Primary Election Sept. 2nd

Hey friends! Mark here with my very first entry. The subject? Politics, of course.

The only thing that could possibly be more exciting than my birthday, is to have an election on my birthday! I love this stuff (and if Marily's not careful I could accidently turn our family blog into a political one). Anyway, below is how I intend to vote on Tuesday (we'll only cover the contested races)

Marily and I are registered Republicans so here are the candidates available to us:

CONGRESS: DISTRICT 5 (I'm still registered at my old address)

LAURA KNAPEREK

This is the HOTTEST race in the entire state. There are several strong candidates looking to put current Rep. Mitchell back where he belongs--out of office.

Knaperek is my top pick. A former state legislator, she has a strong record of supporting good government. And she's part of United Families!

I like Mark Anderson a lot--he's done a great job representing me as a state legislator. He'd also do very well in Congress.

David Schweikert would be third on my list. He's a smart guy, is running an effective campaign, and I believe upholds good principles.

STATE SENATE: DISTRICT 18

RUSSELL PEARCE

I could write pages about this race, but the bottom line is this. Pearce has a rock-solid record of advocating lower taxes, reducing government waste, and fighting illegal immigration. He also understands economics, and has been a supporter of legislative measures that would reduce healthcare costs and improve conditions in hospital emergency rooms (without increasing taxes).
What about Kevin Gibbons? I know Gibbons' brother Chris, whom I like and think highly of. So I presume that Kevin is a decent guy as well. But after Kevin loses this race he is going to deserve every bit of disgrace that is heaped upon him for being part of such a deceptive and destructive campaign. There is so much wrong here it's hard to know where to begin.

Let's start with who is funding the Gibbons campaign. There are a few names of familiar Mesa citizens on the list, but then the geography changes. What's with all the donations from Yuma? Not that there's anything wrong with Yuma farmers. But this is a race for a Mesa representative. And then there's the money from fast food restaurant owners Magruder and Levecke. What do Yuma farmers have in common with Phoenix fast-food businesses? If you answered with "a propensity for hiring illegal aliens" then you are correct! All together, less than a fifth of the money being spent to attack Russell Pearce comes from voters within District 18.

The most telling detail, however, may be how many thousands of dollars donated from Democrats, including former state chair--Mr. Democratic Party himself--Jim Pederson! Why are Democrats so interested in this Republican primary?

But what about those bright yellow signs that tell us how Gibbons has "Strong Republican Values" and is interested in "Protecting Our Borders"? Guess what, those signs are paid for by labor unions--i.e. Democrats.

So let's put this together, shall we? The same folks touting Gibbons' "Republican Values" and strong border policy actually support Democrat values and open borders. As Elmer Fudd might say, "Something scwewy's going on awound hewe." You know there's a problem when Democrats are lecturing Republicans about "Republican Values". These Democrats support Gibbons precisely because Pearce has strong Republican values and wants to protect the borders. The Gibbons campaign is deceptive.

But if the Gibbons campaign were merely deceptive that could be forgiven. The more egregious error has been that the Gibbons campaign has made all sorts of outrageous personal attacks on Pearce. Gibbons is not trying to debate Pearce on policy; he's just trying to destroy Pearce by falsely portraying him as a Nazi wife beater. These types of attacks are why there are so few good people willing to run for office.

To be sure, Gibbons himself is not the criminal mastermind here. He's just the pawn. But this anti-Pearce campaign has gone too far for Gibbons to escape responsibility.


STATE REPRSENTATIVE: DISTRICT 18

(pick two)
CECIL ASH
KANANI HENDERSON

Ash has the right position on all the big issues of the day, and because he has been a volunteer for United Families International he's an obvious choice.

It was hard deciding between Henderson and Ron Middlebrook. Middlebrook sounds like a great guy and I agree with the basic principles and values he outlines on his website. But so does Henderson. What I think sets her apart is that she offers a few more specifics on policies she would advocate. For example, instead of simply saying she opposes wasteful spending, she suggests "that the budgets for the state and all agencies it funds to be placed online in a uniform and user-friendly format." For education she says that "one of the first steps is to increase teachers' pay to levels that award them for their merits."

I have nothing agains Middlebrook and would be happy to support him in the General. I like Henderson because she is young, thoughtful, and most importantly has the right values to guide her.

Steve Court? Weak on immigration. Kevin Gibbons donated to his campaign.


CORPORATION COMMISSION

(pick three)
JOHN ALLEN
KEITH SWAPP
JOSEPH HOBBS

This race is a little harder to pick a winner because I don't know as much about the corporation commission or these candidates as I should. But the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers has a scorecard that may be a useful starting point. I would stay away from Wong (a Napolitano appointee) and McClure (too liberal for me). I think the others could do a respectable job.

