Happy Halloween!

This year Halloween is on a Friday... we are going to visit David's cousins up near Charlotte and attend their annual Halloween Party. It's a lot of fun but so far we've not been there on actual Halloween night. Marissa will have plenty of fun and decorated houses to trick-or-treat at. There are places around where we live of course, but not everyone is into this particular holiday and it makes for a long evening with houses few and far between (maybe it's the neighborhood we're walking!) so this will be a nice and fun change for us. The housing area where Chris and Holly live get into all kinds of holidays. They are the kind that do the friendly competition of who can decorate the best. Everyone gathers together for block parties during the summer and neighborly holiday parties such as the one we are going to.

As for our Halloween tradition, we do it for the fun of dressing up, the compliments on our costume ideas as well as to see all the other beautiful, scary or creative costumes wandering about the neighborhoods. Oh yes, and for the free candy! Lol

So I want to wish everyone a Happy Halloween in 2008!

And....

YOU'VE BEEN MOONED!!!!

And since Halloween is on a Friday this year... parties are abound to happen, please...

Drink Responsibly!

Flaming bag o' What?!

Hahaha, funny!

Haha...Argh!

To some, you might think it's funny but to me it is not. I haven't posted anything for awhile because I'm on the computer at work and when I get home I either don't want to be on the computer or if I do I feel that I shouldn't be on the computer because someone else wants to be... or maybe it's that I can't get on the computer because someone else is already there.

My DH is addicted to his cigar websites and chatting with his buddies. Now this world of his has it's benefits for both me and him. Of course he talks and meets with other people that have an interest in the sames things he does. Some of these people whom he's never met are so touched by his service to our Country that when he was deployed and our house was broken into, they wanted to do something special for myself and Marissa. Marissa now has a lovely new Dell laptop (for which I am totally jealous!) and I have both a Coach and Guess purse. These are just a couple gifts that David's cigar buddies have sent to us. Of course he's received cigars and other such paraphenalia from his friends but they are, after all, his friends. I was lucky to receive anything at all so I can't be too upset with his friendships.

We were even lucky enough to spend a weekend in nearby Myrtle Beach in a luxury condo where we shared the 3-bedroom, 2700sf (with foyer!) home-away-from-home with a few friends from "work". It was a Cigar Retreat for those from the webchat that were close enough to attend. We only had to pay about $60 per couple/family for the whole weekend!! The cigar smokers spent hours hanging out with one another at the Penthouse suite of the gentlemen that helped build the luxurious condo-plantation. That's how we got such a special rate to begin with. And we got to hob-nob with the "elite" folks. It was still a down to earth weekend filled with dinners out and shopping, trips to the beach and miniature golf. A trip that wouldn't have been possible or even planned if "we" didn't know these people from the cigar chats. So again, I should not complain.

But I'm still complaining. I mean, I'm writing this blog when I should be doing other things... (ie: working) and I feel as though if I'm on the computer more than 30 minutes I'm just wasting time or I feel the presence-pressure of my DH who wants to take over and talk to his friends (cuz they all might perish if they go a day withough exchanging thoughts!). I haven't even balanced the checkbook in a month because I don't feel as though I can be on the computer to enjoy myself or to work on it. Now my daughter is asking almost daily to use the computer (it was only a matter of time before she figured out how fun the internet could be and that a simple, non-connected computer wasn't good enough).

The time is coming where we will have to get a router and have a LAN setup in our home so that we can all go to our secret corners and live beyond in a world of keyboards, pixels and prose. We probably won't talk to eachother much (not that we talk that much now) but we'll be happy to have "our"space out there in the World Wide Web of networks. Where we can talk to everyone else - and maybe, just maybe we'll send eachother emails or communicate by chat from our separate corners. Lol.

All I can say is... Eww!

VERMONT -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.

Read about it here.

For our little Red Bird...

She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: 'How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?'

The surgeon said, 'I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it.'

Sally said, 'Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?'

The surgeon asked, 'Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university.'

Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. 'Would you like a lock of his hair?' the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.

The mother said, 'It was my son's idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. 'I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom.' She went on, 'My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.'

Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car.

