Osama Bin Laden

It's been a while.  I think of many things to write, but I'm never close by the computer to write them, or I don't have the time with the kids, or I'm laying in bed at 3am when the thoughts come to me.  But, it's been over two weeks so I should probably write something huh?

Since the Royal Wedding the biggest news has been the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the world's most wanted criminal, who is responsible for the attacks on America on September 11th, 2001.  My first thought is "it's about time" and hoping he rotted in hell for all his evil aggressions.  I had this thought for several days, but then after watching the news more, learning more, and thinking more I've come to another conclusion, a much deeper one.

You really have to go back hundreds of years to understand.  Before America, before England and Ireland, and some of the those other countries, there was the Middle East, regardless of what their countries names were, we knew they were there.  We know about them through the Bible.  Well eventually the "Western World" came to be and 'western living' began to show up in the Middle East, which they did not like, nor did they welcome.

I just don't understand why we can't just leave people alone?  Why can't people live in their own countries and do their own things without everyone else interfering?  Why can't we all just get along.  If you want us to leave you alone then we'll leave you alone, but return the favor.  I understand people sometimes just don't get along, why can't we just agree to disagree.  I know we shouldn't allow crimes against humanity, but shouldn't we just let their own people take care of it, let them figure it all out?  To some degree it's called the 'circle of life'.

Right now we're at war on terror with the countries of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Pakistan.  Now we're considering Syria and relations with Iran are unstable at best.  Pretty soon we're going to make this into a third World War!  When is it enough?  Do we really need everyone to conform to "our" way?  It's horrifying to think of the number of people who died on 9/11 and I don't excuse OBL, he should pay for what he did, what he's done, but there is a deeper meaning beneath it all that, in my opinion, we all refuse to really look at.

I guess I just wonder why it's so hard to just get along and respect the wishes of other civilizations?

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge!

I managed to stay up all night so I could watch as much as I could on the big event.  I did take a few short catnaps however, and I did DVR the wedding on one of the many channels that were covering it, some 7+ hours of coverage.

It was a beautiful ceremony and Catherine looked amazing, William was so handsome in the red uniform he was wearing.  Prince Harry looked pretty dashing too, I almost think he was more handsome than William.  Their mother, Princess Diana would without a doubt be tremendously proud of her boys if she were alive today and so thrilled to have Catherine as a daughter-in-law.  She did extremely well raising her boys in the time she was here.  They both have turned into beautiful men and great ambassadors to humanity.

The Queen bestowed the titles Duke & Duchess of Cambridge upon Prince William and Catherine, but I think for all of us the two will always be Prince William and Princess Catherine.  Because she is not of a royal bloodline she could never officially hold the title of Princess.  She has already begun to follow in Diana's footsteps though, in becoming the Queen of our hearts!  It was so neat to see how William and Harry came out the night before to greet members of the crowd.  What a testament to what their mother instilled in them!

Here are a few favorite pictures from their incredible day.  It was a great day for the entire world!

I cannot even fathom the number of people here, a testament to how important the couple, as well as the monarchy is to their people and people all around the world!

Now husband and wife!  They are such a beautiful couple!

On their way to Buckingham Palace, again, so beautiful!

Unimaginable and beyond words.

The Southern part of our country has been hit unbelievably hard the past couple of days, from flooding to tornado's.  Yesterday alone Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, West Virginia saw approximately 150+ tornado's, while in Missouri they are dealing with flooding.  As of right now there have been 249 fatalities and hundreds of pictures of the massive devastation these storms left behind.  One picture was so striking to me, so emotional for me the minute I looked at it I immediately began crying.  The photo was so incredibly sad.  It's a first responder in the back of a pick-up holding the body of a child they pulled from the rubble.  The photo immediately took me back to 1995 in Oklahoma City and the Federal Murrah Building, after it had been bombed.  The photo there was the firefighter carrying the body of an infant from the site.  You can't help but cry when you look at this current photo.

4-27-11 Tornado Photos

Click on the link above to take you to the Huffington Post article, scroll down to the picture and click it.  There you'll see a number of photos of the aftermath of these storms.  There are 25 pictures and picture 15 is the most heartbreaking one of all of them.  This is the photo of the responder holding the body of a child.  It just breaks your heart.

I was a few months from turning three when the Super Outbreak of 1974 occurred, so I do not remember anything about it.  That outbreak spawned 148 tornado's and killed 312 people.  Yesterday alone spawned some 150+ tornadoes with reports still coming in and killed 250, with more reports of fatalities coming in.  It is so unbelievable and the damage unimaginable, it really is beyond words.

