Skirts 'n Dresses

The warm weather of spring is upon us, and we're enjoying it very much over here in our neck of the woods (well, except for the ticks. We had to pull one out from behind John's ear the other day!). I'm happy about the change of wardrobe the warmer weather brings. For me, spring and summer clothes are much better than cold-weather clothes. They're lighter, more comfortable, more durable, easier to take care of, and more attractive. My favorite thing to wear in warm weather is skirts and dresses. I love, love, LOVE skirts and dresses! I'm totally addicted to shopping for them, even when I have enough. It's a big weakness for me. I get excited by all the really cute and modest offerings that are out there now. My favorites are usually knee-length and A-line. Here are some of the results of my recent Internet "window shopping."

*Picture captions are above the picture, not below.*

I have an addiction to knee-length skirts, from basic black to colorful patterns and florals.

Knit ruffle skirt from Ann Taylor Loft, $54. This is a versatile skirt that can easily be dressed up or down.

Talbots Ombre stripe & dot fluted skirt, $69 (originally $108). I tried this skirt on a few months ago and I liked it, but the steep price tag kept me from buying it. It's come down in price now, but it's sold out in my size on the website. I like this skirt because you can wear a variety of colors with it, like pink, brown, and green, all colors I like to wear. This skirt is so pretty. Brown lace skirt, http://www.christa-taylor.com/, $39 (down from $55).

Blue is one of my favorite colors to wear. This looks like a perfect summer skirt. Dot skirt from Martin + Osa, $49.95 (down from $98).

The "It" skirt of the season from the Gap. It's cute and it comes in a bunch of different colors. Gap ruffle skirt, $39.50.

I've had my eye on this skirt for about two years now. I want to get it in the blue/green dot or mixed green floral fabric. It has a petticoat underneath, which gives it some nice fullness. Essential summer skirt from Garnet Hill, $88.
Cute! I could wear this skirt with almost any of my summer shirts. Pleated denim skirt, Garnet Hill, $78.
This is an exceptionally pretty skirt, and roses are my favorite flower. Rose embroidered organdy skirt, Garnet Hill, $128.

Beware! Some really cute summer dresses ahead...

This is a nice classic black wrap dress. Faux wrap shirt dress, Ann Taylor Loft, $79.
I have this dress, and I like it a lot. I love its classic, pretty silhouette; it reminds me of the bygone era of the 1950s. It's well-made and very comfortable. Gingham dress, Isaac Mizrahi for Target, $39.99.
This is another Isaac Mizrahi for Target dress, the Herringbone Shirting Dress, for $39.99. I got this one too and I love the classic look of it. It looks like a dress that Hayley Mills wore in The Parent Trap. The only problem is that the neck is scooped a little too wide, so it shows stuff. I need to see how it looks with a shirt of some sort underneath. If it looks funny, I'll have to return it. It's a totally cute dress and I hope I can make it work!
This is a "pretty in pink" dress. Yet again, it's Isaac Mizrahi for Target, Toile-Print Dress, $39.99. I really like Isaac Mizrahi's style for dresses and skirts and I'm bummed that he's leaving Target soon. It's the only way I can afford him! This dress also comes in "silver birch." I wish it came in a light blue or pale green print, too.
Sag Harbor dress from Down East Basics (.com), $34.99. I'm not crazy about the bow around the waist, but other than that, I think this is such a cute dress.
All it needs is a camisole underneath and this pretty blue wrap dress is ready to wear! Chambray wrap dress, Gap, $59.50.
A perfect summer dress. Cotton oxford shirt dress, Ann Taylor, $138.
Yorkshire dress from Shabby Apple (.com), $98. It's wool tweed (lined with acetate, so it's silky inside) so it would be better on cooler days or to wear in the early days of fall.
For special occasions, party dresses are a must...

