We hate anti-religion!

I don’t know if you remember the part from the movie “Clue” (Terrific movie!) where the character Mrs. White (hee hee hee, Mrs. White!) says “Flames, Flames… I hated her soooo, much!” Well, that’s about how I’m feeling right now. I’m so flaming mad I could breathe fire, I think!

I just saw a news clip with Bill Maher, about his new movie about religion. Apparently it is mocking religion. I don’t watch or know Bill Maher, and I actually only saw the last 45 seconds as I was channel surfing while using my fabulous elliptical machine. I cannot tell you how disturbed I was!! He actually said that we are the last civilization still clinging to religion and we need to shed it if mankind is to advance! We need to shed religion for Mankind to advance?!! Wow! I mean, Wow! This might not disturb me quite so much (no, not true, it would still have floored me!) but I am reading the final book in the Golden Compass, his Dark Materials trilogy. Yikes.

There was just so much controversy about the book and the movie and I decided to read them.
Yikes again! I might have been okay to just read and be entertained, if I hadn’t gotten all the background and arguments about it beforehand. I admit that I have no respect or love of the Catholic Church, and mainly his books are anti-Catholic, but some of the stuff in them!!! The fact that there are 2 angles that are implied to be gay, that they are “fallen” angels, who were the ones who were cast out of heaven , and yet supposedly had bodies? The fact that he writes that god was merely a higher ranking angel who claimed to have created the world, but didn’t actually, and that he is the reason for sin and unhappiness….. Ug. He has the characters visit the place where the dead go, and its just soulless nothingness, and that’s all god’s fault- he put them there, and they must escape to be released into energy particles to be happy. Religion lied to them about where they would go and it wasn’t true. The “good” people were not sent to heaven, they all went to the same miserable place and god is the reason they are stuck there.

His plot is that the original war in heaven should not have been won by “god”, and it must be refought- which is what they are leading up to right now. I’m half way through the last book right now, and I’m only finishing it because I want to know how it ends. I’m so annoyed that there is no mention of Satan, or Christ. Just that the god is not really god, and is old and fallible. He calls him “The Authority”. And that’s what the church is called too. Atrocities are committed by both and that’s the reason man is unhappy. Oh, and the characters will be tempted again, as Eve. So there must be a new War, and if the “right” side wins this new war, then man will be free and happy. That irritates me. That and the whole idea that religion and god is what is corrupt and evil. Yes, that is really what bothers me the most. He is saying that god and religion is what makes people miserable and enslaved. Does he not know there is a huge difference between God and the religions that represent Him?

Can you tell that this book is getting to me?!! It really is. Dan is getting tired of me making him listen while I read parts that astound me (not in a good way). And I do think that this would not bother me if I had just picked it up to read. (I did like the movie.) But knowing how controversial it was, I apparently am reading it as a personal attack on religion. Ug. And to hear that Bill Maher thinks that religion is silly and something we need to stop clinging to?! Are you kidding me?!

This concludes my venting session today. I will mention that I am profoundly grateful to know the truth about religion, and to have it. I am grateful to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and to know that I have free will and the ability to choose for myself. I love that my church encourages me to go to the source, to ask God Himself if the things I am hearing are true. I love that I can know for myself, and I am glad that I do. I may worry about what is happening to this country, where people think we need to eradicate religion and mock those who believe, but I know who I am, I know that all that is good and right comes from God, and I will never shed my religion.
The end!

Fun in DC!

This is where we went yesterday. If you are into planes, it would be worth it. However, for 4 children, age 7 and under, it was almost not worth the hour+ drive and the $12 parking. I had hoped for something interactive or hands on, but alas, there was not.

There were some amazing displays and cool miniatures to look at. There were 500 different kinds of flying things there and there was a lot of super-cool stuff. I'm talking, they had the actual planes, helicoptors, experimental craft and space shuttle there! There was a commercial airliner, an actual space shuttle (Enterprise), military air craft, and lots of other neat things.

See Marian, she cried for half of the trip. She was not impressed or interested in looking at things. See Callie, she's grumpy too. She was hiding and complaining. Of course, they were hungry. It was a long drive and it was lunch time and the McDonald's there has a good 50% mark up. This is just so you know when you decide to go!

It was a cool place. It really was. Unfortunately, I was distracted by children who are not as cultured and refined as myself and that means I did not get to look at all the stuff I would have liked to. Next time I will go alone!

