Christmas Angel

I have been looking for the perfect Christmas Tree Top Christmas Angel - in my book the perfect chick with wings has great clothes and big wings and a smile that is bringing tiding of great joy! I have been searching for years! And all I find are those angles that have that little smirk on their faces. They do not look like they are bringing tidings of great joy, in fact I sometimes think that they have that I just had sex smirk! So, if you find that angel buy it for me and I'll pay you back.

USNA Stalker strikes again

We sometimes get mail at our house for the unfriendly neighbors that live next door. They have three kids, a grandma, a new puppy and a sprinkler system that flooded our back yard. They rarely wave at you or smile when you pass by, but they do come for Halloween candy. Anyway, the stalking part. The beginning of the week we got a piece of mail for them. I really did not pay much attention to it. Then last night I actually looked at it and read the return address. The USNA Office of Admissions! So I got very excited and ran it right over there. The father opened the door and I handed it to him and said, gee if I had known, my brother was the deputy commandant. His eyes just popped out of his head. I said well, I hope it is good news. Sometimes the stalkee comes to you.

Story to tell

Gee, won't Laura Montaro have a story to tell. Seems she was on a cruise ship when her appendix burst and she needed emergency surgery and she was transferred by helecopter to a nuclear air craft carrier. My story is very similar! I was 9, went to Dr. Ceppi's office cause my tummy hurt. I remember throwing up spaghetti all over his office. He called down to the ferry landing to get them to hold the last ferry cause I needed to get to the hospital. They wheeled me in to the operating room at a couple of minutes after midnight and the nurse whispered Happy Birthday! Yup, got my appendix out on my 10th birthday. See, just as exciting as Laura's story.

Whats in a name?

An Italian court has told a new mother and father that they cannot name their new baby boy the name they want. They named their new little bundle of joy Friday. Yes, that is right. They named him Friday. The reason? They like the way it sounds. This led me down the natural path of thinking of strange names I know. Knew a woman named Lucrecia - she had a daughter and she wanted their names to rhyme. So the kid goes thru life name Tunicia (not sure if the spelling is right, but I think you get the picture). Then there was the lovely girl I met long ago, she told me her name was DaMeter - I said like da parking meter? Yes. This train of thought led me, of course, to my favorite research tool - the internet. I did a search for unusual baby names, just the names of the sites excited me:

oddbaby.com - nothing like starting your life thinking you were odd - that comes soon enough.
babynameworld.com
babiesonline.com - can I get more than a name here? Can I actually get a baby? On line might be easier than the Macy's baby sale!

And my absolute favorite site: Alternative baby names. The categories crack me up. Like Cowboy, Wiccan, Hip Hop names are not weird enough, they have Uncommon and Odd baby names. What? Like a Cowboy Wiccan Hip Hop name is not odd enough? Clovis Hades Darshon - just a thought!

The French Rocketts

Please enjoy this little holiday dance.

PC Santa

The Surgeon General thinks Santa should trim down. Others think he should clean up his act by say HA, HA, HA instead of HO, HO, HO. WTF is up with that? A skinny Santa that says ha, ha, ha? Just not right! Stay away from Santa. What will be next? Replace Rudolfs nose so bright with an LED light? The sleigh with a hybrid?

Leave SANTA THE &*@# ALONE!!!

New Look

I got bored with my blog look. I guess this is the rearrange the furniture of the blog site. Let me know what you think. On Thursday I'll be changing something else I'm bored with. My hair. Yes, I know some of you realize that I can't do much about the length, except go even shorter, but the color....

Police work

It seems that the Iraqi police don't have enough weapons. What is the answer? Well to take the guns away from the female officers and give them to the male officers. Of course, that is the answer???? I guess since a woman's life is worth so much less than a man's this makes sense? I guess that in their culture when a man can't touch a woman this makes sense? I guess that when the US government has spent billions, lots of it trying to rebuild the police, this makes sense?

