Here in the Valley of the Sun I talk about heated topics such as religion, politics and parenting, with a little food mixed in, while maintaining a sense of optimism.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Back off of AIG
I am so tired of everyone vilifying business and capitalism. AIG disclosed to Congress last year about the retention bonuses. This is not a surprise to those hacks in Congress.
Furthermore, Chris Dodd (D-Conn) wrote into the stimulus bill that bonuses agreed upon before February 11, 2009 would be exempt. His own amendment!
And he is out there spewing hatred for the people of AIG who are getting their bonuses. This after AIG was his single largest campaign contributor. This shows his total incompetence. Let's not forget that he was on the oversight committee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-the main reason we are in this mess.
Listen up people in corporate America. When Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rants that if employees refuse to give back the bonuses that were already promised, then the federal government is going to come in an tax those bonuses at 100%, I sat up. If they can finagle a way to get bonuses from private citizens, (more than what they already get-which is like 60%!) we should all be very afraid. What's to stop them from coming after your business? How long do you think it will take for the government to think that University Of Phoenix's bonus structure is unfair? Or what about Arizona Public Service? Or how about any of the retail stores or bank branches?
More importantly how long will we allow the federal government to tell us what we're owed? What we're worth? We decide that. Not them. That's the tragedy of this whole business. The masses are outraged over something that Congress and the President have manufactured. And you know what? If you want a bonus, then you should be willing to work your tail off for it.
The people Chuck Schumer and the Liberal Democrats are mad at are the individual employees who are receiving those bonuses. Not AIG Corporate heads. After all, AIG is one of Chuck Schumer's biggest campaign contributors. It's not the corporate big wigs who get hurt by this legislation, it's the individuals.
We should all be nervous.
Furthermore, Chris Dodd (D-Conn) wrote into the stimulus bill that bonuses agreed upon before February 11, 2009 would be exempt. His own amendment!
While the Senate was constructing the $787 billion stimulus last month, Dodd added an executive-compensation restriction to the bill. The provision, now called “the Dodd Amendment” by the Obama Administration provides an “exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009” -- which exempts the very AIG bonuses Dodd and others are now seeking to tax.
And he is out there spewing hatred for the people of AIG who are getting their bonuses. This after AIG was his single largest campaign contributor. This shows his total incompetence. Let's not forget that he was on the oversight committee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-the main reason we are in this mess.
Listen up people in corporate America. When Chuck Schumer (D-NY) rants that if employees refuse to give back the bonuses that were already promised, then the federal government is going to come in an tax those bonuses at 100%, I sat up. If they can finagle a way to get bonuses from private citizens, (more than what they already get-which is like 60%!) we should all be very afraid. What's to stop them from coming after your business? How long do you think it will take for the government to think that University Of Phoenix's bonus structure is unfair? Or what about Arizona Public Service? Or how about any of the retail stores or bank branches?
More importantly how long will we allow the federal government to tell us what we're owed? What we're worth? We decide that. Not them. That's the tragedy of this whole business. The masses are outraged over something that Congress and the President have manufactured. And you know what? If you want a bonus, then you should be willing to work your tail off for it.
The people Chuck Schumer and the Liberal Democrats are mad at are the individual employees who are receiving those bonuses. Not AIG Corporate heads. After all, AIG is one of Chuck Schumer's biggest campaign contributors. It's not the corporate big wigs who get hurt by this legislation, it's the individuals.
We should all be nervous.
The Newest Little Wilhelmsen
Hey There Everyone! As you may or may not know we are expecting again. I'm 10 weeks along and have finally scanned in the ultrasound to share with you.
If you would, please pray that everything develops healthily.
Here's a picture of number three, or Trey as we have taken to calling it. (Hope that's alright with you, Heather...)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Fun with Quinoa
Last week I thought I would give quinoa a try. I'm always looking for good things to feed my family, and I read one of my friend's post on it, and thought I might as well give it a shot.
Anyways, so last Monday I had quinoa all day. Maybe I'm a little extreme, but I was having another friend over for lunch and wanted to serve something interesting. And then I had an eggplant to use up so I found another quinoa recipe with eggplant in it.
So, the lunch salad was Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa. It was pretty good. I think a good dash of feta cheese would have made it a bit better. And also, I won't cook it quite so long next time. I prefer my quinoa al dente, I think.
