A fun music meme

Shamelessly snagged from AKA Monty...

The rules of the meme are simple. Go here, scroll to the bottom, and choose the date of your HS graduation. Bold the songs you liked, italicize the ones you hated, and red the ones you don't remember.

I graduated in 2000... stop laughing at me!!!


1. Breathe, Faith Hill
2. Smooth, Santana Featuring Rob Thomas
3. Say My Name, Destiny's Child
4. I Wanna Know, Joe
5. Everything You Want, Vertical Horizon
6. Maria Maria, Santana Featuring The Product G&B
7. Bent, Matchbox Twenty
8. Amazed, Lonestar
9. I Knew I Loved You, Savage Garden
10. He Wasn't Man Enough, Toni Braxton
11. Higher, Creed
12. .Try Again, Aaliyah
13. There You Go, Pink
14. Thong Song, Sisqo
15. Kryptonite, 3 Doors Down
16. Jumpin Jumpin', Destiny's Child
17. What A Girl Wants, Christina Aguilera
18. Doesn't Really Matter, Janet
19. Music, Madonna
20. Back At One, Brian McKnight
21. Bye Bye Bye, 'N Sync
22. You Sang To Me, Marc Anthony
23. I Need To Know, Marc Anthony
24. Get It On Tonite, Montell Jordan
25. Incomplete, Sisqo
26. I Try, Macy Gray
27. It's Gonna Be Me, 'N Sync
28. That's The Way It Is, Celine Dion
29. (Hot S**T) Country Grammar, Nelly
30. Bring It All To Me, Blaque
31. Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely, Backstreet Boys
32. Hot Boyz, Missy Elliott Featuring Nas, EVE & Q-Tip
33. Back Here, BBMak
34. It Feels So Good, Sonique
35. Absolutely (Story Of A Girl), Nine Days
36. With Arms Wide Open, Creed
37. Be With You, Enrique Iglesias
38. Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You), Christina Aguilera
39. No More, Ruff Endz
40. All The Small Things, Blink 182
41. The Way You Love Me, Faith Hill
42. I Turn To You, Christina Aguilera
43. Never Let You Go, Third Eye Blind
44. I Need You, LeAnn Rimes
45. Thank God I Found You, Mariah Carey Featuring Joe & 98 Degrees
46. Let's Get Married, Jagged Edge
47. My Love Is Your Love, Whitney Houston
48. Then The Morning Comes, Smash Mouth
49. Blue (Da Ba Dee), iffel 65
50. Desert Rose, Sting Featuring Cheb Mami
51. The Real Slim Shady, Eminem
52. Most Girls, Pink
53. Wifey, Next
54. Wonderful, Everclear
55. Oops!... I Did It Again, Britney Spears
56. I Wanna Love You Forever, Jessica Simpson
57. Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche ), 98 Degrees
58. Take A Picture, Filter
59. Otherside, Red Hot Chili Peppers
60. Big Pimpin', Jay-Z Featuring UGK
61. Purest Of Pain (A Puro Dolor), Son By Four
62. He Can't Love U, Jagged Edge
63. Separated, Avant
64. I Wish, Carl Thomas
65. U Know What's Up, Donell Jones
66. Faded, SoulDecision Featuring Thrust
67. Only God Knows Why, Kid Rock
68. Shake Ya Ass, Mystikal
69. Bag Lady, Erykah Badu
70. Meet Virginia, Train
71. Party Up (Up In Here), DMX
72. Case Of The Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do), Mya
73. Forget About Dre, Dr. Dre Featuring Eminem
74. That's The Way, Jo Dee Messina
75. Swear It Again, Westlife
76. The Next Episode, Dr. Dre Featuring Snoop Dogg
77. From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart, Britney Spears
78. Crash And Burn, Savage Garden
79. Yes!, Chad Brock
80. The Best Day, George Strait
81. How Do You Like Me Now?!, Toby Keith
82. Where I Wanna Be, Donell Jones
83. My Best Friend, Tim McGraw
84. Broadway, Goo Goo Dolls
85. Dance With Me, Debelah Morgan
86. Don't Think I'm Not, Kandi
87. I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack & Sons Of The Desert
88. Better Off Alone, Alice Deejay
89. What'chu Like, Da Brat Featuring Tyrese
90. Cowboy Take Me Away, Dixie Chicks
91. I Like It, Sammie
92. 24/7, Kevon Edmonds
93. Girl On TV, LFO
94. Bounce With Me, Lil Bow Wow Featuring Xscape
95. What About Now, Lonestar
96. I Don't Wanna, Aaliyah
97. Independent Women Part I, Destiny's Child
98. Shackles (Praise You), Mary Mary
99. Waiting For Tonight, Jennifer Lopez
100. Gotta Tell You, Samantha Mumba


I listened to a few of those songs yesterday, many are still on my playlists. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the reason I can't remember SO many songs from FIVE YEARS AGO is the amount of partying I did in the 00-01 timeframe. I'm not admitting anything, I'm just saying... Now where did I leave my keys??

Evil political ranting

Normally I would avoid politics, because it is such a hot button. Still, I couldn't resist when I read this article.

"A lot of my fellow conservatives are concerned, but they don't know her as I do," said Hatch, a former chairman of the Judiciary Committee. "She's going to basically do what the president thinks she should and that is be a strict constructionist." ~ Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-Utah)

Basically what that quote says to me is that our Supreme Court (as with every other part of our government) is a good ol' boys club, where the one with the most friends makes the law. I'm disgusted by how easily the basis of our country has crumbled. It's a disgrace to our forefathers and everything they fought for.

**In case anyone would like to say something smart about me complaining, I did indeed vote, and it was not for the current administration. We evil liberals called this exact situation, Bush stacking the Court.

My first audio post

Of course, as soon as I finished the post the noise level went back to "Front row at Yoko Ono concert". Consider yourselves lucky.

Still alive!!

I haven't disappeared or anything. I've been busy with the family and friends, and enjoying some crisp weather. I haven't had much interest in blogging or reading blogs, so please forgive me if I haven't been keeping up with everyone. I'll be back in the swing of things shortly. Standby. *wink*

Please read!!! ***UPDATED***

JORDAN HAS BEEN RETURNED!!
Kim needs your help. Her grandson has been abducted. Please go read the post, and look at the pictures. Thank you!





Jordan is 6 years old DOB 3/10/99. He is approx 4 ft tall, 50 lbs, has a scar on the middle of his back, exczema on his right arm and wrist, and a wart on his right thumb. He was last seen wearing a grey shirt with a navey collar, and blue shorts with orange flames on the sides. He responds to the name "Jordan Barry". He was last seen on 9/28/05 at 10:00AM in Lakewood, OH.
His abductor, Nancy Rolfe, may also go by the name Flora. She is in her 40s, thin, approx. 5'6, may have changed her appearance to look older. She may be driving a white Chevy conversion van, or with a friend driving a white Honda with black trim. She may be headed to Florida, or Mexico.

Please, help Kim and her family find this little boy. Contact your local police department with any information. The family is offering a reward for information leading to his safe return.

Prepare to throw things at me

I am ashamed to admit I'm failing at my attempt to become a non-smoker. I wasn't going to admit that publicly, but what the hell... So, what's the worst y'all can do, besides ridicule me?? Tish and Ammie are gonna have my ass on a platter! I am going to the doctor on Thurday for an unrelated appointment, but I'm going to inquire into some stop smoking aids. Hypnosis has also been suggested, so I'm looking into that. Either way, I'm TRYING, and DAMMIT this is HARD!

Anyway, on to other topics. Cori is having a BUSY life right now, so head on over and give her some comment love. We've all been there, where you barely have time to breathe, let alone blog!

Another blog friend is a bit stressed about a procedure this weekend, so let's all think good and healthy thoughts for this wonderful blogger. Pray, chant, meditate, whatever you feel like doing to send some cosmic vibes out, they would be appreciated!!

Another sign that I'm getting old and boring... I was totally happy to see the new phone book was here. Why? Well, we had one from 2003, and all the coupons were expired!! My biggest complaint now? Half the coupons are for Topeka stores, which are 45 minutes away.

