It's been a while...

but about time I updated this thing...
Since we last connected, dear reader, I have got back in touch with dear friends, my son came home safe and relatively well from Iraq, my oldest son joined the US Marine Corps and left Parris Island for Missouri and Missouri for Okinawa! My darling chicklet is now a sophomore with a vengeance and I still haven't got my roof fixed...
But life is pretty good right now. Practically inactive religiously, not from a lack of testimony in the Gospel or the love of my Father, but more a lack of commitment to my community which is an awful thing, really. I have had a pretty stressful year but didn't see much of anyone from church in over a year. When I came back, people had just assumed I went inactive. I actually tried pretty hard to keep in touch with things - read my manuals, kept up with the Conference talks.. but meh... I can only do my best and the season is not right for me right now.
Life is busy.. and it's busy for everyone. I don't expect to be cossetted or babied. I don't expect anyone to take care of me. We all have our stuff to deal with. I understand.
Work is work. I love my job and I work for a great company. I have terrific people around me. I sometimes feel like I'm out of my depth with life in general but I'm pretty confident that I'm doing a decent job at work. I work hard and put in the hours - i'm the one responsible for the bills in this house!
But on the whole, I have a lot to be grateful for. My home is relatively sound, my job is as safe as any these days, my ex husband got married again (poor cow - she'll find out) and I feel healthy-ish. I still get migraines from hell but my general health is good!
I'll update more soon.

A soldier's story

Random Survey

1. How old will you be in five years?
50 - wow...

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
Sarah and John

3. How tall are you?
5'5"

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
Getting ready for Christmas

5. What's the last movie you saw?
Oscar and Lucinda

6. Who is the last person who called you?
Celeste

7. Who was the last person to text you?
Sarah

8. What was the last text message you received?
Mummy - call me!

9. Do you prefer to call or text?
Call - my hand doesn't get as tired

10. Do you have any pets?
Yes, two dogs, three cats

11. What were you doing at 12am last night?
messing on the 'puter

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced?
married

13. When is the last time you saw your mom?
four years ago

14. What color are your eyes?
Blue

15. What time did you wake up today?
7am

16. What are you wearing right now?
jeans and an England football shirt

17. What's your favorite Christmas song?
I CAN'T STAND CHRISTMAS SONGS...

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
Home

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
Dentist

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
Alaska

21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
Still in Georgia, maybe a grandma

22. Do you tan or burn?
Burn.

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Didn't have night terrors.

24. What was the last thing that made you laugh?
Sarah

25. How many TVs do you have in your house?
2

26. How big is your bed?
Queen

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer?
Both

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
With.

29. What color are your sheets?
White with cotton lace edging

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
2

31. What is your favorite season?
Autumn

32. What do you like about fall?
Beautiful colours and cooler weather.

33. What do you like about winter?
Almost spring...

34. What do you like about the summer?
Long days, blue skies

35. What do you like about spring?
Daffodils

36. How many states have you lived in?
2

37. What cities/towns have you lived in?
London, Penzance, Helston, Wincanton, Milton Keynes, England
Flint, Yr Wyddgrug, Wales
Farmington, UT
Douglasville, GA

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet?
socks

39. Are you a social person?
Fairly. Like smaller groups.

40. What was the last thing you ate?
M & Ms

41. What is your favorite restaurant?
Carrabbas Italian Grill

42. What is your favorite ice cream?
Rocky Road

43. What is your favorite dessert?
Trifle

44. What is your favorite kind of soup?
Muligatawny

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich?
Yuck, ptooee, blah!

46. Do you like Chinese food?
Yes

47. Do you like coffee?
Nope.

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average?
Eight, sometimes more.

49. What do you drink in the morning?
Orange juice

50. Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone?
alone

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Yep, the middle side

52. Do you know how to play poker?
No

53. Do you like to cuddle?
Sometimes

54. Have you ever been to Canada?
No, but I have an aunt in Canada

55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Yep, that's why I don't drink, smoke or take drugs

56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
Eat out - only at home if I am skint.

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
No

59. Do you want kids?
Well, I'll keep the ones I have but don't want any more.

60. Do you speak any other languages?
Mais oui, un peu de Francais, und ein bissien deutch

61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
Yes

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
No

63. Do you prefer the ocean or pool?
the ocean

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats?
Window

65. Do you know how to drive stick?
but of course

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
Eating out

67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
Yes

68. What is your favorite TV show?
Greys Anatomy

69. Can you roll your tongue?
No

70. Who is the funniest person you know?
The late, great, Tommy Cooper

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
Spongebob Squarepants - yeah, I'm that cool...

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
Yep and one day I'll fit back into them.

74. What red object is closest to you right now?
dog toy on the floor

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
No

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Closed

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
The bear

78. Do you flirt a lot?
Lord, no...

79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
Nothing.

80. What is your favorite food?
Italian

81. Can you change the oil on a car?
Yes, but why should I?

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Only one.

