...And No More Happiness!

Only the Bay Area could come up with something like this. At least we all know what kind of person takes toys away from little kids.

I Like Any Kind of Person, Except the Little Ones

Just as a warning, that was sarcastic, and this is ranting.

I am frustrated with landlords in my area who don't like kids. We are not a huge family, we have two kids, and they are little. We currently live in a home that's about 600 sq. feet, which is the biggest place we've lived in. We need to look for a new place and the next time I have a landlord tell me that their place is "too small" for us I think I'm going to throw the phone through the nearest wall. It's all I can do to keep myself from giving them an earful over the phone--giving ourselves no chance to rent from them ever.

I've had landlords tell me that their place is "too small" for us because it's "only" 1200 sq. feet. I've had landlords tell me their place is "too small" because it "only" has two bedrooms.

Now the minute I see what looks like a good deal in our area, and would suit our family, I cringe to send them an email or phone call, knowing the way I feel when I get that kind of response. Yuck.

Get out of my way, I have something to throw.

Love Your Mother

Ares

This is a list of events that occurred the week of my birthday. No wonder my sign is the god of war.

1. Beginning of War for Independence
2. Beginning of Civil War
3. Ending of Civil War
4. Lincoln's assassination
5. The Great San Francisco earthquake
6. Titanic sunk
7. Hitler's birthday
8. Oklahoma City bombing

As T.S. Eliot said, "April is the cruellest month..."

Our Representatives

When the health care bill deal first started coming around, I alerted my representative to let him know what this household thought of that idea (respectfully, a load of hooey). I believe that was around 14 months ago, right after Obama was inaugerated. Today I got the following response from Sam Farr (notice how I'm his "Friend"):

April 12, 2010

Dear Friend:

Thank you for contacting my office. I value the input of every resident of the Central Coast, and my office reads and reviews every message, phone call and letter. I personally review much of this communication, and I take your feedback into account.

My office also tries to follow up with as many constituents as possible, so we will do our best to be in touch with a more substantive answer soon. Please know that I appreciate hearing your comments and will keep them in mind as Congress addresses the many important issues facing our country.

For more information on a range of issues, please visit my Web site at http://www.farr.house.gov

I also send out occasional e-mails on issues I believe are important to the Central Coast. To sign up for these e-mail updates, please visit http://www.farr.house.gov/contact and fill out the simple form.

Thank you again for offering your thoughts, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

SAM FARR

Member of Congress

He values my input so much that he waits until after the bill passes, 14 months later, to send a response. Well, it's not like I would vote for him anyway, but he's sure not working that hard to earn it.

If Only My Words Were Written in a Book

Most of you reading this blog (as far as I know) probably know that I've been struggling the last 3 years or so with weird, unexplained illnesses. I've never been one to slow down much, so it's been a struggle to constantly fight with fatigue, nasuea, headaches, and whatever else it seems to throw in our path. Besides the sickness I've had at least 4 miscarriages, which have also tired out my body. I tried seeing our family doctor, an endocrinologist, and a gynecologist, and I was quite tired of seeing doctors. I decided not to see any more, and just pray that if this was a serious problem, that God would make it worse, and more obvious, for a wise doctor to take care of. It has been both literally and figuratively, a "thorn in my side."

Thankfully, this last week, we had a wonderful answer to our problems! Most likely it is endometriosis, and I'll be having surgery next week. I never thought that I would be so grateful to have something wrong with me--but just giving the illness a name, and knowing something can be done about it has been wonderful.

I've felt a lot like Job these last few years, and I've talked with my husband about what God has been wanting to teach me through all this. He explained that although Job never cursed God for his trials, he didn't praise Him for them either. Job's last companion, Elihu, who speaks the truth to him before God shows up, condemns Job for not praising God for what He has brought him. My husband also explained that this is why the Book of Psalms follows Job; unlike Job, David praised God continually in his adversity.

I know I have failed many times in being thankful, especially for a gift from God that I didn't want--like this illness. It's been a hard lesson, but one worth learning. May God give me the grace to show gratitude when all the daily trials come!

Would You Let Your Kid Eat This?

This was my favorite cereal when I was 4. Nobody else ever remembers it, but someone in You Tube-land does. Maybe it's because none of my friends were allowed to eat the stuff.