Issues

We are having issues on the NerdFamily Blog (if the address didn't give a hint;). I will be transferring the domain hopefully this week and we will have a new WordPress blog!

Pictures

I dislike pictures of me. I don't like having them taken and I don't care to look at them later either;). But I didn't have any decent pictures of me for a headshot for my blogs or anything else I wanted to write for. (Why do you need a picture to take a written piece? But that is another issue) I happen to have a friend who is a talented photographer and I let her do her thing!

I have to say, I think I like the results. It would be much better if I was 100 lbs lighter but what wouldn't be better;). I had seen Cali Morgan's professional photography many times in wedding pictures, pregnancy portraits and family portraits and kid's pictures. I knew that she specializes in making women look good. But I still wasn't keen on it being my turn in front of the camera.

But as soon as I sat down for Carli, she instantly put me at ease. I know that I tend to be stiff and cheesy in front of the camera but she was able to totally work around that. She was a total joy to work with! I look forward to loosing some of my weight and having to take new ones;).

Now if you are looking for a photographer and are in the Fresno area, look no further! Go check Carli out!

(For disclosure purposes: This is not sponsored in any way. I payed for my pictures and my digital file like everyone else. I just really like Carli's work!)

I am WOMAN, Hear Me Roar!

So NerdDad and I ordered a new tv!!! It is a 47 inch and isn't here yet but there will be pics when it is set up! But I digress. Since we ordered it from Dell I got a call today. They wanted to know if I had gotten it yet and wanted to talk to me about paying someone to come mount it for me. The conversation was both comical and a bit shocking.

Dell Guy: "Are you planning on mounting the tv?"

Me: "Not now, maybe in the future" (at this point I still didn't know why he was calling)

Dell Guy: "Are you a preferred customer? We would love to have someone come out to mount that tv for you with either a flat mount or a tilting mount."

Me: "When we decide to mount it, my husband and I will probably do it."

Dell Guy: "You would help?"

Me: "Well, I would assume my few engineering classes could prepare me for something like this."

Dell Guy: "No, I meant the labor side."

Me: "Well, I did carry 4 children"

Dell Guy: "That's different"

Me: "Yea, its harder"

Dell Guy: "Umm, well"

I pretty much ended the conversation there. He was pretty dumbstruck at that point... The labor side, really?

Kind of a funny way to start my day;).

Herzog Reads Madeline

OK, so this isn't actually Herzog but it is done in his style. Even if you have no idea who he is, listen to it because it is hilarious!

Saint Patrick's Confession

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!! This picture is from my MOPS meeting today where we talked about Saint Patrick and Easter! I love Saint Patrick's Day not for the beer (can't stand it), the leprechauns, or that everyone dresses in green. I love it because it is the story of a man who returned to a people who enslaved him in order to preach the gospel. I know that shocks the many of you who thought he drove the snakes from Ireland but there weren't snakes in Ireland;). If you are looking for a special thing to do for Saint Patrick's Day I highly recommend you read Saint Patrick's confession! It is a fairly easy adult read and it helps you to see his heart!

So go and remember God on this awesome holiday!

Catch Phrase!

In case you needed to know the anatomy of an Oscar Winning Trailor!

Healthcare Wisdom From Obama's Cousin

I just read a great piece on healthcare over on the Washington Times by Dr. Milton R. Wolf. Part of what makes this interesting is that it is both written by a doctor and that the doctor happens to be President Obama's 2nd cousin. Here is one part I really like!

One of America's founding principles is our trust in the people and their economic freedom to rule their own lives. We should decouple health insurance from employers and empower patients to be consumers once again. Allow them to determine the insurance plan that best meets their families' needs and which company will provide it. This will unleash a wave of competition that will drive costs down in a way that price controls never have. Eliminate the artificial state boundary rules that protect insurance companies from true competition and watch as voters demand that their state insurance commissioners get the heck out of the way. Innovative companies will drive down costs similar to how Geico and Progressive have worked for automobile insurance. And it won't cost taxpayers a trillion dollars in the process.

