Sunday, January 25, 2009

hmmm era of openess, really?


So this week I have been watching the news and I noticed that President Obama said something that I really liked and gave me hope that things were going to start off great and change was really going to happen. Here is what he said:

"The executive order on ethics I will sign shortly represents a clean break from business as usual. As of today, lobbyists will be subject to stricter limits than under any other administration in history. If you are a lobbyist entering my administration, you will not be able to work on matters you lobbied on, or in the agencies you lobbied during the previous two years. When you leave government, you will not be able to lobby my administration for as long as I am president."

But then a few days later he said he wants an exception to his rule. He wants William Lynn as the new deputy defense secretary, but the problem is this, he is a former lobbyist for a big defense contractor called Raytheon. So my question is this, why even make the new rule when you have no intention of following it? Don't they understand that this is why most Americans are so damn cynical?

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Working on my list

So for the past three days I have managed to accomplish a a few things.
  • Organized my closet, I donated 3 bags of clothing to goodwill.
  • Organized Hunters room.
  • Sent out recent photos of Sierra to family out West.
  • Put together a budget for the next 6 months.
  • Wrote letters to friends out West.
  • Have worked out 2 days, walked a total of 7 miles as well.
  • I read "Strengthened by the Storm"
  • Baked a pumpkin pie from scratch for Adam (Elder Bigelow) and delivered it.
So even though I haven't accomplished everything on my list, I can't complain about what I have accomplished. I think if I just do a little each day then I will be ok. I will pick one room to work on each day and organize it, I want to get rid of anything I haven't touched or used in 6 months. I figure I don't need it if I haven't used it in 6 months. I feel the most difficult room to organize will be my kitchen, I love my kitchen gadgets, lets just say I have a very well stocked Pampered Chef Kitchen and it will be most difficult to part with anything in there....

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Taking a break....

So I have decided that I am going to be taking a break from the internet for a few days. I have come to the conclusion that I spend way too much time on the computer so I will not be blogging or on facebook, myspace or checking email until at least Thursday. I will actually be locking my laptop up in the safe. I am just burned out and need a break. I need to get back to the simple things in life, I miss those days, I miss a lot of things so I will take the next few days to sit down and reflect, write actual letters that you send in a envelope with a stamp, write in my scripture journal, start to organize my house and begin my list of things to accomplish this year.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Update on Hunter

So today I took Hunter in to see if the medication he has been taking for the past week has been working. He has gone from a 7 to a 9 (our goal is to be at a 13) so that is good news but his doctor is still not happy with them. She said she would have liked for the numbers to be higher than they are so she said NO MILK at all, not one drop of milk. Well I told her that I had an issue with that since his numbers had gone up and that we had cut his milk back from a gallon a day to only 8 ounces MAX and that there was no way I could take away his milk, that is just plain cruel in my book as his mother. She then tried to tell me that it is in his best interest to not drink any milk, he is old enough now that he doesn't need any milk in his diet. So then I proceeded to tell her that in all the books I have read as well as all the pamphlets her office has given me in the past week that a child between the ages of 3-5 NEED between 8-20 ounces of milk a DAY in their diet. They need the calcium for their bones as well as their teeth so I was not going to cut out the minimum amount of milk needed for my son. I said it would be a different story if his numbers had not changed but since they were going up I would not get rid of the milk in his diet. I don't know maybe I am over reacting here but I just can't in good conscious do that to him. I am open to hear what others think about this, feel free to give me your opinion on the matter, am I wrong for going against the doctor? Am I being a bad mother for not following her orders?

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Samsun


Here is one of my favorite photos of Samsun, also known as Sammy or Sam. Samsun is my 3 year old yellow lab. He is one of the largest labs I have ever seen in my life, he weighs roughly 102 pounds and stands at my waist. According to the vet he isn't over weight, just solid muscle. I like to think of him as my gentle giant. He does have one flaw though he absolutely HATES to have his paws touched. I don't know what that is about but ever since we brought him home as a puppy he has hated it, it makes trimming his nails a bit of a challenge and one that I leave for JB to do. I refuse to wrestle with him to get that job done and they seem to have an "understanding" so it all works out. Some of Samsun's favorite things to do are fetch his tennis ball, he will do that for hours if I allowed it. He has a stash of tennis balls in the bushes around the yard. He also loves to lay by the front door in the afternoons and watch the squirrels eat the bird food out of the feeders I have as well as watch the kids walk down the street from the bus stop. My mail lady is terrified of him, but then again if you didn't know how gentle he really is and saw him and heard his bark it might scare you a little. I guess I know what a gentle dog he is and how much he just wants to be your friend that I have to laugh when she freaks out. I love how at the end of the day when he is ready for bed he will come up and nudge you and look at the stairs, I will ask him if he is ready for bed and his ears will perk up as if to say " Well duh I am waiting for you" so then I will head up to bed and he will sleep at the end of the bed by my feet. He makes a wonderful foot warmer in the winter time. I love my Samsun, I love how he is my constant companion and loves me unconditionally and is so gentle and so loving. I love how he shows so much expression in his eyes. I am a bit biased here but I would have to say that I have the best dog in the world!!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

My list of things to accomplish this year

I have never been one to make new year resolutions so I won't even begin to do so now, but I will make a list of things I want to accomplish this year, I don't believe it is the same as a resolution but hey I could be wrong (wouldn't be the first time, lol
  • Organize the entire house, room by room (minimize)
  • Get in shape
  • Read the Book of Mormon in its entirety (working with the missionaries on that one)
  • Go to the Temple more often
  • Get new camera, take more photographs of family and friends
  • Take a few road trips
  • See my brother in California
  • Make time for ME!!
So there are a few things for me to work on, I will come back and update on how things are progressing on this list although I won't go into detail about the Book of Mormon because I feel that is a bit too personal but I will note what books I have read and such things like that- I do have one small suggestion for those who read this, if you do nothing else this year, take time to write in a journal- I am sure my friends are sick of hearing that from me but really it is a wonderful thing to do, not just for you but for your children down the road- 

I hope everyone has a wonderful new year with many blessings to you all~