Where has my voice gone?

I feel so disenfranchised by the Republican party. I'm hearing outrage today on the shows I listen to from true conservatives. We don't understand this. How come the runners in our party are all so liberal? Is there room left in the Republican party anymore for conservatives??? Today there was even talk of forming a third party for true conservatives.

None of the candidates are truely conservative and I find myself looking at two parties, one of extreme left/liberal ideas and actions and one just a hair to the right of center.

I don't want John McCain to represent the conservative party. I'm not interested in reaching across party lines for agreements. When do you ever see the left reaching over to the right? When have they ever? They just keep moving more and more left.

It's like a game of Tug O' War. There's a rope crossing over a mud pit. There's those on the right holding one end, and those on the left holding the other end, and the left is hard and not giving any that the right center people just tumble into the mud, abandoning the ones at the end of the right of the rope. That's how I feel about what's going on right now.

Please say a prayer

My friend Gina, you see her commenting here all the time, has a son who was hit by a car this morning while catching his bus. They know he has a broken femur, and were still checking him out when she talked to the doctor last I heard. ETA: He seems to be ok other than the broken leg and being shook up.
This family is going to be in for a long haul.
My oldest son Jacob broke his femur skiing 3 winters ago. It was a year before he had his last appointment with a physical therapist. Sometimes kids have to go to therapy and learn to walk and strengthen the leg again. I think it depends on how the leg is set again and how long the person is unable to walk.
Jake had a wheelchair for several months to go around school in. I had to pick him up every day from school because there was no bus to take him and his wheel chair.

I pray you have a short recovery C!

I wish I could embed this

To go along with my tribute to President Hinckley. If you are not familiar with this man, I encourage you to watch and listen to this. What a perfect example of how he always was. Uplifting, encouraging, always showing great love for people, always trying to help us do a little more, be a little better. I always felt so encouraged when I listened to him. My load felt lighter. My courage stronger. My determination readjusted. I will miss him terribly.
He was a very special man and will be missed by many people,not only the LDS people.
http://photo.byu.edu/video.php?cat1=Slide%20Shows&cat2=General&cat3=2008&cat4=Hinckley%20Tribute
I think you have to press the play button on this one, when it starts loading.

I stand by my former statement

That Florida needs to be cut off from the Union. I said it back in the days of hanging chads and I say it again now! McCain won Florida's votes the Clinton way, with lies! I'm sorry Florida, but you must have gotten too much sun, how could you fall for such scandalous tactics!?

No respectable Conservative could possibly think McCain is a good idea. Oy, oy, oy.

I'm pushing that "Buy Now" button for my Mitt Romney car magnets!
ETA: OK, I know Mitt isn't conservative enough, but he's a much better choice than a lying McCain.

I'm probably the last

of my friends to make a post on my blog about the passing of President Hinckley. I too want to share my feelings about him.

I loved this dear sweet man.

He was the Prophet when I became active in the church again, and when my husband was baptized into the church. We were fortunate at that time that we had a temple being built here in Minnesota. When it came time for the dedication our bishop chose all of the newly baptized members who held current temple recommends to be the recipients of our ward's tickets to the dedication of the temple.

We were so excited and felt so genuinely blessed because we were one of the recipients. Our tickets were for the Celestial Room.

I still remember so much of that day. It's burned into my memory for ever, I know.

I still remember the feelings I felt when I laid my very own eyes on a Prophet of God when he came into the room. My husband and I were sitting only a few rows from the front. It's a very small room. I could feel the holy spirit testify to me that this indeed was a man called of God to lead His people, that the purpose of the temple was holy and of infinite importance to the souls of all of God's children. My life was never the same after that experience. My testimony has never wavered since that moment, and it never will again.

I think of that experience every time I attend the temple. ( I also stop and look into the room that my husband and I were sealed to each other and to our son Jacob in. I'm so lucky it's on the women's side of the temple! I stop and ponder there each time, remembering how I had felt, remembering all of the wonderful people in our lives that had helped us get to that point. Those who were there to support us).... oh, here I go rambling again.

I loved hearing President Hinckley talk at conference. I don't think there was any time that he talked that he didn't express love for the Savior, for his Father in Heaven, or for the people who were listening. You could see the love, gentleness, meekness, humbleness radiate from his countenance. He truly exemplified the love of our Savior for us. How blessed I feel to have been able to hear the words of this Prophet.

