A Reason, A Season, A Lifetime....farewell friend!

SO the time has come for us to part company and move forward onto bigger and better things no doubt! People are always coming in and out of our lives we have to figure out if they come for a reason, a season or a lifetime....

Well let's see...How we met....well....let me see we live in a small town and as with any small town one would aspire to work at a place that gives the illusion, if not actually provides, stability. In Flag what do you have to choose from...the usual...State, County, City, then perhaps not so usual WL Gore, Purina, Walgreens, NAU and of course where we met...the hospital. I have always wanted to work at the hospital myself it seemed as if it would be interesting or at least it would be different and as it so happened I was sent there on a temp assignment that turned into a permanent job. YAY it started out like HEAVEN but shortly went to HELL in a hand basket... but that is another story. The best thing to come out of that job though was the people I met while working there....I got to meet a lady whose ENTIRE family I thought I knew, only to find out she was the baby and I thought the other sister was....I met Althea and KMart...and many, many others....some nice, some not so much... AND then I met you!

What can one say about you...well for starters I guess I can ask who can say they know a self proclaimed Witch?! Interesting proclamation. I believe you said you were a High Priestess or something and I believe my response was yeah right....you know I don't believe in that stuff right? BUT nevertheless we became friends...I remember all the stories you told about your first encounter with people at the grocery store, your dad and his paranoia "Tracy everybody out here is packing heat", your MOTHER "Tracy must be somewhere around for you to say that 'cause you are lying", oh my she is funny! Well maybe not so much to you but.... AND of course I can't forget you reading me the headlines over the cubicle wall as we worked. We would discuss, sometimes loudly, what was going on in the news or whatever like two old bitties hanging over the fence. Good, bad, funny or sad I think we covered it all...you were never afraid to voice your opinion, even if it was contrary to mine...but as you said on Saturday when Althea and I were having the loud discussion in the restaurant, "that is what friends do, they disagree with each other but then they are fine...." I have some good friends, who when I think about some of the things I have said to them over the years, WOW! I know that if they would have said the same to me we wouldn't be friends BUT they are in that respect "bigger" than me and yes I can admit that. ANYWAY... as for you and I we've sat in my car smoking cigarettes and we've talked about work, people, life any and everything in between and you would remind, "Don't forget the bread!", as I drove off.... I am not really sure how long I have known you but it seems like a lifetime has passed... I won't forget any of it especially those tasty treats straight from New York and straight to my head...bloodstream....how much sugar do they put in those things anyway?!!! You had a NEW YORK temper but you also had a heart that made you vulnerable to the injustices in the world. I know you would do what you could, when you could for whomever you could, not a lot of people would do that. You know what I mean? Unfortunately I don't think you realize what you are capable of or what your worth is....let me tell ya this...you are capable of being the best Tracy/Ray there is with the biggest heart and biggest smile in the world. You are worth more than gold you need to know that! Never settle for less or think you have to buy your friends or your relationships...remember that! There is someone out there just for you who is waiting to show you what happiness really is...perhaps Texas is the place to find him???? Wouldn't that be SWEET! As you go off on your travel I have to say I am not sure of the reason you came into my life, and now the season is over, but you will be a memory that will last a lifetime!

Lastly I would be remiss if I did not say this....you mentioned the other day that you are a Witch that LOVES Gospel music and not many people know that... you also mentioned that you loved the song, "God Is Trying to Tell you Something..."and every time you hear it you are moved to tears. Well God is trying to tell you something. He wants you to know that He is standing at the door knocking waiting for you to hear His knock and let Him in(Revelation 3:20)...He wants you to know that He knew you before you were formed(Jeremiah 1:5), and that He cares so much for you that He knows the number of hairs you have on your head(Matthew 10:30). He wants you to know that when you think you are alone and nobody cares He cares and He is always with you(Joshua 1:5). God loves you and that's all that matters! And He loves you that much I guess I can tolerate you! Thought it was getting kind of mushy there...

My prayer for you and Althea even though you are heathens :P)...is this that God Blesses you with EVERYTHING HE has for you!

