Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Which Holiday?

So my friend discovered this cool site called Bizarre American Holidays. Have a look see to find out what bizarre holiday your birthday falls on. The results are in for the Slightly Peeved Family:

SPCM: Meteor Day

SPCH: Play God Day

The Boy: Clerihew Day (I know, I know . . . cleri-what? So I looked it up on dictionary.com. Clerihew, n.: A humorous verse, usually consisting of two unmatched rhyming couplets, about a person whose name generally serves as one of the rhymes)

Peanut: Sandwich Day and Housewife's Day

Leave a comment and let me know which bizarre holiday your birthday falls on.

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Random Thoughts

I feel like I haven't posted in forever. All four of you who check in here to see what is going on in my life must be completely devastated.

I haven't been feeling too hot so I have stayed home from work the past two days. I feel kinda bad about ditching the people there, but I have loved being home with my baby and getting some stuff done around the house.

Have I ever mentioned that pets and I just don't mix? I seriously have no intention of owning a pet in my life, much to the chagrin of my cat and dog loving husband. But right now we are at the in-laws and I simply don't get a say about these kinds of things. So we have been living with a feral cat named Max for over a year now. His hair gets everywhere and he likes to puke every now and again, but mostly he stays out of the way.

This past weekend, my mother-in-law took my sister-in-law, her kids and my little cutie boy to Salinas with her to get some stuff done around the house she inherited from her mom there. Her mom's two cats haven't had anyone to take care of them since the latest tenant moved out. My sweet MIL loves cats and feels responsible for these two. So they came home with her. Now we live with three cats -- three cats who don't get along with each other. Max and Miss Kitty were having a showdown in the hallway outside our bedroom the other night and the sudden squeals, hisses and growls that accompanied this face-off nearly scared me to death. Miss Kitty seems to think she rules this place. She goes wherever she wants -- the kitchen counter, my baby's crib, etc. She also likes to hang out on the bathmat in front of the sink. Gosh, I love peeing in front of felines. My tactic for dealing with these creatures is to view them as incentives to move out rather than major pains in my kiester.

So everyone hates me now, right, because I detest living with animals? I like animals. I just don't like living with them.

I went shopping this weekend to buy a couple of pairs of pants for work. I wasn't going to get much. Then I found a bunch of awesome items on clearance for $6, earrings that were buy one get one free, and shoes that were half off. Um, I went crazy. I was afraid my husband would freak out when he saw how much I was spending. And then I remembered who I was married to. He wasn't in the least bit concerned that I was spending way more on clothes than I should have. The fact that neither one of us is disciplined with money explains a lot about our current situation. We're working on it.

My son is going to Disneyland this weekend with his "real" dad and his dad's family for his grandma's 50th birthday. Can I tell you I am so jealous? It's painful how jealous I am. And slightly sad.

My MIL is in love with the new Pride and Prejudice movie, which is out on DVD today. She went out early this morning to pick up a copy. Isn't that cute?

The other day I was trying to tell Kelly about how my husband and I met and I realized that our story is hard to tell and convoluted. After several minutes of rambling my brain was screaming, "Shut up! Shut up now!", but my mouth and my brain have been at war since my early youth and my mouth continues to be the stronger warrior of the two. Kelly finally escaped by ducking into primary to pick up her son. Lucky girl. I wish I could get away from my ramblings that easily.

I want to add a blogroll to my site. I have no idea how to do this. Maybe one day I will spend the time searching the help section of blogger so I can figure it out.

I spent two hours playing this the other night. If my little peanut hadn't woken up I probably would have played even longer. I need help. I even played a two player game against myself. Would you classify my addiction to this game as a serious addiction? Are you scheduling an intervention as we speak?

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Another Reason It's A Happy Day

In addition to getting a new job, I also got this in the mail. Woo hoo!!! I'm going to have my own version of American Idol at my house every night now -- with me as the only star.

I Have A New Job

An amazing thing happened today -- I got the job I wanted.

I haven't posted much about my current situation before so I'll just lay it all out before you now -- I live with my in-laws. It's not a good thing. They are wonderful people and just about as easy to live with as you could possibly want, but I am nearly thirty years old, married, and the mother of two. I need my own place. My husband and I, however, have had some trouble supporting ourselves fully since we moved out here at the end of 2004. I needed a job immediately upon arrival because we had almost no savings and plenty of bills. I found a job at a great place, with great people and great benefits, but the pay was several thousand dollars less a year than I thought I would be able to make. But I took the job because I really needed it, my family really needed it, and because I felt certain that my husband's art career would soon take off and I could then stay home with my babies like I really want to.

