Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all of you! It's not quite midnight on the east coast, but 2006 is quickly approaching. I hope each of you have a safe and wonderful 2006!!

The Stupidity Award goes to...

This kid. Hi, Mr. 16-year-old from Ft. Lauderdale. This is the real world calling, and we've got a very important message for you. You are an idiot. Simply havng Iraqi-born parents does NOT make you one of "them", and walking into a war zone as an American (minor) citizen could have gotten you killed. These people have no problem killing their own innocent citizens, so chopping the head off a US kid would be no skin of their nose.

A note to his parents, he's only 16. HOW THE HELL DID HE MAKE IT OUT OF THE COUNTRY WITHOUT YOU KNOWING?? I couldn't have made it across the state line without my parents finding out, let alone get a passport AND a visa, buy a plane ticket, and FLY TO A WAR ZONE! Where were you on this one? I hope he's grounded for a long time. My parents would have kicked my ass if the police had brought me back to the house, let alone the 101st Airborne of the US Army!

So, in honor of this incredible act of stupidity and incompetence, I am awarding Hassan family, of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, the Stupidity Award of 2005. Congrats!!

Fact or Quack?

I went for my second visit with the chiropractor today. This was where we went over my Xrays, and discussed treatments. We're paying out of pocket for this care, since Tricare is still in the Dark Ages, and any "alternative" medicine is not covered. Well, after 6 months of excrutiating pain, and countless bottles of Motrin and Tylenol, I'd had enough with MDs, and booked a consult withthe chiro. Um, to put it mildly, my shit is fucked up. I have whiplash in my neck, pinched nerves in 4 different areas, arthritis in my cervical and lumbar disks, and a whole plethora of other things a 23 year old should not have.

When we went over the Xrays today, (N and I both went, so we could all discuss it) the doc said "Are you SURE you haven't had any traumatic injury? Falls, bad car accidents, that sort of thing? The damage and degeneration here is far too advanced to be just from normal wear." I was certain there were no incidents, until N said "What about car wrecks with your ex?" You see, my ex was not the most cautious driver, and had wrecked his car quite a few times during the first couple years of our relationship. I was all "Nope, I wasn't in the car for most of his wrecks, except one small fender bender, barely a tap really. OH.... SHIT! I was!! I was with him when he totalled his VW into the back of a Suburban. Ohmigod! How could I have forgotten about that?!"

It was totally bizarre to see the damage from an accident I had forgotten about. I never even saw a doc after that accident, I felt fine, save some bruises on my knees and head. All this time I've been in pain, and never would have thought about that (among other things) being the cause. So, anyway, the treatment is costly, since it's not covered by insurance, but I had my first realignment today, and felt like a whole new person. I honestly cannot remember the last time I could sit up straight without lower back pain, or turn my neck without a shot of pain down my side. That is totally worth every penny, but I still want to kick someone's ass at Tricare. They'd better be careful, a couple more alignments, and I might feel good enough to do it.

Gifts!!

My doorbell rang this morning, and since I wasn't expecting anyone (especially not anyone who rings the bell) I cautiously opened the door. Our "substitute' mailman was standing there with a box from...
MY CORI! You see, whenever we haven't talked in a while (like more than 12 hours) we get all excited and say "I MISS MY CORI!!!" "I MISS MY CRYSTAL!!!" (editors note: I spelled my own name wrong at first, typing "Christal" Wow, I need a nap!) So, the return address said "Your Cori!!!", and I almost jumped up and down with excitement!! Inside were the coolest gifts. A card that has a "Leave it to Beaver" type mom and kids, and reads "I love my rotten, ungrateful children", an old book (she found it at some library, though I'm not really sure where) called "Crystal is my Friend", a Bad Taste Bears keychain from England, and a mini Tamagotchi. I had mentioned in passing that I had one in HS, and really wanted another, as childish as that sounds. So, Cori is the bestest friend ever, and found me cool and unique gifts for Christmas. Of course, I'm now worried that the Tinkerbelle purse I got her was lame, but what can you do? Thanks, Cori!!!

Brain eating monster

Have you ever been so stupified by something on tv, you've actually been rendered incapable of changing the channel? Yeah, it happens to me more than I'd like to admit. The radio is equally bad, I often find myself wondering why in the hell I'm still listening. Tonight, when I turned the TV on, Jimmy Kimmel's show was on. He had sent his aunt out to some KROQ event, where she was accosted by drunk idiots, and plain ol' idiots like Steve-o. Meanwhile, I'm reaching the point where I start drooling on myself, because all of my brain cells have run away. Suddenly, I remember that I have the magical remote, and the power to save myself before it's too late. Of course, I'm watching the Cosby Show now, because channel surfing is out of the question. If you find any little cells running around, they're mine, please don't step on them.

