A Link

http://lashawnbarber.com/archives/2008/11/13/will-barack-obama-reverse-abstinencefidelity-funding-policy/

This is an interesting read. I actually read some of the information in an article at lifenews.com last week.

Health Care

I found this article on CNN today. The article states that almost half of primary care physicians would like to leave their jobs if they had an alternative. Wow. The statement at the end of the article is also very interesting.

Some thoughts

I have always had an opinion about abortion (who knew?) and have always been against it. I have been thinking about why it bothers me so much lately. Why am I getting so fired up now? Here are my thoughts:

1) The election of Barack Obama and a Democratically-controlled Congress has “lit a fire” under me, you could say. When Bush was President, there was no way a bill like the Freedom of Choice Act had a chance at becoming law. Now, I think there is a good chance of that happening.

2) I am a mother. I have been pregnant twice. I have experienced the joy of having a baby full term and watching him grow, and I have experienced the indescribable pain of having a baby at five months and holding him while he died. I hate the thought of young girls being sold a lie and having to live with that pain and the possible physical consequences for the rest of their lives.

What course of action should I take? I want to act, to do something. I know that getting angry and hating the people who support and promote abortion is a waste of time (and a sin for Christians) because those people are blinded. Hate, for the record, has never opened the eyes of the blind. I think prayer is the first step. Prayer gets our attitudes right (funny how that works) and truly makes it possible for us to act in love. Right now I am committing to pray and get my attitude right, and I pray that God will show me what He wants ME to do in the process.

Abortion

II posted this on my Facebook account, but I thought I'd go ahead and post it here as well. Would you like to do some reading? I have been researching information about the Freedom of Choice Act, the one that President-elect Obama promises will be one of the first things he signs in office.

Be educated, people.

A Pro-Life overview and viewpoint: ”The heart of the bill is a ban that would nullify all of the major types of pro-life laws that the Supreme Court has said are permissible under Roe v. Wade, including the ban on partial-birth abortions and bans on government funding of abortion.” From this site:http://www.nrlc.org/FOCA/LawmakersProposeFOCA.html

A Pro-Choice overview: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/Abortion-Access-to-Abortion-FOCA.pdf

A Pro-Choice viewpoint: http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/abortion/access-to-abortion/freedom-of-choice-act.html

The web address is self-explanatory… http://www.blogger.com/www.fightFOCA.com

I could go on and on, but I doubt many have even read this far. Boring stuff, you know? There, my sarcasm had to leak out somewhere.

The Napping House

The Napping House by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood.

I absolutely love this book. I found this interview with the authors very interesting. We've read another book by this couple, and it was another of Nathan's favorites. Yippee for good books and great authors!

Good Rainy Day

Today is a rainy day at my house. It feels good, though. I already have the red beans going for supper, and they smell really good! I bought a package of pork hocks (two in a package), and I put one in the beans this morning and froze the other one. I wrap the pork hock in cheese cloth because sometimes the bones and bits fall to pieces, and Evan doesn't really like them in his beans and rice.

So, I am going to do a quick book post then get busy in my house!

Stocking up on baking supplies

I do not have a picture to post, but I thought I would share anyway! :-) Walgreens had several good deals on baking supplies today, so I got a few things. I was glad that I decided to go shopping with my brother at Walmart first, though, because I figured out which items were cheaper at Walmart and which ones were actually good deals.
Here's what I bought:
Sunmaid Raisins, 16 oz., $1.50 each
Libby's Pure Pumpkin puree, 15 oz., $0.98 for 2
Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk, 14 oz., $1.29 each
Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips, 12 oz., $1.24 each
Brawny Paper Towels, 8 pack, $5.24 each

I think sixty-six cents per roll of paper towels is pretty good. I really like the Brawny paper towels, too. I bought Bounty Basic paper towels really cheap one time, but I hated them. They were no good for a mommy of a two-year-old. :-)
I bought Karo syrup and condensed milk at Walmart; the Karo was about 24 cents cheaper at Walmart, and the condensed milk was only a cent cheaper. ;-) I am trying to buy a little ahead in preparation for my candy-making. I'll have to post pictures this year. Woo hoo!

