Commemorating Memorial Day

It's strange to say "Happy Memorial Day". Seems out of place to say that. After all, Memorial Day is about men and women who DIED in military service. Although I am enjoying the freedoms they provided me by their sacrifice, I still don't think it's a "happy" occasion.

I do believe it's worth commemorating (as opposed to celebrating). And since we are at war, and our troops, their families, and well, let's be honest, our WHOLE COUNTRY need the cheers for moral support, I'll refrain from criticizing the confusion between Memorial Day and Veteran's Day.

My Husband is a vet. So is my dad. So are several of my uncles, my maternal grandfathers; I think a man in every generation of my family history. There are geneological records that document the U.S. Civil War, War of 1812, Viet Nam, Gulf War, World Wars 1 & 2, etc. By nature of being a child of a soldier, many of my childhood friends and acquaintances served or currently serve, being veterans of the not-so-glamorous wars such as Bosnia, Afghanistan and the like.

So, to avoid rambling (and possible controversy), I'll simly say this: I am proud to be an American. For all of you in military service past and present, I humbly express my heartfelt gratitude. God bless.

I'm Such A Sucker for this Kind of Stuff!

A- Available or Single? Is it just me, or is this saying the same thing? I am married, so I guess neither.....? I guess if I had an open marriage, I could say "available".

B - Best Friend? The two C's - one in Virginia and the other in New York State.

C - Cake or Pie? How about cake AND pie!? I'm digging Cherry Pie a lot lately. I like Pecan Pie (of course I do! I'm Texan!) I also lurve the chocolate cake from P.F. Changs (orgasmic!). Not much other than those. Why discriminate against Dove chocolate, Raisinettes, chocolate mousse, certain kids of cheesecake, brownies, chocolate chip cookies (warm, soft ones with oatmeal preferably like the ones that are at Potbelly's. mmmmmm)?

D - Drink of Choice? Non-alcoholic: water & coca cola. Occasionally a Sunkist. And the yummmmmmy sweet tea from Chick-Fil-A. Alcoholic: Duh. Long Island Iced Teas. Frozen Margaritas, Llano Estacado blush, any Reisling, most white wines as long as they aren't *too* dry. I don't do reds at room temperature; they have to be chilled or on ice, or mixed with say (cold) 7-up or Ginger Ale. Oh! And as far as shots are concerned: B-52's, Royal F*cks, and Kazis. Prost!

E - Essential Item(s)? Family. Does music count as an "item"? I need music -- good music. How about air conditioning? Is that an item? If yes, put me down for that too. Gotta have cool air in the hot Texas heat.

F - Favorite Color? Blue, all shades.

G - Gummi Bears or Worms? Hello little gummi bear. I'm going to eat your head now! Now I am going to eat your feetsies. All of you now in my belly. Gummi is yummy in my tummy.

H - Hometown? Again, this is hard to answer because of my mobile history. Born in Fairbanks, Alaska, but spent formative years in El Paso. Live in Dallas now. I'd say, El Paso or Dallas is my hometown; however, the safest bet: Texas is my hometown. Yee Haw!

I - Indulgence? IRC chat, all foods because I'm a binge eater/food addict, sarcastic and erotic blogs (yet not necessarily in the same blog) and the occasional pedicure.

J - January or February? January because it's my birthday month! And we all know how I feel about celebrating my birthday. If you don't know....read up here and here!

K - Kids? I have 2. They are both princesses. Age 6 (and a half!), and 14 months.

L - Life is incomplete without…? family and vacations.

M - Marriage Date: August 22, 2003.

N - Number of Siblings: To be perfectly technical, I am an only child; however I have 3 half brothers, only 1 to which I have a relationship. He lives in Georgia and I love him dearly.

O - Oranges or Apples? Both! Clementines are the bomb. On the other hand, I love a cold, crisp granny smith apple.

P - Phobias/Fears: big, jumping spiders; falling from heights; getting stabbed, being burned by fire. I also fear that my kids will be sexually molested or kidnapped. I am afraid of being thin.

Q - Favorite Quote: Here are three:

Be still and know that I am God.

~Duh~

You must do the thing that you think you cannot do.

~Eleanor Roosevelt~

Just because you haven't finished college doesn't mean you aren't smart.

