Questions...

I get an email at least once a week asking about the pictures in my header and where I got them. The three on the left are just Google images... The one on the right however is a picture of my grandparents and uncle back when my grandfather was in the air force.

Holiday Lights at the Beach

We ventured down to the waterfront tonight to see the Holiday Lights that stretch from 2nd Street to 33rd Street along the Virginia Beach boardwalk.

We all enjoyed it and defiantly plan on coming back next year if we're still stationed here.

First, we got there at 5:27, they don't "open" until 5:30. We waited in a line that stretched down Atlantic Ave for about 20 minutes. Not bad at all really, I expected to wait much longer. While waiting in line, vendors walk up and down the street selling hot chocolate, cookies, soda, and glow in the dark toys.

The have two pay booths to speed up the process, $10 per car, $15 for "Combo Tickets" that get you into the Norfolk Botanical Garden of Lights also. We got the "Combo Tickets". Anyways, they give you a Christmas CD to listin to as you drive through, and you get the keep it in the end, you also get a little coupon book for the local resturants and shops. I highly recommend this event to anyone in the area who's looking for cheap thrills. Especially anyone with small children, my 2-1/2 year old LOVED it.

The Holiday Lights at the Beach are running from now till January 01, 2009 from 5:30-10pm, 11pm on the weekends.

Clown Meat

How creepy is this?

I found this pic yesterday in some blog... I wish I had kept the link but after saving the pic, IE froze and restart )-: Anywayz, things like this make me glad I don't eat meat... I mean bologna's scarry enough... Do you really need to slap a Clown's face on it?

A Vegetarian Thanksgiving!

Tofurky, Sweet potato Casserole, Twice Baked Mashed Potato's, Cranberry Sauce, & Banana-Pumpkin Nut Bread.

Spinach Salad w/ fried deviled eggs and honey mustard dressing

Tofurky, wild rice stuffing and mushroom gravy

Butternut risotto, bustle sprouts, green beans, roasted carrots and onions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to throw this out there in case there was anybody interested, there's this great organization out there called Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project who allows you to adopt or annually sponsor the care for Turkeys.

Pre-Black Friday

Below we have compiled a list of all Pre-Black Friday, Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday online sales and their respective sale hours. A couple Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales have already started!

Wednesday, November 26th

GOING ON NOW! - Buy.com Thanksgiving Day Sale
GOING ON NOW! - Kohl's Pre-Thanksgiving Sale
GOING ON NOW! - Staples Big Event (21-item ad listing)
6PM EST - NewEgg.com Black Friday Sale

Thursday, November 27th

7AM EST - Kmart Thanksgiving Day Sale
8 AM EST - Bass Pro Shop (ends 6pm EST)
9PM EST - Sears Black Friday (Non-Doorbuster) Sale
Time Unknown - Best Buy Black Friday Sale
Time Unknown - Sports Authority Thanksgiving Day Sale
Time Unknown - Toys R Us Black Friday Sale
Time Unknown - Walmart Thanksgiving Day Sale

Friday, November 28th

1AM EST - Kohl's Black Friday Sale (online)
3AM EST - Amazon Black Friday Sale (online)
4AM EST - Kohl's Black Friday Sale (in store)
5AM EST - Sears Black Friday Doorbuster Deals (ends at noon EST)
5AM EST - Sports Authority Black Friday Sale (ends 3pm EST)
5AM EST - Circuit City Black Friday Sale
5AM EST - Walmart Black Friday Sale
5AM EST - Old Navy (online & in store)
5AM EST - The Sports Authority
5AM EST - Toys R Us
6AM EST - AAFES (in store)
6AM EST - Target Black Friday Sale
6AM EST - Kmart Black Friday Sale (ends 11am EST)
6AM EST - Bass Pro Shop (ends 11am EST)
6AM EST - Staples Black Friday Sale
7AM EST - Walgreens

Check out the bread!

Man or man to I with I could download smells to this blog...

Check our this Banana-Pumpkin Nut Bread that I just took out of the oven... In the words of Racheal Ray, "Yum-O".

Thanksgiving Dinner

I've started prepping my meals for tomorrow and thought maybe I'd post my menu with my recipes in case anyone's looking for last minute ideas.

Brunch:
Spinach salad w/ fried deviled eggs and honey mustard dressing.

DINNER:
Tofurky with cranberry onion sauce.
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mushroom gravy
Risotto stuffed butternut squash.
Sweet-Potato Casserole
Banana & Pumpkin nut bread

DESSERT:
Pumpkin Cheesecake

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Tofurky with cranberry onion sauce
Turtle Island Foods (Tofurky Website)

1 Tofurky roast (can be frozen)1 can cranberry sauce (chunky or smooth)
1 package dry vegetarian onion soup mix
16 ounces vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Empty packet of soup mix into crock-pot and add 16 ounces of vegetable broth and garlic powder. Add the can of cranberry sauce stirring to mix.

Place Tofurky in the center of the pot. For the frozen Tofurky cook on high for about three hours basting the Tofurky with the sauce every half hour or so while a thawed Tofurky should take about two hours. Slice the Tofurky and pour sauce on top to serve. Enjoy.

