this made me cry

This is a newspaper clipping. The picture is rather large. Sorry about that but I am unable to shrink it at the moment. YOu will need to read the caption at the bottom of the picture to understand what is going on.

soldiers

Air Force Chief Master Sgt John Gebhardt of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad, Iraq, cradles a young girl as they both sleep in the hospital. The girls entire family was executed by insurgents. The killers shot her in the head as well. the girl received treatment at the US Military Hospital in Balad, but cries and moans often. According to nurses at the facility Gebhardt is the only one who can calm down the girl, so he has spent the last several nights holding her while they both slept in a chair.

A project unfinished

I have put off this book project long enough. I really want to see my book in print and in the stores. I am working on a baby book with my daughter Heather. The book has been finished for quite a while now and I have my draft in print. The problem is that all the pictures need to be redrawn at 300 dpi. so that they look nice and crisp on the page. SO…I am going to buckle down and get things done. If I seem preoccupied over the next few weeks this is the reason why. For your viewing pleasure I give you the first view pages to look at. You can read the entire story at the following links.

On an Island

In a Village

In a Dark Forest

cover

page 1

page 2

page 3

page 4

page 5

page 6

page 7

school lock-down

A little excitement here in Surprise Arizona. A hostage situation occurred near my two youngest children’s elementary school. The elementary school was placed on lock-down and the children riding on buses were diverted to another school for parent pick-up.

How my day started.

1. I take my children to their bus stop and put them on the school bus.

2. I get home just in time to hear the phone ring. My oldest daughter calls me from work and tells me to turn on the TV. Ashton Ranch Elementary is on lock-down.

3. I jump in my car and drive to the school. Police are everywhere. They tell me and a couple hundred other parents that if our children were on school buses the buses were diverted to Sonora Heights elementary.

4. I go back home to locate said school because we are fairly new to the area and I have no idea where this school is.

5. Sonora Heights is not on the map. The school is new. I call the school to find out how to get to them. Their phones are all tied up with parents trying to call and find out about their children.

6. I have a general idea where the school is so I go driving. Yeah!! I found it.

7. I pick up my two youngest children from Sonara Heights and go back home.

I believe I mentioned I was taking the federal exam today…I am on my way to do that now..

later

marsha

Battlestar Galactica

Yeah!!! Only a few more days to wait. I love this show. I admit it. I am a sci fi geek. I can’t help myself. I’d be willing to trade a kidney just to be in the background of this show. < ---don't take me seriously. I wouldn't trade a kidney... as if someone from that show (ie executive producer Ronald D. Moore) is going to actually say.

“Hey Marsha! want to be an extra on Battlestar”…”I read your blog regularly. I think I have a place for you.”


(*deep in thought*)You know a lot of people read this blog. I suppose it could happen…but I’m not holding my breath. 🙂

battlestar galactica

PS: I stole the above concept wish from Jon Baas. He made reference to wanting to be on Star Trek some day.

My books are available

Madie’s Bear Tribe Journals my serial fiction podcasts are now available as books. You can purchase Book 1 and 2 for the low, low price of $12.00 each plus shipping and handling.
🙂

Just click on the book and you will be taken to lulu.com.These books are a transcript of my podcasts and are written as a diary. They have not been edited by a professional editor. Expect the occassional grammar and spelling errors.

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later
marsha

…A paper cellphone

Ok, I have got to share this with everyone. Morgan was at the kitchen table. I hear her say

“DANG IT!!,… it won’t work…..MOM!!!!”

“What Morgan?”

“I put a battery in it but it won’t work….do you think I need more buttons?”

I had absolutely no idea what morgan was putting a battery in. I go to the kitchen and this is what I saw. She has tried to build her own cellphone!!!!! 🙂

I’m thinking she is going to be at a school science fair someday in the future. My daughter the genius.

Heather

heather

I didn’t sleep well last night. I woke up three times and let the dogs out to potty. My oldest daughter just left to travel to the far side of Phoenix. This morning is her first day of training for the TSA position at the airport. We drove the route on Friday and I gave her a map with instruction on how to get where she is going. I am extremely nervous. I am certain she will be fine but Phoenix is such a large place. She has her cellphone. I told her to call me as soon as she gets to the training site.
later

update 07:45 am , Heather made it to her training destination safely!! Everybody say “WOOT!”

update 17:00pm Heather made it home safely. I feel so much better now.

marsha

a little writing and fours hours of music videos

I have accomplished absolutely nothing this weekend. At least it feels that way. All I did Saurday was write for a few hours and then…..sit at my computer and listen to music videos thru yahoo. I sat for four hours straight and watched video after video. Ok, now that I think about it I did do a couple of other things. I went to Fry’s once for milk and once for potato rolls for dinner. I also took Morgan to the library to get five new library books. I read all the books to her in one sitting. Hank the cow Dog will take several days to finish.

I can’t believe I sat at the computer for four hours and listened to music videos.

 

later

marsha

And yet another Mike Rowe Post/ Being a mom is a dirty job

I love watching Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe. So I was thinking about all the Dirty Jobs Mike Rowe has gladly participated. I think I have experienced a few similar jobs as a mom.

1. Mike Rowe spends the day with biting animals such as alligators.

Marsha Loftis nurses a baby with a full mouth of teeth. Why would I want to do such a dangerous thing? I don’t know it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I wasn’t really expecting my breast nipple to be bitten from my body when a noise from the other room suddenly distracts my baby from her task at receiving nurishment. She suddenly turns her head and instead of letting go of my nipple she takes it toward the sound. Oh it hurt…but I am tough. I didn’t even say the dirty words that were running through my mind.

