Just in case anyone was wondering

the end of a decade

I woke up earlier this week with a swollen tongue. And in my routine cleaning of my tongue ring I found a little bit of green goo, so naturally I freaked out and decided I was going to die of an infection spreading from the goo into my blood and my life was completely over. So I took out my tongue ring and decided that that phase of my life is now over; and I'm okay with that. I had it for ten years, and that's a pretty good run for a random decision. Now my tongue is so light, it's crazy! I never realized that I had been lifting weights every time I talked, now I'm not.

Corn

I finally got to watch King Corn. Wow, we had just added corn back into our diet a few months ago, as Kaylee is now able to handle it pretty well. I'm not sure anymore how much I really want to keep it as a part of my diet though. I think I'd feel differently if it were a different variety of corn, like maybe the good unadulterated variety that still has nutritional value, and that we grow. But I think we're totally done buying any HFCS in anything, (not that we have for a long time but still) grain fed beef - even eating out isn't even close to being worth it, or non-organic corn products like chips. I just can't continue to be a contributing factor in supporting such an industry. It is so incredibly sad where this country is headed in terms of food. This is definitely another film that I think everyone should see.

Wrap up

I am happy to report that we survived our no spend month. It wasn't nearly as painful as I expected it to be, although the last day for some reason was somewhat rough, I had a crazy urge to make cookies and we had no brown sugar. I resisted since there really was no need for cookies, and we had $2.36 to spare at the end of it all. Our total for week four was $61.59. Gas was the big stress, I think when it comes down to it losing the extra hour each day with Jereriah since he was taking the bus was the hardest thing. It was also hard to stay home every day with Kaylee and only going out for walks around the neighborhood. We were getting a bit board of our books without a trip to the library and boarder lined on cabin fever a few days. I've got to get to sleep, so I'll post more soon on how this experience was overall, but I really feel that it was good for us, and it's something we'll probably do more than once a year... or maybe we'll just actually create and try to stick to a budget. One thing I know will hapen though is that we're doing away with the credit cards, they're going to continue to live in their storage locker. Although we'll take out the debit one, because trying to make deposits in an atm without an atm card when you've gotten to the bank to late and their night deposit box is locked for some reason can really bum you out. (especially because the bank is really far away!)

The world in which I live

A friend of mine posted this article on her blog and I had to post it as well, since I the truth of the article rings so true to me each day. This is the place I live in (or close to it) and the people I interact with every day. True we've now officially moved out of Boulder County but since J still works in Boulder and I'm doing MOPS and other things there, we always seem to find ourselves back there. We're actually thinking of trying to get farther away sometime soon, but that's a post for another day. Right now I'm still loving the beautiful uniqueness that is Boulder. Here's the article.
Best Outside Towns

Week Three

It's weird to me how fast money can just disappear. I somehow convinced myself that this challenge was no big deal and that we'd reach the end of the month with like $100 to spare or something. I think it is my innocence when it comes to purchasing gas. It costs a lot to go anywhere, and that's been the big lesson to me. The transportation for J to get to work, even if on the bus, is like just another tax to his income, it amazes me. This week as of the 23rd (I'm late writing this up) we spent $63.95, the cars needed some gas and the kitties needed food, that was a big one, almost half the expense. Granted it will last them through the next month an a half, but still.
I feel like food has been the easiest thing to alter/scale back on. And I have had a lot of fun getting a bit more creative in the kitchen. We always cook from scratch anyway, but I wonder why we haven't been doing some of this stuff before now. I have come to realize that I always have something soaking, and the crock pot is an indispensable tool. I've been experimenting with sprouting things (this is going to take more practice - I'm not good about changing water/rinsing), have continued to make granola, bread, and lots of other goodies. But the most fun one is making our own yogurt. We've done keifer before, with a starter, but the yogurt is a new one, and it's fun. No, I'm not eating it so I have no clue how it actually tastes, but J says it's good and since he goes through a lot of the stuff it's a huge savings to do it ourselves vs buying it. Next month we try making miso and experiment with other fermenting things... I just have to buy something to put it in.

