Of course I know that the number one reason we celebrate Independence Day is to commemorate our freedom, those who fought for our freedom and those who continue to fight so we can have the gifts of freedom. I do think of those things on a daily basis, honestly. We usually celebrate the day with a cookout and fireworks, and this year was no different. We did the hamburger and brats thing, and I surprised the kiddies with this fun cake (which tasted awesome, by the way!):

Ain’t it cute? Look at the inside:

I love Jell-o and what it can do.

We wrapped up the night with some fireworks. The neighborhood was illuminated with tons of fireworks, but we had a great show, too, including this big daddy finale, which was no less that 1 foot in diameter and close to 3 feet tall. Put it this way, I had a hard time carrying it outside!

Hubby said that watching the kids kinda brought him back to the past a bit, and I wouldn’t disagree. They had a great time and we’re ready for next year already! I won’t mention the 2 pitchers of mango fruity drinks I downed, either. Heh.

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there’s pride in every American heart,
and it’s time to stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.
~Lee Greenwood “God Bless the U.S.A.”

God Bless America! Happy Independence Day!

UPDATE: Something special, below the fold…(thanks Wild Thing!)

(more…)

Without a doubt, football beats tennis any day of the week.

…or how about this?

So, Hubby shared his daring adventures in Orlando, riding the Sky Coaster and the Sling Shot. Do I think he’s crazy? Damn right I do. Every time I thought about getting on one of those rides, I kept pondering whether my life insurance would cover it. Heh.

While I didn’t ride those rides, our 8-year-old was tricked into interested in riding G-Force, which is styled after drag racing. It propelled us to 110+ MPH in under 2 seconds. I have to say it scared me plenty (mostly going through my head was…”um, are the breaks working?!?!?!?!?” It was actually quite awesome, only paling in comparison to the pumped up look on my son’s face!

This isn’t us, but it could have been!

I’d recommend this ride to anyone who has a soooper seeeekrit wish to drag race!

Well, we are back from Florida, and Florida is still standing. Barely. Oh, and I’m still standing. Barely. What a great trip! I will definitely write more later, along with some great shots of the trip, but the need to wash 18 loads of laundry, pick up pets from all over town, replenish our very empty kitchen and pay bills kinda is taking up the vast majority of my time.

I first want to thank Beth, Tammy and Jody who helped out by cross-posting here at Merri Musings while I was out. I truly appreciate you helping me out in a pinch, ladies….you all ROCK! Any time you need my help, well, you know where to find me!

I also want to gush about the opportunity we had to meet some very special people down in Florida. Last Thursday, we took a trip to Tampa and met up with Linda and Wild Thing (and her dear hubby). We had a great time tooling around Busch Gardens (LOVE THOSE COASTERS!) and were treated like royalty at the lovely home of one of Linda’s friends, Steve. Click on their links above to get some great posts about our time together…what a great time! I am honored to have met all of them! We also had the great honor of driving up to Tallahassee and meeting Beth and her beautiful daughter on hubby’s birthday. I never knew another person had as much energy, if not more energy than my own daughter - but that would be Beth’s little princess! We had a chance to talk, drink a little, and take in some dinner. Truly, it was hard to leave, but we did try to get Beth to drive to Orlando and hang out the next day. She’s thinking that it may have been a good idea, given her adventures on the road (click on the link to read about all her fun!). I’m sure there will be another time for us to meet, though, Beth!

What a great vacation. I almost cried boarding the plane yesterday. We were trying to figure out a way to sneak in another day to see the beach, but those damned obligations plus a need to quit spending money seemed to get in the way. More on some of the fun we had, but now, I guess it’s back to real life!

I received a comment on one of my Jessica’s Law posts recently. Here’s the comment:

Name: Joe | E-mail: cajl@rock.com | URI: http://www.nojessicaslaw.org/ | IP: 69.236.94.219 | Date: June 22, 2006

Jessica’s Law
You should look at Californians Against Jessica’s Law at http://www.nojessicaslaw.org/ to find out the real reasons for Jessica’s Law

Being interested in what anyone has to say on Jessica’s Law, especially those against it, I followed the link. I can’t even believe that such a site exsists, that there are people who think like this. They start out sounding reasonable:

Adult rape and the sexual abuse of a child are horrible, inexcusable crimes. No one in their right mind would argue this fact.The victims of sex crimes deserve our compassion, sympathy, and full support. We of Californians Against Jessica’s Law (CAJL) would never wish to add to the anguish, tragedy, and harm true victims have endured.

BUT….it continues with the following:

However; in the last three decades the hysteria over sex crimes, both real and fabricated, has become political and huge profits are being made off of the detection. apprehension, prosecution, defense, incarceration, supervision, control, and treatment of the sex offender and those wrongly convicted. The Sex Crime Witch Hunt Nightmare, as it is now known, is a multi-million dollar industry in California. With these kinds of profits to be made, The Sex Crime Witch Hunt Nightmare, has caught tens of thousands of innocent men and women in It’s ever widening web who now must endure the life-long Scarlet Letter of being a convicted sex offender.

