ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE???

My husband and I went shopping Friday night and when we got home our son was watching the presidential debate, so we sat down and watched the rest with him (about 30 minutes more). After the debate they were asking people what they thought about the debate and who they thought won the debate and why. They asked several people who they thought won the debate and they said "Obama." I was apalled when they asked them why they didn't like McCain and the people said things like, "He stuttered" or "He didn't smile". EXCUSE ME????!!!! I thought we listened to WHAT they said and then based on what their positions were on things then we decided who to vote for. I can't believe people can be so shallow. I started thinking about some conversations I had with people I know who said some of the same things. One person said she didn't like the way McCain walked. She said he was too stiff when he walked. I asked her if she knew that he had been TORTURED in Vietnam and his bones were broken so badly that they didn't set right. He can't even raise his hand to a salute unless he bends over from the waist to make his head meet his hand. I remember hearing a comment from someone about that too. That he couldn't salute properly. I truly cannot believe that the things people in this country look for in a president is how he walks, how he salutes, does he stutter when he talks, is he good looking, is he rich, does he smile enough, etc., etc., etc.!!!!! And yet the comments I have heard about why people like Obama are: He is a handsome black man, he has a lot of charisma, he is such a good speaker. Sheesh! I even noticed that when the debate was over, Obama walked as quickly as he could (to beat McCain) over to the commentator (or whatever you call him) to shake his hand. I watched as McCain walked over - if you looked close you could tell that he even has a bit of difficulty actually walking. Wake up people! Quit being lazy and try actually finding out where these men stand on the ISSUES!!

THE DANGERS OF SPLENDA

Stace-Ghost posted on the dangers of Splenda. Click on the link to watch this video on more dangers:

Click on the link below to view this video.If the link doesn't launch the video, copy and paste the link into your browser's address bar and hit "enter." http://www.comcast.net/data/fan/html/popup.html?v=864022612


After I read Stace-Ghost's post I thought, "I'll just use up the Splenda I have and then start using sugar." After watching this video, I'm throwing it all out now!

COURAGE

Last night I watched "Lord of the Rings - Return of the King". I've been watching the Trilogy for the past couple of weeks. One of my favorite scenes in this movie is when Aragorn is giving his battle speech to his men at the Black Gate:

"Hold your ground! Hold your ground!
Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers,
I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when the courage of men fails,
When we forsake our friends
and break all bonds of fellowship,
but it is not this day.
An hour of wolves and shattered shields,
when the age of men come crashing down,
but it is not this day!
This day we fight!!
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, Men of the West!!!"

As I watched that movie and heard that speech, I thought of another war speech:

"And now, behold we will resist wickedness even unto bloodshed. We would not shed the blood of the Lamanites if they would stay in their own land. We would not shed the blood of our brethren if they would not rise up in rebellion and take the sword against us. We would subject ourselves to the yoke of bondage if it were requisite with the justice of God, or if he should command us so to do. But behold he doth not command us that we shall subject ourselves to our enemies, but that we should put our trust in him, and he will deliver us.

"Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, and whatsoever evil we cannot resist with our words, yea, such as rebellions and dissensions, let us resist them with our swords, that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God." - Pahoran speaking to Moroni, Alma 61:10-14

And then I thought of one more war speech:

"As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world.
Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger, we have found our mission and our moment.
Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom, the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time, now depends on us.
Our nation, this generation, will lift the dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."

- President George Bush to members of Congress, September 20, 2001

COUNTING MY BLESSINGS...

