My title in life is the Wife of a Waterman...

however... MANY days that is rather misleading. I mean it makes it sound as if I get up at 3 am and fix a large breakfast for a man who does nothing but grunt for his food and smell of rotten fish. That I tell ya is far from the truth... he doesn't stink... THAT bad.

Ok in all fairness I don't get up when he does either, he gets up way too early for me and the best I can do at that time of morning is grumble and pull the blanket over my head. Then about 3 hours after he has left the house and pulled in probably 70 pots already I stumble out of bed turn on the coffee pot and go to work myself (after a nasty commute down the hall in my jammies). So even though I am his wife.. I don't LIVE HIS LIFE... most of the time.

Saturday I did.. I got up and went out the door with him (leaving the poor little dog very confused as I was not in the bed with her) This is the first thing I saw...

I am not used to seeing my yard in early morning darkness... it is a strange feeling. Even stranger yet is what I saw next.

Who knew that crab pots on a dock could actually be pretty this time of morning... or that the sky could look like this...

The actually photo of this is much more amazing than this turned out on my blog... I can't figure out what the heck is up with bloggers colors but sometimes it does not do my photos justice.. sigh.

This cute guy is my favorite nephew... he got a bit worn out.

I did take a couple of artsy shots that I liked...

Throughout the morning we had a couple of visitors stop by and say hello...

Ultimately this is what we were here for...

Out of all of the shots of the day... I have to say these two are my favorite... I wonder why?

TTBHIF

For those of you who did not watch Third Rock from the Sun.. that is "The Big Head" their leader was known as the Big Head in the Sky... I liked it.. yes I am weird.

So no matter who you thank for it.. it is Friday and quite honestly I think we should all be thanking OURSELVES, after all WE were the ones who made it through another fun filled week at work or raising children or babying husbands or sitting around drinking Jose in our underwear. I am sure that we all worked HARD to get to the weekend, very hard. Now it is here and I am realizing that I have 2,489 things that must be done this weekend because *GASP* Monday is right around the corner. I want to ask when does this end but I am not ready for the alternative yet so I will keep on sitting around drinking Jose in my underwear working really hard to make it to the next Friday in order to do the 2,489 things that are required during the weekend to ensure readiness for Monday.

Yesterday I did actually complete a weekend task. I cut out yard for the first time ever. The waterman has been leery of his wife mounting the Wheel Horse since I met him. I mean come on I have been cutting grass since I was old enough to see over the steering wheel of the antique mower my daddy had and seriously there was only that one incident with the tree... ok ok yes only one with a tree.. only one with a ditch.. only one with a dog .. only one with a rose bush. Do you see the pattern here.. ONE.. I learn quickly from my mistakes! So I assured him I had it under control and by the time he got home the yard would be all cut. It was and it looked nice and it did not erupt into flames and there was just that ONE incident with the mailbox!

Happy Friday all.

Some times I just don't have the energy ...

to even breathe. Today is one of those days. Could it be the moon that is doing it? Or just the fact that Jose doesn't taste as good here. Who knows.

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday. We are both working... isn't that how you are supposed to spend your birthday when you are officially old? What did I get him you ask... a card. Hey now.. not one word from the peanut gallery! That is exactly what he got me a mere two weeks ago on MY birthday. Yea we are giving like that.

I want to tell you a funny story.. I want to share with you some enlightening news... I want to give to you a heart felt monologue but instead I give you this....

Cause the truth is ... I just don't have the energy to think something up.. it HAS to be the heat doing this.. RIGHT??

Hi they Ho there Jose there!

Yea it is all underlined and I don't know WHY.. crap.

Yea I let this blog go.. on purpose sorta. Moved on to other things in my life like facebook farming, photography and massive amounts of Jose consumption. I mean seriously what is life without Jose.

Now on to now.. I met an amazing group of ladies that made me want to get back into this whole bloggy business so here I am. I would promise to do better and what not but I can't make such promises as most of the time when I am in front of this thing it is in a Jose Induced State. Will well call it JIS .. just cause JIS sounds pretty cool.

So anyway back to the bloggy ladies.. they had VA Blogfest 09 and I missed 99% of it cause well it was a this and a that and this and oh yea THAT weekend.. so I will leave you with pictures of the biggest event of that weekend..

Rumplestiltskin

Outings around here..

I am trying to figure out a way to format my blog to share adventures of weekend outings around here with the waterman, aka the Get Away Driver.

There is something to be said for spending a day driving around and around and around this small (it seems small until you spend all day driving and realize you haven't covered half of it) little town and me screaming "STOP!!!! No you didn't stop fast enough.. back up! You were supposed to anticipate I was going to say stop! NO! I can NOT just take the picture from here the light isn't right .. the angle is all wrong!"

