Circle of Life

It is strange how life is a circle. For those who believe in life after death, this is not so strange for them. I, myself do believe in something after death, I am just not sure what yet...Still searching for those answers.
This is where the religion card comes in...I was raised a catholic but I do have some issues with the religion. I do however fall back to it simply due to my comfort level there. It is what I know. I admit I am not a practicing catholic but I have been to church within the last month. I find myself doing more searching for something lately. I am not very comfortable going to new churches so this is why I tend to fall back to the catholic church even though I was not particularly fond of the priest at the local catholic church. My beliefs are not so conservative either so this is another problem with the catholic church and myself. I find myself believing in more... So with that....Back to the circle of life.
My cousin had a baby this weekend...congrats to her and her hubby...and Welcome to the world Baby Abby.
My sister lost a dear friend on Thursday and my mother lost a dear friend on Friday. My thoughts are with them.
Circle of Life....Birth to Death....

Actions of people

I know I shouldn't fret over the actions of other people and that I have no control over them but man they piss me off sometimes. Today has not started off to a good start.
This morning my son was being so lazy and slow. After we had already gotten in the truck we had to go back in the house 3 times for things he forgot. Then after we finally got to school after being behind other really slow cars he took forever to get out of the truck once again forgetting his bookbag in the truck. Man...He must have left his brain in bed.
Then leaving the school I once again got behind really slow people. How is it that it never fails when you are late you get behind the slowest people driving?
Then getting to work, I go back to my office and area of employment and it is a wreck. I know I had to leave early yesterday due to my daughter but man can people actually get the work done without having someone looking over them. It might be different if they were new and didn't know what is going on but these people have been here for over a year...

OK Enough of the bitching...It is Friday and I am off the rest of the weekend!

Maddie Update

Well Maddie now has a pink and purple cast on her leg. The Ortho Doc wanted to cast it so that if she has a growth plate injury she won't hurt it any more than it already is. She will be having a MRI in the coming week and we should know more then but until then he wanted to cast her leg to keep it immobilized. I know this is the right thing for her. This way she can actually get around without hurting herself more.
This is really all I have to update about her. She is happy with her cast being pink and purple. Those are her favorite colors...Go figure for a 2 year old girl...
She did ask to take it off last night but when I explained to her that only the Dr could take it off she was ok with that.
Anyway...More to follow later...

Frustration abound in my life

As I get older I seem to get more and more frustrated at the way I am taking my road of life. I used to be one who never got worked up over things. I would never stress over things at all and now...I am 35 and it seems as if people just piss me off on a daily basis. I don't know if it is a hormonal things...Yes I hate to say that knowing that getting older as a woman means menopause....Or maybe I am just becoming a crotchety old woman... Take for example my children. I have never been a clean neat freak...My house is clean but not completely put together...I never really worried about that before but now it seems all I do is clean up things, and I am trying to get my kids to do it too...Come on...A 5 year old cleaning...Right...He does vacuum but that is because I have a Kirby that basically pushes itself and it isn't hard for him. And my 2 year old, she hates to clean up her room. But as long as someone is in there with her she will do it.
So as I was writing this yesterday, I got a phone call from my daycare. My daughter fell off the slide. She wouldn't walk on her leg. So of course I brought her into the Emergency Room where we waited after x-rays for 2 and a half hours. When the PA finally came back into the room to tell me what I already had seen on the films, that nothing was broken. He said to me that he had forgotten all about us being there. Man I was not happy. Then he told me that my 2 year old was just trying to get sympathy and that she wanted to be carried which was why she wouldn't walk on her leg. Of Course I was again not happy but...Working in the operating room does have its advantages...I get to know doctors. So one of our wonderful Orthopedic docs is going to see her today. He looked at her films and said there was definitely some swelling around her knee and he wanted to take a look at her. God love that man for making me feel better about my daughter and her injury.
so that is my update for yesterday.

Today I am feeling a little on the blah side again. Mostly because of Maddie's injury and feeling really bad for her and not being able to be with her today but also because I keep having these weird dreams. Dreams about things that I would never imagine would happen. But I'll be fine...Nothing a couple of Beers can't take care of.
Have a great day!

Wall Street Times Report

The views expressed here are my own and in no way represent the views or policies of the US Army, Dept of Defense, or any other official agency