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Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Alton Brown

3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 ounces grated Parmesan

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.
Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture, salt, and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve

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Mushroom Gravy
Recipe by: Wife Mom Blogger (Makes 2 cups / 4 servings)


6-ounce package mushrooms (portabello or shiitake for example), finely chopped

Small onion, finely chopped

Pepper to taste

2 teaspoons oil

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/4 cup unbleached white flour

2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce

1-1/2 cups water

Sauté the mushrooms, onion, and pepper in the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and continue heating for 3 minutes, stirring until the gravy thickens. Serve warm.

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Butternut Risotto
Recipe by Wife Mom Blogger


One medium size butternut squash
Three Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 cup aborio rice
One medium yellow onion
32 ounces vegetable stock


Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut butternut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and pulp and discard. Brush olive oil on each side and sprinkle with sea salt on. Place face down in lipped baking dish and bake for one hour or until soft when pierced with a fork. Remove and let cool. When cooled scoop insides out and place in bowl. Set aside.

In a 2 quart saucepan place vegetable stock and bring to warm temperature. Heat 4 quart saucepan to medium heat and add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook until soft. Add aborio rice and stir. Ladle vegetable stock into rice one ladle at a time until rice absorbs all of the liquid, stirring often. As liquid is absorbed add another ladle at a time until all vegetable stock has been absorbed. Add butternut squash and stir. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper or fresh parsley.

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Sweet Potato Casserole

Martha Stewart

3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 8), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups mini marshmallows or chopped regular marshmallows

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with cold water by 1 inch; salt generously. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, and return to pan. Heat over medium, stirring, until liquid has evaporated and a thin film covers bottom of pan, about 2 minutes.

Remove pan from heat; add milk, butter, and nutmeg. Mash until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Transfer sweet-potato mixture to a 2-quart baking dish. (To make ahead, refrigerate, up to 1 day.)
Top casserole with marshmallows; bake until center is warmed through and marshmallows are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

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Banana & Pumpkin Nut Bread
Recipe by Wife Mom Blogger

3 c. All-Purpose Flour
1c. Sugar
1/2c. Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 c. canned pumpkin
3 med. ripe bananas
3/4 c. Butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine the white and brown sugar, butter, and eggs. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin and mashed bananas; continue beating until mixed (mixture will have curdled appearance). Add remaining ingredients except nuts; mix until moistened. Fold in nuts.

Spread into 2 greased 8x4 loaf pans. Bake 50-60 minutes or until wooden pick in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. This is a moist bread that keeps for days but doesn't last that long at our house.

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Pumpkin Pie
Paula Deen

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Pilgrims & Indians

Seriously whats wrong with people these days? And what is the US coming too if now our kids can't even dress up as Pilgrims and Indians for freakin Thanksgiving because it's "raciest"? This is just sad that this is what the US is coming to.

The Los Angles Times:

For decades, Claremont kindergartners have celebrated Thanksgiving by dressing up as pilgrims and Native Americans and sharing a feast. But on Tuesday, when the youngsters meet for their turkey and songs, they won't be wearing their hand-made bonnets, headdresses and fringed vests. Parents in this quiet university town are sharply divided over what these construction-paper symbols represent: A simple child's depiction of the traditional (if not wholly accurate) tale of two factions setting aside their differences to give thanks over a shared meal? Or a cartoonish stereotype that would never be allowed of other racial, ethnic or religious groups?

"It's demeaning," Michelle Raheja, the mother of a kindergartner at Condit Elementary School, wrote to her daughter's teacher. "I'm sure you can appreciate the inappropriateness of asking children to dress up like slaves (and kind slave masters), or Jews (and friendly Nazis), or members of any other racial minority group who has struggled in our nation's history." Raheja, whose mother is a Seneca, wrote the letter upon hearing of a four-decade district tradition, where kindergartners at Condit and Mountain View elementary schools take annual turns dressing up and visiting the other school for a Thanksgiving feast. This year, the Mountain View children would have dressed as Native Americans and walked to Condit, whose students would have dressed as Pilgrims. Raheja, an English professor at UC Riverside who specializes in Native American literature, said she met with teachers and administrators in hopes that the district could hold a public forum to discuss alternatives that celebrate thankfulness without "dehumanizing" her daughter's ancestry.

"There is nothing to be served by dressing up as a racist stereotype," she said. Last week, rumors began to circulate on both campuses that the district was planning to cancel the event, and infuriated parents argued over the matter at a heated school board meeting Thursday. District Supt. David Cash announced at the end of the meeting that the two schools had tentatively decided to hold the event without the costumes, and sent a memo to parents Friday confirming the decision. Cash and the principals of Condit and Mountain View did not respond to interview requests. But many parents, who are convinced the decision was made before the board meeting, accused administrators of bowing to political correctness. Kathleen Lucas, a Condit parent who is of Choctaw heritage, said her son - now a first-grader - still wears the vest and feathered headband he made last year to celebrate the holiday. "My son was so proud," she said. "In his eyes, he thinks that's what it looks like to be Indian." Among the costume supporters, there is a vein of suspicion that casts Raheja and others opposed to the costumes as agenda-driven elitists. Of the handful of others who spoke with Raheja against the costumes at the board meeting, one teaches at the University of Redlands, one is an instructor at Riverside Community College, and one is a former Pitzer College professor. Raheja is "using those children as a political platform for herself and her ideas," Constance Garabedian said as her 5-year-old Mountain View kindergartner happily practiced a song about Native Americans in the background. "I'm not a professor and I'm not a historian, but I can put the dots together.

