Introducing.....PERFECTION!

Or, as her parents like to call her, Kara Elizabeth. (Of course, as her grandmother, I feel I should announce this as, "Another Jedi is born!" lolololol - Hey! What do you expect from someone who calls herself "Granny Skywalker"???) Isn't she stunningly beautiful? I mean honestly. Have you ever seen such a pretty baby? Personally, I have not. (Well, not since November 20, 2005, when Conner was born and then, of course, way back in 1999 when Ms. Maddy made her way into the world!)

Here's a group photo of the family. That's Maddy Moose on the left, Baby Kara, Jodie and Nicholas (Mr. OU). Funny how Maddy seems to be the most alert one of the bunch. You'd think Jodie, Nick and Kara had just run a marathon or something, wouldn't you? lol

Check out the toes on Kara! Nick had said she had some long ones. Nick was not wrong!! lol Bless her heart...I think she could hang from a tree limb with those things! (Beautifully formed, though, aren't they?)

Awwwww - here's another shot of Ms. Kara's face. HOW CUTE IS SHE??????

Here's Nick, pestering the poor little darlin'. What is it about a baby's mouth that just makes people want to play with their lips? Can you see her trying to open her eyes?

And here's Nick....still playing with her mouth.

And here's Kara, finally looking up to see who in the heck has been aggravating her so. And it's DADDY! Yay! (She looks smitten with him, doesn't she? - I'm thinking the feeling's mutual!)

Here's Maddy holding her newest little sister. Moose is an old pro at being a big sister. Kara looks perfectly happy to be with her, doesn't she? Oh, by the way, Kara weighed in at 8 lbs, 4.5 ounces and is 21 inches long. At least, that's what the e-mail said. We thought we were first told that she weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz. and was 23 inches long, but I may have written that down wrong in the excitement of the moment. She was born April 17th at 5:25 a.m. (Okinawa time, which means it was something like 3:25 p.m., April 16th, central standard time. I think. That time change thing always confuses me. I quickly become my village's idiot whenever asked to figure it out. lol). Okay, I'm off to send some e-mails to those who don't read my blog.

P.S. She doesn't read my blog, but I still have to say a great big THANK YOU to Jodie's friend and neighbor, Samantha, for calling us with the news of Kara's birth and for e-mailing all these pictures (these were just a few that she sent - what a great friend, eh?)

Our Country's Executives Define New Math

What are you guys paying for a gallon of gas these days? In this part of the country, we're paying right around $3.29. Some of you who live in other parts of the world are probably saying, "So what? That's not all that high!", right? Well I think it is. I think it's absolutely outrageous. I've been griping about the rising gas prices for a couple of years now. I don't get how the oil companies are getting away with charging so much. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I've gotten the whole "It's not the oil companies, it's the federal, state and local taxes that are driving the cost up" line of BS. I don't buy that. In fact, I don't understand how anybody could buy that. When Exxon/Mobil is posting a net income profit of $11.66 billion for one quarter - I'm thinking maybe they're getting their fair share of the money from each gallon of gas sold. Furthermore, when the oil companies bitch and moan about having to shut down a refinery here and there because it's "outdated" and "in need of repairs", I think maybe they're sticking most of that "net profit" into the pockets of their CEO's instead of reinvesting it into their companies (as many of them claim their companies are doing). I'm no financial Wall Street wizard, that much is true (and pretty obvious, if you saw my checkbook!). But even I can see a direct line from the huge, unbelievable net profits being made by oil companies straight to the cost of filling up my car with gas. Can't you? Or is this just an example of the New Math I've heard so much about? It's kind of like the Fed lowering prime interest rates...and the credit card companies raising their rates. Doesn't make sense to me and in fact, looks kind of like the government is paving the way for the credit card companies to make more money. I thought the point was to help the consumer! Just goes to show how stupid I can be! (Again, must be that dang New Math. I've got to get a book and study how that works!)
Hey, did ya'll hear about American Airlines cancelling upwards of 3,000 flights last week? They had to ground parts of their fleet because they had failed to comply with a September 2006 safety directive from the FAA regarding the MD-80 aircraft. Let's spell that out, shall we? American Airlines was told approximately a year and a half ago to fix a potential safety problem and they failed to do so. Failed. As in "did not do it". Ignored the directive. Didn't bother to fix the problem until they were forced to. However, just this very morning I heard on one of the news shows that American Airlines executives are set to receive "large bonuses" quite soon. Why did I hear about this? Because American Airlines pilots are a little ticked about it. And why are they ticked about it? Well, according to Wade Goodwyn of NPR this is why:

"Four years ago, the airline's unions took large salary cuts to keep it from going bankrupt. Their sacrifice was instrumental in turning the nation's largest carrier around. But now executives are receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses, and that has infuriated the company's rank-and-file employees."

Yeah - the employees of AA took substantial cuts in order to keep their jobs and to keep the company going, but the executives are still raking in the big bucks. What are they getting paid for, exactly? Nearly bankrupting the company or failing to comply with safety regs? Boggles my mind, but that's only because I don't get the New Math. Here's what the head honcho had to say about the safety thing, though (per Nick Godt of MarketWatch, April 12, 2008):

The flight cancellations are expected to have cost AMR more than "tens of millions of dollars," Chief Executive Gerard Arpey said in a news conference on Thursday. Arpey apologized to customers and took "full, personal responsibility" for the groundings, saying the 38 pages of FAA directive for the wiring were "extremely complex" and misinterpreted.

