It's over. 2008 is gone just about. This may have been the quickest year of my life. So it's time to review some things of note. The problem with blogging is that inspiration usually comes while washing my hair in the shower and is forgotten by the time I'm done. Well I'm still the same old me, yes I did wonder if it was too lewd to mention the shower in my blog. I am thrilled to look out the window and see snow covering the fence and roofs and cars. The extra long Fall was just not right in my opinion. Yeah, it made biking and walking to school a snap but cold and snow are what we are supposed to have and I don't believe in messing with mother nature. What has been accomplished this year? I think it's normal in this culture to try to have a bunch of huge accomplishments to put up on some sort of imaginary scoreboard that will launch you ever closer to your eternal reward or just make you feel good about yourself and all you've done. I can never seem to find many of those things to tack onto the scoreboard. Life's usually a series of small events, some I feel good about, some that wasted too many hours of my time, most that were just living the daily functions of life and taking care of this thing called family. I dare say this is how life is for most of us.
I did finally get recycling down this year. We don't have those convenient blue or green recycling cans that many communities have. But I discovered about a year ago this thing out here called the Blue Bag Recycling Program. If you live out this way I highly recommend you try it out if you haven't yet. You just get those blue recycling trash bags that you can get at the grocery store and separate your recyclables into the bags and put it all in your regular garbage can and they separate it all at the dump. Brent's skeptical that they actually do it but there was a picture on the internet with a big pile of the blue bags that had been removed at the dump. I didn't recycle any cans this year (baby steps) so maybe I'll add those in next year. You have to rinse things out so that's why I've resisted so far.
I started a blog (pretty obvious one here). I found out that I kind of like to write and that occasionally I don't completely suck at it. It's a little surprising that I've stuck with something for so many months. I'm hoping in the coming year that I can be a little more open in my blogging. Dare to say more of what I want to say. It's always been my desire to make this a forum for my thoughts and hear others thoughts too, along with the pictures and the happenings in our lives. I censored myself more than I really wanted to when it came to politics and other issues.
Speaking of politics... We elected Barack Obama as our next president! I still can't believe that in a month we will have a President Obama. I learned a lot from this election about just how difficult it can be for individuals to come together on varying political views. I think I may have even harmed a friendship or two as a result of the election. Not because I wouldn't shut up about my views or I was trying to change another persons mind. More I think because they didn't agree with my guy and when he won (oh the nerve of it all, allowing the other team to win for a change!) they were upset and blamed me in a way for bringing this terrible thing to pass. That part makes me sad. Hopefully time will heal wounds. Let me just say how grateful I am for friends who tolerate me and my contrary political views. :) Let me explain just a little about what Obama's win means to me and others. It's like this time years ago before Brent and I were married and we used to go running together after work in the mornings. We were running and talking at the same time about some issues involving our future together. I know, we should have just stuck with the running. Well the conversation didn't go well and we were having a disagreement about something important to me. Honestly, I can't remember all the details but I was upset and started crying. Crying and running do not go together because the crying makes you unable to breath. So I started gasping for air. I was hyperventilating and could have used a paper bag to breath into at that point. So I stopped running, stopped crying, and took some slow deep breaths and then I was able to breath again. It felt unbelievable to be able to breath normally again. That's how it feels. We've had an administration running our country that has basically told those who don't agree with their policies to sit down and shut up, we know what's best, you don't and we're not going to listen to you. I can breath again. I can have an opinion contrary to my government's once again and not be accused of being unpatriotic. Not be thought of as a bad American. I've always believed that when you disagree with your country's leaders it is your right and even responsibility to stand up and say something. To protest peacefully. That is what I believe our founding fathers intended. We don't need to rehash the reasons I disagree. The war, the Patriot Act, Guantanamo, etc., etc., etc. Those things have been debated ad nauseum. It doesn't mean I don't have great respect for our troops because I surely do. After all, I'm too much of a chicken to do what they do. They and their families sacrifice in the most amazing of ways. But I want to see change. I believe there is more than one way of doing things and if you're hitting your head against a wall hoping it will stop the pain and it's not working, then maybe you should stop hitting your head against the wall and take a new approach.
