Bad Megan!

Angelic face, sweet and kind 14 year old daughter Megan. But don't let that fool you....








Here's what happens in the Wright house on a boring Sunday afternoon while Mom and Dad are taking a nap...































What happened?! Megan turned E-V-I-L on us! And the brothers had NOTHING to do with this! I guess Sophie was that quintessential annoying little sister one time too many...
Megan's explanation? "Well, we have too much Saran Wrap anyway."

It's Monday morning and Sophie is in a BAAAD mood.

So I was driving Sam to school this morning, and Sophie was steaming mad at me because I almost left her at home with Adam. She blocked Sam off when he was trying to get out of the car, and then cried because his backpack scraped her foot. When we got back home, I opened her door, and she said, "I'm not getting out." So I asked her what she wanted me to do. Then Sophie heaved a sigh and said, in her very best snotty teenager voice, "Okay, I'll get out, but you better read me two stories, or I'm going to die!" Of course she didn't get her stories, I was/am laughing too hard! Somebody has been hanging out with her big sister too much! Ha ha ha...
I love my kids.

It's my blog, I'll rant if I want to!

There have been a few times in my adult life when, in frustration, I have just wanted to throw the computer out the window. But then my thrifty genes take over quickly and I realize that is just senseless (expensive) destruction. I am referring to the many times that I have read something on the internet and wanted to add my own opinion to the comments at the end (along with many others, who enjoy freedom of speech and the anonymity that the internet provides). Usually, my opinion opposes the majority of the comments and when I see that, it HUGELY increases my desire to post my own two-cents worth. God made me an opinionated woman, and after 37 years, it has only gotten worse.
One frustrating time was when JK Rowling "outed" Dumbledore. I had the habit of visiting a certain website (I will never advertise for them), mainly right before book 7 was released, because it was fun to read the predictions. After the "outing", I went there to see what the reaction was - ohh, it was just peachy. Every one of the commentors thought it was just wonderful! I thought, "No Way! I know there are people out there like me who are disturbed that Rowling did this." But not one negative comment did I see. I tried multiple times to post, and my comments were deleted as fast as I could type them. It literally seemed like a race! Pretty soon, the staffer who ran the website posted, saying that "due to an unbelievable amount of bigoted and racist comments being posted against Rowling and Dumbledore, they were closing the comments section." My comments were not angry in tone or content. Nor were they "bigoted and racist". I am an adult with some sense of propriety, plus, those really contentious posts don't read well anyway. So, after a bit of research (reading profiles of the staffers on that website), I realized that most of them were gay/lesbian. That explained that. But still VERY frustrating, thinking that there is a whole section of society out there, many of them kids, who read that whole thread and got an entirely different impression than what is reality.

Last Friday, I visited the LA Times website to read a great article about Prop. 8. The poor guy who wrote it took a lambasting in the comment section, and it just annoyed me. I tried, yet again, to post comments, time and time again, and not a single one showed up on the thread. It felt like Dumbledore all over again. It feels alot like censorship. And funny how that is such a terrible thing to liberals, yet they seem to practice it all the time. It is one thing, to get that on a website that is personally owned by a group of book fans. But on a widely read newspaper's website, I expected a higher standard. At least the appearance of being unbiased.

I wrote the following letter to the LA Times:
I am concerned with a glaring problem on your website. After reading a particular editorial (the one about Prop. 8), I saw that all the comments were extremely negative. I tried repeatedly to post a comment in response to the editorial and also in response to the amazingly one-sided and insulting comments. Unfortunately, none of my comments were posted. I am wondering why your webmaster seems to have it out for supporters of Prop. 8. This is unfair and in my opinion, a pathetic miscarriage of free speech, to twist the public opinion and make it seem that there are no supporters of Prop. 8 out in the LA area. I cancelled my subscription to the LA Times because of a decidedly leftist slant. My decision was reinforced today. Rest assured that there are many like me out here, I live and work with them every day. Sad that your newspaper cannot appeal to a broad base of people. Sad for you, that is.
Laura Wright,
Moorpark

No response yet.

What they don't realize is that all they did was make me more determined to be heard.

Rock on, Chad!

Chad had his big Patient Appreciation picnic in the park, which included (among many very cool things) a live concert by his band, currently named "Festivus" but actively searching for a better name. They played 21 songs. All the practice paid off - the guys sounded great!



