Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of Halloween I thought I would share some more costume photos.

The first two are Stonewall when he was a little kid as a mouse and vampire.

My sister, Meg, as a PSU Cheerleader.

Meg as a clown (a much better clown than I was so many years earlier.)

My mom as a hung over college student and cow.

My stepdad as a Greaser.

Meg, the Head Nurse (with kneepads.)

My best friend, Carsley, as a pirate and Jesus. Argh!

Stonewall Jr.

Ever since we had the second 3D/4D ultrasound done, everyone in our family is trying to decide who our baby boy looks like: Stonewall or me? Some say he looks like me and others say he looks like Stonewall. So I pulled out the newborn photos I have of Stonewall and myself this morning and...well, what do you think?

This is my newborn photo.

These are the 3D/4D ultrasound photos from October 8 when I was around 30 weeks pregnant.

And these are Stonewall's newborn photos.

In my opinion: Like father, like son :)

Halloween Costumes Through the Years

It's Halloween time!!! Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year because I love to dress up. However, I'm sitting this year out. I'm pretty disappointed, but I'm not in the mood to be the extremely pregnant chick at a bar/party. I can't drink, I hate being around cigarette smoke, I look like a weeble wobble when I dance, and I feel pretty limited on good costume choices, so that doesn't make for a very good time. Instead, I'm going to live vicariously through my Halloween costumes of previous years.

The first Halloween I dressed up I was a clown. Well, I was supposed to be a clown. My mom put on my clown make-up and wig and I freaked! So in the end, I was a hobo type person with a big red bow and funny suspenders.




Another year, I was a bumble bee. Growing up, my mom made all of our Halloween costumes. And she did such an awesome job, she is pleased to learn that she'll be making her grandkids costumes as well! (I know you're super thrilled about this, Mom :))

I love the wings! (That's my Pap.)

I was an angel one year. The wings were really cool on this costume too. My mom glued tons of feathers to cardboard wings. Unfortunately, the only photo I have of that year is discolored and I look high. I'm not high, I swear. I'm also not normally so yellow.


One year, my mom turned us into a family of dancing bears. My mom, sister, and I were brown bears with tutus and my dad was a white circus bear.


When I was around 6 or 7, my sister and I dressed up as pretty princesses and my cousin dressed up in the bumble bee costume. This photo is a little blurry and discolored, but I fixed it up the best I could.


When it comes to the next two costumes, I don't remember which was first. I was older, probably around 10 and 11. I was a Southern Belle and Raggedy Ann.



After these costumes, I don't have any photos until college. Just a warning before we get to the college photos: I kinda jumped onto the "slutty Halloween" band wagon. Not as much as most college girls, but I was on the edge. My costumes were more suggestive than full out T and A. Okay...moving on.

My junior year I was a Futuristic Gladiator. This costume was hot! I wore a skin-tight pleather cat suit with a metal bra and cooch plate I found at a costume shop in State College. When I rented the bra and "panties" the clerk laughed and said I was the first person to rent it in like 3 years. Figures. Haha! To finish off the costume I bought a silver wig and light saber type sword and gun. I have never had my ass slapped so much and guys kept trying to steal my weapons!


For Senior year Halloween, I was Betty Boop. I was also Betty Boop my Freshman year, but different school, so I was okay with repeating costumes. How do you like me with that hair?


For my Super Senior year (yes, it took my 5 years to finish college), I was a birthday cake. I had found the hat a few months earlier and thought it would be so awesome to make a costume around the hat. The funniest thing about the costume was that people thought it was actually my birthday. I was just like, "Well, are you really a fairy/lady bug/whatever costume you're wearing?" Drunk college students are not the brightest crayons in the box.


During my sister's senior year of college, we dressed up as construction workers. More specifically, we were the "Banger Sisters Construction Est. 1969." We made t-shirts and one of us wore a shirt that read, "Do you want to get nailed? or..." and the other wore a t-shirt that read, "Do you want to get screwed? or..." Our tools of the trade were...well, let's just say we spent a fortune at a store called "Cupids" My favorite part of the costume though was our hard hats that we covered in stickers including one that read, "Sisters Are Super!"


By the next year, Stonewall and I were engaged and so we had a whole group to dress up. My sister, Meg, wanted to go as Raggedy Ann, so Stonewall, his sister, Dani, and I jumped on board and we went as characters from "Toy Story." Meg was Raggedy Ann, Stonewall was Woody, Dani was one of the plastic soldiers, and I was Bo Beep. Stonewall's costume was hilarious! All night long people kept asking if he was "Brokeback Mountain." At first, he was like, "No!" but as the night wore on and the beer kept flowin' Stonewall decided "Brokeback Mountain" was funnier than Woody. Also, we attached a plastic ring to his back which was Woody's voice pull cord. Whenever someone pulled it rather than saying, "There's a snake in my boot," Stonewall would say, "There's a snake in my pants." That's my hub! :)


And then last year, was my favorite costume of all time. Dani, Meg, and I dressed up as the Chipettes. We ended up having to make most of the costume pieces (Who am I kidding? My mom made most of the costume pieces) and we looked fabulous!


Happy Halloween!