Another development late in this year is that I think I've got this exercise thing down again. I'm on day 33 of a 90 day workout program, working out six days a week. Finally, I'm remembering again how much I love working out!
Those are just a few notable things that I wanted to mention as this year nears it's end. What about next year? I have this weird, no reason behind it at all, belief that odd years are lucky for me so it could be a great year!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
See we did get a decent Christmas Card picture after all. We're having a great Christmas so far. Last night for Christmas Eve Brent's mom, Cathy, slept over. It's about the fourth time she's done that and it's always great to have her here. We had a nice dinner then did Santa's sugar cookies. Then we sang some Christmas carols and finished reading a Christmas story we'd been working on. None of the kids stayed up way late this year, yay! Everyone was really mellow and NICE to each other! It was great! Today was very relaxing and nice too. We braved the storm on the other side of the mountain to visit my dad and Diane. Returned a couple hours later and kicked back at home. The snow finally hit us around 7 pm after a day of weird, wacky, windy weather. At least it finally made it. You gotta have snow on Christmas. Now the kids are running around playing with the walkie-talkies they got for Christmas. My favorite quote of the day was Noah after getting his football Christmas pajamas last night and a shirt with a football on it today: "I'm really not into football that much." It was just a coincidence he got two football clothing items. I'm not really into football much either, Noah.
I just want to say how blessed I am to spend Christmas with Brent and these kids. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life. I'd also like to let my kids know what a special time of year this is, when we get that extra opportunity to remember our Savior Jesus Christ and his birth and life. Heres hoping everyone out there is having a wonderful Christmas day!
Christmas Eve PJs. Stand in front of the dead Christmas tree and say cheese!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
"Why 'Twilight' isn't for everybody"
Let me just say I did read all of the Twilight books and I liked them all, although the last I didn't love. I was going to see the movie last Saturday. I went out shopping around 9:30 a.m. during that storm and ended up driving down the freeway at 35 mph for the next hour, praying I wouldn't die. And no, I'm not embarrassed to drive 35 on the freeway, with every car passing me, if it's between that and crashing into the car next to me. So by the time I finished my shopping I just wanted to get home before the roads got any worse (avoiding possible death and another heart attack) and skipped going to see Twilight like I had planned, although the weather was much better on the way back thankfully. :)
So Isabella is often talking about this kid and that kid and many other kids reading the books and going to the movie. I am in the camp of thinking 10 or 11 or even a few years beyond that is too young to read the books. Why are people in such a hurry to have their kids grow up? It's something I don't understand. What I do understand is you are only a kid for a very very short time. So why not enjoy it for as long you (acceptably) can? This article from the LA Times sums it up pretty well I think:
Yes, it's about old-fashioned romance, but isn't some of the sexual content inappropriate for pre-teens?
By Sonja Bolle
December 14,2008
When a tide of popularity rises, it erases all boundaries. The first sign that "Twilight" was a pop-culture phenomenon was that teen girls who hadn't talked to their parents in years were dressing up with their mothers in vampire costumes and attending midnight book parties together. By last summer, when the marketing for the fourth and ostensibly final book in the series reached the proportions of hysteria (and that was a mild dress rehearsal for the movie release), it had become de rigueur for any self-respecting female reader of any age to read the books. Not only to read them, but to swoon over them, to be overwhelmed by them; to find, as 10-year-old Lyla Polon of Santa Monica wrote, "It's hard for me to face the fact that [the characters] are not real."
Much as I like the novels -- and I devoured all of them happily -- I'm appalled to find that a sizable number of the 25 million copies now in print are going into the hands of 10-year-olds. Why would parents whose children are not yet obsessed with sex encourage their kids to read books that are one long, bodice-ripping romance?
