Patriotism...

that's the theme for this edition of Brenda Photo Challenge (hosted this time by Karen). I had some really good ideas about what to do, but then my camera and I had some issues (i.e., operator errors) that prevented me from taking some wonderful 4th of July photos that would have been perfect for this particular challenge. So I've decided to veer a little bit off the traditional Red, White & Blue color route I had intended to take. Instead, I will post these 3 photos. They truly do speak to what "patriotism" means to me, personally.
First off, here's a picture of the inside of a cabinet door from our house in Florida: This door represented a lifeline for me right after 9/11. (Ignore the icky looking stuff around the edges of the door. That's just glaze from where I had faux finished the outside of the cabinets - and was too lazy to finish the inside of them, too). On October 10, 2001, my husband Randey and my son Nicholas, both deployed together to the middle east. Randey was an Air Force Reservist serving as crew chief on C-130's at the time. He and his unit were activated immediately following 9/11. Nicholas was (and is) an active duty member of the Air Force and a loadmaster on the C-130's. Randey worked on the aircraft that Nicholas flew on. Both of their units were in Special Ops, operating from the same home base and both units sent forces overseas in response to the attacks against us here on American soil. They left on that day, October 10, 2001, after being told in an outbriefing that perhaps as many as 60% of them would not be returning. They were going to the frontlines in this war to an undisclosed location and would be in a communication blackout for an undetermined amount of time. I've never been more scared in my entire life. My husband and my oldest son...both headed to war. I thanked God everyday that at least they were together. I knew that Randey would do everything in his power to make sure that the aircraft carrying my son in and out of battle would be in as good a shape as possible. I knew that Randey would take care of Nick and I knew that Nick would take care of Randey. Knowing those two could support each other and hold each other up was the only thing that got me thru that dark and scary time. Every day, I would get up and make another mark on that cabinet door so that I could keep track of the days without them. And then something wonderful happened. On the 27th day of their deployment, Nick was allowed to call home. I cried like a baby after I talked to him. It was the first word I'd heard from either of them in almost 4 weeks. So I put a star above that day's mark to commemorate the occasion of his phone call. I did the same thing every day that he was allowed to call. Nick got to make morale calls, but Randey didn't. Not yet, anyway. But that was okay because Nick told me how Randey was doing and could pass messages to Randey for me. Finally, on the 42nd day, the phone rang, I answered and it was Randey. I cried and cried and cried. He couldn't hardly talk to me because I couldn't stop blubbering long enough to hear what he was saying. That first "hello" from him was pure heaven to me. It had been so long. It felt like it had been forever - who knew 6 weeks could feel like a lifetime? On that day, and every day thereafter that Randey was allowed to call, I circled that day's mark in red. I lived for those phone calls. I was a maniac whenever the phone would ring - scared to death I would miss one of their calls. It was a tense time in our lives (how's that for a bit of an understatement)! At long last, 64 whole days after they'd left, on December 12, 2001, they both returned home. My heroes. They had gone off to defend our country, to keep us safe and to do what needed to be done. They were part of the first wave. And they had finally come home. Sixty-four days doesn't seem that long, really. But it is when your country is suddenly thrust into war and your family members are shipped off to the frontlines of that war. Under those circumstances, 64 days can feel like an eternity. Trust me. I couldn't bring myself to paint over the inside of that cabinet door when we moved. I know the new owners of the house have probably done so, but I just could not do it. Looking at it reminded me of too much.
So... what does it look like when your heroes return home on a C-130? Just like this: The crew raises an American flag out of the aircraft as they taxi in...all the family and friends stand back behind a line, waiting for that aircraft to stop and release those that you hold so dear. It seemed like it took forever on that day in December of '01 for them to deplane and get over to us. At long last, I saw 2 of the most precious faces on the planet to me, Randey and Nicholas, safe again. I don't have a picture of that, though. I was too busy running across that line to hug them.
For my 3rd "Patriotism" picture, I kind of cheated a bit. I took a picture of a part of a scrapbook page I had done. It's regarding the movie "World Trade Center".

