Holiday

Here's a few highlights from our holiday:

The Fam at Christmas Village

Nathan and Austin 'playing' with Pudgy (I think actually Nathan was protecting Pudgy from Austin)

Aunt HaHa (that'd be me) and Bubba cooking

Dad and one of his Christmas Presents...if you know my dad and the GI-freakin-NORMOUS shop he just built, you'd understand the humor behind the rug. 

Me and one of my Christmas gifts...but I don't know if it is really me...I mean, shoes?  I don't know if I even like shoes...

There was also much Guitar Hero, fighting over what would fit in/on a pickle, The Farming Game, snow, food, Birthday Cake, snow, more food and not nearly enough sleep.  

Good Times.

Meowy Christmas!!

Cancel that...

I must apologize to anyone who I accused of taking the shovel...especially all the neighborhood kids and several of our neighbors.  (Although I never accused them to their faces...but I did drive awfully slow past their houses on my way back to work yesterday looking to see if I could see our shovel)  Turns out Nathan had put it in the garage and it fell behind a large filing cabinet.  He had forgot that he put it there...and I couldn't see it when I initially looked for it because it was hidden.  But now all is well in shovel land.  

Oh, and one of these

Cause someone stole ours...

Dear Santa,

My wish list is pretty easy this year. I just want one of these:

Thanks,

Holly

Tough

I don't want to go. I am not excited. I am almost dreading it. But I realize it is the best opportunity for our current and future family. It sucks that we have to move away from family. It sucks that we have to find home for our dog. It sucks that we won't be able to buy a house, and that we'll have to 'share walls' with other people. It sucks that we'll be moving in horribly cold weather. I get all that, but I also know that it SUCKS not to be able to just get pregnant and have kids whenever we want. It SUCKS that for four and a half years our life has existed in two week sections, and has been full of disappointments. It SUCKS to live in a neighborhood where no one wants to know you. It SUCKS to have a congregation at church that is perfectly fine with you not being there.

But you know what sucks most? Having people try and talk you out of going...especially since I don't really want to go in the first place.

:(

Ok, I need your help

We have decided to do it. Yep, we will be Navy Folk once more. And we will be moving to Chicago... in the middle of winter...grr.

SO I need some help, well, my OCD needs help. I am looking for anyone who knows the Chicago area. The base (in Great Lakes) is about 45 mins or so from downtown, so we will not be living IN Chicago, but rather looking for a nice suburb somewhere northwest of the city...we are not opposed to even living just over the state line in Wisconsin, doncha know.

So if you know of anyone who might be able to help, please refer them here or have them e-mail me: hollydward(at)mac.com.

I am also looking to create a list of 'Don't Miss' stuff for our stay there...so if you have lived there or vacationed there and think there is something I just cannot possibly not do, please share. :)

Thanks!

11 years in the making

Nathan officially graduated from college today.  He was done with classes after summer semester, but there was some unfinished paperwork to be done before it was official.  He graduated high school eleven years ago...but before you think he's one of those eternal students let me clarify...he spent two of those years on a mission for our church, he spent another four of those years on active duty service in the US Navy.  So in reality it only took him five years, which is pretty good.  

Here's Nathan in a classic Nathan pose.  

Here he is with his mom and dad.

Here we are - whoo hoo!!

Here he is with my fam.  

I am very proud of him for finishing.  As we were talking about a week ago about his impending graduation, he told me he never thought he would ever go back and finish his degree.  He doesn't think the degree matters because it is 'only' (his words, not mine) a Music Performance degree...but a degree is a degree. 

So how about giving a little blog love to my awesome hubby.

News

Ok, do you want the good news or the bad news first?

The good news? Ok. Nathan got back in

The bad news? They will ONLY send us to Chicago. Now before you get all angry with me thinking I am just hating on the Windy City...hear me out. I want to finish my degree (afterall I have been graduated from high school for almost 10 years) and we REALLY want to adopt...oh, and I hate winter. I know I grew up in Utah. My family LOVES skiing, my hubby's family loves snowmobiling....I guess I am just missing that gene. In elementary and junior high school they used to have a ski day and everyone would go skiing...not me. I went one year, hated it and elected to stay home all the years after.

Jacksonville (which was our top choice after much careful consideration) was great for a couple reasons:

#1 - No winter...well at least no below freezing, slipping on ice, scraping windshields winter

#2 - UNF - a good school, pretty reasonably priced and RIGHT near where we were looking at living.

#3 - Um, it's FLORIDA. 3 hours from Disneyworld, less than an hour to the beach...who wouldn't love it?

So now we have to decide if we want back in the Navy enough to go to Chicago...and not only to go to Chicago...to go to Chicago IN FEBRUARY. In the below freezing, slipping on ice, scraping windshields, bad idea to wear high heels DEAD OF WINTER. (There is a reason they call it the DEAD of winter you know...)

In true OCD form I came home and scoured the internet to find universities, apartments, military housing, adoption agencies, etc...and have found some good things on the adoption front...school, not so much...oh, and it was only 26 degrees in Chicago today. Fun.

4 Things

Bethany tagged me...so here we go. 

4 Things I was doing 10 years ago

~ Finishing my Senior Year of High School

~ Planning where I was going to go to college

~ Dating Mark

~ Being a band geek

4 Things on my list to do today

~ Finish burning the band DVDs

~ Get some sleep

~ Laundry

~ De-stress

4 Things I love about my husband

~ He lets me pick the restaurant

~ He does the dishes

~ He loves me for who I am

~ He's excited about adoption too

4 Jobs I've had

~ Nanny

~ Smoothie Maker

~ Cherry Picker

~ Waitress

4 Movies I have seen more than once

~ My Fellow Americans 

~ Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

~ Legally Blonde (I & II)

~ So I Married An Axe Murderer

4 Places I've lived

~ Pleasant View, Utah

~ Virginia Beach, Virginia

~ Newport, Rhode Island

~ Logan, Utah

4 Places I want to visit

~ Europe

~ Africa

~Prince Edward Island/Halifax/New Foundland

~ Malaysia

4 TV shows I watch

~ Grey's Anatomy

~ Desperate Housewives

~ Lost

~ Seinfeld

4 Things you may not know about me

~ I snore.  Bad.

~ I drink the juice out of pickle jars

~ I have never broken a bone

~ I hate wearing socks

If you want to be tagged, consider yourself tagged. 

Stress=Sick

So we have not heard.  Still.  Grrrr.  

I woke up Wednesday and my throat was sore...I didn't want to go to work, but I had a bunch to do so I went.  With the help of drugs, lots of drugs.  Thursday, same thing.  Thursday night came, and I didn't get to sleep until 5:30am...which I guess is technically Friday morning.  I thought that I could catch a good 2 hours, and wake up and go to work and be fine.  Not so.  I woke up at 7am and wished I could crawl into a dark hole somewhere.  So I called in sick. I am suck a slacker. 

I think the stress of all of this has not helped.  I feel like my head is in a big balloon, my chest aches and my teeth hurt.  I am glad that it is a certain type of hurt though, because it is 'sinus-cavity-hurt' not 'oh-crap-i-have-to-go-to-the-dentist-hurt'. 