"The debate is far from over. Some parents plan to send their children to school in costume Tuesday - doubting that administrators will force them to take them off. The following day, some plan to keep their children home, costing the district attendance funds to punish them for modifying the event. "She's not going to tell us what we can and cannot wear," said Dena Murphy, whose 5-year-old son attends Mountain View. "We're tired of [district officials] cowing down to people. It's not right." But others hoped that tempers would calm over the long holiday weekend, and the community could come together to have a fruitful discussion about Thanksgiving and its meaning. "Its always a good thing to think about, critically, how we teach kids, even from very young ages, the message we want them to learn, and the respect for the diversity of the American experiences," said Jennifer Tilton, an assistant professor of race and ethnic studies at the University of Redlands and a Claremont parent who opposes the costumes.Mehta is a Times staff writer.

Now those pictures were my Kindergarten class back in 198_ ::cough:: Now granted I went to a private school where anything goes... We had two Kindergarten classes. One class dressed up as Pilgrims and the other class (our class) dressed up as Indians. We made place mats, learned how to properly set a table, and then we made our head dresses and vests... I don't remember anything raciest about it.

Boo-Boos

For some reason my husband thought this was my feet... Nope, these are my 2-1/2 year olds freaky big feet and her first big boo-boo... Well it really wasn't as bad as it looked, just a small cut on the top of her foot, but it just bled and bled.

Car Accident (Part Two)

This is complete crap! So I was in a car accident last week... Remember? An idiot wasn't paying attention and t-boned me in the middle of an intersection. Ok... So that was last Tuesday... Now my car's not totaled, it's still drivable... But it's got stuff hanging off of it dragging on the ground... Like the tail pipe... And I have to pry the gas cap open to fill it up... I mean nothing you should have to deal with in an 11 month old car!

Ok, this lady and I exchanged information (via the cop I called). I contacted her insurance company within hours of returning home. That night I had my husband took the car down to her insurances appraiser who quoted the damage at $3,300. So that was all Tuesday night. Wednesday we called her insurance company back to make sure they got the quote, we were told she would be calling us back Friday morning to fax us paperwork to sign and what-not... Well we never got a call back... That evening my husband calls down there only to find out that the agent had been trying to call her client (the woman who it me) had been calling her 4 or 5 times a day and the lady had been refusing to answer her phone. She said she had left multiple messages on her machine saying that by law she must file a clam within so many days of an accident and that she needed the lady's statement of what happens since I was claiming that it was her clients fault. Well the agent says that she came into work Friday morning to a message on her answering machine from the lady filing the clam but never admitted fault or anything like that... Now the agent's spent the past 3 days trying to get a hold of her with no luck.

Well this posses a problem for us. Because her insurance agency won't pay to fix MY car without a statement from both parties. Luckily the police took a statement at the scene... Now unfortunately, they don't even have the report on file yet and said that if it's not on file by Wednesday that it won't be till at least Monday! It's 2 weeks after the accident! This is ridiculous! And then even once the stupid police report registers on file, then the insurance agent will have to request it BY MAIL and give the police 5-10 business days to mail it out! This whole things going to take a freakin month! That just really pisses me off considering 1, it was this idiot who hit ME! and now she is refusing to give a statement so I can just get my damn car fixed!

My husband thinks she's doing this just to give us a hard time so we'll go through our insurance to get the car fixed which will keep her rates from going up... BUT it would up our rates AND we would have to pay a $500 deductible... And I've already said that I'm not paying a single dime because this was 110% NOT MY FAULT!

Oh the stupidity...

512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points
97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates
Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions
57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)
71.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)
82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)
88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)
56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet.....
Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes
Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter
And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!
Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.
Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

Grand Illuminaltion Parade

Well usually I love going to all the parades and festivals around here... But last night's Grand Illumination Parade made me glad that it was the past one till spring.

I was just shocked by how incredible rude people were! First we were just trying to cross the street but everyone had blocked the crosswalks and was just being generally rude not wanting to let us in like we were trying to take their spot. So my husband's off trying to beg people to let him through and I'm behind him... All of a sudden I get some women hitting me in my back. When I turn around, the women standing behind me wasn't even looking at me, so I turn back around and continue to try to get across the street... I get hit again, but in the side and the lady standing behind me says "You're standing in front of people" I turn around to look at her and once again she's not looking at me, but I just explain that we're just trying to Cross the street... Well that wasn't good enough for her because she hit be again, and made a few snide remarks, and we got into it. We ended up having to walk a quarter mile down and finally was able to push our way through the crowd and crossed the street. So when we finally got across the street and find a spot we were just pushed around, and shoved... Until mid parade when some idiot guy who showed up after the parade started put his 6 year old on his shoulder's and pushed his way right in front of my husband for absolutely no reason (he was standing next to my husband and daughter and had the same view). Well when they pushed themselves in front of my kid, she just started crying cuz she couldn't see any longer. Did the guy care? Nope. Because he won the pushing match.

I swear... Some people... We walked down where it was A LOT less crowded and the people seemed to be MUCH friendlier down there... It was still too crowded to really be able to see... But this whole experience has just turned me of this parade... They had nice floats and all but it was way too cold to deal with such rude folk, so we ended up leaving halfway through the parade. It really wasn't worth staying any longer since my kid couldn't see anything anyway

First Show!

