Alex is finally Home!

This is a picture of Alex and his best friend with one of our friends. she is also AirForce. She gave him an airforce coin. It was soo cool. Now, on with the story.

And I am a very happy mom. a little tired, but happy. I ended up switching shifts with a lady on first shift to avoid calling in to pick up Alex from the airport. there was a few sleep times where I only got four and half hours sleep and I was burned out. it was so worth it.

The party arrangements are coming along great. we had originally figured on 50 guests. Then it went down to 30, based on the response from RSVP's. Times like this lets really let a person know how important those numbers are. I had a hard time getting alex to help me out on his part with his friends. His best friend didn't even know until I sent him a text and invited him myself. the total is back up to 50 again. we have to give a number to the hotel this weekend and also firm things up with the dj. I am getting really excited.

last night there was a christmas party at the post. the ladies auxiliary put it on and most of us donated the food. there was turkey, taters n gravy, yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, all the fixens. The ladies sold the tickets for 5.00 each. that was the bargain of the season. you cant get a value meal that big from any fast food place for that price. and it was good too.

I told alex about the party and asked him to go with us and he agreed. I didn't know if he had other plans, so I was happy he wanted to go with us. He asked if it was formal, should he wear his blues, how should he dress. I told him he could wear what ever he wanted, it wasn't formal at all. So when he came out of his room dressed in his ABU's, I was so happy. he is so proud to be an Airman, and we are so proud of him.

Ok, here is one of the best parts.He was greeted and welcomed home by the post members standing outside the doors when we walked in. People were shaking his hand and thanking him for his service. I think he was sorta surprised.  When we walked into the post, everyone started clapping. I started tearing up. His best friend was with him and I think they were both speechless. All night the guys were thanking him and shaking his hand. There was a little boy there that wants to be int eh military so bad and he wanted his picture taken with alex. I also have a picture of this other little boy shaking his hand. he just went up to him and shook his hand. I don't know how I got the picture, but i did.

Yep, it was a teary night for me. i know we are all so very proud of our children, but every once in a while, they really surprise us. One of the ladies was telling me what a good guy he was and how good he was to listen to all the stories so patiently. she was watching him, and he seemed so interested. later, she mentioned this to him, and he said the whole experience was sorta humbling. and there went my heart again. I love my son. he really is a good guy.

Ok, on that note, I am going to sign off for today.

I have a minute before I go to bed

so I am going to try and get something written here. I keep thinking I am going to update here, but I cant seem to get past my email. my plan is to read my email, at least the ones I do read. delete the stuff i don't read, then get here and update. I cant even finish my email list. I opened my email the other day and had 78 that had nit been read. WTH! A lot of it was stuff I just hit delete to, but it still takes up my time. then I have to get on with other stuff, so I end up shutting down and updating is again put on the back burner. Well, I am here now, at least for a minute.

I have been spending a lot of my time doing christmas stuff. not really shopping for family, but things like cards. I also did the three boxes of things for the soldiers. That was really a lot of fun for me. I went to big lots and bought a bunch of stuff, three of everything. I added that to the things I bought at our company store. the boxes still rattles a little after all the stuff was in them, so I had to finish them off with a little bubble wrap and news paper. I sent cards with my email, and I really hope to hear from the guys I sent the boxes to.

Yesterday morning I went out with some of the folks from the post and we went out the veterans cemetery and laid wreaths on the graves of soldiers. It is a program called wreathes across america. a friend at the post starts around October letting people know of this program, and starts soliciting donations for the wreaths. I think she said they are only 15.00. I keep thinking I will buy a few, but I don't have my checkbook on me at the time, and I forget. anyway, last year, they had 230 to place on the graves. this year they had 2300. pretty good HUH! Next year I will buy wreaths. I will remember next year. Anyone can do this. all you have to do is look up the wreaths across america site, and donate a wreath to the cemetery of your choice. Every military cemetery has this program.

When i got home from there, John took down al the christmas decorations for me. I decided to set up the tree this year, since alex is coming home. I forgot about the small tree I bought. it was tucked up in the rafters, wrapped in an old sheet. I told john go ahead and bring that down too. I had him put the big tree back up I just didn't want to deal with that one. So I decorated the small tree and the wine rack next to it. it looks nice, and it wont be so hard to take down. and with a fake tree, there are no spiders and bug's crawling in your house from the tree. ewwwww.

this morning after I spent the morning on the phone, i went out and did a little last minute shopping. I still need to get a few more things, but i am pretty much done. my christmas cards are all sent too. I have a bunch of things I need to wrap still. I got tired though so I didn't finish that either. i have time, I'm not worried.

Alex will be home wednesday night. I am so excited. we are finalizing the last of the party arrangements. did i tell you we are flying his big brother home for the party? they haven't seen each other for at least six years. I am not telling alex until we pick up andy. that is going to be hard to do. we hired a dj for the party though and made the down payment on the banquet room. we have a lot of stuff going on right now. I need a vacation.

well, i need to take a nap before I go to work. believe it or not, four hours sleep does good for the first night back. i couldn't do it more than once a week though. so until next time I find time to sit down with you, have a great week.

Ok, I am hearing things are moving here on multiply. I looked and everything still looks the same here. what is supposed to be moving?

Merry Christmas Soldier

I have decided this year that I have enough. I am blessed to be fortunate enough to not want for much. If I do want something, I just go get it.  So I have decided to fill a box or two and send them to a soldier in Iraq. I have a list of items to purchase and three address;s to send them to. I will go to the post office and pick up a couple of those boxes made especially for this. I think its 14.00 to send one. When the company store opens, I will go in and pick up some stuff from there then hit the dollar store for some additional items. I was thinking of making a video and including it. I could tell the person how much we appreciate all that they do for us, maybe take a video of the guys at the post and try to get them to say something. I don't know, its just a thought.

If you would like to do something like this, let me know. I can get you an address and name to send it to. You cant just send it addressed to any soldier. anyway, this will make me happy this year. I have a leather jacket to be surprised with christmas morning. and my son will be home. what more can a gurl ask for. Life is good.

What we did On Black Friday

This morning I woke up too early cus i fell asleep yesterday really early cus i didn't take a nap when i got home. I watched all the things i had recorded, then sewed till I poked my finger one too many times. Then, John woke up and decided he was going to venture out in the misery of black friday. He needed a few things he could get on really good sale if he jumped into the store, then back out real quick. There was a sale at Penny's on leather jackets and I wanted one. So I braved the streets to get tot he mall and found the jacket i wanted. Its black, I really kinda wanted a rust colored one, but they didn't have one in that color in my size. It's zipper front and tailored back, I like it. When I got home, I showed John what he bought me and we are both happy. I also bought him a couple sweatshirts. He requested these also. I didn't have to stand in line too long, so I went down to sears and look for a surround sound system for Alex. he requested this, in blue ray.

OMG! Unless you have an extra 300.00 plus dollars to invest in this, I would get the regular one. Nope, if Alex wants it in Blue ray he can fork out for that on his own.

After the mall, I went into the fabric store to buy the back for the quilt I am making for my Granddaughter. She gets a grown up quilt form me this year. I got 30 percent off my entire purchase there, so i was happy. While I was there, John called me to tell me he was home, and we could start on our next mission as soon as I got home.

I probably haven't mentioned this cus I have been gone for so long. Alex is coming home December 16 for 22 days. Not long enough for me, but I don't have a choice in this matter. Anyway, we are having a party for him when gets home so he can see his family again. He hasn't seen some of his family since before he left for school after college. we were going to have the party at the post, but then we would have to cook all the food and do all the work. Instead, we decided to have the party at a hotel/restaurant so family can come from out of town and drink all they want. then they can stagger back to their rooms safely.

so today we went out pricing hotel buffet/dinner rentals. Hey guess what! we would have to work all day, or pay for this. we would both rather pay for this than work that hard. I am not even going to tell you how much its going to cost, it will be worth it. Until Alex gets married, we wont have to do this again. I guess this is what we have  a savings for. We really want him to see his family again and this is th easiest way. I may even fly andy out for him to come home. They haven't seen each other in I don't know how long.