Decorating the Nursery

I am very excited because we're painting the nursery this weekend! My mom and I went to Lowes yesterday to buy the paint. I do not like to do anything the easy way, so we're not just painting the walls one color and calling it a day. The nursery theme is monkeys, so we'll also be painting a monkey and tree on the wall along with the poem:

Monkey see,
Monkey do,
I want to be
A monkey too!

And no worries because we bought Olympic paint which has no VOCs and is low odor.

Here's what the nursery bedding looks like:



It's going to be awesome!

How I'm Feeling

I miss Stonewall.

In The News

This is an article about Stonewall and me that ran in our local newspaper earlier this year. I didn't post it at the time because I hadn't yet outed us. I did erase the name of the town we live in.

Relying on each other: A young, married couple will grow together from afar as he serves in Iraq.

January 21, 2008


PIC: SUBMITTED Soldier and Wife hurried to marry before his redeployment to Iraq, which has since been delayed. Wife said the last time Soldier was in Iraq, she e-mailed him every day.

Perhaps it wasn't love at first strike, that Thanksgiving Day in 2005.

But as Soldier and Wife got to know each other between frames of bowling, it was clear something was there.

"He asked me out at the end of the evening," Wife recalled. "We started hanging out, talking, and pretty soon, we were engaged."

Most of the talking in 2006 was long distance. Just three weeks after meeting, Soldier, who serves full-time in the Army National Guard, was deployed to Iraq.

The couple had known each other less than two weeks when the orders came down. While her lieutenant husband is hesitant to say exactly what he did in Iraq for security reasons, he did say it was in the field of logistics and supply.

Since high school, Soldier, 25, has known he wanted to serve his country, he said. He was in the ROTC program at Shippensburg University until he graduated in 2004. His degree is in history. Wife, who works as a human resources specialist, said she is learning how to be an Army wife.

"The best part about it is when people are talking about how proud they are to support the troops," she said. "And I get this warm feeling because my husband is one of them."

The couple agree that being apart during the early part of their relationship was difficult. Wife said she e-mailed her then-boyfriend every day, sometimes many times a day.

"I told him everything that was going on," she said. "Everything."

He came home in September 2006 and proposed a month later.

Originally, the couple was supposed to have been married this month. But soon after setting the date, Soldier learned he would be returning to Iraq.

"He was supposed to have left last month," said Wife, 26.

So instead of waiting, the couple moved the date up and was married in March 2007. While the couple has done their best to make the most of their time together, Soldier is to return to Iraq later this year.

"It's never easy," Wife said. "But at least this time, I will have a better idea of what to expect."

As a military wife, Wife said, she also has access to helpful resources, including support groups.

"I have met some amazing people who have been married and military for 25 years," she said. "The strength of some of these families is incredible."

Now that he has a family of his own, Soldier said, it has changed his leadership style.

"I'm definitely more understanding now," he said. "You don't truly realize the responsibility people feel toward their families while they are serving until you have a family of your own.

In time, the couple hopes to grow their family with children. But with so much of their early relationship divided by war, they say they will spend quality time just getting to know each other when Bill returns from Iraq in 2009.

And as he prepares to return to a war zone, he said the most important support he will receive will be from his new bride.

"It makes a difference being married," Soldier said. "There is so much more to look forward to when it comes to thinking about coming home."

I made a few changes so we wouldn't be so easily identifiable, but otherwise this is the story that was published.

Make A Difference Day

This Saturday, October 25, is Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of helping others. On this day everyone is encouraged to make a difference in someone's life through volunteering. If you go to the website, you can look up different projects in your area. Some projects are connected to larger organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity. Other projects are being run by local groups, such as local schools. There are even projects being run by individuals who just want to help out. Projects range from building houses to raking leaves for an elderly neighbor. There are even projects that are conducted by deployed soldiers.

I'm very excited because our FRG has decided to participate! We will be having a food/supply drive for the local homeless shelters. We will be collecting non-perishable food items, personal care supplies for men, women, and children, cleaning supplies, and toys at the Armory. One of the reasons we chose this project was because 25% of all homeless persons are veterans. We want people to realize that supporting our troops also means remembering those that have served in the past and are now facing hard times.

If you haven't already signed on to a project this Saturday, I encourage you to do so. Sometimes busy lives make it really difficult to volunteer every day or every week, so this is a great opportunity to join in with thousands of other Americans on a the same day to make a difference in someone's life.

Obama's War in Afghanistan

You know what is really starting to get on my nerves? People who say and/or post remarks/comments to this effect:

Vote Obama! Thousands of our soldiers are dying everyday in Iraq and McCain wants to keep fighting! Thousands more will be killed if McCain is elected. Vote Obama!

Do you people not listen when Obama speaks? Seriously, though? Do you hear angels sing or do the voices in your head just suddenly start chanting his name or something when Obama speaks instead of hearing the words that are coming out of his mouth?

Maybe if you read what he has said rather than having it in the audio version, things will start to click for you:

We have seen Afghanistan worsen, deteriorate. We need more troops there...Now, what I've said is we should end this war [in Iraq] responsibly...But in 16 months we should be able to reduce our combat troops, put -- provide some relief to military families and our troops and bolster our efforts in Afghanistan...Yes, I think we need more troops...So I would send two to three additional brigades to Afghanistan.

