Some things never change

I love MSNBC.com Can I share with you for a moment reader? Reading Les Miserables (and currently enjoying it, mind you) I have to laugh as I read an article on MSNBC about the balooning costs of incarcerating inmates in the US. The final paragraph states “These sad facts reflect a very distorted set of national priorities...Perhaps, if we adequately invested in our children and in education, kids who now grow up to be criminals could become productive workers and taxpayers.”
Of course, the first quarter of Les Miserables focuses on this very topic. Not so much harsh punishment (although that is most certainly addressed), but does the punishment fit the crime? And if a crime of "necessity" is commited, who is at fault? The criminal, or the society who created the criminal? Hugo's endearing character Bishop Bienvenu eloquently puts it this way, "Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and it must answer for the night which it produces. If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness."
The article also spoke of having better ways of "punishing" minor parol violations, instead of re-incarcerating the culprit, "they are making greater use of community supervision for low-risk offenders and employing sanctions other than reimprisonment". Luckily, Utah wasn't on the list of big spenders on prison inmates. Yay Utah!

Confessions of a Housewife

Does anyone else besides me have an adorable five year old for a husband? I love my husband, don't get me wrong, but I have to laugh when he comes to me at 9:30 p.m. and tells me that "tomorrow is my day for treats at work." Ugh. Well, what do you want to make? "How about brownies?" Ok, well, we only have one box. How many people are partaking of said treat? "18". 18!? Alright, well, how about muffins. Ok, so, we start making 5 boxes of muffins, only to find out that we're out of muffin cups and eggs. So, off to the store he goes as I start with whats left of the eggs and muffin cups (which is 1 egg and 8 muffin cups.) Luckily, we work great as a team. Muffins cooked, kitchen cleaned, and us tucked into bed by 10:25 p.m. Voila! Great practice for when the kids grow up to be just like their daddy!

Confessions of a Housewife

I saw this on another blog, and thought it was a good idea. We housewives lead secret and enchanting lives. Of course today's blog refers to any woman. Today's title: You know you're PMSing if:

YOU KNOW YOU'RE PMSing IF:

1. You get angry at a contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" because they can't answer what, in your mind, is a perfectly simple question.

2. You break down into tears when Wal-Mart hasn't restocked your favorite Pasta Roni, and you know you're not going to be able to go to the store again for like two more weeks.

3. You are willing to turn your husband in to the FBI on trumped up/false charges. (He didn't rinse his bowl! How could he forget to rinse his bowl? How hard is it to rinse a bowl?!?!)

4. You're son says, "Mommy" for no particular reason other than just to say it, and you break down into tears because you're "Mommy", and then you break down again because you're "Mommy."

5. Last but not least: Your husband says innocently enough "At least we only have a few more days of 'this'," referring to your PMSing, and you're ready to smother him with a pillow.

Well, ladies, there are ups and downs in life. Today so far has been an up, but it's only 8 a.m. Oi. Onward and upward I guess.

Last Babble, I promise!

One last little comment. I voted for the very first time EVER on American Idol. That's right. But, because the voting is strictly confidential, and to reveal who I voted for would surely render my ability to vote in future competitions, I will not divulge the number I dialed into my phone last night. However, if you have any sleuthing ability, I'm sure my blog will give you some clues to follow if you're determined to know.

Victor Hugo and the Book of Torture: Part II

Let me just say this, I do enjoy the long winded old bag. I do. Really. And I'm just not trying to convince myself of this, either. I love the detail he puts into the descriptions of mens soul. Have you seen "HOT FUZZ"? Can I just say, Javert reminds me of the main character whose name escapes me at the moment. Hugo writes: "This man (Javert) was a compound of two sentiments, very simple and very good in themselves, but he almost made them evil by his exaggeration of them, respct for authority and hatred of rebellion." It might seem weird that I laugh at that comment, but it does remind me so much of the "HOT FUZZ" man. Back to the point...

The plot development is wonderful, once you get to it, that is. Now, comparing Hugo to my favorite French writer Dumas, I prefer Dumas so far. Same number of pages, yet, Dumas actually has like fifteen sub plots taking place. Hugo is struggling to keep me involved with two. None the less, onward and upward and forward and blah.

Thanks Hugo Lovers of the World!

Thanks for your comments of encouragment. I NEEDED THEM! Here's a little embarassing detail, prepare yourselves, because we all know how often I DON'T embarass myself, haha, yeah right.

