the un-entertaining politically correctness of television

I'm angry.

I'm really really angry. I'm tired of tuning into a favorite show and being whisterpooped (yes that is a real word) with liberal propaganda. Case and point:

I turned my DVR to last weeks CSI:NY. Now normally this show offers up a story of someone committing a crime (usually a murder), and all the detectives hunt and peck until they find all the clues and it'd a grand old mystery. Not this episode though.

Of course, there was the usual murder, and confusion as to whodunit. But this episode had a twist. All the people who died were being targeted by a peeved old man who was dying of lung cancer and felt like he'd been forgotten and misplaced by healthcare workers when his private insurance cut him off. Now began the part of the show where they beat upon all private insurance companies and how horrible it is to have private insurance and how WONDERFUL national health care would be.

The peeved cancer patient brought up the father of the lead detective, who also died of lung cancer. However, this father was a veteran of the war, so obviously he was well taken care of throughout his painful end and he had everything he needed. Can you please note the sarcasm that is dripping from my fingers? The cancer patient proceeded to say that if he only had what Mac Taylor's father had, he'd be okay. Has anybody even checked the satisfaction of a patient of the VA lately? I've run into many patients in the hospital who have been treated at the VA and they've all told me that they will do whatever it takes to go to a non-government hospital. My father has been treated at a VA hospital because that's all he has available to him. They lose paperwork, forget about him, cancel his appointments without notifying him, and overall take months and months to achieve anything. If my father only have private insurance, he could easily take care of what ails him, receive treatment, and be well.

I have a friend who lives in Canada. She told me it took her FOUR months just to get an MRI scheduled. Thank God it wasn't for a life-threatening disease.

I recently met a man who immigrated to the US from France. France has nationalized health care. It's supposedly free to all citizens. Free if you consider the 49% of his paycheck taken out every month to pay for it. FORTY-NINE PERCENT....Can you live on only 51% of your check each month? I couldn't. And they say private health care is expensive....

I saw a hospital in Cuba when I was there in 2003. Michael Moore talks about how great Cubans have it when it comes to health care. This hospital had no screens on the windows and dirt floors. You were required to bring your own sheets and food to the hospital. The average Cuban made 5.00 a month, and de-worming medicine was 15.00 a month. So much for free health care.

I feel like I'm living in communist Russia, with propaganda being slung at me from every side. Pretty soon we'll find out someone got sick and we'll greet them saying "Prevyet Comrade! I visit you in beautiful hospital of our wonderful country. No worry about smell of pee from floor. It is normal."

I turned off the show without finishing it, because I knew what the ending would be.

What a bleak future.

Lemon Gingerbread Belgian Waffles with Caramelized Pears

Ok ok ... here's my recipe for my waffles. =) Let me know how much you enjoy devouring them.

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Waffles:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon all-spice
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup butter flavored maple syrup (Genuine maple syrup works too, but it's expensive)
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Grated zest of one lemon

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a 2nd bowl, mix egg yolks with a wisk, and then add milk, syrup, butter and brown sugar. Add in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

In a 3rd bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until they form a firm peak. Gently fold these into the above mixture. Add the grated lemon zest. Your waffle iron should already be heated, and ready to go. Spray lightly with Olive Oil cooking spray and pour in the right amount for your iron. I have a round Professional Waring Belgian waffle maker. This recipe makes 5 or 6 waffles this side. Browning setting should be on 4.5 for the right color.

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Caramelized Pears

This can be any fruit really, but the pears are so tasty.

3-4 ripe pears, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Cinnamon to taste

Melt butter until it begins to foam, then add the brown sugar. Be careful not to plop this in because it will make the butter spill out of the skillet.

Cover and let this melt, stir occasionally with a whisk. Once it has melted (about 3 minutes), add in the chopped pears. I use a bamboo spoon to fold it all together, then add a dash or two of cinnamon.

These are best when they are left to thicken a little bit and cool just a little. Spoon this on top of the waffles, and top with whipped cream, cool whip, or lemon sherbet.

Chicken-fried Gluten Steaks

Who says vegetarians don't have tasty food?? Try out this recipe for the best gluten steaks you'll ever eat.

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1/3 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes
1/3 cup chopped Walnuts
1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp minced garlic

Blend together in 2 cups extremely hot water until very smooth.

Pour into mixing bowl with 2 1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten. Stir until mixed well.

Bring to boil:
half pot of water
1-2 cups of soy sauce
1 large onion, chopped

Spray cutting board with Olive Oil Pam, turn dough onto dough and roll into a log. It should be soft and very pliable. Cut small slices, flatten with palms of hands.

Drop one by one into boiling sauce mixture. Boil approximately 30-40 minutes. Drain and save the broth.

Mix in bowl:
Unbleached flour
Lawry's seasoned salt to taste,
Onion Powder, to taste
Garlic Powder, to taste

Mix in bowl:
1 cup milk
4-5 eggs
Mix well

Dip gluten steak into egg mixture, then dip into flour mixture and drop into hot oil frying pan. Fry until golden brown and drain, then place into a large casserole dish.

Take the leftover broth, and heat in a pot. Thicken as desired with cornstarch. You can either pour the gravy over the steaks in the casserole dish and reheat later, or you can keep the steaks crispy and just let people pour the gravy over the steaks themselves.

