Most Certainly Not

The Countdown will remain so scroll for new content.

Get this widget!

A+ Customer Service

I have been purchasing flowers from ProFlowers.com for some time now and have not been disappointed once.

This past weekend, I ordered a lovely orchid in a cute teacup and saucer to send to my friend who moved right after graduation.  She's a state away now, studying for bar with strangers, and her husband won't be able to join her there until July.  So, I sent her the orchid thinking it would be a nice housewarming present for her.  It was set to be delivered Tuesday.

Monday night, I spoke with my friend on the phone and she told me there had been a death in her family and she had to travel to Illinois.  Her cousin, only 25, had died in a car accident.  She was not sure when she'd be returning home--maybe not until the weekend.

Tuesday, I checked  my e-mail and saw that her orchid had been delivered; but, obviously, she would not be there to take it in from the porch.

I worried about her returning home to find a destroyed orchid on her front step.

I e-mailed customer care yesterday and Proflowers and asked them what condition to expect the orchid to be in and if there were anything I could do.

Last night, my friend called me while she was driving back to her new place; seems she decided to head home prior to the mass exodus of drivers that is Memorial Day weekend.  Orchid problem solved, I figured.

I received a reply from Proflowers.com today that kind of surprised me.  Not only did they offer a replacement plant (I didn't have to pick the same thing; it just had to be of equal or lesser value), but they also offered their condolences to my friend on her loss.  It was a nice e-mail and I appreciated the sentiment.

And, NO, I did not order my friend a second plant on their dime.  I replied to the e-mail, explained the change in circumstance, thanked them for their offer and then resolved to come here and tel you all about how awesome they are.

Not to mention that the flowers always last a super long time, come expertly packaged and are reasonably priced.

Am I the Only One Feeling Bothered?

Maybe I'm just too crabby for my own good.  Blame Eve; I do.  Or, maybe my senses are still on overload from law school and I'm just wandering around looking for trouble.  But this kind of stuff burns me.  I received the following information in an e-mail from the Public Liaison at the White House.  (I'm on the e-mail list it seems).

"After June 15th, We Will Run Out Of Funds In This Account To Pay Soldiers, Including Those In Iraq And Afghanistan"

Secretary of Defense And Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Explain Disruptive Steps The Military Will Be Forced to Take If Congress Fails to Pass Supplemental Funding.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen

Testimony to the Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee

May 20, 2008

Military Pay Will Soon Dry Up

Sec. Gates:  "Congress Has Yet To Pass The Pending $102.5 Billion Global War On Terror Request:

• "As a result, the Defense Department is currently using fourth quarter funds...to cover current war costs."

Sec. Gates:  "Shortly Two Critical Accounts Will Run Dry."

• After June 15th, We Will Run Out Of Funds In This Account To Pay Soldiers, Including Those in Iraq And Afghanistan."  "First, Army military personnel:  After June 15th, we will run out of funds in this account to pay soldiers, including those in Iraq and Afghanistan."
• Running Out Of O&M Funds..."May Result In Civilian Furloughs, Limits On Training And Curbing Family Support Activities."  "Second, operations and maintenance accounts:  Around July 5th, O&M funds across the services will run out, starting with the Army.  This may result in civilian furloughs, limits on training and curbing family support activities."

Critical "CERP" Funds At Risk

Sec. Gates:  "The Single Most Effective Program To Enable Commanders To Address Local Populations' Needs...Will Come To A Standstill."  "The Commanders Emergency Response Program, or CERP, the single most effective program to enable commanders to address local populations' needs, and get potential insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan off the streets and into jobs.  Congress has provided a half-a-billion dollars of our total CERP request of 1.7 billion.  Without the balance of 1.2 billion, this vital program will come to a standstill.  The department does not have the authority to extend funding beyond the 977 million in authority provided in the FY '08 National Defense Authorization Act."

