Pictures

Today....

Seems like a good day to get married.

I think I will.

Patriotism Runs In My Blood

I have in my possession, a letter written by John B. Taylor in 1861. It was written to his mother and recorded his thoughts about enlisting in the Union forces of the Civil War. For the longest time I wasn't sure where Mr. Taylor fit into my family tree, but thanks to some work online, I've found that he is my 2nd great grand uncle (my great-great grandmother's brother). There were 10 kids in their family - 3 boys, 7 girls. All 3 boys died in the Civil war - within 6 months of each other. Can you imagine?

Here's the text of the letter... I find it beautiful.

Dear Mother,

Once again I seat myself to Send you a line, probably the last you will receive from this place – As I have Some thought of Enlisting in the army if my Service will be needed although I am not certain but all the comp’s will be filled before I have the chance of handing in my name as one who will be ready to go – to fight my Country’s battles. Tomorrow Evening a meeting will be held in Port Byron to determine what shall be done in the present Crisis by the Citizens of this place – and if the companies are not all filled I for one Shall go but if my Services are not needed at present it is quite likely that ere long another call will be issues – when I will not be so dilatory but will be among the first to enlist.

I am well aware with what feelings you will peruse this – yet I pray you not to think hard – it is a duty devolving upon every man Capable of beating arms to hold himself in readiness, to, at once, attend his Country’s call and therefore I enjoin upon you not to take yourself any Trouble on my account as I go with my Eyes open – well knowing the dangers to which I will be Subject and well knowing that the chances are a thousand to one against me, a thousand to one that I will not live through the first battle – yet – I pray you to remember that – Death is the Common lot of all men; and and that it matters but little where, how or when a man dies, if he but die honorable, and again if I die young I will not be Subject – to the Trials that otherwise I will have to encounter.

But again dear Mother, let me ask you not to think hard of my going_____

“Weep not for me”

You have other at home who demand your care and attention – see to them and Suffer me to take care of myself, and console yourself with the thought that I am but doing my duty – Traitors and Disunionists are endeavoring to tear down that Liberty, that freedom, for which our fore-fathers fought, bled and died. And it is now the duty of every true American to lay down his life in defense of his country; and all both young and old should aid in putting down disunion and succession principles where ever they may be expressed whether in north or south, whether in East or West? And every mother Should enjoin her sons to Cultivate a Spirit of Patriotism for in times like these:

Patriotism should reign supreme,
In every matrons bosom rest
And every Child with a love of country, teem
Drawn from its mother’s breast

But I will say something of the doings of this place – A few days ago a person was advocating Secession and disunion when some of the Union loving men took them in hands and were about Stringing them up to the nearest tree – and by so doing have silenced him as well as one or two others who advocated the Same doctrine. But having no time to write more at present I close for the present.

Yours Ever
John B. Taylor
Apr 21 (?) 1861

Not Too Easy

Because God has a wicked sense of humor.

Mr. B found out a couple weeks ago that he's being laid off at the end of September.

He gets some severance.

But not just a ton.

We're on our knees praying for opportunity.

Please join us.

My Life Is Going to Change for the Awesome

BIG day today.

Today was the day we told the boys, Bert & Ernie, that their dad and I are getting married. We hadn't told them yet just because we wanted things to be pretty settled and have time when we had a lot of time to spend with them after telling.

We spent the day running here and there, including the boys first trip to IKEA. They loved it (which means I can keep them) and we just had fun. On the way home they started asking about how long we've been dating and things like that (this was before we even told them we are getting married). Ernie talked about his mom and asked me a REALLY hard question. "How did you feel when my parents got divorced?" I gulped and said, "Well, Ernie, that's a tough one." And before I could finish the sentence he said "I bet you were happy because my dad wasn't married anymore, but sad because it makes you sad when anybody gets divorced." Um... yeah... he's 9 going on 90. AMAZING!!!!

We took them out for dessert tonight and as we were sitting there, Mr. B said "Boys, we have something we want to tell you." And Ernie blurts out "You're getting married!!!?" Um... YEP. Good call!

