Pumpkins

The pumpkin that's been sitting on my counter top for the past month... I finally got around to carving it about 3:30 pm today... I'm just so not a fan of carving pumpkins.

Hope everyone had a good Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This will probably be my only post of the day. Got a busy busy day today... I stuck the toddler in a tutu and proped her infrom of the TV for a Halloween movie marathon to keep her busy, since I've been up since 6am prepping dinner, making Carmel apples and trying to keep the house remotely clean... I still need to mop after the Roomba finishes running... Seriously, thank God for Roombas! That is probably the best gadget I've ever gotten. I haven't swept or vacuumed by hand in a year! Now only if I could get my hands on a Scooba... I'd never have to mop again.

Anyways, Happy Halloween to all and hope all your little ones have fun and are safe Trick-or-Treating tonight. I should have quite a few pics to post tomorrow... So stand by!

Dear Mr. Obama

Well make up your mind already!

Four and a half months ago, on July 7th in St. Louis, Obama proclaims "If Senator McCain wants a debate about taxes in this campaign, then it is a debate I have (sic) happy to have, because if you're a family making less than $250,000 a year, my plan will not raise your taxes". Later in the campaign -- this is just recently -- very slyly, very slyly, Obama reduced the figure. "If you have a job, pay taxes, and make less than $200,000 a year, you'll get a tax cut." Whoa! So $250,000 has become $200,000. Monday, Joe Biden, in a TV interview on WNEP-TV in Scranton Wilkes-Barre lowered it again! Biden explains, "It should go like it used to. It should go to middle-class people, people making under $150,000 a year."

Now, you can say, "Well, you know, this is Joe. He has these rhetorical flourishes and he may not be up to speed on what the campaign is doing," but it's come down from 250k, and then went to $200,000, and yesterday Biden said you're cool if you make less than 150k. Give it another month and they'll lower it to 100k... By the time he is sworn into office it will be 50k.Gawd, we are sooooo screwed if this man gets elected!

Going back on his words...

Commentary: Obama breaks promise on campaign finance

By Campbell Brown

CNN

You may have heard that Wednesday night Barack Obama will be on five different TV networks speaking directly to the American people. He bought 30 minutes of airtime from the different networks, a very expensive purchase. But hey, he can afford it. Barack Obama is loaded, way more loaded than John McCain, way more loaded than any presidential candidate has ever been at this stage of the campaign.

Just to throw a number out: He has raised well over $600 million since the start of his campaign, close to what George Bush and John Kerry raised combined in 2004.

Without question, Obama has set the bar at new height with a truly staggering sum of cash. And that is why as we approach this November, it is worth reminding ourselves what Barack Obama said last November.

One year ago, he made a promise. He pledged to accept public financing and to work with the Republican nominee to ensure that they both operated within those limits. Then it became clear to Sen. Obama and his campaign that he was going to be able to raise on his own far more cash than he would get with public financing. So Obama went back on his word.

He broke his promise and he explained it by arguing that the system is broken and that Republicans know how to work the system to their advantage. He argued he would need all that cash to fight the ruthless attacks of 527s, those independent groups like the Swift Boat Veterans. It's funny though, those attacks never really materialized.

The Washington Post pointed out recently that the bad economy has meant a cash shortage among the 527s and that this election year they have been far less influential. The courageous among Obama's own supporters concede this decision was really made for one reason, simply because it was to Obama's financial advantage.

On this issue today, former Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, an Obama supporter, writes in The New York Post, "a hypocrite is a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue -- who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings. And that, it seems to me, is what we are doing now."

For this last week, Sen. Obama will be rolling in dough. His commercials, his get-out-the-vote effort will, as the pundits have said, dwarf the McCain campaign's final push. But in fairness, you have to admit, he is getting there in part on a broken promise.

Socialist, Socialists Everywhere...

Have you noticed that Obama is embracing the Socialist red star on his merchandise? Scrolling down this Democratic National Committee Superstore containing Obama merchandise, I counted at least 20 items for sale (bumper stickers, coffee cups, t-shirts, signs, banners etc.) which are proudly emblazoned with a red star. Socialists everywhere must be delighted to see that Obama is no longer trying to hide their symbol. I can't imagine HOW MUCH MORE we'll see of that red star if he is elected.

Because of resizing, I know it's hard to make out the images.

Link to Democrat Super Store.

Explaining socialism to kids.

Halloween Movies

Since Halloween falls on a Friday this year, I thought I'd be fun to have an all day Halloween movie marathon to help get my daughter psyched up for trick-or-treating later that night. So I stared going through the TV lineup between now and Friday morning looking for Halloween movies to TiVo, and trying to figure out which ones I wanna go rent from RedBox. I compiled a loooooong list of Halloween movies... And thought I'd be a good idea to categorize them in the following age appropriate groups. Now mind you, these are nothing more then my own personal opinion and in no way do they reflect any federally mandated rating system.

