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a letter to obama

Dear Mr. President,

Welcome to the Party! I can’t wait to see what will unfold over the next four years and I’m sure you can’t either. I’ve been a little more hesitant than the rest of the nation to jump on your media-frenzied hollywood bandwagon but now that you are officially MY president, I want to believe in you. I don’t care what race you are. I don’t care about your basketball court, your puppy, the carpet in the oval office or that your wife, Michelle, looked great in her Jason Wu gown. In truth, I don’t think you needed a $170M dollar party on Tuesday but I don’t really need a $350 handbag so touché. I care that you can help make this country greater than it is. Your resume is not that comforting but I want to see you succeed. I want to live in a world not at war, in an economy that thrives, in a world free from terror, and in a nation free from the BCS! You literally have the weight of the world on your shoulders and I don’t envy you but I will support you. I’m as American as they come: a Texas girl who loves Jesus, football, and days on the lake and who grew up wanting to be Miss America. I go to church, I pay my taxes, I take vacations, I serve in the community, I watch American Idol and I love McDonald’s french fries. I went to college, I have a steady job and health insurance and I voted in the Presidential election. I guess by most standards, I am truly living the American Dream. But I worry—I’m unsure about the future. Who knows what this world will be like when Sasha and Malia are in high school, in college or when they are mothers of their own? But I read your letter that you wrote to your girls and I have the same hope as you do: [that we all will] “work to make America better. not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given your family so much -- although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential." You have a lot of work to do and I do hope that you are humbled by the mantle that has been placed upon you. I do hope you understand the sacred responsibility and obligation you have to be the voice of this people—the American people. I pray for you and your family. The eyes of this nation are upon you and most are waiting for a miracle. All I want is a reason to believe in you.

Sincerely,
Nancy

from the pulpit

"After our concluding speaker, we will sing hymn # 89: The Lord is My Delight." I tried to find it in the hymnal but oddly enough, all I could find was this...

i love bears

i love watching the bachelor. i'm not embarrassed and yes, i'm aware it's not real--thanks for the heads-up, though. i think i've watched most seasons except three--i never cared for Charlie O'Connell, Byron was too old and Prince Borghese was just eeewww.

there's a group of us gals who get together every monday and suspend reality for a few hours and get lost in the drama that is THE BACHELOR. Chris Harrison has even become charming and I don't mind hearing "the most dramatic rose ceremony ever" or "ladies, this is the final rose tonight" anymore. I can count, Chris, but thanks for clarifying :) We frequently get embarrassed for a number of the contestants and can't contain our vocal "whats, oh dears, and nooooooos" aimed at the screen. It's hilarious. We oftentimes rewind specific parts to confirm that yes, she's wearing a bottlecap belt, yes, she did just say that she loves bears, yes, she did just say that because of her depth, she will design a fetus for her painted bust, and yes, there is a mexican fiesta happening around her neck in the form of a scarf. I just can't get enough! Favorite conversation from last night:

Jason: tell me something about you...
Natali: I love bears
Jason: like koala bears? panda bears?
Natali: no, all bears

okay. it really should be no surprise that she got sent home and to make it worse, she had to take off her borrowed $1M diamond jewelry right there on the curb of the Palms in Las Vegas before she got in the limo. ouch.

i love the ridiculous dates that don't really ever happen in real life. (i'd like to see a "Bachelor" take a girl to Cafe Rio and to a bad movie and then see if she "feels a connection". i'm pretty sure I'd "feel a connection" too if I was in a private jet, draped with $1M of diamonds or at my own private Robin Thicke concert or having Legoland all to myself :) good job Bachelor producers!) i love the deliberation room and the cheesy music and how he ponders on each framed picture, frequently picking up the framed picture for further effect. Anyway, it really was the most dramatic rose ceremony ever and we all can't wait to see Megan go home. Team Melissa or Jillian or Molly! okay, and I like Naomi too. Thank you K, K, M, A & A for evenings I look forward to every week. until next Monday...

i wasn't last

i ran a race over the weekend. I'm not a runner by any means but I always feel inclined to enter races. So Kim and I tagged along with Christy, Connie and Sherrie and scooted down to St. G for the weekend. Kim and I took our own car and had a fun time on the drive down recounting some pretty great stories from our past and coming up with ideas to improve our themes for 2009. We got up early and headed to the starting place--it was freezing but luckily, warmed up by the time we started. We sent Connie, Christy and Sherrie on their way first as they were tackling the half-marathon and then we crossed over the start-line of our 5K. Kim did really well and I wasn't last. That's about all I'll say. We made a command decision to get back to town so we literally got in the car after our race was done and drove back to the SLC. Kim was a rockstar to drive the whole way--I offered to drive but we both have little confidence in my stick-shift skills :) After a nap, we met up at Pat's BBQ to watch a friend of ours play--she's in a blue-grass band. It was awesome. There is a large number of picnic tables end to end in some of the rooms and you just sit down next to whoever to enjoy some good'ol down home smoked BBQ. (featured on Guy Fieri's Dives, Drive-ins and Diners on the Food Network) Apparently we weren't full enough, so we ventured downtown to Flemings to get some creme brulee and chocolate cake. it was a pretty good weekend.

dinner in a snowsuit

well, we had the best intentions to actually DO something this weekend. We go to dinner and watch movies a lot, but this was an actual planned activity. We loaded everyone up, head to toe in snow gear, to go tubing up in park city. 5 tickets for tubing please. I'm sorry we close in two minutes. BOO. who closes at 8PM? so, we had a pity party over some sweet potato fries and a diet coke. we hoped everyone would think that we just came off the mountain after shredding it all day on the slopes and even if they didn't oh well. i still felt awesome in my snow gear and pink boots. on another note, I'm happy to report that little M is truly a Johnson. He couldn't keep his hands off a 32oz.er. love ya M!

adult decisions

So after Phil replaced the headlights on Tink, I decided to replace the whole thing. Meet Murray! Merry Christmas to me.