Snickers Says...

Happy Haloweeeeeeener!

Friday Funny-Stand In

I'm really not in a ha-ha funny mood today. It's been a tough week here at the Brown house. Lee's not here, I'm sore from working out and I dropped a piece of workout equipment on my face (oh now you're laughing eh?). Then we had the whole chicken tragedy. I know I should laugh, it would probably make me feel better, but for some reason my stash of Friday Funnies just, well, did not seem all that funny to me. Nothing jumped out at me screaming "Post me! Post me!". So I decided that we would change things up a little this week.
A few weeks ago I was tagged by another blogger with a meme. What's a meme? I'm glad you asked. I looked it up on Wikipedia because I figured inquiring minds like yours would want to know.
The term Internet meme is a neologism used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet.
Clear as mud right? Think Hamster Dance, Numa Numa Song or The Evolution Of Dance, basically it's an internet forward.
So this meme has me naming 6 completely random facts about myself. I should be pretty good at this one because I am nothing if not random, Rebecca Random Brown.
At the end I am supposed to tag 3 other bloggers to do the same, so stay tuned.

Here we go:

1. I LOVE Sonic Cherry Lime-Aids and Rice Krispy Treats but not together.

2. I am not too crazy about other peoples kids.  I have to get to know them and on rare occasions they grow on me.  

3. My toenails have not seen the light of day since Holly was born in '95.  Well, occasionally I have to change the polish but that is always done quickly.

4. If I could be any animal for a day or two it would be an otter.  I also wish my dog could talk. Snickers only, not Wrigley.

5. Seeing pictures of skin rashes creeps me out.

6.  I think I have the best husband in the world.

Ok now it is my turn to do the tagging.  Let's see....  I tag Amy, Ambre and Jennifer.  Go for it girls!

Sad Sad News

The girls and I had a few errands to run this evening.  When we got home we noticed that the chicken pen was upturned and then we saw a hunting dog run out of it.  Turns out that all three of our sweet hens were killed.  We buried Emma, the little black one.  There was nothing left of Fanny to bury and no sign of Jane.  We did not see evidence of Jane's feathers so we are hoping that maybe she got away but we know that is wishful thinking.   We are bearing up well enough but it still hurts.

Brio Mission Trip 2009

Many of you remember that Caitlin went on the Brio Mission Trip to Peru in 2007.  Caitlin and Holly have decided to go next summer with Brio Missions to Guatemala.  Keep the girls in your prayers as they prepare to go.  They will each be needing to raise about $2500.00.  Yikes!  Nothing is too hard for God right?

Military Monday

SUEZ CANAL, Egypt(Sept. 23, 2008) The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) transits through the Suez Canal. San Antonio is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group supporting maritime security operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky (Released)

Sunday Suppers

While we were down in Florida we attended Mom and Dad's Grace Group on Sunday nights.  Grace Group is a small group bible study that meets in homes in the place of Sunday night church.  Everyone knows that when christians get together they like to eat!  Mom needed a quick and easy dessert to take, so we whipped up this yummy cobbler.

There are only 3 ingredients.  Can't get much easier than that!  

Any flavor canned pie filling

1/2 box of dry yellow cake mix

1 stick of butter

Optional: I know some folks who sprinkle chopped walnuts or pecans on top.

So the first step is to spread your pie filling into the bottom of your oven safe dish.  We used an 8x8 square.

Sprinkle about half of the dry cake mix onto the top of your fruit.

Spread the cake mix around until all the edges are sealed.

Melt your stick of butter.

Pour the melted butter over the top.

Move the butter around if needed to cover most of the top.

Slide the cobbler into a 350 degree oven for about an hour.

Wait until it looks like this before removing it.

Serve it warm with some ice cream or whipped cream! Enjoy

Friday Funny

Campaign Queens

Sarah Palin and her running mate came to Virginia Beach last week.  Being the politically minded gals that we are not, we decided to go check out the action.

The arena was a madhouse! We got there just before the doors were set to open and still had to wait in the mile long line.  When we finally got inside, we realized that our chances of actually seeing the candidates were slim to none.  We ended up BEHIND the camera crew!   Even knowing all of this, we still waited about two and a half hours for them to show up.

There's McCain.  Notice the view is BETWEEN one of the camera guys legs.

I thought this was the coolest sign.

Holly shows her support!

Did you notice that there are no pictures of Sarah Palin here?  Thats because our line of sight to the podium between the camera guys legs went completely away when she got up to speak.  The campaign signs went up and never came down while she spoke, thus blocking our view.  It's ok though, it was just fun to be there.  Oh and don't believe the media when they low ball the number of people in attendance.  There were at least 22,000 people there.

The Hen House

Introducing our newest family members Jane, Fanny and Emma.   Guess who named them and where she got those names?

These new lovely little ladies will be keeping us entertained as well as supplied with plenty of breakfast eggs.

Here's Mert with her new friend Fanny. We like her because she has personality and a cool hairdo.

Our first egg!  We're so proud.

Gracie and Abbie are convinced that the girls need to be held, petted, talked to, and entertained. What better way than to get right into the pen with them? Spoiled chickens are what we now have on our hands.  They get very excited and come right to the edge of the pen when Abbie and Gracie come near.

