vermin from hell

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

(clearing throat) sorry ...let me start from the beginning.

florida has many critters/creatures/VERMIN FROM HELL!!... (calming myself down) ...that live casually amongst everyone. some i can handle, others i squeal then spray, and then there are those that i REFUSE to live with. [...but since i don't plan on moving anytime soon, i seem to have no choice. =/]

my little sister (jubee) was out in the garage doing some laundry when she saw this... this thing with wings scurry away from her hand when she reached for the laundry soap. she squealed as all girls do, (hey, i'm not judging. i've had my own fair share of squeaks and squabbles lately from all the "locals".). i came running out to see what the matter was and she told me what happened. i, feeling oddly brave, went to move the laundry soap to inspect the situation a bit closer. what i found was....

(squirming with angst)

...a FLYING COCKROACH. that's right. a COCKROACH! WITH WINGS! and antennas that reached the moon! and a body the size of my fist (only a slight, slight, exaggeration there). i started jumping up and down, screaming and squealing, which in turn, spurred on jubee to scream and squeal right along with me. i called my neighbor over to "deal with the situation" because there was NO WAY in he.....ll that i was going near it again.

thankfully. everything was taken care of and i was able to calm myself down. but let me tell you. i no longer look at the ground when i walk to oogle my chucks. i now look down to make sure there are no repeats of the laundry incident. (...and to look at my chucks. hahaha.)

just so you don't think i overreacted, here is a photo of the "flying cockroach", aka palmetto bug as the floridians so deceptively call it:

juuuuuuuust kidding. hahahaha.

below is a REAL photo i found online of a palmetto bug.

see! SEE! (arms crossed) i wasn't overreacting.

best friends

i was looking through some old photos and found one with these two guys sleeping together.

i miss winky.
she was a good cat.

eh, what's a few extra peppers?

i went to a pampered chef party where thee bestest homemade salsa was served. so bestest in fact that i went out the very next day and bought all the ingredients to make it myself.

i made it with:
4 roma tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red pepper
1/2 orange pepper
2 habaneros
1 jalepeño
1/2 white onion
1 lime (squeezed)
a bit of fresh garlic
and a few snips of cilantro

chop. chop. chop.

stir. stir. stir.

and voila! homemade salsa!

i like things hot and spicy--hence my love for chipotle's delicious salsa filled burrito bowls--so i thought i'd add a few extra jalepeños and habaneros. merely to enhance that bit-o-bark i experienced the night before. i could handle it, right? WRONG-O. the extra peppers (with seeds) made it TOO hot and TOO spicy! i'd eat a bit, then chug down some sweet tea. eat a bit more and then chug down more tea. the more i ate, the better my tongue felt, until i stopped. so... i had no choice but to eat more! i eventually was too full to eat any more and the only way i could cool my tongue was to suck on chunks of ice! and pant. like a dog. which didn't really help at all but i did it anyway.

i hate to admit this but once my tongue cooled down, madness took over and i went at it again. i have since "altered" the recipe to the one you see above and now? oh my gosh. it is soo delish. you should try it. i promise, it won't be as ridiculous as my "first" recipe. =) unless you think you are better than me, which you are not, so don't bother asking for it.

update 07/26/09: it's in the wee hours of the morning and i'm on the toilet because of the salsa. i guess it's better than at 11am, right when the sunday morning service STARTS! because then, EVERYone would know how long i was "gone".

unreturned love

“...but if God's love is as immeasurable and unending as the hebrews describe Him, how deep and profound must be His sense of sorrow and rejection. if anyone knows the pain of love unreturned, it must be God.”

--erwin mcmanus: soul cravings

dreams

"i have dreamed in my life. dreams that have stayed with me even after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind."

--emily bronte

childhood fears

so... i'm 25 now. i'm at that age where childhood fears are the thing of the past... right? i've overcome the fear of the dark, the fear of whats under my bed. even the fear of the boogieman.

i've overcome them all. except one. and that one certainly took me by surprise.

right now, its the rainy season in florida. thunderstorms are a plenty. some have been light and fluffy, while others have threatened to tear the roof right off the house. last night, the skies were clear--not a cloud in sight. it was quite beautiful actually. i went to bed without a care in the world and slept peacefully until about.... eh, 3am-ish when BAM! this crack of lightening lit up the sky so brightly that it woke me up instantly. [now i'm a pretty deep sleeper. i'm used to falling asleep with music or the tv on, so a light noise won't stir me in the least.] but this... this was so bright, i sat straight up in my bed. and then another BAM! thunder. i FREAKED out. MORE BAMS! it almost sounded like the raid of berlin during wwii. i hadn't experienced that kind of heart stammering fear in... well ages! when i used to be afraid of thunder. i pulled the covers over my head and willed myself to sleep, hoping i could dream away the terror. no such luck. there i was, a grown adult, and i was terrified of a stupid thunderstorm. [(whispering) ...i even considered crawling into bed with my sister who sleeps on the other side of the house but i was too SCARED to get out of bed and RUN to her!] i stuck my head under all six of my pillows and eventually fell asleep. but not before saying a quick prayer. =)

i laugh at it all now. sure NOW. not during the stupid storm. never have i felt so ridiculous. (shaking head) when will i be old enough to say "i'm not afraid of thunderstorms".