I've made a new friend! Like, one that DOESN'T LIVE IN MY COMPUTER!!! She lives a couple blocks away! This is an accomplishment, since N was beginning to think I only had friends in my computer. Granted, my best friend is still in here, but only because I can't convince her to leave California and run away with me. Silly woman!

Well, that about sums it up for now. I'm off to watch Boston Legal in a few, I hear it's right up my alley. Enjoy your evening!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I. WANT. A. CIGARETTE! I keep thinking "Oh, I'll just pop out onto the porch, and smoke. Oh, shit. I don't smoke anymore. DAMMIT!" This sucks. I am compiling a list of things that piss me off, so check back for extra snark.

Stop Smoking: Attempt 4

The last time I tried to quit smoking was in November 2004, that attempt bit the dust on day 5, when Madison broke her leg, and was hospitalized. Sadly, quitting smoking is the hardest thing I've done, by far, and my motivation is lacking. Why? Because I like to smoke, I am well aware of the health risks, but I really enjoy the habit. Unfortunately, it's getting more expensive by the minute, and it was either Cokes or smokes that had to go. I simply cannot function without my Cokes, so it's bye-bye cigarettes. I am not a happy camper. My dirty little habit is all consuming, I think about it every five minutes seconds or so. So, we'll see. I can't make any promises (although I keep hearing Tish in my mind, telling me to QUIT!!) but I'm kinda hoping this gets a bit easier. If not, 4 bucks a day is well worth the sanity. **SIGH** On a funnier note, I went up to the shoppette to buy some candies, and the cashier asked me if they were goodies for the kids. I told her no, I was trying to quit smoking (as I stared longingly at the racks of cigs). She looked at me and said "So I guess the shirt is true right now?", and I realized I'm wearing a shirt with a snake on it that says "Beware: I bite". I told her it was VERY true, God help my poor family. Standby for snarkiness, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Sunday Soup

We went to a BBQ for N's company yesterday evening, which is automatically interesting. You see, if you gather all the families and single soldiers of all the ranks, proovide free food, and tell them BYOB, it's bound to be entertaining. Well, we invited a couple families back to our house after the BBQ broke up, and went home to prep. I had to run to the video store to return a movie, and stopped at the shoppette to get some drinks. The line at the shoppette is crazy, and there is only one register open. Finally someone says "Hey, why is that employee just standing there {by a back door} when there are like 30 of us in line?!" and the cashier replies "Because he caught a shoplifter." Great, it's Saturday night, and we all get to spend 30 minutes in line because some asshat decided to steal and the MPs are no where to be found. Here's a clue, this is FEDERAL property. If you break a law here it's usually much worse than breaking the same law off post. Stealing a candy bar or something from the shoppette is SO NOT WORTH the trouble you are gonna get in. Anyway, we were quite ready to have them just release the offender to those of us stuck in line, none of us were too happy.
Fast forward... we (Jake and I) arrive back at the house to find our guests have arrived. We get everything organized and start to relax. All of a sudden my front door opens (no knock, no ring, nothing) and another (single) soldier walks in. He's 3 sheets to the wind already, and apparently didn't understand that this was not a frat party, we all have young kids. He starts acting obnoxiously (when N told him to stop by, he was sober and claimed to have quit drinking altogether), spilling stuff, talking out his ass, the whole nine. He's sucking down a bottle of 20/20, and some beer, at a quick pace. 3 sheets is now more like 9, he's tore up. Finally, we girls go outside, and are out there talking for about 30 minutes. He comes stumbling out of the house, mutters something, and heads toward the street. We call out to him asking if he's driving, and he says "Yes". We ask him for his keys, tell him we have a DD and will give him a ride, which he refuses. I then tell him if he leaves my house in his car I will call the MPs. Three warnings were met with three "Whatever"s, and he pulled away. I went inside to call the MPs, and N was already on the phone with his sergeant. The guys had tried to get his keys before he came outside, and gave up short of an altercation. Well, calling the Sgt may cover their asses, but it doesn't help any if he kills someone while driving to his barracks. I call the MPs, and from the sound of the background chatter they caught up with him while I was still on the phone. I've been stressing about it since, (that was about 11pm last night, talk about ruining our night!!) even though I know I did the right thing. It's hard, knowing someone will get in so much trouble, but we tried to stop him, and what if he killed someone? It sucks that someone could be so ignorant, when we had a ride available for him. Either way, the whole situation has been eating at me.
Topping things off, we woke up this morning to complaints of a bellyache from Maddie. Hmmm... this is not uncommon, though she can have some BM trouble. We head out to breakfast, figuring she'll feel better when shortly. No fever, nothing like that. We're on the road and she starts throwing up the water she sucked down just moments earlier. Yay, this is gonna be a fun day!! We turn around, I get a warm bath drawn, and get in with her. She perks up in the bath, maybe she just had an upset tummy. No such luck, the puking quickly returned, poor little thing was so upset. After a few hours she is keeping down crackers, and feeling a bit better. By dinner time she is almost back to normal, so I'm hoping it's all over.
On that note, Desperate Housewives is about to start, so I'm outta here!! Enjoy the show!

Do you Blingo?

Ok, Ok... I know EVERYONE uses Blingo already. However, on the off chance that someone stumbles upon my site and DOESN'T know what Blingo is, I'm inviting you to sign up. If you win, I win, and it's all FREE!!! Who doesn't love FREE stuff? Cori has a bunch of Blingo friends, and I have none, so I'm feeling pretty lonely. Add this to the fact that some people have won MULTIPLE iPods, as well as other stuff, and I'm really bummed!! Come on, let's win stuff together, just for searching the net!! You know you want the new iPod Nano that they are giving away!!

Rita

Please pray (in whatever way you do so) for everyone in the projected path. A close family member of Nate's lives in Houston, and isn't evacuating. We're aggrivated by that, because she could have gone to my in-laws in central TX, but didn't feel the need to. Even if she wanted to, it'd be damn near impossible to now, as the roads out are deadlocked. Nate and I are thanking our lucky stars, because he almost took a firefighting job last year in Port Lavaca, a coastal port in the path of this storm.

I'm worried sick for all of our TX family and friends, and once again captivated by the weather reports. Part of me wants to be home in TX (our home is in the middle of the state, so not in much danger), but ultimately I just want everyone to be safe.

Wahhhhhh!

I realize I'm quite boring right now, but I was hoping everyone would hang with me. Apparently I've been downgraded on the evolutionary chain from Marauding Marsupial to Adorable Rodent. "Scuse me while I go cry and nibble on some cheese!

The kids' room

The kids' room is 75% done. We're not getting actual beds yet, as they still roll off the mattresses all the time, but we got their big kid mattresses and rearranged their room. There are a few more things I want to move around, but we're close to done with the re-decorating.

Send Earplugs

Seriously, I don't think my kids have shut up for more than 5 minutes in the last 7 hours. Jake got up with them this morning, because he's a glutton for punishment. I've warned people about my kids' incessant talking before, but sometimes you just have to experience it to understand why I pray to go deaf every night. Jake has now decided he is never having kids, and any time he thinks about it he's going to play a tape of my children, who NEVER. SHUT. UP! My mother-in-law will probably want to strangle me for ruinng her chances at grandchildren from her youngest boy, but I can't help it. Nate is lucky, he actually IS going deaf in one ear, I envy him. Someone please tell me that this is a phase, and it will soon end. Or at least send heavy medication, I'm dying here!

For Katy

Katy and I were emailing back and forth about TX, and I got a little homesick. So, I thought I'd pay some tribute to the Lone Star state by sharing this picture of my stairwell. His name is Harry the Longhorn (don't ask me why, he has been with Nate longer than I have!). And NO! We're NOT UT fans, this is a Sooners household. Still, I thought I'd share with you my Texan Shrine. Bow in awe... NOW! **wink**

My latest project ***Edited***

We've been working on a bookcase for the kids' room. I think it came out well after a few minor adjustments to my original plan. (That bottom area is a cubby, it's a long story...)




**Edited**
It occured to me that I had already told everyone about the project in my last post, so please ignore my tendency to be redundant. I can't help it, the kids hid my brain somewhere, and I'm too lazy to look for it. Oh, look... a nice comfy couch... see ya!

