Expensive Work

I'm still a little amazed that nobody even commented on my Amazing Brains entry. I still think that's pretty incredible ...

But on to bigger things ... at least bigger in price! Paul and I were discussing the other day how much our work is/was billed for. When I left the PR agency in 2003, my work was billed at $125 per hour! And I was just an account executive, not a manager or senior member of the team. Paul's work at Unisys was billed $195 per hour with a minimum 2 hour charge plus travel and parts. At DirectPointe they bill $125 an hour for out-of-contract work.

Isn't it incredible to think ANYONE's time is worth that much? Do you know how much easier that was than being a mom, for which I get paid squat?!? It was just a nice reminder that my brain was valuable at one time, even if it doesn't feel like it now!

Fry Sauce -- YEAH!!!

Okay, if you've never been to Utah or surrounding states you probably haven't tasted fry sauce. I'm so sorry to inform you that you are seriously missing out. I didn't even realize it was a "Utah" thing until I left Utah and asked for some. I found none in Washington, D.C. I found none in California or Nevada. I found none in Georgia.

All I got when I asked for fry sauce in these places was confused looks. "You mean barbeque sauce?" No! Fry sauce! When I was in high school I once described it to a friend. About six months later she wrote to me from Wyoming and said the McDonald's where she worked started carrying fry sauce. That's when she knew I wasn't completely crazy ...

Anyway, I've always been bummed that you can only get it when you're out to eat. (Around here almost every fast food place used to carry it -- some stopped to save costs -- and even places like Red Robin carry it.) However, fortunately Some Dude realized that we Utahns need fry sauce at home, too. So, he now produces it so I can buy it in the stores. That's right: Some Dude's Fry Sauce is available at any grocery story, including Walmart and Costco. You should see the bottle I got from Costco!!!

Our favorite way to eat fry sauce is to add just a drop of BBQ sauce. This gives it a nice zip that you just can't resist. Seriously, there is no using ketchup after trying this stuff. Shayla agrees. A few nights ago she was sleeping while we ate dinner. When she woke up I just squirted some fry sauce on the pan and let her eat what was left of the french fries.

I laughed out loud when I looked over and saw her face planted in the fry sauce. Skip the eating it WITH french fries -- she was licking it up all by itself. And look how happy you can see she was:


In this one you can also see how long her hair is getting:



In any case, if you have't tried this stuff make sure I have some on hand next time I see you!!!

Amazing brains

I never cease to be amazed at how wonderful our brains are. Paul and I saw some PBS show about a new "brain fingerprint" they can use to tell if someone is telling the truth about a crime. Turns out we use different parts of our brain for memory than we do for imagination, so they asked people questions about a crime and tested whether they then used the memory or imagination part of their brain.

Anyway, this blog is about nothing so serious. It's just a fun way to show you how much smarter you are than you THINK you are. The first time I read this I was amazed. I hope you find it fun and entertaining, too.

THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttar in what order the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

I cna't blveiee taht I can aulacity uesdnatnrd what I am rdgnieg!

Amzanighuh?

Go to bed angry!

While I'm on the topic of annoying things (see gas prices below), I should mention some advice that really drives me nuts: "Never go to bed angry." Did anyone hear this at their wedding? We are extremely opposed to this advice and really hoped the person who sealed/married us wouldn't say it to us. (We figured it wouldn't be a great idea to get annoyed with the person marrying you eternally to the one you love in the holiest place on earth.)

It really is horrible advice! Any of you who have gone to bed angry realize how much better you feel in the morning. All of a sudden when you're not so tired, things don't seem nearly as bad. And you don't say things you don't mean. And you actually got some sleep instead of staying up all night trying to not get so mad and say things you don't mean.

I'll be the first to admit going to bed angry is difficult. However, every time we've had a disagreement and agreed to discuss it later, it has benefited our marriage. That way we both have some time to think about things, we have a specific time to discuss it (instead of me "springing" something on Paul, which I'm great at doing), and we cool down in the meantime so we can discuss it rationally instead of emotionally.

