Home Skillet?!

Have you seen "Juno?" OMG. This is good stuff. I knew it was going to be good when we were watching it last night and within the first 2 minutes someone had said "home skillet." Classic. And the aforementioned someone was that guy who plays Dwight on the show "The Office." Granted, he was only in the movie for about a second... but that was OK because the cast included Jennifer Garner, Allison Janney, Jason Bateman (now that's old school! Loved him in "Smokin' Aces" recently, too), J.K. Simmons (who most people recognize from "Law and Order" and "The Closer" but who was brilliant as an evil dude on "Oz") and the star, Ellen Page, who I think is going to do big things and who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for this performance. I have a new item to add to my long list of obscure and low-priority things that I want to do "one day," and that's to look up the writer and director of this jewel and see what else they've done. This tale takes place in the midwest (Minnesota to be exact) and includes but is not limited to such content as: teenage pregnancy, early mid-life crisis, high school girl crush on teacher (of the "don't stand so close to me" variety), horrible running shorts and a beat up Toyota Previa minivan. The dialog is so funny that I may have to re-watch and take notes. And we really need to put "home skillet" back into play immediately!

It's no wonder that I woke up feeling inspired this morning. I took a moment before the kids were up and I went into one of the chat rooms on Etsy. I'm told by my friend, Jill, that this is priceless networking. Actually, it proved to be a great time. I got to look at some other people's stuff and I even had an item requested. The best, though, was one lady's story about how she exacted revenge on her cheating (now ex) husband. To make a long story short, apparently when he was in an alcohol induced state of unconsciousness, she donned rubber gloves, went out into the woods by their house, gathered up some poison ivy, made a paste out of it, and, well, you can predict the rest. This is classic. I also like the silver lining at the end where the gentleman (term used loosely in this case) didn't want kids but ended up with a pregnant mistress. Karma can really bite you in the nads when you least expect it, huh?

Granted, I only got one side of the story but considering that I don't even know this lady's name-- it doesn't really matter how true the story is or who the man in question was, does it? But for the record, I buy her story! Good stuff.

The icing on the cake this morning was my first two items sold on Etsy. Nice! Oh, and my friend, Lori, said in an email that "I rock her socks." This was in response to something about the web project. I've been waiting until I had (at least some of) my ducks in a row before consulting with her, but it's time to come out of the closet, I suppose. I'm hoping to arrange a mutually beneficial arrangement between usmcwives.com and her two popular forums (Parris Island and USMC support boards). So we're going to chat about that later on. I love it when a plan comes together.

It's going to be a good day!

Confessions of a happy woman.

In my customary random fashion.....

I'm excited about a lot of things right now:

• Starting school soon (finally!)
• My daughter's 1st birthday next week (already!)
• Spring arriving in the midwest (I'm told this will happen SOON!)
• The cool jewelry I'm making (some of which I don't want to sell! ... and I even made my own jewelry for the ball the other night).
• The feedback I'm getting about the web site.
• Going to visit my family in a couple of months.

I am the busiest person I've ever met who didn't work outside the home. This is a new experience for me (doing the stay-at-home-mom thing) and it's surreal. I'm surprised that I love it. I've always been a busy sort and I guess it helps that I'm busier now than when I went into the office.

I'm forming some very fun new friendships.

I'm originally from NC and I miss it a lot. I don't necessarily want to live there but I'd like to visit more.

I'm bummed that UNC didn't win the NCAA basketball tourney, but happy that "Psycho T" Tyler Hansbrough is coming back next year. To put this in perspective, I'm from central NC and college basketball is life. This is because of the UNC/Duke rivalry. I am a "bad" Tarheel because I actually like Duke, too. The only time I don't want them to win is when they are playing my 'heels. We got our new puppy the same day that UNC played in the Sweet 16. I said that if UNC won, I'd name the dog accordingly. So I have a little female puppy who will walk through life with the name Tyler Hansbrough __________. Hey, it's better than "Dean Smith" -- only the greatest coach of all time. But I decided to stick with the currently relevant.

I'm divorced and remarried. That's weird in a way, and yet, not. I guess divorce isn't something anyone dreams of doing when they grow up. And, yet, when you're happy with your life it's hard to see that as a focal point. My first husband was a Marine, also. This would seem to lend a Jerry Springer-esque quality to the situation. But, sadly, even my scandal lacks scandal. Two people marry VERY young. They make their way through life and do the best they can. Ultimately in my case, the "best we could" meant parting ways. It's tough to do that when there is/are child(ren) involved. And I certainly don't make light of wedding vows. There just came a point where the best way for us to honor each other was to part ways. And when everyone ends up being so much happier, it's hard to argue with the choice. My husband, ________ (psych! You thought I was going to put his name! ) is the greatest. My life now is more perfect than I could ever have imagined. Well, except for it continuing to snow here.... because that's just obnoxious!

Over the past few years I have begun to love the music my parents listened to when I was a kid. The stuff I couldn't stand. I'm talking Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, James Taylor, and even oldies like Jackie Wilson (oh yes, love me some "Lonely Teardrops!"). The other day I was at the craft store and "Carolina In My Mind" was on. I was singing like a fool and catching dirty looks from the patrons. Not sure if it was my enthusiasm about that particular song-- which was genuine, as James Taylor is a fellow Tarheel and he was singing about my home-- of if it was my atrocious singing voice. Whatever. I was the one smiling.

I still also like music that probably shouldn't suit someone of my demographic category. I always enjoy Ludacris, Outkast, old country stuff by Willie Nelson, Motown oldies and even the newer stuff where they use that "screw" technique of sampling something and slowing it way down..... My dad would be perplexed. And that amuses me. If I said "let me see your grill" he'd take me out to the garage....

I love my kids. I even love SOME of my friends' kids. But usually other people's kids get on my nerves. I know--- that's bad.

My mother was just here for a visit. That was great except I only got to see her for about 5 minutes because we had so much going on. That needs to be rectified.

My only living grandparent, Grandma J, is about to turn 95. She's a total bada$$. They don't make them like that anymore.

