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!

Woohoo!

Economic stimulus checks are HERE!!!!! Steak dinner here we come! Oh, don't worry. I'll take pictures. You know I love taking pictures of our food. ;-)

Our Map and Blog Stalking

As many of you have on your blogs, we have a map that shows where on the globe people are viewing our blog from. It's really fun to see that people all over the country and even the world are looking at our measley little blog. When I click on our map it gives me a list of the places that have seen our blog and when they saw it.

I know who some of the people are who are checking out our site, such as Meg in Germany, Kayleigh in Ireland, Brit in Florida, Tara or Lis in Ogden, Utah, Jill in Minneapolis, Jen in Oregon, etc. But sometimes I get different ones that I don't recognize. Today, for instance, I have one in Phoenix and one in Portland. Phoenix might be my cousin Emily. I think she told me she moved there kinda recently. Portland might be my grandma, but I didn't think she was the blog-watching type. Maybe she is! Cool!

Then, there are some local ones that I don't know. I get Sacramento, Carmichael, and Rancho Cordova. The only person I can think of, off the top of my head in Carmichael would be Mia, but in Rancho or Sac I have no idea. I do get Orangevale and Citrus Heights, but those are no brainers. Well, I don't know who they are specifically, but we have tons of friends right around here, so those could be anyone.

How does it know where you are when you are looking at someone's blog? Is it based on your IP address or the location of your own blog, or maybe where your internet provider is based out of?

If you are reading our blog, don't be afraid to leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you! It's flattering to know that others are reading my silly little blog. I won't think you're weird for being a blog stalker or anything. I mean, hey! I'm a blog stalker too! There's nothing wrong with it! Why do you think I have links to everyone else's blogs on my blog? So that my readers can see who my friends are? Nope. It's so that I can more easily stalk everyone else! What do you think?? GOSH!

The Important Facts

Hello to all of you out there in Blogland! It's been a little while since I've posted an actual update on what's going on in our life. We've been so busy with work that sometimes it seems like nothing new is really going on with us, but in actuality there are a couple, minute updates.

Brett's into I think week 4 of his management training with Islands. We're really glad to be on a set salary rather than hoping that all of his tables during his serving shifts will be kind and tip appropriately. (Now we're just hoping that all MY tables during my serving shifts will be kind and tip appropriately! Good thing I have another job to rely on!) We're also enrolled with insurance benefits now, which is a relief. Contacts for blind Morgan and long-overdue dentist appointments here we come!

During the first two weeks of his training, he was training with the cooks, learning the ins and outs of the kitchen. He didn't mind it so much, but sometimes, when he would make a mistake with something, the cooks would laugh with each other about it and joke about him in Spanish, rather than helping him in English. That was a little irritating for him, but he pulled through it despite the lack of good English-speakers in the kitchen. He's really glad to be out of the kitchen and back into his Hawaiian luau shirts with the rest of the managers! He's more familiar with the front-of-house management, since he's been with the company for so long, so he's doing really well.

The procrastination of Monterey has begun, and it's not even me who's procrastinating! From what Brett and the other managers tell me, whenever Islands opens a new restaurant, it NEVER happens on schedule, usually because of construction issues with the contractors. Openings always get pushed back at least a few weeks, if not a few months. Well, it's already happened with the Monterey opening. It was supposed to open in August, which would mean that we would need to be in Monterey by at least the middle of July. We were really excited to trade some of the hot, Sacramento summer with a cooler, coastal summer. But alas, they have already pushed back the opening, and we don't know how far back. I really wouldn't be surprised if the store doesn't open until October, but we'll see. I guess it's really ok for now, since we haven't found a place to live yet, and we could use a little more time to save up. We'll be hearing more news soon, so we'll keep you posted.

In the mean time, I'm trying to develop a new hobby/talent. Stay tuned to find out what that hobby/talent is! :-)

Here are a few moments in the life of the Werners over the last few weeks:

I made dinner. Like, REAL dinner. Main dish and a side salad and drink. I'm a regular Martha Stewart.

I broke my first glass. It just fell off of the top of the fridge for no reason and shattered behind me while I cooked. I'm pretty sad about it.