Silk taffeta ruffle wrap dress, J. Crew, $245 (it would have to be a very special occasion to justify the cost!).
Simple and cute, and in one of my favorite colors to wear, navy blue. You could wear some great jewelry with this dress. Crossover knit dress with ruched waist, Ann Taylor, $128.
Isaac Mizrahi for Target Trapunto dress, $49.99. As I said above, I love navy blue. I have this dress in black, but I like the navy one even better. All you need to do is wear a cute little sweater to cover for the lack of sleeves. (I got a great black one from Ann Taylor Loft.)
This little jacket would work over the above dress. I like it; it's cute and different. http://www.sooncollection.com/
It's prom season! I wish they'd had more modest prom dress options like this one when I was in high-school. I don't think I would have gone with a black dress for prom, but I really like this dress and I would wear it to a formal function today if I had one to go to. Taffeta tea-length gown, http://www.beautifullymodest.com/, $149.

Fun With Numbers

It's April 15th...have you done your taxes? We haven't. Thank goodness the IRS allows for filing an extension, and thank goodness for accountants! Ours makes life a lot easier. Anyway, in honor of Tax Day, here's a fun little exercise to do, so get a calculator!

1. Type in the first three digits of your phone number (not the area code).
2. Multiply by 80.
3. Add 1.
4. Multiply by 250.
5. Add the last four digits of your phone number to the total.
6. Add the last four digits of your phone number again.
7. Subtract 250.
8. Divide the number by 2.

Do you recognize the answer? How does that work!?

Dear Penn, I'm Baaack!

I'm really looking forward to our road trip down to Philadelphia tomorrow. We're leaving in the early afternoon after church and returning home by Monday evening, so it will be a short and sweet trip. We're going because Peter is giving a lecture at a Wharton class on Monday morning (Wharton is the business school at Penn that Peter went to). This will be our first time bringing our son to our alma mater, which will be really neat, because Penn and Philadelphia are where we met and fell in love, so it's kind of how our family began in the first place.

Let me describe for you my life at this time six years ago, in April of 2002, and you will see why I'm so happy to be going back to Philadelphia in very different, much better conditions than I was living in then!

1) I was in the last semester of my senior year, so I was close to graduating and busy with everything. I was taking five demanding classes that semester. By senior year, most classes you take are upper-level and therefore more difficult. I had two upper-level political science classes, two upper-level Spanish classes, and a dreaded (lowest level possible) math class that I had procrastinated taking until my last semester. By April, when classes were coming to an end and finals were upon us, I had long, long papers due for each class except math, plus final exams for some of the classes.

Add to this the fact that because Penn is a top-ranked Ivy League university, the students tend to be highly competitive and many of the professors are very demanding and picky, so it is challenging to get good grades. I had to work my butt off just to get B's. I was so overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work to do for my classes that last semester that I just wanted to curl up and die at this time six years ago. At least if I were dead I wouldn't have to write those papers and study for those exams.

2) I was a busy bride-to-be. My wedding was only about three months away, and I had so much to do for it. We were having a big traditional reception at a hotel and I had to plan all of the details for that, prepare the invitations, plan seating arrangements, get my whole dress ensemble together, choose the music, arrange transportation, and do a hundred other things, all from a few states away (we got married in the Boston area).

3) I was also looking for a full-time job for when I graduated, but this out of necessity had to be pushed to the back burner because of everything else going on. It was discouraging and I felt like a loser because I didn't have a job waiting for me when I graduated.

4) I was homeless. Campus Apartments finally decided to renovate my apartment in the spring semester (they couldn't have waited two more months until summer arrived and classes were out??), so me and my two roommates, Katie and Aubrey, had to find a new place to live for a few weeks. Guess where I lived? With Peter and his roommate. I slept on the couch. Sometimes I stayed overnight at the library when I had to make a deadline and time was of the essence. I could have stayed with some of my other friends instead of with Peter, but procrastination and goofing off was way too easy to do with them, and then I would have been in even more trouble when it came to my schoolwork.

5) Peter and I had to start looking for a house or a condo in New Jersey for when we got married. Otherwise, we were going to be living out of a motel come July of that year! House-hunting was the last thing I had time to do at this point.