The basis of America

Breezy and I have been having a discussion on the phrase "Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas. I thought I would open it up in a separate post, so we could all chime in. He states retailers in America should say "Merry Christmas" because American is mostly Christian and founded on Christian beliefs.
I say we should say "Happy Holidays", because many religions celebrate holidays during the Christmas season, we should be tolerant of ALL religions, and our country was founded by Christians but for the purpose religious freedom. We left England because we were being religiously prosecuted. The founding fathers wrote the 1st amendment to protect ALL religions, not just Christianity. It has nothing to do with being "PC", and everything to do with respect for others. One cannot tell just by looking what religous background someone has. For example, I was teasing Breezy, and told him he assumed I was Christian. My maiden name is Jacobs, I have Eastern European facial structure and coloring, I could very well be Jewish. (I'm not saying that to be offensive, I have been asked more than once if I'm of Jewish faith) I'm not, my coloring comes from Southern Europe, my ancestors who first came to America were Dutch and English, my mom's dad was Irish. We were raised Methodist, and I converted to the Baptist church as a teen, but have since left the church.
Ok, say you want strictly adhere to the religion of our founding fathers, as Breezy's argument suggests. They were Quakers. That means the ONLY acceptable sect of Christianity in America is Quaker. The Catholics, Protestants, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, and other denominations of Christianity go against the basis of our country. You cannot have your cake and eat it, too.

So, I open this up to all of you, discuss amongst yourself. Breezy, since the discussion was originally between us, I open the floor for a rebuttal. You can post it in comments, or email me, and I'll post it here.

To each and every one of you

Happy holidays, and a safe and prosperous new year to all of you. I've enjoyed getting to know each of you, and look forward to all of the things the new year will bring us.

Apprentice Fireman

We just got a call from the newest Apprentice Fireman in the US Coast Guard. Jake graduated basic training today!! He's coming to see us about 2 January, on his way back to TX from Indianapolis. We're very proud of him, and excited to see the "new and improved" Jakey!!

Magical Christmas

Kim posted a story about how INSANE her parents are, and the great lengths they went to to keep the magic of Santa alive. Her story blows mine out of the water, so be sure to go read it.
Growing up, my mom and I lived in an apartment above my grandparents' house. We obviously did not have a chimney, so I remember questioning how Santa would get in. Mom explained that Santa knew we didn't have a chimney, so she left the front door unlocked, with a note for him to come in. (We lived in the country, locking doors was not common anyway) Ok, I'll buy that for a dollar, but mom decided to take it one step further. We had a very evil cat, he usually slept on my pillow (and bit my head when I moved) but he would often get up to prowl the living room and destroy whatever he can find. On Christmas Eve, mom sprinkled glitter and cookie crumbs on the stairs, and some puffs of cotton in the living room. I awoke on Christmas morning to find the mess, and wonder what happened to Santa. My mom explained that Santa must have startled Blackie (our cat, he was solid black, and I named him when I was 5. Cut me a break.) must have startled Santa, and scratched his suit, leaving some of the fluffly cotton from his cuffs behind. He left in such a hurry he was eating his cookies on the way out the door.
I ate it up, because mom's word was gospel, but looking back, my mom is a horrible liar! I can't wait to see the sparkle in my childrens' eyes when the magic fills their hearts, I hope that we can make each Christmas as special as my mom did.

Father Time

Has anyone else noticed how fast the year has flown by? Seriously, I feel like it was just last Christmas, Maddie was in a cast, we were barely scraping by, Nate and I had just gotten married, and we were fighting with the Army to let him back in. We've made it so far in the past year, in every facet of our lives, and I'm eternally grateful for that. However, if time could just slow down a teensy tiny bit, I wouldn't complain. My children are growing too fast, my life is moving too fast, and I'm not prepared at all. Do the years actually get shorter as you get older? If life is this fast at 23, I'm terrified of my 40s.

Hand Eye Coordination Test

This is pretty cool, I guess all those years of video games finally paid off. Give it a shot!

Just wondering

Have you ever put Chapstick in your chapped, cracked nose, because you couldn't find any vaseline? Yeah, me either. I hate winter!

