Traveling Is Hard

Since moving to Chico 3 1/2 years ago, we have done A LOT of traveling. It was easy at first. Just Dave and I, no children to be responsible for. Then we had Jaron. At first, there was not much of a difference, just more stuff to pack. Then Jaron became mobile, enter responsibility. Still, with only 1 child, traveling is not bad. Then we had Lara. Fitting the 4 of us into a room is not fun. Dave has a saying for this, but I think it might not be considered PC, so I'll leave it at that. It's hard on our children being away from their own beds and in a new environment for too long. It's also hard to come home in the late afternoon/early evening and Dave has to go to work and school the next morning. So we started only staying one night when we would travel, giving us one day to recuperate. Now we have 2 toddlers. Traveling is just exhausting and stressful!
We have recently found ourselves with less options of places to stay when we travel. With our 2 active toddlers, people get tired of us quick. Then throw in an unfounded acusation against me leaving a bitter taste in our mouths, one less place to stay. With there being some family members who make us feel obligated to visit everytime we're in town, we often miss out visiting with friends. I hate this part. I want to see so many people, but miss out in order to maintain peace with others. I realized that in the 3 1/2 years we've lived in Chico, we have made a lot of visits to Sacramento, with pretty much no visitors to our place (except for special events). Of course, I can't expect our friends to visit us when we don't visit them. But what about the rest? We hear excuses of not being able to afford it, but we can't exactly afford to travel back and forth to Sacramento as often as we do either. On top of it, being away from our home as much as we are puts us behind on important chores, which has led to some problems for us as well.
So it comes down to this: we are very broke, negative in fact, so we will be hardly traveling from now on, probably only for special events. If you want to come visit, we'd love to have you. We have an air mattress we can throw down on the floor if you'd like to stay the night. If we make a visit to Sacramento, it will probably be only a day trip, and we will probably not be seeing the people we normally see so we can visit those we hardly see before me move. Day trips are hard on our children, so trips to the Temple will probably not include bringing them along.
We have our blog and facebook that we will try to stay up to date on for everyone. We love hearing from everybody and having "peaks" into your lives as well. Hey, look at this as a trial run for when we move far away =)

We're Going To Start Packing

We had a wonderful Christmas. We had late lunch/early dinner with my family on Christmas Day. We were suppose to go to a party with Dave's family for dessert and games that evening, but by the time we arrived there, everyone had left. So much for it going late, huh Shirley...lol =) We visited with Dave's brother Wes and his family the next day. That was exciting because we finally got to see our new niece Lucy (and hold her!) for the first time. Today was her baby blessing, and we missed it =( Dave woke up with a stomach bug this morning. We were late because he needed to use the bathroom as we were getting ready to leave (and I was making Jaron pick up the toys at Shirley's apartment because we were not going back to her house). We were 5 minutes late for church and missed the whole thing =( I'm sure Lucy's blessing was beautiful! Then we came back home. We were exhausted from the weekend. I'm so glad Dave has tomorrow off from work so we can recuperate =)
While with my family on Christmas, I mentioned that this might be our last Christmas with everyone. We're hoping Dave will be accepted to a pharmacy school, and depending on where, we might be moving out of California. My Aunt Lila informed me that we need to be more positive and act like this is really going to happen. I didn't want to sound cocky, that's why I tend to say "if." But she's right, so..."We're going to pharmcy school!" We'll be moving in 6 months, so we are starting to pack now. With 2 toddlers, we need all the time we can get =) We'll be moving to either Savannah, Georgia, Henderson, Nevada, back to Sacramento or into a 3 bedroom apartment in our complex (because Dave got into the online program at Creighton). Here's to our new adventure!

Cousin Loves

This weekend we stayed with Dave's sister Shirley and her family. It was cute watching Jaron playing with his cousins. It was especially cute at church today watching the Jaron with his cousin Anabelle. Here's their story:

It was love from the beginning...

(This was at Anabelle's 1st Birthday. Jaron was 2 weeks old)

That withstood the test of time (16 months)...

(so Anabelle not really happy about all the affection Jaron was giving)And more time...(So Jaron was actually wanting Lara and Anabelle was trying to stop him)

And then it blossomed.

(that's Jaron's arm around Anabelle too...and yes, he is resting his head on her shoulder)

After this, they walked hand in hand to Nursery. It was soooo cute! I'm glad Jaron and Anabelle get along. I hope they stay friends for a long time =)

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while...

but I've been super busy. (oh, no! I'm turning into one of those people).

I did want to take a couple minutes and give an update on a post I made back in February, you can read it here, containing a prediction based on my rudimentary understanding of Ayn Rand's book Atlas Shrugged, (based entirely on what Wikipedia says about the book), that the "men of the mind", o sea, the entrepreneurs would go on strike and refuse to use their talents for the benefit of those that are just looking for handouts.

It appears that this prediction is coming to fruition, as can be read in this article found on American Thinker. But it goes beyond the porculus bill. The article explains that the government running major industries in the economy is creating a hostile environment for business start-ups, which is causing entrepreneurs to take a
wait-and-see" approach, further delaying the recovery from the recession:

...there are few opportunities worth the risk anymore, thanks to Washington. Whether the Congress or the administration will infuse themselves directly into a given industry is not the only point. When government arrogantly claims it can perform impossible slam dunks in the banking industry, the auto industry, the insurance industry, and the medical industry, all the while imposing confiscatory taxes, there is almost nowhere to escape them in any legitimate business.
Businesses need professionals in banking, lending, insurance, and accounting to depend on, and we know now that whomever we hire in these areas will be under the government's thumb. Of course, paying customers are needed as well, and with government causing huge cracks in foundational sectors like housing, lending, and manufacturing, a reliable employed customer base is becoming harder and harder to maintain, much less find.
For many decades, the American dream has been undergirded by the faith that regardless of its current state, the economy would come back around thanks to the greatness of ordinary people being free to do extraordinary things. Thus the bold gunslinger mentality many business owners have had in previous recessions, refusing to participate, and even expanding cheaply to grab market share in the next recovery.
But it's different now, and there is no denying it. The dream itself is being killed by legal and regulatory micromanagement. Washington is determined to employ policies to cure something that can be cured only by government getting the hell out of the way.
A small business summit in the White House will accomplish nothing unless the invitees include unions and lawyers and bureaucrats, in which case it will be devastating. When did a union or a lawyer or a bureaucrat ever start a business? How many times a day do they kill one?
And that's the climate entrepreneurs see. Unions, lawyers, and bureaucrats gain more power and leverage every day. The big opportunity now is to spend government money: an eighteen-million-dollar government contract to create an awful Recovery.org website, SEIU union jobs in ObamaCare, bankruptcy lawyers, and perhaps carbon credit trades coming. There are ACORN-style crony contracts to be had, not to mention all the jobs created by the David Axelrod astroturfing media escapades. If you are connected or if your dream is to enrich yourself by killing the dreams of others, then the field is ripe for you.

Atlas is beginning to shrug.

On a side note, when I recently heard about the student protests @ UCLA and UC Berkeley, it caused some strange feelings I couldn't quite process. The college-student part of me sympathized, being concerned about my own rising tuition costs, but a larger part felt odd about it. I couldn't quite process it until I saw this article. It then made perfect sense. That was exactly how I felt about it.

Let your voice be heard and tell me what you think.

Pictures With Santa

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, the Costco here in Chico offers free pictures with Santa. They do it to promote their greeting cards, but you don't have to buy. We like it because there is generally a short line and it's free! We've heard about the prices to have pictures taken with Santa in the mall, not cheap. This is the 3rd year we had pictures taken with Santa at Costco. Here's what Costco gave us:

This was the 1st picture taken.