6) In addition to all of this, I had three jobs to hold down, plus some extracurriculars to try to stay involved in (I worked at the Penn Press; I took notes for students with learning disabilites; I had a Saturday babysitting job for a grad student couple's little girl out in Swarthmore; I worked for the school newspaper copyediting articles; etc.).

So as you can see, the spring of 2002 was a very stressful time in my life. I think my blood pressure is rising just writing about it (I'm serious!). Having to write those four last papers was especially difficult. I was so close to being done with school, yet they needed to be written well and written quickly, because I hadn't been able to start them earlier in the semester since I was so busy with other things, not to mention I had a social life and fun things to do with my friends and fiance. But, it all ended up working out. "This too shall pass," and it did. However, it was surely the most stressful and busy time of my life!

So this is one of the main reasons why I'm so glad to be going back, six years later, with no academic work to do, no papers to write, no exams to study for, no wedding to plan, no job to look for, no house-hunting to take care of, and no work to show up for. I can just go and relax with my little boy and my hubby and enjoy my beloved old campus and one of my most favorite cities ever. Even if the trip isn't all that eventful, it will be worth it all just for that. Closure will be mine!

Maybe John and I will play on these very steps that I used to walk up and down as a student. I'll smile sweetly and sympathetically at the current busy students hurriedly making their way around us. Closure indeed!

Funny!

My friend Jessie had some funny little pictures up on her blog recently, and I got such a kick out of them that I decided to "steal" some of them to put on my blog. Thanks Jessie! I'm sorry to be a thief, but I like these way too much not to put on my own blog!

I thought it was sad when Pluto got demoted. I don't care what the scientists say, Pluto is still a planet in my book!
For some reason, I vividly remember the episode of Saved by the Bell when Jessie Spano sang this song and then broke down because of her pill addiction. Poor Slater! This has always been me with math. It's ironic that I ended up marrying a literal math genius. Big surprise, I wasn't much good at Chemistry either!
This is so funny. I remember playing Super Mario Brothers with my friends when I was younger and thinking that I was really cool when I did things like find a hidden flower and get lots of coins. Aaahh, the good old days.

General Conference

As always, General Conference was wonderful this weekend. It filled our home with the Spirit, with beautiful music, and with uplifting, God-inspired messages from our new prophet and other church leaders. I'm so glad Conference is held twice a year instead of just once. It's a re-charging of my spiritual batteries that I feel like I need every time it comes around.

I came to love General Conference in October of my freshman year at college. Before that, I wasn't all that into it. But in college, as a Mormon girl I was such a minority at worldly Ivy League Penn, and I clung to General Conference as a lifeline to help reinforce what I already knew among the sea of very different and sometimes totally opposite beliefs of so many of my friends and peers around me. I walked the couple of blocks back and forth to the church building on 39th & Chestnut Street for all four sessions every time, no matter how busy I was, never missing a session during my four years in school. It was a joy to attend. One of the reasons I'm thankful I chose to go to Penn over BYU is because it helped me come to love General Conference and appreciate our church leaders in a way that I never had before. I needed that guidance and light so much while I was at school, and it helped me to see that I needed it for life in general, no matter where I was or what I was doing.

I was on msnbc.com tonight and I was pleasantly surprised to see that Conference was one of the main stories. Cool!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23972778/

Of Hair and Highlights

Man, I have really got the blogging bug lately! I can't stop thinking about things I want to write about or post on here. This one is a tribute to hair and to my wonderful hairstylist, Kenzie Muir, who I am convinced is truly the best stylist in the greater Hartford area. Believe me, I've been through a few of them now, and nobody comes close to her.

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know I've been going through the winter beauty blahs. A major part of that has been my hair. Here's the problem with having blond hair: for most blondes, it doesn't stay the angelic, pretty white-blond shade of our youth. It turns progressively darker as we grow up. The warm summer sun helps lighten and brighten it up a lot (though never as light as it once was), but without intervention, the cold winters make it turn dark and limp, so that it's dark blond at best and a dull flat light brown at worst. (Don't get me wrong! Dark hair is very beautiful, just not so much when you're naturally blond.)

