anarchy - American Suicide - how to destroy the USA

Wherever you stand politically, please take the time to read this; it ought to scare every citizen in our nation.

We know Dick Lamm as the former Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Recently, there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington , DC , filled to capacity by many of America 's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked a bout his latest book, "Mexifornia," explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal - was destroying the entire state of California . He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America . The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States . He said, "If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America . It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'"

"Here is how they do it," Lamm said:

"First, to destroy America , turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bicultural country. History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bi lingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: 'The histories of bilingual and20 bicultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.' Canada , Belgium , Malaysia , and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, and Corsicans."

Lamm went on:

"Second, to destroy America , invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences. Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds."

"Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentricity and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm said, "I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities."

"Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, unassimilated, undereducated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school."

"My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology.' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority population."

"My sixth plan for America 's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that i s, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precedent. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshipped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. "E. Pluribus Unum" -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'Pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will balkanize America as surely as Kosovo."

"Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bicultural country, having established multi-culturism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immi gration has been good for America , it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them."

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed.

Finally he said, "Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book 'Mexifornia.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America . If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book."

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into20the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America . Take note of California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book "1984." In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: "War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength."

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democ racy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.

Movin' on up!

Don't mess with this new brown belt holder in a dark alley!

Elizabeth chose a brown sun dress to wear in celebration of her brother's achievement this evening and cheered him on from the front row.

John will be traveling to Florida in a few weeks to participate in a Karate demo team expo! We will be making it a family get away for a few extra days and are looking forward to Summer's last big bang there... did I just say that??? WHERE DID TIME GO??!

Congrats John!







T/Y to our sweet, wonderful friend and house guest for the week (Mike) for the pics! We will miss you!

"God is still on the throne, and prayer changes things" - Noah Hutchins

This family needs prayer tonight.

an hour of your time

And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4
Recommended Reading
Matthew 11:28-30
A man came home late from work to find his 5-year-old son waiting for him at the door. The first thing out of the child’s mouth was, “Daddy, how much money do you make in an hour?” “If you must know, I make $50 an hour” said the man. “Well, can I borrow $25?” the boy asked. “For what?” replied the man. Without saying a word, the little boy went to his room, removed some crumpled money from under his bed and added it to the money his dad gave him. He came back and said, “Daddy, now I have $50. Can I buy an hour of your time?”
Sometimes, balancing the responsibilities of providing for our children and making time to invest in their lives can become overwhelming. Being a godly father is a huge responsibility. But it is also one of life’s greatest joys. As we raise our children in the love of the Lord, may we not become discouraged as the pressures mount; rather, let us look to our own Heavenly Father for the strength, love, courage, and discipline needed to carry out this high calling.
“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
Billy Graham

This was from my daily devotional here.

bathroom matters

I've thought about whether to post this but keep coming back to being so very thankful we live in America. Kelly's Korner is hosting a 'tour of homes' and this week it has been about the bathrooms. I sometimes grumble when I enter a public restroom and try to make our children wait until we get home to go to the bathroom (aren't they sometimes sooo nassssty?)

My perspective changed one day in Central China as we were visiting our daughters finding spot. We were in a group of about 6 families traveling about 2 hours outside of the capitol of Hubei China. As far as China was concerned, it was a "small village" of several million. On the way back to our hotel, the bus made a stop. It was a bathroom break. As you could imagine, everyone was thankful for the stop... until we walked into the bathroom.

This is what we saw:



The smell was beyond anything I could ever describe. After walking in, I simply couldn't bring myself to go further. I returned to our van without participating in the rural China squat potty experience. Dave on the other hand decided he would participate and to make matters worse, the water from the sink was filthy. It was a brown murky color with another kind of odor, and of course no soap, towels etc.. (or toilet paper)

Prior to this, we were at a popular tourist spot a few days before and I thought I lucked out when a local sandwich shop had a public restroom! It was a unisex one, but hey... The sandwich shop reminded me of a Chinese Panera Bread and was relatively clean looking from the seating area. Well,, I walked to the back and down a narrow hallway. Once again, there was "that odor". I opened the bathroom door and was feeling the wall for a light switch. Suddenly I realized I was standing in the dark and felt something squishy under my shoes. It was a 1/2 inch or more of human waste from the overflow of the facility. It made me so queasy that when we got back to the hotel, I took off my shoes in the lobby and threw them in the garbage can.

