Which is more healthy?

As one who received a degree in health, nutrition and exercise this may come across as a bit hypocritical, but here goes...

One of my biggest pet peeves is when overweight individuals are pointed out in a crowd and absolutely criticized. I realize that we live in a society that perpetuates unhealthy lifestyles and contributes to obesity, however I absolutely hate it when the "overweight" are murdered at glance. Some are overweight by fault of their own because of a unhealthy lifestyle, while others have a genetic disadvantage. Who are we to judge!!!

I was in a recent conversation where several individuals were blatantly making fun of an overweight woman that they recently saw. It made me feel awful! I guess I am hypersensitive to the issue because both of my parents are overweight. One parent exercises everyday and eats healthy, the other has chosen a less health lifestyle and as a result now suffers from Diabetes. Do I love than any less???.... No way!!! It's hard for me to see both of them overweight, but I love them and I help them in any way I can. When I hear conversations such as the one I heard recently, I get defensive because I know whoever the individual is that they are talking about has some one that loves them as much as I love my parents.

Bottom line... We never know the full story....

From where I stand, I think judgment is less healthy then obesity...

Giving it up in order to gain

(Last one from me today, I swear.)

I read an article about a woman who decided to give up one thing every month (i.e. coffee, shopping, elevators). She found that it not only saved her money every year, it made her more humble, increasing her appreciation for the things that she does have while decreasing her dependency on others.

Remembering this, I think of Tone Loc's post about how the little things are so hard. It seems to me that an easy way to tackle those little things would be to do it in this manner (work on one thing each week, or each month).

They say that it takes 23 days of doing something in order for it to be a habit. If my math is correct (which it probably isn't), that means you can work on about 16 things in a given year by using this method, whether it's giving up a bad habit or gaining a good one. I don't think it matters so much that you keep doing everything all the time (because nobody is that perfect), but that you give your best efforts to something for a considerable period and hope that it stays in your life. It may not always work, but at least we can rest knowing we are trying to implement positive changes in our lives.

Random Thoughts

1) If you want to get the crap out of the grout in your shower....use an old squirt bottle and dilute some bleach a bit and spray it on the shower walls after you shower. Just don't get any on your rugs or fabric sower curtains. The smell is strong...but it works great.

2) If anyone needs help devising ridiculous nicknames for their kids or needs help coming up with dumb voices to speak to kids in....I am your man.

3) I saw Walk the Line last night. I loved the movie. I struggled with the glorification of infidelity though. Cash just walked out on the family...that was tough to see. Reese Witherspoon is gorgeous in that movie though.

4) Hitler didn't start anti-semitism. It is an ancient idea dating back to the cricifixion of Christ. He just turbocharged the idea in the minds of many Germans. The framework was in place for Hitler to assume power. Three major vehicles he used were a) the injured German pride after the humiliation of World War I, b) existing anti-semitism, and c) the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic (the government post-WWI).

5) I have talked to many people who know someone who didn't get in to the University of Utah Medical School. I feel very fortunate.

6) Remember when you were in grade school and you would use the phrase "Lucky Ducky?"

7) I think Jake looks nice with short hair.

8) We might put in our front lawn ourselves to save on the price of the house. We heard that the builders don't do a very nice job. The grass out there apparently needs some TLC to get going... Don't want to pay for it and then jus thave it die.

9) I love ELECTRONICS. What is it about good speakers that can cure any problem man is faced with?

10) Fatigue is all that remains of my brush with the Epstein-Bar virus. EBV causes mono. Damn EBV!

Beating a Dead Horse

Guys...I cannot stand these televangelists. The Mrs. and I watched one in morbid fascination last night. He talked about "sowing an uncommon seed." this was, as they often are, a pledge drive. So a bumbling, shouting Southern man is screaming at you telling you what good health, financial prosperity, and spirituality you could have if you donated $10,000. He talked about how he was receiving wire transfers in his personal ministry for amounts over one million dollars. God is only being mentioned in passing. He would say things like, "There are 30 people out there right now who have been searching for fertile soil to sow their gift of $10,000." He talks about how the Holy Spirit speaks to him about who should give him money. I don't know about any of you...but this is VERY hard for me to see. Knowing what I know about religion...its very difficult to see people's faith used to accumulate wealth. I suppose people could say the same things about many churches...I just can't adequately convey the outright, blatant nature of this man's demand for his congregation's money. It made me very uneasy....that's all.