Most parents don't allow their 10-year-old daughters to dress in sexy outfits. They recognize that there's a gulf between the pre-pubescent kid's desire to be a player in our sex-drenched popular culture and an actual understanding of what the come-hither look means. It's why the images of miniature beauty contestants are so horrifying. Why would you allow, even encourage, your child to play that kind of grown-up game?
I'm using "10 years old" as shorthand for "too young." Of course, 10-year-olds come in all levels of maturity. When is it OK to read "Twilight"? When you can't stop thinking about sex. When the idea of romance produces a physical reaction in your body. When a story of a caress withheld for hundreds of pages leaves you breathless and weak-kneed -- not bored and skimming for the next action scene.
In other words, "Twilight" is an entertaining read for people from puberty to death. But emphatically not before puberty.
So Isabella is often talking about this kid and that kid and many other kids reading the books and going to the movie. I am in the camp of thinking 10 or 11 or even a few years beyond that is too young to read the books. Why are people in such a hurry to have their kids grow up? It's something I don't understand. What I do understand is you are only a kid for a very very short time. So why not enjoy it for as long you (acceptably) can? This article from the LA Times sums it up pretty well I think:
Yes, it's about old-fashioned romance, but isn't some of the sexual content inappropriate for pre-teens?
By Sonja Bolle
December 14,2008
When a tide of popularity rises, it erases all boundaries. The first sign that "Twilight" was a pop-culture phenomenon was that teen girls who hadn't talked to their parents in years were dressing up with their mothers in vampire costumes and attending midnight book parties together. By last summer, when the marketing for the fourth and ostensibly final book in the series reached the proportions of hysteria (and that was a mild dress rehearsal for the movie release), it had become de rigueur for any self-respecting female reader of any age to read the books. Not only to read them, but to swoon over them, to be overwhelmed by them; to find, as 10-year-old Lyla Polon of Santa Monica wrote, "It's hard for me to face the fact that [the characters] are not real."
Much as I like the novels -- and I devoured all of them happily -- I'm appalled to find that a sizable number of the 25 million copies now in print are going into the hands of 10-year-olds. Why would parents whose children are not yet obsessed with sex encourage their kids to read books that are one long, bodice-ripping romance?
Most parents don't allow their 10-year-old daughters to dress in sexy outfits. They recognize that there's a gulf between the pre-pubescent kid's desire to be a player in our sex-drenched popular culture and an actual understanding of what the come-hither look means. It's why the images of miniature beauty contestants are so horrifying. Why would you allow, even encourage, your child to play that kind of grown-up game?
I'm using "10 years old" as shorthand for "too young." Of course, 10-year-olds come in all levels of maturity. When is it OK to read "Twilight"? When you can't stop thinking about sex. When the idea of romance produces a physical reaction in your body. When a story of a caress withheld for hundreds of pages leaves you breathless and weak-kneed -- not bored and skimming for the next action scene.
In other words, "Twilight" is an entertaining read for people from puberty to death. But emphatically not before puberty.
You might argue that kids are very good at ignoring what they're not ready for. When you ask 10-year-olds what they like about the series, they'll generally mention anything but the romance (see comments from kids below). However, you can't pretend that something isn't worming its way in there. I was once driving a carpool with three 7-year-old boys in the back seat, and we pulled up at a light next to an immense billboard showing a woman dressed in skimpy black lace, perched on a red velvet throne and restraining a Doberman pinscher on a choke chain. There was absolute silence in the back seat as three heads leaned over to peer out the window. Then one little voice piped up: "Do you think she sexes the dog?" Whatever actual information the kid was working on, he definitely got the subtext of the advertisement. (I've wrestled with my feelings about the 1st Amendment as it relates to egregious advertising ever since.)
Parents who haven't perused the "Twilight" books may have heard that the series is all about sexual restraint and consider that it conveys "a good message." Even at first glance the books may seem quite perfect for younger readers; the writing style is simple and straightforward, and the type is big. I wrote an enthusiastic review of the first three books last year, pointing out how refreshing it is in this day and age to read a hip romance that is all about old-fashioned waiting and longing. Edward, the courtly vampire, won't make love to his Bella until they're married.
