Alaska...

Foreign policy. FYI - I have none. My blood came from Taiwan...and China - but I'm mostly white on the inside.

Here's my take on the foreign policy bit for Sarah Palin the VP candidate. I cant' stress enough that she is just running for VP. Aren't VPs just accessories?

Bad answer with Couric. I wished that Palin had just admitted, and said "I don't have any. I'm a Governor. That's something I will learn on the job, like Reagan and Clinton. Both men who ran for president, the top job. I imagine foreign policy will also be something that Obama, who is running for that top job, will need to learn, if he is elected president too."

I wish she said that. Given the amount of media trainers and PR people - that's the answer I would've recommended. You take the bite out of it by being honest. Don't try to create the answer...just be honest about the fact that her role is the VP... not president. Let's be honest... when has the VP been anything more than dressing?

That's what I would do... but then again - if I was in that same situation - I might of gotten all silly too... if I were put in a position to be VP - heck yes, I'd give it a go. Maybe that's why I like it that someone not polished has that chance.

I'm not naive enough to think either party has the answers. Or that any candidate is sent from heaven. (Mitt was pretty close *wink*) But there are things that I hold dear that mesh more with one party than another. That's how it goes.

Here's the deal. I don't think any of the candidates are bad people. Misguided maybe... But... I do believe that people who think Obama is the Messiah are nutjobs. Sorry, I do. He's no different than any other politician. And whenever you ask what people mean by Change... they have blank old faces, and an inability to articulate. Anytime people claim something too good to be true... I check my butt... I'd like to know what color smoke they're blowing up my ass.

Bail out... makes me go hmmm

No Thank You.

I saw this article and I like it. I like it very much. Here's a snippet of the article below - a teaser. Read it in it's entirety. This is the type of solution I can work with. I'd be in line for a 3.5% refinance...heck yes. And...also see this - let's not let these bankers mess with us...and don't you wish a person could orate like Jackson today?

"The emerging bipartisan consensus—the original bailout, plus a few new provisions concerning oversight—is the epitome of “trickle down.” Wall Street made bad decisions, but Wall Street is too big to fail, so we must give them $700 billion, so that the rest of us can avoid a recession. Got that? The Wall Street message is, “We screwed up, so give us money, otherwise, you’ll be sorry.”

Amazingly, that argument—top-down piracy at its most naked—is carrying the day in Washington. If one ever needed proof that the government is the tool of the ruling class, this is Exhibit A.

So what’s the alternative? Mallory Factor, a South Carolina businessman, has a better idea: “Bail out homeowners, not lenders,” he says. “Any qualified buyer who wants to buy a house,” he says, “could buy one at a guaranteed low interest rate, of, say, 3.5 percent. And any qualified homeowner who wants to refinance could get the same rate.” If that happens, Factor predicts, “There would be a flood of liquidity into the system, as people bought houses again, which would also help reduce the housing-stock overhang. In addition, as people refinanced, all these instruments, such as collateralized mortgage obligations, which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have choked on, would once again start performing. And that would save the banks and many investors. It would save the banks and investors by saving homeowners and homeownership.” In other words, trickle up, not trickle down."

Maybe it's just me - but freaking out is useless. I think like always we need to be calm and that's the only way to make a wise choice. This country has weathered tougher times than these... chill.

Grateful

..for my hubby.

I can't get my left hand wet with the healing finger... so he helped me shower... it was fun too... hehehe

ewwww...I know... gross. I can't help wondering if it's not supposed to be open... like - shouldn't my skin be touching each other?... maybe I need to go see my primary doctor.

and... he bathed our girls...and he helps me with the dishes... all the poopie diapers... I'm grateful.

Tonight when I was telling our oldest that she and her sister have gymnastics tomorrow and then she has preschool, she asked about daddy. He said he had to go to work. She said, "But Daddy - working makes you tired, I don't want you to be tired. I want you to stay home with me."

What a thoughtful little one.

Grateful.

One,

Two

From this...

to

this...

