$ounds Good to Me

No matter how much I want the mailbox to be bill-free, reality seldom matches desire. It has become a running joke in our family that with each opening of the mailbox, I'm going to find monthly reminders that no one is paying me. My kids even enjoy uttering the phrase "I wish someone would pay us!". I truly hate paying our bills.

Before this goes any further, let me just say that I know I can get a job and could be receiving a check in the mail once in a while. Put that aside for the point I'm about to make:

If our government has gotten into the system of bailing out failing industry that is essential to the economy, why don't stay at home parents get a check twice a month?

If I do my job correctly, my children will be nurtured, educated, mentored, and given a solid moral foundation. Isn't that the stuff that we want for our future leaders and productive members of society? Think of it this way, if a stay at home parent successfully does all these things, won't future generations stand a better chance of making decisions for the betterment of themselves and our nation? Perhaps kids that have learned right from wrong won't give poor people false hope of buying homes that they can't afford. Maybe these same kids will grow up building cars that won't break down quickly and understand what getting a job done is really all about. Is it inconceivable that kids raised by good stay at home parents might have a brighter future than others? No, and I'm surely not being politically correct by saying this either.

In my opinion, proper parenting is a dieing industry that needs a bailout.

Stay at home parenting, done by well trained adults, is an essential industry that goes unnoticed when done correctly. I willingly gave up my career to raise the girls because this is what my family needed and also because we could afford to temporarily lose one income. If the government supplemented what I monetarily lost, bill paying would become less painful and I could focus all of my attention to helping my children reach their fullest potential. That's what every parent should want for their child and what society needs for it's future as well. If our government can give the wealthiest 1% a bailout so their estates can have green grass all year long, why can't the other 99% of us get a little watering can to keep things alive too?

My mailbox is stuffed with reminders that I have to pay for the services I need. I pay the electric company because my family needs to eat and have light to read. I pay the phone company because my family needs to communicate long distances and I pay the utility bill because we need water to drink and clean our bodies with.

As a parent, I am staying at home to raise my daughters so they have more time with me in which to learn how to make good choices in life. Doesn't society need that? Seriously people, if we're looking at how things are done these days, the government needs to pay me for this.

By the way, my services don't come cheap. Hard to come up with a figure but I'll give it a shot if this desire ever matches reality.

iFuture

I'm playing iTunes in the background and the shuffle option is enabled. Just for curiosity sake, I want to figure out if the music I listen to says something about how I view life. Here are the major refrains:

Don't ever look back. Don't ever look back.

She wore a Raspberry Beret. If it were warm she wouldn't wear much more.

I think I'm falling for you. I'm falling for you.

The band on the run. Band on the run.

Future love paradise.

New York. Concrete jungle where dreams are made of. There's nothing you can't do.

Baby are you down, down ,down, down, down?

When the cats come out, the bats come out to play, yeah. In the morning after.

Never an honest word, but that was when I ruled the world.

Have you ever felt this way?


OK; that was interesting. If I postulate that the computer is perceptive and clairvoyant, here's what I am going to expect through interpretation of its randomly selected songs and lyrics:

On a trip back east without the family I left behind, I will find enormous fame and fortune as a musician despite being a pathological liar. Somewhere on the summer tour, I will meet wife #2 (groupie?) who is scantily clad, works a morning shift at an animal shelter, and gives me several reasons to question her belief structure. Despite the choice of French fashion, I will stay with her and not return to Texas.

I clearly didn't see this coming. Did you?

I better stop now before Dana takes away my car keys and credit cards. She's not usually the jealous type but there's no need to give her reason to doubt my commitment. I love my wife with every fiber of my being and would never leave my family despite what the computer is predicting.

Oh crap, the next song isn't helping my cause.

I'm already gone.

Time to start buying copious amounts of Christian Rock. That should work, right?

Patience Outage

Our cable sucks.

I'm watching TV today and wondering why the morons at Time Warner Cable can't continually give me the service I pay for. Our HD channels may or may not come in, may or may not break up, and may or may not require that I unplug the whole damn system to fix any and all problems. I don't ask for much; I really don't. Here's my bottom line: if you expect me to pay for your service @$100 month, I don't think I need to be on a first name basis with all of your service technicians. Simple enough, right?

Our cable provider is a means to an end but they're not the only game in town. They are either going to deliver the programming or find themselves being replaced. Since I have Scotty the tech coming for a visit between 11-2 PM on Tuesday, I'll have a few days to find an alternative cable company. I mean, all Scotty is going to do is turn off the power to the receiver anyway and HOPE that my channels come in; that's what his seven other stellar coworkers have done so far.

Time Warner Cable: Viewing your favorite channels will never be easy.

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

I'm making muffins again.

Yes. You read that correctly. I'm doing my best Emeril impersonation and baking muffins for Sami's snack day tomorrow. I made a batch of these muffins last week for Emily's snack day and, of course, Sami wants to have the same. God forbid I send her to school with anything other than what Emy had. No need for originality when all you want is whatever your sister has.

In case you wanted to make a batch of these yourself, here's the recipe:

JJ's Bran Muffins

3 cups sugar
5 cups flour
2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon
4 tsp. baking soda
(mix all these together in a very large bowl)

1 15oz. box of Raisin Bran
1 cup raisins
1 cup chocolate chips
(mix these together into the very large bowl)

Beat together:
4 eggs
4 cups buttermilk

Add:
1 cup melted butter

Mix all the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients by hand. Use a large wooded spoon if you have one.

Bake @ 400 degrees in greased muffin cups, 15-20 minutes

Keep batter in refrigerator and use as needed.



Dana had a version of this recipe and I changed it around a little. The kids love the muffins and they often ask for more. I guess the fiber benefit is just a throw in at this point.

Now that I've given you the recipe, I think I'm officially done blogging about food. Time to talk about neighbors making a porno or why some parents don't mind letting their 4 year olds play in traffic. Those topics are a little less formulaic and a lot more freewheeling. Should make for some interesting blogs.

I'd better go eat some of the muffins now to give me the strength I'll need to keep writing. Bon appetit!