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Happy Anniversary to Old Man and Hippie Mom.

That's what the kids call Bear and I, that's right folks we have been married 22 short years.  This is the year that officially goes from being married half my life to more than half.   I guess we are what some people search their lives for, that one person that you can look across the kitchen table every morning and not get tired of seeing.  The one that you can't wait to tell what you saw or heard.  And more important than all that, the one who supports your decisions and choices, whether they work out or not.  I know that I can be difficult, spoiled, and the best Aries trait, bullheaded, he loves me anyway.   And I love him.  Happy Anniversary to us, old man, hippie mom.

This is very similar to our recreational vehicle. (RV.)  I have no idea how long we'll live in it, probably months.  I look at it as a way to downsize our lives.  A way to get rid of the superfluous things we've grown attached to but don't really need.  In keeping with our new philosophy I plan on having a good old fashioned yard sale, what doesn't sell I'm giving away or donating to charity.  A long time ago I took a quiz on quizilla that asked what LABYRINTH character are you?  No huge shock to me.....I'm the junk lady.  This is no joke, I have things from grade school, why I still have them is a mystery.  Pictures and baby books I can understand.  But old school papers from third grade?  I also have every vase that I have ever gotten flowers in, clear back to high school.  Maybe I can get a nickel apiece for them.  Even if we weren't going anywhere it's time to get rid of some of this stuff.  I'm thinking that if I clear the house out when we come home for weekends it will seem like a mansion compared to our little R.V. 

In wedding news we put a deposit down on the cake, the flowers, and got the stylists appointment for the brides hair.  This cake (picture below) is incredibly similar to the one we ordered.  The icing is different and we will use Emily's flowers and colors.  Of course  she needs to take Tim and pick out a cake topper.  But other than that it's in the bag.  Allie and I thought it would be perfect for an outdoor reception.  Any thoughts or suggestions...it's not to late. 

You know the best part of all the wedding plans is giving my daughter what she wants, or as close as we can afford.  The worst part...with her and Tim three hours away, I walk a fine line between it being her wedding and it turning into "my wedding"  I hate that.  I don't want it to be mine.   If I had wanted a big wedding I would have had one 22 years ago.  We eloped, and for very good reasons.  I never regretted it, but for obvious reasons there are some people who think that every brides wedding is really the wedding her mother never had.   I've even read of moms that changed the wedding music just as the bride is starting to walk down the aisle.  Emily (thank God) knows I wouldn't do anything that selfish, but when I'm the one picking out the flowers, cake etc. it really makes me aware of each decision.  Is it me that loves it or is it Emily and Tim?  Nothing like second guessing every decision for two months to give you confidence. 

And now just for fun....

IDIOT SIGHTING #4: I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the life of her couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.

Going to Alabama!!

Yup, his first day is the 16 th.  I knew he'd be there by the 15 th.  Had a feeling.  We have a lot to do in the next couple of months so he will probably drive home most weekends.  It's a six or seven hour drive but at this time it will work best.  When we do finally go, we are going to live in the R.V.  So one of the first things Bear needs to do is find a nice out of the way park with laundry and shower facilities.  I just can't shower in that teeny tiny space.  I mean I will if I have to but sheesh!  And laundry?  This will be the first time in 22 years I haven't had my own washer and dryer, so that will be mega weird.  I'm focusing on the adventure of it all, screw the details, go with the flow.  Trying not to focus on what I can't control helps.  Believe it or not I am excited, tired just thinking about it but excited. 

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all links are in color and bold

I got happy news today, Cappy the seabear is coming to the wedding.  Now if EEL is able to redirect the xangajournal without upsetting anyone, Cappy will get to make the diary as well as the wedding.   I'm sure Cappy is going to have a blast on his world tour and it's great that we get to share such an important day with xanga in a unique way. 

We didn't go with the dress that was pictured in my last entry.  I'm not going to show the one she did pick in case she doesn't want Timah  to see it.  Though I think they are both so busy with school, work and wedding plans that neither one will have time to read or post.  I could probably lay out every detail and neither one would notice.  I know Em wants some of it to surprise Tim so I won't. 

