I Ain't Dead - YET

Well I'm not dead. Life just gets in the way sometimes. Some things I've learned since my last post: POLITICS MOST of the American Electorate is of questionable intelligence, and reading comprehension skill. MOST Americans believe the OTHER GUY lies, but not THEIR political pony. THEY ALL LIE. I miss being in Europe where I never had to watch a damn election campaign 'message'. Nov, & then Jan, can not come soon enough. EDUCATION Apparently I have a much larger vocabulary than a lot of my fellow Americans. It spans all states, overseas locations, and life styles. Coming from teachers I've never considered myself that verbose. I am very glad we live in the school district we do. However I'm deeply depressed by the surrounding school districts and their apparently complete lack of teaching any form of education. Virginians do NOT do Homecoming Mums! I'm still in complete shock over that one. It has been long enough since I went through school that I STILL hate Algebra! No matter which of my children is attempting to do it. CHILD REARING My oldest child is convinced I'm a moron. My middle child is a pain in the butt, however she's a fantastic kid when she wants to be. My youngest child has turned into a holy whiny terror! PETS Adopted 4 new ones. Two dogs, two cats. So now we're up to 5 humans, 4 cats, 3 dogs, 2 fish. I live in a freakin' menagerie!! Not the crappy Tennessee Williams kind either. I'm still working on the chicken / duck coop.

BENTO!!!

This is what happens when I have friends around the world who like when I get all geeky in the kitchen! :D

Apple flowers


Boiled egg shapes (those were HOT!!), cookie cuttered meat, & mandarin orange slices. The apples went with the oranges.


Ham, Turkey, Bologna & boiled egg shapes.


Black & green olives, celery & carrots (cut into hearts & flowers), & sweet rice shapes.


Brown Sugar & Cinnamon rice shapes.

Comments & Overlords

So I keep getting spam comments that I can't delete. So I've had to add comment captcha words again. I hate the stupid things but as Google is too busy telling those nasty little Chinese who want to know what's going on in the world that their wonderful, loving, all powerful murderous government doesn't want them to know things, it seems they've broken the coding for Blogger in the process. I can't delete crap comments & the stupid Blogger thing at the top of the screen isn't keeping me logged in but is recognizing I'm logged in as soon as I reclick "Sign In". For the foreseable future the words will remain on. Sorry.

We went to DC for 3 days at the end of last week. It was enjoyable, but expensive & we went dirt cheap. Couldn't get lodging because everyone was booked & for some weird reason Andrews AFB has NO TLF until May when they move into new digs for the billeting office. But, that's okay. We still got there & we'll be going back.

The Metro worked really well minus the Red line fire at Metro center on Friday. The trains were actually pretty clean, & not too terribly crowded (minus said fire & line disruption). We didn't make it to the National Zoo - too cold! but we did spend a whole day at the Air & Space museum & then the American History museum. Thursday we spent at the Mall. Saw all the monuments (didn't go in the Washington one, but saw it) & visited the Vietnam & Korea memorials. Got to say "thank you" to 2 gentlemen who fought in the Pacific in WWII at their memorial. They were both very young men when they helped liberate Asia & in the process helped liberate my great-grandfather so they deserved so much more than just my thanks but that's all I had to offer them.

If seeing your nation's capitol & thanking veterans doesn't make you tear up, nothing will. Even with the cesspool that is Congress in the background, I was still incredibly proud of my nation & what all its done in the world.

Einstein has a new home. He, well he snapped at one of the kids & that was strike 2 after biting the husband. We found a very lovely single lady who lives right on the beach. They enjoy each others' company & he's thriving. I'm glad he's happy & didn't have to get put down, but I'm sorta sorry to have seen him go. He's a good dog, just not the right one for us & we're not the right one for him. So we're back to a single pet family at the moment.

Coming up for air

So the Household Goods are here. My house looks like a war-torn corner of Baghdad, or a cheap flea market with all the boxes and un-assigned stuff lying around.

3 beds are built (2 all by myself! - yes, I'm proud of that). The middle heathen wants her's painted black and grey so I can't put it together until after it stops raining, I get it sanded and painted, then dried. Have I mentioned it seems like monsoon season here in Virginia?

We've got family inbound on Saturday. At least the living/dining/kitchen/office areas are ready for visitors/habitation. The girls rooms not so much...Our room, not at all. Our bed is together but that's about it bud.

We own too much crap! I'm throwing away boxes worth after going through them on un-pack. But, its moving along at a slow pace, but moving none the less.

Hope all have a good weekend! I'll be 31 on Sunday and all I want is a hand-dipped DQ cone. :)

Boxes, boxes, and more boxes

My whole world isn't made up of boxes, but I'll be danged if it doesn't seem that way sometimes. Unaccompanied Baggage came in yesterday. Household Goods today and tomorrow. I have the plan of this time next week the house being put away properly even if I have to be a mean task master where the hubby and kids are concerned.

I did pull a bonehead and forget to get the guys some bottled water. I've got sodas, ice, tea, and cups but I forgot the water. I'll pick some up today so they can have it later. We'll buy lunch for them tomorrow and I'll pick up some donuts or something as well.

Never Underestimate

The power of a child. George Boon, one of the fathers of Romano-British archaeology and a force to be reckoned with in the archaeological community, wrote many letters supporting the protection of Roman remains in Britain following WWII. A series of them have been found in the archives of Bristol, and they're very well written for an 11 year-old boy, but you can read the drive and determination quite clearly.