Hey, Lene!!

I was digging through the 3-6 month clothes from Ceci and guess what I found!!!

Camo shorts! :)

Goes PERFECT with her pick tshirts!

MUAR!

updating lori pics, etc.

Sorry, it's been so long! Things are a bit hectic, behind-the-scenes.

Some fun news, we got the printer all hooked up and working, and I found some photo paper too. :) Right now, I'm printing two full sized sheets filled with cropped, resized, 'my faves' pics of Lori from birth to this past weekend. :) I have a baby brag book that the girls from CEVA CVG gave me. I think I'm going to turn that into a gift, but I'm not saying for whom, just in case someone spills the beans! ;)

She's had her two month immunizations and check up. The doctor, who is this WONDERFULLY nice mother of two that calmed Lori right down when she started to fuss for being cooped up in a doctor's office, told us that she's doing perfectly minus one tiny little thing: her weight.

At birth, Lori was 8"5oz. Currently, at just about to turn 3 months, she's all but 13#. Babies aren't supposed to double their birth weight until 6months, and an overweight baby has a myriad of complications later in life, especially as a female. It's our fault to over feed her, so... Lori's going on a diet! Here's to hoping that month 4's check up has her longer but weighing the same, and just has happy and healthy as she is today!

She's sleeping good, too. This morning, we're going on 10 hours. I've been checking on her, she's just sleeping. She'll wake a bit, Igo to her, and by the time I arrive, she's asleep again. :) Angel!

Oh, but you're prolly just visiting to see pictures. Fine... ;) :P Here you go!

omg, the alien mother ship was -this- big!!

ps: she's getting better at raspberries now too. She and Linda were having a raspberry blowin' contest.... over my arm! I was soaked and laughing so hard I was crying!

PHOTOS: Birth to Recent

What more could I say?

My Vote and the Future

I've gotten into the habit listening to NPR (National Public Radio) in the mornings and evenings on my way to and from work. While, I've never really been interested in national politics and so forth, current events really have opened my eyes and ears to the world around me. With Lori's well-being in the forefront of my heart now, I'm getting more and more concerned about the state of the Union and what my not-so-tiny (IMO) voice can do to make it better, safer, and healthier for her.

That said, the Democratic National Convention and their tardness about their nominee has really made me sad. It's public in-fighting at its best. But then, I suppose that's the democratic process at its finest. Unfortunately, I don't really like either one of their candidates. But due to the way the media works in this country, I didn't even know who the 'other guy' was until earlier this week.

Turns out that John McCain won the Republican's Nomination.

"So," you ask?

Well, I caught a story about him on NPR this afternoon, and his stance on the War in Iraq. I never knew that he'd stated, back in 2003, that the best strategy to win the war was to significant and quickly increase the number of active troops in Iraq. He's been offering the military the support that it has yet to fully receive. Yes, the War's not popular. But, it's still something we got ourselves into. Are we going to quit just cause it's getting hard to do? And more than that, he hasn't changed his view-point on the subject from the get-go. Unlike a certain menopausal, hormonal someone we all know. Which calls to mind a MadTV skit Josh told me about. Apparently, MadTV did a spoof about that 'It's 3AM and a phone is ringing in the White House' Ad of hers. ANyway, they cut to the oval Office and here comes a faux Hilary, night robe and curlers. She picks up the phone and goes OFF: "It's three in the morning?! What the hell do you think you're doing, calling at this insane hour?! Don't you know that people are trying to SLEEP?!" And it ends with, "World Crisis. Menopause. You do the math." Classic. Anyway, back to my rant...

So, McCain hasn't changed his stance. I can respect that. But Josh's comments on the matter tonight over dinner was the nail in my coffin, the nail that made me go, 'oh-shit. I've got to get registered and I've got to vote at this election. I've done it once, I think... or went with Mom to do it. But, I have to do it!'

Okay, Josh did his homework on this. He's been following the start of the Presidential Race as well, and after some reading, he's discovered that the US has to end this War we find ourselves still in. If we don't, he can see only one possible outcome: World War 3.

1. Since the start of the war, Iraq has stopped selling oil. Yes, they had embargoes, but they got around those by using the Oil for Food Program. France was their biggest customer. Since the war began and they stopped exporting, France doesn't much like us.
2. The US is running a $9 trillion debt, and to date, that debt is growing. Worse, China is "one of the principle buyers and owners of long term US debt over the past decade and only very recently bumped the UK from its spot as the second-largest foreign owner of US securities." This alone is scary, because China is supplying Iran arms and weapons. Worse:

   Evidence continues to mount suggesting that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is determined to satisfy every Iranian military demand, including that for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). A top secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) analysis in October 1996¹ concluded that the Chinese government had sold a wide range of equipment to Iran in 1996: missile technology and components for an advanced radar system; 400 metric tons of chemicals used in producing nerve agents and riot control gas; gyroscopes, accelerometers and test equipment used to build and test missile guidance components; and advanced radar-guided C-802 anti-ship cruise missiles.

