Break From Reality

I'm sure anyone who reads this blog has noticed I have once again been lacking in the picture department. I haven't been in much of a picture-taking mood lately, and, to tell the truth, it has been kind of nice not worrying about it. But I start to get bored with no pictures, so here are a few of my family on Christmas morning. I know that according to the date on the pictures, they where taken in August, but that just comes from me forgetting to set the date on my digital camera.

I love this day, but not for the same reasons I did when I was a kid. When I was a kid I could hardly sleep the night before because I was so excited for the presents the next day. Today the presents are still a part of the excitement for me, but only a small part. Most of my enjoyment now comes from watching my nieces and nephews get excited. It also comes from spending time with family without worrying about work, chores, or shopping. Christmas is like a one-day break from reality, and even though I know it can't last forever, a part of me wishes it could.

Even if Christmas can't last all year, I think I will try to make every day a little more like Christmas. That means doing little things like spending more time with those I love, worrying less, giving to those in need, celebrating good times, and feeling joyful and thankful. I have always heard people talk about keeping Christmas in your heart all year round, but I never thought much about putting it into practice. This coming year I will try my best to do it because even if I can't always have a break from reality, I can at least be a little happier and try to make others happier too.

Straight And To The Point

It seems like most bloggers start to slack a little during the holiday season and I guess I am no exception. But it's not because I have been unusually busy or anything. All my presents are bought and Christmas cards are sent. I guess I will call it writers block because I want to blog, but every time I try to think of something interesting to write, every idea seems really lame. If there's one thing I hate, it's writing just to write or talking just to talk. You know what I mean. Those people who can go on for hours and hours and not say anything of importance.

When I was in school I always hated when the teacher told us to write however many pages about some topic. I always had a hard time filling the pages even when using the typical tricks like writing really big and double-spacing. I would get to the point in the first couple of sentences and then I would run out of things to say. Now I'm a little better at elaborating, but I'm still not a super detailed writer. I'm like that in the rest of my life too. I don't like over-the-top decorations, or houses filled in every corner. I don't like too many details or things start to look cluttered and become overwhelming. Life is confusing enough without complicating it with extra deals. I always like when people keep things simple and get to the point.

Details spice up life, but too many tend to get in the way. So if you are one of those people who can talk forever about nothing, consider the idea that doing so only makes you look unintelligent. Get to the point and shut your mouth.

Giving

It's the Christmas season and this time of year everyone talks about giving to those less fortunate than yourself. I'm all for giving to those in need, because I know that I could easily be in their shoes. But there are a few things that bother me about giving.

For one thing, need is relative. A child may need some new clothes or want some new toys, but what about other children who are starving? We may not be obligated to give to the most needy first, but is it right to ignore the worst-off people?

Now say I disregard the most needy and decided for whatever reason to give by getting a toy for a poor child for Christmas. What if that child doesn't like the toy I get him? Isn't that a waste of my money and generosity? What if I give that child a used toy? That seems to be frowned upon, yet I'm sure there are children who would appreciate any toy they could get their hands on. If a child doesn't want a used toy, doesn't that mean we are spoiled rather than truly needy?

The last problem I have with giving is that I am not a rich person. I know that doesn't mean I can't give, but it does mean that any amount I give will be minuscule compared to what a rich person or corporation could give. I know it shouldn't matter how much you can give. But it kind of makes you feel like it's pointless if all you can give is $5 and a corporation has millions to give.

In the end, I guess it really is the thought that counts. I can't help every starving person, and I can't spend forever analyzing who is the most needy. But I can give a little here and there, and I think I will be a better person for it. There is a scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie gives back the gobstopper candy that could have made his family rich and Willy Wonka says, "So shines a good deed in a weary world." This quote reminds me of the true spirit of giving because in a world full of bad things, I can still try to make a difference with small and simple deeds.

Popular

Growing up, I could never lay claim to being a part of the popular crowd. Even if I hadn't been extraordinarily shy, I still don't think I would have been accepted into the group of cheerleaders or jocks or prepy kids or whoever it was that was popular. Maybe I wasn't pretty enough, trendy enough, cool enough, or rich enough to be included. But I blame my exclusion mostly on the fact that my family was pretty weird, and at least some of the weirdness was bound to rub off on me.

I may have not liked being unpopular back in the day, but these days I don't hold any bitterness about it. That's because I have realized an important fact - popularity is an illusion. EVERYONE is different or 'weird' to some extent. The popular kids only cover it up better. But have you ever tried to keep a secret for a very long time? You may have tried, but it almost always comes out sooner or later. Popularity is the same way. You are only popular as long as you can cover up your secret weirdness.

So these days, I prefer genuine friends - the people who know all your secrets and still love and accept you. Life is too short to fake who you really are just so other people will like you. Besides, all those 'other people' are as imperfect as you, so who are they to judge what is 'popular'?

Sociology

I planned on posting sooner than this, but work has kept me sufficiently worn out. I literally sat down in front of the computer several times to start writing when I realized I couldn't keep my eyes open for more than a few seconds, let alone form a coherent thought. Also, I have been busy doing things like putting up a Christmas tree with Mike.

Isn't it gorgeous? It is a real one, so it smells fabulous as well. I think I am in love with it. Anyway, on to the next topic.

Sociology. What is that, you ask? Well let me give you a few definitions.

1. The study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society.
2. The study of social problems.
3. The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society.
4. Analysis of a social institution or societal segment as a self-contained entity or in relation to society as a whole.

I took a class in this subject in college, and before that time I had never even heard of sociology. I only took it because it was required for one of my credits, but the more I learned about it, the more fascinated I was by it. It was one of the few classes where I actually enjoyed reading the text book. Crazy, huh? I don't remember most of the specifics from the class because it was 11 years ago that I took it. (Whew, I can't believe it has been that long since I started college.) All I remember is that is was really interesting to me, and for some reason I am suddenly thinking about it again 11 years later. Strange.

One idea that I got from studying sociology is that the way a person turns out is a combination of two things - 1. Biology, and 2. The environment in which that person was raised. Sociology deals mostly with the environment part, and I am interested in that because the idea that the environment (such as society) can change who you are is so fascinating to me. For example, if I grew up in China, would I like the same foods, or the same music, or have the same beliefs about life? Maybe to some extent, but I doubt I would be the exact same person I am now. So it follows that we all, at least partially, are products of our environment. Our environment changes us! Just think about that. You may think you are in control of your environment, but did you ever think that your environment may control you?

So that is just a little sociology food for thought for you. What I described is more the micro side of sociology, however, I find the macro side of it just as interesting. I know I haven't done the subject justice in this post, but maybe I sparked a little curiosity so you will go out and learn more about sociology.

Life In A Bubble

I dislike when people think they can hide from the bad things in life. They think they can do this by not watching rated "R" movies, or only listening to music without swear words, or only dressing in a way that doesn't show too much skin, or by not drinking alcohol. While this behavior is commendable in general, I don't think there is any point in NEVER doing these things. Yes, you may very well save yourself some heartache by staying away from these things, but you will also never learn about the true scope of human existence. In other words, you can't know how good life can be unless you experience how bad life can be. Hiding from the negative parts of life doesn't make you a better person. It just makes you ignorant.

Also, think about the people who had no choice but to experience the worst in life. People who where abused as children. People who have starved. People who are mentally or physically ill. People who have experienced any sort of trauma. You can't 'un-live' or forget those kinds of things, so if I lived through something horrible I would be almost offended that there are people who want to live their lives as if those horrible things don't exist. If you lived through something like being sexually abused, would you want to go to a therapist who has never seen anyone act sexually inappropriate, or never even seen a movie with a nude scene? Of course not! You want to go to someone who has been through what you have been through, or at the very least knows a lot about it.