So anyway, this past week I finally got to go in for a long overdue hair appointment, and my winter beauty blahs have considerably lessened since then, and not just because it's now officially spring. Kenzie gave me really pretty highlights that brightened my hair and face up nicely. What a great difference they make. I should have gotten them done much sooner. From now on I'm going to make sure that I start each winter with a fresh set of highlights, and that should help me and my hair to look a lot better during the cold, dark months.

My freshly highlighted head. Yay!

Also, I finally took the plunge and got my hair cut shorter than I've had it since I was in about 5th or 6th grade. I know stylists have wanted me to do this for a long, long time because my hair is so fine, but I've been too scared. I was convinced that I didn't have the kind of face that could pull off short hair, plus I was kind of prejudiced about it. I've always thought longer hair is better. It's pretty, feminine, and classic, while short hair is cute, practical, and more trendy.

But Kenzie explained how shorter hair would be perfect for me, and so I said, in effect, "Okay, do it." I was willing to go for it partly because it couldn't be much worse than the way my hair was looking anyway. I totally trust this girl, and she didn't let me down. She gave me a really great haircut and I adore it! I've been surprised at how much I like it, given my years-long opposition to having short hair. Thank you Kenzie!! It's not severely short, just about two inches above my shoulders. My hair now looks so much better and healthier, and I wish I'd done this a long time ago. It would have saved me from a lot of pain, suffering, and wasted money!

It feels good to be blonder again.

My new short hair... In the interest of full disclosure, it was a lot easier to go short because I have a security blanket. Whenever I want longer hair back, I can have it instantly by clipping in some extensions that Kenzie got for me a few months ago. I've been wearing them off and on for months and they're awesome! They give me the hair that Mother Nature didn't. So now I can enjoy the benefits of both long and short hair, depending on my mood, or how much time I have in the morning, or whatever. Voila! In some cases you really can have your cake and eat it too!

A Great Man

Today is the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., one of my favorite people in modern American history. I wish he were still here, filling not just the country but also the world with his uplifting, crucial messages about equality, peace, and hope. I'm thankful for what he did in helping to end racial segregation and bringing about fair treatment for blacks. Three of my best friends from college, Angela, Uche, and Michelle, are black, and I'm so very glad that the Civil Rights Movement made it possible for us to meet, be roommates, and become such good friends. I know that this great man is now somewhere much better than our world and that his reward in heaven must have been at least as great as he was. I'll always admire his courage and conviction and his peaceable ways. He was a true Christian and set such a good example for people everywhere of all races, religions, and cultures. I sometimes still get tears in my eyes when I see or hear his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Snoop Dogg...the Mormon?

I found out today that Snoop Dogg, the infamous rapper, has apparently joined the LDS Church. How crazy is that!? I thought at first that it must be an April Fool's article, but it looks like it's legit. According to the article, he was introduced to the Church by Gladys Knight and through a Family Home Evening at her house. If he's sincere about it and this is all indeed true, I think it's really cool and I welcome him into our ranks. Read this article for the "scoop on Snoop."

http://cnnentertainment.co.nr/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/01

March: A Summary

Well, March certainly came in like a lion this year, and a beastly one at that, in the form of sickness. On March 2nd, a Sunday morning, Peter and I both woke up totally sick with one of those bugs that makes you feel just miserable all day long and weak for days after. Fortunately John never got sick with it, but it ended up canceling my plans to head up to my mother's house in Mass. for a few days while our kitchen got remodeled. We ended up being stuck at home and living upstairs for about two days instead. FUN! But the end result was worth it and the kitchen looks great now.

As you probably already know, John turned 3 on the 8th and we had a nice family party for him. Two days later he went for his 3-year check-up with the doctor (I love our pediatrician, by the way--she's the best!) and everything looks good. She said that the things he can do at his age are unusual, that he is very likely gifted, and that putting him into a Montessori school is one of the best things we can do for him at this stage, so that made me feel even better about doing that. He's still loving the preschool, by the way. (And so am I! I get about eight free hours a week now to run errands and get things done!)