I *really* want a laptop. So I can do my work downstairs sometimes (our office is upstairs). Are you reading this, baby?

Wearing your biography?

A few random thoughts today.

First, I'm very proud of my husband for his hard work on the "stuff" for work over this past weekend. He's the man.

Next, I really enjoyed the formal event we went to on Saturday, even if I was the ONLY Marine's wife there. This was an all-branches event (my first of its kind) so the Marines were the minority, anyway. But I had the added pressure of knowing that I was our only spouse representation so I really had to behave myself! At any rate, over the course of the evening I engaged in some interesting conversations about the various uniforms for each branch of service. I love this type of information. I find it interesting that there isn't more.... well... uniformity. Across the branches, that is. For their uniforms. They are all so different. And some similar-looking items mean completely different things. I haven't done research on this yet because today's to-do list is long and I don't want to get distracted. But, I gathered from one of the soldiers present that the horizontal lines on the left sleeve of one of their uniforms are indicative of the number of one's deployments. Whereas the ones on the right are for years of service (1 "hash mark" for each 4 years, just like the Marines have on both sides). Combining that with the various ribbons, metals, insignia and even (in some cases) lapel colors, an informed person could interpret a soldier's entire military resume' just by looking at his uniform. That's nifty. It's also a lot more specific than in the case of Marines. I didn't get to examine or learn more about the Air Force uniforms, unfortunately. And the Navy's, as I understand them to date, are more general in terms of markings (like the Marines). That's good considering that the Navy has already complicated things quite enough with all of their different titles. For enlisted ranks, they don't just use the rank as their title (like Marines do). Nope. They all have different titles depending on their MOSs. I worked in a Navy facility for 3 years and I still never got it all worked out.

While the soldiers were walking around in their biographies, I wondered if the same held true for some of their dates. I'm going to have to go old school here for a minute, ladies, and offer some suggestions.

-Try to wear formal attire to formal events. Ask yourself "Is it conceivable that I could wear Keds with this?" If so, then don't wear it to a formal function.

-Try NOT to be "that guy's" wife/girlfriend. You know the one. Her dress is 4 sizes too small or it's see-through. If she were half as cute as she thought she was, she'd be America's Next Top Model.

-Go ahead and look hot! It's OK if the others glare at you-- that's a COMPLIMENT. Just make sure you're doing it tastefully. Your guy will appreciate it.

-Don't wear horribly uncomfortable dresses or shoes-- it's just not worth it at the end because you'll spend valuable time adjusting or going to the ladies' to check yourself over. You'll most likely miss the most fun of the evening-- that one silly thing or notable conversation. Then you'll have to live with the shame.

I know I'm getting old. But I was tastefully dressed and yet still got a few choice dirty looks from the other ladies so that tells me that mama hasn't completely lost her game yet. Sweet!

Why do we do that to each other, anyway?! It's so animal kingdom.

Meanwhile, I have finally mananged to get some stuff in the Etsy store (yay!) and I have a new addition to Semper Troops. I think I'm going to order the postcards.

Foiled!

So, I was none too happy yesterday when, for the first time ever, Mapquest let me down. One of the previously mentioned work functions of my husband's that I had to attend was a retirement ceremony for a Senior Chief that my old man works with. I had to drive out seperately as I didn't want to wait an extra hour while the husband was doing the pre-ceremonial work. It was a relatively good distance from where we live and I allowed plenty of time to get there. I had my trusty Mapquest directions prepared.

Mind you, I pride myself on being an EXCELLENT navigator. I have a good sense of direction, I can find things easily, I know that (aside from the Jersey turnpike and a few other ill-planned highways) exit numbers correspond with mileage. Odd numbered highways generally run north/south while even numbered ones run east/west. I've got game when it comes to navigation.

So there I am-- 15 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony. Knowing I must be within mere feet of the destination. All the roads have corresponded with my directions. I have driven the appropriate distance. And yet.... there is nothing in the spot where the building should be. It couldn't be Mapquest-- I must have done something wrong?! And, yet, I hadn't. To make a long story less-long: I eventually found the place and was able to partake in the after-ceremony festivities but I did NOT get to see the ceremony itself.

Mapquest had me turn left about half a mile from where the building was sitting-- right on a main road. It had me drive through a neighborhood and end up on another segment of the sidestreet that that place was located on. I only ended up finding it once I gave up and went searching for a service station (to relieve myself of the large cup of coffee I drank on the way!).

Oh, Mapquest....

It hurts. It hurts deeply.

As a sub-topic I think it's worth mentioning that this was my first time hanging out at a VFW. I highly recommend it! Good times, even better people. I do not, however, recommend doing as I did. Try to refrain from engaging in shot-taking and carousing with retired soldiers and sailors at 2:00 in the afternoon. Especially the ones who grew up in Brooklyn! If you are anything like me, I assure you... you CAN'T hang and probably shouldn't try! =)

(Cammie) green with envy.

So, over the next two days I'll be attending several of my husband's work functions. One of which requires formalwear which means:

(1) I have to "formally" primp myself, which isn't my usual custom.
(2) I'll get to see my husband in his dress blues (with the white pants!) which is relatively great.(3) I'm going to be exhausted afterward.

But speaking of Marines in their dress uniforms.... isn't that a site to behold? Especially in large quantities? And I'm saying this from any observer's point of view, not that of an enamored wife. They are striking. And while it's clear to me that I am not, myself, a Marine and it is also fully understood within my mind that I never had any desire to be one, I am a bit envious of them at formal gatherings. I wish I had found some sort of life calling that afforded me the opportunity to wear such an ensemble and celebrate such comraderie (minus, of course, the stringent requirements of dedication and sacrifice!). I've seen Marines at formal events interact in a most brotherly (or sisterly, for the ladies) fashion with complete strangers. They may share nothing but that title, but that's enough to unify them. It's remarkable. And I am in awe.

So while I don't look forward to my tight schedule over the next couple of days, I am pleased to know I will get to see a group of Marines mingling with one another. Doing that Marine grunty thing they do when certain remarks are made during speeches or ceremony. Buying each other drinks and ribbing each other in a good natured fashion. I will stand by and take it all in.

