a tiny part of something bigger.

Weeds

2009-04-01T17:11:00.006-07:00

Last Tuesday afternoon, I finally tackled the gargantuan task of weed-pulling on our property. After receiving our first penalty notice from the HOA and enduring several nights of losing our dogs in the forest formerly known as our backyard, we decided enough was enough. Three hours later, I had definitely made a dent (I wish I had before and after photos to share), but there is still a lot to do to make it look nice. I pulled and pulled until my hands were swollen and tingly and my back was numb; and all the while, the same words of a particular song played over and over in my head: "Yesterday I felt so angry, and today so insecure. I hate it that I wrestle with the God that I adore. Your presence always heals me, so I wanna drink it in. You know where we're going, God, and you know where I've been..." I hummed this tune the whole time, and as I weeded, I noticed a dramatic difference in the types of things that were taking up residence in our otherwise bare yard.

There were giant, hideous, mutant weeds, several feet tall, with spikes and fuzz, growing in the corner of the yard, where there was never any shade and the ground was dry, dusty and hard. There were also smaller, fern-like plants that grew next to the house, where the ground was damp and soft and always shielded from the harsh effects of sunlight. No matter what technique I used to pull the mutant weeds out of the ground, they all snapped off at the base, leaving what I am sure is an intricate root system tucked securely in its dry, rocky home, and I am left holding a useless, disgusting, prickly mess in my hands. The more lush weeds (if you can even use the word "lush" to describe a weed) came effortlessly out of the softer ground next to the house.

Now, when you pull weeds for that long, in virtual silence, one of two things will inevitably happen: you start to have imaginary conversations in your head, or you start to hear from God. It's funny, the ways that God will speak to us. On this particular day, the words to that song played over and over, words that are very relevant in my life right now, and I needed some time to let them sink in and take shape and transform my soul. I needed a reminder pounded into my head that Christ is my rock when important things seem to be spinning out of control, and there was one situation in particular on my heart that, in spite of my best efforts, I cannot just let go.

But back to the weeds. I can't help but laugh that God used weeds to make an important point to me. If weeds are sin, like bitterness, pride, and unforgiveness, in what kind of ground will they most thrive? What kind of heart is fertile ground for these pests? Once weeds take over, they suffocate everything else that tries to grow around them. If I tried to plant anything beautiful or useful in that part of the yard, it wouldn't stand a chance. It was in that moment that I realized my heart was resembling a breeding ground for weeds more than a haven for beauty and health.

This realization didn't come full-circle until I went to my Wednesday night Bible study and heard a piece by Beth Moore that was not only timely, but downright true. For several months now, I have been struggling big time with forgiving the way that I know I am supposed to. Details are irrelevant, but some important people in my life have hurt me in a way I never thought they were capable of, and the chain of events over the last several months has left me confused, brokenhearted, and at a total loss. I have never been faced with anything like this before, and it has done a number on the condition of my heart.

I was so thankful to hear Beth Moore validate my struggle with this. That it is human nature to not want to forgive someone because then they "win"... that we don't want to forgive someone until we get what we want from them. Very true, and I've heard it before. What she said that was different was what made me realize that forgiveness is unconditional, especially when we are in disagreement with a fellow sister in Christ. I do not need any more from those who offended me than what I got, because I am never going to get it. Just because of Christ, I am going to get over it. And just like that, I felt the roots of the weeds that held a suffocating grip on my heart loosen, and finally I could breathe again.

It's not easy to forget what happened, although I hope to someday. It's hard to imagine what the coming days will look like in light of this situation, but with God's help it will become what He wants it to be. I have hope because I am surrounded by reminders of the power of love and forgiveness in restored relationships, some that belong to me and some that I was merely witness to. I am sure I will make my share of mistakes along the way. But for now, I refuse to let the enemy win this thing, at least on my end. Only God can change hearts, and who knew? He would change mine on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, weeding the yard.

Today I fell in love.

2009-03-09T21:56:00.003-07:00

...with Orangette. I was meandering around Barnes and Noble today and came across the blogger's book, sat down and started reading. Before I knew it, it was 6:00 and my poor husband had been waiting for me an additional two hours longer than I intended to come home with a smoothie, most likely the only thing he would have been able to keep down since he came home sick with the stomach flu or the like today. I am in love with her writing and was instantly sucked in. Yet another inspiring book on my must-read list.

Current Obsession: Macy's European Coffeehouse

2009-02-25T16:16:00.007-07:00

This past weekend on our latest girl's trip to Flagstaff, we visited Macy's on Beaver Street. After a glowing recommendation from Joe of Joe's Real BBQ/Joe's Farm Grill/Liberty Market fame, I finally got around to trying the world-traveling coffee connoisseur's favorite stateside coffee shop. I must say, it exceeded my expectations! If you ever find yourself in Flagstaff, don't miss Macy's. Not only is the cappuccino top-notch, the food is pretty tasty too. I had the granola with yogurt and fresh strawberries and bananas, a half order of the vegetarian biscuits and gravy, and a Cappuccino Royale, served in a giant cup with the most perfect milk foam I have ever seen. As a fellow barista, I have to admit that it may be a while before I master the art of milk foam the way the experts at Macy's have!

We also saw our favorite band ever, Stampead. It would be a crime to write a blog about Flagstaff and not give props to their amazing music. However, nothing I could ever write would do justice to Katie's description of our latest Stampead experience. If that's not love, I don't know what is.

New craft room!

2009-02-25T15:56:00.004-07:00

We moved in about three weeks ago and I immediately set to work on the craft/guest room. I am super excited to put it to use! All I need now is the sewing machine my dear grandmother has bequeathed to me to put on the table-formerly-known-as-the-dining-room-table. I am in desperate need of some wall art or shelves, but for now I think it's off to a good start:

Also, here is our bedroom setup:

On another note, I am SO stoked to visit Knit Happens in Scottsdale. My mom made me pinky swear not to go without her, which shouldn't be too hard since it's right down the street from Mom and Dad's! I'll be dropping off the fur-kids and going yarn crazy with the madre in no time.

Inspiration

2009-01-10T22:55:00.005-07:00

This book is one of the most beautiful additions I've made to my home library, ever. It's chock-full of creative inspiration and makes you feel good about wanting to do nothing but sit around at home and knit, or sew, or bake, or garden, and that it's not wrong or degrading to women to want to do these things, it's a lost art. I LOVE IT. Mom would be proud.

We close on our house this afternoon! As of this weekend, I will finally have my own kitchen where I can get my cook on, and a craft room where I can read, write, sew, knit, and collect snippets of inspiration for future projects. Then Elska Aprons may actually launch one of these days. Score!

Update: As it turns out, we did not close on the house this afternoon. The bank wants to do a three-day review of the documents, so now it won't be until next Tuesday. A week late. This is indeed a frustrating process. All I can say is that I hope all the putting off of the paperwork resulted in the lower interest rate we were told we could get.

Untitled, 1/5/09.

2009-01-05T23:43:00.006-07:00

I don't even know what I'm doing awake right now, because it's almost midnight and I don't feel well and Cody is downstairs baking cookies for a work "retreat" tomorrow and I have all this stuff on my mind. I just read 1 John 1 and one verse in particular jumped out at me in such a way that I can't help but beg for God's help not to be this person anymore:

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. (v. 6)

I have been walking in my own darkness for longer than I ever should have; dark enough that I feel like I'm not who I say I am, and I know there are others who have thought that of me because of it, others who are as imperfect as me, just in different ways. I have been hurt and judged and gossiped about behind my back and turned into something I'm not by people who are supposed to love me because I messed up and yes, I am guilty of less-than-godly behavior. I could go on and on to justify myself but the bottom line is that I need to forgive. I don't know how but I must, because God knows that bitterness will shred me to pieces until there is nothing good left in me to show what happens when we actually live out the life He has for us.

For now, I am so thankful to have dear, dear friends who are living proof of God's redemption, because they give me the hope I need, and that's the first step.

It's been a while...

2008-12-19T10:09:00.018-07:00

I gotta be honest, I haven't felt like doing much of anything lately, especially blogging. All of my creative energy has been zapped by some pretty crappy and hurtful circumstances that I won't get into here. And besides that, Obama won the election- that's enough to send any true conservative into hiding for a while, no? Anyway, on to the actual, non-political reason for this blog... shocking, I know.

Yesterday was an exiting, life-changing day for Cody and I... we got news that the bank approved our offer on a house! We have been searching for a couple of months now and every time we found something we loved someone else had beaten us to the punch. Let's just say that when the media tells you that the housing market is frozen, they are full of it. Haha. But seriously. The process was becoming so frustrating it was beginning to feel like we would never get a house before we had to move out of here. Well, it turns out God had a plan for us indeed.

Last April, we were thisclose to buying a 1300 sf home in Gilbert for $195k. A day before the inspection period ended, I lost my job and our income was cut in half. We had to give up the house, and I was devastated. Cody assured me that we would be OK and that we had to trust God, and after a while I got over it, and we moved into his mom's house. OUR plan was to live there for about a year and pay off the one loan that we had and then buy a house. GOD'S plan was a little different, however. And since only hindsight is 20/20, I was freaking out when I found out we had to move out sooner than expected, and I didn't know what we were going to do.

As we all know, the market has changed dramatically in the past few months. Foreclosures have skyrocketed, interest rates have dropped, the stock market has been frighteningly volatile. All of these things, however, have created the perfect storm for people like Cody and I as first-time home buyers. So we set off on a mission to find the perfect home for the perfect amount of money, thinking we would snap one up in no time.

Fast forward a couple of months, and we were at the end of our rope, with no desire to rent an apartment in the meantime but feeling like it was inevitable. Keep in mind that we have the most incredible agent ever (if you are reading this and are looking for an agent, I INSIST that you employ him!), but often the seller's agents are flaky, lazy, and just plain don't know what they're doing. So the MLS status will say one thing but something entirely different will be going on with the house. Scott, our agent, knows the process better than we ever could, so we trusted his advice and direction as we navigated our options and knew he had our best interests at heart.

Then Tuesday arrives. We get an email from Scott about a bank-owned listing that had just been reduced that day to $150k... on Monday it was listed at $240k. A $90k drop?! I knew the banks were desperate to get rid of inventory, but that seemed a little ridiculous. I called Scott after work and chatted with him a bit, and we decided to meet at the house to check it out that afternoon. Cody was still at work, so he couldn't be there to meet us. When I pulled up to the house, there was a car in the driveway... someone else was there checking it out. My heart absolutely dropped and I thought there was no way that these people were going to leave the place without going straight to the agent's office to submit an offer, it was that nice. So when Scott showed up and opened the front door, I stepped inside and here's my reaction: "OK... we need to leave right now and put an offer down. We can't let these people beat us to the punch... again!" Thankfully, Scott just kept walking through the house and I followed, and the whole time was beside myself with excitement because this place was beyond anything we had ever hoped for. Scott just kept saying, "What is wrong with this place? There has to be SOMETHING wrong with it... $150k? The bank is crazy!" But we found nothing. Just an amazing house with upgrades galore in a beautiful neighborhood in Gilbert.

I thought we didn't stand a chance.

We all headed straight to Scott's home office and submitted our offer. Wednesday morning, Cody sent in the earnest check. Thursday morning, Cody received a message from Scott saying that there was another offer on the house, which didn't surprise us but was a huge let-down. We thought that even though ours was the first to get to the bank, the bank would be foolish not to take the highest offer, if this other offer was higher than ours. Then, just as Cody was about to encourage me with that day's entry from "My Utmost For His Highest" Scott called us again. He started off the conversation by saying that he had good news and bad news. Sounding rather grim, he shared the bad news first: over the course of the day, several other offers had been submitted. Pause for effect. Then he said, "But the good news is... I got a call from the seller's agent. And the bank accepted your offer immediately. Just like that. I almost peed my pants. And the seller's agent is completely shocked that they took your offer so quickly. I don't even know what to say... this was the nicest house out of all the ones we've seen. And it's worth so much more than you guys are paying for it. Congratulations, friends." I was so happy, so relieved, felt so incredibly blessed that I cried. Behind our wedding day, it was the happiest day of my life.

As excited as I was when I was in the house, I knew I couldn't let myself get too attached to the idea of living there. We had been through enough disappointments to realize that wasn't a smart move. But I honestly had never felt that excited about a house, ever. After we submitted the offer, we submitted the process to God in prayer. I almost felt silly bothering Him with our house troubles, but we both knew that God is always in control and we had to believe that He had our best at heart, whether that meant we get the house or not. Considering the circumstances, I can't help but feel that He intervened to make it happen because He wants us to use our home for His purposes. It has been a dream of ours to do so. I must be honest and say that it was the first time I had submitted the process to God since this whole ordeal began. It was the first time I believed that He had the perfect house set aside for us and it may or may not be the one we liked, but we had to trust in His timing and plan. I know it's easy for me to say now because things worked out... but believe me that if it didn't work out, I would have firmly believed that it was because it wasn't the one. It doesn't mean I wouldn't have been scared and wondering what was going to happen... it just means that I know and believe what Romans 8:28 says.

We feel incredibly fortunate and blessed. All that to say... here it is!

This guy is my HERO.

2008-10-29T10:31:00.002-07:00

Listen to him. PLEASE. He is damn funny and RIGHT ON.

My thoughts exactly.

Aaaannnd... His thoughts on abortion.

I recommend "Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments" by Randy Alcorn for the truth on abortion that the media and the left will never let you hear. Given that we were all once fetuses, we ALL should be outraged when someone tries to say it's OK to kill an unborn child; that it's a "woman's choice." Last time I checked, stopping a life from continuing was the same thing as murder. And yet our Supreme Court deemed it lawful with Roe v. Wade in 1973. Hmmmmm... it defies logic, really.

When I was a senior in high school, I wrote and presented a paper in support of the pro-choice movement. I look back and am outright ashamed of what I thought I stood for, and the ignorance it took for me to think I was standing up for what was best for people. What a selfish, horrendous, disgusting, and violent thing I once believed in.

So go ahead, have at it. I know there are people reading this who disagree and agree. I wanna hear it.

