Ladies and Gentlemen... The Presidents of the United States

Everywhere you look, you're reminded that this is an election year. The thing is this: it does matter who is in office. Every president we've had has made his mark in one way or another. Whether we remember that mark is something else altogether. Which brings up another point. If we're not aware of the mistakes made in the past, we're destined to repeat them.

Let's simplify the whole notion of history even more. I read recently that an astounding number of Americans can't name the first five United States Presidents. Which got me thinking... I honestly was hard pressed to get past three.

It's been a while since I memorized the names and order of the presidents. Yesterday I made flash cards and re-learned the first 20. Today, I'm finishing the list. Tomorrow I'm going to get started on Vice Presidents and then later in the week on to First Ladies.

I just got back from Barnes and Noble with two books. One of them is Presidents For Dummies and the other one is put out by the History Channel about little known presidential facts.

I'm pretty sure I know who's getting my vote, but I want to read up on our past Commanders and Chief to look for clues as to who might be the best candidate.

Also, I'm sure knowing the presidents' names by number will really come in handy if I can ever get on Jeopardy. Let's see... #7 (Andrew Jackson) #18 (Ulysses S. Grant) #35 (J.F.K)

U.S.A.

Has it been four years already? Anyhoo... Yay Olympics!

Moroccan Goodness

Cous-cous is my favorite food right now, and I thought I'd share my newest creation. This is adapted from a recipe found in the newspaper in Colorado. It's a really quick recipe and is deliciously refreshing in the summer time. Serve it cold. Also, I think it's great by itself, but Bob thinks it needs a sandwich or something to go with it. You be the judge.

Moroccan Cous-Cous Salad Serves 4 Meals or 8-12 Side Salads

1 C. Water

1 tsp Turmeric

2 tsp Coriander

2 tsp Cumin

2 tsp salt

1 Cup Uncooked Cous-Cous (it comes in a jar)

2 Limes, juiced

1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 English Cucumber (finely chopped)

1 Red and Yellow Pepper (finely chopped)

1/2 Medium Red Onion (Finely diced)

1 Ear of Cooked White Corn, Cut kernels off

2 TBS Cilantro

Boil the one cup of water, Turmeric, Coriander, Cumin, and Salt.

Pour the hot water over one cup of cous-cous in a bowl. Stir together until completely moist.

Cover for five minutes.

Fluff the cous-cous with a fork.

Pour in Lime juice and Olive Oil. Stir.

Add all the vegetables and cilantro. Combine together.

Chill for two hours (I can't usually wait that long) to set the flavors.

Whew!

Obviously, I made it back safely to blog about my running experience today. Anne Marie is indeed a woman, and not a violent one, it seems. Whew! We ran a five mile loop around Olympia, and chatted the whole time. She too is 28 years old, and is looking for a steady running partner. She's a reader, so there were tons of books to talk about, and she is finishing grad school to be an English teacher. Hmmm... who do we know that sounds like this?

Around mile 2.5, I brought up the point that I was super glad she wasn't an axe murderer. Her family was very worried about her meeting ME. It just goes to show... most people are good, it's just the few bad ones that make the news. I really believe that.

Anyway, after our run, we stopped in the running store in Olympia, South Sound Running, to inquire about the local running club. It's called Club Oly, and they run together at least twice a week. So tomorrow we are trying out this new group. We'll run the same five miles, and it will be safe AND fun. A whole bunch of people to run with: Hooray!

Also, the Barry's Boot Camp box came today. I've inflated the ball, read the literature, and am ready to commence tomorrow. Bring it on, Barry!

Running Scared

As you may recall, last week I posted a request on Craigslist for a running partner. Simple enough. But then someone contacted me, and sounded super excited about the prospect of running avec moi.

This is the point where I started to get nervous. First, is this person really a woman named "Anne Marie?" You have to admit, if you were a male psycho killer, what better name to use in the guise of wholesomeness?

Next, why would she/he be SO excited about running with me, a complete stranger, that may or may not be telling the complete truth about my speed and abilities? Hmmm...

Being the sleuth that I fancy myself to be, I gave her/him my phone number to call to set up a running date. Anne Marie called last night. The voice definitely sounded female, and she really did sound nice enough. So we're running the five mile loop around Capitol Lake in Olympia this afternoon (pictured above).

In light of the recent Craigslist crimes, I am just putting this out there: If I don't post in the next couple of days, the person you're looking for uses the name Anne Marie and preys on runners.

Wish me luck!

Wait... WHAT?

I don't know how clearly you can see this picture I took in Yelm. Apparently God has sanctioned guns here in what I mistook for the south for one quick second. Don't even get me started.

6th Anniversary... Sort Of

Six years ago, on August 2, 2002, Bob and I were married in the eyes of the Army. We worked so hard and pulled all kinds of strings to get the paperwork finished, so I could have my orders processed to go to Germany with Bob shortly after our wedding in January of that same year.

It was stressful then, but I am so grateful it worked. If those orders hadn't been processed, Bob would have went to Germany by himself in January of 2003, deployed in May of 2003, returned in August of 2004, been home for six months of the next year, and then deployed again in January of 2006. We NEEDED those first few months together in Germany to settle our little apartment, practice being husband and wife, and get acclimated to the Army (as much as possible, that is. I'm not sure you ever "arrive" with Army wife doctrine).

So, here's to six years in the Army. Six great years. We are happier now than ever, and we enjoy our life together with Chester. We get to move to cool places and meet fantastic people (case in point: YOU're reading this, aren't you?) We're really fortunate that we're best friends with each other, and we just look forward to more adventures.

Here's to more Unexpected Twists.