Obama said these things during the first Presidential Debate. You can check out the script here.

Do you see where this is going?

Obama fans are under the impression that once Obama is in office, the government will stop spending money on war and bring our troops home. No.

Obama will pull the troops out of Iraq and send them to Afghanistan. Guess what? That's going to cost money as well. So all the money you peeps are complaining is being spent in Iraq will instead be spent in Afghanistan. Okay, so far Obama isn't saving us any money and he isn't bringing the troops home. In fact, you may have noticed that the situation in Afghanistan is getting more violent while the violence in Iraq is lessening. Obama is planning on sending our troops into an even more dangerous situation than what they are in now.

Are you starting to see how your argument isn't very good?

Let's look even farther down the road. Obama has also said that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are fleeing to Pakistan from Afghanistan, so once we're finished in Afghanistan we'll have to go to Pakistan. And if Pakistan won't cooperate with us, we'll show them who is boss. Once again, this will cost money. So all the money you think Obama is going to be saving us by moving out of Iraq will be put to good use in Pakistan as well. Oh, and let's not forget who will be going into Pakistan if necessary - our troops.

So, yeah, vote Obama - the savior of our troops and military families, blah, blah, blah...

PS. Also, let's say we leave Iraq before they are fully capable of taking care of themselves, much like we did in Afghanistan, and there is an increase in violence, much like there is in Afghanistan...hmmm, I wonder what we'll do and where we'll send the troops then?

Carrie Underwood - "Just A Dream" Video

Bon Jovi and the Presidential Campaign

There's an article on AOL about Bon Jovi and his song "Who Says You Can't Go Home." Bon Jovi is po'ed because the McCain campaign is using his song and Bon Jovi is an Obama supporter. Bon Jovi is just one of many singers who is not happy about the presidential candidates using their songs during their campaigns without authorization.

Okay...

1) So ask the campaign to stop using your song. If they won't and that violates some law and it bothers you that much, sue. Otherwise, what's the big deal?

2) I realize you may not support that particular candidate, but do you really think people hear that song and say to themselves, "OMG! Bon Jovi must support McCain and so I will vote for McCain." Get over yourself. People are not going to vote for a candidate because they hear your song. You are NOT that influential.

3) If there are people who hear your song during a McCain rally and say, "OMG! Bon Jovi must support McCain and so I will vote for McCain," our country has bigger problems than the unauthorized use of your song.

Finally...
4) Try not to forget, you're a celebrity. Sing, act, dance...do whatever it is you do to earn your millions, but keep your political views to yourself. If people really do base their votes on your opinion, then we're f'ed anyway, so what does any of it really matter?

Maybe Bob Jovi should just run for President.

Wordless Wednesday (Sorta Kinda): Cake Decorating Class

My mom, sister, and I are taking a cake decorating class. This week we learned how to do a basket weave finish on the cake and how to make mums. I made a very yummy chocolate cake with peanut butter icing.

NYC Wedding

I went to New York City this weekend for my cousin's wedding. Everything about this weekend was awesome. The weather could not have been more gorgeous. After a few weeks of "winter is almost here" weather, it went back to early September temperatures and a crystal clear blue sky. The wedding itself was so much fun! The bride was stunning, both the bride and groom could not have looked happier, the food was delicious, and the band knew how to get the guests up and dancing. Even though I had to stuff my poor feet into shoes that were not flip-flops, I still had a great time. First, here are some photos from the wedding (Sorry about my horrible photography skills):

They got married at the Boathouse in Central Park. Unforuntately, I don't have a photo of the inside, but it was all windows and you could look outside and see the lake and the sky. It was so pretty.


My mom, Barry (dad/stepdad), Meg (sister), and I pose for a family pic in front of the fountain in Central Park.



Meg (my sister) and her boyfriend, Dru.



My cousin (the groom) and his best men (also my cousins)



The bride and groom! Their ceremony took place at the Boathouse and you could see the lake behind them. After the ceremony, everyone went to a patio outside and they rearranged the room and their reception was in the same place as their ceremony. (I was able to do the same thing for my wedding, have the ceremony and reception at the same place, in the same room. It is so nice because nobody has to travel in between the two events, so it is less stressful for everyone, guests and wedding party. Plus, it can be a lot more cost efficent and you have more time to party during the reception.)



The new Mr. and Mrs.



Meg trying a spring roll during cocktail hour. Her gag reflex was taking over, but she managed to swallow...barely.



Another family photo.



Me with my Grandma and Pap.



The bride and groom making their big entrance.




The first dance.



The best men's speeches. I'll admit I had a sip of champagne during the toast. My first taste of alcohol in 7 months...it was good and bubbly.



Dru getting his groove on.



Meg and I Cruisin'.



The lake from the Boathouse terrace.



Centerpieces.



The bride and groom eating an incredibly delicious meal. I had filet mignon...yum!

I got up and danced a little, but I felt and looked like a weeble wobble, so we won't post those photos :)