Let's start 'em mudslinging when they're young

milestone pictures

Here are some of my favorite serial pictures from our last round:























Here's another-- this is a real milestone for Jaws. She was so jubilant the other day, when she found that if she stretched herself as faaaaaaar as possible, she could just get to the keys.

















This last one, I got in the mail today. I can't say too much about it, I'm too scared to really speculate at this point. But I thought I should post it, just to chronicle what either may the beginning of something fantastic, or just a nice little notch in my belt of experience as a would-be author.

Cross your fingers for me.

Donut

OK, I had to LOL at this one.

You Are a Powdered Devil's Food Donut

A total sweetheart on the outside, you love to fool people with your innocent image. On the inside you're a little darker, richer, and more complex. You're a hedonist who demands more than one pleasure at a time. Decadent and daring, you test the limits of human indulgence.

What Donut Are You?

7 wierd things

I've been Tagged, so that means I get to write seven weird things about myself. Eh hem. Here goes.


7) My dream career is to star in the role of Eponine in Les Miserables. Yes, I have a burning secret desire to die onstage and sing angry belty music.

6) I don't know how to use toilet bowl cleaner. I grew up using the good ol' kitchen knife. (pauses for collected groan of disgust). I put one of those tank tablets in the bowl by mistake, fastidiously following the directions to let it sink to the right hand side (it just went down into the deep hollow at the bottom, of course. I knew, logically, that this would happen, but because the directions told me to drop it in that way I thought that maybe they were special magic tablets that would somehow stick to the side of the bowl). And then I flushed, and my toilet overflowed randomly for two weeks. We had house guests.

5) I love, love love, the princess diaries. (the book, not the movie). And also, I love nancy drew and the sweet valley twins and the babysitter's club. I don't read them anymore out of shame, but I didn't stop until I was 21.

4) I don't shave my legs above the knee all winter. Usually. And sometimes not during the summer, either. Usually I'll do a marathon shave if I know I'm gonna have to appear somewhere in a bathing suit, but that's it. (Thank goodness i married a birkenstock-wearer.)

3) When I lived at home, I used to gross my sisters out by running after them with boogers streaming from my nostrils. (OK-- that was a major confession. You people who I tag better come up with some serious material.) Also I used to dive into our murky, green swimming pool in the middle of the winter with my sunday clothes on to make my sisters laugh.

This information is now deleted from all of your mental databanks.

2) I drive a bird-poop covered, 96 red intrepid. It's not just your average one or two embarrassing spots on the windshield or roof, we're talking more than a hundred white and brown splotches at any given time, all over the roof, the trunk, the windshield, and some on the doors and passenger windows. The reason: we park under a tree. It's the only spot to park on our lot. We live on a little bit of acreage in the middle of a suburban cement park, and so all the birds come live with us. (all the cats, too-- I've seen, like, five different ones just sauntering casually around our doorstep. Too bad we're vegetarians.) ANyway, no matter how we wash or clean our car, it's poop covered by noon the next day.

I try to avoid looking at people in the parking lot.

1) When I was 14 years old, I had a major crush on my bishop. And once I had a dream that I was his polygamous wife. An innocent dream-- nothing sensual or anything, I just wore this weird looking red jumper and cleaned his floors-- but it really shook me up and I got over the crush soon thereafter.


OK, now y'all know some incriminating things about me-- so I need to get some people back. Lucy, Noelle, Janelle, Sherpa, Jeremy, Garry, Maren-- you're up.

New Linky

One of Skylwalker's old friends just started a blog. I have decided to add his blog to my blogroll because he is also an avid Dave Barry fan, and us Barryites need to stick together.


Dave for president!!

(well, only if Mitt Loses the nomination.)

Why I love Skywalker

So, Last night, (don't worry, this doesn't get TMI) Skyalker and I went to the adult session of stake conference.


We brought Loli and Jaws with us, as we had no babysitter (our babysitting quota having been used this week for the purposes of temple attendance. So we went to the primary room and listened in there while Jaws and Loli chased each other around the room (crawling. Jaws is getting pretty fast by the way, especially when she's playing a tag game with Loli-- that little bundle's got fierce competitive drive, let me tell you).

Anyway, in the middle of conference, I looked up at the ceiling of the primary room and saw the outlines of glow-in-the-dark star stickers all over it. So I called Loli to me and said in a hushed voice, "Loli, want to see something really cool?"

"Yes."

I flicked the lights off, and her eyes went round at the starry constellations above us.


And then Skylalker spread a blanket on the floor, and all four of us lay down on it and looked up at them. It felt like we were outside (except, instead of being a killer 6 degrees, it was a nice, warm 78).

We stargazed during Stake Conference. And he didn't care, and I didn't care, and even if someone came in the room and saw us, neither of us would have cared.

That's why I love Skywalker.

Government: Self or Other?

By the people, for the people, of the people. Do you really believe that?

