2009 Resolutions

1. Lose 10 lbs and tone my butt, hips and stomach. Basically, I want to look better in a bikini. The muffintop must go. I also want to train myself to eat less so that I can workout less and still maintain my weight.

2. Stop (ok, reduce dramatically) any shopping done at Walmart. This is really difficult since Walmart is so close and so cheap. However, all they sell is chinese made crap and pay workers next to nothing. Yes, they are cheap, but at what cost? They have a negative impact on the economy, on the planet and on humanity in general.

3. Attempt to be greener. My 3100 square foot house is a little hypocritical, I know. But I want to try to live a little more conservatively in every other aspect. Buy locally grown foods, drive less, generate less trash, purchase things that have less packaging, use less cleaning chemicals etc..

4. Work on my parenting skills and be more proactive. I expect this to make my list every year for the next 15 or so years, if not longer.

5. To have at least as much fun as Ive had in 2008.

6. Reduce the amount of nutrasweet I consume. I LOVE crystal light and I use nutrasweet (or splenda) to replace sugar in my coffee and tea. I'm not looking to eliminate it, but maybe just replace 50% of the artificially sweetened beverages with water or something low in natural sugar.

2008 - Best. Year. Ever.

I'm somewhat hesitant to post this an entire 10 days before the year is over, but barring anything going horribly wrong in the next week and a half, 2008 will be a tough year to beat.

First off, I'm proud of myself for accomplishing all of my 2008 resolutions. I lost the weight, I had a fun birthday and an awesome anniversary vacation in Barbados. And while I'm never going to be a perfect parent, I did make an effort to be a better one. There were a few curve balls thrown at me in that department, but I feel like I addressed things appropriately. As far as the job that I pledged to find, well I opted for my masters instead. I think technically that satisfies the resolution, right?

I definitely have no complaints about 2008. I mean, I spent half the year in a bikini! Its now December and I STILL have the tan lines to prove it (hello skin cancer 2009!).

I think the kids also had a pretty great year. They spent much of the summer at the lake, ATV riding, on weekend trips or at the water park. They also got to enjoy their grandparents a lot. I remember how much fun and how memorable the time I spent with my grandparents was, so I want to ensure my kids get the same experience. Santa plans on being very generous too so 2008 will end quite nicely for them as well.

I can't imagine what could've made 2008 better. Ok, well I can think of a few things (ie. winning the lottery, ending world hunger, prop hate not passing...) but overall, my year was pretty dang awesome. I met a lot of cool people, got back in touch with others and spent a well deserved week alone with my sexy husband frolicking in the sandy beaches and clear waters. Since I have purged everything I learned in all those science courses this semester, I have no recollection of the stressful times that occurred between Sept and Dec of this year.

Stay tuned. Next week I will post my new New Years resolutions for 2009.

Shoe Dodging

President Bush got shoes thrown at him by a reporter the other day. All I have to say is that he deserved so much more than that. If the podium wasn't there, the guy definitely should've aimed a little lower. Even then, Bush still wouldn't have gotten what he deserved. I can't believe I voted for that man TWICE. In my defense, I am much smarter now. It will take a lot for this independent to ever vote republican again. They've moved away from their "fiscal conservativeness" to their holier than thou, "let's tell people how to live their life" crap that I just can't stand. Government isn't supposed to be there to tell a person what to think, how to act, what to say or how to spend their money. SARCASM: Clearly that's the responsibility of churches!

This video is an awesome parody of the shoe tossing incident. E!'s The Soup host, Joel McHale (who, if I weren't married and he weren't married, I'd definitely be lusting over.... ok, lets be honest, Im doing that anyway) is being interviewed by MSNBC's Kieth Olbermann:

Santas Everywhere!

Every year cities around the US put on a Santa Crawl. We happen to hit the Santa Crawl in Reno this year. It was a last minute decision so we had to scramble for santa suits. Of course by Monday Reno was completely sold out, so I had to order something online and hope for the best. Anything goes on these crawls so women tend to show a little more skin than is normally acceptable in the dead of winter, while the men are smart and suit up with big ol' suits.

Because I am tall and have long legs I was worried my outfit would end up being too short. While it was quite short, I had to make do. Jake just wore a red sweatshirt, a wig, a beard, and the santa hat. My mom let me borrow a white jacket so that helped keep me from becoming hypothermic during our trek between locations. Some of the friends that we went with go every year so they had the entire ensemble. I never realized how many different ways you can spice up a santa suit!

Despite the 20 degree temperatures, we had a nice time. There were lots of participants and at midnight, we all gathered under the Reno arch.

midnight under the Reno arch

Tis the Season

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Tis the Season

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. Ok, so I'm not a fan of the weather around this time, but nonetheless, I find it enjoyable. The holidays seem to give people an excuse to gather and to spend quality time with family and friends. Its a time when you can make people feel special, give to those who do not have, and show appreciation to others. Not to mention the time off from work! And yes, as stressful as it is buying all those gifts, I love watching others open the presents I put so much thought into. I can honestly say I get more enjoyment out of that than I do receiving gifts.

There is one thing, however, that I wish I could somehow change. Right around Thanksgiving, my radio gets infiltrated with Christmas songs. Do adults really listen to that stuff? I mean, as a kid I loved all the carols. But as an adult, its not something I willingly listen to. Holiday music definately has its place. School performances, Christmas parties, at the mall - all these places are appropriate to hear a carol or two. But when I turn my radio on, I'm not looking to hear "Feliz Navidad" or worse yet, Paul McCartneys "Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time". If I turn to Wild 102.9, I want to hear Wild 102.9 stuff. You know, Ne-Yo, T.I., Beyonce, Riahanna, Katy Perry. Anything but Mariah Carey's version of "All I Want for Christmas is You".

Fortunately I have XM radio so my exposure has been limited this season. Although I do have a constant background noise in my house singing "Jingle Bells". Apparently Lexi is learning it in preschool right now and sings it on average of 18 times an hour. Possibly more.

Scientology? Whats it doing here?

I just noticed that I have ads on my site for the "Church" of Scientology. I'm going to have to look into this. Please ignore them. We all know how I feel about organized religion, but come on, Scientology? Thats gotta be the most bogus of them all! And don't be fooled, science has nothing to do with it either. Unless you want to disprove it.

Brianna Denison

Sometimes I forget how small Reno really is. Things are so local here. Its a city, yet small enough that you get that small town feel. Six degrees of separation is an overstatement in this town. I'd be willing to bet its more like 3 or 4.

The other day I subbed at Reno H.S. I'd never been there before because its a little out of the way for me, but with sub jobs dwindling down, I take what I can get. I glanced over the attendance sheets and noticed that I recognized one of the names in my last period class; Brighton Denison. I remember seeing him being interviewed on the Today Show when his sister, Brianna Denison went missing. Its a little weird, because the day they found her body, I had sent Jake to pick up some Chinese food. When he got there, he was unable to enter the restaurant because it was flooded with police and news crews. It turns out they had just found Briana's body in the field right across the street from the restaurant.