Happy, happy birthday to my spunky little one

Love,
Mommy
ps. more on cryingoverspiltmilk.blogspot.com

Sharp

Yesterday around 4:30 pm I was preparing fruits and veggies for a smoothie for my family. I had gotten all the grapes, strawberries, banana, apple, orange, flax, blueberries, and carrots into the blender... all I had left to do was slice a chunk of cabbage and then add the yogurt and blend, baby, blend.

So as I started to slice the cabbage head in half... it naturally stuck towards the end...and so I was shimmying the knife up when all of a sudden the pad of my ring finger started to register pain.

Instantly I told my girls who were running around the island to move into the family room and I told them I had cut myself. My four year old said, as she demonstrated with her hand, "Mommy, open and close your fingers, open and close". This is what we tell her when she injures herself to assess if she's broken anything.

My two year old said, "Mommy has an owie". I knew I had to put pressure. I'm not good with blood or pain. I called my hubby who was on his way back from a work team building thing in Tahoe...but his battery had died.

So I called my dependable friend Sally and she zipped on over to watch my girls so I could go to urgent care. Luckily, on my way out my hubby came home. So he took me. Turns out instead of stitches they can do this derma bond glue thingy... awesome. I also got a tetnus shot... ow. I am a wimp. I have this nice splint to remind me not to strain or get my wedding finger wet for the next week. I just want to say how grateful I am for all ten fingers.

Yes, when I got home my hubby finished cutting the cabbage for me and we had healthy smoothies. Also... it means I get a little vacation from most diapers...

Wow

So last Tuesday I dropped off passport renewals in the mail - expedited service. I expected they'd arrive back on my doorstep the first couple weeks of October.

A week later my husband's passport was here. Mine - a day later - yesterday. Wow... I had no idea it could be that fast!

Door-to-door 1 week... is that crazy fast or is it just me?

One, two, three,

FOUR

From this...

to

this...

Happy, happy birthday to my STAR.

Love,
Mommy
ps. More on cryingoverspiltmilk.blogspot.com

Snow Gear

Ok... bloggers so we have a goal of taking our girls to the snow this year. One reason I love living in Calif - that I can go to the snow when I really want to ... it never comes to me. YAY!

Anywho - I'm looking for places to get some snow gear for the girls. Any recommendations? I get the Land's End catalogs and am not sure if I should get those or find something else.

Advice? Suggestions? We honestly have no snow gear. I don't even have any. I think I abandoned it all after leaving Utah...10 years ago.

Children

The LA Times ran this article. Read that first and take a look at the comments - that will make what I have to say below make much more sense.

If you look at some of the comments you'll find that some focus on all the exceptions. I of course - had to comment. Whether or not my comment gets on the board - below is what I had to say. Course - it's my blog so I don't have to limit it to 650 characters.

Well stated. Well focused. That's the heart of the issue. Children. If we focused on their needs there wouldn't be a question about marriage, instead selfishness prevails. Selfishness always stands in the way of protecting, preserving the children.

Most of the comments here are about the exceptions. There are exceptions in every situation and issue. The point is - there is an ideal. The ideal is a loving mother and father bringing into this world a child. Together they foster a solid foundation of identity, stability, love and nurturing direction. Does this always happen? Of course not. We’re human and inherently imperfect. But that doesn't mean we then shoot for the lowest common denominator. As a society we must fight for the ideal. If we fall to the "at least it's better than" philosophy we will never be able to move forward as a society.

Just thinking...

Would it be so bad not to have a two party system?

Flying on Rhetoric

My friend Jon shared this article from the Economist.com in google reader. Jon finds so many great articles that I find interesting.

This one here is something that I've been thinking for a long time. The delusion of a candidate with no record of change - claiming that he can change... change what? how? on what basis? It seems the masses want to drink the delusion potion. The fact is ... this guy is like every other politician in DC. To dress him up and blow smoke in our faces to fool us into thinking otherwise is politics at work. For those who are infected by spin doctors - wow.

