.......Four Months Later.

Traci, you were going to blog a lot and you were doing so well.....what the heck happened.

Life.

Life happened y'all.

My hectic life has went in 92 different directions - school starts back in T minus 29 days, can I get a PRAISE JESUS! Hallelujah and an AMEN brothers and sisters??!!

I know a lot of you Mama's are WAY better Mama's than myself, just said 'you crazy' and may have even rolled your eyes a little.....one of you even made PFFFTTTT sound (not naming any names <Jessica Dyson>).   I love my babies, a lot - like, more than my right arm or any organ.  BUT for my sanity and their um....well being.  School needs to happen, like, yesterday.  I work from home and its incredibly difficult to work from home when I have to break up a DS crisis every 22 seconds or feed somebody, because, you know these sweet little creatures are like freaking bottomless pits.  Did I mention they get up at the butt-crack of dawn?  Because, they do. E.V.E.R.Y.S.I.N.G.L.E morning.  I love my babies, I love my babies, I love my babies.

SO speaking of working from home.  We sold my hubbies wheelchair on eBay.  Don't worry, it was an extra one, I'm not dragging him around the casa or anything like that you crazy minded people!  He never used the chair because it didn't fit him comfortably and we were blessed by a local church to be given an electric/mobile wheelchair and he desperately needed.  So, basically, the $4,000 chair was going to waste in the basement.  We were hoping that someone would pay top dollar (hahahahahaha cough cough) for it and get us ahead a month in our bills.  A gentlemen in another state (where folks like to retire to) purchased it and made a deposit into our Paypal. This was money that was going to pay the power bill, phones, and buy groceries for the month mind you.....  He takes the chair around trying to find replacement parts, alter the foot plate then says that something needed repairs and finally 12 days later wants to return it.  Um, what?  I of course say NO WAY Jose!  He then says it was damaged in shipping....shipping that cost me $150 but he didn't bother to take any pictures of ANYTHING in order for me to file a claim.  SO what does eBay do?  What eBay always does, freezes your account.  So now, I'm just sitting here, waiting, not making any money, waiting, becoming more and more irritated over the situation and waiting to hear back from eBay with a decision if they are going to force the return or not.  That is my work life - fun huh?  I know you are totes jelly of me at this moment in time!

What else, let's see.  I started a new Facebook page that is totally fabulous, it's called Nifty Thrifty Picks.  On this amazing page I provide folks with information that I have compiled from numerous other sources.  I also will drop a coupon scenario every now and again.  Just trying to help folks save their hard earned dolla.  Let's face it, nothing like working an entire hour just to pay for toilet paper.

I also teach coupon classes - which are so much fun, I just love it, and it is a total blessing.  I don't teach people to buy 2,000 tiny boxes of cereal just so they can rip the grocery store off and have an overage to buy their actual needed groceries only to brag about it later.  I also don't teach folks how to clear shelves and then resell items that they have horded of course, only after charging a cover just to get into their 'yard sale'.  I DO however, teach folks how to keep organized and how to apply different scenarios in order to get the things that their family need for at least half off retail.  YOU work hard for your money, why give half of it unnecessarily to Walmart?? They have enough money as it is!  You know I'm right.

So the kiddos.  Payton is cheering this year, go ahead, pick your jaw up off of the floor.  Haleigh is fired up and ready to go....come on July 21st, hurry it up!  I'm not going to have the privilege of being cheer mom this year because our team that normally consist of two squads (Red and Black) is only going to be one squad since they didn't have the numbers to create two football teams for third grade.  So our coach from last year, the ever fabulous Faireca Bates decided not to coach which meant that I would not be the cheer mom because, we are kinda like, um, a packaged deal of sorts.  I loved it last year and I will miss it this year but it is what it is.  This years coach, Coach Stephanie is fabulous and her team mom Danielle is one of my favorite peeps so, it's all good!  Nonetheless, we are so excited and ready for some football!!

