What happened in Brenham stays in Brenham. Just like these empty bottles... oh and some of these...yes...those are Ding Dongs--I couldn't find the damn brownies and they do have that creamy center after all.

My dear mamas with me advised me not to post the Ding Dong picture as I would only embarrass myself...

uh huh...

like I said--
what happened in Brenham will stay in Brenham

They also threatened great bodily harm and spilling of secrets if I posted pictures of them so I won't-- lest they rat me out or help me further compromise any interpersonal relationships of mine...rest assured if I go down thought I am soooooo taking them with me.

Let's just say I handled myself quite well up until electronic technology got involved...

I do seem to recall
battering both mamas with pillows,
ALL of us being shushed by management-- Earthmama and J are SO loud you see...
Oh yeah and pulling the covers over my head when my friends started showing off superior recollections of the evening combined with phrases like:

'Oh holy hell I did NOT say that',

'Marci, for the love of God and everything holy, open the freaking door I know you are in there--I don't have key!!!'

'J, #$@% THERE'S the bathroom'

'What?! ummmm is there anyway to unsend that?'

'Ya'll are so full of it!'

and

'OH_MY _GOD'

yes-these are all vaguely reminiscent now...

Mental notes
Drink the good wine first and save the cheap stuff for last.

Road trips are a blast driving stick and watching for law enforcement--all kinds of law enforcement.

I really need to get out of the house on a more regular basis. I have forgotten how to behave properly.

Always check the bedspread and make sure it doesn't smell like armpits.

I still suck at will power.
Postscript: Marci is right...it was really fun and recommendable aside from the odd email. Next time there will be FOUR of us. Right JE and L?muwhahaha


Postscript # 2...I was under the impression that BOTH mamas were threatening physical harm or public humiliation if pictures got put up, but my less than stellar faculties had that wrong.....which isn't surprising now with clear faculties ...earthmama's a lover not a fighter--...how she puts up with me I don't know...sooo-anyway I am going to go and look for a few to put up. hehe--
Earthmama

Turning 40 tomorrow.
Road trip today.
Haven't figured the itinerary.
But the menu is a little more clearly defined:
Fried chicken.
McDonald's/Whataburger anything.
Brownies with frosting.
Potato chips.
Wine.
Margarita wine coolers.
Bailey's.
Chocolate/White chocolate covered anything.
Couple of mama friends.
Lots of stories.
Hopefully, no one has to have their hair held back.
I'll be back.

WHAT? END of my stardom? I_don't_think_so.

From the procreates...
Quit touching me!
Quit looking at me!
Quit breathing on me!
She started it !
He started it!
I didn't do it...
Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! (said in a very paint peeling, eardrum bleeding way)Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!!!
Do I HAVE to?
Why can't I?
Whencani--yes, as a matter of fact that one IS one word.
You never let me do anything.
You make me do everything.
It's too hard.
What's for dinner? (usually said in ten second intervals between the hours of 3:30 and whenever we actually begin to put food in our mouths...)
THAT is NOT mine.
That's gonna take forever.
But we just got here...(ala whine)
You never make:::insert name of any other sibling here:::do that.
I'm bored.
:::Insert name of sibling:::hit, pushed, pinched, sat on,peed on,yelled at me!
BUTIDONWANNU.......(yes, another one word statement)

From the two idiots deadset on procreating...at the time.
Flush the toilet.
Pick up your clothes.
Don't eat THAT.
DON'T_DO_THAT!
I can't believe you did that.
Turn that off! (THAT generally has some sort of plug, rating and or title)

Are you serious?
Are you kidding me?
Alright! WHO wiped that there?
Eww. I can't believe you ate that...
No. Lesbians are not from Lebanon--minor curiousity at present still trying to suss out WHERE they picked up that new word. It's time we covered the whole sexuality thing looks like.
go to bed...
Go to bed.
GO TO BED!
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND EVERYTHING HOLY! WHY AREN'T YOU IN BED?!!?!
Don't hit, push, pinch, sit on,pee on,yell at your brother and or sister.
Are you serious? You call that clean/done/finished?
Stop it.
Stop it now!
Stop it or I'll have to take you out. (I mean for ice cream what did you people think I meant?)
Pull up your pants.
Well pack you trash and get out then.
See ya! don't forget to write (intermittently effective when trying to leave a park)
Give me 10.
Give me 20.
That's it, squat thrusts for ever!
Let's go! We're burning daylight.
Are you on fire? Bleeding from a sucking chest wound? Then this isn't an emergency.
What_are_you_doing?
Yes, you have to.
Because I said so.
Why did you do that?
Don't hang your brother off the slide/bunk bed/ceiling fan.

