Mama Got Hot----Preacher gone wild!!!!! (our road trip part 2)

 O God, ease our suffering in this, our moment of great despair.

Clark from the movie Vacation

....Well the vacation saga of the "off color" family continues!!!  When we last left our wild and crazy family, they were suffering from a hot trailer in their redneck cabin trailer park.  The air-conditioner finally started working and after s'mores, we all went to bed and practically froze to death.  Seems the cabin trailer doesn't adapt to temperature changes very well. 

It was turning out to NOT be a Pic-a-nic on Pic-a-Nic lane.

Big Daddy and I got up early but of course, all we could do was sit in our freezer---I mean our bedroom.

Finally Big Daddy got brave and squeezed into the kitchen, living room, sleeping area and made me a cup of

"double dog coffee"---wasn't that sweet of Big Daddy.

As the sun came up, I watched a yellow finch have a breakfast of thistle out the window and as light broke, I got up and decided to take a morning walk around the campground in hopes of seeing Boo Boo or Yogi.

It was quite peaceful.  It seems people staying in tents and RVs and cabin trailers must sleep in because I was the only one out.  

After I got back to the trailer, we got the girls up for our morning hike at Mammoth Cave State Park.  We all started out "looking beautiful"---seems if you stay at Yogi Bear Camp--there is no need to put on your morning best.  I think we all went with "just sleeped in hair" and seems everyone in the park copied our style.

We had a great morning walking in the coolness and tranquility.  Lush green mixed with the gray of sandstone boulders and trees stretched out their roots any which way they could in order to grow.  Hannahtard and Madi accompanied Big Daddy and me.   The boys opted to sleep in--seems they stayed up late looking for trailer trash girls with no success.  We had a wonderful time filled with laughter, sweat and a few complaints.

Trees reached to the meet the light from the sky.

Deer were out for a morning snack.

I try to show everyone that even a forty-something woman can swing on a grapevine!!! I have a bruise to prove I did it!

Hannahtard waits for me as I finish taking a few pictures.  Of course I was usually lagging behind!

We did approximately five miles along several trails.  Rain fell during our hike, but the woods were so lush we never even felt a drop. 

Following our hike, we headed back our wonderful accommodations at Jelly stone Resort.

We had a snack, shower and decided to take a nap before our afternoon cave tour.

As we napped, I kept getting warmer and warmer.  In the afternoon, as I was waking up, I yelled to the rest of the crew.  "I'm hot.  I think I have a sunburn from sleeping in the trailer cabin."  As we got ready to leave the cabin, I checked the temp and it was 84 degrees.  I wondered if mama should complain, but kept my mouth shut and herded the crew into the cars for the cave tour which was fabulous.  Here is a couple of pictures I took of the area called Frozen Niagara.

After the cave tour, we headed back to Yogi bear land in two different cars.  The boys were heading to the Red Box to return a couple of DVDs.  The girls and I had opted to head back to start our spaghetti dinner.  It was already seven and all of us were famished from our active day.

We arrived back at our delightful cabin trailer and I unlocked the door.  I was met with a rush of heat and hot air.  I felt sweat begin to break out on my forehead and I immediately checked the thermostat. 

I could feel my blood pressure rising.  Mama was now not only hot and sweaty, she was hungry and now the dangerous combination set off a trigger that could not be stopped.

The girls were behind me coming in and I yelled, "hell to the No!--I have had enough of this!"  I threw my keys on the bar, turned around and told the girls to get in the car.  I sped up to the ranger station before I could cool down and the wrath of mama was coming down.  Yogi and Boo Boo had better watch out....The preacher had lost her religion and I believe the girls said, "she's gone wild".

They followed behind telling me what to say. 

I marched in and asked for the manager.  A young barely twenty something girl comes from behind the counter and the preaching began....

"My piece of crap trailer that was advertised as a log cabin is now 97 "f..ing" degrees.  Something has to be done now and you are going to reimburse us for both today and tomorrow. blah...blah...blah."

