I don't really know why you'd be here. I mean, I know I'm the single most interesting person, but don't you people have lives? Really, it's quite sad.
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Wednesday, November 29, 2006
I just love these pictures
Thanksgiving this year fell on the exact day of what would have been my grandparents' 55th anniversary. As a result, the family converged on my grandfather's apartment for the day so he wouldn't be alone.
Unfortunately, we were unable to be there as it seemed more important to be at the Hester family Thanksgiving to see Paul's grandfather who is now in the nursing home (and occasionally back in the hospital), and who Paul hadn't seen since May. We don't regret that decision, but I wish there'd been two of each of us for the day because I really wanted to see my grandfather meet his first great-grandchild for the first time.
At least my sister was kind enough to post pictures not too long after.
Monday, November 27, 2006
The most hideous version of O Holy Night
Hey 2BA Girls...remember that awful version of O Holy Night that Shannon had? I found it on my computer--and, yes, am listening to it right now....quite painfully.
I think Paul needs to hear this beautiful rendition. I didn't realize I still had it. OK, now it's done and being deleted from my Christmas music playlist until Paul gets home. Wow...going from that to a beautiful a cappella version of I'll Be Home For Christmas. Complete opposites. I have a headache now.
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I know it's late, but we just got back from Illinois last night. We discovered that there is a much faster way to get to Paul's parents' house than taking I-70, so the drive only took about 8 hours of driving time. And the world rejoiced!
We turned onto the last little leg of the trip (a.k.a. the state highway that runs through town half a block from our house) and noticed extremely brightly lit smoke just south of town, so we decided to chase it.
Pretty cool, eh?
Don't worry, it was controlled and intentional.
This is my favorite holiday season, but we've never had a place this large to decorate, especially outdoors. One minor problem with this house is that we're severely lacking outdoor outlets--like, there are none. We'll figure it out. First I have to make the HUGE wreath that's going on the front and figure out if we need to purchase more garland and lights for the front porch, which we most likely will have to do. Those are my tasks for today and tomorrow before it gets really chilly on Wednesday. So I'm off to be crafty and find some more of my Christmas CDs.
I really miss singing in a choir...
Friday, November 17, 2006
BIG NEWS
I'm finally all caught up on Gilmore Girls!
I made it home in one piece and in only about 10 hours (11 hours total, minus an hour for stopping) going only a teeny bit over the speed limit.
I don't know if I will be able to stay caught up on GG.
I managed to get the wireless card set up and working on our desktop.
And I get to see Paul in two days!!!
Oh, and apparently we're going to Japan for a month sometime in the rather near future.
So much for England being my first foreign experience to work me into it slowly...
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Illegal Immigrants
I don't often get politically (or otherwise) opinioned on here, but a friend of a friend had this posted on her site and I have to pass it on because I think it's a great letter to the editor that, sadly, never got published.
Also think about the term "African American" as you're reading it and how inaccurate that term is. That, however, is another topic for another time and Paul's better at it than I.
Anyway, without further ado...
Subject: New Immigrants
Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem politically incorrect (read below) or which don't agree with the philosophy they're "pushing" on the public. This woman wrote a great letter to the editor that should have been published but with your help it will get "published" via cyberspace!Subject: New immigrants
From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass it along if you feel so inclined.
Dave LaBonte (signed)(signed) Rosemary LaBonte
Written in response to a series of letters to the editor in the Orange County Register:
Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated the same as those who passed through Ellis Island and other ports of entry.
Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr. Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new American households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.
They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.
Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labor laws to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity. Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany, Italy, France and Japan. None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages were looking for the French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.
And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags.
And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty, it happens to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.
P. S. Pass this on to everyone you know!!! KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!! I hope this letter gets read by millions of people all across the nation.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Ava news
My niece is adorable.As per requests, here are some more pictures.
"Hi!!"
I think there's a little bit of a smile there...
