Cute;o)

Fifty-one years ago, Herman James, a North Carolina mountain man, was drafted by the Army.

On his first day in basic training, the Army issued him a comb. That afternoon, the Army barber sheared off all of his hair.

On his second day, the Army issued Herman a toothbrush. That afternoon, the Army dentist yanked seven of his teeth.

On the third day, the Army issued him a jock strap.

The Army has been looking for Herman for 51 years.

Hip Hip Hooray!

Ashley, Matt, and Austin are coming to visit today!!! I'm so excited. I haven't seen any of my family since December and I was getting pretty homesick. But, now I'm grinning ear to ear because Ashley called last night and said they'd be here today! YAY! Plus, we found out yesterday that Jason's Master Sgt. is going to push our leave through so we can go on our anniversary trip the week of March 3 and then we'll spend a few days at home with family afterwards. They weren't sure if they were going to let us go because Jason's unit was doing some special training that week, but it worked out. I can't wait 'til they get here. Matt will be here through the weekend since he has to go back out of town for work next week, and Ashley and Austin are going to probably stay through the week:) Anyways, I'm off to shower and get ready to run some errands before they arrive! I'll be a little MIA while spending much needed family time with them this week. Everyone have a great weekend and following week!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's day with the ones you love!!!

Jason's Project

Jason likes to trade vehicles...often. In the past 4 years, he's traded 7 times! It seems he's pretty happy with his current project though. He likes the air bagged, body dropped, modified stuff. He has a '94 Dodge Ram now. The older and more seasoned, the better. He's working on building the center console now, and that's where his speakers will go for his system. He's redone the interior from tan to black, and is waiting on some more fabric to finish. It was this ugly primer blue color when he traded, but he's getting ready to paint it (he's multi-talented) black and silver...well that's the plan today, until he actually buys the paint it could very well change. Here's a few pics from Saturday. I'll keep you posted on his progress!

Headrests and visors drying in the sun...who knew they made interior car paint!

Trying to get the dash out:

Needed a helping hand.

The new interior color (it was tan):

A quick update

Ahhhhhhhh...finally feeling better. Thank goodness this flu strand was a short lived one, and not the week-to-two week one. I did all the laundry, all the blankets, sheets, towels, and pillow cases that were contaminated and Ly*sol'ed the whole house...door knobs, light switches, sink and toilet fixtures, couches, remotes, keyboards...lol. And since it's a sunny, breezy 70 degrees here at the beach, we got a cross draft going by opening the front windows and the back sliding door, and hopefully aired out any remaining germies! My throat is still a little scratchy and I can tell I'm still not back 100%, but it beats the last several days for sure. My lower back hurt so bad at one point, I thought I might possibly break right in half. Thank goodness for Tylenol, it kept my fever right at 100 or below the whole time. When I get much higher than 100, I've always gotten delusional and I start hearing things. Ever since I was a kid...no fun. Anyways, Jason is back to normal and outside working on his truck with a friend. His friend's wife (who is my friend:)) is coming over after she gets off of work for me to trim her hair and then they are having dinner with us. Chicken casserole...Mmmmmm. So, I'm off to take some pictures of my honey and his "work in progress". I'll post some a little later;o) Oh, and thank you to all who were praying for my speedy recovery...it worked!

I've got it...I thought I was in the clear, but I guess I wasn't. Jason is better, he was feeling better Sunday, so hopefully mine will be as fast moving, like his was. Man, this stinks...what's the point of a flu shot if I still got the flu?

No fun

I'm so dazed right now. It's Friday night and we spent the better part of last night in the ER with Jason. He has a nasty case of the flu, so bad last night that he was willing to go wait in the dreaded ER waiting room. He's feeling a little better tonight, but still achy, feverish, and coughing up a lung. He had the new "flu nasal spray" vaccination instead of the shot, which is supposed to be more effecient, unless you are Jason and don't inhale it and let it drip back out. I'm hoping that's how he got the flu and that my flu shot will protect me from it. Waiting's the hard part, lol, not knowing if I'm gonna wake up with it. I ran all my errands today while he was sleeping, so we have groceries and our rent is already paid if I do get sick. He slept most of the day, so now he's now wide awake, and I'm trying to stay awake to keep him company...wonder how long I'll hold out...

**Sigh**

So, I survived the dentist yesterday. It wasn't too bad. No cavities:) I really like the ladies at this new dentist. My dentist is a woman too, and she's super friendly. It is like I suspected though, the wisdom teeth have to come out:( I have a consultation on Feb. 26 to go over everything with the oral surgeon and then we go from there. NOT happy. The bright side, if you can call it that, is that all my wisdom teeth have grown in (that's why they have to come out because they are pushing against my back teeth and I DON'T want braces again). With them being grown in, they just pull them, no gum cutting or anything like that. They said I'll be sore for about a day or two, and I should be back to normal pretty quickly. At least I have a little time before I have to have it done.

