The Great Oreo Debate

Josh and I tried the new Golden Oreos last night. They were good. But not as good as Double Stuft Oreos, as Josh pointed out. I, however, prefer the Mint or Peanut Butter Oreos. I've even tried the Half n Half Oreos. But, I prefer chocolate with complementary flavors. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate on chocolate. I can think of a couple exceptions: Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream and truffels, off the top of my head. Okay, this topic is just too philosophical...

"My left ear is my good ear and half of my right."

On my way home from the store today, the kids asked to listen to Rascal Flatts on the iPod. So, I put it on. After about the third song, Taylor says, "Mommy, this sounds like Rascal Flatts."

I said, "You are right, buddy. It is Rascal Flatts."

He said, "Do you know how I knew it was Rascal Flatts?"

I said, "How?"

He said, "All the songs sound like the same singer."

I said, "That's right, they all do. You have a good ear for music."

He replied, "My left ear is my good ear." Pause. "And half of my right."

Well, it was all I could do not to laugh at his completely serious comment. But, how stinkin' cute!

The Oil Crisis and Alternative Energy

Check out the article by CNN correspondent, Frank Sesno, about the oil crisis in this country and alternative sources. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/14/bts.sesno.gas/index.html

It is my opinion that we clearly have alternate sources of oil and energy, so why in the world are we suffering from record high gas prices and energy prices? I just don’t get it. From educated and intellectual conversations that I have had with friends through this entire gasoline debacle, we have the technology to convert our greedy, oil-consuming country from a gross-polluting enemy of the environment to a friendly, green, environmentally conscious society. Check out the You Tube video and the ticker tracking the cost of US Oil consumption: http://water4gas.com/2books.htm. Check out the battery powered sports car: http://www.teslamotors.com/.

So why don’t we use this technology? Do you think that it is some conspiracy to keep the American people in the dark about alternative energy solutions that will not only save our environment for future generations but also save our pocket books? How many of our elected officials really care about us, the middle-class little guy? My personal opinion is that our elected officials are currently thriving on the high prices we pay at the pump and the thermostat. They are sitting on the Boards of Directors for the oil companies and making the highest dividends they have ever made on their shares. Why in the world would they propose legislation to stiffen the fuel efficiency requirements on vehicles as Jimmy Carter did in the 70s?

According to the CNN article, Brazil, another industrialized nation, has become completely independent on foreign oil, using 40% ethanol. I don’t see why we couldn’t reduce our oil consumption to 25% immediately if we implemented the use of ethanol, water powered cars, hybrid and battery operated vehicles.

The flip side of this coin, however, is that these sources are not necessarily renewable sources. So in another 100 years, do we put ourselves in the same boat with water? During years of drought we are already struggling with enough water to drink, bath, cook and water our lawns. Our reservoirs (at least here on the west coast) are at low percentages of normal capacity due to our relatively dry winter. Water is a renewable resource, but can it renew fast enough for our gluttonous usage?

Ethanol, made from corn, is definitely a renewable resource. We can grow it and process it, all in the course of months. Of course with corn, we are at the mercy of the growing seasons and the crop yields. We can import it. But does this defeat the purpose of independence? Will the cost of corn eventually sky rocket as in the case of gas? Yes, I think this will occur. That’s free enterprise.

Hybrid energy, I think, is a great start to independence. I don’t think that we are developing this fast enough. I know that had my car (remember, the expensive gas-guzzling SUV) been available in a Hybrid when I bought it 2 years ago, I would’ve opted for the Hybrid. Now, of course it is: http://www.gmc.com/yukonhybrid/index.jsp.

In my less-than-expert opinion on energy sources, the most renewable source possible, that will never diminish is solar energy. It is my limited understanding that our current problem with solar power, is how to store it. This would be the idea energy source for all of our needs, should we ever develop a way to store it in a convenient usable way.

I guess my point to this entire post is simply this: I truly hope that one day soon, we will be a country free from the economic control of the Middle East.

I do use paragraph breaks! I do, I really do!

Just so you know... I am capable of using paragraph breaks and in fact I put them in my posts. However, when the blog actually posts to the page, the paragraph breaks disappear. Anyone know how I can fix this? It's beginning to really annoy me now.

Our 7th Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 7th wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem possible to have been married for 7 years! I have loved every minute of it...

But, you know what I love about this date even more? My marriage has outlasted that of my parents. My parents split up when I was 5. And let me tell you, it was ugly, and still is for that matter! But to know that even though I was only one year older than my dad when they were married (young by today's standards) and my marriage is still solid is very satisfying. This is the anniversary, they call, "The 7 Year Itch." But, I have no itches to stratch. The ups and downs that my husband and I have been through only symbolize that as long as you communicate honestly and openly, fight fairly, trust completely, grow together not separately, and love, a marriage can stay strong.

I really look up to my in-laws. They married while they were still in high school, had a baby on the way, lived dirt poor for many years, and they just celebrated their 34th anniversary. Thirty-four years! I truly hope to be them 27 years from now. I want to be celebrating my 34th wedding anniversary in the year 2035, looking into my husband's eyes, the way I did on our wedding day, the way I do today, and still feel as much IN LOVE with him as I was then and now. Is it only a fairy tale? It's certainly not the norm. But here's to making it one year closer, today in 2008. I love you Josh. Happy 7th Anniversary! (No, this is not your anniversary present! Haha!)