I have only seen one tornado in my life, in July of 2000, in SW MN.  It was a very brief tornado and was fairly tiny.  I have never been in a tornado, so I couldn't even imagine what it's like.  I did go into labor with my firstborn on the night that spawned the great Spencer, SD tornado on May 30, 1998.  The system was heading to Sioux Falls, but weakened by the time it reached us.  I have also seen the aftermath of a tornado, that same year, just two months earlier, March 30th, 1998, the St. Peter, MN tornado.  We went through St. Peter a week after it hit and having been to St. Peter quite a bit in my earlier years, I was pretty familiar with the highway going through and parts of the city.  Driving through there a week after the tornado hit was very emotional.  There was so much devastation I couldn't even recognize where I was at in the town, other than the highway.  You could completely see the college, Gustavus College, whereas before, because of all the trees, you could only see the point of the steeple.  Very shocking to see how many trees were lost in that beautiful city.

The South will absolutely need the support of everyone in our country in some form or another.  If you would like to help contact the American Red Cross to see what you can do.  Please keep everyone in the affected areas in your prayers, now and in the future, as they will need them to heal.

The Queen of Hearts - Princess Diana.

Princess Diana was certainly the Queen of Hearts to everyone around the world.  Her tragic death was most certainly a shock to all of us.  As her eldest son, Prince William, will get married on Friday, his Royal Wedding brings back all sorts of emotions about his late mother, her life, her death, and her legacy.  I just wanted to share with you a few of my favorite photos of Diana, along with, what I believe to be, the saddest photo of her.

I absolutely adore this photo with her two boys.  Her smile is so pure and enlightening.  Just looking at this picture puts a smile on your face.  A great picture with her and her boys!  They all look blissfully happy.  You can sure see and feel the love in this photo.

Princess Diana and Mother Teresa; both are iconic in their own right, and both were great humanitarians!

What a photo, Princess Diana sitting on the floor with her arms crossed wearing her crown.  Again, a magical smile that lite up the room.  Doesn't she look happy here too?

I love this profile picture of her.  She is so beautiful and enchanting, doesn't she have a natural glow about her?

This would be the saddest photo.  Anyone with a heart could not look at this photo and not tear up or even cry.  Those of us who remember this, will always have this memory etched in our minds, her coffin and the flowers on top, those beautiful white flowers from her children and her brother.  Diana's death was such a blow and a tremendous loss for the world.  I often wonder what it would be like today if Diana had not died?

You are greatly missed!

Royal Wedding

I'm not sure if you'll be watching the royal wedding on Friday, but I will be.  I find it so fascinating and exciting to keep up with the Royals!  This one, with Prince William and Katherine Middleton, is of more interest than others before, with the exception of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981.  Prince Charles and Lady Diana, as everyone knows, are the parents of Prince William and Prince Harry.  Princess Diana was truly the People's Princess, so beautiful and so present in the world.  She did indeed change the make-up of the royal family.  Her death in 1997 was overwhelmingly shocking to everyone around the world.  For most of us, we remember where we were when he heard the news about her death.  I know I had just arrived to work at 5:45am in Preston, MN when a co-worker told me.  She also had the news on, after she told me, as I walked in, I turned to the tube to watch and hear the incredibly shocking news.  A rush of emotions came over me as I couldn't believe she had died.  Diana was an iconic fashionista as well as a Humanitarian.  Fortunately for all of us, she passed these great qualities onto her sons.  Prince William has turned into a brilliant man and humanitarian himself, as Prince Harry has too.

This Royal Wedding/Marriage however, should last, for what I believe, until they pass away.  When you look at photos of the two, they look amazingly happy, but more importantly, comfortable in, not only their own skin, but in each others skin.  Katherine herself is somewhat of a fashionista.  Every picture of her looks outstanding, from her hair, her hats, her fascinators, and other accessories such as coats, handbags, and footwear.  She is dressed to perfection from head to toe!  I cannot wait to see what her wedding dress looks like!!!

I love the fact Katherine comes from a Middle Class family, she is a commoner. not of Royal Descent.  Having lived a normal life in an extraordinarily loving family is so wonderful for William, giving him a sense of being human and experiencing life as a commoner.  It's like the best of both worlds for the two!

I know there are some people out there who are not really excited about the wedding and, quite frankly, annoyed with all the coverage, but it is an historic event.  For those of us keeping up with the Royals, there isn't enough coverage.  People are even more interested in this because of their mother, how influential she was, and because of her tragic passing so young.  Could you imagine what the world would be like today if Diana had not died so tragically that last day in August, 1997?  This only multiplies the interest in this wedding.

