Funk it Up! number 5: My Space

For this challenge we had to use "At First Glance". The picture is of my little one room garage apartment. My journaling says: At first glance...It looks like a small, one room apartment. It is much more than that...it is my FREEDOM, my INDEPENDENCE, my SPACE, my HOME!

The baby goats

My sister wants to know where the baby goats are. Here is a picture with one of the baby goats...the little brown one. I was trying to get a picture of the rest while they were frolicking by a tree. I guess I got too close, the dog stopped me. A wolf in sheep's clothing perhaps??? The dog knows me so well!!!

The stitches have been removed

So, I go over to Stacy's house tonight to have some work done on my hand. They ticked me off at my last visit with the clinic...decided not to go back to have the stitches removed. Stacy is armed with finger nail clippers and tweezers (plus she has been drinking). Do you see where this is headed?? Wasn't pretty! Actually it wasn't too bad, once we figured out which direction to pull from. My hand hurts now, though. The stitches were keeping it together and now all the movement is causing it to hurt. I seriously hope I don't open it up again...that would be just my luck. What else exciting happened today? Went to another wine tasting. Not too bad. Biggest draw back is that I really can't stand the guy that helped me put it together. He is a jack ass, and I have to work with him quite often. Oh, I also helped out one of my neighbors today. I live on a one lane dirt road. Across the dirt road is a goat farm. The goats were close to my side of the fence this morning. When I looked at them a while later, they had all moved some distance away. I heard one goat crying, so I went to investigate. This goat had it's head stuck in the fence. Because of the horns, it could not get it's head back through the fence. I helped the goat get unstuck. It cried a little, looked around for the other goats and took off like a shot as soon as it saw where they had all gone. There are several baby goats with this group. They are so cute!! Why are baby anythings so dang cute? My parents lease their property for cattle. I love me some baby cows! They are so stinking cute! Anyway, here is a picture of my neighbors - the goats. There is also a big white dog, a horse, and a donkey. The donkey will come to the fence and let you pet him. He also likes carrots.

It looks like someone is having a case of the "Mondays"! (AGAIN!!!)

I had a pretty crappy weekend and today hasn't been much better. On Friday I took a mini tour of Texas...Austin to College Station and then to Houston. I had to pick up some wine in College Station that was needed in Austin by today. Houston was just an additional stop...needed to pick up some more of my stuff. Friday night I hung out with Syl. That's always a good time. Saturday I went by my house to pick stuff up. On Sunday I had a wine tasting to go to in Austin. Let me tell you...wine snobs are the worst kind of snob. They drive me bonkers! People ask me all the time what makes a good wine. You know what makes a good wine? If you like it, that's a good wine. Price, style, grape, doesn't really matter. If you like it and want to drink it, then it is good. I have never seen people so full of shit as wine people..."oh, this wine has some Rutherford dirt in it". What?! You are 21 years old and work at a liquor store, don't tell me you know Rutherford dirt from Sonoma dirt from Napa dirt. I know there are people out there who say they can tell that, but not some 21 year old kid from Austin. So, I pretty much buried my head in the sand after the tasting. I decided I had enough this weekend and tomorrow was another day. Tomorrow is now today - Monday. I woke up to a flat tire. Had to find someone to help me with that (with the stitches in my hand, I can't change a tire). Finally got it to Discount Tire (I bought new tires less than a month ago). I had a nail in the tire. I had to deliver the wine I picked up on Friday, for a wine maker's dinner tonight. I wasn't supposed to be involved in this, and now I am up to my eyeballs involved. I have to pick the wine maker up and take her to her hotel and then take her to the dinner. 30 to 40 people paying $160 a person to have dinner with Merry Edwards and drink her wine. Yeah, more wine snobs. Tomorrow is pretty much the same thing. We are having a tasting with her and her wines. Don't get me wrong, nothing against the wine maker. Haven't met her, but I have met her husband. He is a nice guy. I just hate the schmoozing, ass kissing, etc. that goes on with all of this. I am going to have to be on my best behavior tonight. That is all I need, to get drunk feeling like I am now!

