Where Else Will You See: Wine, Charity & Bully Breeds?!

Let me introduce you to my little sister Bailey Elizabeth Shaw.

Photo taken and edited by Bailey

She was a gypsy soul with compassion for just about anything from strays to people that were misunderstood or needed some kind of rescuing.  Being the strong-willed person she was I know she would have moved mountains if given the opportunity.  In the months after she passed I heard numerous stories of what she meant to the people who's paths she crossed, and according to them her presence in their lives helped them move mountains for themselves - the adolescents period is a tough place and we are all lucky to make it out alive - I was a heartbroken, but proud big sister in those months. 

Bailey grew up feeling confined by illness ranging from respiratory issues to chronic bouts of cold and flu symptoms, constantly at the doctor or taking breathing treatments.  By the time she reached the age of choice and control she was hell on heals ... or some form of platformed utility boots.  Really gave the ol' parents a run for their money, there literally wasn't an issue Bailey minded fighting.  Not long into her junior year however she found herself up against more than a typical argument over curfew, poor choices, or questionable crowds - she found herself being diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma.  After that Bailey embarked on the fight of her life - she covered the whole 9 yards of the battle field of cancer - radiation, chemotherapy, hospice, thinking the coast was clear, feeling the cancer regain power, acknowledging defeat, and in the end, the end.

Through this great struggle however Bailey was able to shift focus long enough to make an impression of compassion on a boy lost in transit just like her - Allen, who six days before she died became her husband and made Bailey so very happy in love.  He was by her side through so much, but we who know the two of them know that she was right by his through so much as well.

Mr. & Mrs.

Bailey also rescued a beautiful pit bull whom she named Sin; she said popular society would say "it's a sin to be a pit bull" which is why the name was so fitting.  I have to admit, there was a time when I was judgmental of the breed.  Sin was such a source of peace, love and purpose for Bailey during her final year - and she continues to be a reminder of Bailey's compassion and ambitions.  Bailey's love for Sin is the driving force behind this blog and my motivation to keep those compassions and ambitions alive for her.

I am in the process of putting together a fundraising event to be hosted the weekend of Bailey's Birthday in SEPTEMBER 2012! At this event I will be scheduling wine tasting parties for the month of October - ALL of my October commissions on new wine club members will be donated in Bailey's BullysNeedLove champagne name to Love-A-Bull, Inc. Please stay tuned for more information - IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND SCHEDULE A WINE PARTY FOR OCTOBER OR SIGN UP FOR A WINE CLUB MEMBERSHIP IN THE NAME OF THIS FUNDRAISING EVENT CONTACT ME:

VICTORIA.SHAW082@YAHOO.COM

I invite you to look into Ewing's and should you decide you want to get involved or help others dealing with this devastating form of pediatric cancer me and my family would appreciate your support going to The BKM Foundation - they have been a great support to us and numerous other Ewing's touched families.

Is it over?

the holidays have come. the holidays have gone.  back to reality ... jr is passed out on the couch from his friday night date with his boyfriends and i am sitting here listening to pandora and blogging .. what a friday night life i lead .. lol .. but not so much out loud as not at all.

Well this year the holidays brought new resolutions ... (see 2011 new year resolutions page).
A new car!!

well new to me and the inspection is current as is the registration, its not about to break down and its FREE .. thanks Bevie! in the end my mom always has my back one way or another, i owe her pretty much everything i have .. she still drives me crazy - i love you!



A new puppy in the apartment .. as cute and adorable as he is, he has yet to inspire much positive energy in the apartment.

This might be one of the only times Bishop has gone piss
outside ... i had to get a snap of it as a reminder that
it has actually happened.

A new job .. very regular and that is why i love it so much.  Well that and the people i work with are great, probably the best work environment that i have ever worked in .. very non emotionally committal.  feels good not to be emotionally depended on by your boss and co-workers ... haven't had that the past few jobs ... i mean ever.

A new lease on a few barely staying together parts of my life .. thanks again mom.

... and a cold that i am just as of today kicking ... I actually called in sick to work and actually was sick for the first time ever maybe ... thanks for getting me thru tylenol DE Day/Night

HOPE THE HOLIDAYS WERE AS GOOD TO YOU AS THEY WERE TO ME ... MINUS THE COLD.

Oh mom. Maybe you're right ... Damn it.

Above : BEV

I have been running around getting ready for Christmas, job searching, entertaining, going to holiday parties, and doing all of this on the fashionably late time tables i have always operated life from... 

However today, the world is full of so many morons that get in your way everywhere you go, that fashionably late frequently turns into absent which doesn't usually make others very happy.

