THANK YOU!

On this Memorial Day weekend I want to, 1st and foremost, thank all of our men and women in uniform, past, present and future. I also want to thank their spouses. ALL of you are TRUE American Hero's. Your service to this beautiful country that we call home is extraordinary and so very appreciated. Thank God for you. And I thank God for my personal friends in uniform: SFC Crupper; SFC Lenton; Capt. Peters; Capt McDaniel; TSGT. Ramirez; TSGT. Barela and, the countless other people that I have the pleasure of working with. All of you are always in my thoughts and prayers. Next, I wanna thank my Daddy for his service. He proudly served in the U.S.A.F. for 20 years, so that makes me a proud military brat! I can remember Daddy coming home after work and the 1st thing he did was whistle that special tune that belonged to only him. I'd come tearing out of my room, or out the kitchen to jump into his arms and give him a kiss! How handsome he looked in his uniform!!! Thats him at the top of the page too, which I believe was when he was in the Nat'l Guard.

His military career started rather early, here is w/his brothers at Mount Sacred Heart Catholic Military School. I'm sorry, but that just sounds like a nightmare....a Catholic AND a military school????? I had a feeling nun's wore combat boots!...(I'm going to hell for that one, I'm SURE!)That's him 3rd from the left, along w/his brothers, from left to right: Uncle Joe, Uncle Mike, (Daddy), and Uncle Frank. They look none too happy, and who could blame them for crying out loud! THEY WERE AT A CATHOLIC/MILITARY SCHOOL!!!! I cant get past that.....there's a joke there somewhere......

Here he is w/Uncle Frank: (dad is on the right)

Dad looks like scared crapless and Uncle Frank looks like he's in for the time of his life!

The memories I have of being a military brat are very special to me. I was fortunate enough to have my dad always close by, except when he was stationed at Goose Bay Labrador.

And the only thing I remember about that remote tour was him coming home. I think I was about 3? I'll never forget the day I remember actually seeing him. We were at my grandmothers flower shop in Texas and there was this strange man peeking at me from around the cash register....I wasn't scared, I knew deep down this man wouldn't hurt me. God I love him!

So Dad, thank you. Thank you for your service, thank you for making such wonderful memories for me and thanks for the continued memories that we make. I love you so much and I'm proud to say that you served in the United States Air Force. You served your country well, and you're my hero.

Next, but not least, by any means, I want to thank my brother Louie for his time that he served in the United States Air Force! He was as equally handsome in his uniform:

And I want to thank him for protecting the streets of ABQ while in law enforcement. You helped keep my kids safe. And now you get to retire with pride, and MUCH respect. You're a true hero in my eyes.

He isn't in uniform in this picture, but you get the idea:

handsome devil!

I have lots of memories growing up w/him too....but I wont get into that on this blog, we'll save that for another blog that's dedicated to a trip down memory lane. (Here's a bit of a spoiler: HE WAS GOD AWFUL MEAN TO ME!!!!) I love you too Louie!

To all of our men and women in uniform, please keep safe! You're always in my thoughts and prayers, and again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Seriously

Ok, so my daughter is out of town and I decide to do a "surprise make-over" to her room. I had a STRONG feeling that I was getting in over my head, and guess what....I WAS RIGHT!...I could show the before pictures, but I won't. I don't want the health inspectors at my house next week, thank you very much. So, I finally finish for the day (mind you, FOR THE DAY) and I decide to jump on the computer and I look at my horoscope and I kid you not, this is what it says, (seriously):

You might wake up this morning, look around you, and decide that you want to spend as much time as possible working on your home, dear Gemini. You could well be bored with your decor, and want to make some changes. Spend the day coming up with ideas, then in the evening try to analyze the situation and see what's feasible at this time. Most likely you'll be able to do some of what you want, but not all.

Talk about hitting the nail on the head!! Sometimes my horoscope just freaks me out...that's why I hardly look at it.

Anyway, she's in for a surprise when she gets home on Tuesday. I think she has a good idea of what I'm doing, but I think she thinks I'm just cleaning up, not changing the decor, etc. I can't wait to see the expression on her face when she realizes that I actually went through her dresser drawers and heaven forbid, THREW STUFF AWAY!!! I haven't come across anything incriminating, which is a good thing, and it confirms my belief that my daughter is a good girl. Maybe not so good with the cleaning aspects of life, but she'll learn..right????

1st he did it, then she did it

High School Graduation.....1st my son did it (5/07):

then, my daughter did it (5/08):

wow....unreal....do you realize how OLD I FEEL????

I can remember when the 2 of them fought consistently, well, ok they still do, even at the age of 20 and 18. Its ridiculous. But on graduation night ('08) I realized that their constant bickering at each other is really nothing at all except siblings being siblings. How do I know this? Read on.....you'll understand.

Well, as I sat there chatting with a friend my son overheard me say how I'll be crying when they say her name, etc etc.....he turned around and said "mom, this is happy occasion, there's no need to cry". Yeah, right. .....remembering his graduation the previous year, I knew this one would be no different.

The band played Pomp and Circumstance, (you know, the march that will play in your head for the entire week AFTER GRADUATION) and I got a bit teary. The speakers spoke, which I could hardly hear due to the excessive talking, and laughing. It was so annoying. Why didnt I say anything you ask?? Quite frankly, I didnt want my face rearranged. So anyway!......at last they call my daughters name, her cheering section yelled and hollered, and I cried, not because of sadness of course. More out of pride, love and the memories I have when she started her school career at the tender age of 2 1/2....and I cried because now her education IS GOING TO COST ME!!!.....but as I stood there cheering her on, my son, my 20 year old son, her brother that gets on her nerves, the brother that says to her "you get on my nerves" turned to look at me and this is what i saw:

Yes, folks.....these are tears......and as his sister put it, "I made my brother cry without even trying". As my son and I laughed and cried, all he could say was "I'm so proud of her". I think that made me cry even more.

Jerkie kids...who ever said they could grow up?

Not sure.....

I've never done anything like this before....ever. So, I'm not sure if it'll last...

I've read several blogs, my personal favorite being 15 Minute Lunch. (thats a shout out to JV), and compared to some of the bloggers out there, I just dont know if I can hang w/ya'll!! So, be patient w/me folks, and I'll do my best.