You don't get something

for nothing is my philosophy. This plan to boost the economy may sound good but who is going to pay for it and how are they going to determine who gets it. Once you get it you have to pay taxes on it and will the money be put back into circulation? It is like a bandaid for a bleeding artery. I agree with you Mom it doesn't make much sense to me and I took Econ 101!!!! I don't think the principles for Econ 101 have changed that much. Grandmother

Econ 101

I didn't take economics in college because it wasn't a required course and it didn't seem to be an elective that would help me much in speech pathology. Now trying to make sense of US economics, it seems like the course should be required for everyone. I have been attempting to understand the new economic recovery package that Bush is promoting. Let me see if I understand this. The government is giving some money to some people hoping that they will go out and spend it...even though they can't make mortgage payments on their houses and have increasing debt on their credit cards. The government doesn't want you to put this money into savings because that won't help Uncle Sam. But then even Uncle Sam is having trouble managing his own financial affairs because he owes $250 billion and his dollar just keeps getting weaker and weaker. Oh but if people go out and spend this "free" money they are receiving it will help our manufacturing sector...oh wait most of our goods are now manufactured overseas. Now I admit I am probably one of the dumber people around when it comes to economics but doesn't this "economic recovery package" seem like putting a bandaid on a wound that requires a tourniquet??? Mom

Goodby to Hinckley

Living in Salt Lake City for over 18 years we heard a lot about Gordon B. Hinckley. We lived in a prominent LDS neighborhood and had many friends that embraced the Mormon faith. It was our good fortune to hear many of Hinckley's speeches. I also remember his appearance on 60 minutes. He did more to inform non-Mormons about the LDS religion than any leader before him. His smile was infectious and his messages sincere. His contributions are well known and he will be remembered as a great church leader. Goodby Gordon B. Hinckley. Grandmother

Rah, rah, sis, boom, bah

Well, daughter aren't you just the little cheerleader! I'll have you know that I do use the computer and am fairly competent on it. I have learned how to do power point and have put together some pretty mean slide shows. But really, how have we gotten to the point of letting technology take over our lives? I never see kids outside playing anymore who are upper elementary and middle-school age. Why? Oh, that is because they are stuck inside glued to some kind of screen trying to outrace, outbeat and outdo imaginary villains. No wonder obesity has become a concern for the population! I, for one, think it is a shame that games like Red Rover, Mother May I, frozen tag, jacks and marbles are facing near extinction. As a society we interact better with a LED screen than we do with one another.

I don't think that technology is bad but as with everything moderation is the key! Mom

Way to Go Grandma!

Wow, talk about role reversal. Maybe we should refer to Mom as the 80-something and Grandma as the 50-something! I do have to admit my Grandma isn't like other grandmas as she obviously blogs, she regularly checks her email and when I was in college she used to even instant message me! So I have to give my grandmother props for being so eager to join the 21st century and so readily open to the new technologies. I think we can all learn something from her, yes even you Mom, especially since you seem to be dragging your feet to be a part of this technological age. My Grandpa always says you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but apparently you can! Go Grandma, you keep on being technologically savvy and don't let my mother hold you back. Daughter.

Gadgets!!!!

The electronic games are entertaining and now Nintendo has a brain activity game. I wonder who writes the instructions for these games. Sometimes it takes me longer to figure out what I am suppose to do before I get to activate my brain. My passion is crossword puzzles and scrabble so when it comes to simple arithmetic my brain is stagnant from using a calculator. I had to seek help for the hard version of triangle math. That would really set my fifth grade teacher turning in her grave and wondering what happened to me not remembering plus and minus signs and how to figure problems. This 70+ lady is hooked on electronic gadgets. Grandmother

Electronic gadgets galore!

I must really be living in the dark ages. I visited my son and daughter-in-law over Christmas and they have a Wii. I must admit I did enjoy playing some of the games and actually turned out to be a bowling champion! But after leaving their house I could hardly move my thumb and it hurt like the dickens. I don't think I would ever invest in a Wii and kind of wonder about anyone who does. But then I go to visit Grandma and find out she has a Nintendo DS...I think that is what it is called. Do you know how humiliating it is for a 70-something to teach you how to use an electronic game? Most of her games were just frustrating and one of them told me I had the brain of an 80-year-old. Between the Wii and the Nintendo DS I know I am better off staying away from the electronic gadgets. I can once again move my thumb without pain and I prefer not knowing how old my brain is!! Mom

Aha!!!

