A trip from Heaven & Hell...Get ready this is a long one!

I'm baaaaccckkk! Yeah!!!

First off...Congrats to my fellow blogger Lisa Momma on the arrival of her baby boy! Yeah! I'm sooooo happy for you guys. I can't wait to read the details of everything!

Texas: Love it there. Want to move back there. Food is good there-gained 10 lbs there. CHEAP! Humidity sucks, but I can deal with it.

Heaven: Saw and spent time with all of Joe's side. Love them. Rebecca got to know her grandparents and great grandparents again. Went to Grandma Raley's Christmas party on Saturday night and got to see the whole family. Lots of new babies. It was a lot of fun to see them and for them to see Rebecca. It's a long tradition of theirs for the little kids to get up and sing holiday songs for everyone. And Rebecca got up and sang Jingle Bells and did really well at it too. She was upset to have to give the microphone back though. And it made Joe really proud to see the tradition carried on by his own child. I loved seeing it and getting to experience that part of his life that I didn't know.

Joe's sister and brother-in-law and nephew flew down from Colorado and we also got to spend time with them...that's always nice-to see Rebecca with her only cousin on this side of the family. The grandparents spoiled her...in fact she woke up this morning wanting to go back to her house to jump on the trampoline.

One downfall is Rebecca came down with a stomach virus on Tuesday night and she was 'sick' most of the time there. She was throwing up, not eating, tired, you know the drill. Finally on Sunday she was back to herself again!

HELL: (CAUTION...if you're sensitive to bad language DON'T READ ANY FARTHER-I NEED TO VENT!!!! I don't want to offend those of you I actually care about)!

Before this trip, I had 3 sisters. Now I have only 2 that I claim. OK...so if you read my blog you know that my entire trip to Texas was so that I could go down there and go see my sister get married (and as a bonus-get to see Joes family and my other siblings). She's had a rough last 10 years or so and I am so happy she finally found someone who can put up with her shit and actually stand her. Where do I start? I get in on Monday and go to her house because she lives close to the particular airport I flew into in Houston. I met her 'Fiance' and he's great. Not what I expected since she told me he looked like "Gallagher" (you know the comedian that smashes fruits and has a giant couch). Well it turns out he's actually an attractive man, hard working, has been at the same job for 27 years.

HOLD that thought for a minute (told you I'm rambling). Let me give you a history of my sister. *Former druggie, *been to prison for smuggling drugs across the Mexico Border. *Alcoholic. *Has a great 16 year old daughter who's father was killed in a boating accident on Fathers day about 11 years ago. Then my sister found another man she fell in love with and lived with for about 3 years (+/-). *He went to work one day and died from a heart attack sitting at his desk. That's pretty damn devastating and who wouldn't turn to alcohol after dealing with that?? Well she managed to clean herself up, get dry, get a great job she was at for about 5 years. Got promoted to manager. Bought her first house (as a single mother that's hard to do), bought her first NEW car and life was going good for her. Lived pay check to pay check, but managed to get by happily. Then 2 years ago yesterday, she met GUY. That's his name: Guy. Things have gone down the tube since (NOTE: I AM NOT BLAMING GUY!) This is all her. She starts drinking again, starts wasting her money and not paying her bills, gets fired from being drunk on the job among other things, has to file bankruptcy, gets foreclosed on her house, and to top it off, hasn't paid a car payment in over 7 months and now the bank is filing Theft charges on her, but she still refuses to give the car back and is keeping it in her garage and she thinks its funny. And thinks she won't get in trouble for doing it.

Now a little on my past which plays a key role in how everything went down. I grew up with 2 alcoholic parents who were very abusive to each other. I can't tell you how many fights I broke up between the two of them. And I can't tell you how many fights my siblings must of broke up between them. I had some great moments growning up as a child, but what I remember the most are the bad ones because there were a lot more of them. I could go on, but I won't. So with all of this, I don't like being around drunks-I have no patience with them especially when there stupid and violent. It gives me anxiety and floods me with emotions I can not explain. I don't have a problem with alcohol...I am a social drinker. I too have been drunk at times. Even recently....BUT, I have never let my daughter see me that way-and Joe doesn't drink at all anymore. She will NEVER see me drunk because of how I grew up. And let me make it clear...I am NOT passing judgment on those who do drink or have drinking problems. We all have our issues we have to deal with and we all deal with those issues differently. And I don't think how I deal with them is right and other peoples ways of dealing with them is wrong. We do the best we can.