3. If we fail in Iraq, we not only loose face in the region, but credibility with the European Union (for the invasion in the first place), and the ability to effectively police Iran in the future. Think about it. If we try to stop Iran from doing anything, China can cash that check against us with the World Bank, and really: what could we do then? We couldn't pay that. We'd have no credit left with the Bank, no credit with Europe. China would, for all intents and purposes, Own the United States. The United Communist States of China's America. UCSCA

Frightening thought! I'm registering. I'm voting. And I'm voting for McCain. We have to win this fight, right or wrong, it's too late now. We have to finish what we've started. We have to knuckle down, make the sacrifices, and just do this.

LORI BLOG: Chatterbox

It's that time again, folks! I'm updating the blog again! (And you thought babies couldn't type! Well.. I'll show you! I'll just take over Mommy's mind and make her do the typing FOR me! HA!)

Anyway, today was a good day! I went outside and talked. I talked alot. Linda couldn't get a word in edgewise, which is how I like it! It was the perfect day for it too. Bright blue sky ( like my magic poopie chair), nice light breeze, perfect sunshine! I found my thumb today too, but Mom forgot to unload the camera for Linda, so she wasn't able to take video of it. Sad! It was uber cute!! As if anyone expected anything less.

Well, it's about time for bed and my nightly fuss-fest. Let's see how long I can drive Mom insane before I get too tired and end up falling asleep. I'm aiming for 1am!

Email Chain Letter

So, I get this email at work today:

Subject: Gasoline Problem/Prices

FYI, the principle behind this sounds logical (even though I think I already saw a email chain like this with no positive outcome).

THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE

CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his

engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. If you are tired of the gas

prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to

read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day"

campaign that was going around last April or May!

It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!

I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer, and

it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just

laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves

by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.

BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can

really work. Please read on and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super

cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.19 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to

think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to

take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the

marketplace..not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to

take action.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit

someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that

WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.

But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force

a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline

from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their

prices.

If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow

suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and

Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at

this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach

millions of people!!

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least

ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more

(300 x10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth

group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.

If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each,

then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION

PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!

(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have

to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a

mathematician. But I am . so trust me on this one.

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to

ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could

conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days !!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you!

Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that

we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE

AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

Keep it going!!!

Which made me go, WTF... So I sent it to Josh and got this reply:

Subject: Re: Gasoline Problem/Prices

Written by someone who has never worked in the oil industry.

Exxon/Mobile doesn't dictate the price for gasoline. OPEC does. Exxon/Mobile does drill in many OPEC countries, however, Exxon/Mobile is a minority share holder in such places at Venezuela/Colombia, or just slightly a majority share holder in places like Iran/Iraq/Saudi Arabi. Heres what that means. In each of those places, Exxon/Mobile must give half or more of the money they make to those that actually /own/ the oil. Even here in the United States, a part of what gets drilled for goes to the government, and the US puts a limit on how much can be drilled/pumped up annually. (Collectivly know as the National Oil Reserve)

Heres how the costs break down.

Crude Oil Cost $2.44 (Again, dictated mostly by OPEC, and the free market)

Distrubition/Marketing $.07

Refinery Cost $.31

State Underground Storage Fee $.01

State & Local Sales Tax $.26 (National Average, varies by city and state)

State Excise Tax $.18

Federal Excise Tax $.18

Distrubiter/Retail Mark Up $.10 (National Average, varies by company)

Final Retail Price: $3.56

So, of the $3.46 (National Average) we paid in January and February of this year, $1.11 is completly out of the oil companies hands. $1.01 of the total price is dictated by your local, state, and Federal law makers and Exxon just passes the costs to you. $.10 is controlled by places like Stripes, or El Tigre.

The $2.44, the "cost" that this email is hoping to bring down, is bought and traded on the free market. Trust me. And on the free market, demand dictates the cost, not "The Buyer". The problem with gas prices is not that companies are try to gouge us to make huge profit margins. In fact, Exxon/Mobile is already fronting huge upfront costs in the hopes that they can produce a proft. Despite all the science, drilling for oil is still as much an art form today and it was 50 years ago, and the cost of any individual well can vary dramatically. Not to mention countries like Venezuela who 'nationalize' hundreds of millions of invested dollars, and dramatically cut into Exxon/Mobiles profit margin.

