Still sick...

All three of us are still sick. Slade & I are still coughing, but no longer have runny noses, etc. James is starting to get sick, as of Monday. Good times.

On a lighter note, I did all of my Christmas shopping yesterday! Still have about 3 people to buy for, and miscellaneous things to buy (wine bottles, get photos developed, & pay for postage) but plenty of time for all of that. :) Veterans Day sales were going in my favor yesterday!

Food for thought

In recent years, society has increasingly grown a demand to stop using artificial ingredients, saturated fats, fructose, sucrose, and other grosses in the food that we feed ourselves, our children, and (of course!) our pets. We now have 'natural food' stores being frequented by a wider range of people, not just "granolas," and organic foods offered in the everyday shopping experience. Fast food chains have switched to healthier oils to prepare unhealthy foods, and Food Network encourages their television stars to mention their preference of organic ingredients.

There are commercial wars waging, lately with the corn industry defending high fructose corn syrup as a healthy option (I'm sure they've taken a hit since that ingredient is in EVERYTHING) and parents protesting if the schools don't get rid of the vending machines of junk food. In short, society demands we eat healthier! Future generations depend on it!

Speaking of future generations, why are parents fine with their kids' education being full of 'artificial ingredients'? Textbooks are full of abridged versions of the truth, which are then re-abridged as they are re-interpreted for 2nd, 3rd, 4th editions, etc. Additionally, depending on what society (or, in large, the government) deems to be the "truth" that year, certain words are removed (i.e., God) and filled in with countless replacements. I've noticed, there really are no two public school (even private school now) textbooks with the same exact information...publisher #1 states history as going down differently then publisher #2.
American History before 20th century revisionism: a totally different ballgame. But it all stems from somewhere, right?

When I was in high school, my mom had me take four or five versions of the Bible- the Bible! Old-school high-school text book for the masses (pardon the pun), and compare them and the way they changed throughout the years. First, we started with an OLD family heirloom edition (I believe Douay-Rheims) Catholic Bible. No, we didn't get down to the direct translations from Arabic to Greek to Latin. But Douay-Rheims is a direct-from-Latin translation. Anyway, line that up next to a King James Bible, New International Version, Mormon, etc...totally, TOTALLY different interpretations of the truth. And each, as you get further from the Catholic Bible, further from the truth as each has biased translations depending on the person who translated it and their current relationship with the Catholic Church.

Today (literally, 11-12-08) there are at least five alternative Christian versions of the Bible (New American Standard, King James Version, New International revised Version, New Revised Standard Version, and Today's New International Version) in addition to all of the tracts each church deems necessary to leave on your doorstep. BUT, we are still able to purchase the Catholic versions and therefore be that much closer to the truth.

Future generations though...I'm not so sure they'll have this option. With recent elections bringing Barack Obama into the White House, our education system is about to be drastically overhauled worse than it already is. His strong focus on revamping the education system isn't going to improve anything, but rather will increase the indoctrination of our children. History will be written more fiction then ever, unless of course he takes the path of his predecessor and burns all of the schoolbooks to get a fresh start.

There's a positive to all of this though. At least our brain-washed, indoctrinated children will have healthy food to fuel their bodies & minds.

(Sorry for the rant. If I were still in high school I think my mom would have me use this as a research paper topic.)

Sickness

As of Sunday morning, Slade started showing signs of being sick. I thought it was allergies since he stayed with friends Saturday night who have three indoor dogs. Lo and behold, all week long he coughs, sneezes, slimes me out, eats less & is actually cranky. So we finally made it to the Dr's...I wanted to make sure he didn't have pnemonia or anything major. Turns out he has (yet again) ear infections in both ears. I thought we were over that, with having tubes put in and all. But at least now we're getting it treated.

Just in time because now I'm starting to cough & blow my nose. Yay flu season!

Weekend Summary

I forgot to post an update on this past (busy!) weekend.
Halloween- Friday I baked Ramirez' birthday cake, hustled around the house getting stuff together for the weekend, had Slade's photos taken, and that night we took Slade 'Trunk or Treating.' It wasn't really that great- long, LONG lines of people walking in long, LONG lines to get a couple of pieces of candy. We walked around a bit, but then left. I had Slade dressed as a Ravens football player since his Charlie Brown shirt got dirty earlier. Just swiped some liquid eyeliner under his eyes and hit the road.
We should have stayed at the house and given out candy. It would have been more fun, and less hectic since Slade didn't really know what was going on anyway.