This free-market approach has worked for everything from high-definition TVs to breakfast cereals, but will it work for medicine? It already is. Take Lasik eye surgery, for example. Because patients are allowed to be informed consumers and can shop anywhere, doctors work hard for their business. Services, availability and expertise have all increased, and costs have decreased. Should consumers demand it, insurance companies - now answerable to you rather than your employer - would cover it.

Go check it out!

Spring is Here!

As a kid I loved to play with snap dragons. They always remind me of spring and flowers!

Cinderella in Christ?

I was watching Faerie Tale Theatre with the NerdPie last week and it was a major throwback to my own childhood. I remember being just a girl and watching wide eyed as Jennifer Beals and Matthew Broderick dance around the floor in Cinderella. It reminded me also of my misconceptions of what my Christian life might be.

Apparently many people hold the misconception that accepting Christ means that your life won't have any problems or worries. But that wasn't my problem. For some reason I never held that theory because I can't remember a time in which I wasn't familiar with "into every life a little rain must fall". I knew that just because life was hard and people were jerks to you didn't effect God's love and grace for you and vice versa. Maybe it was because I had a less than idyllic childhood.... But I did have different kind of fairy tale picture for life.

When I read about those who faced trials and tribulations in the Bible they all seemed to have this odd kind of peace. Not seeing anyone who had peace in real life I went to fairy tales for my picture of what that would look like in "real life". I thought my life would be more like Cinderella's, and I mean the Disney version. While people may still treat you horribly and not love you for reason beyond your control, you would have a song in your heart. You know, the woodland animals and sweetly singing birds would come in and help you do your work. While you may be slaving away it wouldn't be hard, it wouldn't be lonely, it would be serene. You wouldn't care that no one ever said any thing nice because you had a song in your heart.

As someone whose childhood was fairly isolated, lonely and sucked for huge portions... life didn't quite go that way. We never see Cinderella really cry. We just figure that it doesn't hurt. All because of that song in her heart. The one I didn't get. Or so I think at first.... As I started thinking about this subject and how naive I was I remembered the music, the hope....

I didn't have a lot of tapes but I had some Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, DC Talk and KDUV started when I was in high school. That helped give me that song in my heart. A song that helped me focus on something other than the fact I was pulled out of bed to finish the dishes or to get the bits of hair I didn't clean off of the linoleum. A song that reminded me that I was loved unconditionally by the God of the Universe no matter how isolated I was from those who I wanted so desperately to not only love me, but love me in spite of my flaws. A song that told me that even though I didn't have 1 friend who REALLY knew me, my hurts or my life, God knew and cried with me. A song that reminded me that God would give me a happily ever after, and I am not talking about the one I have with NerdDad (though it is pretty good) but the one that is to come.

So maybe, just maybe my misconceptions weren't so wrong after all.... A life with Christ is a little like being Cinderella. But while we have this life on earth we get to dance with Him at various balls and someday He will come with a glass slipper to claim His bride.

Theories of Everything

New Scientist has a great articles on the various physics theories that are trying to be the "theories of everything". These are the theories that they think might make the world;). New Scientist looks at the top 7 in clear terms. Ever wanted to know about String theory after watching Big Bang? Go read and let me know what you think! I think I might read it with my older 2 kids so none of the rest of you are off the hook;).

Lost, You Better Not Make Me Mad

After years of hearing how great it is, NerdDad and I just recently started watching Lost. What can I say, we are early adopters;). We started in the beginning on Hulu (gotta love Hulu). So far we are a few episodes into the 2nd season. We are very aware of the fact that the current season being shown is the last season. Frankly, I love it when a show knows it is the final season because then it gets a chance to answer the many questions that have been left sticking up through the series.

