and she knows it. My daughter, nicknamed Saribug, just talks non-stop. At times it's as though she is narrating all that goes on around her. Here she demonstrates what a duck, lion, and a Saribug say.

Ok, so I'm starting something new. Each Monday I will post my answers to the Manic Monday Meme. Come join me! I'd love to hear your answers as well.

Is it easier for you to forgive or to forget? It's definitely easier for me to forgive than to forget. A sincere apology, accountability, and a show of honest remorse is about all it takes to earn my forgiveness. However, in true Scorpio form, it's often filed away in case it's needed again. I do not forget easily, if at all.

Do you believe people can change? I believe that everyone has the ability to change their lives. It's how cycles are broken every day. I do not believe it is easy, it requires a constant evaluation of where you've been, where you are, and where you want to be. What can I say? When I'm not playing the devil's advocate, I'm an optimist and can believe the best of anyone, until proven otherwise.

Has life made you more cynical or more hopeful? Oh I'd say I have my bouts with hope and cynicism but I think overall I'm a hopeful person. I have witnessed many people making great choices in their lives, turning things around, taking hard life blows and making the best of them. So yes, I think I'd have to say I'm hopeful. The glass is half full afterall.

So we all get the "forwards" emails where funny jokes and cute little best friend shit gets passed around until it's circled the globe a few times, but do you get the same thing on your phone in the form of a text message? I do. And I pass it on too. If it's funny. Or shocking enough. Today, it proved to be the highlight of my day. I swear I've never gotten a response to one like I did this time. So here's what the text message said...

I will go down on you &
make you extremely
happy then come back up
& fuck the shit out of u!
Sincerely, your gas prices.

and here are the responses I got...

LOL! Wasn't sure where that was heading!

I think I scared her. hehehe

I was fixing to ask you if you sent that to the right person

Fixin to have to go take a cold shower but never mind

(side not: yes we are from Texas and yes we really do say "fixin to" or "fiddinto")

At first I thought you sent that to the wrong person!

(do I see a trend here? like am I just an idiot when it comes to the To: box? Jeez)

and here is my personal favorite, after receiving my text, my BFF2's husband (Rock) called her and this is the email I got from BFF2...

OMG, U JUST GAVE ROCK THE BIGGEST FREAKIN HEART ATTACK!!! HE GOT THE TEXT U JUST SENT, BUT DIDNT SEE THE PART WHERE IT SAID "SINCERELY, YOUR GAS PRICES" .....HE BOUT SHIT A BRICK, HE THOUGHT U TEXTED HIM THAT U WANTED TO GO DOWN ON HIM THEN COME BACK AND FUCK THE SHIT OUT OF HIM----HE WAS SSSSOOOOOO FREAKIN OUT JUST NOW- HE CALLED ME AND WAS LIKE WTF IS UP WITH UR BFF- I WAS LIKE HUH??? THEN HE SENT ME THE TEXT SAME TIME U DID- THAT WAS FUNNY

and she even went on to say...

OMG unbalanced - it was so funny. he was like wtf is up with unbalanced, she sent me this text and he is all rambling on and on about why on earth were u talkin to him that way, i was like omg...send me the text babe, let me read it, so he sends it and i got it same time as urs, i read urs first then went to his and was like OMG, he didnt read the whole thing, he probably didnt get past the first line before he shit himself- ROFLMMFAO, i laffed so hard- u have to text him and tell him he is a nerd, u have to!!

believe it or not, that's not all she had to say about it either...

i told dad and he said he fell out of his chair he was laffin so hard- i thought it was from rock at first. i was kinda gettin excited- then i was like awwww unbalanced, ur killin me- lol then dad told gene and he fell out of his chair laffin so hard- lol

so of course i had to ask her what Rock said when she read him the last line...

 
he was like- oh, scared the shit out of me, i thought unbalanced lost her mind, i was like omg- i laffed at him so hard- poor guy!!! i just told mom about it oo- waitin on her response

to which "our" mom (which is technically, biologically BFF's mom) CALLED me. She was laughing so hard that all I could hear was wheezing. LOL, oh it's been a laugh a minute around here today.

So sorry it took so long, I've been fighting with my image hosting site trying to get this post completed. So here you go...

I had a wonderful vacation even if there were a few bumps along the way. We were both pretty nervous because in the 2 weeks prior we'd had some miscommunication. Things we now know we shouldn't have put off talking about for so long. I'm so glad we had this time together, not only did it rejuvenate us but it gave us some very needed down time to talk things through, to talk about expectations, wants, and desires. I fell more in love with her over those nine days than I ever thought were possible. The way that we click, the way we fit together, it just amazes me. She is definitely everything I ever wanted but never thought I would have.

Perhaps one of the most surprising parts of the trip was her family. Turtle's family is very religious and have a hard time accepting that she is a lesbian. So I was kind of nervous about meeting them. Unlike my girlfriend, I have not experienced a lot of judgements where my sexuality is concerned. Where I live it is pretty accepted, my family and friends have supported me all along, I'm out to everyone in my life and don't hide it from anyone new. So this was going to be a little different experience for me. I met her family with an open mind and respect in my heart but I knew that I might feel slightly persecuted, questioned, judged and expected to feel somewhat defensive and certainly protective of my girlfriend. I was pleasantly surprised that everything I expected was unnecessary.

Turtle's parents welcomed me with an equally open heart and generous hospitality. Her dad made his famous spaghetti and her mom teased us about our ability to eat it because of our tongue rings. We enjoyed great conversation, talking about her dad's travels to the state I live in years ago. One thing I thoroughly enjoyed was their sense of humor, especially her mom's. She has a quick wit that I can admire. Her mom is more reserved and her dad has a soft heart and inquisitive mind. They are affectionate with their family but not outside of that, so imagine my surprise when I got hugs from them, on more than one occasion.

The one I looked forward to meeting the most was her son. He is an amazing kid. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with him, even if he kicked my but in bowling. He's such a sweet kid. I look forward to having them both be a part of my family. I got the biggest hug from him, it made me smile and brought tears to my eyes. It made me happy to know that he liked me as much as I liked him. He even made a reference about getting a dog when we get a house in Texas. :)

Leaving was the hardest thing to do. To walk away from the woman I love with all of my heart. The woman who brings light and color to my otherwise dark and gray world. I miss her so much already. I miss the little things and the big things too. Lucky for me, she's coming for the weekend in 10 more days.

Here's the link to look at the slide show of some pictures from my trip.

All I can say is... AMAZING