Birth - 3 Years Old
"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (1966)
"Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie" (2005)
"Mickey's House of Villains" (2002)
"Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit" (2005)

"Monsters Inc." (2001)
Clifford's Big Halloween [DVD] (2000)
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Treat [DVD]
My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Hundred Acre Wood Haunt [DVD]
Go Diego Go!: Diego's Halloween [DVD] (2008)
Max & Ruby: Perfect Pumpkin [DVD] (2008)
Mrs. Spider's Sunnypatch Friends: Bug-a-Boo Day Play [DVD]
Dora the Explorer: Dora's Halloween [DVD]
Backyardigans - It's Great to Be a Ghost! [DVD] (2005)

4 - 5 Years Old
"Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971)
"The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (1949)
"Double, Double, Toil & Trouble" (1993)
"Casper" (1995)
"Under Wraps" (1997)
"The Little Vampire" (2000)
"Matilda" (1996)

6+ Years Old
"The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993)
"The Labyrinth" (1986)
"Scooby-Doo" (2002)
"The Black Cauldron" (1985)
"Halloweentown"
"Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge"
"Halloweentown High" (2004)
"Return to Halloweentown" (2006)
"Hocus Pocus" (1993)
"Twitches" (2005)
"Twitches Too" (2007)

"Corpse Bride" (2005)
"The Scream Team" (2002)
"Tower of Terror" (1997)

Pre-Teens/Teens
"The Addam's Family" (1991)
"Beetlejuice" (1988)
"Edward Scissorhands" (1990)

"Ghostbusters" (1984)
"Willow" (1988)
"Harry Potter"
"Frankenweenie" (1984)
"The Neverending Story" (1984)
"Young Frankenstein" (1974)
"The Sixth Sense" (1999)

Adults [must see]
"Dracula" (1931)
"Frankenstein" (1931)
"House of Wax" (1953)
"The Birds" (1963)
"Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975)
"Halloween" (1978)
"The Shining" (1980)
"Poltergeist" (1982)
"Gremlins" (1984)
"Army of Darkness" (1993)
"Interview with the Vampire" (1994)
"Sleepy Hollow" (1999)
"Donnie Darko" (2002)

An analysis of Barack Obama's Experience

Scary Politics

So you wanna talk about REAL scary politics...

I frighteningly realistic Cheney mask

Interesting

I was reading one liberal military wife's blog about how she finally got her $5 Obama yard sign... I thought $5 seemed kinda much just for a yard sign so I googled it just to see if that was a regional price or what. Nope. The Obama camp is charging $5 a yard sign... But at some HQ's they're charging upwards of $15. So, this is why Obama's gotten so many more "donations"... My first McCain sign only cost me $1... Totally reasonable. Hell, when I googled the McCain store I see that you can buy a $25 "McCain Party Pack" that includes: 25 "Country First Bumper Stickers", 25 McCain Bumper Stickers, 25 McCain Lapel pins, 25 McCain Rally Signs, 25 McCain Yard Signs, 25 McCain Window Decals, 5 McCain Hats, a Go Green Tote Bag, 250 assorted McCain Lapel Stickers, and 50 assorted Buttons. Anywayz, when I went around to the different RNC offices day-before-yesterday, they were all free... Only one office asked that I sin up for the mailin list... Didn't even have to do anything for the other stuff.

Some people...

Ok, this is getting old... After having my campaign sign stolen from my front yard yesterday, I drove around to 4 different RNC Headquarters looking for yard signs or rally signs. Unfortunately they were out of almost everything. Likely I did manage to find 5 yard signs and a few rally signs and bumper stickers. So I took 3 of the yard signs and put them int he windows upstairs, but the large bumper stickers in my downstairs windows and put one of the yard signs out where the stolen one was.

Well here's a bug shocker. I checked it at midnight when I went to bed, by 7am it was gone. Come on now people, get a life. I'm startin to get a feeling that it's one of the two neighbor's across the street snatchin it. They both have like 3 yard signs out there. I mean, I have no desire to sneak out in the middle of the night and steel their sign. Give me a break. Just leave my damn sign alone. I've got 1 yard sign left. I'm thinking about giving it a couple days before putting it back out there... Let them sit there and get a good look at all the signs in my window that they can't touch. Hmm. I wonder if I could somehow configure an alarm system... I think I'm gunna need some barbed wire, a spot light on a motion detector... Hmmm...

Why the hell does this?!?

This really pisses me off!

I should have known better, we live in the middle of the ghetto where 90% of the residents are voting for Obama... And those 10% that aren't voting for him, are only doing so because they're felons and can't vote.

Well anywayz, last night some idiot stole my freakin campaign sign. Seriously, get a life. I mean who does that? I never in a million years would steel an Obama sign from someones yard... I mean i've thought of it... But I would never do it.

Top 10 Other Reasons Sarah Palin Won't Release Her Medical Records

I got this in one of those email forwards this morning... FYI, I like Pallin, I just thought this was kinda cute...

