"WILL YOU PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND"

I'm sitting here on Sunday morning watching my son play a video game. He's so intense, you should see his face; clenched jaw, crazy eyes, muscles all rigid....and keeps screaming at the TV screen like someone with Tourette's Syndrome. 

I tell him, "Joshie, calm down, those monsters are not real!"

And he says, "You don't play video games, you don't get it!"

I say, "But I DO get that they are not real..."

And he says, "Well that just shows you how much you know!" ....and continues to yell at the monsters on the TV screen.

Whaaaat???! I spend all of his childhood chasing away monsters from under his bed and convincing him that they are not real, just to find out that I was wrong the whole time???! Hhmm....but a smart Mom knows when to shut up.

What I DO know for sure is that Josh got his waiver for the arm tattoo. He's worked very, Very hard to lose the 30 pounds and to pass his first class physical fitness test with flying colors. Johnny & I couldn't be more proud of him right now.

So.....guess what? The Marines are stealing my son again today!!!

Ok, less drama, please.....The Marines are coming to the house at 4pm today to pick up Josh and take him up to Baltimore for another over-nighter. Tomorrow morning, at o'dark thirty, he'll undergo approx. 8 hours of testing at MEPS (Military Enlistment Processing Station) and then afterwards Josh will officially swear into the Marine Corps!!

"WILL YOU PLEASE RAISE YOUR RIGHT HAND"

And all of this will happen on his 20th birthday (tomorrow), so how cool is that? (Boot came is still delayed several months though).

When Josh comes home tomorrow night I'll have a bday cake waiting for him.

♥ ♥ ♥ And a big hug ♥ ♥ ♥

This is so surreal to me......I'm sitting here watching my son play video games, which I've been doing since he was 7 yrs old and received his first N64 for Christmas, knowing that in just a few hours he'll be picked up to go do one of the most important things he'll ever do in his life time, enlist into the U.S. Marine Corps.

A part of me wants to shrink him back to 7 years old as I sit here watching him scream at the TV. Just a teensy part.....you know.....on the back, right side of my heart. The part that is finding it very, VERY difficult to let go. I've gotten kinda used to the loud little stinker hanging around the house....for the past 20 years.

But I know it's time. He's been waiting for this and so have we. I'm going to go plan his birthday meal (and yummy black forest cake) grocery list now. I don't even care if he eats it, my only goal is to make damned sure that my boy feels loved and special on his birthday. That's my only mission in life tomorrow (and every birthday for the rest of his life!) Even if he doesn't get home until 11pm, I'll still have a hour to express that much known fact  :o) 

XOXOXOXOXOX I love you Josh!

 

26 days of home made dog food ready for the freezer! Well, we can't be having our little girls starving to death, now can we? 

Thanks Trish!

My friend Trish sent me this pic today and it cracked me up, I love it! Her husband took the pic in Singapore last week. 

I'm thinking I love Singapore!

I just wanted to give an update on my little birds living in my wreath. First, let me explain. There was so much poop around them and their nest that I felt it necessary to "burn" or edit the poop away. It was for your own protection, and for the love of your appetite today. Trust me. You'll thank me later.

So all of the stark black is actually burned poop. Joy.
 

I don't know how these little cuties do it all day. Laying there so precious....with their faces in poop. I know, I'm saying poop a lot these days. My family is getting sick of looking at it. So am I, quite frankly. But for the love of our children, we put up with poop, don't we? I had just thought those days were over for me, that's all. Boy was I ever mistaken.

There's the birds' Mom or Dad, can't tell, staring at me. Giving me the stink eye (haha, punny!) so that if I hurt her/his babies he/she will violently peck my brains out.

Yeah, whatever, missy/mister! I'm not gonna hurt OUR babies. And let me tell you one thing....My house may be cluttered and messy, but my Joshie never laid in his bed with poop in his face! So there! So beat it.

Oh! And one more thing....you, You....BIRD! I hope when these kiddos fly off that YOU will be helping me with the water hose and chisel to scrape their "left overs" off my glass door and that you include a gift card for a brand new Winter wreath in my Christmas basket! A little more appreciation please...

I mean, look at them. All 5 are drowning in their own.....(I won't say it again, I promise). I still have to eat my lunch. 

Thank God they still have those fuzzy little mohawks that just melt my heart. I can't stand it! They're so stinking cute! Haaaaaaar......punny.

This has been a fast, fast week! Johnny and I both got to talk to Gram and hear her sweet voice. We got to tell her how much we love her and miss her and it did so much for our souls.

At the end of Johnny's conversation Gram said, "Be sure to tell Brenda that I love her and that if you two come to visit me I will take you to eat in our (nursing home) cafeteria and I'll pay. It'll be my treat." How cute is that? I mean, I'm still giggling about it. Gram, we would love to take you up on that offer. We would treasure being treated to lunch by you    XOXOXOXO

NOSC Spring Event Luncheon

 

Friday, May 30 was the NOSC's (Naval Officers Spouses Club) final event of the season, our Spring Luncheon at the Army/Navy Country Club (link) in D.C.