The person before us cut in front of us, both her children freaked when they saw Santa, Jaron and Lara saw the whole thing, so they freaked once we stepped towards Santa. So we put Jaron and Lara on our laps.

Lara wanted Mommy and Jaron would not look at the camera

They tried to get Jaron to look, but he wouldn't. Now Lara's upset because she is not with Mommy. so...Mommy and Daddy trade children
...then,

Jaron wanted back on Mommy's lap,

both children were not crying,

so the photographer took this shot

The pictures look better than they scanned. We might go back and get the CD (still cheap at $3 tops). I will miss our little tradition once we move. We love Chico's Costco for doing this!

It's Been A While...Update

It's been a while since my last blog. So much going on here lately, just trying to keep up. It's hard to believe that my little girl will be one in a few days. It's hard to believe my little boy is 2 1/2. Where did the time go? I thought just yesterday they were still babies.
This time last year, Jaron had long curly hair, was only babbling, and had not figured out how to undo child locks. No he has short hair, talks all of the time, and is unstoppable when he wants something. I can't turn my back on him, or even go to the bathroom, anymore when he is awake. Just the other day he pushed the TV off of the TV stand, got into the fridge and broke open 2 dozen eggs all over the kitchen floor, and put quarters into the garbage disposal. Even while both Dave and I were home, he was into all kinds of mischief. Dave took Jaron outside to play, and Jaron took off around a building. We put him on time out whenever he acts up, and it does not seem to work. This is what must be meant by the "Terrible Twos." I can't wait till this is over! It's days like these that make me want to pull my hair out and wonder why I decided to have kids. Then something happens, like asking him something and seeing his excitement, and my heart feels full again. The pros and cons of an animated child: he is very loud and obnoxious when he's mad, and then he's loud and adorable when he's happy. Opposition in all things, right?
Lara is quite the character. She is very demanding and content. She is happy playing by herself or stealing her brother's toys. Then Jaron steals her toys, and she protests in a very dramatic way. She is a DRAMA QUEEN! Tantrums involve throwing herself backwards if you're holding her, or throwing herself on the ground if you're not. She screams in a very nails on the chalkboard kind of way (no cute screaming from this girl...not cool). But she is also a very happy child. She finds joy in so many things, especially when she knows she is not suppose to do it. We'll catch her and she'll take off giggling. She's still at that age where almost everything she does is so fills your heart cute.
Jaron and Lara are so cute together. They love each other very much, and annoy each other at the same time. "Typical" brother and sister relationship =) When Jaron is in his room for naps or bedtime, she'll go over to his door and knock on it. Jaron must blow her kisses, if she is sleeping, before he goes to sleep. They both try to wake each other up during car rides. Lara especially gets upset if Jaron is sleeping in the car while she is awake. Jaron is always wanting to help Lara, to the point that he dislocated her elbow because he tried to pull her up on our bed (we were in the room and tried to stop him, but it was too late). But then he gets annoyed with her when he wants his alone time and she wants him to play. It can be frustrating at times, but mostly endearing watching them interact. They are definitely a joy in my life.
Dave is in the process of applying to pharmacy schools. His application is turned in for UOP, and working on finishing supplemental applications for Creighton and South University. We still need to do the application for University of Southern Nevada. I can't believe we are finally to this point. It's still so surreal. Please keep your fingers crossed and keep us in your prayers that Dave will be accepted somewhere. I think we are ready to move on.

Gratitude: Dave Has A Job

In these uncertain times, I am so grateful that Dave has a job. It pays decently, Dave's able to work in the early morning so he can go to school and spend time with our family, we have full benefits despite Dave only being part time (one of the very few reasons I like the union), and Dave's high enough on the seniority list that he is not on layoff status (where he would have to call in to work every morning and see if UPS has work for him to do...if Dave did not work enough hours in the month, then we would loose our benefits). It's nice to know that we have a weekly paycheck coming in, and that because it's a union job it is hard for UPS to fire Dave.

Gratitude

We are getting close to November where many people like to start listing things they are grateful for. Some like to pick one thing they are grateful for everyday for the entire month. I decided I'll participate in this this year, but I'm going to start today.
Today I am grateful for Chico. Not so much the Hippie Liberal part, but other great things. We would not have been able to take the path we have if we had not moved to Chico. Dave is able to work part time and go to school full time, and I'm able to stay home with our children. Chico is a beautiful town. Bidwell park is beautiful with all it trees and wildlife. There are plenty of trails you can walk or just go for a bike ride. There are many great play structures for our children. The creeks are clean and clear, seriously...you can see the bottom of the creek! Traffic is not like in Sacramento...you can still go somewhere are 5pm! Living in Chico also makes you grateful for what you had in Sacramento...but at the same time you get to experience more local shops and restaurants. Yep, Chico is great!
Note: I've noticed that I'm beginning to have the small town mentality. I don't go somewhere if I know I'll be over in that area the next day, even though it is only 5 minutes away.
Everyday we should remember what we are grateful for, but life sometimes happens and we forget. I'm working on being more grateful everyday.

Star Wars in Concert...

was FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We went down to Sacramento this weekend to visit family and deliver things to people (baby swing to sister, infant car seat to sister-in-law, christmas tree to friend, quilts to aunt, etc.) Friday evening as we were driving to our destination for the night, Corrina heard an advertisment for something called Star Wars in Concert thaat was playing @ Arco Arena that night (Friday) @ 8pm and Saturday afternoon @ 3pm. When we got to Corrina's aunt's house where we were staying for the night, her aunt said something about it being a laser light show set to star wars music...sounded cool enough, really tempting. Then Corrina read in the newspaper that it was actually an 84 piece orchestra w/ choir playing John William's music from the Star Wars saga with a 3 story screen that they were playing scenes from all 6 episodes from in chronological order...with Sir Anthony Daniels as the narrator (for those who don't know, he played C-3PO in all six episodes). That sounded super-cool so I called Arco Arena up on Saturday morning to see if there were tickets still available and they say yes there is and the doors open 2 hours early because there was going to be a bunch of displays of things from the movies on display for people to look at. How could you pass something like that up?! This is a once in a lifetime type thing and they are only playing in 55 cities on the tour. So I make the exectuive decision to take the family to it.

(The one time we don't bring our cameras to Sacramento is the one time I wish we had...It was supposed to be a short trip we didn't think we would need them)

It, like I mentioned above, was FREAKING AWESOME! We got our pictures taken with someone dressed like Darth Vader (For those that know what it is, all the characters in costume there were members of the 501st Legion) (awesome!). They had tons of props, including Han Solo in carbonite, various blasters and light sabers, imperial helmets, ewok costumes, Boba Fett costume, etc. (awesome!) They had the voice of Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) be the announcer (awesome!). At the very beginning, they did the THX sound effect and the "20th Century Fox" fanfare (like at the beginning of all the movies) (double awesome!) There was a laser show incorporated into it (awesome!), pyrotechnics (awesome!), humor (awesome!). The music was awesome (awesome!), at times I forgot that it was being played live (awesome!). George Lucas was intimately involved in cutting and editing the video clips for the concert (awesome!). And for the encore, they played again the Darth Vader theme, but louder because they didn't have the video w/ sound effects/dialogue behind them (super double triple awesome!!!) I was half expecting for Vader himself to come out on stage and force-strangle someone :-) And the whole family loved it. Lara was dancing to the music, until she got tuckered out and fell asleep. I am most definately glad we went!

