I'm Not Antisocial, I'm Anti Stupid

I've Moved...

2007-12-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

I've moved to a Typepad account....check me out there!

http://wendylicious.typepad.com/im_not_antisocial_im_anti/

2006-12-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well after keeping this blog for a year and really getting into this blogging thing, I've decided to make the leap to Typepad. It offers me more options and I can do so much more than I can here on free Blogger.

Check out my new blog here and bookmark it to keep up with the comings and goings in the life of Wendylicious!! Be sure and check out my Photo Journal there as well!

A Picture a Day....Day Two

2006-12-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

Today a scene from my kitchen counter. Dave and I put all of our coins from our pockets and wallet in these tequila bottles and save until all the bottles are full. We always have a specific thing designated for the money and right now it's new bedding.

The straw holder is from his Pepsi collecting days and we both open it every morning to get a straw to drink our morning Slimfast since neither of us like drinking it from the can.

Happy December everyone!

31 Days of Pictures....

2006-12-02T07:12:00.000-08:00

I have challenged myself to taking a picture every day for the month of December.

This is a shot from my little miniture collection box hanging in my bedroom. I sure do need to dust them, huh? I've been collecting all of these since I was a little girl. The little ladybug was just added to the collection during our last trip. I picked it up somewhere in Colorado.

Looking forward to showing you 30 more pictures throughout the month!

Scraproom Pictures

2006-11-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are some shots of my new kick ass storage containers in my scrapbook room.
Both the horizonal and the vertical set ups are 6 sets of cubes

(psst....Mom, I have more sets than you do!!)
Isn't it cool how you can put a label in there so you know what is in all those drawers?

My creative space is now complete and I am very happy!

Merry Christmas to Me

2006-11-18T08:04:00.000-08:00

UPS delivered boxes yesterday!! I got all my new storage drawers for my scrapbook room. My room is a total wreck now while I organize, but they are all put together.

I'll post pictures when everything is organized!!

A New Collection

2006-11-12T10:03:00.000-08:00

Back on line after getting our new computers and running a network system all over the house. Way to go Dave!

While we were on vacation, I started collecting something new. You know those machines where you put in fifty cents and a penny and it squishes the penny with a design on it? I got these three on our last trip, and I have a few others from other places.

So, if anyone ever passes one of these machines, stick in fifty one cents and send it to me, okay?

Vacation Highlights

2006-10-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

Thought I would hit a few of the cool points on our vacation!

Here I am doing the Hoki Poki at Babe's...and anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE to do the Hoki Poki!

"Pepperoni, more please" - Chico the cat

Playing Chickenfoot with Mom and Dad.

Watching cartoons with Adrianne patiently waiting for Disney to play Little Mermaid cartoons.

Uncle Dave and Adrianne napping.

Our annual family photos, just the brothers, then just the sisters, then just all the kiddos. The weather wasn't the greatest this year so we moved to the staircase.

Mom's famous lasagna and her homemade rolls, Dad cooking ribs outside for the family day, and just generally eating too much homecooking!

Dave working on cars at the Napa shop with his brothers

Eating lots and lots of Sonic and Schlotsky's, because we can't get them in California!
The B&B in Canon City deserves a whole post in itself; 90% of it devoted to the breakfasts! Strawberries with devonshire cream, fresh poppyseed muffins, German apple pancakes, a crossiont with vanilla cream and fresh raspberry topping, hot apple crisp.....I gained 3lbs just eating breakfast there!

The owners Wendy & Lyn were so warm and hospitable and the room was so comfy and nice. We've never stayed at a B&B before, but we will be doing this again!
The fall weather in Colorado and looking at the colorful foliage!

The crisp, clean air in Colorado!

Visiting Bishop's Castle with Dave and his father. This was all built by one man over the past few decades. Of course he's crazy as a shit house rat, but you have to admire what he's built with his own two hands.

I stayed on the ground, thank you very much (he is crazy after all) but Dave and Father went all the way to the top...that's them in the round ball at the top!

Leaving Colorado and starting the "alone time" part of our vacation.

Driving up to 11,000 feet elevation and seeing all the beautiful snow!

Buying patches everywhere we went and sewing them on our bags each night.

Driving through all the pretty little towns and saying what we liked about each one of them. Silverton, Colorado...it could definitely be on our list of places to retire.

Looking at the map and pointing and saying "let's go HERE!" just because we can.

No timetables or schedules of when we have to be where!

Doing the Cliff Dwellings in Mesa Verde Colorado. So cool to be climbing around in the place where the Publo people lived between 1100 AD and 1400 AD.

Doing the tour where we had to climb up 10 foot ladders and down ledges and crevices...although not so fun to do it behind the guy in sweat pants with the HUGE butt. Not an attractive sight, let me tell you!

Having a bad hair day and just throwing a bandana on my head.

Going to the Four Corners area and sitting in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado all at the same time.

Eating Navajo Fry Bread topped with beans and cheese!

Not so good, dealing with Dave's nasty farting in the small car afterwards!!

Big thanks to the two Good Samartians in Kayenta, Arizona that helped us out when the Vette had a problem under the hood!

Tuba City, Arizona, definitely OFF the list of places we would retire. That is one small, dirty, icky city!

Watching the Cowboys beat the Panthers soundly and then going out for Arby's.

Man, a lot of my highlights have to do with food, don't they??

Vacation - Day Ten

2006-10-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday was the big gathering here in Kansas. All six of the brothers made it, and we were only missing one sister-in-law and one grandchild. There were also lots of other extended relatives as well.

Man, did Dave's Mom put on a spread! TONS of great food and deserts...I haven't eaten that good since the last time we visited Kansas.

Here's my favorite picture of all of the sister-in-laws, I'll post more pictures later when I have a better connection!

Vacation - Day Nine

2006-10-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

No pictures today, the dial up is just too dang slow.

Having a great time here in Kansas and eating TONS of good food!

I got to meet my new sister-in-law, Jenny, and her sweet daughter Adrian, who is about to turn 4!

I'll post more when I get to a better internet connection!

Vacation - Day Seven

2006-10-20T12:18:00.001-07:00

Hey All, it's almost a week into our vacation and we're having a ball.

Monday morning, Dave and I and my parent's loaded up and went down to San Antonio. We stayed in a condo that my parents have time share in in New Braunsville, about half an hour north of San Antonio.

We went down to the Riverwalk and did the boat tour of that area and ate some fantastic Mexican food Monday night, then back to the condo for a couple of rousing games of Chickenfoot. That's a fun domino game that my family is rabid about.

Tuesday we visited with my Great Aunt Lila and then visited the Texas Cradle of Liberty...the Alamo. We called it a day early and ordered some pizza and played Chickenfoot late into the evening.

Wednesday we had to hit the road early so we could get back to Dallas in time for Dave and I to catch a Grayhound bus to Kansas.

For those considering the bus as a mode of transportation, I highly discourage it. We left Dallas and I was like "it's an adventure!!". By Ardmore, Oklahoma, my attitude had slipped to "I don't like this anymore" and by the time we hit Oklahoma City, I was deep into "I AM NOT HAPPY" mode!! On a good note, I did manage to restrain myself from killing a seven year old named Shelby Rose Hutchenson and the two little old ladies sitting around her who encouraged her to chatter most of the way through North Texas and Southern Oklahoma!!

Dave's Uncle Mac (one of my favorite of his extended family) picked us up at the bus station in downtown Witchita at 3:30am, bless his heart, and took us back to his place to crash for a couple of hours. Dave's Mom showed up Thursday morning to pick us up there and take us back to their house in very, very small town Kansas.

Right now it's just Dave's folks, his youngest brother Adam and his wife Sabrina, and Dave and I. But all the other 4 brothers and their wives, as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents should start rolling into town tomorrow morning.

I just love his big family!

Day Two of the Great Vacation!

2006-10-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

Having a great time here in Texas. We slept in a little on Sunday, then went down to Grand Saline to visit with my grandparents, my favorite aunt and uncle, and my favorite cousins. (okay, so Amy is really my favorite cousin, Jason just comes along with her, LOL)

It was nice and cloudy and even misted and rained a little bit. I love how green and lush everything is in this part of the country, such a contrast to the desert where we live now.

Don't you love the picture of Fiona feeding the horsey? She is such a sweet, sweet little girl. Although she doesn't like Dave so much. He was playing with her and scared her and she started calling him "Bad Dave"! She would stand on the other side of the room and shake her little finger at him and say "Bad Dave! Bad, Bad Dave!!"

In Texas

2006-10-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

After a long wait at the airport and an even longer wait on the tarmac waiting to take off, we finally started the first leg of our trip.

Mom, Dad, and my brother David picked us up at the airport and we went over to their newest favorite restaurant. We met up with Kara, an old friend from high school and the Maid of Honor at our wedding and with Sara, a cyber and IRL friend who lives in the Dallas area.

I did the Hokey Pokey with our waitress, ate lots of good Texas chicken fried steak, and enjoyed my family and friends.

More updates as I can!

Vacation

2006-10-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the vacation has officially started. Our bags are packed, we've had our first "We're On Vacation" nookie, and we're ready to drive to the Las Vegas airport tomorrow. A big shout out to our rock steady, always there when you need them, friends Dave and Linda Mc for driving us.

We fly to D/FW tomorrow where my Mom and Dad will pick us up. We're having dinner at their newest favorite restaurant tomorrow night and hooking up with an old high school friend and my Maid of Honor, Kara and her new husband Eric; who I am looking forward to meeting. If he's good enough for Kara, he must be a great guy.
Sunday is Cowboy football and a trip down to Mineola, Texas to visit with my grandparents.
Monday (after Dave speaks to Mrs. Petty's first grade class), Dave and I, my folks, and hopefully my sister Lisa load up and head down to San Antonio for some sightseeing.
Then Wednesday night we load up on a Greyhound bus to ride to Kansas for the second leg of our trip.

Hmmm...riding a Greyhound bus. It could be interesting. It could be an adventure.

I'll log on and update as I can throughout the trip!!

My 100th Post

2006-10-08T15:18:00.000-07:00

For my 100th post I thought I would post this layout. The picture just spoke to me, the boots look so worn, like they had stories to tell. And just seeing them, sitting there in his office was such a heartwarming sight. He's here with me, finally back where he belongs.

A Few More Pictures from the Homecoming

2006-10-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting used to having him here and my smile has finally gone down to a 100 watt bulb instead of the skylighting spotlight it's been for the last 48 hours. I still can't stand to have him too far away from me for very long and I reach out and touch him at every opportunity.

Here we are putting his wedding ring back where it belongs. I've never really realized how much I touched it or reached for it until it wasn't there. My hand keeps going to my neck, but it's back where it belongs. Dave says that's all right, he's still getting used to his hip feeling so light. He keeps reaching down to pat his pistol and remembering he doesn't have to wear that any more either.

This is my favorite picture of Cathy and Jason!

And finally, a picture I just had to take yesterday. I was walking down our hallway past his office and glanced in. This sight just stopped me in my tracks and it was then that it finally hit me, he's home.

FINALLY!!

2006-09-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

After many months, counting down the last days and then the last hours, Dave is finally home and I am a happy, happy lady!

The buses didn't pull into Victory Field until almost 2am. One of the seven buses broke down about an hour from 29 Palms. The remaining six buses came in and unloaded at the armory, but the Marines didn't want to go down to meet their loved ones until they knew that their brothers were at the armory and close behind them.

Our best friends Dave and Linda Mc went with Cathy and I and did their best to keep us occupied and sane during the five hour wait, giving up their 22nd anniversary to be there with us and act as our photographers.

We got word, finally, that the buses were loaded and our Marines were coming down from the armory. They were escorted by a local motorcycle club called the Patriot Guard Riders. They had escorted our men from March AFB, rode in with them, and stayed with them at the armory. Then they escorted them down the streets of the base.

What a sight that was all those Harleys with their engine's roaring, most of them decked out with American flags, and right behind them the buses with Marines hanging out of the window searching for that first glimpse of their loved ones.

There were so many people crowding up to the buses, I hung back a first, looking for him. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and someone pointed him out to me. I just ran to him and at that moment, all was right in the universe. It that brief and beautiful second, I felt like nothing could ever be wrong or ever hurt me.

My life is complete again!

Soooooooo Close

2006-09-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

OMG, I can't believe how close we are getting to Dave being home and in my arms again.

He totally made me cry today. The FedEx guy walked in with a package marked from Flowers.com and I asked "who's the lucky lady?" Much to my surprise, it was me. Dave must have found his way to a computer while he was in Kuwait.

First I opened the card on the outside and what he wrote was so sweet and beautiful that I started crying. Then I opened the box and found a dozen lavender roses and a purple teddy bear and I started crying again.

Purple is my favorite color. He knows me so well.

I'll be posting updates on his homecoming as I can.

Updates from Dave

2006-09-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

I got another call from Dave last night. They are still in the first stop over place, but should be leaving there today.