 Well, that is what I did today. I am crewed in to work tonight again. I get so pissed off cus they give us a day off and then I get forced in on my day off. WTF! that is another storey. Oh well. That is what I did today. Lets see what happens tomorrow.

Cough, Cough

dust, cobwebs and old letters laying all over the place. Its been so long since i have been here. I am makin Carol look really good. I used to get on her to update, and here I am, a month since I checked in. Oh well.

So What have I been doing? there has been something every weekend. Either with family or at the Post. John and I are both getting tired of having stuff to do every weekend. On the weekdays, I get home  from work and just want to sleep. I know I have had things to talk about, but the desire to log on just wasn't there. Today, we don't have to be anywhere, or do anything but cook and eat. I made two pies this morning, and cranberry sauce. We like it better fresh. We can only eat one pie, so I will give the other to a friend. she has a huge family and they wont have a problem snarfin it down. I give all my extra stuff I cook to them. Even if I don't like it very much, they do. lol, she called me Betty Crocker the other day.

I am going to try and get back in the habit of updating here again. its not like it takes a long time, I just have to do it. Nuff bout that.

John asked me what I wanted for Christmas this morning. OH Crap! the only thing I can think of is a jacket. Not a huge jacket for incredibly cold weather, something nice and less bulky than the one I have. He found one in the Penny's ad, and I may just go get it for myself tomorrow. Then I will bring it home and wrap it up. Christmas morning I will unwrap it and act like I am so surprised. I am good at this, I have had to do it in the past. I don't know what else I may want. We have a limit we spend on each other. I think I will spend part of it filling a box and send to a soldier in Iraq. If you want to do this, I could send the info on how. I really have a lot.

John wants a new electric razor and a couple new sweatshirts. These things seem so simple, but really, its hard to think of gifts for each other. We are at the point of just buying what we want when we want it.

Today we are having turkey in a smaller amount. John bought a turkey breast and has it on the smoker since 7 this morning. John a sweet potato in the oven(gag). We will make the rest of the meal as the day goes on. The kids are too far away to come home for the holiday. I would love to be able to fix a meal for my kids again, and have everyone here. Hopefully some day.

Well, I just took out my pies and John brought in the turkey. The house is smelling good. I can feel the lbs settling in on my hips already.

have a happy Thanksgiving. See ya all soon.  

I have a question for my friends out there. I have a friend that is looking for military friends and high school friends. she tried the tool on facebook with no luck. does anyone know of another search tool for finding people, at no charge. classmates.com charges.

Friday Oct. 16

On the way to work last night, Lorrie and I were talking about possibly getting decrewed. We laughed, cus it never happens any more. We remembered, tried to remember the last time we were decrewed at the beginning of the night. it was a very long time ago. it just doesn't happen any more. The crewer tries to make sure she brings in the right amount of people. Full time works before part time and temps. The get called off first also. So we just talk about it, knowing it wont happen. But it's fun to dream.

Well, last night, after our pre-shift meeting, Randy, he is sort of a helper/resource in training kind of guy, says we have three going out of department, and three people over. WHAT? Did I hear that correctly. I asked Lorrie, did i hear that correctly? Yes, but we wont get to go home, the part timers and temps will go home first. So we got over to the board, and we were not assigned to a line. we had signed the decrew list, but only 1 part timer did also. We got tot go home at midnight. We hightailed it out of there before someone could change their minds. So i got a little nap, I am sorta charged and I'm have intentions of cleaning my house today and starting a quilt this weekend.

Its finally cooling off. Tuesday we had a storm with high winds. Trees came down all over the place. We were spared that one. A guy I work with had his car damaged buy a tree in his yard. Now the weather is very muggy, but cool enough to sew. it just gets very hot in that room, even with the fan on.

The other thing I love about this time of year, when it cools off, is I get to bake more. It just isn't worth it to turn on the oven when its going to be 100 outside. that just means the AC will come on that much earlier. A few weeks ago, John found a recipe for Carmel Glazed Apple Cake and asked me if I could make it. Would it be too hard. I checked out the recipe, said no, I can do it. it sounds good. So I did and OMG! I will have to put it int he recipe box. it actually came out of the Costco magazine we get every month. so if you get that, you got the recipe. Fabulous.

We also had a potluck at work. I was asked to make something chocolate. I am not really good at chocolate, but I remembered a chocolate cream pie that is fairly easy, and quite tasty too. I made it, and used a graham cracker crust. then I layered bananas in the chocolate part and put whipped cream on top. When the girls at work tasted it, they loved it. They thought I made it from a box, but I told them no, it was scratch. I did buy the crust in a box, I hate crumbling the graham crackers. they didn't know you could make pudding with out a box. It tastes so different from the box stuff, very creamy and so much flavor.

I have been trying to read my email and get on here to blog and respond to your blogs, but about five minutes after I get started, I start falling asleep. I end up just shutting down and heading off to bed. Today, I am going to try and get caught up. Try. That is the key word here. Hope you have wonderful activities planned for your weekends.

A new Experience for me

I don't know when it happened, but the current commander of the post was contacted to perform a flag changing ceremony at one of our senior centers. The lady that called was a widow of WWII Vet. The flag at the center where he was in his last days, was deteriorating and she wanted it replaced, but with the respect it deserved. She had purchased a new flag, and requested the Post replace it for the old one. I think that is how it went, I'm not sure.

The Commander requested the Vice Commander and Jr. Vice to assist in this process. John is the Jr. Vice, so I get to go along. I did ask if they wanted me there, to take pictures, and was told yes, very much so. So Saturday morning, we went over to the senior center and they figured out how it was all going to happen. At first, they said they would just reach up and change out the pole. I suggested they do a rehearsal run, just in case. I had to say one more time, you don't want to be looking for a ladder at the last minute if you need one.

Its a good thing they listened, because John, the tallest of them all, couldn't reach the flag. They brought the ladder over and had it set up and ready to go.

The lady that requested the service showed up and gave the flag to the commander. She also had an 8x10 sepia colored photo of her husband. I was taking pictures, and got a bunch of really good ones. Her daughter was also there taking pictures of the event. Then, the helpers at the center brought out some of the retired military hero's they have staying with them. I have to tell you, I cried off and on the entire time we were there.

 

 

 

 

 

The gentlemen sat in their wheelchairs, off to the side but still right there. Two of the men, were so close. It was so heartwarming to witness how much they needed each other. One of the men was blind I think, or near blind. When they wheeled him outside onto the patio, his friend called his name to let him know he was there. The nurse wheeled him over next to his friend, and the friend put his hand on the others wheelchair, touched his hand and let him feel safer. The blind man, kept his hand on his friends wheelchair the entire time they were outside. It was heartwarming and created the vision of how much soldiers and military personnel depend on each other in times of need.

At one point, John told the younger of the soldiers, who by the way was in Korea for two years serving as a Marine, of a story he read in the Military news Online. It was a story of a young man in New York that burned a flag at one of the post's. He  had been refused service because he couldn't prove status. He was asked to leave the post, but later returned and burned th flag, which had been flown in Iraq. When this gentleman heard this, he cried for the disrespect shown to the flag, the soldiers, the ones who gave their lives. I had to turn my head and cry too.

Finally, the time came to lower the older flag, and replace it with the new one. There was a little fumbling, but after a short while, the new flag was up. The tattered flag was respectfully folded, and placed aside to be retired properly at a later date. i will write about that also, when it happens. After the new flag was up, without even having to be told, the three post members stood at attention for a silent minute. The wife of the commander, a ladies Auxiliary member, stood with her hand over her heart.

 

This was the first time I have ever witnessed the changing of a flag. It was a very emotional morning. The whole event may have taken 1 1/2 hours, and that was just because we waited for different things to happen. I took a lot of pictures, and was privileged to meet some of our unsung hero's. I exchanged names with the daughter of the wife that donated the new flag. She will snag some of the pictures I put on facebook, and send them to her brother in Ohio. I will remember this for a very long time as a very special day. If you ever have the opportunity to be a part of something like this, please do it.

This was kinda long, but I felt I just had to do this one justice. I really could have gone on, but you have to cut it of somewhere. Hope you all have a great week.

