Go Ask Mombear!

More Bears

We took a drive (almost 2 hrs) to Gallup, NM today, to see a movie. Great movie, Cold Mountain! I highly recommend it. And over the weekend we were able to see the movie, Paycheck. It was also a very good science fiction movie.

Anyway, after the movie today, we had a nice lunch at Cracker Barrel. On our way out the door, I happened to glance at a display of bears and there was a gorgeous fuzzy jacket, with teddy bears on it! Of course I just had to have it... so tried it on (size medium, yay!) and took it home. More pictures in the photo gallery.

A Lazy Day

What is it about a holiday that makes us all so lazy? I have been sitting in front of this computer all day! Of course, I guess that could be due to my ignorance with editing my website! LOL! It seems I have been wracking my brain and just about ready to slit my wrists... and then the answer "came" to me. It's a miracle! Anyway, I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season. We are having cold but beautiful weather here in Navajoland.

I am contemplating getting my scrapbooking things out and working on my many scrapbooks which have been started over the past few years. If only I can drag myself away from this machine!

Another of my pet projects is genealogy, and I happily received quite a stack of family information during the holidays. Gary's cousin found some things and sent them to me. I am so grateful for her help. Some of the papers are extremely valuable to me in terms of genealogy.

I have added Christmas photos, as well as several of our pets' photos to our photo gallery page... feel free to browse. Contact me if you need access assistance. This photo is a gift from Gary (Tanzanite and diamonds,) which was made possible because our daughter works at a jewelry store and is very good at what she does! Much to the detriment of our bank account. LOL!

'Twas The Day After Christmas...

'Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house,
Every creature was hurtin', even the mouse.
The toys were all broken, their batteries dead;
Santa passed out, with some ice on his head.

Wrapping and ribbons just covered the floor,
While upstairs the family continued to snore.
And I in my T-shirt, new Reeboks and jeans,
I went into the kitchen and started to clean.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the sink to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains, and threw up the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a little white truck, with an oversized mirror.
The driver was smiling, so lively and grand;
The patch on his jacket said "US POSTMAN."

With a handful of bills, he grinned like a fox
Then quickly he stuffed them into our mailbox.
Bill after bill, after bill, they still came.
Whistling and shouting he called them by name:

"Now Dillard's, now Broadway's, now Penny's and Sears
Here's Robinson's, Levitz's and Target and Mervyn's.
To the tip of your limit, every store, every mall,
Now charge away--charge away--charge away all!"

He whooped and he whistled as he finished his work.
He filled up the box, and then turned with a jerk.
He sprang to his truck and he drove down the road,
Driving much faster with just half a load.

Then I heard him exclaim with great holiday cheer,
"Enjoy what you got. . . . You'll be paying all year!"

~Author Unknown

Happy Holiday!

Hope your holiday has been terrific! We had a very quiet day here at home. Gary and I celebrated our Christmas without family this year, since our children are 2000 miles away in Pennsylvania. It is a big adjustment for us, dealing with "Empty Nest Syndrome." I've realized that Christmas truly IS for the children! One day we will have the grandchildren to spoil! Then we will have to travel to wherever they are, but it will be worth it!

The Night Before, the Night Before Christmas

Due to my unwell feeling, we have decided to forego our friends' gracious invitation to spend Christmas in Phoenix. About two days ago I began feeling a little "odd." I'm not sure what, if anything, is wrong... but felt it would be wise not to expose anyone unneccessarily to an illness. So after our appointments in Flagstaff, we came home, to prepare for a quiet, cozy Christmas celebration... just the two of us, with my assorted menagerie of bears!

Nails, Lord of the Rings, and Lobster

Yesterday was our routine drive into Farmington NM, for groceries and whatnot. However, since we had two major items on our agenda, we focused on them... have my nails done, and see the new movie Lord of the Rings - Return of the King. We arrived at LeNails and I was immediately seated with a very new and inexperienced nail technician. He didn't speak English very well and I wanted to impress upon him that I didn't have all day, or even two hours, for my nails. After an excrutiatingly slow 15 minutes, the owner came over and offered to finish me more quickly. I was very grateful to him and was completely finished within an hour. I don't generally mind being a guinea pig for a new, say, hairdresser... but an inexperienced nail technician can lead to a really painful experience!

