Not all baristas are created equal

On the occasions that I make a stop at starbucks, I always get one of 2 things. More like 1 thing now, because the baristas of Killeen have proven incompetent for the most part when it comes to making a pumpkin spice steamer instead of a pumpkin spice latte. So I go for the salted caramel mocha frap. Easy, right? Apparently not.

Don't they have a universal recipe that everyone is supposed to follow for the proper way to make something? I dont want anything extra, I like it the way it comes. So why is it that some days, it is the most delicious thing ever, and other days it is so bitter I cant even think about finishing 1/4 of it much less the whole thing? Then sometimes it is right in the middle...not quite as good as it should be, but good enough I can drink it.

I have noticed the guys usually make it better than the women. Maybe it's because I have boobs, but they don't know that until I make it to the drive thru window. Either way, I got my sbux fix today, and now I am pretty sure I can see noises. I drank every drop of a venti frap, at 5pm no less, and now I am pretty sure I will never sleep again.

I have exhausted Etsy and Foodgawker in the past couple of hours. Hardly blinking, just taking everything in deciding what I just CANT live without, and what foods I want to make. My mom thinks I have gone batshitcrazy but HELLO, I was already there. The coffee just made it more obvious, I think.

If you have gotten this far in the blog, you will realize, it is pretty freakin pointless. Thus the title of "Hailz Rambles". PS, I made some bomb ass pumpkin cupcakes thursday night. I would marry myself if I could, just for my cooking. Speaking of which...this baby NEEDS some damn alfredo, so I shall oblige. Hasta la vista, bitches.

Lies your mother told you.

Obviously I don't know what lies your mother really told you. This one is more for my kids. Yes, that's right! Mommies preach and preach about "how wrong it is to lie"...yet we are totally liars. Oh you don't lie to your kids? Santa Claus. That's what I thought.

1. Bell peppers are not really a key ingredient to Pizza Hut's sauce. I just want you to eat your veggies, dammit. If that means I have to blend them into your pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, and random other foods to get you to eat them, I will. I will also lie through my teeth to get you to eat it. But honey, it's for your own good! You're welcome.

2. "I'm going to sell you on ebay!"...Obviously by now (if you are reading this), you know this is a lie. It's illegal! I don't want to spend my days in Martha Stewart's old jail cell defending my virginity....again.

3. There are not hidden cameras placed everywhere in our house, cars, outside, at the neighbor's house, at your Gigi's, Mimi's...or anywhere else really with the exception of restaurants and department stores. I know you're lying because it is written all over your guilty little faces. Never underestimate a mother's knowledge of her child.

Those are the main ones I can think of that I have told you in the past 48 hours. I'm sure there will be a need for part 2 eventually, but you wont be reading this anytime soon, so maybe I will wait until you hit the teen years. I'm betting there will be a whole new set of lies I have to come up with for that precious time in your life.

Oh, by the way...that wasn't lettuce. It was spinach. HA!

B****es love pickles!

So, the pickles actually turned out pretty delicious! I sent a jar home with my bestie friday, and she just took her 2nd jar. Since last night...I have eaten a whole jar. I blame the fact that I am pregnant! They go really well with cheetos, and with grilled cheese. or buffalo chicken sandwiches. the possibilities are ENDLESS! I also managed to make these without making anything explode, catch fire, or giving myself serious burns.

 My mom and mimi are mildly surprised that I took up canning. But hey, its cheaper than buying enough pickles to satisfy my pregnant cravings! Now I want a damn garden. I told them they can be surprised when my sister starts doing shit like this. THAT will be reason for celebration! ;)

 It actually has been quite relaxing doing this stuff. I have been chopping up fruits and veggies and freezing them to go in the kids lunches or just keep them good longer, so this was the obvious next step. I like being a cheap ass in this regard! ;) Why pay $4 at the store for something I can make for less than $2 here?

Just call me Susie.

Susie freakin homemaker, that is. That's right, I'm back. Miss me? I know you did. If you didn't...why are you reading this? That's what I thought. So, since my husband has been home (which is why I haven't blogged in however many months), I've been kinda busy baking...a baby. Recently I decided to take on yet another crazy task...healthy food! Woo! So I decided, hey, why don't I start canning my own stuff? Then I can make a garden! How hard can it be? Well, I am about to find out. So far, I am so fucking confused. I figured I would start easy. I have some...ok, a lot, of extra peaches from our bountiful basket we got. I have read so many ways to preserve these, my head is swimming. So I'm going to do what I do best and wing it. I can do this, right? Right. Challenge accepted. Then Im going to make pickles! And speaking of making pickles...what the HELL is the difference between a regular cucumber and a pickling cucumber? Why do we need special fruits and veggies now? I wanna do something with the shit I have on hand...not go buy 50 pickling cucumbers! So eff the pickling cucumbers. How bad could this possibly turn out? And why do I need all these special tools? A pressure canner? Why can't I put the damn things in my massive pasta pot? Special jar grabbers? Hello, I have tongs! Never fear guys, I am going at this armed with a fire extinguisher and a lot of aloe vera lotion, just in case the peaches and pickles get the best of me. Peace out girl scout!

