I added a couple of new links to my blog. The first is a blog by Alyssa Milano of 'Who's the Boss?' fame. She is a Dodgers fan as am I, and her blog is mostly about the Dodgers. I'd have to say the best line in her blog is when she is talking about how Barry Bonds hit a homer against the Dodgers and she 'threw up in her mouth a little'. Good stuff.
The second blog I linked to is a Home Preparedness blog. A while ago on one of those 5th Sundays, they (whoever they is) had a guy come in and talk about saving money and being prepared for whatever may happen in the future. He has a blog, the link will take you there.
Now to my motivation for this post...
I'm looking at my gas bill, disgusted that I can't provide my own gas, when I notice that I only used $14.59 worth of gas last month. Sounds good, but hold your horses. Questar thinks it's funny to add a 'service fee' of $5, why they can't just include that with gas charges so I don't get mad about it, I'll never know.
That is not all. The government comes in on their high horse and taxes me a whopping 10.1%, and they inculde the stupid service charge. Not a big deal when only $14 of gas was used, but in January, we used over a hundred dollars of gas, and the government got to stick it to us for 10 more dollars. No wonder the government doesn't do anything about high gas prices.
Keep in mind, I have to pay them with money that I already paid taxes on.
I understand that the government needs to function, and that some taxes need to be paid, but I don't understand why I have to get nickeled and dimed my entire life when as a teacher, I don't make that much (relative to other americans) to begin with.
I guess the government just knows how to spend my money better. Afterall, someone has to pay for them to fly all over the country in thier leer jets, or they wouldn't be able to lecture us about global warming, and how we should conserve our natural resources.
The following is what I wish would happen. An independent accounting firm should put a cap on how much a legislative body can spend. For every percent that the legislature goes over, all members of the legislature get 2% taken away from their paychecks.
That's just off the top of my head, but seriously, something needs to be done to ensure that they use our money wisely.
Al Gore
Monday, May 28, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Trudy and Norrison
It's been a hard weekend... I heard that Sardine canyon had closed due to a fatal accident. We were watching the news, and found out that it was our nieghbors from across the street. This is the article from the Deseret News.
SARDINE CANYON, Box Elder County — A West Valley City father was the only one to survive an accident Friday evening that claimed his wife and 12-day-old infant and also took the life of a cyclist. The chain-reaction accident occurred just after 6 p.m. up Sardine Canyon on the border of Box Elder and Cache counties where U.S. 89 and state Route 91 merge, troopers said. Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Blaine Robbins said a vehicle carrying the couple and infant was heading north when a bicyclist traveling along the side of the road turned out into the path of the car. Robbins said the driver was unable to stop in time and struck the cyclist, causing the father to lose control of his vehicle, which veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a truck. Troopers say the cyclist, 37-year-old Robert Bennett of Brigham City, was pronounced dead at the scene. The car's driver, 37-year-old Michael Middleton of West Valley City, suffered serious injuries.
His wife, 38-year-old Trudy Middleton, was killed, and their 12-day old infant, Norrison Deschner, who was in a car seat, was flown by helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center in extremely critical condition. The baby later was pronounced dead. The couple was in the process of changing their family name from Deschner to Middleton, according to the Highway Patrol. Robbins said both husband and wife were wearing their seat belts.
I know everyone says this about people who die, but Trudy was such a good person. She really was almost too good for this world. She was a fantastic piano player, and was due about the same time as Ange. Her baby came early, and he was so cute. She always used to say that Lincoln was the cutest little boy in the ward, and was always so kind to us. She also had a great sense of humor. To say we're going to miss her would not be enough.
Her husband Michael is a great guy as well. It will be hard for him, but I'm sure he'll find the strength to carry on. I am reminded of a lesson I taught a couple of months ago in Elders Quorum. Michael added some great comments to the lesson, and I hope his testimony can carry him through this difficult time. A quote from that lesson by Spencer W. Kimball, has stuck with me for a while:
"If we say early death is a calamity, disaster, or tragedy, would it not be saying that mortality is preferable to earlier entrance into the spirit would and to eventual salvation and exaltation? If mortality be the perfect state, then death would be a frustration, but the gospel teaches us there is no tragedy in death, but only in sin. "...blessed are the dead that die in the Lord..." (D&C 63:49)
Of course, tomorrow marks the 11th anniversary of my mom's death, I hope Trudy can find her, because I'm pretty sure they'd like each other. I know Trudy and Norrison are ok, I pray that Michael will be.
