What The......????

See that wet stuff on my car? I'm posting this so maybe someone could tell me what it is. What is THAT????

The headline in our paper today proclaimed the "monsoon season" is here early this year. For you Midwesterners, it's the time of summer when the remnants of weather down in the Gulf Region make their way to Arizona. It's usually thunder, lightning, and wind. But we got sprinkles today. Sprinkles of foreign stuff.

But a quick check of the Weather Channel confirmed what I feared: we're heading into 110 degrees for the next week. R.J. and Brandy, I WARNED YOU!!!!!!

Still No Camera

I have to do a little extra rump shaking in order to get the camera I want. That'll take some time. Until then, I'm using Steve's camera (and he says he WISHES he could give it to me but his boss paid for it...)

Steve's camera is actually the same model as mine but a little bit better. It takes HD video (whaaa?????) and the megapixels are a little better. People have asked, "Why do you need so many megapixels?" But they get their answer when they see the posters we've made from our photos.

Next week, besides the Clapton thing, we are showing some trucks at a HUGE show in Vegas. This will bring notoriety as well as great satisfaction to Steve's boss who has spent untold THOUSANDS on these trucks. But, the show organizers have a rule: One show truck per entrant. That means I have one registered to me, Steve has one, and his boss has one. The one assigned to me is Sneeky Pete. I've posted photos before but here's a reminder...



I am giddy with excitement because this is the first time Sneeky's been shown at such a large venue, and it's going to cause quite a stir at this show. And Sneeky has a REALLY good chance of getting a trophy. So you know who will be recognized? Me. And you know how much of my hard earned dollars have been spent on Sneeky? None. Too funny.

I have to be present, and sober for judging. I've decided to adopt a different "persona" for that portion of the show. I just haven't figured out who I want to be yet. My first instinct is to become my friend Jessi, who has immortalized the attitude of "I do what I want!" I think it would be funny. The judges probably wouldn't.

Mike (Steve's boss) is showing the truck that he's been restoring for several years. It is a 1979 Peterbilt that would normally be worth about $20,000, at the most. He has dumped so much money into it that right now it would have a price tag of about half a million. Ouch. But man is it pretty. And huge. It includes a motorcycle lift and garage, and we tried it out for the first time this weekend.





Interesting, huh?

I Spilled

Steve and I sat at the computer this morning, trying to think of a summer vacation to take the kids. We were looking at activities in Vegas, when Steve came across a link advertising the Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood concert tour. He looked at it and said, "Aww, that would be a cool concert to see."

So I said, "Really..."

Then I gave him his Father's Day present. A card with two Clapton concert tickets. He didn't jump for joy, but I've actually never seen Steve jump for anything...(pesky legs) but he was truly surprised and happy. Never mind that it was a whole WEEK before Father's Day. But I just couldn't keep it a secret anymore. And the timing was perfect. He was looking at concert ticket prices for the summer. So, the Shawnster did good.

He was suddenly inspired. He said more than once, "Man, I NEVER thought Clapton would be a concert I'd get to go to..." and then he started googling other classic rock concerts. Yep, now he's got his heart set on seeing Santana in September.

A room in Vegas and two show tickets comes to $580.00. I think I'll let him save up for that one. Clapton nearly killed me.

This Is Why I Went To College

So I can regularly see signs and banners like this....

Countdown

Rhonda Dude and Brandy Dude are flying out next Wednesday for their first breath of Shawna Air since, well, 22 years ago.
The local newspaper is interested (because people are tired of tragedy) so we're going to well-document the visit.

I will be putting in my request to the Keeper of the Universe, my departed friend Regan, to help me out with the temperatures so Brandy and Rhonda won't melt as soon as their plane lands. Wish me luck. I figure my canary in a box will be a wax candle, so when it melts I know it's too hot for the girls.

Also, I am counting down till the 26th. I purchased those lovely tickets back in March, for Steve's surprise Father's Day extravaganza. I can't wait. It's a concert and it's an awesome one. Can't post what it is, just in case the Steve Dude happens to log onto my blog.

Another countdown is the one for the Whitesnake/Judas Priest concert in August. I got Shay and I tickets for $25 each. Shit, I can't even get a meal at McDonald's for that much. I checked around for other concerts, and Ratt is playing in July. For $75 apiece! WHAT???? I don't think so. I want to Ratt n Roll all night, and so does Shay, but not for that price.
I heard on the radio that Whitesnake and Judas Priest will be wearing their now vintage leather and spandex on stage. So, in turn, Shay and I will be dressing up like Joe Dirt. I already cut the sleeves off my flannel. It's not a real flannel, though, it's Basic Editions from Wal Mart. It's all I could find.

Take That Matt Lauer!!

I've lost all respect for anyone who calls themselves a t.v. personality with NBC or its affiliates, because they have railroaded so many people who really didn't deserve it.
I saw in person how MSNBC was twisting things on live television during the Republican National Convention, and was quite satisfied when I saw the delegation turn on those creeps during convention business. Those reporters looked like they wanted to run. And then once the reporters realized they'd get booed out of every venue, they changed their tune and started REPORTING, not COMMENTING on the story.

The idea that these reporters (who most have less of an education than I do) are suddenly the voices of the American people is just astounding. WHO GIVES A CRAP ABOUT THEIR OPINION????!!!! (Now you may call me Lord of the CapsLock)
Reporters should report the news and then shut up.

Love or hate Sarah Palin (I think I love her) you have to applaud the way she stood up for herself and her family when Matt Lauer questioned her today. Because I won't waste my time watching NBC, I saw it on the internet. Sarah laid into Matt Lauer and I was sitting in awe of her cojones. I wanted to stand up and cheer.
And of course, in true fashion, when Matt Lauer saw he was getting spanked on live t.v., he changed his tune. Suddenly he was agreeing with Sarah. I am sure his producer put it on the teleprompter.

All this latest controversy came from some sexual-related joke Letterman told about Palin's younger daughter. He backtracked afterward and said he wasn't joking about the younger daughter. And Lauer was trying to defend him. What Palin argued was true: It's becoming way too easy in this country for people to say AWFUL things about women and their families, just because those women are in the public eye. Not criticism, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the "shit talk" where it's okay to insinuate incest, or abuse, or sexual molestation with a young girl. WRONG. I'm no angel but I think it's time these older white men (the source of the shit talk) need to be held accountable for what comes out of their mouths.

TAKE THAT, MATT LAUER!!!!!

Post Baja, Feelin Kinda Tired

I only have a few photos of our weekend excursion; on our first night there my trusty dusty camera was stolen right out of my pocket. I took some stuff with my phone, and here's the good ones:

Everyone asks if I'm scared to go to Mexico with all the crime. Not at all! They surround us with quite capable security



Every race, we have the military around us for crowd control, and it is quite necessary. The locals sometimes get a little too excited about the big trucks. But Saturday was especially tight on security because the Governor of Norte Baja was coming for the start of the race. With the drug cartel violence getting worse, the organizers of the race and the Governor's people thought it necessary to really clamp down on the crowds.
Just before the start of the race I was told that a local police officer was kidnapped by a Cartel and his body was found out in the desert. Nice.

This is off road racer Brian Collins giving an interview right before he kindly signed an autograph for me. Shay's got such a cool collection:


I promise to have more photos very soon, Jim and Sunny are emailing me the ones I took with their camera.