Tweet, Tweet-a-tweetle Leet

So, there's this thing out in the cyberspace world called Twitter. I'm sure most of you have heard of it. www.twitter.com . I signed up about a year ago, but really didn't do much with it. I mean, how to write in 160 characters or less, what you are doing RIGHT NOW! Well, mainly, I was sitting at my computer! But, then I realized that you could "Tweet" from your cellphone. But, I wasn't doing much from there either and I didn't really have anyone to follow. Over the course of the year I found some of my friends on there and would keep tabs on what they were doing.

I have one friend who tweets like crazy. She's a real smart cookie with a long history....oh wait, that's another song. Back track....well, she is really smart and uses every new toy to her advantage. She's got Twitter wired for sound among her blogs, museums, and other techno stuff!

I just recently figured out that if I clicked on who I'm following and turned the device status to on, then I would get text messages on when they "tweeted". I know, I'm slow, but I'm learning! I think I'm going to have to up my text messaging ability to unlimited pretty soon!

This is a great networking tool especially in the business world! Not only can I tweet with my friends, but I'm also able to keep up with my colleagues! I can already see this will be great when I attend the HSMG conference in May. So, all of you in the guild and otherwise who are on Twitter, come follow me @shadowfax0704 . Those who have yet to join Twitter can find me at http://twitter.com/shadowfax0704 . Just put in the comments section that you found me on my blog so I'll know who you are!

Oh, and if any of you Twitter experts know of more tips and tricks out there, please let me know. I am still learning my way around Twitter and would love to know more!! Just add your comments below.

And now, in 160 or less? Putting out a great blog on the joy of tweeting!

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor......

Who says living out in the middle of nowhere isn't interesting. Many of you hear me talk about the many musings of country life. Well, it's an endless stream of bizarre goings on. We have the dead lady that lives next door, the fake illegals across the street and with them comes their horse who, apparently, hates living there!! She's always breaking out and coming to our house! Pretty much, every day (or night) she comes for a visit. I guess it wouldn't be bad if we wanted a third horse, but considering she comes into our barn and then breaks into the food bins, it gets a little tiresome. This last time, she yet again, broke into the feed bags and consumed a half bag of feed. Yes, I know it is bad for a horse to eat that much food. We called her owners only to find out he was out of town. All throughout the day we chased her and ran her down the road only to see she returned. We let the dogs out after her and she nonchalantly brushed them off. I guess she got tired of me chasing her out of the barn as she sauntered to the end of our driveway and laid down for a nap! Much like a stray dog wandering the street and deciding to catch some rays in the sun! She didn't even move when my husband came home from work. She just casually lifted her head as if he might disturb her beauty sleep and then stretched out even more! At this time I looked across the street and noticed the neighbor's son jumping on the trampoline! Uh, did he not notice his horse had been missing all day and all the previous night? I yelled to the jumping child to come and retrieve his horse. He promptly came over and when I asked him if he had been home, he said why yes he had. I told him that we had his horse and all I received was a grumbled, "Oh." I then proceeded to tell him that his horse had eaten a bag of our feed and I had been chasing said horse out of our barn all day. Nary a word of sorrow or concern for the horse or any trouble we had gone through was spoken from this creature of a boy. Needless to say, I was not happy about the situation and spoke to the father when he returned from out of town. Apologies were given from the father (but no compensation of the feed) and we were told that the horse was finding a new home, which did happen.

Later that night as I was making fresh hamburgers for the grill, I heard quite a ruckus on our porch. Thinking by some miraculous feat the horse had come back, I peeked out our front door! We had a new visitor! It was a huge, fat possum hanging out on the railing. Having my handy dandy camera on the table, I set down the hamburgers and took a few pictures of this wayward feller! As I went back into the house to grill up our dinner, I went to grab the plate and noticed it was empty and looking at me with big eyes and wagging her tail was our Great Dane licking her chops! Sometimes I just happen to forget that our dog is bigger than the table!

And that, my friends ended our adventurous day out in the middle of nowhere! Dinner ended up being mashed potatoes and some other veggies, but we can't say it wasn't exciting!

People. People who need people.........

Everday we are always meeting someone. Whether it's someone who is helping you to carry boxes from your car, or it's a new aquaintance or friend for life even if they are of different political or religious persuasions. Just the other day I met a few more interesting people in my life. All extremely different from one another.