None of it makes sense. It seems that the more things change the more they stay the same. When all is said and done I believe women will be back under their burkas and things will be far worse for them then they were. I believe that after all is said and done democracy will not be the end result in Iraq. The end result will be the same struggle that has been going on in that part of the world for over a thousand years. The relative stability in Iraq during the time of Saddam was due to the fact that the people feared him more than they feared each other.

Me, the gunman and God

Jeanne Assam the security guard in Colorado that shot and killed the gunman in the Colorado church says when it came down to it, it was her the gunman and God. God stopped her hands from shaking and gave her the strength to pull the trigger. I give her a lot of credit, since it seems that that gunman was prepared to take a lot more people to heaven with him, but I can't help but wonder about things. God gave her the the strength to pull a trigger on another person? God gave her courage? Was this God's plan for her? What was God's plan for the gunman?

This all leads me to ask: When are people in this country going to connect the dots. We have more multiple killings then anywhere else in the world. Getting a weapon here is so easy, make it more difficult, perhaps then God won't have to make these kinds of decisions for people anymore.

Beach front property

I was out on Saturday night with my beloved and Chief-Matron-Mare-son. We went out to the movies and then over to IHOP for a late night - well, late night for us - around 11:00 pm - breakfast. Isn't it sad, late night now is 11? It used to be that I had only been out for and hour at this time. A late night breakfast was around 3 or 4 in the morning. But, that is not my story, so I will stop feeling sorry for myself now.

Anyway, we we sitting there waiting and as I am known to do I started people watching and evesdropping. Yes, I do that. I am not ashamed. If you are going to talk in a public place and people hear, well....

So there are these two women and first they are trying on hats and scarfs that I guess one of them knitted. Then they start talking about real estate. It seems like one of them invests and was considering some beach front property. It seems that with the current home crisis there are 5 million dollar homes that are now going for 4 million. Now that is a million dollar equity immediately! These homes are beach front homes - SOME PLACE IN ARKANSAS.

Arkansas? Beach front? When did that happen? What did I miss? And can you believe that I did not ask for investment advice from her?

Rant - just a little one

OK, I like to look at other people's blogs. Some people I know, most I do not. I just click that little button at the top of the screen that says very nicely Next Blog. I cruise along looking at little bits of other people's lives. And then it happens. I click Next Blog and get this page that pops up with something like - Meet Naked Women in Hayward. Now first of all if I was looking to meet naked women, I'm pretty sure I would not start in Hayward and I certainly would not start with any of the women on the page! Why does this happen. Go ahead, I know you are going to do it anyway. Click Next Blog and see for yourself!

Sixty years ago

December 7, 1941 - the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. If you live anywhere in the Bay Area look toward Mt. Diablo tonight. Did you know that there is a lighthouse on top of it. The light was turned off after the Japanese attacked. It is now turned on twice a year. Once tonight - to light up the sky as a tribute to those that died on that day in that beautiful place. The other night you ask? September 11th. So look up tonight.

The Streets Where Bea Lives

We do Christmas lights in my burb. In fact, our neighbors have one of those houses that are in the tours and newspapers. Where in the world is this street?

Holiday Shopping

I have always wanted to work in the gift wrap department at Macy's during the holidays. I just think it would be fun. That seems to be the the reason why Beverly Flynn was working at Von Maur store at the mall in Omaha. In addition to being a gift wrapper she was a mother, a wife, a real estate agent and I am sure many other things that the newspapers fail to mention. And now she is dead because someone pulled a trigger and shot her and others. As old as I am, I do remember being a confused teenager even a confused adult thinking life was so awful at times. I am afraid that so many of us do not understand that all things will pass and that killing yourself or others is not an answer to the pain and hurt you are feeling right now. There are other ways to make the pain stop that do not include picking up a gun and changing the lives of everyone around you forever. Your pain has stopped, so many others is just beginning. I won't mention his name because I don't want to add to his desire to be important, but I will mention:

Gary Scharf, 48, a customer and resident of Lincoln; John McDonald, 65, a customer and resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Angella Schuster, 36, an employee; Maggie Webb, 24, an employee; Janet Jorgenson, 66, an employee; Dianne Trent, 53, an employee; Gary Joy, 56, an employee; and Beverly Flynn, 47, an employee.

