Happy Gobble-Gobble!!

I want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. For those of you traveling, please be safe. This year I will not be making my turkey wrapped in bacon (which if you've had it before you know this is a shocker). Instead, we opted for a ter-duc-hen. If you haven't watched the FoodTV network, it's a partially deboned turkey stuffed with a deboned chicken and duck. The turkey is first, then they put in the chicken. And finally the duck gets stuffed into the chicken.

According to the FoodTV network, it's not a difficult task to debone the turkey, chicken, or duck. We decided to go the safe route by ordering the ter-duc-hen. It already comes seasoned and also with a cornbread stuffing with pork. I forgot the company that we ordered it from, but they fedexed the turkey. It arrived yesterday afternoon. We ordered extra cornbread stuffing (just in case). It looks very good. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Of course since we're Cubans, we are also having pork and a ham (my in-laws are convinced there won't be enough food with a 15 lb. bird--there's 14 of us in total). I'm in charge of making an asparagus rissoto and Sandra (my sister-in-law) is in charge of making mashed potatoes. On top of all this celebration, it's my father-in-law's (Frank) birthday. I'm expecting to have a lot of fun tomorrow.

I hope everyone has a fun filled day tomorrow. I'm not letting my flu (or Dan's--he's feeling like crap) get in the way. I have been looking forward to this holiday season. I guess it's because I miss all of my friends and family from up north. It won't be the same without them, but I'll have them in my heart. Enjoy!!!!!

Flu

Of course I have the flu. Good thing is that I don't have to be back at work until Monday. The bad thing is I feel horrible not being able to wish my students a Happy Thanksgiving. You could expect a lot more entries in my blog. Unless of course I feel so sick from the medication that I spend my time in bed, which is what I basically did this weekend.

Wasted Weekend

Don't you hate it when you have an array of tasks you want to complete over the weekend, but it doesn't happen? I've been sick all weekend. I couldn't bike, exercise, or jog. I did manage to go out to dinner yesterday with my in-laws and we had a blast. Unfortunately when I got home, I threw up dinner. I spent the whole night coughing and I called out of work today. Right now I'm having saltines and 7up for breakfast because I'm afraid if I eat anything else I'll end up in the bathroom. As you can see my day is not starting out to be that great.

Remember the Distribution of Hate Cds?

MSNBC - Hate groups spread message through music
About a month and a half ago, I posted about white supremacist groups making rock music cds filled with hate (White Power Music). Well, here's another article speaking about this.

I think this should get more press coverage than it has gotten. This is a serious threat to all people living in this country. I just don't get it, but I'm finding that people are stranger than normal. Preaching hate to children is disgraceful. It doesn't take much to have a child thinking a certain way. Kids are very susceptible to everything surrounding them. If they are taught bad things, they'll think it is part of the norm. These white supremacist groups know this and are trying to bank on it.

Weird Science

MSNBC - Of mice, men and in-between
If you're into science, you must check this article out. I felt as if I were reading something out a science fiction novel. Animals are being injected with human stem cells in order to produce viable organs for humans. I have to admit I'm a bit creeped out about it. But make you're own judgment about it.

Abortion Clause

The Negotiators Add Abortion Clause to Spending Bill
Like always they are trying to prevent easy measures for women to have abortions. I can't tell you how much this aggravates me. Here's the clause:

The abortion language would bar federal, state and local agencies from withholding taxpayer money from health care providers that refuse to provide or pay for abortions or refuse to offer abortion counseling or referrals. Current federal law, aimed at protecting Roman Catholic doctors, provides such "conscience protection'' to doctors who do not want to undergo abortion training. The new language would expand that protection to all health care providers, including hospitals, doctors, clinics and insurers.

What will happen if this passes through is that you'll have women in the South with unwanted children. Of course this world needs more unwanted children. There are plenty of children that live in orphanages that do not have an idea of what a family life is suppose to be. Let's add more to that. How about women that abuse drugs while they're pregnant? Is it fair to bring that child who will obviously have mental incapacities to this world?

This clause will add to the struggle that many women have with abortions. Bringing unwanted children to this world is not the best idea. That's my opinion on this. We are going to face some tough times ahead of us. I feel if Roe v. Wade ends being overturned we will have great turmoil in this country. Let's see what happens.

Veggies or Fruits

Depending on whether you like fruits or vegetables, you're personality is determined. That's what the article that I found states. I figured let me check it out. I personally prefer veggies over fruits. Although I do eat fruits, I get bored of them quickly. I love veggies. I could eat them all day long. So here is the personality type:

People who like vegetables more than fruit tend to eat more spicy foods, drink wine more frequently with dinner, cook more elaborate meals, and enjoy trying new recipes.
People who prefer fruit over veggies have a greater desire for sweets, are less adventurous in the kitchen, entertain fewer guests, and eat desserts more often after dinner.

I have to say that it was right on the money with me. I love spicy foods and love drinking wine (especially red wine). So which one are you?

Jogging

For those that know me we, you know how I hate jogging. Better yet, I suck at it. Give me a bike, rollerblades, or the treadmill and I'm pretty good at it. I'm good at endurance. I could last long on the treadmill or rollerblading, but when it comes to jogging it just doesn't happen for me. If fact I'm so bad at jogging that I quickly go out of breath. Put me on the treadmill with an incline of 15 and 3.0 mph and I'm good.

Since I had such a bad day at school yesterday (I was trying to stop a fight and got slammed into a door handle, amongst other things that went on), I had so much adrenaline running through me that I decided to go out for a jog. I jogged on and off for a mile and walked a half mile. I didn't feel so bad. I accomplished more than I thought I would be able to. Of course, I'm paying for this today. My lower back is sore from the door handle and my legs are feeling a bit sore. No gym or jogging for me tomorrow.