15 pounds and counting . . .

Why is it that you gain weight when you get married? Is it because you just plain get lazy and don't work out anymore? What about those people who never worked out in the first place who gain weight? Do you eat out more? (I find it hard to believe that you eat out more than when you were dating, but it's possible.)

I myself have gained weight since dating Maxi. That's probably because I quit working out as much and now work full time sitting on my crack. On the other hand, I've never before gained weight when I wasn't working out. I guess my metabolism has slowed down in my old age . . .

Only He Will Never Let You Down

"Life has it's share of some fear and some failure. Sometimes things fall short, don't quite measure up. Sometimes in both personal and public life, we are seemingly left without strength to go on. Sometimes hardship and heartache can leave us feeling very alone.
But when such difficult moments come to us, I testify that there is one thing which will never, ever fail us. One thing alone will stand the test of all time, of all tribulation, all trouble, and all transgression. One thing only never faileth--and that is the pure love of Christ."
-Jeffrey R. Holland

Redemption

Okay, so here I am, the eternal cynic (at least on this board). But I have to say that I do agree with Pops . . . to a point.

I do believe that this is one of if not the best country in the world. But I also believe that, judging by all of the things I have seen and read, it is a corrupt one. That says a lot for the state of the world today.

I also agree with the point that we would criticize whomever was in office, no matter who they are. This is undeniably true. But sometimes the criticisms are just and founded in truth and we should heed them.

However, my position on complacency remains the same. I don't disagree that everyone has a proper place in the world, insofar as their personal responsibilities dictate. But if people don't stand up for what's right, if nobody is a watchdog on this country, if nobody believes it is their job to make things better, then NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING. I don't believe that things work themselves out. It takes movers and shakers to straighten what is crooked in this country and the world. It takes crusaders, or even just the self-aware and motivated, to affect change. In India this week, a hunger strike by one woman halted the construction of dams that would flood thousands of homes. ONE PERSON MADE A DIFFERENCE. I believe it is possible again and again.

I'm not saying that everyone must protest or go on hunger strikes; I'm not saying that everyone be as involved (one might say obsessed) in politics as I. The least that I ask is for people to be aware and to keep the dialogue going so that one day it may reach a person motivated enough to do those things necessary to help raise this country back on its feet.


Yes, I am guilty of mud slinging. But I do it in the hopes that I may influence another (and perhaps further convince myself) to open their eyes! If I convince one person that it is time for a change, that the evil in this world must STOP, then maybe they will convince another, and that person will convince another, until the masses stand in unison and refuse to take any more.

I may be cynnical as far as looking at the state of affairs. But I believe I am a realist as well as an optimist; I believe we can take back our country and protect our well-being. I do love this country. That is why I fight for its redemption. I not only believe it is sick, I believe there is a remedy. All it takes is for people to care enough to stand up for what's right.

Eating a FAT elephant

I have to sympathize with Dorko on this one. Having lived outside the country...I would choose this one everyday of the week. There are HUGE evils associated with our way of living. But they are evils that I, myself, would choose over genocide (the Sudan), socialized healthcare (Canada), geographic constraints (crowding in Japan...South Korea), or corrupt governments (Mexico..."deporting" citizens instead of seeking reform.)

I do not label my position as pacifism or complacency...others may. I am not wired for these types of debates. Frankly, they don't light a fire under me like others may. I guess that's why there are so many professions...people are just interested in different things. I like to be informed...but I am not actively seeking reform. does that make me a substandard citizen? I don't believe so...I have focused my attention on another facet of society...how our bodies work and how to keep them healthy...equally important (or in many ways MORE important than politics..."if you don't have your health you don't have anything") and I find it stimulating and motivating.