The move you know...

Well, I was attempting to post something and have discovered more limitations of the blogger ap. But there are ways around everything so I've put my information in a link on my website, the lines in the tables still disappeared but oh well. You can read it there. I'm sorry to send you on a goose chase to read what I have to say but formatting issues prevent tables at all, such is life. So on with what I was writing about in the first place...

Forgive me for a brief political interlude, but I felt that I had to share this. The more we know about things, the more we can make informed decisions. I hope that this information and the links at the bottom help you make an informed decision in this years election.

2008 Presidential Candidate Comparison Talking Points

Week two totals

This week was not too huge of an impact on our budget. We made it through the week with a grand total of $27.65. Jereriah took the bus to work almost every day, so we only had the 12 miles a day to the bus stop in gas cost; in addition to my one trip into town and one trip to Louisville. We will have to fill up some gas tanks next week but I feel pretty confident as of today that we'll make it through the end of the month within our budget. We were immensely blessed this week by a generous gift of a meal out by my father, as a late anniversary gift. He also gave us a musk melon and bottle of maple syrup... so sweet of him! It was definately a treat to eat out this month, and to spend some time with him. We also came across a few awesome deals from the dollar bags at VC; we got about 10 mangoes definately in need of immediate love, so I made some puree that will go to make some mango coconut frozen pudding and grace our smoothies. And today we made an amazing GF mango upside down cake. Here's a picture.

Updates

Financial Fasting - Week 1: This may sound totally crazy, but I'm really kind of loving this. Yes, it is really difficult and yes, I am feeling like there are many things I am going without. But oh how freeing it is to know that for once I'm not accumulating more junk in my house, and that I'm not lugging a ton of plastic in my wallet. We are kicking ourself for not filling up the cars on the 31st, but we're also learning that because of that we may have to be a bit more creative the rest of the month. Transportation is definitely the biggest challenge for us. Living at least 6 miles from town and 21 from J's office make it tough. Plus being on the highway, with a baby make bicycles impractical and walking not even an option.
So the first week, (actually through today, so the first 10 days) we spent $54.17, most of that went towards water and groceries, but also $9 to gas. It is amazing how fast it adds up. I just hope that Kaylee's blueberry addiction ends soon, or at least she learns to function a bit better with the rationing that I've had to enforce, because it is definitely making things a bit difficult, those juicy organic gems aren't exactly cheap, at least not here. And yes, we're still eating all GF, organic and locally as much as possible, I'm not compromising my standards just because money is more of an issue. I honestly don't see it as much of a problem, but I guess I don't eat the same way most people do. I actually think we're eating a bit healthier as I'm really forced to soak my beans and make grains if I want to eat at all rather than just grab something 'convenient' (can't remember or think of what that would be right now - fruit maybe? or open a can of beans?) Anyway, the $1 bags of 'questionable' produce have been awesome for fresh fruits/veggies. We have actually had 2 pies, and a few fruit salad's because of them, and some awesome red swiss chard.

EC update- I have put off writing this because I didn't want to jinx myself and have things change. But, Kaylee is amazing. She has been so consistant in telling us when she has to go and going when she is given the opportunity that I have only had one almost full load of diapers each week for the past three weeks. She has been a huge fan of the 'big potty' and hasn't been too keen on using her little ones, which I guess is fine. She still grabs them and carries them around when she has to go and I didn't take notice that she was tapping her diaper. Or if she's diaper free she'll sit on it and go without even being prompted. She's so amazing! I'm just blown away at how much we as humans grow and accomplish just within the first year of life here on earth.

