Happy Birthday!!!

Our little Therese is 12 today. She spent her birthday weekend babysitting so I could watch the Princess cheer at her last football home game, going to vounteer at a food pantry, attending another friend's party, (insisting that she did not want to have a party of her own, and would rather have dinner out at her favorite diner and be with "just the family" with a simple home-made cake) and is spending this birthday night attending her first training session for Youth Court.

She is a blessing each and every day.

Two Hearts Beat As One...Happy Sweet Sixteen, Love

Happy Anniversary To My Beloved!!!

Sixteen Years of Sublime!

May 1992. Marine meets recovering sorority queen. Engaged in 7 weeks, married 10 months later. They said we'd never make it as they smiled and danced and drank their way through our wedding.

It has been (and still is) my pleasure to beat the odds those friends and family members laid on us and otherwise to irk said naysayers after all these years. Many say it is "sweet" that I'm still so "in love" with my husband, and he with me. I can't imagine life any other way. I don't just love my husband, I live my husband. We finish each others' sentences...if words are even necessary. (Usually a raised eyebrow and an answering smirk will suffice.) We email each other the same odd and obscure news stories because we know that the other one will appreciate the bizarreness of it as well as the hunt for the story. When I'm lonely and I go to pick up the phone to call, it rings. It's him.

We are 8500 miles apart at the moment, but we might as well be sitting side by side. But then I wouldn't be sitting at the computer telling you all this. I'd be snuggled up under the blankets, secured in one big arm, listening to his heart beating as I fell asleep like I do every night we're together. Just a few more months 'til summer, babe.

Say I'm a fool...

[They] say I'm not for you

But if I'm a fool for you

Oh, that's something...

Two Hearts Beat As One Lyrics

P.S. We are SO going to this concert this summer in some as-yet undisclosed (and hopefully European) location!

41 and fairly fabulous

Today's the big day....the girls don't have school so they made me breakfast in bed. I could hear the bickering and the shushing from below. The Boy drew me a card...on my bedroom wall with a rogue pencil he jacked from one of the girls' backpacks....

It's Monday morning, I'm surrounded by children and domestic livestock...missing the Beloved, but otherwise life is pretty darn good.

(The only suck factor so far is that it's really cold - the rest of the week will be nice and warm. Figures.)

Happy 233rd Birthday, Marines!

To all our beloved Marines out there, present and future....

...there is no such thing as a "past" Marine - once a Marine, always a Marine!

It all began at Tun Tavern:

The Establishment of the United States Marine Corps.

10 November 1775

Resolved, That two Battalions of marines be raised, consisting of one Colonel, two Lieutenant Colonels, two Majors, and other officers as usual in other regiments; and that they consist of an equal number of privates with other battalions; that particular care be taken, that no persons be appointed to office, or inlisted into said Battalions, but such as are good seamen, or so acquainted with maritime affairs as to be able to serve to advantage by sea when required: that they be inlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines, and that they be considered part of the number which the continental Army before Boston is ordered to consist of.

Source: Journal of the Continental Congress, 10 November 1775, in William Bell Clark, editor

Celebrating the Marine Corps Birthday is a time-honored tradition. No matter where they are - in the field, on base, at a swanky hotel, in a VFW Lodge in rural America with no one in the room under the age of 60 - there are Marines of all ages celebrating at a Marine Corps Ball. There's a message from the Commandant, speeches from the local commanding officer, veteran or current Marines, ceremonies depicting the history of the Corps and my favorite:

...honoring the oldest and youngest Marines present with a slice of USMC birthday cake.

(If the Marine can't get to the party, the party is brought to the Marine! I love this picture - it's hard to see, but there are two slices of cake on the table, one for the oldest and youngest Marines in the photo!)

.

The wives and sweethearts are dressed to the nines in formal ballgowns, the Marines are in their dress blues - some even have the formal "evening wear" version!

Standard dress - but trust me, there's nothing "standard" about a handsome Marine in dress blues!

Evening dress (cool enough on your screen, but it transports you to a beautiful, bygone era to see these gorgeous uniforms on our proud, brave men and women in person!)

The Dress Whites are for special duty - depending on where you are, you may catch a special performance by the USMC Silent Drill Team or Drum & Bugle Corps on Birthday weekend! (I can guarantee you that dog has one of two names: Chesty or Gunny!)

And at the bigger, on-base USMC Balls, the Band will play on!

The Marine Corps hymn - here

No matter how you dress 'em up, the indomitable spirit of our brave Marines never changes:“We're surrounded...that simplifies our problem!"

"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time!"

-Chesty Puller, USMC

Have a very Happy Birthday, Marines, wherever you may find yourselves today. Prayers for your health and safety, and heartfelt thanks to Marines of all ages for your service and dedication to preserving our freedom and security against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Special Happy Birthday shout-out to our dear Cavey, his fellow Leatherneck Bloglodytes, and his House Sergeant Major, too!

Our Composer in Residence...

Friends, we have greatness in our midst.

As Election Day approaches, our favorite Neanderthal, Cavey, has composed some alternative lyrics to improve on a few rather dreadful old tunes...pop over and take a look, but if you are easily offended...okay, well, maybe don't. Whatever the case may be, I say it's great to have a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

Thanks Cavey!!!

Non-goose Michaelmas

No goose to be had around here, so I made one of the easiest, cheapest, yummiest crockpot dinners tonight...

Brookside Bistro proudly presents....

Crockpot Chicken, with its companion leftover recipe, Chicken Pastina (con Verdure, if you want to get fancy.)