The truth about Proposition 105

2008-10-29T09:26:00.003-07:00

What the ballots say (source: www.votesmartaz.org):

What it does:

Amends the Arizona Constitution to state that any ballot initiative that establishes, imposes, or raises any tax or fee or mandates any spending obligations may only become law if it is approved by a majority of registered Arizona voters

Arguments for:

-Many tax increases have been passed due to low voter turnout

-Makes it more difficult for special interest groups to circumvent the Legislature and enact new taxes and spending measures at the ballot

-See www.letthemajorityrule.com

Arguments against:

-Makes it nearly impossible for civic and community organizations to impact public policy through the initiative process

-Those who do not vote should not have the ability to decide elections

-See www.thevotersofaz.com

Why the ads should be infuriating to you:

Perhaps you have seen the TV ads of the fat, lazy, potato-chip-eating slob sitting in his recliner lamenting on whether or not he should bother peeling himself away from his beloved sitcoms to vote this year. A narrator tells viewers that Prop 105 allows the opinions of those who won't bother to vote to decide elections; that your "yes" vote will be canceled out by those who do not vote at all. Sounds ridiculous that we would even consider such nonsense, right?

What they are not telling you is that Prop 105 was developed with the interests of the people at heart. It is in no way, shape or form meant to cover any and all initiatives placed on the ballot, nor does it affect candidates. It is ONLY applicable to the passing of new taxes or the raising of old ones, with the goal that if the majority of registered voters does not vote in favor of higher taxes, they should not be passed at all. SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS that you may not want to support will reap the benefits of your hard-earned money if this proposition does not pass. It requires that a MAJORITY OF REGISTERED VOTERS favor higher taxes, not a majority of those who voted on the initiative.

For example, let's say there are one million registered voters who can vote on a tax raise, but only one thousand actually vote on the issue. Of the one thousand, seven hundred vote in favor of the higher tax. If the Voters of Arizona had their way, those seven hundred people would be making the decision to raise taxes on the entire population. This is NOT a majority vote. They are doing everything in their power to deceive you into believing that this proposition will affect every single issue on the ballot. You should be insulted that they assume you are foolish enough to believe it! I plead with you to vote "YES" on Prop 105 with me at the polls this year.

Please, for the love of God, don't gauge your vote by the ads you see on TV. I have had enough of the blatant lies, twisting of the truth, and elements taken completely out-of-context that are set forth by political interests desperate to have their way. Perfect example: the attacks on Sidney Hay. When the ads parrot about her intentions to "impose a 23% sales tax on goods you use every day" that will "abolish corporate taxes" and that she is a "corporate lobbyist" it makes me want to poke out my eyes with hot forks. Anyone who has been paying attention should immediately make the connection between "23%" and "Fair Tax," which would abolish ALL taxes with the exception of the 23% sales tax on goods and services. No income tax, no IRS, no estate tax, no death tax, no business tax, so by default, no corporate tax.

It should be outrageously insulting to our intelligence that people would put forth things so blatantly out of context to keep someone out of office, but unfortunately many people are uninformed and make decisions based on ads- I should know, I majored in advertising in college! Go figure. If money were no object, I'd be out there countering the lies with the truth in ads like mad. However, unlike their Democratic counterparts, the conservatives I support don't spend record amounts on campaigns and advertising to ensure their candidates get into office and their initiatives pass... they trust the people to make decisions on the issues and candidates and not what they tell them to believe in a 30-second spot on TV.

I could go on and on about how blatantly ignorant people have to be to miss Obama's plain-as-day Marxist tendencies, but I digress. You will be spared since I already covered that in my last blog. I am literally praying that people are properly educated and armed with opinions based on FACT before they enter the polls this November 4th.

Wow. WOW.

2008-10-22T15:17:00.006-07:00

A-FREAKING-men.

Forget Obama and McCain. We need to elect that guy as president.

This Web site has some frightening issues they address in regards to the direction of our country. I'm not an alarmist, nor do I promote conspiracy theories; but I do think the media are controlled by people delivering unreliable, completely biased information and sometimes you have to look elsewhere for a deeper look at what is really going on. I encourage everyone to move beyond the traditional media outlets every now and then to provoke thought and recognize the possibility that there is more going on than the Old Media will ever tell us.

Ironically, often there is probably also less going on than the Old Media will ever admit.

With that in mind, never in the history of the United States have we seen such a radical, far-left, unknown candidate as Obama on the ticket to be leader of the free world. I fear that many people who support him do so blindly without a real handle on the issues he wants to turn upside-down: gun control, abortion, welfare, SPREADING THE WEALTH, and a host of other issues. Does ANYONE think about what changing those issues will look like in the end, and what that means for the health of our American society? Most of the arguments I hear in favor of his "change" when it comes to specific issues are naive and shallow at best, backed up with nothing but personal opinion and popular ideology. With the help of the Hollywood elite, Obama has painted a pretty picture for everyone under the facade of eloquence and Messiah-esque appeal and, unfortunately, more Americans are falling for it than not.

There are plenty of people out there who want "change" and would stop at nothing to destroy McCain's chances and discredit Governor Palin. To those people, I say this: If Obama wins, fine. It will be no surprise to little ol' me if that is the outcome of this election. So we'll try it your way for a while, and we'll see what this "change" he touts really means. Socialism? Marxism? I believe we're in for a rude awakening, because an Obama administration is only the beginning of what I'm sure will be a very unwelcome change by even the people who voted him into office.

On the flipside, McCain is simply the lesser of two evils. He's not perfect, but at least he's not a socialist. After all, he hasn't the media friends to ask to seek out and destroy guys like Joe the Plumber when they question his tax plan:

Congratulations, Team Obama, we've still got two-plus weeks until Election Day and you're already destroying jobs. After last week's now-notorious encounter with Joe the Plumber, Obama's media foot soldiers were dispatched with a simple mission: destroy Joe. On Sunday's Fox and Friends, Joe announced their success; his business has been shut down.
Thanks to the intrepid reporting of journalists who've obviously lost all sense of perspective, it turns out Joe has been fixing Ohioans' plumbing without a government-issued license. Talk about irony. Joe came under fire for humiliating Obama by noting his tax plans interfere with Joe's American Dream. He wanted to buy his plumbing company and expand it, but higher taxes on small businesses threaten to turn that dream into a nightmare. The left, in other words, used Big Government to silence Joe Citizen for speaking ill of Big Government.
In turn, Americans have offered financial support to Joe - offers he's politely declined.
Americans have taken to Joe for his willingness to go where the media refuses - that is, for actually speaking truth to power. Nothing's more infuriating than reporters allowing themselves to be used by politicians, yet that's exactly what's being done on a daily basis at CBS, NBC, CNN, etc. Joe got the opportunity to tell Obama directly that his tax plans - which penalize hard work while claiming to further America's best interests - were an insult to his intelligence.

Thank you, Laura Ingraham, for that witty little sentiment on how truly brave an American citizen you have to be to speak up against a media darling like Barack Obama.

Finally, don't discredit Obama's relationships with domestic terrorists, radical preachers, criminals, and genocidal control freaks, either. He'll dismiss them as passing acquaintances, but the video that could cost Obama the election shows yet ANOTHER tie that has me just a tad bit concerned that we're handing the reigns over to someone who believes big government is the answer to everyone's problems, who may eventually reveal himself as a leader who silences opposition because he has given himself the power to do so.

You might catch me driving down the street rocking out to:

2008-10-21T21:44:00.005-07:00

"You wanted arts and crafts, how's this for arts and crafts? DUH NANANANANANANANANANANANANANA THAT'S RIGHT!" Hahahahaha... best song ever.

And for further proof that Weezer is the coolest band ever:

Also, "Oh Boy" is downloading as we speak. SO. EXCITED.

Tax cut analogy

2008-10-20T09:28:00.002-07:00

Not sure who wrote this, but it makes sense to me...

Let's put tax cuts in terms that everyone can understand. Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh $7.
The eighth $12.
The ninth $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."
So, now dinner for the ten only cost $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.
So, the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free.
But what about the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share'?
The six men realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being 'PAID' to eat their meal. So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (29% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $50 instead of $59 (15% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man.
He pointed to the tenth man "but he got $9!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too.
It's unfair that he got nine times more than me!"
"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man.
"Why should he get $9 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important.
They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.
There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the Caribbean.

Save the Dogs!

2008-10-10T12:15:00.003-07:00

My favorite band just wrote a song called "Save the Dogs" and then made this sweet stop motion video for it. Pretty sure they wrote this song for me... hahaha

"Oh Boy" is coming out soon... what I've heard is freaking rad. Can't wait.

Speaking of saving dogs, BARKtoberfest is tomorrow and if you want to save the dogs, you'd best be there to help raise money for Friends for Life. I'll have a Petlane booth there and I'll be selling some great pet items, booking pawties and sponsoring new PUPs! Just doing my part to save the dogs :)

Overdue...

2008-09-09T16:34:00.006-07:00

No, I'm not referring to a post about my current political opinions, although you won't have to wait too long for that one. So you can sit back from the edge of your seat now. Haha. I'm talking about pictures of our new baby girl! Along with a picture of her former home (the White Mountains) and a rainbow of God's promise for good measure. She has to be the cutest thing I have ever seen, next to THOR, of course. I thought my mom was just going to drop dead the moment she saw Hanalei, the cuteness is that overwhelming. Currently she's sitting in my lap, looking up at me and panting after a nap because it is SO HOT in this room right now. I have wanted to capture her on film so many different times but my memory will have to suffice to capture those moments for now.

The best is when she is sitting down and tucks in her little butt, and cocks her head at me with her ears all perked up, so I tilt my head in one direction, then the other, and she mirrors me... SO CUTE. Or when she jumps around and spins in the air whimpering because she knows that I am fixing her food in her princess dish (yes, she has a princess dish) and this is so exciting because food is THE BEST THING EVER. Or when she pounces on THOR and he puts the smack down when she tries to nab one of his squirrels. Or when she is so tired that you can pick her up and carry her around and she will stay asleep through anything because she is that determined to sleep. Or watching how brave she is because she actually jumps off the couch which would be like me jumping off a roof, or climbing down the stairs all by herself at a whole seven weeks old. Or maybe the time when she charged under THOR at top speed right as he lifted his leg to do his business on his favorite bush and peed all over her. Or when she accidentally stepped in THOR's dog log and lifted her paw, looking at it in absolute horror after catching a whiff, clearly wondering what she was supposed to do now that her paw was covered in gnarly feces.

She is SUCH a girl. The princess dish fits.

GAAAAAAAAAH! I can hardly stand it.

Hanalei is arriving next Saturday!

2008-08-22T10:18:00.004-07:00

We got an e-mail from our breeder saying that we can pick up our little girl next weekend! We are so excited. THOR can barely contain himself :)

She's the one on the left. She is a DOLL. As Stacy always says about THOR: "You must have gone to a Build-a-Bear and made him!"

I just can't figure out his appeal...

2008-08-13T17:36:00.003-07:00

Besides his sheer inexperience, his plans to raise taxes have been among the most infuriating prospects I've encountered.

I really wish I knew what people liked about him besides his "charisma" and the fact that it would be a historical event to vote into office the first black president. Big freaking deal. The only people who make race any issue at all are the people who bring it up in the first place.

I would think that if anyone took the time to research what he actually means by "change" and how it would affect their everyday lives, as well as his political experience, no one would be voting for this guy.

www.meetbarackobama.com

Moving.

2008-08-12T19:10:00.009-07:00

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

There are no words to describe how much we all hate moving. Throw the middle of August in Arizona in the mix, and you have quite the debacle ahead of you. Sweaty hands that drop large furniture. A/C working overtime. Stairs. You know the drill. And we're about to embark on a 35-mile move from North Scottsdale to Ahwatukee this weekend.

I'm not gonna lie; I'm totally bummed out about this move. I thought I was prepared for it, but the truth is I'm in avoidance/denial mode. It's Tuesday night and we haven't even started packing- no, scratch that, I haven't started packing. I'm just not ready to turn our lovely apartment inside out and say goodbye to it. I'm a total sucker for being sentimental about stuff- it's tough for me to leave the place Cody and I called home as we began our marriage. But it's not just that- I LOVE our apartment- the layout, the location, the view. The view is amazing! We moved into this apartment a month and a half before my last lease was up just because of that view. And there's so much to do in this part of town. We found a church we loved and we had to say goodbye this past Sunday because it's much too far to attend when we're living that far south. Granted, we didn't get super involved in the ministry there because we knew we would be leaving. But we enjoyed the services and the FPU class we attended there.

I guess we never expected to leave so quickly after we got here. Sad face :(

However, in spite of all that we're leaving behind, we're doing this for far better reasons than any we may have to stay here. We're going to get out from under ALL of our monthly loan obligations... what an incredible relief that will be. We will be able to save money at a much faster rate than ever, and we will be able to put more money down on our future home when the time is really, truly right. And best of all, we will be closer to the family and friends that we love. As beautiful as Scottsdale is, we are so isolated from everyone here. So really, we are gaining much more than we are losing :)

All that to say, I'm still gonna miss this spectacular desert view...

Silent House

2008-07-28T17:09:00.010-07:00

Cody and I just got back from visiting our grandparents- his in Holdenville, OK, and mine in Centralia, IL, and there is so much I could share about our trip, but for now I want to write about my Afi. What I will say is that while we were in Holdenville, I was certain that Cody's dear grandparents didn't stop talking from the moment we got there until the moment we left- pick a subject, ANY subject, and they have a story for it! It was such a stark contrast to what we experienced in Centralia.

Silence.

When we sat down to eat, we would chit chat here and there, but there were not many stories that were shared. The radio and TV would be turned off, and all we would hear is the sound of crunching and eating and the ticking of the clock with the occasional hourly chime.

My grandfather, who I have always called Afi (Icelandic for grandpa), has Alzheimer's. He was fortunate in that it didn't start to ail him until he was already into his 90s. He was born and raised in Centralia, a tiny town of currently less than 15,000, and has never lived anywhere else with the exception of a station in Iceland, where he met my grandmother nearly 50 years ago when my mom was just 12. They will be celebrating their golden anniversary on August 9. Afi turned 97 the day before we left.

