It's been a long time...

OK, so 6 months is a long time in between blogs, but since no one seems to read this anyway I went ahead and blew it off while I tried to catch up on life. Was I successful? Well, not really but I'm having a great ride. I am back in school and only have 9 classes until I am done with my Bachelor's Degree. Ashley finished second grade with perfect attendance this year. Daniel finished his first year of pre-school and looks forward to a new year at United Methodist Church pre-school. Ben is still keeping busy with the kids and doing his honey do list around the house. It seems that once he thinks he has it done I just keep adding to it. He has turned into a Jack of All Trades (and a Master of None) :-)

We were able to take our first real family vacation this year. We spent a week in Disney World and then visited my Aunt Helen in Amelia Island Florida for a few days. It was nice to get away and the kids had a great time. No matter how good it is to get away, it is always good to come home...I wish I could say the same for having to go back to work. We did have a great time though, from hanging out with Mickey and his friends to hanging out on the beach, we were thankful for the opportunity to spend time together as a family. Ashley wanted to ride every ride Disney could throw at her. She loved Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios. Daniel rode Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad. Notice I didn't say he liked them...he'll tell you he did but screamed "Mommy make it stop" throughout the ride :-)

I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pics from our vacation. I'll try to keep in touch more often but with school starting for me next week and the kids in September, I won't make any promises I can't keep ;o)

He loves me, He loves me not?

I can remember as a young girl pulling off the petal to a daisy asking the question he loves me...he loves me not. I would wait with anticipation as I got closer to the last petal hoping and praying that the answer would be HE LOVES ME! Ah, the good old days when Magic 8 Balls and flower petals would tell your future and make, or not make, all your hopes and dreams come true. And, if you didn't like the outcome you could just pick another flower or shake the ball again. (Oh, come on. Don't say that's cheating because you know you did it too.) Then one day...BAM!...reality hits and you're over 30 with the proverbial husband, 2 kids, dog, cat, minivan and a full time job.

Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining one bit. I love my life. I can't imagine any more rewarding career then one serving my country. I can't imagine two better children, but my husband...well truth be told, sometimes I wonder. After 12 years of marriage would he ever get it right? I think he finally has. Bear with me while I go back a little bit. I'm not really a jewelry person. I don't really like cut flowers because they die. I would love a flashy car, but not the payment or insurance. So poor Ben never knew what to get me for any holiday and Lord knows he better not buy me cloths :-) So, a few months ago after football season started I told Ben, "Honey, this TV just won't do for the Steeler games. You have my permission to go buy a flat screen HD TV and surround sound system." He almost dropped dead. I mean, how many wives want a bigger TV for a football game? That was our gift to ourselves for Christmas. Then, it was coming on Valentine's Day. Ben and his Dad built me a little make shift art area in our laundry room. I was so excited to begin making cards and projects again but the lighting was just so bad. I got a desk lamp, but it still wasn't great working conditions. I came home on Friday before Valentine's Day and installed above my art table and washer and dryer were 3 new fluorescent lights perfect for stamping! I was so happy! On Saturday morning I gave Ben his hand-made Valentine cards with a little something written inside and his box of chocolates. He teared up after reading them and said "All I got you were some stupid lights". I cried as well and replied "I love my stupid lights. I couldn't have asked for anything better". Yes, I know I am weird.

So, last night I gave Ben a heads up for what I wanted for my birthday. No, not jewelry or flowers or a car but instead I want a light over my kitchen sink. Yes, you read correctly, a light over my kitchen sink. You ladies know exactly what I'm talking about. You just have to have a light over the sink, especially when your kitchen light isn't all that bright to begin with. So, that is what I really want for my birthday. Now I know that I may have to help install it, but it will make me so happy to finally be able to see what I am doing around my sink.

So he loves me, he loves me not? I know Ben loves me. I also know that maybe he is finally figuring out that I really am simplistic and practical. I'm not a girly, girl...except when absolutely necessary :-)...and I am happy with just the smallest gestures and gifts.

I think we live in a world where we get caught up in "things". We seem to identify ourselves with what materialistic things we have instead of what is important. I know that I would love nothing more than to buy Ben the truck he has always wanted and deserves, but alas the want just can't seem to justify to need. I keep telling him that he will get his truck one day. I just hope that by the time I can afford it that he can still see to drive :-)

I'll leave you with this final thought. Pull off those daisy petals and shake that magic 8 ball to your hearts content. Just know that the Lord gives and takes away what He thinks we should have. I just hope he thinks I should have that light over my kitchen sink :-)

Happy Valentine's Day...because we should love each other every day!

I'm such a SLUG...

OK, for those of you who have never been to DC or lived in DC, you probably don't know what a DC "SLUG" is. Basically, you park your car in the park and ride and stand in a long line either freezing your butt off or sweating it off, depending on the season, and wait anxiously as the cars pull up and the folks in front of you jump in and take off for the HOV-3 (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane. Yes. I am saying that you jump in a car with total strangers to get a ride to work. Then, at the end of the day, you go stand in line again to repeat this process to get a ride back to your car.