I think you may be able to click on the picture to enlarge. but if not, here's what it says:

On September 9, 2006, we went to see the movie "World Trade Center". It was the most profound experience I've ever had in a movie theater. This movie reminded me why our country is at war and why this war on terror is the right thing to do. I had already forgotten some of the emotion I had experienced on 9/11. The sadness, the ache, the fear, the pride, the bewilderment, the resolve - all those feelings had sort of been pushed to the back of my mind. This movie brought them all rushing back for me. I was a little ashamed that I had already forgotten so much. I was glad to be reminded. Watching this movie was a wonderful experience. It was good to feel the sadness and the resolve and all those things in between again. I'm proud to be an American. It's a blessing that I don't ever want to take for granted. I hope everyone sees this movie and I hope it touches them as it did me.

The feelings I felt on 9/11 and the days following were the purest form of patriotism I've ever experienced. The way our country pulled together - it was awe-inspiring to live it, to breathe it, to be a part of it. It pains me now to watch politicians tear America apart with their decisive rhetoric. It's one thing to question the war, to question our leaders, to question our mission...it's something else entirely to do it strictly in the interest of gaining power. When America goes to the polls this November, I hope we don't just vote. I hope we think first. And then vote.

From Beast (aka: the Truck) to Beauty (aka: the Car)

I mentioned in my last post that Randey had gotten a wild hair and decided that we needed a new car. I didn't post a picture of it, though, because geez, people...it's just a car. Who cares what it looks like, right? Well, apparently, Nicholas cares what it looks like and since he's deployed to parts unknown but will hopefully have occasional access to the blog world, I'm going to post 2 pictures of our new car just for him. First, though, I have to show Randey and his truck...ah, parting is such sweet sorrow, eh? Randey actually kind of wanted to trade in our other car, the Vibe, for a new one. But the Vibe gets great gas mileage so that just wasn't going to work for me. So the deal was, if he really, really, really felt like a new car was in order, then his truck was going to be the vehicle that had to go. As it turns out, I guess he really did want a new car because he agreed. Go figure. Anyway, I darn near had to wipe his tears away after he cleaned the Dodge out at the dealership. Me? I was kind of glad to see it go. Randey had that stupid, loud, immature and annoying Flowmaster muffler system on the beast so everytime you started it up, it sounded like you were at the drag races. Hated it. But, bless his little heart, he loved it and bid it farewell with only a hint of the heartache I'm sure he was suffering (blah, blah, blah, blah). And here's what he traded it for. It's a Honda Accord. It's okay - nothing fancy, pretty good gas mileage, though, and I can plug my IPod into it and hear it thru the car speakers. What more could you ask for in a car? lol

So there, Nick - how do you like the car? Can't wait for you to come home at Christmas and drive it. By the way, it comes with some little adapter thingy in the backseat for installing children's carseats. (That's so Kara can go shopping with Granny when she visits! I can put her carseat in securely without resorting to a tech manual - like the kind I needed with Maddy's car seat! Cool, huh?lol)

Not enough hours in the day....

Hey everyone! Thought I'd better make the time to do a post before you thought I'd forsaken blogging (again). lol Things around here have been crazy - I got a wild hair and decided to redo our bedroom and Randey got a wild hair and decided that we needed a new car. (My wild hair set us back considerably less than his did!) I've been painting our bedroom for what seems like forever, although I guess the actual painting only took 2 days. I've been adjusting bedding and swapping out blankets and lamps and everything else for about 3 days. And curtains! I can't even begin to discuss curtains right now. Just you wait until I do a post about them, though! Curtain manufacturers are NOT nice and/or smart people. Nor can they measure worth a flip. But we'll talk more on that at a later time. For now, I'll show you what I've been doing. Our room went from this color scheme: to this one:

I'm pretty sure I like it, but it'll take some time to get used to. It feels lighter and cooler than the old look did - and I'm all about feeling cooler. (Have I mentioned my aversion to hot weather???). You can see the new nightstands in this picture, too. See? Not one single ass in sight!

Now on to some serious bragging...I recently won 2, count 'em 2, giveaways. I'm feeling pretty lucky about that - I may just head to Vegas this month (HA!). First, I won Mary's giveaway for naming her "new cat" (I picked the name "Basil", which just struck me as funny for some reason). This is what I got:

I love, love, love the "sailing" bag - I know I'll get some good use out of that and the broaches are just lovely (made my Sarah, Mary's daughter). The white Battenburg lace style cloth in the bottom right corner has actually come in handy already. I managed to buy the world's brightest alarm clock for my side of the bed (hey - it was blue and it matched. Who knew you could land an aircraft with the stupid thing?!). Anyway, at night I drape that cloth over the front of my alarm clock to "mute" the brightness. And (and this is a big one!) it's pretty enough that I can leave it out on my nightstand during the day. Thank you, Mary, for doing this wonderful giveaway and thank you, Sarah, for making the broaches AND for mailing the package!!

