SSSS and Thesaurus Thursday all rolled into one!

Well folks, it appears that I actually can't make it through a day and night without sleeping sometime...which means that my choices have come down to reading all of your blogs (which I adore!) and leaving you commentary, or posting on my blog. Last night I read and commented...tonight I'm gonna spend my time posting on mine. If there is a specific post you would like me to read in timely manner then PLEASE email or comment to me and let me know. In the mean time just know that I am lurking out there in the blogosphere and do keep up with each of you as best I can.

OK, there are several posts that I sat on last night so I'm gonna play some catch up here....I'll end with Thesaurus Thursday which should get me back up to date.

First off, I promised Cookiee that I would tell you about this very wonderful opportunity to help our troops that he is promoting. I may break rules, but I try to keep promises. Please go and visit Cookie's site and read the 3rd post down titled Pinups for Vets...and then follow the links to buy one of these calendars for our wounded soldiers. Cookie has posted samples of the pictures that are in the calendar. They are tastefully done and sure to improve any soldier's (or any man's for that matter) morale without offending the ladies. Here's some information about the calendars:

Gina Elise is a model with a BA from UCLA. She has spent 2006 and 2007 on her project that combines what she knows (modeling, photography, history) to help a cause dear to her heart (hospitalized veterans and soldiers in need).

So, she created a project called Pin Ups for Vets which is co-sponsored by American Legion Post 360 of Lake Arrowhead, California. Her 2007 Pin Up Calendar sold out and now she has her 2008 Calendar available.

Gina Elise says this about her project:

Over the past year, I have heard and read incredible stories about the injured soldiers returning from military service. Their hardest battles have just begun, as they attempt to recover in Veterans Hospitals all across America . I was touched by each story, and knew that I had to try to do something to help our hospitalized Vets.

I came up with an idea to recreate a World War II style pin-up calendar that would have the dual purpose of raising money for programs that support hospitalized Veterans, and also serve as a GIFT for each and every Veteran, as they recover in a Veterans Hospital.

I always loved the beautiful pin-up photos and paintings from the World War II era that American soldiers took overseas with them to boost their morale. The troops often carried these “cheesecake” pictures with them into war to help remind them of what they were fighting for back home. One of the most famous pinup shots was taken in the 1940’s of actress Betty Grable, in a bathing suit, looking back over her shoulder.

With these old glamorous pictures as inspiration, I decided to try to recreate the feeling of these nostalgic pin-ups in my own photo shoots, and then assemble my pictures in a calendar for a fund-raiser to benefit the programs that support the hospitalized Veterans, injured in ALL wars, past and present.

Your calendar donation will go towards: eyeglasses for Veterans, the home health program, recreational therapy, spinal cord injury & amputee programs, substance abuse program, women’s Veterans’ program, chapel improvements, homeless program, reading materials and subscriptions for the Veterans, patio improvements, parking lot shuttle, courtesy cart, social relief fund, televisions, wheelchairs, and outreach programs for the visually impaired...

You can purchase a calendar for yourself, one to be sent to a soldier (any soldier or one you give the address for), or one for a hospitalized veteran. Gina will be visiting our Soldiers at Walter Reed in January and needs to bring (at least) 100 calendars with her. Purchase a calendar to give to a Soldier at Walter Reed here (option #2).


Next, I would like to share with you that Glenn is trying to raise money to send carepacks to a group of deployed soldiers. So go on over there and read about all the cool stuff he's putting in them and see if you'd like to help.


OK, on to Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets

I have 2 ways that I use regularly to make quick and easy kiddo sized blankets. Here's the slightly more expensive but less time consuming one. The other will be next Wednesday's SSSS post.

I bought this fabric at Walmart, but you can get this stuff at most any fabric store. This is called a "panel" fabric because you see one scene. These scenes (or panels) repeat for the length of the bolt. When you buy it you have them cut the number of panels you want.

This particular panel fabric is also called a "cheater fabric" because it is printed to imitate a quilt. Blow up the picture and look closely at all the patterns in each color/piece within the panel.


But here's the way cool part.

This fabric is two sided and pre-quilted. This is how it looks in the store....straight off the bolt.

Now to turn this into a quick and easy blanket. Buy bias tape in a coordinating color, enough to go all the way around the perimeter of your panel plus about 6-10 inches. (or you can follow these instructions without sewing it together. Join (sew) all pieces of your tape together to make one LONG strip. Then open it up like this

and place the raw edge of your pre-quilted fabric inside the fold of the bias tape so that the tape is on the front and back of your fabric and there are no raw edges showing.

HINT:
Start the beginning end of the bias tape in the middle of a long side, not at a corner, then leave about 4 inches free before you start to sew. Sew, making sure you're catching both the top side of the tape and the bottom side of the tape at the same time. Work your way all the way around the panel. When you get to the side you started on, stop sewing about 6-10 inches away from where you started sewing. Lay beginning end on top of ending end of bias tape, mark where top edge overlaps, add 3/8" to bottom (ending end) and then cut. Join (sew) the two ends of the bias tape together using 1/4" seam allowance. Now fit remaining 6-10 inches of raw edge in your now whole bias tape and sew.


Here you can see the unfinished panel on the bottom and the one I made a couple of years ago (that Alligator takes to school in lieu of that quilt that STILL isn't finished) on top. (faded huh?)




Now, on to Thesaurus Thursday!

Our words for this week are:

sallet

sanative

For those who are new here today, the "rules" of Thesaurus Thursday are as follows:

First and foremost, leave as many funny definitions for either word (or both) as you can think up in the comments!! The ones that make me laugh the hardest will be given the Silly Goose Award.




Next, if you know (or think you know) the true definitions without looking them up then be sure and leave those in the comments too!! All definitions that are correct (or close enough for government work and Mighty Mom) will win the Smarty Pants Award!



Awards will be given out in Saturday's post, so don't forget to come and see if you won!

Where's my Spirit?

Well, I was just saying about how I'm not quite in the Spirit of the Season yet. Things are moving along with making gifts...all the shopping is done...I'm listening to that radio station that started playing only Christmas music on Nov 1st (can you BELIEVE??)...Sonshine is pointing out every stuffed Santa we pass...we have reservations for breakfast with the big guy in red on Sat...but I'm just not quite there yet.

Then it dawned on me. I haven't heard my favorite Christmas song yet, no wonder it's not Christmastime for me!! Funny thing, that radio station almost never plays "my song"....even when I've called and requested it. I don't know why.

But now, thanks to the internet...I can share "my song" with you. It truly is my favorite Christmas Carol.



And here's a cute interview with the guy who performed this inspiring ditty.

No time to post.

It stinks, I know, I'm sorry.

I want to put up a very quick and easy way to make a small blanket for a child/baby gift but I need to add pictures and the material I need to photograph is at the bottom of the closet located right next to the crib where that cutie-pie is SLEEPING.

"There never was a child so lovely but that his mother wasn't glad to get him to sleep." Emerson.

I should have more time tomorrow night before bedtime so I'll put up Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets along with the Thesaurus Thursday game then.

