Bek's lab

"Sometimes it's best to get your walls knocked down, lose your most cherished constructs, and be fully swept away." --How to Live at the Beach, by Sandy Gingras

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Location: Kailua, HI, United States

I'm a stay-at-home momma to 2 little ones, military spouse, and distributor for Young Living, cooking up new DIY recipes for house and home.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Who'd have thought?

I am a bit of a pop culture/celebrity news junky. It's a guilty pleasure, if you will. I don't waste my money on tabloids or spend hours on TMZ.com, but I do often watch ENews and check in on the entertainment sections of MSN and Yahoo. I just like to know what's goin on. One major thing, I'm sure lots of you have heard about, that's been going on is the Britney Spears saga. Since she filed for divorce at the end of last year, she's out partyin like crazy, in and out of rehab, had that whole head-shaving incident...quite a mess of a girl right now. Really, if you ask me, I think her life has been spiriling more and more out of control since her first marriage 3 years ago. The 55-hour quickie to her childhood friend in Vegas. I think she should have just stuck with him in the first place! Or at least that's what I had thought until the reports from this weekend came out today.
I heard today that Kevin Federline, her estranged husband, has visited her twice already since she went into rehab last Wednesday. He apparently took their 2 kids to visit her on the latter trip. The rumors have been that she shaved her head after a fight the 2 had where he said he was going to have her hair tested for drug use. Then, there was the episode where she attacked a car with an umbrella outside his house where he had their children and wouldn't let her see them. He seems to be genuinly concerned for her well being and is using the potential of losing her children to make her get help. He threatened to have an emergency custody hearing if she didn't go back to rehab last week. He still has that card hanging over her head, and can use it until she finishes rehab.
Now, for all the crap this guy has endured over the past 2 years, you really have to give him his due. He was accused of being a bum, a leech and a gold digger, of mooching off his wife and her success and money. But, the guy has really stepped up and seems to be doing all he can for his family. I have to admit I am impressed. He took quite possibly the only leverage that could be used against her and had the guts to play that card, without exploiting it. He could have easliy just gone to a judge and made his plea for sole custody and probably won. Would that have done her any good? It may have made things worse, actually. Now, she may have a drug problem of some kind, but having 2 babies in a year (the younger one is less than 6 months old!), getting divorced, not having anything resembling a career in years, and living in the constant fish bowl she's in is enough to make anyone kinda lose it at least a little. I mean, the poor girl is only 25! She's had her life publicized and scrutinized for 10 years now. Who can handle all that? How much can we reasonably expect from these people?
Luckily, the people in her life, namely her parents and soon-to-be ex-husband have taken an active role in helping her get the help she needs to cope with life. Hopefully they have caught her soon enough that she doesn't become the next Anna Nicole Smith. I'm with ya mom...she's on my heart as well. I feel so badly for her. I really hope she can pull herself together.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day

"Thankfully, people keep coming back to the beach,
and to that matter, to love, for this lesson:
Sometimes it is best to let your walls get knocked down
and lose your most cherished constructs
and be fully swept away."
--How to Live at the Beach, Sandy Gingras
5 years ago I read this quote in a book my mother brought home and it changed my life. I had been afraid to let myself be swept away and afraid to admit I was in love, to my own detriment. I had lost many friends in my life, simply due to geography and was afraid of it happening again. As a result, I had built up many walls. I am so happy I finally let myself be fully swept away.
Hope you're loving, and allowing yourself to be loved whole-heartedly today!

Sunday, February 11, 2007

NFL or NBA?

I received this email as a forward a couple of months ago, and for some reason, felt compelled to keep it. Maybe I was just so floored by it. It kind of goes along with my previous post...so play along if you like...

NBA OR NFL?
36 have been accused of spousal abuse
7 have been arrested for fraud
19 have been accused of writing bad checks
117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
3 have done time for assault
71, repeat 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
14 have been arrested on drug-related charge
8 have been arrested for shoplifting
21 currently are defendants in lawsuits
84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last YEAR

Can you guess which organization this is?

Give up yet? . . .


The answer is NEITHER, it's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group of idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

Are you appalled? Are you shocked? Are you in disbelief? With a Presidential election on the horizon, PLEASE pay attention! Investigate these people on your own... AND VOTE!

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

What has happened here?