Then just last week, I won Lynne's giveaway, which was a copy of this book:

I cannot wait to get busy reading it. I just finished the 3 Stephanie Meyer books (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse) and I'm starting The Notebook (N. Sparks) that my daughter-in-law gave me for Christmas (I'm lagging behind, I know) and then I will be reading The Book of Bright Ideas. I think I've got lots of good reading ahead of me.
I wanted to share this little item with you guys, too. When we went to Montana last month, Randey's niece (and my friend!) Dawn gave me one of these:

It's a wickless candle burning system called Scentsy. It contains a little light bulb that melts bars of wax as it heats up - the wax, of course, is scented and as it melts, it releases the most wonderful aromas into the air. I've had things like this before, but the wax bars from this company are really quite aromatic and give off a great scent that lasts a good long while. If you're reading this Dawn, I just want to thank you again and tell you I have truly enjoyed my Scentsy!

I also want to thank Jayme for the beautiful 4th of July greeting card she made (shown on the left side of the picture below). I love Jayme's cards. They make me smile everytime I get one and I love keeping them out for company to look at. I also got a sweet card from Lynne when she sent The Book of Bright Ideas to me (pictured center). I love getting cards - nothing says "Hey - I thought about you today" like getting a nice card in the mail. I also got THE cutest card from Joan today (thanks, Joan!) which isn't pictured here because I took this picture last night before I got it (which just goes to show that trying to be efficient doesn't always pay off. I should have waited a day!) lol). I really wish I'd waited now because the card is so funny. I hope to use the picture on a future post soon, though. The third card pictured below is from an anonymous neighbor. This neighbor, whomever she may be, left us this sweet card in our mailbox because she wanted to tell us that she liked the "flag lights" Randey hung on the fence for the 4th of July. She said she thought they looked awesome and she appreciated the effort. How nice is that? It really made our week to read this. Randey was especially pumped up about it - he's the one who put the lights up so he was pleased to know that his efforts had been recognized (by someone outside the house, that is). Sweet neighbor, huh?
Now - I guess I should mention who won my giveaway, shouldn't I? I drew the name on Saturday, the 5th, I just didn't get a chance to post it! I'm so sorry about that. (Note to Self: Never start painting a bedroom until you have everything else caught up and finished.) Anywho - the winner is VEE! Yay, Vee! I'll get your package off in the mail right away! Thank you all for entering and, more importantly, thank you for sharing your lives with me. Blogging has opened up a whole new world - a world that I have enjoyed more than I can possibly say. Which brings me to a point I should have made when I posted about my "Blog-iversary" a week or so ago; thank you, Aunt Sandi for getting me started with blogging. I never, ever would have done it, but for you. I thought it was kind of silly for me to even start a blog, although I sure did enjoy reading yours. And then I did start one and one thing led to another and now look where I am...sticking my nose into dozens of other people's lives on a daily basis and enjoying the fool out of myself while doing it. lol Thanks for getting me started - it's been a blast!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for their kind words about my beautiful son, Nicholas, deploying again. I'm not too good at talking about it while he's gone, though. I do better if I pretend it's just not happening. (Picture me sitting in a corner somewhere with my fingers in my ears, singing "la,la,la,la,la,la" at the top of my lungs - that's what I will be "mentally" doing until he gets back.) But thank you, all the same, for writing of your appreciation of his service. It means the world to us.

It's Our Independence Day!