I'm not saying you have to go out and experience as many bad things as you can just so you can relate to those who have experienced them. Just don't avoid them at all cost just so you can sleep a little easier at night. Ignorance may be bliss, but is ignorance good?

I Can Do Anything You Can Do

I hate when people assume I can't do something because I am a woman, or they think I'm not strong enough or smart enough. These stereotypes aren't as prevalent as they used to be, but they still exist, and I see them from time to time. I see it when people think I can't lift something heavy, or I can't fix something, or I know nothing about cars. Granted, I am not an expert at any of those things, but I can do a lot more than what you might think, and if you tell me I can't do something, it only makes me want to try harder to do it to prove you wrong. I don't like stereotypes, and I don't want anyone to feel like they have to live their life by them. Heck, I would probably be a contractor if I thought I had the energy it takes to do a job like that. Everyone thinks of that as a "male" job, but stereotypes wouldn't keep me away if I decided that was what I wanted to do. I like to surprise people with what I know and what I am capable of, and I think if more people stay determined, they might even surprise themselves at what they can do.

Taking Control

I think it's strange how people create institutions and then complain that the institution is controlling THEM, and they can't do anything to stop it. If you don't understand, I will give you some examples. Government, the judicial system, laws, big businesses. They all have something in common - they were created by PEOPLE. Yet when a person doesn't like something about one of these institutions, they complain that they 'Can't fight it' or 'Can't change it' or 'It's too big and corrupt to control'. These may be valid concerns, but it is a crazy idea to me that we create things we can not control. If a law is unjust or the government is corrupt, why can't we change it? Do these things have a life of their own? It's like Frankenstein's monster. He created it, but then he couldn't control it.

People seem to think things like businesses and government are their own entity - like a living being that can think, and dominate, and control. The truth is, these institutions are made up of people like you and me. They only gain power if WE give it to them. Think of it like a drop of water. A drop of water is pretty harmless. It can't do much damage. But when a whole bunch of drops of water get together, they can cause a flood and do tons of damage. People are like individual drops of water. If they team up together they can do wonderful......and horrible things. But if you don't want a horrible thing, like a flood, to happen, don't join the other drops of water to create the flood. No drops of water, no flood. No people behind a bad institution, no institution.

I know it's all more complicated than that. We need order and institution, and it is hard to get people to agree on how these things should be. But I think we all have more power than we give ourselves credit for. We don't have to sit back and be controlled by our creations, especially since our creations are made up of all of us.

Heater Blues

So yesterday the heater went out. Not only did it go out, but it couldn't seem to stop blowing cold air. That's always fun. The landlord sent her son to take a look at it. He poked around a little and admitted that he "has no idea how to fix a furnace". So he called in his sister and her husband, who supposedly knows more about heaters. But by the time they got there, the furnace seemed to work, and we had six people (including me, Mike, and the landlord) standing in our tiny kitchen, looking like idiots. Then, not 30 minutes after we herded everyone out of our house, the heater started blowing cold air again. WTF HEATER?!

Mike called the landlord again today and she scheduled a real furnace technician to come take a look at it. But before he got here, the heater decided it was JUST FINE. So we told the landlord to cancel that appointment, but she still sent her son over again. He thought that she was mistaken about the heater not working again because it was working when he got there. I tried to explain to him the many moods of the furnace, but he just looked confused. If you are not confused at this point, you are the only one. I'm not even sure anymore if the furnace is working or not. All I know is that I can not contact the landlord one more time about the furnace unless I am frozen solid. I can't explain one more time that "the heater was broken a minute ago, but now it seems to have miraculously come back to life!" The furnace must love chaos, because it is causing an awful lot of it. I can just imagine it snickering to itself in it's closet while we run around flipping switches and holding our hands over the heat vents to see if any warm air is coming out.

The Big 3-0

I know I have been slacking a bit on the whole blogging thing, but give me a break, it was my 30th birthday! I know so many people will say 30 is not old, and I don't feel older than I did at 29. But if you ask a 20-year-old, 30 is practically elderly. So there seems to be some sort of stigma with turning 30, and even though you don't feel OLD, it totally messes with your mind. You start to think, "Should I be different now that I'm 30? Should I start to 'act my age'?" I don't think so. I want to tell 30 to mind it's own business because I'm going to live my life how I want to. Besides, I just bought skinny jeans for the first time this week, and I don't want to go my whole life without trying them just because I didn't get to them before I was 30. (By the way, they totally rock!)

For my birthday, Mike and I went to Wendover because that is the only place near where we live where you can gamble. However, we forgot one little thing when we decided to go there - We don't like to gamble. Oopsie! Well we went anyway, but we probably should have waited to do that for my 90th birthday, because everyone there was decidedly older than 30. (Either that or they let the whole 30 thing mess with them to the point where they looked 70.) Being there was like being in a retirement home on the moon, because we quickly found out Wendover is a barren wasteland with nothing to do but gamble. Still, we made the best of it by going to the spa, eating out, and soaking in our psychedelic, 70s-style jacuzzi tub that was located right next to the king-size bed in our suit. The hotel had just been remodeled, but it still looked like a blast from the past to me. (See, I'm not old! I wasn't even born in the 70s!) So, all-in-all, my birthday was pretty good, and it got even better once we left Wendover and did what I really love to do - SHOP!

Education On Happiness

These days post-high school education is sold like candy. By saying that I don't mean it is cheap. (Far from it.) I mean it is being marketed EVERYWHERE, to EVERYONE, using all kinds of gimmicks and come-ons. I'm sure we can all agree that education is important, but it's not the cure-all that it is marketed to be. Having a formal education doesn't guarantee you will be successful in life and vice versa. Life itself can be a great teacher. Sometimes you can learn more by going out and experiencing things than you could ever learn in a classroom.

Of course schooling is necessary for many career fields and if you are absolutely positive about the career path you wish to take then a formal education is probably a good idea. But for those less sure about their life path, schooling can be very costly and even worthless in the end. That's because school does not teach you what makes you happy. It doesn't tell you how to enjoy life. You don't learn what challenges you will face in the future. They can't tell you how your ambitions and desires will change over time. It doesn't guarantee you a stable job for the rest of your life.

So while I believe it is always best to learn as much as you can throughout your life, I do not believe it is always best to do that learning in a formal school. Learn from people you know. Learn from trial and failure. Learn from reading and pondering. Learn from experiences in your life and other's lives. One thing I have learned - There are no guarantees in life, so don't waste years of your life in formal schooling if it doesn't lead to your happiness.

Feeling Colorful

"I mean that there’s got to be a lightness in your way. There has to be a lightness; you have to be as light as you can be and not get weighed down and stuck in your emotion, stuck in your body, stuck in your head. You just want to always be trying to elevate somehow."

That's a quote from Bill Murray that I ran across on the internet recently. I really like it because I think he is trying to tell people how to stay upbeat and positive even when life gets hard. Don't get stuck in your head with your negative emotions. Try to find a way to get above all that. Interesting...... I am always looking for ways to stay positive, especially during this time of year when the weather can be summarized as 'dark and cold'. My life is pretty good, so staying positive isn't too hard. But when I do feel low, it's nice to be reminded by a quote like this that it is impossible to be happy when you let negative thoughts overrun your mind and weigh you down. You have to make an effort to stay light. Also notice he says 'have to', not 'should' or 'try'. It is imperative to our health and well-being to make this effort to stay happy.

Another thing a came across on the internet was this story by Dr. Seuss that someone posted on their blog -

My Many Colored Days.. By Dr. Seuss

Some days are yellow.
Some are blue.
On different days I'm different too.
You'd be surprised how many ways
I change on Different Colored Days.

On Bright Red Days how good it feels
to be a horse and kick my heels!

On other days I'm other things.
On Bright Blue Days I flap my wings.

