I Signed It.

You should too.

http://www.lc.org/index.cfm
Scroll down a little bit and you will see it under "Petitions." Click on "Federal Marriage Ammendment Petition."

Sorry DeGeneres, love ya to death, and your show too, but I don't want you to be allowed to marry Portia. To me, it cheapens what I have with my husband. Portia does have a cool name, though.

Now I Feel Silly...

Ok, so I hope my last post didn't make me sound crazy. I hope I didn't make anybody think that I am against vegetarianism. I just wanted to express my feelings against vegetarians or vegans saying that it is wrong to eat meat.

Ok, I feel better now.

A Soapbox of My Own

My good friend, Elisse Newey, made me think about a few things today with her vegetarian post. It really made me think in depth about the things that I believe in and how certain councils in the church came about, and I found myself stepping right up onto a soapbox of my own. Poor Elisse, I left her the longest comment on her post, and I decided to post it on my own blog. I had to write it out on a Word doc before I posted it on her blog so that I could more easily edit it, and it turned out to be two pages long on Microsoft Word.

Here it is:

I disagree that eating meat is wrong or entirely bad for you. Heavenly Father agrees with me. I have a very strong testimony in the Word of Wisdom. It says that we should eat meat, but sparingly. Do you really think that Heavenly Father didn't intend for us to eat meat at all? I don’t. In fact, I know he didn’t. D&C 89:12-13 plainly states, “Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly; And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.”

When the Word of Wisdom was brought forth, what were the problems and bad habits of that time? Smoking, chewing, and drinking, but not eating habits. Even Joseph Smith liked him a good whiskey. The men were disgusting with their tobacco chewing. They would spit all over the floors, not only outside. In our modern times, we know that wine and beer do have some good qualities to them. One glass of wine, or one bottle of beer will not hurt you or make you an alcoholic. One glass of wine is even good for you, and beer has some good stuff in it too, as well as other liqueurs. You can make a little concoction of whiskey, lemon juice and honey for a child that has a cough. My husband’s family used that remedy, and I guess it works. We were even instructed to use wine in the Sacrament.

But, the idiots out there who have no self control, the ones who get drunk and hurt their bodies for fun are the ones who ruin it for the rest of us. It’s kind of like when you were a kid and your parents would take away a certain privilege or toy from all of you just because one of you couldn’t play nice. The masses were sacrificed because of the few. In the early 19^th century, the drinking and smoking and spitting were getting out of hand. We had to be reminded that tobacco was for bruises and the animals, not for us. (Tobacco helps kill worms and stuff in horses and cows and other beasts of burden. My grandma used to feed tobacco to her horses once in a while.) It was to be used with “judgment and skill.” Because a few of us couldn’t use those things in moderation or in any proper way at all, the rest of us had to suffer and it was “taken away” from us.

As far as food is concerned, back then people were a little better about that kind of stuff. They probably ate as much if not more meat than we do now, but they were up and around working on their farms and doing all kinds of active chores. There were no computers or video games or TV for people to zone out in front of. There were no cars, so people walked if they didn't have a horse and/or wagon/buggy. They probably needed more calories in the winter to help them stay warmer without the heating systems we have today. It wasn't harmful for people to be omnivores because they could afford the extra calories and they didn’t eat processed junk food. Everything they ate was pure. It was all organic back then.

What if the Word of Wisdom was written in these days, when most of the country is obese from eating TOO MUCH crap? Do you think that the Word of Wisdom would be more specific about processed foods, candy, sweets, and all other manner of non-healthy junk food? I sure do. I also think that it would more specifically stress the need for all of us to get a decent amount of exercise. Yes, it is very harmful to your body if you eat too much meat or animal-type, processed products. (Trust me, I know this first hand. Where do you think my dad's heart attack(s) came from?) No, meat and dairy products do not have fiber, but they have protein. We need a little bit of what meat can offer us. Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water!

Aside from the health reasons to eat or not eat meat, there are the moral and ethical reasons. Now, keep in mind that I'm not really a steak-eater. I don't eat that much red meat. I don't even like poultry THAT much. Turkey's ok but chicken has a tendency to gross me out lately. I’ll have a burger now and then, or some tri-tip if we go to Lucille’s, but I prefer fish. Fish is VERY good for you. You don't get fat or have cholesterol problems from eating too much fish. Can you eat too much fish? And fish is an animal. God put the animals on the earth for our (responsible) use. That is the natural order of things. That is why our species has dominion over the earth and the beasts thereof. I do NOT believe that there is anything morally wrong with eating animals. I do not agree with that writer when she states that eating meat contributes to poverty and that kind of crap. Buying almost any kind of consumer goods and not growing our own vegetables and raising our own livestock “contributes” to poverty in one way or another. I do, however, believe that animals should be butchered humanely. I don’t like it when people hunt or kill animals just to kill something. I do like it when my uncle (and dad, back in the day) brings home fresh fish or deer or buffalo that he hunted and oversaw the preparation of so that our families didn’t have to buy the over-priced meat came from animals that were given hormones and injected with who knows what.

Well, that’s all I have to say about the war in Vietnam.

So I’m opinionated, so what?

Something

I need a business of my own.

I need a business of my own so that I can set my own hours, answer to nobody but myself, work as much as I want or as little as I want.

I need my own business to help me feel more self... self... self, uh, something. Self sufficient. If you know what I mean.

I want my own business so that I can make money doing or producing something that I enjoy doing or producing, instead of sitting in front of a computer all day answering phones and getting secretary butt (it's a really serious condition. Symptoms include but are not limited to the widening of the butt area), or waiting tables. I HATE waiting tables. Customer service sucks.

I want my own business so that I can feel the gratification of somebody liking something I made or did so much that they gave me money for it.

I want my own business so that I can still bring in some income when I have babies, because I do not want to have a "real" job when I have kids. I want to be able to spend as much time as I can with them, even if I'm working with a baby on my back or in a little play pen in my [home] office with me.

I want my own business in case something happens to Brett and I need something to fall back on.

I want my own business so that I can work a little extra if there is something that I want to buy for my husband, kids, or myself. My mom and grandma taught me about the importance of a woman having a little "mad money" stashed away for a rainy day. Even when Brett and I have been really strapped, I've tried to keep $10 or so in my sock drawer so that I could go buy myself some lip gloss or a Jamba or something. Shopping really does make me feel better. Always has. I don't know why.

I want my own business so that in addition to being able to blow my own money if I want to, I can also work a little extra to pay off this credit card faster, or pay that bill early, just to get it out of the way.

You know what I mean?

2 Things

1. My hair is going straight!!!!! I did not straighten this part (see my little finger pointing) at all. This is what my hair does when I just let it dry with no product whatsoever. It used to be insane unless I did something with it. Oh, boy, if it goes completely straight all over I will be throwing a party and you all are invited.

2. I have a nice kitty. I don't have to force her to come sit with me. She walks right up and curls up in my lap.

(Sorry about the lame webcam shots. My digicam needs new batteries.)

Ok, off to the gym!