They both were SO excited. Bert had me hold his ice cream so he could do a happy dance in his wheel chair. Ernie was also really excited, though he broke my heart when he said "Finally I'll have a mom who doesn't yell!"

All the way home they were full of questions about the wedding and living arrangements and all those good things. I shared with them that I'm not a fan of the "step" terms and prefer "bonus-mom" and "bonus-sons" and it was cute because they both lit up and said "Hey! We like that better too!!!"

As we pulled into the driveway, Ernie jumped out of the car, but Bert was waiting for his dad to lift him out. I looked back at Bert and he said "Man.. my life is going to change for the Awesome!"

The 4 of us watched the Georgia/Boise game and had so much fun, interspersed with more questions and a 'What should I call you?" from Ernie.

Then the boys headed to bed before I came home, and they both asked for me to come tuck them in. I tucked Ernie in and said "I'm so exited for you to be my bonus-son.!" And he said, "I'm so excited for you to be my bonus-mom!!!!" And when I tucked Bert in, he said again "I can't believe how much my life is going to change."

I was hoping that the boys would take the news well. Preparing myself for them NOT to, and was BLOWN away by the reaction and happiness I got!!!

WOW.

My life if going to change for the Awesome!!!

The 411

So....

November 5th, 2011 - that's the big day. I finally get to become Mrs. "Mr. B". And here's the details for you, my dear, sweet, bloggy friends.

The wedding will be in the afternoon of the 5th. It will be VERY VERY small. 40 peeps or less. Afterwords we will probably go out to dinner, but it will be one that people have to pay for themselves...

We are ALSO planning a big receptiony shin dig here at casa Mr. B on December 3rd. THAT will be for all family and friends and strangers and there will be food and cake and banana punch (YUM) and all the Diet Mt Dew you can drink... and fun and mayhem and foolishness.

SO.... you... my dear friends.... especially you who would potentially drive a bit... please let me know if you'll be able to come to one (or both) days. As I said we have to keep the ceremony numbers low, but I think we can fit a few bodies ;)

This, That, and Then

So.

I met Mr. B's dad today at his family reunion. His mom was ill and not able to attend. His dad has come SO far since his stroke, but is still confined to a wheelchair, and is hard to understand when he talks. But I just adored him and he seemed to like me. I also met Mr. B's Aunt Sally and Uncle Gary. They were fabulous!! We hit it off and chatted and laughed like we'd known each other forever. As we were getting ready to head out, she grabbed me and pulled me aside and asked me if Mr. B and I were living together. I said "No, but if you can keep a secret I'll tell you this. We're planning to get married the first weekend of November, and then having a reception the first weekend of December." She gasped, grabbed me, and hugged the air right out of me. Needless to say, I at least passed her test. I'm curious to see what she tells Mr. B's mom.

Now... if you're paying attention.. there's some information in that paragraph for you.....

Leaving to Beavers

We're about to spend 3 weeks with Grandma & Grandpa Beaver, and Uncle John Beaver... and Aunt Sarah Beaver.... so I thought I would get my nails done appropriately...

A Good Start

The Ladies (Essie and Gert) met the Gentlemen (Bert and Ernie) the Sunday before the 4th of July, at church.

Here's a pic from the fellowship area after church...



That's Gert and Ernie sharing some fruit snacks and chatting. They hit it off pretty well. Essie and Bert had their faces to me so I couldn't take the "stealth picture" but they also were getting along really well.

Of course there will be bumps along the way, but so far.... so good. So very, very good.

PARENThood

I recently managed to watch all of the series Parenthood, and REALLY enjoyed it. Can't wait for it to come back on this fall. However there was one episode that really troubled me. One of the very first shows, a set of parents become suspicious about their teenage daughter's activities. The uncle suggests they break into her computer to see what's up. They head upstairs and first the parents are uneasy about "breaking into her room" and then don't know the password to her computer, and have no idea about her facebook status.