Hateful little witch!

I've been good to her for 4 years now. I certainly could have been better: her personal hygeine leaves something to be desired and I've uprooted her about 5 times. I've taken away some of her prized possessions and replaced them with newer ones that she's still getting used to.

But right now I'm wondering just who the little snot thinks she is??!

Not my dog. Not my daughter. My computer.

Today she refuses to play on my team. As of yet it is undetermined whether her problem is hardware or software in nature. I don't know if she's come down with something or if she's actually physically injured. The only thing I know for sure is she sure ain't workin'.

So, being the improvisational genius that I am, I've moved over to my husband's side of the office. I suppose I might be able to deal with his annoying trackball mouse (eew!) if it weren't for the fact that his keyboard is broken and the whole top row (numbers and all important symbols like "@") is out of commission. I had a heck of a time signing in here using my email address! Had to copy and paste that bad boy just to get it entered. And, of course, I moved my keyboard over here and now I'm in business. But, like I needed THAT on top of my brokenhearted sense of betrayal?

The above remarks are not intended to make my old man look bad. Not at all. In fact, I'll be getting him a new keyboard right away (not mouse, though: he's freakishly attached to his!). No, my guy is invaluable to me. And no doubt when he gets home today he will comfort me and soothe the pain. He'll most likely even get the computer fixed-- as much as that will irritate me because I can usually handle it myself! But, no. He's the shoo shoo. All day every day.

Check it out- this is a closeup of his campaign cover, or "smokey bear hat" if you don't know better - that I took this morning (the reason why is another topic entirely).

Man. I can just hear him calling cadence. I think he misses it. I will refrain from closing this love fest of remarks with a link to his bio online. He can remain a man of mystery. But a man who has work to do in the office! ;)

No, she (and she and she) didn't!

So I'm only partially making good on my plan to throw out some buzz about hard charging military spouses. This is only due to the fact that as a hard charger, myself, I am pressed for time today! Thanks to my naughty children, the arrival of my new postage scale (yippee!), a list of phone calls to return and two foolish hours spent tweaking the store layout, I have about 10 minutes for blogging today.

This short list of mil-divas was blatantly snatched from MilSpouse.com. They were mentioned among the 2007 Who's Who of Military Spouses. You go, ladies!!

• Tanya Biank: (Army Wife) Author of Army Wives: The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage (basis for the Lifetime TV series “Army Wives”
• Jacey Eckhart: (Navy Wife) Author, The Homefront Club: The Hardheaded Woman’s Guide to Raising a Military Family; narrator of award-winning deployment CD “These Boots”
• Sue Hoppin: (Air Force Wife) Deputy Director for Spouse Outreach Benefits Information Department, Military Officers Association of America
• Roxanne Reed: (Marine Corps Wife) Chief Executive Officer, All Fired Up Candle Company® and Jane Wayne Gear.®
  

Way to go, ladies!

Marine spouses, hear this: Roxanne was the only one listed from our specific ranks. We need to do something about this!!! True, they were mostly army wives and the army is much larger, but hasn't the USMC always done more with less? Why should the Corps' "better half" be any different?

Gluttony... and disease. On my PC.

So there's this weird dealio going on with my computer right now. Something to do with the Adobe Flash Player. I keep getting other, seemingly non-related error messages every now and then. It's not too bad-- it's not like my computer is shutting down or anything. There are just some shenanigans here and there. And Microsoft, in their infinite wisdom, keeps displaying a custom (yet the same each time) message letting me know that they have pooled their massive brain power and found a resolution to my problem! In each instance I am given a link to the Adobe download center where I can download the newest version and cure all my ills. The brains, however, fail to realize that I have already done this 3 times in vain. I know this is an issue I can fix when and if I decide it's more important than everything else I'm doing. The same would apply to the other little glitches I've had in the past month or so since we "upgraded" (term used very loosely) to Windows Vista. Starting with a new printer being required for compatibility reasons and branching out into other running issues. There are still a ton of issues to be worked out with Vista to make play more politely with other software and to make it run more smoothly in general. This according to one of my very favorite mags, PC World. In the meantime, they suggest , among other things, that if your train is running slowly, close down (or get rid of altogether) the snazzy gadgets on the Windows sidebar. They're ultimately just a sap on your pc's resources. You can get your RSS feeds through any desktop email source and you probably already have a clock running in your bottom right corner, anyway...

Check back tomorrow for my suggestions on resolving world hunger and the national deficit.

On a brighter note, as a die hard thrifter, lately I am finding the web to be a vast playground. What, in terms of utilities, can you NOT find for free online? Often the paid versions of things are better, but usually not necessary for lay people such as myself. I promise I don't have profit sharing with any of the following but here are a few of my current favorite steals that are either free or very affordable:

• RoboForm: OMG-- how awesome is this thing?! I have about 2,900 different log ins and this thing stores them all. I don't even have to go to the page first-- it will even do that for me once I choose where I want to be. It's Free.
• Wix: I just adore this resource. I only found it about a week or so ago. All you MySpace addicts: pay attention. Cooler comments and layouts were never had. These are free, customizable flash files. You make what you want and then you copy and paste it wherever. Or, in most cases, you can have Wix do it for you. Keep in mind that MySpace doesn't allow certain types of code (like links to outside sites) but for looks these things are great. When you paste the code in, it imbeds their flash into your site by remote. See it in action at the top of my Blogger sidebar (where the pictures actually link back to my store), or on my profile page (where the links are inactive because of MySpace's preferences). Or, check out this whole website set-up that I am using temporarily on usmcwives.com. Wix is still developing and is accessed by invitation only but when I requested access I was granted it within 24 hours.
• Widgetbox: Name a widget. Any widget. It's yours. Or you can make your own.
• FormAssembly: I used this free resource to generate my questionnaire. It's beautiful.
• GoDaddy: For domain name purchasing/registration. They also have good, free site building tools if you want one of their free sites. I registered some domains recently (of which usmcwives.com was just one) and it was a great deal. And I received a professional but friendly follow-up phone call from a service rep to check if I wanted this thingy or that whatsit to go along with what I have. He didn't even laugh when I told him I only understood about half of what he was saying (as techno-diva is not my title!) and I wasn't pressured in any way. They let me know they were there and appreciated my business. That's nice in this day and age.

