Marine "Welcome Ceremony"

Yesterday Jennifer had her "Welcome Ceremony" into the Marines. It was really not a big deal but to me it was a "HUGE DEAL. They went through the booklet full of information and the training schedule she has to put herself on before she goes to boot camp. Then Staff Sargent Ramos taught her how to stand at attention as he read her Certificate. She looks so cute.



This is to certify that JENNIFER N. FOUST has successfully passed the required mental, moral and physical examinations and has been accepted for enlistment in the Delayed Entry Program of the United States Marine Corps.

The defense of our country and our freedoms is the duty and privilege of every citizen. The Marine Corps has a proud tradition of outstanding service to our county in peace and war.

Voluntary membership in this elite military organization is a clear demonstration of the American qualities of patriotism and loyalty."

I was trying to explain to Brenda last night how I felt about this. I don't think I can really explain it fully. You know how you feel proud of your child for such things as graduating High School or College. Now intensify that feeling by about 10. That is maybe an indication of how I feel.

My Nephew Matthew, now known as "Petty Officer Phrampus" joined the Navy. When I went to his boot camp graduation I gained so much respect for the boys and girls who volunteer to fight for our freedom. I was sooooo proud of him. But the proudness you feel for your own child doing this is so strong it is unexplainable.

Matthew used to be my #1 HERO. Sorry pal, move over, there is a new #1 HERO in my world. Now he is my #2 Hero. All of the other military personnel are Hero's too in my book. I am in awe of all our troops. They have so much more Courage, will power and drive than I will ever have in my life. They are willing to Die for our freedom. That is just mind boggling to me.

Now that I am a Marine MOM, I have a new respect for all other Military MOMS. Thank you for giving up your child for all United States Citizens. We have more Courage and strength than most mothers will ever experience. I never realized how important the MOM is until now. You too, are now my HERO. Thank you MOMS for raising these amazing kids.

PS......"YES" I am a blubbering idiot as I write this"

Toilet Paper Wedding Dresses

Ok.....this is the weirdest thing I have ever seen.

Wedding dresses made out of Toilet Paper. Yes, I said Toilet paper.

Someone sent these pictures to me knowing I am shoping for a dress for my daughter for her upcomming wedding.

I think I am going to have to make her one now.


I wonder how long it will take me.

Random Questions

Do you ever feel like your in a people maze and you can't get out? I just like the photo. Today I am answering questions that Brenda made me answer.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Two days ago when my daughter passed her ASVAB and Physical for the Marines
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
yes
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT?
Roasted Turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
One amazing one ready to fight for your freedom
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Not always. I annoy myself so I know I annoy other people
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Paaaleeeezee
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes and I am still waiting to eat ice cream
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
I have always wanted to just to conquer my fear
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL?
Lucky Charms.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Heck no
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
God must think so or he would not keep handing me all the stuff he does.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM?
Always and forever Mint Chocolate Chip
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Oh he's HOT
15. RED OR PINK?
Pink but I am going to start wearing Red every friday to support our troops
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
The wrinkles and bags that seem to have found a new home on my face
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My little Ginger
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO BLOG THIS ?
duh, of course
19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Pink and white polka dot jammie pants, no shoes
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Tacos last night. Coffee right now
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Cookie and Joey (my two dogs) play
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE?
In my head: Red Hot In real life: Ummmm, no clue, blue maybe
23. FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Rain.....I have always loved the smell of rain
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Tina
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHOS BLOG THIS WAS ON?
LOL
26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
On TV: NONE In real life: I love going to the professional games
27. HAIR COLOUR?
brown/red
28. EYE COLOUR?
green
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No
30. FAVOURITE FOOD?
Rib Eye steak with Gorgonzola Butter
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
I don't know. I keep falling asleep
33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
pink
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
neither. Spring
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
hugs and kisses
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Jennifer
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
My dad
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Um, I am reading one but I don't know the title
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Gateway. No that is not the type of computer I have any more
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
so you Think You Can Dance.......love that show
42. FAVOURITE SOUND?
"Your bill has already been paid mam"
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Oh love them both. I will have to say Stones as I have seen them in concert twice
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Fiji
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Creativity
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Portland Oregon
47. WHAT SUPERPOWER WOULD YOU LIKE?
If I could choose one someone else would choose the counter attack and then I would still be were I am right now. So my final answer is None. That way I don't have to waste time.

Marine MOM

I am a new Marine Mom. WOW! My DAUGHTER is amazing. Seriously!

Yesterday she got up at 4:00am in a strange town (San Jose)with a stranger in the same room and headed off to "chow". She said "chow" sucked. All she ate was orange juice and bacon. Then she headed off to her 1st test. It was a written test known as MAPS or ASVAB. The test has everything on it including stuff she has NO CLUE about such as Electronics and Mechanics.