These are delicious with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and toasty bread.

Enjoy!

Please invite me to the Boston Soda Party....

The guys on the radio this morning were talking about the government's brilliant new idea to tax soda because it's unhealthy. Is that they only thing they can come up with that's unhealthy? They said that if they tax soda, then people will drink it less and it will cut down on obesity. I know that soda can make you gain weight ... someone I once knew quit drinking Dr. Pepper and lost 60 pounds. But that's not the only thing that makes you gain weight. What about cheese, or chips, or bacon, or whole milk ... what about steak, or fried chicken... sheesh -- mashed potatoes can make you fat, especially if they're yummy with butter and milk.

Ice cream makes you fat, so does candy bars...there's more calories in a candy bar than there is in a soda or diet drink, so why not put a $0.03 tax on that? They said that they will pay for the new health care system (BOGUS!!) with the money made off of this new tax, and that over the span of a couple years, the soda tax would yield $240 BILLION. But they won't stay at just a three cent tax...NOOOOO ... it'll be raised again, before you know it.

I'm not upset about this because I like to drink soda and I feel like it'll break the bank to feed my soda habit. I don't have a soda habit. I drink them from time to time, but I'm just as happy with water, lemonade and juice. What I'm upset about is the government making a ridiculous tax to just blow up their wallets even bigger.

And if you're going to tax something, tax the gaming systems and television, so that parents would be less inclined to let that babysit for them, and kids would get back outside and exercise....that's a good way to decrease obesity.

Why don't you offer incentives for people to be healthier, such as less of an insurance premium if you weigh under a certain amount, or if you join a gym and faithfully work out. If you don't smoke, drink or do drugs, you should pay less for insurance.

But taxing soda???? What's next? I agree with taking soda machines out of schools -- kids don't need soda anyway, and they can't decide for themselves when enough is enough, and when to drink water etc. The government shouldn't have the right to tax food items like this just to encourage us to not drink it...in a way, it's the same as what our founding fathers, pardon me, our framers fought against with their tea.

But we couldn't go dump all our cola in the bay .... then we'd be attacked by PETA.

birthday blues and blessings...

So today is my 23rd birthday. It's kind of discouraging to realize that you're at the age where you really don't care about birthdays anymore. Of course, it's nice to hear from everyone and get birthday wishes, but I've had the hardest time thinking of anything I want to do to celebrate. Part of that could be though that all my best friends are out of town. O well.

So today, instead of whining about whatever little thing wrong with my life I could find, I'm going to count my blessings. Afterall, it is a new year of life, and it's only right to be extremely grateful to God for giving me health. So here is my list of thank-you's and blessings:

1. Life. I see so much sickness at work and it makes me thankful every day for being alive and happy.
2. Health. I can't complain about my health -- even though I often get sick during the schoolyear, God has always blessed me with overall good health.
3. My husband. This should go up top actually. He is the best part of my life and he gives me a reason to put a smile on my face no matter how hard the day can get.
4. Youth. I'm happy to be young. Even though I feel older this year, and I'm not thrilled with it, I'm so happy for this time in my life. Dealing with hospice patients at work, or just old sick people makes me never want to get old...ever. And though I'll never chase after the fountain of youth, I will give thanks to God every day for being young.
5. Graduation is almost here. nuff said. =)
6. My home. I absolutely love where we live. I have a small spot for flowers, it's cozy and just feels like Home.
7. My family. I have an amazing family who is always so supportive of things that I do and I am eternally grateful for them.
8. Amazing friends. I love them all.
9. God's grace. I'm so thankful for being able to wake up every day and start over. I can learn from my mistakes and make new decisions. God is so amazing to us all.
10. My job. Sometimes it can be a real drag, but no matter what goes wrong, I always stop and think about that fact that at least I have a job, when so many are struggling to just find a stable job or put food on the table. I love taking care of people and I'm glad to have found my niche in life.


There are so many more things I'm grateful for, but I'll stop with those top ten. They aren't in any order of preference, just what came to mind while I was writing.

What are you thankful for?

Is 21 too young to get married?

So the other day I was getting on the computer at work and someone had Yahoo.com pulled up. The the home page was a news article titled "Is 21 too young to get married?" with a picture of newly engaged pop-star Kevin Jonas. Now I'm not wild about the Jonas brothers...they sound kind of whiny and nasally when they sing, and they are typical Disney stars...bubble-gummy ... you know? One thing that I do admire about them though is that all three boys seem to stay close with their families even after they hit stardom, and they all wear purity rings. They have been open about their decision to save sex for marriage, and they've endured a lot of ridicule by the majority of Hollywood for that decision. The host of the MTV music awards poked fun at them all night during last years show, making comments about how it wasn't manly to save sex for marriage, and just making them the laughing stock of the night.

Moving on. The oldest boy, Kevin, just got engaged to a girl he's apparently been dating for a few years now. She's someone who is not in the industry, and looks nice from her pictures. I have no idea if they are good for each other, but obviously she believes in saving sex for marriage as well. Anyway. I'm proud of them for being open about that.

