My aunt sent this to me in my email.. Funny.

Sad Christmas news from Washington, D.C.

The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a Nativity Scene in the US Capital this Christmas season. This isn't for any religious reason, they simply have not been able to find three Wise Men in Washington, D.C., nor could they find a virgin.

P.S. There was no problem, however, locating enough asses to fill the
stable.

RALPHIE!

SO as I sit here on Christmas Day, watching 24 hours of A Christmas Story, I wonder to myself...

"I wonder what that lil blue-eyed Ralphie looks like today?" So of course.. I googled him. His name is Peter Billingsly. And come to find out.. hes not that bad lookin other than some super bushy eyebrows! lol Well His google images show him in that movie "The Break-up" with Jennifer Aniston, and Vince Vaughn. Remember the bowling scene, where Vince is having to quit the couples bowling team, and that other guy is telling him he needs to give his jersey back, and then Vince tells him he wants his wrist guard back. Wellllllll... THAT GUY is RALPHIE!! lol here is a picture.

Anywho.. that was my fantastic finding today.... thought Id share. ;)
Hope everyone got lots of presents from Santa today!!

Xmas or not?

So for many years now.. we all have our prefrences on how to tell our loved ones Merry Christmas... Feliz Navidad....Happy Hanukkah.. Merry Xmas... Merry Cmas.. and the oh so lovely Happy Holidays. Well..anyone that knows me, knows that I personally LOVE to short hand type.. and usually if I am typing an email, or chatting.. whatever.. I do say Merry Cmas. Im quite the abbreviator..as I said.
But on to my point for this blog entry.. for all of my Christians, or religious friends out there.. I dont think you see the word in full. Christmas.. definition by Wikipedia- "Is an annual Christian holiday celebrated on December 25 or January 7 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth."
And I know mostly everyone knows that... and no matter your religious belief, which maybe prevents you from choosing to say CHRISTmas... there is no excuse to use Xmas as a way to say Merry Christmas.
Think about it... someone once told me, and gosh it was a long time ago.. when I was a kid, but for the life of me I cannot remember who told me this.. but.. they said.. "You should never write Xmas... that word is showing that you 'X' out the word Christ." Now how true and goofy that may seem... it has always stuck with me. So growing up.. I saw "Xmas" used everywhere.. and always wondered, "ok so does this person not believe in the birth of Christ? or do they just have no idea what they wrote with that can of fake snow on their window?"--I KNOW YOU GUYS KNOW what Im talking about.. lol
So from here on out.. all of you that DO read my blog.. no more of this Xmas crap. I know I do not lead the best Christian-like life out there but I do respect the religion I believe in, and all that goes along with it.

And on a side note---
I love and Miss you all... and hope to post some holiday pictures soon. Hope everyone is safe this holiday, and enjoys their winter-like weather.. it was 75degrees today, oh and its 11pm, and its 67 out still. CRAZY GROUNDHOG!!

Bzzz..bzz

ok now this is super funny...
see more puppies

Bath time

This so reminds me of my dogs.. at the lake.. haha.. or the bathtub for real. haha


see more puppies

Mo' Money!

For all the military folks out there...
Looks like there is going to be a
2009 3.9% Enlisted Pay Increase!

Hallelujah!

Like sleeve of a Wizard....

OK so this guy.. man.. I don't know whether to be ashamed of telling you all this or to keep laughing... But that crazy movie Borat, that came out about a year ago... man i just cannot stop laughing at this guy. And I hit up youtube every once and a while if Im in the searching mood for something funny. For some reason i always end up typing in 'borat' --a guaranteed laugh.
Again.. not sure if its the ridiculous insults this guy comes up with, or the off-the-wall life he claims to live. So you guys have to watch this video.. I had never seen this one before until tonite. Pay attention to the part were he starts to talk about his new wife, and her voice changing, etc...

