the end is the beginning

A long, long time ago (I'm talking 30 years ago) my family had season passes to  Opryland USA , a theme park in Nashville, Tennessee. We had passes until I was 14, and then the dudes in charge decided Opryland would make more money as Opry Mills, a massive shopping mall. I was bitter about this when it happened. Maybe I still hold a tiny bit of animosity, but only because I don't understand how anyone could prefer shopping over roller coasters and theme park rides. (Although I do have one child who is vehemently against anything that flips, so I do try to respect that. Then again, he is also vehemently against shopping.) We used to go to Opryland probably every other week in the summer, sometimes every week. We would load up the astro van with a cooler lunch, and hit the interstate for the 80 mile drive to my favorite place. As we got older we would bring friends with us, but in the early days it was just me and my brother Jonathan as ride partners, while my mom and Memaw would...

Captain's log, day four. I'm no stranger to pain, but now I am beginning day four of this period that has been sent from the depths of hell. Or at least that is what it seems like. It feels as if my uterus has been attached to a taffy pulling machine and is being stretched to extremely unrealistic proportions, not to mention the fact that I think my uterus itself might actually weigh similarly to a small bowling ball.  I won't even get into the clots. You would have nightmares if I went into details with that. Sometimes I do wish I could go around wearing a shirt that said "UNCLEAN," just so people would leave me alone.  I used to go to the doctor who would say to my mom, "has she not been complaining about how bad she feels?" Especially when it came to things like double ear infections or strep throat. "No, she never complains about pain." Years ago when I got a full side piece on the right side of my torso, I had a group of men standing aroun...

Did anyone see that over the past two days Israel and China both discovered a new type of human skull that they had never seen before? I do think this is incredibly interesting that both stories were posted within a day of each other. I wonder if any more will be uncovered. I wonder what it means.  Dragon man skull in China may be new species of human New type of human skull found in Israel Peppy tried to have a date night last night. First one in almost a year. My brother randomly texted and asked if the kids wanted to spend the night. They are always thrilled to go to Jonathan and Emily's house. I really wanted to chicken waffles from Chili's, but it was actually faster to order to-go than it was to wait for a table. We went in to put our name on the list and there were so many open, clean tables, but apparently not enough servers to work them. There was even a $200 signing bonus. There's stuff like that everywhere around here. If you want to work, you absolutely can. Eve...

International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, New Mexico. You can tell how official it is not only by that wonderful diorama, but also because it's a research center. Those aliens have some pretty official looking expressions too.  Today is supposed to be the big UFO reveal. I am sure it will be something like "We know something is out there, but we don't know what it is." So here's something a little weird. Last year I had this really vivid dream where I opened my email and there was a countdown ticker that said time is up in 84 days, and then my parents were taken up in a UFO. I looked up the date on the calendar and it was Friday, June 26th. Now today is actually Friday, June 25th, and a year later. But if something was to actually happen today, I would be a little surprised. *By now I'm sure most of you have heard of the  John McAfee suicide . It is very suspicious that after his death a single 'Q' was posted on his instagram, and sinc...

If there is one thing Christians disagree on.... ok, there's always going to be more than one thing they disagree on. But a big thing is the rapture. I have read the bible through multiple times and I just can't find the logic behind the pre-tribulation rapture. For more than 1800 years, Christians understood that the rapture  meant the second coming of Christ. The idea of a different kind of rapture really became popularized with the Left Behind series. For more than eighteen centuries, the rapture was understood to be the moment that Christ returns for his Bride. However, in the last century and a half, a different understanding of the rapture has emerged- A secret whisking away of the church.  Some believe the government has Project Bluebeam prepared to explain away the rapture of the church. I believe Bluebeam exists, but I don't think that is it's particular purpose.  Here's why I think that the rapture of the saints will not occur until after the great tribula...

The last few days I've been so restless. It's been terrible. My mind can't concentrate on anything. If I am not doing something (like cooking, working at the food bank, or cleaning) it is actually usually blank, which is a first for me. I don't even really want to be typing this, but if I'm not sitting and actually thinking and typing, I am pacing my driveway like a tiger. Owsley and I counted it once, and from our house to the road and back is a four minute walk. So I'm literally doing this four minute walk so many times a day. And it's never just one walk and done. It's like walking back and forth for thirty minutes at a time, with all this restless energy. I'm used to ADD without the hyperactive. Now I'm experiencing it in such a restless way that I want to rip out of my body. It's not anxiety. It's something completely different.  Monday it rained and I was stuck inside. I played games with Owsley and we watched Sweet Tooth and watche...