Take care be careful in your travels....God Speed!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Oregon....The Rest of the Story.....

As I said yesterday....here is the rest of the story....Oregon you really gotta love it!

SO…. Where was I? Oh yeah drunk Stu…

Well we sat around the dinner table talking while Stu sat over in another area in a chair where he continued to mumble about not knowing where he was and wanting to know what was going on… we ignored him… as we sat and talked Gary’s “friend” Tom is well I guess he is a happy drunk… he was jabbering on and I was sitting next to him and he would slap or grab onto my knee “Gary we are some lucky son of guns you know that… I mean you have this wonderful lady here who loves you and I got Kathie, man it doesn’t get any better….” (insert knee slap/grab here)… more conversation and Tom’s hand is now on my thigh… I try to inconspicuously move my chair over but Tom is about 6’ tall so he has a reach on him… more conversation and he grabs onto my shoulder and gives it a good shake… we keep talking and then Tom’s hand is not where it should be… OKAY…ALRIGHT Gary! Its time to go bed now… in between the grabs Kathie had noticed Stu sliding down in the chair so she suggested that he go to bed…which everybody agreed to BUT no one was helping Kathie with. I said Gary she is a lady and she should not be trying to corral a drunken man into bed by herself YOU take care of Stu…so the sleeping arrangements are this… Tom and Kathie have a “Casita” or guest house it is a one bedroom house… it is not completely furnished but it has a bed in the bedroom and a sectional couch which has a pull out in it, refrigerator, stove, microwave, coffee maker, etc… wait a minute this place is furnished… ANYWAY… Stu is going to sleep on the couch and Gary and I are going to have the bed….right! WRONG! Gary put Stu to bed, he got him undressed and put him on the pull out couch… when we went down to the guest house it was dark I said Gary didn’t you leave a light on for Stu what if he had to get up he could have fell and hurt himself. SO we walk in look around… the couch is empty… we walk in a little further… look around turn on the bathroom lights and look back towards the bedroom and there is Stu stretched out in the bed spread eagle in his tighty whiteys. Trust me it was not a pretty sight… Gary starts to roust Stu out of the bed… I said Gary just leave him there if you get him up and put him back on the couch where do you think he is going to end up if he gets up again during the night? Do YOU want him crawling in bed with you… we get undressed and settle down on the sofa bed… I wake up because I hear someone walking around, pacing… I slowly open my eyes and there is Stu walking back and forth in a daze… I nudge Gary and Gary rolls over and starts snoring… I say in a whispered LOUD voice GARY! Gary says what… I say look at Stu he is lost… help him back to bed. Gary being Gary he is so helpful… he yells “STU GO BACK TO BED!” I said Gary get up and help him, at this point Stu is back to mumbling “I don’t know where I am…” when Gary yelled at him Stu said, “I am trying dad but I don’t know where I am…” I said Gary get the hell up and help him… so Gary gets up and leads him back to the bed… this same thing happens at least three count them 3 more times throughout the night/morning…. The only difference is during one of the times that Stu got up he tried to walk out of the window… the guest house has this floor to ceiling window and its not covered and Stu kept trying to walk out of it… needless to say I didn’t get much sleep that night… the next morning I wake up and hear quiet, nothing, so I figure Stu is passed out and now would be a good time to make a run for the bathroom… WRONG ANSWER RICHARD WE WON’T PLAY… well when I came out of the bathroom guess who was bending over in their tighty whiteys digging through their suit case? Guess whose tighty whiteys aren’t really tight? STU! I think I went blind for a minute… I regain my sight and I run and jumped on the bed with Gary and I try to put the sight I had just seen out of my mind… but then Stu stands at the foot of the bed apologizing for his behavior and remarks how embarrassed he is about the whole thing… and that we should have the bed tonight (Saturday night)… I am looking up at the ceiling, cause I can’t very well look at him because he has no clothes on! And I say don’t worry about it Stu you are fine you can have the bed and there is no need to be embarrassed you just had a little too much fun… it’s okay… Stu gets dressed and goes up to the big house… Gary and Tom give Stu a ration of crap that is just really unnecessary considering Tom is a horn dog when intoxicated and Gary never gets the “tell them that story honey” syndrome where he wants YOU to tell every story you know about anything… I know Gary if you do something once in front of him, like get drunk and tell off his family, he will remind you of it every chance he gets… They had already started on Stu the night before so I knew Stu was in for it… so when I got dressed I went up to the house and everybody was sitting out on the deck eating breakfast and as soon as Stu sees me he drops his head and won’t look at me because he is so embarrassed… I go over to him and give him a hug and I say don’t you worry about it Stu YOU WERE GOOD last night!