I'm not what you would consider a "politically charged" person. I try to follow loosely what's going on in the world, watching national news almost daily. I know how I feel about some issues, others I have mixed feelings about. While I am often sure in my convictions, I can sometimes be swayed, or sometimes, I find it better to agree to disagree. I usually don't get too worked up about anything, but I've seen a few things lately and I saw something specific today that just set me off. Something that makes me say, "what has happened in this country? When did a country founded on the ideals of freedom become a place to be afraid of expressing your feelings and beliefs freely?"
I saw today that former Vice President, and newly best friend of the environment, Al Gore, said that scientists who are taking a "skeptical view" of the extreme extent of man's contributions to global warming are being "bribed by the government to betray science." Now, I've never been one for consiracy theories, but these scientists, who may or may not be a majority (every report is different, ya know), are being bashed, and in some cases, even having their jobs threatened because of a difference of opinion. Any scientist will tell you it's nearly impossible to determine science as fact. Things that are determined as "laws" simply have held up SO FAR. They haven't been disproven YET." Now, I'm not saying either side is right or worng. Personally I think they are all right to a degree...yes, fossil fuels haven't helped, but I bet if we lived during the ice age we would have found people to blame for that too and thought it would have ended the whole world. But history says that the earth goes through global shifts. The big problem with science is that we may not know how or why things work they way they do until years down the road.
But that isn't the point! The point is, in THIS country, we are all allowed to believe what we want! Science and statistics can be interpreted differetly. Our country is stabilized, ultimatly, by conflict and disagreement. If our "specialists" and "experts" weren't allowed to contradict popular opinion, where would we be? Would we have a flat earth picture still? Would we think we were part of Asia? Would we have theories of physics? Would we still have slavery? Working through difference of opinion is how progress is made.
Another thing I saw this week was in response to the remark democratic presidential candidate Sen Biden made about Sen Obama, saying he was happy to see a nice, charming, clean, black man entering the race. Does that sound like a compliment to anyone else? Well, former presidential candidate Al Sharpton took offence (who's surprised?) I guess he figured Sen Biden was implying that no "nice, charming, clean, black" men had run for president before. I guess that's what he's figured. Even Obama said he knew what Biden meant and was not offended. The spot I saw on the news included a guest appearance by the black author of the book, White Guilt. He said something that stuck with me..."Political Correctness is the language of white guilt." He said whites are automatically stigmatized as being racist and are constantly having to disprove that and overcome that.
Now, I like black people just fine. My niece is a mixed child and her black side of the family is darling people. Her grandparents are financially stable and still married to each other. I've had black friends. But I did nothing to purpetuate the high percentages of black families on government support. I did nothing to promote the high percentages of gangs that have black members. I did nothing to purpetuate the amount of black single-parent homes. When did we become afraid of noticing things that are true? Why is it we are racist for simply making an observation? And yes, the system isn't perfect, and it's hard to break a cycle you see all around you, but it isn't automatically someone else's fault. My family has never been rich. No one in my family had been to college. I worked my butt off in high school and got a scholarship available to any state resident, to a state school. Anyone can.
When did we become afraid of voicing our free thoughts? When did the "American Dream" become winning a reality show to become rich and famous? When did we all become so entitled? When did we become so lazy? When did politics and political correctness poison our national identity? No one seems to get anything accomplished for all the sales pitches and finger pointing. I am already dreading the next year and a half of campaigning. It's all so ridiculous!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

I'm a Terrible Mother!

Why are people so nuts about their pets? Have you noticed, it seems to me, in recent years, people have gone pet crazy? Bringing dogs to the mall in purses, buying special stairs so your small pet can get on the bed or sofa with you, putting them up at "Pet Resorts" when you go out of town. If you ask me, it's all a bit overboard.
Now, I'm a pet fan, don't get me wrong. I've always especially loved cats. I got my first cat as a huge surprise when I was about 6. He had to be put down toward the end of high school and I was heartbroken. This is my baby now, McCoy. I got him a little over 4 years ago when I was in college. He's a big boy and always has been. When he was a baby his hind feet looked like rabbit's feet. He's also very long with a big bushy tail to go with his medium hair, so his weight is easily masked--he always looks big!
He had his annual check up today (we missed last year amidst all the craziness of the wedding and moving). The last time he was at the vet, about a year and a half ago, he was sick and they never really figured out what was wrong with him. While he was sick, he also lost a couple of pounds the vet had recommended he lose, just a couple of months before at his check up then. Apparently he's gained them back and then some! The vet said he could stand to lose up to 5 pounds! He weighed in at 20.6 lbs!!! I had changed his diet before, when the vet wanted him to lose weight. This vet wants us to put him on a canned food diet. Do you know how much more money this will cost? Besides that, I've become one of those people Dr. Phil yells at for being an enabler mothers who lets her kid get fat and at risk for health problems! (yes, pets can have health risks that go with being overweight...including diabetes)
As kids, my brother, sister, and I always had good metabolisms, but we also had fruits in our lunches, veggies with dinner, and limits put on our sweets intake. We also lived in a quaint suburb with lots of kids, playing sports outside and riding bikes around the neighborhood. As a result of all of these things combined, none of us had to worry about being overweight. I like the way I grew up and always hoped to be able to provide the same for my kids.
So, I will spend a little more on kitty food to start doing what I have to do to take care of my baby. I'll do what I can to help him lose a few, even if it means I'm being a little "pet crazy." It's good practice, right ;)