Friday, December 19, 2008
Arrr!!!
My pirate name is:
Bloody Ethel Kidd
Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Red Fridays
A good friend sent this message to me. I think that's it's really important, and an easy thing to do to try to make a difference in this country. I think that some Americans in aggressively asserting their first amendment rights have gotten so tangled up in politics that they have forgotten the people who are involved in war, who have been made to feel that their sacrifice is not important because they were on the wrong end of a political opinion. It doesn't matter how you feel about politics, war, or the military; which policy you support or whether or not you think that entering the war was wrong; the fact is that there are people risking their lives every day because they feel so strongly about our country that they are willing to fight and possibly die for it and we owe them. It is not a question of politics for them, but an issue of love of country, love of people, and love of freedom. Please read this and spread the word. It's time for something positive to unite and uplift people.
As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support 'Red Fridays.'
Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said 'hi.'
The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her Daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the
young soldier began to tear up.
When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'
The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.
As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.
RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions.. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.
Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear some thing red.
By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.
If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever; certainly more than the media lets on.
The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.
As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support 'Red Fridays.'
Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said 'hi.'
The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her Daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the
young soldier began to tear up.
When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'
The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.
As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.
RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers.
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions.. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops.
Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear some thing red.
By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers.
If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever; certainly more than the media lets on.
The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Winter Camping
I think that I have been officially initiated to Wisconsin. Mary and Adam took me camping this weekend, and let me tell you, you've never been camping until you've gone in Wisconsin in the month of November! Luckily, we had a warm snap come through and the lows were only in the 40's! But, I have to say that with a LOT of layers, and a LOT of fire, it wasn't that bad. Winter camping survival tip #1: Bring more clothes than you think necessary! For sleeping I had on two pairs of
socks, leg warmers, long johns, insulated pants, an under armor shirt, t-shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, ski ear muffs, a hat and I slept in a mummy sleeping bag, and it was STILL cold! It wasn't too bad though, my face was about to fall off, but once I fell asleep I didn't really notice. Winter camping survival tip #2) DON'T drink a lot of water because waking up and having to climb out of your semi-warm sleeping bag into freezing cold air to go use the bathroom is NOT pleasant! Winter camping survival tip #3) Bring self-heating hot chocolates (you can buy them at Walmart for $1) for immediate warming up after you wake up and while waiting for the fire to start. Which brings me to the final tip. Winter tip #
4) Bring a boy scout to start your fires for you! haha.....Saturday morning we made french toast and bacon for breakfast. YUM-O! After clean-up we headed from our camp Mirror Lake to Devil's Lake where we went hiking for most of the afternoon. We climbed to the top of a hill/mountain? I'm not sure what the elevation was, but it was HIGH! and so much fun! The weather was perfect for hiking-in the upper 50's, and the trees were still beautifully full of fall colors! The lake was gorgeous and the sky was wonderfully blue
All in all, the cold was totally worth surviving through, because this was a really fun experience. There's nothing better than sitting around a campfire late at night and being able to look up through the trees and see a clear sky spotted
with stars, hear no noise pollution from the city and know that there is beauty all around you!
Happy Camping!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Fall
This was the first weekend that Mary and Adam have been home for the weekend since I've moved here. The temperature is dropping and there is threat of sn
ow in the air, but the trees still look as beautiful as fall. Which made this the perfect weekend to celebrate fall. Saturday, the missionaries came over for dinner. Mary and I got a little ambitious and decided to make an apple p
ie with some older apples we had left. Of course, we didn't realize, but the particular apples we had really weren't made for baking. The apple turned out little juicy, but it still tasted fabulous.
Then Sunday, we carved pumpkins! (which happens to be a favorite activity!) I carved a cute little bat, Adam carved a pirate's ship, and Mary carved an awesome Trick-or-Treat sign.
ow in the air, but the trees still look as beautiful as fall. Which made this the perfect weekend to celebrate fall. Saturday, the missionaries came over for dinner. Mary and I got a little ambitious and decided to make an apple p
ie with some older apples we had left. Of course, we didn't realize, but the particular apples we had really weren't made for baking. The apple turned out little juicy, but it still tasted fabulous.
