Here it is 5:30 on a Saturday afternoon and Nick and I have gotten little to nothing accomplished. We had a huge list of "stuff" to do on Nick's three day and we only got 4 things done on our list. Do I feel bad? Maybe a little bit. But Nick hasn't had a three day in a month because of all the overtime he's been working, so it seemed more than fair that we spend some time just vegging.
Oddly enough, the only thing I regret that we didn't get done is the partial remodel of our downstairs bath. We needed to remove the wallpaper and putty up the holes, decide on a paint color, paint, and change out the mirror, toilet paper holder, towel rack, and storage cabinet. What did we get done? Well, we bought the stuff to remove the wallpaper. That's it. And I really feel guilty about it because I posted on facebook that we were going to complete that stage of the remodel yesterday. I hate it when I say I'm going to do something and I don't get it done. It makes me feel very unaccomplished. Bleh.
The best thing about this weekend? I got to spend time with Nick! And we finished setting up our master bedroom, which turned out beautifully. It feels like the room we stayed in on the first night of our honeymoon at the Salish Lodge, sans fireplace. That means it's super romantic and soothing. I love the colors and the lighting, and just being in the room makes me relax. The other best thing about this weekend? I booked our extra nights at the Hotel Castex in Paris before and after our European trip. We start and end in Paris, and the Rick Steves tour site recommends coming in a day early because of jet lag, so we added an extra day to the beginning of our trip. This means that we will be traveling on our 1-year wedding anniversary, September 26th. It's not the optimal way to spend that day, but big picture: we're going to be in France for 2 weeks right after that, so who cares if we spend that one day flying? We are also adding two days to the end of the tour because we want to spend some extra time in Paris to see Versailles, which isn't on our tour itinerary. All in all, I'm very excited! Looking at flights, it seems like the best deal we're going to get is to fly through Iceland. Of course, Nick and I are very excited about this too, in typical weird Nick-Stephanie fashion. Who wants to go to Iceland? I guess we do!
Overall, life is stressful, but we're handling it okay and we have lots to look forward to in our upcoming vacation. After that, it's all about the babies. Scary . . .
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Gripes
I have a few gripes I would like to put out there, so bear with me.
#1: Attention whores. Definition: any person who does anything specifically designed to gain attention, whether that attention is good or bad. To clarify: this person has an agenda in everything they do and his/her life revolves around any kind of attention he/she can get. My feelings about this: the world doesn't revolve around you and I don't care about your issues/ridiculousness. Period.
#2: Today's parenting techniques. My mom teaches preschool and has told me that kids never say please, thank you, yes ma'am, etc. anymore. Having taught high school, I know it gets even worse as they get older. My mom's generation was taught to be polite, as was mine. So why has my generation turned around and chosen to be "friends" with their kids instead of parents? It's called discipline and yes, it's harder than giving your children whatever they want and it takes more work (gasp!), but we're responsible for molding the future leaders of this world and quite frankly, I'm terrified for our future because of this.
#3: People who don't take responsibility for their actions. Nick sees this all the time as a cop and I saw it all the time as a teacher. You must put in the hard work in order to reap the reward. If you screw up, there are consequences for your actions. I may feel sorry for you because of those consequences, but you still deserve them. And NO, you do NOT deserve a reality TV show because of your stupidity.
#4: Media-influenced culture. The reason for crummy parenting, people who don't take responsibility for their actions, and attention whores (besides laziness and stupidity): the media. We are bombarded by images of celebrities acting like idiots and getting away with it. We see them get married and divorced over and over again. We see them drink and drive and get away with it. We see them doing little to nothing and getting paid millions of dollars for it. The media has turned our society into lazy, helpless, self-serving, I deserve everything just because I do jackasses. You don't have the right to wealth, happiness, and a do-nothing lifestyle just because you live in the US. You have the right to work. You have the right to vote (and how about we do a better job of that next time, huh? YES WE CAN . . . drive the country into the ground). You do not have the right to commit a crime and get away with it. You do not have the right to hurt other people or lie without garnering consequences. You should not have the right to treat cops the way many people do (Did you all freaking forget the number we've lost this year? Because you're all acting like you have. RESPECT MY HUSBAND AND THE OTHER MEN & WOMEN OUT THERE PROTECTING YOUR SORRY ASSES!). You should not have the right to treat marriage like a joke and divorce like it's no big deal. In my opinion, the law has become too liberal/lenient and that is another reason why no one is held accountable for their actions. When a certain state passes a law that says no cop can search a vehicle without a search warrant EVEN IF THERE ARE DRUGS IN PLAIN SIGHT, there is something wrong. When a certain state is unable to seek the death penalty for one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, there is something wrong.