He said that base is like Club Med, you would not even know you were in the middle of a combat zone. He had Pizza Hut last night and says he thinks he's gaining weight from all the good food in the chow hall.

He also reported that they have gone through all their decompression classes, which he boils down to: "don't fall in the bottle, don't spend all your money, don't beat your wife, and don't get in fights".

That doesn't sound like it should take three days, huh?

I also heard from my KV today and the dates and times that she gave me were right on with all the rumors we have been hearing. Time is slowly winding down and it won't be too much longer before I can post some wonderful reunion photos!

Hugs to all, and anyone that wants to call me to get more information is more than welcome!

Playing With Photshop

2006-09-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

Trying to keep myself busy as the hours pass ever so slowly!!

The Long Journey Home....update

2006-09-22T23:00:00.000-07:00

I just got a call from Dave and his entire group is finally in their next location in Iraq. He says the base there is really big with a Burger King, a Pizza Hut, and a Baskin Robbins. HECK, we don't even have a Baskin Robbins in 29 Palms!!

He says they are there for a day at least before their next leg, which should take them down to Kuwait to wait for the big freedom bird!

The Long Journey Home!

2006-09-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Very soon, maybe even tonight, I will get an email from Dave telling me he is walking out the door to board his first of many, many modes of transportation to come home to me!

It'll be a long journey, starting with a helicopter and ending with a bus, but that moment that the bus pulls up to Victory Field aboard 29 Palms MCAGCC will be so amazingly wonderful!

Stay tuned for updates as I am allowed to post them, but we are under 200 hours until I can finally wrap my arms around him!

201 days behind us. 4,834 hours of worry and lonliness; but the end is in sight!

***ETA - Just got an email from Dave, he is heading to the flightline for his first flight!***

Planners

2006-09-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Remember how I said that I was a Planner married to the King of Planning?

Well I have from now until November 1st all mapped out:

Tomorrow morning I go to the local Social Security office to get a new card. Can you believe that I've worked at the Clown College for over a year now and they just figured out they don't have a copy of my driver's license and Social Security card?
Then tomorrow afternoon, I'm going back into the base hospital to have a mole removed. I'm 37 years old and this will be the first time I've ever had stitches!
I also need to drop off our duffel bags that just arrived at the alterations place to have the name tapes sewn on (more on this later) and tan again at the Fake & Bake.

I work Wednesday - Sunday, cleaning the house and doing laundry in the evenings, and baking at the tan place two or three times.

Next Monday, I have Terminex scheduled to come out and treat the place inside and out. No, I haven't been that sloppy for the past 7 months; we're just having a bad ant season.

Tuesday morning into the beauty salon to get my roots touched up. I'm way too young to have this much grey! Then Tuesday afternoon, carpet cleaners are coming in.

Tuesday night, the group of Officer's Wives I hang with are having our last social gathering (called a "coffee") at a local nail salon. They are closing it down so it's just us. We're going to drink some bubbly, have a good time, and get all pretty for our guys.

I work Wednesday and Thursday. Then at some point between Friday and Sunday, (again OpSec) I become the happiest woman on the West Coast!!

The only thing I don't have planned between now and then is when the cleaning lady is going to come in. I lost her telephone number so my friend is getting it for me today.

Then when Dave comes home, I'm off work through Sunday, then I work Monday the 2nd through Wednesday the 4th, then he has a 4 day weekend and I'm take that off as well. Then I work Monday the 9th through Friday the 13th.

Then the vacation starts!!

Our friend Linda is driving us to Vegas on Saturday the 14th and we fly from there to Dallas to visit with my family. Dave is going to go with our niece Sam to her first grade class to be her Show and Tell! LOL! We are also going to go with my folks down to San Antonio for some sight seeing.

Wednesday, the 18th, we hop on a Greyhound bus and scoot up to Kansas to visit with Dave's family. Dave's Mom is all excited because on Sunday, the 22nd, she is going to have all six of her sons, all six of her daughter-in-laws, and all six of her grandkids together for the first time ever. The last time she had all of the boys and their wives together at once was 8 years ago, and we have 2 new wives and 3 new grandkids since then.

We're picking up Dave's 1973 Corvette which he has been keeping in storage at his folks house and doing the rest of the trip in that. Hence the duffel bags.

Finishing up the trip in the Vette, we are going to be very, very short on luggage space, so I ordered us two olive green duffel bags. We should be able to cram both of those in the small storage space behind the driver's seats. It's going to be a jeans and t-shirts kind of vacation and we'll have to do laundry every place we stop. Luckily, I'm a low maintenance girl!

Dave came up with the great idea of ordering some military name tapes and having them sewn on our bags. You should have seen the look on the guys face when I ordered two name tapes, one with the name Wendylicious and one with the name Big Daddy Dave!!
We're also going to buy souvenir patches as we travel and sew them on our bags as we go so our luggage will actually become a souvenir itself!

On Monday, the 23rd, we hop in the car and head to Colorado to visit Dave's father and stepmother for a few days. We're staying in the cutest little Bed and Breakfast called The Jewel of the Canyons. We even have a massage scheduled for while we are there.

Friday, the 27th, we leave Canon City and start to meander our way back home. Depending on the weather, we may head directly west and see Utah, or if it's snowy, we may go south and go through Arizona. We would like to get back here by the 30th, so we can have the 31st for recuperation time.

Then we both go back to work on November 1.

I've very excited about all of our plans for the next month and a half!! Especially the him getting off the bus part and all the sex afterwards! LOL!! I still need to go down the hill to Palm Springs between now and then and buy myself a new pair of jeans. I've lost so much weight, all my clothes are falling off of me.

Between that and the 3 or 4 inches of hair I've grown, I joke that I will need to be holding a sign when Dave gets off the bus that says "CWO3 J... here is your wife!"

OpSec

2006-09-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

In the name of Operational Security, I took down my countdown timer.

I got an email from my KV (Key Volunteer) saying that the dates had changed slightly, but that the KNV (Key Volunteer Network) would not be posting any arrivals via email for OpSec reasons and asked that we did the same. She said she would be contacting everyone in the next week to let us know what the new dates are.

WTH? You just tell me that my husband's date has changed, and that you will call me in the next 7 DAYS to tell me the new date???

Luckily Dave is a pretty smart feller and, in the course of an email, mentioned that he was looking forward to the day that our favorite team plays (he named another team) and how nice it was going to be to be together and watch the game in his own house.

All I had to do was look up what day our team played the team who's name I won't mention here and WHAM, I knew all I needed to know!

Hit a Goal!

2006-09-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

Remember my New Year's Resolutions that I posted back in January?

Well I'm very excited that I hit one of my goals. Yesterday when I stepped on the scales, I officially weighed 160 for the first time in many years! I can't believe how flat my stomach looks!

Now the hard part, to keep it off once Dave comes home and we go on vacation!

17 Days!!!

2006-09-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Only 17 days until Dave comes home!

I was reading back over all my blogger posts the other day and I can't believe that we are finally at this point! I remember being excited because we were 10% through this mess and now we have less than 10% left. In fact, we only have 8.16% left!

I'm excited and nervous, but no reunion anxiety this time, thank goodness!

Everyone stay tuned for details of our vacation dates. Being the planners that we are, we already have it all worked out!

And keep your eyes on the countdown timer that I have installed here
---------------------------------------------------------> > > > > > > > >

A link...

2006-09-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

I been talking with a journalist who was imbedded with Dave's unit for a few months back when they first arrived in theater. She gave me a link to her blog and I've enjoyed reading her view of our Marines, what conditions are like there, and her thoughts on our men's mission.

She's a real firecracker and I'm looking forward to meeting her when she visits 29 Palms to welcome our Heroes home!

Betty Kilbride

It Makes Me Thinks Of You....

2006-09-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Davy Puppy, I miss you so much every day, it's funny the little things that make me think of you!

Pepsi
Corvettes, old muscle cars, Harley Davidsons, and big trucks
(remember the time between our wedding rehearsal and the dinner?)
Outback Steakhouse
Bon Jovi songs (remember our first date?)
Survivor
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (or first movie at the drive-in)
Cowboy boots
Sonic and Schlotsky's
The Dallas Cowboys (and the Cowboy Cheerleaders)
Alan Jackson, especially Chattahoochee!
Cows
camouflage
Lasagna
A tight pair of jeans
Lanvin
a high and tight haircut
mudpuddles
black cats
The American Flag
Lightning
Erasure (remember driving around Okinawa?)
Playing pool
Bunny Rabbits
a blue vase
"Control is an illusion, you infantile egomaniac" & "rubbin's racing"
AC/DC's "Shook Me All Night Long"
Reindeer games
my shoes in the middle of the living room floor
the smell of sawdust
a campfire
Smirnoff Black
marching bands

So many little things every day!

24 Days and Counting

2006-09-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

Oh joy, oh joy! Dave's coming home date has been moved up! He should be home by the 1st!!

I'm really excited and best of all, I'm not having any reunion anxiety. (yet) Reunion anxiety is so impossible to explain; it makes no sense. I'm excited and look forward to him coming home, but for some illogical reason, I'm scared of it too?

Just a preview of the earthquake that is going to rock Southern California in a little over three weeks, here are some pictures from our previous reunions.

True Friends

2006-09-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well casual reader, I have introduced you to a lot of different people in my life; my sisters and brother, my parents, my Mother in Law, just to name a few.

Today I want to take a moment and recognize two people who are the epitome of true friends, Dave and Linda M.

Dave and I met Dave and Linda through a motorcycle club we used to ride with. We enjoyed their company at the meetings and on the rides, so we started to get to know them better outside of club functions, and over the past eight years, we have come to love them dearly.

We don't see them as often as we would like, especially after Dave was transferred to Camp Pendleton, but every time we see them again, we just pick right up like not a day has passed.

Dave and Linda are the kind of friends you can call at 2am when your car breaks down an hour away and they will get up and come and get you. They are the kind of friends you trust with your house keys, your cars, your money, and your hearts. During Dave's Iraqi tours, they have stored at different times his Harley, his 73 Vette, his 90 Vette, and our motorhome. All without complaint.

They have been my rock through all three of these deployments. While my Dave is deployed, Dave M. will come and pick me up on the motorcycle and take me out for a ride. They have me into their home for dinner and long nights of good conversation. They love me enough to force me to get out, sometimes when I don't want to, because they know it's good for me. About a month after my Dave left on this deployment, Linda called me and informed me that they were taking me to dinner, where did I want to eat? Not did I want to go, but where should they take me? They knew I was still moping, but cared enough about me to force me to get out and get on.

We've shared everything about ourselves with Dave and Linda, and they accept us as we are with no judgments. That is the greatest gift we have received from them; their unconditional support.

I know they both read my blog (even though they never leave comments) so let me take this time to tell them both:
Guys, I don't know what Dave and I would have done over the past eight years without you guys in our lives. We value you and treasure your friendship more than we can ever express in words!

My Brother...

2006-08-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

When I tell people that, at 37 years old, I have a 19 year old brother, they laugh and say "well, wasn't he a surprise?"

Actually, he wasn't.

I was raised in a foster home, the oldest biological child of three.

I still remember the day that I came home from kindergarten and there was a baby there, my parent's first foster child.

Our family always considered it our mission, helping out children and giving them the loving home that they had not had in their lives. Our parents weren't just foster parents, we were a foster family.

Over the years, I have seen some pretty bad stuff. You wouldn't believe what human beings will do to a child, it's heartbreaking. I've seen babies with third degree burns, beaten, abused, neglected. We once had a 16 month boy that weighed less than half what he should have at his age.

At 17, I thought I had seen it all. I thought I was a hardened and cynical when it came to seeing bad stuff.

You see, to do what our family did, you had to have at least some emotional distance. For me, it was crying. I never let myself cry over what I saw. If I got too attached to one child, it would devastate me emotionally, and I wouldn't be able to be there to help the next baby that needed us.

Until I met David.

It was a week before Christmas my senior year in high school when Mom got the call that there was a 3 month old baby in the hospital that had been abused. As soon as he was released, he would be coming to our home.

I was going into work that day, so I went an hour early to stop in at the hospital. I knew the nurse that was on duty that day and she told me "Wendy, this is a bad one."

When she brought that 3 month old little darling in and laid him in my arms, I cried. I broke down and sobbed and I rocked him and I held him and I promised him right then and there that no one would ever hurt him again. Not while there was still breath left in my body.

He was beautiful, blond, blue eyed baby and his biological mother had sold him on the black market. The people that had adopted him had done horrible things to him. He had broken bones, cigarette burns, razor cuts, and they had thumped his little ears so bad they were swollen masses of flesh on the side of his head. It was your worst nightmare.

A few days after Christmas, he came home to live with us in a body cast from the armpits down. We all fell in love with him, he was so sweet and so wonderful.

When I was in college, my Mother approached me. She wanted to know what I would think about the family adopting David, and making him my real brother. I was ecstatic! He already was my real brother in my heart, we just got to make it legal.