 

Cinnamon Rolls

This is a pictorial of the cinnamon roll process from the dough ball to the plate.

Cinnamon Rolls

Description:
mouth watering. makes your house smell really good.

Ingredients:
2 cups milk, scalded
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup mashed potatoes(I use a good sized starchy potatoe.)
2 packages dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 eggs, slightly beaten
7 cups flour
1 cup raisins(optional)
1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon


Directions:
1. Pour scalded milk over shortening, sugar, salt and potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Cool to lukewarm.
2. Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add milk to mixture with eggs and four cups flour. Beat with electric mixer until smooth and well blended.
3. Dredge raisins and nuts in a bit of the remaining flour. add to batter. slowly add remaining flour to make a soft dough. cover and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size. then Knead down to the original size.
4. Divide dough in two portions. Roll each portion in into rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll up and cut into 1 inch slices. Place on greased baking sheet and cover. Let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

This is the recipe the way it is written in the directions. I go as far as mixing the ingredients together. Let the dough rise one time after it is mixed, then separate in two.I dont dredge the rasins or nuts. I add the nuts with the sugar mixture. I use brown sugar, cinnamon and sugar, along with the butter. I usually use a whole cube of butter. I just get a bowl and mix the sugars and cinnamon, no measuring.I think it may come out to about a cup of both sugars and some cinnamon. If you need more info on this, send me an I'm and I will get back to you. I have been doing this most of my life, so you just get to know what your family likes.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Description:
OH so Yummy and fluffy

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine buttermilk, shortening, sugar and baking powder. Beat to combine. Add flour, one cup at a time, beating just to combine after each addition.
2. Lightly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 3/4 inch thick. Use a lightly floured biscuit cutter to cut the dough into rounds. you can also just make them free form with your hands. Place on baking sheet and brush lightly with melted butter. bake until golden brow,12 to 16 minutes.

Clean House and a book

This morning I woke up too early for the time I finally went to bed. That happens too often with me. i guess we all have patterns we cant change. Mine is the sleeping thing. Yesterday while I was waiting for John to get home so i could take him to beerfest, I dusted the living room. There was one layer too many, and the sneezing was out of control. this morning I mopped the floors, vaccummed the bedrooms, and cleaned the bathrooms. John helped me flip the mattress, so I had to change sheets and make the bed too. so guess what? the house is clean.

I also went and had my fake nails taken off. that kinda hurt, so he had me soak them in acetone. they finally came off. My nails look like crap now. Hopefully it wont take too long for them to grow out and look better.

Now, I have started reading a book. I havent done this for a very long time. I dont know why, I love to read. I could sit for hours with my nose stuck in a book, If I could only find a good book to start to stick my nose in. That friend I wrote about last week, the one that had the party. Well, her sons CO's wrote a book about the happenings in Iraq while they were there. I just started it, so I cant really give it a review. I dont usually read this type of book. I am more of a mystery/trashy novel kind of girl. This book is called "The Gods of Diyala" and is written by Caleb S. Cage and Gregory M. Tomlin. It was published by Texas A & M University Press. I know we dont really get the whole story when we hear it on the news. But I am going to try and educate myself on this matter.

This morning, I asked John if he would help me hang some pictures. I have his group photo, along with Andy's and Alex's from basic training. I wanted them hung in this space I have been saving for just the right thing to hang there. Alex also brought home the picture of his cousin in the F-18 while he was flying it. We put that on the side wall. It looks pretty cool I think. One day I will find the same frame for all the pictures and re hang them. I am still waiting for pictures of Johns dad's Military picture and his grandfathers picture. I want them all there. I am VERY proud of the military history in this family. i dont have Johns picture either. His mom said she would look for it for me. I may call his sister and ask her if she could find it for me if she has the time.

I have to go. I told John I would make him biscuits for dinner. the taters are on the que, so I have about 45 minutes to get them done. it will take 10 to mix them up, and 25 to cook. they are buttermilk and ohh so good and fluffy. I should probably post that recipe too for carol. see ya all later

Date night with a friend, and I won at BINGO!

Tonight, my friend Lorrie, who i work with, and I went out to dinner with any kids or husbands or agendas. Sometimes, on the way home from work on fridays, we go out to breakfast. today, John and his friend were going to the beerfest, so I decided i was going out to dinner myself. I asked Lorrie if she wanted to go with me, and she said yes. She usually works on friday nights, but she took the night off, and she got to relax a little.

Since this wasn't a planned out too much night, we didn't know where we were gonna go. We had thought about Mexican, and then tonight I saw a Sizzler commercial. That sounded really good. I could get some shrimp and a salad bar, and Lorrie could get what she wanted. I still had to pass this by her. Lorrie NEVER gets to get out of the house with a grandkid or husband in tow. She always has to be the responsible adult, so she never get s to just relax. I have tried so many times, to get her to come over and just hang out for a while, but she just cant do it.

So when I suggested Sizzler, she didn't care. She was happy to be out with a kid. All by herself getting to do grown up stuff. I picked her up, then dropped John off at the beerfest. He met his friend there, and was supposed to get a ride home. Then we headed to my bank, to pick up some cash, and off to eat. We got a meal with the unlimited salad bar and a drink and it only came to 13. 59 each. such a deal. It was nice to just sit and chat, eat slowly, and have nothing to do for the rest of the night. No agenda. While we were eating though, Lorrie asked me if I wanted to go play bingo at 10:00. Hmmmm Sure, why not.

So after we ate, we went back to my house and watched a bit of tv while we passed the hour of so before we had to leave for bingo. When we got here, I sat down on my couch and put up the footrest thing. Lorrie said how did you do that, and then she leaned back and said this is the most comfortable couch she had sat on in such a long time. Several times throughout the night, she said what a wonderful time she was having, doing nothing really. It was a nice.

Then, we left for bingo about 9:15. we had to get out games and set them up, and we had to buy daubers. i didn't own one, and Lorries were all at her house. After we got there, and got all set up and I get a call from John. his friend left him at the beerfest, and could I come pick him up. I was so pissed off, but I did it. It took me about 30 minutes to drive about from one town to the next and back, but I was going to have fun. Lorrie played the electronic part of my bingo game while I was gone. She said the whole time, with every game i was only 1 number away from winning. I have gone about 3 times, but never won anything.

So there I was. We play an electronic version, and the paper version at the same time. Lorrie is really good and knows what to look for. Not me. I put in my numbers, then dob all my paper numbers, and search for the right combination. the electronic version tells you when you win. Well,I was one number away, and it comes up and Lorrie says "Lisa, put in 49"! I did and all of a sudden"Show me the Money" comes out of my machine. i screamed a small scream and my hands start flapping and my feet are tapping like I just won a million dollars. I start to yell bingo, and Lorrie is telling me no, not yet. they have to announce the number first. I don't realise it at the time, but all the pros in the room are looking at me like I am some kind of Moron. Then, he announces G49 and 11 people yell Bingo. Lorrie was laughing her ass off, and so was I. I was so excited. OMG! I won at bingo! $18.00. hahahaha it was split 11 times.

Pretty soon, we were playing another game, and I told lorrie I only had 1 number from one card. i didn't know how to tell what number it was I was missing. then, he called that number, and again, Show me the MOney came singing out of my machine. Lorrie told me again not ot scream, but there was a guy right there to verify my machine. I had to wait till he called the number, then I yelled BINGO! It was a bingo for 200.00 and it was only split twice that time. I won 100.00. Lorrie told me its nice to tip the money guy 5.00 so I did, and I gave her 20.00 cus she would have done the same for me if she had won. I was so excited. we also bought pull tab games, but didn't win on any of those.

We had such a fun night. When I dropped her off, we decided we were going to do this again. I am looking forward to a repeat. I better get going. its 1:30 am. I just had to write this before I didn't want to. I really wish I could have had a video of me winning and acting like such a spaz. It was hilarious. But it was my very first time winning at bingo. I came home with 80.00 in my pocket.

Found out where my baby boy is is gonna be stationed. We may be heading to New Jersey sometime in the future, if we want to see him. He is happy. it was one of his places he requested.