OK...so I get in on Monday to her house and she's drunk. She's in a good mood and that was fine. It was such a pleasure meeting Guy and seeing my niece Jennifer again. And for them to see Rebecca since it had been 1 1/2 years. It was a good night. So the next morning, get up, get dressed and Janet (Joes step mom/Rebeccas grandmother) called and wanted to know what we were doing and when she could see us. Because I went down there specifically for my sister, I gave my sister the phone and let HER decide what my schedule was since it was all about her. The two of them talked and my sister told me what I was doing. I was to go to Janets house that day and the next day, come back to her place for a bit on Thursday before going to Port Lavaca to see my other sister and my brother. Then on Friday come back to her place and spend the day and night since I had to pick up Joe on Saturday at the airport close to her house. Then Saturday night, go to the Christmas party-go back to Joes dads house and spend the night there. Spend the morning and afternoon there, go back to her house on Sunday evening for dinner and spend the night. Get up, go see her get married, have a good lunch then we head off to the airport. It was a great plan and it was HER plan. So that's what I did. EXCEPT...she did talk me out of going to Port Lavaca on Thursday since Rebecca was sick with the stomach virus and I didn't need to spread it. She was right. Rebecca didn't need to be traveling. So I was going to go on Friday instead. So Friday, she and I got up early, went and had BBQ at Joe's uncles restaurant and then I was going to drop her off and go to PL. Well then she got really sick and I was worried about her and again, Rebecca was not feeling well. So I just called it off and didn't go down there. The day was good and went really well. THEN DOOMS DAY: Saturday morning I woke up. Made coffee, she was in the shower. A little bit later she came out DRUNK AS A SKUNK. Mind you it was only 8 am. She didn't go to bed that night, instead she stayed up all night drinking Canadian Mist-straight. And she was pissed for whatever reason. She woke up my niece of a dead sleep yelling at her things that didn't make sense. She was going to buy flowers for her so-called wedding. I was not going to let her drive so I said "Let me get Rebecca to eat something and I'll take you guys since I have the car seat and we'll do it together". So we went to Randall's which is a grocery store...that has fabulous flowers...to get some. She couldn't walk, got out of the car and almost fell down. My blood was starting to boil, but we continued on. (Also on the car ride there she was totally talking things that made no sense and was kind of combative too.) We go in and she starts bad mouthing the poor girl behind the counter and so the girl gets the manager. She starts bad mouthing him and so I said "We're leaving. Get in the car or you'll be calling a cab to get home." I said very calmly. So we get in the car and say nothing on the ride home. We get in the driveway. I get out, close my door and open the back door to get Rebecca. Before I opened the back door, my sister told my niece "This is all your fault". (Classic drunk...blaming everything on every one else.). Mind you my niece has done nothing but wake up that morning...even that was wrong. Remember my sister woke her up yelling at her. Well my niece kind of whispered that to me that she said that. At this point I had to say something. I told my niece to put Rebecca back in the car and stay with her. I knew that what I was going to say to my sister was going to set her off and that I would be leaving her house because there was NO way in HELL I was going to let Rebecca spend all day in that house with her drunk. So we get inside and I let into her. I said (yelling quite a bit), "That this was no ones fault but her own. She did this on her own and I wasn't going to stick around. She needed to take a nap and sober up before she went anywhere else!" This completely set her off! She started saying that I have done nothing but be with Joe's side of the family since I got there. I haven't spent anytime with her. (Mind you: she told me my schedule). That I thought I was better than everyone else. That I thought my shit didn't stink. That all my brother and sisters and nieces and nephews all hated me. She said that I thought I was Holier than thou and that I sat up on a pedestal...blah, blah, blah. The only other thing I said to her was "You better be glad I'm holier than thou Bitch, because if I wasn't', you'd be on the floor right now, because I would kick your fucking ass!" (and that's true, before I had Rebecca and learned some patience I would have too. I've done it before). And at that point I got all of my stuff, hid her car keys, poured out her liquor and left. I was absolutely devastated. Joe was flying in in a few hours, I hadn't had a shower yet, couldn't go to Joe's dads house because I could'nt get there, get a shower and get back in time to get Joe. I pulled over into Jack in the box and just lost it. Cried like a baby at what just happened. Mainly because I wanted a shower and had no where to go to get one. Then I remembered my Niece just moved there and was close. So I called her, and was on my way out there when Jennifer called me. My sister blamed everything on her and told her to get out and never come back. (She's 16). So I turned around and picked her up and decided I would just get a hotel to take a shower. I did. Went and got Joe and headed to the Christmas party a little later. Just as we were arriving to the party my sister called Jennifer and told her to get home right then or she was coming up to the party to get her. That absolutely flipped my lid because Jennifer called a few times that day to see if she could come home and the answer was no. But she knew what time the party was and it would inconvenience me, she wanted her home then. SO, I called GUY and very politely said " I will be happy to bring her home after the party, but where here already and I can't do it now". In the back ground my sister is still saying to bring her now or she was coming. I said again very calmly "Guy, I'm telling you this right now, if she comes up here and embarrasses me, I will kick her ass then call the cops and throw her ass in jail. Because she has a warrent out for her arrest since she pretty much stolen that car in her garage." He said "Julie I don't' want to get in the middle of it." I said "You don't have to, all I'm saying is what's going to happen if she comes here. I will bring Jennifer home after the party." Needless to say, she didn't come and I did take Jennifer home after the party. She keeps saying that I started all of this and I need to apologize to her. NOT ON HER LIFE! I will never speak to her again, and I didn't go to her stupid wedding either.

I know I've left out a lot of little things, but this is something that has been going on for years that has finally come to a boil. I don't need her shit in my life. As much as it kills me to think I will never see her again, it's for the best. My niece is what matters more to me anyway. She's old enough now that she can make her own decisions.

So that's that. I've wrote a Novel today. Thanks for listening. I really needed to vent!