• Adm. Mullen:  "We're Beginning To Suffer Now."  "I'm especially concerned about the availability of fund into the Commander's Emergency Response Program, authority for which expires next month...Without these funds, without the supplemental, our ability to have this sort of impact will suffer.  And, in fact, we're beginning to suffer now."
  • "CERP has proven in most cases more valuable and perhaps more rapid than bullets or bombs."  "...in the fight against extremism, delivering as it does to local officials the money they need to deliver in turn the civil improvements their citizens need."
  • "As one young American officer in Afghanistan put it, and I quote, 'CERP is small scale but quick impact.'"

Recurring Congressional Inaction Has Caused Disrupts And Delays

Sec. Gates:  "[T]he Combination Of Delays In the Supplementals And Continuing Resolutions Has Really Thrown Managing The Department Out of Whack."

• "[I]t is costing taxpayers money."
• "It disrupts programs."
• "It creates enormous problems just from a management standpoint because we're always kind of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, and it's very difficult to do a lot of things in terms of long-range planning."

Sec. Gates:  "I Have Compared The Department of Defense To The World's Largest Supertanker...It Cannot Operate Without Paying Its People."  "Delaying the supplemental makes it difficult to manage the department in a way that is fiscally sound and prudent...I have compared the Department of Defense to the world's largest supertanker:  it cannot turn on a dime, and it cannot be steered like a skiff--and I would addit cannot operate without paying is people."

So, it shouldn't shock anyone who knows me that the type of shenanigans being perpetrated on the people doing the heavy lifting in this war by the people who sent them into it are wearing decidedly thin. 

The news featuring how Congress has spent this week has been less than impressive.  Yes.  Being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor when you're pushing 80 is a sad thing.  It's a horrible death to comprehend, especially for someone still so active and agile.  (Although, I think it's easier to make plans for death when you're nearing 80 than when you're slowly drowning in a submerged car before even seeing 30).  And such a diagnosis is apparently enough to bring the wheels of Congress to a screeching halt.

I stood with my mouth agape as I watched Senator Byrd with his head bowed (or is he just incapable of holding it up anymore?) delivering an oral love letter/premature eulogy to the still very much alive Senator Kennedy while the clock continues to tick.

I'm sure you haven't made it this far in life without tragedy befalling a co-worker you consider a member of your family.  Or, even something awful happening to an actual member of your family.  Do you think, however, that when one of Hubs' friends at work was hit by a teenaged driver so hard that it knocked him from his shoes that they just parked all the package cars and sent everyone home for a week?  Um, no.  People could literally drop dead at many workplaces and because of the nature of the business and those depending upon the ones still breathing, the work must go on.  Countless numbers of loved ones  have headed off to work when they felt they needed to be spending time with a sick relative.

Is that right?  I'm not sure it is, but that's the bittersweet reality of life.  What I do know is this:  Serving the public (if that's what we're still pretending is going on in government today) has become a 24/7 enterprise thanks to the unending trudge toward nanny statedom.  Instead of waxing eloquent about fellow Senators who, although facing adversity are still planning on racing their sailboats this weekend, and how well ye knew thee or writing absolutely ignorant letters to the Secretary of Defense, those elected to serve should spend some time doing the people's business.  Sorry, though, that does NOT mean devising new ways to tack on even more pork barrel spending that will weigh down the supplemental war spending budget even more.  In is unconscionable to me that military families, already stretched thin, may face the nightmare that is cleaning up pay issues.

If even a fraction of what has been said about Senator Kennedy this week is true, he may very well feel  that the time spent lamenting his medical condition might have been better spent actually working.  Or, at the very least these emotional statements could have been taken care of after hours and in private rather than on the floor of the Senate and on every television news program.  He may agree with me that the words of the infamous candy lady from I Love Lucy are appropriate for his esteemed colleagues..."GET BACK TO WORK."

 

Lawn Wars Part Deux

I cannot remember a time when I was doing spring planting in jeans and a sweatshirt and SOCKS no less.  It was CHILLY yesterday.  I couldn't break a sweat if I tried.  I had applied SPF 30 sunscreen on my face, just to be safe, and the sun still managed to find a way on to my face.  It's a pretty stealthy sun, at that, given that I didn't even see it out there!