300 vs. 620

So Ive began to think that the reason I haven't been able to go asleep for the past couple of nights is the fact that my sheets suck! So as some of you know, Mike and I just bought a King size bed. Its FABULOUS I might add. But of course that also meant we've had to upgrade to some king sized sheets.
Well we all know the more thread count the more its going to cost ya. So I thought... lets try walmart.. just to see and besides the cheepies.. they do have a few name brands that aren't too shabby. Well I bought some 350 TC sheets by Canopy. Took them home, washed them with a ton of fabric softener, and WOW... those suckers were soft! Im talking the bed was nice and cold, when you got in.. --I love that by the way, and the pillowcase was perfect. Not itchy at all. I think they were like $69.
So then it was my birthday.. and my lovely daddy-o sent me a giftcard for the triple B, (bedbath&beyond)--for all that dont know THAT is what that crappy place is called. HA! Anyways.. I can say that.. I worked there.. it was the crappiest place Ive ever worked at. Again, just for the record. So I went out and bought those expensive a** sheets they sale for $100. 650 TC, I thought to myself, "MAN! These are probably super soft.. If Ive got 300TC from Walmart, THESEEEEEE.. must be like sleepin on clouds."
WRONG!!!!!!!
TOTALLY wrong!
These dang things... are itchy as crap! I washed them twice, and loaded them with fabric softener, and they are still rough.
I mean I would be here all day plotting my case on these dang things, but seriously... DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!! lol Go to Walmart! And the part that hacks me the most is that I could have bought 2 pair of the ones at Walmart for like $20 more, and be sleeping in bliss. The only thing those ones from the Triple B have over the Canopy's is the lovely pinstripes on them.
ANYWAYS... my happy words of wisdom blog entry for all of you to learn from. Thats what Im here for kids. Lesson learned.
Dont by expensive 600 thread count sheets when they claim to be soft.. they are LIARS! LOL
signing off for the evening.. hehe
~Laura

Pussy cat Pussy cat

This reminds me of like every cat Ive had.. I swear

Bad Pussy

I'm gonna party like its my BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEeeeee.. AND ONLY MEEEEE... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

SO today its official... I am super super old.. and im not going to type the number... but I was born in 1980.. so you all can do the math yourselves!! lol
But anyways... I have only received one bday gift..and that is just NOT enough....so I better have a ton of good excuses from you guys! haha...
Well Im off to do my errands for the day...booooo...
Signing off...
♥ L

BEUFORD!

So this is about the funniest thing Ive ever seen... I cant stop laughing.. because the cat is so calm throughout the whole ride... I swear this is EXACTLY what Beuford, my brothers cat... would do! hahaha! And the crazy thing is that they look identical! Long lost brothers or something...

"Put in another quarter please, I want to go again!" HAHAHA...

Settled in

So beyond the point of storytelling... we have been so crazy busy this week. We have had to pretty much "build-up" our house. We were lucky enough in Germany to get our bedroom and living room furniture for free. They pretty much loan it to ya. So in the midst of trying to get unpacked.. and organized, we've had to go out and buy a new bedroom suit, and kitchen table since ours got messed up in the move, along with washer/dryer, and then a living room coffee table, and end tables (which we still have yet to buy). So as I said.. its been crazy! But I am here to share with you our new washer n dryer.. along with a updated picture of the yard. I worked all day in the yard yesterday..which Im still not finished with.. but it looks ALOT better than it did. heehee... my shrubs still need a gallon of miracle grow on them, because they are puny and need a growth spurt! ha! Well thats all Ive got today.. we should be totally settled in by this weekend. So I will have new pictures of the houses then. THE INSIDE of the house..the ones everyone's been waiting on.. haha. Hope everyone has a good Veteran's Day!
P.S. Sidenote... my birthday is November 20th, and I expect gifts from EACH of you that read this dang blog! ha! DONT FORGET!
♥ Laura

Katt Williams-Marriage

Craziness!