But just because the lovers don't have sex in the first three books doesn't make the story appropriate for younger kids; inherent in the pleasure of restraint is the longing for sex. And that's just the first three books.
In the fourth book, by contrast, the lovers have tons of sex. First, they marry, of course, and produce a fetching baby. But the fourth book answers the burning question about what vampires do with all their free time, since they don't sleep. It turns out that married vampires have a lot of sex. They are immensely strong, so they end up destroying a lot of perfectly lovely beds, and much other furniture to boot. In fact, their lovemaking is so ferocious that one young married vampire couple teases the newlyweds that they can't be truly crazy for each other, because they haven't destroyed enough houses yet.
Of course, there is quite a lot more to the "Twilight" story, like werewolves (and their mating habits) and fast cars, trips to Italy (where the really fierce vampire Mafia lives), and showdowns with other vampires. But you have to ignore a lot of description of the feel of Edward's rock-hard body and his exquisite beauty to focus on the other things.
Scientists have been mystified by the recent epidemic of early-onset puberty in young girls. The long list of proposed causes ranges from the widely publicized suspicion of hormones in milk to more esoteric theories. One idea is that because of the prevalence of divorce, young girls are increasingly living in households with men who are not biological relatives; the pheromones, the theory goes, act on each other, causing girls to mature sexually in response to their proximity with unrelated males. Surely it's not a stretch to think that all the sexual stimulation in our society, through music, advertising, television, film and even books is having some effect on young minds and bodies?
The pre-teen years -- the "age of latency" or "the age of industry" -- used to be when kids did projects, threw themselves into hobbies, deepened their ability to learn things. This is the age when kids start to know more about their areas of interest than their parents do. Nowadays kids study to be teenagers; they rush into popular culture, demanding iPhones and access to R-rated movies. Since parents complain so much about teenagers, why would they facilitate their pre-teenager's headlong rush into this attitude and outlook? Parents seem to enjoy precociousness in kids, then get alarmed when their 13-year-olds want to go to raves.
Putting on the brakes is an essential element in being a parent. It's a cliché of childhood that kids always want to be older; it's up to us, who know what it means to get older, to encourage the enjoyment of innocence as long as possible.
Comments from kids about the "Twilight" series:
"I started reading the series because everyone I knew was reading them: people in the 7th grade, like my sister, but 5th graders, too. I like it because it's completely different from every other book I've read. It looks at vampires in a different way, less make-believe. In my mind, it's not completely implausible -- I know it is, but I just don't look at it that way."
* Noah Slosberg, age 10 (turning 11 any minute)
"I think [the age appropriateness of the series] depends more on maturity and if your parents approve of you reading. The first and second books have nothing bad in them, but once you start a series you want to finish it, and the third and fourth get less appropriate. I like the fantasy meets reality. I also like the lifelike view of a high school and the idea that not everything is what it seems."
* Grace Slansky, age 10
"[The book series is inappropriate for] fourth graders and under because they may or may not be mature. I like it because it has good description and many details. [The film 'Twilight' is ok for everyone] because the worst is kissing."
* Madeline, age 11
"[The series is inappropriate for younger readers] because there is some sexual content in 'Eclipse' and 'Breaking Dawn' (the third and fourth books). I like how Stephenie Meyer could go on forever on this series."
* Benny Gonda, age 11
"I think [the Twilight books] are inappropriate for kids under 10 because there are a ton of kissing parts and some sexual parts, that kids under 10 would think were gross, instead of appreciating the beauty and uniqueness of the love between Bella and Edward. I love everything about the series, but what stands out most to me is the unique personalities of all the characters. It's amazing to me that Stephenie Meyer could start from scratch and create all of these amazing, grasping characters. It's hard for me to face the fact that they are not real."
* Lyla Polon, age 10 (11 in January)
"My older sister read one in about a day! But I'm going to wait until I'm older."