Well, I am going to go drink something warm and take some drugs. Hopefully we'll hear on Monday.  

Seattle

(This is just a warning, this post will be long...because it is serving as a journal entry too...I won't feel bad if you want to skip it, BUT it will be rewarding should you choose to stick it out, I promise)

Ok, so for those of you who didn't know we went to Seattle last week so Nathan could audition for the Navy. (A lot of you might not have known since I was afraid to say we were leaving for a few days for fear of some blog stalker breaking in to our house while we were gone...paranoid, I know) We flew out Sunday morning and flew back Tuesday late afternoon, so it wasn't too terribly long, but it was great to just get away for a bit and get a little very much needed R&R.

If you haven't read the little blurb about our flight experience, go here to get the laugh first, then come back. After we flew in Sunday we decided to head over to the hotel and check-in, take a shower and a nap and then head back into the city to see some sights. Only when we got to the hotel we were told, by a not-so-friendly front desk lady, that we had to wait until 3 to check in and no, there was NO WAY she could check us in early. It was 12 by this time...most places will let you check in early as long as their is a room ready. So we decided to swing by the commissary and pick up a few food items, check out the Nex and then take a drive up to see the area North of the base.

Here's a shot just off the side of the road. I was just amazed how much water was everywhere...and how green everything was.

Here's our rental car - and my awesome hubby.

Monday we got up and went into Tacoma to go to the zoo. The weather held out for us and we were able to see all the animals and not get soaked...and I got to use my spiffy camera and not be worried that the rain would ruin it. This (or these) is the the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It was weird because you only had to pay a toll one way.

Here is Nathan at the entrance to the zoo. Can you believe this was the first time he's been to the zoo, EVER?

Here's me...gotta watch out for those hippos.

After the zoo we went back to the base to have Nathan's audition. It went ok. Not as good as we had hoped. After Nathan was done playing for the audition he had a 'de-briefing'. The Chief gave him some pointers, and then said he'd score between a 2.8 and 2.9 (on a 4.0 scale). I was DEVASTATED. I remembered hearing that Nathan needed to score better than his outgoing score from the school of music (he scored a 3.0 then...which is really good). He is playing MUCH better horn than he was then, so the score surprised me. We went back to the hotel so Nathan could change out of his nice clothes. We had planned on going into Seattle that night but after the bummer news all I wanted to do was sit and cry. All I could think about what 'what do we do now?'. Nathan talked me into going out, and I'm glad he did. Afterall, we were 'on vacation' and we shouldn't let the audition ruin it for us. (Today is Monday, a week after the audition and we still haven't heard back. Hopefully we'll hear soon. Nathan's brother told us he heard we only had to have a score good enough to graduate from the school, which is 2.75 I believe. BUT the Navy is chuck full of horn players, so it will all depend on how bad they want him as a sound guy...the not knowing is KILLING me!)

We got directions to the ferry from one of the guys in the band and then took the ferry over to Seattle to check out Pike's Place and the Space Needle. Here's a shot of Seattle from the ferry when we were about half way across the Puget Sound.

Here's a shot of us on the Space Needle, I know you can't see anything else...but my arm is only so long.
Here's the funny part of the night, well couple funny parts. So we got into town and the ferry drops you off right downtown. I consulted my handy map and saw that Pike's Place was only 8 blocks or so away so we decided to walk. It was dark and I am a bit of a scardey cat so I started to get weirded out when a couple creepy guys passed us. We got to Pike's Place Market, saw that it was closed and decided to head up to the Needle. We started walking, and thought we would grab a cab along the way. Nathan's brother had been trying to call him for a while, and despite my urgings, Nathan called him back as we were walking. (I had read somewhere online that distracted people, a.k.a. people on cell phones, make better targets for muggings, rapes, etc) I am holding on to his arm with a death grip and he tells his brother "Holly's afraid someone is going to rob us"...just as someone was walking past us. I rip my hand out of his and tell him it isn't funny. He hangs up with his brother and we have a little tiff on the street...then I hail a cab, because Nathan refused to do so...and we rode to the Space Needle. By the time we got to the Needle, our tiff was solved. Nathan has just learned to deal with my paranoia, and I deal with his lack of paranoia. We lucked out because the night was incredibly clear, we could see all of Seattle and most of the Puget Sound from the observation deck.

We had to make it back to the ferry landing in too short of a time to walk (Phew!) so we got another cab. Now, this part of the story is funnier in person when I can do the voices, so if you want to amuse yourself, when the cabbie talks do a voice just like Apu on the Simpsons and it will be like you were there. We get in the cab and he starts to fiddle with his meter and can't get it to start (this should have been our FIRST red Flag). After about 2 minutes he gets it working, he then asks us "Where we you like to go?" We tell him we need to catch the Bainbridge Ferry, at Pier 52. "66?" he asks, no, 52. "I do not know where that is. Can you please show me on a map where you would like to go?". I pull out my handy map and show him where we are and where we need to be. "Well, I do not know where that is. Let me go ask my...my...friend." He gets out of the cab and walks to another cab just behind us. Nathan is getting ticked because the meter is running, and I am thinking 'don't anger the cabby who probably has a gun under his seat'. He comes back, "Ok, my friend told me where to go." Nathan asks him if he's going to charge us for that time. I hold my breath and wait for gun shots. "Yes, um no, I will take off one dollar". We pull out and make our way towards the ferry. "I drive a school bus" he says while taking {{BOTH}} hands off the wheel to fetch his wallet "I only do this part time to earn extra money. My wife is an accountant" he hands me the id. I look at it and show Nathan, who thinks I am crazy for talking with this man. I am just thinking 'be polite and he won't take us to a back parking lot and murder us'. "We move here from Utopia." ..?.. "Do you know where that is? Africa." Hmm. "We move here for our kids. For better education." That's nice, I say, education is important. Meanwhile as we're driving his GPS is telling him to turn other ways than the way we're going, and after every missed turn it says 'recalibrating'. He must sense our discomfort because he reaches across the front seat where the GPS has been thrown uncerimouniously on the passenger seat and holds it up for us to see. "I do not use it. I would get in an accident." Ya, that would be the reason. "I do not know how to work it. I will have my daughter teach me how to use it. She is very smart." He sees Pier 66 above and this sparks something in his memory. "Pier 66, right?" Nope. "Pier 66 nice. Restaurant, bar." Still nope. 52 I tell him, keep going. As I see the familiar landing I encourage him to stop and let us out. We throw a ten over the seat and get out quick. We started laughing and laughed about our cabbie the whole ferry trip back.

The next morning we got up early and headed out to see a few things before our flight. We drove into the city and I, being the fabulous navigator that I am, found the route and parking to get us to Pike's Place and the Space Needle.

Here we are at Pike's Place with one of the fish-thrower dudes.