Well as everyone knows.. the past 2 weeks have been crazy busy for us!
Wedding, cleaned up after the wedding, packed-up a uhaul trailer, drove 3 hrs to the in-laws, slept, up at 3am, continued our trip to North Carolina, 24hrs later we arrived at Ft. Bragg, knocked out in a couple of twin beds, up early again to get keys to our house, cable-internet-and-phone guy here to set that stuff up, unpacked uhaul, sleepy time on a full-size airmatress, up early, our stuff from Germany arrived, boxes EVERYWHERE, needed a drink at about this point, unpacked a little, and FINALLY got to sleep on my oh-so-awesome-OWN BED for the first time in almost 5 months! And let me tell ya... I cant even explain how good it was to sleep peacefully! The puppies were so happy to see our couches.. and our stuff.. they kept rubbing up against it.. like Oh my its our stuff... oh mom thank you.. where are by toys.. thinking every box was for them. It was quite funny. So a week later since we've arrived, pretty much all unpacked, and ready for trick-or-treaters on Friday! I even managed to take put up some orange Halloweeeeeen Lights around my door! After all the hassle and NON-fun stuff Ive been doing.. Ive been itchin' to do something fun, hang pictures, decorate, put up halloween & fall stuff.. haha So that was my 10min project, which ended up taking a good 30 bc of my wack staple gun. But I soon got frustrated enough I found the missing part so it in the end, it worked right.
So here are a few pics from our travels... we took I-20 all the way from Shreveport up to Agusta, GA, then I-95N!
So it was a pretty easy drive... and the puppies did so good, and my truck pulled our uhaul really nice. Thank goodness we made it safe, and had no problems...and thank you to all that thought about us as we traveled! I dont have wedding pictures for all that keep asking... she will only keep them online for about a week or so.. and i told her since we were moving this week not to put them on the week after the wedding.. SOooo Ive asked her to do it soon, since we are pretty settled in at this point. So i will let yall all know.. as I hear something back from her....... in the meantime.. check our some of our latest pics!! More of our house to come soon.. after I get stuff set up! Hope everyone has a good week and keeps in touch~! P.S. and a lil dark on these last two.. this was day 2 at the house.. and it was super late.. so this will have to do till I get to take some better ones! hehe

Cowtown Pictures Made

Well yesterday me and Mike went to the Stockyards in Ft. Worth, and Had some "engagement-type" photos made. Since we are all doing this backwards.. after being married for 2 years now.. and we have never had pictures made, we thought it would be nice to do some casual pictures, and of course capture the moment. It was so fun. The girl who took the photos, she use to be my neighbor back in the day.. and when I say.. "Back in the day".... Im talking from the time I was a baby till I was 7. In fact.. she was one of the first to babysit me! haha! Plus she also works with my mother, so it was all fitting to let her do the session. Shes also doing our wedding ceremony pics this weekend too! And if your reading this.. you better be there! ASHLEY!
But anyways... It's getting down to the end for us in Texas. We have a busy rest of the week.. Thursday-Saturday. Then Sunday we have to pack our stuff, along with a few pieces of furniture I never got to take with me to Germany, and then Monday we head out to Tennessee!!!!
We will stay the night there with my old roomie, Lacey, and then head out that next AM towards Fort Bragg!
Its so crazy to think that we have been here in Texas already for 3 months!!
BUT... on a lighter note, it will be awesome to get our first house together, no more German living!! HOORAY! And Astro and Bouboule will have a HUGE yard to run around in... and our good friends the Duchenes are there! So it will be nice to have all those things that come with a big Army Base. Im excited! Not looking forward to flippin driving... but AM ready to be there already!
Well thats all I have time for today.. but definitly an UPDATE!! ha!
Sorry Folks.. Ive been super super busy planning this crazy wedding!
If you want to view a few of our engagement session... go to
http://www.carrineu.typepad.com
See you guys soon!
♥ Laura

Hand DJ

VMA's 2008

Ok so I dont know if you guys saw the VMA's last night, but KANYE was soooo awesome! I love him.. and he closed the show with this....

yeezy (world premiere)
Uploaded by 23city

He wrote this song just a week and half ago, right before the VMA's, and whew... that's all I can say! The Drummers in the background are the S*&% and he better hurry up and put this on his record, because I need this song on my iPod!!

**the countdown**

TICK TOCK!

Break the Bottled Water Habit

I thought this was very interesting.. also check out the link, and the youtube video 20/20 did over the issue.
http://www.newdream.org/water/


Avoid costly bottles; use water from your tap.

