right? Things that make you go....icky.

Well, that's it...Norman is calling for me so I better call it quits for today.

Thanks for indulging me. I'm off to polish my tiara -

*Sparkle*

Marley (aka the Big Yellow Dog that Showed Up on our Porch)...and Me

2009-02-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday night, I was sitting on the couch watching tv with the dogs....I should pause here to emphasize the importance of not letting envy control you life. Coveting is a sin and besides that, living such a glamourous, wild, and crazy lifestyle like mine is certainly not for the weak....but I digress... So, we're sitting there when all of a sudden, this big nose appears in my window. And then as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. I looked out trying to find the person that went with this little guy and upon finding none, I threw on the first pair of shoes I could find and a coat and went outside to investigate. After all, it had been snowing all day long that day, and I sensed the possibility of a stray animal roaming the freezing streets all night. Well, not on my watch.

Off I go, following the little paw prints as they cut across our yard and down the street. And there he was - three houses down. Our neighbor, Steve, was getting into his car to go pick up his sister who had broken down, and when he turned around he was greeted with a cold wet nose in the drivers seat! He drew the fella' out of the car and was standing in the middle of the street at the point that I came upon the scene, ready to nab the perp! I hollered "Is that your dog?" No. Dang. I had a bad feeling...but not as bad as Steve who was trying with all of the man strength within him to ward off the prowess of this male canine Cleopatra. That's right, it was going to take more than just a very determined grown man to win a dance-off with the unneutered yellow labrador retriever. At one point, Humpster was holding on to Steve's arm so tightly trying to get it on that when Steve lifted his arm to try to detach furry love monster, furry HELD ON. And there they stood, in the middle of the snowy street with nothing more than a street light illuminating their moment together as Steve raised his arm and Humpster held dangling tightly to his new found love buddy.

As if this sight wasn't enough on it's own merit, there is one more player in this production. Steve's 9 year old son, Mason, was standing there watching the whole thing! The next day, Steve said Mason had so much fun telling people all day long about the dog that kept trying to dance with daddy! He was laughing so hysterically that he could barely tell the story. Now THAT is what life is all about!

Well, needless to say, Marley ended up staying with us until Monday since the Humane Society wasn't open until then and there was no way I was going to surrender this cutie to the pound. So, we filled a large crate we had out in the garage with a fluffy comforter, put another over the top, and then turned on a warm toasty ceramic heater for him. I do not lie when I tell you that was a horrible weekend for both me and my hubby - dogs are supposed to be in the house with you...hanging with the fam...but because our fur kids are just mere little weiners, we couldn't risk it. It was torture - we thought Monday would never get there....but alas, it finally did show up one morning a couple of days later.

I won't go in to the lavish details of us determining that whoever owned this lump of adorable furriness wasn't worthy. We had posted on craigslist, notified the humane society, AND the animal shelter. No takers - they probably saw this as their blessing in disguise. And we wouldn't want to take that away from them afterall, so we took him to the Humane Society. They had to hold on to him for a certain amount of days just in case. Of course, no one came looking. People stink. So, now he's up for adoption and someone is going to get very lucky by choosing this guy for your own! You can go to the (Genesee County) Human Society website to see him (that's here in Michigan) - He's #11708 "Kipper". Until he gets his new home, we'll be keeping an eye out for him. He's our new fur-buddy.

Ok, I'm outta' here - Gotta' watch my American Idol and root for Matt from Kalamazoo. Two hours of Idol happiness...this Princess is in heaven! You'll be hearing from me after the show -

Ta Ta Commoners.....

MEGA Superstar!

2009-02-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

Last year, in preparation for my work’s all-employee meeting in December, at the suggesting of my President and CEO, I was asked to sing God Bless America at the beginning of the meeting. I was so excited! First of all, I was going to get to sing for about 150-200 of my peers who had no idea I was a singer, and secondly, I finally had the opportunity to sing Celine Dion’s version of God Bless America. I LOVE her rendition and had never, until now, had an opportunity to bust it out. The moment had come. The day before the big meeting, I went over to the hotel where the meeting was going to take place to rehearse. It was not until then that I found out the Governor was going to be speaking at our meeting – she was totally going to hear me sing! Wow, she had no idea that that would be her lucky day! Unfortunately, the day of the meeting, due to technical difficulties, both she and my President had to leave before I was able to rock the house so neither got to hear. (Although, I should note that at the conclusion of my song, the entire room went to their feet applauding. It was a moment that took my breath away.) In the following days, I had people continuing to come up to me and saying the nicest things, including how shocked they were. In fact, one person admitted that he was really nervous for me because he thought I was going to relive Roseanne Barr’s memorable performance of The Star Spangled Banner. Nice. Thanks for the confidence.

So, fast forward to our MEGA (Michigan Economic Growth Authority) Board Meeting last week. We had two members running late which delayed the meeting unexpectedly. I take the minutes so I sit at the head table with the rest of the board and staff, and all of a sudden, Jim looks at me and somewhat whispers “Do you want to sing? You could sing God Bless America for us.” I thought he was joking so I initially went along with it until I realized he wasn’t. There’s a room full of people, including a television camera from one of the news stations in Detroit. I said, “What if I mess it up?” He looked around, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Who cares?” Um, that would be me. As I tried to buy some time while I played the song through my head, trying to figure out what could and couldn’t be pulled off in my soon to be quazi-Grammy Award winning performance a capella, he starts guilting me by telling me it’s his birthday (which just so happens it was) and reminding me that he had to miss my first performance. Finally, after I was able to conclude that I should be able to, for the most part, pull this off, I agreed. He then introduced me by telling the crowd that at the MEDC, not only do we work hard on economic development, but we have other talents. I thought this might also be a great time to showcase my hand in the arm pit musical instrument technique, but I digress…

So, I got up there and sang. Well…there I go being a big HIT again. Just kidding, but it was well received and I was quite proud of myself – no blunders. Well, that anyone knew about. There was a point in the song where I started to change keys but I am not kidding you when I say that my vocal chords refused. It’s like they revolted and insisted upon staying in the same key. It was funny.

All of that because today, I received a hand-written note in the mail from someone that was there at that meeting representing his company who had applied for an incentive. He wrote the nicest things, closing with “You have a voice and talent worthy of any Hollywood event.” Now, I don’t brag about myself sincerely – I find it extremely uncomfortable and actually, as I write this, I’m getting fidgety about actually posting this to my blog, afeared of being perceived as arrogant. I hope it’s not taken that way. I just thought it was so cool that in this fast-paced, high tech, impersonal society we have come to know and live in, someone took a few minutes to write a note (NOT an email), put a stamp on it, and mail it to acknowledge someone else. And I floated on cloud nine all day because of it. On a smaller scale, it took me back to the feelings I experienced in December after singing for my work meeting – I was on a singer’s high for a month with that one!

Thanks for indulging mi-mi-mi-mi-mi! You-you-you-you-you are the best!

The Princess (aka The MEDC side show)

PetCo...Where EVERYONE Should Go

2009-02-05T11:15:00.000-05:00

When we got Norman three years ago, we just started shopping at PetSmart for no particular reason other than that was really the only pet supply store we had ever heard of, and because we were feeding him Science Diet, we had to get it from one of the big pet supply stores or at the vet. Obviously, we also signed up for their customer appreciation program “PetPerks”. Then came Mattie…and then Arthur. I realized that the things we buy were never on sale so we were, for the most part, always paying full price. When I overheard a customer tell the cashier he didn’t bother with the card anymore because it didn’t save him anything, I realized it wasn’t just me.

I decided to go check out PetCo and see what was up with their store. Jackpot! With their Pet Rewards program, once you buy 10 bags of dog food or 10 grooming services, you get one free. That’s in addition to any special prices they have! Not to mention, some of their everyday prices were cheaper than PetSmart. Too Cool! And not only that, we had recently decided to switch dog foods and begin using Eukanuba for Dachshunds. And the PetSmart that I looked in didn’t have it in stock but PetCo did.

I sent an email to the President and CEO of PetSmart explaining the situation and why I was taking my business to PetCo. They had a right to know why they were losing my business – how can they tweak what they don’t realize might need tweaking? The response came from the person who oversees the PetPerks program. Instead of making any attempt to keep my business, she chose to inform me of how many emails sent from the program that I hadn’t even opened (yes, it appears they can track that which is just creepy) and how many different offers they had sent me since we signed up that I didn’t redeem, etc. I didn’t even bother to respond to explain that the email offers I DID open were never beneficial to me which is why I quit bothering to even open the emails. Apparently, PetSmart has so many customers that they have no problem losing a few so I said good-bye.

So, I buy the 14 lb. bag (the ‘big’ bag) of Eukanuba. It’s cheaper than buying two 7 lb. bags (the ‘small’ bag) and feeding three little doggies takes us through the food fairly quickly. One day, I went to buy more and they were out of the big bags. I grabbed a small bag and inquired as to when the big bags would be back in stock. That’s when they explained that the stores don’t carry the big bags of the breed-specific Eukanuba anymore for the small breeds. It makes sense. But not for our purposes here today. Feeding three little dogs is like feeding one big dog. And I could still buy it online but once I paid for shipping, it was more expensive than buying the two small bags. So, being the communicator that I am, one Friday afternoon, I sent an email to the President and CEO of PetCo. I explained the situation and how much we enjoyed using PetCo and wondered if there was any possible way to make special arrangements – possibly have our store order it or something. I included my cell phone in case someone wanted to call me.

