Workin' Santa

Turns out Santa needs a little help from his friends, too. Here's Charlie lending a hand to the Man in Red. Ain't he cute?

Hope Jackson doesn't catch mommy kissing Santa Claus...

Just Me

How about a photo update, sans cosmetics?

That's me, Baby.

More on Continental flight #1404

Mike Wilson, a passenger, described the chaos on messages posted to the internet site Twitter.com on his cell phone.

"By the time the plane stopped we were burning pretty well and I think I could feel the heat even through the bulkhead and window," he wrote.

"I made for the exit door as quickly as I could, fearing the right wing might explode from the fire. Once out, I scrambled down the wing."

Gabriel Trejos told KUSA-TV in Denver that the plane buckled toward its middle and that the seats felt like they were closing in on him, his pregnant wife and his 13-month-old son, who was on his lap. His knees were bruised from the seat in front of him.

Maria Trejos told KUSA that there was an explosion and that the right side of the plane, where they were sitting, became engulfed in flames. The family used an emergency exit and slid down the wing of the jet to the ground.

It's almost here...

Miss Pansy just wanted to wish everybody a Merry Christmas--Meow!

Miracle

"The LORD bless you, and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace."

--Numbers 6.24-26




'A Sudden, Terrible Stillness'
A passenger on Continental flight 1404 describes the crash.

Jeb Tilly
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Dec 21, 2008 | Updated: 5:16 p.m. ET Dec 21, 2008

This will forever be my memory of Christmas 2008: huge flames streaking past the windows. Snow and dirt flying past as we augered into the ground. The inside of the plane so orange with firelight that I could see the destruction—the overhead baggage compartments destroyed and pieces of plastic hanging down, wires everywhere and the acrid smell of burning plastic and jet fuel suddenly thick in the cabin.

We'd been on the way to Houston from Denver to visit my wife's family for Christmas. My own parents had flown in earlier in the day. We'd given ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport, an extra half hour so we wouldn't have to go too fast on the icy Colorado roads. Check-in was a breeze by most standards. We sped through security, enjoyed a glass of Chianti and a Cobb salad. My wife noticed a woman boarding with her two children, one of them a toddler, and remarked to me how difficult it would be to manage kids during Christmas air travel. The tarmac was icy near the gates, but the as we taxied onto the runway, I was relieved to see that it was dry.

Things went horribly wrong shortly after we began takeoff. At first, we gained speed just like any flight, then it got a little bumpy, and then a little too bumpy. Then we made a hard, arcing left turn off the runway. That's when what was happening hit home: We'd clearly left the tarmac and gone off-road. Every bump and dip slammed me into my seat, the walls and the bulkhead behind me. People erupted into cries and prayers. I was sure it would stop soon, but we just kept going. What I recall most is the incredible violence of it, like the roughest roller coaster you've ever ridden but with a desperate, roaring engine noise that seemed to get louder as we bounced more and more.

Things were flying around the cabin—books, newspapers, bags. After an especially hard bounce, the lights went out, and there was a sudden, terrible stillness. We saw later what had happened: The runway we were on is about 60 feet higher than the plains below, and we had sped over the edge at what one passenger who has military flight experience later estimated to be 150 miles per hour. The plane must have floated somewhat, or we'd have gone down nose-first; instead we belly-flopped onto a runway below. That's when the right engine burst into flames and the fuselage cracked in half. My wife, Ashley, in the seat beside me, screamed over and over, "I love you, Jeb!" I pulled her head into my lap, away from the debris I was sure would slam into us.

Amazingly, it never did. It took a minute for us to realize we weren't moving anymore, that the engine noise and the wrenching, roaring destruction had stopped. Voices screamed, "Get out! Get out! The plane's going to blow up!" The right wing was entirely engulfed in flame, but thankfully, the fire was still outside the plane. There was a crush at the tail as everyone tried to push through. Ashley and I were out quickly because we'd been in the last row of seats. We clambered over the spongy rubber emergency slides and out into a dark, snowy, windy field. Everyone was running as fast as they could away from the fire, and against the flames we saw surreal silhouettes of people scattering in all directions.

