Counting Down the Days

Happy Stay Out Of The Sun Day and Compliment Your Mirror Day! I kid you not, those are real holidays -- bizarre though they might be, they still count.

Several of my friends are on vacation. Another is leaving on Thursday. I would have been leaving here in just a few days but something came up and I must meet a commitment on the morning of 14 July -- very early in the morning, as soon as the joint opens and then I'm doing my business and I'm gonna sky outta there, check into my hotel and hopefully take a nap before the Dwight Yoakam concert at 9.00 PM. So instead of having a few days away before the concert, I'm having them after. And it's a funny thing because I got an offer last week from the Horseshoe Casino: One free night and a $15 slot coupon. Woo-hoo! It's good for the entire month of July so last Friday I got online, made a reservation for the Horseshoe and I extended my stay another day. So today I'm in Jackson, running a bunch of errands, I see Cindi, I have to get Lovey serviced and I'm gone like seven hours. I get back, feed the horseys and go up to the Big House. Guess what I got in the mail? Yet another offer from the Horseshoe! Another free night's stay and a $10 slot coupon! That's $25! Unfortunately, the free room expires on 13 July -- clearly they're trying to suck me in, get me to come down there sooner! Well ... Are you kidding? Of course I can be bought, and I'd go down there were it not for this thing I have to do on the morning of the 14th. Trust me. But I can still use the slot coupon, but here's the thing: I'm not even really a Slot Machine Girl. I like Blackjack -- but the keep sending me these coupons for slot play and actually, I've not done too shabby. But the offers keep coming in the mail ... It's like And who can resist?

I've had a headache off and on for several days. It's not too bad, it just feels like but otherwise I'm doing well. Maybe I can devote a little more time to my pool even tomorrow! We're cooking out and since it's a holiday I don't think anyone will be trudging around the garden -- which reminds me! You should see all my Sugar Baby watermelons! I can't wait! But Daddy's canteloupe are going crazy. Seriously, there is no way we could hope to consume all those -- fortunately, we have lots of friends who will help us out w/ our little problem.

Have you heard the lastest? NASA gets into the holiday spirit and plans fireworks for the 4th of July -- despite this headline: Impact of Foam Crack On Shuttle Launch Still Uncertain. I heard yesterday on MSNBC a former astronaut say under the best possible circumstances those aboard the Discovery know there's a one-in-ten chance of returning to earth alive and well, but of course they're willing to risk their lives. While I don't understand those odds, I'm perfectly baffled why NASA would let that bird fly if the foam is cracked, and they aren't quite sure what impact it will have on Discovery. If they have a one-in-ten chance of survival when NASA believes everything is working perfectly -- what in hell are they thinking? I guess if she flies tomorrow we'll find out how the cracked foam affected her. Does anyone remember Columbia? If that wasn't horrifying, I can't imagine what was. Tune in tomorrow at 1.37 PM Central time. That's liftoff for Discovery.

Once upon a time, Son of Sam bought Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl and even though it starred one of my favorites, Johnny Depp I was no more interested in watching that than I'd enjoy shaving my head. Finally he talked me into watching it and I loved it! Okay, all of this was a little unnerving at first but I loved the movie so much I bought the same DVD except it's the collector's edition, a 2 disc set. Next is the release of and we can only hope that will answer the question we've all been asking: Yeah, baby! Johnny Depp is soo gorgeous! And don't forget another holiday: 19 September is Talk Like a Pirate Day. It's a fact, it really is! But it's more like Barbosa than Captain Jack Sparrow. Did you know Johnny Depp actually has a sparrow tattoo that's visible in the movie? Check it out!

Finally, if you're traveling around Tennessee over this four day holiday beware! Friday and today I saw so much law enforcement I lost count of the vehicles. And Tennessee takes traffic and holidays very seriously. Don't believe me? Observe:

See what I mean?

Later~