Joshua's 33rd Birthday

So for my 33rd birthday Erin wanted to bake me a special cake. A carrot cake shaped like a pumpkin. We also had bible study that night and it was our turn to provide the snack. Before we headed out the door, Erin was quick to snap this shot. The cake was delicious and everyone enjoyed it.

The group gave me a singing card, which Matthew has been enjoying all week. He has even created some new dance moves. Watch him teach some of those moves to you in the video.

Ides of March

When the stranger told Caesar to beware the ides of March, he should've told it to the birds. You can tell when spring is here because the birds are out every morning chirping away. This morning, Erin and I slept in because Matthew let us. At 9am we finally got out of bed and migrated over to the living room. I opened the shades to find... SNOW! Isn't it March? We don't usually have snow like this in December during a normal year. "No wonder we didn't hear the birds chirping this morning." I thought to myself. The snow was like a blizzard coming down with fat, fluffy flakes creating a winter wonderland all over again.

We scrambled to get our snow gear on and get in our last chance snow playing fun before it turned into rain. It was really funny watching the birds hop on the snow and look a little confused. I think they were telling each other, "I knew we should've stopped in Oregon this year."

We couldn't resist resting Matthew in the snow and taking this picture. He acted just like Randy from A Christmas Story: all fluff and no movement. We gave him a taste of the snow. I think he just didn't like that it was so cold.

Shortly afterward the snow did turn to rain, wind, hail, and now sunshine. Weatherwise, we're done for today.

Said Mr. Phillips to Mr. Flathead

You, sir, must think you live in a two-dimentional world.

Ode to the Forgotten Cat

Once the orphan child of an unknown mother Now the adopted son of another You were chosen when you had tears in your eyes Food, shelter, and love there was no dearth In your new home everyone shared in your mirth But, now, that seems long ago Thrice plus one a fortnight has passed Since a new human brother have you acquired Banished have you been, upon his arrival home To the nooks, to the crannies, and out to the fields you roam Away from the clean and sanitary places The love of your adopted mother you once knew Is all but completely gone For when she gives you the love she promised She must wash her hands of you Don't fret, dear cat For this place where you're at Is a new world, where You're new freedom has brought you A life of adventure enjoyed by the very few No longer are you confined to the singular choice Of using a litter box for your only relief But out among the grass, dirt and leaves You get to leave your mark New friends you make in the woods Meow like a wild cat, and show off you've got the goods Still, inside, you do have a home Not quite as quiet and calm as it once was Cradled you sit in your bed of fuzz Alone though you may feel Know in your heart that love you still get From the adopting mother of your youth Plus that of her husband and child too

The Newspaper

I was quoted in today's paper. Front page, cover story, first paragraph. The article was about how the rise in fuel prices have gotten people to start using public transportation. I sent in my story last week and included a spreadsheet calculator that I had made for the comparison of driving versus using public transportation.

He didn't include the calculator in his story but I am including it in this blog post below. It's handy, it includes toll roads and can even calculate if or when it makes more sense to carpool instead of riding the bus.

Click on the links below for more information:

Front page (full color PDF)

Just the article

Car Vs. Bus Calculator (Excel)

A state of crisis

The image above is an excellent portrayal of our current problem. I especially like the gas attendant heading up the ladder to raise the price another 7 cents while the family is still fuelling up. At Christmas our prices were at 2.99/gal at every station around us. Erin got tired of me telling her it was a cartel. Now, 5 months later, it's up more than a dollar with no end in sight. Where's the relief? Decades went by without prices ever going above even one dollar. The summer blend was only ten cents more than the winter blend of fuel. If you're gay or pro-abortion, now is your time to pass some laws, because the rest of us are standing agog at the rising prices at the pump and grocery store.

A decade ago GM came out with the EV1 and paved the way for a whole new line of Electric Vehicles, but now is but a distant memory. After watching the movie, Who Killed the Electric Car?, it wasn't discontinued for a lack of interest. GM and Ford still have on their websites information about the future of automotive advances, but it is too little too late, even hybrids are a joke. Rumor has it that a barrel of oil will cost $200 by veterans day and gas at $8.00/gal. I'm not buying a new car anymore. Gas-only cars are a relic from the past, no longer providing the value they once had. What are the alternatives? If you have a lot of money you can get a Tesla Motors Roadster, one of the only completely manufactured electric vehicles around, or you can pay $50,000 to convert your car to electric. Or convert your hybrid to a Plug-in Hybrid and get over 100 MPGs. Hydrogen fuel cells, I think, are a waste of time and are a major distraction, because of the need to create the infrastructure, shorter fuel capacity distance, high price, and climate restrictions. For more information on these cars: http://www.eaaev.org/eaaevsforsale.html

Is this an environmental issue that I'm talking about? No, it's a cost of lifestyle that I'm talking about. This is America and we're being priced out of our homes. I went to breakfast today, and the restaurant was packed, but only had one server. Ten percent of the people that walked in the door, walked out without service after sitting at their tables for 15 minutes. The place is known for the "Best Breakfast in Town", but I didn't see it with my overcooked bacon and over-buttered eggs. The owners are certainly trying to reduce their costs by shorting their labor, and several menu items were crossed out with a Sharpie (didn't even reprint the menus). How did this happen? Why is the dollar decreasing in value so quickly?

What is the Federal Reserve up to? Like Federal Express, it is not a government agency, yet they control so much of our lives. Why are we paying them to print our money? Soon we'll owe them so much money that they'll print their own. Talking about control, how about this war. Is it real? I have seen no benefit to my lifestyle. Let alone gas prices, visiting somebody at the airport for a relaxing afternoon is a thing of the past, now you have to arrive two hours early for your turn to be strip-searched in front of the general public.

