Monday, September 29, 2008

Hair Cut

So I decided today that it was time for a haircut. I was not planning on going short, just maybe an inch or two off and I wasn't going to re-do my highlights. Boy was I wrong. I got to the hair place and decided I wanted to touch up my highlights, so I did, and I also chopped off about 5 inches of my hair. Its short, choppy, and layered. I like it a lot. Matt likes it too. I really like how the color came out, it looks really good. The hair lady cut it with a razor to take off some of my thick mane, which is great. I really really like it. Let me know what you think!

Here are some pictures (forgive the lack of makeup):







Monday, September 22, 2008

Hello There

Hello,

Just writing a blog to say that all is well over here. We are getting our lives back together and all that good stuff. School started up again this week for Matt and myself, although Matt's chemistry class was cancelled today and his physics class has been "suspended indefinitely". 

Karsen is at the age that a flu shot is recommended, I am not sure what to do. I know that the flu can be deadly for anyone who gets it, and even more so for babies. So any suggestions?

I made some fantastic spaghetti sauce the other day. I am good at what I do in the kitchen. Mmmmmm. 

I guess that is it for now. Wish me (and Matt) luck on our upcoming exams. 

-Ramona

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Finally

I want to start this blog by saying YAY! Our family is part of a very fortunate few who have power. 

Now in response to one of the comments left on my "political blog". Jan, I understand that McCain/Palin will not be able to get rid of the separation of Church and state because Congress would veto any bill regarding that. I also know that our nation was "found under God" and I am all for a Christian nation. I am all for the separation of Church and state not to protect the state but to protect the Church from being ran by government officials. We do not want the president of the United States to make decisions in the Church, just as we do not want the Pope making decisions for the country. I know that we are a "Christian nation" and yes that may change in the next few decades because of the people in this country not wanting to be affiliated with the Christian Church because they are Buddhist, Hindu, Agnostic, Jehovah's Witness, Atheist, or other religions there are -- which are growing in population daily. It would be so much easier to discuss the other things (and this) in person because I fail to capture all of my thoughts when I am typing because I am typing to fast and I think that you may have gotten the wrong impression of where I stand on some of the topics. It is also hard to convey emotion on the internet...so maybe one day we can discuss these things.

Now onto other important things (by that I do not mean that responding to you, Jan, was unimportant). I am sure that you have read Matt's blog about post-Ike, if not there is a link to it on the top of my blog. 

It was a really hard few days for me personally. I was hot, and grumpy, and bored to my wits end. I did not know how many more games of dominoes it would be before I snapped. I am a truly lucky lady to have the man that I have. He forgave me for snapping at him and did whatever he could to make me happy (ie. driving around for about 2 hours...then we came home and had power). I just love my Matthew so much, he is a wonderful boyfriend and an even better father to our son. 

Sunday night we went to Los Cucos and ordered Karsen his first "real" meal. The first time he ever had restaurant food. He sure loves chicken quesadillas. Monday morning we had Burger King and he ate all of my hashbrowns (not really all, but most). 

I had to throw away a lot of food. Probably around $500-600 dollars worth...if not more. Very sad to me.

Yesterday, We went to the mall and I got 2 new pairs of jeans, a new shirt (that Matt picked out and really likes), a few shirts for Karsen and a new brassiere for myself. We forgot to get the Crocs I was supposed to get for Matt, so we went to Academy to see if they had them their and they didn't, but they did have a pair of Dr. Martens that he really liked, but not in his size. So the shoe guy called the Academy on 290 (after checking their stock on the computer) and had them save Matt's size for him. So I went in the store (Karsen was napping in the back seat) and got them for Matt. They are really nice shoes. More grown up than other shoes he owns and they look really nice on him. He is one hott guy. I sure do LOVE my Matthew and my Karsen. 

I also wanted to tell the world that I made breakfast this morning...pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Karsen liked the eggs and the pancakes, not so much the sausage.

Karsen will be publishing  blog and some pictures soon. When he gets some time. 

Friday, September 12, 2008

Political Blog

Something to get my mind off of Ike.

Two things that you do not want to write about on a blog that is viewable to the whole world unless you want people to make snap judgements about you by something you wrote online: politics and religion. I am going to dedicate this one blog to the former and one to the latter at a later date. 

I first want to say that I am politically moderate and feel that the Leader of the Free World, also known as the President of the United States of America, needs to be elected based on policy not party. I believe in voting for who I think is better qualified to carry out what I think needs to be done and not who the majority of liberals or conservatives feels is qualified. I also want to say that this blog needs to be "taken with a grain of salt", I am just putting my thoughts out there. Lastly, I am not voting for Barrack Obama or John McCain. At this point in the election I do not feel that either is ready to lead our country and thankfully I have the right to decide whether or not I vote, thank goodness for my freedoms, other countries force their citizens to vote and some decide who the person is going to vote for. 