Politics to me are a necessary part of life. I just see it as eating an elephant. Awareness of issues is enough for me. I vote. I have an opinion on key issues. I do not, however, choose to sift through the legislation in the country to find things I disagree with. There are things I disagree with at every turn. Each day I am confronted with moral, societal, governmental, and personal issues that conflict with what my ideal is. I don't want to be utterly fixated at every moment with everything that's WRONG in the world. And I TRULY believe when this administration is out of the White House and a new president is in who silences (oh but for a moment) the masses of critics...it will be just that...a moment. The idiosyncrasies of Bush will be a footnote to the garbage we will sling at the next Commander and Chief. It is the way of things here.

I vote for who I think is best. I try to be aware of my surroundings and make my voice heard when appropriate. I take care of who is in my charge. I try to excel at what I do in my little microcosm of the big, bad world. That's all I can do. If everyone was a crusader...there would be no one to take my money at the gas station, cook my spaghetti at the restaurant, clean my teeth, or remove the trash on the curbside. We all have lives...and opinions. I just stop amidst the mudslinging and faultfinding and wonder what it ever got us. The right to do it is undeniably important...but what do these truckloads of critiques ULTIMATELY get us? Now if Martin Luther King said that...then boy oh boy. But for little old me in Utah...I have found my role (as many others do) that happens to be well outside the formal political arena. I believe in the power of the vote. If I vote for the best person...then I believe that I have done my civic duty. The power of a positive attitude is very underrated... Unless you are a representative of constituents...then what does the rhetoric accomplish? Letters to the congressman, attending of town meetings, voting etc. (all of which I have done) are great avenues to participate in the political process.

Its a ridiculous thought...but the thought of me in the oval office crosses my mind. I firmly believe that with all the modifications I would make to the operation fo this country...I would also have sickening tides of criticism thrown my way. I feel bad sometimes for Bush. And to half the people who criticize him (myself included) I say, "Would you REALLY want his job...do YOU think you could do a better job." The popular, Jon Stewart-esque answer is, "of course." But if Jon Stewart (who, to me, embodies the ultimate cynic) were ever in the oval office...he would be so hated by so many people (differnet people than those who hate Bush).

I don't stand up for all of Bush's ideas or mannerisms. I just happen to think that he is the best we had during the last election (at least the American people thought so) and we should try to salvage what we can from a disaster of a presidential term. To me, its all in the attitude. Pick and choose what you like from the leader...that is SO important...but remember that the person is a person. Nothing is perfect...it never will be. There will ALWAYS be a deafening crowd who hates the way the government is working. But I am glad for checks and balances. I like the three branches of government. The Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Declaration of Independence are incredible documents. I have seen the originals and have read them various times. I love freedom of speech. I love the way we can access any information we want through libraries and the internet. I love the diversity of our nation...the differing views that are expressed. I love the freedoms we enjoy. We don't have monopolies on these democratic principles...but our version is the best. Arrogance? No. Just gratitude.

Nerd 2000

My favorite things to "nerd out" in:

1) Music. I like all the useless facts.

2) Computers. I like the whole MIDI thing way too much.

3) Board Games. I really like Risk, Monopoly, Chess, and Axis and Allies...but I haven't really played Axis and Allies yet...but I am sure it will increase my nerd levels...

4) Movies. I don't like to watch too many of them because of the time committment. But I love the escape from reality

5) Medicine. Enough said. You would laugh at some of the books I have read...

6) World War II. Love all the facts and who was shooting what kind of gun at whom on what date...who the general was...what the objective was...LOVE IT!

That's all the nerdiness I can think of right now...

Return to Things that Must Go... Island

Maybe I'm getting more irritated by people lately, but I have 4 more things that must go. I don't feel angry at all. Maybe I should go work for the postal service.

1) Cold toilet seats. I can't tell you the dread that goes through my system when it is January, I'm about to shart in my pants, and I see that toilet seat snickering at me. Don't you think with all the iPods, breathstrips, and laser eye surgeries someone could find an energy concious solution to this world-wide, centuries-long epidemic?