No Spend Month

Inspired by the family that blogs at smallnotebook.org we have decided to embark upon a no spend month ourselves. We've decided to make August our no spend month this year (although if we continue next year it may become a July or September thing as it's tough to not take advantage of some type of celebration for your anniversary). It may also become a more than once yearly deal depending on how it goes, I have high hopes though.
So here's the plan: for the next 31 days we have a budget of $250 dollars to spend on ourselves and the things we 'need' for the month. This includes gas, food, personal and household stuff, and entertainment. Not included will be the necessary bills as I'm sure our mortgage holder and utility company wouldn't be so understanding if we just decided not to pay them this month, and reimbursable business expenses, gifts, and hopefully this won't apply but emerengcy health expences.
I'm tired of having tons of stuff and tons of bills and wondering where all of the money goes each month. We've been living month to month, the past year or two and it is really hard. I'd love to see us put more towards savings as well as become less consumed by this consumeristic society we live in.
I'm hoping that through this experience we can learn to save, conserve, be more creative and plan things out a little better. I really don't anticipate much changing except I'm sure that J will ride the motorcycle to work more often or take the bus, and I'll probably stay home a bit more, which with the heat like it is now I don't think I'll mind all that much. It's also going to teach me how to use cash again which is something that I have become unaccustomed to anymore. So into the 'storage cabinet' go the debit/credit cards for the month and the adventure begins.
I am a little nervous as I'm not sure we can do it with the gas prices being so high, and us living so far from town, but I looked through our spending of the last few months and came up with the $250 number as one that isn't unrealistic considering what we have been spending on those things. I'm going to have to make J go to the farmers market for me instead of making the trip myself if we want fresh veggies at all but that's alright. It's going to be hard, but things, including experiences aren't worth half as much if you don't have to work for them; it'll be worth it I'm sure.

We have a walker!

Tuesday was an exciting day for our little girl, at least in my eyes. Not only did she get to go on her first fishing trip with Grandpa, eat pine needles, and come back reeking of fish; she also started walking! She's been cruising for a long time, and I knew it was coming but I was still pretty surprised when she stood up from the middle of the floor and walked across the room to me. I guess I'm really in trouble now.

Please sign this

I know many of you may have differing opinions about the vaccinations topic. However, I also believe that people should be informed about the things they are 'supporting' with their purchases and that is not something that is happening with this company. I also believe people should be allowed to make their own decisions regarding their health and that of their families and not have things forced upon them. Because of this I signed the petition "BAN PAMPERS PRODUCTS". I'm asking you to sign this petition to help reach the goal of 10,000 signatures. I care deeply about this cause. I urge you to view this link, read the description of the petition, and if you are at all concerned about what the government is trying to do with regards to eliminating our choices for health, please sign the petition. Thank you!

If you've got time

This is worth watching if you've got 40 minutes to kill and have a high speed line to watch it. It's totally heartbreaking but eye opening for sure. It seems no matter how many times you see this sort of thing it always hurts. It's unbelievable to see how we as humans are capable of conducting ourselves but it's also amazing to see the transformation of an individual when shown the truth.
I still stand firm in being a carnivore, because it's next to impossible to get the nutrition I need for myself and Kaylee when we can't have soy, most nuts and she has issues with beans to frequently. We bought a cow last month from J's aunt and uncle who had raised him on grass. It was a little bit difficult saying good bye to him as we had gone to visit him many times the past year but he will feed us for at least the rest of the year and he lived a very good life. It's amazing to me every time I go out to the grocery store to see what people walk out of there with. I'm going to try next year to make trips to the store only once a month or so for our grains (and maybe fish - trout can get old), as that's all we ever get there anyway. As soon as we can afford to join a CFA we'll do that for veggies, so that will cut that part of the trip out and reduce the journeys to the farmers markets. I realize that I am just one person (actually, I guess we are three as J and Kaylee are with me on this journey) and the reduction of our part is minimal, but I choose to believe that it does make a small difference. And maybe through my actions I can be an influence to others, I guess we'll see.