I was just talking to a friend today at the library, she's a member too, and we were discussing how wonderful it is to know that the next man will also be called by God. That he will be divinely ordained. That we don't have to question votes, or motives of any of the men in the Apostleship. The Gospel of Jesus Christ truly has been restored.

I will miss the clever witt of President Hinckley. His mind was as sharp as a tack. He was good natured and none of his humor was off-colored or questionable, but he certainly did add joy and humor to our lives. Always positive and optimistic.

I have a quote on my fridge that has been there for a couple of years, and I read it at least weekly if not daily. It gives me strength. It reads...

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith, and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." - Gordon B. Hinckley

God be with you, 'till we meet again.

ETA: Funeral services will be held on Saturday February 2, 2008 at 11 am.

Please Do Not Touch

I'm just a little miffed. Today I brought in the felt fortune cookies and put them on the table in the hall to display with all our other Enrichment stuff. Well, at least 3 times that I passed them I had to fix cookies that someone played with and opened and couldn't get back together and someone even stole one! RUDE!

When you pass a display, please keep your hands to yourself. Look with your eyes, not your hands.

Woo Hoo!

"Josh is a joy to work with. He has a pleasant attitude, is respectful, responsible and caring. He makes good choices and is eager to learn new things."

Imagine my pride when I read these words on Joshua's 2nd quarter report card that he brought home on Friday. I admit I was a little surprised that his teacher would have so many wonderful things to say about him, and I wasn't even paying her extra! I tried to read it to him and I got all choked up with pride I could barely get the words out without a tear falling. He also got all 2's and 3's (1= Needs imporovement, 2= Performs at expected levels and 3 + Exceeds expected levels) on all of the things he was supposed to be able to accomplish in Kindergarten.

Jacob's report card was seen on the school's website and he did equally as well. He got one B+ four A- and one A. I was really surprised, and am super proud of him. To celebrate their report cards we bought a Turtle Cheesecake from Sam's Club and it is OH SO GOOD! Before Jake home schooled he was a really good student but struggled with organization and getting his papers turned in. I'm glad to see he's outgrown this.

Congratulations my kids!!!

Grrrrrr

Ok, vent time.
My last DVD/CD burner went out after only having it for a few months. So last month I bought a new one with Lightscribe so I can label my CD for my clients with a sreen print on the CD it's self.... if you haven't seen it, look here, it's really cool. I like it much better than a sticker.
Anyway, I got a sample one with the burner and so today I had time to tackle trying to figure out how to use the thing for a client I have who's waiting for their CD. So I get an image together and put pictures on it and burned it onto the DVD, the only problem is that the words that are overlapping pictures aren't showing up really well. So I would like to do one without words and just the pictures.
So I ran over to Best Buy today and bought a bunch of cd's. A package of 30 for $30. I get home and finally figure out how to burn data to a DVD, because my regular burning software doesn't recognize the DVD as burnable. Then I try to burn the image on the new one, I follow the directions I followed last time... but guess what????
It says it burned it, but it DIDN'T!!!

*Insert picture of me pulling my hair out!*

Ok, I don't know what the sam hill is going on, but I am getting so frustrated with this whole CD/DVD stuff.
I was burning this DVD with data in replacement of a DVD I put together for them with music and their wedding day images that I can't seem to get off my computer because I can't get it converted to an AVI, so I offered them a CD with all of their images with printing rights (I NEVER give away my images now days as a company policy), which thankfully they saw as a very generous offer in replacement of their musical DVD. I was wanting to avoid buying new DVD movie making software. I'm still working on it, haven't given up because I have a wedding in July booked where a DVD is part of their package.

Anyway to make a long story short trying to get a DVD or CD burned for this client is ending up being a huge headache!!! Remind me again why am I in this business????

GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING

DO NOT SWALLOW CHEWING-GUM !!

What to do now?