Speaking of football.  Tanner will be on the 70 lb. team again this year but will be a big first grader.  He is so ready to start practice, ready to be a leader.  He didn't get to play hardly at all last year.  SOAPBOX::: He didn't get to play because he was a kindergartner and kindergartners were the 'new kids', so 'no play time for you' kid.  Even though, I paid the same amount of money everyone else did, even though my kid NEVER missed a practice (even though his Daddy doesn't drive and Mommy had to get another one to soccer and another one to cheer - she made it happen), even though he had a great attitude, he didn't get to play.  He was only allowed to practice and only allowed to play for a sporadic play here and there.  Let me ask you....how do you learn to play if you don't play???  Let me ask you....when did WINNING become so unbelievably important that teaching was thrown out the window?  The coaches would rather win than make sure everyone got ample playing time.  This isn't the big leagues y'all, not even high school ball...it was freaking kindergarten.   OFF BOX.  This year, a 50% playing rule has been implemented, if the kid doesn't play the coach will be suspended (as stated by the assistant coach in our first meeting).  Not sure how I really feel about that either.  If a child doesn't show up to practice, doesn't do his best and has a crappy attitude, he should get to play as much as the other kids?  I dunno.  What do y'all think?  Either way, I'm really looking forward to this year.  I have met the coach and his wife, our team mom and they both seem to be very organized, likable folks (and that right there is half the battle y'all)!  I know it will be a great season this year and we are really looking forward to some football!

Well, while I'm sitting here breaking up knock-down-drag-out fights between my sweet little humans, helping the hubby, and trying to keep our heads at least a quarter of an inch above the financial waters.....I'm waiting to hear back from the University of Montevallo with my acceptance or denial letter.  Hopefully, over the next week or so I will know something, one way or the other.  I have exactly half of my classes done and I am so ready to finish this degree.  The Thompson High School Home Economics position became available over this summer and I have just kicked myself that I wasn't ready and waiting for it.  Hopefully, with my culinary degree and a degree to teach from UM, I'll be ready next time.  Everything is in God's timing.  Everything.

While I'm waiting, I'd really like to start a YouTube cooking channel, it's on my mind.  It may happen. Hint hint, wink wink.

I have a fabulous quiche recipe to share with y'all....it'll be posted tomorrow.  It was sooooo good and I'm not even a big fan of quiches to start with but even the non-egg-eaters in the house tore it up!  So good :)

                                                                   Till We Meet Again,

                                                                                       Traci :)

Did I mention I have also had a psycho Facebook stalker that may be crazier than squirrel on crack?  That's another story for another day I suppose.  Night y'all!

The Bear Family

I have to talk about the Crazy Mama Bear that went nuts on the Oklahoma student section.  Before you continue if you haven't seen the video then watch it here first:

So, I watched the video the day after the game.  I need to clarify to all y'all, most Alabama women do NOT behave like this.  Ever.  We might cut you with our words but by no means did this constitute a full on blow out!  I'm sure the BOYS in the OK STUDENT section were taunting the Alabama crowd.  Sure they were.  It is a college football game, that is what you do!  That is just part of it!  Did they take it too far?  We don't know because we can't see or hear what they were doing or saying but my thoughts on it is if Papa Bear isn't getting that upset then it couldn't possibly be THAT BAD.  We all know how Southern Daddy's are, for the most part they will protect what is theirs.  We see no evidence of Papa Bear even beginning to get hostile.  In fact!  He is trying to settle Mama Bear down.  I have to say, at some point Mama Bear is called a 'crazy bitch'.  That would have sent me through the roof if it were unfounded.  Clearly, not so much here.  Disrespectful, yes.....Let me just say this, kudos to Mama Bear for the behind the back slip and slide from Papa Bear.  Sista got moves.

Okay, so the following day Mama Bear issues an apology:

This is from the Yellow Hammer News, January 3, 2014.

'Yellowhammer has learned that the female Alabama fan who flew through the air to attack an Oklahoma Sooner fan during Thursday’s Sugar Bowl is Michelle Pritchett, a local photographer from Sweet Water, Ala.

Yellowhammer spoke with Mrs. Pritchett on the phone this afternoon in an exclusive interview, becoming the first outlet to get her side of the story.