I’m not kidding you – on Saturday afternoon, I received a call from the Regional Manager for our area. He explained that Brian, the President/CEO, had forwarded my email to him and that the Auburn Hills store was the only store in the area still carrying the big bag, so he has already made the arrangements for me. There is a big bag of food already at the Flint store waiting for me and he was working on getting two more bags there, and if I will give them 2 weeks notice, they will continue to have a bag delivered to the Flint store from Auburn Hills. At the end of the call, I thanked him so much for helping out. Do you know what he said? He thanked ME for giving them the opportunity to keep our business. Can you believe that? They wanted us to stick around. They appreciated us and our business…

After I hung up, I promised myself that I would do everything I can to spread the word about PetCo’s customer appreciation. Anyone reading this with a pet should take your business to PetCo. They are awesome and they care about the business of each and every customer. I am one person buying dog food and they jumped through hoops to make things work. We are now loyal customers and I hope everyone who reads this will consider making the same decision.

Thanks for indulging me – These days, there’s so much bad news and media, it’s important to take the time to spread the word about GOOD stuff happening!

All My Kids Have Fur-
The Princess

Oooh Say Did You Hear??

2009-02-02T09:46:00.000-05:00

I just have to say “WOW” to last night’s performance of The National Anthem by former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson. Besides just looking so classy and maintaining such professional composure after the year she’s had (I mean, even with a GREAT year behind me, the National Anthem makes me tear up!), she ROCKED it. That was one of the absolute best performances I’ve ever heard. If you missed it, you can check out her performance on You Tube.

It is now added to my list of all time favorite performances of this song. Another extremely memorable version was performed by the Dixie Chicks. I don’t really like them but there’s no denying that they hit the bulls-eye with their rendition. In case you don’t know or don’t remember what I’m talking about, check it out.

That’s the only reason I really watch the Super Bowl, so thank you Jennifer! (The photos above are taken with my iphone while we were laying on the couch watching the game...well, some of us were watching.)

Also, I just found out about a very cool website I wanted to share with everyone. It’s called Catching Fireflies and it’s just a really fun place to shop! They have every kind of fun whimsical gift you could possibly imagine, perfect gifts ideas for those people who have everything…or even for those who don’t. My personal favorites: jewel-shaped ice cube trays and of course, the shower sponge shaped like a microphone. Like I said, PERFECT gift ideas!

Ok, signing off for now…still struggling from my “warm weather hangover” from yesterday…If you had told me many years ago that I would ever think 36 degrees is warm and toasty, I would have told you you were nuts…But I digress.
The Princess

As Seen on TV....

2009-01-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

I have always been a very big fan of the ‘As Seen on TV’ products. And it has been difficult at times, but I have always managed enough restraint to (almost) never buy any of those products, no matter how cool or amazing they seemed. In fact, at Walgreen’s they have a section of one of the back aisles where they sell all different kinds of those items and I just force myself to stay away from the source of temptation because I know if it’s right in front of me, I WILL CAVE. But I think they’ve been watching and they’ve figured out my plan. The other morning, I stopped at Walgreen’s on my way to work and I’m not kidding, it was like they knew I was coming. As soon as I walked in, right there almost so close to the entrance that you would have to knock it out of the way in order to get in to the store was a display – and on that display just happened to be the latest ‘As Seen on TV’ arrivals. How convenient. All of a sudden, I started breaking out in a cold sweat…my throat started to close up….my pulse was RACING. I looked around to see if anyone was watching. Nope. I knew that this was the moment – I could no longer just run from the demon. I had to look it in the eyes and confront it. I had to show force. I had to laugh in the face….So that’s just what I did.

And I only spent $20 (plus tax, of course)!

Look – you judge me, but deep down, I know you are jealous that I actually did it and you’re itching to find out what I purchased. Did it work? Was it as cool as it seemed on the advertisement? You’re curious….just like I was. And I’m here to tell you that it’s ok to be curious. So, here’s what you’ve been waiting for – the low down on the goods. Ladies, if you’ve seen the commercials, these are absolutely THE two items you are most curious about of the entire line of ‘As Seen on TV’ products. That’s right – The bra strap clip and the body hair grinder.

First, the bra strap clip: Its official name is “Strap Perfect” and while it sells on television for $20, it’s only $10 in the store. And here’s what’s cool, you get SIX of these clips – 2 black, 2 clear, and 2 nude. Here’s the thing: I am so frustrated with my bra straps not staying up. I’ve tried the subtle tactics like rotating my shoulder in hopes of scooting it back in place, or with ever so much grace pinching the shoulder of my blouse, making sure to catch the wandering strap in my pinch, and then ever so gently pushing it back to the starting line…it doesn’t work. And I’d be lying if I said that it ever really did. I was done trying to be a lady about it. I no longer concerned myself with maintaining my dignity (well, what dignity I had to start with). It no longer phased me to address the situation, even if I was in a room full of men. You know the drill I’m talking about – Grabbing hold of your neckline like a handle, pulling it out away from you (which becomes tougher in these cold months when you’re wearing a turtleneck sweater), sending your arm in to go fishing for your strap which is hanging out around your elbow by the time you’ve lost your patience, and dragging it back up into position, knowing that no sooner does your neckline recover from the fishing expedition you will be going back in. I was weak and I’m not ashamed to say it.

Well, I was so excited about these clips that I took them to work with me and put one on as soon as I got in the building. And ladies, I emerged a new woman. I had better posture and, lo and behold, somewhere between when I went in and when I came out, my girls had learned how to walk! Not only are your straps good to go all day and all night, but you finally get some REAL support. And yes, you really can put them on all by yourself – I will say that connecting them takes a little getting used to and at first, you might find yourself with your straps pulled all the way up over your head as you attempt to do a few acrobatic tricks to get it hooked around the various straps. But I do not lie when I tell you this is the greatest item I have ever purchased. That day, I was so giddy about how great they worked that I told all of my lady co-workers about them and ended up giving my other five away just so they could taste a slice of that elation pie I was now eating from. This, my friends, is the good life.

While not near as exciting as the strap perfect, the other thing I bought (again, only $10) was the “Smooth Away” – it’s this pink thing that you stick a piece of what I will refer to as body hair sand paper and just start gently sanding that body hair right off! Well, it works! The sandpaper is very smooth, almost more like a piece of rubber or plastic. And not only does it remove the hair, it also exfoliates. In fact, you have to dust yourself off every so often while using this because of all of the skin dust. It’s really the craziest thing I’ve ever seen – unfortunately, what I’m really looking for is something I can wipe all over my legs and pits and after one miracle application, the hair is gone forever. *sigh* I guess I’ll just have to keep watching the commercials.

So there you have it – I took one for the team and I was victorious! Run, ladies! Run to your nearest drug store or As Seen on TV outlet and purchase! You will totally thank me. In fact, You’re Welcome…in advance.

Have a great weekend –

Princess Rhonda
(Royalty of Retail)

I Fought the Ice and the Ice Won

2009-01-26T14:48:00.000-05:00

A week ago yesterday, I was driving down the interstate on my way to a friend’s house – three lanes and I was in the outside slowest lane. We had had some really cold temperatures but hadn’t had any precipitation in a few days so the roads appeared to be clear, although as long as it isn’t getting above freezing at any point during the day, it’s always safest to assume that with no opportunity to thaw, there could always still be ice on the roads and you should drive accordingly. Well, this particular day, I was driving accordingly as noted above, and yet, all of a sudden, as if an outside force of darkness took over, my car turned towards the inside lane and just started gliding (and accelerating) ever so gracefully as it did the loveliest pirouette and then slammed (again, ever so gracefully) into the guardrail separating the east and west bound lanes. So there I sit, making eye contact with fellow drivers heading right in my direction, wondering just how this will all play out. Fortunately, they were able to slow down and allow me to turn my car around and get back over to the right side of the road where I started from.

I called my friend and explained that I wouldn’t be coming to her house after all and then proceeded to drive slowly ahead to get my banged up self home. It’s at this point that I call Mark and tell him what has happened. He explains that I need to stop driving, call 911, and wait for a cop so that we have a police report for our insurance. Nice. Just great. Ok, fine – so I do that and am informed it will be quite a wait as there are lots of wrecks being worked. So there I sit. *sigh* Mark comes driving up and pulls over in front of me. He and I are waiting and we’re looking backwards at the area where I had my big debut, when all of a sudden another car hits the same spot and goes flying across the interstate, only HE goes from left to right, ending up in the pillowy snow bank. Nice – why couldn’t I have been so fortunate? And then it hit me – he just slammed into the exact place I had parked to call my friend. Had I called Mark BEFORE I started driving, I would have been in that same spot when he hit.

Ok fine, it definitely could have been worse.

While waiting, we decide that we are going to forego our much anticipated special time with the cop (and the ticket for wreckless driving and the cost to tow my car to…who knows where since it’s Sunday afternoon) and I get in my car and drive slowly along the back roads and Mark follows me so that I can live vicariously through him and have a set of real live, working taillights. (My own real live working taillights were actually laying on the side of the road, the only thing left from my car’s love affair with the guardrail.) We made it safely home.

