Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Tragedy
Storm
Death
Disease
Cancer
Death

Why do bad things happen to good people? It’s a question asked by many people. After the attacks on 9/11 many people wondered why God would allow such a tragedy to happen. While we all wondered this, the question takes on a whole new meaning when someone you know and love is hit.

I just learned that my high school English teacher and mentor in my life was diagnosed with cancer yesterday. She truly was and is a “good person.” She never hurt anyone, went out of her way to help others, and not only taught but mentored her students. I am getting my college degree in English in large part because of her. I want to pattern my teaching after her. She impacted my life in a great way.

I wonder how many times I told her that. I wonder how many times I thanked her for all she’s done for me. Does she even know she’s influenced me? I am ashamed to realize I’ve never thanked her for all she’s done.

This cancer has opened my eyes. Life is so short. Why waste time on what will never matter when there is so much that needs to be done?

Life is short. Don’t waste your life.

Economic Stimulus Plan

Over the past few days I have been debating as to how to spend my economic stimulus check which comes June 20. My first thought was to buy an Apple Macbook but my check isn’t that much! I will get around to making the investment in a new laptop in a few years. The one I have now is only two years old.

My next idea was to open a separate bank account with the money and set up a new savings plan with plans to use it on a rainy day. But then I figured that defeated the purpose of the economic stimulus plan since it would in no way help stimulate the economy. Plus I already have a savings account and some money stored away.

Another thought I had was to invest it in the stock market. I have had some stocks in the past but currently do not own any. I thought this would not only be a great way to help the economy but could also double or triple my money. But after a good talk with my brother (the stock market analyst of the family) I decided against it.

I also considered saving it and putting it toward my school bill in the fall, but that thought quickly left me.

So here I am with money in my pocket, just itching to be spent. And not only do I WANT to spend it, but the government is telling me I HAVE to! I have never had problems spending money before. I have easily dropped a couple hundred at the mall or on a spur of the moment purchase of a new gadget or toy. So why is this so hard?

But after some long time of thinking and debating I have decided to do two things with it. I believe they will most help the economy and take full advantage of this opportunity I have to help out struggling companies. Here they are:

My first purchase is going to be an Apple iTouch. My current mp3 player has been lacking and I have had my sites on a new one for quite some time now. I use this mp3 player mostly at the gym and while doing various different things around the house when I do not wish to carry my laptop around. I also use it for long trips or car rides. I travel regularly and find myself wearing down the battery on my laptop by listening to music or watching movies. But the iTouch does all that and more. It has 32 gigs of storage (7,000 songs, 25,000 photos, and 40 hours of video). It also has wifi internet connection, a map application, email application, and up to 22 hours of battery life. It also has the ability to download audiobooks and podcasts. Overall it’s perfect for the travel enthusiast. I look forward to taking full advantage of my first purchase while enjoying my second which is…

I am planning a trip! Just recently I have connected with an old friend I haven’t seen in 11 years. While we were talking, we found out that we live 4 hours away from each other (under 2 hours flying). So while we were talking I got the idea that I could fly over some weekend and see her. After checking our schedules and checking airfares, I found out that on the weekend of July 4th I can get a plane ticket for $78, roundtrip, to go see her. Now I just have to work out all the details (like work, etc). If it all works out, I would leave Thursday and come home Sunday. This would be a time of shopping, spa treatment, baseball games, and just hanging out. I am looking forward to this and I hope everything works out.

Of course, my stimulus check is not THAT large and some of this money would come from my savings, but I am doing my best to stimulate the economy during this time.

So, what are you going to do with your economic stimulus check?

By the way, here’s a chart for when you should be receiving your check.

Sleeping in Hospital Waiting Rooms

Life has been one large roller coaster ride lately. Within the month of April, I have spent more time in a hospital than I ever want to (over 70 hours). Here’s how the story goes:

April 1: My baby niece is born. I already wrote a post on this, but it was a whole day spent in the hospital nonetheless.

April 11: Around 3 am, my dad wakes up with extreme pain in his kidneys. My mom takes him to the emergency room where they wait for several hours before being seen by a doctor. I spend the night awake by the phone, waiting for her to call with details. After he is seen by the doctor, she calls to tell me that he has kidneystones and after they picked up his medicine they would be home.

April 12: Dad still in extreme pain from the stones. The vicodin is no longer working for his pain.

April 13: Still in pain. Enduring it. Doctor said to wait and come back in on Monday if things weren’t better.

April 14: Sunday, more pain. Poor dad can’t take much more.

April 15: Monday. We encourage him to go back to the doctor. He wants to wait one more day. We give in.