It was a muddy MESS, but you can see in the corner of this bed that the three plants I put in last night were a wee bit droopy yesterday.  They were just thirsty and when I watered everything in, they perked right up.  I was glad.  These three plants were purchased this season after an impulse buy on my part during Hubs' deployment to Louisiana.  I planted it on the corner of our lot and it has flourished.  I'm hoping these  three will do that same and anchor this bed.  We cannot WAIT to remove those ramshackled railroad ties and replace them with paving stones (like we did in front) but those are week-long projects in and of themselves.  We put in two new lavendar plants (the fate of our older lavendar plants are yet to be detemined) and I filled in the bed yesterday with lots of marigolds and a handful of yellow petunias.  I think when these become comfortable in their new setting, this will fill in nicely and be a decent pop of color for the backyard.  I have to teach Henry to STAY OFF THE FLOWERS.  He is unbelievably bad about tromping through them.  Ding dong.

You can see how muddy the backyard is by the state of the walkway.  Yikes.  I almost bit it a few times sliding around in slickery mud.  I didn't fall, however, but I missed several good chances.  This bed has several wave petunias planted.  Those plants go buckwild in my beds, keep the weeds down, and provide lots of color all season with  zero work.  I filled in between the wave petunias with some regular petunias (blue, white and purple striped, and deep velvety purple) as well as some marigolds.  I wanted to see how the orange and yellow of the marigolds would mix with the purple.  It's a color experiment. 

I'm not always a fan of marigolds, but I really like this particular variety.  The full blooms with the deep orange really stand out in the beds.  Our beds are so big that flowers can sometimes become lost in it all.  I'm anxious to see how these marigolds do this year, especially with the wave petunias nearby pushing them to grow upward to see the sun.  Another pretty variety of flower we found this weekend were the blue  petunias.  There weren't enough for me to fill an entire bed with them as I would have liked, but I purchased all they had and used them throughout the back bed that runs along the basement windows.  It's a perfect fit between the variegated petunias with deep purple veins and that super dark, velvety purple petunias.  Should be pretty!  We also purchased a different variety of marigold that opens with flatter petals than a traditional marigold.  I find these plants to be a good connection between the buttony marigolds with lots of ridges of color and the wide open petunias.  They work to lace it all together, especially in the bed outside the Florida room that will have lots of yellow blooms.  I cannot wait to update these blog posts  when these flowers start blooming.  Toward the end of this long bed, I put LOTS of wave petunias with a few regular petunias and marigolds smattered to fill in.  These wave petunias should grow together with lots of blooms and even go over the edge of bed near the walkway and maybe even reach the hydrangea.

In looking over the area of the bed that runs between my limelight hydrangeas, I've decided we are going to put in some sort of flowering bushes that smell really good.  I'm thinking something like Daphne might be nice or a butterfly bush or two.  Maybe some lilac bushes to match the one in the back corner of our lawn.  We just need something that will take off and go in full sun without a bunch of hassle and will allow us a chance to do away with the creepy greenery junk that proliferates that bed year in and year out.

A temporary cease fire has been called in the Lawn War.  More updates from the front as they become available.

To-Do List

Weed the back beds for planting.

Plant new flowers in the yard.

Paint the living room.  (In progress.  All supplies purchased and ready to go)

Make appointment for oil change.

Make appointment for M1 with dentist.

Wash down walls and doors in the upstairs hallway.  (Gotta do it, AWTM.  This area painted recently & is just from grubby kid hands that it needs clean)

Put away scrapbook supplies.

Clean up basement clutter.

Ready to tackle those walls!!!! 

I Fought the Lawn...

and the lawn kicked my arse.

I don't really take my time much.  I wanted the back flower beds cleaned out so I can plant the new bedding plants for this year.  On Friday, I contemplated being in my last PMBR class on Saturday until around 3:30 so Saturday was out, plus the weather people called for off-and-on rain all weekend.  I decided that after Friday's PMBR class was as good a time as any.

I should have really taken "before" shots, but with all the debris, you will get the idea.

Follow me along the journey of landscaping...