* Aron Kobayashi-Ritch, age 10
Parents who haven't perused the "Twilight" books may have heard that the series is all about sexual restraint and consider that it conveys "a good message." Even at first glance the books may seem quite perfect for younger readers; the writing style is simple and straightforward, and the type is big. I wrote an enthusiastic review of the first three books last year, pointing out how refreshing it is in this day and age to read a hip romance that is all about old-fashioned waiting and longing. Edward, the courtly vampire, won't make love to his Bella until they're married.
But just because the lovers don't have sex in the first three books doesn't make the story appropriate for younger kids; inherent in the pleasure of restraint is the longing for sex. And that's just the first three books.
In the fourth book, by contrast, the lovers have tons of sex. First, they marry, of course, and produce a fetching baby. But the fourth book answers the burning question about what vampires do with all their free time, since they don't sleep. It turns out that married vampires have a lot of sex. They are immensely strong, so they end up destroying a lot of perfectly lovely beds, and much other furniture to boot. In fact, their lovemaking is so ferocious that one young married vampire couple teases the newlyweds that they can't be truly crazy for each other, because they haven't destroyed enough houses yet.
Of course, there is quite a lot more to the "Twilight" story, like werewolves (and their mating habits) and fast cars, trips to Italy (where the really fierce vampire Mafia lives), and showdowns with other vampires. But you have to ignore a lot of description of the feel of Edward's rock-hard body and his exquisite beauty to focus on the other things.
Scientists have been mystified by the recent epidemic of early-onset puberty in young girls. The long list of proposed causes ranges from the widely publicized suspicion of hormones in milk to more esoteric theories. One idea is that because of the prevalence of divorce, young girls are increasingly living in households with men who are not biological relatives; the pheromones, the theory goes, act on each other, causing girls to mature sexually in response to their proximity with unrelated males. Surely it's not a stretch to think that all the sexual stimulation in our society, through music, advertising, television, film and even books is having some effect on young minds and bodies?
The pre-teen years -- the "age of latency" or "the age of industry" -- used to be when kids did projects, threw themselves into hobbies, deepened their ability to learn things. This is the age when kids start to know more about their areas of interest than their parents do. Nowadays kids study to be teenagers; they rush into popular culture, demanding iPhones and access to R-rated movies. Since parents complain so much about teenagers, why would they facilitate their pre-teenager's headlong rush into this attitude and outlook? Parents seem to enjoy precociousness in kids, then get alarmed when their 13-year-olds want to go to raves.
Putting on the brakes is an essential element in being a parent. It's a cliché of childhood that kids always want to be older; it's up to us, who know what it means to get older, to encourage the enjoyment of innocence as long as possible.
Comments from kids about the "Twilight" series:
"I started reading the series because everyone I knew was reading them: people in the 7th grade, like my sister, but 5th graders, too. I like it because it's completely different from every other book I've read. It looks at vampires in a different way, less make-believe. In my mind, it's not completely implausible -- I know it is, but I just don't look at it that way."
* Noah Slosberg, age 10 (turning 11 any minute)
"I think [the age appropriateness of the series] depends more on maturity and if your parents approve of you reading. The first and second books have nothing bad in them, but once you start a series you want to finish it, and the third and fourth get less appropriate. I like the fantasy meets reality. I also like the lifelike view of a high school and the idea that not everything is what it seems."
* Grace Slansky, age 10
"[The book series is inappropriate for] fourth graders and under because they may or may not be mature. I like it because it has good description and many details. [The film 'Twilight' is ok for everyone] because the worst is kissing."
* Madeline, age 11
"[The series is inappropriate for younger readers] because there is some sexual content in 'Eclipse' and 'Breaking Dawn' (the third and fourth books). I like how Stephenie Meyer could go on forever on this series."
* Benny Gonda, age 11
"I think [the Twilight books] are inappropriate for kids under 10 because there are a ton of kissing parts and some sexual parts, that kids under 10 would think were gross, instead of appreciating the beauty and uniqueness of the love between Bella and Edward. I love everything about the series, but what stands out most to me is the unique personalities of all the characters. It's amazing to me that Stephenie Meyer could start from scratch and create all of these amazing, grasping characters. It's hard for me to face the fact that they are not real."
