Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Newport Aquarium
We were able to attend the Homeschool Days at the Newport Aquarium and the boys LOVED it! Gramme Brown went along and that made it particularly enjoyable. Daniel's favorite part was hugging the stuffed penguin....because it was so soft and Allan's was petting the sharks.
Catching up
When my hard drive crashed I got a much needed respite from the burdens of technology. But now I need to do some catching up so the next few posts might be a bit sketchy.
Here are some random cakes I worked on in the past month. This one was for a "Bird's Nest" themed baby shower. The poor little blue bird shows that I'm not sculptor! She weighed so much (I made her out of fondant) that she smashed her nest overnight! It actually was one of those cakes that I had such high hopes for but fell short of my expectations. I learned some valuable lessons though that I hope will prove beneficial in the future.
This was a pirate ship birthday cake for a young man in our church. For whatever reason the front half started splitting and I was afraid it was going to look like the Titanic before we got it delivered but with a little patching it turned out okay. Fun cake!
And it looks like I neglected to take pictures of the GBS homecoming cakes and the one I did today. In there too I made petit fours. They were almond with almond filling. Those little buggers took forever to make, they turned out looking horrid and the one I tried tasted awful. But it seems the recipient was more impressed than I was so that's what counts I guess. So that's the update on cakes.
Here are some random cakes I worked on in the past month. This one was for a "Bird's Nest" themed baby shower. The poor little blue bird shows that I'm not sculptor! She weighed so much (I made her out of fondant) that she smashed her nest overnight! It actually was one of those cakes that I had such high hopes for but fell short of my expectations. I learned some valuable lessons though that I hope will prove beneficial in the future.
This was a pirate ship birthday cake for a young man in our church. For whatever reason the front half started splitting and I was afraid it was going to look like the Titanic before we got it delivered but with a little patching it turned out okay. Fun cake!
And it looks like I neglected to take pictures of the GBS homecoming cakes and the one I did today. In there too I made petit fours. They were almond with almond filling. Those little buggers took forever to make, they turned out looking horrid and the one I tried tasted awful. But it seems the recipient was more impressed than I was so that's what counts I guess. So that's the update on cakes.
Walking where others fear to tread
Leave it to Daniel to go charging into President Avery's office (to see if he has any jelly-beans!) ...thankfully Dr. Avery wasn't there but his secretary snapped this picture.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Politics and Healthcare and UPDATE
UPDATE: If you care to read the 1,990 pages (can we say 'bigger government'?) of the House version of the bill you can do so at http://docs.house.gov/rules/health/111_ahcaa.pdf It does look as though the pro-life democrats will be able to offer an amendment today that would exclude 'most' abortion coverage. It looks like people could pay for a rider out of their own pocket if they wish to have an abortion option.
At times I chaff at my inability to be more involved in the current political climate. It's not possible for me to travel to rallies, set up meetings with my representatives, etc. The responsibilities of being a wife and mother keep me more than busy. But in light of the absolute insanity that's being propagated by our elected officials and knowing that it's not only going to directly impact my immediate family but also generations to come I dare not just sit back with my mouth shut. That's exactly what too many people have done on too many occasions and hence the downward spiral we find ourselves in as a nation.
So I do what I can. I've called my senators, representatives, and the White House more times in the past six months than all previous years combined. At times I still feel helpless because the people who are supposed to be speaking on my behalf don't seem to be listening to me at all. But somehow I still believe there are enough people in the United States who possess enough common sense that if we'd all speak up we would be heard. This insanity has to stop!
So here's where I'm at today. The healthcare bill could be voted on as soon as Saturday night. From bits and pieces that I've heard (it's insane that they won't release the plan for people to read...smells like a rat to me!) it alarms me the control our government would have in overseeing every aspect of our healthcare. Maybe I'm so concerned because I have a bad feeling for what it would mean to the scores of people like my mother who depend on the healthcare profession.
I recommend you go here: http://www.capwiz.com/afanet/callalert/index.tt?alertid=14295801 and watch the video clip by Rep. Mike Pence (about 1/2 way down the page) and then contact your representative immediately.
I don't blog about politics here because that was never the purpose of this blog. But I will say that as I watch our government there is a gnawing fear that tries to grip my gut. History really does repeat itself doesn't it? It's just a different time, a different country, a different group of people but account is still the same. You would think we would learn a lesson.
At times I chaff at my inability to be more involved in the current political climate. It's not possible for me to travel to rallies, set up meetings with my representatives, etc. The responsibilities of being a wife and mother keep me more than busy. But in light of the absolute insanity that's being propagated by our elected officials and knowing that it's not only going to directly impact my immediate family but also generations to come I dare not just sit back with my mouth shut. That's exactly what too many people have done on too many occasions and hence the downward spiral we find ourselves in as a nation.
So I do what I can. I've called my senators, representatives, and the White House more times in the past six months than all previous years combined. At times I still feel helpless because the people who are supposed to be speaking on my behalf don't seem to be listening to me at all. But somehow I still believe there are enough people in the United States who possess enough common sense that if we'd all speak up we would be heard. This insanity has to stop!
So here's where I'm at today. The healthcare bill could be voted on as soon as Saturday night. From bits and pieces that I've heard (it's insane that they won't release the plan for people to read...smells like a rat to me!) it alarms me the control our government would have in overseeing every aspect of our healthcare. Maybe I'm so concerned because I have a bad feeling for what it would mean to the scores of people like my mother who depend on the healthcare profession.
I recommend you go here: http://www.capwiz.com/afanet/callalert/index.tt?alertid=14295801 and watch the video clip by Rep. Mike Pence (about 1/2 way down the page) and then contact your representative immediately.
I don't blog about politics here because that was never the purpose of this blog. But I will say that as I watch our government there is a gnawing fear that tries to grip my gut. History really does repeat itself doesn't it? It's just a different time, a different country, a different group of people but account is still the same. You would think we would learn a lesson.
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