Top 10 Other Reasons Sarah Palin Won't Release Her Medical Records

10. Doesn't want voters to find out that she took steroids while playing high school basketball.

9. That cheery smile? Yep, Zoloft!

8. Details of her duct tape injury in Miss Alaska pageant could embarrass the campaign.

7. She and Todd sought counselling after he got too close to a caribou.

6. Two words: toenail fungus.

5. Would rather not discuss that emergency room visit where they had to extract the hockey stick.

4. She feels strongly that what a woman does with her own body is none of the government's business.

3. If you give them the medical records, the next thing they're going to ask for is a press conference.

2. She's not yet ready to admit publicly that she was originally a man.

And the No. 1 other reason Sarah Palin won't release her medical records:

1. They show that she was born in Africa.

I knew it!!!

I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! Everyone thinks calling Obama a Socialist is nothing more then Republican mud throwing. Nope! Proof! Actual proof Obama belonged (hell probably still belongs) to a Marxist/Socialist organization. Still think those Ayres, Farrakhan and Rezko ties are JUST coincidental? Hello, they're all Socialists! He claims he doesn't run in that crowd, but finally here's proof... Not that any Obama worshipers are gunna convert, but it's work gettin out there. You clearly are who you associate with.

This post is for journalists who care about the future of their country more than their careers. I have previously posted about Barack Obama's involvement in the socialist led Illinois New Party here, here and here. Below are scans from New Party News Spring 1996. They prove that Barack Obama was a member of the Illinois New Party and was endorsed by them in his 1996 Illinois State Senate race.Front page-scanned from a photocopy

Front page close up-scanned from a photocopy

Front page ultra close up-scanned from a photocopy

Note that the text refers to Barack Obama as a New Party member, while Willie Delgado is only "NP endorsed". The New Party clearly drew a distinction. Obama was on on the wrong side of the dividing line. Page 2, scanned from a photocopy.

Page 2 closeup-scanned from the original.

The New Party was the creation of the quasi-Marxist Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and the radical community organisation ACORN. The Communist Party splinter group Committees of Correspondence (CoC) was also involved.

I quote from Chicago DSA's New Ground of September/October 1995

The political entourage included Alderman Michael Chandler, William Delgado, chief of staff for State Rep Miguel del Valle, and spokespersons for State Sen. Alice Palmer, Sonya Sanchez, chief of staff for State Sen. Jesse Garcia, who is running for State Rep in Garcia's District; and Barack Obama, chief of staff for State Sen. Alice Palmer. Obama is running for Palmer's vacant seat...Although ACORN and SEIU Local 880 were the harbingers of the NP there was a strong presence of CoC and DSA (15% DSA)... Four political candidates were "there" seeking NP support."

Here is part of an undated New Party document probably from 1995. Scanned from a photocopy.

It lists approximately one hundred"community leaders, organizers, unionists, retirees, scholars, artists, parents, students, doctors, writers and other activists who are building the NP."

So this is what my problem is...

So the NY Times is reporting of a new study that's found "drinking caffeine over an extended period of time makes women's breasts shrink." the article goes on to say, "According to the research, regular drinking of as little as three cups daily a day can have an enough of an impact on estrogen levels to cause noticeable bosom reduction." Not looking good for me considering I drink 9-12 cups of coffee a day... Is that not normal?

But lucky for me, the same study also found that drinking caffeine also helps protect against cancer.

Not thrilled about today's weather

I'm not ready for the cold weather yet! I feel like I got gypped out of the early fall 80 degree temps. We went from the low 90's the first 2 weeks in September, and then all of a sudden it dropped to the low 70's... And now a month later it's already in the 50's. I'm not ready to pack away my tank tops and flip flops yet...

Shady behavior...

As noted in my previous video post, Pennsylvania attorney Philip Berg has a lawsuit pending in federal court which alleges that Barack Hussien Obama is not a 'natural born' citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to seek the office of President of the United States.

In a press release dated October 21, 2008, Mr. Berg asserts that, having failed to respond to and/or refute the allegations in the federal lawsuit within 30 days of filing, Senator Obama and the Democratic National Committee have acknowledged as true all claims made in the suit, to whit:

OBAMA - Admitted:
1. I was born in Kenya.
2. I am a Kenya “natural born” citizen.
3. My foreign birth was registered in the State of Hawaii.
4. My father, Barrack Hussein Obama, Sr. admitted Paternity of me.
5. My mother gave birth to me in Mombosa, Kenya.
6. My mother’s maiden name is Stanley Ann Dunham a/k/a Ann Dunham.
7. The COLB [Certification of Live Birth] posted on the website “Fightthesmears.com” is a forgery.
8. I was adopted by a Foreign Citizen.
9. I was adopted by Lolo Soetoro, M.A. a citizen of Indonesia.
10. I was not born in Hawaii.
11. I was not born at the Queens Medical Center in Hawaii.
12. I was not born at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Hawaii.
13. I was not born in a Hospital in Hawaii.
14. I am a citizen of Indonesia.
15. I never took the “Oath of Allegiance” to regain my U.S. Citizenship status.
16. I am not a “natural born” United States citizen.
17. My date of birth is August 4, 1961.
18. I traveled to Pakistan in 1981 with my Pakistan friends.
19. In 1981, I went to Indonesia on my way to Pakistan.
20. Pakistan was a no travel zone in 1981 for American Citizens.
21. In 1981, Pakistan was not allowing American Citizens to enter their country.
22. I traveled on my Indonesian Passport to Pakistan.
23. I renewed my Indonesian Passport on my way to Pakistan.
24. My senior campaign staff is aware I am not a “natural born” United States Citizen.
25. I am proud of my Kenya Heritage.
26. My relatives have requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my first name.
27. My relatives have requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my last name.
28. My relatives have requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my place of birth.
29. I requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my first name.
30. I requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my last name.
31. I requested changes to the portion of my birth certificate that identifies my place of birth.
32. The document identified as my Indonesian School record from Fransiskus Assisi School in Jakarta, Indonesia is genuine.
33. I went to a Judge in Hawaii to have my name changed.
34. I went to a Senator and/or Congressman or other public official in Hawaii to have my name changed.
35. I had a passport issued to me from the Government of Indonesia.
36. The United States Constitution does not allow for a Person to hold the office of President of the United States unless that person is a “natural born” United States citizen.
37. I am ineligible pursuant to the United States Constitution to serve as President and/or Vice President of the United States.
38. I never renounced my citizenship as it relates to my citizenship to the country of Indonesia.
39. I never renounced my citizenship as it relates to my citizenship to the country of Kenya.
40. I am an Attorney who specializes in Constitutional Law.
41. Kenya was a part of the British Colonies at the time of my birth.
42. Kenya did not become its own Republic until 1963.
43. I am not a “Naturalized” United States Citizen.
44. I obtained $200 Million dollars in campaign funds by fraudulent means.
45. I cannot produce a “vault” (original) long version of a birth certificate showing my birth in Hawaii.
46. My “vault” (original) long version birth certificate shows my birth in Kenya.
47. The only times I was to a Hospital in Hawaii was for check-ups or medical treatments for illnesses.
48. Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii does not have any record of my mother, Stanley Ann Dunham (Obama) giving birth to me.
49. Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii does not have any record of my mother, Stanley Ann Dunham (Obama) giving birth to me.
50. I was born in the Coast Province Hospital in Mombasa, Kenya.
51. I represented on my State Bar application in Illinois that I never used any other name other than Barack Hussein Obama.
52. I went by the name Barry Soetoro in Indonesia.
53. My Indonesian school records are under the name of Barry Soetoro.
54. I took an Oath to uphold the United States Constitution when admitted to the State Bar of Illinois to practice Law.
55. I took an Oath to uphold the United States Constitution when I was Sworn into my United States Senate Office.
56. I hold dual citizenship with at least one other Country besides the United States of America.

DNC - Admitted:
1. The DNC nominated Barrack Hussein Obama as the Democratic Nominee for President.
2. The DNC has not vetted Barrack Hussein Obama.
3. The DNC did not have a background check performed on Barrack Hussein Obama.
4.The DNC did not verify Barrack Hussein Obama’s eligibility to serve as President of the United States.
5. The DNC admits Barrack Hussein Obama was born in Kenya.
6. The DNC admits Barrack Hussein Obama is not a “natural born” United States citizen.
7. The DNC admits Barrack Hussein Obama was not born in Hawaii.
8.The DNC admits they have not inquired into Barrack Hussein Obama’s citizenship status.
9. The DNC admits they have a duty to properly vette the Democratic Nominee for President.
10.The DNC admits Lolo Soetoro, M.A., an Indonesian citizen adopted Barrack Hussein Obama.
11. The DNC admits the Credentials Committee has been aware of this lawsuit since August 22, 2008 as the lawsuit was faxed to our Washington D.C. Office on August 22, 2008.
12. The DNC admits their Credentials Committee failed to verify and/or inquire into the credentials of Barack Hussein Obama to serve as the President of the United States.
13. The DNC admits their Credential Committee’s Report failed to address the issues of Barack Hussein Obama’s ineligibility to serve as President of the United States.
14.The DNC admits Howard Dean, Chair Person has and had knowledge Barack Hussein Obama was born in Kenya and ineligible to serve as the President of the United States.
15. The DNC admits Plaintiff and all Democratic citizens of the United States have been personally injured as a result of not having a qualified Democratic Presidential Nominee to cast their votes upon.
16. The DNC admits Plaintiff and all citizens of the United States have a Constitutional Right to vote for the President of the United States and to have two (2) qualified candidates of which to choose from.
17. The DNC admits Plaintiff and all citizens of the United States have a Constitutional right to have a properly vetted Democratic Presidential Nominee of which to cast their vote.
18. The DNC admits an FBI background check is not performed on the Presidential or Vice Presidential Candidates.
19. The DNC admits the United States Constitution does not allow for a Person to hold the office of President of the United States unless that person is a “natural born” United States citizen.
20. The DNC admits they collected donations on behalf of Barack Hussein Obama for his Presidential campaign.
21. The DNC admits Plaintiff and Democratic citizens donated money based on false representations that Barack Hussein Obama was qualified to serve as the President of the United States.
22. The DNC admits if Barack Hussein Obama is elected as President and allowed to serve as President of the United States in violation of our Constitution, it will create a Constitutional crisis.
23. The DNC admits Barack Hussein Obama took an Oath to uphold the United States Constitution.
24. The DNC admits allowing a person who is not a “natural born” citizen to serve as President of the United States violates Plaintiff’s rights to due process of law in violation of the United States Constitution.
25. The DNC admits allowing a person who is not a “natural born” citizen to serve as President of the United States violates Plaintiff’s rights to Equal Protection of the laws in violation of the United States Constitution.
26. The DNC admits the function of the DNC is to secure a Democratic Presidential Candidate who will protect Democratic citizen’s interests, fight for their equal opportunities and fight for justice for all Americans.
27. The DNC admits the Democratic National Committee has been promoting Barack Hussein Obama’s Presidential election knowing he was ineligible to serve as President of the United States.