One was a Native American. He was a healer and had finished making a documentary and I had the privilege of watching a little bit of his unfinished movie. It was very interesting and what was more so is that sitting next to him, I was able to ask questions as to what different things were in his movie and why they were being done. He told me that he was burning Sage in the beginning to purify the things around him. Sage is always used to purify. I did not know this.

Another person that I met that evening was a scriptwriter who was in the process of filming his comedic/horror zombie movie! It's actually a really good, thought out process and sounds like it's going to be a great film! He's quite the character himself and very humorous so I'm sure this translates well into his movie. On hand was his producer who picked up the movie on the basis that it was different than most slasher, gore horror flicks.

I like the fact that on any given day you never know who you may meet. Like I said, very extreme from one another!

Sometimes I'm told I live in the past, but even in the past, I've known some interesting people as well. In my brief stint in college, my English professor had us write papers on where we would like to be in 10 years. I wrote that I would like to be a film maker with at least ten films under my belt. He called me up to his desk one day and said, "Filmmaker, huh?" I have someone you might like to meet." He invited me to meet his friend one evening. Always one for adventure, I agreed. His friend, turned out to be Samuel Bronston, movie producer. Mr. Bronston produced such films as El Cid, John Paul Jones and The Fall of the Roman Empire with such stars as Sophia Loren, Bette Davis and Charleton Heston. I spent the evening listening as Mr. Bronston regaled me with his stories of the movie business and Ms. Loren. He was a pleasant and sweet gentle man. It was a thrill to have met him and one that I will remember always.

I didn't get to become that filmmaker per se. But I've been lucky enough to have opportunities to dabble in it more now.

Our past is what makes up who we are today. We don't forget who the Beatles were. Their music still continues to play on all radio stations, much like the Rolling Stones, Rush, Elvis. Their music influences up and coming bands to create new sounds even if it's from the past.

Much like my life. Even if I talk about my past and bring it into the present, it could influence my children who can create something new from what I've learned. The only harm would be if you wallow in your past and never come out. But, I have no intention of that. I love what the future holds and welcome incorporating the past and the present to see what I can conjure up!

Freeze Frame

Ever since I can remember, I've loved taking pictures. I had a little Kodak Instamatic when I was around 9 or 10 and was always taking photos. As a child I fondly recall my grandfather with his Super 8mm cameras and the tape recorder hanging on his side so that he would have sound recorded movies. They fascinated me so. When I was in junior high, my grandfather gave me his Yashica camera with screw on lenses. I thought I had the greatest camera in the world! Of course it had an attachable viewfinder, so you had to guess that your photos were in focus. Good times! In my senior year of high school, I took a filmmaking course! It was a dream come true! We were given sound Super 8's to use and film our own movies! According to our teacher, we could make any movie we wanted, even soft porn! Yeah, tell that to a bunch of teenagers! My partner and I decided to make documentaries. I made one about her and she made one about me! It was great fun, but I wanted more! My mom let me borrow her Super 8 camera and I was off! I wrote a script full of kidnapping,stealing, guns, and suspense! There was a lot you could do in three minutes! Here for you now, for the first time converted from super 8 film is my First Movie!



My love for film and photography has never been sated and to this day I still continue to make videos with more up to date cameras, both still and video. Of course, the editing and sound have gotten a bit better.

It's a Dead Man's (Lady) Party!

I LOVE Halloween! It's my favorite time of year! If you love Halloween, stand up and cheer! Okay, yes, a bit goofy, but I really do love Halloween! My blood turns orange starting October 1st! I get to pull out all my ghosts and goblins and animatronics and set them out all in and around the house! This year I added something new to my bag of tricks. I now have a dead lady sitting in the back of my car! Oh, she's so cool, this 6ft wonder of death! She's so beautiful with her long, white hair. Her white stripped dress that flows gracefully to the ground. Oh, and you can't miss her tri-colored glowing eyes that light up with the flick of a switch! She's just amazing. I call her "mom". I've been carting her around for awhile in the back seat of my car, with her safety belt on mind you, wouldn't want to get her hurt! She doesn't mind the heat of the day, she enjoys the same music that I do, and she doesn't talk much at all!

I have noticed that when I come out of stores that there are few more forehead and nose prints on my window than I've had before. But, the best reaction I have gotten and what has been the sole purpose for having "mom" in the back seat has been what happened Wednesday afternoon!

