The Yearbook Was Signed 555-TOAD

Today I'm going to spread some bloggy love. (Hey! Remember that I'm primarily a "mommy blogger".... get your minds out of the gutter!)

Today, one of my favorite people ever..... one of my very best friends since we met on the first day of our sophomore year in high school..... today, she joins me in the "Halfway to 70" club!

I spent an extremely large chunk of my high school years at her house. We would hit the grocery store first, grabbing iced oatmeal cookies and orange juice for me, seltzer water for her, and then just hang out up in her room, talking. Laughing until we cried. Sometimes, crying until we laughed.

If I remember correctly, we did both after she got her first speeding ticket.

She met Coach before anyone else did. She was my maid of honor in my wedding. If we were Catholic, she would have been Jock's godmother. There has never been anyone else in my life who can both commiserate and celebrate--at the same time--like she can.

She understands me. She forgives me. She never judges me or my life decisions. She loves me. (And if none of that is true, well.... she allows me to keep my delusions, so that's ok too!)

I've known her for 20 years now. I followed her to Arizona. She followed me to Blogland. I'd say she got the better end of that deal...... it's less desert-y in Blogland, and always climate controlled!

So everyone do me a big favor, ok? Head over to peak in on Rockin' Austin at Another Leap of Faith and wish her a huge Happy Birthday! Check out some of her older posts. I really like this one and this one. She's awesome. She's honest. She's real.

Happy Birthday, B! I truly don't think I'd be where I'm at, or exactly who I am, if I hadn't had you in my corner for the last 20 years. You've pushed me when I needed pushing. You've caught me when I've needed catching. And you've always been available for oatmeal cookies.

You rock, and I love you for it.

Desert Randomness

I've never been able to claim any sort of artistic ability, but there is an awful lot of "still" life being witnessed here in the SportsMama's locker room:

• Still no A/C in my truck.
• It's still over 100 degrees.
• And I still do not look the correct kind of "hot" in the ponytail I'm forced to wear.

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It's official.

The almost-girlfriend? Is now the actual-girlfriend. And I guess I'm happy for him, since he really likes her. And since I can't realistically keep trying to believe that relationships aren't going to happen.

On the plus side, he's a pretty atypical teenage boy. He actually wants a relationship, not just a lot of nothing. He wants something where he and his favorite girl mutually spoil and love each other. Honestly, the boy seems hard-wired for monogamy, which is an astoundingly good thing.

On the not-so-plus side, I can remember my sophomore year vividly enough to be very nervous about any sort of relationship he develops with a girl. Especially one he decides he *gulp* loves.

And the stinker still has no intention of going to that homecoming dance.

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For those of you not paying any attention at all to my sidebar..... in 5 days I will have officially been blogging for a year. A year, people!! In the past year, this blog has:

• Introduced me to someone whom I'm genuinely convinced would be my absolute, uncontested bestest friend ever if we lived in the same state. As it is, I feel so fortunate to know her and have the privilege of talking to her .... real, live phone conversations!.... anytime the mood hits. Even if she's got one of those really strange phones that doesn't actually have a keypad, and can only be answered and never dialed from. (kidding, kidding.....I'm just lucky she answers when I call, and doesn't screen me like the stalker I might possibly appear to be!)
• Taught me to be a better cook by introducing me to someone who selflessly shared her super-yummy spaghetti sauce recipe with me in my time of need!
• Made it possible to keep in regular, if not downright frequent, contact with one of my favorite people ever! Someone who has known me longer than Coach. In fact, she met him before my parents did! She's someone I'm honored to have been able to consider my best friend through high school, and someone I'm still honored to consider one of my best friends for a lifetime.
• Brought to my attention a potential future.....granted, its a pretty distant future--at least a decade....daughter-in-law. And really? Having this woman for an in-law? Well, I think we'd make the really fun kind of "out-laws" for our kids!
• Shown me the awesomeness to be found in other sports minded women. A woman, that although we might not agree with each other's choices when it comes to which team to support, we can definitely agree that certain seasons (namely... Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall) are infinitely more enjoyable when shared with thousands of other like-minded crazy fans!
• Also reminded me that just because my brother's first ex-wife insisted on dressing my nephew like a complete goofus in argyle sweater vests, doesn't mean that they actually look that bad on all toddler boys. Actually, her little boy kidlet looks amazingly darling in those little things! (And she's completely forgiven for apparently --through no actual fault or effort of her own, especially since she doesn't know that she's done it!-- pointing out that my nephew just simply WAS a goofy looking little kid, no matter what he wore!)

