volunteer deportation, anyone?

Good news, everyone! ICE is going to allow illegal immigrants to volunteer for deportation. Not only that, but the volunteers will even get to wear tracking devices while they 'tie up loose ends' here in the state. Don't believe me? Check out this article.

The idea behind it is based on the fact that after entering the country illegally, prospective immigrants must wait 5-20 years to apply for legal immigration. Volunteering for deportation would provide them with a concrete date from which to start waiting. However, the plan has a few holes. To quote my favorite part of the article: "Frank Sharry, executive director for America's Voice, said the plan appears to be a political move to convince Republicans the administration is now serious about immigration enforcement. 'I'm going to go out on a limb here and say there won't be lines around the block for this program,' Sharry said."

I can't wait to see how it goes.

(back to life) back to reality

I went back to work today. The day went really well, but I missed my boy. This is how I felt going to work this morning:

Except, my lip doesn't quiver in such a cute way when I cry.

book report

The books I read this month (excluding the parenting books..):

Title(s): Outlaws of Sherwood & Spindle's End
Author: Robin McKinley
Synopsis: Robin Hood & Sleeping Beauty rewrites. Need I say more?

I found them quite charming and difficult to put down. Outlaws of Sherwood was, by far, my favorite of McKinley's fairy tales, although Spindle's End was quite interesting as well. Dad says it must be the Sherwood forest in me, but we're related to the sheriff! Blast!

What's it worth?: If you like kids, or fairy tales, or both, buy them!
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Title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Author: Douglas Adams
Synopsis: Aliens, hormonal robots, the destruction of earth and one regular guy caught in the middle.

It was more goofy than that sounded. In fact, I wasn't sure there was a point (I'm still not sure) but the writing was so catchy I kept reading. And then it was over. From looking up the author online, I learned it started as a radio show and has been rewritten through each version. That makes sense, considering it flows like a story being told as opposed to a great literary masterpiece.

What's it worth?: Check it out. Although if I ever find it on sale, it'd be worth having around.

we survived the blessing

Thank you to everyone that came to Jonah's blessing yesterday. We felt very loved and appreciate all the help and support from all the family. We had a fabulous time, even though the ward forgot we were blessing him and there was no microphone and Josh had to yell over Jonah's crying. He never cries! Oh well. He seems to know when he can steal the show. If only every Sunday could be spent dining with family.

We didn't buy him a blessing outfit (the ones I found were either too silly, too stiff, or too expensive) but we did dress him in a white shirt and blue sweater vest. Josh said he looked fruity. I thought he was darling.

our newest family member

Good news: we just bought this sofa and the matching love seat and arranged for delivery when we move into the new house (rather than having to move it ourselves) next month.

Bad news: Our salesman was rude, clingy, and smelled bad. He then tried to win us over by telling us what beautiful blue eyes our little girl has. Ha! He also told Josh (when asked about the return policy) that all furniture fits in any home; "it's furniture. They design it to fit in homes." He was also rude when asked about delivery. I finally had enough and told him we were spending an awful lot of money if he was not willing to answer our questions. After that he was nicer. What a jerk.

Photoshop 101

I first read about digital scrapbooking almost a year ago. I tried my hand at it a few times but just got frustrated. I'm much more handy with a pair of scissors than I am with most software. Recently, however, I downloaded a free 30-day trial of Photoshop Elements (an abbreviated version of Photoshop). After following a few tutorials, I am now addicted. I'm not much of a scrapbooker yet, but I am enjoying editing my pictures. In fact, I have completely neglected my books, chores, and television in order to spend all free time tinkering with photos. Interestingly enough, the trial version still says I have 30 days left. Is this my golden goose? Want to see what I learned how to do?

This picture is from Anna-Lisa's wedding this past June. It was originally in color. I made just the flowers stick out. I tried just A-L's hair, but she has this awesome reddish hair and it looked silly. Josh was watching me work and said "well, that looks easy." That may be, but I'm quite proud.

