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Harley - FREEDOM!!  She's not happy about the serious lack of backyard. 

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I'm the funniest joke teller in the world! 

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The very definition of comfortable.  Devil Dobby!

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Laurel sharing her licorice with Harley.  The dog eats the strangest things.

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I found this hilarious.  Two friends, two opinions, same link.  I do not condone the use of the "R" word.

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Foggy morning. 

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Jay and his new toy.  Not much better than the laptop.  He's still on it all the damn time.

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I like to watch Laurel draw.  She gets so intense. 

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Harley likes to watch the world go by.

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Doggy Kisses!

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I got all of my pictures up in the front room.  I painted the frames black, and matted them.  The three by themselves are the mandalas that Sara Goff made for the girls and me for our birthdays.  I've been waiting to get them up for a long time.  I don't know how well you can see them, but I made one picture with three mandalas to put above the shelf.  I am completely done with the house now. The only reason it took me this long is the fact that I had to paint seven coats of black paint on the frames before they looked good enough to hang.  Talk about time consuming!

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I got all of my frames painted..and hung everything up before Sheila came to visit!  I'm still not happy with the wall behind the tv.  Something about it is bothering me.

The Truth about Christmas Revisited

This morning in formation I was told to tell my children the real story behind Christmas. "And it's not Santa." I was then told it was about our lord Jesus, his personal savior. Well first off, fuck you dude. OK now we can have a rational talk. I have actually talked to my children about the truth behind this holiday season. I have also shared these tales with anyone who cared to read. Below is a list of links for those of you that weren't reading along a few years ago. And for the record, I am not trying to dissuade anyone from their faith (if the truth can do that you've got problems you shouldn't blame on me anyway). If your church leaders tell you to celebrate jesus' birthday (the Bible wouldn't -as he was Jewish, he would have seen it as a sin to celebrate it himself) or family tradition forces you to participate, all I really ask is for you to stop using your positions of authority to push it on people who may not agree. Cause if they did they wouldn't need your two cents anyway. Asshole, sorry had to get one more in. Gingerbread men - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/search?q=christmas Christmas lights- http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_15.html Stockings - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_16.html The wreath - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_17.html Mistletoe - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_18.html Caroling - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_19.html Candy Canes - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_20.html The Yule log - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_188.html The tree - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_21.html Santa - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_23.html Christmas eve - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_24.html The "story behind Christmas" - http://laforestgump.blogspot.com/2009/12/12-days-of-truth-real-meaning-of_25.html

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Isn't that the best color?  This is from our back yard, and the building you see is Miah's school.  It's so close that I can see her during recess (when they have it).

2011 Happiness Ranking of the States.

• Hawaii: 71.1
• North Dakota: 70.5
• Alaska: 69.4
• Nebraska: 68.4
• Minnesota: 68.3
• Colorado: 68.3
• Utah: 68.1
• New Hampshire: 67.9
• Iowa: 67.9
• Kansas: 67.8
• Vermont: 67.8
• Maryland: 67.8
• Massachusetts: 67.7
• South Dakota: 67.6
• Virginia: 67.6
• California: 67.5
• Washington: 67.2
• Oregon: 67.2
• Montana: 67.1
• Connecticut: 66.9
• Arizona: 66.9
• New Mexico: 66.8
• Idaho: 66.7
• Wisconsin: 66.6
• Maine: 66.6
• Texas: 66.6
• New Jersey: 66.5
• Wyoming: 66.5
• North Carolina: 66.5
• Rhode Island: 66.2
• Illinois: 66.2
• Georgia: 66.2
• Delaware: 66.0
• Nevada: 65.9
• Pennsylvania: 65.8
• Michigan: 65.8
• South Carolina: 65.7
• Florida: 65.4
• New York: 65.2
• Missouri: 65.1
• Alabama: 65.1
• Indiana: 64.9
• Arkansas: 64.9
• Oklahoma: 64.8
• Tennessee: 64.7
• Louisiana: 64.6
• Ohio: 64.4
• Mississippi: 63.6
• Kentucky: 63.0
• West Virginia: 62.4

Red Alert!!  We've gone DOWN FROM GA!  Is that possible? Every state I've ever lived in is at the bottom of the list.  Explains a lot.

