My Thanks to An Unknown Soldier

Growing up, I always knew my Grandpa Boger was a WWII Purple Heart recipient, but I didn't really give it much thought or know the story behind it because he never talked about his time overseas.  He is now 88 years old and in the last couple of years, he's started telling some of his stories from the war.  My dad told me the story behind Kenny Boger's Purple Heart and to this day, it's the most awesome story I've ever heard.

After being shot twice in battle, Kenny Boger was unconscious & assumed dead.  He was thrown into a pile of bodies of other soldiers killed during the action.  Somehow, amid the chaos & confusion, another soldier happened to see Grandpa's chest moving up and down and pulled him to safety.  They got him to the hospital, where President Eisenhower happened to be visiting during Grandpa's recovery.  Eisenhower sat down at Grandpa's bedside and said, "How would you like to go home, Soldier?" He explained that there was a military flight leaving for the States, but it was pretty full so he'd probably have to sit on the floor of the plane.  Not really caring WHERE he had to sit, Grandpa told the president that yes, he'd love to go home.

He did go home to his beautiful Jane, where they raised three children on the west side of Indianapolis. 

So on this Fourth of July, I'd like to thank a soldier whose name I don't know, but without his courageous actions on another continent, a bunch of people in my family wouldn't be here today.

Thanks to you and all of the other unnamed men & women who have sacrificed life & limb for the rest of us.

Jessica Boger Cabiness

If Dr. Seuss was a mom...

Ode to a stain...

Red spot, blue spot,

That’s a new spot.

Is it mud or is it jam?

A melted crayon or candied yams?

I will clean it with a mop.

With OxyClean and bleach on top.

I will scrub it with a brush.

But Resolve’s not doing much.

Now it’s turned a shade of gray.

With no intent to go away.

A nice big rug to put it out of sight.

Carpeted dining rooms? Not too bright.

Some people rant & rave...I prefer to find the humor & move on.

It's a Tweet Eat Tweet World...

There are two kinds of people in this world, those who love Twitter, and those who don't realize MySpace died of dysentery a couple of years ago.  In addition to getting useful news, information and updates, along with stuff we don't really care about (ie, Lindsay Lohan's house arrest & Justin Bieber's new shoes), they also have a conveniently placed list of "trending topics".  Usually, the trending topics are whatever is a hot news event at the moment.  The rapture thing was a big one, the AI finale, Oprah's last show, etc.

One of today's trending topics is #lessinterestingbooks.  This is right up my alley.  Here are some of the better ones...

     - The Old Man & the Pond
     - A Tale of One City
     - Medical Office Assistant Zhivago
     - Cat on a Room Temperature Roof
     - A Tree Grows in Staten Island
     - The Girl With the Temporary Tattoo
     - The Mediocre Gatsby
     - The Count of Monty Python
     - Reasonable Expectations
     - The Wrath of Grapes

And my favorite....
     - The Hitchhiker's Guide to Des Moines

Anniversaries & furniture...

This week we celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary.  We actually got a babysitter and went out to have a nice quiet dinner with no highchairs, wet wipes, sippy cups or tantrums.  It didn't really matter that our steaks were a huge letdown.  I'm sorry, but when you charge $30 for a steak, it should definitely be above average & should make you want to thank the cow for producing such a masterpiece. We hadn't really planned anything for after dinner, so we went to a local restaurant/brewery, sat in the bar, talked and had a yummy dessert of tiramisu, caramel brownie and vanilla bean ice cream.  Not a bad night!

While we don't encourage our kids to jump on the couch, today they pulled off all of the pillows, made a big mountain and were playing on it.  It was cute, no one was getting hurt, and they were having fun, so I thought what the heck?  See the attached video...

It reminded me of the first couch we had when we got married.  We lived in a TINY 1 bedroom apartment in an old Victorian house in Oak Park, IL just outside of Chicago.  I think it was roughly 800 square feet.  That couch was the heaviest piece of furniture ever created.  But it did have one redeeming quality-  it was the EXACT same couch from the show Roseanne (see below), except we didn't have the colorful afghan thrown over the back.

I was definitely not sorry to see that thing go.

I'm back...

Much like my abs and the Real Housewives' kids, my blog has been sorely neglected.  Now that my first year of school & the Royal Wedding hoopla are over, I'm going to make a conscious effort to post more frequently.  Maybe once a week...maybe twice if it's a big news week;)

I actually tried to post this yesterday, then Blogger crashed & everyone's blog posts were deleted.  Luckily, I didn't say anything incredibly profound....if I did, I can't remember what it was.

Enjoy!

Better Homes &.....Medications?

Oh, the joy of having ADD. I really wish I could be on medication, but not until I'm done breastfeeding. So until then, I have to live with the little occurrences like the one today while making Ian's lunch. And hey, I've been thinking about adding recipes to my blog once in a while anyway, so here ya go.

Jessica's ADD Grilled Cheese

You will need the following:

- 2 slices of bread

- 1 slice of cheese (American, Swiss, Muenster....whatever appeals to you)

- Spray margarine (I like it because it's fat-free and doesn't tear the hell out of the bread)

-Skillet & spatula

-Various diversions (nothing elaborate...it doesn't take much)

Directions:

- Spray your margarine on each piece of bread

- Place on heated skillet w/ cheese in between

- Cook for 2-3 minut......

