Great Diet

From my cousin Ron:

Great Diet
I was in Wal-Mart buying a large bag of Purina for my dog Lola - and was in line to check out. A woman behind me asked if I had a dog........

Duh!

I was feeling a bit crabby so on impulse, I told her no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time, but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care unit with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IV's in both arms.

Her eyes about bugged out of her head.

I went on and on with the bogus diet story and she was totally buying it. I told her that it was an easy, inexpensive diet and that the way it works is to load your pockets or purse with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry.

The package said the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again. I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy behind her.

Horrified, she asked if something in the dog food had poisoned me and was that why I ended up in the hospital?

I said no.....I'd been sitting in the street licking my butt when a car hit me.

I thought the tall guy was going to have to be carried out the door.

My Rant

Okay...here is my rant for the day.

My son and one of his fellow Marines were supposed to ride together to the airport on Christmas Eve morning so they both could come home for the holidays. The other Marine was supposed to catch a flight at 6am into Chicago. Then catch another flight into Detroit.

Anthony was flying at 1:20 to Chicago and then flying into LaCrosse. As you all know his trip did not go according to plan, but that is not my bitch.

My complaint is that the first Marine was not allowed to catch his plane because the airline had overbooked his flight and he was bumped from the flight. They told him he couldn't get another flight until December 29.

Excuse me?

Why don't the airlines give preference to military personnel flying home from the holidays? I am so irked about this and I just don't know who to complain to!

Needless to say, he is not going home for the holidays because it would be pointless to fly home for 3 days to turn around and fly back. Holidays are already over and 3 days would just be salt in a wound.

iFormer President Gerald Ford Dies

Former President Gerald Ford Dies at 93

Rest in Peace, President Ford.

Random Thought

Okay, so everyone in the house is sleeping and I'm stuck by myself watching tv. The boys had been playing Halo 2, but they have gone to bed and they left the tv on the Disney Parade. I've been too lazy to get up and change it, but now I have no choice.

Kelly Ripa is just nauseating. Is it just me, or is that woman anorexic? Eat a piece of candy, woman! I cannot stand her. I don't mind Regis so much, but I can only take so much cotton candy and bubble gum.

Ugh!

Merry Christmas

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? We're supposed to wrap gifts?

2.Real tree or artificial? Real...we go out and cut it down ourselves

3.When do you put up the tree? Eh...depends on when the mood hits. I wouldn't put one up at all, but the kids and Pat insist.

4.When do you take the tree down? About New Year's

5.Do you like eggnog? Nasty stuff...but I don't drink milk either.

6.Favorite gift you received as a child? My drafting table

7.Do you have a nativity scene? LOL!! Definitely not.

8.Hardest person to buy for? Lucas

9.Easiest person to buy for? Anthony or Meghan

10.Mail or email Christmas cards? Definitely email

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't think I've ever received a bad one

12.Favorite Christmas move? Miracle on 34th Street - either version

13.When do you start shopping? December 23

14.Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Only as a joke

15.Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Mom's cookies

16.Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored...lots of colors

17.Favorite Christmas song? Grandma Got Run Over By a Beer Truck

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home

19.Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeers? Yes

20.Angel on the tree top or a star? Star...who wants to see an angel with a tree up her butt?

21.Open the presents on Christmas ever or morning? We open family presents on Christmas Eve, then get up Christmas morning to see what Santa brought (that didn't work this year, we were gone all night so Santa had been here by the time we got home!)

22.Most annoying thing about this time of year? All of that annoying Christmas music. And everything is closed.

23.Do you have Jesus in your heart this Christmas? No more than I have Martin Luther King in my heart.

24.What would you like for Christmas? The War in Iraq to be over so I don't have to worry about my Marines going there.

What a Christmas!

Well...I have three of my children home for Christmas - barely!

Anthony's flight out of San Diego was delayed by three hours.  That meant he was going to miss his connection flight in Chicago by over two hours.  I frantically started calling the airline trying to find him another flight into Lacrosse.  The next available flight is at 1:10 Christmas Day afternoon.  Having Anthony sit at O'Hare for 15 hours waiting for a flight was totally unacceptable.

So our next course of action was finding a way to go get him.  We discovered it was only 4-1/2 hours driving time to Chicago.  I did a bit of financial finagling...and a touch of panicking...but we managed it.  We left about 4:30 and drove to Chicago to pick him up.  The airline is refunding that portion of the flight since it was their fault he couldn't make the flight.

We arrived back home about 3am and opened presents and discovered what Santa had brought Meghan.

It is now 4:05 in the morning and we have been awake forever, but are too excited to sleep.  The two boys (one Marine, one future Marine) are playing Halo on XBox Live.  Meghan is playing with her new Nintendo DS.  I'm just enjoying everyone being home.

I hope the rest of you have a wonderful holiday!

drc
PMM PFC Anthony
PMM Poolie Lucas
PM Princess Meghan

--
"Do not write so that you can be understood, but so that you cannot be misunderstood." ---Marcus Fabius Quintilian.

Christmas songs

A friend of mine was talking about Christmas Carols they remember from their childhood.  As they reminisced, it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood memories.

When I was in elementary school, the school staff gathered in all of the students in the gymnasium for a special concert.  They seated us on the floor in a large circle.  We were all excited trying to think who it could be...but all we could see was the custodian standing in the middle of the circle.

Suddenly, he started to sing.  And sing beautifully.  Here was this old (to a bunch of grade-schoolers anyway) man that looked like he could barely stand up singing 'O Holy Night' without accompaniment of any musical instruments.

I think that is when my love of classical music started.

I do not remember that man's name, but I know we all sat there in silence through the entire song.  And we talked of little else for days afterwards.  Later in the school year, this same man and the librarian would show us all how to Jitterbug.  Amazing stuff.

I wonder if anyone else from school remembers that day?