POPCORN SALAD?

Last night I came home from work and found that Steve had taken it upon himself to do supper.  It was salad night!  I love salad!  We try to have a salad night about once a week.  I've been fortunate in the fact that all of my children enjoy their vegetables.  I had arrived home late so it was just Steve and Rebecca still at the table.  Rebecca was doing her homework while munching on a big bag of popcorn.

'Did you eat?' I asked her as I made my salad.  She just made an 'mmmmmhhhhmmmmm' sound without looking up from her book.  'A salad? Cos I KNOW that popcorn isn't your supper!'  This time she did look up and she gave me one of those looks that kids give their parents when they can't believe how stupid their parents are....

'Popcorn is corn, corn is a vegetable, salad is vegetables...  I'm eatting popcorn salad.'

Okay, I know when I've been beaten.  It took me a minute to shut my gaping mouth and then I just ate my salad in silence, trying to think of some intelligent remark that would support my belief that popcorn wasn't really a vegetables but for that I would have to wait until later to consult the internet.  My kids are not like me at all, they are better and worse than me at the same time... And for that I am afraid... I am VERY afraid!

BRONCOS GET SNOWED!

        Broncos slipped on the snow... 25-24 Raiders!  Whaaaaaaa!  This was the game we were planning on going to but opted out when we started planning for a trip to Kentucky to pick up Gabe.  We don't have to drive to Kentucky after all being as Gabe will be flying back here... but I sure am glad I was in my nice warm den watching the game instead of being out there in the cold.  I suppose it would have been different had they won... but as it turned out I was happy just be be able to watch the game for a change.

Somebody called me a redneck.  They were trying to get back at me because of my choice of candidate for the presidential election.  I couldn't even pretend to be offended.  I was then accused of being too dumb to realize that I was being insulted.  I'm sorry, but that was about as insulting to me as calling a ball round!  It was kind of funny though.  I always refer to myself as a redneck and a hillbilly, but I've never been called one to my face.

And speaking of rednecks... hey Dickidoo... farting is NOT considered a prelude to sex!  Nowhere in any book, not even the Redneck's guide to Sex... does it say that butt-gas is a turn on... it is NOT!  It is NOT foreplay!  So don't even try to get some when the scent is still hanging over the bed.  Some things just can't be done while holding your breath!  I remember farting once... I couldn't help it, it was actually Dickidoo's fault, he knocked it out of me.  That was it, I was too humiliated to go on.  And him?  I don't think he even noticed!  Maybe he did... hmmmm, maybe I was wrong.  Maybe it IS a turn-on! 

FULL MOON

I get the AOL Skywatcher Alerts, and today I got a message stating that tonight was a full moon.  And not just any full moon, but a Full Beaver Moon!  Okay, I'm not even guess on that one! Now I'll admit, I am superstitious to a certain degree, and full moon madness is one superstition that I believe in.  There may not be any scientific data to support it, but I have worked in retail for over a decade and I have noticed a trend.  People really do get crazy when there is a full moon!  Today was bad enough with the after-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy, but to top it off with a full moon just made it worse!  I'm thinking the name 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is an apt name for a day like today.  I got up way too early, had way too little sleep, my caffeine levels were dangerously low and people were just nuts.  But I didn't get arrested or fired, and I got the last laugh.... I had all of their money, and they went home with stuff they didn't want... they just bought it all because it was on sale!  Ahhhhh woooooooo!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

           

May the day and those that follow be full of blessings for you and yours.  All my best, Dorn and Family.

THIS, THAT and the other thing.

*  New Mexico finally declared Bush as the winner in its election this week....  They promised in 2000 to make reforms to speed up and improve the process.  They succeeded... in 2000 it took a month to tally the votes.  This year it only took them 3 weeks.

*  A federal judge denied a recount petition submitted by Green Party presidential candidates Cobb and Badnarik to recount the Ohio votes.  The duo had received an unofficial count of .026 percent.  I don't get it.... WHY?!  Did they really think they would uncover the 270 electorial votes to win?

*  There is a petition going to get the natural born citizen requirement for presidency amended so that Governor Swartzenegger can run for office in the future.  I think he stands a better chance of running for Miss America, but hey, I'm not putting money against either!  I just don't think its right. 

*  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  But today I was thankful.... thankful that I didn't have to go home to all those grumpy last minute shoppers who were so upset about the long wait in the long lines, as if they felt they and they alone were allowed to procrastinate over buying the ingredients for the big dinner that they have had a year to prepare for.  Hello people!  Thanksgiving comes once a year, every year, and at the same time every year!  You are not the only person in the country who celebrates the holiday, and obviously you are not the only person who waits until the last fricken minute to buy your stuff... so get over it!  You snooze, you loose!  Good grief!  All that fussing and cussing kind of takes the sincerity out of the occasion.  Just be thankful you can even afford a dinner and have family and friends to share it with... don't take it out on the folks working at the store you chose to shop at along with all the other last minute shoppers.  Yep.... I sure am glad I didn't have to go home to those grumps!  I got hugs and kisses when I finally walked in the house.  And for that I was sincerely thankful!

