MUSINGS

As usual on a full moon, I had far too much energy and not enough time to do everything I'd like to do. I cut my yard, flea treated my dogs, relocated the one who likes to jump fences, and went on to clean my house.  I'm one of those women who mutters as she cleans...you know what I mean, you've heard your mama or your grandma do it.  You walk up on them as they are mopping, scrubbing dishes, or doing laundry...just talking away under their breath.  They (or you) may not realize it but they were taking negative energy and turning it into something positive, even if it's only a shiny kettle. My daughter has walked in on me many an afternoon just as I used to do my own mother, she will laugh at me and say, "talking to yourself again mama?"  Yes baby, I am, sometimes I'm praying, sometimes I'm cussing and sometimes I'm reworking a conversation that I had previously.  Many times during a week I'll converse with someone and come away from the con...

People often remark that I don't talk about my time in the Corps.  Most folks know, at least within either the initial introduction or the first few talks that I served.  My Honey brought it up a few times after we'd been together for a while that he knew nothing of my experiences when I was overseas.  He got one or two snipits about Japan here and there and that was about it.  Basically what everyone gets, the "safe" stories.  There are things best left in the past.  That being said, I am here to bare the soul a bit and offer up a story or two, names shall be changed to protect the not-so-innocent and maintain the status quo.  Grab a beer, it might get interesting. Many moons ago there was a young woman who was a new mom, a new wife and incredibly poor.  She drank far too much and spent too much time running behind a certain best friend who was the gunpowder to her lead.  She was adjusting to life as much as she could, broke, miserable, an...

Blake Shelton:  Boys 'Round Here A friend of mine posted an article in regard to this video and poked fun at the idea that a Southern boy could promote positive race relations and kill off old misconceptions.  Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend that certain hate groups are not still alive and well down here, or that there are folks who still haven't "woken up"...but it's not as bad as most people would believe.  I'm excited about the current fad of country music and Southern rock, people are seeing that even a Redneck is simply a hard working individual loaded with family and community pride. There are several common ideas that float around in regard to Southerners and country folks that are quite off base.  I'd like to roll through a few and set the record a bit straighter. No. 1     All white Southerners are either descended from slave owners or are prejudiced against African-Americans. Bust:     Only the most wealthy families ...

This one is for the Missus. Ever wonder when you've become "that woman"...?  You know the one, she owns Tarot cards or a hefty worn down Bible, and is able to lay down the "when I was younger and skinny" stories...  The spiritual lady, the devout lady, the one who understands who/what God is to her... Has seemingly done it all...Will look you in the eye and say, "you will understand later on"...or "you have some growing to do".... Have you ever left a conversation or a moment in time, sat in your car and thought, "was I this naive? Or is there really a generation gap? when did I become.... Her ..."  All the while learning, growing and conquering her own deamons.  She doesn't see herself as the one who needs to be giving advice or spouting lessons or wisdom...  She's the woman who is trying to conquer poison ivy and keep her relationship current and hot and alive...AND learn how to grow up.... I've spent time recent...

Miranda Lambert and I have gotten to be pretty good friends the last few years.  Southern women are unique in the fact that we rarely tell someone what we really think of them.  It's just not polite.  Now we'll bless their hearts till we turn blue, but until we've been pushed into a corner there's a grace period of: "let's see how far this is actually going to go before I go completely white trash on'em".  Well ya'll, I was born white trash. Don't get your panties in a twist over the verbiage, white trash/redneck, it's sort of like calling someone in South Louisiana a Coonass.  An outsider can't call someone that, they didn't earn the right to use those words on a local.  I can call myself that because I know that my daddy worked as hard as he could for as long as he could, and my mom picked up that torch when he was physically unable.  This earned my little family a small plot of land, a single wide trailer and a myriad of tr...

I spent the afternoon reveling with the locals and a myriad of foreigners for our first festival of the year.  The week has been so odd and surreal that I needed something to reinforce my lust for life in general.  The week itself contained the deaths of some people who were seemingly too young to go, a progressed illness in a close friend, a change in my career path, and the potential dissolve of a friendship that was fairly new.  Surreal doesn't even describe it all.  The universe has always shown me when I'm going down the correct path and when I make a life change it always encompasses so much more than I expected.  This time is no different.  Each thing that changes directly correlates to the other, for every thing I give up there is always something that comes to take it's place.  Doors opening and closing if you will. Death = Transition I've never been one to believe the phrase "gone too soon", or "too young  to die".  I'm not ...

I know, I've been on a tear lately about sex and the Feminine Divine and all that.  The subject is hitting closer and closer to home as my daughter matures.  You see I didn't have much sex education growing up, as a matter of fact, I had practically none.  Had it not been for my sister breaking out some library books for me around 13 or 14 years old, I'm not sure where exactly I'd have been.  By the time I was 19 I'd had plenty of extra-curricular and plenty of boyfriends and had never been to a gynecologist.  Had no idea what they did or why.  I was terrified. There have been articles and things floating all over Facebook, THIS being one, that have given different opinions and outlooks on teenagers and sex.  There are plenty of people that don't believe sex education should be taught in schools.  There are also folks who are bound and determined to keep the flow of information as handy as possible.  I am one of those.  Vehemently as ...