Now I know what you all must be thinking. She is insane. Truth be told I must be because I am putting my life in the hands of the person who just can't seem to leave their Blackberry alone for 30 minutes and proceeds to e-mail or text while driving. Arguing with someone on your cell phone with strangers in the car is another favorite and a SLUG rule breaker. I think a few times I may have gotten the person who hit "Happy Hour" on their way home. I am also such a fan of the person who must listen to a racially charged radio station slamming white people. Hello! I'm white. You picked me up. Think you can change your ghetto station? Now that is one of my favorites, but my complete and total favorite is the one who play their music so loud that I am completely deaf by the time I arrive at my destination. I'll never forget the Marine whose car shook us awake at 6AM with what I think was his daughter's techo dance club CD played at 30 on the volume dial. But, let me share my most recent story with you...

It was Friday night and I was so thankful to be leaving the Pentagon that I raced on my gimpy foot as fast as I could to get in the SLUG line to begin the rat race home. I was in luck. The line was short and it was now my turn. A couple in a red Honda SUV pulled up and said "Horner Road". I jumped, well hopped, in to the back seat and before I knew it we took off like a flash. This crazy lady was insane. I don't think I ever got out of the Pentagon parking lot so fast in my 6 months here. Her hubby, who was riding shotgun and smoking a cigar (another big SLUG no-no) was just along for the ride. He was so busy singing along with the blaring music and moving his hand in just the right motion that he himself could have been Run DMC mixing his tunes. Suddenly, and without asking, the wife changed his station. This didn't seem to bother him as he just let out a "Hey" in the middle of the song...and in beat might I add...and seemed to groove along. So here we go, 90 miles an hour down the HOV (speed limit is 65 by the way) with screeching noise coming from very cheap stock speakers and a crazed woman behind the wheel and her singing sidekick. Just then the husband changed the station back to his music and was singing once again. A few more miles passed and the wife put her CD on. Daddy Mac continued to groove along. Oh, and did I forget to mention that not a word was spoken between them?

Thankfully, my exit was in sight. I'm here I thought. I am back safe and sound. As I climbed out of the SUV and thanked the couple for my ride...not to mention thanked the good Lord for getting me there safe... I felt the irony of the song playing on their stereo as they sped away..."Shut Up and Drive" by Rihanna.

So, that is my life as a DC "SLUG". You climb into a total stranger's car and pray for the best. The interesting fact is that after all these years there hasn't been any serious issues. It is just a fact of life here. A fact that I know is shocking and amazing to some of my family members who cannot fathom why anyone would ever do this. I also forgot to mention that there is a web site for DC SLUGS and has everything from pick up points to SLUG and driver etiquette like NO SMOKING Stogie man!

So, the next time you are in DC just hop a slug. All you have to do is climb in, buckle up, and pray for the best.

Happy Slugging!

So this is Christmas...?

It's coming on Christmas and for some strange reason, I'm depressed. Maybe it's the fact that the economy is so bad. Maybe it's the fact that I'm getting older and actually realize that there really is no Santa Clause. Maybe it's the fact that I feel like I have not been a very good wife or mother. I can't quite put my finger on it, but my favorite Christmas carols, baking and decorating the tree just didn't do it for me this year. Maybe I have just worked myself too hard trying to make the perfect Christmas at home. Maybe it's because with each passing Christmas I forget more and more about my own Christmases as a child, hence forgetting my mother a little more each year. Or, maybe it is because my family that is left and means so much to me is another year older and it could always be their last Christmas. I don't know, but what I do know is that regardless of how I feel, I will do whatever it takes to make this a good Christmas for my kids.

I thought "maybe what I need is a good dose of "It's a Wonderful Life" or "White Christmas" or even "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". I wasn't walking around saying "Bah, Humbug" or anything, but I just couldn't seem to understand it, then...

I started thinking...why isn't anyone saying "Merry Christmas"? Why is it "Happy Holidays"? And why have we taken everything there is to love about Christmas out of the schools, shopping malls and office spaces. Why is it "Politically Incorrect" to say Merry Christmas? Since when do reindeer have religious meaning? Or even better, why is a Christmas Tree offensive?

I sat and thought long and hard about answers to these questions. I have taken a stand...yes, I tell everyone Merry Christmas...except my Jewish co-workers who I wish a Happy Hanukkah. We have a reindeer in our office and hung candy canes in protest. I'm a rebel I know, but it is America and I can celebrate CHRISTMAS if I wish darn it!

OK my venting is done, and I would like to share with you my true thoughts of Christmas. Yes, Jesus was born on Christmas to save us all. We celebrate his birth and this is the true meaning of Christmas and why we should celebrate it in the first place. I was wondering if I was really doing that with my kids. I wasn't sure until the other day:

We were planning a quiet Christmas at home...just the four of us, when I discovered that my friend Kris would be all alone here in DC for Christmas. We asked the kids if they would mind if Ms. Kris spent a few days with us at Christmas. Ashley immediately said "Mommy, Ms. Kris can have my bed and then we need to get her a present for under our tree." See, at that moment I knew Ashley "got it".