Some days, of course, feel sort of Brown.
Then I feel slow and low, low down.

Then comes a Yellow Day and Wheeee!
I am a busy, buzzy bee.

Gray Day....Everything is gray.
I watch. But nothing moves today.

Then all of a sudden I'm a circus seal!
On my Orange Days that's how I feel.

Green Days. Deep deep in the sea.
Cool and quiet fish. That's me.

On Purple Days I'm sad. I groan.
I drag my tail. I walk alone.

But when my days are Happy Pink
it's great to jump and just not think.

Then come my Black Days. MAD. And loud.
I howl. I growl at every cloud.

Then comes a Mixed-Up Day. And WHAM!
I don't know who or what I am!

But it all turns out all right, you see.
And I go back to being...me.

I love this story for it's simplicity and acceptance of emotions in all forms. There's no judgment as to which emotions are right or wrong. It makes it OK to have all these emotions and then 'go back to being me'. I also love that 'it all turns out all right', because emotions can be scary, but this story helps you understand that feeling lots of emotions is not the end of the world and it doesn't make you a bad person. You are just colorful!

Bake More

For some reason this time of year always makes me want to bake. Or should I say 'bake more'? Because I always like baking, even if it means sweating like crazy while the oven runs in the heat of a summer day. But there is just something about autumn that kick-starts my desire to bake. Maybe it's the cooler weather or nostalgia (I can't believe I spelled that word right on the first try!) for the holiday season. I constantly fall victim to comfort food whose ingredients are more readily available this time of year. Who wouldn't want to curl up on a cold evening with a warm slice of apple pie, or a big bowl of bread pudding, or a slice of pumpkin bread with butter?

The fact that pumpkins are in all the stores this time of year also urges me to bake. Why? Because I love pumpkin! You put pumpkin in something and I will probably like it. I'm sure I have more pumpkin recipes than anything else. Of course they are mostly desert recipes, but that's only because I have a vicious sweet tooth. Here is a picture of my latest creations -

That's a pumpkin cupcake with orange cream cheese frosting and a homemade caramel. I'm not one of those bloggers who post recipes and cooking tips, but I will say these are two of my favorite recipes. If you want to make them you know how ask for the recipe. Or, better yet, I like baking so much I would probably make them for you if you bought the ingredients. (I may love to bake, but I am not made of money.) If you like you could also throw in a nice 12-count muffin pan, since all I have is a little 6-count one. Just kidding! I will always bake whether or not I have fancy pans and tools. Have you seen my tiny, loathsome kitchen?

Listening Through The Noise

Cold weather has descended on my community rather quickly this year. Only a few days ago it was 80-plus degrees, and today the heater is running almost constantly and I am trying to keep from freezing to death. Even though my heater is working, I think my body was unprepared for the sudden cold, and every few minutes I am considering a hot bath or shower just to warm up. I guess blankets or more clothing might work also, but for some reason nothing warms me up like water. If my hands get really cold, sometimes I will just wash them in hot water, and sometimes that turns into less washing and more hanging my hands in the water and sighing in complete bliss.

As much as I love having a working heater, I do not love how noisy it is. I don't know if it's because my house is so small or because my heater just wants to be heard, but living with that thing is like living in a power plant........generating power from a raging waterfall. When it's running I feel like I can hardly hear myself think. If I want to watch t.v. or listen to music I have to turn the volume up really loud. The neighbors probably think I am quickly going deaf. I don't always need complete silence, but for some reason constant noise bothers me. I am a person who likes to listen for things, and when there is noise, it gets in the way of hearing quieter noises. What I am listening for, I couldn't tell you, but when I can't hear I feel slightly uncomfortable. The best way I can describe it is if you suddenly went deaf. You would be a little freaked out that you couldn't hear anything, right? I feel the same way when there is loud, constant noise. Even the noise of the vacuum cleaner, the shower, or music played through my headphones makes me feel the same way. (By the way, the shower noise is probably the only reason I don't live in there during the colder months.) Is that weird? Anyway, like being deaf, I can get used to background noise, but that doesn't mean I like it.

Road To Nowhere

Today I am blogging from the laptop because the desktop went KUPUT. It is not fixed yet not because of lack of effort from Mike (his only obsession when the computer breaks is to fix it), but because of lack of money for new parts. No worries. I'm sure it will be as good as new on payday. Until then, I am stuck with the laptop. Not that I'm not grateful to have a working computer. I just don't like it as much as the desktop. It doesn't have all my programs and files right where I want them. I don't know how to print with it, and the finger pad thing that takes the place of the mouse is annoying. Maybe it will improve my dexterity, though. I read in a magazine that if you regularly do things that are a little more difficult for you, like brushing your teeth with the hand you don't normally use, then it improves your overall willpower. I guess there is something to be said for stubborn determination after all. I sure hope this mouse-pad thing is improving my willpower.

The latest book that I read is called The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It is a Pulitzer Prize winner, so I had high hopes for it. I even kept my hopes high through 90% of it. But the closer I got to the end, the more I realized this book is going nowhere. Literally, there is no closure at all in this book, unless you call death closure. To the author's credit, it is written beautifully, and the story is very intriguing at first. But after a certain point you start to see that the same things are happening over and over with no new results. It's pretty depressing. The only way to feel better about this book is to hope that something good happened after the end of the book. In other words, MAKE YOUR OWN HAPPY ENDING. If I wanted to do that I would write my own book. You might like this book if you are the sort of person who likes poetry, because this book is all about fancy language. But if you want a good old straight-forward story with a beginning, middle, and end, you will be sorely disappointed.

Crafty Crap

What is it with every housewife in the country suddenly needing to write a blog about cooking, photography, crafting, and their kids? The story is always the same -

"Hi, I'm so-and-so and I have been married to my wonderful husband for 7 years and we have three overly cute children! I go to school and work and I'm a full time mom. There never seems to be enough hours in the day, but in my spare time I am able to blog, craft, cook, scrapbook, take photos, and do everything in the world! Thanks for stopping by my little old blog!"

Gag! I'm not sure why these blogs bug me so much because I still read them, and I am a blogger. The ultimate hypocrite. All I can say is I don't understand why they all seem to be so cookie-cutter, and why they all give off an impression of desperately trying to fill a void in their lives with crafts and blogging. Maybe I am the same (except for the crafting part), but at least I can recognize it. Most of these bloggers seem oblivious to their sameness and to the overall insignificance of what they do. Why not write about something that will make people think? Why not get over yourself and your perfect, crafty life for a second and write about bigger world issues?

We live in a time where every person seems to have an incredible need to show off their uniqueness and to be remembered after they are gone. Guess what? Very few people are truly unique and even fewer will be remembered in any significant way. All the blogs in the world won't change that. So why not accept that? Live your life for yourself and the ones you love, and stop worrying about posting your every thought, picture, and accomplishment on the internet. You know the importance of your life, so stop trying to get everyone else to validate it. What matters is not being remembered, but knowing in your own heart that your life is worthwhile.

I like cooking and crafts as much as anyone, but even I can see there is more to life. Are these women using their blogs as an escape from the real world, or are they trying too hard to preserve their own memory? Either way, I will probably still continue to read them, but only for a little bit of lite entertainment.

Bountiful Baskets

How do you like the new look of my blog? I know it's really not that different, but it seemed to take forever to accomplish. Maybe it's just me and my computer-illiterate ways, but changing the look of my blog seems to be incredibly difficult. I spend long spans of time staring at the blog interface screen trying to find the right place to click. Even now I have no idea how to center the picture at the top of my blog, even though I have probably spent hours trying to accomplish that one simple task. Sometime you just have to let it go........ By the way, do you like the new picture? I like it a lot, and I think it says, "Welcome to my blog!" As much as I love the old picture of Mike and I, I get bored of the same thing all the time. If I was a master at designing blogs, I would probably be changing the look of my blog at least every week. But since I am not, I focus mostly on the writing part for my own sanity.