Only two days left, I for one will be watching as much as I can, and I will be recording what I can't!

Do you remember when?

Do you remember when:

• there were no cell phones?
• you used a rotary phone?
• you didn't have any credit cards?
• there was no internet?
• the country wasn't in a war?
• You had 45 records and a regular record player?
• VCR's were the hottest thing?
• Life seemed so simple and innocent?
• You read the newspaper to get the latest news?
• MTV was born?
• There were only four channels: PBS, ABC, NBC, and CBS; and no cable?
• To do research you actually had to go to a library and look in an encyclopedia?
• libraries used the card catalogue system?
• you had the original Atari gaming system? 
• You remember and watched Schoolhouse Rock?
• you watched Star Search and American Bandstand?

I love the following song by Mark Wills.  I find myself sometimes wishing we could go back to when life seemed so easy and we didn't have a lot of responsibility or bills to pay.  Where family dinners at the table happened everyday and holidays were a big deal with family.  Wasn't it so much simpler back then???


Mark Wills  - 1970 something:


I saw Star Wars at least 8 times
Had the pac-man pattern memorized
And I've seen the stuff they put inside
Stretch Armstrong

I was Roger Stauback back in my back yard
Had a shoebox full of baseball cards
And a couple of Evil Kinevil scars
On my right arm
Well, I was a kid when Elvis died
And my mama cried

Chorus:
It was 1970- something
In the world that I grew up in
Farrah Faucett hair-do days
Bell bottoms and 8-track tapes
Lookin' back now I can see me
And oh, man did I look cheesy
But I wouldn't trade those days for nothin'
It was 1970-something

It was the dawning of a new decade
When we got our first microwave
And Dad broke down and finally shaved 
Those sideburns off
I took the stickers off of my Rubix cube
Watched MTV all afternoon
My first love was Daisy Duke 
In them cut off jeans
A Space Shuttle fell out of the sky
And the whole world cried

Chorus:
It was 1980-something
In the world that I grew up in
Skating rinks and Black Trans Ams
Big hair and parachute pants
Lookin' back now I can see me
And oh, man did I look cheesy
But I wouldn't trade those days for nothin'
It was 1980-something

Now I got a mortgage and an SUV
But all this responsibility
Makes me wish sometimes
Sometimes....

chorus:
It was 1980-something
In the world that I grew up in
Skating rinks and Black Trans Ams
Big hair and parachute pants
Lookin' back now I can see me
And oh, man did I look cheesy
But I wouldn't trade those days for nothin'
It was 1980-something

1970-something
Aw, it was 19-Something 

Glasses

This Friday will mark a transition in my life from reading glasses to bifocals, from wearing glasses only when I needed to, to wearing them during every waking moment.  I've had reading glasses for almost two years, but a few months ago I began noticing that some of my distant sight was hazy.  I held off for those months on seeing the eye doctor.  I made an appointment, but cancelled it.  After a suggestion from my hubby I made an appointment with his eye doctor.  She was really nice.  I was a little stunned when she told me I needed bifocals.  The first thing that came to mind were my parents.  I remember their bifocals quite clearly growing up, with the separate lens on the bottom and then the rest of the lenses.  I was starting to feel old.  I'm not even 40 yet.  I've gone from reading glasses to now needing bifocals.  Not to mention I just started using reading glasses in the fall of 2009 at the age of 38.  For 38 years I didn't wear glasses, which is strange because both my parents have them.  For some reason though, my brother and I seemed to have good eyesight, not requiring glasses, until now.  My brother still is glass-free.

Here is the place where I went for my eye exam and glasses: Howlin Vision on South Western Ave in Sioux Falls,  SD.

So now came the task of finding a pair of frames.  I tried on a lot of them, but it was this one that both of us, the frame lady and I really liked:

They were a bit expensive, so before deciding this was the frame I indeed wanted, my hubby and I traveled to some other eye places like Lens Crafters, EyeMart, Wal-Mart, and Vision World.  I couldn't quite find a frame I liked, that looked as good as we felt that one did.  So we went back to Howlin Vision and purchased these frames.  We added the anti-glare as well as transition lenses to the prescription.  Because we were getting progressive lenses, the kind where you don't see the line, it all just kind of blends in together, the cost was more for the lenses, just like the frames.  In all, we spent a shiny penny on these babies.  I added the transitions because it made sense to have them act like sunglasses too, since I would be wearing them all day long.

They should be on Friday and I can't wait.  I'm excited to get them, even though I feel a little older with the bifocals, but excited for the fact that I will be able to see better all around!