If any of you are following the primaries you know that Fred Thompson has now pulled out of the race for the Republican ticket.
I really liked him... no, actually, I loved him. However, his campaign was late, slow and unenthused. Today a report I heard stated that he really ran to get his name out there and feel the air for the Vice President ticket.
Now I'm sitting here, a true conservative and looking at the people a once conservative party has clambering over each other for the golden ticket and I can't help but get sick in my stomach.
Soon it will be Super Tuesday and I have no idea who is the lesser of all evils.
I know, I know I distanced myself from the Republican party... and I'm still disgusted with them... however there is no other conservative party which I can attach myself to and vote in the primaries for. So I'm back again, so I can vote.
I want a president who's going to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, and no, I don't have a problem with them being bigger for the richer people... the people who pay more SHOULD get a bigger cut! If you don't pay taxes, how can you get a cut? If I make more than you I shouldn't get a cut too? I have to pay more to make up for your lax? I think not
I want a president that will reduce government spendature and reduce government involvement in our lives.
I want a president that doesn't buy into any "entitlement" fantasies. You are entitled to what you work for. It's not the government's job to take care of you or your kids or your business or your finances.
I want a president that will secure our borders, regardless of what illegal person will vote for them.
I want a president that will have the guts to stand up to the UN, and perhaps even take the US out of the UN.
I want a president that will look at other sources besides corn for alternative choices to oil.
I want a president that doesn't cater to special interest groups, no matter how loud they yell.
I want a president that will protect our liberties, even against enemies within our government and justice systems.
I want a president that will kick a tree huggers butt!
And he better be a dang carnivore!

I want a president that doesn't seem to be running for the office at this time.

I do think however, left to the candidates we have now, I will be ordering my Mitt Romney bumper sticker tomorrow. At least for the primaries.

For your sweetheart

A couple of years ago I made some really fun fortune cookies for my husband for Valentines Day. I put them in a nice tin bucket that had hearts punched on the sides, and the fortunes inside were actually coupons good for treats like a car wash, a favorite desert, a back rub, etc. . The next year I shared that recipe with new friends, and some that tried to make them said they were too hard. Well, this year I have some really easy fortune cookies to make... the only problem is they aren't edible.

We are making these at enrichment next month, and I had to make the samples. I wouldn't mind making these for friends or family. These came from the Martha Stewart Living magazine, but as usual, the real thing doesn't work quite as planned. We'd planned on putting Hershey's kisses in these, but they ended up being too soft to hold the weight of the candy. They hold a fortune just fine, but even conversation hearts fell out the sides. Maybe a thicker weight felt would hold the candies better?

Anyway, here's the pictures and directions....

You will need

a. 4-4 1/2 inch bowl

b. a piece of felt

c. tacky glue

d. floral wire

e. ribbon to match the felt.

Lay the felt out flat and trace 3-5 circles (depending on size of bowl) with the bowl on the felt. Cut out.

Cut one piece of wire just smaller than the length of the circle

and glue onto the felt.

Cover the glue with a piece of ribbon that is just long enough.

Let dry for 30 min.

After 30 min, fold the circle in half with the ribbon on the inside

and then bend the wire in the felt over the edge of the bowl.

open a flap of the felt and insert a fortune.

Then readjust the felt to resemble a fortune cookie.

A good place I found for fortune ideas is here. They also have a recipe, however I haven't tried theirs.

Bill has a dream

Can you believe the nerve of this guy!? He must be really tired from campaigning for his wife. And people seriously want him back in the White House again... what are they thinking? Hey, I thought he was the "black man's president".... he looks a little bored with at least this particular one. No respect of other people, I tell ya. He's a disgrace.

Good Doggie

An old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home.He followed me into the house, down the hall, and fell asleep in a corner.An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.The next day he was back, resumed his position in the hall, and slept for an hour.

This continued for several weeks. Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: "Every afternoon your dogcomes to my house for a nap."The next day he arrived with a different note pinned to his collar:"He lives in a home with ten children -- he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?"

Athiest Holiday

My niece-in-law sent me this in an email and it gave me a little chuckle....


Great answer from the judge –In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday to celebrate. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared, "Case dismissed!"The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, "Your Honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah. Yet, my client and all other atheists have no such holiday!" The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, "Obviously your client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own atheists' holiday!"The lawyer pompously said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any such holiday for atheists; Just when might that holiday be, Your Honor?" The judge said, "Well it comes every year on exactly the same date…April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as April Fools Day, consider that Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God'." "Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by scripture, he is a fool, and April 1st is his holiday!"
"Now have a good day and get the hell out of my courtroom!"

-- "Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds."
--Albert Einstein

Don't Eat That!