So now they are under extreme ridicule for getting married so "young". Granted, 21 is a young age, but it's old enough to drink, right? So it's okay to sleep around, drink, party and go take drugs when your 21, or even younger ... just a whipper-snapper teen sensation. But it's not okay to be responsible and live morally right and get married to someone? What is it that has made this country so severely opposed to marriage? The idea of getting the milk for free, so why buy the cow is so ridiculous. I found a forum that was writing about this story, and so many women on there were really against these two people getting married at this age. They claim that the only reason he's getting married is because he wants to have sex. Is it not possible that someone could be mature enough at age 21 to know what they want and get married? Nathan and I got married at 21 and 20, respectively, and it has been the best decision of our lives.

O . and the host of that MTV awards show turned out to be a sex addict who had to go to rehab. So that is better than being pure? What is wrong with this picture! And if 21 is supposedly too young to get married, what is the right age? Every single person is different, and reaches different stages in their life. There's not rule that can be applied across the board. I'm just sad that people are more accepting of someone who is riddled with STD's and has serious commitment issues than someone who is true to themselves and tries to live right.

I'm tired of people being so two-faced about morality and marriage. People fighting about gay marriage demeans the true meaning of marriage between a man and a woman. It's disappointing to see people so against the best gift God has given us.

Have you heard about this horrible movie coming out called Bruno? It's a movie about a gay Austrian who comes to America with his TV show. It's chock full of disgusting content, including scenes of two men having sex in a room while they are tied up in bondage with gerbils running around. Another scene includes the two men having sex in a hot tub while an adopted baby is in the same tub with them. Mind you, I only know that because I've read reviews about it. I'm telling everyone to boycott this movie. Some people think the actor is pure comedic genius, but anyone who tells GMA in an interview that his movie is the best movie about a "hot, white gay man since the Passion of the Christ" is not funny. He is not genius. He is sacrilegious.

And he should not be supported in any way.

Rachel's Delicious Lasagna

Here's my perfect lasagna recipe. Hope you enjoy it! Warning: this is not for the light hearted. =) It's cheesy and huge.

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Begin with the size of your baking pan. I use the largest one I have. I think it's 11x15 inch pyrex. Not sure about that size. But it's close to that.

Boil 12-14 lasagna noodles. You'll need more than usual because the baking pan is so large, so you'll do three noodles lengthways and then one noodle along the base of the pan. I always boil the noodles with a tiny bit of oil to keep them from sticking together.

Sautee an entire bag of Morningstar Farms burger crumbles. Mix in a little onion powder and garlic powder.

While the burger crumbles are thawing out and sauteeing, thaw a box of frozen chopped spinach, either in the microwave or in a bowl of hot water.

While this is thawing, mix together in a large bowl the following:

1 Large container of ricotta cheese (32 oz)
1 bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped
2 eggs
1 package shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 package shredded Italian blend cheese or Parmesan cheese
dash of salt
dash of nutmeg


The noodles should be drained and cooled in a strainer. Rinse them with cool water to keep them from sticking together.

Begin layering by spreading a layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of your pan. Then lay down 4 noodles, top with the ricotta mixture, and cover with a layer of the burger crumbles. Continue with sauce, noodles, cheese and burger. The top layer should be noodles on top of the last bit of burger crumbles, with sauce on top, and sprinkle with the remainder of the Italian/Parmesan cheese package.

Bake at 400*F until for about 45 minutes. When the edges bubble up on the side, it's done. Allow to cool before covering and storing in the refrigerator until time to serve.

Enjoy!

Ma'am, how much time did causing that accident save you?

Seems like no one out there knows how to drive these days. I will say that living here in Chattanooga is much better than living in Tyler, TX. The drivers there are complete and utter idiots. But we have a pretty large group of idiots here as well. The other day while leaving the hospital, I nearly got hit twice within two miles of each other. First, I stopped at a 4-way stop just beyond the hospital, and I waited for the first care to pass through the stop sign on my right. I began to go forward when the car behind the one that had just passed began to accelerate and go through the stop sign as well. Then the car on my left began to go, and they nearly collided while I drove around the side and got out of that intersection as quickly as possible.

A mile or so down the road, I was going through another intersection, this one with a light. I had a green light, so I went through and as I was doing so, a mini-van to the left of me (who had a red light) began to turn into the intersection and nearly sideswiped me. I don't know what possesses these people to absolutely ignore all traffic laws and just drive willy-nilly around the road.

The other day, I stopped at the fabric store on the way home from work. As I came out of the store and got back in the car, I turned to pull back out onto the Hwy. An accident had happened not more than a couple minutes before this, and thankfully no one was hurt. But what caused the accident was some woman attempting to save 20 seconds and beat an oncoming car so she could turn into the parking lot I was in. I don't know what possessed her to turn so close to an oncoming car. She managed to turn directly into their drivers door. She was in an SUV and the other car was some tiny Ford.

Her attempt to save herself 20 seconds turned into a huge ordeal of explaining herself to the cops, dealing with insurance, making sure no one was hurt, and just a general overall headache. ... It's just not worth racing traffic to save time. It will eventually end up causing you more of a mess. That's why I just drive the speed limit, follow the rules, and get there about 45 seconds later than that idiot who zoomed past me and cut me off just to beat me to the stop light.