SARDINE CANYON, Box Elder County — A West Valley City father was the only one to survive an accident Friday evening that claimed his wife and 12-day-old infant and also took the life of a cyclist. The chain-reaction accident occurred just after 6 p.m. up Sardine Canyon on the border of Box Elder and Cache counties where U.S. 89 and state Route 91 merge, troopers said. Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Blaine Robbins said a vehicle carrying the couple and infant was heading north when a bicyclist traveling along the side of the road turned out into the path of the car. Robbins said the driver was unable to stop in time and struck the cyclist, causing the father to lose control of his vehicle, which veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a truck. Troopers say the cyclist, 37-year-old Robert Bennett of Brigham City, was pronounced dead at the scene. The car's driver, 37-year-old Michael Middleton of West Valley City, suffered serious injuries.
His wife, 38-year-old Trudy Middleton, was killed, and their 12-day old infant, Norrison Deschner, who was in a car seat, was flown by helicopter to Primary Children's Medical Center in extremely critical condition. The baby later was pronounced dead. The couple was in the process of changing their family name from Deschner to Middleton, according to the Highway Patrol. Robbins said both husband and wife were wearing their seat belts.
I know everyone says this about people who die, but Trudy was such a good person. She really was almost too good for this world. She was a fantastic piano player, and was due about the same time as Ange. Her baby came early, and he was so cute. She always used to say that Lincoln was the cutest little boy in the ward, and was always so kind to us. She also had a great sense of humor. To say we're going to miss her would not be enough.
Her husband Michael is a great guy as well. It will be hard for him, but I'm sure he'll find the strength to carry on. I am reminded of a lesson I taught a couple of months ago in Elders Quorum. Michael added some great comments to the lesson, and I hope his testimony can carry him through this difficult time. A quote from that lesson by Spencer W. Kimball, has stuck with me for a while:
"If we say early death is a calamity, disaster, or tragedy, would it not be saying that mortality is preferable to earlier entrance into the spirit would and to eventual salvation and exaltation? If mortality be the perfect state, then death would be a frustration, but the gospel teaches us there is no tragedy in death, but only in sin. "...blessed are the dead that die in the Lord..." (D&C 63:49)
Of course, tomorrow marks the 11th anniversary of my mom's death, I hope Trudy can find her, because I'm pretty sure they'd like each other. I know Trudy and Norrison are ok, I pray that Michael will be.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Chip In Bubs
I won a St. George golf getaway. This was back in December, I was watching channel 2, just about to go to bed. They threw up a trivia question, and I emailed in the correct answer. The question was:
According to NFL rules, what is the maximum amount of times a team can play on Monday Night Football during a season?
The next Wednesday, they informed me that I won, and I decided to cash in last week. Ange is pregnant, and obviously in no condition to golf, so we took John along with us.
The golf course was pretty nice. We got a cart, and 18 holes. Normally it would have cost $53 per, so there is no chance I would have ever golfed this course had it not been for the freebee.
Nice courses are lined with homes, and that makes me a little nervous, luckily, niether John nor I ever hit a house, although I gave one house a pretty good run for the money.
I was doing ok through the first six. The second par 3 we saw was over this gigantic ravine. I pared that hole, and then things fell apart. On the next tee, while we were waiting, the guy behind us, who seemed a tad religious, because he called the day 'glourious', even though it was clearly not glourious thanks to the wind, struck up a conversation and shook our hands. This would later be known as the 'touch of satan' because I suddenly couldn't hit the ball off the ground.
I regained my stroke toward the end of the front nine, but the damage was done, I was 23 strokes over par, while John was sitting at 15 over. (Yes, we suck)
On the 13th hole, a par 4, I hit a nice drive, and then promply hit a crappy shot that left me about 110 yards away from an elevated hole. There were houses surrounding the hole, of course, and I hit a pretty good shot, but couldn't see the hole. I took a couple of steps, and then a couple of guys on the balcony of one of the houses started cheering. My ball went straight into the hole. That would be the longest 'chip in' ever for me, and the only birdie of the day. I finished the back nine with a 14 over, while John finished with a 24 over, quite the role reversal.
On the last hole, it was a par 5, a little downhill with the wind at our backs. I hit a nice 300 yard drive that curled perfectly with the fairway. John bombed one, but we couldn't find it, so he had to drop. His next shot was a grounder, and off the fairway, and while he was looking for that ball, he found his origional ball, only 115 yards away from the hole. Quick subtraction told us that he drove his ball some 370 yards. Quite the drive.