WOO HOO BRONCOS! and a new computer room?

 Okay, the Broncos have definately gotten their groove back.  They whooped New Orlean's butt 34 - 13 on Sunday.  I even got to watch some of it during my break.  My boss insists that I work on Sundays... I don't understand because he is a big time Broncos fan himself... but at least one of the managers kept me up to date with the score... that was cool.

I have had a slight reprieve in my eviction... I still have papers and junk strewn all over the computer room floor so Zack has not been able to move in just yet.  My computer is still in tact.  No folks, I am not typing in the bathroom.... yet!  I may have to clear off the vanity and set up shop there though... right next to the pocket yahtzee!  Hey, that wouldn't be so bad.  Sometimes the only time I get up from the computer is to use the bathroom.  But if I were already sitting on the toilet... I'd NEVER have to get up!  I can put the cpu under the counter, the printer on the towel shelf, set the monitor on the counter (its one of those skinny monitors with a flat screen) ... put a swivel seat on the toilet... oh the possibilities!
32 days until Christmas !

THE SMILE: a poem

                                   

I think one of the biggest thrills for me on the internet would be to have one of my pieces fwd.'d around to the whole world and everyone on their mailing list.  I received a little poem one day in a forwarded message about a smile by an anonymous poet and I thought how neat it was because shortly after I had discoved the internet way back when... I wrote a poem similar to it and had dedicated it to my new online friends and posted it on the local message board.  Well, while cleaning out the cupboard in the room formerly known as My Computer Room (boo hoo hoo!) I found a tattered and worn piece of paper with a poem entitled The Smile, written by Snowfoot (my screen-name from my very first online service) dated April 9, 1998

THE SMILE
I had an extra smile
When I left the house today
I thought I'd give it to someone
I passed along the way.
I tried to give the smile away
But incredibly
Each time I gave it to someone
They'd give it back to me.
So now I have a bunch of smiles,
What am I to do?
I think I'll keep a couple
And then give the rest to you!

Yeah!  That was my poem!  I am Anonymous!  Woo hoo!  So, print it up, pass it around and tell everyone you know who Anonymous is!  She's a fat old lady in Colorado who collects Dust Bunnies!

NOTICE TO VACATE

   

Well, after many days, nay, weeks of procrastinating, the day finally came when I had to relinquish ownership of the computer/gun room to Zack.  It was a sad day for me, I had squatters rights for the better part of the five years we have been here and had accoumulated quite a bit of stuff.  My stuff is now out in the garage with other odds and ends that we have no space for.  I feel so... displaced.  My heart and soul, all of my sentimental treasures are now out there in the cold dank garage to be picked through by the resident rodents (maybe Pepper the hamster and her decendants?) until another of my children moves out and I inherit the bedroom.  Now excuse me while I go and have a pity party... in the bathroom which is the only place in the whole house where I can be completely alone.

THANKFUL .... Weekend Assignment

    

For the Weekend Assignment we have to think of something that we are thankful for but don't always recognize it.  I have many obvious things to be thankful for but the one thing that I take for granted each and every day is..... AOL !  I don't know what I would do without AOL.... I'd probably have to do something like.... housework!  Now I ask you, what fun is that?  So thank you AOL!  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

THE CHRISTMAS POTATO

 

 

This picture of Gabe was taken in 1989 while we were in Germany.  At the time I had just the 3 boys, Gabe was 5, Zack was 2 and Art was just 4 months old.  Gabe and Zack had been really ornery the past few weeks and I kept threatening them with coal from Santa.  Christmas Eve came and those 2 boys were as bad as ever. They couldn't seem to get their act together and be good, even in a last minute effort.  It just couldn't be done, they didn't have it in them to be good, not even for Santa.  I even showed them a bad boy list with their names on it.  So they went to bed where visions of sugerplums were replaced by chunks of coal.

For all of my threats I knew I would have to give them some coal just to remain credible.  Unfortunately 8pm on Christmas Eve was not the ideal time to go shopping for coal.  Steve ran downstairs and foraged through the garden, but the apartment complex had a manicured landscape that used mulch instead of gravel... we couldn't even find a rock!  So what to do... what to do?  The best I could come up with was a potato.  I wrapped two of them and labeled them for each of the older boys, and made a mental note to give them to the boys first.

