What Has Happened To Faith?

     I read a story on the internet the other day about a little boy who had an after-life experience.  Apparently, little Colton Burpo had emergency surgery for an appendicitis and during the operation his spirit slipped away and he went to heaven.  When Colton woke up and told his parents about what he had experienced they humored him, but when he started talking about things he couldn't know about like a miscarriage his mother had had and the great-grandfather who had passed away thirty years before Colton was born, they began to wonder. They have written a book about Colton's experience.
     Now, I have not read the book, so I don't know if it is believable or not, nor am I endorsing that anyone read it. What I wanted to talk about was the comments that some people posted about the story.  I expected people to question whether or not it was true or to share their own after-life experience, what I didn't expect was the level of hostility towards people with Christian beliefs.  Post after post were down right hostile.  A few people called the parents liars who were only trying to make a buck, even though I read they were only keeping a small portion of the money they made and were using the rest to help their small church. Others attributed the boy's story to religious brainwashing.  I mean really, if it was that easy to brainwash kids, mine would be more obedient and less smart mouthy.  It is open season on anyone of the Christian faith.
     Since when did it become a bad thing to try and instill in our children a sense of morality and values? What's wrong with being honest and hardworking?  These are just a few of the traits that I associate with being a Christian.  It is okay and politically correct to be an atheist, a Muslim, a pagan, a Wiccan, to practice voodoo or Santeria, but heaven help you if you are a Christian.
     We are being bullied into buying holiday trees instead of Christmas trees, and we can no longer have manger scenes on public property, Christmas vacation and Easter break are now called winter recess and spring recess.  I have read accounts of businesses that have been forced to take down any kind of reference to any religious holiday and have forbidden employees to wear Christian jewelery.   What is up with that?!
   Well guess what people, I am a Christian woman and I don't care who knows it. I want Christmas trees, I want Easter vacation and if other Christians want to wear cross earrings as a sign of their faith let them.
     I can't believe that our country has fallen so far so fast. Anything and every thing goes except displays of faith.  How did this happen?  Their was a time when people embraced Christianity because, no matter what denomination you were, it made you a better person.  Their were standards to uphold.  We have lost that.  After 9/11, folks rushed back to church, I think to try and make sense of what happened, to mourn together and to feel as if we weren't alone. Will it take another 9/11 to wake people up again, or maybe a natural disaster? I wonder what awaits us if we don't stop and reevaluate where our country is headed.

Ten Reasons Why He Loves Me

     Well, it's Wednesday and I am off to the airport to pick up the hubby. Lucky for him I haven't had any arguments in my head, at least not yet.  Sunday night before he left for Cali, I told him that since I had done a blog on "Ten Reasons I Love My Husband," it would be nice if I could post ten reasons he loves me.  Of course, knowing him the way I do, I had already had the whole conversation in my head before the words ever left my mouth.  And right on cue he said, "Do I have to?"  And he was wearing that look, you know the one, like when you've gained a few pounds and you both know it and yet you ask, "Do I look fat in these pants."  and you can see him thinking, if I say no you look great, she'll know I'm a liar, but if I say, yeah, they're a little tight, she'll kill me in my sleep the first chance she gets.  There's no way out of this someone kill me now.  That look. He was a good sport though, and these are the reasons he gave.  I've included the translation just to make it easier for you.

You take care of me=I can't figure out the remotes and I can't find the basketball games without you.
You hold down the fort.=Without you the lights, gas, water, phone and cable wouldn't work and a foreclosure notice would be on the door. 
Your always( most of the time) positive.=He added the (most of the time) with fear in his eyes.
You smell good.=He tells me that a lot and I really like it.
I like the way you laugh=He has never told me that ever.
You're a good mom=That made me want to cry and be an even better mom.
You're honest and a good example for our family=This touched my heart.
You're my best friend=I was totally falling in love all over again.
If I got to runaway, you're the person I would want to run away with.=Let's go, we're outta here baby!
You sing good. haha.=Then he had to ruin it.
I want to die before you.=See 1 and 2.
You pick me up at the airport every week=Well who else in going to do it?
You're cute.=He redeemed himself with this last one.
     Did you notice that he actually came up with thirteen reasons why he loves me, all by himself.