Here is Nathan enjoying our awesome clam chowder on top of the Space Needle. This day the weather turned yucky...typical Seattle weather. We were lucky to have two days of great weather. I wanted to take a picture of us in the daytime up there, but it was raining and I didn't want to get my camera wet.

After we went to the Space Needle we headed across Seattle Center and went to the Experience Music Project. It is REALLY awesome. They have all these neat exhibits on different musicians and some music history stuff. They even have a sound lab where you can learn to play drums, guitar and keyboard. You can even mess around with a mixing board or sing to a music track. This statue is incredible. It is all guitars, I put the pic of us in to show just how tall it is.

Here's the rest - well, most of the rest. It is about 10 feet higher than what shows up in this frame.

If you want to see more pics, I'll be posting some of the arsty ones on my photo blog later today.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we had my parents and grandparents up for dinner.  I cooked the whole meal except mom brought up a dinner salad.  Most of what I made was from scratch...which I repeated over and over to anyone who would listen.  Here's what was on the menu:

Turkey

Cranberry Sauce

Honey Pecan Encrusted Ham

Harvest Stuffing

Candied Yams

Mashed Potatoes

Turkey Gravy

Rosemary Carrots

North Pole Broccoli

Cornbread

Biscuits

Strawberry Pear Chiffon Jello

Green Salad

Relish Tray: Pickles, Beets, Olives

Here's me, with my Vanna White pose, showing off the table.  Ignore the non-hairdo...I spent all day cooking food so I didn't have time to blow-dry and flat-iron.  

My Grandpa carving the turkey. 

The turkey...not my best looking one, but it tasted great. 

Here's a shot that shows off four of the pies I made.  Pumpkin (from scratch), apple (from scratch) and cherry (crust from scratch, filling, not).  we also had Chocolate Silk Pie, Grasshopper Pie and Lemon Cheesecake. 

After we ate, my brothers and their others came up and we played games and ate pie.  While the big kids played a game, dad, mom, grandma and my great-aunt played with Marble Works with Blaine. Truth be told, I think my dad had the most fun. 

A New Perspective

#29 - Pink Lady Apples - I LOVE Pink Lady Apples.  I have yet to find them since we moved here...well Saturday I (and my mom and sister-in-law) took my grandma grocery shopping.  The grocery store we went to I haven't been to in probably 10 years.  I was amazed at how many different produce items they had.  And much to my surprise and excitement they had Pink Lady Apples!  mmmmm.

#30 - A Month, a New Perspective - This month has been really good for me, in two ways.  First, it has made me focus on things I am grateful for.  I have said more than once that I hate a lot about my current situation and so it has been helpful for me to look beyond all that I don't like to find the things I am grateful for, that may be hidden by my attitude.  Two, I have thought A LOT about adoption this month.  I spent quite a bit of time this month working on a blog that will serve as our profile for adoption.  It is not yet as I would like it to be so you won't get the link yet, sorry...but I promise it will be soon. :)  (I know you'll lose sleep with the excitement!)

My friend Ann tagged me, and since it deals with adoption, I thought I'd do it here:

Here are the rules:

1- Link to the person who tagged you

2 - Post the rules on your blog

3 - Share 6 adoption related things.habits/quirks about yourself

4 - Tag 6 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs

5 - Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Since I am a newbie in the adoption area, I could only come up with 4 things.

1- The first book I bought on adoption was the Complete Idiots Guide to Adoption

2- I bought it over a year a go, even though I knew it would be a while until we started the process

3- I have always felt deep down that I would adopt, even through all the fertility treatments

4- I have a blog already created, even though we haven't even begun our homestudy yet

Ok, I am tagging Amanda, Lori, Kara and Janus.  I know I am supposed to tag 6, but these four are the only ones I know of who have experience with it.  If you are reading this and want to share, leave a comment with a link to your blog, or just leave your 6 things in the comments. 

Yes I know I'm a slacker...

Ok, so here are #22-#28. I was in another state for a few of these days, that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!

#22 - $6 Turkey - With a purchase of $25 worth of groceries Smith's was giving you a turkey for only $6!

#23 - A Lead Footed Hubby - Our plane to Seattle was scheduled to leave at 8:25 Sunday morning. We were going to wake up at 4, be out the door by 5 to be to my parent's house by 6, to be to the airport by 7. So Saturday night we packed and set the alarm. Now 4am is only a half an hour earlier than what Nathan's alarm is set for each day so I wasn't worried about it being too early. Well, Sunday morning we are woken up by the phone ringing. It's my mom. It is 6:18am. We are two hours from the airport and our flight leaves in two hours. I freak out. We hurry and fill the kitty's water & food dishes, throw the stuff in the car, put Besta in the back seat and take off. Nathan drives 95 mph through the canyon to make it to my parent's house in less than 30 minutes! We transfer the goods to my parent's rig, leave Besta at their house and take off to Salt Lake. We BARELY made our flight. As crazy (and COMPLETELY insane) as it was, I was glad Nathan didn't have any problems pushing the pedal to the metal.

#24 - Level Headed Hubby - After Nathan's audition on Monday I was bummed...I wanted to just go back to the hotel and cry myself to sleep, while eating every chocolate thing in sight. But he was very logical and said it was all out of our hands and we shouldn't let the bum deal ruin the remainder of our trip.

#25 - Window Seats - I got to sit by the window on both the flight out and back. I love watching the buildings and cars get smaller and smaller...and I love when it is overcast and then the plane rises above the clouds and you see the sun again. Beautiful. Nathan likes the isle - for the foot room. Both flights were on littler planes so we got our preferred seats on both flights.

#26 - A Mini Vay-cay - Our trip to Seattle was only 55 hours but it was so nice to get away and not have to be at work and deal with everyday stuff.   

#27 - A New Turkey Roaster - I cooked Thanksgiving at our place this year and I used a new roaster. It was awesome because it helped free up space in the oven for a ham, stuffing, pies, etc, etc. It was a tip from my mom for me cooking dinner. :) I'll have to post pics from the Martha Stewart Feast later...you'll be impressed...you will, trust me.

#28 - A Job - I am kind of ticked off that I have to work today. The phone has rang only three times since 8, and I don't envision it getting any busier. But I am thankful that at least I have a job to go to.

#21 - Lucina

#21 - Lucina. She is a friend I made in Rhode Island and she is one of my dearest friends. She is always doing sweet little things for us. Her kittens have sent our kittens packages before. And just last night I got a package from her: See's Chocolate. I can't believe she even remembered that I liked it! I haven't seen her in almost three years, and I miss her terribly. Hopefully someday soon we'll make it back to RI for a visit. Love ya Old Woman!

#20

#20 - Great In-laws - I am grateful for my inlaws.  They are always willing to help us in any way they can.  If that means trekking 2800 miles cross country or cooking dinner for us or offering us a bed to sleep in or car to drive or even helping us put up apple pie filling - they'll do it.  They have helped us many times through our marriage and quite a bit over the last 2.5 years. 