Maybe this is where the custom of taking off your shoes at the door in Asia came from?!

I noticed from the very beginning of entering China that there was an unpleasant odor throughout most of the outdoor areas we walked around. It seemed to be everywhere - in every Province we visited. I suddenly realized why:


I can't say I blame anyone for not using the public restrooms in China! :)

When we experience the comfort of our home bathrooms and enjoy the warm clean water of a shower in the morning, I often reflect back to our time in China and remember the most basic things are extreme luxuries to many others in the world we live in.

Something landed in our yard today

At first, I thought this was a joke... it's not.

ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE
Tue Jun 16 2009 08:45:10 ET

On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!

Highlights on the agenda:

ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.

The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.

MORE

Late Monday night, Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay fired off a complaint to the head of ABCNEWS:

Dear Mr. Westin:

As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC's astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.

Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that the President should have the ability to speak directly to the America people. However, I find it outrageous that ABC would prohibit our Party's opposing thoughts and ideas from this national debate, which affects millions of ABC viewers.

In the absence of opposition, I am concerned this event will become a glorified infomercial to promote the Democrat agenda. If that is the case, this primetime infomercial should be paid for out of the DNC coffers. President Obama does not hold a monopoly on health care reform ideas or on free airtime. The President has stated time and time again that he wants a bipartisan debate. Therefore, the Republican Party should be included in this primetime event, or the DNC should pay for your airtime.

Respectfully,
Ken McKay
Republican National Committee
Chief of Staff



Developing...

the Mother of all comments to date.. UPDATED w/ my response below

A young man probably in his early 20's came up to E'beth and I this afternoon and started chatting. He was very curious and inquisitive about "us" and so we talked about how Elizabeth is adopted from China and now she lives in America with Mommy (me) Daddy, and her brother John. The topic of traveling to China for a cultural visit someday eventually came up and this is what he said directly to Elizabeth (age 4):

"You better not ever go back to China because you will break your Mother's heart when she sees how pretty and polite you are now".

I'll post my reply, but would love to hear what YOU would have said before I tell mine. I have comment moderation on, so if your comment doesn't show up right away it's because I haven't had a chance to see it yet. Please leave your thoughts on this one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks friends for taking the time to respond with your thoughts on this.

Obviously, the comment took me completely by surprise and I only had a few seconds to "think" about my reply. In those few seconds I was staring at a young man that was still in that crossover period of boy to man IMHO. I decided to put his "youth" and lack of polish in other areas I was staring at in my main thought process over those few seconds. I realized that his lack of social graces was something that perhaps I could excuse because 1. his age, and 2, his gender.

Most young men I know are not as savvy in the world of adoption comments made to families as are women aged 30-90. Why should they be? They are busy with so much more at that time of their life... OK, I digress.. so I simply said..

"*I* am her Mommy, the one and only"- as I gave him a stern gaze with wide eyeballs that E'beth couldn't see.

He continued to follow us and would jump from behind things and scare and tease E'beth. I really don't think he meant to scare her but it was. We were in an art supply store and each time I would go to the front to pay for our items, there he would be. I would walk back so that he would leave the store, but he kept following us. I was determined not to leave until I was sure he was gone. It took about 30 minutes.

Very weird.

Sneaky kitchen and baths

I'm always looking for ways to hide great nutritional foods and incorporate them into ordinary meals. We have come up with a few tricks that work such as grinding whole flax seeds and mixing them with foods such as peanut butter, applesauce, cereal, etc..