They paged for the yogi bear janitors and they drove down in their golf cart--seems the non-air conditioner was now frozen.   I stood out and waited for Big Daddy and crew.  We flagged him down and then the two of us went back in to rant a bit more."

The manager told us that she would reimburse us and so we headed back to the trailer and had to pack and load the car.  Oh my gosh..it was worse than a sauna."

So to make a long story shorter.....

to sum it up....

mama got hot

boo boo almost got hurt

off-color family moved to a lovely hotel room down the street with the luxury of an air conditioner--trouble was there was no suite available so the six of us had to sleep in a hotel room with two queens and a roll away.  We ate a local Mexican restaurant and then we climbed into our beds for a wonderful cool night of sleep---only trouble was---no "special Big Daddy time". (sad face)

This morning, we loaded up and headed for a half-day canoe trip.

It was hot and sunny and the scenery along the banks reflected the water in a mesmerizing way.

We stopped an had a picnic along the sand bank.  We waded and slashed and collected fresh water shells and geodes.  I even had the courage to "pee" outside for the first time in my forty-something years---mark that one off the bucket list. 

I sat on the bank and watched my special people slash and play and laugh.  Tiny fish and tadpoles swam between tiny stones and shells, tiny little crawdads scurried around, the sun hit my face and the breeze blew through my hair.  I felt so tiny in the mix of the world but for that moment...that precious moment....preacher mama thanked the universe for the wonderful gifts she received on an "off color" family road trip.

We are home now...a day early.  We had a blast!!!!  Even after having to stay in the Jelly stone Campground trailer cabin.   Don't worry, mama did go wild there but boo boo is still walking around hugging kids. 
It didn't turn out the way we had planned but the memories and laughs were worth the trouble of it all.   Well what can I say...........another adventure with the "off color family"......you never know what will happen!!!

Happy Thursday night and Hugs!!!! 

a vacation in Yogi Bear trailer park....

Clark: Oh what the hell - it was fun anyway.

Clark Griswold from the movie Vacation

Well, the off color family is off on vacation and as you all know...you never know what to expect!!!!

This year, Big Daddy and I decided that we would not rent our usual house on Sunset Beach (a quiet low-key beach where there are no stores, go-kart races or water parks---just peace, quiet, beaches, sand and waves).  For some reason, that I can't quite remember right now, we decided that we were going to take a vacation close to home and see some of the things in our home state of Kentucky that we had not seen before.....little did we know what we might be in for....

We did some research and finally settled on renting a cabin in Western Kentucky near Mammoth Cave Natural Park.   We've rented cabins before and so we were all pretty excited about a cabin with a loft, bedroom and fold out.  Each kid brought someone...B. brought his life-long friend T. and of course Madi brought hannatard.  Big Daddy spent an entire day planning our menus and packing our food---since we knew we would have little access to the grocery store where we were staying.   

So, this morning we loaded up and headed to Jelly stone Campground to begin our adventure.

We arrive and find out rather quickly that our air conditioned cabin was none other than a trailer built to look like a cabin.  It is small...very small...there is no table in the cabin to eat on and when Madi and Hannatard fold out their sofa bed, one can barely walk around the bed to get to the bathroom.  The kids seem very excited to be in this "redneck" campground---not!!!!!!.  I mean it does have a water slide and a pool==what else could they want.  The property across from us has been all dug up waiting for the next trailer cabin to be put into place.

We have been laughing about it and I thought I could tolerate it all until the heat came later this afternoon.  When I could not get the thermostat below 80 degrees, I went and complained to the park ranger.  However, it seems they can't do much about adjusting it--they did offer to get us a fan.   I don't know what these folks are thinking, obviously they have never seen a southern girl during a hot flash......it could get ugly when I start sitting outside on the screened in porch in my "birthday suit".  

