Cookie Exchange

The cookie exchange was last weekend. We had a great time, lots of people and lots of food. Unfortunately... again.... I forgot to take my camera out until the end.


Grandma Karen and me.

Jordan and Topher

Update

It's been awhile so I thought a picture update was the best way to sum up the last few weeks.




Bowling



Setting the Thanksgiving table

Carving the turkey

Ultimate Frisbee


An afternoon with the "kids"

PS3

The PS3’s are retailing for between $500 and $600. People have been in line since Wednesday to purchase them.

Topher and I were going to buy one and sell it on eBay, but waiting lists are 200 deep and we were not about to camp out for something that we were not going to keep.

EBay has set up new rules that will make an impact on those putting the PS3’s on for sale. Sellers can only have one PS3 per account and must have positive comment from at least 50 people so it’s a good thing we did not buy one.

Making Purple People Bridge Safer.

A couple was walking at 11:30 PM on a weeknight across the Purple People Bridge. A gunman tied up the guy, and forced the woman to walk the rest of the way across the bridge and withdraw money from an ATM. She was then raped and dropped off at Cincinnati Bible College.

In a perfect world taking a walk at night along the river would be a great way to spend and evening. But, let’s think this through … the bridge extends from downtown Cincinnati to Newport. On a Thursday at 11:30 PM it’s a pretty desolate place.

When the guy called 911 there was confusion about who was supposed to respond to the call, Cincinnati Police or Newport Police. Not a huge deal, both responded and dealt with the incident.

In the aftermath Newport Police Department, Cincinnati Police Department, Southbank Partners and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission met to discuss how to make the bridge safer.

Call boxes and cameras have been recommended as well as added lighting. Those items are both great ideas; however would they have helped the girl who was abducted? Probably not. The added lighting and more prevalent cameras may have discouraged the attacker, but those things do not prevent crime.

I am all for making any part of the city safer but some common sense is in desperate need. Let’s make the small changes on the bridge and move on to bigger problems.

We need to take responsibility for our actions. Walking in isolation at night even as a couple is not safe. How many girls need to be raped to make women aware of their surroundings? Risky behavior often ends in tragedy.

What is a far greater problem is when people are not engaged in risky behavior and they are attacked. Christmas is right around the corner. How many people are attacked in broad daylight in mall parking lots? That crime is more shocking and more difficult to prevent.

PWC

I have no pictures of PWC this weekend, so just picture people raking with mud up to the knees and dripping wet. The rain came down and the wind blew wet leaves in our faces but we kept going and finished all of the houses. We had a great time, and we got to help people in the process.

I look forward to the event every fall, it’s a great cause.

Snap Shot

The Farm

A few pictures from the trip to the farm.

Voters

You all knew it was coming. Voter picks for 2006. Most are pretty predictable. Mason is pretty boring not even a gambling debate.

Senate

Mike DeWine – Yes
Pro life
Voted for School Vouchers
Voted for Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006

Sherrod Brown – No
But I do agree with his assessment about Immigration and trade problems need to be solved in order to solve immigration issues.

My biggest problem with Brown is that the ACLU backs him.

Governor

I am not a big fan of either.

Ken Blackwell – Yes, Sigh
Pro life
Voted for School Vouchers – and wants to expand the voucher program
Healthcare – he thinks the biggest problem is people suing doctors? Are you kidding?

Ted Strickland – No
I do agree with his views of healthcare. Senior care and medical care cost are the biggest problems in healthcare and are not being addressed.

Congress
Very boring race.

Jean Schmidt – Yes
Pro Life
For School Vouchers

Victoria Wulsin – No

I would skip to the issues now – but they are almost all school levy reductions – of which I am voting yes for all but the last.

The only issue in Mason worth talking about is issue 3.

Issue three
Lower the contribution limits from individuals to $1,000 to a state legislative candidate or county political party, $2,000 to a candidate for statewide executive office, and $5,000 to state or national political parties. Corporate contributions to political parties would be banned.

I am going to vote yes on this issue because I have found the campaigns to be so off issue and out of control that I would like to see less of them. The commercials do not talk about issues anyway so I say get rid of them.

Fall Softball

Its all over. I am counting the days until spring and the first pitch.

Family

Moving always brings out the “nesting” in me. I have been journaling a lot about my early years and about my family.