Last Saturday Mike and I got our second ever Bountiful Basket, and I have to say it is almost like Christmas every time I get one of these. I said ALMOST. If you are not familiar with Bountiful Baskets, take a look at their web site. They are a non-profit co-op that distributes baskets of fruits and vegetables at a low cost. The only catch is they ask you to volunteer once in a while, and you have to get up incredibly early on a Saturday to pick up your basket. The baskets are supposed to contain about 1/2 fruit and 1/2 vegetables, but so far ours seem to have more fruits than veggies. What do you think?

That's fine with me since I LOVE fruit. Mike, on the other hand, may be slightly disappointed. There is also an option to get an organic basket for $10 more. I would love to get one of those, but $10 is a little pricey for my meager budget. Still, I have been very pleased with the produce thus far. It's a little much for just Mike and I to eat all by ourselves, but attempts to find other produce-lovers to share with have failed.

Speaking of food, I had this awesome fruit pastry at the Clearfield Grounds for Coffee last weekend.

Oh, it was soooooooooooooooooooo good! Now if you will excuse me, I need to go eat something because all this food talk is making me hungry.

Presidental

If you know me you know I am not very into politics. In fact, I think politics suck. The only way to have harmony in the government is to be fair and upstanding, and to always compromise. But no politicians these days seem to be able to do that, so we end up with a lot of bickering, and nothing being accomplished.

Despite my dislike for all things politics, once in a great while, there comes along a politician who I don't mind too much. A politician who is imperfect like the rest of us, but who nevertheless seems to want to do the right thing and help as many people as possible. I think President Obama is one of those kind of politicians. So it bothers me when people criticize him for not fixing every single problem with our country and government. First of all, I don't think any mortal being is capable of fixing EVERY problem with our country, let alone a single one. Presidents can try their best to make our situation better, but it is very difficult if not impossible to solve most political problems. Why? Because people are not willing to compromise.

Secondly, major problems do not get fixed overnight or even in a few years. People seem to expect the president to fix things in a short time, and if he doesn't they start to dislike him. That is so stupid to me. That is like losing faith in your dad when he can't do everything Superman can do. The expectations are way too high considering what is possible.

All I ask when it comes to politics is honesty, fairness, and compromise. Obama seems to have those qualities. I am satisfied. To all those people who voted for Obama and now bash him I would say, "Why do you still believe in Superman?"

Magpie

Last weekend Mike and I went camping with some friends. I wanted to go because I hadn't been camping all summer and I crave the outdoors like a fat person craves food. Mike wanted to go because I made him.

It was only a one night event and not too far from home, so Mike actually didn't mind it, and I loved it. Two nights would have been even better but work doesn't let us off our leashes for too long. Anyway, here are a few pictures from out campsite which was right by the river and so beautiful.

Our friends, Bryce and Robin, brought this hammock which Mike and I fell in love with. It's super relaxing and comfy. It's from Brazil so we may just have to make it a priority to travel to Brazil to get one.

These next pictures are of Bear playing in the river with Robin. She would kick at the water and Bear would dig in the riverbed to find out where the splashing was coming from. A good time was had by all.

There was a sort of slanted tree in our camp which both of the Robins climbed. Even Bear went into mountain-goat-mode and scrambled up the tree. I know I look like a total wimp, but that tree was harder to climb than it looks.

Finally, here are a few random pictures. Thanks again to Bryce and Robin for going with us and especially to Robin for cooking an amazing campfire breakfast! My mouth still waters every time I think of it.

On a side note, I am very impressed with the new version of blogger. They have made it about a million times easier to add photos. No more cutting and pasting all that HTML text. I might add more photos now just because I don't have to struggle through it for hours. Kudos to whoever makes this thing.

Sin Does Not Mean Evil

Bet you were wondering where I have been. Why haven't I been writing? Well, I just didn't feel like it. I don't have a good excuse at all and I figure everyone is sick of me apologizing for not writing often. So I'm letting you know now that you get what you get with this blog. I'm not always in a writing mood and I've decided there is no reason to stress about a blog. I realize I have complained in the past about other bloggers not keeping up with their blogs, but I'm over that because I now think a stress-free life is way more important than any blog. Writing should be about de-stressing. It shouldn't cause stress. So to all you bloggers out there - Blog as much or as little as you like! (I'm sure everyone was waiting for my permission to do that.) Anyway, onward to the topic of this post.

Evil. Does it exist? I think it does, but far less often than most people think. Most people think people who commit horrible crimes are all evil, but I beg to differ. I would say truly evil people are few and far between. I think people who commit crimes are usually victims themselves of bad circumstances. Being a victim doesn't justify committing a crime. It just means that the person commits the crime because they are hurt, scared, or angry. Not because they are evil. Of course if you are a victim of a crime, it doesn't usually make you feel better to think that the person who committed the crime is not evil. You still feel hurt, sad, or angry. But notice those are similar to the feelings I wrote to describe the person committing the crime. So we have something in common, and I think that allows for empathy and forgiveness toward the criminal.

Maybe I just tend to see the good in people, but I don't see most criminals as monsters who have no soul and no feelings. I see them as imperfect humans who are damaged in some way and who made bad choices. Can anyone of us 'non-criminals' claim to have never made a bad choice?

Machinehead

When I think about how many machines most people use on a daily basis I am surprised at how common they have become. I feel like a pretty self-sufficient person, but when I consider all the machines that help me do daily tasks, I am blown away by how much I rely on them. I use all these machines either directly or indirectly -

Car
Microwave
Computer
Cash Register/Computer
Washing Machine
Dryer
Cell Phone
Refrigerator
Television
Factory Machines
Airplanes
Lawn Mower
I-Pod
Electric Tools
Blow Dryer
Straight Iron
Iron
Radio

You get the idea. The list could be much longer. I don't mind that we have so many great machines that enhance the quality of our lives. What I do mind is the fact that machines are getting more complex while people's understanding of them is getting more limited. Do you know how how to build a television? Could you make a computer.........from scratch?! Can you even begin to comprehend how your cell phone works? What I'm getting at is, what good is all this technology if we don't know how it works and we can't fix it when it breaks? We get so used to using all these machines, so when they stop working, we don't know what to do without them. For example, if the power goes out at the grocery store, the grocery store shuts down. Why? Because they can't sell anything when they don't have their fancy cash resisters to scan every item and add it up. What happened to the days when the clerk at the store used MATH to add up what you were buying? Do we really need modern cash registers? If you say yes then you best be learning how to fix one.

Even if we use machines, I don't think we need to always make them as complex as they are. Consider cars. When they were first invented they were little more than a motor with a seat and wheels. These days cars have all kinds of complex systems controlled by a computer. While this technology can be helpful and even amazing, if it breaks it is infinitely harder to fix than the older machines. Is it that hard to go without something like power windows if it means less worry and maintenance? Why do people need gas-powered lawn mowers when rotating blades on wheels work just fine? I use machines as much as the next person, but I think there is a point when enough is enough with newer and more complex gadgets, because if we rely to much on machines, we will have no idea what to do if they all stop working one day.

At Home Among The Spiders

I have to say I am happy to be home in Utah. Even though I like traveling and seeing places, the saying 'there's no place like home' is one that is always true to me. I like being in a routine. I like knowing the roads and the gas stations. I like being around familiar things. In Ohio, everywhere I went I saw things I wasn't used to - different restaurants, strange street names, no mountains, different plants. It's interesting, but it can also get overwhelming after a while. At home you can relax because you don't have to take in so much new information all the time.