We were very blessed with a temple sealer who didn't give us that advice. In fact, he talked about someone who mentioned the blessing of their good health -- because he went on a walk every time they got angry at his wife. Now that's good advice! We really were relieved that he didn't give us the bad advice that we'd heard others receive at their wedding ceremonies.

A couple of weeks ago during a snowstorm I saw a woman in my ward out walking. I pulled over and said, "Please tell me you're not so good at exercising that you're out here doing it now!" She said, "No. I'm saving my kids' lives." I didn't understand, so she clarified that she had to leave the house so she wouldn't kill them. I guess she gets it. And she's now taught me that walking (or going to sleep angry) is good for saving more than marriages -- it's good for saving kids, too! :)

Gas Prices

Let me start off by mentioning how much I detest pumping gas. This is not because of the gas prices (not that I like paying out the ear for gas -- more on that below), but because of how it makes my hands smell. I'm always in heaven when we drive through Oregon, because there it is against the law to pump your own gas. I love it! I've tried to combat my smelly-hands problem with hand sanitizer, but the smell of hand sanitizer plus gas is even worse than the smell of plain ol' gas. Anyway, on with my blog about gas prices ...

I have a little beef with gas prices, and it's not the beef you'd think. In fact, I couldn't even tell you what gas prices are right now. I think they're somewhere around $3/gallon, but I couldn't tell you an exact number to save my life. How can I not know? Well, first let me warn Hilary and Julie to cover their eyes while I explain ...

I don't try to find the best gas prices. In fact, I think people get all silly trying to find the place with the lowest gas prices. I tend to notice if one place is always above the rest so I can avoid it, but I don't mind if I'm paying a few cents more per gallon. How can this be? The rest of the nation is addicted to finding the lowest priced gas in the county, even searching Web sites that help you find the cheapest gas in town.

Well, I've done the math, and it's not worth it for me to have extra effort when filling up. I already detest pumping gas (because of the smelly hands), so I don't need something so minor to add to my annoyance. Here's the math: If I go to a place that is 5 cents more than a neighboring gas station (which really isn't that common -- they're usually a few cents or less different), and I put a full 14 gallons into my tank, then I've spent 70 cents more than I would have trying to get into the cheapest place. That's less than a buck. And that's only if the cheapest place is on my route, which it usually isn't. If I actually DRIVE to the place with the cheapest gas just to get the cheapest gas, then I've used part of that 70 cents I supposedly saved. Over the course of a year of filling up (I fill up once every two weeks), then I've spent less than $20 difference than if I went to the place that was 5 cents cheaper.

So, now what I want to know is why people get so wacky about a $2 monthly difference? (I guess if you fill up every week and have a big tank it could be $4 per month.) People plop down money daily for soda, lunch, DVDs, clothes, electronics, etc. and yet they're concerned about $1 for gas? It makes no sense to me. Very few people really watch every dime they spend (which are why Hilary and Julie are great examples to me!), so why is gas different? They'll shop at a more expensive grocery store (spending hundreds more per year), but they'll research and drive out of their way to get the cheapest gas. What am I missing here?

Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I'll continue to ignore gas prices. I fill up at Costco when I'm there since I know it's always cheaper, but I make it there once a month or less. So, on those other fill-ups I'll get my stinky hands pumping whatever gas is most convenient ...

We love Dilbert

So, I just noticed that Paul added a link so that any of you can get to Dilbert from our blog. Of course, that's his essential reading for the day! I usually read them about a week at a time since I forget to do it day to day. It never ceases to amaze me how well the comic pinpoints office politics and bureaucracy.

Some of you may think the comic extreme, but there is always some truth to it, which is why it is so funny. If you've ever worked from a cube, you know exactly what I'm talking about!

I've had several people tell me they just don't get why Dilbert is even funny. All I can figure is that they've never worked in a cube environment. If you have, you understand exactly what is so funny about it. And the tech stuff gives Paul quite a chuckle.

If nothing else, be glad it doesn't ALWAYS feel as bad in real life as it is for Dilbert ...