Today I had a huge scare. Joyanna had confiscated my watch earlier in the day. Later I asked her to find it and at first she wouldn't do it. Then I insisted so she went off to look for it. She came back to me all upset and nearly in tears telling me she couldn't find it because she ate it. WHAT!??

Now I've heard of kids eating weird stuff so this didn't strike me as odd right off the bat. "No, Joy, where is it." Breaking down into big crocodile tears, "In my tummy! We can buy you a new one!" Oh man, now I'm starting to get a little worried. My sister had x-rays of her kid with rocks in his tummy, a watch isn't that far of a throw. "Joyanna, really, where is my watch." She keeps insisting, "It's in my tummy mommy." And opens her mouth, "In there!" and she keeps crying.

Now I'm panicked and wondering who would be open at this hour with an x-ray machine. I called the kids and told them it's an emergency they better find my watch!

Lucky kid she is that her brother Jake found it before I started sticking her into a coat to run to the hospital... without insurance!

I itch all over- NOT for the squeamish

Ugh, today I saw something (actually two things) that nobody should have seen. You know... some things are better just left in the "unknown" realm. I'm sorry Gina for sharing it with you, she didn't see it (as far as I know) but I shared what I saw and she was shivering too.
So my head is itchy, even tho' my hair is freshly washed. My face is itchy and my eyelashes are itchy. It's one of those things, you think about it and then you just start feeling them all over the place, even tho' it's all in your imagination... like bugs in the bed. Once you find one, your night of rest is over because every time you toss and turn you "think" you feel them.
I'm talking about eyelash mites.
Until the other day I had no idea such a thing existed! I ran across a blog where someone talked about not taking off their mascara at night, even tho' they knew better because of eyelash mites... so the Curious George in me got to thinking about that and today I "Googled" it. What was I thinking!?
I knew no good would come of it! I knew I might find they really existed and that I might find a really disturbing picture... ugh, I wish I wasn't so curious.
In my travels around the Internet, don't ask how I got there because I don't remember, I wound up on Snopes.com where I saw the remains of a person eaten by an alligator. Sometimes the information highway is about as safe as a turtle trying to cross the Audubon.
I do not recommend that you look up either picture.

Hey!

Hey you passersby peoples yous! I see you! We all see you at the bottom of my blog here... see that box down there... yeah, that's you on it! Leave a comment or two.. nice ones... tell me how you love my new banner.. tell me how it goes so well with the upcoming holiday of Valentines Day... tell me how great I look in pink (that's me on there).
It's so weird, the last couple of days I've been getting people visiting from all kinds of other countries. Spain, Mexico, France, Canada, Greece, Turkey, Australia, UK, India, Germany, Slovenia, Hong Kong, Argentina, China... China, are you allowed to be on my blog?
I don't know how they are finding me, because not many of my friends have found this blog yet, and I haven't told them about it.... so if even some of my good friends don't know about it how come strangers in other countries do?

Ok, I'm not talented like some people. Someone who's blog I read today had a post about a gorgeous quilt that they made, and they figured out the math them self for it, and made it all up and it's just gorgeous! I can't do that. I can't make a quilt, I doubt I can even tie a blanket. I wish I had that kind of talents in me... somewhere.

So that got me thinking and tonight I stepped out on a limb and tried my first time ever to make a Key Lime Pie. Well, I cheated a little and didn't make my own crust, but I did zest 3 limes and I did squeeze them, and mix them up with egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk, and I baked it... and it is SMELLING GOOD! Now I will make my own whip cream topping... I know I can handle that, I've done it before.
So I was a little creative today. Kudos to me. Maybe I'll use my picture taking talent and take a picture of it tonight.

Thank you!

Wow! I got another award!



Thank you so much Misty for this wonderful award. I just love Lucy and she totally cracks me up. Misty actually gave me this over at my other blog, but she knows I've moved now so I'll put it up here. Besides, I need more decorations on my walls, don'tcha think?

Would you have guessed?

65%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

In case you haven't noticed

I don't believe in global warming. Well, actually I do, because of the simple fact that we don't live in an ice age anymore, that should account for some warming. However I don't believe that we are about to burst into flames anytime soon in oh, say, the next two million years, especially given the fact that my state has had a colder than normal year. This blog entry offers more instances where people all over the world are experiencing similiar circumstances, many I've heard about in the mainstream media.
Anytime you'd like to start thinking maybe there is something to the global warming fairy tale remember this day in January when I wrote about how freaking cold it is here when today in the mid afternoon I went out and it was -4 degrees in the middle of the afternoon and I swear I almost got frostbite going from the store to the car!
Global warming? Yeah, we Minnesotans would welcome some of that right about now.