Oh, and it was Dan's birthday this week. He's catching up to me! Its part of the 8 months where he is only a year younger than me!

I made him Jello Poke Cake, like he always requests and it was darn tasty! 2 days later there is none left. Sigh.

Callie Faces

Callie cracks me up. We took Dan's car to the Commissary and she snagged his BYU hat and was wearing it. It was so cute. But when I wanted to get a nice, cute picture of her in the hat, this is what I got.....

Yep, that's my girl. Adorable, silly and one-of-a-kind!

My Boy

This is my boy. Yes, my SEVEN year old boy. My sweet, funny, make-faces-for-the-camera boy. Do you know what he is doing here?! He is talking to a GIRL. Yes, the cute, outgoing girl who sits next to him in English class gave him her number and he called her. Twice that day. I think I am afraid. Very afraid. Only partly because of the horrible red-eye in this picture, and partly because my little boy is growing up. Okay, actually, the growing up part is good. I'm just not sure about the calling girls thing.

Its okay, they are just friends. I promise!

Things that make me happy!

This right here warms my heart. When I read to the kids I have about a 3 story limit. Dan is a little nicer. I love that he enjoys spending time with his girls, and I love that they have a good time with him. He took each of them out for some special time. Marian's favorite part was getting Slurpees and bringing some home to share. Callie's favorite thing was having ice cream with Daddy.

I like this funny kid. When she smiles around that thumb, it is the cutest thing ever. I know, someday I'll be sad that she is a thumb sucker, but right now I still like it!

This right here is what makes my life perfect. These funny, silly, adorable kids! It was the Primary Program in Church yesterday and so they all dressed especially nice. Joshua and Marian sang every song and gave their parts nice and clearly. I was so proud! And Callie sang along to some of the songs while sitting in my lap. Quite cute. This is the gang before church yesterdy. They definately make me happy, when they aren't making me want to pull out my hair!

This was their silly face shot. And Delaney was on her way outta there.

And now I'm off to my favorite time of day. Naptime! Delaney's naptime.... and sometimes mine too.

I am Invincible

Yes, yes I am invincible! I am unconquered! I took myself back to Lowe's this morning and got a new toilet handle and lever. And I made sure it was the right kind! I thought I was going to have to pay $18 for the super fancy universal one, but then I saw the $6 bendable one and I went with that. Whoo-hoo!

I came home and read for a while before I tackled the job. The stupid water shut off valve so does not shut it off! I filled 2 buckets and used 3 towels to get all the water. Still, I persevered. I turned off the water, unscrewed the hose, set my bucket under the gushing stream and wrestled out the nasty old pump valve. And it was icky. Then I installed my new plastic one without the big balloon thing on it. Pretty nifty!

I don't know how I managed to trun this sideways, but here is my shiny new pump valve! It matches my new flapper valve so nicely!

Check out this corroded balck thing. That's what billows oily black nastyness when you touch it, and I am not even going to mess with that. It can wait. Well, I hope it can wait. It may be why the water leaks, but I am so not touching it! I did MY duty!

And here is my lovely new toilet innards. See my new bendable toilet handle?! I may need to adjust it some more. It lets the flapper valve close too quickly. So far, nothing is leaking water anywhere, but I'll keep an eye on it. I'm quite impressed with myself! $15 and I fixed my toilet. I think I am so cool!

And in other news:

I let the kids go on a little treasure hunt. Sometimes I give a series of clues to find it, but I was lazy today. I hid something in the house and said go find it, and off they went.
These funny glasses were their "treasure"! Aren't they a hoot?! Yes, Callie has no pants. That's what happens when I go to Lowe's and leave Daddy in charge. He's not yet back into the Daddy-groove yet.

Toilet: 2: Rebecca: 1

Soooo, the toilet has had a very minor drip thing going on. It would run a little at odd times. No problem till we got our first water bill. Oh yes, now it matters! I thought perhaps it was a do-it-yourself project and inlisted my Dad's help. I went out and bought a new flapper valve and felt impressed with myself.


2 weeks later, my new flapper valve is still in the wrapper. Callie tries to flush the toilet and the handle broke. Actually, the plastic part directly on the other side of the handle sheared right off. Thus, flushing by handle became an impossibility.


Joshua and I headed to Lowe's for a Mommy/Son date. I felt quite important as I picked out a shiny new handle. Actually, I let Joshua pick it out. I thought perhaps I should replace pump thing as well, since it was pretty old. So I selected a new one, and we brought our prizes home.

