Weekly update....

The last box has been unloaded and broken down. The kids have been enrolled in their new schools. So at this point I guess we are now officially moved in. The kids love being so close to the water. I hear my mother coming out of my mouth more and more each day, as I can never seem to find a clean towel. All of mine seem to have taken up permanent residence on the front porch railing.

The boys have started attending their new school, and I am dealing with the fact they attended my rival high school. Ashley hasn't expressed an opinion with the new school. It did score points with David, when not only did he get to go to the library on his first day, but he scored a collection of Poe from it's shelves.

This is the Southern Riviera signing off...

For your viewing pleasure, we now present.....

A couple of movies to present for your home video entertainment.

Flicka: I don't like remakes. I hate when they change things from the original book to make the movie. But, I loved this remake of "My Friend Flicka". I agreed to rent it for two reasons. 1) I have a 12 year old daughter and all though she is not "horse crazy" like I was, she wanted to see this. 2) I had a better chance of getting her to read the book if she had seen the movie( This trick worked with "Because of Winn Dixie" I had her read the book before watching the movie..she has read the book six times, I refuse to count how many times she's watched the movie)

None of the acting was over the top or cheesy as sometimes happens. I didn't cry during "Romeo and Juliet", I cried once to "old Yeller" and that was the first time I had ever seen it. I cried during "Flicka", my daughter cried, and I think the boys did a strange amount of throat clearing during quite a few scenes as well.

16 Blocks: Bruce Willis proves once again that he isn't just a smart ass, wise cracking, gun toting jock, but a talented actor that has the ability to make his characters real. Very few movies surprise me anymore. I can usually figure out who done it, with what, in what room and why fairly early into a movie. Not so with this one.

Flushed Away: If you have kids, they will probably make you rent this. If you use your older kids as an excuse to rent the new cartoon animated flicks you may want to hold off until you have seen everything else. The most endearing part of this movie to me was the singing slugs. Those little guys had me cracking up. Actually they made the movie for me.

Southerness...

I didn't write this, but that doesn't make it any less true. And Momma, thank you for raising me South of the Mason Dixon, the best piece of real estate in the world.

Southernness

____

SOUTHERN WOMEN
Southern women appreciate their natural assets:
Clean skin.
A winning smile.
That unforgettable Southern drawl.

Southern women know their manners:
"Yes, ma'am."
"Yes, sir."
"Why, no, Billy!"

Southern women have a distinct way with fond expressions :
"Y'all come back!"
"Well, bless your heart."
"Drop by when you can."
"How's your Momma?"


Southern women know their summer weather report:
Humidity
Humidity
Humidity

Southern women know their vacation spots:
The beach
The rivuh
The crick

Southern women know the joys of June, July, and August:
Colorful hi-heel sandals
Strapless sun dresses
Iced sweet tea with mint

Southern women know everybody's first name:
Honey
Darlin'
Shugah

Southern women know the movies that speak to their hearts:
Fried Green Tomatoes
Driving Miss Daisy
Steel Magnolias
Gone With The Wind

Southern women know their religions:
Baptist
Methodist
Football

Southern women know their country breakfasts:
Red-eye gravy
Grits
Eggs
Country ham
Mouth-watering homemade biscuits with momma's homemade jelly

Southern women know their cities dripping with Southern charm:
Chawl'stn
S'vanah
Foat Wuth
N'awlins
Addlanna

Southern women know their elegant gentlemen:
Men in uniform.
Men in tuxedos
Rhett Butler

Southern girls know their prime real estate:
The Mall
The Country Club
The Beauty Salon

Southern girls know the 3 deadly sins:
Having bad hair and nails
Having bad manners
Cooking bad food

More Suthen-ism's:
Only a Southerner knows the difference between a hissie fit and a
conniption fit, and that you don't "HAVE" them, you "PITCH" them.
_____

Only a Southerner knows how many fish, collard greens, turnip greens,
peas, beans, etc., make up "a mess."
_____

Only a Southerner can show or point out to you the general direction of
"yonder."
_____

Only a Southerner knows exactly how long "directly" is, . as in: "Going
to town, be back directly."
_____

Even Southern babies know that "Gimme some sugar" is not a request for
the white, granular sweet substance that sits in a pretty little bowl
in the middle of the table.
_____

All Southerners know exactly when "by and by" is. They might not use
the term, but they know the concept well.
_____

Only a Southerner knows instinctively that the best gesture of solace
for a neighbor who's got trouble is a plate of hot fried chicken and a
big bowl of cold potato salad. If the neighbor's trouble is a real
crisis, they also know to add a large banana puddin!(or chocolate cake*)
_____

Only Southerners grow up knowing the difference between "right near"
and "a right far piece." They also know that "just down the road" can be
1 mile or 20.
_____

Only a Southerner, both knows and understands, the difference between a
redneck, a good ol' boy, and po' white trash.
_____

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing
turn signal is actually going to make a turn.
_____

A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an
adverb.
_____

Only Southerners make friends while standing in lines, ... and when
we're "in line," . we talk to everybody!
_____

Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're
related, even if only by marriage.
_____

In the South, y'all is singular, all y'all is plural.
_____

Southerners know grits come from corn and how to eat them.
_____

Every Southerner knows tomatoes with eggs, bacon, grits, and coffee are
perfectly wonderful; that red eye gravy is also a breakfast food; and
that fried green tomatoes are not a breakfast food.
_____

When you hear someone say, "Well, I caught myself lookin'," you know
you are in the presence of a genuine Southerner!
_____

Only true Southerners say "sweet tea" and "sweet milk." Sweet tea
indicates the need for sugar and lots of it -- we do not like our tea
unsweetened. "Sweet milk" means you don't want buttermilk.
_____

And a true Southerner knows you don't scream obscenities at little old
ladies who drive 30 MPH on the freeway. You just say,"Bless her heart"
... and go your own way.
_____

To those of you who are still a little embarrassed by your Southerness:
Take two tent revivals and a dose of sausage gravy and call me in the
morning. Bless your heart!
_____
And to those of you who are still having a hard time understanding all
this Southern stuff, ... bless your hearts, I hear they are fixin' to
have classes on Southernness as a second language!
_____

And for those that are not from the South but have lived here for a
long time, all y'all need a sign to hang on y'alls front porch that reads
"I ain't from the South, but I got here as fast as I could."

Southern girls know men may come and go, but friends are fahevah !

Now...... Shugah, send this to someone who was raised in the South or
wish they had been!

If you're a Northern transplant, Bless your little heart, fake it.
We know you got here as fast as you could

*Added by blog poster

I am alive!

That is all. Continue about your daily lives.

A day....

Your Day is finally drawing to a close. On your lunch break you took boxes you loaded from house A that morning over to house B and unloaded. After work you; head to hubby's job to pick up cash, run to wal-mart and brave the masses to get dinner, get back to house A, put another load in the car and the kids, and head off to house B. Unload the car, let the kids explore house B. Go back to house A and start cooking the dinner you got earlier. While dinner is cooking you read two chapters of "Rackety Tam"(complete with voices) to the kids. Dinner now finished you let kids serve themselves, while you get back into the car to pick hubby up from work.

Finally you are home, all of your chores are done, and you can take some you time.

You collect your book, a cup of coffee and your smokes. A hot bath is calling your name. You start the water for your bath and prepare to get in. Set the smokes, book, and coffee cup in easy reach near the towel. Just as you are about to submerge yourself in the warm relaxing waters, you realize your razor isn't near the tub. A quick search reveals it's not in your bathroom. You grab the robe off the back of the door and quickly put it on. Muttering under your breath about daughters stealing your razor. Reach the kid bathroom and retrieve your pilfered item. Go back to your bathroom. Disrobe and hang it back up, set your razor down and grab the shaving cream. Your can is empty. Not to to worry you can use hubby's. Except his is not in the bathroom either. Get the robe back off the door, put it back on and head again to the other bathroom. Get hubby's shaving cream, check to make sure it's still full, and head back to your bathroom. Hang the robe back up and finally step into to the warm relaxing waters of the tub.
A sound shatters the stillness, "MOM! Are you still in the tub?"

such is life.

I must be getting old...

Day light savings time snuck up on me this year. I really like "springing forward",usually. It means I get more day in my day. But didn't it come awful early this year? Doesn't it usually happen closer to or after Easter? Or has my age effected my since of time?

I remember a time when it was a friends birthday, you went to the card store or the grocery store (depending on the friend) and spent time perusing the birthday cards to find just the right one. Now I find myself perusing the available animations and glitter words for saying "Happy Birthday" to my friends on My space. Actually this is kind of embarrassing. At least with cards if you don't receive that many..you could say well maybe money is tight and let it go. Besides no one would know how many you did or didn't receive. Unlike Myspace, where all of your comments are visible and you can easily see how few or many Birthday greetings a person got. High school was nicer to my self esteem.

10 pm used to be the time to head out and "Get the Party started", now 10 pm is the time to head up to bed.

A night of Hero's...

Last night we rented movies and sat around the computer monitor. We didn't get "Flushed Away" as Hubby didn't think we would be able to appreciate it very well on the monitor. It's funny that we have a 19 inch color monitor, and I remember when a 19 inch TV was "Da Bomb!"

We did rent "The Guardian", "Catch a Fire", and "Flags of Our Fathers".

"The Guardian": I was surprisingly impressed with this movie. The plot is a little over done in that the older more experienced guy takes the newbie under his wing. That said, it did shine some light on an under looked branch of our Military. And Kevin and Ashton weren't bad on the eyes either. I'm not saying "BUY THIS MOVIE", but I will give it "If your looking for something to rent you haven't seen, check it out." Like a weekend reader..this movie fills that nitch.

"Catch a Fire": Tim Robbins and Derek Luke both give awesome performances in this flick. Watching an Anti-terrorist official create a terrorist, leads to some interesting philosophical questions. What this movie boils down to though, is a great story, told by great story tellers. That the story is true(or at lest based on truth)makes it all the more compelling. A true study in human nature and all those lovely shades of grey, that make it.

