Fun Pictures

Brent and I being silly.... Kyle, Stephanie, Evie, Adams, and I being well behaved ;)... Sydney and I being cute.

Minnesota Winter Glory

We went to a local park that has not been disturbed since we've had over two feet of snow...

VERY EARLY Birthday Present!!

Tonight I was given an early birthday present that is so cool and right on the money... I never would've guessed my family would've gotten together and purchased a digital camera for me! I mentioned to my mom I would probably buy one before going on vacation but that realistically I was too cheap! LOL. So, today Brent went on a long shopping trip and came back saying that I needed to call my sister. I had no clue. After a conference call with all the peps... I started to play. I love it! It is a Canon Power Shot and I absolutely adore it. I was able to take a picture right away and not worry about reading directions. This to me being a techno-phobe was a huge plus! After reading some basics I feel like an old pro. It has been fun learning what the camera is capable of... and I especially liked being able to shoot videos... that will be fun to actually document real life.

Obese Child and Banning McDonalds in the UK

A story left me flabbergasted as I sat eating breakfast and watching Good Morning America. There is an 8 year old boy in England who weighs in at 218 pounds. The government has deemed it is not child abuse but I disagree.

This boy will never lead a normal life. He is the size of a robust, grown male adult. He snacks every twenty minutes. He consumes an average of 4 bags of chips and 2 boxes of cookies a day. I wonder why his mother continues to stock their home with junk food when she has a morbidly obese child.

In the interview, the mother said candidly, “He was born hungry and has been hungry ever since.” She seems to take no blame in his present situation although after seeing a nutritionist by court order, the boy lost 20 pounds. Even with this seeming proof that the cause of his weight is not a disorder but a direct result of his environment, the officials allowed him to stay under the care of his mother.

It baffles me how a child who has broken two trampolines and three bicycles is still in this negligent environment. He is a child who wants to play along with his peers and I am sure recognizes his many differences, but there is not a parent present to alter his doomed fate.
In response to the national outrage of this story Prince Charles has made the controversial suggestion to ban McDonalds in the UK. This somehow implies that McDonald’s presence alone is causing England to become more obese. I will admit that America is the most unhealthy, overweight nation on the planet but taking away one American temptation will not cure people’s desire to eat poorly.

I know all too well what a powerful influence food can have over you. My entire family struggles with obesity and I have worked hard to remain “pleasantly plump” and not cross that line. It is difficult but ultimately I am the one choosing to eat McDonalds, or chips, or chocolate instead of grabbing an apple. In the case of this child, his mother should be choosing for him. She should prevent him from eating so frequently and insist on preparing healthy meals.

And in my opinion, if she is not strong enough to enforce better eating habits, the child should be looked after by someone who will.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2021462,00.html

Work

All of these months I have hated my job for one reason: Mandatory Overtime. We had to work extra hours from the end of October to the beginning of February. I am starting to see that it may not have been all that bad.

Yes, I was tired all the time. Yes, I wanted to quit on several occasions. Yes, I lost contact with many of my friends. But- I paid off a bill, sent my parents money, didn’t worry about spending at Christmas, and have all of my families birthday presents bought and paid for. I also got myself a new coat, a few sweaters, new make-up, household items, and tickets to see Celtic Woman perform at the Orpheum Theatre on April 18, 2007.

It’s definitely not a bad thing to have extra money for months on end and I feel like I used it responsibly.

Our management team gave us incentives to work toward during the mandatory overtime. If we worked all of the required hours, we were given 8 hours of vacation time. If we had high accuracy and productivity, we were awarded more hours. In total, I earned 26 hours of vacation time. That is a serious bonus if you multiply that times my hourly wage.

In addition to the monetary benefits, management provided snacks like soda, chips, cookies, fruit, Mac and Cheese, etc. to sustain us during the long hours. They also treated us to lunch if the required overtime was more than 10 hours that week. They would cater in Subway, Davanni’s, Chili’s and other quality establishments.

I was inspired to write this today because our managers told us at 9:15 am to clock out after working 4 hours and take the afternoon off on them. So I get to leave at 12:30 and get paid 8 hours. That’s hot, especially when coming from out of no where!

Maybe the perks are worth the struggle after all.