Saturday started early trying to get the house together, the cake finished, gifts wrapped, etc before 8 guys showed up to head out for Ramirez' dinner party. At 7pm we headed out in James' truck to Savannah, me with a cake sliding around in my lap (literally- it wouldn't stay put in the container- I had to shift & rotate every time James shifted the truck). We had a carful of guys following behind us, and another carful (including the birthday boy) stalling behind to get us an extra 15 minutes to set up before they got there.
HOWEVER- when we were in the shopping center parking lot, driving the last 1/2 block to the Japanese restaurant's parking area, a 17 year old kid hit us. His driver-side hit our front passenger side (me) and damaged the front bumper. The cake, though dancing the entire time on my lap, did NOT smash all over me. We were driving about 15 miles an hour, and the kid was going about 15-20 himself, but he drove over white striped lines (where a grass-median would be) going the wrong way in a one-way lane...basically, he was cutting across the parking lot. Plus, it was about 8:15pm and he didn't have his headlights on. I saw him coming, but before I could say anything he was crashing into us.
So Saturday night ended up being a bit later than we imagined. After the police took the report (the kid took full responsibility, the officer noted the damage and the position of the vehicles, etc) and the tow truck came, it was about 9:20pm. We went in to dinner, had a great time, hung out in the city for a while then headed home.

Fast forward to Monday: our insurance is handling everything- it's all due in full from the kid's Geico policy...but James gets a call Monday morning- Geico refuses to pay because the kid is claiming we were street racing and we hit him. SO FRUSTRATING!!! But lol, gotta give him credit for being creative. If we had been street-racing, we wouldn't have done it right before parking, nor would the cake have been intact. I guess he just got in trouble with his parents and tried to front a different cover.

Regardless, now it's all under investigation. Or at least until Geico gets the police report. Which they should have by now, being Wednesday. The truck's in the shop and will be getting worked on as of Monday morning *Nov 10th. So James & I are coordinating schedules using my car until the shop starts on his truck- then a rental will be covered.

Europeans are right- Americans ARE idiots.

I think having a black president is a MAJOR step for America, and shows the rest of the world how far we as a nation have developed beyond our own prejudices and immaturities. I was very hopeful we would have a black president, or a female president, before I hit 30.

However, this is NOT who I was hoping for. Obama's lack of leadership skills makes me question where our nation will be lead. His un-American beliefs lead me to wonder what his intents are for our country. His friend list makes me question his morals though I shouldn't because the one thing he IS direct about are his pro-death beliefs. So, regardless, none of his choices should surprise me.

Being a military wife, I'm curious what's going to happen to our troops overseas. Is it going to be like Vietnam and he'll leave them over there and forget about them? Or is he going to pull them out immediately like he first claimed? Or rather, like he's claimed the last few weeks, will he pull them out of IRAQ in the next 16 months...never said anything about sending them to any other coutries such as Afghanistan, Kuwait, Japan, Russia, etc...the list is quite long.

Basically, we've just elected the smooth-talking salesmen from "The Music Man"..."and we've got trouble, which starts with 'T' which rhymes with 'P' and that stand for 'Pool.'" Entice the public with song and dance, give them what they want to hear, and link it all together somehow. Oh, and don't forget the free handouts! Business 101- to increase sales, entice your core audience with something free (Can I get a WhooWhoo!!! for WELFARE!)

Goodbye Democracy...you've had a good run. Hello Socialism!

Pictures of Slade!

I don't have the disc yet, but if you would like to see some of the photos my friend Brooke took of Slade, go to myspace.com/brookemoxleyphotography
Hope you enjoy!

Oh, also if you go to http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/BrookeMoxl eyPhotography/Slade to see ALL of the photos, check them out! Password- slade

Slade's being a Halloweenie

He's grumpy as anything, so I just put him down for a nap. He's going to need all the energy he has for tonight! We're taking him "Trunk or Treating" on base. For a safer and more controlled environment, Fort Stewart arranges for any participant to park, decorate their trunks for Halloween, and then all the little kids get to "Trunk or Treat." They have contests for Scariest Trunk, Best Lights, etc. We're not entering (though James wants to deck his truck bed out like a graveyard). But it should be fun for us, and fun for Slade!