Tonight we had organic ground beef that I made taco's with and sprinkled the taco meat with nutritional yeast. The kiddos never missed a beat. They had no idea what was in it. Check out the back of a nutritional yeast container the next time you are in the grocery store if you haven't already. The funny thing is, if they *see* me grinding flax seeds, or sprinkling the nutritional yeast in something, suddenly they TASTE it.. but if I manage to get it in without them seeing all is good!

In addition, now that Summer is here we also wanted to continue the interest in reading that John (7 yrs.) has developed. Rather than constantly pushing a book under his nose, I've decided to leave "interesting" books in strategic places.

I've put them in front of the toilet in the bathroom, on his booster seat in the car, on the kitchen table, and so on. At bedtime sometimes we give him the choice of "going on to bed" or being able to stay up an additional 30 minutes to read a chapter book.

So, if you ever come visit, you have a choice of reading Veranda mag. or Shark preditors if you wish when you are in the bathroom. :)

shhhh. It's working!
here's a great fake cheese popcorn recipe!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
air popped popcorn
place it in a paper bag
spray it with Pam OLIVE oil spray
sprinkle nutritional yeast all over and shake well
ENJOY!
This is actually so good and tastes very much like
cheesy popcorn!

Not your typical baby nursery

Perhaps you have come here from this very fun linky from Kelly's Korner thinking you will see a beautifully adorned nursery for a newborn after waiting 9 months for the blessing of placing that tiny baby in its crib for the first time... or seeing a beautifully slipcovered rocker in the corner of a freshly painted room especially prepared for this new life... or a mural on the wall painted by a talented local artist... or the mobile from Pottery Barn dancing above the custom bumper pads...

no. this isn't what our daughter had. It would have been my dream for her, but it wasn't to be. What she did have was a blessing beyond measure though. Our daughter was found when she was 4 days old at the entrance gate to a Nursing home in central China. It was a chilly late November morning and she was wrapped in a white blanket with blue animal prints on it. There was no note according to the gentleman that found her. From her finding spot, she was taken to a local orphanage and almost immediately placed into the arms of a loving Chinese foster family.



We will be eternally grateful to this precious family for taking in a tiny baby who had no one to love her, hold her when she cried, feed her, rock her, and care for her needs. This family took her into their home - and their hearts. When Elizabeth was placed in our arms 11 months later, it was obvious she had been very well cared for and loved dearly. She was immaculate and the clothes she came to us in looked like they were brand new and picked out for this special occasion. They were anything but fancy, but they were clean and neat. Her tiny fingernails were freshly painted and sure enough, when we took off her socks-- so were her toenails.

She had a tiny yellow bottle that her foster family had tied a simple blue string around and slipped over her neck to keep it with her. We soon learned why. This was the ONLY bottle she would drink out of and it was a lifesaver those early days in China with her.

After returning home, we were able to obtain some images of her very early life. These few pictures are precious and offer a tiny glimpse of early roots she would never remember. Her "nursery" consisted of what looked to be a family heirloom antique Chinese Cradle. She had one tiny yellow stuffed toy puppy that she carried everywhere. Here, she would spend the first months of her life. It could have been so much worse. Praise God for his divine intervention and mercy on our daughter. We are forever thankful for this simple cradle and the hands that rocked her while in it.

Show us your Dining Room Linky

I'm a sucker for looking at design mags., blogs of all sorts, and love inspiration from them. So, if you enjoy snooping into other peoples homes, here's a great "linky" and the theme this week is Dining Rooms.

Here is ours. We were having a baby shower for one of my best friends so it was piled high with yummy goodies in celebration of their 2nd daughter's adoption from China. We even made a "Dining Room" outdoors for both adults AND the sweetest children you would ever want to feast at your table! We simply took the inside furniture outdoors!



Our dining room table dates to the late 18oo's or early 1900's. It belonged to my husband's parents. We have many wonderful memories around the table but when it was time for it to "live" in our home, it really wouldn't have been my choice. I thought it was quite dark and a little Victorianish for me, but when I paired it with some contemporary slipcovered chairs and... VIOLA! I loved it! It was exactly what the table needed. I can change the slipcovers depending on the season or on a whim for an entirely different look and feel.

