Where Did the Time Go?

Quite honestly, I can't tell you. I had intentions of blogging from my last post but each day when I got home after walking the dogs and unwinding I just didn't feel like it. Now that I think about it, I've barely even commented on my fav blogs. What can I say, I'm experiencing a drought. lol

Since my last visit, we have experienced strange weather (as most you probably have as well) in central AR with high and very low temps. This past Tuesday we had a wind storm that rocked everyone's world, yours truly included. The temperature went from a wonderful 73 degrees (per the thermometer in the car) to a staggering 42 degrees in a matter of a few short hours. Forty-two is not cold you say? HA!! I beg to differ when the hawk (and several of his friends might I add) are flapping their wings in your face at 30 mph. Needless to say, there was NO walking that day for me the pups. Like I told my neighbors, if my car was bobbin and weavin on the road like Muhammed Ali there was no way in the world I was to about to subject myself and the pooches to that and be tossed around like laundry in the dryer.

As I expected when I arrived home, everyone's garbage cans had been tossed to and fro. What I didn't expect was to find the some of the shingles from the roof on the freakin ground!! Seriously? UGH! So I gathered them up, stuck them in the garage, and called the folks to come on out to fix it. Little did I know that we weren't the only ones affected. Seems there's quite a long list of people who had the same problemo. In riding around town since the storm came through, I got to see some of the damage to other homes with my own eyes and believe me when I tell you ours was by far really minor. Anywho, we'll be waiting until they can get to us with a semi defunct looking roof.

I called to check on family and friends and was told some sad news. One of my BFF's cousin-in-law (is there such a thing??) was killed Tuesday afternoon when a tree in the cousins yard fell onto their home and killed the wife. My friend is devasted by this news and honestly it's affecting me to. I did not know the young lady but just hearing the way that she passed........so tragic. She leaves behind two young children, ages 10 and 7 I believe (don't quote me on that). Unfortunately, hers was not the only life taken as another young ladies life was cut short when a tree fell over, due to the high winds, on her car. Read about it here http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0108/492193.html

Count your blessings folks.

Clov.erfi.eld: Movie Review

Read at your own risk folks cause this here's a spoiler and it’s rather long. :-)

I'll start by saying this, if you like leaving the movie theater with a headache or watching one feeling somewhat dizzy, then this Bud's for you. Now this is not to say that I didn't like it (the movie not the headache) because for the most part I did but this isn't the normal feeling (physically or emotionally) one expects leave with after watching a movie.

If you've been to the movies within the past few months and have seen previews for this flick, you pretty much get the overall gist of what's going on. Some people are at a party in NYC, some stuff starts to blow up, and all hell begins to break loose all the while the events going on are being videotaped by a handheld camcorder. In case you didn't know, the entire movie is filmed with this thing. Let me repeat that....the.entire.movie.is.filmed.with.this.thing. I knew that going in that’s how it would be but in my mind I just expected or rather hoped it wouldn't. Weird...yeah I know. My brain is a many splendor thing.

At the beginning, it starts with a black screen with white text showing you that the U.S. Dept. of Defense had retrieved video from U.S. Area 447 formerly known as Central Park. This is pretty much tells you what happens at the end of the movie. A party is being thrown for a guy (I think his name was Rob) that is moving to Japan for a promotion he just received on his job by his brother and said brother's girlfriend Lilly. During the party, you are introduced to other random people namely, Marlena and also the guy behind the camera who videotaped most everything that went on, Hudd. He was hilarious for most of the film but I tell you one thing he was better than me because I would have dropped that camera a very long time before he did. lol There's also Beth who is introduced a tad bit earlier in the film but you really get the full understanding of the importance of her roll during the party. So you basically have 6 main characters throughout, Rob, Beth, Marlena, Hudd, Lilly and Rob's brother(I can't remember his name to save my life).

During the party, some relationship drama ensues between Rob and Beth (R&B). At the very beginning after the black screen, there is video of R&B that shows the last day they spent together as a couple. Throughout the movie during times when Hudd is not filming, you will see short little clips of that day. R&B have a lovers quarrel at the party, B leaves, there's a bit more partying and then BAM, you hear an explosion noise of some sort and then the lights blink on and off. People are screaming, crying, etc. etc. etc.

The party crowd and most of the neighbors in the building decide to head up to the roof to see what's going on. Everyone is standing around talking trying to figure out if it was another terrorist attack when BAM you see a building explode and flames shoot up in the sky over in the distance. Parts of the building (now that I think about it, it was probably several buildings but like I said the entire movie was filmed with a handheld so ummm I couldn't really focus, lol) start flying all over the place, namely in their direction. Folks started running back to the door to get inside and down to the ground level. Once there, there's lots of mayhem when out of nowhere comes flying the Statue of Liberty's head down the street. People didn't really have a lot of time to react because right after that the thing, which I now know as the Clo.ver.fie.ld monster (CM), came barreling down the street taking folks out. The main characters duck into a convenience store to avoid whatever is going on. After the thing goes away, they quickly decide they need to get the hell outta dodge and make a run for the Brooklyn Bridge (I believe).