Mom always said that David and I must have bonded in those first few minutes, because he and I have always been close. Even though I got married and moved away from home when he was 3 years old, we always stayed very close.

He's grown into a handsome young man. As a teen-ager, and spoiled rotten from his doting family, he's been a handful. But even as trying as he can be, I still love him with all my heart.

I really hate when people find out that he's adopted and ask about his real parents. I tell then that his real parents are my parents. They are the ones that nursed him when he was sick, taught him values, and were with him every step of the way.

While he may not be my brother through blood, he is as much my real brother as my blood sisters are my real sisters. He is my real brother in every way that matters, legally and with love.

Scrap Products I Love And Hate...

2006-08-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

So our challenge today was to discuss products in the scrapbooking world that we can't live without and that we can't stand.

I'm glad that the scrapbooking industry has finally started to recognize that not all croppers are soccer moms doing "Live, Love, Dance" kind of sappy pages. When I first started, all that was out there was hearts and flowers kind of stuff. Now there is a Harley Davidson line and even a line of embellishments alcohol based! LOL!

Things I Can't Live Without:
1. Xyron - This is the greatest invention ever. I love my Quickutz system, but before I discovered Xyron, I was having to use a glue stick to try and get each letter stuck down. How did I live without it?
2. Bazzill Cardstock - I'll admit it, I'm a cardstock snob. I will not use any other cardstock but Bazzill. The texture, the weight, the fact that it's not white core....it can't be beat!
3. Chatterbox Pattern Papers - I am an admitted Chatterbox Whore. 75% of my layouts use Chatterbox papers. Although I don't like their brads...what a horrid idea, they are too thick and don't lay flat.
4. Herma Dotto - The adhesive of choice
5. Glue Dots - I once had the nickname "She Who Flashes For Gluedots".

Things I Abhor:
1. Zots - The cheapo version of Glue Dots...they are hard to use and don't stick worth a damn.
2. Anything cutsie!
3. Stickers - I'm way past that stage.
4. Anything by Creative Memories - I dislike the company on principle. They are very exclusive and push their members to only use their products. Plus they value volume over quality.

I have a funny CM story. I was at a weekend crop retreat with 8 or 9 other ladies and the hostess asked that in consideration of people sleeping, that no one pound eyelets after 10pm. The leader of a group of 6 ladies said "Oh that won't be a problem, we're Creative Memories scrappers. We don't use eyelets".

I was simply being curious and asked "Why is that?"

She sneered "Well, we believe that our pages should tell a story!"

I laughed "So what do my pages do? Tell knock knock jokes?" I picked up the page I was working on and said "what is this page about? I don't know, it has an eyelet on it, I can't tell!!"

She did not find me amusing!

I'm a Planner

2006-08-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

Actually I'm a Planner married to the King of Planning.

Dave and I have plans for organizing our plans. We have plans of how to go about making plans. We have Excel spreadsheets detailing our plans. We enjoying planning. Planning a vacation; picking the route, finding the hotel, deciding on the mode of travel, creating the itinerary; well that's almost as fun as the vacation itself.

Unfortunately, the Marine Corp usually messes up our plans as promptly as we make them.

*le sigh*

So, here are my plans for the next few months...
Before Dave Comes Home:
1. Hire an exterminator, the ants are super bad this year and he hates bugs.
2. Lose 4 more pounds.
3. Clean out the drain under the bathroom sink. It's backing up.
4. Get my hair color touched up.
5. Straighten my house.
6. Pay someone to come in and clean it from top to bottom in every nook and cranny!

After Dave Comes Home:
1. Take a few days off, depending on his schedule.
2. I'll go back to work, Monday through Friday only, for a while.
3. Take 2 weeks off work when he gets his 2 weeks leave. We'll probably go home to visit all the families.
4. Take 3 days off work the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of our Marine Corp Ball weekend, be lazy and hang around the pool in Primm, drinking too much and having lots of sex.

Now our plans for the next few years are up in the air. If you would have asked me three days ago, I would have rattled them off for you without a doubt. But now, Dave has changed his mind, once again, on what course he wants to take in his career.

So until that plan is decided and made, all I can say is we plan to continue to save money and beef up our investments so that when he DOES retire from the Marine Corp after somewhere between 20 and 26 years of service, we plan on traveling around in our RV, see the US, and just generally be lazy, enjoy life, and have lots of sex.

Most Embarrassing Drunken Story

2006-08-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

Our topic for today in our blog challenge is:

Most Embarrassing Drunken Story.

Hmmm....where to start?

Was it the time that I got kicked out of Las Consuelas for....well, I'm not sharing that information.

How about the time that Dacia and I....hmmm, nope, can't share that one either.

Well there's always the time that Dave and I....no, way too many family members read this blog for that story to come out either.

Oh, I know a story I can tell. I was at Las Consuelas (they let me back in) with 4 or 5 girlfriends celebrating someone's birthday. I was on the dance floor dancing with my friend Roberta when some guy came up and started dancing up on her. She gave me this "could you help me out" look, so I tapped him on the shoulder and said "could you leave her alone, she's mine."

He just got a shocked look on his face and walked away.

We thought that would be the end of that.

Nope, one of our other girlfriends hooked up with that guy's best friend and they ended up sitting at our table. So Roberta and I had to spend the rest of the night pretending to be a couple. Since both she and I are married, and both wearing wedding rings, we regaled the guys with the stories of our recent "wedding ceremony". It was stinking hilarious when our friend Courtney piped up "oh I was there, the flowers were BEAUTIFUL!"

I'm laughing just thinking about it.

Of course, I then remembered that Dave was supposed to be showing up at any time, so I turned to Roberta and said "oh, I forgot to tell you, I talked to your brother DAVE today. He's going to meet us here."

A little later, who walks in, but Dave. Roberta jumped up, ran over to him, hugged him, and whispered in his ear, "Wendy and I are pretending to be lesbians, play along."

He's such a good sport.

Music for a Deployment

2006-08-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in a music CD swap with a bunch of girls over at The Red Lily. I've done these before and they are tons of fun, you get a lot of new music and you get a look at other people's taste in music.

Mostly when I do my CD, I just fill it with my favorite 20 songs at the time, but this time, I decided to go with a theme. I created a CD of Deployment Music. Here is the song list for my CD.

1. Anchor’s Marine – Nothing stirs my heart like a reminder of the Marine Corp pride! It makes our sacrifices seem worth it!
2. Good Bless The USA, Lee Greenwood – See Above!
3. The Way You Look Tonight, Michael Buble – Memories from those last days, carry us through the long deployment.
4. You’ll Be In My Heart, Phil Collins – Just a thought to carry me through the long days.
5. Sleeping Single In A Double Bed, Barbara Mandrel – one of the things that makes this so hard.
6. Call Me, Blondie – those calls are so few and far between.
7. Lean On Me, Club Nuveau – without my friends, I couldn’t do it!
8. With or Without You, U2 – life goes on, even when he’s gone.
9. I Will Survive, Gloria Gainer – we just go on, surviving.
10. Living On A Prayer, Bon Jovi – prayer is the wife’s only weapon.
11. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Supremes – I just have to believe, he’s coming home to me!
12. Don’t Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin – Sometimes you just have to smile!
13. I Only Want To Be With You, Vonda Shepard – wanting him here with me!
14. Holding Out For A Hero, Frou Frou – He’s my hero!
15. You Can’t Hurry Love, Dixie Chicks – Time just passes, nothing can push it!
16. We’ll Be Together, Sting – Time is getting close, I’m starting to get excited!
17. The Boys Are Back In Town, BTO – standing there waiting on that bus to pull up!!
18. Celebration, KC & The Sunshine Band – The bus is here!!!
19. Never Say Good-bye, Bon Jovi – Not only does the song have meaning in this playlist, but it also “our song”
20. At Last, Etta James – The wait is over and I am complete!

List A Fault - Blog Challenge

2006-08-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

I'm lazy!

There, I admitted it out loud. I'm lazy!

Of course anyone that has known me for more than a few days is laughing right now saying "this isn't news". I'm notoriously lazy!

But for those faithful readers that only know me through this blog, I'm putting it out there.

I never put my shoes away, why should I? It's easier to find them in the middle of the living room floor where I took them off the night before than in the closet. I never make the bed...I truly don't get the sense in that. I'm just going to get back in it tonight. If there is an easy way to do something, I'm going to find it and make it even easier.

The saddest part of the whole thing...I'm not even that embarrassed about it.

Making A Difference

2006-08-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

A lot of people talk about how they want to change the world and accomplish "great things" with their lives. I don't have such high aspirations. I just want to make the little bit of the world I live in a better place. If I can make one person's day better, each day of my life, think how much good my life will bring about.

Most days are little things; looking someone in the eyes and giving them a genuine smile, listening when they tell me stories from their childhood, making a really killer mojito, making someone laugh.

But every now and then, I get to make a big difference. A while back, I had a lady sitting at a table in my restaurant. It was late in the afternoon and she was my only customer and we got to talking. I mentioned where Dave is now and she went off on a tirade about how evil Muslims are.

I stopped her and said no, terrorist and people who use the Muslim religion as an excuse to do horrible things are terrible; but the Muslim religion is a beautiful and peaceful faith. She was aghast that I would say that; how about the World Trade Centers, how about the USS Cole? To her, these were prime examples of why she should hate all Muslims.

I asked her, what about zealots that blow up abortion clinics and kill doctors who perform abortions, what about those people in Kansas that go to the funerals of military people who were killed in Iraq holding the most hurtful signs? Do those people really represent main stream Christianity?

She agreed that they did not.

Then why, as asked her, would you think that these zealots spreading hate and violence would represent the teachings of the second largest religion in the world? It doesn't.

That woman left my restaurant with new thoughts and an open mind; and I felt very good about my place here in this universe.

Some days, I make the world a better place in small ways, but every now and then, I get to make a bigger difference, and I love that.

How did you make the world a better place today?

Questions for Thursday

2006-08-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
*Yes....don't ask, the story is way to embarrassing to go into!
2. Do you close your eyes on a roller coaster?
*Nope, I want to see it all!
3. When's the last time you've been sledding?
*Never, I didn't even see snow until I was 20, and I wasn't impressed then. Cold and wet!
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
*With my man only, other than that, alone
5. Do you believe in ghosts?
*Not particularly
6. Do you consider yourself creative?
*Yes
7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
*While I believe that he did, our American justice system (no matter how broken it may be) says he's innocent. I honor that.
8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
*To be a wife or a friend, Jennifer. For just some down and dirty physical stuff, Angelina
9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING or EVERYTHING about politics?
*I many not know everything, but I consider myself well versed.
10. Do you know how to play poker?
*Yes, but I'm not very good.
11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
*Yup, but I wasn't functioning well.
12. What's your favorite commercial?
*I have Tivo, I don't watch commercials
13. Who was your first love?
*the first time I thought I was in love...my high school boyfriend before Dave, Heath. First time I really was in love, Dave.
14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light?
*no, I'm very rule oriented.
15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
*no, I don't have the ability to keep secrets
16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Neither, I don't like baseball. Too slow
17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
*once, in an ice rink. I hated it
18. How often do you remember your dreams?
*fairly often
19. What's the one thing on your mind?
*these days, what today's date is and how many days it is until Oct. 3rd.
20. Do you always wear your seat belt?
*no, but I should. Dave yells at me for it.
21. What talent do you wish you had?
*I wish I could dance
22. Do you like Sushi?
*no, where I'm from we call that bait
23. What do you wear to bed?
*if Dave is home, nothing. He's adament about sleeping in the buff. If he's not, a t-shirt and yoga pants.
24. Do you truly dislike anyone?
*yup
25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
*no one, I don't go into the celebrity thing. They are people just like us.
26. Do you know anyone in jail?
*Not that I know of
27. What food do you find disgusting?
*the list is too long...I'm the pickiest eater ever: eggs, cucumbers, all fish, coconut....seriously, those are just my top four
28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
*yes, honestly I have, when I was younger.
29. Have you ever been punched in the face?
*yes, and I have the bridgework to prove it.
30. Do you believe in angels and demons?
*yes

A Layout About Me....the best kind!

2006-08-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

I do love things about me! LOL!

Inspired from an Elise Flannigan layout in the Autumn Leaves idea book "The Me Book".

Home Sweet Home?

2006-08-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posed the question "If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

This is a subject that is a bit of a sore spot for me. For coming up on 18 years now, I haven't had a choice of where I wanted to live. The Marine Corp says "go to California", "go to North Carolina", "go to Okinawa, Japan" and we pack our boxes and off we go.

Except for three sweet years when Dave was stationed at Naval Air Station Dallas, working with the reservist station there, we have lived at least 24 hours driving distance from our families. We've missed little brothers growing up and becoming men and our young nephews becoming teen-agers. We've missed Christmas, Thanksgiving, anniversaries, birthdays, and in some cases, we've missed weddings and funerals.