Oh what a sense of dread

As I sit here at 5:30 Monday morning, all I can think about is my dreaded dentist appointment tomorrow morning. I hate the dentist. I could go to the doctor everyday and I'd be fine, but the dentist gives me extreme anxiety. You'd think this was silly, considering I had braces for 3 1/2 years. Once I got on my own and off my parents insurance, it was 7 years before I went back to the dentist. Bad, I know. BUT, I didn't have a single cavity or any problems when I finally went for a cleaning last April. They changed the way the clean your teeth since 7 years ago, they use some high powered buffer thing, and wouldn't ya know, it chipped a dang tooth. Thank goodness it wasn't enough to tell, but they are definately not coming within 10 feet of me with that thing tomorrow. So, now it's time to go again:( And, this time, I'm more than likely going to get the news that I have to have my wisdom teeth pulled...EEEEK! Not something I want to do....AT ALL! My "wonderful" orthodontist told me years ago that I wouldn't have to have them pulled (all part of his scheme to have me back in braces one day and another several grand in his pocket). Last time I had a cleaning, I was living back home while Jason was deployed and Momma went with me, tomorrow I have to go by myself...Oh how I wish it was all over!

Out of town visitors!

Yay! My friend, Mandi and her husband, Chris are coming to visit for 2 days! They are on their way now! Mandi and I have been friends for 19 years!!! Her husband is in the army and they are about to move out west to a new base, so this could be our last visit for a good while:( We met in 1st grade and were instantly inseperable...best friends all through elementary, middle, and high school. Mandi and Chris have been together since high school and finally tied the knot in November. I can't wait 'til they get here!

This INFURIATES me!!!

***Update: The Commanding Officer of our base has made an announcement that the Marines are NOT allowed to go to these crazies' demonstration, due very much to him wanting to keep the peace and not letting any of his Marines get into trouble in the "heat of the moment". Without Jason, I don't feel like it would be smart for me to go alone, but I will be keeping up with it through the news. My friend's dad is part of a motorcycle group that follows these people wherever they go, parks their motorcycles so close together from end to end that you can't even see these people, they also hold up our beloved American flag in front of them and play their radios so that their chants can't be heard, so hopefully they will be here as well!***

These people are psycho. I can't imagine what is going through their tiny brains. They totally take Biblical scripture out of context. If you have never heard of these people, they are mean, spiteful, hateful people that protest at funerals of military members, screaming and holding signs that say horrible, horrible things. I can't imagine being a family member who just lost a loved one and then seeing these people at their funeral, it breaks my heart, and makes me so angry everytime I see them that tears spring to my eyes. And now, they are headed this way to protest over the horrible death of Maria Lauterbach and her unborn baby. This was sent to me from a friend, and I wanted to share with you, I'd like to see them come to Camp Lejeune...they will have a crowd full of military members and military supporters waiting on them...it's gonna be a rude awakening for these terrible people, and I can't wait.

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The Westboro Baptist church is planning a protest at Camp Lejeune. This is straight from their picketing schedule on their website: 01/19/2008 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Jacksonville, NC Camp Lejeune Lejeune Blvd & Hargett St. That is the church that protests at military funerals. We are going to protest their church by showing our support for the troops. Tell your friends and neighbors that they are welcome to come join the ranks of the Gathering of Eagles and Eagles Up. Bring your flags or signs, but be there. You will not be in harms way, you will be surrounded by veterans, their families, and patriotic Americans from near and far.

This is on their website http://www.godhatesfags.com/

"WBC to picket Camp Lejeune. God Hates the U.S. Marines. The wonderful, spit-and-polish Marine is over eight months pregnant and she says another wonderful Marine raped her, and now on the eve of his court martial where she is the star witness against him, she turns up dead, and he is a fugitive from justice. Wonderful. The few. The proud. Based on our extensive experience with Marines for over a decade, we can testify that these are typical Marines. WBC will picket the filthy, lawless Marine Corps - at noon next Sat., Jan. 19 - at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; in religious protest and warning: "Be not "'deceived; God is not mocked." Gal. 6:7. God Hates Fags! & FagEnablers. Ergo, God hates the Marines. The Marine Corps is saturated with vile fags and dykes. It matters not to them that they are violating the laws of God and man. Our leaders know of the problem, but they refuse to fix it, due to pressure from political leaders, because fags have enormous political influence - called in Scripture "The power of the dog." Psa.22:20. And the phenomenon is called by Tocqueville, "The worm in the American apple." "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is abomination. " Lev. 18:22. "Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because ofthese things cometh the wrath ofGod upon the children ofdisobedience. " Eph.5:6. " The Gathering of Eagles and Eagles Up groups are planning on being there on Sat to show their support. Many of them are members of the Patriot Guard.