Till then I'm working feverishly on these blasted Christmas gifts.....which you may just have a chance to buy here in a day or two :-)

An Early Christmas Gift

For my Darling Subvet

Get this widget!

(it's his FAVORITE movie!)

click the light chain.

:-)

Tiny Talk Take Too

well, this might be as much fun as watching paint dry to you folks but hey, it's my blog.

I couldn't put up videos of just 2 out of 3 kids....

here's the scene.

she's laying in my lap, playing with the wristband to the camera. This movie is dark cuz it's night time and I could use a more upscale camera that uses flash while videotaping but don't have that kind of disposable income.

Oh, and in case you were wondering....yes, this is how I spend all my evenings.......makes me really feel sorry for all those women's lib-ers who think "just" being a mom isn't "enough"

sound is a must on this video!

Tiny Talk Tuesday.

TINY TALK TUESDAY is once again upon us. Go see Mary at Not Before 7 to see more of this fun event.


Well, on Thursday we celebrated Sonshine's 4th birthday. He turned 4 on Sunday but we decided to party while we had the Grandmothers here. Of all the toys he got his favorite was (you guessed it) THE 20/$1 BALLOONS! (hence my 1 gift rule)

Here are a couple of videos I took of the big morning. He had already popped the green balloon in these. I'm going to apologize ahead of time for these videos...they make me a little seasick....but considering I was filming the flight of a bumblebee with an alligator on my lap, this is the best I could do.

Now, have you ever been asked a question and wondered just what answer the person was looking for? This is never a problem with Sonshine. He asks the question then will answer for you.....



The song he sings at the end of this video comes from a Little Einsteins episode and is to the tune of Eine Kleine Nacht Music by Mozart.


In other Tiny Talk news....

As I was taking Sonshine to his Physical Therapy yesterday morning we could see a large almost full moon. This moon became the topic of his running commentary for the entre 45 min drive. I heard all the usual stuff..."The moon is way up high in the sky!!" "The moon is ROUND, mama, YES!, the moon is ROUND!"

Then he said something that cracked me up. We're driving down a wooded stretch and he says "The moon is playing peek-a-boo. YES mama, the moon is playing peek-a-boo with the trees!!"

So have a lovely day this fine Tuesday my friends, and don't forget to play peek-a-boo with that moon while we can still see it during the day!

Tchaikovsky and me.

Well, now
Linda, you get to be Ms Smarty Pants this week!! Scroll down and take your prize from Diane dear.

Many of you have P. D. Q. Bach confused with Johann Sebastian Bach. I'm short on time here so I'm just gonna give you links. You can follow them to Wikipedia and find out for yourselves.

I played P. D. Q. Bach's Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion in High School and absolutely fell in love with this twenty-first of Johann Sebastian Bach's twenty children. It is as much fun to play his music (if not more so) than to listen to it. One of the many things I remember is repeats or codas that go nowhere, and at one place all the woodwinds were to play musical chairs, literally change seats in the middle of the performance. Reading a piece of P. D. Q. Bach's music is a lot like a trip through the Winchester mansion that Sarah Winchester had built over 38 years. Constant surprises. (By the way, that's one of the places I'd like to see before I die.)

AAHHHH, whilest I was away from you good folks we had a BIRTHDAY!! and a BIG one it was too! As a matter of fact I currently have 24 cupcakes cooling in the kitchen which I will ice and sprinkle (before I head to bed) for Pre-school tomorrow. Well, 1/2 of them are for Pre-school, the other 1/2 are for US!! :-)

I just can't believe my BABY is 4 years old!! For those of you who haven't met us he's about 45 inches tall and about 45lbs. (ie HUGE) I'll have specifics next week after that dreaded 4 year old doctor's appointment.

I have to tell you my Sonshine is constantly surprising me. He's talking more and more and his little imagination has really sparked here recently.. which will make up tomorrow's Tiny Talk Post, so I'd better not steal my own thunder here.

On Friday my step-mom and I took the 3 hooligans to a benefit performance of the Nutcracker Suite ballet. My kids did GREAT! I was really impressed...and judging from the utter surprise in her voice when she told me she'd enjoyed herself..so was Mimi!! We left at intermission because I figured 1 hour of good behavior was probably all I could ask for and I decided to quit while I was ahead!

I said this was a benefit performance...it was to benefit folks with special needs. There were a ton of families with children of all ages there and many adults with special needs as well. (Hence the only reason I felt safe taking the hooligans in the first place.)

I got there about 10 min before Mimi and we stood by the doors watching folk arrive while waiting for her. This was a huge blessing for me!!!

Being the parent of special needs children is kind of an emotional roller coaster. We have periods of time when we're very happy and periods of time when we're very sad. I had been sad recently. I sometimes get weary of all the therapy, sad for the differences, and just plain tired of the work. (did I mention the sniveling?? it's driving me crazy!)

There's a song I heard years and years ago and if any of you fine folk can identify it please tell me where it comes from. It's all about giving people an attitude adjustment upside the top of your head.

Well, standing there watching family after family come in, some with obvious special needs and others without, I realized I have nothing to be sad about. God gave me an attitude adjustment upside the head right there in that lobby, let me tell you. Remember "P" ? My kids are Perfect. And I am one LUCKY MOMMY!

Thanks God!

Winners

Quill of Bill
tomalley- a mexican food cooked in masa and then steamed. (this is the way a redneck would pronounce it)
"LaVonda get me there one of those tomalleys and some ketchup!"

Linda
Tomalley is the lead singer of the band the Tonettes!


Miss Smarty Pants is Diane
Tomalley I know -- It's the liver in a cooked lobster. A delicacy to some, lobster guts to this ol' gal!

And here's your prize:



The Tonette is a small, end-blown flute made of plastic, which was once popular in American elementary music education. It has largely been superseded by the recorder. The range of the instrument is from middle C (c4) to d4. It is also known as a song flute.

The Tonette was introduced in 1938. Designed as a pre-band instrument, the tonette was nearly unbreakable, chromatic, and tunable. It was easy to blow and the fingering was simple. By 1941 over half of the grammar schools in the United States had adopted the Tonette as standard pre-band equipment. The Tonette's pleasant flute-like sound was also used for special novelty effects in radio, television and film.

In World War II the armed services found the Tonette to be an inexpensive and entertaining way for idle troops to pass the time.

Peter Schickele has described the tonette as "a cheap, synthetic recorder with amusing pretensions"; it is one of the instruments featured in the Gross Concerto by P. D. Q. Bach. **thanks to Wikipedia**




POP QUIZ!

Who, without looking it up, can tell me anything about P. D. Q. Bach? (Hint: One of my FAVORITE composers!)

Thanksgiving Thesaurus Thursday

Well, hello and welcome back from the dinner table! If you're anything like me you're stuffed full of stuffed bird and having a hard time keeping your eyes open while waiting on the dishwasher to finish so you can get that last load in it and go to bed! :-)

If you're not like me you're watching the Dallas Cowboys STOMP ON the New York Jets. ** :-) **

ummm 34-3 if you're interested.

Next they take on the Green Bay Packers...and frankly they just have to win this one or Mohawk Chieftan will NEVER let me live it down!!!!!

