Rants and Raves!

Ok, so I thought I'd write my thoughts down just because I don't feel like this train of thought is being heard out there. I wonder if anyone else out there thinks this whole "Bailout Hate" thing is crazy. Why would anyone with their head on straight be against it? Economists and professionals are pretty much in agreement; without major steps, our economy is headed into an economic collapse. Guess what, economic collapses don't hurt the corporate fat cats who have their yachts and million dollar homes and other reserves. They hurt the average Joe. And what's this that most Americans are against this bailout deal? Are they really ready to lose their jobs because their small business or company they work for can't do business anymore because the credit they rely on dried up? Or because someone else they do business with went out of business? We are all connected to Wall Street even if we don't want to be! And I don't care yet, since I'm in my early twenties; but a large portion of the American workforce is supposed to be retiring soon. What do you think will happen to 401(k)'s if we taxpayers don't step in and get this bailout approved? Yeah, that 778 point drop on Monday sure opened some eyes. Maybe what happens on Wall St does affect Main St!
To go even a step further, and I hope no one will hate me for this but I have to say it. Because no one else is saying it. The media can't say it because they try to be politically correct. Politicians can't say it because people would get mad at them and would jeopardize their seats. SO here goes. Who do you think had at least a 50% responsibility for getting us where we are today? The average Joe, who thought he could buy a home he knew he couldn't afford, gambling on the possibility that he would be able to refinance his home later but got an adjustable, sub-prime rate mortgage because he really shouldn't have been buying in the first place. AND buying when home prices where at historic highs because they thought somehow what goes up does not come down. Yes, mortgage lenders had no right lending to those who weren't qualified, and yes there was predatory lending, BUT there where many, many people out there who just went in way over their heads and have no one to blame but themselves! And now they're complaining about having to bail out our financial system when if they hadn't been defaulting on their loans at such a historic rate, the banks would be fine? So okay I'm not exactly tickling people's ears right now. But I'm UPSET that people are such idiots sometimes!

Grand Canyon!

So we just got in last night from the Grand Canyon!
Teddy and I have never been there, even though Teddy went to school for two years in Arizona and I've been living (relatively) close for the past 2 1/2 years. So it was more spectacular than either of us imagined! The word awe can describe a little bit of what we felt when we first saw it.

I'm sure whoever first discovered the Grand Canyon had a hard time believing their eyes! Getting close to the edge was pretty terrifying though. I'm super scared of heights, and I've never been that close to such a steep fall. One stumble and you're through! No second chances. =)


It was exhilarating and inspiring...but only a small part of our weekend. Before that we drove in through Vegas so we drove by the Hoover Dam. It was pretty neat too.
We spent Friday night and Saturday night camping in the forest with some friends. On Sunday morning we got up early to see the sunrise but on the way to the canyon we saw some elk in the woods by the road. They just happen to be Teddy's favorite animal. We followed them into the woods and we were able to get very close to a large 30-something herd of mostly female and baby elk! We also saw a large, six-point bull! He was massive, and we got to see him for 2-3 minutes which is a very long time! Later on that day we also saw another bull (smaller one) that I did get a picture of. (unfortunately I had forgotten my camera so I wasn't able to get pictures of the elk herd or the large bull!)


So what a relaxing weekend! Now it's back to work, school and more of the same. I feel refreshed and ready for a good week.

This is a rainbow we saw on the way! If you look closely you can see it is a double rainbow. =)

Ok so I am VERY upset right now. The referees made some calls that were obviously (ask anyone, even the newscasters saw it) wrong and as a result the Broncos basically stole a win from right off under us. Aaargh! Now we're starting off the season 0-2. *sigh* So ok maybe I love my team the Chargers a little too much...I just need to take a deep breath and calm down. ;-)
I thought this touchdown was pretty cool, here it is!



On a different note, I've had a really nice weekend overall. Went to San Clemente and Newport Beach over the weekend. The weather's been so beautiful around here lately, things are really cooling down.

Life on a houseboat

So I just got back last night from Lake Mohave. It was a very relaxing, enjoyable trip and I feel stoked about starting a new school year with my job at La Sierra! I'm going to be working with some pretty neat people. Already I'm getting calls from LSU students several times a week wanting to join the Literature Evangelism program on campus. Yay, I'm excited! Right now I'm working on a poster to advertise and get the word out before school starts. (on the 22nd) I love having this time where I can really organzie myself for the start of the year and kill it on homework. I just finished a 12 credit class-I'm so happy to be done with it! =/

This weekend has been a busy one. Teddy's parents are visiting for a few days, so Thursday and Friday were spent in a flurry of preparation for Sabbath and their visit. This will be the first time they see our house! For some reason I'm nervous...but things go well and they seem to approve of my housekeeping. =) I love my in laws, seriously I couldn't ask for better. But there's always that initial nervousness when we go visit or vice-versa, it's hard to explain.
Friday our friends gave us a call; 3 of them were driving on their way to school in AZ when their tire blew, causing them to lose control, flip, cross two lanes of traffic and finally come to a stop 50 yards later. It pretty much totaled their car. They walked away with only a couple of scratches! Since the accident was just a few miles from our house, we picked them up and I was able to take a few pictures of their car.


It was pretty crazy. And here is the offending tire.

I thought this sticker on his car was pretty cute!

So I'm getting ready to head out for a La Sierra University Spiritual Life retreat and will be spending 5 days on a houseboat in Lake Mohave! This is where we make plans for the year, have fun, bond and soak up the sun. Because of the secluded location, there won't be cell phone service and of course no internet. This should be fun!

My first blog post

So, here it is. My first blog post! So why start a blog, anyways? Well first of all I was inspired by my friend Sarah. She blogs religiously and I always enjoy reading her blogs. I always enjoy reading all my friends' and families' blog posts. It's neat to feel included in their life, like you know what's going on and almost a part of their everyday life even though you may be hundreds of miles away.
And then secondly, I wanted to start blogging because I have been missing my time with my old journal. I just don't pick it up anymore! But I miss writing my thoughts and life happenings down....so I figured since I practically live online these days with school and all, I might as well start a blog.
So to start this is just a little summary of what's been going on in my life lately. I life in the LA-surrounding regions area of CA with my husband Teddy. We share a burden for the Student Literature Ministry work and are involved year-round with running a program at La Sierra University and summer programs. We love seeing young people become involved in the LE work, mainly because we've seen the amazing things it's done in our lives and others! This past summer I led a team of 8 big-book students, and it sure was a blessing. However, since we were closing on our house the same week the program began, this summer has been one of the most stressful ever. I'm still recovering. =D
Yes, we bought a house and it's been alot of fun. Here's a little pic of our house before we bought it. We just cut our grass for the first time yesterday! We found a little push mower on craigslist and a few blisters later Teddy and I are pretty pleased with our front yard. I think the neighbors were wondering what kind of people had moved in next door who didn't cut their grass....haha Ofcourse they have no idea that during the summers we work over 80 hrs a week!
So now it's nice to have some time at home catching up on school. I'm finishing my degree online, and I love every bit of it. Speaking of school, I should sign off now and focus on that for a while. Bye now!