In light of the recent uproar surrounding the Proposition 8 Campaign here in Southern California, I felt it necessary to finally write my feelings about it here on my blog, in addition to the comments I have made on others' blogs.
As worried as I am about this proposition passing, I'm probably more saddened by the way people on either side of the debate are treating each other. I hear daily stories of harassment, defacement of property, and stealing of propaganda signs. Just today, my husband and adult daughter volunteered to hold signs up in favor of Prop 8 and had to endure the anger of a few passing drivers. One actually almost had a fender bender because he wanted to make sure the sign holders saw his middle finger!
Today I received an email with some photos of a family who after having had their yard sign stolen, decided to place a banner on the front of their second story home, only to have two people park their SUV in front of their home and decorate it with hate speech, including "haters",and "bigots live here" and an arrow pointing towards this family's house.
Unfortunately, the hate works both ways and there are many who take advantage of this campaign to promote their own hateful agendas towards the gay and lesbian community.
I wish we could all agree to disagree and respect each other's points of view and respect our freedom of speech and of expression.
I wish others would not abuse their freedom of speech and of expression to promote hate and anger. I know how passionate and heated a debate can be, but where is our self-control and self-restraint? How much better are we if we insult and degrade the opposition?
I wish the citizens of this State remember that we belong to a Country established by good, God fearing men who acted only in the best interest of the people, setting an example to many other countries.
I hope that after all is said and done, and after the results reflect the will of the majority, they will be respected by the minority. This is, after all, the United States of America, home of freedom and democracy.
I pray that God will be with us throughout this trial and that this trial will bring out the best of us and not the worst.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
I count my blessings
1. I love my family
2. My husband cooks regularly
3. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life
4. I can and do vote
5. I live in a free country where I enjoy freedom of speech and of religion
6. I have a great relationship with my mother and father
7. I have a great relationship with my brother and sisters and am very proud of their accomplishments
8. My brother is a green beret and is proudly serving his country
9. I live in sunny Southern California and the weather is amazing
10. I live only 1/2 hour from the surf and only an hour from the slopes
11. I live on a hill and love it because I love hills and mountains
12. I have food in my pantry
13. I have a house
14. My husband has a job
15. We have an earthquake emergency kit for all of our family members
16. I can see with both my eyes (my vision is 20/20 with my contacts in!)
17. I am almost 40 and can still kick-butt!
18. I love music and sing along always
19. My son shares his love of music with me
20. My daughters share their love of dance, TaeKwonDo and art with me too
21. My kids are funny and make me laugh
22. I have visited some very cool cities around the world: London, Vienna, Prague, Quito, etc..
23. I can still fit into my 1983 cheer leading uniform (although it doesn't look as good on me anymore!)
24. I can speak two languages: English and Spanish (I wish I could say three, but three years of French I took in school never paid off!)
25. I was born in an exotic country: Costa Rica
26. Our house has been out of harms way during the fires
27. I can drive a stick-shift
28. I can take warm showers and do so at least once daily (I love feeling squeaky clean!)
29. Even if it's unaffordable, I have air conditioning at home and use it when I'm very hot
30. I love my feet and think they are cute (I don't care what anyone else says!)
31. I'm not a picky eater
32. I'm not afraid of turning 40
33. My daughter Sofia says she will take care of me when I am old and decrepit(I'm sure she will change my diapers in my old age too!)