Here's a favorite passage from the article:

The Obama that emerges from its pages is not, Mr Freddoso says, “a bad person. It’s just that he’s like all the rest of them. Not a reformer. Not a Messiah. Just like all the rest of them in Washington.” And the author makes a fairly compelling case that this is so. The best part of the book concentrates on Mr Obama’s record in Chicago, his home town and the place from which he was elected to the Illinois state Senate in 1996, before moving to the United States Senate in 2004. The book lays out in detail how this period began in a way that should shock some of Mr Obama’s supporters: he won the Democratic nomination for his Illinois seat by getting a team of lawyers to throw all the other candidates off the ballot on various technicalities. One of those he threw off was a veteran black politician, a woman who helped him get started in politics in the first place.

My husband and I often talk about how Obama came to rise in the Democratic Party. I always figured Obama was someone that would toe the party line and was someone they could imprint on ... like a dry erase board. Someone who would be easily controlled and dressed up by the lunatic Pelosi's of the world. This article pretty much says what I'd been thinking.

Stand and be Counted

See this article: HERE

Recently our Bishop shared a message with us in our combined Relief Society and Priesthood meeting. He talked about how there have been very few opportunities for us, in these latter-days to truly make a mark, to stand and be counted.

Proposition 8 is one of those times. It doesn't matter if you live in the state of California, or outside of the state of California. If you are LDS - or claim to be - the Prophet we raise our hand to support has made it very clear. In fact, they made it clear back in 1995 when the Proclamation to the Family was read. They knew the storm was coming - and it has been building since that proclamation.

The challenges the pioneers faced are still too hard for me to comprehend. I have always felt weak next to their stories of triumph and defeat. The lessons we have been taught tell us that they looked upon our time and could not comprehend the challenges we face today.

I'm starting to understand a bit of the battles we face. While our battles may not be frostbite, starvation, or extermination orders... ours will be of the spiritual nature. To put it simply, our souls are at stake.

It's remarkable to me to see the children we are raising. Their personalities are so strong, determined, and precocious. I feel the weight of the work I need to do to prepare them, to equip them, to steer them in the right direction. I worry - hoping I do the things necessary to be the kind of mother they need in these rapidly changing times. I hope I can help the women around me who aren't sure about their calling. It's frightening to see the insidious siren calls that lure women away from their children and families. It's sad to see how so many resent the priceless role they have inherited.

Our Bishop talked about the importance of parents recognizing what is going on in their children's lives. He was very candid. He talked about how so many youth come to him in tears, heartbroken, feeling hopeless because they don't understand the atonement. He in effect reprimanded parents for not clearly talking to their children. Parents need to love their children unconditionally, without strings, without requirements, and to never shun them. Parents need to recognize that mistakes happen, and that they themselves are imperfect.

He talked about young boys today. The challenges they face are constant, unrelenting. Back in the day when a young man wanted to check out dirty magazines - they'd have to figure out a way to get to the store where they were sold, and by then, the urge would be gone. Today with cell phones, all of that filth is literally in the next room. I can't even imagine what it must be like to constantly be tempted as a young teen.

Someone recently told me that as our lifespans grow - the maturity level also grows. A fourteen year old today is twice as imature as a fourteen year old in the 50s. But our youth are encountering intimacy issues younger and younger. They are not physically, emotinally or mentally capable of dealing with the power from that intimacy.

Our Bishop counseled parents to teach their children the right way. Teach them the goodness about intimacy. Because it is always good. It needs to be done in the right time and right place. The fact is that kids today are bombarded by images and conversation about the wrong way. It's time they are told the right way. He brought up a good point. When you enter a Church building you immediately know which room is the Primary, the Relief Society room and the Young Women's room. Where's the Young Men's room? Men are visual. All day long they are bombarded by images - often the wrong images. When they come to Church - they ought to receive images that are good. They need to be reinforced and built-back up after they've fought so hard.

I would posit that the Priesthood teaching our Young Men should start doing this. Given that most of the Women who decorate the RS, Primary and YW rooms are also getting all the children ready... I would think the Men have a little time on his hands. What say you?

