Archive for interests
October 23, 2008 at 9:39 am · Filed under heart, interests, thoughts
So yesterday, I turned in my absentee ballot for the federal and state elections this year. I was almost surprised to find out that there are actually 9 people running for president, 7 of whom never got any air-time in any of the nation’s media. They were skipped out of the “presidential” debates entirely. I give them all kudos for having the nerve to even run for president, knowing that they would never win, or even get represented as a presidential candidate in America’s history. I would have voted for Nader, or even the Green Party’s representative (whose name I have already forgotten, giving valid proof that they almost don’t matter), but this isn’t Canada, or the UK, or any other country that allows their candidates to be represented fully. This is the “United” States of America, where only two people can run for president. Not “everyone” can be president because after all, the last two presidential candidates four years ago happened to be cousins to one another.
It makes me angry, really, to see these candidates on the ballot and feeling like my hands are tied that I cannot vote for the person I think would be better at the job because I know I would be throwing my vote away. In Canada, a percentage of the votes for every party gets represented in “seats” in the government. In the U.S., good luck in hell when that happens. In Canada, even minority parties get represented, depending on how many votes they get. In the U.S., there are only two parties worth mentioning: democratic and republican. In Canada, when there is a prime minister debate, there are all the parties up there, debating with one another, sometimes as many as 5 people talking seriously about the issues. In the U.S., presidential candidates who are not from the Democratic or Republican party get arrested for even showing up at the debates. In Canada, I wouldn’t be throwing my vote away if I didn’t vote for one of the top two representatives. I would know that at least my vote counted for a percentage and therefore my party would have a “seat.” In the U.S., a vote not for the Democratic party is a vote for the Republican party. Oh, what a “free” country we live in.
It seems counterproductive when people get angry that Ralph Nader has again run for president. People accuse him of allowing votes to be thrown away, thereby essentially “handing” votes to the Republican candidate because after all, what chance in hell does he have of winning? And yet, I keep going back to the lesson that my 1st grade teacher kept telling us: “Anyone can run for president.” Sure, anyone can run, but not anyone can win. Sure, anyone can run, but you can’t just vote for “anyone” and make it count. Sure, anyone can run, but who is Mr. Anyone going to get corporate endorsements if that Anyone doesn’t promise corporations and sleazy CEOs a percentage of their wealth and fame once president? Sure, “anyone” can run, but how many impoverished, blue collar middle class black women who are raising ten fatherless children do you know have run for president in this country’s history?
That’s right. None.
So, with every election that passes, I feel a sense of duty and a sense of loss. I voted for the least of two evils (though I have to admit, during this election, I am more excited about Obama than I have been with any candidate running for president in the past; even Clinton). With every vote where I’m not voting for my heart, I feel like I’m selling just a tiny bit of my soul away, and condoning this country’s fake democracy.
But there you have it. Not enough of us are angry enough to do anything about it. Most of us are too busy looking for top rated diet pills to shove down our throats so we can look like Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie. *shudder*
October 9, 2008 at 7:50 pm · Filed under interests
When I was car shopping about a month ago, I SO had the itch to buy a Volkswagon. I would LOVE to have an Audi. Granted, they’re not as family-friendly right now, but the kind I want is so darn cute. I’d get it all turbo charged up and have it pimped up to the max. This is odd of me (of all people) to say that, since I’m not really into cars or rides. But, one of my favorite models has always been the VW. If I ever get a VW, which I hope to one day, I am going to check out Turbo Charger Pros and surf through all of their awesome merchandise to pimp my ride. They have so many different upgrades that can make your car not only look better, but perform better and faster too. Check it out!
October 7, 2008 at 9:31 am · Filed under interests
With everyone starting school after the summer, and people getting out of their summer vacations, it got me remembering back to last year around this time, when we were making plans to go on our honeymoon in Mexico. We stayed there for a week. We were already a few weeks along pregnant with Baby Beaner, but we were talking about toying with the idea of having a yearly getaway retreat. It’s not very likely right now, since finances are rather tight, but the thought of it is nice. I was looking into going to Branson, where the options for entertainment are abundant. They’ve got shows and even a theme park of their own. Of course, if we ever do decide to go, we’d go with Lily Bean. Can’t imagine leaving her behind anywhere!
October 5, 2008 at 1:26 pm · Filed under interests
So I already got Lily Bean’s first Halloween costume. It looks like it may be a little too big for her, but we’ll see how it goes. It didn’t come with the pants I thought it did, so I am kind of pissed off about that little bit of false advertisement. Ugh. But since I’m being a little lazy, I’m going to make due with her white ribbed tights instead. You’ll see what I’m talking about when she’s all in it. I’ll take a photo (or ten) and show them (or rather, brag about them, hehe) when the time comes. She’s going to look adorable in it!!