~Lotsa People~

R - Reasons to Smile? It'd be easier to list reasons NOT to smile. However, to be in line with the true spirit of the question: sexy men, David Allen Coe's "You Don't Have To Call Me Darlin" song, imbibing on a bottle of Llano Estacado blush at the end of a long week, sexy men wearing jeans, watching my kids, sexy men who are wearing Cool Water cologne, a corny joke, most things chocolate, and a (sexy) man who will dance with me. That's all #1.

S - Season? Fall

T - Tag Three: I don't even know what this means. Someone translate and I'll fill it in....

U - Unknown Fact About Me: I participated in the Miss Teen Texas pageant when I was 16.

V - Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I deeply desire to be vegetarian but not brave enough. I love meat too much.

W - Worst habits? Binge eating. Interrupting.

X - X-rays or Ultrasounds? depends on what we're looking at/for

Y - Your Favorite Foods: Dark Chocolate. Milk chocolate. Dove chocolate. Pizza. Ice cream (must have chocolate). Chips and salsa. Seasoned french fries dipped in ranch dressing. Pineapple.

Z - Zodiac: The Water Bearer (on the cusp)

Happy Birthday WonderWhoosh!

Today is my blog birthday.

Anyone want to blow out my candle? I might grant your wish....(unless of course it's if you wish for me to quit writing -- I can't make that happen.)

Please post your wishes, or email them to me.

Wednesday Lesson Learned: Live and Love In The Moment

It's Wonderful Wednesday for Wonder Woman Wannabe!

I've been at this IAPP conference for 3 days as you know. We had 3 keynote speakers. On day one, it was Christopher Gardner who is the true-life inspiration of "The Pursuit of Happyness". There was another speaker that day, a lady who is nurse. She discussed the pandemic of the avian flu. Today, we listened to Nando Porrado, who has recently written "Miracle on the Andes". If you've seen that movie "Alive", you'll know his story immediately.

Keep in mind, this conference is for accounts payable professionals! I don't think I learned anything about AP, but I sure as hell nourished my spirit and came out of there feeling *so* uplifted, learning yet more about the human brain, the survival instinct and trying to fit my life into those molds.

Of course, there's just no way I can do that! I mean, I've never been homeless then filthy rich. I've never crashed on the peak of a mountain and survived 2 months until I was rescued. I'm lucky if I can match my panties to my bra every day!

The pandemic speech aside (no disrespect intended), I have to say that both Mr. Gardner and Mr. Porrado were such blessings to me; and honestly humankind. I mean, they fact that divine intervention played such a huge role in their lives individually has affected SO MANY lives collectively. To me, that is a testament to the Holy Spirit and how we are all many parts of the same Body (of Christ). Wowee....

So, what I picked up from Mr. Porrado first and foremost is his incredible sense of family. He stayed on the mountain at age 18 thinking many things. One being the wife who hasn't met him yet. Today, he has his wife and two lovely daughters. He says (parapharasing).."I live my life for the men who died on that mountain so that I could even have my life." Such humility, huh?

What struck me from a psychology standpoint is that Mr. Porrado is a pilot! This man who as a teenager struck a mountain by plane now masters them. You know one incident had to do with the other! Wonder what his thought process was about all that?

Another thing that struck me was that Mr. Porrado twice in his speech stated he was just the wrong person, at the wrong place at the wrong time. Mr. Porrado, on the off chance that you will ever read this modest blog, I say to you: You were the RIGHT MAN at the RIGHT PLACE at the RIGHT TIME! You have to see how you were hand picked by God (fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it) to LIVE and tell your story to the world! Your message is so much bigger than you surviving a tragic accident. You were chosen to enlighten souls, inflame the human spirit, to be a model of perseverence to anyone with whom you cross paths. I implore you to not say that you were the "wrong".

Both men had a moving message: love the ones your with and live & love them in the moment.

Good plan, huh?

~Whoosh!~

P.S. I could write so much more but I'm tired! Don't be surprised if I revisit this subject in the future. :)

Eighteen

I wasn't going to blog tonight, but was compelled to because I pretty much obligated myself to a high school friend who unexpectedly crawled out of the woodwork today.

I was attending an IAPP conference at the Gaylord Texan today (gawd I love that place). It's a 3-day conference, which has been fairly intense with back to back workshops, keynote speakers, vendor expo visits, food, schmoozing, networking and generally immersing myself into more aspects of my profession.

I am on classmates.com.

Today, I have a break from the conference, and go to the little internet cafe and check work email and my personal email. Lo and behold, I have an email from classmates.com telling me someone has sent me a message! I love when I see that! It makes me giddy and I feel eighteen again.