I really have no advice here, because there's no one size fits all parenting advice. And even if you have multiple kids and try to raise them fairly, no two children are going to be the same. But let me tell you, the hormones are real. Very real. I can tell you how I deal with that. But first, I would like to give you examples of all the reasons Gage has given me the death glare today. (I typed this up on Saturday.) I think he believes I'm intimidated by this particular look, but who does he think he inherited it from?  1.We took the kids to lunch at Chikfila. They were very busy and I asked Gage to find us a table while we ordered. (glare #1) Unfortunately they were completely out of CO2 and so the soda machine was down. (glare #2. How was that even my fault!?!) 3. Later in the afternoon he realized he finished off the chocolate animal crackers Friday and no one has gone to the store Saturday. (glare #3) Apparently I should have been a mind reader and teleported to the store....

I painted a couple things this weekend. The first is Peppy's Father's Day present, the cover of the Drive By Truckers new album, "The New OK." I know absolutely nothing about this band, other than Peppy loves them. Our musical tastes have greatly veered in opposite directions over the years, and that's ok, because we do still have our classics, like My Morning Jacket, the Decemberists, and Radiohead. Cannot go wrong with those guys. (Side note: I have also painted covers of all those bands for previous Father's Day presents.) The second thing I painted was the logo for an EDM musician Owsley likes, Fox Stevenson. Looks a little like the pi sign. I'm going to have to give a shout out to DollarTree's craft section. They have seriously upped their game lately. They now have all different kinds of paints and canvases. The paint brushes weren't the greatest, but we have a DollarTree five minutes from our house, and it saved me a trip to the much dreaded...

I found these plant holders at the Dollar Tree. They are the only cute thing is this post. Everything else is most definitely not cute. Or nice at all, really.  *The European Commission signed the legislation for their  covid 19 passport system. *Major  heat wave   in parts of the American West. Temps in Death Valley are up to 126. Some states are beating  hundred year records . Scientists state there may be the  worst drought  the West has experienced in 1200 years. *Dozens of  earthquakes  continue to shake California. Also an earthquake in  Indiana. *Texas Power Companies are  remotely raising customer's temperature  amid the state's ongoing energy shortage. *Massive  dust cloud   over the Atlantic and headed our way.  *CRISPR technology can engineer a  superbug   that is invincible to all viruses.  *Should the internet  forget things  that are posted by children as they grow up? Shoul...

I've been a thinking a lot about my  armchair diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum . Right now since my ability to concentrate for longer than fifteen seconds has flown out of the window and I have lots of restless energy, I find myself hula hooping while listening to my favorite christian youtube channel-  AOC all the way. If I'm not doing that, I'm usually playing board games with Owsley, writing, or just walking and thinking. Between the constant movement and the way food still tastes weird, I'm literally in the best physical shape I've been in since I turned 30 and my metabolism was like, "Byeeeeeeeeeee." Anyway, this isn't about diet or weight loss or anything like that. It's about some examples and past experiences that have come to the forefront of my mind lately. I do want to preface that I mention a some of the adults in my life and how they reacted/responded in certain situations. I am not blaming them at all. I honestly believe tha...

Many of you may have probably heard of Aleister Crowley. He was an English occultist who lived until the mid 1900s. He was actually born Edward Alexander Crowley, into a Christian family, but then on a trip to Sweden he had a life changing experience which persuaded him to switch from Christianity to the more mystical. He marked this spiritual calling by changing his name to Aleister. His interests combined the esoteric with the erotic. He published volumes of poetry, which I have never read because poetry is just not my thing, but it has been described as "the most disgusting piece of erotica in the English language." So there's that. He soon became involved in secret societies like the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, although he gradually drifted away and moved into his own set of beliefs.  He founded the religion of Thelema and considered himself a prophet who was entrusted with guiding humanity into the Aeon of Horus. The word thelema basically stands for "to ...