That pretty much ended the teasing of Stu… Kathie’s sister Ann said well damn maybe I should have slept in the guest house…. I said yeah you missed out… we had our breakfast and went on with the day… Gary and I went to Grandpa George’s grave site for a visit and Tom and Stu went golfing… Kathie and Ann went to clean out their mom’s house… that night Tom, Stu and Gary went to their reunion dinner… Kathie, Ann and I went to dinner and when we got back to the house the guys were able to con two women from their class into following them home… They are all sitting around the table laughing and talking and they immediately start trying to be macho… “now honey don’t get mad these are just two girls who wouldn’t date us in high school they are the only two we could get to follow us home… but we’re just friends” I said that is fine Gary I am not worried about it… BUT you might want to zip your pants before your tadpole jumps out and frightens someone!! Oh I am sorry did I say tadpole I meant to say before you unleash the lizard and hurt someone!!!!! GET REAL! Gary never zips his pants, I can never figure out how he forgets to do that... I just hope he wasn’t walking around the dinner like that… talk about embarrassing… apparently nobody noticed until I pointed it out then both ladies looked…. SAD!!!!! They had given all the attendees a name tag with LARGE print on it and a picture of what they looked like in high school. Gary didn’t graduate with this class but he went to school with them until his senior year when they moved to Scottsdale… so he didn’t have a picture… Tom was handsome in his day and Stu…OMG! I know you all know who Christina Ricci is… well now you know what Stu looks like! Big eyes… huge forehead… seriously put some dark hair on this man and you have that girl… well at least back in his high school years… Stu was a golf pro at least in his college years and he played in high school along with Tom and Gary….Tom inherited the family car dealership… rich kids with nothing better to do but chase women and be obnoxious!!!!!!!!!! Gary says he wasn’t rich he just hung out with the rich kids… They sit and talk about their kids and their lives and I am sitting there wondering WHAT THE %$**! … Tom lets out a barrage of profanities as he twirls around the room… I just sit and stare and wonder will I be this goofy when I am there age?

I don’t want to be goofy I want to be smooth…. Anyway….

The girls left and we sat and talked for a while… apparently Kathie, Ann and I had more fun at our dinner than they did at theirs…they just don’t have the charm they had back in the day and of course being stumbling drunks didn’t help spark any magic… we went to bed around 1 or 2 that morning and the next day, Sunday, we get up and apparently Stu either took my joke seriously that he was good or he was just comfortable with his body because he had no qualms about standing in front of me talking to me with just his underwear on… I was thinking SERIOUSLY! Put some clothes on!! That is just wrong! Your tighty whiteys aren’t even tight… and you need some color… HELP ME!

We left Oregon… and bid a fond farewell to our hospitable host, hostess and Stu and moved onto Nevada… but that is another story…

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Oregon....its a LOVELY place!

This is another story that I have previously bombarded my email friends with....it is kind of long but hopefully you will find it worth the read! It was an email sent over three days or three different emails... I had to skip the first one otherwise it might cause a family dispute....BUT here is the second email...I send the third tomorrow!

Okay where was I???? Oh yeah we drove from Williams, AZ to Williams CA in one day….