We went to BJ's with Meggie and Jeff Dees for Meggie's birthday. This is Brett's bitter [root]beer face. He's such a lightweight. I can't take him anywhere.

Dinah is the cuddly one. Figuero has his moments, but mostly just when he wants to be fed. Typical male. Haha.

Figuero does NOT like it when we vacuum.

This just in from the Wilfley front:

Maddy has finally secured her esthitician license! She is now a professional esthitician! See some of her work on her blog here.

Ok, forget croissants, I never bought any yeast.

I'll go buy some yeast one of these days and then I'll show you how it turns out. Ok, enough about baking.

CHECK OUT THIS HOUSE!!! Actually, it's a bed and breakfast at a country club that Roof Doctors (my day job) did a real estate vendor fair at. This was the first thing that I saw when I drove into the country club. Instantly, my mind was spirited away to one of my favorite movies, "Under the Tuscan Sun." In that movie, the main character goes through a rough divorce and decides to go on vacation in Tuscany. While she's there, she finds a 300-year-old villa for sale, and decides, what the heck, just buy it and LIVE in fabulous Tuscany. So, she procedes to fix up this villa and make it into basically my dream house, in my dream location.

I'm actually torn between this type of house and an old, southern mansion style home, with the wrap-around porch and everything. Sometimes I even fantasize about a Spanish villa. But right now, I'm dreaming about this type of house. Can you imagine fixing up this baby?

I've looked into real estate in Tuscany just to see what homes like this go for. Believe it or not, they're not THAT expensive. Ok, for those of you in Utah looking at this blog, yeah, they're way more expensive than anything you see in the Salt Lake valley. But, compare them to an average home here in northern California, they're not outrageous. Especially considering the location and sheer FABULOUSNESS of the house. These homes never come without a good chunk of land, by the way. There are often olive orchards or vineyards on the properties, too, because, well, IT'S ITALY! I mean, there's a lot to be said about living in the great US of A, but who wouldn't want to live in the simplicity of Italy? Imagine the photography ops there! Someday I'll be a rich and famous photographer and I can afford to move my family to Europe. I bet my kids would love that. Ha.

For your viewing pleasure:

Tonight, I shall make croissants.

Stay tuned for the results.

MORE Vogue (If you can even handle that)

Here are a couple of the pictures after Sarah tweaked them a little bit.

This one isn't too much different. She mostly brightened it up, but you can see the difference if you look at it next to the original. There wasn't much that she needed to do, because she really nailed the composition of this one, if you as me.

This one just looks so dang cool with this vintage effect done to it.

Vogue (Beware, LOTS of pictures)

Here a "few" of my personal favorites. We took hundreds of pictures. Read the blog entry below this one for an explanation of what this is all about!

Morgan's Modeling Debut!

A few months ago, I found a photographer named Sarah. She was new to the area, and trying to get her photography business going. She was trying to find someone to do some bridal portraits for so she could put them on her website and have something to show prospective clients. Well, I told her that I'd been married for almost a year, but if she needs someone, I'd do it. I thought it would be a blast to get all done up and wear my dress again. Besides, I haven't had an artistic outlet in a while. I don't have a piano in my house anymore, I don't ever sew anymore, or take a lot of pictures, so I was starving for something to do with a finished product that I can look at and remember.

After many schedulings and postponings, we were finally able to meet with her last week to talk about the ideas that we had and where we wanted to go. Then yesterday, we went up to Auburn for all the old, crumbling gold-rush era buildings, and shot away! We found a little, dilapidated house that was all boarded up with no trespassing signs on it, but it had a front yard of beautiful, tall grass with wild daffodils and dandelions. That made for some good shots, as well as the long, brick wall in the alleyway that we started with. We ended the day in the middle of the street dodging cars. (Wait until you see those!)