After all these years Mom has learned something. Kaizen is a good principle that the Japanese use. Even babies know they have to take small steps before they can walk by themselves. It seems we forget that by taking small steps, testing the ground we can achieve great strides. Our life style today is to be bigger, better, stronger. Just look around at our advertising. We are bombarded by prescription ads for tablets that will make us slimmer, make us sleep better, feel alert, make us live longer. Do they help or hurt our efforts to get ahead? Grandmother

Kaizen

I've learned a new word and I thought I was onto a chance to impress my daughter and my husband with my new-found knowledge. Talk about bursting my bubble...both dear daughter and dear husband were familiar with the principles of kaizen. Just in case you are like me and haven't heard of it before, kaizen is a Japanese concept of making improvements by making the smallest, simplest change. Why are the Japanese so smart? We try to do self-improvement by making grandiose resolutions and then are surprised when we fall flat on our faces in defeat. Sound familiar? The Japanese, on the other hand, recognize that success is more achievable by taking baby steps. Duh!! So I say forget about that New Year resolution of losing 20 pounds and just concentrate on trying to go one hour without a brownie! Mom

Young voters respond

Well Granddaughter I was impressed with your response about young people organizing and getting their voice heard. I read the site you placed in your response and found it interesting. The two young men certainly reached a number of young people. I also read the replies from people regarding the aspect of religion in our government. Church and state can bring forth a lot of discussion. I believe our leaders need the guidance of a higher being, namely God but to invoke religion into politics is like letting a wild cat out of the bag. We all need to get out there and vote!!!! Grandmother

We care more than you think

As I have yet to read Eat, Pray, Love, I'm going to mosey on back to the election topic so I can defend my generation of voters. Now Grandma made the comment in one of her posts that it's time that "younger voters get involved and make their vote count." Here is a link to an article where two twin teenagers are doing just that... http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2008/01/hucks_army

They have created HucksArmy.com, which is a grassroots movement getting people involved in Huckabee's campaign. Last I checked there were 14,507 recruits supporting Huckabee just through this Web site. Now I know that Huckabee is basically done considering the recent primaries, but isn't it incredible that two twin teenagers started something that created a following of more than 14,000 people. If that doesn't show that one (or in this case two) people's efforts can make a difference I don't know what will. In addition, Alex and Brett Harris also created therebelution.com, which is a teenage rebellion against low expectations. Alex and Brett along with other teens are showing the world that they have character and competence. So the next time you think today's youth are lazy, just don't care about the world they live in, or selfish remember these twins and how they are changing the world one Web site at a time and inspiring other teens to shake the stereotypical image of today's youth. Daughter.

More on Eat, Pray, Love

That is the name of the book... "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. An excerpt from the book: " Where did you get the idea you aren't allowed to petition the universe with prayer? You are part of this universe, Liz. You're a constituent-you have every entitlement to participate in the actions of the universe, and to let your feelings be known. So put your opinion out there. Make your case. Believe me - it will at least be taken into consideration."

"Really?" All this was news to me.

"Really! Listen - if you were to write a petition to God right now, what would it say?"
Mom

Eat, Pray, Love

I started reading this book and even before finishing it, I am suggesting that it be required reading for everyone. At the bookstore yesterday some poor woman was looking at it and I accosted her with insisting what a great book it is. With every comment she made I emphatically kept saying, "It's a good book." I doubt she wanted to be harassed into buying a book but she did end up purchasing it.

Gilbert is a creative and in-your- face writer, baring emotions that we all keep below the surface. You will laugh and cry and feel her pain...all because you have been there before. She is a very talented writer and makes the words come alive off of the pages. I definitely recommend this book. Mom

Those annoying little stickers!!

When you buy fruits and vegetables sometimes have those little stickers on them. They are difficult to remove but they serve a purpose. They are called PLU (produce look up) stickers that stores use to identify the produce. There are 1,300 codes to help the consumer to know what they are buying. Most have four digits but some have five. If they begin with an 8 it is a genetically modified variety and if it begins with a 9 it is an organically grown product. The code may also include where the product is grown and the name of the variety. Read that sticker. Grandma

Is cloned meat low fat?

