Friday, October 31, 2008

Decision 08

So, election day is only four days away - depending on whether or not we count today. We've been hearing about these candidates for literally years now, if you count the primary elections (which I do), so many of us will just be relieved to have a new president and get on with our lives. And so, it is down to two... but wait, is it? Ok, we all know that a third party is not going to win the election, but do we even know what other parties are running and who their candidates are? I didn't, until today, so I thought I'd share what I'd learned.


First there's a guy named Chuck Baldwin, who gets points just for being named Chuck. He's running for the Constitution party. He apparently used to be a Republican but decided he hated Bush so much (in 2000, before the whole Iraq... thing) that he left the party and has been a vocal detractor ever since. Apparently he's buddy-buddy with Ron Paul, so whether that earns him points or a wedgie is up to you. A brief synopsis on his positions on the important issues of this election is provided by Wikipedia: "Baldwin strongly opposes the new world order, the United Nations, U.S. income taxes, the Patriot Act, and assaults on individual liberties in general; he would withdraw troops from Iraq and attempt to end illegal immigration. Emphasizing America's Christian heritage, he strongly supports the gold standard, the right to keep and bear arms, homeschooling, and pro-life legislation such as the Sanctity of Life Act." Read more at his campaign website. Chuck Baldwin everybody -


Next up, there's Robert Lawrence "Bob" Barr, Jr. representing the Libertarian party (more disgruntled Republicans). He apparently was one of the leaders of the impeachment of Bill Clinton. He has been called "the idol of the gun-toting, abortion-fighting, IRS-hating hard right wing of American politics" which is quite a title if you ask me. However, he, like Chuck above, has been vocal against the Bush administration and, like McCain, has earned himself the title of "Maverick."About Iraq, he has said "The next president should commit to a speedy and complete withdrawal from Iraq, and tell the Iraqi people that the U.S. troops will be going home." He apparently wants to repeal the 16th amendment and do away with income tax in favor of a Fair Tax. He opposed the national bailout bill (he seems to be against government meddling all together). Campaign slogan? Liberty for America. To read more about him visit the official campaign website. Ladies and gentlemen, Bob Barr and his wicked mustache:


Then there's Cynthia McKinney. You know, Barack Obama gets all this press (some say good, some say bad) and attention focused on his race. Sarah Palin gets all this talk about her being a woman and headed (possibly?) for the White House. Well get this... Cynthia McKinney is both black and a woman - and her running mate (Rosa Clemente) is also a woman. So there. They represent the Green party, and apparently at one point McKinney led an effort to try to impeach President Bush. She wants an orderly withdrawal from Iraq and supports human rights legislation. Read more about her at her official campaign website (which I am sad to say is not easy to navigate). Here she is everyone, Cynthia McKinney:


Whew, only two more to go. Did you know this many people were running? So, next up we've got Ralph Nader (again) running Independent. He ran for president in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, and now again in 2008. He apparently wants to end the policy of pre-emptive war, supports a rapid withdrawal from Iraq, and favors cutting the "bloated military budget." He favors the Fair Tax system, and he wants to adopt a Wall Street securities speculations tax. As for the environment, he wants to adopt a carbon emissions tax and promotes exploring solar power before nuclear power. He's two years older than John McCain. Read more about the campaign here. Ralph Nader, everyone:


And, last but not least, Charles Jay of the Boston Tea Party (which I have decided is the best name for a political party ever). He is also apparently courting the Ron Paul supporters - his campaign website claims "Ron Paul Revolutionaries Welcome!"Apparently when he ran in 2004 with the Personal Choice Party, his running mate was an adult movie star. Not a former adult movie star, a current one. His website stinks and so does the Wikipedia article, so I can only sum up his platform through the platform of his party: "The Boston Tea Party supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose." Also they want to get out of Iraq and reduce the national debt. His lame website can be found here. So there you have it, folks Charles Jay:




What I see in common, among all the candidates except John McCain, is that everyone wants out of Iraq and what I see in common among all the candidates is no one likes Bush. They sure do know how to appeal to the current American. So, who am I voting for? Let's just say that despite the awesome name of his party and the zombie-esque nature of his campaign slogan from 2004, it will not be Charles Jay.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Colorado Trip

Well, for those of you who were confused about Thursday's post, the (uncontrollable) sobbing had to do with BYU's extremely poor showing in the game against TCU. There was not a moment of enjoyment in the entire game - not for me, not for the players. It was a beat down. Not fun. But I still love my Cougars, and I still think they're an awesome team and can pull out of this slump. So here's to next week, next game.