And, last but not least,

• My Store: Well, I suppose this one is just me being biased, huh? True enough. I just put some new stuff in there and aligned everything all to one space. I'm not done tweaking the layout yet... Gee, how often do I say THAT? But seriously, there seems to be some interest and I'm both flattered and happy because any proceeds derived from this will go to my web project. I don't/won't advertise the store on the site because the site isn't there for sales-- the sales are there for the site. I want to instigate something great. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

A hiccup I had to share.

I was all set to post some scoop about an awesome military spouse who started a kick-a$$ business and represents us quite well. She will be the first of many to get shout outs from yours truly. However, I came across this bulletin on MySpace and in light of my recent desire to shed positive light on military spouses, felt obliged to share it. I can't credit the source, I can only thank Tori for posting it and thank whomever passed it along to her. Hey, ladies: you are loved.

Dear Military Wife,

I am an American woman that has no idea what is going on in the military other than what I hear on the news. I have never had to let go of someone so that they could go fight for people that they didn't know, people that sometimes do not appreciate or understand what they are fighting for. I have never had a sleepless night of worry because of a report that another bomb has exploded and I still haven't heard from my husband. I have never had to wait for months on end to hold the one that I loved so. I have never had to tell my children that daddy wasn't coming home tonight because he was so far away fighting for something that they aren't yet old enough to understand. I have never had to hold my head high and suppress the tears as I hear that it will be at least another six months of separation before my loved one gets to come home. I have never had to deal with a holiday away from the one that I thought I would share every day of my life with. And I have never had to feel the panic rising in my heart at the sound of a ringing phone or knock at the door for fear that it is the news that everyone is terrified of getting. For the reasons listed above, I can not tell you that I understand how you feel. I can not tell you that you must be strong. I can not say that you shouldn't be angry, because you "knew what you were getting into when you married a military man". I can not say these things because I have never had to walk in your shoes. What I can say for certain is that because of your unselfish acts of bravery and your husbands willingness to stand up for those who see him as "just another soldier" - - I will never have to walk in your shoes. I do understand that as a military wife you are expected to uphold a certain amount of control, but I never understood how you could do it, until now. I have figured out that you are not like other women. You are of a special breed. You have a strength within you that holds life together in the darkest of hours, a strength of which I will never possess. The faith you have is what makes you stand out in a crowd; it makes you glow with emotion and swell with pride at the mention of The United States of America. You are a special lady, a wonderful partner and a glorious American. I have more respect for your husband than I could ever tell you, but until recently I never thought much about those that the soldier leaves at home during deployment. Until this moment I could never put into words exactly what America meant to me. Until this moment, I had no real reason to.... Until I heard of you. Your husband and his military family hold this nation close, safe from those who wish to hurt us...but you and those like you are the backbone of the American family. You keep the wheels in motion and the hearts alive while most would just break completely down. Military families make this nation what it is today. You give us all hope and you emit a warming light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Because of you and your family...I am able to be me. I am able to have my family. I am able to walk free in this great land. Because of you and your family, I can look ahead to the future with the knowledge that life is going to be okay. Because of you and your family, I can awake to a new day, everyday. I realize that you are a stronger person than I will ever be because of these things and I just wanted to take the time today to say thank you to you and your family for allowing me that freedom. I will never be able to repay this debt to you, as it is unmatchable. However, I hope that you know that no matter where you are... what you are doing... what has happened today... or what will happen tomorrow... Your husband will NEVER be "just another soldier" to me.... And you, dear sweet lady, will never be forgotten. You are all in my prayers everyday and I pray that God will bring you back together with your loved one safely.

That's good stuff.

Image Facelift?

It's hard to know exactly what others' perception is sometimes. We all have our own biases that come from our opinions, our social and economic status, our personal value systems, etc. We can attempt to look at ourselves objectively but never truly do so-- so we can't ever fully know how we as individuals or as a group of associated people appears to the outside world. We can guess, but we can't be sure.

My own values, biases, interactions and speculation lead me to some conclusions about what the outside world (in this case, civilians who would be like us but have no personal affiliation with the military) thinks of military families. Of military spouses in particular. I think the following stereotypes may apply depending on who you ask:

• Military spouses are part of the bedrock of a society that values freedom and democracy. (Thank you, veterans and patriots!).

• Military spouses (and their active duty partners) are ignorant and have no idea that they could do better things if they were better informed.
• Military spouses only care about the military. They have nothing else to offer to the social melting pot in America.
• Military spouses are usually republican war mongers. They were usually raised by like minded republican war mongers.
• Military spouses are too impressionable to even form their own beliefs and opinions: they are influenced by people of stronger conviction.
• Military spouses are all stay at home moms and most have a gaggle of undisciplined children who will later join one of the armed forces.

Obviously there are more positives out there than the one I listed. But there are lots of negatives that we are stereotyped with. It chaps my behind. After all, I fancy myself being quite independent of mind and if you ask my husband, he'll tell you I'm smarter than he is (although I disagree!). True, my father is a Vietnam vet (USAF-- enlisted voluntarily, thank-you-very-much) who detests Jane Fonda and usually votes republican. But that is something I am proud of, not something I feel has earmarked me for right wing extremism. I don't agree with everything my parents believe. And, take my mother: a woman who started following the Grateful Dead when no one was still was. Needless to say, they divorced when I was very small. Factoring in the significant differences in my parents' values, a sufficient amount of my own brain power and various social interactions over the years, and I have been able to develop into an actual person with her own beliefs and priorities in life.

