H is for HOME

WILD CARD WEDNESDAY. This seems a little corny, but the only thing I could think of for H. House. Home. Home is where the heart is. This HOME happens to be one that belonged to Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie. It's located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Yes, THE Gettysburg, PA where one of the greatest battles of the Civil War took place. Turns out that in Eisenhower's early military career as an officer, there was still an active U.S. Army post there - and he was stationed there training troops. The family was a typical military family and moved often, always looking for a way to feel at HOME in each new location. When Eisenhower faced retirement from military service, the family decided to settle back around Gettysburg - and were lucky enough to find a small farm right on the edge of the battlefields where Eishenhower had studied and meditated for inspiration in his younger career. When he became president, it was ideal that they owned the place. Because it's less than an hour and a half from D.C. We visited the HOME last year during our jaunt back East. The property itself is beautiful and interesting. But the house itself is sooooo dated - and they've obviously kept it that way to preserve as a museum. But after the first renovation merging/adding on to the old farmhouse, don't think Mamie made any other updates for decades. A lot of memorabilia and collectibles. Fun to visit the area and take it all in. Really pretty countryside, putting green (Ike was an avid golfer), gardens. But a rather HOMELY house on the inside if you ask me. To each his own. I'm sure it was lovely for 1950 America. Or not. At least I've done my part in imparting a little useless U.S. trivia your way. (That's the eldest Jr. B standing out front, facing away from the camera. She's a goof.)

Own the lot.

Speaking of V-dubs. This is what our work parking lot looks like on any common day of the week. Take your pick. "Mun-day. Twos-day. Weds-day. Fry-day." (To quote The Godfather.) We are affectionately known by the rest of the building as "The VW People." It looks like a color-coded dealership - or like we have a designated fleet. Not only are they all V-dubs from about the same year (hint: similar body style across models), but they are all silver. Although we might not want to admit it (we couldn't have intentionally been so clever to have designed it out this well), we didn't plan this. All employees of the same company, but all hired at different times. And all owned the vehicle when we started. Fortja's is the Passat in the middle. And if you couldn't tell the difference, that's Woody's twin P on the right. My Jetta on the left again. Okay. No, those aren't the EXACT car pics. But you get the effect it creates when they are all parked side-by-side. We've freaked out more than one fellow building-dweller. The funny thing is that there are also a couple of navy Jettas of approximately the same model year owned by other people in the lot and another silver Passat of approximately the same model year in the lot to the right. They are all within viewing distance of one another. I haven't seen this many VWs randomly in such short vicinity of each other since my last Orlando trip. I don't know what it is about VWs and Florida. But they got 'em there as thick as the mosquitos. Maybe they ship the Jettas across the Gulf from Mexico real cheap-like. Needless to say, we dominate the lot. It's a pretty picture. Makes me feel all brand-loyal and whatnot.

Bid it out.

I can't help myself. Remember that whole scenario on auto insurance I posted a few weeks back? Original insurance company got back to us and said they were going to up our auto insurance by $1,000 a year because of the one extra ticket that pushed us over the limit. This last week, we finally got around to bidding out. Insurance company #2 took a look at our driving records through our license identification, and not only are we not going up by $1,000, but we are reducing our premium by $600 LESS THAN what we were already paying!!! Can you believe that? How can these companies be so different? Anyhow, we've immediately switched - and canceled the original provider. I'd been with that provider for 25 years, and felt like they were looking out for me. What a big mistake! Another case of you gotta look out for yourself, cause no one else will. I encourage everyone to routinely shop around. It's your money. And I"m all about keeping as much for my family as I can. It will be nice to send them to college someday. Maybe I'll be able to now.

2003 VW Jetta Wolfsburg 1.8T, one of the causes of my insurance dilemma. And she looks so innocent, doesn't she??? (That's not a Wolfsburg edition in the photo, but you get the idea.)

Dear to my heart.

