A Letter to my little sister.

Dear Bree,

It seems you and I have come a long way.  When you were little and I was just beginning my teen years, you drove me crazy.  You were quite possibly the most terrorizing little shit I knew.  I was MORE than happy to move away and get away from you when I got married and moved to Germany.  You were more than happy for me to leave.  I don't think we ever talked much even over the phone without some nasty words being exchanged.

I'm thankful that our relationship has changed over the years.  Thankful that we can now talk to one another without me wanting to scratch your eyeballs out.  Very thankful that we actually enjoy one another now.

Having a sister is a blessing.  A little sister is someone that you can share your knowledge with and give advice to. I do my best to do that without stepping into you life.  "You're Grown", right?  Well, at this point, your big sister still has a few pointers for her 21 year old baby sister.

Don't ever move too fast with a guy.  People show you who they want you to see when you first meet them and when they are trying to get to know you.  Take your time and get to know someone before you start thinking of moving up levels with them. Judge Mabeline always says, "Look Deep before you leap."  GREAT ADVICE.  Never let your heart get in the way of good judgment.

Mama always told me, "Never let anyone steal your joy."  It meant a lot when she told it to me. It was a time when joy was hard to find.  I want to tell you the same thing and take it a step further with your joy, your self-confidence or your ambitions.  You're my sister, which makes you at least HALF as gorgeous as I am :-)!  Don't ever forget that. Don't ever let anyone make you feel differently.  If dad didn't instill anything else in me, it was confidence in my self.  Be beautiful inside and out and that light will shine on to others.  Also, steer clear of the dream killers.  Some people are negative and don't want to see you do better for yourself.  Dream Killers will have you doubting what you can do and who you can be.  Be ambitious, little sister.  And if you want to do something, DO IT!  If you're going to dream, dream big and then go forth and accomplish!

You want to surround yourself with positive people.  Those people will guide you to do positive things.  Surround yourself with people who are looking toward a brighter future, people who want to do better and be better in life, people you aspire to be like and people who are going places.  When you do this, you start to think like these people and they teach you to do the same.

Enjoy Life, Girlie!  You only have one!

Your Big Sister, 

Kay

Thank You, Soldiers.

Yesterday while I was registering my son for middle school, a family walks in and the wife is pushing the husband in a wheelchair.  At first, I thought nothing of it and continued with my paperwork. 

The wife was greeted by the Middle School Staff and was asked how she was doing.  She walked over the the secretary shaking her head, stress on her face.

"He just got home," she said.

"What happened to him?" asked the secretary.

"An IUD," she responded.  "He was in the hospital for two weeks after his surgery before they let him come home.  It's been hard.  This was his 3rd time over there, you know?"

"I'm sorry to hear that Mrs. Jones (Name changed)? I know that's tough, but thank God he's alive!"  

The woman shook her head and agreed.

As a military spouse, I certainly pray for all of the soldiers.  But sometimes I forget just how close we are as military families. We may not know them, but they are our family.  I forget just how blessed my own family is that our Soldier returned home safe, healthy.

Every family doesn't have the luxury of saying that their Soldier returned home uninjured.  Some don't have the luxury of saying that their Soldier returned home at all.

Yesterday was the first time I felt compelled to stop a Soldier and just say THANK YOU!  I've had many people stop my husband, and myself, and thank us for our service to the military.  I've hugged many Soldiers returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq as they stepped off the buses to greet their families.  I have a Soldier at home who has done the same as these Soldiers and has put his life of the line in a war zone.  Sometimes we get so caught up in our own stories that we forget to acknowledge others.  I've thanked Soldiers on my Facebook page and in my writings on my blog.   But I'd never stopped a Soldier, out of the blue, and thank him or her for the freedom we have here at home, for serving and putting his or her life on the line.  

Yesterday I did.  I will continue to do so. 

Why are the kids next door to me so LOUD?

Mind you, I do understand that kids playing can be a very loud thing.  I know loud.  Cam. Is. Loud.

But, there are so kids whose voices carry way too much and that's when it's time for the parents to step in.

Has she ever told them to SHHHH?

My neighbors kids yell no matter what they are doing.  I hear them through the walls in my house when the windows are shut.  There are some mornings when she lets them out before 7 in the morning and they are YELLING at the tops of their lungs. 

AT 6 SOMETHING IN THE MORNING?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Their talking voices.... LOUD!