I want to be able to share the fruits of those outings with people in a way that makes sense. I have been just throwing them all out on facebook for just the ease of getting them out there, but I think they deserve a nicer home.. a more formal home.

It is still the life of a waterman's wife around here and the subject matter hasn't really changed I just want to add more of what I do into this.. If anyone has suggestions I am open..

I will be sizing down some of yesterday's shots and adding them later today..

smooch ya'll

The love of photoshop..

I was going to do this with CBW's house today but found I liked this one better..

Here is a before and after make over posting.






I absolutely adore actions in Photoshop.

The Get Away Driver..

I have to say that taking shot around town is quite amusing in itself, however it would not be nearly as fun or interesting without my own personal Get Away Driver. He has mentioned that this in fact makes him in cahoots with me on my little excursions until I very matter a factly pointed out we don't REALLLLY do anything illegal. It means nothing that in one had I carry a camera and in the other a leash and at random times holler HERE HERE HERE in a way that only the Hounddog could have taught me years and years ago at the age of two. (cover stories are a must have in the business of not REALLLLY doing anything illegal)

The last couple of days I spent more time on the road with the Get Away Driver than I have since our honeymoon. (Did I just give away his identity?? opps) I have to admit it has been great, we have said more "I don't remember that being there" and "Wow look how much that has changed" than ever before and it was a complete blast.

Unfortunately I am not one for patience so I posted all the good shots on facebook with captions cause I don't want to wait to post one at a time, but I will be using some as fodder cause after all those old house have stories to tell of babies and life back in the day and why the top window looks like a cross. For now... I think I will leave you with this..



"Cruising along in my automobile... baby sitting beside me at the wheel..."

Considering that is what I was doing and all..

SMOOCHIES

I said I loved you..

but I lied. Actually I didn't lie about loving anyone I lied about shoes. I said I was going to post 3 ugly pair today, but I'm not. I have something much more important to share.

The end of one year and the beginning of a new always seems to bring reflection to most of us.. especially what we did in that last year. What I did in that last year was live through the entire year with a 14 year old daughter. I know to most that does not should like a huge achievement however to me it is GINORMOUS! When I was 14 due to some kind of arrangement that was made that I was not privy to until just a couple of years ago, I spent weekends in one home and weekdays in another. I wasn't alone in this adventure and in looking back it probably was one of the most meaningful times of my life. I can look back at that time and think of many lessons I learned. I can also say that at 14 I was a horror as a kid. Not sure how the parents lived through it, all 4 of them, but they did and alas I did too, however I have to say.. my kid... she is still an angel, me at 14 I was pure as the driven snow.. as long as it was driven by say.. Satan and a team of fire breathing black stallions. So you get the point I reflected back 23 years ago to a time when I wasn't so good, and compared that to the same time of my daughters life, no comparison I tell ya.. none.

Crap I am babbling.. there is a point. I promise. I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned that year, 23 years ago.



If you are drunk and have climbed the tree in your front yard and there are people wandering around all over the place looking for you... don't giggle. Yea that one was a HUGE lesson.

Ringing out the New Year...

Yesterday evening the husband and I were watching a little boob tube and something caught our eye and we had to run out and get it for New Years Eve.. (ok ok it was Ben and Jerry's ice cream .. don't ask) Anyway when I walked out the door my I glanced up and the sky and exclaimed.. SCREW THE ICE CREAM.. I got to have that shot! So with as much speed a humanly possibly on that windy little road to Harpers Creek we dashed.. me with camera in hand and pa in his kercheif.. (oh wait wrong story)

It is times like these I wish I could have been a Cullen. On the other hand I am not 100% sure they appreciate sun sets. I could not think of a better way to ring out the old year and bring in the new than a shot of the sun setting in 2008 and rising in 2009 (if anyone has a shot of that sun rising thing let me know.. K?)

I am wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy and Prosperous 2009!