I was quite surprised at how "normal" he seems. He acted like the typical sarcastic teenage boy who needed a bit of prodding to get his work done. I'm sure on the inside he is pretty scarred. First his dad commits suicide, then he gets hit by a car, then his sister gets raped and murdered. The poor boy has probably experienced more trauma in his 15 years than most people experience in a lifetime. I can't even begin to imagine what the kid has gone through.

Brianna's murder affected the entire community. So it was no wonder that a few weeks ago, while subbing at a different high school the students came in and begged me to turn on the TV so that they could watch the press conference about a possible suspect. Reno police announced that they had evidence linking a man to Briannas murder, as well as other rapes, and that the man had been arrested. Since then, they have announced even more damning evidence, so it seems as if this guy will eventually pay for what he did.

And The Teacher of The Year Award Goes To.......

To add to a completely frustrating week, Megan came home today and announced that her teacher referred to many of the students' work today as "shit". Apparently she had assigned each student to create a limerick (with the parents help) and many came to school today with sub par poems. So she called the other 3rd grade teacher to vent her frustrations about the lack of parental involvement and said something along the lines of "They turned in shit" .

I am sure every kid in that class knows that word and hears it often. But for a teacher to say it and be referring to their work in that manner is completely unacceptable. So I did the only thing I could do and emailed the principal.

Everyone knows I am not one that use curse words very often. But I am also not one that freaks out and sensors everything that my kids see and hear. I've given up on that. Even the radio airs words that rhyme with witch and mass so its impossible to shelter children for too long. They know all the curse words, regardless of whether they are said at home or not. What I have begun teaching them is that they may hear the words, but they must not repeat them. I explained that there are times when adults use them, but the overuse of that type of language gives a bad impression.

So, its not so much that the teacher said that word, its that she used it in reference to the childs work. Luckily, Megan was one of only a few students who completed the assignment correctly, so she wasn't traumatized by the insult. In fact, she was proud that hers wasn't considered "shit". I feel bad for those other kids who heard it though. I can just imagine how an 8 year old would feel after a teacher criticized their work in that manner.

Phewww!

The semester is FINALLY coming to an end. I can't stress what a pain this semester has been. What I can't grasp is how overwhelming school seemed to be in comparison to a few years ago. Somehow I managed twice as much when I was finishing my bachelors degree and was still able to pull off all A's. This time, not only am I not going achieve all A's, but I don't even care! In fact, I have an A in one of my classes. However, I have yet to turn in a 10 page final. I calculated my grade and realized I only need to get a 6% to get a C- (D does not equal degree in my case. However, C does!). I have absolutely zero desire to complete this paper, so I'm seriously contemplating doing a "half-assed" job (as my dad would say) and turn in a bare minimum paper. Thats how little desire I have left in me. Am I too old for school? Do I have to much on my plate? Or maybe I am prioritizing fun before school. If thats the case, I don't regret that at all. You only live once.

On another note, I've been subbing lately. The other day I had a humongous class of 6th graders. Yikes. I had to put my foot down with a couple of them. If corporal punishment wasn't illegal in schools, one of the girls would've received a swift kick in the butt. And yes, I mean my foot. But in the end, I stood my ground and beat her at her own game. At one point, I assigned vocab words for them to work on; define the words and write 2 sentences for each. One kid actually asked, "what do you mean by define?" Yes. It was a LONG day.

Yesterday I subbed in a 3rd grade class. This was one of the low income schools which have a volunteer grandparent program. This classroom had an old lady (probably in her 70's) who volunteers 3 days a week to tutor the kids and assist the teacher. While I admire the dedication, the grandma was just plain mean. At one point she stood up and yelled "SHUT UP!" in her meanest Cruella Deville-esque screach to the entire class. I didn't even think the kids were being that bad!

Ok, so no more procrastinating. I have to put 25% effort into 1/4 of a 10 page research paper and the same (or maybe less) effort into a lab project thats due soon, so I can make it to a party we have tomorrow night. Yes, deep down there is a teeny weeny part of me that can't stand giving up that A, but I'm burying it so far down so that I won't be able to hear it.

Hilarious Stuff

Ok, so not to bring this up again, but a friend of mine just emailed me 2 totally awesome and hilarious videos. For some reason it won't let me embed the movie, so I can only provide the links:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8/prop-8-the-musical-starring-jack-black-john-c-reilly-and-many-more-from-fod-team-jack-black-craig-robinson-john-c-reilly-and-rashida-jones

This one is pretty good too. Not as funny, but makes a very good point:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cca5e8a78a/protect-marriage-protect-children-prohibit-divorce-from-jonathan-smith

I think Doctor is Out of the Question

I'm thinking that the chances of Megan becoming a doctor when she grows up are slim to none. She went to see Twilight with a friend and her mom on Friday (because we all know how often her parents actually take her to the movies). You know me and movies. I'm just not into them. And the ones I'm into are usually filled with the good stuff - sex, violence, language, etc.., things the kids can't watch, obviously. So the kids only get to see movies when they go with friends or when my parents are nice enough to take them.

So, Megan went to see Twilight. Its rated PG-13 and she's only 8, but I read a review and it didn't sound too bad. Plus, she will be getting the book for Christmas and her friend (who is a 5th grader at a private catholic school) already read the book. So I let her go.

It turns out the movie had gory blood scenes toward the end. It had such an intense effect that it made Megan throw up. Her friends mom (my neighbor) took her to the bathroom to get cleaned up and regain her composure. You'd think that was bad enough. No. On her way out of the bathroom, Megan passed out.

Just what a mom needs to hear. The girls came home and told me about this before my neighbor had a chance to come tell me. I almost didnt believe them. Apparently, my neighbor was convinced that Megan had fainted due to the blood scene. After coming to, Megan convinced her that she was fine and that she didnt need to call me (Megan knows all too well that we wouldve freaked out and come to get her). It still bugs me that she wouldnt have called me from the movie theatre right away to tell me though. If I were the parent in that situation, I wouldve made sure to call the parents immediately regardless of how I perceived the situation or what the child said.

Although my daughter portrays a tough exterior, she really is innocent on the inside. I forget that sometimes. It takes things like this to remind me that she is just a little girl.

Giving Thanks

I started thinking about things I am really thankful for. Not just the things you're supposed to be thankful for, but the things that I feel made my life a little better and more meaningful. This is what I came up with:

1. My trip to Spain to visit my grandparents. Specifically, the day trip my grandma and I took together. We took the train to a little town outside of Madrid. Its well known for the pristine shape the castle walls around the city are in. It really meant a lot to me because I know she is getting old and my time with her is limited. My grandma means the world to me and it was a day I will always remember.