It had the desired effect.  The boys knew why they were getting the potatoes and stared at them with regretful eyes.  I wondered aloud if all of the other presents were also potatoes and the boys were very reluctant to open them.  But they did and all in all they had a wonderful Christmas.

This little story would come back and bite me in the butt later though.  I was bragging about my quick thinking to one of the ladies from the Unit's wives group and word soon got around.  Needless to say I wasn't elected Mother Of The Year because I had given my poor sweet little boys potatoes for Christmas.  But thats okay because my boys took my threats seriously after that.

37 days until Christmas !

THANKSGIVING LETTER, liability and sneezing.

I'm having a hard time writing my Thanksgiving letter to Gabe.  The inner child in me believes that if I don't write that I won't have to deal with the fact that this is probably the first of many years that my son will not be home for Thanksgiving.  Even in our 20 years of marriage my husband and I have only been apart for one Thanksgiving... and we have managed to be together for every Christmas.  Ugh... I think it was easier being a military wife than a military mom... and he's only in boot camp!

I've been noticing a trend with some of the comments on this journal regarding spewing pop and falling off of chairs while reading some of my entries.  I am thinking about adding a disclaimer for the Dust Bunny Club that releases me from any liability due to damage done to the computers when beverages are spewed on the monitors and keyboards... and for bodily harm when  these uncoordinated readers fall from their seats laughing.  Come on folks, didn't your mama ever tell you not to read with your mouth full?  And for pete's sake, fasten those seat belts.  (by the way, who is Pete?  My mom always talked about him and his sake, but she never did tell me who he was....)

On the subject of spewing, have you ever sneezed with a mouth full of food?  Seems you never feel the sneeze coming on until AFTER you shove a spoonful of food into your mouth.  And the body, in all its wonder and glory, won't let you swallow when its gearing up for a sneeze.... your swallowing mechanisms slam shut and you're left there with a mouthful and no way to get rid of it but out!  And then what?  If you're lucky you'll have a napkin or tissue to catch it all.  If not, you now hold in your hand what you once held in your mouth!  Don't try this if you're eatting spaghetti or ramen. 

I bought 2-12 packs of toilet paper today.  That should last us a couple of days.  I'd sure like to know what those kids do with all that toilet paper.  Okay, maybe I wouldn't.  Yeah, probably not.  Rocky asked if she could have her own roll of toilet paper.  Why?  So nobody else would use it!  Well, now why didn't I think of that?

WERE YOU ALIVE

I never really felt 'old' until the day when one of my kids asked me "Mommy, were there dinosaurs when you were little?"  Oh come on!  That was really below the belt (which tends to hang lower now days... so you know thats LOW!). 

'Oh yes', I replied with exaggeration... 'We used to watch the T-Rex chase the triceratops around the field outside our cave!'

'You lived in a cave?' (when will I learn that sarcasm is wasted on children?)

'Of course, how else could we survive the ice age?'

'Was it cold?'

'Not after the volcano erupted and melted the ice'

'Nuh uh... you're lying!'

'Oh yeah... how do you know?'

'Cos the ice age put the volcanos out... so the vocanos didn't melt the ice age.  Is that why you have blubber, to keep warm?  Jack Crust-toe says that whales and walruses have blubber to keep them warm.  Are you an Eskimoe caveman-lady?'

Between the blubber, Jack Crust-toe (Jaques Cousteau) and the caveman-lady I was having a heck of a hard time keeping a straight face and finally confessed that I was not around when the dinasaurs roamed the earth, but I packed a healthy layer of blubber just incase the ice age came back and I'd have to become a caveman-lady until the volcanos could melt the ice again. 

This conversation between Becca and I happened 8 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.  Sometimes I watch my kids and wonder what kind of children they will have... and what kind of parents they will be for them.  I hope... I hope they are blessed with wonderful kids like the ones I have... I hope that even if I haven't been the greatest role model as far as housekeeping and intellect goes, that my kids take my laughter with them and share it with their own children.  And I hope Becca's little girls asks her about living with the dinosaurs and blubber!

LICK THIS!

I just heard the most ridiculous thing this morning while scrounging around for something hot for Rocky to eat for breakfast.  We had eaten all of the eggs over the weekend, and the boys had finished off the last of the oatmeal.  All that was left was a bag of ramen.

"Art licked that" Rocky said, shaking her head when I handed the package to her.

"What do you mean... Art licked it?  Why did he lick it?" I asked, thrusting the bag back at her.  She still refused to take it.

"Art licked it, that means he claims it."

"What!  You can't go around licking things just so nobody else will eat it!  Thats stupid!  Here, eat this!"  I tossed the bag on the table and continued to rumage through the cupboard.  Kids now days, do they really think they can just lick something and it automatically becomes their property?  I don't think so!

