This Month...

Sigh. I really need to make a commitment to writing more. It's been a whirlwind of a month..

Norway. From the very delayed flight to the Hurtigruten cruise, to Oslo and sushi and the Scream and lots of walking, it was a very memorable trip. I have yet to absorb it. But never put off til tomorrow.

Montana. A week spent driving from Missoula to Helena to Bozeman to Big Sky. There is a freedom in being in the mountains, with a river running past the road. It was wonderful and beautiful all at the same time.

Getting ready for Seattle and Portland. And dinner and more work.

And reading lots of books, including finishing up James Madison and Bill Bryson's One Summer and now reading about Thomas Jefferson. And catching up on some movies like The Fault in our Stars and A Winter's Tale.

Anyway, I will write more and often and I'll try to wrap my brain around how September flew past.

Thirteen Years Later...

The war on terror continues. Great words from Daniel Henninger on fighting ISIS and the leadership we deserve.

If Mr. Obama still thinks he's better than Susan Rice, John Kerry, Chuck Hagel andJohn Brennan, then he and the nation supporting his anti-ISIS effort are being poorly served. He should fire them all and bring in people who know more about fighting terrorists than he does. Barack Obama admires Abraham Lincoln. Act like him. Appoint the best people and let them win it.

Winning would also require a president willing to confront the political correctness that has undermined the U.S.'s battle against terror.

No more sophistry about whether a Benghazi qualifies as terrorism. After the videotaped beheadings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, is anyone still lying awake at night worrying that their iPhone number is among millions of others in the National Security Agency's data mines?

Closing Gitmo goes on the backburner. "Boots on the ground"—kill that too. It has become code for boots going nowhere, as Mr. Obama's airpower-only campaign made clear Wednesday evening.

It has taken 13 years to this day, September 11, for the reality of global Islamic terrorism to finally sink in—here in the U.S. and everywhere else, including the ever-equivocal capitals of the Middle East.

In the years after 9/11 came London, Madrid, the Boston Marathon, multiple failed attempts to bomb New York City, Mumbai, Kenya, Boko Haram, the re-rocketing of Tel Aviv, Christian holy places destroyed, thousands of Arabs blown up in the act of daily life. That's the short list. ISIS is just the tip of the world's unstable iceberg. We're all living on the Titanic.

Now a reluctant progressive president goes to war without admitting it is war. It's even money at best that he or the Left will stay the course if the going gets tough beyond Iraq's borders.

Every Simpsons Ever

We've been enjoying the Simpsons marathon over the last few days on FXX. So many wonderful classic episodes. Loving the Summer of 4'2", Lisa becoming a vegetarian, the monorail, Dr. Zaius, Bart's people, Homer gaining 300 pounds, all of the old gags and supporting players from Milhouse to Sideshow Bob to Groundskeeper Willie to Bumblebee Man to the ridiculous gags and sentimentality. I forgot about those touching moments like Homer covering his work station with Maggie's photos.

That show is classic, and I cannot believe it's been on the air for nearly 25 years. And I owe my marriage in a way to it!

Twenty Years Later...

Twenty years ago this week, I started college.

I thought of that because it's move-in day and 381 or so Freshman have packed up their bags and loaded their cars, driven miles away from home, and started a new chapter in their life.

I don't know if graduating high school or starting college is a bigger achievement or milestone. They both go hand-in-hand, of course. But I remember how much more I anticipated the later, because I truly thought it was a beginning I craved. No more lonely nights, no more shadows of past classmates or friends, no more regrets. College would make me different, maybe even more "normal."

Freshman year was tough, and in retrospect, I had too high of hopes. I immediately fell into old traps, because at heart I'm a "good girl." I was a little scared of partying and drinking, and I didn't know how to behave around guys. And the friends I made I was a little apprehensive about...I mean, I was so unsure I wasn't going to meet the "right crowd." I guess I knew in the pit of my stomach that I really hadn't...it all fell apart half-way through the year. And it really wasn't until a year later that I met my friends for life.

I think if I had advice for a college Freshman this week, it would be to listen to your gut, don't do anything that makes you feel raw in the stomach, but it's OK to go outside of your comfort zone. Sign up for a new club, take a class that really inspires you, say hello to someone who just may have been more "popular" than you were in high school, and it's OK to be a little lost. Those feelings won't last.

And most importantly, know that this isn't the last "first" you'll have. Whether it's your first post-college job, or grad school, or moving in with friends or a boy, or starting a second or third new job, there will be many other beginnings. So if this one isn't perfect, know that such a thing doesn't exist.

And have fun. Always have fun.

Vacay

We had another good vacation, though I still feel like we're recovering from it. Good times on South Padre, with lots of Dirty Al's and time swimming. And some hot tub time. Time with kids, Taboo, lots of shrimp, and the usual amount of disorganization. We were very pleased to get upgraded to First Class both ways to Jamaica. Granted, we've been to this resort before. And it was much like we remembered it. Though we did get upgraded to a one-bedroom suite that was a usual butler room. The food was good, the beach was good, though we did have our share of rain. It wasn't entirely unwelcome, because it was hot and we were so burnt out (not literally...I did a better job of freckling than sunburning).

We also met our usual collection of friends nearly old enough to be our parents. We are definitely tight with the 50 something crowd. There are never many people in their 30s and 40s at their resorts...too busy with babies. We split the difference between honeymooners and the couples escaping their nearly grown children. Which is fine. The couples from Long Island were very nice, and very conservative. Not surprisingly.

We kept to our busy routine of working out X# of times per day. Which is exhausting, though I was grateful that we could kayak, tried snorkeling, and run. And swim for some people! I also filled up on lots of mango and bacon, which were delicious. We also burnt some off with ping pong.

But after this and a quick trip to Boston, it was so good to be at home. Though this weekend will be another over-scheduled one...

Vamanos

Ready to leave here on vacation. This week has seemed exceptionally difficult...lots of work, lack of sleep, too much on my mind, busy busy.   And it's been beautifully cool and sunny and gorgeous outside of course. I am looking forward to some beach time, some time to truly relax and eat great food and just enjoy not being in DC. It's been a lot lately, being here. And that week in Michigan seems so long ago.

Adieu, DC. See you later.

Best Teams in Detroit History

The Free Press lists the best sports teams in Detroit history. I don't think you can quibble with #1, the 1968 Tigers. Or #2, the 1997 Detroit Red Wings. But I'd have the 1984 Tigers up there. With all of the despair as murder capital of the world and the arsons, that team was magical and led wire-to-wire.

There are some other rankings on there, too, to celebrate Detroit's 313th birthday. And more I'd disagree with. Kwame Kilpatrick as Detroit's worst mayor? Probably. But where's Coleman Young?

And this is a cool feature, showing the city's changing landscape.

Weekend in Virginia

S participated in the Colonial Beach Triathlon last weekend, so we went down there Saturday afternoon to stay over night. He finished, a little slower than his goal due to a swim snafu, but did great (despite barely training for it). Sigh. Wish I could do that. It was so hot and the women were just so stellar.

Colonial Beach may have been described as the "playground on the Potomac" once upon a time, though it was kind of dumpy, to be honest. The beach was rocky and the water was kind of muddled. We had dinner at High Tides which featured good seafood as well as a convenient location from the hotel. We also had ice cream, always a score.

I will never "know" Virginia like Michigan, and it's never going to be quite like home. But we've had a chance to see parts of the state--the Shenandoah, Richmond, Charlottesville, Onancock, and Chincoteague in the past year or so, which is a better track record than previously. Still much more to see, though.

Fourth of July

We had a fun 4th of July, complete with barbeque, friends, fireworks, and World Cup. And new babies!

Menu:

Snack: Grilled Gulf shrimp marinated with pesto dipping sauce (since I needed to use up that basil asap)

Bruschetta: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/bruschetta-recipe.html

Chicken sausage skewers: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-sausage-skewers-recipe.html

Burgers

Guacamole

Mango Salsa

Peach and raspberry Cobbler: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/peach-and-raspberry-cobbler-recipe.html

 

Dessert was absolutely delicious and which I am not sad at all that I have to eat almost entirely by myself.

The bonus fireworks in the alley keep outdoing the previous year's performance. I just love the 4th.

Bogus War on Women

Once again, women are deemed victims of the evil Supreme Court, which just denied women "health care" in the form of "free" birth control. Once again, liberals are propagating this ridiculous lie, and women are falling for it, bemoaning that their access to their life-saving IUDs have been slashed.

Hogwash.

The WSJ sums up the series of lies very succinctly:

All this crocodile outrage is wonderfully fact-free. The High Court majority granted that women's health is a compelling state interest but that the White House's means were illegal under RFRA. The opinion is largely irrelevant in practice to contraceptive "access," which will remain cheap and abundant. The Institute of Medicine reports that contraceptive benefits are "standard practice for most private insurance" and that 89% of plans cover all 20 FDA-approved methods. Hobby Lobby only disapproves of four methods, and few companies would claim the religious convictions to bar even those.

Democrats also fail to mention that the health plans of about 190 million people were already absolved from the mandate before Monday's ruling, either because they work for exempt businesses with 50 workers or fewer or as a result of the Obama Administration's "accommodation" for religious nonprofits. That arrangement is a creature of bureaucratic discretion, not statute, and thus could be expanded to companies like Hobby Lobby without Congress if Mr. Obama honestly thinks the female body is at risk.

Oh, and I don't want my president telling me what my bosses should cover. I choose who to work for, and I make that bargain with them as to what they can cover. Right?

Here's White House press secretary Josh Earnest : "President Obama believes that women should make personal health-care decisions for themselves rather than their bosses deciding for them. . . . The constitutional lawyer in the Oval Office disagrees with that conclusion." This appeal to diploma is weird, because Hobby Lobby turned on the straightforward application of a federal statute. The First Amendment's free-exercise clause wasn't reached.

 Don't even get me started on Hillary's histrionics:

"a disturbing trend that you see in a lot of societies that are very unstable, anti-democratic and frankly prone to extremism," which is "women and girls being deprived of their rights," including "control over their bodies," she said this week.

Does she really believe that "depriving" women of four forms of abortificients is going to turn us into Afghanistan or something far worse? Are we not North Korea?

Get a grip, America. The world didn't end. You can still have promiscuous sex, and someone will still pay for it. (Ultimately, you, the tax payer and insuree,but hey, that's another argument.)