Believe it!~(Japanese, "Dattebayo")

I haven't posted in a while and thought I would discuss the new joy in my life. Anime and Manga of Naruto!

The family and I have been watching Naruto marathons trying to catch up with the Japanese. We Americans and other nations are almost 4 years behind them. Cartoon Network, if they keep Naruto going, can't catch up fast enough. Then the manga (Japanese comics) is over 150 chapters ahead of the Japanese anime...so that makes other nations...what?....okay, more than that!

So now, after finally catching up this weekend (and waiting for the next Japanese episode), I've found free online manga to catch up with that. Gosh, how I love this.

Some, I know, think I'm weird. Geez, I'll be 36 next month and have this weird fascination to a cartoon. I know, I know. But hey, I know a few adult females who have weird fascinations for World of Warcraft and Halo!! LOL! Oh, yes! I could name some names but won't. LOL!

So why do I love this cartoon that once annoyed me to no end. I thought it was one of those stupid raunchy, idiotic ones that Cartoon Network is known for. But no. I watched every Saturday evening with the boys and accidently got caught up. Then every Saturday I was excited, elated for 8pm to roll around. And would be quietly depressed if it was missed (rarely, I might add).

Then one day, I discovered that there were more episodes...but not shown here yet. What? No!!! And then found out that CN was 4 years behind. I had THAT many episodes to watch? Trust me. Overjoyed is a very low-key term here.

So here I am.....almost 2 weeks and most of my days filled with online Japanese, English-subbed episodes of Naruto. And my heart breaks because we have to wait now for the next episode to air in Japan and then wait for it to be subbed in English. Ho-hum.......

So manga keeps me company. Back to reading............

But wait! I digressed. Why do I love this Japanese anime? It's a true to life story. The bonds we create as children. Our characters that form from very different lives. Friendship. Love. Hate. Lots of comedy. But, in the end, too never give up our dreams and hopes. Teamwork is the key. Too never go it alone. Never give up. Too fight for what is most cherished to you (your friends and family). And, most of all....revenge will never give you peace, but only sorrow and loss.

As Naruto would say........"I won't run away anymore... I won't go back on my word... that is my ninja way!"

"Dattebayo"....Believe it!!

A Tarot Card

You are The Lovers

Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse.

The Lovers represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made.

Originally, this card was called just LOVE. And that's actually more apt than "Lovers." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that the you have or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it you will never be complete.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

All mushy inside.........

Take the test at planetzot.com!

Not funny.........

Okay, maybe a little............

About FREAKING Time!!!!

Sunni Revolt Against Al-Qaida Spreads

Any body else happy that THEY are finally getting off their asses and taking care of their own problems? Maybe the fear of US (we the United States of freaking America) leaving their land has them realizing that "Hey, we can't veg on our dilapidated couches and eat our kibab while the foreigners kill the terrorists for the rest of our lives!"

'Bout time.

He's almost home..................

.......from Ft. Eustis, VA!

TAKS Alert

Eric passed!!!!

So that means.....we are going on vacation!!

Mother Neff State Park, Spring 2007

There she goes.........

While we wait to eat............

A hiking we did go.....
LEAVE NO TRACE BEHIND!

Flag Retirement Ceremony

Offstage

Friday night at Harker Heights High School.............

Take the picture please. I have a sister to annoy!

Hmm? To sing or not to sing, that is the question.........

If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops....Oh, what a rain that would be! Standing outside with my mouth open wide.......

Aagh-aagh,aagh, aagh-aagh, aagh, aagh-aagh, aagh, aagh!

Yeah, that's me. Uglier than ever.

Onstage

First chair....AGAIN!
Looking pretty spiffy...............

Caught tunin' up................

A wandering she did go............

As usual, Lauren is NOT wanting to take a nap. For a few weeks now she has been posting nap "strikes." So I decide to take her outside in the backyard. Burn some energy ya know.

We have a chain link fence. She's outside playing. I'm outside with her trying to decide what to do. So I decide to get some weed killer and start spraying weeds. Got that done. Then threw the empty bottle away. I go inside and grab this new garden hose reel I just bought. Went back outside and Lauren is still playing (digging in the dirt.) So here I am attaching the hoses together so this thing will wind up our extra long garden hose.