Yesterday I spent a girls day with my girls (..and no I don't mean the boobs as one of my friends thought I meant when I sent her a text stating I was hanging out with the girls today.) So I will explain, I have one daughter so most would think I would say I was "hanging on with my girl" um no.. cause regardless of the fact that I have only one daughter I do in fact have a niece hence girlS. We had a blast. We did the following:

A. Took the oldest girl to CHKD to have her ankle rechecked. Still must wear air cast but does not need crutches and has exercises she has to do or next thing will be supervised PT. (there are no pictures of that)

B. We went to the book store and both girls got books, even though one girl apparently calls the other girl weird cause she reads too much when we got to the book store she decided she liked to read too. (there are no pictures of this either)

C. We went to the mall in search of a Beatles calendar which we found.. unfortunately we also found a iCarly and a Funny Bunny calendar too, I am still not sure how the hunt for ONE calendar turned into the purchase of three but it did. (there are no pictures of this)

D. We played in the mall and got yelled at in Spencers.. THERE ARE PICTURES OF THIS...







E. We went to lunch at one of our favorite spots in Newport News I think it is called Atzeca or something like that.. but it is where the old Chi Chis was. (again no pictures I had chips in my hands)

F. MANIS!!! Only one shot of that.. the chick yelled at me in a very firm Asian kinda way and believe me having a cuticle clipper poked at you with every word is intimidating so I put the camera away. I actually got the most important shot cause this was her FIRST mani.



G. Then there was another unfortunate incident that included a Pumba and a galloping horse.. I think my child now hates me but it is really her fault .. shortly before arriving at this particular destination we were singing "I just can't wait to be King" .. you know from the Lion King.. oh come on YOU KNOW.. Everybody Look Left.. Everybody Look Right.. Everywhere you Look I'm standing spot light.. oh well you don't know.. ok. Hakuna Matata.. know that one? Oh.. K.. Good. Well as we are singing the daughter screams I am PUMBA!! So what you are about to see is HER fault!




Tomorrow.. the girls day from Tuesday, including different girls and at least 3 pair of ugly shoes.

Happy .....

Birthday Baby Boy! You thought I was going to say New Year didn't you.

17 years ago today I had my oldest son.. exactly 7 hours and 17 minutes ago. He was born at 0:00:00 between December 30 and 31.. 24 hours later and he would have been the first baby for 98 in the world. I actually was given the opportunity to pick which day he was born on because when the nurses entered it in the computer it would not give a date for that time and the Dr swore it was not a second before or after it was dead on. So.. given that little gem I picked the 31st because no matter how old he is or where he is.. there will ALWAYS be a party on his birthday. I am such a cool mom.

Days go by...

(that song is so stuck in my head but that is the only piece I remember so hang tight a second)

And days go by...
I can feel 'em flyin'
Like a hand out the window in the wind.
The cars go by...
Yeah it's all we've been given,
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by...
Oh and a woo-hoo...

Ok that is better.. I like that little woo-hoo at the end. In case some of you don't know I happen to dabble in photography a bit. I doubt I will ever have the eye that these wonderful ladies do...

Chesapeake Bay Woman

or

The Pioneer Woman

but I still enjoy it so bare with me .. k?

I took on a task a couple of months ago of turning my cousins slides into digital images, you know updating technology from the 60's to well... now. Fun stuff. I will never ever turn down a job like this because of the teasures that one might happen across .. such as a photo of ones grandfather actually working his boat.. or photos of ones great grandfather doing the same.. (I use too many ... )

But while CBW and I have a love for just pieces of scenery around the county I have found a love of "days gone by.." that does not even being to touch this county today. It makes me long for those days and family members who have passed many years ago. It makes me long for a turn around of the fishing industry of the days of yester year.

I did a bit of retouching (not nearly enough due to the damage to the original but it was good enough for a 5 minutes job if you are looking at a 4x6) on some of these slides and plan on making a display in my home and sharing them here. The picture for today brings tears to my eyes not only for color of the day but the sight of this particular day on the bay that I fear will never been seen again by my generation and quite possibly ever...

Enjoy...

Is the glass half old ....

..or is it half young.

Today is the first day of the vacation. I am up with the chickens. I think that is part of the old part. However, I stayed up really late last night like I was half young! Then again I am going to need a nap this afternoon not sure if that is part REALLY young or REALLY old.

I have decided that this age our generation is currently circling around is quite possibly the best of both worlds .. let me list for you the reasons.

1. We can stay up REALLY late and be ok.. even if you drink a couple of eggnogs.
2. You can still get up early and make it to work on time if you do 1.
3. You can take a nap the afternoon after doing 1. and no one will say anything about it.. cause it is not an every day occurrence as of yet.
4. If you happen to not enjoy where you are or what is happening during 1. you can beg of by saying I need to get to bed so I can 2. and no one will call you lame.
5. We have no yet begun to forget things yet.. (ok just a couple but not ALL the time)
6. We are young enough to go outside to play with our kids in the snow and still young enough to not have to spend the following week in bed after wards and old enough to appreciate the fact that we still can take the kids in a snow ball fight.
7. We are young enough to still enjoy Christmas with family and friends..( WHY DO I HEAR A COYOTE HOWLING THIS TIME OF MORNING???) and old enough to appreciate the times past that we spent with family and friends who are no longer with us.

