Spoiled

I have been reading on many blogs lately about how excited people are for Fall. Personally, I am a Summer girl. I love Summer and all that comes with it. The heat, the sunshine, the barbecues, the vacations. Yes, Summer is definitely my season. I have been hanging on to it with a white-knuckle grip lately, but I fear that Summer has finally and ruthlessly been ripped from my grasp. And, this is where I realize that I am very spoiled here in California. Because when I say summer is gone and the cold weather has come, I'm talking temperatures of about 68 degrees. I am fully aware that my idea of cold here in the Bay Area is far different from the cold spoken of in other climates. I know this because when I told my mom yesterday that it was getting cold, she laughed in my face (okay, it wasn't really in my face because it was a phone conversation, but you catch my meaning). She is currently in Illinois and says that the rain we are supposed to get tonight will probably be snow by the time it gets there. I know I'm spoiled because I have made brief visits to much colder places and lived to tell the tale while defrosting upon my return home. I have even lived, for short periods of time, in colder areas. Be that as it may, I am currently in the Bay Area, the temperatures have dropped, and now I'm cold. And I miss Summer already! Let the countdown to warmer weather begin...

A Political Viewpoint

I avoid discussions on politics. It's not one of my favorite subjects, so I don't educate myself very well on the issues. That being the case, I can't really carry on a very deep conversation on the subject, so I mostly just avoid the issue. But, at times, it is thrust upon me as in this brief phone conversation I had yesterday:

Her: Hi, I'm blankety-blank (don't remember her name) from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and we need your input.
Me: Okay.
Her: What do you feel is the biggest threat posed by Obama and the Democratic Congress?
Me: What?
Her: What do you feel is the biggest threat posed by Obama and the Democratic Congress?
Me: I don't feel any threat from them.
Her: So, are you a Democrat?
Me: Almost.
Her: Oh, well then thank you for your time.

First off, some background. I am a registered Republican. However, I find myself becoming more and more unhappy with the Republican stance/attitude on many issues. And, I voted for Obama in the last election because I felt he was a much better candidate for POTUSA than McCain. I try to keep an open mind and am not strictly governed by Republican party policies, however my personal affiliation is irrelevant to the point I would like to make.

When the lady asked me what the biggest threat was from Obama and the Democratic Congress, I was so surprised at her use of the word "threat" that I didn't really know how to answer, hence my response of "what?" (Don't think for one minute that I didn't contemplate using Lucille's line from Arrested Development, "I don't understand the question and I won't respond to it." - I was trying to be polite). When she repeated the question word for word, I had a little more time to gather my thoughts and she seemed quite irritated that I didn't feel "threatened" by the Democrats. What she didn't know is that it is precisely that attitude that has inspired me to distance myself from the Republican party and its ideals.

Now for my viewpoint. And, this is my blog, so I can say what I want and you can agree or disagree - I don't really care. But, this is how I feel about the matter. Since when am I supposed to consider the Democrats my enemies? Why should I feel threatened by them? This may come as a shock to some, but Obama is an American citizen. Every Democratic senator or congressman is an American citizen. I highly doubt that their ultimate goal is the downfall of The United States of America, so why should I consider them my enemies? It is my belief that, ultimately, the Democrats and Republicans have the same goal - a better America. Am I wrong? I don't think so. They may have differing opinions on how to get there, but ultimately, I think they're all working for a better America. So, I think it's time for the Republican party to wake up to the fact that we have a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress and that's not going to change anytime soon. And if they would stop considering the Democrats as "the bad guy" and try to work with them, we might actually get some things done in this country. Case in point: we desperately need health care reform in this country. Is it going to happen? I really don't know because too many of our politicians are unwilling to compromise. They don't want to give anything to "the bad guys". If they can't have it their way, they don't want it at all. I'm so fed up with this attitude! Why can't more than one person be right? It's the idea that if two ideas are different, then one has to be wrong. I tend to believe that that is not always the case. We have had Democratic presidents that have made poor decisions and also some very good decisions. And we have had Republican presidents that have made poor decisions and also some very good decisions. I think it's obvious that nobody has all the answers and neither party is perfect. So, maybe if we all work together, we can take everyone's good ideas and decisions and make good things happen. In the words of the Fab Four, "We can work it out!"

And that's enough politics for the week.

Leases and Lions

First off, the lease. My parents come home from their mission in about a month. That means that our awesome housesitting gig is up and it's time for us to get out. We have found an apartment, however, and signed the lease today! We're very excited to have that all taken care of. It's not far from my parents' house, so we will stay in our ward and it will be fun to be close to them. We're not excited about having to pay rent, but we are looking forward to using all of our wonderful wedding gifts and we're stoked about not having a yard to protect from the squirrels anymore.