On Monday, we took it in to be looked at - $8,400 in damages…really? So cheap. But because it’s so much, they do have to turn the info back in to our insurance company before proceeding so that they can make the final call. We never heard back so we just assumed all was well on car repair front. Seems it wasn’t –

Mark just called me today. The insurance company had their own adjustor come look at the car and they determined it was actually more like $10,000 in damages so they are going to total my car. And we all know how that will pan out – Not only will they not give us near enough to pay the thing off, but our rates will go up as a consolation prize for not purchasing the GAP insurance…Nice.

So, I take a deep cleansing breath. I thank God that it really could have been so much worse. And you can imagine how RELIEVED my hubby is – he couldn’t imagine his life without me…and who can blame him. I mean, I AM pretty fun and fabulous!

And now I’m going to start looking for jobs and houses in a warmer climate – *sigh* I was not created to sustain this kind of weather. Whoever said that moon boots are the new strappy sandal with a fresh peddi is SERIOUSLY disturbed.

Until we meet again…
The Princess

Legally Disappointed sigh

2009-01-24T15:59:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me very well knows (or at least isn't at all surprised) that my all-time favorite movie, without question, is Legally Blonde. Even my closest friends and family refuse to watch it with me because I just can't help but recite the lines along with the movie...So, it only seemed appropriate that I pay homage to my favorite movie by going to see the live production "Legally Blonde the Musical" - it was coming to the Wharton Center at MSU in East Lansing. Going was actually the idea of Kimmy, my friend genius. She is my 'Fabulous Equal' and, while she had not even seen the movie yet (WHAT???) and had to dig deep to find something pink to wear to the big night, we are fortunate to share a true appreciation of all things sparkly. I have to say up front that I was prepared to be a little disappointed with the musical, only because it's another visual medium, versus reading the book and then seeing either a play or movie. I already had one visual of the story and was now going to have to make some compromises in order to enjoy another visual of the same story, since you can't do on stage all of the things you can do in the movies. But I was very excited to get to see the musical because, well...hello??? It's a musical - Who DOESN'T love musicals? That's just silly. So, the big night finally arrived - we met at a little Mexican restaurant on campus - Los Quatros Amigos. DEEELISH! And how excited was I to find them using QUESO BLANCO (that's white cheese for those of you who don't speak fluent espanish). If you have never had this white cheese, you are missing out! It has the yummiest flavor and the texture is fun too (I mean, if cheese texture can be fun....) If you've ever been to Harry Bear's in Moore or Oklahoma City, and you've had their cheese sticks...THAT is what I'm talking about. Now dinner is done, and we head off for the theater...and in honor of the sacred event, I had purchased blonde wigs for us to wear to the show. (In case there is any doubt, yes, we were a big hit!)

LOVERS OF THE BLONDE ONE - BEWARE. In my humble (albeit most of the time “spot on”) opinion, the musical wasn’t just a little bit off the mark. It missed the mark completely. Everything that makes the movie so wonderful and addictive, the live production is lacking. Just a heads up: The UPS guy is hilarious; Unfortunately, Elle isn’t the one that teaches Paulette the “Bend and Snap”, Serena does; Paulette longs for an Irishman named Brendan because the Irish know how to love and she wants to dance with him without moving her arms – Note/Spoiler: When they introduced this into the story, I was a bit annoyed because I couldn’t figure out where in the world they came up with it, but I will say they redeemed themselves in the end when Paulette meets her dream guy Brendan (the UPS guy) and the entire cast breaks into a routine straight out of Riverdance – quite hilarious!; and my biggest problem with it was the theme song, which opened the show, closed the show, and then just in case you missed it, it was exclaimed by the entire cast as the very last line of the show – “Ohmigod You Guys”. Just be aware that if you don’t have an artsy appreciation for using the Lord’s name in vain, you might not want to see the show. But certainly, if your curiosity is just getting the best of you, by all means, go - but sit in the cheap seats. (And as a side note for those who might be wondering, I absolutely kept my disappointment completely under control, all the while maintaining my 'bounce and sparkle'. Snaps for the Princess!) Here’s a shot of “Team Fabulous” in our golden blonde tresses…Jealous, aren’t you? So, even though the show disappointed, Kimmy and I had a GREAT time - between work and family, it was great to have some girl time with her.

Ok, I’m off for now – You’ll be hearing from me again very soon!

The Princess

That's TWICE Now....

2008-11-09T15:53:00.001-05:00

These Yankees are unbelievable. They all need to be signed up for "Hooked on Phonics" and fast. Last night, for the second time in my life, while eating out I ordered iced tea, no lemon. We were in a mexican restaurant across the street - Senor Lucky's. The woman looked at me quizzicly and asked, "Asti?" No, yankee, IIIIced Teeeeea. Do you put lemon in your Asti normally????

The first time this happened to me was shortly after Mark and I got married. My (Sullivan) family held a wedding dinner for us at a place there in Toledo where they live. The lady asked me what I wanted to drink and, yes, I ordered an iced tea. She said, "I'm sorry - we don't sell that by the glass - only in a magnum." At first, I'm thinking these are some seriously messed up tea drinkers....Mark and I looked at each other and then realized what she was thinking.

Quite funny and yet, amazingly enough, this issue had never come up for me until I moved north of the Mason-Dixon line....coincidence? I think not.

Ahhhhh - Another day in the life of Princess Okiemoe....so tough to be me. Even tougher for those not fortunate enough to be me. LOL!!!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of the Biggest Tiara...
Yours Truly

Our House...In the Middle of the Street

2006-07-10T16:43:00.000-04:00

Well hallelujah! We have finally moved in. OK – Let me just say that when I was living by myself and I moved (ok, ALL the times I moved), it just did NOT seem this difficult. At least, I don’t think it was. I should probably ask all the people who volunteered to help me. Maybe they would disagree. Nah.

We got the trailer all cleaned up and hope to keep the pee smell gone until we get rid of it. That’s why we haven’t shut the a/c off yet. SHOOOOWEEE – We can’t let that carpet get warm or the neighbors might even vacate. We are planning on donating it to charity. However, the trailer park that we live in wants to look at it. They think it looks good on the outside and may want to buy it if it looks good on the inside too. I hope they don’t look behind the couch that we left there to cover up the extra air conditioning that Norman decided to install right into our wall. (fingers crossed) Oh well, even if they don’t want to buy it, we already have a commitment from Charity Motors to take it away. We will be so glad when that trailer is gone.

I painted the full bathroom (medium sage green), our bedroom (mustard yellow), and the guest bedroom (orange). I am a walking paint sample right now. When anyone asks what colors we painted in the house, I just ask which room they want to see and point to the particular body part that is still displaying that color. It’s really easy to show them the guest room since I dumped a whole paint tray of it on me. Fortunately, the dump took place on the half of the room that I just happened to put a drop cloth on. It’s all over me. And what’s REALLY amazing is that I still look hot, even covered in paint…unbelievable. Ladies, don’t be too jealous. Some people can just wear paint better than others.

Man, I think I have extra muscles in my body that not everyone got when God created them. I hurt all over. Things that shouldn’t hurt are hurting. My arches are falling (in my feet, not my eyebrows), my forearms hurt, my TOES hurt…my butt even hurts. (Keep your comments to yourself). I creak and pop…unbelievable. Mark married a senior citizen. At least I age well.

So, now we’re poor. Not POOR poor, but poorer than we’d like to be. Don’t get me wrong, we are so grateful to God for His wonderful blessings on us. We are so blessed. We know He sent us this house. It’s just perfect for us. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. We will be taking pictures of it soon once we get it all put together and will send that link along to you all.

Norman and his daddy aren’t getting along very well right now. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want the house to smell like dog pee either…but Mark wants to beat the little thing to death when he pees. It doesn’t work with a dog like it does with a kid. Shoot, when we have kids, he can beat ‘em until their black and blue if they pee or poop on the carpet, but not Norman. I’m trying to get him to be patient – Norman is 8 months old and has been peeing in our trailer (unbeknownst to us, but still….). We can’t just expect him to stop doing that all of a sudden. So, we may be having a puppy adoption soon if things don’t get better. Not really – We’ll have a husband adoption before we have a puppy adoption. :0)

We have the nicest neighbors! Three different families have already come over and introduced themselves to us. In fact, one day, we came home and there were two potted geraniums on our front deck. We have no idea who put them there, but we are so glad that the neighborhood is nice. Now that we are settled, I want to bake some chocolate chip cookies and take them to all three, so that we cover all our bases.

I guess I’m done writing for now – These blogs are shorter now that I’m trying to keep up with them more often. No need for applause – Just lots and lots of love.

XOXOXOXOX-The Real Estate Princess

Firecracker, Firecracker, Boom Boom Boom!

2006-07-05T15:57:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July Everyone! I realize that it’s a day past, but we were away from our computers yesterday, so you get belated greetings.

Congratulations to US!! We closed on our house last Thursday. We now live like the middle-class live. You know, garbage disposal, ice maker, and no more rules and little notes stuck to our front door with a list of the rules we have most recently broken.