Sharp Dressed Man

I was perusing the internet to gather usless knowledge and I saw this. I find this kind of disturbing...ok, a LOT of disturbing. In case you don't want to click, here's the Reader's Digest version: The Big Three auto company CEO's flew to Washington to ask for bailout money - and they flew in PRIVATE planes. The article estimates that the flights cost $20K EACH. I was proud of Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-New York for scolding them in the hearing.

If a bailout will help our economy, I am all for it. BUT I don't want my tax money given to these bozos so they can fund their private jet flights.

#17-19

#17 - Hubby and Me time - When Nathan got home from work tonight, I made a quick dinner and we popped some popcorn and watched Seinfeld episodes. It has been nice to spend our evenings together since I left the restaurant a couple months back. Most of the time we spend our time doing nothing at all, and that is probably what makes it so great.

#18 - Support. Remember #12 the friends I didn't know I had? We had dinner last night. It was really great. We talked about a lot and some perspectives were shared that will help me as I deal with things going on right now. Here we are, too bad you can't see the size of that chocolate cake...I'm surprised we all didn't end up in the hospital with diabetic comas.

#19 - My Blackberry - Over the last week or so I have begun using more of the features of my phone and I have to say that I am LOVING it.

Let's Say Thanks

A family friend turned me on to this and I think it is awesome. As many of you know, I didn't (and don't) support the war in Iraq, but I support and admire those who would voluntarily leave the comfort of home and family to serve the country we love. I can't image how hard it must be, especially at this time of year.

So Xerox is doing this cool thing where you can go to this website and pick a card, and they will print it off and send it to a serviceman/woman. The best part? It is FREE. I did one and it took me all of 30 seconds. I think everyone who reads this today should go HERE and do one too.

Come on, you know you want to...

Odd

For about 3 years November 17th has been seared into my mind. I can't even really explain how it came to be, but here's my best shot. In 2006, after we lost our first baby I would think about the future and what it could hold for us and one time the date November 17th came into my mind. Since then I have not been able to shake it. I have always had a hopeful feeling about the day, so as the months would align I had thought for sure it would be a due date, then as that didn't happen I would anxiously wait the months until I thought possibly I could find out I was pregnant on the 17th.
This is the third 'November 17th' I have come up on since then, and nothing has happened as of yet. It is hard to have the date pass and have no closure as to why it means so much to me in the first place. I'm hoping that this may be my year - I know I am already 9 hours in...but that leaves 15 left for my miracle.

#15 & #16

15 - My Brothers & Their Other - We spent Saturday evening at my parent's house. We had a great dinner (well, until politics was brought up...it got rough for a bit), played games and just hung out. I will miss being able to just hang out with my fam. We are all so close in age and we get along really well.
16 - Sleeping in. The festivities of the night before kept us up late...lets just say that when we pulled in the garage Nathan's 4:30alarm had been going off for a while and judging by the dialation of the kitten's pupils - it had woken them up.

#14

#14 - Friends. I know this is kindof a repeat...but I am trying to pick something based upon the happenings of my day.
I was talking online to one friend today...lamenting that no university in Hawaii had a photo major program...and seconds later he sends me a link to the program at U of H at Manoa. Now my choice is a little easier...a little
A group of us want to go see the new 007 movie and a friend is going to get all the tickets as we speak so we will all have spots. Plus he saved me a seat at the Veteran's Day concert on Tuesday.

#13

#13 - Mr. Appliance. Our dryer broke about a month ago and I called a serviceman to come fix it...he has been great to work with. He found out that our washer and dryer were only just over our 2 year warrantee period and so he PERSONALLY called the company and asked them to cover the repairs unter warantee. which they DID. (The company is Fischer Paykel if you were wondering...which he insisted was THE BEST company to work with...if we ever buy any new appliances, you can be sure that they will be Fischer Paykel)

#12

#12 - Friends I didn't know I had.  Your e-mail meant a lot to me, knowing that you are concerned  meant a lot to me.  You know who you are.  Thank you.

Veteran's Day

Today is the day we recognize veterans of wars previously fought, lives lost in defense of this great nation as well as those who currently wear the uniform of freedom. As I was thinking about Veteran's Day I thought of many things I could put here to honor them. Then I got to work and learned that a co-worker of mine, Shane Armstrong, died last night. He never served in the armed services, he never defended our freedom, but I feel I need to honor him today.
When we were having troubles with the ward and with infertility, one day I just couldn't hold it in. I was sitting at my desk, a little teary and Shane happened to come by. He talked to me for about 45 minutes. Never in our conversation did he get preachy, never did he tell me to just get over it. He just listened and offered some sound advice and put his arm around my shoulder. The last month or so of his life was painful and horrible for him. I am relieved to hear of his passing, so that his suffering is over. Yet, I cannot help but feel that the world is a little emptier today, without him.

With that, my #11 thing to be grateful for is my health. I know I am not the healthiest and my body cannot keep pregnancies and my blood sugar runs amok...but I don't have cancer, and I have all four limbs, and I can see and I can hear and I can walk. And for all of that, I am grateful.

Sky Miles

Since we are going to probably be doing the Navy again...I say probably because Nathan still has to audition and the Navy has to say its ok for him to get back in...we want to get a credit card that will give us sky miles.  

My questions to you, o blogging buddies are these:

1 - Have you ever had a sky miles card?

2 - Which one? (Visa, mastercard, etc.  as well as the airline)

3 - Did you like it?

4 - Was it easy to get tickets?  (as far as blackout dates, etc.)

5 - Do you still have it, and if not would you get one again?

6 - Do you fly a lot...and do you LIKE to fly?

Thanks oh friends of blog world. :)

Thankful Month

I know it is not the first...but I saw this on Lori's blog and wanted to do it too. On Saturday after my party I was sitting around with my mom, Bryce and Shanna and we were playing this game and one of the questions was "What five words would you use to describe yourself?"  I used creative, obsessive, pessimistic, opinionated and outgoing.  I thought a lot about the pessimism and so when I saw Lori had mentioned the Thankful Month, I decided to do it too.  I figure it is always a good thing to remind yourself what you're thankful for - and it should help me with my pessimism too.  I am keeping a quick list on my sidebar to keep track of my 30 Days of Thankful...and I'll be posting mini posts from here on out explaining my picks. If you want to do it too (hey, better late than never!) go here to pick up the button, and to add your name to the list. 

So here are the snippets of my first 10 days of grateful:

1. Great parents - the 1st is my parent's anniversary.  They are great parents who always want the best for their kids.
   
2. Internet - I know I can be a bit addicted to it, but it does help me keep in touch with friends who live far away
   
3. My Kittens - They love me no matter what and are there when I have a bad day, willing to snuggle.
   
4. The privilege of voting - I appreciate living in a country that gives its citizens the right to vote.  I proudly did my patriotic duty on the 4th.  I wish more people would take pride in it too. 
   
5. A mother in law who loves to feed us.  We go over to Nathan's parent's place once a week for Nathan to teach lessons...and his mom is always willing to feed us.  This week: turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots and bread.    mmmmmm
   
6. A handy hubby - The headlight in our car is burnt out and Nathan was able to fix it for us, saving us a chunk of change. 
   