Next, on our agenda was of course, a quick trip to Walmart for a few groceries. We moved through the packed store quickly and found a long line on the shorter side, to stand in. As expected, the cashier seemed to have a big problem with speed and Gary was getting very exasperated. But we made it through and loaded up the van, giving us just enough time to arrive at the movie theater for the 12:15 show... at 12:15! Fortunately Gary had already bought tickets for us to see the Lord of the Rings, because there were signs announcing the movie being sold out for the rest of the day!

This is a great movie! We thoroughly enjoyed it, except of course for the several little kids running around and talking loudly at times. Not to mention the adult, two rows behind us, narrating for his companion!! That was even more annoying than the occasional crying baby. However, seeing this movie at the theater is a must! The sets and special effects are amazing and can only be fully appreciated on the big screen!

Finally, our day ended with a nice, late lunch at Red Lobster. Since the movie ran late, it was approaching 4:00 when we arrive at the restaurant. Knowing it would be well after dark, by the time we got home, we enjoyed wonderful meals of salmon and flounder. Then we stopped by Baskin Robbins for our weekly "fix" of ice cream... LOL!

Going to Phoenix...

I will be away from home and away from the computer tomorrow and Thursday, due to a trip with the JROTC kids to Phoenix. Gary needed a female chaperone and I volunteered. Sure hope I don't regret it! LOL! Well, at least it's only four kids.

Maintain Your Insanity

15 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.
3. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."
4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso.
5. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Sexual Favors"
6. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."
7. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.
8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."
9. Sing Along At The Opera.
10. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme
11. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.
12. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"
13. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
14. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."
And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......

15. Send This List To Someone To Make Them Smile..It's Called Therapy

Older Than Dirt

Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember, not the ones you were told about! Ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed bottles
5. Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (Olive-6933)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H Green Stamps
16. Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb
20. Packards
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

Winter In Many Farms

We are used to having windy days year 'round out here on the Navajo Reservation, however, the other day I was surprised to hear something hitting our windows. I looked outside and it was actually hailing! It continued to fall for several minutes and the yard was covered. Following the hail was a light snowfall.

OPERATION RED DAWN

We got him! Saddam Hussein was captured as he hid in a "spider hole" near his hometown of Tikrit, Iraq. There were no shots fired and no casualties during the operation. I find it very interesting, reading the comments of many world leaders after the capture. Not surprisingly, even though they previously would not publicly state any support for the war... they certainly are supporting the end result! Of course the violence is not over yet. This is but the next step in bringing stability to that country and hopefully the entire region.

(CNN) -- World leaders who divided over the war in Iraq are united in welcoming the capture of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Tony Blair has called Saddam Hussein's capture good news for Iraqis, saying: "It removes the shadow that has been hanging over them for too long of the nightmare of a return to the Saddam regime."

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who opposed the U.S.-led war, wrote to George W. Bush saying: "With great happiness I have learnt of the capture of Saddam Hussein. I congratulate you on the successful mission.
"Saddam Hussein has brought unspeakable suffering over his own people and the whole region. I hope that with his capture the efforts of the international community to the reconstruction and stabilization of Iraq will be furthered."
---------------
A statement from French President Jacques Chirac, who was also against the war, said: "The president is delighted with Saddam Hussein's arrest.
"It is a major event that would strongly contribute to the democratization and stabilization of Iraq and allow Iraqis to find again the control of their destiny in a sovereign Iraq."
French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin added: "The page of the Iraqi dictatorship is thus turned."
---------------------
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Saddam's arrest would "strengthen security" and help move along political progress in Iraq.
In a written statement to CNN, Ivanov said: "Moscow believes that Saddam Hussein's arrest will help strengthen security in Iraq and will help activate the political mediation of the situation in that country with an active role of the United Nations."
Now on a state visit to Chile, Ivanov also said that "as for Saddam's fate -- it should be decided by the Iraqi people."
------------------
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said it was "a great day for everyone" and for "stability in the world." In a statement on Spanish TV, he added: "Saddam was the cause of all of the poverty in Iraq. From now on, terrorist groups are closer to being defeated."
---------------------
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, in Paris, said Saddam's capture would have "a demoralizing effect" on his supporters and could result in a decrease in attacks on coalition targets in Iraq.
---------------------
NATO Secretary General George Robertson said: "I have heard the news and greatly welcome it. I hope it will lead to greater stability for the people of Iraq."
---------------------
Democratic presidential candidate and retired general Wesley Clark called for a "very public" war crimes trial. "We've been due some good news, and this is good news," he said from The Hague, where he is testifying in the war crimes trial of former Serb president Slobodan Milosevic.
-------------------
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- Kuwait was the first Middle Eastern country to comment on the capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.
Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sobah Al Ahmad Al Sobah expressed his happiness at the news.
"Saddam committed several crimes against his own people and also tortured them and misused their resources, and threatened the Arab unity and delayed their cooperation, in addition to the fact that he was a great threat to his neighbors, and was the reason behind the unstable conditions in the whole region while he was ruling Iraq," he said.
--------------------
In Cairo, Amr Musa, Secretary General of the Arab League, called the capture of Saddam "the total end of the previous regime."
"Saddam arrest is very important event, and the Iraqi people should have a say in this matter," he said.
-----------------------
In Washington, Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan said: "The capture of Saddam Hussein will end an infamous chapter of history for Iraq and the region."
--------------------------
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher said he learned about Saddam's arrest in a telephone call from his U.S. counterpart, Colin Powell.
He added that he made it clear to Powell that he hoped the Iraqi people would now enjoy ruling their own country, and things would be easier.
Maher also expressed his hope that Saddam would have a fair trial before Iraqi judges.
------------------------------
The Jordanian government said it hoped a page had been turned and that the Iraqi people would be able to assume their responsibilities as soon as possible and build their future according to their will.
The first and last word concerning the capture of Saddam Hussein or his fate must be given to the Iraqi people, the government said.