SO we get up in Williams, CA and I had brought the infamous “Hook ‘em Horns” shirt figuring hey I am NORTHERN CALIFORNIA on my way to OREGON who will care about the Texas longhorns up there…WELL apparently it doesn’t matter where you go there is going to be a Texas fan somewhere…we go downstairs for breakfast because the hotel that we are at serves breakfast and as I am getting myself some juice and coffee this man is staring at my chest… SO I figure he is trying to figure out if that is a bug or something else on my chest because I have that guardian angel pin that I wear… WRONG! “Are you from Texas? Or did you go to school there?” I say I have relatives in Texas… “OH my daughter is going to school there that is a great school!” I am thinking who cares… but I just smile… SO Gary has some idle chit chat with this man about where we are going and how bad the smoke is going through the Mt. Shasta area…. I am thinking… can we GO NOW! SO we FINALLY leave… I ask Gary about going to see the Red Woods, he says they are WAY over on the coast and out of the way…I said okay… and I go back to reading my book… as we are driving through this national forest area Gary says, “HEY there is one! Look at that tree!” Did I mention we were in a national forest so “Hey look at that tree” is not doing ANYTHING for me since there are a gazillion trees on either side of the road…. SERIOUSLY! I said Gary what tree? He said that one see how the bark is different than the others… WHAT ONE! We are driving through a tundra of trees and winding roads and my thought now is why are you looking at the trees and not the road… the road we are on is like going down the switch backs to Sedona BUT on this road there are also inlets and outlets for people coming onto and getting off the road… don’t you think it would behoove you to just look at the road?! Maybe it’s just me… Gary says it’s not good to just look at the road you should look around otherwise you could get road blur or blindness or something… get the hell out of here and watch the road!

We finally get to Oregon THANK GOD and it is noon so Gary says it is too early to go to his friend’s house where we will be staying so we go to Crater Lake (http://www.nps.gov/crla/)... it is a national park so just like the Grand Canyon you have to pay to get in… well as we pull up to the pay area I am sitting in the PASSENGER seat and I hear the Park Ranger say, “I like that shirt you have on. I went to school there, did you…” Are you kidding me? I am in the passenger seat minding my own business and you are telling me that you can see these freakin’ hook’em horns all the way over here from your little booth all the way over there? SERIOUSLY… anyway I put the website there so you guys can check it out I can’t explain how blue this water was and how cool this place was… the water is from the run off from the snow and there is no other water coming into it and although they do have a “small” seepage problem there is no outlet for the water it is mainly from evaporation. You gotta see this place…. ANYWAY… as we are leaving I go to throw some trash in the garbage can and wouldn’t you know it there is a lady next to the can and what does she say…”That is a nice T-Shirt!” KILL ME NOW!