I'm so into what I'm doing I don't hear my chain link fence's gate open. She is so sneaky and gifted to do that with out even a "klink" when the metal hits metal. As I turn around, when I'm done (took me maybe 2 minutes), my dog is gone and so is Lauren. I notice the gate is open. I run out the gate hollering Lauren's name. At that same moment, I could give a rat's "you know what" about Daisy. Lauren is NO WHERE!

I'm screaming her name. Most of my neighbor's aren't home but at work. I'm screaming and screaming. I go to one neighbor's house, older gentleman (who I woke up from sheer fear), and tell him what is going on and he says he'll help me. So as I am running up and down the street, mind you we are surrounded by a wooded area and a heavily traveled road (a farm road that nobody seems to follow the speed limit on) that my street connects too, and I'm going nuts. Daisy appears out of nowhere. Of course, she is no use. Heidi would have tracked Lauren down....Daisy isn't that smart. Well, this man (redneck for sure) has her on his hip while holding a little boy (obviously his) and is bringing her around the corner. He said he heard me screaming and deduced that this little girl must belong to the voice that is screaming hysterically. CORRECT assumption dude! I, at that point, broke down in tears and hysterics. And the older gentleman I woke up, had just walked outside from his house. I woke him up for nothing. I was soooo sorry and thanked him generously.

I brought her back inside and then realized I still hadn't caught Daisy. LOL! I wasn't exactly in any hurry to catch her at that time. But, yes, Daisy has been caught and is in the back yard which now has locks on both gate doors for neither to escape from.

Lauren is right now on the living room table dancing, hoping her moves will earn her a cinnamon teddy graham. And my new coffee has just arrived by UPS, just in time to settle my nerves that just went through havoc.

Military Spouses Day~May 11

Among the MANY things you have been asked/expected/encouraged to do as a military spouse, you have followed…

followed the mailman to inquire on your forwarded mail;

followed the school bus to be sure your son got to his new school with ease;

followed a neighbor, secretly, to find out where the Post Office/PX/Self-Help is;

followed the directions on your new self-cleaning oven that doesn’t/won’t;

followed your soldier to the ends of the earth and back, on orders and out of a lasting love.



You have packed…

packed with a day’s notice for a move that wasn’t scheduled for weeks to find your things wouldn’t arrive for months;

packed lunches for children who weren’t convinced this new school was really going to be so great;

packed cookies you baked late, late at night to get to the Unit, to get to the Field, to get to your hero who always favored your oatmeal raisins;

packed your wedding album in an old worn towel, then wrapped in an old worn blanket, to preserve the pictures of the dress you’d worm that day you become Mrs..



You have allowed…

allowed another’s future to shape your present, and your life;

allowed the stairwell neighbor to use the washer first, despite how late you’d be up and down the stairs to get your turn at laundry chores;

allowed those lonely single soldiers a special memory when you opened your door to them at the Holidays;

allowed your soldier to believe in himself which allowed him to remain successful.



You have supported…

supported Bake Sales when your own family hadn’t seen a homemade brownie in months;

supported the young wife next door when a field problem turned into a nightmare of loneliness;

supported your soldier when you’d rather have gone back home, realizing you already were;;

supported your Country even though they’ll never understand the sacrifices that included;

supported the man you love, the marriage you’ve created and the Army you’ve now both committed to.



You have cherished…

cherished moments and memories from Units, countries, ceremonies and isolated assignments;

cherished the melodies of our National Anthem while on foreign soil far from home;

cherished your children even in moments when you were asked to do it all for them on your own;

cherished the time you have together, no matter how little that often was;

cherished the women the Army has offered to you to be your mentors, friends and sisters ! those precious spouses of your husband’s comrades.



You have discovered…

discovered that you can do more than you ever believed you were capable of;

discovered that when he leaves for the field, every household item senses the same and decidedly breaks down;

discovered people and friendships you might never have ever known had you not boarded that plane and left that comfort zone;

discovered that absence really DOES make the heart grow fonder, and fonder;

discovered how many meals you can stretch out of a pound of meat before payday finally rolls around.