I have had a very nice week "off" and I must say a huge thank you to all the sailors who put up their stories so we'd have something to read. Seeing as how I've spent the entire week in the bathroom waiting on pee or poop these stories were quite timely. The Chief promises one from the Marine point of view tomorrow so I can't wait to read that!

Subvet has proven once again that he is a stinking good cook! Our bird and trimmings were perfect. We celebrated Sonshine's 4th birthday today while we had family gathered as Subvet will be working all DAY on Sunday. Highlights include Sonshine singing Happy Birthday to himself solo while Daddy was lighting the candles on the cake. Sonshine asking to blow the candles out AGAIN. Gator-boy going to town with the Grandmothers (both my and Subvet's mothers were here) batting the balloons around. If everything at youtube and blogger cooperate this time I will be posting a video of the boys playing with the balloons for Tiny Talk Tuesday so don't forget to stop by then.

Potty training is progressing, albeit not as quickly as I'd like. However, that's par for the course with a kid that has delays like Sonshine's. I keep thinking, if I can get these two boys out of diapers I can conquer the world!
Here's what happens when I send Sonshine to "Go pick out what underwear you want to wear today."



On the sewing front there's a stalemate. I just don't have the energy after running up and down the hall all day to sit at the sewing machine at night. So, **sigh** Thanksgiving has past and my gifts are not done. I'll be getting to them here in the next week though.

On to our game! I'm hoping it'll be more exciting than the Cowboys/NYJets game was. I HATE to watch landslides. I really do. I much prefer a really close game with a lot of turnovers that has you out of your seat screaming yourself hoarse for 3 hours.

Oh, by the way. I love football. It makes me sad that we had to even stop watching games because the commercials were just nastiness. And there was that "wardrobe malfunction".....


For those who are new here today, the "rules" of Thesaurus Thursday are as follows:

First and foremost, leave as many funny definitions for either word (or both) as you can think up in the comments!! The ones that make me laugh the hardest will be given the Silly Goose Award.




Next, if you know (or think you know) the true definitions without looking them up then be sure and leave those in the comments too!! All definitions that are correct (or close enough for government work and Mighty Mom) will win the Smarty Pants Award!



Awards will be given out in Saturday's post, so don't forget to come and see if you won!


Our words for this week are:


tomalley

tonette

And, just for grins here's a couple of pictures from today.


Do not buy this toy!! It is obnoxious! (I looked it up, dear, highly objectionable or offensive.)




This, however was a lot of fun....

Here's Sonshine playing with it.


And here's Mom playing after Sonshine went to bed..


Did I mention I'm a Tomboy??

Night folks. Looking forward to reading some funny definitions tomorrow.

No Shit!

OK, Well, in my quest to keep you folks entertained while I sit with the boy on the throne I have asked Subvet to give me another of his Sea Stories. Which he did (of course).

Things are going well in the potty department and I will be bringing back my usual commentary on life with Thesaurus Thursday tomorrow. So come on back tomorrow or Friday to exercise your brain and funny bone simultaneously.

Make a note of what I said in the last post about how one sea story will lead to another...and another...and another.... Well, here's proof positive. Go and visit this fine gentleman as he's joined in the poop parade. I must say, I do think Sonarman takes the cake!

In the mean time, Here's Subvet's. I didn't need to edit this one at all.....

Another sea story (I'm on a roll now!)
In my previous post I inadvertently used some terms most people might not be familiar with. One poster (Ignorant Redneck) brought my attention to this. Sorry about that folks, when you speak a different language than most for years the chance of slipping back into it is always there.

In order to minimize any confusion over terms I'll begin with a brief glossary for this next tale of submariner derring-do. Here it is:

XO-Executive Officer. The second most senior man aboard a naval craft. He's the man who enforces all policies of the Commanding Officer (CO).

A-ganger-Member of the auxiliary division aboard naval vessels. They're mechanics who are responsible for the operation and maintenance of all non-propulsion machinery. Aboard submarines this is a real grab bag of items, all the hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems, potable water, atmosphere control equipment and plumbing/sanitary systems, and whatever else can be foisted off on them. A-gangers (along with Torpedomen) are also the most rude, crude, socially unacceptable reprobates of the crew. They don't get invited to too many formal dinner parties. John Belushi's character in "Animal House" would have been a great A-ganger if he'd just loosened up a bit.

Chief-A shortened way of saying Chief Petty Officer. These are the backbone of the Navy's enlisted ranks. They run the day to day operation of the various work centers. The top three enlisted paygrades in the Navy are Chief, Senior Chief, Master Chief. They train the crew and junior officers, enforce discipline, give personal guidance, counsel those with problems, bend steel in their bare hands and jump over tall buildings in a single bound.

Amine-A shortened version of monoethanolamine which is a chelating agent used in the CO2 removal systems (aka "scrubbers") to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and emit it when heated in a boiler to be compressed and put overboard. Chemically it's a base that will eat rubber in a heartbeat. It also leaves a beautiful stain in leather upholstery and on custom paint jobs. Amine is loaded aboard submarines via an air driven pump placed in a 55 gallon drum of the stuff. These drums are NEVER to be directly pressurized with air.

EDOM-Engineering Department Operating Manual. A general guideline for all Engineering Department evolutions conducted aboard a submarine.

Sea Story-A personal recollection of things past. Said by many to resemble a fairy tale, the greatest difference being that a fairy tale begins with, "Once upon a time....." while a sea story begins with, "This is no shit....".

La Madd-La Maddalegna, Sardinia. The former location of a submarine repair facility in the Mediterranean.

Here's another sea story. It's a "no-shitter".

God must love the stupid, He's made so many of them.

Whilst aboard the USS OMAHA I met one of the dumbest A-gangers that could walk. "Bruce" was the sort that always knew he was right, no matter what the facts. In the course of his short time aboard he managed to make one man in particular his nemesis; the XO (if you're gonna go, go big).

One fine day the chief put "Bruce" in charge of loading amine. As anyone with more than two days assigned to A-gang knows you NEVER, NEVER directly pressurize a drum of amine with air. Not one to let common sense, the teachings of every auxiliaryman in the fleet and the boat's EDOM stand in his way; our hero ran a 100 psi air line topside through the weapons shipping hatch and proceeded to glory.

After cutting in the air he sprang an amine leak downstream of the drum. "Bruce" was anything but coolheaded under fire so he immediately shut the discharge line while still pressurizing the drum. Reliable sources claimed before it exploded the amine canister resembled a dark green balloon.

As Murphy's Law would have it, the XO's pride and joy; his cherry red MG convertible, was parked on the pier directly parallel to the shipping hatch. With the top down. After all was said and done the genuine leather upholstery had more stains than Granny Clampett's teeth. The paint job was no cause for joy either.

Years later I met the XO when he became the Commodore of the Squadron in La Madd while I was stationed there. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask how "Bruce" was doing, however I kept quiet. I don't mind being called crazy but I draw the line at "stupid".

More Shit!

So, what happens when you get a couple old sailors together?

