Sweet Memories & Years of Therapy

I can tell you many stories of my youngest sister but at the present time, she is doing a great job telling on herself. It was a trip growing up with two younger sisters, and a younger brother and dysfunctional parents.....did your dad fire a pistol at the worlds largest rat (while in the house)? Did your mom give you the ultimate afro of the century? It was never a dull moment in our house. We were used as moving targets with a bb-gun, chased down a long dark hallway by dad and him yelling "bloody fingers is going to get you" or waking us up in the middle of the night and him holding a flashlight up to his face growling. Ah, yes the memories of childhood. I haven't pulled any stunts on my girls but what if...sometimes a mean streak would come over me but I refused to give into temptation...well not totally. I do like to give them a good scare or embarrass the hound out of them! After all, aren't we a product of our environment?

Visit my sis' site you'll be entertained! Lu

What the Meme?

Lu - the end is near for you babe. For the Love of God Jim! How could you do this to ME?

3 names I go by: Robin, Rob, Marti (I've always like the name Marti for me) ????

3 screen names I've had: rharvey, harveyrm, marti2212 (I like the number 22)

3 physical things I like about myself: my eyes, fake-n-bake tan and laugh

3 parts of my heritage: Cherokee Indian, maybe some white in there, and the rest a melting pot

3 things I am wearing right now: jeans, pullover shirt and favorite Victoria secret bra woo-hoo

3 favorite bands/musical artists: DMB, Sheryl Crow, Joe Cocker but there's sooooo many more Stevie Ray Vaughn, Sarah McLachlan, Wide Spread Panic oops thinking out loud

3 favorite songs: You Can Leave Your Hat On (Joe Cocker), Crash (DMB) Possession (Sarah McLachlan)

3 things I want in a relationship: Friendship, Faithfulness, and SEX

3 physical things about the preferred sex that appeal to me - MEN: Eyes, Mouth, and Butt

3 favorite hobbies: Spending Money, Spending Money, let me think oh yeah - Spending Money

3 Things I want to do badly right now: Have my husband home, ravish his body, not having to get up in the morning and go to work

3 things that scare me: rape, my husband leaving forever and never hear his voice again, wrecking off a bridge with electric windows or being in a car wreck and never recover

3 of my everyday essentials: Car, clothes, beer at the end of the day

3 Careers you have considered or are considering: Nursing, Teaching, and Coffee/Book Shop owner - never pursued any

3 places you want to go on vacation: Italy, Ireland, England

3 kids' names you like: Heather, Holly, Emma

3 things you want to do before you die: lose weight 60lbs and keep it off, own a Jaguar, go to Italy

3 ways I am stereotypically a boy: um...hit like a boy, I like to watch college football, can train/break a horse

3 ways I am stereotypically a girl: I can be a snob, I love shoes, and love jewelry

3 celeb crushes: Keanu Reeves, Matthew McConaughey, Pierce Brosnan

whew! Done - who's next? Let me see -

panthergirl (love your blog)

AngieB (the other kids think I'm a cool mom - just not mine)

Carmi (thanks for the compliment - yes 20 years of marriage is a milestone)

Vicki (who loves ya baby)

What A Wonderful World

I know it's been a while since my last post but Bret and I spent our 20th Wedding Anniversary in Gatlinburg TN, Asheville NC, and Charleston SC. We had a blast! We loved spending so much time together and not having to deal with the daily drama brought on by Heather or Holly.

First Stop - Timber Rose Lodge, which I highly recommend to everyone who is planning a few days stay in Gatlinburg, TN.

I have been looking for statues to put in my, what I like to think of as a cottage garden, for some time. I had an idea of what I wanted but have had no luck. We were driving off the mountain when I spotted a statuary business (Concrete Statuary Designs (865) 436-3534) and asked Bret to stop. We pulled into the parking lot and I was in heaven. There were fountains, decorative benches, cherubs, birdbaths, animals, and the not so basic....Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Racing Cars, Mythical Gods, Dragons...etc. you name it they had it! I was on a mission. Eureka! I found just what I was looking for. There she stood proud and beaming, a replica of the "Savannah Bird Girl" from the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. She is not exactly like the original but I knew I had to have it. I waited patiently while the woman was helping other customers...when she was finished I walked up to her and was in the process of telling her which statue I was interested in when out of the blue she yelled - "Hey Joey, get over here!" I stood there surprised - the only thing I could do was wait for her to stop yelling. She looked at me and said, "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off but I had to get his attention." OK, um we would like to buy the statue of the bird girl...she started yelling again "Hey Joey, they want the bird girl get over and get it for them.." I looked at Bret and we both grinned and shook our heads...where else can you stand in the middle of a parking lot full of statues and yell for Joey to come help these people. We got the bird girl and a rabbit loaded in the trunk of our car. I followed the woman to the office and she yelled over her shoulder are you going to pay with a credit card or cash? I told her a credit card. Oh good, she says because I've already closed out the cash drawer. I asked if they were closed. She said yep, but I wouldn't turn down a purchase over $200....I just shook my head. When we pulled out of the parking lot, Bret and I had a good laugh. We decided that "Savannah" weighed too much for the trunk. We still had to go to Charleston,SC. When we got back to the lodge, we managed to get her out of the trunk and in the back seat face down. It looked like we had a dead body in the back seat. What an adventure and we have't left Tennessee.

