Oma's Christmas Magic

The past couple weeks, and especially these last few days, I've been excitedly anticipating Christmas . . . with a pinch of sadness thrown in. See, it seemed like that usual gleam of magic the Advent and Christmas seasons bring was slightly tarnished without Oma's presence.

I'd hear a Christmas song on the radio, whether it was one of Oma's favorites, or perhaps an arrangement she would've loved . . . and I'd start missing her. And then I'd start thinking that Christmas just isn't the same without one's grandmother, especially since grandmothers seem to possess a bit of a magical aura about them by their very nature - mix that with the Christmas season (Santa, winter wonderlands, presents, hot cocoa, cookies . . . ), and, well . . . it just hasn't quite felt right this year.

But then the other night, it struck me. My grandfather's voice. (He passed away in 2008). It was as though he were telling me, "Just look around. Your grandmother's magic is there. Just look."

And what did I see?

(I've posted a similar pic of these lights before, in case you remember them.)

 Liv and I were driving into our neighborhood one evening after her violin lesson. And we drove past some of our favorite holiday lights.

Every time we pass these lights, Liv and I always exclaim, "The cactus, palm tree and 'bus'!!" The family that lives here usually puts up these lights yearly. One year they didn't, and we were SO disappointed! I always say that I love the cactus lights because it reminds me of the Southwest. Liv loves the palm tree and the "bus." It's actually an RV (but we call it a bus, LOL), and the lights around the two wheels move, so it looks like the wheels are turning.


Well, I thought to myself, Okay, so there's magic around. Momentarily smiling, but still not quite feeling it.

I guess I needed another reminder.

Here are Liv and Jock, during Jock's first time playing in the "deep" snow (he's a Corgi pup, so it's deep to him).


That helped, but again, it didn't last more than that afternoon.I guess I needed a little more help.

Okay, so how about Liv's colorful hat with the two pom poms?

Or the park at the center of our town? See the Christmas tree on the right? Or the lights on the trees on the left? It's pretty magical. Especially since they have a whole festival the first Saturday in December every year. They have carriage rides, hot cocoa, musicians playing Christmas carols, popcorn, a reindeer . . . 

And one of our favorite pizza places, Zoey's. Yep, that's a boat up there on the wall. It's always there, but just decorated according to the season (it usually has spider webs, fake bats, and a fake skeleton in October).  Now they've got great lights, stockings, a lit wreath, and a lit Christmas tree.


And tonight, Santa is on his way. While we wait, we had Christmas Eve dinner, just like we would've had in New Mexico - tamales (!!) along with tracking Santa's progress via NORAD's Santa tracker.

I'll sign off with a "Merry Christmas!" to you all, and one of those songs I heard on satellite radio that I'm sure Oma would've loved.

I heard this on satellite radio recently. It's called "Santanooga Choo Choo," performed by the Airmen of Note, one of the US Air Force's jazz bands. Oma absolutely adored listening to Glenn Miller's music (and music like his). So when I'd heard this specific song, especially since it was performed by an Air Force band, as I'm an Air Force veteran . . . well, I knew it must've been Oma's way of telling me to get in the Christmas mood! 

The "Second" 11th Anniversary

Andrew and I have two anniversaries every year. Back when we were planning on getting married, we were still in the Air Force. I was up for a new assignment in the next few months (due to report in September of 2002), but Andrew still had just under two years at the assignment he'd been in at the time.

Well, since we were planning our "church" wedding in a beautiful and extraordinary cathedral in Chicago (Holy Name, for those of you familiar with Chicago) for December 2002, what could we do about our differing assignment lengths? If we stuck with just the wedding in Chicago, we'd probably not be assigned together anytime in the near future. It would be hit or miss. Maybe we'd get an assignment together in the future, but more than likely, we'd be on vastly differing assignment schedules for the rest of our time in the military.

So what could we do? We had a justice of the peace ceremony in June 2002. It was the two of us and a few of the guys from Andrew's office acting as witnesses. Andrew even showed up in jeans and a t-shirt, if you can believe it! I was actually a little more "dressed up" in nice pants, a nice shirt, and a blazer.

After the ceremony (actually a few days later . . . once I headed back to Tucson, where I was stationed at the time),  we were then able to do the paperwork (showing the personnel department that we were married), and from there, we were able to get on the same assignment schedule. With a copy of our marriage license, the personnel center would be able to get us to the same base, and for the same time periods.

Voila! We both got an assignment (different units) at a base just outside of Boston, where we would report to in September 2002.

In the meantime, planning for the December 2002 church wedding was still going on.