Speaking of squirrels, that brings me to my next point. Lions. Mountain lions to be specific. Well, one mountain lion. At least, I think it was a mountain lion. It was far too big to be a housecat. Anyway, today I witnessed the murder of a squirrel at the hand (or paw) of a small mountain lion. You might wonder where I was that I would see a mountain lion out hunting in the wild (or urban wild, as the case may be). Well, I was walking to my car after work. Yes, I was in a residential neighborhood at the base of the foothills. I did not expect to witness any bloodshed. But, as I was walking to my car, I heard a commotion in some nearby pine trees. I looked over to see a squirrel hop from one branch to another. Then, I saw the mountain lion. It jumped to the same branch as the squirrel and pounced on it. Then I heard some screeching from the squirrel and then silence. While it was somewhat satisfying to know there is one less squirrel in the world, it was a bit disturbing to witness it's demise. I have decided that I am for the hunting of squirrels by mountain lions, but I am against seeing it happen before my very eyes.

Upping the Ante

In preparation for our upcoming move, Mr. Frisby and I have been going through some of our stuff and getting rid of some things. We found some old textbooks and decided to sell them online. My old textbook was selling new on Amazon for over 100 bucks. We listed mine for 90 and then lowered the price to 80 dollars when it wasn't selling. The book sold yesterday, giving us a profit of about 70 dollars after shipping costs. I decided to make a small purchase with the proceeds:



Since we already have all of the Rock Band Instruments, we only needed the game disc to begin our own version of Beatlemania. Mr. Frisby was ecstatic when I came home with that little gem and after dinner, we immediately got to work rocking out to the Beatles' legendary tunes. We popped in the disc and our eyes sparkled with wonder and awe as the intro played across the screen. We became almost giddy as we scrolled through the song list and picked "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" for our first attempt. It wasn't far into the song, however, when I realized how much pressure I was feeling to do well. You see, without knowing it, we had upped the Rock Band ante. I found myself trying my best to not miss a note, not because I didn't want a bad score, but because I didn't want to disgrace the Fab Four. All of sudden, success had more to do with playing the song right for the sake of making the song sound good than for getting a high percentage of notes hit right. You can't screw up the Beatles - that's just not cool. So, there we were, playing our hearts out in honor of four guys from Liverpool. And we were having the time of our lives. Soon, we even got out the microphone so we could sing along. We never use the mic unless we have four people playing and we have to. But, when it's the Beatles, you can't help but sing along. So, now we have the Beatles Rock Band and I believe it has taken us to a new level of video game euphoria. We don't play too many video games, but The Beatles Rock Band is about the best thing a video game system can hope for and it makes us giddy to play it. Anyone want to join in?

Life

My sister called last night. She wanted to make sure I'm alive since it's been so long since I've updated my blog. My sincerest apologies. I've wanted to post several times, but the problem is that life just keeps happening and sometimes it doesn't allow much time for blogging. So, I'll give you a brief rundown of the things I've wanted to post about in the last few weeks, but just haven't had time for.

1. I ran over a bolt. Poor Maggie. She took it like a champ. The bolt punctured right through the tire, leaving it with 0 air pressure in a matter of minutes. Thank everything for run flats. Even with no air pressure in the tire and a gaping hole, I was able to drive home from work and then drive to my favorite tire place the next day to get the tire replaced. What is my favorite tire place, you ask? America's Tire Company. They're awesome and have always treated me right. I could probably be their spokesperson. When encountered with such a circumstance as a bolt in the tire, they prorate the price of a new tire based on how much tread is left - as long as you purchased the tire there originally, which I did. So, a 225 dollar tire (yes, that's singular) ended up costing me about 110 dollars. If you ever have any tire issues, go to America's Tire Company. They're awesome.

2. Visitors. My sister, Julie, and her husband, Terrell, came to visit for Labor Day. It was a short visit, but we had lots of fun. We went out to dinner, had all the family in the area over for Sunday dinner, and spent Labor Day poking around Capitola. We also introduced Julie & Terrell to Rock Band, which prompted them to buy the Beatles version as soon as it came out. I also demonstrated to Terrell how I shoot at the squirrels around here. It was fun to have them here for a visit. Last weekend, my brother, Byron, and two of his kids, Ben and Sierra, came to stay with us so they could go to my niece, Alyssa's, missionary farewell. Good times with family.

I guess that's it. You really haven't missed that much. But, rest assured, I'm very much alive and keeping pretty busy. I will try to keep a little more on top of the posting so as not to disappoint my adoring fans. The last few weeks have been a little hectic, but hopefully things will slow down a bit and leave me with a bit more time to devote to the blogosphere.

Mail

As I've mentioned before, one of the duties that comes with our housesitting gig is to go through my parents mail and forward on the important stuff. One of the things I most look forward to about moving out is not having to do that anymore. They get a lot of mail and most of it is junk. However, every once in awhile, there are a few gems. Like the autographed George W. picture sent to my mom in thanks for her contributions to the Republican party. I had no choice but to immediately put it up on the refrigerator. Or the certificate of gratitude sent to my mom in honor of her contributions to the US Olympic Team. Also currently up on the refrigerator. I've learned some things about my parents by going through their mail and coming across these gems. Apparently my mom is a generous person, as evidenced by all of the mailings she receives in gratitude of her contributions. What I've learned about my dad by going through the mail is that he is, apparently, getting old. He receives marketing materials for assisted living places almost weekly. He gets AARP magazines and notices. However, my favorites would have to be the advertising materials for cremation services. Personally, I would think these mailings would be quite offensive. I mean, if you're getting information on cremation, then the company sending it must assume that you already have one foot in the grave. However, maybe as you get old you come to terms with the fact that maybe you do have one foot in the grave and then you appreciate the information on what to do with your body when you do, in fact, kick the bucket. So, maybe the real test of whether or not my dad is getting old is whether or not he is offended by these mailings.