Weekend Update

Well, hi there! I'm still alive, thankfully! How was your weekend? Mine was BUSY!! Here's the breakdown...
Friday we hung out, and took it easy... or at least that was the plan. I went down to talk to my neighbor, and they were all 3 sheets to the wind on her front porch, so I decided to join them. We all went down (she lives 2 houses down) and partied it up. Pass out in the wee hours of the morning, knowing we had to be up EARLY for the post wide yard sale. Nate drags me out of bed, we then drag Jake out of bed, and set up our stuff. Yard Sale all day, both selling and shopping, takes us to early afternoon. Jake's girlfriend, Susie, was visiting, the kids were IN LOVE. Like, "Mommy WHO?!" We decided to go to the carnival at 8pm, normally the kids' bedtime, and spent an obscene amount of money on a few rides. It was quite fun, the first carnival the kids had ever been to, they were totally amused. One final spin on the merry-go-round, and we called it a night. The boys planned to drink through the night, so Susie and I got to enjoy the show. We were plannign to pull some pranks on them after they passed out, but they wouldn't stay in a deep enough sleep. Still, it was quality entertainment. That brings us to today, AKA "Recovery Day". A nice, laidback race/football day. I needed that, so I'm enjoying myself. Ah, the life of the young and energetic, Susie and Jake made me feel OLD! I'll post some pictures tonight or tomorrow, as well as the now-infamous (to us at least) bookcase we built. I think I am a sucker for punishment, I don't know how many cuss words spilled from my mouth during this project, but it would make a sailor blush!!
So, what's life like in your corner of the world??

EX HAUS TED

I am tired with a capital T. A night of partying with the neighbors, then the post-wide yard sale this morning, and it's been a LONG day. We might take the kids to the local carnival tonight, depending on our collective energy levels, so I promise to update tomorrow. I hope y'all are having a great weekend!

I hope you rot in hell

No, not *you*! The person at IP address 24.159.116.233 (Charter cable) from Charleston, West Virgina. The person who came here looking for pictures of criminal activities against children. You like looking at that shit, scumbag? You deserve to have your genitals burned off with acid. Seriously, ROT. IN. HELL.

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming. Normally, I wouldn't even bother addressing such filth, but this search was particularly disturbing.

Happy birthday...

To ME! So, feel free to smother me with birthday wishes...
Let's PARTY!!!

Volunteers needed!!!

Y'all know Grace, the super-fabu-hippie-mommy-Liberal-yoga lover-totally awesome blogger, right? Well, she needs our help, with her super successful Katrina Victim Direct Relief blog.
Why should we volunteer our time to help her out? Well, because she is a SUPER SWEET woman who would totally give you the shirt off her back, or at the very least, invite you for some tea and chatting at a moment's notice. She claims she needs help because she is a menopausal, hot flashing mad woman, but really it's because she is only human, and this relief effort has been successful beyond ANYONE'S expectations. It's for a great cause, getting direct relief to the people who need it most, eliminating the middle men that can bottleneck the much needed supplies to the disaster victims on the Gulf Coast. How blessed can you be to have an opportunity to contribute your time to this wonderful effort? A couple more people like Grace, and this world would be a much better place!
Go.
Help.
NOW!!

Is this thing on??

Anyone out there? know everyone is busy with school, and volunteering, and other life things, but I'm thinking maybe y'all forgot about me! My comments have all but stopped, and my stats tell me very few visitors are even stopping in. I mean, if I suddenly stink, or my writing is total suckage, or whatever, y'all can tell me!! Paranoia sucks!

Random thoughts

Does it mean you're a grownup when you wake up with a nose full of boogers, and it makes you realize you need to change the AC filters?

Hmmm... no power tools until everyone is awake... damn!

It's pretty funny that my mom calls to tell me she actually mailed my birthday present BEFORE my birthday. And that she was SO PROUD. Sadly, I'm just as proud, as our family never mails ANYTHING on time. This is why I pay my bills online.

I thought Wacky Packages trading cards were a rip off of Garbage Pail Kids, but apparently they've been around longer, and are both made by Topps. Still, a quick search shows that GPK are back in stores, who knew?? I love how the toys from my childhood are back again!

Well, that sums up my Sunday Morning randomness. How's your weekend going?

**9/11/01 We will never forget.**

Awesome

Y'all have to check this out. Shylah sent it to me, and it's just the best thing I've heard all weekend. Foamy the Squirrel rants on the media and the Katrina Disaster, and the message is one we can all agree on. For those of you who don't know who Foamy is, he's a cartoon squirrel that rants on topics du jour at Ill Will Press. Hilarious!
** Turn up your speakers, and this is NOT suitable for kids/work/devout Christians, as there is much cursing. Still, it's worth listening to, I promise!!**

A brilliant post

No, not mine. Don't be silly. The brilliant post can be seen here, at Code, Code World. Bill discussed the Katrina disaster/response point by point, politely and rationally analyzing the actions of different government officials. Everyone has been discussing the "Who screwed up?" aspect of this disaster, and the finger pointing has been plentiful. I personally think Bill did a wonderful job of analyzing the actions and lack thereof without jumping on partisan bandwagons. Go check it out, I definitely think it's worth reading.

Done!!

Well, not the whole room, but the curtains are done, at least!! The fabric didn't show well in the pics, but it's cute little rainbow dots, and I made the white curtains for the bottom half of the window, since the kids sometimes go to bed before it's totally dark.. It's so bright and cheery in there now!!

Expect cuss words to follow

I don't like this place. Ft. Riley, that is. I don't like N's unit, they are comprised of wish-washy fuckwads who just CANNOT stick to their word. My good friend Debbie warned me abotu the whole damn brigade doing that kind of shit, and she was right. Here's a newsflash to all people in the brigade. Intergrity is an "Army Value", you should try it. If you say you are going to do something, FUCKING DO IT!! This back and forth, broken promises, he said, he said (we're in an all male unit, no "she" to speak of) Alpha Male bullshit is poor form. It hurts morale, it cheapens the value of your collective word, and it's making this brigade and especially N's unit a shitty place to be. If you say something will happen, make it happen. Fuckers.

**For the record, this is not stemming from one event, nor is it from events that were out of the command's control. This is from a few instances of people who should be able to keep their word about reasonable requests not doing so. Shit happens, but apparently it happens a lot more in this particular brigade.**

End Rant.
I'm now having a shitty day, thanks to one asshole in particular. Oh, well, I can go back to bed in a few 12 hours. Dammit!

Helping hand

Many of you know Cat from A Mom In The Swamp. They are from one of the hardest hit areas in LA, and lost pretty much everything. Her sister-in-law has posted on her site, with a list of things they could really use. Please go check it out, and do help if you can. Thanks!!

Answers

Bill and Katie: Jake caught the moth in a lamp, but the cat gave it a good effort!! (Bill, why the yellow 'vette thing? That made me laugh!!)

Cori: YES, the dirty girl, can you believe she brough a dude in that house looking like that?? Not only is it some white trash dudde, but she drove to another state to pick him up, and bring him back here. Yummy!

Project: Kids' Room

The kids room is being redone in "Rainbow Learning", ABCs, 123s, and shapes, all in rainbow colors. So far I've finished making and hanging the cardstock border, it's hard to see in the pics but the alphabet, and 0-9 are written on the cards. I'm still working on ideas for their new curtains, and other decorative accents, I'll post more once I get it all figured out. Any suggestions? (Keeping in mine that we are on a budget, and can't paint the walls.)

Blah Blah Blah

Welcome! Have some randomness!

I've realized just how early the Home Depot obsession starts for boys. The closest HD is about 20 minutes away, and not in an area we drive by every day, but my son sees the orange signs and starts yelling "DEPOT!! Mommy, DEPOT! Let's go to DEPOT!" He saw a bag from our last trip today, and started in again, he loves him some "Depot".

Another current obsession of Shane's is motorcycles. I think this is Daddy's doing.

Maddie's obsessed with saying "Happy Birthday", has been since their birthday in June. She'll say "Happy Birthday!!" to you over and over again, regardless of the time of year. My birthday is next week, and since N told her that she's been giving me birthday wishes ALL day, every day. Too cute.

I'm watching my cat and my brother in law try to catch a moth. Quality entertainment.