Mark and I had a really really fun 4th of July. We moved stuff into our new house. From 8:00 am until 10:00 pm last night, we, along with Mark’s brother Monty and his wife, Sue, packed and moved and packed and moved….Of course, it was me that started giving out around 6:00 pm. Everyone’s sweating and dirty and packing and lugging stuff around and huffing and puffing, and there I am in the front yard with a sour look on my face, whining about how I just can’t go on. Forget Monty and Mark who loaded up a queen size bed, a washer, a dryer, a refrigerator, two dressers, and a 36” television with the base, and then unloaded it at the new house…I simply could NOT go on. What people have to remember is that it takes a miracle to get me to focus on something for more than 5-10 minutes. I had to focus on packing and moving ALL DAY. Hello???? Their physical exertion was no comparison to my mental agony. (Keep your comments to yourselves).

We brought the couch to the new house and, Good News, it doesn’t look as bad with the carpet as we had anticipated. Our couch is plaid and the carpet is multi-colored. We were concerned, but it actually looks fine. Once we have everything settled, I will take pictures for you to see my fabulous paint jobs….oh yeah…I definitely should have been an artist. No one can turn a paint drip on a wall into art like I can. Good stuff.

On a less exciting note, my car finally kicked the bucket. Monty says we may have completely blown the once only leaking gasket. All I know, is it will most likely cost a lot of money. Of course it will. We just bought a house…And a stove…and a lot of paint…ugh. Oh well, fortunately, I serve a God who will find a way to take care of it. Hallelujah!!!

Norman absolutely loves the new back yard. He cannot believe he gets to run and not be jerked to a halt when he gets 16 feet away from me (when his leash runs out, for those of you reading this late in the day). :0) He has so much fun out there and is quickly making friends with the neighbor’s dog. His name is Churchill and he is big and he is male dominant. Norman hasn’t quite figured out that he isn’t the same size as Churchill. He just jaunts right up to the fence and sticks out his chest….and Churchill pees on him. And Norman tries to drink it. Norman really showed him who the new boss in town is…

Our neighbors all seem very nice, at least the ones we have met. Churchill’s parents live to one side of us. The husband’s name is Mark and he looks JUST LIKE my Mark. It’s quite funny. I looked out the window and at first thought Matt had stopped by.

The neighbors across the street seem nice too. Anne and Gary – Anne saw us outside the other day and came across the street and offered to baby-sit Norman while we got settled. I thought that was very nice of her. We’re a little protective of him because of a situation our friends got into, so we won’t just hand him over to anyone, but that was really thoughtful. She seemed almost as nice as me.

In other news, one of the worship leaders at our church, Ellsworth, is really excited about my CD. So much so, that he has contacted the owner of one of the local “Family Christian” Bookstores and asked if I could stand in the store and sing to promote the CD. Also, he is working with a friend of his to use their church to put on a concert for additional promotion of the CD. Down in Oklahoma, my mom and my God-mom, along with a few friends, are working hard selling the CDs in my home state. I am so blessed. I am just waiting for QVC to call me and get me on their show. Hold on, I think my phone is ringing….

OK, I’m back. That wasn’t QVC. It was RCA Records. I told them I couldn’t talk and would have to call them back because I was expecting a call from QVC. Now, where was I?

Well…I guess that’s it for now. I have to get back to work so we can make our house payment. Looks like it's mac n' cheese for the next couple of months! Being poor is gonna' be so fun.

I will put pictures up on my website when we get settled and you can see for yourself how adorable our house really is.

Love to you all –

I’m a Brick House

Attention Please: We are now arriving at The Real World International Airport - Welcome to The Real World

2006-06-26T10:23:00.000-04:00

Well, once again, I have failed my loyal readers in keeping up with this blog. I continue to strive for blog excellence…stick with me. We have sure had a lot going on lately. Sometimes, I feel loonier than a crap house rat…

Mark started a new job at the beginning of April. He left New Horizons, where he was a Network Administrator, and went to work for Backbone Networks, which is a network consulting company. The greatest thing about his job is that his boss is a very faithful Christian. He is a very honorable man and Mark has really enjoyed working for him. This man and his wife give something like 60% of their profits from this company to missions – that should tell you something right there. It has been a tough transition for Mark, since the structure of his working environment is completely different from what he’s used to, but God is revealing himself slowly and Mark has been so patient in hanging in there. I am so proud of Mark for sticking it out, because the change was very tough for him, and quitting seemed ideal so many times. It’s getting better and better and we both know that this is where God wants him.

As most of you have heard by now, MY STINKIN’ CD IS FINISHED!!! Woohoo!!! It took so much longer than I had originally planned. Good night – I thought it would never get done, but alas, it is, and I am even selling them online at my website, http://www.princessrhonda.com/ . If you haven’t purchased yours yet, you better hop to it. They’re flying off the shelf like hotcakes…I started out with 1,000 and I only have about 900 or so left…Get ‘em while they’re hot. Yep. Sizzlin’ hot.

Mark and I close on our new house this Thursday. I can’t believe we’re finally homeowners. It’s been a bit overwhelming at times, but still very exciting. My all time favorite part of the whole process was when I got to sit down with the lender last Friday on my afternoon off and explain all the bad stuff on my credit report. I am telling you, THAT was fun. It probably wouldn’t be quite as fun for someone who didn’t go through the “young and stupid” phase, but I fortunately did, so it was a blast. So much fun, it was, that I just may refer to it again in future blogs. Keep your eyes peeled for that one.

And what’s even better news than the house is that my car is about to die. Now, how’s THAT for timing? How does it always happen that way? You go and commit to a big purchase and then something expensive and necessary breaks. The booger in that nose is that I think my car was trying to tell us something was wrong several months ago, but we didn’t get the message. On my way home from work one day, my battery light came on. I got home later that night and my check engine light came on too. SO, we went and had the battery tested. It said it was dead, so we bought the expensive one since that was the problem. Oh wait, silly us. It wasn’t the problem. We put it in and the lights stayed on, so we went and purchased a new alternator since that obviously had to be the problem…no, not so much. Lights are still on. We couldn’t figure it out so we just kept driving it. Well, my car started overheating last week. We figured out that coolant was leaking into the engine. So, we did what any poor person would do, we went and bought a bottle of Bar’s Leak and poured it in to plug up those holes. I guess it worked, except it missed a hole and now it’s leaking out of the car too. Good stuff.

Mark and I are doing great! Marriage is more work than I could have imagined and I have learned that I'm a lot more selfish than I could have imagined. To all of you who knew this a long time ago, thanks for giving me the heads up. Geez o pete. What a stinky thing to learn about yourself. Mark and I are both really set in our ways, but I love being married to him and things are awesome and getting awesomer everyday.

Norman is also doing great. He's our little nightmare - I'm amazed that he was so sick at one time, because you would never know it now. The only time he throws up now is when he has chewed up and eaten too much of our shoe linings or tags off our clothes or toilet paper...a little puppy's tummy can only handle so much of that stuff at one time. We thought we might breed him once before getting him fixed, but have decided against that. We are going to have to get the little horn dog fixed, as he humps anything he can get his little paws on.

God bless you all. I love you and miss you all so much (unless you are here in Michigan, and then I don’t miss you, but I do love you.) Take care of yourselves…keep in touch.

Hugs and Misses….
The Princess of the Real World

Time Sure Does Fly!

2006-04-25T15:13:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe it has been so long since my last post - Wow, I bet all my readers and fans are just beside themselves. Yeah. Complete dilirium, I'm sure. There has been so much that happened since I last posted (like Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Groundhog Day) geez o' pete. Where do I start?

Christmas was awesome! Mark and I flew down for a week for Christmas. It was a really busy trip but I had a lot of fun. I don't know how much fun Mark had, but he was a really good sport about it! When we got back from Oklahoma, we got our little puppy, Norman. He's a miniature dachshund. However, after only three days, he got very sick and was diagnosed with Parvo Virus. It's horrible. A lot of puppies don't live through it, but our little Normy did! He's a tough little boot, that's for sure. While we were tending to him, we received the horrible news that my step-father had been in a work-related accident and had passed away. We packed up the Saturn and hit the road. We were in Oklahoma for another week for his funeral. By the time we got back, Norman was as good as new! He is the most amazing dog. Two weeks later, I got another call that my grandmom Davis (my daddy's mother) had passed away at the amazing age of 102! This time, I went to Oklahoma by myself, since Mark had never had the opportunity to meet her. I was only there for a weekend, but it was so great to see all my cousins on my daddy's side. This was the first time since my Granddad Davis' funeral that we were ALL together. It was nice having the opportunity to catch up with them. By the looks of things, I was concerned that the year might not be such a good one, but it appears to have cleared up and all is well!

Norman just started obedience school. We had to give a lot of thought to whether we wanted him to go or not. He is, after all, special needs, and we didn't want the other kids making fun of him and his retarded toes. Ultimately, we felt it was the best thing for him. His first class went very well, and so far, we haven't been kicked out. We'll just have to see. Normy kind of likes to do his own thing and doesn't listen very well (at all). He's kind of like his daddy (ahem). He certainly has his mommy's attention span. He can't focus on anything to save his life. Bless his heart, I don't know how he ever completes a poop with the lack of concentration he has. However, no worries, pooping is one thing he has perfected (and ALL THE TIME). I seriously think he poops more than most big dogs. I don't understand where it all comes from. I think he got that from his daddy too. I will keep you posted ~

He's scheduled to have his manhood removed the Monday before Mother's Day. We will also be removing his retarded toes. I think this will be a real boost to his self-esteem. Well, one will cancel out the other. Neuter takes him down. Retarded toes gone boosts him up. Hopefully, he will see it logically: "I don't have my balls anymore, BUT I also don't have retarded toes." Keep your fingers crossed.