2. Mike Rowe seems to enjoy playing in poop or poo as he likes to call it.

Marsha Loftis has a few examples of playing in poo. I shall only list one. I was in the grocery store with a cranky toddler and a baby on my hip attempting to sooth said baby with a breast, stop the toddler from falling out of the cart and still retrieve the needed groceries off of the shelf. I make it all the way to the check out line. I’m almost to the front. I suddenly hear a grunt like no other grunt ever heard before. The people behind me heard the grunt. I still remember their “eewwwws” My nursing baby had just dropped a load of poo in her diaper and it proceeded to make it’s way out the diaper, all the way up my daughter’s back and down my arm. There was a moment of contemplation on what to do next. Did I leave my groceries and come back later. I think not. I finished through the check out line.

3. Mike Rowe is afraid of bugs. Let a couple of cockroaches run up his pants and watch him squil like a girl.

Marsha Loftis is not afraid of bugs. In fact a rather large spider came for a visit one day and instead of running away in fear I stopped to take a picture. Daughter number 3 tried to eat a wolly catepillar as a toddler. I removed it from her mouth with a finger sweep. number 1 son captured a praying mantis. For safe keeping he kept it in mom’s “wet ones” hand wipes. This thing was a good four inches long.

4. Mike Rowe has had several dirty jobs where he has assisted with animal reproduction.

Masha Loftis has actually given birth five times.

5. Mike Rowe vomits over the side of a boat at the site and stench of chopped up fish.

Marsha Loftis has slept with a sick child on her chest. In appreciation the child threw up on my chest. I never lost my cookies.

6. Mike Rowe has a great body.

Marsha Loftis has a great body. I’m a mom!

Space Tourism

I want to be a space tourist like the woman in this article. I’m just waiting for the price to come down a bit.

I personally believe this living and working in space thing is happening a bit too slowly. I’m not getting any younger. Come on people. I want to see a resort on the moon. I want to see a nice space station in orbit. Could we all just work together and make this thing happen?

And for the record. If any one out there is looking for volunteers to be in the first wagon train to Mars, I’m game. Just tell me where to go and want to bring on the journey.

Marsha

Star Trek’s 40th Anniversary

I grew up on Star Trek. It is an obsession of mine. I watched all the Star Trek series. I watched all the movies. I read the books. I learned a little Klingon, Vulcan and Romulan. My friend Jon Baas brought the following link to my attention. It’s a tribute to 40 years of Trek. Click on the following Star Trek link and watch but I warn you bring a tissue.

Marsha

A Morgan Podcast

Morgan wrote another story. For you listening enjoyment.  I translated the story below each of the pictures. I’m pretty sure you can understand most of the words.

“The cat who finds an owner”

But he didn’t have one

But he did have a name

His name was sniffles

Until he finds an owner

He’ll get a new name

He hopes it will be a bestest name ever

He found a pet zoo

He freed some pets

They tell him where to go

kitten

It’s up at the mountain

They took the lead but

He searched high and low

Finally it was night

He found a soft kind of grass

It felt like a pillow

Around his heart

kitten

Finally it was morning

The day was searched

He left out of the city

While he went up and searched

He searched everywhere

Up in the mountains

Finally he was up on top

Where the snow was there

He found an owner

kitten

They took him to their home

They also had a great bed

They had video games

They had a cat bed

They had anything that he wanted to have

They had cat toys

They had some food

They had some clothes that you could wear

Even though he’s a kitten

Even though so many years had passed

He’s grown up and he has kittens and puppies

For you and me

The End

It’s all about the transportation

I let my husband handle this one. I don’t like car dealerships. The whole process makes me cranky and I have already been cranky enough the last couple of weeks. My oldest daughter Heather needed a car, a reliable car, a car I was certain wasn’t going to break down on the Phoenix interstates. As a mom I do a lot of worrying about my children. I can’t help myself. Heather has to drive a considerable distance to get to work everyday. Starting on the 18th she will be working at the Phoenix airport. If you are ever in Phoenix don’t forget to say Hi to Heather. It shouldn’t be too hard to find her she looks a lot like me.
Today Heather bought her first car with her Daddy’s help. Everybody say “Woot” It’s a lovely ice blue kia spectra. Pictures below.
Marsha

car

car

car

car

car

car

and the world keeps turning

What has Marsha been up to lately? Let me say first that I have missed visiting all of you but I just haven’t had the time or the energy. My new job makes my brain hurt. By the end of the day I am exhausted. ..and a little cranky.
My children have all started their new schools. This can be very stressful for a mom especially on the days when I work an hour away and the bus system keeps changing what bus they ride home on. In my new job I work two days on this side of Phoenix and two days on the other side of Phoenix.

My daughter Heather starts working at TSA on the 18th. We have been looking for her a car. This take a lot of time.

This last weekend we went to Tucson to visit old friends. We were stationed at Misawa Air Base Japan with them from 1989- 1993. It was fun visiting them.

I am also working on the final draft of my latest manuscript so that I can turn the thing in soon.  Everytime I think I am finished I find something else that needs to be fixed.

so now you know what I’ve been up to. I will try to be better about posting.

Your Blogging Friend

Marsha