On the bridge is where the first casualty takes place. Everyone gets somewhat separated when Rob receives a call from Beth (remember she left the party and went home). While Rob is on the phone, everyone is trying to gather back together as a group but it's rather hard with a gazillion other people pushing you in one direction. Rob's brother stands up on a light post thing, I guess so they could see him, then the next thing you know BAM!!! The CM takes the part of the bridge he was on out. Everyone runs in the other direction and back into town. When they get somewhere they can stop, Rob decides to run into an electronics store that had been broken into by looters (yeah you read that right) to get another battery for his cell since his had died.

Now on a side note, I thought you still had to charge the new batteries. *shrugs shoulders* That's Hollywood for you I suppose.

While in the store, everyone gets a first hand good look at the CM on tv. It's really big and looks like some sort of dinosaur about the size of a skyscraper and it's blowing flames and ish out it's mouth. Everyone else leaves the store except for the crew because Rob has to check his voicemail to see what Beth said. Apparently she is pinned underneath something and can't move. He and the crew (against better advice) decide to go and save her. While on their way they come face to face with the CM. Now of course, they had to stop and stare for a hot second, which gave them adequate time to see these parasite things (that look really similar to crabs) falling off of the CM. At first glance you think it's just shedding its skin until the things hit the ground and take off running after you. Ya'll should have seen the crew take off, I was in that movie hollerin!!! bwahahahahaha

So anyway, they go underground to the subway station and decide to walk the train tunnel to the next stop. They turn on the camera light so they can see a bit better. All of a sudden you see rats and lots of ‘em running for their lives. Almost everyone in the movie hollered out, ya’ll better start following those rats. Lol lol lol They stop again to turn the night vision on and begin to hear noises. Hudd (the camera guy) turns around and sees the things (that fell off of the monster) and tells everyone to run. As it turns out these lil suckers bite the ish out of you and kill you. The crew eventually makes it to a safe place and they discover that Marlena has been bitten pretty badly. After everyone gets their bearings they decide to leave the room and discover that they are at the stop they were trying to get to. As they walk, they discover a military safe place where injured people and dead bodies are being brought in. While the military is escorting them, Marlena says that she doesn’t feel well, the camera pans to her and there is blood coming out of her nose and eyes. The medical staff jacks her up and takes her behind a curtain where she proceeds to explode, I kid you not. Yuck!

Rob convinces one of the military staff to let them leave. As he shows them the way out, he tells them to be back there by 0600 hours if they don’t want to get blown to smithereens. So what’s left of the crew, Rob, Lilly, and Hudd, make their way to Beth’s apartment which is now sitting at an angle against another building. They decide to go up the adjacent building and climb over to the rooftop of Beth’s spot. Hmmmmm, me thinks that would have really been the point that I threw up the deuces and said "I’ll holla" but hey what do I know. Lol After climbing about 50 plus flights of stairs Lilly finally took off those 4 inch high heels and they made their way to Beth’s building by crossing over some rubble. Once in her apartment, they discover her and of course you think she’s dunzo but BEHOLD she’s alive with some rebar (sp??) sticking though her chest. Can you say ouch??!! Now Beth looks down and sees what has happened to her, she’s screaming, then they see the CM and she starts screaming some more. So to speed up the process to get out, everyone just counts to three and lifts her off of the rebar. Can you say ouch squared???!!! I seriously cringed!!!

Everyone makes their way back down to street level to get back to the safe area. Once there, they (the military) put Lilly in a helicopter and tell the others (Rob, Beth, and Hudd) to wait for the next one. Once in the next chopper, they get an aerial view of the CM and see the firepower being in brought in to blow it up. So they drop the bombs on the CM and the crew gets excited because they think it worked until the CM reaches up and grabs their chopper. Lol So they crash somewhere in Central Park and the crew is alive….big surprise. They begin running back into the city to see if they can make it back to the safe house when the CM comes from out of nowhere and takes Hudd out. Insert awwwwwwwwwwwww here. I liked that character a lot, he was funny. R&B pick up the camera and take shelter under one of those bridges in the park. They give their last good-byes on film just in case the camera is found and BAM it’s over. The military blew up them up, no doubt because the CM was there and that’s all she wrote. Now right after that they do show one more clip of R&B when they were at Coney Park. I’ve read on some sites that just behind them you can see something falling from the sky and into the ocean. I assume this is where the CM came from. * shrugs shoulders * I dunno, I would have to watch it again to be able to verify that but if you do decide to see, just be on the lookout.

Honestly, it’s not that bad of a movie if you can withstand the not so steady camera action. What I don’t like is that there are a lot of unexplained things like did Lilly get away, what exactly the little parasite things were, why you exploded if they bit you, where the CM came from, was there really one monster or two (in the beginning it seems like the CM has tenticles and is more of an octupus than anything but when you see it, it's more reptilish), and how in the hell did that camera survive an explosion of that magnitude??? From the angle the movie comes from though, I guess it’s supposed to be one of those unknown things and just shows you the viewer the perspective as if you were really there experiencing what was happening. Who knows? So go and check it out if you wish, wait for it to come out on DVD, or holla at your local bootleg distributor and get a copy. :-)

I'm Down With AARP.......