Mark has started a new job. It's in the computer field, but completely different from anything he's ever done before, which has been quite an adjustment for him. Keep him in your prayers. Keep me in your prayers while you're at it.

My CD is finished and in the works of being reproduced and packaged. I am hoping to have it by the time I come to Oklahoma for Mother's Day. It turned out ok. I am pretty critical of myself, so I quit listening to it because everytime I listened to it, I found more and more mistakes. I was making myself nuts.

Mark and I will be buying a house this year. That is so exciting for us! It will be great to have a place for Normy to run around and us too. We need more room. Well, I need more room. I have used up my share and Mark's too and I'm still looking for more.

Just a few more months until my birthday! Don't forget!!!!

Well, I guess that's all I will write for now. I am back in the flow and good to go. I will write more soon. I am getting my website up and running. Check it out:

www.princessrhonda.com

Love to you all -
The Princess

BRRRRRRRR Freezy!!!

2005-11-18T08:39:00.000-05:00

Well, it is unbelievably cold here. It started snowing two nights ago - just flurries really, with very little accumulation - and is still spitting a little here and there. It's just so cold here. Fortunately, the roads haven't started freezing over yet. UGH~

I begin recording my CD tomorrow and I cannot wait! I am hoping to have the CD recorded by the end of the year and completed (packaged and everything) by the middle of January. The further along I progress with this project, the more excited I get. My big task right now is finding out the songwriters of my chosen songs and sending notices that I'm singing their songs and get their permission. Cross your prayer fingers....

At church, the worship leader has decided to have only one praise team that helps lead praise and worship every Sunday. He has asked me to be a part of that and I am so honored. God is really starting to help me get settled here and helping me to find my way around.

Construction is starting to finish up for the winter (unbelievable).

That's all -

It's All About Mi Mi Mi

Princess Rhonda

They're Called WHAT???

2005-11-01T02:33:00.000-05:00

So, Mark and I were driving down the road one night when I happened to look at the big lighted sign at the Methodist Church that said "Pasties - $3.00" I lost it! I mean, that's a pretty funny typo for a CHURCH! That's when he tells me that it wasn't a misprint. Up here, they have this fried pie looking thing that has meat and cheese cooked inside. I call that a Hot Pocket. They call 'em pasties....I hope they aren't served hot - That would burn. And how do you keep 'em on????

It's supposed to snow tonight/tomorrow. Let's discuss how many things are wrong with that sentence. Unbelievable. People keep asking me if I'm getting nervous. WELL OF COURSE I'M GETTING NERVOUS... helllooooo??? I am a terrible driver as it is. With dry pavement and no one around for miles, I will still find a way to have a wreck...you throw down snow and ice and put other bad drivers all around me? You gotta be kidding me - Be afraid. Be very afraid. I think I want to get those rails installed on both sides of my car. You know, the ones that they pull out at the bowling alleys that keep balls from going in the gutter. I think that's the only way I'm getting through the winter. I guess a good start would be to get my Michigan car tag on. The Oklahoma one is now a month past needing to be legally changed....oops.

Mark said we need to put snow tires on my car. I think my car will look funny with those things. They're about 5 feet across...I will look like a june bug on wheels. My little antenna will be waving in the air. I think I should get a cowboy hat topper for my antenna. Just in case I drive through snow that's deeper than it looked and that's all they can see of my car - Just this little cowboy hat riding on top of the snow, while underneath, I'm burrowing through like a groundhog....

Mark and I are getting a puppy! He is actually supposed to be born this Saturday, which means we can't get to him for another 8 weeks. That will be difficult, but somehow, I will manage. He is a miniature dachshund and his name is Norman Winthrop Pierce. He's absolutely the cutest dog ever and he isn't even born yet! Mark and I are both getting very excited and looking forward to being parental with Norman. He will be over loved and yet well disciplined. We'll probably get nominated for "Parents of the Year" or something.

Norman will also have to have coats and boots since it's so cold here and he'll have to go potty and stuff...I have already purchased a carrier for him to go out with us in. We can't wait for everyone to see him. Shoot, WE can't wait to see him!

Today, out of a bout with being homesick, I emailed everyone I know that lives out this way and sent them the link to the BC Clark Jingle, explaining to them that this was a Christmas Tradition. I told them if they really wanted a holiday experience, they should call me and I would sing it for them personally. I haven't had any takers on that yet. I'll keep you posted.

OK - Gotta go for now...It's quite obvious I'm not doing so well at keeping my blog updated regularly. I'm not gonna give up trying though....

Love to you all -
Eskimoe Princess

Attention Drivers: The Fast Lane is No Longer Fast

2005-10-14T02:06:00.000-04:00

OK - I just have to talk (vent) about Michigan traffic. Ya'll (in the South...) would NOT believe the insanity that takes place every time you get in your car and hop on an interstate (ANY of them). First of all, they drive fast. Really fast. I drive fast. That's good. But it leads to other sins.... Because everyone drives fast, they all feel that they are eligible to drive in the fast lane. Even the people that don't drive fast - they think they drive fast because people in Michigan drive fast, so they must be driving fast too. Better get in the fast lane then. Out here, the fast lane is not for passing. The fast lane is for anyone who thinks they drive fast - whether they do or not. Oh, and to show people how fast they drive, they tailgate. GRRRRR - It's like, "I drive fast - Can you see me in your rear view mirror? See how close I am? That's because I drive FAST. That's why I'm in the fast lane."

Now, let's look at the people who actually do drive fast. Passing on the right is not illegal in Michigan. It's necessary. Unfortunately, there are a few uneducated souls who actually think slow people should be in the slow lane. SO, there are occassional speed bumps. However, I'm trained to handle those - And once I have them driven off the road, it's back to my cruising altitude of 80 mph.

Which leads me to the Michigan Traffic Farts (MTF). This is when traffic just comes to a halt all of a sudden. After about 5-20 minutes (times will vary), you start moving and you realize that there was absolutely no reason for the stop. No wreck. No sudden snowstorm. No hit deer. I guess people in Michigan have weak gas pedal feet and have to take a break every so often....IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE. I don't know. My philosphy is that because of the tailgating and the slow people in the fast lane, one car hits their brakes and then people are following so close that they can't just slow down, they have to stop completely (and quickly, I might add). Then, it dominoes...and the poor guy at the back of the line 50 or 60 cars back....well, I hope he has a book on tape in the car with him, 'cause it's gonna' be a while. If you get a call from me between the hours of 5 - 7 p.m., it's not so much because I really want to talk, but I have to kill time somehow. And when you say hello, and I say hi back, don't ask what's going on. You know what's going on. I'm in traffic. Don't patronize me.

And it is very rare to actually see a highway patrolman. And when you do, they just wave as you FLY by. When I see that a cop has someone pulled over, I cannot imagine what that person could have done to get themselves pulled over. They had to have been driving with their feet while hanging out the window with an alcoholic beverage in one hand and a "Go Buckeyes" sign in the other. It's unbelievable.

So, on to more exciting things....

I got my 90 day review. I was quite nervous because, as far as I can remember, I have never had a review of any kind. My philosophy is "If I'm doing it right, leave me alone." Well, not so much around here. I was quite nervous. I just knew it was going to be a verbal review of all my report cards as a child in school..."Talks too much" "Doesn't stay in seat" "Talks too much" "Won't stop singing" The review went really well though. She didn't mention any of those things. It couldn't have had anything to do with the fact that I went in acting like I was on the edge, about to jump off. Fragility can get you a lot of places...like out of trouble.

I have had the opportunity to sing a solo the past two Sundays. I'm not really sure why they would have me sing from the stall in the bathroom. I asked how the sound system worked in there. They just told me that the microphone was in the ceiling and just sing - they promised me it sounded great afterwards. hmmmm

Just kidding - The first Sunday, I sang, "I Bowed On My Knees and Cried Holy" and the second, I sang, "He'll Do It Again." Both went really well and have helped Mark and I meet people. This Sunday, I get to sing with the Praise Team. I hope they don't freak out when I start hopping all over the stage. So far, all their praise team members have stood around music stands. I can't stand still, much less focus on a music stand. HE HE HE That's funny - ME? Focus on ANYTHING??? They'll learn me soon enough, I guess. I'll try not to scare them all at once.

I get to come home for the holidays!!! I'm so excited! It looks like we'll be coming on Friday before Christmas and leaving the next Wednesday. I know it will be busy as I try to see some people, and I am so excited! I will try to make the most of the time I have.

A few nights ago, Mark and I cooked "Beer Butt Game Hens" for dinner. Mark even made a website to show off and to show people how to make them. Check out the website: http://home.comcast.net/~markcpierce/beerhen.htm They were great and we had a blast cooking the dinner together.

Well, I did so good on my review, I better finish up my lunch and get back to work so she doesn't change her mind! I'm pretty sure I'm getting Employee of the Year, but I am trying not to rub it in too much. Peg says I can't get it because I haven't been here a year yet. I told her, "Well, maybe average people have to wait a year...but when you reach a certain level of fabulous, there are no time restrictions. You cannot hold "stinkin' awesome" to a time table."