Hmmmm. It's expected to cost more than "tens of millions of dollars", but execs are receiving "hundreds of millions of dollars" in bonuses. Hard to feel bad for American Airlines execs when you see that, even if you are able to understand the concept of this New Math. And as to the "extremely complex" directive from the FAA...Yo! Mr. Arpey! In the 18 months since you received that directive, did anyone ever ask for clarification from the FAA? Anybody ask McDonnell Douglas (who made the planes in the first place) for assistance? Anyone snag a copy of "Hooked on Phonics" and assign a janitor to read it to you? Or did you and the rest of your executive crew just sit around in your executive offices, scratching your executive arses trying to figure out such executive imponderables as "I wonder what the FAA's definition of 'is', is?" and "To which bundle of wire in the wheel well do they refer when they say to 'secure it' ". I mean really! How many unsecured bundles of wire do they have floating around in the wheel wells and how many rocket scientists does it take to figure out how to secure them? Those are just a couple of questions I think bear asking, not that their answers really matter. I guess what it all boils down to is this: Executive types don't really need to understand the common sense issues, do they? They've got New Math and, apparently, that's all you need to have in order to get away with legalized robbery in this country these days. Just wish I knew where they kept that New Math textbook hidden. Sure wouldn't mind getting me a peek of that thing...........

Dad's Birthday Gift, Wendy's "Poof" Fairy and a Surprise for Maddy Moose (but don't tell her, Jodie! lol)

I finally finished the little scrapbook I was working on for my dad's birthday. I had done myself a "book of Dad" not too long ago, but I decided I would do one for him for his birthday, which is next week. Dad's not a sentimental kind of guy so I don't know what he'll think of this. I hope he likes it, though. He's so hard to choose gifts for. I think that's true of most dads, huh? Anyway, here's the cover (this book is only 6" x 6"): The next picture tells, on the left side, of 12 things my father taught me. The right side tells of twelve things my father never taught me. I used the same photo, but used a program that makes it look like a water-color painting. Then for the picture on the right, I reversed the image and changed it to black and white.These next pages show my dad's parents (on the left) and on the right is a picture of Dad with his brothers, individual pictures of his sisters and a single picture of me.

This next one shows, on the left, an action shot of Dad sliding into 3rd base. He used to play on a softball league out at Tinker Air Force Base. Those games were a lot of fun to watch. The right side shows Dad demonstrating his perfect bowling form! My parents were always in a bowling league when we were growing up. In fact, that bowling alley is where I got my first real job. First I was a waitress in the snack bar, but kept forgetting to give people silverware. Then they switched me to short order cook. I still can't believe they didn't just fire me and be done with it. lol I think it's because the owners liked my parents so much, they didn't have the heart to tell them their daughter was a dork!

The next page I did (below on the left) tells my dad about some of the things I feel certain I inherited from him. (most of which I'm sure he'll agree with!) The page on the right is a picture of Dad and his lovely wife, Wendy.

These next pages show Dad's kids on the left and Wendy's kids on the right. His and Hers.

And then "theirs" (below) - the left page is all the grandchildren that Dad and Wendy have, combined. I whited out the names because I don't know if their parents would want their names all over my blog. The page on the right is a note to Dad from me. I blocked out some of it because that part is particularly personal.

And here's the back cover, featuring my brand-spanking new stamp that I so love. I know you guys are wondering why I've started showing so much scrapbooking stuff lately, aren't you? Well, aren't you? You're interested enough to wonder, right? (Say yes. You know I need the validation. lol) Anyway, the answer is simple. It's the easiest way I know to show this stuff to my daughter-in-law, Jodie. Loading these pictures onto e-mail takes forever and a day. Unfortunately, it means I'm now boring you guys to tears, I'm sure, but bear with me. I at least tried to make the background of the pictures bright and happy so they'd look halfway interesting. :)

Moving on...has anybody else seen these "Poof" fairies? I love 'em. I found them at our local Hallmark store and they just crack me up. Wendy's birthday is a few days after Dad's so I got her a "Poof" fairy to celebrate. It says "Poof! You're 29!". LOL They have ones that say "Poof! The dishes are done!" and "Poof! The house is clean!" (I could really use one of those...). Here's what they look like, although the different phrases come in different colors. They're so ugly, they're cute.

This next picture is NOT FOR MADDY'S EYES, JODIE! Do NOT let Maddy see this! This is the new Build-a-Bear they came out with today. It's a Topaz bear. I had to get it for the Moose because Topaz is her birthstone (she's a November baby). This is the cutest little thing! I named her Daisy May. Shut up, you guys! I happen to like that name! Although I kind of wish now that I had named her Buttercup, 'cause that's what I think of when I look at her. Not that I've been playing with her or anything. ha! The trick will be for us to hold off giving this to Maddy before her birthday. It's hard to hang onto something that long. It's the reason I can't shop for Christmas gifts throughout the year...I always end up giving the gifts waaaaay before Christmas and then I have to buy more.

Okay - that's enough goofiness for now. It's almost midnight (Yikes!). Time for all little bear buying, fairy poofing, scrapbook making chicks to be in bed. Goodnight, ya'll!

Sweet Things

What with all of the turmoil going on in our house lately, I forgot to show you guys what Randey gave me for our anniversary. He was in Florida on the actual date but he sent me these flowers: Aren't they beautiful? They're red and pink roses...I love the pink, he loves the red so it was a wonderful combination for us. Before he left for Florida, he gave me this:
It's a Brighton charm necklace. The shamrock is to honor our Irish ancestry, the "Lucky" circle is because I'm darn lucky to be married to him (my interpretation, not his! lol), the "s" is for Sissy, which is what Randey and everyone else in my family calls me (my sister cursed me with that nickname from birth. It stuck. What can I say?) and the "r" is for Randey, of course. I love this necklace. The picture doesn't really do it justice, but in person, it's very, very pretty. I love the idea of the charms, too. I can't wear a charm bracelet, but only because I can't stand the thought of having anything around my wrist for too long a time. I don't even wear my watch unless I'm leaving the house and then I take it off as soon as I walk back in the door. So having a charm necklace is the perfect solution for me. Now I'm looking for charms that remind me of my children....
And last, but certainly not least, here's the absolute best thing I've ever, ever, ever, ever, ever gotten for our anniversary:

