Sh*t my dogs have ruined

Sunday, November 27, 2011.  It's roughly noon.  I walk into my living room where our 9ft pre-lit Christmas tree was suppose to be sitting in its box...only to find a shredded box and pieces of the lights from the bottom of the tree.  One limb hung out from what was left of the box with two exposed wires. 

I was done.  That was the last straw in a HUGE pile of straws.  That moment started my tirade of accounting for each and every item, moment, etc. my dogs have ruined.  The list gets long quick, so I highlighted a few that are still in need of repair or replacement:

1. My patio furniture
2. My gray pair of flip flops: the left one
3. The wall in the dining room
4. Leggos: marvel comics
5. My second gray pair of flip flops: the left one
6. The wall in the front entrance
7. Hubs recliner
8. My black pair of flip flops: the left one
9. Our couches
10. Leggos: aliens
11. My purple pair of flip flops: the right one
12. More leggos
13. The front bedpost on my NEW bedroom set
14. My third gray pair of flip flops: the left one
15. Hubs laptop power cable: twice
16. My sunglasses...three pair
17. The blackberry tree: before it even got planted
18. My brown pair of flip flops: the left one
19. The planters/plants on my patio...eaten
20. Bam's pool toys...pop, pop, pop
21. My running shoes
22. Hubs running shoes, work boots, and Crocs
23. Hubs belt (sorry hon, forgot to tell you about that one)
24. Squirrel---can't replace that one.
25. Baby moles
26. Wood floors
27. Any carpet/rug I attempt to put down in the living room
28. Workout weights

That list is just a glimpse of the past 24 months.  If I go back any further I might end up running away with the few things we still have intact.  The puppies are all to good homes now, including our last little straggler, Hiccup.  He's living it up on the beach, running and shopping for toys today...I knew I made the wrong choice by sending him instead of myself!


Douglas is fat and happy being the baby again.  A little drooling on Hubs pillow this morning shows he is de-stressing after all the chaos of keeping up with the puppies and not eating them when he had the chance.  They got big quick.

Nixon is and will forever be the most awesome of them all.  He's my golden baby that just wants to run and loves lounging afterwards.  As long as he gets a treat and a comfy spot on the couch he doesn't have a care in the world.

Between the four-legged furbabies or our boys in their latest growing pains, sh*t will get ruined in this house. 

Here's a few pictures that capture the moment:

And so it begins...

The day after Thanksgiving.  To some, a day of fighting the crowds and finding the best parking space.  To others, a day of dread as they are the ones who have to work and put up with the crowds.

Are the sales worth it?  The lack of sleep, sudden loss of large amounts of money, rubbing elbows with people who haven't showered in days from standing in line hoping to get in first?  Is it worth the $499.00 52" flat screen that will be outdated in a couple of years anyway?  Or the latest and greatest Elmo animated doll that does what--laughs, rolls, dances, sings?  Frankly, they should make that thing able to do chores around the house and help out, then I'll pay the fortune it costs to buy.  A robot vacuum is more exciting.

My favorite way to spend the early morning of Black Friday is with a hot cup of coffee, my laptop, and quiet house.  I got just that this morning.  Hubs and Peanut are still asleep, the dogs snuggled up beside them, and Bammers is chilling on the couch watching Scooby Doo cartoons.  I'm enjoying my cup of home brewed Dunkin Donuts coffee with a side of leftover Mississippi Mud Pie. 

My Christmas shopping? Online.  My budget?  Thankfully cheap this year with the ever changing "must haves" of a 13 year old boy who has all the gadgets, now just wants the accessories; a soon-to-be 4 year old who gets overwhelmed two weeks before Christmas with his birthday, so the "less is more" theme works Christmas morning. 

All you die hard Black Friday shoppers have one less person to contend with for that Must-Have-Item this year.  Good luck on getting the best deals and GOD BLESS, for the Christmas season has officially began.