There is one thing I haven't liked about being home - spiders. Ever since Mike and I saw a show about a house that was infested with spiders, we have been really sensitive to their presence in our own house. I wouldn't go so far as to say we have an infestation. But I will say spiders are prevalent in our home. Especially in the garage. *shiver* I don't even want to think about the garage. You see, the thing I hate about spiders is that they invade my personal space and property. If spiders only lived in deep dark woods, we wouldn't have a problem. Spiders stay in the woods, I stay out of the woods. Problem solved. But NO, spiders have to get all up in my space. I dread opening a tote or a tent that I have stored in the garage and finding it filled with spiders. If that happens you have pretty much lost your belongings, because you can't get rid of the spiders without spraying them or torching them, and that would obviously ruin your belongings.

Spiders also like to live in dark places, which is a problem because they are basically hiding and waiting to pop out at you at the most terrifying moment. Living with spiders is like living with a ghost. You are constantly scared and there isn't much you can do about it. Except spiders have the added bonus of being able to kill you. YAY!

If there was a way to get rid of every single spider within a mile radius, without chemicals, and never have them return, I would totally do it. Even if it cost a huge amount of money. I'm not a rich person, but I would totally save for that shit.

Ohio Or Bust

Long time no blog. But maybe you can forgive me because I have been on vacation. If that's not a good enough excuse for you, I will have you know I was SICK the entire time. That's right. The fates wouldn't even allow me to enjoy my vacation. Grrrrrrr At least I can say I have been to Ohio now. Mike and I went there to visit family and to just relax. Six days later, much visiting was had, but not much relaxing. I remembered how uncomfortable airplane seats are. Even though I am in awe every time at the human race's ability to fly, I would not enjoy flying often.

Ohio was as green and humid as I expected, but had fewer people than I expected. That might be because we stayed out of the cities for the most part. I feel like if I lived in Ohio I would always feel lost in the forest and trying to get out no matter where I was. It's green alright, but all that green kind of gets in the way and makes you feel cut off from the rest of the world. Is it just me?

Here are a few pictures from our trip. Not much to say about them except you probably won't be interested because they are people you don't know in front of a constant green background.

The second night we were there we had a campfire which would have been really pleasant if I hadn't been sick -





This is Mike and his son Daylen at the Columbus Zoo. We didn't get to spend as much time there as we would have liked because the roads in Ohio are like some sort of cryptic language that no one understands unless they have lived there their whole lives. There was also a water park at the zoo, which was fun. However, I just can't get used to the idea of a water park at the zoo. It seems weird to me.



Here's a few pictures of family. It really was fun to see Mike's family, most of whom I had never met before. I heard plenty of stories about the past that helped me get to know my husband a little better.




So that's what I've been doing for the last little while. It may not have been the most exciting vacation in the world, but anytime I get to travel I feel thankful because it always broadens my understanding of the the world and the people in it. If you stay in one place all your life, you tend to forget about all the people and places in the world and how different their view of life is. When you travel, you see for yourself just how much there is that you don't know about, and maybe it will open your mind to more possibilities.

The Bad And The Good

I know I am getting lazy about my blogging, but life has been pleasantly boring for most of the summer. As a child I never would have thought boring could be pleasant. But when you grow up and you know about all the bad things in the world, boring is like heaven because at least nothing bad is happening to you. I'm not sure if I believe in destiny or predestination, but I think things would be easier if I did. If I did believe in that and something bad happened to me, then I would know there was a reason for it - that it is all part of a bigger plan. If you don't believe in destiny, then there is no reason for bad things and you live in fear of the next bad thing popping up.

Like I said, I'm not really clear on what I believe yet, so I try to focus on the good times. When nothing is going badly, I milk it for all it's worth. I bask in it like it is my last happy moment. Some people may say that is somewhat hedonistic and maybe it is. But I think hedonists are only people who are afraid there is nothing after you die so they want to get the most out of life. In other words, they are only scared people who are trying to cope with their fear. Sometimes I am one of the scared people, but mostly I try to believe and pray there is a reason for bad things happening. That's really the only way to make it through the hard times because hedonism only works when things are good. During the bad times, it is a useless doctrine. If you are only hedonistic, you have nothing to get you through the hard times. That's why life is easier if you believe in destiny and a master plan - it helps to make the hard times more bearable.

Keep Your Opinions To Yourself

Sometimes I watch shows like Say Yes To The Dress, and I am always shocked by how rudely opinionated some people can be. If you haven't seen the show, it is a reality show where brides-to-be go to a bridal salon and pick out their wedding dresses. So you would think that decision would be solely the bride's to make with maybe a few helpful tips from friends and family. Not so. It never fails that some loud-mouthed friend or family member has very strong opinions about what the bride should wear, and they are not at all kind about voicing those opinions. First of all, let me say, WHO CARES? Picking a wedding dress is about what the bride likes, NOT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE LIKE. Unless you have a big problem with wanting to live vicariously through other people, you shouldn't care what the bride is wearing. The bride could pick out a dress that you think is the most hideous thing on the planet and all you should do is smile and say she looks beautiful. If you think she is a beautiful person, then it shouldn't matter what she is wearing, right? RIGHT?

The people on that show act like it will be the end of the world if the bride picks the wrong dress. Here's an idea - THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS THE WRONG DRESS. Clothing is nice and all. Believe me when I say, I like clothes more than the average Joe. But even I can recognize the insignificance of clothing in the big picture. What's the worst that could happen if you pick an ugly wedding dress? You laugh at it later on? You can't sell it for more than $5? I don't think I have to say there are worse things in life. So if you are ever going out with a bride-to-be to help her pick her wedding dress, be supportive of what SHE wants and if you have a negative opinion, bite your tongue!

Free To Do What I Want

Have you ever noticed how much freer people are when they are young? They are not yet tied down by responsibilities, kids, and things. They can move far away or do something new and crazy on a whim.

Once people get older they usually get more and more stuck in a routine and burdened by overwhelming responsibilities. But it doesn't have to end up like that! Some responsibilities are unavoidable, but others are a choice. Do you wish you weren't burdened by a mortgage and a big house to maintain? Rent or buy a smaller house! Do you feel like you can't move because you have too much stuff to bring with you? Don't buy so much stuff! Do you feel like you can't go back to school or try surfing because you are too old? Who cares?! You don't have to put restrictions on yourself.

I love the idea of living freely. I never want to have so many possessions that they feel like a burden. I never want to have so many responsibilities that there is no fun left in life. I never want to feel like I am too old to try something new. I keep all that in mind when I make decisions about taking on more responsibilities. By not taking on too much, I can choose to be light and free my whole life.

Time To Spare

Seriously, everyday I think about about writing a post. But then, somehow, there is not enough time or nothing to write about or I'm just plain lazy. I only work part-time, but some days I work close to 10 hours, and on those days I wonder how anyone ever has the energy to have kids, work full-time, and go to school. Because on those days it is all I can muster to drag myself home and flop on the closest soft surface. I know quite a few people who do the work and school and kids thing, and every time I hear about it I am just in awe. What kind of magic pill are these people taking that allows them to have the energy to do so much? Maybe I have unusually low energy or motivation, but I'm pretty sure if I tried to do all that I would be crying in a fetal position within 5 minutes. If you haven't noticed, I'm the kind of person who likes to take things slow and simple. I don't like to over-extend myself because I feel life is too short to be running around like a crazy person all the time. Problem is, we live in a time where everything is so fast-paced, if you're not running around like a crazy person, people think YOU'RE the one that's crazy. Whatever. I'm not going to speed up just because of other people's disapproval. But sometimes I do wish I could do it all with energy and time left to spare.

What Budget?