In employment news...Bear is 99.9% sure that by April 15 th he will be in Huntsville Alabama.  The nice thing about being there would be that it's less than 50 miles from a friend that I have known since seventh grade.  We have been tight since the day we met.  And the last 20 years we've never lost touch, so it would be great to do some of the stuff we've wanted to do and because of distance couldn't.  He would still be doing line maintenance on jets, so no new things there but it would be pretty convienant to stay with the same company and not have an interruption of salary or benefits.  The bad part is...it will be almost impossible for me to go with him right away because of all the wedding plans that I have to set up here.  But after 22 years of marriege we're pretty good at compromise and getting by with what we need to do as opposed to what we want to do.

Now go back up to the top and go visit all the links.  Have a happy hump day!!

an even bigger,

OH MY!!

The wedding date has been changed to....

JUNE 5. 2004

In case you can't count that's in 71 DAYS.

I haven't officially panicked yet but every time I lay down to sleep wedding plans start whirling through my brain.  It's a regular carnival in there, complete with Tilt 'O Whirl and clowns.  At times like these an overactive imagination is not a good thing.  I want them to have the wedding they want to have.  I would love it if money didn't play a factor in our decisions but of course it will.  There are a lot of ways to cut expenses so if you want to share your hints and tips feel free to do so.  One thing that is going to save a ton, the church and reception site are free. 

I can see me re-joining the late night bloggers again.  No rest for the wicked or weary.  OR weird!  Then there's, wired, worried and my all time fave wanton.  Okay, maybe I'm not wanton but what a great word.  And if I'm in such a state imagine Tim and Em.  After all it is...ALL ABOUT THEM.  So far I see no panic coming from that direction.  Young love, what a terrific thing.

Here's a neat thing.  My anniversary is April 2nd.  Tim's parents anniversary is April 3rd.  So if someone wanted to elope, the 1st or 4th would be kind of cool.  Just kidding I swear!  file that under subtle hints...NOT! 

Here's the dress she likes!

Wish me luck...and a good nights sleep!

 The platypus and Timah are getting married!

November 13. 2004

I will be the mother of the bride. 

I will finally have the son I never had, but always wanted.

I have a million things to help with, and a job to get to pay for it all.

Oh My!!!!

Once again I got lucky and missed the upgrade Xanga did this morning.  I must have good karma.  Of course when you only get a chance on average of once a week to open xanga, odds are it will be up and running.  Now let's see if it eats this post.

Allie  and I had a good trip to Chicago.  We definitely got in plenty of walking.  We rode public transport as much as possible but there were times we walked 10 or 15 blocks because we were off the route lines.  Like when we left the Hancock tower and walked to lake shore drive and ended up going clear to the end of Navy Pier.  Pavement tires your legs out a heck of a lot quicker than you would think.  Sat. they had the first parade for St. Patrick's day, I don't know how they do it but the river is dyed the most beautiful shade of green and it stays that way for hours.  So that was cool to see in person. On St. Patrick's day everyone is a little Irish, and everyone is in a good mood.  We saw some really good hats, costumes, clothes and a million people looking for a reason to party.  The magnificent mile was packed and it stayed that way all day.  Even the panhandlers were polite on Saturday so that was kind of cool, that they weren't so pushy.  Maybe the thousands of extra people to hit up for money helped.  

Of all the things we saw I got the biggest kick out of Daly Plaza.  The Blues Brothers is a time honored friend of mine and a movie I watch at least a couple time a year.  Standing where the Blues Mobile went thru the building was fun and made me feel like part of pop culture.  Allie must have taken a roll of film there, but since its not digital we have to get it developed. What's really bad, we spent so much money there who knows when we'll have the bucks to get 12 rolls of film developed.  YUP, twelve rolls of film, crazy huh?   Oh well, you can eat an elephant if you do it one bite at a time.

All for now, have a great day crazies!