The Right Angle Makes the Shot

These were sent in an email to me, and I just had to share the laughs with y'all.

Gives a new meaning to the word, "Puuuuuuuuuuuuush!"Does Colonel Sanders know about this guy?

Good news!

Yay! Good news! My husband still has a job for the time being. His boss met with Zeiss again. He was supposed to do a Power Point presentation to show how they were going to get caught up on work. He however didn't do that and went with an outline. My husband says the Germans like him, but the Americans don't, but nothing is going to happen at this time. So, that is good news. I know that at this point, it is just best if he stays there until he is ready to go, preferably after getting some experience and his degree.


SALES - a San Francisco Treact
I just love my grocery store when they have the 10/$10 sales! Yesterday I picked up 20 Pasta-Roni noodle packages, 20 Rice-a-Roni and 15 Betty Crocker potato boxes. Whoo hoo!!! All for the low, low price of $1 each. That should last until the end of summer. I also got a pork package that had a big bone in roast, 8 pork chops and a bunch of ribs for $1 a pound. I'm almost tempted to go back for another one.

Thank you!

Imagine my surprise when I found out my friend Kathleen bestowed on me this wonderful little award when she said, "i want to bestow this award to jen. she is a sweetheart of a friend who continues to make me smile and go awwh. and she cracks me up. even though some tough things have been going on, she continues to amaze me how positive and hopeful she is. i want to be like her when i grow up. " How sweet! Thank you Kathleen, you've totally made my day!

If you're happy and you know it...

When my youngest daughter was even younger she would cry as many babies do. My older daughter figured out that acting like a puppy and barking would cheer the wee little one up right quick. So then my little one started thinking that if I was sad or upset, like if I stubbed my toe, she should start acting like a puppy. At first it was cute, but then it started to get on my nerves. So I explained to her that she didn't have to do that. After that she started to sing to me. So now days if something happens she thinks that she needs to sing, "If you're happy and you know it."
Cute as that is, it's now starting to get on my nerves.
Clap, clap, stomp, stomp, hurray!

Feeling the heavy weight

Last night I sat down with my oldest to help him figure out his school classes for next year. He wants to take some Honors and AP classes. He thinks he should have taken them this year too, but his counselor didn't talk to us about them or let us know he could take them when we went in to get him registered. Dang it. Anyway, it makes me feel so old trying to help my child try to figure out what he wants to do with his life and help him chose classes that will help him in that direction. I'd like him to be able to be taking college classes in his Junior and Senior years, so he picked a second year of Spanish and an economics (required for graduation) class for his extras. He wants to take Honors English and AP Social Studies. Then he'll take Geometry. He doesn't enjoy math that much.
I know he is young, and maybe it's because of my teenage years wasted that I push him so much, but I want him to work hard now, so he can play later. The playing he can do later is going to be so much more fun that the playing he can do now. Vacations, boats, toys, etc. Compared to sitting around playing games on the tv. I just want him to be successful and want to help him in all I can do to make that happen. He's a really great kid and so I feel a heavy weight to make sure I don't let him down during this important time in his life.
When did I become so responsible???

IZ

I love, love, love IZ's version of this song!
I had started a 70's play list for my blog, because I'm such a 70's music geek, but then I ran across this, and I just had to use it.
IZ, unfortunately passed onto the next life in 1997, so this song sounds so haunting and soulful to me. He had a beautiful voice, and a beautiful soul, I'm sure as well. So enjoy a relaxing moment for the next 4 minutes. :)
Aloha

I need

some padded walls in here.... and maybe a pillow and a cot.

Yesterday our big screen tv malfunctioned, and ever since I've been trying to keep my children entertained enough that they don't tear up the house. We thankfully bought a service plan for it when we bought it, and have someone coming out on Tuesday to look at it, but meanwhile I'm going through their pile of games, paints, crayons, playdoh and we are having oh so much fun!

Today, oddly I got a lot of resting and reading time... unusual for a house without a tv to babysit the kiddies.

