Sherri's (Never A Dull Moment) World

Five Favorites on Friday

I know, I know. I have been gone for awhile. (sigh!) But I am back! And I have a bunch of stories to share from adventures in August! I thought it would be nice just to begin ANYWHERE rather than stress over telling my tales in chronological order. Why not begin with  a short list for consideration?

Here are five things on my mind today:

1) "The Pen Story" is my new favorite video on YouTube. It is a masterpiece of stop-motion photography that begins and ends with a family photo. Within 3+ minutes, a life unfolds before your eyes!

 

2) Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are"-- what a lovely, lovely song about a man who adores a woman just the way she is. Bruno has collaborated with some hip-hop artists (ex. "Nothin' On You" with B.O.B.) and has a voice that makes my heart happy.  He is a young artist to watch out for!

 

 

3) Chocolate Chip Seastars-- What?! I am not talking about chocolate chips. I am referring to a  tropical seastar (NOT a starfish) species that has a bumpy texture that resembles chocolate chips. I went to the local pet store this week to get a light bulb for my aquarium and couldn't resist looking at the specimens for sale in the tanks. I wish I had a saltwater aquarium-- if I did, I would have bought one of these cuties! My inner marine biologist was giggling at the helpful hint sticker on the tank that said: "Be careful of your aquarium community when adding this species." [Note: they are cute, but will eat a lot of your other pets!]

 

4) Carrie Underwood has a new song called "Mama's Song". While it is to be expected that every father worries about his baby girl growing up-- so does her mother. This song is about a daughter telling her mother that she has found a man that truly loves her, that is truly good. It made me tear up thinking about how much I worry about Natasha and wish for her all the most wonderful things in her adult life. I want Natasha to be happy and to find herself a very good man.

 
5) Last, but not least, is the delicious Milky Way Midnight. I have loved this candy bar from afar for a few years. Why afar? Because if I ate them all the time, I would gain 10 lbs.!  They are a melt-in-your-mouth combination of dark chocolate, caramel and marshmallow. I treated myself to one yesterday and I savored every bite. Yum!

 

So what is on YOUR mind today???

January's Distraction

I was thinking about my need for distractions this year and realized that I have succeeded in this pursuit for both January & February! Here is what I spent part of January doing:

[The back story] Nick deployed for Iraq in early December. Before he left, he mailed letters to all of the parents/wives of the soldiers he is in charge of describing their upcoming deployment assignment, reassurance that each soldier was well-trained and ready, and a personal note for what he thought of each man. He mentioned in his letter that we, his parents, had been through this before (with Jeremiah's 2 tours in Iraq) and that we would be adopting his platoon during this tour. He listed our names and email address, with instructions to contact us if anyone had any questions. A few emails trickled into our mailbox in December, asking what they could do to help and how to send care packages to Iraq. I began composing group emails (and sending them to the growing list of parents, extended family members, wives, fiances, girlfriends of these soldiers) and delivering information. I provided tips on what to send/not to send in care packages; I shared tidbits from Nick's phone calls; I offered a listening ear to anyone who had not been through this before. The family support grew!

[My distraction] So I decided to research and develop a blog so I could connect all of these people. I did not want it to be all about me. Instead I wanted to start discussions, be able to share posted photos, and create a "place" to talk about things. I chose to create a webpage using myfamily.com and made it open, by invitation only, for each person in my Alpha Company family support group to join. The website is perfect! It has features that fit my original needs perfectly and is very interactive, with a sense of privacy to what we are sharing. Right now it has 34 members, with a dozen or so pending invitations, and people are checking it daily. It makes me feel so good knowing that I can help each of these family members cope with a long (12 month) deployment. I remember during J's tours feeling like we lived each day on pins & needles. Bill and I would get edgy, irritated, anxious if there was a long time between phone calls. We worried about J constantly and I think we silently held our breath until the moment he returned to American soil, safe at last. We didn't have any friends or family with kids in the military, so we felt like we were all alone during each deployment. Though having Nick deployed overseas is just as hard to deal with, it is slightly lessened with the contact we have with the others. Bill says I am the perfect "Mama Bear" for this group-- always looking out for the others and trying to make their situations better. Maybe that is what makes me smile... and keeps me distracted. :)