Clarification

Since my last post, I feel I need to do a little clarification. The type of purging I have been doing is beyond the standard purging...you know, getting rid of things you don't use anymore, have outgrown, or are not looking so appealing anymore. Just a week before this purge, I had gone through and done a standard purge...in which we made several donation trips to the thrift store. This purge was a "I'm tired of waiting for the day when I can finally use these things" purge. I went through the baby clothes and kept only favorite pieces (which I may need to go through again now I think about it), removed all the dishes I've been saving for the time when we are settled and start entertaining guests, reduced my Christmas decorations (which we only had 1 1/2 12 gallon bins full anyways), down to 1 3/4 under bed small bins, cut down on travel sized items we've been storing (because we do travel...but we've started using our own things more), removed toys that we don't particularly like, got rid of candles and decorations I use to have out but put away because of the kids, cut down on camping gear, etc.
Whenever we/I have moved before, I usually get rid of a bunch of things while packing, and then more as I unpack. We really are fairly organized to begin with. Everything is neatly stored in closets, bins, etc. It's the stuff that we use all the time that seems to make us feel cluttered (that's why there are fewer toys, dishes and food storage items to be found now).
I don't really see myself as a pack rat, more as a recovering one. I use to keep all the notes people had written me, all the gifts people gave me, etc. I've gotten over that over 10 years ago (thanks Maya!). To me a pack rat is someone who keeps empty pill bottles, closets full of incomplete games and puzzles (or ones that no one has played in years), cupboards full of dishes and empty food containers for storage that are more then can possibly be used at one time or fit in the refrigerator, broken items, outdated items that cannot be used, clothes that are so outdated and tattered that they will never be worn, etc. This is not me...not by a long shot. So maybe to some I may be a pack rat, but I think not, especially now =)
Some people have also made comments to me that after I'm done here, can I come over to their place. I actually love doing that kind of stuff, but I may need a little cash incentive (wink, wink) =)
Anyways, as I told one friend, I have turned over a new leaf. I may not know what that leaf is, but I turned it =)

Is That the Best You Got?!

I am really getting sick and tired of people (especially my socialistic spewing Spanish Profesoras) using the excuse that "The USA is the only country in the world that doesn't have socialized medicine. Even third world countries have it..." So now we are suppose to aspire to 3rd World?! Has anyone pointed out other differences between us and the rest of the world? How about the fact that the majority of research and development of for new drugs/medical durable goods/procedures/etc. are developed here in the US? And maybe companies in the US will stop developing advances in medicine just like companies in other countries have when they switched to socialized medicine? The United States is (used to be) the best country in the world. Shouldn't other countries strive to be more like us and not vice versa?

Bye Bye Boxes

Hi, my name is Corrina and I'm a boxaholic.
Whew! That felt great to get off my chest :)
A few days ago I told Dave I was thinking about going through all of our stuff and purging (by the way...we had already gone through everything a week ago and had a full car load we donated to a thrift store). I told him that I was thinking about letting go of things I've been holding on to for the day we finally settle into a house this time around. I've finally realized that by the time we are at that point, I will probably want something else anyways. So off we went on our great purging adventure.
We've gone through closets, cupboards, storage bins and even the kitchen sink...ok, not really the kitchen sink...but you get my point. We've spent the last 3 days doing this, and we're still not done! We've purged pyrex (3 pie plates because I decided 4 was over kill since we don't use then), food storage containers, Christmas decorations, magazines, toys, blankets...the list goes on and on...and boxes.
That's right, boxes! Boxes, boxes and more boxes. I think that I have moved so much in my lifetime, and know I'm not done moving, that I save the boxes to things we have so we can box those things back up when we move again. To top it off, we rarely use those boxes to put the original items in, we put other things in it. When I was pregnant with Lara, and went on a nesting purging spree, I let go of a few of those boxes. Evidently the boxes I left behind were procreating this past year...because we had a ton of boxes we got rid of this time. This time I said "bye" to all of the boxes...and I can't believe the closet space that we now have open!
So now we continue on our purging spree, simplifying our lives and freeing ourselves of "stuff."

P.S. Mom, don't get mad about the pyrex...because I know you're shaking your head at me. At least I kept the Tupperware this time :)

No Matter What We Think, Still Show Some Class

Today Chicago was turned down for the Olympics. The blog American's Against Acorn posted about this. They also included a picture of Pres and 1st Lady Obama with "I'm With Stupid" photoshoped on the 1st Lady's blouse. At first I started to chuckle, but immediately felt it was inappropriate. This feeling made me think about why I felt that way.
I'm with stupid is a character attack. Obama is obviously not stupid, he went to Harvard and was able to successfully fool a few people into thinking he was the right man for the job of President of the United States of America (sorry, personal opinion there). My feelings towards Obama are purely related to his ability to be the President of our country. Saying he is stupid is not related to his political ability to be a President.
So this is what I have to say: please show a little class, we're better than using name calling tactics. Keep criticism strictly related to Obama's ability to be the President of the United States of America.

Response to Mr. Gruendl RE: Walmart Expansion

Dear Mr. Gruendl,

During the city council meeting on 29 September 2009, in which you denied Wal-Mart’s petition to expand, your reasoning seemed to be that, even though Wal-Mart jumped through the necessary hoops required to receive approval, they did not go “above and beyond” like Costco. I assumed this is the major basis for your “no” vote because you repeatedly mentioned it throughout the meeting. You are trying to require them to go above and beyond the minimum requirements, which make it appear that you are changing the requirements. Who is to say you won’t just do it again next time because; once again, they are no longer “above and beyond” what you are requiring of them?

One of the additional requirements you are now attempting to force upon Wal-Mart is a $1 million wood stove swap-out program for low-income families. When you vocalized this, many shouts of “black mail” and “extortion” were heard amongst the audience members. You did correct us, albeit without evidence or explanation, that it is not, in fact, black mail. On this point I will be among the first to agree with you. According to one online law dictionary, black mail is defined as “the crime of threatening to reveal embarrassing, disgraceful or damaging facts (or rumors) about a person to the public, family, spouse or associates unless paid off to not carry out the threat”. Extortion, on the other hand, is defined as “The obtaining of property from another induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right. Under the Common Law, extortion is a misdemeanor consisting of an unlawful taking of money by a government officer. It is an oppressive misuse of the power with which the law clothes a public officer”. So, Mr. Gruendl, my question to you is, how is your stance of “I will only approve the expansion if you do these extra things, including paying $1 million” not extortion?

Thank you,

Dave Hale
CC: Chico City Council members, Chico ER, Chico News & Review, The Orion, KNVN 24 Action News

I See A "New Moon" A Rising

Guess what? I have New Moon tickets! Yeah {doing the happy dance}!

OK, so Dave is going to kill me for making that my title, but I'm sure he'll forgive me in time...though CCR may not...hehehe.
New Moon opens on mine and Dave's Wedding Anniversary. When I found that out, awhile ago, I said to Dave we have to go, it was a sign =) The best part is, he agreed to go!
Anyways, Dave and I had coupons for free movie passes that expire in 4 days. We had been wanting to go to the movies, but every time we could, someone was sick. There's no way we're going to be able to go to the movies before the tickets expire now, so Dave decided to call the movie theater and ask if we could use the coupons to purchase tickets for an advance showing. The movie theater person said that it should not be a problem, so Dave asked if we could use it towards advance tickets for New Moon. The employee said sure, depending on what time because the midnight showing is sold out and the others are almost sold out. Dave told him we were not planning on the midnight showing...but I could not believe that the midnight showing is already sold out! This is Chico! I expected to be able to go the day of and purchase tickets...so glad Dave called.
After Dave got off the phone, he told me he would go and purchase the tickets after we put Jaron to bed, that way we would be sure to have them. So off Dave went, and now we are the proud owners of 2 New Moon tickets for the 4pm showing opening day. Huzzah!
Note: I'm extremely surprised that Dave did this. He thought about calling the movie theater on his own, did it without any nudging, and decided and offered to get the tickets today before they were sold out without me saying a word. What a sweet husband! I probably owe him big time for this one!