Being from Southern California I always get overly excited when it even slightly snows. So when I saw the snow this morning I grabbed my kid, threw a jacket and boots on her and tossed her in the backyard to see what she'd do...

She was a little confided and just kinda looked around, I'm sure wondering what was falling from the sky... Then started trying to catch the snow in her mouth... It was so cute... Wish I woulda video taped it... But I think the pictures turned out pretty good.

Deceptiveness

Deceptiveness just drives me nuts... So I saw a deal our local grocery store was running... They're doing this drive up service, where you order your stuff online and then just drive up in front of the store and they just bring all your stuff out to your car. So I thought I'd give it a shot. I ordered my stuff online yesterday morning and then had my husband pick up the groceries on his way home from work. Well all I gotta say is that I will NOT be using that service again... First of all... Half the stuff they listed on their website they were out of... Did they tell me? No they just went ahead and replaced it... Typically i'd be fine with that cuz I'm not a real picky person... But the problem is they took items like "MuShu Shrimp Bowl" and replaced it with "MuShu Chicken Bowl" And "Bean and Cheese Burrito" and replaced it with "Chicken and Cheese Burrito" and "Mac-N-Cheese Meal" and replaced it with "Cheeseburger-N-Mak Meal" Well that works out great for my husband... But I'm a vegetarian, so what am I supposed to eat now? That's the ONLY reason I even shop at this store! Cuz they're supposed to have such a good selection of health and vegetarian food... Well apparently not! Oh and I order plain soymilk so I can use it for my mashed potatoes, and gravy and what not for thanks giving... So they're out of the plane... So they just replace it with 4 cartons of "Very Vanilla"... Uhh, that's fine for baking... But I can't cook with that! UGH. I just waisted so much money of food I can't even eat. Oh... But get this... This is what made me the most mad... You do not get in between me and my chocolate (HaHa). So see this picture on the right, with the following caption: "Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie... Special: $1.00... No description available" ...Ok seriously, look at that picture, that is sooo a pint! But what did they send me? an ounce or two!!! I was shocked! I had never even seen the cartons this small! Stupid me thought I was gettin a deal, A pint for $1... But nah, so not a deal, the scoops they give in their ice cream shop are bigger then this carton!

Lemon Curd

I love love love lemon curd... And when I found this recipe from Alton Brown I had to try it out. Just as good as the store bought stuff... If not better.

Ingredients
5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
4 lemons, zested and juiced
1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

Directions
Add enough water to a medium saucepan to come about 1-inch up the side. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium size metal bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Measure citrus juice and if needed, add enough cold water to reach 1/3 cup. Add juice and zest to egg mixture and whisk smooth. Once water reaches a simmer, reduce heat to low and place bowl on top of saucepan. (Bowl should be large enough to fit on top of saucepan without touching the water.) Whisk until thickened, approximately 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coats the back of a spoon. Remove promptly from heat and stir in butter a piece at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next. Remove to a clean container and cover by laying a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the curd. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Obama Commemorative Plate

I have been searching YouTube for this video since I saw it on TV. OMG I almost peed my pants the first time I saw this commercial... It still makes me laugh!

"Commemorating the day the world changed forever... his confident smile and kind eyes are an inspiration to us all." ((GAG)) And then the family's testimonial, "our generation has spoken, and how this treasure will be cherished as a prize family heirloom, for generations to come". I'm sorry, but I think that is absolutely hilarious!

Car Accident

So I got in a car accident today. I'm pretty irritated considering it was in our 11 month old Altama. But really, I knew it was only a matter of time considering how retarded the drivers around here are. So anywayz, I was drivin through an intersection, and of coarse, some idiot not watchin the road... She had stopped at the stop sign, but then neglected to even glance right to see if there was anyone approaching or even in the intersection for that matter. As soon as I entered the stupid intersection (I didn't have a stop sign), she floored it... And BAM! T-Boned the back of the drivers side.

The picture really doesn't do the damage justice. We've already been in contact with her insurance and taken it to an adjuster who quoted the damage at $3,300. Looks like we're gunna need a brand new rear panel, new tire and hubcap, new back door, we're going to have to have the front door opened up and the window fixed... And then obviously a paint job on the back side.

A German Christmas

Oh man, I love these things! If you have no idea what this is, I'm not surprised... Not many people do. It's called a "Christmas A Pyramid" or a "German Christmas Carousel". It's really nothing more then a Christmas decoration that originated in the Ore Mountains of Germany but has become popular throughout the world. Usually the Carousels depict some kind of Christian motifs, such as angels or manger scenes, and others with more secular motifs such as mountain-folk or towns-folk. The spinning motion of the pyramids is traditionally achieved with the help of candles whose rising heat spins a propeller above. I'm not exactly sure why I'm so obsessed with them. Unfortunately for me they are waaaaay expensive! You can find some newer one teared candle less ones as cheap as $75..But the 2 and 3 teared ones usually go anywhere from $250-$500... But I've found some extremely elaborate painted 5 teared pyramids for up to $3,000! This one on the left for example but more elaborate painted ones like this go for $330. Too bad that I can't bring myself to fork out that much cash for one.