Anyhow my cousin text me at work and let me know that one of my aunt's was in town with my uncle and their son and his girlfriend, and that they were all going out to eat with one of my other aunts and that i was wanted at that dinner visit as well .. i agree with out taking into consideration that i work 15 minutes w/o traffic, from where they are, and that i still needed to go home and let the chihuahua out, and that there are approximately 8 parking spots in downtown San Antonio ... but this request is no problem for me ... will meet them promptly at 6pm ... i get off work at 5:15'ish on a good day...

fast forward thru my road rage and parking issues... I have made it to the Riverwalk (it is now 6:20pm)

i am stuck behind a geriatric (AKA: huffing a puffing 2 cm from her backside, and loudly mumbling how nice it would be if people would just stop breeding), and her group of friends trying to get up a stairwell on the when i realized: if i wasn't in such a hurry due to running late i totally wouldn't be envisioning this old lady falling down the stairs and pulling her 3 plump friends down with her and out of my way so that i could more quickly get to the top of them ... if i wasn't tearing thru the riverwalk like a bat outta' hell, me and this little old gal could be pals maybe... i might have even been able to enjoy the 2.6 million twinkling christmas lights that had been put up on along the Riverwalk for Christmas ...  hey, much stranger things have happened right?

i loose track of that fleeting moment of womanly clarity when i finally get to the top of the stairs to bow be stuck behind another group of irritatingly slow and stupid people and their 4 dumb kids ...

finally make it to the restaurant, (its about 6:35 at this point) i am meeting my family at and i am out of breath and totally annoyed and...


BAM! i cant help but think... Might i be in a better mood? Maybe even happier to see my family if i hadn't just verbally bitch slapped the elderly and elbowed my way there to make it 20min late? maybe so... These thoughts were quickly dismissed when i remembered that my cousin had just barely text me just a few hours before while i was still at work to even tell me of the dinner.. So really its their fault i was in a rush.
None the less.. After i made it back home and had decompressed enough to reflect on the evening, the scariest thoughts crept into my mind... My mom could have, maybe been right about this whole "Don't dottle, you'll be late." business.... And if she was right about this ... What ELSE could she be right about??!?!?!

WHAT IS A GIRL TO DO?  WHAT IS A GIRL TO THINK?

....

me.

Me.

ME...

ME!

The above pictures illustrate just how traumatizing that notion was for me to come to terms with ...

FIRST NEW YEARS RESOLUTION FOR 2011: Be on time.

The Thanksgiving Day Haven of Glory

To get this beautiful turkey dinner that i have grown up my whole life assuming just magically appeared at my aunts house every year around this time ..  

you must do horrible things .. 

continue through this post only if you are not on your way to dinner .. 

                               

So i am hosting a little Thanksgiving dinner at my apartment ... that's right.  My little sister is coming from Dallas, JR is going to stick around here too, and then my beautiful cousin is coming as well, she may or may not bring her on again off again love of JR's life ..

Anyhow... my mom is quite honestly an amazing cook.  The woman can turn pantry items into some fancy gourmet stuff.  I like to think that one day i too will be this amazing cook and everyone will love coming over to my house for meals and stuff.  I get to thinking, this is my debut dinner!!

I quickly and giddily skip to the computer to google just how exactly i was to prepare and bake a Thanksgiving Day Turkey.  

Below are just a few of the horrific scenes that showed up just  moments in front of me after i plugged in  GOOGLE:  "How to bake a turkey like mom does"

This was actually the first picture that i saw, upon seeing this picture is when i had officially decided that turkey baking just wasn't something that that i would excel at and that i was fine with that realization.  i decided right then and there that i was going to do myself, the poor bird i theoretically would get my hands on, and everyone who would be subjected to my turkey baking pit falls a favor and just not try ...

 The rest of these pictures are just really for good measure so that everyone out there will really understand why i just cannot do this whole turkey bake thing ...

First of all this is what they leave inside for you to pull out of it's ass!!
Uhhhh ... NO Thanks.

Above = Horrifying

I mean really?!

Who the heck ever thought this was a good idea??

Excuse me .. i am to do what now??

This is the stuff that goes in the gravy .. Why?? 

Then you shove the dressing right on up its ass and tie it up with a little bow tie of rope.

So the above process is clearly not something that I am going to be venturing into.  Not this year. Not next year.  Not ever.

I found the Thanksgiving Day Haven of Glory.

i GOOGLED : "Pre-cooked Thanksgiving turkeys"

As i pressed search a beam of light from my track lighting actually seemed to get brighter.  I am sure this was God and not a normal ol' power stream ...

  i scroll down through my search results and this is what i found ...

CLICK HERE & LEAVE BEHIND YOUR THANKSGIVING DAY STRESS & TURKEY WOES FOR EVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER! YOU'RE WELCOME.

IF YOU HAVE AN OVER-ACTIVE IMAGINATION...

DONT watch Gangland and then venture out into San Antonio...