Offensive or not, I do find the cremation information very entertaining. With such a sensitive subject, these companies waste no time in getting to the point.

"As difficult as it is, sometimes we owe it to ourselves and to those we love to face the truth. Dying is part of life."

"For a variety of reasons, more and more California residents are choosing to plan for a memorialized cremation over traditional funeral arrangement - and the numbers are increasing every year!"

Then, they have to convince you that burning your body up when you die is the way to go.

"Cremation just makes sense. Simple, Economical and Dignified...It just makes sense!"

"How do we acknowledge and respect the people we love and the planet that has served us so well in life? We offer basic cremation services because our clients are smart."

They tout the many benefits of cremation over traditional burial:

-It's less expensive
-There's less impact on the environment
-It's easier for your loved ones to deal with during such an emotionally vulnerable time

Then, of course, they include famous quotes to inspire you to plan for your death:

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that's why they call it the present." -Eleanor Roosevelt

"Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning." -Winston Churchill

One of the companies even offered to enter my dad in a drawing for a pre-paid cremation if he simply requested more information.

Of course, one of my favorite parts was the disclaimer/apology at the end in the case that the mailing arrived in an untimely manner:

"This mailing is part of a general distribution - delivery to a home where illness exists is unintentional."

"Please accept our apologies if this letter has reached you at a time of serious illness or death in your family."

Yes, I am really looking forward to not having to sort through my parents' mail anymore. But, I'll definitely miss the rare gems that come through.

The Pacific Northwest - The Final Chapter

After good times in Seattle, we headed out a bit further on Monday. We decided to go to Leavenworth. It's about an hour and a half from my sister's house and is on the other (eastern) side of the Cascade Mountains. Being on the other side of the mountains, it is, therefore, a bit warmer. I was excited about the fact that I could finally wear shorts. On the way to Leavenworth we stopped at a couple of beautiful waterfalls to check them out. I thought they looked pretty cool, but Tracy said there was a lot less water going through since it was late in the summer.


Mr. Frisby checks out Eagle Falls


Mr. Frisby, Me, Tracy, and Shannon at Eagle Falls


Mr. Frisby and I at Eagle Falls


Deception Falls


Me and Tracy at Deception Falls

After our brief stops, it was on to Leavenworth. Leavenworth is a small "Bavarian" town. Walking around, it's like walking through a little town in the Bavarian Alps. See:


Leavenworth's Main Drag

I was very excited when we stopped for ice cream and I saw they had Licorice flavor. Mmmm. I love Licorice flavored ice cream! I think one kid was a little disturbed to see me eating black ice cream. I heard his mom trying to explain what it was as they passed by. The blackened mouth was totally worth it.


Yummy!


Mr. Frisby and I in Leavenworth

When we got back from Leavenworth that evening, we had some dinner and then decided to take the Jeeps out for some 4 wheeling for FHE. It started raining before we headed out, but if you've ever been to Washington, you know that you can't let the rain stop you. So, we went 4 wheeling in the rain and had an awesome time! We all went, so there were four of us in each Jeep. The red Jeep had myself, Mr. Frisby, Jesse, and Holly. It's a 4 wheel drive Jeep, but not totally decked out for crazy stuff. Jesse did most of the driving, but Holly, Mr. Frisby and I all got turns, too. The white Jeep had John, Tracy, Mark, and Shannon. It's totally decked out for 4 wheeling craziness and when Mr. Frisby and I climbed in it for the ride home and saw the AC, digital clock and dome lights, we decided it was the Rolls Royce of Jeep Wranglers.


The red Jeep during Mr. Frisby's turn driving. I'm in the front and Holly and Jesse are in the back.


The white Jeep with John at the wheel, Tracy in the passenger seat, and Shannon and Mark in the back.

The place we went is about 20 minutes from John and Tracy's house and it had some awesome trails. It was getting dark, it was raining, and it was a bumpy ride, so most of the pictures we took are pretty blurry. However, I think they turned out pretty cool:


This one is one of my faves





After our 4 Wheeling FHE, we went home and had Tracy's Blackberry Pie. After all, what FHE is complete without dessert?

The next day was our last day in Washington, so we packed up and relaxed around the house until it was time to head to the airport. On the way to the airport we stopped at Snoqualmie Falls to enjoy a little bit more of Washington's natural beauty before heading home to the Golden State. We checked out the Falls from the top and then hiked down about a half mile to the bottom.


Snoqualmie Falls from the top


Mr. Frisby and I at the bottom of the Falls

All in all, it was a great vacation. We packed in a lot of stuff and had tons of fun. And now, Mr. Frisby can add another place to his list of countries he's visited. Thanks for the good times, Van Horns!