Suddenly I spotted a lone moon pie sitting ontop of a can of soup.  The kids must have missed it earlier because these things don't last long in our house.   I snatched it up, licked the wrapper and stuck it on the top of the shelf for later. 

AUSTRAILIAN PINK FLOYD!

We took the kids to see the Austrailian Pink Floyd Show at the World Arena in Colo. Springs.  It was their very first Rock Concert and they had a blast!  It was so fun to see my little guys bee-bopping to the music, singing along with all of the old rockers like my husband and myself.  Rocky was up on the chair dancing, and Becca, Art and Zack will probably be hoarse today.  Well, me too, but that might not be a bad thing!

The guys sitting right in front of us started smoking pot early into the concert and that just made me mad!  It was an indoor concert where smoking of ANY kind was not permitted.  Why couldn't they have smoked BEFORE the concert started?  But no, they had to go and do it right in front of my kids.  I was going to report them to the arena officials, but Steve just reached over and grabbed the guy by the shoulder and said "Hey man, don't do that again".  I don't doubt that the guy is wearing a huge bruise on his shoulder today.  At any rate, they didn't light up again.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not some goody-two-shoes or anything, but my kids were there!  I couldn't let them think that I thought it was acceptable for these guys to do drugs like that infront of them.

I'm not looking forward to the drive to work.  I have to use the Pontiac.  I've never driven on ice in it before.  Hopefully I'll have green lights all the way down the hill and won't have to try to brake or anything.  Big Red was awesome on the snow and ice.... she NEVER let me down.  I miss her.... I want Big Red!
40 days until Christmas!

SNOW DAY!

I woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground.  I love the winter, especially when it snows because its the one time of the year that my yard looks as beautiful as everyone else's.  Did you ever listen to the sound of snow falling?  I know it sounds nuts, but there is a sound... its a soft, feathery, crystally sound... If magic had a sound it would sound like snow falling.  I've spent many a moment outside with my eyes closed, feeling the warm touch of the snowflakes on my upturned face just before they melt.. and listened to such a beautiful peaceful sound that echos across the land.  Some of my favorite sounds include the sound of falling snowflakes, the sound of the ocean, the wind through the trees, my childrens' laughter... and the sound of the AOL dude who says "You've Got Mail"

TATTYPATCH

DREAM SHED, and our 401k

Only hillbillies could go to the local HomeDepot and find their dream home sitting in the parking lot.  Actually... we went to look at a Tuff Shed for all our junk that prevents us from parking our car in the garage, and came across some custom log sheds/cabins that were really quite cute and cozy.  Unfortunately they cost more than 2x what we paid for the Hemi!  This here isn't one of them, but its similar.  This shed only costs $13,000....  some assembly required, shingles not included.  (The one I was looking at cost $53,000!)  We hope some day to set a small cabin like this in the middle of some property, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city, nothing fancy... just so long as there is room for my Bunn-Omatic and my computer.  And no room for the kids to move back into once they've moved out!

And if you aren't convinced yet about my hillbilly /redneck tendencies... Dickidoo and I went to the bank today to make a withdrawal from his checking account... and then went next door to invest in our retirement plan ... at the liquor store!  We bought some PowerBall and Scratch Lottery tickets.  Thats about as close as we get to a 401k.  I figure we've invested about 200 by now so we only need 201k more!  One day we'll hit it big, and when we do we'll be able to buy that Tuff Shed built for 2 and live happily ever after.

Summerwood Products - 12ft. x 16ft. Telluride Loft Cabin

DECAF and wonder creams!

Yesterday when I got home from a long hard day at work, I found a pot of coffee waiting for me on the Bunn-Omatic.  Graciously I thanked whoever had made it and poured myself a large cup.  Something was missing though.  It looked like coffee, it smelled like coffee, but all I could taste was the hazelnut creamer.  I didn't make it half way through the cup, I just couldn't drink it.  Art later disclosed that Rocky had intended to heat up some hot water for cocoa, and poured water into the Bunn-Omatic, but had forgotten to dump the basket of coffee grounds that was still in there from the morning... so the water ran through the grounds again.  She figured that since it looked like regular coffee that she would save it for me.  Only problem with that is all the caffeine goes out with the first brew!  In fact, when my kids want coffee I'll intentionally reuse the grounds so they don't get the full dose of caffeine.  Art knew this... and he said nothing!  Devil Child!  He just wanted to see if I would notice!  I'm telling you folks, I've got a full blown addiction here, don't try to stiff me with the phoney, poofy stuff!

