4th of July...Not just another paid holiday LOL!

Amidst growing hostility towards British oppression our Continental Congress met on June 7, 1776 and formed a committee to draw up the document that we now know as the Declaration of Independence. Then on July 2 it was complete and Continental Congress voted unanimously in favor of it. The Declaration of Independence wasn’t officially adopted until July 4th- and that is why we now celebrate the FOURTH of JULY!

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national animal but was outvoted when John Adams and Thomas Jefferson chose the bald eagle.

Over $211 million has been spent on the importation of fireworks from China.

John Adams refused to acknowledge July 4 as the nation’s Independence Day, firmly believing that July 2 was the birth of our nation, and rejected all invitations to celebrate the 4th of July.

Origin of Uncle Sam- Samuel Wilson was a meat packer who provided food for U.S. soldiers in the early 1800′s. He stamped the initials U.S. on his packaged products and some soldiers began to joke that it stood for Uncle Sam, giving way to the symbolic Uncle Sam of the United States government.

The first Fourth of July party held at the White House was in 1801.

The words Under God were not added to the Pledge of Allegiance until the year 1954.

Since the nation was still fighting in the Revolutionary War for the first two Independence Days, George Washington gave all of his soldiers double rations of rum to celebrate the 4th of July.

The national anthem is actually set to the tune of an old English drinking song called To Anacreon in Heaven

The stars on the original American flag were arranged in a circle to ensure that all colonies were equal.

2.5 Million- number of people living in America on July 4, 1776.

311.7 Million- number of people living in America this year- July 4, 2011.

Deadliest holiday- on the 4th of July there are more alcohol related fatalities than New Year’s Day- the Fourth of July is the Number 1 Beer drinking holiday.
So please be safe!

Missed Jeopardy Question

The Jeopardy question no one could answer!
"How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns?" All 3 contestants missed it.

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?
a. 21 steps: It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?
a. 21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1.

3. Why are his gloves wet?
a. His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and, if not, why not?
a. He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?
a. Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?
a. For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5'10" and 6'2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30.

They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the REST OF THEIR LIVES! They cannot swear in public for the REST OF THEIR LIVES! And cannot disgrace the uniform or the tomb in anyway.

After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as a guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.



The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt.

There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the unifrom. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.



The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington Cemetary. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are:

President Taft

Joe Lewis {Boxer}

Medal of Honor winner Audie L. Murphy, the most decorated soldier of WWII and of Hollywood Fame.



Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.



ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM

In 2003 as Hurrican Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment.

They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, Marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a service person. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.



God, Bless and keep them.

A bad day turned...good!

Yesterday, I got a call back from my doctor about some test results. The results were pretty good, but not wonderful. So I will need to go back in 6 months. I really had doctors! So that put me in a pretty bad mood for some reason. And as the day went on I started to develop a horrible migraine! I made it as long as I possibly could at work, but eventually I had to head home. I have an hour commute and it seems like an eternity especially with a horrible migraine. I luckily made it home without incident. But when I got home, everything I ate came up! So gross :( Then I went and fell asleep. Mike woke me up when it was time to head to the baseball game. My employer bought every employee 2 tickets to the Rockcats last night and I paid for Victoria to come with us. It was her first Rockcats game. After I woke up I had to take tons of drugs to make the headache go away. And I wasn't going to stay home when she was so excited. The traffic was horrible! But we made it for the start of the game. Victoria got a free Rockcats ball and she had all the mascots sign it!

Victoria getting her ball signed by Rookie

Then of course we took her in the store and let her pick out a claw! The boys have red ones. Later she ended up going back around and having all the mascots sign the claw too!

Victoria and her new CLAW!!!

Mike kept track of the scoring and gave it to Victoria after with her ticket stub and the program since it was her first game! And who knows, but some of these guys might get famous and she can show she was at their game thanks to Mike! They ended up losing 6-0 :( But it was a great night, wonderful weather and we had fun. Getting out of the parking lot was so easy. Thank goodness! She can't wait to go to her next game!

Blogger Challenge Day 15

Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play

Please keep in mind, I made my iPod song list almost 2 years ago! This would look very different if I had updated it!

Run this town ~ Jay-Z

2. Hard ~Rihanna

3. Damaged ~ Danity Kane

4. Can't hold us down ~ Christina Aquilera



5. Dear Diary ~ Pink



6. Bad Mood ~ Murmurs

7. Hear Me ~ Kelly Clarkson

8. Russian Roulette ~ Rihanna

9. Jesus Take The Wheel ~ Carrie Underwood

10. Keep on Singing my song ~ Christina Aguilera



For Mike :)

Blogger Challenge Day 14

Day 14- A picture of you and your family

This is as close as I can get to a family photo! I told you, I'm horrible with pictures.

Victoria, Me, Grams & Wally!

At my Engagement party 4/16/11

Diaper Facts!

~ The name "diaper" comes from the type of fabric used in the first cloth diapers.

~ Procter & Gamble first commercialized the disposable diaper in the 1950's. Nearly a decade later, Pampers made the diaper out of cellulose rather than paper for greater absorbency.