What a party it was! Lots of family and friends attended. This was the ceremony with the dress, Andrew's dress uniform (the "Mess Dress" which is the Air Force equivalent of a tuxedo), and the cake, and the nice reception afterwards . . . there were lots of smiles and wonderful memories of that frosty, wintery day in Chicago, with the twinkling lights, Christmas decorations everywhere, and magic in the air . . .

 Oh, one memory I have to talk about - when my dad was walking me down the aisle, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. It was my Aunt Lily running down an outer aisle, my cousin Sylvia tagging along behind her. Next thing I saw, Aunt Lily was snapping pictures of me with her little point and shoot camera. Later, Sylvia said she was a bit embarrassed. I told her not to be, as I was sure the memory of Aunt Lily running down the other aisle to get a pic of me would be one of my favorite memories.

And, yes, I'm going to take this opportunity right now to share a bunch of pictures. 
(All photos in this post are by Brad Baskin.)

 I've got three of my good friends from Culver Girls Academy in attendance.

Here, Andrew is hamming it up for the camera. 

 My three bridesmaids and I pose for a picture. My mom ensured that the florist would have one of my favorite flowers, Stargazer Lilies, in the bouquets, along with roses. Since it was wintery, the florist also included some cool evergreen in them, too.

 Andrew and I pose with the groomsmen. Everyone is laughing because Andrew is pinching my backside just as the photographer took the pic. 

 And, of course, I have to include a pic with my grandparents. Oma laughed and smiled so much at the wedding. She was so happy that day (both of them were). It is such a lovely memory to think back on her smiling face. 

I just have to include this picture, too. This is how Oma smiled that whole day.

 What wedding post would be complete without a picture of a wedding cake?

So that's why we have two anniversaries. Today is the "second" 11th anniversary for us. Happy Anniversary to Andrew!

And to end the post, this is our "First Dance" song, called "You are my Home," by Chayanne and Vanessa Williams. It's from the movie, "Dance with Me."

P.S. Andrew was in the hallway as I listened to the song. I asked, "Do you know what this song is?" "I don't remember the name of the song. Don't worry, though. I remember what it was from!" LOL

Losing Oma

I got that dreaded call -  or rather, a text - from my mom in the wee hours this morning (though I suppose at the time I'm writing this post, it's still the wee hours).

My maternal grandmother, Oma, passed away at 1:13 CST today, Monday, November 4, 2013.

She hadn't been well physically for quite some time. She (and the rest of us) had been greatly robbed of her memory by Alzheimer's. It was not an unexpected death. But it is a significant one; there is never anyone quite like one's grandmother.

I was lucky to have my grandmother until the week before my 43rd birthday.

She was the woman who would do anything for me. ANYTHING. She would've fought off a wolverine with her bare hands to protect me (if that situation had presented itself, of course).

There was nothing better than her grandchildren. We were better than all the Olympic gold medals combined. Better than all the riches in the world. Nothing made her happier than her grandchildren. Nothing.


She has always been a constant in my life. I could always count on her for certain things. Riding the Dumbo ride at Disney Land (or the helicopter ride or haunted house at Western Playland) when I was very young. Her homemade beans, tacos, and rice. I've never had any better than hers (and had, as a matter of fact, craved HER tacos and beans when I was pregnant hundreds of miles away from her home in El Paso, TX, when I was  in the Air Force, stationed near Concord, MA). Occasionally having an "ice cream soda" with her (she loved having those - vanilla ice cream with Coke poured over it), or a Klondike Bar. Going to a movie or play. Heading to Mesilla, NM for a day trip (it was only about a 45 minute drive from El Paso). Going out to dinner. A birthday card with a check in it. Her slipping me some money on those days I had to head home after visiting her.

Once, while I was a student at Lake Forest College, I had flown out to her house one spring break. We decided to go to a movie at the Cielo Vista Mall's movie theaters. We saw a Julia Roberts movie, Sleeping with the Enemy. It was one of those psychological thrillers about a woman who escapes from her abusive husband. When the movie was over and we left the theater, she said, "I was so tense throughout that whole movie, I now have a horrible headache." I think she ended up making one of her "ice cream sodas" when we got back home. How's that for treating a headache?

Another time, while I was still in the Air Force and stationed in Tucson, AZ (probably in the summer of 2000), I had a 4-day weekend coming up. It was an easy drive from Tucson to El Paso. I called her and told her I'd be at her house for my long weekend. I think I'd had both Friday and Monday off, so I was planning on leaving early Friday morning, expecting to arrive at her house around mid-morning.

However, I unexpectedly ended up having wrapped up my duty day much earlier than expected on Thursday afternoon. So I quickly headed back to my apartment, changed out of my uniform, grabbed my overnight bag, stopped at the gas station, and headed to El Paso. Since it ended up being kinda late (around 9-10 PM) when I got into El Paso and they weren't expecting me until the next morning, I headed to Ft. Bliss and checking into their lodging facility for the night. I hadn't wanted to worry my grandparents by ringing the doorbell that late at night, as I knew they'd both be in bed.

The next morning, I got up, showered quickly and headed over. It was about breakfast time. I pulled into the driveway, rang the doorbell, and heard Oma asking my grandfather who it could be. When she answered the door (my grandfather rolling up behind her in his wheelchair), she was really surprised, but incredibly happy. She hadn't been expecting me 'til closer to lunchtime. Just the smell of her house at breakfast time was "home"enough for me. But she had pulled me in the doorway and squeezed me as hard as she could before ushering me to the breakfast table.

That was a fun memory of surprising her.

Know what she did to help me one night? I may have told this story here before, but I'll tell it again, briefly. While I was stationed in Alamogordo, NM, when Livie was just a baby and Andrew was deployed to the Middle East, Livie and I spent Labor Day weekend at Oma's house.

Livie ended up coming down with the coxsackie virus - hand/foot/mouth disease, as it's commonly known. She had little blisters inside her mouth and on her feet. She wasn't nursing or taking a bottle because her mouth hurt. Well, I was worried she'd become dehydrated, so in the middle of the night, Oma went with me that rainy night when I took Livie to the hospital at Ft. Bliss.

Livie hadn't quite been herself during the day, and had become increasingly fussy throughout the night, refusing to be nursed and refusing a bottle, which is what prompted the visit to the hospital. However, when the doc came into the exam room, Livie, wide awake at 2 AM, looked at him and smiled. (By the way, there was nothing we could do but wait out the virus. The doc recommended we get those pedia-pops because the cold "popsicle" would soothe her mouth.)

When I walked into the waiting room to get Oma after the doc saw Livie, I told her that Liv had smiled at the doc. Oma couldn't do anything other than smile, shake her head, and say, "Ay, Olivia!"

But the thing Oma gave me that night - since Livie was too uncomfortable to sleep unless being held, Oma took her and sat in the rocking chair in the guest room, rocking her and telling me to get some sleep. She sat with Liv in the rocking chair until dawn!

And then there was the time we were in Chicago in 2009 for my niece's baptism. One evening, we had all decided to go out to dinner. We ended up at Ruth's Chris steakhouse. That was one of the best steaks I'd had in a long while.

Oma ended up footing the bill. And it was a large bill, because there were a lot of us family members at that meal. Andrew, my Uncle Hector, and I walked away nearly speechless at Oma's generosity; we didn't talk about it in voices above whispers, we were so surprised and thankful.

Of course, one of Livie's favorite memories is taking Oma for frozen yogurt. You see, Oma always had a sweet tooth. She once told Livie that she doesn't have a sweet tooth "because all of them are sweet." The last time we'd taken her for frozen yogurt was a few of months ago, probably during the summer while we were visiting her at my parents' house. The local frozen yogurt place had coconut flavored frozen yogurt that day. Oma LOVED coconut. So, since it was a self-serve place (where they weigh your cup and you pay by the ounce), Livie helped me fill a cup with the coconut flavored "fro-yo," topping it with caramel (another of Oma's favorites), then adding plenty of shaved coconut and cashews. Liv and I had called the creation "the Three Cs" for coconut, caramel, and cashews.

Oma couldn't get enough. She lamented that she should've skipped dinner so she could have two servings of that delicious sundae. She had never had anything she'd enjoyed so much. After every bite, she would exclaim, "Boy, that's good!" When she had finished, she'd said that was a big disappointment - it was gone.

She talked about that sundae the rest of the evening, and surprisingly (due to the Alzheimer's which caused her to forget certain things within just minutes) she talked about that sundae the next day!

Oh, Oma. There are so many good stories to tell. Stories I'll have to tell Livie, so that Oma's memory lives on. Stories I'll tell Livie to take a little bit of the sting out of the loss of her great-grandmother.

Oma, it was time for you to go, but it had to be. You are greatly missed.

Quad Cities Air Show 2012, Day 2

Okay, here are some photos from day two of the Quad Cities Air Show, 2012, as well as a couple photos from our drive home.

A Navy Super Hornet

A sunny, muggy day! Liv's waiting for the Thunderbirds.

The U.S. Air Force's awesome Thunderbirds!

Again, a spectacular Thunderbird formation!

A soybean field, located just outside the airport's property.

Iowa 80, the "World's Largest Truckstop" near Walcott, IA.

Heading west, a few miles east of Iowa City, IA.

(Part 1 is here.)
(Part 2 is here.)