We've pinched and reorganized our household budgets. But we still often overpay for commercially bottled water. On an annual basis, the typical American consumer spends $1,400 on bottled water vs. 49 cents for the same amount of water from our kitchen faucet, according to the Center for a New American Dream, a nonprofit consumer group in Maryland.

Bottled water does not taste better, according to blind taste tests, and tap water must meet stricter safety measures. New American Dream has just launched a national educational campaign designed to promote filtered water from the kitchen sink.

To help you calculate how much more you may be spending for bottled water, New American Dream provides a cost calculator at www.newdream.org/water. By plugging in how many bottles of water your family consumes each year and the retail costs of that water, you'll find out how much you could save by switching to filtered tap water.

Consider these numbers: A gallon of water from your kitchen sink costs about $.002, which is less than one cent, based on the national average. In contrast, you'll pay on average about $1.50 for a 20-ounce container of bottled water. What's more, about 40 percent of the bottled water sold in stores is tap water, according to New American Dream. Fortunately, there are cheaper alternatives. For the home, there are filtering systems that include simple counter-top pitchers (for less than $20). There also are elaborate filters for the faucet. And when we're away from home, portable but reusable bottle filters enable you to filter water from faucets and drinking fountains.

Here are tips for saving money with do-it-yourself filtered water:

- A local water safety report can help you decide what type of filter is best for your home. Ask your local water company for a Consumer Confidence Report, which measures contaminants.

- Stay chilled. To avoid impulse or emergency purchases of water bottles, keep a stock of cold water in reusable, nontoxic bottles in your refrigerator.

Published: 8/12/08, 11:49 AM EDT
By Sharon Harvey Rosenberg

I know... I know...

Its been way too long! But Ive been super busy you guys!
Ive been home for almost 2 months now, and Im loving every minute of it! I love my Texas time. Right now, Mike is up in Missouri for his school, and Im hanging out in Gainesville, trying to plan a wedding! Arg the frustrations. Needless to say Ive been stressed out to the max, and fever blisters have decided to take up residency on my lips a few times.
So that is my short update.. more to come later. Ive got a busy day today. HOORAY!
♥ L

Safe to Texas

Well its been a busy few weeks for us, actually week, and a couple of days. But its felt like 2, 3 weeks already that we've been here!! Time is going by so slow, but I guess thats good. We have a few weeks left together, then Mike is off to Missouri for a school for the Army. But for all of you ladies that I HAVEN'T seen yet... hang in there.. your time will be shortly! =) I cant wait to see you all... Ill update with a few pics, and if any of you want my cell number comment, and I'll send it to ya! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer so far.... gosh I cant wait to go to the Lake on FRIDAY!!!~

♥ L

Are We There Yet?

Updates, updates....
So we are finally all checked in at the Lagerhof Inn, which is the hotel on base. Its actually pretty nice. We have a fridge and a huge tv/dvd player in our room, along with a lil community kitchen across the hallway from us, which has a stove, pots, pans, microwave, etc. So its actually working out great for us. Alot better than the dang bare house Ive had to live in for a week. It was really sad for me to sign out and turn in our keys on Friday. And then we had dinner last nite with all my girlfriends here, and man... was THAT hard! I had to hug a few necks, and say some goodbyes, but hopefully I'll still get to see a few of them before we leave.
We also decieded on Friday, just for shits n giggles, to see how much a rental car would be for us. Insurance covers it, and we got some extra travel money, so WHY NOT!! Well, it just so happened that they had some mini-coopers there. Oh yes... i was like how RAD would THAT BE!!!? SO for 80Euros we rented one of those for the whole weekend. It is Super super cool I must say. I So want one. And man .. I am totally proud of myself for re-learning how to drive a manual shift! haha! I had to get into an empty parking lot, to practice my stop n go. HAHA thats the part I suck at.. the shifting is just like the video games. EASY! Well I did soooo good.. I was like ok.. let me take it around post. Its been the 10th grade, since last I 'attempted' to drive a stick shift. Ol Jana Thurstons Jeep Wrangler she had back in HS. Im sure some of you remember that. Anywhos... the mini-cooper as I said way cool. And the dang gas mileage is soooooo good.. 47 MILES/GAL!!! NO JOKE! its a diesel engine, which helps. But even for unleaded gas its like 37mpg. So we are thinking, HUmm.. lets look at one of those when we get home. While we dont have kids, etc, It would totally be cool for us. So stay tuned for that. He wants an Nissan Altima-Booooo... I like the Maxima better. LOL. So we shall see.
Other than that.. thats about all thats going on here. We leave super early Tues. AM to head to the train station. It will take us right into the airport. YAY! So that will be fun.
Well here are a few pics from the past few days....
check out Bouboules nun outfit. It was sooo funny. He crawled under the sheets tonite.. and counldnt get out, because he was standing on the sheet.. and it was pulling around his face.. LOL man it was sooo funny... (picture to be uploaded in a few days--net connection in the hotel is crap!!!!!)
Cant wait to see you all! It will feel Sooooo good to be home in Texas.
TWO MORE DAYS!!!

