Thanksgiving

The nightmare before Thanksgiving...

Ok, just kidding. That's Jed, Katy's brother-in-law, injecting the turkey with creole butter. Eric was excited to fry the turkey; it took him back to his Southern roots.


Mmmm! It was a yummy turkey.

Candice, Jed and Spencer.

Katy, Eli and Anna, and Richard

Katy and Anna chillin on the couch

Eli enjoying the leaves!

Aunt Sarah is so fun!

We finished the day with dessert--including a cake for Eric's birthday.
Happy birthday, honey! I love you :)

Random picture

Because it seemed like fun.

Would you like some fries with that cataclysm?

What's in store for Mr. Obama?
Let's have a look-see:

HOT!
American Automakers: in a world of hurt.

Financial District: AIG is now govt owned. Banks are stingy because they are banks. Wallstreet is tanking with 401k and other retirement plans...which in turn makes businesses feel really good :(

HealthCare or Insurance: which of these two need to be worked on first? I vote for insurance and with it the medicare/medicaid timebomb getting a lot of looks and touches this term with the red tape surrounding HealthCare getting little to no playing time. This is as big as the Financial/Auto issue...so it could get put off until it requires attention...like if it goes up in flames and stuff.

NOT hot.
Education (k-12): probably not going to get any real direction or change at least in the first term, but is slowly going to ruin.

Immigration: policies and procedures need to be changed drastically.

My fearless forecast for these issues: 3/4 getting the attention that they deserve and 2/4 actually getting some good change.

-do you think that there is an issue larger than these 4? let me know in the comments.

What's a banana split got to to with gay marriage?

I am obsessed with the comment boards right now about Prop 8 and everything to do with it. I ran across this little analogy on one of them and I think it's a great way of putting it:

"A banana and ice cream together is called a banana split.
Two bananas are just bananas, not a banana split.
Two scoops of ice cream is just a bowl of ice cream, not a banana split.
You can try and redefine what a banana split is, but since the creation of ice cream it has consisted of a banana and ice cream.
If you don't like banana splits then that is fine, but don't try to confuse the rest of the banana split eating world by changing the ingredients and trying to call it a banana split. "

It can seem a bit trite, but I think the overall idea of it is good. We have talked about this a lot in my sociology class, and I have come to the conclusion that for religious people the most important thing is remembering the origin of marriage--it wasn't some legal decree from a legislator or judge or vote of the people, it came from God. Marriage is a religious ceremony that we've all been taught to hold sacred.

As a Latter-day Saint (Mormon), I have been taught my entire life that the family is the most basic unit of the Kingdom of God. Marriage is an eternal union--not till death do us part, but through eternity we will walk hand-in-hand.

Some people like to try and suggest that perhaps the Church will change its stance on gay marriage over time, since their stance on other things has changed. That's like saying that perhaps the Church will change its stance on murder--in other words, it will never happen.

From the creation, God created man and woman to be together (in every sense of the word). This was the first decree! Murder was...probably several decrees down the line, since it didn't exist on the earth until Cain and Abel.

My point is, while the Church has in fact changed its stance on some things throughout history as God has revealed it, to change what defines marriage would overturn the very foundations of what we believe.

For a really good read on what the Church of Latter-day Saints' stance is about homosexuality, you can visit this link: Same Gender Attraction.

Witnessing history

Think what you will of the man's stances on policy; you have to admit it's kind of neat to be part of history. I view it as an important step in the continual process toward equality in our nation. I enjoyed Senator McCain's concession speech, because he addressed this very issue.

I won't pretend I voted for Obama, but I will do my best to do as McCain asked and work to overcome party boundaries and work for a better America under the presidency of Barak Obama.

Mustaches can help!

Lando: You know what you need Han? You need to look more professional. You need a mustache to really mean business.
Han: Really?!
Lando: Yes Han. Yes.

I started to grow out my mustache this weekend. So far it is off to a good start. I can't grow it out past the corners of my mouth, so that leaves only the curly mustache or the block mustache. We'll see which one looks more natural on my upper lip. It may end up just having to be a solid patch like this:
With that beautiful mustache firmly on its way, I have turned my attention to my hair. I need a hairstyle that will most compliment my mustache. (I deleted the pictures of hairstyles, because they were creeping me out.)

Welcome to the D

Detroit, that is.

Last week I went to Detroit for the PRSSA 2008 National Conference. Each year PRSA and PRSSA have conferences to help professionals and students learn more about the public relations industry, with workshops on everything from ethics in PR to ways to use social media in a campaign. Because the conferences are held at the same time, PRSSA is even invited to the general sessions for PRSA, with amazing key note speakers (this year it was Craig Newmark, creator of craigslist.org) and other notable speakers, such as Mitch Albom (I think he convinced me to read everything he's ever written!).

As a member of the PRSSA 2008-2009 National Committee, I got to head out to Michigan a day early and meet with the rest of the National Committee and discuss our current initiatives and other business. Here's a picture of us during a break:

Back Row (from left to right): Tyler Page, VP of professional development; me, editor in chief of FORUM; Jena Johnson, VP of Regional Activities; Melissa Csurhan, immediate past president; Courtney Meyers, VP of public relations; Cecilia Hughes, VP of jobs and internships; Brandi Boatner, national president
Front Row: Rebecca Timms, VP of member services; Tiffany Riggs, VP of chapter development

The next day was exciting and jam-packed! I think my favorite part was lunch with the PRSA Board of Directors. They're all successful professionals who still know how to have fun and I really enjoyed the conversations I had. I hope someday I can be as inspiring to college students as they are. The rest of the day was busy, and the National Committee finished off the day with a rehearsal of our roll call--if you don't know what I mean, you soon will...

Saturday morning was the official kick-off of our conference, with our key note address from Ofield Dukes, a well-known PR professional. During the same session, I had to give a two-minute speech in front of nearly 1000 people! I planned it well in advance, however--if you count jotting down some bullet points at 1 a.m. the night before as planning in advance! Haha, but it went well.

The best part of the whole weekend, though, was when Brandi began the Chapter Roll Call, a yearly tradition when each school comes up with a cheer to respond to the roll call. The National Committee starts it out, so it has to be good. We put a lot of effort in, so I have to share it--I can't post it here because it's on youtube and BYU blocks it. So here is the link! We were inspired by Motown, I'll just put it that way.

I could go on and on about everything we did, but I think I'll just highlight one last thing: Each year, PRSSA rewards Chapters for outstanding performance with Teahan Awards. They have different categories, with the top being outstanding Chapter, but also things such as best Chapter firm, best Web site, etc. Last year I was the editor in chief of the newsletter for the BYU Chapter of PRSSA. I submitted an entry for best Chapter newsletter, and we won! Yay! I had a great staff last year who really helped make it possible, and it was a great honor to be able to accept the award for my school. We got a plaque and a $200 award! Yay newsletter committee!

I got back Tuesdsay night/Wednesday morning (about 1:30 a.m., blech!). It was sooooo nice to be back with my hubby. We talked every night while I was gone and sometimes more, but it was hard to be away. Poor guy had an even harder time of it because he was here all alone :( We had a happy reunion and I don't plan on being gone for a week again anytime soon...

Well, as you might guess, I'm super duper behind in homework, so I better get back to the grind!