Did you know?????

Studies revealed that 35 percent to 40 percent of all methane emissions (which have 23 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide), 65 percent of nitrous oxide (which is 320 times as warming as carbon dioxide) and 64 percent of ammonia, which contributes to acid rain. The animals' burps, the nitrous oxide gases from their decomposing manure and other factors, including the energy needed to store and transport meat, were responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation sector.

30% of the worlds land is used for animal grazing?

The amount of land used to grow crops to feed livestock is 10 times what we need to grow crops for human consumption. Because of this, the demand for land is much greater, which leads to the decimation of rainforests and other vital land.

According to Hence Freston, 'Producing a calorie of meat protein means burning more than ten times as much fossil fuels—and spewing more than ten times as much heat-trapping carbon dioxide - as does a calorie of plant protein.'

In other words, reducing or eliminating the amount of meat one eats will have a significant impact on the environment.

Birthday Boy

Yesterday we celebrated Jacobs 6th birthday at a casino fun center. One of the other Jacobs in his class (there are 3!!) also had a birthday around the same time, so his mom and I decided to have a combined birthday party since they would be inviting a lot of the same kids anyway. It turned out to be a real hit. Lots of kids showed up and they had a blast. There was a miniature golf course, ferris wheel, carousel, 3D motion ride, and a bunch of other stuff for the kids to do. Jacob made out with a TON of toys - so much that he was a little overwhelmed.


the wind machine



the two birthday boys

Jake and Jacob's actual birthday is next Sunday (23rd). Poor Jake doesnt really get much recognition on his birthday now since he has to share it with his son! Since its Easter and everything will be closed that day, we might just go out and spend the day outdoors if the weather is nice. If not, then father and son will probably spend the day playing all the new videogames that Jacob got.

Why I May Have to Vote Republican Afterall

I subbed in an 8th grade English classroom today, but I was asked to cover an ELL (English Language Learners) class during my prep period. They were taking practice tests for those lovely standardized tests. One of the students was trying to convince me that he had completed his work, when I was fully aware that he had not even attempted the constructed response questions and had only finished the multiple choice section. Keep in mind that this is a 7th grade Mexican student. This is how our conversation went:

Me: You know, the writing portion is probably the most important.
Student: Yeah, but I hate it. Its so boring.
Me: Yeah, but if you don't write very well, I can guarantee you that you'll be doing a lot more boring things when you grow up.
Student: Well, I want to do construction when I grow up. I like it and I don't need to be good at writing to do that.
Me: What are you going to do when you fall and break your leg and can't work for a month? How are you going to make money to live on?
Student: Thats easy, you just go to the government and they give you money.

Its amazing how fast they learn.

Our "ski" weekend

Since we didnt end up going to Vegas, our plans were to go skiing (ie. sliding down the side of a mountain on our butt) on Saturday instead. We had been having perfect weather all week, but of course, just as we were walking out the door on Saturday morning, we learned that the lifts were closed due to high wind conditions. So we scrapped the ski day altogether. Being that my parents had taken the kids though, we couldn’t let the weekend go to waste. So instead, we went quad riding.

We thought it’d be fun if we stopped by a friends house to see if he and his girlfriend wanted to come along. On the way there we drove past a high school and the billboard caught my attention. Apparently some teenagers were up to no good the night before and had pulled a little prank. While the wording bordered on being a little bit vulgar for the general public, it was still pretty funny. Lucky for us we had just bought a new camera and had it with us.

Afterward, the 4 of us took the 2 quads and the motorcycle out for a few hours. Lisa and I took off on the quads for a while on our own. Alex, however, didn’t feel completely comfortable with her knowledge of quad riding, so he followed us on the bike. It seemed like she wanted to go faster than me, so I let her lead the way. It was then that I went from quad riding to bumper cars :o) Lisa was tearin it up so I didn't expect her to stop. By the time I realized she was coming to a complete stop, it was too late. I used the brakes but not in time enough for me to prevent rear ending her. Luckily, it wasn't a hard hit though and both of us were ok. There was only very minor front end bumper plastic damage. It was more of a "ding" than a full-on rear ending :o) At least thats how I explained it to Jake....

Job Prospect??

I wasn't going to post about this until after Friday, but I have some free time today, so I will blab away. Last Friday, I got a call from IGT wanting me to come in for an interview. It caught me a little off guard since it was Friday after 5pm and I was on the treadmill at the time, so my mind wasn't 100% there when the guy was explaining the job and responsibilities.