Diet and Exercise the Way It Should Be

     Have you ever noticed that every woman's magazine on the face of the earth has a new diet for us to try every single month. Not to mention the "How does Kim keep her shape?" or "Carrie works hard to keep her size two body."  I mean really?  Are we all supposed to be a size two.  Do we have no worth if we're a size four, or heaven forbid a fourteen?  Their is a strong bias against women who are larger than what the media tells us is acceptable.  For instance, how many t.v. shows and movies have perfect and beautiful young women with chubby or old men.  What's up with that?! 
       I really don't understand, or enjoy, the whole diet and exercise thing.  I know it's good for you, and it's good for your heart, and it improves your quality of life, blah, blah, blah.  I mean I have tried so many different diets and exercise programs and routines in my life I would probably be a millionaire if I could get all my money back. I feel like that's what it's really all about. How much money can the diet and exercise folks make off of us. We all want the easy way and their is no easy way.  You have to work your butt off, literally, and you have to starve.  Is their anyone that doesn't know that?  And I don't need the government to force movie theaters to post the calorie count of a bucket of popcorn. I know it's about a weeks worth of calories, that's what makes it so fun.
      And if nature wanted us to exercise we should be able to run on the treadmill for thirty minutes and lose five pounds. Now that would be worth it. If you had to lose 25lbs. you could work out five days in a row and you're good to go.  Or you could skip a meal and lose 2-3lbs.  (I allotted more weight to the exercise because, after all, if you're going to get sweaty it should count a little more.)  So many more of us would do it if you could see the results that much sooner. Don't you think?
    Why doesn't someone invent a pill that you take before exercising and it makes you burn off 10 times the calories.  Now that would be worth the money.  Come on modern science, my soft and puffy self is waiting.
                
 

"Sarah's House" From a HGTV Addict

     I have to admit it, I am an HGTV addict.  Their was a time I could watch it 24/7. I have learned so much.  I tiled my bathroom and my kitchen and patio room in Cali. from what I learned on that station.  I still love it, but they have too many real estate shows on for me now. Thanks goodness or I would never get anything done.
      One of my absolute favorite shows is "Sarah's House."  Sarah Richardson is too cute for words, and with her loyal sidekick Tommy, they buy houses and totally redo them.  It is fascinating to watch and what's more I just know Sarah and I would be the best of friends if ever we should meet. :)
     Seriously, I really love her design style.  She is not too cluttery (spell check is yelling at me and saying that is not a word, but today it is.) Cluttery, cluttery, cluttery. Take that spellcheck!  Back to Sarah, in season two Sarah remodeled what is called a back-split.  It is a house with four levels, including a basement, but from the outside of the house it looks like a one-story.  She is pregnant during that season and they finished just in time for her to deliver. It is fun watching her get bigger through the season. And I love, love, love the laundry room.
     In the third season Sarah redid a farm, including adding a 1500 sq. ft. addition.  It was so cool to see it progress.  I have my DVR set to record the show and as if that isn't enough I can go online to HGTV, type Sarah's house, into the search bar and it will pull up a window that says Full Episodes. I can click on that and watch the various episodes from both seasons.  I am in heaven.  If you have twenty-three minutes check it out.  Let me know what you think.

White Bean and Chicken Chili = Yummy!

     Here is the White Bean and Chicken Chili recipe that so many of you asked for.  It is yummy and really easy. Don't let the ingredient list scare you off.  You just toss it all in a pot, I even toss in my chicken breasts frozen right out of the freezer. I like that.  I tend to forget to defrost. 
White Bean Chicken Chili

6 cans of white navy beans, drained (or about 1 lb. dried white beans--soak them overnight or boil for 1 hour or until tender)

2 c. water or chicken broth (or more depending how thick you want it)

1 jar of salsa

1 can green chilies

2-4 chicken breasts

1/2 onion, diced (or you can use dried)

1 c. shredded colby or cheddar cheese

1-2 cloves garlic (or you can use powdered)

1 T. cumin (or more, I like a lot of cumin)

Salt & Pepper to taste
1 T. McCormick Chicken Base (or you can use chicken bouillon)
Cayenne Pepper if you like more of a spicy soup
Garnish with fresh cilantro, sour cream, diced avocados, fresh lime squeezed & more shredded cheese.
Put all of the above ingredients into a large pot. Simmer until beans and chicken are tender and cooked through (I just throw my chicken breasts in raw and let them cook in the water. When they are cooked I take them out and chop them up. They give the broth more of a chicken flavor). Garnish with the above ingredients. Yum!!
      I had to go back and copy and paste this because for our crowd I always start with at least 12 cans of beans sometimes more.  Most of you won't need to feed the kind of crowd we have here.  In putting all of my recipes into my new computer program I smile to myself when the first ingredient is "One ten pound bag of potatoes." It makes it sound like I'm cooking for an army, which I am.  On behalf of my army, have a great weekend everyone.