Those are just a few examples of the awesomeness that my little blog has brought me over this past year. I may not be one of the most spectacular, amusing or most sought after blogs, but I do know I'm truly blessed to be able to share my world with you, and to get to enjoy yours as well.

Ummm....No Good Title Here Today

Well, that's not entirely true. I had a really good one. However, it sounded so incredibly naughty when I read it back that I had to take it down. Lord only knows what the damn Google searches would have looked like.

I've been given a couple of awards recently that I've been a bit slow in both acknowledging and in passing along to my friends. First, the awesome and wonderful Flea passed this along to me:

Wasn't that sweet? And, at least on my end here, totally true! Flea and I have children that share some common "quirks", and in discussing that we've begun developing a friendship. I am truly blessed to be able to count her among my friends. And in that spirit, I'm passing this award along to a couple of someone elses I've become fortunate enough to count among the number of friends I've discovering all the time: Lunanik at Secrets of a Black Heart and Karen at Lyrics of My Life. May you hear the same Randy Newman song from Toy Story in your head on continuous loop that I'm hearing from receiving this award.

Another recent addition to my Trophy Case came to me via Karen at The Rocking Pony. Can I just tell you how awesome she is? LOVE HER! I've stalked her.... I mean, read her blog for quite some time now, and finally... FINALLY its going to pay off! Stay tuned, and I'll fill you in on what I'm talking about in a couple of weeks......

Anyway, Karen gifted me with this gem:

Now, she abso-freakin'-lutely made MY day with this one, and I'm tempted to re-gift it right back at her! However, since that is against some obscure bloggy rule out there somewhere, I'm going to pass this along to a couple of other amazing bloggers that I genuinely consider friends of my heart. These are women I look forward to "seeing" every single day. Amy, at Musings and Memories of a Mommy and Cecily at My Chaos My Bliss. I just want to pack both of these women up and park them both in the houses on either side of me. Truly, they belong here in Arizona.

Thank you again, Flea and Karen. You two are awesome, and you rock! Of course, I tell you that all the time. But, if you are one of the two or possibly three people who have not read any of these women yet.....

Go! Go now!

I'm not going anywhere. No, really. I'm just gonna hang out here for a while, maybe roaming the blogging neighborhood.

Well, at least until the testosterone carriers start circling like vultures for dinner.

Looks Like I'm A Name Dropper

I didn't realize it until Karen at Lyrics of My Life pointed it out to me. To give her credit, she was very subtle about it. She didn't come right out and call me a name dropper. And to be honest, it kinda seems like she appreciates that quality in me.

But is it really such a bad thing, when the only name I dropped was my own?

The lovely Karen gifted me with this award:

Now, before you congratulate me (you were going to do that, right? Right?) you should know that this gift has come with strings attached. I am supposed to convince you all, with three little statements, that I know what I'm doing when it comes to this blogging thing. Well, ok.. really I'm just supposed to give three teeny tiny bits of blogging advice. Take 'em for what they're worth, and remember that I have less than 150 posts to my name. Although apparently my name alone is better than any advice I could give you!

1. Your blog posts do not always have to be full of sunshine and rainbows. Its just as ok to blog about that daydream you had the other day of backing over your stubborn, obstinate husband with your truck because he and the teenager are so stubborn SOMETHING has to break the tension, as it is to do an amazingly heartwarming post about how your youngest son loves to broadcast to anyone who will listen that he has the best and most beautiful mom in the world because she loves to watch the Game Show Network with him. (Well, its ok for ME to blog about those things. You can feel free to pick your own family stress episodes.)

2. Don't feel guilty about being distracted and pulled from your blog post when a really good movie comes on in the background. You can often get more inspiration from crying through Steel Magnolias or laughing through Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure than you can just sitting there staring at the computer screen. (And you know what? After the valley I've been trudging through lately, sobbing --yes, SOBBING, through Steel Magnolias tonight after all my boys were in bed was EXACTLY what I've been needing. Who knew?)

3. Stop and stretch. Stretch your fingers. Stretch your legs. Stretch your back. Stretch your mind. The best ideas and phrases have more of an opportunity to pop right in there if you're comfortable and not stiff and stuffy. For goodness' sake, take the stick out of your posterior!

