Sangria Friday and Some Friday Funnies

Attention, ladies and gentlemen,
We interrupt this Champagne Friday to bring you Sangria Friday, in honor of the fact that as you read this, I am kickin' it at the big sister's house, sipping on something fruit-soaked. Please tune in next week, when we will return to your regularly scheduled Champagne Friday.

Also, I have hit bottom on the Google Images of champagne + military, so I'm exchanging my hijacked (not the same as hacked. As of this week, I know all about being hacked) Google Images of champagne for random photos of Neal's first tour in Iraq. He has approximately 2 photos from Kuwait. By the time he had arrived at Camp Arifjan, Big Brother had already landed and put the kibosh on photographing the joint. But there are photos from Iraq. Lots of them. So, each week we will kick off Champagne Friday with one of those. Starting with...

After reading Wednesday's WW post, many of you commented on A) how tight the living quarters are for our troops and B) the plastic mattress covers. So, let me first say to observation (A) that if you think that's tight, check out the tents that Neal lived in when he first got to Iraq in 2004, as demonstrated in the above photo. Not exactly the Holiday Inn. That's not even the Super 8. That is La Sardine Suites. He doesn't miss the tents.

And regarding the mattress covers...somehow I had not noticed them in the picture and now every time I look at that photo, that's all I see (so, thank you for that). I asked Neal if he was allowed to remove it prior to bedding down that first night. His concise answer was "no". In fact, if you are caught removing the plastic from a mattress at Ft. Knox, you will be fined. Apparently, the Army is a wipe-it-down-and-go kind of clean. I wouldn't survive 4 minutes. That's not self-deprecating. It's honest.

Next in the Sangria Friday Festivities, I would like to give a big shout-out to my girl, Kay, @ The Van Gogh Cafe, who blogged this week about her fiance, who confused polenta for placenta...I mean, during a conversation...not during an Italian meal with a grain side dish. But I let a snort loose on that one.

And 3 cheers to my husband who, during one of our last conversations before he left, said "Well, I guess that would be true. Metamorphologically speaking..." (Yes, WordCheck, I realize that is not a word). And when I couldn't stop laughing, he realized his mistake. Let's try that again and drop that whole end part, shall we?

Lastly, the following news release was in my hometown newspaper this week:

Miller going to Iraq
Army Reserve Capt. Michael N. Miller is deploying to Iraq to serve in support of Operation New Dawn, formerly named Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The captain, a watercraft operator with 25 years of military service, is regularly assigned to the 352nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Macon, Ga.

 Can we just back up to the part where it says "The captain, a watercraft operator with 25 years of military service"? This is like that game, Which One is Untrue?. He is a captain. He does have 25 years of military service. However, the closest he has ever come to operating watercraft is ripping through the waves on a jet ski during spring break in college. My husband does not operate watercraft. He has never operated watercraft. But I can't decide what's funnier...that somehow this nugget of untruth ended up in our city's newspaper or the word "watercraft". Just say it 5 times and try to do it with a straight face. Go ahead. I'll wait. 


That is all. 
I hope y'all have a rowdy or relaxing weekend, depending on your age bracket. Luckily, I straddle a couple so I get a little bit of both. 

Cheers!