Monday, October 12, 2009

And The Winner Is...

Team Ginsu!!

First place goes to Team Ginsu (Pumpkin C), made up of me and my nephew Joey, who is 9 years old. Team Ginsu got 46 votes.

Second place goes to Team Jigsaw (Pumpkin A), made up of my brother and his son (my nephew) Jake, who is 6 years old. Team Jigsaw got 30 votes.

Third place goes to Team Dagger (Pumpkin B), made up of my boyfriend Ed and my nephew Nicolas, who is 10 years old. Team Dagger got 10 votes. Thanks to those of you who put Team Dagger on the map - you Halloween traditionalists (nose, eyes, mouth) really made that happen! :)

Of course I'm totally lovin' that my team won, but it was so much fun to do and we had so many laughs that it's one of those times where the normally lame "Everyone is a winner" adage actually applies!

I really, really, REALLY appreciate everyone who participated in the voting. The kids are off from school this week so I was calling them throughout the day telling them "The votes are pouring in!" and "Ahhh, there's one more!" and "Oh...another email...another vote for...." They were totally excited!

Ed also posted the photos on his Facebook, so we were both checking our phones and emails obsessively all day, calling out the letter of the pumpkin who got the most recent vote.

Again...thank you ALL for voting and thank you for the additional comments!!!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Palm In The Dirty South
2 YEARS AGO:
Eddie Makes Out With Fair Fluff Friday
3 YEARS AGO:
Blue Light Special
4 YEARS AGO:
Blue Collar

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Taking Carving To A Whole New Level


Today me, Ed, my brother and my three nephews had a pumpkin carving contest. The teams are as follows:

Team Jigsaw: My brother and my nephew Jake
Team Dagger: Ed and my nephew Nicolas
Team Ginsu: Me and my nephew Joey

I will not reveal which pumpkin belongs to which team (yet), but I'd like you to vote on the pumpkin you like the best. If you voted on Facebook, please don't vote again here. If you'd like to come out of the woodwork and vote, I'd appreciate it. Additional comments regarding the pumpkins are welcome too!

I posted the two pictures so you can see the pumpkins in the light and also in the dark, only lit by candles. Please vote according to the order the pumpkins are in, from left to right.

P
umpkin A, Pumpkin B or Pumpkin C

You have until 5pm mountain time on Monday to vote (that's 5pm on the west coast, 7pm in the central time zone and 8pm on the east coast)

I thank you on behalf of the pumpkins and the teams!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Is There Enough Yellow In THIS One For Ya?
2 YEARS AGO:
I Didn’t Realize Railway Workers Were So Frisky
3 YEARS AGO:
Individuality
4 YEARS AGO:
Text Me

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Lighting The Testosterone Torch

Here's a picture of my brother grinding a bolt off the frame on our truck. He was working with Ed to install the new fenders we got. The two of them were like kids in a candy store; welding torches, drills, sledge hammers, grease, arrrgh, rrrrrrr, grinding tools, face shield, arrrgghhh, yeah yeah grrrrrr.

It was a testosterone fest. I stuck around only long enough to take pictures. Then I settled in with my Martha Stewart magazine; Halloween Edition. Argggh. Grrrrr.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Eddie Helps The Economy Friday
2 YEARS AGO:
Talk About A Thorn In Your Side
3 YEARS AGO:
My Sentiments Exactly
4 YEARS AGO:
Mason? Dixon? Line? BELOW It.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Not As Hot As It Looks

One of the fiery sunsets we saw while in Arizona. Surprisingly, it's not at hot as usual. Which makes me like being home a whole lot more.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO: Burst
2 YEARS AGO: Stockholm Syndrome
3 YEARS AGO: Playing In A Dream Near You
4 YEARS AGO: The Greatest Story Ever Told

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

You Ask, I'll Answer

Since I'm having a bit of trouble focusing my thoughts and pulling enough posts together to get me up to date, why don't you help me out?

Whadya wanna know? Anything you've always wanted to ask but didn't? I know there are more readers out there than just my mother. Show your faces. Tell me why you come here to read. Tell me which blog posts interest you the most. Tell me what you might want to see more of.

Is there anything about life on the road that you'd like to know about? Do you want to know how I live 300 days out of the year three feet from my boyfriend? Do you have any questions about the industry, the job itself, the training required to get it? Do you want to know why I became a truck driver, what I did before, what my favorite part of the job is?