Having been there I can tell you. A) you go through more coffee than a double humped camel drinks before crossing the Sahara. B) there is a lot of chatter. I mean it. Old sailors talk more than old women! Here's how it goes. First there is a listing of the "Boats" they were on (by the way, Submarines are "boats", Navy surface craft ie things that don't dive are "ships")...then a listing of the people they knew.....which leads to "Did you hear about the time.................."

AAHHHH Yes, the SEA STORY!

And, of course, one will always lead to another as no sailor wants to be outdone by another's SEA STORY!

Q: What's the difference between a Fairy Tale and a Sea Story?
A: One begins with "Once upon a time." the other begins with "Now this is no shit."


So, when I read Cookie's Sea Story that I posted yesterday I knew that Subvet would want to tell his own shitty tale. After much arm twisting and many reminders he finally typed it up for me. ;-)

If you haven't read Cookie's tale yet, scroll down to "Holy Shit!" and read it first as it gives a lot of background information that will help us Land Lovers understand what happened.

So, in his own words (mostly) here you have Subvet's Shitty Sea Story....
(I have edited this one slightly, if you want the cruder version go see Blowin San #1)


Well, Cookie started it all by telling a story of when he blew sanitaries all over Joe Negri, a TMCM who could chew rebar and shit it out as tenpenny nails.

Here's my modest contribution from my time in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club:

Let's face it, the only people more fascinated with their shit than sub sailors are baby boys. And baby boys are a lot less ingenious with spreading it around. I was aboard the USS OMAHA shortly before her commissioning back in 1978. We had left Electric Boat and were tied up at the State Pier in New London outboard the TINOSA. For some ungodly reason our bows both headed north.

As anyone familiar with early 688 class boats knows the sanitary overboard is located in the sonar equipment space, forward port corner of the sphere. (In first flight 688's there was another one in control but that's unimportant for this story.)

At the time the practice was to fit the drydock connection on the sanitary overboard with a yard or so of firehose attached to discharge directly into the river. The sanitary tank was to be pressurized ONLY to about 10-15 psi for this evolution. One midwatch a rather bored IC1 decided to pressurize the tank up to a couple of hundred pounds and let'er rip. Though weighted at the end with a couple of weights the fire hose stood at attention.

The angle was perfect to allow discharge towards TINOSA's weapons shipping hatch, coincidentally left open with the skid in place for the following day's weapons load. The only saving factor were the March winds, otherwise their torpedo room would have gotten a full load, instead they only got most of the load. As it was, dingleberries and paper flew all over the topside area, the sail, the topside watch, you get the picture.

My first indication of trouble as the leading A-ganger was the sight of a well papered State Pier when I arrived the next day. WTF immediately came to mind. Upon coming aboard I heard it all, including the threat (empty as it was illogical) that A-gang would go clean up TINOSA's torpedo room as it was our system that caused the problem. Fortunately the TINOSA moved outboard the submarine tender FULTON that same day to load her fish and we were left by ourselves. No one relished the thought of crossing over her to go on liberty. And that IC1? He went on to enter the Limited Duty Officer (LDO) program. Last time I saw him was in Charleston at the Weapons Station where he was a LCDR and the MPA aboard the tender there. Go figure.

Holy Shit!

Let that title be a warning. What follows is a sea story from Cookie. And I never ask sailors to clean up their sea stories. (Takes all the fun out of the story!) And this one is STINKING hilarious!

I laughed so hard at this story that I had to repost it. It'll keep y'all occupied while I work on my sewing/potty training projects! Ummm WARNING no beverages, no snacks, and go pee before you read this one!

Enjoy! and thanks Cookie!

Speakin of bein in real deep shit ......



As most of ya already know, I'm an old Bubblehead (Submariner), and I posted this here post bout a year or so ago and received 33 comments regarding this completely true story...and alot a folks got a real good laugh outta it...so...fer those of you who are new readers or mighta missed it ( like Subvet, his "War Department and Sonarman)...here t'is agin...Enjoy!

Ohhh Man...I'm in reeeal deep shit this time....

Well Sir...as of late...several of my close feller bloggers have been humorously nostalgisizin bout funny past experiences in their live...so here's a true account of something I did while stationed about the submarine the USS Piper SS409.....most of you old bubbleheads will probably enjoy this story....and hopefully ....ya won't be able to relate to it frum experience.....

Now...fer you folks that aren't in the know... at first this story might get a little boring and technical...but it's necessary for me to explain some things to y'all so's ya will understand just what was happenin....bear with me please, it'll be well worth it. On the old fleet boats (WWII Submarines)..all the various water and sewage piping drained into the Sanitary Tanks...things like the sinks, showers, coffee urn, heads (toilets), urinals, skuttlebutts (drinking fountains) and few other extraneous systems having to do with water/sewage.

Now Sir...this tank had to be emptied (blown) overboard just about everyday during a certain duty watch...and there was a very explicit way to do this that entailed closing every valve..frum every line and every pipe that ran into the Sanitary tanks throughout the entire Boat....and there was a check-list that y'all had to use to make sure you had in fact closed every single drain valve in the boat.

Once all the drain valves goin to the Sanitary Tanks were closed...the sailor would then proceed to a pressurization station in the After Battery compartment...and open several other valves...one of them being the "Outer" Sanitary Tank valve...this being the underwater valve that was outside the boat. Once completed...he would then pressurize the Sanitary tank by putting about 20 lbs of compressed air pressure into it.... thus flushing all sewage out of the tank and overboard into the ocean. Now y'all can see why all the other valves had t'be shut first....so's nuthin could blow back up the lines. I know this has been kinda boring to y'all....but stay with me.......

Now Sir...I had done this procedure many ....many times...and had never had a problem...but on this particular evening...sumthin went wrong. One could tell when the Sanitary Tank was emptying out by watchin a "Yarway" guage on the bulkhead (wall)...and when the tank was empty...you would secure the blow by turning off the air pressure....close a couple a valves at this station...and Re-open all the drain valves throughout the boat.

Well Sir, on this one disasterous and infamous evenin...I put 20 pounds a pressure in there as yur supposed to...and nuthin happened! The guage didn't budge. Tapped the guage...nuthin. Re-adjusted all the valves at that station...nuthin. OK...now what? Well...what the hell...let me give it 25 pounds of pressure....still nuthin. Godamnit...what the f*#k is goin on here? Checked all the immediate valves to make sure that they were in the correct positions....gave the system another 25 pound shot....nuthin. OK you SOB...here's 30 pounds a pressure......take that.....nuthin. The guage wasn't droppin one iota......

Totally flummoxed....I re-re-checked evrythin agin...gave it pressure....still nuthin. OK...damn you...y'all wanna play rough...here's 40 f*#kin pounds a pressure (twice the amount yur sposed t'use). Ah Ha...the guage jumped and then started goin down...the tank was finally emptying. At about that same moment in time...a crewmember nicknamed "Wingnut" cause a his big ears...came running through the After Battery yelling "SECURE THE BLOW....SECURE THE BLOW"!

I immediately shut the pressure valve off, looked at "Wingnut"....and asked.."what's wrong?" He looked at me...and with a broad-ass grin goin frum one a his huge ears to the other said... "Man...I'm real glad I ain't you". What are y'all talkin bout I asked agin. Now.....laughin uncontrolably and holdin his sides....Wingnut barely got it out that I needed get into the Crew's Mess right away..."the COB wants to see you"......