Other March happenings

• I got invisible braces this month on my upper and lower teeth. It's called "Invisalign" and it's really cool. You can't even tell they're on my teeth! They are a little bit of a pain though (sometimes literally). I can't stand the feeling of the bottom one and I've only been wearing it at night. And I have to take them out every time I eat or drink, which is difficult since I tend to eat and drink throughout the day. But again, the inconveniences should be worth it when at year's end I'll hopefully have a beautiful new smile.


• We finally joined Costco. Yeah!! They've got some really good food and lots of other stuff there. I don't think it will be able to replace Target as my favorite store though.


• Easter was nice, but Peter had to go to Salt Lake City, Utah (his first time ever going to Utah) for a business trip that weekend, so John and I headed up to Mass. to be with my family. We had a nice time there, but we missed Petechuck.


• I went to the New England Family History Conference in Franklin, Mass. last Saturday, and it was excellent. I'm excited to delve into family history work this summer.
  

March's best discoveries

• The Body Shop's Blue Corn 3-in-1 Deep Cleansing Mask


• Ann Taylor Loft jeans (I will be writing more about this soon. Yes, it deserves its own post!)


• Word World, a very clever and fun show on PBS that helps teach kids to read.


• These tiny Ben & Jerry's ice cream cups that are just the right size for satisfying an ice cream craving without making you go anywhere close to overboard. You can buy them individually at Stop & Shop.


• Clorox Green Works housecleaning supplies. I've been reading all this research about the potentially harmful effect of chemicals in regular household cleaners, and it's been making me want to find something better to use. I found it! Clorox Green Works works just as well as what I used to use and there is no price difference.


• Debbie Meyer's Green Bags. They do what they say they'll do--they keep fruits and vegetables fresh for a lot longer. These are a lifesaver! (for my poor fruits and veggies!)

Things I'm excited about for April
1) Red Sox baseball is BACK!
2) Warmer temps coming to stay and spring really starting to pop and bloom (any day now would be nice!).
3) General Conference, one of my favorite things. This will be the first one with our new prophet and First Presidency, and a new Apostle will be called.
4) Two fun trips: 1) A two-day trip to Philadelphia with Peter and John. 2) A week-long trip to the Cayman Islands at the end of the month for the three of us and my mother. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to these trips!
5) My beloved niece Hayley turns 16 on April 29th. 16! That happened so fast. She's gone from an adorable little girl to a beautiful teenager. I love you Hayley!

These are my favorite photos from March that I haven't posted yet on the blog.

John's last day as a two-year-old (sigh). This picture reminds me so much of when he was a baby and a toddler. I have pictures of him doing this exact same thing at the same camera angle when he was younger.
We like to goof off and have fun!
I like this picture because of the expression on my sister's face as she talks to our Dad. It brings me right back to our teenage years. (Although we still use this expression a lot when talking with Dad!)
A snapshot in the family room on a rainy afternoon.
We decided this month that enough was enough and that John absolutely needed to start feeding himself with a spoon instead of us still doing it for him. It's been a battle, and when he started doing it he would only hold on to Peter's finger as he fed himself. He wanted nothing to do with me! (Mommies get so dissed sometimes.)
Isn't this chair cute? It's the perfect size for him to cuddle up on. I ordered it online this month at Land of Nod.
Johnny on Easter Sunday with some of his loot.
John's evil twin! Or, is he just really narcissistic? In any case, this is a cool picture! I caught him doing this and I thought it was so funny.
At the end of the month, there was a day when it was finally mild enough to go outside and play again. Hooray! The winter-long exile to the not-so-great indoors will soon be over.

I had to take a few pictures of him having a tantrum so that he can see them when he's a bit older and know how silly it looks to get angry and throw fits!
I love my doggy and kitties!