My sister, Maddy, is a master esthetician, and did my makeup in a WWII era/pinup style for the first half of the day, and I attempted to do my hair, which I was amazed turned out as good as it did. It was such a blast! We got some amazing pictures, thanks to Sarah's AMAZING talent, and Maddy's flawless makeup. (I just stood or sat there and made a bunch of different faces and put my hands where they told me to!) Sarah's new super-camera put the icing on the cake. We did a couple makeup, jewelry, and shoe changes to add some variety to the shots. (Makeup by Maddy blog coming soon!)

I think I've found a new hobby! I really want to get into photography again. I used to love it in highschool. But, I eventually got frustrated with the developing and printing process, and I didn't like that I HAD to take pictures for a grade in a class. I wanted to just take pictures of whatever, whenever, and do whatever I wanted with the pictures. I really liked what I could do with the computer and learned a thing or two (literally) about Photoshop. I want to learn more about it, and make it a talent. Maybe in the future, if I'm any good at it, I can make a business out of it. I can work with Maddy and do portraits and weddings. I think I've found my niche. Needless to say, I'll be saving up for a nice camera.

Stay tuned for more pictures! Here's one for a peek at what's to come! This isn't even edited yet!

Our Easter

First we went to church. Then we came home and relaxed for a little bit, ate our leftovers from date night the night before, played some video games and farted around on the computer, you know. We just kicked it live. Then we went to the park on Old Ranch and walked around a bit. Then Brett sat at a picnic table and read a church book and I swang on the swings. Brett told me to be careful not to swing too high. Then we walked around some more.


I thought the trees looked cool against the sky. The light was coming through the leaves really cool with the sky so blue. It was such a beautiful day.


These are some cute flowers.


Our shadow while walking at the park. Aaaaawe, I know, so cute. I think its quite funny how lumpy he looks and how pear shaped I look.


I was wondering what my butt looked like, so Brett volunteered to take a picture of it for me so I could see it in action. This is me walking away. I know, I know, you hate to see me leave, love to watch me go, blah blah blah... Tell me something I don't hear every day.


WATCH OUT!!! That's what I call a close up.


This is everybody eating dinner at the Picketts. That was fun.



This is my cute mom. I love her.

This is what everybody watched after dinner. I love posting these things:

This has nothing to do with Easter, but...

Happy Easter!

We Got the Car Back!

I was so excited to get a call from a police officer today. Our car was found parked along the sidewalk in a nice neighborhood in Fair Oaks. It appears that some punks just took it for a joy ride then dumped it. The neighbors on that street said that the car had been sitting there for a few days. It's in mostly good shape, but the bumper in the back has been pushed in and overlaps a side panel, and the engine is making a very suspicious noise. The tires were very dirty, covered in mud. They looked like the car had been doing donuts and probably ran over something and hit a piece on the underside, probably causing the weird noise. We didn't have much in the car. The stereo was already gone from the last time it was stolen. The punks just cleaned out the center console and threw all of its contents all over the floor. Luckily we had gotten into the habit of taking everything out of the car when we get home so there was nothing to take.

We are just so glad that our prayers were answered. We were worried that it would be our luck that since last time we didn't have full coverage on our cars, and Heavenly Father blessed us with getting the car back last time, that this time, now that we have full coverage to cover the stolen car we wouldn't get it back. This was the answer to our prayers. We are so grateful.

Breaking News for the Werners

On Thursday morning, we discovered that our little 1986 Camry was stolen, yet again, right out of our "gated community" apartment complex. We're praying hard that we'll get it back again in one piece. It wasn't exactly a fancy Lexus or anything, but it was reliable and great on the gas mileage. At least this time we have full coverage on it so we'll get a little money if it isn't recovered, but we really would rather have it back. Keep us in your prayers, as I will be riding my beach cruiser bicycle to work until we figure something else out.

Tonight, we finally were able to tell my mom about our GOOD news, so now we can tell the world. We're moving to Monterey Bay in July (or sooner, not sure yet). As some of you know, Brett is going into management with Islands. He's starting his 10-week training program tomorrow morning. If we wanted to get out of the rutt that we're in right now and progress, maybe start planning a baby or buying a house, we need to make a move. Our only choices were to move to southern California, where there are over 50 Islands, or, move to Monterey and help open the new store there and make more money, make some progress financially, and live in a cooler (in both senses of the word) place.

