KDBDallas

After over 2 years of trying, and going through fertility treatment and tons of fertility meds, we are finally expecting a new addition to our family!

This last week we were able to see the first “pictures” of the baby and hear the heart beat for the first time.

It’s still a bit early to know if it’s a boy or girl, but we are hoping to be able to find out in the next few weeks.
We are going to try and get back in right before my birthday (Jan 25) to try and find out.

The due date is August 1st, however since we have to do a C-Section we will probably end up around the end of July.
That said, our main goal is to make it past 25 weeks this time.
Past that everything is gravy

We are working on getting back in to see a Perinatologist, who along with our normal baby doctor will determine the best course of action to help insure we get past 25 weeks this time.

If you talk to me much or stalk me on Twitter then you know that I couldn’t be more unenthusiastic about this years Presidental campaign.

Once again I feel like I am forced to pick “the lesser of two evils.”

I used to consider myself Republican, but then the Republican did not seem to match me very well.

I now would consider myself a Constitutionalist, but if I have to go Red or Blue then I would still fall more Republican.

Each candidate has things I like, and each have things I don’t like.

I will briefly layout the pros and cons in my eyes (This is by no means a complete list, and some may overlap)

McCain

+ “Basic” Conservative values

+ Pro Gun

- Wants not only continued war but also MORE wars

- Wouldn’t know a computer if it landed on his lap

Obama

+ “Acts” non-war hungry

+ At least knows something about Technology

- “Basic” Liberal values

- Anti-Gun

And I am expected to choose from that….

One topic that seems to come up every time there is an election is Gay marriage.

This is a topic that I have never really given a thought to as it does not effect me.

However, this election year here in Arizona there is a proposition as to if the law should read that marraige is between a man and a woman.

Then past that, members of my church went and did something they should not have…

A LARGE amount of people (from at least my ward) decided that this was a big issue (which is fine if that’s what they think), however they then went on to use church mailing lists (phone and email) to “inform” members that they should vote this in, and to recruit people to work in a phone bank to call and inform people.

Now if they want to vote for this proposition that is fine. If they want to work in these phone banks, that is fine. The part I have a problem with is them using the church mailing lists to “inform us” and that while they where “informing” us they make it out to be that the church is telling you to vote this in.

THAT I have a problem with.

It’s not that I care one way or the other on this proposition, it’s that they are using the church to push their political agenda.

Then shortly after this happened the same question came up in the Vice President debates. In the debates BOTH parties said they were NOT for gay marriage. (Biden said he is for other gay rights, but not marriage)

This surprised me as I thought Biden would have been for gay marriage.

Anyways, this then got me thinking about the topic.

What came from that may surprise some…

Let me preface this by saying that I do believe that the natural thing is for attraction to go between a man and a woman. I think the fact that the large magaority of people are this way. According to gaydemographics.org in 2004 the percentage of Same-sex couples in the USA was 1.16%. Or to even pad that with Alfred Kinsey’s study which stated 10% of males had at least “tested the waters.” That’s a big difference in numbers, but even if we go with the 10% that means 90% are Heterosexual. So I think that shows that Heterosexuality is the “norm” if you will. (not to mention that Homosexuality is just kind of gross)

So with that aside…

I came to the thought that I do not have a problem with gay marriage.

America was founded on the ideal of Freedom.

Not only was it a freedom of religion, but also other basic freedoms.

Basically it was the freedom to be who and what you want to be.

So why doesn’t being gay count?

Many will start in with that its a sin in the eyes of God, and while I may believe that, isn’t that come back to a freedom of religion?

I don’t think anyone will dissagree that what is a sin to God varrys depending on what religion you ask.

Besides, even if it is a sin… I know that in the LDS church it has been said over and over again that just because someone does not believe what we believe, does not make them a bad person and that we should be just as friendly with them. In the Bible it says to be in the world, but not of the world. St. Augustine said, “With love for mankind and hatred of sins”, ie, “Love the sinner and hate the sin.”

So if someone wants to get married to someone of the same sex… why not let them?

How does it hurt us?

Some may say it ruins the santatity of marriage, but I don’t think that is fair to say when we watch TV shows like “Who wants to marry a millionarie?”

Besides what is marriage?

According to Merriam-Webster marriage is:

“(1): the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law  (2): the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage <same-sex marriage>”

and

“an intimate or close union”

Lets take that first one and strip out the gender parts.

“the state of being united to a person in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”

Personally I don’t see how two people of the same sex who love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together, ruins that for us straights.

Plus homosexuals already have civil unions, which is really basically the same thing.

So even though I am happily married to a woman, and the thought of two guys kissing is gross to me, I don’t see why we should have a problem with gay marriage.

Well that is my political rant.

I will leave you with the following,

“Americans inherit from our ancestors a glorious tradition of freedom and resistance to oppression.  Our country has long been admired by the rest of the world for her great example of liberty and prosperity—a light shining in the darkness of tyranny.

But many Americans today are frustrated.  The political choices they are offered give them no real choice at all.  For all their talk of “change,” neither major political party as presently constituted challenges the status quo in any serious way.  Neither treats the Constitution with anything but contempt.  Neither offers any kind of change in monetary policy.  Neither wants to make the reductions in government that our crushing debt burden demands.  Neither talks about bringing American troops home not just from Iraq but from around the world.  Our country is going bankrupt, and none of these sensible proposals are even on the table.

This destructive bipartisan consensus has suffocated American political life for many years.  Anyone who tries to ask fundamental questions instead of cosmetic ones is ridiculed or ignored…..”

-Ron Paul

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

Makes me all warm and fuzzy while I am giggling like a school girl

This has been a CRAZY busy week! What a week for the week after my vacation.

Monday was the Apple WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) keynote, which was an important keynote for me seeing how so much of what I do now is iPhone related and this is where the new iPhone news was coming from. The new iPhone was annonced and I was excited until I found out that since AT&T is now subsudizing the iPhone so the price can go down, that they will no longer allow you to have a pre-paid account on the new iPhone. Since this is what I have, this sucks for me.

Then outside of Apple land, it was also my first day back to PayPal after being gone a week, which meant that I had a weeks worth of emails waiting. I also am the only person in the team of programmers that worked on this last project to do assigned to fixing bugs, so I had 4 people’s worth of bugs waiting for me.

Tuesday I had an appointment with the Pain Management doctor, which wouldn’t have been a big deal but they were running an HOUR behind. So I didn’t even get called back for an hour, and then the normal waiting in a room to see the doctor. I did find out that the reason my neck has been hurting for YEARS is because I have 2 bulding disks in my neck (one on each side).

Wednesday was actually a normal day.

Thursday, our new bed and my new computer chair got delivered. We have been needing a bed for a LONG time and I had to get another chair because I hadn’t been able to find one that doesn’t make me HURT after sitting in it for as long as I do. I decided to go with the chair I have at PayPal since I know that type doesn’t make me hurt. The only problem was it was WAY more then I wanted to spend on a chair. However I can already say it was worth it, as my butt and back no longer ache like crazy after only like an hour. Now I can sit and sit and sit I also had to pull some weeds in the front yard and trim the bushes, not to mention cleaning the entire house that night while Nancy was at work.

Friday was a very busy day. In the morning I had my “surgery” for my neck. This turned out to be more of an ordel then I expected. As I am sure you know, I don’t like kneedles! I started out ok, but they ended up having to try 4 times to get an IV in. After the 3rd try, I said that we better take a minute because I was getting light headed, but the nurse ignored me and kept trying. Well this lead to me almost passing out. (yea I know… what a baby…) (a couple of the nurses later said that my response was actually a response of my body (they called it something, but I can’t remember. If you know what it is let me know) and that there really isn’t much I can do to help it. I don’t know, maybe they were just trying to be nice since the other nurses were all making fun of me). Then once I was ready, I finally went in for the procedure, and thats about all I remember… I remember lying on the table and feeling them put something into the IV, and thinking that it felt like it was not going in but just running down my arm, but I knew I was wrong when I could start to taste and smell it, then…… well…. I don’t remember anything after that. The next thing I can remember is being in the car with Nancy and Tyler and heading home (no I wasn’t driving).

Friday was also the day that my new computer came. Well when we got home there was a tag on the door saying we had missed them by 30 minutes. I was still pretty out of it, so Nancy sent me to bed and like the wonderful wife that she is, drove all the way out to Tempe to pick it up for me. Then when she got home I HAD to put it all togeather and start setting it up.

Saturday I spent working and playing with Tyler while Nancy was at work. I got all of the new features done for the upcoming release of one of my iPhone programs. I also continued to install everything on my new computer and get it all setup how I like it.

Then today (Sunday) I again spent working and playing with Tyler while Nancy was/is at work. I got a new website done for my iPhone programming. I am now just taking a break. My head and neck hurt and I am tired, but still have so much to do. Nancy should be home any time now, so I am at least waiting to see her and then I will decide if I move on to the next thing or go to bed.

This has been such a crazy week that I am kind of looking forward to work tomorrow, as I think it will be normal busy and therefore give me some kind of break.

One upside to this week is all the stuff that came this week, we have the satisfation of knowing that not a cent was put on credit! Its nice to finally be at a spot where that is possible and we don’t feel like we are drowning. We have also been getting our debt paid off, and currently have paid off more then 60% of it. (Now if they would just update the credit report people that we paid it off)

Thank you Nancy for being such a great wife and for sticking through it when times were tough. The only thing that can make being where we are now, even better is the fact that I am there with you. You mean the world to me.