There's more, but it's such a blur.

I have a college degree-- you know? I mean I could make a good living. What am I doing? I'm a stay at home mom with 4 kids under eleven whos' sole aim in life --and I'm beginning to suspect primary pleasure--is to pound me into blithering idiot dust.

Jihad my ass.

This is MOMMIHAD man!

Counterinsurgency Operations must begin forthwith....the enemy is formidable...

I just had to change this one...it was just sitting there begging to be messed with...muwhahaha

D is NOT getting deployed!!!
I am so stoked--but certainly not nearly as stoked as he is.

D, I'd buy you a huge fireworks display to celebrate, but there's the whole pesky permit thing! lol...

Congratulations, D, congratulations, brother!

When I send things out in the mail, I like to put stuff on the box for fun. I was talking to one of my jarheads and Star Trek came up so I looked up Star Trek images for his next boxes and found this one among some others...I can't stop laughing at this silly thing...it's hilarious!

The weather here is so miserable, wet and cold. I was thinking about our warriors so far away and how similar the weather has been there and how hard they are working and moving along with far less than we have here. Sometimes these folks go days without sleep when their duties demand it.

I know it's these folks' choice and it's part of the job, but it doesn't make me any less proud of what efforts they put in day in and day out and of the sacrifices their families make while they are away.

This is for D who is with his National Guard unit taking physicals and awaiting news of whether a third deployment will be asked of him.

This is for Sgt. Grumpy and all his fine Airborne folks who are out in the middle of nowhere working their asses off and doing such a hard job.

This is for 3/3 Kilo Company finally a few weeks away from home and a well deserved rest. B, we're so proud of you and your ninjas.

This is for Shaun, Mike, Roel, Joseph, Kat's dear one, J,Greg, Danelle and Jesse. Oh and also Heather and April over at Wishful Writer's nephew, Josh. He's in the same battalion as my Kilo boys...

God keep you safe and bring you home.

My all time favorite, has to go on all cartrips, know every word even when or if I am occasionally plastered--though NOT simultaneously on a car trip--- is Tracy Chapman's Fast Cars ...my mama friend Marci just posted the video to this later song of hers...Her lyrics definitely resonate with me right now...I know I want to post about this, but I'm still percolating...so how about you? Any thoughts on her words? I posted the video at the end of this, too.

Change LyricsArtist(Band):Tracy Chapman
Review The Song (2)

If you knew that you would die today,
Saw the face of God and love,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that love can break your heart
When you're down so low you cannot fall
Would you change?
Would you change?

How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses?
How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,
Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change?
Makes you change?

If you knew that you would be alone,
Knowing right, being wrong,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that you would find a truth
That brings up pain that can't be soothed
Would you change?
Would you change?

How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses?
How much regret?
What chain reaction would cause an effect?
Makes you turn around,
Makes you try to explain,
Makes you forgive and forget,
Makes you change?
Makes you change?

Are you so upright you can't be bent?
If it comes to blows are you so sure you won't be crawling?
If not for the good, why risk falling?
Why risk falling?

If everything you think you know,
Makes your life unbearable,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you'd broken every rule and vow,
And hard times come to bring you down,
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that you would die today,
If you saw the face of God and love,
Would you change?
Would you change?
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you saw the face of God and love
If you saw the face of God and love
Would you change?
Would you change?

Dear Matthew,

This is your mother. I would like to make a request concerning your current aversion to peeing in the toilet and penchant for the hallway, rug in front of the sink, threshold of you brothers' room and the laundry basket. Are you ready? Here it is:

KNOCK IT OFF, BOY!

