A Ball by any other name...

We recently had the honor of attending the Marine Corps Officers Ball on November 10th (the Marine Corps 234th Birthday). As civilians, we gathered our finery … me in a new dress (with my newly improved and reformatted body) and Mick in a Tux. I’d never seen Mick in a tux…yep he looked pretty darn good. We went to the tux shop and he was at home. Only time I’ve seen him more excited is in a candy shop! I think he’d dress that way every day given the opportunity and purpose. For me, I wandered thru many, many stores….so what’s that about – there are no formal dresses out there. It’s the holidays! Where are the formals? Luckily Macy’s came thru and I tested out my new body in a new "small" dress…..that was pretty cool.

Going to the Ball is hard to explain. First, it is definitely more of a ceremonial event than a ball. You sort of picture a formal ball, like you see in the movies (An American President, and all that)…everyone dancing the Waltz. Once past that, it really was an inspiring event. First, I love men in uniform (a Tux works too!) It was impossible to be at the Ball and not envision my mom and dad there years ago. I guess as a little girl I always heard about the Ball and equated it to sparkling chandeliers, orchestral music, Prince Charming (in uniform) and a bit of Cinderella. As the Major General gave his speech and walked thru the history of the Corps, the wars fought and the men and women lost, you truly felt you were sitting in part of history. There was a power, a history, a feeling of legacy about the night that is hard to put into words. It was an honor to be among the men and women in the room. It is an honor to be the daughter of one of those men lost in battle.

Meeting Matilda...it's Halloween.

One of my fondest memories as a kid was Halloween. My mother loved Halloween. For whatever reason it was right up her alley. When I was in 2nd or 3rd grade she volunteered for the first time to put on the haunted house for the school Halloween carnival. It was on the stage in the cafeteria. She hung huge sheets of black plastic creating a maze winding through the stage. The hardwood floors created the necessary creaks along the way and we were set for scare. She would create scenes along the way that would scare, creep and make you jump. No blood and guts, nothing gooey or gross – just creepy and scary.

Early on she created Matilda. I do believe I still have parts of Matilda in a storage box somewhere in the attic. Matilda was a skeleton sculpted from paper mache and baked in the oven. The mache would peel and you’d have the illusion of peeling skin – very lifelike. She had a skeleton face, long white hair, boney fingers and sat in a white wedding dress, yes splattered with red paint. Matilda would simply sit in a rocking chair, slowly rocking back and forth. In her lap was a skeleton baby that would occasionally light up. View that as you shuffle along a cold, creaking, dark hallway and when the baby lit up – you’d jump a foot or two – if not the dark cloaked figure in the corner reaching out and slightly touching you would certainly give you a scream and a scare. Mom loved Halloween and she was good at it!

The haunted houses got more creative and more interesting during my elementary school years. I always think of my mom as very creative, very artsy, incredibly bright and enthusiastically eccentric. After quite a few years of haunted houses, I moved on the Jr. High and she lost her venue for her Halloween antics. So they moved to our house. We lived on Indian Rock Road in Vista and every Halloween, all the scare would come out of the garage and take form in our yard, cast along the cactus garden, peeking from the bushes and hanging from the trees. The soundtrack from the haunted house would blast out the front bedroom window so that anyone in the neighborhood knew without a doubt, we had candy if you could handle a little scare.

Years later, after my mother had passed away and I was running her bookstore, I would take a couple rooms of the store and turn them into a mini haunted house each October. It made me think of mom, was wildly creative and even gave Matilda a chance to come out of the attic for a yearly visit. Even today, Halloween will always remind me of mom, bring a smile to my face and cause me to peek out the window to see if there is a full moon or any black cats wandering across the driveway.

Back in the saddle...

Hey Ladies

How ya’ been. So rumor has (well maybe not a rumor as I have only heard it from one of you), never-the-less rumor has it, a few of you a wondering where I’ve been. See, I always said if I stopped “spamming’ you, you’d miss me. So here ya’ go.

1. UPDATE ON ME: Long story short – I had surgery October 6th for skin removal and reconstruction as a result of my weight loss (I’ve lost 150lbs over the last 3 years). Surgery went well however there were some complications and blood loss landing me in the hospital for a few days. I’ve now been home for 3 weeks and have basically slept thru the month of October! I am doing well but pretty surprised how long recovery is taking. I guess the problems I had in the hospital and the amount of blood loss really set me back. They are saying the blood loss recovery (returning to full energy) could take a few months as it takes a while for the red blood cells to stock back up. I spent 17 days without a shower. Once the neighbors started to complain, the doctor relented and let me shower – a very good thing! So I technically start back to work Monday (at least part days). Right now I am still waiting for the final drainage tube to be removed and just working towards getting full energy back. All else is good. Oh – and I might just look fabulous. A bit hard to get perspective at the moment but the glimpses are pretty amazing for someone who has been overweight her entire life.

2. THANKSGIVING: Exciting things happening here. We are busy planning our big Thanksgiving Feast. If you haven’t attended, it is way fun and yummy! Last year we served about 250 folks. We have a full turkey and ham feast with all the sides, desserts and left-overs. Crafts, bounce house, movies and activities for the kids. Football games on the big screens for you holiday football fans. Basically everything is there and it is a big party. Lots of fun. Bring yourself, your family, your friends, your neighbors.

3. CHRISTMAS HELP: Christmas is coming. This will be our third year launching our own version of Operation Christmas. Simply if you need help this Christmas with food/presents - shoot me a note. We have folks stepping up to support you. There are a couple different ways, we support you.

· Presents for the kids (about 3 each) will be included on our community outreach tree. When they come in we will sort them get them to you; and/or
· We will have lots food, diapers, supplies, small stocking stuffer gifts coming in; and/or
· For big needs, we have both families and growth groups who will adopt a family. They generally provide gifts, food baskets, gift cards, sometimes a tree or dinner. You can either meet the group and work directly with them or if you prefer not being contacted directly, they can work thru me. I want this easy and comfortable for you. We're here to take off the stress….not add more!!

We are here to make the holidays easier for you. We know there are needs out there and we very much want to come along side you and make the holidays special. This is not meant to help you by the Wii or digital camera for your kids, but to help you have a magical, wonderful Christmas season with as little financial stress as possible. So if you need help or would like a little extra, or know of a family that needs help – don’t be shy…shoot me an email – get on my list. If you have been around the last couple of years, we generally have plenty to go around and I already have families/growth groups waiting to adopt a family for the holidays.

Also mark your calendars – our Christmas Breakfast for military families (men/women/kids) is December 5th – Santa will be in the building, we’ll have a great breakfast, entertainment, door prizes, activities for the kids family photos, etc.

So Talk to me! What’s up? What are your needs? Don’t forget to spread the word about Thanksgiving. Hey I've missed you ladies!