PSERENDIPITY

On my continuing road to weight loss, I must admit that Tim catches hell. He gets to hear all my nagging and complaing, then he tells me like it is, then a couple weeks later we do the same thing. Well, this week he changed the game on me, and I’m keeping a food diary. He’s going to grade it next week. Did I tell ya’ll that he’s also a fitness trainer in the Navy?

Anyhoo, I’ve decided to eat more salads. Problem is that I really only like salads this way: lettuce, eggs, cheese, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, cucumbers, meat, pineapples, and ranch dressing. The ranch, along with other things, kills it. I know.

So, I was in Walmart and I discovered this “Mediterranean Supreme” salad that already had all the stuff in the package and you just make the salad. Deelish! Spinach, feta cheese, honey dijon viniagrette, and croutons. I added some chicken breast and some tomatoes. Hello??? Good!

So, I say all this to ask. What do you put on your salads? I need some ideas. My food diary needs to be chock full of healthy goodness!

Note: I wrote this about 3 weeks ago when I was watching Oprah. I got nothing for this morning and a whole lotta work to do, so I’ll continue my rant from yesterday with this.

This is what is going through my mind as I watch these two kids on Oprah who are 14 and who want to have sex. They are on with their parents, who are apparently these two cool mod moms who really don’t want them to do it. So, I’m puzzled as to why they’re on Oprah. You see, my 14 year old daughter would come to me and tell me that she wanted to have sex and I would shut that ish DOWN. Immediately. Oprah unnecessary.

This post could go in so many directions, and this is probably going to be stream of conscious posting, but the first thing was “Did these kids go to Sunday School?” Seriously, nothing in the way that I was raised in my home would have made me think that it was even okay to approach this subject at the age of 14. Why? Because I was scared of Jesus. And my mama.

They say that they’ve been dating for 3 months and they’re in love. And the moms are sitting there like “well, they really care about each other.” The teens sitting there holding hands, grinning at each other. I’m sitting here like “Are you f-in kidding me?”

See, I understand all this free age, kids have opinions, let them think on thier own, give them a voice, blase skippy. I’ll go for all that. But the end voice is MINE. Why don’t people understand that it is their duty to protect their children, not to ensure their happiness. Now, some things its okay to handle like that, but this right here? In no uncertain terms would my 14 year old be told that this is NOT okay. If they came to you and said “I’m thinking of robbing a store” would you need to call Oprah? Same difference. Both of those things can and will make a dramatic difference in a negative way on their lives. What is the discussion here?

Geez, I’m pissed now.

Oh! The boys mom said that she didn’t shut it down because her son “talked to her about it” and “don’t do it doesn’t work.” I agree. Does that totally go against what I just said? She said she was taking a more realistic approach, so she just bought him some con.doms. I dunno. My realistic approach would have been a whole lot of STD movies and a visit with some teenage pregnant moms and dads and some church. And I’ll throw in that video that they make you watch when you’re in Lamaze class just for kicks. I’m for giving them the information pertinent to making a rational decision. And then saying hell no.

I’m real like that.

In my job, I read a lot of stuff. Namely, criminal trial transcripts. Not only do I read the transcripts, but I read all the stuff that goes along with a trial — witness statements, medical records, etc. You all would not BELIEVE some of the things that people do. And why.

You wouldn’t believe that someone is watching you every night when you leave work and will attack you in your driveway for nothing and when you have done nothing. You wouldn’t believe that there’s a man at the mall who is waiting on you to drop off your daughter and her friends. You wouldn’t believe that him and his friends have a plan on how to separate them. And conquer. You wouldn’t believe that there is a person out there who will beat you to death with an ironing board — just because.

You would not believe that because your daughter gets in a fight and hits somebody with a bottle, she goes to jail for 20 years. You would not believe that because your husband hugged your neighbors daughter, she lied on him and he’s in jail for the next 5 years. Yes, that would be the next five years of your life and your kids lives. You would not believe that that “sexting” really happens with real consequences.

People, life is not all good. Sh*t happens, and I spend a lot of time trying to keep it from happening to me. Or Aidan. I cringe when people say “Oh, I dropped the kids off at the movies.” And they’re 12. I’m like “DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO THEM??? ARE YOU CRAZY???”