One of my neighbors has some white trash crack head living with her while her husband is deployed. They're "just friends". Right. I have a bridge I can sell you REAL cheap.

Gas is too fucking expensive, so it's been a pretty boring few days.

Blah. Blah blah blah! Talk amongst yourselves.

Busy bee

I haven't been posting much, because I've thrust myself into projects. Keeping busy helps keep my anxiety down, especially when things are as chaotic as they have been. The Katrina Disaster, the death of Justice Rehnquist (another opening on the court for Bush to fill scares the crap out of us liberal minded folk), the outrageous gas prices, these are all things that can send me into a panicked frenzy if I'm not careful. So, I've decided to decorate the kids' room, finish up some new pillows, sew, craft, scrap, whatever I can do to refocus my energies. I'll post pictures once I get some of the projects completed, and I'll try to come up with something witty and amusing for everyone. In the meantime, please do not become complacent with the struggles of the Gulf Coast survivors. Donate, volunteer, pray, do whatever you can to help. The anniversary of 9/11 is a few days away, take some time to remember those who were lost, and focus on the patriotism that came from that tragedy. Do something nice for someone else, do something nice for yourself. Enjoy our blessings, and share them.

Idle Hands

Now that we've finished the table (well, that's a lie. It needs some finishing touches we don't have yet.) I am desperate for another project. I decided I hated the smaller pillows I made for the living room, and wanted to make new ones. This is not going as well as one might hope, and I'm getting a bit ticked off. I have fabric to make the bolster and decorative pillows for our bedroom, but I am not really up to tackling that. In all honesty, I have a few different "projects" in the works, but I haven't got the motivation to work on any of those at the moment. Bah!! I need something to do!!

A bit of positive

It's good to see that more than just the negative is making it into the news. There have been lots of reports of the horrors of the Katrina disaster, and blame for who screwed up what, but this story tells of the community spirit, and generosity from a few states in this country. (To the rest of the states, what the hell is wrong with you?) At the end of the article there are some quotes from evacuees about how they want to pitch in, do a bit of work, show their gratitude. Not all is evil and ungrateful, and that makes me feel better about our society.

The lighter side of things, brought to you by Budweiser

The boys have been drinking since early afternoon, to celebrate the begining of college football season. So, by 11pm or so, you can imagine the state of things. Nate had his Sooners hat on sideways, and Jake had his Texas A&M hat on the same way. I looked over and noticed them, and promptly went for my camera.
Me: "Look at y'all wearing your hats sideways, dorks!!"
Nate: "Great minds think alike!"
Jake: (deadpanning N) "Does your ass itch, too?"

I was laughing so hard I could barely snap the picture, but I assure you I did manage to immortalize the scene for the scrapbooks. I'll post the picture later, I'm too lazy to walk over to the PC and upload it right now. So, in addition to foot powder for his STINKY shoes, Jake will be receiving some butt cream for Christmas to help that itching problem.
**Jake, I'm just kidding, you know I love you!**

Been There Donation Clearinghouse

Emily and Cooper over at Been There have come up with the WONDERFUL idea of a donations clearinghouse. Head on over to read the most amazing donation story, and find out where you can send your in kind donations. Please go check it out, and then get working on collecting these goods!

Buckaroo

I found this link via Cori, and decided to play our own Buckaroo with our cat, Callie. Getting Callie to lay still can be tricky, but a little loving from N and she was down for the count. We decided on "Reading is FUNdamental Buckaroo", using children's books.
Final tally was 21 books.


**Updated** Bonus Buckaroo: "Junk Food and PS2"

Katrina

What can I say? I have no idea what to say anymore. I want to help these people, to go down there and pitch in, or SOMETHING. The disaster is all I can think about lately, and I'm frustrated by my inability to help in any signifigant way. I watch the news, and see the pictures, and all I can think is "Do they have diapers for those babies? Formula? Medication for the sick? How will they survive?!" I'm sitting here in my home, with my internet access, and all of the things I need, and these people are refugees in their own city, with nothing to sustain them. I don't think I'll be posting much in the next couple of days, but I'm here, and reading blogs. If anyone knows of ways to help beyond donating money (we have, but we don't have much to give) please let me know. CJAping at gmail dot com.

Help somebody

Hurricane Katrina is the biggest natural disaster this country has seen since the turn of the 20th century. I realize we are "the wealthiest nation in the world", but that doesn't mean our citizens are all filthy rich. The people most affected by this storm are poor, or elderly, or both. They need help, as quickly as possible. If you can help in any way, be it financially, with food donations, with blood donations, or any other assistance, PLEASE DO SO! Every single one of us would hope some kind souls would come to our aid in the wake of such devastation, so please do everything you can to help those in need today. You can click the banner at the top of this page for the Red Cross, they will help you help others. If you don't want to go through Red Cross, please be careful who you are sending donations to. Donate to well known charities and organizations, because the sad truth is con artists will use this disaster to steal money from good samaritans.

A little Wednesday Lovin'

Daddy and Madison sharing the love


A rare moment of calm with these two


Th mohawk boys

Share thy frugal tricks!

**Going into full geek Mom mode**
I'm a bit obsessed with saving money, considering we're facing giving up our firstborn to fill up the gas tank. (I might complain, but I do like the kid!) So... I've been on a savings spree, trying to squeeze every possible penny out of every dollar. This area gets SUCKY coupons, and the commissary (unlike Ft. Hood, where I was SPOILED) has sucky selection and no military coupons. All of that means my grocery bill makes me want to curl up in the corner and cry, or at least pop a blood vessel or two. I've hunted down the best online coupons, but they have to be really good for me to print out since ink costs more than vital organs. I'm going to use an off post grocery with better deals, except for a few things I get MUCH cheaper on post. (Like milk, because dammit we go through a lot!) So, spill your best money saving tips. How do you live a comfortable life on a shoestring budget? What's your average grocery bill, how many are in your family, and how often do you shop? Groceries aside, what do you do to pinch pennies? Come on, don't be shy, we're all cheapskates at heart!!
**If you are a big spender, or LOADED, you need not respond, because we all hate you. Just kidding... sort of**

Venezuela

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has been heavily criticized by the US. Then he offers reduced oil prices to poor Americans, eye care to those who cannot afford it in American, and after Katrina he was the FIRST (and so far the only I've heard about) to offer aid. Food, manpower, water, and fuel, he offered this to us to help the victims of the hurricane. We offer BILLIONS in aid to most of the world, and when American needs a hand the first to step up is someone who has been badmouthed and even threatened by our country. I don't really know, or care, what our administration has against this man, but I have to say he's a stand up guy.

He can do it!!

Right now I'm sitting outside watching Shane ride his bike. That's right, he finally figured it out!! He's as proud as a peacock right now, he's been riding for a couple days, and getting better with each lap around the carport. Maddie is still uninterested, she likes to lead her bike around by the handlebars, like a prized showdog. Either way, I wish I could bottle up the joy on my son's face at his newest accomplishment. It almost makes up for all the times he drives me nuts. ALMOST.

Fair Trade

Will trade 2 healthy children, one male, one female, for 1 Venti Caramel Frap and a dozen Krispy Kremes. Please call (800)GONENUTS. Thank you.

The path of Katrina

All of those in Katrina's path are in our thoughts tonight, and through the week. This is frightening, even to those of us who are "used" to hurricanes. Please stay safe, and check in when you can.

Will blog for...

Some of my more attentive readers may notice I've added a couple things to my sidebar. Money things, to be exact. I hate to seem like a beggar, or someone who blogs to make money, but I decided to add the Paypal "donate" button and the Amazon.com associates program. So, if any of you are ever feeling generous, and want to help fund my now canceled trip to see Cori (I was actually going to get to see MY CORI during N's deployment, since we've been the best of friends for almost 2 years, but have never seen face to face!!) you now know how to do so. Of course, I'll lavish you with love and affection if you DO decide to share the wealth, but I'll still love you if you don't! Even better, the Amazon.com thing is just a click through to shop, and they pay me a couple cents, so if you are doing your Amazon.com Holiday shopping, could you go through my site? I'll have to go through someone else's since I can't use my own, and last year it looked like Amazon threw up in my bedroom at Christmas time! So, consider this my one and only greedy "send me money" post, y'all know how to do it if you want to. *wink*

Proof it's genetic

This is the scene at my house today. Please ignore the messy slipcovers, and witness the dorkiness. N's sleeve is up because he's airing out his smallpox vaccine, YUM! Note the socks up to his knees. Jake's pants have a big ass hole on the behind (more of a slice taken out of them), but I figured I'd spare you the photo.

Sunday, Muddy Sunday

We all slept in today, kids included, and that is always a good thing. Family breakfast (we do special family breakfast on Sunday) was homemade cinnamon raisin bread. YUM! It's a boring, rainy Sunday, negating any plans we had for spending the day in the sun and fresh air. Instead, the kids made crafts with the colored macaroni, the boys are playing Madden on the PS2, and I'm perched on the couch with the laptop. Since we bought it planning for N to take it to Iraq, I now get it as an early birthday present. (*cough* My birthday is next month if any of you are feeling generous!! *cough*) I mean, if we're gonna pay for the damn thing, might as well get good use, and I assure you I'm using it at every possible moment.

My son is the weirdest child ever. He's spent the day so far wearing his windbreaker jacket, complete with the hood, and walking around on plastic plates from a tea set. Strange little creature, but considering his daddy and uncle are both wearing hunter orange skullies indoors, I can see where he gets it.

I have a backache, added to the near constant headaches I've had lately. I'm not a happy camper, as Mortin, a bath, and being propped up on the couch are not helping. I'm way too young to feel this old. Anyone know a good chiropractor? In the meantime I'm going to break out the exercise ball and do some of the back stretches Tish recommended.

That sums up my boring day so far, what are you up to this weekend?

Macaroni Bread

Every once in a while you hear a truly priceless line, one that makes the speaker immediately think "What the hell did I just say?!" Tonight it was Nate's turn to humor us. I was downstairs dyeing macaroni by shaking it in a jar with food coloring. When I came upstairs, Nate asked me what I was shaking downstairs, and I said "macaroni." A few minutes later, while making bread, I came upstairs to use the scissors, cutting open a package of yeast. Nate says to me "What are you making? Bread?" I told him I was, and he replied "Macaroni bread?" with an incredulous look on his face. As soon as the words left his mouth his brother and I turned to look at him, like "Are you kidding?"
"Macaroni bread?! No honey, I'm making raisin bread for tomorrow. I was coloring macaroni for the kids to make crafts. What the hell is that?!" Needless to say, after laughing our asses off, I told him "I'm blogging this!!" He protested, but what is marital bliss when you have a blog to fill?! Now, can anyone share the recipe for the macaroni bread?

The Ball

Here are the pictures from the ball last night. One thing I learned upon uploading the pictures is not many people can work my camera properly, as proven by the blurry shots. Jake (my brother-in-law who is staying with us for a few weeks) did ok on the "pre-ball" shots, though I didn't realize at the time that the front door was open.

Us before leaving


Another shot of us, the pics don't do my dress justice, it was gorgeous!

The "Official Party" sat between those 2 screen, which displayed the unit crest. There was also a slideshow of the unit in Iraq, and a slideshow of the fallen soldiers from our unit. There was a beautiful tribute table for one, with an overturned wine glass, a pinch of salt, a slice of lemon, a slice of bread, a rose, and a candle. Each one represented something, like the salt is the tears shed by the soldier's family, the lemon is the bitterness of battle, the overturned glass is the soldier's inability to drink with us, etc. I'd list them all, but I can't remember the exact meanings, and don't want to screw it up. In front of the table was a stand with a rifle, boots, a helmet, and dogtags, honoring those lost.


This was our original table, we ended up moving (and be seated with a bunch of officers, can you say "out of place?") The weirdest thing, they set out the desserts before anything else, so by the time all of the cocktail hour, official stuff, and dinner was finished, the dessert was quite room tempurature. It was still yummy though.


This is one of the guys N works with, who was quite toasted by the time he captured us and demanded pictures for his mom. He was quite entertaining, and TALL!


It was a nice evening, we didn't really know anyone there, so we felt a bit out of place, but we got to dress up, and I met the people N will be working under. The man who he will be gunner for (he's high up on the chain, but damned if I remember how high) raved about N and his work ethic and assured me they will be promoting him ASAP. See, Nate gave up a rank to come back in, and every time we look at his uniform in the lower rank, it makes us see red. It's a money thing, sure, but mainly it's a respect thing, he worked hard to get to his positions, and had to sort of start over. Certainly not a problem, but it was nice to see his command acknowledge his hard work last night.

No title needed

I'm pretty dumbfounded by the addition of Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the BRAC list. For those of you not following this, the Base Realignment and Closure is working on closing some military installations, and moving divisions from one base to another. (Ft. Riley is slated for a big shake up in that, as well as Ft. Hood, where we call home) Anyway, a surprising addition added to the Pentagon's original list by the BRAC commission is Walter Reed. This is where soldiers go to rehab after war injuries, vets go for treatment, it's a MAJOR deal. That would be like closing the Mayo clinic or something, it's the best facility the military has. I simply cannot imgaine them closing it, considering how important this hospital is in military healthcare. I guess we'll wait and see, what else can we do?

Fancy pants

We're getting all dolled up tomorrow to head to a military ball, for N's unit. It's actually the first formal event he and I have been to, so we're pretty excited. I'll be posting pictures this weekend, so y'all can see that we clean up pretty nice. **wink**
So... where the hell is everyone? What are y'all up to? The land o' blogs has been so quiet, I'm begining to wonder if everyone ran away without telling me. Do I need to send out the search party?

Whiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnneeeeeeee!

Ok, so who is bringing the cheese? Because Maddie woke up with a serious case of the whines! Everything that comes out of her mouth is in that nasal-y whimpering voice, and makes me want to stick sharp objects into my eardrums. Pass the Motrin!

All domesticated and shit

I was putting on some shoes to go outside and smoke (Yes, Tish! I know I need to QUIT!! Love ya!!) and noticed something unusual. N's boots were yucky and dirty, not shined for work tomorrow. He's usually on top of such things, but has been feeling stressed lately, so maybe he forgot, or just doesn't care tonight. Either way, I want him to have nice shiny boots for the morning, so what's a gal to do? I decided to shine them myself. I've never shined boots before, and usually have him shine mine if they are looking a bit scuffed. Either way, I've seen him do it enough times to be able to figure it out, right? I mean how hard can this be?! Well, it wasn't very hard, but only god knows if I did it right or not. N will undoubtedly be grateful simply because I put in the effort, and he's appreciative like that. He is way too sweet to tell me if I totally screwed the pooch in my attempt, he'd rather grin and bear it than hurt my feelings. Still, they look better than they did.



Why am I babble-assing about shoe polish and the such? Well, one, because I can, and two, because I'm a total domestic. I love all things household, like crafts, and baking, and ironing my husband's uniforms. It's so un-pc to say that, but I do. I enjoy making my home and family look good. I was talking to Cori, and of course, this is one more thing we have in common. We're both in our 20s, yet we do "grandma" things like crochet and sew, and we could totally see ourselves in a 50's housewife role. I wasn't raised in a traditional household, I'm the child of a single mother, and later a blended family, step-dad and "half" siblings. I come from strong, self-sufficient women, but most of us have that Suzy homemaker side. My Aunt Susan taught me how to make pies (I need a refresher course next time I visit, as I've given up on my crusts), my Grammy taught me to make all kinds of cookies. I first learned to use a sewing machine on an old table model that my great-grandmom had. Now don't get me wrong, I don't serve my family like their butler and maid, and N will argue with me to no end about how it's not my JOB to iron his uniform, but when it's all said and done, it makes me happy. I'd like to think I've found the balance between equality and housewife, the balance of roles in a home. Perhaps it's because I am the "head" of some important areas (ie: finances), and not just the "little wife", that I can take pleasure in my homemaker role. In the opposite corner, my husband feels it is his duty to provide for our family, but if I'd LIKE to work, go to school, whatever, that is my option. We don't force roles on each other, and we split the ones no one wants. So, are you an independant wonder woman, or a domestic diva? Are you happy with your role, or would you love to switch places? What makes your hosuehold work? (sidenote to single parents: you take on ALL responsibility, and having been in your shoes, I tip my hat to you!!)

