Am I being punished?

No I am not. I know that. God doesn’t punish anyone. With that said, he doesn’t always intervene and therefore bad things happen. Well, nothing bad has happen! But, for those who know me know I don’t like guns, real or fake. I don’t think it is fun when children shoot at me. I know it is normal for children to play guns, but I still don’t like them. The only guns my children own are squirt guns from this last summer and the guns that come with Isaac’s clone trooper action figures. Isaac never turned any toy into a gun until his 2 or 3 year old sister did! And Benjamin, being the youngest, is always shooting at something. So what is the punishment I have been given? Tonight, Isaac was walking down the hallway and said, “ Daddy, can you imagine if your nostrils were guns?” So, the next time I see him wiggling his nose, I am going to think that he is trying to shoot at me!

This happens to go well with a conversation I had about guns and boys blowing things up the other day. The conversation was the same as any conversation until my friend asked how I liked bows and arrows since they are meant for hurting others. Great question! It really made me think (which is why I like her so much). to me bows and arrows are cartoon, fictional toys. So,I don’t think anything bad about them. You can even make them! However, they are meant for killing. They were used throughout the middle ages for war and hunting food. So are bows and arrows any less violent or do they portray any less evil than guns? Well, for me, at this time, yes. In our day and age, guns are associated with crime and hurting others. I don’t think hunting is a necessary sport. While I am not a vegetarian, I don’t see the need to go kill an animal for food. I can buy my chicken at the store. Unless I am a. officer of the peace, I don’t see a need to learn to shoot a gun. I guess also I don’t see how playing guns or shooting guns makes me a better person.

So, for all the guns lovers out there, just so you know, Isaac did get his BB Gun Belt Loop at scout camp AND I know someone who takes their 6 year old daughter to a local gun club and I have thought that maybe Isaac, and Bekah but she doesn’t like to shoot the bow and arrow yet, might like to go sometime. So while I am so weird compared to the rest of the world, I am not completely out of touch with reality. I still think that guns are a yucky evil in our world, but they are here and I do try to understand Isaac’s happiness in playing with them.

Mrs. Jennings

I love Jane Austen books. I love the love stories. I am fascinated how the people never talk to each other! In Pride and Prejudice Jane’s own mother asks Elizabeth about what happened while Jane was in London. In Sense and Sensibility there were numerous times when the sisters openly conceal things from each other. No communication. And who is the bad character? Mrs. Jennings who talks! She doesn’t talk bad about anyone, she just talks. So, while I would love to be able to conceal so much, I am more like Mrs. Jennings. Well, I would like to be more like Mrs.Jennings =) Someone who just talks. My problem is that I have opinions, so while I am talking like Mrs. Jennings, I tend to voice those opinions and hence consider myself a gossip =( Sad, but true. And something I am working on! So, the point of this blog post, is that while I have said some horrible things about people (when voicing my opinion), I recently said some non-horrible things about a person I know. These non-horrible things were really expressed concerns that were formulated from information I had from a year and a half ago. Apparently someone told her (super mad message posted to Facebook, followed by threatening comments from her husband, and thus being completely blocked from her). While I say things that people should be mad at me about, this was honestly a mistake. However, she never talked to me personally about it. Only put comments on Facebook and then blocked me (and in my opinion, she should have come to me). So,m in my efforts to be Mrs. Jennings, I will continue to try and keep my opinions to myself to other people about other people, but I will continue to talk and not conceal everything =)

Albertson's

So Albertson's is not my favorite store. It is just too expensive. It is also almost 5 miles away from my house! I have Stater Bros, WinCo, Food 4 less (never step foot in that store), Target, and Costco all within 2 miles, so why travel 5 miles to an expensive store. Today I needed Potato Dumplings for St. Nick, saffron, caraway seeds, currants, and ultra tampons. So why did I travel 5 miles to an expensive store? Because they carry all those items and the stores closer to me do not!

No painkillers please, we're British - USATODAY.com

No painkillers please, we're British - USATODAY.com

Last year, our book club group began the discussion of Freedoms versus Securities. It is actually interesting to think about. China is a very safe country. They have lots of security. However, they have minimal freedoms! The freedoms we have here in America make it so some of our security is taken away. Now I am not concerned about the security of going outside for a bike ride, but my children are not protected in the public school with the curriculum being taught. For the most part, I would have to say that America does have freedom AND security, but our country was founded on freedoms, not securities.

The above article is a great look at the securities in England, but not necessarily their freedoms.

Mommy Life: Transgendered Girl Scouts - yes, really

Mommy Life: Transgendered Girl Scouts - yes, really

No thoughts need be expressed. He sums it up!

The Awakening

So, my niece (16) was required to read this book for school. She was enjoying it, so I asked to read it after she was finished. I think it is an moderately-easy read and something I want to keep reading to learn more about. With that said. I am not finishing the book. It is a women's lib book. The main character is married with 2 children and the family is spending their summer on an island resort. She spends her time with an unmarried man while her husband goes to work on the ferry and her children spend their time with a nanny. So of course this will eventually lead to divorce, a broken family and all because of selfishness! This book is not making me a better person. The husband is not a bad guy. He is very nice and attentive, when the wife lets him. I do not appreciate Warren more because of this book. I don't appreciate my life better. Her life is great, she just is choosing to be selfish!

So my question is, why on earth does a 16 year old required to read this book for school? Maybe there is something else to come in the book? I read 57 of the 133 pages and yet, nothing to make me a better person. There is a selection of short stories by the same author in the book. One of the titles is 'A Shameful Affair'. Great choose of books for our impressionable teenagers! No security! (see post on pain killers)

'Brocket'

Almost three years ago, my mother got a new puppy. It was very tiny and was often cold. My mom solved her problem by carrying the dog around in her 'brocket'. Clever. Since then many girls and women are using their 'brockets' for cell phones, money, lipstick, etc. In fact, I believe my grandma used her 'brocket' for her tissues. So, this idea is actually not new, but very popular. It is so popular, that at the LA County Fair, there was a lady selling bras with pockets! Now, she didn't have my mom's great name, but still, she was selling them =)

So, why am I thinking about his at 5 in the morning? What else should I think about at 5 in the morning while folding laundry?

Mother Theresa came to mind. Do you think she would have stuck her hand down her shirt, IN PUBLIC, IN FRONT OF THE POPE to pull out a list she had made or to get a tissue? NO!!!!!! Are you kidding me. That would have been gross. The media would have had something unpleasant about Mother Theresa to talk about. And what about President Obama or any other male pubic figure? How would you like to see them stick their hands in their UNDERWEAR to get some money? Anybody else here grossed out?!

So the bigger problem is really the lack in class, respect, etc. in our society as a whole. The 'What is convenient for me is what I am going to!' attitude. Our standard of dress and standard about what is acceptable to do and say in public and mixed company has changed. I know I contribute to it, but hopefully I can make some positive changes in my life might just be old-fashioned =)