Instead Of Ironing...

I'm blogging =) I should be ironing my aunt's quilt tops to I can turn them in to be quilted tomorrow, but I thought I'd post a little blog instead...I mean first =)
Lara is growing up so quickly. She works on walking on her own all of the time. The most steps she has taken at one time is eight. Usually it's two or three. She is such a determined little lady! She is my mini me is so many ways. Yesterday she was not feeling well. She was lethargic and not eating a whole lot. After one of her naps, she felt hot. I had Dave take her temperature when he came home from school...it was 102 degrees! We called the doctor and took her in. The doctor thinks it is just a viral infection. Lara's throat is a little red, so that is why she does not want to eat much. I hope this is all just left over from her cold, and because she has a molar coming in. Other than that, she's a happy girl determined to be independent.
Jaron is such a big boy now. It's hard to believe that a year ago he had long curly hair, no words, and could not climb on top of the counter or open doors. Now he speaks in sentences, has super short hair, opens doors, climbs on top of the counter, and just yesterday figured out how to unlock the child locks on the drawers. Soon he'll figure out how to get back into the cupboards, I'm sure.
Dave is in the process of applying to Pharmacy Schools. He just needs to complete the applications, and we're still waiting on one letter of reference. The important one, it's from a Pharmacist. Any Pharmacists out there willing to help us out with a letter in case this one never comes through? =) Anyways, Dave will be graduating from Chico State in May. I can't believe it's getting to be that time.
I'm working on over-coming all the post partum stuff. I've began quilting again, and find that it is helping out. I will have to post pictures of my projects once they are finished. Other than that, just raising my two beautiful babies...which is hard work! They grow too fast, no wonder why some people have a lot of children!

For Scientific Research

Today I had an "attack" at church. I call it that because I'm not sure what else to call it. The doctors cannot figure out why it happens or what it is. When I do not eat enough, I get weak and start shaking. This has not been a problem for a while because I have to eat so much while I'm pregnant and breastfeeding. I even forgot that it was a problem until it happened today.
Dave and I usually eat dinner late because it's just easier that way with the kids. We feed them and put them down for bed and then make dinner for ourselves. But we decided that we were going to start eating dinner with the kids, and yesterday was the first time we did. Whenever we had eaten dinner early before I would eat something else later in the evening, so I had not had a problem. Last night I did not. This morning I had a bowl of cereal and headed to church. I had a prompting before we left that I should grab a protein bar just in case, but I ignored it.
I was sitting in Relief Society, holding the hymnal for the opening song, and noticed I felt shaky. I thought it would be fine, we had less than an hour left, so I was going to wait. But I started feeling more shaky. I still wanted to wait. Finally I decided that I needed to go. I went to get Dave, then we went to get Jaron from nursery. The nursery leader started to tell us why it was hard on them and the children when we pull kids out early (and that she knew that we probably had a good reason) when I blurted out, "I need to go home and eat." So she offered me some crackers or goldfish crackers. Knowing that crackers have never worked in the past, I chose the goldfish in hopes that the minimal amount of cheese in them would help. But they didn't, the shaking was worse by the time I got home. So now I am going to try to remember that I still need to eat before I go to bed.
Now, some of you may be thinking I'm diabetic or hypoglycemic, but I'm not. I have been tested I don't know how many times for these and for my thyroid, but the tests come back negative. The doctors do not know what is wrong, it's just something weird that my body does.
This got me thinking today. I have several "problems" that the doctors do not know why I have them, it's just something weird my body does. I have a heart bruie. The blood flow in my artery right before the veins split to go on each side of my stomach does not flow straight through. It swirls and then flows out. This is usually a sign of high cholesterol or an aneurysm, but I have neither. There are other things, but right now my Mommy Brain is blocking them from my memory. So I was thinking, maybe after I die I should donate my body for scientific research. Then maybe they can figure out why my body does the weird things that it does. I don't know, what do you think?

Miss Lara Is 10 Months Old

Where does the time go? I can't believe that she will be a year old in less than 2 months! She is still 30 inches but now weighs 20lbs 10oz. She started standing up from a squat on her own. She loves it! Her brother, however, is not so thrilled and knocks her down.
Since Lara turned 10 months old, she has begun working on walking. Too soon for Mommy! On Tuesday she took a step by herself, Wednesday it was two, and Thursday it was four. Friday she went back down to one. Today she wanted to hold one hand while she walked. It's only a matter of time before she'll be keeping up with her brother, if he'll let her. When we try to practice walking with her, he decides that is when he needs all of the attention, and then tries to knock her down. Happy times!

Obama De-funded by Congress!

Well, yes. I know, I know. Officially it was ACORN that was defunded by Congress earlier this week, but everyone knows... Wait, what?... You mean even though his first job out of law school was working for ACORN as a "community organizer"; later, as a practicing lawyer, he represented ACORN numerous times; after he was elected president, he selected ACORN to help collect the next census data; he earmarked billions of dollars to go to ACORN in his stimulus bill... he has "absolutely no ties" to ACORN? hmmm...interesting.

Congress is a Joke!

That was the seed that germinated into the thought process that has developed into this post. While at work this morning, I was contemplating the congressman who interrupted BHO by shouting "Liar" (or something very similar).

The congressman was obviously really frustrated, as more and more common citizens are becoming, with the flat-out lies and half-truths that has been "The Great Benefactor's" campaign and reign thus far.

Congressman Joe Wilson immediately apologized to the president, who, along with VP Biden, etc., all accepted his apology. I, personally, don't feel he should have apologized for speaking the truth. Most, if not all, of what The Great Benefactor said in his speech to the joint session of Congress was lies. Pelosi, and the rest of the Democrats then proceed to hound Wilson to apologize to Congress as well. Thankfully, he told them no, that one apology was enough.

So then the Dems announce that this week they plan to formally reprimand Wilson for not apologizing to them too. This is what made me think they are a joke and what caused the thought process to initiate. They are so smug and self-righteous that they feel they deserve an apology as well, even though the presidency already accepted Wilson's apology to them and the matter has nothing directly to do with the rest of congress. Also, if Global Warming is such a threat, if Obamacare is so necessary,etc. etc., why would they feel the necessity to waste precious time reprimanding a fellow congressman when they could be spending that time "saving the world". But then,...

I began to think about it a little more and realized something:

Congress is not as dumb as we think they are but they are not as smart as they think they are.

They aren't a joke nor are they stupid for file an official reprimand. That will be on his record as a congressman and can be used against him when he's up for re-election. "don't vote for Wilson, look what he did in September 2009..."

However, they aren't as smart as they think they are because We, The People are on to their little schemes and realize that is exactly what they are trying to do. But their plan is going to backfire on them as they are replaced, one by one, for being so out of touch with reality and the rest of us that belong to this nation. The majority of We, The People also realize that the Great Benefactor is a liar and are fully supportive of Congressman Wilson. Our eyes are opening (well, at least the eyes of those that weren't open to begin with) and we've had enough.