Recently, my dear Skywalker and I have been having some political discussions. Usually, our political discussions remain friendly, but occasionally I get upset and him and vice versa. It’s understandable—I guess I’d have to classify myself as a Democrat if I were to classify myself as something.

And Skywalker, when pressed, calls himself an Independent, with libertarian sympathies.

So yes, we are at odds politically. But the odd thing is, we espouse many of the same beliefs about what we think America needs.

We both believe that the destitute need help from those who have more than they need.

We both believe that unemployment is a real problem.

We both believe that we should have a very real sense of stewardship about our environment, and that we should live our lives in such a way that we do not waste or pollute our precious resources.

We both feel that religion and government should not encroach upon one another.

We both believe that the Great Depression was a social/economic event that required intervention on the part of the government, although we differ somewhat in opinion as to whether the New Deal was the best sort of intervention.

We both believe that women and minorities should have the same rights as everyone else in society.

We both believe that the American rate of consumption is out of control, and ought to be checked somehow.

We both hate health insurance companies.

We both like Mitt Romney.

So—any of you out there, read all these things. Republican, Democrat, Green Party, Libertarian party, American Communist party—

How many of these do you agree with? I’m willing to bet that a surprising number would agree with many of them.

The difference that Skywalker and I have is this—implementation. Skywalker believes that to give government control over any/all of these issues, is wrong. That the government would then be forcing someone to do something that he/she should be free to choose to do or not, of their own accord. Skywalker believes that, when government starts mandating such things as how much we give to the poor by enacting laws that take a certain percentage from our paycheck, for instance, nobody is blessed because they’re forced to give, and it’s inherently wrong because it encroaches upon the rights of a certain group of people—those who have more. And that those who have less need to be taken care of, yes, but that it should be done of the community’s own free will and choice and that a community can best know and meet its own needs anyway, without direct governmental oversight.

Basically, to Skywalker, government is an other. Government taking away from his paycheck means that someone else is taking away from his paycheck. To him, government is not a pure representation of the people/will. It’s sluggish and so changes don’t happen quickly enough to adequately represent the people’s current preferences, and politicians also push their own agendas (That's why government should be simple, it's slow and protecting the basics.)

As our founding fathers believed, proper government protects the people from tyranny (inasmuch as the government is not tyrannical). It provides law and order, and insures basic freedoms, but otherwise should mainly be in place to simply empower the people to become what they will. And occasionally it is all right for government to mandate a little social responsibility. For instance: environmental protections for future generations.




I see it a little differently. To me, government is self (me). I am a part of my government. I vote, I participate. If I want, I can write letters to my senator or congressman. I can make a big stink about something, and if it’s something truly wrong and important, I will find others who feel the same way, and we will inevitably make an impact on decisions made in congress and ultimately, in government.

We shape government. And so, when “government” takes from my paycheck, I believe that it’s not so much someone else taking my money. By accepting American Citizenship, I ( meaning, myself as a part of the voting population) have agreed to follow what the majority desires. And the majority has voted to give up a piece of pay in order to protect their futures/ alleviate the suffering of the homeless. I accept that majority vote, and so I willingly participate in it, even if I didn't agree personally with that particular mandate. I have an inherrent faith that the American people will eventually choose the thing that will make the most people happy. And so, most of the time, I will be happy with what is chosen as well.

Two different views. Neither is selfish or irresponsible. Just different— with the same desired results.

What are you? Do you think of government as self, other, or something in between? And how do you feel about the way that our current government is representing the American population?

What do you think we could do better? See, to me, that’s the clincher. When people complain about government, I usually don’t hear them say anything about what they think we could do to make it better. I think that it’s unproductive to complain unless we have an idea of how to improve. Complaints are to catch the attention of those who can change things.

So—you have my attention. What should we be doing differently?

All about Jaws

Jaws is my little 8 month old. Her name stems from her precocious acquirement of teeth. And yes, I'm still nursing her. I'd like a hand, ladies and gentlemen.

Jaws is precocious in other ways, too. She was active from day 1. She didn't fuss too much as a newborn, but she'd wiggle a lot-- to express excitement, displeasure, or just to get attention. She has continued this trend. At 5 months, she sat alone. At 6 1/2, she was crawling a little. Now, she crawls ferociously, at a rate of about 8 feet per second, it seems. Right now, she's experimenting with

and getting very good at it.






Did I mention that she's a munchkin? She's a short little thing, but she's nice and round. We like her that way-- she's a very happy baby.







She's also very social. She loves her sister










And cousins










and dad .





She's also a very helpful child. Her helpful endeavors range from rearranging the spanish moss in our potted plants (and thoughtfully consuming some nutritious dietary fiber so that mom doesn't have to mess with solid foods too much) (just kidding) to toilet plunging (that's a new plunger, btw)





to driving the car.


We're gonna have to start charging her for gas.