To All You Swing Voters

I do not shy away from the fact that I am a full on Romney supporter.  Even though I didn't vote for Obama in '08 I stayed positive and hoped that his promise of change would actually happen when he was elected President.  Depending on what your views are in life, maybe Obama has done something for you in the past, but as for me there is $16 TRILLION reasons why I won't vote for him now.  Not only that, but he has negatively effected me and my life in regards to the military.  There has been so many job cuts in the Coast Guard, there have been a good deal of people that have been forced into retirement, and they cut back on their new recruits.  We have personally felt it as Theo wasn't able to make officer since Obama has been in office because he has cut back so many military jobs.  We are definitely not where we had planned we would be in the 4 years that he has been in office.

But what really gets me is what he is promising now.  I found this article by Herman Cain and it very adequately sums up the garbage that Obama makes up, and it's a crying shame that Obama-ites are soaking it up!

Politics: New Obama ad: More promises, more Bolshevik

Published by: Herman Cain on Thursday September 27th, 2012

By HERMAN CAIN - This ad is such a load of crap, there is no English word that will do it justice.
It must be nice to be a candidate for office who can say absolutely anything, and can promise absolutely anything, without fear of serious media scrutiny. In other words, with an unlimited license to B.S., you might as well take advantage. And boy, does Barack Obama ever do that in his latest ad.
This two-minute barnburner is so shameless, you almost have to tip your hat to Obama and his campaign for having the temerity to put the damn thing on the air. Then again, why not? They're not going to get any scrutiny from the media "fact checkers," and they know it.
It's going to take some time and space to dissect this thing, so let's get into it. First, here's the ad:

 Where to start? How about here:
1. Yes, we were in a full-blown recession when Obama took office, as he constantly reminds us. Sharp recessions are historically followed by sharp recoveries. Because so many jobs were lost, there is lots of room to regain them, and smart economic policies should give you robust economic growth and job creation. But we are not having that now, precisely because of Obama's policies. Three years after the recession officially ended, unemployment is still above 8 percent, and the real U6 unemployment rate that includes those underemployed or who have left the workforce is closer to 15 percent. We found out this morning that economic growth in the second quarter of this year was only 1.3 percent.
That is terrible!
This is not because of the recession of 2008 and 2009. That recession should have set the stage for a robust, full-blown recovery. We are not having that recovery, and Obama's policies are the reason.
2. We were not "mired in Iraq" in January 2009. As a result of the troop surge of 2007, we were wrapping up a victory in Iraq by 2009. By the time we ended combat operations shortly after Obama took office, we had won.
3. Tax cuts and reductions in regulation, which Obama calls "trickle down economics," are not what "got us in this mess in the first place." I detailed the real causes of the economic meltdown in this piece a few weeks back. But I also told you Obama would keep saying this, and he is.
4. Here's where it really gets rich, because at this point Obama simply starts making random promises he can't possibly back up. The first is that he is going to "create 1 million manufacturing jobs." Oh? How? Right now the entire economy is failing to produce 100,000 new jobs per month of any kind, let alone in manufacturing. Why should anyone think Obama knows how to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs? Just because he says so? I could announce that I have a "plan," and that part of my plan is to triple the salary your employer is paying you. Sounds great, doesn't it? How exactly would I do that? I have no idea. But all I have to do is promise it and get you to believe it.
Obama is not going to create 1 million manufacturing jobs. That is utter nonsense.
5. Help businesses double their exports. Really? How is he going to do that? Are customers overseas going to suddenly start buying twice as much American stuff because Obama asks them very nicely? Obama could put more business-friendly policies in place, although that would be a pretty dramatic change from what he's done to date. But even if he did (and I haven't seen a single proposal yet from him that would qualify as business-friendly), there is no way he can say how much U.S. exports would increase, or if they would at all. This is a promise on which he knows he can't deliver. He just says it because it sounds good.
6. Cut oil exports in half? Is that right? By allowing drilling in the ANWR? By relaxing restrictions on drilling on other federal lands? By opening up the exploration of shale oil in the west? By ending restrictions on off-shore drilling? No, no, no, no. By ending his war on coal? By getting rid of restrictions on nuclear power? No. No. By dumping a bunch of taxpayer money into solar energy companies like Solyndra? Oh, wait, that didn't work. The fact is, we have enough oil, coal, natural gas and alternative energy resources right now to become completely energy-independent, and the reason we're not tapping these resources is the morass of federal restrictions that Obama refuses to lift. Cut oil exports on half. Right. Tell me another one.
7. Double the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks? Here's something fans of government should understand. There is a big difference between passing a law that says something must happen, and actually making it happen. Federal CAFE standards are mandating that cars and trucks achieve close to 50 miles per gallon in the near future. That doesn't mean the technology exists to make that happen, and the only way to develop and apply such technology will be a massive capital expenditure by the auto companies, which would drive prices sky high, or a massive federal subsidy. With the Chevy Volt, you have both. Sure, it runs on electricity, but it costs $40,000 to buy one and sales continually fall below projections. Even if you could get every other car to 50 MPG, what good would that do when it would cost so much to make the cars that no one can buy them? That's how empty this promise is.
8. We're going to have 100,000 new math and science teachers, are we? Is the federal government going to subsidize this? Because 100,000 teachers at a cost of $50,000 each per year costs $50 billion. Who's going to pay for that? Will local school districts just find money under rocks? Or does a federal government that's already running $1 trillion-plus deficits just figure, "Hey, we're going bankrupt anyway. Might as well!"
9. We're going to train 2 million Americans for new jobs? See the same questions I posed under Item 8.
10. “On top of the $1 trillion we’ve already cut, I’d ask the wealthy to pay a little more.”
Wait . . . what? The $1 trillion you’ve already cut? What $1 trillion would that be? Obama hasn’t cut any $1 trillion in spending! He’s done exactly the opposite of that!
My friends, let’s review.
When Obama took office in 2009, he immediately pushed an $862 billion so-called stimulus package through Congress. This pushed federal spending to more than $3.6 trillion, and to more than 25 percent of our gross domestic product for the first time since World War II. It was a huge spending increase!
But that was just the start. Having boosted 2009 spending with what he claimed was a one-time emergency measure, Obama and congressional Democrats simply kept spending at the same level in 2010, 2011 and 2012, but most people don’t know about it because they stopped passing budgets.
Cut a trillion dollars? Bolshevik! Obama hasn’t cut anything!
What he must be claiming is that his 10-year deficit reduction plan cuts $1 trillion in the so-called out years. That’s a promise he can’t keep because he will not be president in 10 years, and long-term budget cuts in the out years never happen!
11. This may be the best one. He said that after we end the war in Afghanistan, we're going to take the money we save, use half of it to pay down the debt and use the other half to "do some nation building here at home" (because of course we're spending so little now). OK. Let's run the numbers. The web site www.costofwar.com says the Afghanistan War has cost us $569 billion since it started. Let's be really generous to Obama and call it an even $1 trillion. Divide that by the 11 years the war has gone on, and the cost would average out to $90 billion a year.
The annual deficit is about $1.6 trillion. If you applied $45 billion to that, the deficit would be $1.55 trillion. You're not "paying down the debt" even a little. You're reducing your borrowing in such minuscule fashion you'd need a magnifying glass to see it on a pie chart. As for the half he wants to use for "nation building here at home," $45 billion won't even pay for all those teachers he promised.
This ad is such a load of crap, I can hardly come up with an English word to do it justice. In fact, I can't. I have to use a Russian one.
Bolshevik!"

Still with me?  Mr. Cain made so many valid points, especially with the jobs.  How is Obama going to create jobs?  He's done a poor job of it so far, and isn't this Romney's specialty?   He has built a successful company by helping other companies!

Obama said it himself that he gives himself an 'Incomplete' grade as President.  If you have an incomplete in school, you don't pass, and that's why I'm not passing him through to another year as President.

Joy School Fun

Today was all about Rainbows!  Most of the day ended up being crafts, but it was fun crafts!  And one was even edible. 