This bed is directly on the other side of our "Florida" room.  I'm not sure why they call it a Florida room...probably because in the summer, it's as hot as Florida and in the winter, you should just go ahead and fly to Florida if you'd like to be comfortable in an outside setting such as this.  This bed was ridiculous with junk.  Yankity-yank-yank-YANK and Voila!

All ready for some new plants.  I will post photos later today of the new plantings.  The interesting plant left in this bed is the trailing rose bush in the bottom corner.  It was previously planted in the top corner directly behind where it is now.  If you look on the sidewalk in the first photo, you will see that there is a woody, barren wreck of what used to be a prolific rose bush.  It seems its desire to surpass Hub's failure to properly prune it (I will never relinquish the gardening reins again, no matter WHAT) pushed it downward in the bed.  I'll be interested to see if it blooms.

The next bed runs along our basement windows.  It was horrendous too.  Most annoying were naturalized lilies that had migrated from the top of our hill--they line our shed there and look lovely.  Last summer, I selectively yanked some of them and left others to bloom.  This year, however, I was a wee bit peeved with life in general when I headed into the bed, shovel in hand, and dammit, if I didn't plant you there, you were NOT staying.  Hence, a big old pile of lilies waiting to be garbage canned.  Please don't  feel sorry for the lilies or be mad at me for giving them the heave ho.  They WILL be back, trust me.  Anytime I think I've eradicated by choice or eliminated by accident something in my yard, it always returns...I'll post photos of my thriving hostas that I hacked into oblivion a few years ago as proof.  Although, the yucca plant that I have been on a dedicated search and destroy mission for since we moving here in 1999 may finally be on its last leg...it's learning its place at the very least.

Around the bend from the bed that runs along our basement window is another, wider bed that follows the perimeter of the house.  Last fall, I finally had an opportunity to put in those beds what I wanted in my yard more than anything.  Limelight hydrangea bushes...they are coming along and I need to figure out what types of maintenance I need to be doing.  We already put down their spring fertilizer per gardening dude's  instruction, but I need to figure out if we prune it now or wait.  Decisions, decisions and a quick Google search should provide an answer.  If all goes well, I will have several blooms like this to cut and use in what will be my newly painted living room.

More weeding and more weeding and more weeding...until all was pretty much cleared in that area too.  It literally only took me a couple hours, if that, to do all this.  Anger is a great motivator.  Frustration can be easily alleviated by digging and yanking and pulling out lots of weeds.

My hands ached, my back and neck were really mad at me, and my legs hurt too.  But, I totally see how AWTM became so svelte doing tons of yardwork.  I spent yesterday evening in the yard too and really did notice how good a workout it could be.  I have to apologize to my shovel, however, as it was quite   overcome by the mud--that was the other thing--it had been raining for a couple days solid before I did the weeding.  It made the ground more compliant, but when I had to dig (for the lilies, for instance), it was HEAVY lifting!

Today should be pretty smooth saving, though.  Just planting and minimal weeding...anything I missed Friday will be unceremoniously yanked today.  Awesome.

For those keeping score at home, I present the to-do list (ever changing & modified):

Weed the back beds for planting

Plant new flowers in the yard.

Paint the living room.  (This is going to happen--more on this later)

Make appointment for oil change.

Make dentist appt. for M1's likely cavity...her 1st.

Wash down walls and doors in upstairs hallway.

Put away scrapbook supplies.

Clear basement clutter.

Okay...off to start my backyard odyssey.  Photos to follow!

Could It Be?

I know in previous posts in the past two years I compared gritting through three years of law school in two years with the same "put your head down and drive on" mentality I had during deployment.  I know deployment certainly prepared me for the rigors of that insanity known as 'learning to think like a lawyer.'

And, true to form, here I am with graduation a week behind me (and still waiting on ONE grade!), PMBR fading fast and one week between me and the beginning of Bar/Bri hell.  And, how do I plan to spend that week?  Checking things off my insanely long, two-year-in-the-making to-do list.  I honestly have looked at some things around my home for at least two years now, believe it or not, and no amount of wishing, nagging, cajoling, bribing, or plain asking has taken care of them.  I'll be taking a page from my friend, AWTM's book and just doing it myself. 