For whatever reason people drift in and out of our lives and we loose connections. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as enough friends or enough family. Each person we interact with enriches our lives. To say that there is not enough time in our busy lives is selfish.

Recent illness in people that I love has made me think about how I spend my time. Alone time is good, it regenerates my spirit and allows me to think about life. It allows me to journal and pray – which gives me perspective on myself and those around me.

It is also important to focus on those around us. Too often we say things like, “We should get together soon”. But how often do we?

I am going to make a concerted effort to connect with people that I really do miss and want to have a closer relationship. I want to make those, “We should get together soon” statements a reality.

Throw it in Boxes

I hate moving. I have never been more irritated for a longer period of time. I like organization and planning and this move has none of that.

Next time I move I am hiring a company to come and pack and move me and I will just go see a movie.

A Last Look at Summer

The Search for Beauty

I began reading The Binding Chair – Kathryn Harrison. Set in nineteenth –century China it depicts a story of a girl whose feet were bound in the name of beauty and sold into marriage as a forth wife. Her entire life is peppered with the pain that is caused by her family’s insistence on the cruel tradition. She becomes bitter because of her disability and begins to self-destruct.

What is beautiful and how far will we go to achieve it?

Will we bind our feet making it impossible to run? Will we cinch our waists making it impossible to breathe? Will we remove ribs making it impossible to carry children? Will we choose death over life if it means dying beautifully?

Wee Me at the beach with Canyon

Not to harp, but....

This is an email that I received from Rock the Vote:

Dear Katrina,
At Rock the Vote we want to break down every barrier and make it easy for everyone to vote. Others want to build barriers.

Shouldn't the right to vote be protected for every American? Unfortunately, we have already started seeing instances of voter suppression, like we saw in 2000 and 2004.

If you want to know what you can do to ensure fair and honest elections check out the new film American Blackout, a Sundance award winning documentary that looks at the barriers to vote for many in America. Once you see the film you will want to take action in your community.

Go Rock the Vote Everyday.
Register to Vote Here!

p.s. Voter registration deadlines are here nationwide. With skyrocketing debt, financial aid cuts, the situation in Iraq—what are you waiting for? Register to vote at your current address, now!

Rock the Vote

When did Rock the Vote start taking a political side? I realize it is MTV and it’s not going to be ultra conservative, but when where does it say that you can’t watch MTV and be a Republican?

Rock the Vote started out as an organization that encouraged young people to vote. Just to vote, not vote for any political party. Rock the Vote was a movement about educating young people about the importance and the responsibility of casting a vote in every election.

I was at one time a big supporter of Rock the Vote. As I got older I drifted away from the movement a bit not because I no longer believed in its importance, but because I got information from other venues and honestly I was no longer the target age. I went back to the site to see what was going on and I was a bit shocked and dismayed. No longer the bi-partisan group of my youth, now just another voice of the Democratic Party.

It’s too bad. The concept was great, encouraging socially conscious people. Now it is just another cattle drive.

Looks Good to Me

There is a commercial that always makes me hungry. The scene opens with a chef preparing some salmon. Greens are mixed in a bowl and a brown reduction is poured over the salmon…. then it is served to a cat. Yes, a cat.

I crave cat food.

The View

In the past I have said on multiple occasions that The View is a great chance for liberal woman to voice their option under the guise of entertainment.

No longer is that the case.

The new picture of The View is a bunch of liberal woman voicing their opinion with a clear political agenda. They no longer try to hide behind guests and free gifts for the audience.

Rosie joined the show at the beginning of September. Since then the veil has fallen, Rosie is “educating” us on world problems and how they all rest at the feet of George Bush and the Evil Empire.

The show has always outraged me, yet I continue to watch it whenever I have the chance. Just like I watch CNN and listen to talk radio. I try to balance out the madness by listening to Michael Savage.

The bottom line, they are all crazy. What happened to the average citizen.

God works through us

I could not resist posting this. I do not know who to credit for writting it, but I think its great.

A United States Marine was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In one of the courses, he had a professor who was a vowed atheist and a member of the ACLU. One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked tothe ceiling and flatly stated, "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes." The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am God. I'm still waiting." It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Marine got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him knocking him off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The Marine went back to his seat and sat there, silently. The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Marine and asked, "What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Marine calmly replied, "God was too busy today protecting America's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an ass hole. ... So, He sent me."