14 months later, reality has set in. Josh is working hard at getting his big break, but it just hasn't come yet and it could be years before it does. I now have to provide for four people, not three. My job is often boring and I am going nowhere fast. It's a small company, they are not inclined to give me any kind of significant raise and there is no way for me to move up to another position any time soon. And every day I feel more and more like the world's biggest loser for not being able to house my own family.

So the job search began in earnest. I heard back from several companies right away and starting going on interviews. I was supposed to hear back from the first company on the 13th with either an offer or a rejection. The night before I was a mess. I was going on and on and on to my hubby about the pros and cons of taking the job if they offered it to me. I was completely unsettled and had no idea whether I should accept it or not. I had a feeling I would be offered the job and just could not get a sense of what my answer should be. Josh was worried about me and so offered to give me a priesthood blessing (this is when a priesthood holder lays their hands on someone's head and gives them the blessings/information the Lord wants them to have relating to their current situation). I resisted at first. I told Josh that I didn't think God cared what job I had as long as I wasn't doing anything illegal or immoral. I don't know why I was so stuck on thinking that since I feel pretty strongly that jobs I have had in the past were essential for me to have, but perhaps I was a little afraid that God did care and that I wouldn't be able to figure out what He wanted me to do. After some more gentle prodding by my sweetie, I had him give me a blessing.

Now, I am not going to go into too much detail here about what I was told in the blessing. It doesn't seem appropriate. However, I will say that I felt much calmer after it was done and was assured that the Lord cared very much about this concern I was having. I also felt I needed to weigh my options out further before making a decision.

Last Tuesday, I was offered a job. The offer was for $5000 more a year than I am currently making, but insurance would have cost me $200 more a month than it currently does. My initial inclination was to accept, but I asked for some time to think it over. They sent me some paperwork and as I looked it over I started to have a bad feeling. Within a few short minutes I went from being almost sure I would take the job to knowing I would not take it. I felt that the bad feelings I was having were the answer to my prayer -- my answer should be no. So I turned down the job.

I went on two more interviews after that. Both went well, but I was really excited about the first. I liked the people and the feeling in the office. The company is much larger than the one I am currently with, therefore there are more opportunities for advancement. I really started hoping I would get the job. They told me they would be making their decision immediately after the holiday weekend and they would get back to me early this week. I expected to hear from them yesterday. I waited and I waited and I waited for a phone call, but none ever came. I started to feel depressed. Surely I would have heard from them if they wanted to hire me. "No news is good news," my friend assured me. I tried to believe her.

The hours rushed by today at work, but still every time I had a chance to catch my breath, I would wonder about this job, about why I hadn't heard from them. By mid-afternoon, I was feeling depressed again. I had to do something about it. I had to figure out what was going on. So I e-mailed the woman I interviewed with and asked if they had made a decision and if not when they were expecting to make one (this was unusually aggressive behavior on my part). She e-mailed me back and said they had not made a decision yet because of some internal issues but that she would get back to me by the end of the week. So I decided I would have to wait another day or two to find out my fate.

At 4:30 the phone rang. It was Josh with a message to call my interviewer at this company. He said he couldn't tell if she sounded happy or not. I called her and braced myself for the worst. She said:

"I would love for you to come work with us!"

The offer is for $6000 more a year than I am currently making. And the benefits are excellent -- better even than my current ones, which are really quite good.

For the past few years, I have just felt like I am not capable of knowing what the Lord wants me to do. I am not in tune, I cannot get inspiration.

But I did. I got inspiration. I knew that I shouldn't take that first job. Even though I didn't know what else was out there for me, I turned it down. And then something much better came along, something that I think will really make a difference for my family, something that will bring us a huge step closer to being on our own.

I am so grateful that He cares for me, that He cares for my family, that He knows our needs and our wants and helps us to achieve them, in His time, in His way. And I am grateful that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder. The blessing that I received under his hands made a big difference to me. And I am starting to feel once again that I am not such a bad person as to be unable to decipher God's communication. And that is a good feeling.

Monday, February 20, 2006

My Son, the Aspiring Songwriter

So lately the boy has this thing with making up songs. Yesterday on the way home from church he was singing, "After I die, I am going to heaven. I am not going to hell, that is where Satan lives." Currently, he is playing with legos and singing, "We're mommys from outer space. We're outer space mommys."

With lyrics like this, he's sure to have a hit record by the time he's ten, doncha think?

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

The Man I Love


On our first Valentine's Day, he didn't plan a thing. Not a thing. He picked me up from work and started out on the freeway and then proceeded to ask me what I wanted to do. We ended up window shopping at the mall and eating at Chili's. He didn't buy me any gifts. It was not exactly my dream date.