Now that the end of Dave's Marine Corp career is in sight, just two to five years away, we're starting to look forward to moving to a place of our choosing.

Of course we haven't quite made that choice yet.

Dave's parents own a Napa Auto Parts store in their small, small town in Kansas. They have expressed a desire to have us come back to their neck of the woods and help the family business.

But Dave and I have always considered ourselves Texans, so we feel a strong desire to move there as well. And the fact that Texas has no state income tax is a motivating factor there.

With all my family in Texas and all of his in Kansas, Oklahoma would be, from the outside, a logical choice. The problem there being that there is long standing rivalry between Texans and Oklahomans. There is NO WAY on God's green Earth that this Texas girl is going to live in Oklahoma! (I know lots of dirty Oklahoma jokes, if anyone is interested)

One big concern we have is this: for the last 18 years, it has been just me and Dave. Just the two of us against the world. I'm worried that our families will be so excited that we are back in the area that they will suffocate us. We're going to have to have a long talk with both sides and make sure they understand that they are all going to have to give us our space sometimes and understand what a big adjustment this is going to be for us.

So to answer Susie's question; I don't know the exact location that we're going to live when we finally get to make our own decision on the matter, but I do know it's going to be a Red state!!

What a Difference 8 Months Can Make

2006-08-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it's the growing the hair out or the loss of 12 pounds, but damn, I just look so much younger!

Creation vs. Evolution

2006-08-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

I've posted this cartoon before, but after watching an episode of Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days" yesterday, I felt the need to expound upon it.

I like "30 Days". It places people that have a strong view on a subject in the lives of someone who believes the exact opposite for 30 Days. The show is completely unbiased. It lets the people present their views and never casts any editorial content on it. (Unlike Michael Moore who has to put "his" spin on everything)

In an episode I watched yesterday, an atheist lives with a family of Christians for a month and they both learn from each other. It was well done and each participant walked away with a better understanding of the other's views and stance. What struck me in the show was the debate about teaching evolution versus creation in America's schools.

It showed that in a National History Museum somewhere in America (I forget where) a Christian group conducts "BC Tours", Biblically Correct versus Politcally Correct. They deny the scientific facts that man and dinosaurs never existed on this planet at the same time. They say that since God created the Earth in 7 days, man and dinosaurs must have existed on this planet at the same time.

Frankly I think both the Evolutionists and the stanch Creationist are pigheaded.

I believe that God created evolution.

The Bible tells us:

Day 1: creation of light, and the separation of light from darkness

Day 2: creation of sky, and the separation of the waters above the sky and the waters below

Day 3: creation of earth, and the separation of earth from the waters below; creation of vegetation and the separation of different kinds of plants (each after its kind)

Day 4: creation of the sun, moon, and stars to separate day and night, and to order seasons

Day 5: creation of non-land animals and the separation of different kinds of animals; the command to be fruitful and multiply

Day 6: creation of land animals and the separation of different kinds of animals; creation of human beings, command to be fruitful and multiply, given dominion over the earth

Day 7: God rests and blesses the seventh day

What I have to ask the stanch Creationists is: are we so egotistical that we think that God, an infinite being, measures his days in our man made 24-hour time period? I think not.

In my opinion, God is infinite, so a day to him is like a million years to us. On God's first day in creating our planet, he made light. Then on His second day he created the sky and the waters. While this was only a day to Him, this could have been several MILLION years to us.

He then created the earth and then on His next day, the sun, moon and stars.

Science states that the first living creature was an amoebae that climbed out of the ocean and onto the land. I say God caused this to happen and over the course of His 5th and 6th days (which to mere mortals like ourselves, would be measured in BILLIONS of years) this evolved into all the animals and eventually He created Adam and then Eve choosing to give us the freedom of choice rather than making us blindly obedient to Him. They were tempted by sin, causing them to be cast out of Paradise.

For Evolutionists to declare that there was no intelligent design in our universe, so infinitely perfect....well the odd of that are trillions to one. Science tell us that if the Earth were even a mile closer or further away from the sun, it couldn't support life. How could this be an accident?

For Creationists to deny all the scientific facts is like sticking their heads in the sand. God created us as extremely intelligent beings, to deny information derived from this intelligence and to believe so literally words that have been translated by man over so many generations...well I don't have words for such egomanical thoughts.

So that's it. That's Wendy's Lessons on the Creation of our Universe. Take from it what you will.

Reality Show Junkie

2006-08-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

I remember when I first heard about the reality show, Survivor, I thought it sounded completely asinine. But Dave and I were hanging some curtains one night when the second episode came on and we ended up watching it, and were completely hooked. I missed that very first episode, and believe it or not, that is the only episode I have missed in all 12 seasons.

When the second season came out, Dave and I would watch it every week, then go into the garage (we don't smoke in our house) and talk about what happened. Listening to us, you would think we knew these people personally.

I can tell you the names of the winners and the runners up of all 12 seasons, and can pretty much tell you all about them; what they do for a living where there from, etc. I live and breath for Thursday night any time there is a show running! My friends and family all know that you NEVER call me between 8pm and 9pm on a Thursday night!

If you want an excellent site on Survivor cast members, trivia, and scandal, this one is great!

I'm not completely addicted to any other reality show, like I am Survivor, but I do really enjoy The Amazing Race. While I love Survivor for the psychological wheelings and dealings, I like the Amazing Race because the winners are based on skill and physical performance. Often times in Survivor, the person that I thought truly deserved to win (like in seasons 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12) gets voted out, but in The Amazing Race, winning is based on the contestants actual performance.

Other reality shows I enjoy are Fear Factor and Celebrity Mole (the regular Mole show was BORING, but putting stars in made it fun.

Yeah, I know, Dave tells me all the time. I have issues. ROTFLMAO!

What I value...

2006-08-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Tracey posted the topic of our blog challenge today and I really like it.

What do I value in life and how does that tie in with my morals/belief systems/values?

I think one of the things that I truly value in my life is my sense of responsibility, my confidence, and my independence.

It's so funny that Tracey posted this topic today, because just over a week ago, I was told that I "have an issue with weakness".

After five long months of this deployment, the third in four years, I was reaching a breaking point. In a little over a 10 days, three separate incidents pushed me closer and closer to feeling like I was just losing it. I hated how I felt, so out of control and so completely unlike me. I hated this weakness I was feeling in myself.

Since then, I've had some good, long talks with people that I trust; I had a good crying jag and got out some pent up emotions; and this week I am feeling much better, much more in control of myself and my life. Getting through this has just emphasized to me how much I value these character traits in myself and in others.

People who take no control over their lives irritate me. To allow your fate to be written by others, your life choices to be dictated to you by someone other than yourself...I find that unfathomable.

People who blame their bad fortune or their bad circumstances on fate or on the government or anyone but themselves make me crazy. To blame the fact that, as an adult, you shot your parents with a shotgun on the fact that they abused you as child; well that's ludicrous. We are in control of our own lives. We can chose to work hard and live well or we can chose to commit crimes and be a burden on society. People who don't take responsibility for their own actions and their own life irritate the living daylights out of me.

I also dislike weakness and timidity. I meet life head on, with my chin up and my shoulders back. I accept nothing less from myself and find it difficult to respect people who are scared of their own shadows.

I've been told that I'm too black and white and that life is filled with grey areas. Perhaps for other people it is, but for me, it's not. There is right and there is wrong; there is true and there is false; there is living well and there is coasting through life.

Stating these views has caused some problems for me in the past. People dislike me for my hardnosed views on things and my unwillingness to bend my views to blend into our "blame it on someone else" society. But the strength of my convictions are another thing that make me who I am. Love me or hate me, but respect my honesty. I say what I think and I think what I say.

Pool Party

2006-08-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

A fun day yesterday. I went over to my friend Cathy's house and helped her break in her new pool.

Helping her clean the filters, though, I learned that pool ownership is darn hard work.

But it's fun having a friend with a nice pool.

Prostitution

2006-08-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, the fact that prostitution is illegal in this country (with the exception of Nevada) is idiotic.

Is prostitution immoral? Yes, but so are many things that aren't illegal.

If a woman is willing to give a service and a man is willing to pay for that service, who are they hurting? So many people give access to their bodies for money. Athletes use their bodies for money, so do models. We can sell our blood, our platelets, even our eggs or sperm. Why is sex the only avenue that exchanging our bodies for sex is against the law. I can kill an unborn human inside me in the name of my body, my right; but I can't trade sexual favors for money? Tell me how that makes sense?

Think about how much better everything would be if we legalized it. We could require prostitutes to undergo monthly health examinations to receive their work card. Anyone found working without a work card could be arrested. We could tax their income. They could form a union. There is only good that could be gained from legalizing this occupation.

Plus let's discuss the cost on our society as taxpayers. The following is an exerpt from an essay I found expounding on the reasons we should legalize prostitution:

Currently most everywhere in the United States, our legal system penalizes prostitutes and their customers for what they do as consenting adults. Money is still spent on law enforcement efforts to catch prostitutes and their customers. Once caught, justice departments have to process these people through very expensive systems.

What are the end results? Police personnel and courtrooms are overburdened with these cases, having little or no impact on prostitution. The prostitutes and their customers pay their fines and are back to the streets in no time in a revolving door process. Catch and release may work for recreational fishing but it has no deterring affect on prostitution.

Another good point:

It is estimated that 100,000 to 3 million teens are nearly invisibly prostituted per year in the United States (Walker, 2002). If we allow prostitution to remain hidden from view and basically invisible to the law as it is today, we allow a number of teens to be swept up into prostitution every year. When adult women decide to exchange money for sex, it is a personal choice open to them under the philosophy of a free, democratic society. When troubled minors who do not yet have the social survival skills decide to prostitute, they are often manipulated by opportunists who exploit these teens, typically leading to horrific ends. Legalizing prostitution will help prevent these instances through regulation.

Even Ann Landers was in favor of legalizing prostitution

If you would like to read an excellent book on the subject, I highly recommend "The Mayflower Madam" by Sydney Biddle Barrows. It's a true story of a woman with a degree in business management, that lost her job in the fashion buying industry in New York City in the early 80's. To make ends meet, she took a job working the phones at a call girl outservice. When she realized how badly most call girl services were run, she opened her own business and applied all of the principles that she had learned in business school to this industry.

The book isn't titillating and doesn't focus on the sex aspect. It shows how the business of prostitution could be run like a business. She treated her employees decently and fairly. She treated her customers with respect. Everyone was happy.

Except, of course, the NYC Police Department, who for some reason chose to target this clean and well run organization rather than the dozen of sleazy ones who cheated their customers and their working girls.

An excellent read. Two thumbs up from Wendy. I guarantee it will make you look at prostitution in a whole new light.

::::stepping down off my soapbox for now::::

My Creative Space

2006-08-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

When Dave and I moved into this three bedroom house, we considered whether we needed to turn one of the other bedrooms into a guest room. After thinking about it for a short while, we decided it would be a complete waste to have a bedroom reserved for the (maybe) three or four days a year when someone might need to stay over.

So we have our master bedroom, and each of us has a room to do with what we wanted. Dave turned his into an office with all his Marine Corp memorabilia and his awards and plaques on the wall.

I surprisingly enough, turned mine into the most kick ass scrapbook room ever conceived. I seriously love my room!!

Being married to a woodworking and construction HE-MAN is definitely was cool when you are designing a custom space:
Dave designed and built this desk for my room. The picture is a little old, taken right after he installed it. Notice how it has the indention where I sit so I can have 180 degrees of work space around me. My computer, printer, and scanner are on the right, and clear work space is on the left.
Notice the green plaid corkboard. Dave made that too, he had me find a material that I liked and then he cut and covered squares of cork to make a cool pin up board!
Also notice the pictures on the right wall. Those are my autographed "Charmed" pictures. Dave got those for me in 2004 because he knew that not only was that my favorite show, but that Paige was my favorite character.

Here's something else Dave made for me:
A pegboard so that all my most commonly used tools would be at my fingertips and a stamp pad holder. He actually made the stamp pad holder out of scraps of expensive cherry and mahogany wood that he was using making a retirement shadow box gift for his Commanding Officer.

Last December, while we were on vacation, I saw a simple design for storing acrylic paint bottles and asked Dave if he could make one for me. When we got home, he looked at it and turned it out in just a few short hours. However, he decided it was cheesy and not worthy of being hung in my room. Instead he created this:

It not only stores my paint, but the top of it is a shelf where I can put miscellaneous stamps, inks, UTEE, my rubber ducky and rubber froggy who talk to me when I need inspiration.

The next step in Dave, the King of all things Wood, was a bookshelf and workspace:

I use the top part as a work space to spread out on and do messy stuff like using acrylic paint, getting goopy with modgepodge, and walnut inks. Underneath are all my albums, scrapbook idea books, Stampin Up stamp sets, and my foam stamps. Of course it also holds very important things like my Happy Bunny slippers and my Dallas Cowboys Superbowl memorial.

Now I wouldn't want you to think that everything in my scrapbook room was designed by Dave. I came up with this uber-cool way to store all my favorite ribbon:

Yes, those are tequila bottles...Patron Silver to be exact, and no I didn't drink all that. Remember, I am a bartender. But if anyone was to come into my house right now and see how many empty Patron bottles I have, they might be curious.

All my paper storage is in this wire paper holder that I bought on-line. Dave offered to build something to replace it, but it's neat and functional and works, so I declined this one.

Other things in my room that I love:

So much, so much, what else could you possibly need? Well, we're actually not done. I did not take pictures or show you one area of my space, which I'm not happy with. Dave has promised that when he gets back, he is going to build me some drawer units to replace these mismatched, ugly, clear plastic drawer units that are currently holding miscellaneous tools and supplies. After that is done, then my room will be complete!

All Hail Big Daddy Dave, The Master and Commander of the Woodworking Universe!!

Blog Survey

2006-08-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Hugs and Kisses to the cutest Blog Mistress ever....Susie Q.

We were challenged to answer the following questions:

1. I WANT - Dave to come home for good.
2. I HAVE - Pride for what he is doing there.
3. I WISH - We would never be separated again.
4. I HATE - Sleeping alone.
5. I MISS - Being touched
6. I HEAR - Every mean word said to me.
7. I WONDER - How police officer's wives deal with this stress every day.
8. I REGRET - All the mean things I said to my sister when I was in High School.
9. I AM NOT - An angry person.
10. I DANCE - Any time I hear Mustang Sally.
11. I SING - Every chance I get.
12. I CRY - Way too often these days.
13. I AM NOT ALWAYS - Plagued with this emotional turmoil.
14. I MAKE WITH MY HANDS - A damn good mojito
15. I WRITE - With my heart in this blog.
16. I CONFUSE - People that don't like me.
17. I NEED - For it to be October 4th already.
18. I SHOULD - Be more concious of my health and not take it for granted.
19. I START - Each day with thoughts of Dave and his Marines
20. I FINISH - Each day with a prayer for them.

More Promotion Pictures

2006-08-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

I got these from my friend Cathy. (Hey Chica!) Her husband got promoted on the same day as Dave, and he got a better photographer! LOL!
Here is a great shot of Dave and Jason getting sworn in:

And a nice picture of the Red Square Mafia, as they call themselves....

And I just loved this picture of the guys in the chow hall. Can you believe this room is in the middle of Iraq? I laughed at the pictures of the sailboats on the walls.

Also, showing how much I miss him, I kept zooming in and noticing every teeny tiny detail. I love that look on his face, it's the same one he makes whenever I point a camera at him...the bemused "I'm putting up with having my picture taken" look.
I also noticed that, being Dave, he has a can of Pepsi on his tray and another empty sitting beside it. If you zoom in good, you can see the Pepsi can isn't in English, it's written in an Arabic script.
I noticed the paper plates and plastic fork and knife and remember the last two times he's come back and how insistent he was to use real plates and silverware, even when we got take out.
I noticed he needs a hair cut. At some point he's completely shaved his head and it's growing in.
Zooming in closer, I noticed the back of his hand is all scratched up and scabby, that's pretty much par for the case for him. Even when he's here, his hands always look like that. He's a hands on kind of guy. He was probably working on a piece of gear and I bet he cussed pretty good when he did that.
If I really zoom in super close, I can see the pen in between his second and third button of his cammie blouse. He always keeps one there, any time he's in uniform, there's a pen stuck right there between those two buttons. He absolutely hates needing a pen and not having one. One of his cute idiosyncrasies

I wish I could zoom in closer and see more without the pixels blurring. I want to see his heart, I want to see how he's feeling. I want to zoom in so close and be with him, be next to him, to feel his heart beat next to mine.

I want so much more than this picture. 59 more days!

The Dead Cat Story

2006-08-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

You know how over the years, stories become legends in a family? Well that is the deal with my family and the dead cat story. If you listen to my father's version of the story, it's WAAAY out there, completely different than my version. (which I still hold as the truth)

Warning, if you are a member of PETA, you may be upset by the story. Don't read any further or get over it.

So we lived way out in the country. Our neighbors down the street had some feral cats, one of which kept coming up on our property and getting in the trash, killing our baby ducks, and peeing everywhere. My Dad kept telling the man down the street that if he didn't do something about it, he was going to shoot the cat. The neighbor encouraged him to do so, since the cats weren't really theirs, they were just wild.

Now I love cats and I didn't want my Dad to shoot it, so any time I saw the cat on our property, I would try and scare it and chase it away so it wouldn't come back.

One morning, I was walking out to my car to go to school; I was a senior in high school. I saw the cat asleep under a tree near my car, so I thought to myself, "here is my opportunity to really scare the crap out of this cat and it'll stay away."

So I grabbed a stick. NOT a 2x4 as my father likes to tell the story. And I proceed to sneak up on the cat. Can you see me? Sneeeaaaking quietly up on the sleeping cat.

SO I POUNCED! I hit the cat a few times with my stick (small stick) before I realized it was already dead. Then I hear my Dad laughing...he had heard me leave and went to the window to tell me about the cat so I wouldn't be surprised and upset, only to see me sneaking up on a dead cat. He had caught the cat the night before killing the ducks, shot it, and had put it by the tree to bury the next morning.

My sisters told the story to my friends at school and for the rest of the year I had the nickname Cat Killer, or CK for short.

My Resume

2006-08-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was talking with a co-worker about our first jobs.

My first real job (other than babysitting) was when I was 14 or so, during the Christmas rush I was a bagger at the Woolworths where my Mom worked the lunch counter. I don't think Woolworths even exists anymore and department stores sure don't have lunch counters any more!

That got me to thinking about all the other jobs I've had, and I think I can say, hands down, the best job I ever had was being a paid companion for a blind boy. He was only a few years younger than I was, and not a bad person to hang out with.

I basically got paid an hourly wage and a milage per diem to go pick him up, hang out with him, take him the Six Flags Over Texas and the movies, go out to eat, swim in his pool, and go to the shooting range. All of which, he paid for!

Yes, my blind friend liked to shoot. He was pretty good too. I could take a soda can and throw it out in front of us and he would hear the can hit the ground and hit his target more often than not.

I did that for two summers and it was by far, the most skate job I ever had!

Meet My MIL

2006-08-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Every time I hear one of my girlfriends complain about the terrible Mother-in-law, I just smile to myself. I am the luckiest girl in the world in this aspect. Rhonda is the coolest, most amazing woman that I've ever met and I admire her greatly.

She got married when she was 17 years old, and had all four of her sons by the time she was 23 years old. Soon after the youngest one was born, she found herself a single mother. She worked two full time jobs to support her family, and still managed to raise four of the most upstanding, honorable young men you would ever want to meet. She gave me a husband and three brothers (who I ADORE) who know how to treat a lady, who honor their word, who work hard, and who take responsibility for themselves and their place in this world.

On my wedding day, she took me aside and told me that she was glad that Dave and I were getting married. That meant a lot since so many people were telling us what a mistake it was to get married so young. She told me that he was mine now, and that she knew that I would love him and take care of him, and that she was very proud to have me in her family.

She's as much my friend as anything. She accepts me, for just who I am...even though she and I are as different as night and day. She listens to me, and is supportive of me and my efforts, and she loves me like a daughter. She makes me laugh, and she cries with me when times are hard.

She is my second Mom, my friend, and a woman I admire with all my heart.

It's Official

2006-08-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's official. As of 17:30, Iraqi time, Dave is now a Chief Warrant Officer 3.

He says he doesn't feel any different. LOL! But I am very proud of him, he's worked very hard over the years to get to where he is now and I am very proud of all that he has accomplished!

Semper Fi, Marine!

August 1st

2006-08-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in a blog challenge with some friends, we have vowed to blog every day for the month of August. I, however, am skipping today's assigned topic. In honor of America's finest...

A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes." The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am God. I'm still waiting." It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold. The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, "What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied, "God was too busy today protecting America's Marines and Soldiers who protect your right to say stupid shit and act like an asshole. So, He sent me."

Bad News Here Today

2006-07-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

I just received an email that there was "an incident" with 3rd LAR today. We were told that all family members have been notified, so Dave is safe. But we weren't told who or what happened.

We've all been lulled into a sense of security since it's been so quiet there at Camp KV. Dave told me a month or so ago that there haven't been any incoming fire at the camp and that all the patrols have been quiet.

It's so frustrating not knowing what happened. Was it a casulty or an injury? Was it incoming fire at the base? Was a patrol attacked? Was it an IED? We don't know and that is unsettling.

Please keep all the 3rd LAR families in your prayers.....

Pictures of Me

2006-07-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

Dave asked for some recent pictures and it's hard to take pictures of yourself when it's just you and the cat. That not having opposable thumbs really puts him at a disadvantage. As if he would be helpful even if he could push the button!

So these are what I came up with...well the ones that I'll post here anyway! :::blush:::

My Princess Bride Layout

2006-07-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

I had a hard time narrowing down all my favorite quotes to just the ones that would fit on one page! Also, pink glitter is a paint in the butt to work with! LOL!

Two Thirds

2006-07-24T00:03:00.000-07:00

We are two thirds of the way through this deployment!!

142 days down, 71 days to go!!

I miss:
I miss his stuff all over the bathroom counter
I miss his electric razor going into automatic cleaning mode 30 minutes after he uses it and startling me as I'm brushing my teeth
I miss having someone to fix stuff
I miss him poking me in the middle of the night when I'm snoring
I miss reaching out and being held when I have a bad dream
I miss talking at night after the lights are turned off
I miss the sound of his laugh as my head is laying on his chest
I miss my car being clean
I miss coming home and telling him about my day
I miss the way he makes me laugh with the silliest story
I miss "How was your day?" "It was a day"
I miss hitting the snooze button for extra snuggles
I miss taking advantage of early morning wood
I miss talking about what's going on in the world
I miss his hand in the small of my back as we go through a door
I miss being touched
I miss feeling protected
I miss not having to be strong all the time
I miss cammies
I miss holding hands
I miss the smell of him as he gets out of the shower
I miss our private jokes
I miss riding the Harley

I miss a lot of things....

A Layout that I Love

2006-07-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

I'm working on an album for all of our pictures from our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We went to Las Vegas with a group of friends and renewed our vows with Elvis.

I just loved how this layout turned out, so I wanted to post it!

The layout and embellishments are inspired from a layout I saw on Heidi Swapp's Blog

Must Have Been A Really Slow News Week

2006-07-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

I was featured as the "Person of Interest" in the local newspaper here in the High Desert Area this week.

I've got newspaper copies for the parents and Dave, but here is a link to the story for everyone else.

Hooked On Scrapbooking

What the HELL is this?

2006-07-12T21:26:00.000-07:00

It fell off of my workbench in my scrapbook room when I was grabbing a Quickutz binder. Thank goodness it was already dead or I might have had a heartache right there.

It looks like it has 10 legs?

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2006-07-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my sister Janet today and she told me a cute story about my youngest niece Sam. She says every night when Sam says her prayers, she has a long list of people she prays for, but she always ends up her prayers with "and God, please help Uncle Dave have fun in Iraq."

Like he's on vacation or something.

The Princess Bride

2006-07-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

As a true Southern Woman, my favorite movie of all time is Gone With The Wind. I think my G.R.I.T.S. card (Girls Raised In The South) would be revoked if I named any other movie. LOL!

But running a very, very close second is The Princess Bride.

What's not to love? Even the tag lines are great:

Heroes. Giants. Villains. Wizards. True Love. - Not just your basic, average, everyday, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, ho-hum fairy tale.

She gets kidnapped. He gets killed. But it all ends up okay

Scaling the Cliffs of Insanity, Battling Rodents of Unusual Size, Facing torture in the Pit of Despair. - True love has never been a snap.

A group of friends and I have an "I Love The Princess Bride" posse, and every few months, someone will start a quote-a-thon. It starts innocently enough with a simple "INCONCEIVABLE!" or perhaps a "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

And then we're off like a heard of turtles. We just quote and quote, back and forth, all the best lines until we can't think of any more. But the movie is filled with so many great lines, it goes on and on for quite a while.

Here are some of my favorites, by catogory:

True Love:
As You Wish

Westley: Hear this now: I will always come for you.
Buttercup: But how can you be sure?
Westley: This is true love - you think this happens every day?

Westley: I told you I would always come for you. Why didn't you wait for me?
Buttercup: Well... you were dead.
Westley: Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.
Buttercup: I will never doubt again.
Westley: There will never be a need.

You can't hurt me. Westley and I are joined by the bonds of love. And you cannot track that, not with a thousand bloodhounds, and you cannot break it, not with a thousand swords.

Classics That Only the True Fans Get:
Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

I've hired you to help me start a war. It's an prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition.

Probably some local fisherman, out for a pleasure cruise, at night... in... eel-infested waters...

