Monday, March 22, 2010

Everyone Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion

Everyone Is Entitled To Their Own Opinion.





Including me.





So if you don't like my viewpoint, please don't berate me on my own blog, I'm just expressing how I feel.





So... How do I feel about.... THE HEALTH CARE BILL????








UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..... SIIIIIGHHHHHHHHH.....








slightly irritated, mostly. I want government to be SMALLER, not BIGGER, and I don't think that global health care is the answer.





3 months ago I realized that I'm not a conservative republican, or even a moderate (like I thought I was)... I'm a LIBERTARIAN. I don't want to Government dictating ANY of my life. I want them to leave me alone. I agree that health care costs too much, but it's only going to cost more with the health care bill, and drive people who would have become doctors away from the profession.





I also feel that we shouldn't go around "governmentizing" (I made up that word, I think) the nation's health care when the military's health care system is already seriously screwed up. Can we not fix what's already in place and broken, rather than starting a whole new system based off the broken one? And was this the best time to go for a Health Care Bill while our country is in economic crisis? Could he not have focused a little energy and fixing our dying economy? Or is this the government's way of saying that there are NO solutions to the flailing economy? Well, there's no bandaid for this one, so let's just focus somewhere else to keep everyone's mind off of the big picture. Did Obama just want to make his mark? Probably. I'm sure he totally believes the Health Care Bill is what's right for America. I don't think he's the "Anti-Christ" I keep hearing people say. I don't believe his decision-making is "evil" nor do I think it's "good." I say, let's leave religion out of politics like our founding father's intended. It's not like the guy is sacrificing goats to some devil-god? I'm tired of hearing about him being evil. I may not like his choices, I may not understand his version of politics (in my opinion socialism would be a good name for what he believes in), but I am not going to fling dirty words at our President just because I don't agree with what he does.





Back to my thoughts... I think the way that Obama passed the Health Care Bill was wrong. He used a loophole, he knows it, we know it, everyone knows it. That's the real thing that pisses me off. It was dirty and underhanded, and I hope that the States that are suing him through the legal system win... but until that day comes (or doesn't come, whatever)... I'm going to make the best of the situation. (I may even not have to pay so much for my private insurance!). One last complaint about the bill, however. Penalizing the people for NOT having insurance??? Hmm... so how is that fair? Not that I don't understand the thinking behind it, but the government shouldn't penalize us for not having health insurance. What's next, a tax on the people without gym memberships? Shall we tax those who don't eat healthy as well? Hey... I'm all for encouraging people to do the SMART thing... but FORCING PEOPLE? Or maybe "force" is the wrong word... it's almost like blackmailing people to do something. Sure, you don't have to get health insurance, but if you don't, you're going to have to pay. It doesn't smell like freedom to me...





There is one thing about the Health Care Bill that I like, however.





No More denying insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions... and no more not covering those conditions. Woohoo!





Being as I was denied PERSONAL INSURANCE from a certain INSURANCE COMPANY because I had one too many abnormal (don't read this if you are afraid of TMI) pap smears....





I'm glad I won't have that problem anymore. And I think Obama has a good-ish idea in THEORY... He just hasn't quite figured out a way to execute it that isn't so extreme... or in a way that goes with my Libertarian viewpoint.





Whatevs.





I don't know everything.





Just expressing myself and the thoughts I had this morning when I read 400 facebook opinions on the issue, and decided to leave facebook out of it.





Blog Out.

Friday, March 19, 2010

My Mom :)

This is my Mom. The woman who raised me and helped shape and mold who I am today. Today is her birthday, so I wanted to put my mom up in the blogger spotlight, and tell you all a little about who she is and what she's got going on!

As you can see, I have a very beautiful Mommy. I think it may be unfortunate for me to have a red head for a mother, because they are rare enough, that whenever I see a red head, I feel a strange pain my heart and am flooded with a sadness at the fact that I am no longer able to be around my Mom very often.



My Mom has MANY amazing abilities. She's a VERY smart, VERY talented woman. One of the best talents she has, is her ability to cook anything and everything and make it taste amazing! Seriously... I'd pay big $$$ to eat at my mom's restaurant if she owned one.


This past Christmas, Mom even ventured to make some gluten-free stuff just for me! It was delicious! I'm so proud of my mom, and so thankful she made the extra effort just for me. She's a very thoughtful woman.




















Here's a picture I really didn't want to post... it's not too flattering for either one of us. But I wanted an old photo from when I still lived at home. This is all I have with me.


My Mom was a very loving mother. She always told me how beautiful I am, and always made sure I knew that she loved me. She is also a crusader for justice! She stood up for me, and fought for me, through all of my trials as a child, teen, and young adult.


She also threw killer pool parties and all of my friends STILL love my mom, and used to come over all the time just to be around the "fun" mom and get some of her delicious cooking! This picture is at one of the pool parties we had. I miss those days.



Speaking of nurturing, here's a pic of her doing that...















Mom's also lots of fun. She loves to play games, and joke around. She's got a wicked sick sense of humor (we all do, but where do you think we got it from?). I like to think I inherited a lot of my personality from my mother. Part of that is the ability to make any situation fun, and just let loose and enjoy yourself. She's really good at that, and when Mom's having fun... EVERYONE is having fun!












Mom LOVES Chocolate Milk...


Chocolate in General...


Especially German Chocolate...