I'd managed to grab my bag, which had a phone, sweater and jacket, and I took Ashley's hand and the two of us ran slipping through the snow toward lights and buildings we saw above us on a hill. Eventually, all the passengers ended up there. It was a runway firehouse, and emergency teams were already taking care of the most seriously injured—the pilots—who were on backboards in the kitchen, one moaning and bloody and the other talking on a cell phone. We waited there for hours, absorbing what had happened. The mother with her child and toddler were there. She was ashen, her baby sleeping so deeply that she couldn't wake him up. All three were loaded into an ambulance and hurried away.

Continental eventually bused us and the other passengers back to the terminal, and then to a hotel in Denver. People around us were rehashing their stories and trying to guess what had happened. A failed left engine? A gust of wind? We booed at the hotel bar when news reports described us as having "exited the runway"—a little disaster-management euphemism that didn't do justice to our ordeal. This morning, we awoke stiff and sore and trudged to breakfast, where we saw the woman with her child and toddler, the baby bright-eyed and smiling. "We're going to get on another plane and go to Houston," she told the older boy. "But no fires this time?" he asked. "No fires this time," she said. "No fires this time."

URL: http://www.newsweek.com/id/176611

Another Crazy With No Business Raising Kids

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28269290/

Iconic Saga of the 80s Child Comes to Sad and Unsatisfying Close

http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=269797&f=21

"Some just want to watch the world burn."

Alfred was right. I know people like this. Or, better said, I thought I knew them.

My Two Boys

The man I chose to marry is the love of my life, being made for me every day we choose to carve out life together. We made a beautiful baby boy who gives us air to breathe just by smiling at us. I have everything I will ever need.

Merry Christmas, Y'all

With gratitude to our neighbor and friend, Ray, who hung his own icycle lights for us on our house. What a guy.

Jackson learned a new trick from Grandaddy...

Takin' Daddy to Work

Well, hello there. Glad to see you. Sorry we've been away so long. Here's a quick shot of our morning to get this blog rollin' again.

Living History

I am proud of Barack Obama, the American people, and the grace and dignity of John McCain's concession speech. It was also my privilege to share tonight's historic election experience with my husband in our humble little living room and with my brother, Rob, listening with us via cell phone. I've never been more proud to be an American.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."--E. Burke

When I worked for the chamber of commerce in my home state, I met a woman who introduced me to the possibility that email forwards are suspect. Recently, at a neighborhood dinner gathering, a good friend of ours referenced a moment captured on film in which Barak Obama refused to place his hand over his heart for the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

I said nothing.

I didn't believe it, suspected it was an incendiary email designed to denigrate a good man and motivate well-meaning Americans to vote their fears rather than their conscience. I learned to investigate everything, to do my research when I smell a hoax.

I was right. I was also wrong. I wish I had said something.

John McCain and Barack Obama are good men. They each deserve respect for their public service, not to mention for waging one hell of a campaign in what will be remembered as unprecedented times. Unlike some I know well and love dearly, I believe that America can survive fours years of administration from either of them--albeit a low expectation, I freely concede. We've got bigger problems than "my guy" winning or losing.

I voted weeks ago, absentee, because I live a long way from my home. These remarks won't matter in today's proceedings. Hopefully, the "undecideds" have finally made up their minds (or just didn't want to admit their choice aloud, as is their right not to). I post them, frankly, to try and assuage my conscience, but also to lend a voice to reason in a time when those with whom one agrees are "good" and those with whom one disagrees are "evil." This kind of rhetoric is indicative of a corrosive mindset that divides compatriots and infects democracy with illusory fear that erodes freedom. Out of fear, already we have given so much away.

I hope that my fellow Americans, friends, neighbors, and family will be thoughtful and respectful today as we all participate in the crowning achievement of democracy--free election.

Jackson spent some time with his BFFs Hunter and Jordan at a Pumpkin Patch and the Duck Pond in Shreveport last weekend.

We Three Corbetts

Eat at Joes

Indeed!

Oh, the humanity

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27478070/

It is difficult to restrain myself from open weeping...

These are exciting times.

I can hardly wait to hear which corporate entity will step up next to claim its multi-billion dollar bailout, courtesy of John Q. Taxpayer (aka me).

That’s entertainment. Who needs cable?

I think I will take up learning the Chinese language for my next pet project. I should probably be conversational by the time it becomes the official language. It will be the least we can do in gratitude for China allowing us to borrow money.

Or maybe we could borrow from Iraq. I understand they have a budget surplus currently.

She just gets me

Daddy's Day Off

One of my favorite things...