We have already had the one big adventure.  Big Daddy and I rode over to the cave and omg....as we drove through the country...house after house would just have little shops set up in their front yard---most even took MasterCard and Visa.  There were concrete yard figurines, geode tables where you could get so many rocks for so many dollars and of course my favorite of the day---I actually made Big Daddy stop---it was the bird house yard shop.  I couldn't believe it--but someone actually has an entire front yard full of birdhouses for sale.  Here in a bit, we're going to start a fire in the fire pit for s'mores---if the girls don't eat all the candy bars while Big Daddy and I nap.  The only real disaster so far has been when B. went to back his car up---yes he has his keys back---and he hits Big Daddy's car right in front of our trailer cabin.   There are lots of flies as well....Madi said it reminded her of that scene out of the Omen where the flies cover the front of the house.  Big Daddy has a pink hand fly swat and he's been doing some mighty fine killing.

Tomorrow we are off for hiking and a cave tour.  We also have a canoe trip planned.   Truth is.....when the off color family and friends take a vacation....one never knows what might happen---especially at a cabin trailer park.

B. and T. are out roaming for some trailer park trash......or at least that's what they indicated.

Have a great night....I'm sure you'll have some good stories coming about the

"off color family vacation"

Next year....I'm sure we'll be back at the beach!!!

Happy Tuesday and Hugs from 

the Yogi Bear Cabin Trailer Park in Cave City Ky.

our trailer cabin number

just pull off the road and make your selection...visa and MasterCard accepted!!!!

Big Daddy taking a break from killing flies!!!

Letting Loose.......

Live life full out. 

Don't hold back. 

Be curious and adventurous - live your life to the fullest.

unknown

Born into the fullness of our self

new and open and free

crying and mewing and laughing and smiling

we see the world as a new adventure

everything is fresh and wild and welcoming

we aren't afraid of anything

fearless most of us are

A life of exploring,

taking it in,

spreading our wings

Free...that's what we are....free.

Somehow, Someway, Somebody

gives us the thoughts

their truth...not ours...

that we are not good enough,

smart enough

worth enough

to be who we are supposed to be.

We wither away,

let our well of creativity dry up,

our color fades,

leaves droop

and

before too long

if we are not aware

we begin to look like all the others around us

the same.

Every so often,

some of us,

look deep enough,

accept ourselves enough,

begin to love our self enough

to do it....

Free our self from the confines of

other peoples' boundaries and

drink of the well of our own creativity,

pull up nourishment from the Source of our Creation,

and

we allow ourselves to explore,

discover,

delve into adventure

splash our color on our petals

spread all

out

and

blossom into the fullness of

ALL we already Are....

and it is

a Beautiful sight!!!!

Go ahead..

Don't be letting anybody or anything hold you back...

Fling your arms to the universe and

LIVE!!!!

May each of you experience the wonder of

Sunday Sabbath

and

LIVE...

{{HUGS}}

Color My Day.....

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Dr. Seuss

I walked through the streets and watched the people, as a straight married woman with two children.   There were rainbow shirts, scarves, bracelets and even a tight fitting rainbow colored body suit.

It was a day of "Tammy Faye baker make-up, big hair and sequined ballroom gowns.   Today was the gay pride festival in our down town area.  Madi, Hannahtard and I got ready and drove down to walk through the sights and sounds.  Why?  you might ask..well for the same reason I have taken my two white children to mostly black Martin Luther King marches.   As a human being, I try honor the things I believe.   All people were created equal---equal rights for all people.  For far too long, society has pushed those who are considered "outside the box" to the marginal edges and tried to make these folks feel, less than, not enough, like something is wrong with them.  Throughout the day, I perused little tents set up as outdoor stores full of figurines, buttons, t-shirts and scarves.  I smelled the smell of kettle corn, cotton candy, funnel cakes and hamburgers on the grill.  The sights...oh the sights were so worth the walk.  All kinds of people dressed in all kinds of clothes.  All kinds of drag queens and spiked hair and make-up and affection and openness about being who they were.   I found a seat and just sat there and watched.  People greeted each other with hugs, lovers held hands and kissed and hugged.  There were outfits of all kinds....some were amazing and others....well I thought to myself, what the H.   Somebody should have told them not to wear that outside the home.   I stood in the hot sun next to my daughter and all around us were gay couples dancing to the beat of the next queens song.   The "queens", they kept getting better.  From a Cher impersonator dancing in her heels to a Beautiful Brazilian Bombshell.  Their hair was teased and pumped and sprayed and glittered.  Their make-up put on thick, with lips plumped and pouting and eyelashes a batting.  One by one they marched on the stage to their respective tune in their high heel shoes that I'm sure I couldn't walk in myself.  The beat of the music rattled throughout the crowd and the sway of the dance was almost contagious as the queens worked the stage for their dollar tips.   All around color, sight and sound filled the moment.  I stood there in the midst of it all--alone--but yet woven to every single person there by our experience of the day. 