2. My husband cooks regularly
3. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life
4. I can and do vote
5. I live in a free country where I enjoy freedom of speech and of religion
6. I have a great relationship with my mother and father
7. I have a great relationship with my brother and sisters and am very proud of their accomplishments
8. My brother is a green beret and is proudly serving his country
9. I live in sunny Southern California and the weather is amazing
10. I live only 1/2 hour from the surf and only an hour from the slopes
11. I live on a hill and love it because I love hills and mountains
12. I have food in my pantry
13. I have a house
14. My husband has a job
15. We have an earthquake emergency kit for all of our family members
16. I can see with both my eyes (my vision is 20/20 with my contacts in!)
17. I am almost 40 and can still kick-butt!
18. I love music and sing along always
19. My son shares his love of music with me
20. My daughters share their love of dance, TaeKwonDo and art with me too
21. My kids are funny and make me laugh
22. I have visited some very cool cities around the world: London, Vienna, Prague, Quito, etc..
23. I can still fit into my 1983 cheer leading uniform (although it doesn't look as good on me anymore!)
24. I can speak two languages: English and Spanish (I wish I could say three, but three years of French I took in school never paid off!)
25. I was born in an exotic country: Costa Rica
26. Our house has been out of harms way during the fires
27. I can drive a stick-shift
28. I can take warm showers and do so at least once daily (I love feeling squeaky clean!)
29. Even if it's unaffordable, I have air conditioning at home and use it when I'm very hot
30. I love my feet and think they are cute (I don't care what anyone else says!)
31. I'm not a picky eater
32. I'm not afraid of turning 40
33. My daughter Sofia says she will take care of me when I am old and decrepit(I'm sure she will change my diapers in my old age too!)
Important Update!
So much has been going on in my life, that I haven't made time to write. But I felt it necessary to include a little update after my last entry before I write anything new.
Sofia has yet to pierce her tongue (I'm still holding my breath!) and my computer tech abilities have certainly improved....well they haven't caved. But as life would have it, I have plenty of other new things to upset me or fret over. Will proposition 8 pass? Will my girls keep up with their piano practice enough to apease their piano teacher? Will gas prices ever be afordable again and will our house ever appreciate again? Heck, will my strep throat ever go away? (This explains my new found time for writing!)
I have to remind myself that I am not the only person on the planet with problems and I'm sure there are plenty of others out there who can put my problems to shame, so my next entry will be a list of all the wonderful things I enjoy and am blessed with! So read on....
Sofia has yet to pierce her tongue (I'm still holding my breath!) and my computer tech abilities have certainly improved....well they haven't caved. But as life would have it, I have plenty of other new things to upset me or fret over. Will proposition 8 pass? Will my girls keep up with their piano practice enough to apease their piano teacher? Will gas prices ever be afordable again and will our house ever appreciate again? Heck, will my strep throat ever go away? (This explains my new found time for writing!)
I have to remind myself that I am not the only person on the planet with problems and I'm sure there are plenty of others out there who can put my problems to shame, so my next entry will be a list of all the wonderful things I enjoy and am blessed with! So read on....
Monday, September 22, 2008
Can I start over?
Today is one of those days that I wish I could have skipped over..you know, just jumped right over Monday into Tuesday.
For one, I don't work on Tuesdays (at least not for pay) and I don't have to shave my legs or do my hair to drop my kids off at school. Heck, I don't even have to change out of my pijamas to drive them to school (I might not be saying that if I actually had to get out of the car....). I do have my preschooler at home, but he's pretty forgiving of my mistakes. He doesn't care if both of us stay in our pijamas and in fact he encourages this habit. He does, however, blame me for "losing" when playing Indiana Jones Lego on the Wii, even if I'm not in the same room. Funny how my ineptitude seems to transcend walls!
Yes, today is a day I have failed.
It began with me pressing Ctrl/Alt/Del after my computer screen froze at work....function which is detrimental when performed on a Unix platform/Server. I brought down the entire Pharmaceutical software.......it took a remote, highly skilled technician at least a half hour to fix my, um mistake. My boss, the pharmacist, was not thrilled and neither were the many customers whose prescription orders were backed up.
Now Murphy's Law would have it that we would get the most unusual requests by our customers and the most unusual customers (not by request). One very confused gentleman really thought that we could and should fool the prescription healthcare program by overriding it so he could get whatever he needed, free of charge! Another bemused customer informed me she was going to place her liquid antibiotic on her face and not ingest it as directed (I am not kidding) because that is what she had done previously. I could go on, but I wont.