...is to sit back and watch as Jackson plays. I love to play with him, but I am fascinated by the way he plays independently. He has an intense focus, and he's so close to walking that he has a new set of skills to practice during his play. He spends a lot of time up tall on his knees. It's strange and wonderful for me to see him this way. His little body looks so grown up all stretched out to his full height. I am losing the baby and gaining a little boy. I'm delighted and a little sad all at once.

I Enjoy Just Hanging Around

Mardel said...

"I love the act of hanging clothes on a clothesline. I love seeing them there. I love folding them and taking them down. It doesn't really take that long, but the act itself seems to slow down the perception of time, at least for me, making life a little calmer"...

and I couldn't agree more.

19 Cent Bath Tissue at Kroger

These babies are $1.19 on the shelf. My Kroger automatically doubles coupons up to and including 50 cents, so I applied 6 50-cent coupons from a recent Sunday paper insert (we buy 6 newspapers on Sundays), bringing the total per pack down to 19 cents.

That's about 5 cents per roll, people.

Couponing. Look into it.

CVS-ing on Monday

Look at this haul. Not bad for 79 cents. We're planning a yard sale for October 18th. Dude, I am gonna score so much cash for thesegoodies. Check out the receipts, you unbelievers!

No refills, No Helping

The Little Prince eats all by himself today.

Oh, I feel ya, Maxine...

Pure Genius

CVS-ing, Defined

I was first introduced to what I call "Extreme Couponing" by my good friend Christina. Click the title of this post for an excellent place to start, if you want to become a Couponing CVSer yourself.

Recentme

Posted for a friend.

CVS-ing

CVS Card #1

Using:
• $13 in Extra Care Bucks from previous transaction
• a gift card with $35.47 remaining balance on it















Transaction #1
1 Suave Shampoo 1.79
1 Suave Conditioner 1.79
1 Suave Shampoo 1.79
1 Suave Conditioner 1.79
1 Johnsons Buddies Easy Grip Soap bar 1.19
1 Johnsons Buddies Easy Grip Soap bar 1.19
1 Ped Egg Refill Cartridge 3-pack 9.99

Coupons
$2 off $10 CVS coupon printable
50 cent off 1 Suave Mfr.
$2 off 3 Suave Mfr.
2 - $1.50 off 1 Johnsons Buddies printable

Used $13 Extra Care Bucks (1 $5 and 1 $8)

Total OOP: $.03 + tax
Earned $2 Extra Care Bucks














Transaction #2...This one I screwed up royally…watch and learn from my mistake!
1 CVS tampon 10 count 1.99
6 Trial size Dove shampoos@.99/ea 5.94
5 trial size Gold Bond powders@.99/ea 4.95

Coupons
$2 off $10 CVS coupon printable
6 - .75 off 1 Dove hair Mfr.
5 - $1 off Gold Bond Powder Mfr. (couldn’t use because item cost less that $1)*

Used $2 Extra Care Bucks (from transaction #1 above)

Total OOP: $5.87 + tax
Earned no Extra Care Bucks**

*I will be returning these powders for a refund of ~$5.40. I should have asked for a void, but the line was backed up and I planned on doing another 5 or 6 transactions while I was there. Sometimes you just suck it up and do the nice thing because you want a good working relationship with your CVS pros. The return will bring my OOP down to ~$1.27

**I wanted to break even with Extra Care Bucks here because I had remaining Extra Care Bucks associated with another CVS card. Otherwise I would have tried to keep the Extra Care Bucks coming as long as possible.


CVS Card #2

Using:
• $5.99 in Extra Care Bucks from previous transaction
• a gift card with $28.31 remaining balance on it














Transaction #1
3 Ambi Facial Bar Soaps@1.99/ea 5.97
1 Purex laundry detergent 2.99 on sale from 5.99
1 Plastic bat/ball set 1.49 on sale from 2.99

Coupons
$2 off $10 CVS coupon printable
35 cent off Purex Mfr.
2 - $3 off Ambi Mfr. Printable (adjusted down .03 by register)

Total OOP: $2.13 + tax
Earned $10 Extra Care Bucks (1 $9 and 1 $1)
CRT $4 off $20 CVS Coupon (printed after Extra Care Bucks)

Transaction #2
1 Bucket of sidewalk chalk 2.49 on sale from 4.99
4 Purex laundry detergents 11.96
2 Schick Quattro disposables 7.99 on sale Buy 1 get 1 free

Coupons
$4 off $20 CVS coupon CRT
4 - .35 off 1 Purex Mfr.
2 - $4 off Schick Quattro Mfr.

