Aye, chihuahua what a cute Birthday girl

The other day was my niece Kinley's 9th Birthday and we had a blast helping her celebrate her birthday in a total girly way. My sister and brother in law are so brave, they had 6 friends come, along with Brielle and her friend Reagan to the birthday party fit for a princess.  

We first headed to the movies to see “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”.  It was such a cute little movie totally fit for 7 girls.  If you are wanting to see a fun, lighthearted, cute movie this would be it.  

Then we headed to Barrows Pizza to enjoy some Cheesy pizza and presents.  My favorite part.  The girls scarffed down their pizza as fast as they could so we could go swimming.  

So now it was onto the pool.  We headed I think to timbucktwo to go to the pool, no really it was on Val Vista and Riggs road so pretty far out there, but totally worth it.  This pool called Mesquite Grove Aquatic Center was awesome.  It is open year round and it is cheap.  So if you’re looking for a fun place to go, check it out.   You’ll be glad you drove there.  

We sure love our Kinley.  She is such a wonderful girl and truly is a princess.  Happy Birthday Kinley, we love you chicka.  

how did the economy get this way?

Okay, it's me again, the husband.  Now I want to say from the outset that I normally don't "endorse" embedding random videos into blogs that are overtly political.  But for this one, I'll make the exception.  For those of you out there that are talking the talk about the economy being bad, talking about bailouts and such, the housing bubble, gas costs etc, but deep down, you know past the soundbites you have no idea why the heck the bottom has fallen out of the market, this is a GREAT 10 minute video of how Washington DC can only work to undermine all that makes America great. 

Now I will say, that the first 9 minutes or so are really great, it goes line by line on how political dealings and bad policy set this whole thing in motion.  The last minute or so, I could do without, it goes a bit far for me, regardless who is on the other side of the criticism, and the very first 20 seconds or so is rather over the top.   So know that going into it.  But seriously, 10 minutes, and you will get why things got out of control so quickly. 

Still don't believe me? Check out this article from the New York Times published 9 years ago that pretty much called this current mess.

ny_times_09-30-991 - Upload a Document to Scribd

This little piggy went to the market

The other day Cooper and Brielle were playing in the bath tub and I heard Cooper saying over and over, “This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy went to the market, and he went wee wee wee all the way home.”  Which at first I thought nothing about it since he does that to himself all the time he loves it.  (It is one of his favorite things to have Colby do to him when Colby gets home from work, it’s quite cute).  Anyway, I decided to look in the bathtub because Brielle was laughing so hard that what I saw was just too cute to not take a picture of.  It was Cooper playing daddy (with Brielle’s doll) and playing, “This little piggy went to the market” Is that not adorable?  He was so proud of himself. 

       

another yummy salad recipe, a must try...

This salad is so yummy.  The title doesn't sound so yummy, but trust me it is so dang good.  This is a great salad if you are having company over.  It is one of my favorites.  I love it and it's a Pampered Chef recipe. 

Wilted Spinach Salad with Candied Pepper Bacon

Ingredients:
8  slices thick-cut bacon
6  tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon  brown sugar, divided
1  teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2  packages (6 ounces each) fresh baby spinach
1  medium Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2   cup thinly sliced red onion wedges
3  tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4  teaspoons  Dijon mustard
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
4  hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into wedges


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400°F. Line Large Bar Pan with sheet of Parchment Paper. Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on bar pan. Top bacon slices evenly with 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar; sprinkle with black pepper. Bake 22-25 minutes or until crisp; remove bacon from bar pan to paper towel-lined plate and cool completely. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings from bar pan. Cut bacon into 1/2-inch pieces using Chef's Knife.

2.  In Stainless (6-qt.) Mixing Bowl, combine spinach, apple and onion. Whisk remaining 4 tablespoons brown sugar, reserved bacon drippings, vinegar and mustard in Small Micro-Cooker(R) until well blended. Cover; microwave on HIGH 2 minutes or until bubbly. Pour over spinach mixture; toss to coat using Bamboo Spatulas. Season with salt and black pepper. Top with egg wedges and bacon pieces; serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings

A Voter Guide

Okay, so its a bit presumptuous, but given my occupation and general love for all things politics, it always happens every year, right at or the night before the election, I get phone calls about this proposition or that, this candidate or that and what I think, so I'll save myself the trouble of actually talking to anyone and figured I would scribe down a few thoughts about the upcoming ballot initiatives in Arizona.  Before we go any further, if you only heed one bit of advice in this whole thing, heed this: Vote NO on Prop 105. 