The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room.

She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.

It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said:

'Dear Mom,

I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say 'I Love You'. I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know.

Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool. I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him 'where was He when I needed him?' 'God said He was in the same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.

No one else can see what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper.. Isn't that cool? I have to give God His pen back now He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm sure the food will be great.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore the cancer is all gone.. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?

Signed with Love,

God &
Me.

Oh My...ley!

Well, I was on a video hunt for the "Just Stand Up" cancer fundraising song and lots of information about Miley Cyrus was surrounding my search. To include her youtube feud. I know, that's old news... but I hadn't seen it, only heard about it. Hey, I gotta a tween in the house - I hear these things. And yes, we watch Hannah Montana - religiously. Lol. On to my point... I was searching, oh yes, so I ventured over to youtube world and found the infamous video, watched it and then got side-tracked. I found parodies and other such videos but I had to share this one... cuz she's funny. To me. Her name is Venetian Princess. She also has this page. Enjoy!

Fab Five

Here are the rules:

1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.
2. Link back to the person who tagged you.
3. Link back to this parent post.
4. Tag a few friends, or five, or none at all.
5. Post these rules- or just have fun breaking them!

FIVE WAYS BLOGGING HAS AFFECTED ME:

1. I've learn so much more about spreading information to my family and friends. And I've learned what to look for when my daughter decides to really get out there on the computer and internet.

2. I have always loved scrapbooking - well buying all the stuff to create scrapbooks. I just don't make the time to do any of it. I will though, one day - I promise! Anyhow, what does this have to do with blogging and how it has affected me? I can "scrapbook" online. I can share my photos and captions or stories and share them with friends and family immediately. No one has to wait to visit my house to view my scrapbooks and with digitial photos I don't have to worry about developing film and then cutting and shaping them into books with stickers and then handwriting my stories. I'm so much faster with the keyboard anyway - my thoughts flow with my fingers. Unlike penmanship, I can "delete" my mistakes and continue on with my message.

3. I have also met some new people through blogging or have found interest in others without actually meeting them. People I have things in common with that I never would have known about without blogging. There are people that make me laugh and bring me joy just reading about their life. It's like reality tv or a great biographical book - only real time with real people. And they aren't getting famous from it (are they?), they are people just like me that have some of the same interests.

4. I have always thought about keeping a diary or a journal. I love to buy them or give them as gifts but they usually end up as notebooks to keep a task list in or grocery shopping lists. I might write an entry here or there but never anything that takes up a month's worth or a year's worth of thoughts. This is an easier way of organizing my thoughts and keeping up with it. It's fun for me. I believe it's just another way we are evolving in this electronic era.

5. I'm always thinking about what I can put on my page. This picture, this event, this family trip... what kind of information is noteworthy on my blog? Silly thoughts, huge endeavors? It's all so amazing how different it is to blog and share with people than to email friends and family. In some ways it's like I can update everyone at once even about the simplest things. In other ways it's a forum to discuss issues with any readers I may have.

It's a small world out there after all.... how do you see the world? How has blogging affected you?

I tag:
1. Kim (cuz she's usually the one who tags first)
2. Stacie (she's good at responding when she has the time)
3. Jenni (I think she enjoys this as much as I have found to enjoy it)
4. David (you gonna stop reading mine and my friend's blogs and make a page of your own!?)

Dating Gym

Well, I've been dating Gym for 4 days now. At first, Gym was great! I thought - what a great idea - I'll visit Gym 4-5 days a week and really get into it. Ha.... Ha. As of last night (Wednesday) Gym and I already needed professional counseling in order to make this relationship last (aka: Personal Trainer).

My stomach muscles are still sore from Monday's workout. I don't even remember how many situps I did - straight up, to the left, to the right. All I know is that I did a lot and I've been paying for it ever since. It hurts to cough, sneeze and sometimes breathe. Ouch. I know I shouldn't be whining but this feels different than anything I've ever felt before. So then I wonder - gee just how long has it been since I've really used these muscles? Cardio doesn't touch what weights and resistance machines do. Oweee! My DH David thought he could be my personal trainer but on the 2nd day we met with the professionals and after all was said and done he thought it was a great idea for me to have my fitness routine designed by professionals and he could just motivate and encourage me. The way he sees it - after my workouts I'll hate "them" and still love him. Lol.... uh-huh.