Here is the back of my toilet. I know, you are thoroughly impressed. This was taken BEFORE that plastic bar broke. I needed this to help choose my flapper valve 2 weeks ago. This is just so you know what I started with. I am now prepared and motivated and I get to work.


That means I called my Dad to walk me through it. He says to turn off the water at the base. I turn and turn and turn till it won't go any more. There is still water trickling out of the thing; this is not good. No worries, I'll deal with it later! I wow myself by removing the old flapper valve and replacing it with my beautiful new one.

Check it out. (I had to get orange/red because they didn't offer blue.) Motivated by my success in this endevour, I move on to the broken handle issue. Oops. To my dismay the handle is so not going to work. It is for a SIDE mounted toilet and this one clearly is not side mounted. It is a funky not-quite-side-not-quite-front mounted kind. Ug. I am disgusted. I will have to go back tomorrow and see if I can get the correct part. In the mean time I gear myself to tackle this:

Yes, this ugly, rusty thing must go, and I am ready to do it. I prepare my bucket and with herculean effort I unscrew the nut at the bottom of the toilet. Since the wall valve would not shut off all the way, there is a continuous stream of water flowing into my bucket. I feel the pressure; I'm on a time line to get this done before the bucket fills.

No problem, I am a Marine wife; I can do it! I pull and strain and do my best to work the original hunk of ugliness out and I cannot do it. I fear that I might truly break the toilet, so didn't give it my absolute best, but that darn thing was not coming out. I reach down to the base ans as soon as my fingers touch it, black nastyness erupts. What is that?! It was icky and all over my fingers, and clouding the toilet. That was the breaking point. The toilet had won. Unfortunately, it was not done. I had to rescrew the leaking hose back to the toilet and I could not get it on. My trusty Marine had to take over and do that for me.

So, I got the flapper valve on. I did not get the handle fixed and I did not get the pump thingy fixed, and the dadgummed thing leaks and inked me! I admit defeat for the time being. However, tomorrow is another day!

Sabatouge

It must be sabatouge!! First the lawn mower thingy falls off. Now, tonight, the toilet handle has broken off. Who wants to lift the back lid every time you need to flush?! Aargh. I have called my Dad, the wise one who knows all. He will tell me if it is something I can fix, and then I will tell you!

Independence

Does anyone know what this is? I do not. I know where it came from though. On Monday I mowed the lawn. Yes, yes I did. I raked the back yard and I picked prickly gum balls out of the lawn. Then I mowed the front. It was sorely in need of it. I was nearly done when this item fell off. Yep, just fell off into the lovely, fresh-mowed grass. I thought "Huh!" and I continued to mow, because I was not going to have a half done lawn if I could help it! Aparently it is not a vitally important part, because I finished mowing the lawn. I'm thinking it may have been a muffler, because that mower was darn loud! I did not press my luck however and I did not mow the back yard. I'll save that bit of fun for Dan!

My point was that I feel quite impressed with myself. I hate it when Dan is gone. Sure, I like watching chick-flicks unmocked, and eating all the ice cream before Dan can, but I prefer to have him around. I hate taking out the trash. I absolutely detest it. I do not mind mowing the lawn, its the child-care that's an issue. I hate being the only one to drag kids back to their own beds in the middle of the night and I hate cooking for 4 unappreciative children. Plus, it is nice to relax and have grown up conversation in the evenings when the little tykes are in bed.

It is gratifing to know I can do it alone though. Lanie's husband was impressed that I beat them to church on Sunday, and they only have 2 children. Yes, there is much satisfaction in that! I am happy that my children are all content and well behaved, most of the time. Dan gone last week and this week has not been as bad as I feared. Sure, Joshua is still complaining about Spanish class, but I notice that his work is getting better. Marian is happy at school and is eager to go. Callie is enjoying preschool and is making friends. Delaney is just her cute self.

And I look at this and think, yes, I am happy; this is the life I would have picked if I could have. I love that I do not have to work. I am delighted that I get to stay home with my children and see them learn and grow. I have 4 fantastic children who I adore, and a wonderful husband who is totally underappreciated. I am incredibly blessed and grateful for the way my life is turning out.

And that's so not what I planned to write when I sat down. But now I have to go get dinner out of the oven. We made tin foil dinners! Its the first time and I'm hoping they will eat it because they made it!