A Brief Report - Quad Cities Air Show 2012 Day 1

This past weekend, we headed to the Quad Cities Air Show. It was Livie's first air show. Sure, she'd seen a formation of 25 F-117s fly overhead once, on that ship's 25th anniversary (and she was only about 6.5 months old at the time, and doesn't remember it). But she's never been to an air show.

And it had been quite a while since I had been to one in person, so it was pretty exciting. (I think my last air show was when I was still in the Air Force . . . it was probably the Aerospace and Arizona Days Air Show in Tucson, back in 2002).

The Quad Cities are about an hour and a half away, by car, the air show taking place at the Davenport Municipal Airport. After packing overnight bags for ourselves and a cooler with lunch, we grabbed the portable DVD player and some movies for Livie, and then headed out.

Since this was a last minute trip, we weren't able to get a hotel in the immediate vicinity, so we'd booked a room in Muscatine, IA, about 25 miles away from the air show. Because we couldn't check in until around 3 PM, we headed straight for the air show.

It had been overcast all morning, turning to constant rain as we'd gotten closer to Davenport. Apparently it was due to remnants of Isaac, just lingering (seemingly endlessly) over the Quad Cities area.

So our first day at the air show was wet, wet, wet. It hadn't stopped raining ALL DAY in Davenport! But Livie had her rain gear, so she had no complaints. (Andrew and I got rather wet, even with an umbrella, simply because it was pretty windy, too.)

But regardless of the weather on that first day, we'd had fun. And Livie was impressed!

*However, there was a tragic event during the day. At some point, while Livie, Andrew, and I were distracted by the static aircraft displays, there was an accident. One of the aircraft (an L-39) crashed, killing the pilot on impact. (Click here for a news story.) Fortunately, Livie didn't actually see the accident. (And Andrew and I didn't know the tragic fate of the pilot until after we'd left for the day.)*

Anyway, after having that horrible gut feeling after seeing that (and again, not yet knowing the fate, but knowing search and rescue teams were doing their thing), we went on with the afternoon, since the FAA had cleared the rest of the day's performers for flight.

Here are a few photos of the first day.

Liv and the Air Force banner

An A-10 and Star Spangled Banner

Liv loves "Spooky"!

"Is that a Native American?"

Corn at the Davenport Municipal Airport

(Somewhere in between taking these two photos was when the accident had happened. As you can see, Livie was sufficiently distracted by a churro and a static display. By the way, we hadn't heard a thing. )

Checking out the bomb drop

Since it had been raining a lot, and the ceiling (where the cloud cover was located height-wise in the sky) was low, the Air Force's Thunderbirds had to cancel their performance for this first day. So we headed to our hotel, about a 30 minute drive away.

Once we checked in, got dried off, and relaxed a bit, we headed out to dinner and then went sight seeing at the Mississippi River.

More photos (from our evening at the Mississippi River, and from Day 2 of the Air Show) coming soon . . .

(Part 2 is here; and Part 3 is here)

Happy 4th of July (2012)

Just wanted to say "Happy 4th of July" to everyone!

In honor of Independence Day, I'm posting this flyer (I guess it's similar to old-time broadsides) that Livie helped make at Living History Farms over Memorial Day 2012. She and the lady portraying a late-19th Century printer made this on an old-fashioned printing press. (It got a little smudged before we got home, simply because it took a bit of time for the ink to dry on that hot, super humid day.)

I, too, would like to add a "Thanks!" to you fellow veterans out there for your service!

Oh, and just one more thing. I'm pretty sure I posted this video a while ago (maybe a couple years ago when I first started blogging), but I just wanted to post it again. There's just something about watching an airshow or aircraft in formation on the 4th of July. (At least *I* think so).

It's a 35-second video of the F117 (Stealth) 25-Ship Flyover at Holloman Air Force Base, NM, on the aircraft's 25th anniversary:

This was in October 2006, when Andrew and I were still active duty in the Air Force. Livie was just about 8 months old when this happened, and she got to see it in person! A lot of people from the base and the community had gathered to watch this special formation. And it was an awesome sight in person! I can only imagine the degree of difficulty in maintaining this formation with TWENTY FIVE aircraft!

Again, Happy Fourth of July!

The First 10th.

Andrew and I have two anniversaries. Today is our "First" 10th anniversary. Our "first" anniversary of the calendar year is the anniversary of our Justice of the Peace ceremony, which took place in Fayetteville, NC on June 21, 2002. (Click here to read about the actual day, which I'd blogged about last year on our "First" Ninth.)

The condensed version is as follows.

We were both active duty in the Air Force. As of January 2002, we were planning on getting married in December 2002.