I was kind of miffed by all this. First of all, I will never and have never had any second thoughts about entering my children's rooms. First of all, they aren't THEIR rooms, they're MY rooms and I'm letting them use them. Second, there will be no computers with passwords I don't know. And third, if you wanna be on facebook, you have to friend me, and I WILL know your password. (My favorite punishment for Essie right now is to change her fb password - quite a deterrent I must say) I just can't imagine parents of a 15-year-old being that out of touch with their kids.

What are your thoughts?

To Be Honest... It Was Quite A Day

So it was the big day... meet the boys.

We decided to meet at the pizza place at 12:30. He texted me when they left his house, and so I headed out. I was about halfway to the pizza place when a cat ran out in front of my car. I swerved to miss it, and in the process smashed into the curb and busted my tire!! ACK!!! I was right next to the high school parking lot so I pulled in there. I had just taken out the phone to call Mr. B, when he called to say they were waiting for me. Of course when I told him what happened, he rounded the boys up and headed to save me. Grabbing the jack and spare tire, I started to raise the car up. Of course, this is in the MIDDLE of the day in Atlanta on black asphalt... I might have started to glisten... just a smidge. He finally pulled up and got out. And my hopes of looking fresh and pretty for the boys were... gone :) At first they were a little shy, but then (and this was no coincidence) a Vokswagon Bug drove by. The ladies and I had taught Mr. B the punch-buggy game a long time ago, and he had passed it onto the boys. So the minute it goes by, I reach out and punch Mr. B and yell PUNCH BUGGY. Well that resulted in chasing each other around the car, which made the boys laugh and totally broke the ice. Within minutes Ernie (his youngest) was telling me secrets about how to win a lego wii game, and Bert (his oldest) was telling me how he wants his dad to take him to a Lakers game!

We finally got to lunch and had a lot of fun. Ernie shared more secrets, and Bert asked me TONS of questions about the ladies. We laughed a lot and had SO much fun. It really went better than I could have even imagined. I felt bad a couple times because Bert has cerebral palsy, and he has a VERY soft voice and is sometimes a little hard to understand... but I know that as I get to know him more, I'll be able to understand more.

So then... there was the car to deal with. After dropping the boys off, we ran to a couple tire shops and they quoted us prices between $130 and $150 for a new tire. We were thinking maybe we should just go to Costco when we went past Big 10 Tires. I asked Mr. B if we should try there, and at first he said no, but then decided to just try it. He ran in quick, and came out just a quickly. Getting into the car, he said he was reminded by the guy in the store who was asking a customer if they wanted road hazard warranty. Mr. B recently purchased tires from Costco and that was something they give with all tires, and he remembered that my dad had bought me new tires about a year ago from Costco! And you won't believe this - I ACTUALLY HAD THE PAPERWORK IN MY GLOVEBOX!!!!! So off to Costco we went. The looked at the tire, said they could give me a $77 credit towards the new tire for the old one, and all together it would be.... drum roll...... $43. Total. Installed on the rim. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO.... quite a day. Hot.. sticky... dumb cat.... but for a day that could have turned out REALLY badly... it was one of the best days... EVER!!!!!!!

ps - Just talked to Mr. B - apparently the boys can't stop talking about the punch buggy race around the car. :)

The Truth Is... I'm a Little Nervous

Tomorrow is a big day. Tomorrow I meet Mr. B's boys. I've known about them for a long time, but for obvious, I think, reasons, we needed to wait until his divorce was final before we all met each other. I was VERY nervous earlier this week, but apparently they are very excited to meet me, so that is calming the fears quite a bit. But there is still nervousness... I realize it's putting the kart before the horse a little to already be planning to get married when I haven't met his kids yet, but I know in my heart we're going to get along pretty well. Fortunately I've been in their shoes (my parents divorced when I was young) and I've had the world's greatest bonus-mom model in my Julie, so I think we'll do ok. Not to say there won't be challenges along the way, but I think we'll be ok.

But the most exciting part about tomorrow to me is FINALLY getting to see this one last side of Mr. B that I've not seen in person before. I KNOW he's such a great dad, and I can't wait to witness it.

