Happy Thanksgiving

Lithograph, Home To Thanksgiving, published by Currier and Ives. Artist,George H. Durrie 1867.

 

A Day to Celebrate.

Pardon a momentary break from crafty blogging to celebrate since, after all, I am an Army wife and we are a military family. I bring you great news. Unless you have family in the military you probably would not know about it. Yes, there still is work to do but from this point on it seems all to be pointing that it is OVER! Whether you are blue or red let us together honor the sacrifice, dedication and sheer determination of American, coalition and Iraqi troops who have brought freedom to the nation and people of Iraq. We all owe it to the troops to have such a day, and there is a movement in the blogosphere to celebrate it on November 22 which is today! Bloggers have taken it upon themselves, since the mainstream media won't, to commemorate November 22, 2008 as the day of victory over the forces of tyranny, oppression and terror in Iraq.

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Personal Security Detail Sgt. Kevin Dodson of Colorado Springs, Colo., leads the way as Spc. Fout is escorted by a young Iraqi boy through Muhalla 511 in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sept. 27, 2008.

Need convincing? 

The News & Observer newspaper came to the same conclusion three months ago.

If you're a statistics person check out the numbers here and a very detailed and well documented pdf download from Brookings here. Don't know about Brookings? (I didn't either) You can see their site here.

You can read independent reporters Michael Yon and Michael J. Totten.

Can you believe twice as many people were shot dead in Chicago this summer than US soldiers in Iraq during the same time period? I wouldn't have believed that 2 years ago. 

Task Force 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, Charlie 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment Headquarters Platoon Sgt. Alfred Osorio, a native of Los Angeles, Calif., speaks with Iraqi children while maintaining a security perimeter for his platoon while in Ula Market in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sep. 24, 2008. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Cohen A. Young/Released) 

Thanks to Zombie Time for organizing Victory in Iraq Day. Here is a partial list of blogs participating in this historic event today: Spirit of Man Gateway Pundit Blackfive Little Green Footballs Rantburg sisu Because No One Asked Dog Opus Blog Oh No, Another Conservative Blog Who Is John Galt? Gathering of Eagles (national) Gathering of Eagles New York Gathering of Eagles North Carolina Stop the ACLU The Surfing Conservative Civilian Irregular Information Defense Group The Wide Awake Cafe The Foxhole Lighthouse on the Right Arming Liberty Uncle Sam Ate My Baby Down Is Up Foreign and Domestic WOT Daily The Blog of Record Serr8d's Cutting Edge Army Wife: Rants from Ft. Livingroom Hamilton, Madison, and Jay Rochester Conservative The Daily Blogster I Call BS! Macker's World Something should go here, maybe later Nice Deb The Bronze Blog AZresident The Irascible Chef Sharp Right Turn TigerHawk Tman In Tennessee Thunder Pig Sith by Sithwest OutOfTheBlue Anti-CAIR Marooned in Marin Thoughts Enroute More Weight Anti-Strib The Jack Knows Red State Rumblings High Plains Blogger Air Force Pundit Fallback LGF Liberty for USA Diary of a Madman The Rumbler Report D.C. Thornton Lock and Load Fat Angie Gegenkritik Oedipal Beatdown Conservative Action Network A Herd of Turtles Penny's Potpurri Sayyad al Wahabiyya Brain-Surgery With Spoons American Syndicalist Party Broadsides Public Secrets Freedomplow Toxic Taxation Berman Post HumbleInfidel The Inquisition Pax Parabellum CrossFit Camp Pendleton Freedom Watch American Truths Destination OBX Fearless Dream Theodore's World The Cool Blue Blog Life With Monkeys Woody's Place Wild Weazel The Atheist Conservative King's Right Site We are the Grizzwolds redc1c4 Instapundit The Jawa Report Ed Driscoll Facebook group for Victory in Iraq Day Barking Moonbat Early Warning System Exurban League Noblesse Oblige Protein Wisdom Pub Black & Right Johnson County Republican Party Winefred's Well Still Unbounded The Liberty Boys Atlanta ROFTers Tennesseefree.com This is Scooter Country The Crescent Moon From My Position...On the Way! Letters to a Dying Dream Blogs for Victory RealChoice EagleSpeak HXC Christian.com Conservative Diggs zomblog Erica Marceau Pirate's Cove Let's Get It Right Cmblake6's Weblog What Bubba Knows RightwingSparkle NavyWife Psycmeister's Ice Palace! Stable of Zionist Hore #2 Conservative in Seattle Karridine Delivers LifeoftheMind ahavafriend Zim's View I Am, Therefore I Think Patriot Missive USS Neverdock Dan Cirucci The Conservative Contessa The Four Rs Wake up America The C-Square Sarge Charlie Red-Hot Right Echoes in Eternity American Infidel buckferkeley supporting the troops One Model Place The Dumber Ox The Lightning News BackyardConservative 2nd Exposure DailyAviator Lindy's Blog: Where Mom is Always Right Comics Pundit No Clever Pseudonym Free Frank Warner The Digital Hairshirt The Blue Pelican Krigsblogg Nothing But the Facts Gegenstimme Environmental Republican Irons in the Fire no blood for sauerkraut! The Individualizer TechnoChitlins ebulous Continuum Take Our Country Back The Conservative Radical Zion Beckons Antihippies Soldiers' Angels Germany Paul Ibrahim jweaks on Squidoo Marie's Two Cents The Other Club The Anchoress Beyond the Veil Michigan Taxes Too Much Once More Into the Breach