7. Friends to laugh with - Nathan and I were judges in the Mr & Mrs USU Band pageant Friday night.  We laughed a LOT.  Good friends...Good times.  
   
8. A mother who likes to spoil me - She bought me shoes today...three pair....and let us invade her house for a party...and let me use her washer and dryer to do my laundry (our dryer is broken)...and then let me crash on her spare bed when it was too late to drive home. 
   
9. A comfy mattress - I slept on my parents Sat night...not bad, but I LOOOOUUURVE our mattress. 
   
10. Chelsea - a close friend.  We unfortunately share many of the same heartaches with infertility and pregnancy loss.  Her friendship is a blessing.
    

Party like it's, well...Saturday

Hey everyone.

My mommie and I are having a party on Satuday. If you want to come you are more than welcome to...bring sisters, mommies, neighbors, friends, whomever. If you need directions to my mommie's house, e-mail me and I'll get them to ya.

If you cannot come, check out the site anyway. You can order anything ahead of time and we'll ship it to you...just let me know!

Sad

It is sad that in a great country like ours that things like this happen. It is sad that after how far we've come there are those who pull back on the reigns of progress. It is sad that someone would be in fear of losing their job because of the column in which they cast their vote.

That someone is me. I have noticed over the last months that some people in the office stopped socially talking to me...sure if they needed a report or needed something they would ask...but the chit-chat was gone. I am not stupid. I know that the reasons are politically motivated. One person said they couldn't believe I was stupid enough to vote the way I did. And I admit I have made my fair share of barbs at the other side...but to go as far as ignoring the person...THAT is something I would never do. Abby & Ryann and I disagree on politics, in fact we got into a heated discussion over 9-11...but we still read each others blogs and post comments and we are still friends. We can respectfully acknowledge someone's differing opinion.

This morning I was told, by a friend, about something that happened yesterday...and I am now afraid I could actually lose my job over this vote. I am scared to talk to anyone, scared to walk down the hall...I have noticed a VERY perceptible shift in the way I am treated...

I hope this is just a case of "we-lost-the-election" blues and they will get over it.

History was made

When I was standing at the voting booth yesterday, as I pressed my finger to the screen I felt a pulse of electricity slip down my spine. I was a part of history. Everyone that voted, regardless of their decision, was a part of history. We had record-breaking turnouts...which excites me. I hope this is just a sign of the way things will be the next election, and the next. People who take an interst in their government are a blessing to everyone who lives in that country.

I was moved to tears several times last night watching all the results roll in. When an elderly african-american woman was interviewed and she could not even speak because of her emotions, I welled with tears. When John McCain gave his concession speech, especially the following part, I welled with tears.

These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

During Obama's speech, I couldn't hold back my excitement. That a man from humble beginnings could rise to the most powerful office in the nation, and arguably the world, gives hope to all americans, regardless of race, or gender or social status. When he mentioned his daughters were going to get to bring a new puppy with them to the White House I laughed and smiled. The first statement in his speech was powerful:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

I am proud of our country, I am excited for the next four years and I can't wait for January 20th!

VOTE

Ok, now in all seriousness...you NEED to vote today.

I am always surprised by people who say their vote doesn't count. I could see how you could think that...take me for example. I live in the will-always-be-red state of Utah - I am also a card carrying Democrat. My vote isn't going to swing Utah's 5 electoral votes and make them awardable to Obama...not even close. So I could say my vote doesn't count. But I don't.
One vote probably will not change the result of a presidential election - but if thousands of people don't vote - their 'one vote' will. It is also important to remember you are voting for city, county and state officials. And your one vote COULD change the results of those elections.

Also - one thing that always gives me the red ass (sorry...had to quote My Fellow Americans...it's election day!! And if you have never seen that movie - go rent it, it is HILLARIOUS) is when people don't vote and yet they will complain over the next four years when things go wrong for them and they feel elected leadership is to blame. If you don't vote - keep your mouth shut.

So get out there all of you - hope your wait in line is better than mine...it's supposed to snow today. Whoohoo!!

How'd we do?

more later once I get some sleep...and mop the kitchen floor.

Halloween Teaser

Here is what Nathan and I are for Halloween this year:

I'll post a pic of us later so you can see how we did. :)

(Oh, and enjoy the Halloween tunes I picked out!)

Book Group

I am setting up the book list for Nov-March...so head on over and suggest some books, especially if you have a good idea for holiday-ish books for November and December.

Also - if you participate in the bookgroup - or even if you hope to someday participate...go over and click on the 'Follow this blog' link.

Thanks!!

I'm not hungry anymore, thanks.

I reached in my desk drawer to get a piece of candy for a guy at work and I found this:





At first I thought it may have been smashed by a machine during packaging...then I looked closer and saw tiny teeth marks...

I think I just solved my candy craving problem....

And just when you thought....

When I came home for lunch today I found our dryer broke.  Now this dyer should NOT be breaking...it is only a little over two years old.  I was so frustrated, and to add to it I now have a pile of wet clothes to deal with.  I head back to work, head still throbbing, and now wondering if I have enough clean undies to make it through the week...

So I get home after work and try to decide what type of nourishing goodness I want to shove in my face so I can take some more pain killers.  Nothing really sounds good, and after pillaging the cupboards, fridge and freezer I found nothing that I considered acceptable.  Then it hits me:  Beef & Cheddar....mmmm...  So Nathan and I zip off to Arby's (cause I figure I should eat what sounds good to me, right?)  On the way back from picking up our deliciously-fattening-yet-spot-hitting meal were discussing the merits of leaving here (because lets face it, neither one of us really LOVES it here...) and we see red flashing lights in the rear view mirror.  Yep.  The policeman comes up and asks us if we know why he pulled us over.  No clue.  Turns out one of the headlights is out...Nathan gets a fix-it ticket and we are sent on our merry way.  I could not stop laughing.  I laughed because off all the bad things that have happened to us in the last two years, I laughed for all the tears shed, I laughed for financial strain, I laughed for being sick and feeling lonely and I laughed for the lost camera.  Getting pulled over was just the perfect capper to the day...and I couldn't help but laugh, because just when you thought it couldn't get any worse...

OCD

Sometimes my OCD comes in handy...take for example our move from RI. When we packed our house up, (because I didn't trust anyone else to so it as good as I could) I had a system. Each box was packed according to what room it would go in at the new house. Each room was assigned a color (kitchen was red, family room was orange, bedroom was blue, etc). When the box was packed it was assigned a number, which was printed on little circle tabs in the assigned color and placed on three sides of the box. Then colored tape was wrapped around the box so we could identify quickly which room it belonged in. Each box was also listed on a spreadsheet. I recorded the box#, room, contents and date packed. I also had a column for date unpacked. My obvious display of OCD helped once we got here, as I was able to unpack very quickly.