His daughter, Ruthie, and her husband, Vern, drove down from a small town in Illinois a little north of Peoria. Afi couldn't be talked into getting out of his pajamas and into some regular clothes, so it was a low-key celebration. After lunch, they headed out to continue on to a friend's house, and the phone calls came pouring in. Kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, friends, cousins, you name it- they all called to wish him a happy birthday. It was so hard watching him forget within minutes who it was that he had been on the phone with. There were times when we were there that we would hear him ask my Amma (grandmother) who Cody and I were; and she would remind him. He was never frightened, he just didn't know who we were. And he always forgot we were there; it was a surprise every time we came walking out of the kitchen or down the hall from the guest room.

The only person he knows now is Amma.

The night of his birthday, we sat in the living room watching TV, when all of a sudden he started coughing horribly; the kind of cough that was so jolting his whole body would convulse. This went on for a while, then he decided to get up to go to bed. But he was so exhausted from all the coughing that he couldn't get up out of his chair. He tried three times before Amma had to remind him to press the button to move the chair up and forward. Once he was up, he started walking toward their bedroom with Amma at his side. Cody and I got up to help because he would push his walker forward but his feet wouldn't move to catch up with it, which surely would have resulted in a face-plant on the wood floor. Thus began about an hour and a half of him continuously trying to get up out of bed every two minutes because he kept forgetting that he had already done so. I can't say much more about what happened that evening, because it was too personal and heartbreaking, but his birthday ended with him being taken in an ambulance to the hospital. And he hasn't been home since.

There are no words that can describe the pain of watching someone you love literally lose their mind. I have very, very close friends who have been affected by this horrendous disease, some who have already lost their loved ones, and one who is only in the beginning, and I can only pray for strength to endure what is to come, or for a flat-out miracle to intervene. I suppose you can argue that it may be just as well that they have no idea what is happening to them; but when you look into their eyes and are met with a blank stare, you know that you are the only one who can carry on their memories.

As we sat in the emergency room waiting for the doctor, Afi started reciting a portion of a very familiar prayer. "For thine is thy Kingdom, and the power and the glory forever and ever." And that was all he said before he drifted off to sleep again. Cody and I prayed and prayed that night, and God, being the good God that he is, allowed me to say goodbye to my Afi the next day, and he knew exactly who I was. Cody got to see a glimpse of the Afi I always knew. I told him how much I loved him, and that we will be praying for him always. He told me that he loved me and that he'll see me later. And I know that the next time I see him, he will not be suffering anymore. He will be well again, and his mind will be whole. He will be with God.

What I will never forget is the beautiful picture of marriage that he and my Amma painted for my husband and I to see first hand. They have taken such tremendous care of each other through the years, and have such understanding and concern for one another, that even through this time of total uncertainty and yet inevitability it is clear that they have each other's best interests at heart. My Afi has always said that the years he has spent with my Amma have been the best of his whole life. There is an intense appreciation between them that left a huge impression on Cody and me. Let's just say that we have a lot to look forward to if our marriage turns out the way theirs did. I praise God that He gave us the time and resources to see them this summer. You can never know when it's too late.

The Dixie Chicks wrote a song about the loss of the lead singer's grandmother to Alzheimer's. As much as it breaks my heart, I haven't been able to stop listening to it since we got back. Songs always speak to me, and this one is certainly no exception. (No idea who the people are in the video... it's just the only one I could find that I could embed.)

These walls have eyes
Rows of photographs
And faces like mine
Who do we become
Without knowing where
We started from

It's true I'm missing you
As I stand alone in your room

Everyday that will pass you by
Every name that you won't recall
Everything that you made by hand
Everything that you know by heart

And I will try to connect
All the pieces you left
I will carry it on
And let you forget
And I'll remember the years
When your mind was clear
How the laughter and life
Filled up this silent house

One room
Two single beds
In the closet hangs
Your favorite dress
The books that you read
Are in scattered piles
Of paper shreds

Everything that you made by hand
Everything that you know by heart

And I will try to connect
All the pieces you left
I will carry it on
And let you forget
And I'll remember the years
When your mind was clear
How the laughter and life
Filled up this silent house
Silent house

In the garden off the living room
A chill fills the air
And the lilies bloom

And I will try to connect
All the pieces you left
I will carry it on
And let you forget
And I'll remember the years
When your mind was clear
How the laughter and life
Filled up this

And I will try to connect
All the pieces you left
I will carry it on
And let you forget
And I'll remember the years
When your mind was clear
How the laughter and life
Filled up this silent house

Silent house

You know you're in the Midwest/Bible Belt/in a van down by the river...

2008-07-21T17:29:00.003-07:00

...when you see this.

Or this... (BEEFALO?!??!)

or this...

or ESPECIALLY this...

Toadies.

2008-07-21T16:50:00.005-07:00

Being that Cody and I have been out of town visiting our grandparents and Uncle Bill (more on that later), I haven't had much time for blogging. Actually, that has more to do with the lack of an internet connection- no, scratch that, lack of a COMPUTER- than lack of time. (Grandparents are chill.)

For today, I want to take a moment to share with the Internet the baby toads we found hopping around outside this morning. They are smaller than a nickel, and cute as a button. Apparently we need to watch our step around monsoon season because we saw a few that met their demise due to their ironic ability to look like a piece of stray gravel. Sad.

These little guys bring back some great childhood memories of going to my friend Emily's house and making an afternoon of catching baby toads in her family's garden. Every summer they would go to the Verde River and bring home buckets of these little guys to put in their garden to eat bugs. We would promptly comb the garden to capture them, scare the piss out of them (literally), and watch them hop around wherever we decided to take them- usually the back patio or, if we were sneaky enough, into the living room. The ones who survived the neighborhood cats (or us) grew up to be large and quite slimy. Needless to say, they lost their appeal when it came to catching one, but we still thought they were cute.

Look how tiny he is!

You know you have your priorities messed up when your to-do list is 29-items deep, you haven't bothered to unpack even though you have been home for three days, the house has been turned upside down by a recent sewing project, and you are online, writing.

About toads.

Friday's Find: Beer-Glazed Black Beans and a PHENOMENAL Vegetarian Cookbook!

2008-07-02T23:13:00.009-07:00

I know I'm a couple of days early, but I literally couldn't contain my excitement for another second. There are no words to describe my everlasting love for my shiny, green new vegetarian cookbook- and let me tell you, does it ever live up to its name. How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is almost 1,000 pages long, chock full of every little piece of advice for cooks ranging from novice (me) to pro (me someday in the distant future... hopefully). He answers questions like: What is quinoa? How do you choose a good onion at the store? What in the world do you do with leeks anyway?

My first dish- well, actually, it was a side for an impromptu quesadilla recipe I made up with zucchini, diced tomatoes and onions, and the ever-important cheese- was Beer-Glazed Black Beans. This was very exciting to me for three reasons: 1. I love cooking with beans because they are a good source of protein; 2. Um this recipe calls for beer. Of course that's the first thing I'm going to try out from this book. 3. I still have no idea what to do with tofu yet.

These beans were a vegetarian's answer to old-fashioned maple baked beans. They were sweet and hearty and complete with onion and garlic (because everyone knows that NOTHING is complete without onion and garlic). We used Sam Adams Boston Ale for this recipe, and the author, Mark Bittman, gives his readers the freedom to use any kind they like, as different beers will yield dramatically different flavors.

Beer-Glazed Black Beans

Makes: 4 servings

Time: 20 minutes with cooked beans

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 cup beer

3 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained but still moist, liquid reserved

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon honey, or for a vegan version, molasses

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Put the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute, then add the beer, beans, chili powder, honey, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.

2. Bring to a steady bubble and cook until the liquid is slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

P.S. I HIGHLY recommend using Williams-Sonoma's Vegetable Chop and Measure. I was able to slice and dice the onions AND mince the garlic using this puppy. Huge time-saver!

A delicious disaster.

2008-06-23T19:55:00.006-07:00

I really wish that, when I steam-burned myself and in my reactionary shock of pain dropped the large glass bowl into a pot and sprayed molten chocolate all over the walls, cabinets, our fresh fruit in the banana hammock, and the dog's food bowl, I had thought to take a picture of the damage. But alas, I was too busy swearing and chucking my wooden spoon across the room and into the sink to think about such nonsense. Let me assure you that it was quite an impressive mess, and there was dark, buttery chocolate that ended up in places I'm sure I have yet to discover. How none ended up on me is a mystery. But I did manage to spy a rogue chocolate dot on the cabinet about an hour after cleanup:

Disaster aside, I set out today to make peanut butter swirl brownies a la Martha Stewart, and they are baking in the oven as we speak, and they smell heavenly. Cody is out picking up some Baja Fresh for dinner which will make for an interesting smell combo when he gets back, but I digress. Alls I can tell you is that I can hardly wait to get my paws on one of these peanut-chocolatey squares, and don't you worry, if I were you I'd totally be jealous too.

And here we have zee fineeshed product...

Delicioso!

My current obsession with food.

2008-06-23T13:44:00.008-07:00

I swear to you, I can't surf around 101 Cookbooks or Smitten Kitchen without uttering the words, "ExCUSE me?!" at least seven times per visit when I look at their recipes. Because who wants to eat Amazing Black Bean Brownies... really? I should be offended by this. And then I totally want to eat them. Why this is appetizing is beyond me. But I am sure that blogs like this inspire me to spend as much time in my kitchen as is humanly possible.

Also, when I walk into stores like Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table I can't help but get a thrill at the thought of a huge kitchen filled with every cooking gadget under the sun, and me inventing culinary delights so ethereal that the heavens open wide and the angels sing upon my creations.

I think the world might actually be coming to an end. I want to do things like sew, cook, and plant a garden. When did I become a vegetarian, chocolate-obsessed, weird brownie-baking, lentil-consuming, Martha Stewart wannabe who actually wants to eat the aforementioned ingredients... all in the same recipe?

...

On another note, I made Cody eat a whole steamed artichoke the other night, and it was *nearly* disastrous. Not quite cooked all the way through, but not entirely a loss for a first-timer. All in all, a thoroughly weird experience. When he got to the part where he had to slice and dice his way through the furry mess to the heart, he sat there with a very concerned look on his face, staring at what was left of the artichoke, and said, "I think I just ate a wombat."

Excitement and toilets.

2008-06-19T08:52:00.006-07:00

Some things I am excited about:

1. Cody's three-day weekends for the summer

2. Going to see Get Smart tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.

3. Going up north afterwards. Well, we hope so anyway.

4. Banana Chip Cookies. OH. MY. WORD.

On another note, I would like to know who decided that automatic toilets are a good idea. Automatic soap dispensers? Spectacular. Automatic sinks? Fantabulous. I am a HUGE fan of the automatic towel dispensers- those alleviate the need to go through the whole sanitary process of dispensing the towel by hand first, letting it hang there vulnerable to being stolen while I wash my hands, drying my hands with it if it doesn't get stolen first, THEN turning off the water using the towel and hanging on to the towel so I don't have to touch the door handle on my way out. I hate going through that whole process because I'm trying to get better about my water consumption, but honestly, there is nothing more disgusting than the things you have to touch in a public bathroom. And don't even get me started on the fact that no one can figure out to put the handle on the OUTSIDE of the bathroom door... at least many places have figured out to put a trash can near the door for the anal retentive.

But back to the automatic toilets. They never fail to flush before you are ready, or sometimes before you even start. In fact, the other day when I was at the movie theater, I walked into a stall and the toilet flushed before I even closed the door, in a lovely greeting of bacteria-filled potty mist- which, by the way, is sprayed with such outrageous force that it can reach as far as 20 feet away. You can bet I flush and run when I'm not faced with The Automatic Toilet; if I am and it flushes before my pants are fully pulled up and secured and I can make my escape, I cower in the corner and cover my face as if I were being doused with raw sewage (which, actually, is not too far off). It's no surprise that the toilet managed to flush three times in the span of the two minutes I was in there. It's not like a motion censor is going to be able to distinguish the difference between someone pulling up their pants or doing the Irish Jig. And if you happen to still be sitting on the toilet, you can basically count on an involuntary bidet before you leave your stall.

God forbid, if you did something naughty in the potty, it is inevitable that in an act of outrageous defiance most automatic toilets WILL NOT FLUSH no matter how many strip teases you do.

As far as I am concerned, with the exception of geriatric germophobes who can't lift their leg to the handle to flush, no one likes automatic toilets.

Perhaps if Obama wins the presidency, we can ask him to take action to ban the use of automatic flushers in public arenas. Because he might actually do it.

Honeymoon Video

2008-06-18T09:24:00.006-07:00

My super talented and smoking hot husband took it upon himself to make a full-fledged video montage of our time in Kauai in November. Besides the roosters, the best part of our honeymoon was that we actually got there- our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:15 a.m. And when did we wake up? 6:58. I believe the morning went something like this:

(My thought process waking up.) "Gee... THOR sure is rattling around in his cage early. And there are sure a LOT of cars on the road for 5:15 in the morning. Actually, what the crap am I doing awake this early with no alarm?"

(I sit straight up, wide awake, and look at the clock, which is staring defiantly back at me saying, "Nah nah, nah nah NAH, it's SIX FIFTY-EEEEIGHT! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!")

Me: "HOLY %&$*%@$#@$#@$#%&*%$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Cody (startled and ready to kill an intruder): "Whaa??? Who- where? What's going on?" (Looks at the clock) "HOLY %&$*%@$#@$#@$#%&*%$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

At which point I immediately burst into tears.

My poor mom called two minutes later: "Where are you, dear? You were supposed to be here at 6:30."

"WE JUST WOKE UUUUUUPPPP! WE'RE GOING TO MISS OUR HONEYMOON!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME AT 6:30?!?!?!?" Because, clearly, when things like this go wrong, it is automatically Mom's fault. Oh, the joys of motherhood that I will have to look forward to one day- being yelled at by my kids when they are freaking out about something I had nothing to do with. (I love you Mom!)