My dearly beloved, the same man I've been at loggerheads with for the past several months, stopped off at my absolute favorite place to eat in the whole wide world (McGuire's Irish Pub) in Pensacola on his way home from his trip that Friday. He had them wrap two of their out-of-this-world, uncooked Peppercorn New York Strip Steaks in several layers of foil so that he could grill them for us that Saturday evening. Okay, so A) the man knows the way to my heart and it's through McGuire's, [ha!] and B) It was the sweetest gesture! He had an 11 hour road trip ahead of him, but he went out of his way to stop at McGuire's to get my favorite food and bring it home so we could have an extra special anniversary dinner together. You know, those steaks could have tasted like cardboard and it still would have been the finest meal I've ever eaten. (Happily, they didn't, though! They were grilled to perfection and tasted outstanding!) Just knowing of the effort he went through to make this anniversary special...well, when you think of all that's gone on around here lately, it was truly the most touching gesture ever. I'm always telling Randey - usually in the middle of one of our "discussions" - that talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words. This time, I gotta tell 'ya, I heard him loud and clear. Not because of the flowers or the necklace or the steak. But because he went to so much trouble to shine a light on the good parts of our marriage during the middle of a very dark time for us. And that, my friends, feels absolutely priceless!

Hillary: An International Candidate?

I read today that Elton John raised $2.5 million for Hillary's presidential campaign. Elton says that he is amazed at the misogynistic (woman hating) attitudes of some people in our country. Elton says he's always been a supporter of Hillary's and feels there's nobody better qualified to lead this country. Ummmmm....he is British, right? I mean, Elton, while having a home in Atlanta (I think), is still a citizen of the United Kingdom, is that not correct? So why is he raising money for a U.S. Presidential candidate? I get how what happens in American politics can and does affect the rest of the world, but it feels a little strange to have a non-American involve himself so heavily in American politics. Now don't start thinking I'm a xenophobe! I'm a lot of things, but I don't believe that's one of them. I love learning about different cultures and customs. I love how we can have so many differences across the globe and yet be so much alike in other aspects. That totally fascinates me. And I certainly love the British people and culture. I truly, truly do. Sophie, Mary, Jayne and all the rest of my British blogging buddies hold a special place in my heart and mind. You guys are great, you're fun, you're intelligent, you're compassionate....you're all just wonderful people to know. However, no matter how much I love interacting with my fine British friends, I, quite frankly, think I should leave the election of their leaders to them. I would never presume to know more about what direction their country should go in than they do. The absolute only thing I care about when it comes to anybody's elections is that they are free and democratic and without fear or intimidation. Am I wrong to feel like that? Do all of you think it's okay for a person of a different nationality to raise money for a particular American candidate? Would it be as acceptable for an American to endorse and raise money for a candidate in another country? Has that happened? Do Americans campaign for certain candidates in other countries? I must admit, I'm a bit cloistered here in the states and don't know about what goes on in your countries during elections. Fill me in! Tell me if this sort of thing actually does happen. I'd be very interested in knowing. I'd also be very embarrassed and outraged to think of a George Clooney hanging out in Europe somewhere trying to convince people of another country to vote for this guy or that. As you all know, I'm not a big fan of "Hollywood" endorsements anyway. I'm constantly amazed at how much credence we give to people who earn a living entertaining us, with music or acting or athletic ability. I know, I know. I harp on this. But it simply boggles the mind how much weight modern society gives to the opinions of the pretenders and the players. I don't believe they are "less" than us mere mortals or that their opinions are of less value than ours. I just sure as hell don't think they're more valuable, that's all.

Hey, one other thing...anybody else find that picture of Elton and Hillary looking like they're on the verge of a lover's kiss ever so slightly disturbing? (okay, okay...that was a cheap shot. But look at the picture, for Pete's sake! It's ookey!)

American Idol Picks and "What's in a Name?"