Well let e tell you, I was in for a beyond pleasant shock when I stumbled across one on the Lillian Vernon website. Now mind you it probably wasn't made in Germany... But for $30 do I really care? Seriously $330 vs $30! Come on now. Ya can't pass that up! BUT because I'm apparently not the only one who loves these, it's on back order... BUT it should be shipped out December 1st, so I'll live.

Super Obama

I can't figure out of this is supposed to be serious or a joke... I'm leaning towards serious... Sad.

Opinions needed!

I don't know if this is a Navy thing or an officer thing... But in the Marine Corps we never had unit Christmas Party's... Well I mean we had family brunch where all the officers would serve chowhall food to all the enlisted and their family's in a big hanger... Wasn't fancy or anything. The guys would just head over there in their cammies after gettin off of work and meet the rest of the family's... It was definably just a jeans and sweatshirt kinda thing. I know it doesn't sound like anything great, but I loved it! They'd TRY to decorate, which was always appreciated and then Santa would always show up on one of Crash Fire Rescue's fire trucks... And they usually had Mrs. Clause and elves come too... And then would give each child a really nice age appropriate toy that I can only assume had been donated through Toys for Tots.

Well now this year, now that my husband's in a officer dominated Navy unit, we have a "Kids Christmas Party" and an "Adult Christmas Party". I have NO CLUE what either are gunna be like. I know my husband said that the "Adult Christmas Party" would be "semi-formal" and he would need to wear collard shirt and tie (no uniform). So, here's my dilemma... It's gunna be cold the 2nd week in December. I have NO CLUE what to wear... I've spent every winter before this on the west coast where the average winter temp was 60 degrees... So all my "semi-formal" spaghetti strap and halter top dresses won't do. So here where it will probably be down in the 20's the night of the party... I need to find some kinda "semi-formal" winter dress...

Anywayz, I spent all morning looking for dresses online... I think I've found a few...

I love love love the 3rd dress... Nor sure if it's considered "semi-formal" though. I kinda liked the black tights the 1st girls wearing... But I think that's a cotton dress which screams "so not formal". Other's opinions would be great since I have little to no fashion sense.

Also, I'll need closed toe shoes... Since none of the ones I got would come close to matching any of those dresses... I was looking at these... I thin the one of the left is my fav. The only problem is the 3" heal... I'm already 5'11 with a 5'9 husband... I really should wear flats... But these are just so cute... One of the reasons I was considering the top right shoe... 1-1/2" heal would probably be better suited for me then a 3" one... Opinions? I have no clue is these styles even match.

Reminder

Don't forget, tonight's Military Monday, NATION WIDE, at Golden Corral!

http://www.goldencorral.com:

"The 2008 Military Appreciation Monday dinner will be held on Monday, November 17, 2008 from 5 pm to 9 pm in all Golden Corral Restaurants. The free “thank you” dinner is available to any person who has ever served in the United States Military. If you are a veteran, retired, currently serving, in the National Guard or Reserves, you are invited to participate in Golden Corral’s Military Appreciation Monday dinner. To date, Golden Corral restaurants have provided over 1.8 million free meals and contributed over $2.53 million to the Disabled American Veterans organization."

I, sadly, will not be attending. I honestly expect LONG lines completely out the door. My husband and I used to attend this even before we had our daughter... But with her, we just found it was just a little too crazy to take her there and stand and wait for 3+ hours.

Plus I've got a bit of a beef with Golden Corral and have been boycotting them since making this last post.

Pizza Hut

Ok, so we hardly ever order pizza... When we do it's either from Papa John's or this local place called Roma's down the street. Well I must say, those Tuscany Pasta adds of Pizza Hut's finally got to me! So I went online and found a deal for a Tuscany Pasta and Med 1 topping pizza for $20.99. So I went ahead and placed that order at 5:06pm. We were told it would be delivered by 5:30... So we sat here and waited, and waited, and waited... Never showed up. So at 6:00 we called them... We were told it was "out for delivery" and that there had "been a delay" but we should receive it shortly. So we waited, and waited, and waited... So we call them back at 6:30... We were told the same thing. So we ask exactly how long this wait is supposed to be seeing how the stuff was supposed to be delivered a hour ago. The teenager answering the phone puts us on hold so she can "check" she comes back 5 minutes later and tells us it will be "a little longer" Uhh yeah, so we heard... Now exactly how long is that? We're placed on hold again while she checks with her manager. 5 minutes later she comes back on the phone LAUGHING!