A sad day

As many of y'all have probably heard (since this has made national news), Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach from Camp Lejeune, NC was missing since before Christmas. She was due to testify against one of her superiors in a rape case (she was the victim). She was 20 years old and when she went missing, was 8 months pregnant. I had been following this case all week due to the fact that she is a Marine and stationed down here at the coast too. Sadly, today they found her body in a shallow grave by a road very familiar to us. My heart aches for this girl and her unborn baby. I will never understand how anybody could kill another human being. Remember her poor family in your prayers.

I know I'm not commenting much these days, but I am still visiting and reading! Hope you are all having a good week!

What a blessed day!

Over the past several months, Jason and I have been really struggling to find a church close to where we live. We have visited 5 different churches here and haven't felt like any of them were a fit for us. We tried one this morning out on an island nearby, and were really happy with our visit. We plan on going back for a second visit. This encourages me, because I was starting to feel like we weren't going to find one we liked out here. We have been praying for guidance in this and I said a prayer this morning right before we went in and I feel like God may be answering with this church. We'll see in our next few visits.

Down here at the coast of NC was a beautiful 70 degrees when we got out of church, so Jason and I decided it would be a wonderful day for a picnic on the beach! It was breezy and cool by the ocean, but it made for perfect picnic weather. After lunch and feeding a nearby seagull our left over crumbs, we took about a mile and a half walk along the beach, stopped and played with some frisky dogs, found a pretty big shark's tooth (Jason is a pro shark tooth finder and we have about 50 already), and finally returned home. God gave us a beautiful, Sunday afternoon to wrap up our weekend down here at the beach. Here are a few pictures from our picnic:

Jason with the sun in his eyes and a bit of his sandwich on his mouth (hehe):

Me with the last bit of my ham sandwich:

A spring like day picnic complete with my awesome picnic basket (a gift from Momma):

Me and Jason:

Slowly coming back from break...

I am still around, and I'm still alive! Life has been hectic but pretty good. I'm finally feeling a little bit better and currently working with my doctor to find the right allergy medicine mix as for some reason this season is giving me a fit. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. I don't believe in making New Year's resolutions...I made promises to myself, promises to stick to doing a daily devotional, prayer, and journaling first thing in the mornings, and before my day gets going, to walk. I've been walking a mile a day and plan on bumping it up in the next week or two to doing two miles a day....Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays, if weather permits, Jason and I will go to the beach, take a picnic and walk on the beach. Sundays, I get to chill;o) My hubby also got me an exercise ball (I asked for it...he did not get it on his own, lol) for Christmas, so I am doing some ab workouts with it each day. I'm also eating much healthier for the new year. If I am going to control my blood sugars, the first step is how I eat. I already am feeling better, have more energy, and am not having to use my inhaler quite as much. Plus, it will all lead to shedding the pounds, and that is my ultimate goal.

Today we are planning on taking down the Christmas tree:( I always hate this part, but I know Christmas will be here again before we know it. When Jason first got back from Iraq, we were told he would probably be going back this September, and that would mean he was going to miss this Christmas, as well as New Years, Thanksgiving, another anniversary, and Easter. We found out last week that there are too many others who haven't even done one deployment and it's looking like he won't have to go! Yay! If he re-enlists, not this November, but next, then there is a good possibility that he will get to be an instructor in his field at a reserves base 20 minutes from my family:D That means his next four years would be non-deployable! Ok, so now I'm rambling...

Last thing, I changed my hair again this week. My daddy kept telling me he didn't recognize his daughter with dark hair, he actually couldn't find me in Target b/c my head was turned, lol. So, largely due to his wishes and the fact that I'm tired of keeping up the dark since I'm naturally light headed, I lightened it. It's not my exact color, it came out more strawberry blonde, and I'm more of an ashe/honey blonde, but I'll leave it for a while, lol. I went to a professional to do it this time, and she had to strip the dark out before she could lighten it. The only thing I can't stand about having it professionally colored is that when the use foil, they start like 3/4 of an inch down, so it looks like your hair has already started growing out. I'll probably go with my trusty Loreal Excellence box next time, lol. Here's a few self portraits:

I'll be around to visit a little soon, have a blessed weekend!