Do you want to know anything about anything? Because if you do, I'll tell you. So tell me what you think. Send me the questions. You can leave them in comments or you can email them to me at thedailyranter@aol.com.

You ask, I'll answer.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
You Can’t Hide From The Eyes Of A Truck Driver
2 YEARS AGO:
Flurry Of Ruffles
3 YEARS AGO:
A Bag Full Of Dicks
4 YEARS AGO:
Go West Young Man!! Uh, I Mean East. East.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Not Exactly "Daily" By Definition

Main Entry: dai·ly
Pronunciation: \ˈdā-lē\
Function: adjective
Date: 15th century
1 a : occurring, made, or acted upon every day b : issued every day or every weekday c : of or providing for every day
2 a : reckoned by the day b : covering the period of or based on a day


That's Merriam-Webster up there; their definition of "daily". Do you see the name on my blog? The Daily Rant? That's me. Do you see by how many days I'm behind?? Uh, yeah.
I guess it's sort of pointless to SAY you're behind when it's painfully obvious that my blog post dates don't jibe with the dates on the Gregorian calendar. Let's just say I have blockage. I can't think of anything.

My goal when I started this blog was to write something every day. And usually I do. Well...write, post a picture, whatever. It's something. Every day. The thing is, I have thoughts every day, I just can't always pull them together in a coherant fashion or I can't figure out what I want my angle to be or I just can't figure out a way to make something that was funny in person, sound funny in writing. So I don't post.

And that, my dear friends, is where we are now. It's techically Friday, but I'm just now writing Monday's post. I'm a blog time traveler, if you will.

So please come back and check in on me. I promise I will catch up. I can't promise you it'll be riveting but I can promise you there will be something....even if I have to post four day's worth of Ed.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
I Almost Married This Man
2 YEARS AGO:
Greeting Fair Lovers For Over Fifty Years
3 YEARS AGO:
The Infinite Wisdom Of A Grandfather
4 YEARS AGO:
Swingin’ Good Times

Monday, October 05, 2009

Mexico? Derecho.

Just beyond the traffic light is the border crossing into Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. To avoid winding up in another country, Ed wisely made a quick right!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Juxtaposition
2 YEARS AGO:
Eddie Sports Pigtails Friday
3 YEARS AGO:
Gambling Under The Big Sky
4 YEARS AGO:
Sleeping Beauty

Sunday, October 04, 2009

The Way To A Man's Heart Isn't Only Through His Stomach

When we got into town, I called my mother and asked her to meet us at the nearby mall to pick me up. Ed had to head up to Phoenix and getting off the interstate to go to the house takes too much time; the process of pulling into our neighborhood, backing down the driveway and unloading all of our stuff takes at least an hour. I was trying to save him some time.

So, from the truck, we unloaded the laundry, a full duffel bag, my laptop and the fifteen
coconuts we've been toting around for two weeks. I hopped in the car and we pulled out into traffic, just ahead of Ed. We eventually met up at the first traffic light.

I looked over and saw Ed with a huge smile on his face, looking over at me. I thought, how sweet. Then, he rolled down his window. I did the same. I figured he was going to shout over at me a goodbye and an "I love you!" before heading off to Phoenix, but then I saw him pumping his fists in the air, as if he was cheering. And he was yelling. What the hell?? Then I heard him.

He was yelling, "I'm free!! I'm free!!"

Later in the evening, after I was full from a delicious meal my mother made and lounging in front of the TV, I got a text from him.

"FREE!! FREE AT LAST! PRAISE THE LORD I'M FREE AT LAST!"

And yes, it was all in caps. A minute later, another text. "Yumm Yumm Yumm. Sausage and peppers!" (the ones I made for lunch!) and then, "OK, I am tired of being free already."

I texted back, "You are too cute!" And then a thought hit me and I sent another text, "Wait...do you mean cause I'm not there to serve you dinner???"

He replied with a very cute text, basically saying "Ha Ha! No silly! You Silly Willy Nilly Dilly You!"

OK, not basically. That's what he actually said. So it wasn't just the amazing sausage and peppers on the crusty French bread...he missed me!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
The Monarch Of Style
2 YEARS AGO:
I Walked Around The Building For An Hour Looking For That Door
3 YEARS AGO:
Home On The Range: It’s Not Just The Place Where The Deer And Antelope Play 4 YEARS AGO: Mina Clarkson

Saturday, October 03, 2009

If One Could Love A Convenience Store

If one could marry a convenience store, I think I would leave Ed and wed the QuikTrip in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's located at 6008 S. 49th W. Avenue, exit 222, just off of I-44.