We were on our way back from Clear Lake in rush hour traffic and were on the feeder road when I noticed an SUV in front of me with two youngish boys in the back seat. They were probably 8 - 10 years old. They kept looking at my car, tilting their head left and right. At first I was thinking they liked my little Mini Cooper. But, then I saw one of them mouth "What's that?". Then, it hit me. The dead lady. They had seen the skeleton. I tried to hide the smile that was forming on my face and told my daughter, "Check out the kids in the car in front of us. They're trying to see Mom!" She was laughing, when all of a sudden, one of the kids pulled out his cell phone with the camera part flipped up! He was trying to take a picture of Mom! At that very instant a white car whipped in between their SUV and our Mini blocking their shot.

I felt bad for the two boys. I decided to switch into the next lane so that we could pass by the SUV. We were still in gridlock traffic, but a car let me into the next lane. Ever so slowly we passed by the SUV and the boys were still facing out towards the white car, straining their necks trying to catch a glimpse of our Mini and the dead lady. When, the one brother whacked the other on the arm and mouthed "Dude" and pointed out the side window. The brother with the cell phone quickly turned to the side with his eyes wide and took his photo, both of them with grins on their faces! They got their skeleton shot! We drove off and onward getting back into the lane we needed to get onto the freeway and happy to have made their day!

We can only imagine what stories they told their friends and family that evening! Here's to you young men for making the purchase of Mom worthwhile!

Can You Feel A Brand New Day!

After our week long not asked for camping trip, courtesy of Ike, I am about to really go on a REAL camping trip! It will be quite interesting considering they are not allowing us to sleep in cabins, use the kitchen facilities or the bathrooms at the camp site. I am being trained as part of the Girl Scout Outdoor Training so that I will be able to help lead our troop when we go camping. Yet, they will be able to use the cabins, regular latrines and the kitchen facilities! I am in charge of making the pitilator. Yes, I have no earthly idea what this was, but apparently it is a water jug, with a hole in the bottom, hung from a tree and a stocking with soap in it. An outdoor sink per se!

It will be fun and I am excited as I have camped before (okay so I'm not counting my Ike experience), but now, I do need to go get me a real sleeping bag as I guess Rayne's Cinderella one, just won't do! :)

Also, I just found out that one of my photos that I took at the Frog Exhibit from the Houston Musuem of Natural Science was picked up by Schmap Houston for their inclusion in their Fifth Edition of the Houston Guide! You can see it here: Houston Museum of Natural Science They had informed me back in August that they had seen my photo and would consider me as a finalist in their submissions. I just received their message this week that I made their edition. So, I thought that was pretty cool.

I did take quite a few Ike related pictures and will post them on my Flickr account. Luckily, we did not suffer any serious damage although the horses now have a new gate in the back pasture! We do have some minor roof repair to do this weekend, but thank goodness for beautiful weather! Rayne didn't miss any school since we homeschool, but again, the weather was nice and we enjoyed sitting out on the porch to learn lessons and still continue to do so.

I hope that those still without power get it as quickly as possible and glad that all my friends and family are safe.

Me and My Shadow

I have a shadow that follows me wherever I go. My shadow loves me and I love my shadow. I've had her for almost 9 years now and I know someday soon she won't be here anymore. But, as long as she wants to hang around, that would be wonderful! Although, I have two legs and two arms, my shadow seems to have four legs and a tail! Yes, my shadow is my dog. She is my Great Dane! No matter where I go, she is right beside me, leaning against me, always there.

But, as big as she is, just like any small child, she is scared of thunderstorms! If they are in the middle of the night, she climbs into our bed looking for the comfort of a parent! There's nothing like a 100lb Great Dane trying to cuddle in the covers! If it's during the day, she wants to be as close to me as possible! Even if it's trying to crawl under my desk in my office! She will get there even if it means breaking the keyboard in the process.

I love my big, grey dog!

I Fought The Law!

It seems we are having a bit of a tiff with the dead lady next door! She's not exactly there anymore as she's been dead for four years now, and her house has been empty, but her relatives are now giving us a bit of grief.

When we moved onto our property 11 years ago, the fences were already up in our back pasture. We don't know who built them or what, but they were there.

After the lady next door died, the fence line on her side started going into disrepair. We haven't really done anything to fix them, because frankly, we don't see the need. And, of course, her relatives have never done anything to fix them. We do have two horses and one has been going over to that property because of a hole in the fence.