Some things I can't live without

Not in any particular order...

1. Books
2. E-mail
3. Caller ID
4. Target
5. Lip gloss
6. My favorite pair of jeans
7. Cereal and orange juice
8. TV
9. Hand lotion
10. My camera
11. My Franklin Planner
12. Online shopping
13. Summertime
14. Stud earrings
15. SLEEP

Hmmm about Hillary

Since I'm a political news junkie, I've still been following the presidential race even though my man Mitt is out of it. It's not nearly as exciting anymore for me, but it's still important. I continue to not really like any of the top three candidates, so I'm leaning toward writing Mitt's name in when I vote as a symbolic gesture. Surprisingly, I've softened the slightest bit toward McCain, but I still don't like him much at all. So we'll see what happens. There are months left until it all really gets underway.

I've thought all along that Hillary would win the Democratic nomination. Even though it looked for awhile like Obama would get it, and it still kind of does look that way, I'm going to stand by my original prediction that she'll pull it out in the end, and that she'll choose Obama as her running mate.

I recently was sent this link to a very interesting investigative piece about the Clintons. I recommend watching it when you have about 15 minutes of free time. The interesting thing about it is that it's a big-time Democratic Hollywood guy who in the past was friends with the Clintons and raised a lot of money for them, but is now taking them to court. If the case that is made in this video really is true and their character really is that malignant, then having Hillary as Prez and Bill Clinton as de facto Vice Prez would truly be a nightmare.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7007109937779036019

Kitchen Makeover

We got our kitchen remodeled from January to March of this year, and now it's pretty much all done. We're very happy with it! It was about 37 years old, in its original condition from the time the house was built. It was a real vintage 70's jewel, let me tell you. Now that it's been brought into the new century, it's a joy to be in the kitchen, where we spend so much of our time when we're home. Here are pictures of the wonderful transformation!

Here's the old fridge in an indescribable color: a beigish-yellowish ugly shade of something. And it looks so cluttered with all of the magnets and artwork! That of course was my fault. I think I wanted to try to hide or detract from the awful color. The nice new clean white fridge. We could have gone with trendy stainless steel, but I actually prefer the brightness of white and how it really perks a kitchen up.
The two old light fixtures. The one hanging down over the table was a real beauty. And we just loved bumping our heads on it all of the time.
I LOVE RECESSED LIGHTING! It lights the room up in such a beautiful, warm way. It's really amazing the difference lighting makes. This is the "before" picture of the kitchen with its original dark-wood cabinets and lovely yellow laminate countertop.
Here's a close-up of the counter, complete with burnt-in hole over on the left from a hot pot of spaghetti that Peter set down there last year.
Old set-up with the stove. We got this new stove last May when the old one died while Peter was making my Mother's Day dinner. It was in a shade that matched the old fridge. Needless to say, I was really happy when it stopped working (even though the timing was inconvenient) because it meant that we could get a new one!
Bye-bye, old cabinets and counters!
These are the new cabinets. They really lighten the kitchen up and make it seem bigger. The change was instantaneous and amazing. The countertop and sink were installed the next day.
We got a new microwave and had it installed over the stove so that there's more counter space.
The shiny new countertop.
New cabinets, counter, and sink...together at last!
The granite color is "pine green." Green is my favorite color, and I think this is a beautiful contrast with the lighter cabinets. Originally I wasn't sold on granite and wanted to go with a Corian countertop, but Peter wanted granite, and I'm glad now that we got it. I love the new oversized sink and faucet. They're from Italy.
For a couple of days all of our dishes, pots, pans, etc. sat in the dining room while the kitchen was getting done. John had fun making music in the classic pots-and-pans-as-drums kind of way.
Here's the "After" picture of our newly remodeled kitchen. It's so much better than what it was! I like being in there now; it actually feels peaceful and looks so much nicer and brighter. The next and final big remodeling project in our house will be the bathrooms, which we plan on getting done next year. In the meantime, we're loving the kitchen!