So the fact the series is ending is one of the reasons I was willing to wade into the Lost maze. Then I see a post from I09 that NerdDad shared with me..... I am afraid that when this series ends I will not be happy. Damon Lindelof off sites Star Wars and midichlorians as the example that some things just don't need to be known. Now I agree with I09 that the problem with the midichlorians is whole other issue. But the Force was explained before them.

But my real problem is that I am now really nervous. I don't want to watch all these hours of Lost to only have more questions. I already have a list of questions and I am only in the 2nd season! I will be mighty testy if I don't get my answers!

So all you Losties out there. If all your questions that you have (being in the final season) aren't answered will you feel like you wasted all this time?

WFMW: Taming the Treasures

Life creates little treasures. You know what I mean: that lost tooth, the Valentine's Day picture, the ticket stub from that memorable concert. But I am not a big scrapbooker. So that means that things go into the boxes. But the problem with the boxes is that you end up with piles all over the house that at some point will get put into the boxes. But you need to find a place to put them, make sure that they don't get mixed in with the other kids (I have 4 kids and all their pictures drawn at 2 look the same;), and so on. So my tip of the day is to use a filing cabinet.

If you are like me, you have a file cabinet. But your family filing probably only takes a drawer or 2. So what I do is take one of those hanging folders for each person in the family. Then you can put in sub-folders if you want. For instance I have a section in NerdPie's folder that is just for notes and cards from her friends. Then put all of that person's memories in it. I have teeth in a ziploc bag, cards, photo magnets from VBS, etc. Then when ever you want to do something with it all (scrapbook or just put them into a box) you know where it is and whose it is!

It is the simple things that make life easier;).

Crazy Legs!

Check out these crazy tights! Was I ever young enough to carry something like this off;)? But NerdPie looks adorable in them!

Let's Protest the Protesters!

Yes, I know that the California education budget keeps getting cut. Do I think it is great? No, not really. I do think it should lead to a restructuring of the whole system but that is another post;). But the Teachers' Unions are mad. They are organizing protests for this Thursday in Fresno and in Porterville.

“We’re trying to get all the associations and all the schools to stand up for education and let the Governor know that taking money away from education is not the right thing to do,” Porterville Educators Association President Stan Ennis said.

Well, I want to communicate somethings to the Unions. If we simply let go teachers who couldn't actually teach the kids instead of fighting costly battles to get them out we might make up some of the budget loss. That could save about a half a million dollars and that is for each bad teacher they have tried to get out. And that is just the cost for the ones that school districts have tried to get rid of. Many districts have found that the unions make it so costly and expensive, that it is cheaper to just hold on to the bad teachers. Some are left in the class room and some are relegated to other positions with in the districts.

So maybe we should go protest the unions as being the biggest problem in our educational budget fiasco. We know where they will be on Thursday!

(I know lots of good teachers, I am talking about the unions so don't yell at me about good teachers.)

Governor MoonBeam, Again?

It appears that Jerry Brown is going to announce his candidacy for California Governor tomorrow. It doesn't surprise me one bit that the announcement will be online. But, unfortunately, I think he has a really good chance of winning.

Now I don't really remember Jerry Brown being governor in the late 70's and early 80's but I do remember the crazy stories. Him sleeping on the floor of the governor's mansion, chilling with Linda Ronstadt, being an over all hippy, etc. But this isn't the same Jerry Brown.

This Jerry Brown seems to realize that being a party Democrat won't get him anything but screwed (because they did, many times) so he seems to have picked up his own sensibility. I saw it when he was mayor of Oakland and revamped the schools a bit with boot camps and such. He seems to have become much more fiscally aware and, dare I say, responsible? I can say that he has earned some of our respect.

Now all of this makes him quite dangerous. Can all he has done in the last 10-15 years combat the backlash of his previous governorship? I will probably never vote for him but I have to ask, is he a better option than another Wilson, Arnold and the like? At least this one wouldn't be labelled a Republican. But I don't think I can do it.

But do you think that Jerry Brown could really be our next governor?

(HT: Ken Malloy)