This weekend there was a massive march on Washington DC. Local police reported that it was the largest gathering ever seen in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, larger even than inaugurations or Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Local authorities estimated numbers around 2 Million citizens (none of them paid, as the left-wing conspiracy-theorists will claim) all gathered to show BO just what we think of him. His inauguration only had ~1 Million people. Did he listen? Nope, as soon as he caught wind of something brewing, he high-tailed it out of their for the weekend on "vacation". And in true Kool-Aid drinking fashion, his propaganda distributors, the main-stream media, grossly underestimated attendance of the event either in the tens of thousands or around 200 thousand. Quite the difference, no?

To all those that voted for you Great Benefactor, thank you so very much; this is exactly what we wanted for our country (laced heavily with sarcasm). The time for repentance is at hand. Please step away from the Kool-Aid and return to the light.

Update on the Duckies

As you may recall from this post, Jaron has a group of duckies that have been living in his bedroom. As I mentioned previous, we decided just to let them stay there until Jaron was ready for them to go away. Fortunately, that first night was the only night that they disturbed his sleep, and they haven't bitten him since. Additionally, since they didn't break skin when they bit, we haven't had to worry about salmonella or rabies or whatever :-) He has continued to keep his door closed during the day so as to not let them out. But now they are his pets. Approximately a week or so ago, while his door was closed, I saw him open the door, pop his head in, say "Hi duckies!" and then close the door again. And then, earlier this week while I was at work, Corrina reports to me that Jaron wanted the door left open so the duckies could come out. Then later they went back in and he closed the door again. I just can't help thinking that it is so friggin' cute and very humorous that his proverbial "monster-under-the-bed" archetype has now turned into his "imaginary-friend/pet" archetype. (For a decent overview on the subject of archetypes, as defined by Carl Jung, follow this link. Keep in mind that Star Wars is so popular b/c George Lucas studied the work of Joseph Campbell on the subject and modeled the characters and plots after common themes {"archetypes"} of mythology, etc.)

Nostalgia

We are starting the process of scanning a bunch of old pictures and transferring negatives to CD so I decided to post some of the ones I found amusing (if not a little embarrassing):

Any guesses on if this is Will or me? It took Corrina and I a while to figure it out.

Any body remember this big, black behemoth? I learned to drive in this thing

Ah, yes. The skim board Will and I made as a scout activity to prepare for a camping trip to the beach.


Will and I again. Can you believe we would fool people into thinking we were twins?

When Corrina first saw this, she thought it was Gary...Can I pretend that she was right? :-)

There's not much to say about this

This was a fun hike! Look at this group of guys that went.

Will trying to act all serious 'cuz he's on staff...I think that's a dead rattlesnake he's carrying.

Family photo circa 1999 (Wes is on his mission)

Our Family, circa 1997 (I would be 14 yrs old)

Ben Saunders, Gary, Will and I when Will, Ben, and I were on staff for Camporee

circa 1999

A "Special" Connection

This is a somewhat revealing post into mine and Dave's personal life...but something I wanted to share. Dave and I have been seeing a marriage counselor for a few months...something that we now feel almost every couple can benefit from in one way or another. When we started, it was at the advice of our Bishop because we had been going through a difficult time. *Note: we were not considering leaving each other, just having trouble feeling connected and the like. We thought it was best since what we were doing was not working, so we needed better ideas. Our problems were not surprising due to the abuse I have suffered in my past and my post-partum depression, and experiences that Dave has been through as well. The counselor had suggested at the beginning that we read a book by Dr Hartmen called The People (used to be called Color) Code. We have glanced through it and thought we were the colors our counselor had first suggested. The counselor has been focusing on the traumas that have occurred in my life to help me move past them so that I can build a better relationship with Dave. We had been feeling that we were making some progress, just not as much as we thought.
This week I decided I would actually read the book. It has you take a quiz at the beginning to help determine what color you are. I called my mom for help because I was having a hard time with it. In the end, I realized I was not the "Blue" person as first thought, but "Red." When I read the Red section, I felt a tremendous amount of relief, like I had finally found myself. As I read more about the other colors, I started wondering if Dave was really the color we first thought of. He had taken the quiz before and determined he was "White." We decided that we would do the test together for him. I read the quiz, mixing up the choices, and he would answer. We made a big discovery, Dave was "Yellow." He felt along the same lines as I did when he read his section as well. All of a sudden we felt this huge relief about our relationship as we realized we were doing the wrong things for each other and now we knew what we needed to do. It was not the counselors fault that we had the wrong colors, it was our fault for not "really" doing our homework. We recommend this book to everyone. It can help with any relationship (family, friends, etc).
Anyways, onto the "Special" connection. Dave and I love to debate. We realized this was "natural" once we really discovered ourselves. We liked to debate so much that people would confuse this for bickering, arguing, disagreeing, etc. Because of the responses we were getting, we thought we were doing something wrong and have been not "debating" as we used to do. I believe this has led to part of the reason we had lost our "connection." We use this gift of ours to feel alive and feel connected to each other. When we had finished our debate, we did not feel angry or frustrated with each other, we felt "connected." I bring this up because I want to let everyone know, DAVE AND I WILL BE DEBATING AGAIN! So don't be concerned or worried, and don't judge us. Just know that we are creating a healthy relationship for ourselves. And if you see a couple "arguing," just see how they are acting towards each other when they are done. Maybe they are just debating and are doing what helps them "connect."

If You Didn't Notice...

All the drooly pictures below...well most of them are. Lara was drooling up a storm at her photo shoot. We thought she had been teething, but nothing had came through. When Dave came home from Lara's Dr's appointment, he said that the Dr had not felt any teeth. I reminded him about the last time she said that and the 2 teeth that came through not to long after. I kept feeling for teeth, but then missed a few days of checking. Monday I'm at the Institute talking to the Support Specialist and she mentions the drooling. As I'm talking to her about how Lara had 7 teeth by 7 months but not one since, I check Lara's mouth and low and behold...There's Another Tooth! That makes 8 now. It's the fourth tooth on the bottom, so now she's no longer lopsided and her bottom teeth will soon match her top teeth (must wait for it to fully come in). Yep...she's quite the teether. Maybe that's why she was waking up so much at night...more sleep ahead for Mommy and Daddy? Probably not...some her molars may be coming in.

Jaron and the Duckies

Last Tuesday, Corrina and I dropped Jaron and Lara off at our friends' house to watch them while we went to an appointment. They live (lived, currently moving to another house) next to creek so their son (age 8ish) raised some ducks from eggs. Jaron loves the ducks, from a distance, but if they approach him, he freaks out (as with any animal). We got their a little early and our friend hadn't got back yet but Jaron wanted to see the duckies. I let him see the duckies and tried to help him overcome his fear. When we came back afterwards, he wanted to feed the duckies srawberries and chase them all over the place. Hallelujah, it worked! Or so we thought. That night, @ 1 or 2 in the morning, he woke up screaming and crying and wouldn't calm down. I had to hold him til he fell asleep. We just couldn't figure it out. Then the next morning when I got home from work, he wanted to keep his door closed and we couldn't figure it out. Then at nap time, he started freaking out because the duckies were in his room. He even told me that one had bit his foot. Cute but sad. And we have been dealing with that since. Fortunately, I just have to hug him while he stands on his bed until he decides to lay down, and then there's no problem. We have decided to just let the duckies disappear on Jaron's terms. They are in his mind and very real so there's not going to be anything we can do to make him imagine them differently. But it is funny that during the day he still has to keep his door closed so the duckies can't get out. And he hasn't reported any more bites since that first night. So I guess we can let them stay :-)

Lara Is 9 Months Old...My How Time Flies

2 weeks ago our little princess turned 9 months old. That's just crazy! How did she grow up so quickly? Well...she did and she is not waiting for us to catch up.