The Sex Crime Witch Hunt Nightmare?!!? An industry? What kind of nonsense is that? The whole purpose of Jessica’s Law is to protect children. This group sounds as though they could care less about children.

63,000+ Californians are now required by law to register with the police as convicted sex offenders and this number continues to grow daily with no end in sight. These tens of thousands must also submit to sex offender community notification that plasters their faces, descriptions, and other personal information all over the internet warning their communities of their presence.

Well, isn’t that a shame? Poor ol’ sex offenders. What about the children who have had their lives ruined by these animals?

The drivel just goes on and on…apparently Jessica’s Law is all about money. Those GPS shackle people are fixing to make a fortune. OMG, is that not the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard?

Now, I try to be fair, so I did a bit of searching on California and Jessica’s Law, and on the poor 63,000 sex offenders. Here’s part of what I learned.

Thank you for helping qualify Jessica’s Law, the Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act of 2006 for the ballot! We turned in 713,787 signatures accross the state. Here are some photos from the Sacramento signature turn in event:

Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act of 2006 — Jessica’s Law

California has currently 63,000 registered sex offenders. One in every four sex offenders in California are currently missing.

How can we protect our children if we don’t even know where the sex offenders are?

One in four are MISSING?! And tracking these people is a bad idea?

I myself live in Florida, and thank God we have Jessica’s Law here. No, it’s not perfect, to be sure. But I think it’s acting as a deterrant, at least. And as for plastering faces on the internet, I’m all for it. I have three kids, if there’s sex offenders living close to me, I want to know where they are and what they look like, so that my family can be properly protected.

If you’re interested in Jessica’s Law, Bill O’Reilly has done a wonderful job publicizing it, and has information on which states are doing a good job, and which ones aren’t. I’m sad to say that Vermont is still not doing a thing to protect our kids. Makes me glad I moved to Florida.

Cross-posted at A Mom And Her Blog

Some friends invited my daughter and I to go to St. Augustine for the weekend. So I’m leaving later this afternoon to go camping. Yes. Camping. In a tent. If you knew me, you would know to begin hysterical laughing right now… okay, enough already (I am not made of steel! sniff!).

I have my suspicions that they only invited me to go with them for purely comedy relief. You know the camping trip at the end of the Parent Trap movie (the good one, not the Lindsey Lohan one)? Where they take the witchy wannabe stepmom with them on their trip and she’s so clueless about outdoor life that she’ll believe anything they say? Yeah well that’s me minus the witchy wannabe stepmom part. Those FIVE years in Girl Scouts did nothing for me.

The funniest thing? I am going to take my three and half year old terror. When I told her we were going camping. Her big blue eyes widened and she smiled real big and said, “Yay! Camping! … What’s that?” (Yeah, that’s my girl.)

Who knows though? Ya’ll might not be done with me yet (so stop being relieved!). I might post something on Monday… if you’re lucky!

Do it right! I’m sure you’ll all be relieved to know that Saddam Hussein has ended his hunger strike… after one meal. Turns out he just didn’t like the fish. Yes I am sure you were like me, waiting on pins and needles to see how long his strike would last. Would he make it for a week? Two weeks? Would he last a month?

Honestly the tension of thing was really getting too much for me.

The war on terror is not a game. It is not something that will be easily won or ever go away. I’m sorry if some think we need to focus our energy on more “domestic” issues or that we should withdraw our troops from Iraq. That is not an option.

The arrests made today in Miami should serve as a reminder to every American that there are people out there who want to kill you just because of who you are. They want to destroy everything that you believe in. They want to cause as much pain and suffering to you as they can. It does not matter who you are, to them, to the enemy, you are just an American. And that makes you, in their eyes worth killing.

Read about these arrests by a real blogger and just remember these maniacs could have taken your family away from you, like they tore so many families apart on 9/11. Thank God for the FBI.

… As for me, I’m going to go see if I can find a rerun of America’s Got Talent…

Now because Merri asked me to help pick up the slack while she was having a fun-filled magical time in Orlando with her family, I have lifted my self-imposed boycott of the news. So instead of being blissfully uninformed (because honestly, doesn’t everyone just need a break sometimes?), I actually know what’s going on around the world. After scouring news article after news article to find just the right one for Merri’s lovely page and after pondering political prose (wow, look at that alliteration) … I have finally found the most important and relevant thing going on in America right now!

America’s Got Talent premieres tonight on NBC. Who wouldn’t love a TV show that brings all of the gong show rejects into one building? It is like manna from heaven. I can’t wait.