- OMG....Ian is waving out the window to the Mexican guys in our front yard spreading mulch & they are making faces at him. Too funny- I have to put that as my FB status!!!

- Go to computer, update FB status

- I'd better update Twitter as well....some people don't read both.

- And I should send the grandparents an e-mail too, because none of them are very FB or Twitter savvy, but they love hearing this kind of stuff.

- Oh....and while I'm thinking about it, the DVR didn't record The Sopranos yesterday- I need to check to see if it's going to record today.

- (Scrolling thru list of recorded shows) Man, we have like 40 episodes of Friends. HAH...I love the one at the beach when Chandler has to pee on Monica after she gets stung by a jellyfish!

- (Back to computer) Ok...one of my FB friends has taken a pic of himself at the dentist with the Nitrous Oxide mask on before getting his wisdom teeth out. He looks like Hannibal Lechter, so I obligingly ask him when will the lambs stop screaming...

- Oooh...I have 16 new Tweets on Twitter....scroll, scroll, scroll....nothing extremely funny or important...

- Sniff, sniff, sniff....what is that smell?? ACK!!!! The grilled cheese!!!! I'm sorry....I tried everything, but it just couldn't be saved.

- Start the process over, and will yourself not to leave the immediate stove area until the sandwich is finished and on a plate:)

Welcome to the inside of my head...it's unorganized & hard to navigate, but it's never boring!

Insert catchy blog title here...

I know I said I was going to try and update my blog every week, but seriously- I had a dry spell where nothing really interesting was going on & I just couldn't force myself to conjure up random topics.

Family Stuff~

Well, we've had some snow in the Louisville area, to say the least! It was pretty at first, but that only lasted a day or two before I was ready for it to go away. The first batch hadn't even melted yet and we got dumped on again for another 7 inches of white mess.... With two small children, it's hard to get them out of the house in regular weather by myself, so when it's like this, forget it! Poor Ian loves to go in the car, so he's had a bit of cabin fever. Every time I put on a sweatshirt or shoes he says (with a hopeful look on his face) "We go bye-bye????".

We did make a trip up to my mom's house in Indy for the Super Bowl in between snow storms. Aside from the actual game, it was a good time! My brother & his girlfriend came over with my niece Hailey. She's ten & Ian loves to play with her. She's a good sport about it & chases him all over while he's laughing hysterically. My mom's weiner dog, Frankie, loves the kids. He's a busybody and is always trying to lick Audra's face. Luckily, his breath isn't nearly as gross as the older dog, Lucy, who mostly keeps to herself unless you have food:)

The kids are great, as always! Ian is talking all the time and is using more phrases now. He repeats stuff from the tv and things he hears us say. Last night, Audra spit up all over me and I said "Sheeeesh!!". Two seconds later, Ian is walking around saying "Sheesh. Sheesh." I'm glad I didn't say something bad;) And yay for Ian- he knows ALL of his letters by sight now! He still gets Q and O confused sometimes, but he's definitely soaking this stuff up! Audra is too cute for words- she is a happy girl, unless she's hungry. She smiles all the time and started laughing a lot this week- I found her good tickle spots:) She loves her big brother and is interested in anything he is doing. Before he goes to bed, he says "Night night, Sissy". So cute!

Winter Olympics~

The Olympics started last Friday- I've watched a little bit of it. The winter sports just don't interest me as much as some of the summer ones. I despise hockey, some of the skiing events are ok, luge is kinda cool, and I can tolerate speed skating. I used to love watching figure skating when I was a kid, but it doesn't really do anything for me now...I mean, girly men in sequins & spandex....blah. Andy is really into watching the curling- probably because it involves a lot a planning and analysis- not my thing, but it's right up his alley! It's basically "Actuaries on Ice".

Issue with the Swimsuit Issue~

Speaking of sports, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue came this week. I don't really have a problem with it- it's pretty tastefully done, nothing vulgar or trashy. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't want to look like one of those girls, except I'd eat a cheeseburger once in a while:) But what struck me as funny is that on each page, up in the corner, they have the name of the designer and price of the bathing suit. As in "Ralph Lauren, $425". I'm just picturing some 45 year old dude with a beer gut eating a bag of Cheetos thinking, "Mmmmm mmmm mmmm, that Dolce & Gabbana sure can do some fine beadwork. And that contrast stitching is to die for!".

Also, are there any reputable straight guys who can tell the difference between a $450 Ralph Lauren bathing suit and the one I saw at Target last week for $24.99???? I don't think so.

Weekly Favorites

• Website: www.farmersonly.com -We saw this on the news the other night. It's a dating site for "people of rural pursuasion". No, I'm not kidding. Really.

• Quote: "Don't be afraid to go out on a limb. That's where the fruit is." Doyle Brunson, The Godfather of Poker

• Random Funny: Watching the women's downhill finals. Glad Lindsey Vonn won, but it was really funny when the woman from France fell down right after taking off. I would think that staying up on your feet for more than three seconds would be one of the first things you learn in downhill skiing school.

• Eye Roll Moment: The Who's Super Bowl halftime show. Do I really need to elaborate on well-over-their-prime men in tight pants who don't sound good now, and really never did to begin with? I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing Pete Townsend's belly.