At her 9 month check up, she weighed 19 lbs 8 oz and is 30 inches long. As her Doctor put it, she is as tall as a 2 year old. Jaron is just over half a foot taller than Lara. We'll see if she catches up to him or if she starts slowing down.

Lara is moving with a quickness all over the place now. We can't keep her still, she loves exploring.


Lara cruises (walks) around furniture. She'll even let go and stand on her own for a few seconds. She also stands up by herself, just using furniture, etc to keep her balance. We've even caught her a few times trying to stand herself up without the use of something for balance. She has been successful a couple of times.

Lara does not want to miss a thing. If we go somewhere new, she will forgo breastfeeding because she must see everything. If Dave or I go somewhere, she wants to go too
...especially if it's Daddy and Jaron are going because that must be something fun and exciting that she would miss.
Biting and hair pulling is something our little miss finds humorous. Jaron even tries to get Lara to bite him, which is soooo not helping in trying to get her to stop.

Lara has taken up bullying other babies. She sees, she crawls, she tackles (or bites or pulls hair). She learned this from her big brother. Though I don't like her doing it to other babies, I can't wait until she's able to defend herself against Jaron. I hope I will be able to capture that with the camcorder...because it's going to be hilarious.

Lara is really starting to look like her Mommy (but has more of her Daddy's forehead). I have been hearing from more and more people that she looks just like me. It's funny, because at first I thought she looked like Daddy. Then we pulled out my baby pictures, and sure enough...it's me. She does have her Daddy's ears and I'm thinking Grandma Linda's nose.




Lara is our happy, bouncing (she loves to do it all the time), beautiful princess. We just love her and all the excitement (and calm) she brings.

Indifference

Today I received an email from my grandparents (my real-father's parents) that said "Your Dad!!!" in the subject line. My first reaction, before reading the email, was, "Is he dead?" Thoughts of a drug overdose crossed my mind. All the body of the email said was to call them collect. I used our cell phone, so no collect call. My grandma answered and I asked what was going on. She told me my dad has cancer in his spine and it's terminal. She explained that it has spread and that it's too far along for chemo, so the doctor's are setting him up with morphine that he can administer at home. The doctor has given him a year to live, but my grandma thinks it will be less (she is a nurse...she does have some knowledge of these things). Was I filled with grief or sadness?, no. Was I angry or happy?, no. I could tell that my grandma was crying at several points, but still nothing on my end. I'm not sure what I am feeling, so I'm labeling it indifference. This is a man I have not had contact with in almost 20 years. Since my parent's divorced when I was 5, there really has not been much contact, but my mom took us to visit him when I was 9. In a way, I would like to go see him...maybe for closure. But what do I say?... "Sorry you're dying." I do have some good memories of him, but they are plagued with memories that are not good. I didn't really expect this. I thought it would be that once my grand-parents passed, all ties would pretty much be gone. Hmmm...it would be a nice road trip...seeing as they live in Montana. We'll see what we do.

PCAT

I finally got my PCAT scores. They actually came in the mail while we were in Sacramento and they were waiting in the mailbox when we got home late Saturday night. This is the first opportunity I've had to do any blogging. The company that gives the test just provides the scores, they don't interpret them in any way because each school that requires the PCAT decides on their own what kinds of scores they will accept. So here they are. I will list the category and the percentile
Verbal Ability 95
Biology 88
Reading Comprehension 73
Quantitative Ability 84
Chemistry 68
Composite (overall) 88

Writing Scores:
Conventions of Language 3.0
Problem Solving 3.0
(both of those scores are above the mean score for all tests taken that day at that location, but I can't remember what the max score possible is)

Kindle

Have you heard about Amazon's Kindle 2.0? Its a super-thin, super-light-weight ebook reader that can hold over 1500 books and uses 3G networks to download anywhere, anytime without monthly fees, or service plans. Sounds awesome, right? I thought so. Being the technophile I am, I wanted to get my hands on one and check it out. One of my professors loves his and says he's even been able to download his textbooks onto the device. It can even read to you and books cost about $9.99 to download. Sounds amazing! Even "Dear Leader" (BHO) seems to think so because I found this item about Barry wanting to give one to every school child. Never mind the fact that, as the blog points out, one minute he says the country is broke, the next minute he says he wants to spend $299.00 (retail price on Amazon.com) each for EVERY school child.

It forced me to start thinking why he thinks this contraption is so important that he wants every school child to have one but not a word about every child having a calculator (Even a TI-89 Titanium graphing calculator costs half that much on Amazon.com and a graphing calculator of that ability is over kill for any school child. The much more likely TI-30X IIS is less than $15 each at Walmart.) Then I figured it out, and all my worst fears about this administration (or should I say reign?) started coming back to the front of my mind.

Now, I like to think I'm a pretty optimistic guy, a little cynical, but optimistic. These last seven months have really been changing that. I also enjoy entertaining a conspiracy theory every now and then but the one I stumbled across and figured out seems so plausible, and likely, that it's scary. Have I piqued your interest, yet? Think along the lines of 1984, We, and Fahrenheit 451 all rolled into one. Have you figured it out? (btw, I have read all three of these and recommend them to everyone)

According to the articles you can follow from this page, Amazon, or any entity (i.e government) with access, can add, delete, or change content on the Kindle at any time without telling you or asking permission. Furthermore, "Amazon knows what books you have on your Kindle, and, in theory, it can even know the book you are currently reading, and even the last page you’ve read on each of the books you own."

If Dear Leader has his way, not only will everyone in the coming generation be forced into Universal Healthcare (which, might I add, will pay for abortions and outlines mandatory counseling for senior citizens concerning "alternatives to end of life care" i.e. a counselor trying to convince you to refuse treatment because you're old instead of fighting for your life and seeking medical treatment) but the White House (or wherever he decides to move his capital city when he takes supreme command) will have a direct line of access to our school children via the kindle. They will decide what content is downloaded and when. The only hope against it would be for parents to manually delete content themselves. But whose to say that the government won't just put it right back on, or, in the future when dictatorial intentions are more overt, if we will even retain any ability to control the content on the Kindle. "But Obama isn't that sinister" you say? My only response is that he is left-handed.

Nephite Pride Cycle

On our way back to Chico from Sacramento last night, Corrina and I were discussing many things and Corrina had an epiphany that we were then able to elaborate. She said something along the lines that we can see parrallels between events in the Book of Mormon and what is happening to the USA today, specifically regarding Heavenly Father's promise regarding the land. IT was an amazing moment of clarity and understanding that I thus expanded on it with regards to the Nephite pride cycle. What we came up with follows:
=============
In innumerable places within the Book of Mormon, the Lord promises the prophet at the time "inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land, but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." (cf. 2Ne. 1:20) That promise isn't exclusive of the Nephites or even of antiquity. The Book of Mormon, remember, was written for OUR day.

Additionally, the term "Nephite Pride Cycle" is a misnomer. There is nothing uniquely Nephite about it. What it should be called is "The Curse of the Promised Land". Just as it says in the Book of Mormon:

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things (emphasis added). If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
15 And to bring about his eternal purpose in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.

Any time a people is given the blessing of receiving a promised land, the curse that follows inevitably with is is the pride cycle. You are given a land just for you, you get prideful about it, you get slothful, you get destroyed, you repent, it starts all over. The Nephites weren't the only ones that this happened to. It happened to the Jaredites thousands of years before Lehi. It may have even happened to the Mulekites, although they kept no records so we're not really sure. It happened to the Israelites when they were given their Promised Land. The author of the Proverbs said it succinctly:

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

And we would all be very naive if we thought that we, as citizens of the United States, are immune from this curse. Nephi saw our day and received a revelation of the colonizing and founding of this country. Could we not then say that we were given this as a promised land?