"Freedom is Not Free". No truer words were ever spoken. Here in America, an alarming number of us think freedom is something we're born with, not something we fight to have and to hold. For those Americans, I'm here to tell you...you're wrong. See this fine young man in the picture below? The one holding his infant daughter? Look at him closely...
That's the face of a man who is mere days away from heading back into the fray of the War on Terror. It's the face of a man who is leaving his wife and child and going back to a region of the world where bullets fly, bombs explode, missiles are launched. It's the face of a man who stands up for you and me and everyone else in the world who craves freedom. It's the face of a man who does what has to be done because it's the right thing to do. It's the face of a man who has volunteered to go back into the hotspots of this war, not because he is a warmonger, but because the battle still rages and his job is to help win it. For us. For you and for me. It's the face of my son. I'm proud of my son. I'm proud of the job he does, just as I'm proud of all the other men and women who are fighting for our freedom and for the freedom of other human beings on this planet. Those military men and women all have this one thing in common; they're willing to sacrifice their comforts, their joys and their well-being to pay for our freedom. Thank you. Thank you, Nick, and thank you to all the others who have done, are doing and will do this. As an American, I appreciate what you do. As a mom, my heart aches with fear and pride and worry and wonder because you're my baby and I want you safe at home. Everytime you head into harms way, Nick, I realize anew the truth of that saying; freedom really is not free -
If you'd like, you can leave messages for Nick and for his wife, Jodie, at her blog. Click here.. They're currently stationed in Okinawa, so while Nick's deployed, Jodie will be there alone - away from family - with little Kara. As a military spouse, she's paying a price for our freedom, too.
Happy Independence Day everyone. While you're out celebrating (and I hope you are!), take some time to remember and thank all of those who are paying for our freedom.

Mine isn't a "feature", but this one apparently is....

I was doing a little shopping on Amazon.com the other day, checking nightstand styles for our bedroom. I found one that I sort of liked the looks of, so I investigated further to ascertain its attributes. Here's what Amazon told me about it: Ass? Since when is an ass a feature? Is it giving me a new ass? That might be a good selling point. I mean if they listed me, personally, on Amazon, I'm pretty sure my ass wouldn't make the list of "Kari's Features". But this ass did make it onto a list so it must be special, right? But exactly what kind of ass are we talking about here? A jackass? A big ass? A smart ass? The dreaded...dumbass? This nightstand actually features an ass like it's a good thing so you'd think it'd be an ass worth having, but isn't the likability of an ass a personal preference? Amazon may think it's a perfectly fine ass, but I might hate it when it arrives. And let's face it, if you could return an ass "to sender", wouldn't a lot of us have already sent our gluteus maximus-es back to Ben & Jerry's or McDonald's or Taco Bell or where ever it is we got them from in the first place? No, no, no....take it from me if you haven't already learned it yourself, an ass is just too hard to get rid of. Better to work on the one you've got than to risk getting a worse one. So yeah, I passed on that particular nightstand.
But just wait'll you see what I did pick out (although not from Amazon - didn't want them slipping me a little something extra into my package, if you know what I mean)! The nightstands I got are slim and trim and by all appearances, completely ass-free. Pictures will follow upon their arrival.

P.S. I am so sorry for this post. Even as I write it, I know I shouldn't. I'm punch drunk from painting our bedroom all afternoon. I think I've inhaled too many fumes. Yeah. That's the excuse I'm sticking with...

Check-Writing: It's a Lost Art Form. AS. IT. SHOULD. BE.