But I was stationed in Tucson, AZ. He was stationed in Fayetteville, NC. I was expecting orders for a new assignment by the end of Summer 2002. He wasn't going to get orders for another couple years (maybe 3). Well, in order for us to be stationed at the same place at the same time, we couldn't be simply engaged, we had to be married.

Hence, the Justice of the Peace ceremony, which took place June 21, 2002, just in time for them to cut orders for BOTH of us at the same Air Force base, at the same time.

The Justice of the Peace ceremony was small, informal, and included a few of the guys from Andrew's office. Meanwhile, plans for the church wedding in December in Chicago were continuing to keep me, my mom, and the wedding planner busy.

(Our "Second" 10th anniversary - celebrating the church wedding - is December 14th, 2012, in case you're wondering. But I'm sure I'll blog about it when the time comes.)

Anyway, knowing Andrew was busy and probably hadn't planned anything to commemorate our first decade, I decided not to do anything big. I figured we'd keep this one small, like the original ceremony was 10 years ago.

Here's what I did. Yesterday, Livie and I went to the open art studio at The Dreaming Bear, here in town. Partly it was something fun to do inside (in AC!!!) on a hot summer day. But partly, I wanted to do something other than getting a boring ol' anniversary card. Because it IS the 10th anniversary, after all!! Right?

So Livie worked on her own art project (painting a wooden horse cutout).

And so I picked out a small, white stretched canvas (something like this, but about 4"x6"). Then I painted the base color (sort of turquoise-like) and then the letters and dots, and then it got glittered-up. Just to be cute.

Like I said, it's just something cute that we could hang somewhere in the house. I'm not good at painting letters freehand, so don't expect anything Degas-like, or something like that.

Better than a card, because I made it myself. Plus it was fun to make. However, I won't quit my day job anytime soon. (Or I'll stick to photography as my art medium!)

Happy Independence Day!!

I hope everyone is enjoying fireworks, cookouts, picnics, parades, flag-waving, and all the other fun stuff this long weekend! 

Thought I'd share a great performance of our National Anthem by the Air Force's Brass in Blue:

The 1st Ninth

Andrew and I have two anniversaries every year. The first is our justice of the peace anniversary, which coincides with the first day of summer, today, June 21st. The second is our church wedding anniversary. (You can read about our 2nd Eighth (the church wedding one) by clicking here.)

Our first anniversary of the year, the justice of the peace one, came about for a good reason.

This was early 2002. Because we were both in the Air Force at the time, and because I was about to get orders for a new assignment, and because we were in the beginning stages of planning a church wedding (which was scheduled for mid-December 2002), we needed to do the justice of the peace thing before I got my orders.

Why?

Well, Andrew still had a couple years left at his assignment in North Carolina, while I was going to get a new assignment and need to leave Tucson by the end of Summer 2002. There would be no guarantee that he'd ever make it to my new installation anytime while I was still there. We would have probably kept missing each other each time one of us got a new assignment, simply because we were not married yet. Planning a wedding and actually being married already are obviously two different things. So, in order to be put on the same assignment schedule, we needed to already be married (before my orders were cut), with the official paperwork (the legal marriage certificate) already in hand.

By the end of February '02, we'd already gotten the church (Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, IL) reserved for 4 PM on December 14th, and had completed our marriage-prep classes in Raleigh, NC not far from where Andrew was stationed (yes, I'd taken leave for a week and flew to NC, so we could take the classes).

But that still left the issue of our not yet having a marriage license/certificate, my getting a new assignment by summer's end, and his assignment's remaining two years. After talking to the priest who'd be performing our wedding ceremony in December, he'd suggested we do a justice of the peace ceremony soon, and we'd still go ahead with the wedding ceremony in December. Since the justice of the peace ceremony was a "civil" ceremony, it wouldn't conflict (so to speak) with our plans for our December church ceremony.

So in June '02, I headed back to NC for a week, so we could do a justice of the peace ceremony. That would make us officially married and giving us the marriage certificate. The certificate would then go to the personnel/assignment folks who'd get us a "join spouse" assignment - we'd be on the same assignment schedule, going to the same installation at the same time.

I think I'd gotten to NC at the beginning of the week, but for some reason, we ended up not getting to the court house 'til Thursday, June 20th (we had to get the license at least one day before the ceremony). Then on Friday the 21st, we headed to the court house with three of Andrew's buddies from his office, as witnesses.  They seemed excited about the whole thing.

It was a hot, humid North Carolina summer day. Blech. I remember getting dressed up a bit. I had nice slacks and blouse, and a black blazer, plus nice shoes. I'd done my hair and makeup. Andrew? He was in jeans and a t-shirt, and sneakers.