~ The invention of Velcro in 1980's took the place of safety pins previously used to hold together diapers.

~ California began dispensing diapers in vending machines in 1989. Diaper vending machines are now in public restrooms across the nation.

~ Disposable diapers were so revolutionary when they were introduced that retailers didn't know where to put them in the store.

~ Traditional disposable diapers take about 300 years to biodegrade (some never options break down more quickly).

~ Americans throw away an average of 49 million diapers per day.

~ According to studies, babies go through more than 5,000 diapers before being toilet trained!

~ Courtesy of WebMD ~

For the love of Baseball

"Say this much for baseball - it is beyond question the greatest conversation piece ever invented in America." ~ Bruce Catton

"All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street, people will say "There goes the greatest hitter who every lived ."" ~ Ted Williams

"Every big-leaguer and his wife should teach their children to pray: 'God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, and God bless Babe Ruth.' " ~ Yankees Pitcher Waite Hoyt

"If they came to Josh Gibson today and he was 17 years old, they would have a blank spot on the contract and they'd say, 'Fill the amount in.' That's how good Josh Gibson was."  ~ Junior Gilliam

"I want to be remembered as a ballplayer who gave all he had to give." ~ Roberto Clemente

"Son, I won more games than you'll ever see." ~ Cy Young

"The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball was even with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it." ~ Jackie Robinson

"I never questioned the integrity of an umpire. Their eyesight, yes." ~ Leo Durocher

"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you an idiot." ~ Leo Durocher

"You don't save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it might rain." ~ Leo Durocher

"I believe in rules. I also believe I have a right to test the rules by seeing how far they can be bent." ~ Leo Durocher

"Next to Joe DiMaggio, Foxx was the greatest player I ever saw. When Foxx hit a ball, it sounded like gunfire." ~ Ted Williams

"Every great batter works on the theory that the pitcher is more afraid of him than he is of the pitcher." ~ Ty Cobb

"Any ballplayer that don't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American." ~ Rogers Hornsby

"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball, the rules and realities of the game." ~ Jacques Barzun

"He seemed to be doing everything wrong, yet everything came out right. He stopped everything behind the plate and hit everything in front of it." ~ Mel Ott

"When I get through managing, I'm going to open a kindergarten." ~ Yankees Manager Billy Martin

"Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing." ~ Warren Spahn



Blogger Challenge Day 13

Day 13- A letter to someone who has hurt you recently

Well this could be a long list of letters! So I'm going to do something alittle different and make it more of a letter to someone I have needed to write a letter to!

Dear Ex-husband,

You have caused me more pain in my life than I can even state. You were just evil to me no matter how much I did! You were always fishing and hunting, but expected me to be at home waiting for you and on you. You were so emotionally abusive, I unfortunately will carry that with me forever. I'm more upset with myself sometimes for letting it go on for 12 years, instead of getting out early. I'm pissed that you decided after I finally left you, that THAT would be the time to go and get diagnoised with Bipolar and put on meds. Why wasn't I good enough for you to do that while we were together? Why did I have to deal with the bastard everyday! What did I do to deserve you being so damn mean all the time? Honestly I didn't even realize how bad it was until I left. I didn't realize that I was so unhappy, or that everyone was seeing what was going on. I thought I had become good at hiding it. And I just wish I could get rid of all that you have done that stays with me still today. I hate you!

Me :)

Thoughts on becoming a mother

There are women that become mothers without effort, without thought, without patience or loss and though they are good mothers and love their children, I know that I will be better.

I will be better not because of genetics, or money or that I have read more books but because I have struggled and toiled for this child.

I have longed and waited.

I have cried and prayed.

I have endured and planned over and over again.

Like most things in life, the people who truly have appreciation are those who have struggled to attain their dreams.

I will notice everything about my child.

I will take time to watch my child sleep, explore and discover. I will marvel at this miracle everyday for the rest of my life.

I will be happy when I wake in the middle of the night to the sound of my child knowing that I can comfort, hold and feed him and that I am not waking to take another temperature, pop another pill, take another shot or cry tears of a broken dream. My dream will be crying for me.

I count myself lucky in this sense; that God has given me this insight, this special vision with which I will look upon my child that my friend will not see.

Whether I parent a child I actually give birth to or a child that God leads me to, I will not be careless with my love.

I will be a better mother for all that I have endured. I am a better wife, a better aunt, a better daughter, neighbor, friend and sister because I have known pain.

I know disillusionment as I ahve been betrayed by my own body. I ahve been tried by fire and hell many never face, yet given time, I stood tall.

I have prevailed.

I have succeeded.

I have won.

So now, when others hurt around me, I do not run from their pain in order to save myself discomfort. I see it, mourn it, and join them in theirs.

I listen.

And even though I cannot make it better, I can make it less lonely. I have learned the immense power of another hand holding tight to mine, of other eyes that moisten as they learn to accept the harsh truth and when life is beyond hard, I have learned a compassion that only comes with walking in those shoes.

I have learned to appreciate life.

Yes I will be a wonderful mother.

~ Author Unknown