I know you've all seen those commercials for Visa where everyone is dancing around, swiping their debit cards like mad and then some bozo comes along and disrupts the flow by writing a check. Irritating little commerical, eh? But it's even more irritating when it happens in real life. And for whatever reason, it seems to be happening to me a lot lately. I mentioned this pet peeve to Sue, a new blogging acquaintance, the other day. It drives me insane to have to sit and wait for someone to write out a flippin' check. The world has moved beyond checks, people. Get with the program! I mean I try, I really do, not to be so snarky when the check writer is an elderly person. I know that a lot of them don't trust those new-fangled check cards. But for pity's sake, at least they could reach into that ever-so-organized purse and pull that trusty checkbook out at some point prior to the cashier telling them their total. And they could probably even write the check out and then enter it into their register, after they've handed it to the cashier to process. And they might even could fold that receipt into a neat little strip sometime before half of my order is rung up. I have actually had almost my complete purchase rung up while the sweet, little ol' white haired lady in front of me was still standing there organizing her purse. I know, I know, I know....I'm going to hell for being so impatient with the elderly. But I beg of you people! If you know of someone who doesn't understand the beauty of a debit card, tell them about it! Don't let them waste another moment of their lives (or mine, for that matter) on writing a check out in public! I was behind a woman the other day who almost gave me a stroke from the blood pressure spike. First of all, she looked to be about 30 maybe. And she had legs the size of Redwoods (width-wise, not height-wise!). I mean, WOW! When I made the mistake of getting in line behind her, she was standing - in front of the motorized cart she apparently had done her shopping in. Why was she standing? Because, as it turns out, she was writing a damn check, but not before she walked back and forth, looking at the endcaps, trying to find "the perfect" gift card that she wanted to purchase (thereby proving she could walk, when necessary). She finally gets the right gift card, gives it to the cashier (who, unfortunately, was singularly dense and had to be told 4 times how much money to put on the gift card) and then patiently waits until her whole, entire $180 some odd dollars worth of merchandise was all scanned and bagged. Then she breaks out her checkbook. Which she then proceeded to read as if it was the most recent number one on the New York Times Bestseller list. Maybe she was reliving the joys of all her previous purchases, who knows. Once she finally finished reliving past shopping glories and then took a moment to ascertain that her pen worked and her checks were ready for action, she starting writing out the check. (Okay, so here's a clue for you, lady! We were at Wal-Mart. You don't have to write your checks out at Wal-Mart. You hand it to the cashier and she runs it thru her machine and it writes the darn thing for you.) But this forward thinking individual was out to win a penmanship contest because she wrote that whole entire check out like she was penning the Declaration of Independence. She finally finishes, with a big flourish, ...and then turns to her register and transcribes the information off the check into the register - while still holding the check in her chubby little hand. At long last, she's done. Progress is being made. She gives the check to the cashier and I start to cheer. Of course, by now, much time has passed since this check-out odyssey began; cobwebs have set in, wrinkles have appeared on everyone's faces and her young child, a sweet-faced but sadly obese, little boy of approximately 10 years of age could no longer contain his boredom. So he hops on her motorized cart and takes off. Gleefully. The woman, brought out of her stupor by the sound of the motor (and maybe the kid's cackling laughter) promptly takes off after him. Running. As an aside to the whole check writing issue? let me ask you this...if that woman could churn those stumpy legs as fast as she did while chasing that kid down, why in the heck does she need that cart to begin with? Maybe if she spent a little less time on the cart and a little more time walking around, her legs might not be quite so stumpy! But I digress. The cashier is still standing there waiting to hand the woman her receipt and her check back, so I'm still standing there, too, waiting for my turn. I watched the woman instruct her kid to get off the cart, at which point, she got on it and drove it back to the cashier stand. Drove that damn cart the 20 feet back to pick up her receipt. Which she stood up and walked over to get, once she got to the right lane. She made the kid push her shopping cart out, while she drove her motorized cart in front of him. You know, guys, I'm a fairly big woman myself. I've got some bo-hunkus legs and an arse to match. I get winded sometimes when I've shopped too exuberantly, I even get a little tired when I've had to bend over or stretch high to get my groceries off the shelves. But I will be damned if I will ride around on one of those motorized carts when the only thing that ails me is my ginormous appetite. I mean honestly! If you are so big that you can't function like a normal person, do something about it! There are alternatives. I've chosen one of those alternatives myself (I'll go into that on another day, perhaps). Being fat isn't a curse of nature or even just your "lot" in life. It's a choice. A choice of eating that Godiva chocolate or eating that nice, cool salad. I knows I luvs me some Godiva, yumm-o, yessir, I do! And I can chose to eat it (which I frequently do) or I can chose not to. I can chose to sit on my arse reading a book or watching TV (which again, I frequently do) or I can chose to get up and take a walk. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't made so many of the easy choices (chocolate and tv), my body wouldn't look like a 1st grader's art sculpting project (lumpy and hard to identify!). But there I go, digressing again. I was ranting about check writers, not overweight people who ride on carts because they're convinced they're handicapped, right? So where was I?....oh to heck with it. I'm so ticked off right now thinking of that stupid woman and her cart (I won't EVEN get into what foods she was buying - suffice it to say, it's obvious why her legs are like tree trunks and her arse practically qualifies for it's own zip code). And yes, I know. If I wasn't going to hell for being snarky about the elderly, I've probably sealed my fate with my attitude about the chunky. If I were skinny - heck, if I were even normal sized - I wouldn't dare open my mouth. But seeing as how I'm an veteran plus sized woman, I feel like I can say what I feel. I know how I got this big (and it wasn't from jumping rope or swimming laps, I can tell you that much). And I know that riding all over Wal-Mart instead of walking isn't helping that 30 something year old woman with her weight issues. Just like me standing behind her as she writes a stupid, archaic, time-consuming check isn't good for my blood-pressure!
Okay. I'm done. Rain the criticism down upon my head with your comments. Go ahead, I can take it. Well I mean I can take a little criticism. Don't get crazy with it. No need for harshness and no need to get ugly. I'm just venting here. I'm sure I'll be overcome with shame soon enough. Maybe. It could happen, you know. Yeah. All right. I doubt it, too.


