Deep In The Forrest

My weekend in just a few words... Rain. Soothing Rain. Riding My Motorcycle In Rain. Home. A Visit With Mom Made Soup. Felt stressed lately and maybe haven't had the pleasure of a rainstorm?? Close your eyes and spend 10 minutes here .

Bikers get a bad rap... Most of them are quite nice, gentle and comical people. Motorcycles, Music, Mayhem and Mosquitoes. Does that sound like a dream? Well of course it wasn't, I wouldn't waste a dream on that. The on again off again Helena bike fest came true at last, but only a part of it was a nightmare. We should've left Friday night, but I honestly don't even want to go into Friday. I'm hoping to block that day out entirely, but so far it hasn't worked. Still, I refuse to justify it with any further discussion. So let's begin our tale on Saturday. As of that morning, our plans still did not include the bikefest. It kind of came together at the last minute, and we grabbed our sleeping bags and bare essentials, and headed down the 61 highway on a quest for southern thunder majesty and rockin righteous tunes. Once again, as we sailed down the highway, I saw more 'Bob Ross Paintings' surround me, I could have taken my choice, just reached out and...

April 20 is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 255 days remaining until the end of the year. Geez... can you believe it?? Notes from the week leading up to 4/20/09 (or general disturbances and rants of mine). There is a baby bird that has been incessantly chirping out my bedroom window at all hours of the night, which only accompanies my husband's snoring. It's a wonder I get any sleep at all. In a rush last week, I ran by Backyard Burger for lunch. I was listening to the almost creepy "Auto" greetings of the Stepford workers... Every time the door opened, one of them would ring out, "Welcome to Backyard!" and as people left, they would chime out, "Have a great day, it's been my pleasure!"... It's really surreal though, it's like they've been programmed... one girl in particular who kept checking on me a little too much to see "if everything was ok", had a bit of a glaz...

I realize I totally slacked off posting over the weekend. I didn't really intend to do so, but we just got so busy I never had a chance to sit down and do any writing. Not that it is a bad thing, just means I was out enjoying a bit of life, and the weather held out for it, so I rode, and rode. Friday I got my share of riding in, although nothing notable, just my own personal relaxation. Caught up to my man later in the afternoon when he was having a couple of after-work brews with his co-workers. That was just about it on Friday. Saturday, we slept in a little, then I took off solo on the bike again, rode down to my Mom's, gave her a birthday card and some little prezzies. Had a nice visit, and then got the call from Richie that everyone was headed out to have some supper, and I wanted to join, so I prepared to head back to the house, when all of a sudden, my battery was kaput. I don't know if it was of any fault of my own, as I SWEAR I didn't leave anything on, and had...

These happened a couple days back and I just haven't had any opportunity to sit down and collect my thoughts to blog them down. Sorry if it's a bit long... but I'm usually worth it. ;) We had our fifteen minutes of snow here in the Mid-South, and I was excited. Although it didn't last long, there was ice and the driving conditions were hazardous (especially if you intend on driving near any other idiots on the road). We had taken the dog out so he could get some exercise, and use the bathroom etc. Since it was so very cold, I didn't want to leave him out all day really, so I decided to run out there and look at the back yard snow, and bring the dog back in. When I remembered the snake that the guys had seen in the swimming pool earlier in the summer, I wondered strangely to myself if there was a chance that one might be hibernating. So I took a long stick, and went over and used it to open up the lid on the skimmer basket. I poked the stick down inside the dark, mur...

Today started out with a rather peaceful workout on the Elliptical machine accompanied by an episode of "Malcom In The Middle" on CardioTheatre. I was quite pleasantly surprised that "The Clacker" (TM) didn't show up to make the whole thing miserable until the last 8 minutes of my workout. That's semi-acceptable. I can handle that. Besides, she's been strangely "quieter" since I brought the hammer down on her with my complaint to the management. Contrary to Richie's hopeful scenario, she has still not "come for me in the parking lot". Ha! Even though she has been on good behavior, for some reason, I still cringe when I see her coming and have a brewing hatred for the very sight of her. Guess she's just one of those people. After working out, we came back home, and I cooked super-charged "Omega 3-6-9" scrambled eggs (with a little shredded cheddar melted in) and turkey bacon. I made a pot of good strong coffee, and I ...