There you have it. My nuggets of knowledge, such as they are. And now to pass the power along. Because she has recently re-discovered just how powerful simple words and kindnesses can be, I'm giving this award to Stella, the Mountain Momma.

And you don't even have to drop your name! :)

Definition of a Bloggy Friend

1. n. Someone who is ever ready to give advice, suggestions and spaghetti sauce recipes.


2. n. Someone who is apparently blind to all the clutter and construction mess at your blog.

3. n. Someone who loves you so much she gives you awesome awards like this one, with a very cool thing to say in the process:

4. n. Amy at Memories and Musings of a Mommy.



Have I told you all that Amy rocks? Oh, you know I have. Probably on more than one occasion. Have I mentioned that her very next post will be her 100th? No? Well, it will be, so be sure to go check it out. Honest to goodness, people, you will wonder why you have not snatched her up and stuck her in your pocket to take with you everywhere you go. Because that is really what I want to do.

Thank you so much for this award! It fits so nicely in my Trophy Case!

And in the tradition of stylish girls everywhere, I'm passing this along to another worthy woman. Someone I can't seem to stop myself from checking in on at least a handful of times a day, even though the post only changes once. Someone who has recently given her virtual place a fantabulous makeover. Someone who, despite the fact that her colors are black and gold, is every bit a stylin' sports lover like I am. Burgh.... this one's for you, babe!

Do you think, if I asked really nicely...... I might be able to talk her into moving into the vacant house Right.Next.Door to me? She and Jeff would love it.... it's a fixer-upper, and they've become quite good at the flipping/fixing houses thing. (Ok, so I only know of one house, but its my begging, so I can pad it however I want to!). We're in sunny Arizona, so she wouldn't have to deal with that really cold white stuff anymore (although if she were to think she might start to miss it, we're only a couple of hours away from some!). And the house next door has it's own pool right in the back yard!

Plus? She'd get ME for a neighbor. Ok, so maybe we won't tell her that. Don't want to scare her off before she gets here....

**After reading a couple of comments, I had to go back and re-read what I posted last night here. Apparently, it really does sound like I was trying to bribe Burgh to come be my new neighbor. And, while that would be amazingly cool, I actually was talking about Amy. Although how strange would it be to find out that Burgh's hubby was named Jeff as well? Ya know what, people..... lets just start a commune down here in sunny Arizona. All my favorite blogger girls can come out, that way no one loses a neighbor they love, and we all gain some! Whaddya say?**

You Don't Have To Be A Bridesmaid To Catch The Bouquet

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, I think I'm going to direct Coach over to Karen at The Rocking Pony for ideas.

See what she gave me? Those gorgeous flowers!

How did she know my favorite kinds? Hmmm.... maybe Coach is one step ahead of me this year, and has actually been the one dispensing advice?

Nah.

But since Thursday is the ONLY day this week that we don't have something going on (and even that's a stretch, since Jock has baseball practice until 7 and SOMEONE has to get him home), we'll probably just hang here at the house. And really, I'm ok with that. In fact, I'm so ok with it, that I'll most likely take it one step further and not even really exert myself to cook much. Lucky for me, my boys love.Love.LOVE Velveeta Shells ~N~ Cheese. And maybe, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I'll dress it up a bit. You know.... throw some bacon pieces in there or something.

Speaking of throwing.... I'm gonna toss one of these marvelous bouquets over to Amy at Memories and Musings of a Mommy, another one to Kidzmama at Not a Spare Minute, and one to Hallie at Wonderful World of Wieners. Now, it occurs to me that I quite probably have gifted each of these fantabulous blogging women with at least one other award before. *shrug* I'm nothing if not loyal! At the very least, that should nudge those of you who have not yet visited them to get your butts off the bench and head over there for a peek or two! (Although I'm going to caution you to watch where you're peeking at Hallie's place..... she's not at all shy about what she shows you!) (Oh... did I mention that I LOVE these women?)

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And, just because I want to, and it IS my blog and I'm ALLOWED to do what I want to, I'm going to share a few small bits of randomness with you.

~~ I am going to be 35 years old in less than a month, and for the First.Time.Ever I visited the inside of the Boys' Locker Room. The parents' meeting for the Freshman baseball team was held there tonight at the high school. Yes, folks. The Boys' Locker Room. Sadly, it was not quite as glamorous as I've always believed. And for those of you who do not have boys in your house, believe me when I tell you that you will NEVER understand the exact odor of that room. However, those of you that have been blessed with sons (especially of the teenage variety, more especially of the teenage athlete variety), you will understand the dilemma of trying not to breathe. At All. Because smells that bad carry tastes with them.