John Allen, however, is my first pick. A former state legislator with a stong record, he also displays an understanding of economics and has some specific ideas about improving the commission, such as updating the record-keeping and paying the attorneys more.

I like Swapp and Hobbs because their statements reflect a real understanding of good economic principles. Specifically, that government mandates are expensive and that we should look for inexpensive sources of energy, not just the politically correct ones.


COUNTY ASSESSOR

KEITH RUSSELL

Although I like to vote against incumbents (have to keep them on their toes), my gut feeling is that Russell has done a fair job and will continue to do so. A friend has this to say about Russell: "Keith Russell is the only candidate that has experience. He is a certified appraiser with over 30 years of experience."


CONCLUSION...
Those are my thoughts, folks. Feel free to share other information or call me if you want to know what else I know about these candidates that I didn't fit into the blog. 480-338-1596.

A letter to the Maverick

Dear Mr. McCain,

Until now I have kept my mouth shut. You are definitely not the candidate that I would have liked to win the Republican nomination. In fact, I would have been excited to vote in the general election for pretty much any of the other candidates that you somehow won out over. But you, Mr. McCain, I am not excited to vote for you. And I am not alone. I am convinced that nearly the entire Republican party feels this way. We are not excited. Yet, we will vote for you because we have no other choice. And you know it. You are taking advantage of the real conservatives because you know that nothing in this tangled planet of ours could get a conservative to ever cast a vote for Barack. And so we must vote for you. What else is there to do? It's like the choice between jumping in a mudhole full of leeches verses jumping in a pit of quicksand. Yeah, the leeches make us cringe but the quicksand will choke the breath out of us.

So I have kept my mouth shut until I heard about your choice for running mate. Just shoot us while we're down, why don't you? It seems as if you took every criticism you have ever found against Barack and used those items as criteria for choosing a running mate. What were you thinking? Inside my hopeful heart I had assumed you would actually choose a real conservative that would turn your ticket into something that I could at least swallow. But no, and again I feel taken advantage of.

Do you remember a few weeks ago when you aired the commercials about Obama being a more of a celebrity than a good choice for president? I was right there with you! I mean, does it somehow make you more qualified to be the president of the United States if you and your wife can pull off a fist bump?! Why is this news? But now with your choice of running mate we have to hear about the beauty pageant runner-up and her poor children who were named after her favorite encylopedia articles.

Probably I'm jumping to conclusions and need to actually do some research about her, but I'll just start by being rash.

Sincerely,

A Real Republican,

Marily Smith

A note to my three readers: I apologize. Not to McCain, but to Sarah Palin. I got just a little bit of news from what I read off the Yahoo homepage, not exactly the best resource for getting the whole story. Mostly I was annoyed with McCain, and I jumped to conclusions. I think I expected the worst. Fortunately, I once I heard Palin speak and learned more about her from better sources I was impressed and pleasantly surprised. Sorry. I'll expect more from myself from now on.....

RecipeZaar

I thought I'd post about my favorite recipe website, RecipeZaar. It has some great features and I've found a bunch of tasty recipes on there. This is now my go-to place when I am looking for a new recipe. There might very well be better websites out there, but this is what I use. Here are some of our favorite finds off of this site:

Kung Pao Chicken

Mongolian Beef

Egg Drop Soup (I didn't add salt when I made this with canned broth.)

Manicotti (I used 1/2 pkg spinach instead of a full package)

Chicken Skewers This peanut sauce is great. Try it even if you don't think you'll like it.

Artichoke Dip Very tasty.

I am always looking for new yummy recipes, especially if they are pretty quick to make. Let me know if you've got something to share.

Mom Confessions

I should not be allowing this:

And I definitely should not be encouraging this, for obvious reasons:

But, hey, at least we have fun at our house, right? (That is until someone gets hurt.)

S is for Smoothie

One of the cool things about being out on my own, married, and in control of my own life is being able to realize some of my childhood dreams about what I wanted my home to be like when I "grew up." And in spite of what strangers think when they see my scrawny frame pushing two kids in a shopping cart at Wal-Mart, yes, I am grown-up, and yes they are BOTH my children. Sometimes as a kid I would think about what life would be like when I could stock my own kitchen and be completely in charge of what foods were in it. I imagined a salsa garden in my backyard, citrus trees aplenty, a winter of fresh-squeezed juice and a summer of smoothies--right there besides my awesome husband and lots of boys who get dirty--it was a vision of Heaven on Earth for sure. I am getting closer to realizing that utopia, with a great husband and two cute and dirty boys, and although we buy instead of grow our own fruit and veggies for now, smoothies are often found in contented little tummies around here. This week I bought a bunch of fruit for great prices, cut them up and froze them. Seeing the bags of frozen fruit in my freezer makes me happy. (In case you need a tip, freeze the cut fruit on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, once frozen, transfer to freezer bags.) And of course every little person loves a good smoothie.