The black hen on the left of the pen is Emma.  Gracie picked her out specifically because she has fluffy feet.  She says that Emma looks like she's wearing pajamas pants.

This sweet girl is the one that I picked out.  Her name is Jane.  I chose her because she has that classic chicken look about her.

Discipline

I've put myself in time out. I've given myself a stern lecture. I've looked into the mirror and given myself the stink eye. No more Mrs. Nice Girl , no way, no how! I had to remind myself about the important priorities in life and the dangers of neglecting to report blog worthy events in life. It's a slippery slope I tell ya. Once you put off telling the world that your family just got 3 egg laying hens, you can barely force yourself to make that uphill climb back to the keyboard. No longer will I lollygag on the porch with my children in beautiful 74 degree fall weather while important family news and Sunday Supper recipes go unblogged! I consider myself talked to.

Friday Funny

Sunday Suppers

Because of my technical difficulties lately, I will simply say, make reservations or call Dominos. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! Look for Sunday Suppers to appear again next week.

Breast Cancer Month

I know this may not be in everyone's taste, so if you offend easily stop reading now. Since it is breast cancer month, an issue I care deeply about, I thought I would share. The girls and I saw a gal wearing one of these tees at Busch Gardens over the summer and got the biggest kick out of it. We decided then and there that we had to have one. Christmas gift idea anyone?

Check out the link.

http://www.savethetatas.com/home.htm

Friday Funny

Military Monday

I am finally able to share with you all a few details about Lee's deployment. Below is a Family and Friends newsletter that went out via email to the USS San Antonio families about a week ago. So you all now have as much news as I do.
This picture is of my nearly bald sweetheart and the chaplain assigned to the Marines aboard the ship with them. I'm not exactly sure why Lee decided to shave his head, so don't ask. Men are a mystery sometimes.

Dear SAN ANTONIO Families and Friends,

Greetings from the Indian Ocean near the Horn of Africa! It has been an exciting first month of our maiden deployment.
We were originally scheduled to sail on 26AUG for Onslow Bay to embark elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU). During the weekend prior, we were conducting some routine maintenance on our sterngate and discovered a pretty significant material problem. The ship’s maintenance team including the regional maintenance center and our port engineer were able to get the right contractors onboard in a timely manner to get the sterngate repaired and the ship underway in time to join the other IWO JIMA Strike Group ships and leave for deployment on time. It was a true team effort, including our embarked Marines who helped us out by trucking a lot of their equipment to Norfolk to load pierside.
We sailed on 28AUG and spent a day off of Onslow Beach, NC to load the remainder of our embarked Marine equipment. We had a very uneventful trans-Atlantic passage; the weather was very cooperative and we were able to conduct a Burial at Sea ceremony, helicopter deck landing qualifications, and other needed training.
We sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar in early September and entered the Mediterranean Sea. For many of your Sailors and Marines, this was the first time they had been out of the Atlantic Ocean. The weather was hazy, so we missed an opportunity to view the Rock of Gibraltar. Maybe we will see it on the way home.
SAN ANTONIO’s first Mediterranean port visit was to Naples, Italy. The ship med-moored, also a first, which was a challenging ship-driving evolution. The crew did great in all aspects of the port visit and their liberty mission. They represented their country and the Navy well, conducting some community relations projects, and tours to Rome, Pisa, Pompei, Capri, and other beautiful Italian cities in the area.
Following our Naples port visit, it was a quick two day transit to Marmaris, Turkey. During the transit, we promoted three of our shipmates to Chief Petty Officer, a significant career milestone. Congratulations to HMC (SW) Curran, CSC (SW) Foster, and FCC (SW) Shaw! Marmaris is a beautiful resort town with a lot to offer SAN ANTONIO’s Sailors and Marines. The crew did well again; taking some nice tours of the surrounding area and hosting a reception for the US Ambassador to Turkey and almost 200 other dignitaries. It was SAN ANTONIO’s time to shine, and shine we did! The reception was a very nice affair and the Ambassador had nice things to say about the ship and the crew.
We departed Turkey and headed for the Suez Canal. The canal transit went well and we ‘chopped’ or reported to the Fifth Fleet Area of Operations (AOR) last week. We immediately went to work conducting Maritime Security Operations, which will be the majority of the operations we will do while we are here in this AOR. We will be part of a coalition working to build a lawful maritime and secure environment which leads to regional stability and prosperity.
SAN ANTONIO and your Sailors and Marines are doing well and we appreciate the support you are all providing back home.

With respect,
CDR Kurt Kastner
Commanding Officer
USS SAN ANTONIO (LPD 17)
co@lpd17.navy.mil
"Never Retreat, Never Surrender"

Birthday Flowers

I had a nice birthday. Thank you everyone for all of the birthday wishes sent my way!

Birthday flowers from my DB (dearly beloved).

Reunions

I got brave and actually attended my 20th High School Class Reunion. These two gals with me were friends from the band. We "band geeks" gotta hang together ya know.

Yesterday the girls and I drove over to Longwood to have lunch with my college roommate Robin and her hubby Dan. It was alot of fun catching up and reminiscing about old times. Plus we went to eat at PF Changs... I think I might have a new favorite restaurant!
All of this catching up with old friends made me realize once again how much God has blessed me over the years.