Please Pick Up Your History Books

And read them! Pay attention people!

Seceding from the Union has not gone so well in the past. When Texas first became a country of its own, it needed help from the US. Remember the Alamo! Remember it?? It was one of the battles of the failed attempts of Texas to be free from both the US and Mexico.

And then the South tried to secede... We called that the Civil War. It also did not go well for those trying to leave the Union.

Now, those both happened a long time ago. But the lessons are still pertinent when you are considering trying the same thing and expecting a different outcome. The US has the military and the budget for the military. Even the National Guard that the governors can call up is under the auspices of the federal military.



And, for those people who had the Tea Parties yesterday... How could you let yourselves be called Teabaggers? Really? Most people can't even take you seriously because you allowed yourselves to be called teabaggers! And again, you should have done some more reading about the Boston Tea Party first.

Another Year?

This year, my birthday has snuck up on me. This is very unusual. I am typically very adamant that my birthday is a big deal. My husband actually called me yesterday about it. He says, "It is 7 days out. What do you want?" My response was, "What is 7 days out?"

He was a little stunned. Last time he scheduled something on my birthday, it was a bad scene. I was very, very upset and hurt. Why wouldn't my husband (of all people) not want to celebrate my birthday with me? He didn't realize I saw it that way though. Birthdays weren't a big deal in his family or for him.

For me, it is My Day. It is the one day were people actually celebrate Me. It is very important to me. And this year, I forgot about it.

Typically, we go to a very nice restaurant that we normally would never get to eat at. We order an expensive meal with expensive desserts and expensive wine. I don't expect presents but I like to share a really good meal with my loved ones. I want them to invest the money in their meal and the special night. It's the one night a year where we plan on dropping at least $100 on dinner. For two.

A month out, I have figured out where I want to go. I have copied off menus to tempt people to dine with me. I have given out general pricing info and a date and time. A week out, I'm gathering RSVPs to amend the reservation to ensure that I have enough seats for everyone.

Last year, we went to Buca di Beppo and did the Dining Out for Life thing. Since it was a lower cost place, we paid the first $100 and then everyone split the remaining costs.

This year... not a clue... hadn't even thought about it... And now I'm scrambling. Okay, really, this year, my husband is scrambling. I've given him ideas about where to go and what to do. I want to keep it lower cost just because a lot of people can't afford to drop the money on a meal this year. I want/need it to be low stress for everyone.

I just can't believe that I let so much of Life get in the way that I forgot about my special day coming up.