Happy Campaignin’ Birthday

Happy Birthday to my Mom!  Because I know you love a good political discussion, I decided to put you in the grand finale of this popular new Jib Jab video.  Thanks for raising me right, I love you!

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Magic Family Vehicle

The gas light flipped on today in my mini van.  I was already running late to meet Rob for lunch with the kids (Now that it’s summer, we try to have lunch with him near his office at least once a week), so the numbers I was about to see didn’t help my mood.  I pulled into the gas station near my house and filled up.  It cost $78.00! –Choke, gasp.– I remember back in high school filling the tank of the family Buick for $20.00.  Am I really that old already?

Now that our van is over a decade old and is starting to fade (I have to close the driver door by pulling on the window frame because the bolt holding the handle on is stripped and the handle is wobbly, the rear window doesn’t work, one door is a weird unmatching yellow/white color because of a bad paint match at the body shop, the CD player gets stuck constantly and takes several tries to even read the CD, the clips for the sun visors have broken, the doors will only unlock with a remote or if the key is held at just the right angle in the passenger door, not at all if you try the driver door… etc.) I know the time will inevitably come for a new family car.   It wouldn’t take much to beat the 13.8 mpg I’m getting in the Plymouth Grand Voyager, but even the best rated mini vans don’t seem to have great gas mileage.  Hopefully our trusty van will hold together for another year or more until the magic family vehicle is on the market. Maybe there is a better option for a family of six already out there.  Anyone have a favorite family car?  Tell me about it!

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Citrus

On Saturday we went to the Festival of Flight at Orange County’s Great Park.  There is a huge orange hot air balloon that gives people rides straight up and and down for a view of the area. Unfortunately for us the event was pretty popular and the time slots for a ride were all filled two hours after the festival started.  We walked around and saw the different displays, made birdseed art and got some free frisbees. There was also a place to make a simple kite, but the line was super long, and Sabrina was super cranky, so we decided to pass on that one.  The park was also giving out free frozen orange sorbet in orange peel bowls- yum!

 

 

We also got the lemonade stand and the kids set it up for the first time yesterday. The neighbors got in on it too, and there are plans to try again today… Fun!

 

 

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California and Marriage

In November California voters will be given the opportunity to add to the California Constitution.  The wording of the amendment will make it clear that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman.  My church’s Proclamation On the Family is clear that this is how God intends marriage to be. I hope to provide some information on this topic until it is time to vote.  To start I will quote ProtectMarriage.com which my church and my family is supporting:

Why It’s Needed:

1.  Children need the love of both a father and a mother.  The body of research-proof is overwhelming and consistent.

2.  Traditional marriage deserves protection because of its contributions to societal well-being.  The historic purpose for governmental recognition of marriage has been about children and society, not the relationship of two adults.

3.  Expanding the definition of marriage by including homosexual relationships adds to the continued disregard for marriage’s ultimate purpose. Where it has been legalized, same-sex marriage decreases the total number of marriages while increasing illegitimacy. Nine European nations have had same-sex marriage since the early 90s—and just 2 percent of same-sex couples in these countries ever bother to marry, while there has been a 46 percent increase in out-of-wedlock births.

4.  Expanding the definition of marriage begs the question: Why stop at same-sex couples?  What legal basis would remain to limit the number of partners in marriage?

5.  Legalizing same-sex marriage necessarily mandates changes to all California public-school curriculum.  Children will be subjected to a mandatory acceptance of homosexuality and all of its practices.  Public school curriculum will actively discriminate against the values of the majority of its community’s families.

6.  Religious freedom has been the cornerstone of success for the United States of America.  It is naïve to believe that when acceptance of same-sex marriage is legislatively or judicially forced upon citizens via employment law, education, or other government mandates, rights of religious liberty won’t decrease.

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I Ate Blueberry Yogurt

About five years ago, I was eating my lunch which included a cup of blueberry yogurt.  It was Kroger brand, not my favorite Yoplait, but we were in law school at the time and living off of student loans so I went for the generic.  About half way through I put a spoonful of yogurt in my mouth and felt something wrong.  It was about the size of a blueberry, but too hard to be one. I worked it toward the front of my mouth and picked it out to take a look. To my horror what I was holding between my fingers was a beetle! A black one with little legs sticking out the sides. Disgusting!  I immediately jumped up and started spitting into the kitchen sink, rinsing my mouth with water and trying to keep myself from gagging. I was seriously traumatized by it.  I’m one of those people that gets nauseated watching those reality shows where they eat bugs and have to look away or leave the room completely. It would take an awful lot of money to convince me that eating a bug was worth it.

I made Rob call the quality control line on the container, and of course they apologized and sent me a coupon in the mail a couple weeks later.  It was for $10.00 worth of Kroger products. Also included was a letter that explained how when dealing with fruit little bugs or twigs inevitably get into it. So, not much of an apology, and um, I really don’t want any more Kroger products right now.  I kept that little bug in a ziploc in my freezer for several months with the intention of sending it to the CEO with a letter daring him or her to eat that bug for $10.00. But my evil plan eventually died out and I threw the bug in the trash.

However my fear of blueberry yogurt has remained with me.  I even had a hard time eating things like blueberry pie for a while, but would do it with small bites carefully examined before consumption. Occasionally I would buy the Yoplait brand of yogurt daring myself to try again.  But it usually would end up sitting in the fridge until it was way past it’s selling date, and I would throw it away.  But I finally did it.  Last week I bought some Yoplait blueberry yogurt and ate the whole thing.  There was a lot of mixing and staring at each spoonful, but I did it! I am one step closer to conquering my fear. Woo Hoo!

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