Pizza Girl: "Uhh... There was a problem" she says.
Irritated House Wife: "Why? It shows that everything was processed online"
Pizza Girl:"HaHa, yeah but... Uhh... We ran out of pasta"
Irritated House Wife: "What do you mean you ran out of pasta?"
Pizza Girl: "The Tuscany Pasta you ordered, we're out of it"
Irritated House Wife: "What?!? I placed this order an hour and a half ago! Why didn't you call me"
Pizza Girl: "Well we sent someone out to pick some up from another store"
Irritated House Wife: "Ok, but don't you think you should have called to at least inform me of the delay since I SHOULD have received my order a hour ago"
Pizza Girl: "Well we should have it soon"
Irritated House Wife: "And how long will that be"
Pizza Girl: "Huh? HaHa"
Irritated House Wife: "How long till I get my order?!?"
Pizza Girl: "When the guy comes back with the pasta"
Irritated House Wife: "Oh my gawd! Just forget it, cancel my order!"
Pizza Girl: "Well we're willing to offer you a discount"
Irritated House Wife: "No, just cancel my order!"
Pizza Girl: "Do you want to order something else?"
Irritated House Wife: "NO! I want you to cancel my order!"
Pizza Girl: "Ok, is there anything else I can do for you"
Irritated House Wife: "HaHa, you've got to be kidding me"

So here is is. 7pm and my husband JUST left to go grab Italian from Roma's down the street. I am soooooo urked right now... Needless to say, we will NOT be using that Pizza Hut any longer

Sad

So we cleaned, cleaned, cleaned the house yesterday and my husband got all our Christmas decorations out this morning for me to put up early... Well I don't know what happened, other then he dropped the box bringing it down from the rafters in the garage... But half my things were just smashed to bits. Only 3 or 4 ornaments... But old old old Santa figurines that my mother got in Germany... And just little ceramic Christmas nicknack's that I've gathered throughout the years. I'm just sad cuz I'm really attached to my Christmas decorations )-: I feel like I need a big carton of Mint Chocolate Chunk.

WBC and their hate speech

Who's up for a little counter protest? No seriously!

My husband came home with word that Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) will be protesting here around Hampton Roads the first week of December. If you haven't heard of WTC, I'm shocked. They are a religious group who became notorious for protesting U.S. service members funerals with "God Hates Fags" signs and for their desecration of OUR American Flag. I won't be direct linking there website... But you can check them out at GodHatesFags.com (yeah I know, nice name for a "church" website huh?)

The following is from the Westboro Baptist Church website on their protest schedule page:

December 1st, 5:15 PM - 5:45 PM

Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base - God sent the IEDs! Independence Blvd & Shore Dr. What is up with that name? Whatcha got going on over there? A frog/lizard preserve? Get over yourselves! You worship yourselves and your silly abilities, gifts that God gave you and you are soooo unthankful! Check out what is in store for you: Revelation 8:9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. Revelation 18:17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, Revelation 18:19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

December 3rd 07:30 AM, 08:00 AM

Fort Story Army Base - And Your Army Goes Marching to Hell! 83rd St & Atlantic Ave You did not think we would come all this way and NOT get all your military bases along the coast of Virginia, did you? The Lord God, also known as The Man of War, delights in showing His might. When you goofy, unthankful, flag-worshipping fools decided that you would declare war against the Lord and against His anointed, you put yourselves on the wrong side of right. We will tell you a few things, to wit: Jeremiah 21:4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. Or in modern parlance: Now it's IEDs, your army's on its knees. Count off the body parts, all gone. Then where'er they go, your dying soldiers show - that your army goes marching to hell.

December 3rd 08:45 AM, 09:15 AM

Norfolk Naval Station - God sinks your battle ships! Hampton Blvd & International Terminal Blvd We will picket your Naval instilation, to wit: God's gonna break your ships! That's right ladies, God fights against your goofy troops on the land, on the sea and in the air. Check it out, now: Psalms 48:7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. AMEN!

December 3rd, 09:15 AM - 09:45 AM

Oceana Naval Air Station - God Is Your Enemy! Virginia Beach Blvd. & First Colonial Road We are going to saturate all of that area of this evil country, and focusing on your naval bases because in Kansas there are not a lot of those, you know. You know that God gave you the ability to float on water, you unthankful freaks! And now you think that makes you really, really strong. WRONG! That makes you really, really dumb for not being afraid of the God who made you. Then add to that fact that you were given ability to fly Air Planes right off the tops of those ships. God gave you that gift and you hack up a big wad of phlegm and spit in His face early/often. God Is Your Enemy, to wit: 2 Chronicles 25:8 But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. That's right, God built you up for the day that you will fall straight down before your enemy. AMEN!

December 3rd, 10:15 AM - 10:45 AM

Portsmouth Naval Medical Center - God Maimed Your Soldiers London Blvd. & Effingham St. We will be there to remind you that God kills and God makes alive, but when God really wants to punish you, God only half-kills you. God is the Great Physician, and if He wanted to heal you brutes - you would be healed. He doesn't and He won't because God Hates the united states military. Judges 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. AMEN!

Anywayz, my husband, daughter and I will FOR SURE be attending the one on the 1st... And unless the one on the 1st gets totally out of hand (which I highly doubt it will) my daughter and I will be attending all of the protests on the 3rd, with an exception of Ft. Story.

SO anywhoo... I usually disable the comments on my posts. But I'll enable them for this one. If you're in the Hampton Roads area, let me know if you're planning to attend. Word on the street (I always wanted to say that) is that the Patriot Guard will be there... So hopefully there should be a pretty good counter-protest turn out.

Frugal Fridays: Tin-Can Luminaries

I got this idea from Martha Stewart and her "Tin-Can Jack-o'-Lanterns". But since i''m really not that into Halloween, I thought i'd save the cans and apply them to my Christmas Crafting. I thought this was a GREAT idea to recycle all the can's we use. I've been saving tin-cans for about a month and a half now... I think I saved about 20 of various sizes. I've been working on these for three days now... And I've still got another 6 or so to do.