Cookies with cake flour

This morning i got off work at 6. It is always a surprise when I am told I get to go home early. I know I have said that before, but its true. I had thought I would go home and just change and get ready for an early visit to curves. they open at 730, so I could get to bed really early. Instead, I came home and decided to make some cookies for alex. it was a spur of the moment thing, but i really wanted to get some good cookies to alex.

I dont remember if I wrote about this earlier. I sent cookies about a month ago, and they got there hard as a rock. they looked good, until they tried to eat them. CRUNCH! Alex isnt shy about telling me when i mess up on my baking. I dont mind, it makes me get better.

this week, I asked John to get me bread flour when he went shopping. i was out of flour, and wanted to make cinnamon rolls, but also was wondering how it would work with cookies. I usually buy all purpose flour. For those of you who's eyes are glazing over, I am getting to my point, really. I know some of you think cookies are only found in bakeries and on the shelves in stores. Nope. some of us still make them, and flour does make a difference.

Ok, so I got home and put my mixer over on the counter and threw in two cubes of butter and turned it on. the cookies were in process. After all the ingredients were mixed, I threw in two cups of chocolate chips in the end, let the mixer do its thing and the mixture was complete. I decided to cook them just slightly less than required, so they couldnt get crunchy. this did the trick.

These cookies were a little chewy, very fluffy, and so fabulously DELISH! I changed into my workout clothes, and headed to curves after the last batch was out of the oven. After curves, I headed over to longs to buy a rubbermaid or something similar to keep them fresh when I shipped them. I found a container that cost 8 bucks that i kinda had to think twice about. but after i worked so hard to get these just right, I just paid the over price and hoped it would fit all the cookies and keep them fresh.

At home, I layered them in paper towels and press n seal and put them into a priority box from the post office and added his other mail and went off to the post office to mail them off. I used the self service thingy at the post office and avoided the line inside. I was back home in 15 minutes. I was happy I got a lot done. I also wrote to Johns mom and gave her Alex's new address. I could go to bed with no troubling thoughts keeping me awake.

What a great sleep I had. These kinds of things make me personally happy. Even though i make these frequently, sometimes I just need a really good success. Today was mine. have a great week. Im gonna give it my best shot.

Sunday September 27, 2009

This is going to be one of those posts I put a title on after I write it. oops, if your looking at this and there was nothing there to begin with, I hit "enter" after i decided to just use the date as a title. crap, I hate it when i do that.

Last night, we went to a birthday party for a friend from the post. Just about everything we do lately is somehow connected to the post. In a way, i guess that is a good thing. Anyway, this mans son recently came back from Iraq. I don't ask these brave people about the experience there, because I don't know how to start the conversation. It scares the hell out of me. Anyway, I got ahead of myself there. We got to the party and didn't know anyone. pretty soon, another member showed up, and John and I found out these two guys were brothers. We were both surprised. they have the same last name, but neither of us connected it. So many people out here have the same last name, such as Garcia, I don't even blink at it any more.

a bunch of people showed up and hte party was really a lot of fun. We chatted a lot with different people and ate some really good food. There  was tri tip, chicken, lumpia(homemade) noodles, rice, chile beans and some other stuff. It was a mix if american and Filipino. Love that food. For desert, we had a white cake with strawberry filling and whipped cream frosting. His wife put a picture of her husband when he was in high school, with a big ole afro, and a current one on the top of the cake. I wish I had brought my camera just to get a pic of that.

so let me get to what I started to tell you in the beginning. John and the friend that went with us, so he didn't have to drive, started talking to the son. they are both vets, and know how to start that conversation. He brought out a book of pictures his mom had put together for him when he was over there. He would send her pictures, and she kept them all. She had them all developed, and put them into sleeves, then into a book. there were so many pictures. I was sitting off to the side, talking to his mom, and listening to small parts. Watching that exchange between the two generations of foreign war vets, was heartwarming to say the least. To see the young new brave man, explain is experiences to the older vets, and to see the sincere interest from them was site to behold.

I really wanted to see what they were looking at, but i didn't want to interfere with the exchange that was happening. I know none of them would have minded, but it would have changed the conversation. I was also watching his mom and dad. Without saying a word, their faces beamed as their son told his story through the pictures he sent home. I couldn't imagine the pain she went through when he son was over there. it would tear me apart. I did slide over his shoulder and take a short peak at one picture he said was his trophy shot. It was of a smoking humvee that had just been hit. he was the driver when it was hit, but he drove it as far as he could to get out of the line of fire, and to a safe spot. Then, him and his guys jumped out of the humvee and ran for safety. they stayed there for a short while, until the rest of the unit showed up and rescued them.

That is when i asked him, You were Hit? he said yes, like it was nothing. That tore me up. it was getting kinda late by then, and the last of the guests were saying good by. We followed them. Before we left, I hugged the young man and told him Thank you for your service to our country. That was all I could say. We left after that and I drove home. I didn't ask about the pictures, because i know I cant handle that. I would cry. The things we don't know are so much scarier than what we do know.

When you see a vet, tell them thank you. You don't have to say anything else, they know why you said it, and they love it.

That's it for today. We are off to the post again today for another function. I want another us weekend. See ya all later.

DWTS started tonight. yippee! I am a dancing freak. I love this show. I want to dance just a little like a ballroom dancer.

15. How did you feel about school?

 

I loved school. School is where most of my friends were. We knew we could meet up every day there. When I was in grammar school, there was an after school program we could do right at the school for fun. In the summer, we could go to a program I think was just called recreation. We made all kinds of little trinket things and those things everyone had at one time that their keys were attached to.

Then we were in Junior High. We only spent two years there, 7 and 8 grade. The school I went to was called San Andreas. For the kids that lived close to that school, there was a grammar school there also. We thought we were so cool.

I never did anything special in High School, like be a cheer leader, or sports or anything like that. I just liked school. I liked learning and a few of my teachers made that fun and interesting. I tried to get my boys to like school and do their best. That isn’t always an easy task. I went and did my best. I also had this thing, that I still try to do and live by today. Find something, anything to like in every class. That made school better for me. Find something to like in everything you do. I’m glad I finished and went on to do some college.

 

Fun Night, Funny Morning, 9-19-09

Yesterday there was a Commanders Lunch/Dinner in Delhi. Its about 20 miles south of here and held once a year for the past commander of all the Posts. Each year its held in a different place. Well, this place has to be the oldest post around. the building is an old one room school house. this town is really tiny, and at one point, they didn't have that many children in school, so one room is all that was needed. They have since built a real school house. Anyway, it was freaking hot, and there was no cooling system in the building. So, the doors were wide open to keep everyone from suffocating. Since the doors were wide open, the flys all came in. UGH! I hate flys. We had bought some raffle tickets when we got there, to support the post, so we kinda had to stay till they did the raffle. We didn't win anything, but my friend gave me the Paninni Maker she won. That was so nice of her. The Paninni maker was the only thing I kinda wanted to win. We finally got to leave, rolling up the windows of the car and blasting the AC till we all cooled off. We had a friend with us so he didn't have to drive.

We then headed back up north, dropped off the friend, he didn't want to finish the night with us. then we headed up to Ripon. The Post up there was having a fund raiser dinner with a luau theme. I wish we had gone there the whole day, or at least for dinner. I bet it was good. Those folks up there can cook. So we got there around 7 and it was packed. Nowhere to sit so we stood for a while, then some friends found us a seat. A little later, another couple that went to the dinner with us showed up. Again, a seating issue, so we waited for the raffle to end and then we could sit. They had hired a DJ and he was there with his laptop and playing everything they wanted. He was really good. Pretty soon we were dancing, yes, even John. We danced until my legs hurt. We were drinking this drink called a Cherry Cheesecake. One Part each of Malabu Rum, Vanilla Vodka,Grenadine and then half n half. Top with whipped cream and a cherry. Served in a hurricane glass and yummy enjoy. I love dancing like that. Just jump up and have a good time. None of that stuff where people expect you to dance a certain way. We danced until 11, then i drove my drunk hubby home and slept till 9 this morning.