Hey, at least I've never gotten a speeding ticket, and my insurance is cheaper.

blockbuster sucks...their own words.

So we went to Blockbuster tonight to rent a movie. Usually we don't go to blockbuster. They're too expensive. But we wanted to watch Music and Lyrics, and it's not a new release, so....it's not at Redbox. Anyway.

We got to Blockbuster and before we found Music and Lyrics, we ended up with an old Bill Cosby "Himself" DVD. The two movies are both old releases, so we expected it to be fairly cheap.

We get to the register, got rung up and the lady says it's ten dollars and something. I asked her why it was so much, because that's the same price for a new release. She had the most deadpan response and she said "they are all the same price." "Why?" I asked. "Cause Blockbuster Sucks" she said. Wow ... and they pay you? "They always make me work Friday and Saturday...my weeekends are shot. Go to netflix" she said.

Ok, well .. if you say so.

i thought the economy was bad ... you really want to kick us out?

I know it's been a while since I've posted here ... I apologize for that. It has been a crazy summer already, and we've only begun. Anyway .. I wanted to share a bit about our recent short vacation to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Overall it was a great trip and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest and beach-time. We even got to see two sharks swimming just a few feet away from us. Of course we high-tailed it out of the water after we realized that it really was sharks. Anyway ... we ate out a few times, and I was so infuriated by what happened while eating out.

Our first day in Fl, we were picked up by our friends Andy and Heather at the airport and drove down to Miami to see South Beach and eat lunch. We went to a great little restaurant on Miami Beach called Chihuahua Cafe that served amazing authentic mexican food and had really good service. We had a gift certificate for all these restaurants from Restaurant.com so we could save quite a bit of money while eating out. Anyway. We had planned to go to a small Italian restaurant called Bocca Restaurante Italiano located in North Miami. North Miami by the way is not necessarily the nicest or best part of Miami, but this area looked ok, and inside the restaurant was clean and nice. The website did not say we needed a reservation, and since it was a wednesday evening at 7pm, we figured it wouldn't be too busy.

We arrived at the restaurant and no one greeted us, so we just sat down at a table. This was a small restaurant, with only about six or eight tables in the whole restaurant. Three of the tables were full of customers. We sat there for 5 or 8 minutes before the waitress came to greet us. She didn't even have a smile on her face, neither did she say hello. She just blurted out "You don't have a reservation, so you're gonna have to wait, OKAY!? Okay." and walked away. She didn't offer us menus or water or anything. Like I said, it was a small restaurant, and she was none too discreet about her words, so every head in the room turned to look at us. We sat there for another five minutes or so, before the boys decided to run across the street to the store and we would call them when we could order. After a while, we heard yelling in the kitchen, something about how it wasn't her fault that she'd ruined the man's chicken, and who cared if the whole table had eaten without him and he had to eat alone, LIFE GOES ON. This poor man she was talking about was sitting RIGHT outside the kitchen door, and heard everything. Then she huffed out to our table and told Heather and I that they were way too busy for us, and we could maybe come back after 8:30 that night, but we had to leave THEN, because they had people who had made reservations coming in and they were more important. Once again, every head in the room turned to look at us as Heather and I scooped up our bags and walked out of the restaurant. I was shocked ... I'd never been thrown out of a restaurant before...It seems like if the economy is really so bad, you would be grateful for any business that comes. We would've tipped afterall.

Needless to say, we didn't feel like waiting 1.5 hours to go back to her sour attitude, so we went across the street to Panera bread. That's usually a fool-proof option, right? Not. This place was so filthy, I couldn't find a table to sit down at that didn't have grime and crumbs all over the place. We ordered what we usually get, soup and salad and a sweet tea. I don't know about you when you order sweet tea, but for me, when I order sweet tea, I usually mean the brewed tea with a lemon in it, not the nasty Nestea raspberry tea from the soda machine. So they charged me for the tea, and then I get over to the drink table and there is no sweet tea. Only unsweetened, and it's horrible. It tastes like Licorice, and I had to throw out it. The manager huffed to me that they didn't serve sweet tea, and it was in the soda machine if I wanted some. I said that's fine, I'll just get some Dr. Pepper. Strike One.

Our food finally came. I had ordered Broccoli Cheddar Soup with a new salad they had. My plate came with a bowl of wilted lettuce and a few strawberries thrown on top and a sandwich. I politely told the girl at the counter that I had ordered soup and not a sandwich and she looked at me like I was insane. She grabbed my sandwich off the plate, rolled her eyes, and grabbed the tiniest paper cup she could find and put LITERALLY three or four spoonfuls of soup in the cup and threw it on my plate. Heather and Andy got sandwiches and Heather opened hers up before biting in -- the lettuce was rotten. Andy had already eaten a few bites of his, and paid for it the next day with a stomach bug.

We all took our plates back to the front and asked for our money back, explaining all the problems we had. Thankfully, the manager was polite and willing to give us back our money, though he mentioned that they'd just re-opened (this was at 7pm) and they'd been shut down (maybe the health department????). Nathan noticed that while we were getting out money back, the girl who had given us our food was yelling in the back about us, looking straight at him and talking about how annoying we were. Geez, I didn't realize it was annoying to expect un-rotten food and the right order when I PAID for the food.

