25 Random Things About Me
(for those who don't believe in Facebook - you know who you are)

1. I was born a poor black child. Oh wait…that’s not me. That’s Navin Johnson.
2. I wanted to be an only child. I have a brother and two sisters. Plus 20 adopted half-siblings, step-siblings, and former step-siblings.
3. On a dark and rainy morning in February 1965, I was sitting in the back seat of my parents’ VW Beetle when I heard that Ringo Starr had married. I burst into tears because I was sure that he would wait for me to marry him. I was 4 years old at the time.
4. Because I was born in October, I was not eligible to start school when I was almost 6. My uncle paid for me to attend first grade at a private school where my teacher, Mrs. Mitchell, made her fingers into rabbit ears and told us to “tune into channel M” to hear her. We moved in the middle of the year to a progressive town where I was not allowed to finish the first grade.
5. I attended first grade again the following year, wearing my corrective shoes, eye patch, and cat-eye glasses. I was the chubby preacher’s kid. I was quite popular, especially when my mother dropped me off at school in the 10 year old light green Plymouth (with fins) that was covered in flowers painted by her friends.
6. We soon moved to an even more progressive town where they didn’t have a second grade teacher. I was placed in the first grade room for the third year in a row. I was able to take a test and skip straight to the third grade. I had to learn cursive writing on my own.
7. My dreams for when I grew up: be a princess, actress, or model. Reality: I’m a marketing manager for a software company in Houston, Texas.
8. I attended 10 schools in 12 years. I graduated as salutatorian of my class (of 42 people), which was enough to earn me a 4 year paid scholarship to college.
9. I stayed at the same college for 4 years, where I edited the yearbook, wrote for the school newspaper, joined a service sorority and social sorority, and served as a little sister to the service fraternity and a social fraternity.
10. While in college, I babysat for the daughters of the VP of Development. I still keep in touch with them.
11. My little sister in the service sorority has been named one of the top stockbrokers in America several times, and she had lunch with President Obama the day before the inauguration.
12. My lifelong dream was to go to England to see where the Beatles came from. In 1985, I visited Liverpool and saw Strawberry Field, Penny Lane, and all the Beatles sites. I had tea and biscuits in the house where Paul McCartney grew up. In London, I crossed Abbey Road and ran through Marylebone Station (where they filmed the greatest movie of all time).
13. Four years later, I visited Egypt, where I rode a camel and went inside King Tut’s tomb.
14. Five years after that, I climbed most of the way up the Pyramid of the Sun outside Mexico City.
15. Following a tradition begun by my maternal grandfather, I began brewing my own beer. I joined a home brew club in hopes of meeting men. Had I wanted to find overweight, balding married men, I would have been in hog heaven. I traveled to Oktoberfest in Munich and learned what it means to party.
16. I have met and had books signed by Joe Bob Briggs, Stephen King, Hakeem Olajuwon, Augusten Burroughs, and Charlaine Harris (author of the Sookie Stackhouse chronicles, upon which “True Blood” is based). I have mailed books to two of my favorite authors to be signed: Hollis Gillespie and Celia Rivenbark.
17. I edited my sister’s book: Change Your Reality, Change Your Life by Robin McKnight (available on Amazon).
18. I am a proud and doting aunt for three nephews and one niece. Who needs children when you can borrow some when it’s convenient?
19. I was making scrapbooks before “scrapbook” was a verb. I hate the way so many nouns have morphed (incorrectly, I might add) into verbs.
20. I am living proof that teenagers should not have babies: my initials are KKK.
21. I have lived with a black man for 8 years. I am a vegetarian; he is a meat and potatoes man. I love to bake; he doesn’t eat sweets. It works.
22. My father was a Methodist preacher. My stepfather was a Methodist preacher. I attended a Methodist college. My first job was at a national Methodist newspaper. I have not been to church in 18 years.
23. Vows I made as a child – and have kept: I will never buy a used car. I will never live in a house without central air conditioning. I will drive a red convertible.
24. I have officially made the best picante sauce in the state of Texas – twice. I won blue ribbons from the State Fair of Texas in 1996 and 2008. (And remember – it ain’t bragging if you can prove it!)
25. I love professional basketball because of all the hot sweaty men. And the beer.

When I order a beer, this is what I expect to get

The Poles do know how to drink, dontcha know....

Adventures in Poland

Things are different in Poland. For example, to turn on any lights in my hotel room, I had to put my room key into a slot near the door. To turn on the TV, I had to press a number key on the remote - the power button would turn it off, but not turn it on.

The currency is zlotky, and everything under 10 zlotky is a coin. I got 200 zlotky from an ATM, and that amounted to $77. Try doing the math on prices with that exchange rate...especially after a large Polish beer.

Speaking of beer, the beer spelled "Zywiec" is pronounced "jivitz" (rhymes with Nimitz). HUH?

They love pork. I can fix make 100+ dishes out of hamburger meat. They can make 1000+ dishes out of pork.

They love vodka, and I have no problem with that whatsoever. The cherry vodka was excellent, but I didn't care for the grass-flavored vodka. Chopin is a very nice unflavored vodka.

This made me laugh

http://www.museumofbadart.org/collection/recent08.php

Be sure to read the caption.

Will it ever end?

First we were bitch slapped by Hurricane Ike and had no power for eight days. No AC, no refrigerator, no fans, no TV, no lights, no way to keep the beer cold. It was not the most pleasant eight days of my life.

Now my air conditioner is dead, and it will take several thousands of dollars to get a new one.

Of course, it died just before I'm set to leave the country for a week. Bigfoot says he enjoys the heat, so he is going to tough it out until I return and get the new unit is installed next week.

At least my electricity bill should be low this month...

I wanna be a Toadie roadie

About a month ago, I saw the Toadies in concert in a small venue in Houston. Bigfoot doesn't like the same music as I do (he was on his way to a smooth jazz - AACCKK - concert the same night), my concert buddy was on a diving trip in Mexico, my brother and his family who were in town dissed me to be with his best friend's family (the NERVE), and my sister doesn't really know their music. So I went alone, after much internal debate.

Am I glad I did. They were great! They have only three albums, and they played pretty much everything from all three. They were loud. They were having fun. They don't worry about any of the clean and sober crap - they sipped from cans of beer between songs. How refreshing!

So I want to go on the road with them so that I can say I'm a Toadie Roadie.

Blue Ribbon Picante Sauce

Yep, my picante sauce has been deemed the best in Texas. Or at least the best one entered in the Creative Arts contest at the State Fair of Texas.

It was hot. And it was hot when we visited the State Fair on the last weekend in September. Hell - it will be hot two months from now.

But I will bask in the glory of winning the blue ribbon for the second time. The first time was in 1996. At this rate, I'm due for another blue ribbon in 2020.

By the way, we had a great time at the State Fair this year. My oldest friend, J, met us there to consume mass quantities of beer and laugh like schoolgirls.