At first I dismissed this theory as nothing more then just that, a theory. Then I read a random comment on another blog that said "If these allegations aren't true, then why doesn't he just release his birth certificate?" Which got me to thinking. I googled it to find that he had posted a birth certificate on one of his websites... It had his name on it. (See Below)

Don't see anything wrong with it? You apparently haven't compared it to a REAL Hawaiian state birth certificate.

So in the image on the right, you see a REAL Hawaiian birth certificate's border for 2007 on the left, and one for 2008 on the right. The images in the center is the border that was clipped from Obama's supposed birth certificate. Now I'm no expert or anything. But I can clearly see a difference.

Furthermore, fueling my speculation. Comparing the Obama certificate to a REAL Birth Certificate, you can see that Obama’s has distorted pixels around the letters and the background image between the letters disappears. On the real one, there is no halo of distorted pixels around the letters and you can see the background pattern between the letters.

Ugh, I don't know what ti really think of this. I personally think this man's shady to begin with... And honestly this could/would explain a lot the the shady behavior. But I guess we'll see if anything comes of it. Independent investigators are presently in Hawaii researching the Obama family. So hopefully something comes of this whole thing.

Explains so much...

Last night...

Ok, like I keep saying, and I'm sure all my friends and family who have talked to me in the past 24 hours are sick of hearing... This ball was everything my high school prom wasn't. I mean I'm not complaining in anyway. For $20 tickets, I can totally understand having to cut some corners... First... It was in a gym, 2nd there was the stereotypical bad food... Of course there was the ball ceremonies, speeches, and whatnot. But the thing I thought was the funniest... There was like this middle aged garage band playing there... Playing Sublime. Seriously, it was one of the better balls I had been to... Maybe cuz I wasn't trashed... Or maybe I just felt like I was back in high school for a couple hours... It was cute... Like prom for grown ups... I think more Navy/Marine Corps balls need to be held in base gyms. HaHa. Anywayz, we all had fun standing around, judging all the older officers getting down on the dance floor. It was just very different then all the Marine Corps balls I have been to... Good, but different. I'm glad I went and now we shall see how the $50 a plate Marine Corps Birthday ball next month compares.
.

Navy Ball lap dance...

I'm not sure if this is as funny as we thought it was last night.
Here's one example why you shouldn't over drink at military balls... Cuz you may end up like this woman giving her husband a public lapdance.

One of our own...

Marine, wife found dead in California home
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer, MarineTimes
Posted : Sunday Oct 19, 2008 15:08:47 EDT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A Marine and his wife were found Wednesday shot to death in their Winchester, Calif., home, and Riverside County homicide investigators are asking for help from the public to track down the killer or killers.

Marine Corps officials on Friday identified the victims as Sgt. Jan Pawek Pietrzak, 24, and his wife, Quiana Faye Jenkins-Pietrzak, 26. The victims suffered gunshot wounds to the head, according to autopsies conducted Thursday, officials with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said on Friday.

“The suspect[s] had lit a fire in the residence that caused little damage,” Lt. John Schultz, a sheriff’s department spokesman, said in a news release. “It appears the fire was set in what was an unsuccessful attempt to burn evidence.”

Investigators found fingerprints and other evidence at the home, Schultz said, and are scouring databases in hopes of getting leads on who killed the couple. Officials didn’t provide a possible motive for the murders.

Pietrzak, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was a helicopter airframes mechanic with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164, which is based at the Camp Pendleton air station, said Capt. Staci Redding, a 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing spokeswoman.

The Pietrzaks were found after the sheriff’s department was asked to check on the home after one of the victims didn’t show up for work. Deputies found the front door ajar when they arrived at the house, and a man and woman dead inside. Investigators said they found no evidence of forced entry.

The couple lived in the newer neighborhood of French Valley, a growing bedroom community about 30 miles northeast of Camp Pendleton. Neighbors told The Californian newspaper that the couple was recently married and moved into the house several months ago.

Pietrzak enlisted in 2003 and returned from a seven-month deployment to Iraq in February 2006. His military awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Certificate of Commendation and Letter of Appreciation.

McCain-y Goodness

Oh yeeeeeah!

Who's got a new yard sign! ME!!!