He seemed a little nervous. I wasn't nervous at all . . . until the justice of the peace walked into the room and began the ceremony. Then the butterflies found their way to my stomach.

It was a pretty quick ceremony. The justice of the peace said some nice words about marriage. We signed the appropriate documents, and that was it. Back we went, out into the hot summer day. Andrew's office mates gave us a card, which everyone in the office had signed. They also included some gift cards for a steak place (knowing, I'm sure, that we're both carnivores).

And then we had the rest of the weekend before I had to head back to Tucson.

I remember calling my commander to tell him we'd done the justice of the peace ceremony, and that I'd be dropping off the appropriate paperwork to personnel when I got back to Tucson. He gave me a "Congrats!" and a "We'll talk about assignment stuff when you get back" before reminding me and Andrew to do something fun to celebrate before I had to head back.

Andrew and I ended up seeing Lilo and Stitch, in Fayetteville that night, since it had just come out in theaters.

We then spent the rest of the weekend in the Raleigh/Durham area. I remember that we'd headed to Maggiano's, an Italian restaurant, and we got stuffed on pasta and dessert.

I think we also went to a museum in Raleigh, and saw a U.S. Presidents exhibit, including portraits of many (if not all) the presidents up to that point, and even a Lincoln death mask.

The weekend went very quickly, and the next thing I knew, I was heading back to Tucson.

For some reason, I didn't have my camera with me the day we did the justice of the peace ceremony. But I had it the rest of the weekend. 

Here's Andrew, either later that day or the next day. Actually, I think this was outside the museum (don't ask me the name, because I don't remember) in Raleigh, the day after the justice of the peace ceremony.

 And here's me . . . I think this was February '02, in Petersburg, VA (at a Civil War battle site). (I don't have a photo of me from the day we did the justice of the peace ceremony, because like I said, I didn't think to bring my camera.) I had to absolutely insist that Andrew take my picture here (or else I would've never had the chance to have my picture taken - I'm always the one behind the camera). Anyway, this was taken after we'd finished our marriage prep classes, and we had some time to do fun stuff before I headed back to Tucson.

So, "Happy 1st Ninth Anniversary, Andrew!!"

Memory Lane Friday - New Year's

This week's Memory Lane Friday theme is, appropriately, "New Year's."

You know, I can't think of a time when I was out late, partying, on New Year's Eve. Actually, there may have been one time, but I think I'm going to leave that "Animal House" type of story for another time.  ;)

Instead, there were two mild, laid back New Year's Eve nights that I remember enjoying.

The first was New Year's Eve, 1999, on the eve of 2000. I was at my first duty assignment in the Air Force, stationed just north of Santa Barbara, CA.

I'd only been there about a month (since the very end of November), and I had yet to receive my household goods (the delivery of my furniture, boxes of clothing and other items, etc).

So I was in my apartment, with a futon (basically an air mattress on the floor), a set of plates, glasses, flatware, and cooking items borrowed from a place on base that stocks this type of stuff for just such a use. You could sign out this stuff for a certain period of time while waiting for your stuff to be delivered by moving truck.

Anyway, a friend of mine from Chicago had come out to spend Christmas and New Year's with me, flying out of L.A. back to Chicago on January 2, 2000.

I'd gotten a second futon for her use while she stayed with me. So we were basically "camping on the floor" in my apartment this whole time. My stuff had been scheduled to arrive a few days before Christmas, but had been rescheduled for the beginning of January, after my friend left.

Well, for New Year's Eve, the last night before 2K, we decided to "splurge" and we went to a hotel for the night, so we could sleep on actual beds.

We ended up getting some champagne for a toast at midnight. But we were so tired, we only stayed up until midnight Eastern time (remember, we were Pacific time, being in California), and went to bed at 9 PM local time!

I think it was our having our own bed for the night, instead of an air mattress on the floor, that made us so sleepy. But it was such a nice "treat," especially since I'd been sleeping on the floor for a month.

The next time was while I was still in the Air Force, this time in New Mexico, New Year's Eve, 2006.

Andrew and I had a 10-month-old at the time. We were both working full time (with my having to get up at 4:15 AM every weekday morning). We were tired parents, basically.

So when New Year's Eve rolled around, we had no plans to stay up til Midnight. Instead, we got Livie to bed at her usual time. Andrew and I had eaten lentil tacos for dinner after she had gone to bed. (Click here for the lentil taco recipe.)

And then we hung out in the living room watching TV; we had satellite TV, so we must've been watching a movie or hockey or something.We played Scrabble at the same time, my hoping this would be our new New Year's Eve tradition. (I think I won, by the way. Andrew said it's because I read a lot more than he does, so my vocabulary's better. At least that's what he said.)