Now fer those a you unfamiliar...the COB is the "Chief of the Boat"...the most senior and experienced enlisted man on a submarine...he's next to God...his power is legendary....even the Captain listens to him when he speaks. Now...the COB on our boat was a grizzly old character named Joe Negri...and it was said that he'd been in the Navy so long that he had been First Mate on Noah's Ark... and he ate torpedo explosives fer breakfast and washed it all down with diesel oil....this guy was in the Navy when the ships were made of wood...and the men were made of steel...y'all gettin a mental picture yet....?

Now Sir....when I entered the Crew's Mess....I was greeted with a scene very reminiscent of....





...the only difference was that the bear...otherwise known as the COB....Joe Negri...the most Senior Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy....was standin there with a coffee cup danglin from his hand and he was completely covered in SHIT!...frum his head to his toes...shit was drippin of his weathered old chief's hat, his nose, his chin, his ears, his eyebrows, his belt buckle..everywhere. The crews mess and galley was covered in shit...the deck was covered in shit....and when I seen what I had done....and the look on the COB's face....I almost added somemore shit to the scene myself via the back a my pants.

Well Sir...once old Joe got done tearin this here bubblehead a brand new asshole and callin me names I ain't never heard of before...or since...he stormed outta the Mess Hall bellowin t'me over his shoulder that he damned sure wasn't through with me yet....

There was dead silence fer a few seconds after he stormed through the hatch inta the Control Room...except for some expletive statements like "What the F*#K smells?" coming from Officers in the Control Room, then...all the crew members who had been in the Mess Hall when the proverbial shit hit the fan...or rather the COB...broke into hysterical laughter.

Some crew members told me that the scene of the shit explosion occurred somthin like this....

Several guys were sitting in the galley quietly havin a cup a coffee or playin Cribbage when they heard a very loud noise that sounded like "Sproing!" (that was the sound of the drain line valve from the coffee urn to the Sanitary Tank breaking under double it's intended pressure). At about the same time...the COB happened to come around the corner to get a cup of coffee...he put his coffee cup under the serving spicket on the urn and pulled it....KABLOOM....shit that was bein pushed by 40 pounds of pressure...hit the bottom of his coffee cup and exploded up and out like Mt. Vesuvius and instantly covered him from head to toe....then shit continued to blast into the galley through the still open spicket and the broken glass tubes on the front of the urn. They said that the COB had the most horrified, puzzled, surprised, disgusting, confused and angry expression on his face...all at the same time...that they couldn't even mimic what his face looked like. The rest is history.......

Now...it don't take genius to figure out just who had to clean up all the shit. The coffee urn...a total loss...oh it was fixed and cleaned...but ain't nobody would ever drink outta it after that...includin me....the boat had t'get a new one.

Now Sir....I originally stuck t'my story that I had only used the required 20 pounds a pressure...nuthin more. Musta been a faulty valve said I. This always left a doubt in some minds as to just how much I was to blame fer the whole thing....

Well Sir...now...for the first time in 42 years...I'm finally fessin up. Joe...if'n yur out there somewhere readin this....I apologise to y'all fer all the shit I gave ya (sorry...couldn't resist).....and I deserved every "shit" detail and wurk assignment y'all gave me fer the next three months...as well as how ya restricted me to the boat with no leave or liberty....as well as all the chippin & paintin assignments ya gave me...as well as all the extra watches I had to stand....and the extra "Mess Cookin"(KP) duties....and the "bilge watches"...and all the ass chewin's that followed...no sir...I deserved it all Joe...and may God Bless ya where-ever you may be......you were a man's man.

ADDENDUM:

My good buddy Sig over at Signal94 has quite an imagination...and after he read my account of this comedic episode in my life...he wrote these lyrics some months back when the above was just posted...it's done to the Theme from the Beverly Hillbillies....

Cookie's Big Adventure

Come and listen to m’ story ‘bout a man named Gene
Cruising under water in a fleet submarine.
Then one day he’s trying to blow a little air
Into a high pressure steel derrière.
A sanitary tank that is…
Fulla beans...Submarine ass beans I reckon…

Now it won’t flush and Gene’s pumpin’ harder
Sending lotsa pressure into the Piper’s poopy larder.
Building up a force that is close enough to earn
A blown safety valve inside the galley’s urn.
Sit yerself down sailor...Pour a cuppa joe
It’ll be yer last…

So the next thing ya know all hell's a breaking loose
With butt torpedoes from every man’s caboose.
With all that pressure every turd is liquefied
“The COB wants ta see ya!” and Cookie nearly died.
Scared he was... Dunno what's happenin ..’What's that funky smell …

Well the COB’s like a maniac, he’s in an awful snit.
Screamin’ and yellin’ while he’s covered in sub shit.
But Cookie cleaned the mess he made and finally settled down;
And now he’s a blogger of no little renown.
Thanks for stoppin’ by now.
Ya’ll come back now, Ya hear?

For those of you who've asked.....Subvet's blog is titled "Blowin San #1". It refers to Blowing Sanitary Tank #1...Now you know what that means. Subvet assures me that he only blew OUT of the Sub as opposed to IN it... :-)

Answers and Winners

Well, I wore myself out running through the streets of town childless. So, this'll be short and sweet.

pavid adj (it's pah' vid like apple not pay' vid like pavement by the way) timid, afraid, frightened.

pawl n. a pivoted bar adapted to engage with the teeth of a wheel so as to prevent movement or to impart motion. (makes me think of the "brakes" on my strollers)

So far as the winners....you all cracked me up so I'm adding each of you to my flock of Silly Geese!

Have a great weekend!!

Show and Tell

Well, I've got Walmart on the brain so I thought I'd show you my votive candle holder.
I worked in the Walmart Pharmacy in Waco, Tx from 93-97 while I was going to college. While I was there I worked with the man who I still say is the best manager I've ever had. His name is Rob Sellers, RPh. Rob if you're out there, I want you to know how much I appreciated you. Rob's hobby was wood working. He made three candleholders to see how they looked. Each was a little different. When I left Waco to go to Nursing School, Rob let me choose from the three. This is the one I chose. I have many fond and some funny memories of my time at Walmart. And some that are not so wonderful. But I always remember Rob with great fondness and I still think he is one heck of a great guy. It was a pleasure to work for you Rob, and thanks for the candleholder!

Go on over to Kelli's to see all the other Show and Tells!

Yo!

Well, I thought I'd let you know why I'm gonna be really light on my blogging all next week. And if you're gonna say it...say it with a song. So here you go.

Thesaurus Thursday

First off I want to say if you missed the prayer request and Alphabet soup/Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets then you didn't scroll down far enough. Please take a moment and pray for a friend's friend and enjoy some soup.

I must say that other than Gator-boy waltzing out of his classroom unbeknownst to his teacher and going all the way down the hall to visit Sonshine's class (alone) at the end of school today and the fact that neither blogger nor youtube will upload a soundclip I made just for you folks (it's a wav); today's been a very nice day.
I'm gonna re-record that soundbyte as a video and see if that helps. In the mean time......


