What if Cinderella had been forced to the ball?

Slipper.

That's kind of what AJ & I feel like right now. There is a military ball on July 15th and AJ was told the following, "You do not have to attend the ball voluntarily if you do not want to. But if you do not decide to attend the ball, you will be required to do duty for it, which includes setting up and taking down. Plus, you will still be required to wear your Class-A's for this purpose."

In other words, attend the ball as a guest or work it. 

Now some of you may be asking, why wouldn't you want to attend? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, the money. The Army recently came out with a new dress uniform, they went from dress greens to dress blues. AJ only has 10 months left in the Army and we did not want to have to spend $400+ on this new uniform if we did not have to. But now it's obvious he doesn't have a choice.* Next, the ball itself is 25$ per ticket to attend, which is 50$ for both AJ & I. I will also need to have a formal dress and all that comes with it, which will most likely cost over 100$. All said and done to attend this ball, we will be spending over 600$.

Second, military balls are usually drunken fests. Soldiers all up and down the ranking structure go and get completely plastered with each other. There is even a designated cocktail hour. AJ & I do not drink and really do not wish to be forced into a situation where one of the main activities is drinking and getting drunk. And lastly, it's a principle thing. If we do not want to go to the damn ball, we should not have to. As it is, we really do not have a choice. At least AJ doesn't and if he is going to spend all night there and be spending the money on the uniform anyway, we might as well go together. 

So, we are going to our first military ball together. Although frustrated, we have decided to make the most of it and have the best time we can. This type of occurrence is not unusual and is just another reason AJ & I are looking forward to getting out of the military.

*AJ does get an annual clothing allowance for military uniforms but his clothing allowance is less than $600 a year. This clothing allowance is suppose to be for the following: PT uniforms, soldiers ACU's (army combat uniforms or their standard uniform), combat boots, reflective belts, patches/ribbons etc, and all other various parts of the military uniform. The money given annually is never enough, even without the requirement of a whole new $400 uniform.

This Epiphany Made My Day...

Thanks to this last Saturday, where AJ & I watched every batman movie ever made* (including the 1966 Batman with Adam West) and my watching of Jon Stewart this morning, I had the best epiphany in the entire world. It made me chuckle, and then giggle, and then just bust out laughing (seriously almost pee'd a little).. If you would like to also take part in my epiphany, view the following and enjoy:

 Creepy villain, Penguin from Tim Burton's 1992, Batman Returns..

Creepy villain, Cheney, from Bush's 2001-2009 Presidency.

Please, oh please, someone tell me I'm not alone in this?

 Happy Wednesday, also known very terribly and inappropriately,  as Hump Day. ;)

*We did miss watching The Dark Knight, due to it being 2 am and our complete exhaustion when we finished Batman Begins.. But the thought was there!

Rodgers Robbed by NFL Players.

Ok, that may be a little dramatic, but when I went to NFL.com yesterday to check on the latest news regarding the lockout (disappointed to see no real news..) I found this article:

Comedy of errors: What's funny -- and wrong -- with 'Top 100' by Michael Lombardi discussing the "The Top 100  Best Players of 2010-2011" list, as voted on by the players. And what I read was infuriating.

Source.

Based on the 2010- 2011 year, Aaron Rodgers, who is not only the quarterback of the reigning Super Bowl Champions but was also the Super Bowl MVP (most valuable player), was listed at number 11 of the best players listed. NUMBER 11? Excuse me??

To for all of the many, many NFL players that read our amazing blog (cough, cough..), let me ask you this: If someone were to ask you what single act you could do in a season to be considered at the very least, one of the top 10 best players in a season, what would you say? Would winning Superbowl MVP not be that act? What higher award can you receive that says, in the National Football League world, "I am THE freaking badass!"? 

For those of you who want a little run down of Aaron Rodgers 2010-2011 Season, let me give you a very  short list....

1- Lost not only his star tight end (TE), Jermichael Finley but also his star running back (RB) Ryan Grant at the beginning of the season and for the entire season.

2 - Played the last two regular season games, the wild card, the playoffs, and the Superbowl on the road and all of them were "win or go home" situations.

3 - Lost not only his veteran and star wide receiver, Donald Driver before half time during the Super Bowl, but also his star cornerback and the NFL's 2010 defensive player of the year, Charles Woodson and still took the Green Bay Packers to victory, winning the MVP award.

4 - Threw for 3,922 yards, 28 touchdowns, an average of 261 yards a game, 316 rushing yards, and had a rating of 101.2. (Not to mention, he is ranked the number one quarterback in fantasy football on NFL.com). 

5 - Did I mention he was Superbowl MVP? 

Although some players (Brady and Manning) put up higher stats (in some areas, not all), they did not do so in the same type of situations that Rodgers had to. Rodgers became amazing outside of the pocket last year due to an offensive line constantly getting injured. This made him second only to Michael Vick in rushing touchdowns last season.

What else does a player have to do to be named one of the top 10 players of a season? Come on. Just plain stupid.

The Perfect Element.