Awesome gifts

We received my parents' Christmas gift to us today, a 6 piece luggage set. I'm totally excited, it's the perfect gift for newlyweds like us, and it's going to come in handy for our trip to NJ in March. So, what's one of your favorite gifts? On the flip side, what "perfect" gift have you found for someone? I usually struggle with gift ideas, so when I do find a "perfect" gift it makes my whole day!

Sins

We had a wonderful time celebrating our anniversary last night! "Walk the Line" was an awesome movie, totally worth seeing! The original plan was changed on the spur of the moment, and we drove out to Topeka to go to a casino. I'd never been to a casino before, so it seemed like a fun idea. We didn't make it out there until midnight, and stayed until nearly dawn. Driving back was *real* fun since it had started to snow. Anyway, we're recooperating today, and definitely had a night to remember.

To my husband

Happy anniversary honey, I love you. Here's to many, many more.

5 random facts

Becky tagged me with the 5 random things meme, so here goes.

1. I used to play the flute. I wasn't ever very good. I couldn't even remember how to play the scales when I went to visit my parents in 2003.

2. I have to sleep with socks on, and I have to rub my feet against the sheets to fall asleep. In all honesty, I change my socks about 3 times a day, I'm a little OCD about them.

3. I learned to waterski at age 7. My grandfather bought me skis and drilled holes in them, so he could tie them together while I learned.

4. I love the ocean, and hate lakes. Lakewater grosses me out.

5. I didn't go on a rollercoaster until I was 12. I was terrified, and it took 2 tries before I actually stay in the seat and rode the coaster. I'm a big wuss.

Nate's home!!!

A fielding during the holiday season is always a crappy idea! I have way too much to do already, and N not being home was not helping. Anyway, I got a new haircut today, I'll take pictures tomorrow. Even more exciting (for me) I finished my Christmas shopping!! Now I just need to get to the post office and mail the gifts going out of state, and I'll be good to go. The downside? I'm STILL not done with the kids' playroom, and I totally need to get my ass in gear. I'll work on it again tomorrow, I swear!! Maybe my neverending headache will finally go away if I get that damn room finished. Anyone know where I can find some elves??

Not surprising

It's hard to believe this is even news, I assumed it was common sense. The conservatives keep saying the economy is doing well, but apparently they don't care about the low income citizens. Kanye West made a lot of people mad saying "George Bush doesn't care about black people." I think the more accurate statement is "The government doesn't care about poor people."

For our anniversary

N and I will celebrate our first wedding anniversary on Friday. When we got married we were B-R-O-K-E, and our rings reflect that. Mine still isn't sized to my ring finger, and N's has taken a beating, so we decided to buy new ones. Here are our new wedding rings, N's will be here tomorrow!





Update: I gave N his ring tonight, because he apparently already knew I bought them. Um, I don't know how I ruined that surprise!! Anyway, he LOVES it, it's lighter and fits better than his old ring, so he's happy! I can't wait to get mine!!

Execution

First let me say I am a supporter of capital punishment. Many of my fellow liberals are not, but I think there are many crimes that deserve such a fate. The execution this morning of Stanley "Tookie" Williams has caused uproar from both sides of the fence. He maintained his innocence until death, but the reality is he was the founder of the Crips, a lethal street gang that has killed many. Even IF he did not kill the 4 people he was convicted of murdering, one can say with almost certainty he has taken the life of at least one person in his gang years. Do I think he redeemed himself? Yes and no. He had done wonderful things to promote peace and denounce gangs during the final years of his life, but he also supported murderers like Mumia Abu Jamal, and the message of hate and racism they spread.
Do I think Tookie should have been executed? No. The only reason I feel he should have been granted clemency is the message his execution sends. He tried to turn his horrible crimes and the violence he started into a message of peace. Killing him shows young people who are headed to that decision, whether they join the gang or do something better for themselves, that no matter how hard you try to redeem yourself, the "man" will get you. These young people already distrust authority, and it's easy for gang members to plant the seed in their mind when they see how the authorities handled this case. Why bother obeying the law when you think it won't get you anywhere anyway? I'm not saying the mentality is correct, just that it's real.
Now, back to Mumia Abu Jamal, he's a Black Panther, and has been convicted of murdering Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. I think they should fry his ass from here until next week, not because killing a police officer is worse than killing 4 civilians, but because he has made no apologies for any of his actions, and continues to spew forth hate and racism from Death Row. (He is now serving life in prison, apparently a judge overturned his death sentence conviction). That's where I stand, in case you were wondering.