Luckily, the horrible TCU game did not ruin my weekend, because I had a trip to Colorado to look forward to! My brother's youngest son was being blessed this past Sunday, so James and I took a drive out to spend some time with them with that as an excuse. :)

We had an absolute blast - the kids entertained us with lots of goofy songs, many silly stories, and various hilarious games. Saturday after a delicious breakfast of pancakes, we headed out to a pumpkin patch where we saw lots of farm-type animals, ran through two corn mazes, and picked out two perfect pumpkins which we were to use later in the Great Johansen Pumpkin Carving Contest.

When we got home, we were treated to a delicious dinner of chili, after which the kids watched Land Before Time and we got everything ready for the GJPCC. Carving was a lot of fun, though the kids only dug out some of the guts and then advised Christian on what their pumpkin ought to look like - Ainsley. Much confusion ensued when the kids kept asking why Daddy was cutting them up (since the pumpkin was like them). Finally we were able to convince them that the pumpkin was not in fact Ainsley, it was Jack Pumpkinhead (thank you Return to Oz) and the carving was able to continue with no further distractions. Beck was the judge of whose pumpkin was the best, and very diplomatically declared that they were both good.

The blessing on Sunday was a wonderful experience and I was reminded how grateful I am to have the priesthood in our family. I'm grateful for such honorable priesthood holders as my Dad, my brother, and my husband, who are able to provide these beautiful blessings for our family. I was also reminded how much I want one of my own little critters. Well, all things in time.

Here are some of the best pictures from the weekend... all the rest I am posting on Facebook, so you can go peruse them there! :)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Sob.

Getting Ready for TCU



Seriously one of my favorite parts of BYU games. Actually, I don't think there is a part that's not my favorite. Definitely looking forward to tonight's game against TCU.

To read more about BYU's haka, visit this wikipedia article.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Tagged by Mom

Yeah, I know I just did it and yeah I know tags are a bit silly, but I'm bored and Mom sent this to me, so here goes:

8 Favorite TV Shows

1. Chuck (best show ever)
2. Monk
3. Psych
4. Lost
5. Heroes
6. Fringe
7. Friends
8. Scrubs

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Gloria's Little Italy
2. Bangkok Tokyo
3. Beto's (now Rancheritos)
4. Burger Supreme
5. California Pizza Kitchen
6. Tucanos
7. Shoots
8. Wendy's

8 Things that Happened Yesterday
1. I cleaned the kitchen.
2. James and I got horribly lost getting to Emily and Ryan's.
3. James and I had a delicious dinner when we finally got to Emily and Ryan's (Butternut squash ravioli and stuffed peppers. mmmm).
4. We watched Chuck.
5. Our neighbors asked us to listen to their baby monitor while they ran a quick errand.
6. Evan (the baby) woke up.
7. I got to play with an adorable baby.
8. I made banana pudding.

8 Things to look forward to
1. Seeing Christian and Jen and the kids this weekend
2. Anthony's wedding in November
3. My Halloween costume
4. West Fest 08
5. Final installment of the Mistborn trilogy - out today! (James is bringing it home for me! Happy day)
6. BYU vs TCU this Thursday
7. Having a clean house...someday
8. Breakfast

8 Things I love about Fall
1. Trees changing pretty colors
2. Football
3. Wearing sweaters
4. Halloween
5. Thanksgiving
6. Pumpkin pie
7. Pecan pie
8. Did I mention pie?

8 Things on my wish list
1. For James to get the internship he wants
2. A home of our own
3. Leather couches ;)
4. A fambily
5. To have a clean office/craft room that's actually usable
6. While we're wishing, I wish for one of those machines on star trek where they would just tell it what kind of food they wanted and it would magically appear. I mean, scientifically appear.
7. And a holodeck, too.
8. And... one billion dollars.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Band of Horses

So, a long time ago my friends Brad and Shelly introduced me to this band, Band of Horses. I listened to it at their house and liked it - they even gave me a coupon for a free download, which I of course promptly lost, - but I never really followed up on it. Til this morning, when I went over to youtube and watched a bunch of their videos. And they are awesome, and so I would like to share one of their videos with all of you. Not only do I really like the song, but come on, this video is hilariously quirky. So here it is, enjoy! (Jen and Christian, I think you two will especially like this band) Please though, someone tell me who they sound like! They are really reminiscent of someone, but I can't figure out who it is.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

The Verdict Is In

Thanks for all your suggestions and votes... it got me even more excited for my costume. James pretty much overrode everything though when he decided he would be Link! Yay, a couple themed costume! It makes me so happy. So for the rest of the month I will be working away furiously on making my Zelda costume and James's Link costume - anyone have a long blond wig hanging around that I could borrow?