2) Switching the words in a sentence so as to suddenly unravel some secret meaning in the words that unlocks the secret of life. Example: "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice." There are a million of these viruses going around. This is not clever. Even I can do it: "Clown around in life, and life will make you a clown." Please, relief society sisters... you are perpetuating the acceptance of this dirty little sin. Cease and desist.

3) People who write checks for regular purchases, usually with 4 or more people in line behind them. Checks are no longer acceptable for anything, except to get neat boxes to hold stuff in like jewelry, or to pay bills and then only in the mail. There are these wondercards nowadays that have hundreds of dollars hidden inside them, and if the cashier swipes the card in his wondermachine the money goes into his till. It's amazing.

4) Leaving pointless, undescriptive messages on cell phones. Either leave me a message telling we what you would have told me had I answered, or don't leave a message. We've all done it, and also been victims of this horrible indecency. "Hi (blank). This is (blank). Give me a call when you get this message. OK. Talk to you later." This should never happen. I have caller ID, and usually if I miss a call I will see it, and will know to call you back. I don't want to make a call to my voicemail just to hear that I missed your call and you wanted to talk to me. I think I will make it a point to not call you back should you do this. (I know you all will be quite witty, just like my old lady, and leave me tons of pointless, long messages on my phone. You will RUE the day you do. RUE!!!)

The Dangers of "When......"

I think we all suffer from this as well. For me its when this.. or when that.... When I have money I will do this or when I am nursing school I will have money.. or when I get pregnant I will quit working.. or when all our bills are caught up I wont be stressed.... or when I have money I will get a gym membership and get in shape. What are we doing NOW to make those whens possible? We need to live in the present. Focus on now, make goals now so in another year, 5 years, 10 years we aren't still saying when I have this or that. Get off our butts and get our lives where we want them NOW

The Dangers of "What if..."

Windypops and I have been suffering from a major case of "What if..." syndrom since we've been house hunting. What if we would have gone out on a limb two years ago and bought a house.?... we would have been able to buy twice the house we are buying now. This has really made me think about the danger of living in the past rather than the present. Fact of the matter is, it does not matter what happened in the past, you can only control now and what happens in the future.

4/20

Funny story about today.... Keep in mind I work at the Division of SUBSTANCE ABUSE.

One of my co-workers came in this morning and said "It's 4/20....Does anybody know what today is?".... Out of a staff of about 35 people (mind you these people have Master degrees and PhD's), there were only a few of us that knew that today is National Smokeout Day.

Like I've mentioned before ... I work with a bunch of Master degree and PhD idiots... I guess book smarts override street smarts in the arena of substance abuse!

It's Easy to be Hard, but Hard to be Smart

I read an intersting article awhile ago that really put into words what I have been feeling about all this chest beating, and name-calling in politics today. It appeared in Time magazine in January of this year. I'm going to edit some of it, but I'll explain the rest:

"The Republican Party has been hijacked by religious fanatics that, in my opinion, aren't a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden and a lot of other religious nuts around the world," said Paul Hackett, a recent Iraq-war combat veteran who is running for the U.S. Senate from Ohio. As you may have surmised, Hackett is a Democrat, and his statement, to the Columbus Dispatch, raised an immediate call by the Ohio G.O.P. for an apology. "I said it," Hackett replied. "I meant it. I stand by it."
In fact, he has taken to repeating it at every stop along the campaign trail...

I caught up with Hackett--a tall, Hollywood-handsome sort--as he strode into a wings joint just outside Marion...

At the wings joint, he approached a small crowd of potential supporters with a combative abrasiveness that made Howard Dean seem like Mister Rogers. "I'm a strong Democrat from the great state of Ohio and damned proud of it," he thundered. "What does the Democratic Party stand for? Limited government. Strong national defense. Fair trade. Fiscal responsibility." Limited government? That was the fun part: "I don't want to send someone to Washington to invade my private life, control what goes on in my kid's school, get involved in the decisions made by my wife and her physician or to find out how many guns there are in Hackett's gun safe." He paused, looking for a reaction from any wussified, gun-hating Dems in the crowd. Finding none, he seemed lost. He didn't rise to his preferred state of indignation until the question period, when he was asked about Iraq. "The war is over. Bring 'em home. The war on terrorism is a war of ideas. We have a saying in the Marines: It's easy to be hard and hard to be smart."