Blessings of the Priesthood

Well, after two visits to the doctor (this week), paying out the ear and watching Shayla continue to be sick, I finally realized that she needed a priesthood blessing. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it sooner.

Anyway, starting about Thursday morning, Shayla wouldn't eat a thing. We tried to give her anything and everything she likes, only to have her push it away. Once in a while on Thursday she would put something in her mouth and then very quickly spit it out. On Friday she wouldn't even put anything into her mouth. She wouldn't drink milk, water or juice, so I was getting really worried about her being dehydrated.

It didn't help on Friday afternoon to have someone say, "That's what the Yates girl had." They then proceeded to tell me about her having lascerations in her throat (like the doctor said Shayla had) and getting dehydrated and being hospitalized for four days. Ugh! No!!! The person mentioning it was our home teacher's wife, because I had just asked her if her husband would be around and available to help with the blessing.

Anyway, we had a neighbor come over Friday night and help give Shayla a blessing. She actually sat very still like she knew the blessing would help her. Usually she isn't so fond of strangers, especially if they try to touch her. But when he put his hands on her head, she just looked at him.

Needless to say, the power of the priesthood is awesome! Shayla was acting more like herself later that night, which she hadn't done for days. Saturday she ate a few things and played and played and played. She hasn't played for days! Then today she's already eating more like normal -- she ate cereal for breakfast and drank milk. She also asked for some cinnamon roll and more milk. Phew! I am so grateful that we have the power of God on the earth so that we don't have to rely solely on medicine, which is a much lesser power. And I'm grateful Shayla is able to play and act like a toddler having fun instead of a miserable girl with nothing to do!

Yummy Food

Last night for Valentine's Day we went for the first time to P.F. Chang's. I really wish we hadn't! Not only was the food DELICIOUS, but their service was great AND we found out that they're really reasonably priced. Now the temptation to go there again begins ... as if we ever eat out anyway! :).

Really, it was great food. I'd heard about their lettuce wraps, and they were all that they were talked up to be. We also got the Mongolian Beef and Dan dan noodles. I'm sorry if you've been there and tried that Mongolian beef, because now you must be craving it again with me mentioning it. Mmmmm .... I felt like I should act like Bob on "What about Bob?" when he eats with the family. Remember that part where he keeps taking a bite and saying, "Mmmm. Mmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmm" until the psychologist screams at him? That's how I felt (like Bob, not the psychologist). The best part for us was that we had a gift card from Paul's work, so the entire meal was free for us. Score! And since we made reservations, we walked in and didn't have to wait for a second. Wait!!! Back up: The best part was that we were sans kids and were able to enjoy the yummy food without interruption. :)

This was our 8th Valentine's Day together, and it was great. We came home and watched an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" where they go out to eat at a fancy restaurant and have nothing to talk about but how good the bread is. I'm glad we're not to that point, and I hope we never are!

And to sorta satisfy Paul's inner geek we stopped at Best Buy to look at camcorders. We can't wait to get a new one! Anyway, I mentioned that we should ask if we can talk to someone from the Nerd Herd. He laughed out loud over that one. He said any respectable geek should know what I'm talking about. So, when we went in and started looking, an employee asked if he could help us out. As he was getting a camcorder out for us, I asked, "So, are you on the nerd herd?" He said, "No, this isn't the Buy More." He passed! Now we can truly value his opinion. :) And if the rest of you are lost as to what I'm talking about, you should try watching Chuck sometimes. Paul says it's like cotton candy -- not a lot of substance, but fun to watch.

And on that note, HOORAY that the writer's strike is over!!! I wish I were paid that much for a wacky sense of humor ... it's just that I'm not wacky enough, I suppose ... :)

Happy Valentine's Day

In celebration of Valentine's Day, a drawing from Zachary of my wedding day:


Now, I love, love, LOVE this picture. Let me explain what he explained to me: Paul and I are exchanging boquets with each other. The blue cake is for Paul and the pink cake is for me. What an idea! Two of the presents are for Paul, and two are for me. He also put the black with the stars in the sky to show it was night and the blue with the snowflakes to show that it was snowing. (It wasn't, but we did get married in November!)