“Everyone’s making me look like such a bad guy,” Pritchett said. “What I did was probably not the thing to do. But they were taunting us. They began by going after me. But then they crossed the line and started taunting my 16-year-old son.”

At that point, Pritchett says she walked over to the Oklahoma fans to ask them to “leave her son out of it.”

The Pritchett family

“It started off being friendly, just us going back and forth about the game,” Pritchett recalled. “But what ended up happening had nothing to do with the game. It escalated. When they said something to my son, I told them to shut their mouths. They were telling my son to come down there and ‘do something about it.’ I said, ‘no, that’s not going to happen. This crap needs to stop.’”

As Pritchett’s husband pulled her back the first time she approached the Sooner fans, Pritchett says one of the Sooners called her a “stupid b****” and that’s when she ran across the aisle and dove on top of them.

“The security people had already gotten on to those guys for throwing bottles at people,” Pritchett said. “When they escorted me out, the security guard told them there was no reason to be pressing charges on me because those guys were out of control the whole game. I defended my son. If they had kicked those boys out to begin with, it wouldn’t have happened the way it did.”

Pritchett said she regrets that things escalated the way they did and said she wanted to apologize to “Bama nation.” Her biggest concern seemed to be what Coach Saban’s reaction would be when reporters question him about it.

“I’m embarrassed. I love The Tide and I apologize to all the players and to Coach Saban and to the entire fan base. I’m sorry. Coach Saban’s going to say ‘those crazy fans don’t know how to act.’ And I wasn’t intoxicated either. I want people to know that. I’d had a couple of drinks, but I was not intoxicated.”

But Pritchett says she’d do it all again if she had to.

“I hate to say it, but I’d do it again if I had to. I’m not going to let anyone go after my son.”

Okay, so, honestly I felt a little bit better after reading that.  She overreacted, she had a couple of drinks, they were taunting her kid.  Whatever.  I'm sure in her 2-drink having mind that she was defending her son but most importantly she was defending her 'Bama Nation'.  Right?  Wrong.  Liar, liar pants on fire.  No sane person especially no sane NON-INTOXICATED person would act like that!!!  Who the hell in their RIGHT mind would....now read this sentence carefully.....BODY DIVE IN THE UPPER DECK!  Please y'all, give me a break.  This woman was D-R-U-N-K.  Well, Traci, you don't know that for certain, some people can't tolerate alcohol.  Well, ya know what??!  If you can't 'tolerate' alcohol then DON'T DRINK IT!  I don't buy the apology....well is it even an apology if your last sentence you say 'I hate to say it, but I'd do it again if I had to.  I'm not going to let anyone go after my son'.  Um, yeah, it looks like your son was going after them crazy.....



Like the youtube comment from Jorel032777 said 'She claims she wasn't intoxicated? You can almost smell the booze in the video. LOL'.....spot on Jorel, spot on.  She HAS to be intoxicated.  At what point does a proper 40+ Southern Belle begin to 'drop it like its hot' completely sober?  It appears she may have spent some time on a pole.  I'm just going to go ahead and say what all y'all are thinking: she gone.

With all that said, you are welcome to form your own opinion which I'm sure several of you will say 'she was just having fun', yeah, having fun for most of the world doesn't mean beating down on the student section at a football game.  Furthermore, how stupid does she look; what a great name she has given the rest of the Alabama fans.  You, Mama Bear are an embarrassment.  An embarrassment to not only myself as a Southern woman but an embarrassment to all the NON-redneck trash talking Alabama fans.  THAT should be the last ballgame you attend.  Ever.  Get a hold of yourself, for the love of God, don't let your lips ever touch another bottle of anything because you cannot handle it.   Also, Mama Bear, there is a reaction for every action......this is your reaction.

May this be a life lesson learned for not only Mama Bear but for all of us!  You represent not only yourself when you are in public but also your family and in the great state of Alabama, you represent your chosen team.  That is one of the great things about being in the South.  Good luck to ya.

                                                                                 GO NOLES!~
                                                                                                        Traci Silloway

~Who goes body surfing in the upper deck.  I mean.  Really.  Insanity.