A Little Giving of Thanks

All my loved ones and millions around the Nation are celebrating Thanksgiving.  For the past few weeks friends and family have posted thier #days of Thanks on social networking sites, blogs and news groups have started butting in with Christmas shopping on Black Friday, and schools have let out for the week/few days to observe the holiday--leaving parents who don't get off rushing to find childcare or drag thier kids with them on the mad rush to get the best shopping deals. 

I have mixed feelings with Thanksgiving.  A little history lesson of how the day came about is redundant as no one wants to hear of the carnage and chaos that occurred between new settlers and the Native Americans.  What people want to hear is how thankful you are for what you have.  Well...here goes:

I'm thankful to have a rich culture of Native American and Irish from my mother's side, and Lord only knows what on my father's side.  Family has hinted at coonass, but I refuse to be the lone child born in cajun country to admit it!  (Bran and T.J. tried to convince me I was adopted from a banjo family in the swamps--I have all my teeth and more sass so I know better).

I'm thankful for my husband, though we have little time together and usually talk best through text, supports and loves me for the workaholic I am. 

I'm thankful for the giant teenager that calls me mom and I call 'Peanut' though he towers over my 5'10" frame.

I'm thanful for the minature replica of the tasmanian devil known as Bam that also calls me mom and reminds me how precious every ounce of the day with him and my Peanut is. 

I'm thankful for the four-legged furbabies I call '#$%*&', '#$&%' and '^&$*&#' on a daily basis for eating something of mine or leaving a leggo mess of puke on my wood floors. 

I'm thankful for my family and friends who seem to pick up where we left off even after years of being apart.


I'm thankful for my job that allows me to serve my community---no sarcasm, I really love my job and am damn lucky to have one.

I'm am humbled and honored for the service members that sacrifice miles, months/years, and a lot of memories with loved ones to protect my freedoms. 

I'm thankful for my sorrows that make my joys so much better.

I'm thankful for my hard times that make my easy ones that much easier.

I'm thankful for my mistakes because they remind me to learn something new every day.

I am so very thankful for the amazing life I have been blessed with. 

And a big thanks to those who read this and are thankful to be able to READ!

Happy 236th Birthday Marines!

Captain Samuel Nicholas formed two battalions of Continental Marines on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as naval infantry. 

Our Mission:

The United States Marine Corps serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness. As outlined in 10 U.S.C. § 5063 and as originally introduced under the National Security Act of 1947, it has three primary areas of responsibility:

• The seizure or defense of advanced naval bases and other land operations to support naval campaigns;
• The development of tactics, technique, and equipment used by amphibious landing forces in coordination with the Army and Air Force; and
• Such other duties as the President may direct.

This last clause, while seemingly redundant given the President's position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary duties of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts "For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps" of 1834, and "Establishing and Organizing a Marine Corps" of 1798. In 1951, the House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee called the clause "one of the most important statutory — and traditional — functions of the Marine Corps." It noted that the corps has more often than not performed actions of a non-naval nature, including its famous actions in Tripoli, the War of 1812, Chapultepec, and numerous counter-insurgency and occupational duties (such as those in Central America), World War I, and the Korean War. While these actions are not accurately described as support of naval campaigns nor as amphibious warfare, their common thread is that they are of an expeditionary nature, using the mobility of the Navy to provide timely intervention in foreign affairs on behalf of American interests.

In addition to its primary duties, the Marine Corps has missions in direct support of the White House and the State Department. The Marine Band, dubbed the "President's Own" by Thomas Jefferson, provides music for state functions at the White House.  Marines guard presidential retreats, including Camp David, and the Marines of the Executive Flight Detachment of HMX-1 provide helicopter transport to the President and Vice President, using the call signs "Marine One" and "Marine Two" respectively.  By authority of the 1946 Foreign Service Act, the Marine Security Guards of the Marine Embassy Security Command provide security for American embassies, legations, and consulates at more than 140 posts worldwide.

Our Culture:

As in any military organization, the official and unofficial traditions of the Marine Corps serve to reinforce camaraderie and set the service apart from others. The Corps' embrace of its rich culture and history is cited as a reason for its high esprit de corps.