P.S. Don't forget to enter my One Year Blog-iversary giveaway! Leave a comment on the previous post about the giveaway to be entered.

My One Year Blog-iversary Giveaway

I'm finding it hard to believe, but I've been blogging now for over a year! A year, people! One. Whole. Year! Isn't that something? I mean, I always knew I could jabber on and on forever; I'm just shocked to realize that you guys are still reading my blog after all this time! lol But thank you, thank you, thank you for doing so. My contact with all of you is something I look forward to every morning. I check my e-mail first thing to see if anyone's left me a comment and then I go around and try to read all of your blogs. I'm fascinated by our differences and amazed at some of the things we have in common. Blogging has done so much for me and my life. I've learned to really look at all the things around me ('cause you never knew when a good photo opportunity might be staring you right in the face!), I've learned that I shouldn't take myself so seriously most of the time - the things I think are so hugely insurmountable in my life are really just hiccups along the way. I've learned that good health is a blessing and that bad health can strike at even the best among us. I've learned that feeling happy can be contagious and I've learned that ranting and raving every now and again can not only relieve the pressures that build up over time, but it can also give others a little laugh and a place to say "hey, that's happened to me, too!". I could go on and on even more than this with all the reasons I've enjoyed this past year of blogging, but then I might start to bore YOU (yeah, you!), and I'm sure I've done that enough times over the twelve months I've been in Blogland. So let's get to the giveaway.
When we were traveling on our recent vacation, I kept trying to find the "perfect" Blog-iversary giveaway gift. But I kept getting distracted by snow and old presidents and beautiful scenery. (Hey, what can I say? I have focus issues!). Then I came across these little dolls:
They're each about 2 1/2" tall and are made of ceramic/porcelain (like I would know the difference!). They represent the 4 seasons I've been blogging. From left to right, in case you can't tell which is which, is Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. 'Course, seeing as how they're so tiny and all, I can't just give them away without spicing it up a bit, so I shopped until my feet nearly fell off and found these things, too (Gosh, I'm such a lying little drama queen, eh?):
An 8"x8" metal "&" sign, a Morenci Bundt Cake scented candle (Morenci's are THE BEST scented candles I have ever had, bar none!) and a little resin birdie (which I so wanted to keep for myself, but how crummy would that be for me to do?). As a bonus, I'm throwing in 2 audio books; "Shiver" by Lisa Jackson and "Pop Goes the Weasel" by James Patterson. Okay, okay, I have a confession to make here. The audio books aren't new - the packages have been opened and they've been listened to - once - by me. But what in the heck do you do with an audio book after you've already listened to it? (Unless it's a Harry Potter or a Star Wars or maybe even a Dan Brown. I listen to those audios over and over and over and won't even think about parting with them!!) Everytime I go to put a "regular" audio with the Goodwill stuff once I've listened to it, I start thinking that maybe someone I know would want a chance to listen to them, too. (And then I forget to give them to anyone at all so they just sit on the table in the guest room forever.) So....I figured I'd just throw them in with the giveaway stuff. And if I get any flack about it, peeps, rest assured I won't ever do it again (I'll just slip them in the very next package I send out and pretend I don't know where in the heck they came from. lol). Just leave a comment on this post and on Saturday, July 5, I'll draw a winner. (And YES, this giveaway is open to the U.S. - of course - and Canada, the U.K. and APO/FPO addresses (little ol' customs forms don't scare me none! lol).
Thank you all so much for visiting with me time after time and thank you for showing me so much more of the world and the people in it than I ever would have been able to see otherwise.

Orange You Glad the World is a Colorful Place to Be?

Okay, okay, so that was pretty cheesy. But this is my first week to join in on the Brenda Photo Challenge (hosted this week by Joni) and, wouldn't you know it, this week's theme is the color ORANGE! When I first heard the theme, I groaned out loud. Orange? What can I take a picture of that's orange?? (I sometimes have issues with thinking outside the box. Obviously.) Then I saw what Jeanne posted and Joan gave me a little guidance by telling me the things she was going to photograph and I suddenly remembered; the world's a colorful place! I can find 3 orange things, no sweat! And I did. First, here's my orange Lantana that I planted in our backyard a few seasons ago. (Nothing like a hardy perennial, eh!)