My weekend is almost over, and I haven't really done much of anything. I feel slightly unaccomplished, but not so bad. Sometimes it feels good to goof off and just watch some movies and chill. I have worked up some pretty cool recipes along with the low carb stuff. First of all, to change up a bit from the cheesecake, I concocted a low-carb type of brownie. That turned out pretty good. And then today, I cooked Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo, using Spaghetti squash as the noodles. That was quite good too. This will be my second week without sugar and bad carbs, so wish me luck! We were supposed to go a friend's party to kick off The Cooper-Young festival this past Friday night, but everything got too hectic and I simply wasn't able to make it. I'm sure he's mad at us for not showing, because it was the last time that he will really have a party there, since they have sold their house and are moving to Atlanta, but hopefully he'll forgive me. I'm feeling a bit of...

What to do... hmmm, weekend recap? Thursday nightmare: Richie started drinking margaritas early, after work, and an argument ensued with a good friend of mine over something that was said. It turned into a bad night, and I felt awful for this friend having to go through it since I only wanted to have a little coffee and some girl chat... But that's why I just lovvveeee alcohol. You never know what kind of hell it will put you through before the night's over. We made it through that, fortunately. I don't quite want to go into all the details of the ridiculous causes, I'm just sorry it was such a bad night for everyone involved and all. So... some other time perhaps. Friday, the 4th was spent pleasantly at my parents' house... we had a nice visit, and had my Mom's catfish... rather impromptu and doubly delicious. She cooked it on the fly kind of, and we enjoyed it, even though it was too late to eat dinner probably. It was the 4th, I deserved a little happiness......

I don't do Cigarettes, nope... never been a smoker. But I enjoy coffee very much, especially when it's made by and enjoyed with my wonderful Mother... She makes the best coffee ever... or maybe it's just because it's her. :) Anyway, first I'd like everyone to enjoy this video by the wonderful Otis Redding, "Cigarettes and Coffee" . Couldn't find a live one, so stare at the pic I guess while listening to the cool song. Or you could just continue to read my blog entry while listening. Think of it as 'accompaniment music'. Now on to the latest "AJ Jibber Jabber". All is o.k. here, I guess. I'm just making it through the week and wishing that my band's Gig at The Stage Stop was over with... It really separates up my holiday weekend, and I fear that I am going to go back to work just as tired as when I finished the week... Is that what holidays are all about?? I don't really know anymore. Holidays, for the most part, suck. Th...

Well, here I sit at 4:34 in the morning, still awake as Mr. J and I have been out and about with first, our band mates , and then later some old friends of his from 'back in'na day'. Of course, the night ended with Krystal Hamburgers and them coming back to the house to Crash. So I'm on the computer goofing off, and I guess about to hit the sack shortly. Just wanted to give a quick couple of rough cellphone pictures... I thought you might enjoy one of Richie-the-text-message-whore. Pictured here, was Richie firing up the numbers on the phone pad, texting away with magical fervor. His drinking and texting has gotten to an all time high as of late, so I had to have a big Margarita my damn self. :) (Is this one big enough?) This was made by a Mexican Restaurant, and believe you me. They ARE NOT Stingy with the Tequila. I had a hard time making it through this one... It had to be a blender within itself. :) Anyways, I have a few pics in the camera from Beale Street from ton...

