Interesting...

There are many things in this life that I don't understand. 

One of them is the amount trillion.

I have heard that the stimulus plan that is now in excess of 9 trillion dollars.  

That's $9,000,000,000,000.

Something I heard on the radio this morning:  If one started with $9,000,000,000,000 and spent $1 per second for 6,000 years, you would still have money left over.

Well, I had to know if it was true--and how much would be left.

So, I asked my dear husband to figure it out for me... here goes...

1 x 60 (seconds) x 60 (minutes) x 24 (hours) x 365.25 (days + leap year) x 6000 years=
$189,345,600,000

9,000,000,000,000 - 189,345,600,000 = $710,654,400,000 remaining.

Amazing--there would still be $710,654,400,000 remaining!

Can  anyone possibly spend $9,000,000,000,000??

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

My Only Election Post

I will vote tomorrow.

I will not vote because I believe in or fully endorse either candidate. In all honestly, I'm voting against one more than I am voting for the other.

I will not vote because I feel a moral obligation to do so.

I will not vote because I believe this is "God's Country". I believe that God upholds His church, His people regardless, no matter where they are.

I will not vote because I feel it is my duty.

I will not vote to "make my voice heard." I am jaded enough in all things political to believe that my voice is rarely heard by the decision makers!

I will vote because I am thankful. I am thankful to my Granddaddy who had to grow up way too fast in a foxhole; who had to make the decision to pull a trigger because either he or the enemy would die that day; who spent long months away from his family and longer months coming to terms with what he had seen and had to do while away.

I'm thankful that God brought him home when so many others did not.

I don't know if Granddaddy thought of his tour of duty as serving his country and protecting the freedoms we hold today or if he was simply doing what he was told. He was drafted. Either way, he fought.

Being thankful makes it easier for me to overcome my political pessimism and, honestly, the anger I sometimes feel when I am told over and over that voting is my duty, that we have to put "our" man from "our" party (whichever that may be) in office.

And, somehow, being thankful also make it easier for me to remember who is ultimately in control--and rest in that.

Take A Moment

Monday Musings

During Sunday lunch, it has become tradition for us to read various parts of the newspaper together. Gracen loves to hear the dogs listed in the classifieds and the comics. Jeff and I each have sections that we gravitate toward first as well. For the most part, I am a headline reader until something catches my attention.

This article was carried in our local paper yesterday. I'd really like to say that I was surprised but I wasn't. I guess I was surprised by the pervasiveness of how little "general knowledge" we as a culture seem to have. On a related note, this article was on Fox News' website a few weeks ago.

As I teach my child, I am keenly aware of the holes in my own education--and I am also painfully aware that I wasn't the best student. However, I think I did have a pretty good broad base of knowledge simply by listening to people and by reading. But, I think the culture was nearly as entertainment oriented as it is now. I would be curious to know how many people can name the children of "Brangelina" or how many times Britney Spears has wrecked her car but can't name even 3 current heads of state or what continent the country of Uruguay is on.

Increasingly, it's hard to get away from "entertainment". Celebrity is something to be achieved and worship--or at the very least admired. Younger children can outfit everything from their bedrooms to closets in all things Hannah Montana--or whoever the latest Disney darling is. I'm not trying to take anything away from whatever talent some of the celebrities may have but I do think it has been taken to extreme!

On a different note, but something else that is worth your time to watch, if you haven't already...Babette's Feast. We had movie night at church last night. This was great one. I haven't had a chance to really process all my thoughts on it yet. But it is worth checking out!

Mars Picture

By now, most have probably seen the picture of the "humanoid" found in the picture from Mars.
Humanoid aside, the larger picture is really neat (there is a link in the article to look at the panoramic picture) and you can zoom in on different parts of the picture. We thought it is neat to see the Martian rocks!

Gracen and I are off to visit family. See you on Monday!

Painful Ads

We haven't been subjected to many political ads here (that I've seen anyway) because our election isn't until February 5. I do wonder exactly how effective ads like these are anyway.

Not to be overly critical, but that ad doesn't make Hillary look funny to me, if that was the intent. This one is only trumped, in my opinion, by her awful Christmas ad.

I don't know who I will be voting for in the primaries. In things political, I'm very much a skeptic. Researching the candidates has only made me more skeptical and more unsure (mostly skeptical though). While there are basic tenets to the Democratic party as a whole that I just can't support, I can't say that I'm 100% Republican either. Maybe the party has changed a bit; maybe my views have changed--more likely it's a combination of both.

All I do know is that I won't be voting for Hillary.

Golden Compass

I've heard a lot of talk about the new movie, The Golden Compass. It is the first of three movies based on a trilogy of books by Phillip Pullman.

This article was very interesting to me because it told "more of the story" so to speak. I wanted to know more about the movie and the books. Honestly, I doubt this would be a movie (or books, even) that I would want to see. Generally, fantasy isn't my favorite genre. I was a reluctant viewer/reader of The Lord of the Rings. It has, however, stood the test of time as my all time favorite movie/story!

Check it out if you have time~it isn't terribly long and is worth reading.

Disturbing but Worth Reading

This article was linked on another blog that I sometimes read. It is arguably one of the most disturbing things that I have read in a while. I guess I (and I hope I'm not alone) am so desensitized to the abortion issue that most of what I hear on the radio and read online doesn't register. Perhaps I am naive but it doesn't enter my mind that there are women who choose to have an abortion strictly for convenience often. This smacked me in the face--and I didn't like it. But maybe I needed the smack.


One of the reasons this bothered me so much (aside from the selfishness of the entire article) is that I literally only have about 2-3 friends who have had NO trouble conceiving children or carrying them to term. There are several children that I love tremendously that are adopted. They are walking, breathing testaments to adoption and to the selflessness of their birth mothers.

Abortion has become (or perhaps always has been) a political football of sorts. Hopefully, in the midst of all politics, we can remember that abortion is truly, fundamentally a heart issue. While policies are important and necessary, hearts are usually changed one at a time and on a very personal level.