My two favorite parts: 1. The ring. You've gotta love the size of that rock!; and 2. The modified wedding dress. The wedding dress sticker wasn't long enough, so he added the bridesmaid dress to make me modest. I love it!

Hope you all enjoy the day with your sweethearts!

Peace of Mind vs. Money

How much should we have to pay for peace of mind? This week we've paid $50. Let me back up and explain ...

Shayla has been sick now for 1 1/2 weeks. I don't remember if I mentioned about her ear infection, but she started taking amoxicillan a week ago Monday. Well, she continued to be miserable with a cold and still has it this much later. However, Tuesday she had a major rash all over her body, so I was sure that she was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic.

So, I called the doctor's office to see if it really was a big deal and if I NEEDED to bring her in or if I could just finish up the antibiotic and call it good. The lady almost seemed appalled I'd ask such a question and want to keep giving my daughter something she may be allergic to. I figured it couldn't be THAT bad of an allergy if it took a week to happen. (Maybe I'm wrong?) Anyway, she said that a rash can't be diagnosed over the phone and that I'd have to come in.

Well, after paying my $25 co-pay, the doctor informed me that the rash was just fine. Apparently if you apply a little pressure to it and it goes away for a second it's a benign rash. He said also if it wasn't itching her then it was probably just a side-effect and not an allergy. Hello! If they had put me through and let me talk to him I could have saved $25.

Fortunately Becca called me before going down for that appointment, because then while we were there I could make them give her a strep test. Positive. (Not surprising since we took Paul to the doctor Saturday and he tested positive for strep. This was starting to get expensive!) So, at least for my $25 I got Becca diagnosed with strep earlier than she would have gotten in otherwise.

The day after basically wasting that $25 Shayla started having a fever, and a nice one at that (101 and above). So, I called the doctor's office and asked if maybe she could have strep, even though she just went off an antibiotic two days earlier? They said anything was possible, but that they don't treat kids under 2 for strep. However, because of the fever they recommended bringing her in again for another evaluation.

I wasn't about to go two days in a row. At this point we had already paid more than $100 in co-pays in a week. However, this morning when I took her temperature she registered at 103.7! So, I felt guilty for not taking her in to save a measly $25. I took her in and guess what?!? She has a sore throat and they don't treat sore throats!!! He said to give her popsicles and ice cream or anything cold she may like to eat. She has lascerations in her throat, so it's probably more sore than strep, but that there's nothing they can do. They basically said to keep her drugged. I could have done that without paying you $25 and waiting 45 minutes to see you!!!

In any case, I'm glad for the peace of mind to know that I'm not just being cheap and making my baby suffer. She has to suffer while we dish out $50 just to be told she's going to be fine. Sigh ... at least she no longer has the ear infection and I know it. At least we have health insurance, even if it is expensive and eats our shorts month after month. And at least we live in a time when medicine and doctors are readily available so that we can have peace of mind and a little relief with some ibuprofen.

I'm just hoping my Shayla gets better soon!!!

Cutie Patootie

Speaking of Murphy ... Shayla has started sleeping in a bed instead of her crib. I'm not into having kids in cribs until they're four. Yes, she's only 20 months, but she's the oldest of our kids to be in her crib. So, we moved her into a bed, which she's LOVING. We had a net in case she fell out, but she would climb off the bed and then couldn't get back on. So, we took the net down and decided we'd see how it goes.

Needless to say, it went great! She has enjoyed the "freedom" and is staying in bed. That is, until last night. Paul and I were sitting on the couch after the kids went to bed when he said, "It's so nice that Shayla is liking her bed and not falling out without the net." I said, "Really, did you have to say that out loud?!???" Seriously less than five minutes later we heard a big thump and then Shayla screaming. I said since Paul cursed her he had to go take care of her. So, he calmed her down. Then about 30 minutes later, another thump and a scream. Needless to say, the net went back on last night. Maybe it was just her cough medicine that makes her extra sleepy, but I'm thinking it's that Murphy guy again ...