We grabbed our suitcases and the dog and tossed them in the car, and I commenced to drive like a banshee to my parents house and made it there in a record 12.346 minutes. I was a basket case the whole way there, and Cody was on the phone with Hawaiian Airlines trying to let them know our situation. Apparently they weren't having it, which is such crap because what kind of customer service is that anyway? "You're not gonna make it" seemed to be their catch-phrase of the day.

At 7:30 we pulled up, and I was completely defeated and ready to throw in the towel when my mom opens the door, grabs the dog, throws him in the house- like, literally THROWS him- and shoves us back out the door and into the car. She was like, "We are getting you two on that plane if it's the last thing I do. Now let's go." Holy crap Mom, way to not take no for an answer!

7:45- we pulled up to the terminal and ran, luggage in tow, to the check-in counter. Apparently the same bitch- I mean, airline worker that Cody talked to on the phone was working the counter, because when her trusty sidekick walked up she was like, "These are the ones I was telling you about." (Um... RUDE! We're standing RIGHT HERE!) That was promptly followed by, "You're not gonna make it." Excuse me, but when did that become Hawaiian Airlines new ad campaign? And what the crap did she think we were doing anyway, lounging around at home reading the newspaper and drinking our morning coffee when we happened to notice that, oh, hey, maybe we should get to the airport soon, it's already SIX FIFTY-EIGHT?

Honestly.

"I can't guarantee that your bags will make it onto the plane, nor can I promise that they will make the transfer flight to Kauai once you land in Honolulu..." Just shut your mouth and give us our boarding passes, we still have to wait through security.

Well, I sobbed our way through security, thoroughly convinced that we were never going to make it (I shouldn't have let Hawaiian's merciless negativity get to me!), when we reached the front of the line and the security guy was so kind and encouraging, saying that we were just fine and had plenty of time to make it (ten minutes to take-off, I believe). By nothing less than an act of God, we made it onto that plane with better seats than we originally had reserved, and sat in shock the whole six hours there because HOW ARE WE ON THIS PLANE RIGHT NOW?

Call us paranoid, but we had no doubt that the entire plane knew that we were "those people" who they tried to tell "weren't gonna make it" because we had the crappiest service of all time and got a few dirty looks. But whatever. After a morning like that, we didn't care what anyone thought; after all, they didn't live through the EMOTIONAL TURMOIL OF WAKING UP AT SIX FIFTY-EIGHT or the ironclad determination of my mother to get us on that damn plane. And if our luggage wasn't there to greet us at the Kauai airport, we always had our cute matching Life is Good "Just Married" t-shirts that we hoped would score us lots of free stuff.

But, amazingly, in the five minutes it took to walk from our plane to the baggage area, our luggage had magically appeared, sitting in a nice, neat row, unscathed by the chaotic and traumatizing seven-hour trek from our apartment in Scottsdale to the baggage claim in Kauai. I defy anyone who dares challenge us with, "You're not gonna make it"! Screw you, Hawaiian Airlines nay-sayers! Next time we're flying Aloha!

Someone get me a Mai Tai.

Friday's Find: Wellsphere

2008-06-06T12:04:00.004-07:00

The founders of this week's find, Wellsphere, developed this nifty networking site because of the looming American health crisis and a shared passion for helping people become empowered in their health. I have done a lot of reading recently on food production in the U.S., and all I can tell you is this: We are a bunch of walking processed corn cobs (I recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle). Fortunately, people are becoming increasingly aware of the problems surrounding the things we eat, and it is my hope that things will take a turn toward more wholesome and old-fashioned ways of eating and cooking. One of my biggest goals is to have a home garden someday. But enough about that... back to the subject at hand.

Wellsphere is dedicated to connecting its members to local resources that can help them reach their health goals. When you sign up, you choose a goal, and you are automatically added to a group that is relevant to helping you achieve success by offering accountability and providing resources that will help you along the way. Whether it be healty eating, exercise or a competitive milestone, this site has it all covered based on three principles: personalization, social support and community, and incentive. I was pleased to find that they feature a vegetarian group and was sure to join that one right away.

You are not limited to the initial group you were matched with when you sign up- you can join any group that interests you. You are also free to set as many goals as you wish and log your progress, receive reminders via e-mail or text, and work towards a WellPrize as an incentive for making progress. Another great feature is Wellternatives, which shows you the healthiest menu items at the country's most popular restaurants complete with overall health ratings to show you the best and the worst places to eat when you're watching your diet.

I chose running 30 minutes five days a week as my goal- as a former college athlete, you wouldn't think it would be that big of a struggle, but it sure is hard to get up early enough to do so when you're not a morning person. I'll be adding more as time goes on, but many more of my goals will have to do with diet. I've been having a blast learning some great vegetarian recipes (actually, learning to cook, period!) and cooking for my husband has become one of my new favorite things to do. I may even have a convert on my hands one of these days...

If you're interested in joining, feel free to do so directly through Wellsphere or send a comment (with your e-mail if I don't know you personally) and I will e-mail you the link to join- this will help me earn points.

Cheers to good health!

Current fave vegetarian recipe.

2008-06-06T11:11:00.004-07:00

Even my husband loves this one! Adapted from Betty Crocker's Healthy New Choices, anyone who ever convinced themselves that vegetarian cuisine was bland should try this recipe. We used garlic mashed potatoes and substituted fresh Monterey Jack cheese for the Parmesan.

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

For the mashed potatoes, either use leftovers, prepare instant mashed potatoes or pick up mashed potatoes from the deli. Looking for an easy way to put the potatoes on top of this dish? A small ice-cream scoop is great for spooning on the warm mashed potatoes.

2 cans (15 or 16 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 jar (16 ounces) thick-and-chunky salsa (2 cups)

1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn

1 medium carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 1/2 cups warm mashed potatoes

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Chopped fresh chives or parsley, if desired

Heat beans, salsa, corn and carrot to boiling in 10-inch nonstick skillet; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until carrot is tender.

Spoon mashed potatoes onto bean mizture around edge of skillet. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and chives.

Viola! It's easy, delicious AND nutritious and sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

How White am I?

2008-06-05T09:25:00.011-07:00

If you haven't checked out the hysterical site Stuff White People Like, I highly recommend that you do. If not for the things listed that call out many white people in this country, do it for the heated comments that people leave who have no sense of humor/wouldn't get it to save their lives.

It blows me away that the author started this site in JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, and already he has a book coming out in July in addition to the nearly 30 million hits to his site to date. If only we could all be so lucky.

I was going through the list and started to wonder how truly white I am. And if I don't fall into the category of "white," what exactly does that make me then? Let's analyze:

Very me:

1. Coffee

5. Farmer's markets

6. Organic food

23. Microbrews

24. Wine

32. Vegan/Vegetarianism

36. Breakfast places

40. Apple products

42. Sushi

48. Whole Foods and grocery co-ops

49. Vintage

53. Dogs

54. Kitchen gadgets

59. Natural medicine

63. Expensive sandwiches

77. Musical comedy

86. Shorts

87. Outdoor performance clothes

90. Dinner parties

92. Book deals (I wish!)

93. Music piracy (in the form of checking out CDs at the library, anyway)

96. New Balance shoes

99. Grammar

On the fence about:

9. Making you feel bad about going outside

19. Traveling

21. Writer's workshops

37. Renovations

44. Public radio (I only like it when they play jazz- any other time it makes me want to gouge my eyes out with hot pitchforks.)

Things white people like that I definitely don't like/irritate the crap out of me:

8. Barack Obama

15. Yoga

18. Awareness

25. David Sedaris

33. Marijuana

35. The Daily Show/Colbert Report

52. Sarah Silverman

55. Apologies (I laughed so hard at this one... I heard a lady in Kohl's the other day say, "I'm sorry, those are mine," to an employee who was trying to organize the area and I wondered why in the world she felt the need to apologize for that fact.)

56. Lawyers (Oops... did I say that out loud?)

62. Knowing what's best for poor people

66. Divorce

67. Standing still at concerts (why bother going?)

75. Threatening to move to Canada (JUST GO ALREADY!)

94. Free healthcare

101. Being offended (Three words: Get. Over. Yourself.)

Everything else I'm indifferent on.

So, if I we average one point for everything I agree with, half a point for everything I'm on the fence about, a quarter of a point for everything I'm indifferent about, and minus one for everything I don't like, my analysis tells me that I am only 25% white.

And 75%... white trash?

Currently I can't get enough of:

2008-06-04T21:56:00.006-07:00

These commercials.

And pretty much anything by these guys:

This brilliant campaign throws some serious punches on a monthly-or-so basis, and with that in mind, this guy has his work cut out for him. (Make Microsoft COOL?!! Ummm... OK. No pressure. Really.) Irritating agency name aside (Crispin- ew), I'm sitting on the edge of my seat to see what he has up his sleeve to counter this blatant (and accurate) attack on the Microsoft brand. I was stuck using a brand new Vista PC at my former work place and I hated that thing with a white-hot passion. Now that I'm at home and use our Apple every day, I love it so much that I kind of want to kick the dog out of the bed at night and snuggle up to my trusty, loyal iMac instead.

Things I wish could be caught on camera.

2008-05-31T17:47:00.006-07:00

Cody playing his guitar and making up a song about THOR, and THOR and I dancing along to it.

"Oh, THORbear. You are my dog. You're not Mama's dog."

(HEY! ...OK so it's totally true. Just wait until Hanalei comes along. I will dress her up in cute outfits and bling and squeeze her and hug her and call her George and she will love me forever.)

All the while I'm sure THOR was wondering how he ever got stuck with us two weirdos. I wouldn't change it for the world.

I love my precious little bear.

Ooooh, POOR HAWAII.

2008-05-31T11:58:00.003-07:00

Any chance Triumph the Insult Dog will come do our weather report this summer? I'd like to see what he has to say about the "dry heat"... that is, if it doesn't kill him first.

No job, no house.

2008-05-27T09:08:00.005-07:00

For the past week, I have been trying very hard to not be bitter at my former boss for letting me go last Monday. VERY hard. And I've found it to be nearly impossible. I have to take responsibility for my terrible judgment call the preceding Friday for calling in to take a personal day (GOD FORBID), but it was certainly an offense I didn't anticipate would result in being accused by my boss of blowing him off on a Friday immediately followed by, "That was your last day. Here's your paycheck." I could go on and on about all the reasons I think this situation was handled with outrageous (mis)judgment, but I'm sure it's best to leave that for my anonymous blog and/or venting sessions with my closest friends and family.

It isn't so much that he fired me for inconveniencing him that hurts the most; it's that as a result of my loss of income, Cody and I lost the house we had been mentally occupying and building our future around for the past several weeks. While I had heard that buying a home is an emotional process, I had no idea that losing one would ever be this hard.

My heart is breaking for another reason: the couple who owns the house has been trying to move to Arkansas for who knows how long (when we first started looking, the home had been on the market for 437 days). Before we came along, they had another buyer who started the process and didn't qualify either. I don't know the details of their situation or why they are moving or when they need to move, but I can only imagine how hard it is to be disappointed repeatedly on such a major life change as moving across the country. I actually kind of want to go knock on their door and tell them how sorry I am for messing up their plans. Fortunately, I think that they would have to admit, just as Cody and I have, that God obviously had something else in mind for all of us.

This past week has been devastatingly hard, and yet a perfect illustration of how sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same. Cody and I are so ready to have a permanent home for us and our pups, but as we faced this astronomical change in our circumstances, we came to the realization that 1. We must have been in denial about the numbers, and 2. God is clearly saying, "Not right now." When I say we were in denial about the numbers, I don't mean that we wouldn't have been able to pay our bills; I mean that we ONLY would have been able to pay our bills with little to no wiggle room for a life. We would be house-poor. We became very thankful at the timing of this, because if the process was already finished when it happened, we wouldn't have been able to pay our mortgage. We would much rather lose the home under these circumstances than foreclosure.

We are ready to bounce back though. My dear mother-in-law has opened her home to us in order to pay off our loan and build up more savings for a down payment, and over the next year or so, we should have that finished. We are both so thankful for her support and generosity. We will have more freedom to travel and fulfill commitments we have already made without any stress, like going to see our grandparents in Oklahoma and Illinois, and be in my friend's wedding in Minnesota next summer, and perhaps even a couple more (wink wink). While having no income for now is not ideal, that will change, and my time has been freed up to pursue the things I want to do. I have developed a plan for this next phase of our lives: find a part-time job, build my Web site, do some freelance writing, network, build my pet business, and be able to stay home more with the fur-kids.

For now, I am still being stubborn and bitter about the circumstances that caused us to lose the house. Every time I picture what I thought our lives would have been like in that house I get very, very sad; but those feelings are gradually being replaced by lessons in patience, responsibility, gratefulness, and humility. Clearly, Cody and I aren't the best at listening to God for guidance, because look at the drastic measures He had to take to get our attention. All we can do now is thank Him for being so blatantly clear this time, and work at being better at seeking His wisdom from now on.

Dreams vs. Reality

2008-05-22T10:19:00.003-07:00

I don't know what in the world this was about, but I had this bizarre dream last night that there were these people trying to kill Cody and I, and we were getting chased all around, and the front door to our apartment wouldn't latch shut no matter what we did. I woke up in the middle of the night because in my dream, I had been hit in the back with a shower of half-inch-thick, red, plastic arrows, and the dream was so vivid I actually felt it when it happened, which is probably why I was jolted awake. You know what they say- if you die in a dream, you die in real life. Guess it wasn't my time to go yet.

I had some serious issues falling asleep after that, and the muscles in the back of my neck were all tense and knotted up. In the past, this tension has been a sign of some pretty crazy spiritual stuff going on. This dream can be analyzed and interpreted a million different ways, so I'm not going to get into what I think it all means, but given recent events I'm not that surprised by it. Not to mention, I never, ever remember my dreams, but this one was as real as they come.

Every morning, Cody wakes up about an hour before I do. Before he left for work today, he told me that when he woke up and walked out to the kitchen, our front door was wide open.

Well if that's not the creepiest thing I've ever heard...

I want the world to know...

