inauguration/MLK Jr Day 2013

I was looking up trips to take to leave the DC area on this crazy weekend where thousands of people will flock to the mall for inauguration.  But then I realized that I am living in DC during an inauguration, so when in Rome...Some of us were thinking of going early for standing room, but then Taryn and I happened upon tickets for behind the reflecting pool and it all worked out swimmingly!

Where Taryn and I stood in the cold for 5 hours

It was a very cold and long wait, but Taryn and I were (over)prepared with snacks and games. It was a great experience and I'm glad that I had the opportunity to go--even though I was a bit out of place without any Obama paraphernalia. 

early morning sun glare

SO many people

good spot!

I was REAALLY excited for Beyonce. Who else can be asked to sing for a presidential inauguration and be cool enough to only have their first name on the program? We all know her last name(s).  But you only need her first.  Seriously, people started to walk away after the swear-in, but then they stopped and turned around and said, "Wait. Beyonce hasn't sung, yet. We have to stay for Beyonce." 

James Taylor and Kelly Clarkson also performed and that was awesome, too.  The kids choir that performed before it started was so darling and one of my favorite parts of the day.

the POTUS is there. can you see him? yeah, neither could I haha

As you can tell, it was a bit crowded, so Taryn and I stayed in the city for lunch so the metro lines would die down. We went to Nandos for my first time since moving here! So many memories with that place. #londonwinter2010forever

The coolest part about my inaugural inauguration experience was turning around from facing the Capitol and seeing a sea of American flags. I love being an American. I hope we never forget how lucky we are to have a country such as ours.

4th of July Holiday according to the pictures I took.

Overnight French Toast Casserole w/ creme cheese (click for recipe: it's not the one I found online and used, but I think this other one will be more flavorful, from my experience)

I have never seen anything like this aside from tent protests in bigger cities.  Provo each year camps out the night before the 4th along University Ave.  I mean EVERYONE does this. Families with children, single college kids, high schoolers. It's so they can have good seats for the parade.  I live on University Ave and this is the view outside our window from the morning of the 4th.  We didn't camp out (well, we moved our mattresses to the living room away from the street so we could get some sleep), but we walked out and had a perfectly fine view in the morning.  I don't really understand it, I mean, I did it last year for kicks and had a miserable time getting 2 hours of sleep on the ground like a homeless person, but it's part of the culture.  Like a big community sleepover.

Stephanie Nielson was the Grand Marshal of the parade along w/ her cute family.  She's our local celeb due to her blog and her book (I follow the blog and have read the book, so it was fun to see her in person!).

Tasha-Kimberly-Hilary-Me-Meagan @ dinner @ Deidre's place before fireworks time

fireworks from Stadium of Fire that we watched from by the baseball fields

Annnd you should go see "The Amazing Spider-Man"!!! I loved it!

Happy 5th of July!

being grateful

One of my biggest pet peeves of people is when they think they are entitled to have/be something or when people are ungrateful.  What happened to "thank you?"
Off of that soap box and on to another.
I am so grateful for being born in America.  I'm grateful that I am a woman living in America.  And I hope that you are, too (man or woman), and here is why.  I am currently in a women's culture course for my English capstone and I am loving what insights I've gained.  I have known about the troubles in other countries or cultures, but I haven't read much from a personal point of view.  Right now we are reading Reading Lolita In Tehran, which is about a woman professor who taught at the University there in Tehran.  She relates her life during the Revolution from her perspective as a woman, professor, and lover of literature.  It is written looking back on the times that she spent with a group of women she hand selected from her past courses to participate in a sort of book club where they read and discuss literature that has been banned from their country.  Like Lolita and The Great Gatsby.  It makes me furious and heartbroken at the same time to realize what these women have to go through.  Head coverings used to be worn by choice and religious fervor.  Now they have to wear them because hair is too sensual.  They can't wear pink socks because it is too sensual.  Nail polish. Make-up. Women are beaten, jailed, and killed for participating in these so-called "sexual" practices.
That's not the worst of it.  I am grateful for being a woman in America because I am (almost!) a college-educated woman who wasn't married off when she was 15.  Women were kicked out of professional positions and political offices during this tumultuous time and behind locked doors just because they were women.
I'm so grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the line so that I can have these freedoms and live comfortably in a country that promotes these freedoms.  We owe our lives to them, but they don't want anything in return but knowing that their work is appreciated.
Thank you! God bless you!

