Oh my goodness

Picked these little babies up on the Candy World tour today in Hershey (the sweetest place on earth) and they are AMAZING!

Pretty cool

Family History Presented to President Barack Obama by Church President Thomas S. Monson WASHINGTON 20 July 2009 President Barack Obama was presented with five large leather-bound volumes today by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that detail his family history going back multiple generations covering hundreds of years. The presentation was made by Church President Thomas S. Monson and Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They were accompanied by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who is also a member of the Church. President Monson said: “President Obama’s heritage is rich with examples of leadership, sacrifice and service. We were very pleased to research his family history and are honored to present it to him today.” Elder Oaks, who oversees the Church’s family history program, said, “The Church has great resources and experience in genealogy work, and we are proud to have researched such a unique and impressive family history.” “I thank President Monson and Elder Oaks for sharing our religion’s tradition of genealogical research with the president and his family,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “I am also glad that President Obama and Elder Oaks had an opportunity to discuss their shared passion of the law. Recognizing the president and first lady's deep regard for family, I am honored that our church can have any part in documenting their family history.” The Church has also presented personal histories to other U.S. presidents, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. President Obama's Statement

Look-- I'm making something from scratch!

Okay, so everyone knows that I have had a goal to become more "domestic" now that I am in my own place, etc. So I pretty much forced my good friend Becky to come over and teach me how to make something from scratch. She is an amazing baker and a wonderfully patient teacher.

A tip I learned from Becky -- put a little bit of Pam spray in the measuring cup before the shortening so it slides out easily.

My helper. Another tip Becky gave me was to use bread flour instead of all purpose flour. She also said to tap on the bread. If it makes a hollow sound it is done.

The teacher and the student.

The best part.

Look at how yummy. Inside contains the "perfect swirl" of cinnamon and raisens.

So delicious.... Thanks again Becky!

My 100th post!

I figured I should post an update, since I haven't done a true one in a while. Since school let out I have been teaching summer school for six weeks which was easy breezey and great money. Now I'm chilling until August 25th. Good deal. I've been having lots of fun this summer. My sister has been home from Italy and is staying with us for most of the summer which is AWESOME!

We've been back and forth from my parents in Lancaster quite a bit. We've done bowling, a picnic in the park, mini-golf and swimming. We also went there for the 4th of July and stuffed out faces at Shady Maple first.

I attended Dan and Amanda's wedding and busted a move on the dance floor. (For the record, everyone was dancing as enthusiastically as I was, it was just not captured in this picture).

I also took a trip to New York to pick up my sister from the airport. We toured the UN, saw 9 to 5 on Broadway, and ran around seeing the sights. It was a fun couple of days. We got a great deal at hotels.com at a hotel right near Times Square.

We also did a fun July 5th trip to the beach with a group of 15 friends.

Sitting like that caused my shins to become horribly sunburned. They are still peeling.

Isaac also spent a week in Florida with his dad. They did a zoo, Disney and Busch Gardens. I will post pictures of that later. More updates and pictures to come. I love the summer!!!

Dear arrogantly self absorbed bride and groom, Although I don't know either of you very well, I was honored to have been invited to your wedding. It was lovely and I enjoyed myself very much. I recognize that you probably spent a small fortune on the lavish affair, and for me personally to attend/have a sit down meal/etc., so again I was surprised but pleased to have been invited. Since you opted to have your wedding more than an hour away from your hometown where 90% of your guests live and since you opted to make the start time 5:00 on a Friday afternoon I left my house in a bit of a rush and completely forgot to bring along the present that I purchased for you off of your registery. An honest mistake and complete accident. As I said, I had purchased the present ahead of time and had every intention of bringing it along. Since then it has been sitting on my dining room table for approximately three weeks. My bad. There were several occasions when I had planned to be out towards your house and drop it off but for whatever reason wasn't able to. I supposed at this point a trip to the post office is in order and had planned to go tomorrow. In spite of all of this I was taken aback to recieve an e-mail from you, Mr. Groomsman, telling me that you were "a little confused" as to why you don't have a present from me with links for your not ONE, not TWO, but THREE registeries. It was also helpful of you to remind me that I could also send you a gift card so you could purchase what you "need". I am sure you are having a hard time living without the 900 above ground swimming pool, or the flat panel TV or the 400 dollar wii game package on your registry. I will totally take ownership for buying the cheapest thing I could find on your registery-- Taboo the board game. There is absolutely no way I am buying you a digital camera or GPS just because you two decided to tie the knot Although I was certainly not in the right in my delay at mailing your present, your e-mail demanding is it is RUDE and TACKY. Sincerely, Lisa Stephenson

Signs he has been here....

This arrangement of golf clubs, cannisters, lawn chairs etc. is his bug catcher...

Repost from Anti-Racist Parent

Girls can do anything: Ask Emily Yeung written by Anti-Racist Parent contributor Renee; originally posted at Womanist Musings Sorry, I never know how to do Youtube videos imbedded in the text. A little help? I am constantly looking for images of girls defying the gender binary to teach my boys about equality. I have recently started to talk to them about Emily Yeung. In the above segment she is learning how to snowboard. In many of the episodes she is learning all about the world and never do they focus on what she is able to do or what she should like based on gender. Though these are just small spots shown in between cartoons, they send a powerful message. The video I wanted to post is about her learning to play soccer but unfortunately it is not up on youtube. She clearly states in the video that “sporting equipment should be made for boys or girls because girls can do the same things as boys can”. Hearing her say that just made me want to cheer.. The Emily Yeung spots are a clear example of the ways in which the media can disturb social constructions, if the images are created by a progressive voice. There are not enough examples of this, and instead our sons and daughters are over ridden with terrible female role models like the bratz dolls. Even finding a cartoon or a youth geared program in which a girl is not obsessed with boys, make up, or looking pretty, is a rare phenomenon. I am further impressed with the fact that Emily is a bi racial child. Race has never been a subject that the mini episodes have focused on, thereby allowing her visibility to speak for itself. She is presented as a beautiful, precocious child who is interested in the world around her. The high visibility of a bi racial child is also very uncommon in media where images are mostly reflective of the white supremacist state in which we live. As Emily learns about snowboarding, farming and science etc., the audience learns right along side her. What makes these small spots so beautiful is everything that is not said. In an equal world, the profile of a young child like Emily Yeung would not be a special that is aired to teach diversity; it would simply stand for a young girl learning about the world.