Going, going............ not quite gone.

Well Im happy to report that our household goods are gone.

YIPEE!!!
I dont know how they do it..(must have been the beer I gave them to drink!!) cause they showed up at 930am, and were outta here by about 5pm & somehow managed to squish it all in one truck. And when I say "they".. for the first few hours it was just 2 guys.. Im like uhmm are you sure its all going to fit.. it was a tight squeeze.. but they got it in there. Soooo lets just hope that nothing breaks. But around noon another guy showed up and he did the big stuff like the couches, table & chairs, etc. I was in awe at how fast these guys work!

Anywhos... well we have today to finish up our cleaning. I painted last nite, which was let me tell ya... B-O-R-I-N-G!!!! Mike had duty so I along with 2 puppies that slept the whole time and did not help..but it went over swell. I had to paint my purdy red wall. I swear.. Germans like the most neutral colors. It was either white, off-white, or mustard for me to pick out. In the meantime, I also had a lil fun with it, compliments of Kimbo, so here is what I did....

Go me!!!
Well I guess that wraps up this week. Tomorrow we head to the Hotel on post. HOORAY!!!! (that seems to be my favorite word these days.. I guess because, Texas or home, or leaving, always follows it! haha
HOpe everyone has a good week!
On a good note... Im pretty sure I will be able to get online at the hotel I believe they have wireless... so I will keep you guys posted... till then... Im off to take a nap. Laura is going on 4 hours of sleep.. BUT I did get the puppies their health certificates (which I totally forgot to do!!!) YIKES!
Over and Out~

My Current Thoughts....

Tired and ready to LEAVE THIS PLACE!!

The End.

Why I LOVE TEXAS!

*the beach


*real cowboys


*baseball games


*my problem


*my favorite thing


*that scorching texas sun


*floating the river


*canned beer is the best


*i ♥ turkey legs


*gainesville's snowcone stand


*always & forever

Have to Share

Again I so frequently do... when Im bored.... COOK! YAY! So I found this recipe book.. its more of a lil pamplet, and Ive tried a few things from there before and they just did NOT turn out good. Anyhow.. Every once n a while I crave the sweets. So I decided to bake these Cream Cheese Brownies from that book.
Im not too big on the rich chocolate taste, but man.. you can never go wrong with brownies. I added about 3/4 cup of chocolate chips (semi-sweet)--in the chocolate batter by the way, and that made it 10x more better. Definitely one of those things that gets better after its set a day or so, covered of course. Seems like it gets more M____. and Im not saying that word because its just one of those words I hate! Starts with an "m" and rhymes with hoist... got it? ok, good. HAHA Anyhow... here is the recipe. Its super EASY!!!!