A mother's dream

tonight we had the sweet experience of watching our son John receive the outstanding conduct/ sportsmanship award (for the second year in a row!) at his end of the year Awana awards ceremony. What a privilege it is to be this precious child's mother. As far as his parents are concerned, this was the best honor he could have achieved.

I've posted this picture of John before, but it's such a vision of who he is. We were browsing in our favorite garden shop and I had walked ahead. John called to me and told me he had a surprise for me. When I turned around, he had drawn a heart in the gravel and told me how much he loved me. Who could ask for more?! Thank you God.

Yo mon, here's another...

yo mon, here's another quirky out of the way B+B we loved. You would never know this one even existed simply by driving down "main street". Tucked away in a quaint residential neighborhood of San Rafael California, this circa 1910 stucco and glass establishment has been an icon in the Gerstle Park neighborhood of this popular Marin county town. The Panama Bed and Breakfast Hotel has a bit of a bohemian touch with an eclectic twist.

This B+B is just a short distance over the San Francisco bridge and the historic shopping up and down the streets of the amazingly quaint towns surrounding is paradise! Some of my favorite 'finds' were found shopping here.

The outdoor patio dining is an experience in itself. "Very California" :)

So, the next time you find yourself crossing the San Fran Bridge heading North, pull over. You won't be sorry!

just curious

Am I the only one that never let my new daughter play in the White Swan play room? I could only imagine the little invisible creatures crawling all over the toys from the drool and saliva, the runny noses being wiped by little hands that then played with the toys my new daughter would be playing with and putting them in her mouth..

Don't get me wrong, we LOVED the White Swan!! It was an oasis in the vast desert of an unchartered journey for us, but no matter how hard you try to keep something like the play room sanitized, I'm still seeing all those potential critters! It now reminds me of how I feel about Chuc*y Cheese.. I don't think there has been one time that we frequented the lovely children's paradise without coming down with something in the nasty - trip to the Dr.- category.

Elizabeth on Posh Tots

Shortly after returning from China, Posh Tots sent us some beautiful!!! Asian clothing for children and Elizabeth was to be the 'model'. What FUN! I have so enjoyed these outfits for her and they will be some of the clothing I will keep for her to hand down to her own little girl someday.

I often become attached to special items the children wore or had when they were babies and these clothes are an example. You know the feeling of when you hold something, smell it, feel it, suddenly you are taken back to 'the moment'..

Strawberry cilantro salad dressing

Makes even the youngest ones love salad!
So easy!

8-10 ripe fresh strawberries
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4- 1/3 cup honey
1/8+ cup apple cider vinegar
1 - 2 cloves fresh garlic
opt. fresh cilantro leaves to taste (I used ~ 4 tablespoons)

Puree all ingred. and enjoy! Keeps up to 2 wks. in frig.

urban chickens

I'm trying to figure out how to raise a few chickens in our 'cultivated' neighborhood without the lovely homeowners association objections. Perhaps if I deliver a few yummy just laid eggs to them in a shabby chic/ Martha Stewart basket one chilly morning? :) But first I need to convince my sweet loving husband this is a worthwhile endeavor. He actually listened to my crazy idea of a 'roaming small coop' tonight as we were having a loving little chat about our day on the back porch. Previously he would dismiss my desire for this 'fowl' plan and not entertain the idea whatsoever.

I described how we could have about 3 hens in the 'coop' and build it with wheels so I could roll it around the yard. Perhaps that would qualify the chickens to be classified as 'free range'??

Lets see, the estimate on building the coop is between 3 and 4 hundred dollars. Then you have the organic chicken feed, vet bills, etc etc.. so wonder what each egg would end up costing? I still contend the urban farmer in me would like to give it a whirl.

We'll see.. :)

swine flu and what effects will socialized med. have on it's spread...

I'm following a thread on Facebook involving the socialized medicine situation in Mexico and the potential pandemic swine flu outbreak. Americans living in Mexico are reporting children (and others) showing up at Mexican hospitals with resp. symptoms and 104+ degree fevers and being sent home without being tested for the very illness everyone is panicking about.