Warning: This blog is very anti-McCain/Palin

Anyway, on to what I came to write about. I am incredibly disgusted with the McCain/Palin race. When McCain became the front runner in the Republican Party and soon following the "presumptive" nominee and onto becoming the "official" nominee I was never truly impressed. Then Barrack Obama went the same course, front runner, "presumptive" and "official" nominee, my plan was to wait for the debates and interview etc to decide who I would, if either, support. When Barrack Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate I felt, and even said to Matt and my Dad, that Barrack had handed the election to John McCain. Then John McCain announces his. And great, he picked a female running mate, showing that a woman can help to lead the free world. My problem is the woman that he picked. A little known governor of Alaska, a very right winged, conservative, anti-everything, feminist Sarah Palin. Why did he not picked a more qualified and known woman like Kay Bailey Hutchinson? I don't know. This made the election a fairly level, slightly sloping downward to McCain playing field. I really think it is great that McCain picked a female running mate, but not that woman. 

The McCain/Palin campaign seems to more anti-Barrack than actual policy. I really do not think that I have seen a single McCain ad that is about his policies, instead they are all basically saying that Barrack is the devil and we do not need him to be president! All of the ads I have seen have truly featured Barrack. I think that it is great that the Obama campaign is for change, and he is showing that he means it by running a clean campaign. He rebuts the comments of the McCain campaign but is not launching an attack campaign against the McCain/Palin party. 

The McCain ad that put me over the edge is the one featuring Barrack's statement, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig". The McCain/Palin camp choose to take that as a stab at Palin, but its not. It is an old saying that Bush, McCain, and Palin have all used in the past. On David Letterman Barrack explained what he meant by that statement. As Barrack has said numerous times in his campaign, electing McCain will be just like Bush for another 4-8 years. His lipstick statement is his way of saying that. McCain/Palin is the same as Bush/Cheney, regardless of who really are the P/VP. 

Now onto policies that bother me. 

Separation of Church and State. This was brought up on the View, not that I watch the show, but I saw clips from today's interview with McCain. I believe that this separation is one of the key elements that keeps the United States separate from countries that dictate peoples beliefs in higher power. McCain was questioned about Palin's beliefs. She is very much anti-everything but Christianity. I will proudly say that I am a Christian, but I am not going to force my beliefs on other people as Palin might try to do with her extreme faith. Having someone with her feelings leading the country can truly lead to alienation of people with other faiths, whether they be Hindu, Agnostic, Athiest...etc. I am all for a Christian leader, but not one who could potentially force their beliefs on the will of the people, which is something that people who do have extreme beliefs tend to do.

Economy. McCain says that there is nothing wrong with our economy. What?!?! Any person with the cognitive ability to comprehend statistics can see that it is not. The unemployment rate in the United States has increased to 6.1%, that is more than 50% higher than it was 5 years ago. This is not a sign of a good economy. One reason for this: tax breaks to companies who send their work overseas leads to less American based companies. Another reason: illegal immigrants cannot complain b/c they are illegal and they will work for practically nothing...just to send the money back home.

Abortion. This is a very touchy subject for me. I believe that life begins at conception, but I also believe in a woman's right to choose--in certain circumstances. I think that pregnancies as a result of incest and rape do not need to be continued if the woman does not want it to. Also in cases that the life of both mother and baby will be threatened do not need to be continued if the mother does not want to. I do not think that it abortion should be an option as a form of "birth control" Palin is very much, anti-abortion in any/all cases. No thank you McCain/Palin.

I realize that this blog is extremely long and I thank you for reading it.

War.  I am a supporter of the troops, not a supporter of the war. If the war was taken back to Afghanistan then I would be a supporter of the war. Fundamentally the war is not taking place in the place that it is against. Afghanistan caused 9/11 not Iraq. This is an issue that I agree with McCain, not Barrack on. I think that immediate withdrawal of the troops would be a HORRIBLE idea. It needs to be done in a slow manner and a base needs to stay over there for a specified amount of time. A surge of troops is not a good idea, but neither is a reverse-surge. 

Health Care. Health insurance is controlled by the big money lobbyist. This makes insurance nearly impossible for members of the lower to lower middle class to afford. I think that socialized medicine is the answer, but that obviously cannot happen overnight, but can be a goal to work towards. McCain will not get rid of the lobbyists b/c they "own" him. 

Sex Eduction. This is a BIG issue for me. I believe that abstinence only education is a horrible idea and a contributing factor to the increase of teen pregnancy. I believe that sex should be saved for marriage, but I obviously didn't follow that, so at least waiting to have sex with someone who you love is important. Telling students that sex is a bad thing that you shouldn't do casts such a negative light on it. Sex is not bad, its how we all got here and how we (if we chose to) will make more people. If it were so bad Adam and Eve wouldn't have done it. Students are going to have sex regardless of having their parents, teachers, pastors, etc telling them not to, not all students will, possibly not even a majority of students. But for the students who do choose to have sex, they need to be educated in order to make a responsible decision about their partners, STD's, and about protection. These are things that teens need to know about that adults don't want to discuss because they fear that they think it is okay to have sex.  Not informing teenagers about sex obviously doesn't make them not do it. Look at the teen pregnancy rates -- at a 15 year high. 