I think this is the most fun Chad has had in his life! He was so wired when he finally got home (after loading all the band equipment into a rented U-haul truck) at 10:00 pm, that we just layed on the bed and talked about the performance for another two hours! Chad kept saying, "Did I do ok? Tell me again that I sounded good." Which are requests that you can only make of a wife. And I truthfully could say that he WAS awesome! Isn't it every girl's dream to be married to a rock star?!
Well, he could have a worse hobby. At least all the guys in the band are temple-recommend-holding Priesthood bearers. I think Chad's pretty safe with them.

Just Cute Sam

Now it's Sam's turn to be on the blog...I just love Sam. He is soft-hearted, loving, and the most unintentionally hilarious person ever! And, he is easily embarrassed, which is a shame since he says funny things all the time and then gets upset when we laugh.














Sam plays hard too. This shiner is compliments of the Ustach boys next-door. Football was just not meant to be played on the trampoline!









Sam loves rockets, Lego's, Bionicles, video games of almost any kind, hugs, reading, and talking (wonder where he got that one from?)




Sam loves people, too. He has many many friends, and can get along with most anybody. AND, he gets a killer tan!



Cute photo compliments of friend and fireman, Jason Hansen.


Sam is a natural ham!



Sam on his motorcycle a couple of years ago..note the training wheels. I thought he looked so cute!






Sam was the ring bearer at his cousin's wedding this past summer. He looked awesome in his tuxedo! (here, with cutie cousin Kristin) After the wedding, he figured out another use for that tux - he told me, "Mom, I know what I can be for Halloween! A Vampire Waiter!" With a white towel over one arm and a platter of something disgusting (anyone have a fake head they want to donate to the cause?), what a great costume!
















Sam got baptized this summer. What a proud day for this mom and dad! Afterward, the Bishop made Sam stand on a chair so everyone could see how great he looked in his tux. Talk about embarrassed...



We are so glad to have Sam in our family!

WICKED, for the third time!

Oh, things have been so crazy (for my entire adult life?) for the past month. School started, including homeschooling for Adam (which has been going really well, but is still a major commitment), Seminary started (which means a 5:30 am wake-up, just to make sure Megan is up and to have family prayer before she leaves with the Bairs), I'm still working part-time at Chad's office, and to top it all off, Chad has another love in his life, with which I cannot compete...his BAND. For the past month, he has been gone three nights a week and usually Saturday mornings for band practice. Who knew that 5 hairy old men and a microphone would be so attractive to Chad? :D Anyway, suffice it to say, I have been working overtime and I think Chad started to feel sorry for me (guilty?) because he took over the household last night while I escaped and ran away to the Pantages theater for another showing of Wicked. I met my Mom and sister, DeAnn there (they are Wicked newbies, visiting from Utah) and we had the BEST time (in spite of the fact that there were four Brokeback Mountain devotees sitting in front of us...oy!) Wicked is just as good the third time as it was the first time. After listening to the soundtrack for well over a year now, I still got chills during all my favorite songs. Ahhh...what a great night.

Now, the reason Chad has been so band-happy is because he is playing at a big gig - his Patient Appreciation Carnival at Freedom Park in Camarillo TOMORROW - this event typically involves anywhere from 350-500 people. All I can say is that I can't wait until it is all over so I can have my hubby back.

Shin-splint solution

It may interest a few of you to note that there is a solution to the painful and debilitating condition of shin-splints. I spent the past three weeks whining and complaining to many, and finally I complained to the right person who gave me a suggestion that worked...like a miracle, it worked!
When I get home from a walk/jog, I now wrap an extra large bag of frozen peas around my shin. I tried it out on Monday, just on one leg to see if there was any difference in comparison to the other leg. Wow, what a difference! And I would have thought that the cold would be very uncomfortable, but it wasn't at all - in fact, it felt soooo good. Yay!

Sarah Palin - you go, girl!

Ok, how big of a geek am I? I was glued to the Republican National Convention last night...first time in my entire life that I have done that. I didn't want to miss Sarah Palin (Rep VP nominee) in her big first speech. Now, before my husband and parents start freaking out, I do believe that a woman needs to see to her home and children first. But we are also encouraged to be involved in our communities and that includes government. With all the hype we've been hearing, I opted to reserve my judgement until I actually saw Palin and heard what she had to say. Conclusion: I would SO be willing to help out with Palin's kids just so she can go to Washington and kick some butt! Besides having a pregnant daughter (that's just sad. I wish the media would leave her alone)...and being able to field-dress a moose (yikes!)...I identify with this woman and I think she could do a world of good if she was elected! Palin is tough, articulate, intelligent, and a heck of alot nicer to look at and listen to than Hillary. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a conservative hockey(soccer)-mom to have some real national influence, and I just hope she gets the chance.