One thing I strive for and pride myself at doing consistently is to maintain my own individuality while being a very proud military spouse. I don't sit around waving the flag all day-- although I can list countless worse ways to spend one's time. But I have two great kids, friends, a very nice resume, recently initiated undergraduate studies, volunteer experience, and, dammit, a nice house and car, too. All of which I have achieved without my mama or my daddy's help (unless you count conception, bankrolling, general guidance and love over the years!). My name is on our mortgage right next to my husband's. I have a 401K account in my very own little name. I can argue my husband in circles for hours regarding the issue of immigration (one of the few major issues we tend to disagree on). I have some web sites and some piddly little stores that I'm doing just because they are fun and I hope to do some good along the way-- always. And I know I am not alone. I know there are thousands of other military spouses like me out there. Many are more educated, even smarter and have accomplished even more than I have in ways that are independent of their husbands (and wives, where applicable).

Based on the above negative stereotypes, though-- which I know are not the ONLY opinions out there-- I think we need an extreme makeover as a group. I'm not sure how to go about that and I'm fairly sure that I care far more than anyone outside our circle does. But it's on my mind. Maybe I will do some research and try to shine a light on some of the movers and shakers in our midst. Yeah, I think that's worth doing. Stand by.

My blog is better than yours.

Well, not really.
Actually, no, of course not. But my blog is nifty today because I can finally say I added some designs to one of the stores. Took me long enough! This is most of them but there are a couple more on there as well. And this weekend I am FINALLY getting to do some of my bead stuff for Etsy. My snazzy charms finally arrived! =)



Free MySpace Comments - Wix.com

Seriously awful.

Something terrible happened yesterday. I suppose that since I've been a mother for quite a long time and since this pertains to my second-born, I'm actually lucky compared to a lot of parents. Lucky that something like this hasn't happened sooner. But, it goes without saying that I wish I had skipped this rite of passage altogether.

My 11 month old daughter fell down the stairs.

I don't think she so much fell as somersaulted. I couldn't say for sure since I DIDN'T SEE IT happen and only heard the horrific sounds. I have never been so scared in my entire life. Our house is two stories (not counting the basement which will be a third functional story once we get it finished-- someday). All of the floors-- including the kitchen-- are hardwood. There are a few area rugs scattered about for good measure, but we're talking hard surfaces here, stairs included. Our bedroom and office (my favorite part of the house!) are upstairs. When we are up here, we keep the baby gate across the stairway entrance for obvious reasons. On the main level, the entry to the stairs is secured by a french door. This door is to remain closed at all times when we are downstairs. I know it. My husband knows it. My son knows it. Shoot, even the baby girl knows it. It's been her mission in life for the past month or so to try to beat us to that doorway should we take one step past it without shutting the door. This kid doesn't so much crawl as RUN on her knees. She's got cat-like reflexes, I tell you. And when she hears footsteps behind her, she accelerates. It's a game to her. She laughs all the while. And there have been several instances -- with each of us at fault-- when she has actually made it past the doorway and begun to climb the stairs. She's even made it to the top. Could a child ever be more triumphant? But this is certainly not OK and we must be far more careful.

So, yesterday:

I was upstairs working in the office (what else is new?). I heard baby girl wake up and I proceeded downstairs to make her a bottle (the fact that I am not nursing her is immaterial to this story but might make for good subject matter on another day) and retrieve her from her royal crib. This is a good segment of our daily routine as she is very happy and appreciative. The smiles and coos I get during the afternoon ritual are priceless. At any rate, she is usually quite hungry and happy to focus intently on her bottle for at least the first 5 minutes or so. This is a kid with a bear's appetite! So I plopped her down in the usual spot in the front room with her bottle. Note that I haven't mentioned closing the french door on my way to the baby's room.....

I walked the mere 10 paces to the front door to check the mail. We have one of those old school mail slot deals where the mail is supposed to fall into a storage nook in our front closet. It rarely does and I usually have to open the front door and reach around and grab it from the slot itself. So I did that. Just as I was closing the front door, I heard the most terrible sound. Keep in mind that approximately 20 seconds have passed since I gave the baby her bottle....

It sounded like a bag of phone books being thrown down the stairs. Our stairway isn't visible from the front door-- only the door is. So I didn't see her falling. I just saw her land in a twisted heap at the bottom of the stairs. Before that could even register she began screaming. Or at least expelling as much sound as was possible with the wind knocked out of her. Her cheek was pressed to the floor and her body was twisted in a very unnatural looking way. I froze for a split second. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. It felt like a half an hour passed but I know it was only about a second and a half before I flew over and grabbed her up. There was a slight bit of runny blood coming from the general vicinity of her mouth. There were some scratches on the side of her face. At this point I was wailing, myself, but trying to comfort her at the same time.

I did manage to collect myself and determine that aside from the obvious pain of it, she was OK. Her 3 little teeth were intact. Her eyes were OK. She was coherent and no bones were broken. Once all of that had been established and I calmed down, I phoned my husband at work to let him know what had happened and to get some reassurance from him that we would all be OK. He, of course, was great. But as I was calmly letting him know what had happened and that all was not lost, I noticed that baby girl's cheek was swelling. And I lost it. I started bawling like a baby and then next thing I knew I was begging him to come home (having missed, in my panic, the fact that he already told me he was on his way).

In the end, she is fine and will be fine. But as bad as it is for something like this to happen at all, imagine my guilt at knowing that I was ultimately responsible. I know it was an accident and "these things happen" and we're not perfect, etc. Not good enough for me. I felt like the scum of the earth yesterday. I felt like the lowest form of life.

But, most importantly, I was reminded of my life's precious gifts and that I need to pay more attention to their details if I want to keep them. It was a good and timely lesson.

"A. A. A. D. D."

Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it develops:

I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mailbox earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox, when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only 1 check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the Counter catches my eye-- they need to be watered. I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I'd better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do....

At the end of the day: ----the car isn't washed, ----the bills aren't paid, ----there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, ----the flowers don't have enough water, ----there is still only 1 check in my check book, ----I can't find the remote, -----I can't find my glasses, ----and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent. Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming.......!

GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. LAUGHING AT YOURSELF IS THERAPEUTIC.

P.S I just remembered. I LEFT THE WATER RUNNING IN THE DRIVEWAY! GOTTA GO!!!!