Traffic, Traffic, Everywhere...

As usual for a Saturday, we drove into Farmington to shop for groceries and to see a movie. What a mess! You can certainly tell it's only a couple of weeks away from Christmas. Traffic backed way up from the mall. And Walmart was just packed! LOL! Not really a surprise, but surely annoying. Our first activity was seeing a movie, Timeline. It was really pretty good. I would recommend it for PG-13 viewing... I'm not sure what the official rating is. We finally made it home after 7:00pm, about two hours later than we'd like. Let it snow...let it snow...let it snow.....

Thought for the day...

"We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you."

~ Jeff Warner

I spent all day yesterday trying to figure out why my scanner wouldn't work! What a pain in the patootie! The end result was I apparently had the USB cable plugged into the wrong hole! Finally figured this out at 4:30 in the afternoon, after working on it since about 11:00am. Guess that alerts people as to how computer-challenged I can be at times...LOL!

Time to unwind now:
1. *WHAT IS YOUR FULL NAME: Teresa Lynn Collier
2. *WHAT COLOR PANTS ARE YOU WEARING? White
3. *WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? TV and Christmas music (what can I say... I do have two ears, ya know
4. *WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Lunch, turkey/cheese sandwich, olives, baby carrots
5. *IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? green
6. *HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? cold windy and sunny
7. *LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? friend Michele, she just had a baby in October - I hadn't talked to her in about a year
8. *THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? eyes
9. *DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT YOU THIS? of course, I miss her a lot
10. *HOW ARE YOU TODAY? frustrated! I spent all day trying to figure out a computer problem!
11. *FAVORITE DRINK? water
12. *FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? Tom Collins
13. *FAVORITE SPORTS? football
14. *HAIR COLOR? blonde
15. *EYE COLOR? blue
16. *DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? not any more... too windy here and don't want to deal with the sand and dust, with contacts
17. *SIBLINGS AND THEIR AGES: Brother - John 40, Sister Pam - 49 and Sister Gaye - 38
18. *FAVORITE FOOD: shrimp fajitas or chocolate
19. *WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
20. *FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Christmas
21. *ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT? depends on how well I would know the person, but since I'm married, it's very unlikely that I would be asking anyone out
22. *DO YOU LIKE SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING MOVIES BETTER? Happy Endings
23. *SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter
24. *HUGS OR KISSES? hugs
25. *RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS? Relationships.
26. *CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? chocolate.
27. *DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO WRITE YOU BACK? I would love it!
28. *WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND ? don't know
29. *WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? don't know
30. *LIVING ARRANGEMENTS? I live with my husband Gary. We currently live in a two bedroom apartment on the Navajo reservation in Arizona
31. *WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Until You by bertrice small; Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by nancy leigh demoss
32. *WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? a picture of myself with my daughter's boxer, Baxter
33. *FAVORITE BOARD GAME? scrabble
34. *WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? same as most nights, watched a little tv and played on the computer
35. *FAVORITE SMELLS? fresh ground coffee
36. *FAVORITE TV SHOW? Joan of Acadia
37. *WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Ft. Lauderdale FL
38. *WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH AN HOUR OF FREE TIME? I have tons of free time since I am not currently working outside of the home; my interests include creating websites, genealogy research and scrapbooking.
39. *WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? what time is it?
40. *SEASONS OR SUNNY YEAR ROUND? Seasons