Well, first session with the trainer went well. I mean if well means that I'm still alive and typing to you today. I was dying! I try to stay composed and do my sets like a good little girl and not complain or make ugly faces - oh and I don't want to sweat either cuz that's just gross! Lol... that all went out the window after about 15 minutes with the trainer. We were working the legs - which is usually my strongest area. After 35 minutes of leg work on about 5 different machines and free weights, etc.... thank G-D he skipped doing lunges!!!... one of my thigh muscles started to give out. I caught myself but if both legs had gone I would have been face down on the floor mat! I had 2 more sets on 2 more machines to go and I was home free. And by home free I mean I was done with the circuit training and able to go do some cardio. Yay... (breathe) cardio... (breathe) I'm - so- happy... (huff, huff, huff).

I did sweat (though not dripping wet, whew!) and I did make some faces (but no one saw them, yeah right!) and I did all my sets and reps, etc. I am overall really proud of myself but I feel that the trainer started me off on some heavier weights than I maybe should have been doing for a first night, first workout. We'll see how it goes the next time around. I'm sticking with it - and as far as my relationship with Gym - everyone is very encouraging. We just might make it after all!

Fore! (Oops, I mean...

4 jobs I have had in my life:
Clerk Typist 3 - US Government (DoD)
Sales Associate (JCPenney's, Radio Shack)
Human Resources Specialist/Payroll (Multiple Dotcoms)
HR Admin - US Army Contractor - Army Guard Program

4 places I've lived:
California
Colorado
Oklahoma
North Carolina
(and New Jersey, but I was 5-6 years old and only remember random bits)

4 places I've traveled:
2x Canada through Oregon and Washington - okay we all know who was on that trip
(dancing in the aisles of the bus was SO fun!)(remember "whale" watching?)
Hawaiian Islands (cruise)
various US States (I-40 route and Florida, Georgia)
Mexico

4 of my favorite foods:
Haha - too many! So I'll list ethnic catagories:
Chinese
Mexican
Italian
American (burgers, fries, salads)

4 places wish to visit:
Australia
Europe (Italy, France, England and maybe Spain)
Canada - Eastern region (Nova Scotia, etc)
Tahiti!!!

4 who will respond:
Jen
Idk
you?
her?

Nursing. How long is too long?

Oh, I'm so grossed out! I believe in nursing but only to age 1. I didn't get to nurse my daughter that long - not even to 6 months but I couldn't stand seeing my brother nurse when he was 2 years old. Old enough to ask specifically to nurse is TOO OLD. That's my opinion. What's yours?

Video

UPDATE!!!
Go HERE to view the video. You can still view the story or see pics of Marissa and her colorguard stuff in previous posts. Also - you may have missed the Georgia post. I didn't know that when you saved as a draft the date would remain and fall into order upon finally posting.

Check out the video of Marissa's field show.

TAG!

20 Years Ago. . .
1. I was a member of the last 8th-grade graduating class at Prunedale Elementary School.
2. I started high school.
3. I was on the color guard team and dance class (thanks to Kim).
4. I was 14 years old.


10 Years Ago...
1. I was a mom of a beautiful, happy 2-year old.
2. I worked for NameSecure.com, Inc.
3. I bought my first new car - a Neon.
4. I lived in Concord, CA!


5 Years Ago...
1. I moved from Colorado to Oklahoma (big mistake!)
2. I moved from Oklahoma back to California.
3. I lived with my cousin Karen for 6 weeks (so much fun!)
4. I worked for PeopleSoft.com, Inc (before they sold to Oracle).


3 Years Ago...
1. I was going through an emotional roller coaster.
2. My daughter was in her 2nd year of Blue Devils Colorguard.
3. I reunited with David.
4. I got engaged...


1 Year Ago...
1. I finally got a job here in North Carolina!
2. I enrolled Marissa into private school.
3. Went to Disney World for the first time!
4. Reverted back to "single mom" mode as I went through my first deployment as a soldier's wife.