OK, so this was an email I got today. But if the shoe fits........

Today marks the 96th anniversary...

...of the sinking of the Titanic. Wow.

I know we've all seen the movie and the subject has gotten its share of conversation, but I still can't help but think what a nightmare it must have been for those poor souls. I went on a cruise not too long ago and I can say with a good degree of certainty that if the boat had started sinking I would have been in complete denial. It just doesn't seem possible for something so brawny to give way and plummet you to your death.

On a more positive note, it is in fact Monday and I'm actually in a decent mood! Feeling motivated about the things I [plan to] accomplish this week!

Have a good one.

Flippin' sweet.

Even though I work at/from home, I still savor the weekends. There's much less hint of a routine or schedule to go by. It's liberating. Today I will pay homage to the leisure gods by sharing some good, clean fun.

It will be necessary for continuity's sake to provide a bit of background information here about my blogging circumstances. I am new to the whole thing and wasn't sure where to begin. So I chose to cover all bases/ not put all my eggs in one basket / play the field and simultaneously post this mammajamma in 3 places. I figure that trial and error will guide me since I lack any expertise or insight. So far, so good. And how hard is it to copy and paste a document into 3 places (tweaking a couple of things in each place for formatting's sake)? I'm at least as smart as the average bear so I'm doing relatively well. With a few grimaces and "doh!"s here and there when I paste pictures in using the wrong code, etc, it's all coming together.

One version of my blog is on Blogger (aka Blogspot). A very nice resource indeed. And as I was reading headlines yesterday I noticed that one of their masterminds, Eric Case, is leaving to pursue new projects. Even from what little I have discovered I can see that this is one smart dude. I mean, I love my life, but I'd actually like to BE this guy after reading a bit about his history (how he got started and what he's done). And how can you not like a guy whose clique includes MC Hammer? To quote my husband, "That s#it is TIGHT!"

If you've fallen off of my stream of consciousness at this point, shame on you. It should be obvious that we're now talking about MC Hammer. I will confess that I love me some Hammer. It's true. I actually saw him in concert when I was a young semper trooplette. And, in case you were wondering, he did in fact "turn that mutha out." But for our purposes today my point is this: he has a nifty little blog going. And color me motivated when I found this little gem he posted back at the end of March. True, it's a bit unfair that someone else should get the full glory of the Running Man when I've been keeping the fire burning myself all these years (for this as well as the incomparable Roger Rabbit)-- but let's face it-- my exposure has been minimal at best. I will accept my lot in life and move on, just feeling validated that there are other true believers out there.

In honor of weekend bliss, I submit The Running Man. Thanks, Hammer.

-Signed,

The girl in Myrtle Beach, SC during the summer of '92 with the heat activated "You Can't Touch This" t-shirt.

Sisters are doin' it for themselves.

It's time for me to show some love for a couple of my girls who don't even know I'm blogging and don't know I'm talking about them. Why don't they know, you ask? Well because I am very tentative about the things (stores) I am working on and don't plan to come fully out of the closet until I get myself a little more squared away. Once I do, there will be no shutting me up. At any rate, it would be an exercise in confusion to have a discussion with either of these people and mention my screen name because while they might eventually guess who you were talking about, the preceeding conversation would be very Abbott and Costello-like.

As both of these ladies have made their names available online, I will go ahead and use them here as well. And both of these ladies are my friends in real life.

First, a lady not unlike ourselves who didn't like the way something was so she just.... fixed it. The world isn't perfect and neither is her solution, but I have to say I think it's great. Lori is a Marine's wife (her husband actually got out a couple of years ago, but once a Marine....) and also a Marine's sister who went online in search of some helpful information when her brother went off to boot camp at Parris Island some years back. Needless to say, at that time there was nothing of much use to be found on the web. So she started a little forum ("board") on the EZBoard site which has since morphed into Yuku.com. It's called The Parris Island Family & Friends Support Center. Talk about "If you build it, they will come." It's still somewhat underground but has generated such activity over the past few years that it does now show on the first list of Google results if you query "Parris Island." Mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives, fathers and whatsits of recruits have flocked in to mingle with their own kind: the confused, the apprehensive, the enthusiastic, the sleep deprived. Because I so love Lori and the board, I will try to keep my analysis of it here as objective as possible and leave out the extra bit of Ooh Rah. What you will get when visiting this board is some very good (read: current) information for lay people about the daily procedures at Parris Island, comprehensive information and suggestions related to graduation, some input here and there from drill instructors' spouses and other moderators deemed experienced enough to pitch in, a chat room that goes full blast every evening, last I checked, and the occasional bit of drama from stray, misinformed souls who may be under the impression that Parris Island is akin to a concentration camp or who may not have recruits at all but may just be war protestors (although the latter is very rare). There is some occcasional "rank wearing" that happens with some of the Marine wives who work on the board, although I think it is unintentional for the most part and should just be humored because, frankly, being the wife of a DI is a tall order and because sometimes they catch a lot of flack just for trying to help out. If I seem overly familiar with the details here it's because I worked on this board for the better part of two years. I actually made some long term contributions to it that I'm quite proud of. No, I will not tell you what my username is. ;)

As icing on the cake, there are links on the board to a sister board known as the USMC board. This is for folks whose Marines have already graduated from boot camp. It's not quite as active as the Parris Island board, but that is to be expected as the uninitiated tend to be needier than those who have gotten their feet wet. And, because the PI board grew so expensive to operate, Lori started a store on Cafepress, the proceeds of which go to funding the extensive costs for the board's monthly usage (hits, bandwidth, etc). There are some good, company and graduation date specific items on there. Note that I will be very careful when I place designs in my own store not to infringe on anything that Lori is doing.

If you or anyone you know has a recruit headed off to Parris Island, I suggest you have them check out the board. There have been many copycats and some outright stealing of Lori's materials, but this is an original.