The Wall Street Times had an article yesterday that reported on Basic Training here at Fort Leonard Wood. The title of it was "Marching Orders: To Keep Recruits, Boot Camp Gets A Gentle Revamp"
I have to tell you as an Army soldier and the wife of an Army Drill Sergeant, I was astonished at the way this certain unit is conducting training. One part of the Article says that a commander asked that his recruits be given an extra 30 minutes of sleep to the already 8 hours a night they are given. When I went to basic, we had lights out at 2100 then they were turned back on at 0430. Yes it is only 7 and a half hours and it is much more than I got when I entered the "real" army. Do you think the troops in Iraq are getting 8 and a half hours of sleep? I work at the hospital on post here at Fort Leonard Wood and I see trainees all day long going in and out of here. Not to mention at the PX...in tennis shoes no less...Today's Army is not preparing soldiers for "real" military experiences. The troops are going to leave training and get to their permanent duty stations ill-prepared for what lies ahead of them. It is not going to be a cake walk in the field or during a deployment. It is not going to be less stressful to them to have been babied during training. They are going to walk away from training with no true meaning of what being a "soldier" is really like.
And in the end may very well end up paying the ultimate price, not from doing a heroic deed or from just being a soldier but from being ill-prepared or just plain old scared and not ready.
It is a shame really....It is a shame knowing that the drill sergeants who are willing and able to train the new recruits have their hands tied and are unable to do so. The real shame is that these Drills are the ones that will have the soldiers in their units after the come off the trail and will have to train them then. I feel for the kids that get to a new unit that is already deployed and they have to join them. They will not have the time to get the proper training and therefore will go to a major deployment more "green" then most.
So I say go back to the days of wall to wall counseling and then see how many trainees really make it!
The Army should be about quality not quantity.

Happy Valentines day that is so commercialized that I hate this day!

TO all...Happy Valentines Day!
Even though I am happily married to a man that is wonderful to me and never forgets Valentines Day, I hate this holiday. Florists and greeting cards and jewelry stores have made this holiday so commercialized that it seems as though only on this day you should say "I love you". I love you so much that today I am going to buy you something special.
Let me give you a "The History of Saint Valentine's Day"

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.


So you see this is not a day for cards and flowers and jewelry. It truly is a day of love!
but of course I am not going to turn down the great little puppy I got for this day.
My Libby is a really cure little Min Pin. She is tiny and hyper but she is adorable.
And I am going to give my children all something special because I love them and they know that today is a day for getting a yummy gift of candy and the like.
And I did buy the wonderful man in my life a new wedding band because he lost the last one I bought him playing golf.
and I am going to tell all of you Happy Valentines Day because you are my friends.

Getting excited.

It is a really cold day here in misery, I mean Missouri. I am very excited about not having to endure another winter here. For those of you who do not know...We are moving back to Texas at the end of the year. I am very excited about this not only because I don't have to deal with the cold but also for several other reasons. I have friends there that I miss and would love to spend time with them. Also because there is so much to do there. I will actually have choices of food places...Fast and eat in...And there is shopping there. Even though here in Fort Leonard Wood we are central to big cities at Fort Hood we are central to several cities. Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and my favorite Austin are all within a couple of hours.
This is a blessing too simply because my husband Loves Texas. He was born and raised in Texas and everytime we cross the border to visit he feels as if he is home. I know this will be a huge happy change for him. Not to mention Longhorn Football is but a mere 45 minute drive during football season, and we bleed burnt orange and White.
I am excited about this move!

WOW!!!

Before I decided what I wanted to write about today I juggled through some blogs that were updated this morning...And all I can really say is wow.... Most of the blogs I came across were in different languages so obviously I couldn't read them but some had pictures...I also came across a couple that were devoted to bail bonds and loans and such...those were informative...boring but informative... Then there was a law society and also some knitters in Colorado...they had made some really pretty things...But mostly what I noticed was that out of all the blogs I looked at this morning, harldy any of them were personal. I guess I am a more personal person...I like to get to know people, even if I don't actually know them. It is cool to just read about people and their lives. I did come across one Army mom's blog. It was awesome. She was very personal. It was nice to read about how proud and supportive she is of her son. What a concept...support your child in their decisions...LOL

Reply People

You people never leave me any feedback...whats up with that? Huh? I mean geez....Say something already!

Decisions to be made

Why is it that everytime there is an important decision to be made in my life everyone knows best what I should do but me? Last time I checked I was what the younger people at work call "middle aged". But I suppose when I am old and my kids are grown I will still attempt to make decisions for them.
I am about to get out of the Army and some people in my family think that I am making a mistake...First they thought my joining the Army was a mistake and now they think I should stay. They should really make up MY mind. Well I tell you. I am finished with the Army life. My mind is made up and I am leaving after almost 9 years of active duty. This is the best decision for me. I am at the point in your life where you either shit or get off the pot and I am getting off the pot. I will certainly miss the Army. Yes I know that sounds really stupid but after 9 years of my adult life in an organization such as it is I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about it but now I am starting to get excited about being a civilian. I know I can actually be sick if I get that way and not have to "suck it up and drive on". I also know that it will be nice to spend time with my children and not have to worry so much about having to be away from them as much as I am now. Not that I am going to be sitting home...I am going to get a job.
I admire parents that stay home with their kids. They have a special kind of patience that I do not possess. I love my kids but I have to be working to retain my sanity. Anyone who knows me knows that I can't sit still that long. And I am not a neat freak and I would have to become one if I stayed home. I can't stand having my house dirty but I also can't stand to clean it...LOL
For those members of my family that think I am making a mistake...See the previous post. Mistakes will happen but I will learn form them...But I KNOW this is going to be one decision in my life that isn't going to be a mistake.