So what does all this add up to? Even with my usually optimistic outlook for the state of our country, I'm appalled by the deterioration of our culture. What are we barreling toward?
REVOLUTION.
So, enjoy the irresponsible, lazy, and ridiculous nature of life for now. I will enjoy the after-effects of the total upheaval of our culture and pray every day for a return to a more polite, community-focused culture that values intelligence and hard work instead of get-rich-quick schemes, sluttiness, and lies.
#1: Attention whores. Definition: any person who does anything specifically designed to gain attention, whether that attention is good or bad. To clarify: this person has an agenda in everything they do and his/her life revolves around any kind of attention he/she can get. My feelings about this: the world doesn't revolve around you and I don't care about your issues/ridiculousness. Period.
#2: Today's parenting techniques. My mom teaches preschool and has told me that kids never say please, thank you, yes ma'am, etc. anymore. Having taught high school, I know it gets even worse as they get older. My mom's generation was taught to be polite, as was mine. So why has my generation turned around and chosen to be "friends" with their kids instead of parents? It's called discipline and yes, it's harder than giving your children whatever they want and it takes more work (gasp!), but we're responsible for molding the future leaders of this world and quite frankly, I'm terrified for our future because of this.
#3: People who don't take responsibility for their actions. Nick sees this all the time as a cop and I saw it all the time as a teacher. You must put in the hard work in order to reap the reward. If you screw up, there are consequences for your actions. I may feel sorry for you because of those consequences, but you still deserve them. And NO, you do NOT deserve a reality TV show because of your stupidity.
#4: Media-influenced culture. The reason for crummy parenting, people who don't take responsibility for their actions, and attention whores (besides laziness and stupidity): the media. We are bombarded by images of celebrities acting like idiots and getting away with it. We see them get married and divorced over and over again. We see them drink and drive and get away with it. We see them doing little to nothing and getting paid millions of dollars for it. The media has turned our society into lazy, helpless, self-serving, I deserve everything just because I do jackasses. You don't have the right to wealth, happiness, and a do-nothing lifestyle just because you live in the US. You have the right to work. You have the right to vote (and how about we do a better job of that next time, huh? YES WE CAN . . . drive the country into the ground). You do not have the right to commit a crime and get away with it. You do not have the right to hurt other people or lie without garnering consequences. You should not have the right to treat cops the way many people do (Did you all freaking forget the number we've lost this year? Because you're all acting like you have. RESPECT MY HUSBAND AND THE OTHER MEN & WOMEN OUT THERE PROTECTING YOUR SORRY ASSES!). You should not have the right to treat marriage like a joke and divorce like it's no big deal. In my opinion, the law has become too liberal/lenient and that is another reason why no one is held accountable for their actions. When a certain state passes a law that says no cop can search a vehicle without a search warrant EVEN IF THERE ARE DRUGS IN PLAIN SIGHT, there is something wrong. When a certain state is unable to seek the death penalty for one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, there is something wrong.
So what does all this add up to? Even with my usually optimistic outlook for the state of our country, I'm appalled by the deterioration of our culture. What are we barreling toward?
REVOLUTION.
So, enjoy the irresponsible, lazy, and ridiculous nature of life for now. I will enjoy the after-effects of the total upheaval of our culture and pray every day for a return to a more polite, community-focused culture that values intelligence and hard work instead of get-rich-quick schemes, sluttiness, and lies.
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