Two Days Lost

The pain and suffering of a migraine...I woke up Tuesday defiantly not feeling like a "champ". I knew something wasn't right. I though it was my sinuses or something in that neighbor. Being a mom, taxi driver for the morning school route and faithful employee, I got Holly up took her and a friend to school and trudge on through the downtown morning traffic. While sitting at my desk the pain and nausea hit me. "Please! Not now!" Yes, it was a migraine. I closed my door, turned off all the lights and laid my head down the desk. This wasn't helping and after two hours of complete misery, I told my boss I was going home. I called Heather and told her that she may have to come get me and I would call her when I was ready to leave. I decided not to bother her and left...I don't remember driving home nor do I remember anything about rest of the day. The next morning it took Holly 10 minutes to get me awake for the morning taxi ride to school. I made it there and back blurred vision and all. Collapsed on the couch and stayed there until about 9:00PM. Needless to say, this morning I pulled myself up out of bed, got dressed and came on in to work. You know how it is when you're out - everybody "starts to talk" or "question your motivates." At least that's how it is in this office. I began checking my email, JOY, JOY...my boss sent out email pertaining to a meeting to two surgeons with the wrong information, and sign my name it! Purgatory...you can check out but you can never leave...sound familiar?

Along Came Another

Today Holly called me with much excitement - Mommy guess what (yes she's 15 and still calls me mommy), I got an award at school today. Now Holly is not the outgoing, never meet a stranger loves to be the center of attention person AT ALL. She would much rather be sitting in the background watching the world go by with no embarrassment or acknowledgment. She's like I'm here but don't let everybody know. She is so much like her dad. Anyway...she was thrilled to get the "Trojan" award....don't laugh; the school mascot is a Trojan warrior. She was recognized by her Ecology teacher for academic achievement, excellence, and role model student. She did have to go before the entire student body (2000) and receive this award. She did it without passing out, falling down the bleachers, tripping in front of everybody. I am so very proud of her-I hope this will give her self-esteem a boost! She has competed with Heather all these years and now she is making her mark on her own. Life has a funny way of making a small appreciation seem so huge at a most desperate time....

Humpty Dumpty

A broken heart that all the kings' horses and all the kings' men can't put back together again. I was married and an instant mother at the age of 19. Two years after marrying Bret, he was laid off from his job of eleven years. He worked through a temp agency and was hired on with AT&T. This job sent him out of town - months at a time - I saw him 2 months in one year. My family had moved and so there I was living in a trailer with a toddler, no family or husband. I turned to the only person that could fill the emptiness in my heart Heather, my firstborn. We became extremely close. We weren't mother and daughter we were sisters and best friends. We would play Barbie's for hours and hours and hours...sunrise to sunset. When her daddy would come home she was so jealous. It was hard watching her as she felt betrayed by her mom and this person who she called daddy give so much attention to each other. When Heather was 4 yrs old I became pregnant with our 2nd daughter Holly. Once again it was just the two us. I was too pregnant to work, still no family, a few friends and husband on the road. So we played Barbie's, games, baby dolls, house...sunrise to sunset. The bond between us was stronger than any bond I have ever had with anyone. This bond remained strong through out elementary school, middle school and high school. She had to have her mom with her on all the field trips, band trips...you name it. Me and my shadow were inseparable. So I thought. This little shadow would stand so close to me that if I moved I would crush it or block the sun and hide it. I turned around the other day to make sure my shadow was ok and it was gone. I have lost it and can't find it. I didn't step on it or block the sun to hide it. It left me. I wished I could sew it back on like Wendy did for Peter Pan. I need this shadow more than she'll ever know...she has fallen in love for all the wrong reasons and can't hear me for the fireworks going off in her head...I just hope that someday soon she'll reach up and grab my hand. I will hold it so tight that she won't ever get away again...