James shaved his eyebrows...

And I'm not kidding. After two weeks of casually asking me to tweeze them for him ("to maintain them a little") and two weeks of me not finding my tweezers (found them today while cleaning), he took matters into his own hands and used his Gillette 5-blade razor to do some maintenance on his own.

I didn't realize he had done it, until today when I mentioned I found my tweezers and he laid down in my lap to get pruned. I'm leaning over him and as I run my finger along his brow line, I note it's not quite a bushy as it had been before.

Don't get me wrong- he's not the owner of a unibrow, and being blonde any excess hairs he's self-conscious of you really don't see unless up close (like THIS CLOSE). Unless he's been in the sun too long and his skin turns red and his hairs turn white. Then, and only then, do you see those little stray hairs.

I questioned his self-maintenance, he confirmed, and as I start with the tweezers I'm noting there's really not that much I can do. I mean, he took off from the top, sides & bottom of both brows. Anna, you'd understand. ;)
Basically, and this may sound a bit morbid, the only way I can think to describe this newfound look is if you take a caterpiller, chop it in half, and then take the squiggly half and slice it down the middle. That's what he's got- two squiggly halved eyebrows. About an inch and a half long, each. But he seems happy with it.

LOL...men.

It's raining, it's pouring, Slade will soon be snoring...

And then I can get some serious housework done! He's having a ball tearing through the house carrying the broom, trying to sweep the carpet. He loves to sweep! I don't mind either, cuz regardless of where I am, I can keep an eye on the broom handle bobbing up and down, occasionally sweeping stuff off the counters.
Another weekend, and again my freezer is stuffed with ribs. Even if it rains, we'll be up at the barracks selling more plates. The guys keep talking about it, so we must've been a hit! That's flattering, to say in the least.
We haven't had any frozen meals pre-ordered, although one guy has called James daily to pay for a meal and stop over at the house with James on their lunch breaks. He could just buy the meals and heat them up in his barrack room, but whatever works.

Ooh, great, easy recipe to try...I'm smelling the product of it right now...Slow Cooker French Dips. Basically, take 4lbs of top round, cut off the excess fat, and put it in your crockpot with (1) can of condensed French Onion soup, (1) can of beef broth (I get low sodium) and (1) can of beer, set to cook for about 7 hours. Right before you're going to serve, slice your rolls or French loaf, butter each side & broil, then sandwich the meat & serve with the broth for dipping.

Slade's Room

Is almost, almost finished! We moved his furniture back in & set it up for him to be sleeping & playing in there, rather than bunking in w/ mom & dad in his porta-crib. He just thinks the paintings are too cool, and runs his fingers over the fish & turtles.
Yesterday, after having given him a bath and his FIRST HAIR CUT (more pics to follow...eventually) he ran into his room while I sought a diaper, climbed up on the chair I put in there to hang his curtains, and proceeded to "christen" his walls and carpet with a long, steady stream of pee.
Just thought I'd share.

...arg

Finally, after living in our house for almost four full months, the rest of the repairs required in the buyer's/seller's agreement are being completed. The contractor hired to do them has been horrible about calling me back (actually, one return phone call out of my 6+ in 3 months) and finally, TODAY, is here and the jobs are being completed!
Whether it was out of the kindness of his heart, or because James was on the phone Friday threatening to take it to JAG, he scheduled us for bright and early this beautiful Monday morning. The last five repairs are being made, and hopefully all of this will be taken care of and out of our hair by this afternoon.

There were five pages of repairs the inspector found back in June that we got the seller's to agree to have repaired prior to closing, most of which HAD to be repaired before the mortgage co. would agree to lend the monies. The rest of them apparently got put on the back burner UNTIL TODAY!

Oh wait, contractor just notified me that the wrong range hood was ordered (my mistake- didn't know the difference between vented & non-vented) so he's got to do an exchange and wait for the correct one to come in at the end of the month...guess we're not done seeing him just yet...

