Senator Obama has consistently shown on the campaign trail that he wants to discuss the issues that we as voters are concerned about.

Amidst the constant barrage from Senator Obama’s opponent regarding his lack of experience, raising campaign funds, his plans for tax breaks and balancing the budget, he’s remained steadfast in his conviction that we as voters want to hear about the issues that are near and dear to our hearts and pocketbooks.

I find it comforting that the man, who in my opinion is the best candidate to fill the job, wants to tackle the issues that concern me. With unemployment up, banks failing, foreclosures, a volatile stock market and massive foreclosures, Senator Obama strives for change.

On his website you’ll see a quote where he states, “I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington…I’m asking you to believe in yours.” You’ll also find a link to his stance on the issues at hand; you’ll also find links to things such as “The Blueprint of Change”, the full Obama Tax Plan, and more. This is a very comprehensive website that gives a voter a good grasp of what Senator Obama speaking to not only in his bid for the highest office of the land but also his goals after he is elected.

Change is driven by those who make an effort to participate in the election process. Your vote is the jump off point and what both candidates are striving so hard to gain. It’s the reason we hear so many campaign speeches, see so many advertisements and have so much discussion regarding this year’s Presidential race.

So, I implore you to take the time, research both canidates and in the end the answer will be clear. Lets give change an opportunity to better our lives!

Vote for Senator Obama on Nov. 4^th

~Kat

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGGIE!!!!

Love,

Auntie Kat

I’m not sure how many people outside of California have heard of Prop 8, which will ban the ability of same sex couples to marry.

According to Ballot Pedia.org the verbiage goes as such:

Proposition 8 is a proposed amendment to the California constitution which if passed into law would be known as the California Marriage Protection Act. This California ballot proposition will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot along with eleven other statewide propositions. Proposition 8 is one of four ballot measures which propose to amend the California state constitution and appears on the ballot titled as Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry.

If it passes, it will add a new constitutional amendment to the California Constitution that will say “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” and it will be known in law as the California Marriage Protection Act^[1]

The electoral contest over Prop. 8 has attracted passionate interest, attention and dollars from around the county. Through October 20, supporters of Prop. 8 had raised about $27 million ($21.3 from Californians), while its opponents had raised $24.3 million ($15.5 from Californians). In mid-October, there have been significantly more donors of $1,000 and above to the “No on 8″ side.^[2],^[3]

Checks in the $1 million range have been written to both campaigns from wealthy backers, and the campaigns also each have tens of thousands of small donors–62,000 donors for the “Yes on 8″ campaign and over 30,000 for the “No on 8″.^[4],^[5],^[6],^[7]

While I’m a single, heterosexual female, I fully believe who are we to put into law who can marry whom.

My feeling is this if two people love each other and wish to marry, fine by me. I think that if you love someone and they are of legal age; allow them to marry if that is their wish. Allow them the same rights that any heterosexual couples are allowed. Who are we to discriminate based upon people’s personal feelings of religion. This is no different than saying that if your Christian you should NOT marry someone who is a non believer. Take the following passages from the bible.

The Bible does not forbid interracial marriages. It does, however, forbid a Christian from marrying an unbeliever: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14).
In Numbers 12:1-8 is an account of Moses marrying an Ethiopian woman. ^“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman” (Num. 12:1).
Other Bible verses translate this as “Cush.” Cush is the ancient location of Ethiopia. Miriam and Aaron were upset with Moses because he married a Cushite woman. Cush has also been considered to be the northern part of Egypt. Either way, it is very possible that Cushite woman was of a different race.  God defended Moses for marrying this woman.  If race were an issue, this would have been a great place to set the matter straight.
Also, people of different races were not mentioned as being among those forbidden by God for Jews to marry, see Exodus 34:11. (As taken from the CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY website)

So what makes these types of marriages, heterosexual people of different faiths, different, from those who would seek a same sex union? These kinds of marriages happen daily and yet we aren’t busy making laws against them. The bible clearly states that both are forbidden and yet we are accepting of mixed belief marriages, so before you go tossing your bible verses at why we should deny same sex marriages; remember there is an entire bible to read not just the one or two passages that make those who are against prop 8 feel justified in their beliefs. Let’s make sure that everyone is treated equally under the law.