I've got all kinds of wonder creams in my bathroom.  There's Oil of Olay, Night of Olay, exfoliants, astringents, toners, masks, moisturizers, you name it, I got it.  Rocky asked me once why I have all that stuff.  Well, cos I want to be young and beautiful I replied.  She shook her head sadly and informed me that it the treatments weren't working.  "Well, sure they are... just imagine how bad I'd look if I DIDN'T use them!"

Atomic Coffee by Mark's Caffeine Warehouse

VETERANS' DAY

This is a picture of my guys the morning Steve flew to the Gulf region for his 2nd tour there in early 1991.  When I took the picture with the little disposable camera... I didn't want the M-16 in the picture, but Steve was obligated not to set it down so he had to hang on to it.  How oddly symbolic that the boys should be so at ease around that weapon.  I got a letter from Gabe yesterday (thats him in the upper left corner) and in it he wondered about the possibility of him shipping off to Iraq after he completes his training.  It was hard enough having my husband go to war, but now my son?  My heart will truely break when that time comes, eased only by my pride for his committment to his country.

This is a letter I wrote in 1991, in protest of the horrible things the conscientious objectors were saying about the American soldiers in the Gulf at the time.  It was printed in the Fayetteville Observer-Times, in North Carolina (near Ft. Bragg).  That was over 13 years ago, but my feelings are the same.

May The Eagle Soar
  The national bird for the United States is the bald eagle, not the ostrich as some people seem to think.  We, like the eagle, have the ability to see far into the distance rather than to bury our heads in the sand to avoid facing an unpleasant situation.
  We did not start this war, Saddam Hussein did when he invaded Kuwait in order to satisfy his greed for power and wealth.  Yet we are not so naive as to think that by ignoring the crisis in the Persian Gulf we will know peace.  On the contrary, ignorance would invite and even unwittingly encourage further aggression against the Middle East and world security. 
  Saddam poses a real threat, (one that) when we turn back around is larger and more dangerous than before.  It is our generation's responsibility to take care of him now so that our children will not have to deal with him later under considerably worse circumstances.
  So let the protesters protest and the conscientious objectors object in the name of peace.  Just do not let them stand in the way of the real peace keepers, the men and women of our Armed Forces.   And may the Bald Eagle soar forever over the land of the free and the home of the brave!

To all the men and women of the Armed Forces, to their families... their mothers and fathers, their wives and husbands... sons and daughters... Thank you, on behalf of me, my family and our future.

THEN AND NOW.... indications that I'm all growd up!

This picture was taken in 1973.  Thats me in the top right corner.  I was going on 13 at the time.  My siblings didn't like me then.  My oldest sister learned to swear because of me.  My sisters say I was a brat.  My brother and I were best friends.  But that was then and this is now.  I've finally grown up (and out), and I know they are all pleased with the transformation.

I used to splash in puddles... I couldn't pass one without jumping into the deepest part of it, trying to splash as many people as I could.  Now... I drive through puddles.  I'll even swerve to hit one.  And if there is someone walking near by, all the better!

When I was 13, if I saw an apple on the road I'd pick it up and throw it as far as I could.  Well, I'm 44 and I still can't throw worth a lick... so... I swerve the car and run them over!

When I was a kid I used to bring home every stray animal that had the misfortune to cross my path.  My mom almost always let me keep them for at least a little while.  Today I 'adopt' animals for the kids... it teaches them responsibility... I get to play with the critter, they clean up its poop!

As a child I would swallow food that I didn't like without chewing it.  As an adult I don't cook food I don't like.  My kids have only had liver once, and it was at a restaurant.  They may never have it again... unless they go to another restaurant.

As a school girl I always excused myself and went to the bathroom to release vapors.  Now days I just blast away where ever I am... except for the dinner table.  My children are in awe with me because they believe that 'mommies don't fart', I just have really bad smelling burps!

THE AFTERMATH OF THE ELECTION, Xmas shopping and MY space

My phone has been oddly silent lately.  Now that the elections are over it seems nobody ever calls any more.  I don't expect to hear from the Kerry camp being as I didn't vote for them, but after receiving at least 5 calls from Laura Bush herself I though that I meant something to her... And when I voted for Bush... and he won... I thought a little personal thank-you was in order.  Instead I got a one-size-fits-all Special News Bulletin type thank-you.  They didn't even mention my name.  How rude!

I did some Christmas shopping after work.  Its going to be a small Christmas as far as gifts go since we're going to be spending a good portion of our Christmas budget driving over to be with Gabe when he graduates from boot camp (or what ever they call it when they complete their basic training), then after we bring him home for a week we're going to fly him back to continue his training.  We've already explained this to the kids and they're okay with it.  They just want to see their brother again.  Awww!  Sometimes they can be so sweet!  Not all the time, in fact hardly ever... but sometimes.... yeah!