Which brings me to the funny part. John woke up before me and got up and made coffee. he turned on the tv, and pretty soon I woke up. he had already got himself a cup, so I had to get my own, then crawl back into bed. I wasn't ready to fully wake up yet. I asked john what we wanted for breakfast, and suggested waffles. Ok, that sounded good. So we started getting ut of bed and here is where it started. I get up, John gets up and grabs his coffee cup. He some how looses his grip, and spills the coffee on the carpet next to the bed. I grabbed a towel to soak it up, and John finished that cleanup.then he knocked over the bottle of water he set there last night. Crap! the towel was still handy. I used Silk, rather than milk to make the waffles, and they sorta tasted like air with a slight crunch. i was going to make syrup, had the sugar and water all ready, no maple flavor. WTH! I always have this. OH well, i still had a little regular syrup, we could use the blackberry syrup I had. Then john went to get a glass of water, with his plate in his hand, and spilled syrup all over the floor. Oh yeah, while we were looking in the cabinets for maple, the bacon kinda burned. the eggs broke also. I think we were supposed to go out for breakfast today. I started laughing when John spilled the syrup on the floor, it was just too funny. we never have this many mishaps in one morning.

So that is how our day started. we are watching the 49er game right now. And its a good one, so far. they are doing really good this year. I think the new coach, Mike Singletary is really doing a great job with them.

Ok, see ya all later.

Did anyone else watch Ameica's Got Talent this year? Does anyone else thing the votes were tabulated wrong?

Checkin In, again 9-15-09

I better start dating those things so I know the last time I put something in here.

So this is whats been going on with me lately. We have been spending a lot of time working at the post on the weekends. they are going to open soon, hopefully and have been having a lot of last minute inspections. every weekend there has been a cleanup, or something we had to do. this past weekend was the chile cook-off. it was a  lot of fun and they raised $6000.00. the ladies Auxiliary raised 800 I think it was. Pretty good for two quilts and lunch served all day. they raised 235 selling raffle tickets for the quilts. the good thing about that raffle is that the person that gets a quilt, really wants it. they don't by those tickets unless they want them. the lady that got the one I made was so happy. that makes me happy to see.

I got a call from alex last night.  he is at sheppard AF base in texas right now. he thought he was going to be there until january or february, but will graduate on december 16. I was so happy to hear that. he starts the last leg of his tech training on thursday. and guess what, they are doing nite school and he has the same schedule as me. yep, sunday through thursday, 11 pm to 6 am. he sees that the same way i do, the best schedule. three days off. i am just happy he will be able to come home for christmas. that means i will be putting up a tree this year. if you recall, the last few years i didn't for one reason or another. I don't know about shopping for presents for him though. I will probably just give him a gift card and let him do his own. I hate returning gifts.

Work has been going I guess. last nite I swear they had all the lines on turbo. everyone said they were kickin ass and walked out of there so tired. I know i was beat. a co worker gave me a get well gift she had bought for me while I was off. I don't know why she didn't give it to my friend lorrie to give to me while I was off, but it was still a very nice gift. Tea, peanuts, a teacup, and a really nice card and some crackers. the card made me laugh, she referred to being part of the AARP club and you just never know when we don't show up. its just a running joke we have.

Ok, so that is it for now. not much, but something. that is what really matters. untilmthe next check in, see ya all later.

Smile, when you feeling lonely, smile when your feeling blue...... I dont know who wrote those words in that song, but they are really good words of advice.

Had a great time at the VFW 7th annual Chile Cook off yesterday. I really should blog about it. and maybe even add some pics. they are all on facebook if you want to see them.

I need to add something to this just to get rid of that huge space this thing is taking up. lol. I know it doesnt matter, it just bugs me.

14. Describe one of your favorite outfits of all time...a dress, shoes, shirt, hat.

I cant think of anything that was my favorite outfit or piece of clothing. I hate clothes shopping. As long as the clothes that I am wearing are comfortable, I’m good. I recently bought a pair of new balance walking shoes and I really like them. I can walk all day in these, then walk some more at night, and my feet don’t hurt that much. There isn’t much in my closet or drawers that is special to me.

I was about to call this finished. Then, I was looking in my closet for something, and I came across a dress I bought with my mom to wear to my brothers summer wedding. I didn’t want to buy it at first. It was strapless, tight fitting, rather risqué and something I would never wear. Mom talked me into trying it on. She was trying on a strapless long dress, breezy and summery. She was going to have fun, because she liked to have fun. I did too, but didn’t feel I could wear that dress.

I did try it on, and it fit perfectly. I looked at the price, and it was $240.00. Yes folks, you read that right. It was on sale for some percent off and then some more. I cant remember exactly how much. I ended up paying somewhere around $60.00 for this dress. As it hung in my closet, waiting for the wedding date, I lost weight. My mom had to take it in for me. It fit like a glove and I looked hot! This dress gave me confidence I had never had before.

I wore it another time to a company Christmas party. I still looked hot. And so this red silk, strapless dress still hangs in the back of my closet. I cant fit into it. I have more than a few pounds to go until I can fit into it again. But I will keep it. it’s a beautiful dress. It represents the beginning of strength and confidence for me. Every time I see it, I think back to that time in the department store when I was told I looked good and I should buy it buy the one person who meant the most to me, my mom.

And Now, the end is here

I have to go back to work tonight. I'm ready this time. I have been going to curves and working out, walking, doing housework and yesterday I helped dig a ditch to run the underground electrical at the post. We were so filthy at the end of the day, and my hair felt like straw from sweating so much. it was hot yesterday.

 

That other person is Donna, who is the ex commander of the Post. She got a raw deal when she ran the post, but she did an excellent job. I don't have to salute her, but I would do it gladly. there is no task she wont tackle, no person she cant handle. I am fortunate to have her a a friend. He husband was at the other end of the ditch and John was right behind her. it had to be two feet deep. All dug by hand, hard sweaty work. they still have to raise $30,000.00 to run the city water down there. something good will happen, it always does. when we got home last night, we were so tired. We stopped and got mexican food and ate at home. We both slept late today, and it felt good.

I forgot to tell you about seeing the movie Julie and Julia. I don't go to the movies very often, just because there aren't very many that come out that strike my attention. Most of them just look stupid, or they are some kind of destruction movie, or that really stupid comedy that appeals to guys, and mostly guys. Think of dumb and dumber. I just cant do that kind of comedy. I try, but it wont happen. This movie was really good. I laughed, was shocked a few times, and cried at the end, a little. To me, it wasn't necessarily a chick flick. If you require massive swearing, some blood shed, and a fight or two of some kind, or even sex, don't bother with this movie. If you can handle just being entertained for a while, go see it. It moved back and forth in time, from Julia Child's start, to Julie's progress through cooking her way through the cookbook. it was done so smoothly, it didn't even bother me, and that usually does. five stars as far as i am concerned.

I don't think I have a whole lot more to talk about. I am going to get my nails done before i go back to work. they grew too long, and it will hurt ever so bad if I catch them on anything. I also put nail polish on them friday night. Cant have that at all. well, see ya all later. Have a good week. I have to work the holiday, but john doesn't. I will get holiday pay though, so that's not so bad.

see ya!

You must see this

http://www.thefreedomrock.com/

Thank you very much to the Divine Ms. Em for putting the link to the website in the comments on my last blog. Evidently, the wonderful pictures i saw, didn't show up to you. Those pictures made me cry, with pride. Pure Patriotic Pride. I went to the website and looked at all the pictures he has painted on this rock. He does a new painting each year on the rock. This man is amazing and the work he does is worth taking the time to see. I really enjoyed it, I hope you do too. Again, Thank you Ms. Em for providing the link.

Have You Seen this?

I got this in my email the other day from a VFW member of Post 3199 in Modesto. When I saw it, it took my breath away and brought a tear to my eyes. it really did. John says seeing things like this gives him hope for the future. It makes my heart swell. If you have actually seen this, please tell me it hasn't been vandalised and remains as it is in these pictures. I think its amazing. I can't believe this was done by a teenager! There is a huge rock near a gravel pit on Hwy. 25 in rural   Iowa. For generations, kids have painted slogans, names, and obscenities on this rock, changing its character many times. A few months back, the rock received its latest paint job, and since then it has been left completely undisturbed. It's quite an impressive sight. Be sure to scroll down and check out the multiple photos.(all angles) of the rock. I thought the flag was draped over the rock, but it's not. It's actually painted on the rock too.