I was just amazed how horrid the service was. We had a good ending to our evening though...We drove back to Pompano beach, and found a nice little restaurant called Frank's Restaurante that served amazing food and had excellent service. We were the only ones in the restaurant, so the waiters were so friendly. There was even signed pictures in the back of Frank Sinatra and other celebrities who had been at the restaurant. So if you're even in the Lauderdale/Pompano beach area, take the exit for Atlantic Ave, go all the way down to the beach, and Frank's is on your right hand side in the last block before the beach.

Special K Loaf

Here's my Special K Loaf recipe for those who are interested =)
Just so you know, I don't measure anything. I just dump it in. I get the biggest bowl I have and by the time I'm done, it's filled to the brim. I also bake this in the largest pyrex dish I have, which (I'm not sure of the measurements) I believe is 11 x 14 or something like that. Anyway. enjoy. =)


Fill the bowl 3/4 full of Special K (or cornflakes, they both taste just as good).
Mix in one bag of shredded cheddar cheese.
Add one tub of large curd cottage cheese.
Saute' burger crumbles in a skillet with a little olive oil cooking spray, and cook till they are browned.
Chop one large white onion and add into the mix.
Empty two packets of Lipton Onion Soup mix into mixture and add burger crumbles to the bowl.
Add 6-8 eggs, or however many it takes to moisten the mixture.

Mix thoroughly, spray cooking spray onto baking dish and pour mixture in. Pat down and smooth out. Bake at 400* for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Best when eaten with mashed potatoes, fresh steamed broccoli or salad, and Apple pie a'la mode for desert. =) It may not be the absolute healthiest, but it's delicious, even as left overs. And the leftover loaf (if there is any left over) makes an absolute amazing sandwich.

just one of those days.

It's one of those days. You know what I'm talking about ... the perfect blue skies with not a cloud in sight. The wind is barely blowing and the sun is shining down and makes everything look just a little brighter, a little better. It's the kind of day that makes you love spring and everything about re-birth. Today makes you just want to throw caution to the wind and take off somewhere -- be spontaneous, and maybe not come back tonight.

It's the perfect day to jump on a Harley and pack an overnight bag and take off to the beach. It's the kind of day that makes you want to throw on some shorts and a tank top and scrub down the car out in the driveway, or maybe just lay out in the sun in the backyard on a lounge chair.

Today makes you want to drink a milkshake, because it's just that warm outside. Today makes you want to take off to the lake and lounge in a boat all day, drinking root beer and lazily trailing your feet in the water.

Today makes you want to get a puppy and run outside in the park with it. Maybe take your kids out and fly a kite, except you'll mostly chase after it because there's just not enough wind to keep it flying. It's the kind of day where a cup of lemonade just hits the spot, and a hot dog is bliss.

It's just one of those days...and I'm at work. =(

really..what's reality?

I'm tired of all these reality shows on TV. I don't watch them really, but I've seen a few different episodes, and they all get housed in incredible mansions, and lay around doing nothing but talking to the camera in their little "interviews". Or then there's the "reality" shows that turn out to be scripted, sort of. You know, the ones where young girls live in impossibly expensive apartments and drive ridiculous cars and work as interns (that's a non-paying job) at magazines. But you see, this is my problem with these shows -- that's not reality. Who do you know that lives like that? Here's my perspective of reality:

Reality is finding out your pregnant before you get married, and have no insurance to pay for the maternity care. Reality is finding out that since you actually do have a job, you may just be too "rich" to qualify for government aid to help you get through this tough time in your life.

Reality is working full-time while putting yourself through school, just to make a better life for yourself and your family. Reality is making too much money to get enough financial aid to cover your expensive school bill, but not enough money to pay that bill.

Reality is finding an amazing pair of shoes that were originally 90.00 in the store on sale for 19.99. Reality is buying those shoes, then taking them back, because you realized you'd be $20 short on rent for that month. Reality is cutting coupons just to save the extra five dollars, so that maybe you'd have enough money that month to rent a movie and have a date night with your spouse.

Reality is canceling your anniversaries to go to funerals. It's watching your family suffer through the death of your niece. It's watching your father suffer through pain that cannot be diagnosed, and not being able to do anything for him because you can't afford private insurance. It's watching him deal with government programs such as the VA system to provide all his health care, and seeing how it never gets anything done.

Reality is doing filthy jobs just because it pays the bills. It's not driving a Beemer around LA looking hot. It's not blowing money on designer clothes while cameras follow you around. It's doing what you have to to make ends meet. It's not quitting the one job you have until you find a better one. It's sticking with the job you have because it's better than no pay check.

Reality is living with your decisions and paying the consequences. It's frustrating to see people living with no responsibility or care for their actions. We've become a nation of no consequences. We can always pass the buck, blame someone else. It's not our fault, it's our parents ... or the person that came before. This is going to kick us in the butt sooner or later. But if we stay grounded and aware of what really is real, we should be prepared, right?

o how I hate commercials.

this is a short blog. I just think that if you pay for television, you should not have to be subjected to commercials. I hate commercials so much. If you are still watching free television with rabbit ears, than by all means, enjoy your commercials. But I pay enough each month that I should never have to watch another commercials for the rest of my life.