Enough about the election. I am going to end this blog and get ready for the rain. Thanks for reading. 

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Hurricane Ike

I am a little scared about the impending hurricane. I know that we will be alright, but I am a little more worried because of my angel. I want him to be safe and taken care of. Matt is trying to fix the power generator so that we will have fans and be able to save all of the food in the refrigerator and stuff like that. I think that we are going to go up to Kroger in a little while and stock up on some canned goods and non-perishables, just in case. 

School has been cancelled for both Matt and I. I was on my way to class this morning and decided to just go back home and when I got home I was watching the news and class was cancelled. yay. We were talking about how if we had known that class was going to be cancelled today, we would have headed out of town for the weekend, but its too late now. We are not going to go get stuck in traffic. No thank you. 

I guess we will see how we fair through the storm. Keep us, and everyone else in this area, in your thoughts and prayers.


Monday, September 8, 2008

i thought i knew

these are some thoughts i have had for a few days. i didnt want to add them on to the other blog b/c there is no correlation.

to my karsen:

i thought i knew what love was when i found out you were growing inside of me
i thought i knew what love was the first time i heard your heartbeat
i thought i knew what love was the first time i saw you in my belly
and i really thought i knew what love was the first time i felt you kick
then when i could see you move, i really thought i knew
it wasnt until the day we brought you into this world that i really knew what love is
the first time i heard you take your first breath, and let out your first cry
the first time i saw your precious face, the first time i kissed your head. 
those moments were when i realized what love is
love is every moment i get to spend with you
when you couldnt roll over, couldnt crawl, couldnt feed yourself, those moments are what made life worth living
then you started to roll over, crawl, feed yourself. you grew up right in front of my eyes and i knew what love was
watching you take your first steps, playing with your toys, and sleeping so sweetly in your bed.
that is love to me
holding you in my arms, feeling complete, and so happy. 
that is love. the peace you give me, the light you bring in my life
you showed me what it means to love someone unconditionally
and you showed me what it is like to feel that love from someone
i know that you love me and
i love you karsen david, now, yesterday, and always

i plan on writing that in his baby book for him to read when he is a lot older. i wrote it on here so that i could have it written down somewhere.

i am so thankful to have karsen and matt. i love the two of them more than i ever thought was possible. i truly am blessed to have the two of them as my family. 

and of course i love our extended family, my mommy and daddy, jan, joe, nicole. all of them. 



stressed?

where do i begin? this has definitely been a stressful two weeks. 

my schedule on monday/wednesday is:
8am: wake up, feed karsen breakfast
10am: karsen's naptime
noon: feed karsen lunch
1pm: matt comes home from chemistry
2pm: karsen's 2nd nap, clean house, do homework
5:15pm: matt leaves for calculus
6pm: karsen's dinner
6:30pm: karsen's bath time
7pm: karsen's milk/play/cuddle time
8pm: karsen's bedtime
8:15pm: matt comes home, make matt's dinner
9pm: clean house, do homework
11pm: go to bed

tuesday/thursday:
8am: wake up, get karsen's milk/cereal bar
8:30am: shower, get ready for school
9am: get karsen dressed
10am: drive to school
11am: human genetics
1pm: political science
2:30pm: social psychology
4pm: drive home
5pm: matt leaves, jump back into being a mommy
6pm: karsen's dinner
7pm: karsen's milk
8pm: karsen's bedtime
9pm: matt comes home, make dinner, do homework, housework
12am: bedtime

i am so busy and have no time for me. i dont know how i am going to make it through the next 4 months. but if i do, i will be a college graduate.

now onto discussing my human genetics class. 

it is definitely the one class i don't mind going to. i really, really enjoy the subject of genetics. i am so fascinated by how one single gene can have drastic effects on life. i had my first class on thursday, the tuesday class was cancelled b/c the professor was in chicago. my professor, dr. snider, is an older man, very knowledgeable. he has his Ph.D from Harvard. he talks a mile a minute, but once you figure out what he is talking about he is easy to follow. he covered a lot of information on thursday, 6 pages in his lecture notebook (which is all shorthand) and then i wrote about 4 pages of notes. i know that if  i had a lot of time to get my degree in something other than psychology, it would be biology w/ a focus in genetics. kinda like what i was doing at tech. if i was planning on going to grad school it would either be for human genetics, and i would study sex-linked characteristics, or it would be forensic psychology. two completely different subjects that i am so incredibly fascinated with. the human genetics class on thursday was a very informative one that i learned a LOT in. he was discussing PKU which is a disease that has been discussed in many of my psychology and biology classes that no one ever explained, they just all said it was a horrible disease. now i know why it is so bad and feel like a really intelligent person now b/c i can draw bridges between psychological effects of pku and biological effects of it. oh i love genetics. i am such a nerd. 

i just wish that i had more help with karsen. matt has really stepped up to the plate and does a wonderful job with karsen on t/th when i am in class. its just the m/w that i need help with. oh well. i guess i have to get over it.