I was fairly unimpressed with American Idol last night. Nobody really blew me away but nobody really turned my stomach either. All in all, it was pretty darn boring. In fact, just about the only person that stood out in any way was David Cook, and that was only because I seriously did not care for his song. Yes, my favorite of this year picked a song that left me with my eyes crossed and my ears hurting. Oh well. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later...it would have been too much to ask for me to love every performance from him, right? Anyway, I'll only pick 2 for the bottom this week since we're down to what? 8 idols now? I say that Syesha and Brooke will be in the hotseat(s). Shame, too...I really like that Brooke. She moves like my granddaughter. That is to say, she lacks somewhat in rhythm. lol
Moving on to another subject. I recently bought a personalized stamp to use with my scrapbooking. This stamp is so cool. I got it so I can stamp the back pages of these little albums I've been making. I promised my daughter-in-law, Jodie, that I would post a picture of the stamp so she could see it. I'm a little slow in getting that done (sorry Jodie!), but here it is: I first saw a stamp like this when I received my beautiful and fun Christmas card from Terri. She has one with her address on it, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I was quite enamored of it and decided I had to have one. Then I got caught up in this, that and the other and forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing through a scrapbook magazine and saw an ad for these stamps. I got online and ordered one. (For anyone interested in ordering one, go here). I think with shipping and handling and tax, I paid a little under $40 for mine. By the way, it shipped a whole lot sooner than the website indicated it would. I think it actually took about 10 or 11 days after I ordered it for it to arrive via UPS. Anywho, when I went to order my stamp, I was undecided about how to do my name. I know, I know. It would seem to be a no-brainer. I mean geez, your name is your name, right? Well, that's kind of the thing. When I got married, I had to change my name. I guess I didn't have to, but it was the socially acceptable thing to do. Still is, as a matter of fact. A man and a woman get married and the woman loses her name - the one she's grown up with - and replaces it with her husband's. Why is that? Why does my name matter less than my husband's? Why must I change my name to his? Don't get me wrong. I love my husband and he's got a perfectly wonderful last name. But so did I, before I got married. But now my name is his name and I'm left wondering if that means I'm a little less important. This is not a new thing for me...I've long wondered about this. I'm a big believer in equal rights for women. Sounds kind of funny coming from a housewife, eh? But before you start rolling your eyes and envisioning me hosting a bra burning rally in my backyard, let me clarify. I think men have certain capabilities that a woman simply cannot match. I also believe that women have certain capabilities that a man cannot match. Niether case means one sex is more dominate than the other. To advocate equal rights between men and women is not to say that men and women have equal strengths (or weaknesses). It's saying that they should have equal rights to express their strengths and to have those strengths appreciated based on performance and capabilities rather than their sex. You know, many years ago, I made a conscience decision to stay home and raise my children when I could do so. I worked when I had to, but when given the choice, I stayed home. I did that for many reasons...Randey had much more of a career than I did (and that was thanks more to my poor choices as a teenager versus his good choices, than anything else), and was therefore capable of making more money for our family. I was more the teacher as well as the disciplinarian in our family (Randey was generally more apt to turn a blind eye to things) so my mindset was more geared towards the responsibility of raising children than perhaps Randey's was. For those and many, many more reasons, staying at home and raising our children was the career choice for me. Of course, now that the kids are just about raised, I'm left with outdated job skills and a fairly old fashioned looking resume' so my choices when it comes to re-entering the job market are somewhat limited, but that's for another post. The point I'm making here is that while I stayed home in what would be considered the more traditional role for women, it wasn't for that reason. I stayed home because that was what made the most sense for our family. Had I gone to college and had a career path in motion at the time Randey and I had gotten married, things might have gone differently. He may have been the one staying home with the kids while I went out and made the bread money. That's kind of the beauty of how far we, as women, have come in our society. We now have choices and aren't limited by ridiculous concepts of what we can and cannot do. So where does all this tie into the name thing? Because the "name thing" just illustrates for me, personally, how much further we have to go still. A woman shouldn't have to alter her identity when she gets married. It shouldn't be expected that a woman will change her name to match her husband's. It should be a choice. My choice is to compromise. I've taken my maiden name and added it to my last name. It's the best solution that I can think of to retain my identity without rejecting my husband's. And now if I could just get him to accept my maiden name, too....

P.S. I've been a bad, bad blogger lately but am hoping to start visiting all your blogs again soon. I have to take care of some business that I have ignored for far too long, but once that's done, I should be back to full blogging strength.

Idol Picks

This is for you, Aunt Sandi. My Idol picks for this week:
My three least favorite performances last night were: David Archuleta. I know, I know...he's a sweet kid and has a nice voice, but there's just no excitement there. Every time I hear him, I'm reminded of my high school's production of A Christmas Carol from way back in 1980. That's what his singing reminds me of - nice, but more stage worthy than radio, you know what I mean? Next was Carly Smithson. Yes, she has a lovely voice. She doesn't seem to be using it to its full potential, though. And why does she look like she's so ticked off whenever she sings? It's very distracting. And this week, when she threw in a smile here and there, it was obvious that she was reminding herself to do so. Equally distracting. One more thing...I like a cool tattoo just as well as the next person, but does this chick ever wear a shirt with sleeves? Simon's right. She needs to chat with a wardrobe person. Quickly. Last but by no means least, my final pick of worst performance would have to be Ramiele Malubay. For pity's sake, America! Vote this chick off already!! Watching her compete with the other 8 is getting downright painful. I just don't think she's in the same league.
Now...for my three favorite performances. Well, actually, I only have two favorites from last night. Everyone else seemed pretty equal. David Cook was fantabulous, of course. Always is. And don't think I wasn't nervous, wondering how he would pull off singing a Dolly Parton song. But he did it and he did it well. However, despite my love of David Cook's voice, the best performance for me last night was by Michael Johns, who finally showed me that he's more than just a pretty face and an okay voice. Wow! If I wasn't an old married woman, I might be tempted to have that man's baby because YOWZA! That was hot. Smokin' hot. Oh okay, so I'm kidding about the "having his baby" part. Still. That was the performance of the night, hands down, bar none.
Okay, Aunt Sandi. I've made my picks. Now it's your turn. Anybody else have any thoughts on Idol? Let me know in a comment if you post about it. (And stop cussing me for picking on Archuleta and Carly! Come on....I know you are. It's just an opinion, guys. No need to get snippidy about it. lol)