… what? Troops being arrested? Saddam on another hunger strike? Idiotic Democrats? Yes, I guess those are all “important and relevant” too…

But did I mention that David Hasselhoff was a judge on America’s Got Talent?! How could this TV show go wrong?

Sigh. Isn’t denial grand?

This is an amazing story from Ted Harvey, assistant minority leader, Colorado House. This story is about a woman named Gianna Jessen.

When her biological mother was 17 years old and seven and a half months pregnant, she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to have an abortion. As God would have it, the abortion failed and a beautiful 2-pound baby girl was brought into the world. Unfortunately, she was born with cerebral palsy and the doctors thought that she would never survive. The doctors were wrong.

They thought she’d never survive, but she has lived a life more “full of life” in her 29 years than most do in 70 or so. You really should read this story and how - together - Ted Harvey and Gianna pulled a great punch on a Planned Parenthood anniversary celebration. As a strong advocate for pro-life, I found it very refreshing!

H/T to Linda!

I don’t know why I am even allowing these women to have any impact on me whatsoever, but their “almost” anti-America banter has me quite worked up. They first start by dismissing and offending the majority of the people who listen to their genre by stating they didn’t want fans who put their CD in the changer with the likes of Reba and Toby Keith (those types of fans “limit” what they can do, supposedly…WTF?). Well, they have even more to say [oh, insert sound of chirping crickets here, please]:

“The entire country may disagree with me, but I don’t understand the necessity for patriotism,” Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. “Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country, I don’t see why people care about patriotism.”

I think Natalie Maines and her little army of two should board a plane to France and never come back. Better yet, perhaps they should spend some time in Somalia or Iran, or some other country so they can fully understand what patriotism is and why the majority of Americans have it. I don’t think I could have said it any better than CalTechGirl did.

All the snark aside, I’d like to remind Ms. Maines and her colleagues that the SINGLE, ONLY, UNIQUE, UNITARY, etc. reason that she has this soapbox, that she’s made all the money in her bank account, that she can fly to France or the UK whenever she wants and spout off about this country is that she is a CITIZEN OF THE US.

Don’t love your country, Natalie, it’s ok. Really, The rest of us could give a shit. But don’t tell us we’re stupid for caring. Don’t tell us that you like your life and then spit in the face of those people who have died or sacrificed much so that you can live the way you do.

Why should people care about patriotism, Natalie? Well, because patriotism created this country, it sacrificed to preserve out way of life, and continues to do so over and over again every day. Patriotism is why you can stand on your soapbox and denounce the President. Patriotism is why you speak English, not German or Japanese. Patriotism provides you with the security to go about your business and raise your children as you see fit.

The truth is, see, that in the long run, it is the patriot whose contributions will matter. The small effort of each individual to preserve and prolong the grand experiment in democracy started more than 200 years ago by another group of patriots whose motives were questioned by ignorant fools like you. Your contributions, your songs, your rabble rousing, your chicken feet tatoos; they’ll all be gone with the proverbial wind. But this country, and the patriots who protect her, will still be here.

Me personally, I’ve never owned a Dixie Chicks CD, nor will I ever. When I see Natalie Maines on TV or hear her banter on the radio ::: click::: she’s gone.

Other than a severe case of the “tired bug” we are well on our way to getting ready for the big trip! Plane flies out of here tomorrow, a bit past 2pm! I can hardly wait to get to the sun and the fun!

I have some guest bloggers who have been gracious enough to poke their heads in here and keep the musings alive. More on that after I get the dogs to the boarding kennel, get the bird food and birds transported to the neighbors and wash the laundry for the trip.

Oh…does anyone want to hang out with a 5 year old and and 8 year old today? They are a *bit* excited (and, well, are driving me crazy!).

UPDATE: Well - we’re off tomorrow and I’ve got some great guests popping their heads in over here to keep the momentum going. These wonderful women are all Cotillion, and all ROCK! I appreciate their kindness to fill in over here:

Beth at My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Jody at In Spite of Everything…. (she’ll tell you she’s abandoned her blog, but we refuse to believe it)
Linda at Something…and Half of Something
CalTechGirl at Not Exactly Rocket Science
Tammy at A Mom and Her Blog
Sadie at Agent Bedhead

Ladies - I heart you all! Everyone, take it easy and I’ll see you after I get some sun and fun taken care of!

My love,

When I met you, I was thoroughly taken by you. You were romantic, fun, and caring and I fell in love for you for many reasons. But I’ve got to say, that my love for you deepened more than I ever imagined when you became a father. To see you holding our two tiny ones when they were born, with tears in your eyes, is a memory that regularly plays in my head. When Bradley was born, and we were concerned because he was a preemie, you were my rock…and his, too. …and he not only has your looks, but he has your love of football, your amazing mind, and he’s definitely a young Republican in the making. And Emily….she loves you so much. She looks to you as her provider as well as her entertainment. And for me…I can’t help but love you even more since you are such a great Dad to our children.