Happy Birthday Kaylee

I know I'm a little late in getting this post up but it's been busy. We were in San Diego, CA for a friend's wedding during Kaylee's first birthday. But we did our best to still make our little girl feel special for her big day. I made her a Kaylee safe birthday cake and our amazing friends shared their wedding celebration by having every one there sing happy birthday. Here's a picture of Kaylee eating her birthday cake. We also got to take her to the beach on the trip, and see the water and people surfing. She enjoyed the water but isn't a big fan of the sand. I guess we don't have to worry about getting a sand box any time soon. Kaylee has grown so much and is doing amazing. She's starting to talk and has about 9 recognizable words now and 4 signs that she uses consistently. She's standing on her own very well and can walk across the room if she's holding on to something, but unaided can only go a step right now. It seems that her physical abilities change daily though, she's doing new things and climbing to new heights (literally) every day. She is also amazingly smart, identifying things in pictures when asked, stacking, sorting, using utensils and all kinds of other fun things. I'm just blown away at how many changes take place in such a short amount of time. It was not that long ago she was completely helpless. Now her independence is increasing and she is growing so much. It scares me a little, I'm don't really feel like I am ready for all of this yet.

Picture of Happiness

My FIL visited recently and he just sent some pictures from his visit, and I had to share this one. It was so cool and eye opening to me to see a picture of myself with my amazing family. I am happy in this stage of my life, in the roles that I currently fill; as I have never experienced at any other point in my life. I experienced such joy in seeing that it shows to other people as well. How amazing to be filled with love and to shine, as God created me. I'm getting there.

Expelled

We finally got a 'date night' thanks to an awesome friend who was willing to watch Kaylee for awhile. So on our date we got to go see Expelled, and since I mentioned it before I figured I'd give you my post movie reaction. I still think everyone should see this movie! The saddest thing was that there were only about a dozen people in our theater, granted it was 5:30 on a week night, but still. It was awesome, the cinematography was fantastic as was the editing. I think they did a fantastic job at presenting the subject matter without any slants and presenting both sides of the issue. I love Ben Stein, he's amazing to have taken on such an issue and presented it to the world with no fear whatsoever. Great movie... go see it before it's gone, just like our freedom.

A lack of time?

I've had tons to say lately but it seems no time to share all of my thoughts. I think the most amazing thing is that the more you learn and in turn grow, the more you think, and if you apply it you can use your knowledge to teach others and continue enacting a ripple effect in your world. I feel like I keep learning so much each day and that the syncronicity in everything I come across is just amazing. I'm sure there is some scientific term for rapidly moving towards a particular state of mind or being, where knowledge is abundant, but I'm not sure what that is. However if there is such a term I see it not only applicable to my own life, but also to the world at large. It's beautiful!
There are many things inspiring me in my life right now; besides getting Big Mouth Foods off the ground and moving forward professionally; I've been growing a lot spiritually, and feel so blessed and grateful for those who are walking this journey with me. I feel like there are so many things going on right now in the world (not that I'm aware of the majority of them) there is no way you can not get fired up or be in some way passionate about one area or another. Here are some of the things rocking my world lately that I'm loving/passionately upset about.

• With Earth Day tomorrow and "green" living being such a hot topic lately I'm sure I am just one of the masses being bombarded with articles and advertisements about stuff that is somehow related (or sometimes not) to the environment. I feel like we're somehow ahead of the game or something since everything these articles keep saying that you should do are things we already do, but that's beside the point. I think because J works in the renewable energy industry people are always asking us about different energy sources and what we think of them etc. I find some of the things amusing that people think are "green" or helpful to the earth when in fact they don't make the slightest difference. I also find the discrepancy of people's behavior more than amusing. How in one area of their life they do something they see as good (using a cloth grocery bag) while in many others they don't even think about the damage they are doing to themselves or the planet (using paper cups for endless cups of coffee at Starbucks; pumping themselves full of drugs that will soon turn up in our water supply; or using chemical filled soap and cleaners to 'clean' themselves and their houses only further polluting our water.) Okay off the eco soap box.
  
