Wordless Wednesday- Remember

This Table set for one is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against his oppressors.

Remember!

The Tablecloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms.

Remember!

The single Red Rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the families and loved ones of our comrades-in-arms

who keep the faith awaiting their return.

Remember!

The Red Ribbon tied so prominently on the vase is reminiscent of the red ribbon worn upon the lapel and breasts of thousands who bear witness to their unyielding determination to demand a proper accounting of our missing.

Remember!

The Candle, the candle is lit,symbolizing the upward reach of their unconquerable spirit.

Remember!

A Slice of Lemon is on the bread plate to remind us of their bitter fate.

Remember!

There is Salt upon the bread plate, symbolic of the families tears as they wait.

Remember!

The Bible represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded as one nation under God.

Remember!

The Glass is inverted. They cannot toast with us this night.

Remember!

The Chair, the chair is empty. They are not here.

Remember!

All of you who served with them and called them comrades, who depended upon their might and aid, and

relied upon them, for surely, they have not forsaken you.

Remember!

Until the day they come home, Remember!

SeaBee Ball 2010

I like going to the ball. I like getting dressed up and playing princess for the evening, I don't think I want to do it all the time but once in a while is great fun. I have been privileged to attend several balls in Indonesia and in Germany. I don't know when the next ball will be, anyone know if there are balls in Malawi? This last weekend I had a new experience, going to a ball in a castle. It was so much fun! Too much fun in fact to fit all into one blog post so I am going to milk it for blog material all week.

We arrived at the ball to find the bus would have to park in a muddy field at the bottom of a rather steep hill. Even the bus driver moaned, "Oh your shoes!" when she saw all the women's heels sink sadly into the mud. I managed to get out of the mud and up the hill with out breaking a heel, I think everyone else did too. David gallantly held my hand to keep me from falling, heels are really not my thing and heels on a steep hill was potentially a serious health hazard. Think broken ankles and bleeding knees.

We noticed the castle seemed a bit more crowded than one would have expected for the ball, and many people's dress seemed a bit out style, by that I mean several centuries out of style! Turns out that there was a medieval festival going on. We arrived just a it was breaking up for the night. It was pretty funny all the people in black tie formal wear staring at all the people in medieval garb and the medieval folk staring back. I must say their shoes looked considerably more comfortable!

Need a broom? The broom maker can help you out! This guy wasn't staring at anything but his brooms. I guess he sees tuxedos and ball gowns wandering around medieval Germany all the time.

Winding down at the end of a long day. Looks like fun, I was tempted to join them but I had to keep climbing uphill to the castle and the ball. I am sure a cup of grog would have made the climb more fun!

I found these two wandering about and had to have a picture with them. He seems very proud of his ...um... axe, don't you think? I started something when I took this picture. I am sure they were there taking pictures for a while. I wonder if he was smiling as widely after two bus loads of ball goers had their pictures taken.

Do you see them lining up? Yep those guys were there a while. They seemed good natured about it though.

Did you notice my hair blowing about in that last picture? If I had known there was going to be a forced hike through the wind and drizzle I would have spent considerably less time trying to make my hair curl just so. Oh well, at least this hair cut looks well with the windblown look.

We did eventually make it to the top of the hill and finally got a good look at Ronneburg Castle. It is a genuine medieval castle dating back to around 1250. Looking around we discovered the festival will continue next weekend, and they have a falconry show so you will probably read more about the castle later. Here is a picture David took of me in the inner courtyard. It was actually taken later the the previous pictures I have no idea why the sky looks so light. Maybe he didn't use a flash?



Behind me you see the entrance to the ballroom and in front of me actually behind and to right of where David was standing to take the picture was the bathroom. The ONLY bathroom was across an open, getting darker by the second, courtyard. Did I mention it was downhill a bit? Did I mention it was drizzling slightly? Dark courtyard, slippery wet cobblestones, plenty of beer, high heels, and yet not once did I slip and fall. Not sure why, just lucky I guess. Castles are cool but all things considered I think they would be a bit inconvenient to live in.

We got our first glimpse of the ballroom through these windows. Gorgeous! Castles are very picturesque. I have yet to tired of touring castles! Just don't think I need to live in one, that's all. Did you notice those tiny white flowers in front of the window? Flowers! Spring is coming! YAY!


Inside did not disappoint. Check out the table settings. David has already requested his own dagger and small wooden cutting board so he can stab the dagger into it with a bang during dinner. Maybe for Father's day?

Marathon Day

Yesterday was go go go from the moment we got up so I am going to borrow my friend Monica's favorite form of blogging: The List. It just seems to suit the way the day went. It felt like the whole day was a list of things that MUST be accomplished before we could go to the ball. Yes, the ball was definitely the light at the end of the tunnel yesterday,

1. Everybody up bright and early, cereal eaten, dressed, teeth brushed.
2. Tell Cody to double and triple check that he has everything needed to present the colors at the ball. He will not be coming back to the house before the ball.
3. Make sure Alonzo is in his cub scout uniform, make sure we have Colin's uniform: shirt, belt, neckerchief and slide.
4. Make sure we have the drinks for the Blue and Gold.
5. Drive to school to pick up Colin from sleep-over at school. School is 15 minutes from our house heading out toward Wiesbaden.
6. Drive to Oberursel for Blue and Gold cub scout awards banquet. Oberursel is 30 minutes from our house the other way. Thank goodness for the GPS it cut a few minutes off the time.
7. Blue and Gold over. It went well. Awards given, skits performed, jokes told, pizza eaten, good time had by all, except maybe Cody who spent his time chasing Grayson.
8. Head to Weisbaden which is 40 minutes from our house in a different direction.