Now that I've showed my desk off... I get to be relocated to where abouts unknown.  The kids are finally kicking me out of 'the room previously known as my computer room', and they are taking it over.  They will now each have their own room.  I have to share with Dickidoo, which is okay because we've been sharing for 20+ years now... but my computer room was my sanctuary, I could lock the door and have peace and quiet.  I could set my stuff down and it would still be there if I went out of the room for a couple of hours.  Now the only place I can go for a little solitude is the bathroom, and they still bother me when I'm in there!  This is just not going to work... I need a 'ME' place...  Darn it, even AOL gives me 'MY SPACE', is it asking too much to have a little place to call all my own in my own house?  No Dickidoo... the kitchen and laundry room don't count! 

 

WHO SAYS DUST BUNNIES CAN'T TYPE?

     

I tested this little guy out on the Bloggers Anon. journal.  He's sooooo cute I'm actually trying to think of different ways to use him!

Gabe called today.  He received all of the letters that were sent with the wrong zip code.  I'm so glad, it really broke my heart to think that he was there feeling so miserable because he thought we didn't care.  Actually he knew we were writing and figured the mail was running a little slow.  I didn't get to talk to him, my husband did, but he says Gabe sounded real good, and different, but in a good way.  I guess he had some problems with the obstacle course in the beginning but he went back out and 'tore it up'.... I believe that also is a good thing.  I'm just glad that he's gotten into the swing of things.  He's still disturbed by the soldier without the bootlaces.  I just hope his past experiences will help him to be compassionate when needed.

Carne asada burrito... mmmmmmmm!  I stuck my face in the bag and breathed it in all the way home from Albertacos this evening.  Isn't it funny how great some things smell before you eat it, and as you eat it... but smell soooo bad AFTER you eat it?

Dust bunny by:   Cody's Animation Station : Computers

DESKTOP

This is a picture of the desk I type at everytime I make my Dust Bunny entries.  If you look closely, under the left side of my monitor... you can see tracks left in the dust from when I dragged the dustbunnies away that were cluttering up my already cluttered desk in an order to make it look a little more respectable for the picture.  Silly me didn't think to dust first.  Of course there are some of my Coca Cola stuff, my favorite coffee mug,  my music box, my hour glass, my bears... I love bears, my fairies (they don't work... they just sit around and offer encouragement) and of course my bobble heads who help me to make the more pressing decisions in my life!  My keyboard is sitting ontop of the desk instead of the sliding keyboard tray because the kids broke the slider.  And my mouse pad, well, I go through mouse pads like crazy, they only last about 2 months for some reason (?). 

A LETTER FROM BASIC

Just got a letter from Gabe.  He hasn't received any of our letters yet.  (Steve did a quick check and discovered that the zip code we had was wrong!) His letter is short, he says its been raining a lot and he can't keep his feet dry.  Although he admits that 'it sucks', he sounded really upbeat.  He put in a menu request when he gets home in between training.  And he wants some pictures of the mountains.

On a sad note, he passed a soldier whom he discribed as 'holding up his pants and had a lost look on his face' as the soldier was being escorted by another soldier.  He then noticed that the soldier had no shoe laces.  When a soldier is put on suicide watch, his shoe laces are confiscated.  Our friend Nolan had no laces on his boots when his boots were returned to his family.  Gabe admits that he had tears in his eyes when he realized what the new soldier was going through, just as I do right now.  Dear God please bless these brave young recuits with their visions of saving the world.  They are so young and idealistic... and vulnerable.  I pray that these young men are able to realize their goals, and if it is not to be... then I pray that their instructors know when enough is enough... and allow them to take another path with dignity.

I LOVE MY BUNN!

Feeling:  Happy, carefree, content, and TOTALLY CAFFEINATED!

It is back, my Bunn-O-Matic, Pour-O-Matic has returned to a hero's welcome.  Who ever said "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup" probably had their Bunn-O-Matic commandeered at some point in their life.  There was no 'best part of waking up' for me these past 4 days.  Don't laugh, but I almost made a pot of coffee last night at 8pm just because I could...  It took every ounce of restraint not to.  But this baby was quick-brewing by 7am this morning, you can be sure of that!  Never again!  Did you hear that Dickidoo?  NEVER AGAIN!

Okay folks, I apologize about my incessant postings about my coffee maker, I realize now that it must have seemed a bit obsessive.  To those who offered comfort and advice, thank you.  Pamela's comment  "almost spilled my extremely hot cup of vanilla nut freshly brewed coffee .. ohhhh .. am i not supposed to say that?"  might have seemed cruel had I not been reunited with my Bunn-O-Matic and been sipping contentedly on my first cup of real coffee in 4 days when I read it... My sence of humor has returned as the caffeine levels in my body rise back to normal levels.  All is well again. 