I could continue for quite a bit.. but I need a nap.

SMOOCHIES.

BAYCATION!!!!!

Today is the last day I work officially until January 5th. I say officially because taking my blackberry away from me would be like reaching in with your bare hand and ripping someones heart out. Meaning it would cause a lot of pain and ultimately end in death for someone. (keep in mind the one feeling the pain and dying not necessary be me.. I am quite a scrapy character when you go messing with my communications.)

You want to know what I am going to do on my vacation.. nothing.. nada.. not a DAMN thing. Why because I travel every week as it is, being home will be a nice change.

I do know that some of my buddies are going to breakfast Saturday after Christmas and that is honestly going to the be the highlight of my time off. Speaking of which.. Hey Tracy.. wanna go?

I wish everyone a safe and happy Holiday.. I say holiday not cause I don't want to say Christmas but because I have too many friends celebrating too many things and find it hard to spell them all.. me it will be Christmas.

Smoochies to you all!

Nevermind...

I am not deleting or hiding or anything.. sorry I panicked I kept thinking CRAP if Tracy found it who else has found it .. which led to images of my children reading this and I honestly did not know if I had said anything over the last year or so that give them serious nightmares. So I went and did a quick search and found ... are you ready for this.. ONE SENTENCE in the entire thing that may send them running!! And actually it was a piece of a sentence. It is all removed.

Don't ask me what it was that would defeat the purpose.

but I am here, I am back and I am going to try to keep this thing updated on some regular basis. I mean after all it is Christmas and miracles can happen.

Smoochies Guys!

As soon as I figure it out..

This whole thing is deleted.

I made a mistake

I posted on a local girls blog using my real blogger id.. and now people have found me. I had no intention of anyone ever really finding this other than the people I pointed here but alas they have. All good things must come to an end and all.. so it is the beginning of a new era here on the water.. one in which I have to watch what I say and about who.. or at the very least use code words! By the way.. HI TRACY! HI ROBBY!

So it is time to blow the dust off the publish post button in blogger and carry on with my story.. my fun.. my life as a waterman's wife.. smooches to all!

And by the way... Katy.. Monkling.. Kim-D I still love ya'll..

(footnote: I really don't mind people finding me.. it gives me a reason to think up new stories.. and may take a picture or two)

Hello my lovelies!!!!

How the hell is everyone.. me BUSY BUSY BUSY.
Still fat.. just not AS fat.. but trying to get in gear to work out the rest of the issue.

Now.. work.. oh. dear. god. there enough said.

Traveling EVERY WEEK.. I miss my man.

Sorry so short but at least it is a smooch right???

post

smooch..

That is all.. Happy now?

Well this is different..

This post started out weird.. It was a reply to another blog post so it is going to read funny until you get to the point it says Cutting and Pasting Here.



Quite funny your post today is about writing her story.. I have begun thinking (wondering if begun is a word right now) that maybe it is time.. to put it on paper. My story. My life. From the day my mother got the good news followed very quickly by the bad. I have even written the first paragraph in my head..

I will tip you off on the good and bad news she got.
On a hot July day.. the 18th exactly someone looked at her and said. "Congratulations you have a healthy baby (good news part) GIRL (bad news part)!"

I will not be doing it on my blog. It will be in a book/slash journal format. To no one in particular but mainly written by me for my kids to read when I am gone. So they will know ME. Not Mama.. but me. (I am thinking now I will come back here tomorrow and copy this entire post and use it for my blog post) I think I will bare it all for them.. the fact that I loved my husband for 17 years but was too stupid or stuborn to return here and fight or even stand for what I wanted in my life. I think they should know how bad I really was.. but they should also know that I am a real person too with feelings and emotions. I think they should know the way it felt in my heart the day I walked away from two of them or how my life was in shambles at the age of 18..

I still think that I will hide it all in a safety deposit box for them to read only when I am dead. I think I will leave explicit instructions that the words are for them only and that the only time they can share my words is to their children when they die with more instructions that they are only to be handed down to the next generation of children after dying. I think maybe after 10 generations that the paper will have turned to dust kinda like me... and no one will care anymore but what matters is that my kids knew me.

I don't know my mother. I wish sometimes I did. I doubt I ever will.. she doesn't have the guts to bare it all. I guess I don't either not until I am gone.

My post just turned into a complete blog post...

Cutting and pasting here.