April 16: 2pm He can’t take it anymore. Mom takes him to the hospital near our house.

5 pm I get a call from mom saying that the kidneystones have lodged in his kidney and they are blocking his kindeys from working…they are failing fast. The hospital doesn’t have a urologist who can take a look at him, so they are going to transport him to the nearest hospital, covered by our insurance, that has a urologist: 45 minutes away. They load him up in an ambulance, hit the lights, and take him away. I find a ride home from work, change, grab dinner, and wait for my mom. Mom comes home, we leave.

Daily Dose of Auntie Lauren

Baby Chloe

Originally uploaded by seminole.girl

Well. It’s official. I am an aunt. My sister in law gave birth to beautiful Chloe Marie Goddard at 9:36 on April 1, 2008. She was 8 lbs even and 20 inches long.

Mommy and little Chloe are doing well. More pictures are definitely to come.

Update: My Life

Well I know I haven’t posted in a while so this is my filler post to let you know what’s going on in my life.

First: this week is Spring Break for my college so I worked a lot during the first part of the week and took Thursday and Friday off. My family and I are in St. George, Utah, as I write this post. We drove up here yesterday and spent the day today hiking and sightseeing around Zion National Park. If you have never been there, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Even if you don’t enjoy hiking per se, there is a free shuttle that tours the different sights. The most beautiful hike though was the 1.5 mile hike along the Virgin River in a valley between two large plateaus along the Pa’rus Trail. It is foremost a bike trail but is for pedestrians as well. Most of the trail is paved and takes you over several bridges and through a camp site. Tomorrow we drive home, but this has been an experience I will never forget/ I am glad we came. I will post photos when I have them uploaded.

Second: my sister in law is due to have my niece today, but as is the case with most first born children, she is late. So that is another exciting moment I am looking forward to in my life. I will post pictures on that as well when it happens.

And last: this summer I will be traveling back to Washington DC to finish sightseeing and to talk to a school about possibly working there when I graduate college next year. I would be teaching history in a high school in Herndon, Virginia, just outside DC. I know the administration of the school and would love to work there, especially since it is so close to DC.

So there it is…my life. Thanks for reading.

In Honor of St. Patrick’s Day

Enjoy a little Irish dancing and be thankful for the little lads and lasses ye know from the Emerald Isle!

Planned Parenthood Discriminates?

“We [African Americans] have about 1,200 babies everyday who are being aborted-black babies. So we’re 13 percent of the population, and we represent somewhere between 35-to-36 percent of the abortions … I would like to say, unashamedly, that there is some kind of hegemonic racist structure that has been set in place to begin to be a creative process of death in our community.” -Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr.

It turns out that Jackson’s comments have more truth to it than many people realize. Records were released this week by a pro-life student reporter, Lila Rose, at UCLA exposing shocking racism at Planned Parenthood.

With the help of an actor, Ms. Rose contacted Planned Parenthood clinics in seven different states, asking if they would be willing to accept donations specifically earmarked for the abortion of black babies. All seven clinics agreed. None of the employees contacted objected or questioned the request, even when the caller mentioned that the goal was to “lower the number of black people” in America.

Here is an excerpt from one call to an Idaho branch of Planned Parenthood:

Actor: I want to specify that abortion to help a minority group, would that be possible?
Planned Parenthood: Absolutely.
A: Like the black community for example?
PP: Certainly.
A: The abortion - I can give money specifically for a black baby, that would be the purpose?
PP: Absolutely. If you wanted to designate that your gift be used to help an African-American woman in need, then we would certainly make sure that the gift was earmarked for that purpose.
A: Great, because I really faced trouble with affirmative action, and I don’t want my kids to be disadvantaged against black kids. I just had a baby; I want to put it in his name.

PP: Yes, absolutely.
Actor: And we don’t, you know we just think, the less black kids out there the better. PP: (Laughs) Understandable, understandable.
A: Right. I want to protect my son, so he can get into college.
PP: All right. Excuse my hesitation, this is the first time I’ve had a donor call and make this kind of request, so I’m excited, and want to make sure I don’t leave anything out.

Not many people realize that Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, advocated eugenics and spoke to a female KKK group. Abortion has taken the lives of 14 million black children. That is an unspeakable tragedy.

“Students on campus are shocked and saddened that such a huge organization would have racist leanings in the present day. They are surprised to hear the truth about [Planned Parenthood founder] Margaret Sanger, and how the African-American community is being hurt by abortion. There’s a lot of surprise out there. Planned Parenthood does an excellent job of covering up the facts,” stated Lila Rose, reporter for the UCLA’s pro-life newspaper, The Advocate.