Rachel's Meaty Enchiladas

1 can Loma Linda Vegeburger
1 can Vegetarian Refried Beans
2 cans red Enchilada sauce
finely shredded Cheddar Cheese
Lawry's Seasoned Salt, to taste
Onion Powder, to taste
Garlic Power, to taste
20 corn tortillas

Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet, and add vegeburger. Season to taste with Lawry's salt, onion and garlic powder. Allow vegeburger to cook thoroughly, about 5-7 minutes. Add refried beans and allow to mix and cook. Mix in 3/4 - 1 cup enchilada sauce, and approximately 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.

Microwave tortillas, stacks of 5 at a time, for 45 seconds in between damp paper towels. Fill tortillas with bean/meat mixture, roll, and place seam down in a pyrex baking dish. Cover with remainder of enchilada sauce, and sprinkle cheese over entire dish.

Bake at 375* for 15-20 minutes. Makes approximately 20 enchiladas, give or take.

i'm a little dizzy from all the propoganda::

My head is spinning today from watching all of the inaguration coverage on TV last night. There were so many different channels to choose from -- ABC, Fox News, CNN...heck, even MTV got in on the Youth Inaguration Ball (one out of the nine thrown last night). I went to bed feeling quite a bit uneasy about this new chapter of our lives. Now before you jump down my throat about how unpatriotic and disrespectful I am about our leader, understand this. I am patriotic, because I want whats best for my country. I won't say that Bush was the best, and I refuse to say that Obama is the best. I don't think McCain was a good option either. I'm just really worried about what is to come with our new leader.

Here's one thing that really blew me away, and raised red flags in my head. Americans have never been SO in love with a political leader. I've never seen news footage of practical worship of a leader as with this man. He really is the Messiah to his followers, and that is a huge problem. We cannot put so much trust and hope in one mortal human being. Sure, he hugs and kisses his wife and kids, and puts on such a good face, and his speeches blow you away. But is that all we look for now days in a leader? What about someone who truly has the experience we need to save our country. What about someone who has actually served our country in the military, who is willing to give his life for the land of the free. To hear the crowds break into chants of "OBAMA!!! OBAMA!!!" reminded me of rallies given to past leaders in history -- Castro, Mao tse tung, Hitler. WAIT! I'm not saying that Obama is a maniac who is intent on genocide. I'm just saying that worship and adoration of a leader like that can lead our country down the wrong road. When he presents a "solution" to a problem, the entire nation will blindly follow along, because he so easily speaks up front and it's so easy to get swept away. Shoot, after listening to all his speeches yesterday, I even found it easy for myself to follow along.

I'm bothered by all this socialistic terminology that is being thrown around. Everything is for "the people". "The people" want this..."the people" need that. If we don't watch out, soon we'll be calling each other comrade while standing in line for our daily bread ration.

I know this is the mainstream media we're talking about, but everyone is going on about how bad our lives were, and how much change and hope we have to look forward to. They make it sound like our lives were in complete shambles. Can we open our lives and look around at what has happened to our country?? WE WERE ATTACKED! Terrorists blew up our buildings and killed thousands of people, and we fault our president for defending our country and keeping us safe. For 8 years we've prevented further attacks, something that many people would not have been able to accomplish. Have you seen concentration camps pop up? Has there been food rations and the inability to receive nutrition? Have we been forced to stand in lines for hours just to get a loaf of bread? Come on people...think logically about all this and remind yourselves just how lucky our country really is, how blessed we all are to have the resources we have and the freedoms that we are still clinging to.

I'm just worried that America thinks we can build a utopia. We can't, and I don't think that levelheaded people should get caught up in this ideology. This is a sinful world, and we must remember that we will always have unrest, and there will not be peace until Jesus comes again. I'm just asking you to keep an open mind, and remember that no matter how wonderful all the speeches and photo ops seem, there's more behind it than meets the eye, and we need to be careful!

Common Sense Wedding Etiquette for Those Who Have None, Part 1: Bridesmaids

Let me clarify, this is for those who have neither common sense OR wedding etiquette, or both. Read on.

Ahh, weddings. Admit it, we all love them, and we all hate them. Single guys look forward to meeting beautiful bridesmaids, just to have their hopes dashed when they see all the either married or ugly girls lining up behind the bride. All the bridesmaids dread the dresses, and all the brides say the same thing, "It's such a great dress! You can shorten it and wear it after!". All the guests bring as generic a gift as they can find, and all the parents cry about how grown up their children are. Now I've only planned one wedding for myself, but I've helped many other friends plan their weddings, and watched brides plan weddings through all the blood, sweat and tears. So the things I'm sharing here are from personal experience and observation.

Here's the first thing I'd like to share. Weddings are about brides, and no one else. You would think that people know this by now, especially people who have been to multiple weddings, but it always seems to slip their minds as soon as they hear those wedding bells ringing. I don't really know what thoughts flit through their minds, but it always seems to revolve around themselves, rather than how they can help and support the bride. I believe that weddings are the one time that a girl can really be selfish. It really is all about her. Now I'm not endorsing turning into a bridezilla here. That's a little far fetched, especially the bride I saw on TV forcing her fiancee to work out at 5am for three hours a day, two weeks before the wedding in order to "get in shape", disregarding the fact that she was fatter than he was. She even stood there munching on donuts in front of him, just to irritate him. Anyway, back to topic.