It amazes me what they want people to eat. How will we know if the meat we buy is regular fat laden beef, pork, chicken or lamb or if it is cloned? Is the Department of Agriculture going to grade cloned meat? They don't have enough inspectors now to cover all the meat products on the market, so how will they support more inspectors? If the cost is pushed onto the consumer the cloned meat will be more expensive. The idea eating products that do not have a mother sounds more appealing, but then do the cloned animals have a mother? Might have to take another look at becoming a vegan. Grandma

How would you like your steak cloned?

That is the next question for people shopping for their meat. Today's news revealed that the FDA in all their "wisdom" has decided that the marketing of cloned meat is safe and to further insult consumers the meat won't be labeled as cloned. Right now for $16,000 to $17,000 goats, pigs and cows are being cloned and these "animals" will be used for breeding, so although we won't be eating directly cloned meat, we will be eating offspring of cloned animals. And the next question is who will be paying for that $16,000-$17,000 cloning fee...and your first two guesses don't count! Eating vegan is looking better all the time, but then we have to watch out for those genetically modified fruits and vegetables! I sure am glad that we have the government "protecting" our food! Evidence of our tax dollars hard at work. Mom.

Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton?

Gee Grandma, for someone who avoids talking politics you sure got on the soapbox today. I read a blog recently that kind of brought something to the forefront. I guess I hadn't really thought about it, but if Hillary Clinton is elected in 2008 then we could have 24 to 28 years of two families controlling the White House between the Bushes and the Clintons. I don't know about you but this makes me rather uneasy. Another thing that someone I was talking to brought up and I wonder if this is possible...but can Hillary select Bill to be her running mate? I haven't been able to discern if this could be possible, but it is scary!

One thing is for sure this next presidential election will have the attention of lots of people. Mom

Are you registered?

This is an important year. We are going to elect a new president. I was impressed with the number of young people in Iowa and New Hampshire turning out and voicing their support for the candidates. It is about time that the younger voters get involved and make their vote count. My generation has not left this country in the best condition. Not only is registration important but now the way we vote is being questioned. In our state the Secretary of State has decertified voting machines in several counties. There has been a lot of publicity about voting machines and their accuracy. It leaves one with the question, Will my vote be counted? If the machines do not get recertified, they will be using paper ballots. Just think of the lines and the time waiting to get to the booth and fill out the paper ballot. Now my generation remembers paper ballots, standing, visiting and wishing people would hurry up. People that work will not have the luxury of standing in line, the polls may close and people won't get to vote. No matter what type of ballot we have to use, Get Out There And Vote!! Grandma

Support the locals

Glad you guys questioned the importing of food and other products. FYI if you want to buy something grown in the US, one sure way to do that is to support CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. Interestingly enough this concept was started 30 years ago in Japan, because people were growing alarmed at the increasing importation of food and the decreasing number of farms. (Does this sound familiar?) The US latched onto the concept in 1985.

Anyway by joining a CSA you are paying for a yearly membership with a farm and the produce that they grow will be divided among all of the members. There is a specific time and day of the week for members to pick up their produce. Keep in mind that the selection will not be that of the grocery store, so no oranges, kiwis, mangoes!

If a CSA isn't for you then keep in mind that you can support local produce growers by attending the farmers market during the growing months.

You know Grandma, this wasn't such a problem when you had your own big garden! Mom

Made In...

I guess that's the definition of globalization, looking in your kitchen pantry and finding products from all over the world. It's kind of like that attraction at Disney World near the Epcot Center where you can travel from Morocco to China in a matter of minutes. While the idea of globalization* is good, what's scary is hearing all the reports about lead and other toxic materials that are being found in our products, all foreign imports. Now you never know if a seemingly innocuous trip to your local grocery store or toy store is safe when more and more products are being found unsafe, especially those coming from China. So in a world where everything seems to come from somewhere other than the United States, how do we protect ourselves? Do we go overboard and check every label before we buy something, or do we just live our lives hoping that what we consume and buy is not laced with lead? Daughter

*According to Wikipedia, globalization can be described as a process by which the world is unified as a single society in terms of economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces.