It's finally time to share a mission that is near and dear to the Queen B's heart. And I'm not talking about King B. I'm talking about the adoption of older children. Our oldest child was adopted at the age of 11, actually 12 by the time it finalized. We adopted from the foster care system in our state. Many people in our country still don't realize the great numbers of children lost in the foster care system here in the United States. These kids are "legal" orphans rather than the traditional images we have of kids whose parents and family are deceased - or given up by an unwed teen mother. These kids most often have birth parents with an inability to provide in some way - and yes, perhaps alcoholic, drug abusers or mental health cases. Most of these children have already suffered a multitude of life losses before they ever reach the system. Then they bounce from one foster situation to another - becoming more wounded and emotionally damaged. At that point, they have so many challenges that the odds against a successful adoption are high. So, the sooner kids from the system can be integrated and adopted into a forever family, the better their chance at a successful family life.

Popular Christian music artist, Mark Schultz (that's Mark in the photo), was adopted as an infant from the foster system in our home state. In fact, he was adopted through the same agency we used for our adoption. He also served in a mission to Mexico, ministering to orphans. He felt called to do more and is biking across America to raise funds for the cause of providing for orphans and widows. He is keeping a blog of his journey and has posted videos as part of his daily log of events. It is really touching - and you'll learn much about this cause if you check it out further. For any who feel even somewhat called or interested, I encourage you to check into your local resources. Don't assume that you can't afford it financially, because there are subsidies and benefits available. In our case, all legal expenses were covered - as well as a lot of other expenses we had relating to the adoption. In our state, the children receive medical coverage through the state too. And if you are seriously considering adoption, please consider adopting a child from here in the United States. These kids are in our own backyard - and are often being overlooked for infant adoptions from other countries. I feel passionate about any adoption, but especially about adoption of kids that are being lost to the system.

Adopting an older, hurt child is not an easy thing to do. But it's extremely rewarding. And we feel very blessed. It has been an awesome experience to see our daughter grow and heal and become such an integral part of our family - now a beautiful young lady with much potential and a life of opportunity ahead.

Double-dipping.

I just discovered a new, secret passion this weekend. Wow. Who would have thought? Edy's Limited Edition Girl Scouts Thin Mint ice cream. For those who pine for Thin Mints in about June when those hidden away in the icebox have suddenly disappeared until the following January, this is like an answer to a desparate prayer! We found a few half-gallons hidden in our local grocer's freezer - so gave it a whirl. And weren't disappointed. It doesn't quite top my ultimate fanatic pick, Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. But B&J's is a classic that can't often be rivaled.

The orange tarp comes down.

I couldn't let my co-workers and blogger friends be the only ones who paid tribute to the mess of our most recent working conditions. I began to feel like I was living in a third-world country, wading through the devastation of 9/11 or the most recent Greensburg, Kansas tornado disaster.

Greensburg, Kansas. May 2007.

I don't have a picture of the construction nightmare going on in our office. But this snap of the Greensburg aftermath pretty much resembles our digs over the last month. My nose feels permanently filled with sheetrock and mud dust. My desk and files have a nice gritty white film permanently adhered. And I've had the audacity to wear black garments almost every day through it all, which now sport white prints and smudges. Hard to avoid when almost every garment you own resides on the black side of the fashion color wheel. The natives were getting restless, tired and really cranky. Why is it that construction always seems to involve destruction first?

However, the dirty, dusty, f'ugly safety-ORANGE tarp came down today and the painters have arrived! A cleaning crew came in last night to minimize the damage, and the construction team actually turned on the shop vac this afternoon. (I started to wonder if it was broken.) Which means we may have turned a significant corner back toward less chaos. And soon, new digs and a big open house to show off our newest achievement.

I feel so much better already! And it's not even Friday yet. Pics of the new space will be posted soon.

In pursuit of my inner hillbilly.