Mom

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. except when covered in your three year old's vomit.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. just look down first and make sure your not on a cliff or something
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. but it's long enough to pick a handful of people I think are absolute idiots...(per Earthmama)
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. What?!
5. Pay off your credit cards every month. Or max them out right before you declare bankruptcy.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.To their face anyway.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. but I heartily recommend getting drunk together first so that no one remembers you cried...(per Earthmama)
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. Of course he can take it- he's got voicemail.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. Unless you plan on marrying a rich old man and disinheriting his children.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. Seriously.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't mess up the present. Or get even... that's always good.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. Especially, if plain old Catholic guilt doesn't work.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their Journey is all about. unless of course you see them on the cover of the Globe--everyone knows that stuff is legit.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. spoken like a person in some sort of unusually healthy relationship.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. or with money...
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. or hold you breath until you get your way.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. Yeah make sure you pack it up and give it to your sibling so they can figure it out, too. 18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. or bitter...
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. only make sure your ass fits on the slide...getting stuck ain't pretty...
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. yeah stalk your quarry if you have to and have a rock solid alibi if you get caught..
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. don't forget the cheesecake and fried chicken, and cheap wine
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. or look into the appropriate psychotropic drugs..
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. except for in a hair color...even in old age that looks pretty stupid...
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. I'm pretty sure the IRS would beg to differ...
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?" Unless of course you are a perpetually bitter, vindictive human being in which case all this will still be quite fresh...
26. Always choose life. Yep drag it out into an open field and beat it into submission.
27. Forgive everyone everything. but only after you have made them feel guilty first.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business. damn and I've been perfecting the art of fishing for compliments and everything...when did this rule get made up?
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. this usually comes from someone who isn't waiting with you.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. one usually wants to smack the sunny, upbeat person who tries to tell you this when your life is in the toilet.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will.Stay in touch. Or buy them lots of presents.
32. Believe in miracles. or count on what comes around going around...
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. well damn now you tell me...
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. can I use this in court?
35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. this one I can't make fun of...
36. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable. you sure as hell better or they'll blame you for everything...
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. damn another I can't mess with...
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. and think of the tan you'll get...
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. hell yeah...people could hold that crap over your head for years.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. I mostly believe this except when I am at the Galleria...
41. The best is yet to come. can I get this one notarized by someone in charge?
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. Definitely. You'll make at least one person jealous...
43. Yield. or get yourself REALLY good airbags
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift. okay so that was three out of 44 I don't have the heart to touch...

Note...I have been in a really crappy mood lately. Yeah no sh*t Sherlock...right? anyway...it occur ed to me I hadn't done much shopping, deal building or strategizing. I started a coupon group a long while back, but I had been pretty much leaving it to the other mamas to post. Post holidays I tend to hunker down...I never get moody until AFTER the holidays ...though who am I kidding...a midlife crisis does loom over my head...I digress...

...my mood has improved somewhat. I love a good hunt or challenge-- who am I kidding??! (though I'd still like a word with certain kinds of people and wine is becoming a more necessary part of my evening heh...) anyway...so I thought I would go this route for a post this time around...if couponing or mania is of no interest...you may want to outclick about now...heh.

Dear Warriors Who Tell Me They Don't Want to Put Anyone Out and Folks Who Wonder Just What The Hell Couponers Are Up To,

Warrior:I know you worry about asking for anything and so to put your mind at ease I have decided to give you an idea of what goes on behind the scenes so we can get past all the party manners...life's too damn short.
Curious Folk: Yes, I'm a little nuts, but it's the fun kind...

This is some of my stash...I am a coupon freak and this stuff is the overrun from what I buy for my guys and gal using coupons...Don't worry...I only spend about 0 to no more than 20 cents on the dollar...lately, especially, I have been making out like a BANDIT!!!
The boxes say USMC, but as time has progressed we are now taking care of Army folk, too. I guess for Sgt. Grumpy's sake, especially I should add 'Army' on these...hehe

Wanna make another human being happy over there? Send them a letter telling them you're glad they were born and slip in a packet of cocoa or gum or a protein bar...You could send three letters with treats for what you might spend on a Venti Chai Latte from Starbucks...

Shelves in my closet...couponers NEVER pay for Health and Bpdy products--never ever never...we send this to the local women's shelter, orphan boxes at Christmas, merchant marines at Port of Galveston, Chronicle House and of course our warriors overseas...

Lots of crackers, mixes, diced tomato, tomato sauce, sugar...all this stuff ran me about 9 bucks.. it's on TOP of the counter because the pantry underneath is a complete wreck...things lined up like that are some kind of sick temporary therapy.

Matthew was digging around for my chocolate chips as you can see by the mess. That shelf is indicative of a lot of other cabinets that haven't been reorganized lately. Another thing couponers never pay for are condiments. IT's against our religion. The cake mixes ran 15 cents a box...they are good for making cupcakes to ship over in monthly birthday boxes. Canned soup was .07 at Christmas or was it before...dunno but I do know I have another three cases worth in one of my closets...hehehe.

Ragu and marinades were free (by the way the traditional sauce has the least amount of sugar,) so was the tuna which is a big hit overseas...the rest was again 10 to 20 cents on the dollar...

free L'Oreal shampoo and toothpaste, Lubriderm ran me .24 cents...