......yeah you know me! Well not yet but one day soon I will probably be.

I made a visit to the local laundromat today to wash an old comforter we use in Cochise's kennel and the pillow top thingamajig that goes on top of our matress. While moving the items from the washer to the dryer, this elderly couple comes in with a box of clothes. I had the dryer doors nearest to me open so the wife asks if those were mine, I replied yes ma'am. She then strikes up a convo with me while loading her clothes into the dryer about how long it had been since she had been to a laundromat and that she was there because her dryer at home had broken. We continued on with me telling her how the same thing had happened to me the year before last. We went on with this and about how things are just not made how they used to be for about another couple of minutes.

As I went to go and reload my card....hmmmm let me stop here and explain the card thing to you. I'm not sure if this is the protocol for all laundromats as this is the only one I go to if I ever have problems with the set we have at home but the machines in this place do not take money. There is a machine that spits out these little cards after you put money on them. You in turn take the card, insert it into the machine, and it deducts money from the card. Got it? Good.

So I'm at the machine, and realize that I only have $5 bills. Well, it only costs $0.30 for each dry cycle and I wasn't about to stick five bucks in there for something that would only require like an extra dollar so I go to grab my purse to drive down to the gas station. As I'm walking to the table where my purse is sitting, the wife calls me over to help her.

AARP lady: Ma'am could you help me for just a second?
Me: Sure
AARP lady: Well, I just stuck my dime in the machine and pressed start but nothing happened. Do you know what I should do next?
Me: *me groaning* Oh no, a dime?
AARP lady: Was that not the right thing to do?
Me: Weeeeellll, the machines no longer take money. What you have to do is go to this machine *points in the direction of that machine* and put enough money in to go on a card. After that, it spits a card out and then you have to put the card in the dryer so you can dry your clothes.
AARP lady: Oh my! Well what do you think I should do?
Me: The attendant is over there so I would just let him know. *smiles*
AARP lady: Oh well you're so sweet, thanks dear. I told you it's been a looooooooooong time since I've been in a laundromat. I hope they are able to get that dime out.
Me: You're welcome. They should be able to.

So I grab my purse to go down to the gas station so I can make change and immediately pick up my phone to call my friend. Between her laughter she asked, "AR Gal, I can understand her not knowing about the money not going in the machine but what in the hell was she going to dry with ten cents??". lol lol lol I was wondering the same thing but she took the words right out of my mouth. The elderly....gotta love 'em!

I'm Still Here!

For some reason, I've been having issues logging into blogger at the house. Not sure what's up with that but I'll try and tackle that this weekend. In addition to that, the case on the laptop cracked....that's right cracked. I would show ya'll the pic but the connector thingy I need to hook up to the digicam is at home right so you'll just have to imagine. The crack is in the lower right hand corner and it's pretty ugly. It also affected the bezel (the plastic thing that goes around the front frame of the screen). Thankfully it has not effected the LCD screen. I searched high and low to find a replacement and finally came upon this website, http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/ . I'm still pretty pissed that it cost $80 for some plastic but whatever.

In between the technology issues, I've been battling a cold with ridiculous amounts of meds and my good old stand-by, hot toddies (sp??). My battle is now drawing to a close but I have since passed it onto Z. I tried my best to stay away from him but when you're in close proximity to someone like that, I guess it's kinda hard not to. So in addition to figuring out my blogger issues and doing laptop repairs, I'll be sterilizing the house this weekend. Lysol and bleach here I come!!


That's all I've got for now. I've had a million posts pop in my head (and leave just as quickly) in the past two weeks. Hopefully posts will be back to semi-normal shortly.



Have a great weekend!!

My people, my people........

......why have thou forsaken me.

First we have sicko who took breaking up to a digusting level. When did breaking up over the phone go out of style??
http://www.ksat.com/news/14991628/detail.html

Then we have Ms. Mollie who decided she would rather go kick it on New Years Eve than to spend it at home with her kids. Hey there's nothing wrong with that, unless you agree with Ms. Mollie's babysit yourself method.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jan/02/fire-kills-2-boys-home-alone/

To make a long story short:

Her kids are visiting her during the holidays. Her mom had been taking care of them for the past 6 months.

"Ms.Mollie" decides to go ring in the New Year.

She leaves her two young sons, ages 7 and 4, home ALONE.

A fire breaks out.

The kids are dead.

The grandmother has got to be in so much pain.

Ms. Mollie sucks!!

*SMDH*

I'm about thisclose to not watching or reading anything news related again. Has everyone gone stone cold crazy??!!

I've Been Tagged...................

by myself. :-D My e-buddy Pajnstl was tagged and I liked it so I stole it sooooo here it goes.

