Even Obama supports Ron Paul

(he just doesn't know it yet)
lol

John Stossel's - Illegal Everything

Here is a link to The 42 minute video on YouTube .
Stossel made so many good points in this video.  I watched it early this morning and then went to feed my kids breakfast afterwards.  I was thinking about the movie so I let my kids demonstrate some of the ideas for me by giving them some freedom in their breakfast choices.  They all chose a small handful of chocolate chips but they also wanted a banana, a glass of milk, and either oatmeal or toast.  No one went for the fruit loops, the lemonade, the Ritz crackers, the eggs, the cheese, or the spinach.  So maybe I didn't prove anything but it was interesting to me to see the choices they made.
More Americans really need to understand the main point of choice and accountability.  If all your choices are taken away you are basically responsible for nothing in your life.  You can't be held accountable and you don't have to make the mental effort of deciding anything.  I see so many people being herded along in life and they don't even know it.  Human being are meant to be challenged by choices and problems.  Our brains are too complicated and our spirits too strong to want to just submit to what's "safe" and "easy" for us.  I appreciate a good warning as much as the next guy but I don't want to be unable to try something where I feel the risk is acceptable.
I'm a reasonable person (as far as I can tell) and most of the time I try to make reasonable decisions.  While I have been to Nevada I have never gambled.  I am old enough to drink but I choose not to.  I have never wanted to smoke and have turned down offers of various 'smokables' over the years.  The only drugs I have ever taken were prescription and I took fewer than suggested (I don't even take the full dose of Tylenol).  I have tried rock climbing and bungee jumping and I loved both but now that I have kids I don't do either of them.  I don't want the government saving me from myself by legislation.  Rules are necessary for society but when even the enforcers can't figure out the rules there is something horribly wrong with they system.  There aren't enough police in the world to keep us all from eating donuts and bacon for breakfast, unless we let them.

Samuel the Lamanite vs. Facebook

Judging Others - Einstein Quote

Loved this one.

Heard a talk today on our divine nature.  The speaker used the analogy of a wooden beam being able to hold a certain weight, but two wooden beams next to each other can hold more than twice the individual weight.  This is because they reinforce the natural flaws in the wood of each other.  We are all like that.  We all have our own natural flaws and strengths.  We need each other to carry the load together.   If we were all alike we would all break in exactly the same place under the same stress.  We would all have the same problems to worry over and none of us would have a solution.  I believe God created us all with different strengths to support each other.  It takes some work to figure out what your strengths and flaws are and to find people who reinforce you the best but that's part of the challenge of life.

Even Funeral Potatoes Make Me Cry

It may have just been chopping the onions.

Using my grandmother's recipe to make funeral potatoes for a funeral luncheon kind of gets to me.

It calls for most of a stick of butter.

My grandmother has been gone for about 12 years.

I don't remember who said it but I've heard my mother repeat the advice that 'a funeral deserves real butter'.

Real butter isn't a big thing these days.

I prefer to use real butter in my cooking anyway so I usually have some in the fridge.

I know there were times in my grandmother's life when it wasn't as easy for everyone to get real butter.

I remember a funeral my mother helped with when I was young where one of the servers wanted to make sure there was real butter on the tables and all the other women solemnly agreed; the moment stuck with me.

I don't think I was old enough to really understand there was a difference between butter and margarine at the time.

My family used margarine for most recipes when I was growing up.

Now I know there is a difference; butter is better for pretty much every recipe, it's more natural, better for you, and a bit more expensive.

Butter is higher quality.

So it's only a little thing, but yes, a funeral deserves real butter.

The See's Chocolate Potato is back

I went in to the See's in the University Mall to use a gift certificate for See's chocolates.  I had the three youngest with me.  April got very excited over the display of St. Patrick's Day candy and was delighted to see there was a potato in there.  I haven't tried the chocolate potato.  I stuck with the box of chocolates (heavy on the key lime truffle) this time around.  I know the milk chocolate turkeys at Thanksgiving are good.  Maybe I'll go in for a potato some time in the next couple of weeks.  Then again, maybe not...

Hoarders?