Their playing voices... LOUD!

Their crying voices... LOUD-ER!

Those are two kids I would never offer to babysit!

Oops, was I suppose to say that?

My Baby is Growin' Up!

Today was one of those days when I realized my baby is growing up.  

I signed him up for middle school.

(insert Awwwwwws here)

They talked about lockers and changing classes and in-school sports and I just can't believe that I have a middle schooler.!  

He's not even big enough to be a middle school!  He's so PUNY that I'm afraid someone might try to stuff him in one of those lockers!

But, never the less, my son is growing up.  I'm expecting things to change from this point.  While he still enjoys Legos and playing with his little brother now, I expect that teenage attitude to kick in and for him to start wanting his own space, spending more time in his room and finding a lot more things to be BABY STUFF.  

Puberty!  Pimples!  Public hair!  OH MY!

Oh the joys of my baby growing up!

I'm Participating in Mama Kat's Writing Prompts this week.  I chose to write on the prompt:

Choose a writing prompt from the list provided that inspires you most.

Drop and Give Me 150!

My husband is driving me CRAZY!

Weekends in my house sound like a cleaning boot camp!

Once he's up and about, EVERYONE should be up and about, cleaning the house spotless.

Sleeping in is not an option most of the time because he is the early bird and literally starts making noise before 8am.  Too often, it’s starting a load of laundry.  

NO I CANNOT SLEEP with the washer spinning!

Of course, that noise is going to start the sleepers in the house to start rustling in their beds until they can’t sleep anymore. 

Well, once they are awake, it’s Drill Sergeant time.

Did you clean the kitchen?

50 push ups!

Didn’t I tell you to sweep the floor?

100 push ups!

Why isn’t your bed made?

Don’t ask to go outside today!

Did you brush your teeth?

Put away the dishes.

Clean the bathroom.

You didn’t clean your room.

That’s 150!

It’s not that he makes them clean up that gets on my nerves.  It’s more the extent of the fussing and the fact that “Everyone is nasty!” 

As their mom, that’s more or less a direct hit on me because I feel like I bust my butt to make them keep the house clean during the week, and he comes home and complains about how nasty everyone is.  I’m not perfect, nor do I expect to live in a perfect house.  My home is clean but lived in.  

Yeah, there are things on the 6 year old's floor that she decided not to clean up after playing Barbies.  

Yeah there are crumbs on the floor from having potato chips at lunch and yeah the boys may have left video game controllers in the middle of the floor in their rooms, but I’m okay with that.  

I’m okay with NOT being perfect.

I’m also okay with having the kids learn responsibility and learn how to clean.  

Y’all KNOW how much I make them clean.  All too often one will come to me and say, "Mom, we're the only ones out of our friends that have to do chores."  And, I'll say, that's because your friends' parents are CRAZY!  You're going to learn to be responsible for yourselves. Your friends who don't have chores will grow up to me messy and irresponsible."  And their okay with that.  They feel that chores are a necessary evil.

What I’m NOT okay with is that I do all of this and because it is no longer perfect when Hubs gets home, I feel like I’m insignificant as he becomes the drill sergeant yelling about what isn’t done.  I feel like I’ve failed as a stay at home mom when he yells at them for what hasn’t been cleaned.  But that’s a feeling I’m going to have to work on, I guess. 

My father was the same way.  When he was home, he made a big fuss about what was not done around the house.  I wonder if it’s a Soldier thing.  I wonder how my mom felt.

Today is NOT the day

Today is NOT the day.  

But I guess I felt the same way yesterday.  

But TODAY is NOT the day.

Between the fact that I didn't sleep well and really want to go back to sleep and the fact the mensies are kickin my butt., today I really want to avoid the morning walk.  

I don't think today is the day!

But, I hate to disappoint Ginger.  She loves the walk.  Well at least until the walk turns into a run.  Yesterday, once the UMPH kicked in, I was able to hit the pavement with a jog.  That was after walking about a mile and a half first, in the heat.  Well, Ginger wasn't too happy about that and I ended up pulling her and pepping her to run most of the way.  

Lazy Dog.

Today doesn't feel like a day where I want to get out and hit the pavement, but at least I better walk, right?  I always feel so much better after a little exercise, even if it is only a mile or so walk.  And even though I didn't sleep last night, I can always come back and take a nap.  It's not one of my busy days.  