You make the world a better place

"You don't have the power to make rainbows or waterfalls, sunsets or roses, but you do have the power to bless people by your words and smiles... You carry within you the power to make the world better..."--Sharon G. Larsen, "Standing with God," Ensign, May 2000, 88

The other night at Enrichment we had a lady, our Preparedness Coordinator, give a short lesson. The quote she put on the chalk board said, "You may only be one person to the world, but you may be the whole world to one person." I thought about that statement for a while, and wondered if there was anyone I would be the whole world to. I think the obvious answer is my children, especially when they are little. It feels good to be that needed and loved. It also feels good to know that I have that much influence over my world and over future generations.

At this time in my life, nothing is more important to me than being Mom. Quite often I think of this quote by Sheri Dew :

It’s no wonder that Satan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail. When we understand the magnitude of motherhood, it becomes clear why prophets have been so protective of woman’s most sacred role. (Sept 2001 General Relief Society Meeting)

Man! That gives me goosebumps every time I read/think about it. How amazing is that!? How empowered I feel when I read it. How noble I feel when I acknowledge it. How amazingly righteous I feel when I resolve to do my best at it! We women don't have to climb corporate ladders, be senators or presidents, or leap small buildings with a single bound to feel/be empowered. We just have to be mothers and try to be good ones. We don't have to be perfect. We all make mistakes. My oldest has turned into an amazingly wonderful kid, strong in the church, strong in his convictions, he has a testimony that burns bright. But I'm sure he will have plenty of couch time with a therapist to undo my mistakes, lol. I wasn't an amazing mom with him, I just tried to do what was right and lead by example. I hope it works out that way for the rest of my kids too.

So today I just want to encourage you mothers to go out and be the whole world for somebody. :)

Fridays

"Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."

--Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Sunday Will Come", Ensign, Nov. 2006, 28

Well, we now know that my husband's boss is supposed to do a Power-Point presentation about how he plans to get them caught up for Zeiss and with an interpreter for the Germans.
I don't know what to think of that news. It seems so silly to me. Is that a good sign or a bad one? I don't know.

Joy went through last night without an accident! YAY! However between 10 and 2 I was up about 6 times with her and Joshua. He was having growing pains in his leg. Poor kid. Both my boys are cursed with horrible growing pains. I took her to the potty once, around 11, and that was it for the night. The rest of the times I was up for her it was because she was screaming at Jaeden to quit looking at her, so I would have to get up and go make peace. But I think that Joy is improving in her potty training, I am hopeful I will be in my own bed all night within the next two weeks.

What is this world coming to???

So if you don't know who Glenn Beck is... have you been living under a rock???

This Christmas season he had something unimaginable happen to him at the hospital. You can read about it here.
We had a similar experience when my husband was having kidney failure and he was in so much pain he was vomiting, and his doctor was trying to treat him through a new kind of treatment. We ended up at the emergency room 3 times. One time was especially horrible... a super long wait, where people who were not even as bad off as he was were being admitted first. It was a nightmare. He was in pain. He needed medications. We had to wait in a stupid waiting room for hours on end just waiting to be admitted. Finally he was admitted and then it took forever to get him drugs to ease the pain.

This weekend one of our friends at church shared his testimony, and in the process mentioned he'd been in the hospital over the holidays. Last night I saw his wife at Enrichment and asked her about what happened. Apparently he had appendicitis and had to be rushed to the hospital where they had to wait in the waiting room for over 2 hours as well!!!

It's no wonder people die at alarming rates at hospitals. It's not because of what they are dying from, it's because of the lack of care, and quick care that they receive, or don't receive in this case! This is appalling that this should be happening in America. This is something I would expect to hear happening in a third world country. Not here, in my home country.

And if you think this is bad? It could get worse, a lot worse. Imagine if we had socialized health care? Horrors. If we ever turn to that, I'm out of here. Can't our politicians see how it's failing in other countries???

Yes, our health CARE system needs to be overhauled, but socializing it, pouring tax money into it, punishing the pharmaceutical companies are not the answer. Let's begin with the people who use the system... hows about paying for it, instead of ditching your bill onto the hospital or tax payers??? Then move onto the workers... if you can't be compassionate, quick or patient, then it's time for another job, perhaps something behind a desk pushing numbers instead of people!? And how about the health care employers... oh man, where do I begin with them?

/rant.

Think a velcro wall is abusive?