I would say we need to talk about these issues on all sides, for our girls, for our adults - who are uncomfortable talking about this. I've always thought if anyone should be talking explicity, it ought to be us. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Those of us that commit to monogamy - that commit to each other for eternity - we should be talking about this. This is nothing to be embarrassed about - because... it is wonderful.

The Bishop brought it all back around to our examples. We are all examples, in many capacities. Today we have a chance to let that example shine. Not just for Californians... for all of us.

A line has been drawn. Our Prophet has spoken. Any rationalization, any objection, any excuse will cost us. It doesn't matter what state or country you reside in. If you claim to be a member who follows the teachings of the LDS Church...make your stand. If you don't believe the Prophet is called of God - I would recommend some serious soul searching as to why you consider yourself LDS.

This is only one test. I guarantee there will be more. We have been asked to sacrifice our time, our means and our courage. We will be asked to sacrifice more as time goes on. This is our chance to prove our mettle. Will we rise up to the line? Will be worthy to be on the Lord's side now? I hope so.

It's easy to be pessimistic. It was always easier to be the con side of a debate. But it takes courage to have faith. I still believe. I believe that faith can move mountains.

Bedrock Values

Loved this commentary.

Life, Faith, Family - I dig it

My sweet little one

Today I had to run to the post office to put some passport renewals in the mail.

My 3 and 1 year old, upon entering the post office, decided to touch everything. First they played with the chains on the security sensors. This set them off. Then they decided to do some shopping, by pulling off all the collectible stamps, commemorative pins, posters, boxes they could get their hands on.

It would not have bothered me if the people around me weren't so unfriendly. I had threatened time-out, counted to three and been stern about cleaning up. I even did the friendly "clean up" song. They were having too much fun - and there's always more daring with two.

After I had finished my posting business, cleaned up their mess...and endured the stares and silence...I was grumpy. I had my 1 year old in my arms and refused to smile at them. Of course my 1 year old kept peeking at my face with her mischievous grin. She did this three times, and on the fourth time said with a huge grin, "Mommy, don't be mad."

I kissed her.
Can't help it.
Too cute.

Plus... how stupid of me to care about how other people - who can't understand what it is like... or refuse to remember... who cares what they think. I'm always smiling in solidarity at a mother who is looking like she's losing it, or telling her how that happens to me - to let her know I have been, or am there just to empathize.

I love my girls - so glad that they can look at me and smile.

Book Group

ok... so we're restarting our book group in my neck of the woods.

Anyone with suggestions on books we should be reading?

I love the Wild Things

Max is coming to theaters next year! Click here.
Keeping my fingers crossed it's a good take on the book.

The definition of absurd

is ... Matt Damon and actors that act like they know politics. Remember all those folks that said they'd move out of this country if Bush was elected... I'm still waiting for their boxes to be packed and those moving trucks to ship 'em out. I had no idea how many years it takes for an actor to pack up their crap.

Can anyone pick out all the things that are just absurd in this video? Other than Matt Damon himself?




I love South Park's take on him and other folksy folks like him. ahhahahah

Jiggity Jig

We're HOME!!!

Please leave a message...we're busy

DT Fleming Beach in Kapalua, Maui

Doing absolutely nothing...

Listen to this... because it might feel like you're there with us.

Dark and Twisty

I think I just needed a cause to get me out of my funk. I'm a fighter... a lover... mostly a fighter... I feel more me lately with a cause to fight for.

The best parts

A month ago... a couple girlfriends and I went to see Mama Mia. After the movie we were outside the theater talking and we started talking about our bodies. Shocking...I know... women... griping about their bodies... weird. Then one of the gals said we had to say nice things about ourselves. We had to pick what we thought were our best parts.

I bought a bikini bathing top after that conversation. Not because I think I have great boobs or a great stomach post pregnancy... but because I remembered I've only worn a bikini bathing top twice in my life... on my honeymoon. I should've worn it more often when I had that perfect bod...well perfect compared to now. ;-)

So... in honor of our best physical parts. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

I think I have great:
Hair
Eyebrows
Forearms
Hands/Fingers/Nails
Calves
Back
Ears

Your turn...