Shameless plug

My sexy, wonderful husband has a MySpace account, and asked me if I'd give him a shameless plug. He keeps in touch with his brothers and friends from his hometown there, and would LOVE to have my awesome readers head over there and leave a comment or two. So, go on... check him out, tell him how awesome he is and remind him he is OH SOO LUCKY to be married to me. ;)

To Yeida

My empanadas just don't taste as good as yours. Can I hire you to be my empanada maker? The pay sucks, but I make a mean lasagna! Love ya!

I do not love thee

I had to get up at 5:45am to take N to work, because he is going to the field today, and I needed to keep the van. It's been a while since I had to get up that early on a regular basis, but one thing has not changed, I hate 6am. What is there to love about the ass crack o' dawn, especially in the winter? It was cold, and dark... people are cranky and drive like assholes. I have so much respect for my husband and his ability to get up early, and actually function. I'm so NOT a morning person, and I'm grateful he works so hard to spare me that alarm clock. You know you're in bad shape when Coke won't wake you up, I think I'll need a DoubleShot by midday.

How old is too old

To have a baby? I belong to a message board at a fertility charting site, and there are a bunch of women who are in their late 40s, and early 50s that are trying to conceive. One woman has 10 kids, and at age 52 is trying to have another. From the sound of her posts, her husband is not thrilled with the idea, he's reluctantly supportive at best. How old is too old? I think at 52 it's a bit unreasonable, you are at best beginning menopause, and pregnancy can be dangerous. My mom had my brother at just 36, and it was much, much harder on her than her pregnancy at 18 with me. What do you think? Would you be actively trying to have a baby at that age?

I love you guys!!

I love coming here, posting, and getting such awesome comments. Meeta so graciously offered assistance in figuring out what to get my parents, and sharing her crafty ideas. And of course, the wonderful (and famous!!) Michele offered up one of her "favourite" (I love the "u" Canadians put into words, it seems so natural to me!) gift ideas, which happens to be PERFECT for this situation! Seriously, if you don't know and love these 2 beautiful ladies already, you need to go visit them!

Bring your ideas!

I want to get my parents something cool for Christmas (which is also mom's bday, ACK!) and am on a budget. We're going to visit them in March, but I wanted to send something special to them for the holidays. I have NO CLUE what to send! Any ideas? It can be crafted or store bought, as long as it's not boring. Help me out here, the clock is ticking!

**Sigh**

This is too freaking cold! In case you were wondering, it feels like -8. Fun!!

Moving right along

For those who were wondering, I'm not pregnant. (Hi mom, don't worry, I won't announce a pregnancy to my blog before telling you guys. Promise!!) So, that's that.
It's been snowing here, it snowed all day yesterday, and most of the night. We took the kids out to play in it, they had never been in real snow before, had only seen flurries a couple of times. They LOVED it!! We had to drag them back inside for hot chocolate, and they still wanted to play some more. We made snow angels, and "snowballs" (the snow was too powdery and light to stick together, so it was more like handfuls of snow). The kids wanted Daddy to make a snowman, but the whole not sticking thing ended that endeavor. Really, it was fun all around, other than the snow down my pants from making a snow angel!
We got a few inches, hard to tell how much exactly because of the wind, but I shovelled the walk with about 2 inches, and another 2 fell after that, give or take an inch. It's expected to stay around, since temps will range from the low single digits to the mid-20s. Yay!!! *eye roll*
So, how are you doing today? Got all your Christmas/Holiday shopping done?

Yay!!!

Can I get a round of applause for my husband, who aced his promotion board today? He received nothing but compliments from the board, and they've asked him to go for the Audie Murphy Club, Post Soldier of the Quarter, and Post Soldier of the Year, as well as other honors. I'm so proud of him!!

Update: He was awarded Soldier of the Month for his unit! The Sergeant Major raved about his performance, and said he would have awarded him NCO of the Month at the same time if he could. :)

Um...

I think we have a problem with Loki. She's spayed, not to mention she's a GIRL, and she just humped N's arm. Like, full blown, going to town, just swallowed some Vi@gr@ humping. Perhaps we need to sit her down for a heart to heart.