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.

16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.

We have become prideful and slothful and are letting the central government take more and more power away from the citizenry. And what has the government been doing with this power? sowing the seeds of destruction: spending money it doesn't have, bowing down to dictators, refusing to admit that we have enemies, shirking its responsibility to be a force to be reckoned with on the global stage. The list goes on and on. Let me know what you think. Am I right? Am I off base? Let me know

Fooled by the Media

We parked next to this car at our local Costco and when we noticed the bumper stickers, Corrina said "Now that's something to blog about." Boy is she right. Either this lady has drunk so much of Obama's Kool-Aid that she doesn't realize exactly how fooled by the media she is, or she is just as evil and socialist as the current administration. I'm not sure which is worse.

Three Things:

First:
As a preface, I know this is old news and nobody cares about it anymore. I'm untimely in my reporting, etc. But who cares. This is my blog and I'll write about anything I want to.

Second:
Why did the Mainstream Media (MSMspend so much time reporting the type of dog the Obama's were going to get and from where they were going to get it (breeder vs. pound)? Was that really the most important information we, the people, needed to know? I expected that type of buffonery from the tabloid news shows like "Extra!" but not the MSM until I realized they are so entranced by the Man, the Body that they are practically reading the scriptthat B.O. has written for them. Especially ABC who recently decided to broadcast a special about Obama's universal heathcare plan straight from the Blue Room of the White House without letting opposing views take part in the spectacle (can we say PRO-PA-GAN-DA, children?). Hey Charlie (Gibson), did B.O. let you use his own personal teleprompter? Why don't you just climb up on good ol' Barry's lap and let him whisper in your ear?

Third:
If B.O. can't even keep his campaign promise to get his dog from a pound, what makes anyone believe that he will keep any of his other campaign promises?

I'm becoming my dad!

With every passing day I begin to realize more and more just how much like my father I'm becoming. The evidence:

1. I have to carry a pen around with me everywhere I go
2. My joints, especially knees and ankles, creak and pop when I walk
3. I get my children's names confused
4. I listen to conservative talk radio
5. I wipe my children's snotty noses with the handerchief that I carry in my back pocket
6. I fall asleep in front of the TV no matter how much activity is going on around me

That's just what I've noticed lately...I'm sure I'll find more later. I guess you could call this belated Father's Day wishes since Father's Day was on Sunday.

I love you Dad!

Adventures With Pay For Parking

I was not going to blog about this, but since Dave mentioned in his blog that he would leave this up to me to tell, I feel obligated.
Yesterday, Dave took the PCAT in Berkeley (read Dave's blog to fill in the blanks). I dropped him off at 8:30am (he mentioned I had to kill 4 hours of time. That was incorrect, it was 5 hours) and went back to our hotel to partake of the free continental breakfast. I then took Lara back to our room and fed her, let her play a little, and then she went down for a nap. Lara had woke up every 2 hours during the night, so I was tired; therefore I joined her for the nap. Lara fell asleep around 10am, I fell asleep about 15-20 minutes later and woke up at 11:25am. Checkout was at noon, so I got everything ready while Lara still slept (she woke up about 10 minutes after I did). Dave had forgot to pack my change of shirts (all I had was a polo that I had worn the day before), so I looked up where the local Old Navy was located (it was in Emeryville) and headed over. To my surprise, you had to pay to park at the mall. I had no cash, in fact I had only a credit card, but the machine that you pay at said that it took credit cards, so I parked and proceeded to Old Navy. I thought it was great because I got the closest parking spot to the elevator and the Old Navy was right by the entrance to the mall by my elevator. Perfect! I did my shopping and the went to the machine to pay. I insert my credit card and a message pops up stating it cannot take my card. What!?! I try again, same message. This cannot be happening! I walk into a store and ask if I can purchase something with my credit card and then get $2 cash back because the machine is not taking my card. I'm told they can't do that, but the store next door can. I walk over and ask, the cashier says he does not know, so he tries calling his manager. Manager does not answer. He tells me he won't do it because he could not get a hold of his manager and tells me I should walk to a grocery store down the street and see if they can. Hello! I'm from out of town, I have a baby in my arms and a shopping bag. I leave the store trying to hold back tears because I don't know what to do. I sit down in a chair outside with Lara on my lap and cry. I'm stuck at a mall over 3 hours away from home, I have no cash, no ATM card, and no way to get a hold of my husband. I remember that we had brought our check book. I walk back to the car and find it. While waiting at the elevator, another person tries to pay by credit card and has the same problem. So, I go back to the first store I had asked, they do not accept checks. I see Harry and Davids, they have to take checks and can let me write it for more and get cash back. I go over and ask. The clerk tells me that they do not have the capability to do that. That was the straw that broke the camels back! I sat on the bench in front of the store and just cried, trying to not be hysterical. The clerk sees me and asks if I need the money for parking. I tell her yes. She asks if I need $2, I say yes. She says she had that in her purse and then goes to her purse and hands me the money. I was so grateful, but I could not stop crying. Hormones, they'll get you every time. She offers me some coffee, I tell her that I do not drink coffee. She offers me iced tea, and I tell her that I do not drink that either, but thank you. I head out, pay at the machine, get Lara in the car, and head to UC Berkeley to pick up Dave. I was still fragile when Dave finished and came out to the car. I told him that and told him he better not do anything to me. He asks me what happened. I tell him, but still could not do it without crying. I must have had a lot of things pent up, because it sure did seem like I cried a whole lot more than I should have. I'm glad everything worked out and that I received help when I needed it. Heavenly Father really does bless you when you REALLY need it.

Update

Well, its been a while since I've posted anything, and its been even longer since I've posted anything non-political. The last three weeks I've been taking a summer school class and really focusing on that. (Did you know that the masseter, zygomaticus, buccinator, digastric, and sternocleidomastoid are all muscles of the skull, as well as the orbicularis oris and orbicularis occuli?) I still have three more weeks of this but decided to give a quick update because this has been a crazy weekend that's not over yet.

Friday we drove down to Sacramento to drop Jaron off at my sister's place for a sleep over. After spending some time with them, we said good bye to Jaron and drove down to Berkeley. The purpose for going to Berkeley was so I could take the PCAT. Its kind of like the MCAT for for medical school but the PCAT is for pharmacy schools. After checking into the hotel, we had to run to Target to buy some Genteal Gel eyedrops because I forgot mine in Chico, after which we went out to eat. Saturday Morning, I was almost late for the PCAT because UC Berkeley is confusing and Google maps were a little inaccurate. Fortunately, they were only reading the general directions and filling out the front cover of the answer booklet with name, date, etc. etc. I have no idea how well I did and I have to wait ~6wks for the results to be mailed but it seemed more difficult than the practice test I had taken online earlier in the week.

Corrina dropped me off at the test center and went off to kill ~4hrs while I was testing. After the test, she comes and picks me up and tells me about her adventures with the pay-to-park parking lot at the Emeryville Mall. I'll let her give the details...I'll just say that it must have been really stressful, I would have flipped out.

After the test I call my sister to see how Jaron did: overall, pretty good, however:

• He fought going to bed from 7:30 - 10
• At ~2am, woke up screaming and had to be held (right?)
• STILL woke up @ 6am
• Was doing fine that morning, they went to my parent's to go swimming and he was having a great time.

