Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year from the Nations!  May 2011 bring you joy, happiness, and laughter!!

Keep Calm and....

I made a post yesterday for our big Bowl Game and I happened to stumble across the history of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters.  Basically, the posters were created by the British government to "raise the morale of the British public under the threat of impending invasion" at the beginning of World War II.  But it wasn't used and was re-discovered in 2000 and now I see them EVERYWHERE (especially on blogs). 

I was really surprised by the reaction of the poster I made yesterday.  One true domestic diva, suggested I create free downloads of the posters for others to print.  I made some edits to my original poster, and I feel the ones below are more true to the original "Keep Calm" poster. 

I tried to create some that were just white letters so you could print them on colored paper, but that didn't work.  So I apologize in advance for all of the ink you may use up. 

Cowboys:

Sooners:  (because I'm such a good friend)

Razorbacks:

How to print them out: Click on the image once and it will take you to another screen where the image is by itself. Click on it again to get it at full resolution. Right-click and save it to your computer. It is an 8 x 10 document that you can print at home or through your favorite photo-printing website.

Hope you enjoy!!

And if you have have an idea of another sign, please let me know and I will do my best to create it for you!  That's just how we roll at "A State of a Nation." 

Keep Calm and Cowboy On

Our Cowboys have a big Bowl game this evening...  So it got me thinking about my Alma mater.  What I love most about Oklahoma State is our fans.  We are not fair-weather or band-wagon.  Cowboys are in it for the long-haul.  Loyal and true to the very end.  Do we lose?  Sure.  Do we still booze?  You bet!

Go Pokes!! 

Random Wednesday

It's another Wednesday, gentle readers!  Time for Random Wednesday...

1. I don't have patience for anything.  I often read the last pages of books and go to movie spoiler websites.  I just don't want to wait and find out.

2. The thing I have the least patience for would have to be food.  Mr. Nation says I become a different person when I'm hungry.  I can only imagine it's something like this to an outsider:



3. I am constantly craving Chili's queso.  When I was in high school, I was convinced they put something in it to make you crave it.  I'm now convinced that "something" is crack.  I can't imagine wanting something more.

4.  I'm just kidding.  Crack is whack.  But I'm not kidding about the queso.  It's so darn good!  (ps Chili's is NOT paying me to make these comments.  They are from the heart and stomach).

5. I have a weird thing with odd numbers.  I like to eat things in do numbers, do things in odd numbers, etc.  For instance, it's still bothering me that last week's Random Wednesday only had 4 items.  I had a 5th, but inserting the video messed it up.  I'm still learning this blog stuff...

That's all for this Wednesday!  Have a great rest of your day!!

Yes, No, Please, Thank You

Reading Miss Holliday's blog, I got to thinking today about manners.  Manners are more than just saying "yes," "no," "please," and "thank you."  It's being a nail tech and not asking your client "when she has baby?"  It makes that client feel fat for not being "with child" at the present time and old for some reason.  It's walking out of an office building and not letting the door slam in the person behind you's face.  ("behind you's face" -- is that even correct grammar??  I can't think of another way to say it, so we're leaving it as is)

Because everyone's had hurt feelings...


Hurt Feelings from Brian Kessler on Vimeo.

That was a silly song, but everyone has felt that way at one time or another.  Manners are more than just words.  It's being a considerate person.  Realizing that you are not the only one on this planet.  So just think next time, because it's always important to "be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle."

Or you can just stop being a jerk.  That works too.

Ask Mrs. Nation

Happy Monday, gentle readers!  I hope each of you had a wonderful Holiday weekend!  The Nations sure did!  Although we agreed not to do gifts this year, Mr. Nation surprised me with this:

You know you're getting older when a Kitchen Aid mixer is your Christmas-gift-come-true. 

On to the purpose of the post...  I've been getting a lot of questions on the Blog, so I figured since it was the end of the month it would be a good time for a segment I like to call "Ask Mrs. Nation."  Some of these questions are about me, and since I have a Master's in Counseling, some of my readers have asked questions for themselves. 

Dear Mrs. Nation:
Christmas was this weekend, and my boyfriend got me a gift I did NOT want.  What he got me is very nice, but just not what I asked for.  What should I do? 
Scarlett in Sacramento

Dearest Scarlett:
My advice to you would be to be happy with your gift and ask for what you really wanted again the next Holiday.  As I always like to say "it could always be worse."  Your boyfriend could have gotten you something very ugly that you would have been forced to wear every time you see your boyfriend.  Better luck next Holiday, Scarlett.
Yours Sincerely, Mrs. Nation
 
Dear Mrs. Nation,
What is the most difficult part about being married?
Mammy in Miami

Dearest Mammy:
While it is not a movie I would normally reference, "The Break Up" says it quite nicely:

The Break-Up - Argument About Doing Dishes | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Expectations.  That is the hardest part in any relationship.
Yours Sincerely, Mrs. Nation

That is all for this segment of "Ask Mrs. Nation." Start submitting your questions for next month's. 

Have a wonderful rest of your Monday, gentle readers!

Random Wednesday

1. I'm jealous of couples with the same first name initials. (ex: Anna and Andrew)
2. I like it when people name their children Duggar-style. (Jamie, Jimmy, Johnny, JoAnn, etc.).
3. Bonus points if the parents also have that first name initial.
4. I often "talk" for our dogs and I know think others might find it odd.

My impression of Cooper sounds something like Mr. Narwhal:

That's all for now!  Have a wonderfully Random Wednesday!