They have absolutely everything; magazines, gum, fresh donuts, hot dogs, penny candy (but of course, not for a penny!), f’Real milkshakes, coffee, fountain soda, slushies, every snack under the sun and oh, of course, fuel for the truck. Cause you know, that's uh, yeah, uh that's the reason we stop. For the fuel.

They also have a Wendy's! Well, you know, just in case you're hungry. Look at how neat those soda lids are lined up!! Just ready and waiting for someone to buy them. Here I am! Here I am!!

OK, it's only a convenience store, but I love it. It's even worth navigating their tiny parking lot.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Eddie Home Home On The Alien Range Friday
2 YEARS AGO:
N Is For Nanny. Oh, And Negligent.
3 YEARS AGO:
The Answer Will Be Revealed In Nine Months
4 YEARS AGO:
Lipgloss And Cocoa Puffs

Friday, October 02, 2009

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

Today Eddie and I visited the childhood home of Michael Jackson. Located on a corner lot at 2300 Jackson Street in Gary, Indiana, it was less than two miles off the interstate, so we decided it was just too close to not swing by.

It's a small house which sits at the intersection of Jackson Street and 23rd Avenue. It's vacant and maybe because of his death, still attracting visitors. Several cars drove by while we were there, getting out and taking pictures in front of it. One guy had Jackson 5 songs drifting out of his half open car window.


Not one bit of the house was written on, but the lamp post in the front yard, several fence poles on the property and the One Way sign out front, had many words for the King of Pop from "We Love You" and "Rest In Peace" to "U are the world" and "Absolutely Irreplaceable". They came from Brooklyn to Memphis, Buffalo to Anaheim.

We found out from one of the neighbors that Spike Lee was in the area yesterday filming the home for part of a documentary he was doing on Michael Jackson. As usual, our timing was such that we missed all the action. Actually, I'm kinda glad we missed the crowds; we would have never gotten the truck down the little street it was located on had there been a film crew in the area.

I didn't write anything about Michael Jackson when he died and I really don't care about what people think he had become. Whether or not the allegations over the years were true has nothing to do with the musical impact he had on my youth. His music is part of the soundtrack of my life, having been played many times for many reasons.

And unlike some people, when I think of Michael Jackson, it will be for what his music brought to the world and to my life. That can never be changed. It just is. To this day, I remember the exact moment I heard "Billie Jean" and what I was doing. I remember that we'd beg to stay up late to watch "Friday Night Videos" just to catch "Thriller". And I know for sure, the only thing I think of when I hear his songs are all the good feelings associated with them. It makes me smile.

And I don't think I can ever get enough of that.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
The Clubhouse Girls
2 YEARS AGO:
Morning On The Air Train
3 YEARS AGO:
The Other Side Of The Tracks
4 YEARS AGO:
Vicki Bin Laden

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I Am A Kandee Addict

I have loved makeup for as long as I can remember. I think I came out of the womb with lipgloss on. I'm actually a borderline addict, and I only say "borderline" because I don't have daily access to it; if I did, I'd be a full blown addict.

I have plenty of makeup in the truck, but it's not like I have a regular job where I can just stop at the mall on my way home every few days. I really don't like shopping in general, but I can spend an hour in the makeup aisle at Walgreen's, so it's a good thing there's not a Sephora on every corner. As it is, I always buy something new no matter where I go; just recently I bought new mascara and another lipgloss (in Freedom of Peach because that's Queen Latifah's signature color and I love it!).

I have eleventy million lipglosses and surely don't need another one, but I wanted another one, and I find if I throw it in the shopping cart amongst the pasta, paper towels and yogurt, Ed doesn't even realize he's buying cosmetics every week!

Recently, I have been hooked on Kandee.
Kandee Johnson, that is.

First, let's have a peek at her:

Cute as a damn button, isn't she? Well, a stunningly beautiful button. I came across her blog by accident, but I'm so glad I found it. I have been obsessed with watching her makeup application videos on YouTube, specifically the recreations of movie characters she does. I'm thinking I might be stealing one of those ideas for Halloween this year. I'm trying to get Ed on board too. How fun would it be to drive around looking like we just stepped out of a Tim Burton film? Ed as the Mad Hatter and me as the Queen of Hearts perhaps? I think it would be fabulous!