Here is a rough recipe of today's creation:

1 cup apple juice

1/2 or more cup vanilla yogurt

handful each: frozen peaches, mangoes, pineapple

Tablespoon O.J. concentrate

Blend together and add more apple juice or water till it blends easily. I love berries but today I felt like breaking the mold and making a smoothie without them--I'm glad I did, it was sure tasty and refreshing.

Sales

In case anyone's interested, my sis alerted me to this one.:
Alberton's has lots of stuff on sale for $1 and $1.50 each if you buy eight. Then, you can find coupons for quite a few of these items on the Box Tops for Education website. This makes some items super cheap: Fruity cheerios for 75 cents, Gogurt $1, Cookie mix 50 cents, etc. Albertson's sale good til Tuesday and only one reward :( (after you buy 8 items) per customer. Maybe I'll have to squeeze in two trips in the next couple of days.

Oh, Rebellious Me

Maybe it's a bit of a surprise to some that know me, but I am a rebel. It's true. There is something within me that feels like I have to do things differently than those around me. This can be a good thing or a bad thing--It depends on what everyone else is doing. Here is some of my rebelliousness explained:



1. I don't go to sales parties. I consider myself a pretty social person, so it's definitely not shying away from the social scene that keeps me out of your house if you are having one of these parties. Then why have I boycotted every one I have been invited to in at least the last three or four years? It's because I'm cheap, okay? Or, let's use the word frugal. And yes, that link will take you to an article I wrote a few years ago. If you read it, please understand I was just trying to be funny, I don't know if it worked, but I was definitely not trying to be insulting. Someday I will have all the money in the world and I will buy all the candles, spatulas, and/or ankle bracelets that my heart desires. But likely, my heart will still only desire two or three candles and/or spatulas, and ankle bracelets just aren't my style. So, don't feel like you need to cross me off your invite list unless you are mailing the invites and you want to save on postage. It's really out of courtesy that I don't show up to your party. There's too much pressure. If I don't want to spend the money, I am not going to come and eat your food. I still love you. And please keep inviting me if you'd like. It is nice to feel the love, to know that I am a close enough friend that you want my money. Sorry, that last line was a joke. If I keep getting the invites, I know someday I will break the cycle and show up. Will it be to your party?



2. I have not read (and don't plan on reading) Twilight. I don't plan on going into detail with this one because I do not think I could tread lightly enough on this subject to not hurt the feelings of the Twilight fans. It all started with not wanting to follow the crowd. And, I thought I was all alone. From a previous post I have discovered that there are others like me. Bless them. If you too are not reading Twilight, I would love to talk with you about it sometime. But not here. Too many people are watching.

3. I am not a movie buff. It's nearly pointless to ask me anymore if I have seen this or that movie, especially if it has come out within the last year. I just haven't. I can't even remember the last time Mark and I went to a movie theater, I know it was before we moved, and it likely was a discount theater. Besides, it's only once or twice a year that a movie comes out that gets me excited to see it. Even then, we usually don't see it until it is nearly gone from the cheapy theaters. We do have plans to see Prince Caspian this weekend. I hate to say this, but I am getting just a little tired of people gasping for their breath when I tell them I haven't seen whichever particular movie they are asking about. Please don't let this make you self-conscious around me, it's not you...it's me.

On a similar note, my friend Tiffany and I made a pact in our first years of college to not see PG-13 movies and since then--a good 5 or 6 years ago--I could probably count on one hand the number that I've seen: Lord of the Rings (not sure how many of these were PG-13), Harry Potter, and some strange but funny one my sisters-in-law brought over, The Sasquatch Gang, which must really have been mis-rated. You see, it's easy to be picky about movies when you only see one a month.

4. I am not putting my child in preschool. This may be my most deviant move yet. I worried and worried about what to do with Dallin for preschool and the more I read the more I realized that it was silly to worry. I realized again what I knew to be true: it doesn't matter in the long run whether your child goes to preschool or not. Whatever my child doesn't get from preschool, whether it is social experience, learning to read, or germs, he will catch up with when he does get to school. There is so much pressure to do the right thing with your child and to get them started so early, and you know what? It's not necessary.