 By definition, a chimera is  1. a mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. 2. any similarly grotesque monster having disparate parts, especially as depicted in decorative art. 3. a horrible or unreal creature of the imagination, a vain or idle fancy. 4. Genetics. an organism composed of two or more genetically distinct tissues, as an organism that is party male and partly female, or an artificially produced individual having tissues of several species.  To create a chimera (which they are doing now, and if they are public about it now, it means it's been going on for much, much longer) scientists introduce cells from one species into the developing embryo or fetus of another. (The name chimera comes from Greek mythology and describes a creature with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent). This sounds totally science fiction, but  Chinese scientists began in 2003 by...

The companies that produce and sell our foods are selling straight up garbage. Most of the products advertised as food aren't real food to begin with. The trash they are injecting us with is slowly destroying our bodies and minds. There's pesticides, fertilizers, MSG, food coloring and high fructose corn syrup, just to name a few. (I'm not coming at this post with a holier than thou attitude. I do drink water and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but I also eat junk too. Sometimes more than I know I should. I'm stepping on my own toes here.)  And let's not forget the over consumption of sugars. Even if you plan a healthy dinner, it can still be chock-full of hidden sugar and starches. Never in history have we consumed this much sugar. Not to mention the additives to keep us addicted and coming back for more. Something in gummy candy and diet coke is like crack to me. Sugar is actually 8 times more addictive to your brain than cocaine. Breakfast companies love to ad...

I saw this and cringed.  If you are using tough love and abrasiveness, even if you are posting things that might be true, you're forgetting the main characteristic of Christianity is love. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand it's own way. -1 Corinthians 13:4  Being a christian is not a green light to become proud and arrogant because someone is different from you. In fact, the scriptures say a thing or two about the proud: The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted, and they will be humbled. -Isaiah 2:12 Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up. -James 4:10 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. -Proverbs 8:13 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. -Proverbs 16:18 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but ra...

Lots of vaccine and passport information in this edition of Weird Things. Remember, I'm not telling you what to do, or think, I only hope that you will look at information from all angles and not just what happens to be on MSM. *A woman from a gas and oil recruitment center offers some  terrifying information  on how the top executives plan to replace any vaccinated person in the next three years. Look, I hope this is not true because some people I love very much have been vaccinated. But coming from her expressions and tone of voice, and mostly her eyes, I do think she believes what she is saying. *Vaccine scientist claims  "We've made a big mistake." *Over two million New Yorker's have signed up for the  digital vaccine pass. *Am I headed straight for  Parkinsons ? Signs point to yes. A big symptom of Parkinson's is anhendonia which I have been experiencing for 6 months now.  *I am still having a hard time understanding how anyone can not see  Joe Bi...

I don't know why the layout of this page changes so much between the pictures. I tried to fix it, but it appears to have a mind of it's own. I hate it. Technology should not tell me what I want to. I should tell it what I want it to do, and that should be the end of the discussion. So I give up, and please excuse the random alignment changes. I tried. I failed. We had to surrender Joey. It was a long time coming. And it's not like we didn't try either. Lord knows we tried for two years with that dog, but there was this innate part of her that was absolutely feral. The older she got, the more she seemed to transform into her mother. And if you don't remember the problems we experienced with Mams, she was absolutely horrific. My dad thought that perhaps she even had some coyote in her, which honestly, wouldn't surprise me.  If you don't remember the story of how we ended up with Joey, here goes.... Titus had unexpectedly died at the end of January. My parents ...

source Superman is one of my absolute favorite rollercoasters of any theme park I've been to. I love how you drop face forward like you really would be flying. I wish I could do that. Not fly in a plane. If you know my family, you know airplanes seem to run in everyone's blood but mine. I don't want to fly in a plane.  I just want to fly. Or fly on Falcor. That would be ok, too.  Maybe 2% of people were wearing masks at Six Flags. Even then workers weren't. They still had their sanitizing stations set up, but that was it. The energy was so different, I could feel it. People were happier, strangers were talking to each other, people were hooting and yelling on the coasters. The last two times we used our passes we still had fun, but this was different. This was the theme park energy that I grew up feeling.  I will say that I was exhausted the next day when I got home from volunteering at the food bank. Gage asked if I wanted to go for a walk, which I always am quick to s...