Then Sunday, we carved pumpkins! (which happens to be a favorite activity!) I carved a cute little bat, Adam carved a pirate's ship, and Mary carved an awesome Trick-or-Treat sign.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
So You Think You Can Dance!
Ok, so my FAVORITE television show is So You Think You Can Dance. Unfortunately, the show is only on during the summer, but fortunately, the top 12 go on tour. Even more fortunately, my sister is as crazed as I am about the show and even MORE fortunately the tour came through Milwaukee! So, long story short, my sister and I are the luckiest girls on the face of the planet, because 2 weeks before the show we found tickets only 8 rows from the stage! Ahhhh!!!!The show was really amazing, they danced almost ALL of my favorites, Katee was injured so we only got to see her dance one (the Tabitha and Napoleon number to "No Air." But the best part was just being able to see all these dancers that I feel I got to know a little, up close and in person. Even after performing all summer and into the fall on the show and as part of the tour, you could still see their passion for dance in their expressions and movements. They still experienced such joy in each number. It was truly inspiring.
These are the Top 5 guys, Twitch, Mark, Will,
Joshua, and Gev.
Katee, Twitch, Chelsie and Jessica.
Joshua and TWITCH!!!
The group number to Mia Michaels choreography. This was my absolute FAVORITE of the night!
Katee and Joshua danced to "No Air."
Twitch and Comfort!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Wanderings in Watertown
This is my new apartment in Watertown, Wisconsin! It's hard to read in the picture, but it's Apartment 3E. The apartment complex is really cute, and the apartment itself is very nice. When you enter this door you immediately go upstairs as the apartment is on the second floor. Below is a picture of our balcony which is just off the living room.
After I went job hunting today, I had some time on my hands and it was a beautiful day so I went for a little wandering. There is a park just down the street from where I live and it had beautiful trees and tons of green, which is what can be found all over Wisconsin. Here's a selection of my wanderings. Lindsey: Bernheim rhymes with Joe Creason...I actually remembered my camera this time!
These pictures remind me of the secret garden! It was so tranquil through here. Then I found this cute little bench. It looks so perfect there!
These trees were near the end of the walk and I thought that they were pretty neat. I liked how the light was filtering down through the leaves, but it was kind of hard to capture with my camera.
Meeting the locals!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The Big Move
Yesterday was the big move to Wisconsin. The weather was gorgeous for the drive, unfortunately I was a nervous wreck the entire time. I packed my car to the tip top and the only way to see any oncoming traffic was in my two side mirrors. Let me give you a piece of advice, NEVER drive through Chicago traffic with no way to check for oncoming cars! Every time I changed lanes I literally cringed and let out a little prayer that I wouldn't get hit!
With the help of my sister Mary and my mom, we got my room completely unpacked and set up by early evening (I'll post a picture tomorrow if I can) and we were able to hang out the rest of the night and this morning. We went to dinner and Walmart and I had my first big encounter with the accent here. I thought that our waitress was just kidding because she sounded ridiculous! (like full blown Canadian accent from Strange Brew) but that's really how people talk up here! They must all think I'm a country girl because my y'alls and howdy's just don't fit in! :) Unfortunately, it was a sad morning for my mother this morning, who I think wishes that I wasn't handling the move so well. It was very hard to say goodbye to her and my dad, but I know that everything's going to be alright.Mary and Adam had me drive around town tonight because tomorrow I have to try to get around on my own so I can hunt up a job for myself! I'm pretty sure at some point I'm going to get lost and have to send up a flare for rescue because it's raining cats and dogs (and is supposed to the rest of the week)and they'll have to rescue me with a boat!
Not much else to say, I've mainly spent the day with Mary and Adam being quiet. I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm not going to be coming home in a few days and going back to work like I normally do. And in case I didn't express myself well enough at the time we said goodbye, let me just tell you all now how much I love you! To my BP ladies, my days will never be the same without you all. You are each wonderful people and you're much funnier than you may realize. Working was a pleasure because I got to spend each day having fun mostly and working a little! haha... To all my other friends (you know who you are) I LOVE YOU! I probably didn't express how much, or how much I'm going to miss you, but I promise I will! I'll be calling soon!
Love you all!
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