Some biggies on my list:  Cleaning out and re-filling my flower beds.  Yes, the backyard too.  Unfortunately, the dead head fairy hasn't come through and cleared out the deadness that was last season's beauty.  Funny how that works.

Painting my living room.  Nope.  It's not going to paint itself and nope I've never painted a room that big before, but hey!  There is a first time for everything and I want it done before my new furniture shows up in a couple weeks.  So, off to Sherwin Williams I go...luckily for me, I've had the paint color picked out for about a year now, so at least that part is done.

And, two projects that didn't get finished last break--properly storing my scrapbook supplies (who has time for hobbies anymore?!) and organizing the disaster that is my basement (what IS all that crap?!).

There will also be washing of walls and scrubbing of floors with wild abandon.  I will have a clean house again.  It will be done, even if it takes my entire week off and then some.  I am at wit's end and I cannot think with all that chaos ensuing around me.  I will enlist the help of my girls with the promise of some fabulous prize at the end--maybe M2 will finally have the desk she was promised eons ago and M1's new desk will find it's way to her room?  Hell, maybe once I paint the living room I will go ahead and give M2's room the do-over she's been asking for since she could talk.

I wish I could say this is how I'm looking forward to spending my week, but I'm not.  I am, however, looking forward to having it DONE. 

It's lists like these that make me laugh out loud when the girls say, "I can't wait until I'm a grown-up so I can do whatever I want."  Yea, right.  Keep dreaming, ladies.  You aren't sporting the right equipment to make that proclamation.

Maybe It's Because I'm Rainman When It Comes to Lyrics...

Or, maybe it's just because I'm a grown woman.  I simply cannot fathom why, when there is a new episode of CSI on television, one would settle in to watch Wayne Brady and some unfortunates telling each other, "Don't Forget the Lyrics."  Go ahead, Wayne, lock 'em in.  If I were ever on that show, they would be bankrupt and someone would think another quiz show scandal were afoot.

I love when having to put the children to bed means I lose dibs on the decent TV and am either relegated to hovering over the eentsy one in the kitchen (you have to either sit on the floor or stand to watch it because the living room TV is so loud, you can't hear it otherwise) or in the basement with the old TV that makes everyone look like a conehead.  Oh, well. At least the computer is down here and it's quiet. 

I have honestly sat through one too many episodes of Howie talking to the banker, realizing no one is smarter than a fifth grader, and seeing what a mess rednecks can make of a wedding ceremony.  And, truth be told, I know rednecks.  Those people on redneck weddings are not rednecks by and large.  We have words for them, but this is a family blog so I'll skip it except to say, they are NOT rednecks.

I grew up in a house with three channels and spent entirely too much of my childhood watching hunting programs and professional bowling.  It's a shame now with three more TVs and a bajillion more channels, I still find my television blaring everything from NASCAR to Around the Service to animal pursuits in one form or another. 

I suppose I could just study for the bar instead?

Oh.  And P.S.  If one SLEEPS while taking over and hogging the television, one should make sure he secures all the couch's pillows lest one find it's way over one's face.  Just sayin.

All Hail The Talking Head

PMBR rolls on--we've covered Constitutional law, torts and contracts so far.  I've been using the 50-question practice tests to my advantage.  I have been getting around 30/50 right which is, according to the talking head and the smartest guy I graduated with, pretty darn good.  What I don't understand is how I can sit in class for 15 weeks, study my arse off and earn a C+ on a completely multiple-choice exam only to go in cold, take a multiple-choice test on a topic and hit 30/50 questions.  It's insane.  Whatever.  I just want to pass the bar.

In Mom news, M1 wants to sign up for PeeWee Football cheerleading commencing in the fall.  I went to the meeting tonight at the high school of which M1's elementary school is a "feeder."  It is decidedly urban--located in downtown and doesn't  even have a football field of its own.  I'm still processing my thoughts on the organizational meeting as well as trying to figure out how, in a half-hour, I ended up smelling like stale cigarette smoke.  Yeah.  It was an eclectic group of folks...and I was an island, shall we say?  If you've met me in person, it's easy to see that I don't have a lot of street cred.  I was a wee bit out of my element.  I'm sure we'll all become friends and laugh about this later, but for today, I was a little on the outskirts.