I think this war is more about improving on technology to control and track people. I have read in the paper about how we are trying to stop terrorists by finding their funding sources and stopping them. Which leads me to think that we're moving towards a cashless society pretty quickly. Without cash there is no anonimity. If everybody became chipped, and trackable, (there's even talks about instaling tracking GPSs in cars--to pay taxes on road mileage used) then there would be less crime. Therefore if a chipped person committed a crime, they could be "shut off" and thus be punished. However, if you refuse the chip, you must be a terrorist. The general public would demand it, because they are getting more scared of others. They get more scared because they aren't leaving their house as often because of fuel prices, watching more television and becoming more frightened by the stories they see on the news.

Am I too off with this sort of social entropy? I hope I am, but looking at $4.00 a gallon is pretty depressing and makes me concerned for the world that I'm bringing my new son or daughter into. It's not the same world that my Grandfather lived in, which seems to me to have been the best years to be alive. But, as a Christian, I have faith that the best things are still yet to come.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Joshua and I joined a home group through our church before we even began attending the church. I knew several of the couples (or halves I guess) from work. What a blessing this group has been to us! We were looking for a service project to do together and someone came up with the brilliant idea to serve each other! Our turn was first, and what a service it was! We spent the day working in our yard and the evening was a BBQ baby shower! I am so thankful to have found a group of couples our age who serve the Lord in tangible ways. What an honor to be a part of such a group!!

Snow Day

Today is April 19th, and for the first time in my life I'm having a snow day in Spring! That's right it snowed big flakes that stuck at my house for the hour between 6 and 7 am. Erin and I jumped into the car and drove ourselves to the YMCA for a little bit of poolside excercise.

-Later in the day-

Now it's hailing!

Galloping Gertie

I was online today and found a great video displaying how our first Narrows Bridge collapsed back in 1940. It was designed by an arrogant architect named Joseph B. Strauss, who didn't take into consideration the high winds and insisted on constructing a ribbon-like span across the Tacoma Narrows.




Today there are two bridges containing a total of 9 lanes of traffic. A far cry from only two-lanes of the first bridge. The newest bridge (which opened only last year) was designed to hold a second deck for more traffic or mass transit depending on which demands the most need in the years to come.

The original Narrows Bridge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, even though it is sitting at the bottom of Puget Sound. It acts as an artificial reef for bottom dwelling sea creaures to live. Octopus' love it's dark and private crevases. In fact one of the largest ones ever found (if not the largest) was in the old Narrows Bridge.

Bringing the pregnant belly to fancy events

OK, I admit it- I am not one of those happy-to-be-pregnant ladies. On a typical day I feel fat and sluggish. Getting to dress up in clothes that fit helps, and I have had the opportunity to do so lately! I also got a haircut yesterday (it is not pictured here) and I'm feeling much better. Any how, pictured here is my six month belly all dressed up to go to the orchestra. My friend Heather is the Concert Mistress for the Gig Harbor Community Orchestra and we had the chance to hear her talents.
	Speaking of Heather, here we are at the Lighthouse Christian School Auction. The theme was "Sea you in Paradise", hence the leis. By the way, I found both of my dresses at the Goodwill for about $5 each. :) This one still had the original tags on it - they must get the rejects from Target. Works for me!
	The auction was a blast and the school made somewhere around $300,000. My favorite part was listening to the auctioneer - it sounded like some kind of rap song most of the night! This was the project my class "made". When I say made, I mean one of the moms came and helped us put our fingerprints on the tiles. Then she made the pictures (yes, I am the Queen Bee) and had a friend make the table. It turned out to be really cute! I wish I had one for my house.

Garfield the Cat

As a kid my favorite comic strip was Garfield. It was better than it is today. I had garfield books, pillowcases, wallpaper, stickers, clothing, shoe lace clips, and alarm clocks. Today I discovered a new adventure in Garfield, one that is without him. It stars only Jon Arbucle, Garfield's owner. They have removed the fat cat and his thought clouds. What's left is just Jon looking like a lunatic that just talks to himself. Quite amusing, and interesting concept, it's not like Garfield could talk back anyway. It makes me think of all the times I have conversations with my own fat cat, the Six. (if you want to see a picture of our cat, do a Google image search for "Cat in Dryer", he's usually the second or third picture)

http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/

You've Got to be Kidding!

Yesterday morning I was getting ready to leave for work as usual. Hmmm ... my car key was not on the key hook. Nor was it on the coat rack. Oh yeah, Joshua drove my car last night and cannot seem to get the key to either of these locations. He likes to put them in his pocket instead. I ran through the house while calling his cell searching every possible place it could have been left. Nothing. The only place left was his jacket pocket which was at that moment in a locker at the YMCA with his cell phone. Rats! Our closest family members were at the Y with him, so calling them would do no good. My other sister in law works close to my school, so I gave her a try. No answer. Then I tried Joshua's parents. My father in law is the best! I quickly explained the situation and he said, "Well, I guess I better come pick you up then." Just like that he was on his way. My hero! I made it to school before the kids did (although I missed the morning staff devotional). As we were arriving Joshua called. He informed me that the key was in fact in his pocket, but he was proud of me for being resourceful. Sounds silly, but any little thing can become a huge drama with these pregnancy hormones, so it was lucky that I held it together and didn't have a breakdown! What a morning!

Joshua's Reply:
I just want to say how proud I am of my wife. As a husband, I have a certain fear that my wife won't adapt to her new home very quickly. Especially when that home is near her in-laws (whom she's only known for the last 3+ years). She felt comfortable enough to call my family for help. I'm just glad they're more dependable than I am.