Destination: Unknown...But I'm Thinking on It

I'm thinking of taking a vacation. Yeah. Me. Mrs. Stay-at-Home. I've been thinking on this quite a bit because, well...why not? I'm certainly old enough. I'm pretty sure we can afford it. And I think it'd be good for me. I just can't decide where to go. Any suggestions? I'm not into camping (and wouldn't want to camp alone even if I were), I don't have a passport and I. DO. NOT. FLY. I know, I know. I'm limiting myself just a tad bit, huh? I just want to go and do something fun. It seems like people are always having fun and I'm always sitting at home waiting for....well, hell. I don't know what I'm waiting for. So what brought this on? Well, Randey and the boys are going to Montana the first week in June. This started out as Randey flying up there for a few days to see his dad, whom he hasn't seen in about 8 years. Then one of his brothers decided to go, too. Then another one decided to go and suddenly, Randey's little 3 days trip has turned into an 8-days-at-a-fishing-camp "He-Man Woman Hater's Club" trip (as they so jokingly call it!) for Randey, his 2 brothers, one nephew and my 2 youngest sons. I've been fussing about this trip lately, much to my shame. Then I realized why I'm so ticked about it. I'm jealous. Randey and I have never taken a vacation together. The closest we came was back in March of 1997 when we took a weekend trip to Destin from Gulfport, Mississippi where we were living at the time. And the only reason we got to take that trip was because we agreed to listen to a sales pitch from one of the time-share condo places in Destin. We did spend that week or so alone in San Antonio back in 2003. 'Course, Randey was in the hospital and I stayed in temporary quarters on Lackland Air Force Base. (They were running tests on him, to figure out why his legs kept going numb.) Not exactly anyone's idea of a fun-filled vacation, huh? So anyway...I've been listening to the plans for this trip to Montana go from 3 days to visit an elderly parent to 8 days of fun, fishing and fellowship and I've been pissed off to no end when I think of all the fun he's having just planning this trip while he and I have never planned a trip of our own. The kicker is that I know this will be a wonderful time for all of them. Great fun. Traveling in an RV all the way up to Montana, then spending all that time in cabins next to some fishing hole (or wherever it is that one would find fish in Montana), laughing, talking, experiencing togetherness and all that comes with it. I know it will be fun. I know it will be a memory that Randey and the boys will cherish always. So why can't I stop feeling....I don't know....so petty about it. God help me, I feel like I'm slowly becoming the Invisible Woman. Every member of my household is going on vacation together and I'm going to be left sitting here dog watching. There's no way to say this except just to say it. I'm jealous. I feel left out. Randey did invite me to come along, but really...how much fun could I have on a "He-Man Woman Hater's Club" trip and besides, I don't fish. Eeeww. He and I have talked about taking a trip to New England in the fall. That'd be nice. But in the meantime...I want to go somewhere. I want to feel like I'm a part of life. I want to experience something besides this house, this town, this existence. But now I've got a problem. Where to go? Where can I go for about a week that won't bankrupt us (I'm so notoriously cheap...I can't even think of "vacation" without thinking of "cost". ha!). Where can I go that will offer sightseeing, relaxation, shopping, etc. and where I will feel safe on my own? Any suggestions? Joan, you're a travel agent...you must have some ideas? Help me out here. Where's a good place for me to go? Believe me, guys, this is not a rhetorical question! I'm really asking for advice and guidance. Does anybody out there have any suggestions???? Any and all insights will be appreciated. I've got my suitcase picked out and am ready to fill it...now help me decide what to pack!

Love=Work. And yes. It's worth it!

This has been one heck of a year so far. It started with the slam by my step-niece about my weight. Yeah, sure. Her comments were valid...but so was my wish to not have my feelings hurt by a 60 lb. adolescent cheerleader! Then I came down with that rotten flu, followed by the mess with the VA. I endured mockery from a spike-haired, argyle wearing, big mouthed department store employee while almost simultaneously realizing that I was one seriously lonely individual. (The fact that I actually laughed with Mr. Fashion Critic instead of smacking him around was a testament of just how lonely I had become!) All of this in just the first month of the year. February brought even more turmoil for me. My father became ill and was hospitalized for a week. My own life was rife with discontent. Nothing, and I mean nothing, seemed to go right. The thing is, in the past, it really didn't matter what was going on in my life. As long as Randey and I were in sync and feeling "together" emotionally, I could handle just about anything. But that hasn't been the case lately. Randey and I have struggled mightily with the concept of "togetherness". There's been no ugliness, per se, and no outside influences, other than the norm, that have caused our problems. We've just had a really hard time getting ourselves together. He's had health issues, some of which have been exacerbated by the pressure and stress of the VA thing. Plus he's been traveling a lot for work. I've had my own issues (the biggest one being trying to ascertain the difference between menopause and depression!). I've had problems dealing with family members...my mother and I haven't spoken since December and I'm not really sure why that is, my daughter's life choices have left me reeling with fear and angst and the list goes on and on. I've been caught in a seemingly endless loop of analyzing my own life and problems. I've come to realize more and more that my children are all almost grown and don't need me as much as they used to and, in reality, don't want or need my help as much as I thought they would. And I've been thinking a lot about the fact that I've been a mother for 27 of my 44 years on this earth. Motherhood has been my defining role in life. And don't get me wrong. It's the role I love and I would choose it again and again and again if asked. But, having said that, I must also admit that it seems like I've been looking forward to the time when Randey and I could go off and do things alone together without having to worry about our kids ever since those kids were babies! (How’s that for a selfish attitude?) And then...just as they're about old enough for us to do that...I found that Randey and I were at odds with one another and I was left feeling kind of alone and more than a little bit lost. Not exactly how I had envisioned this stage of my life! It felt like I was becoming the invisible woman - the kids didn't need me, Randey didn't need me, my relatives didn't need me...so what's my worth in this world? I've always thought of myself as being fairly headstrong, determined, independent even. The past 6 months or so have truly given me reason to change that view of myself. I don't mean to say that I don't think I could survive if I wasn't married to Randey. I'm sure I could. My thing is, I don't want to. I want to be married to Randey, I want to spend the rest of my life with him and I want to wake up every morning in the certain knowledge that he and I belong together. I even know that he feels the same way. So what's with the struggle if both of us love one another and want to be together? I think over time we've allowed ourselves to have different priorities...some things that matter to me, don't matter to him anymore. And vice-versa. These differences between us have been growing for a long, long time. We've both just been so comfortable with each other that we didn't think we needed to insist on discussing those differences. I assumed he understood the seriousness of my issues whenever I'd bring them up. He didn't. He assumed I understood his reasons for doing certain things. I didn't. Where did that eventually leave us? With about a million metaphorical miles between us, that’s where. I've mentioned many times in this blog how Susan is my best friend. But Randey's my partner, my soul mate, my yin to his yang, my other half...you get the idea. Randey's always with me, even when his body is miles away. Floundering about without him being "with" me, has caused massive confusion and pain inside. I've been stumbling out of bed every morning and going thru the motions of living. After months of me trying to voice my feelings, but making little progress, Randey realized that the ostrich approach wasn't going to work anymore and we finally talked. Or rather, he finally talked. (What is it with men anyway? Why don't they just say what they feel? Oh the times Randey's said to me, "I'm not a mind reader". Well, duh! Neither am I, buddy! lol). Anyway...Randey finally spoke and we were able to begin a dialogue (instead of that fruitless monologue I feel like I've been spouting for a long, long time now). At long last...a beginning. The first steps on what will hopefully be a new, lifelong path for us together. So why am I spilling my guts to you guys and blabbing about personal business? Because I’m hoping that maybe I can help someone else to not go thru what I’ve been going thru. Pay attention to that little voice that tells you to deal with an issue, no matter how small or awkward or uncomfortable it may make you feel. Don't put it off until you find yourself in pain and isolated from the rest of the world. I’d all but stopped talking to people and I’d all but stopped blogging because I didn’t think anyone could identify with what I was going thru. It almost seemed like everyone that I knew who was married had a picture perfect relationship. And I honestly thought Randey and I did, too. That’s why it’s been so difficult to breathe lately…I’ve felt that the very foundation of my life has been rocked because I suddenly realized that my marriage was in trouble. How could that be? We love each other! We’d die for each other…how can we not be perfect together? Ironically enough, I think the depth of our feelings for each other was actually one of the reasons how Randey and I got to the point we were at. I mean I knew how much I loved him and he knew it, too. He knew how much he loved me and I knew that, too. We basically became comfortable in the belief that "love conquers all" and I don't think we thought we had to delve into problems that arose. We got into the habit of just reassuring each other of our love and glossing over the rest. Well, I'm here to tell you...that whole “love conquers all” stuff is a myth. "Love" doesn't conquer all. Love with communication, respect and hard work conquers all. You never, ever reach the point when you don't have to pay attention to your partner, when you can take them for granted, when it's okay to stop communicating honestly with each other. I love my husband deeply. I know he loves me just as deeply. Sometimes we don't understand each other, but I think that as long as we understand that we must work at our marriage and we must work at it every single day, we'll be all right. The message I want to get out to you, the friends I’ve made with this blog, is this: treasure those you love in this life. Treasure them and know that it will take constant effort on your part to keep your love alive and growing. Randey and I celebrated our 19th anniversary almost a week ago. I can't tell you how shocked I am to realize that once the arguments and stress over money and kids are done with, life isn't just smooth sailing. Yep. Shocked. I guess I thought once we got past those kinds of stresses, the joys of love and marriage would just come to us as if by magic. That's not the case, however. It's still work to keep the love going and growing. It's been a long, confusing, lonely and scary road to come to that knowledge. But now that I do know it, I'm good with it. Because I also know that this love is worth the work.