One of my very best friends from law school is moving this weekend.  I'm verklempt.  She won't be that far away, but far enough that I just can't meet her out for lunch or cocktails.  We had joked about how we'd suffer through bar prep together, but now she'll be sitting in another state and doing her prep there...alone.  Sigh.  Of course, per usual, Hubs will be headed to drill as I'm driving home from the bar exam in July so maybe I will just head south and celebrate the accomplishment with my best girlfriend. 

Our anniversary is this weekend so that means Hubs will be at drill.  I received my graduation/Mother's Day/anniversary gift this past weekend, so it's all good.  I'll have to post a photo as they are earrings of the sparkly variety.  If you took my wedding band and turned it into an earring, I'd have two of them!  M1 and M2 helped pick them out AND kept the secret!  That's big time especially for M2.  She was quite pleased with herself. 

M2 started kinderprep class this week at her regular daycare.  She really loves it.  It's a good way to wean me into the idea of kindergarten I suppose.  I can't believe my baby is going to big girl school in a couple months.  Are we prepared for that?  I think not.

Oh!  Gosh!  Before I close this post, more MOM news!  My Mother's Day was enhanced beyond belief when my dear friend, Sarah, from Trying to Grok called to let me know she is going to have a baby!!!  Yea, Sarah!!  Arriving at this point wasn't a smooth journey, but I truly wish for her an uneventful pregnancy as they are the best kind to have!

Remember When Graduation Meant You Were Done?

Yeah.  Me too.

But, this was law school.  And, now, my friends and gentle readers, we saunter into what we will lovingly call Step Two.  This is not to be confused with "going #2" no matter how much they resemble each other.

The bar exam is at the end of July.  If I can stomach it, a countdown clock will likely be placed at the top of the blog in the coming days.  Right now, however, it is still too surreal to fathom.

Tomorrow, I will begin the first of six (yes, that means I'll be at school on a Saturday and, coincidentlly, my 6th anniversary) days of PMBR.  This handy-dandy course, with a several hundred dollar price tag purports to expose you to the wonderful world of bar exam multiple choice.  We'll see.  The books are certainly heavy.  That's always a plus.  I mean, I wouldn't want my back to recover completely after lugging casebooks to and fro for the past two years.

Then, I have a week off before the real fun, known as BarBri, begins.  You would pee your pants if I posted the calendar for that course.  I suppose since that course's price tag has a comma in it, they want you to feel like you are getting your money's worth.  Big fun.  Those lawyers in the readership who enrolled in such loveliness could probably attest to its cruel and unusual rigidity. 

I just plan on doing whatever I'm told to do by our bar passage staff so that I can be sending them a big bouquet of flowers in October when I see my name posted on our state's supreme court website. 

It could happen.

In other news, Happy Mother's Day to you and yours.

And, congratulations to one of my favorite Moms (and, as it happens, America's Favorite Mom), Patti Patton-Bader.  Our beloved Soldiers' Angels founder will donate her winnings to SA.  Hats off to Patti!!

So, I Guess I'm a Lawyer Now.

The weather for graduation day could not be more lovely.  Clear blue skies with a few wispy clouds, sunshine and a nice breeze.  Gorgeous!

Here's the entire fam before the big event (and before I strapped on the cap).  Hubs' dad took the photo or he would be in it too.  That's my dad, Hubs, the girls, my Mom and my sister...all decked out and ready for the main event.

I was the girl with the bobby pins this year--this is my 4th graduation (counting high school) and for ONCE I was handing out the pins rather than searching for them.  I broke my own rule and stepped in to a Super Wal-Mart to purchase them.  It was a quick, side trip on the way to the venue so I don't think anyone really noticed that I was even there.