You have given…

given of yourself, time and time again;

given advice freely whether or not it was needed;

given your mother’s recipe as your own to save the Unit cookbook;

given your last can of cream soup even though you KNEW the commissary would be out of it when you went again;

given your love to a man who looks so good in BDU’s;

given your heart to a man who stands for all this is good and honest and respectful in mankind.



You have hung…

hung curtains in more windows over time than the grandest castle might have;

hung on to your sanity by a fragile thread as the deployment wore on and on;

hung around with folks who brought joy into your life and memories into your soul ~ “Army folks”.

hung onto him with all your might, as if a long hard hug would delay a goodbye;

hung every plaque from every job he’s ever had on the wall that you’d wished held a painting;

hung the For Sale sign in from of the house you thought you’d live n forever.



The MILITARY SPOUSE – who deserves this special day of his/her own.

The Sweetest Things............

.......are sometimes those that are unexpected. Are not always an "I Love You." Are like a warm, cozy blanket on a cold, blustery day.

Bobby and I got into an argument over the phone. I won't go into the gist of it but I felt jealous and hurt at the same time. He knew it. By the end of the phone call, I was still upset but there wasn't any heated discussion involved anymore. I was drained of trying to make my point so I just shut up. It might of sounded like the silent treatment but it was better than beating my head up against his "brick wall." And I was just plain tired of arguing. There wasn't a reason anymore.

We hung up. I was still hurt. He was still hurt.

Hours later he called back. I had no clue what he wanted since the last phone call.

He said, after the hello's, "I'm sorry." That was all I needed. I went to bed feeling like a giddy teenager....all mushy inside.

Thank you!

I love you, too!

Earnhardt fans read at your own risk.

He's my soul brother. We were born on the same day of the same year. We are exactly the same age. We sat in God's waiting room, waiting for our turn to be born, together. And we entered this world....together. Yeah, I'm talking about Jeff Gordon.

Leave him alone.

What has the man done to deserve such disrespect? Why do so many love to hate him? He's never intentionally knocked anyone off the track....that I know of. He's well spoken. Doesn't say bad things about anyone...unless YOU intentionally knocked him off the track. He's in all...from what I've heard and read...a really nice guy.

He was great friends with the never-forgotten #3. They were great competitors on the track. Dale Sr. can't keep his numbers forever. Mr. Petty's numbers are those that many will have a time to conquer. Nobody can just get to a certain number and say...."Well, if I win this next race I'll pass his record, so I'll stop winning here." Come on people!! (Even the golden son of the great #3, #8...or Jr. as he's called, wasn't able to keep fans from throwing garbage at JG. He asked politely....and the people responded....the wrong way.)

HE is a Leo. Born to be a leader. So let him lead..................

Talladega Superspeedway is Earnhardt country and Jeff Gordon is considered by many an interloper.

It was no surprise, therefore, when Gordon's latest victory at the sprawling Alabama track was met with anger and flying beer cans.

Dale Earnhardt won 10 races here, and his son, Dale Jr., has won five times and inherited the popularity of his late father, who would have turned 56 on Sunday.

At the end of the Aaron's 499, in the aftermath of a chaotic and confusing finish to the latest NASCAR Nextel Cup race, Gordon was awarded his second straight victory, the latest one his 77th, moving him past the Intimidator into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time win list.

"I never caused a riot before for winning - well, maybe once or twice," Gordon laughed.

It was the same reaction he received last week in Phoenix when he tied Earnhardt's mark and flew a No. 3 flag on his victory lap. That gesture didn't sit well with Earnhardt fans, even though Earnhardt Jr. called the tribute classy and urged his supporters to stop throwing beer cans out of safety concerns.

"I thought Junior had more power," Gordon said. "I thought they'd throw toilet paper, which is what he asked them to throw. I saw maybe one roll."

With about 140,000 fans in the stands, many of them wearing Earnhardt red, the cheer that went up when Junior briefly took the lead on Sunday was so deafening it drowned out the sound of the race car engines.