2008-05-20T08:10:00.004-07:00

...that I have THE most amazing husband on the face of the planet. He is the most loving, supportive, kind, self-sacrificing, fun, encouraging, trustworthy, godly, hysterically funny, handsome, sweet, strong, understanding, smart, incredible person I have ever known. He's so much more than just those things but that's what comes to mind most when I think of him. When other people would be mad or disappointed, he is comforting and encouraging. He holds me up when I feel like my world is crashing down around me. He gives his all to make me happy. He is my best friend and I know I could trust him with my life. I count my blessings every day that I get to spend my life with him.

Things could not be any less upside-down in our lives right now, but when I think about my husband, I can't help but smile and send a little prayer of thanks to God for this undeserved but unbelievably appreciated gift.

Yes, please.

2008-05-12T10:16:00.003-07:00

Watched this video, responded in accordance with the title of this post, made a list:

Things I am going to accomplish:
1. Work from home. Our brand new, beautiful Gilbert home :)
2. Build my pet business.
3. Be a writer.
4. Make a living doing these things. A darn good living.
5. Help my husband go to seminary or work in ministry. He is the reason so many of my dreams have come true, and I want to do the same for him.

Call me a poser all you want. I really don't care. If these women can do it, so can I, whether it's through this blog or livelaughlovedog. I'm a firm believer in being able to accomplish your goals if you set your mind to it- and with God's blessing, IT WILL HAPPEN.

ADHD

2008-05-06T07:51:00.003-07:00

Over the past few weeks, I have been suffering from serious outbreaks of ADHD- Attention Deficit House Disorder. I thought that the guy who was going to be working for us was blowing us off, when in reality he wasn't, and all the while I was watching all these houses we were interested in checking out go running through fields into the arms of competitive buyers. I was losing my mind with frustration. Contrary to popular belief/ idiotic media hype, house sales in these parts are doing the opposite of everywhere else in the country- they are actually going up. There are more foreclosures here and more people buying to snag a great deal, and let me tell ya- if you're not on the ball about this, you will miss the boat big time. It's crazy.

This weekend, the hubby and I were taken on a house hunt by our good friend and realtor, Scott (not the same guy I misunderstood before- they're working together on this). Scott is good. A fellow Christian, he is highly ethical and sees his function in this process as a helper, not a pressure cooker. Everywhere we went, he told us specific pros and cons, resale issues, things to consider. It was a joy working with him, and he was eager to show us as many houses as we wanted, even if it took all day and into the evening... which it did. Over the whole weekend, we saw around 15 houses or more- I lost count after a while. But I will tell you, these things are FLYING off the market. Every list of MLS numbers we sent his way was diminished by about 50% in a matter of hours. We have been looking in Gilbert mostly. And we heart it forever.

There were two houses that we fell in love with: one in Agritopia and one so close by you could actually see the house in Agritopia. The Agritopia house was HUGE, and it was in AGRITOPIA, and it had the most breathtaking MOUNTAIN VIEWS, but it had no yard and needed some serious work, which is ridiculous because the house is less than 2 years old, if that. The other house, which we refer to as the Banning house, was absolutely perfect in every way, but the only downfall was that it was about 600 sf smaller. We deliberated back and forth all weekend, and my poor husband- I was changing my mind every five minutes or so, and he began to maniacally rip the hair out of his head strand by strand, similar to the way I was doing when the foreclosure guy wasn't emailing me back.

But as we were deciding, we both kind of came to the realization that there is only two of us right now, and we don't need all that much space. And the nagging feeling of it being a huge mistake by not putting an offer on this house wouldn't leave me alone. We felt like God was maybe telling us to simplify our lives, not complicate things with a bigger house that requires more stuff to fill. So we're putting an offer on the beloved Banning house... today.

This house has been on the market for more than a year- perhaps the seller wasn't in a rush, perhaps they just wanted to see what happened, but it's most likely because when they listed it, it was nearly double what it is now. I also couldn't help but think that maybe it was waiting for us all along... kind of like THOR in the pet store. So we're taking the chance, and we're gonna see what happens. As perfect as we feel this house is, if it doesn't work out, then we are not supposed to be there and we know that God has something even more perfect in store for us. But we have a sneaking suspicion that it might just work out beautifully, and if that's the case... Gilbert, here we come!

My favorite year.

2008-04-14T16:11:00.011-07:00

Today marks one year of THOR goodness in our lives. Pets Landing has oodles of irresistable puppies, but there was something about baby THOR that melted by heart into a worthless puddle on the floor. Cody would tell you that every puppy did that to me; and that's most likely, probably entirely, completely true. But I had an even softer spot for our little one, probably because when we got him, he was the very picture of an underdog, and I'm a sucker for underdogs.

It was one year ago that Cody and I had taken a walk through the neighborhood after an afternoon at our then-favorite Bean and decided to make a stop in our still-favorite pet store. What we loved most about this place is that you can go in and play with the puppies without having to bother with the sales people first. They rotate their pups between the cage wall and about 12 fenced-in kiddie pools filled with shredded paper and two puppies each, so you can just walk in and pick up any one you want. We loved to go in there from time to time and see them, because puppies are pretty much my favorite thing in the world.

THOR was four months old when we took him home, an almost unheard of age for a puppy in a pet store. He was bigger than the other dogs and had a very sad, lonely air about him, and I just couldn't stand it for one more second. When I picked him up out of his little kiddie pool, he nuzzled right up into my neck, like he was trying to smuggle himself out of there by crawling into my shirt. There was no doubt in my mind that while Pets Landing is a great pet store, he was just sick of being there, sick of watching all his friends leave him for homes of their own. I inquired about his breed and how much he costs, and how is he still here, he's so sweet! The girls at the store said that he was their favorite, and they had a name for him: Rupert.

So Cody and I went into a little private room, then we took him outside, and he was very... mellow. He wasn't playful like the other puppies. Granted, he was older and by default a little more calm, but Cody couldn't help but think there was something wrong with him. Even though I was secretly wondering the same thing, I just told Cody to stop being ridiculous, there is nothing wrong with this little guy. I mean, after all, look at that face!

We took him back inside and Cody convinced me to part with him for the night. I HATED IT. We walked back to the car, arguing about whether or not it made sense to get a dog right now, and we came to a compromise: if we went back the next day and he was still there, we would get him.

So we went back the next day. And the second we walked in, I saw him- in the arms of another woman (that bitch!). I looked at Cody with what I'm sure translated as sheer desperation, and he just gave me a hug and said, "I'm sure he is going to a good home." (Translation: "Thank God someone else bought that dog." Although now Cody would kick himself for ever thinking such a thing.) So we stayed for a little while longer, played with a tiny shih tzu, and just as we were getting ready to head out the door, I saw the same lady standing at the counter gushing over a different puppy that apparently was in the back, getting ready to go home with her (bitch comment retracted). I peered around the corner and, sure enough, there was the little man, sitting all alone amongst the paper shreds in his kiddie pool.

So off we went, armed with a brand-new Cavachon and a carload of puppy necessities. We cooked dinner and then I almost had a nervous breakdown. Cody remembers me sitting at the table, apparently in shock based on the look of absolute terror on my face, staring at the little white fluffball relieving himself on the carpet, frozen in the realization that I am now responsible for another life, and what-the-crap-did-I-just-get-myself-into? OMG OMG OMG. He told me to breathe. The thought of that helpless, un-loved little guy living another night without a family completely disarmed my reasoning. Even if he didn't keep me awake with his incessant barking and yelping and whining ALL NIGHT LONG, I still don't think I would have slept a wink.

But sometimes what may appear to be the dumbest decisions turn out to be the best decisions. Baby THOR is certainly no exception, and I would do it all over again if I had to. I know that moms are always biased, but after we took him home, he blossomed with the most perfect doggie personality I have yet to encounter. Everyone who meets him says so. My dad was visibly annoyed when I showed up on their doorstep, puppy in tow, but now he loves him like his own. And oh my gosh. My mom. She actually refers to him as her grandson. And she is THOR's absolute favorite. Amber calls him her favorite nephew. Even the most macho manly men think THOR is the coolest little dog. I'm such a proud mom.

A couple of months after we got him, I got a picture message from Cody. The caption said that it was taken sometime in February of 07. Here is the picture:

It was about two months before we took him home. I had no idea. Looks like he had kept everyone else fooled long enough to come home with the family he had been waiting for all along.

I love you, Little Man.

Vegetarian Challenge: Update 1

2008-04-04T17:24:00.006-07:00

Well... It's officially been three days since my random decision to be a vegetarian (for the month of April, anyway), and I must admit that it's much easier than I expected. Believe it or not, this once self-professed carnivore can actually see herself doing this long-term, although I can't say I will be perfect at it (I do, after all, have some of my-favorite-food-on-the-planet that made its annual journey from Iceland sitting in the freezer waiting for me to devour it. You may want to vomit right now, but I think it's pretty irresistible. Doing everything I can to hold myself back until May 1).

I've started reading all kinds of vegetarian know-how books, and I've been a lot more conscious of what I'm eating. The thought of eating meat catches me a bit off guard now, and buying eggs and drinking milk that are not labeled "hormone-free" or "free-range" just doesn't feel right anymore. These particular items are a little more costly than one on a normal coupon-binge would hope, but in light of this test, it is worth it to me now. And yes, it is in the name of compassion for animals. How non-ultra-conservative and uber-hippie of me (don't panic, Dad. I have not gone off the deep end).

I've learned a couple of things about cheese, my more acceptable other-favorite-food-on-the-planet, and that is that it is not always vegetarian. Apparently some cheese makers use rennet to coagulate the cheese, and it is not often clearly labeled for those of us who don't want to eat animal products. The good news is that some rennet is animal and some is not, and though it may be one or the other, sometimes it is not specified as one or the other. For instance, tonight we are going to our dear friends Jason and Jessica's house for a fondue night in celebration of their baby news, and the swiss fondue we are bringing has... drumroll please... RENNET in it. Despite this knowledge, I am going to feign ignorance and pretend like it is VEGETABLE RENNET and not the other kind.

I think you should pretend that too.

Friday's Find: Week 3

2008-04-04T09:30:00.003-07:00

The other day I was thinking about what to feature for my next Find, when I realized how much I LOVE my shower head, and how sad I would be if it gets stuck or impossible to remove in one piece when we move, and I need to profess my love for it to the world, because it's pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to my shower. This thing is so magical that it will take a dribbling faucet and make the spray so highly pressurized, you wouldn't even want to turn the faucet on full speed, because it starts to resemble a fire hose more than a shower head. But if you're like me, and can't stand showers lacking water pressure, this is a find you will thank me for later. And if you're a water conservationist, you'd best head out and get one of these STAT... otherwise the tables might turn and I'll be the one giving you a hard time for running more water than I do in the shower.

THOR on the beach.

2008-04-03T12:35:00.008-07:00

I was so glad that we went to California before Memorial Day, the cutoff before the beach police kick you out if you bring your canine companion along. If you have seen THOR in public, it is needless to say that he was terrified the entire time we were at Laguna, but there was also probably a tiny part of him that loved it too, because he got to meet a lot of new people. That is more or less the highlight of his entire existence.

His Auntie Amber took him out to the waves and kicked around in the sand a bit. It would have been fun if we had picked him up and held him above the water so he could doggie paddle in the air. That's pretty much the best thing ever.

On his way back from a totally unexpected, unwanted, and no doubt traumatizing dip in the ocean.

Giving Auntie Amber kisses.

This was taken as he chaotically tried to run away from the wave, but because he was on a leash, he just ended up running in a circle straight into the water. Mom and Dad got a good laugh.

"I hate you both."

Notice the pulling away from the water. THOR no likey.

Amber calls this our "US Mag Body Language" shot. The experts would say we don't like each other AT ALL and our relationship is doomed.

This is his safe place. Between Mom and Dad. He's the sweetest :)

The O.C.

2008-04-02T20:10:00.016-07:00

The Codeman and I took THOR on a little trip to San Clemente to stay with our dear friends, Nate and Adria, and their one-year-old, Jude, i.e. THE-CUTEST-BABY-ON-THE-PLANET. We left on Friday afternoon and made the drive complete with a terrified dog curled up in my lap, eyes darting around, wild and alert, every time we passed a big rig. He is inexplicably terrified of those things.

Anyway, the weekend in pictures:

Taken at the Montage at Laguna Beach.

Family portrait.

Amber and me and our Asian dog.

THOR's first time seeing the ocean!

Apparently it was a little bright out for him. Someone needs some Doggles!

We were at a poverty party. I wish there were pictures of this apartment, because it was amazingly cute.

This is THE-CUTEST-BABY-ON-THE-PLANET... and THOR. They're tight like that.

"If you're nice I might give you this bone."

The gang.

I wish I had this view out of my house! They're so blessed.

Baby THOR wasn't feeling so hot on the long drive home.

Pretty sure that poor Little Man had a fever- he was like a fireball when I held him in my lap!

...Of course, the second we got home, he started running around in typical dog-on-crack style. Back to his old self in no time.

When a Carnivore Contemplates Vegetarianism.

2008-04-01T10:17:00.005-07:00

I have always considered myself to be a full-fledged carnivore. A meat-and-potatoes girl, if you will. I grew up eating hot dogs, ribs, dried fish (an Icelandic delicacy... and my favorite food on the planet. Go ahead. Gag. I'm used to it.), filet mignon, super crispy bacon... pretty much everything, with the exception of chicken. We only ate that once in a blue moon. And I have an uncanny aversion to chicken because every time I eat it, I have yellow, slimy chicken fat, or cartilage, or veins, or some other nast-a-rama on my plate that I have no desire to put in my mouth, but usually do when it's too late. This usually results in chewed-up meat spit out on my plate that I'm sure no one wants to look at, and me running to the nearest toilet, gagging the same way you would if your nose ever encountered my-favorite-food-on-the-planet.

On the flip side, I never, ever liked salads. Ever. Lettuce bored me to tears. If you set a salad in front of me (maybe with the exception of a Cobb or a taco salad) and expected me to eat it for lunch or dinner, I would silently contemplate in my mind if you were crazy, and if you actually expect that to satisfy my current appetite for breaded Icelandic cod and carmelized potatoes, or a BBQ beef sandwich, or a gyro. If I'm in a good mood and feel like being nice to you, I'll eat it, and then secretly eat something else later. If not, I'll scoff at the absurdity of salad for dinner, and then tell you that I'm gonna go eat some real food. (Hi Mom! I love you! And your salads!)