I watched an episode of Hoarders, the show on A&E, for the first time.  I have heard a lot about this show but I don't have cable and I just don't watch much TV.  A month or so ago my sister showed me how to watch episodes of different programs on Hulu.  I watched one episode of the gypsy wedding show with my sister and found the program too disturbing to want to spend another hour of my life watching any more of it.  I hadn't gone back to Hulu since then.  I was rocking a cranky child to sleep and decided to pull up Hulu and see if there was anything interesting.  Hulu had episodes of Hoarders.  I've heard lots about the show and decided to watch something from the first season.  I learned two things from the experience.  First, my house is actually in pretty good shape even with five kids and a messy husband keeping me busy.  Second, Hoarders gives me nightmares.  I think maybe I shouldn't watch it anymore.

Horace Grover and Betsey Gallop update

I did a little more work on the Grover line for Horace and Betsey and their descendants but it just isn't connecting to my Grovers.  I know Aunt Linda was really hoping I could find a relationship but if there is a connection it's farther back than what I can find in available records.  I'm going ahead and posting the information on rootsweb.com, (click here to go to the site) this information will be public and it should be available in about 2-3 days (it has to be processed after it's uploaded).
I wanted to find someone who belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this Grover line to share this information with.  Our church teaches the importance of doing research and finding your family history.  We believe our families are important to us after we die.  It would just make my day to help someone out who wants to know more about their family.

Mental Issues

We went to the library the other day to get a Smurf movie the kids wanted to see.  As I'm walking past the movies I see this -

at first I was appalled with the library.

then I was appalled with myself.

then I was laughing so hard I almost had to leave the library.

then I had to borrow my husband's phone so I could get a picture.

then I had to dodge my kids questions as to what was so funny.

Now I'm still not sure I should post this but maybe it will give you some insight into why I worry about my own sanity.

If you don't get why this post is funny then just know that you are a better person than I am and pat yourself on the back before forgetting all about my craziness and moving on with your life.

Kerfuffle

def. - distubance, fuss

Someone I know recently told me about a couple I know who are having some issues.  WHO ISN'T?  This person was witness to a certain kerfuffle.  They called me and then proceeded to trash one of the people involved in this kerfuffle.  *sigh*  I've never figured out the perfect definition of gossip but if it isn't nice and there's not a thing I can do about it then it's probably not worth passing on.  Right?  ugh.
I'm bothered by those times when there really is a way someone like me could help resolve the kerfuffle and we just don't know what to do or how to go about it.  I don't know what it is about me that makes it so hard to escape my "Born To Be Mild" issues.  Sometimes I complain, just a little, but mostly quietly, and I get so worried about getting involved I just don't do anything.  I guess what I'm saying is I'm pretty much useless in a kerfuffle.

Tax Season and other things to slow me down

Haven't written for a few days.  Sorry.  Tax season has started and apparently flu season came with it this year.  Jared's working 6 days a week and needs his sleep and I get to be up with whoever isn't feeling well.  Then of course I get whatever they had and I can't get over it because I don't get any sleep.  I'm in such a bad mood the voices in my head aren't even speaking to me.  ugh.

I have some posts to catch up on, I was going to post a couple and back-date them but I can't find the little cord to download my camera so I guess they'll have to wait.

Jared turned 39.  Jessica turned 18 months.  Jared gave me some flowers for Valentine's Day.  I got fed up with my kids and put locks on all the TVs and set passwords on all the computers.  I'll post pictures of all of these if I can locate the camera cord.

The Kelly Clarkson song What Doesn't Kill You was on the radio this morning and I'm going with it as my theme song of the moment.  I can't feel sorry for myself though.  Two people in my neighborhood passed away this week and there are people dealing with a lot more than I am.  At some point in my life I might be one of those people who can honestly say they are grateful for the trials they have because of how much growth they experience through them.  I'm not there yet.  I'm grateful when I learn something but I still don't like trials.