Now, we all know that lots of people our age don't vote.  Oh sure, many are registered, think they are registered, but come election day, our demographic doesn't vote.  It's true.  I've voted in every election since I was 18 and take it very seriously, but if you don't vote, good, because my vote counts more.  I'm not about to recruit you to vote either.  It's not in my best interest.  

{SIDEBAR}

Many people get fired up for the big national elections and that's great, but really, those are the ones that effect you the least.  The rule is, the closer to home the election, the more it impacts you.  Really, what do you think will impact you more, the next President or the HOA board?

{END SIDEBAR}

When it comes to elections, I have a couple of guidelines I like to follow and we can refer to these often:

1. For a ballot initiative, when in doubt, vote no.  The thinking here is that if it were an issue that needed fixed, you would have heard about it.  But the initiative process is so flawed that if the campaign won't explain it to me, I figure they are hiding something or its just not necessary. 
2. If you don't know whether you like the incumbent (the guy in office now) or not, vote in the new guy.  New guys always do less damage.  It's the old farts that have been in office forever that tend to steal your money and screw the country. 

For this, we will mostly focus on the various "propositions" on the Arizona ballot.  Let's start at the beginning.

• Prop. 100: This has something to do with Real Estate taxes and such.  Refer to rule #1.  I'm voting "no"

• Prop. 101: The medical choice one.  This one sounds great, it basically says that everyone in Arizona has the right to choose all their health care options.  Now the whole thing revolves around whether this would mean that HMO's can't function anymore, since in effect, you are limited in lots of choices when in an HMO.  The "yes" groups says it's not true, the "no" group says it will cost everyone in Arizona billions of dollars.  The whole thing is funded by two out of state doctors in response to what other states are doing by forcing everyone to have insurance.  Personally, it seems a bit unneeded and it IS an amendment to the Arizona Constitution.  I'm going back to Rule #1 and voting "NO"

• Prop. 102: This is the marriage one.  This is obviously a "values" or "moral" issue, but for me, I'm voting "YES"

• Prop 105: This is the worst thing I have ever heard of.  It basically destroys the initiative process in Arizona, forever.  What it says is that for any initiatives that involve any tax or fee (and it could be argued nearly every initiative costs something) increase, those that are registered to vote, but DO NOT ACTUALLY VOTE, get their vote counted as a "NO" vote.  Pretty un-American if you ask me.  Got that? People that don't vote, get a vote, and it's always NO if this thing passes.  Many of the things we have in Arizona are because of the initiative process that raised a fee or tax, things like AHCCCS, Smoke Free Arizona, and lots of other things the lawmakers are too chicken to tackle.  Vote "NO"

• Prop. 200: This involves Payday loans.  I'm a bit biased, I hate Payday loans stores.  Ever wonder how there is always a liquor store or tobacco shop near by?  Really, start noticing.  I think its really Check into Cash into Beer.  Which is fine, but not for my city.  All you need to know is Prop 200 is funded and written by the folks that own the stores.  Vote "No"

• Prop. 201: This is the home warranty on a new house for 10 year thing.  I have to agree that homes these days are built pretty crappy, but the idea that a 10 year warranty will fix anything and it will be for free is a joke.  Everyone knows that when you buy a radio at Best Buy they try to sell you warrenty and its a sucker purchase.  Same thing here.  If you want a home with a warrenty, get one in the aftermarket.  It saves everyone else lots of money.  Vote "NO"

• Prop. 202: Where would be without something about illegal aliens on the ballot.  This initiative is supposed to "modify" the current employer sanctions law, but from what I understand, it actually weakens the existing statutes.  I'm not sure how, so referring to my rule #1 along with what I have heard, I'm going "NO" on this one too. 

Now, print it, forward it, pass it along, if you want.  Vote if you want, laugh at my suggustions, I don't care.  As I mentioned, I did this to avoid the calls and frustrations the day after the elections when half my friends voted the wrong way.  And be sure to post if it was useful or offensive.