Here's the artist:

Ray 'Bubba' Sorensen.

AWESOME Work, RAY .
Thank you!



Pass it on.

You may be only one person in the world,

but you may also be the world to one person.

 

---

 

A Stow away, and ummmmmm

On our last trip, we went to Monterey. We went wine tasting. While we were at the shop, we sat and looked across the bay. It was a wonderful day. We each drank wine at the tasting, and then we each bought out own glass of wine to sip at a table by the big window. Before we left, we had to use the restroom. As we left the restroom, this scally wag was lurking on a nearby shelf, screaming for our attention. He finally caught Johns eye, and then John showed him to me. We decided we would come back tomorrow and see if he was still there.

 

So the next day, we stopped by the shop. Sure enough, there he was, waiting for us to come back. I bet he thought we were just saying that we would be back. John found him though, so I knew we would be back. I put my foot down though. If he was going to take up space in the car, he was going to carry a bottle of that really good port. then, when we got home, he has to guard it. So far, only John and myself have gotten into the port. I guess he wasn't really a stow away. And his little head comes off and a cork screw is holding onto to his body. So, now, here is the part i spoke of in the last posting. I said I brought something home from my surgery that was sort of pervy. I didn't notice it until I got home. It was sitting somewhere in the bedroom, and all of a sudden, i saw it for what it looked like to me on meds. I told John it looked like a big ole horsey condom. John said i was sick. I started laughing. I thought it was funny, so I couldn't use it if I had to. John kept it by the bed just in case i had to.

Guess what it really is? I bet some of you know, but to me it will always be a horsey condom. As if anyone could really do that. Its a barf bag. there is even little measuring lines, making it work as an animal condom too. lol. this was the pervy thing.

Catching up , Again

I haven't been here for a few days. I suppose i have an update to do. first off, i just noticed the little extra bar at the bottom of this page again. Multiply is changing things up, and for the good I think. anyway, there is a box down there on the bottom right hand corner, look down there, in the corner. there is a section that tells you if you have any friends on line. next to that, is a little thing that makes you aware of any new updates. next to that is a thing that looks like a magnifying glass. you can connect to Meebo from there. Well, I don't know what Meebo is. I think it is a site where you can see what is happening on all your sites from just one site. I'm not sure of that, but i think that is what it is.

This is my last week of being off work. I am really trying to make it count. I don't think I'm doing that either. Yesterday I went back to Curves. I figure, I f I can do Curves three times this week and it doesn't hurt, then I can go back to work. I'm not working really hard, just enough to get around the circle twice. I will do the Park walk on thursday, then next week i will start really working again. I just really need to loose some luggage. Its a long slow road, but I am there to the end. One way or another, I am gonna loose this junk in my trunk.

I have a few pics i want to put on here. one I still have to take, maybe i will do that in the morning. I got the funniest thing from the hospital that I have been saving to show you. maybe it was just funny to me, but I have a funny feeling Carol and Em might be just as pervy as I am sometimes. I giggle every time I think of this thing, and what it really is. that is all I am saying on that subject.

I know I have more to say, but I cant think of it right now. I will try and remember to take that picture in the morning. well, see ya all later.

Hey, as an after thought, can we all try something. Texas is in a severe drought situation. It hasn't rained there in over 4 months and some parts are literally running out of water. California is burning up and down our state and hasn't seen any rainfall in a very long time. it is a tinderbox waiting for a match. Could we all do a little talking to God, or thinking Rain for both states or something to send some help to the firemen and people. I hate to see what could happen if these two states don't get some serious rain soon. Just a thought.

13. Describe what you think it is like to live with you

OH, this must be heaven. But I guess it depends on whose perspective you would be looking at. I am going to go with living with John. Or, would that would be John living with me. We get along pretty good now, and have grown into pretty good friends. If john asks me to do something for him, I will do it. He does an awful lot for me, and probably more than most husbands. He makes dinner and does the grocery shopping. I think we both try to keep our relationship going. We have learned help each other when its necessary and step away when we should.

I really do think its not that bad living with me. I don’t like to argue or start fights. I let John pretty much do what he wants and he knows he can count on me, as I know I can count on him. Actually I think I really am an easy person to live with. I’m not too demanding, I don’t require special attention. I’m just as comfortable being by myself as I am with another person.

Fly's be gone, for free

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got an email from my niece last week. it was titled flys be gone, or something like that. it said if you put a baggie of water on or near your doorway's, it will keep the fly's out. I wondered if this was a joke, but figured what would it cost to try. the instructions say to put 4 or 5 penny's in the bag, i don't know why. so I tried it. I put five penny's in three separate bags and filled them with water. I used clothes pins and attached them to the front and back screens and one to a hanging basket with nothing in it. its been a week. we had one rogue fly in the house, and john killed it.  since then, none. not one. zilch. it works. kind of hokey and ant it isn't that pretty. I don't care. i don't have fly's in my house funny huh.

some people on the original message said they thought it worked because the flys have so many eyes and when they see their reflection it is magnified. they see it as a predator larger than themselves and stay away. I don't care what the reasoning is, it works, and its free. oh, and all the green people will love this one. no chemicals are used in the making of this repellent.

Im wondering again

the last time I did this I got in trouble with a sock puppet, but that's ok. we are all entitled to our opinions. I wonder a lot, and a lot about things I have no idea how to answer. so I am going to post my wonders again here. If you oppose them, please don't attack me. they are wonders, and wonders are how we learn new stuff.

I wonder sometimes what it feels like to be something other than me. I happen think we are all pretty much the same. I mean if we all closed our eyes and had no idea what each other looked like, wouldn't we all be the same? kind of? we would still have our own ideas and opinions and morals and things we live by. but how could we judge each other by what we looked like. so i wonder sometimes what it would feel like to be male, or asian and tiny with pretty long black hair. I don't know why I wonder these things, but i do.

I wonder sometimes what I would really do if I was very wealthy. we all say we would do these wonderful things for our family, or the underprivileged or some cause, but would I really? I think i would actually. but would that feed the need I have sometimes to help in a real way. I know I would pay off my debts that i have. I don't have many really. the house payment and Alex's college are the two biggies. they would be gone. I would hope i would be able to figure out how to be a good philanthropist before the money was gone and it was too late.

I wonder why some people are just hateful and mean to others for no apparent reasons. I have heard they act like this because they are so unhappy with themselves. this may be true. if it is, why don't they do something to make themselves happy. do something good for someone else, for no apparent reason. if you do this once in a while, there is no way you can be mean and hateful, is there?  i work with a person like this. I try to avoid her at all costs, but she wont let me. its horrible. so we just know she is b..... and let it go.

i wonder why some people can be creative with dried pasta and make it look good and I cant draw a straight line. why are some people so easily talented. I know our brains are wired for different things. some people are wired to remember everything they see and hear. some are just very good at the whole learning process. each of us has our own talent, but i wonder what it is that gives us these talents. this one probably has a really easy answer, but i still wonder.

Now here is the fashion police wonder. this one may get me in trouble, but i cant help it. why do people(mostly young girls) wear their pants low around their waist and their stomachs are falling out the front. I have seen so many young people lately who are over weight, and its mostly in their stomachs, and wear their clothes too tight and too small. i am overweight and I know it, but I don't let my stomach hang out like a trophy. the clothes now are clingy and this looks soo bad. I just don't get it. I had to get  that one off my mind.

well, i think that is the end of this session of wonders. If I think of any more and I can remember them, i will try and save them up and do this again. I have a list of my favorite things going in my documents file. I need to put that one up too one day. so that's it. see ya all later.

 

 

Off again

Hi there! if you go to my facebook page, you already know this. I'm off work again, for two more weeks. I didn't plan it, nope. I would rather not have had it happen like this. I did try to prevent it though.

When i went in sunday night, I really wasn't that comfy. still hurting a little and worried that I would get hurt again. well guess what, we were making the one thing that makes us have to do our heaviest work, and that was the only line running. I was working, doing my job, when i started to feel a little pain in my lower right hand side. then a bit later as i was doing another part of my job, BAM OR ZAP OR ZING! right down the right side of my ribs along the path of my surgery cuts, it felt like I was being ripped in half. talk about a world of hurt.