Two Names you go by:

1. Bullet 2. AR Gal

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:

1.Tennis shoes 2. Yoga Pants

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:

1. Love/Passion 2. Friendship/Respect.....yeah that's 4, sue me!

Two favorite things to do:

1. shop for shoes 2. Read

Two Things you want badly at the moment:

1. A higher paying job 2. A million dollars....make that 10 million

Two pets you had/have:

1. Emma 2. Cochise

Two people you think will fill this out:

1. I have no idea

Two things you did last night:

1. Watched The L Word (those chicks are bonkers but I love the show!)

2. Ate BBQ

Two things you ate today:

1. Leftovers from last night

2. a banana

Two people you last talked to:

1. Z 2. My neighbor

Two things you're doing tomorrow:1. work 2. walking (if it doesn't rain)

Two Longest car rides:1. OMG, AR to Louisville, KY (I thought we were never gonna get there....keep in mind I was 14 at the time)

2. AR to Atlanta

Two favorite holidays:

1. Christmas (when I can stand it, lol)

2. Fourth of July2 (cause I get sparklers)

Favorite beverages:

1. Milk

2. Apple Juice

2 People no longer alive who you'd like to talk to:

1. My dad

2. My granddad

I'm not tagging anyone but if you like it do it! Toodles

ATTENTION "THE WIRE" FANS.......

FYI......the first episode for the new season of "The Wire" is currently available via On Demand right now for free before it airs on Sunday. Can you say yummy???!!! I love this show!

ARGal is currently laid up with a muscle spasm in her back but her donkey @ss just had to share. lol

Happy Watching!

Things are back to the way it was……..

……before the holiday season came about. The real tale tale sign of the return to "normalcy" was the morning traffic. Gone are the days where I could leave home @ 6:30 and still make it to work on time. It’s back to the "leave the house by 6:15 or your screwed" rule I set for myself. Oh well…nothing last forever.

Christmas was great! Santa (ie mama) hooked me up with some moula and I received a cute little purse that my sister got for me when they were in NYC over Thanksgiving. The funny thing is that I was trying to get her to let me buy the one she had for $20 (cause I knew it wasn’t the real deal if you will but it was cute nonetheless). When I saw that my gift was the purse similar to hers (the one I have is a smaller version with a different strap) I could do nothing but laugh. I still like her purse better but the one I have is cute as well. I’ve already gotten several compliments on it already. Christmas day my mom and I went over to my sister’s house to eat and let mom open her presents. The three of us went in together and got mom a premium spa day package and some $$ to do what she wishes at her leisure. I just hope she is satisfied with it because we paid a pretty penny for that stuff. My sister says it’s one of the best day spa’s in Memphis….I sure hope so. After we ate, we all played the "Deal or No Deal" dvd game my sister bought as the family gift for her home. At first I thought it was going to be extremely boring but everyone really got into it, especially my mom, and we had a blast.

Z and I decided to go out for New Years. He actually went clubbing twice over the long weekend, as his birthday was Friday. I decided to skip that outing and let it be a boy’s night out. We had done our celebration earlier in the evening and he had received his gifts from me so all was well. We get to the party spot Monday night, Juanita’s (http://www.juanitas.com ). All the tables were either taken or reserved so we stood up the entire night, which wasn’t so bad until my footsies started achin. Lol I made sure to keep cup filled my fave mixed drink (coconut rum with pineapple juice) and really got roasted and toasted off of the champagne. I always forget how much of a punch that beverage packs until after the fact. Thank goodness Z was my designated driver because I was dunzo after I got home. I barely had enough strangth to take my clothes off, wash the makeup off of my face, and take my contacts out before collapsing into bed. While at the partay, Z stepped up to the plate and became a volunteer firefighter. The couple seated kinda in front of us had a visitor (who I suspect had surpassed me on his way to drunkard land) come over to speak to them. In his excitement, he made the décor catch on fire. In Mr. Drunkard’s defense, the decorations committee decided it was a good idea to place the very flammable party décor next to an open flame. In his excitement, he accidentally lit the party favor stuff on fire. No one noticed at first until the girl at the table started hollerin. ROFLMAO! Ok, I know it’s really not that funny but if ya’ll could have heard her… So her date starts trying to blow it out, then some random guy comes over from out of nowhere to blow it out which made it way worse cause he was causing little flicks of flames to go everywhere! Lol Z finally just took the damn thing, threw it on the floor and stomped it out. At this point, I’m dyin laughing (while backing up mind you) and look over to the bar to see Mr. Drunkard/Firestarter trying to blend in while looking like he ain’t done nothing wrong. I was through…..just through!! Lol lol lol

So after the near disaster it was time to count in the New Year. Now I had just pulled out my phone to do a time check and it was 6 minutes till midnight. The next thing I know the host is talking about we have 3 minutes left……30 seconds later…1 ½ minutes left. WTF? About 15 seconds later we are @ 30 seconds left in the new year. I don’t know what kinda of timer he was usin but we rang in the New Year about 3 minutes or so earlier than everyone else on CST. Lol lol I made sure to give Z some more sugar when the clock actually struck 12. After that we hit the dance floor and the dj played some really great oldies but goodies and then slowed it down. Honey some of these folks showed their tail on the floor. Folks d@mn near screwin, chickadees all bent over on the floor with their asses all up in the air, bwahahahaha. I looked @ Z and said it’s time to go. All in all we had a good time, I hope you all did too.

Laters!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Just passing through once again, to send everyone well wishes. Here's hoping that whatever you do this evening to ring in the new year that you have fun and be safe!