While she is testing her fiance Matt met up with Gunnery Sargent Monroe to head down to San Jose. One the way down there Sargent Monroe made a phone call and told Matt the results of Jens test. Matt called me about 10:O0 am and told me she passed the ASVAB with a 63. The National Average is 31. So she did really well.

I got another phone call at 12:15 from Matt telling me she just passed her Physical.
I started to cry right there in the lunch room at work. I am so proud of her. Matt still had not seen her at this point. I could tell in his voice he was just as nervous and proud of her as I was.

THEN.........I heard nothing from them for 5 hours. 5 LONG hours of not knowing what was going on. She ate lunch that she said sucked too, met with the career counselor and did who knows what. By the time she got home last night about 8:30 pm she looked and felt like a bag of doo doo. Headache, exhausted, nauseous, weak. You know, basically worked over from head to toe.

I did make her eat 1/2 a taco. Then, yep it came back up. I felt bad. She showered and went to bed. Matt said she was snoring within 2 minette's. She had a very rough day. It is hard for me to imagine the days she has coming in boot camp. Crazy!The good news is, the Marines do not allow their women in combat.

I am now a Marine Mom to a GIRL. Jennifer is a Marine. Those words sound so strange. She signed some of her papers already. She will be leaving October 15, 2007. Friday she will choose her career and finish signing. I can not tell you how proud of her I am. I would have never guessed MY daughter would EVER join the military to fight for OUR freedom. I guess this means I did a lot better raising her than people thought I did. What a responsibility and accomplishment. She is AMAZING........

Nascar Baby

Benchmark (my work) sent 18 of us with our guests to Nascar yesterday. I actually did not win the contest but was invited by one of my employees. It was so fun.

The bus picked us up at 8:00 am. We got there at 10:00 am. So, we had plenty of time to walk around the different booths. There was an airshow at 11:15, Booker T concert at 12:15, introduction of the drivers at 1:10 and THEN the words "GENTLEMENT START YOUR ENGINES". It was a very cool experience even if you don't like Nascar.

And our seats? Yea, we were in front of the start/finish line 7 rows up from the Pit. Pretty awesome seats. When work sends us on a reward trip they send us in style. We always get the best. It was pretty amazing and I am so glad I did not stay home in my jammies all day.

New Layouts

Wow. Finally scraps after many weeks. It felt good. I am really loving this first Layout of my niece Tyree and my mom on Thanksgiving 2006. Neither one of them knew I was taking this picture.

And this layout was of a typical Fijian Village. We learned a lot while we visited this particular village. Journaling is as follows:

Circle 1: The chiefs hourse sits in the middle of the village. No one is allowed within 50 feet of his home.
Circle 2: The village is very quiet. No one is allowed to raise their voice. Women are not allowed to wear sleevless tops, shorts or short dresses.
Circle 3: The drums are played 3 times a day to alert the villagers to go to church. Eeryone muyst go. Christians converted Fijians from Cannibalizm.
Circle 4: Men live in the same village all their lives. Women move to the village of their new husband.
Circle 5: Village chiefs are burriend in one graveyard. Villagers are burried in a differnt one across the village.

Cake Bake Off

My work had a cake bake off as part of our Nascar Contest. The overall winning team of the entire contest goes to Nascar this weekend. THIS is the cake Team Jimmie Johnson (my team) came up with. I made the cake. Notice the Chipboard (scrapbook material) on the cake? The logo was created by cutting a template and using spray food coloring. I had never tried this but it came out pretty good.

This is the overall entire display. No other team did anything even close to this. My whole team was pretty impressed with ourselfs. The race track around the cake actually worked. And notice the parking lot to the left. We iced the entire base, spread coconut on it and sprayed it green to create the grass.

There was even a winners circle with Mr. Jimmie Johnson and his woman. We took Nascar Barbies's outfit and stuffed Ken into it. When I say stuffed, I mean STUFFED. The outfit is open about a inch in the back.

We even had the grandstands and the beer booth made from a beer can. One of our guys on the team made both of these. I was pretty impressed he did such a great job.

Even the pit crew was represented. Pretty great huh? We won the trophy for the most creative cake. Our team did not win the overall contest. However, I still get to go to Nascar. Woo-Hoo. One of the winning co workers invited me to be her date. I am very excited. The luxury bus will pick us all up at 8:00 am on Sunday. We will each get spending money for the day. Can I just say I LOVE the company I work for? We have contests like this all the time. We have even sent employees to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

VERY IMPORTANT

Hi Everyone,

I have something important to talk to you all about today. Please please take yourself and you daughters to the Dr. for a pap AND an HPV test. You have to request the HPV test. Do NOT let your Dr. tell you it is not important. And DO NOT let him tell you your daughter does not need a pap or an HPV test until she is 25.