Introducing.....

Bill. He is my boyfriend. He's now officially divorced. We're going to get married sometime this fall (hopefully)!

When Men were Men

Have you heard about Adam Corolla's new book?


Basically the premise of this book is that men are becoming wimps. And I gotta say - I agree. And you know where I've seen it most - HGTV shows. The one's where people are buying houses (Property Virgins, House Hunters, etc). If I hear one more 20-something newlywed whine about a 16X16 foot backyard to mow, I'm going to HURL. MAN UP. LIFE ISN'T JUST ABOUT PLAYING VIDEO GAMES.

What are we DOING to boys? They show the slightest bit of... zest... for life, and we slap an ADHD label on them and start drugging them. (I'm NOT saying there aren't legitimate cases of ADHD out there - please don't think I am) In our push to make sure that girls don't get left behind, we're leaving the boys behind.

And we're doing the same to men. We make fun of them and mock them because they can't/don't multitask. Guess what? For the most part, they CAN'T. They are not genetically made up to work that way. Men are not women with penises. Women are not men with vaginas. We are different. I LIKE a man who knows how to change tires and fix things and who can open a stuck jar. I like a man who is a MAN. Not so whipped by a woman that he's seemingly become incapable of doing ANYTHING on his own without her instructions.

If you're married, or have a significant male other, please take a moment or two to appreciate the MAN he is, and be grateful that he's NOT a woman. If you have a son, let him be a boy! And for the girls - let's teach them to appreciate men/boys for what they are, not expect them to be just like us.

What She Said

You. Must. Read. This.

Healthy is good. Obsessed is not. And finding all our worth (or lack-thereof) in the number on the scale or the size on the tag is NOT okay.

To Be Honest, I'm Reliving my Childhood

Y'all know I'm unemployed. And my kids are out of school. And for the time being we're spending most of our time at the apartment, so there aren't many projects to do, and while we COULD spend the whole day at the pool, I don't think all that sun exposure is good. So... we're inside some. And... well... I've made some new friends...

I never had a game system growing up (read... Atari) and when Mr. B introduced me to these lego games on Wii, I got kinda hooked. I like them, they're adventure, and some puzzles...

So last night I had a dream that I was trying to solve a puzzle. I woke up before I got it solved, and couldn't fall back asleep. And while I can't remember what the puzzle was, I just remember I didn't finish it, and it's been driving me crazy ALL DAY!!!!!!

To Be Honest - She Broke My Heart

Have you seen this?



It's powerful. Essie saw it the other night. A few minutes later she posted this on facebook:

"It's not acceptable to call me fat."

Broke. My. Heart.

in pieces.

And made me feel so helpless.

The Truth is.... They Figured Me Out

I have children. They are wonderful. They drive me crazy sometimes. One of my biggest pet-peeves is walking into a store and being bombarded by "can I have this" and "I want that"....

The Ladies are going to a wedding this weekend with their dad, so I needed to make sure Essie had appropriate wedding wear. We went to Old Navy and got her a cute skirt (and a pair of cute sleep-shorts) to go with a nice shirt/sweater she already has. As we were checking out, she tried on a hat, and she looked SOOO cute in it, but it wasn't in my budget, and I had to say no.

Today we headed up to where we meet their dad, and half way there I realized that we had forgotten her shoes. Turning around wasn't really an option, so we stopped at a local Target to grab a pair of CHEAP white sandals. As we were looking at shoes, Essie spied a hat and tried it on - it too was cute (she looks so cute in hats). She asked if she could have it, and I had to say no, especially now with an unbudgeted purchase of shoes. We headed to the check out and there were more hats, and more "PLEASE can I have one.... please please please." We were in the check out line, so I wasn't going to yell, but I gave her the stank eye and told her to knock it off and stop asking.

Of course being a pre-teen she had to pout and go stand outside the store. I grabbed a little thing of Ice-Breakers Fruit Punch mints, and got the shoes, and headed out. I gave her another stank eye and said "I have bought a skit, shoes, and even sleep shorts in the last 2 days. Don't EVEN pout at me." She actually straightened up and said I was right, but I was still torqued.