People are just people--all the same--have a heart and brain and soul.   I applaud those who were able to step out and live in the world in the fullness of their true color.  May we all have the courage to follow your lead and the passion to fight for a world where we can all be who we need to be without  rejection, abandonment or fear.  While I stood there...for just a moment...I experienced a moment of the beloved kingdom that Martin Luther King Jr. often talked about.....

As early as 1956, Dr. King spoke of The Beloved Community as the end goal of nonviolent boycotts. As he said in a speech at a victory rally following the announcement of a favorable U.S. Supreme Court Decision desegregating the seats on Montgomery’s buses, “the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opposers into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of humanity.”

I don't know about any of you,

but I believe love does transform

and

that miracles do and will happen.

Today,

in the midst of color,

I believe just for a moment...

I caught a glimpse of what "we" might become if we work hard at reconciliation and redemption through love.

Thanks to all

at the

Pride Festival for Coloring My Day.

Happy Saturday!!!!

May Each of Us

walk a bit taller,

hold our head up a bit more,

and

push our shoulders back

and live into the fullness of

our own unique color...

Have a colorful day!!!!

{{Hugs}}

Heart Wholeness....a strange adventure.



“To open your heart to someone means exposing the scars of the past.”

-Unknown Author

Shalom...
not just peace to and for the world,
but a word that
means oh so much more...

"According to Strong's Concordance 7965 Shalom also means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the obviously related word Shelem means to pay for, and Shulam means to be fully paid."

I don't know about you,

but

that is exactly what I seek....

wholeness,

completeness,

fullness,

tranquility.

I've only seen fragments of what that is,

I crave it though,

I think about it

like a tall glass of icy water on a steamy hot day,

there is a thirst,

a deep longing

somewhere in the center of my heart,

for

integration of all my parts,

 for the pieces to come together

the mended,

the patched,

the untouched,

all pulled together

completed if you will,

 put together all nice and pretty

like the look of a jigsaw puzzle

finally done after hours of sitting and searching and trying.

I haven't found the secret yet to this,

but I keep searching deep within,

I have found for the most part

it is a journey to

Discovery of self,

acceptance of who we already are

the

good

the

bad

the ugly,

all mixed, swirled and twisted.

This study of ancient heart sounds is scary at times,

pulling up the past,

living in the present

and

waiting for the future,

keeps us all busy

and

distracted.

It allows us to

keep ourselves from going inside

and

reflecting and really seeing what we have stored up, buried,

pushed behind for another day.

Truth for me..

the only times I've really had those moments of

wholeness and completeness

are the

moments that come

when my courage overtakes my fear

and

my hope outweighs dread of what I will find.

It is only then

that I'm mature enough,

adventurous enough,

brave enough if you will

to survey the scars of my heart

the good and the bad and then try to accept

what I see

as my truth for the given day.

The journey toward wholeness,

sweet tasting tranquility,

shalom

does come...but only

in tiny fragments,

when we can absorb

all we need to take in

and

when we are able to

show the world

our

actualized self

and

live into our possibility

with comfort in doing it.

Heart Wholeness...

"it ain't an easy thing"

"it ain't for the faint of heart"

"it ain't an easy job"

but it makes life

so worth living.