HPV is the virus that causes cervical cancer. It is treatable if caught early enough. It is transmitted by ANY sexual contact. An infected person could have it for years and never know it. There are no symptoms. A carrier may never know it. 95% of women will get HPV sometime in thier lives. Most times it is a mild case and your body will fight it off naturally without you ever knowing you had it. In other cases you could get cervical cancer. Meaning you or your daughter may never have children OR worse, you could die. Women over 30 are especially in danger of HPV.

There is a vaxcine for HPV. I have been seeing commercials and adds for this vacine for about a year now. I did not fully understand the importance of this. ALL young women should get this vacine BEFORE they become sexually active. Dr.s are telling women under 25 they do not need a pap. So not TRUE. Please make them give you the Pap, the HPV test AND the vaccine.

Why am I telling you this? My daughter who is 19 got a pap. It was abnormal. The Dr. did the HPV test without her knowing. She tested positive for HPV. She now needs to go back to make sure she does not have cervical cancer. Remember, she is only 19. If she did not have a good Dr. and if she would have waited until she was 25, who knows what could happen to her. She wants kids and I want to be a grandma. This may never happen. We are both scarred right now. Just writing this brings tears to my eyes. I pray her"s it not out of control and she can be treated.

I beg you all to listen to this warning. Get the vaccine for your daughters BEFORE she becomes active. If we can save just one of you from going through what we are right now I will be happy. REMEMBER, 95% of you will get HPV and never know it. Take precautions now.

I wish someone would have told me. I hope I have not let my daughter get harmed.

Explanation in Order

I was laughing all day yesterday. Thank you all for making that happen.

Yesterdays challenge on Two Peas was to blog a wordless post. Meaning a picture that speaks words for itself. Now I have to fess up.

The picture is NOT a pregnancy test. I knew you all would think it was. But it's NOT. I repeat again......NOT a pregnancy test. That is actually a menopause test. Didn't know those existed did you? Neither did I until I went to the drug store to pick up feminine things for my daughter.

I saw the box and thought, "huh? No way! I am going to get one." There are two tests in the box. You do one and then the other two weeks later to confirm the results. The following morning I found myself peeing on a stick. Never thought I would be doing that in my life. 20 min. later I check the results.

"WHAT? How can it be NEGATIVE? You mean it's going to get worse? That can not be possible."

Those of you that know me know I have been going thru major mood issues and night sweats (yea, those are wonderful) and hot flashes for a couple years now. So not a happy time trust me. Now I am finding out I am NOT in a pre menopausal state. What the heck?

I read the directions again. "OH, OK. I still have another chance." The second test is there because even if the first one comes out negative the second one could come out positive. Which would mean I am still menopausal. "Whew! that makes me feel a little better." I would hate to think I have been feeling the way I have for no reason.

I had a great time yesterday watching all of you think I, or Jen, was prego. Too funny. I got numerous comments, phone calls and emails. One such caller even called my daughters fiance demanding to know what was going on. Imagine his surprise and confusion as he had no idea I had posted "The Stick."

I did learn a couple of things through this whole process.

1) I am apparently a raging biotch for no reason.
2) Things are not always what they seem.
3) I can still play a good practical joke.

Wordless Post

Are You Kidding Me?

There are some moringings I simply must re evaluate how much I love my two little dogs. Seriously, are you kidding me right now?

This was the best (being sarcastic) thing I woke up to this morning. I hate it when this happens. I think my first clue was finding a tangerine in bed with me this morning. Then walking down stairs I find this lovely little mood enhancer.

We put a lock on the garbage cabinet so this would not happen. Guees what? Someone forgot to lock it. I am so irritated right now.

As Promised

As promised here are the rest of my really favorite photos from yesterday.

I still have another 69 photos to choose from.



I really liked the last one in the last group too. But I also knew I could not use that for engagement. I just wanted to show you all how great of a picture it was.

I may have to take them on another shoot. There were places I wanted to go but didn't have time for.

Photo Shoot

Sooooo Excited. I took Jen and Matt for a photo shoot today. A year ago Matt would have NEVER let me take his picture. I took 79 photos and almost every one of them came out great.

Really hard to decide which ones I like the best. Here are 5 of them as blogger will not let me upload the other 4 on the same post. I will let you see them tomorrow.


I just love all of these. Matt even said he really enjoyed doing the shoot. I think he did pretty good at being natural. He didn't look posed at all.

I can not tell you how excited I am with these. I had a really great time too. Funny how I had planned to take the entire day for the shoot. We ended up with about 45 min to do them all.