I'll be back to posting sometime next year. :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Just popping my head in to do a quickie post to wish everyone in blogland a very Merry Christmas. I'll be leaving out tomorrow to go hang out with the fam in Memphis. I hope that each and everyone of you spends the day with someone that you love. Safe travels to you all.

I Am Legend

Don't worry, this is not a spoiler. :-)

Z and I went to check it out last night and I must say that I really really liked this movie. Even though it was not quite what I expected, the film really did a great job of showing the value of life and love. It is not action packed even though you will jump out of your seats on more than one occassion. You will however be treated to a process of the human condition and really great acting by the artist formerly known as "The Fresh Prince". The film also uses flash backs and real time account to show Smith's character Rober Neville's daily survival and outreach. One thing I really enjoyed was the use of a bare New York City as the backdrop of the film. IMO, the city was somewhat of a character in itself and does a great job of helping to keep your attention. All in all, there are very startling and scary moments and although creative license has been applied, the spirit of the story remains. I give it two thumbs up!

Teach Me How to Love (in the Sanctuary)........

One of my blog buddies sent this to me vial email. She says this took place in Memphis. If that is the case, it all makes sense now.

Members of World Overcomers were shocked on last Sunday morning when they entered the place where they assemble to worship God. In the pulpit was a Queen sized bed draped in burgundy and gold. Members were wondering why the place that normally Pastor Alton R. Williams preaches the word of God from had turned into a large bedroom, when he entered wearing a robe and pajama pants with his bible in hand, the lights are dimmed, mode music is playing,Williams at this point lays on the bed reading from the Songs of Solomon. While still reading the bible his wife Sherrilyn enters the sanctuary wearing a long red feathered seductive fitting gown. Mrs. Williams very seductively walks across the pulpit turn bedroom and sits on the bed next to her husband. She closes his bible and begins to rub on him, and then lefts him from the bed and very passionately embraces and kisses him. Pastor Williams whose Sunday morning freak session is designed to save marriages tells the women in the congregation "This is how to keep your husband so the Hoe don't get him".

*If I may interject just for two seconds to add a WTF???!!!!* Okay, back to the email.

In my opinion A.R. Williams has gone to far, the pastor who spent $260,000 to build a statue that reminds you of the Statue Of Liberty has lost his God focus and now become an entertainer willing to do anything to keep fleecing his flock of their money so that he can continue to live his luxury lifestyle.In a time that people in the community need the Word of God for deliverance from their plights by allowing the word to get them up and motivated to make changes in their lives, this fool wants to hold Sunday morning sex classes. What about salvation and the saving of souls? I guess with New Directions Church being less than a mile away Williams is losing members which means that he is losing dollars. So what will Williams do next Sunday, Show the men how to please their wives by performing oral sex on sister Sherrilyn, or maybe he'll give a course on the various positions of lovemaking. What ever it is you can be sure that his cult of followers at WORLD OVERCUMMERS will not get a show without paying.

Here is a response to the outrage caused by his display from the pulpit:

Hello All:Pastor A R William is now on the Bev Johnson Show explaining what he did on Sunday morning. His message: marriages are coming under attack and so many men are coming under an attacked by women on the outside. Husbands don't know how to talk to their wives at home so; they go out on the outside to get what they want because they are not getting it at home. If men knew how to talk to their wives, they wouldn't have to go outside to get what they are looking for…… so many women were taught at a young age that sex is wrong or nasty so as a way to get their attention, he got in the bed with his pj's on and his wife walked in without rollers in her head or flannel pj's. She came in looking sexy, which helps keep the man at home. He taught from the bed, reading the Bible, and explaining why so many men go outside looking for love. He was only sending a message; " How to keep your man at home by looking good and communicating. A wife needs to know what her man loves and what his needs are as well as the man needs to know what his wife needs and what she loves.

I'm gonna get you sucka.....

.....is the first thing I would say if I ever crossed paths with this crazy ass dude. Long story short, a mother and daughter were shot by a guy the mother had dated. In an attempt to save her mother's life, the little girl (who is only 7 years old) jumped in front of the gunman and was shot 6 times.........SIX TIMES! A friend of the mother was also there at the scene. In an attempt to try and stall and to get help, the friend stops @ a gas station to get gas and to call the cops only to be told that they did not have a unit to send. WTF??? Are you kidding me?! *smdh*

My heart hurts for this mother and child. The mother has since been released from the hospital and is at her daughters side. I pray for strength and healing for this family. I wish for the ultimate punishment the law allows for that piece of shit.

The man that the mother date was a 4 time convicted felon but felon or not, let this be a lesson to everyone.........just be careful of who you choose to surround yourself (and children) with.

The story is below.