Later, I stopped by X store to pick up a small list of items I had run out of, only to forget the most important one.
Once home, I am not surprised to find socks, shoes, backpacks and books in the living room,dirty dishes stacked up in the sink, a brimming, smelly laundry basket, an 8 year old not quite ready for her taekwondo class (only 15 min. 'til class time), a 4 year old glued to the computer screen, a 9 year old wining about not wanting to do her writing assignment, bills to pay, and a quarter inch layer of dust on the hall bathroom floor (my husband did some handywork over the weekend in there).
I tackled a few things: I guided my "lost" 9 year old through her homework chores, did a load of laundry, put away another one, cleaned the bathroom floor, did the dishes, answered a few phone calls, coerced the 9 year old into her taekwondo uniform and unglued the 4 year old from his computer game to make it to the next "after school activity".
My husband had already left with the 8 year old...we were to meet at the Dojo and I was to stay for my adult class after the girls classes were over and he was to bring all three little ones back home. However, in my already frazzled mind, I could not concieve how I was going to get home after class and I decided to skip it. Crazy huh? It's like 1+1 = 1/2 (1/2 brain, that is)
So I get to the studio, all the while on my phone (bluetoothed of course!) with my brother who is currently deployed in Colombia, of all places, and my girls do class. My husband is trying to get an answer from me as to why I am not in uniform and I'm trying to inform my brother through an 8 second delay, that it's not him I'm talking to......
Now I actually sit down and wait for my girls to finish their class, then both my husband and I drive home in two cars (what a waste of gas that was!) to tackle dinner, homework (yeah, it's not all done yet!) and bathtime.
Just as I am balancing my checkbook (that's a misnomer if there ever was one because my credits and debits never really balance), my lovely 17 3/4 year old daughter asks me what kind of a day I've had......
......"I've had a rotten day." I say.
"Well, I'm gonna make it worse" she says. "You know how I had told you I was taking all day off tomorrow to spend it with ________(left blank to protect the parents of the not so innocent)?"
"Well, we decided we were going to go get a tongue piercing...."
Stunned silence.
I wont go over the spiel (not sure how to spell that one) I gave her, and I don't know if I changed her mind, but I do know that my blood pressure is officially in a new "less safe" category as of now. I can only hope and pray a whole lot that she doesn't do something SOOO very stupid and that she will most likely regret when she grows up.
One thing is for sure; she's not my baby anymore and I can't make decisions for her, but I can be very, very disappointed. And I am.
I am heartbroken.
...is it Tuesday yet?
For one, I don't work on Tuesdays (at least not for pay) and I don't have to shave my legs or do my hair to drop my kids off at school. Heck, I don't even have to change out of my pijamas to drive them to school (I might not be saying that if I actually had to get out of the car....). I do have my preschooler at home, but he's pretty forgiving of my mistakes. He doesn't care if both of us stay in our pijamas and in fact he encourages this habit. He does, however, blame me for "losing" when playing Indiana Jones Lego on the Wii, even if I'm not in the same room. Funny how my ineptitude seems to transcend walls!
Yes, today is a day I have failed.
It began with me pressing Ctrl/Alt/Del after my computer screen froze at work....function which is detrimental when performed on a Unix platform/Server. I brought down the entire Pharmaceutical software.......it took a remote, highly skilled technician at least a half hour to fix my, um mistake. My boss, the pharmacist, was not thrilled and neither were the many customers whose prescription orders were backed up.
Now Murphy's Law would have it that we would get the most unusual requests by our customers and the most unusual customers (not by request). One very confused gentleman really thought that we could and should fool the prescription healthcare program by overriding it so he could get whatever he needed, free of charge! Another bemused customer informed me she was going to place her liquid antibiotic on her face and not ingest it as directed (I am not kidding) because that is what she had done previously. I could go on, but I wont.
