Cross Culture

I really enjoyed my job as a Diplomat/Foreign Service Officer...it's got to be one of the best jobs around...if you like good pay and travel! It's pretty much a cake job (what government job isn't? Ok, maybe being an IRS agent...) and the benefits are outstanding. Foreign Service Officers are a small group of folks (I think there's only about 8,000 of them) who live/work overseas at our Embassies world wide...we've got about 250 of them (I think), anywhere from Paris and London to the tiniest crap country in Africa. Where ever you get posted, though, the Embassy provides your house, electric, water, furniture, ships your car, and, some places that are considered "hardship", you get paid extra money for being there. The vacation schedule is fantastic. The only reason I quit was because, after 20 years of military life, I was having a hard time adapting to the Department of State culture. The military is around to fight wars; that's what we train for our entire careers, it's the reason we exist. The Department of State, on the other hand, likes to talk about problems, issues, in order to resolve them peacefully. Totally opposite of what I was use to. The military is very "get things done" orientated; the Department of State...well, not so much. My boss (bless her heart), told me I needed to "lower my standards"...??!! Hum....not going to happen. I believe that people raise up to your expectations...not that you should lower them to accommodate.

Fresh Fruit

Ah, the simple joys of summer...namely, Fresh Fruit! We've got the boys - the summer vacation week on/week off has started, and we're pumping them full of good eats. I love the summer when fresh fruit is plentiful...blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries (the youngest is a STRAWBERRY KID!), melons, peaches, plums, bananas...it don't get much better than that. One of my favorite breakfasts/snack is to cut up fruits (all kinds), then, I buy the big vanilla yogurt containers (it's cheaper than the individual cups) and mix the fruit and yogurt together..yum! Sometimes I find granola cereal on sale and throw a half a cup of that in the mix. I'm a big fan of buying stuff on sale. Coupons are a plus too. The Ol' Man thinks I'm cheap, but I like to think of myself a "frugal". I make a Hurculean attempt to live within our means, save money and not fall into the consumerism trap. If we can't eat it, or it hasn't worn out, we don't buy it. I patch the kids jeans, I hang the clothes outside to dry, and I reuse zip lock bags. If we had enough land, I'd grow my own fruit!

OK, so he's dead - SO WHAT?

Why, in the name of the gods, is this country so VERY OBSESSED with celebrities? Are their lives so pathetic that they have to project onto the Michael Jackson's of the world? Are their lives so miserable that they'll turn to anything other than their own problems? There was an article on the Internet that said the whole world was mourning...are you kidding me? I'm quite sure there are some tribes in Africa , some folks in the Outback of Australia or even the hills of West By God Virginia who don't know that Michael Jackson is dead, and, if they did know, they could probably care less. Citizens of this country should be more concerned about the crap Congress is trying to force on this country than a dead singer. Citizens of the world should be more concerned about ruination of this planet than a dead guy. But, then again, who the hell am I to tell anyone what to think, right? In my humble opinion, if you are truly in "mourning" for MJ, I think you're an idiot and need to get a life.

Cooking

I'm not much of a cook. Let me explain. I don't particularly enjoy cooking...taking hours and hours cutting, slicing, measuring, etc. and then it only takes 5 minutes to eat it - doesn't seem efficient to me. Anyhoo, I'm actually a pretty good cook, because I follow the recipe, so if it's a good recipe, it'll taste good. I'm not the kind of cook that can "taste test" a recipe and add a pinch of this or a dash of that. I tried that once...and the results were not pretty, so I stick to the recipe. Problem is that I've got a boat load of recipes from my mother-in-law (who's a fabulous cook), and, getting beyond reading her handwriting, she does the pinch/dash method. I usually have to have the Ol' Man interpret the recipe for me and help me the first time, so I can figure it out. I made fish cakes tonight (the recipe was on the back of the bag of fish), and what a pain in the a**. Remind me never to work in a fish cake factory. Getting the bread crumbs to stick - ack! Keep the faith that it tastes good....

Happy Father's Day

May the Gods bless all fathers...REAL fathers, not the sperm donors. We just took the boys back to their mother (we got them for the Father's Day Holiday), and peace reigns again in the house. It TRULY takes a special person to be a parent. I'm happy to say I only have to do it part time. I'm happy enough being "mom" to the 3 cats and the dog. But, the Ol' Man is so happy to have them around, it makes my heart happy to see him smile. I made brownies (alas, from a mix due to time constraints), and we had brownie/ice cream sundaes. Yum! (That'll be an hour on the rower...) The Ol' Man has turned the basement into the "ManCave"...which tickles the boy to no end. I, of course, being the Queen of the House, am allowed in the ManCave, much to the chagrin of the boys. Sunshine, finally today. We've had so much rain/damp weather that there's mushroom growing all over the lawn - which is driving the Ol' Man crazy...he really puts some time into making the lawn look like a golf course, so you can see how he would react to the mushroom epidemic. Hopefully, it'll dry out and he can get the lawn back to normal. This week's assignment for school was a group assignment, so, whew...that was pretty easy.