Well, over the past couple of days, Brett has been in communication with some of the Islands corporate guys negotiating the terms of his management and training, and they're offering him enough to compensate for the 10% higher than Sacramento cost of living, and for us to have some stellar benefits. I'll still be working for Roof Doctors here in Sacramento Mondays through Wednesdays, so I'll be staying with my mom on those days and coming back to Monterey on Wednesday nights or Thursday mornings. The commute will suck for a while, and not seeing Brett will too, but he'll be so busy with the new store for a few months that I wouldn't really be seeing him very much anyway, so I might as well spend some time with my family. The restaurant is opening in August, so at the very latest Brett will need to be there by the middle of July. We're very excited for this change and the experiences that it will bring. Goodbye lame, Citrus Heights apartment complex where we get our cars stolen and broken-into, hello slightly less lame apartment (hopefully house) in the Monterey area near the coast!

Wish us luck!

Our Anniversary Vacation To Monterey

Today is our one-year anniversary! It's gone by so fast we can't believe it. For our honeymoon we went to Monterey, as well as a few spots in SoCal, but we just fell in love with Monterey. So, we decided to go there again this year. Here are a few pictures from our trip!



This is my sweet, adorable, sleeping husband in our room after a long, early morning drive. He always drives the whole way, and I am very grateful for that. I usually just end up sleeping through most of our long drives, which makes it go by very quickly for me! I know... I'm a bad wife. Oh well, I'll be doing a lot of driving my self soon...






This was my anniversary gift. He upgraded my wedding band to a new one with more and bigger diamonds. I thought he was only getting my rings cleaned and he surprised me with the new band. It was a great surprise! It is so much more sparkly now!



Everybody's got to have a cliche photobooth shot!



This is the sushi restaurant that we ate at for dinner. Great food! We heard them singing a crazy Japanese birthday song with some cool drums, so we want to go there again for one of our birthdays.











The view from our table. We were looking out to all the boats in the bay at Fisherman's Wharf.















Our drinks. Virgin beer and virgin daquiri. Don't judge us. :-P



Course 2. Edamame (salted soy beans, very nutritous), seaweed salad (it was actually quite tasty. Just tasted like seasoned green beans.), and gyoza (everybody loves pot stickers!) Course 1 was the miso soup, but I forgot to take a picture of it.












Course 3. SUSHI!



We ate ALL of it! Some of it was kinda hard for me to stomach. I'm not quite a pro at sushi yet. Some raw fish has a texture like regular meat where you actually have to chew it, but other raw fish just squishes and disolves in your mouth and THAT is the gross stuff. The flavor is all just an aquired taste.









This was our view when it got dark.

















Last, but not least, desert. Red bean ice cream and green tea ice cream. Delicious!



















This is what Brett says he sees EVERY day. Don't be jealous.














A great picture of us!















Isn't the beach beautiful? Oh yeah, and my OTHER new wedding band is GORGEOUS! We were driving down to Fisherman's Wharf, and he asked me to get some food for him out of the side pocket of his backpack. I reached into the backseat and only found the ring box from when he gave me my other band. I thought to myself, "Why did he bring this? It's empty. He already gave me my new band." But then he said, "Hey what's that? Maybe you should open it..." I opened it and about jumped out of my seatbelt! Another, gorgeous, sparkling band! So, here is the complete set. I wasn't expecting this kind of upgrade until maybe our 5 or 10 year anniversary. This picture doesn't show how sparkly it is, but trust me, look at it in the sunlight and you will be blinded! Not to brag, or anything... :-)



This is just a cool, old boat that we saw. It looked like the Bubba Gump shrimp boat.














Lots of boats! Very cool.
















This picture kind of reminds me of the picture of Desmond and Penny on Lost.












A duck swimming with only one foot so it was going in a circle with his face tucked under his wing. I thought it was quite funny.











Fisherman's wharf.














One of these seals was just barkin' away. I don't know what his problem was.
















This is the pier at the boardwalk in Santa Cruz. We decided to stop there on our way home for some burgers. They weren't very good.