Actually, Hackett's campaign is a vivid demonstration of that old Marine saying... He said gun control was his big difference, but it was hard to tell: Hackett had only a vague familiarity with most of the other issues. He was stumped by illegal immigration and came up with a crude prescription: "Send 'em back if we can afford it." In the end, Hackett seemed something new under the sun: a blogger candidate--all attitude, all opinions, very little information. --END OF ARTICLE--

This basically sums up my opposition to all the ugliness that people spew forth in the name of politics. REAL politics is practiced at a roundtable discussion where the issues are understood, dissected, and solutions are offered–not by a Hollywood know nothing on Entertainment Tonight, or a Hot-and-bothered musician on a rock stage. Yes these people can have their opinion, but most of the people in this world are dumb enough to take it for gospel.

Where I choose to spend my time in a variety of other interests, it goes without saying that I can not know as much about politics as those who do it all day every day. This is why I feel a healthy dose of optimism in saying "I know things are going to work out." I do not believe in ignorance, or complacency. I keep myself as informed as possible, BUT I do believe that the American system of government is the best on the planet, and issues have a way of ironing themselves out. Usually this is done by maintaining a balance of opposing viewpoints. The Republicans have their time, the Democrats will surely have theirs.

So to end my entirely too long post I say–Apocalypse is not upon us. America is not a wasteland of insecurity, and corruption. Life will go on. So be happy, and get involved if it suits you. I'm done.

America for Sale

The following is an excerpt from the executive summary from a report entitled "America for Sale: The Cost of Republican Corruption; A Congressional Reprot on How America is Being Sold to the Highest Bidder." It was prepared by the House Rules Committee Democratic Staff, and though it points the finger at Republicans, don't think that the Democrats are free from blame. Lobbyists push everyone in Washington, despite their political affiliation.


The United States Government used to belong to the people. Now it belongs to the highest bidders with the best Republican political connections. Congress is no longer a place where legislators work to make sure the government acts in the people’s interest and uses taxpayers’ dollars wisely. Instead, it has become a place where the Republican representatives who have the power to set Congress’ agenda work to re-distribute as many of those taxpayers’ dollars as possible to their special-interest friends in a massive “pay to play” scheme. It has become a place where the insurance and drug companies write our health care legislation, and the oil and mining industries write our energy policy.

The most important thing to know about Washington these days is the following statistic: Over the past ten years, the number of registered lobbyists in Washington has grown from around 10,000 to more than 34,000, which the fees that lobbyists charge their new clients have increased by as much as 100 percent.

Why do well-connected lobbyists make two, three, or four times the salary of the Members of Congress voters have sent to Washington to represent them?

It’s because America is for sale. The Republican White House and the Congress do not even pretend to be acting in the public interest any more.

The results are bizarre, outrageous stories that seem more at home in the pulp paperback thrillers of John Grisham:
- a corrupt politician who lives on a yacht bought and paid for by a defense lobbyist;
- three mysterious Russian industrialists who launder $1 million into the coffers of a prominent political leader;
- A shady lobbyist and his mob-connected friends who recruit the help of a politician to take over a Florida casino boat business;
- a radical religious anti-gambling activist who is secretly on the take from the gamin industry;
- prominent politicians working with the leaders of an obscure Pacific Island to allow Third World-style sweatshops to operate on American soil.

The culture of corruption has thrived in Republican-controlled Washington because the Republican Congress has intentionally allowed the processes that normally hold our politicians accountable to the American people to completely collapse.

It is more than a few corrupt politicians putting a few dollars in their pockets. It is a national problem, because Americans must live with the bad policies that corrupt Republican legislators have been making for them for the past five years. A Congress that makes its important decisions in back rooms where only lobbyists have access is not promoting the general welfare of the American people. When pieces of their government are sold off to the highest bidder, our children, our families, and our seniors must live with the consequences.