Where in the world

do our food products come from. Checking the cupboard it looks like an international collection of tins, cans, jars, bottles and boxes. The first jar has dill pickles, on the back it says "product of India." Now I know that tea and spices come from India, but now dill pickles. That would not have bothered me but I just saw a report about the polluted water in India. Grabbing the next bottle which was salad dressing it read "product of Canada." Now I am intrigued and go to another cupboard and find a big box of garlic powder. In fine print it states, "product of USA and China." What does that mean, half of it came from China and half came from the USA?Checking further I find several containers stating, "distributed by" or "manufactured under" or "packed by." I wonder where the product was grown, then packed, distributed or manufactured under what conditions. What happened to "Made in the USA." Grandma

E-Birthday

I am sure that my Dad never in his wildest dreams imagined that he would be receiving birthday greetings on a blog written on a computer. I have heard many stories about him dunking girl's pigtails into inkwells when he was in school. From inkwells to inked printer cartridges the words and sentiments are the same, Happy Birthday, Dad and many more!! Love you.

Happy Birthday

Looks like my counterparts are sleeping in today. They didn't post anything but then I probably have more time than they do. Today is Grandpa's birthday. It got me thinking about birthday's and how we remember them and celebrate them. You probably learned about what kind of day it was, how much you weighed and the joy of your birth from your parents. The one thing I remember about Grandpa's birthday is that his mother said if she had not tripped and fell down the cellar steps she would still be carrying him. He was 10 days late from the original delivery date. I can vividly remember each one of my children's birth, what type of day it was, how happy I was when they said the baby had 10 fingers and 10 toes and you could hear that healthy wale coming from them. I guess they were just as happy as I was that the ordeal was over. Happy Birthday Honey!!! Grandma

Ah, winter

I am sitting here at my computer, looking out the window at the falling snow. At times it is mesmerizing, the big fir tree's branches are packed with snow, sagging under the weight. The landscape is blanketed with the clean white snow. What a spectular view of the area!! The wood stove nearby is radiating heat and it is cozy. I watch the chickadees at the feeder fighting with the little wrens. The fir tree is shelter for them and they dart in and out of the branches, fluffing their feathers to keep warm. How fortunate we are to have full bellies and a warm nest, just like our feathered friends. Grandma

Inequality In Tears

Speaking of news...yesterday the radio broadcasters were giving Hillary the work-over. All because she got emotional during a conference. Now we have seen George Bush get emotional and the usual response to that was that he was showing a caring, human side. A woman in politics gets emotional and that segues to a discussion about whether or not we want a leader who doesn't seem tough. Talk about a double standard! Someone needs to explain to me why it is acceptable for the male leader of this country to show emotion but not a female political figure vying for the leadership.
Mom

Colbert Report??????

Well I guess I'm showing my age but I get my news the old fashioned way, by newspapers and nightly news cast. At times I think we could use a little more humor in our news. But it is pretty hard to get any humor in the morbid news we read. Grandma

Colbert Who?

So this blog is about generational viewpoints, and in this first post I'm going to show my youthful perspective by saying I'm writing this blog on my Apple (no Mom not the fruit) while watching The Colbert Report. Now my mom and grandmother probably don't know what the Colbert Report is, but it's essentially where my generation goes for watered down "news." What the Colbert Report and the Daily Show have that most news shows don't have (with the exception of Fox News) is politically incorrect humor, so we get a little bit of news, but we mostly get a whole lot of laughs. * These shows, our favorite blogs, and Google News are basically where we get our news. Now I'm sure this post will provide fodder for my older counterparts in their posts. But I thought hey why not get the ball rolling? And while we're at it how are we supposed to attract young readers, readers like me, when the design for our blog looks like something straight out of the 1900's? If I had designed it, it would have been a little more hip, a little more colorful than brown on brown. So did I post enough to ignite a fire?

*The slight at Fox News is because I remember watching the Fox news syndicate at my grandma's house during Christmas one year and the news host stuttered for about 5 minutes trying to remember the word for Menorah. Yeah that's what I call politically incorrect or perhaps just inept.

The twenty something i.e the daughter.

Something new

My mom, daughter and I have decided to venture into blogging. We each have viewpoints that vary and thought it would be interesting to write from our generational points of reference. Hopefully the writings will be interesting and creative. So here goes nothin.

Father Time does the 50 yard dash

Why does it seem that the years pass so quickly? I thought that when you got older time was supposed to slow down. Instead it just keeps on sprinting toward the finish line. We have crossed another finish line into 2008 and already the New Year is one week old! Where is that feeling of time crawling? When I was little it seemed like an eternity before the night before school would end and Christmas eve lasted a century! Is it because I am older and I no longer have that excited anticipation. I guess I will make it a New Year's resolution to work on getting that feeling back.
Mom