We get to Gary’s friend’s house and Gary and Tom sit up and chit chat for awhile, Tom tells Gary that Stu is coming and that he believes Stu is messed up in the head and just plain crazy… all Stu talks about is the problems with his house and how this has been dragging on for the last 4 years… a little more chit chat and then it’s time to go to bed… we found out when we got there that Tom’s wife’s mother passed away a few days before we got there and that his wife was on her way back from the funeral services and that is why she wasn’t there to meet us when we got there… SAD! The next day is Friday and another of Gary and Tom’s friends arrive “Stu” they call him eyeballs… I asked why and Gary said you will see when you see him… Stu has very pronounced eyeballs… I guess “eyeballs” is better than being called bug eyed or something like that… actually no its not! Who would think to call someone eyeballs???? Stu gets in about 11:30’ish and Gary says, “I guess it’s too early for a beer huh Stu?” Stu replies not really I had one on the plane. Who drinks at 9 in the morning? Stu flew in from Vegas it is at least a 2.5 hour flight… SO they start drinking… Friday is the first day of their reunion the class is going on a river trip… Gary and I go on the boat trip and Tom and Stu go golfing… they (Tom and Stu) drink more… We went on a river trip down the Rogue River through “Hellsgate” a pass on the river (http://www.hellgate.com/Splash/)... Insane! As we go down the river the tour guide says “those of you sitting on the outside of the boat will be WET when this trip is over…those of you in the front will be WET when this trip is over and those of you in the back it may take a while but you will get yours too… now when I say hold on I want you guys in the front to grab onto the bar sticking out in front of you with one hand and grab the back of the seat with your other hand, if you don’t do this when I say hold on you will bang around this boat like unsecured luggage on a bumpy flight… throughout this ride down the river, I will show you wild life, I will point out points of interest and I will spin this boat 360 at any given time!” I am saying to myself now why would you want to do that this is a perfectly good boat it is going along quite well no problems so why…oh WHY would you want to throw it into a spin for no apparent reason… we went down the river at a high rate of speed (55 mph) spun, bumped, banged and sometimes it felt like we were airborne…guess who was on the outside? YUP! ME! And believe it or not I didn’t use a life jacket… STUPID HUH?! Especially since I can’t swim!!!!!!! When we got back to Tom’s house I had to change my clothes including my underwear! We took the dinner cruise or ride and as we sat at the table for dinner people were pointing at me and whispering…it is SO much fun to be a "fly" in the buttermilk and not only a fly but the youngest in a group of OLD people… Just when I had finally settled down from the ride down and psyched myself up for the ride back up the river these women cover to the table where Gary and I are sitting and they proceed to hug Gary and then get up close and personal with me… I mean if they were any closer in my face we could have rubbed noses… which would have been scary because you know how I like my space… not to mention the fact that I had just ate a salad and ate all the onions off the salad so my breath was not the freshest! BUT did that deter these determined women who wanted to get a GOOD look at the woman Gary married…NO!!! Bad breath and all they were in my face, “SSSSOOOO where did you guys meet? How long have you been married? When did you get here? Are you coming to the dinner tomorrow, etc. etc. etc.”… These questions were merely diversions to the real reason they were there… I don’t think my doctor has ever looked me over closer than these bitties did! When they left Gary said he always had more girls for friends in school than he did boys he just got along better with the girls… I have a picture of Gary and his harem I will send it to you all later… this one voluptuous lady said she was Gary’s girlfriend in the 7^th grade… Gary denied it but in the picture you will see she is the one right next to Gary with her arms around him smiling… the majority of these people have been classmates since kindergarten…can you imagine!

When we got back to Tom’s house we find that Tom and everyone are across the street at a party for the CEO for Harry and David’ you know the pear people… after a while Tom comes in and he is about 10 sheets to the wind… later on his wife comes in and she has Stu by the hand Stu is walking very awkwardly and he is mumbling “I don’t know where I am as he staggers across the floor…” Stu says this several times and finally Tom says, “SIT DOWN YOU DRUNK MOTHER&*$%^@! We know you don’t know where you are just sit down and SHUT the $%&* up!” OMG! I almost shot beer across the room through my nose! I wasn’t expecting that to come out of Tom’s mouth…Remember these are old people they should all be sitting down and shutting up! BUT since it is there reunion… I just sat back and watched the stupidity unfold!

I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow ‘cause believe me it gets better!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Variety is the SPICE of life....so they say!

SO what is up people? How are you doing? I have a headache and a cough that comes up from my chest...other than that I am doing good! Even with the headache and cough I am still doing good!

I have been employed now for a whole two weeks I think I am getting the hang of it. The lady who is retiring and for whom I am 'attempting' to replace is very well organized. I mean VERY organized she has the office set up so that if computers were capable she could have it wipe your @$$! SERIOUSLY! I am use to working in chaos and disarray so it is hard getting use to things being done orderly. Crazy how some people operate their lives with seemingly everything being done step by step in order and others are just going through their lives haphazardly trying not to break something in the process. But it is apparent that if we didn't have the mixture of the two, life would be boring in and of itself. Those who are orderly always have something to talk about with those who are disorderly and vice-versa.

There are also people in life who thrive on drama the more the merrier for them, and others who would rather not have drama but peace. Again the two mixtures make for a more interesting world to live in...but being one that could do without the drama....well you know what I would say next. NO MORE DRAMA! Hey Mary J. Blige made a song about that! Anyway...the long and short of it is variety is the spice of life and whatever your pleasure is in life 'CHEERS' to you! Live your life the way you want as you have been given a choice to do just that, and isn't that special?! BUT just remember that others may find the way you choose to live your life, especially if it is contrary to the way they live theirs, annoying! SO keep that in mind. I guess this headache is making me cranky?! (Perhaps and perhaps not). I have been told that I need a course in sensitivity training. I don't think it would help. Patience for those who are stupid is more like it. BUT that is just my point of view.