No Need to Bow-
Princess Rhonda

Weight WHAT???

2005-10-01T01:15:00.000-04:00

Stupid food. Why does it have to make you fat? Mark and I had a date night last night. We went to Red Lobster. We ate bottomless shrimp....for the second time this week. Here's my issue - I shouldn't have to count points at dinner time. If breakfast and lunch are so important, THOSE are the ones that should be counted. Dinner doesn't mean anything - just family time, and how can one put points value on FAMILY TIME??? I mean, the thought of it! Besides that, who needs family time when you can eat those cheese garlic biscuits? A girl has to have priorities.

And why is the yummiest stuff in the world either FRIED or coated in CHOCOLATE? I cannot find these "healthy foods" that weight watchers talks about. They don't sell them at the places I go, so I don't know if they exist.

I'm supposed to go weigh in today, but you know how it goes. If I don't weigh in, then I didn't gain any weight this week. It's moot (sp?). Null and void. (I can't hear you - la la la la la la lala la) In other words, denial. But that's such a technical term, and I try to stay away from words like that.

I'm doing great today though....of course, it's not dinner time yet. We'll see.

Love so much~
Fat and happy

Oh Lordy, Here It Comes....

2005-09-30T00:45:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't know what the weather is like today in the South, but here in the Antarctic, it's going to be a high of 58 warm and sunny degrees. I knew it - winter is coming and there's nothing I can do about it. The temperature today is nothing we don't see in Oklahoma...except that this is usually where it ends - cold temperatures. You don't have the impending doom of daily blizzards. Shopping is inevitable because I don't have the clothes to brave this stuff which, you would think, would excite me. And it's not just clothes. I probably will have to buy food rations and bottled water for those days that we're snowed in.

I can already see that I'm going to use all my vacation time on not coming to work so that I don't have to drive in it. I'm already getting sick - it's like my body can sense what's coming and it is just giving up - my immune system will shut down soon. My body is like an animal that knows when stuffs about to happen. It just does. I think my throat is closing shut. Everything's going black....hello? is that you God? I'm fading fast... *cough* *wheez*

Anyone wanting to contribute to my blizzard relief fund can mail money to me directly. I accept check and money orders....and cash, of course.

Love so much~
The Snow Princess

Here Comes the Bride...

2005-09-26T23:53:00.000-04:00

Well - it's done. Mark is forever stuck with me. Many thought it would never happen. Some of you might have even lost money on it. That's what you get for bettin' against a princess!

I know it's been forever since I last wrote. I really am going to try and be better about writing every few days instead of every few months~ So many of you reading this were able to attend the wedding. Thank you so much for being there. I only wish I could have spent more time with each you! I was absolutely in awe at the turnout and am so honored to have you all as my friends and family! OK - enough with the goosh...

I do have to say that was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to - wouldn't you agree? he he he First of all, NO ONE can ever have any more precious children (or well behaved) than the ones we had. They were absolutely angelic! The music was divine, the wedding party stunning, and the cake was delicious! All the makings of one fine weddin'! (Now, if I could just get those thank you notes written!)

Thanks to everyone who laughed at me when I said "I do" - I had to have someone explain to me what made everyone giggle.

For the honeymoon, we went to Winter Park, CO. It was absolutely beautiful there, but we weren't prepared for the weather or the altitude. We had checked weather.com before the trip and saw that it was going to be in the 60's so we took jeans, long pants, and long sleeve knit tops, and a few fleece shirts.... Just FYI - low to mid 60's in Colorado isn't the same thing as low to mid 60's in the rest of the country. I had to wear the same pair of shorts almost every day. Also, we couldn't catch our breath because of the altitude. Every so often, your breath would go and it would be like, "OK Honey - this is the big one. Tell everyone I love them." By Tuesday, we had been deprived of so much oxygen that we took a 5 hour nap and still went to bed at 10 that night. And here I thought we wouldn't see the light of day because we were, well, you know...turns out, we didn't see the light of day, but it was because we couldn't wake up!

Once we left Oklahoma after the honeymoon, we took two days to get back to Michigan. The entire road trip was good for us - a successful road trip is one that exposes your weaknesses and issues... you know, things that might cause a divorce. (ahem) We found one. My driving. On the way down to Oklahoma, it wasn't so difficult because we drove all the way through and when it became my turn to drive, Mark was so tired he had little room to argue - he was out of it most of the time, so I just followed his rules to shut him up and get him to sleep and then it was back to my way. The trip back was a little tougher because we stopped part way through. There was no sleeping on this portion of the trip. On the first day, we really wanted to get to St. Louis because that's half way. Unfortunately, Mark got tired about an hour and a half outside of St. Louis. We decided I would drive us on in and through St. Louis to get a place to sleep. Well, we made it about 30 minutes and by that point, neither of us wanted to be in the car with each other. So, we called it a night in, what has to be, the dirtiest motel I've ever seen. It was a small sacrifice compared to murder.

The great thing about being married is that we don't hold grudges for too long. Why should we - we're stuck. Neither of us is going anywhere. Might as well make it as pleasant a trip as possible!
I joined Weight Watchers two week ago. My first weigh in was last friday, I lost 2.6 pounds! YES! Mark has been so supportive of me and my efforts. I told him if he didn't, I would keep gaining weight and he would have to buy me all new clothes. That helped things along. I've done really well with the program and am excited about my anticipated progress. I'll keep you posted~

I had to go back to the Secretary of State's office to get my drivers license now that my name change is official. I actually had all the ID I needed...but no proof of residence. UGH~ I went back to work and got a pay stub and that night, I actually got my drivers license. Well, the temporary one...they have to mail your drivers license to you. I don't know what THAT'S all about.

I have also gotten my (personalized) Michigan car tag - OKIEMOE (that's Oklahoma Eskimoe abbreviated). Now that I have that, I am good to go (and speed and hit things....yeeeehaw!)

As of Friday, I am officially a 'Pierce'. I got the ol' social security card changed too. Geez o pete, I think I'm done.

So, I think it could snow any day...people around here tell me differently, but I think they're just trying to trick me. It better not snow. I don't have the apparel necessary to brave the winter here...you know, GORTEX, FUR, Snow Shoes (those tennis racket looking things)....a DOG SLED. Unbelievable - All my shoes have the backs out of them. But have you seen real live snow boots??? They are UUUUUUUGLY! They remind me of those things I used to wear as a kid and I tucked my jeans into them. Tacky. Oh well, like it or not....

I'm singing a solo this upcoming Sunday at my church. This is my first time and I haven't sung a solo in church since the end of June. It feels like it's been forever. I'm so excited about that - then maybe I can make some friends...as they are drawn in against their will to the sound of angels that emits from my mouth.....hmmmmm

OK - I'm going to sign off now. But don't worry - I will write soon. I just gotta finish all these thank you notes. Good NIGHT! It's like high school graduation all over again. I'm tempted to send all the gifts back to their sender just so I don't have to send thank you notes. But probably not.

Love to you all -

Rhonda Pierce (Your Ears)

sigh

2005-08-23T00:20:00.000-04:00

Well, tomorrow is finally almost here (that either made complete sense or none at all). Tomorrow, after work, Mark and I leave for home (Oklahoma). I have been trying to work on that - trying to call Michigan home. They say that home is where your heart is. It just hasn't been long enough for my heart to be here yet. I could say that my heart is neither place, but that would make me homeless, and I don't know that I like that.

I'm so excited about going to Oklahoma that I have convinced Mark to let us drive through and not stop in St. Louis. We promise to pull off if we get too tired, but otherwise, it's onward and southward!

I have been trying to make friends, but up here, that's a little harder. People, in general, aren't as open to new people...not at first, anyway. I mean, I had people in Oklahoma who thought I was weird, but can you imagine what they think up here??? lol Actually, everyone at my job has been really nice. Damaris, one of the employees here, even laughs at me being funny, which is nice 'cause no one else does. I told her she was my new best friend up here and that we were gonna do stuff together all the time and not to even worry about giving me directions to her house 'cause I have already mapquested it! She asked if that was considered friend or STALKER??? lol

They also don't disclose much of their personal information up here - very private people. You should see the faces of those unwilling participants who make the mistake of sitting in my chair in my office. After about five minutes of me going on and on and disclosing everything from my bra size to "How to Have a Healthy Bowel Movement" (those of you who I've had this conversation with know who you are), the look on their faces...I can't tell if it's shock or disgust....or just utter amazement that ANYONE would consider talking about so many things at one time. Sometimes I just talk and talk just so I can look at their reaction and laugh when they leave! ha ha ha ha

I also found out today that Anne, the HR Manager, is also a talker. She and I will be getting along really well - she understands my predicament. She is so nice - she's also a hugger. he he he Whodathunk?

Well, Mark and I have a busy night ahead of us - we have to pack and then pack up the car so that when I get home, we can jump in the car and go....I can't wait to see everyone.

Love you all -

Wow- I didn't know I had the attention span necessary to write this much....

2005-08-15T22:33:00.000-04:00

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit! I am so behind (no pun intended) in my Eskimo updates…Wherever should I start? Here goes….