BUNN-O-MATIC GOES ACTIVE DUTY, hypo-caffeinia and some really bad Mexican food

feeling:  weak, my acute hearing is fading and I have blinked for the first time in years... I am not well, I think I may be dying from hypo-caffeinia, a rare and sometimes fatal condition resulting from low to no caffeine counts in the bloodstream.

Its been more than 72 hours since my Bunn-O-Matic was called into active duty for the First Sgt. training course at the Army post.  Its mission is classified, OPSEC (Operation Secret) but the cover is that it is replacing a malfunctioning caffeine dispensing machine at the back of the classroom.  I am feeling the effects of withdrawal.  I tried to make a cup of instant coffee yesterday and grabbed the canister of coffee grounds out of habit.  I laughed hysterically at the grounds floating in my mug but it really wasn't funny.  I was in pain.  My previous entry includes the word 'contributributions'.  After reading it several times I was unable to focus enough to figure out what I was trying to spell so I pulled up my handy dandy online dictionary and pulled up the word.  This is what it said:

Main Entry: con·tri·bu·tri·bu·tion
Pronunciation: "kän-tr&-'byü-tr&-'byü-sh&n
Function: noun
Date: 14th century gibberish, usually spoken during bout of caffeine deprivation
1 : huh?  (please refer to 'A Dummy's Guide to Spelling')

I had one of those really nasty microwavable chimichanga's for lunch yesterday.  I hate them, but I needed something to take my mind off of coffee.  By 9pm the ultra-violet plumes were radiating out behind me at an alarming rate and the smog index for the house hit the ceiling.  I warned Dickidoo to fasten his seat belt when he went to bed so I wouldn't blast him off the bed if I had my back to him, but hey, if he didn't take my Bunn-O-Matic Pour-O-Matic in the first place I wouldn't have eatten the chimichanga and there wouldn't be a hazardous gas issue at all.

Rocky is having issues of her own.  I have no sense of humor lately, but when I saw her crawling across the floor on her belly last night, gasping for chocolate I had to laugh.  We always takethe kids Halloween loot away and let them have piece by piece because they would eat it all at once otherwise.  Yesterday she didn't get her daily ration of chocolate and she was having little withdrawals of her own.  I know how she must have felt and I should have relented and tossed her a Hersheys, but hey, if I have to suffer then so can she!  You don't see me crawling around on mystomach like a pathetic, addicted fool do you?  No!  I run around hollering loudly like a pathetic addicted fool "I NEED COFFEE!"  She even came banging on the Royal Throne Room and begged through the door for chocolate.  Now I'm sitting there, trying to get a large straight with my last roll on the pocket Yahtzee, suffering from hypo-caffeinia, trying to eradicate the last of some really bad Mexican processed food and she wants to talk about chocolate?  NO!  She either got the message, or the smell... and the subject has not been brought back up since!

The Hemi just pulled up in the driveway.  No, my Bunn-O-Matic was not nestled safely in its 'new truck' scented interior.  Dickidoo did however enter the house with another bucket of 7-11 coffee, and the offer of a movie date for this evening.  His life has been spared.  But it is only a stay of execution.  If my 2-warmer coffee brewing system (with 2-pot hot water reservoir) is NOT on the coffee stand by 0'dark-hundred the man is going to find himself in a world of hurt!  The clock is ticking! (cue the Jeopardy theme song now)

ELECTION RESULTS, and the Bunn-o-matic situation

Okay, Bush/Cheney won.  In my view this was about more than the election, this was about the future of the country, the stability of the world... and who gets to be my son's Commander in Chief.  I am glad that Bush won.  I don't doubt that Kerry would have done a fine job had he been given the opportunity, however I think Bush will do a better job and when my son's life is involved, and the future of my children then I want the best!  And thats all I have to say about that.  (except that I have found new respect for Senator Kerry through the outcome of the election.  I was wrong, I apologize.  I am glad that we didn't have to break out the shock collars.)

This is Day 3 of the detainment of my Bunn-O-Matic Pour-O-Matic.  Last night I cracked and cried out that someone was going to die today if I didn't get some real coffee.  Steve woke me up this morning with a bucket of coffee from 7-11.  It didn't come close to the quality of brew that my Bunn-o-matic puts out (7-11 also uses Bunn-o-matic, but they have tainted their system by brewing the decaf from the same machine as the real coffee... that is a major java-gourmet 'NO NO') but it gave me enough of a jolt to get me moving.  Hostilities have been diverted for the time being.  I have decided to view the situation as 'commandeering'.