Girl, 7, shot 6 times saving mom
DETROIT -- A 7-year-old-girl is being hailed as an "angel from heaven" and a hero for jumping in front of an enraged gunman, who pumped six bullets into the child as she used her body as a shield to save her mother's life.
Alexis Goggins, a first-grader at Campbell Elementary School, is in stable condition at Children's Hospital in Detroit recovering from gunshot wounds to the eye, left temple, chin, cheek, chest and right arm.
"She is an angel from heaven," said Aisha Ford, a family friend for 15 years who also was caught up in the evening of terror.
The girl's mother, Selietha Parker, 30, was shot in the left side of her head and her bicep by a former boyfriend, who police said was trying to kill Parker. The gunman was disarmed by police and arrested at the scene of the shooting, a Detroit gas station. Police identified him as Calvin Tillie, 29, a four-time convicted felon whom Parker had dated for six months.
Parker, who was treated and released at Detroit Receiving Hospital, is now at her daughter's bedside. She declined to comment Tuesday.
The drama began to unfold just before midnight Saturday, when Parker called Ford and asked if she and Alexis could spend the night at Ford's home.
"She said she had no heat and they were very cold, and I said , sure I'll come and get you," Ford said.
Ford said she drove her burgundy 1998 Ford Expedition to Parker's home on Dwyer. She said as Parker and Alexis walked up to her vehicle she saw a man on the porch, who she assumed was a furnace repairman. She said Alexis, who walks with a limp, slipped momentarily on the icy sidewalk and as she helped the girl up, she saw the man and recognized him as Tillie. He was holding a gun.
Tillie ordered them into the vehicle, cursed at the women and angrily told Ford to drive him to Six Mile Road, she said.
"He looked like he was enraged and didn't care what he did. I knew if we went to Six Mile, he would kill us," Ford said. Instead, she told him she needed gas and drove to the Fast Stop Gas station in the 5000 block of East Seven Mile Road, a station that requires customers to pay the attendant inside.
"I figured if he got out to pump the gas, I was going to take off," Ford said.
Instead, Tillie gave her $10 and told her put in $5 worth of gas.
Ford said she dialed 911 on her cell phone as she walked into the station.
"The first operator clicked off and I dialed again and told that operator a guy with a gun was holding me hostage with a mother and baby and threatening to kill us. I told her the name of the gas station and then she said they didn't have a unit to send."
Ford said she paid for $5 of gas and slowly returned to the vehicle, stalling for time as she handed Tillie the change. She said she kept stopping and starting the pump, hoping the police would show up.
"I told him I needed more gas and took money out of my purse and went back into the station," she said. The attendant, Mohammad Alghazali, 30, said he noticed Ford was crying and she told him what was happening. He called 911 as he heard shots coming from the vehicle.
"It was very scary. She (Ford) was scared and screaming when the guy was shooting. I was scared, too. I was on the phone talking to the police when he started shooting," he said
Parker told police that Tillie said Ford was taking too long
She said she pleaded with him but he pointed the gun at her and shot her in the side of the head. She told police she was shot in the arm as she lunged at Tillie.
Before Tillie could fire again, Alexis jumped over the seat between her mother and the gunman and begged him not to shoot her mother.
The police report said Tillie "without hesitation" pumped six shots into the child.
As police arrived, they saw Parker, covered in blood, running from the truck, screaming, "He just shot my baby."
The officers said Tillie came out to the vehicle holding a blue steel 9 mm semi automatic and dropped the weapon when ordered to do so. Officers said they found Alexis huddled on the floor under the steering wheel, covered in blood, surrounded by spent cartridge casings, a spent bullet on the floor and teeth on the seat. There were bullet holes in the windshield and blood inside.
Alghazali said a police car on a street nearby arrived in less than a minute after his call.
Marvin Bodley, a Detroit Public Schools attendance agent, spent two days at Alexis' hospital bedside and said it's miraculous that she's alive.
"What a courageous, courageous little girl," he said. "You see more bandages than child," he said. "It's a horrific sight."
Bodley said Alexis receives special education services at school, in part because of a weak left eye, which is the result of a massive stroke she suffered as an infant.
Ford said doctors at the time had predicted that when Alexis got older she would have trouble with tasks such as writing, but she is now able to write her name.
"She is a good little girl who is very protective of her mother," said Tonya Colbert, Parker's cousin.
Tillie is being held in the Wayne County Jail facing kidnapping, assault with intent to murder, child abuse, felony firearms and habitual criminal charges.
A preliminary examination is scheduled for Dec. 13.

No Rhyme or Reason...........

.......for this post at all.

Nothing much going on over here folks, just the routine AR Gal life schedule. Work, home, walk, bathe, eat, chill, sleep. This by the way equals b-o-r-i-n-g. *sigh* I am still looking for a new car and have found something that I like but I am going to see about going through my bank for financing -vs- the dealer before I commit to anything. I am looking @ pre-owned cars (that's all I've ever had)......I have no problem with letting someone else taking the depreciation and then me reaping the benefits of a lower cost for a quality vehicle. It's a win-win situation in my book. Hopefully I will have something before the end of the year. Wish me luck.

It's not the Oz I remember...............