Consider

How horrible would it be to eat 5 warm, gooey brownies. This is purely hypothetical, of course, I'm only asking for scientific purposes. How many hours at the gym might one have to put in to burn off all those calories? Do you think eating the rest of the brownies would burn off the calories from the first five? This ought to be a Harvard study.

Feels like 6

His father's son

N is definitely a "Type A" personality, and he has passed some traits onto our boy. Shane is more than a little OCD, one of his favorite complaints is "My shoes are dirty!!" So, I wasn't remotely surprised when I walked by him this morning, and noticed he only had two colors of Fruit Loops left in his bowl. A few minutes later he had only one color left. My 3 year old son eats his Fruit Loops by color. If that isn't anal, I don't know what is. Further proof that environment is more important than genetics.

Warning: Girl stuff ahead!

Seriously, if you are a guy, you may want to move along, this might gross you out. Don't say I didn't warn you!

I may have mentioned before that we are trying to have another child. We've been "officially" trying since June, and obviously not having much luck. Charting is a foreign concept to me, out of the 12 years I've been "a woman" (yes, I'm dancing around this, in case any boys ignored my warning.) I've written down my cycle approximately 6 times, and those have been in the last 6 months. So, keeping track of fertility signs, and all of the other crap that comes along with TTC, is becoming increasingly frustrating. I officially know more about my body than I ever cared to... I've TMIed myself! So, it's that time again, time to be either heartbroken, or estatic. I'd really appreciate some cooperation from my body, even if it was bad news, because waiting sucks. It really sucks. And, if it's bad news, the waiting for next month sucks even more. I think it was much easier the first time around, when I didn't even think about taking a pregnancy test until someone said "Do ya think...?" Family planning isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Exhaustion

It's been a busy 36 hours, there is just a ton of real life crap going on, and it's tiring me out. Isn't this supposed to be the weekend? Weekends are supposed to be lazy and wonderful. Bah!!

Ewwww

One of the worst sensations in the world is Super Glue on your skin. It SUCKS.

What not to do, Insanity style...

Taking a page from Tish's book blog, I'm bringing you a special edition of what not to do at a military checkpoint. Many people have never had the pleasure of driving through the gates of a military post since 9/11. At first there were armed soldiers at the gates, checking IDs, and filling out passes for visitors. Currently, there is a private security firm that mans our borders, and gives the illusion of safety. (Believe me, it's just an illusion) You'll find that these tips also apply for airport checkpoints, as the procedures are very similar. Now, here are a few things that are unwise when encountering the security checkpoint.

*Do not joke with the guards about having loads of C4 in your trunk. The same applies to handguns, live grenades, machetes, drugs, and other contraband. They don't think it's funny, and you won't either when they disassemble your vehicle like you're smuggling illegals from Mexico.

*Do not leave your photo ID on post, and then try to return to post. They won't let you in, no matter how much you cry, plead, or bribe them. Especially if you bribe them with donuts.

*Do not make rent-a-cop joke in earshot of the guards. They have the ability to do "random" checks on vehicles, and can make the checks as long and painful as they like. Unless you want to find your ass sitting on the sidewalk while they tear apart your car and call the FBI for a background check, you should try and be nice to these folks.

Lastly, (and this actually happened in front of me yesterday) DO NOT stop in the outgoing lane to talk to the guards. Besides holding up traffic leaving post, you are stopping on the guards blind side, and they do carry loaded weapon. One trigger-happy guard could make those directions you're asking for useless, unless you were already on your way to the city morgue.

So, I hope you have found this useful and educational. Next time you encounter an armed guard, stay calm and don't make any sudden moves. They're like wild animals, you don't want to spook them.

Bah!

I am nearing my snapping point with these munchkins. I should have read the fine print on my contract about playing ref to their many squabbles per minute. Things I've said in the last 10 minutes (sparing you the conversations while at the doctor's office) "STOP IT! SIT DOWN!! DON'T TOUCH THAT!! It's NOBODY'S movie! It's NOT your toy, it's on TV!! Just EAT your SNACK! Don't touch her snack! Don't make me call your daddies!! (they work together, one phone call does it all!) Get away from there!! KNOCK IT OFF! Stop picking your nose!! SIT SIT SIT!!! HEY!!! DON'T TOUCH!!"

Add that on a loop, and you have my afternoon. YAY!!

I am working on a post about being a parent, music, and Kanye West. That should be interesting, if I ever get it written. I will try to be less boring, but I make no promises before bedtime. Don't touch the dog!! Oh, sorry... habit.