A Good Article or Two

Here's the link to an informative article I recently received in an e-mail newsletter. It has to do with what I last wrote about, morality in the media and in our culture.
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/as-morality-in-media-falls-parents-should-do-more-network-founder-tells-npr

And this is a Conference talk from 2003 that really resonated with me back then and provides guidelines that are quite possibly even more important to follow today. The 7-point list at the end has good ideas for improving the quality of the media in our homes and lessening the negative impact it could have.
http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-401-5,00.html

I love having this blog; it's a great place to keep things like this so that I can refer easily to them whenever I want. Otherwise they tend to get lost or forgotten in my e-mail, even when I try to keep it organized with folders. Hooray for blogs!

Societal Decay

(Beware readers: get ready for a rant!)
I've been pretty disillusioned and disheartened by the Eliot Spitzer scandal this week. Not only because this man who had a huge amount of responsibility to the public has been breaking the law, being a total hypocrite since he spent his career going after all sorts of "law breakers" from Wall Street to...prostitution rings, but also because of how he's been breaking the law for what looks like years. Prostitution is one of the most morally reprehensible acts imaginable, and prostitutes themselves are a scourge to society. The pathetic women who do this ruin not only their own lives but also the lives of countless others, all for money. Why can't they use their brains and not their bodies like most other people do to make a living? Because they're dumb? Poor? Abused? On drugs? I don't care for their reasons; it's inexcusable. I also get peeved when they're called "call girls," trying to make it sound more classy and polite, when they are just prostitutes and hookers, engaging in the act of prostitution, which is paying for sex with a stranger, plain and simple. It's disgusting but not surprising that Spitzer's hooker is getting so much publicity now and will be able to make some serious money from her few minutes of fame. The public rewards despicable behavior with a level of attention that is evidence of how twisted the interests of people have become. And because I can't leave the paying customers out of this rant, I can't stand the heartless jerks who use prostitutes and keep them in business. Spitzer is forever disgraced, at least in the public eye, and has set such a bad example for Americans.

Another thing along these lines that has been bugging me is the hugely offensive Fox show "Moment of Truth." I've never watched it and I certainly never will, but I unfortunately see the ads for this show when I watch "American Idol," and I'm shocked that Fox shamelessly puts a terrible show like this out. So entertainment in America now involves watching silly selfish people answering way-too personal and totally inappropriate questions on national TV and ruining their relationships with their families as a result. What clearer proof is there than this that Satan is truly launching a massive assault on the institution of the family? Our society and the diet it feeds itself on seem to decay more and more with each passing day, and that's very bad news for America.

One last thing...have you heard about the new study that finds that a lot of teen girls have STDs? 1 in 4 girls, in fact. How sad is that? This is troublesome for a variety of reasons. For me to even say that teenagers shouldn't be sexually active in the first place, not until they get married, sounds so old-fashioned to most people now, but it's true, no matter what their religion or lack thereof, they shouldn't be doing it. Our morals have fallen so low in this country that it's now a pretty much accepted and expected thing for teenagers to be having sex. And look what it's leading to...STDs, which can lead to infertility and cancer, among other things...which can lead to the loss of very important opportunities (like having children), and even death. Families may never be created as a result and lives may be cut short. Both spiritual and physical death can and will and do result from this careless moral behavior.

If ever I wanted proof to back up the claims of the scriptures and doctrines that I am fortunate enough to have knowledge of, this is it. Wickedness never was happiness, and it never will be, and the proof of this is all around us, as the above three examples show. It is a worrisome thing to watch our culture spiral downward; it does not indicate good things about where we as a people are headed, and the effects of this cultural and societal decay on countless people is going to be devastating. It makes me angry that it's going to be even harder for me as a parent to teach my son about how to live a good life and make the right choices when the bad decisions of others are collectively going to make what I need to teach him seem less credible and more difficult to understand. Usually I'm more optimistic than I am here, but this morality stuff is an issue that is such a significant problem that it's hard to feel anything but pessimistic anger over it sometimes.