Let me share a few examples with you about how to NOT make the bride's life easier. Being asked to be a bridesmaid in the wedding means you should be supportive of the bride, and it is not a time to flaunt yourself out outshine the bride. Neither is it a time to buy a dress far too small for you in order to make yourself lose weight. Chances are, you won't drop from a size 18 to a size 14 before the wedding, especially in just 3 months. And if, six weeks before the wedding, your dress (obviously) doesn't fit, it's a good time to listen to the bride and go exchange that dress for one that does fit and looks good on you. Another thing you should not do before a wedding is get tattoos or nose piercings. Especially when you mention it to the bride ahead of time and she adamantly says "Do not get a large tacky tattoo of blue hearts all over your foot and ankle, considering that you are wearing a knee-length dress to my wedding!" This is not a good time to go get a tattoo, no matter how much all those hearts and stars make you think of your bratty nieces. Same with the nose piercing. If you are just dying to pierce your nose or tattoo your foot, you can wait another six weeks until after the wedding.

Don't accept the position of a bridesmaid, and then decide that hanging out in Dallas with all your friends the weekend of the wedding is more important than being a bridesmaid. If you do choose to do this, don't show up an hour late to get dressed the morning of the wedding, thus causing everyone to be late for pictures. Also, if you chose to leave the wedding party all weekend, and show up just before the wedding, don't be offended that no one knows who you are, and no one pays much attention to you while you are getting ready. Chance are, everyone is slightly irritated that you couldn't be bothered to come and help with decorations, parties or making your own bouquet, and couldn't care less how pretty you think you are. They just wish you'd never showed up.

Don't be a bridesmaid who expects that the weekend of the wedding is a perfect opportunity to spend lots of quality time with the bride. Remember that this is the most stressful day of her life, and know that she greatly appreciates having you there by her side, and needs your support. However, her life will greatly change after this day, and she will no longer be able to just "hang with the girls". Also, you have no idea what all is going on in the brides life and mind at the time, and if she snaps your head off, she's probably more stressed than you've ever been, especially if you are single. So get over it.

Just because your husband is a groomsman, that doesn't mean you're gonna be a bridesmaid, ESPECIALLY if you barely know the bride. Don't call up the bride a couple months before the big day asking why you never got the information about the dress, even though you never received an invitation to be maid. Then, don't fly off your handle, calling the bride the meanest beyotch you've ever met, in order to attempt to get your way. Don't email the groom, telling him how he deserves better than the bride, and you really feel sorry for him because he's such a nice guy. That's a sure fire way to get yourself UNINVITED from the wedding. Then don't email the bride telling her that since you are in cosmetology school, you will do her makeup and hair for the big day. And especially if you think hot blue glitter eyeshadow is glamorous looking, don't be offended when the bride says don't come near her with a ten-foot pole.

To wrap up -- use the little bit of brain that God gave you to support the bride and groom. Realize that for just one day, the sun can shine without highlighting you. Give your all to make this day the most perfect they can imagine, and do everything you can to make the happy couple's dreams come true. Once you get started, it's really easy.

lucky charms inspire creativity.

Well, I ate my lucky charms yesterday for lunch, and now I've got all sorts of blog ideas running through my head. There MUST be a connection.

You know, I was thinking about my generation during our trip to Seattle this last Christmas, thinking about how my generation is going to have a lot of lasts. We're going to be the last generation that even remotely knows how to write properly. We're going to be the last generation that can remember land line telephones. We're going to be the last generation who actually had to WAIT to get a cell phone, until we were at least teenagers, or older even. But one thing that really stuck out to me, is that our generation may be the last to know how to read a map properly.

Nathan and I were getting our rental car (don't ever rent from Budget cars..) at the SEA-TAC airport and while checking out, the lady asked us if we wanted a Garmin GPS system with our Escape. Now, Nathan had just gone to another counter, not more than five minutes before, and picked up a city map and brought it back to the Budget counter with him. It was sitting there right in front of him, with his hand resting on it, while this lady is talking to him. Nathan and I both shook our heads, "No, we don't need a GPS". She looked shocked. How could two young whipper snappers NOT need a GPS?? I'm sure she could just imagine us not even being able to get out of the airport parking .. just driving in circles, round and round the parking garage, bemoaning the fact that we never got that GPS, and now we are so lost we can't even find our way back to the Budget counter to crawl on hands and knees to the rental agent and BEG to please give us a second chance and let us rent the GPS. Seriously, a map is so much easier. If you get lost, you just find the next road that loops around to where you need, and it gives you a birds eye view of where you're at. With a GPS system, all you can do is bite your tongue to keep from cursing the annoying woman that keeps telling you to turn around because you missed your turn. It doesn't help that you have absolutely no idea where you're at, because yes, it shows you on your screen the next road up ahead, but if you just took your beady little eyes off the screen and looked at the ROAD, you could see that next road up ahead. And if you had a map, then you could see the next five roads up ahead. Wow, how brilliant of an idea is that?