If we are not going to allow people of the same sex to marry, then let’s not allow heterosexual couples who do not prove they are both Christian to marry?  Ridiculous you say so do I! Where does it end?

I for one am going to vote NO on this prop.

~Kat

I have to admit, I’ve become addicted to listening to CNN, Fox and various other stations as of late.

Being a registered American Independent, it has been interesting listening to the campaigns of both Barrack Obama and John McCain. I’ve listened to three debates, several campaign speeches by the two candidates, their running mates and people who are supporting their run for President.

I’ve sorted through a myriad of information being disseminated by both parties extolling the virtues of their candidate. I’ve heard about “Joe the plumber, Pat the Republican Teacher and several others who suddenly have become the best friend of one of our candidates.

But lets be honest here, what I would like to know is how will each candidate work for me, while he’s in the White House. How will he ensure that I continue to have a job, that the economy will not sink further, that health care will still be available and so on?

I get tired of the constant negative campaigning. I want to know who the best man is for the job not what the other guys ideas will do to the country while not sharing what your ideas will do for me as a citizen of this great nation. I want to tell both candidates; let your ideas get you into the White House not your ability to negatively campaign.

My vote will be going to the person, who i feel will best answer this question. “Who is the best man for the job?”  In reviewing all i know about both candidates, the man I vote for will be the one I feel best fills the requirements that I believe are required by anyone who is running for President.

I believe that Barrack Obama is the best person for the job. To date, he’s been the candidate who has been willing to discuss and focus on the issues at hand, his concern with the American and Global economy is evident in the way he approaches this campaign. He has the right attitude and while people might feel he’s inexperienced, I believe he will make sure he surrounds himself with advisors who do.

I had to chuckle today when I heard Governor Palin; she was giving a campaign speech in which she stated that if we elect Sen. Obama, the Democrats will have a Democratic President, Congress and Senate.  It seems the republicans have missed the boat, in the last 8 years of George W. Bush’s presidency; they had six of those years with a republican congress, so tell me why wasn’t this fixed at that point? I’m tired of hearing that it’s always the democrats’ fault we are in this situation. The system was broke, republicans had the chance to fix it and they elected not to until our economy tanked. So I say lets give the Democrats the same opportunity we afforded the Republicans for six years, I believe we’ll be pleasantly surprised.

So remember when you head to the polls, your vote does matter, be it your candidate wins or not. We are lucky to have the right and privilege of casting our vote for the person that we as a majority think should be in the White House, leading our great nation!

If you want to be heard, take the time on November 4^th to vote!

Best wishes to each of the candidates.

~Kat

Lets all wish my nephew a big, happy, wonderful fifth birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW MICHAEL!!!

Love always,

Auntie Kat

I was at work when I received a phone call from her saying can you call this person NOW!!!! Sure I replied, she had stumbled upon a young couple, who where unable to use the tickets they had purchased. I confirmed that we were looking for 4 tickets and set up a meeting for that evening.

Upon meeting this young couple and talking to them for a bit, the wife told me that after she received my sisters’ email and my phone call confirming that we wanted them, she had an additional thirteen emails, requesting the tickets. She asked me what I had planned for these tickets, so I told her about Andrews’s upcoming trip. She was so pleased that we were using them for his visit.

So when you think that things just aren’t going your way, remember to believe and if it’s meant to happen it will work itself out.

Have a wonderful day!

Kat and the kids.

Today’s motivational saying is as follows: To become a courageous leader, you must realize that accepting responsibility is not optional – it’s mandatory. — David Cottrell

This little gem of wisdom is right on point and can be applied to all aspects of our lives. When you accept responsibility and stop blaming others for your short comings it opens you up to growing into the type of person who people respect and admire.

Take a look at where we are with this entire bail out of companies. If people had taken responsibility in the beginning would we really be in the position of needing such a massive bail out of our financial system?

As a people, we need to stand up and take responsibility for our actions, by doing so we’ll enable and empower ourselves.

Just food for thought!

Have a fabulous Thursday!

Kat & the kids

My vacation was wonderful; there is something to be said for rustic living. As I told you before the cabin our family goes to is a one bedroom, with thankfully indoor plumbing, but not much else. We spent the better part of our days out on the beach fishing or reading.