I absolutely love my job! The people here are so nice and I am busier than a one-legged cat trying to bury poo on a frozen pond! Just a little history… My boss is Dr. Stern. He's a new yorker who moved here from pennsylavnia and his assistant came here with him. They have worked together for over 12 years so they had quite a working relationship. The reason she left to go back to PA is that her familywas from back home and she missed her grandbabies. Enter ME. Dr.Stern, I think, has forgotten that I'm just starting. Some mornings, I come in and look at my in box, and I contemplate the idea of being an eye-witness to "what appears to be an electrical fire in the EPMG building. Fortunately, no one was hurt…unfortunately, the entire building burned to the ground." (ahem) *In my very best Oklahoma drawl…"I cain't believe mah ahys! I was jist sittin' here in mah car puttin' ohn mah lipstick when BOOM – I ain't seen nuthin' lahke that in forever! It was jist lahke back when I was a kid and pappy got the cook light on the still too high….poor pappy. Momma had to draw his eyebrows on him after that. Yip, it was jist lahke that. Oh wayt, it sorta remahnded may of the tahme when Uncle Jed was impressin' a female caller and trahd lahtin' one of his 'bouquets of natural gas' as he liked to call 'em. I ain't seen so much fireworks frum one source since...well, since pappy got the cook light on the still too high….poor pappy."

In all seriousness though, I really do love my job. I love being busy– it keeps me out of trouble (pause) (hysterical laughter) That's funny – like anything could keep me out of trouble. I just haven't found my cohorts yet…I don't think anyone around here trusts me enough to be ornery. I'm just a sweet southern girl – how could I ever get anyone in trouble???

Mark and I are doing great. The first few weeks after I got here were tough though. That whole "adjusting to living with royalty." I felt sorry for him – I wouldn't want to have to do it. I think the actual problem resided in the fact that I may have led him to think I didn'treally have that much stuff (which I didn't until you throw all those wonderful wedding gifts in the mix – then there was substantially more). Anyway, I show up on the doorstep with the second largest truck U-haul rents and a car in tow that is also stuffed full. Reality really sank in when we finally got it unloaded and had nowhereto sit and we couldn't really see each other.

So I thought I would be the wonderful little wifey – I have actually impressed even myself with my mad cooking skills. Everyday for the first few weeks I would find a new recipe on the internet and cook it for my sweet precious. He was impressed. I was impressed. EVERYONE was impressed. Now that I have narrowed the time gap and it's really too late to cancel the wedding (since all his family has purchased/made travel arrangements), we ate out every night last week. Ahhhhhhhh – much better. Actually, I enjoy cooking, if I could just get him to understand that once it's on the table, I'm finished. The cleaning thing is a whole different subject and it's something I just don't do well. He's learning. He'll get there soon enough.

We have started going to church with Mark's twin brother, Matt and his wife and kids. It's Living Word Church of God and we really like it. The praise and worship leader is Mike Mariucci (pronounced mary-oochee for those of you who aren't football fans), Steve Mariucci's brother (head coach for the Detroit Lions). The church isn't so big that you get lost, but is bigger than my church back in Oklahoma, which I miss. Still, it's small enough to get to know each other and kind of know when someone's gone. They currently meet in the high school auditorium as they are working towards a new building. The pastor is from Tennessee, so I enjoy hearing him talk (he's the only around herebesides me that doesn't have an accent!)

One thing that hasn't changed with me is that I still like to take naps, although I don't really have a chance to do that anymore except on the weekends (usually Sundays after church.) Well, Mark likes to nap too, so…I bought ear plugs. I hope Jesus doesn't come back while we're sleeping, 'cause I won't hear it. Mark's snore is something between a large train and a larger vacuum. If he's turned toward me, I can feel a small pull on my body every time he breathes in…and we're across from each other in the living room on separate couches! There's a train that goes by our house – it has NOTHING on Mark. If the train company really wants to let people know their trains are coming, they should strap a sleeping Mark to the front. That's just an idea….but I digress….

The biggest complaint I have would have to be a small thesis I have written addressed to the Michigan Department of Transportation. There's a big joke around here – Michigan has two seasons: Winter and Construction. Well, I beg your pardon, but where I come from, jokes are FUNNY and not one thing about that punchline makes me laugh. While I haven't had the blessed opportunity to experience the winter yet, I have seen the construction. ( ) That's me being speechless. The bad weather requires salt on the roads. Salt on the roads tears up the roads. Torn up roads require a bit of reconstructing. It's a cycle of evil really. Everything is under construction except the city streets. They don't have time – they're always working on the interstates (they call them expressways out here). AND THE TRAFFIC. There should be a mandate that comes down straight from the Governor himself that says NO MORE PROCRIATING! THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE HERE ALREADY!!!! I mean, COME ON~ That's what happens I guess when you have such bad winters and there's nothing else to do. Like I said, a great big cycle of evil.

Fridays after work are the worst because everyone is going up north. Oh wait…silly me, I thought I already WAS up north…since where I came from was 1,000 miles SOUTH of here, this pretty much constitutes UP NORTH, but alas…there is a north north of here. It's called the great lakes area. And every weekend, everyone goes up there. And on Sunday afternoons, everyone comes back. So, the only day worth being on the interstates in Saturday cause nobody is going north OR south.

This past weekend, we took part in a scavenger hunt, more of a wildgoose chase. It was a fundraiser and we made a team of four. We had to drive from one place to the next, gathering clues and solving puzzles, all the while, trying to be first to get back to the finishline. That lacked all the fun that I had hoped because I didn't know where anything was, so I was the "pretty one" – you know, the one who doesn't really make much of a contribution, just sits in the front seat and looks cute for all the pictures we had to take. However, I think Mark had a pretty good time, and I was glad about that. After the hunt was over, it ended up at somebody's property where there was a lot of food and prizes (we came in third – woohooo…it was all because of me, hello??? Without my mug in all the pics, we couldn't have done it….well, my mug and the foot race between us and one other team that pulled up at the same time. We were racing towards the finish line, and our whole team had to be there. I surprisinglywasn't the last person in. Of course, the last person to make it from our team was a JV volleyball coach. She was driving – I'm sure Iwould have beat her anyway, even if she had been closer to the line like I was and didn't have to put the car in park, yadda yadda yadda) Whatever gets me to sleep at night, right? I didn't know anyone there except for Mark and our two teammates. That was fun. Once again, I was the only one there that didn't talk funny – I think that made them all feel really weird and goofy or something, like they were different. I tried my hardest to make them all feel equal. We played volleyball. That was affirming for me. Nothing like doing something you are terribly bad at to make you feel good about yourself. I kept telling them that if the ball had been dry (it had rained earlier so the grass was wet), they would be in trouble. I can't tell if theywere laughing at me or with me. Hmmmmm People here are kind of uptight – they don't think I'm as funny as I do. Oh well, gives me more to laugh at.

So, with all that said, behind all the joking is a 30 year old woman who misses her friends and family more than she ever thought possible. I have learned the true value of the people in my life the hardest way possible. What I have at the end of each day is a deep appreciation for the people who know me the very best and love me inspite of myself - The people who hold a piece, if even only an ounce, of my past and thus have made their mark on my life forever, helping me become the person I am today, one precious moment at a time – the people that I can call at any time, day or night, and they will meet me for a "coke and a smile". I promise to never again take for granted the people who know and understand me. Those are some of most valuable people you can have in your life.

I love you all and I cannot wait to see you at the wedding (you better be there – I would hate to have to go running up and down I-35 in my dress to gather you all up. Too much activity will make me sweat and sweat does not help masking tape hold well…the tape gives, the dress will come down – not so pretty, I can assure…)

I will try to keep up more often – sorry this is so long. So, who's coming up to visit????? I hear that winter is a great time to come up– just something I heard though….

Love to you all~
Proud to be a Southern Princess

A boo boo boooo

2005-07-26T08:27:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am...just over three weeks in Eskimo Land and I am gainfully employed and quickly developing a reputation amongst my co-workers of being quite funny. I'm not sure if they're laughing at my stories or the way I talk - bottom line is, they're laughing at me, and that's not nice. Oh well -

The job is amazing. The people I work with are so nice! For those of you who don't know, I'm the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO of Emergency Physicians Medical Group (EPMG). Essentially, hospitals have a difficult time staffing their emergency rooms and urgent care facilities. So, they contract with us to manage their emergency rooms and urgent care facilities and with that management comes staffing of doctors. So, the doctors are ours and the nurses, therapists, etc. are employees of the hospital. It's a great companyand they really care about what they're doing. My boss is so nice -almost too nice. Maybe he thinks I'm fragile...hmmmmm - sometimes, he's so precious, I just want to grab his cheeks, get in his face and say, "A boo boo boo" I don't know that we're quite there yet...I'll keep you posted.

This company even keeps a stocked refrigerator of sodas and juices and bottled waters. WOOHOO!!! Who cares about the condo up north, I want beverages! I just want to drink as many as possible just because they're free. he he AND BECAUSE I CAN! I do work for the president, you know....

The other day, I decided to clean out the oven. hmm Maybe I shouldn't have done that. I went and bought Easy Off oven cleaner. For the removal of baked on, caked on..."stuff". I got yer' baked on, caked on. Have any of you ever SEEN a 36 year old bachelor's stove??? Let's start with the top burners. I went to clean those pretty little silver things under the burners. One look told me they should be given an honorable burial - so I purchased new ones. They sure do sparkle. So, then I went deep into the bowels of "THE OVEN". Oh wow- caked on?? baked on??? yeah right, try soldered (pronounced sawterfor those of you who hypothetically had no idea and tried to spell it like it sounds) on. It was a whole new layer of lining on the inside. Spray was not gonna do it - a chisel, maybe. But I digress...So, I sprayed it on. hmm It came alive and started chasing after me. It was like nothing I've ever experienced. And hopefully never will. whew - fortunately, my new job has employee assistance with trained counselors to deal with this very thing. I just don't know if they're trained to deal with ME...

