Keep on trucking?

My hubby bought a new pickup truck about two months ago which he looooves! You know how men feel about their trucks and all! It was something he has been dreaming of owning for a long time. And finally it was his! We go out driving for no particular reason in it and have a heap of fun. I drive a car and I am perfectly comfortable doing so, big vehicles scare me.

This is what it actually looks like

As it turns out my hubby has to undergo knee surgery in the near future and he began hinting that I may have to drive the truck for a while because the truck is 'gears' or 'stick shift'. And because of the whole clutch thing you need two feet to drive!When I received my driver's permit almost twenty years ago I drove stick but since then I stuck to the comfort of automatic vehicles because its just easier and heck this is the 21st century who the hell wants to manually change gears!!

Well apparently some men do, and some weirdo women who feel you re not a 'driver' unless you drive a manual vehicle. So these days when we go out he hops into the front passenger seat and says

'drive because the surgery is coming up and you need the practice'

Well it is a brand new vehicle and I kindah like the looks i get from men while driving it, (no not that look) i mean the respect that a 5'2 woman can handle a truck! So I hop in the driver's seat.

Today was no exception, we were off to the supermarket which is a family affair all the time, we take 2 trolleys a regular one and one with a ride on car for Miss Gabby which keeps her happy. I drive to the grocery, all the while on the highway feeling very proud of myself, glancing over at the hubby he does not look too relaxed but he is not hovering so I do my thing. I even manage to overtake a vehicle or two! I start thinking 'hey I could do this on a semi permanent basis!!' I start to really love the truck too! I mean it really is cute and sooo roomy, and why not drive it, heck I look cute behind the wheel!

We get to the parking lot and there is construction going on so most of the parking lot is closed off, and the normally one way parking area is two-way, so the going is difficult. This is where I should have handed over the keys to hubby and let him drive and find us a parking spot, but I have been in millions of tight spots with my car before and came out of it incident free, because I am actually an excellent driver, just not a truck driver.

Any-who I finally find a spot i was comfortable with away from the congestion, no chance of hitting another car, I just did not look out for the damn pole!! I backed straight into it!! I could have sworn i hit the tyres but no!! Horrors! It was the bumper!!

Well he was crushed, of course he did not quarrel with me because it was an accident and also we know better than to argue over that type of incident. But BOOOOY I could see how disappointed he was, I felt like total crap!! Regretting ever driving that big, stupid truck! I still feel like crap actually! I hit my car before, but this felt somehow worse.

As I type this tonight I realise that even though he did not make a fuss, he did not say, 'you know it's OK worse could have happened' because worse does happen, in fact as I drove onto the highway we saw a 3 car accident, (no injuries) but the cars were beat up very bad.

I guess I should be grateful that no fuss was made, my sisters always tell me that I am a spoiled brat, I mean I did damage the vehicle, but I guess my head is sometimes filled with 'perfect world scenarios' where he would actually say it's OK.

By the time we finished making the groceries we were all singing happily on the way to the 'all you can eat restaurant' because making groceries and cooking on the same day is a no-no, the bumper incident forgotten or put off for now, besides. while in the grocery he made an appointment with his car repair guy, so I guess that made him feel better.

But for now I'll stick to my fabulous car and he will just call a darn cab after knee surgery!!

CURTAIN RODS----PRICELESS

She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things .

On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candle-light, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring-water .


When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell .

They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out . Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned .

Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting.

Nothing worked!!! People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit .


Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move.

A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house . Word got out and eventually even the local Realtors refused to return their calls Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place. The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back . Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day . She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home......... And to spite the ex-wife, they even took the curtain rods!!!!!!

I LOVE A HAPPY ENDING, DON'T YOU?


I received this email today, worth a chuckle aint it?

A Gift To All My Blogging Friends

Here are some mangoes fresh off my tree for everyone in Blogland today, I hope i did not come across as hostile for comments in my last post! It was all in jest as Justine would say 'Blog Fart'. So glad to meet new bloggers as well as my regular visitors, please, have a mango!

Who Are You?!

