Turn Up the Volume!

Volume is a torment I deal with on a daily basis. The thing is that all volume knobs must be set to an even setting. Sometimes volume dislplays are just lines... other times numbers.. but if it isn't even it bugs me. And I swear I can tell if it isn't set evenly!

In the car the volume is bars and half bars... I MUST turn the knob until the volume is even. I can't just have a half bar just hanging there. The unevenness (I know that isn't a word) is just too much for me to take and I can't stop thinking about it. Even from the backseat I will ask for it to be fixed.

After the purchase of a new TV a few months ago, I realized I have been obsessing over this more than usual lately. First off the volume display is a circle, 1-100 seems easy right? But should it be set in 10's, 5's... 25 isn't an even number and normally goes against my volume setting rules.. but 25 is an even 1/4 of the little cirle display and I like that.

And those volume dials on things without displays... how am I supposed ot tell if they are even?!

I just can't seem to stop thinking about it. And the whole thing goes round around in my head!

This also translates to other things. The furnace is at 66 or 68. Why would anyone want it to be set at 67? Why do they even having odd numbers as a choice. Doesn't everyone use and even number anyway?

Yeah, I like even numbers... unless you ask me to pick a number between 1 and 10 or my lucky number. Then it would be 3. Always has been, always will be.

Just another torment you never knew someone with OCD might have!

I also updated a previous post about Spike and Angel the main love interests of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" check it out...

Close Encounters

Recent talk about a meteor shower that lit up the sky in Utah reminded me of this story... My very own Close Encounter! Brought to you from... June 3, 2004

We sure had an interesting night. So pictures this... it's pitch black outside and I up up late folding laundry and watching a movie... When all of a sudden there was this bright light shining through the windows. Now, we do live at the bottom of a circle, so cars are always turning around and we are very used to what those lights look like as they shine through the front windows. But this light was more like daylight… Like someone had a spotlight shining it into our family room. And the light was just streaming through the blinds and all the windows on different sides of the house.

At this point I no longer have an accurate sense of time, but there was a pause, long enough for me to think, “that is very strange” and start feeling a little suspicious… Then all of a sudden – BOOM! It was if something had slammed into the front door, but not just the front door, the entire front wall of the house. At this point I jump up and fly up the stairs…

I woke Kenneth up telling him, “Something just hit the front of house. GET UP!” Because I had no explanation for what had just happened I begin to think there must be someone outside, who shined lights into the family room and are trying to get in the house. I told Kenneth to call the police. We were told that a transformer had just blown up over in Redmond, (our neighborhood opens up to downtown Redmond, as we are on a little bit of a hill.) Could that be what it was? No, an entire building would have had to explode to send that kind of a shock wave to our house.

The police are on their way. We are all huddled up in Awsumb’s room looking out the front window trying to see if we can see anything. The dispatcher starts asking me if we have any weapons in the house... I begin to stutter as she says, "M'am, do you have a gun?" She explaing that the officers that have been sent out will make a soft approach to the house... walking down from up the street so they can see if anyone is still out there... And we may see them snooping around and don't shoot them! All we had was little souvineer bat, but about thta point I start wishing we had a gun! Then I remember, the coyotes had been out earlier in the back ravine “crying” and talking to each other (they sound like a pack of hyena's when the really get going). Could a few of them have slammed themselves into the front of the house? Why would they do that? And what about the flash of light?

So, we are all hiding out up Awsumb's bedroom with our little bat. By the time to police arrived we felt very silly, but it was just so unusual. And when we finally talk to them at the front door, did I actually say it was like and "alien encounter?!" Great, now we are on their crazy list. But they did say they recieved a few odd calls at the exact time I did and admited it was odd.

Finally we all just go to bed. Awsumb was wearing his Spiderman PJ’s and kept saying how he “saved the day” and how he helped the police. It was funny. This morning on the radio I heard the tail end of a news report… something about, “If you saw a flash and felt a BOOM, then that’s what it was.” What? I really wish talk radio had a “replay” button like our TV! I called Kenneth and we found out what happened. There was a meteorite that entered the atmosphere at 2:40 am. Reports say, “The sky lit up like day time” and many people felt a sharp boom. Scientists suggest everyone go outside on a meteor hunt! I am sure Awsumb will love that! I will let you know if we find anything. (We didn't, but had a fun hunt!)

Do you have any stories about your own close encounters?