This year, holidays feel a little more sacred, a little more meaningful. With a baby, we want to make Christmas, birthdays, and general holidays a little more special. Heck, even Valentine’s Day. I want her to celebrate these holidays with gusto, while giving her the choice when she gets older to celebrate them or not. I was never given that choice, made to believe that wanting to celebrate anything — even birthdays — is stupid. So I want Lily Bean to have options. Options and choices are good to have. I don’t think I’ll go overboard, though, like actually decking the house up in Halloween decor or throwing Halloween costume parties complete with Halloween invitations (I’m not a Halloween person, despite being born the day before it). It’s not that I think it’s silly or anything, but I’m actually afraid of Halloween decor. Yes, I know it’s all fake and stuff, but the scary masks and fake blood stuff and even the fake spider web scare the bejeezus out of me, man. Why can’t we all dress up like pretty peace-loving princesses and fairies instead of scary witches and goblins?! Heh.
I’m excited for this Christmas. We usually put up a tree, and some lights. We don’t go overboard with the decor for Christmas either, seeing as how I can’t stand clutter (I want to DE-clutter, but Dave keeps forbidding me to get rid of stuff… grr). It will be fun shopping for her gifts, though.
October 3, 2008 at 10:43 pm · Filed under daily, interests
We’ve been trying out something new in terms of grocery shopping. I don’t like grocery shopping — takes too much time and effort, not to mention gas money and stuff like that. Dave usually runs out and gets little items, bit by bit, even though that takes more time in the long run. We like doing that because then we can guarantee that we waste less food by not eating it all before they go bad. However, since we’ve learned about Spud.ca, this significantly reduces how much time we spend at the grocery stores, physically! Except for a few items like ice cream and basil and mint leaves, the online grocery store has everything. Not only that, but their fresh produce are organic and locally made, and everything else they do their best to meet those standards too. Shopping online for food is a little strange, I have to admit, but with the free delivery and everything that can be found, what better way to do it? I hear they are offered in other places too, like Los Angeles, so it’s not just strictly B.C., Canada. That’s awesome. It’s nice knowing that our food comes from local farmers and they’re organic. It makes it less nerve wracking eating. Plus, their meat products are also healthy and free range, if you’re into that. Since we’re vegetarians, we don’t look at that, but it’s good knowing that organic meats are encouraged.
If you’re interested in trying Spud out, I got some promotional codes for you to use so that you can save $25 on your first order. (Does this count as a digital signage advertisement? Haha.)
September 14, 2008 at 9:31 am · Filed under daily, interests
Well, since the last entry, things have looked a lot more cheerier, overall. Dave and I had a long talk and we decided to take advantage of the (temporary?) beautiful summer weather here. We went out for lunch with Gran at the beach a couple of days ago, went to the mall yesterday with her again, just to walk around and get out of the house, and today we’re planning to take Lily Bean to the other beach. Maybe get some ice cream, say hi to my yoga friends Doris and Marita (I haven’t seen them since I got pregnant!), and take a nice leisurely walk by the sand. We both love the beach, and we want to instill that same love to Lily. Granted, at this age, every time we leave the house, she seems to fall asleep and hardly notices we’re out on an outing at all. But still, it’s the thought that counts, and we’re planting a seed, if anything. It has helped with my mood. Dave is in a happier mood too, so that always helps as well. He seems to run through my veins, that man. That can be a good thing and a bad thing. It is overwhelming how much I love my husband, yet it leaves me so vulnerable as well.
I’ve also been reading (as another commenter has lovingly suggested). Granted, I’ve never stopped reading, but since giving birth, I’ve found less time to read. Now, right before bed (Dave puts Lily to bed at night so I can get a head start on sleep before she wakes up), I find about 10 minutes to read a book I want to read. That’s about all the time I can afford, but it’s been leaving me with such a sense of satisfaction and happiness. Books can do that.
We’ve also been shopping here and there. The other day, we got a new lawnmower, and we’ve been looking at some patio furniture covers for next summer, when we can work on our outside garden on the deck. I would love to one day have a vegetable and herb garden, but we don’t have much of a back yard right now. We settle for pretty flowers and some basil and mint pots on our deck. We’ve neglected it these past two summers due to the wedding and then the baby, but next summer, watch out! We’re going to have fresh herbs again!