When Earnhardt faded out of contention - eventually finishing seventh - the crowd became subdued. But things livened up again when it appeared there would be another in a series of great finishes after a late caution flag set up an overtime, green-white-checker finish.

But the anticipated charge to the finish never happened, thanks to a crash moments after the restart. With Gordon ahead when the yellow flag waved, he was declared the winner and the last, slow lap and a half were just going through the motions under caution.

But that also set off the barrage of beer cans and garbage.

"I certainly didn't want to start a riot, and hopefully nobody got injured," Gordon said. "But I wanted to break that record. I keep going back and forth. Why did it have to happen at Talladega?"

Really, Talladega was the perfect place for Gordon to get this win.

While most Earnhardt fans dislike Gordon, the elder Earnhardt and Gordon were friends and business partners away from the track.

"On one side I just want to jump up and down and be fired up about getting 77 here at Talladega where three-quarters of the grandstands were pulling against us," Gordon said. "And then on the other side, I respected Dale so much, learned so much from him, today being his birthday and knowing how many of those people up there wanted to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. win today - it's tough."

The finish was so confusing that Gordon wasn't even sure if he won.

Gordon, who started from the pole, ran up front early but was 14th on a restart with 10 laps to go. He stormed to the front, and with three laps to go passed Jamie McMurray for the lead a split-second before a caution came out.

It set up the overtime finish, with Gordon out front on the restart. But before the field reached full speed, a wreck far behind the leaders brought out the caution and effectively ended the race.

NASCAR makes only one attempt to complete the race in overtime, and if a caution comes out, the field is instantly frozen. So when Elliott Sadler bumped the back of Greg Biffle to trigger a wreck, Gordon was the winner.

But not everyone realized that.

Tony Stewart, embroiled in controversy all week for likening NASCAR to pro wrestling, was knocked into the wall far ahead of the first accident. He bounced off the outside wall, slid down the track and into the inside wall, then stood fuming on the apron as he waited for the field to pass. He made an angry gesture at McMurray and David Gilliland as they passed under caution.

Once he knew the victory was his, Gordon made one attempt at a celebratory burnout, which he later admitted was a bad decision because it egged fans on to throw more debris at him.
Track officials warned fans they would be arrested for throwing anything on the track, and 10 fans were detained as Gordon's crew frantically called for security help to get the team spotter out of the stands.

"It don't look like it's something you can control," Earnhardt Jr. sighed.

NASCAR condemned the debris throwing.

"It's very unfortunate a few unruly fans can ruin things for a lot of people," spokesman Jim Hunter said. "The track put a lot of effort into preventing this type of behavior. Our fans are passionate, but this type of behavior doesn't represent a majority of our fans."

At Phoenix, Earnhardt Jr. came to Victory Lane to congratulate Gordon and thank him for honoring his father. This time, he stayed away from the celebration.

"I told him this week, I said, 'You win this one and I ain't coming into Victory Lane this time. That caused too much trouble,"' Junior said. "He's a great race car driver. I knew years ago he would eventually pass my old man. I think he has the opportunity to pass a couple more."

Yep, forgot some.........

balloon~"boon"
up~"up"
down~"dow"
book~"book"
eat~"eat"
tree~"twee"
sock~"sock"
bear~"bewr"
Pooh~"pooh"
phone~"phone"

.....I'm sure there are more she knows!

Lauren's Vocabulary Words....as of 19 months old.

airplane~"ah-pain"
oh dear~"oh-deah"
okay~"okay"
stinky booty~"inky-booty"
cat~"meow-meow"
puppy~"puppy"
mommy~"mommy"
no~"no"
milk~"meeeelk"
cookie~"coooookie"
Eric~"airk"
Matthew~"mah-you"
bubba~"bubba"
What's that~"us-dat"
Who's that~"oos-dat"
daddy~"daddy"
Elmo~"eh-mo"
ball~"bah"
hello~"heh-wo"
uh-oh~"uh-oh"
ear~"e-ya"
eye~"eye"
hair~"he-ya"
teeth~"tee"
outside~"ow-side"
shoe~"shoe"

I hope I didn't forget any....................