It's really almost over.

I've been screaming for this day to come since before the day he left. I want my life back in tact. I want to wipe out the last year and pretend it never happened...but sadly, it did, and I can't undo it. Would I, if I could? Honestly I must say...probably not. There's a reason for everything, even if we don't understand it at the time.

I've packed my first suitcase to leave. I have the keys to my new house. I have part of my furniture delivered...I have a 47 inch tv and a damn dvd player waiting on me for fuck's sake...and yet here I sit, trying to figure out what I'm feeling. While it's probably just indigestion from eating real food for the first time in 3 days, I like to think it's more than that. For once in my life I might have finally formed a bond with this town.

Don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of reasons for me to go and I could spend all night listing them. For example, this town is overrun with cocky assholes and bitches. You have to drive 30 miles to buy a bottle of liquor, yet I can walk down my street and get served until I cant stand straight anymore. dubya tee eff F--- county? What is THAT shit all about? I will not miss all the crackheads or running into my exes at walmart.

I will however miss running into my family at walmart...most of them anyway. I'll miss my sunshine yellow room...but who says I can't recreate this feeling in another room in another house? But then we will just move again, so Im starting to fail to see the point in making anything "mine"...each place I go is just a temporary home. I was born to leave, this lifestyle suits me. Doesn't mean I can't cry like a little bitch as I sort my clothes into what to take and what to give to mom piles.

My room looks like it got hit by a hurricane, and it did. My mom says I came into this world a whirlwind, and I'm not ready to quit yet. It's a weird feeling, needing to be free but grounded at the same time so I don't get lost in this world. Not many people understand that, and even fewer can give me that space but hold me so tightly all at once.

Random rambling anyone? Looks like you're in for it tonight. Bear with me, this mother fucker doesn't have fucking spell check and I am typing in a hurry. I can't sleep, no surprise there. Sometimes I feel like I will never really sleep again...then I remember how close I am to having my life back in control.

The only thing you can do for a reckless soul...is love it. My husband does a pretty good job of that one, and we both know how reckless I tend to get. I like to push my limits on a daily basis. I like to test my boundaries and the boundaries of others. Within reason of course, well most of the time anyway. Sometimes I can be pretty unreasonable.

To be completely honest, I can't even fucking remember how I started this blog, and I'm not sure how it will end. Maybe on a serious note...maybe on a sad note...maybe on A minor. Who knows? Who cares? Go with the flow in life. It's ok to fly by the seat of your pants sometimes (that one is directed at you mom). Everyone needs a sense of adventure. We are given new opportunities to test ourselves and find out who we are every single day, even if we think we already have it all figured out. Try something new, dance in the rain, be bold, be daring...be you. Don't let someone else put out your fire or build walls around your heart, and don't do it to yourself either.

Live, learn, and let go when it's time to let go. You'll never live a happy and whole life if you shelter yourself from experiences based on a few mistakes. So live, laugh, learn, and then get Luvs...or Depends...whichever is more age appropriate. The point of the matter is...well, there is no point. Don't take life so seriously. There isn't always a plot or a plan, sometimes you have to follow the music, and if you can't find it, make your own!

While this post might be more rambly than usual and suggest the possible use of drugs, I deny any allegations! Anywho, I guess it's back to packing up my closet and shiz...but I swear the first fuckin spider to jump out at me is getting blow torched hailey style.

For those of you still awake to read this, goodnight, and for those of you who will read this in the morning, good morning! grab your day by the balls and MAKE it be great dammit. You owe it to yourself!

I didn't sign up for this...but I'm not going anywhere.

Something that you never understand until you have to do it...raise a child with any kind of special needs. Whether it's from birth or something that develops later on, this is no cake walk. I have no doubt that some things are harder than others. The term special needs encompasses a multitude of needs. Physical, emotional, mental...all of these are draining for a parent.

No one prepared me for feeling helpless. I thought I was blessed and lucky because I gave birth to 3 "normal" children. No one told me that could change. I don't love my kid any less, anyone who thinks I do can kiss my ass. It's a sucker punch to the gut that my child that was most loving as an infant and toddler is the one that has turned into a kid I barely recognize.

Every week I tote him to therapy, we work on trying to find methods to keep his "good brain" present and his "bad brain" under control. This is not easy. As a matter of fact it's really freaking hard. It's emotionally draining and sometimes I would love nothing more than to bury my head in the sand and let someone else deal with it...but I don't. I can't. I feel fiercely protective of this kid, more so of him than his siblings at the moment, but I'm working on that.