Kasia - you can do this one!

Here's why I love making this meal - aside from being VERY yummy:

whole, fresh chicken = $5
broth = $1
soup mix = $1.50
pastina = $2.50
veggies = $2.00

So we've spent about $11.00 and change to feed our family of 4.25 (he's still little!) for two nights. Not bad, and they love it!

I slammed out some homemade bread, too - felt the urge to knead today - and topped off the experience with some honey butter. Oh yeeaaaahhhh....

RAH!

The Princess made the final cut!



Thank you St. Sebastian for prayers answered.

Saying Grace

The Boy is getting too big, way too fast. He just had his first haricut. (WAAAAHHHHH!!!) All those cute little curls...gone.

This is his new "manly" look:

[pic removed by family request - sorry!]

Lest you think he is on his way to the cover of Tiger [Cub] Beat, he was really just annoyed that we wouldn't let him grab and smash Daddy's expensive digital camera into a zillion little pieces.

He still does not have much to say beyond Mamma, Dadda, babba, and Mmmmm!, but he makes a lot of interesting sounds (clicks, screeches, hoots, razzies) that definitely have individualized meanings. ("Eee! Eee!" = "cat"...or, perhaps more mercifully, "Run, Jack, run!") We think maybe he was mistakenly sent to us instead of to some indigenous or aboriginal tribe, what with his penchant for making strange noises and marked preference for nudity/streaking.

Anyway, one thing that always cracks us up is dinnertime, and saying grace. Apparently he thinks that we gather around the table each evening to adore him, because before we get to "Mmmmm!" [food], we all put our hands together for some strange reason. Which means we must all be ready to applaud him. The second we're all sitting down, he grins from ear to ear, slaps himself on the forehead [sign of the cross] and starts clapping ["AAAAyyyyyy!"] waits for us to stop saying whatever it is he thinks we're saying, slaps his head again, and we get the big finish...."AAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!" we all are cracking up and clapping by this time, and when we're done... "Mmmmmmm!!!" and the lunging toward the table begins.

I think about the next 18-plus years of doing this each night....and that it will likely end up just being the three of us once the girls are off to college and beyond (only 4 years 'til the first one...how does that happen?). So of course I thought of this:

Despite my ongoing efforts to the contrary, I may not be able to resist the waistline in the end, but I will NEVAH give in to the snow on the roof, thanks to my trusty hairdresser and his arsenal of Redken products. And the Beloved may end up with a cane, but he has a much cuter and smaller little snout. (See Boy, above - spittin' image!)

I know I'm a sap, but I love Norman Rockwell paintings.

Yesssss.....

For Digi...yes, the law is a demanding mistress, and sometimes you've gotta let yourself embrace those guilty pleasures!

High Five!

Congrats to my former student, K, on her scholarship, graduation, and new paralegal job at the locally headquartered major national corporation! (I'm trying to keep it anonymous!)

K has an autistic son, a brain-injured son (a car backed over him when he was a toddler), and her husband sustained career-ending injuries as a volunteer firefighter. This lady has more on her plate than I can even begin to imagine, just getting through each day. Managing to get her RN and paralegal degrees while working part time and caretaking for her three men is nothing short of phenomenal. This job will give her both the salary she needs and most importantly, excellent benefits for her family.

GIRL, YOU ROCK!!!

10 years of terror

It just dawned on me...I passed the 7/97 CA Bar exam, but was in IL clerking when the results came, so I didn't get admitted until 4/30/98. Wow. Time flies when you're suing for stuff!

Way cool!!!

UPDATE: We saw him! He was positioned in an archway directly behind and to the right side of the dais (behind Pres. Bush), not holding a flag. Handsome boy.

Deo Gratias!

My nephew is in the Old Guard (Army) and will be in the honor guard at the White House tomorrow morning, apparently standing quite close to His Holiness! Look for a strapping Irish lad, 6'2", with icy silvery-blue eyes....

He served with distinction for his year in Baghdad, as a sniper assigned to SIT ON TOP OF or walk NEXT TO Bradleys and other armored vehicles during neighborhood patrols, and to pick off anyone who fired at his group. He held two friends as they died. He admits looking into the eyes of 6 enemy combatants as he shot and killed them. He received an Army Commendation Medal with a special "V" for valor after being pinned down in a bombed-out crater/wall with 4 friends, one critically wounded by enemy fire, for several hours. In order to get a clear shot at the nest of insurgents who were firing at them, one of them would have to come up out of the hole and from behind the cover of the wall, run several yards around the wall, and take the shot. When it was clear no help was coming anytime soon, he ordered everyone else to stay put, made the move - and made the kills - to get he and his friends out of their position and back to safety, and to get the wounded soldier medical help.

All of this was done during his 20th year.

When he got home, his CO recommended him for a special tour with the Old Guard, the best of the Army's best, known for its troops' valor. They perform ceremonial duties at Arlington National Cemetery, guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and are responsible for the protection of The Military District Washington DC. (The Marines get to take care of the President.)

Hoo-Ahh, Boy. Your "Auntie Kiss"* is proud of you.

Oh yeah. After my sister's divorce, what little Mass attendance there was stopped. He started going again while stationed in Baghdad. He doesn't talk about it, even with me. He just goes...and pins anyone down with a baleful stare from those clear eyes if they try to pry, or worse yet, tease him about it.

*(He doesn't talk like that anymore. But those unearthly icy-silver-blue eyes sparkling at you from a toddler's sweet face...unforgettable.)