So this email message was from a guy that honestly, I would have NEVER guessed would contact me. Yes, I remember him. I have fond memories of him actually. Are they deep-rooted ones like we shared late nights at dances, or had a tight friendship? No. He was in several of my classes, we got along just fine. I was in a sorority back then, and if memory serves me correctly, he might have been in the fraternity, or might've been a Delta Chi "beau". Not sure now....

In the context of social circles in high school, we are probably the least likely of friends. He was a "rocker" -- long (like down his back long) wavy brown hair, black t-shirts (one for every metal band from the 80's no doubt), jeans and high tops. He was VERY smart though. We shared honors classes (okay, I cheated my way into them, but HE was BRIGHT). I'm a little military officer's daughter -- total white bread goodie-two-shoes in high school. We would not have been friends probably if we didn't share these classes. (I wonder if he'll agree....?)

Anyway, graduation came and went. Eighteen years have come and gone. Guess what? Rocker emailed me!! Rocker EMAILED *ME*! Ha!

The rest of the afternoon and evening, we exchanged emails catching up here and there; filling each other in on our lives. (I told him I'd blog about our fun today. So, Rocker, this is for you!) We are going to have lunch or share happy hour next time he's in town. Should be fun!

Right now, I'm lost in my feelings of El Paso. I am marinating in memories of Chico's Tacos, Scenic Drive, McKelligon Canyon, The A on the mountain (especially when we'd light it on fire during homecoming!*). I remember Delta Chi initiation (yes, I was Miss Ascarate Park thankyouverymuch! Glad no one taped me singing Happy Birthday Mr. President ala Marilyn that night!) as well as theater class, learning the best English from my French teacher, and living in the basement of my house. I think of a slower pace, border culture, learning Spanish without meaning to. In the late eighties, high school was so wonderful for me....and even after 18 years....still is.

Thanks, Rocker, for contacting me and reminding me of where I came from. Thanks for all your kind words and easy-goingness. You ROCK!

* Most of the high schools painted the first letter of their school on the mountain side. I'm not sure how popular this is around the country, but I suspect it's fairly unique to Texas and maybe even El Paso. We had a committe to go up and keep the paint fresh so it was viewable from around the city, even the airplane. There was also a C, and M and I think an F but not sure -- been away too long, and really, the only letter that matters is The Austin A! Go Panthers!!

Not Your Typical Mother's Day Post

I went to Mass today, and unexpectedly ran into my family after Mass was finished.

We stood outside in the warm sun chit-chatting about school, the weekend and whatnot. My two nieces began digging in the flowerbeds full of geraniums. The oldest one is 5, and her little sister is 3. Ladybugs and rolly-pollies are about the only bug they like. With giddy smiles, they bring me over a rolled up rolly-polly. I open my palm and leave it flat so the rolly-polly will unball itself and begin to tickle my palm. I tell the girls to watch. "Let's make it feel safe. Let's not squash it."

A few seconds later, the rolly-polly squirms open, and rolls over from its shell-covered back to it's tiny, numerous legs and begins to explore my palm and hand. It ends up falling off my hand, safely falling to the pavement in it's hardened shell, ball form. Dang -- what a nice piece of equipment, huh? Sometimes I wish I was a rolly-polly so I could fall on my shell. :)

The girls go back and dig for more. My brother in law, who happens to also be my Godfather, is standing next to me. The youngest niece (his daughter), brings over a small, light colored rolly-polly. Godfather puts it in his palm like I had done moments earlier. It unrolls itself and begins to scurry about his hand. Then, the most amazing thing happened!

It began to GIVE BIRTH on his hand!

There, across the grooves of his carpals, she delivered about 6 or 8 tiny mite looking baby rolly-pollies! (Guess it's not just us humas that have to push when we're ready. When it's time -- IT'S TIME!) She kept walking and the babies kept coming out! He was so calm about it and I was so utterly excited!

"Oh my goodness!" I exclaim, "Check that out!! And of ALL days to see that?! It's Mother's Day!"

Godfather smiles and says "yeah" so matter-of-factly (because that's how he is).

I beam, "how cool is that?!"

So Godfather takes the momma rolly-polly, and all her lil babies to the dirt from which they came so she could finish in nature. The nieces were very thrilled to witness this event.

And so was I.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mom-types out there.

~Whoosh!