I found this next image on my computer. This is a compilation of 2 pictures that I took while at the Mall of America last week. The compilation consists of the orange neon of the "Minnesot-ah!" sign (which in itself just cracks me up) and the bright orange of the Nickelodeon sign from the amusement park located in the center of the mall.
And last, but certainly not least, Tropical Twist Trident gum comes in a pretty, yummy looking orange package. I usually keep at least 2 packs of this stuff in my purse at all times.
So there. I've done it. I've participated in my very first Brenda Photo Challenge. And had a blast doing it. Can't wait to travel Blogland and see the pictures everyone else came up with. For any other Brenda Photo Challenge virgins out there, what are you waiting for? Grab that camera and join in! Thank you Joan and Jeanne for leading me into this with and by your examples. Now stop laughing about my gum fetish. Please.

I'm going in....!

Don't I wish! But alas, there's not the first fallen leaf to be had around here. (sad, sad times, don'tcha know) Seriously, though, I'm afraid of causing "Vacation Photograph Overload" with you guys so I decided to take a couple days break from the vacation pictures (all together now, say "YAY!"). So why am I posting this totally random picture instead? Because it's close to 100 degrees here in Texas and, while they did finally get our A/C fixed Wednesday afternoon, it's still so flippin' hot around here that I've started daydreaming of pumpkins, cooler weather, scarecrows and autumn leaves. (I'm like a broken record every year around this time!) Ahhhhhhh....sure do wish I could be doing what this kid is doing...diving into fall!

BIG NEWS!

I just heard from my baby (pictured below, holding his baby). He called bright and early this morning (nighttime for him, though) to tell me he's made Tech Sergeant!! I'm so very proud of him! Everything this kid's gotten, he's earned. He's worked hard - had to overcome a few obstacles - and is moving forward well ahead of schedule. So ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Tech Sergeant Select Nicholas Adams, USAF (aka: my baby).

P.S. Look at little Kara - isn't she adorable?????

Day Two of our Weekend in South Dakota (Mount Rushmore!)

Our second and last day in South Dakota...we woke up to a beautiful morning - look at the view we had from our hotel window: Being on the 9th floor may not have been conducive to having great wireless Internet service (as the desk clerk so "helpfully" explained to us????) but it was sure great for checking out the view. I snapped this next picture because I loved the architectural details on those buildings.
But enough of the hotel...we got up pretty early, got ourselves ready and hit the road to Mount Rushmore. This is the bridge you go under as you approach the entrance to Rushmore. The arch is made of wood! It looks pretty awesome in person.
We had to take Jake's picture in front of this store. lol
This next picture was taken right inside the actual entrance into the park. I'm not sure why it is that Jacob feels to need to pose like a mob guy in all his pictures these days. He throws that head back every time he sees a camera pointed his way. Kids today.

Our first glimpse of the presidents. Those columns that flank either side of the path have the names of the states and the dates they became states carved into the sides. They also hold the names of all U.S. territories. Also of note, this is right about where Randey and I had our one and only notable knock-down dragout of the trip (yeah, no one is more surprised than us that we only had one!).
That's me on the left, then Jake, then Kaleb. See my hand on my hip? That should have been Randey's first indication that he'd said something stupid, which I assure you he had. I don't know if it's a symptom of that rotten peri-menopause or what, but every once in a while, someone will say something that goes right thru me. Like a knife. Thru hot butter. This was one of those times.
After about 5 minutes of snarking at each other, I finally "requested" that he step over to the side with me so that we might "discuss" the issue in private. The "discussion" was....tense and verbose, to put it mildly. Once we'd cleared the air (i.e., I ranted, raved and gestured with my hands and arms while Randey stood there with that "deer in the headlights" look he's so perfected for moments such as that), we managed to put our issues to rest and move on to enjoy the day. 'Course, I can't really speak for how well that Boy Scout troop was able to recover from having witnessed our communication efforts. Who knew there were bleachers full of the little guys just on the other side of that foliage?? I take comfort in the fact that I don't think there was any cursing loud enough to bruise their little ears. Hopefully. Anywho...this is yet another view of the presidents. It's breathtaking in person. If you haven't been there, GO! This mountain goat (I assume that's what this is. lol!) was just grazing along the pathway. He never even acknowledged the hordes of people standing there snapping pictures of him. Guess he's used to the admiration, eh?
Here's Jake, Randey and Kaleb posing for me along the path. By the way, check out Jake's shorts. Colorful, aren't they? I don't know who likes them more, me or Jake.
A closer shot of the monument. I know, I know...it's like I'm showing the same picture over and over, but you have to understand, to see this awesome piece of craftsmanship and history in person is just way too cool to describe. I keep hoping the pictures will "tell the tale" for me.