Materials:
Tin cans
Nails
Hammer
Spray paint
Towel
Tea lights

Instructions:
1. Rinse your tin cans out and remove the label.
2. Stencil on template with permanent marker.
3. Fill the cans with water, about 1 inch from the top, and freeze them for at least 24 hours. This enables you to punch holes in the cans without denting them. While freezing, the bottoms of the cans may bulge.
4. Set the tin cans on their sides on a towel to protect your work surface from melting ice.
5. Carefully punch a design onto the can using a nail and hammer. The larger the nail you use, the more light will shine through your design. Simple star, snowflake, and geometric designs are easiest.
6. After you've completed your design, let the cans melt in the sink or run warm water over them until you can remove the ice. After they've drained, simply tap the bottoms back into place with your hammer if they bulged during freezing. 7. Let the cans dry completely.
8. Spray paint your luminaries in a well-ventilated area using spray paint.
9. Insert a tea light candle and set them on the ground or hang them from tree branches or porch umbrellas.
10. [optional] To make a hanging luminary, simply punch two holes on either side of the top of the can and insert a small wire, winding it around each opening.
Tip: Put small amount of sand in the bottom of the can helps prevent it from being knocked over or blown around in a tree.

Here's a template I made up, that you can print out and use. All you have to do is hold or tape the paper on the frozen can and punch where the black dots are. You can save it to your own computer and resize it to fit any size can.

TroopTube

Pentagon launches its own version of YouTube
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer

Eighteen months after banning access to YouTube and other social networking and entertainment sites on Defense Department computers, the Pentagon has launched a site where troops and families can upload and share videos.

Don’t look for anything too edgy on TroopTube. All videos are subject to screening for “taste, copyright violations and national security issues,” according to the Web site, which is administered by Military OneSource, the Pentagon’s online family resource center.

But the good news is that unlike YouTube, MySpace and 10 other networking and entertainment sites banned on official sites worldwide by the Pentagon in May 2007 — primarily, officials said, because they took up too much bandwidth — TroopTube can be viewed on an official computer.
That means a service member deployed in Iraq and working at a government computer can call up a wholesome slice of home such as “Samantha’s first steps” or “Jamie asleep in the car.”

Launched on Veterans’ Day, TroopTube had amassed more than 500 videos in its first 24 hours of operation — although for now, most are in the category of third-party shout-outs, such as members of the Chicago White Sox sending best wishes to troops, and things like parade scenes and speakers at a military bloggers’ conference.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of demand there among the younger contingent to have a sort of a YouTube type of ability to communicate back and forth with family members, so that they can exchange videos and messages and so they can see the birthday parties and all that — things that they otherwise couldn’t see,” said Lt. Col. Les’ Melnyk, a Pentagon spokesman.

The site requires users to register, but anyone can sign up.

Typewriters & 2yr olds

So check this out... At the museum yesterday, my 2-1/2 year old crawls up on a desk that had a typewriter on it, meant to represent a WWI recruiting office...

She immediately started typing. My husband and I started to laugh and make comments on how she had no idea what a typewriter was, and kids her age never will. We had turned out beck to her for just seconds... And when we turned back we found this...

Closer up you can see she was stickin the paper into the top part of the typewriter. My husband and I were amazed. How did she know how to use it? It's not like they even sue typewriters in cartoons or in books these days.

Prohibit divorce!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Tidewater Veterans Day Parade

Applebee's

So Applebee's was running this awesome Veterans Day promotion today. Free meals all active duty or retired vets. Sooo... After the parade we decided to head over to our local Applebee's for lunch... We figured we could beat the lunch and dinner rush by headin over there at 1:30ish... Yeeeeah......Closer up...
Nedless to say, we didn't stay. Seeing how it's just a 30 minute wait with a full waiting area... I ventured to guess this would be ATLEAST a 2-1/2 hour wait. CRAZY! But really what do you expect when you wave free food in service members faces.

If this was the down time... I'm glad we didn't show up at 4 or 5 pm!

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day!

I woulda posted something earlier but we were out literally all day!

I'll get to posting pics from today as soon as I get the kiddo down for the night... Meanwhile, check this out...

Check out 88 year old, WWII vet, Kermit Wood who dug out his old Navy uniform to wear to the Veterans Day parade today. How cute is he? Seriously... I didn't take this pic, I "borrowed" it from L. Todd Spencer over at The Virginia Pilot... I thought it was just too cute not to share.

Our Troops

Iraqi​ Troop​s Train​ed and Able to Funct​ion Indep​enden​t of U.S.Force​s - 6,​​000 as of May 2007 (per NBC'​​s "​​Meet the Press​"​​ on May 20, 2007)

​​Troop​s in Iraq - Total​ 152,​​850,​​ inclu​ding:
146,​​000 from the US,
4,​​000 from the UK,
900 from Polan​d,​​
650 from South​ Korea​ and
1,​​300 from all other​ natio​nsU.S.