---sidenote::dont mind the pepper, tomato, oinion and sunflower in the background I have no idea why that would make you WANT a brownie.. ewh!--




Ingredients:

* 3 eggs
* 6 tablespoons butter, softened
* 1 cup sugar, divided
* 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup baking cocoa
* 1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese

Directions:
Separate two eggs, putting each white in a separate bowl (discard yolks or save for another use); set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar until crumbly. Beat in the whole egg, one egg white and vanilla until well combined. Combine flour and cocoa; gradually add to egg mixture until blended. Pour into a 9-in. square baking pan coated with cooking spray; set aside. (I usually line the pan with a sheet of foil makes it easier to pull out of the pan & cut)
In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and remaining sugar until smooth. Beat in the second egg white.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls over the batter; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until set and edges pull away from sides of pan. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

So make some for your hubbies tonite ladies! They will Love em! Mike doesnt even like sweets, but he was like MMmmmm.... hehe.... GOOD LUCK!!

New Addiction

Well, as we do WAY too often here in Germany, when we are bored, we go buy movies! So as me and Mike were browsing the "new releases" I stumbled across the oh so cliche series-"Army Wives". Im not one to get real into the 'soap opera' types of shows, but totally love the Tv show "The Unit". Which by the way only made 3 seasons, because of the dang writer's strike that went down right in the middle of season 3! Might I also mention has only like 11 or so freakin episodes because of all that crap! ARG! Anyhow.. I would consider that series more action, rather than drama, or soap opera-y as I like to call it. So we splurged and bought the Season 1 DVD set, and I have got to say.. the first few episodes I was not TOO thrilled about this.. but thought hey.. they just left me open-ended on that episode.. I'll stick it out, and see what happens next. WOW! Hats off to the cast and crew for this show! They really did an awesome job on catching the almost surreal life of the Army. It is definitely more drama than The Unit, but still geared towards the families and all the BS we go through! I Liked it...
So after disc one, I had to keep watching. haha! I had told Mike, "oh Ive got to see what happens next, babe, I swear I'll be in bed before midnight. Im just going to watch a few more episodes!" *smiling face* Ok not so true... after disc 2 was complete.. 5 episodes later..3:30am at that point mind you.. I was like ok.. Im a freakin addict! And a loser. haha! ok not really... But I was officially "into" this show. Well... it is super cool. And for all of you NON-Military folks out there.. thats like ALL of my family.. you need to watch this show. Its on Lifetime on Sundays. Not sure on the times for everyone, but they are on season 2 already and after tonite on episode 5. SO CHECK IT OUT! I love it, so you should too. Its super cool!

Its got an awesome cast too by the way... Mikes all-time flavor is in it, Catherine Bell. And Im not quite sure whats hot about that woman, but he loves the whole "JAG" phase she played in. Anyhow... Im officially going to bed now.
We've got German customs coming out here in the morning to check out all of our illegals... not really, just coming to tell us all the crap we CAN'T send with our household goods. Plants, candles(which Im still mad about--cause Im a candle horde!), the grill, liquids.. you know all that flammable crap.
Well hope ya like my Sunday rant... Hope everyone has a good week ahead, and be thankful for the day you have right in front of you.
The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge. ~Bertrand Russell

Whale of a SNAIL!

So today I was out walking the doggies, after a long rain all morning, and I noticed something shiny on the grass. The closer I got I said to myself.. "HOLY CRAP!!! that's a huge snail!!" I mean Ive seen micro-machine sized snails, but nothing ever this big! So I took the dogs back inside, and was like how retarded would I look going back outside to take a picture of what looked like the grass..haha.. well I did it anyways! Pj's and all! If you know me... yah.. I really didnt care, but thought man I should post this on my blog... haha... well here she is folks... the shell was about as big as a golf ball... gynormeous!

The Letter "T"

Ok, so I finished another letter GO ME! Its for a girl that shares the same Birthday as me! Her name is Tiana. I'm good friends with her mom here in Germany. Anywhos... I thought it turned out way cute.
Tonite I'm finishing up Holly's boys tonite, so keep lookin for those pics, which I'll add on here later. Hope ya like.

OK So I finally finished the boy's letters. UGH! It's taken me all week because I didnt't think I had enough NON-frilly stuff to put on the letters. Well I finally came up with a few ideas.... and then went back and forth on each letter, lol. SOoo here they are...mind you.. this was like ALL the non girly stuff I had! I even had to order a special "brothers" packet , just to fill the letter. Anywho... here is Taylor & Turner's letters.