Today is going to have to be the day.  

I may not be able to do any working out tomorrow.  It's Saturday. Lots going on.  Lots of plans.  Not sure if I can squeeze it in.  

Today IS the day.  I'm tying my shoes, drinking my water and putting the dog on the leash.

TODAY IS THE DAY, because tomorrow's not promised to be the day either.  so TODAY, I have to push my excuses to the side and make it happen!


Today IS the Day!

Getting to know the community.

Back home in Georgia, one of my favorite things to do was to invite the girls over for a lunch date.   Not because I'm a gourmet by any means, but because I had a love for entertaining and being around my girls.  

For the most part, these lunches were during the school year... for obvious reasons.  

The fewer kids, the more adult conversation we could get in.

And who doesn't love a little adult conversation?

Since I've been here in Arizona, I haven't met many friends, but the few ladies I do know, I decided to invite over for lunch today.  

Didn't happen.  Had to cancel when Hubs told me he needed a chaperone to his MRI.  Since there were no other options, I had to take the job.

Lunch cancelled.

Well, my neighbor didn't get my 2 voicemails and the 1 text message I left on her cell and she came over with a plate of yaki mandu.  If you've never tried this dish you need to RUN to the closest Korean restaurant and place an order for at least a dozen!  

Anywho, I was very apologetic for not having the lunch and not getting the message to her about the cancellation.  But I assured her that her yaki mandu would NOT go to waste!

I told her that I would reschedule and she was more than happy to hear that.  She started telling me how lonely she was and how for the first 4 months of her living here on Ft. Huachuca, she didn't talk to ANYONE.  She told me that now, other than the people at her church, she really doesn't know anyone in this area except me.

She's been here a little longer than I have. 

Now, last week, I decided to start a Facebook page called Huachuca Wives.  I wanted to put together a page that illustrated all of the things that there are to do in this small community and the near by areas.  I wanted to put together a page where spouses could meet other spouses, form friendships and share information.  It's hard to live in a small, community in the middle desert and it's hard to find things to do.

I'm starting to gain members.  I'm up to 29, which is great.  There was one comment similar to the conversation with my neighbor where a wife here on Ft. Huachuca talked about how she'd been here (...) months and she hadn't met many people.  This got my wheels turning.  There has to be many more that feel this way.  There has to be many spouse that just want to get out of the house and meet people, right?

So the page will offer tons of community information.  I spend the better part of my morning after my walk looking for things to do in the community to share with others  I also hope to get some of these ladies together soon.  We'll see.  For now, I want to focus on getting the word out of things to do in the area.  I know how it is when you have days where you just seem trapped in the house in the middle of the desert.

I'm already glued to the internet for many many hours of the day, so I figure why not use my love for social media to help others, well, push away from the social media table and get to know their community?

Giveaway Winner!

I'm feeling great this morning and I'm in a great mood, despite the fact that I woke up earlier than I wanted to.  Hubs decided to get his workout on with music blaring in the living room this morning.  He tried to be respectful and closed the door to the bed room, but the sound of E93 Jamz and the sound of whistles blowing.  I'm think it was coming from his Droid ap, counting out his push-ups.

Today, I opted not to do my morning walk because the boys had a friend sleep over and while I might leave my own for a short time in the morning while they're sleeping, I figure it wouldn't be a great idea to leave someone else's rugrat, sleeping or not.

So instead, I folded 2 weeks of laundry.  Yeah I despise folding laundry!

Oh I know I had to brag on FB, but I didn't get to brag to you all about my accomplishment.  

I MADE THE DEAN'S LIST!  

It's amazing how smart going back to college has made me feel.  I finally feel accomplished, like I'm doing something worthwhile and meaningful.

I'm signing the kiddos up for soccer today.  This will be their first time play this sport, but they are all so excited.  I can't wait to see "The Princess" out there in the heat.  If my memory serves me correctly, cheerleading didn't go over too well with her because she didn't like sweating.  

This should be interesting!

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YES I'm late, but today, I'm ready to announce the winner of the Fiber One 90 Calorie Giveaway!

Are you ready???

The Winner Is.

Marina!   

Congrats to you!  Contact me with your mailing information so that I can get your prize out to you!

Thank you to all who participated!

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Am I becoming... GULP... OUTDOORSY?