Honk

We've all heard about the traffic in China and how the lines on the road are for decoration and don't really mean anything..well, it's totally true. Check out the above image for example. Here you see a bike, a donkey (pulling a long cart behind), a 3 wheel van type auto, there is a motorcycle between the 'van' and the dark car, and the photograph was taken from the window of our bus. What you don't see would be the other 4 lanes of interesting things on the very same road. Some cars/ vans/ buses were speeding along at 70+ mph, and then you have the donkey at about 4 mph. The motorcycle zips in between all and people try to cross the street all along the routes. It is truly unbelievable. Fascinating if you can ignore the danger.

reverse intolerance

I'm going to hold my nose and post this. I've gone back and forth, but I keep coming back to ultimately the freedom we seem to be loosing on a daily basis here in the US - especially if it involves conservative values. I was very impressed with this young lady for standing strong on her beliefs in front of a global audience but see what happened to her by doing so...

Now we are hearing even MORE disgusting news coming out about the treatment of this young lady who instead of being "politically correct" voiced her convictions.

PREFACE: The issue here is not whether you agree or disagree with the subject matter, but rather our rights as individuals to express our opinion -

She was asked for her OPINION as to whether she believed in gay marriage by a gay activist gossip blogger judge for the Miss USA competition. (I've yet to understand what qualified him to be a judge. It now appears his purpose was to advance his own agenda)

Carrie Prejean stated her opinion (very respectfully) as requested and was booed live on stage, and now the openly gay Miss USA judge says that her opinion and honest answer to his question has cost her the Miss USA crown. "Judge" Perez Hilton admits to giving Carrie Prejean a "zero" score for her answer that did not agree with his own opinion and agenda.

THEN later, this same judge (Perez Hilton) publicly calls her a "dumb b*tch". Perez went on to describe Prejean as having 'half a brain' and said he would have stormed onto the stage and ripped off her tiara if she had won.
______
Lets back up a moment. What if she had been asked this same question by a conservative judge and she replied that she was a proponent of gay marriage and was booed?

What if this conservative judge said her PRO gay marriage opinion was the reason she didn't win the Miss USA crown and gave her a zero score because her answer didn't agree with his conservative values?

What if a conservative judge called her a "dumb b*tch" after the competition for giving her opinion which differed from his own and threatened to "storm onto the stage and rip of her tiara if she won"? What if a conservative judge mocked her afterwards with explicit pr*nographic drawings because of her opinion?

Would any of this scenario be tolerated?

I thought we were watching the Miss USA pageant not the Miss USSR.

a game of Kindness?

Last night my sweet husband walked in after running some errands and had a cup of the old Starbucks Pike Place decaf in his hands for me. He even asked them to double cup it to keep it warm longer as I do when I order it myself. I didn't ask him to get it, it was totally his idea because he knew I enjoyed it. Our children were watching this and asked me about it today. Evidently it made a big impression that their Daddy was so thoughtful. I was immediately struck that we need to do more for one another without being prompted. It doesn't have to always be a cup of coffee from Starbucks :).. but something as simple as making the other persons bed for them is a kindness act that goes a very long way.

I've decided to have an experimental 'game' of kindness acts in our home. Each day, we will see who can do the most acts of kindness for another. The "winner" will have something special in "reward" (I don't know what the reward will be yet as I'm still working out the details of this)..

I made a BiG mistake

of trying Starbucks Apple Chai Tea. Sigh. I was originally content with their plain old Pike Place decaf with a shot of expresso (black mind you).. and now... I'm concerned there is no turning back. The next big step will be the London Fog Latte.

Starbucks' London Fog Tea Latte has already been "hacked" according to "Starbucks gossip" (can you believe there is actually a site devoted to this??)