Nurture Shock

Don't you think it's funny that as mothers we buy books written by men to tell us how to raise our babies?! I truly believe two books saved my life as a new mother: Dr. Sears Birth to Age Two and The Continuum Concept. Reading these books helped me realize that I already knew everything I needed to know about my baby and that I alone could provide anything my baby needed from nourishment to love. They gave me great confidence in my parenting abilities. I believe that by using my natural instincts, or following the attachment parenting 'list' such as breastfeeding, cosleeping, babywearing, etc. that I avoided post partum depression. These methods fall more in line with how mothers have parented throughout time across the world. As I used these methods I began to realize this is the way our Heavenly Father would parent. And as my child grew I saw the benefits come from my choices and determination. By reading my baby's cues and providing for him before he even knew what he needed I avoided having a fussy baby, sleeping problems, attachment issues, etc.

I just finished reading the book Nurture Shock and would now add this to the list to recommend to all parents. Check this one out to find the fascinating answers to questions...

Do we praise our children too much?

Could arguing in front of your child be good for them?

Is lying a developmental milestone?

Could grown -up TV be better than baby DVD's?

Why do some children talk earlier than others?

Some of the answers and specifics might surprise you. Others confirmed my beliefs from previous books and real life experience. For instance, Studies showed the number of times toddler initiated talk was responded to the more words they learned and the more they spoke. A great lesson we learned from the same family that introduced me to Dr. Sears is to simply TALK to your baby. Their example taught me to talk to my baby constantly, to narrate our day, the world around us, what we were seeing, doing and experiencing. This was different from many peers I had who sometimes acted bored or annoyed by the task of caring for an infant or toddler all day. And because I carried or held my baby for most of the day, it was natural to talk to my baby and play with my baby. When the 'in arms" phase was over I then played with my baby. Not only was my baby verbal at an early age has always been very articulate.

Every so many years new books come out to say, "do this or do that" often following the new "politically correct" topic of the day. This book debunks a few of those things. What I have learned is that as mothers we should trust our own instincts more. What instincts did you follow that went against popular belief?

Lies My Teacher Told Me

I have talked about one of my favorite history authors before, James W. Lowen. I first discovered his book,
Lies My Teacher Told Me. I told you a little about Lies Across America, which talks about historic sites across America in a previous post about our summer daycations.

Why should we learn about our past? We have all heard George Santayana's famous quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." But he also said something more complicated, "History is always written wrong, and so always needs to be rewritten."

When I was in college I wrote a paper about history really just being a myth. A history from one point of view is not a complete history. James Lowen tells about a war museum, full of memorabilia, but that chooses to ignore telling the stories behind the war, why we were at war in the first place, or promoting discussion about tactics used by either side and them being ethical or not.

Compare this to the visitor's center at MT. St. Helens, which clearly shows what, why, how and what if it happens again. Think about these two types of museums and ones that you have been to… Which one do you think we learn more from? Which one helps us learn from our mistakes and avoid them in the future? Which one calms fears?

The bottom line is, "War is hell and the United States conducts it, just like any other nation, we too become the devil" (pg. 180) John F. Kennedy said, "The great enemy of truth is not often the lie… but the myth"
Hiding from our past doesn't make it go away. Just like a child who hides from a parent knowing he is in big trouble, punishment eventually comes. "How can we expect our children to develop their own convictions when we ignore those of historical figures?" – Helen Keller

When I was in school, "history" was names and dates. But as an adult I find that history is something we are continually discovering and is best taught as a discussion. As I share history with my child I find myself sorting through myths and legends and hokey stories glorifying historic leaders, searching the truth.

One of the first historical lies we tell our children is about Thanksgiving. Throughout the world people have historically celebrated abundant harvests and I think the idea of celebrating our abundance with family and friends is one of the last holidays that has been relatively untouched by commercialism.

However, I was determined to avoid passing on "the myth of peaceful settlers, inviting some wild Indians over for dinner." 1621 A New Look at Thanksgiving is a children's book that tells the complicated history English settlers and their impact on the Native people that were already here. As the book says, "There was neither cranberry sauce nor pumpkin pie at the 1621 harvest celebration. There were no Indians with woven blankets down their backs. There were no Pilgrims in somber black clothes and tall hats with silver buckles, either. The English didn't even call themselves pilgrims at the time. That's the myth."

The book continues on to tell about the days leading up to that "First Thanksgiving…. The settlers were preparing to have a celebration to give thanks… Four men went out hunting and in doing so began shooting their guns and marching in unison. It was likely that Native people heard the noise, maybe thinking they were preparing for war. A few investigated and called for Massosoit, who then sent a few men out to hunt for deer to contribute to the feast." Years later, painters memorialize this event, romanticizing the facts and hundreds of years later we dress our school children up in tall Pilgrim hats, drab clothes and big buckles made out of construction paper!