As you wrap your gifts this holiday season just take a moment and vow to listen to your friends, your family, your kids, everyone around you, really listen cause you never know when you might be able to help them help themselves.

How Come?

How come all the millions of you that read my blog never comment. I am beginning to feel like the sad little red headed step child...

580

OK, I knew if I said my commute was not bothering me as much these days that there would be hell to pay. This morning it took me and hour and a half to get to the damn office. I just heard that there is an accident on the Bay Bridge and while I do not go anywhere near it it will have a domino effect on all traffic everywhere! From here in Alameda to Nova Scotia for pete's sake. As for junk on the highway today - a big sturdy chain in a pile between lanes. I was going slow enough to pick it up, but I thought what do I need a chain for? So there it sits.

580

I am not sure what is going on. My commute is not bothering me very much these days. I am not seeing as many dopes out driving on the 580. I still do see lots of crap out there. Today I saw some really nice ribbon. Thick and red - the kind of stuff that looks really good on a Christmas tree. I did think it strange - how do you lose some really nice ribbon? Was it wrapped around a tree in the back of a pickup? Was it in the back seat and flew out the window? Perhaps someone got a new car as a gift and didn't take off the big red bow?

Proud Auntie

Today I cried a little. My nephew is 15 and this past weekend he went forward with his Eagle Scout project. It is just amazing to me how this little tiny baby that I held in my arms is now about 6 feet tall, handsome and can put together something like this He did learn that some things no matter how well planned don't go as planned, but in the end it all got done. He sounded so excited when I asked him about it all. Now my beloved and I need to reward him with the pink high school musical hoody that we know he is anxiously looking forward to.

Top Ten

On This Week on abcnews.com Little Stevie from E-Street Band fame (among other things) was asked what his top ten albums of all time are. I started thinking about this and it is hard. I don't have a full list yet, but I will start with - this is a work in progress.

1. Greetings from Asbury Park - Springsteen
2. Born to Run - Springsteen
3. With a Twist - Todd Rundgren
4. Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs
5. Greatest Hits - Stevie Ray Vaughan
6. Singles 45's and Under - Squeeze
7. Comfort Eagle - Cake
8. The Joker - Steve Miller
9.
10.


Current favorites - in my car right now:

Live from the archives 14 - KFOG (thanks my beloved)
Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (thanks Chip)
Indian Summer - Carbon Leaf (hello Richmond!)
Learn French with Michele Thomas - Michele Thomas (always learn)
Greatest Hits - James Taylor
Newest Blue October that I don't remember the name of.


So to steal from a commercial - What's in your Wallet?

Count Down

The count down is on! The Colonel has received his orders that he will be leaving Iraq on February 7th!!!!! He anticipates finally hitting home turf on February 15th. What better Valentines day present could the Mrs. Colonel and the little Colonel kids get? So, until then Colonel, keep your head down!

Speak the Language

We all walk by them every year. The barrels with the Toys for Tots signs on them. Sometimes we drop something in, sometimes it just seems like we have so many other things to do. I have always wondered about how the Marine Corps got involved in collecting toys for children. It seems that in 1947 a lovely Marine wife made a Raggedy Ann doll and asked her Marine Reservist husband, Major Bill Hendricks to deliver it to an organization that gave to needy children at Christmas. The Major discovered that there was not agency in existence, so he started one. That first year saw collection and delivery of over 5,000 toys in the LA area. The next year the Corps formally adopted the program and it became nationwide. It was not until 1995 that TFT became an offical activity of the Corps and the official mission of the reserves. Over 370 million toys to more than 173 million children have been given to needy children over the last 59 years.

So Marine up and donate a toy and maybe help bring a smile to a kid this season.