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you knew it was going to be hectic? Last week was my week. My counselor called it "Relief Society Week", and it was. We had Dion's lunch on Monday (our RS women get together at our favorite pizza/sub place and have lunch once a month) Tuesday was our RS temple day and I am supposed to attend the 10am and the 7pm session (see post, "Alzheimered Out".) Wednesday I visited a sister to take her some baby clothes someone had donated. Thursday we had our quarterly Enrichment meeting which was a "kick-off" to our Sunday meeting. I had to make a crock-pot of soup to take, so made my daughter's recipe of "Taco Soup". It turned out really yummy. Then Friday I had a presidency meeting and cooked 2 briskets for a Memorial luncheon we had on Saturday. We had originally been told to expect 25 for the luncheon. Then we were told up to 35. We ended up with 42, not counting kitchen help. On Friday we decided to double some of the recipes. We ended up having enough of everything. We actually had salad and dessert leftover. I had gone to Rudy's BBQ and actually just bought 3 lbs. of brisket "just in case". Only the kitchen people ate some of that. All in all, it seemed like the whole week went off without a hitch - we had a record turn out for our Enrichment, all the classes were great, we had enough food for the memorial luncheon, lots of people helped with cooking food, set up and take down. Our Sunday meeting was absolutely fantastic with our presentation of our scripture reading program, the song -written and composed by my secretary - was absolutely fantastic! The singers hardly looked at their music, sang with conviction and really touched the hearts of all who listened. (By the way, her song won "Honorable Mention" in the church songwriting contest and she gets to go to SLC to hear it performed at some meeting where she will meet Sis.Beck!) All week, I have just been amazed at the service offered, each function going superbly and without a hitch and the fact that I only made the one screw up (forgetting to pick up the sister). You know, sometimes the Lord really does bless us!

TACO SOUP

Combine the following in a crockpot:
3 cans corn (do not drain)
3 cans Ranch Style beans (do not drain)
3 cans Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles
1 package Taco Mix
1 package Ranch Dressing Mix
(I added a cup of water just because I like my soup with more broth)

Brown 1 pound of hamburger and 1 chopped onion, drain grease and add to pot. Cook in crockpot 4-5 hours. Have bowls of the following ready to allow people to choose what they like to embellish their soup: shredded cheese, sliced olives, peeled, sliced avocado, sour cream, tortilla chips or Doritos.

ALZHEIMERED OUT

Okay, I decided I really needed to write a new post, if for no other reason than to get the yearbookyourself.com pictures further down.

This morning I had just finished blow-drying my hair when I got a phone call. The minute I picked up the phone and saw who it was, I realized that I had forgotten that I was supposed to pick up a lady to go to the RS temple day this morning. She is here visiting her daughter who just moved in a few months ago and just had a new baby, and at church Sunday asked if she could get a ride. Now the interesting thing is that while I was talking to her a thought occurred to me that I shouldn't offer her a ride, but find another person to take her. One of my fears was that I would forget. Which I did. Our RS has the 2nd Tuesday of every month for our temple day, and the old RS presidency had 2 sessions they would schedule. So I've been trying to go to both of those since my counselors and secretary don't seem to be able to go to either. I decided I would go to both for a few months and then decide which ONE to keep and cancel the other. This week has been a little hectic with a new grandbaby born last Friday - a girl, 6lbs. 10 oz. to Survival Knife - I had to get my husband off to Ireland on Sunday, we have a big RS meeting this Thursday night and I have to do a luncheon for a funeral -actually a memorial service - on Saturday. As I passed the calendar on the fridge yesterday, I kind of paused for a moment to look at it. I stopped and wrote the funeral time on Saturday, but did I write the Thursday night meeting on it? Did I write the RS temple day on it? NO! Which is why I forgot. I guess when you get older you have so many things going on in your brain so your brain just cleans house for you and makes you forget certain things. Your brain says, "You can't possibly do all that, so I'll just help you forget a few things." I only mentioned things above that I have to do this week. I didn't mention all the things in my brain and the fact that I got a phone call this morning and spent an hour on the phone talking to my friend who is going through financial difficulty and is about to lose her home. I go through my day writing lists of things I need, or things I need to do, but I guess there is no perfect system. When the lady called me this morning to ask why I wasn't there picking her up, I offered to take her to the 11:00 session, or to the 7 pm session, but she said she'd just drive herself. What do you say when you forget something like that? I apologized profusely but I'm sure she is wondering about what kind of ward her daughter has moved to.

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YEARBOOKYOURSELF.COM

For some reason, these are the only ones my face would fit into. None of the 1950 pictures would work.