.......but I like it. Last night, I watched part 1 of 3 of the mini-series "Tinman" on the Sci-fi network. Word is this has been heavily advertised for awhile. I personally only found out about it after seeing the local "tv guide" thing in the Sunday morning paper and an ad on Yahoo yesterday. I checked out some of the clips on scifi.com, it looked interesting enough so I decided to check it out. I was glad that I did.......even though I'm still not really sure why the powers that be titled it Tinman. *scratches head* It's a different take on the oldie but goodie "The Wizard of Oz" with different twists and turns (D.G. (ie Dorothy) having nuture robots as parents(this is the scifi channel folks, lol) and having a sister). Some of the acting is not the greatest but I am really interested in seeing how the storyline progresses so I will be tuning in again tonight. Some people may not really be able to quite get into it. The only thing that I can recommend is just to take it for what it is not what it is not. If you're interested and want to see part 1, it will re-air @ 6 pm(CST) and part two will air @ 8 pm (CST).

Good Music

I'm a fan of many styles of music, one of them being country. Now while my collection doesn't reflect it (I only have one country cd; Dixie Chicks "FLY" album), I really enjoy listening to several of the artists. I was surfin the web this morning and found this youtube clip of Dolly Parton's latest song and video. The vid is cute but the words in this song are something to live by. Just take a listen and you'll see what I mean.

I may just need some help after all............

I hadn't planned on posting tonight but I was over @ Creole's site and felt compelled to do so. Most of ya'll know her right? If not, click the link over there *points to the left* and go check her out. She's a helluva lady.
This particular post was about people and their issues....ya know things in life that have helped to shape and make people what they are (flaws and all). As I was reading through the comments I felt compelled to add my two cents. The more I typed my comment the more I felt the need to do a post. I've taken my original comment and added onto it as made me think a little bit about things I had put on the backburner. I tend to go a bit off kilter in my list (ie lots of random ish) so bear with me.........I'm far from sane and quite a bit on the "off" side. :-)

1. I never met my dad
2. He died down the street from our house 5 months before I was born in a car wreck.
3. My mom almost lost me.
4. I didn't find out #3 until I was 16 from a classmate of mine.
5. I often get sad at just the thought of never meeting my father and cry because people always tell me what a great man he was.
6. As awesome (and nutty) as my mom is, I believe not having that male influence has fugged me up to this day.
7. I admire my mother a lot. She's had to deal with A LOT of loss in her lifetime...a father, a husband, a mother, two brothers, and a miscarriage. That's enough to send most folks over the edge.
8. I don't know what I would ever do without her.
9. I could not stand one of my older sisters growing up.
10. When I was younger, I used to wish my mom had miscarried her instead of my brother.
11. She was mean to me...I got older and got mean back.
12. I like her better now.
13. My dog just pooted and it smells like garbage...peeeee-u!
14. I still have insecurity issues.
15. I don't like my job but I'm grateful to have it.
16. I think one of the people I work with has the potential to be a serial killer/rapist. He gives me the heebie jeebies.
17. I have yet to get to the place where I feel like I know what my lifes work is supposed to be.
18. I really don't know why that is.
19. I am happy with a lot of things in my life but I often wonder if I will ever be 100% happy with everything.
20. I often wonder about how I will die.
21. I only want death to come to me in one way....in my sleep.
22. This world is often the most beautiful and sick place.
23. It sometimes frightens me to even think about bringing kids into this world someday.
24. I pray often that my niece, nephews, and friends children will never have to see or experience the truly ugly side of this place called earth.
25. In my heart of hearts, I don't know if that is possible.
26. I like animals.
27. I like shoes......A LOT.
28. I finally got a digital camera! lol
29. Once I start taking pictures I just may post some. lol
30. I hope that today I was a better person than yesterday....I hope I am an even better person tomorrow than I was today.

Next time I'm bringing Hot Chocolate and a Coat......

......for Black Friday! So I knew Thursday evening that I was going to have to wake up early in order to get to Se.ars for my microwave. After a late start (thirty minutes after the alarm went off) and several run-ins with walls in the house, I was ready to go. So I get to the store and it turns out locating the home appliance department took longer than finding out that they had none of the microwaves advertised in the sale paper in stock. *sigh* Seriously? I knew I should have listened to my inner voice and gone to North Little Rock store instead.....I'm really going to have to start paying more attention it.

I decide to drive out to Tar-jay and check out their selection of turbo ovens. I wasn't about to get the Emer.son brand that was on special. I've read more than enough reviews about that product to know that I didn't need to spend $$$ or something that would not even last a year Don't believe me? Go to tar.get.s site and look at any E.mer.s.on brand microwave. A majority of the people give it a big fat thumbs down! lol So I'm thinking all the stores opened up @ 5 am....shucks Ko.h.l's opened @ 4 so why wouldn't everyone else already be open?? Little did I know that Tar-jay didn't open until 6. I got there @ 10 'til 6. Oh lawd! The people...OMG the people!!! They were everywhere!!! There was this loooooooooooooooooooooong line from the door to the the far end of the parking lot. I sat in my car and contemplated going in or not. I didn't have a coat ( I had on one of those velour jogging set thingys) and it was FREEZING outside. Then I remembered that Z did want a drill set they had on special there........oh fugg WHY NOT!