Poll: What Should I Be For Halloween?

Ok, so James is going to be Pikachu again, for the rest of forever, but I don't want to be a pokemon this year. I want to be something pretty. And despite anything James says, pokemon are not pretty. Cute, maybe; pretty, no.

So, I've got a few ideas here and I'd like all your input on which one I should be.

Choice One: Glinda, good witch of Wicked fame.


Choice Two: Zelda, twilight princess (she has a pretty dress)


Choice Three, the Princess Buttercup of Hammersmith (didn't know she was actually princess of something did you? Well she is. Hammersmith)


Choice Four, something more generic, like a Faery Queen


Also, any suggestions? I'm not sold on anything yet... I really just want to be something pretty :)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I've Been Tagged

The Rules:

Link the Person who Tagged you.

Mention rules on your blog.

Tell about 6 quirks of yours.

Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same.

Leave a comment to let them know.

This is such an interesting cultural thing. I remember back when chain letters were a big deal - like you actually had to copy them out and put them in envelopes and send them to people. This is so much more fun. Anyway, I've been tagged by Stephanie-Jean, so here I go.

Six quirky things about yours quirky truly:

1. When I was a kid and driving in a car, I used to imagine myself skating along the power lines that ran parallel to the road. I still do that sometimes.

2. Another odd thing about me and cars, when we're driving slowly enough to do it, I tap my teeth with my tongue every time we pass one of the dotted lines - it's hard to explain, and no one knows I do it, cuz it's all going on secretly inside my mouth. And it's very weird, and every time I notice I am doing it, I stop. Curbing those odd OCD tendencies.

3. My friend Tracie says I am quirky about the English language, so I suppose I will explain one instance of that particular brand of quirkiness. I get mad at people who say we shouldn't end sentences in prepositions, I think ain't is a perfectly legitimate word, as is funner, but I can't stand it when people misspell definitely. Quirky, I know.

4. James thinks it's weird that when I take a bath, I like to lie on my stomach instead of on my back. Guess I'm just weird like that.

5. James also thinks it's weird that my hands and feet are ALWAYS cold, even in the middle of the summer. Poor kid, I torture him by putting my cold hands on his warm tummy - it's the bane of his existence.

6. Hm, one more quirky thing about me? I brush my teeth twice every morning. Once as soon as I get up, and once after I've eaten something. I can't stand to eat breakfast without brushing my teeth first.

So, there's quirky me. Your turn. I suppose I will tag: Tracie, Austin, Jennifer, Buffy, Melanie, and James.

Conference

Conference weekend was, as usual, pretty awesome this year.

Friday night I got to go to my mission reunion (James stayed home and watched the BYU vs USU game and texted me updates... at least, that was the plan...) and see my newly-returned president - President Owen - and his wife. Such awesome people. It was a lot of fun, but sadly I forgot my camera, so no pics. :(

The next day we watched conference (of course) and then that night we got to meet my bro-in-law Anthony's fiancee, Heidi. What an awesome girl. I got to hang out with her for the two hours of priesthood session, and I have decided that I officially approve. Not that that really matters, but for what it's worth ;) Again, no pictures :(

Sunday we all (Anthony, Heidi, Allison, James and Me) went out to James's Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Franklin's house to enjoy conference in their new, beautiful home. There were comfy couches, yummy food, and oh yeah, some of my favorite people in the whole world. Lots of James's cousins and aunts and uncles came and we had a blast talking and comparing notes on tv shows and playing rock band in between sessions (I know, so Sunday-appropriate). We also have begun plans for West Fest '08, the first annual West Halloween party, which I must say I am really looking forward to.

Oh yeah, and the talks this year were wonderful. I loved Elder Bednar's talk about prayer - his talks are always so useful and instructive. I can't wait to get my conference Ensign so I can go over all these great talks again. Even though I can't remember most of what was said, I just love the feeling I get during conference - like those people really love us. They dedicate their lives to serving the people of the church. It's amazing, and a real reflection of Christ's love for us. Ah, I love conference.

And hey! This time I have pictures! They're actually pictures that Uncle Franklin took, but hey, I'm claiming them anyway. Here's all the family in front of the house, before everyone started trickling away. We were the last to leave - what can I say? I really love hanging out with James's family.


In case you missed a talk, never heard conference, or never heard of conference, you can download the talks here and see what it's all about :)