We got in the car, and I popped in a mint, turned on the radio and started bopping around because "Wanna Be Starting Somethin" by Michael Jackson. And got over being mad.

Essie turned to her sister and said "I figured it out. When mommy gets mad, you give her a mint and some Michael Jackson, and she get's better."

Dang... they got my number.

Stuff

Some of this is repetative from facebook, but they're things I want to make sure I have someplace where I can find them again.

This morning Essie and I were waiting for her bus, when I spotted an animal down the street. I said "Is that a coyote? Or a fox?" Essie said, "Chupacabra!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She makes me laugh.

Why do people who make "documentary" type television thing I have the attention span of a gnat? They constantly recap the "story" after every commercial break. How do they think I made it through "fictional" tv? They don't come back after every commercial break on Glee and say "what you missed in the last 20 minutes." I think it's cause they're lazy and don't actually have 45 minutes of interesting television.

Why do people try to sell me makeup removers with models who clearly still have makeup on AFTER they "washed" their face?

My ah-ha moment

Today I was purusing the internet and saw a link to a story about Kate Middleton. I admit - I clicked. I thought maybe there were some pictures from the wedding I hadn't seen or something like that. Nope. Here's the big news. Kate..... WENT GROCERY SHOPPING. OMG!!!!!!!!!! KATE WENT GROCERY SHOPPING AND SHE SEEMED TO BE SELECTIVE ABOUT WHAT SHE WAS BUYING AND DIDN'T JUST THROW THINGS IN HER CART (probably buggy in England though... right?)

And I closed the story. Disgusted. Cause... seriously... this is the kind of coverage that killed William's mother.

And my ah-ha moment was when I realized why I was ok with spending almost the entire weekend last weekend watching every morsel I could find about the wedding, but it made me mad to see this coverage of her shopping. It's because I will never have a royal wedding. I wanted to watch that to experience that, to see what that would be like.

On the other hand.... I have, in fact, been grocery shopping before. Several times actually. I don't really need to know how Kate does that. Though... I will say from the pictures I can determine with pride that Kate and I push the cart (buggy... trolly??) THE EXACT SAME WAY!!!!

With our hands!

To Be Honest - I'm a Romantic Fool

Yes. I woke up at 3:45 this morning. I got my children up and we watched the Royal Wedding. I adore weddings. The ceremony and the dresses and the tears and smiles and the flub ups. And being 39, I'm not at an age where I get to go to a lot of weddings. Most of my friends are married, but I'm not old enough (THANK YOU JESUS) to be going to weddings of my friends kids. So there's a dirth of them right now in my life, and that's one of the reasons why I really wanted to watch this today. I wanted to satisfy my voyeuristic urgings and see someone's happy moments.

I think, too, I had a few moments of thinking "Hmmm... maybe we WILL have a 'real' wedding when Mr. B and I get married." Then I thought about the $$ that one of those things costs, and I went back to being happy with the idea of a JOP.

And too... there's remembering when Diana got married. I was 8. I was in Kentucky on my way to Washington DC with my mom, grandma and great aunt. We were at a quintessential roadside motel, and we delayed the start of that days driving so I could watch the wedding. I remember her dress, and her crown... it was everything my little girl heart wanted it to be. And today, was everything my grown up heart wanted it to be.

I'm hoping there'll be a day when I can wake up early again with my daughters and their daughters to watch William & Kate's precious child have their special day!

To be honest - I'm scared...

of something happening to me and I end up in a coma and no one plucks the crazy hairs on my chin and I wake up as the bearded lady.

T o be honest - I'm an anal retentive egg decorator!

To Be Honest - The Big One

Here's the one where we separate the wheat from the chaff. I know I have some readers out there who might have issues with what I'm about to share - and I get that. I have issues with it. But it is... what it is... and if you're too offended by what you read, and need to not read anymore, I'm cool. I understand. This is my blog, and this is where I keep my thoughts and memories to keep forever.

