Pilgrims and Indians?

Yesterday, this story was all over the news.

I started wrestling with it, and it was interesting to me that people are SO grounded in tradition that they are willing to perpetuate a false history that we've created. Now, don't get me wrong, I think kids dressed up is just about the cutest thing there is, but is it really healthy to keep something going that we know is inaccurate? Is dressing our children up as pilgrims and indians really that important? Apparently to the parents at Condit Elementary school, it is.

I would love to see a day where Thanksgiving would be a day set aside to simply be thankful. Forget the Pilgrims and Indians and all of the things that did or did not happen. Just gather together with family and be thankful for the blessings in our life and the God who bestowed them on us.

alex makes a good mexican.

Since Alex and I got married (and even before) my family has said that he makes a good Mexican and I tend to agree! He loves all things spicy...especially my mom's homemade kind! He also just had his first taste of chicken mole, and LOVED it. We thought that he might have to take some time to acquire a taste for it, but nope, he didn't, he ate it all! And this last one is probably my favorite. You see, Alex had never tasted jicama before he met me, and now he eats it with a chile lime seasoning that is SO mexican! We love our Tajin!!

rant.

I don't watch a lot of commercials. I don't like them. I don't like the way portray people, and I don't like the way that everything from coffee to perfume to sports is advertised with sex. It's awful. I think the product with the worst commercials is Axe deodorant spray. My sister-in-law Nicole wrote a very good post here about some fishy marketing.

So...the other day, a commercial starts to come on, Alex recognizes the opening music and was expecting this to come on::


Yes, that commercial is very funny, and I enjoyed it (when I finally saw it) HOWEVER, that is NOT the commercial we saw that day. We saw Heidi Klum in a very skimpy bra and panty set dancing around to the same song. It was awful. Both Alex and I were bummed that this was on ESPN during some sort of sporting event. Its sad that parents sitting there with their kids watching sports have to rethink that. Something that should be simple is now complicated. Alex and I obviously don't have kids, but we've even talked about not watching live games when we do have kids because the commercials are so bad. It's very clear who ESPN is advertising to...and it's not us.

On a similar note, Alex and I were driving home from Yogurtland last night and an ad came on the radio (on a very poplular station) for adult toys...it wasn't even 10pm! What the heck?! We were shocked. Now, we're not the type to be overly sensitive (well, maybe I am, but Alex is not) but both of us have been continually shocked over the past few months at what is on tv and the radio. Thankfully we can record something and watch it later (we love DVR!), and I think for this reason, we will keep our DVR as long as possible!

Black Friday

I saw this in Real Simple and thought it was interesting::

• Shoppers have spent big on this weekend for decades. Indeed, in 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week to extend the shopping season and help business.

• This day was first called Black Friday in the 1960s. The term derives from the old accounting practice of using red ink for debts and black ink for profits.

• Last year more than 147 million people hit the sales that weekend (and 14 percent of them were at it before 4 A.M.), with each spending an average of $347.

My mom, sisters and I (and sometimes even my brother!) have gone shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving for as long as I remember. We were never the shoppers who wait in line for hours or spend gobs of money, but it has been a tradition to wake up early, bundle up (because it's freeeezing at 5am!), grab something warm to drink and head out to the mall. We love the walking and looking around. The funny thing is that we normally don't even buy a lot, but it's just the fun of the tradition! There are some amazingly awesome sales though. I think my best sale buy was a knife set that I got at WalMart the day after Thanksgiving right before I moved out of my parents' house. My roommate still has them! So...needless to say, I am looking forward to that morning!

a little behind.

I'm definitely behind on blogging! Funny enough, I am totally caught up on my Reader, but haven't posted anything! So instead of catching up on an entire week, I'll just post some Halloween photos!


Shaggy and Velma::
Cutest Ladybug::



Daphne...or Amy Winehouse with red hair::

The dread Pirate Roberts::

one last Shaggy pic::