This may sound strange coming from me, the queen of financial responsibility, but I don't like budgets. Plans - yes. Approximations - yes. Estimates - yes. Budget - no. So why all this hate towards something every financial planner swears by? Well I'll tell ya. No one ever stays on budget. You only ever hear of people going over budget. If by some miracle someone does stay on budget, it's not because they have a budget. It's because they didn't have any surprise expenses or they didn't have any extra money to spend beyond the budget.

That's the thing with budgets. Everyone seems to think they are some set-in-stone amount that they absolutely can not exceed. But when it comes down to the wire, they always seem to find a way to get more money and go over budget. That means that budgets mean nothing. They are like a promise that isn't kept. Budgets are only what people WANT to spent, not what they CAN spend. That's why they never work.

If you had $1,000 to spend, but you only wanted to spend $100 of it and save the rest, how long do you think it would take to find excuses to go over your $100 'budget'? 'Well there's sales tax, and that will bring the price over $100.' 'I found this really cool thing for $125, and that is only a little over $100.' Pretty soon, you have spent the whole $1,000 and you have no idea how it all added up so fast. I know everyone doesn't think about money this way, but I think the large majority do. In America, if you want more money or more credit, there is almost always some way to get it. Therefore, the budget is always unlimited. If you want to limit the budget, you have to limit yourself, and most Americans don't seem to be so good at that.

I'm not saying it isn't wise to plan how you will spend your money. I just don't like the word 'budget'. Budgets never work because people can't limit themselves. So plan, save, appropriate, invest, and estimate, but NEVER, EVER, BUDGET.

Too Many Cards

It seems like every business these days has some kind of card that they try to get you to sign up for - preferred customer card, punch card, brand credit card, reward card, loyalty card. I'm getting really tired of being asked every time I check out at a store, "Do you have a card with us?" Sometimes I just want to scream, "NO! I don't have card, and I don't want to ever be asked that question again!"

I get why businesses have these sorts of cards. They usually reward customers with a discount for shopping at their store, thus prompting repeat business from that customer. So I guess that is OK if you have only a very few stores that you like to shop at. But what if you like to shop around? If that's the case, you could easily find your wallet bursting with a million 'loyalty' cards. Doesn't it seem contradictory to have loyalty cards to five different grocery stores? Ten different gas stations? Twenty different clothing stores?

Few people these days are loyal to specific stores because almost everything is big business and no one is really friends with big business. They only go along with it because it gets them cheap prices. If I had things my way, we would all do away with cards and show our loyalty by actually shopping somewhere frequently. Of course that won't happen, so I do the next best thing and refuse as many cards as possible. Besides, we all know that having a customer card doesn't mean you are loyal. It just means you caved in to the question you have been asked too many times - "Do you have a card with us?"

Paper Paperweight

A few days ago I got a brand........new.........phone book! I'm really not excited. In fact, it got me wondering why they even still exist. Does anyone use those at all anymore? The only way I could see needing a phone book is if you don't have the internet, or a cell phone, or a GPS. So basically if you are cut off from every form of technology. That's not easy to do these days.

Phone books are the equivalent of pay phones or video retail stores. No one uses them anymore! But for some reason, rain or shine, every year, I get this gigantic book delivered to my doorstep and it sits in my kitchen, untouched, until the next one arrives. Isn't this a waste of money? Is there a way to opt out of this ancient service?

But here is the truly tragic part of all this - I can't bring myself to throw the phone book away right when it arrives. Why? Because somehow a little part of me still believes I might need it for something. What if I can't get on the internet to look up a business? What if I need something heavy? What if there is something in the phone book that is not on the internet? Totally irrational, I know. Also, (this is going to sound weird) phone books are slightly sentimental to me. They remind me of my childhood when we actually used the phone book quite a lot. Back then, the phone book was the all-knowing source of information that the internet is today. The family phone book was always well-used with torn-out pages, highlighted numbers, and bent corners. These days, my phone book sits perfect and untouched like a memorial to an old friend. Phone books my not be what they once were, but at least I still have the memories.

Out In The Open

I've never understood why some people feel the need to hide certain parts of their house. Like when you go to a friend's house for the first time and you see the living room and the kitchen, but God forbid you see the bedroom. The tour comes to a screeching halt before you ever get close to that room. Why? Do most people have a lot to hide in their bedrooms? Are they embarrassed that the room is messy? Is it just not socially acceptable to show off your room?

If someone comes to my house I have no problem showing them just about anything. They could rummage through my closet for all I care. Aside from my personal journal, I don't have anything I don't want people to see. It baffles me when others are reluctant to show their room. It's not like I haven't seen an unmade bed or dirty laundry before. You would have to have nothing short of sex toys scattered everywhere to shock me. Even then, I don't think I would be so much shocked as I would think, "So that's what you're into!"

Maybe people are afraid of being judged by their messy rooms or sex toy collections. Have no fear when it comes to me. I don't judge.

Crazy Boring

My blog hasn't been at the top of my priority list lately, mainly because I haven't had much that has inspired me to write. You could say I'm lazy or boring, and you might be right......but I really don't care. If I want to be lazy and boring I shouldn't have to justify it. Yet there is always a tiny part of me that feels just a little guilty for doing nothing. Call it social responsibility, proving my worth, or whatever. I don't think anyone wants to feel like they are not contributing to the world. However, the thing that most people don't realize is, a little bit of laziness doesn't take away from all the productive things you have done and will do. You don't have to be accomplishing something every second of your life to be important. In fact, I think relaxing is VITAL to a happy life. That is why I can say I don't care if others think I am lazy. I know what is important in life, and it's not pleasing everyone all the time or trying to do a million things a day. I just need to remind myself of that so I can squash that tiny guilt that pops up once in a while when I am doing nothing.

I also want to show off my new haircut in this post:



A lot of people, especially women, are shocked that I would cut off my long hair that I have been growing for about a year. Meh It's no biggie to me. In fact, it's kind of a relief to not have all that extra hair in the way. I think having long hair is more of a pain than anything. The only thing I miss about it is being able to braid it or put it in a ponytail. Hair always grows back, so I don't understand why so many people get attached to it. If anything, I love to try different things with my hair. I would get bored if it was always the same. I don't get freaked out by bad haircuts either. I might be a little upset if I had a truly horrific haircut, but I'm pretty mellow about a few little mistakes. IT'S HAIR. IT GROWS. IT CHANGES. IT'S NOT PERFECT.

It is because of my lack of fear of a bad haircut that I go to the beauty school to get my hair cut. The people there are still learning to cut hair, so mistakes may happen more often. But I think, if anything, they are usually too conservative when cutting my hair. They are afraid to make a mistake and I can understand why. So many people are uptight about their hair and would be enraged at a bad haircut. Not me. If you ask me, hair is made to be played with and mistakes are insignificant in the long run. So go crazy with it!

Everyone's A Critic

Mike and I went to see the last Harry Potter movie yesterday and I enjoyed it quite a bit even though it was nearly 2 1/2 hours long. (What is it with movies getting longer and long?) What I do not enjoy is hearing everyone's overly critical opinion of movies. The only critics who matter even a little to me are the ones who do it for a living. At least they have some idea what they are talking about. But even they can go too far at times. Mostly I like to know how many stars a movie got and if it is three or higher I will see it and judge for myself. Anything lower than three and I will only watch it if I am out of ideas of anything else to watch.

The reason people's opinions of movies bug me is because they always seem to get wayyyyyyyyyyyy too knit-picky. They go off on things I don't care about like how closely the movie followed the book, or how this character's role was different in the book, or how that actor was not right for the part, or how this scene was too long. REALLY? Don't people have anything better to do? I don't care how the book compares to the movie. The only thing I worry about is whether or not there is good acting and a good story. No movie is exactly like the book, ant even if it was people would still probably bitch. There are also the people who don't like the book, yet they still want to compare it to the movie. Here's an idea - DON'T SEE THE MOVIE IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE BOOK. Even if you like the movie, I don't want to hear your comparisons. They are pointless. If I want to know if a movie is good I will see it for myself and I promise too keep my mouth shut afterwards.