Twice it's happened

....today!

1. I was walking this morning (4 miles total around the neighborhood)......sweating bullets (not all that pretty), my nose and ears were red and raw from the cold wind, no make-up, my hair windblown all over the place, sweat spots on my running pants and t-shirt jacket.....and a guy driving by slows down and wolf whistles at me and yells at me..."You're Hot!" and then speeds off and drives away in his Mustang.

2. There are workers outside hooking up a new home, I'm outside with Lauren letting her play in the sand, and one of the workers, after they are done, walks over and asks me..."Are you married?" Totally shocked me. Of course, I told him I was married. Then he tells me "Too bad." And then he winks at me.What the....??? I have no make-up on. I have on long navy blue running pants with racing stripes down the side, and old grey ARMY t-shirt on, with black NIKE Shox. My hair is in barrettes...no ponytail...and it's all poofy in the sides and back (my hair is extra thick, with spiral waves and does whatever the heck it wants if I don't control it).

Is it my brand new glasses?

Yeah, that must be it.

Good Riddance!!

I don't know the details with ABC but I think they caught on to the mainstream of America and wised up to Rosie's antics.

Buh-bye!

A Circle of Friends.

It has been 2 years since I last saw her. She and her family had just moved back from Germany to Ft. Campbell. Before her initial trip to Germany, we lived side-by-side on post then were neighbors in the same neighborhood. We were two peas in a pod. Only difference was I was a 245 pea and she was a 94 pound pea. I was 10 years her senior. And, her son, was born 2 days before Matthew. The day she came out of the hospital was the day I went in. But none of that made a difference. We connected on horrible circumstances. She protected me from myself. She was my rock, my tree, my solid to lean on when I felt the world crumbling all around me.

I won't go into all the details. First, it's terribly embarrassing and it's a bone in my closet that will stay in the closet. Second, it's a memory that I just don't have the heart to delve back into.

She believed in me. IN ME! She trusted me and never thought the worst of me. And eventually others around our cul-de-sac came around and became my shields. They all became my friends other than my neighbors. It was then that I realized that these women, military wives, stuck to me like glue. The funny thing out of the whole business of it all was that we were all born in August around the same time. I, on the 4th. The others.....13th, 14th, 15th, and the 16th. We had some wild birthday parties. LOL! We were all Leo's. You'd think there would have been cat fights because of the Leo persona. We would have all wanted the attention and leadership. Maybe one out of us was in the end....but nobody cared.

We were the Patio Ho's. LOL! Yeah, that's what we called ourselves. We would all eventually be sitting outside on our porches/patios talking/smoking/drinking and goofing off. I'll admit that was when my addiction to Pepsi came about. And sitting on my plastic lawn chair widened certain body parts that shouldn't have widened anymore in the first place.

That was when for the first time in my miserable life I had true blue girlfriends. I can't keep girlfriends. It's hard. It's easier for me to be friends with guys than gals. I don't like talking on the phone. But then, the phone wasn't such a bad thing. I'm not a girly girl. I like girly things but don't base my life on them. I don't like to wear make-up. I'd like to but I think I'm allergic to something in the chemical aspect because I break out so bad that I'd rather not wear the toxic stuff. But at that time, I had not just one girlfriend.....I had Tanya, Stacie, Debbie, and Alison.

Alison, was the model. Tall, blonde, and built like a model. She was the girly girl. She shopped the specialty, high-dollar department stores where we shopped WalMart. And, not only was she a military wife, she was a soldier too. Tanya, the small and skinny. She was the lucky one, at the tme so I thought. She has hyperthyroidism. She can't gain weight. She is the tough talker, no-holds-bar, and don't piss her off type. She was my fellow Texan, raised in Killeen. She was my bestest friend of them all. Stacie, the oldest. She was 10-years my senior but acted like she was 29. LOL! She was tough on the outside but had that mushy, sweet, caramelly center. A heart of gold. And, last but not least, Debbie. She was all mush. Never said a bad word. Never raised her voice. Left her heart on the outside to be easily broken. Was always helping out when she needed the help most. She could stretch a dollar for daaaaays.

