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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Sweet Land of Liberty



Most of us have a morning routine, and I am no exception. Every day I get up, wrap myself up in a blanket, put my contacts in, grab a bowl of cereal and sit down to eat and watch the news. Mostly for the weather, but I like knowing what's going on in the world too. Now I know the media is "twisted" and we don't always get the whole story or whatever. But I still think it's important to know what you can about what's going on in the world. Especially these days where huge decitions are being made on capitol hill that will surely affect all of us in some way.


Well, I've been getting fed up. And I've about reached my limit! What happened to this country?? I love America and I still think it's the best place to live but why do we have all these pointless problems? Where did this new philosophy "my way or the highway" zero tolerance of anyone else's views or opionions come from? Wasn't America established with the idea that it would be a place of refuge for all people? Look at the statue of Liberty for goodness sake. I feel bad for all those who belong to minorities who feel they are being treated "unfairly" and want "equal rights", but when you think about it, aren't we all in a minority somewhere? None of us always fall into the mainstream views. That's what makes us human, and why we need to accept that we will always have a difference of opinion from someone. And it's not goverment's job to make that go away. It's the government's job to protect our right to disagree.


Now I'm no politician, no expert, and certainly no writer. But neither am I blind, stupid, or naive. I got this email several months ago and I say AMEN to it with all my heart. So I thought I'd share. It is attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from GA. Whether he actually wrote it or not I have no idea, but it doesn't matter who first said it. It rings true whether you're white, black, gay, straight, athiest, catholic, mormon or politician.

BILL OF NON-RIGHTS

"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim they require a Bill of NON-Rights.'



ARTICLE I: You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.

ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

ARTICLE III: You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.

ARTICLE IV: You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes. (This one is my pet peeve...get an education and go to work....don't expect everyone else to take care of you!)

ARTICLE V: You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.

ARTICLE VI: You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.

ARTICLE VII: You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.

ARTICLE VIII: You do not have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful. (AMEN!)

ARTICLE IX: You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.

ARTICLE X: This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from, English is our language. Learn it or go back to wherever you came from! (Lastly....)

ARTICLE XI: You do not have the right to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, and if you are uncomfortable with it, TOUGH!"




Thanks for letting me vent. I sincerely pray someday those on capitol hill will take a step back and remember the origional intent and purpose of thier positions and government in general.
*Disclaimer. Since I am fully aware that there are many out there who insist on taking offense I figure I'd better add my disclaimer. These are my own thoughts and feelings and are not meant in any way to offend or hurt any person or group of people. If you don't agree that's just fine. In fact, it's your right.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

White Elephants and Prime Rib



I apologize, I jinxed us all! Well, all of us who live in the Salt Lake and Utah Valleys at least. When planning our first annual Christmas dinner party I wrote on the invite that it was a party to celebrate the lack of snow. So naturally Mother Nature thought she'd be funny and drop the first big pile of winter the day of. Haha! : ( But regardless of the nasty weather, we still had a wonderful Chirstmas dinner party last night and I'm so relieved that everything finally came together! (and only 20 minutes after originally scheduled too!)



Our original guest list included friends from all over but our ending turn out was almost all friends from high school. Which was just fine and lots of fun! It was good to catch up with several people I haven't seen in ages and reminisce a little on our "glory days" when life was no work and all fun. (If only I'd realized then how easy I had it.)



For dinner Rodney talked me into prime rib. I'm still not sure how, one minute I was talking about roast and the next we were ordering rib... guess I must still be a bit twitter-patted or have pregnant brain damage! I'd never tried it before and was seriously apprehensive about eating red meat, but it was actually really delicious! Not as wonderful as many make it out to be, and certainly not the "king of meats" as the man at Snider Bros tried to tell me, but tasty enough to eat happily! Red and all! And in return I got spoiled and Rodney made twice baked potatoes to go with. My favorite!!



Personally I think the best part of the night was the white elephant gift exchange. The only really useful good gift was a box of chocolates. Which ended up going home with Rob... the only person in the room who hates chocolate! I thought it was pretty priceless! Other gifts included half eaten sugar cubes, tacky sugar decors, pencils and a lynnix program, a cheap date pack and etc. All in all it was a lot of fun and hopefully I'll be able to talk Rodney into making it an annual ordeal. I've got a year... I think I can pull it off!


A few weeks ago I got an early Christmas present. Rodney has been working on a kitchen table for us and it got finished just in time for Christmas. I put a picture up on my list of things from this year but I thought I'd post a couple more to show off my handsome hubby's talent...

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Grahm Cracker Goodness

Monday night Rodney and I went over to my parents to make grahm cracker houses. Up until this year I've been of the "jam as much candy on the thing as possible, regardless of how it looks" persuation. And it's worked out pretty well for me in the past, but this time I decided to actually "try" to create something spectacular and came up with a log (pretzel) cabin. Pretty awesome eh? Lol, well in my head it worked out great but when it came time to put a roof on....yeah not so much. But I think it's a failure I'll be able to live with just fine. : )






Rodney, my hopeful architect husband, made a boat. And not just any boat, a sate of the art ship complete with Jack Sparrow and cannons. Now that's cool!






Other than that there's not much to tell about us! I'm feeling all kinds of better, so long as I get a quick nap in the afternoons, and working at Food for Thought and the apartment office. Rodney is starting to freeze up in the mountains all day... but that means he's ok with the heater being on a little higher when he comes in in the evening. Which is just fine by me! Our refrigerator is covered with wedding announcements, must be Christmas! And I am thrilled that there's still no snow stuck to the ground yet!!





My tummy is starting to grow, but Rodney can still beat me. (sick!) Give me 3 more months... I'll win!

Give Thanks

If ever I had a year to be greatful, this is it. And since my mother is brilliant, I think I'm going to copy her idea and make a list... (in no particular order)

1) I married the man of my dreams.




2) My mom survived planning the wedding.



3) Surviving flying off the icy road.



4) Lots of love and visiters while stuck in bed.



5) A brand new baby namesake to hold and love (and spoil)



6) Learning to be a bit more crafty




7) Friends. The best friends.



PICTURE TO BE ADDED EVENTUALLY


8) Family



PICTURE TO BE ADDED EVENTUALLY

9) We are finally settled into an apartment we love!



Ok, so we're not in this one exactly. But a girl can dream!

10) Lots of close temples, and even more being built this year.


11) Going to my first ever concert! (thanks to Rodney's winning-things-off-the-radio talent)


12) Having nice doctors. (Although I wish I hadn't had to see quite so many quite so often this year!)



13) The best news!




14) Hearing baby's heartbeat




15) Lots of good food for the holidays



16) A new car



17) A mom who still puts up with my antics.



18) The Celine Dion concert... almost. But a couple night up the canyon instead was a great trade!




19) A husband who can make me beautiful furniture. (this was my christmas present, it's a table)



20) My 21st birthday, pumpkin pie and all!







(I wasn't better enough for any pictures of me)


21) Sustaining President Thomas S. Monson



22) Chocolate



23) And most importantly, a Savior who made it all possible.




Yep, it's been the best year! Here's to '08 and everything to come in '09!