Life is normal

Life is officially back to normal in the Insanity household, or as normal as can be expected. Run errands, care for kids, cook, clean, and so on. I've had headaches all week, which make for a cranky and unimaginative mommy, but things are moving along. The kids keep surprising me with stuff, like Shane telling me "Thank you for making dinner, Mommy!" without being prompted. Every once in a while they do something like that, and make me think they aren't total brats. (OK, I'm kidding, my kids are amazing little creatures, and I love them more than anything!) Still, it's nice when they are feeling generous with their compliments.
Today included a trip to the mall, as well as a haircut. Thankfully, the stylist was able to fix the not so great cut that I got last month, so I'm pretty happy about that. I'll post pictures later. I promise I'll come up with something more interesting to read soon, so I don't bore you to death. Oh, and a new look is coming, so stay tuned to see my gorgeous new digs!

Nevermind

As of right now, N is NOT deploying. I know this seems like a good thing, but he was supposed to leave in a few days, and was fully prepared to go (looking forward to the opportunity, actually) and they dropped a little wrench in the plans. By telling us "He's going, 110% sure of it" and then waiting until the final hours to change their minds, they have screwed us mentally and financially. We're pretty pissed about all of that. Regardless, thank you for your well wishes and concerns, it means a lot. Regularly scheduled blogging to follow.

Peekaboo!

Just so everyone knows, I'm still alive, and well. (At least as well as I can be!) I'll be pretty scarce this week, N is leaving soon, I know y'all understand. If you pop in, don't forget to say "Hi!" or drop me an email, so I know you haven't forgotten about me!

Oh, and go say Hi to Cori, who is so glad to be amongst the bloggers!

Self Portrait Friday!!

Todays theme is what gets you worked up, stressed out, worn out. I adore my family, but they sure can wear me out!! I may add another picture later of something else that wears me out, but right now I need to CLEAN! The in-laws are coming, the IN-LAWS ARE COMING! **wink** Go visit Katy, and see who else played SPF!

Homestretch **UPDATED**

2 coats of gloss, and we're almost done. Not too bad, custom designed seating for 6 for under $200. I love having a handy husband!




The symbols on each chair are the Chinese (at least one version of Chinese) words for Happiness, Home, Love, Harmony, Family, and Peace. The ones no the table are Home and Family (left to right in the pic). I'm going to put a "key" of sorts with the english words on a painting to hang on the wall.

Progress: 2:15 am (quitting time)

Table and chairs

I decided I didn't want to unveil the table and chairs until they at least had some paint on them, because they just didn't look right bare. So, here's a shot of me putting some touch up on the chairs.



Here's a close up of the first chair I finished (well, not totally finished, but I got the phrase on there, it says Happiness) Each chair will have it's own phrase, in both Chinese and English.


Here is the table and 4 chairs, there are actually six, but I moved 2 into the kitchen so I could work. Didn't my husband do a wonderful job? I'm going to paint more Chinese symbols on the table, 2 large ones, but I haven't decided what to put yet. I'll post more pictures after everything is painted and laquered.

Bag o' Socks

I bought some socks today. Nothing important about that, just a package of Hanes socks, because I need some more. I went to open the bag and noticed a zipper seal, like a storage baggie. Sure enough, at the top of the package, it says "Resealable!" Hmmm. Why in the hell would you need to reseal the bag of socks? Don't most normal people take the socks out, put them in their drawer, and throw the bag away?? Do some people actually put the socks back in the bag after weraing and washing them, so when you open their drawer there are little OCD baggies of clothes? WTF??

Homesick

Those of us who moved far from our hometowns know that home is where the heart is, but there are always things you miss about the place you were raised. We went to Nate's hometown in May, just before he re-enlisted. When he gets home from Iraq we're planning a trip to my hometown, (are you ready for this) he's never met my family before. So, I'd much prefer to go in the warm months, so we could go to the shore, and the festivals, and walk around Philly without freezing our asses off, but I'll settle for a winter trip if it means seeing my whole family, eating some good food, and showing N the things I hold dear from my childhood. So, I'm really excited, and feeling homesick just planning the trip. We're going to see my hometown, my family's business, the "Jersey Devil house" (if I can remember where it is and it's still there), the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Please Touch museum, maybe the Mummer's museum, Independance Hall, South Street, possibly a trip to NYC for the day, the Camden Aquarium (although I'm told they changed the name, probably because Camden is so damn scary), and some cheesesteaks, Tastykakes, and Wawa iced tea. Nate is really nervous about meeting my parents, although I don't know why, they're pretty cool people. I really can't wait to go, I haven't been since 2003, and that was for a funeral, so it'll be nice to take a relaxing trip. Anyone from the South Jersey area? Have any suggestions, things to see that I've forgotten (keeping in mind this will be very early springtime)? Where is your hometown? What are the things you would HAVE to do if showing someone around for the first time?

Why??

Someone has visited this site from the search "Girls pooping pantys pics". Why do you want to see something like tht? What the hell is wrong with you?? GO AWAY!
(Sadly, I'm #6 in that search, but it's because I wrote pantys instead of pants in a post.)

Celebrity!

As you know, this blogworld has it's own celebrities. There are the "untouchables" who never seem to comment on anyone's site, and the "popular kids" who are pretty famous yet still pop in to say "Hi!". Whenever one of them stops by this site I feel honored, as silly as that sounds. Even when the "celeb" is someone I talk to often, and consider a friend. So tell me, who do you think of as "big name" in the blogworld? Hell, if you want to dish you can tell me who you think is overrated, too. Do you dream of being a wlel known blogger, or just having your circle of blog friends? Come on... spill!

Party on!!

In case you missed your invite (things do get lost in the mail, after all!) Cori is having a blogwarming party over at her new digs. Some *cough* non-technical difficulties caused her to shut down her old site, so now she's new and improved over at Chaos with Class. So, stop by and say "Hi!" and don't forget your gift! Post a comment telling her what you brought! Drinks and snacks provided!

Marriage is good.

My husband is making me a dining room table and chairs. Like, taking wood, and making me a dining set. By himself. How cool is that? He really is such a doll, I'm doing an oriental theme in my dining room and he's making me the table I had in my mind, but couldn't find in stores. (at least, not in my price range) So. In. Love. I'll have pictures soon, it'll probably be finished tomorrow night, minus the decorative touches I need to paint on it. Life is good...

Help!!

The kids got their first training bike for their 3rd birthday in June. It's August, and they still cannot ride them. Why? Well, they cannot figure out the mechanics of pedaling. They never seemed to grasp the idea on their big wheels, and they still don't now. We're feeling pretty crappy that we can't even teach out kids to pedal a bike, so I'm wondering if any of you have some advice. How did you teach your kids to pedal a bike? Both of our kids push back on the pedals, braking the bike. They can push forward enough to get the pushing leg to the bottom, and then can't figure out how to push with the other leg. **sigh** Major frustration ensues.

Self Portrait Friday!!

Katy chose "How I relax" as the theme for today's self portrait Friday...

Like Katy, I have the nasty habit of smoking, but it does relax me. Go ahead, start telling me how bad it is, I already know!!

I also like to relax at my computer with my trusty can of Coke. Notice the page loaded is the beautiful Katy's since I had to go find out the theme!!


Nate suggested I get a picture of me yelling at him, as he thinks that relaxes me. On the contrary, that's usually why I NEED to relax! Head on over and check out the other participants, and how they like to chill out.

Um... I'm in trouble!!

Apparently, I'm going to hell in a handbasket, and I mean deep in the bowels of hell. Then again, this quiz bases off a believer's morals, so not only an I a non-believer (apparently that'll get you there too) but I am a bad, bad girl! Still, I have to say... lustful? Me? Violent? ME?? These are 2 things I would NOT use to describe myself, under any cirumstances! Bah... pass the sunscreen!

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante Inferno Hell Test

Quick nod to Crouching Mommy, Hidden Laundry for this quiz.