• A movie I haven't even seen yet (but hope to as soon as I can find someone to watch the baby for a few hours) I believe is long overdue in coming out and am excited as anything to see: Expelled I'm not sure how people who are passionate about their beliefs, whatever they may be, wouldn't be outraged about such censorship of knowledge.
• King Corn - I also have not seen this yet, but am very excited to. Even though we've been avoiding corn for close to a year now the essence of this film still hits home very strongly for me. Along the same lines as The Future of Food and Supersize Me (both of which I strongly recommend seeing if you have not already), I think this will continue to open people's eyes to the greed and gluttony in this country and what we have done to a once reasonably healthy grain. Corn produced in Mexico can have as much as 13% fiber and so many more slow carbs than the yellow corn (dent) that is grown here to be processed into corn syrup etc. It's sad how we've (collective) modified and 'engineered' what was a beautiful healthy food into something that may serve the 'needs' of the populous but at the same time is killing us with every ounce of consumption. It's true too how extremely difficult it is to avoid corn as it's processed and added to nearly everything imaginable. I hope that people actually see this film and from it see that they, the consumer, need to choose wisely between whole grain products and overly processed or treated foods. If more people would choose the whole corn products, grass fed animals, and slower carb products that are made by more natural processes the rate of disease in this country would fall. This would give them so much less to complain about which leads me to my next point...
• A Complaint Free World - I'm almost done with the book but still find myself restarting the challenge every day. I was at a friend's house when her room mate came home and declared that she was on day five, and showed me her bracelet. I inquired about what she was doing and found myself leaving their house that night with a bracelet, book, and a mission to change my world. I'm very excited about the potential that this challenge holds and the amazing transformation that can come from it. It can impact every area of life and leave you seeing the world in a totally different light.
• This is pretty unrelated, but it's something that I am highly amused by. Individuals who become vegetarians because of the unethical treatment of animals yet continue to eat commercially produced eggs, and dairy products with out a second thought. Often they don't even buy the 'cage free' or organic varieties. This is something I really don't understand. Just one of those hmm things... I guess I have a lot of those though. I also find their argument about the environmental impact of the animals interesting while they turn to soy as their protein alternative which in itself brings on massive environmental destruction itself through rain forest clear cutting, pesticide usage, oil transport of the soy. Along with the fact that most soybeans are GMO at this point makes soy a difficult alternative to justify. (Side note, I support and agree with what they're doing by not eating beef/chicken/fish whatever in many aspects, the environmental and animal cruelty arguments are definitely well founded, but I wont be going veggie anytime soon. We buy only local free range grass fed animals and their products, so I feel justified in eating them and supporting local farmers. Essentially we're doing the 100 mile diet minus a few things that I deem essentials - rice, mangoes, coconut, wild caught salmon, etc.)
  

Easter

Here are a few pictures from Kaylee's first Easter adventures.


She's not so sure about this "Easter Bunny" character. But is a huge fan of Jesus, the baskets, and plastic colored eggs!

A Tooth Cometh

Yes, it's true, Kaylee's first tooth has broken through. We weren't expecting it to be this one, but I guess that the ominous 'they' are right in predicting the center bottom ones to come in first. It is the right one that has won the race and poked it's little toothy head out from her gums to greet the world. We expected it to be one a little farther back as that's where there was more of a bump in her gums and where she tended to concentrate her chewing, I'm sure that one will be soon to follow though. Now though, I live in fear of being bitten with something that will actually bring about real pain. I guess it was only a matter of time. Surprisingly enough though, the whole ordeal wasn't as bad as I figured it would be.
I'm pretty sure I have our little miracle on a string to thank for that though. A few weeks ago, after reading more about teething I bought Kaylee an amber teething necklace that she has worn pretty much nonstop. We took it off at one point because we were paranoid about her sleeping in it, and forgot to put it on the next day and wow, big difference. She was insanely irritable and unhappy. So she wears it and it seems to work. As a bonus she looks super cute in it, like a little surfer baby.