INCONCEIVABLE!!

Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Inigo Montoya: You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you.
Westley: You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die.

I'm not a witch, I'm your wife. And after what you just said, I'm not even sure I want to be that any more.

Have fun stormin' da castle.

Sonny, true love is the greatest thing, in the world-except for a nice MLT - mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe

The Impressive Clergyman: Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam...
The Impressive Clergyman: And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva...
The Impressive Clergyman: So tweasure your wuv.

You're trying to kidnap what I've rightfully stolen.

I do not envy you the headache you will have when you awake. But for now, rest well and dream of large women.

My brains, his steel, and your strength against sixty men, and you think a little head jiggle is supposed to make me happy?

Humperdinck! Humperdinck! Humperdinck!

Fezzik (Andre the Giant) Make Me Laugh:
I want you to feel you're doing well. I hate for people to die unhappy.

Inigo Montoya: You know Fezzik, you finally did something right.
Fezzik: Don't worry, I won't let it go to my head.

Vizzini: Finish him. Finish him, your way.
Fezzik: Oh good, my way. Thank you Vizzini... which one's my way?
Vizzini: Pick up one of those rocks, get behind a boulder, in a few minutes the man in black will come running around the bend, the minute his head is in view, hit it with the rock.
Fezzik: My way's not very sportsman-like.

Just Stinking Funny:
There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours.

You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.

I just work for Vizzini to pay the bills. There's not a lot of money in revenge.

I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder and Guilder to frame for it; I'm swamped.

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!

You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?

She is alive, or was an hour ago. If she is otherwise when I find her I shall be very put out.

Inigo Montoya: I could give you my word as a Spaniard.
Man in Black: No good. I've known too many Spaniards.

A Comic For Ya

2006-07-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

The sad thing is, I showed this to a girl I know who I thought would "get" it and after she read it she said "you know it's right. I had one of those on my car for like a year, then when I took it off you can see where it used to be!"

How Well Do You Know Me?

2006-07-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

A quiz for you about moi! Take it and report back on your score!

How Well Do You Know Wendylicious?

More Pictures

2006-06-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

It was so stinking hot here in the desert, that the folks and I scooted off to the coast.

Tuesday we spent all day driving around San Diego in what Daddy called "a nostalgic trip." He was stationed in the area in the late 60's and hasn't been back since. Mom and I tried not to be too bored as we drove around San Diego with Dad as excited as a school kid going "oh oh look there is the building where I stayed my first night at the recruit depot" "oh oh look there is the place where I did the other thing" "oh it's the USO where we could get our ties pressed".

Okay, so I'm exaggerating for comedic effect, but it was funny.

But Mom and I did enjoy watching him being so excited. I flashed my military ID and got us on the base at Coronado Island where he was with the Beach Masters and we got on the 32nd Street Pier where he did some other thing. I forget....

We did do other things too. We spent some time on the beach picking up rocks for Sam and we ate some amazingly great Mexican food at the El Torrito at Vista and El Camino Real in Oceanside. If you ever find yourself on Highway 78 in the Oceanside/Carlsbad area, I suggest stopping in there for some great food and fabo service.

Wednesday on our way back to the desert, we stopped in San Juan Capistrano and did a tour of the mission there. I had tons of fun playing with my camera and taking some nice shots.

All in all, it was a great visit and having them here really gave me the shot in the arm that I needed.

Parents Come To Visit

2006-06-29T08:06:00.001-07:00

What a lucky girl I am, my parents came into town on Sunday to visit me. Here are a few shots for now, more and the whole story of the visit to come!

Mini Me

2006-06-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Not having any kids of your own is fun sometimes. You get to be cool Aunt Wendy that gets down in the floor and play and only do the fun stuff.

My sister has three of the coolest, cutest kids ever. I've already introduced you to Opie. Let me tell you about "my child", Samantha.

Janet is always calling me asking me "do you know what your child did today?". It's not that Sam looks just like me, even though she's the spitting image of me at that age, she's got my personality as well.

She has to be the center of attention, just like me, she needs to be right, just like me, and she likes men, just like me!

Once she talked her Dad into playing Atari Pong with her. She was beating him pretty soundly and he thought that was odd. He usually beat her when they played. Then she started giving him tips on how to play better. After a while, he was getting pretty irritated to be beaten so regularly by a 7 year old. Finally she couldn't hold in the secret any longer (another way she's like me) she was only pretending to play, he was playing the computer!!

That's my girl!

Leaving Las Vegas

2006-06-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the movie Leaving Las Vegas? 1995, Nicholas Cage won a Best Actor Award for the role?

Well, I hated the movie. I thought it was depressing and morose with no real meaning other than it's okay to just give up, don't bother fighting, just give up.

The other day at work, some coworkers and I were discussing our favorite movies and one of the ladies said her favorite movie was Leaving Las Vegas. When I expressed how much I hated it, she was aghast, like I had said I hated puppies or something. She talked about it for days, kept bringing it up like it was some kind of character flaw of mine.

Finally about 4 or 5 days after the first time the topic was brought up, she informed me she knew why I didn't like the movie. I guess she had been discussing me and my dislike for the movie with her friends and they decided that I didn't like the movie because I had led a "charmed life." If I had ever experienced any real hardship, she informed me, I would get this movie.

At the time I just agreed with her that I had had a very good life and let it go, because I was, frankly, tired of the subject. But then later, as I thought about it, it really upset me.

First, who is she to question my life? How does she know what kind of heartache or hardship I have or have not experienced. I'm not a whiney, complain about my problems kind of person. I don't go around advertising issues I may or may not have.

Secondly, it's not luck that I've had a good life. I work hard to have the fantastic life I live.

It's true, I've never been an alcoholic or addicted to any substance. Well this isn't luck. I'm too smart to get addicted to anything. I also have too high of a moral fiber and character. No, it's not luck, it's who I am and the standards I hold myself too that caused this.

It's also true that I've never seriously considered suicide. This isn't luck either. Suicide is selfish, it's thinking only of yourself and your pain and completely disregarding any pain you might cause your loved ones by taking your own life. I am not selfish, I would never do that to my friends and family. So it's not luck that I have never been tempted by giving up.

It's true that I have never been alone and friendless. Is this luck? I think not. I am a good person, I give to others of my heart and am there for them when they need me. I inspire people to like me by simply being who I am. When I have a hard time in my life, my loved ones are there for me not because I'm lucky, but because of who I am and what I give out.

I've never been wiped out financially, that is true, but I refuse to let that be chalked up to luck. There have been things that could have devastated Dave and I financially; astronomical oral surgery bills, unexpectedly losing my job at the Comfort Inn, leaving my job at the Quality Inn, etc. The difference is, when we were flush, we saved and planned for hard times. We didn't just spend willy nilly because we had it, we put money away for a rainy day. We invested in our Roth IRA's, our Thrift Savings Plan, and our regular savings accounts.
While it could happen that something so terrible would happen that we would be destitute, it's pretty unlikely. We're well insured, we plan for any avenue that we can conceive of, and I refer back to my last point. Even if something were to happen that would wipe us out financially, we have a strong support network of friends and family who would help us out. This is not luck, this is being smart and being a good person.

It is true that I have never been in an abusive situation, but this isn't luck either. If there were a rift in the space/time continuum and Dave suddenly became a person that hits his wife, he wouldn't dare to touch me. He knows me enough to know that he might have the strength to beat me once, but he better not ever sleep again for the rest of his life. I do not allow myself to be treated that way. Period. End of conversation. That isn't luck, that's my strength of character and my extremely high self esteem.

Even when bad things do happen to me, and yes I have experienced bad things in my life, I don't let them destroy me. I pick myself up, I learn from the experience, and I move on. I try to use what I learned to help others and to improve my life and the lives of people around me.

I will admit that I have been lucky in one aspect of my life. I was born to two amazing parents that instilled in me a strong character, good work ethic, high moral fiber, and a healthy self esteem. That was luck. Everything else, Dave and I did on our own.

I refuse to let my life be regarded as a serious of lucky events. I work hard to be who I am and to live as I do. I will not have my life dismissed in that manner, I'm too damn proud of it to allow that.

Taking Care of Their Own

2006-06-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

The coolest thing about being around the Marine Corp, is the way that they take care of their own. If I was ever having a problem, anywhere in the world, and found someone who was a Marine and identified myself as a Marine wife; they would help me. Even if they didn't know me or know my husband. Marines are just like that.

So when Dave shipped out, one of his buddies gave me his cellphone number and told me to call him night or day if I ever needed anything at all.

Well a few days ago, my mailbox fell down. I've been trying to push it back down in the sand and prop it up with rocks, but today the mailman left me a note that this was not an appropriate remedy and I needed to have it fixed.

So I called Roy. When I called him, I think he was expecting a problem of more emotional type. He was all "so Wendy, how are you?" :::insert calming concerned voice here:::

I was like "My mailbox fell down"

Roy: "What?"

Me: "my mailbox fell down and I can't fix it and the mailman isn't happy with me. Can you help me?"

Roy: :::laughing his butt off::::

So he's coming over tomorrow morning before I go to work to fix my mailbox.

Gotta love how these guys take care of their own. Even if they do laugh at me.

So Proud of my Sweet Niece

2006-06-18T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is my beautiful niece Opie, who is so grown up that only Aunt Wendy is still allowed to still call her Opie. To everyone else in the world she will only answer to her "real" name of Ellen.

Opie is not only beautiful on the outside, but this adorable young lady is just as beautiful on the inside. She recently gave her prized possession, her gorgeous long hair, to donate it to Locks of Love.

Opie, Darling, I'm so proud of you,
Love Aunt Wendy

A Tradition

2006-06-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

If you look at any photographs of me taken during February through August of 2003 or during February through September of 2004 or any taken since March 4th of this year, you will see the same thing in every single picture.

A black cord around my neck with Dave's wedding ring. It's a tradition that we have during deployments in a combat zone.

When Dave left for Desert Storm in 1991, he wasn't allowed to wear any jewelry. So before he left, he put his wedding ring on a black silk cord and put it around my neck. It did not come off until he came back home to me.

When he left in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, he told me that he would wear it if I wanted; but that he would really like it if I wore it again. He said that he felt like nothing could ever happen to him if his heart was next to mine.

It's been a tradition ever since. It's one of the last things we do before he gets on the bus and it's one of the first things we do when we see each other again. We even make a little ceremony of it.

Having it there makes me feel better too. It's like a worry stone, I find myself reaching up and holding it without even realizing it. Then after he comes home, I find myself reaching for it, and finding it gone. It takes me a few weeks to get used to it not being there.

All three of the last times I put that ring back where it belonged, I thought that it would be the last time I would have to wear his ring like that. This time, I'm not going to have that luxury. This time when he comes home, I know he's going back in another 11 months. His ring will stay where it belongs for almost a year before I take it back and start the worry process all over again.

BUT....that one will be the last time!

100 Days

2006-06-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

100 Days behind us...and just 13 days from being half way through this deployment. Before too much longer, I'll be counting down from 100 to when he comes home!

Can you believe this picture? It was taken in the middle of a sandstorm. Yes, that is an orange sky...orange air! All from sand.

A Laugh for Today

2006-06-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

The elderly American gentleman arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he fumbled for his passport.

"You 'ave been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. The old gent admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Zen, you should know enough to 'ave your passport ready for inspection."The American said, "The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. You Americans alwayz 'ave to show your passports on arrival in France!"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach in '44 I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to!"

A Scary Discovery

2006-06-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

I am a freak about my personal safety. One of my biggest fears is being sexually violated, stemming from my control issues, I suppose.

When I walk through a parking lot, I am always aware of my surroundings. I have left a movie theater before because the only other person in the theater was male. I always check my car before I get in. I don't drink too much in public unless I'm with someone that I trust who isn't drinking. I own a knife and a shotgun and I know how to use them both.

Once, when I was working at my last hotel, I was on the back side of the property checking rooms. It was summer and the place was pretty deserted. I had left the front door of the room I was checking cracked and as I walked out of the bathroom there was a man standing in the room.
I put my hands out in front of me and said loudly and firmly "leave the room!" He did fairly quickly and after I closed the room door behind me, I turned to the gentleman and started to apologize. He stopped me quickly and said, "No, never apologize for protecting yourself. It was stupid of me to follow you into that room; I just wanted to get some pool towels. By the way, would you come and talk to my wife and daughter? I'm always after them about being more careful!"
I firmly believe that a nice man is never going to get mad at you for doing what you need to do to make sure you are safe.

So today I needed to go into my back yard and went out the sliding glass door off our bedroom. That porch is fenced in with a gate, and the latch is hard to open. I noticed that the bottom of the gate was pulled way out from the frame. I went to pull on the middle brace and noticed it was very loose. I went out a different door and looked at it from the outside. The gate is cracked. Someone has tried to get into the porch on the back of my house.