On the brighter side, last week Shayla knelt down for family prayer and tried and tried to get her doll to fold her arms. She got a little frustrated when the doll's arms wouldn't STAY folded, but it was adorable to watch.

Shayla has also figured out a way to eat and keep her hands free for other activities. Paul calls this picture "our little cookie monster." I love the wide eyes, a look she sometimes gives me now.

Sacrament Meeting

I now realize that I never wrote about our last Sacrament Meeting, which some of you might find humorous, but only because it wasn't yours ...

First of all, Shayla wasn't feeling well, so she was a cranky bug! One of the boys bumped her, which broke her cracker, so she screamed through the opening song. I finally decided to take her out to calm her down. We stayed out during the sacrament, during which I saw a man from our ward come out for the garbage can. I thought that was strange. He smiled at me and went back in. I thought nothing of it, until Shayla and I went back into the meeting.

As we get to our bench I notice that there are bread crumbs all over the floor at the end of our bench. I asked what happened, and apparently Becca bumped it out of Tyler's hand. Oops. (For the record, she was having a very clutzy day -- she later accidentally poked Shayla in the eye and dropped a chili-covered ladle onto her new sweater.) I sat down, and Shayla stayed in the aisle. She didn't want to come in and sit down. Paul, who didn't realize she had a cracker in her mouth, picked her up quickly and brought her into our bench.

Well, as you can guess, she inhaled the cracker, which made her gag, which made her throw up on Paul. All we had to clean it up with was a bib, so Paul took that and a paper box Becca had made (and quickly handed us to catch throw-up) and went out to wash his hands. Fortunately she mostly got it on herself, but that made her smell for the rest of the meeting.

I don't remember why she started crying again (probably getting too much "love" from Zachary), but I ended up having to take her out again. I wanted to stay and hear the testimonies, so I sat in the lobby. I remembered at one point that we had to fill out our fast offerings, so I pulled that out to do it. I noticed Shayla had walked around the corner, and I expected her to come right back. She's normally not brave enough to wander far. When she didn't come right back, I peeked down the hall and she was gone!

I saw a man walking up the hall toward me, and I asked if he had passed a little red-headed girl. He said no. That made me freak out a little. I checked the women's restroom, no Shayla. I started to peek into the men's restroom when a man in my ward came out, and he checked for me, no Shayla. I checked in the nursery (still the other ward in there), no Shayla. I checked the overflow of the chapel and the chapel itself, no Shayla. At this point I was getting really worried.

I started looking into the gym and every classroom down the hall. I was especially concerned because she disappeared so quickly. As I was nearing the library, which is at the end of the hall before it bends around a corner, she came around the corner with a lady following her. The lady and her little boy said, "There's her mommy" as I grabbed her. Crazy little thing! Who knows why she decided to run down the hall, and how did that man miss such a cute little thing passing him when there was nobody else in the hall?!? (Sorry, men, but you're a bit clueless sometimes. No comments on us moms in response, okay!!)

Anyway, I finally took Shayla home, but only after finding someone to fill in for me on a task I was assigned to assist the Sunday School teacher. I came home and put her into bed and breathed a sigh of relief that church for us was over!

Murphy's Law ...

Who was Murphy, and how did he get so infamous? Personally I don't like the guy a bit! More specifically, I don't like how his law has come into practice for us this week with regards to medical issues.

First, Shayla has had a really bad cold since Sunday. She was definitely not feeling her best on Sunday, and she seemed miserable on Monday. So, I decided Monday afternoon that if she was still so miserable on Tuesday then I would take her to the doctor. I finally realize that I should take her temperature at something like 6:01 p.m. When I lifted her up I saw that she had a rash on her stomach and back. Of course, our doctor's office closed at 6 p.m. Grrrr .... Murphy!

