There's something happening here and what it is aint exactly clear...

I said it once and I'll say it again. I think our country made a mistake with our president. He doesn't know what he is doing, he is a puppet, he doesn't have enough experience or economic knowledge to figure out the best plan for our country. That brings me to Occupy Wall Street. It is my right as a citizen to be able to express how I feel, it is my right to protest. Well I want to protest the reason the protesters of Occupy Wall Street are protesting. I know they are upset. Jobs are few and far between. People are being paid less and the cost of living continues to go up. Gas prices are high which in turn causes the prices of food to go up. Healthcare, medical supplies, medications, everything has gone up and even if you have insurance sometimes it's not even worth it. Jobs have you by the junk because you can't express being dissatisfied in fear of losing you job. Without your job no income, no income and you can't pay the bills, can't pay the bills and then what? Times are really hard. I understand the anger and the rage in these individuals I just think their anger is misplaced. We should be marching on Washington!!! I mean don't get me wrong I am a second generation hippie. I don't necessarily believe in the status quo and wish we could all just get along, but I am not an idiot. What people fail to realize is that the money didn't vanish into Wall Street, it just vanished. The world is a lot less wealthy then it was four years ago. These people to me just seem to be angry at whoever has the most money. Well that existed decades ago too. Look at the Rockefellers, the Morgans, the Vanderbilts etc. These people have had their money for years. I keep hearing the protesters and how it's their right to have free healthcare and college. But where would they get the money to fund such things? Are they essentially wanting the rich to pay for it? To give up their fortunes as a sacrifice to humanity? I don't see how it could work any other way. This would also mean larger government. Larger government = less freedom. It's a known fact. To me there is no doubt that they are being heard in expressing their dissent, but what is their solution? Going into a fight with a strategy gives you the biggest advantage in winning then going into it blindly not having done your homework. We ARE ALL struggling. Some more then others. I am sure some would argue "well why haven't you saved!" Well I haven't been given the opportunity to. Just like how I could ask "Why did you have to buy a bigger house when you had a perfectly good one already that you could afford?" And they could say because they needed more space or whatever. Point is if I could be out there holding a sign that says I am struggling month to month and angry with how expensive basic necesseties are without fear of losing my job, the one thing that is saving me from homelessness I would, but there is no solution just yet and not something that can happen over night. Yes things are worth a fight if you propose a solution. In the meantime I like to watch the videos people are posting. Like this one http://vimeo.com/29327621 See the hate in peoples eyes as the shout to crowds and the crowds mimic back. My dad was a hippie. He did protest. He held sit ins and declared his anger for the war. He listened to Hendrix and Joplin. Saw the Who and the Stones. Wore love beads and his hair long. Refused to be told to be silent.  He also told me that if there is something worth fighting for, if you really believe in something do it, but make sure you can stand up 100% for your cause and when someone asks you what should be done about it...you make sure you look them in the eye and you have an articulate answer.

Then

Now

I believe we need change. REAL CHANGE! I think we need to tell government to back off. To let us figure things out. To stop getting their fingers in our money. To stop giving so much to so many. Its like what Thomas Jefferson said, "government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take away everything you have." Well, there you have it. Whoever started this movement had the right idea, find something to appeal to the masses, but they didn't do their homework. We should be marching on Washington. Now if it was acceptable for me to take a couple days to go and fight for that then you bet your ass I'd be buying a Greyhound ticket to Washington and holding a sign while screaming at the top of my lungs about my freedom along with the rest of them, maybe my dad and I could do it together. Live and Love ~ E

Low Carb Lovin!