It was a nice trip, and quite relaxing, especially since grandma had Lincoln. We watched the Jazz win the last two games vs. Houston, so, as you can imagine, we were in a good mood.
Pictures to come of the golfing, as soon as we find our camera.
Moving on... I found out yesterday, that Hunter High School is going to hire me for next year. I will be teaching Spanish, and either Math or Chemistry. This isn't one of those 'one year only' positions, so hopefully, I'll be there for a while. They also mentioned that they might have me coach girls basketball, and boys baseball. Obviously, I'm not going to force the issue, because I have people at home that I need to take care of, so we'll see. Needless to say, I'm excited for this opportunity. The Junior High has been nice, but those kids are more than restless, of course junior high kids just do nonstop dumb annoying things. High school kids tend to get in bigger trouble.
Finally, we have a car for sale, if anyone knows of someone who is interested. It is a well kept Ford Escort, has about 73,000 miles on it, was born in 2000. We owe $4,700 on it, so that is what we are trying to sell it for. We're trying to get down to just one car, now that Ange is a true stay at home mom, and gas prices are through the roof. I'd rather sell the car to someone I know, since I've never sold a car before, and am not sure how to do it.
The end
According to NFL rules, what is the maximum amount of times a team can play on Monday Night Football during a season?
The next Wednesday, they informed me that I won, and I decided to cash in last week. Ange is pregnant, and obviously in no condition to golf, so we took John along with us.
The golf course was pretty nice. We got a cart, and 18 holes. Normally it would have cost $53 per, so there is no chance I would have ever golfed this course had it not been for the freebee.
Nice courses are lined with homes, and that makes me a little nervous, luckily, niether John nor I ever hit a house, although I gave one house a pretty good run for the money.
I was doing ok through the first six. The second par 3 we saw was over this gigantic ravine. I pared that hole, and then things fell apart. On the next tee, while we were waiting, the guy behind us, who seemed a tad religious, because he called the day 'glourious', even though it was clearly not glourious thanks to the wind, struck up a conversation and shook our hands. This would later be known as the 'touch of satan' because I suddenly couldn't hit the ball off the ground.
I regained my stroke toward the end of the front nine, but the damage was done, I was 23 strokes over par, while John was sitting at 15 over. (Yes, we suck)
On the 13th hole, a par 4, I hit a nice drive, and then promply hit a crappy shot that left me about 110 yards away from an elevated hole. There were houses surrounding the hole, of course, and I hit a pretty good shot, but couldn't see the hole. I took a couple of steps, and then a couple of guys on the balcony of one of the houses started cheering. My ball went straight into the hole. That would be the longest 'chip in' ever for me, and the only birdie of the day. I finished the back nine with a 14 over, while John finished with a 24 over, quite the role reversal.
On the last hole, it was a par 5, a little downhill with the wind at our backs. I hit a nice 300 yard drive that curled perfectly with the fairway. John bombed one, but we couldn't find it, so he had to drop. His next shot was a grounder, and off the fairway, and while he was looking for that ball, he found his origional ball, only 115 yards away from the hole. Quick subtraction told us that he drove his ball some 370 yards. Quite the drive.
It was a nice trip, and quite relaxing, especially since grandma had Lincoln. We watched the Jazz win the last two games vs. Houston, so, as you can imagine, we were in a good mood.
Pictures to come of the golfing, as soon as we find our camera.
Moving on... I found out yesterday, that Hunter High School is going to hire me for next year. I will be teaching Spanish, and either Math or Chemistry. This isn't one of those 'one year only' positions, so hopefully, I'll be there for a while. They also mentioned that they might have me coach girls basketball, and boys baseball. Obviously, I'm not going to force the issue, because I have people at home that I need to take care of, so we'll see. Needless to say, I'm excited for this opportunity. The Junior High has been nice, but those kids are more than restless, of course junior high kids just do nonstop dumb annoying things. High school kids tend to get in bigger trouble.
Finally, we have a car for sale, if anyone knows of someone who is interested. It is a well kept Ford Escort, has about 73,000 miles on it, was born in 2000. We owe $4,700 on it, so that is what we are trying to sell it for. We're trying to get down to just one car, now that Ange is a true stay at home mom, and gas prices are through the roof. I'd rather sell the car to someone I know, since I've never sold a car before, and am not sure how to do it.
The end
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