Stunned and Baffled

It's my version of 'shock and awe'

It's no secret that California is one of the top 5 Liberal states in the US. We rank behind Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and Vermont in our Liberalism. Our court system also leans to the left.

WAY left.

Last fall we had the big Prop 8 vote, you remember....the marriage between a man and a woman thing....

54% percent of voting Californians voted "Yes" on '8', voting to keep the definition of Marriage in California as a 'union between a man and a woman'. Personally, I believe in this. I also believe that there should be some form of a legal, binding contract for other committed relationships between those of the same sex. I believe that everyone's right to love and buy property, form a partnership etc. should be protected.

But that being said, Marriage is ordained of God and needs to be patterned after God's way, ie. male and female.

Immediately, the Supreme Court was petitioned to throw away the will of California voters. It must be said that TWICE this proposition has appeared on the ballot, and twice it has been voted for in the affirmative. Obviously this was not some sort of fluke vote.

An appeal was filed within 48 hours. Then, both sides were heard, (rather quickly), briefs read, and deliberation started.

Today the decision of California's Liberal Supreme Court was made known.....................

They upheld the voters will. Our mega-liberal Judges (who never miss a chance to be liberal)

UPHELD Proposition 8, the proposition stands as written.

The media is portraying this as a 'split decision', which I guess a 6-1 majority technically is. All I know is that I am stunned, didn't see that coming. (Watch the coverage here). There are protests all over California. I'm sure there will be a backlash against the 'Mormons' again. There were some protesters at the temples today and marching in the streets.

As long as it's peaceful, go for it.

But... immediately an appeal was filed and papers for the next election filed.

At issue?

A vote on whether California voters should be allowed to change the state Constitution by voting.

HUH?

HELP WANTED

HELP!!!!

I have been asked to teach a class tomorrow night at church on object lessons that teach a gospel principle. I have many of my own and I have been on Mormonshare.com to get other ideas

BUT...

when I really need some great input I come to the smartest, most creative women I know...

YOU!

Does anyone out there have a favorite object lesson you have used to teach a gospel themed principle?

I am going to use my favorite one right at the beginning of my lesson. It can be used for many things but my focus will be on being prepared.

First I will bring a beautifully decorated cake and tell them that it is a sweet experience to be asked to teach this class and I wanted to share the blessing with them. I will look around for a knife, spatula, plates and forks. I won't find any in my bag. "Oh dang...I forgot them! I was rushing around to get things together, I had it all sitting on the counter and totally forgot to bring it. Oh well...." Then I will just grab a big ole chunk out of the cake and offer it to someone.

The cake is still good, it's just not quite as appetizing when it isn't "served correctly". Same with other preparations in our lives, lessons we are asked to teach and forget about and prepare in Sacrament meeting. Might be able to pull it off, but how much better could it be if we had taken the time to present it to the class better? This can be used for TONS of gospel applications.

Do YOU have a favorite you can share with me?

Oh, come on...I KNOW you do!!!

Misery

The temperatures this weekend.

We spent our afternoons on the soccer field,

Misery loves company.

Got a wild hair...

Is it part of the womanhood code that the minute you get a new hair cut or color you have to go show a friend for validation that it looks okay?

When my bloggy friend Christie got a haircut she hated, we were there for her. Encouraging her, denouncing her horrid, misguided hairdresser and generally being THERE for her.

Today I got a new do. I went dark and with chunky highlights. My new hairdresser (Stacy the miracle worker moved...dang her) wanted to sit and chat about my hair for 30 minutes. I honestly didn't know there was SO much to talk about. I told her I was game for anything that didn't require spiking or hot rollers or a perm. I wanted it simple.

SO she spun me around so I couldn't see, she colored, she cut, she used the blow dryer.

2 1/2" shorter, side swept no bang look and TUCKED!!!

Then...my world was put into a spin.

Totally changed.

I thought getting a new, well fitting bra was life altering.

But it was nothing compared to what Kristine, my new best friend told me.

How could I live almost, (only 96 short days....) 50 years and NEVER know this?

Here's how it went down...:

"Okay! All done! I'm going to wheel you around (like on What not to Wear) and you'll see the new you!"

"OH! I love the color, it's awesome. And you tucked my hair, I LOVE TUCKING!! It's so cute!"

"Well, the good thing is that this cut is going to look just as good on the SECOND or THIRD day, it's a great dirty hair haircut..."

WHAT?!?!?!?!?

A great dirty hair haircut? Why in the world would I want THAT?

"Wh-wha-what?"

She looks horrified........"do you....wash your hair EVERY day?!?!"

"Well, of course I do, don't you?"

So we spent another 20 minutes discussing how NOT washing your hair is what EVERY woman does (I wonder what that makes me?), how your color lasts longer, your hair is healthier etc...