Later, I stopped by X store to pick up a small list of items I had run out of, only to forget the most important one.
Once home, I am not surprised to find socks, shoes, backpacks and books in the living room,dirty dishes stacked up in the sink, a brimming, smelly laundry basket, an 8 year old not quite ready for her taekwondo class (only 15 min. 'til class time), a 4 year old glued to the computer screen, a 9 year old wining about not wanting to do her writing assignment, bills to pay, and a quarter inch layer of dust on the hall bathroom floor (my husband did some handywork over the weekend in there).
I tackled a few things: I guided my "lost" 9 year old through her homework chores, did a load of laundry, put away another one, cleaned the bathroom floor, did the dishes, answered a few phone calls, coerced the 9 year old into her taekwondo uniform and unglued the 4 year old from his computer game to make it to the next "after school activity".
My husband had already left with the 8 year old...we were to meet at the Dojo and I was to stay for my adult class after the girls classes were over and he was to bring all three little ones back home. However, in my already frazzled mind, I could not concieve how I was going to get home after class and I decided to skip it. Crazy huh? It's like 1+1 = 1/2 (1/2 brain, that is)
So I get to the studio, all the while on my phone (bluetoothed of course!) with my brother who is currently deployed in Colombia, of all places, and my girls do class. My husband is trying to get an answer from me as to why I am not in uniform and I'm trying to inform my brother through an 8 second delay, that it's not him I'm talking to......
Now I actually sit down and wait for my girls to finish their class, then both my husband and I drive home in two cars (what a waste of gas that was!) to tackle dinner, homework (yeah, it's not all done yet!) and bathtime.
Just as I am balancing my checkbook (that's a misnomer if there ever was one because my credits and debits never really balance), my lovely 17 3/4 year old daughter asks me what kind of a day I've had......
......"I've had a rotten day." I say.
"Well, I'm gonna make it worse" she says. "You know how I had told you I was taking all day off tomorrow to spend it with ________(left blank to protect the parents of the not so innocent)?"
"Well, we decided we were going to go get a tongue piercing...."
Stunned silence.
I wont go over the spiel (not sure how to spell that one) I gave her, and I don't know if I changed her mind, but I do know that my blood pressure is officially in a new "less safe" category as of now. I can only hope and pray a whole lot that she doesn't do something SOOO very stupid and that she will most likely regret when she grows up.
One thing is for sure; she's not my baby anymore and I can't make decisions for her, but I can be very, very disappointed. And I am.
I am heartbroken.
...is it Tuesday yet?
Sunday, September 7, 2008
SS2 Ward Luau 2008
My husband Fernando and I had the opportunity to attend our annual Ward Luau on Sat. 6th in the evening and enjoyed the company of about 140+ guests at an amazing dinner feast and Polynesian dance show, complete with a whole pig (sorry to those Kosher!) that had been cooking underground for a whole day! We also attended last year's event but enjoyed this year's even more.
A family from our ward has hosted the Luau at their home for most of the 26 years it has been put on and guests pitch in by helping set-up tables, chairs, the stage for the dancers, lighting, sound, and bringing side dishes and dessert.
After everyone serves themselves and eats buffet style, the music begins and we are treated to an amazing show of Pacific Islander singing, dancing and festivity. The talent is truly amazing!
We loved sitting and talking with some of our friends from church while we enjoyed the show.
Some of the highlights included the Slap Dance which my friend Vicky thought her husband should display for her.....he later confirmed to me that he did not, however. The fire dance was quite a hit too!
Guests are always invited to try out the moves: the girls get to move those hips and the guys get to shake those knees. I really enjoyed watching others this time around.....Last year I was unfortunately picked to go onstage with a young, cute, skirted dancer....it was very embarrassing.
All in all, it was a refreshing evening out and Fern and I went home with full tummies and a great desire to visit the Islands.....