Mayflower 1621 A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage reminds us that, "the Mayflower colonists were not the first Europeans in the Wampanoag territory. Early explores brought trade… they also brought diseases, including plague… killing so many that by the time the Mayflower arrived in Plymouth no Wampanoag were left there. To the colonists, finding tilled fields was a sign of God's favor. They gave little thought to those whose land they were taking over.

Both of these books were a great way to promote discussion about the history of European settlers in America. Check them out! You may also want to check out … The Truth About Columbus and American Exceptionalism

I am thankful to live in a country that lets me freely celebrate and worship how I wish. What are you thankful for?

Give us some flourescent cheese product!

Hallmark features two loud characters, Hoops and Yoyo, on many of their Ecards. Awsumb of course quickly fell in love with these two. Our favorite was a Mother's Day card that features the desperate pair incessantly yelling, "Mom, mom, mom, mom... Give us some fluorescent cheese product!"

While your little rats are enjoying their fluorescent cheese product you may want to check out Chateau Roquefort! Awsumb choose this game with some of his birthday spending money. By Rio Games, this game is for 2-4 players age 6 and up.

Bedsides the ever so important 'cool bits' that make up this game such as little mice and a cool multi layer castle structure this game is easy to play and plays great with 2 players.

Discover the castle by removing roof pieces to view rooms and their contents; the cheese! Use memory and strategy to position your mice on matching pieces of cheese. Beware the labyrinth of moving pieces that reveal dungeons or mouse traps! The first player to collect 4 different kinds of cheese wins!


Awsumb quoted Jimmy Neutron saying, "Now, you gotta admit... THAT is pretty neat!"

While I don't care much for cheese of the fluorescent variety I do love a good brie! What's your favorite kind of cheese?

What's the deal with Halloween?

In the style of Jerry Seinfeld, "What's the deal with Halloween?"

It seems like during the month of October at least once a day I read a post online from someone saying, "Don't you know it's Pagan holiday?" I say, "So What!" Halloween as we know it in America no longer resembles pagan rituals. Like everything else it's been commercialized to death and has become the night (or week) of "get candy, get candy, get candy!"

Then there's the whole trick or tricking paranoia. My generation has been totally convinced that we are going to be poisoned by Halloween candy... or worse, the dreaded razor blade in the apple myth. Remember when you could take your candy to the ER to have it X-rayed! LOL! Did you know there had NEVER been a reported case of razor blades in apples anywhere in the U.S. And the only poisoning scenerios involved family members!

It's like the whole kidnapping thing. Your child is more likely to be struck by lightening than kidnapped! So send your kids out to ride bikes people and let them play until dusk! They need to get some exercise after all that Halloween candy they've been eating!

In the end, our fear of traditional door-to-door trick or treating has lead to a week long of alternative halloween fun such as, Trunk or Treats, trick or treating at the mall or office, and of course halloween parties at every children's activity that week, including dance and soccer practice! The whole mess leads to an over load of candy. Half the parents I knew threw most of it out. Why are we buying so much to pass out, only to throw it out? This is such a waste and is a perfect example of our affluence in America. What about providing other things during the week and saving the candy for Halloween night?

This year we planned to spend Halloween with my parents in Utah. Because we live in a neighborhood with only a handful of children, we were looking forward to a real old fashioned night of trick or treating. We were lucky enough to experience this in 2003 when we visited my Aunt's in California... so we were pretty excited!


After all the cousins arrived we started out under a clear sky and a bright new moon. In just a couple of blocks we were offered, doughnuts and hot cocoa, cider, the sherrif grilled hot dogs and a few families offered bowls of soups and stews. Awsumb collected the least amount of candy hae ever has, but the thrill of real trick or treating, running in the dark from house to house was what this experience was all about.

And my final rant.. what's the deal with teenagers trick or treating anyway? I hear so many people complain about teens trick or treating. They brag about only giving them pixey sticks or just slamming the door in their face. What's the big deal?! I will happily give candy to anyone who comes to my door dressed in a costume! Better than having your pumpkins smashed? Who says Halloween is only for 10 and under.

Click here to see Awsumb perform Halloween by Jerry Seinfeld...

Check back for more about the history of harvest celebrations and the real history of Thanksgiving and my search to find a book about Thanksgiving that doesn't include a fake Pilgrim and Indian Thanksgiving dinner...

Babes in TV Land

Baby Einstein finally DEBUNKED!

click below to read article...