I am going to spend some time today with some classmates from High School. It is amazing how in High School you had these "clicks" or groups of people who were identified as 'jocks', 'stoners', 'nerds', etc., and they would NEVER mix or be seen together unless they were fighting of course. In High School these clicks or groups would never mingle or been seen together, but now that we have graduated from High School and are getting on in age we have no problem crossing those lines and getting together and socializing. In socializing we find out that we are pretty much all the same. The jocks, nerds, stoners, rich kids and the not so rich kids are all the same when you get down to the basics.., who would have thunk it?!! Hhhhmmm it only took 27 years to figure that out. Well, actually I am sure we knew this all along, it's just that in high school everyone wants so much to fit in somewhere that they forget they fit in everywhere!

Variety the SPICE of life....go out and enjoy some variety!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Tractor folk....

HEY you guys! It is insanity time.... oh yeah!

SO how has your weekend been so far? Good I hope! I know it goes by quickly I think we should start a campaign for three day weekends. Especially in today's economy it would be beneficial to the employer and the employees. Did I mention I am an employee now? One day I will be an employer but that is ONE day...

Okay onto my weekend....yesterday or as my niece says, "esterday" (I don't know why she doesn't pronounce the y, she just doesn't) Gary decided to have some of his tractor club members over for a tractor ride and lunch. I know you are all thinking...UUUHHH OOOOHHHH and possibly OH SHIT! You would be correct on both counts. SO the tractor folk are suppose to show up at 10:00AM. NOW since we are talking about pigmently challenged people we know they are going to be ON TIME and even EARLY! They were! At 9:15AM the first tractor rider showed up...his name was Cletus (that is not really his name I just made that up and thank God for spell check cause you don't want to know how I spelled it...BUT it was wrong!) NOW Cletus pulled/carried his tractor over on his trailer. Once the tractor was unloaded he came on in the house with his overalls on and his AMISH straw hat! Is that picture clear to you? I offered him some coffee or doughnuts, etc. he declined and said he had already ate. Gary showed him around the downstairs part of the house and they talked...LOUD! About that time some more folks started to show up, we have the Apple Dumpling Gang (remember I told you all about Grandpa, his son and his grandson? You know my sister put him in a headlock and MASHED his face into her tits! Yeah they came back...) Grandpa had a big ol' smile on his face when I came downstairs but when he saw I came alone the smile faded. NO Grandpa there will be no smothering you in breasts today! THEN Mr. and Mr. Goober showed up....lovely couple, I was just praying that our dinning chairs could withstand the strain of Mr. Goober. (Oh God PLEASE don't let that chair break with that man in it...because if a piece gets stuck up his @$$ I am going to have to go the hospital with him for oxygen). Our dinning set is old and wobbly...not good when you are holding up a two or three hundred pound person! Well once they all came in they were happy to help themselves to the fruit, pastries and coffee I had prepared, this obviously made Cletus more comfortable in eating and he proceeded to eat half of an Entenmann's Cheese Coffee cake.... the Apple Dumpling Gang did their share of damage to the eats as well. Now since it was all men and no other women were going Mrs. Goober decided she would stay with me....LOVELY! I am thinking to myself I can do this...I can entertain a complete stranger for a few HOURS?! Of course I can! SO I call one of my neighbor friends to come over and HELP ME!I mean come over and lets have 'movie' day since Gary is on a tractor ride.... Unfortunately she was in Phoenix so I am screwed....I mean I am on my own! Well I ask Mrs. Goober if she wants to watch some TV or a movie or ANYTHING like that, and she said, "No I am fine just talking." Oh?! Okay! Well lets go in the living room and sit where it is comfortable. SO we did .... SEVEN FREAKIN' HOURS LATER SHE WAS STILL TALKING! The men were off sight seeing and I am stuck in the house with Tammy Talk A LOT! She started talking from the time they took off on their tractors and she didn't stop until they left! She talked about her husband Mr. Goober and how he never does anything right, her children (she was pregnant three (3) times) BUT I think she only has two (2) children she mentioned something about some twins between her son and her daughter but she never talked about them so I ASS-U-ME they passed away or did not make it to birth. Trust me I was NOT about to ask any questions! Mrs. Goober told me about her neighbors and the genetic anomaly her husband suffers from that has been passed on to their children AND their grandchildren. It is like Arthritis BUT it can attack any part of your body, Mr. Goober has had it twice in his eye! It can also attack your heart, it is one of the reasons why Mr. Goober is bent over when he walks. Mrs. Goober just got her new insurance it is only available to people down in Phoenix/Sun City and when she got the insurance she went and had EVERYTHING checked out! Did you know Mrs. Goober has a urinary tract infection? I didn't either until she told me...I was thinking TOO MUCH INFORMATION! But I guess when you are old nothing is 'personal' to you anymore... Mrs. Goober said she had no idea she had this infection the last time she had it she was double over in pain but this time...NOTHING! She is taking medicine for her cholesterol and she recently loss 35 pounds. Her biggest guilty pleasure is the Navajo Tacos at the Cameron Trading Post out by the Grand Canyon...actually it is on the reservation... is it? I can't remember where it is but it is good food! Mrs. Goober's father passed away fro "yellow nail syndrome". Do you know what this? Me either. Yellow nail syndrome is where your nails (finger and toe nails) turn yellow, then black and fall off...ANYWAY...as the men were on their tractor ride it started to rain! Mr. Goober is not going to be happy because he is probably cold and he doesn't like to be cold (even though he was born and raised in Michigan...go figure). You know how I know this about Mr. Goober? Mrs. Goober told me. SHE TOLD ME EVERYTHING! She would not shut up! I sat most of the time with my eyes bugged out, you know like I was surprised or really interested in what she was saying....I wasn't really I was just trying not to let my eyes close NOT EVEN TO BLINK because I would have fallen asleep on her! MY GOD, who talks that much? Who has that much to say? SERIOUSLY!