It drives me crazy, some I can figure out but others, I'm like hmmm who is that, I'm speaking about the 'Live Traffic Feed' that is on my blog and some of our blogs. I see addresses (and flags)from all over America, Canada and Trinidad and sometimes the U.K and i wonder what do they think about my blog?

Then i get kind of pissed because they visit, have a good read and never even say 'Hi!!' you know a blog is not easy to do, it takes time and effort and while I get much enjoyment from it i do it for the enjoyment of others. And a blogging girl cannot get enough love.

Just from my visitor counter alone, I can see there is some traffic on my blog but where is the evidence? Hmph! None!! I cant help it I am really really curious as to who is reading my blog!!

I gave a classmate of mine my blog address and as soon as I did, I felt a form of regret, I mean Trinidad is a small island and how much of my business do I want people to know? Not to mention I see a Trinidad visitor on the blog regularly, and yet no comment from someone from Trinidad! (except my sister and i know when they comment!) So that tells me she is reading and just going 'oh' and 'hmm' and just leaving my damn blog without saying a word! Just rude I say!!

Which brings me to my next point, I don't feel obligated to comment on some one's blog that I visited, but as a blogger I can speak from a blogger's point of view, and also I put myself out there, (by the way we are a very brave bunch) because our blogs and profiles are really open and honest. But i digress (not that I had any main burning point), but I always comment on other persons blog because I love reading blogs just as much as love writing, not to mention eventually I will have to stop rambling on about my visits from frogs and birds and speak about other stuff like Becky did. Which I think is OK because we are all friends here and because I REALLY enjoy sharing with all of you and your opinions matter to me a lot.

So at the end of the day ( or blog) I still welcome all visitors to my blog with open arms, feel free, look around, I do hope that my little silly blog brings a smile to your face and even though I would love to hear from you, because I love meeting new people, I am very thankful for the folks who actually leave a comment and let me feel the love!!

(Raquel was last seen with a globe and a magnifying glass)

Rock Bottom

OK, I have nothing to blog about today, I had a thought actually from my previous blog where my sister 'outed' me for having a messy home, I thought I would give my thoughts on that.... but nah, I'm kindah messy and I also love to clean which is a strange combination, but nuff said.

So, because I have nothing to blog about I thought I would list 7 random things about me.

1. Here goes:
   
   I really love and appreciate my mango tree! It is short so the mangoes are easily accessible, the mangoes are huge and I have yet to taste one sweeter!






2. I really like my portulaca plants! ( they are called 'jump and kiss me' in my neck of the woods), they look so cute this morning!




3. I went to the beach yesterday, totally unplanned and it was wonderful, I had just finished cooking the Sunday meal and thinking about taking a nap (after checking for a new post from my blogging friends of course) and the husband suggested it, and (very sneakily) he suggested it in front of the kids! so I had to say OK! The drive was wonderful and the beach was a little rough because of the recent rainfall but still worth the journey.








4. I made fresh bread for breakfast and it tasted fantastic


5. My cable box fell down for the third time thanks to Miss Gabby trying to change a channel and now it's not working! so it's one functioning cable box for the entire family (I had to watch Design Star in between NBA Basketball!)


6. I bought a gorgeous lamp for my boudoir, as part of it's make-over, and now it's not working because someone threw it down! (Guess who?!)








7. I found this (it's a piece from a costume) on the street during last Carnival celebrations, I found two actually because some folks like to dump their costume once the day has ended, I thought it would add to the decor in some part of my home, now I don't know what to do with it, any suggestions? I asked my husband where i should put the costume piece to take a picture of it and he suggested the dumpster! Men!

Well those are 7 random things about me, and just for fun I thought I would make it a tag game......

Justine............ Go!!

My very first RMS post!

It was a baptism of fire! My first RMS post, firstly I took the pictures of my living and dining long room before RMS even started! My friend at work was in the habit of taking pictures of her home at Christmas time to send for her mom in the U.S and they looked so pretty I thought why not take some pics of my home too?

Now for some people home decor comes naturally, but for me it was something I had to learn, (and still learning) growing up with seven sisters we each had our different functions in the home when it came to helping our mom, I gravitated to the kitchen, so I spent little or no time in the living or dining rooms putting up curtains or arranging furniture. In fact my first experience with curtains and decorating came after I was married, and boy was it tough!!


