Foreign Policy

Well, not a whole lot of people read my blog, but for the 4 of you that do, I am going to go ahead and apologize for the posts that are to come (and apologize to my Aunt Bonnie for any grammatical errors, lol).....I'm going to do the unthinkable and post about politics, given the upcoming election. The opinions I give here are completely my own and I don't hold it against you if you don't agree. Just getting on my soap box and speaking what I think (you have my friend Cathy to thank for this rant! lol). I'll try to address only one topic a day.

Foreign Policy –
My moto: 'Hide ya tourists, hide ya soldiers, hide ya embassy’s cause they killin e’erbody up in here.'
OK, enough Mr. Nice Guy…..I say, pull out. Pull the troops out of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and any other stan we are in. They don’t want us there and we don’t need to loose anymore of our men trying to give them something they don’t want! Let’s face it, we can spend the next 15 years there and once we are gone it’s going to go back to the way it was before we got there. I mean, seriously, they are turning the weapons WE gave them on US right now….remind me again why we think we should stay? I say adios muchachos, best of luck to ya. Now, if they try to cross us....I say blow em off the map.

Oh yeah, and that little kitty you’ve got all saved up over there that came from your Uncle Sam…..hope you’ve got one hell of an investment banker because there IS NO MORE! You’re CUT OFF. We can’t afford to pay our own bills, let alone yours!

As far as embassy’s go….pull those out too. We don’t need an Embassy in a HOSTILE foreign country. You wanna keep some covert intel over there, I agree, let’s do that, but get the big ol flying stars and stripes out of there, because for them it’s nothing more than a big bullseye. As for all you dumbass Americans who think it’s a good idea to go over there to investigate cigarette smuggling or ‘hike’ along what maybe the Iranian border, you are writing your own death ticket and no sap story video should cause us to send our men in uniform over to save you. This does not apply to those captured in friendly territories i.e. those who are kidnaped in the states and transported to a hostile country or kidnaped on your family vacation in Europe and taken to Iran….I say we should save them. Let’s face it, we are dealing with people who have no regard for human life so why in the world would you choose to go over there and put yourself at jeopardy, and if you do, you should reap those consequences (sorry, Charlie). Consequences….this brings me to my next topic…entitlements.

Summer Vacay

The girls at the beach

Brad and I at 'Crabs'



The whole gang at the beach before we ate at 'Crabs' on the last night



We drove into Destin one day and ate at the Broken Egg. DELISH!

The girls trying to pick Ben up

Right before we went out on the town

The gang at 'Crabs' on the last night

Well this is a long time coming. We went on a summer vacation this year with a group of our friends and stayed at my Aunt's house in Pensacola. It was GREAT! This is probably one of the last times that we will all be able to go on a trip like this (without children) and just do as we please. We made sooooo many memories and it was truly the best vacation I've ever been on.

Summer or Winter

Well, here I am caught with mixed emotions. We just recently jumped into a BIG purchase (at least big for us) and got a pool. We had planned on getting it in March of next year just in time for Summer 2012, but I stumbled upon a really good deal so we went ahead and took the plunge. This is where my dilemma begins. I am a HUGE fan of the Chrsitmas season!! I walked into Cracker Barrel the other night and what did I see???? A section of Christmas stuff already up. I'll admit it, my heart fluttered and I felt like a little kid on the first day of school. I wanted to run in and look at everything. The next day I bee-booped into Kirklands and there stood an eight foot tall Christmas tree. I was in winter wonderland! There were santas, and reindeers, and trees OH MY! Again, my heart skipped a beat and I was like a kid in a candy store. Poor Brad doesn't have a chance. He's able to contain my desire to decorate the house for every season to just table scapes in the dining room but for Christmas.....well, just call me Clark Oswald. We have about 110 leyland cypress trees in our yard to line our property line in the front and back and if I thought I could get an extension cord all the way out there, I would have lights strown around them and my front yard would look like an airplane landing pad!

So....my dilemma is that I'm READY for Christmas now, but at the same time I want some more warm weather so once the pool is finished I can at least say I was able to get in it this year!

Here are some pics of the pool and the only 2 who have been able to get in it so far. Concrete is supposed to be poured tomorrow, so I'll post some better pictures later on.

Welcome Home Jared!!!

A buddy of ours (Jared) just got back from Afganistan, but unfortunately it is only for 15 days. We are blessed to be able to have him home for a little while and have enjoyed our time so far....this is a pic of us at what used to be Stampede's in Murfreesboro....not sure what it is called now (something with a river in it). We missed Brad (he had to work) but had a good time line dancing with Jonathan and Anita, Jared, Courtney and Jason.

Graduation

Well, after six long years of school......I DID IT! I finished my MBA. WOOOHOOO!!! I was not very excited about driving down to Cookeville for the ceremony, but I'm glad I did.

In the parking lot when we first got there, trying to figure out how the hood was supposed to go.

Brad and I before graduation

Walking to get my diploma

Got it!

CATCH UP!!!

WOW, so I totally did not realize that I have not blogged since September of 2009…..that’s nearly a year and a half! It’s time I get my rear in gear. I guess I will do a catch up blog. This will only cover major events, since the little ones I may not even remember off the top of my head. LOL.