As I was saying it started to rain while the men were out on the tractor ride so I tried to call Gary to see where they were and he told me there were close to the property and he was "sitting under a tree waiting for the guys to catch up because I thought I could out run the rain but I couldn't so now I am wet sitting her waiting for them." SO I get the binoculars out and I look for Gary... He is literally sitting under a tree...now mind you he is sitting under a tree in a thunderstorm! He is sitting on a tractor with a metal seat under a tree with NO limbs or leaves...it is basically a LIGHTENING ROD sticking straight up in the air and HE IS SITTING UNDER IT! Can you say STUPID! I called him and I said Gary why are sitting under that tree? It is a thunderstorm with LIGHTENING!!!! AND you are sitting UNDER A TREE! You are only a few hundred yards from the house WHY DON'T YOU JUST COME HOME! Tractor folk were only suppose to be here for a few hours. They came at 9'ish and left at 5"ish can you say HEADACHE!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Choices...

Well here we are people, it has been a while! How is every little thing? Sorry I apparently can't come up with a catchier beginning so we are stuck with this one until something else pops in my head...

SO I have been working lately it is good to do SOMETHING with your days and hopefully whatever it is you are doing is making for a more productive life for you. I guess it all boils down to choices. God gave us free reign so that we could make choices of our own free will. Some choices we make are bad, well not necessarily bad, but not good for us...how is that? I don't think there are necessarily bad choices just opportunities to learn. Now in my time span here on this earth I have had the opportunity to learn some things. One thing I learned, which I heard my mom say several times, (actually over and over and over I wouldn't call it her mantra but more like her choice of verbal weapon to use) is that you can't make someone want you. AND I learned the hard way that you can't make someone love you. These sayings are true and once you grasp that truth you will free yourself to be open to those who do want you and to those who do love you. If you are clinging onto something that doesn't want you and doesn't love you, you are only prolonging the inevitable and that is, no matter how hard you cling in the end you will NOT have that which you are trying to hold!