This morning I allowed all of the kids to intrude on my morning walk.  Normally they're asleep (or at least 2 out of 3) so I usually take to dog out for a minimum of a 40 minute walk. Today, I woke up the boys to put the trash cans out on the curb because it's trash day.  

Oh did I mention we got blue recycling cans this past weekend?  I was pretty excited because when we first moved in I asked the Command why we were not recycling and I was told that it just wasn't in the budget.  In my opinion the benefits of recycling had to outweigh the cash and was sure to cost the post less in the long run, but who can argue with the Garrison Commander?  Anywho, 4 months later and VOILA!  Blue recycling cans!  YAY! (Why things like this excite me, I don't know.)

Anyway, I got the kids up and let them ride their bikes while Ginger and I did a speed walk.  I even had it in me to take a longer route than normal AND run on the way back.  I have to admit, I expected lots of complaints from Thing One and Thing Two, but they were actually pretty good on their bikes.  I'm sure they wouldn't have made it on foot.  

The idea of waking them up in the morning is not a bad idea.  They get in some exercise, we get to spend some time together and they begin to learn the importance of living a healthy life.  I'm just starting to learn this so I'm hoping to get it instilled in them early.

On the other hand, on the mornings that I don't take CJ with me (I take him because he does the least amount of complaining), the walks are my "me time" to think and organize my day while enjoying music via online radio all the way from Savannah, GA. It happens to be my FAVE radio station, even though I haven't lived in the Savannah area in years.  If you love Hip Hip and R&B and you love today's music mixed in with greats from the 90s on up, listen here:
http://tunein.com/radio/E-93-931-s28412/

There are so many things to do and so little time to do it.  The summer has flown by and it almost feels as if I just haven't done ENOUGH with the kids this summer.   The last two weeks have been much of nothing exciting.  I'm glad that the weather is changing and thanks to the monsoon season, it's not scorching hot outside anymore.  

Shhh, I'm about to surprise you.  

Ready?

I think I'm becoming the outdoorsy type!

Yeah, I said it.

I'm starting to actually want to do things outdoors.  

I WANT to hike to the top of the mountain.  Really, I do!  It amazes me that I'm even considering the idea, but I want to get out and hike up the mountain.  I'm inspired by the people I see doing it.  I'm not expecting it to be easy and I think that's why I want to do it.  I will never be able to climb mountains at home in GA unless I go up north, so I want to do it while I have the opportunity.

Okay, you can get off of the floor now.  I know that's a shocker because I can't hike in heels.

So stay tuned.  I have a feeling that day is coming soon!

Stimulate Your Mind, MAN!

My Microeconomics class had a interesting discussion this week.  It was about whether or not to legalize Marijuana for economic stimulation.  

If you watch the town hall meeting Obama did recently answering question posed through social media, you'd know that he was asked about legalizing marijuana.  Apparently this is on MANY American's minds.

This is my discussion post:

As teens, my brother and I use to joke about how the government should just go ahead and legalize marijuana. 

A couple of months after I moved here to Arizona, the news was flooded with reports that medical marijuana was now legal, with a prescription, of course.  Marijuana is sold in clinics and shops across Arizona.  Billboards went up everywhere.  Jobs opened up for those who could show users how to use the drug “responsibly”.   Pro 1 – Job growth

Living on the border where much of these drugs enter the country, I find myself again asking, "Why not legalize it and take the thrill out of it?   Make some money for the country in the process?"  And apparently I’m not the only one with these thoughts.

President Obama addresses the question of legalizing the drug in the United States.  It was a question raised by many online users wondering if legalizing Marijuana would stimulate the economic status of the United States. 

The President’s response?   “The answer is,no, I don’t think that it is a good stragey to grow our economy.”     Of course, he’s suppose to say that.  He is the President of the United States and constantly under extreme scrutiny.

But let’s look at this.  Many states have played with the possibility of legalizing the drug.  Amsterdam considers it a soft drug and although it is not necessarily “legal” to sell weed, export or import it, there are several “coffeeshops” that sell it.  California has proposed many benefits for the state:

·        Save $200 million in law enforcement on arrests, prosecution, trial and imprisonment of offenders. 

·        An excise tax of $50 per ounce would raise about $770 – 900 million per year.

·        Retail sales would range from $3 - $4.5 BILLION. Generatin another $240 - $360 MILL in sales tax.