May we all

take a look

at who

we are and

share it openly and fully

as the potentiality of our story unfolds.

Happy Friday...

sending wishes for all of you

to have just a moment

of

Heart Shalom today.

{Hugs}

Have a great weekend.

 

Are we nearsighted?? time for new lenses?

~ The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. ~  

Marcel Proust

 

 

We see the world

though a set of lenses

lenses we were given at birth

by our parents

and

layered with life experiences

tarnished by hurt and sorrow and pain

colored and tinted with love and laughter and joy.

 

We walk around,

wearing that same old pair of glasses

with

lenses that have

become scratched and warped and weak.

The people we see...

well we see who we want to see

draw our own preconceived opinions about who they are,

what they do,

how they live

decide

 whether we will like them or

not...without ever really seeing them...

all because of the pair of glasses we've placed on our face.

 

Some wear glasses from childhood,

all tight and stretched

and

the world viewed is now only a shadow of

what "really" is.

Others....

well they've grown and

learned

and

their variety of frames and styles and

lenses..

well they have a whole closet full

because they pay attention to when their vision becomes blurred

and they muster up

enough

reflection time

to get a pair

that they can see clearly though....

 

Let's face it...

we are all nearsighted at times...

can't see what is right in front of our face..we

let the overlays given to us by someone else

influence the way we think and feel

color our decisions

blur our possibility

diminish our actualization....

Keep us blinded from

all we can become.

 

Are you nearsighted?

Is your vision blurred?

Can you encounter a stranger and

laugh and speak and embrace

know only just those who are like you...

 will your lenses allow you to

see the spectacular colors of the entire

rainbow of people?

 

Can you see?

Maybe it is time to

get yourself a pair of new lenses and frames

so

that you

may continue on this adventure

called life

and

see

your own world of

Possibility.....

 

Are you nearsighted???

Get yourself a pair of new glasses and

SEE.

 

Happy Thursday

and

 

Hugs to you all!!!

 

A Small Whisper from a Distant Past....

"I try to believe that God doesn't give you more than one little piece of the story at once. You know, the story of your life. Otherwise your heart would crack wider than you could handle. God only cracks it enough so you can still walk, like someone wearing a cast. But you've still got a crack running up your side, big enough for a sapling to grow out of. Only no one sees it. Everybody thinks you're one whole piece, and so they treat you maybe not so gentle as they would if they could see that crack." — Rebecca Wells (Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood)

Frozen crystals began to melt,

warmth began to rush over my icy body bringing back

a long lost friend from years ago.

She had tried before but

I pushed her away,

kept her hidden and silenced

for

years upon years

and

she--the tiny truth telling voice of mine--stayed there

buried beneath all the pain,

voiceless

waiting

for

just the right

invitation

to

tell details of story from

long ago.

I fought her.

I talked over her.

I fed her to keep her quiet.

But oh...

once the melt began,

the truth she told me about myself.

I listened as she spoke,

traveled back into what seemed like ancient past

and

saw a piece of myself that

left me a long time ago.

Remembering....

the struggle it brings,

but

as soon as the melt started

the rush of water came

and

like a long lost best friend,

she climbed into my lap even though I wasn't really excited about seeing her,

and

started right where we stopped...

years and years ago....

and

oh the secrets she told....

I'm so glad

she

came to visit...

 so glad she is finally home..

tiny little truth teller of mine

tiny little piece of myself.

Wednesday Morning Hugs to all of you~~~~

{hugs}

Today is a New Day....

Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
at the end of the day saying,
"I will try again tomorrow."- Mary Anne Radmacher

The alarm sounds,

I continue to pretend that I'm asleep but I know that won't

stop the newness from arriving.

I stretch my tired and aching muscles,

open up of my eyes to take a peak,

I see a glimmer of light beginning to creep into my otherwise dark room and I feel the surge of energetic aliveness.

Pulling myself up, I put on my shoes....