Mixed Messages

I've discovered that the world is full of mixed messages. I'm even sending some myself. Like this: Happy Easter! Or is that Happy St. Paddy's Day?! I can't seem to get it straight! These two holidays aren't supposed to be so close together. It's causing me great angst. What if I get confused and find myself digging up the Easter lilies in search of Shamrocks? Or worse (much, much worse!) drinking green beer while coloring eggs. Can you imagine how that would turn out? Well....actually, probably pretty cool, come to think of it. I mean geez! What can go wrong with green beer involved (besides the local pastor finding me hip deep in the flower bed with Easter lilies strewn all around, full to the gills with the green brew and shouting "How come no one's ever after my lucky charms!)?? Yeeeeaaaahhhhh. Never mind. But you see what I mean, right? It's always dangerous to send those mixed messages. Even the local stores are starting to do it. Check this out:

Yo, Ross! If you think it's such a great idea for us to "dress less", why do you sell so many freakin' clothes? Me thinks Ross should either invest in some more light bulbs or go all out and open a nudist colony with this sort of message being sent! (I'm voting for the light bulbs, myself).

Here's one message that is not mixed at all, however. I want to give a shout out to Emily, who is Jennifer's daughter. She sent me the sweetest little message the other day and I want her to know how much I appreciate it! What a sweetie. Jennifer's told me a little bit about her and all I can say is, it's probably best that we live so far apart. I get the feeling Miss Emily is my kind of kid which means I would probably be a horrible influence over her. I have a truly shameful habit of teaching kids the fine art of sarcasm and mischief. I know, I know. It's wrong. Funny. But wrong. I'm kidding, Jennifer! No way would I try to corrupt your sweet daughter (wink, wink Emily). Oh wow. I can't seem to help myself. I just sent a mixed message without even meaning to! Seriously, though...thanks for the message, Emily! I loved receiving it!!

Now I'm off to see what other mixed messages are awaiting me. I'm headed to the mall this afternoon with my husband, my boys and one of my boys' girlfriend. Ah, the mall. Now that's a place that just screams "mixed messages". Like all those mannequins, posed in bizarre ways, sporting cute little clothes that somehow manage to convey to even the biggest of us women that we, too, could look simply smashing in that hip, streamlined outfit. (That's usually not just a mixed message, it's a downright lie!). But I'm in the mood to be lied to so off I go! Wish me luck!

Someone Thinks I Got it ALL Wrong with Yesterday's Post

Hey guys, it's finally happened to me! I got a snarky comment (anonymous of course).