Such Procrastinators

We are such procrastinators. So we've got the navy ball at 6pm tonight... And we've still yet to do anything. Well kinda, the husband finally went out and bought a new belt, belt buckle, ribbons, medals, collar stays and anodized buttons on his way home from work yesterday. But WAS supposed to take his ribbons to work to try to mount them when he gets some down time... But I see that he's managed to leave his mounting kit here at home. And really I'd be more then happy to do it for him, but the ribbons and medals at work. So that does us no good.

As far as I go, I finally went out at 8pm last night and bought some foundation (I don't usually wear makeup) and hair curlers... Oh yeah, and a thing of hairspray. I sill have NO idea what I'm gunna do with my hair, but I figured curlers and hairspray could probably help. I had been planning on going and getting my hair and nails done today. I've also been going through all my shoes and I still have NO idea what I'm gunna wear. See the problem is, my husband is SHORT. He's 5'9" and I'm 5'11". So i'm already taller then him wearing flats. Problem is I really should wear black shoes with my dress... And the only flats I have are a cream color... And in going through all my formal shoes from way back in high school that I kept for some reason... I don't have a single one that has a less then 3" heal.

My husband claims that he doesn't care if I'm half a foot taller then him... But really? Blah, I just don't know what I'm gunna do... But seeing how the ball is in 9 hours... I suppose I need to hurry up and figure it all out.

Yeah... I'm one of those wives...

What NOT to wear... to military balls.

So any one who's been to a military ball... Particularly a Marine Corps Ball in a small town like Yuma or 29 Palms... I hear it's just as bad at Lejeune... Anywayz, anyone who's been to one will notice those random "girlfriends" that really stick out in the crowd... First you've never seen these girl before... They've never been invited to unit/squadron activities before... They're all super thin, perfect tans, huge boobs... And always inappropriately dressed... Seriously, these girls will just totally come out of the wood-work for the ball... Who/what are they? Strippers.

Now I bet money, my non-military friends who are reading this are chuckling saying "yeah right" to themselves... While all my fellow Marine Wives know better. I am being 100% serious. Not sarcastic in any way.

Ok, so the first two are totally normal type dress that you'll see girls in at the military balls. A lot of the strippers who show up have no sense of modesty and like show it all off... And of course the guys don't mind looking at it. The 2nd of the 6 dresses... Well a lot of the time it's not strippers that are wearing the randomly bright colored dresses. It's mainly new wives or girlfriends who have never been to a ball before. I'll tell ya right now... To Marine Corps Balls, girls usually wear black, dark blue and deep red dresses... Why? Because they complement the Marine's dress blues. Now see, a lot of young girls, who are straight out of high school see this as a type of Prom. Well it's not. Where as Prom is mainly about the girls... Matching their dresses, getting corsages and stuff like that. The Marine Corps ball is NOT about you. It is ALL about the Marine... You are nothing more then an accessory to him... Hence dressing to complement his uniform.

Which brings me to my next point... Just because red, white, blue and black complement their uniform does not mean that you have to wear them all in the same dress. I mean I'm sure the American and Confederate flag dress would MATCH his uniform... But this goes back to what I was saying about the ball not being all about you but your man. 

Anywayz, I feel like such a hypocrite this year... My first Marine Corps ball I wore a dark blue column dress, then the last 2 Balls I wore black empire line dress... Which all totally matched the Marine Dress Blues... But I just really didn't feel like going out to buy a dress this year so i'm wearing my old dark dark purple A-Line prom dress. It should look ok... I mean it's better then the Confederate Flag dress right?

And the winner is...

Not me!

(Well not entirely)

I mean 3rd place in 2 catagories is good right? I suppose concidering there was a good thousand blogs nominated for each catagory. Thank you to the 234 people who voted for me! Like seriously, I didn't know I had anywhere close to that many people who liked... Let alone read my blog.

Frugal Friday: Fairy Wings

Making Fairy Wings for Baby & Toddler Costumes

By: MakeBabyStuff.Com

Making fairy wings using two hangers, a pair of tights and some duct tape turns out to be a very easy and cheap project! These wings can be used as part of a fairy costume or angel costume and using two hangers is the ideal size for beginning walkers to age five.
I found two "throw away" wire hangers from the dry cleaners and purchased a pair of white tights and a roll of duct tape and a fake flower lei from my local 99cents store! These fairy wings cost me $3 total! If you haven't turned to your local dollar store for crafting supplies (the only thing they are good for in my opinion) go check it out, you never know what you might find.

Materials for Making Fairy Wings:
Two Wire Hangers
Pair of tights
Duct tape
Ribbon, flowers, etc to decorate between wings

First is the most difficult part of this whole project...you need to remove the curved hook of the hanger. This is why it is essential to pick cheapie dry cleaning style hangers that bend easily. Don't go with heavy duty wire hangers, you'll never get the wire to snap! Slowly bending it back and forth until it snaps off. Remove just the curved part, leave some of the "neck" as shown below. Then tape together with duct tape. My duct tape shown is white because that was all I found, but any color is fine, it will be completely covered in the end.