The first craft was to make rainbows out of Fruit Loops.  I decided to use Royal Icing, so they could eat this when they were done.  What was funny is they kept asking me if they could eat it now after each application of a color.  Ha!  I'm sure it was torture when I told them I wanted to take a picture with both of their rainbow crafts, and they had yet to make the second one.  But they were troopers, and made it through.

The second craft they got to paint half a plate yellow and glue on google eyes, then we attached rainbow colored streamers that can wave in the wind.  I got Fynn in the middle of him busted out his cool dance moves.  He was probably too happy that he got to eat his rainbow!  As soon as I snapped this picture Hannah took her plate to the table and DEVOURED her rainbow.  I would say today was a success. :) 

I'm super excited about Wednesday, we have an Apple Picking field trip planned in preparation for our Johnny Appleseed theme next week.  Can't wait!

Low Carbing It

To get down in weight in preparation for my Half Marathon in January I'm trying out the Low Carb way again.  I've done it before, and have lost some, but have bounced back up when I'm not doing it. Since my run is in January I just need to get down to a lighter weight so I don't injure my foot again.  If it stays off, then YEAH!  If not, at least I have a better chance avoiding injury.  So I've been searching Pinterest for Low Carb recipes and I came by this one:

Looks yummy, right?!  It's just two ingredients, banana and 2 eggs, simple easy-peasy!  (I would link the site, but they are doing some kind of maintenance, so I can't access the site.)  I was anxious to try them out, but unfortunately mine weren't as pretty:

When I poured the batter into the skillet with my coconut oil I was hopeful that these were going to be great!  Until it came time to flip it.  As I got my spatula under the batter mixture and flipped, the wet batter on top slopped all over the place and the bottom part broke so it wasn't as sturdy and didn't hold up to the flip.  The only thing I can think of that I didn't do right was the size of the patty.  Maybe they should have been like silver dollar pancakes, instead of regular size.  They weren't too bad either.  Eggs and banana without some flour to mellow out the combination was a little odd, but I could see me eating this again.

Jersey-isms Pt. 3

I'm slowly starting to make my way around this large city.  But there is a little issue that makes getting lost even extra annoying...

For some reason, the people around here are against left turns!  What is up with that?  You're going along knowing that your road is coming up on the left, so you get in the left hand lane in preparation for your turn, but as you get to the light you see that cursed sign!  WHY!!??  They actually have turn arounds where you have to get in the right hand lane, turn onto this side road that curves back around and then you have to wait at the light to go straight, when you could have just turned left in the first place!  We have missed so many turns because of this.  Talk about frustrating!  And I wish I could say that it's just a few intersections that are like this, but it's very common.  I mean seriously, who thought of this idea?  You would think in a Blue state (meaning mostly Democrat) they wouldn't be so against lefts!  Ha!  I just had to end it on some political humor...heehee...

Submission

I haven't been posting that much lately because my phone is messing up really bad.  I love the Instagram app, I've loved being able to snap a picture of our day and be able to blog about it.  But for some reason the app keeps telling me there is an error and then forces closed, my regular camera app that came with the phone is doing the same thing.  The guy at the Verizon store says there is a gliche with my phone and there is no quick fix.

I have loved my Android, but I think this might just be the last nail in the coffin.  I have had so many problems with my ringer not working, not being able to call out and freezes that only get fixed by me having to remove the battery.  I'm done!

I am finally going to submit and get me one of these:

A Couple of Firsts

 Today was Hannah's first day of Joy School!  She was so excited, but couldn't seem to grasp the concept of going to school at home.  She kept asking me both before and after, "Why is Joy School here?".  But it was a super fun day with lots of activities.  We have class with another little boy from our church.  It's just the two of us moms doing it, so I'll be teaching a lot this year.  But I have to say I love that I get to do this with Hannah, she's my little cuddle bug and I'm so happy to have her home for another year before Kindergarten. 

We drew self portraits, made hand print umbrellas and hand print salt dough molds.  Of course I don't have any pictures of any of that, and I'm too pooped to go downstairs and hope my phone will work long enough to get all the pictures.  My phone has been acting up on me, whenever I try to pull up my camera or instagram it says there is an error and it has to force close.  What is that about?  I've loved my Droid, but now I am so frustrated that I'm thinking of getting an iphone when my upgrade comes up in December.  Wow...I just realized that was way off topic...welcome to the real thought process of Kara Ikner.  :/  Anywho, long story longer...I will try to get pictures later and post them on another blog post.