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Attending an NFL game: $260, Getting Shot at to De...": First off, all your girlies need to get your panties out of a wad. All I'm hearing is nothing but a bunch of class envy. A bunch of whining that really says "Boohoo, how come I'm not making that kind of money"Professioanal football isn't just a game, its a business. It's neccassary wether u like it or not. Look at all the jobs it creates from the players down to ticket takers.Second, when it comes to OU football, there seems to be a lot of misconceptions. OU football is 100% self funded. Not one red cent of one students tuition goes to OU football. So blaming high tuition cost, low professor salaries on football cost is totally bogus. Coaches salaries, players equipment, travel cost are all paid for with tv and bowl money. Matter of fact there are two of the newer buildings on campus that were built with the gracious donations of OU sports (combined). And the football program donated the funds for all the science equipment in one of the science buildings.So you all get your facts straight before getting on a whine fest.If you want to rant and rail about something, why not the conglomerate of the Oprah Winfrey. A person who does nothing but sell you crap and lies.Or how about that other mega-conglomerate of Martha Stewart. What a fraud.Get your priorities straight

This fella (and call me sexist, but from the tone I'm just assuming it's a man) seems to think I don't have MY priorities straight. Not only that, but it's okay for a state funded university to pay a football coach nearly $6 million dollars a year because, as this guy says "OU football is 100% self funded". Well great! That's makes all the difference. Except for one little, bitty, tiny ol' fact...college sports programs aren't in place merely as recruiting grounds for professional sports. They are supposed to help promote the school. That doesn't mean they have carte blanche to take advantage of the public or to become filthy rich off of the backs of students. And if they can contribute enough money to build 2 new buildings, just think what they could do if they weren't shelling out huge amounts of money to one individual to coach this non-championship winning team. (Which, by the way, proves that OU fans don't necessarily need championships in order to be fans of the school. I've been stupidly spending dollar after dollar on OU merchandise before and after the last championship). Or better yet, imagine how many more scholarships the university could grant to people born without great moves or silver spoons! But nice try, Anonymous. You almost made it sound so...I don't know, what's the word here...legitimate? As to the pro games. Sure it's a business. And it's a business that creates a lot of jobs other than those for the players. So what. Wal-Mart's a business, too. And their industry helps to create other jobs in a multitude of yet more industries. I'm willing to bet you wouldn't advocate paying those stockboys multi-million dollar annual salaries. Or even the store managers. Although I suppose if they entertained you enough you might consider it, huh? Also, I noticed that you failed to address the issue of military pay as it was presented in relation to the atrocious salaries I mentioned in my post. Not much to say there, eh? Can't come up with a snarky comment to demonstrate the reason for such a disparity? Of course you can't. Because there is no reason why we, the American public, see such nonsense and tolerate it with the whole "There's nothing we can do" attitude or even better, the "Professional sports is a business" attitude. I mean come on! I'm all for business being successful. However, professional sports is basically a service industry, the same as any other. And it's up to the customer to decide how much they're willing to pay for a service. I think if we stripped the stars from our eyes and viewed athletes as the entertainers they are and quit paying them as if they were working diligently to cure world hunger, we'd all be better off. One more thing, Anonymous...feel free to slam Oprah and Martha. Can't say as how I'm a fan of either, and to be honest, Oprah gets on my last damn nerve...using her influence to try and garner votes for a candidate (because yeah, Oprah's who I always look towards for my political advice!). If Oprah wanted to provide a service for her viewers, she would highlight all the candidates - pros and cons - and let her viewers decide for themselves. Lord knows she's got the platform to do that.
Now...it's 7:30 in the A.M. and I haven't even had my coffee yet so I'll close for now. Mr. Anonymous got my blood pumping early! Thanks so much for that, sir. Good to know you can provide a service yourself, even if you did manage to sound a bit like a condescending, chauvinistic ass with your "Oprah" and "Martha" references. Thinking that's all us women folk can clutter our sweet little heads with? Hmmm. I think it's safe to say, sir, that you judged poorly.
Peace Baby and See You on the Gridiron of Healthy Debate!

P.S. I'll be doing a post soon about the flagrant abuses of our entertainment dollars by Hollywood, too, Mr. Anonymous. Wonder if it will stir the same reaction in you as my sports one has done? (Just for the record, I'm going with "no".)

Attending an NFL game: $260, Getting Shot at to Defend our Country: $29,000, Playing with a Football for a Living: Priceless