One benefit would be that less African Americans and minorities would be flooding the jails for procession and selling marijuana.  They would be free from prison to purchase marijuana legally, therefore stimulating the economy. 

On the con side, legalizing and taking marijuana could easily cause people to move to illegal, less expensive and tax-free drugs instead.  Also, marijuana makes you lazy.  It’s a strong possibility that the more people free to use weed, the more people would become lazy and lose jobs!

If you stuck with me this long, feel free with leave your personal opinion!  Thanks!

Resources

Time Magazine. Kline, 2009. Why Legalizing Marijuanna makes sense. Retrived from April 2, 2009.  http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1889166,00.html

Kay

Okay, so SHOOT!  What ya got?  What's your opinion?

Kankles and Lunch Lady Arms. UGHH!

My treadmill has been sitting stagnant for months.  Well, it may have been used by Hubs, but it certainly hasn't been used by me. 

And it shows.

As I get out the shower and stand in the mirror, it shows around my 12-pack abs.

It shows on my thighs.

It shows in the knees and once had and down to my kankles. Yes,  kankles.  Knee-like-ankles!

Its shows with my lunch lady arms that keep waving once I stop my Mrs. America Wave.  And it show with the two extra chins that have joined the first one that God gave me at birth.

Don't get me wrong!  I'm stunning.  Beautiful!  But I don't want to become that girl with the pretty face.

We all know what it means when someone says she has a pretty face, right?  

It means there's something wrong with the rest of you. 

It means that whether you are too big or too small, COVER UP!  And you may only wanna go to the beach in a Burkini!

I'm not sure why I torture myself in this cruel way.  Stopping and starting this workout thing over and over.  I just don't LOVE IT.  I can't stick to it.  But something's gotta give.  I'm "The Big Girl" in the group these days, and either I'm gonna have to find some new friends, or I'm going to have to get to know my treadmill all over again!

So what's it gonna be?

Review and Giveaway... Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies

How many of you have 

Struggled to lose weight? 

Gone on a diet? 

Changed your eating habits to a healthier diet?

MEEEEEEE!

What's one of the hardest things to stop eating when you're trying to do one or all of these things?  

Did you say sweets because I know that's what was ringing in my head?

Well one thing is for sure, when I want to cut back and get my eating habits in check, chocolate seems to want to hold on to me.  And it holds on tight to my stomach area every time I give in to the craving.

Well I've recently become a fan of Fiber One products because 1) The box says fiber and fiber is suppose to be healthy, right? And 2] They have some things that taste like, well, GOOD.

Well, General Mills and Fiber One asked me through MyBlogSpark to give the new Fiber One 90 Calories a try and already being a fan and all, I was like 

OKAY!

Brownies?  Why Not?

And Again, it has the word FIBER on the box.  FIBER is a healthy word, right?

Well, I got to try out these

and these

The consensus of  of the house hold was so so.  I liked them.  They're a small healthy chocolatey snack that's great for taming a craving.

My oldest LOVED them and pretty much scarfed down both boxes and said that I needed to buy more.

Middle child, ...eh.  He's a food connoisseur.  A gourmet cook.  Apparently they didn't taste homemade.

Little Miss Missy doesn't like chocolate and wouldn't give them a try, but she loved the jump rope included as one of the healthy life goodies that came with the Fiber One Brownies.

Hubs, eh.  Not a fan.

So, for those in the house that gave them a try, the consensus was fifty-fifty.  

So, if you want to give them a try in your family, Fiber One and BlogSpark wants to give one lucky reader a chance to give them a try!

Here's what they have to say:  Cool, right?  Well, all you have to do is leave a comment letting me know what favorite sweet treat you are willing to give up and replace with a Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie!

Have we tempted your taste buds? If so, let us know and be among the first to try these new brownies. We will provide you with a Fiber One 90-Calorie Brownies gift pack that includes a box each of the Chocolate Fudge and the Chocolate Peanut Butter brownies, as well as a Fiber One 90-Calorie Brownie themed duffel bag, jump rope, water bottle, snack case, headband and bracelet. We will also provide you with an additional gift pack to give away to one of your readers. 

Cool, right?  Well, all you have to do is leave a comment letting me know what favorite sweet treat you are willing to give up and replace with a Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownie!

One comment a day, please!


The winner will be drawn randomly, probably by someone with very small stick fingers out of a random hat.  

Deadline:  WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2011