BYU vs Stanford

     Jorge and Lulu Encinas, some long-time friends, got us all tickets to the game.
     Back when my sister, Lois, was an assistant for the mens volleyball team we went pretty often.  They did really well that year and Lois was able to see them all the way to a National Championship in 1999 and again in 2001.
     The team is doing well this year but not so well this game.  Some injuries are slowing them down.
     We did win a game so I was able to sing the fight song with the crowd and relive some memories.  We lost the match but they play again so here's hoping they do better Saturday night.
     I grew up near Stanford so it was great to get to see this particular game.
     At one point during the game I glanced over at my husband and he was playing games on his phone.  Story of my life.  Anyway, I took his phone away to snap this picture and then gave the phone back to him. He wasn't the only person on their phone for large chunks of the event, just the only one there with me.  At least the noise level made it so he wasn't talking on his phone the whole time.  Mental note to self - next time go with one of my sisters or one of my kids; my husband already has a date.
     After the game we all went to Applebees because it's one of the few places open that late.  I haven't eaten there for years.  I had the lime chicken, it was good.  Just sitting and talking with Jorge and Lulu was a lot of fun.  We try to get together with them once a year or so and catch up on life.  I'm glad they invited us out.

I Am A Mormon

     I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The name is a mouthful so people often refer to us as Mormon .  I would hope that those of you who know me would consider me a good example of what a Mormon should be.  I'm not perfect, but I have tried to live according to the best understanding I have of how to be a good person.  When I learn better I try to do better.
     I just read this article about how many Mormons are leaving the Church.  It made me sad.  My brother is among the number of Mormons I know who have left the church for various reasons.  I know that our free agency and ability to make choices is one of the most valuable gifts we have in this life.  That doesn't stop me from feeling unhappy about people I love giving up something I firmly believe will bring good things into their lives.
     I'm not sure what it would take for me to get to a point where I would quit attending church.  It's too much a part of who I am and what I know to be true.  Even at my lowest points, when I felt completely miserable and unloved, when I gave up on almost everything else, I continued going to church.  Just showing up brought me some comfort.  There have been times when I have felt it was very hard to live the way I do.  There have been things I have sacrificed to live the way I know I should.  Life is like weight training, there has to be resistance or you won't gain anything.  The harder life is, the stronger you grow.

Sushi

I was being random on GOOGLE and found this blog entry for a local sushi place that I haven't tried yet.

http://thebeehiveblog.net/2011/05/sushi-in-orem-hooray-for-shoga/   I'll have to try it.


The Happy Sumo down in the Riverwoods Plaza is pretty good.  I agree with the blog writer about having tried a few places and being disappointed.  The Sunflower Farmers Market also has good sushi but you have to get it early or it's gone.

I love sushi. I grew up in Santa Clara, CA (near San Jose/San Francisco) and had my first experiences with sushi when my coach and teammates on the tennis team brought it for between game snacks.  I got over the whole granola bars and juice boxes thing fast.

Cinderella

     My kids have been watching Cinderella (among other princess movies) and I keep rewriting the story in my head.  Sometimes it comes out a bit more Jane Eyre, where the prince has his secrets, and poor naive Cinderella gets to grow up and find her way in life before the love of her life finds her.  Sometimes it's more true to life, where all they get is the ball, and then it's back to reality.  Possibly after the prince shows up post-ball he and Cinderella don't have much in common.  I love that Cinder Edna book, Disney should have made that one into a movie.  Unfortunately my husband hates tuna and won't eat it in any of my 16 recipes.
     Fairytales are lovely but it seems to me that nothing can live up to the ball.  It doesn't seem likely that Cinderella would get a chance at that kind of magical moment more than once (well, there's II, and III, but they went straight to DVD so even Disney knew they were reaching).  So when the fairy shows up to say "Hey, pay attention, this is your one big night, you're gonna have to live on this one for the rest of your life." It makes it sound a little like that show with the Gypsies who get married in the crazy dresses but at least they have one good memory to combat the statistics on the rest of their life.  I only watched one episode of that show but it really got to me.
     I think Cinderella could have lived her whole life happily with a glass slipper tucked away in the trunk in her room.  Of course, the glass slipper in the trunk and the marriage to an accountant who doesn't like tuna would have just made her dreadfully normal.  But who would buy a ticket to see that?