A bit of explanation

I feel the need to "defend", for lack of a better word, my rant on a particular military blogger. Since many of my readers have military experience in one way or another, most of you can probably understand where I'm coming from. Let me say right now that I am NOT assuming the right to judge this soldier under the UCMJ, rather I'm simply pointing out the ways her writing could be construed under those laws. I do not judge this writer as a bad person, simply a lousy soldier, which is why I wrote my original post. To each his own, and I certainly do not expect anyone to change themselves based off my little opinions.

The military lives by different standards than civilians. Some people HATE it, and others, like me, adjust well. Even though I am not an enlisted soldier, I feel a certain pressure to handle myself in a manner becoming to a military spouse, because I reflect on my soldier and my family. Soldiers are bound by their own laws and justice system, and as you climb in rank the rules get tighter. Did you know that Officer's wives often have to attend "obedience school" to learn how to handle the unique stresses and situations that can arise? I mean, a General's wife can't be out acting a fool, its just unacceptable. Another part of being a spouse is protecting Operational Security (OPSEC). I cannot tell you the exact day my husband is leaving or coming home from a deployment, because it puts him and his fellow soldiers at risk. There are many situations where a misspoken word can cause major problems. As you can imagine this is even more important for the soldiers themselves.

A soldier is required to conduct themselves in a manner becoming to a US soldier at all times. While her venting in a public forum would actually fall under a general article (UCMJ Chapter X Article 134, all conduct of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces), there are many offenses in the UCMJ that are outdated or rarely enforced. (Anyone remember my discussion on the regs against certain sexual acts??) I for one would not report such a behavior unless it was a clear break in OPSEC or other dangerous material. However, I do not support it. It is one thing to vent to your spouse, but a whole other to do it in a public forum.

These are the Army Values, the 7 values a soldier is sworn to uphold. You can decide for yourself whether they've been upheld or not. I encourage you to click the link, because it explains what these terms mean specifically to a soldier.

Loyalty
Duty
Respect
Selfless Service
Honor
Integrity
Personal Courage

So, I'll say again, I have no opinion on the writer as a person, this was never meant to be a personal attack. I have discussed in length with a friend (and military spouse) both sides of this issue, and ultimately I stand by my opinion. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the desert. If you are ill the Army will release you, if you cannot do the job you should not sign up, and when conducting yourself in public you should behave in a proper and respectful manner.

**edited: I went back today to do a bit more research, because I firmly believe I should research properly before arguing something, but I've been banned from her site. This is fine with me, although I have never commented on her site or banned her from mine, it's just a first. (Well, except the accidental banning by Busy Mom LOL!)

25 Ways you know you are a military spouse

This piece was in Army Times a couple weeks ago. It hold very true to most military spouses, and gave me a good chuckle.

1. You yell at your kids saying, "Don't make me email your father!"
2. Your neighbors know you but have never seen your active-duty husband.
3. Your conversations are sprinkled with PCS, TAD, LES, etc., and you know what they mean.
4. You have had 8 address changes in 9 years and you are not on the run from the law.
5. The front hall closet of your home is designated as a uniform closet. (mine is!!)
6. Your spouse will be gone for 2 weeks from his job and you think, "Is that all? No problem."
7. The radiator blows up on the car and the washing machine dies just as your spouse leaves for temporary duty.
8. You aren't surprised when you get 4 days notice for a 4 month deployment.
9. You don't know your own Social Security number, but you know your spouses by heart. (I've forgotten mine plenty of times!!)
10. You are in a disagreement with a bill collector and say, "Let me speak to your commander!"
11. You spend your second wedding anniversary alone. (I'll be spending my first alone)
12. You move your day care business from one state to another and still have the same children enrolled.
13. You have a collection of different shapes, sizes, and colors of window treatments for the same room. (I make mine, and recently cut up old ones for other projects, since they couldn't be reused)
14. Your heart races when you hear the doorbell ring during a deployment.
15. You've done more oil changes and mowed more lawns than your spouse because he's never there to do it himself.
16. You remember milestones by duty stations.
17. All your kids, including your 2 yr old, stop what they are doing and put their hands over their hearts whenever they hear the national anthem.
18. You can sleep through the sounds of fighter planes and bombers during their morning practice.
19. You reach for your ID card when entering a civilian store.
20. You ask someone to hold on by saying, "Standby."
21. Your kids point at anyone wearing BDUs and boots, regardlessof race or gender and yell "Daddy!" or "Mommy!"
22. You tell the movers the correct way to pack.
23. You notice when Hollywood makes mistakes in portraying the military. (Big one here... hate that!)
24. Military homecomings on TV bring tears to your eyes because you can relate so well.
25. You start to read the Army Times in place of Cosmopolitan

Final update on my rant

I received a call from the AAFES General Manager who was handling my customer service complaint. She let me know they had met with the manager of the food court, as well as the employee in question, and found that this was not the first incident, though it was the first brough to the GM's attention. She assured me disciplinary action was being taken, although she was not at liberty to discuss specifics, and that if I ever encountered a problem like this again I could contact her. She thanked me for bringing it to her attention, and my patronage. Again, I'll say she was quite a wonderful woman, polite and apologetic for the behavior of the employee. So, I guess I'll only know whether the woman was fired or not by keeping my eye out for her, but I think it's safe to assume if she isn't fired she'll certainly not cross a customer again.

Flickr

Hey, you! Yes YOU!! Why don't you comment on my Flickr albums? I know people look at them, but very few say anything. I'm a mom, and most of the pictures on there are my children. This means you should comment, say nice things, gush about how CUTE they are. We moms eat that up. No lurking!! Here or on Flickr!! Comment or else!

Wah!

Nothing to write. I am sooooo bored. How can I be bored you ask? Well, basically, N is gathering and preparing, and training, and whatnot, plus he has to go to sleep at a decent time, unlike yours truly who is a night owl. This means I depend on you, dear blogworld, to keep me entertained. You must be so busy with back to school shopping and crap, that you can't find time to entertain me either. So here I sit like a lonely puppy, hopping around the internet trying to find something to do. Yes, I'm sure I could find something to do offline, but dammit, there is only so much cleaning one can stand to do. Why don't you write pretty things for me anymore? Do you not love me? ** waaahhhhhh **
Ok, I'm kidding, I'm not heartbroken or anything. I'm really not *that* crazy!! I am a little pissed off, though it has nothing to do with y'all. It's my father-in-law actually (hi Mom!... my mother-in-law reads this site, I know this!) who has crossed me with some insensitive comments. Such is life, feelings get hurt, then we get over it. Then we ramble on our blogs about nothingness, because this IS 2005, you know!! Actually, I hear blogging (or maybe it's just the word "blogger") is now passe', but leave it to me to be behind on the trends. After all, all my friends live in my computer, and at least a couple people in this world think people on the internet aren't real. Didn't you know we're all actually elves living in a nice oak tree, tapping away at our keyboards? See?! Learn something new every day.

**I'm not sure this post will make any sense to anyone except me and Cori, but hey... y'all already knew I was weird!**

Warm Fuzzies

I was upstairs cleaning out some of the junk in the kids room, and came downstairs for a break, to see this.


N swears he was "just resting his eyes", but we all know the truth. The kids NEVER lay down and fall asleep with me, but it's a common occurance with Daddy. Who can resist such cuteness??

Crafts/Decor Update!

Here are some of the things I've finished up...

Pictures in the bedroom...




The bedroom curtains, the project that gave me the most hell (actually, they still need some fine tuning)... but the decorative rods (they have spears on the end)? Like 3 bucks at Big Lots. I LOVE a good deal, sespecially after spending an arm and a leg on the silver fabric for the scarf. Silver satin is not all that easy to find!



The decorated living room, or at least most of it...


And finally, the finished bench. N worked really hard to get this ready for me, we refinished it and made a new cushion.

I need to finish up a few more projects, but now that I'm getting to the end I'm anxious to find something else to do. You know, idle hands and all.