Daniel, for instance, loved taking Christmas cookies and popcorn to some of the neighbors this weekend. He was so upset when the little old lady next door did not answer the door the two times we knocked that he actually started crying thinking she didn't want our Christmas present. (Truth be told, she is a shut in and I have to call her son to have him ask her to open the door for us) He also couldn't understand why we couldn't take gifts to the entire neighborhood! OK, Daniel has "gotten it".

So, what is Christmas? Giving up your warm bed for a friend? Taking treats to friends and neighbors? Sharing your "family time" with those who can't be with their family? Yes, THAT is what Christmas is all about and I think THAT is better than any present I can receive on Christmas morning.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & GOD BLESS!!!

Thank-Full

Well, we were fortunate to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Pittsburgh this year. We actually had two Thanksgiving dinners. The first one was at my niece Megan's new house. The second was at my Uncle Jack and Aunt Kassy's house. We were so stuffed that I think we ate ourselves sick. Note to self...only one Christmas dinner this year.


We had a good time seeing family and friends but the drive home last night was brutal! A 4.5 hour drive took 8 hours due to traffic and rain the whole way home. The only highlight of our trip…well there were two actually...was stopping at Gene and Boots Candy Store and seeing my kid's faces light up the way I am certain mine did when I was their age when Dad and Mom took me there. The second of course being satellite radio which brought me the play by play of the Pittsburgh Steelers stomping the New England Patriots. Go Steelers!

As for my Christmas wish, since I don't think Santa can bring me a BMW 3 series in his sleigh, I will gratefully accept my early Christmas present of having my family together in our new home for Christmas and beginning our own Christmas traditions. He did deliver that Steeler win I asked for though, so I am a grateful fan :-)

I am also a thankful wife. I have a wonderful husband...shh, don't tell him because his head will get too big. Ben really is great. I'm not sure many husbands would uproot themselves and their kids to follow their wife all over the Nation. He supports me and my career and I love him very much for it.

I am a thankful mother. I have two of the best kids in the world. Just ask them and they'll tell you so :-) They have been through so much and are just wonderful. Sure they fight, scream, yell, cry and try to decapitate each other, but what else are brothers and sisters for? I would not trade them for anything in the world. I love them so much and they mean the world to me.

I am thankful for the family and friends I have in my life. Without you life would be boring...to say the least ;-) and I am blessed to have each of you in my life. Thank you for always being there for Ben, the kids and me. I hope your Thanksgiving was great!

Ghosts and Gobblins

Halloween is our kid's favorite holiday...second to Christmas of course. Ashley was a beautiful Genie and Daniel was Handy Manny. I went as the best QB in professional football...BEN ROETHLISBERGER!!!



Thursday night we carved our pumpkins. Daniel wouldn't touch the "icky" stuff but Ashley remembered how to carve a pumpkin and was up to her elbows in gooey stuff.



Even Lucky was getting in on the action.



The kids had a great time and got TONS of candy, so we have to be very careful and limit the candy consumption. I'll leave you with more fun Halloween pictures.

I'm figuring this stuff out

So, a few "help me" phone calls and I think I am getting the hang of this Blog thing. Ben thinks it is a cool idea and I think I am going to put the web address in our Christmas Letter so all of our friends and family can see what we are up to. I hope we don't disappoint because we aren't usually up to anything other than working and trying to get the house in order from the move. Ben is sick and tired of painting and I'm just sick and tired...lol.

Ashley has settled into her new school and Daniel is finally feeling at home and has been a "Big Boy" all week. I missed them so much while I was gone for the last two years, but I think we are finally settling in to our family routine.

Just like Susie, I am a fellow Stampin' Up Stamper. I missed not being able to create over the past few years, but Ashley loves to stamp and made her very own Halloween Cards this year. She was so proud. Daniel likes to stamp and make cards too. I think he gets more ink on himself then he does the paper, but I don't mind one bit because it is something I can do with them that we all enjoy...and it gives Daddy a break from all of us :-)

Well I was asked where the pictures were, so LtCol Miller here's some pictures just for you. Thanks for asking for them.

I know some of these are older, but I like them just the same. This photo was taken at Point Loma, CA. I loved San Diego and miss it very much. The only thing bad about SD was that Ben and the kids were not there with me, so we made the most of each visit we had.

Yes, I am in the military and just got promoted to Chief Petty Officer! That is a HUGE promotion in the Navy...not monetarily, but career wise it is a major milestone. I was so glad that I was able to share the day with Ben and the kids. The kids of course got bored and were off wrestling in the background somewhere :-)

Ah, breakfast with Disney Characters. Every child's dream...oh, and the kids too :-) We had a great time and the kids loved getting autographs from all the characters. I'll tell you one thing though, Disney isn't going under any time soon. At $50 bucks a pop that was the most expensive breakfast of my life!