Jenn's Blog

Ben and I finally decided on a work out and started yesterday. Today is a rest day, which is good because we are both SOOO sore.

I've been looking for a new routine for a while. I've been walking on the treadmill since soon after Gabe was born. I started with 15 minutes a day, 3-4 days a week and just kept adding on. I was up to an hour a day 6-7 days a week when I plateaued. Then I started working out about 2 hours a day a few times a week. I stopped that after a while because Ben was complaining that it was too time consuming and it really wasn't giving me results after the first few weeks. I've been frustrated since the beginning of the year because I'm within 10 pounds of my goal, but can't lose, or I lose and then gain it back. Several people have told me to lift weights, but I don't know anything about lifting and just felt overwhelmed!

Thankfully, I "ran into" a former co-worker on Facebook. She was posting about her weight loss journey and her results were impressive. She was raving about the programs from teambeachbody.com and her pictures were inspiring. So we bought one of the work-outs and I'm excited about it. It's a 90 day program which is nice because a lot of the work out videos you can get out there will only last you so long before you plateau. With this program we just have to follow the schedule and not worry about it. Also, we'll only be working out 5 days a week and never any longer than an hour. Which means, if it works, that I'll be working out less and seeing better results. I would love it if this were the case!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/japan.father.abduction/index.html#cnnSTCText?iref=werecommend

Sooo, this man marries a Japanese women. They have 2 kids together and are living in the US. He cheats on her. He divorces her. He marries the other woman. She's supposed to live in a foreign country now, with no family nearby, so that he can have his kids? Why didn't he and his new wife move to Japan, if being near his kids is of such dire importance? Or, maybe, he shouldn't have cheated in the first place? I hope they figure this out, but he's no hero in my book.

(And I realize this is all based on a lot of assumptions. I obviously don't know these people and what else is involved, these are just my initial thoughts on the whole thing.)

A good letter I pulled from our newspaper, the Arnold-Imperial Leader, Oct. 8, 2009 edition.

Beware promises from government

When I consider the pros and cons of a public health care option, I can't help but remember the promises of Franklin Roosevelt when he introduced the Social Security program.

He promised that participation in the program would be completely voluntary. He promised that the participants would only have to pay 1 percent of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the program. He promised that the money the participants elected to put into the program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year.

He promised that the money participants contributed would be put into the independent "trust fund" rather than into the general operating fund and would only be used to fund the Social Security program. He promised that the annuity payments would never be taxed as income. That was March 1933.

In 1958, Congress coted to remove funds from Social Security and put it into the general fund for Congress to spend. In November 1963, Lyndon Johnson became president. On Jan. 10, 1993, Albert Gore cast the deciding vote as president of the Senate to begin taxing Social Security as income. On Jan. 20, he became vice president.

Many younger people do not realize that Social Security income is taxed when it is earned and taxed again when you receive benefits. A single senior who earns more than$25,000 annually pays tax on 85 percent of his or her Social Security income. Couples who earn more than $32,000 do the same.

Seniors like me know too well, it doesn't matter how the government health care option is packaged and marketed. If it passes in any form, we are giving the government the power to use our money to its own end and relinquishing our personal freedom.

If government gets control of health care, we will not recognize it in five years. Maybe that is why seniors are so skeptical of government. Most opposition is due to lack of trust in our current leadership. Seniors know that promises never materialize once the government gains control.

It was best said by Thomas Jefferson, "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have."

Gail Shorney of Barnhart

I have often heard that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. I'm pretty sure our government has shown us, time and again, how badly they can mess these social programs up. Google Social Security and see for yourself.

Ben surprised me with the new Postsecret book yesterday! It JUST came out. Of course, I sat down and read through the whole thing right away. And enjoyed every minute of it!

We went to the zoo on Wednesday. Ben's mom had the day off and the weather was gorgeous. We did a LOT of walking (mostly due to us parking soooo far away), but it was worth it. Gabe sat in the wagon most of the time, reading the map. Luke was so hyper. He loved that we were at the zoo with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Tim. We stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Wednesday we had a playdate with Katie and her boys. We were supposed to meet up at the park, but the weather was lousy so they came over here, which was still fun. Ian loves to play pretend, which is also Luke's favorite thing to do, so those two had a blast together. They all play so well. Well, Gabe is a bit of a stinker. He doesn't understand sharing at all and has no problem smacking anyone who dares to come within range. Sigh. The joys of two year olds.

Interesting...

B.C. might suspend the seasonal flu shots as early as today, in the wake of a Canadian study that suggests people who get the flu vaccine are twice as likely to contract the H1N1 virus.

I know unemployment is high right now and I'm really grateful Ben has a job. And a good-paying job at that. I just wish he didn't have to work so darn much. It's wearing on me and there's no end in sight. It seems like everyone we know has taken a vacation (to Disney no less) and we have done squat!

Pity party over now. I'm grateful we have the "problem" of too much work. I'm glad we have a house and health insurance and running vehicles. Very glad!

I came home from church to find a new washer and laundry being laundered! I guess I know what I'll be doing all day - and happily! I'm so grateful to have a new washer and clean clothes! And thank God for these nifty appliances that clean and dry our clothing for us!

Crazy day yesterday!

We had a wedding to attend at 2pm, the reception at 5pm and a house viewing at 2pm, as well. So we had to scramble all morning to get the house in tip-top shape, then get dressed, then clean up after getting dressed. We rushed to the church and arrived with a few minutes to spare, but I was anxious the whole time and just plain stressed out. Gah.

Our friends, Justin and Julie, got married. It was a small, intimate wedding and reception, which I thought was really nice. It was good to see them married off and we had a nice time with our friends. Julie is a super crafty gal and did a lot of the decorations and such herself, which is always cool. The best part was the toy table at the reception. They had purchased toys from garage sales (nice toys) and had a large table laden with them. All the kids were allowed to go up and grab a new toy whenever they felt like it and were encouraged to take them home. We came home with several new toys - the best being an electronic toy that has the alphabet and key words in English and Spanish! Too cool.

The best part of the evening was seeing the boys dance. They both got on the dance floor and boogied and boogied. It was just too cute. I was surprised that Gabe got out there, but he was having a blast and ended up being the last one to leave....and he started "singing" to boot! Ah, they were so tired they CRASHED hard when we got home.

And they both looked so cute, if I do say so myself. I bought both outfits, complete with shoes, at Once Upon A Child for $30. I had to spend another $10 at JC Penney's for a tie for Luke, but they both looked so nice!

This batch of meals is being done in 2 phases because we've just been busy.

But, so far, I have:

Chicken quesadillas
Corn and potato chowder
Bacon-wrapped chicken bites
3 pizza crusts and frozen pizza sauce
Hamburgers and buns

I also need to make up some meatloaf and pasta dishes. With all that and the meals I still have from last month, we should be good again for a while.