Last thing that caught my ear after lunch, getting out of my car was the radio telling some story about a person named "Harry Melons". I guess things always strike me funny, but I felt a little sorry for whoever this was. And if your name is Harry Melons, and you are reading this because you Google yourself too much, and you're angry because I'm making fun of your name, lighten up. Please, you know it's funny. Kick back and laugh at yourself. We are. I wanted to make a quick note today of the weekend's events, annoying and otherwise as I have had time to collect my thoughts, but not enough time to put it into writing. Friday, I got a phone call right as I was leaving which was project related and made me have to stay nearly 30 minutes more. Then, Friday night was "Me and Mr. J Time", we had a nice night watching movies and hanging out together, and stayed up relatively late. Saturday, I slept until maybe 10ish, layed around for a while, watching ...

Saturday's been good... started the day off with a nice haircut... maybe a little shorter than I had intended but my hair grows fast so it's all cool. Then Meggy Moon and I went to the Elmwood Cemetery because she had never been and I thought she'd enjoy shooting some photos from there. I really can't quit going over there, I have fun every time I shoot photos at Elmwood. I think I might be over it now, besides I have so many collected... Maybe it's time to find another place that interests me photographically. :) However, I am sharing the slideshow with you from a few of today's select shots, so hope you enjoy them... Before I forget, Today I must send extreme Happy Birthday wishes to our good friend Four Dinner's Daughter, Jaxxxxxxxxx's Big 18th Birthday! . Happy Birthday Jaxxx... and many, many more!! You did good Dinners!!! Cheers! He's still a young hunk himself... so you'd never know he had an 18 year old daughter today. You guys are top no...

It's still Saturday in my mind, but technically it is already Sunday morning... my how the weekend doth blur together. So I am sitting here nibbling on Funyuns, watching "Are We Done Yet?" with Ice Cube and cuddling with my vereh own Kitteh (which is Yas-speak for... Kitteh). While perusing comments for addictive-like-crack MySpace, I discovered this one, which is cute and funny. It's from a website called Can I Has Cheezburger? . I know, a little goofy but it caught my eye. I had a nice time earlier, I got to take my Mommy shopping. I drove down, picked her up and we went to Burlington Coat Factory and she bought a new suit, and I picked up a pair of jeans and a couple of pieces for work attire. Then we went to a place to pick up some fabric for Mom (she sews, alot... and quilts). Went home, had coffee and visited a while. Wondering where Mr. J is?? Well, he went on a guy night with his friend Gary. They were going to hang out and do "Guy Stuff" which basic...

Today's blouse is cut in such a way that a bit of the wing on my Angel/Devil tattoo shows. When people see this, they always start out asking "Is that a butterfly??" To which I reply, "Oh, no--these two are my 'conscience', you know, like the little angel and little devil that sit on your shoulder... Here they are fighting it out." and I'll pull the shirt or blouse over to the side and allow them to see the entire piece. Usually it will illicit some response one way or the other (usually good)... So I bare to you my little 'consciences' that ride with me on my shoulder all the time... I'll leave it to your imagination to wonder which one wins. ;) Speaking of the battle over good and evil, we've enjoyed a break in the heat (a bit of rain) here this week, which was a relief in lieu of the past month's heat index and temperatures. That I've come to affectionately nickname "The Bowels of Hell". Even just a day or two wit...

It's Friday, so I'm trying hard for a relaxing day that doesn't over-stress. I do have plenty to do, and as always it looks like the weekend before me is going to be another noisy and fast one. If I can just accomplish a couple of things, it makes me feel better. We're in the middle of getting a brand new Air Conditioner/Furnace unit. Yesterday we had to go through the process of picking it out, and it is being put in, it's not quite done yet. This unit that we have had was probably put in when the house was built... that would make it around 30+ years old I guess. So it's about time... still, home improvement is not my bag baby! haha. We've been doing our workouts, lifting, cardio etc... but my back has been bugging me. It's stiff, it tends to threaten to 'go out' on me (this is in the lower back), so I'm wondering if I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go on back to my chiropractor and just stay straightened out. They really nab yo...