I also like her celebrity makeup looks and know that I'll definitely be doing the Sophia Loren eye! Being a makeup freak from birth I know most of the basics, but I have to say I've learned a couple of things from her, and it's also gotten me back into paying more attention to my makeup than I have in the past couple of years. I've found that I've gotten a bit lazy due to the environment I'm in and sometimes just throw on a quick sweep of mascara and lipgloss and call it a day.

That stops right here, right now! From this moment forward, I'm going back to full blown face! Well, maybe not full full, but no more of the lazy hand I've been using. A trip to Sephora and another stop at the MAC counter is most certainly in order; in fact, I think we're going to need another storage box on the trailer for all the goodies I have in mind.

And come Halloween....look out!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
The Tiny Intersection Where The Colors Collide
2 YEARS AGO:
Loved Shack
3 YEARS AGO:
Holy Mother Of Pearl
4 YEARS AGO:
The Starfish Effect

Monday, September 28, 2009

Vegetarianism Brings On Extinction

Not only does my boyfriend see meteors when I'm not awake, but he's also got a dinosaur in the family (sort of). Yep, you heard me right. Dinosaurs.

Ed's mom was married once before; she has three children from that marriage, which gives Ed three half-siblings that range in ages 14-22 years older than him. Her first husband Billy, who everyone is still on good terms with, lives with his current wife on a ranch in Texas. And on this ranch, archaeologists have discovered dinosaurs.

You know, dinosaurs, those creatures that lived millions of years ago? They named the dinosaur has been named Paluxysaurus Jonesi which refers to the town of Paluxy, Texas and the Paluxy River by which it was found and the land it was found on, The Jones Ranch - Billy Jones' ranch.

This particular dinosaur supposedly inhabited the earth 95 to 112 million years ago and in
my brief search on Google, I found this: "The Paluxysaurus jonesi is the most complete sauropod dinosaur known from the Cretaceous of North America. The holotype is an associated left maxilla, nasal and teeth. Associated partial skeletons and isolated bones from at least four individuals are referred to Paluxysaurus jonesi. Paluxysaurus is about the same size or slightly smaller than its closest relative Brachiosaurus."

Below is a picture of the actual dinosaur they found. Can you believe you're looking at a DINOSAUR? A dinosaur that was found on the land of someone I KNOW??? I had Thanksgiving with these people, for God's sake! And Ed's brother Bill currently lives on this very ranch!

Look at that ribcage! Look at the person standing next to its leg. What's cool about this is that it's not in a museum yet. Billy and his wife went to the facility where they are assembling the dinosaur to get a sneak preview of it.


Anyway, this dinosaur supposedly measured 70 feet long (that's as long as our truck and trailer), was 12 feet high at the shoulder and weighed as much as 20 tons! Here is a picture of the tail, which alone measures 20 feet.

And here is a picture of Billy and his wife, Decie. Look at how small she looks next to that leg!

The dinosaur is nearing completion and will be ready for display at the Omni in Fort Worth, hopefullly in November.

This dinosaur, like other sauropods, would have been a large quadrupedal; which means having four limbs or legs. (I just learned that, but it makes me sound smart, doesn't it?) It was also a herbivore, which of course means it's an animal that eats plants.

It may have a small head and a skinny neck, but for someone who eats leaves, he sure is pretty hefty everywhere else. And eating all those plants didn't keep him around very long, now did it? So much for the "healthy" diet.

I think I'll stick with eating meat and Twinkies, thank you very much. I kind like my proportions, even if they are a little rounder than most. At least I don't have a ten foot neck!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Its Beauty Is Just The Beginning
2 YEARS AGO:
Eddie Relaxes In Style Friday
3 YEARS AGO:
How To Tell Your Parents You Don’t Have A Roommate
4 YEARS AGO: For some reason, I double posted on this day. Bonus for you!
Mangia!
You Just Know When You’ve Met “The One”

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Not So Deep Impact

This morning in Oklahoma, during the very wee hours, Ed witnessed a meteor falling from the sky. He was so excited you would have thought he saw, well, a meteor.

He said it was green, about the size of a bowling ball, with a flaming red tail. It landed in the middle of a field and I guess extinguised itself, or went out before it hit, who knows? The best part about it? He got on the CB and talked to the only other lone trucker on the road, who also saw it.

We will be driving back through there in a few days and now Ed wants to buy a metal detector to go check out the landing site to search for meteorites. If we find anything, you know I'll be take pictures.