I love my girls

The girls are feeling neglected. I will make it clear that I love my girls. I do. They are cute and adorable and incredible different in every way!

I love that this one marches to the beat of her own drum. I love that she nearly always operates on an even keel. She's very mellow and self entertaining. She has an incredible, vivid imagination, and when she's pleased with herself it makes my heart sing. When she gets motivated and helps out, cleaning her room, she is amazing! Did you know she will arrange her blankets and stuffed animals to look nice?! She even arranges the slippers under the bed. Very detail oreinted, is my Marian!


I love this kid. She is in a class of her own, with her sparkly eyes and happy grin.

She is so mischevious and silly. When she smiles it makes the world brighter. She makes the funniest jokes because they are so not jokes at all and make no sense what so ever. that's why I laugh at them. I love how when her face lights up, it really makes everything around her light up. She has such a happy disposition and wants to be involved. She loves to help and to be loved.

I love this one too. She has been my most enjoyable baby. But now she's not such a baby anymore!

This one is an interesting contrast of caution and fearlessness. She wants to do whatever the big kids are doing. See this picture? That's my girl- way up high on this pretty tall slide, just a-swinging away, no care for the possibility of death or dismemberment. However, bring out a puppy and she cowers behind me. She is a tender hearted girl. When Callie was having a meltdown, Delaney brought over her blanket to comfor her. When Callie sat down and refused to follow me, Delaney walked over and held out her hand so Callie would hold it and walk with her. It so melts my heart to see these sweet acts of kindness and I hope she always has that impulse and follows it.

And now let me mention what we're enduring right now. I have lost control of bedtime. Marian use to put herself to sleep. Callie use to play quietly and then would fall asleep. Ever since we got here, One or both of them ends up on my floor at night, and Marian has still not spent an entire night in her bed. Last week both of them wanted me to pat-pat their backs for a bit. Stupid me, I did. Now they cry that I won't. Tonight I went with the tough love approach: They were in bed, I didn't want to see or hear them again.

Marian kept talking to me and I kept ignoring her and then I happened to catch the phrase, "Callie's foot is bleeding. I saw it." Well, doggone it, that I couldn't ignore. So upstairs I went and hauled Callie into the bathroom. Sure enough, her foot was bleeding.

This kid had scraped skin off 4 toes. Not a lot of bleeding, and no crying, but yikes! She said she jumped off the bed and landed on the laundry basket. I put bandaids on 3 toes, and I expect that by now they are already off, but I did my duty. And by golly, they better be asleep soon! I put them to bed at 7:30 so that they will be asleep by 8:30!

I made this!

Okay, so I had some help. It was exactly 7 years ago today that I produced this child from my very loins. Yes I did. And you may notice that his head is the size of a large melon. It was off the scale since the day he was born- September 10, 2001 at 12:30 in the morning. He weighed 8 pounds and he was 19 inches long. He was a chubby thing with a round, large head.

He was an adorable baby. Okay, not at first. 2 hours of hard pushing a Charlie Brown head out a small opening left Joshua with a puffy, featureless face with eyes that he refused to open. He didn't get cute till he was a week old.

Still, I recall being in the hosptial, the morning after he was born. I was enthralled with this scrap of life that I, yes I, had brought into this world! This miraculous thing had happened to me. The nurses came in and mentioned that I might want to turn on the news. I did. I am a little embarassed to say that I watched the news but didn't grasp what was happening. I guess no one did at first, but I was wrapped up in my tiny bundle of life, and I wasn't really interested in the fact that planes were crashing into things and that other people were dying.

During the next few weeks I got to see every second of news coverage, as they showed it over and over again. As a new mom, I was up all hours of the night. Joshy ate frequently, and at night it was always 2 hours- 30 minutes to feed him, 30 minutes to play and then an hour of trying to get him to sleep while he puked all over me. So I watched a lot of tv.

As the country remembers 9/11 tomorrow, it still pales for me in comparison to the wonderous thing that preceeded it. My very first child, who started me on this incredible journey of motherhood. This amazing child who makes me cards and wrote me the funniest poem. This kid who is excited to get to bed so he can stay up reading, who takes care of his sisters, who has the softest peach-fuzz hair, who loves garlic pasta, likes to "extercise" and read on the elliptical machine, and makes up funny lego stories involving guns and destruction. That's my boy!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

Just Kill Me Now

Dan left on Sunday for a lovely training trip for 2 weeks. Callie started preschool (co-op with 5 other moms in the ward) yesterday, and Joshua and Marian are on their second week of school. Add to that the fact that we've nearly reached our month mark for being here, and that spells time for trouble.