Walgreens - 11/08

I used my Walgreens gift card and Register Rewards to pay for this ($10.34), and I will get $9.88 back on my gift card. So my grand total was 45 cents. I was pretty excited and also happy that I had decided to another Walgreens run before this week's sales ended!

Beets

Beets are a vegetable that I have always been biased against. For some reason, I just thought they were a vegetable that I didn't like. I happened to read a few nutritional facts on beets, and I thought I would give them a try. I was happy to find that I do not dislike beets!! :-)

I cut off the beet greens, washed them, and put them in a pot with a lid. Then I cut the tops and bottoms off the beets, placed them in an oven-safe dish, covered them with foil, and baked them for two hours at 250 degrees. When the beets were almost finished, I turned on the beet greens and let them steam. Once the beets were done, I peeled them and sliced them. Then I put the wilted greens (I chopped them first) and sliced beets in a bowl and tossed them with butter and garlic. Evan actually said that the beets were the best he's ever had. I don't ever remember actually eating beets before.

This site explains how beets protect against heart disease, birth defects, and certain kinds of cancer. I was fairly impressed with the beet. :-) I am hoping to incorporate beets into our diet at least once every two weeks, and Evan doesn't mind at all!! I will warn you, though, that seeing red whenever you go to the bathroom is normal after eating beets. Just so you know. ;-) Anyone want to try some beets?!

Weekly Menu

Salmon, Brown- and Wild-Rice Pilaf, a veggie
Roast Chicken with gravy, Pea 'n' Cheese Salad, Mashed Potatoes
Tostadas (crockpot recipe for Sunday lunch)
Red Beans and Rice
Cabbage Rolls (from the freezer...this is for one of the nights Evan is gone)
Chili

Getting it together

I am having a really hard time getting it together right now. I have been so unmotivated lately! I need to start using my dayplanner a little more because I function well with a checklist of things to do. :-) If I write it down, I will go crazy if I do not get to "mark it off" of my list. ha
I did all of my grocery shopping yesterday, and I found whole wheat bread marked down to 85 cents! I bought four loaves and put three of them in my chest freezer. I also bought two packages of cranberries (99 cents apiece) for decoration and, later, food. I saw a really cute decorating idea where you put cranberries in a crystal bowl full of water. You then get floating candles to place among the cranberries. Very pretty.
Today has been my cleaning day. I emptied the trash cans (Jodi, can you believe I've missed THREE trash days??!!), washed the kitchen trash can, swept, mopped, vacuumed, washed kitchen and bathroom rugs, washed two loads of clothes, cleaned the toilet and sink in the guest bathroom, and cleaned the kitchen. Since Nathan has started using the toilet in the guest bathroom, I have had extra motivation to keep that clean! He has to use the bathroom standing up (like daddy, of course) which means the lid is up and he will not keep his hands and knees off the toilet. $-} So, I keep the toilet really clean. ha
I don't suppose there is much else to ramble on about. Maybe I'll post my menu really quickly.

Walgreens

Walgreens this week was not a "free" deal, but I thought it was definitely good considering all the staples I bought. My total before coupons was $51 and some change; my total after coupons and $16-worth of register rewards was $12.15. And I got $2 RR back. Of course, I did have to go back and get a refund from the manager on the tea because they charged me too much. But the $12.15 was after they gave me a refund.

Dinner Tonight

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Mango Lettuce Wraps (in the crockpot)
I had taken the chicken out yesterday (before I was feeling ill), so this morning I dragged myself out of bed to throw everything in the crockpot. I was glad that I did. Evan cooked breakfast and lunch, and it was nice to have supper ready without him having to think of anything else to put together. And it was oh-so-yummy. :-) Dessert was smoothies!