I may have a hard time getting my words on paper because I will have to hide and sneak. I know that sounds horrible and rude but I really don’t want anyone to read these words right now. Not until I can face them myself. I will have to find the perfect spot to hide my journal and find the perfect time to write. I think they are musts in order for me to put me on paper. I know there will be moments of sheer laughter.. Like the day that someone very very special to me shoved me OUT OF THE WAY and jumped in the truck right beside MY MAN. That was pay back for something.. I think I had accidentally done that to her (maybe on purpose) a day or two before. I am sure there will be moments of tears as I walk through losing loved ones that left too soon and some that lingered long after they wished they were gone. I am sure there will be panic as I face some of the times in my life that I have shoved into the darkest corners of my mind swearing they will never be dug out.

I know you are thinking that I should share my thoughts here. If I am bold enough to type this then I should be able to finish it.. Think about it this way.. Think of a grain of sand .. One grain. Now think of all the sand on the earth... Think of that one grain of sand in relation to all the sand on the earth.. There. You see.. That is what I just gave you. One grain of sand... Ok maybe 10.

Smooch

Learning the Difference...

Discouraged? No.. TIRED?? YES. Apparently what I needed was a break. A break from exercise and worry about how much I ate.. or in my case recently how little I ate.

Two days I took off.. two day in which I ate a half a slice of bread at a restaurant and GASP a muffin from Starbucks. Both were on a whim nibbling BUT I seriously had GREAT reason.. can you say NO POWER.. Wednesday night storms hit the DC area and I swear all but ONE restaurant closed. Thankfully the one open is one of my favorite places in the world to eat. Yes I said the world. However there was a small issue.. EVERYONE IN 100 MILE RADIUS had to come there for dinner. It was PACKED but lovely just the same.. so while waiting on my meal they brought the bread (which co workers said yes to.. not me) and it stared at me.. with HUGE EYES!! I stared right back and I could feel the bread winning the staring contest so before I blinked or looked away I stared at it.. SCREAMED HA!!!! right into it's huge eyes and squashed the whole half a piece right in my mouth! (oh fyi for those of you who want me to be working on the fat issue.. I put butter on it first.. aren't you proud) So you see.. i was starving.. literally. The yogurt I had for breakfast was LONG gone and the beef onion and peppers for lunch which was about MAYBE 3/4 a cup worth was way way gone.. the bread it kept me from eating off of my neighbors plate which I honestly thought about. (Brother in law had some awesome looking pasta stuff and his friend had what appeared to be a fish with pecans on top and her husband OMG the steak that man had) But the half a piece of bread held me over.

Now on to that muffin. When I got up yesterday STILL NO POWER. Which meant NO COFFEE before leaving the house and attempting to get ready via flashlight. It was not a pretty sight.. what wasn't pretty you ask? ME I WAS A WRECK. I think it had more to do with the no coffee than it did the power. I mean it was daylight after all. So I get in the car HOPING that someone at the office has had mercy on those of us less fortunate people who have no power and made extra coffee, when what to my eyes does appear.. a wonderful glow.. a shine sooo bright I thought that maybe THE JC may have made it back.. No not Johnny Cash.. but close. It was a brightly lit STARBUCKS sign. I drove over two medians and I think I might have bumped an old lady trying to get to that Starbucks but I made it. Signing the praises of the electric people who obviously needed the coffee after a long night of working so they lit her up. My nose carried me to the door where a rather long line awaited their morning crack in a cup but did I care no. I stood there like I imagine a H addict does and the methadone clinic.. nervously looking around.. biting my nails.. fiddling with my shirt. I mean come on they could run out at any second and I may not get my fix! But alas I made it to the front of the line to the register where my stomach went GROWL!!!!! and the nice lady behind the counter said.. "Oh dear you must be starving dear.. here have a Cranberry Orange Muffin, that will fix you right up!" And she shoved that muffin right in my mouth. I swear she did.. all of it.. and would not let me spit it out.. none of it.. she made me eat it.. forced me.. twisted my little finger and all. (and those of you work people who might read this... you did NOT see me at my desk with a muffin.. that wasn't a muffin it might have looked like I voluntarily brought a muffin into work and cried as I ate it at my desk due to pure delight but seriously that is NOT WHAT YOU SAW)

Speaking of Starbucks. I will be doing some pictures tomorrow. I have a present I need to show you .. I just need to figure out how to take the picture and have it look right. I love presents.

It is Friday. I have lost 35 lbs.. 35 lbs.. I am happy.. I am very happy.

Oh and there will be jeans stories tomorrow.. and maybe a story about a pair of pants that need to be given away.

SMOOCH YOU LOVELIES.. and the next time I say I am discouraged come right back here and tell me.. are you SURE????