Veterans Day

Veterans day is one of those days that means a lot to me.  A lot of my friends and Family have served over seas and I think it is important to remember what they do and what they sacrifice for our freedom and for our country 

and some give the ultimate sacrifice

Army Staff Sgt. William Allers 3rd - Sept. 20 2005

Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge. 

Billy was my Dad's closest friends son.  He was KIA in Iraq in 2005 saving the lives of two of his fellow soldiers when an IED hit his humvee.  He left behind a wife and two young boys.  He is a true American hero.

I believe that veterans day is one of the most important holidays that we celebrate because it reminds us of how much it really costs to be free.  I was more than happy to work all day serving the veterans in my area with free meals today at work.

Thank You for all that you do!!! 

 We are the Land of the Free Because of the Brave <3

Country?

First, I would like to say: GO VOTE!! You have the right to participate in choosing your Government, take advantage!

Now for a rant

The other day I was on pinterest (bored because of the hurricane) and I wanted to find some good pictures of the country.  Just fields, farms, horses ect.  I just wanted pretty pictures.   However, all I kept coming up with was lyrics, and stupid hashtag crap saying #realcountrygirlproblems or #rednecksomething or other ... annoying.  And now I have to rant about it.  At Sunday in the Country (which was not a hugely popular event until a few years ago, I know, I've been going since high school) my roommate, Lori came up to me and was like, do you ever feel like half these people in their plaid, camo and boots are totally fake?  She hit it dead on,  I mean half the people there have never seen the country in their lives.  Now, I am not saying you have to have been born and raised in the boonies to be "country" but I mean really, you have to at least have been to or lived in the country at some point in your lives. 

Things I've noticed on pinterest:

1.  All the "I want a cowboy" things.
a.  Just because a guy works on a farm or knows how to ride a horse, does not mean he is a cowboy.  Also, just because he owns a hat and boots does not mean he is a cowboy.  I can prove it:

Cowboy (n):  a man who herds and tends cattle on a ranch, especially in the western U.S., and who traditionally goes about most of his work on horseback.

I know how to ride horses, very well, in fact, but I am not a cowgirl, thanks.

b.  I am pretty sure you don't want an actual a cowboy and have no clue how much work is required to tend to cattle on a large ranch.  

2.  Listening to Taylor Swift does not make you country.  I don't care what the media says, she is a pop singer.  Country is: Alabama, Hank, George Strait (old stuff), Chris LeDoux, Garth Brooks, Brooks and Dunn (old stuff), George Jones, Jason Aldean (sometimes), Tim McGraw (old stuff) and Brantley Gilbert (sometimes, though he is more rock-ish but that is waaaay better than pop-ish).  Sorry but Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Eric Church, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band are not country (not saying I think they suck or anything, they're just not country, they are pop). 

3.  Driving a truck does not make you country.  Period.  I know plenty of people in cities and suburbs who drive trucks.  So please, spare me the "I'm so country, I drive a truck" crap, thanks :)

4.  Redneck and Country are not the same thing ....
Redneck (n): 1. an uneducated white farm laborer, especially from the South.

2. a bigot or reactionary, especially from the rural working class.

So please stop referring to yourself as a redneck just because you own a camo jacket or something.  Did you go to school? Yes. Do you work on a farm? Probably not.  So please stop.

 5. "I was country before country was cool."  Probably not, you are trying to hard. Also, I bet you don't know where that phrase is from.

6.  Owning a pair of boots does not make you country.  Especially if the heels are higher then maybe a half inch.  

Ok, I think that is it for my rant.   It's just something I have noticed and has been getting on my nerves.

Harry Potter

It is absolutely no secret that I LOVE Harry Potter.  I mean seriously, I want to be Hermione Granger.  Anyways, the other night I was telling Josh about some books that I had read and told him they were great but nothing beats Harry Potter, I mean Harry Potter is just superior to all, right?  Josh didn't agree, so began our 30 minute argument over HP vs Star Wars (obvs. HP is better).  I mean, 10 minutes of that was debating between Yoda and Dumbledore ... like that is even an argument (sorry, Dumbledore is totally more badass than Yoda).  This argument got intense (and I had to question whether I could actually marry this guy!) .... in the end I won (in my head, anyways). Since I began re-reading the books (I'm already almost done the first!) I decided to do a post on why HP is the best!

1. J.K. Rowling's dedication to creating this world.  I mean really, she wrote all 7 detailed HP books then went and wrote the Tales of Beedle the Bard, Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them, and Quidditch Through the Ages. 

2. In the words of ....well I'm really not sure who actually said this, for now we'll go with, n the words of Pinterest .....

3.  Lets be honest, Albus Dumbledore is a badass.  Also, he is the wisest man you could ever come into contact with.  I wish we could be friends. 

4. Hermione Granger.  I want to be her.  She is such a great (even if she is fictional) role model for young women.  Yeah, she ended up with Ron, but she was a strong, smart individual that did not depend on a man for her happiness or safety.  That girl could hold her own, I wouldn't mess with her.

5.  The life lessons to be learned from Harry Potter.  I have never learned so much about life in one series as I have from Harry Potter, and its a fantasy series!

6. The dynamic characters, especially in the books.  The way JK Rowling develops these characters is amazing.  I feel like I truly know each of them.  It's not just a surface skim of the characters.
 My favorite (or one of them), Luna Lovegood!  I also love the development of the relationships between the characters, I can not say enough about it.

7. Last, (for this post) I love that you can always go back to Hogwarts :)

Unhappy Halloween

This was not the Halloween I expected.  I ended up working in the A.M. which was 100% fine by me because I missed work on Monday due to Hurricane Sandy.   

After worked I ended up freaking out about a paper that I thought was due today but its not due til Tuesday!! (At least it is done)!   

Then at around 6, I headed to Mom's house to hand out candy to trick-or-treater's so that she could go out with my brother.  (Since we're in the middle of nowhere and get no trick-or-treaters).  P.S. Charlie does NOT like Halloween!

Mom's House Decorated

Watch Doggie

Again

Jason as Captain America

So, around 7 I'm sitting out front and Charlie is in the house having a shit fit, so naturally I start getting annoyed.  Then I notice the neighbor's dogs across the street start doing the same thing, then the ones behind the house too, so I'm like dude, really?  So I sit there for like two minutes and then start hearing sirens.  First it is police, so I'm thinking it is a bunch of kids fighting or something.  Then comes a few more (like 10 total) then here comes and ambulance, then a few fire trucks, all going to the street that runs perpendicular to Mom's and they are stopping relatively close to the house.  Obviously, I'm like uhhhhh, WTF.  So I get up off the porch and start walking to the corner and start seeing smoke!!  A house was on fire, big time! 

This was taken from the corner. 

I watched from the corner so that I didn't get in the way, then I see a Schwan's truck pulling up. (I worked for Schwan's for about a year up until September of this year).  And then I see the truck park and a guy Paul that I  worked with starts sprinting towards the house.  Then it hits me that we had a conversation about how he lived right by my Mom.  So instead of staying where I was, I went down towards the fire to see if it was his house and if everyone was OK.  Thankfully, it was not his house, it was next door to him, and his neighbors were able to get his pets out and his wife and kids were not home.

I have a friend who works dispatch for our area so I texted her to make sure that everyone that was in the house was OK.  She said one person was transported for CO inhalation but it was not emergency and that everyone else was OK. 

Not exactly the evening that I was hoping for, but I am glad that the family and everyone involved is OK!  I have never seen a house on fire (that wasn't set on fire on purpose), and it was a very scary experience!