It's a hard pill to swallow, and it would be easier if we weren't living it up military style with my husband gone. My family helps, but no one else really understands. When I look at this kid I see a reflection of myself, but I didn't go through this until my teen years. I think of how hard life is going to be on him as he grows...if it's already this hard now, what is he facing in the future? I buried my head in the sand when my drs first told me 10 years ago that I have this same problem. It was easier then. I don't have that option now. I can't pretend everything is peachy. I have to face his demons...and mine too, for setting a good example is the only way. Denying my demons would be the same as denying his, and it can't happen. It won't happen.

My husband didn't sign up for this. Last night I gave him the option to walk. There's a lot of hard times coming, probably harder than anything we have faced together. I calmly pointed this out, all the while hoping he couldn't tell that I was dying inside from fear that he would take the out I offered him. A lesser man would have jumped at the chance to run. Casey calmly responded to my offer. He told me, "We have already made it through so much. When I looked at you in your room at your mom's house before I married you and told you I'm not going anywhere, I meant it. For better or worse, I'm here. I am not going to leave you."

It isnt every day you find a man brave (or maybe crazy) enough to take on you, your kids from another man, and your crazy ass family. It's even more rare to find a man who gladly takes the role of father to said kids and tolerates attacks from said family. In almost 4 years of being together we have had more things hurled at us than your average couple. Yet here we are, still together, still in love, and still holding on tight through all the storms. How did I get so lucky? To me, this is proof that God does answer prayers after all.

So little man, maybe one day you will read this, and I hope that things are easier for you then. Just always know your dad and I are here for you. For better, for worse, forever.

Wack-a-doodle is the new sane.

Today I came across the following paragraph and I thought to myself, "Self...I could be best friends with this guy. He has a valid point." I think similar things to this every day.

"Okay, I'm just gonna say it out loud. There are times when going crazy looks attractive. And I'm not talking about becoming charmingly eccentric. I've already got that covered nine ways to Sunday. No, I'm talking about purposely emigrating to the land of lunacy. That special psychological zip code where The Ancient Laws of Behave Yourself no longer apply. My "reasoning" is simple. It takes a great deal of effort to sustain a conservative, trustworthy persona. Surrendering that effort would involve, from a Freudian perspective, a conscious dismantling of the super ego - that part of the psyche entrusted with enforcing parental and socially approved actions. And therein lies the allure of going full frontal wack-a-doodle. The constant energy required to pass as normal would suddenly become available for doing and saying whatever pleases me in the moment. Imagine it. The id and libido completely unbound by any and all moral or cultural restrictions. Hmm... Probably won't need the shrink anymore... might need a lawyer."

Thank you Chuck Lorre. However, I would never eliminate my need for a shrink. He's my best friend...literally. I didn't even get billed an hourly rate when he came over to put my elliptical together for me. I think that's a win.

ohhhh shit...the bitch is back

Holy shit balls. Did you miss me? No? Then quit reading. If you did however, read on. It's been an eventful 3 months. I dont even know where to start. We could start with the big ugly C word, and no I don't mean cunt, but cancer talk is depressing and I'd rather move on to bigger and better things. These doctors are trying to turn me into Frankenstein. I think I would make a pretty fuckin hot frankenstein though. Also kudos to my thyroid for trying to kill me (and I know some of you hope it succeeds and you're going to helllllllll for that one), but I've lost 35 lbs now and damn do I look hot.

I know, conceited much? No, just confident. Thus the reason I let my friend talk me into buying this amazing bikini.

Anyway there are so many topics I could ramble on and on about, but I need to sit back and sort them out before I go off on a tangent. And for those of you hater freaks who like to leave nasty comments, they are being screened and I will never see them. ;) Sucks to know you're wasting your time huh?

You know what amuses me? People who like to twist things for their own retarded ass benefit. Pardon me for not being politically correct but i find it is highly overrated. Don't like what someone has to say? Don't fucking read the shit. Seriously, there is a little red ex on the top right of the screen, click it. Im not just referring to you douche nuggets that leave bullshit stuff on my page either.

Something else that annoys me, is that men and women that are fighting for your right to be a complete dick don't even have freedom of speech on their own fucking blogs or anything. And that's without the fuckin govt involved, just friends and family. What is wrong with you people? let your son, daughter, brother, sister, whatever in the hell they are to you express how they feel. beats the shit out of shooting something (or someone) that they shouldn't right?

All you e-thugs out there that think you're hot shit...you're nothing but a pathetic piece of garbage. Real life bullies too. Get some self esteem and stop picking on people you think aren't as good as you. No one is perfect. Do you know how many suicides result from bullying each year? Probably not because you can't remove your head from your ass long enough to see the pain you put someone through. it isnt just them that suffer either. it's their friends and families too. So think before you open your hateful mouth. What you say could just be the straw that breaks the camels back. Do you want that on your conscience?

On a lighter note, here's your food for thought today:
Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes...
There's too much fraternizing with the enemy.