November Election

Take a look at this and remember to vote in November  

U.S. House and Senate have voted themselves $4,700 and $5,300 raises. 1.     They voted  NOT to give you a S.S. Cost of living raise in 2010 and 2011. 2.     Your Medicare premiums will go up $285.60 for the 2-years and you will not get the 3% COLA: $660/yr. Your total 2-yr loss and cost is -$1,600 or -$3,200 for husband and wife. 3.     Over 2-yrs they each get $10,000 They will have a raise and better benefits. Why care about you? You never did anything about it in the past. Do you really think that Nancy, Harry, Chris, Charlie, Barnie, et al, care about you?  SEND THE MESSAGE--  You're FIRED. IN 2010 YOU WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO GET RID OF THE SITTING CONGRESS:  Up to 1/3 OF THE SENATE, AND 100% OF THE HOUSE. MAKE SURE YOU'RE STILL MAD IN NOVEMBER 2010 AND REMIND THEIR REPLACEMENTS NOT TO MESS UP. Maybe it's time for a new amendment........ Amendment 28 "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."

Our Top WEDDING tips:

June is just around the corner and brides-to-be are busy planning their weddings.  Here are our top wedding tips:

1. Make your wedding day personal. Have it reflect your personality.

2. Remember, this is just the wedding and reception - don't get carried away and stress yourself out. It is the "marriage" that is the most important thing. Keep your focus on the marriage - not the celebrations.

3. Make every effort to keep within your budget. Don't start out your marriage in debt. Marriage is all about compromise - start practicing that ideal when planning your celebrations.

4. Ladies, contrary to popular belief, your wedding day is NOT all about you. It is also your fiance's big day. Is there anything he'd like to incorporate into the plans? Did you bother to ask?

You can find our website at asimpleldswedding.com We've posted all of the overflow material from our book on the website to supplement the book. The book is available at the BYU Bookstore in Provo. (You don't have to buy the book - or be a "Mormon" - to use the website.)  We wish you a happy wedding, a happy marriage, and a happy life together.

 Jeri-Lynn Johnson & Amy Jones

Happy Birthday Amy!

Volcano shuts down flights across Northern Europe

A volcano eruption in Iceland has totally shut down 313 airports from Ireland to Bulgaria (including Stockholm, Oslo, Paris,London, and Frankfurt.  17,000 flights were canceled the first day, and over the last four days, 63,000 flights were canceled.  Mother nature has been showing us humans who is in control.  The last few years have been wrought with devastating hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, wild fires, record snowstorms, record heat waves, and now this.  We can't say we haven't been warned.

I don't let it change how I live my life...except for the fact that I've been reassessing my food storage and emergency preparedness plans.  I'd rather be prepared than be sorry.

Parenting in the Age of Computers

The computer has pretty much taken over my life.  I spend waaay too much time on it. Some of the time spent is worthwhile:  I’ve created family history books for my grandchildren, I wrote my autobiography, I’ve written (and published) five books, etc. and the internet has allowed me to connect with people that would have drifted out of my life.  The downside has been that I spend a lot more money because in the old days when I actually had to leave the house to go buy something, I could spend all day just looking for a pair of white pants – now, I can find them in five minutes…and in the process, find about three other things that I wasn’t even looking for. I'm on Facebook, MySpace, I have built numerous websites, and I blog.

The one thing I am really grateful for is that I didn’t have the internet when I was raising my family.  My girls turned out perfect (pardon me for bragging) because I was really truly there for them.  If I had spent as much time then on the computer as I do now, they would be completely different people:

When they’d say “Mommy, mommy, mommy,” I’d say “go out and play.”

When they'd get on my nerves, I would have said, "it's time for a nap.  I don't care if you've already had two naps today - you need another one."


They would have gone to bed at 5:00 p.m. and I wouldn't have let them out of their rooms until 9:00 a.m.


Fortunately for them, that wasn't an option.  However, to all of you mom's out there, this is a head's up.

There are ways to use the computer to educate your children.  When my grandchildren come over, they sit on my lap in front of the computer and we watch YouTube videos of the Three Little Pigs, Lightning storms, and dogs sliding down slides and doing other funny things. I've made books for them with photos I got off the internet of things they are interested in.  There are educational games to play.  Just keep in mind that they need to go outside and use their brains for fantasy play and they need the exercise - so don't use the computer as a babysitter.

How do I feel about being "old?"

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, or my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to stay in my pajamas all day, ..... I will.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).

(I received a longer version of this in an email and whittled it down until it expressed my sentiments exactly, so I’m sharing it with you. Well, not “exactly”exactly – I’ve never bought a cement gecko, but I have lots of equally tacky treasures around - and my “grooves” aren’t as deep as most women my age, so I’m pretty thankful for my gene pool)

I'm 65 - (How did I get to be this old?)

This is how I thought I'd look when I was 65 (like the two old geezers on the left and right). But actually, I look more like the old geezer in the middle.

It's funny how everyone wants to live long but no one wants to grow old. Old age is viewed as an unavoidable, undesirable, problem-ridden phase of life that we all are compelled to live. Well, guess what - It's not as bad as I thought it would be.

Here are some thoughts about being "Old:"

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Don't let anyone tell you you're getting old. Squash their toes with your rocker.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled, and blind they don't recognize you.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

They say your memory is the first to go when you get old.  I can't remember what the second thing is.

It's My Birthday!

 

Here are all my friends celebrating.

I'm the one you can't see, in the back - with the pink umbrella and orange juice.

(just kidding - but they're old enough to be my friends - except for the really old geezer in front)

Actually, my best friends are all much younger than I am. My two very best friends are five, and six years younger.  Why?  I don't know.  Just lucky I guess.  Having younger friends helps to make you feel younger. Hmmm, I think I'll start trying to cultivate some friendships with the 50 to 55 year old crowd.  That would be fun. (I wouldn't dare go any younger than that - I wouldn't want people to assume I was their mother!)

Happy Easter

Not Ready to Let Go

Those of you who know me know that my daughter is a singer/songwriter who lives in Nashville.  This is one of her most popular songs (sad, but great).  Enjoy.   (To hear more, go to Myspace.com/Zuffinetti)

My Living Will

"Last night, my kids and I were sitting in the living room and I said to them, 'I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.'
They got up and unplugged the Computer.
They are SO on my shit list ... "

(My daughter, Jennifer, sent this to me... I just had to post it -- I apologize for the sh_ _ word.  I never use it myself, but it is part of the quote, so deal with it.)

Obama aplogizes for America's "Arrogance"

President Obama apologized to leaders in Europe and the Middle East for our country’s “arrogance.” He has obviously confused arrogance with leadership.

104,366 brave Americans have died defending foreigners against their enemies and are buried in European soil. How many French, Dutch, Italians, Belgians, and Brits were buried in our soil defending us against our enemies? We have absolutely NO need to apologize.

Charles Krauthammer asserted, "We're a country who went to war six times on behalf of Muslims in the last 20 years, and we're apologizing?"

Keep this in mind in November