Then today Paul woke up saying his throat hurt. Okay, fine. We went about our day, and I was looking forward to the leadership training meeting at 6 p.m. Hilary decided to go with us instead of to hers at 9 a.m., so that made it even better. Turns out that at 5:15ish Paul says he feels terrible and has to go to the doctor. Why not two hours earlier?!? We call InstaCare, and they say they have a 1.5-hour wait and close at 8. So much for being spiritually uplifted on a Saturday night and hearing Pres. Monson for the first time as prophet. Grrr ... Murphy!!!

Maybe I'll continue to postpone genealogy just to make sure I don't find a line related to this bad-luck guy!

Don't ask

These days it may be best not to ask Paul how it's going at work. Along with some frustrating organizational changes, he's not getting any challenges or growth, which is making work a bit of a downer right now. He called me yesterday to say that at least he's not feeling as bad as Dilbert (click on the comic to enlarge it):

Is this really why so many people say, "I'm fine"?

Marrige Adjustments

On my last post I mentioned how marriage has changed me. Yes, I fall asleep in a heartbeat if it's quiet and comfy and I'm wrapped up in a blanket. Somehow last night that made me remember the biggest adjustment I had to getting married -- sharing the covers!

Obviously I was used to having the covers all to myself. I hadn't shared a bed since I was something like 6 years old when my sister and I had a queen bed together. (And when you're 6 a queen bed is A LOT bigger than it is now!) Anyway, I loved having the covers all tucked around me so I could get toasty warm.

Well, when I got married I couldn't believe how, well, drafty it was. I could tuck around me on my side, but then there was this space between me and Paul that just let the air right in. It drove me nuts! The draftiness no longer bothers me, but I'm not sure if it's because I'm used to it or because I've figured out a way to make it less drafty. Doesn't matter, I suppose.

The other problem we had was that the covers just didn't seem big enough. It was annoying enough that I nearly went and bought a king size sheet and comforter just so we could both have as much as we wanted. However, I realized that still wouldn't work, because when Paul turns over, he takes the covers with him! Yes, that's right -- he doesn't turn over under the covers, he grabs the covers and takes them with him when he turns over. That problem has been resolved, too. I think he's stopped taking the sheet with him when he turns over, much to my delight. Those are the kinds of changes I like to see in my man! :)

Another problem we had was that he always wanted warmer covers than I do. If we use his choice of blankets, then I'm too hot. If we use my choice, then he's too cold. What's a couple to do? Needless to say, we found a great solution. We share a sheet and have our own blankets. I'm not really sure how this happened, but I have a blanket that's not too heavy (and it's nice and smooth :), and he has the comforter on. Somehow this arrangement works perfectly.

I guess it only took us seven years to figure out this solution. Fortunately it wasn't interrupting our sleep or anything, but now we can say we sleep in peaceful bliss ... :)

Zzzzzzz ......

Okay, I admit it ... I'm turning into my mother! It used to drive me CRAZY when I would watch a movie with my mom, and at the end she would wake up and say, "What happened? I fell asleep."

Let's say I'm a lot more forgiving these days, especially since I'm starting to do the same thing! Last night Paul and I sat down to watch President Hinckley's funeral. We recorded it since we wanted to watch it uninterrupted and had all of our kids and Hilary's here while she attended her grandma's funeral. So, we figured we'd just wait until we put the kids to bed and watch in nice, peaceful quiet.

Apparently it was too peaceful and too quiet. I got through only two (maybe even 1 1/2) speakers before I zonked. At one point I remember Paul laughing and me laughing to act like I was still awake, but I'd already lost it at that point. (No need to worry, I don't think I fooled him for a second.) Oh well ... at least since it's recorded I can watch it later.

I have to give Paul a hard time, though, too. We visited my parents last night and of course my dad had the Superbowl on. Paul went in with my dad to sit and watch for a bit and got so comfy there that he fell asleep on my parent's bed. That's right, smack dab in the middle of the Superbowl. I guess that goes to show how into the game he was, huh? :)

I think we're both definitely past our days of staying up until midnight or later to hang out. I still can't believe we did that and functioned in any way! I remember one night when Paul, Aleshia and I were up hanging out, and at 2 a.m. and Paul and Aleshia went out to get us donuts for a snack! (For those of you starting to worry, Paul and I were just friends at that point, so he wasn't going anywhere with "another woman.") I don't even know of a place around here where we could do that, let alone imagine ever wanting to. I'm sure when our teenagers do crazy things like that we'll think they're nuts.