Main Entry: com·man·deer
Pronunciation: "kä-m&n-'dir
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Afrikaans kommandeer, from French commander to command, from Old French comander
Date: 1881
1 a : to compel to perform military service b : to seize for military purposes
2 : to take arbitrary or forcible possession of

Coupled with the fact that I married and supported a career soldier and gave birth to a future soldier I now consider my contributributions to the military as time served and respectfully request an honorable discharge.  I expect my Bunn-O-Matic back at my place of residence by no later than 1800 hours tomorrow evening or I will call for a full congressional investigation.  AND I thinksome kind of medal for service, valore, honor and sacrifice would be in order as well.

Garfield compliments of  The Cupboard

MY VOTE IS CAST

I voted today.  First of all I walked in and the room was divided up into precincts.  I had to find my precinct in order to get my ballot.... huh?  I thought precincts were for cops and robbers, not voters.  And there was no master listing to tell me which precinct I was registered in so I had to go from table to table asking 'Am I in your precinct?'.  The folks on the other side of the table snickered and whispered 'republican' under their breath.

I finally found my precinct and took my ballot to the booth.  Wow, what happened to the nice curtained cubicals I voted in during the last election?  This one was like a rubbermaid tub turned up on end ontop of legs that swayed with every breath I took.  The whole line of booths shook like a row of tenements during an earthquake as the voters filled in the little ovals with their magic markers.  No pregnant chads here!

I opened the ballot and just stared.  I had no idea what half of it said.  I should have brought Zack along as an interpreter.  Hello?  Excuse me, may I please have the English ballot?  Hmmmmm....should we keep the current circuit court judges?  Well, I suppose since none of them have thrown me in jail yet they're okay... I hope.  How do you vote for a judge?  Actually I think I was supposed to vote whether they can retain their appointment as judges or something like that.  Did they have to campaign?  There's something really weird about that.  I guess I never paid much attention to how judges got to be, but if we voted to keep them in or kick them out... whats to keep them from becoming biased to gain votes?

So anyhow, I cast my ballot and walked out more confused than satisfied.  When it is all said and done, I only hope that the results prove to be the best for the country and our future, whether or not it is my candidate that wins.  Time will tell. I predict that there will be some conflict and this election will drag on.  I do not think I can stomach another comedy of errors like in 2000, I hope that the candidates will be man enough to accept the voice of the people they claim to serve. This is one instance when I would be happy to be wrong, but I have had such a bad feeling about this election right from the start.  Its not too late for those shock-collars.

~*Kevs Patriotic Gifs Galore*~

I WON, I WON!

 

(This is my very first award on AOL and I'm so proud of it... I am the Unofficial Outstanding Fly-Flicker!  Thanks Lahoma ! )

GOT COFFEE?

FEELING:  angry and totally decaffeinated!

My husband woke me up this morning to ask if it was okay if he took the coffee maker in to work for the rest of the week.  Thinking he meant the monstrocity of an urn that we put the apple cider in for our trick-or-treaters I sleepily said yes.  Then the question became clear through the fog in my mind.  He wanted to take my Bunn-o-matic Pour-o-matic to work.  He wanted to take it away from me.  He's nuts!  He's CRAZY!  And I told him so.  I don't care if the coffee maker at work sucks.  Thats not my problem. 

The last thing I wanted to hear when I got out of bed was 'where's the coffee maker?'.  The Bunn-o-matic was GONE!  Let the battle begin.  Oh, you can bet I called Dickidoo.  "You said no?  I didn't hear you." he said.  Now I know he's crazy!  And he has a death wish!  He says he'll take me to Starbucks to make up for it.  Okay, thats not even REAL coffee.  And what about this morning?  There's snow on the ground outside... I NEED MY COFFEE!  'Use the instant coffee' he says.  Ooooooooohhhhhhh buddy!  He better have a Starbucks in his hand when he walks through that door this evening.  And my Bunn-o-matic Pour-o-matic!

Thats not a picture of MY Bunn-o-matic, I would never have decaf on mine.  I'd take a picture of my wonderful Bunn-o-matic Pour-o-matic, but unfortunately someone has absconded with it!

Add on:  Rocky is sick for the 2nd day in a row.  Yesterday I fussed at her to go to school and it wasn't until she started crying that I realized she was really sick.  I left her with Becca who was also not feeling well and went to work, feeling like a bad mother.  I got off at lunch time and the boss let me stay with the girls.  Becca probably should have stayed home today as well, but she hates missing school.  Its 16 degrees outside.  I hope this doesn't make her sicker.  I'm staying home with Rocky, they already know at work.  I hate missing work so they know its the last resort when I call in.  I guess I could catch up on the dishes.... ugh... You know, cows have it made.  They just graze on the lawn and drink from a trough.  No dishes to clean up.  Next time someone calls me a heifer I think I'll take it as a compliment.  Oh, to be a cow!