I went to the crewing office and told her i couldn't stay. It hurt too bad and i wanted to go home. they wouldn't let me go home. they couldn't let me drive home like that. liability thing ya know. they walked me to the safety room and laid me down and called the ambulance. that was the first time I have ever been inside and ambulance. kinda scary actually, the way it moves you up and down and the way it unfolds getting into and out of the vehicle.

so after we arrived at the hospital, and they gave me my spot to lay in for a while, they let john come back. my blood pressure was 190 over 100 when i arrived. that is a very scary number to hear. it finally went down. i was actually pretty lucky, I only had to stay in the er for a few hours. the doc came in and did  few things, then decided i had disturbed the scar tissue around the cuts in my abdomen. holy crap!

after talking to my doc's office people and having them call me back twice, i was told I would be off for two more weeks. I have to go see him friday afternoon and get a release. I tried to tell him on my last visit with him what kind of job i had. he just said i would be fine. I think he thought i was just trying to get extra time off. I really just wanted to make sure i was healed on the inside. Most people don't think packing chips is heavy, but guess what folks, they are. and its fast and constant. OH well. this is how it turned out. I have to drive today, so no pain meds today. I don't really like them anyway.

so that's my storey, and you know the rest.

a short video of a seahorse tank

12. Tell about learning a skill from either of your parents, cooking, sewing, cleaning, fixing things, etc

Hmmm, where do you start on something like this. I learned so much from my mom, and when my step dad, came along, so much from him. I learned how to make pancakes and syrup very early on in my life. A kid, actually. When I went to my friends homes and spent the night, they would have bisquick. I had never eaten that, so I would call my mom and ask how to make pancakes. Then, I learned how to make bread, and from that cinnamon rolls. These became a part of the lives of my kids and my husband, John. When I wanted to make Jelly, mom just told me to buy a package of pectin and read the instructions. Really? That is what she did? Yes. So those are the things I learned from her early on. And those things stuck. I couldn’t learned to make gravy. I would call her every time I made a turkey, a roast or anything that had juice from the meat. I couldn’t make a decent gravy to save my soul. I still cant. So, needless to say, if we wont gravy, we buy a can or a package. Mine tastes like glue, no matter how I do it.

When I grew up, one day mom learned to make a quilt from her granddaughter. It was a really easy quilt to make, called a rail fence. I would imagine that is a beginner quilt for a lot of people. So she made a quilt for one of the grandbabies, and then I asked her to make one for my grandbaby, Jessica. She told me if I wanted Jessica to have her own quilt, I could learn to make one myself. So she set about teaching me to make a quilt. We went to the fabric store to pick out fabric. I couldn’t find all the right fabric in that one store, Joanne’s, so we went to another store.

When we got there, there were a bunch of ladies there working on their own quilts. I looked at their projects and told them I was making my first quilt. They inquired about the pattern and fabric so I told them I had bought some at Joanne’s. Well, you should have seen how thy reacted to that. They all told me the fabric at Joanne’s wasn’t any good and why bother making a quilt out of that. You really should buy it from a real fabric store. I was so intimidated by what they said. I turned around and searched for the better fabric from the store we were in. It took me a long time, and it cost so much more that at Joanne’s. That must be the difference, it is better fabric, cus it costs so much more.

When mom and I left that store, she told me not to pay attention to those ladies. They don’t know everything, and not everyone can afford to pay that much money for a yard of fabric. Just buy fabric from where you want, at the cost you can afford. As long as there isn’t anything wrong with it, its good. Those ladies comments stayed with me for the longest time. I now call them quilting snobs. I try not to be a quilting snob.

So as time went on, mom and I were quilting partners. If there was a new quilt we wanted to make, we would buy a book and learn together how to make it. Sometimes, we would only make one version of the new quilt, due to the difficulty of the project. Neither of us ever took a class, we just read instructions over and over and made a lot of mistakes. It turned the when I would go to mms to work on something, she would sew, and I would iron. I would work on my own projects at home at the same time. I loved working with mom though. It was such a special time for me. In all my life, it took this long to finally get one on one time with my mom.

I treasure that time with her. Of all the things taught to my by my mom and dad, quilting was the best. I have been able to pass this talent on to my friend, and she loves it also. I did the same thing with her that my mom did with me. If you want a quilt for your grandkids, I will show you how to make one. This allowed us to become closer friends, and I treasure that as well. I knew this would be along one, it is my favorite one so far.

Am i the last to notice you can now import your pics from facebook to here. and all the comments zi posted on them on facebook came with them. I cant get the multiply downloader to work for me, so this is great. and it only took a minute or two.

montery day three, going home

the aquarium

Alex and Andy, my two number one sons

Montery Day 1

We have a new favorite place

We got up and left wednesday morning around 8:30 and arrived at out destination around 10:30. Check in time wasn't till 3 in the afternoon, but what could it hurt to ask or even tell them we were here and could we at least park the car. Well, guess what? Our room was ready and we could have the keys. all we had to do was carefully back up and pull down ito the parking area. the lady at erh desk gave us direction to the main street where we could find the restaurants, aquarium, beach, and general fun zone. we parked the car, loaded up the room with our stuff and headed off for our first day in Monterey.

it seems the weather is nice for us most of the time. this was no exception. I brought a light jacket and John didn't wear anything over his shirt. i was worried about him being cold, but hey, he is a big boy and can make his own decisions. We found out very soon it was easy to find everything we wanted. and that would be good food, a bar, the beach, another bar and that wine tasting place we saw online. and some more food. They were sampling clam chowder on cannery Rowe. We didn't expect that! and they have some really good chowder.

we ended up going to a wine tasting room John found on line. they had a flight they were sampling for ten dollars for 6. there were about ten or twelve wines to choose from and you could have 6 of what ever you want. we each had a flight, but I think the guy gave us more than six tastes. we quickly found out the wine there is much milder than the wine here. I was expecting the wine to be sorta similar, but it really wasn't. the merlot was closer to a mild zin and the zin was actually very light. the grapes there grow in a much cooler climate, so the flavors they release are very different.  still very good though. in the end, john had a glass of merlot and I had a glass of this really delish port that the owner of the place makes called pot belly. you can only buy it there, so the next day, we went back and bought a bottle and a little pirate guy that hold the port glasses.

For lunch we went to a place down the street that had really good chowder and i had mine in a bread bowl. as far as I'm concerned, if your gonna eat good chowder, eat it in a bread bowl. John had something i cant remember the name of it. I know what it is, I just cant remember the name right now. its squid, but that isn't what its called when its not fish bait. I could never get myself to taste it, but i did that day. it really wasn't bad, but i don't know if i would actually it.

I don't want this to get too long, cus even I get bored reading my stuff when it gets too long. I'm gonna go finish loading my pics and then I will be back. see ya then.

 

Montery, day one

What a pretty good weekend i had

This is my second to the last free weekend. next weekend will be my last days of time off till I get my next batch of vacation time in january. I am really trying to make the most of my time off. I am feeling really good, surprisingly. I thought that it would take a while to get back to feeling good, but I'm am good now. Every once in a while I get a pain in my side, but it doesn't stay around for very long. Just long enough for me to say ouch and touch my side near the hurty spot. then, its gone. Just like that. I am happy for that.

I have been walking every day this week. Before the surgery, I was walking four times around the park around the corner. the last day I walked, I did five times around. Its a really big park, so five times takes a while. i did five times around today again, and it took an hour to get back to my house. My legs were tired when I was done, but it felt really good. I could feel the muscles wanting to work like that. It is a strange kind of feel good hurt. I am going to keep up the five times around. One day, my legs will be toned again.

Anyway, what happened this weekend. Friday there was a meeting for the vfw and ladies auxiliary. Two weeks before, I finally signed up for the LA. I really didn't want to, but to stop the battle to get me to do it, I signed up. So friday, i had to take the raised hand swearing in to the ladies Auxiliary. So i sat through this meeting, and guess what, by the end of the meeting, I was Historian and chairman of cancer projects. What the hell. I take pictures of everything anyway. But the ladies only want me to take pics of them. i told them no, I will take pics of what I want, and include you. for the cancer thing i only have to send in the reports that other people do to support cancer. i can deal with that.

