Late November - Early December

I love the holiday season. In the last few weeks, I have done much and will share highlights as time permits. In the meantime, bullets:

• I made a batch of home made Chicken Noodle soup. My family gave my soup great reviews. I used a recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/. I will make again and post within the next few weeks. 
• I made a batch of mini-muffins using 3 Ingredients - a box of Yellow Cake Mix, a can of pumpkin puree, and a bag of Hershey's mini-chocolate chips. They were very well received, too.
• I found my pendind needlepoint project in the bottom of a tote bag in the back of my closet. It is about 2/3 complete and had been missing since August. I am delighted!
• I have completed a First Aid Course (Heartsavers by the American Heart Association). It was excellent. I received great reminders and some terrific new pieces of information. I think every household should have at least one person become certified. I feel so empowered.
• I tried a new salon and asked the colorist to go with a rich natural dark brown. Apparently, she thought that I asked her to make it jet black. Ugh! It is not very natural or attractive looking. I'll never go back there again (unless they offer a really good coupon or I get another gift card).
• I attended the National Christmas Tree Lighting in D.C. and saw the first family. It was my second time taking my sons to see President Obama in person. The first was while he was still senator and he came for a campaign rally in 2008. That time, my older son never truly laid eyes on him because of the crush of people and all the mania. But this time, the boys, my husband and I, all sat comfortably (in the super cold weather) and watched a lovely display of Patriotism and Christianity. After the official show, they served hot chocolate and we walked around and looked at the smaller trees that represented each state. Then we watched a singer (not sure who he was) have a do over of his songs on stage. I guess it didn't record well or something for PBS. (Check your local listings, as they say.) Then we watched the fantastic electric trains that were around the trees. Then we went to the historic Willard Hotel which was decorated absolutely beautifully for the holidays and listened to an amazing a capella choir sing a program of holiday tunes. It was an terrific night. May God Bless America! (Note-It took me a ridiculous amount of time to figure out what to wear.)
• I'm about 1/4 into my Christmas shopping and trying to keep it simple and sane.
• I've decorated with our family's existing Christmas stash but I am itching to do something crafty, too. My sister shared a good idea offered by Martha (Stewart) and if I have time to pull it off before December 24th, I'll be sure to share.

Does everyone want to try new things and feel crafty and cookish between Thanksgiving and Christmas or is it just me?

Veterans Day - 11/11/11



Second Lieutenant Henry Ossian Flipper
Image Courtesy of www.nps.gov.

While I am a person who genuinely gravitates toward peace and harmony, I have so much admiration for those who give of themselves in pursuit of service to all of us in this great nation. I would be happy to go so far as to say that I have the luxury of this peacenik perspective as a direct result of the efforts of those who have served as well as those who are continuing to serve. Today, I want to introduce to some and present to others a distinguished veteran from long ago - Henry Ossian Flipper.

Henry O. Flipper was the first american of african descent to graduate from West Point. He was literally and directly an African-American. (His parents were abducted from their homes in Africa to work in the United States as slaves; and, he was born in these Thomasville, Georgia in 1856.) His is an interesting story and I plan to learn more about him. To read more about this veteran of note, visit the National Park Service's website - here.

To Our Dear USA Veterans -

Thank you for your service to this great nation. Your efforts continue to be appreciated.

God Bless You!

Happy Aniversary, Micha and Barry!

Michelle and Barack Obama celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary this past weekend. After seeing a Nightly News tease about their romantic dinner at a restaurant in Old Town Alexandria, my older son said, "Hey, 19 years! Just like you!" I agreed and added, "It looks like 1992 was a great year for people to get married." We watched the story and saw the President and First Lady smiling as they went from the car into the restaurant, then from the restaurant to the car. What a super example for my sons. Thank you, First Couple!


Later that night, as we were dressing for bed, I asked my husband if he saw the story of Micha and Barry. He had.

Me: That Michelle is living the dream, isn't she?

He: What do you mean?

Me: First, she has the smarts then put in the time, money and effort to earn a law degree (from Harvard!) and then puts forth the same effort to build a career in a sweet side of law (similar to the kind of law that I hope to practice someday) where the lawyer lends advice and uses skills and education to help folks acquire and protect their families and their assets. Then, whilst living her life, doing "the right thing" she is pursued by the interesting, intellectual, (dare I say, geeky), attractive fellow-Harvard grad (recently hired by her firm so she knows that he has passed a background check). He's a bit of a romantic and makes her smile. Her family likes and appreciates him. She marries him. They have two adorable daughters. She continues working. She moves into executive Public Relations career at big time operations and sits on the Board of Directors at a major company. All while maintaining stong familial bonds. He continues his public service pursuits. She becomes a senator's wife. Then, the president's wife. (Complete with date nights no less!)

Even now, 19 years into it, he looks her in the eye while she speaks and sometimes watches her mouth. He smiles at her when she isn't looking. His body language indicates that he is proud of her and delighted by her. He seems to genuinely enjoy her company - with the girls and without. He appears to love her and appreciate her contributions to his family and to the country. Moreover, she now spends most of her days doing work about which she feels passionate - Being Mom, Healthy Living Advocate and Supporting Military Families with Jill Biden (shout out to Dr. Biden - fellow English Major!) Her husband works out of their home office essentially and joins the family for dinner by 6:00 every night (unless he is travelling). Her mother can be in her presence within 45 minutes and is a rich supportive presence for her little girls. Her daughters attend a well appointed Friends school and they have trained secret service agents to guard them everywhere they go. They are free to have a happy safe childhood. Not too mention, all the other resources (willing friends and co-workers) who would be thrilled at the opportunity to assist her in ANY way. Plus, so much available time to pray, study, plan, meditate, write and look your best. Moreover, she has a law degree so she always has a profession that she can resume whenever she chooses. The real beauty part of it all is that she is quite aware that her position is fully a temporary situation so she can embrace it and relish it all the more. That right there is "the dream."

He: "Oh. I don't know if I'd call that "the dream."

Me: "I would."

September 11th

My family visited Kings Dominion (an amusement park) today with members of one of our clubs. There were thousands upon thousands of people in the park. At exactly 12:00pm, everyone and everything in the park stopped for a moment of silence to collectively remember. The silence ended when the voice of a lone soprano sang a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem - The Star-Spangled Banner. Everyone in our group stood with hands over hearts. It was beautiful and touching. When the song ended, there were cheers and applause - an appropriate response.

I am hopeful that our country will be brought closer together as we were in those days immediately following 9/11/01. I truly believe this is the greatest nation on earth for many reasons. I also believe there are quite a few things we can do better. And I have faith that we will.

I will never forget.

God Bless America!

Image Credit to www.candleandribbon.org.