How I spend my weekends, The Military Edition

Oh yes, it was THAT time again. The MARINE CORPS BALL WEEKEND. All caps, Good Times. It was bittersweet, it was The Man’s last ball as an enlisted Marine. I can never say, “as a Marine”; because once a Marine, ALWAYS a Marine. He retires next spring after 20 years, and I have no idea what I’m going to do with him underfoot am happy that there will be no more deployments.

But I digress. The ball was at the Stateline this year, that’s Stateline, NEVADA. As in, the very minute you hit the Nevada border you can pull over and loose your ass at the tables or on a one-armed bandit. AND, if you are not a gambler, you can always throw your money away here:

Mmm Hmm.. Have mercy. Outlet shopping. A beautiful, BEAUTIFUL Coach Store, and a SHOE heaven - where you can buy Carlos Santana shoes for $40. (and how hurt were my feelings that my foot is STILL *$#&@ing swollen, I didn’t want to buy shoes because I couldn't wear them out of the store?? Very)

And then there was the whole reason that I went out to begin with*

* Although I make light of the fact that we celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday in such a lighthearted way**, it is an honor to be invited, and INCLUDED in such a ceremony. And every year I'm reminded of that as I watch them celebrate their own; from the oldest (at our ball - born 1953) to the youngest (born 1990. Holy SHIT! The Boy is only 2 weeks older than this MARINE.). To those that didn't make it home:

** Me: Holy crap, did you see the SIZE of that thing? (I was talking about the cake)

The Man: That's what she said.