It was ~1:30 when we called and he hadn't gone down for a nap or anything. We we got there @ ~4pm, he had just barely gotten wiped-out and had fallen asleep. We then drove to Corrina's Grandma's house because Corrina's mom, Corrina's brother's girlfriend and their kids were visiting from Wyoming.

Jaron didn't go down til late again and woke up screaming @ 2 or 3. I think he was partially traumatized from not having us the night before and the room being so dark he couldn't even see tat we were there with him. All his crying woke up Lara so it was quite the struggle to try to get them both to calm down and go back to sleep. Now we are goig to go to church, then off to Corrina's Aunt's house for a family get together. And after that, drive back to Chico today to start the week all over tomorrow. Oh, and did I mention that Lara is REALLY tired of the car seat? Fun times :-)

It Fills My Heart

One of the greatest joys I have experienced lately is being able to watch Jaron and Lara play together. They are so cute together. A few days ago, Jaron was crawling around so that Lara would chase after him. When Lara decided she was too tired to chase Jaron, Jaron crawled around where Lara could see him. Lara laughed and squealed in delight. Yesterday they stood up on their knees in front of the TV to play with the VCR and TV buttons. It makes my heart feel so full to watch them play. I hope they continue to enjoy playing together and not have many disagreements (like today when Jaron did not want Lara to touch anything he felt was his). Maybe I'll be able to capture these precious moments with the camcorder one day.

The Strike!

The following comes from a wonderfully insightful and timely blog called "Atlas Shrugs"
----------
The Strike!
The exploitation and enslavement of the producers by the looters and moochers will not go unanswered. I find more and more, in talking with people trying to manage the over taxation and overwhelming government regulation in their lives, that they are minimizing their exposure. The producers will go on strike.
Every action Obama is taking will decrease revenues, not increase them. Free markets need to be free. This has been proven time and time again. As Obama's communist measures take effect and the economy sinks further into a financial abyss, expect the government to take even more dangerous measures. Michael Z wrote:
The best practical legal way for America to go Galt has already begun and that is for privately owned businesses to downsize their operations and not make any new or very limited new capital investments. They would then cut back on expenses to try and maintain a profit and lower revenue levels. This would necessitate layoffs, which most small businesses can do without a problem because they are not unionized. This would reduce peoples income and that along with Hussein's new credit card law will further reduce consumer spending and further shrink the economy.
This will continue to raise the unemployment rate (I expect to see at least 10% - 12% or maybe even higher unemployment before then end of 2010) and the Republican Constitution party should be able to take power from the Socialist Democrats in Congress in 2010.
OT but related: Anybody else get a bill by the IRS or US treasury for previous years? I did. A pretty hefty sum bill for 2004. Outta the blue. Of course I gotta start digging to find those financial docs. But I was wondering if folks have been getting billed suddenly for previous years. Purely anecdoctal.
----------
As some of you might recall, I blogged on this very topic back in february (looking back, it happened to be my birthday). It appears that Rush hit it on the nose and that is exactly the direction we're headed.

Our Jaron and His Paci

The last few posts have been about our Lara. It's time for an update on our Jaron!
Dave decided it's time to start weaning Jaron off the pacifier. Dave informed Jaron that he can only use the paci at nap time and bedtime. The first day did not go so well. Jaron wanted his paci when he wanted it, and we had to remind him that it was only for sleeping. After the first day we'd ask him for his paci when he woke up (I have to admit I was lenient the first morning that Dave was at work, but then Dave came home and had Jaron give it to him. Then I decided I should be more supportive of my husband). Jaron would shake his head no, and we'd remind him that is was only for sleeping, so he'd throw it at us or elsewhere in protest. But he would not ask for it after he gave it up. Then a couple days later I asked Jaron for it after he woke up. He threw it on the ground, then grabbed it and ran into his room, shut the door, and after about a minute he came out and handed it to me without me asking again. After a few minutes, he grabbed it and repeated the process of running to his room again. He did this a few more times, then the last time he came out of his room, laid on the floor by me and started snoring. He then stood up, handed me the paci and did not grab it again. Since then, when we ask him for his paci, he willingly hands it to us and tells us to put it up on the book shelf where we store his paci. There are times now that he'll immediately hand it to us when we let him out of his room, without us asking. There have been times he'd hide his paci in his room, then come out with it later in the day. But he still gave it up willingly when asked. This afternoon Dave did not get the paci right away. When I noticed Jaron had his paci, I asked for it. He then ran into his room, shut the door, and after a few seconds ran out and handed his paci to Dave and then told Dave to put it on the bookshelf. It was cute.
I just can't believe it has been this easy to wean him off daytime use of the paci. I hope it goes as smoothly when we wean him off completely!

Axis of Evil

From 1939 to 1945, the Axis of Evil consisted of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan.

In 2002, the Axis of Evil consisted of Iran, Iraq, and Communist North Korea.

In 2009, it appears Obama believes the Axis of Evil consists of US military veterans, pro-lifers, and supporters of the US Constitution.

Does anyone else see anything wrong with this?

The Truth About ObamACORN

It looks like Barry's Boys are getting nervous about his association to ACORN. Finally we're making some headway. If only the MSM would actually pick this up and run with it. Unfortuantely, in perfect dictator style, Barry's goonsuad tries to strong-arm anyone into silence that tries to investigate and report. Read the story below.

(via Perspectives)

The Truth About ObamACORN
by Michelle Malkin

Left-wing groups in Washington, DC, are panicked. The New York Times and other Team Obama whitewashers are downplaying the connection between the Obama presidential campaign, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and Obama's old employer Project Vote (ACORN's nonprofit canvassing arm). Alas, the truth keeps seeping out. At a closed-door powwow hosted Thursday at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, activists discussed how to combat a relentless stream of corruption charges from ACORN/Project Vote whistleblowers. But it's too late for a reputation bailout. Former Project Vote official and whistleblower Anita MonCrief has harnessed the Internet to crowd-source a massive cache of documents showing ties between Obama staff members and the supposedly "nonpartisan" ACORN operations.

Last fall, The New York Times abandoned an investigation into whether Obama had shared donor lists with Project Vote, a 501(c)(3) organization that is prohibited from engaging in political activity. Public editor Clark Hoyt earlier this month called it "the tip that didn't pan out." Critics suggested the donor lists could have been compiled through public records. But I have obtained the lists -- not only of Obama donors, but also lists of Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry contributors. The records include small donors to the Obama campaign, who are not disclosed in public campaign finance databases. It's information only a campaign could supply...

(read full report here)

Poltics

So lately it has seemed that I have been devoting increasingly mroe space on this blog to political ramblings as opposed to other ruminations and I've been wondering if I should stop resisting the stemming tide and let it be. With everything that "Barry's Boys" (BO himself & his administration) and the left-wing "Statists" (as Mark R. Levin calls them) in Congress are doing to this country, I feel its my obligation to do what ever I can to fight for the cause of Conservatism.

Given my current status, I feel unable to devote any time or means (in the form of tea-bagging, etc. or dontaing money, etc.) But I do have my freedom of speech (so far, who knows when BO will try to change that) As such, I have even formed a Facebook group called Conservative Armchair Activists that I would like to invite all my readers to join, if you have a FB profile, obviously. Just recently I have started exploring the Conservative blogosphere and have linked to some of the ones I've found in the sidebar.

The same day that I added a couple of them, I discovered that one of them, The Founding Bloggers, linked to the Steven Crowder video about Gitmo and Torture that I posted a few days ago, and even gave me credit. How awesome is that. I'm just an amateur political blogger and I've been noticed by a major one. How crazy is that?!

I've also been more active posting videos and links on FB so if you want to see some of those, find me and befriend me. Thanks