No, the problem with gas prices is demand far exceeds supply. OPEC and the United States (along with Britian, France, and 30+ other countries) all place an artifical cap on how much oil is produced within their own country. Drilling for oil is loud, smelly, ugly, and a constant risk for vast eco contamination. (Think the various oil spills throughout the years, or the burning of the Kuwaitee oil fields, etc) "First" world countries want to buy out cheap third world oil supplies before depleting their own. Third world countries are banding together to not get screwed by the first world. (is there such a thing as a 'Second' world country?)

And even if supplies were dramatically increased, costs would still remain high. The capacity to refine oil would also have to dramatically increase, otherwise your just moving the choke point in the supply chain. Then after refining, distribution would have to dramatically increase, etc etc.

So, in short, if you want the price of gasoline to drop, the demand for it has to drop. If you really want to help lower the price of gasoline on an invidual level, take as many steps as you can to reduce the amount you use. Not only will you help lower gas costs for yourself and your friends, you'll lower green house gases and help the environment.

Blessings,

Josh

Which made me go:

JOSH 4 PRES, 2016!

and then:

Maybe the earth should have a memo thumb-tacked to it:

Your Mother Earth doesn't work here.

Please, clean up your own mess.

o/` I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas! o/`

So, we did it. We started Lori on the first step toward solids. No, we didn't try to get her to sit up and eat from a spoon, and we didn't try to get her to eat the bananas straight up. No. Instead, just like with the rice, we laced her formula with a teaspoon for every 2oz of formula. This way she can learn the flavor and so forth. Linda was saying that as advanced as Lori is growing, that she's more than likely developing her tastebuds. We've noticed that she doesn't eat with enthusiasm. She drinks a bit, then chews on the nipple to put herself to sleep.

"Maybe she's just bored with the flavor," was the comment.

So, this morning for second breakfast, it was a banana milk shake made especially for Lori.

She was so surprised the first several mouthfuls. Her eyes were wide, and thoughtful. But she ended up loving it, cause after a few mouthfuls, when I pulled the bottle away to clean her face and burp her, she screamed. Sounded like she was in pain, like I was doing something competely horrible to her. The next time I put the bottle in her mouth, she grabbed it with her hands and refused to let go.

3oz, guzzled, just like that! -snap-

My baby's favorite food is going to be bananas. I started with the bananas formula-shake cause Papa Bear LOVED banana pudding and banana milkshakes. I'm glad she takes after daddy like that. :) -squee-

o/~ And It's Been a While...

Editted: 3/9/08 0937 CDT

It's been a while since I've updated.

Everything's going well. we're starting to consider starting lori on solid foods since the milk alone is not seeming to satisfy fully.

i'm wake right now after a full night's sleep (thank you, josh for taking over at midnight) and a nightmare.

ghosts, on there own, are frightening. now put ghosts underwater. -shudder- a flashlight to the face was the only thing that keep them at bay and one was solid enough to grab the flashlight and break it. all the ghosts were of children that drowned in their houses during a massive flood.

and i'm not thinking about it anymore. it's really creeping me out!

on to lori pics!

i know that lori loves her papa bear. these photos are just darling, and show that papa bear loves her back! Just like it says on her one-zee!

of course, there is this classic pic! caught in the act of being a blabber mouth. i can't imagine where she gets that from. I mean, i'm such a quiet, soft-spoken, not-at-all-a-talkative type of person! as for her papa... well, this one-zee also says it all: "I've got Daddy wrapped around my little finger."

I never knew Josh was that flexible!

And then i had once thought that she didn't love me. i thought i couldn't see her looking at me with love in her eyes.

boy, was i wrong! take a look at her! i can see it NOW. that sweet little half-smile of thank you, yes i'm pretty, i do love you. -sigh- can life get any better? My thanks to Aunt Linda for taking this pic of us. it's my favorite lori and i moment, second only to the one from the hospital, the one that was the first moment i had held my daughter in my arms.

"This is past peace, past thought, past thinking to take another breath."
- Cutter in "Rogue's Challenge", Elfquest by WARP Graphics.

LORI BLOG: New Avatar - I'm HOT!

Hi, everyone! Lori here. Lori'z inda his-ouze! Just a quick post to show of my new avatar.

Do you like it? :)

I do! I'm super stylin'

Anyway, mom's done setting up my hanging caranimals. Time for me to work on that left hook.

WAP! POW! BIFF! ZONK! CRASH!