"We hold these truths to be self-evident...." (Declaration of Independence). Independence is a good thing when you are independent you know that you can take care of yourself regardless of whatever else happens. Self reliance is a good thing! NOW don't get me wrong being with someone and knowing someone is going to be there for you is also a good thing! ESPECIALLY IF that someone loves you and wants you for you! And I stress that you for YOU not for what you can do for them, buy them, give them, etc. BUT, in my opinion, it is good to know that if you don't have that 'someone' you are good as ONE! Understand that? Never let anyone or anything define you or make you feel less than...you. You do you the BEST YOU you can and you will be surprised how good you actually are. Know that you are worthy of love, acceptance as you are, and respect. Remember though respect starts with you, if you don't respect yourself then who will?

Okay I have kicked my soapbox over and now we can resume normal programming....

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

It is hard out here for PIMP

WOW it has been a interesting week. I found out where and how EARLY the other 5:00 is on the clock. I get up at 5:00 AM now instead of the usual 7 or 8:00. Believe me it makes a difference in how you proceed during your evening hours. I use to laugh at the neighbors for going to bed when the sun went down and getting up with the chickens(rooster)....now I am my neighbors! SCARY!

SO the first week of employment has been most of what I expected. Since it is Family Law it is what it is and although you would like to think that people are better than stooping to the lowest level of using their kids to get back at each other, you find they are not. My prayer at this time is that this time around I learn how to walk out the door at work and shut off the madness that I have witnessed through out that day and not take it home with me. I also pray that I learn to stop clinching my jaw because it HURTS!

I believe I told you all about the 'personality test' that I had to take at the attorney's office? Well just as I thought it said I was NUTS! Well not really it said I was a BITCH! But why split hairs. I am going to ask to see the results again so that I can be sure of what I hastily read before. HOWEVER the gist was that I am very opinionated, value my opinion over those of others! AND that I can be aggressive and abrasive! NOW yes my opinion is the only opinion that matters and if your skin is thin you may get your feelings hurt BUT that is just me! It is definitely hard out here for a PIMP (Positively Impressive Motivated Person)! I am excited that the admin assistant who shares the office with me has the same taste in music as I have (Jazz and Gospel) so the musical selection will not be a problem, she laughs at just about everything I say AND she likes to keep her head down and do her job! Can you say paradise?! This could be the place for me to be me on whole other level! Think about that for a minute... That could be scary!!!! I am working on getting out some new stories but right now I am getting back in work mode so my mind is not into story telling BUT when it is...yeah I have some!

Until the next time....enjoy your life you only get one!

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie

Irony

Here is some irony for you...

I applied for a job with the Count Attorney's office and with an attorney. I didn't get the job with the County Attorney's office which is the job I wanted but I got the job with the attorney. The irony? The attorney's office is across the street from the County Attorney's office. SO I get to see the office of the job I wanted while working at the job I needed. This is just a prime example of God not always giving us what we want but he always gives us what we need.

I called the County's office just to follow up and see what the deal was I didn't get a phone call back from them letting me know they had chosen someone else, nor did they return my call when I called just to follow up to see if they had made a decision. I figure it evens out this way... I will see the job that I wanted everyday when I go to work, BUT they will see me everyday and see what they could have had but don't! I think that is fare. I talked to some people about the County Attorney's office and oddly enough they didn't have anything nice to say so it obviously a good thing I am not going to work there. I start the new job Wednesday and I tried a trial run today to see if I could make it to the big small town in time enough to make it to work by 8:00 a.m. Well it didn't happen. BUT I was up all night I couldn't sleep and when the alarm went off at 5:00 a.m. I did get up. I got up went down stairs turned it off and went to bed. NOW I did time out everything so I know when the critical hour is for leaving in order to make it to town on time. That is my goal to be on time and be the best. Pray for me! Those of you that know me know I am constantly plagued by CP time! I am breaking that habit with this job though. REALLY I AM! Oh and hey guess what I get to be the 'big cheese' so to speak at this job, at all the other firms where I worked there was always another paralegal or legal assistant there...at this firm I am the only one. Isn't that COOL!

Lesson for today always remember that when you pray for something pray expecting to receive what you ask for BUT know that what you want and what you need are two different things. You may not get what you want but God will supply your needs.

See ya when I see ya!

Peace! Mattie