The London Fog Tea Latte is about $4, but you can get nearly the same thing at Starbucks for around $2.50, provided you don't mind with tinkering at the counter for a couple of moments and switching to a normal Earl Grey tea bag instead of the loose-leaf mesh one. Here's the recipe for a Ghetto London Fog Tea Latte:
1 medium (grande or whatever the 16 oz is) hot cup Earl Grey tea
3 packs sugar
3-6 ounces two-percent milk.

Order a cup of Earl Grey tea. Tell the barista you'll steep it yourself. Drink or pour out the top fourth of the drink. Add the sugar and two-percent milk and presto! a London Fog.

AND if you want a jump start on the Christmas spiked coffee .. here you go!

INGREDIENTS
2/3 c Ground starbucks christmas coffee
4 Cinnamon sticks; crushed or into small pieces
6 c Water
1/2 ts Ground cardamom
2/3 c Honey
Half-and-half; or milk

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix together the coffee and cinnamon sticks. Using the coffee-cinnamon mixture and the water, brew coffee by your customary brewing method. 2. Add the cardamom and honey to the hot coffee and stir until the honey dissolves. 3. Serve warm. Pour about 2/3 cup coffee into each glass. Pass the half-and-half or milk.

ahhhhhhhh.

I'll hold you in Heaven

It would have been your 5th birthday today. I'll always hold you in my heart until we meet in Heaven. I love and miss you so.

Anyone China bound?

Wouldn't it be wonderful to avoid that LONG flight home and think outside the box for the return leg?? I found this INCREDIBLE price on a 23 day CRUISE leaving Beijing on May 1 with a dream list of ports of call.

The BEST part is that this cruise is on a clearance right now for 78% off the regular price! For this 23 day cruise the prices start at $1099 per person. Unheard of! WHAT a bargin! Go on -- click the link and start packing! Sublease your house for 2 months and come home with potentially more money than when you left after paying for your in China stay AND the 23 day cruise! Ummmm.

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART
Fri May 1 Beijing (Xingang), China 7:00pm
Sat May 2 Dalian, China 8:00am 5:00pm
Sun May 3 At Sea
MonMay 4 Kagoshima, Japan 7:00am 4:00pm
Tue May 5 Pusan, South Korea 9:00am 6:00pm
Wed May 6 At Sea
Thu May 7 Vladivostok, Russia 5:30am 7:00pm
Fri May 8 At Sea
Sat May 9 Sapporo (Muroran), Japan 8:00am 6:00pm
Sun May 10 At Sea
MonMay 11 At Sea
Tue May 12 At Sea
Wed May 13 Crossing International Dateline 8:00am 8:00pm
Wed May 13 At Sea
Thu May 14 At Sea
Fri May 15 At Sea
Sat May 16 Whittier, AK 7:00am 9:30pm
Sun May 17 College Fjord, AK (Cruising) 6:00am 9:00am
MonMay 18 Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising) 10:30am 8:30pm
Tue May 19 Skagway, AK 7:00am 8:30pm
Wed May 20 Juneau, AK 6:30am 4:00pm
Thu May 21 Ketchikan, AK 10:00am 6:00pm
Fri May 22 At Sea
Sat May 23 Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:30am

an open letter from a son to his mother

He is currently on active duty serving our country and wrote this letter to his mother and family. PLEASE take a moment and read his words from the perspective of someone on the front lines of defending our nation.
Scroll down once you click the link to arrive at the letter.

an experiment in Socialism

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. The class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little.. The second Test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for anyone else. All failed to their great surprise and the professor told them that socialism would ultimately fail because the harder to succeed the greater the reward but when a government takes all the reward away; no one will try or succeed.

Solving the worlds problems

Out of the blue Elizabeth appeared around the corner the other night and she told me that on the news she heard "we have no magic wand".. the anchor (or whomever) was obviously referring to our nations economic situation. Elizabeth immediately corrected him and presented *her* magic wand waving it around me and then 'tapping' everything in the living room.

So, yes Mr. President, we do indeed have a magic wand :)

when a man puts on your pants...

Sweet Linny from a place called simplicity posted such a humorous and true picture of what it looks like when a man puts pants on your children for you. If you want a daily laugh you must go see and read it.. This tagged a train of thoughts as to my "issues" when Daddy has the kids as he has this week for the most part.

