Friday, May 30, 2008

Time Machine Tour DVD Trailer released on YouTube.

Wow, if this is only a hint of what the DVD will entail, this will be money well worth spent.

Video: Sexy blender.

This was taken while on vacation in Texas, we were all up late and had clearly lost our minds when this was taken. Enjoy the laughs.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Im back from Texas!




Yes I have returned from Texas and I am glad to be back home, back in my own comfy bed. Ahhhh!






We planned to return today, but not in the way expected. One of my mates got sick due to some sort of airborne bug that gives you a VERY upset stomach and you're going from both ends. Well she stayed behind in Texas while me, my DD, and my friend's mom came back to AR. My friend's mom is headed back to Texas as we speak and will call in the morning to let me know she made it OK. I wouldve stayed, but



1.) I did not want me nor my DD to get sick from this bug.



2.) I was getting restless from having spent only 1 day out and about, the rest of the time was spent loafing or sleeping. Stuff I could have easily done at home. Im not pleased with the vacation overall.



3.) I was more than ready to get away from the controlling mother. (not me).






I did enjoy the time I was able to get out, but I just feel like Ive been used as a means to take someone else on vacation rather than getting a vacation of my own. I doubt I will ever return to this part of Texas given the circumstances and the interesting information Ive received and the things I have seen.






So I will simply put a list of photos here for you to view:




An old Victorian-era style house that is now a Bed & Breakfast.
Zoom of the lion's head on the B&B.
My DD and I posing on the train at the train museum.
An old stagecoach hotel in Denison, and yes it has actually been there since stagecoach times.
The photo of the train at the train museum.



Denison's official welcome sign.
My DD posing whilst outside playing with the other kids.
Another pose, this time in grayscale or B&W.
A really good Willie Nelson look-alike.
Logo of the local depot on the side of a train at the train museum.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower's birthplace. As you can see it is well protected from terrorists with a wooden fence, some bushes, and OMG even a chain-link fence! LOL.
Life size sculpture of a full grown horse.
Deer are the same size as real deer.
Life-size sculpture of a buffalo.

I wish I had more exciting bits to share, but sadly due to circumstances I do not. Maybe next year's vacation will be better.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Live from Denison, TX!!

Hello! We are live from Denison, TX via wireless Internet. Yesterday we departed from Danville at approximately 2:00 pm, and drove 8 hours to our destination.

We had four major stops along the way, with one being quite unexpected. My daughter's lunch did not agree with her just outside DeQueen, AR. That required an emergency stop on the side of the road for a clean up and a change of clothes. Thank the Good Lord that we had airconditioning. And let's just say that I will not be eating macaroni and cheese for quite some time. ICK!

Then we debated whether or not we should eat in DeQueen depending on how my daughter was feeling. Well, actually she felt better and even returned to her talkitive self and said she was hungry so we stopped at the 'Ranch House' Restaurant in town for some wonderful food. I had the Chicken Fried Steak and WOW!, it was good and I hate to admit this but the food there is better than alot of the food in Danville and some cases Russellville as well. Maddie had chicken and fries and ate quite well. My mates, Sharon and Juaniva both also had the chicken fried steak. Needless to say we left satisfied and wasn't hungry again until breakfast this morning.

We arrived in Denison around 11:00 pm, we unloaded, got cleaned up and went immediately to bed.

This morning was off to a jumpstart. Laying there in bed partially conscious I felt the pitter patter of feet running towards the door then BOOM!! I jump up to see a young boy of not more than 4 years and an older lady barreling through the door followed by my mate Sharon laughing hysterically. Appearently, the boy was told that someone was sleeping in there and curiosity beckoned him to look and see, his grandmother followed to try and stop him only she reached him only as he burst through the door. Startling at first but funny looking back on it.

This was only the start of many oopsies for me. I went to pour one my mates a cup of coffee only to pour coffee all over myself as well as the counter top as well as having coffee grounds all around. My mates laughing hysterically, we all agreed that if it were going to happen, it was going to happen to me. I still think it was rigged.

Later we went grocery shopping to pick up some needed items. We got a fun cart that was shaped like a race car, only it would not go into the direction guided into. 'Nanu' somehow managed to get it wedged into a shelf and I thought to help I should grab the front end and pull it over. Only when I grabbed it, the entire cab portion came off and I was left standing in the aisle holding a large piece of shopping cart. Several other customers around me saw the entire spectacle and one lady in a bright green shirt gave me a standing ovation and were laughing. I'm telling you whether intentional or not I am usually in the middle of the action. I put the piece back on and ensured it was snapped in place.

That was the last of the hysterics for the day and I will conclude this with photos from our day which included feeding chickens and a rabbit on the farm.




Giant maze on the Christmas Tree farm next door. It took us close to 15 minutes to complete it and find our way out.


my daughter feeding the baby chicks.

Maddie and 'Nanu' feeds the roosters and hens in the laying pen.
Maddie feeding the little chicks again.Farm fresh eggs for cooking - YUM!



Roosters (above and below)


Oreo the farm bunny.

Monday, May 19, 2008

What to pack in carry-on and what to pack for the luggage??