Hillbilly Life

As much as I have love for all people, rich or poor, there is just something about the poorer ones that seems more fun and interesting. When I drive through expensive neighborhoods, I think, "I would never want to live here." What?! There's someone who wouldn't want to live in a huge house with a perfect yard, twenty cars, a boat, a trailer, ATVs, and all those other "grownup toys"? Yes, you are reading her blog. Rich neighborhoods look so boring to me that I would never live there even if I was rich. Those neighborhoods where all the houses look the same and there are no kids playing outside look like a prison to me. I have nothing against anyone who lives in one of those places. If that's what you like, go for it. It might even be more fun than it looks. But all a can picture when I look at those houses is depressing white rooms and family members huddled away in different parts of the house using electronic devices like t.v., computer, cell phones, or video games. I can't picture the family interaction. I can't picture something being dirty or imperfect. I can't picture fun or relaxation that has nothing to do with electronic devices. That kind of life, where you feel so pressured to be perfect and look perfect is the same as hell to me.

In contrast to the rich neighborhoods, when you drive through a lower-class neighborhood, you see a lot more life. You see kids playing in the sprinklers and getting dirty. You see adults relaxing and chatting in the front yards. You see pets that look less like show dogs and more rough around the edges. You see lawns that have a few too many weeds or dry patches. You see LIFE. I would much rather be in a place like that than in a house where there is nothing to do because the maid and the gardener already came and you either don't have to work because you are so rich or you have to work constantly to keep up with paying for everything you own. The poorer people know how to have fun and connect with others, and it has nothing to do with motor homes or private swimming pools.

When people use the the terms "white trash" or "hillbilly", I don't see that that as a negative. Those people may be less educated or less refined, but, all the same, I think they are exceptionally caring, kind, fun, interesting, and real. Call me crazy, but I think I would rather hang out at a backyard BBQ with the lower class than a fancy party at the mansion on the hill. All people are special in my eyes, but when you become too rich and formal, I think you loose a little bit of what it means to be alive.

The Myth Of Perfection

I wrote a little bit about perfection in my last post, but I wanted to expand on that idea some more. Perfection, in my opinion, doesn't exist, at least not on earth. God is the only thing that could be perfect, but that is a whole other discussion. What I'm trying to say is, perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The perfect day for one person is not always the same as the perfect day for another person. Measurements may seem perfect if you do them right, but there is always room for error even if it is minuscule. You could get a perfect score on a test, but tests themselves are imperfect, therefore making your score imperfect.

It is, of course, important to strive to do well in whatever you do. But perfection is something that can never be reached and will only let you down when you can't reach it. I don't even use the word perfect much at all. It is a pointless word to me unless you are talking about God, and I don't talk about God that often. I laugh to myself when I hear little kids saying they want to be perfect. If only they knew how impossible that is. I can't blame the child, though. The child only tries to do what the parent wants. It's the parents who never learned that perfection is a myth.

Different Kinds Of Beautiful

I read a blog post today about teaching children and girls in particular to love their bodies and be comfortable in their skin, and it really made me think about the obsession in society with beauty and perfection. I don't have any children yet, but you can bet I will want to teach them to love their bodies and appreciate their own talents and attributes. Mike and I always tell Bear she is beautiful, so I guess that is a little practice for teaching children to love themselves.

The blog had several suggestions for raising children with a good self-image. One was to never talk badly about your body in front of your children. Another suggestion was to monitor the media your children see. It also said it is important to show your children that you are comfortable in your own body, and to model what a normal (not photo edited) body looks like. That means talking openly about the body and not covering up or acting ashamed by your nudity.

I know that is easier said than done because I grew up in a family and religion where you were never supposed to show your naked body. I remember seeing a naked old woman in a pool locker room when I was a child and thinking it was the strangest thing I had ever seen. My family wasn't big on hugging or touching either. I'm not saying my family was bad, but I want something different for my children. I don't want them to feel like they are ashamed of the way they look or that they are afraid to ask for a hug. I feel nakedness and imperfection is OK, and I want my children to understand that as well.

Teaching children to be comfortable with their bodies is no easy task in today's world of over-the-top sexuality and obsessive perfection. They are bombarded by influences and pressures from friends and media. But parents can do a lot by celebrating differences and strengths and frequently letting their children know how beautiful they are. I hope I will someday be that parent who has taught their child self-confidence and love and tolerance for others.

Pretty But Deadly

It was the 4th of July recently and as much as I love this country, I don't always like how people celebrate our independence. Fireworks are all good, but I do have a couple of problems with them. For one thing, I think fireworks should only be allowed on one day - the 4th of July. In my neighborhood, some people were setting off fireworks well into the night for days before and after the 4th. I get that they want to celebrate, but it gets old really fast when you are trying to sleep and all you hear are dozens of explosions. There is really no need to celebrate more than one day. I think some people just like to blow things up and they are not celebrating anything at all. In that case it's selfish and rude to be bothering neighbors at night.

Another thing I don't like about fireworks is the pollution they produce. I once heard that fireworks on the 4th put a huge amount of pollution into the air. Doesn't it seem odd that we celebrate our freedom by destroying our air? I'm not saying we should ban fireworks altogether, but maybe cities could have a limit on how many they set off. Or maybe cities that are near each other could take turns doing firework displays ever other year. Once again it comes down to moderation, something Americans seems to incapable of. I'm sure nothing will be done about firework pollution until the situation is dire. Oh well. At least we have an excess of pretty explosions to make up for our poor air quality.

A Little Recognition

Summer has been good for the soul besides the fact that it is going by way too fast. Story of my life. There just seems to be less worries and stress in the summer. Maybe all the sunshine is doing me good. If that's the case then I can certainly see why people retire in Florida or Arizona. I don't love the heat, but I could get used to less stress.

I want to write about something I have been thinking about for a few days. It has to do with lower-wage jobs. It seems to me that more and more, these types of entry-level jobs are geared towards sales. If you work as a bank teller, you are not just a teller anymore. You have to sell the bank's services. If you work at a fast food place, you can't just make food. You have to sell the latest creation. If you work in a store, you can't just stock the shelves and help customers. You have to get people to sign up for the store credit card or to buy something more than what they came in for.

I'm not trying to imply that sales are not important or that some people have a great ability to sell. I'm saying that sales seem to have become the all-important master of the business world, and everything else is secondary. That is all good and fine for people who are good at selling things. But what about those who are not? You may have tons of amazing skills, but if you don't sell you are unimportant and unrecognized. You might even loose your job if you don't become one of the sales masters.

Why is it that we all have to become sales people? What happened to focusing on a person's strengths? I know sales are what keeps businesses going, but there are many other things that contribute to the bottom line. If a fast food restaurant is dirty, no one will want to eat there. Yet the cleaning person doesn't get congratulated for helping bring customers back. If no one did the paperwork at a bank, how long do you think it would stay in business? But you don't see any employees getting congratulated for getting their paperwork done. Same thing goes for retail stores. If no one worked to display products, would any customers come and shop there? I don't think so.

All I'm saying is, yes, sales are important, but they are not the most important. Nothing is. You see, a business is like a machine where all the parts are working together. Take out one part and the whole machine breaks down. All the parts are important and all should be recognized as such.

Sucky Dinner

Last night Mike and I went out to dinner at The Prairie Schooner. We had never been there before, so we were excited when we went in and it was decorated to look like covered wagons encircling a camp fire. There was a stuffed mountain lion, stuffed bear, camp fire, cactus, and Indian statue, among other things. All that made for a great atmosphere. But, as we all know, restaurants are not only about atmosphere. They are about food.