Another first today, Emma lost her first tooth!  This was a real lesson in patience.  That tooth has been loose for a long time and I wanted to pull it out so many times, but everytime I reached in there Emma would freak and I couldn't get a good grip on it.  Finally this evening she came to me showing me that the tooth could bend all the way down, and there is a new tooth coming in behind it.  She relented and let me go at it, and sure enough *POP* and no pain.  And yes, that is another tooth growing in behind the tooth that I just pulled out.  That one is very loose also.  Hopefully now that she knows what it feels like to loose a tooth there won't be as much drama when the time comes to pull it.  But then again, this is Emma we're talking about here...

First Day of School

I may as well throw my first day of school photo into the blog pot, but this is all you're going to get. It was raining, and even though I wasn't running late, I wanted to stay on schedule to leave the house at 8:30.  And we did it!  It was a crazy morning, but I really like the kids school and their teachers so far.  Once things start to become more routine I expect it won't be so hectic at drop off.

What I have an issue with is pick-up!  I thought I had it bad in CA where I had to park the car and walk to Tobie's classroom to pick him up.  I had to get the stroller out and pack up my 2, and then 3 kids up to go get him in all the chaos of kids getting out.  I absolutely hated it!  Then when we moved to AL I was totally spoiled in the carpool pick up line.  You just pull up, call out your kids name and the teacher brings them over.  Now it's back to parking the car and going to get your kids.  But this time we pick them up in the gym and you have to wait in line to show them your I.D. and then you have to sign them out!  I appreciate all the security, but holy cow, that's a lot of work!  Especially on a rainy day like today, I was holding Charlotte and an umbrella while Hannah orbited around me.  We had to wait out in the rain, no fun at all!  I really hope that isn't how it's going to be all year. 

I thought it was funny when we were walking into the school this morning, Tobie says to me, "I bet I know what you are thinking...you are thinking 'Hooray! A break!'".  But then I reminded him that I still have Hannah and Charlotte at home, and he's like, "Oh yeah.".  I remember thinking when I went to school how sad it was when Sheena, my youngest sister, started to go. That meant my mom was home all alone.  I was seriously worried for her, but after having 5 of my own I understand that it was a sweet freedom when the last of her 7 brood went off to school.

I love my kids and all, but they are social butterflies like me and they thrive on outside stimuli.  I never have to fear them going off to school.  I know they are going to have a great time, and in 3 short years I will feel that sweet freedom, but I definitely don't wish it to come any faster.

Dinner Celebration, School is IN!

After a particularly LONG summer my kids finally are going back to school! Hooray!!  In Alabama they got out of school the end of May, but school here doesn't start until tomorrow, making a very, VERY long summer!  It was fine the beginning of the summer, with family and the move we were pretty busy.  But once we got here and got settled it feels like everything just s l o w e d down.  Even though we have made wonderful friends that have included us on some fun summer fair, the time at home just seemed to wear on the kids.  They became more whiny, more lazy and have fought more than ever before.  Hopefully with school in session they won't be at each others throats all the time!

I really wanted to celebrate this moment of returning to structure and goals by having a back to school dinner.  I had high hopes this year that I was going to make a beautiful going back to school dinner, with THIS as my inspiration.  Fancy drinks, fancy decorations, maybe even al fresco...but Red Robin is what ended up happening.  Of course the kids don't mind, since moving here they have really found the Red Robin love and because they didn't know about my failed plans they really thought this was a treat.  I was just hoping to make it a little more special, more symbolic.  Instead it ended up with a last minute rush to the store for last minute school supplies. 