Then, on saturday, there was a clean up day at the post. the building had to be cleaned and swept before the inspector came, so a bunch of us went out there and did what had to be done. it only took two hours, then they made us lunch. I was so hungry, I couldn't believe how hungry I was. i ate two hamburgers. Its not like they were huge, I was just really hungry. My appetite has shrunk these last few weeks, so the whole two hamburger thing surprised me. We went home shortly after lunch, it was getting too hot to sit out there int he sun.

When we got home, it was still early enough so i went to donate blood. I got down there, filled out al the paperwork and shortly after, they called me to make sure I was able to donate. They take a small sample from your finger and drop it in some green stuff to see if it will sink. My blood didn't sink fast enough, so she did a second test on me. I failed. I failed a blood donating test and they sent me home. I have never had that happen. she asked if I had been eating much meat, and aside from the two hamburgers earlier, no, not really. I will have to remember to eat good before I donate next time.

and finally today was a very good day. We had planned on cleaning out Alex's car so it will be ready for us to take to Monterrey this week. it has a sun roof and is a really cool car. so while John was doing that, I went into the sewing room and made some purses to sell at the chile cook-off. They are really cute, and i think they will sell for 10.00. when I ran out of supplies for the purses, i pulled out my glue gun. I have been saving the corks from the wine we drink. How embarrassing. You would not believe how many corks we have. anyway, I have had this project to make a cork wreath with all the wine corks. I ran out of glue sticks before I ran out of corks or space. I will decorate it with plastic grapes and take a picture of it when it is done. i have no idea what i will do with it when i am done. maybe I will give it to someone else that drinks wine. we will see.

OK, that is what I have been doing this weekend. I have an appointment with my day spa in the morning. it will take all day. I CANT WAIT. I LOVE THE DAY SPA. ok, see ya all in Monterrey probably.

11. Tell about the "Tooth Fairy" and other personages you remember

We didn’t have a whole lot of money when I was a kid. Remember the kid count up above so no tooth fairy that I recall when I was a kid. Santa was living in the same situation as the tooth fairy, in my imagination. Since I wasn’t getting the treats from these characters, I stored them away for future use.

When my son Andy was born and started to grow up I learned something about him. Bless his little heart, he believed everything I told him. Everything folks! So when he was around 8 years old it was Easter time. I had gone out and built him an Easter Basket and filled it with all kinds of goodies. I loved doing this for my kids, and as the years went by, I had more fun.

So finally, the night before the big Easter egg hunt, we were sitting in the kitchen. We lived out in the country, so there weren’t any surrounding lights to keep the outside lit. When we looked outside, it was freaking dark. We were sitting in the kitchen and talking about the Easter bunny. We told Andy he was outside hiding eggs for him right as we spoke. Andy started to turn around to try and catch a glimps of the big rabbit, but we stopped him. “Don’t look Andy, he will run away” we told him that and he believed me. We went on to tell him all kinds of stuff about the Easter bunny and he sat there wide eyed sucking it all in.

The next day, he went out and found all the eggs the big bunny had hid for him and ate all the candy in his basket. I loved him so much at that age. He would make me giggle at the funniest things.

10. Tell about "hand-me-downs" you received or gave.

(these are kinda long so iam putting them in my blog spot instead of notes now)

I am number eleven of twelve children. Ten girls and two boys. Knowing that, guess how many new clothes I got. Once a year, we all got new school clothes at the beginning of the year. After that, they were changing hands all over the place. The thing is, I was built a bit different from my sisters. They were tall and thin, where I was short and stocky. Some would say heavy. I don’t know, but I was never thin. Never. Many times mom would bring clothes home, and say someone from work gave them to her. Their kids grew out of them. I wonder if she went to good will and just made up that story so we wouldn’t get embarrassed. Hmm, I just thought of that thought. Anyway, we would go through these clothes and find something that would fit us. I always had to have boy clothes. They were the only pants that would fit me. A lot of times, I would get the pants my big brother grew out of. If they fit me around the waist, but were too long, my mom would hem them. All my pants had to be hemmed. My legs were too short for the pants right out of the store. The girl clothes were always too small. I wanted girl pants so bad. For the longest time, I thought I had to go to the boys section of the store to find pants. I was always so embarrassed to buy jeans in a store. Now I just hate shopping. I am beginning to understand why here. Heyyyy, is this really a way to get over our personal issues?

VFW memory Quilt and raffle quilt at the end

This is some more pics of the memory quilt I made to give to the members of Post 3199 VFW in Modesto. They dont know that I did this.I am so very proud of this quilt. I put a sleeve on the top back to make it a wall hanging. the last pics are of the quilt I made to raffle off at the chili cook off on september 12.

9. Describe getting a Christmas tree with your family as a child. Tell when and how it was decorated. When we were kids the first Christmas tree I remember having was one of those silver ones, the kind that you always had the color wheel with. We had that tree for years. Then one year, my mom met my dad, who by the way was my step dad, but the only dad I ever knew, so I refer to him as my dad. He deserves his own blog really. If I find something in this list that asks about a relative, I will write about him. So, that actually takes me back to the tree thing. When mom met Jerry, is when we got our first real tree. The first time I remember going to get it, we all piled into the car, Cus that is what we had to do. Actually, I don’t remember if this was the first time, or just one time that I remember. Anyway, Jerry drove way up into the mountains. He knew all these really great places for almost everything. No surprise, he knew a really great place to get a real tree. Way up in the mountains, off the side of the road, we got out of the car and started walking. We walked for a while until he said if you see one you like, say something and we will cut that one down. We had never done anything like this before, and it was fun finding a real tree in the wild. It wasn’t a tree “farm”. It was our first wild tree. We looked and looked and finally found one. I really don’t remember exactly who cut the tree down, but it was cut Im sure with a saw that only had one handle. My brothers probably took turns sawing. We dragged it back to the car and it was tied to the top of the car. At that time, it was common to see people drive around with trees tied to the top of their cars up there. Actually, I think the tree we cut down may have been cut in an illegal area, I don’t know, but that was the funnest tree cutting that I remember.

Post 3199, VFW memory quilt

 

 

    

 

 

This is a memory quilt i have been working on since around memorial day. I collected pictures from some that I have taken, some that were sent to me, and some that I scanned from old VFW pictures that came from the past Commander of the post. I also took some of the blocks to a meeting, and asked that the members sign them. I asked them to put their dates of service, rank when leaving, anything else they wanted. I had twenty of these blocks. I ended up putting them on or near the outside of the quilt. If there was room on the signed blocks, I tried to put a picture of the person that signed them. If there wasnt room, I put the picture somewhere near the signed block.

My friend found a t shirt place around the corner that would put my pictures on on transfers for me. I could have done it at home, but it would have cost  mint in printer ink and transfer papers. I used almost all the pics I had her print.

I am going to give it to them when the hall is finally complete and open again. This is one I am very proud of.

changing the subject

I can only stand one day of having something political on my page. so this is going to change that subject. kinda. I have another problem that maybe I am seeing wrong when i see the commercials on tv. you tell me. nicely

Have you all seen those adds for those places that can get your tax debt reduced to pennies on the dollar? or even your credit card debt cleared out? Does this seem a little wrong to anyone else? I asked john the other day, how does someone get $14,000.00 in back taxes to the government. I know I have to pay taxes out of my check every week. Well, John told me they may be small business owners and couldnt keep up with the taxes. ok. i get that. BUT, then they go on tv and brag that they got that huge tax bill reduced to 6 cents on the dollar. or its erased completley. what the hell? and the credit card people say the same thing. then, we hear some voice say something to the point of, and their credit is still in tact. its just not right.

I know it isnt that easy, and these people had to probably give up their last born child to get these beneifts, but when most people are doing everything they can to keep up with their payments, then these people pop up with happy faces saying , "I got my debt erased"! its jsut wrong. thats all.

Do you know anyone that has had their debt erased in this way. just wondering.