Now, since we were tired parents of a child under 1-year-old, we were NOT going to make it til Midnight, like I mentioned. So at 10:00 PM, which was Midnight Eastern time, we opened a bottle of New Mexican sparkling wine and toasted the New Year, since the U.S. already had a time zone in 2007.

It was a really nice evening, just the two of us spending quality time together.

Somehow, ever since that night, we've intended on playing Scrabble on New Year's Eve, but somehow we've been pooped and haven't gotten around to starting a game. Maybe tonight . . .

Happy  New Year's, everyone!

Please check back next week when it's another "No Theme" week.

Memory Lane Friday is hosted by Two Bears Farm and the Three Cubs. Please click on the button below to read her post for this week, as well as this week's other entries.

Happy 2nd Eighth Anniversary!!

Andrew and I got married by a justice of the peace on Friday 21 Jun 2002, while we were still on active duty . . . that way we could get orders for a "join-spouse" assignment and be at the same base at the same time. Otherwise, I would've moved on to a new assignment while he remained at his for another 2-3 years. We'd have no guarantee that he'd ever be assigned at my new base any time in the future.

At our justice of the peace ceremony that hot, humid June morning in Fayetteville, NC, we had a few of the guys from Andrew's current unit come out to the courthouse to act as our witnesses. I wore "business" attire - a nice blouse, khaki pants, a black blazer, and black leather shoes. Andrew? He wore jeans and a t-shirt.

After a brief ceremony (it took only minutes), we were officially married; he and I were then off to spend the weekend in the Raleigh-Durham area. We'd window shopped at the nice outdoor shopping area, then went out for a big HUGE Italian dinner at the Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant in Durham. Afterward, we saw a movie, "Lilo and Stitch" (still one of my all-time favorite Disney movies, by the way).

The justice of the peace ceremony, by the way, made the "join-spouse" assignment (same base/same time) a reality after the appropriate personnel received the official marriage certificate. As soon as I got back to my base in Tucson - which means the very next day - the marriage certificate went its merry way to the aforementioned "appropriate personnel."

A few months later, we both got orders to move from our current assignments (mine in Tucson, his in Fayetteville) to our new ones in New England, together -same base, same time frame, but different units.

Later that year, about 3 months after we both settled into the Boston area for our new assignments, we did the "official" church wedding, on Saturday 14 Dec 2002 at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. This time we had the guests, the cake, the party . . .

Speaking of cake:

Photo ©2002 - Brad Baskin

My mom and I had been planning the December shin-dig since February 2002, well before the aforementioned justice of the peace ceremony in June.

This time, though I was in the big, fancy, fru-fru dress and veil, and Andrew was finally dressed appropriately in his Mess Dress (the Air Force's formal, fancy tux-like uniform).

Anyway, when the following June 21st approached (the justice of the peace anniversary), I'd made a comment about celebrating our 1st Anniversary (the justice of the peace one). Andrew had already decided we'd just celebrate the church wedding in December. I said no, we'd celebrate both.

The mom of one of our neighbors said, "You'll celebrate both. You never make a woman choose between two anniversaries!"  Her daughter and son-in-law (our neighbors) had done the same thing as we did, and for similar reasons - a quiet, very low-key justice of the peace ceremony first (with just a couple witnesses), and then a few months later the big church wedding with the dress, the Mess Dress, the guests, the church, the cake, etc.

Anyway, here are a few of our many church wedding photos:

Photo ©2002 - Brad Baskin

Me and my 3 awesome bridesmaids! L to R: Dianne, Brenda, me, obviously, and Candi

Photo ©2002 - Brad Baskin

Andrew and his Best Man and the Groomsmen! L to R: Adam (the Best Man), P.J., Andrew, David, Keith

Photo ©2002 - Brad Baskin

During the ceremony, inside the Cathedral:

Photo ©2002 - Brad Baskin

So, there you have it. That's how, with the justice of the peace ceremony and the church wedding, Andrew and I have two anniversaries per year.

And since today's the church anniversary, it's the "2nd Eighth" Anniversary  (the "1st Eighth" Anniversary obviously having been in June).

Most importantly, here is where I'd like to say, "Happy '2nd Eighth' Anniversary, Andrew! Love and kisses!"

Here's a video that I think fits us (make sure your volume's on):


The song is by Ingrid Michaelson, and is called "The Way I Am." (The song/slideshow is off of YouTube.)



And here's the song Andrew and I used for our first dance at our wedding reception:

It's called "You Are My Home," sung by Vanessa Williams and Chayanne.

(This is a fitting video because we took ballroom dancing lessons for nearly 4 years while stationed in the Boston area. This song is from a ballroom dancing movie called "Dance with Me.")