Used $9 Extra Care Bucks (from transaction #1 above)

Total OOP: $.04 + tax
Earned $4 Extra Care Bucks




















Transaction #3
1 Roll-a-Bag 4.99 on sale from 9.99
1 Loreal Age Perfect Cleanser 5.99 on sale from 6.99

Coupons
$2 off $10 CVS coupon
$1 off Loreal Age Perfect Cleanser Mfr.

Used $6.99 Extra Care Bucks (1 $1 and 1 $5.99)

Total OOP: $.99 + tax
Earned 5.99 Extra Care Bucks














Transaction #4
2 Kotex tampons, 18-ct, 2 for $6 6.00
1 - 6 oz Chex Mix 1.00 on sale from 1.99
2 Colgate toothpaste, 6 oz 4.18 on sale from 2.79 each

Coupons
$2 off $10 CVS coupon
2 - $1 off Kotex printable
2 - $1.50 off Colgate printable

Used $4 Extra Care Bucks

Total OOP: .18 + tax
Earned no Extra Care Bucks














Transaction #5
3 2L Diet Coke 4.00 on sale 3 for $4
2 12.5 oz bags, mini Butterfingers 2.99 on sale B1G1
2 packs of hair clips , 2.99 ea 5.98

Coupons
$2 off $10 CVS coupon
2 – $.50 off Butterfinger Mfr.

Used $5.99 Extra Care Bucks

Total OOP: 3.98 + tax
Earned no Extra Care Bucks

TOTAL OOP for the day at CVS = $13.22

for…

2 Shampoos
2 Conditioners
2 baby bath bars
3 refill plates for Ped Egg
10-ct tampons
6 shampoos for travel
6 powders for travel
3 facial bar soaps
5 bottles of our favorite laundry detergent
A plastic baseball bat/ball set
Large bucket of sidewalk chalk
2 packs of disposable Schick Quattro women’s razors
1 rolling, collapsible shopping bag
Loreal Age Perfect Cleanser
2 boxes of Kotex
Cheddar-flavored Chex Mix
2 full-size Colgate toothpastes
3 - 2L Diet Coke
2 bags, mini Butterfingers
2 packs of hair clips

Check out one of my favorite CVS-ing blogs over at the Centsible Sawyer for more great CVS deals!

Lunchtime

Clean Towels?

Why it's hard for me to stay on top of the laundry...

NORMAN AND PANSY ARE ALREADY THERE!

Benjamin Sargent

If I live to be 100, I will never forget the story my friend Devon told to me one Friday night not too long ago about a little baby boy named Benjamin Sargent, just five months old. I wish I hadn't read this. Do so only with the knowledge that you've been warned. This isn't gore. It's worse. I don't know how else to warn you.

The details of the neglect and abuse he encountered in his tiny little life--I cannot bring myself to type them into this space. I am trying to think of a good reason for posting his picture. The truth is, I wish I didn't know about Benjamin. The night I heard about him, I called my brother and tried to unburden my mind by telling it to him. It didn't work. We both wept easily and violently. I told Rob then, "I think I know what it must have felt like, that first human glimpse into the knowledge of good and evil. There I stood, at a Friday night cookout, the Garden's newest Adam, stumbling naked and nauseous.

It's been well over a month now, but I can't forget. God, I wish I could forget.

This is the house where Benjamin died, now for sale.

The filth masquerading as the human biological variables that brought Benjamin into existence are awaiting trial in November in Peoria. I have such poetic imaginings for their wait. God forgive me and help me to want the forgiving. A searing, white-hot pulse of vengeance radiates from the center of my brain, hurting me with its intensity.

My Latest Published Article

Let's face it; I'm a glorified marketing copy writer, but damn, I love seeing these things in print!

Stay-At-Home Mom: "An Extremely Dangerous Choice" (?!)

I am a 35-year-old master's degree-holding, stay-at-home mother to a 15-month-old little boy named Jackson. I pay the bills and manage our long-term family finances. I make it my business to engage in financial research and work hard with my husband to find creative ways to ensure our family's healthy financial future. I welcome financial advice; however, I was offended—like so many—by Ms. Bennetts’ pithy, disrespectful remarks regarding being home for the loss of a tooth. Despite Ms. Vigeland's best interviewing efforts to steer her toward respectful concessions of the dignity of choosing “to stay home and work with their children,” Ms. Bennetts was unrelenting. This could have been a fantastic opportunity to educate, equip, and foster solidarity among women with children in and outside of the workplace. Ms. Bennetts chose to be divisive by taking pot shots at the reasons why women choose to stay home with their children in the first place. Disappointing and rather cliché.