I am saying the pressure is what is not necessary, because if as a parent you think that preschool is the right thing for child then that is great. Every parent will make different decisions for their child, and many parents realize that preschool can provide their child with some benefits. I am sure Dallin would benefit from preschool also, but we chose to go a different route. This is what we are doing instead:

• "Learning Time" each weekday after Adam goes down for nap. This can last from 5 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the day. We go over counting and letters and sometimes just do games or crafts.
• Going on outings to the library, museums, etc
• Allocating money which would have gone to preschool to other activities like getting a museum membership, signing Dallin up for various classes to provide some social opportunities for him, etc

So in the end, I think we will get basically what a preschool has to offer, just in a more piecemeal fashion.

5. I signed my son up for dance. Yes, and he is the only boy in his class. Woah. Am I strange or what? Since Dallin isn't doing preschool we wanted him to have some opportunities to interact with other kids and follow directions, etc. The thought of him on a soccer team, running around frantically trying to kick a ball that 10 other kids are hovering around did not sound very productive to me at this age in his life. I mean, he does plenty of running and kicking as it is, and four-year-olds don't quite get the idea to "work as a team." So dance is a way for him to use his active self in a more controlled, productive way. He has to follow instructions. He has to coordinate the movements of his body. Both things that are beneficial to learn.

One of the other reasons Dallin is taking a dance class is because I want him to be a well-rounded man. I don't want him to be the kind of guy that is too "manly" to do certain things like change babies diapers or watch a romantic movie with his wife or dance with her when she wants to dance. I want my kids to be open to every good experience that life has to offer.

If you've stayed reading this for this long, maybe you'll be up for reading just a tidge more. I hope I haven't made anyone defensive of their own decisions. That's not the point--these are just the weird things that I do and they don't have a lot to do with anyone else. I love it that we all have the opportunity to make our own choices for ourselves and our children. But certainly, there are certain things about you that are rebellious, even a little? I'd love to know. Come on, spill it.

Other people's blogs

Though I am not quite up there with the true blogaholics, I have done my share of blog-hopping. I find myself addicting to checking out who has posted something new. There are a few blogs that I find myself checking time and time again. What's wrong with this? Well, it's fine if they are friends or family members' blogs, but sometimes they are total strangers. And, I'm not just talking about total strangers whose blogs appeal to the public with titles like "Kooking for Kids" or "I ALSO Like to Make and Sell Baby Stuff." I am talking about people's personal blogs about themselves and their family. Why am I interested in other people's lives like this? Sometimes it is because someone is simply great at writing and their blog is entertaining to read. And sometimes, or at least in the case of two or three of these blogs that I secretly spy on, it is because That Girl is so much cooler than me. She wears clothes in colors that I would never feel cool enough to wear, she gives her children names that disregard phonics, and she makes even the dummest things look awe-inspiringly awesome by the pictures she takes with her fancy camera.

Online Yard Sale

My friend Britta is moving and has some things listed on a blog here. She has great taste and has some good stuff for sale. Check it out.

Advice for a mom of a four-year-old

Topic #1: Kindergarten
All right friends, I have some questions about school choice and I need you to be honest with me. Dallin is nearly four and so now it's time for us to start thinking about where we want to take him to school. The strange part is, I can't get over the fact that there is now a choice in where to send him to kindergarten. I mean, there have always been private schools and a few charter schools, but 10 and 20 years ago when I was in school most parents didn't sit down and choose where to send their child. It was pretty obvious that the vast majority of kids would go to the neighborhood public school. Of course there were a few parents that would send their children to other schools, but as a kid--no offense--I thought those were just the overprotective parents whose children ended up not being able to interact with the rest of society. Most of the kids we go to church with don't go to the neighborhood public school, generally they go to one of the Franklin schools or a charter school.
How can a parent decide?
Especially if the parent is still dragging his/her feet in bitter disappointment that parents are taking their kids out of the neighborhood public schools?

We always thought our kids would go to public schools but now we are not so sure. It is not as much about the difference in the education that would lead us to sending our son to somewhere other than the neighborhood school, more like we want him to be around good kids, whose parents care about what they are learning and who aren't raising heck in the classroom distracting the other kids from learning. So what's a parent to do? Go with the public school on principle because I don't want be a part of public schools going downhill? Or admit that I am being one of the protective parents whose children are too good for the public school?

Topic #2: Preschool
Seems like everyone is signing their kids up for preschool these days. Does it really make a difference or is just something to keep the kid busy? Dallin is coming up on four and we could have put him in preschool last year if we wanted to. Frankly, the thought never even crossed my mind. Maybe I am just reluctant to admit that my little boy is old enough for school. Maybe it's just that there is not much point in putting a 3-year-old in preschool. I am not saying one way or the other, just laying the cards on the table. You tell me. Some of you have older kids, and some of you just have a stronger opinion than I do. Great. Let me know what you have to say. I know that these can even be controversial topics, but say what's on your mind, okay?