Hanes is running a coupon for free socks and underwear...another thing sorely needed overseas...try to buy one or two each trip to Target... as do my mama friends who share in my mania...

More free shampoo and wipeys...gotta love the wipey deal...I can't keep the guys in those....

A nice man handing out samples gave me the Tony Chacheres seasoning...I pack some of that and a popcorn in a 6 X 9 envelope for a treat, Sarah scooped up a lot of free peanut butter, there is another box full I didn't take a picture of and Mama Jeanni brought over Starbucks...

Part of last night's shop I was too lazy to get it all out...Altoids were 17 cents, Pure Protein bars were a quarter. Chex mix, Aleve and softsoap were free actually I was paid a dollar a box on the Aleve hehehe.Lubriderm was on close out and after a 2 buck coupon it ran me .24 cents...

Grump has a thing for Lindt chocolate and I got a clearance deal I couldn't pass up. The Russell Stover bags were all free, the Kissables were .07 after a holiday sale and the Andes were .50 cents. The big boxes of Kisses were 1.20 for a box of 12...I bought 15 boxes...I was positively giddy!!!yeah...it's sick what gives me a charge these days, but whaddyagunna do?

So there you have it...I am in fact completely OCD where this is concerned...you should see my coupon boxes...after you all recover or your eyes aren't so glazed over from boredom maybe I'll post the method to my madness...muwhahahaha....

Now. Warriors...See? Now you know...step into my PX and tell me what you want sent over first...LOL.

I do have to admit I didn't show pictures of all the pantries...they are a WRECK at the moment...sigh...maybe I'll clean up tomorrow...maybe.

http://www.wolfhut.org/cgi-bin/warrior-test.cgi

Yeah I couldn't resist this one...what with warrior in the title and all...Here's my dirt--I don't know that I hold to it, but you how it is with random quizzes...Post to comments I'm dying to know what it said about everyone else...well it's because I'm easily entertained...no surprise there...

Your sphere is Guardian (Person of great Love and Altruism), and your class is Champion (Self-Righteous and Confident).
You are true heroic material. You find great motivation in the things you love, and great inspiration in your sense of self-confidence, and your excellence. Once you get your mind set on a goal, you are nearly unstoppable, and given enough time, you will meet it.

Bob at Blackholes and Astrostuff gave me an award for the milsupport work I do. I have had it for a few days, but the blur of a flu kept me from telling him how much I appreciated it until now.

Bob's site is a great blog itself. He offers so much to the blogoshpere.

Here are some blogs who I want to pass this award on to for the same reasons...they inspired me all last year and I expect that they will continue to do so.

Eric at Zen Traveler

D at CI Roller-Dude

and St. Grumpy

Also Heather at the Wishful Writer gave me the 'You Make Me Smile"award while back and I never said thank you. I'd like to pass on to Linda at Linda and Her Surroundings, Agnes and Matthew over at Hex my Ex. and to two new blogs I have been reading lately June Cleaver after a Six Pack and Shoved to Them...

I was going to give my opinions about them,in fact I went on and on there for a few paragraphs, but they don't need my words. THeir blogs speak for themselves.

"Good judgment comes from experience...and a lot of that comes from bad judgment".

A friend of mine sent me this quote. I like it.

Experience.

It's what we walk the planet for--
to have both deliberately and accidentally.

Experience is

had,
given,
shared,
learned ,
suffered ,
cherished.

With our eyes shut, Experience only patiently comes back another time when they think then we will be home.

To wrong an Experience you only have to take no lesson from it or steal it from another in the name of love or concern.

With our eyes open from the beginning to the end, Experience can serve us.

In weathering Experience it does become judgement, even if bad at first, like the quote says, with time it becomes good.

What I have yet to master is the ability to wait out the experience. Not rush it and to believe I have what it takes to gracefully weather the discomfort sometimes involved with the weathering.

Sick as the proverbial dog, folks. I'll be back from the land of the dead asap.

This is my 200th post. I wasn't sure what I wanted to talk about until a little while ago when I came across an article on Major Olmsted, a long time and well loved milblogger serving in Iraq.

As a lot of you know, I have become very involved with troop support. Even if you didn't know right off the bat...the growing number of mil related posts probably gave it away anyway. I have a hard time recalling what it was like not to be involved, I love what I do so much.

With that in mind and coincidentally, yesterday Katana from Belleau-Wood and I posted the first of what I hope will be many posts dedicated to giving troops and those who support them a place to share their thoughts on a new site we decided to call Words from Warriors.