Well, it's the final countdown to the big day. I am so excited. My plan worked just as I had hoped when I first messaged my vic, er, Mark. Perfect, I tell ya - he walked right into it. And he has no idea. **evil laugh**

Now that I'm getting up so stinkin' early, I have to go to bed by 10, so I better wrap this up. Mark and I started tanning today - I am a complete failure at weight loss and my dress may have to be strappedon me with electrical tape, but at least I will be tan. Now I just gotta find a hair do. More later -

Love Love Love -

The Fat and Happy Princess

What a might God we serve!!!

2005-07-20T20:24:00.000-04:00

Well, here I am - I haven't even been here three weeks.....

AND I GOT A JOB!!! wooohooo! I had a second interview yesterday with the Medical Management company that I originally interviewed with theTuesday after I first arrived. I got home and not too much later,they called with the offer. They had asked if I was looking anywhere else, and I told them there was one other job that I was expecting a call from tomorrow (Today). I guess they thought they better snatch me right up -

Anyhoo - that's about all for now. Just wanted to share my "It's nothing but a God Thing" story.

Thank you all for your prayers - It looks like they worked! What an awesome God He is.

The Gainfully Employed Princess

Two Weeks Notice....hmmmmm

2005-07-15T20:15:00.000-04:00

Well, hi ya'll! I hope this latest update finds everyone doing well. I have been here two weeks today and I'm finally getting settled in. I've been watching the news for some headlines like, "State Capitol has to shut down due to lack of ability to maintain a positive outlook since Rhonda left" or "Oklahoma State Highway Patrol has to request more funding because they can no longer meet their quota since Rhonda left" or even "Car Insurance rates at an all time high..." Well, you get the idea...but alas, no such news. I would come back if I had too, but I guess all is well WITHOUT me. **sniff**

Here's a travel tip: (This tip is sponsored in part by General FoodsInternational Coffees...Celebrate something) If you decide to come up and visit and want to take a leisure drive to see the sights, it is not in your best interest to take roads you are not familiar with. Should you do this, do not stop at red lights. Running a red light will only get you a ticket. Stopping will get you killed. P.S. Saginaw Street is not a good part of town. So there you go - Not that I got lost, I'm just looking out for my friends. That's all...

So, who's coming up to see me first????

I had another funeral procession - same thing happened, except this experience was spiced up a bit by an 80 year old who flipped me off as he passed me. I guess he had somewhere to go or something.

Mark and I started a diet this past Monday. It's called the grapefruit diet. Some of you may have heard of it or even tried it. It's not a bad diet, just really restrictive - you can't snack. That's just crazy talk. Who EVER considered not SNACKING???Hello???? I would cut MEALS out of my day before I would cut snacks. Oh wait, right before bedtime, you do get one snackie poo - an 8 oz glass of either tomato or cow juice (low fat skim). That's filling. Mark is used to snacking quite a bit in the evenings so the first night, he kept asking me if he could have stuff. Then, throughout the evening, he would go into the kitchen and just stand and look around. I thought he was never gonna go to bed. I, on the other hand, was a perfect picture of composed and committed.

Then comes day 2. I was fine until that evening. We went over toMark's brother's house to swim. When we were finished, Kelly (his wife) pulled out the leftover homemade strawberry shortcake fromJessica's birthday party. I lost it - I wanted it so bad. Shoot - I just wanted to smear it all over myself. Oh wow - I didn't cheat, but don't think for a second that I didn't want to.

We finally broke last night and went and bought low carb ice cream. It wasn't our fault really - that stinking diet made us do it. That's all I have to say about that really.

I had another job interview on Wednesday in East Lansing, which is just a few miles away from where Mark works. That would be nice so I don't have to be driving in the bad weather. Insurance companies allover the place - UNITE! It went really well, and then yesterday, I got a call back for a second interview for the job in Ann Arbor. It's next Tuesday. I wowed em' - I knew I would.

Well, I have to go get ready now. My future sisters-in-law are taking me to lunch to "Welcome Me to the Family". I'm really excited about it - they are three very sweet women. Ok...that's all. Except that I miss you all with everything in me.

Love, Love, Love
Yankee Princess

boy, aren't yankees NICE???

2005-07-06T20:08:00.000-04:00

Ok, so here's what's been going on so far...unpacking. oh yeah , good times there.

Yesterday, I decided to go get my Michigan drivers license since you only have 30 days to get it. I go in, take a number, and wait. It's my turn, WOOHOO! I go to the counter and tell her I need a new drivers license. She asks for THREE forms of I.D. Oh, and by the way, a social security card doesn't work. (Then what the heck do I have this thing for???) She wants a high school diploma, a high school year book, a birth certificate...all of which I conveniently carry in my glove compartment. I almost asked, "Would you also like a stool sample? Maybe swab my cheek?" So in the midst of planning, I'm thinking that I won't get my car tag renewed until it expires in November - get the most bang for your buck, right? Not so much -Because I might get pulled over (yeah right), if I whip out my shiney new Michigan drivers license and don't have the coordinating accessories (license plate, antenna flag - you know, the usual), I just might get another ticket. So, I take my little Okie drivers license and go home.

So later in the day, I turn on to a two lane street that has a third lane on the far right of my side of the street. As I pull into that lane, a funeral processional heads my direction, so I stop the car, 'cause that's what you do right? Well, I ALMOST DIED waiting on that funeral processional because supposedly, Yankees haven't heard yet about the stopping your car out of respect thing. In fact, people SPED UP - It was almost like they thought that respectful - to get past the processional as quickly as possible. Unbelievable.

Last night, I got a call for another interview next Wednesday. This could be the job I really want. We're not sure - the one I interview for tomorrow pays a lot more, but the one I got a call about for nextweek is in the same town as Mark so he could take me to work (not thatI don't have mad driving skills, especially in snow and ice, but it makes him feel like a real man, taking care of me and all....it's all about him really) Cross your prayer fingers that God will simply close the door that I'm not supposed to walk through. We only want God's will for our lives.

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support. I can never tell you enough how much you all mean to me.

"Whatever you are, Be a Good One."

Princess Rhonda

No snow yet....

2005-07-04T19:58:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! Well, like it or not, I'm here now. We (my brother and I) left Friday from work and thought we had gained an hour and a half because the offices closed early. Alas, not so much. We hit Tulsa just shortly after some bad driver hit some other driver...fabulous -and in 5 o'clock traffic. Fortunately, I had my pedicure kit with me and could do some trimming while my brother handled the masses. Once we got through the wreck, it was on to some "one - lane action"....took us that extra hour and a half to get through 20 MILES...Bless my heart.

We got to St. Louis where I had made a reservation at the hotel I found to be closest to the interstate that we were on (I had no scientific knowledge to back up my decision, mind you). I even told her we had a u-haul with a car in tow. I'm sure she was just really busy when I called to make the reservation and just FORGOT to tell me there was nowhere for us to park in this very upscale part of downtown St. Louis. When we arrived and found the situation to be what it was, Abu and Shaq (an Assistant Manager who was from India I think and the security guard who looked just like Shaq - names have been changed to protect the innocent) tried to tell us we could back up the uhaul into a parking spot with the car in tow. Finally, after much discussion and not being able to convince Abu that there was no way that was going to happen, we cancelled our reservation and drove off as they yelled at us that we wouldn't find another room because "The fair is in town." We'll show them, and show them we did. We found another room - HA! (It just happened to be another 2 1/2 hours down the road- and that was just because at 3:00 am, someone had just checked out. We slept like babies and left around 10:30 the next morning.

Construction is a pretty popular thing we found out - sometimes they like to piggy back construct. Certainly, it was the ideal situation for someone with A.D.D. Good NIGHT! And I would have slept through it except (in case you didn't know this), the seats don't and can't recline in U-haul trucks. No one told me that ahead of time or I would have just strapped all my stuff onto the back of a GREYHOUND. So, I'm left to entertain myself (Bless my brother's heart). I think (Not for sure yet) I got a wee bit grumpy maybe towards the end of the trip. I was bored, irritable, and forgot to take my pill- We arrived safely and exhausted!

Mark built a deck to surprise me and it's beautiful! He also bought me a new Schwinn mountain bike so that we can get some exercise. He was right - I got plenty pushing that thing down the stairs of the deck to get it out of the way. Anyway, the family room looks just like it did yesterday evening - like a disaster area. Tomorrow will be good since Mark goes to work and I can start going through our house looking for places to cram things so he will think I cleaned when he gets home. I miss you all terribly and I hope you all had a beautiful Fourth ofJuly. We bought matching t-shirts from Old Navy and put them on just in time to watch a gigantic storm come through town. It was quite patriotic. I love each and every one of you from the heart of my bottom! Keep your eyes on the Son and ME in your hearts...And will someone check on my mom - I'm sure she is going nuts without me living with her right now! HA HA

Bye for now -Princess Rhonda