It began with the espresso and porras (delicious fried dough thingys) in a little cafe. It was nice because my grandparents have always been against spending money on frivolous food outings. This time, I could tell that my grandma was just relishing the moment, just as I was. We spent the rest of the morning visiting the castle and the little shops. She wanted to buy me an expensive ring from a local handmade jewelry shop, but I wouldn't let her. Then we went to lunch at a bar (bars in Europe are unlike bars in the US. They are similar to small restaurants that serve coffee, beverages, and small meals). We ordered a large salad and a side dish of papas bravas (diced potatoes drenched in tabasco sauce and mayo). Then we sipped on another espresso and took the train back home. It was a day that I will never forget and a day that I will forever be thankful I had.

2. My weight loss. I've always been fat. It sucked. I am sooooo thankful that I am now at a normal weight. My goal is 140, although people keep telling me I shouldnt lose anymore. I'm at 150, and weight charts show that for my height I should weigh 130-167. So even if I don't make it to my goal of 140, I will still be happy.

3. My husband. I've always been thankful that I have such a supporting and loving husband, but there have been a few events lately that have made me realize how horrible my life could've turned out if I would've made different choices earlier in life. I am forever thankful for the life changing decision that I made in that Honda CRX so many years ago.

Graphic Artist?

you will most likely have to click on the picture to read the writing

I had to show this off.


1. Because Megan is an expert at shoving positive lovey dovey emotions deep down somewhere in her subconcious. She only allows them to surface on rare occassions. I thought this happened to girls around 13, but apparently Megan reached this milestone at 7.

2. I'm amazed that an 8yr old can create something so elaborate on such a simple program as Paint.

3. I finally got her to admit that although my food is healthy, its still good.

Fun Times

My life has changed quite dramatically since moving to Reno. When we were living in SoCal, going out was somewhat of a dream to us. Granted, our kids were quite young but I'm not sure that was the entire reason. Despite Reno's overwhelmingly bad rap for having some of the lowest IQ's and highest PWT levels, I've managed to meet a ton of really cool people.

Last weekend we went out with a friend of mine from high school and his girlfriend, who teaches high school and lives within a mile of my house. We hit it off and had a good time hanging out that night. Then I ended up subbing for her on Friday, so that was really neat. Not to mention that this economy is making a huge difference on the amount of sub jobs out there, so its always nice to make a connection like that.

Last weekend we went on the wine walk with Lisa, Alex and Brandi. The wine walks are always fun. You get to stroll through a lot of the downtown shops, bars, restaurants and sample all the different wines. The more stops, the happier you get. This was Alex's first time on the wine walk and I got the distinct impression he didn't have high expectations. By about stop 6 though, you could tell he was enjoying it. He was quite floored when he realized that we still had 15 more stops to go. Oh yeah, and Lisa and Brandi totally hit off, which is awesome. Its a compliment when your friends think you have cool friends.

Next weekend we are going to try the beer crawl, which apparently is similar to the wine walk. We have made plans with another set of friends, so I'm looking forward to hanging out with them.

After that is Thanksgiving. My mom "volunteered" my house for this gathering. ;o) Except that this year we are celebrating on Friday so that we can accomodate my brother and his wife, since this year its their turn to spend the holiday with her family. Luckily, my mom does most of the cooking, so I just provide the facility. :o) I'm not a fan of Thanksgiving food. Turkey - yuck. Green bean casserole - yuck. Marshmallowy yams - yuck. I'll take a salad please. Even the desserts are gross.

And get this. The weekend after that we have a "mid-life crisis" party. This is how you know youre getting old. When your friends are old. Ok, so he isn't that old. He is turning 36. But since the average male lives to be 72, this is what he is considering "mid life".

So thats my month in a nutshell. Friends, family, food, and drink. What else could I possibly ask for?

Am I Smarter than a Third Grader? Not Usually.

I discovered a way to get my children to behave in the grocery store. I'm so amazed that it worked, that I wanted to share it with everyone.

About 30 minutes before leaving, I had them all get out a piece of paper and gave them the following instructions: Make a list of 3 items that you would like to purchase for yourself. One of these must be a fruit, the other a vegetable, and the other can be anything you want (no candy, cookies, and all the normal things I don't usually buy). Not only were they excited to pick out the foods THEY wanted, but it made it so they would be excited to actually eat the food they picked out. Since they were the ones who picked them out, there would be no whining over the disgusting vegetables I made for dinner!!

They were so engrossed in finding their food choices, that they all managed to behave during the outing. Dinner tonight was also a success and snacks and dessert have consisted of the fruits (cantaloupe, watermelon and pineapple) that they picked out.

I have to admit that this was pretty brilliant. If only all my ideas were this good, parenting would be much less difficult.

Scary times

I'm no economist but things are getting pretty scary out there. The word "bailout" is being thrown around left and right. Bank bailouts, mortgage bailout, auto industry bailout, credit card bailout. What's next? This morning I read about a plan that federal regulators proposed to allow lenders to forgive huge portions of credit card debt. It was nixed. Just the other day, Nancy Pelosi called for a rescue of the auto industry. Where does it end?

The recent bank bailout package received a lot of criticism. And rightly so. Apparently it was a necessary evil to maintain the financial stability of our country, but many people thought that money should've gone directly to the homeowners. However, these homeowners are just as guilty as the lenders who preyed upon them. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize that your $50k salary will not afford a $500k home. And believing those people that said the home would soon be worth a cool $1 mil was just plain dumb. Nobody forced interest only loans on anyone; it was a decision and risk that homeowners took. Worst case scenario is that they now must go back to apartment living. No more lavish vacations and new cars paid for through lines of equity, but they will most likely still have a roof over thier head.

The proposed auto industry bailout is another story. Most Americans believe in the free market. That is, until the free market screws them. Everyone knows that a Honda or a Toyota is superior to a Ford or Chevy - yes even those wrangler wearing, hat tipping, wouldn't be caught dead in anything other than a Chevy truck guys think this. They just don't admit it. So why should we rescue the American auto industry? Jobs. Lots of them. Like I said, I'm no economist, but this bailout could possibly be like putting a band aid on an arterial wound so I'm still not sure how I stand on this. Not that it matters since lawmakers seem to be ok with making so many rash decisions lately.

My posts are starting to get boring... I know. I have the wine walk this weekend, the beer crawl next weekend (no, I'm not becoming an alcoholic, thank you!), Thanksgiving dinner, and a party the weekend after that. So I'm sure I will have something more interesting to blog about shortly. I promise.

Prop 4? Who cares about that when you have Prop 8.

I've been meaning to blog about this but I kept getting caught up in the whole Prop 8 debate. I'm extremely surprised that people supporting Prop 8 paid such little attention to Prop 4 - the proposal to require parental notification before a minor can get an abortion. The thought that my daughter could get pregnant and go and have an abortion without her parents having any idea is appalling.