It also helps when planning parties or any other event. Nathan will tell you that I am queen of lists. I makes lists for EVERYTHING. Some things get more than one list. (You should see the ones for our Halloween Party...) I have one notebook all full of lists/notes about baby things. Like a list of what to take to the hospital for the birth, people we want to send announcements to, projects I want to complete before the baby is born (all broken down by trimester too), wish lists of things I want to buy, etc. The ironic thing about that whole notebook is we aren't pregnant...and now that we are going to adopt, many of those lists will not be needed. But the exciting thing is that new lists will have to be made (yay for lists!!)

The OCD makes things tough for me too...especially when I have no control over a situation. It stresses me out and causes insomnia, headaches, etc. I actually keep a notebook and pen at my bedside so I can write lists in the middle of the night...which is {supposed} to save me from the insomnia. Putting my thoughts on paper {supposedly} gets them out of my head so I can sleep...sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That is where Ambien comes in.

That brings me to our current situation: I lost our camera. Well, I'm not sure if I lost it or if Nathan lost it...but it is lost nevertheless. Not my new Nikon (thank heavens!) but our little point and shoot digital. Now, I know it is just a camera, but it is FULL of stuff from the football games. Videos, interviews, pictures...all of which have not yet been downloaded. I am freaking out that I may have lost all that stuff and I will have not enough material to do the band video. We have torn the house apart, checked every inch of both cars and it remains nowhere to be found. This creates quite a problem for my OCD brain. I cannot sleep, I cannot work, I cannot focus on anything else...I'm not even hungry (which is ASTOUNDING)... all I can think about is that blasted camera.

So last night at about 2am (so I guess technically this morning) I thought about something that could help me {maybe} find our camera. I got up and went online to look at our bank statement (yes, at 2am...) and found something that helped to narrow down our search. But my mind was still racing, I had to consciously stop myself from waking Nathan to talk to him about it, you know, because he had to get up in two hours to go to work.

Here's to hoping we find it soon - or I think my brain may explode.

(Oh, you know how on Excedrin bottles it says to not take more than 2 in 24 hours? How important do you think it is to actually follow that? I just took my 5th and 6th tablets in 48 hours...this headache WILL NOT go away)

Guess who I ran into today...

Remember this?? Well he came into my work today. He came in to see one of the guys I work with and I asked his name and he said Gary Olsen...I thought to myself...'No, it can't be'. So I eavesdropped on part of the conversation he had with our guy and it is DEFINITELY him....crazy huh?

It is almost ready...

Nathan and I spent last night Halloweeny-ing our house.  Our front porch looks awesome...now we just have to acquire a few pumpkins and some corn stalks and I'll post a picture of it.  

I am also looking for a new treat idea in the way of halloween food...Here's a typical run-down of the smorgasbord:

• Kitty Litter Cake (see here)
  
• Devil Eyes (deviled eggs)
  
• Bat Wings (Spicy chicken wings)
  
• Embalming Fluid (soda with a frozen jello hand) (See link for cake)
  
• Gum Rotting Gumbo (candy)
  
• Skin Chips & Curdled Blood (chips & salsa)
  
• Brain and Crackers (cheeseball in a skull and crackers)
  
• Awful Arachnids (royal icing spiders.  Not sure if these will make the cut this year - they take F.O.R.E.V.E.R.)
  

Any ideas for an addition(s) to le menu?  Maybe something I could do with mini cupcakes?

This is Halloween, this is Halloween...

(cue the Nightmare before Christmas music...)

My friend Abby turned me onto CakeWrecks.  It is a hilarious website devoted to cakes gone wrong...which admittedly would not be hilarious if it were my cake.  For some good laughs go daily.  I checked today's cake and saw a most excellent cake.  (for fun she posts awesome cakes gone right on Sunday)  See for yourselves:

I LOVE the Nightmare Before Christmas...and this cake is absolutely FABULOUS!  If I were this talented I would make it for our Halloween party - not that we'll be lacking awesome treats for that though (I'll be sure to post pics).

as I was saying...

Not much going on here in our household. Nathan and I still spend our days in service to 'The Man'. (Notice how evil bosses are referred to as the MAN, not woman?? hehe) Winston and Frank are on a diet...they are chunking up a bit much. Winston is NOT happy about this new arrangement, he would prefer to have a trough of food slung around his neck and for me to fan him and feed him treats...seriously. So at 3am when they are hungry because they have gorged themselves and now their dishes are barren, they come-a-cuddling...and by cuddling I mean purring too loud and biting tender places. Winston's favorite 'I'm biting you so you'll feed me' spot is the back of my arm...you know, the part that eventually turns into batwings? That part. Ouch.

We are getting our house ready for my favorite holiday: Halloween. (Isn't it funny that my favorite holiday isn't the one I was born on??) Decorations will go up and preparations will begin for the Fright Night Fest at our pad. If you're in the neighborhood - feel free to party crash (well, not actually crash, because I will probably kill you for ruining our fun...) - costumes are required. I am VERY VERY excited for our costumes this year...I can't wait to post the pic here. :) But for now it will remain secret so that if I am putting on my winter weight too quick and can't fit into it and end up changing ideas, no one will know. :) Maybe I should go on a diet with the fur kids... ?

I am also honing my photog skills. I have been snapping photos of the beautiful fall, and of course of the fur kids, and tomorrow I'm taking fam photos for a friend of mine. If you need to be shot (hehe, lame joke I know) let me know - I need the practice!

Well, gotta run, I must report back to The Man. Four more hours until freedom!

Remembrance

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I have several friends who have also lost babies and it can often feel like a lonely pain to suffer. I wanted to make sure people were aware of this day. If someone you love has gone through the horrible experience of losing a baby, hug them tight today and tell them you love them. And my friends out there who have lost, I will be thinking of you today. :)

Here are some sites I found helpful.

http://www.pregnancyloss.info/ is a tremendous source for everything reltaing to miscarriage. It answers all your questions - whether they be of physical nature or emotional. If someone close to you has suffered a miscarriage this site will give you some good info on how to help the person grieve and heal.

http://www.october15th.com/ is a site dedicated to today. There is info on this site about local remembrance activities - if there is not one in your area, think about starting one.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep is one of the most selfless things I have ever heard of. This is a group of professional photographers who provide their service to families during their time of loss, and they do all of this for free. I want to spread the word about them - because I don't think many people are aware of their services. And I would hope in my heart of hearts that no one would ever need them, the hard truth is that chances are, someone who reads this will need them at some point, whether for themselves or a close friend or family member. I know my brother-in-law's family would have loved to have them when they lost their little Hannah.

Almost

I almost didn't notice what day it was...almost. I was on facebook leaving happy birthday messages for a couple people and I glanced at the date...October 9th. Funny thing is that I have been typing things this morning with the date on them and have written out the date at least a half a dozen times already - but it wasn't until I coupled it with a birthday that the painful truth surfaced on my conciousness.

Today we should be celebrating our sweet child's second birthday. I should be worrying about balloons and cake. I should be party planning instead of fighting back tears. Two years after that loss we have yet to have a successfull pregnancy. We've lost two more and have had months and months of heartbreaks...each time there is only one line on that test a little bit of our hope is chipped away.