"Disney Expands Refunds for Baby Einstein Videos" by Wendy Mitchell

I remember when Awsumb was just a couple weeks old a friend brought over some of these videos and suggested since her baby liked them my baby would. I remember thinking she was totally nuts. First of all, why would I put a few week old baby in front of the TV? And did people really think these videos would give their children a head start?

My child had a lifetime to discover the screen and I did not feel any urgency to make that introduction. I felt validated in my opinion when I read this article, "Babes in TV Land" by Chris Beam which states the AAP recommends NO TV under 2 years of age.

Later I learned that the creator of these videos was just a mother, who noticed her baby loved to watch interesting objects. She also knew how important it was to read to a child and that hearing language pattern from other languages was benificial. So she took her home video camera, recorded some interesting children's toys like a mobile, etc. and hoped it would be something she could market. And there you have it, an entire line of products (eventually the name was bought by Disney) with absolutely no research behind them, making parents believe they would really give their kids an edge... or at least enterain them long enough to take a shower!

Later as Awsumb grew into a toddler I remember parents bragging that their child knew how to put in a DVD and start a movie. I would silently roll my eyes... As if my child was going to be behind because I didn't let him at the DVD player. Plus some of these same friends also shared the typical "child put toast in the DVD player story" during other conversations. For me that was just another reason to keep my child away from the DVD player. Now that Awsumb is 8 he has shown to be just as proficient with DVD players and toasters, without leaving crumbs in the living room.

I feel that I successfuly limited screen time with my child. Although he probably saw more decorating and news shows that he needed to I rarely put children's shows on for him. And if we watched a movie, we sat down to watch a movie. Start to finish... no starting a movie just to keep him busy for 20 minutes and then letting is play in the background while he became interested in other things. I am not sure if that helped his attention span or if he was just born with a longer attention span. Studies suggest that in any case, children's TV only damages attention spans.

Sure, there was plently of Bob the Builder and a couple other shows at our house. But Daddy usually put them on in the morning for a bit and then the TV was turned off the rest of the day. Awsumb never really asked to watch TV and to this day didn't realize certain shows came on at certain times. This is probably because we mostly took advantage of the DVR, recording only select shows we thought appropriate. So there was no full days of whatever was on PBS or Nick Jr.

Now that Awsumb is in 2nd grade, he has occasionally comes home and talks about shows he has never seen. If it weren't for his Father he probably wouldn't even know about the select shows he does know about, as they have a few different super hero cartoons they watch together.

THIS study found babies who watched these types of videos might even learn fewer words! Babies require face to face interaction. And that's the worst part. These DVD's were just another way to separate child from parent.

What I find sad about this is how once again, mothers flocked to buy something that might even be more damaging in the long run, when really their own instincts should have given them the right tools. To sing and read to your child, to carry your child, to talk to your child, to let your child lay under a tree and watch the leaves blow in the wind... interact with your child, play with your child, imagine and dream with your child.. these are the things that will really give your child and edge and you don't even need your debit card!

I am proud to say I voted with my dollar on this one! I have not spent one penny on this line of products, nor anything that simply carried the label.

Check back later for my comments about why LYING is a developmental milestone.

Angel vs. Spike

Edited the below post to add a few things...

If you have watched the Buffy or Angel TV series you know that Angel the vampire cursed by gypsies with a soul. At first he is miserable and alone.. then he gets the advice to get over himself and help others... Of course he is drawn to protect the slayer and Buffy and Angel fall in love. But if Angel experiences "pure joy" he is cursed to loose his soul and turns back into an evil vampire again... thus he and Buffy cannot be together and Angel goes off to start his own TV show in L.A. in which, "he helps the helpless."

Enters Spike, whose entrance into Sunnydale as Buffy's Nrch Nemisis just screams, "Now, this is a cool vampire!" Though he is pretty good at causing mayhem for our little slayer, he somehow gets himself mixed up into the "Scooby gang" (Buffy's friends) helping to protect Dawn (Buffy's kid sister), fighting demons and other vampires - right alongside Buffy, etc. While at first he does this for protection or even some cold hard cash.. he eventually becomes part of the group like it or not. And somewhere along the way falls in love with Buffy.

As the weekly adventures unfold Spike slowly earns his soul and proves his worth as he shows that he does have some kind of humanity still part of his character. While Angel only spends his life trying to earn a soul he was cursed with.

Spikes story of redemtion, going to hell and back is much more powerful to me. Forget team Edward or Jacob (from Twilight)... I am Team Spike all the way!

Buffy vs. Bella

After reading Entertainment Magazine's -"20 Greatest Vampires of All Time" (click to read) I had some notes written in this magazine of some thoughts I had on the subject and Kenneth threw it away. So this won’t be as witty as I had planned and this is just a quick rant...