Mr. B is not yet divorced. When I met him, 3 years ago, he was still married and living with his wife. Things weren't going well, but they were still together. I was living separately from my now ex, just waiting for the year to be up so I could get a divorce. We knew when we met that something clicked, but didn't know what would happen. When we finally met in person (we had met online) we knew. We found the other half of ourselves. Truly the loves of our lives. He decided that he would be ending his marriage. I do not believe that I "ruined" their marriage. It was broken. And she had no desire to fix it. She had, in fact, had an affair 2 years prior.

The whole process didn't go quickly. Mr B isn't very confrontational, and things went on for a while. He started the divorce process with one lawyer who took his money and stopped returning his phone calls. He moved on to another lawyer and it's all been a long process. But we're getting to the end of it.

I read an article today about my favorite singer of all time - Amy Grant. And OH my gosh. I knew she had met Vince Gill while she was still married, but I never knew that she knows EXACTLY how I feel.

Around the holidays of that year, Grant and Gill played three events together in one night. "I knew from the tips of my toes that he was unlike anybody I had ever met," Grant remembers, "and that I related to him on such a cellular level. I was just so overwhelmed by him as a person that I finally came up behind him and wrapped my arms around him and said, 'I've needed to do this all night.' "

Yeah. I know that feeling.

Grant's pain was evident to her sister Nuismer: "Sometimes when people try to stay in [a marriage] with unresolved issues, they begin to shut down. It's like you see them dying."

Yeah. I know that feeling. So does Mr. B

Mr. B had mediation yesterday. It didn't go well. She's taking him to the cleaners. I could say a lot more. I probably will at some point, but not yet. It's not pretty. But he's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know he feels the same about me. Last night he thanked me for saving him. I don't know... I think he saved me.

This surely isn't a path I saw myself taking when I was growing up. But I've learned so much. If I had it to over again, there are things I would do differently. But I can't, and I don't regret what I have, what I've found. I don't regret finally understanding what it's liked to be truly loved, solely for who I am.

To Be Honest - The Veggie Edition

Other than the bumper sticker that says "Visualize whirled peas" I don't like it when people replace "peace" with "peas". I worked at Green Giant. I can tell you that there's no peace in peas.

The Truth is....

I'm a sucker for a good museum - especially one that relates to American History. It's spring break this week, and while all our friends are off to Florida and the beach and other beautiful places, the lack-o-job around here made us spring break it at home. I looked at various places to go and do things around Atlanta - the zoo, World Of Coca Cola, Botanical gardens - and all of them were still just a little on the pricey side. Then I got a wild hair (hare?) and decided to see how much it cost to go to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library - and guess what - CHEAP - $8 for me, girls free! It wasn't hard to sell the girls - they visited Reagan's library last summer and enjoyed it, so they were up for it. The grounds at the Library are beautiful, and the exhibits were very interesting. Carter is the first President I remember, and while I am a die-hard Reagan girl, I do remember voting for Carter in our school election in 1980. I don't necessarily agree with his politics now, but he's a good man, with a good heart, who was President at a very difficult time. So here's a few pictorial highlights from our day.

The Oval Office

Replicas of their wedding outfits

The Nobel Peace Prize

The Truth Comes Out

I've decided to do a little series called "The Truth Comes Out"... each day I will confess something about myself. At the end of it, it's possible that there will be some who used to call me a friend who don't want to anymore, but that's a chance I'm willing to take because... gosh darn it.... I just want to be me.

So.... today's piece of truth.


I don't like cupcakes.

American Idol Top 13

Check out my recap here!


In other news. Have you seen the commercial for the new Barbie movie? The one that has the line "Barbie finds out some of her best friends are fairies"........ um....... seriously? Is someone that OBTUSE or is someone that funny?

