Silly Mom.

I went to the grocery store yesterday, and guess what I forgot, again. Dishwasher detergent. The irony.

Detergent.

So, I had a sink full of dishes and I was out of dishwasher detergent. It's Thanksgiving and I'm not in the mood to find a place to sell me some, so I turned to the internet. I sorted through a bunch of recipes and found a number of ingredients that I had on hand.

Baking Soda

liquid dish soap

lemon juice

I put a nickel sized spot of the liquid detergent in each side of the dispenser. I added about a teaspoon of lemon juice to each side and then filled the rest of the cups up with baking soda. It was a grand experiment. When I shut the door and pushed start I had flashbacks of the Brady bunch episode where the kids put regular dish soap in the dishwasher and have suds pouring out into the kitchen. That didn't happen, however. I did two loads this way today - both of them came out with good results. In each load there was at least one dish or pan that wasn't completely clean, but that sometimes happens with regular detergent as well. I was very pleased. It stirred me a little bit to find other things I could replace with less expensive homemade concoctions. Why not? It also made me think a little about how mentally dependent I am as a consumer on the products I use. I was glad to break out of the box a bit and try something new - and especially happy that it turned out so well!

All Gummed Up.

The following will someday be part of a movie, I'm sure of it. Truth IS stranger than fiction after all. My son told me this story on the way home from my parents' house last night. I laughed so hard I thought I might need to pull off the road. Driving under the influence of laughter, not always a very safe proposition.

Last month, my Dad and two of my sons (ages 12 and 5) were up on my roof. There had recently been a torrential downpour which had caused some leaking. We only knew about it because there was moisture around a ceiling fan in our family room. This upset the 5 year old beyond words. (He is still quite concerned about it. More on that later.) For some reason, a few drops of water on the ceiling spelled certain destruction to him. (I can't, unfortunately, say that it spelled hunky dorry for me either but I hadn't thought of calling in the US Army Corps of Engineers yet.) The fan area is directly below an attic vent on the roof. All of us big people figured that was probably the source of the water and sure enough - it had been installed incorrectly. My Dad, being a very practical man and knowing that kids often learn best  through observation, had taken two of my boys up on the roof with him to watch. The third must have been away because otherwise I'm sure he'd have been up there, too. As my Dad was laying a bead of caulk around the attic vent, his gum got a little stale and he decided to toss it over his shoulder. Q, my five year old must have been uncharacteristically quiet up until that point. He let out a wail and everyone turned quickly to see what was the matter. (They were up on the roof, you know.)

There he was, frozen in time with my Dad's discarded gum right between between his eyes. He did not understand what everyone seemed to find so funny and he continued to wail until the situation was rectified - which I'm sure was not nearly soon enough for him.

Yearbook Yourself

I've been meaning to do this for a long time, so without further ado here is a 1952 me:

Me in 1966:

How about 1968:

Now 1972, looks a lot like 1966 don't you think? I like the hair better. Can't imagine doing that but hey. It worked for them.





















Fast forward to 1990, which is a lot like the hair when I gradutated form high school:





















In 1996, I was a new mom - but this works for me.






















Luckily for me, I like this best of all. I think I even like this better than my Senior Portraits. I like this girl - she's grown up now. She is happy. She has 5 beautiful children and loves being with them. She has a job, and is grateful for it. She's also very tired and needs to get to bed.

Lighthearted.

Today, I was going through some things, getting papers organized and I decided that it was finally time to put my birthday cards away. I came across the card that Q, my five year old "made" for me. I put made in quotations because this is how the sweet card came to be . . . it was my birthday, and we were making preparations for a party.

"Mom, draw a picture of our family, and don't look."

"Don't look? I have to look at what I'm drawing or I can't draw."

"But I don't want you to see it! It's a surprise."

"A surprise, huh? Is if for my birthday?"

"Yes. I'm making a card for you."

"Okay, well then I have to look, but I'll draw the picture and you can do everything else. I promise I won't peek until tonight, okay?"

"Okaaaaaay . . . I guess you can look."

That brought me a good giggle today and I realized that I hadn't posted it yet so there you go, a good laugh.

I don't want to scare you but . . .

If you want to see what we are up against, go to  Mormons Stole Our Rights. It's pretty clear to me that the authors of this blog have at one time been members of the church. 

Or try the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Hmmmm . . . that's not what the constitution states, right?

The next item quotes numerous people with regard to the "failure" of Prop 8. If you are already freaking out, you may not want to read this one. It is pretty graphic in terms of how angry people are. . . which I don't think is a bad thing for us to know. We can't be naive about this. On the other hand, at the bottom, there are a number of other article links which will help you to see that we aren't the only ones in the battle. We are being singled out, but we aren't the only ones fighting for traditional marriage.

What I find interesting is that not one of the persons advocating taking away the tax exempt status of the church has mentioned what groups funded the "NO on 8 campaigns." It makes one wonder. Should we look into that? I mean seriously. I bet it wouldn't take much digging to find that the actual law was violated - and not just the "spirit of the law".

Here is my opinion. Take away the tax exempt status of the LDS church! Please! I can't imagine a greater blessing! The actual church leaders will then be free to lobby anyone they want, be as involved as they feel necessary - ON A PERSONAL LEVEL - and do whatever they please with regard to maintaining laws in the United States. It won't hurt the church. I wouldn't be surprised if they were ready for all of this long before they encouraged church members to rally in support of Prop 8. 

There were a lot of threats made, and what I see happening is that it will become more and more difficult to attend the temple - but we will continue to go.

More than likely, a Temple will be vandalized or there will be concerted efforts to destroy one soon. What will that say? It will probably get some attention. It won't go unnoticed. In the end it will serve good far more than it's instigators anticipate.

Weddings will become more private affairs for church members, rather than openly celebrated events - for protection of those involved. It will only take one wedding photo session, or reception being attacked to move us in that direction.

We will continue to practice our religion.

The first article offered people an opportunity to join a "mass resignation" from the church. I think many will leave the church over this. This will sift the general membership of the church a great deal. 

So, I'm asking again. Are We Ready? 

Are we ready?

Today, I think is the beginning of many changes in our world. Are we ready? The Proposition 8 battle isn't over no matter what the outcome is today. There are similar ballot measures in Florida and Arizona, as well.

Like I said, this is just the beginning. This is the issue that will divide our nation. Twelve years ago I wrote that very thing in my journal. I never dreamed it would come so quickly, though.

Where will you stand today? Where will you stand as the battle heats up? Early Christians were severely persecuted, and often killed, for choosing to stand with Christ. Where will you stand?

I don't vote today on any of those ballot measures, but I will watch with interest. It is certainly a battle which will soon come to my state. It will come to all of us. We will be called the vilest of things by people who are seeking "tolerance." By this world, we will be seen as evil and our hearts judged and found wanting. We can look forward to the things of a better world. We can rely on Christ. We can stand up for Him.

Churches have been criticized for their interest in this issue, which is ironic. There are groups out there, well funded and well organized, working full time to eliminate the family as we know it. They are pouring money into this day in and day out. You probably won't hear their names on the news. I'm not talking about gay rights groups either. You can find them if you look for them. It will scare you, and that could be a good thing. Are we ready for this battle? Are we treating this as a battle? Our opponents are, and they aren't going to stop today, no matter what the outcome is today. 

Alright now, on a lighter note, my five year old son needs me, and so I need to go. He says that 'Moms don't go on computers, and I need to come'. I think he's right - at least that I need to help him out. He even said please.