wrappa*dappa*doo* Reusable Gift Wrap Tutorial

I got the idea for this about a week before Christmas last year. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. Did I want to make a bunch up and sell them? no. heck, no. That would last about 5 minutes of excitement then it'd be a chore to try and do. ugh. I thought it would be more fun if you got to play along too. Plus it's more economical and Green for you, me, everyone. So I wrote up a super simple tutorial that shows step by step what to do. If you can sew in a fairly straight line and use pinking shears than you can make this!

Click on any image to view on flickr then click on tab "all sizes" above the photo to see larger.

Directions for the center ribbon style:

Click here to see this tutorial as a set on my Flickr page.

Make lots of them and give them away. Better yet, design some Christmas, Hanukkah, Baby, or Birthday fabric using Spoonflower and create a completely personal one! 

Last Christmas I gave one as a gift. I used the reusable gift-wrap as the gift-wrap. Inside was an empty box with a little note explaining that the gift was actually on the outside. I should have designed and printed a mini-tutorial and stuck it in there so she could keep one and make one to give. Kind of like friendship yeast bread. It's the gift the keeps on giving.

I created a flickr group so you can share your creations. Please join! I can't wait to see what you guys do with this. Let me know what you think.

Continued from yesterday

Yesterday was fun and exciting and all that but the best thing that happened wasn't the helicopter or watching H speak or seeing how excited all the kids were. The best BEST part was one brief sentence by a 5th grade boy that melted H's heart and put a lump in his throat.

He came up to H, introduced himself and said proudly, "I'm adopted too."

He was adopted from Ethiopia 18 months ago. He will be 11 next week.

Prelude to Veterans' Day - In Photos

H landing the Chinook on the school's playground.

Yep, that'd be my daughter. Can you see her in mid-jump? Every time the kids would applaud she'd run around in a circle or jump up and down. It was as if she was doing a little interpretive dance for each question he answered. She was just a tad excited about her Dad being there.

Nooooo! That's very sensitive equipment, not a jungle gym! Where's your teacher? Oh look, she's busy texting.

The obligatory Chinook touring through the back end photo or otherwise known as The Chinook poops children photo.

H trying to catch up on paperwork while Tootie prepares to tackle him.

Overall, it was a splendid day.