I'm sure you've all heard about our impending recession. Gas prices continue to skyrocket, as does the rate of home foreclosures. Roma tomatoes are going for a whopping $1.68 a pound at Wal-Mart and a six-pack of Mr. Goodbars has gone from $2.50 to $2.68 (let's not dwell on how it is that I'm so painfully aware of that particular fact, okay?). People all across the country are tightening their belts and preparing for the bad times ahead. Well...almost everybody. There are those among us who probably don't need to worry about such trivial things as; "can we afford next week's groceries" or "will winter outlast my heating bill budget". People like Ben Roethlisberger, who is the starting quarterback for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben's a very valuable guy. He must be. The Steelers recently announced they've signed him to an 8 year, $102 million dollar contract. That's $102 MILLION. That translates to almost $13 MILLION dollars A YEAR. To play football. Yeah, tough times for Ben, huh? Talk about making huge contributions to the human race, right? But wait...there's more. A few months ago, it was announced that Bob Stoops, the head coach of my beloved Oklahoma Sooners football team, will earn at least $5.77 MILLION from the University of Oklahoma in 2008. Of course, that figure could go up, when you factor in the additional income he could gain from various performance bonuses. The man coaches college football. To be specific, he coaches a college team that hasn't brought home a National Championship Title since 2000 (but who's counting championships, right-o?). And he's worth how much? Geez. Just last year, Mr. Stoops earned a paltry little $3.5 million salary (which, by the way, was 36 times that of a professor's salary at OU during the same time). Again, he's a football coach. Period. Just to put this in perspective, let me point out that, in 2005-06, the average cost of attending a year at OU (tuition, fees, books, room and board and related expenses) was $16,790. For out-of-state students, that number was $24,677. Who would have thought these sort of inequities would have ever been excepted by us, the American public? But wait. There's more! Anybody know who Adrian Peterson is? He was a running back for OU back in 2006. A pretty darn good running back, too. In January 2007, he announced that he would forgo his senior year at college in order to play professional football. The Minnesota Vikings signed Adrian for a pitiful little $40.5 million over 5 years (with $17 million of that guaranteed). Doesn't seem like much compared to Ben of the Steelers, eh? But don't fret for Adrian. Like so many of today's professional athletes, he's found a way to scrape up a little extra cash. For example, on the 15th of this month, he'll be appearing at a sports memorabilia store in the Ft. Worth area. And all of us common folk can come by and get an autograph (if we act soon enough, that is). The "autograph tickets" are going fast. Yeah. They sell "tickets" to get an autograph. For a mere $99, you may have a magazine or a card signed. For $129, you can have a mini-helmet signed. For $149, you can go for the gusto and have a full size helmet, a jersey or a ball signed. And just to prevent any confusion, let me clarify...the cost of these "autograph tickets" does not include the cost of the card or the magazine or the jersey or whatever it is you're having signed. Yes, Mr. Petersen is charging us, the people who already pay his salary in one way or another as fans, for the honor and privilege of owning a copy of his signature. What a deal. 'Course, the sports memorabilia store is getting a cut of those figures, too, so it's not like ol' Adrian is completely robbing us blind. At least not single-handedly. By the way, do you know what the average cost of an NFL ticket is? Somewhere between $65 and $80 each. So it will cost a family of 4 at least $260 to go to an NFL game, plus the cost of parking, plus the cost of refreshments, plus the cost of any souvenirs. For one game. Wow. No wonder all these teams can afford to pay these athletes so much money. We keep handing it to them hand over fist. So what in the hell does that make us besides stupid, gullible and starstruck? What does it say about us that we have people losing their homes, we have couples working 2, 3 and 4 jobs between them just to make ends meet, we have high school graduates unable to go to college because the costs are just too onerous to bear...yet we hear about salaries such as this and all we do is shake our heads at the egregiousness of it all as we're forking over copious amounts of money to pay for the tickets to their venues. Here's a thought...why don't we just quit buying the tickets? Why don't we quit buying the merchandise put out by these teams and organizations? Why don't we quit acting like imbeciles and take our power back! The fact that most of us can't afford to attend an NFL game because it costs too much is our own fault! The fact that buying a football jersey to "support" our team of choice will put us back about $80 is our own fault! The fact that our children can't afford college without benefit of their parents savings and/or scholarships is our own fault! Take this power back, people. Quit supporting these organizations that have stopped caring about US. Stop revering athletes and coaches and teams. They are supposed to be entertaining us, not holding us hostage. I for one have decided that I've bought my last Oklahoma Sooner t-shirt, jacket, baseball cap, whatever. Same goes for the Eagles stuff I've bought my sons and the Seahawks stuff I've bought my husband. No more. If they want to pay players and coaches that much for what they do, they'll do it without my support or my money. Oh, and before I end this...I'd like to point out what a real hero makes in our country...a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force brings home somewhere around $29,000 per year. Yep, that's right. Our service members who are fighting a war, getting shot at and/or living halfway around the world away from their families (and sometimes all three!) make about .5% of what a college football coach makes. Shameful. That's the only way to describe it. Shame. Full.

P.S. Meme from Jennifer at Dust Bunny Hostage:

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more (no cheating). Find page 123. Find the first 5 sentences. Post the next three sentences. Tag 5 people.

My computer is located in our "Star Wars" room, which means the nearest book to me is, naturally, a Star Wars novel. Specifically, it's the one I just finished: Legacy of the Force; Revelation. (Yes, I'm a geek. Sue me!)
Anywho, here goes:
"Commit fully to the attack. Don't let up. Don't stop to think. "

These sentences are what Boba Fett was thinking to himself as he went to speak with his ex-wife who had just been released from carbonite after 30 or 40 years. That Boba. Facing personal relationships the same way he faced his bounties - like a chore to be gotten through in order to get a reward. Typical male. I won't tag 5 people to play this, though. I'm just too flippin' tired after my "athletes are overpaid" tirade. Feel free to play along if you'd like, though!

Woo-Hoo! Better Late Than Never!

Guess what we got today? Yep. SNOW. BEAUTIFUL, GLORIOUS, BREATHTAKING SNOW! I am beyond excited! I've been begging the heavens for snow since November. Okay. So maybe since September. Whatever. The point is, the fantastic white stuff arrived today and I was happy to be here to welcome it. Can you see it slanting down? This was taken earlier in the afternoon.
This one was taken at about 1:30. The boys had just gotten home from school and Jake just had to walk on the sidewalk in the backyard. Before he stepped on it, it looked like frosted glass. After he stepped on it, it looked like a bunch of slush.
Click on this picture to enlarge and you can actually see Jake getting pelted by the snow and ice. (Punishment for ruining my pretty looking sidewalk!)

This was the view outside our front window at about 4:00.
No, people. This is not Sydney the Wonder Dog. It's a little deer statuette that we have out back in one of our flower beds. He looks cold, huh?
This is the flagstone patio we have in the back yard.
And here's the saga palm. I'm thinking maybe the saga isn't such a big fan of the snow. It's looking a little...frosty, eh?
And this is my favorite picture of all. This is one of the little lights that we have hanging on the perimeter of our back porch. The way the water melted and re-froze makes it look like a nipple. Sorry. But it does. Who says Mother Nature can't be funny sometimes?

Personal Note to Susan:
So tell me something, Susan...doesn't this look like the most wonderful place in the whole wide world to live??? Say yes. Then pack your bags and come live near your BFF. I've already got the coffee brewing for you. ha!