~~ I spent the afternoon wishing I had gotten out of my car while in the drive through at lunch to go ask the woman in the car ahead of me a very important question. Why would you order the Double Cheeseburger, and then ask them to HOLD THE CHEESE???

~~ If I could offer one small piece of advice to an unidentified driver along my morning commute? When you discover that you have mistakenly gotten yourself on the interchange ramp to leave one freeway and get on another? Please, for the love of all that is holy, just keep going until you come to the first available off ramp, exiting safely, and then turn around. Do not... I REPEAT.... DO NOT put your tiny little car in reverse and attempt to back up, assuming that my larger vehicle will simply stop and give you the room you would like to maneuver yourself backwards and back onto the highway.

You, my scary-driving commuter friend.... will NOT be getting any bouquets tossed your direction from me this year.

You are, however, forewarned of the possibility of other, less friendly items being thrown at you.

Have I Told You Lately?

Stella, over at Mountain Momma, awarded me this recently! I love that Stella lurks more than she comments, mostly because I'm guilty of the same thing over at her blog! She is awesome, and I can count her among the many emotionally powerful women I know and read.

And then Shellie, over at Little But Loud, gifted me with this awesome award! She thinks, and I'm in complete agreement, that it might be fun if we were actually neighbors. Of course, it might just be because she thinks the weather here might be kinda nice! :)

Have I told you all how amazing it makes me feel to receive these awards? When I started this blog, it was mainly to have an outlet for my creativity. One that didn't subject poor Coach, Jock and Bug to being my *borderline* unwilling audience. For while they all love to hear me sing, I'm not so sure they enjoy my written ramblings quite as much. Although that hasn't stopped me, it was nice to have a different outlet.

I was reading a recent post from Karen at Lyrics of My Life when I realized that another reason I have so enjoyed this blog is because this is something that is MINE. I don't have to share it. Yes, we share the computer. Not the point. This blog isn't contributed to by Coach and the boys, outside of being my inspiration more often than not. (And admit it... you all have loved the inspiration given me by these boys! I know it constantly amazes me how funny they are!)

And yes, I'll admit it here, for the first time. One other reason, a small one to be sure, but still there, was in retaliation for a very unkind blog post written about me by someone else. When I started this blog, I was full of hurt feelings and was convincing myself that if this person could do something like that.... well then, it totally made them fair game and it was ok if I wrote unkind things right back.

*sigh*

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I simply don't have it in me to be that vindictive and vengeful. Each time I sat down to write a snarky post, I found myself writing about something completely different that what I had intended. After numerous attempts to get myself "back on track, damn it!", I realized that it just wasn't going to happen. I couldn't be that obnoxious. Besides, its not like I was going to take out full page ads in the local paper broadcasting my blog, so the person in question was never going to see what I wrote anyway.

However, I do send a thankful thought towards that blog's direction every time one of my awesome blog friends leaves me a fantastic comment, gifts me with an amazing award, or sends me a phenomenal spaghetti sauce recipe!

You guys rock!

I Might End Up With A Legion After All....

Well, at least a mini-one. Burgh Baby's Mom thinks my blog is a treasure! And while I am supposed to pass this along, I think everyone else has it already! :) I'll keep my eye out, and if I see a blog that hasn't been awarded this, you'll hear from me!

Back to my being a treasure.....


That thought has led to some rather interesting speculation on my part....


Since I'm constantly buried under mountains of laundry and dishes, does that make me "buried treasure"?

And if I'm buried treasure, does that mean that some super-sexy pirate is obsessed with searching the entire world over for me? (Hey! My speculation....my details!)

And if I've got a super-sexy pirate obsessing over me, can he look like this?

*sigh*

It would be so nice to be absconded with. Just for a day or two. Or maybe a decade.

**Disclaimer: It is entirely possible that I have read at least one too many deliciously trashy novels in my lifetime. If that is really the case, then you maybe want to disregard anything after "Burgh Baby's Mom thinks I'm a treasure!"**

Party On!

Wow!!

I've been granted this award by two of my favorite blogging buddies:

Hallie at Wonderful World of Wieners and the Kidzmama at Not a Spare Minute.

How cool is that?

My favorite part of this award (aside from the fact that it means you really love me and I must be doing something right with this whole creativity thing I've got going on here) (also, aside from the other fact that it came from two people who so completely deserved their award in the first place that I am amazed and humbled that they think I'm worth it, too!).....