My kids went for a yearly visit to their pediatrician this morning. There are only two people that could've taken them and given consent for the doctor to perform the check up; Jake or I. This is for a check up people! Yet, its ok to allow a doctor to perform an abortion on your underage child for which you are solely responsible for, without the parents' knowledge or consent? Wow.

Encouraging News

Along with my daily cnn.com, foxnews.com and msnbc.com visits, I like to drop by digg.com once in a while and read the highly "dugg" articles. I stumbled upon this one today. I found it significant, not because its heavily blue (because blue does not accurately represent my beliefs either), but because it shows that the past ideas of what is considered the "real America" (ie. Joe the Plumber and Joe six pack) that Sarah Palin kept mentioning throughout the campaign are slowly disappearing from American ideologies.

It appears as though much of the younger population is embracing change and tolerance and rejecting the notion that the ideal America is portrayed by a white working class father, Susie homemaker wife, 2.3 kids and a dog (aka what schools should define and teach is a real family). They all attend church on Sunday and afterward gather around the TV and watch the game while the wife caters to her families grumbling tummies. That America is vanishing. And young people are beginning to realize that times are a-changin. Its refreshing.

An Awesome Video

Sticker Shock

One of my self proclaimed "label whore" girlfriends has been bugging me for a while about joining her in her designer jean addiction. The thought of spending $150+ on a pair of jeans is utterly insane in my opinion, so obviously that conversation didn't go too far. That is, until my birthday when she gave me a $100 gift card to Buckle 0 and demanded that I go get some good jeans.

So Saturday evening, we ditched the kids and husbands and took a little trip to the mall. We entered the store, where she knew all the sales people. Apparently they were expecting me because they seemed to know OF me. So the sales guy sized me up; estimating my waist size, body type and leg length (self concious, me? No!) in order to find the perfect pair. An hour and 30 fittings later and I walked out with $250 worth of jeans (in other words, two pair).

Here is my sticker shock:


yes, this says $135


And this is what happened to the receipt (I actually ironed it out for the pictures) after Jake literally wrestled me for when he realized I came home with TWO pair. Being the sweet husband that he is though, he said it was ok and that I deserved to get nice things every once in a while.

A Day To Remember

Today I am proud to say that I am part of a country who can see through color and elect such an inspirational man to be the leader of this country. Obama has an incredible gift. He has the communicating abilities of the great Ronald Reagan and the vigor and motivating talent of Martin Luther King.

On another note, it saddens me that states such as FL, AZ, and CA have passed legislation full of bigotry. Banning same sex marriage and banning homosexuals from adopting children, no matter how you look at it, is wrong. Its heartbreaking to think that there are people who would rather a child not have any parents, or live in miserable foster care environments than to have two loving homosexual parents. As a nation, I have no doubt that just as we were able to see past race and elect a black president, we will some day be able to accept gay people as equal.

Prop 8

I'd like to begin by apologizing ahead of time, because I know that my opinions are very strong and I will in fact offend a lot of family members and some close friends with this post. However, I feel that this is my "venting" outlet and like it to be used as such. I feel very strongly on this issue (not as much as my husband, but pretty close), so I am choosing not to censor myself. I have no problem with people believing what they choose to believe. I just don't like it when they attempt to push it onto an entire population.

Today is election day, and while its no surprise that Obama will probably win, there is another much more important race to follow in California. Below are my feelings about Prop 8:

First of all, its causing a lot of tension in my own family. My husband is extremely disappointed that his family is supporting this cause, by donating both a lot of time and money. So much so, that these arguments have been his last straw. He cannot fathom the idea of his kids being exposed to this lifestyle and beliefs. Keep in mind, that he has an extreme deep rooted hatred for the LDS church, the main backer of Prop 8. The reasons are private and too complicated to get into now, but nonetheless, his emotions do come from somewhere. I tend to see it less emotionally, but do agree with a lot of his views.

The issue is civil vs. religious marriage. Is marriage a "rite" or a "right"? I believe its a right for all people and a rite for others who choose that. I don't believe in god (in the sense that he is someone watching over and judging us etc..) and I am married. God had nothing to do with my marriage. In fact, the "man of god" that married me made me feel like crap before my own wedding. To most people marriage is tradition and cultural and an expression of love. Prop 8 supporters claim that they are "protecting" marriage. I'm not sure what they are protecting, because their marriages won't be affected in any way. They are denying, not protecting.

There have been claims by Prop 8 backers that by not tolerating their stance, that we are the intolerant ones. However, intolerance should never be tolerated. Prop 8 backers will still enjoy marriage just as they always have. Their gods and churches should not have to acknowledge the "evil" homosexual unions. Marriages performed in their churches will still be under their own rules. It is bigotry, because no matter how you look at it, its denying a group of people something that another group of people can have. And thats just plain wrong.

If it were not for the efforts of the LDS church, Prop 8 would be failing. So, I ask, why is Utah butting their nose into California's issues? Why is a tax exempt church getting so involved in politics? It reminds me of the Borg in Star Trek. The drones were sent out in droves to assimiliate. Drones did not think for themselves and essentially just carried out orders given by the queen. Resistance is futile. Enough of them and they can gain control of entire civilizations. Thats just scary. We live in a democracy, not a theocracy. And I want to keep it that way.

Maybe it is so blatantly obvious to me because I am against organized religion, but the reason homosexuality is evil in religion is clear. The main goal of religion is to assimilate (crusades, anyone?). If men are having sex with men and women are having sex with women, no babies come about to brainwash (that is, by far, the easiest way for a church to grow). Therefore, thats one less member and ultimately less money from tithing. And thats what it comes down to. MONEY and POWER. Why is it that the catholic church is against birth control? Why is it that religious people have a ton of kids? Anyone ever wonder why sodomy, even between a man and a woman is frowned upon in religion? Homosexuality and sodomy inhibit the growth of a church. And that is why religious organizations think it is wrong. Plain and simple.

Its funny how Prop 8 is an effort to "save" families yet, in my family, it is actually causing a huge rift. Obviously, there is more to it than the Prop 8 issue, but it has definately caused strong emotions on both sides. I have faith that no matter what happens tonight, people will eventually come around and learn to accept all people regradless of race, gender, or sexual preference, and look back on past views with shame and regret.

I have my own golden rule. You can always tell if something is wrong if it will hurt other people. That is what I live by and I want to instill it in my children. I don't need anyone else to explain the rules of what god or the bible or anyone else thinks is right or wrong. I can think for myself. Stealing, lying, cheating, and killing are some of those things that fall under the "bad" category. I have yet to see how two people wanting to devote their lives to eachother hurts anyone else.

Homer: I like my beer cold, my TV loud and my homosexuals flaming.