Muffins

If you know me lately you know I have a serious muffin/cupcake addiction. I'm not sure how to get over this one, so I just keep playing with it and discovering lots of yummy treats to keep me from starving throughout the day when food is just beyond my ability to make because of baby, housework, etc. keep me too well occupied to think about cooking. So I keep a muffin supply and I get by alright. So here I am finally joining the ranks of those sharing quality cooking information in the virtual world of the internet. Like most things I make, unless I'm cooking specifically for someone else, this one is gluten free. I know there's a lot of controversy about whether or not oats qualify as GF or not, but I tend to lean towards the they're alright side because I buy the certified GF Oats and make my own flour. Plus I figure I'm the only one who is really going to suffer if there is contamination, so I risk it. If corn were the ingredient in question I'd probably not risk it. This recipe was adapted from the Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook by Cybele Pascal of which I am not a fan, but I got it from the library so I figured I'd try a few things from it and see what I could do with it.


1 1/2 cup mashed sweet potato
1 cup rice milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sunflower oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup oat flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts

bake at 400 for 20 min
11 muffins - I am incapable of making 12 ever!

These were a rotation food, can't always have sweet potatoes, but when I can this is a good way to have them. They didn't last very long.

What Constitutes as "Lisa Safe"?

Since I am constantly being asked what I can and can't have, I decided the easiest thing for me is to just post a list that people can read through if they are really interested. I struggle deciding whether to write up the safe list or the not safe list... They are both pretty close in length at this point. I'll go with the not safe, so anything that is NOT on this list is safe, providing that it doesn't contain some sort of contamination from something on the list (ie: corn, wheat, dairy etc.). These are the things that we are currently avoiding.

• Corn - all varieties, in every form
  
• Soy - only lecithin is OK, and sometimes oil
  
• Dairy -all forms
  
• Gluten grains : wheat, barley, rye and related grains here is a helpful site about things that contain gluten.
• Millet
  
• Potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
  
• Peppers - all types
  
• Shellfish
• Nuts -Pecans, peanuts, almonds
• Fruits - Papaya, bananas, strawberry, orange (all types), tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, kiwifruit
  
• Chocolate
• Meats - lamb, pork, turkey
• Anything with caffeine or artificial sweeteners
• Sugar - trying to limit, and if possible no refined sugars
  

I think that's all, but I will probably be editing this as I tend to forget things.

conglomeration of thoughts

• Struggling to blog.... I'm still a a loss as to how people who blog find the time to write so much? I'm lucky to return emails within the same week much less find time to type up novels about everything that happens in my day or runs through my head. Much less recipes, there are lots that I'd love to share, but I really suck at blogging!
• The people who make the majority of baby clothes never had a baby!
• Enlightened once again to the battle going on constantly for our minds and our attention. Satan has quite the influence in this world and sometimes it is really hard to take every thought captive. This hit me again the other day when I was on a walk and saw a bumper sticker that read "One man can make a difference... Jesus did" and my immediate response was 'well He was God' and I had to stop to again realize that he was also fully human. Why is it my tenancy to have this view?
  
• Cooking/baking with real vanilla beans is so worth it.
• No matter how many times you try to discipline a cat, and different strategies you employ, you will always lose the battle to keep her off the table. At least this is how it goes in my life thus far. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
• Sleep is not so over rated anymore... I think I will always be tired. I'm resigning to not responding that I am tired when people ask how I'm doing, from this point forward if they don't know that already it's not worth me bringing up, it's just a fact of life that I need to grow to see past and find something new to *complain* about
  
• Being sick sucks!
• My house will never be clean... or stay clean for more than an hour after I've finished scrubbing, dusting, vacuuming, etc.
• We have too much stuff.
• People although all very similar are all quite different and unique.
  
• There will never be enough time to do all of the things I want to do. I don't know how anyone could ever be bored in this life.

Teething Sucks!