• The Marines' Hymn dates back to the 19th century and is the oldest official song in the United States armed forces.
• The Marine motto Semper Fidelis means always faithful in Latin, often appearing as Semper Fi; also the name of the official march of the Corps, composed by John Phillip Sousa. The mottos "Fortitudine" (With Fortitude); By Sea and by Land, a translation of the Royal Marines' Per Mare, Per Terram; and To the Shores of Tripoli were used until 1868.
• The Marine Corps emblem is the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, sometimes abbreviated "EGA", adopted in 1868.
• The Marine Corps seal includes the emblem, also is found on the flag of the United States Marine Corps, and establishes scarlet and gold as the official colors.
• Two styles of swords are worn by Marines: the officers' Mameluke Sword, similar to the Persian shamshir presented to Lt. Presley O'Bannon after the Battle of Derna, and the Marine NCO sword. 
• The Marine Corps Birthday is celebrated every year on 10 November in a cake-cutting ceremony where the first slice of cake is given to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present. The celebration includes a reading of Marine Corps Order 47, Commandant Lejeune's Birthday Message. 
• Close Order Drill is heavily emphasized early on in a Marine's initial training, incorporated into most formal events, and is used to teach discipline by instilling habits of precision and automatic response to orders, increase the confidence of junior officers and noncommissioned officers through the exercise of command and give Marines an opportunity to handle individual weapons.
• An important part of the Marine Corps culture is the traditional seafaring naval terminology derived from its history with the Navy.

Our Nicknames:

• Devil Dog: The term "Devil Dog" has its origins at Belleau Wood. It was in a dispatch from the German front lines to their higher headquarters explaining the current battle conditions that described the fighting abilities of the new, fresh Americans as fighting like "Teufel Hunden" or "Hounds from Hell.
• Leatherneck: Tthe term "Leatherneck" was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines; used as a fashion to help military bearing by keeping the chin up and also by protecting the neck from sword blows.
• Jarhead: The term Jarhead was derived from the regulation "high and tight" haircut. 

Our Motto:

Adapt and Overcome. 


I am humbled and honored by my service in the Marine Corps.  Today I celebrate with the few, the proud.  Happy Birthday, Marines!

Know-vember to Remember

There are numerous reasons to be thankful.  The whole month of November leads up to just that, Thanksgiving.  Considering the education level of my readers I feel comfortable in assuming everyone knows the basic history of Thanksgiving.  You know, the Pilgrims and Indians sitting down for a feast to give thanks that the Indians didn't scalp them when they should have?  So I'm a little off on the details.  The point of this post isn't about Thanksgiving though.  It's about NOVEMBER.  What certain days represent in history, events that shaped our future, and some really cool trivia that I am still researching and discovering. 

For instance, November retained its name from the Latin novem meaning "nine" when January and February were added to the Roman calendar.  November starts on the same day of the week as February in common years, and March every year. November ends on the same day of the week as August every year. 

Some "on this day in history" trivia: In 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in Springfield, IL; In 2000 my dear friends, Joe and Ginger, married in Illinois. 

On November 4th, 1980: Former Hollywood actor and Republican Ronald Reagan wins the US presidential elections beating Democrat Jimmy Carter with a huge majority.  (And on this day in 2008 the current president was elected.)

One of the neat religious facts I found: November 4th is the feast day for St. Charles Borremeo, the patron saint of learning and the arts.  Let's eat!  er...read? 

Stick around for some more KNOW-vember :)

All Saints Day

All Saints Day is a tradition as old as...well, time.  The following is credited to: New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia (and no, I am not Catholic.  Just inherently curious about world religions and knowledge it has to offer.)

The vigil of this feast is popularly called "Hallowe'en" or "Halloween".  Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.

In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407).

At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).

**The best part of today is that my beautiful niece was born on it 19 years ago.  Happy Birthday "Lyss".  May your birthday forever hold as much honor and celebration as the date itself :)