We've used extra fencing and such to try and cover it up and seems to work part of the time, but every once in awhile he still goes over.

Lately, the son of the dead lady has been coming over to our house and very rudely stating that we need to fix that fence and if he sees our horse over there one more time, he's calling THE LAW. Now, that needs to be said, with true redneck slur.

Yesterday, during Tropical storm Edouard, our horse decided to visit the dead lady again and unfortunately the son and his wife were there. Now, if we do happen to see our horse there, we get him out as quick as possible and sometimes it turns out, it's not our horse, but our other neighbor's horse. This time it was ours. I really don't know how he got through except he was brave enough to jump over some of the fencing.

The son tried to blame it on an area where fence posts are knocked down, but barbed wire is up. Our horse does not go near the barbed wire and I proved it when I was trying to bring him back through. He bout near pulled my arm off not wanting to go by that barbed wire. Luckily, the wife saw all of this going on too. He went back to his favorite hole, but couldn't get back through because of the fencing.

In the rain, I set to work trying to unrig the fence so that I could get him to go back through. After many scrapes, mud, lots of rain and a bribery of food, he jumped back through. This time I believe I rigged it up a lot better that he won't go back on their property.

Then, THE LAW showed up! All they said, was are you going to keep your horse off their property? Well, duh, I'm sure going to try! It's not like I'm not!

After telling this to my husband, he said, hey, if they're willing to pay half, maybe we can work something out, but it's not our fence. If they want something, they're going to have to be willing to put something up as well.

If not, I don't think they'll like what we'll put up as they are trying to put their property on the market. I like this guy's idea and this will be our new fence!

YEEHAW!

Things to Do During a Power Outage

It was just your typical day. HOT! Was there rain finally coming over the horizon? Figuring it would be a good time to go into my workshop, I stepped outside. It was a full blown windstorm going on. Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! After twirling in the wind for a few moments, I decided to get to work. I love being in my workshop and hearing the sounds of what's going on outside as things hit the roof. Usually it's just squirrels scampering across the top, running, playing, jumping.

I get all of my ingredients mixed up and head over to the microwave, put my hand on the door and.....all the power goes out. In the words of the sage and wise Erkel, I think, "Did I do that?". I wait a few moments thinking that it could be a surge, but to no avail. The power is out. Besides, the rain is coming down pretty hard now and looking outside, it keeps changing directions so I might as well stay put.

I stay in there for awhile getting things done, but without light and really, without a/c it becomes obvious that I should get back to the house. The rain has quit and it has cooled off a little, but not much.

Back in the house, the rest of the family is just laying around with the doors open. Not really much else to do when the power is out! Did anyone call the electric company? No! The power won't come on until 5:20pm, an hour from now. Number one thing to do when the power is out?
Take a nap! Wake up. It's 6:15pm. No power. Call the electric company again and it is now pushed to 8:00pm. Second thing to do when the power is out? Go find somewhere to eat that has a/c, possibly t.v. and something to do! A sports bar with interactive t.v.!!! We're there!
As we head down the road we see what the problem is. There is a huge power pole with power lines strewn across the road. We see fire trucks, but no electric trucks. I think this is going to take awhile! Turn around and head in another direction to get to the sports bar.

Note to self. There's only so much you can do in a sports bar.
1.Play interactive t.v. (BTW we rock at trivia!)
2. Play Texas Hold 'em Poker, a game where when you lose all your money, they magically give you more! Wouldn't it be great if Vegas did the same thing?
3. Eat

Before we head home, we call the electric company again to see if our power is finally back on......Due to lightning strikes and service calls to Houston and Louisiana, we estimate that your service will now be back on around 7:00am!

Uh, can we sleep here tonight?

The drive home is morose, dreading the thought of sleeping in a hot house, we talk about the olden days. But didn't they have high ceilings, or better yet, people who fanned them to sleep? I want one of those people!

As we arrive home in the misty rain, we do what most people do in a power outage, #3! Light candles, which brings me to the number four thing you can do in a power outage! Take pictures. What? Yes, you're bored, let's gather up the family and do a photo shoot. You're hot, sweaty. Those are the best pictures, right? Nahhh, I wouldn't do that to the wonderful people I love! Well, yes, I would, but not this time. Here is what I took.


Which brings me to the 5th thing you can do in a power outage. GO TO BED! Not much else! Just go to sleep and hope that the a/c gods will provide and turn on your electricity! But, we did find some comfort in the ice that was melting in our freezer! Put those cubes in zip loc bags and toss those in the bed with you! It does help!