* Lyla Polon, age 10 (11 in January)
"My older sister read one in about a day! But I'm going to wait until I'm older."
* Aron Kobayashi-Ritch, age 10
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Dear Santa!
So last Saturday was the ward Christmas party over at the church. It was a pretty good one I'd say. Noah was happy because we saw a girl eating kid approved macaroni and cheese (at least that's what we thought it was) and he didn't want the bread bowl and soup that was being offered. Nothing beats a warmish bowl of macaroni and cheese that's been sitting around for a while, right? Well when we got up there, there was no macaroni and cheese so it must have been all gone since we waited ten minutes to get in line. So Noah was very upset and didn't like his soup or bread bowl once the soup was in it. So, anyhoo, Noah is all upset and I'm done eating so I take him out to the hall to get some air. We were out there for a minute and he's still crying a little (he must have been tired, he's not usually that over dramatic). Then a door opens and what to our wondering eyes should appear? Santa Claus, of course. Minus the eight, tiny reindeer. So Noah sees Santa and Santa sees Noah and gives him this look that says, you want to meet me? Well come on over! So I ask Noah if he wants to come over and he says no. He wants to go out to the parking lot and see if the reindeer are there. Well I couldn't take him out to see the reindeer of course. We didn't have jackets on! That would be silly! So Santa goes in the cultural hall to see all the kids and after a minute I talk Noah into going in. Then of course, like everyone else we have to go stand in a long, confusing line and I'm smacking my head thinking, he was there! Santa was right there ten feet away from us with no kids in sight besides my own! And now here we are standing in the long line with every kid in the neighborhood! Now, who's being over dramatic? Finally, it's Noah's turn but he couldn't think of what he wanted for Christmas so I whisper transformer in his ear. He tells Santa transformer and then Santa asks, which transformer, Optimus Prime? (Is that the right name?) Some other kind I can't remember? That's me who can't remember, not Santa. Santa's smart and I think he was The Santa Claus because he had a real white beard that looked very authentic and had a very "Santa" vibe about him. So neither of us know which transformer because we know nothing about transformers except that Noah had fun playing with them at his friend Nick's house. Meanwhile, everyone is getting their dessert. Which looked like a lovely selection of cheesecakes and eclairs. We finish up and grab the little goody bags Santa was kind enough to give to all the boys and girls. Isabella and Zoe lucked out and didn't have to work for their goody bag. So we head over to the desserts and guess what? They are all gone! All gone. No dessert for me, darn. But the good thing was Noah had the goody bag and didn't notice the desserts were all gone so we didn't have a repeat of the macaroni and cheese incident. All in all, a highly successful evening!
Doll Adoption
Our ward relief society participated in a doll adoption for the Humanitarian Center at the D.I. You got to pick a ratty old doll and bring it home and make it look new again. The finished dolls will be sent to orphans somewhere. So I grabbed the first ratty, hairy doll I saw and brought it home. It ended up being a really fun project for us. Isabella and Zoe had a great time fixing her up and by the time we were done we were a little attached to the doll and a little sad to see her go. I guess you can get a doll anytime and fix it up so we may have to try it again soon. The doll was quite gross and dirty so we gave her a bath in soapy, bleachy water. Then washed her "mass of tangles and fuzz" hair and used a couple big handfuls of conditioner. It took over an hour to comb the hair out with the conditioner in it before we rinsed her out. I also had to sand and file her toe since the previous owner had a good time chewing on it, apparently. The last and most fun part was getting her new clothes and accessories. Great service project for a family!
After
Before
After
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Silly Pics....
....from trying to get a Christmas card picture. Who knows if we'll actually get around to it since I've got a bad attitude today and our printer sucks! Sometimes it just is what it is. I just said that because I keep seeing it everywhere lately for some reason. Maybe these pictures will put me in a better mood. That's what this blog is for right? Serving my own selfish wants? Ha ha ha! Okay, I need to leave now. Take a nap, eat some ice cream....Or something.
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