From that story, some people may think my husband isn't very romantic. And I could tell you all kinds of things about him that would convince you of it -- the man can be so juvenile sometimes and completely lack the ability to get serious.

But this is the most romantic man I have ever met.

He drew a picture of us for my wedding present.



I come home to find that he has bought me flowers or gifts -- just because.

He came to my office one day to have lunch with me and he was all dressed up in nice slacks, a button down shirt and a tie, he had actually shaved (!) and he had done his hair -- just to surprise me.

He gets up with our baby in the middle of the night so I can sleep.

When our son has the stomach flu, he cleans up the mess. One night, he stayed up all night watching our sick, sleeping little boy just to make sure he was okay.

Even though I am overweight and have tremendously ugly stretch marks, he treats me like I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Sometimes I actually believe he believes it.

On top of all this, he married an insecure crazy woman who had been deeply scarred by her ex-husband and he has managed to convince her that loving her and being loved by her is the thing in his life which has brought him the greatest joy. He is raising a son who was born by another man and he is ten times the father that man will ever be. He loves our boy so deeply you can't tell that he missed out on being there from the beginning. And he is so gentle and sweet with our little girl. She is his angel.

He, however, is my angel. My life would be so empty without him. He is my valentine today, next year and forever.

Valentine's Day Articles

Check out these Valentine's Day related articles at National Review Online:

Cons in Love

Smart Sex

The Founders at Home

Sunday, February 12, 2006

The Truth

So, I am supposed to reveal which of my five statements is true. The sad thing is, the one I thought was true actually isn't and one that I thought wasn't true is. This knowledge came courtesy of my husband, who apparently knows me better than I know myself.

2) This is the one I thought was true, until my husband read it and reminded me that I had actually beaten him at slug bug many times and also once at Clue. Also, I just beat him at a game at our ward activity last night. However, he usually does win any game we play against each other, which does greatly annoy me and injure my pride.

3) I have no desire to go on Survivor. Getting up off the couch to change the channel when the remote has been misplaced is about as much as I push myself physically. I wish someone would give me a million dollars for that.

4) I have many things, but sadly, confidence is not one of them.

5) I think I would drive 50 miles to get a better view of a meteor shower, but I have actually never done that. I do love meteor showers, however.

So the truth, it turns out is number 1. I didn't realize that I knew all the ships involved in the first Death Star battle until my husband asked me to do my best to name them all (he knew the answer, but he knows more about Star Wars than George Lucas does, I think) and I listed all four ships correctly -- X-wing, Y-wing, Tie Fighter and the Millenium Falcon. I am a bigger nerd than I thought I was.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Can You Handle the Truth?

One of the coolest of all the cool bloggers made my day by calling me one of her new blogging friends, so I must respond to her request that I participate in the following meme. If any of my five readers wish to also participate, please do! There's some tagging thing you're supposed to do with these but I am a babe in the blogging woods and these technical things, they confuse me. So leave me a note in my comments if you have completed the meme and I will visit your groovy site so I can use my powers of discernment to identify your one truth. Instuctions for the meme are below.

Meme Directions:Write five things about yourself with only ONE of them being true. The other four are fiction, and everyone else gets to guess which one is not fiction.

1. I can name all the different kinds of ships that were involved in the first Death Star battle in Star Wars.


2. I have never beaten my husband in any game we have played together. For this, he must die.

3. My dream is to go on Survivor. I love to eat bugs, go without showering, undermine my competition and wear very little clothing. Winning the million dollars would just be a bonus.


4. I have confidence in sunshine. I have confidence in rain. I have confidence that spring will come again. Besides which you see I have confidence in me.

5. I once drove 50 miles just to get a better view of a meteor shower.

Okay, tell me what you think. I'll let you know in . . . 48 hours, I guess.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Things Never Work Out the Way You Thought They Would

The older I get, the more things I end up doing that I said I would never do.

I am never going to work outside of the home once I have children.

Wrong.

I am never going to get divorced.

Wrong as of Dec. 27, 2000.

I am never going to buy shoes that look like this. ( I know you can't really tell from the picture, but those suckers are pointy!)

You guessed it -- wrong.

I am never going to put those headband bows in my daughter's hair. They are tacky.


Wrong once more. But I won't apologize for it. She looks completely adorable. Admit it.

Work, Work, Work

I am currently looking for a new job. I love my office, but I make very little money and the situation my family and I are in right now really demands that I make more. So the other day I sent out 7 job applications. I have already heard back from 4 people. I have an interview today and one tomorrow. I am so nervous. I really am hoping to love one of these two places and get offered a job at a much higher salary than my current one. I have never interviewed for a job and not been offered the position, but how much longer can that streak last in my life? Anyway, send your prayers and good thoughts my way. I need them!