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I'm listening to "A Prairie Home Companion" and cleaning my room (or I was, anyway). We've had  a busy day today, but for now I'm relaxing.
Jay changed up the pancakes this morning, adding blueberries to his repertoire.  I am not a big fan, so he was nice enough to make some plain for me.
While I sit on the bed and lean against the new pile of ridiculous pillows - Jay is grading the rolls of wheat pennies he got at the antique mall yesterday.   Speaking of, we went to Lebanon yesterday to check out the antique stores.  The very first one we stopped at had the cheese place (and a gas station, ew) attached to it.  I was apparently the only one who thought it was funny, but at least Miah was willing to get out of the car and have her picture taken with the big wedge of cheese.  Laurel put her foot down - no fun, that one. 
I found a double edged boot knife for when Laurel starts dating.  I caught her later in the kitchen looking at it and smiling while she did her little " I'm excited" sway.  I knew she had some of me in her! She's under orders to keep it hidden until she's older.
Jay got a day off on Friday for donating blood that morning.  He still worked a couple of hours, but came home in time for lunch, so we took our free couple of hours to go look for some shelves for Laurel's room and an air mattress and sheets for Sheila's visit.   We found a really cool shelf/cabinet/dresser thing for her.  It has a brass plate that says it was made especially by the furniture company for the lady who bought it.  I thought that was a great detail.  We had to go get Laurel from school too soon to be able to take it home before hand, so we left it there and went to Sonic for some tea.  Did you know they sold apple slices and fat free caramel there?  We had some, rather than the french fries and burgers we would have been happy to eat. Yay us!  We sat in the car and ate our apples and talked for a while, and pulled out the cards from a game Jay picked out for Sheila's visit, and we were laughing our butts off while we were waiting for Boo in the parking lot.
After we got the kids we came back for the furniture - we had to make two trips in the Jeep. Jay and I carried the top part out to the car, but when we walked in to get the bottom half, as I was picking my side up this guy offered to take my side because it was to heavy (He thought) half joking I said "I'm insulted!"  and then had the gall to call Jay by his rank, and say "No, really, let me help!"  So after the third time, and while we are already carrying this thing and very carefully navigating through a crowded shop I said, "Listen dude, I'm an Army wife, and my balls are bigger than yours, buddy."  He shut up.  I only wish I could have seen his face, but my back was to him as he was trying to take the dresser from me.  For a minute I was a little ashamed that I was so crass, but then I changed my mind.  This is 2011, and when a woman says she doesn't need your help, you listen, because she means it.  Respect that.   Besides, I'm a hell of a lot tougher than that skinny little dude.  I'm pretty strong!  The last time I let a man carry something for me, the moron ripped a huge hole in my couch because he wasn't careful enough.  I prefer to do my own grunt work!
Anyway, it was a pretty good weekend.  We're all ready for our guests, so if you decide to come early, we'd only be happier!! I can't wait!!

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I hate the commissary.  I have successfully avoided going as of now, but I accidentally sent Jay on Payday.  It's been a long time since we've had to deal with Payday traffic, so we both forgot.  It was insane, and my poor husband came back looking shell shocked.  This cartoon is no joke, it's for realz (as Laurel would say). I clipped it from the Fort Campbell newspaper forever ago, and laminated it so that it would last forever to remind me to never go back.  I forgot to put it on the fridge when we moved back to a post.  But it's front and center now!!!

Duh, Diane

I think this is a no brainer.  Women that have goals that are unrelated to the husband, house, and kids are happier.  Huh.

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Laurel is sitting with us until the concert starts, telling us about her new band.

Isn't she cute?

Miah, as always, is dying of boredom.

Miah is so proud of her sister, she took all of the close up shots of Laurel playing.

The whole band on stage.

Now Miah looks happy!

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The pictures Miah took.

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I have to get Jay up here to fix the Video, but I'll post it as soon as he does.

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I'll believe it when I see it.  I have a really bad feeling about the whole thing.  It doesn't really feel real.  Where's the parade?

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I am currently painting some cheap picture frames black, and making a shelf to serve as a mantle in the front room.  These are the paintings I bought in Alaska (Anchorage).  I've been waiting to get here before I framed them and hung them.  They're going to look great (I hope!) in the front room.  I don't really have a wall space that makes sense, so I'm just going to wing it.  I'll post done pictures later. 
Sheila is coming to visit in a week or so, and we can't freaking wait!  Not that there is too much to explore here, but Jay bought a new game, and I got "Shout about TV" to play.  We are all really excited about it.  Jay is going to be working half days, but the kids will be off, so we can be free to drive around or just hang out.  Yay!