And, as you can see my dear reader, our power is back on! I am going to stand in front of the a/c all day today and not move and be thankful to the person who created this wonderful piece of machinery! I hope that everyone has a wonderful, cool day today!

I've Got A Headache

Now, now now. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's not one of those posts. Some of you know that I've been battling permanent headaches for about 9 years now. Boy aren't they fun!

Nothing like having a headache 24/7/365! After years of popping nine Tylenol and Alleve a day, I finally went and saw a neurologist. After thinking I was addicted to Tylenol and Alleve my doctor weaned me off those and lo and behold after curling up in a painful ball for 2 weeks that hmmmm....maybe it wasn't that doing the trick after all! I was diagnosed with non-aura migraines. Nothing shows up in an MRI and I don't see little black dots or things that are common with migraines. To me, they are just permanent headaches. You go to sleep with them, you wake up with them and they are there all day. Sometimes it's just a dull headache or it could be that I was just so used to it that it was like a little friend hanging out with me, chillin', letting me know they were still there! Other days it was monstrous and the only thing that would alleviate it was a cocktail of Tylenol and Alleve.

About 4 years and two months ago, my doctor put me on Topomax. It doesn't get rid of the headaches, but acts as a preventative. I wanted to take a natural route and try Feverfew, but the side effect to that is that it is also a blood thinner and I already have a problem with that. Every time I give blood, I'm told I need to lower my dosage on my blood thinning medication! :) Yeah, well, I'll just tell my body to get to work and do that for them the next time! I've tried Vitex too. I don't know what's in that herb, but for being a headache preventative that stuff just makes them worse!

My doctor joked with me and asked if I was against using regular medicine and I told him no, but if I could go the natural route, it would be great. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen. So, Topomax is now my best friend. It's not a bad drug. The side effects at least aren't as bad as some of the other things that are out on the market. Worst of it was the temporary memory loss. When you can't add 8+5 and have to count on your fingers, it sucks!! That was just at the beginning until my body got used to it, but it was kind of scary there for a bit! Still have problems with that every once in awhile, but most people think I'm a little off anyway, so that's okay.

Another side effect is tingling in my fingers and toes. Although that could be a good thing at times! Not so much anymore, but it still comes and goes. I associate it more now when I start to feel bad. Now everything is going in a cycle. I don't know if it's because I've been on this stuff for so long, but I'm noticing different effects the longer I've been on. Within the past four months I've been nauseous after eating. That's been a total drag. I feel like someone who's been working on a rig. Seven days on, seven days off. Some weeks will be good and then I'll have a bad week and with that, regardless of the preventative, the headaches return. The only thing I can take with this is Ibuprofen. It does help and so does Ginger. Man, that stuff works great! But, it's kind of a bummer when you want to eat, but you know what's going to happen afterwards. Tom has been wonderful through all of this as well. He just knows that I can curl up on him and he can rub my back until I fall asleep or I feel a bit better. Without him, I don't know what I'd do. Talk about being patient.

I've tried weaning myself off the Topomax thinking the headaches have gone. All is good for about a week and then they are back with a vengeance. There's no rhyme or reason why I have them or where they came from. It's just something I deal with.

Now, don't get me wrong, taking the preventative has helped immensely. I go through weeks and months without a headache at all, well except for those womanly times, but other than that, everything is fine and good with the exception of the nausea. Maybe one day, they will just finally go away.

I don't know if there is anyone out there who is or has gone through the same thing, but I know there are probably others out there just like me. At least I know I'm probably not alone going through this. I just hope this isn't passed on to my kids. This is definitely not my idea of a good time!

Music Makes the World Go Round

Beat on the Brat. People, people who need people. I used to rule the world. I've got to be where my spirit can run free. Everyone deserves a chance to fly. And I don't want the world to see me 'cause I don't think that they'd understand. Could you take my picture? If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. Hike up your skirt a little more and show the world to me. Tides that I tried to swim against.


Music and words. All of these are great lyrics to fantastic songs. Some we hear often and others, not so much anymore. Even songs that don't have lyrics find a place in our soul. They reach in and grab hold of us and remind us of our youth, of places we've seen, people we could've been or were. People we want to be and still continue to strive to reach.

