A Quickie (And not the fun kind)

First off, Congratulations to Bo and Andrea. I have many beautiful pictures of your new daughter and you may see them for the low low price of $39.95. You can paypal Mark.
No really, congratulations. She is beautiful.
Second, thanks to everyone who posted as requested. Roxann, what happened to you?
Third, John Huntsman is going to be on Glenn Beck tomorrow night. Is he the same one Grandma and Grandpa knew?

Ok. Gotta go to ballet.

An Open Letter

To: Bo & Andrea, Korynn & Bryan, Sharel, and Roxann,

Post something.

Bo & Andrea and Sharel: Yeah, I know you guys are pregnant and one of you is ready to explode any minute. It will make the time go faster. I promise.

Roxann: I miss hearing about what the kids are doing to you now.

Korynn & Bryan: What up? Your fingers aren't broken. Get to it.

P.S. to Bo & Andrea: you should do it now, because you aren't going to be doing much of anything for at least 2 weeks after the baby comes.

Thank you. That is all.

I Got Sucked In

Despite all my previous assertions to the contrary I got sucked in this morning and actually watched the inauguration proceedings (I think "inauguration" needs more u's and a's in it), or rather I watched the pre-game show. I saw the exciting, thrill-a-minute, limo ride featuring The Great Chosen One and that other guy, whatshisname. I was on the edge of my seat as they flew along at an impressive 8 miles an hour en route to the Capitol. I literally gripped my chair as they slowed to a stop and parked under the Capitol stairs. I almost crapped my pants in joy when Sandra Day O'Connor walked out and down the red carpet. Jimmy and Rosalind Carter got a similar reaction out of me. And when I saw the great wife of our chosen leader, a woman greater than Mother Theresa and the Dalai Lama put together, in all her gold brocade glory, I actually burst into tears and thought, "Now I can die." I watched old lady whatsherface introduce Obama and then I could watch no more.

Really, though, let's talk about Obama and his choice to "model" his self after Abraham Lincoln. Because we were all lied to in elementary school, most Americans live under the mistaken notion that Lincoln was a benevolent abolitionist who believed in equal rights for all. In fact, Lincoln did NOT believe that the black man was equal to the white man. He thought of them almost as helpless and simple folk who were far less intelligent than the average white man. Lincoln's decision to free the slaves was not motivated by an overwhelming sense of humanity, but by the knowledge that freeing the slaves would not only cripple the south's economy, but tear apart their social structures and greatly weaken their armies. It was almost a last resort. Let me also point out that the Emancipation Proclamation only freed the slaves living in the Confederate States. It didn't even free slaves in southern states which were already under Union control. All African-Americans were not officially freed from enslavement until the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, nearly three years later.

Now, I'm not saying that the Emancipation Proclamation wasn't a great thing. It was a good first step in the long battle for equal rights. I'm not saying Lincoln didn't play a great part in the battle. He did. I'm just saying, that he was no Mahatma Gandhi. His motives were not pure. Therefore, I think it is a bit laughable that Obama is choosing to identify so much with Lincoln. It is almost universally accepted among historians that Lincoln, although a very enlightened man, was a racist.

All that said, at the risk of being totally flamed, I would like to say that I like ONE and only ONE thing about Obama. Actually, it isn't really about Obama, but about what Obama may represent. I hope that having him in office will do something to change the self-esteem of young black kids everywhere. Maybe there will be less of a sense of oppression within the African-American community. Obama himself is still the spawn of Satan and a dirty, lying socialist. If he does something I like I hope that I can put my total and complete hatred for the commie aside and admit it. I'm not holding my breath, though.

That's my two cents.

Goals

So, I was reading the blog of one of my friends and she had listed her goals for the new year. Now, I don't normally make New Year's resolutions, cause I figure they are just one more thing to break. Also, it is really trendy to make them, and I don't like doing what everyone else does. That being said, I started to think about some goals for the immediate future and decided to share some of them with you guys.

1. Serve others more. This one is a goal that Mark and I have both set. We feel like we have been so blessed, and one of the best ways to show our thanks is to serve others. So far, we have been doing pretty good with it. Mark is amazing. He has really been diligent about looking for ways to serve. I am not as good. I tend to be a little more selfish with my time and energy, mostly because I think I am afraid of wearing myself out. To begin with, I need to look for little opportunities and get out of the mindset that I have to do something really physically draining in order to serve.

2. Magnify our callings. I don't have a calling right now, so I figure my calling is to help Mark magnify his. He is really awesome and wants to work really hard as the Elder's Quorum President. Sometimes all he needs is for me to tell him that it is okay to leave me and visit members of the quorum who need help. So, I am working on being okay with the kids by myself while he goes out and takes care of things.

3. Do my visiting teaching. This is a hard one for me. I'm not very motivated and I am afraid to use the phone, so that puts a damper on my visiting teaching. Mostly, I think I am afraid to reach out. But, I really need to be more diligent, so I am going to try to make visiting teaching a priority.

4. Read our scriptures. This shouldn't be a hard one, but it is. President Medina has set a reading schedule for the stake and Mark and I are about 10 days behind, but we are working to catch up. Last night, Mailee said she wasn't tired and that she wanted to stay up for a little bit. We told her she could, but she had to sit and listen to us read the D&C. By the time we were finished she was pretty relaxed (and bored) and ready to go to bed. So, there you go. Scripture reading can be like Benadryl for kids.

That's all for now, because I can smell that Brick has a very exciting surprise in his pants for me.

Peace.

To Smoke...or Not

So, I was reading an article on Fark the other day and the basic gist of it was, "We all know smoking is bad for you, so who still smokes?" (I'm too lazy to find the article for you. Deal with it.) The article rather ambiguously mentioned that dictator-elect Obama may or may not smoke and may or may not have been trying to quit or already have quit.

First off, that's some hard-hitting reporting right there. Way to find out your facts and take a stand.

Secondly, I feel deceived. Through all those months of the campaign I never saw any pictures of Obama smoking. He is such a fine upstanding man who keeps company with some of the finest people in the nation. I'm shocked that he would conceal anything so important about himself. Surely it was just a mistake that he was never photographed with a cigarette. It just doesn't seem likely that someone as honest as he would take any measures at all to not be photographed while smoking. It must have been some sort of conspiracy against Obama to make him seem more or less approachable or more or less like the average American or more or less...smart?

Seriously, though. He smokes? What a dumbass. I'd ask, "Doesn't he know that's bad for him?" but I think his college days as a drug dealer speak volumes on that subject. I just don't think I could ever take anyone seriously who voluntarily sucks tar into their lungs. Seem petty and judgmental? Yeah, well that's me.