Open Letters

Dear Wanna-be-Pawners:

I watch Pawn Stars, and Hardcore Pawn... cause... they're freakishly entertaining. Here's my words of advice if you're headed in to pawn something. How much do you think your item is worth? Ok. Take that number and divide it by two. Then take your result, and divide it by three. Take that number and divide it by 2. Take that number and reduce it by 75%. That number you arrived at? That's going to be the MAX you get from a pawn guy when he's in a good mood on a good day. Please stop thinking that because you bought the console TV in 1978 for $500 that it's now worth $495. And just because something was on your Grandma's mantle for years doesn't mean it's worth anything now. Please remember that the Pawn guy needs to SELL your item for a PROFIT.



Dear Teen-Moms,
99% of teen baby-daddy's are going to disappoint you. You think you're not ready? They're even less ready. Most of them aren't going to change baby diapers or get up in the middle of the night or walk the floor with a sick baby. So... a word of advice.... save the sex for when you grow up. Yeah... I know you think you're grown up. You're not. I promise. Save the sex for when you are in a MATURE relationship with a man who is employed (and you are too) and then when you have the "oops, the condom broke" you're at least a LITTLE more likely to be able to handle the situation - as will he.


Dear Garden Fresh Gourmet Salsa,
You've done it. You have perfected Salsa. The best combo of spice and sweet - the Jack's Special is... perfection. I am seriously considering a total salsa diet. I have actually had DREAMS about your salsa. Thank you.


Dear People who Hire People,
You're missing out not interviewing me. Seriously.

Cover Girls

The Ladies brought home their school pictures this week. I am IN LOVE with both of them. And that's saying something, because we've had some clunkers in the past. But not this time!!!

Please allow me to present Miss Gert - 2nd Grade


And Miss Essie - 6th Grade

Like a Lady of Leisure

So... if you follow me on Facebook you know I'm unemployed again. Yeah. Not. But I don't really want to talk about that right now.

I do want to talk about the fact that I've been reading quite a bit recently. Well.. more than usual. Because I have the time.

And I have the Kindle app on my phone, so I download a lot of the "free" books... which is interesting because they aren't always "top of the line" books. The other day I downloaded "Pride & Prejudice - the Wanton & Wild Edition"... basically P&P with sex. Which... is... weird. I got half way through it and haven't kept going. I just can't see that the "co-author" has really added anything of value.

More interestingly, I've been reading Decision Points, by President George W. Bush. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I voted for Bush. I took the ladies to see him when he was running the 2nd time, and it was quite an experience. But by the end of the 8 years, I'd kind of had enough of him, and was ready for the new blood. I had heard some good things about the book, so I decided to check it out. It's a really good book. Each chapter revolves around a different decision he had to make, and how he went about making the decision. It's a GREAT way to see "behind" the presidency. It reminds me of why I loved The West Wing so much - I think we so often don't realize how much debate and thought goes into a presidential decision. We just see the end result. Reading this book has inspired me to want to read other books (autobiographies and others) written by other presidents. But I gotta finish this one first.

Waiting for me on my Kindle are:
Fat, Forty and Fired - for some reason I can relate.

Admit One: My Life in Film - it was free... we'll see

And that's all at the moment.....

What do you suggest?

25 Years

25 years ago I was an 8th grader, home sick from school, watching Wheel of Fortune, when they broke in with a special news report. The space shuttle, carrying the first "common citizen", a teacher, had exploded not long after take off. For people in the generation before me, JFK's assassination is "that moment" that they remember where they were and what they were doing. And for many it was an awakening to the realization that life isn't always idyllic and "Camelot"... sometimes really terrible things happen. For people younger than me, 9/11 is that moment. And of course that will be a day I will never forget. But 25 years ago today is the day that I realized that everything doesn't always go right... and really bad, tragic things happen. Watching the space shuttle blow up over and over and over again. Bad... bad thing. My hearts and prayers go out to the families that lost loved ones that day. Their children who are now grown and most likely have children of their own. Their spouses who have gone on most likely for longer now without them than they were ever with them. We won't ever forget. We can't.

President Reagan's address to the nation 1/28/1986

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.

Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this.

And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judish Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.

We mourn their loss as a nation together.