Update on my rant

**In case I wasn't clear, for those of you who aren't military, the employees of our shops and restaraunts on post are civilian. Had this interaction been with a soldier, I would have simply marched into their command or first sergeant's office and discussed it with them. Being as she is civilian employed on post it's actually more difficult to demand action, but we're trying none the less.**

Nate and I have both spoken with the lady that oversees the food court, and she was at a loss for words over the behavior Mary exhibited. She assured us she plans on speaking with the manager, as well as Mary herself, and checking her record to see if this is recurring behavior. It's the first time it has ever been reported to her, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened. She apologized up and down, and agreed there is simply no excuse for that treatment. When I told her she had no reason to apologize, it certainly wasn't HER fault, she said "Yes, but every one of our associates is supposed to be a representative of AAFES, and that is inexcusable behavior." So, she promised to call me tomorrow afternoon after she has investigated it a bit more, and assured me it would be taken care of. She also thanked me for my patronage and patience, which I appreciated. She was just pleasant and wonderful, a true business woman with class and manners. I'll update again tomorrow night on it.

Cuteness!!

After my rant, I feel the need to share cuteness with you, (my life isn't all bitching and misery after all!)
I often ask the kids "Are you TRYING to drive Mommy crazy?!"
This has come back to bite me in the ass, as most things do. I told Maddie "No!" the other day, and she replied "Ugh!!! Mommy! You making my CRAZY!"
**giggle**
So, now, whenever she is irritated or hasn't gotten her diva-licious way, she tells the offender they "making my crazy!!" with an exasperated sigh and arm waving. I am terrifed of her teen years, she's gonna be hell in heels.

Customer service....

First, let me thank all of you for your kind thoughts and prayers for our family. It means the world to me that people can be so caring and supportive.

Now, you're in for one of my famous (infamous??) rants. Those of you who know me well know that poor customer service is my pet peeve. I've worked too many jobs dealing directly with customers to have any patience for bullshit and rudeness. Today we decided to go to the PX (post exchange) for dinner and ice cream. We chose Charley's Steaks ("cheesesteak" place, but remember I grew up near Philly, so I say that loosely) and proceeded to the counter. One kid was working the counter, and food area, while a couple other employees were in the back. This kid really didn't seem to know what he was doing, and was incredibly slow with the order in front of us. The soldier in front of us paid for his order, and the kid working took the money, gloves still on. I see this, mention it to Nate, and decide to watch to see if the kid then handles food with the same gloves. He's also wiping at his brow, and touching his face with them on. By this point the other employees come out, and one starts working the grill. Her nametag says she's a supervisor, so I continue watching the food prep area. **sidenote: my family owns a deli, I worked in it from age 12 to 16. I've also worked as a waitress, and had my permit to handle food and alcohol in Texas and Florida My mom worked in food service for 20 years. I know food service, and proper food handling WELL** Anyway, I watch as I place my order, and the kid rings it up, still wearing the same gloves. He goes to put some more fries in the fryer, and I interrupt, and let him know he needs to change his gloves. He stutters and argues for a second, and the supervisor tells him not to argue. At this point N is standing in front of her at the grill, and I'm still at the register. N comes over and tells me we're about to leave, because the supervisor is talking smack. I tell him it's fine, and go to pay. As I'm paying, I tell the kid that it was nothing personal, I've made mistakes handling food, sometimes you just forget. At this point the supervisor says "Goddamn, I told him to change his gloves, do we need to keep talking about it??" I let that slide as well, because we're all hungry, lets just get our food and go. I'm waiting on the chicken for the kids, and notice we're short 2 fries and our drinks, I let her know he forgot to hand them to me, and she snaps "He DIDN't forget, they're right there" and points at fries in the fryer. Whatever, I tell N to get our cups, and he tells me to go sit down with the kids. We sat halfway across the very large food court, and proceeded to eat. At this point I hear the supervisor LOUDLY mouthing off, cussing, complaining, etc. I can hear every word from 40 or 50 feet away, and I'm getting irritated. She's telling some friends in line that she can't get fired, they've been trying to fire her and can't, and it's hot outside, then she's working a hot grill, and she's cranky and doesn't give a fuck, she's going off on everyone, etc. Very professional, let me tell you. Well, N tells me she said (in front of him) "It's bitches like that that make me want to smack them." Now we are getting really pissed off, because we paid good money for mediocre food and are being treated like shit. We can hear her telling her friends, "The bitch complains and I told him to take his gloves off... It's no big deal, nothing is gonna happen." N finishes his food and decided to go complain to the PX customer service desk about her. I stopped and asked a busser who we would direct a complaint to about a food court employee. She sees me talking to him, and immediately calls him over, then loudly starts calling me names and bragging that nothing is going to happen. Ok... had enough. I get up, walk over and chew her ass, she's supposed to be a supervisor, an example to the employees, and I hadn't made an unreasonable request. She calls me a liar, and says I've done nothing but complain since I got in line, we're basically shouting at each other. 3 soldiers in uniform are waiting to order at this point, while the other 2 employees stand there gawking. One of the soldiers finally spoke up just as the customer service manager walked up, asking if he could place his order now. She walks in the back to speak to the CS manager, and I apologized to the soldiers for holding up their meals. I had let the CS manager know I expected an apology for her behavior, so I went to help the kids with the rest of their meal. Finally, the CS manager comes out and tells me the supervisor will not apologize, but CS is actually not who is over the food court, so she gave me the number of the lady who is. She apologizes, and reassures us we will be able to reach the lady tomorrow in her office. She walks away and N tells me the moment he said "I'd like to complain about a food court employee", the customer service manager said "Let me guess, Mary, right?" So apparently we aren't the only ones. Ok, fine. It's been 30 minutes of listening to the rude supervisor run her mouth to everyone in sight about me and my bitchiness. We tell the kids to hurry up and finish, we're scrapping the promised ice cream, before we lose control on this woman. She continued to talk shit for the remainder of the time we were there, 45 minutes total of her disrespect and loud bitching. All because I asked an employee to change the contaminated gloves he had on. I'm SO unreasonable sometimes! What a bitch for not wanting germs in my kids food! So, for the first time in my life, I am going to demand someone be dismissed from their job. We'll be filing a complaint in the AM, and if the lady is not fired, I'll continue to complain up the chain until she is. I have never been treated so poorly by an employee, and the fact that she behaved like a ghetto ass crackhead (looked like one, too) for 45 freaking minutes is unacceptable. Had she come out and apologized as asked I would have dropped it, and simply never eaten there again, but that was too difficult for her. So, I'll have to post later about the phone calls and whether she is still employed there or not.

Breaking news

We found out today that N is going to Iraq, in the next few weeks. We don't have "normal" time to prepare, because he is meeting up with troops already there, but the upside is he will not being doing a full year tour. This means that for the next few weeks I may be sporadic in posting, because obviously we need to make the most of this time. I will still be checking in, but you won't see me around as much. We'd appreciate everyone keeping our families in their thoughts and prayers, as well as all of the other US soldiers abroad. Thank you!

Crystal

Mission: Cheap

I have an enemy, it's name is retail. I hate retail prices, it pains me to pay them, no matter how much money we have. Why? Well, why pay retail if I don't have to?! So, I loves me some thrift shops. I love yard sales too, although with gas prices, my aversion to mornings, and the fact that people start sales on Thursday here (WTF is that? Some people have stuff to do during the week!!) I haven't made it out in a long time. Anyway, there is a disabled veterans thrift store in town, and while most of it is junk, some of it older than me, there are good deals to be found. 3 gorgeous vases for 50 cents a piece. 2 plain leather belts for 25 cents a piece. 2 cute brown leather purses for 50 cents a piece, this one made me particularly happy since I can't even find purses I like in retail stores. Ask N, my purse shopping is a serious ordeal! Anyway, I digress... I like buying something cheap, and making it look great. Sometimes it's as easy as a dishwasher (for the vases), or a magic eraser (the greatest invention EVER), or maybe a little bit of leather cleaner, which I already have. Of course, buying cheap doesn't mean used. Hobby Lobby had HUGE sales in July, and I've decorated most of my house on just a couple hundred dollars. I'm talking art, beautiful frames, accent pieces, etc, they were all 50% or more off, and who can resist? A good deal makes me smile, and I could occupy a whole day just looking for that perfect piece at that perfect price. Some of my friends do not have the patience for it, or have just never tried. I'm trying to convert them to the wonders of being "frugal". I mean HELLO?! This purse

for 50 cents?! Who can resist? So spill, are you a retail gal, or a cheapskate chica? Do thrift stores and yard sales make you giddy, or grumpy? What's your best find?