This award seems to automatically link in my brain to one of my favorite movies of all time. The one movie that I know I can go to anytime I'm needing a "feel-good" moment or two. C'mon.... you all know what movie I'm talking about (at least, if you've read me for any length of time you know).......

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure!

YES!!! I'm excellent!

And now its time for me to be excellent to someone else. Ten other someone else's to be specific. Although I have to be careful on this one. Some of you have already been gifted this fantabulous award. Hmm.... let me think .....

Burgh Baby's Mom..... because Alexis rockin' the bling is just too cute! :)

Amy at Memories and Musings of A Mommy......because really? I just love her! And she recently saved my family from jarred spaghetti sauce!

Cecily at My Chaos My Bliss..... because she always has such nice things to say to me, and her kids are the most photogenic brood I've seen!

Mo...... because she's got some awesome internal strength going on that I completely admire and respect!

Dad's Dish..... because he makes me think of home every day!

Lunanik at Secrets of A Black Heart....because I love her realism and I'm not sure she's received enough awards lately! :)

Moooooog at Mental Poo and Slick because they are two of the funniest adolescent boys masquerading as adults I've had the great fortune to laugh with (or is that at? hmm...)daily!

Ok.... I know that's only 8 people. But the rest of you that I love have already gotten this award! :) Heck, two of you passed it on to me!

So, thanks again Hallie and Kidzmama! I'm not sure I deserve it, but I'll still leave you all with this parting thought:

Be excellent to each other!

Feelin' The Love....And Then Again, Not So Much

I've been a bit remiss here. Karen, over at The Rocking Pony (have I mentioned how much I LOVE her blog??) bestowed upon me this pretty, pretty award recently. And to share the blogger love, I'm passing it along to Amy at Memories and Musings of a Mommy because she is one of the blogs I simply MUST READ every day! (And no, it has nothing to do with recently being posted on her fridge.... this is not a bribe to ensure my continued spot there!)



For those of you out there who ~~for whatever reason~~ still don't know what the whole "less-than-three" thing is.... tilt your heads to the right ....further....further.... THERE! See? It looks just like a heart. Mostly like a heart. Ok... indicative of a heart. Sheesh! It means she loves me! Ok, ok...she loves my blog. But, I'm choosing to take that personal!

I AM LOVED!

Well, I'm "less-than-three'd" which is the same thing.

And after the day I've had with my oldest child, I'll take all the love I can get.

When you first get pregnant, all anyone tells you is what a wonderful event it is. Then they start telling you bits and pieces about how difficult the first few months might be. They tell you to sleep all you can; get involved with other new moms-to-be for support; and offer all sorts of reading material.

No one mentions even a whisper of what happens when that adorable little baby turns into an opinionated, moody, independent, hormone-riddled "I-hate-you-you're-so-unfair-this-family-sucks-eggs" teenager.

*sigh*

There are support groups these days for more things than I can even guess, but I have not found one for parents of teenagers, unless said teenager is on drugs or something equally as awful. Not a single one for parents of teenagers who are just acting like weenies.

Of course, "Weenie Support" just sounds like an.. umm..... interesting name for a support group.

Its extremely fortunate for this child that I love him so damn much.

And that I'm not a cannibal.

Deja Vu!

Karen over at The Rocking Pony tagged me with this latest meme. I thought it could be fun to go back through my old posts and find some to link here. Of course, I also thought it would be fairly easy.

Um, yeah. Not so much.

However, deciding I was up to the challenge, I've linked some old posts here for you, with the obligatory Rules of The Meme at the end. (If you get a bit lost on this one, feel free to see the rules first, and use them as more of a tour guide!)

I'm going to ask you all to simply disregard your initial reaction if it seems a post or two doesn't quite fit the category. Its my blog, and I'll sort it how I want to. :)

Here goes:

Family. There were a lot to choose from here. After all, this whole blog is dedicated to my family. But I chose this one because if it hadn't been for her, none of the rest of this would even be relevant.

Friends. Ok. This is a blatant shout out to my blogging buddies out there! :) I found some of you as a direct result of this particular post. Besides, you all take up such a significant portion of my day, and my daily thought processes, that you have all completely earned the dubious honor of being labeled my FRIENDS.

Me Me Me Me. I chose this old post because it really does catch the general theme of my life. BUSY.