Tamed and Caged

I'm very blessed to have the job I do. I mean, since I have to work, I probably could not get a better deal than this! My company is a fun, energetic environment; we work hard and play hard. I'm more of the work hard type, and rarely do I play hard (meaning drinking/afterparty kind of stuff) because of my family. I like to get home and spend time with my husband and kids and take care of domestics. Of course, any of you who know me personally also konw that I've got a fun, social streak in me that needs to be let out on occassion.

Enter Occasion : Yesterday, my company had it's annual Sand Volleyball Tournament. Our entire company participates. We take half the day off and go out and get dirty, allowing sand to penetrate places that only sand can. Lunch was served around 11:30, games start around 12:30-1:00.

This last week, we had some pretty wicked weather 'round here. Love those Texas thunderstorms!! Suffice it to say the sand was not sand -- it was more, ohhh, how should I describe it? Mud? Slush? Well, I think you get the idea. It was very good for sloughing dead skin off of your feet. It also made for some good 'sacrifice your body for the team' mud spots on the clothes. Case in point: as the first game began, I look up into the partly sunny sky wearing my UT cap and sunglasses calculating where the volleyball is going to land so that I can set up my bump, and well, I fell backwards flat on my back and ass -- in the slushy mud sand. Niiiiiice! I look like I sh** my britches. And not just a little bit.

The game must go on. We lose our first game, adeptly scoring zero points against the other team. Yay Lone Star Diggers (my team name)! Now we get to advance to the Losers Bracket Tourney. Whoo Hoo!! Hey - at least we had cute shirts!

In the Losers Tourney, we play two games -- losing the 2nd one. Elimination. Drinking time! Keep in mind, it's only 2:00 by now, if even that!

So, I find a friend or two to sit poolside with sipping our adult beverages. We dip our warm sandy feet into the cold water to cool down because by now, the overcast day is breaking up and it's starting to get humid. The three or four of us start talking about work stuff then not-work stuff. It's funny when we are all out the things that get discussed. How revealing these 'teambuilding' events can be.

Mind you, I'm not much to drink heavily at company events. I might have a couple of glasses of wine at the holiday party, or a drink or two at the bowling tournament, but to get all out drunk -- yeah, that's not me. I don't know if it was the sun or what, but yesterday, I got pretty drunk. Uh-oh.

Yeah, I had -- let me think -- one, two, three, six -- crown & sevens, two shots called royal f*ck, and a few sips of friend's beers, oh yeah! and two Long Island Iced Teas. Yummy!

Needless to say, I had to sober up. So I sit at the club till 8 p.m., chugging water after water, allowing time to sober me up some. I watched a couple of the guys from work play darts and talk trash to one another. I do manage to sit my buzz out and feel able to drive home safely. I begin to say my good-byes just as some of the other supersillydrunkouttatheirmind girls I work with (who were coincidentally on my volleyball team) come over to me loving on me telling me they want me to come to a bachelorette party next week. Guess I made a good impression. :)

As much as I'd like to go to the bachelorette party, I think this fun, social woman needs to be tamed put back in the cage till some TBD point in the future. :)

Got Milk?

Lately, My Eldest has talked about breast milk from time to time. She's been saying things like, "mommy, remember when I was just a lil baby and I would suck milk out of your nipple?" I nod and smile, "Yes, honey, I do." She just smiles. Then she'll ask me about how milk comes out, etc. Fun mother-daughter woman-to-woman bonding.

So today was especially funny. My kids, husband and I were visiting in the dining room as I prepared dinner earlier tonight.

My Husband and I kiss once or twice as we dance around the kitchen trying to get out each other's way.

My Eldest giggles at her mommy and daddy kissing. She then sings:

Mommy and Daddy sitting in a tree

K I S S I N G

First comes a baby

Then comes the milk

I stop rinsing the cutting board off and look up at her. I'm in total shock but am consciously trying not to show it. I opt to smile really big and ask her, 'where did you hear *that* song??!!"

Eldest: At school.
Me: Oh really? You know, Eldest, that is NOT how the song goes!
Eldest: It doesn't??
Me: Nope.

I proceed to sing the *original* version to her.

Mommy and Daddy sitting in a tree

K I S S I N G

First comes LOVE

Then comes MARRIAGE

THEN comes a baby in a baby carriage

I continue: Eldest, see, you have find love and get married before you can ever think about having a baby. And goodness girl! Milk does not have to be a part of the song at all!

She just smiled and ate dinner.