I am soooooo tempted to get one!
My little Joy is such a handful! None of my kids have been this busy. Mom, if I was ever this busy I am soooooo sorry!
Today I have found her into so many things she shouldn't be into. All of them were no-no's. She got into my laundry detergent, my dresser drawers, Joshua's closet, took a huge chunk out of tonight's desert for Enrichment, markers, my candy hiding at the computer and numerous times in the fridge and other places. I just want to tie her little arms and legs in a calf tie... you know, like the calf ropers do.
A velcro wall and outfit for her sound so very tempting to me tonight.

Still don't know anything

Tonight I talked to my dh and he still doesn't know what's going on with his job. He said his boss talked to him tonight and told him that the meeting was moved to tomorrow and he didn't sound too concerned about it. So I don't know what to think.
Tonight we had Enrichment. We had a caramel making class, however she made it with brown sugar and it was super soft I didn't care for it. We cancelled the crochet class due to the lack of participants. I went to the service project and helped cut out quiet activity stuff for children to check out during Sacrament Meeting. Tonight we laminated and cut out lace cards.

I hate limbo.

I think that if they don't close the doors that my husband will try to stay with his employer until he's done with his bachelors degree, but that won't be until the end of this year. I'm worried that his foot isn't going to last that long. He's trying a new insert in his shoes that his doctor recommended, but it doesn't seem to be helping much yet. The RA is pretty much under control right now, it's a foot with an extra bone from an accident years ago that's bothering him most now. His foot is swollen and hurting all of the time, and now he rests his foot at home with crutches. I think the sooner he can get to a desk job, the better.

Thank you Neighbor

I just want to publicly thank my neighbor for cleaning up their dog poop in my yard and to apologize for yelling at them from my back window, but I'm afraid of their Rottweiler that wasn't chained up and was "Buff" ing at me.
Also thank you for putting him on the chain today.

I feel so silly

because I have a little wooden stool that I have to throw out and I'm emotional about it.
This is the foot stool that my husband bought me to rest my feet on while I nursed baby Joshua when he was born. I rocked and cradled three of my four babies with this stool under my feet.
While I was pregnant with Josh, who was born 8 1/2 years after his older brother, my husband bought me a pretty wooden glider chair. I am a relatively short 5'4" and my legs are short, and didn't reach the ground, so he bought me a wooden stool to rest my feet on and sort of prop my lap up to help hold the baby.
Well, my stool has had a lot of use, wear and tear, stood on, thrown down and now it's cracked. It's main use now days is to help me reach higher cupboards, or to help Joy get into places she doesn't belong such as the movie cabinet.
So today it goes out to the curb. Today my husband brought me home a gray plastic ugly stool. I mean, ugly is a subjective term. He told me he figured he was buying it "for a different purpose, and that it would work well." Yeah, he's right, it will.
But it makes me sad sometimes to think that I am done having my own babies to cuddle, rock and nurse. And that this stool bought for such a personal sentimental use is now going out to the trash.
Call me silly, but that makes me feel a little sad.

FHE

Tonight we had FHE. Joshua wanted to teach the lesson.
I've been reading the children's Book of Mormon to him each night and he wanted to teach the parts about Nephi building a ship and about when they were on the sea and tied up Nephi. So cute how he taught it.
Then we had white cupcakes with chocolate frosting, yum!

Whether you think you can,
or you think you can't,
You're right.

Transfer of post at This and That

2007

Oh what a year it's been for me and my family.

Actually, this has been one of the more rougher years for us, than we've had in a while. The beginning of the year my sister-in-law had a hemorrhaging stroke just 10 days after delivering my nephew. Her life is a miracle. It's so amazing to see God's hand in the lives of people we love. It was awesome to see this sister in July when we visited Utah.

Then we found out my husband would not make enough income as a Professional Pilot, after putting in over 4 years of schooling and thousands of dollars in tuition and plane rentals. But I'm happy that he was able to achieve his dream of being a pilot. He worked as a flight instructor for a year, and got to fly every week. Not many people get to have their dreams come true, I'm glad he did. So, after our rude awakening, he decided to tweak his degree he was working on to become an accountant. He will do really well in this career. He is very strong in math. He should be graduating by the end of next year with a Bachelors in Accounting.