I know, I’m probably overboard. And I’m sure I’m going to be more and more overboard as Aidan gets older. I’m even overboard when it comes to Nadia. But ya’ll just don’t know the people and the trouble that I know is out there. And ya’ll don’t know the stuff I know.

I’m home today because in Mississippi and several other Southern States, today is the official observance of Confederate Memorial Day.     

When people hear the word “Confederate”, I suppose it immediately conjures up terrible images of White Men waving a battle flag, beating slaves as they cower in the fields.  A natural reaction, I suppose, to anything using the term Confederate.

However, there were African American soldiers and others who participated in the Civil War and who fought for the Confederacy, alongside those White Men.  There were African American soldiers, but there were also those who cooked, built roads, and performed other services during the American Civil War, and some of them lost their lives also.

You see, any slave who volunteered to serve in the Confederate Army was offered freedom when the war was over.  That’s what that poster up there is all about.  Not many of them did, but some of your ancestors and mine signed up to fight in exchange for their freedom.  On today, it’s mostly those that I’d like to remember.  They were the ones who would sacrifice thier lives so that some of your families could escape to the North, where things were “better”.  They fought so that when they were done, they would have earned freedom for their families — one of which was probably mine, or yours. 

In any case, many people lost thier lives during the American Civil War.  Whites and Blacks, Confederate Soldiers and Union Soldiers.  Let’s not just dismiss this Holiday as some ole “only in the South” craziness.  People still died so that we could be free.  Had it not been for some of the people in the Confederacy, we wouldn’t be.

I try not to be heavy on Fridays and all, but somebody who is reading this needs to hear it.

When Tim and I first met, probably within two weeks of us knowing each other, we got into a little almost argument via email.  I probably said something that was a little offensive, and Tim went.off.  I’m talking about I was reading it and my mouth fell open. Instead of firing back at him, I told him in no uncertain terms that I didn’t know what other kind of women he had been dealing with, but no matter how mad he got, he best to never talk to me like that again.

That was 5 years ago.  And he hasn’t.  And it’s funny, but one of the things he still says today is that if I wouldn’t have told him that, we probably wouldn’t be together today.  He says that that made him think “Whoa…she really is about something.”  5 years later and he still remembers that. 

Moral of the story:  You teach people how to treat you.  If you show people that they can’t do you any kind of way, they’ll start to LEARN that they can’t do you any kind of way. 

This is for the person that I know is reading this:  The only reason they still treat you crazy and disregard you is because you have let them.  You’re not a victim, and I’m not buying into your woe is me I can’t believe he did that line of bull.  In my opinion, you’re the perpetrator.  Back ‘em up off you.  It’s time for show and tell.

Now the rest of you, go enjoy your weekend!

I got tagged at MzInspiredMind to do this meme.  I comply with wishes of the blogroll, so here you go.

What is your current obsession?  I have no obessions.  Obsessions?  Is anybody here obsessed? 

What are you wearing today?  Today I am wearing some black slacks, a pink shirt, and a black jacket with a big pink flower.  It looks better than it sounds.

Do you nap a lot?  No, but Tim does and I don’t know why, but it bothers the hell out of me.  What grown person takes that many naps????

Why is today special?  Because Tim is on 55 South headed to Jackson.

What would you like to learn to do?  Photography. 

What’s for dinner today?  Chicken and Green Beans.

What’s the last thing you bought?  Groceries from Walmart last night.

What are you listening to right now?  The sound of the heater in my office.

What is your favorite weather?  All that is Spring.

What are your essentials when traveling?  Transportation.

What’s your style?  I’m just fly.

What is your most challenging goal right now?  To get it all done.

Alright.  That’s too many questions so I’m stoppingthere.  I’m about to get aggravated thinking of answers.  So, dear readers, I’ve left the rest of the questions for you if you so desire.  Everybody take a question or two and leave your answers in the comments, and our meme will be complete. 

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

Favorite vacation spot?

Name the things you cannot live without?

How was your childhood?

What would you like to have in your hands right now?

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

What would you like to get rid of?

Which language do you want to learn?

Which countries have you visited?

What do you want to be when you grow up?