Update: I just scheduled job interview number three for next Thursday.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Violent Protests of Cartoons

The news about the violent protests over a cartoon published in a Danish newspaper has been quite disturbing. People are losing their lives because someone drew something insensitive. To say that some Muslims have overreacted is an overwhelming understatement. People far smarter than me have been discussing this topic in length. Visit radioblogger.com to see the transcript of a conversation Hugh Hewitt had with Michael Medved, Dennis Prager and Joe Carter yesterday on his radio show.

Also, go here to read the President's response to this situation. The article also quotes King Abdullah II of Jordan condemning the violence that has erupted. I applaud him for standing up against these extremists and calling for peaceful protests. Now if we could get the rest of the leaders in the Muslim world to do the same.

Comments Change

FYI, I changed my settings so that your comments will appear on my blog without me having to approve them first.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

People Who I Just Can't Stand

Britney Spears. First she just was an untalented hack. Then she was an untalented hack who danced around half naked and was a terrible role model to all her young fans. Then she further punished the world by inflicting Chaotic on us. Now this. I've been done with her for about 5 years. Would she just go away already?

Sheryl Crow. Okay, I know it's mean to pick on her right now because she just called off her engagement. But I can't help it. I heard a song of hers on the radio the other day and it made my skin crawl. I used to think a few of her songs were okay. And then she did it. She committed blasphemy by turning The First Cut is the Deepest, a totally rockingly sweet song by Cat Stevens into a slow, boring, stupid song sung by a whiny lady with a grating voice. If I ever see her, I will stick my tongue out at her. In fact, I am sticking my tongue out at her right now. And even though she can't see me, I feel better.

Bruce. You know who you are. Thanks for consistently finding a way to make my life more difficult for the past . . . I don't know, 13 years? It's been great. But since I have some wonderful people in my life because I know you, I have decided I won't get the voodoo doll out. Yet.

My brother-in-law's ex-wife. You know all that stuff about wicked stepmothers in fairy tales just doesn't ring true to me. All the step-parents I know, including my sisters and my husband, are completely awesome and loving and great to their stepkids. The biological parental counterparts of the children whom they are raising, however, are a totally different story. Why don't you read about that in fairy tales, huh? Maybe because biological parental counterparts just doesn't have the same ring to it as stepmother. Who knows?

Bill and Hillary Clinton. They're such oozers. They just ooze and ooze everywhere they go. For example check out this picture of them at Coretta Scott King's funeral. I feel slimy just looking at their smug, self-satisfied, hypocritical faces.


Kobe Bryant. We affectionately call him rat boy at my house. I have a very strong feeling he wasn't so innocent of those rape charges, for one thing. For another he is an arrogant ball hog who is far more impressed with his skills than he should be. Okay, so you scored 81 points in one game, but most of the time your field goal percentage is in the 30 percent range. Last night you were 5 for 22. Do you really believe everyone's hype about you being the next Michael Jordan when you put up numbers like that? Please.

Basically every girl who is gorgeous. Stop making me feel so inferior!

Whoever invented ice cream, french fries, sour cream, and came up with the idea to fry food in the first place. Thanks to you all I will never be a girl who makes anyone else feel jealous, unless, of course, their goal is to have the world's largest rear end. Are you happy now?

That obnoxious man who turned into the wrong lane of traffic coming off the freeway the other day and thus almost killed me. I am not impressed by your driving or your snazzy personalized license plate that boasts of your PhD. Do you think your credentials make it okay for you to destroy my car and put my life in jeopardy? Just curious.

To all of you whom I cannot stand the least little bit -- get a clue. Seriously, people, it's just getting old now.

What is Wrong with Me?

I had this epiphany at church on Sunday that my eating habits (hold the vegetables, bring on the fried foods and starch) and lack of exercise has been affecting my attitude and personality. I mean, I think if I took better care of myself maybe I wouldn't be so negative. So i determined that this was finally going to be the kick in the pants I needed to change my life.

I was doing so well yesterday until I got home from work. Then I went crazy and ate about two days' worth of calories in about a 4 hour time span.

What is wrong with me? I can't even maintain self-discipline for one day. I've got problems.