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So I was hanging out in this cemetery in Missouri and I decided to share some things I found.  Bellefontaine is the name, and it's 310 acres, has over 87,000 people buried there and for the low price of $2.000. you and 7 of your friends can be buried there too.  The thing that I noticed first is that no one does monuments like these, not anymore.  Nobody could afford it.  There are hundreds of obelisks of all sizes, angels, Celtic crosses, and dozens of vaults.  Then there was Drew......made in 1916, so I know its not really modeled after Drew Barrymore.  Maybe she had a great aunt.  Either way it was pretty strange to see her face and hands on a reclining lady in memory to an apparently perfect wife.  I told my sister he probably treated her like crap in life and felt so guilty he put up this monument to make up for it.  Maybe I'm just a cynic and she really was the angel her husband thought and he truly appreciated her.  Who knows now?  One more picture to show how weird life and death can be.  All of these were taken on Feb. 23 rd, now look at the date of this one.  Barring suicide how would you know the day your going to die.  And would he be 18 or 72?  In case you can't read it it says Lawrence B. Gardner

Feb. 29. 1932

Feb. 29. 2004

It makes me want to go back and see if there's anyone there now.  That might be a little morbid so I will live with the mystery.

Chicago here we come!

Next week AllieMcNally and I will be flying to Chicago for a couple of days.  The choice now is what do we do with just a day and a half of tourist possibilities in a city that needs weeks or months to see right.  Since it's still winter I'm leaning toward something indoors like the Adler planeterium or the art museum.  Then on Friday night a club.  Who lives in Chicago?  Any suggestions? 

I know Spring is coming the Daffodils are blooming and the Girl Scout cookies have been delivered.   Speaking of Girl Scouts,  when Allie was little I was her Girl Scout leader.  There were 18 girls in her troop and I took them to Murfreesboro to dig for diamonds.  (in case you didn't know AR. has the only diamonds in America.)  So we spent two days camping and it rained for two days so we dug our diamonds in the mud.  Or rather 18 girls played in the mud.  Even now, over 10 years later, I will see one of the girls from my old troop and they say it was the best time they ever had.  We didn't find any diamonds but we did make memories that last.

Have a great Saturday!  

Things are pretty crazy here at the moment.  Bear took a traveling job based out of San Antonio so we are going on the road.  He told me I can get a laptop and I guess I'll go wireless Internet.  In six weeks I could be posting from who knows where. 

My bro in law fell on some icy steps and broke a bone in his back...I'm taking the train to St. Louis tomorrow night to help out him and my sister.  I'll be there ten days and when I get back I need to immediatly start packing my house up for storage.  That will give me a month to get it together before joining Bear.  I'm excited and at the same time filled with trepidation. 

This should give some insight into what a great guy I'm married to.  We will be living in a 34' RV and he said I could take my parakeet and guinea pig.  What a guy.  He's even going to put together a special place so they will be completely secure, how sweet is that. 

All for now, have a great day everyone! 

RESUME
George W. Bush
The White House, USA

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

LAW ENFORCEMENT:
*I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1976 for driving under the
influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's
license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost"
and is not available.

MILITARY:
*I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take
a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the
Texas Air National Guard; I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam.

COLLEGE:
*I graduated from Yale University with a low C average.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
*I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil
business in Midland, Texas, in 1975. I bought an oil company, but
couldn't find any oil in Texas. I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team
in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money.
*With the help of my father and our right-wing friends in the oil
industry (including Enron CEO Ken Lay), I was elected governor of Texas.


ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS:
*I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies,
making Texas the most polluted state in the Union.
*During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden
city in America.
*I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions
in borrowed money. I set the record for the most executions by any
governor in American history.
*With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida, and my father's
appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by
over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT:
*I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a
criminal record. I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing
cost of over one billion dollars per week.
*I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.

*I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.

*I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any
12-month period.
*I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.

*I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the
U.S. stock market.
*In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs
and that trend continues every month.
*I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any
administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleezza
Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.
*I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S.
President.
*I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most
corporate campaign donations. My largest lifetime campaign contributor,
and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest
corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History, Enron. My political party
used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success
with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision. I have
protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or
prosecution More time and money was spent investigating the Monica
Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest
corporate rip-offs in history.
*I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused
to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed. I
presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.
*I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded
government contracts.
*I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any
President in U.S. history.
*I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy
in the history of the United States government.
*I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S.
history. 
*I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations
remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.
*I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.
*I refused to allow inspectors access to U.S. "prisoners of war"
detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.
*I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election
inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).
*I set the record for fewest number of press conferences of any
President since the advent of television.
*I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year
period.
After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst
security failure in U.S. history.
*I garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade Center
attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country
in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.
*I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people),
shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of
mankind.
*I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked,
pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I
did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S.
citizens, and the world community.
*I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in
duty benefits for active duty troops and their families -- in war time.