A Few Things I Miss In California

     Our family went to In and Out last night for dinner.  That may not seem like a big deal to all of my Cali. friends, but to transplanted Californians who craved the taste of In and Out, and we're denied for so long, it is special.  You see the In and Out in Centerville only opened a few months ago.  Before that the only In and Out was way over in Draper.  And if you have read my blogs for any amount of time you know how we Utahans feel about leaving our neighborhoods for anything, even the delicious taste of a double-double, fries and a chocolate shake.  It was one of the things you take for granted when you live in Cali. and you can get it any time.
       A few of the other things I miss is the chicken salad and fried zucchini from Archibald's Burgers in good ole Ontario.  You just can't find good fried zucchini here. It is very disappointing.  And the chicken salads with sliced egg and a whole, chicken breast that was hot off the grill, on top of cold lettuce with ranch dressing. Yummm!  I'm sorry Utah, but cold chicken on lettuce, what is up with that? 
     And while I'm talking differences, the folks here in Utah seem to think that Root beer is a substitute for Dr. Pepper. Not! I can't tell you how many times we've gone to a restaurant and asked the server if they have Dr.Pepper and they say, "No, but we have root beer."  I can see if someone asked for Coke and they said we only have Pepsi, or Sprite for Sierra Mist, but root beer for Dr. Pepper.  Totally not the same.
     And I really miss Weinerschnitzel's chili-cheese dogs. We have a Weinerschinitzel, but it's way up in Ogden and if you've been reading my blog you know that...never mind. We have an El Pollo Loco here also, but it's way down in Lehi.  That is way out of the neighborhood.  And the lack of really good Mexican food is depressing. How I wish I could say we have a Carmen's here, but alas, Azusa, Cali. is the only one anywhere and it was worth having to face the owner, who still wears her hair in a beehive, who when she pointed you to your table, it felt like you were being sent to the naughty corner in grammar school.  "Yes, Mrs. Beehive I'll sit in the corner, but could you please, if it's not too much trouble, bring me some of the nachos covered in melted cheese and some of that to die for sour cream dressing? Please I won't ask for anything else, I promise."  Seriously, the hubby and I started eating there when we were dating and the first time she smiled at us was right before we moved out of state. I guess it takes some people longer to warm up than others.
     In case you are thinking that I (we) are obsessed with our food, let me tell you we are, totally, I wouldn't deny it.  Our family can feast on a ten course meal, and be so full that we can hardly move, and it is inevitable someone will say, "So what's for dinner tomorrow night?" 
     I suppose we should reel it in a little bit and every now and then we try, but then we get hungry again.  Speaking of being hungry, did I mention Northwoods Inn?  Oh my gosh, the green salad there is sooo good!!!  And the cheese toast!!!
    
   

What's Next?

     Have you ever stopped to think about what the future may be like?  I began to think about this when I read about new technology that is being developed in the computer world.  According to the article I read, our PC's will no longer have to have the capacity to store large amounts of stuff, ie. pictures, games, grocery lists, etc.  Whatever you store on your computer will be stored in what they are referring to as "the cloud," kind of like a cell phone signal, it will all be available at the touch of a button for instant recall.  No more downloading stuff onto DVDs for safekeeping.
     I have also heard that folks are working to make the CPUs a fraction of the size they are now and many times faster and more powerful.
     Can you imagine what technology will be like in fifty years?  I wonder if their will still be libraries, or will they be obsolete?  What about bookstores?  I love bookstores and I'm going to tell you all a little secret, at the risk of being labeled a total nerd.  When the hubby and I would sneak away for a night or two, when our kids were young, I didn't care where we went as long as their was a book store near by.  Some of our best weekends away were when he would sleep, or watch sports on t.v., and I would go to the book store.  I could spend hours there.  My heart beats faster when I enter a book store.  
     I wonder if future generations will know the thrill of picking up a book made out of paper and ink and thumbing through it or will we be giving them e-readers in their stockings at Christmas time?
      I have to admit that I have a Kindle from amazon, for those of you that don't know what that is, it is an e-reader.  I can go on Amazon and find a book I want to read and with one click and less than 30 seconds I have that book on my Kindle.  It is very convenient when you want to go on a trip and you don't want to pack ten pounds worth of books.  However, I still love picking up a real book and reading it.  It is something I don't ever want to do away with completely.  There is something magical about books and I have felt that way since I was ten and I saved my babysitting money to buy the complete series of Little House On The Prairie books, one at a time.
     I embrace advancements in technology, most of them anyway, but I hope we don't lose a part of our history as humans along the way.  The printed word has done more to advance humanity than any other invention I can think of.  Lets not let that slip away.  If your child or grandchild has a birthday coming up or some other kind of celebration, may I humbly suggest a book as a gift.  Or a gift certificate to a book store.  Remember "when you give a child a book you give them the world."