August 19, 2008 at 10:36 am · Filed under daily, interests, thoughts
I’ve been trying to keep up with the Olympics, and watching as many of the live competitions as possible. It’s hard, though, as I’m sure many of you know, since many of them are being held during the wee hours of the night. I saw most of Michael Phelps’ gold medal swims, and most of May-Marsh’s volleyball wins, and even most of the gymnastics routines. However, it has become increasingly hard for me during the tail end of the Olympics to keep up, given Bean’s bedtime routine. Dave and I have decided to start introducing her to a regular bedtime routine — bath at 10:30pm, last dinner feeding, then off to bed in our bedroom in her bassinet. By 11:30p to midnight, she should be sound asleep, and shouldn’t wake up until 10:30am the next day except two or three times to feed during the middle of the night. It has gone very well over the last week. She still protests when I put her down and leave her alone in our bedroom in the dark (“SQUAWK!! HOLD ME, LOVE ME!!!”) but the squawks have become less in frequency and duration, so we can’t complain. She’s been treating me very well during late-night feedings, only awake long enough to eat, and then I put her down after her burp and a diaper change. All done within half an hour. What an adorable, lovely child we have.
Anyway, the Olympics. Did you hear about the latest rumored scam from the Chinese? Apparently, a few of their athletes were given fake birth certificates in order to compete, specifically in the gymnastics competition. At least one of the girls is apparently only 13 years old, and you have to be at least 16 to compete in the Olympics. If it’s true (and forgive me, I haven’t really researched this rumor thoroughly yet), it’s rather sad. The Chinese is in top standing as far as gold medals go, and we all know how dedicated they are when they put their minds on something. But geez, not at the hands of cheating. It just puts down the whole Olympics altogether. It’s sad. To me, this is as highly intolerable as athletes taking steroids or taking diet pills that work just to lose weight to compete. Come on, that’s not what the Olympics is about. It’s about friendly sportsmanship, being the best you can be naturally, working hard, going for the gold for the world (and not just for your country).
Anyway, I’m still enjoying the games. I can’t wait to watch May-Marsh’s finals tonight!
August 15, 2008 at 11:38 am · Filed under interests
One of the many treats that I’ve come to love is going to the movies. I don’t get to go very often because I don’t really have a movie buddy. It’s a treat for me, when Dave goes to the movies with me. He likes renting DVDs and being in the comfort of home while watching a movie rather than having to go out and sit in a hard little chair in one spot for two hours with strangers we don’t know. I can understand his viewpoint, but I don’t know what it is about going to the movies that brings out the giddiness in me. I guess it’s because when I was still living at home with my parents, they never let us go out to the movies. I think we may have went once in all my time growing up, and they saw it as a waste of money. So I always waited until I moved out to go to any movie I wanted. In college, my movie buddy was Will, and we used to go almost every weekend, at least. Sometimes we went a few times a week. Sure it’s a bit more expensive than renting out, but the treat is still there… going to buy the ticket, getting the popcorn from one of those popcorn machines, finding our seats, staring at the giant big screen in front of us — it’s all good.
I keep trying to convince Will to move up here so I can have my movie buddy back, but so far it’s not really working. 
Darn him being in SoCal and all.
April 6, 2008 at 4:50 pm · Filed under interests
Boy oh boy, I can’t wait until we have maternity/paternity leave. Dave and I will be spending a good few months not working after Bean is born. And since thats towards the middle of summer to autumn, I think we’re going to have lots of choices on what we want to do with our newborn baby. Right now, I’m perusing through some vacation deals to see what we’ve got out there. I hope this summer is really, really sunny too, so that we can spend a lot of time outdoors, with the sun on our faces. I’m tired of all this rain and cloud over here. We’ve had a few days of sunshine, but that was about it. You gotta really learn to appreciate the rain when you’re living in lower mainland B.C., I think. Otherwise, it wouldn’t work out so well.
I can’t wait till Bean is here. I can’t wait to kiss her all over and hold her near and sing her lullabies. I just can’t wait.
We’re going to have so much fun together, all four of us (with Tink, of course — can’t forget the spoiled kitty who’s a part of our family!). It will be so much fun.
March 30, 2008 at 10:36 am · Filed under interests
I am so anxious to get back to my regular hardcore yoga routine — twice a week every week. It really did my body and mind good. I get the mind stuff in my prenatal, and the breathing exercises, but I’m missing all the really wonderful, strenuous poses I used to do. I can’t wait to get back into it. And then to introduce Bean, too. Mommy & Me yoga, here we come! Somehow, I’ve always needed a yoga instructor, versus doing them on my own with a yoga dvd. I don’t have that much discipline, apparently. Maybe one day, I will even become a teacher. I love yoga. I love yoga a LOT. Heh. I’m a yoga nerd.
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