Funk it Up, number 4: He Said, She Said

For this challenge we had to ask someone a question, or questions, about our self. I called Stephanie in Houston and asked to speak to her kids. I asked Jacob, age 5, and Morgan, age 3, why they loved Nena. They call me Nena. Jacob said "I just love her so much!". Morgan said "Her is funny!". I love these kids!!! They were the hardest thing to leave behind in Houston. Kids grow up so fast and I know I am missing so many things. Day to day stuff that I miss. One of the last times I was over at Stephanie's house, before I moved, is a prime example of day to day stuff. Mo (I call Morgan, Mo) was wearing a dress. She went potty and had her dress stuck in her underwear. We all told her to fix it and Jacob said "Yeah, Morgan, fix your dress. We can all see your nut crack!". Nut crack!! That is funny! Then, they were talking about the movie they watched with their dad the night before. Jacob said that he liked the cops in the movie. Morgan said (with a tinkle in her eye) "I liked the BAD guys!". We know you do, Mo. And you are really going to like the bad guys when you turn 16. Don't think you are going to come live with me when your mom kicks you out of the house!!! Anyway, this is my layout. Not my best work. But even Picasso, Van Gogh, etc. didn't produce only masterpieces. (Not that I am comparing myself to any great artist or anything, just trying to make a point...)

Don't look if you have a queasy stomach...

Actually, the picture isn't that bad. It just looks bad because of the Frankenstein stitches! This is the picture of my hand and the stitches.

Jacqueline Jinxed me!

JC called me the other day to gush over my recent scrapbooking work and my blog. She was so sweet!!! She made me feel really good about what I have been doing. A while after our phone conversation, I sat down to finish my layout for the 4th Funk it Up Challenge. It looks like I just started scrapbooking! Seriously, it is not good. I am totally blaming it on my hands!!!! I will post the picture later of the layout later...

I love me some classic country music!

Seriously! Ray Price was awesome at the show last night. He said he is 81 years old...and still doing his thing on stage. The steel guitar and the fiddles - it doesn't get much better than that. Merle was really good too...and so was Willie. Merle and Willie had Asleep at the Wheel as their back up band. Come on! Again, it doesn't get much better than that. One of the best quotes from last night was from Ray Price (besides after stating his age that he was NOT the father of Anna Nicole's baby girl). He said radio did not leave country music, country music left the radio. Your damn right. If you want to hear anything decent (in my opinion) you have to tune in to AM or find one of the few classic country stations on FM. Houston has a decent FM station...only thing is they throw in too much stuff from the 80's. I love Dwight, but can't stand Reba!

We found a sharpie!

Today, Nikki is playing the role of a pugilist...

I would like to say that this happened at the Public Enemy concert, or that I was drunk. Nope, no great or interesting story. I have a tendency to trip and fall. Friends of mine have actually commented that it is a good day or a trip when Nikki hasn't fallen. Today, Stacy and a I were headed out to get something to eat, do a little shopping, and catch a couple of musicians at Threadgills. Stacy pulled up to a walk up ATM, so I could get some cash. I normally pay attention to where I am walking because of my clumsiness. Not so today. I tripped on the uneven sidewalk and ended up in urgent care. I got 8 stitches in the palm of my right hand and a really nice cut on my left hand. The tetanus shot and the nurse pulling the loose skin off of my cut hurt worse than getting the stitches. Don't worry, I am still going to see Willie, Merle, and Ray Price tonight. Actually, Stacy is looking for a Sharpie right now. We are naming my right hand Pancho and my left hand...Lefty!

Flava Flav!

Yeah boi! Tonight I went to the free SXSW show. It was Public Enemy. It really was a pretty good show...and I had ample opportunities to people watch again. There were a lot of small children in attendance. If they didn't know the "f" word before the show, they sure did after it. Any artist that uses that word in a song, I am a fan. I don't really know why. Yesterday I saw a musician I had never seen before, Tommy Womack. He used the word repeatedly in one song. I am now a fan for life. Love that word in song. If you have read my blog, or met me, you probably know I have a potty mouth. I have had a long relationship with that one particular word. One of my mom's favorite stories about me is when I was 3 I asked her if "f#$k it" was a bad word. How is this for good parenting...she said "No, just don't say it in front of grandma.".
Anyway, I digress. Tomorrow I am going to see Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price. Can't wait. How cool is that...Public Enemy one night and Willie Nelson the next! I will let you know how the Willie show goes.
Oh, also, I saw Taylor Hicks from American Idol today. We had dinner at the same restaurant and he was at the next table. He is in town playing for the rodeo. My first celebrity siting in Austin. He was drinking Dos Equis in a bottle...I should have stolen his beer bottles and tried to sell them on eBay.