I don’t know if you’ve read much Erma Bombeck (heh)…but this is great…and speaks volumes for how I look at you as a Dad. I love you, Honey! Happy Father’s Day!

WHEN GOD CREATED FATHERS

When the good Lord was creating Fathers he started with a tall frame. And a female angel nearby said, “What kind of Father is that? If you’re going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put fathers up so high? He won’t be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without a lot of stooping.” And God smiled and said, “Yes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?”

And when God made a Father’s hands, they were large and sinewy. And the angel shook her head sadly and said, “Do you know what you’re doing? Large hands are clumsy. They can’t manage diaper pins, small buttons, rubber bands on pony tails or even remove splinters caused by baseball bats.” And God smiled and said, “I know, but they’re large enough to hold everything a small boy empties from his pockets at the end of a day…yet small enough to cup a child’s face in his hands.”

And then God moulded long, slim legs and broad shoulders. And the angel nearly had a heart attack. “Boy, this is the end of the week, all right,” she clucked. “Do you realize you just made a Father without a lap? How is he going to pull a child close to him without the kid falling between his legs?” And God smiled and said, “A mother needs a lap. A father needs strong shoulders to pull a sled, balance a boy on a bicycle, and hold a sleepy head on the way home from the circus.”

God was in the middle of creating two of the largest feet anyone had every seen when the angel could contain herself no longer. “That’s not fair. Do you honestly think those large boats are going to dig out of bed early in the morning when the baby cries? Or walk through a small birthday party without crushing at least three of the guests?” And God smiled and said, “They’ll work. You’ll see. They’ll support a small child who wants to ride a horse to Banbury Cross, or scare off mice at the summer cabin, or display shoes that will be a challenge to fill.”

God worked throughout the night, giving the Father few words, but a firm authoritative voice; eyes that saw everything, but remained calm and tolerant. Finally, almost as an afterthought, he added tears. Then he turned to the angel and said, “Now, are you satisfied that he can love as much as a Mother?”

The angel shutteth up.

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a recipe, so I thought I’d share a most recent meal we had, all prepared on our backyard grill:

Rotisserie Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (mine was around 3 to 3.5 pounds)
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper, thyme, any seasoning you enjoy on chicken (I like McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning)

(below is the basting liquid)
1 bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar
Several cloves of garlic, crushed
1-2 cups of chicken stock (you can use water, if desired)
1 stick of butter, cut into pats
seasonings to taste (I used thyme, a couple of bay leaves, salt and pepper, red pepper flake)

Instructions:

Heat the grill for 15 minutes on high heat. Feed the bird onto the rotisserie rod, ensuring the wings and legs are either tied or tucked so they don’t fall away from the bird. Lightly coat the chicken in olive oil and rub the seasonings lightly into the skin of the bird on all sides. In a rotis pan (a pan that would fit on your grill, under the chicken on the rotisserie), combine the remaining ingredients. What’s cool is that you can pretty much personalize this basting liquid to your own flavorings. One great example would be to throw in some lemon juice to make more of a lemon-pepper flavoring. You could also toss in some BBQ seasoning or some hickory flavored salt to add new flavors - the possibilities are endless! Once you have put the ingredients into the rotis pan, use a whisk to combine. Place on the grill, then connect the rotisserie iron to the grill’s rotisserie motor. Cook for one and a half hours (approximately), basting every 15-20 minutes. The rotis pan should NEVER become dry. If the fluids are cooking away, you can reguarly add more chicken stock and/or water. The bird’s juices will drip into the pan, allowing for further flavor throughout basting.

About 45 minutes before the bird is done, you will want to assemble your veggie packet, which will need about 25-30 minutes on the grill. Again, you can personalize this however fits your lifestyle and your taste. Here’s what I used in the above meal:

Veggie Grill

Ingredients:

3 ears of corn, husked and cut into 3 pieces each
2 cups fresh green beans
1 cup fresh sliced carrot (or baby carrots)
1 container of mushroom caps, cleaned and chopped in half
1 pound of red potatoes (I used a small size), halved or quartered
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 packet of onion soup mix (I use Mrs. Grass)
thyme, salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp butter, cut into pats

Instructions:

In very large bowl, mix all ingredients except the butter. The veggies should all be evenly coated. Place in a foil pouch, spreading out the butter pats on top of the veggies. When creating the pouch, it should be made of two layers of extra heavy aluminum foil (double-fold all edges, allowing space for steam during cooking). At about 30 minutes before the bird will be ready (at the hour mark), place the veggie pouch on the grill. All of the veggies should be fully cooked and ready to eat withn a half an hour at high heat on the grill.

Enjoy!