Now take both wings and bend them together as shown in the first photo below. You can't have wings that lay flat, so this gives them the proper shape. Bend your wing shapes, and make an effort to match both sides as best you can. I started by pinching in the upper/lower part of the wings and then shaped from there.

If you purchased tights, you'll need to cut off the legs right at the crotch. For these wings, you really will only need (assuming you are using adult tights) about the knee down, but cut at the crotch first to be safe and then cut the excess after. You will also need to reserve two segments of the leg (two tubes or loops) for the arm loops shown two steps down.

Once both wings are covered, pull the ends tight, even out wrinkles and then tie ends in a knot. This will be covered by ribbon or flowers.

Now cut two segments at least a few inches thick of your left over legs. Stretch these loops all the way over the wings to the center. These are the arm loops that baby's arms go through for wearing.

Finally, you'll want to put something decorative in between the wings to cover up the knot you tied. Ribbon wrapped around or flowers works well. I wrapped a fake flower lei twice around and then cut it and tied the ends together.

Of course, you can embellish from here, add glitter, beads, trim around the edges, etc. Have fun!

Inconsiderate People

It completely amazes me how inconsiderate some people are. It's usually small things that really urke me... Like when I walk up to the 10 items or less line in the grocery store with 1 or 2 items and the person in front of me has like 20 things and it just drives me nuts when they clearly turn around, look at your two items and then turn around and start to put their crap up on the counter... Clearly not giving a crap that you only got two things... But they rather make you wait the 10 minutes to ring up all their stuff...

Anywayz, that's not the point of this post... So last night I take my daughter to go get her hair cut. Now this place closes at 7pm... We usually go at 6pm just because they're always dead that late... Well thank you Hampton Roads traffic... It took us 45 minutes just to get 20 miles to the kiddy salon. So I already get there super urked... So we go to walk in the door just as this little 10 year old boy's walking in by himself. To be nice, my husband held the door open for him. Big mistake, he was gettin his hair cut too, and that means he gets to go before us. UGH! Urked me cuz it seriously takes 5 minutes to trim my kids hair... Well as we're signing in the lady behind the desk says there will be a 30 minute wait. We said it was fine figuring it would be less... Of course not... This 10 year old wanted his hair washed, not just cut but "styled" and then blowed dry. Ok... So 25 minutes later she was done.

So as she's blow drying this kids hair his mom and little brother walk in. This 4 year old autistic brother starts "Mommy I wanna hair cut to!" Ok, that's nice, they're planning on waiting till after my daughter got her's cut right? No! I'm partially irritated at the mother for not doing the fair thing and letting my daughter go first... I mean especially after we just waited 30 minutes on her first son... But I think some of the fault was the hair stylest for not speaking up and telling her we were there first.

So the stylest tells the little boy to hop up in a chair and he starts freaking out... Ugh, I knew this was gunna take forever. I mean I'm not sayin autistic kids don't deserve haircuts (HaHa) but obviously you know he has special needs that are gunna make the haircut take a little longer that maybe you should let the person waiting go FIRST. So anyways, I kid you not, between this kids squirming and MAJOR jewfro it took them 25 minutes JUST to comb it out. OMG... And when I say jewfro, I'm not talkin Shia LaBeouf a la Even Stevens... I'm talkin Phil Specter's crazy jewfro! So after the stylest finally got all the candy and "sticky stuff" combed out of the hair, she starts to cut it... Ugh, that took another 20 minutes... So by the time we finally got our daughter up in the chair it was 7:30 at night... Which was pretty damn irritating considering we had been there for over a hour. And I kid you not, it took seriously 6 minutes to cut her hair and 3 minutes to pay... So by the time we finally got her up in the chair, we were out of the building less then 10 minutes later... Now why could you not have let us go first?

Post debate <3

Random Questions

I get asked A LOT of random questions from my readers... And lately I've noticed that I've been answering the same questions over and over again. Since I pretty much spent all day today going through all the emails that have been sitting in my account for the past month, I figured I might as well make an FAQ blog and tack the link somewhere on the page.

How long have you been a Milit​ary Wife?​​​
I can't remember, I think 5 years. Maybe 4. HaHa. Seems like atleast 20!

What branch of service is your husband in?

Marine Corps

Active or Reserve?

Active Duty

What is his job?

Aviation Logistics

How many years does he have left?

He's a career Marine, so 15 or so.

The longe​st deplo​yment​ you've gone throu​gh?​​​

Been through 2, 7 months long deployments

Name one thing​ you do when your husba​nd is gone?​​​
Go on with life. Between training and deployment's a lot happens, but you just go on with life. You can't just drop everything and sit and wait for him to return. You'd go crazy.

What was the hardest part?

During the 1st deployment, the 1st month was hard dealing with the thought he was goint to be gone for over half a year and for the birth of our daughter... But you get used to it.

What do you like about​ being​ a Milit​ary Wife?​​​

I love the traviling, the fact you can find family anywhere you go, the comradery, the sense of adventure... And especially now that our economy's in the state that it's in, I love the fact we have a guaranteed income, house and healthcare!