Sheeple

I read an article on the Internet that was supposedly written by someone from...(Russia?). He called the American people, "sheeple", because we are too stupid to realize how this country is going down the drain. I have to agree with him. There seems to be a vast majority of "sheeple" in this country who could care less what happens outside their bubble of influence. The attitude of "if it doesn't affect me, I don't want to know". The Ol' Man sums it up as the Three Monkey syndrome - Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil..."If I don't see it, or refuse to hear about it, or talk about it...it doesn't exist". Except when it hits you right between the eyes and you loose your job, or your house, or your kid is a crack addict. The founding fathers have to be rolling in their graves at the direction this country is headed. Does anyone CARE that Congress is spending money faster than they can print it? Does anyone CARE that the President is considering giving the Federal Reserve (which, by the way, if you didn't know, is a PRIVATE BANK!) even MORE power? Does anyone really believe the recession is almost over when this country is puking out jobs at an alarming rate? The Russian was right...we're Sheeple...and we'll get what we deserve.

Sunshine?!?

Ok, the weather was GREAT during the Tour Pennsylvania bike trip...and it's rained/been overcast every day since we've gotten back! ACK! I need sunshine!!! The weather's more like April than June, for the gods sake! We had such a crappy winter, I get the creepy feeling we're going to have an equally crappy summer...sigh. On a more positive note, since I'm only taking one class this term, I've got more free time to quilt. I also ordered and received some supplies and I'm going to try my hand at making dog leashes. That, in addition to seeing how writing articles on line for $ goes...beat's working 9-5 in the rat race!

School

I'm taking a Labor Market Analysis class for my Master's, and it's kicking my ass. I'm not a math wiz by any means, and this class deals with all kinds of xyz, coefficient, horizontal axis kinda stuff. To make matters worse, it's an on-line class, so I don't even have the assistance of a teacher to walk me through all this mess, AND, it's a required class for the degree...sigh. My brain hurts.

Quintessential Americana

Traveling through Pennsylvania, we met with, what I like to call, "quintessential Americana". We rode through many small towns that were just picture perfect. The town square, lined with shops on all sides, the big trees and bandstand in the middle, perfectly groomed lawns, flowers hanging from pots on the balcony's, American flags flying...just beautiful. That's something that you just don't get in the big cities. Very calming...it brought a smile to my face. The smells of the country side too...wildflowers, cow poo, the smell of dead animals on the side of the road, the warmth of the sun on your back, the sun playing hide and seek with the clouds...life doesn't get much better than that!

Pittsburgh Penguins - Stanley Cup Champions!

KUDOS to the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team - winners of the NHL Stanley Cup! The Ol' Man is a HUGE Pittsburgh fan, and now, Pittsburgh is truly the City of Champions. First, the Steelers won the Superbowl, and now the Penguins. Daddy's Happy! We are not, however, holding our breath for the Pittsburgh Pirates (baseball). They suck.

On the Tour Pennsylvania motorcycle trip, we stopped by the Harley Davidson factory in York. We took the factory tour, which was super interesting. Amazing when you think that Harley and Davidson started in 1903 and made just 3 bikes...now, the company cranks out thousands. Made in America, by the Gods. If we lived closer, I'd get a job there - how cool would that be? Then again, maybe not. I really, REALLY enjoy being retired. I really, REALLY enjoy not having to hear the alarm clock go off every morning, draging my butt out of bed and running the rat race.

Tour Pennsylvania 2009

We made it! 1250 miles and 10 days later, we've seen God's Country. It was a great ride. Only one day of rain and the rest of the time, the weather was beautiful...as was the scenery. This is a picture of the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. We started out, and on the first day, rode through Coal Country. I couldn't pronounce half the names of the towns. Lots of the little towns looked worn down. Ragged. Tired. Like life has passed them by, the good old days were gone and, bewildered, they were wondering what happened, where did everyone go?

Tour Pennsylvania

Today is the day! We're heading out on our 1,000 mile (ish) trip around Pennsylvania on the motorcycles. We're gong to visit Gettsburg, the Zippo Factory (I didn't know the Zippo factory was in PA...), visit his folks, visit some friends, and our breeder in Pittsburg. The weather looks good, we'll get the dog to the kennel, and we're outta here. Live to ride! I'll check back in a couple of days and let you know how the trips going...