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.

~*~*~

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.