Happy Independence Day!

obama care

When I get a certain heightened emotion (happiness, anger, sadness, etc.), I have to write how I feel.  Typically, my blog gets the happier emotions, but I want to get my frustration out in cyberspace this morning.
For the next few days, Congress is debating Obama's Healthcare bill.  There has been somewhat of a debate going on already and so I have been reading the arguments for both sides.  I want to prove how the government's arguments are flimsy and unsupported.
First of all, some background.  I am not really into politics, but I like to keep up with things that pertain to the well-being of me and my family.  Since my father is a doctor, my mother is a medical assistant, and I have been reaping the benefits on health insurance since I can remember, I have been particularly interested in this issue.  Plus, I think that we as Americans have the privilege and responsibility to be involved in our government because it was created for the people and is special and unique.  But that is a whole different blog post.  I also traveled to D.C. a couple of summers ago when the bill was starting to take flight.  I visited a senator from Oregon in his office and he happened to have the bill on his desk.  It was about a foot tall and was held together by yellow caution tape.  We asked him about the hefty bill and he mentioned that no one really has the time to read the whole thing.  I deduce that this means no one really knows that whole thing forward and backwards and that scares me.  I understand that not all bills are well-known by those who have to vote for it in the House, but this is the type of thing that everyone should know well since it affects everyone who is a US citizen.
Basically, this bill is socialist and therefore unfair.  If passed, it would FORCE people to have health insurance.  If they don't have health insurance, they would be FORCED to pay a penalty tax.  See the issue there?  The government is FORCING US citizens to buy something.  That is wholly un-Constitutional.  America is great because from the beginning we have never been FORCED to do anything.  That is the definition of freedom, my friends: having the freedom to choose.  And I get infuriated whenever someone takes the freedom of choice away from anyone, anywhere, at anytime.  Are we going to let that happen to us?  Are we going to let the government make our decisions regarding our our that health, now?  If yes, then I warn you that this would be just the beginning.
The argument that the government is giving about why making everyone have health insurance is beneficial is the fact that everyone will have health issues, eventually.  In my opinion, this is a weak argument because it is a guessing game and an assumption.  Sure, people will need health care for something at some points in their lives, but you cannot pinpoint when it will be, to what extent it will be, and how much it is going to cost them.  You can't create a general health plan to cover all the factors that take place with health.  That is why health insurance companies have different plans to choose from (look, we can have a choice!).  For example, if there is someone who has had cancer since they were five, they will have a different insurance policy than someone who needed mental health coverage suddenly at 20.  They both will have a different policy than the person who has only needed their immunizations to get into public school and will probably only need insurance when they need antibiotics for strep at age 35.  It is too complicated to socialize health coverage.
Now it has been a tough subject to debate because it makes us who oppose it to be heartless people who want people to go into debt because of an emergency health issue.  It is difficult because health coverage usually comes from job benefits, and unemployment is running rampant in our country.
It is also difficult because if we continue how we are now, honest taxpayers will have to continue to cover those health costs of people without insurance.  My question is, if they were not able to afford health insurance before, how will they afford Obama care, now?
If the bill were to pass, it would not make the business of healthcare much easier, especially since the solution is medicare and medicaid.  I worked as a patient representative at a medical clinic for a few years in high school and college and we were unable to accept new patients with medicare or medicaid insurance.  This is because it was just too tricky to work with them.  There were no guarantees as to whether or not the patient would pay and even that the insurance companies would pay.  This is unfair to the doctors who are giving out a service or product to the patient and they are expected to do it at a reduced rate or for free, if they don't get paid.  Would you go to a grocery store and start eating an apple because you were hungry and expect someone else to pay for it or tell them that you will pay for it later? I hope not.
There are many issues surrounding the bill and not just the issues I have covered.  I think that people should be taken care of in the United States because we care about our own people.  Unemployment and the subsequent lack of health coverage has forced us to question how well our people are being taken care of.  I agree that we should maybe reconsider our options.  I just don't agree that Obama care is the solution.

courtesy npr.org