From Tornado Alley...to Hurricane Hell...

gubernatorial \GOO-ber-nuh-TOR-ee-uhl\, adjective:Of or pertaining to a governor.

So, thehe gubernatorial race is not a bunch of goobers racing towards the finish line, as I had assumed.

So far, I'm figuring out that Sunny, Fl...isn't always so sunny. In fact, over the past 3 months, I've stepped in more rain puddles than I have in my entire life. I thought I was leaving the bad weather behind when I left Oklahoma. But apparently, I moved to Florida just in time for hurricane season. Lucky. Me.

It looks like Gustav is bringing more rain and winds into town. He definitely put a damper on weekend plans with Sunu...and hurricane Hannah looks like she'll be whipping through town to put a damper on weekend plans with Sheryl. Gotta love it.

Now that you've been updated with weather conditions...let's move on. For those of you who have asked, BF and Baby BF are both doing well. I would post pictures, but the munchkin refuses to open her eyes when I visit. Who can blame her? I'd sleep all day too if given a choice!!! However, check out Madison's blog for her latest adorable pictures...

Shout out of the day goes to............

Miss Sheryl Jenkins James Jacob. Sheryl to me is like the itch you can't scratch...the fly that's too fast to swat...the annoying little sister I never asked for but somehow inherited. Now, that seems a bit harsh...I know. But that's just the dynamics of our relationship. The harsher I am, the more she likes me!

People who don't know us....hear us conversating and are apalled by how brash we are to each other. People who do know us just laugh.

Happy Birthday, Shrekky....If I was still in town...I'd make you some of your favorite brownies....(although I'm sure you'd call me a few hours later to tell me they gave you gas.) Enjoy your day....I'll see you in Sunny, Fl soon!

Saturday!

supernumerary \soo-puhr-NOO-muh-rair-ee; -NYOO-\, adjective:1. Exceeding the stated, standard, or prescribed number.2. Exceeding what is necessary or desired; superfluous.

My supernumerary safari expedition was the highlight of my trip to Magic Kingdom!

I finally found my camera adaptor, so I was able to upload a few pictures that were in my camera's internal memory. I will now post them for your viewing pleasure....

Aaron's 14th birthday back in June...and the lopsided pink cake with the funky candles that I baked him.

The phenomenal ribs his dad made for the occasion. Is your mouth watering?? Mine is... Missy with her cousin Moussey...parting from each other was such sweet sorrow

Andrew and Moussey...

3 of my mom's 4 grandkids layin' down watchin' TV at Amachi's house. Matt and I went to Animal Kingdom on Saturday...It was probably the most fun day I've had since I've moved to Orlando! We had a wild time...get it? ha! Animal...wild... ;)

He might not have shown it, but he was excited to be there.

The famous tree...

If you ever go to Magic Kingdom, I suggest you go on the safari ride...you'll have a wild time...haa...(that joke never gets too old for me). There are lots of animals to see and you can see them pretty close. Here are a few I saw...

Mr. Crocodile

Mr. Giraffe....

Mr. Elephant...
Mr. Lion...who looked pretty harmless...almost as innocent as Moussey when she's napping on my kitchen floor.
Mr. Ape. He seemed a lil' depressed...

I got this nifty leather id bracelent from Animal Kingdom. I saw it at a shop, and it took me back...way back to when I was 4 years old. My dad had taken us on a family visit to Wisonsin Dells. I can barely remember it, but I do remember him buying all 3 of us leather ID bands...and I do remember wearing it for years to come...until finally the snap broke. So, I thought I'd buy another...in memory of the first one.

Last but not least...no set of Disney pictures would be complete with out the mouse...
Maddicake update....Maddi and Momma are doing good. They got to go home today! I get to see Maddi in her new habitat tomorrow...Pictures soon to follow!

She's here...she's here...she's here!!!

After a long night of waiting at the hospital...Madison decided to show up at 7:30 this morning. She has all 10 fingers and all 10 edible lil' toes...and she's absolutely precious! I'll let you see for yourself!!....

Isn't she a doll? I think she's a smiler like her Momma...because she was smiling so much while we all held her! I'm sure she will be gracing my blog...and her daddy's...and her own...with a lotttttt more pictures in the days to come! ;)

Bringin' it back...

The other night I looked back through my old blogs in search of inspiration. I can't seem to get it together to post faithfully these days, so I went back in time to see what it was that I used to write about all the time. I discovered a few features in my blog that I really enjoyed and want to bring back.

One...the word of the day! I decided it was a fun way to learn new words...that being said....

provenance \PROV-uh-nuhn(t)s\, noun:Origin; source.

