Service Members and the Holidays

So here's the deal. If you send a card to Any Recovering Soldier, it will never, ever, get where it would do some good. Please don't fall for that hoax.
Instead, send them here:
Holiday Mail for Heroes by the Red Cross

OR perhaps you'd like to donate funds - there are lots of good places to donate funds, but since the title is Service Members, here are three related to that...
Fisher House - Kind of like Ronald McDonald houses, but for military families
and
Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society
And
The USO - they do more than you think!

If you have links to Army/Air Force/ Coast Guard relief societies, please let me know.

Now, off to figure out where the tree is going this year....

Time Warp Tuesday

So This is my Mom and Dad. They aren't holding me - or any of my siblings- but my cousin. My mother had such killer legs! This is fairly soon after they were married. They did not marry young. My father had a birthday, got a PHD and got married all in the same week. They had me, the last of their kids, when my mother was 40, so my siblings are all older than I am by a good many years. Still, we had a good time growing up, and having slightly older parents meant that I had a little different perspective of things. Like hearing about the Great Depression, World War 2, etc. from my Parents, not my Grandparents. My father passed away about 3 months after I was married. My mother died in 2011.  I love this picture because they look so YOUNG!!! 

Thank you to Jenn at Juggling Life for inspiring me this morning! 

Thanksgiving, already?

I can't believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Not that we do anything major - we don't usually travel, just because of the hassle, but if TG is almost here, that means Advent is close behind. And I love the Advent season. Even the obscure advent hymns...well, not all of them.

I have been asked to lead a one hour training seminar on Children's Ministry for a district training for my denomination (sounds fancier than it is, really) in January. I'm both thrilled and terrified. I also found a conference I want to attend on Christian Education.

In some catalog we received (because it is THAT season again) there is a sweatshirt that says something along the lines of 'Agenda for the day: Let dog in, let dog out, let dog in, let dog out". I am seriously tempted. When I am home, the dogs are worse than cats - or children- in the door, out the door, in the door, out the door.

It is cold here, all of the sudden cold. I love cold, sunny days. Not a big fan of cold, drizzly days like yesterday - just rain all at once, would ya?

And if you are in the south, and not easily offended by a few curse words (nothing too awful) this video is hysterical.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUFL2GT1-2g&feature=youtu.be

I really don't want to go to work today. Everyone I work with will feel the opposite way I do about the election, and I don't really want to hear about it. But I will keep my mouth shut and just do my job...because I'm not going to change their minds, and they sure as all aren't going to change mine.

Here are the Halloween Pumpkins - carved by me with a minimum of slicing of the fingers....

The Tardis

 The Tardis unlit

A Good Picture of the TARDIS 

PIKACHU!!!