Anyway. It hit me that most people have fallen prey to Tom-Tom's, Garmins, etc. and no one buys atlases anymore. So I'm sure that when I have kids, they will think I'm weird, square and old-fashioned, when I refuse to use a GPS system, and pull out an old map. But then, instead of being disapointed for their parents being so annoyed with the TomTom that we threw it out the window, the only disappointment my kids will suffer is realizing that state don't change color once you cross the border, but rather most look the same.

...

It should ALSO be illegal to buy only one airplane seat when you are so fat that you take up half of the seat next to you, leaving the poor person who paid good money for that seat squished up against the arm rest. LADY IN SEAT 12C, YOU OWE ME 200.00!!!!

Marley and Me

What an awesome movie...I cried through the last half, and at first I didn't realize it was a true story, but its clean and so sweet. If you love dogs, then you got to watch this movie.

it should be illegal...

These are my own original thoughts. I come up with most of them during work. I'll add on as necessary.

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It should be illegal to be such an ass at your daughters wedding that you break her heart.

It should be illegal to talk on your cell phone and drive at the same time.

It should be illegal to be completely able to go outside and smoke while you're a patient in the hospital, but then expect your aide to give you a bath.

It should be illegal to ask for nausea medication, and then accept your plate of food full of steak, squash and ice cream.

It should be illegal to sell bikinis above a certain size .. such as size 14.

It should be illegal to have your crack dealer come visit you in the hospital.

It should be illegal to allow children into a hospital.

It should be illegal to tail gate. (o wait, it is. SO GET OFF MY TAIL!)

To all the truck drivers out there: I CAN SEE YOUR MIRRORS, SO WHY CAN'T YOU SEE ME????"

It should be illegal to diss on someone else's presidential candidate and not be able to take it on your own.

random thoughts

So the other day, while Nathan and I were driving back to Chattanooga from Texas, we stop at a gas station to get some taco bell for supper. Since it was a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut Express, the prices were like, three times as much as normal, so I decided to forgo a drink at Taco Bell, and get a much cheaper one at the gas station. I headed over to the soda fountain and filled up an odd sized cup (22 oz, not 24 oz. Thought the price sign was quoted for 24 oz. I think they charged me for 2 extra ounces ...), and then headed to the check out. The girl at the register barely looked at me as she rung up my soda, and bruskly told me "Dollar Nineteen." She was looking at someone else while she was talking, so I pulled out a dollar and a quarter, and laid it on the counter. She turns around and sticks her hand out at me, so I pointed to the money and said "You said 1.19, right? Well there's 1.25!" She just looks at me and holds her hand out still, and I look right back and say "There's your money!". I was about to just walk away and leave the change, and she opens her mouth and says (with the biggest attitude) "Pick the money up and put it in my hand!" I look at her incredulous. Are you serious? You can't pick the money up off the counter yourself? At first I thought maybe her hand was paralyzed or something, but her fingers were moving, so I knew that couldn't be it. I just stood there, my mind whirling. Then she says it again, with her voice raised. "Put the money in my hand! God, don't you think it's rude to put it down on the counter?????" I scooped up the money with one hand, because my other hand was full of my taco bell, wallet and drink, and dropped it into her hand, replying "No not really." So she pulled out my receipt and my six cents and carefully laid them on the counter, and said "THERE! DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER???!" I just looked at her again, with this really curious look on my face, and scooped up my money and went on my way. I'm confused though -- what makes someone so anal? I mean, it's not my fault that she's stuck working at a gas station in the middle of nowhere in Texas. There's a community college somewhere around, if she wants a better option for her life. So don't take it out on me --- THE CUSTOMER, who is offering you money, which helps YOU keep your job!

Which brings me to another thought -- My brother-in-law told us about how stores in Florida are now putting PICTURES of the money that a customer is supposed to receive in change on the screen of the register, so that the cashier knows exactly how much change to give back, you know, in case they can't count and all. So imagine you're paying a twenty dollar bill for something that cost 11.65. The screen would pop up with a picture of a five dollar bill, a picture of 3 one dollar bills, a picture of a quarter, and a picture of a dime. Wow, I feel really safe knowing people who can't count are checking me out at Wal-Mart and running my credit cards and checks. I mean, shouldn't that be a requirement for becoming a cashier? "O, you can't count? Well, goodbye. There's a street-sweeper job available next door I believe." O right, that would be politically incorrect to do, and we might offend some poor soul who was too lazy to learn his times tables.

Which brings me to another thought -- This country is going to politically correct itself right into oblivion. Seriously. It's so idiotic, some of the things they make people do nowdays to be "PC". And even they are realizing how dumb they are. All this global warming crap, and we've had the coldest winter in decades. States were breaking cold records left and right just before christmas, so now, ooooo , it's a climate change. No duh -- the climate changes at least four times a year. Lets see, spring, summer, fall and winter. Just get over it, Al Gore, and try to lower your own energy bill. You know, an investigation was launched into Al Gore, and they found that he pays over 16,000.00 a MONTH for his mansion's energy bill. That's right. Now don't get me wrong, I believe we should take care of the earth and protect it. God put Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to care for it, and he in no way said "just do whatever you like, who cares about the garden". But when you care for the earth at the expense of the humans ON it, then I have a problem.