"MY Shoes"

the ones that are just for me to wear.

The feel is good,

comfortable for a change,

nothing pinching,

no dread of wearing them all day long.

I think they'll do just fine today.

I walk outside,

there is a freshness in the air that I have not

smelled in such a long time,

I hear the sound in a distance,

it is a familiar sound,

a tune so embedded in the marrow of my bones

that I feel myself begin to stand taller at the first note.

As the sound rises

I realize,

it is my song

calling me forth into a new day

on a new horizon

to

live

fully

authentically

as

a

sexy hot mama in her own shoes.

Today is a new day....

and

I am so thankful to be able to

stretch forth my petals,

embed my roots in the richness of the earth,

drink from the ancient stream of

ever flowing love and hope

and

bask in the fullness of the new morning.

Today is a New Day....

and

I begin all over again.

Have a wonderful day!

Go on...

put on YOUR shoes,

it's the only pair you got!

{{Hugs}}

THE BABY DADDY OF THE "OFF COLOR" FAMILY...Warning: IT'S BIG DADDY!!!!

HAPPY BABY DADDY DAY!!! 

Faster than a speeding bullet---(well not really but it sounds good and he does look cute in his 70's warm-up suit---BIG DADDY always does make a fashion statement..)

More powerful than a locomotive.---(yes see all the things your shoulders hold up--is that the weight of the world--What Big Muscles you Have Big Daddy!)

(not that muscle!!!)

Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.---(yes I know what you can do!!!---he's thinking about leaping over the canyon but he doesn't like attention so he doesn't show-off very often---not!)

Look! Up in the sky!

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Super Big Daddy!

(what a wonderful Valentine Card you gave me this Valentines day....Doesn't he make a great cupid and oh what a Big Arrow you have Big Daddy !!!)

Yes, it's Super Big Daddy
 strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal human.
 Super Big Daddy -  can change the course of mighty rivers well not really but he can do a great belly flop, bend steel with his bare hands,
 and who, disguised as Mike Miller, an off color father  for a great off color family,
 fights the never ending battle for Laughter, Attention and UnNormal Living.
Bet you all wish you had a Super Big Daddy like us!!!
we are the luckiest family ever!

The day your son was born there was a wild eyed strange man

who was exhausted but oh so happy to

have the delivery over

and

be the proud papa of a son.

The nurses were so excited to see us leave, because they'd never met anyone so excited about being a father.

I still remember you chasing the nurses up and down the floor taking video like you were some

roving reporter:

"Mam....Can you tell me....Is that Miller Baby the cutest baby in the nursery???

They'd laugh and say yes--but we knew it wasn't true because he came out with a head like Beldar from the cone heads!!!)  They loved it because at least you thought he was the cutest.

The same was true for our daughter except she had a normal head!!!.

You have always been out of control.

You make our life fun...

most of the time when you are not getting on our nerves...

For all those florescent daisies you bought Madison for her numerous dance recital

and for all the screaming "Do it Big" in the middle of the foo foo recital...

I'm sure she says thank you.

For all the times we were the weird parents on the top bleachers doing the jerk dance to

the beat of the Band Concert!!!

Madison, I still can't believe you told your friends you didn't know who those weird people were!!!

For all the times you chased B. up and down the football field because you couldn't sit still

for the encouragement you yelled

and the fun you were for the crowd...

For the times you almost got kicked out of the basketball games because of your passionate rants at the refs...

For the wonderful meals you prepare---my favorites so far have been the egg nog ala King with chicken

and the

chicken, hot dog bacon biscuit sandwich you packed for my lunch.

life is never dull with Super Big Daddy...

I hope your day is happy...

and

I hope I get a few sympathy comments because now the world

sees who I live with...

You are the worlds bestest of Dad..

because

you do All--All the time!!!!

We Love you!!!

Happy Baby Daddy Day!!!

and

Happy Father's Day to the rest of You!!!

I bet you wish you had a

"Big Daddy like us"

Happy Sunday and {{Hugs}}