9/11

Lets all take a moment today to pray for the families who are still grieving those lost five years ago.

September 11, 2001

Abby made me do it

I am not a big fan of MySpace. I just figured out how to manipulate blogger HTML code so I am happy playing there. Abby is a MySpace junky and promised that I would love it. I do love some of the graphic stuff, but I am not willing to give up my blogger account just yet.

I have a ton of pictures that I want to post but we can not find the cord for the camera to download the pictures… so here is an old favorite from Vegas last fall.

Book Review: Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

Talk Before Sleep is the heart wrenching tale of a woman, her struggle with cancer and the circle of woman who surround her. Elizabeth Berg is a former nurse and captures the perspective of the caregiver and the stress and strain that accompany the role.

The focus on the book is not the terminal cancer but the intermingling of the lives of the women and their families. The women told their life stories, pains and triumphs as they ate french fries and lobster with a side of whipped cream and hot fudge. They discussed fears and outrage about cancer and dying without giving in to hopelessness.

Talk Before Sleep was a beautiful book that I would recommend to any woman.

Open Mouth Insert Foot

I put my foot in my mouth today.

I have been following the Marcus Fiesel case with my hands over my eyes not wanting the details but not able to stop reading and listening to stories about him. I was speaking with a woman about the fact that Marcus was taken from his mother and put into a tragic situation and how the mother is now suing Butler County for placing him in the care of such terrible people. I made the comment that she lost her right to have a say in his life and she should not have rights in his death. Furthermore, if she is going to blame Butler County she must take responsibility for her part in his death. Had she been a good mother – no had she been an average mother Marcus would not have been in foster care. After letting me rant for a few moments the woman looked at me and said, “A few months ago my kids were placed in foster care because I spanked them. I don’t think I was a bad parent, but the authorities did. It could have been me, it could have been my child.”

I did not know what to say. I was at a total loss for words. I still stand by what I said, but I do wish I had been more considerate of her feelings. I had no idea of her situation and point of view. I was harsh. I was angry.

The entire situation is tragic and there is more than enough blame to spread around. The Carroll family should never have been on the foster parent list to begin with. The social worker should have noticed the neglect. The neighbors should have noticed that something was wrong. The mother should have taken responsibility for her child. Nothing will bring Marcus back.

We can only look to the future. What can we do to prevent this from happening to some other child? What changes can we make to the system? What can we do as neighbors and members of the community to help foster children and their foster parents? What can we do for parents to prevent the need of foster care?
Abuse Indicators
The Child Abuse Prevention Network

I salute you Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin “The Crocodile Hunter” passed away this weekend. Steve was shooting "The Ocean's Deadliest" in the Great Barrier Reef, demonstrating the dangers of stingrays.

As a young boy Steve helped his father founder of the Australia Zoo, rescue crocodiles. As he grew older his passion for conservation and animal welfare grew. In his 20’s he volunteered at the Queensland government's rogue crocodile relocation program. Steve began his television career in 1992 Crocodile Hunter which first aired in Australia.

Steve and his wife Terri purchased over 60,000 acres of wildlife-sensitive land and worked the rehabilitation and breeding of some of the world's most endangered animals. The husband and wife team also established a breeding program at the Australian Zoo to further their efforts to help endangered species.

Steve was able to capture our attention and educate us not only about crocodiles but about the environment that we live in. Always respectful of the world around us, he strove to make us all aware of how fragile life can be.

Wedding Vendors

I went online yesterday in search of bridal resources and today my inbox is exploding with links to vendors from across the country. I appreciate the initiative but why knowing the location of the wedding in Flordia and our location in Ohio … would a florist from California sent me her information. She even states that she can fly to our location for the small cost of her airfare and $100.00 per day??? Is there a shortage of florist in Destin, hardly I received 3 emails from local stores. My biggest question is not whether people actually pay this woman to fly across the country to attend their wedding (see Bridezilla) , but does she bring her own flowers?

One of my favorite pictures

New Things and Old Things Collide

In order to change the look and feel of my blog I was forced to delete six months worth of posts. All in all it was a fitting transition. So much of my life has changed in the last six months that it feels good to make new statements about life and the way things should look.

I read my old posts one more time smiling at the pictures and laughing at the things that happened over that short period. I was not at all sad to see it go, it was a transition period and those are never easy.

I am settling into new titles both at home and at work and a new focus in life. I am ready for a fresh start.