Wonderful...it's not over yet. Oh well, lessons learned:
1- be firm, upfront, and insistent
2- call more frequently than once every two weeks, persistent
3- don't make friends with your realtor. While I am grateful for the friendship, being 'nice' doesn't get the job done fast
4- don't get to the point when your husband also gets frustrated...does NOT make for very pleasant phone conversations

End of weekend: Synopsis

Long, long, LONG weekend, albeit productive. Yesterday, I cooked for five hours straight and still didn't complete my task list. I prepped five racks of ribs (boiled them in a secret concoction of veggies & spices) for about 7 hours, made a mexican casserole, two chicken parms, and more that I'm too tired to recall. Today I finished cooking the ribs in a special homemade bbq sauce, and also made four strombolis, a huge pot of jambalya, 8lbs of smashed potatoes w/ 5 types of cheese & 3 sticks of butter...needless to say, all food was a GO!
Around 3:45pm, James & I packed up and headed to the barracks to sell our meals. Boy, what a hit! Of the 14 portions of ribs, we sold 11 plates w/ heaps of potatoes @ $10/plate...also, we sold a few of the frozo meals. In general, it was a huge success that will be continued next weekend, and however many more until the weather gets too cold. "Meals on Heels" had a great kickoff, and we made enough money to completely cover all of the startup expenses and then some. And we still have about 20 portions of meals in the freezer, at least $100 worth of profit, or if nothing else, I have dinner cooked for the next few weeks.

James had a super productive weekend. One friend finished the mural in Slade's room. I'm going to go behind him and paint more details to tie it in with the fish I painted.
James & another friend fixed the fence where the dog kept getting out; tore out the trash from the master bedroom demolition & purged it; laid out the insulation in the attic & secured some boards down for storage; moved all the bins I've been organizing out to the garage/attic; primed & painted all of the decorative accessories for Slade's room (bookshelves, etc); and lots of other manly chores that needed doing.

We all relaxed last night (after Slade went to bed) in the garage, spraypainting new decor just for the fun of it. Now we've got some awesome grafitti art and multi-colored fingers.
Today, after selling our meals, Slade stayed with a neighbor while James & I had our FIRST date in a long, long time! We went to see "Max Payne" and it was dumb. I'm a not a harsh judge for movies, but we were both pretty disappointed in the stupidity.

Needless to say, we are both ready for bed! Busy day ahead of us tomorrow!

Taking a short break

First blog on our new blogspot... a LOT of busy work that's getting done today! Where to begin?
James and about 9 or 10 other Army guys went out last night to Jekyll Island for a "Night Shark Fishing Charter." They had such a great time, and after four 'manly' hours joking around, drinking beer & bragging like fishermen do, four guys each caught a 3-foot long sharpnose shark. It's really not shark season anymore (so I'm told), so lo and behold to my surprise, and since all four guys live in the barracks, James came home with all four sharks for my fillet-ing pleasure.
We tore out the culinary school knives and got to work. Lucky for me the captain of the charter provides gut-cleaning services on deck, so I didn't have to get the grimy part of the job, but it was fun nonetheless. :) James is off delivering shark fillets now, as I blog.
My big projects of today are as follows: 1- finish cooking up my orders for my extra-cash biz venture "Meals on Heels" and 2- seperate & store all of the miscellaneous stuff around the house.
I have a myspace set up with menu options and delivery info for Meals on Heels, providing healthy, hearty, home-cooked meals in frozen portions to the guys in the barracks. Their kitchens consist of a sink, fridge & microwave, really limiting their culinary options. My 'just like mom's' microwaveable dinners are starting to take off. Word of mouth has helped out!
Today, I'm making one pan of mexican lasagna, one pan of chicken parmesan, five large stromboli's, one pot of jambalya, and will prep five large racks of ribs, in addition to side dishes, rolls & dessert.
And the storage- James built this amazing storage shelf system in our garage. Pictures will definitely follow! There's hanging room for his military gear, special shelving for his fishing poles, a work table, etc, all custom designed to still allow a car to pull in (home resale in mind) and the attic to fold down.
Today, James and a buddy are going up in the attic (first time since I fell through) to put insulation up & nail down thick wood panels to ensure no one else falls through, lol. And another friend is helping complete the mural in Slade's room- this guy is good! He drew out everything, and he & I have slowly but surely been painting sea turtles, starfish, miscellaneous fish, jellyfish, treasure chest, etc. Again, pictures will follow when I find the camera cord.
Slade's down for a nap, so my break needs to end while I have the time to cook...