SURVEY

I normally don't do these surveys, but I needed something to do so that I could procrastinate my reading and homework. So here it is:

What place would you visit if money were no object? The moon or something cool like that.
If you could go back to a certain year in time, what year would you choose? Probably some biblical time period. If you know me, you know why I would choose this.

What immorality do you think is overrated? homosexuality, sexuality, modesty

One thing you could change about yourself? To be more easily satisfied

Death Penalty? For or against? FOR

Abortion? For or against? Personally, I'm against. But I am pro-choice because my morals are my own.

Do you believe in heaven and hell? HELL NO ;o)

Do you think your parents were too strict growing up? Same as above

Best feeling? Love and accomplishment
What was the last compliment you received? "You're the prettiest sub we've ever had"

Are you rude? Sometimes. Most of the time I don't mean to be though.

Do you hold grudges? No. It takes a lot to make me mad enough to hold a grudge.

What is one thing that annoys you? When people are late. That annoys me to no end.

What is one quality that you really appreciate in a person? Faithfulness

Do you sleep naked? Yes. Unless its too cold

Favorite alcoholic drink? Mojitos, but wine is good too.

An object you cant live without: my blackberry, my car

Whats the most expensive thing you own? Soon I will own a $100+ pair of designer jeans thanks to the gift card April gave me for my bday. The most expensive thing I own is my house.
Are you a member of the mile high club? Ewww. No. Bathrooms are not for that.
What would you rather have, a nanny, a housekeeper, a cook, or a chauffeur? Thats easy. A nanny. Housekeeper is a definate close second though.

Would you rather be rich or famous? Duh, Rich. I get asked that question EVERY time I sub; "Mrs. Rich, are you rich?"
Are you a night owl or early to bed person? Im a creature of the night.
Conservative or wild party animal ? Somewhere in the middle. Conservative when I need to be, wild animal when I can be.

Have you ever been hit on by the same sex? Yes. For some reason, I'm a chick magnet.

Been to Canada? Yes
Been to Mexico? Yes
Been to the other side of the world? No
Been to jail? Yes, but only for a field trip. Oh yeah, and once when a friend of mine was dating a loser.
Have you ever fired a gun? Many. AK-47's are awesome.

Finish the sentence:
When I wake up in the morning... I grab a coffee, check my email, and workout.
Tomorrow... is halloween.
I have low tolerance.. for intolerance
Life is... great.
My past is… not as good as my future.
Do you read the newspaper? yes, online. Like 10 times a day. I'm addicted.
Do you think tattoos are cool? No
Do you like being on time? always
What is the greatest amount of alcohol youve had in one sitting Obviously if you drink that much you start losing track and wouldnt be able to answer this question.

Are you nice to everyone no matter what their age, race or gender? I try to be. Unless they are rude like the lady at the Obama Rally (see previous blog post).
Do you know the lyrics to more than 50 songs? Oh yeah. I know the words to everything. Gimme rap, hip hop, country, pop..even Hannah Montana songs :o)
What did the last text message you received say? Private, but it was a hot one from my husband.
What is the last movie you saw? Sex in the City. Not worth the $1 I paid.
Would you kill someone if you had to? I guess, if they were going to harm my kids.
Whos the one person you call when life just sucks that day? Jake

My Poor Children

Am I a bad mom because I despise cheesy holiday decorating? Ok, so I make an exception for Christmas (I have yet to succumb to the outside christmas lights though - those are a waste of energy; as in fossil fuels and the energy it takes to hang them up and take them down), but all the other holidays are lame. A couple of carved pumpkins ("carved" is debatable; a few triangles and whatever type of hole I can punch out for the mouth) is about all the effort that goes into my Halloween decor.

Megan earned $10 from her report card and decided to spend it on some nasty looking spider/skull thingy so that our house could have some sort of Haloween-y look to it. I'm feeling a teensy bit guilty now. Not guilty enough to blow money on more junk that I'm going to have find a place to store for 11 months of the year though.

An Inspiration and a Sourpuss

We went to the Obama rally at UNR this morning. It was really neat to see the man who is quite possibly going to be the next president of the United States. I made sure to point out to our kids that they are watching history, because if he is elected, he will go down in the history books as our first black president. Its surprising how much of an interest and the vast amount of knowledge about the candidates kids now actually have. I was asking my 10 yr old neighbor why she would vote for Obama and she went into specific details about Obamas tax plan and foreign policy intitiatives. When I was 10, all I was thinking about was nintendos and sleepovers.

We arrived at 730am but were disappointed to find out that Obama wouldnt speak until 10am. Yikes. Would the kids last that long standing up in a crowd packed like sardines? Nope. The kids behaved well for about the first hour (keep in mind, they hadnt even had breakfast yet), and then we decided to forfit our jam packed spot and walk out into the field so the kids could run around and play. And thats just what they did - in the middle of the baseball field they wrestled, played tag and gymnastics.

A lady sitting next to us turned to Jake and said "Can you control those kids?" to which Jake looked at her, paused for a good 10 seconds, and responded "No. But you are welcome to move."

Maybe it was PMS or something, but I could feel the anger welling up inside me. Just as I was about to go over to her with my mother bear oh-no-you-didn't attitude and explain how my kids were behaving; given how far we had walked, how long we had stood in the crowd, and the fact that we were on a BASEBALL field (not in a restaurant or an art gallery), the singer came on the stage to begin the national anthem. Of course, then I took control of the kids and forced them to stand still during the rest of the rally.

Happy Happy joy joy

Things that made me happy this week:

1. Ive been requested to sub at a certain school a few times recently. Apparently I impressed the principal and now they ask for me all the time. Since I've roved throughout the school, I've visited every class and the kids now know me and love it when I get to sub in their room. Its nice to show up and get hugs from all the students.

2. Being referred to as "tall and slender" by a skinny girl. I think I just saw a pig fly past my window.

3. Sunday turned out to be a really nice family day. First, our neighbors sent over some homemade quesadillas and other mexican food for breakfast. Yummy. Then we went offroading with the kids and a friend of Megans. We stopped at a nice little spot in the woods and had lunch, followed by an improvised baseball game - complete with a branch for a bat and a mini soccer ball as the baseball.

Things that bug me:

1. Although I am adamently opposed to California's Prop 8, it was very annoying to read that the California Teachers Union donated 1 million dollars to the opposition. It kills me to think that the money couldve gone somewhere more useful, like maybe ummm... SCHOOLS. People are putting so much effort and money into this one cause when I think there are so many more important issues that need attention.

2. Megans friend came over yesterday and said that her sister almost got expelled for having a myspace site. Nothing bad on it. It was perfectly innocent. Just apparently against the rules of the private Catholic school they attend. Talk about sticking their nose where it doesnt belong. This is the school overstepping their academic boundaries and entering into what are supposed to be parental responsibilities, if you ask me.