Needless to say, I'm okay with my new "schedule" of being out by 10:15 while on the couch watching TV. I guess I'm proof that marriage really does change you. :)

Extremes

I have been at what feels like two extremes today. This morning I got an e-mail challenging me to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days to honor President Gordon B. Hinckley, who lived 97 1/2 years. I thought about what a wonderful idea this is and how it really could be a boost -- not only am I reading the Book of Mormon, but I'm doing it quickly and as a way to honor a beloved prophet and leader.

Then I remembered something else on the other end of the spiritual spectrum. We keep seeing commercials for a show (Lipstick Jungle) that pilots this Thursday. The commercials are very offensive and inappropriate for public TV. I've been meaning to contact NBC and KSL (the local affiliate) to complain, and I keep forgetting. So, today when I got home from church I got right on the Internet and wrote complaints to NBC and KSL and actually filed a formal complaint with the FCC for the commercials I've seen. To file a complaint with the FCC you have to be very specific, so I had to try to remember the smut I'd seen on these commericals.

It felt great to take action against something so important. However, I realized very quickly the extremes of the day and am grateful that my next 97 days will be dedicated to the spiritual high aspect instead of watching a new show that will drive the spirit from my home.

In case you're interested in voicing your opinion about it or any other indecency you see on TV, I contacted NBC through their Web site in an online form, I sent an e-mail to the KSL TV station manager via their online form, and I sent an FCC complaint via http://www.parentstv.org/.

And while I'm talking about decency, let me mention two Web sites that help us as parents. The first is the one I just mentioned, www.parentstv.org. You can go there to find their recommendation on any public TV show, and whether or not it contains violence, nudity, language, etc. They give it a red, yellow or green light for children. The other site I have used for years is www.screenit.com. On that site you can look up any movie and find out very specifically what is included -- it breaks down violence, disrespectful behavior, imitative behavior, nudity, sex, language, etc., etc., etc. I LOVE it and we are able to avoid a lot of good movies with only a bad part that way. (Think of the Mormonad with the cockroach in the middle of the ice cream sundae -- one bad part is really enough to ruin the whole thing!) Now if only they would rate plays so I don't end up going to one like Gypsy again ... good thing we were in Utah for that one so it wasn't indecent! :)

More Mitt Love

I believe our government will continue to go downhill no matter who is elected because of the whole "politics" aspect of politics. (The joys of not having a king, huh? :) So, should we just elect Hillary so we can ruin the government further to try to expedite the second coming? No, and this is the reason I thought of this morning: We still have so many nations in which to preach the gospel before the second coming of the Savior can happen. Think of how many political doors it could open for Mitt to be in the White House. Just imagine missionaries in EVERY country! Thought I'd share a random, cool thought I had a thought this morning.

Side note: When Bill Clinton was elected I was seriously sick to my stomach. I'd rather not have that feeling again. I actually had a professor postpone the due date of a paper we were writing because of the depressing election results that year ...

Global Warming?

So, we keep hearing over and over about Global Warming and about how the planet is getting hotter and hotter and it's causing all sorts of problems and such. Have the people saying this EVER visited Utah during the winter???

Yesterday as I was shoveling the driveway (and had it re-covered with snow before I finished) I had this thought: If this is global warming, bring it on!!! I'd rather have it this "hot" during the winter, because it is freezing!!! We're not supposed to get above 30 this week, and most days I believe supposed to be lower than that. The sun is shining outside right now and it is 18 degrees. YES, 18 degrees!!! This is global warming?

(On a funny side note, my weather report says it is now 18 degrees, but the low today will be 23. Figure out that one for me.)

This is the kind of entertainment we have in global warming:

Notice we didn't have the usuals, so we used cranberries for eyes and a pickle for the nose? Hope you're enjoying your warm globe as much as we are this winter!