*In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for
attacking Iraq, then blamed the lies on our British friends.
*I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans
(71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and
security.
*I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a
WMD.


RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
*All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's
library, sealed and unavailable for public view.
*All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my
bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public
view.
*All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President,
attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and
unavailable for public review.

PLEASE CONSIDER ME WHEN VOTING IN 2004

PLEASE SEND THIS TO EVERY VOTER YOU KNOW

 For the first time in a long time I actually found some ancestors online.  I've always known the names of my Great great grandparents on my maternal grandmothers side. (they are buried close to where I live)  But yesterday in an incredibly lucky break I found THREE generations back from them.  That puts that side of the family clear back to 1710.  And it's not just speculation either.  There are land records and a census. (That bitch was really hard to read)  But get this...(if this doesn't make you grateful for birth control nothing will) my great-great grandpa was married 3 times, the first marriage produced no children, the second had 4 stillborn and seven living and the third marriage had twelve living children.  That means he had NINETEEN kids that lived into adulthood. (it makes me ill just to think about it)  My great-grandma was the youngest of these 19 kids and a twin.  Gee I wonder what they did when the snow flew, she asks sarcastically?  And it sure does explain why I'm related to everyone in the county.  This is why I told the kids they couldn't date or marry anyone from Van Buren County.  Man I'm glad I grew up in Arizona...I could have inbred and not even known it...ew.  I just grossed myself out.

Well, the insurance company called yesterday and told me that the people that caused the accident my dad was involved in, won't return their calls.  It won't matter though, I already faxed the police report and witness statement to the other insurance company, so whether or not they cooperate it's in motion.  Tomorrow I'm going to the wrecker yard to retrieve all my odds and ends that are still in the truck.  Also to get my toolbox.  Which is similar to this one pictured.  I have no idea how I'm going to get the thing off, but I know I'm not going to let them have it.  It was purchased separately from the truck and as such I get to keep it.  I found out last summer that you can't take anything that originally came with a vehicle, or has been put into a vehicle unless you can put something in it's place.  My mom had put in a really great sound system and after her wreck she wanted to take it and put it in whatever new vehicle she bought.  Because we hadn't kept the original sound equipment and had nothing to put in her totaled vehicle they wouldn't let us take her Alpine stereo system.  So in a way I'm lucky because my truck toolbox doesn't fall under those guidelines.  Bright and early Monday I will start the madness that is insurance business again.  Can you feel my excitement? (mini rant)  BTW, in my opinion, yeah I know everyone has one, insurance of ALL kinds is the biggest racket in the United States.  What other legitimate company charges exorbitant fees every month and the when you actually utilize their resources either ups your premium or cancels you completely regardless of previous history.  And to top it off if you don't have insurance your in violation of the law.  They get you coming and going and it's all perfectly legal!  No disclaimer on this one I feel how I feel and it's my blog right? 

On to the "should have known better" portion of this blog. alternately titled "haha dumbass!"  Last Dec.13th when Allie, Zetta and I went to get the platypus at school we spent 2 days goofing off, teasing, playing games and watching the snow come down.  One of the things my kids are best at is teasing me.  They get as good as they give so it's by no means one way.  On this particular occasion we were walking down an echoey hall and the kids were giving me a hard time about having to repeat themselves.  Finally Emily says "man she's old AND deaf", Allie starts laughing hysterically when I said "what did she say?"  So I knew this one was deserving of something severe.  I pull back and go to punch her on the arm, she sees it coming and jerks back just far enough for my hand to land wrong and instant pain goes shooting up my wrist.  I act all tough and don't let on that I think I just busted my thumb and we all mosey along.  Fast forward to Jan. 18th 2004.  Every morning I wake up with a swollen thumb, I can't bend it without pain and I think maybe next time I should use my mouth to get back at the kid instead of my fist.  How do guys horseplay so rough without causing permanent damage?  GEEZ, I'm old AND deaf!