Nevertheless, IGT is a whopping 5 min drive from my house. They have an onsite daycare, cafeteria, and gym. They also are well known to be a great place to work. On top of that, the guy gave me the impression that they really needed bilingual candidates. I figure that since I have that and a college degree to offer, I could possibly come in at the upper end of the pay range, making about $40k/yr. Granted, thats not a lot, but for someone that hasn't had a "real" job in 8 years, thats pretty darn good. I'm only pointing out the good stuff but I will be on the lookout for the bad stuff at the interview. You can usually get a good feel for the job once you see the environment and meet the supervisors/coworkers.

On the flip side, I'm a little worried that I could possibly not be able to handle it all. Right now I am able to make healthy (and good) meals for the family. I don't usually use prepackaged or canned foods and try to make everything from scratch. I hope working FT doesnt turn me into one of those parents that "pick up" dinner on the way home. I still want to make sure that the kids get decent meals and not sodium filled prepackaged crap.

I think that after being home for so long, I'm definately ready for a change of pace. But I do understand that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

*****UPDATE - I got another call from the county today. They want me to come in for an interview next week. This job actually pays a little more, and thats only the bottom of the pay scale, plus the benefits are pretty good to say the least. Its at the sheriffs dept though, so it could be good or bad. Hopefully one of these jobs will want me!!!!

God Hates Reno

According to some whacko Baptist church in Kansas, God has placed a curse on Reno.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22939411/

This, they say, is the reason why Briana Denison, a local college girl, was raped, murdered and dumped in the snow. Somehow, our tolerance for gay people has caused God to get so furious, that he is punishing Reno by sending a killer out to rape and murder innocent young women. Then, to really get his point across, he sends these “church” (I doubt this is a legitimitate church) members to picket at their memorials and funerals.

This group first gained notoriety when they started picketing at funerals of fallen soldiers that had died in the Iraq war. They said that this was God’s punishment to America for the countries tolerance of gay people.

So I was wondering - if God is sending these serial rapists and killers to Reno because of our apparent affection of homosexuals, what is he doing in San Francisco? Should they be expecting a couple of nuclear bombs dropped in the city center? Maybe he’ll poison the drinking water with some flesh eating disease.

If God hated gays so much, why did he make them that way? Yeah, yeah… Some people think it’s a choice, but if you look at nature, there are plenty of animals that engage in homosexual activities, so that makes me more of a believer in the “you are born gay” argument (After this post, I expect to get spammed on why I am wrong by a certain reader in Las Vegas). On the same note, I wonder why gay people are so successful if God hates them so much. A high percentage of them are well educated and have successful careers with high incomes. Not that I’m all pro-gay or anything (although I am not anti-gay either), but I enjoy debunking this whole God retribution theory.

While these “church” members certainly have the right to free speech, linking unfortunate deaths to a punishment of God is a long stretch. Most churches preach respect for others and by pushing their anti-gay cause at the funerals of those innocent people, these cult members are showing how hypocritical and vulgar they really are. I think the picture at the beginning of this post says it all.....

Reno Wine Walk and new babysitter

This past Saturday, Jake and I were invited to go with a couple friends on the Reno Wine Walk. Basically, downtown Reno has had a huge makeover in the past decade, and this is a joint effort between all the new downtown businesses to show people the "new Reno". On the 3rd Saturday of every month at 2pm, you can visit any one of the 25 participating shops/restaurants/bars and for $15 you get a decorated wine glass, a map and a tasting bracelet. Then you pretty much spend the next 3 hours going from place to place, tasting the different wines and appetizers that each place serves.

Since my parents had gone to Vegas for the long weekend, we had to get a babysitter. Other than friends and family, we have never really used anyone else to babysit. My friend had recommended a 15yr old boy she uses that lives across the street from her. She said her kids love him and that although she has a girl she also uses, she would recommend the teenage boy before her. When I told Jake about this, he seemed somewhat weirded out about having a BOY babysit our kids. He considers it sort of unusual for a teenage boy to be into kids, so he automatically suspected something. Nevertheless, I convinced him to give him a try (afterall, the boy was available and I'd already set things up with him).

When we got home, I was impressed that he had followed all of my directions. Jake then drove him home and had a chance to chat with him. Jake came home saying he was very impressed with him and that he could tell he was a good boy from a good family. Megan and Jacob told us all about how much he played with them and how he didnt watch TV or play the computer at all - he just played with them the entire time. Lexi wasn't as impressed due to her recently developed aversion to boys (lets hope that sticks around till shes in her 20's). She thinks all boys are ugly and she pretty much wants nothing to do with anything boy-related.

So in the end, we ended up having a really good time. I was impressed with the way Reno has been revamped. We got to see the new trendy lounges, some clubs, nice restaurants and shops. I think there were even a few gay bars on the list (gasp!). Although since it was the middle of the day and most of the patrons were wine tasters, it looked like any other establishment. I'm oblivious to that sort of thing though, so Jake had to fill me in as to where we were. We had good company, good food, good wine, and a good babysitter. What I consider a perfect Saturday....