I get out the car and eyeball the line. People are steady lining up and cars are steadily coming into the parking lot where the people are.....ummmmm yeah, there ain't no way in hell I was about to get in that line (risking life and limb) so I mosey on up to the front of the store opposite of where the line was and grab a basket and chill out until they open the doors. While waiting, I notice a tv crew inside filming, "them" (the folks who had been waiting for heaven knows how long) giving "us" (the folks that had just got there) the evil eye, an older lady standing just to the side of the main line with her shopping cart (she had me laughing), one woman standing next to me changing her mind and going back home, and "security" (an early twenty-something girl who was no taller than 5'4" and couldn't have weighed more than 110 lbs wet) telling "us" that we need to move to the end of the line with "them". I swear this other lady and I looked at each other and CTHU! Like I said.....wasn't no way in hell. So anyway, the time that comes to open and I swear folks started pushing ("them" not "us"). They finally get the door open and I'm looking to see when another door was going to be opened.....still waiting. So I say to the lady standing next to me, "You mean to tell me that they are only going to have one set of doors open to let everyone in???". Her: "I know, this is crazy right?". Hmmmm, crazy indeed. After a couple of minutes, someone with some sense decides to open the other doors....thank goodness. I would have hated for someone to have gotten trampled or almost like another person did somewhere.

Oh, remember the older lady that was standing just to the side of the main line?? Ok so the doors open and she is standing there just waiting for an opening so she can squeeze on in (with a shopping cart, lol) with everyone else. "Security" tells her (while pointing) that she will need to go to the end of the line. *eye roll* Ha! That didn't stop her, she left that cart where it was and walked past that girl and on into the store. I was dyin laughing @ this point.....all I needed was a coat and some hot chocolate and I would have been set. Amidst staring at all the pushing and hearing a whole lotta of "hey watch it's", I remembered that I was there for a reason. I ditched my cart too and just mosied on in back to the hardware section, picked up the drill set and walked over to the microwaves to take a look. I saw nothing, so I made my purchase (and scored a gift card for $5) and left. In hindsight, I should have made my way over to the toy section to be really entertained......hey I was already there......lol

As for me, I ended up going to the NLR store to get the microwave but all they had left was black. I didn't want to wait for it to come in through special order. I ended up going to Sam's and spending more $$ but hey, I'm happy.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Just stopping by to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope the day/weekend is spent with those who love and care about you.


I'll leave you with a youtube clip of a segment from "LAPD Life on the Street" to get you through the weekend. The feature "character's" name is Cybil.........it explains so much. lol

Have a good one.

More conversations with mama…

I spoke with my mom this morning. She’s in St. Louis right now staying with my big sis until they leave out for NYC tomorrow. We were talking and then she informed me that my 3 year old nephew told her that he was gonna beat her butt and the convo ensued from there.....

Me: He said what?!
** me laughing **
Mama: Yeah, that lil joker told me that he was gonna beat my butt
** me still laughing **
Me: You know he probably got that from school right?
Mama: Yeah but I had to let him know that wasn’t proper for him to say.
Me: Well that’s good that you corrected him.
Mama: Yep sure did…..with my belt.
** me laughing again **
Me: WHAT?!
Mama: Oh child, I didn’t beat him down I just popped his bottom a little
Me: Oh okay
Mama: You know they just let these kids get away with anything around here.
Me: What?!
** me still laughing **
Mama: Don’t act like you don’t know.
Me: I don’t.
Mama: Well you come up here and visit for awhile….then you’ll see.
Me: I should go up and visit huh? I think I’ll keep it short to like the weekend. You know I like my space.
Mama: Mmmmm, hmmmm yes I know. I guess that’s what happens when you’re in love………
Me: What?! I was like this long before I met Z.
** silence **
Mama: Yeah I guess you’re right. You’ve had that "I only call when I need something" issue for a long while.
Me: What?!
Mama: Don’t what me. You know.
Me: I haven’t asked for anything from you in a long time. Now I just call to talk.
** mama laughing **
Mama: Yeah for now
Me: I used to call just to talk back in the day too.
Mama: When you wanted something…
** me crossing & rolling my eyes at the same time**
Me: So where’s the other one (my youngest nephew that’s two) at?
Mama: In the hallway sleep next to me.
Me: Ummm, what are ya’ll doing in the hallway?
Mama: Well his mama left to go to work for a little bit and to run some errands so he had a fit and this is where he finally fell out and fell asleep at.
Me: ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Mama: I knew he was sleepy. He’s been up since I woke up @ 5:30 this morning.
Me: Oh wow
Mama: You’re usually up by then I should have called you.
Me: Yeah you could have but I probably wouldn’t have answered
Mama: And why not?
Me: ‘Cause I’m slow enough as it is getting ready for work in the morning and being on the phone would have just slowed me up more. I would have called you back from the car though
Mama: Well what if would have been an emergency?
Me: You would have left a message, I would have heard it, and I would have called you back.
Mama: Well I know not to call you that early then.
Me: Oh lawd…… Let me get off this phone so I can get back to work.
Mama: What do they have you doing now?
Me: Oh just this and that……not too much going on this week though.
Mama: Ohhhhh
Me: Well if I don’t talk to you guys tomorrow, I’ll call you Thursday.
Mama: I already said that I was gonna call so why would you call.
** sighs then laughs **
Me: We’ll just talk to each other Thursday then. Love you
Mama: Love you too.

I swear I said What? so much that I felt like Lil John! lol