Anyway, I thought I had bought the unabridged version. I think I choked on my popcycle when I realized it was the ABRIDGED version. Oy. How can this gigantic, monstrous, wordy novel be the ABRIDGED version. I know not. Alas, I have come to find out there is yet another abridged version. Much shorter and much, much more to the point. But seeing as my goal was to read the whole history of Waterloo through the eyes and endless words of Hugo, I am carrying forward with the supposed "abridged" version I now have. I will do it, mark my words. But don't mark Victors, you'll be dead before you're done.

But, as you will see with my next post, I'm actually over the first of what I'm sure are to be SEVERAL humps, and have moved onward, and upward. Well, at least forward. I'll take the advice of my good work out buddy, and just "break it down" page by page. Normally she says, "Break it down, minute by minute," as I'm trying not to have a heart attack on whatever new machine of torture the West Valley Rec Center has created. Tanya, have you ever considered going into the FBI as a torture specialist? I think waterboarding would look dull indeed compared to your rare form of weight loss and health regiments! Haha, I love you!

Victor Hugo and the Book of Torture: Part I

Victor Hugo wrote this book for the sole purpose of driving me insane. It has been my goal for some time now, like since 9th grade, to read "the classics". I have a long list of novels, biographies, historical accounts etc. that I would like to read before taking the 6 foot dive into the grave. Now, in the course of this vast endeavor, I have strayed and have read books not on said list, and have greatly enjoyed my moments of weakness. Most recently being "The Prince of Tides". Of course, to some, that is a classic, and it has been added to my "must read" list and I am no referring everyone to it. However, as much as I have so far revelled in this great adventure, I am now just as Miserable as one can be.

Really, who takes TWO WHOLE PAGES to describe a juxtaposition of the beauty of two small infants and a cart. A CART, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, he had me fooled. I was enamoured with the Bishop, I absolutely adore him. I felt for Jean Valjean, my heart ached for his bitter contempt with his "raw deal" handed to him in life. But now, as I am to be falling in love with the young Fantine as she ABANDONS her child with random people, I am finding myself sneaking over to my book shelf of past pleasure and questioning whether or not my goal will fail due to the TWO PAGES from juxtaposition hell. Alright, now I'm exagerating. But really. A friend advised the words of Winston Churchill, "Never, never, never give up." I retorted, "Winston Churchill never read Les Miserables. Otherwise it would be: "Never, never, never read Hugo."

Never the less, I'm pressing forward. Onward and upward, page by page. I hope that by next week I'll have a new post "Victor Hugo and the Book of Torture: Part II" filled with words of apology to Monsieur Hugo. Oh I hope, I hope, I hope.

Homegrown

I'm a little slow to post and support David, but here it is none the less. It's awesome that he's from Murray. I don't know him personally, but it's pretty cool. Murray's a pretty small city (or was), and I bet he has everyones support! Take a listen if you haven't already!

It's still shocking to me

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

It still shocks me, this is the second time I've taken the test. Even though Elizabeth is by far my favorite character in any of the Austen novels, and I've always admired her, but I've never felt that I was even close to her character. And to change my character enough to be like her, eh, too much work! Either way, here we are, years later, taking an online quiz that CANNOT be incorrect by ANY means possible, and therefore I AM Elizabeth Bennet. Do you ardently love and admire me now?
Take the Quiz here!

An Ode to Xylitol

If you've ever spent more than an hour with Brett, then you probably know all about Xylitol; in fact he should be paid big bucks for the advertising and promoting he's doing for it! Anyway, I love Xylitol. It's a natural occuring sugar alcohol, it is as sweet as sucrose and only 2/3 the food energy. It doesn't encourage tooth decay, IN FACT, it helps in repairing minor cavities. Soon there will be a vaccine given to all children that will supposedly help prevent cavities all together, with a base of Xylitol. You can find it in the gum Trident, and in other gums as well. Brett and I use Xylitol toothpaste, and our teeth our whiter, we (as in Brett) has fewer cavities, and our breath almost NEVER smells bad, even after waking up in the morning. The toothpaste actually eats the bacteria in your mouth that causes tooth decay. It is the super hero of toothpastes. We also use Xylitol sugar to sweeten things, since it is less fattening and not as bad for your teeth. So, to end the ranting, if you can, find some Xylitol and give it a try. It's great stuff all around. Here's some fun info about it, if you want to learn more...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylitol.