Just a note...

This is the best place to scarf some barbeque and hear some get-down-on-it-blues if you're ever in Memphis!

The Weekend Goings On

Friday night began with a drink at the Mink Eye Pub, then over to the Corner Cafe for dinner which was surprisingly good. Chicken jack sandwich with onion rings for me, ribeye and fried shrimp for hubby. He says they cook a mean steak. There was a two-man, two-guitar (acoustic and electric) band there, and I quote: "...playing our unique blend of country and rap, which we like to call crap." They opened with Sweet Melissa. I was pleasantly surprised, and would have stayed a little longer if perhaps they hadn't been SO DAMN LOUD, and I hadn't been SO DAMN DRUNK. It's a small place...turn it down a notch, General.

Yesterday, I went to a baby shower...and I must each and every time I say that follow it with "better her than me"...for my cousin, which is more like a niece than a cousin, complete with all the gossip that IS news. And a $62 price tag. Why can't women go shopping for something in particular and stick to the task at hand? I could have easily gotten through that shower with a $25 wrapped box of baby gowns and onesies, but I am physically unable to pass up Clinique Bonus Week. (Trust me - it's worth $15 to find a tube of mascara that won't make your eyes itch.)

Today has house cleaning written all over it. My landlord has just finished my new bathroom floor and it's lovely. Yes, the ceramic tile floor is nice, but the lovely part is having my toilet back in it's rightful place. I still don't have a usable shower. At least the bathtub is in workable order. We'll be getting a new shower surround this week so I should be back in showering business by the weekend if all goes well. The house is a disaster, and I suspect it will be again by the end of this week as well, but it's all worth it to get a mostly remodeled bathroom.

...for the love of money drugs is the root of all evil...

Thursday evening after supper, I received a call from my mother. Her voice was low and sounded quite desparate:

Mom: "What are you doing?"
Me: "Just got through with supper."
Mom: "What have you got planned tonight?"
Me: "Nothing. What's up?"
Mom: "I need you to come over here and help me with something."

And over there I went. She was visibly upset, on the verge of tears. It seems my ungrateful dopehead of a nephew has once again taken full advantage of my mother, and this time, she got the picture all have been trying to paint for her for years. Against all advice, she took him in "because someone has to help him, he's living in his car!" and gave him a place to sleep and bathe, and someone to love him...and she's the only one who would because let me tell you, the little shit is hard to love. He lost a[nother] great job paying good money because he failed yet another drug test. He has a marginal wife, a beautiful daughter and step-son, and they live with her mother because he can't keep them in a house due to his drug problem. This isn't the first time he's screwed up. It's an ongoing thing - a few years ago, I found out that he'd pawned my dad's rifle - now this was after I'd several times told him that if he needed money, and even thought about pawning that gun, to come to me - never to let it get out of his hands - so I went to the pawnshop and bought it back. God knows we didn't get much of his after he died, and damned if I was going to let that go. It's an ongoing siege with this little heathen.

Actually, the other part of this story starts several years ago when my grandfather was going headstrong into Parkinsonism. When he could still walk and talk, and was on medication to control trembles, along with another to control the hallucinations the tremble medication causes. He began to obsess with paranoia that someone was stealing his silver coin collection. So, my mother catalogued it all and took it to her house for "safekeeping" in an attempt to alleviate his worries. Since then, it's sat in 3 drawers in my mother's unused den safe and sound. Until Thursday.

"He's been stealing daddy's silver. We have to count it, and then I have to call the police and report it."

So count we did until just after 9pm. So the outcome is actually better than it could have been - there's only appx. 300 coins in silver dimes, and silver and clad halves and dollar pieces, as well as a 10 tr. oz. bar gone - no, not $300 worth - I mean 300 coins. God knows what it's actually worth in monetary value, and there's no price that can be quoted on the sentimental value. None of it's been appraised or priced, or whatever you do with coins.

I have worried and figited over it all day, and decided to just go get it and put it in a box at the bank after work yesterday. God knows who he's told about this stash, and what those little ingrates might do for it.

I feel much better now.

And so does mom.

My grandfather would have been heartbroken by my nephew's actions, and his words. Thank God he isn't here to see it. All my nephew has to say about the whole thing is "I needed the money bad and I knew you wouldn't give it to me, so I took it, but I didn't steal it." Now...I may not be the most intelligent person, but what is the definition of stealing? He had the audacity to say "none of my family give a damn about me" when my mother asked him why he did it. I can't imagine how someone could be so disrespectful of their family, especially the few who've tried over and over when no one else would or should to help. What a disgrace.

