Avatar

This afternoon, my wonderful boyfriend took me out to see a movie. Not just any movie, but the amazing Avatar. And not just the amazing Avatar. We saw it in 3-D.

Oh. My. Goodness!!!!

It was incredible. The cinematography, the special, effects, the story line, all of it was incredible. But this you already know.

The story is centralized around a planet called Pandora, in which the most incredible landscapes exist. There is an indigenous tribe known as the Na'Vi that live and protect this world. Pandora is a wild planet, made up of incomparable beauty. The forests have enormous trees, the mountains float, and the oceans are vast.

But I'm sure you already know this.

So, whats the point of this post?

To put a thought out there. Do you ever wish stuff like that was real? That we could somehow be transported to a different world where everything is beauty and simplicity? Where the cleaness of the air keeps us wishing for more, and the quietness allows us to think with out interruption?

Wouldn't it be awesome to have a place where you could go where there is no sound other then nature surrounding you? A place where the beauty of nature reminds you why life is so worth living?

I know there are people out there who live in rural areas where this possible, but I'm a city girl, and we don't get much quiet around here. There is always a car, or a plane, or someone yelling, or just the sounds of other people living.

To be totally isolated, in God's perfect world, where I can hear my own thoughts, and have time to ponder them, would be something almost completely foreign to me.

So, do I wish Pandora was real? Absolutely. Do I know for a fact it isn't? Of course. But that doesn't mean I can't try to find the beauty, the simplicity, and the quiet that God has already placed on His green earth.

I like cheese

I like cheese. There is just no two ways around it. When the milk gods descended to earth and began to produce the many delicious things we now enjoy, their greatest creation was the hard substance that comes in so many flavors.

Cheese is so versatile, too. It tastes good on anything. A ham sandwich is good, but a ham and cheese sandwich is heavenly. And who likes Mexican food with out a little of that yellow goodness melted across the top of the beans. A chili dog is good, but a chili cheese dog is better. Cheese cake. Need I say more? Eggs with cheese sprinkled across the top just has so much more added flavor. And a cheeseburger is delicious. Its good on a cracker, but then its good by itself.

And there so many different kinds of cheese. From the sharper, more acidic cheeses, like aged cheddar, to the softer, sweeter cheeses, like fontina. Swiss is good on a sandwich, but mozzarella is good on a pizza (bet you never tried that before). Gouda is delicious on crackers, while Monterrey jack is bursting with flavor melted over my mom's imitation crab stuffed mushrooms (yum). Ricotta has its place in lasagna, but then again, if you don't have ricotta, a good tub of cottage cheese will do.

But the milk gods have chosen to curse their most beloved follower. I do not know what I have done to deserve this punishment, but I have been seeking a way beg forgiveness for whatever horrible crime I have committed. For I have been cursed with the dreaded dairy allergy. (sob)

The party in my mouth that I have enjoyed so immensely has, as of late, been discontinued. One year ago, it was discovered that my body did not react as pleasantly to cheese as my mouth did. Let the sneezing begin.

So, I have been banished to the far reaches of dairy land by a lack of cheese. And it makes me sad. But I have discovered that goat cheese, while slightly different, can have its own merits. So, all is not at a loss.

But, I do remember my friends famous words, and I shall forever be grateful for its humor:

Me: I can't have dairy anymore

Friend: That's like saying no more happiness.

Other friends: What kind of blanket statement is that: No more happiness?

I love cheese, and I miss it dearly, but thank God for the fact that it may not last forever. And that goat cheese can be used as a replacement.

Grandmothers are Mean

You know how most people have that perfect grandmother who bakes them cookies, sends them money on their birthday, listens when you can't talk to your mom, and is over-all generally a really nice, sweet, old lady who would never hurt a fly if she could help it? The one who spends all her time in her kitchen cooking for her family, and meddling in the affairs of her children and grandchildren? You know what I'm taking about?

I don't have one of those.

My grandmother, though I do love her, is uncontrollably mean, selfish, and vindictive. I know, you're thinking "how harsh can you get?" but the reality is that I now live with this women. And I don't lie, so I am certainly not lieing now.

So, what has she done to cause all this?

She's lazy. Seriously. All she does all day is sit around and watch tv, or play on her computer, while never uttering a single word outside of hi and goodbye to us. And yet she complains that none of us speak to her. I have tried, and it has never gotten very far because I get one word answers. She can do things all by her lonesome, I've seen her do it. But noooooo, she's a helpless old women who needs everything done for her.

She says the meanest things to people. One time, I hugged my mom in the kitchen, just because this is how I show affection, and she went off the deep end. She asked me if I was a lesbian because of all the hugs I give my mom. Hello? Boyfriend?

She sends all these emails to us, saying the nasty things. She's called me "that girl" before, as though I was some silly servant who needed proper training. I swear she see's me as such. I have never had an opinion in her eyes, and I probably never will. If at 20, I still am 'that girl', then I suppose I always will be.

She has spread more lies about my mom then I care to count and do not have the energy, time, or self control to recount. Suffice to say, she's causing more trouble amongst a family that was already dysfunctional to begin with.

Don't get me wrong people: I don't hate my grandmother. I think she's walking history, and for what she's been through, I think she deserves some respect. But when that respect that she demands become a tool to force us overlook just how cruel she can be, its unacceptable.

I don't know if any of you have really awesome grandparents, but count yourself lucky if you do. Because I don't. My grandmother is mean, and I doubt that will change anytime soon.

I apologize for the dark nature of this blog...I just needed a place to vent.

Life happens

I know we've all heard the phrase "life happens." Ok, so its in more explicit language then that, but hey, who says I have to use it, right?

So, my life happened, and here I am, writing it down almost a year later. To start at the beginning is ridiculous, so lets just tell the highlights:

Moves: My big sister moved out in March, my Grandmother moved in to our small house in May, and my little brother moved in early this month.

Pause right there:
1) Grandma moving in has not been the best experience. She dislikes me more then most, which is not so difficult, is selfish, and to top that all off, moved into my childhood room and forced me upstairs. Do I love her? Yes. Do I sometimes with she had her own house? Absolutely.

2) DJ moved in after a long absence of 14 years. While I am thrilled, I am also extremely annoyed, as suddenly having a younger brother is slowly driving me out of my mind.

Play

Weddings: Carrol to Matt Callihan in May

Births: Shannon Elizabeth to Carrol and Matt in December

Pause:
You do the math and tell me how that adds up.

Play:

So, the other important thing is that I finally got a car. Happiness.

The most important things remain the same. I still play the violin. I still believe in God. I still have the same man in my life, and probably will till the day I cease to draw breath.

So...the main idea: I'm back.