What was particularly 'fun' about this 'special' occasion was the drama in getting the right kind of table.  When they first seated us we were right in between two families with 4 kids each.  They had these nice roomy tables with spacious benches.  We were elbow to elbow, so I asked the waitress if there was another table where we could spread out a bit.  She was super nice and tried to accommodate us by putting two tables together.  I thought we had plenty of room, but unfortunately the kids kept pushing the tables back and forth and I was afraid that the table would pinch Miriam's arm since she sat by the seam where the two tables met.  Then one of the families left and I asked the waitress if we could move again to the bigger cozier table.  Once we got settled and we started to actually enjoy our evening Hannah knocks over her cup spilling water all over and into my lap. 


I was hoping for something a little more magical...oh well...there are WAY too many mosquitoes here to eat outside anyway. 

Mormon Confessions

Hahaha!  I love this!  But then I was wondering, why, if there are so many members and missionaries out there, do so many others still think we are so secretive?  All our information is out there, you can download the Book of Mormon for free on any phone, ipad, Kindle or any other electronic device for free. You can download all the General Conferences (bi-annual conferences where the Prophet and the Apostles speak to us) on itunes for free.  You can go to www.lds.org to  read anything and everything about our belief. 

Why then are we still considered secretive? 

I think the answer lies within the members.  Yes these fine young men devote 2 years of their lives to go out there and preach full time, but realistically, how many people are they going to teach?  And even if they could knock on every door in their area, how many would actually let them in and listen to their message?  Members are everywhere, we are in the community, we are your neighbors, and yet you may never know.  We are taught to go out there and be good examples, but I came up with a metaphor that I think some members forget the most important part of being a good example:

"You (members of the LDS church) are the billboard for the church, make sure the name of the company isn't left off."

We can be the best example there is out there, but if people don't know our religion then they are just going to think we are just really awesome nice people. 

I actually came to this conclusion years ago, but I still struggle with sharing this very important part of me with others, why?  I think it's because Mormons are also people pleasers.  We want to help, we want to lift up, we want to bake you a casserole and be your friend.  I think it is the possibility that we will offend someone with our beliefs that we remain tight lipped.  I'm just speaking from experience here, there may be a million of reasons why it's hard for someone to share their religious views with others, but growing up in the Bible belt I have had my fair share of people telling me I was going to hell because of my Mormon beliefs.  So that does make me a little hesitant to share, and my pulse quickens every time it gets brought up as to what religion I am.  Are these people going to accept me for who I am, or are they going to lay into me about how we worship 'ole Joe Smith and polygamy?

Which on a side note, to say that we worship Joseph Smith because he started the church and gave us the Book of Mormon is to say all Christians worship Moses for leading his people through the Red Sea and gave them the 10 commandments.  And for the umpteenth time, we DO NOT practice polygamy anymore, it was one of those times when the Lord said it was necessary, probably much in the same way it was necessary when Abraham of the Old Testament was a prophet and had multiple wives...just saying.

But I digress...I have come across people who are skeptical of us because we are so helpful.  They wonder what is in it for us, what are we up to that we can give so freely?  Well guess what, there is something in it for me.  I have complete selfish reasons to help you, it brings ME joy!  It gives ME the light of Christ!  When we are in the service of our fellowman we are in the service of our Lord (Mosiah 2:17) and there is no greater joy than to serve Him. I may not even know you, but I'm going to help you out to the best of my ability because I know that Heavenly Father loves you.  And because I love Him I going to do everything I can to help others.

We believe that it is only through our Savior, Jesus Christ that we are saved and can return to him and our Heavenly Father.  We believe in the Bible and that the whole reason for the Book of Mormon is to prove that the Bible is true, that Jesus did live, die for us and rose again! 

I have been contemplating writing this post for awhile, but I kept chickening out.  Then I read this that a missionary in this area posted today on Facebook:

The Fellowship of the Unashamed
I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of JESUS CHRIST. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, or dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on his presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised detoured, lured away, divided, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up and paid up for the cause of CHRIST. I must go until he comes, give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He stops me. And when he returns for his own, He’ll have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear. I WILL NOT BE ASHAMED!

You may not believe in what I believe, just please don't persecute what you know nothing about.  I will make it my goal to put myself more out there, both in my community and on my blog.  I can only pray that I have been the good example that the Lord would be proud of, and hopefully by doing this more walls can be brought down and the majority of the public out there won't think of us as a secretive people.