I was able to finally purchase a Blu site for my business in May, and I am loving it. I hated the website I used for my business before. So that was exciting for me. So was getting a backup camera and lenses. I've seen improvement in my skills and in my work this year, and I'm thankful for that. I do love what I do, and it's nice when I get clients who are willing to play and have fun with their sessions. If you want something boring and normal... go to Sears or Penny's. If you want something creative and interesting, I'm your girl!

We were able to take a really nice trip in July, taking our kids to Utah and Yellowstone National Park. I was so happy to see my family again and spend a day more than we usually do, to see them. I wish I lived closer. Sometimes these trips ease the home-sickness, but sometimes it also makes the desire to move closer even more stronger.

In July my husband was having a noticeable limp in his walking. By September it was worse and pain was moving strongly into more joints. By the end of October he could barely walk, raise his arms, put his socks on. Finally he went to a doctor to see what was wrong. During the search for answers we had quite a scare when one doctor suggested that it was gout. I was in freak out mode for a couple of weeks. If it had been gout and was progressing this fast, it was likely he was having kidney failure. Thank heavens we found out it is Rheumatoid Arthritis, and he is able to get relief from medications. Whew!

We had one child go back to public school and a second child start Kindergarten in public school. I miss my kids at home and the flexibility we had when they were all here. There's times where I just want to go spend an afternoon at the Science Museum... but then I remember I have to be home to get kids on the bus and off again.

Now at the end of this year we are finding that my husband may be looking for new employment in the next few weeks. The company he works for makes parts for Zeiss. All year they have been about a month behind, my husband thinks it's because of the company they send the parts to for hard-coat. Zeiss is talking about buying out of their contract with my husband's employer, which means the company will have to close it's doors. I've been wanting him to leave this employer for years, and so on one hand I am a little happy that he won't have to deal with this employer anymore, yet, on the other hand it's bad timing with him so close yet so far from graduation.

I have had some amazing clients this year. I can't believe how lucky I've been to just totally adore all of them. I've enjoyed the new people I've met and hope they come back and let me do more work for them!

My goals for 2008

1. Get back into the habit of reading scriptures with my children.

2. Lose 20 lbs. Yeah, I have that same goal every year, it's sort of obligatory ;)

3. Gain control of my time and spend more time teaching my children. I've let myself get into bad habits and spend too much time doing things that are not as important as being a hands on mom.

4. Read every Ensign from cover to cover, EVEN the Conference issues.

5. Work on all of my business goals which are outlined somewhere else and won't be posted here. :)

I hope that all of you have a good New Year and that you have much happiness and joyful experiences to look forward to in the coming year.

Ahhhh yes!

I can post about my religious stuff over here too without having to worry about offending or getting wierd comments :)
So today I have a vent about our missionaries. I rarely invite them for dinner, mostly because I'm tired of getting the drill about who I know that I can share the gospel with. I'm a hermit. I'm a crab. I'm a hermit crab, I've found my shell and I'm not coming out until my babies are grown!

Anyway, I had gotten up the nerves to invite them again for dinner... tonight. I signed the calendar a couple of weeks ago. Today in Relief Society, the last hour of church, someone announces at the end that if you signed up for missionary dinners to be aware that they had a third companion from the neighboring ward and that he either might be with them, or they get double booked and eat with the other ward. Well, I thought it was strange that they didn't call me last night like they usually do. But we have new missionaries... new meaning greeeeen.
So after getting my family into the van I asked my dh if maybe I shouldn't go back in and find them and see what's up.
SO GLAD I DID!
Because not only did I find out that I am thawing out 7 pounds of chicken leggs for my family. (Good grief!) But I also found out that the ward has decided to just assign people weekends to clean, and apparently next weekend is our weekend, and NOBODY told us. I found out because the Bishop's wife asked me if it was going to work for us, because they are scheduled to clean with us.
Let me see.... Jacob's going to be gone next weekend on a tubing trip with the YM and my husband is moving around the house in crutches, and I have three other kids 6 and under and I'd be chasing them more than they'd clean. Ummmm.... "NO!". Now I have to track someone down and give them a big fat no.
Joy.

However I have to say it's so nice to have a place to get it all off my chest!

Gina said to hang a picture on the wall

When I need a break

This is Mommy's Break Room, and I am Mommy. Keeping this separate from my other blog, this is where the real me comes out. I vent, I complain, I talk about my friends and family here, keeping it all separate from the blog that my customers can visit.