When we got our menus, the sticker shock set in immediately. Almost everything on the menu was above $25, and most of it was in the $40 range. Well, we decided to stay and order something on the cheaper side and see if it was as amazing as the price implied. NOT-EVEN-CLOSE. The first thing they brought was a loaf of bread and butter. It was OK, but certainly nothing to rave about. By the time I got my salad, I knew the place would not impress. The salad was a small heap of iceberg lettuce, sprinkled with a few peas and THREE tiny croutons, and a ragged slice of beet. That's all. No fancy lettuce or sprouts. No cheese or tomatoes or cucumbers. I could have made a much better salad at home for WAY less money.

When the main course arrived, we had lost all hope of a good meal. Mike had ordered a seafood salad as his main course and it looked like a slightly larger version of my starter salad except it also had two large shrimp on top and some unidentified chopped-up substance on the side. $12 for that masterpiece. My "1/2 pound ground steak" turned out to be the same as a hamburger patty covered in gravy. That was one of the cheapest things I could find on the menu for $16.

Some people might argue that if we had only spent the money on the more expensive items, we might have gotten better food. I don't think that is the case. If you go to an expensive restaurant, EVERYTHING on the menu should be great, not just a few things. Expensive translates into a great chef and great food, otherwise you are going to go out of business. I could get food that is 10 times better at a quarter of the cost at other restaurants. Why would I ever go back to Prairie Schooner?

We let the hostess know that we didn't like our meal and she was very apologetic. She said we should have told our server so they could have fixed it. What she didn't understand is that there is no fix for poor-quality food other than lowering the price. She gave us a coupon for a free appetizer with PURCHASE of an entree. Needless to say, that coupon will never be used unless the menu gets a complete overhaul. The service what not bad, so I suggest the staff start looking for someplace better.

Plumber Freedom

A couple of weeks ago our toilet flooded for the SECOND TIME since we have lived here. I'm sure it makes Mike and I look bad like we are flushing some crazy stuff down the toilet, but I swear to you we do not abuse that toilet in any way. It just likes to overflow once in a while so that we have to give it attention. Toilets are needy.

Let me tell you just how fun it was when I discovered the latest wrath of the toilet. I had just woken up at an ungodly hour to get ready for work and as a shuffled in a sleepy stupor into the bathroom, I made it halfway to the toilet before I noticed something wasn't right. Then I felt the cold wetness creeping into my slippers and an equally cold realization crept into my head.....the toilet had flooded during the night. Surprisingly, I didn't freak out because the only good thing about having your toilet flood is having a landlord to pass the problem off to. I woke up Mike and he called the landlord and by noon we had a plumber over. He said roots were blocking the pipes, possibly from the neighbor's tree or left over from the trees we used to have in our yard. He could unclog the drain, but the clog would likely return if ALL THE PIPES where not replaced. So much for a simple fix. I don't know if the landlord will ever have the THOUSANDS of dollars it would take to replace the pipes, but until then I was instructed - no Charmin toilet paper and no flushing tampons. I don't care about Charmin, but being a women, I am slightly annoyed with the tampon thing. Oh well. I guess it's the least I can do to be free from having to pay a plumber.

Living The SIM Life

I have never been big on video games. I like a little Mario, or Donkey Kong, or Zuma, or Amplitude here and there, but I'm never yearning for the next game to come out like some people do. However, there is one game that has stood the test of time - SIMS. If you don't know what SIMS is then you must live in a dark hole somewhere. For all you hole-dwellers, SIMS is a game where you make a character and you live an ordinary life with that character. You eat, sleep, work, travel, play etc.

Some people may wonder what is so great about living an ordinary life in video game form. The answer is simply because you can be anything you want to be without fear of real-world consequences. Have you always wanted to be a doctor, but couldn't do it? Never fear! Your SIM can be a doctor! Do you want to be thinner, more attractive, a better kisser, more charismatic? Your SIM can be all those things! The great thing about the SIMS is you can live a million different lifetimes as a million different people. You can be what you wish you could be in real life. You can do what you could never do in the real world.

Don't get me wrong. I know SIMS is only escapism. It doesn't make you a better person, and it can actually do a lot of damage to your real life if you let it suck you in too far. I guess it is not so different from other video games in that respect. Video games may only be an escape, but it sure feels good to escape once in a while.

Taking The Heat

It is now officially hot enough to use air conditioning. That doesn't mean 'Oh I feel a little warm, I think I would like a little breeze.' That means 'OH MY GOD! I am going to die if I don't get some cold air right this instant!' Of course you never think it will be that way. Somehow I always forget the true strength of summer heat. It's kind of like how you forget pain. You don't seem to remember the pain of that sickness or injury until it happens again and then you think 'Oh yeah! Now I remember how hellish this is!' I don't think women would ever have more than one child if they remembered the pain of childbirth.

I think being too hot is close to, if not the same as pain. You get too hot and you're dizzy, you can't focus, you can't think, you feel sick to your stomach. All you want to do is get cool. I am actually a little frightened by those walk-in ovens they have in bakeries. What could be worse than getting stuck in one of those and heated to death? Nothing.

So now that I have established how horrible heat can be, let me tell you how the air conditioning in my car is BROKEN. It's not even completely broken. It is just broken enough to tease you with a few minutes of fabulously cold air and then smack you in the face with disgusting hot air. Thanks air conditioner. Thanks for giving me hope that you might work and then ripping it away within minutes.

The part of me that forgets pain thinks that I don't need air conditioning. That part of me says, "Just roll down the windows and everything will be fine! People have lived for thousands of years without air conditioning, so you should have no problem doing it!" But when I am actually driving in the car and it is over 90 degrees outside, all the memories come flooding back and my body tells me, "How did people ever survive this?! I'm never going to make it home! Having the windows down does nothing! COLD AIR, I NEED AIR!" So much for taking the heat. I hate to admit that surviving without air conditioning is HARD.

The Perils Of Lawn Care

I can't say that I have much to write about at the moment. Maybe that's because I have been loving the nice weather and wanting to be outside more than on the computer, blogging. But with that nice weather comes yard work. I actually don't mind yard work since I worked in the yard from a young age with my dad. But since I rent my place, it's hard to feel super excited about making it beautiful. When I own something I will go to great lengths to take care of it. When I borrow something, I will respect it, but I won't go all-out on fixing it up. That's how it is with my lawn. I will water it and mow it and even weed it a little, but I'm not going to spend a lot of time or money making it 'home & garden magazine' good. If I owned it you better believe my neighbors would be jealous of how good it looked.

The lawn mower that I use certainly doesn't make it easy to have a beautiful lawn. It's a loner from the landlord, and when I say loner I mean 'piece of junk no one else would ever want'. It's a bitch to start and even when you do get it started it sounds like it might fall to pieces at any second. I'm pretty sure most of the controls don't work. I just try to adjust them so that it makes the least amount of concerning noises. There is also no grass-catcher, so you either get covered in cut grass shooting out the back, or the thing gets clogged and you have to stop and help it give birth to a large grass clump. Not that it would matter even if I had a good mower. For some reason my lawn is insanely bumpy. When I mow it I feel like I am on a ride that is way too rough and not at all fun.

Weed-whacking is no easy task either. Not that I have a weed-whacker, but I borrowed my brother's once just to see if it could help the lawn look slightly better. (It couldn't.) But the thing with weed-whacking is that you have to be Hercules to start it up. In other words, you have to hold it straight out in the air with ONE HAND while you yank the cord with your other hand. Those things may look light, but my left hand will confirm that it's like trying to hold a microwave with one hand while pushing all kinds of buttons with the other hand. NOT POSSIBLE. Needless to say, I didn't take to weed-whacking. I guess if I ever get my own yard I'll have to find something like a child-size weed-whacker.