This map will give you an idea of the location of Oberursel and Wiesbaden, although our actual route may be different than shown. We go where the GPS instructs. Start at E (I have no idea where A went) go to boys school B, then Oberursel C, then Wiesbaden D, then back to E.

9. Dump Cody and all his stuff at the base and head back to the house so we can get ready for the ball.
10. Start working on hair. There is a reason I usually just schedule an appointment so someone else can do my hair for the ball. I am totally hopeless, but the new haircut did make is easier. Short hair is just so much easier.
11. Stop messing with my hair and deal with The Incident. It involved the bathroom, a closed toilet, someone not looking before they went, a disgusting mess, and hysterics. It also involved a vow NOT to blog it so I will stop because I am perilously close to breaking that vow.
12. Wash hands, twice. Return to fussing with hair.
13. Hair and makeup finally done as good as they are going to get.
14. Put on dress, change my mind about which shoes to wear. To wear hose, or not to wear hose? Put the hose on with the vintage shoes. Love the shoes hate the hose. Take the hose off. Keep vintage shoes.
15. Put on jewelry. Change necklace...twice. Decide not to wear the vintage shoe, they are closed toed and I didn't paint my toenails for nothing. Strappy sandals it is.
16. Suddenly remember I need a purse. Destroy closet looking for my beaded clutch. Find it on dresser where I apparently put it earlier in the week so I could find it.
17. Check to make sure David is ready. Of course he is. And he has the oven preheating to the babysitter can make pizza, and is giving the babysitter instructions, not that Emily needs them. She rocks! So does David.
18. Take pre-ball picture. Don't we look fabulous?

Picture taken by Alonzo

19. Head to bus stop to catch bus to the ball. Yes, we rode a bus but at least it was a chartered bus. Not very glamourous but does mean we can both drink if we want to.
20. Have a blast at the ball!

Conclusions

It is Friday movie night in our house. Colin is still at school enjoying his sleep over in the library that is the conclusion of Book Fortnight. The other two little ones are watching "The Pagemaster" which I thought it would be the perfect ending to the week. David, Cody and I are all playing on our laptops which brings me to my first conclusion:

1. There is such a thing as being TOO connected.

However you will notice I am still here blogging. I have seen this movie so many times when Cody was younger I can do long passages of the dialogue. We are at the part where Tyler says "Boy I thought you two were goners." and Fantasy replies "We almost were until we discovered this enchanting fellow (that would be Horror) can float." Meanwhile Adventure is locked in a treasure chest. David must have read my mind because he just put up his laptop and is now stretched with Gray on the couch, both of them with their ankles crossed and the hands behind their heads. Too cute.

Tomorrow is the SeaBee Ball. Cody's JROTC team will be presenting the colors at the ball. I am very excited to see him in action. I am also excited to get to dance with my baby at a ball. I am mostly ready but I still need to paint my nails which brings me to my second conclusion:

2. It was a lot easier to get ready for the ball in Jakarta. Cheaper too!

In Jakarta I would call Mil and Mat's for an appointment the day of the ball for hair, nails and makeup. A team of wonderful women would pamper the stuffing out of me and after a couple of hours I would leave feeling and looking like a princess, around $50 dollars for the works. A bit more if I decided I needed a facial (an of course I did!). If I needed a dress I would just have a seamstress make one up. I had a silk corset made while I was there to go with my black satin skirt and it was a whopping $35. I probably overpaid. If a dress I had needed alterations no problem the seamstress could handle that too. So here I am doing my own hair, make up, and nails. So far I have spent $40 last week for a haircut, $20 something for a bottle of nail polish and some hair products another $30 for some makeup. Plus I spent far too much for a new dress downtown it was in euros and I really don't want to do the exchange rates because it will just depress me. It is a really cute dress though!

I have made two trips to the base today (one for groceries and one for gas and all the things I forgot to buy the first time) and three trips to school (one to drop off kids, one to pick up kids, and one to deliver the forgotten music book and instrument). Good thing traffic here moves a bit faster than Jakarta or Bandera Road back home for that matter. Which brings me to my third conclusion:

3. I am gonna get a heck of a speeding ticket this summer if I don't learn to slow down!

Contrary to what you hear back home a lot of the autobahn does have a speed limit. The stretch between here and Wiesbaden has a speed limit of 120 km/hr or around 75 mph and just like back home the traffic always seems to move just a bit faster than the posted limit. I tend to average around 85 mph in the middle lane which means I am passing the people in the slow lane but the cars in the fast lane are wizzing past me. I am hoping to make a trip to Houston this summer to visit my cyberfriend Kolbi and I can just see me forgetting that Texas has a bit more restrictive speed limit and opening it up on I10. That could be really expensive.

Whoops Tyler is asleep in the treehouse and the credits are starting to roll. I better go kiss my little ones good night and tuck them. Which brings me to my last conclusion:

4. Kids grow up too fast! I can't believe Cody is going to the ball tomorrow!

Well Crap! No More Chocolate For Me!

It is about 6 weeks or so until the Marine Corps Ball. I don't have the exact date but it is always around the same time of year. On whim I decided to try on the dress I am planning on wearing this year and it won't zip!

No matter how much I tried to suck in my stomach, no matter how hard I pulled I could not get the skirt to zip all the way. I see a lot of salad in my near future.