Callie has had several complete meltdowns. Marian is sleepwalking a lot more, which worries me and wakes me up at night. Delaney has whined twice as much and did so for a solid hour tonight. Actually, she spent most of the day whimpering and crying. Joshua has been great, although he hates Spanish. I'm so tired of all the drama!

As an aside that's fairly random, I stayed up to watch a season premier of a show I'd never heard of- "the Fringe". Or maybe it was just called "Fringe"; Either way, I should have gone to bed. But I didn't. That's what I do when Dan is not home. I stay up late. I had gotten a season of a TV show that I love and Dan mocks me about, and I will not mention it here, but it came in Netflix, and I stupidly watched all 4 episodes on that DVD in one night. Yep, a 1am bedtime for me. So I think you get the picture that I make poor decisions when I am left without adult supervision.

Add to that a crummy diet. Come on, who wants to cook good stuff for 4 kids who don't care and mostly won't eat it. Its hard on my ego and makes too many leftovers. We had Kraft Mac & Cheese and hot dogs tonight. I did make Garlic Pasta and Chicken Enchaladas as well this week. But there is the slight matter of Chocolate Truffle Pie, also. The kids each had 2 small pieces- one for snack and one for dessert to celebrate Joshua's birthday. I have had 3 large slices and there is one piece left. Its for me, in case you were wondering.

All these poor habits have caused me to get sick. Yep, I have a head cold and I am miserable. My nose is runny, my head hurts and i feel yucky. And I'm alone. did I mention that?! Yeah, Dan left and life fell apart. That is why I blog. So I can do my own complaining. And now maybe I'll go eat the last piece of pit and rot my brain in front of the TV. Why? Because I am alone.

Chocolate Truffle Pie

Joshua's birthday is coming up, so I thought I ought to do something special for that day. I figured he likes Chocolate Truffle Pie; I like Chocolate Truffle Pie; Dan's gone; I can pig out and not share much... a win-win situation everywhere but my hips. And hey, I ran yesterday, I ellipticalled today, I'll run tomorrow. Why do all that if not to allow myself to enjoy fattening up?!

So I made my incredibly rich and fantastic pie. And I learned something today. If you don't read the recipe beforehand and forget to melt the chocolate chips with the cream, and you try to do that later, after you've added the powdered sugar, it doesn't work so well. Fortunately, its chocolate and cream! You can't ruin it! Its just got extra chocolatey lumps in it!

Rich Chocolate Truffle Pie
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (milk choc works great too)
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (I use 2 cups)
1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) prepared chocolate cookie crumb crust (ANY pie crust works. Its just the vehicle to get it into your mouth! I used a regular bake-before-you-use crust and its delish!)

In microwave dish combine chocolate chips and 1/2 of the cream. Cook on high for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. (Or melt on very low on the stove- that's hat I do) Cool to room temperature. Stir in sugar & vanilla. Set aside.

In small bowl, beat the rest of the cream until soft peaks form. Beat in chocolate mixture on high speed 1/3 at a time. Mix well and spoon into crust.
Refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving

Hurricanes, and school, and parties....oh my!

We got our share of hurricane Hannah today. Lotsa rain and then a bit of wind this evening. It put a slight damper on the day, but not much. We celebrated Joshua's birthday today. Dan has to leave tomorrow for 2 weeks of training and he'll be gone for Joshy's real birthday. Plus Joshua wanted a surprise party and a lego theme. Tough to do when we just moved here. It worked out okay.

My Uncle Steve and Aunt Kathy were in the area and dropped by. And I was able to invite a boy from Joshua's Sunday School and his regular school class to come over. Dan took Josh and Callie to Mt Vernon while I got everything ready. So the party was a surprise and they had a great time. I had purchased a bounce house (50% off on Amazon!!!) and I set it up in the basement. It was too wet even on the screened in porch. The bounce house was their replacement for all the stuff we sold at the garage sale before we left NC.

So, in no particular order, we have some pictures.....

I got punching balloons for the party. They were a big hit- literaly and figuratively. Check out Delaney's face! And yes, those are 2 boxes I have to deal with still. I think they are full of shoes I need to sort through.