Maybe sometimes the best photos come from ones you have to rush along. Remember I am posting my ohter four favorites later. Let me know which one you like the best. I am thinking one of these can be their engagement photo.

A Woo Hoo and Sunday Plans

Woo Hoo Nikki is coming over to scrap. I am so excited to create again. It's been a couple of weeks now.

Sunday I am planning to take Jennifer (my DD )and her new Fiance for photo shoots. Jen informed me she is going to cut her hair. So I need lots of cool Elsie like photos before she does that. Maybe one of them will be good enough for their engagement photo.

Too bad the photo above is in Atlanta. I would love to have that be one of the places we go. I do plan on taking them to the rail road tracks. Some brick walls, hopefully I can find a red one. And some really cool old doors. Maybe down in Railroad square. I know there are some there along with stone walls. I am excited. But I do know they are going to get bored fast. Little brats.

Sisters out for Adventure

As many of you know, I just went on a 7 day cruise with my three sisters. I am the one standing (the oldest of the group). You all know me.

Kim (sitting on left) is the youngest. "The Baby" as we call her. This was a REAL adventure for her. She has NEVER been on a real trip before. Let alone "out of the Country". She did not know what to expect or how to react. I swear she was a bundle of energy the second we got on the ship. She did learn to relax through out the week. She even mentioned to me how relaxed her entire body felt. Too bad we can't feel like this every day of our lives.

Dawn aka Thea (sitting in middle)has been working two jobs (as have I) for years now to make ends meet. She really needed this trip. Her new boyfriend (Jeff)came on the trip with us too. After this trip she will be moving to Connecticut to live with Jeff. What an experience she has ahead of her.

Susan (sitting on right) is four years younger than I. She manages a 175 (or something like that) apartment complex and helps take care of our mom. It's a HUGE responsibility. Yep, she really needed this week too. She learned to LOVE the free room service this week. So much easier than going to the buffet and fighting the crowds.

The four of us have never spent this long together as adults. It was lots of fun and a great learning experience for all of us. We went to St. Thomas, San Juan, Grand Turk and Half Moon Cay. I am forever thankful we got to spend this adventure together.

More pictures coming soon.

MUST HAVE

I seriously WANT this chair. How HOT is this?

I have been wanting a red couch for awhile now. Today I ran across this picture on some web site. I WANT it BAD.....yep, it's $850.00. You know you want to buy it for me.

I gotta Try This

HuH? Who would have thought. I really must try this for breakfast at work. I am a bad Omlette maker but I love them. I got the recipe from a poster at Two Peas In A Bucket. I thought I would share.

Omlette In A Bag

Break two eggs into a gallon size freezer bag.(I actually do this in a bowl and beat them first but that's because I have egg issues!), add 2 tsp of milk and whatever toppings you want. Leftover meats, cheese, onions and peppers, etc. Make sure it's all mixed well.

Drop the bags into a pot of water at a rolling boil and cook for 10-13 minutes. With a large pot you should be able to do several at a time. No, the bags won't melt

Crazy HUH?

What Kind of Sexy am I

Relaxation

I'mmmm baaack! From the cruise that is.

Cruises for me are total relaxation. A time to just BE.... Hang out, do nothing and enjoy time. With that being said, not all people vacation in the same way. I had a hard time with the go go go from my traveling companions the first couple days.

Then I remembered, I CAN choose to vacation MY way even with companions that travel differently without feeling guilty.

For those of you that know me, you know I have no trouble being alone. I crave and enjoy being alone as I go into people overload very easily. So, I removed myself from the go go go and found things to do by myself. It may have been just slowly roaming around the ship. Or just sitting in one of the many bar areas enjoying time. I hung out on deck by myself for a bit to enjoy the sun. I even found a deserted corner of one of the bars to pull up a leather chair, drink my coffee, and read in silence. I also found myself in the art gallery reflecting on each piece of art on display. How cool is that? I loved it.

Don't get me wrong, I still spent a great deal of time with my sisters. We swam, we ate, we laughed, we entered games together, and we argued. Go figure. That's what sisters do.

I did come to one big realization this week. I love all three of my sisters so much. But, I also realized the three of them have a much different bond with each other than I have with them. I think it stems from the fact we did not grow up together. We did not meet each other until I was 13. At that time it was only for short visits. I moved in with them for a year when I was 15. Then we lived together again when I was 20.

At several different points this week I kind of felt like an outsider trying to fit in. Maybe it was just in my own mind but that is how I felt a different moments. There were some very awkward moments for me. I was not sure what to do at the time. Those were the times I got quiet and/or removed myself from the situations.

Don't get me wrong. I do and did feel like I fit in most of the time. The four of us have never spent that long together as adults. It was just a feeling I got at different time through out the week. However, all in all we had a great time. It was an experience, for all four of us, we will never forget.