New Great-Nephew

My niece, Arika, blessed our family with a brand new little boy on November 10, 2003. His name is Braxton O'Neil Henry and he joins his big brother, Triston O'Neil Henry. Braxton weighed 7 lbs 4 ozs and was 19.5 inches long.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Yesterday was a very busy day. I decided it would be a good idea to prepare our Christmas packages to mail. This involved wrapping individual gifts and then finding boxes the right size in which to mail them. Having no family nearby, all our gifts need to be mailed. Right in the middle of all that, I remembered that I wanted to send cookies in at least two of the packages. So I took a break from wrapping, and made my favorite No-Bake Cookies. Pictures are in my gallery.

Thanksgiving Greetings From Iraq

The following letter is from a friend stationed in Iraq. Her letter is very thought-provoking:

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

It's easy here in Baghdad to think about how "bad" we have it....we live in Spartan conditions, we are a long way from home and family, and oh yes, there are bombs and bullets and all other sorts of pretty dangerous things aimed at us by pretty dangerous people.

The reality, though, is that we have real homes -nice, comfortable homes, back at home. With the latest technology. In the richest, most powerful nation in the world. That just incidentally gives us the freedom to think for ourselves, make choices for ourselves and live life as we choose. Without fear, without government intimidation. We have families and friends who are wonderful.

And we have the opportunity, here and now, to change the world for the better. And we are doing that - being a part of history. After which we get to return to those we love and our comfortable way of life, knowing that we did something good and worthwhile.

So on reflection, the cold showers and the lack of electricity and the leaky tents and the 135 degrees in the summer and the never-ending routine of Groundhog day, and oh yes, the dangerous things and the bad people - all those things are a scale by which we can measure those things that we do have and those things for which we should be enormously grateful.

I'm thankful that I never lived in fear of a regime that murdered innocent people, that I never lived in need or want, that I have never been without medical care, food, or shelter, that I had free access to education, and that I grew up in peace and freedom. So many people in so many parts of the world have no concept of a life like mine. I'm thankful we can help some of them now.

I'm thankful for all those things. I'm especially thankful for having the best family in the world, and for having wonderful friends, and for being an American.

I wish you all a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving.

- Leslie

MAJ Leslie A. Alford
1AD Deputy Inspector General
551-0667
Baghdad, Iraq
"Iron IG!"

Emerald Raine is Here!

Well, the baby girl arrived this morning at 4:26am EST. Her name is Emerald Raine, weight was 7 lbs 3 ozs and she was 20 inches long. They will be calling her Emma. Isn't she adorable? Mom and baby are doing great!

Baby's On Her Way!

Tara (Sunshine) called at 2:00pm (MT) to let us know she was on her way to the hospital, in labor. I'm so excited! She is supposed to be having a girl. I called the hospital to be sure they kept her and she was indeed admitted today. Will write more later...

Being Creative

Yesterday, in addition to all the cleaning I did, I created Christmas gifts for my parents and a dear friend. As you may know, I am interested in Scrapbooking, and while reading a magazine, I came across a really neat product. It's paper-backed fabric, which can be fed into an inkjet printer and anything can be printed on it! How cool is that! Anyway, I decided making memory pillows would be a great idea. What do you think?

December Already!?

I'm just NOT ready!! Okay, so I did get my Christmas cards out today and started addressing them... The list sure gets longer every year. I have over 150 cards to mail. We probably don't receive cards from all of the people, but I just can't bring myself to shorten the list. What does that say about me? Hmmm? Anyway, now I need to write our annual Christmas newsletter. I do enjoy getting them and hope our friends and family enjoy ours every year. If I'm lucky, I'll get the cards in the mail before the middle of the month! Wish me luck.

Spring(?) Cleaning

Today I cleaned! I almost couldn't believe it myself! Had the urge to clean both bathrooms and then decided that I really do need to organize our tiny apartment so we can decorate for Christmas. The first thing on the list was to wash windows, so my vinyl cling stick ups will stick to them. (Hope you understood what I just said...lol) What a relief to have that done. After our very windy summer, everything is covered with a fine brown grime...ugh. Doesn't really show unless it's smeared. I hung the stick ups and they really look nice.