Ian's first TaeKwonDo belt test
On Saturday, Sept. 06, 2008, Ian tested for his white belt/black stripe. He was so excited to finally get to test after 9 months of being a white belt!
Considering his age, he did pretty well, If I may say so myself..... but being his mom, I have a hard time being objective: He's just too cute and would have awarded him his belt just for that!
Congratulations Ian; you finally have a little color on your belt! Love, Mom.
Considering his age, he did pretty well, If I may say so myself..... but being his mom, I have a hard time being objective: He's just too cute and would have awarded him his belt just for that!
Congratulations Ian; you finally have a little color on your belt! Love, Mom.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I've been tagged by Karalee
My friend Karalee has tagged me with a list of 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections and 3 suprising facts about myself. So here goes:
My children are my first joy....most of the time!, the Gospel is certainly a cause of joy in my life, and my friendship with my siblings is definitely joyous for me.
Three current obsessions of mine are TaeKwonDo, trying to be "green", repainting my house. I can't include the Olympics anymore because today they end... therefore they fall under the category of current withdrawal.
I don't collect anything anymore...I'm actually trying to get rid of excess, but I do have a small collection of very colorful bowls, pitchers, etc... by PEFI, a Costa Rican artist who hand paints her ware. I have a lot of suns/moons throughout my house that I used to collect as well.
When I was a kid, I collected anything and everything, including rocks, stamps, coins, license plates...
Three suprising facts about me are: 1. I'm still not sure how to navigate this whole blog thing... 2. I love shoes, but rarely wear them and 3. i love to ride anything fast ( i.e. roller coasters, jet skis, snow skis, snow mobiles, horses....)
Although I would love to tag 5 other folks as I've been asked to, I still don't know enough people in the Blog world to do so...(see suprising fact about me number 1.)
My children are my first joy....most of the time!, the Gospel is certainly a cause of joy in my life, and my friendship with my siblings is definitely joyous for me.
Three current obsessions of mine are TaeKwonDo, trying to be "green", repainting my house. I can't include the Olympics anymore because today they end... therefore they fall under the category of current withdrawal.
I don't collect anything anymore...I'm actually trying to get rid of excess, but I do have a small collection of very colorful bowls, pitchers, etc... by PEFI, a Costa Rican artist who hand paints her ware. I have a lot of suns/moons throughout my house that I used to collect as well.
When I was a kid, I collected anything and everything, including rocks, stamps, coins, license plates...
Three suprising facts about me are: 1. I'm still not sure how to navigate this whole blog thing... 2. I love shoes, but rarely wear them and 3. i love to ride anything fast ( i.e. roller coasters, jet skis, snow skis, snow mobiles, horses....)
Although I would love to tag 5 other folks as I've been asked to, I still don't know enough people in the Blog world to do so...(see suprising fact about me number 1.)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Joon bi: literally "ready" in Korean
I don't speak Korean, but I have heard it spoken alot in the last four years or so.
I am a student of Martial Arts, specifically Tae Kwon Do which is "the way of hand and foot".
I am also a middle aged mother of four.
I chose Joon bi as the title of my blog because the word describes how one must be at all times....ready. Ready to engage in a sparring match, ready to do six loads of laundry, ready to follow a command in my dojo, ready to break up a fight..between my 4 and 8 year old, or between my 8 and 9 year old for that matter! Ready to pick-up someone's prescription at the pharmacy, ready to answer inquisitive children...and so on.
And so it goes that I find myself constantly having to be ready for something...and not always wanting to be.
Somedays I'm not ready to get out of bed in the mornings....but my 4 year old thinks otherwise. And most days I'm not ready to get out the front door on time to go to _______ (insert any activity, i.e. church, class, grocery store).
However, I like to blame my lack of "readyness" on the other 5 people in my home....certainly, I would be ready for anything if I didn't have to pick up a toy on the way out, or brush tangles out of someone's hair, or find the missing "whatever"; which apparently any mom or wife should do.