Second on my list of shout outs is my friend, Jill. Jill is not a Marine wife but if there were such a thing as a civilian equivalent, she would be it. That must be why we get along so famously. Jill is a mother of 4 who teaches autistic kids, has a great sense of humor (often socially inappropriate-- which I love!), and loves to knit and make felted items in her spare time. I turned her on to Etsy recently and I am so excited for her because she's going to blow right up. I personally own some of her hand knitted items and love them. As a matter of fact, she made a beautiful green blanket for my daughter and I am completely unable to pry it away from her. Jill is definitely shout-worthy and although she is just getting started and doesn't have a large inventory yet, so is her shop. So check it out.

Both of these ladies are good, everyday people that I am proud to call my friends.

TGIF.

Is it Friday yet?!

It's not possible for a week to seem any longer than this one has. I have been chasing my tail EVERY DAY it seems like. Ever have one of those weeks? Nothing particularly bad has happened-- it's just that every little task has taken too long. I'm going to try to make sure that my blog today doesn't get added to the list.

On a brighter note, I was pleased with today's Urban Dictionary Word of the Day. Irregardless!!! Of course, the user who added this maintains that "Of course everyone knows what you mean to say and only a pompous,rude a$$hole will correct you." I have to say that unless the person was very close to me (which wouldn't be the case because all of my close friends and family are brilliant) I wouldn't actually correct someone. However, I must admit that I would certainly be the pompous a-hole who cringed and took pause at the atrocity you had just committed if you actually used this word in conversation. It is one of my pet peeves. There's absolutely nothing wrong with using plain and simple words in conversation. And there's nothing wrong with using those snazzy "fifty cent" words, either. But if you're going to exceed 10 letters per word, do try to make sure you know what you're saying. Otherwise you might come across as someone who is merely trying to seem intelligent. Someone like me who admits to having only 6 credit hours of college experience, would deem you much smarter if you stuck with what you knew. I, for example, might come across as a blithering idiot in these blogs. But if I do, I certainly hope that is based on my opinions or choice of content as opposed to my grammar!

On the same topic, I love it when something that is supposed to be a critique of someone's intelligence, is in fact, itself, moronic. If we're going to call someone a moron let's do it correctly? I mean, c'mon. Why is there such a distinct lack of "you're" in lieu of "your" on the world wide web?? No child left behind? My a$$.

Admittedly this is a topic that shouldn't be high on anyone's priority list given world hunger, our nation's deficit and this year's presidential elections. But someone had to care.

Hump day.

Since it's hump day I'm moving back into the Ooh Rah and patriotic material. Here are 2 goodies:

Carlos Mencia's message to terrorists. (And they think THEY'RE crazy?!).

Then there's this other deal I saw on the Marines' MySpace page. I used my own user name for the below, but that is not intended to make light of things. This is customizable within certain limits (name and key phrases) and would be something nice for a poolee or potential recruit (or even someone who's already on active duty) to send out to family or friends who may not fully grasp what motivates them to be Marines. Call me sentimental, but I dig it. Incidentally, I'm also impressed with the strides the USMC has made lately to move into the next era of communication and advertising, despite the cumbersome bureaucracy that must be associated with these efforts.

Since I can't seem to embed the one I created, here is a link to the application:

Create Your Own Pledge

Deacon Dr. W. Rock:

is my Pimp Handle today. And since I know the USMC moto stuff will get old if applied too frequently (not that I could ever run short of material!) I am going with some other mood-booster goodies today. The first of which is a suggestion for pimping your aura when the going gets tough. We can't all actually be pimps, but we can try to mack like them. What to do when you need a pimp starter set? Go to one of my favorite sites: PlayerAppreciate.com - For The Elevated Player (but only if you aren't offended by 4 letter words used in good fun). In the interest of keeping things random, I will run through the key points in a disorganized fashion, arranged in order of their importance as judged by yours truly.

First, there is the Pimp Name Generator. You enter your name in the box and "have this b!tch kick out some real s#it for you." And if you don't like the first one, you can keep doing it until you are satisfied ("Don't like it? Try that s#it again!").

Next we have the How To Pimp pictorial. Pimp slapping and hailing a taxi are featured topics. A word to the insecure: this could be bad for your self esteem.

I will forego description of the Pimp of the Month as I fear the same pimp has claimed the distinction for many months running. Oh well, even pimps and their fans aren't perfect.

Last but not least, we have the Pimp Gear from IcedOutGear.com. I think we all know at least one hustla worthy of a pimp cup. I, personally, ordered one as a going away gift for a friend of my husband's awhile back. I think my husband secretly wants his own. I'm waiting for just the right occasion to give him the "pimp cup with mad extra trimming all over...."

Moving right along.....

If pimping your name or icing out your gear doesn't do the trick for you, here is another old standby. This is arguably the most ridiculous and most embarrassing guilty pleasure of mine on the web. I want to say for the record that I don't even like South Park. It gets annoying practically before it begins. However, every rule has an exception and this masterpiece is one. I can't begin to guess how many former co-workers have been subjected to this if I happened to be having a bad day. But, I have to say, I've busted more than one person pulling it up themselves. There are some newer and better quality versions out there, but I'm going to share the original that I discovered first out of respect.

Cartman - Come Sail Away

Cheers! =)

The nostalgia and glamour.

"No finer military organization than the Marine Corps exists in the world." --George Dewey, Admiral of the Navy.

So yesterday I did the unthinkable and went on a scavenger hunt for Marine Corps media and materials. The reason this is a bad plan for a girl like me is that I truly do get so excited and curious when I'm looking around that days or perhaps weeks can go by before I re-surface into the real world. My kids are starving, the garbage overflows and seasons may have changed before I realize how lost I've been. Nonetheless, as always when I go looking for old or obscure or unchartered (by me) USMC memorabilia, I found some dandies.