But lately, my cravings have been taking a very strange turn. I think I have had so many bad meat experiences that extend even beyond my run-ins with chicken that I'm starting to fear eating meat, period. You have to admit, there is nothing worse than eating a piece of savory brisket, biting down and discovering that ALAS! That was not meat, but pure, unadulterated fat that is squishing around in your mouth, and who the hell doesn't cut this #$&%! off the meat before they serve it to humans?! THERE IS NOTHING WORSE THAN THIS.

Of course, my husband would tell you that he is married to the pickiest eater alive (who also eats dried fish). He deliberately refuses to make choices on what we eat, even if I explicitly tell him to go ahead and make the decision, because there is a 95.78% chance that I will either not like it or want something else. If confronted with a plain ol' piece of meat, I will trim every miniscule trace of fat or anything strange-looking from it, no matter how long it takes, an inherited trait that is consistently attributed to my dad by my mom (watching the two of us eat together can be quite entertaining). But oh, man, the looks Cody gets when I watch some of the things he voluntarily puts in his mouth. I have a zero-tolerance policy for such madness.

So on that note, recently when I go out, I find myself ordering things like tofu, or veggie sandwiches, or anything with beans and cheese (there are no words to describe my everlasting love for cheese). And I start to wonder if I am unconsciously becoming a vegetarian. Like if it's happening to me and I have no control over it. Then I start to think about things like well-done bacon, or my beloved dried fish, or Ruth's Chris Steak House, and I think, "No... no, no, no. That could never happen to me. I am a self-professed carnivore." But then I think about how much I love animals, and how sometimes when I eat ground beef there are bones or cartilage in it, and I get grossed out. That thought is usually followed by a ponderance of whether it is easy to eat entirely vegetarian when in restaurants, or planning a menu, or eating at the home of a friend or family member. My BFF Amber is a vegetarian, and the brilliance otherwise known as Stacy recently made the switch, so I know that it's a bit of a lifestyle overhaul. Could I really make those kinds of adjustments?

Amber suggested that I try it for a month. So I'm gonna attempt it. I don't know how long I will last given that I have not won any awards lately for self-discipline, but for the month of April, I will make a noble effort to eat meat-free meals. If anyone can make any good recommendations for vegetarian cookbooks, shoot them my way.

I'll be reporting on my progress, successes and failures over the next month. No. 2, over and out.

If you can't find me, try the library.

2008-03-31T10:37:00.006-07:00

Given that libraries have a history dating back to ancient Egypt, the idea of the public library should not be some sort of newfound, glorious light-bulb moment, but in this day and age of mega-bookstores and building up your own personal home book collection, it apparently is. I hadn't set foot in a library for the sole purpose of checking out books since my elementary school days, much less CDs or DVDs that weren't even available at the time. Granted, much of the media available at the library has suffered the abuse and neglect that comes with the territory when people don't actually own it so they don't care if they run it over in the driveway fifteen times; however, I must say that if you are lucky enough to find a CD in good shape, it is a spectacular way to check out music or movies you don't know enough about to justify spending the money.

For example: Flight of the Conchords. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I realize that I am probably a bit late hopping on this bandwagon and consequently they could be a little played out by now (a la Dane Cook), but when I saw their EP "The Distant Future" I remembered my brilliant friend Stacy being a huge fan of the show, so I picked it up figuring that she must be on to something because the girl has got some TASTE. On our way to Orange County this weekend, while almost getting blown away by the wind in Indio, I put on my most recent Scottsdale Public Library find and we pretty much haven't stopped laughing for three days, mostly because of this song:

"BINARY SOLO." Ha ha ha ha ha!

In addition to this CD, I was finally able to check out (no pun intended, but it works so there you go) Mindy Smith, Amy Winehouse, Jimmy Eat World, and since I can't find my Jeff Buckley CD, I get to upload that one too. And if any of the songs don't work, I can just download the individual songs for $1 a song, and end up paying a fraction of what it could have cost had I downloaded the full albums. Score. Cody and I watched "Babel" last week courtesy of the library. And while the selection isn't nearly what it is at the mega-bookstores, at least you have to read your latest selection in a timely fashion because sometimes you are forced against your will to return it because other people are waiting on the hold list (the only downfall I have encountered).

Current library reading selection: "Outrage" by Dick Morris. If our government's blatant mishandling of our tax dollars doesn't send you into fits as the title suggests, and if you think that the government can be trusted to put our money to correct and effective use in every program, if you think that they should be given more of our hard-earned money to dribble away into oblivion, then it's time for a reality check.

Bird Problems.

2008-03-26T10:36:00.004-07:00

Recently my dad and brother found a new weekend pastime: shooting. I'm not entirely sure what could have brought this on, but if I were to guess, it would be an exercise in defending their constitutional right to wield firearms whenever and wherever they like. While my dad claims that it is for protection from home invaders (because those run rampant in their neighborhood), I tend to think it is less an act of familial preservation than it is a big F-you to gun control advocates trying to take away his right to shoot them if he was ever physically attacked by one. While I know that guns in-and-of themselves are harmless, I have a tendency to want to lock myself up in a thoroughly insulated titanium box for my own self-protection whenever I am around one (and rightfully so, considering that under my brother's instruction, my sister blasted a hole through her closet wall and into the next bedroom... at least the "bullet" was a "blank"... hahaha!).

Anyway, this blog isn't really about gun politics as much as it is what I think my dad and brother should do to put this new hobby to its most practical use. As long as they don't mind shooting in the dark, in the middle of the week, in some God-forsaken area near our apartment, at 11:00 at night, and either pissing off a lot of residents in the process or emerging as full-fledged heroes. Here's why:

Spring is in full force in Arizona, mixing cool nights with warm, sunny days. THOR likes to run around in the grass and stick his little nose out the window when we drive around. The orange trees and wild desert flora are blossoming and everything smells heavenly. Sounds like a fairy tale, right? There is a window of about three weeks, maybe a month that this lasts. In anticipation of the inevitable inferno that is the Arizona summer, Cody and I want to put off using the A/C as long as possible because APS IS THE DEVIL AND WILL ROT IN THE LAKE OF FLAMING SULFUR FOREVER (see the book of Revelation for proof), so we are leaving our windows open at night to let in the fresh air, and closing them during the day to hold it in.

Two nights ago, as I settled into bed with my husband, our dog, and my book, joyously reading and looking forward to a restful night, my peace was broken by a shrill, earsplitting, incessant, and ever-changing… bird call.

As is the case with most noises that keep me awake at night, be it a neighbor pounding his bass through the walls or one of those annoying car alarms where the horn honks erratically and stops IF AND ONLY IF its owner comes to shut it the &%#! up, my first instinct was to blow up the culprit with a bazooka. But since I didn’t have one of those handy at the time, all we could do was close the bedroom window- much to Cody’s chagrin, who describes sleeping between THOR and me akin to being trapped inside a car in the middle of the summer in Phoenix with no A/C and the windows rolled up. When that did absolutely nothing to muffle the annoying song of what I think is a mate-less, sex-deprived, attention-starved male Northern Mockingbird, I started to go crazy. I even tried earplugs to drown out this crap, but I could only get an earplug in my left ear, because apparently my ear hole in the other ear is too small to accommodate a foam earplug. Now there’s a problem I never thought I’d have.

On that note, I’m not sure which will be more annoying for my neighbors: the constant bird noise, or me taking up a shotgun at every tree within a half-mile radius in an irrational, ruthless, apocalyptic, sleep-deprived rage until the bird noise stops.

Friday's Find: Week 2

2008-03-21T12:57:00.012-07:00

If you read my last post, you know that I don't like being a slave. It makes me angry. And if you're a slave, you should be angry too. Because chances are, if you are reading this, and you are an American, then you are indeed a slave.

With that in mind, this week's find is all about coupons. Cody and I went to the grocery store on Wednesday night for the first time in a month or so, and for once in my life, I was prepared. With a list. A list of SALE items. Pulled from the weekly circular. And I was armed and dangerous with a fist-full of coupons, ready to punch out any and all full-price items trying to weasel their way into our cart. If you're a full-priced item, you'd best watch your back, or I may just send the Easter Bunny after you.

We spent a good hour and a half walking up and down every aisle in the store, at the end of which Cody was on the brink of a bona-fide meltdown, as is generally the case when he volunteers to accompany me on my shopping excursions (proof that my husband must REALLY love me). I, on the other hand, was sure that I had experienced a divine revelation. There were angels singing, and harps, and a very bright light. Here's why:

I stood at the front of the line and watched the monitor closely as the cashier scanned our items and sent them down the little grocery mover. I nervously held out my coupons and looked sheepishly at the rapidly growing line of fellow shoppers, hoping that I wouldn't get jumped in the middle of Safeway for holding everyone up. As I started to have visions of angry fangs and warewolf-style hair growing out of their faces as the flustered cashier zapped my coupons, a lady standing two spots behind me said, "Smart girl!" I turned to look at her, almost incredulous, when the guy standing directly behind me said, "No kidding, I'm impressed!" I apologized for taking so long, and he responded with, "Are you kidding? I just watched $20 disappear off your bill!" Not gonna lie- it was one of my prouder moments. A secret thrill, if you will.

Here would be an appropriate place to insert a cheesy spin-off of the oft-over-quoted MasterCard "Priceless" commercials, but I will spare you, just this once.

Instead, I would like to bestow on you the PRICELESS world of online coupons. And I'm totally not supposed to draw attention to my ads, but I must reference you to the coupon ones posted on the top and bottom of this page. I printed most of mine from these sites and they worked. Also, Printable Coupons listed on my blogroll is one of the most amazing resources out there. Someone needs to build this woman a shrine.

All in all, my receipt read like this:

Club Card Savings: $31.45
Coupon Savings: $15.49
Total Savings Value: 37% $46.94

On Wednesday night, I was a shopping badass. I had stepped out of the Full-Price Matrix and into the Real World. The only thing I lacked was my black, shiny pleather catsuit, and Cody his superhero trench coat.

Now it's your turn! Tell me how much you saved and what you donned while kicking full-price butt.

Proverbs 22:7

2008-03-19T12:16:00.022-07:00

Monday night, I got real mad. Cody and I have been attending Financial Peace University at Mountain Valley Church and man, did I get pissed off. I was already mad to begin with because the wonderful paralegal department at Phoenix College wouldn't lift a finger to help me get into the classes I need this summer so I can graduate in the fall instead of next spring, but I digress. This particular session was called Dumping Debt, and it was simply infuriating. And all you have to really do to get pissed off about having debt is to read Proverbs 22:7:

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Let the truth of that one smack some sense into your silly little head for a second. This version is the NIV. It reads pretty much exactly the same in every other translation. I guess there's not much left to the imagination in a statement as plain as that. The only major difference I found is that some translations replace servant with slave.

...SLAVE!

Leave it to God to be that profound and blunt.

Cody and I are slaves. We are tied down completely by our debt. Don't get me wrong- we are able to pay our bills, and we are by no means in dire straits. It's just that our money comes in, and it doesn't have our names on it. It has other people's names on it- FIA Card Services. TruWest. Desert Schools. Honda Finance Corporation. Nordstrom. Direct Loans Student Services. We work hard 40 hours a week to give these people our hard-earned money, with interest. And for what?!!! A new car? A new dress? The latest craze? Fancy gifts for other people? A bunch of crap we don't need, that we probably don't have anymore, but that we have the potential to be paying off for decades to come?

Hmmm. Seems our judgment was lacking a bit.

With the arrival of my first credit card offer from Discover at the ripe old age of 20, the words "buy now, pay later" rang in my head like a schizophrenic, impulsive gong with every trip I took to the mall. I wanted to look cool. I wanted to look like a somebody. I wanted people to think better of me because of what I had.

Looking back, if I could have strapped myself up in a straitjacket at even the mere thought of a new pair of jeans or a sequined top, I would have done it in a heartbeat. I'm sure there was some part of my soul watching from the outside screaming at the top of her lungs, "LISTEN TO YOUR DAD! HE'S TRYING TO SAVE YOU FROM YOUR UNAPOLOGETIC IDIOCY!"

I grew up in a family who was comfortable but never rich. My parents made sure that we had everything we needed but not necessarily everything we wanted. My dad is a financial genius and I didn't listen to a word he ever said to me about money- and although he knew what was best, he let me make my own choices, probably because he knew I would have to deal with the consequences and it would teach me a lesson. My parents even bailed me out in tremendous ways when I was in college, and even after. There are no words to describe my gratefulness for their generosity.

A few years ago, it occurred to me that, gee, Dad really did know best all along, and I couldn't continue on that way if I wanted to have a future. I was able to pay off a lot of the debt I owed and I was on my way. So this whole concept of debt begetting slavery is not new to me. It's just that we still have a long way to go. Eighteen months seems like an eternity when you are in a buyers' housing market and your hands are tied because you have a negative net worth and no 20% down payment (yes, I know a mortgage is debt, but it's the only one that appreciates in value, generally speaking). Fortunately we both have excellent credit because in spite of the irresponsibility of having any debt in the first place, we have been responsible with the payments. As much as it kills me to look at the homes on the market that are affordable knowing that we can't buy right now, we both know that we can't take on more debt while we are still in debt. So we're plugging away to get out. Getting Gazelle Intense to out-run the Cheetahs that are after our money and our future every day.

We learned that 70% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck. And only 55% are worried about it (nobody knows what the other 15% are doing). But that means that it is "normal" to live paycheck-to-paycheck, and it is also "normal" to think that it is a normal thing to do! What are these people going to do when retirement hits and Social Security has run out?! Is this why most Americans these days seem to favor a large government- so that they will be taken care of when they can't work anymore?!! Because they don't want to do the hard work themselves?!!!