It's funny that after priding myself as the once uber-organized child who labeled her closet shelves and color coded her clothes...; who taught herself to type, sow, and learn the alphabet in sign language (in case I ever became deaf), and tried to learn braille (in case I ever became blind); I am no longer as ready as I should be....
Fortunately, typing came in handy and I do sort my laundry like a pro.
Unfortunately, there are still many situations that I am never ready for...like a quick, witty response to an unwelcome comment, a child's unwelcome comment to the adult you so happen to be conversing with, and that serious phone call from a school teacher, to name a few.
Then there are those strange situations where I am totally ready for something but forces external to me prevent me from "getting there", like going to bed at 9:00pm. I'm ready to go to bed by nine but the dishes, or the laundry or the email, or the phone call dictate otherwise. Sometimes I will actually make it to my room by 9:00pm and I can begin the bedtime routine of PJs, flossing and brushing my teeth, and brushing my hair, and then I get sidetracked by the unsightly frownlines I see in the bathroom mirror, or the one-inch brown roots that tell me I'm ready to see my hairdresser. By the time I'm done checking out all my flaws, checking the locks on the doors, turning off lights and checking in on my sleeping kids, it's 10:30...sometimes 11:00pm. And so it goes that I was ready but the world around me wasn't and I shouldn't be held accountable for that, I think.
It is now 10:18pm...way past my "9 o'clock" bedtime but I believe I'm ready to post my first entry....
....I hope someone is ready to enjoy it.
I am a student of Martial Arts, specifically Tae Kwon Do which is "the way of hand and foot".
I am also a middle aged mother of four.
I chose Joon bi as the title of my blog because the word describes how one must be at all times....ready. Ready to engage in a sparring match, ready to do six loads of laundry, ready to follow a command in my dojo, ready to break up a fight..between my 4 and 8 year old, or between my 8 and 9 year old for that matter! Ready to pick-up someone's prescription at the pharmacy, ready to answer inquisitive children...and so on.
And so it goes that I find myself constantly having to be ready for something...and not always wanting to be.
Somedays I'm not ready to get out of bed in the mornings....but my 4 year old thinks otherwise. And most days I'm not ready to get out the front door on time to go to _______ (insert any activity, i.e. church, class, grocery store).
However, I like to blame my lack of "readyness" on the other 5 people in my home....certainly, I would be ready for anything if I didn't have to pick up a toy on the way out, or brush tangles out of someone's hair, or find the missing "whatever"; which apparently any mom or wife should do.
It's funny that after priding myself as the once uber-organized child who labeled her closet shelves and color coded her clothes...; who taught herself to type, sow, and learn the alphabet in sign language (in case I ever became deaf), and tried to learn braille (in case I ever became blind); I am no longer as ready as I should be....
Fortunately, typing came in handy and I do sort my laundry like a pro.
Unfortunately, there are still many situations that I am never ready for...like a quick, witty response to an unwelcome comment, a child's unwelcome comment to the adult you so happen to be conversing with, and that serious phone call from a school teacher, to name a few.
Then there are those strange situations where I am totally ready for something but forces external to me prevent me from "getting there", like going to bed at 9:00pm. I'm ready to go to bed by nine but the dishes, or the laundry or the email, or the phone call dictate otherwise. Sometimes I will actually make it to my room by 9:00pm and I can begin the bedtime routine of PJs, flossing and brushing my teeth, and brushing my hair, and then I get sidetracked by the unsightly frownlines I see in the bathroom mirror, or the one-inch brown roots that tell me I'm ready to see my hairdresser. By the time I'm done checking out all my flaws, checking the locks on the doors, turning off lights and checking in on my sleeping kids, it's 10:30...sometimes 11:00pm. And so it goes that I was ready but the world around me wasn't and I shouldn't be held accountable for that, I think.
It is now 10:18pm...way past my "9 o'clock" bedtime but I believe I'm ready to post my first entry....
....I hope someone is ready to enjoy it.
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