This week's words are:



pavid

pawl


For those who are new here today, the "rules" are as follows:

First and foremost, competition for the coveted Silly Goose Award is getting fierce!

Enter as many funny definitions for either word (or both) as you can think up!! Just leave them in the comments.





Next, if you know (or think you know) the true definitions without looking them up then be sure and leave those in the comments too!!

All definitions that are correct (or close enough for government work and Mighty Mom) will win the even more coveted Smarty Pants Award!

Awards will be given out in Saturday's post, so don't forget to come and see if you won!

Walmart Sucks!

OK, well, now I'm really hacked!

remember my "D" post? about shopping at Walmart and NOT finding what I was looking for. Then asking an associate who said "The computer says there are 10 here somewhere, but I can't find them....sorry"

Well, I was on another blog having a similar conversation in her comment thread and I thought you know.

"You're either a part of the problem or a part of the solution" Subvetism #429.

So I thought I'm gonna find them online and send an email telling them what happened. I'd like to know where the 10 foot rule went and why the associates aren't wearing the easily identifiable vests anymore. Not to mention keeping stuff on the shelves.

OK, I go through all the crap and finally get to where you can send an email about a particular store. Guess what....here's what you get.

Help Us Improve
At Wal-Mart, we're committed to Customer Satisfaction. If your visit was pleasant, please share it with us. If you were disappointed, we'd like to learn how we may serve you better. Your comments and suggestions about your Wal-Mart shopping experience are very important to us.Thanks for your time!

Your feedback will be sent in regard to:

Wal-Mart SuperCenter
2041 Redbud Blvd

1.Was the parking lot clear of trash and shopping carts?
2.Was our store clean?
3.Did you find everything you needed?
4.Was it difficult to push your cart through the store because of merchandise or pallets in the aisles?
5.Was the bathroom clean and well stocked? (soap, toilet paper, etc.)
6.Were you greeted when you entered the store?
7.Were you directed to the checkout lane with the shortest line?
8.Were you thanked for shopping at Wal-Mart?
9.What day of the week did you visit Wal-Mart?
10.What time of the day did you visit Wal-Mart?
11.How likely are you to visit this store in the future?
Very likely Possibly Not very likely Not at all

each with the little dots you click on.

There was no comment section!! If your particular gripe doesn't fit in one of these 11 questions I guess they just don't care. No Did you find everything you needed? Were the associates friendly and helpful?

Walmart really is the only game in town other than Target which has it's own flaws so I'm not sure I can boycott it. But truly this just sucks!

For Cookie

I posted his first prayer request here.

And here's what he had to say yesterday.

Well Sir....some of my regular readers will remember that in the middle of last September, I requested that those who are of a mind to, please pray for my life long best friend, Bob Snogles, who was hospitalized and very ill....

...and many of you fine folks responded positively and immediately, and said prayers. You have my eternal gratitude for your efforts....

To bring you up to date, Bob has basically been in the hospital since his initial entry last September, with brief periods of one or two days back home, and then returned to the Intensive Care or Cardiac Care units for weeks more....

He is, as I type this, very ill and his kidneys have shut down, not good at all since he has already had a kidney transplant about 30 years ago....and is now back on kidney Dialysis...

I spoke to him on the phone not ten minutes ago and he sounded very exhausted, defeated and did not sound well at all.....

I must impose on all of you wonderfull people once again and ask for your intercessory prayers for this fine man who has given so much to his country and his community.....

thanks y'all.
Sarah

More Alphabet Soup and Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets

O
Opportunity. Every once in awhile I get the opportunity to dump the kids on Daddy and run screaming through town all by myself!! That opportunity will come again on Saturday and I can't wait! I will get to meet up with other crafters for a couple hours of crafty fun and fellowship, no kids allowed!! YIPEEEEE!! For more information you'll have to wait for "U".

P
Perfect. Gee do I wish I were perfect! I've learned that I don't have to be "perfect" to be perfect. I learned this through my children. My children are not "perfect"....they aren't "normal" either. Each of my children has some sort of delay. Each of them will face trials I'd really wish they didn't have. But, I have learned that each of my children is perfect. Perfect in God's eyes and perfect in mine. Moses had a speech disturbance, Joseph was a dreamer, Jacob (who became father of all Israel) was a low-life scroundrel. Zacheeus worked for the IRS and skimmed off the top. Peter flat denied that he even knew who Jesus was...3 times. Judas called the cops on Jesus. Yet each of these has their place in our Bible and each was used by God to further His purpose. (Remember, if it wasn't for Judas, we wouldn't be saved.) Each of these people was perfect to God. Exactly the persons that God made them. I am perfect and so are you. Because we are exactly the persons God made us to be. That is a weight lifting thought!

Q
Quiet. Everyone is asleep but me right now and boy is it nice! Makes me want to crank up my radio and dance! But, of course, if I did that then no one would be asleep!! I enjoy quiet time. I can feel my brain relaxing. I've taken to sitting still with my hands over my face for a couple minutes here and there throughout my day. Just finding a brief moment without so much input to relax the brain and regroup. Drives Gator-boy nuts when I do this...he keeps trying to pull my hands down or push my head up. But sometimes I just need to recenter myself before I can refocus on the kids.

Quilts. I love quilts. I've gotten to where a store bought comforter just won't do. I don't care much for store bought quilts either, but they are good for "dirty work" like picnics and hayrides. I guess I've become a quilt snob.

R
Rest. For some reason I don't seem to be getting much rest lately. I loathe going to bed and when I do sleep it isn't soundly. I usually sleep very light and fitfully until I hear the garage door open at 6:30am when Subvet comes home. Then I drop off very hard for about an hour when I need to go help with the morning routine. I feel guilty if I take a nap because I have so many things on my to-do list that won't get done. Also, there's always the "if you sleep during the day you won't sleep at night" issue....course since I'm not sleeping at night anyway I don't know why I care...

SSSS
Sarah's Simple Sewing Secrets. haha, kill 2 birds with 1 stone! I'm really enjoying doing this. I have to keep thinking of things to tell y'all about which keeps me in that "let's create something" frame of mind. I'm always happier when there. Today my sewing secret is very simple. A simple way of keeping from going nuts wondering if this bobbin matches this spool of blue thread or that one.

Before you throw away a worn out pair of shoes, take out the shoestring. You'd be amazed what all you can do with old shoestrings!

T
That's all folks! at least for today! I'm going to go sew a little before everyone wakes up from their naps!

Alphabet Soup (J...) and Tiny Talk Tuesday

J
Jackalope.


K
Kitchen. This is where I seem to be spending most of my time here lately. The funny thing is that I don't do a lot of cooking. Subvet uses his nights on the weekend to make some meat and veggies for us for the week. Mostly I'm just heating and fixing and feeding and cleaning and sweeping and moping and doing laundry (it's in the kitchen too). The old addage about barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen isn't too far from the truth. :-) The funny thing is my kitchen is the only room in the house that looks just like it did when we moved in. I've never decided on what to do with it, so it sits. It's got a fairly cute border and curtains. And Subvet won't let me paint the cabinets so I really can't come up with a good alternative. I'd love to paint the cabinets a light color with stensils in the middle of each and paint the walls a slightly darker color......or any of several other scenarios depending on how much money I'm dreaming with. :-) But, for now I spend a good portion of my time in a room I didn't decorate....