While in Idaho, we picked up this:

But because our biggest vehicle was this:

Our traveling looked like this:

Therefore, last week, we decided to get this:

Which resulted in lots and lots of this:

And although our new SUV already looks like this:

The pups ended up like this:

So, AJ & I are now like this:

"Violent" Rapper at the White House

Rapper Common with Elmo on the Sesame Street Set.

Ok, I have to say my piece on this one. For those of you who didn't hear about the "controversy" over President Obama having rapper Common at the White House at an event celebrating American Poetry, what has been said is that this man sings of cop killing and glorifies violence and that this particular artist should not be a representative for American poetry and should actually be down graded as a poet.

The most commonly quoted lyrics of his that are used to back up this theory are:

"I got the black strap to make the cops run, when we roll together with a strapped gun, we're going to be rocking them to sleep."

I agree that those lyrics sound like they are promoting violence towards law enforcement.... But wait, the songs not over, the next lyrics:

"No time for that, cause there's things to be done. Stay true to what I do so the youth dream come."

This is an example of one of my greatest pet peeves in the news industry, using clips. Audio clips, video clips, etc. These lyrics of the song are actually about the Black Panthers and how when they turned to violence their dream was diminished and they hurt the future they were trying to create. Not a cop killing promotion. 

The next lyrics that Common was persecuted for come from the same song,

"Burn a bush, cause for peace he no push no button. Killing over oil and grease, no weapons of destruction." 

Those fighting against Common and trying to make him sound so terrible, want you to believe that he is promoting violence against former President Bush with these lyrics, but when you again read the lyrics directly following:

"How can we follow leader when this is a corrupt one?"

The song isn't promoting violence against Bush, but voicing his opinion on the Iraqi war and the circumstances that surround it. This view is hardly a "conspiracy against a president" view point and is shared by a large population of the American people.

Common is actually a Grammy award winning artist, who is a nonviolent individual and who promotes programs for under-privileged youth and aides in bringing attention to authors such as Maya Angelou, he is also a vegan. He was brought to the White House for the celebration on American Poetry because of his amazing use of poetry through Hip Hop to discuss conflicts within America, past and present. And he is very, very good at what he does. I don't care if you don't like Hip Hop, that's not the point. I'm not a fan of Shakespeare but if he were alive today, would I want him banned him from the White House for promoting teen suicide?

To see the full break down of Common's controversial lyrics, visit here.

I get so tired of false media and news portrayal of individuals and situations for political gain and attention. So, can someone please, please explain to me, what in the world was the big hype about this man visiting the White House? Why were so many upset about it? Is it because he is a "rapper"? Because he's black? Because he's a black rapper and happens to say the word gun in his lyrics? What was it?

The Sociopath & Nancy Grace

The Casey Anthony trial has completely transfixed me. Personally, I think she is guilty as h-e-"double hockey stick". I also believe she is a sociopath. True sociopaths are rare. There are individuals who are disassociated from others but the majority of the time, they can still have and do find the capacity to empathize and care about another human being. A spouse, child, parent, etc. True sociopaths do not have this ability. I believe Casey Anthony is one of them. 

Dr. Martha Stout, a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, writes a perfect description of a sociopath. I took this from the article, Inside the Mind of a Sociopath:

Notorious Sociopath & Murderer, Jeffrey Dahmer

"Imagine - if you can - not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern of the well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members.  Imagine no struggles with shame, not a single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken.  And pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown to you, except as a burden others seem to accept without question, like gullible fools.  Now add to this strange fantasy the ability to conceal from other people that your psychological makeup is radically different from theirs.  Since everyone simply assumes that conscience is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that you are conscience-free is nearly effortless.  You are not held back from any of your desires by guilt or shame, and you are never confronted by others for your cold-bloodedness.  The ice water in your veins is so bizarre, so completely outside of their personal experience that they seldom even guess at your condition.

In other words, you are completely free of internal restraints, and your unhampered liberty to do just as you please, with no pangs of conscience, is conveniently invisible to the world.  You can do anything at all, and still your strange advantage over the majority of people, who are kept in line by their consciences, will most likely remain undiscovered."

Sociopaths are the most manipulative of people. Most have learned to read people extremely well and know how to say and do just the right thing to get them out of whatever trouble they are in or get what they want out of a situation. Now, neither the defense nor the prosecution would want to claim her to be a sociopath. First, sociopath is not a viable diagnoses for the insanity plea. Many mass murderers have gone on to face the death penalty that were deemed sociopaths. The prosecution doesn't want to bring it up because they have to prove, for 1st degree murder, that Casey was of sound mind and intentionally plotted out and in full knowledge followed through. Giving the defense even the ability to say, "She doesn't fully know or understand what the consequences of her actions were," is also not a good idea. But I truly, truly believe this woman is guilty and is a clinical sociopath. I also believe that she deserves to be put away.