So last night me and JR are watching Gangland, you know the documentary series of all things gang-like and scary.  Anyhow, today i am out and about running some errands for JR, cause i am a super great girlfriend and i do nice stuff like that for him since i have days off during the week ... i notice that there is some traffic on the highway so i decide to stick to the access road.  Totally normal train of thought.  Right.  Only now the access road has created an uncomfortably obtuse angle with the highway, and is forcing me in a direction that is clearly not the shortest rout back home; also, its no longer called the "access road", it actually has a name now, Enter Gangland At Your Own Risk Dr. I mean W. San Jose Ave.  Now this has happened to me several times before since i have been residing in San Antonio, however this is the first time it has happened since i had a little lesson from the Gangland Documentary on what gang tag really means ...

Please Note: You do not want to know what gang tag really means, and you for sure don't want to see it in real life right on the house to the left of you, just a mere 20 ft away.

According to the Gangland Documentary we watched last night, gangs are a very racist people, and also according to what i leaned about gang tag last night, i was driving around in some very serious hispanic gangland territory.   There were double 13's and arrows all over the place (double 13's have something to do with the mexican prison gang called the Mexican Mafia, 'M' is the 13th letter in the alphabet and so there are 2 of them hence the double 13's ... anyways its all very intense stuff), there were even road blocks so that you couldn't go all the way down certain streets.

The look on my face must have been a classic, i am literally just waiting for some gang lord to spot my little silver eclipse with all the 'KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD' and 'Peace: Back by popular demand' etc. bumper stickers on the back of it, and pull me from my car, discover that a white girl is perusing his streets and then god knows what he will do ... in my mind there was gang rape and murder involved ... at this point i am wondering just how much positive leverage my hispanic boyfriend might be, it was his errands i was running remember?  If not for my returning his Apple TV, i would have never accidentally ventured into the 12th Ward ...

This is what i reverted to this afternoon. 

With every turn i feel like i am walking the plank ... i grab my phone  thinking i can mapquest my way out of this situation, but unfortunately mapquest didnt recognize the corner of "Oh f&$#" and "Holy $#&!"  Some how i manage to make enough right hand turns to find my way back to a highway again, Hallelujah, and praise the lord ...

Now i am wondering just how serious Jesus was taking me when i promised that i would stop being judgmental if he would just get me out of there ...

The Khloe Kardashian Episode.

This morning me and JR are a million miles away off of the coast of some amazing beach on a cruise for Non-Smokers only.  AWESOME!  We are having a wonderful time the ship is all kinds of great, i am looking way better in my bikini than any angle of reality could ever make happen.  We are both tan, JR is even in one of those foreign brief swim suite things, not the banana hammock Speedo ones, anyway, it was all very exotic and exciting.  And then JR's phone rings... He answers and thinks i cant here him call this caller person 'BABY'.  WTF!!  Oh Hell no!  He proceeds to tell this "baby" that she can do all the shopping she wants.  Um, NO.  'Baby' cannot shop!  Who the hell is 'Baby'?!!

He gets off the phone.   My heart is beating 1.8 miles per hour.  I am so pisted.  Who was that on the phone??!!

Apparently it was Khloe Kardashian!!!?! 
JR has been cheating on my with Khloe Kardashian!


Shame on you Khloe.

Then I woke up.  Super irritated, but thanking god i wasn't really on this non-smoking only (however that is a great idea) cruise ship with Khloe Kardashian pawing at my man.  **SLUT. 

I proceeded to blink like 20 times, and then i swing my head around as fast as i ever have before i am sure of it, and wake JR up at 7:45am with an elbow to his side and the conversation that proceeded went as follows...

ME: "Do you think Khole Kardashian is prettier than me??"
JR:  Very sleepy eyed "What?"
ME: Both brow lifted as high as they can go, and enunciating as if i were talking to a small child "DO-YOU-THINK-KHLOE-KARDASHIAN-IS-PRETTIER-THAN-ME?!?"
JR:  Totally smiling "Uhh ... Which one is Khloe?"
ME: Hitting him with one of our decorative pillows "DOES IT MATTER??!?"

LOL!!

What I learned ... JR clearly thinks one of the Kardashian sisters is prettier than me, he just doesn't know which one ...

**The SLUT comment was in the nicest possible way of course. You know you're my girl Khlo!

I Am Going To Be An AUNTIE!!

MY BF:

(Follow her blog: www.diaperbagsandfashionmags.blogspot.com

she's alot of awesomeness, you'll love her)

Kelly is HAVING A BABY!!

Please dont ask me why the h%!! im wearing a mini skirt and heals on the moon...

Below are my ideas of their baby room : ) hopefully i will get to help...

Great look... vintage ... modern ... interesting ... eye catching ... LOVE

   

i just cannot WAIT for this little muffin to make his? her? debut cameo!

I love you KELLY KELLY!!