The music and beat encircles us, captures us, caresses, enraptures and takes us on a journey that exhilarates our body and mind. It leaves us happy, sad, melancholy, exotic, erotic until it eventually ends.

But, unlike some things in real life where we can't redo what we've already done, here we can hit replay and start it over again.

Happy Birthday to my favorite person

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite people. I've known her all of her life. We've been through many ups and downs, good times and bad times and through it all we've remained the best of friends! I could go on and on about her many awesome qualities, but it would probably bore most people! She's the first person I call when I have exciting news and also when I need to rant. She's a great listener and will give advice when she knows I want to hear it or ask for it.

As kids, we were probably the biggest enemies, but as we've grown into adults we are the best friends two sisters can have. I love her more than anything and she knows I am always there for her, no matter what!

So, today, my sister HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! May you have many, many more! I love you always!

Love,

ME

All Growed Up!

This past weekend, I watched my son walk across the path as they called his name. The crowd cheered! They whooped! They hollered! They stomped their feet on the bleachers as he made his way across to accept his diploma. All of this for my son? Okay, reality check. I had married a Z name the first time around and my son was the last name called for his high school graduation. Although he had many friends, I accepted the cheering was mostly for the fact that that they had all finally graduated and it was time to pull out the waterguns, beach balls and mini swimming pools!!

I spent a wonderful time with my son as we went to Lake George and played miniature golf Around the World. It was fun to just hang out through the whirlwind weekend. My parents and sisters came in as well and we all got to swim and just have fun.

When it came time to take him back to his house, I think it all hit him that this was it. He was all grown up now. No more school. No more shuttling between states of mom and dad's houses anymore. The next step for him was entering the Air Force in the next few months. That whatever he does with his life now is his decisions. He will always have his parents to bounce off ideas and ask for advice, but now he makes the call.

The hug I got that night was tighter and longer than usual and when he pulled away he was crying. Something he hadn't done since he was very little when I had to drop him off at the airport and we said our goodbyes. I saw the transition from teenager to man and I know that my son is going to make it and he will be alright.

On Newstands Now!

Run! Don't walk to your nearest newstand, WalMart, HEB and pick up the newest issue of
Good Housekeeping's Quick and Simple Magazine

Turn to the coupon section and there you will find AFTER THE RAYNE! In this issue of Quick and Simple, we have a special coupon with a great offer! But, to find out what it is, you need to go get your copy of Quick and Simple!

Marshall is HOME!!

Marshall is finally back in the good U.S. of A. after being in Iraq since August! We're lucky in the fact that his tour was short compared to a lot of other soldiers, but we already know that his stay at home is short lived. He will be going back for his 2nd tour in August. :(

When he was in customs in Iraq he phoned to say he was about to get on the plane and kind of hinted if there was going to be anyone greeting him upon his arrival. I told him unfortunately we just didn't have the money for it, especially with his other brother's high school graduation coming up. You could hear the disappointment in his voice, but he understood. Little did he know that we had a surprise for him!

That Thursday my husband flew to meet his plane. He was arriving an hour earlier than Marshall's so that he could meet him at his gate. But, we were in for the surprise! We had been waiting for a phone call from Marshall when they arrived the day before in Baltimore, but we had not heard from him. As my husband was waiting at the gate, I received a phone call from my daughter-in-law saying that Marshall's troop had been delayed in Qatar and their arrival was pushed back a couple of days! Oh NO!! My husband waited around at the airport just in case Marshall's troop made it on the flight, but he did not. So, we scurried around and found him a hotel.

Early, early in the morning Tom received a phone call from Marshall from Ireland! He asked if he was going to work and Tom told him that he was in a hotel waiting for him to get there!! Marshall sounded surprised and happy that someone was there to see him come in! After a few more delays through Chicago and a co-pilot not making it for their connecting flight. Marshall's flight was due to arrive at midnight! At that time Tom was the only one in the airport to greet him and his troop. Everyone else in the airport had gone home. No TSA agents, no gate agents and only one guy in baggage claim.

I called Tom at about 11:55pm to let him know that it looked like Marshall's flight had arrived on time and that he should be walking through at any moment. Tom then said, there was a hubbub going on at the airport! Turns out that the Patriot Guard showed up to welcome the soldiers home! Tom said it was really great! They had flags and cameras and it was a great sight at midnight for Marshall and his guys to have that kind of welcome.

Marshall and his dad made it back to his house and they stayed up until 5am talking! It's been really great for both of them!

