For Laura

Mark Twain said: "The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up." You are so good at that, Laura. Also...thought this picture would make you smile. Isn't he something?

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day to all the soldiers currently serving and their families. Thanks for your continued sacrifice.

Thank you to all the veterans of foreign wars...God bless you. Special Happy Veteran's Day to Grandpa P from all of us; we love you!

To all the soldiers...here and gone home, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Update by way of pictures!

It's that time of year again! Here are Matty and Cole checking out the Sears Wishbook! Matty wanted Cole to circle every toy in that book for his Christmas list. They had a great time looking at it today...

We had family pictures taken a couple weeks ago. My friend Jen is crazy talented and took these pictures. I realize you can't see them clearly, but hopefully you'll all find your way to my house to see them on the wall someday...

Thanks to Katie for this picture I won on her blog last month! I LOVE it. I hope it's okay that I reframed it with a frame I already had...it's on a bigger wall, an I wanted it to take up a little more space. The wall behind it is brown and it looks amazing. This photo of your photo does not do it justice, but I am so happy to have it in my home. You are very talented and I'm proud to display it!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sleepy Reminder

Then Shannon reminded me of this story. When we lived in Arizona, we shared a room - and a double bed. One night she was sleeping facing away from me. I was, as I recall, in a coughing fit. To calm me, presumably, she reached behind her back to sort of pat me on the back. Except I was laying on my back. When I'm sleeping I think NOTHING is funny. So I ignored her. Then she did it again. I then asked her what she was doing. When she realized she was reassuringly patting my chest, she dissolved into hysterics. I never even cracked a smile. Until morning and many times since then.

One time after I moved back to MN, I went down to AZ to visit her. Shannon worked nights so her room was dark as pitch. I'm pretty sure she filled those windows with something. (Oh, well, her security deposit.) I went to bed earlier than she did one night. When she came in the room, I woke up and guess I had to pee. But I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. Anyway, I was pretty sure I knew where the bathroom was so I headed that direction. No lie, I was confident enough that I didn't even have my arms outstretched looking for the walls. THen BOOM! Crack full-figure into the wall. I remember my face even touching it. LOL! She asked me what I was doing through her giggles and I said, "I can't find the bathroom." No snicker, no smile. I was sleepy. Boy, I've been laughing about that all day again!

Last Night

Disclaimer: I am not sure this will be as funny to you as it was to me last night.

It was about midnight and Jack was crying. Cory heard him (I was ignorning him), but clearly wasn't very awake. Our conversation:

Cory: What's that?!
Me: Jack.
Cory: Where is he?!
Me: In his crib.
Cory: In HERE?!
Me: No, in his room.
Cory: Which is...?
Me: Across the hall.

He got up, put Jack back down and then came back to bed. Enroute he tripped on something at the end of the bed. It was really loud. Even though I know it hurt him, I couldn't help but laugh. Between that and the previous conversation, I was hysterical. And I think it's even funnier this morning.

For Mindi

This is for you, Mindi. And all the other women who know who they are and what they want. When I said in an earlier thread that I really admire your strength, I meant it. I saw the one with Sarah Palin's face and I thought of you. I wish I was talented enough to impose your face on this poster, but I'm not.

This election process reminded me that women are in such a great position in this country. Whether or not you like Hillary or Sarah, you must appreciate what they've been able to accomplish. When Hillary said when she conceded to Obama that we could put our children on our shoulders and tell them they can be anything they want to be, she wasn't kidding. They, and we, can be anything. I've always said I'm not a feminist (I do not believe that men and women are created exactly equal) but where we are capable, we should be given the right and equality. To the many women who fought for that equality, my sincere thanks.

A picture of strength, dedicated to my dear friend Mindi. I'm sorry I hurt you.

About the President-Elect

Several people have asked me how to learn more about Barack Obama, both here and via email. Here's sort of my pitch:

1. Read Audacity of Hope. Obama wrote it while he was in the US Senate, but before he announced he would run for president. I had to skip the first chapter, it was WAY over my head. He's a very intelligent man. The first chapter is about the history of politics, and I didn't understand most of it. The rest of it is brilliant. He talks about the challenges he sees in America and why we can still have hope.

2. Don't read email smears. Period. I usually defer to www.snopes.com and www.factcheck.org to debunk rumors. They are both non-partisan sites that break down what is said and reveal the truth.

3. Pick up a US News and World Report, TIME, or NEWSWEEK once a week. At first the information might seem overwhelming, but as you learn more about it, it will become more familiar. It's important to keep up on current events now more than ever. I am NO expert, but I have learned a lot since I balanced out my US Weekly subscription with my NEWSWEEK subscription (blush).

4. Check peoples' facts. How many of my friends have been annoyed with me when I've said, "Oh, yeah? Where did you hear that?" I'm a stickler for backing up your argument. If you hear something that sounds hokey, it probably is. And I likely won't make an argument with you, either, without being able to cite my source.

Any other good ideas, friends...a lot of intelligent people out there!