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.