Ridiculous Gas Prices

Today, we are taking a day trip to the Bay area for my friend's son's 4th birthday party. When I filled my car with gas for the trip yesterday, I payed $3.93/gallon, and that was after driving all over town finding the cheapest gas possible. Most places were $4.01/gallon or more. Arco was $3.97/gallon. So, out of curiosity I looked up the national average to see what the rest of the country was paying, $3.79/gallon for regular. (Isn't it sad that I think that is cheap right now?)If you drive a diesel, you are really screwed, $4.50/gallon! http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/

We will, like always, be taking my beloved, expensive, gas-guzzling SUV that gets about 17 miles/gallon. Round trip it is about 384 miles to my friend's house. To break it down for you, that is a cost, just in gas, of about $86! But, you have to take into consideration that I have two children that will need to eat at least twice during this trip. While we will be having dinner at my friend's, we will still need to get some lunch on the way there, and, of course, a snack or two during the day. Now, being a family of four, we cannot possibly eat anywhere for under $20 nowdays. And add a few snacks in there and you get, say, $30. So, for one day of fun, it costs $116! That doesn't include the birthday present for the birthday boy.

This is just ridiculous. There is little to no reason for our gas prices to be so high. The middle class will not be middle class much longer. This country, with its "classless society," will soon have only the rich and the poor. A large majority of the middle class will not make it to the upper 10% of the population, but instead fall into the 90% of the population who lives paycheck to paycheck, struggling. If this high price of gas were limited to just gas, that would be one thing. But, the fact is that the high price of gas flows through every other good or service in this country.

Let's examine food for a minute. Take our farmers and how the prices affect them that later flows to us. First, they have to plant their crop. This takes a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on the size of the crop, to work the ground, prepare it for planting. To do such things, they use tractors, which run on, you got it, diesel ($4.50/gallon). Then, they plant the crop, more fuel. Then, they irrigate the crop, more fuel. Then, the crop is harvested, again, more fuel. Finally, the crop is sent to distributors through the trucking system, more fuel, where it is distributed to the grocery retailers, and then to the consumer. Now, with the cost of a gallon of diesel, which is what the farmers' equipment runs on and what the big-rigs run on, the farmers' break-even point just increased (not just in their direct fuel costs, but also in the prices they pay the trucking companies to transport their crops). How do the farmers' then make up that difference? Well, basic economic theory here, they increase their prices to the distributors. Do the distribuotrs eat that cost? Of course not, they pass it right along to the retailers. Well, at least the retailers are already marking up the product for a healthy profit margin, so they are eating the increase, right? Not quite, they are not about to release any portion of their profit margin, so they, in turn, raise the price to you and me, John (or Jane) Q. Consumer. Why? All because our government cannot come up with a way to help alleviate the unnatural rise in fuel prices.

Now, let me pose this question? Are you getting a cost-of-living increase to compensate for this increase? I know that my household income is not changing. And it is unlikely that yours is. Because if it did, the break-even point for the above discussed employers would again increase, spurring them to again raise their prices to maintain their profit margins and the cycle would start all over again. It is the same argument about the minimum wage increases.

My poor kids. What kind of BS will they have to endure? It justs reminds me of the song "To the Class of 1997" (sorry, the artist is escaping me at the moment), When you are older you'll fantasize that "when you were young, prices were reasonable and politicians were noble." Do you think that our parents generation reminsces about such craziness?

Training

In the days leading up to and following my 30th birthday, I reflected quite a bit on my life. I decided that, from a physical standpoint, I was not near the shape or condition that I want to be. I realize that it will be near impossible to ever get my small figure back that I enjoyed during my high school and college days after having two kids, but I can, at least, be in much better shape. So, I set some lofty goals to lose weight, burn fat and generally take better care of my body. So, on March 31, I began a workout routine that I read about while in the waiting room at the pediatrician's office, http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/burn-calories-workout-38-marathon-training-schedule/efb9ef8454e58110VgnVCM20000012281eac____/fitness/walking/walking.programs. I followed the six week program, almost to a tee, minus the six-foot exercise band. In the six week period, I lost seven pounds. Not bad. But, this wasn't quite where I want to be. So, on Monday, I started a marathon training program described in the same article. I am totally stoked that in this short seven-week time, I have lost eight pounds, inches off of my key fat zones and increased my walking speed, all with the goal of walking the San Luis Obispo City to Sea Mini Marathon on October 12, http://www.citytothesea.org/.


Consider that my first workout was a 20 minute walk. It took me 25 minutes to walk 1.2 miles and I could only muster 50 sit-ups (okay really some form of abdominal crunches). That's just over 20 minutes per mile. Today, I walked 2.9 miles in 47 minutes and pounded out 300 abdominal crunches in 10 minutes. For a total workout time of one hour. Not too shabby. The thing that I am most proud of, though, is how much my walking speed has improved. From a 20 minute mile to just over a 16 minute mile in only seven weeks. And this is just the beginning. I am continuing the 12 week training program, modified to a 22 week training program through race day, October 12, 2008. If all goes well, I will continue to train in hopes to complete a full marathon in 2009. And thus, crossing off one of my Before-I-Turn-40 goals. Nothing motivates like self-criticism and life reflection.