It's amazing to me how so much has changed over the decades and yet so much has stayed the same. This of course is from the perspective of someone who has only been around the Corps for 15 years, not someone with decades of experience. But anyone with interest in the subject can see certain trends. The focal points of advertising, recruiting and morale-boosting (even those created by family members such as myself) materials are Marines' strength, bravery, distinguished appearance and unique level of dedication. Of course there is much more to the USMC than the aforementioned, but let's face it: those things attract us as Americans, potential recruits, spouses, parents, et al. There are some harsher realities that none of us who support our troops want to focus on (such as low pay for the lower ranks, bad working hours for many, the realities and dangers of combat, etc). But it is my belief that as family members we are selective about what we focus on not based on denial of reality-- as I think living with and through those things makes us even stronger and more proud-- but because some of the shinier, prettier aspects of the Corps are real, are legitimate and are what helps us accept the other components. It's a package deal and it truly is what you make of it. We're not in denial about the hard and the negative, we just try not to let it overshadow the positive. And I truly believe we are right to have this perspective.

Having said all of that, back to how excited-- and, dare I say it-- tickled I was to find some of the prints and photos I came across yesterday. Just good stuff. Of course I had to weed through the contemporary, user generated materials in the process. And I have to say that I am truly impressed with the creativity of Marine wives, girlfriends, family members and Marines themselves in designing Ooh Rah sentiment logos and prints. We can out-moto anyone, baby! But I did find some things of an older and more obscure nature that I really liked. Some of these were just general "support the troops" which are great, too. But, can I get a witness for the nostalgia factor on the below?! OOOOOOH RAHHHHH.

*All of these are from the Library of Congress. And there are so many more. Perhaps tomorrow or another day soon I will think about the more contemporary stuff.

Flabbergasted, befuddled and downright irritated.

So my girlfriend and  I went to this really nifty little bead shop today.  I am looking for some specific charms and dangles for some crafts I am working on and although I've found a few online, the options weren't cost effective (particularly once shipping is added into the equation).  And they had a lot of really fun things there. 

As I am trying to keep my identity general and not too specific, I will not name the store or the city, but I will say that we live in the midwest.  And although I'm from the south, I do love it here for many reasons.  Yet, occasionally I do encounter ways of thinking -- or, in my opinion, lack thereof-- that catch me off-guard. Today was one such time.  This leads me back to my point.

I was looking for some military-themed charms which I knew would be a bit of a long-shot here. Barring that, I had hoped to find some solid Americana to use in conjunction with other materials.  This store had countless charms and dangles of various materials, quality and subject matter.  Yet it took me a few moments to believe that I hadn't entered a parallel universe when it came to my attention that they didn't have ONE single, solitary piece of Americana.   No American flags.  No "God Bless America" or "United We Stand" charms.  Not even so much as a hint of a 4th of July item in their "Holiday" collection.  We're talking about a store that had such obscure charms as lemons, staplers and fertility goddesses for sale.  And not a hint that any of these transactions might be taking place in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.  I could go on, but why bother?

Oh looky, a blog!

I honestly don't know how to begin. I'm about 3 or 4 years behind the times, apparently. Anyway, why am I here?

What I would ultimately like to do is keep myself busy with new projects (that are already underway) and connect with some other military family members. My husband is on active duty but currently is assigned to a billet that has taken us away from any installation and plopped us into civilian life. Don't get me wrong-- I'm certainly not complaining! Not only do we get the perks of civilian life like no deployments, making friends with all different types of "locals" and even living in a great area. On top of that, if you're a military wife, right about now you're thinking my old man must be either a recruiter or on I & I duty. It's actually neither of those. He does work a lot and get those crazy night and weekend phone calls but he is rarely out of town at all. So, basically right now we have it made. And I would never look a gift horse in the mouth. The thing is, though, that I miss being in the thick of things with other Marine wives and the resources that are available to us (when we go to the trouble to find and use them). I'm glad that I can TRULY pick my friends here of my own volition and don't have to form associations by default because my husband works with so-and-so's husband. At the same time, if you're married to an active duty service member you will know what I mean when I say that only other military wives GET certain things. When I tell my close girlfriend here that we can't hang out on a Thursday night because the old man has a PFT or a hump the next morning, it doesn't quite register. No offense to her-- she's been busy living a relatively normal life for years now and would never have needed to know about such things. And she certainly can grasp them when explained. There's something about the having to explain, though, that makes a girl miss her "sisters." And of course I am still in touch with many of my friends from over the years but these are, of course, long distance relationships.

What I'm getting at here is that I am truly enjoying our life right now. I wouldn't dare complain, especially given the remote possibility that some dear sister whose husband is deployed for the umpteenth time (and I HAVE been there, by the way) might read this and think what a presumptuous witch I am. No, no complaints. I just miss some aspects of what we might describe as "our" life. I miss my girls. I miss the commissary (as shocked as I am to ever be having that thought!). I miss cadence and ooh rah and yellow ribbons. I miss feeling it. It would be a stretch to say that I'd rather be feeling it than be where I am. But being a greedy little snot, I hope to find a way to have my cake and maybe eat a little slice of it, too, by reaching out to some other ladies online. There's something comforting about talking to women who are familiar with the terms "Comrats" and "BAH." Are you ladies out there? And, if so, do you have room for one more? I promise I don't bite!

At the top of my page is a link to a CafePress store I started recently. I want to be clear in saying that while it would be fun to sell something, I frankly don't expect much to come of it and am mainly doing that for fun and another outlet. I'm new at this whole thing and just want to have fun with it. I'm going to have some handmade items for sell on Etsy.com soon, too. And in all honesty I will be humbled and shocked if I sell anything! But these little projects are giving me an outlet making me feel as though I still have some sort of connection to "our" life. I just want anyone who might read this to know, I won't spam you and I'm not a salesperson. I'm just a chick who's feeling a little out of her element and decided to tinker around with some things that might make me feel a little bit more connected. If you do happen to look at any of my stuff and just tell me that it's cute (certainly without buying anything) I won't be mad at ya, though. Or tell me what sucks about it, too. I think I want to prove to myself that I still rate bragging rights!

If you're reading this, thanks for bothering. I'm sure you have better things to do. And if you're reading this and your husband or wife is deployed, BIG THANKS for THAT. I'm a big old sap and I wish I could say something or reach out in some way to every single one of you. There's a silly little Marine wife out here who appreciates you and your service members more than you know.