Twilight is THE most ridiculous story I have ever read. It is even worse than many of the LDS novels Covenant put out for all those years. Each book the story became more and more ridiculous. The 'Vampire Lore' did not seem planned out well enough. Didn’t anyone close to her proof read and give her suggestions? These books lacked action and character development and I cannot believe how quickly the world was possessed by them. Kenneth refused to even finish reading after book 2, but I followed the train wreck to the end all the while shouting out to him how absurdly insane books 3 and 4 were.

In the article it mentions that Stephanie Meyers did not read or research any other vampire books, TV or movies before writing her story. Well, that’s obvious. There is really no character development. What does Edward see in Bella anyway? She has nothing to offer… just drooling over some guy… like he is the only thing in the world that would complete her? Hello Jerry Maguire! MEN don’t COMPLETE us! We have to be a complete person on our own in order to offer anything to a relationship. Sure the are soft and cuddly and nice to have around... Oh, sorry Bella, your man isn't! But they DO NOT complete us.

When referring to Twilight, Author Laurell K. Hamilton said, "The fact that women are so attracted to that idea – that they want to wait for Prince Charming rather than taking control of their own life – I find that frightening.” I get that young girls love the simple story of Twilight that left out sex and violence...(Until books 3 and 4!!!! Don' t even get me started on the violent sex) but I feel they were cheated as there was not anything to be gleaned from the Twilight saga.

Bella could be compared to Marianne in Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility. Marianne is just as silly and boy crazy. But she learns a lesson and in the ends picks a very different man that the silly girl she once was ever would. In the end she becomes a complete person, ready to stand alone and be a full pillar in a relationship that will last a lifetime.

But the #1 problem is the whole vampire tie is that the entire concept of becoming a vampire is supposed to be gravely damning to the soul. I much prefer the way the Buffy series by Joss Whedon dealt with this issue. Buffy is a young high school girl who was chosen to be a vampire slayer. The story is about how she deals with this huge responsiblity while living as a 'normal' teenager. The stories of vampires like Angel and Spike (two main vampire characters who are Buffy's enemies, friends and love interests at one time or another), who struggle to live as a vampires with a soul is an amazing story of redemption.

While the concept of vegan vampires could have played into that sort of story, in the end Twilight was more like the episode on Buffy where the goth kids pretend and wish they were vampires only to be eaten alive. Where is the story Stephanie? What is their purpose? What do they learn about themselves and the world around them. This is not a book I would recommend to teens simply because the main character is silly and her journey is pointless.

The entire part about a vampires fight with being once being human is totally left out. What is their place in the world? Do they have a soul? are they damned,?etc. Oh and how did Bella know if she was changed she would be able to resist human blood and be "vegan" anyway?! There was no discussion about the danger SHE might end up being to her father etc. A book about vampires without all this is empty.

If you haven’t seen the complete Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV Series I highly recommend it. We followed the weekly series from the beginning, but I stopped watching when in season 4 because I couldn't get over the introduction of "the initiative." Then the year before last Kenneth convinced me to watch them again and we tore through them in a couple of months. This time instead of the monster of the week I really fell in love the whole arc of the saga. More about Angel and Spike (Kenneth wants me to add, who are REAL vampires) and the vampire with a soul idea later...

Check out the side of my blog for a cool book on my nighstand that combines Zombies and Prejudice!>>>>>>>>>>

Vampires and Witches - OH MY!

I discovered The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova a few years ago and love it so much I have read it quite a few times. It’s not just another vampire story, but THE vampire story… one of the only books I have read that could actually stand up to Bram Stoker’s classic. The Historian is historical fiction that follows three generations as they search for the Dracula. Their journey takes them to olds countries with rich history and tradition. Along they their individual love stories are also told. Not cheesey in anyway. The audio version of this books is wonderful. The actors really bring out the characters and it is better than any vampire story or movie I have seen or read.

This year I found The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe, which takes place in modern times and in the time of the Salem witch trials simultaneously. As Connie searches for a mysterious book by her grandmother she learns more about who SHE really is. I enjoyed this quite a bit and it is a quick read.

Both of these books are more mystery books, which is probably why I enjoyed them so much. I will have to share my thoughts on Twilight another day... (eye roll)

I will also add The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips as part of these suggestions. Set in the 1920's this one is another great adventure that reads much like The Historian. The story is told through journals and letters... If you think it's slow, hang on because you don't want to miss the ending!

Do you have any seasonal book recommendations?