L is for Lovely Little Lite-brite (remember those?)

I took this picture today. Can you guess what the high is today based on her outfit? 84. yup Perfectly ridiculous.
Cute outfit though huh? And if it wasn't for this heat wave she'd never wear it.

Laundry. Laundry is strange. It's never "done". Ever. As soon as you get everything washed, dried, folded, and put away...you take off your clothes and poof. There's more laundry to do. Of course, I never get everything washed, dried, folded and put away all on the same day. Takes me on average 3-4 days to get all those steps done (sometimes longer)...and by then, guess what!.... the hamper's full.

M
Marriage. I love being married. I really do. I had a rather lonely childhood and the fact that there is someone around daily who (most of the time) wants to talk to me is a real thrill. And we talk a LOT. We talk about anything and everything, from do the Wiggles really play their instruments, to how many guns we're gonna buy if Hilary gets the nomination (ie before she takes away our right to bear arms), and everything in between. Just knowing that there is a partner there to share all that comes my way is a great joy to me. Besides, he's a really great guy!! :-)

N
Nanny-nanny-boo-boo. A phrase I never thought I'd want my kids to say. It's actually part of a song in the Christmas program this year. And they are really suppossed to wave their hands by their cheeks and make faces when they say it. It just blows me away every time I get there that I'm teaching this. Then I laugh and go on to the next song's motions. The boys are doing very well and I'm sure will be perfect little sheep, standing exaclty on their "spot" and following every motion. Well, they'll be cute and entertaining at any rate. :-)



TINY TALK TUESDAY is upon us. Go see Mary at Not Before 7 to see more of this fun event.


OK, see the picture? My kids for some reason love to play with water. As in they take a big drink from their sippy-cups, then spit the water out in various ways making a variety of sounds and messes. Sonshine thinks singing and gargling *at the same time* are the height of fun. So, one of the hooligans has managed to get this magnadoodle wet. Specifically the boy on the right side.

Sonshine tells me:
"The big little boy momma, the big little boy needs a tissue. YES! Momma, the big little boy needs a tissue, he has SNOTS!"

Snots are big in my house, what can I say.

Well, good old Snopes strikes again....

Have you gotten that email about sending a Christmas Card to "Any Wounded Soldier"???

Well apparently your lovely card will end up in the Post Office trash can.
In an attempt to ensure the safety of our soldiers, only mail addressed to a specific person will be delivered. So don't send a generic card. See Snopes for places that will accept mail and then distribute it.



As I would like to get all my Christmas gifts made by Thanksgiving, blogging will be light the next two weeks...forgive me?

So, I'll leave you with a funny from Cookie....

South Texas Traffic Stop.

announcement

I am leaving the following post "Hero" at the top for awhile.

Frankly, it's more important than anything else I will write for a very long while.

Thesaurus Thursday, Show & Tell Friday, and my other regular posts can be found below.

However, I ask that before you scroll past "Hero" to find what you're looking for take a min and read it. If you're pressed for time, read "Hero" and skip the rest, as I say, it's more important.

Thanks
Mighty Mom.

Happy Veteran's Day

To my favorite veteran. Subvet, USN (RET) Submarines; taken September of 06


Grandaddy USArmy Air Corp, WWII


Here's the great stuff I found while out wishing all my veteran friends a Happy Veteran's Day.

The following came from Jen, Linda, The Chief and Cookie



On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the
store's PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM
to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have
sacrificed so much for us. A few did not....prompting him to write this song....
______________________


BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

3071

Whereas it has long been our customs to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and Whereas in the intervening years, the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and

Whereas the Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926 (44 Stat. 1982), calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies, and later provided in an act approved May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351) , that the eleventh of November should be a legal holiday and should be known as Armistice Day; and

Whereas, in order to expand the significance of that commemoration and in order that a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation, the Congress, by an act approved June 1, 1954 (68 Stat. 168), changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day:

Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America , do hereby call upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954 , as Veterans Day. On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.

I also direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag of the United States on all public buildings on Veterans Day.

In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.

Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and cause the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this eighth day of October in the Year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-ninth.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER






Shake a soldier's Hand this week!

Note, each of the blogs that I've linked to in this post are written by veterans (well, Jen does all of Bill's writing here on thursdays...) Stop by and give them a good word. Also, Infantry Dad and Airbornedad

Winners, Answers, and Alphabet Soup (E...)

When I said that competition for the Silly Goose Award was getting fierce I wasn't kidding! As a matter of fact, it's so fierce this week...we have a TIE!

So here are our winners:

Karen h.
Frisson - Redneck word for Freezing - It has been Frisson cold here this week.
Subvet
Frisson; another mispronunciation, this time it's for "freezing". As in, "I'm frisson my butt off in this weather".
Pinky
Factotum: a tiny little fact, as in the kind of facts I learn every day from my four year old. We're driving through the neighborhood and he points at a house and yells, "it's California!" Same house, everytime. It's a factotum.

And, here is your prize:


Miss Smarty Pants is Diane
Frisson: A delicate, ephemeral feeling, such as fear.

Usage: Sarah felt a frisson of fear run up her spine when she saw Gator with the cattle prod.

And here's your prize:



ANSWERS

frisson - n. a sudden passing sensation of excitement; a shudder of emotion; thrill

factotum - n. an assistant who takes on a wide range of tasks and responsibilities

The very idea of having a factotum gives me a frisson!



On to Alphabet Soup.

E
Effort. Before I got married I was fighting depression, anorexia and other assorted emotional troubles. Everything in my life took supreme effort. It took a huge effort to decide on, make and eat a meal. Even my post partum depression at its worst didn't compare to back then. Today, some days take effort, others don't. And even the days that take maximum effort are GOOD days!

Evenings. This is MY time. I've always been a night owl and now it's even more pronounced. With the kids in bed and Subvet off to work, I can finally unwind and do something that's just for me. I spend the better part of most evenings emailing back and forth with friends.

Email. I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for email. Subvet and I fell in love through email....then phone calls. He finally moved to Texas (4 months after we first met online) because it was cheaper than paying his $600-700 per month phone bill (mine ran about $300). Now I love email because with 3 toddlers there is rarely a "good" time to talk on the phone. If I need to tell someone something I can email it to them at a good time for me and they can read and respond at a good time for them.

F
Fingers I love tracing, stamping or painting my kids' hands. These fat little fingers just get me. Even now when they're wrapped around my medic alert necklace trying to strangle me. I think I have pictures of each child holding my finger as an infant. I almost always have someone's fingers in my hair, currently it's Sugars, but that's just because the other two are asleep. Subvet's hands are rather large and strong (matches the rest of him). We've never been able to "hold hands" because my hand is so much smaller than his. So I hold two of his fingers. It's the most comforting gesture, and I love that it's just "ours". There is actually a picture in my wedding book of us walking across the room and I have hold of his fingers...it's one of my favorite pictures.