Even if we were not actively trying, we kept hoping that someday our miracle would happen. Full of optimism and hope, we approached our Dr about fertility treatments again. In fact, we just finished three rounds of Clomid - for some reason I thought it might work for us this time....I should have known better. I didn't tell many people about it because I didn't want to get anyone else's hopes up and I didn't want everyone constantly asking if I had ovulated or if it worked. Feeling like a failure is easier if you don't feel like you've also disappointed everyone else around you. So I (and poor Nathan) suffered through hot flashes, mood swings, irratibility, cramps, and dashed hopes for four months...all for naught.

Losing a baby is not easy - and in a way I am glad that of the three, I only remember one due date. I think there is a part of my brain that has shut out the dates and memories of the second and third losses...a defense mechanism, for my heart.

Tough Decisions

It's hard when you are faced with tough decisions in life. Some people have advised us to make Pro/Con lists...but what happens when the columns are even? We have evaluated our current lives and where we want to be in five years and have found that we have three main goals we would like to accomplish.

1 - Adopt some kids
2 - Stabilize our finances (pay off debt, build our savings)
3 - Get my degree

We have looked at and analyzed (ad nauseum according to Nathan...but hey, that's the OCD in me) our choices for the next step in our lives with these goals in mind. While I admit it is wildly optimistic for me to hope that one choice would yield positive results in all three goals, I had hoped for that very outcome...I thought if I got three check marks next to a choice it would make the decision a little easier.
Now we are stuck, because no option allows for all three goals to be realized. We must weigh each goal and decide which is the most important and make our decision accordingly... while also considering the Pro/Con list and adding the weight those Cons and Pros...

The hard thing for me is deciding which Con I could live with. Some are heftier than others - but all are still Cons. I could choose one path that would help us financially, but would leave me alone for months at a time, thousands of miles away from any family in a country where I do not speak the language. Another would enable us to adopt, but I would have to deal with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which is scary when I have a history of depression. Yet another choice would place us close to a small amount of family, in a beautiful climate, but would limit my school options and I'd find myself co-habitating with rather large multi-legged creatures...

I wish I could peek into the future and see just a sliver of my life in 2-3 years...to know which choice to make, which path to take, which Cons to choose.

Poll

You may have noticed a poll on the sidebar.  By me having the poll, it does not admit to any action, rather just a collecting of information, if you will, to possibly act in the near future.  

Please vote - you know, for informational gathering reasons. 

Blog Awards

Back a couple weeks ago my friend Kim gave me a blog award...I was supposed to follow-up soon, but I am just a slacker.  Better late than never, right?  Here we go.  I will pass the award on to:

Ryann - We met in Virginia.  When Nathan wrecked the car and we didn't have a car to drive she and her hubby let us borrow their second car.  She is always leaving supportive comments on here, and when we lost a baby last spring I was touched to receive a box of beautiful Iris' from her. 

Abby - I also met Abby in Virginia.  She was the last person we saw there before we pulled out of town.  We share a love of kittens and politics, although our views fall on opposite sides of the line. :)  I love reading her blog because her commentary on even the everyday things is so entertaining.

Chelsea - I lived just up the street from her growing up.  We were fast friends and shared a love of The Greenery and caroling and washing our clothes in Bear Lake (hehe).  I hadn't seen or talked to her since my wedding ... and I just recently found her on facebook.  I love her and am so glad we're in contact again!

Kimberly - I don't see a rule about awarding who awarded me...so she gets one.  I met Kimberly in Newport.  She was a HUGE part of the success and fun of the choir there and once she moved it just wasn't the same.  She is a tremendous piano player and we had many quality hours spent together scrapbooking in the cultural hall.   

Lori - I have known Lori since high school - we were the piano players for the Jazz Band my senior year.  Since I found her online just this year, she has inspired me to want to pull out my running shoes again.   She's had quite a few challenges in her life and remains positive - a good role model!

Ann - She and her hubby are the only ones who have been nice to us from this ward...no,  really.  They adopted an adorable little girl right about the same time we moved in and she has answered MANY questions of mine on adoption. She is so happy and cheerful all the time - even with painful green things in her mouth. :)

Kristen - We were band geeks together in high school....we had some good times. Drunk Indians, screwdrivers, Farrs, Burger King, Windsor, Marching Band, ugly band dresses, etc, etc, etc... She just had an adorable baby boy - and her husband is going to med school.  Oh, and she LOVES Halloween too. :)

Okay, those of you awarded, here's what you do.  

1-Put the logo up on your blog

2-Link to the person who you received your award from

3- Nominate 7 other blogs

4 - Put links to those blogs on your post

5 - Leave a message on the blogs you've awarded.

10,000

According to my sitemeter thingy I had my 10,000th visitor this past week - on the 25th at 6:11am to be exact.  

Thanks to all of you out there who listen to my ramblings and encourage and support me (and Nathan).  It helps more than you will ever know. 

 

The Music Man

I promised Nathan's recital and I had just spaced it - thanks Cindy for the reminder! :)

Due to some stress and last minute crises (is that how you do that plural??) we have no video of the recital.  We do have an audio recording and I am going to attempt to make a video using graduation pics and recital pics with that music as the backdrop.  That might take a bit, so here is this in the mean time.  I did it in an external slideshow, so that if you don't want to look at the pics you won't have to scroll down forever to get past them. 

124 steps

I want to get in shape...and so I have thought of a challenge for myself: hike the Old Main Hill stairs everyday.   It may not seem like much, but I counted today and there are 124 stairs from bottom to top.  I was able to drag myself up twice tonight - which is honestly better than I thought I'd do...I thought we'd be calling the paramedics halfway.  So I am going to try and do it everynight, as many times as I can. 

Eternal Band Geeks

Nathan is done with school - and thus done with band and I was looking forward to a fall that didn't include football games.  (Unless of course we wanted to go...as spectators only)  Well, that all changed when Dr Rohrer asked me to be the band photographer and for us to make the movie again this year.  We said yes and have had quite a good time.  We still know enough people in the band that it is fun - plus it gives us something to do with our time. 

Our first gig as official band techie geeks. :)

There are several facets of this gig that are neat-o.  First: The press pass.  With this one piece of laminated paper on a lanyard around my neck I can go anywhere I want.  On the field, out the back gates, the press box.  Second: The press box.  Nathan has to go up ontop of the pressbox each show to record the pre-game and halftime shows.  I took photos from up there this last game - and it is not a place to go if you are afraid of heights.  It is WAAAAYY up there (see pic), BUT on the way back down through the actual press box we get food....and not just any food...catered meals from local restaurants.  So I snap some pics of the band, grab a bite and then make my way back to the opposite side of the stadium to get some candid shots in the stands.  Third: Freedom.  After halftime we can take off if we want.  Or we can stay if we want.  When we were in the band we had to stay until the end of the game (which is oftentimes painful because our team SUCKS) and then play the fight song and then trudge ALL the way back to the FAR parking lot where they make us park.