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December sky.  The clouds were moving a million miles a minute.  I wish I could capture the movement and the feeling of rushing with a still picture.  It was wild.  The wind here is powerful. 

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Waiting.  (For Laurel)
It's been really rainy.
It gets a bit depressing.
There is nothing to do but invent projects.  I'm not really complaining.

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Me

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The side view from Laurel's school.  Not much to look at...

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Self Portrait

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Somehow Harley knew we were coming home.  I spied her at the window when we were still on the road, so I pulled out the camera and stopped in the driveway.  How do they always know?

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I had a dream last night that it snowed.  Then I woke up to this.  It's no blizzard, but it's definitely white stuff, and I got just a little wierded out.  I hope I'm not sleepwalking!

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JAY let Miah buy Harley a shirt.  ?!?  Harley wore the bandana to the vet to "protect her" as Miah put it.  Harley didn't really care that Miah was "hugging her from school with the bandana" she freaked out.  When we got her, it was from a foster family who took her in after she was rescued from a puppy mill.  No one had wanted her, so they stuck her in a tiny cage, where she had no room to move and was covered in ants, fleas and ticks.  she was still pretty banged up when we got her, so I can't imagine how bad she was then.  Long story short, Harley isn't really into strangers.  Especially when they are stabbing her with needles.  I warned the guy (Who was a SPC in the Army) that she might freak out, so he had to muzzle her.  She promptly peed all over the place, and let of this stench of fear that made me gag.  My poor baby.  Dobby got the guy back though, when she bit him on the finger through the make shift muzzle.  She wasn't playing.  Harley got really upset when Dobby started crying, and lunged at the guy, but thankfully I had her leash wrapped up my arm.  I almost cried when Harley reacted that way.  It's good to know she loves her doggy sister as much as she loves us.  I don't have to worry about anyone's safety while she's around!  You may remember my last trip to the vet was when we had to put Chet to sleep, so I was already a little out of sorts.  Thankfully, though, no one was too injured at the end of the trip, and they are all up to date on their shots and are chipped in case they get lost.  Glad that's over!

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My drawer organizers finally came from Linens and Things! My old organizers were half the size of the drawers, so I've been getting irritated about the mass of tools and silverware every day. I can't stand it when I can't find something while I'm cooking.  Now I feel better.  It still looks a bit cluttered, but I know where my stuff is.  At least until Laurel puts the dishes away.  The kid is having the worst time remembering where things go.  Ugh.

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I love that the sun rises in my back yard.  Every morning after I drop Laurel off at school, the sun is just peeking over the trees, and I can watch it climb the sky from my kitchen window.

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I have been searching online for a medicine cabinet for a while now.  All of them have been too expensive, not what I'm looking for, or way too expensive to ship.  It's funny what happens sometimes, when you are looking for something, and right when you give up it falls in your lap.  I went to the on post thrift shop to look for a cheapo lamp I could take apart and fix Jay's bedside lamp, and there it was.  The first thing I saw when I walked in the door.  I took it as a sign and didn't even bother looking around for the thing I was there for originally.  I grabbed it up and paid for it.
It is exactly what I was looking for.  Beveled mirror, two decent sized shelves, and it has character.  Love it!
. 

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Laurel picked some flowers for me the first week we were here.  I forgot to post them! 

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The rack is from At Home America. As soon as I saw it I knew I could turn it into something that would solve a problem for me.  The cool thing is that I make my own jewelry...the uncool thing is that I don't sell it, so I have piles of the stuff.  I can't ever find anything, and it's a big pain. 
I used two curtain rod hangers and attached the rack to the wall, then hung all of my fish hook earrings on it.  There are clips soldered to the bars, so if I wanted to I could cut squares of screen (Like from a screen door) and use those to store my post earrings, and clip them onto the rack too.  I didn't do that in the end, because I now have enough space in the armoire Jay bought me to store the rest of my stuff.
I was really excited when I got the huge box in the mail the other day, but couldn't figure out why it was so big...all I bought was the rack, and a wire TP holder....I about died laughing when I opened the box, and it was almost all air pouches.