Before Dave left for Iraq, he had a good Brinks alarm system installed. Our house is on a busy corner right next to a bus stop and there is always riff raff hanging our there.

Needless to say I am more than slightly freaked out and will be much more vigilant about setting the house alarm from now on.

It's So Dang HOT!

2006-06-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

UHG! I woke up at 7:45am this morning...I had another 15 minutes to sleep before the alarm went off, but I couldn't. It was too hot.

I had to get up and turn on my swamp cooler before 8am!

It's going to be 107 here today and they are predicting 109 for tomorrow.

It's going to be a long, hot summer!

The Real Meaning of Today

2006-05-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Please take a moment today out of your busy schedule of picnics and bar-b-que's and going to amusment parks to remember what today's holiday actually means.

It's not a 3-day weekend so we can all go to the beach or the mountains. It's not an extra day off of work to get all those extra chores done around the house.

Today is set aside to honor and remember those men and women who sacrificed so much so that each of us can do with today what we want.

Today, take a moment and think about the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, our US Forces lost 6,603 men that day. Remember the Marines of the First World War who fought in Belleau Woods. They struck terror in the hearts of their enemy, who called them Teufelshunde, meaning Devil Dogs.
Take a moment and remember all the American servicemembers who have fought in your name all over the globe, in steamy jungles and arid deserts, so that you can walk freely and speak your mind without fear.

And take a moment to remember all the men and women that are so far from home today. There are no picnics or bar-b-que's for them today.

They sleep alone, in uncomfortable surroundings, if they get to sleep at all.

I, for one, will never forget.

Change of Plans

2006-05-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

I had a post planned for today, in fact I had it almost completely written, when I went searching for an old picture I wanted to use. I have three or four of those plastic storage tubs under my bed filled with old pictures, memorabilia, and letters.

Here I am, two hours later, inspired to write a completely different post. I just spent a good portion of this evening looking at all the letters that Dave wrote to me during our dating years.

As I have written previously, a good portion of our dating years were spent living at least four hours apart. We wrote two or three letters a week, off and on, for close to two years.

I found two letters that Dave wrote to me right after my Senior Prom in 1987, which was our first date. The raw honesty and emotion of those two letters brought me to tears. I sat in the middle of my bedroom floor and cried.

I can not believe what an amazingly lucky person I am to have found my soul-mate at 18 years old. The words that he wrote, the hopes and the dreams that he expressed in those letters...they have all been realized.

He talked of the future and of being together and growing together and growing older together. He wrote about his desire to protect me and to keep me safe and to give me everything that I ever wanted. Reading his words I can feel the hopes that he had and I could also feel the fear that he had that it would never come true.

Dearest David, I don't tell you often enough so I'm doing it here today. You have given me everything that you ever promised me and so much more. You have given me a life that I cherish, a marriage that I am proud of, and the realization of every hope my 18 year old heart could ever desire. I adore the boy that you were and I love the man that you have become.

ps...please forgive me for shattering your big, tough, Devil Dog image...you big softie!

Layouts for Salem

2006-05-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Salem informed me this week that I was slacking on making layouts for his album. Yes, my cat has his own scrapbook album.

So I figured I had better get on the ball and rectify the situation before he became less careful about where he coughs up those hairballs.

I love the picture in the first layout. Salem knows exactly what it means when we pull out the suitcases and makes his displeasure evident every time he sees us wheeling them out of the closet. This would be his version of a sit in.

I had this old recliner in my apartment when I was living at the hotel and any time anyone would sit down in it to watch TV, Salem would jump up on the arm of the chair and stare at you until you scooted over and made room for me.

That was all well and good for Dave and I, but it tended to freak out any guests that might be visiting.

I Was In Baby Hell

2006-05-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm child free by choice. Babies are not my thing, at all. They smell, they drool, they're expensive...the list goes on.

So I'm in line at the bank today. The very long line. The very long line that hasn't moved in 10 minutes.

There was a young woman in line in front of me with a baby around 9 or 10 months old. She was bouncing it around and talking to it really loud.

"OOOH look at how cute you are, you're drooling all over Mommy!"

:::she looks around to see who is paying attention to her:::

"OOPS you dropped your toy!"

The guy in front of her bends down and picks it up for her and she starts talking to him about her baby and how old it is and all sorts of stuff he isn't interested in. Finally he turns his back on her. It still takes her another minute to stop talking to him.

So she goes back to talking loudly to the baby.

Yes lady, we all get it. You have a baby. While I am sure that you love your baby very much and it's very special to you, here's a news flash: the rest of the world doesn't give a damn about the hairless, drool machine.

Then another young mother got in line behind me. Not to be outdone, she starts up. It was like an episode of Who Can Get More People To Look At Her Baby.

I was seriously in hell!

Here's my Top 10 List of Reasons Why I Will Never Have a Child:

They are expensive. Diapers, clothes, food, school shoes...the list goes on and on. When Dave retires from the Marine Corp, we are retiring for good. We couldn't have done that if we were raising kids.
A car seat would not fit in the Mustang, the Vette, or on the Harley.
No way in hell am I getting pregnant. I don't understand why people think pregnant women are beautiful. Glowing? I think they look bloated and obscene. Why would I voluntarily go through something that entails hemorrhoids, vomiting, and stretch marks?
I am the Center of the Universe. If you have a baby, you have to put their needs before your own and I'm not down with that.
When you have kids, you can't just drop everything and drive to Vegas at 10pm at night because you feel like it. Or run off to the beach. Or even go to the movies without finding a babysitter.
When you have kids, you can't lay around your living room naked and have sex on the couch, or the kitchen floor, or in the garage, or....well you get the picture.
The cat would hate it.
I like sleeping too much. I hear that becomes an issue when you have a baby.
I don't do bodily functions. I could never be a nurse or a vet. I don't do vomit, poop, pee, or snot. GROSS!
I forget to feed the cat. No way should I be given a baby. I'm not that responsible.

Band Geeks

2006-05-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I had two high school teachers sitting at my bar, wasting an afternoon. Why they weren't in school, I'm not sure, but they were funny as hell and I had a fun afternoon listening to them telling stories.

One of them was a band instructor. He got to telling all these hilarious band jokes that I suppose are only funny to ex-band geeks like me.

How many trumpet players does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None, that's what they have tuba players for.

What did the drummer get on his IQ test?
Drool

What do you call people that hang out with musicians all the time?
Drummers.

How do you get two flutist to play in unison?
Shoot one of them

I just got to thinking about my days in marching band on the flag line. I couldn't remember all the jokes they told me, so while trying to Google them, I found this funny Marching Band Purity Test and Color Guard Purity Test.

Umm....I'm embarrassed to tell you how high I scored on them.

One Third

2006-05-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today we are one third of the way through this deployment. It's moving along, not fast enough to suit me, but it's moving along.

Come on October, hurry up and get here!

Happy Mother's Day!

2006-05-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

To one cool Mom who was always there for me!

Happy Mother's Day!

2006-05-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

Big & Rich Concert

2006-05-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Back in early April, I went to see Big & Rich in concert with a girlfriend from work. Cowboy Troy and Two Foot Fred performed with them. It was a great concert and Jennifer and I had a blast.

As you can tell from the pictures, by the time we waited in line to get Cowboy Troy's autograph, we were feeling no pain. WAY too much vodka and cranberry juice!

I've also had some requests as to where people can see more of my layouts. I post in the gallery at The Red Lily

Please excuse the quality of the scan, my scanner sucks!

Spoiled

2006-05-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

It's so funny how technology spoils us.

When Dave was deployed to Desert Storm in 1991, he was gone for 3 months. In that time, I received one phone call and a few letters. This was way before email.

Now today, 15 years later, I freak out when email goes down and I don't hear from him for 48 hours. I imagined all sorts of bad things.

Maybe I was better off the other way, not knowing?

This Post Brought To You By The Letter W

2006-05-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

So Sonia over at The Queen's Court has this game going on and I was assigned the letter W. I have to come up with ten words that are somewhat relative to me that start with that letter. If you want to play, post and I'll assign you a letter.

So here goes:

Wendy - Pretty easy, my name IRL.
Wendylicious - My name in the cyber world. Before a few years ago, any time I needed a screen name on line I would use Wendy7376. But then I became extremely active on the now defunct message board called unscrappable and someone else joined after me with the name of just "Wendy". Being the egomaniacal person that I am, I couldn't be a second rate knock off, so I ran a contest for my friends there to come up with a new name for me. Brandy, I believe, came up with Wendylicious and that's been my cyber name ever since. It's so very ME. Also, I harbor a great contempt for women who use screen names like "Momof2Boys" or "BobsWife". HELLO! Do you not have an identity outside that? Your role as wife or mother, while important, does not define who you are! Blick!
Works - my maiden name. Yes, my maiden name was Wendy Works. How badly does that suck? Sometimes I tell my husband I married him for the nice normal name he gave me.
Wife - it won't be too many more years before I will have been married more years than I haven't been. Sometimes it's hard to believe that we've been married so long, it doesn't seem like that long ago when we were dating. But I can't imagine not being married; it's such an integral part of who I am.
Weight - Something I've struggled with since my mid-20's. I have a genetic propensity to obesity, which I refuse to give in to. It's constant vigilance.
Wacky - I don't think anyone that knows me will disagree that I'm a bit off kilter.
Water - Don't like it. I didn't learn to swim until I was older and even now it's just a modified doggie paddle. I can't open my eyes under water and I'm terrified of being held down under water. My worst death ever would be drowning.
Whiney - I get whiney when I'm tired or sick, and I hate it. I admire strength and dislike weak or whiney people. So when I get whiney, I dislike it in myself.
Watchful - I'm a careful person, my favorite sayings are "better safe than sorry" or "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is". As a female, I'm vigilant about my personal safety.
Wonderful - I am a unique and amazing person. I know that because I have a large circle of friends both on line and IRL that would go to the ends of the earth for me and I love them dearly. I have two strong and remarkable parents who raised me to be such and a set of in-laws that love me like one of their own. I am also blessed to be in love with and married to the most marvelous man ever who loves me for who I am, warts and all. How could I be anything less than wonderful if all these people that I admire so much love me?

So that's my list. Dave please notice that I did not use your suggestions of wonderful breasts or waffle-butt.

Some day I'll have to blog about the waffle-butt story, but that is another post all in itself.

25% Done!

2006-04-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

Right after he left, Dave, being the geek that I love and adore, made me an Excel spreadsheet Rotation Tracker. (I swear the man has sex dreams about Excel)

It takes the date from my computer and based on a worse case scenerio return date, it tells me how many days down, how many to go, how many hours past, and how many hours to go. It also tells me what percentage of this deployment is behind us and in front of us.

Today, we hit 25% done.

One quarter of the deployment is behind us.

I think this calls for a celebration!

Sisters To The End!

2006-04-28T07:17:00.000-07:00

I have a new loyal reader. A big shout out to my middle sister, Lisa!

Hey Lisa!

I promised Lisa that I would post these pictures of us that I had, so here they are.

Love you Sister of Mine!

Never Say Good-bye....Part II

2006-04-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well I have been getting requests for the rest of the story, so here goes.

Dave and I dated long distance from April of 1987. After my high school graduation in June, we exchanged senior class rings and in December he gave me a promise ring.

I didn’t go to college right away because of financial issues, but in January of 1988, I headed for East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas.

We continued to write and call and we visited each other as often as we could, but the year of long distance was putting a strain on our relationship.

I had lived in a small town for so long, and here I was suddenly in a big town with lots of guys who didn’t remember me when I was gawky and ugly. I had blossomed into a self confident and attractive young woman. I was experiencing something that I had never had before, I was popular and guys wanted to date me.

I was stupid and selfish. Right after I went down to Austin to go to Dave’s Senior Prom with him, just over a year after we started going steady, I broke up with him to date other people.

Sometimes I wish I had never done that, if for no other reason than I know that I hurt him deeply. I wish I could take that back with every fiber of my being. On the other hand, that separation was good for both of us. I got a good look at what was out there and that makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have such an amazing man. Dave also dated around a little bit and I think we both are better for seeing other people.

So after a long summer apart, we started talking again right before he went to boot camp, just as friends. We wrote a lot of letters while he was in boot camp and started to get close again. He promised to come and visit me while he was home on leave and we were both hinting around at reconciliation.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. Coming straight out of boot camp, he was still very serious and dealing with all the physiological stuff that the Marine Corp throws at them. I was a theater major and president of the ETSU Theater Fraternity. The day that he drove in was the final performance of a long and grueling production. That night we were playing host to 200 theater majors from colleges and universities around the state and I was busy with the cast party details.

In short, we just didn’t click; both of us had too much on our minds that weekend and couldn’t connect emotionally. He left Sunday morning and we promised to keep in touch and to stay friends.

Dave drove back to Austin and the next day his Mom put him on a plane for his first duty station, 29 Palms, California.

He had applied for a month’s assignment at the local recruiter’s office there in Austin, but the word didn’t come through before his flight. When his Mom got back to the house after dropping him off at the airport, there was a message saying he got the assignment.