6th street in Austin

Last night I was on 6th street. SXSW is here, it is music and film extravaganza. I am a natural people watcher. There were all kinds of people on the street last night...everything and anything. That is one reason that Austin is so neat, anything goes here. Take the free items I was given last night...a couple of shots of varying types of alcohol, mentos, and some condoms. I don't know what they all thought we were going to be doing, but they made sure we were prepared: drunk with fresh breath and protection. Got to love that!!! I drank the alcohol, ate the mentos, but I still have the condoms. Wasn't so lucky in that department. I did have an offer from the parking attendent, but had to turn him down. He was crushed! LOL! I am pretty sure anyone parking their car in that lot got the same offer! Who knows, it might have worked for him...I hope he got some free condoms!

Funk it Up! The 3rd Challenge

For this challenge we had to use the phrase "What I know for sure". I usually don't make things about myself, but recently that is all I seem to be doing. I guess it is because I have been doing a lot of soul searching of late. Some of that has been coming out in my work. I normally don't really like my layouts (I think I am more of a paper crafter, than a scrapbooker), but I like what I have been doing for this contest. This Funk it Up challenge has been a cool thing. Got me to think outside of the box.

My weekend....

I just played some this weekend. Got drunk on Friday (damn that tequila) and went to Keg Kick Ball on Saturday. Keg kick ball was a hoot. The only rule was that you had to have a beer in your hand at all times. We had a keg of Lone Star that we just rolled up in to the park. Got to love that. Someone brought a whole cooler full of jello shots. I had one or two, but have learned my lesson with those things. Had a bad experience several years ago (Jello isn't necessarily a bad thing to throw up, but that doesn't mean I want to do it again)! We were able to use our jello shots to barter for some crawfish, though. Another group of people had 70 pounds of crawfish they were cooking in the same park. Sunday I went to Houston. I hung out with my friend Sylvia and we played with paper. I finished my third layout for the funk it up contest (I will post later) and I did this layout just for the fun of it. The pictures are from the weekend before, when Sylvia and Stephanie came to Austin. The pictures are of me opening my birthday gift from Syl. In case you can't read my title it is {In my mind} I am a Rock Star. My sister says she is tired of seeing my tongue out in pictures. Apparently I stick my tongue out a lot. I wasn't aware of this, but thank goodness (said with MUCH sarcasm)that I have a sister to point this out to me!

FUNK it UP! Part Deux

Here is my second layout for the Funk it Up challenge. This one had to use the saying "someday I am going...". Mine was "someday I am going to get another tattoo". That day happened before I finished my layout. This highlights two of my tattoos. The cat I have on my leg and the skull and crossbones that I just got. I know the saying still applies, because someday I am going to get another tattoo! Stay tuned for part three where we have to use the saying "this I know for sure...".

My weekend....

I had to interrupt this post to tell you one of the best things about this weekend. Totally forgot it when I was first posting. So, we all go get pedicures on Saturday. I was the only one not wearing flip flops. The nail place gave me one green and one pink "faux" flip flop. If you have ever gotten a pedicure, you know what I am talking about. Stephanie and I headed to Congress to shop after our pedicure. This is a walk on the street from store to store type area. Well, I didn't want to mess up the pedicure, so I was still wearing what the nail salon gave me. This is one of the reasons I love Austin - no one looked twice at my funky foot wear. Not even an eyelash was batted. It took me several stores to find a pair of regular flip flops to buy, but I finally did. The lady at the store even asked me if I needed a bag for my "shoes". Uh, no, I think I had worn them out by this point!
Okay, back to the regularly scheduled blog....
Two of my friends from Houston came to visit this weekend, Stephanie and Sylvia. They are a hoot...especially when Steph gets drunk. She has two small children, 3 and 5, that stayed at home with their dad. Stephanie made up for lost time with this weekend! We drank, hung out, ate, and got tattoos. Well, at least Steph and I did. This is my fourth, and probably not the last, tattoo. I already want to add more to the tattoo I got this weekend. I got a skull and crossbones on my arm, close to my wrist. Stephanie got the Chinese symbol for mother on the ass side of her hip. It is always entertaining to hear stories of other customers, their requests, and their tattoo placements. We heard a few doozies this weekend. I won't repeat them here. If you are curious, you just have to ask me. I have one picture of the new tattoo that I did on a layout for the next challenge in the Funk it Up contest. I will post the layout later. The pic really isn't that clear. But, my layout is pretty cool. I kind of got the idea from a layout my sister did. Have to give her credit, or she will bitch (love ya sis!).