A true culture of corruption has developed under today’s Republican Congress and Republican White House, and the real-life costs it has for everyday Americans are staggering. America—all of America—is literally for sale. Our government is working on behalf of the special interests, not the public interest, and the time for a change is long overdue.

More Food for Thought

"I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good."

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Anger and Despair

An Iranian official stated that the United States' threats of nuclear warfare were nothing but the product of "American anger and despair." An editorial by James Carroll states that "anger and despair so precisely define the broad American mood" and "We are in anger and despair because every nightmare of which we were warned has come to pass." This is exactly how I feel. I sit and read the headlines and watch as our country spirals out of control and into the hands of a warmonger. More than war are the threats we face at home, such as troubles over global warming (which IS happening, as scientist after scientist has warned), the depletion of our natural resources and the pollution killing our environment, our dangerous dependency on oil, the failing drug war, the sad state of education, the economic apartheid keeping the rich richer and the poor poorer, and on and on.

When will it stop? Are we really sliding into a place that is beyond redemption? Some say that the only way to survive is to look the other way. But it is precisely what got us here in the first place. It's like that NOFX song that I have quoted before: "It's funny there was no one left to notice when they came for us.” We have waited so long to use our voices that it seems almost useless to try now; that we are inaudible to the powers-that-be. But I’m still trying.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT!

Musak to Dance to ..........then again maybe not!

Ok kids, I hear that you like the MTV! So here it is. Wait sorry not this one. This is more for fans of that band called Rise Against. Hey check this out. They have very powerful vocals, and some screaming guitar! I'm talking Rufio guitar on some of the tracks. Check the solo on the song "God loves a Liar". Trust me it may melt your face. They have great range and the entire album will take you for a bit of a spin, with the ups and downs. Trust me if you are still liking Strung Out, and Rise against this is next in line.

Apocalypse

Sounds like "wars and rumors of wars" to me.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0415-04.htm

Feminist Movement Part Deux

How strange that Mrs. Conformity should post about this. I was just thinking about it the other day and even had a conversation with the Soldier and was going to write a post. So rather than write a very long comment, I thought I'd just make a new post.

I was finishing my novel, "The Age of Innocence." In it, it details the main character's new marriage and the characteristics of his wife. In all things she is pure and innocent by running away from and denying any troubles or things that are "unpleasant," as they say. This was the norm for all the females in their 1870's aristocratic society and what made them desirable to men.

This reminded me of something I learned in college called "The Cult of True Womanhood." Its tenets are piety, purity, domesticity, and submissiveness. This has been happening for centuries but was most enforced from the years of the pilgrims all the way to the 20th century (most notably in Victorian times). It got me thinking, does this still apply? Does society favor a woman who embodies these qualities? I think it does, especially within our church (even the submissiveness, insofar as "obedience to the priesthood" goes). But then I also realized, I am not exactly any of these things--BUT I am still valued and loved by my significant other. He jokes about me being more submissive, but I wonder if that would really make him happy. Sure, we would probably never fight if I just gave in. But would there be any equity in our relationship? Would he respect me as much if I never took a stand of my own, or would he consider me as men of old considered their women, as mere objects and property, a thing to be molded to their liking?

I think there is merit in building some of these qualities in our lives. I guess you could say that even the submissive part can be exercised by choosing our battles and knowing when to let a thing lie. But it is wrong to think that we are not "good" unless we adhere to only these rules. Society has changed, and our modern women have accomplished so much in the way of equality and of earning respect among men. In my opinion, I believe we truly reach our potential when we can embody the good qualities expressed in past times yet still progress as strong, hard-working, independent, thinking women of our modern times.

Feminist Movement

Thought I'd just start the conversation....

I'm curious to hear what all of you think....

Family Matters

After a tough week, Easter came at the perfect time. As I sat on my parents lawn with "Baby Australia" watching my husband, dad, brothers goof around on the quad and skate board, I took a deep breath and started to cry. It wasn't for any particular reason, other than I was just plain happy.

Life has lots of kinks and twists, but ultimately the things that are most important are the people you love... and to be loved! I wish I could have captured that exact moment in a picture to keep with me forever.

Do ever have those kinds of moments?