Husbands and Wives

The intimacy and connection here are almost too much, too private, but I can't look away from it. It's the hottest video I've seen about the love shared between a husband and a wife. It makes me melt. Charlie will like this very much, so I post it for him especially.

In case you thought sarcasm...

is a relatively modern phenomenon, check this out (1895).

"And now for something completely different..."

I know everybody's seen this but...

I don't care. I could watch it over and over.

To Keats

We are approaching my favorite time of year, but I am domiciled in a region of the country where seasons can pass unnoticed. I've joked before that Louisiana has but two seasons--hot and hotter. Still, even I must confess there has been a subtle shift in the way the air smells in the morning, long before it is sullied by blistering noon day sun. It has a smoky, aged tinge, and I sense it each morning now, heading early out the door with mug in hand and babe in arm, moving with raw feeling toward the idling truck to take the Tech Sergeant to work.

If I turn down the air conditioner and and wear a sweater, I can almost feel it coming. Till it does, I've got Keats.

And so do you.

My Thighs Are On Fire

Yes. En Fuego. Seriously.

On a Tuesday morning, I awoke sixish, dressed for exercise, and prepared to mount up with my iPod and go for a run.

Are you finished?

(Ahem) So as I am reaching for the door knob, Hubster stumbles out and says, "Where're ya goin'?," groggily.

"Thought I might try a run."

"Hold on."

Okay, so, you know, I wasn't really thinking I wanted a witness, I mean, company.

Nevertheless, away we went.

I'm not sure which part I liked best--the sound of my own beleaguered breathing pattern (much akin to the sound of the Hoover Wind Tunnel 2 as it sucks dirt from our living room carpet) or the quaint observation that our run time coincided with the bus stop rendezvous of a dozen or so pre-pubes patiently waiting for the big yellow taxi and something to ridicule and thereby shift focus away from their fragile self-awareness.

Beautiful.

I figured my best bet was to avoid eye contact. I wouldn't hear anything over the noise of my tortured breathing anyway. I could pretend they didn't even exist. 35 years old and I still give a crap what a sixth grader thinks. Hilarious.

I survived. Ran for a whopping total of seven minutes, forty-seven seconds. Walked the rest. Ambulant for a total of twenty. This, my friends, is progress.

But, MAN, do my thighs burn!

Does this look funny to you?

A photo slideshow...

...I have posted on a website for my alma mater, Emmanuel College

Miracle Drug

Close to Home

I long to see you.

First Thing This Morning

Precious Two



(Pssst! This picture comes with a song.
You should play it now, courtesy of YouTube.)

Wait, what's different?

I'll tell ya what's different...BIRTHDAYS!

Birthday Mardi Gras used to be a week-long affair dedicated entirely to personal indulgence. Pedicure. Massage. Shopping. Cake. Did I mention cake?

Birthday Mardi Gras, post marriage and delivery, is now shorter.

And more like Festivus. For the rest of us.

First, there are the "Feats of Strength." These happen mainly when rising from slumber or bending at the waist for any reason.

Then there is the "Airing of Grievances." This happens mainly in front of the bathroom mirror or while riding side-saddle with the hubster in dense traffic.

Then there is the dinner, a full sprint through drinks, hors d' oeuvres, salad, entree, dessert, and Andes mint before the battery on the portable DVD player dies, signaling a scant 35 seconds before Caesar (or Jackson, our 15-month-old son) launches into an ear-splitting wail of displeasure.

Did I mention drinks?

Next is the pole. I got nothing (printable).

Finally, we have Festivus Miracles, described at Wikipedia as "minor coincidences that are inconvenient for one of the involved parties." Charlie and I drove an hour to a movie theater in Longview, Texas, that should offer a free tetanus shot before walking through its doors. I timidly approached the ancient box office for two tickets to The Happening, the latest from M. Knight Shyamalan (worth the gas money), only to hear from the booth clerk that every theater in the place is functioning properly EXCEPT the one showing The Happening. Bad bulb, he says to me.

Regarding birthdays, I rest my case.