It's not enough that we have to look out for drunk drivers, motorcylists, speeding four wheelers (that's you people in cars), tired truckers, inclement weather and wandering wildlife; now we have to make sure that a meteor doesn't hit the truck.

Greeaaaat.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
My America. Your America. OUR America.
2 YEARS AGO:
Frozen In Time
3 YEARS AGO:
Ohhh, Paaablo
4 YEARS AGO:
Apparently, Aliens Tell Time With Their Ass

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Living Outside The Touch Of Time

Last night while looking for a good birthday quote for my brother, whose 41st birthday is today, I read a snippet from an old article that quoted Erica E. Goode, the author of "The Secret World of Siblings". It said, "Sibling relationships outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust."

I feel this way about my brother. No matter what happens over the years, to me, my relationship with him will always be one of the most important and most precious of my life; flourishing in "a thousand incarnations".

Just like Erica E. Goode says, we outlast marriages, parents, quarrels, distance, etc. I might not be physically close to my brother because I'm on the road all the time, but he is with me every day. I have a picture of him and my nephews on the wall just above my kitchen counter; I see it several times a day. My brother's wife, his kids, his friends, his job....they are part of his life, and by extension a small part of mine, but they will never keep me from him. I would fight to the death for him. I would give him my kidney. I might even give him my last
Devil Dog.

I have always felt we've had only good times. I don't count stuff that happens when you're young, quarrels and such, as having much significance, and any disagreements we've had as adults most certainly would never be something I'd give up our relationship for. Almost every sibling goes through an argument or two in their life. What's most important to me is that he's still in my life and nothing has been able to tear me away from him. Even if he did want to break away, I'd never let him. I'd quit my job and set up camp at the end of his driveway. And I'd most certainly stalk him daily. I'm a truck driver; no distance is too great for me!

In talking with a friend of mine recently, I've realized that brothers don't always see the brother-sister relationship as us girls do. My friend is a greater distance from her brother than I am from mine, yet our situations with our brothers are not so different. We've talked about how we handle the distance and what we do to keep our brothers close. We know boys are wired differently and come with no schematic, so sometimes it's frustrating and often it's challenging to have a relationship, close or otherwise with them. But in the end it's worth the work to find out what makes them tick.

For instance, my brother likes his space; I like to be right up in his face. He doesn't care what I ate for dinner or that I just saw a moose cross the road; I want to know if he likes pancakes or waffles better (pancakes) and what he watched on TV last night. He can go a week without calling me; I have to sit on my hands not to dial him several times a day. And usually when I do call, I don't even have anything to say, I just want to hear his voice. I can't tell you how many times I've called him while he was working only to hear him say, "the same thing I was doing ten minutes ago" in response to my question, "What are you doing now?" Yes, I am that annoying.

I never can fully express in words how important he is to me. How I think about and worry about him daily. How when I'm driving at night, just me and the road, I see his face as it has changed through the years; swinging from the vines in our backyard, running around the deck of my Aunt Ronni's pool with my cousins, fishing at Swan Lake with my Dad, working on his Mustang in our garage, laughing with my cousins at family gatherings, working in the kitchen at our restaurant....his face is never out of my mind. And everything I do, every day, I want to tell him about. I want to take him out on the road with me for a week to see all the wonderful things I get to see. I want to have time alone with him, all to myself. And late at night, when it's just me and the road and my memories, I think things are still the same as they used to be. Until I remember they're not.

I did eventually find a quote that I liked and it sort of sums up my thoughts. Here it is:

"To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time."

Perfect.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Girls And Their Boys
2 YEARS AGO:
Living History
3 YEARS AGO:
Company On The Prairie
4 YEARS AGO:
Rack Eyes

Friday, September 25, 2009

Eddie Smiles With The Pasties Girl Friday

Eddie in Key West, Florida posing with the girl selling pasties. He didn't want to do it and I had to pay the girl a dollar (what a deal!) for her to pose with him, but it was worth it.

He's always very resistant to stuff like this, but that smile tells me he's really not that opposed to doing it; no matter what he says.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Who Needs A Man When You Have A Kindle??
2 YEARS AGO:
Phone Calls And Fellatio
3 YEARS AGO:
Color Ring
4 YEARS AGO:
We Go All Out!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

From Swings To Eighteen Wheels

This was taken in my Aunt Vera's backyard in Westchester County, New York. Who would have thunk that a mere thirty-nine years later, I'd be driving an eighteen wheeler?

Not me, in those white patent leather shoes, that's for sure!!

Happy Birthday to me!!