Here's a view we had as we walked along the pathway. We turned around, away from the presidents (pretty hard to do, actually -they were just so riveting.) and saw this. Pretty country.
Another shot of Jake, Randey and Kaleb. Bless their hearts - they were probably sick and tired of having their pictures taken by then.
But too bad, 'cause here's another one.
And what's a day without me trying for an "arty flora" shot?
Another pic of Kaleb and Jake.

How about this view of the monument? You can see where the work ended to the right of Lincoln's head.
See? Randey and I had made up by the time we got to this point. lol
Lincoln's peeking thru the treetops.
And so is Teddy Roosevelt.
Kaleb took these next three. The kid does better with my camera than I do, huh?

(I love, love, love this one!!!)
Here's a shirt from the Mount Rushmore gift shop that totally appealed to the feminist in me. ha!
And here's my dearly beloved, doing his utmost to embarrass the boys. He followed them around wearing this goofy hat, just trying to get them to acknowledge him.
Randey just had to have a picture of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Soda, which was actually root beer. (Reagan's his favorite president.)

Here's Randey, posing as the next face to be added to the mountain.
Oops! Plans have changed. Looks like Jake's likeness will be carved out next to George's.
Hold the presses! Now it's Kaleb who'll be hanging out with greatness. Who knew? (And no, there is no picture of me doing this. I wouldn't have highlighted my double chin like that for all the tea in China, thankyouverymuch).
Kaleb took the picture of these trees for me. I love these trees. I would have a yard full of them, if it was up to me. And I'd rent a snow machine every Christmas just so I could look at them laden down with the beautiful white stuff. Ahhhhh........
See this sign below?:

That's placed right at the edge of town, just as you head up to the mountain. And while I certainly believe that everyone should, indeed, prepare to "meet thy God", I felt that this could be taken as almost a dire warning...I mean, geez, you're headed up the side of a mountain! Is there some sort of obstacle course you have to pass on the way and does failure to pass said obstacle course result in an immediate meeting with the Almighty?? As it turns out, the sign is just general advice regarding life and not an indication of any sort of specific danger up ahead. Whew. This next picture is of the town of Keystone, which is the tiny little town between Rapid City and the entrance to Mount Rushmore.
Keystone is a pure tourist town. Gift shops galore, overpriced food and merchandise, hokey souvenirs...I loved it! We walked up and down the street, into the stores. It was such fun.
Here's what Kaleb and Jacob found in one of the stores. A Granny. lol!
And God Bless him, here's what Randey found to replace the bear head gear he'd found at the park. The look on Kaleb's face is just plain funny (click to enlarge). He's grown so accustomed to his dad doing stuff like this...
Randey actually bought that hat, but thankfully, doesn't wear the front of the brim turned up like that. lol I thought he was hilarious, even if he boys didn't. He looks like he's ready to start mining for gold, huh? (Like I told you yesterday...that man was convinced he was going to make his fortune panning for the yellow stuff.)

Out of everything we did on our vacation, all the places we went, all the sights we saw, I have to say that Rapid City was probably our favorite. There was so much to do there - I had no idea. I figured we'd do the "gold mine" thing one day, go check out Mount Rushmore the next and be on our way. But there was sooooo much more to the place. There was Mount Rushmore, of course, there were tons of antique stores, there was the Christmas store, miniature golf, a wildlife park, restaurants, other monuments and tours...the list goes on and on. I wish we could have stayed longer, I truly do. We are very seriously considering going back again one of these days.

Next (and finally, I'm sure some of you are thinking) is the last leg of our vacation, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Yeah. That's right. The Mall of America! A shopper's dream. Strangely enough, I think Kaleb and Jacob enjoyed it even more than I did, though. Probably had something to do with the amusement park located in the center of the mall. More on that later....