I remember my first Christmas in my apartment, after I was married, I spent all day trying to get those dang curtains up! Now although I had no experience in 'house-keeping' per se I do appreciate a lovely home that is nicely decorated and I was determined to have my tiny apartment look spiffy for Christmas!


So anyway when RMS started I was hooked! I viewed and viewed and then one day I was going through some photos on my laptop and came across my photos of my dining room and a little sitting room I created off my living room (By then we were no longer in my apartment but in our own home) and I thought hey! I'll post these and see what happens! The photos were taken an hour after midnight on New Years Eve, I had my relatives over and we spent the night on the porch and in the patio. So the dining room and sitting room was not really 'messed up'.



Two of my sisters and a brother in law at the New Years Eve get together



So I posted my 'sitting room' and I waited, and boy did I get it!! The comments were fierce!




'Your wall colors are OK but lose the chairs'

'Oh my I'm speechless'

'Those shelves are WAY too high'

'Pics are a bit dark repost'

'Those curtains do nothing for the room'


Not all were bad though:


'I do like your colors'

And my rating? 2.5 POOR! I have to admit I was a bit sad, I wished they were a bit nicer to me, why did they have to be so mean? I mean I understood the criticism but this is my home, I was just sharing, I felt like the contestants on Design Star after their show was 'cancelled'.

But after a few days I said what the heck, for the few that were nice I would post again, and I would even learn from the meanies and make the changes that I saw fit.

So undaunted and I even had a good laugh I posted my dining room:





The comments were not as fierce but still fun to read:

'What the heck is that on the table?'

'hmmmm those curtains!'

'lose the rug!'

And the nicer comments:

'Your furniture is lovely'



These posts were taken off a long time ago, to be honest not much has changed, (I did lower the shelves though) lol!

This one's for the birds...........

Some persons who read my blog yesterday emailed me and asked for more information on my froggy episode, like

"How afraid was Isaiah of the frog?"

and

"Where was Gabby (my 3yr old) through all the commotion?"

I purposely did not mention her in the blog because.........................well....................I was ashamed of myself!!

You see Gabby was there from beginning to end but she was TOTALLY unaffected by the frog's presence . Now anyone who has been around Gabby knows how much she likes to sing and hum, and I tell you that girl sang and hummed oblivious to the fact that her mother was gripped on fear and terror.

So while I was standing on the chair, Gabby is there walking calmly through the house, stepping over the frog when needed and generally going about her business.

I give myself some credit though, for resisting the urge to scream upon seeing the frog for the first time, you see Kieth always expresses his concern over me "passing on my fear of 'harmless creatures' on the children". I cant help it if birds and frogs scare the daylight out of me!

An almost exact scenario was played out when a bird flew into my kitchen, about a month ago, It was about 8am and I went into the kitchen to start breakfast. The bird flew in from the space where the wall meets the roof, my house is just built that way! The dumb bird must have smelled the bananas and wanted a snack, and then seeing the bay window in my kitchen thought that that was the way out, landed on the window sill and stayed there! Every now and then it would attempt to fly through the closed window. There is NO sound more scary than a trapped and panicked bird flapping his wings violently. My throat goes dry and I just know I have to get out of there!!

So, true to form I gathered my children, headed for the porch and closed my front door, needless to say Kieth was not at home, no surprise there!

Anyway my neighbor Mike passed by and I told him of my predicament, and he was so understanding, he went in the house, I did not follow of course i just stood at the front door and told him where the bird was। I heard him commenting

"Oh it's just a little brown dove!"

I'm thinking it might as well have been a bald eagle!

He opened the bay window and the bird flew out, why cant the birds just leave the way they came in!? Do I need to put up an exit sign for them?

Of course Miss Gabby is in tears at this time because 'her friend bird' is gone and she wanted to play with him!

Kids!

This is where the pesky bird came in!!

See? My little guy IS brave!!

My Garden Grows!!

Hi Everyone

These are updates to my garden photos, these beds were empty just two weeks ago!! I have been bitten by the gardening bug in a huge way!! I seem to be having more success with veggies though!! But of course I have a major weak spot for flowers!!



Anyway enjoy!!