I don't know any other way to put it. I feel so bad for my little girl who is drooling like a faucet and has goo pouring from her nose, her little tongue poking out repeatedly like a snake and is waking up constantly crying in pain. Neither of us is getting any sleep, and there is really very little that I can do for her it seems. I think Jer picked the perfect weekend to be out of town, but who knows how long this is going to last. I just keep praying that those little buggers will pop out quickly, and that they will all just come at once and get it over with. Ahh if it were only so easy. I guess until they do arrive it's all popsicles, bibs and chewy toys for us. And me learning how to sleep sitting up holding the snorting baby (and the kitten of course)... I should probably start practicing now, as she finally seems to have nodded off. Goodnight.

Another reason to hate the FDA

Chalk one more up on the list of reasons to despise this evil organization. This one now tops my growing list; the FDA has approved food from clones. Nice huh? So much for going out for steak! Not that I normally have dairy, but this really sucks. Sign the petition, at least we can let our elected officials know we're not happy about this unregulated institution's control over our lives.

Politics

I got this in an email and was pretty sickened by it so I figured it good to share. And no, I didn't go out and vote in my caucus today, Kaylee wasn't having any going out, and I'm not fully supportive of anyone running so I don't really feel right voting just yet.

If Hillary wins in 2008 and Bill is 'appointed' to fill her Senate seat and either live to retire 'they' (together or alone) would get two US Presidential retirement checks, two US Senate retirement checks, and a retirement check from the State of Arkansas .
About the only thing they MIGHT NOT get is a Social Security check....but I wouldn't bet on it....

I understand ole Bill has earned $40,000,000 in the past six years. What a guy!

AND THE REST OF THE STORY... Hilarious Rotten Clinton , as a New York State Senator, now comes under the 'Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan,' which means that even if she never gets reelected, she STILL receives her Congressional salary until she dies. (Would it not be nice if all Americans were pension eligible after only 4 years?)

If Bill outlives her, he then inherits HER salary until HE dies. He is already getting his Presidential salary until he dies. If Hillary outlives Bill , she also gets HIS salary until she dies. Guess who pays for that?

It's common knowledge that in order for her to establish NY residency, they purchased a million dollar-plus house in upscale Chappaqua , New York makes sense!

They are entitled to Secret Service protect ion for life.

Still makes sense.

Here is where it becomes interesting Their mortgage payments hover at around $10,000 per month. BUT, an extra residence 'had' to be built within the acreage to house the Secret Service agents.

The Clinton 's charge the Federal government $10,000 monthly rent for the use of that extra residence, which is about equal to their mortgage payment. This means that we, the taxpayers, are paying the Clinton 's salary, mortgage, transportation, safety and security, as well as the salaries for their 12 man staff -- and, this is all perfectly legal!

As she runs for President, will YOU vote for her?

follow up on the hoarding kitten issue...

So I was again cleaning out the stash under the crib and I found a bunch of my Christmas cards that never got sent. How she got them under there I'm not sure, but it seems like such a classic "excuse" to say my kitten stole my cards, that's why they were late getting to you. I'm a loser.

learning to blog

So I've been sucking at the blogging thing, but I guess you could say I've been doing some field research and reading lots of blogs lately. It's amazing to see the things that people feel the need to write about, some things are very quality and relevant, some just random rants. I can actually say that I'm learning a lot from other people and what they're willing to share. I'm also having lots of fun getting caught in giveaway rings where bloggers have joined together and are giving things away. My favorite one so far is for my absolute favorite baby product - the ergo. The blogger at "Our Blessed Arrows" is giving away an ergo accessory pack which is so amazing! I'm hoping to win, but even if I don't it's fun to enter. I'm so excited to actually see that there are other mom's out there who not only care about their kids but also about the impact that they have on the world. There are more people using cloth diapers than you'd think, and more people really getting involved with their kids through homeschooling, doing activities with them and making meals for them. I'm so encouraged not to be alone in this world. I'm also encouraged by all of those willing to stand up for what they believe in and speak it loudly and proudly online. It's awesome to have an instant bond with strangers through Christ and the love he has for us. Yeah, so there's some of my thoughts for today and my random searches in this crazy virtual world of the internet.