OK... I'm going on a crazy tangent here. I've just been mad. I've been mad at myself. Mad because it's somehow been accepted as normal to be in debt. Mad that credit card marketing has worked so well. Mad that I fell for it; mad that my husband fell for it. Mad that high schoolers are being taught that when they get to college, they "need" a credit card to establish credit and have a "future" (true story). Mad that I have dear friends who make outrageously unnecessary purchases and justify it by saying that they can "afford the payments." Mad because I used to do the same thing. Mad that I knew better and didn't listen. Mad that we live in a country where slavery is, indeed, alive and well.

If you take anything away from this blog, let it be this: Everyone thinks car payments are a fact of life (I guess these are the same 70% who live paycheck-to-paycheck... no?). The average car payment is $464 per month. If you instead bought a used car and paid cash for it, and made what would have been your "fact-of-life" car payments to yourself in a money market account, you would be a multi-millionaire by the time you reached retirement. If you choose the car... I hope the car will still be worth that choice when you retire.

Money isn't everything. Wealth isn't everything. But you have the choice to be smart or be stupid (i.e. "normal") with your hard-earned money. You can choose to put your name on your money or put someone else's name on your money. You can choose to be a good steward of all that God gives you so that you can give it back to Him. I'm so excited to be learning this stuff now and hope that even if it's not through me that someday you'll get excited- or even mad!- about it too.

Stay tuned.

Friday's Find: Week 1

2008-03-13T20:22:00.022-07:00

Every Friday, stay tuned for my newest fave product/latest obsession, be it a beauty item, handy household must-have, outrageous page-turner or current music craze.

Click here for this week's find.

Partur Review: I must share this first find with the ladies- the most delicious summer scent my nostrils have ever encountered. No joke. I discovered it a few years ago at Becker Surf in Orange County and wasn't able to find it again until our honeymoon in Kaua'i. Even Cody, when he smelled it, understood my immediate need to jump up and down excitedly while screaming at the top of my lungs, "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS STUFF?!" in the middle of Island Soap & Candle Works. Normally I just get a strange look and a shake of the head before he walks away pretending he doesn't know that crazy woman. Now whenever I wear it, he says, "Mmmm... Hawai'i." That's the power of scent at work, people.

A few years ago it didn't even exist online, but lo and behold, it is now accessible to the masses and here I am to share it with you so that we can all smell like gardenia-coconut-mango-beachy goodness, all the time. If we all wear it at once, it just might bring all fundamentalist religious conflicts to a final, jubilee-type end and usher in the world peace* we have been waiting for.

*Will not actually dissolve conflict or bring in world peace. But it was a nice thought.

Proof that THOR loves Dad more than Mom.

2008-03-13T09:14:00.005-07:00

The second that Cody walks out the door, THOR dashes over to the window in the office so he can see exactly where Cody is going and I'm sure he wonders to himself, how does he disappear into that white thing, and where does it think it's taking Dad?

Conversely, this is what THOR does when I leave:

Notice the chop-licking.

Gutsy Speech

2008-03-13T08:57:00.005-07:00

I couldn't resist posting this little ditty my mom sent me. I'll be intrigued by and welcome any and all comments. (OK, so really, I'm just trying to pick a fight. Ha ha. Just kidding.)

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?

My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of the Iraq regime has been completed.

Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.

This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq. This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short . The United Kingdom , Spain , Bulgaria , Australia , and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains everyone not on the first list. Most of the world's nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war. THEN EVERY YEAR THERE AFTER IT'LL GO TO OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SO IT WON'T GO BROKE IN 20 YEARS.

The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hellholes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.

Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France.

In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home. On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.

Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France or maybe China.

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, Germany, and Russia. Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bonne chance, mez amies.

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don't care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world.

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.

Mexico is also on List 2. Its president and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra thousand tanks and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put 'em? Yep, border security.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty - starting now.

We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we'll be drilling for oil in Alaska - which will take care of this country's oil needs for decades to come. If you're an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, 'darn tootin.'

Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America. It is time to eliminate homelessness in America. To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won't forget.

To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak Arabic.

God bless America. Thank you and good night.

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

Joy

2008-03-12T22:35:00.005-07:00

Baby Polar Bear

2008-03-12T22:19:00.002-07:00

Why I love our home... and why I would miss it if we left.

2008-03-12T20:44:00.009-07:00

This view is precisely why we couldn't pass up the opportunity to live in this exact apartment. My last lease wasn't up yet so I paid double rent for a month and a half so we could secure it. That and I couldn't get out of the craphole otherwise known as Arcadia del Sol fast enough. (If you're reading this, don't EVER, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, rent from there. EVER.)

...And this picture shows why it was worth every penny.

Although I must say that some strange things have happened involving the street running along the front of the complex, like the time when we had just gone to bed and we hear this thing go by that sounded like it couldn't have been anything other than an actual Lear jet on a rather odd emergency landing runway, or perhaps a heat-seeking missle run amok. We still sit around trying to come up with ideas on what it could have been, ranging from a rocket drag racer to Godzilla ripping ass to the Starship Enterprise. Take your pick, it could have been any of the above. It was so loud that it woke Cody up from a dead sleep for the third time in his entire life, and was gone before we could reach two feet over to open the blinds to gawk confusedly at "What-The-Crap-Was-THAT."

And, lest we forget, the Scottsdale Senior Center across the street adds a PLETHORA of excitement to the neighborhood as well.

Big Government? Really?

2008-02-28T10:12:00.006-07:00

"If the government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have."
-"If Elected, I Promise…": Stories and Gems of Wisdom by and About Politicians (1960) p. 193

I'm not sure who said this- Gerald Ford or Barry Goldwater, but I found it on Wikiquote under both their names (saying that it was often misattributed to Goldwater, so I guess Google was wrong when they put it up as their quote of the day by Goldwater and not Ford). Regardless of who said it, I think it is genius. Socialism is a dangerous philosophy for this country. I don't care how happy Denmark is, thinking that their Socialist government must be great and we should follow suit is comparing apples to oranges.

On the surface (i.e. In the 60-minutes piece), it is easy to look at the way they run their country and ask ourselves, "Now what is so bad about that? They're not doing any harm to anyone else." This is true- they are not doing any harm to anyone else. But what are they contributing?

Denmark is not known for contributing much to the global economy. They give nothing to the military needs of fighting terrorism or providing aid for anyone besides its own. I'd be curious to know how often charities are supported by the Danes. They are a homogenous society. They are taxed at 50%- HALF!- of their income. There is equal distribution of wealth, mandated by the government. The church is not supported by the people, but by the state. They get paid to go to school, and they also get paid not to go to school. They work less hard than we do, because their work ethic is in direct conflict with the rest of their values- thanks to the government. They have no national conflict. They get free healthcare and education. They scoff at the "American Dream."

This form of government works for them (as it also does in Iceland, no. 4 on the list of happiest countries, and the country of origin of my mom and her entire family), and it is detrimental in some ways that they could never know because they know nothing of living the alternative (democracy); but for them, it is also beneficial in many ways. Because of this socialist form of government, they have not only a homogenous population, but across-the-board values, and do not object to the choices that the government makes for them regarding their education, health care, and international policies. I do not disagree with the importance they place on time spent with family as a top priority in their lives- I believe most Americans would agree. I don't think they are bad people. I think that they live in a little bubble... and that works for them.

In the U.S., we do not live in a little bubble of idealism. Converting to this type of government will have disastrous consequences because we are a diverse population, given freedom of religion, freedom of speech and of the press, and by essence of these constitutional rights, we are a melting pot of value systems required to live in harmony with one another. Even if it is a gradual change, the choice to live our lives according to our own values will be robbed of us by a government deciding what is right and wrong, and whose lives are valuable or invaluable.

For example, yesterday I received an e-mail from my husband sent to him by a woman he leads worship with at a Worldwide Perspectives class. Her daughter and son-in-law had just found out that their unborn daughter, Hope, has no amniotic fluid supporting her in the womb, and she has no kidneys, a condition known as "Potter's Syndrome." This little girl will not survive outside the womb, in spite of the fact that the rest of her organs, including her brain and heart, are well-developed. The doctors offered this couple the option to terminate the pregnancy, but they refused, saying that they will let the Lord take Hope home in His timing. This is the second time that this couple has had this happen to them, and the third unsuccessful pregnancy overall. I don't even want to think about the pain they must be experiencing.

As our health care system stands today (as imperfect as it is), this couple had the right to say no when the doctor recommended abortion. Under a socialist health care system, that right would be robbed from them. Because the funding for such a system is limited to what they tax the population- not to mention the taxes we would pay to support the plethora of other government-run programs promised to us to support our 300,000,000+ population, along with the additional debt necessary to uphold the system (P.S. Denmark's population is 5,364,000. Iceland stands at about 301,000.)- the government will not pay for any expenses as this couple waits for the baby to be born, such as further testing, any future complications arising from the pregnancy, the birth itself. The government will see this precious life as "not worth" following its natural progression because it will die anyway, in spite of the fact that as long as it remains in the safety of the womb, it will remain alive. In spite of the horror of abortion and the parents' conviction that it is, in fact, murder (thank you ruling judges of Roe v. Wade for defining for the rest of us misguided souls the definition of murder. I thought that you commit murder when you stop a life from continuing? No?), they will be left with two choices: terminate the pregnancy and go against everything they believe in (as a fundamental constitutional right), or pay the exorbitant health care costs out-of-pocket, and find some way to go through a still-born birth in a system that refuses to respect their choices (notice I did not say "support them").

United States citizens do not live in a bubble. We live in a blessed, privileged society unfit for even the most subtle Socialism- the forcing of one group's beliefs and values on the entire population- in ANY way, shape or form. Those who live in America who believe that socialism works, that it's the way to go, that it's the ONLY way to happiness, need to simply up and move to a country that already functions that way. The rest of us who believe in the soveriegnty of this country will have no objection to that- I guess we will all be happy and get what we think is best, right? But trying to alter the very foundation of this country to fit some idealistic utopia where we are all happy and taken care of by our all-powerful, superhero government is among the most foolish and destructive things a leader of this country can do.

This sense of entitlement that seems to have overtaken our society makes no sense to me. I believe in working hard, I believe in charity, and I believe in choice. I believe that we are all created equal and I believe that some people make better decisions than others, and that whatever those choices look like, the good and the bad consequences have the potential to be carried through generations. Those in power in the public and the private spheres who made choices based on greed have caused destruction that reaches far beyond their pocketbooks and robbed many of the resources to get ahead in life. I also believe that no one can choose where and into what circumstances they are born, nor can they do anything about choices made by others that affect them; but they have the power to choose how to overcome those circumstances instead of extending out their palms saying, "You owe me a good life, America." People have the power to extend their hands to those in need. I believe that the "American Dream" looks different to each and every one of our citizens- be it reaching the million- (or billion-) dollar goal or merely putting food on the table for our families or living a simple life with little possessions and lots of charity or going into our voluntary armed forces to protect and preserve this great nation- and we are all entitled to pursuing those goals within the bounds of our society's law system. Whatever your "American Dream" looks like, be thankful that you have the freedom to pursue it.

I believe that taking steps in the direction of big government, in the name of "giving the people what they want," will destroy this country. Those of you who think otherwise can go ahead and take the infuriatingly-stupid-on-so-many-levels advice of this expert from Denmark (as quoted in the CBS News article):

"Asked what he would advise Americans to do, the man said, 'Well, okay. I have an advice. Don't depend too much on the American dream. Yeah. I think you might get disappointed.'"

For the curious nerd in all of us.

2008-02-22T14:01:00.004-07:00

Being the biggest book nerds either of us know, Cody and I have decided to start frequenting the library now that we are working to become debt-free. Frequent trips to the bookstore and the impulsive purchases that result from them will be a thing of the past, with the exception that the library tends to close much earlier than the bookstore, in which case you may find us in a Borders or B&N from time to time.

Anyway, I went on the Scottsdale Public Library Web site to find out what their hours were- and found a plethora of nerdy resources that just made my day. Hands down, the coolest part of their site was the Opposing Viewpoints link under the research tab, perfect for someone who's trying to decipher where he stands on the major issues of the day. You have to sign up to be a member, but what an awesome resource! I personally don't want to start arguing for or against something until I have at least a minor grasp on the other side's view. Check it out here.

Speaking of books, we will be selling a bunch of ours, among other things. If you have seen our office, you would know that we have quite the impressive library of our own. Stay tuned for a list of titles, prices and links to the publisher's or Amazon.com descriptions.

Bubble Pirate: Revisited.

2008-02-19T22:03:00.003-07:00

An old blog post from September about a trip Katie and I took to see our fave band, Stampead (see link for Milk and Honey under "Currently Rockin'") written on 9/26/07. We may have different opinions on lots of things, but we do agree on one thing: we love each other! :)

So there aren't many things that happen in my life that are all that blogworthy these days. Not that I live a completely boring existence… or maybe I do… it's just that the time isn't all there to sit down and partake in the blog antics of days of yore. However, I do want to take this opportunity to confess that I am a complete and total Band Aid, a la Almost Famous except without the sex and without traveling with the band, along with my trusty sidekick Katie, who has been there for some of the best memories of my life to date, i.e my 24th birthday, trips to Mexico and Flagstaff, and the subject of this particular blog, Sedona. Thanks, Katie.

from: Katie C.

to: Andrea E.

date: Sep 4, 2007 11:14 AM

subject: where are you???

did you get my retarded message about our boyfriend?!!!!!

i'm slightly excited. should i make the band a lasagna?

Now let me just clarify something: Katie and I are NOT stalkers. But we are polygamists. Or rather, we are obsessed with the show Big Love. Right around the time we were in Flagstaff in January, any guy we saw who we thought was cute became OUR boyfriend. This particular genre of men happens to include a dude in a band with a giant fro who can play the harmonica with all the passion of Beethoven, Hendrix and a rowdy presidential candidate debate rolled into one. You think I'm kidding, fine, you go watch Stampead live and see if you can ever look at a harmonica the same. After this weekend, I sure will never view the fall equinox the same. But, I digress.