For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and, perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's take-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.

We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.

I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA, or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."

There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

Thank you.

American Idol Week 2

Um... so I sat down to start recapping AI at 8 pm. And then suddenly I opened my eyes and there were 2 little girls standing in front of me saying "Mommy... it's 11 o'clock. Should we go to bed?"

Um...

Yeah.

Bed... good idea.

So I will smush last night and tonight's all in one post and get that to ya tonight.

Jeesh...

I need more sleep.

American Idol - Season 10 Sharpie Style - Meet The Judges

I've had some fairly extreme difficulties posting my recap of last nights Idol. JEEZ internet... please give a gal a break.

But I think we can all agree the big story last night was the judges. I, personally, was more than a little skeptical going in. Steven Tyler? Really? Judging musical talent? He who shrieks... alot? And then Jennifer Lopez - J-Lo - Jenny from the Block... in that case I was a little worried about the Diva thing (in fact yesterday I read an article that she bought a house in LA, told the designer what she wanted, and just as the designer had just about finished the house, J-Lo Changed her mind about EVERYTHING and the lady had to start over). And then Randy. Randy Randy Randy... dawg dawg dawg... for me for you.....

BUT



Randy Jackson - He seems to be better this year. Not as many dawgs... not as many cliche's as in the past. He's always been sort of a non-entity in the past and that seems like it's holding true. I did laugh when J-Lo said to him "How did you DO this for 10 years???"
Jennifer Lopez - At first I was worried we had another Ellen here - unable to give bad news. But as time went on she seemed to start to get better at it. And she CLEARLY has watched Idol for years, which I like. She also didn't show much of the Diva attitude and was really sweet to the couple contestants who got all undone by her presence.

Steven Tyler - Oh - this is the one that blew me away. He was AWESOME!! Just enough wit and biting comments to cover the space that Simon left, but without the just down-right sense of MEAN that Simon had. And watching Steven ENJOY the singers in front of him was a hoot! He'd sing along or drum the beat on his desk. Loved him. It'll be interesting to see how he does once they hit the live stuff, but I've got a good feeling.

So.... there's more recap to come... once I get the dumb stuff to scan right.

Did you watch last night? Were you happy with the new judges or not? Who would be your ideal judges? Do you think Simon was secretly watching last night?

2011 - The Motto

The last few months at my job have been.... challenging. Nepotism and ageism reign, as does my great-bosses seeming disdain for both overweight people and working moms (so yeah, we get along GREAT!!!!!)

Of course it's that time of year when we're supposed to make our goals for the coming year. Ugh. Seriously. My goal is to come in, do the job I'm paid to do, and leave at 5. I don't want to reinvent the wheel, I don't want to scrape and climb my way up the corporate ladder, I don't really care to figure out ways to make our processes oh-so-much-smoother. I just want to do my job and go home. I. Don't. Care.

That's not the kind of person I think I'm supposed to be. I think we're supposed to be driven and determined and want to get ahead and make more money. I don't. I want to get home to my family and be with them.

So.... my Motto (?) for 2011 is "I'm more of a Jimmy Buffett than a Warren Buffett"

Snow Babies

Apparently we here in "Hot"lanta are expecting a (quote from local news source) "Largest Snow Event in Years"... maybe even 5-7 inches on Sunday night/Monday morning.

I'm guessing the Ladies won't have school. Which is good because we don't have the attire required anymore for that kind of weather.

We used to:

Barbie's Assets

I have a 7-year-old girl in my house, and we had an appropriately Barbie-Centric Christmas. The pink level in our house increased about ten-fold.

Included in the haul was "Video Barbie"... she has a video camera in her - the lens "hidden" in her necklace.
Of course she needed batteries, so we checked the directions and... um.... pulled her pants down to put the batteries in her legs... and were met with this:



Really??? REALLY??? Why is that there? Is there a screw? The other screws aren't covered up, why that one... why there? I'm not being a prude because I think it's funny, I'm just trying to figure out what meeting they had over at Matel where THAT seemed like a good idea.....