Two weeks and counting. And I can't wait. This is just about my favorite place in the whole world. Branson, Missouri and Table Rock Lake. This is our family's favorite vacation getaway. The little town in the Ozark Mountains is less than six hours away from our home. Branson is like a little Las Vegas. A little cheesy and a lot touristy. But Table Rock Lake is beautiful. This picture hardly does it justice at all. It's lush and green - usually pretty temperate. We like to stay on the lake and then venture into Branson during the evening for dinner and a show or during the afternoon for a little shopping when we're tired of being out on the water. It's a great family spot because there is a lot to do - with healthy, kid-friendly activities. We missed our annual sojourn last summer because we went back East to explore DC and visit some family. But my kids are so excited they can hardly stand it. And I feel the same way. I had ancestors who helped settle Missouri and then moved on to the Plains. And I wish they would have just stayed put. But I probably appreciate it more because I don't get to live it year-round. Something about it sure brings out a hillbilly spirit that I imagine is loitering around in my ancestral blood. It does my heart good. (That's me and my crew two years ago in a teeny little fishing troller we took with us to skip around the lake.)

Who started it?

Who first said "Everything works out for the best." - ??? Whoever was really smart. So after I whined to you about how my husband was unemployed last week, he went and landed himself a J-O-B a few days ago! Less than a week after the previous one ended. And it's a WAY BETTER job - er, career opportunity - than the one before anyhow! Talk about good timing. They were looking for someone just like him. He started TODAY. He's "in heaven." He says. It's more on track with what he's been dreaming about for his life pursuit. And it's a really respected company that does good - no, GREAT - work. I'm happy that he's happy. And that I don't have to worry about how the bills are going to get paid. Or at least not in the immediate future. So to quote some other historical person I don't know: "All's well that ends well."

When you think things can't get any worse ...

You know the kind of week I'm talking about. One bad thing happens and you stay fairly positive. You'll get past it. Then the next thing you know, another rears its ugly head. Then another. Until you think you are going to literally lose it before the sun goes down on another chaotic day. You truly cannot take any more. You begin to understand why people flip out and do crazy things under dire stress. It's been one of those weeks at the B-hive.

Long story, but my husband is suddenly unemployed this week - and actively looking for a job. We did not see it coming - like you ever do? But we were just catching up from a recent family budget crunch and preparing for our summer vacation. Well, he's on vacation alright. And I'm not feeling real confident about how we'll make it through this new little challenge. I'm sure we will, but the unknown is still not easy to take. I'd decided I would stay positive though - try to have faith and not worry about the future.

Now today, I get a call from the insurance company who tells me they are going to cancel our auto insurance coverage because my husband got a traffic ticket last week. He's one ticket over his maximum allowable limit at this point. This was about as much as I could take! Who do these people think they are??? Between vehicle and home coverage (which are bundled under one policy), we pay these people in excess of $4,000 a year! I've been covered by them since I was 14 years old. And my husband has been on the policy for 12 years. And never once have we had a traffic accident! Yeah, he gets the occasional speeding ticket. My husband used to be a cop. Enough said, right? Isn't the whole reason cops become cops is so they can legally drive like Ricky Bobby in pursuit of some other family man with the occasional lead foot? Because he was a cop, he went through all kinds of defensive driving training - certified through the state law enforcement academy. The boy knows how to drive and handle a vehicle. But they are going to cancel our policy because we are a risk. Give me a break! Of course, we are bidding out ALL of our insurance coverage - including the house, large outbuilding and stock trailer. If they cancel our auto insurance, then they're losing everything we have covered with them. They're not getting any more of this enraged girl's money! They aren't the cheapest insurance to begin with, but we've stuck with them out of customer loyalty and have never had our coverage bid out when that's really the nationwide trend in our fickle consumer age. We might even deserve to be punished since my husband is "guilty" of what appears to be such a major offense (geez), but I'm tired of dealing with them. It's another unnecessary life hassle. I think they do it just for the sheer enjoyment of messing with me. And in reality, I know it's yet another ploy to get even more money out of us when they transfer us to their "high-risk driver" policy.

Okay ... so I don't have a life-threatening illness (that I know of) and my teenage daughter didn't come home telling me she's pregnant - or anything else seriously tragic like that. But it's still been a week I'd rather not repeat again anytime soon. Has anyone else had a week like this recently? Please tell me our streak of bad luck is going to swing back the other way. Come to think of it, Talladega Nights is the perfect analogy to how this week has gone for me ... a fast spiral downward. When life sucks, it can really suck. But I just know I'm gonna find my inner cougar soon.