I must preface it all by saying I'm so grateful to him as I was fighting off a sore throat and ear thing. Here are the few observations though.

1. it's ok to not serve veggies with meals.
2. cheese toast, cheese toast, peanut butter and peanut butter sounds like a balanced diet.
3. vitamins.. what vitamins?
4. Did you feed the dog since Saturday sweetheart?
5. The new neighbors that just moved in across the street have yet to see our daughters hair combed.

But, John did his first long solo bike ride... that's more important than veggies this week :)
Tootles!
S.

calling all bird experts!!

HELP! We have a very "pregnant" Robin trying her best to fly into our front windows! She WON'T give up and ALL day is slamming herself into the windows. She perches on the sill, looks in and then will back up and keep trying. I'm afraid she will break her neck one of these times and OH WHAT A MESS she is leaving with all the bird poop she leaves behind! I've tried a cover over the windows so she won't see her reflection, but it doesn't seem to help much.

any thoughts?

Spring restraint

A few weeks ago as Spring break was coming closer we sat by the fire on those chilly cold and often snowy evenings trying to decide what we wanted to do.

We had a week. Should we.... or should we.... or we could....

It was never decided, so the indecision was the decision. We were staying put and going to enjoy a simple low key spring break.

The Daddy has taken off most of the week to enjoy time doing the simple things. They include riding bikes on our street, fishing in the pond near our home, a few movies at Daddy's office complete with microwave popcorn, staying up later, games, and maybe some camping time for the boys complete with a pop up tent and sleeping bag!

It's incredible to imagine that once school starts back again on Monday that there are only 6 weeks left! Where did the time go??

Scandinavian baking

A simple "unusual" ingredient in baking often makes the difference... in this case it's cardamon!

SWEDISH SUGAR CAKE
(Sokerkaka)

This cake is meant to be served without a frosting or icing and with just a dusting of powdered sugar. On the fancy Scandinavian coffeetable, it belongs as the "middle" course, to be taken with the 2nd cup of coffee. For the best flavor, pulverize fresh cardamon seeds rather than purchasing ready-ground cardamon.

Serves 12

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly pulverized cardamon seed
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
vanilla wafer crumbs for coating pan

Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamon, salt, eggs and whipping cream into large mixing bowl. Blend for 30 seconds on low speed scraping bowl often. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Butter a 9 inch tube (fancy mold is nice) and dust w/ vanilla wafer crumbs. Pour batter into pan. Bake @ 350 for 55-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

a rodent

Not long ago it was John's turn to bring home the class rodent uhhh I mean pet. John was very excited, but I must admit I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. I quickly jump started my attitude and realized this was important and special to John so I put on my happy face and enthusiastically loaded the vermin into our car with glee.

Once home it was like unwrapping presents under the tree to uncover the cage and discover "Snuggles". Snuggles quickly won the heart of the hand that would feed him that weekend and I was actually sorry to see him go Monday a.m. He turned out to be the sweetest of all Guinea pigs and Elizabeth simply adored him.

She would read him books at night before bed and the first night Snuggles appeared to listen intently and then suddenly stuck his neck out and started nibbling on Elizabeth's book! She was mortified.. at first. Then, thought this was hysterical.

We now have a very special plug out of a Golden Book cover thanks to our time with Snuggles.

Sometimes the simplest things are the most treasured memories.

What a night!

Guess who's home? AND SHE WAS READY FOR IT!
Check out this beautiful beautiful little girl from Chenzhou, Hunan PRC now forever home in the USA! From the moment we were able to get our first glimpse of her walking into the airport terminal she had that same sweet smile I first saw in her referral picture. She walked down the corridor and when her Daddy put her down, UP went her hand WAVING to everyone!! Truly priceless!

After a marathon plane ride home from China, we hope Mom and Dad are getting some much needed rest! We will leave you alone.. for a few days and then start bugging you for updates Michael and Starla! :)

Congratulations to the new B. family!!!