Sentence: The provenance of the strange odor was the furry, brown labrador retriever who was remitting gas while she was sleeping. ;)

Another feature of my old blogs that I enjoyed were character profiles. This was something my friend Matty suggested I bring back to the blog as well. I told him that I felt like it would be too hard at this time since I don't know anyone!!! But, then he suggested that I profile my friends back home. So, I thought I'd do a little re-vamp to the character profile and make it "Sue's Shout Out"...to "holla" at the people I miss or have been thinking about a lot lately. So, here it goes....my very first shout out....

goes to.....T'Dub...also known as, DT (Detective Terry), Terrence Trent Darby, Mrs. Roper, Spider Pig....or just Terry. She always had a way of making my work day entertaining...whether it was her magazine clippings or her strange illnesses or her commentary on the rest of our associates or even just her evening updates on what she had for dinner the night before. I know she is feeling blue right now because her bestest friend moved out of town. First she had to deal with the heart ache of losing me...and now another friend!?!?!? Life can be cruel. =/ T'Dub, I miss you, pretty girl!!

Life with out a Television...a Sad, Sad Life.

I will never forget that day...the day I said goodbye to my TV. I was standing on my old driveway in Oklahoma City, watching the movers telling Matt that we would be charged for every square inch we used on the truck. I saw the wheels spinning in Matt's head as he tried to decide what we wouldn't be taking. Helplessly I stood there...praying that my favorite possessions would make the cut and join me in sunny, Florida. Matt made his way toward me...and by the look on his face, I knew I was about to hear some bad news.

"We can't take the TV. There's no room."

My heart dropped to my toes. Immediately I ran to the CRV, and tried to reaarange the jam packed truck to fit my 26 inch TV. But, there was nothing I could do to make enough space for it. I had to decide...Either the TV would be in the back seat or Moussey would. It was a hard decision...but the living being got first preference. I never thought I'd last 3 months with out a TV...I thought would buy one as soon as I moved in...but instead, my money went to things like soaring electric bills and $4 gallons of milk.

Thankfully, I have a sister and a BF who have DVR and are kind enough to record shows they think I'd want to watch...and MTV.com helps me stay tuned to the Hills, America's Best Dance Crew, and Real World. But, major things have been going on in the world that I never knew about. For instance...THE OLYMPICS?!? Really?? I was wondering why Google.com had strange little characters holding flags of different nations on Friday, August 8th. I happened to hear someone say he was going to China and was going to catch the end of the Olympics...and that's when I knew! Nor did I know that Bernie Mac died! WTF?? Tragedy! And the Last Lecturer died too??? How sad!!! And...John Edwards really did have an affair?!? Geez...So much going on!

The good news is...I should be getting my TV soon...and I'll be back in business. Matt's not too happy about it...but hey, he can use his time "wisely" and ignore me as I waste my time crackin up at my favorite shows once again! I can't wait!

In other news...the kid has not yet arrived. Matt's finally off next Saturday and we're planning on taking a little expedition to Tampa. Something tells me, that that will probably be when she decides that she's ready to come out and see the world!! Sigh....

I usually have a quiet period when I meet new people. It takes about a month for someone new to break through my "tough exterior." A month passed...and then two...and I still had no friends at work. I must admit that I used some pretty low tactics to try to make friends at a certain point. Yes, I baked them brownies...but still...no dice. I began to rationalize it by saying it's too busy of an environment to be chatty and have friends. A few people around the office passed comments about how quiet I am...and in my head I thought..."man, if they only knew!!"

I'm coming upon 3 months at the new job. And today...I finally had a moment when I felt like I too was part of the gang. A few people were sitting around talking since it was an unusually calm day, and I happened to walk into their conversation. Next thing I knew, they started asking me questions and we bonded. Ok, so maybe it was "bonding"...but it was pretty close. It even lead to me going on break with one of my team members. I was insanely excited.

Maybe in 3 more months...I'll actually have someone to go to LUNCH with!

I'm ashamed to admit I have no pictures to post from this weekend's assignment...because I haven't had any inspiring subjects as of late. But, as usual, my cohort, Matty took some fantastic shots, so take a look at his!

This past week has been a retrospective one. My nephew had made a cd of 80's song, and listening to it somehow flung me into the past. I found myself digging through boxes to find old pictures and reading some of my old writing. It was kind of nice reflecting back on a time when worries were minimal, friends were plentiful, and money wasn't spent on rent/utilities/and a $4 gallon of milk.

I remember dreaming a lot of the future back then....and I have discovered that a lot of those dreams have been lost in the shuffle...stuffed in a box labled "some day." I didn't think that I would become a person like that "when I grew up." I thought I'd be someone that pursued my dreams at all costs and didn't let life get in the way.

In a way, the little flashback to the past was exactly what I needed to inspire me to not get stuck in a rut...but to figure out a way to still do and pursue the things I love. Hopefully it will be a lesson that I will remind myself of on a daily basis...

In other..fantastic...news...Madison Sarah Mathew will be gracing us with her presence ANY day now. (from the looks of her momma's belly...sooner than later!!)