Marine Officer web site - new and improved.

Check out the recently updated and vastly improved web site for recruiting Marine Officers!

MarineOfficer.com

Sock Rockers, Mount Up!

The theme of the week has been the "rocking of one's socks" by a slick witted or enthusiastic friend. You could simply say "You go, girl!" but that would just be tired and boring. I prefer my girl, Lori's verbiage and, frankly, am trying to give it more mileage because she was embarrassed to have said it in the first place. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't accentuate that? Boring, that's what.

So, although the list of my own personal sock rockers--either qualified by direct or indirect sock rockage-- is long and detailed, for the sake of brevity (what? I can be brief!) I will list but a few here. I won't fail to list them in random order.

• David Horton - a high school mate of mine. Apparently an overachieving genius. Published author among many other things. About to graduate from college... again... and then go to another one? Acquainted with the likes of Doug E. Fresh and Maya Angelou. No one likes a show off, Dave.

• Merrie Haskell - another school mate. We were kicking it as far back as junior high. Wordsmith extraordinaire and brilliant (if self deprecating) science fiction writer, among other things.
  

• Kelly K (not sure if she wants her whole name on blast): Creative director and marketing manager for www.TheELearningCenter.com. She's only about a hundred light years ahead of me as far as education and credentials, but has suggested the possibility of me applying for an internship down the road when I get closer to my degree.
  

• Lori "Rock My Socks" V - If you've read my blog at all, you know who I'm talking about. She's a mover and shaker from way back. See "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves" for further insight. You wish you could bring yourself to hate her for her gifts... but you just can't.

Speaking of socks, I'm about a half hour behind schedule getting myself and baby girl dressed and ready to head out with Jill to run errands. She told me not to rush, but I will feel so inferior if she has two small children ready to go before I square away one! Luckily for me I am riding the wave of self-appreciation from having uploaded about a dozen new things to the Etsy shop and having sold one already.

McRebound.

So, did you watch Grey's Anatomy last night? So many good quips-- so little time. If you can't find the entertainment value in this show, then I submit that your credibility is seriously in question. Set aside the moral implications of some of its content and the rumors and scandals running rampant among the cast members-- this show is funny. I loved the part last night when Addison (Kate Walsh) asked Miranda (Chandra Wilson) about Derek (Patrick Dempsey)'s new lady friend in a not-so-complimentary way... when she was standing right there. That was almost as good as when Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) more or less referred to herself and her friends as fickle sluts. Can't beat that dialog with a stick!

Speaking of sticks, I wanted to beat myself with one yesterday afternoon. I finally.... as perhaps the last human on the planet to do so.... installed the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Now, I don't know if it's just my finicky PC or if I'm just slow on the uptake: but this bad boy is working WAY FASTER for me than Internet Explorer ever has. I haven't had a chance to play with all of its little gizmos yet, but I realized right off the bat that it needed to be my default browser. I recall an old friend of mine (she's not old-- I've just known her awhile!), Alison, talking about Firefox ages ago. And given how much swifter she is than I am about such things, one wonders why I didn't investigate sooner. And as it happens, I only ended up with this utility as a result of downloading a bundle of stuff from Google. I am, as ever, an accidental success!

And, speaking of success, I am hoping upon hope that today will be the day that I either figure out how to make my camera take decent close-ups or that I will get my hands on a better camera (hint, hint to my dear, beloved, gorgeous hunk of a spouse!) so that I can take pictures and list the dozen or so new things I've made for Etsy. One, in particular, was requested as a trade from another seller. That's fun. See the picture below.... Psych. ;) Maybe later if fortune smiles on me today.

A big, fat, liquored up TGIF!

Signed,

McDufus

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?

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?

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.

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.