A little blurry, but Hubs was far away and using the zoom after all.  Here is the moment of truth.  The "hooding" and handing over of the diploma holder filled with a gee-just-in-case-you-flunked fake diploma.  Gotta love that!  I'd feel so much better about today if ALL my grades were in as I don't feel quite done yet.  Incidentally, the two professors who hooded me taught the classes where I earned two (of the now THREE) C+'s I received in law school.  But, they are also two of my favorite professors, so it worked out okay in my book.  One of them was even the first to call me "Counselor."  Chills.

The experience turned out to be quite surreal.  We made history today as 1/3 of our class (me included) were the first in the nation to graduate in two years instead of three.  Neat.  I wasn't the least bit emotional until we moved our tassles over to the left.  Then, it was REAL.  Even though we still have the bar to prepare for and live through, step one is complete.

Thanks to each of you for all your encouraging words, your prayers, your support and your excitement over this entire experience.  I appreciate it more than you know! 

On to the next adventure!!

Home From D.C.

Fun trip and, by far, in my top 10 experiences in my 30-something years. 

I flew AirTran and had no problems in either direction.  It was a wee bit of a shocker to see the pilot as I left the plane today after we landed in my hometown.  She looked to be all of 15 years old.  She did land in a driving rainstorm, however, so I'll give her some props. 

So, what prompted me to go to D.C.?  Well, I'll give you a hint.  I received an e-mail from someone in this recognizable house and decided I could not RSVP in the negative.  I'm glad I could re-arrange everything in my daily life and go.  The weather could not have been any nicer--sunshine, blue skies, and gorgeous flowers.

Tuesday's event was to in appreciation of military spouses and I was honored to be invited to attend.  I met several neat people, including an absolutely polite and sweet secret service/Army type fella who stood with us while we waited in line to enter the South Lawn area.  He is planning to be married next month and there will be yet another military spouse added to our family.

We were able to meet Secretary of Defense Gates and he posed for a photo with my friends and me.  He was very generous with his time and patiently posed for several photos with individuals and groups of spouses.  He also delivered a nice opening statement prior to the main attraction of the event--remarks from the President of the United States and the presentation of awards to some very deserving winners.

I also had a chance to meet Gen. Cody and speak with him for a minute or two.  I knew Hubs would be jealous and told him as much.  That's when Gen. Cody motioned toward his assistant who handed over a coin for me to take home to Hubs.  It's shaped like a dogtag and even has a CAV guidon featured on the front.  When I hnaded it over to Hubs, he was as excited as the girls were with their snowglobes I brought home.  I only wish my hair had not given in to the pressure of humidity.  Ah, well.  It looked cute going in, but not as cute as it did the day before, of course.

Phil Vassar, a wonderful song writer and singer (if you don't think you know him, you do), sang the National Anthem along with a couple of his hits, including "Love is a Beautiful Thing."  He sang that one for President Bush whose daughter, Jenna, will be married in Crawford, Texas this Saturday.

And, speaking of the main event, here is President Bush during his keynote speech.  No zoom on this photo, folks.  I was just that close.  Another military spouse, who I actually saw taking these photos, has a photo blog with a slideshow (scroll down in her post) and I saw her snapping these photos; in fact, I'm in the background of at least one of them (16/44--check out AWTM and me having a conversation).  Cool.  She has great angles on her shots; wish I had thought of that!

After the ceremony, we were invited to take a tour of the East Wing of the White House.  I couldn't wait to go.  My feet had different ideas--my heels were killing me!  Don't tell anyone, but I stood shoeless a couple times during our move through the East Wing.  It took an excrutiatingly long time--I feel it would have felt that way even if I were wearing my Land's End slip-ons.  We toughed it out, however, and then went for a lovely lunch at the Old Ebbitt Grill where I had oat-crusted salmon, mashed potatoes and carrots.  YUM. 

Some of the best times were spent off White House grounds, though.  Hanging out with some of my favorite other milspouses prior to and after the event was wonderful.  Just what I needed to wind down after finals and kick off a celebration of my fast approaching graduation.  I even learned to knit.  How can you beat that?!

For those wonderfully capable, strong minded and willed military spouses who were not in attendance Tuesday, hope your Military Spouse Appreciation Day was a good one.  Kudos to all of you for doing what you do every day.