"Flags of Our Fathers": What defines a hero? Do hero's really see themselves as hero's or just doing what needs done at the time? Some may feel that a story about WWII maybe out dated, but some of what effected them, still resides, still affects, us today.

So over all? No tankers on this list of video's..but maybe next time.

The Real Life....

This is the story. Of six people. Living in the same house. With no T.v. And only two computers and themselves for entertainment. This is what happens when you stop watching TV and start living...a real life.

Nothing.

Yep, we got rid of the Ol' boob tube, a few weeks back. And since then we have read, taught the children spades (although that didn't last very long. The request for a hold 'em tourney, or a round of baseball or 52 quickly shot down the fun of making person eat a book or go short.) And played board games.

The kids now call them "Bored" games. We have learned that clue is only fun once every six months. Darth Vader doesn't fly across the room as well as Luke Skywalker. And even with no T.V. chores still get left undone, and there is never any homework. The Puppy and Cat playing can be concidered "Quality Entertainment" because it is less boring than watching the grass grow.

You know things have hit an all time low when...the other night we were all sitting around the computer..watching YouTube videos together.

So maybe it's time to give in..and get another Tv? we will see.

Well, I searched the world over, and thought I'd found true love, You met another and ppfht you was gone!

The time has come, once more, to look into that carnivorous hole I call a closet and yell to the world at large "I have nothing to wear!".

Which in and of it's self is not a true statement. I have several long heavy skirts, and a few dresses. My problem is two fold. The first is functionality. I started my job in winter. So, of course, bought "winter" skirts. Two of my "Winter" skirts can make it through the spring and one of the two possibly all year long. One is a knee length grey wool. The other, a knee length black polyester blend. So not so bad. More light weight tops and maybe a nice Khaki will round out that issue.

The real problem is shoes. I didn't rival Emelda Marcos but I did have. 1 pair strappy sexy black heels, 1 pair strappy sexy grey heels, 1 pair of sensible navy pumps, 1 pair black sensible pumps, 1 pair cream sling backs, 1 pair black flats.

Then along came Holly. I now have: 1 pair strappy sexy grey heels(that can only be worn about once every two weeks due to not being able to walk if worn more often than that for 8 hours straight), 1 pair sensible navy pumps(very little navy in my closet) and 1 pair black flats (which would be fine if they were tradtional flats, but are really a square toed dress slider..does not look good with every skirt when you have small tree trunks for ankles. Great for pants, bad for skirts)

I tried locking my shoes up in the closet after the sling backs bought the farm, but alas she has figured out how to open the bedroom door, and the other half not so good at keeping the closet door shut. I always shut the closet door, it's another phobia I have, but that's a different blog. All I can say about that is "Tank you Mr. King"

Fifty billion stuffed animals and squeaky toys and hard rubber rolly things, she wants my shoes! It's not even that she is eating the whole shoe. That I could understand. In the case of the strappies and the sling backs, she only ate the straps. Little tip. Black electrical tape used to hold the strap together again in an attempt to salvage the shoe for one more day, because you found it's broken strap as you were already dressed and trying to walk out the door, doesn't work. As for the sensible black pumps? She only took a polite bite out of the back..of one, the other, prestine condition.

Tag Lines....

Every person or group of friends has them. From Joey Tribiane's "How you doi'n?" to Sgt. Shultz's "I zee notin'g". Sometimes it's a line from a movie that will send your group of cohorts in to a giggle fest to rival that of a pre-teen sleepover. Or maybe it's a sentence that reminds you of a place or a time together. My eclectic group of friends has several of these. Some inside jokes can be shared with the masses such as the famous one liner "I smell plastic!"(plaz-tec). Uttered when one of my friends was rewiring his car radio.

We were all sitting around and in the car while he worked. Suddenly the over powering smell of burning plastic filled the car. He had wired it incorrectly and the wires were melting. Some wise guy cracked "I smell Plaz-tec!" and it stuck. When ever one of us does something lame brained that phrase is used.

At closing time the other day, my phone suddenly vibrated. I opened it to receive a text message from one of my best friends. All it said was "Wait for it." I busted out laughing. And what had been, a truely, terrible, horrible, very bad day, became suddenly more bearable and not so horrible.

I, of course, couldn't explain to my co-workers why I had suddenly burst into laughter (That inside joke, must and will remain an "inside" joke). I quickly exited stage left and called her back. Turns out she needed to laugh. She sent me something she knew would make me laugh so that she could.

My point is, take the time to let those you care about know that you are thinking of them. Even if all you do is text or e-mail a one line phrase guaranteed to make them smile. Who knows maybe it will make you smile too.

So to those of mine out there shooting Pepsi,Mountain Dew, or some other strange quaff out their nose at the "Wait for it" line: "Top of the Morn'n to ya", "You see there's this tree", "I've been robbed", and "Put the dog down Damion" to each and every one of you!