So far this year I...
1. became a member of the Disney Vacation Club (been to Disney over 7 times since 2003)!
2. got a new minivan - Yippee - freedom from the Beast (big truck).
3. started completing home renovation projects - so pretty!
4. made a goal to lose significant weight for upcoming cruise (yes, Disney!).


Yesterday I...
1. went to church.
2. went to outlets and got to spend some money!
3. stayed up late.
4. watched most of the MTV Music Video Awards (not so great).


Today I...
1. woke up and made it to work.
2. took Marissa to school.
3. paid first car payment.
4. will be making home-made tacos for dinner (yum!).


Tomorrow I will...
1. go to work again.
2. go to the gym.
3. book an appointment for getting US Passports for cruise.
4. start making a christmas gift buying list.


In the next year I will....
1. renovate the kitchen (new counter tops!).
2. get hard-wood flooring installed for living room, kitchen and hallway.
3. reach weight goal to either 140 pounds or a size 8/10.
4. possibly move to Colorado?


I tag Stacie, Jennifer... whomever wants to answer via email or myspace.

Atlanta, Georgia - Peachy keen!

For Labor Day weekend we wanted to get out of town and do something fun. Living on the East Coast, I wanted to venture beyond Fayetteville. After some thought and many different ideas of how to spend our 3 days off from work and school... we came up with a trip full of activities to do in and around the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

First we went to the Georgia Aquarium:

Then we went to the World of Coca-Cola:



On Sunday we played all day at Six Flags Over Georgia:




We rounded off the evening at the park playing in their water slide area. It was a lot of fun and much needed cooling off as the temperature was hot and steamy. On Monday we took a trip back to downtown Atlanta and visited the Ritz Carlton hotel (all I can say is WOW) and then we had a snack at the Hard Rock Cafe and visited the original streets of downtown Atlanta in a place now known as the Underground (they've turned it into a shopping area but you are under the streets of downtown and walking on the original brick streets from over 100 years ago!


After our dawdling in the city we headed over to Stone Mountain for a trip back in time... back to the days of country life. We made wax candles, watched a demo on blacksmithing and glassblowing and munched on some old tyme candy. Here's a pic of the etching in the side of the STONE mountain - picture is of General Lee and companions - known as the Mt Rushmore of the South:

First Field Show...

Marissa (12 years, 7th grade) performed at her first field show for the Varsity team on August 29, 2008. Her school decided to create a colorguard team in the Spring and tryouts were held before the school year ended. Marissa is in the back, but appears as the flag girl on the right side of the screen/video for most of the recording. They aren't doing tosses yet as most of the girls are in the 6th grade and have never spun a flag before.

However - along with her first field show, the uniforms were pinned in place - they were too big for almost all the girls - and it had been raining a good storm just 40 minutes prior to the halftime show. We waited for a 60-minute delay for the game to start and left promptly after halftime as it was already 11:00pm and we were due to leave for Atlanta, GA early the next morning. I'm hoping the field shows get better but I'm thinking they need more teammates! They are being taught by a dance choreographer that knows little to nothing of colorguard (I wonder if I could get in on the teaching??) and the band teacher is actually one of the percussionists on the field!!! Marissa mentioned something about someone missing so maybe that's why the teacher was on the field.

Marissa is used to performing on a colorguard team as she had been on a Winterguard team for 3 years previously with the Concord Blue Devils ('A' Guard) from 2003-2006 (age 7-10 years) and performed with a much larger team against high school and college level teams and venues. Each year she attended the Regionals down in Southern California at either Riverside or San Bernadino college campuses. Winterguard is different in that she performed in the school gymnasiums to pre-recorded music. You didn't have to worry about the outdoor elements or the music being off, etc. Her picture below is of her first year in Winterguard at age 7.

Oh well, at least I know that Marissa will be going to public high school so that if we don't move and cannot get her on another independent team, she'll have a larger high school team to join up with. For the time being, this will keep her somewhat "warmed up".