Monday, February 06, 2006

MSM is Going the Way of the Dinosaur

Somehow, Dave Barry gets it. Now if he would just let the NY and LA Times in on the secret.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Hope for All Moms

Here is a great post about motherhood. I just found Barbara's blog via Rocks in My Dryer and I love it. She is such a gifted writer. I recommend reading her on a daily basis. Go on. You know you want to.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

State of the Union

I have been meaning to jot down my thoughts about the State of the Union but haven't gotten around to it yet. Then I found this. Almost exactly what I would have quoted and commented on from the SOTU address. So just read that.

P.S.

I loved giving the doctor Alek's family history last night.

Has anyone in his family:

had diabetes?

Yes.

Cancer?

Yes.

High blood pressure?

Yes.

Contracted a heart disease before age 60?

Yes.

Who was that?

My dad. (I thought about telling him that my Dad acutally died of his heart disease before age 60, but decided against it)


Stroke?

No.

Just when I thought I had everything . . .

Good Times at the SPCM Household

I am waiting for a light to come crashing down on my head or to eat some bad chicken and become violently ill. Everyone else in my house this week is sick and/or has had to visit the doctor, so I am just waiting for my turn.

Hubby has a cold, which kept him out of church on Sunday, and also started physical therapy this week. They hooked up electrodes to his knee and shocked him. Supposedly this is going to help the swelling.

I stayed home from work on Tuesday because peanut has a cold. It's her first time being sick and I hate having to leave her. She is still too young to take medicine so there isn't much we can do for her. She is such a good-natured little girl, however, and is still happy as a clam, even though she is all stuffed up. She is not sleeping that well, however. She's been up until the wee hours of the morning every night this week. This has made it pretty difficult for me to get to work on time. When I was home on Tuesday, I picked the boy up from school. When I told him I had stayed home because peanut was sick, he started bawling. "I don't want my sister to die!" he wailed. I don't know what gave him the impression there was any danger of this, but I let him know that was not the case. He kept crying all the way home, though, and said, "well, I still don't want her to be sick. That makes me sad." Isn't he a sweetie pie?

The boy has had a rash for months. We took him to the doctor about it in the fall and she said it was viral and would go away in about six to eight weeks. About 14 weeks later, he still has the rash. So we're taking him back to the doctor today. We also are getting a report from his teacher about his behavior in school for the pediatrician to look at and see if there is something going on with him physically that is causing his behavior problems. I hope no one suggests ritalin, because I may have to throw a major fit.

It seems the boy couldn't wait to see a doctor, however. Last night, he tripped running up the two stairs to the kitchen, hit his head on the dining room table bench and got a pretty deep gash directly above his right eye. He was bleeding a lot -- which is always a scary sight -- and crying as badly as I have ever heard him cry. He was screaming, "Am I going to die? I don't want to die!" (I don't know what his thing is with death lately. No one we know has died for quite some time, so it's a little strange to me.) I told him he wasn't going to die and that head wounds just bleed a lot, which makes them seem worse than they really are, but he was still extremely concerned. Then he said, "this is the biggest problem I've ever had." I was trying not to laugh, but he was making it pretty hard.

We then got to spend 3 and a half hours at the hospital. I wanted to look at his cut when we were at home, but my husband wouldn't let me. I guess he didn't think I could handle it. So when the doctor finally came to work on the boy's head, I saw the damage. Well, I didn't faint or anything, but I probably shouldn't have looked at it. It was much deeper than I was expecting it to be and even though I knew my sweetie would be fine, I had to look away. My poor baby. He took his stitches pretty bravely and went right to bed when we finally got home at 1 in the morning. He is going to have matching scars on each side of his head, having had stitches on the opposite side three years ago.

It's nothing but fun and adventure at our house. The only question is, how will I get in on this action?

Monday, January 30, 2006

Because I Didn't Look Dorky Enough

I have needed a haircut for months. The last haircut I got was b-a-d, but I didn't have the time or money to get it fixed so I just let my hair keep growing and growing and growing. My husband wants me to keep my hair longer, even though I look bad with long hair. Go figure. So I have been searching and searching and searching for a long-ish haircut that I thought might work for me and I finally found one. I had high hopes. It looked so cute on the girl in the picture.

Somehow I ended up looking like this. Except not as cute.

I may think I love you, but I know I definitely hate the haircut.

Dreamers

Poll finds men want Alba as Girlfriend. All I can say is, good luck, guys. You're going to need it.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Random Thoughts

I could be wrong, but I think this whole situation is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

If you have been following the whole Joel Stein debacle, read this. Ouch. Also this (HT: Carol Platt Liebau).

This man was our president for eight years. What were we thinking?

This article gives me hope. Just say no to Hillary.

Happy Birthday, Dad!