The reason I hate jogging is because I always feel like the fat girl that can't keep up with the other kids. That's the one thing that always makes me feel inferior. Let's face it, if you're carrying extra weight you're going to run slower. I think that's why it bothers me. But I'm proud of myself for giving it a shot. I think I'm going to start jogging a few times a week. I need to incorporate all the different exercises I can in order to keep my body guessing.

Of course I'll keep you posted on my progress. My goal for right now (I have so many goals!) is to run a half mile without stopping. Now that I remember, there was only one time in life that I ran a mile without stopping, and that was I believe when I was a freshman in high school. Anyway back to my goal. I want to really challenge my heart. I'll let you know when I accomplish it.

Lesbian Parents OK

I found this article on the New Scientist. A study of 44 teens raised in lesbian households found these teens to have no difference from teens raised in heterosexual households. Now this really isn't a big study, but it counts for something. I wish they would have found more families to study. Anyway, I found the article interesting. Check it out!

Cycling

I have accomplished a great task, today. I rode my bike for twenty miles. This is the first time I have ever done anything like this. I normally bike around 10-12 miles, but I was inspired by the beautiful day. The weather is perfect with the temperature reaching around 82. I couldn't resist. The best part about it is that I don't feel extremely tired or sore. Although, I'm sure I'll take a nap sometime this afternoon. If I could do this at least once a week, I would be very proud of myself. That's my new goal!!

Here We Go Again...

Abortion is a dirty word in the South. I just came across an article that states that certain states like Texas, Mississippi, and Kansas give out brochures indicating that women who have abortions increase their risk of getting cancer. What's great about this is that the group that puts this brochure out are part of the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer group, which is pro-life.

And this is where they get their information:
Joel Brind, a biochemist at Baruch College in New York who advises the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer, noted that a woman's chances of getting breast cancer go down if she gives birth at a relatively young age. He reasons that those who opt for abortion are giving up a chance of reducing their breast cancer risk.
Therefore, he says, abortion increases the risk of cancer.

I can't believe he says this with a straight face. Check out the article!

The Values-Vote Myth

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The Values-Vote Myth
I found this op-ed piece in the NYT. Interestingly enough, I've been feeling the same about how Democrats are rationalizing the reason Bush got reelected--If you want to understand why Democrats keep losing elections, just listen to some coastal and university town liberals talk about how conformist and intolerant people in Red America are..

I have been reading many different articles about the post election feelings of the Democrats, which has lead me to conclude that Democrats are being a bit snobbish. One thing is disagree on key positions like abortion or the war, but another is to think that Red America are made up of bunch of homophobic rednecks. The fact of the matter is that it's not true. I also don't believe that there's a surge of Evangelical Republicans coming out to vote, but then again the country has been leaning more conservative than liberal. The reality is that the young people who tend to be more liberal on social issues didn't vote. That's the bottom line.

I have to be honest. This is the first year that I vote. I never bothered to vote in the past. If I had registered in time in 2000, I would have voted for Bush. I didn't like Al Gore. He didn't move me. Bush wasn't so bad. I changed my mind on him because I don't feel that anyone has been held accountable for the obvious lack of accurate intelligence when it comes to the war. I don't necessarily disagree with everything Bush has done, but I do recognize the importance of the balance of power. I use to consider myself a Republican in the economic sense, but I lean toward the left on some social issues. Besides, you should vote for a candidate based on issues not what party they belong to. This is a lesson that I'm beginning to understand more and more as I dig into the political arena.

Abortion

The story is beginning to heat up--Abortion. I want all of you to keep on eye on this like I will.

Angry conservatives flooded Senate phone and fax lines on Friday demanding that Republicans prevent Senator Arlen Specter from presiding over the Judiciary Committee after he remarked that strongly anti-abortion judicial nominees might be rejected in the Senate.

While Democrats have always been more vocal than Republicans, don't expect this to be true in the next four years. I would hate to see what would happen to this country if Roe v. Wade is overturn.

Walmart Gets the OK

Walmart has been able to open its doors in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Some are very happy about this claiming that this is progress. While others realize that Walmart will only bring down the town. Let's see how those people will feel about Walmart when local businesses will have to close down because they cannot keep up with the giant. I hope someone follows up on this story. I would like to see the results of this.

Get it Together

Well now that the elections are over, I hope the Democratic party gets their shit together. I've been surfing through the net and found out that they are thinking of the 2008 presidential election. It seems that Edwards will try to run for president. He's got to be kidding if he thinks he'll get elected. He's not even running for reelection in the Senate. How's he going to do it? The next person (and we all know who it is) is Hillary Clinton. I don't like her at all, but she has a hell a lot more experience than Edwards.

On the right, we have Giuliani, Frist, McCain, and so on. If Giuliani runs, he has a good chance of getting elected. As much as I like Giuliani and dislike Clinton, I would probably vote for Clinton. The simple fact that there needs to be a balance of power in our government. This is why the two party system sucks. The Republicans control everything now. That's dangerous. Supreme Court Justices are going to be picked. Can we say goodbye Roe v. Wade?

Now there are things that I do like about the Republicans. They are not all bad. The way Democrats stomp there feet like little kids when things don't go their way is extremely annoying to me. Especially when the Hollywood elite decide they are going to become political. I hate to tell you but that turns me off more than anything else. Hey Hollywood, wake up and shut up! The Republicans won without having any help from celebrities! Do you realize that you morons???!!!! But Hollywood lives in their own little world and think everyone else does, too.

Anyway, I feel this is a critical time in our lives that calls for action. If you didn't vote or are turned off to vote on the next elections, think again. This could be the turn of this country towards a more religiously conservative era. For those of you that are not that religious, think about your position.