Wacky Weather Weekends

Well it appears that a Hurricane is comin'. Either way the path leads her, we'll be getting some windy weather and lots of rain. If Hanna comes in on a more southernly route, hitting land on the coast of South Carolina, then we could see some tornadoes poppin' up around our areas. We are about an hour or so inland from Myrtle Beach, SC or Wrightsville Beach, NC (keep your peepers peering when listing to the news - if those cities are sited as landing spots for the 'cane, we'll surely feel it!!).

We had some tornadoes last week in our county and the surrounding counties compliments of Hurricane Fay. Well... her rain and wind bands stretched out around the country and landed us some warnings and watches (warnings mean that they were seen/felt and watches are "good" conditions for whatever you are watching for). The closest tornado we had last week was about 30 miles away. I was at work looking out at the rain and lightning storm while Marissa was following directions whilst covering her ears from the sirens at her school.

We spent the 3-day holiday weekend down in Atlanta, Georgia (more on that later, with pics!) and we saw the news of Gustav hitting down in Louisiana. We might get some of the weather as well.

I work on base at Fort Bragg and they are loading many FEMA trailers on site today and tomorrow in preparation for Government assistance along the coast lines. We are the point-of-contact for the southern coast in natural disasters and calls of emergency. This leads me to believe that we will definitely be seeing some nasty weather approaching. If not Hanna, then Ike is predicted to come our way...

Burnin' down the house!

Oops! Marissa asked if she could have ramen for dinner and I finally said yes (she's been wanting ramen since she got back from her dad's two weeks ago!). Anyway, I went on to the bedroom to play on the computer leaving her to cook her ramen. Tonight is a fend-for-yourself night. She's cooked ramen plenty of times before... suddenly I smell something weird. I'm thinking it's all in my head. Then I continue to smell it and it seems a bit stronger. I'm thinking that it could be the neighbors trying to bbq or something. I go to check it out - making my way to the front door.

As soon as I open my bedroom door, I'm smacked by the burning smell and gray smoke filling the house. I called for Marissa because I didn't see her and didn't hear her. She came walking out of the kitchen with swim goggles on her face! Why wasn't the smoke detector screaming in our ears!?! Not to worry at this point... I hurry into the kitchen to see what's going on as Marissa explains that she forgot to put water in the ramen before cooking it. I'm like, "what?", how do you forget to put ramen in the bowl?

Well, upon seeing what was in the microwave, I figured it out. She made the cup-o-noodles that I have for work or after-school snacks. Oy. It's burned black and only about 2 inches tall. The microwave is all orange and fumes are choking me. This is all happening in seconds of time. I tell Marissa to go outside as I'm running for the door because I can't breathe! I told her to stand there and fan the door while I go back into the house to open windows and try to clean up/rid the mess.

It took me 40 minutes to clean up what had baked, melted and fumigated the microwave. It's been 3 hours since then and I can still smell the light fragrance of Eau de Toxic Styrofoam! Um, word to the wise - styrofoam should not be microwaved. Boiling water may be added to the cup but you should NOT heat in a microwave as it cooks from the inside out. However, the paper liner/lid was fine if only slightly discolored. Lol.

Beauty - My New Car!

For my 34th birthday, I got a new car! Not just any car but a car that I got to pick out myself. From the color to the stain resistent carpeting and everything in between! We got gap insurance, free oil changes with free nitrogen air fill-ups for the tires and roadside assistance. Some of this was just tied into the selection. Other things, like dual DVD players and Sirius satellite radio and television were the perks I wanted to have with the car. I opted for the Entertainment package because I figured with having a Tween and hoping for more kiddos on the way soon, we'll enjoy keeping them entertained on family trips to the beach or visiting relatives or just travelling from one state to another on roadtrips.

I've never had the "pick of the litter" so-to-speak. I've always had to get what I could afford and each time I've risen higher on the options list. My last car (2003/04) was the first time I had automatic door locks (with a clicker!) and automatic windows and CD player. So this car is just a giant theme park of options for me. Truly no need to upgrade to anything else anytime soon (or ever!).

Imagination

"It's something that will never be finished. Something that I can keep developing...and adding to.""Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.""I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." -- Walt Disney