This is us yesterday

Overall, it is a pretty sweet gig. :)

Auntie and Uncle duty

**updated 9-22-08**  Here's the picture I promised.  Cute huh?

We had quite an eventful weekend.  My brother entrusted the care of his 6 month old to us from Friday night to Sunday night - and before you say 'awwww, fun'...let me share the deets.

Austin is a cute little turd...BUT he's teething, has a cold AND got his 6 month shots on Friday.  Poor little duffer.  He had a rough couple days - as did his Auntie Holly and Uncle Nathan. ;)   We did learn that he LOVES to take baths, he just lays in the water and kicks his legs and thrashes his arms around.  Frank was quite curious about the mini-human and didn't leave my side the whole weekend.  Winston, on the other hand, hid under the bed or in the closet or in the bowels of the couch the entire time...I don't even think he came out to eat - which is ok, he has quite sufficient fat stores to get him through a few days.   Overall, we did have fun with Austin here and it will be fun to have him again sometime...and yes, we still want kids (Although I wasn't so sure at 3:45am  Sunday morning after he had yet to sleep longer than 2 hours since we picked him up). 

Still haven't found the cord to upload pics - if I do find it I'll get one of him in the tub up here.  

Just hear me out

So I have been reading/watching all the stuff online about 9/11 today. A couple thoughts:

1 - Why must the slogan be 'We will never forget'? Aren't we taught to forgive and forget?

2 - To all of you non-conspiracy folk, just answer me this: Suppose you are a Secret Service Agent. If after the planes hit the towers and it was obvious that there was a hijacking situation in progress and there were MULTIPLE aircraft still unaccounted for, why would you leave the President where he is (the location was made public through press releases sent the day before...so would-be hijackers would have known EXACTLY where Bushie was) instead of getting him to a secure location? Wanna know what I think? No, well I'm going to tell you anyway. You would have gotten Bushie to a safe place UNLESS you KNEW he was out of danger...and how would you know that? Because certain cronies (yet to be identified) had made it clear that Bushie was safe reading with the kids...no planes were coming from him.

Your thoughts?

Scary

I am alive...Nathan and I both caught some superbug and it has taken him almost 2 weeks to shake it - I'm at 11 days and still not feeling back to normal. I missed 2 days of work last week (would have been three but Monday was a holiday)...and most of my Labor Day weekend was spent in a drug-induced sleep/coma. Our house smells like Vicks now...

Anyway, I was reading the letters to the editor in my friendly local 'newspaper' and came across this gem. I am not expecting many of you to read this...and I don't expect any comments, because it seems that my political rants/posts don't sit well with most of you (probably because we don't share the same opinions). Alas, here is the text:

To the editor:

As I follow this presidential race closely, I think back on an episode of “That 70’s show” (Season 1, Ep. 3 “Streaking”) where the main character, Red Foreman, was given the opportunity to publicly ask a question to the visiting President Gerald R. Ford. He got the courage to ask a straightforward question that deserved an answer instead of the silly “mild” question that the local committee had prepared for him to ask.

So it made me think that if I had the opportunity to sit down with Barack Obama (heaven forbid) and ask him a question, whether it be publicly or in private, I would look him straight in the eyes, look past his manipulative charm, ignore the “Change” Tattoo imprinted on his forehead, and ask him “Sir Obama, what is your religion, and what is your middle name?” Of course I would be escorted out of the room as quickly as if I had asked Bill Clinton a question of “How profitable was the drug business you were running while in office?”

So many people rip George Bush up one side and down the other, yet he isn’t doing anything corrupt, and he hasn’t been under a desk at any time during his presidency. It’s all kind of funny seeing how I know John Kerry wouldn’t have done any better, and yet you left-wingers won’t lay off of him.

I for one think it’s ridiculous that Mitt Romney practically got put on trial about his religion, and he answered the questions. He is now no longer on the ticket and I think it had something to do with him being a man and standing behind his beliefs. So how about you Obama?

The main point I’m trying to make is this: Barack Obama is not African-American, he is Middle Eastern, and he is a Muslim.

So to call it a historic event to have the first African-American nominated to run for president would be misleading, Because he is not African-American! I know I may get some backlash from the Angry Left, but I know I can just brush it off, because you are the same people who think it’s OK to murder unborn babies.

I’m looking towards the future, and we need a man who is on the same page as God and who is truly ready to lead us, not a man who is off by himself praying five times a day to an “Allah” character and, when asked about the abortion, issue gives the lame answer — that it is above his pay scale — when we all know he is for it. I want some answers Obama! Would God approve of abortion? I didn’t think so either. (Keep in mind I know of the situations where the mother and baby would die if she went through with the pregnancy. I’m not an idiot.)

Gary R. Olsen

Hyrum

I am not sure what frightens me more - that (1) there are people out there who would actually believe all of this or (2) those people are allowed to vote.

When politics are laid out on the table, I fall to the left. I am ok with paying taxes, I like all the social programs, I like money being spent on eduation and I don't think government should have a say in how I live my life - until I am infringing on the rights of others. They shouldn't be able to tell me where to live, or who I can/can't marry or what church I can go to, etc. The direction our country has taken over the last 8 years if frightening. It is a citizen's right and obligation to question our leaders, except now if you do so you are being called unpatriotic. There are those in our country right now who would have everyone with a different view cast to the bottom of the ocean and would not feel bad about it because they are just 'protecting' the country and our values. I am surprised that people can look back over the past 8 years and still look to the president with adoring eyes and think it is ok to kill or hate as long as the recipients are 'immoral' or 'wrong'. But who is deciding where the line is? Blind faith. It is scary, and I am frightened for the direction of our country if it continues.

I find it laughable that the right-wing has been leaning upon the evangelical Christians for the last (at least) 4 years to ensure their seats on office. They scared enough of them out to vote in 2004 with the threat of those evil liberals corrupting their children. Yet now, they have selected a woman whose family is not following the values they have so heavily touted. And all is clear on the right-wing front. I find it laughable that had Obama's daughter been the one to get pregnant they would have been waving the flag of immorality wherever they could and saying it was a sign of things to come if he were allowed to lead this nation.

I don't like talking politics with most people here. It seems like everyone is so ignorant of the issues, all they have is sound bites and hearsay. Now if you have studied the issues and have come to the conclusion that you fall on a different side of the issue than I, I am fine with that. It is what makes our country great. But when you try to argue with your pieces collected off the floor and pad it with slander and hate, I cannot tolerate it. We MUST be an educated public, to ensure that we do not end up like Germany in the 30's. The quote I posted from Hitler a few posts back is scary, and accurate. People in power hope that the ones they rule over won't think, that they will just do what they are told is right/wrong and not question.

There are resources out there, and most of them are free. Glassbooth.org is an AWESOME website. You can go there and answer a myriad of questions and then you are guided through how your viewpoints are alike/different from political candidates. So if you don't like McCain you can say it is because you don't agree with his support of an extension of the Patriot Act rather than 'because he's old'.

I hope people catch the fever of this looming election and spend the time studying the issues and not just going by what they were told by so-and-so or believing something because that's what their parents had believed and their parents... Do the responsible thing.