Jo tweeted me a few minutes ago with a head’s up on WordPress’ new Theme Directory.

YAY!!!!!

Seriously, this is definitely something to bump up on the ole ‘To Do’ list this weekend. Thanks, Jo!

And WordPress, if I could reach you, I’d hug you!

My pal Cookie recently informed me of a project he’s been involved with. Working with the TSA, he noticed that “many active Military personnel who had been dropped off at the Airport to catch their flights to whatever duty station they were bound for, sitting in the terminal for many long hours, sometimes overnight.” It became obvious pretty quickly that during these long waits or delays, our fine troops could not even get a bottle of water, soda, or a hot cup of coffee. And certainly there was also NO entertainment (TVs, etc.) with which they could occupy their time. The USO was soon contacted to see about getting a “Military Hospitality Center/Lounge” for military personnel to use in the airport. Unfortunately the USO was unable to help.

Well, never tell a Seabee that something CAN’T be done!

With the Seabee motto, “Can Do” in mind, Loren (Commandant Marine Corps League, Emerald City Detachment), Leroy (US Army Retired) and Cookie (Navy Seabee Veterans of America, Island X-19) set out to change this!

Cookie details so much in his post, so please continue to read about this amazing project there!

Thanks to material donations and assistance rendered from many organizations, the Military Hospitality Room is slated to open July 3rd. I’ve no doubt the Grand Opening will be well-received and GREATLY appreciated by those in the military who have to pass through the Syracuse, Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, NY!

Great job, Cookie! Keep us updated!!

We are doing well. Saw the doctor and it appears that my aches and pains are not permanent. I’ve been feeling a lot better over the past couple of days, and Jessie’s bump on the head has all but disappeared.

My car is still incapacitated. Still sitting in my driveway. Still won’t lock properly. *sigh* Been dealing with several snags with the car insurance and rental companies, but things are finally starting to roll along.

Getting hit just before a holiday weekend sucks ass, don’tchaknow….

Should have a rental by tomorrow a.m. and hopefully someone will ride out to inspect the damages over the next couple of days. According to one of the adjusters, they’ve determined that it’s their liability and will be paying 100% on everything — which I knew all along, but they still have to be thorough and check out every little thing before starting the whole “we’ll pay for everything” process. (understandable, but aggravating … but what can ya do?)

I think I’ve replayed that accident at least a hundred times over and over in my mind. I know without a doubt that there was absolutely nothing in my control in this whole situation, but I can’t help obsessing over it. Luckily, we were in a large enough vehicle that we escaped with minimal shock and no permanent bodily harm.

That said, I can’t help thinking what would have happened if we were in Jim’s car … I seriously doubt his little Tiburon would’ve put up as much of a fight …

I know, I know … don’t dwell on it. (but that’s what I do!) This whole ordeal has been a real big PITA and a migraine-giver, but I can’t complain too much can I?

Funny thing: while sitting at the doctor’s office, received a call from the insurance company. It wasn’t a “good call” and shot my blood pressure up so high that they held me over and insisted on taking it again an hour later to ensure that it was just stress and not a real emergency. The fact that high blood pressure runs on my mother’s side of the family works against me there, and my doc “just wanted to be sure” that it hadn’t recently developed into a “real” problem considering I was sitting there already nursing a headache.

Yeah, better safe than sorry … and should’ve left the cell in the car.

I’m slowly catching up on emails and other business. I’ll most likely be back at work tomorrow. A big ‘Thanks!!’ goes out to everyone who’s called, emailed, etc. We appreciate your concern and support.

I hadn’t intended to post today, but there was too much great content in my feeds this morning to ignore. As I do every other morning, I started first with the cartoons. I have always loved Chris Muir’s Day by Day strip. Today’s was both sweet (if you’ve been following the storyline) and appropriate:

Next, a short ‘n sweet message from my favorite outspoken goth. Cookie’s place had a nice shot and a short background blurb about watchfires and introduced us to a hero that everyone needs to know about.

Rachel Lucas introduced us to her grandfather, a WWII hero. 7.62mm Justice has a great post detailing several heroes and has some great stories to share. BlackFive’s post today is short ‘n sweet, but suggests something I’ve been encouraging others to do: If you see someone in uniform, or know they serve, thank them. If you see someone you know has served, thank them.

The Soldiers’ Angels blogs had several very excellent pieces today, but I wanted to highlight a couple of them: “Are we worthy of these warriors?” by Vickie Mauldin, Grand Forks Herald and “10 Things to Remember about Memorial Day” by David Holzel. They also shared some news about an upcoming event partnering with Michelle Malkin, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Move America Forward, Gathering of Eagles, and many others as well as a request to give some support to soldiers who are patients in Germany.

Last but certainly not least, Merri Musings reminds us of a great quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower: “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.”

I’m sure there’s tons more out there, but these are the ones that I thought needed some exposure (link love!). Feel free to add your own via the comments form below!

I swear, I think our weekends are getting to be busier than our weekdays! ;P Friday was pretty hectic, and add the bad weather on top of that, it made for an interesting start to the weekend. Jessie’s karate test was Saturday — she’s now moved up from orange belt to a purple belt! Jim and I took pictures and filmed, so hopefully those will be up soon. We had a chance to talk to Jessie’s senseis for a bit, and both had nothing but good things to say about our little ray of sunshine. I noted that ever since beginning taking karate, she’s shown so much improvement … both in the dojo and outside of it!

Jessie left after the test with her mother. Jim and I went over to see my folks and saw my brother Jeremy and his wife Christy. They had Ryland with them, so I got to spend a little time with my favorite niece.

Isn’t she precious?

Stupidity knows no bounds

Today Jim and Jessie took me to brunch for Mother’s Day. I got a little aggravated earlier because I specifically told her mother that I was picking her up early and that we were going out to eat. Originally it was supposed to be breakfast … I pick Jessie up and find out that her mother had her EAT BREAKFAST right before I was to pick her up!

*beats head into wall repeatedly*

I swear, one of these days I’m bound to say something to this woman that I know I will regret, but that she also fully DESERVES.

So we waited a bit and went for ‘brunch’ … Jessie was hungry enough and Jim and I were starving! There was a slight ‘incident’ with a group that cut in line infront of us and another family. When I said something to one of the party members, she muttered something about us being ‘racists’ — the party members were black.

They moved on before I could say anything else, but I was fully ready to retort with, “It has nothing to do with race. The color of one’s skin does NOT exempt one from using common courtesy and manners!”

So I fumed a bit, but got over it. We were at Ryan’s and the food and service were great, which fully made up for the inconvenience before being seated. In their defense, it WAS packed, which made it a bit hard for the staff at the front to keep track of who should be where. However, that being said, I find it hard NOT to notice the general lack of manners by people I run across in public nowadays.

To most of these people, I am dying to say, “I *KNOW* your mother taught you better!”

A heart-felt and belated “Thanks!”

If all goes well, it looks like I’ll win this round in the Lunarpages’ WordPress theme design contest. I am completely overwhelmed by the response and surge in votes from family, friends, and extended community. I emailed a few close to me, and just about every one of them emailed their friends and family, and so on and so forth; and I posted on here and you each voted and responded in kind. (thank you!!) My Cotillion sisters rose to the occasion offering support and votes (thank you, girls! I love y’all!). Jim reached out to his guild and the guys have been very supportive with votes and feedback. (thank you!!) And last but certainly not least, the gargantuan legion of members over at the Soldiers’ Angels forums were a tremendous help in attaining and keeping the lead. (thank you very very much, Angels!!!)