Ah 3 days til the day of departure. Its not so much that I dont have enough luggage for everything its just the sorting out what needs to be packed in a carry-on bag for the cab and what needs to go in the luggage in the truck bed.

I have since invest $10.00 USD for a device that is basically a backpack for your seat and the person in the back seat has access to it. Why? Because I need to take several things that will keep my DD occupied for those lulls in conversation during a road trip. I will have her coloring books and some crayons, an activity set, as well as some short picture books for reading. No movies, no DVD player, nada. I dont want her growing up feeling like she has to constantly be plugged into something to feel human. (I honestly feel robotic when I'm running around work wearing my iPod.)

I will be taking the laptop in order to provide a daily summary of events whenever possible as well as uploading photos to share. My problem is this: with the small icechest in the cab between the back seat and the transom, my Sony DSC-H7 Camera (It is a full-size camera, not a wimpy P&S)in the bag of course with its accessories and a spare memory stick. My tripod, my laptop and its accessories, plus the overly priced, overy done 'auto safety kit' I absolutely had to buy (not my idea folks) when I could have put one together myself for less than half the price of the one I bought. Sometimes those package deals arent such good deals after all.

Where and how am I going to fit all of this in? These are items I dont feel safe just leaving in the bed of my truck- these are high dollar valuables I have worked my tail off for. Well I can easily leave the safety kit in the truck bed and not worry, I mean who is going to steal a safety kit anyway? Mr. Safety?

Right now - I'm trying to figure out how to get all of my needed laundry done so that come Thursday night all I have to do is pack and gather essential items and toss it in the back of the cab before I go to bed so that I am all set for Friday morning. Get up go to work, volunteer out, come home change out of my work clothes, change into travel clothes, get gas, get my mates, cash our checks, get my DD, then were off.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

ROAD TRIP!!

OK Today begins the countdown to my road trip to Texas. We are planning to leave Friday morning, and Friday afternoon at the latest. We are headed to the Witchita Falls area of TX, specifically the suburbs of Denison. The vehicle of choice is my 2001 Ford SporTrac, dubbed, 'Bubba'. So any future references of the SporTrac will simply be 'Bubba'.

The overall driving time will be around 8 hours so it will be done straight through, with one major stop in De Queen, AR for a late lunch or dinner, again depending on the departure time.

I will try to keep the blog updated throughout the trip, from the countdown to the departure day as well as the trip itself. I will include vlogs and photos where possible using my Sony DSC-H7.

Until the next entry I leave you with a link of some tourism information of the area I will be visiting.

City of Denison, TX.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Guest Vlog: Access to ALL music WARNING: not suitable for children.

First the video:



Commentary by me:
Finally! Something from the same old 'let's-interpret-hymns-for-the-deaf' to something that some if not a lot of deafies like. Not all deafies are holy rollers, some are hardcore and love it. Don't get me wrong I believe in Jesus Christ and spreading His word, but sadly it's often thought of as a 'new' idea when in fact interpreting only 'nice' music to the deaf has been around for decades if not centuries. Also I dont share the same views and perspectives as Manson, but I do believe in keeping an open mind to new experiences.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

The State of Connection

As I sit here sipping my coffee, I catch a glimpse of a show on National Geographic. An entire hour long prime time slot is dedicated to a popular video on YouTube called 'Battle at Kruger'.

I realize that our need to stay connected at all times has become the norm, even when we feel the need to disconnect ourselves we often feel that we would be missing something if we did.

Cell phones, laptops, internet, tellyboxes, and iPods in our earholes. If we are not plugged in to some sort of electrical device we feel naked. Welcome to the 21st century.

In recent times, you tube videos have made national news headlines of teenage girls ganging up on one of their unlucky classmates and beating them to a pulp.

Others are of teenagers protesting the lack of an adequate skating park in Hot Springs AR.

MySpace, YouTube, Google, and Hotmail.

We have 26 gazillion ways to connect to each other. And 26 gazillion ways for those whom we do not want to have contact with to contact us (or at least attempt to). For the latter, thank god there are 'delete' buttons for this, as well as the 'decline' buttons on Facebook.

These are the times that anyone can be published online via Blogger, Wordpress, and others. The day to day documentation of the life of Joe Blow.

What would happen should the lights go out? Would we just stare blankly at our tellyboxes or would we begrudgingly engage in conversations with our housemates? Would we pull out the board games of decades ago and drag the kids in from their rooms for a family game night?

No, I dont think so. I think we would wander aimlessly in our minds searching for something to feed it to entertain it while we take on our day to day tasks. We would dust off the books from our bookshelves and read them before we realized the best storylines come from reality. The best entertainment can only happen in real life.

I pity those who are lonely and have shut themselves in to the Internet believing the world is at their fingertips. The information about the world at their fingertips, but the experiences of that world lie just outside their doors.

We live in more than just states of a nation, we live in a state of connection becuase rarely do you meet someone that doesnt at least have cell phone and/or an internet connection.

Sometimes I wonder if man would go mad should he find himself completely disconnected with the modern means. Instead having to rely on mail from the mailbox and having to wait several days for a reply versus having an instant reply.