OK, here goes nothing:

October 2009: Can’t really remember much about this month, except on 10/20 my Nonnie was given 6 months to live. It was as little hard to believe because at this point she was doing FINE!! She was a little loopy at times and the lunches she would make for me and my Aunt Patty were not as appetizing as they used to be, but she was FINE! I cried and cried that day, but finally came to the realization that she did NOT have an expiration date stamped on her foot, and that those Doctors did not know what they were talking about.

November 2009: Nonnie’s birthday was on the 12th. She was recovering from her first broken hip at home. She was doing better with getting moving around. I got her a cake from Homestyle bakery (lemon cake) and took it over to her for our lunch date.
Brad and I took a short little vacation to The Biltmore to see the Christmas lights. It was a much needed vacation because Brad had been laid off from the railroad for about 6 months and he had been digging ditches for a gas company, so he was under-employed to say the least. It takes a toll on you when you get laid off and have to start working in a job making half the money. We were grateful that the Lord had provided that job for him, but were looking forward to the day when he was able to put in his notice. Wow, looking back at this pic I was CHUNKY! LOL.

we went hiking while we were in NC.

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Biltmore

In front of the Biltmore


The Biltmore all lit up for Christmas.

December 2009: If you know me, you know that Christmas is my FAVORITE time of year. This Christmas was no different and was filled with family festivities and tons of yummy food. J Unfortunately, Nonnie fell again and broke her OTHER hip this month. That was a pretty sad day.

January 2010: nothing too exciting here. I do know that I was DOG sick on New Years Eve and into the first few days of the new year. Nonnie had been at McKendre for rehab and I would go see her everyday. Apparently I caught something from her because I was in ROUGH shape. I can’t recall ever being that sick. I weighed myself when I was finally able to stop throwing up, and I had lost 6 pounds, and that’s a lot to loose in one day/night! I’m pretty sure it was just all of my water weight in my body, not to mention the fact that I was dehydrated. At one point the bed of my fingernails turned purple…..talk about scary!

February 2010: BRAD GOT CALLED BACK TO THE RAILROAD!!!! GOD IS GOOD!!! Not only did he get called back, but he got called back and promoted to the position that he had always wanted….a diesel mechanic. Now, he actually fixes the locomotive engines when they come in to the shop. He couldn’t have been happier and I couldn’t have been happier for him.

March 2010: Brad actually started his job this month and he loved it just like I knew he would. I turned 25 on the 21st, but other than that….not much happened. I also got my first DSLR camera...here's one of my first pics. Cute boys.

April 2010: One of the saddest days of my life thus far. Nonnie went to be with Jesus on this day. I can’t explain the emotions that I experienced that day. It had been terrible watching her shut down the 2 weeks prior, as that is when she stopped eating/drinking anything. I was glad to know that she was with Poppie and Jesus now, but sad because I missed her. Oh, a little tid bit….she died on Poppie’s birthday and Poppie died the day after her birthday. Poppie died about three years prior, but my Dad whispered in his ear to not die on Nonnie’s birthday because that would be the only way she would ever remember her birthday, the day she lost the love of her life. Poppie held on until the next morning and passed away at about 3 am 13th. Three years later, all she longed for was to be back with Poppie and she was able to be with him on his birthday. I was happy for her, but my heart ached and ached. I never thought it would go away, and to be honest, almost a year later and it still aches.

May 2010: Mothers Day was especially difficult this year. I was missing someone very important in my life. Brad and I did get to get away on Memorial Day to go to Pensacola. That was a great time! Also, Brad turned 27 on the 29th and we celebrated 2 years of marriage on the 24th!

June 2010: Can’t recall too much about this month.

July 2010: brad and I went back to Pensacola for the 4th of July and enjoyed it! This was after the oil spill and there was some oil at Pensacola, but we went down to Navarre Beach and it was clear as could be.

August 2010: I started another semester of classes. Booooooo.

September 2010: Can’t remember much on this month

October 2010: Brad and I took a little vacay to Gatlinburg to see the trees. We got a cute little cabin that was only $99 a night and had a great view and a jacuzzi! One of my fave stops was pancake pantry, of course! I am a sucker for chocolate chip pancakes.

November 2010: Turned in my final assignment for my capstone course, which was a KILLER. I also hosted my best friend’s baby shower, as she is expecting her first little one (Mr. Max on 2/13 and yes that date has already passed as I am writing this and he STILL isn’t here). That’s OK tho, because he is def. worth waiting for.

December 2010: Another Christmas time!!! This time, I actually have pics! We had everyone over to our house (from my Mom’s side) for Christmas this year. We also made all the other normal rounds and just enjoyed being with our family.

I love decorating for Christmas!

I even try to decorate the pups! LOL.

Brad and I on Christmas


Mom, me and Brad on Christmas

Brad and I with our children. This was not an easy pic to get. haha


We also had our annual girls get together....I sure do love those girls! We ALWAYS have a good time together.

January 2011: We rang in the new year with friends (which was a huge improvement from last NYE). I also started my LAST semester of school EVER. If everything goes as planned I will be walking across that stage on May 7th to get my MBA. WHEW!

Love him

So last night Buddy and Moose both got new John Deere collars. I told Brad to take a pic and send it to me. While you can't see the collar very well here (actually not at all), and Buddy's totally not even in the pic.....it is adorable. How can you not love this face?!