Something I Love. I thought this one would be harder to narrow down. Figured I'd have to link a couple of posts. And then I found this one, and knew it for the perfect choice that it was!

Anything I Choose. Just because. It was a fun one to write, and its brought me some good luck as there have been no more girlfriends since then!


*Rules of the Archive Meme*

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written.

But there is a catch:
Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better. And don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

And so as not to offend the Meme gods..... here's the lucky five that get tagged!

Holly over at AnGlOpHiLe FoOtBaLl FaNaTiC. She's one of my newest blog buddies, and I'd love to see some of her older stuff without doing all the searching for it myself. *sigh* I'm just lazy like that.

Chris at The Superdad Chronicles. I know I've tagged him before, but he's been such a good sport about it that he lucked out again!

Amy at Memories and Musings of a Mommy. While this tag doesn't quite equal the Discipline Meme she tagged me with, its a start!

(and here is where I have to pause for a minute. I've already tagged a few of you with other things, but ..... just forgive me for this, ok? And, Hallie, since I know you hate being tagged for anything, I'm letting you off the hook here, ok? However, should you want to willingly participate, no one will stand in your way!)

Lunanik at Secrets of A Black Heart. I think she's been with me now for quite a while! Which means that she's bound to have some posts at least as old as mine are!

and finally.....

Kidzmama at Not A Spare Minute. I love how she writes, I love reading about her kids, and she's let me tag her before with no complaints!

There you have it! Please let me know what you think of some of my older posts, and check with the friends I've tagged to see their archives!

(and I'll try not to let myself get sucked into any more memes anytime in the near future!)

Sharin' The Love

I'm going to do something a bit different today. I'm going to send you all somewhere else. Oh... don't fret. Its just for today. :)

I've met many wonderful people through this blog. Sometimes, you make me think. Often you make me laugh so hard it hurts. You always make me smile. I've really enjoyed getting to "know" so many of you. But occasionally I come across someone who's life, and resulting stories, really touches my heart. Hallie, at Wonderful World of Wieners has done that.

Hallie is incredibly witty, and the constant wiener references crack me up! Her dachshunds (or doxies, as she calls 'em) are the cutest dogs, and obviously important to her. Hence, the name of the blog! However, its not the dogs (cute as they are) that have touched my heart so deeply. She and her husband, like Coach and I, married young and started their family young; and she's got two boys, like I do, but that's not it either. No, the reason Hallie has touched my heart so much is because she's a Military Mama.

I think I might have mentioned on here at least once that my baby brother is in the Navy, and has been there for over six years now. And while I might not be a Military Mama, myself.... I obviously have one! :) And with ten years between the Baby Brother and I, he's kinda like one of my boys anyway. Needless to say, I'm EXTREMELY supportive of our servicemen and women, and of their families left behind here to be their support "behind the lines".

Hallie's oldest son, CJ (aka Schmoopy), is in the Air Force. Once finished with training, CJ will be flying on an AC130U Gunship. And as Hallie has mentioned, that sounds *slightly* more frightening to a mama than say... the Good Ship Lollipop! She's doing a countdown to when he comes home for Christmas before reporting to his duty station, and calling it The Twelve Days of Schmoopy. CJ has gotten into the spirit of the countdown, and has been sending her pictures to post reflecting the numbered days. I absolutely recommend you head over there and check it out! And while Hallie is asking for everyone to be sending positive thoughts, prayers and good wishes to CJ and the other men and women he serves with, I'm asking for everyone to send those same things to Hallie, her husband John, their youngest son, Connor, and the girl waiting at home holding onto CJ's heart for him, Tristen.

So go. Go on over to Hallie's blog and leave her comments full of love and support. I'll be here when you get back.

Visiting Teams

Anglophile Football Fanatic

A Southern Fairy Tale

Burgh Baby

Bunchy's Blog

Call Me Soccer Mom and Die

Catwoman

Flea's World

I Am Boymom

Lightening Bug's Butt

Little But Loud

Lovin' Laughin' Livin'

Memories and Musings of a Mommy

Mental Poo

Mom Gone Mental

Mountain Momma

My Chaos My Bliss

Not A Spare Minute

Not Exactly The Brady Bunch

Rockin' Austin

Rocking Pony

Sarah and The Goon Squad

Secrets of a Black Heart

Slick

The Kept Woman

Thursday Drive

Truly Delightful In Every Way?!?

Wonderful World of Weiners

Woulda Coulda Shoulda

Yeah, Totally.... Right?