Other than that, the only news is that I'm wearing a belt today for the first time since January. Most of my clothes are still too tight, but at least I can keep my pants on! Finally, because I can't resist another picture of Jonah, here you go:

[Someone must have forgotten to tell Jonah they were supposed to be sleeping...]

take the poll

I spent most of the early morning hours bouncing Jonah (I think he will be a trampoline artist--this boy loves to bounce) and editing the layout of our blog. Please help me fine-tune it by voting in the poll on the right. I don't want to have the blog no one views because it takes 20 minutes to load. Please choose any or all that apply so I can make this page pretty and friendly.

rain, rain (don't) go away

We had a huge rain storm last night. Yay! I love the summer monsoons, and seemed to always miss the best storms by a few days when I was coming home in the summers from BYU. Tempe was pounded for a good hour and got a drizzle for hours after that. Jonah slept through the whole thing, but there was some exciting action around the valley. For one thing, the US 60 (all 6 lanes in both directions) flooded:

The line of cars went back for almost 2 miles by the time they fixed the pumps and re-opened the 60. In fact, some drivers actually turned around and drove the wrong way to get off the freeway. I was glad we stayed home, but it did make for some interesting television. I hope we get more rain tonight!

crockpot success

I've never been a huge Crockpot cooking fan, but only because most of my Crockpot dishes come out dry or mushy. However, I recently tried 2 roast recipes (a spicy beef and a sweet pork) both of which are easy and delicious. Seriously, we would alternate between these two all year-round if we could. Both roasts came out tender and tasty. We eat them with tortillas, but you could do a lot of other things too. Note: I just made the roast. Both sites have more food/toppings, but all I do is cook the roast itself. In the beef recipe, I definitely use the can of chipotle peppers. I just eat the meat and Josh eats his with the peppers for more spice.

Those successes led me to find an entire blog of Crockpot recipes. I haven't tried any yet, but I intend to.

an actor, perhaps

Josh decided to try out our video camera by tormenting Jonah. Poor kid.

Never fear! We took another video with better lighting of Jonah playing in his chair. This one is a little longer (about 2 minutes) and probably more interesting to me and the grandparents than anyone else, but here you go (and yes, those are hiccups):

free food!

Today is Free Slurpee day! It is also Cow Appreciation Day, where you can get a free meal at Chick-fil-A for dressing like a cow, but I would have to spend more money getting my outfit together than the meal would cost. Besides, the nearest Chick-fil-A is not near enough.

While I love anything free, I admit we waste our fair share of money from time to time. I was reminded of many important things when I read this story about a beggar in Calcutta who saved some of her daily earnings for her 'pension' (the time when she gets too old to beg). She recently deposited over 200 pounds in coins into a bank account after police feared her coins (stored in buckets in her home) would be stolen. Good for her.

Good Morning!

A few things

Last night, Josh and I watched The Baby Borrowers. While I was appalled at the idea, I was only slightly annoyed at the show itself once I found out that the real parents and a professional nanny observed the teens throughout the whole thing. I don't know why, but we just couldn't stop watching. Most of the couples discovered they were not cut out for parenting at all (thank goodness). Although one girl, who got offended when the baby's mom suggested she actually feed the child, said she still wants a baby because it will be different when it's her own. Ha!

Despite what I read last year, I have my doubts that H&M will ever open in Tempe. It certainly won't be open before we move to Mesa in a month and a half. Sad. The only rumors I can find about it's opening are from 2007, so I'll just have to wait and see. Either that, or go to Spain more often.

We went to the library yesterday, and the only Roald Dahl books they have are Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and James and the Giant Peach. While these are fine novels, what about Matilda or the BFG? My hope is that they were all checked out by the voracious readers here in Tempe. Judging by the rest of the selection at the library, however, I doubt it.

Finally, Josh has announced that he will no longer study for tests since he got a higher score on his chemistry test after not studying at all than he did on the first (which he studied for). I would tell him this is a terrible idea, but he's just the type that can pull it off. Sick.

Mr. Rogers would be proud

We had some beautiful days in our neighborhood this weekend. It started with the sunset:

And then we got rain. Unable to take a picture of the rain, I took a shot of the wet picnic table. You get the idea, I'm sure.