So ever since I have moved to the Tampa Bay area I have been on a really strict low carb diet. I can only eat up to 20 carbs a day. I don't eat bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, crackers, chips, basically anything that is really yummy, I don't eat. Ever since this diet I have been trying out new recipes for desserts in the low carb form and it has ignited a passion I didn't even know I had, baking. I made a homemade low carb cheesecake with only 4 carbs per serving and let my family try it. My mother loved it. She thought it was so good she joked about me selling it. Hmmm. It didn't occur to me until recently that there really is an untapped market in low carb baked goods. You can go into just about any bakery here and order a slice of pie or a brownie, but they aren't good for you. They are loaded with tons of sugars and carbohydrates which for diabetics is dangerous for their blood sugars and for low carbers like me, an ultimate No No. So I started thinking what if I started finding very low carb dessert recipes, refined them and started to sell them out of my home at first and see where this could take me. Judd suggested that eventually I could market them to weight loss clinics, bakeries, health food store, etc. in the local area. I know it's going to take time, patience and hard work, but I think I may have found what I really want to do. Tonight, I am going to work on refining my "Almost to good, to be true brownie" I think I may have a winner. Now just to find out where they sell my last ingrediant. Looks like I will be in the car the majority of the afternoon. At least its beautiful weather :) Live and Love ~ E

Movin On Up to the... Burg! St. Petersburg that is!

I love the 'Burg! This is where I grew up. We lived right off the causeway to Indian Rocks Beach as a kid. I remember whenever there was a threat of a tropical storm or hurricane we were either evacuated or told not to come to school. I remember being in 6th grade laying in the backyard on a pool float when Mama came out and said "Erica Marie, what on earth are you doing?" And me, with all this imagination thought that if I just waited on my raft a big storm surge would come, but I'd be safe because I had a raft. "I'm waiting for the storm, duh!" I said with my Walkman headphones on so I spoke a little too loud. Oh I have great memories of growing up in St. Pete. I remember walking with my best friend Aly in the summer, when it would get so hot but our mothers would send us to eachother's houses so we would sneak off and get Rita's Italian Ice (that's right before it ended up in Tallahassee, it originated here). The red with the custard in the middle is my absolute favorite, it's just so nostalgic. I was a cheerleader and had a ton of friends. I was still the resident goofball, but I was the kind that would talk to anybody. I was a little creative, which meant that I was kinda dorky, but hey I was ok with that. My brothers are both raising their kids here now and I remember how great of a place it was to grow up. Being so close to the beach you don't realize how lucky you are until you move away. Laying out with your friends, playing volleyball, flying a kite on the beach, paddle boarding or skimboarding, it was never boring. We moved into our cutesy little townhouse in a cutesy little neighborhood off of 66th Street and Ulmerton Rd. We are about 9 miles from the beach I grew up on and it makes me so happy. We are also super close to my job, just over the Howard Frankland bridge. But I tell you what, that sun coming up over the bay every morning doesn't make the drive bad at all.

On Friday we were able to get the keys to the place. I wanted to paint the living area so I ran all over town to Home Depot to get supplies and was just about to start painting when Judd showed up early from work to surprise me! I was so relieved because he could wait for the cable guy and I could get some groceries. We decided to look at the paint that was left behind by the owners and they actually had the same color as the top of the wall left, so I thought why not paint it the same color and save money. I did, but it took me hours. Long enough for Judd to drive all the way back to New Port Richey to my parents, load up the car with the essentials (aka the televisions and laptop) and drive back. I think it turned out great though and the backache was worth it.

We ordered a pizza and sat on the floor in front of our television, hooked up to the laptop, with our blankets on the floor and laughed and talked about how happy we were and how we couldn't believe it was finally happening. We fell asleep in the middle of the living room, blankets sprawled on the floor, underneath the ceiling fan. That's how we spent our first night in our new home. It was perfect!

The next morning we woke up really early, like so early I thought I heard a rooster. We drove all the way to SR 52 and picked up the truck. It was just me and Judd so we decided not to overdo it and take our time. By the end of the day we were exhausted running up and down our stairs and about ready to collapse. I crashed early and Judd followed shortly after. We are so excited about our new life in the 'Burg and can't wait to start setting up the house the way we want. Just the start of our new adventures. Live and Love ~ E