A "Thank You" on Veterans' Day

This morning, Andrew, Livie, and I went to our local Hy-Vee grocery store for our free Veterans' Day breakfast. They have this "cafeteria" inside, and every Veterans' Day since we moved here, they have this free breakfast for veterans on November 11th.

Although we've been here for a couple years already, this is the first veterans' breakfast we attended.

I first want to say "Thank you" to Hy-Vee for providing this breakfast every year. And I want to also say an extra "Thanks!" because this morning, they gave us Livie's breakfast for free, too.

Secondly, I appreciate all the "Thank yous" I got from other diners. I feel overwhelmed by their gratitude, but I also feel other veterans deserve the thanks more than I, like I didn't do enough to earn the thanks. Sounds silly, but it simply feels to me like I didn't do enough.

I did, however, especially enjoy chatting with other veterans at my table, and their spouses, too. When we got to Hy-Vee around 7:30 this morning, it was PACKED! We first checked in, where Andrew and I got name tags (the rectangular sticker kind), where the check-in lady wrote our first names and branch of service, along with a red, white, and blue VETERAN sticker.

Livie got a name tag sticker, too.

She even wore her little Air Force jacket, which got her some fun comments and even a high-five. 

Here she is, posing in her Air Force jacket.

(These photos were taken a couple months ago.)

 We then got in line. When we got to the front, the server greeted us by name and served us. I got eggs and bacon, and Livie got pancakes and bacon. Andrew got something (eggs and bacon, maybe?) in a box.

Once we got our breakfast and sat down, Andrew sat with Livie while I got my coffee, a glass of ice water, utensils, napkins, etc. Then, when I was settled, Livie and I did our usual "Bye-bye, Daddy! See you at dinner, Daddy! We love you, Daddy!" before he took off for work.

So . . . since Andrew took his breakfast to-go, Livie and I were at our table by ourselves. That is, until another veteran (Army) and his wife joined us a few minutes later.

They were asking me about the Air Force, about my experiences, and seemed to have a lot of fun talking to a "new" veteran. The husband seemed to really enjoy telling me about his Army experiences.

Anyway, during those moments when we weren't talking - as we ate our breakfast - my mind wandered and I thought about certain members of my family . . . those who deserve the Veterans' Day "thanks" more than I do. I've been thinking about them all morning.

First of all, there's my grandfather, Sir Rafa, an Army veteran, who led by example and inspired me to join the military. He never hinted to me that I should go into the military . . . it was only after I'd made the decision, did he make his opinion known, simply telling me that I should pick Air Force (which I did).

He also told me stories from his Army days - the kind of stories with the lessons hidden in them, like: always make sure you take care of your feet (have dry socks, and change out of your wet socks as soon as you have the chance) . . . pay attention - listening will help you learn things . . . common sense is important . . . that kind of thing.

Sgt (E-5) R. Q. Torres (USA)

Thank you, Sir Rafa, for your selfless service. You joined the Army willingly, giving everything you had, even suffering serious injuries overseas in WW II before coming home. Sir Rafa, you always told me about all your experiences as though they were grand adventures to be remembered. My Grandfather, you are honored.

Then there's my dad, another Army veteran. I don't have a photo of him in uniform, but I do have one from just before he started his Army ROTC courses.

Approximately 17 years old, circa 1958.

My dad's Army stories had a different flavor than my grandfather's. Their experiences were vastly different. But, while his stories were fun and adventurous (like what he did while on an exercise, as they set up their bivouac), there were still lessons embedded (take a chance, follow what your gut tells you, etc), whether he realized it or not.

I ended up asking him to administer my commissioning oath when I graduated from OTS, because his service was also an influence on me.

19 Nov 1999

So to my dad, I send a "Thank you" on this Veterans' Day, for his service and for his administering my oath, the very same one he took when he was commissioned in the Army.

To the rest of the veterans in my family, a big "Thank you," too! The list: Uncle Chino (Sir Rafa's brother), Uncle Ralph, Uncle Hector, Andrew, and my father-in-law, Harry.

Uncle Chino (USA) is on the right. Sir Rafa and Andrew are obviously posing with him.

Here's my Great-Uncle Joe (USN), with Oma.

Here's my Uncle Hector (USA) - looks like he was an E-1 when this photo was taken.

Here's my Uncle Ralph (USA) - can't see what his rank is in this photo.

Here's Andrew's dad, retired SMSgt Heilmann (USAF).

And here's Andrew (USAF).

Anyway, this is my long-winded, well-deserved "Thank you" to the veterans in my family, as well as all veterans, everywhere.  And again, a "Thank you" to Hy-Vee.