Pretty much anything German, mom loves it...


Mom Speaks German...


Mom was born in Landstuhl, Germany on March 19th, 19**. (don't you worry about how old she is)


She was grew up EVERYWHERE, but some of the places include Germany, France, Georgetown, TX, and I can't remember the rest.


Also, My mom is an AMAZING artist! She did a HUGE Mural for her school in New York City, and did a really stellar job! I wish I had photos of that to share with you, but I don't.




Here's a photo of when Mom met Jeff for the first time. Mom accepted Jeff like he was her own son. She treated him like family from the very beginning. In fact... she seems to like him a little TOO much... always jokes that he's her favorite and not me... hmm...


That's just Mom, though. She's a very accepting person, with an open heart to everyone wanting to be a part of her life, or her family. It is one of those qualities about my Mother that I try to emulate. Mom has adopted many new siblings for me, and I absolutely love it. She never closes the door on a person in need, mom has always had a big heart especially for those hurting in life. She still does so in working with children with learning disabilities, through her callings in church, and through treating others with respect and kindness.



My mother is a wonderful woman... and I hope she has the best birthday EVER!



I can't wait to see her in 1 week!!!



Lots of Love To My Mom,



Katy.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Falling with Style

As many of you already know... I went Sky Diving last weekend... I wanted to talk about my experience here on my blog, however, so I could explain what it was like.

It started with my anniversary. Jeff wouldn't tell me what we were doing or where we were going, but ended up driving me to New Braunfels. We went to a little german restaurant, which was kinda gross, and while we were there, I started trying to figure out what his plans were. He claimed we were going to go to "german town" in New Braunfels, cause he knows I loved Germany. He said the rest of the agenda was going to be secret till the next day. By the time we got in the car, I figured it out. "Are we going sky diving tomorrow?" I asked. Jeff just stared at me and asked me if I'd seen some papers lying around or something. "No." I replied. Jeff remained silent. But by then it was too late. His answer answered my question, and I KNEW we were going. I felt slightly nervous but not that bad.

The next morning it hit me that I was hours away from jumping out of an airplane. On purpose. We got our sad sad excuse for a "continental" breakfast, and I made the mistake of drinking a caffeinated beverage. Those just make the anxiety worse, by the way. We then drove to San Marcos, found the Sky Diving place, and checked in. This is when I started really panicking. My heart was racing, I kept anxiously waiting for them to call my name. They called our friend, Chris, back first. He came out all decked out in a green jumpsuit and harnesses and stuff. Then they called Jeff back. Then me. They told me I had to wear the pink jumpsuit (sexist much?) no seriously, I was really happy I got to wear a neon pink suit as I fell from the sky. Really. It's one of my favorite colors. The guy I jumped with was really cool. He explained to me that my one real job in life was to make sure the moment we jumped from the plane that I arched my back. He told me he would let me know what else to do as we fell. Suddenly I didn't feel so scared. I had an experienced (10 years worth) jumper with me, who would basically do everything for me, all I had to do was arch my back and follow instructions! woohoo!

I also got the video package (Jeff and Chris didn't) which is why you won't see many photos (or really any photos) of Jeff or Chris. There is a video that I can't figure out how to load onto my blog. The camera guy thought Chris was my husband cause Jeff had already loaded onto the plane when he started filming. So I'm hoping next jump Jeff will get the video package so I can get some cool pics of him falling out of the sky.













After that, we loaded up on the plane, and I was right behind the two videographers and we all sat in front of each other, so our tandem buddies could hook up to us right before jump time. This meant I was the 2nd person to jump out of the plane aside from the two camera dudes. Jeff and Chris were further back from me. As we started flying I kept getting waves of panic, and then feeling fine. I felt fine most of the flight in fact, until I realized that we were going to 10,000 feet and I was only exiting the plane one way. Jumping. I was front row, you can't back out when you're front row. You just can't. But still, I STILL really didn't get that full on panic, that sinking in the pit of my stomach, until the door opened, and I was standing in front of it.













Here's a good view of what I was looking at...



Scary, eh? Well, it was for me. Luckily, I didn't actually JUMP from the plane... the man I was strapped to did.










Then we did a back flip. I was in such shock, I didn't know we did a back flip.. not till I saw the photos.






And then we started falling....
I really cannot describe to you what it feels like to fall towards the earth at speeds untravelled by the likes of me...




What I can tell you... is that it is one of the coolest sensations I've ever experienced!
I think it's amazing the photographer captured all of this. He must be an amazing sky diver.
I kept looking down completely stunned at the fact that I was free falling out of the sky, like a rain drop. I kept picturing the splat I would inevitably become if the parachute didn't open.
Seriously... my heart was going nuts.
But at the same time.. I was having SO MUCH FUN!

Luckily... my parachute did open!
The relief flooded through my body, and replaced fear with this incredible euphoric high...
I FELT SO ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!
After the chute opened, my tandem buddy did some fun spins and tricks on the way down. And I was able to enjoy it the whole time after that. No fear. I was slightly wary of the landing, but nothing like the falling.


When the time came to land, he told me to hold my legs straight out in front of me and to keep them there until he said.




We made it! I gave my instructor a big hug and thanked him for not killing me.
After that, Jeff, Chris and I went and ate some Thai Food, and then Jeff and I went shopping for some cute clothes at the outlet mall.
It was a WONDERFUL anniversary gift!
THE END.