Mosquito Coats at Grub Fest

Since the beginning of Summer I have had a constant barrage of attacks from mosquitoes. Usually I fall prey to their blood thirsty cravings, but this year it has been exceptionally bad. I'm not sure if it has to do with all of the water that we've been getting, which is now standing all over the place, or if the mosquito's are just out to get me--probably both. At any rate I've counted over 20 bits on my left leg and ten on my right. The only time that I'm not wearing two shirts (I've been wearing a T-shirt under my shirts since college, yes even T-shirts!) is when I'm asleep and wearing my T-shirt and pajama pants...well I've had two bites on my back! Those blasted, nasty little buggers bit me through my shirts!


I can hardly step outside that I'm not immediately attacked. I feel them dig in and start swinging. I think I might know what it feels like for someone to go crazy because it's all I can do to hold it together when those things are all swarming and buzzing around. I've tried all of the repellents and none work. there might be some kind of home remedy that I've not tried but I've tried all over the counter contemporary preventions none of which work. Short of being dipped in DEET I've tried everything. I'm very anxious to ask the good Lord why on earth? Why? I can handle a lot of things, but mosquito's! I'm out! How long I will have to wear my mosquito bite coat I don't know. I my start wearing a bee keepers suit, but they will know a way around that one too!

We went to Fort Worth for Road MaP and had a great time this weekend. The charter bus was really nice and very relaxing. Not having to worry about driving is wonderful. I thought I might lose it as we arrived because nothing was ready for the arriving groups--no information. Not one question that I asked was answered and I kept getting these ambiguous waves toward directions that I needed to be headed. Since I was representing everyone on my bus I had to have the information when I couldn't get the information I got frustrated. A few deep breaths later it god organized. Turns out it was all good once the ball dropped and everything worked really well and smooth. I had my doubts and reservations however.


We were able to see a lot of friends that we miss. It's amazing to see how much they have changed when your brain is telling you that nothing is different even though one year has passed. Teensy was the big hit, naturally, and everyone was so excited to see her and actually touch this miracle they had been hearing about. Levi was second runner up since he had changed as well, he was only three months old when we left Fort Worth to start our move to Tulsa.


On the bus ride home we stopped at Dairy Queen. For those of you who don't know about Dairy Queen, it is a very popular Ice Cream store in Texas and the south west. I had one in Missouri growing up and know they were in Kansas, Arkansas, Texas just not sure how much they spread out. They have a full line up of burgers, dogs, steak sandwiches, fries, etc. But their claim to fame is the ice cream treats they come up with. Robba and I used to go to DQ to get a Peanut buster Parfait, mine hold was always hold the nuts, Robba ordered and would, "say I'll have the nuts you would put in his." We made a great team.

DQ's are not known for their efficiency or their cleanliness. Most are small town establishments that only locals frequent. I always feel kind of odd because you get a lot of blank looks and stares as if you were purple and wearing a yellow polka do suit. There is usually a team of teen agers trying to run the place with one very over worked manager making everything happen. I have yet to be in a DQ that someone doesn't call from "home" and want to talk to an employee about bringing home something. We are talking small...SMALL town. Some DQ's I've been to have the locals coffee mugs hanging on the wall so they can come in for their coffee and drink it out of their own mug. I had the new Kit Kat Blizzard and well...DQ can be as dirty and alien fraid as they want as long as they can pull that kind of stuff out of the place! Soooo goood! The employees were totally freaking out because a charter bus had just pulled up, I'm sure they were convinced that the whole bus was going to order food. They have things like: The Belt buster and Dude Combo to tempt your taste buds!

We stopped in Paul's Valley for dinner and the majority of the bus wanted to stop at KFC/Taco Bell. I would NOT have voted on that at all! I'm out on the whole combined restaurant thing simply because the smells never go together well. This establishment had a buffet. I am fundamentally opposed to buffets and especially buffets run by fast food giants who don't do quality as well as they do quantity. The worst thing on the whole spread (everything was either deep fried, yellow or white) was the KFC macaroni and cheese mixed with the Taco Bell taco meat filling! Buzzards on the gut wagon were turning their heads...pausing for a brief moment to contemplate the option and returning to the gut wagon. It was just all so disgusting and unmanned by the employees who were scrambling to get the orders filled by the drive through and counter help. Just gross! Buffets would be banned from the world, there are few exceptions to this rule--FEW!

There was one man grazing on the buffet spread who looked as if he had either worn the same clothing since the new year, or had been mowing a 40 acre yard with a push mower in the blistering heat. You could smell him coming, I'll just say that. At any rate he had this cough and a thing with his nose (he could have been a bugger farmer, ok!) and touched the tongs to retrieve his starched or fried goodies. There is no way in the world that I'm going to follow up my trip to the buffet and touch the tongs after that kind of defilement. No way.

I regretted my choice of food and have vowed to never frequent a Taco Bell again. I'm just done all done, thank you very much but I'm done. I remember the days when we went to Taco Bell and I could see the huge kettles of meat cooking away, fresh and the beans being mashed in house. Now all of that comes frozen from the factory that makes it and all you have to do is reheat it and serve it up. I'm out.