3. I read that some BYU student got his degree taken away from him for taking calendar pictures of shirtless men, which is an honor code violation. Maybe I don't have all the info on this, but apparently the guy had already WALKED at graduation and was told months later that his degree (that had already been granted) would not be recognized by the school. This is an example of an institution abusing its power. What is the statute of limitations on this? What if a student gets his medical degree, and years later (after the student becomes a licensed doctor) the school finds out that he fathered an illegitimate child during this time? Is he suddenly stripped of his medical status?

30 and counting

_________________________________

October 9th marked my 30th birthday. How depressing. In my mind, you're not technically required to get your stuff together and act like an adult until the age of 30. Any dumb decisions and embarrassing moments could always be attributed to the fact that you were still in your 20's. But not 30. You have no excuses after that.

So I decided to throw a birthday party, just to relish the moment one last time. We rented a nice house up in Tahoe, complete with top of the line everything - pool table, hot tub.. the whole nine yards. I was a little disappointed because a couple of my friends and their husbands came down with whatever was going around, so they weren't able to come. And, of course, there were a few incidents..ahem Andrea.... that maybe we could've done without, but other than that, we had a good time. Below are a few pics. The rest of them can be seen at my myspace: http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=71423154&albumId=2414832





Some of the group






Andrea and I before the festivities

ARRRRRGGGGG

So today is one of the days that I have a billion things to do, but instead Im sitting here posting a blog. I'm so overwhelmed that I don't know where to begin. So I'm just going to procrastinate. Thats something I do not enjoy doing at all. Procrastination eats me alive.

I have so many due dates, deadlines, meetings, and chores that I am turning into a scatterbrain. I began the week thinking it was next week and assuming the kids had minimum day (therefore paying for afterschool care for the both of them yesterday). It wasnt until this morning that I found out I was a week ahead of myself and that the kids, had in fact only been in the afterschool program for a mere 20 minutes by the time I picked them up.

I also found out that Jake will most likely be working 50 hours a week for at least 4-6 months. Its making me think that taking classes next semester, working PT and taking full responsibility of the kids, is not feasible.

So I'm seriously considering postponing the Masters degree. I hate to do that, since I am not one to give up. But I'm also not the type that is happy with a C. C's are average and I'm not average. So I will have to give this some serious thought as next semester approaches.

I'm a crack... I mean blackberry addict.

I tend to get to tired of things before I can get addicted to them. I've never tried any sort of drug, so I can't say that I wouldn't get addicted to anything, but as for everything else, I can't imagine getting hooked. Too much of anything and I quickly grow to despise it and never touch it again for a long period of time. Whether it be alcohol, a certain food, a store, a routine, etc.. Once I notice that "stuck in a rut" feeling, its all over.

However, I absolutely cannot function without my blackberry. It has achieved what nothing else could. My complete inability to live without it. My emails, my text messages, my news, my various facebook and myspace alerts - everything. I guess thats why people call them crackberries, right?

Religuous

For the first time in YEARS, Jake and I went to the movie theatre and caught Bill Maher's new documentary-style flick, "Religuous". Its a movie poking fun at all the crazy and illogical beliefs of all the different religions. Obviously he's preaching to the choir, because I highly doubt any devout follower of any faith is going to put themselves in a situation that might make them question their beliefs. Just like most Atheists aren't willing to give a door to door missionary the time of day. The reason I am posting this blog is not to go off on religion, but because it was nice to finally see that there are many people out there who think the same way I do.

I was surprised at how articulate and intelligent Bill Maher is. Back when I was a non-questioning Republican, I couldn't stand the guy. However, after seeing his movie, my perspective has changed.

Its no secret that I am non-religious. I personally have no use for it. However, it wasn't until recently that I was able to "come out of the closet" regarding my heathen status. I was afraid that people would judge me, wouldn't like me, or wouldn't let their kids play with my kids. So, I chose to keep my views to myself. Now I realize that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else's. If people choose to dislike me for this, its their loss, because I have a lot more to offer than my rejection of a god (or better said - an organized religion). I'm not saying that people of faith are wrong. In fact, I hope they are right! Bill Maher says it perfectly when he says that religious people are selling an invisible product that can only be verified when you die. They are selling certainty when it is absolutely indisputable that there is no certainty about it.

Bill Maher makes the point that 16% of the population in the US would describe themselves as I do. That's a larger minority than gays, blacks, Jews, etc..!! Yet we are widely unrepresented in every aspect of government.

He makes the argument that religion is the root of all evil. I'm not sure I totally agree with him, because religion is inherently meant to do good. However, virtually every war in the history of the planet can be attributed to faith. Its a "If you re not with us, you're against us" type attitude. If life ends on Earth, I have no doubt that it will be due to the self-fulfilling prophecy of those foolishly thinking they are doing it for their god.

Some of the points that I really enjoyed:

1. Before modern Christianity, there are various references to other supposed "chosen ones" that had similar situations; all born on Dec 25, were crucified, arose, walked on water etc.. Obviously its a story that's been told and retold throughout times. Jesus was no different. Its just regurgitated folklore.

2. In one of his last lines, Maher says: Anyone that tells you that they know they are right, is obviously wrong. Because unless they have some sort of superpower that I don't have, they don't know.

They have faith that they are right. Faith is hope, not certainty.

3. Why does God always have to go to someone in private and tell them to spread his message? It'd be a lot more effective if he did it himself. The way it is now, the chosen ones tend to gain notoriety, fame, elaborate living quarters, etc.. Maher interviews a black pastor who touts that he does not get paid a salary from the church (as all figureheads tend to do). However, he has on a $2000 suit and "lizard skin" shoes. Hmmm... I might add that to my list of "get rich quick" schemes. Except this one actually works!!

4. He points out that while most of us believe that our country was founded on Christianity, many of our founders have been quoted saying the following:

"Lighthouses are more useful than churches" and "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."- Ben Franklin

"The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as His father, in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter." - Thomas Jefferson

"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry, and persecution." - James Madison

"The question before the human race is, whether the God of nature shall govern the world by his own laws, or whether priests and kings shall rule it by fictitious miracles." - John Adams

5. And lastly, the movie reminds me of a quote I read recently.

I contend we are both atheists; I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. -- Stephen F. Roberts

My Take on the Debates

So I am officially old. I spent a Friday night glued to the TV watching the presidential debates - and I actually enjoyed it.

It definately wasn't a slam dunk for either candidate. Obama started off very strong, but McCain eventually came back to hold his ground. I think most people have their minds made up regardless of the debates, but I don't think that the candidates managed to sway those crucial independent votes who don't quite know who to vote for yet.