...maybe next year. =)

he had me at meow

meet george--aka horehey, horge, horgehey, mister, puppy... and the list goes on. funny thing is, he responds to all of those names. =)

i first met george many moons ago when i was looking for that perfect gentleman to fill my evenings with hugging, snuggling, no talking back, and just plain unadulterated, unconditional love. enter george. and a pizza box.

he loves to sleep in the sink, at my feet, and now on the black coffee table that shows each and every teeny tiny little white hair he so lovingly leaves behind for bethany. tsst.

he likes long walks around the dinning room table, loves to drink the finest tap water from the bathroom sink, requires a customized nutrition blend of salmon and chicken, and demands his belly be rubbed daily.

i love my george and he is the shnizz. hands down.

george

go ahead and chuckle

here are a few things that made me laugh today:

the heart vs the mind

sometimes the HEART

...should FOLLOW the MIND.

sometimes the HEART

...should tell the MIND to STAY AT HOME
and STOP INTERFERING.

to my baby brother

happy birthday to my baby brother jonathan. =)

i remember:

• getting our diapers changed together.
• playing with tommy tippy and pulling him by the tail.
• the giant tinker toys!
• wearing your velcro shoes ALL the time. (shaking head) so ridiculous. hahaha.
• you “flying” around with a towel tied around your neck. dork.
• packing bologna meat sandwiches and riding our bikes.
• all i have to say is harry toemark. BOOM!
• you jumping off the couch and hitting your forehead on the corner of that speaker and FREAKING galilee out. hahaha.
• pretending to be power rangers. “its morphin’ time!”.
• your years of having a buzz haircut. tsst.
• playing bank and sitting for hours making pretend money and banks sheets…. and then never actually playing! hahaha.
• “supertones strike back! we want this whole band to be a big love letter, so we play the SKA and it makes you feel better”
• your FIRST car. and the obnoxiously loud speaker system you put in it. and you taking me for a ride so i could check it all out…. =)
• oh my gosh… YOU listening to RAP. aaaaahahahahaha.
• you going off to college and me realizing that i was going to miss your stupid garbage face.

jonathan. i truly don’t know how to express to you just how much i love you. you are such a loud and passionate person--not to mention a HUGE scrubbin'. you demand love and attention, you never back down, and you ALWAYS get what you want. i can’t wait for the day when you finally meet your match and you get owned. by a girl. =)

happy birthday baby brother. =)

feliz cumpleanos fraunkleen

feliz cumpleanos frankleen--mi favorita hermano en law!

you are hands down, thee coolest brother-in-law. so cool in fact that you have managed to get three watson sisters to move down to florida. =D

i remember:

• your farts. oh my gosh. the first time you farted in front of all of us i knew you'd be an excellent fit to our humble familia.
• you and natty saying ALL THE TIME.... "baby, baby, baby..." (blowing brains out)
• your incessant need for massages. "my back hurts!" (you big baby)
• you taking me and adam surfing. =)
• quoting family guy
• playing egyptian rat screw with you! (so owned)
• watching you watch natty as she walked down the aisle. =)
• your hugs. you give thee BESTEST hugs.
• your first moon. to me.
  

i love you bro. and i look forward to many, MANY more hilarious memories with you. =)

the end.

moostashes

holler!
jubs and i decided to make some wicked photos.

enjoy our dorkiness. =)

photo booth

too many numbers!!

# of miles to florida? 1134

# of hrs taken? 21

# of bathroom stops? 5

# of dirty jokes we told? 7

# of accidents in kentucky alone? 11

# of starbucks city mugs bought? 3!

# of billboards along 75, in florida? too many to count!

# of meows after george's medicine wore off? 9,537,293

# of waffle houses south of nashville? 73 (NO JOKE! we totally counted.)

i wouldn't have had such a blast if my little sister hadn't gone with me. jubs, you made the trip TOTALLY bareable. thanks. =) (...shifting)

i'm a whole quarter today!

25 years ago today, i, stephanie watson, was born.

i was so shocked, i didn't talk for 6 months. =D