What to write about?

I needed to update my other blog and asked Rayne what to write about. Go figure I should ask her right? But, you know sometimes she might come up with a winner! She answers, you should write about how awesome I am! LOL!! So, here we go. This blog will be about how awesome Rayne is!

As all typical kids, she acts older than she is and tries to dress the same! She thinks that all the rules I put on her I make up just for her! That is until she hears one of friend's mom says the same thing or, until she heard this YouTube video!



Now, I'm just like "EveryMom"!! LOL!! The question she is asking lately is when can she go to the mall with her friends by themselves? Uh, NEVER!! :) Poor thing, being the youngest of all brothers, she's just never going to be able to do anything! I think she's finally starting to realize this.

But enough of her driving me crazy and looking into the future of her growing up and driving me even more crazy. What makes my kiddo awesome?

She cracks me up and makes me smile 99% of the time. She has a sense of style in what she wears. She has no problem making friends wherever she goes and everyone she meets is attracted to her. She's definitely one in a million!! Most of all, I love her!!

She's an awesome kiddo!!! :)

What to Do? What to Do?

First of all......HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Can you believe it? Time has flown. First I'm talking about ugly Christmas sweaters and the next thing you know, it's 2008! WHAT???? Man, did I fall asleep or what? Even in just a few days a LOT can happen! And, as it happens at the end of every year something MAJOR happens! I'm not talking about the fireworks, champagne, ringing in something new. I'm talking about Rayne's birthday!!! Yes, the kiddo has turned 10!! Or, so she has informed me, she will no longer be in single digits ever in her life!! LOL!! Although it was a quiet birthday, she will have her birthday party this weekend as a Sock Hop!! As she opened her few family gifts and pondered as to what was going to be a quiet day, she said, but....this is a MAJOR birthday, I'M TEN!!!! I looked at her and said, and next year you will say, but it's a MAJOR birthday, I'm almost a tween!!! The following year, you will say, but mom, it's a MAJOR birthday, I AM a Tween!! The year after that, you will say, but Mom, it's a major birthday, I AM A TEENAGER!!! So, I told her, we have plenty of major birthdays left!! :)


She just looked at me and in perfect Rayne drama style, stomped out of the room!! Yes, it has begun! But what started out as the worst birthday ever ended up being fun! I aquiesced and we went to the dreaded mall and even worse still, went to Build-A-Bear!! Ugh. For dinner, we went to our favorite sushi restuarant where our favorite owner/chef gave us a great gift and took 10% off the meal!! Can't beat that!! Hmmmm....will that go up each year!! Hey, wait, I'm 43, will it work for me? :) Now, we are getting ready for the Sock Hop party tomorrow. Got the poodle skirt ready, got the music (thanks to Dish TV) and scene setters. The house will be decked out and lookin' good!!! Rootbeer floats anyone?




Now, onto the other kids. We heard from Marshall on Christmas Day. That was nice and he was getting ready to see Robin Williams, Lewis Black and Kid Rock perform. That sounded like fun and I hope he had a good time with that. It looks like everything is still set for him to come home around the end of March beginning of April. Crossing my fingers here. We got a letter from Trent and he sounds good too. He says Marine basic training is harder than he thought it would be but he's loving it. He got through the 3 weeks of field training with flying colors and looking forward to everything else. Jaimie is graduating Air Force basic training next week, so we're going to go watch her and it's also our 11th anniversary!!! Can ya'll believe that in itself!! We've been together 14 years and now celebrating our 11th anniversary on January 11th!! Whoo hoo!!




Oh, and the foster puppy that we have has found a home. Yup, you guessed it. Ours!! It wasn't even me who suggested it either!!! I was talking to my wonderful hubby letting him know that the puppy needed to go back to the shelter to get his second round of shots and he said, well, while he's down there, do you think they'll cut him too? I said, well they only nueter when he's been adopted. He said, well, we're only going to have the Dane a few more years (she's 8) and this one seems like he's a pretty good dog and if you were going to get another anyway after her, you might as well have a good one instead of taking a chance and not get one you'd like!!! LOL!!! He's so funny!! I said, you like this dog don't you? He wouldn't admit at first, but then he said, he kind of liked the little guy!! Too funny!! So, now I guess we're going to adopt our foster puppy. I swear he looks like a webkins. Introducing Kipper!!




















Here's wishing everyone of ya'll a Safe, Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2008!!!