I thought I would point out some of the things that stood out to me:

1. Foreign Policy: McCain came down on Obama because Obama thinks that the US should sit down and attempt relations and diplomacy with hostile countries (Iran, Korea, etc..). He said that the use of sanctions to "punish" them is clearly not working because those countries are getting stronger. The U.S. no longer has that clout, because in a global economy, sanctions do not affect those countries as much as they used to (just because we wont buy their goods, doesnt mean that other countries won't). McCain states that speaking to the leaders of those countries will seem like we are legitimizing them and we should continue sanctions until they back down and agree to our terms (disarming, etc..). I fully agree with Obama on this and I feel that he did a much better job convincing his argument.

2. The Middle Class - I think McCain did a horrible job when it came to relating to the middle class. There was no mention of this on his part during the entire debate. It was a little depressing. He did talk about giving small businesses tax breaks. "Small business" sounds like it benefits the little guy, right? But then I thought about it. I used to work for a winery that would qualify as a small business. The owners lived in La Jolla in a multi million dollar house. I'd be surprised if anyone that worked there made more than $30k/yr. More tax breaks would only ensure the owners get a little richer and possibly add a few more minimum wage jobs. The tax breaks would be better suited to go to workers, not the businesses. This is an area where I thought I had more conservative republican views, but Obama won me over on that issue too.

3. Iraq - I was sucker and fell for the whole need to invade Iraq thing too. Lets admit it. We were wrong, we made bad decisions and used our military inappropriately. We should have been in Afghanistan and possibly Iran, not Iraq. This is where I agree with Obama. He even stated that our invasion of Iraq has caused Iran to get stronger (Iraq and Iran were enemies). McCain is still unwilling to admit that we screwed up.

However, we messed up. We can't just pull out and leave Iraq in shambles. We broke it, we fix it. It was a costly mistake, both fically and the human toll it took. Obama seems to want to establish a timeline and get out ASAP so we can move on to other pressing issues. I don't necessarily think thats realistic and possible. McCain might have the upper hand in handling the current situation over there.

Neither candidate was committing to anything regarding the financial crisis we are in. Im very disappointed that we are bailing out all these companies. The CEO's are giving themselves billion dollar bonuses, yet the taxpayers have to bail out their failed businesses?

Intelligence by Proxy

A few weeks ago, over a political dinner discussion, my friend made a statement that I thought was very intelligent and insightful. Ironically, she's always calling me her smart friend. Among the topics under discussion was the subject of same sex marriage. She said that while she personally does not think its right, she didn't think she should impose her morals on everyone else.

I have the same mindset, yet, I had never really been able to express those thoughts, so it was like a light bulb went off when she said that.

I mean, imagine if we start passing laws based on what kind of morals people should have. The Catholics could push a ban on birth control, because according to them, its morally irresponsible to interfere with God's will. Or maybe a group should try to enact legislation banning sex before marriage, based solely on the fact that its morally wrong and leads to broken families and disease. While they may be correct, should government have such a large say in your personal life?

Barbados

Well, all this talk of Belize and Costa Rica, yet good deals and the decreased threat of hurricanes put us in Barbados for the week. Barbados is in the Carribean, off the coast of Venenzuela. Jakes mom came for a few days to watch the kids and then my parents took over for the rest of the time, so the kids were in good hands.


I've never been too excited to see the Carribean. When I travel, I like to see the country and experience the culture. Staying at a resort sunbathing on the beach all week just isn't my thing. From what I had heard, the Carribean doesn't have much to offer once you leave the resorts, so I'd never really put much thought into going there.


Nevertheless, we went and had a really good time. Not only is every beach public in Barbados, but every beach is unbelievably beautiful. The water is crystal clear and is the same temperature as a lukewarm bath. The people there are very friendly, go out of their way to help tourists, and do absolutely nothing half-assed when it comes to ensuring you get what you paid for. There isn't a lot to see in terms of sightseeing, but we were still able to fill our days with lots of fun activities.


I experienced my first scuba dive during this trip. WOW. It was an amazing experience. I managed to make my air supply last 41 minutes (being that this was my first dive and I was very nervous, this is very good) and I overcame all my fears. No sharks ate me, I didnt panic and inhale water while 40ft under, and my lungs didnt explode from not breathing correctly. I had the pleasure of seeing all kinds of sea life swimming around a ship that had been sunk 50 years ago.


On another day, we went on a catamaran. Due to my severe sea sickness (I get sea sick almost from swimming alone), I needed a hefty and constant dosage of dramamine to endure this. There was a really obnoxious british woman on there that provided much of the entertainment. Her itsy bitsy bikini on her orca-like body (well, except for the boobs - those looked more like udders from the biggest cow youve ever seen) and her immodesty about everything was a show in itself. They provided us with an open bar and a scrumptious delicious Bajan lunch. We made a few snorkeling stops and we even got to swim with giant sea turtles.


We also went on an island tour. A crazy, barefoot, middle-aged Irish-Bajan man named Ted took us around the island on a bus. He gave us a little historical information, as well as many other interesting facts about the island. In between the serious informational chats, he would put on a comedy routine and tell such awful jokes that you couldnt help but laugh. We stopped at a few points of interests, but I have a feeling those stops were mostly to fill us up on rum punch. I was rum punched out at this point (rum punch is flows like water on the island). At one of the stops I had "rum punch" (not the drink, this is what a bajan man working the tour was named) cut me open a coconut and I drank the juice (or is it milk?) inside instead. When I mentioned that it wasn't as sweet as I was expecting, he chopped off a piece of sugar cane from the sugar cane field we were standing in and showed me how to eat it.


Overall, we had a really good time. I was able to relax quite a bit and I came back refreshed. I notice that I have a lot more patience with the kids and feel like I have been recharged. One week of no contact (besides email) with the outside world did my body (and mind) good.



Jake and I outside our hotel







Sugar cane field overlooking an incredible view

My pal "Rum Punch" cutting open my coconut

Politics

McCain chooses Palin, Obama chooses Biden. Honestly, I feel like either one would be a billion times better than what we have and neither would be terribly bad. McCain isn't afraid to stand up for what he thinks is right, even if it means pissing off his party. I find that admirable. And I like that he picked a woman VP. Obama also has that same independent quality. He wasn't afraid to say how stupid the federal gas tax break idea was, even when the other Democratic candidates were for the popular plan. However, I'm a little more liberal than McCain is and a teeny bit more conservative than Obama. So how is this newly-registered Independent going to vote?

I've decided that I have to pick issues that are important to me. So I've narrowed it down to a few. 1. Environmental Issues 2. Inequalities 3. Economy/War 4. Immigration

1. Even though McCain has much more progressive views on environmental issues than most of his republican counterparts, I'm not sure he goes far enough. Palin has stated that the Alaska pipeline is "God's will". Uh huh. Whatever... Was the Exxon-Valdez oil spill also God's will? Until people have an incentive to develop alternative energy sources (ie. less abundant and more costly gas), we will be dependent on oil forever. While Republicans don't go far enough, Democrats go too far. I still want the ability to enjoy the outdoors. Democrats tend to make it off limits or extremely limited.