Weekend zipped by fast, probably due to our gig at Kudzu's Bar & Deli, which went pretty well. Once again, my band, "S.A.P" would like to thank Kudzu's very much for having us there, they are always very cool. The weekend, oh let's see... Friday night, after work, Richie and I headed out to a little Mexican place which was nice. Relaxed a little, he had a few brews, we came home and just goofed off at the house the remainder of the night, and I had thoughts on preparations for the next day because we were supposed to be taking band photos before the gig, and I had tons to get done (I thought so anyway). So a friend of Richie's came by for a while. That pretty was pretty much it for Friday night. Saturday, I wake up around 11:30, or close to Noon, take the normal amount of time to completely "wake up", which consists of checking e-mail, having a bit of breakfast, zoning out for a bit. Then I threw myself together to venture out shopping for cloth...

Waking up on Saturday is always the climax of the week, no matter what you've had going on it feels great when you sleep late, and then know you don't have to go anywhere or do anything if you don't want to... That's exactly what I did yesterday. Once I woke up, I did a few things, watched a little T.V., and fell back asleep for about a 2 hour afternoon doze-fest! When I woke up, it was time to get ready for band practice... We hadn't practiced Thursday night, which is our normal night, but we wanted to work on a few specific songs for our set, so as a band we went out to eat at The Bar-B-Q Shop in Midtown, Memphis. It's top-notch if you're going to be in Memphis and want to try our fine BBQ (and yes, they have beer)! Don't be fooled by the more commercialized "popular" ones... take it from me. So we ate a nice dinner, then we practiced. Mr. J and I then went home and had a nice quiet late evening. I arrived home too late to listen to Rockdo...

Well almost out of light for the day, and not much to really post-Thought i'd let everyone catch up on the last couple or so, or anything you might have missed lately which is probably not that much, but hey well... y'know. Put together a new playlist, and I hope it doesn't get on anyone's nerves... If it does, you can slide down and scroll through and find a song that you do like on my playlist or you can hit pause so it will stop playing altogether... Was pretty fun to put together. Maybe you'll enjoy some of my songs, and you can have a glimpse into the ecclectic musical tastebuds of the whacky Aunt Jackie. Wish I had something cooler to talk about, but i'm still trying to work myself into a better state of mind. I guess sometimes you just need a good mental rest... Have a great 'rest of the weekend' everyone.

Hey, it's a brand spankin' new weekend, just around the bend! A delightful end to a very busy week for me, but it's all o.k... Tonight we're just planning to chill, cook on the grill, and have a thrill (or two). So join me in a quick little burst of joy, wherever you are, stop what you're doing and just scream at the top of your lungs... maybe the reaction you get (depending on where you are) will be a funny one, or you might get some strange looks, or even in trouble for disturbing the peace--Hopefully not... So celebrate Friday everyone!! Let's go crazy!! Sorry I haven't gotten around to the story yet-maybe I can do that for you over the weekend... I've been inspired by Rockdog to possibly write a little short story of some type... maybe grace you all with my amazing talents... Who knows... But for now, let's just see how crazy you really are. I want everyone to take a look at the following Ink Blot, and tell me what you see! :) Have an insanel...

Friday is here, and I am glad for that. I'm not going to think about how fast the weekend might pass, or what I might not get done this weekend, but rather think positively about the limitless possibilities that the hours ahead of me might hold. I'll still try to think of some great things I'd like to do before the weekend is through, and save my negative rants for Monday (where they belong). Fridays are for dreaming, and reminiscing, and fantasizing of things that make your spirit soar... so let's plan our [mental] escape, and start packing now. Take a hot air balloon ride over the fantasy place of your choice, or hope on a riverboat and see where it takes you. Today is all about you (me, you know--US!) So let's just milk it for all it's worth and enjoy! The weather is fine, and even though we're expecting rain tomorrow it would be a great day to take a long walk down by the river. Or if I had my way, and had the time and the ability to I think I would pro...