And then for dinner we had Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant-Tomato Ragu and Smoked Mozzarella. Now this one was a home run! It was delicious! I substituted regular mozzarella for smoked since the wonderful Erik is not a huge fan of the smoked variety. But everyone liked this meal. I was shocked! The eggplant tomato ragu made this wonderful sauce and then the cheese was melted in it and it was just scrumptious. The cakes were not all that difficult to make, but I did take some time with them since I didn't want them to fall apart. And it was terrific leftovers! I toasted the cake in the toaster oven and then topped with warmed ragu. YUM-OH! The only thing that could have made it even better was a nice glass of Cabernet. But, none for me right now.
So, I think Quinoa is worth the try. It's technically a seed that has great protein and amino acids, making it a real super food. And the fact that my wonderfully choosy husband liked it will make quinoa a suitable substitute for rice any day.
Anyways, so last Monday I had quinoa all day. Maybe I'm a little extreme, but I was having another friend over for lunch and wanted to serve something interesting. And then I had an eggplant to use up so I found another quinoa recipe with eggplant in it.
So, the lunch salad was Black Bean and Tomato Quinoa. It was pretty good. I think a good dash of feta cheese would have made it a bit better. And also, I won't cook it quite so long next time. I prefer my quinoa al dente, I think.
And then for dinner we had Quinoa Cakes with Eggplant-Tomato Ragu and Smoked Mozzarella. Now this one was a home run! It was delicious! I substituted regular mozzarella for smoked since the wonderful Erik is not a huge fan of the smoked variety. But everyone liked this meal. I was shocked! The eggplant tomato ragu made this wonderful sauce and then the cheese was melted in it and it was just scrumptious. The cakes were not all that difficult to make, but I did take some time with them since I didn't want them to fall apart. And it was terrific leftovers! I toasted the cake in the toaster oven and then topped with warmed ragu. YUM-OH! The only thing that could have made it even better was a nice glass of Cabernet. But, none for me right now.
So, I think Quinoa is worth the try. It's technically a seed that has great protein and amino acids, making it a real super food. And the fact that my wonderfully choosy husband liked it will make quinoa a suitable substitute for rice any day.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
To The Bunco Babes
I love my Bunco group. They are awesome. And seriously, if you were a part of it, you would love them too. It's one of those groups which is comprised of the perfect combination of funny, wacky, intelligent and crazy. Those girls rock.
So, since I'm missing tomorrow's game I thought I would shout out to those lovely ladies and tell 'em I'll miss them and see them next month.
Lots of love to you!
So, since I'm missing tomorrow's game I thought I would shout out to those lovely ladies and tell 'em I'll miss them and see them next month.
Lots of love to you!
Confession
I am addicted to sweets. I love them. I know that I am not supposed to love inanimate objects, but I do. Recently it has been of the sweet-salty variety. You know, chocolate covered pretzels and yogurt covered pretzels.
I find myself picking up a bag wherever I am. Like Trader Joe's on Monday. I just had to have a bag of chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels. Seriously. I mean not even the price tag could turn me away. Have you ever had those? Oh my. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself.
And then today, while at Sprouts, I picked up some yogurt covered pretzels. Seriously, they're all gone. However, I did share them with my girls. So, I'm not a total pig.
If you told me that I would lose 5 pounds a week from giving up sweets, I might not do it. Is that sad or what? Anyways, that's me. And no, I'm not about to go all psycho and give up sugar, like some girls I know. I don't know how or why you do it. And you know that I love Jesus and thankfully I have not felt the call on my life to give up sweets.
There are few things that leave me so satisfied as a nice treat. Anyhoo, I felt like confessing. Well, it might not be confessing since I don't intend to change. It's kind of like letting you in on my inner sanctum.
I find myself picking up a bag wherever I am. Like Trader Joe's on Monday. I just had to have a bag of chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels. Seriously. I mean not even the price tag could turn me away. Have you ever had those? Oh my. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself.
And then today, while at Sprouts, I picked up some yogurt covered pretzels. Seriously, they're all gone. However, I did share them with my girls. So, I'm not a total pig.
If you told me that I would lose 5 pounds a week from giving up sweets, I might not do it. Is that sad or what? Anyways, that's me. And no, I'm not about to go all psycho and give up sugar, like some girls I know. I don't know how or why you do it. And you know that I love Jesus and thankfully I have not felt the call on my life to give up sweets.
There are few things that leave me so satisfied as a nice treat. Anyhoo, I felt like confessing. Well, it might not be confessing since I don't intend to change. It's kind of like letting you in on my inner sanctum.
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