2. Inequalities. Over the weekend, there was a pretty intense discussion about gay marriages. So I went a little further and investigated the differences between civil unions and a marriage. It turns out there are HUGE differences. Civil unions do not allow for tax benefits (you cannot file jointly, as married couples can). They also do not get other the federal benefits that married couples get, such as social security, medicare and pension protection. So basically, gay people can never get married and have that same sense of security that a married couple has. Every citizen (so no, getting married to your dog is not an example) should be entitled to the same benefits, regardless of whether or not the lifestyle is something that you agree with.

Unfortunately, it will take time to erase the current ignorance that exists. While both parties have a long way to go on this issue, the Democrats have more progressive ways of thinking. Religious conservatives, in my opinion, follow a semi-caste system. Its not necessarily advertised (nor recognized by many of them) this way, but when you look deeply, you see that there really is an unbreakable mold for many people. This way of thinking only pushes the inequalities among citizens - whether they are women, gay, or black.

3. The economy has definately suffered. A lot of it has to do with this Iraq war. Clearly we need to clean up our mess and get out. Its time to be humble and admit that it was a mistake. This is where McCain still has his head somewhere up in the clouds (or maybe in a much darker place).

4. Immigration. Seeing how much immigrant students are costing our schools (and I don't just mean fiscally), is unacceptable. Free breakfasts, free lunches..and thats just the beginning. The learning process is dramatically affected when most of the children in the class don't even know English. Just a few non-English speaking students can decrease the academic progress of an entire class. The school system is not the only problem. The justice system is also clogged. I am not against immigration, I just think it needs a major overhaul. Again, neither party particularly stands out on this issue. However, Republicans have done more to speak out about this than Dem's.

My Absence

So much has been going on lately that I have only thought about things that would be fun to post about. I never actually get to it though.

To start with, I went back to school this semester. I begin my masters program in the spring, but I decided that I'd take a few science courses before that so I could get an additional science endorsement on my teaching credential. So many science courses (2 of those being physics) at once is more overwhelming than I thought! Here's a "you were right" to those who are saying "I told you so" :o)

On top of that we've been having a lot of fun. We visited family down in S. Ca and even spent the night with some friends while we were down there. Last weekend we went to the balloon races and this weekend we will be sipping Pina Coladas on the beach in the Carribbean. Then we get back and Im planning a killer 30th bday party in Lake Tahoe. It seems like every weekend has been filled with lots of fun and excitement this summer.

It wasn't until the other day that I began thinking how truly happy I am. I have a wonderful family, I am surrounded by good friends, and I am experiencing a self-satisfaction that I have never felt in the past. I am confident in my beliefs, in my appearance (well, as confident as a woman can really be), and in my abilities. I can't help but think about what it is that has brought this on. Is it just my age? Maybe it took 30 years to "figure it out". My weight loss? Maybe its a combination of both.

Running a Marathon With Your Mouth on the Exhaust of a Diesel Truck

It's been years since I've had any interest in the Olympics. I watched the Barcelona Olympics because I had been in Spain first hand watching all the preparations for the event. Granted, I was like 12, so it was an entirely different perspective than I have now.

As I was on the elliptical, huffing and puffing away, secretly wishing that I had the body of any woman on that beach volleyball team, I noticed the background and what looked like it was a cloudy day in Beijing. Then I remembered; those aren't clouds, thats smog! I had seen a piece on the news about how nobody is expecting any records to be broken in any kind of endurance sport due to the poor air quality in China. In fact, athletes are putting their health at risk by competing in such events.

I wonder what compelled the Olympic committee to give Beijing the honor to host the Olympics. Was it their incredible record on human rights? Or was it their impeccable environmental policies? They say this is giving the Chinese an opportunity to "showcase" their country, yet I don't see what they can show off. Tall buildings, a few large stadiums and a "booming" economy. Thats nothing special, if you ask me. I say, give it to a country that deserves it rather than a country that continues to oppress their citizens, pollute the planet with no regard to the rest of the world, and supply us with low quality, tainted junk.

On another note..... I thought the synchronized mens diving teams looked super hot in those teeny speedos and ripped bodies. Then they showed the slow motion repeat of the dive. For some reason, they just didn't look quite so appealing after that:
And this isnt even the "bad" angle

This Friday will be our 10 year wedding anniversary. Thats pretty good if you ask me. Not a lot of couples make it to 10 years.

Its funny because my friends and family always tend to believe that things come easily to me... things like getting A's on tests and papers, losing weight, etc. My parents practically threw a party when my brother passed his state nursing exam, yet it was just expected for me to pass all my state teaching tests which were probably just as hard or harder. I got the same reactions from friends in college after I got A's on tests and papers and they got C's. Its frustrating because I work really hard, yet people tend to think I snap my fingers and things "just happen" for me.

But in the case of my marriage, they are correct.

Everyone always comments on what a perfect marriage Jake and I have. While we definately have our disagreements, I do have to admit that things are pretty good. And it does come easy. Most people have to work really hard to make a marriage work. I feel extremely lucky to have such a close and honest relationship and to have found it so early in life.

What Is The Purpose of Email If You Can't Use it?

It's really frustrating how so many people still need that face to face interaction when communicating with individuals. It seems as though "meetings" would have gone extinct right after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. But they didn't. Along the road faxes came into play, but that didn't eliminate the need to "meet" either. Now we have email, a communication method where we can look back and read the history of what is said. Yet, people still feel the need to conduct business in person.

I recently decided that the perfect job didn't exist, so instead I applied for grad school and am going to get my Masters in Education and teaching credential in secondary education. To make a long story short, financial aid informed me that I needed to meet with an advisor. So with all 3 kids, I made the long drive all the way up to the college and waited 30 minutes to meet with an advisor. It turns out all I needed was to fill out a short form. Why was it necessary to "meet" with an advisor?? I probably put 30 miles on my car, wasted a few dollars of gas, adding to the pollution in the air, and wasting taxpayer money as well as my own time. That form could have easily been emailed to me.

Another example: I emailed the program advisor with a question regarding two Pol Sci classes I have. It was a simple question that she could've been answered easily through email, yet she requested that we "meet". Basically, she would not answer any questions through email or phone. For some reason, she needs to see my face. I know its beautiful and all, but its not necessary for her to see it :o) I have to set up a meeting when she gets back from vacation on the 18th, so that she can address my questions. In the meantime, I am bugging the crap out of her because time is of the essence . I CAN'T wait until the 18th.

How does a face to face "meeting" versus a phone call or email correspondence make any difference in the outcome of a conversation? Why this need for one on one contact?

People need to get with the times and use technology to its fullest. You'd think with the high gas prices, time pressed schedules, and the negative environmental impact all this running around causes, people would be more aware and use alternative methods to conserve time and energy.