I feel like a total failure as a woman, a citizen of the global world.

A total environmental criminal as I think of all the water I have wasted and soapy shampoo I have let run to the sea.

A total financial failure as I think of the money I have wasted buying twice as much shampoo and product as I needed to.

But, more importantly,

a total failure as a mother as I have trained and the set the example of clean hair to my children, when obviously second day hair is truly the ideal.

How did I NOT KNOW?

My question, do you wash your hair every day? How long do you go if not?

Do you think less of me?

But isn't the color awesome?


And if you go to Christie's blog and look at her much hated haircut, mine looks a lot like it. One woman's junk is another woman's treasure.

Pardon me, your slip is showing

This is the chair in my office. I spend more time here than any other place in my life. I wish I spent more time sleeping than in this chair, but I don't. I am chained to it. It looks like a nice, ordinary, average office chair doesn't it? But it's not. It's evil.

This is the plastic mat that my chair sits on. Notice the damaged part? It's plastic missing, not a huge piece, but just enough.

So, last Thursday I was sitting in my chair, ticked off because when they called the kid in to ask him about the phone (see below) he denied having it and "you can't call him a liar...." I digress.

ANYWAY, I was sitting in my chair talking to Officer Bell, the cute, cute, cute Journalism teacher and my office mate, Marty. There were two students standing at my counter. I was going to back up in my chair to go help the kids and my wheel got stuck in the little hole. So I rocked a little to loosen it and ....

whooomp!!!

There I went!

The chair flew out from under me, I fell forward, my head hitting my desk, skinning my ankle and then the chair came down and hit me on the back of the head. I was absolutely dazed and found myself of the floor with my leg at an ungodly angle and a chair on top of me.

After the initial dead silence where you just know they were thinking "do I laugh? What can I do NOW?" Matt comes over, "Jeni are you okay? What do you need?" All I could think of is to get me a blanket so I can throw it over myself and be invisible. (It works for Michael Jackson's kids...)

Everyone else in the office comes running...

and there I am,

with a chair on top of me,

in a dress,

sprawled on the floor.

I'm not one with a lot of dignity, but whatever I had was now gone.

They all helped me up and wouldn't you know it? I couldn't walk. I don't think there is a klutzy-er person on earth. (Proof and more Proof.) The damage? Torn hamstring muscle and another black brace peeking out from below.

So, let me repeat...

"How did you hurt yourself Jenibelle?"

"I fell out of a chair."

"oh. nice."

The rules change when it's your kid

i-Phone

Against my better judgement and because the other parent was doing the buying....

my middle son got one of these for Christmas.

He was told that he couldn't bring it to school. Period. BUT...like all good (ha) parents, we buckled and said that he could as long as he brought it in to my office before PE.

Because everyone knows that PE is the hotbed of theft, correct?

You know where this is going already right?

So, I have been out of my office in testing HELL for the past two weeks. Before I moved campus locations, I made sure that everyone left in the office would be available to keep his phone in their desks during 4th period. He knew this.

Yesterday, he decided that he didn't have time to bring it to the office. He was talking to Lauren on the phone and took it into PE, in plain sight. He tucked it into his backpack, got dressed and took the pack out to the gym like they need to do (because the lockers are too small....).

After class he reached in to get his phone and BINGO! It was gone.

He absolutely freaked and went to his teacher.

At some point two other students went to the teacher also and told them that so and so took the phone and that they saw him with it.

I get a call in testing hell, "I got two names for you about who might have stolen Jeff's phone..."

"WHAT?! What do you mean Jeff's stolen phone? WHAT!??!" (For what I really sounded like think the Mom who just got told her son said the 'F---' word on Christmas Story and you get the picture)

So the saga of phone recovery begins....

At our school if you lose a phone, oh well. You bring it at your own risk.

BUT...if you are beloved employee, like moi, the rules change.

Luckily for me, I work with the Police department every day. I had the names of witnesses, we called two of them in, one lied and said he knew nothing about it. The other one gave up the name of the thief (who is conveniently absent today for the first time all year...) and that the first student actually was holding the phone for the thief.

Officer Bell, my hero, called the first kid in and read him his rights. It was awesome. He then proceeded to tell him that he had been identified as having the phone in his possession, that the parents of the owner of the phone were absolutely going to file and press charges against him as an accessory. It would be a FELONY on his record. This, officer Bell said, was punishable by 10-15 days at the Boys Ranch and 30 days of ankle monitoring. Was there anything he wanted to say? (it was totally beyond awesome..........).

I wanted to fly over the counter and totally smack the kid for lying to me earlier. That's against the law, dang it.

We know who stole the phone. Officer Bell is pretty certain that we will get it back somehow.

We also know who will not be seeing his soon-to-be-returned phone for a while. It will sit quietly turned off, unused, for quite awhile.

Mother does know best.