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We were thrilled that our guest speaker was Dr. Roland Mesnier!

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Chef Mesnier (link) served as the Executive Pastry Chef to The White House for over 25 years, from Carter's last year through Bush 2, as he puts it.
 
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He's well known for his intricate, themed holiday gingerbread houses and pure sugar creations.
 

Everyone was excited to meet him and we were NOT disappointed. He was hilarious!


Didn't the ladies and the club do a beautiful job setting up the ballroom?


Lynn made 16 lemon cakes for centerpieces ~ every one of them sold for a $10 donation. Go Lynn!


The main goal for this event is charity, charity, charity. (And F-U-N!) 

Every guest received a goody bag containing a scone mix from a local Irish restaurant that included the Irish butter to make them (all we have to do is add 1/3 cup cream), some coupons to local businesses and a sweet little cookie baked & hand decorated/colored by Lynn (who made all of the cakes and is also a caterer) in the shape of a Spring flower. We also got a large piece of chocolate with the NOSC logo imprinted on it (if you look closely they are on our bread plates, they are wrapped in silver foil). Deeeee-lish!

(I should have taken a photo of my cookie and chocolate...but I gobbled mine up faster than my shutter speed! Sorry. I'm a piggie.)

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All of the proceeds from ticket sales, gift basket raffles, the purse raffle (below), shopping, etc. go to our student scholarships for Navy kids to go to college.

THIS was my table. For the 3rd year in a row I ran the Purse Raffle, my favorite raffle ever! First of all, a table filled with handbags, you can't go wrong. I love it already. Each bag is $25, all going to charity since the bags were donated. Perfect so far, right? I know! But wait! There's more! You get 3 ginsu knives with each purchase......just kidding..... Inside each bag is a "secret present" that is guaranteed to be $25 or more. There are gift cards, jewelry....one year Mama Kay got an ipod shuffle in her bag.


Here I am in my new butterfly sweater, not posing at all, nope, no way....taking money from a generous soul who is hoping she has the Ann Hand brooch or the $100 gift card to The Carlyle in her new bag. You can see it in her eyes. And you can see in my eyes that if she won the Ann Hand brooch I was going to grab her bag when she was chowing her dessert and speed out of D.C. as fast as my new black wedge shoes would go, daring the cops to catch me! Lucky for her (and me) she didn't win the brooch, so we're still on speaking terms. Disclaimer: I did not stuff the bags with the secret gifts, by the way, Beth (our awesome door prize Diva) did. I had no clue what was inside each. So there.  The rule was: NO PEEKING in your bag until the luncheon begins! At that time, we will all open up our bags together, scream and squeal with delight for good measure and then show off our prezzies to everyone at the table who were late arriving and didn't get a bag of their own. Sorry. But it gets pretty cut throat with the purse raffle. You snooze, you lose. 


This pretty black Chico's bag? Uh-huh, it went home with ME.  Come to Mama, sweet thing, you have a new home. (Inside my bag was a black floral Chico's necklace to match and a $25 Giant gift card...and everyone knows I don't have any jewelry. Achem.....just go with it).


L-R: Jenny, Mama Kay & Me ~ again, not posing for the newsletter at all....


Mama Kay took off to shop at Temptations, our Navy Wives gift boutique, that was set up in the book signing room.


Chef Mesnier autographed books and took photos for 1.5 hours before lunch.


He was a very popular man, surrounded by 150 women...however, I don't think he was complaining  ;o)


He's written three books (link); two cookbooks and one autobiography that I got signed for myself.


Aaawww...he's so cute. I got him to pose for me. See? Stalking does pay off.


There's my seat, next to Mama Kay, and with Pam and her guests. Notice mine is the only goodie bag that is missing because I've already gobbled everything up.  The lunch that was served was not good, however, and I hate to say that. I didn't even want a photo of my plate. That's a FIRST for me because you know how I love to blog about food. I guess it's my "first negative review." Unfortunately, the Army/Navy Country Club is known for it's golf course, not it's food. Sad for those of us who don't golf  :o(

But the company made up for the food. Chef Mesnier spoke to us for over an hour and filled us with wonderful tales of his childhood and fascinating, funny stories from each family that he felt priveleged to serve at The White House. We laughed out loud!

And here's an inside scoop: He has NO love for Martha Stewart. None whatsoever. We saw a continuing slide show as he spoke of his spectacular dessert/pastry creations and we were in awe.

Congratulations NOSC Spring Event committee! Well done! Another great luncheon and a perfect end to our year! One more board meeting next week then we break for the Summer. Where has this year gone?