83. Have you ever run out of gas?
No

84. What is your usual bedtime?
Before midnight... oops

85. What was the last book you read?
Eric, Terry Pratchett

86. Do you read the newspaper?
Yes

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
Yes

88. Best comedian?
Tommy Cooper

89. Do you watch soap operas?
Eastenders

90. Do you dance in the car?
Yesh

91. What radio station did you last listen to?
AM 640 - the Kimmer rocks

92. Who is in the picture frame closest to you?
Teddy bears

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper?
Sick note for Sarah.

94. What is your favorite candle scent?
Lavender

95. What is your favorite board game?
Scrabble

96. Where do you attend church?
LDS chapel, Chapel Hill Rd, Douglasville.

97. When was the last time you attended church?
A few weeks ago as my shift recently changed. Back on track in the new year though.

98. Who was your favorite teacher in high school?
Miss Doran

99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent?
A week.

100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you?
Sarah - though she doesn't realise it.

Troll

I don't know what I find more disturbing. The fact that soon-to-be-ex-husband is trolling the net to find this blog or the fact that he had the nerve to email me to object to so-called 'falsehoods' in it. Apparently he objects to me saying he left us with a lot of debt, which I never actually either said or implied. But OK - here's a clarification, in case he's trolling again.
When he left, there were a number of household bills that were outstanding and had been, in some cases, for a number of months. He left and from that time, did not provide one penny in support for us, even when he started his new job. He knew there were bills in arrears. He knew the clothes drier was broken as we were going to the launderette for months beforehand. So he knew he was leaving us without any support and without a clothes drier in the middle of winter. I was in the middle of a health investigation that requires continual treatment. He knew he was leaving me and my children with no health insurance when he quit his job.
I hope that's clear. I wouldn't want to be accused of telling falsehoods again.

I'm actually grateful for DH's forgiveness of my many faults and the hurt I caused him and reciprocate freely. But that doesn't mean I want anything to do with him ever again on any level. I am not at all bitter; in fact I am reconciled and have moved on. Life, on the whole, is pretty good. I am healthy and whole. My children are healthy and strong in spite of the negative influences that have sometimes assailed them in their lives because they know they can rely on me, their mother, to always be there for them, to never, ever abandon them, to love and support them unconditionally putting their needs above my own. My sons know what a strong woman is, what a good mother is and should be. They know they are loved and know they deserve to be loved. They are achievers in their own right, hard workers, honest and reliable men, strong, sensitive, caring and compassionate. My daughter is a bold and beautiful young woman, a free spirit and unstifled by demands of those selfish types who would smother her and use her to bolster their own inadequacies. My daughter has a strong, devoted mother to rely on and is growing into a wonderful, independent, creative young woman with so much potential. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I know I make mistakes and am a deeply flawed individual. I am, however, a good mother and my excellent children are proof of that. I have made many choices, some good, some bad, but each choice shapes us into the people we are. We can choose to be hatefilled and bitter, blame others for our situations, justify poor decisions or we can choose freedom and light. Things are what they are - we can learn and grow or stagnate. I choose to grow.

Newman and Baddiel

Taylor Hicks - Do I Make You Proud

sniff...

US Army Basic Training Promo

Not that I'm obsessed or anything, but this reminds me of Ste's basic training videos - gotta be proud of these young men and women...

Rodger Roundy and other animals

This painting is entitled 'Susan is No Longer a Friend of Narnia' by uber talented artist Rodger Roundy. Check out www.rodgerroundy.com for more of his wonderful, thought provoking pieces.
A report on an exhibit of Rodger's work earlier this year at the Mississippi State University can be found at http://msstate.edu/web/media/detail.php?id=3370. Seriously people - check this guy out...

So Nancy Pelosi is redefining the Democratic Party as a party of ethics. After Dan Rostenkowski, who was the chairman of Ways and Means, was investigated for fraud and was later convicted, was not forced to step down; and Gary Condit investigated for murder and not forced to step down, William Jefferson, alleged recipient of bribes, is publicly voted off the Committee without even an indictment against him!
People, politicians are sleazebag egomaniacs. Why would you expect any of them to behave like normal human beings? It's a big problem here in the States - Joe Blow expects his elected leaders to be pillars of the community, above us all and held to a higher standard. And I'm sure there are some politicians out there who truly have ethics and really live a good and decent life. I'm also sure they are way in the minority. The only difference between Nancy Pelosi and William Jefferson is that she got away with her freebie trips and Jefferson took his in cash...
In England, most people know that politicians are pond slime and aren't surprised when they get caught out. It's annoying when they try and wriggle out of it, but again, not surprising. The older I get, the more I want to see government just go away and leave me alone. I want to go to work, provide for my kids, keep a roof over my head and worship how I please. Some factions want to stop me from doing this, for various reasons, all of which I'm sure, have the loftiest of motives. But probably the aquisition of power is the real reason behind it all. Dangerous stuff...