Today is my Dad's birthday. He would have been 64. But instead of celebrating with him, all I can do is celebrate having had him in my life for as long as I did. It truly is a miracle my Dad made it to 58, so I shouldn't be greedy and wish that he had made it even longer. But I am greedy and I do wish it.

My Dad is one of my heroes. He was imperfect, but so good. And he loved his God, his wife and his children and grandchildren with everything he had in him. If all men were like my Dad, the world would be a much better place. And he would agree wholeheartedly with me that if all women were like my Mom, we would have heaven here on earth. I am so grateful for my parents. Look at them. Aren't they adorable?

Friday, January 27, 2006

The Force is with Me

I have needed to do laundry for about a week. I have nothing comfortable I can change into when I come home from work. So lately I have been wearing my husband's jeans and they're not baggy on me -- not really. I even wore them to a Pampered Chef party last night. Now whereas most husbands would be a little horrified to find that their wives fit into their pants, my husband finds it sexy when I wear his jeans.

I think I have the force. I am pretty sure I used a Jedi mind trick on my husband so he thinks I look like
this instead of like this.

I have a confession to make

I am terrible at making friends. The reasons for this are numerous, but it basically boils down to the fact that I am a terribly insecure person. When I tell people it's hard for me to make friends and talk to people I don't know, they usually don't believe me. But people who have known me long enough to see me sit in a corner in a room full of people on numerous occasions know that this is true. The problem is much worse in situations where I feel like friend-making is expected. So basically, every Sunday at church is an exercise in trying to overcome my fear of being humiliated and rejected -- an exercise at which I am constantly failing.

Which is why tonight was such a refreshing and rewarding experience. I actually feel like I took a step toward making a friend tonight. I moved here over a year ago and I have not made one single friend. And despite having a great husband who always listens to me and makes time to hang out with me, I have felt lonely and isolated. Women need other women to talk to and relate to. Back in good old Arizona, I had friends, my mom, and my sisters to fulfill that need. Here I just haven't found anyone who I have felt that friend connection with. There are many great and nice people who I chat with from time to time, but there has not been that person who feels . . . like you just fit with them. I don't know, that sounds too romantic and that's not what I mean, but do you get what I am saying? The kind of friend Anne Shirley would call a bosom friend, a kindred spirit.

I went to a Pampered Chef party tonight, which was just not something I wanted to do. I hate leaving again after I come home from work, partly because I am tired, partly because I am missing out on time with my husband and kids again. I really, really didn't want to go tonight because I had a rotten day at work. Some stupid assemblyman who thinks being an elected state official means everyone should treat him like a god got all cranky with me on the phone. My computer was freaking out. My husband did a really dumb thing that made me absolutely furious. I just wanted to come home, put on some pajamas and veg out. But my mother-in-law wanted me to go with her and I told her I would. Plus the food at Pampered Chef parties is usually pretty darn good. So I went.

I sat by a girl I go to church with (who is probably not technically young enough to be considered a girl, but my grandma calls her 80-year old friends girls and I will most likely do the same when I am her age) who I have secretly admired for many months and have wanted to get to know. But being me, I had no idea how to get to know her and was paralyzed by fear every time I thought about starting a conversation with her. About halfway through the evening we somehow just started talking to each other. Turns out she's a blogger and a fledgling (yet clearly talented) web designer and that we actually have some things in common. I had a great time talking with her and her sister. I hope this means that I am on my way to making a friend.

Then again, she may think I am the world's biggest dork (and my only reply to that would be, "guilty as charged") or she may not think anything of it at all. (And hopefully she isn't reading this post thinking I am a complete lunatic.) I may return to my paralytic state the next time I see her. Or worse I may try too hard and act like a total goon. But just for now, I am going to try not to talk myself out of being optimistic. I hope we will be friends. And for now, that hope is enough.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Good Reads

I have read several good articles lately but don't have time to write about them all here. Instead, I am providing links to them in hopes you will read them yourself. Enjoy.

What would Susan B. Anthony think of all this?

New HofR Leadership

Cost of the Iraq War

Boys in Crisis I

Boys in Crisis II

Information about the NSA "scandal" you won't get from the MSM

Greatest Love Story of All Time

One of my favorite people posed a question today to her family and friends that I think is worth answering here: What is the greatest love story of all time?

I am going to change the question a little bit, however to what is my favorite fictional love story of all time. That seems much easier and less dangerous to answer. For me, the answer undoubtedly is the love story of Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.

