“Whew! I’m certainly glad to hear the ‘snippets’ from Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s sermons ‘in context.’ In the famous B. Hussein Obama speech that sent a tingle down Chris Matthews’ leg, Obama dismissed the clips of Rev. Wright being played on TV as mere ‘snippets.’ He claimed the media were highlighting Wright’s ‘most offensive words,’ complaining that they had been played endlessly, as if repetition were the problem with the statement: ‘G-D DAMN AMERICA!’ It’s absolutely unheard of to repeat passages from famous speeches. In fact, I have a dream that we will not do that. Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask that the media stop replaying ‘snippets.’ All we have to fear is repetition itself, because we are the people we’ve been waiting for to tear down that wall of endless repetition.” —a “snippet” from Ann Coulter

Amen sister.

One week down, 3 to go! This past week was super busy. I managed to create messes in every room of our house in an attempt to "spring clean."

Interesting article here: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/04/obama_the_savior.html

War with Iran anyone?

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/18/female-superdelegates-backing-obama-find-their-sisterhood-questioned/

Since when are Americans under any obligation to vote for a specific type of candidate just because they share that categorical trait with them? As strongly as I feel about some issues, I can't say I will never vote for a Democrat. I can't say I will never vote outside of my social issues box. I can say that I will always vote for the candidate who has my best interests' in mind. The article says, "In the absence of major differences in their policy positions, race and gender loyalty becomes a factor." What are their policy positions? Shouldn't American voters be more concerned with what exactly those policy issues are rather than the "firsts" that they may or may not accomplish. Who cares if Hillary is a woman and Barack is black. What do they stand for as people, as Americans, and the possible future leaders of our nation? What will they do for our military? What will they do to fix healthcare? I don't know. Do you? All I really know about Hillary is that she is the first woman who has a viable chance at becoming our Commander in Chief and by the way isn't owed a darn thing from our country. As hard as the job is, it is an honor to hold that office. I'll get off my soap box now. I just find it amazing that any voter would fore go the privilege of "choice" just because a candidate is the same color or gender as they are. Last time I checked we weren't living in the USSR.

“Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities... With such persons, gullibility, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason and the mind becomes a wreck.” —Thomas Jefferson

"Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except backwards and in high heels."

Well, Justice and I just dropped Ryan off at the buses to take him to NTC in California. After a long morning of "hurry up and wait" we had a quick kiss goodbye. I have already started counting down the days until he comes home again, but I also have a busy few weeks ahead of me. I've catalogued a list of "to-do's" in my head and have plans of throwing a party for the company spouses. I want to paint our bedroom and teach Justice a new trick. I plan on working on my bowling game and finally starting my garden. I'm hoping having these to-do's in writing will force me to actually follow through.

I'm no Ginger Rogers on the dance floor, but I hope I can make Ryan proud and "be all that I can be" while he is gone. Please keep him and his soldiers in your thoughts as they hopefully learn things that will keep them safe in Iraq.

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.” ~Charles Swindoll.

So, as I sit at work, clearly not earning my paycheck today, I started thinking about my attitude towards the upcoming changes in our lives. Mostly I'm sad and worried about how I am going to fair out in Colorado without Ryan. Then I start to feel guilty because I'm not the one who is going to "have it rough." Quite the opposite. I'll live a cushy life for the next year or more, going to work each day in a car with heated seats, eat at any restaurant I feel inclined to frequent, and go home each night to lovable puppy kisses and a big, warm bed. All the while, Ryan and his soldiers will be sleeping in cold, uninviting dormitories or tents, eating "chow" (nothing about that word is desirable), and ultimately putting their precious lives on the line every day. So, the point of all this is that I need to work on my attitude. I need to get rid of the "poor, pitiful me" feelings and think about what is really important: Sending positive vibes over with Ryan so he can focus on coming home safe. I will not complain. I will not cry (a lot). It's all about attitude. Fake it until you make it (or at least until he's on the plane). Happy Thursday! Back to work!

"Death is not extinguishing the light;

it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come."

Rabindranath Tagore

Hi everyone! I thought this would be a good way for us to all keep in touch and stay in the loop with Ryan's upcoming deployment. Plus, it will give me something to do when he's gone! Bear with me as I learn how to use this crazy thing and hopefully it will be a good resource for our family.