Troop​ Casua​lties​ - 4,​​188 US troop​s;​​
98% male.​​
91% non-​​offic​ers;​​
82% activ​e duty,​​
11% Natio​nal Guard​;​​
74% Cauca​sian,​​
9% Afric​an-​​Ameri​can,​​
11% Latin​o.​​

19% kille​d by non-​​hosti​le cause​s.​​
54% of US casua​lties​ were under​ 25 years​ old.
72% were from the US Army
Non-​​U.​​S.​​Troop​ Casua​lties​ - Total​ 313, with 176 from the UK
US Troop​s Wound​ed - 30,​​757,​​
20% of which​ are serio​us brain​ or spina​l injur​ies (​​total​ exclu​des psych​ologi​cal injur​ies)​​
US Troop​s with Serio​us Menta​l Healt​h Probl​ems - 30% of US troop​s devel​op serio​us menta​l healt​h probl​ems withi​n 3 to 4 month​s of retur​ning home
US Milit​ary Helic​opter​s Downe​d in Iraq - 68 total​,​​ at least​ 36 by enemy​ fire

IRAQI​ TROOP​S,​​ CIVIL​IANS & OTHER​S IN IRAQ
Priva​te Contr​actor​s in Iraq,​​ Worki​ng in Suppo​rt of US Army Troop​s - More than 180,​​000 in Augus​t 2007,​​ per The Natio​n/​​LA Times​.​​
Journ​alist​s kille​d - 135, 91 by murde​r and 44 by acts of war
Journ​alist​s kille​d by US Force​s - 14
Iraqi​ Polic​e and Soldi​ers Kille​d - 8,​​719
Iraqi​ Civil​ians Kille​d,​​ Estim​ated - A UN issue​d repor​t dated​ Sept 20, 2006 stati​ng that Iraqi​ civil​ian casua​lties​ have been signi​fican​tly under​-​​repor​ted.​​ Casua​lties​ are repor​ted at 50,​​000 to over 100,​​000,​​ but may be much highe​r.​​ Some infor​med estim​ates place​ Iraqi​ civil​ian casua​litie​s at over 600,​​000.
​​Iraqi​ Insur​gents​ Kille​d,​​ Rough​ly Estim​ated - 55,​​000
Non-​​Iraqi​ Contr​actor​s and Civil​ian Worke​rs Kille​d - 554
Non-​​Iraqi​ Kidna​pped - 306, inclu​ding 57 kille​d,​​ 147 relea​sed,​​ 4 escap​ed,​​ 6 rescu​ed and 89 statu​s unkno​wn.​​
Daily​ Insur​gent Attac​ks,​​ Feb 2004 - 14
Daily​ Insur​gent Attac​ks,​​ July 2005 - 70
Daily​ Insur​gent Attac​ks,​​ May 2007 - 163
Estim​ated Insur​gency​ Stren​gth,​​ Nov 2003 - 15,​​000Estim​ated Insur​gency​ Stren​gth,​​ Oct 2006 - 20,​​000 - 30,​​000
Estim​ated Insur​gency​ Stren​gth,​​ June 2007 - 70,​​000

QUALI​TY OF LIFE INDIC​ATORS
​Iraqi​s Displ​aced Insid​e Iraq,​​ by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,​​255,​​000
Iraqi​ Refug​ees in Syria​ & Jorda​n - 2.1 milli​on to 2.25 milli​on
Iraqi​ Unemp​loyme​nt Rate - 27 to 60%, where​ curfe​w not in effec​t
Consu​mer Price​ Infla​tion in 2006 - 50%
Iraqi​ Child​ren Suffe​ring from Chron​ic Malnu​triti​on - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)
​​Perce​nt of profe​ssion​als who have left Iraq since​ 2003 - 40%
Iraqi​ Physi​cians​ Befor​e 2003 Invas​ion - 34,​​000
Iraqi​ Physi​cians​ Who Have Left Iraq Since​ 2005 Invas​ion - 12,​​000
Iraqi​ Physi​cians​ Murde​red Since​ 2003 Invas​ion - 2,​​000
Avera​ge Daily​ Hours​ Iraqi​ Homes​ Have Elect​ricit​y - 1 to 2 hours​,​​ per Ryan Crock​er,​​ U.S.Ambas​sador​ to Iraq (Per Los Angel​es Times​,​​ July 27, 2007)​​
Avera​ge Daily​ Hours​ Iraqi​ Homes​ Have Elect​ricit​y - 10.9 in May 2007
Avera​ge Daily​ Hours​ Baghd​ad Homes​ Have Elect​ricit​y - 5.6 in May 2007
Pre-​​War Daily​ Hours​ Baghd​ad Homes​ Have Elect​ricit​y - 16 to 24
Numbe​r of Iraqi​ Homes​ Conne​cted to Sewer​ Syste​ms - 37%
Iraqi​s witho​ut acces​s to adequ​ate water​ suppl​ies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)​​
Water​ Treat​ment Plant​s Rehab​ilita​ted - 22%

RESUL​TS OF POLL
Taken​ in Iraq in Augus​t 2005 by the Briti​sh Minis​try of Defen​se (​​Sourc​e:​​ Brook​ings Insti​tute)​​Iraqi​s "​​stron​gly oppos​ed to prese​nce of coali​tion troop​s - 82%
Iraqi​s who belie​ve Coali​tion force​s are respo​nsibl​e for any impro​vemen​t in secur​ity - less than 1%
Iraqi​s who feel less ecure​ becau​se of the occup​ation​ - 67%
Iraqi​s who do not have confi​dence​ in multi​-​​natio​nal force​s - 72%