Elizabeth and Darcy are highly principled, moral people before they meet, but are also mutually improved throughout the book due to their association with one another. Their relationship and interactions force them both to take a more careful look at their character and behavior and to correct some of their flaws. At the same time, they both learn to turn a blind eye to the other one’s shortcomings, which is surely a key ingredient to enduring love. Darcy also sacrifices his own comfort, pride and material possessions in order to save Elizabeth from disgrace, without any intention of letting her know that it was he who had done so. His act was completely selfless, done solely for Elizabeth’s benefit. The icing on the cake is that the book is one of the most joyfully fun reads in the English language.

So what do you think is the greatest love story of all time?

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Planned Parenthood's Racist Roots

If you need another reason to be pro-life, read this.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

More on Love in Hollywood

I have a big problem with Brokeback Mountain -- and it's not the issue that everyone else focuses on when discussing this movie (although that is a problem for me as well). My big problem with Brokeback Mountain is that it excuses adultery.

As a disclaimer, I have to say here that I have not seen this movie. Nor is there a snowball's chance of me ever seeing it. But I have read quite a bit about it and heard it talked about on TV and seen preview after preview of it. And in everything I have seen or heard about it, people talk about how it's a great love story. In fact, one reviewer called it,
"one of the greatest love stories in film history."

Of course. Certainly. I mean, all great love begins and ends with selfishness, right? And there are few things in this world more selfish than committing adultery.


I have advice for people who want to commit adultery -- if the person you are with is a kind, decent, caring human being who is worthy of respect and admiration (which I hope they are since you married them in the first place) then get over yourself and start figuring out how to love that person enough that the last thing on earth you would ever want to do is to hurt them, thus preventing your descent into this immoral choice. If you absolutely cannot be faithful to your spouse, then give them the courtesy of respecting them enough to divorce them before you start another relationship.

Adultery is inexcusable. No ifs, ands or buts. If you or anyone you love has committed adultery (or has been the "other man or woman") and you feel it is excusable and you are offended or think I am an idiot, too bad. I have seen the effects of adultery first hand and I am not fooled by the justifications people give for engaging in such damaging behavior. It hurts not just the adulterer's family but also the adulterer him- or herself and whoever they are involved with.


So when Hollywood makes these movies where I am supposed to sympathize or excuse such a deplorable act, I get a little angry. When they promote such movies to be wonderful moving love stories, I get even angrier. True love is when two people who have committed themselves to each other forsake all others and give selflessly of themselves to make the other's life better. True love makes people better, it does not drive them to commit sin and to betray those to whom they should be most loyal. True love elevates both the one who loves and the one who is loved.

Of course, Brokeback Mountain is just one in another string of Hollywood pictures which try to provide justifications for what is certainly a destructive force in people's lives. After years of brainwashing people with good writing, attractive stars, and pretty camera work, it's hardly surprising when no one notices that no matter how "nice" someone is, what they are doing is not nice at all. No, not surprising, but a rather disturbing commentary on the state of this world we live in.

Opinionated? Who? Me?

Last week, a woman I work with was talking about a segment she heard on the radio show she was listening to on her drive in from work where the DJs were discussing 5 blockbuster movies they didn't like. She expressed her astonishment that one of them was Titanic. "How can anyone not like that movie?" she asked.

Now, one of the things I have learned to do as I have gotten older is to keep my mouth shut when dictated by the situation. However, there are times I fail to correctly assess the situation. That's when you find me saying things like this:

"I don't like that movie."

And when a stunned individual then says to me, "Why not?", I say:

"I don't like the love story between Jack and Rose. It's stupid."

I then would perhaps go on to talk about how I hate the way Hollywood presents love, that I think it's ridiculous to believe that this guy who she knew for a few days is who she will spend an eternity with (apparently among strangers who died in the tragedy that took his young life) rather than, say, her husband and family. I mean, Rose has a granddaughter in the movie. I assume this means she had a husband at some point and she has children as well. But the movie ends with her death and her then returning to a doomed ocean liner to kick up her heels with a guy who taught her to spit. Okay. Whatever. (Also I might throw in something about how it was a little uncomfortable sitting next to my brother in the theater when the third major star of Titanic -- Kate Winslet's breasts -- made their appearance.)

Then someone might say, "But people don't want reality. They don't want to see people picking out cat litter together."

Then I might reply that I am not suggesting that movies have to be realistic. I have no problem with movies that are unrealistic, that my problem is with movies that promote ideas and values that I think are destructive.

Then everyone might get very quiet and look a little shocked by what I just said. Things might feel a little tense. So I might try to lighten the mood a little by saying with a laugh,

"Not that I am opinionated or anything."