This is how bad I am- I only had 6 single candles, and a #6. No #7; no 7th candle. The kid is turning 7! Yet there are only 6 on his cake. Its a lego cake, by the way. And he thought it was perfectly fine to have a candle on each lego thing, and a #6 in the center. He was also okay with his sisters assisting in the blowing out of them.

The bounce house in the basement! Sesame Street was not my first choice of theme. And it has a ball pit- also not on my first choice list. 50% off puts it on my list! It was a good size and could accomodate 4 kids at once, although Joshua and Marian both got bonked by flying apendages. It inflates in 2 minutes and deflates nearly as fast. I'm happy with it so far.

Oh yeah, here is the shot from the first day of school. You can see their bus stop in the very back right hand of the top. I snapped this shot and was ready to walk them down, when the bus pulled up and they bolted for it. So no sweet getting-on-the-bus shot. Still, they are cutie-patooties, aren't they?!

And I appologise, I really should go to bed at a reasonable hour and not try to prolong my night by blogging when my brain has already left for the evening. Please excuse typos and random, incoherent thoughts here.

Political Commentary

Thanks to Uncle Steve who sent me this, and thanks to Sharon who motivated me to share!

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Whether you be a democrat or a republican, these are interesting facts and I sincerely think that it is time that we AMERICANS take back our country from the politicians and make them work for US as they should be doing. Its time that THEY have to live by the rules that they set for US.

545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts – of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way. There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people and they alone, are responsible.

They and they alone, have the power.

They and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

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And now my commentary. It took me a while to figure out that this is right. Its not just good reading and its accurate for either party. Part of the problem is that there is too much corruption in office. When the new guys come in, they can't buck the system. One or two, or even 10 guys with morals and ideals can't go in the face and win against all the rest who are taking money and/or using their position to use their power unwisely. So, what can we do? That's the hard part. We actually do need to pay attention and DO something.

We need to know who our senators and representatives are and we need to know what thye are doing. Do you? I don't. Not yet. We need to find out if the people we are electing are doing what WE want them to. If not, we need to vote them out. Yes, we have that power! Find out what they are doing and get rid of them if you are not happy with their results. If every one of the 545 people was replaced, what do you think would happen?

All the change they promise could happen. They would be able to start fresh and ignore the lobbyists and high interest groups. So, no matter what your political affiliation, get on this! Read this commentary again, see if it makes sense to you, and then check out your state government's websites. You don't have to know about all 545 people, just the ones in your state. You can do that! Take advantage of this voting year. This is OUR government. Let's make sure it represents US.

Doldrums

Today was the first day of school. I intended to take lots of pictures, since it was Marian's very first day ever. Unfortunately, I was given a handout that said the bus would arrive at 8:31, which was a dirty, dirty lie. So it arrived as we were walking out the door at 8:25 (and they said he was late!). This means that Joshua and Marian raced to the bus and Marian panicked, thinking they would leave her behind. Not really how I hoped thier first day would go.

And I enrolled Joshua in the Spanish Emmersion Program, so he spends half his day (math and science) in Spanish only. He hated it. I said he had to try it till Christmas. We'll see how it goes, and I'll hope like crazy that his math and science skills don't slip too much.

I spent the day doing absolutely nothing. I let Callie watch PBS and I did nothing. It was great. And then Dan emailed and called. He had really wanted to do this military commissions and be defense for Gitmo detainees, but today he was told they want someone with more trial experience and preferably a higher rank. He is pretty disappointed. I am too. I am glad he will have better hours and less stress, but I know how much he wanted a law billet, and its disappointing. So we went out to dinner. It was to celebrate the kids' first day of school, and ease the pain of Dan's lack of law for the next 2 years.

And I'm feeling glum because I'm not all settled in. The house part is great (except for those last couple boxes....). It feels like home, but nothing else does. And I'm thinking that I don't really like having to make friends. Its such an ordeal, to find people and see if we click; To find people with kids the same ages, who parenting doesn't make me want to scream; To find moms who's kids get along with mine, or who have something in common with me; To find moms who have time and energy and interest in making and maintaining a friendship is pretty tricky, and I'm thinking its not really that much fun. Yet I must make the effort, and perhaps by Sunday I'll be in the mood again. I like making easy friendships, where you click right off the bat. That is fun. Wish me luck.....