G
Grace. My sweet little boy says grace for the family at every meal. I really should record him saying it. It is so very sweet to my ears, and must be even more so to God's.

Gratitude I try very hard to stay in an attitude of gratitude. I am constantly reminding myself of the myriad things I have to be grateful for. Starting with a wonderful husband and three perfect hooligans. When the tide rolls out and life becomes hard, I start naming my blessings. Out loud. And the tension will ease and I will find the ability to cope.

H
Handsome Husband! I feel so very blessed to have my Subvet. I really do. He can always make me laugh...always. He always knows just what I need to feel better...whether a hug, a joke, a Dr. Pepper, or an hour out of the house. He has always jumped in there and helped me wherever he could. Even after a long night at work. He works hard and provides a very good life for us.

I
Imagination. I am constantly amazed as I sit and listen to my boys play at their newly emerging imaginations. Sonshine has started making up scenarios for his toys. Recently the fireman was driving the firetruck to get pizza. And the (rainstick) windmill that was atop the (weeble treehouse) restaurant wanted to wear a (upside down top) hat before it all got knocked over by a flying (hand) cheeseburger. (Part of that scenario came out of The Asparagus of La Mancha)

Alphabet Soup (D)

Well, as I look back over and re-read my posts (anyone else do that?) I see that I'm falling behind in my commitment here. So, I'm going to try and catch up a bit before I toddle (or is it waddle?) off to bed.

D
Dominoes. I have been trying off and on for about a year now to buy a set of dominoes for the boys. Why is it taking so long? Because I'm picky. I want a regulation set of black dot, white, double 6 dominoes. And if I can find the red and black abacuses I'll get them too....but I'm having so much trouble finding the dominoes that I've put the scorekeepers on hold.

I was at Walmart yesterday getting all the Christmas shopping done. They had double 9s and double 12s (did you know they made double 15s?? I didn't!) both were color-coded. I asked a lady to see if there were any double 6s in the back. I'll even take the colorful ones at this point. Her computer says there are 10 "around somewhere" but she couldn't find them in the back. She says that there are pallets stacked to high to see back there as they prepare for Christmas. That may be true...but having holes on the shelves while some sit in a pallet in the back would have made Ol Sam cry. And when I worked in the Walmart Pharmacy from 93-97 would have gotten someone written up.

Anyway, back to my story about Dominoes. Have you asked yourself WHY am I so picky?? Well, it has to do with childhood memories. My Grandma and Grandpa lived about 8 hours away. Every Thanksgiving the entire family would get together at Grandma's house. Every year the "men-folk" (well, mostly) would get a domino game or two going. I learned to play Dominoes standing at the kitchen table between Grandpa and my Dad...asking a gajillion questions. Grandpa was a gruff customer. A loud man who lived and worked outside all his life. His hands were large and rough from all the ropes and reins he'd handled. He was 70 when I was born and he had Parkinson's. I have very few memories of him before the disease became pronounced. But one of the memories I do have is of he and Dad teaching me Dominoes. That broad shouldered, loud talking, strong man took me on his knee and patiently answered every question I had. Even when it was his turn to play.... It wasn't till Sonshine started yakking non-stop that I've realized how "lovely" it is to have a kid with a speech impediment (yes, I had one too) talking 90 to nothing while you're trying to concentrate on something else and you have to stop and focus to figure out what the child wants. But Grandpa did. He'd even let me shuffle for him.

I want to pass the game of Dominoes on to my kids. Dominoes mind you, not 42, not Hen's Teeth or any of the other games played with dominoes. And I'd like to teach them to use a counter to keep score too, black and red, just like Grandpa's. Now, my kids are a long way from being able to count by 5s. BUT there are a ton of things you can do with a set of Dominoes. Starting with counting the dots. Which is why I specifically want black dots. I don't want them to memorize the color, but the dot pattern the corresponds to each number.

Well, I will continue my quest for nostalgic Dominoes. In the meantime I got them a deck of alphabet cards to play go-fish :-)

Show and Tell (Part B)

So, I will show you the making of my first batch of Mama's Sauce!

Step 1, assemble all necessary equipment:



The Dr. Pepper and Bon Jovi are my secret ingredients!
The chorus to the title track of this album says

"Oh, If there's one thing I hang onto
That gets me through the night
I ain't gonna do what I don't want to;
I'm gonna live my life
Shining like a diamond,
Rolling with the dice
Standing on the ledge,
I'll show the wind how to fly
When the world gets in my face,
I say...
Have A Nice Day!
Have A Nice Day!"

aaahhh, some days the rebel comes out ya know?






This goes in almost everything I cook, along with garlic and Lea & Perrins.




the front burner has mixed vegetables and broccli coming to boil, the back burner has an onion and garlic sauteing in butter. Lea & Perrins stands at the ready.

Well, now I know how to make fake vomit! Mixed veggies and tomato sauce in a blender! I mean it...at various stages of the puree this was positively revolting!

For Mr Alligator to eat it, this had to be as smooth as ketchup. He'll pick out anything he can. Therefore I spent some time at the blender. I actually dumped the whole thing in 1 pot, the took about 1/3 blender at a time and pureed smooth, then put into a different pot till there were no chunks anywhere.




Then I started seasoning it. I kept taking small cups out to the boys as I'd go and kept at it till Gator would eat it WITHOUT grimacing.

I divided this in 3 parts, froze two of them and we're eating the third.



Our first meal, pasta with Mama's Sauce





SUCCESS!!

Veggies in every bite. You just can't beat that!! Next week I'll braise some chicken legs in it and see how that turns out. Basically this can be used just like you would Barbecue sauce.

Now, let's see if I can remember the recipe....yes, I took (scant) notes.

2lb bag mixed veggies
1lb bag chopped broccli
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
3 Tbs butter (I use the real stuff)
2 29oz cans tomato sauce
2 cans water (separated)

Cook veggies till tender then drain, saute garlic and onion in butter till soft.

start adding veggies, garlic and onion to the blender, add some tomato sauce or water to each blender-full so it will puree easier. if you run out of tomato sauce or water before you've gotten all the big chunks out then add back some of the already pureed sauce.

3 heaping Tbs Italian Seasoning
3 or 4 good shakes of Tony's Creole Seasoning
maybe 1/3 bottle or so of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce

I actually got it too hot and spicy for the kids so I then added

1 tsp sugar
3 dollops of milk

note:

sugar cuts saltiness...and vice versa.
Tony's is the best, but it has a fair bit of salt in it so don't add any other forms of salt (garlic salt, table salt, etc) without taste testing.

milk cuts spicyness.

Once all was said and done, I let it simmer on the stove for about an hour or so, stirring regularly. This helps to blend all the flavors into one sauce and makes it better overall.

So, there you have it folks. Works for me! It took quite a bit of doing though, however, just knowing that he's now eating veggies again was more than worth it! Once he's old enough to understand we'll go to the "you don't get down from the table till you've had some veggies...and no I won't bring you a pillow!"....but till then here we are.

Scroll down for Show and Tell part A and don't forget to place your entries in Thesaurus Thursday for a chance to win one of the prizes!