I have learned more about the war in Iraq on milblogs than I have anywhere else. I think it is fitting to post Major Olmsteds last words as a blogger in order to illustrate what prompts some Americans to serve their country and to serve it with such valor and dedication. I think you might be surprised about the things he said--his final words.

January 04, 2008
Final Post
"I am leaving this message for you because it appears I must leave sooner than I intended. I would have preferred to say this in person, but since I cannot, let me say it here."G'Kar, Babylon 5
"Only the dead have seen the end of war."Plato*
This is an entry I would have preferred not to have published, but there are limits to what we can control in life, and apparently I have passed one of those limits. And so, like G'Kar, I must say here what I would much prefer to say in person. I want to thank hilzoy for putting it up for me. It's not easy asking anyone to do something for you in the event of your death, and it is a testament to her quality that she didn't hesitate to accept the charge. As with many bloggers, I have a disgustingly large ego, and so I just couldn't bear the thought of not being able to have the last word if the need arose. Perhaps I take that further than most, I don't know. I hope so. It's frightening to think there are many people as neurotic as I am in the world. In any case, since I won't get another chance to say what I think, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. Rest of post can be read on his site and condolences can be left at Obsidian Wings.

My 3 year old informed me he was going to kick my ass today.

Yup.

He pilfered brownies made for my Marines,

poured juice into his little porta potty thank GOD he never uses for more than a step stool until today of course when he used it for a cup.

whacked several thatches of hair off of his head,

clocked his sister on more than one occasion with a light saber

tried to hide some popsicle in a gift bag

and later used the popsicle stick to attempt booger excavation.

I think he's on some sort of toddler period, minus the maxis.

"One day God will have enough of your foolishness and demand that you hit your knees before Him. You can either do it willingly or He will put his hand upon your head and shove you to them."-Marie Lane

I was out in the blogosphere tonight and from June Cleaver after a Six- Pack I came to a site called Shoved to Them. I found the above quote in her header. Now I would like to say I merely was intrigued by the name...but truth demands I admit while intrigued, I was also on an ego trip. This mama from Shoved to Them liked a comment I made at June's so naturally I had to go and see who this mama with excellent taste was.

If you haven't read her post from today and you are a mama, especially, you really need to do yourself a favor and read it.
Hi-freakin'-larious,
but this is really not why I am talking about her...
no
it's all about me actually...

Ever since I posted the question nay demand, 'tell me what you learned this year' I have been trying to decide just what that looked like for me and I couldn't.

Mostly because, if I say I learned it, there is an underlying suggestion I won't trip on the same kind of question on another test...now that would be stupid wouldn't it? If I were to trip up, I can only hope the next exams wouldn't be posted for everyone in the free world to see and the Universe would certainly set that up, if I make a big stink about learning it in the first place. Right?

If I say I have come to terms with something then I don't ever get to whine about it again...ewww...that kinda sucks, too. Why don't I just give up a half a bottle of wine every other night while I am at it?

The fact of the matter is both demand far more accountability than I am comfortable with providing.

Oh yeah, and I don't do resolutions.

I used to.

I got in fistfights with myself until about the end of February, licked my wounds until May, made excuses and basically determined none of these resolutions had any veracity until the end of summer, had them annulled by October then suffered short term memory loss through the holidays so that by December I felt the pull to slip back into self actualization mode forgetting the self inflicted black eyes and split lips of late winter/ early spring all together.

It was a sick little game I played with myself.

I was in a really bad wreck,
I lost a couple of good friends, got brave and earned one back,
met some really fine people like B, D, Katana, Sgt Grumpy and J
and
found a deep passion for milsupport.

My friends who go through the angst of knowing me face to face
walked me through
a cancer scare
crisis es of faith
insurrections
and some really great Mother's Nights Out

with the flat of their sword or well spoken word knights and poets taught me a few needed lessons I hadn't signed up for while my husband always returned me to tone.

None of it in this order and with some repeats, I lived through it all.
It didn't kill me.
I was pretty sure it would
and I still have a healthy respect for life's ability to want to be clear about it's intentions especially when my neck is so stiff I can't look up or down at it to see what it is trying to tell me at times.

I have no answers for where I have been or even if I clearly recall what all those places were without revision or embellishment.

I am sure that my biggest weakness is self love and that my greatest strength is love of others.

What I have for my 'tell me' is it is easier to love myself if I am not so willing to take my own word for it as much as I am God's. I don't know that I trust Him anymore than I did before, but I know I want to trust Him more and I know that he has sent me some really great people so I can practice.

Who knows what 2008 will bring, but I know whatever it is it involves practice--lots of practice.

Bring it.