Better safe than sorry

My mother-in-law works at a place for troubled teens called Discovery Ranch. I know there's hoaxes that get passed around, but I figured that it's better to be safe than sorry. Anyhow she forwarded the following email to me that she had received from their clinical director:





This is a new drug known as 'strawberry quick '.
There is a very scary thing going on in the schools right now that we all need to be aware of.

There is a type of crystal meth going around that looks like strawberry pop rocks (the candy that sizzles and 'pops' in your mouth). It also smells like strawberry and it is being handed out to kids in school yards. They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick.

Kids are ingesting this thinking that it is candy and being rushed off to the hospital in dire condition. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange.

Please instruct your children not to accept candy from strangers and even not to accept candy that looks like this from a friend (who may have been given it and believed it is candy) and to take any that they may have to a teacher, principal, etc. immediately.

Pass this email on to as many people as you can (even if they don't have kids) so that we can raise awareness and hopefully prevent any tragedies from occurring.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,271215,00html

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/02/healt h/main2752266.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_2752266

coupons

I have a coupon for a $9.95/haircut at cookie-cutters for the month of October only. Ava just barely got her haircut, so if you'd like to use it, let me know and I'll give you the code or email it to you. That's a first come, first serve basis. The second thing is that Kohl's will be having a sale Oct 1-7. I have a Kohl's charge card that will give an ADDITIONAL 20% off (even sale prices) and their sales are beyond fantastic. The great thing is you can pay with the charge card and get the discount and then turn around and pay it off in cash right there at the register. The reason I bring this up is if anyone wants to borrow my card, as long as you pay it off at the register, you can borrow it. Just let me know.

"Barack Obama, Spinmeister"

Obama obviously beleives the majority of America is stupid and has no capacity for actually listening to what he's saying. The other day on the Michael Medved show (which is one of the most balanced radio talk shows I've heard), they were talking about the interview Sunday night on 60 minutes with the candidates. Obama was questioned about his policies raising taxes. He claimed that 95% of Americans would get a tax break, while only those making above $250,000 would have an increase in taxes (a substantial one at that!). Then he went on to say that the tax break would be given to the small business owners who are more likely to put the money back into the economy. See any problems with that? Small business owners claim their business revenues as part of their own income - what small business makes LESS than $250,000 a year?
For a slightly more in depth look at the lying, two-face, hypocritical, and cowardly acts of Obama you can check out this article titled "Barack Obama, Spinmeister":

http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2008-09-07-1.html

"Persuasion"

BBC went back and did ALL the Jane Austen (except for Pride & Prejudice, of course) in 2007 and this was the first one I've watched of those. The good thing is that Cpt. Wentworth is much much better looking in this adaptation than the other ones for sure. And he's a really good actor. (not necessarily in order of importance) ;) If you aren't familiar, this one is basically that Anne was persuaded not to marry Wentworth because he was poor and had no connections. She has grown to deeply regret the decision. Well, it's 7 or 8 years later, and he is now very wealthy indeed, and amazingly single. They are thrown together through circumstances and now we get to enjoy hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and romantic longing (everything good about Austen). It's a very quiet movie, even for a period film, but it's a very quiet story originally as well. I thought it was well done and it's worth seeing for the score alone - beautiful music!

"Midwives" Review

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I'm torn between 2 stars and 3 stars. The story has a lot of potential, especially emotionally, that I just felt the author didn't write up to. It's written from the daughter's pov as if she's writing the book 15-20 years after the events. After finishing it, I could see why the author chose to tell it the way he did, but it didn't set well with me. It felt like some relative telling you a story and obviously some people like the feel of that, I just don't. I thought the most interesting parts were the excerpts from the mother's diaries. It took about 85 pages for the story to even become interetsing to me, but it did at that point. I thought the second most interesting thing was the court stuff, though the jury selection dragged on.


View all my reviews.

So Inspiring

My mother-in-law showed this to us. I couldn't believe how strong the spirit was just watching this 6 minute video. Don't miss out on this because you think you don't have 6 minutes to spare. This is what I call an inspirational talk...

A really quick rundown of candidates' policies

This is really simple, so just take a minute to look through. This scares me:

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS ISSUE


Favors new drilling offshore US
McCain: Yes
Obama: No

Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it
McCain: Yes
Obama: No


Served in the US Armed Forces
McCain: Yes
Obama: No

Amount of time served in the US Senate
McCain: 22 YEARS
Obama: 173 DAYS

Will institute a socialized national health care plan
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Supports gun ownership rights
McCain: Yes
Obama: No

Supports homosexual marriage
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Voted against making English the official language
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals
McCain: No
Obama: Yes

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN
15% (no change)

OBAMA
39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN
(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN
- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax

Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA

New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

You can verify the above at the following web sites:


http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.html

http://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes

http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

Also, p.s. Ethan told me that Obama voted AGAINST a ban on leaving failed abortion attempts in a room to die. Basically when they tried to abort the baby with a drug, if the baby was born, but the drug hadn't taken affect yet, they would then leave the baby in a room while the drug took affect (sometimes up to 45 minutes). Obama voted against a law that would ban that practice.

9/11

Strange that it's been 7 years since 9/11. I remember growing up and always hearing people say that they could remember exactly what they were doing when they saw the first step on the moon, or when they heard that JFK had been assasinated. Not that I didn't believe them, I just thought it was strange. But, now I know what they meant because I can remember exactly what I was doing when I heard on the BBC news that one plane had crashed into the WTC and they weren't sure what was going on. I carpooled with my dad at the time and I remember commenting to him what I had heard. So, we turned the radio on during our drive to the U of U and that's when the second plane hit. It was so surreal. And then to hear that it was a terrorist plot. I didn't know anyone personally affected by it and it's so many miles away, but if it had that impact on a teenager in Utah, I can't fathom how those people felt who lived in New York, or were right around the corner. Not to mention those who lost family members and friends. If you haven't seen "United 93" that came out a few years ago, I would definitely recommend seeing it. I heard that very little was actually scripted and so it has this amazing feel to it that is not "hollywood" - it feels real. The bravery of those passengers to get the plane to crash, not to kill others, but to save others is really heroic. On this anniversary of the metaphorical carpet being pulled out from under American's feet, I think it appropriate to honor those who have served and are currently serving to ensure that freedom. I think it also appropriate to honor the President and his cabinet on keeping America safe from another terrorist attack. There is no glory when an attack is prevented, but I'm glad that hasn't mattered to our Commander-in-Chief. Heaven knows he's made mistakes, but I'm proud to be an American and proud to have President Bush as the leader of this great country. I'm grateful that he takes his responsiblities more seriously than a popularity contest. And to quote Michael Medved, I'm grateful to live in "this the greatest nation on God's green Earth"!

Pranks

So, I need to know if you guys know of any good pranks. About a week ago, I dumped cold water on Ethan while he was in the shower and he assured me that I had opened a very large can of worms. He got me back Sunday with a Super Soaker (though I managed to squirt shaving cream in his face), so he might count it as his turn to retaliate. In which case, I need to have something good to get back at him with. Any ideas?

Breakin Dawn FAQ's

Stephenie has now posted a Frequently Asked Questions section for "Breaking Dawn" on her website. There are some really good answers there aobut some stuff not fully explained in the book. Here's the link directly to the page:

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/bd_faq.html

My favorite part? "I waited to do this in writing because I have an immature, Homer Simpson-like tendency to giggle when I say the words "seminal fluids" in public." LOL. :)