Read. Write. Mom!

There’s A Hurricane for Real, Y’all? #Isaac

Posted on August 26, 2012January 10, 2016 by Mandy

Perhaps it’s because I’ve been cooped up inside all day with a seven year old with the stomach virus and suffering from lack of sleep, but it just occurred to me today that hurricanes really bring out the….I’m struggling here for a word because the ones I want to say sound too harsh….. “lack of logical thinking and reasoning” in people.

I follow several weather and news outlets on Facebook, simply because here in the Mississippi Delta we’ve had our fair share of terrible storms, threats of river flooding (last year), and just to stay informed in general. I can’t stand not knowing what is going on around me and the world in general at all times. I also follow all of the Mississippi Gulf Coast news outlets because I have friends and family there and when hurricanes threaten the coast, again, I want to be informed. I still shake my head in disbelief at how very much Katrina changed the geography of one of the places I love most in our state, not to mention the lives there.

So today, while reading comments on several updates from the national and local weather outlets on Facebook, I was floored to see people asking the following.

“I live in a trailer…should I leave?” (after possible 100 mph winds were predicted)

“I don’t know where to go. Where can I get info?” (asked the person with internet access and brains enough to be on Facebook)

“Do what? A hurricane is in the Gulf? For real?” (Yes, for real real.)

“I hope it heads straight for Mexico and insert racist comment here”. (Don’t EVEN get me started….grrrrr…..)

And my personal favorite….

“I’m really disappointed that you all didn’t cover the local high school football game highlights more last night. Anyone know who scored the winning touchdown for ________?”. (Because we all know that covering high school football games on the Gulf Coast should take precedence over an APPROACHING HURRICANE. *deeeeep breath*)

I don’t know why any of this shocks me, really. And before you pick on those people asking those questions for “being from Mississippi”, one for sure was in Florida and another in Alabama. We have to be fair about this, ok?

Also? There’s quite a big following for Hurricane Issac, a page on Facebook updating people on the hurricane’s track. As best I can tell, it’s run by an amateur weather enthusiast. And yes, the maps taken from other news stations and NOAA and the updates are somewhat helpful, but what floors me the most is that people are trusting this as a reputable source for information. The best part? The page’s owner(s) misspelled the name of the storm. It’s Isaac, NOT Issac.

I suppose I should just be glad people are getting information on this storm anywhere at all after reading the above comments.

Shaping Up Our Finances With Adaptu

Posted on August 25, 2012January 10, 2016 by Mandy

We’re ending the first month of the Adaptu Financial Shape Up Contest and as far as saving for that summer vacation next year goes, it has been a very slow process. We’ve had a couple of financial hurdles to make this month and it has really slowed down our progress. However, Adaptu has been extremely helpful even through this and it’s just another reason it’s such a great site for learning to manage and save your money.

The first thing that threw a kink in our finances this month is that my paycheck went from twice a month to once a month. I knew this was going to happen, but I assumed it would start at the beginning of September. So of course, when this took place during the middle of this month, it caught me off guard. Thankfully, my husband is paid weekly, but he drives a truck, so his salary is never the same each week. If you’ve ever tried to budget when your salary varies, you can understand how difficult that is. Adaptu has an excellent article that was extremely helpful to me on how to budget when paychecks vary. I highly recommend this reading to anyone in this same situation.

And? Our car had to have some air conditioning work. I would have put that repair off if I could have, but it will be 80- 90 degrees here in Mississippi well into November, so it just couldn’t be avoided. My husband and I joke that anytime we save up money, it is guaranteed something will go wrong with the car. It’s not so funny anymore. We’re possibly looking at having to buy another car in the near future, and that alone almost sends me into slight panic attacks. I like not having a car payment.

So, even though this month was pretty much a wash, I’m still learning more about our finances through Adaptu. There’s still a few more days to enter the $50 giveaway from Adaptu that I am hosting here on my blog. Be sure and check it out.

I am participating in a compensated blogger campaign for Adaptu. All opinions are my own.

Celebrating My Birthday With Duran Duran

Posted on August 20, 2012June 24, 2021 by Mandy

It started this past April. My high school friend “E” sent me a private message on Facebook telling me Duran Duran would be performing in Memphis on August 17, three days before my 38th birthday. Did I want to make plans to meet up and go? Umm….I had to think. Stay home on a Friday night OR meet up with great friends and FINALLY get to see the band I have loved, loved, loved (and still do!) and wanted to see in concert more than anything in the world since I was 8 years old. Hmmm….decisions, decisions.

OF COURSE I SAID YES!!!!

We bought our tickets in early May and waited….and waited….and waited.

I can FINALLY say this Duranie has seen them live in concert now and they sounded just as amazing as they always have. No lip synching, no crazy auto-tuning. Just Simon LeBon with his amazing voice and the boys singing and playing their hearts out.

Here’s the set list via Duran Duran’s Facebook page of the songs they played that night:

So my husband, my friends “E” and “S” and “E”’s friend “K” rocked out for 2 hours. It was an outdoor concert held at the Memphis Botanic Garden and while the weather was perfect, we had to sit pretty far back from the stage as the best seats went to season ticket holders. However, they had two or three huge screens broadcasting the concert, so I never felt like I didn’t get to actually “see” anything even though we were so far back.

(The view from our seat)

However, we did have some quite RUDE women a little ways in front of us who did not sit down the entire concert. You had to either bring a lawn chair or stand for this venue, and they chose to stand. In our way. A whole lot. Despite attempts by hecklers behind us yelling for them to sit down and similar requests from the volunteers working the concert. By the time the band started playing “Hungry Like The Wolf”, everyone was on their feet in frenzied excitement anyway. I decided not to let them ruin it for me.

Naturally, someone with my devotion to Duran Duran should have been sitting front row and center. However, I took what I could get and had SUCH an amazing time. I danced, I sang, and I partied like it was 1982.

The hilarious part was Saturday morning when I woke up. We chose to drive home from the concert, which is 2 hours away. Not a drop of alcohol was involved in this Duran Duran experience, but I slept in until 10:45 A.M., woke up for about an hour, and slept some more until 5:30 that afternoon. I felt like an 84 year old woman. Long car rides after a long day at work, a hike from the parking lot to the gardens, and standing up for a long time swaying to music and singing my heart out plus rheumatoid arthritis does not mix well for me, apparently.

But it was SO worth it. I cannot believe I finally got to see DURAN DURAN in concert!!!! (!!!!!!!) and (!!!!!!!).

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best. Birthday. Ever.