Nancy Grace from Jordan's Blog & Online Studio

Now, on to Nancy Grace. I cannot stand this woman. I hate when she is on a panel and I hate listening to her "analyze" a case. She is not a legal analyst, she is a sensationalist. Maybe at one time she was a trial lawyer but now its all for show. She loves to use trigger words and personal speculation, a lot of which would not be admissible in a courtroom. Her vocal inflections alone are enough to make me want to change the channel. The majority of the time she sounds pissed off and the few times her voice is kind, the change from angry to soft and kind and then back to angry again is so overly pronounced its comical. Whenever she is on a panel, even if another commentator is saying something that she seemingly agrees with, she will interrupt them and talk angrily as if they have said something wrong. Why is this woman on tv and why in the world do people like her? I bring her up because in my fascination with this trial and my desire to hear about it all, I have watched her a lot. And I just don't get why the people call in to her show and say, "I love you Nancy.."

The Mavericks Won- but we're back in the Heat!

Golfing in Idaho!

Yes, we are finally home from Idaho and back to our quaint little apartment. And although we are happy to be back in our own beds (who doesn't sleep better in their own bed?), we are completely unhappy about leaving the beautiful 70 degree whether for the horrific 100 plus heat wave in Oklahoma. But just as the Mavericks kicked some Lebron James and Dwayne Wade trash, we will beat our own personal heat here.

Our Idaho trip was amazing and incredibly eventful. Loads of pictures were taken and so I'm just going to go over some highlights of our little adventure north. 

 First and foremost, congratulations to my amazing cousin Kodi Ann for not only graduating high school, but also buying her first home! You're a badass girl. Nothing else can be said.

Kodi Ann and myself at her graduation ceremony.

While we were at ISU for Kodi's graduation, AJ got into a disagreement with the Bengal mascot.. Something about a missing whistle?

I think I mentioned in a previous post that along with the family meeting for Kodi's graduation, they also got together for a family reunion that weekend. Lots and lots of family. Some I had never even met. Poor AJ. But he handled it well. We went to the cabin and road fourwheelers.. and ate.. lots of food. Unfortunately I don't have many pics of AJ & I on fourwheelers, since we were riding them at the time. But I'm hoping to get some from others.. 

Family! Not even close to all of us that weekend...

The cabin! AJ wiping dirt from his eyes.. My pants are covered!

More happy family members.

FOOD!!!!!!!!!

One of the best highlights of the vacation were my niece and nephew. They have different mothers and Emily lives in Wyoming. So, they only get to see each other every 6 months or so. But you would never guess it! They were so cute and my brother was SOOO happy to have them both home at once.

My brother Bobby, his 5 year old daughter Emily and two year old son Jed.

They called each other brother and sister the whole time. "Where's my sisser?" Love it!

I had not seen Emily in almost 3 years. It was SOO good to see her!!

Next, if you can't tell in the picture above, I gave myself a little bit of a make-over while we were there. My preparation for coming home to the 100 degree whether..

My hair before!

And after! A style I've had before, just a little more edge to this one.

The back. My husband wanted to do a "cool" artsy shot. :)

Oh yeah, and I got a new tattoo. This marks tattoo number 4. I LOVE them all.

AJ had a great time with my dad while he was there. Besides working around the yard and helping out outside, he got to help him in the restoration of my dad's 1960 Mercury Comet. They had a good time with that.

And finally, I end this post with a bit of an announcement. While we were in Idaho we added a fifth member to our family. AJ & I, Blitz & April (for those of you who don't know, she's my turtle) and now little Baylee. AJ's 9 week old yellow labrador retriever. He has "always" wanted one and while we were in Idaho, the opportunity arose and he jumped on it. (I still owe you one for this Aunt Lori.. ahem..) Although I was a little freaked out at first, and HATE the potty training stage, she oddly enough compliments and fits into our family perfectly.

Meet little Miss Baylee.

Isn't she so freaking cute? (Although she hated me for this picture.. totally worth it..)

 So that's a very little synopsis of our trip. We are finally back and I will be back to blogging regularly. Over the past two weeks there has been so much bloggable material! It's so good to be home.

MIA in Idaho

I know AJ & I have not posted much lately and we're sorry for that. We are currently on a two week hiatus in Idaho. My family lives here and I had not seen them in over a year. We are taking many pictures and I will be sure to write about our adventures here in an up and coming post, but for now I just thought I would put up a short blog for all of you asking, "What the f*** is in Idaho?"

So, without further ado:

See Idaho Falls?? See the Blackfoot river? That's me!!

Gorgeous Idaho Falls.

The view. No joke. LOVE it!

Oh yes. Imagine my husband on one...Oh no.

That's right. Only Idaho could get Marilyn Monroe to wear a potato sack!!

The "famous" Idaho Potato Museum! It's in my hometown. You can hear a shout out to it in one of the Bing commercials.

 Now, while getting images for this post, I found the following.. Which are just hysterical..

An honest to God comic book in Idaho for the kids.. Google it. No lie.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Too funny.

This Wizard of I.D. comic is hilarious if you understand the majority of the people in Idaho... And, if like me.. You are more liberal than conservative.. and FROM Idaho...

So, a useless little post really, but one to keep you lips wet until we are able to give you a full update of our time here. We still have a while left. I'll try to post another "fun facts" or some other lame post like this one to keep your interests peeked. Hope all is going fabulous in whatever land you are in.