What an addict.

What a shame.

Smoother Sailing

As of now, things seem to be moving much smoother between hubby - this after a "come to Jesus meeting" we had Friday evening. I asked why make such a horrible comment if not just to get back at me, a comment made defensively. I got the answer I expected, that there was no other reason. I explained that something like that could very well show the commenter to seem untrustworthy and verbally abusive, and I didn't intend to be married to someone with either of those qualities. As a result, there was an apology followed by lunch at Macaroni Grill and shopping in Little Rock on Saturday.
I imagine the shopping excursion was meant to show the great lengths and sacrifice hubby is willing to go to just for lil' ol' me. And I took full advantage: A very busy mall on Saturday afternoon in July. Bath and Body Works (producing sensory overload in dear allergy-ridden hubby) and window shopping in Zales, Friedmans, Oxford, and any other jewelry store within eye shot. Save for Rashid and his carload of future jihadists making me momentarily nervous, it's safe to say I had a good time.

The runt called twice yesterday, once while I was at work and busy and again last night. He seems to be having a good time and judging from the fact that he usually calls to check in with me only because someone's parent tells him to and this time that was not the case, he must be missing mom just a bit. And for this, I'm grateful. Maybe he's getting ready to come home for a bit before school starts. And he better be - he's got to have shots!! Speaking of which, so do I this week, so I better get to it. More later.

Cruel Words

Last night, my husband uttered words to me that were totally and completely .... well, I can't think of a word horrid enough to describe this particular phrase: "I have no doubt now why (your ex) cheated on you."

Yes, even more hateful than when he uttered this.

Let me just say that I thought disparaging comments about your past marriages were off limits. Men can be such hateful fucking animals. On purpose, no less.

Never underestimate the power of pussy. Or, the lack of. It's no wonder why some women just finally decide to completely live without a man in their lives. Or gay.

Purposeful cruelty, I've decided, is a male trait. Along with the selfish gene.

Bitch, bitch, bitch.

I took the day off Thursday to hang around the house and spend a little time with the runt before his 2-week+ trip to his dad's this summer. Unfortunately, I was unable to get him home that day (he's been at a friend's house most of the summer and having a blast, they're more like brothers than brothers are) and spent the day doing much needed housework. I must say I enjoyed the day - I'm one of those who likes her "alone time" even if it's spent doing housework. Thursday night, I called ex-hubby and spoke with him about letting the runt bring his "brother" with him on his 2-week+ trip, to which he replied "I'm sure there's no problem with it" After we hung up, he called the runt at his friend's house and told him he was sorry but there was no room for his friend.

WHAT A CROCK OF SHIT.

Here's my version: He hung up with me, talked to his current roostruler who told him she just didn't see how they had the room would be damned if she would agree with something I suggested, and then he called the runt and gave him her answer. After the runt called me and told me this information, I spoke with ex again. His story was certainly different than when I'd spoke with him before, giving me all sorts of bullshit excuses about how they were going to pick up a friend from the airport Sunday blah blah blah children blah blah blah carseats blah blah blah won't all fit blah blah blah my new truck blah blah blah to which I went directly on mental irritation overload (M.I.O.) and basically replied with 'oops...sorry, I must have given you the idea that I gave a shit about your life, nevermind.'

Friday, though, I did go and pick up the runt, who moped around the house until I agreed to let him go to the skating rink with his "brother", after which they both came here and spent the night.

So, he left Saturday morning without his friend, and I'm left here with 3 different 'things': #1. Hubby #2. My 2 cutie pie step-daughters who are with us for a week, and #3. The worry of what kind of shit my ex is trying to put into the runt's head during this 2-week+ visit, such as how much nicer it would be to live there. It's about time for this line of conversation - the property agreement in our divorce decree states that in lieu of child support, he is to pay the payment on my truck until it's paid off which happens in December of this year, after which he's to pay me $400 a month. I would suspect that the new wifey isn't too happy about the $460 he's putting out on my ride now, much less having to send it directly to me after December.

My opinion is that she should, instead of being such a disagreeable bitch, thank me for turning him loose - otherwise, she'd still be just another chick on the "extracarricular ho's I fuck around with while I'm away from my wife on the road" list. I mean, come on - I made it possible for them to carry it further than just internet and phone sex...I gave them the ability to do it in person - in public - make it legal!!