And when someone says, "But he was the love of her life," I may just hold my tongue instead of saying, "Precisely my point," no matter how much it pains me to do so.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Comments about comments

Just a quick note about the comments section on my blog. It's set up so that comments will not appear until I approve them. This is not intended to stifle a healthy dialogue, but rather to prevent non-G-rated words from cropping up here. This may seem a little old-fashioned of me, but I think that is a good thing. At any rate, it may take me a while to get around to moderating the comments from time to time and I just wanted everyone to be aware of that.

Monday, January 09, 2006

How Stupid Do You Think I Am?

About once a week for the last 4 years, I have received an e-mail promising me millions of dollars from a bank in (insert name of African or Middle Eastern country here) -- money which I am receiving for doing tasks ranging from nothing to stealthily transferring the even greater number of millions currently in danger of being stolen away from some poor ex-leader who was recently overthrown by the latest in a seemingly never-ending string of coups. This kind sir/ma'am will get his/her money as soon as he/she sends on his/her social security number, bank account number (to transfer the money of course!), e-mail passwords, names of his/her last four girl- or boyfriends, college grades and the location of the lost city of Atlantis.

I am pretty sure my six year old wouldn't fall for this idiotic scheme, but I fear someone somewhere must be having success with these transparently fraudulent communications because I just keep getting them. I just delete these messages and move on, but sometimes I am tempted to reply to these people with a one sentence e-mail:

How stupid do you think I am?

Which is pretty much the same e-mail I want to write to the creative geniuses bringing us the oh so realistic Book of Daniel, who apparently are counting on the American public to be stupid enough to believe that this fictional priest's life is representative of the lives of Christian clergymen. Let's face it -- everyone's family is a mess in some way, no matter how small, but I have never met anyone whose family is as screwed up as this guy's is. I could rant and rave about the ridiculously obvious agenda driving this TV show, but I think you would be better served by reading Carol Platt Liebau's take on it.

After you've read her article, I would like you to answer these questions for me: Can you imagine the Savior of the world talking the way they have Him talking in this show? Can you imagine pouring your heart out to Him and then having Him respond to you by mocking you and trivializing the issues which weigh most heavily on you? Can you imagine the sadness Christ must feel as He sees the people for whom He suffered trying to use Him to justify their own weaknesses rather than turning to Him for help to overcome them?

The people involved in this sorry excuse for entertainment may be able to fool themselves that they are just being so cool by pushing the envelope and stirring up controversy, but I, for one, am not that stupid.

Exactly What I Was Thinking

Great post over at Memo To: regarding the Governator's State of the State address the other day (HT: Hugh Hewitt).

My husband was a transplanted Californian going to school in Arizona when the recall of Gov. Davis took place. We watched the coverage of the election in his apartment (we weren't married then) and Josh just about burst with happiness when Davis was booted and Schwarzenegger was elected. Two years and some odd months later, the excitement has been replaced by bitter disappointment. Things will change here in the Golden State, but I fear they will just keep changing for the worse.

Defending Child Raising as a Legitimate "Career" Choice

My husband is attempting to get a career going as a freelance artist but spends most of his time being a Dad to our two kids. I currently am in a better position to have a stable, good-paying job with excellent benefits than my husband is. Therefore I work and he takes care of everything else (and anyone who has ever stayed home knows "everything else" is a lot). I recently spent some time defending this choice to my ex-husband and am constantly feeling like people look down on my husband and I for the way our family runs. It's extremely frustrating.

Apparently, we are not alone. The question I have is -- why should anyone have to defend wanting to be at home with their kids? Especially when the alternative is sticking them in daycare where it is not at all likely they will receive the love and attention they deserve? Full-time child rearing is sneered at in our society, whether it is a man or a woman doing it. Considering that there is no more important job anyone will ever have than being a mom or a dad, I find this attitude disturbing.

Birthday Thoughts

I was talking to a friend at work today about my impending doom . . . I mean, 30th birthday. He informed that 30 is no big deal. The real freak out age -- the one where you say, "Omigosh, what have I got to show for my years on this earth. I am going to keel over dead some day, in fact, it could be any day now. I better get on the ball and write that great American novel everyone is always talking about or paint that masterpiece that will hang next to the Mona Lisa or at the very least learn how to balance my checkbook" -- that age is 31.

Today is my husband's 31st birthday. Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Welcome to Slightly Peeved Conservative Mom

My first post. I guess this is a test to see if I am intelligent enough to figure out how this posting thing works.

So welcome to my blog. I'll try to post something of interest soon. BTW, if this blog stinks and is a total waste of your time and internet space, blame my husband. He's been trying to convince me to start my own blog pretty much since the day we got married. I suspect he thinks that if I get obsessed with blogging, he will be free to spend as much time playing his X-Box as he wants without me nagging him about it all the time.