Well, our circle eventually broke. Stacie and her husband got divorced and she moved back to Michigan. Debbie's husband got out of the army and they moved back to Wisconsin and are now divorced. Alison, yet again, got pregnant, out of the Army and divorced also. All of them are remarried. Tanya, is still married to her husband. She is the one just back from Germany and living back at Ft. Campbell.

The sad thing of it all is that once Tanya came back, I had changed. I was no longer 245 lbs of "flubber." I don't drink Pepsi like water anymore. I don't drink anything soda-ish unless it's diet. I don't sit and gossip and eat food for comfort. (Okay, maybe I still do, but not on a daily basis.) And, food no longer is my drowning pool. It was easy to be fat around Tanya. She could out eat me! So she was always around food and heck I never turned down a free cupcake! But I was different when she came home. I didn't want to sit and eat. Time had changed us big time. I was no longer the fat friend to the skinny friend, ya know? I don't do 3/4 of what I used to. And she knew. She even said I turned into a skinny bore. Oh, she said it jokingly but I took it as it was said. Maybe I had. No feelings were hurt.

So time had changed us. I wasn't the same. I no longer depended on her. We were still friendly when I left for Ft. Hood but we haven't spoken since. Probably best. I still have the wonderful memories with me and those will never change.

A Day in the life......................

Yes, I know it's been a looooong while since I last talked of myself or my family. Well, when you live a boring life, there isn't much to say. My life is a repetitious, monotonous, Groundhogs Day life.

It's a get up, make coffee, let the dog out, read email, go to my favorite fitness forum, drink my coffee, exericse (yoga or run a long distance), take a shower, check my email again, feed Lauren, clean Lauren, change Lauren, get the boys to school, keep Lauren from climbing everything, let the dog back in kind of morning. Every day.

Then it's a still keep Lauren from climbing, keep the living room clean, vacuum, put the dishes in the dishwasher, put a load of clothes in the washer, put a load of clothes in the dryer, fold and hang a load of clothes that are done, keep Lauren from climbing, keep the living room clean, vacuum, make my bed, let the dog back out, feed Lauren, clean Lauren, change Lauren, put Lauren down for a nap, clean Lauren's lunch mess, make my lunch, eat, check my email, go to my favorite fitness forum, watch the afternoon news, then watch All My Children, then watch One Life to Live, all while taking another load of laundry out of dryer, put another load of laundry into washer, fold and hang more clean laundry, make a snack bag for Lauren, fill Lauren's sippy cup, get Lauren out of crib, change Lauren's diaper, grab keys, put Lauren in stroller, lock house, take Lauren for a walk around neighborhood while going to pick up Matthew from school kind of afternoon.

Then it's a wait for Matthew at the front doors at school, walk Matthew home, clean the living room again, keep Lauren from climbing, check Matthew's school work, sign his schoolwork journal, help Matthew study his weekly vocabulary, turn on cartoons, watch Pokemon and Naruto (which I have to admit I'm terribly addicted to now), yell at children to do their daily chores, make dinner for kids, feed Lauren, clean Lauren, change Lauren's diaper, clean boys' dinner mess, put dishes into dish washer, keep Lauren from climbing some more, clean living room, watch a bit of Everybody Loves Raymond reruns, give Lauren a bath, tell the boys to take their showers, dry Lauren, put Lauren's pj's on her, brush her hair, make a huge bowl of air-popped popcorn (thank you Sis for the most awesome Christmas gift...which is well used), watch nighttime TV or read (depending what is on and what day of the week it is), put Lauren to bed, tell the boys to go to bed, turn off living room TV, let dog back in, I get ready for bed, turn on my bedroom TV, watch TV or read, then take glasses off, turn on alarm, turn off TV, and go to sleep kind of evening.

Oh there is the occasional trips to Walmart, Target, the commissary/PX or to the mall to break up some of the monotony. There is the occasional trips to the doctors for appointments. Or the few phone calls from Bobby, my Mom, or friends.

So there ya go.