Meggie went down to the water with her “special” fishing pole, complete with fish attached, to cast into the water. After a few casts she had enough of this whole fishing thing and would retire to her makeshift sandbox complete with toys. Andrew, being the big boy he is now at 4.5, was allowed a real hook on the end of his pole, this thrilled him to no end and we didn’t have the heart to tell him the hook was one we use for trout, not the big salmon he was hoping to hook. His “big boy” status was secured with catching his first fish, a bullhead, off the beach.

Our major excitement happened on the first night mom, dad and I went to the cabin. Down the road a piece a tree fell over the power lines, knocking out all power to every house down the road from that point. While this did not impede our cooking dinner, we used the bbq or our other daytime activities we were acuity aware of how dark the night was. Thankfully my parents had the forethought to pack headlamps, so while dad wore one to read, mom and I traded one off so we could play cards and phase 10.

My sister Becky and her husband Steve brought the kids up for several days. While we indulged the little ones, we also enjoyed some adult time such as taking trips into town, card and dice games as well as reading and talking.

The Island County Fair started on a Thursday, so we trekked off with the kids to see all the aminals, as Meggie calls them, she was dying to get her hands on a kitty cat, however at two and a half she was easily distracted. On our way to the kitty cats, she spotted a big red truck, you guessed it, it was a big fire engine. The kind firemen entertained Andrew, who had a million questions about the engine and Meggie who wanted to sit in it.

No sooner had we gone around the back end of the engine did Meggie spot a mechanical bull. She turned to me and said “I want to ride the COW!” So I told her to ask the rodeo clown standing next to the bull. Not to be disappointed, she marched right over to him, tugged on his shorts and said “Can I ride the COW?” “Of course” said the clown. You could have heard a pin drop at the look on my sisters and my face. We were looking at each other saying “WHAT?!?”

I have to say the ‘wrangler’ and his ‘clown’ were simply wonderful. They were encouraging and gentle with all the kids who came to ride the bull. Andrew looked like a real cowboy in his green and white chaps and cowboy hat. He rode that bull for nearly the full eight seconds before he fell off during a spin. I was laughing all the way down. Meggie showed the boys how a girl rides a ‘cow’. The wrangler had that bull on super slow motion, he’d slowly tilt it up and she would brace herself on the hump and then bring it back down, all the while commentating Meggie’s ride to all who were listening and cheering for her.

After a full day of pony and carnival rides, we headed back to the cabin for some dinner and relaxation.

It’s always hard to return to real life after having several days of downtime, but alas I flew home to Southern California and the kids. All three were so comfortable with their Tia NoNo that they never even missed me. I know this because usually while I’m gone they shred the house and won’t come near me for a few hours, however this trip they were right at the door waiting. I think it’s safe to say that they missed me.

I hope ya’ll had as a wonderful summer vacation as I managed to have.

Now it’s onward to fall!

~Kat

I know I’ve been remiss I my blogging duties and I’m sure I’ll be chastised by friends and family alike for it.

Friday, I’m headed to Seattle for 10 glorious days of fun, sun and fishing. I know your thinking wait… sun and Seattle just don’t mix, however I have to say that the two best months to visit Seattle are August and September. The doom and gloom normally have passed by and it’s time for all Seattleites to get out and work on their tan. The pasty white they have been sporting for the last ten months will be a thing of the past for at least a few months.

For the last 27 years, my parents have rented a cabin on the south end of beautiful Whidbey Island. It’s a small rustic place, but to our great delight we spend four delightful weeks, laying on the beach, searching for shells, fishing for salmon, when they run right from the beach, and when we get brave or it gets hotter than Hades, we brave the cold Puget Sound for a quick dip.

Since this cabin has no television and we do not bring one along, we make do with the old fashion type of entertainment. Reading books, playing cards, and talking with family members about everything from politics to what do we want to do the next day.

I’m sure you can tell just how much I enjoy this down time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. No computers, no televisions, though with the advent of the cellular phone, those do get drug along but rarely answered.

It’s safe to say that I’m looking forward to catching my flight Friday and flying home!

Have a safe August and I’ll see ya’ll when I get back.

Kat