It was raining on our way up to Sedona, and I was stoked given that I haven't actually witnessed rain in about six months. Katie, not so much… but she has curly hair that bears a striking resemblance to the above-mentioned fro at even the mere mention of humidity. When we got there, after much deliberation about which hotel with the word "Kokopelli" was actually the one where we were staying, we went off to find Oak Creek Brewery, the place where Stampead was playing, ahead of time. This was a good call because when we went back at night, we never would have found the place. This random little watering hole was tucked back in a dirt alley with NO LIGHTS to mark it until you're basically on top of it. So anyway, I'm expecting this to be a pretty big place, comparable to Four Peaks, because their beers are sold in every grocery store in the state, but… it wasn't. It was TINY. We park the car, walk in the door, pick a table (there were only 5 to choose from), and sit down with a little apprehension because 1. we weren't sure if they would recognize us from their show in Flag and 2. we weren't sure if we WANTED them to recognize us from Flag, mostly due to a particular comment someone made about 10,000 hairballs. The type of comment where your mouth seems to be moving, and sounds are coming out, but without the permission of your brain. So of course as soon as we sat down, a couple of the band members looked right at us and smiled. We weren't sure whether to be flattered or mortified. Our fears were further confirmed when their publicist asked me if I was ae. from MySpace… uhh… yes? But it was all made better when our boyfriend came over and said hi… and that he remembered that Katie was the one who sent a picture with one of the shirts that Sean gave us in Flag. Fortunately he didn't seem to recall anything about hairballs.

So the band played on. We chatted with them on their breaks, learning a few things here and there about their favorite stops along the way, their excitement to go home after 15 months of touring, how stoked they were that Katie has a camera that doesn't suck. Judd must have asked her about her Flickr page 465709824670274378206748102 times throughout the course of the night.

So this blog is about what happened in Sedona, but let me just throw in this shameless plug. GO TO ITUNES NOW AND DOWNLOAD STAMPEAD. All of it. And for goodness' sake, if you have the opportunity to see them play live, do whatever you can to go. Some of their lyrics, the kind of lyrics that make you wonder what the songwriter had been through that would inspire them in the first place, are so profound and heartbreaking you might want to curl up in the fetal position and cry your eyes out if it weren't for the energy and vibe of the music accompanying it. The song "Laid Down"? Um. Amazing. "Bang Our Glasses Again" is another fave. "Sinners, Saints and Accidents" and "Waiting for Tonight" are a knee-slapping good time. When you're watching a band play with the same energy and excitement in front of a room with five people as they would in front of a stadium with 50,000 people in it, you know that if they haven't hit it big yet, they absolutely, positively will. That kind of passion is rare and just can't be ignored for long. Hence the shameless plug.

Next stop: random house party. There is one thing I learned about Sedona and one thing I already knew: that Sedona is PITCH BLACK at night, and that it is New Age central, respectively. So after maneuvering our caravan, which included the band's van and trailer, a Honda Civic, and a Hyundai, around a very unorganized ten-point u-turn down a rocky red-dirt road, we eventually parked where we could safely assume there was a party, the only evidence being a long line of cars parked along a cliff road because we sure couldn't see anything else. We trekked along the road a ways and we look over and the WHOLE SIDE of this cliff is illuminated and we hear music. This house had to have been the coolest place I had ever been. Dancing commenced and didn't really stop until about 3 a.m. It also poured rain pretty much the whole time.

There were three things that were noteworthy about this party. We will do this in outline form:

1. One band member, who shall remain nameless, was, according to Katie:

a. Making out with this chick who was

i. Really blonde

ii. Really 45

b. At some point they went MIA.

c. I must note that

i. There was a lot of alcohol at this party

ii. Who knows, maybe he doesn't discriminate.

2. Somehow, I ended up on Eric's shoulders. It was like:

a. A game of chicken, only:

i. Without the pool.

ii. Without anyone else playing.

b. Also according to Katie, I was freaking out and Eric was trying to tell me to calm down, but like, what do you do in that situation? If you fall, do you:

i. Grab his face?

ii. Uhh… no, you grab the FRO! That thing really comes in handy for things like

1. Impromptu cheerleading moves, and

2. Getting invited to parties at the grocery store.

c. If the picture Katie took is any indication, by the look on his face he probably regretted that decision.

3. There was a guy there who we all affectionately referred to as the "Bubble Pirate." He was:

a. Dressed like a pirate.

b. Covered in glitter.

c. Carrying around bubbles and a wand.

d. Giving bubble blessings to celebrate the fall equinox.

i. The fall equinox was apparently the whole reason for this party in the first place.

Then I remembered where we were. Oh, Sedona. I heart you for so many more reasons now.

Dog Amore/Puppy Love?

2008-02-19T18:44:00.014-07:00

Come late summer or early fall, or a year from now, or maybe two (it's anyone's guess, really), the Alley household will have a new addition in the form of a furry, white-and-apricot, squirmy little turd factory otherwise known as The Cavachon. We decided that THOR couldn't live without a life partner (...not that kind of life partner) after a dog-sitting incident gone awry that left THOR more depressed than either of us ever thought possible. By "incident gone awry" I don't mean imminent household destruction with Cody's sanity hanging by a thread (although there was, apparently, a territory-marking competition that left various yellow streaks on furniture just the right color that all pee evidence disappeared on contact, which left Cody questioning my sanity upon knowledge of said pee). By "incident gone awry" I mean that in the end, we wondered if we had a bipolar puppy on our hands; we have never seen such highs and lows in such a short span of time.

Stop it. Stop laughing. Dog psychology is serious stuff, people.

If THOR is anything, he isn't territorial. He's the most social little thing you'll ever meet, althought he is TERRIFIED of loud noises, particularly of the diesel truck variety, or any noise I make while washing the dishes. THOR was high on life with his new BFF Ollie who, from his perspective, had apparently taken up residence in his home. Then, here comes Mom and her friends after an overnighter in Flagstaff, barging in on all the fun, and off goes his new BFF Ollie with Mom's friends when they leave.

Mom is not an acceptable substitute for the new BFF. Come to think of it, Mom isn't really an acceptable substitute for anything.

Within minutes, THOR sank into such a deep depression we couldn't help but wonder if we left him unattended long enough he would throw himself over the balcony to a grisly, lovesick death. Fortunately, he's a dog; they don't contemplate such things.

Cody and I had been thinking about getting a second dog for a while now. We weren't even really close to making the final decision, but this more or less sent us over the edge (is that an indication that we are going to raise narcissistic, selfish, greedy little brats when we have children of our own someday? Dog throws fit, we give in? Dog says jump, we buy another dog? This whole dog thing might not be the great preparation that we thought...). So we put a deposit down with a breeder in the White Mountains on a little girl Cavachon, and we are number six on the list. Immediately thereafter, my debit card was hacked and some idiot ran up more than $700 on three different wireless companies (p.s.- I don't recommend paying for anything through PayPal). Anyway, I digress. After the marking debacle, we decided another boy probably wouldn't be the best thing for our furniture, OR the deposit we put down on our apartment. Besides, if we get a girl dog, I will get to dress her up in cute doggie outfits, which I would never do (excessively) to THOR, because he already has a hard enough time being distinguished as a guy to begin with (see pictures).

All that said, I'll tell you what- if this is any indication of the chaos we can expect, we might need more than a few margaritas on the beach to make us feel normal again. While we don't have the four-year-old voicing her clearly important opinions on everything that goes on, all the time, we do have jobs that require us to leave home, which I think merits a bump up on the insanity factor (dogs don't sleep well at night after they have been sleeping all day while you're at work. We have a chewed-through down comforter and rogue feathers throughout our home to prove it).

On an ever-so-slightly different note, Cody and I went to Borders last night to feed our unquenchable reading addiction (I suppose there are worse vices in the world). Because of my tendency to instantaneously develop a severe case of ADHD each and every time we visit any book store, we subsequently spend hours there, causing Cody to search high and low for hot pitchforks with which to gouge out his eyes- yes, even he, a fellow book addict, cannot match the time I like to spend surrounded by fafillions of books. In my fit of ADHD rage, I came across this little gem. I didn't even get to the end of the book's description before I crumpled in a corner bawling my eyes out asking God, "WHY!?!?! WHY DO YOU MAKE US LOVE THEM SO MUCH AND THEN LOSE THEM?!?!?! WHHHHYYYYYYY!!!!!"

OK, so that was a little dramatic. Yeah... It didn't really happen like that. But it sure did make me want to go home and snuggle up with my little man and keep him safe from the big, bad world out there. Anyone who doesn't love dogs should be committed. Or... maybe that's me.

The LOVE of money is the root of all evil...

2008-02-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

"As a Christian, I am amazed how certain political and religious groups have decided that wealth is evil. Many of the heroes of biblical faith, of world history, and of our nation were very wealthy, including Kind David, Solomon, Job, and most of our Founding Fathers. There is a negative mind-set justifying money mediocrity that is maddening. Wealth is not evil, and people who possess it aren't evil by virtue of the wealth. There are rich jerks and poor jerks. Dallas Willard, in his book Spirit of the Disciplines, says to use riches is to cause them to be consumed, to trust in riches is to count upon them for things they cannot provide, but to possess riches is to have the right to say how they will or will not be used.

If you are a good person, it is your spiritual duty to possess riches for the good of mankind. If you are a Christian like me, it is your spiritual duty to possess riches so that you can do with them things that bring glory to God. The bottom line is, if you take the stand that managing wealth is evil or carnal, then by default you leave all the wealth to the evil, carnal people. If wealth is spiritually bad, then good people can't have it, so all the bad people get it. It is the duty of the good people to get wealth to keep it from the bad people, because the good people will do good with it. If we all abandon money because some misguided souls view it as evil, then the only ones with money will be the pornographer, the drug dealer, or the pimp. Simple enough?"

Just a thoughtful snippet from Dave Ramsey in Total Money Makeover. Sure gets me thinking about how I'd rather have the opportunity to get on my feet financially so I can give generously, of my own volition, than have my paychecks taxed away to go to government-run programs that exist but do very little to alleviate real problems, or that simply go against my value system by the essence of their existence. More thoughts on that later... maybe. Right now it's bedtime.

2008-02-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

I dare you to resist this face. Or his mohawk. THOR at his finest.

Romney Steps Down, and other tangents.

2008-02-07T12:27:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day in the world of fundamental conservatism: Mitt Romney stepped down as Republican presidential candidate.

Favorite quote: (regarding big government) "Dependency is death to initiative, risk-taking and opportunity. Dependency is culture-killing. It's like a drug. And we have to fight it like the poison that it is." and "Can you imagine what would happen with the economy when the best opportunities are for bureaucrats?" (LOL.)

On a relatively unrelated note: Although I was a Romney supporter politically, I find it strangely ironic that he sought to lead this country with a solid base on its founding principles (that's the conserv- of conservatism, for anyone who was wondering) when he is a member of a religion whose principles evolve according to whatever the current church president's "revelations" happen to be, i.e. previous revelations become null and void if the current president's contradict them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can assure you there is plenty of evidence to back that up (check this out for example). Nevertheless, like I love my liberal friends, I am not a Mormon-hater, I don't think they're bad people, etc. etc. I just disagree with their views on Christ's role in mankind's salvation, among other things.

OK, I'm waaaay off on a tangent here. Given that the conservative movement is no doubt up in arms at the loss of our prize candidate, here is an article I found on the National Review that I found interesting. While McCain rubs a lot of us the wrong way on many issues (my biggest problem with him being his views on illegal immigration, and believe me, you DON'T want to get me fired up about that one), for conservatives to say that it "doesn't matter now if a Democrat wins" would be a terrible fallacy. Many are convinced that he is a Democrat in a Republican's nicely-pressed suit- and only time will tell on that one- but there are still a multitude of issues that he backs the same way the rest of the Republican party does.

I intend to be careful in my judgment of this front-runner of our party. No candidate will EVER be perfect, because no MAN is perfect. McCain gets crucified for his civil, and even friendly, relationships with democrats and liberals because they are "they" and we are "us." Since when did it become right to hate other people who disagree with your beliefs? If you truly think you should write someone off because they don't see things your way, then a. you won't be left with many friends, and b. that goes entirely against the Christian faith the conservative movement fights so hard to preserve in our culture of free religion. If we should be fighting against anything, it's hypocrisy. It will be interesting to explore that further as this blog goes on.

I agree with what Laura Ingraham said on her show this morning- that McCain is fully aware of where the conservative movement stands regarding his candidacy, and it should be his responsibility to build bridges to us, instead of expecting an ENTIRE movement of people to change for him (everyone was PISSED because he delivered a speech wherein he told everyone to "calm down."). Just remember that it is hard enough to really get to know the heart of someone close to you. Don't think it's any easier to truly know the heart of a public figure who is scrutinized in every manner possible in every existing media outlet every day of the week.

Reconcile this.

2008-02-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Being that this is a big election year, and we live in a country FULL of conflicting ideas, opinions, political views, and beliefs, I have been putting a lot of thought into my political views and how they relate to my Christian faith. I am a conservative politically, but do not believe that the Christian faith somehow belongs to the far right, i.e. that you can't be a liberal AND a Christian at the same time. It saddens me that there may be people out there who actually think that. It also saddens me when I hear liberals accusing conservatives of being selfish, greedy and evil, because not only is it wrong to generalize, it is also a personal attack on me, and hey, at least I'd like to think that I'm not those things :)

My point is this: I think it's possible for faith and politics to be reconciled (and yes, I do realize that Jim Wallis has long began exploring this subject... I'm just not entirely sure I completely agree with his views, either). I have been doing a lot of reading and putting a lot of thought and prayer into what that exactly looks like, and I am nowhere near reaching a conclusion on this. In the end, maybe this will change me entirely. But right now, I stand behind my political views, and believe that this exploration may only strengthen them.

While this blog is going to be about anything I want it to be about, there will be a post here and there about specific, pressing issues facing our country today, what conservatives and liberals have to say on these issues, what the Word has to say about these issues, and what I personally believe is the correct response, and I invite any readers to respond to these things too.

All I ask is that we keep the name-calling to a minimum. Because believe me, if I can continue to keep the same circle of my closest friends (many of whom have extreme liberal, democratic beliefs) for years- some even decades- while being a highly conservative Republican, I think we can keep things civil in blog-land. Capishe?