What kids say...

For my birthday I got a new cell phone - a Blackberry Curve, which I'm still learning about. The next morning on my way to take Anna and Will to school, Anna commented, "I see you've got a Blackberry." (It was sitting out where she could see it.) I could not imagine where she learned what a Blackberry was, being only four - almost five - years old! She followed that up with, "Did you know you can do email on that?" I was floored - maybe I should have Anna teach me how to use it!

Will has become quite the big boy. Ask him what he wants to be when he grows up and he'll tell you "a fireman" so he can drive a fire truck. As we drive around, he happily points out all the big trucks and tells me "I want one of those trucks."

Thoughts on Freedom & the Economy

"The land of the free." What does it mean to be free, in a societal sort of way? Here in America we have many freedoms... freedom to pursue happiness and success along with the freedom to fail. Bummer. No one wants to fail. But we have that freedom, or at least we have historically had that freedom. The freedom to fail is important because just like you don't fully appreciate or understand light without darkness, or good without evil, you can't have real success without failure (or at least the possibility of it). People can learn valuable lessons from failures and mistakes that make them better people and more able to succeed in the future.

But now instead of inspiration, motivation, or other encouragement, our country continues down a path of appeasement, enablement, victim mentality, hand-outs and bail-outs. Individuals "can't make it on their own" (although our new, highly acclaimed president is a great example of someone making it on his own) so we give tax rebates to those who didn't pay any taxes (logic here?). Corporations are "too big to fail" so the government (or, more correctly, those of us who do pay taxes) finances them and props them up. I am afraid we are leaving behind the ways of free market capitalism that have made this country great, innovative, resourceful, and powerful. The market adjusts and rebounds and moves on; the government nationalizes, controls, creates dependency, and grows bigger and bigger while individual freedom diminishes.

What exactly is the reasoning behind a stimulus package? Give money to people so they will spend it, which will "stimulate the economy" (meaning give money to businesses so they can prosper and create more jobs, etc). Right? So why not let the government keep its money (that it doesn't even really have), give tax breaks to the businesses so they can prosper, create jobs, and everyone makes more money without adding to our already out-of-control national debt? I guess the politicians just want consumers to have more goodies and toys immediately so they can say they've "done something" and we can have more distractions to numb us to the fact that they're screwing up everything.

Let us be free. Free to succeed. Free to fail. Free to spend our own money as we see fit. Let freedom reign!

Dreading the Glucose Test

This Thursday I go to the Birth Center for my group meeting/appointment and dreaded glucose test. I failed my glucose test while pregnant with Anna and ended up having to prick my finger three times a day for three months while counting carbs/sugars. Not fun. I was a bit wiser when I was pregnant with Will - having learned that the test is not a good test on several levels and there are certain steps you can take to make passing it more likely - and managed to pass, thus avoiding finger pricks and rigid diet. So here we go again... will I pass or fail? Ugh!

Will is all better now - had his surgery to remove the port from his chest on Friday. He has been just fine until today, and now he seems like he's come down with something else! Hopefully it is a quick little virus that will be gone tomorrow. No more hospitals, please (though I am certainly thankful for the hospital and everyone)!

A Whole New Year

Ah, a new year, new opportunities, new days to fill and stories to create. For one thing, I have a new haircut. And Will goes to the doctor on Monday, hopefully to have his port removed so we can establish a new routine of normalcy. We hope to sell our old, but lovely house really soon ($132,000; 3 br 1.5 bath; 1565 sq ft; large fenced backyard; Southside of Savannah - let me know if you or anyone you know might be interested!). I will start a new routine for work... working from home primarily. And, of course, a new baby will be joining us in the spring. And those are just the new things we know about or are planning for. The new year brings many opportunities for change and growth and learning.

Resolutions? For one thing, I know I need to eat healthier. I've been dreadfully craving sweets, especially chocolate, for the past couple months, but I really want to avoid the trouble of gestational diabetes, which I was diagnosed with during my pregnancy with Anna (though not with Will). So I know I need to step up my efforts to improve my diet, and manage to exercise more. It should be easier somewhat when the kids are back in school next week as I will have some time to myself again.

So I face the new year with hope and trepidation. Hope because it's a new start and "with God all things are possible." And trepidation because I don't trust the chosen politicians and leaders to accomplish anything worthwhile anytime soon, other than making a bad situation even worse. :) Happy thought. But it is what it is. Life is good. It's all good. And whatever other current saying you want to throw in there. Happy New Year and best wishes to all!