And the news from the doctor's appointment this morning is that Ava has gained almost 2 lbs in the last week and a half.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Excited about December
Paul informed me a couple of months ago that the Riley hospital has a Holiday Ball every year, which we will be expected/invited to attend. I have some nice formal dresses that I don't get to wear terribly often, so I was planning to pick one of those to wear. He recently found out, however, that most people dress as formally as the mess blues (what Paul wore at our wedding). We also were told on Saturday that we quite possibly/probably will be seated at the VIP table because of Paul's position on post even though his rank is nothing terribly special.
We started looking at different dresses, initially looking for a style Paul really wants to see me in: an older style with a corset bodice, but were getting disappointed with how difficult it was to find. We have since discovered that the best way to find those dresses is to search for costumes, but they also can be somewhat pricey, even to have made from a pattern, which we found one we both like: Elizabeth Swann's dress in Pirates of the Caribbean. Through the process, I found a gorgeous dress on eBay that was under $100 including shipping! I'll have to have it altered a little, but they ship fast and this will give me the time to get it ready for the ball in early December. It will also be my dress for the New Year's Eve ball we will be attending in Madison.
Ready to drool?....
Anyway, we're here at Ft. Leavenworth right now and Paul is touring some local dairies. He hates that.I'd work on my transcription course, but my eyes aren't focusing on the little writing on the computer screen very well. I should probably change my contacts, but I don't want to just yet. So I'm going to wander across the street with some cross stitching, sit by the pond, and watch the geese.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
When I was home on break in January 2004, I spent quite a bit of time, as usual, at the church working (cleaning) and reading for COR 401. One of the afternoons there was, as is fairly typical, another guy in the student lounge there to study. We struck up a conversation and talked for something like 2 hours. He was a nice guy and fun to talk to, but I really didn't care much if I saw him again.
I went back to Greenville for my last, crazy semester of school, graduated and moved back home to start the job search. That summer was also crazy and unexpected...filled with job searching, cleaning out my grandparents house and the auction, my grandfather's funeral, and travels to Wisconsin and the east coast. Things slowed down once the school year started again and I still hadn't found a job, so I was still in Ames working at the church for what little income I could muster.
Around the first of October, I got a seasonal position at the soil lab in a neighboring town and saw a little of what it was like to have a job that paid something real. I still kept my job at the church and would often stop by after work at the soil lab to do some cleaning. The student I met in January was also often there to study and we would chat every once in a while.
Two years ago today, we were having one of those chats around dinner time and he asked me if I would join him for supper at my favorite Ames restaurant.
At the time, both in January and that fall, I never would have guessed that that man would become my best friend, my favorite person in the whole world, the man I love more than anything, and the person I just want to spend more time with no matter how much time we spend together...my sweet, wonderful, and amazing husband.
(Taken one month later at the Vet School's winter formal.)
{My apologies to Jon in advance for making him want to stick his head in the oven....yet again.}
All our kitties sedated in one week
Paul took Moe in to work last week to cut him.
Last night he knocked Trixie out for a while to trim her claws and administer ear mite medication. The funniest part was watching her wake up and recover. She looked like she'd had a few too many cocktails. We kind of wished we'd been videotaping it. It was hilarious.
And this morning he took Cleo in with him because a couple of days ago we realized that she had a big bulge on her head. Last night he discovered that it was filled with puss...and proceeded to thoroughly gross me out by draining it down her face. He decided this morning, though, that it needed more clinical and sedated attention. He figures it was probably from a scratch in a fight or something and had probably been festering for weeks. Poor girl.
In other cat news...Trixie and Moe seem to be getting along a bit better, possibly because of the first sentence of this post. She's not hiding anymore and they are both sitting on the couch next to me, less than 3 feet from each other.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
A Rough Whimper of Insanity
We just watched the stupidest, hokiest, and most pointless Nowhere Man episode of them all. I'm convinced.