Do you live on base?​​​

Not on base, we're in off-base military housing.

What is your favor​ite base so far?

Camp Pendleton in California.

Least favorite?

Probably Naval Station Norfolk (Va). Just because of the lack of onbase activities... And the fact there is no on-base housing.

How many states have you lived in?
4; California, South Carolina, Arizona, and Virginia

How many houses?

7

Where​ does your famil​y live?​​​
Southern California.

What did your family think when you announced you were marrying a military man?

My parents didn't care. I come from a VERY military family. And my mom said she always knew I was either going to join the military or marry someone in it. She was just glad I was no longer in the Marine's that I just married one.

What'​​​s the harde​st part of the milit​ary life?​​​

Never knowing what's going on. I've got OCD and have to go my a schedule and want to know EXACTLY what's going on at all times... The military makes that totally impossible.

Do you have a lot of Milit​ary Wife frien​ds?​​​
I used to at our previous duty station, but after a lot of drama went on at our last duty station I made an effort here to make more civilian friends.

What do you think about other military spouses/fiancees/girlfriends?

The good ones are great, they're like a second family and kept me sane during the deployments. Unfortunately, most "wives" are lying, cheating immature girls and I have no need/time for their drama in my life.

Do you ever use your spouse rank in the military to your advantage?

No, and I can't stand girls who wear their husband's ranks on their sleeve.

Are you part of the FRG/KVN?

No, I used to be. But since my husband's in a non-deployable unit they don't have an FRG here.

Do you volunteer for anything on base?
Not on base, but since our "base housing" is off base, we have a neighborhood watch that i'm a black caption for.

Do you go to the groce​ry store​ or commi​ssary​?
We do our big shopping trips at the commissary because they cary a better selection of the vegetarian and ethnic products we eat. Plus, NO TAX is great here since it's like 12% or something. Crazyness.

Do you prefe​r walma​rt or px?
I prefer the PX here in Norfolk to Walmart on everything BUT clothing, they're way over priced.

Does your husband participate in any non-work base activities?
He's on his unit's football team and was on the base golf and softball teams. He also is part of a Navy sponsored "big brother" type program.

Do you like milit​ary balls​?​​​

I could do with or without them. Usually they're over priced and too much stress for what they're worth. But I guess it's an excuse to dress up and put on make-up once a year. I think we've been to 4, we missed last years because we were PCSing. This year, we've got a Navy Ball next week and then the Marine Corps ball November 7th. Which should be interesting since close to 4,000 people are expected to attend and it's our first Banquet Service, rather then the Buffet Style that most Ball's are.

When you see movies about the military, do you notice when things aren't right?
YES, it drives me NUTS when they wear their covers outside or salute indoors... OR in like war movies they're walkin around saluting each other... HELLO doesn't happen! Big props to Army Wives, seems to be one of the more accurate shows out there... Although they do screw up every once in a while.

Help Marine's Out!!!

I received a great email from Loida over at A Bargain Shopper letting me know of a program MarineParents.com is running. If you are the family member or friend of a Marine deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, you can request a package to be sent to your Marine. There is no charge; this is a FREE service for Marines and their families. Packages are shipped five times each year: early January, mid-March, early June, mid-August and late October. To request a care package from MarineParents.com, just complete this form.

On another note, if you are lucky enough to not have a deployed service member and would like to sponsor a package to be sent to a Marine overseas, MarineParents.com can help you with that. To donate money or items to the cause, check out this link.

And finally, if you would like to help, but can't afford the $22 donation, MarineParents.com is currently putting together Birthday Boxes and need hand made, or store bought birthday cards with personal hand written notes. This is a great opertunity to help Marine's that will cost you nothing more then whatever postige is these days. To learn more on the Birthday Box project and how to donate birthday cards, please check out the following site!

Dear Canada...

What's up with the gas prices?

We filled up the Altama yesterday and thought we got a deal for $2.96 a gallon. But checking GasBuddy.com this morning I see that it's gone down to $2.79! That's nuts!!! Well actually, it's kinda sad that I'm getting this excited when it gets this below $3. I remember gas being $.96 at the corner gas station, where I grew up, for the longest time... And I remember everyone complaining about how they were planning on raising the prices to $1 a gallon. Haha, then years later, I remember when I got my first car, a little Hyundai Accent, and being able to go up to that same gas station and being able to fill my tank for $12! Slowly it cost more and more to fill that tank... $13, $15, $20 and right before it got totled last year, it cost me $25 (in AZ) to fill that same tank... And now here in Virginia, we're just lucky if we can fill up the Altama for less then $60. Crazyness. What's this world coming to?

Happy 50th birthday...

Paddington Bear!!!

Remember him? No?

Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on October 13th, 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum. The polite immigrant bear from Darkest Peru, with his old bush hat, battered suitcase and marmalade sandwiches has become a classic English children's literature icon. Paddington books have been translated into thirty languages across seventy titles and sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. Over 265 licensees, making thousands of different products across the UK, Europe, USA, Southeast Asia, Japan, Australia and South Africa all benefit from the universal recognition of Paddington Bear.