If he had made it all the way to 29 Palms, they wouldn’t have let him come back for the duty. She knew he only had a 30-minute layover in Phoenix, so she called the airport there and had him paged. Miracle of miracles, running between planes, he heard the message, called her, and she got him on a plane back to Austin.

I truly in my heart believe that if he had made it all the was to 29 Palms, we would have stayed in touch for a few months, but after the disastrous attempt at getting back together, the distance would have eventually torn us apart.

Fate was in our favor and he did make it back to Austin, and a few weeks into his month long assignment, he made another trip to ETSU and the sparks flew. It was like we had never separated and we were high school sweethearts again.

When he left that weekend and asked me to start wearing his promise ring again. He talked about long term commitments and being together forever.

I knew this was the man I was going to marry. I finished that semester, packed up my bags, and moved home to wait for the marriage proposal that I believed was coming any day now.

A month later, I was still at home, waiting.

My parents think the world of Dave, they always have. He wrapped them around his little finger that first day that we started dating. I took him home to meet them and I warned him that my parents were very conservative. After sitting on the couch talking for a little while, Dave turned to my Dad and asked if he could speak to him outside. Walking with my Dad around the front yard, Dave assured him that his intentions were honorable, and he asked my Dad for his permission to take me to my Senior Prom.

From that moment forward, he could do no wrong in their eyes. During that time that we were broken up, I would bring other boys home for Sunday dinner and my Dad always managed to bring up Dave’s name.

"Dad”, I would tell him tersely “I’m not dating Dave anymore".

So there I was, at home, waiting tables, and waiting for Dave to propose.

I didn’t find out the next part of the story until after we had been married for 5 or 6 years. Dave called the house looking for me one day, but I was at work, so my Mom decided to take matters into her own hands.

"So are you ever going to ask Wendy to marry you?"

Stammering on Dave’s part.

"You know that’s why she quit college. So are you ever going to do it?"

Two days later, the phone rang and it was Dave popping the question. It was the end of January 1989. The next time he could take any leave was in April, so we set our wedding date for April 22, 1989.

The last 17 years haven’t always been easy. There were times when we both considered throwing in the towel, but we’re both so stubborn that we just wouldn’t quit. We would keep holding on and eventually work through our problems and end up better for it.

I firmly believe that we are meant to be together. There were so many obstacles that should have kept us apart, but divine intervention stepped in each time and here we are; 17 years and going strong.

Happy Anniversary Darling!

2006-04-22T07:56:00.000-07:00

To my Darling Husband, the love of my life, my soul-mate, my better half.

Today on our 17th wedding anniversary you will be on my mind and in my heart even more than you usually are. Even though we are over 7,000 miles apart, I know that our hearts are one.

I love you and I miss you and I would marry you all over again.

Please take care of yourself, stay safe, and come home to me!

Sold Out

2006-04-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

So it's high season at the little hotel where I bartend and answer the phones, so I'm getting plenty of these funny calls:

"It's a beautiful day at the ::insert name here:: , this is Wendy, how may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to book a room for this weekend."

"I'm sorry sir, but we are completely sold out."

"You don't have even one room?"

In my head "Yes, moron, that is the definition of sold out."

"No sir, not a single room is available. In our busy season, we sell out 4 to 6 weeks in advance."

"Well I need a room, where should I call"

Like it's my responsibility to get him a room even though he waited until two days before hand to reserve.

"I don't know sir, every hotel that I have talked to here in town is sold out."

"Well what am I supposed to do?"

It goes on like that for a while. Seriously, I get at least one call like this a day!

Swamp Coolers

2006-04-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Well it finally got hot enough that I had to turn on the swamp cooler for the first time.

For you non-desert dwellers, an evaporative cooler, or swamp cooler, is much more efficient here in the desert than air conditioning since our air is so dry. The machine has a pan of water that is cooled, and then it blows the outside air across the water and into the house. It cools and slightly humidifies the house.

The odd thing about swamp coolers is you have to have at least one window in the house cracked to relieve the pressure. It also helps direct the air. I turn on the swamp cooler in the back bedroom, and then crack the front kitchen window and that draws the air through the house.

The only bad thing about swamp coolers, is that on the five or six days out of the year that we have humidity, they are absolutely useless. So then it's unbearably hot AND humid!

But something about the swamp cooler is annoying Salem, he is making all sorts of racket. He stands in the bedroom crying, and then he comes into the living room where I am and cries at me. Like he's saying, "Go turn it off!"

But man, is this house cooler! It's going to be a long, hot summer!

Never Say Good-bye.....Part I

2006-04-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Our wedding anniversary is this Saturday, the 22^nd of April. We defied a lot of odds getting here.

I heard rumors that there was pool going on during our wedding on how long we would last. Rumor has it the longest bet was 5 years.

Well here we are 17 years later, still going strong.

We met in high school. The old joke about “this one time, at band camp…” well that’s where we met.

It was August of 1986, I was seventeen and it was four weeks before the beginning of my senior year. I lived in a small town so when a new kid came to our school, it was a big deal. I remember hanging with my friends Jessica and Deanna, kind of half heartedly practicing a flag routine we were making up and waiting for band camp to start for the day when a big ugly Monte Carlo pulled up and two guys got out.

Instantly, we were paying attention. One of the guys was really young, probably an 8^th grader, we dismissed him, but the older one looked our age. We were curious. What instrument did he play? What grade was he in?

Dave says he spotted me that first day and thought I was cute, he said he thought I had a great butt, so he asked some of the other trumpet players about me.

“Oh no” the told him “forget about her, she’s a member of the God Squad (the nickname for the flag line) you won’t get anywhere with her, she’s locked together at the knees.

Dave, of course, took this as a personal challenge.

I got to know him at band camp, we flirted back and forth a lot, and on October 31^st we had our first kiss in the back seat of the band bus on the way home from an away football game.

But pretty soon after that, maybe even because he saw me hanging out with Dave, my old boyfriend started trying to get back with me. I had to make a choice; a boy I had just met and whose parents moved every year or the boy I dated pretty much all my junior year. In hindsight it was pretty dumb to go back with the boy that had dumped me the summer before our senior year, but he was safe and comfortable.

Unbeknownst to me, Dave had his eye on me and decided the best way to win me back was to get my boyfriend to get in a fight with him. He kept picking on me. He threw me in a trashcan in the middle of the cafeteria, then he tossed me out the window in journalism class and I had to walk all the way around the school to get back in. And on our journalism class field trip, he tossed me in a mud puddle. But, it didn’t work; my boyfriend wasn’t a fighter.

In the meantime, Dave started dating one of my best friends, Jessica, and on April 15, 1987, when it came time for his family to move again, she threw him a going away party.

I went to the party, without my boyfriend, not thinking much about it, not knowing that this would be the night that would be pivotal in my life.

A bunch of us were outside hanging out, when Dave picked me up and started spinning me around. We both fell to the ground laughing; our faces close to each other. He got a funny look on his face and abruptly got up and walked away.

About 30 minutes later, my friend Jessica came up to me.

“Dave is in my room and you need to go talk to him.” So I went back to talk to him.

“I broke up with Jessica,” he told me “I broke up with Jessica because I’m in love with you and it isn’t fair for me to keep dating her when I want you. I don’t expect you to do anything about this, you’re dating Heath, but I couldn’t leave town without telling you, and without doing this.”

And he kissed me, kissed me like I had never been kissed before in my 18 years of life.

At that moment, I realized I loved him. I loved him and had for a while, I had just been too stupid and too scared to admit it.

He pulled back, looked me in the eyes, smiled, and turned and walked out of the room. He walked out to where the rest of his friends were, grabbed his jacket, said good-bye, and left the party. He says that when he left, he thought he would never see me again.

But I knew what I had to do. The next day, I called my boyfriend and broke up with him. Then I called Dave and asked him if he would like to come back in a month and take me to my Senior Prom. We got together that afternoon, met each other’s parents, and had one magical day together. The next day his family moved to Austin, four hours away.

Four hours is a long time when you’re 18 years old. We wrote a lot of letters and saved our dollars for long distance phone calls, and a month later he came back to town and we went to my Senior Prom together.

The theme song to that Prom was Bon Jovi’s “Never Say Good-bye” and to this day, that is “Our Song”. Starting to date in a long distance relationship, breaking up and getting back together again, our marriage filled with long deployments…yes, Never Say Good-bye has been the theme to our entire love. But through it all we’ve made it work.

Stay tuned for Part II, a.k.a. How Fate Brought Us Together Again

Quote of the Day

2006-04-12T22:41:00.000-07:00

I had just finished watching this week's episode of Lost I had Tivo'ed (the greatest invention ever, by the way, forget sliced bread, Tivo ROCKS) when I turned to live TV. I stopped on some program I never watch called The Evidence, just in time to hear one character say to the other:

"I am deep. Intellectual curiousity and an appreciation for a fine piece of booty are not mutually exclusive."

Don't ask me why, but that is the funniest thing I've heard in ages.

Mid 30's versus Late 30's

2006-04-09T07:36:00.000-07:00

So I was talking to a friend who is in her early 20's and said to her "enjoy that now, when you get into your mid 30's...."

Then I thought to myself, I'm 37. When do I have to stop saying Mid 30's and start referring to myself as in my Late 30's?

Getting old sucks. I don't feel like I'm in my late 30's. I still feel and think and act like I'm in my late 20's?

Salem

2006-04-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

I am quite ashamed to say that I have been keeping this blog for months and have yet to write about my handsome kitty, Salem.

I have always liked all black cats and back in 1997 I started talking about getting another cat. We got this fluffy Persian cat and OMG was that a mistake. It was a miserable animal, mean and nasty tempered. Plus unless you shaved the hair around it's butt, it would get poopy butt syndrome and leave brown streaks everywhere it sat. Have you ever tried to shave a cat's butt? It's not fun!

Thank goodness we were able to sell the monster for what we paid and considered that a good lesson learned. Never pay for a cat when there are so many animals out there who need a good home.

Dave was working nights then, coming home after I had gone to bed. One night I woke up to something soft nuzzling my face and there was Salem. Dave had been looking for months trying to find an all black cat for me before he finally found Salem.

It was love at first sight. That was November 1997 and he's been with us ever since.

Salem has a lot of weird habits, like his desire to sit inside of boxes, his belief that he is human and should be treated as such, and always needing to sit right smack dab on top of you, but the weirdest of all his habits is his drinking issues.

He won't drink out of a water bowl. His preferred drinking method is out of the bathtub faucet or the shower. It must be turned on so that it just barely drips. If you turn it on too hard and the water splashes up on his paws, you will get a dirty look.

But if worse comes to worse, he will drink out of a bowl...just not a water bowl.

And there's the odd thing that he'll let you bathe him without any protest if he really needs it. He once spent a cold night outside when we didn't realize he had gone exploring and came in the next morning covered in sand. I turned the water on in the shower and he just let the water run over himself and let me rinse him off. I don't think he realizes that cats are supposed to hate water?

He's a strange cat, but then Dave and I are a little on the odd side too, so he fits in with this family just fine.

Layout I finished this morning

2006-03-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

I put off working with the pictures from the morning Dave left until I could do the journaling with a strong heart.

Journaling reads:

It was cold and miserable the morning of March 4th as Dave and I prepared to say good-bye again as he left for his third Iraqi deployment in four years.
We received a pleasant surprise the morning before when we showed up for the original departure time, to find out we had a reprieve of 24-hours. But no reprieve was in sight this morning and we huddled together, trying to stay warm, and soaking up the last few precious moments that we had together.
Finally it was time to say a final good-bye and for him to get on the bus. I had been so brave so far, holding back the tears that I didn’t want him to see. As he stepped up on the bus, I could feel myself close to breaking down, but just when I thought I couldn’t hold it together for another moment, he stuck his head off the bus and gave me the cheesiest grin; it made me laugh out loud. That laughter gave me the courage to keep smiling until the buses were out of sight.

Dave Update

2006-03-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

I've been emailing with Dave pretty regularly, these days. Being the Comm Officer does have it's perks.

He finally has a hooch (tent) all to himself, which for Dave means a lot. He's a private person and doesn't like to share living space. He said it was dirty beyond belief, but he's made it clean and livable.

He also says the chow is much better than expected and the little PX (store) that they have there is supplied with the things that they need.

However he does have a list of things that they want, little things that make their lives a little nicer. If anyone would like to have the list and send something to him, email me.

On another note, they have way more of certain things than they can ever use in two lifetimes. So many well meaning charitable groups have been sending toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer....Dave says they have cases and cases.

So spread the news, Girl Scout troops, church organizations, etc....people that want to send things to the troops, stop sending the basics and start ASKING what the guys need.

I Have Seen

2006-03-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

I have seen true friendship. I have seen true charity, given out of love not just for show. I have seen true leadership. I have seen true honor. I have seen true courage. I have seen true love.