My thoughts on July 1st

My thoughts for the day:

1. If you heard Nancy Pelosi say recently that unemployment checks are the only social program that actually builds the economy because people are out there spending money, what was your first clue that our country is in serious trouble? 1) that none of the other welfare programs builds the economy (should they?), 2) that people having money in their pockets (READ: less of a tax burden) creates consumption, drives demand, builds the economy, 3) that politicians say those things that are politically expedient, regardless of factual evidence, 4) that politicians think the public are morons with a short memory...

2. If you received TANF (Temporary Aid for Needy Families) in California, it is possible to get your benefits in the form of an ATM card. I would guess this is standard for every state, but I have not checked. What I wonder is how many other states do not monitor the locations of their contract ATM machines. According to an article on Drudge, some TANF-accepting ATM machines in CA are located in tribal casinos, gentleman's clubs, and other regular casinos where they dispense quite a bit of money to TANF recipients.

3. Paul McCartney said that the BP oil spill was a tragedy, but useful for showing people that global warming is indeed real. Blink. How much pot has that man been smoking? Is it even worth arguing with his erroneous logic?

4. I love the teenager that had a pair of the Russian spies living in her neighborhood. She expressed disbelief that they were spies, because, after all, look at what they did with the hydrangeas.

5. Some Democrat actually brought up the Twilight movie at Kagan's Supreme Court hearings. She asked if the nominee had been out to the movie the previous evening and if it would be okay to discuss Kagan's opinion on Team Jacob v Team Edward. Kagan's response was "I wish you wouldn't." While Kagan formerly professed that judicial nomination hearings were "vapid and a hollow charade," even she realized that the Senator was bordering on something worse than that.

6. Zach went to touch a cake at the grocery store today. After I called "stop, no, don't", two cakes tumbled face-down from their display. He immediately burst into tears-he knew that he was busted.

7. Neil started work today. And while this is seemingly unrelated, when I was younger, I loved New Year's and making resolutions. I enjoyed reading Alexandra Stoddard's book, "Living a Beautiful Life", every year, and deciding how to be more like that perfect woman. Then, somewhere in the middle of having kids and being in residency, I gave up on New Year's. It did not seem likely that my life would change in any way in the next six months, so what would be the point?

I did not realize it, but once we adopted the medical training year of July-June, June 30 became my New Year's Eve. Every 1st of July since 1999, has ushered in change and new experiences. It turns out that on July 1, rather than January 1, I could make reasonable goals, expect change from sources outside of my control, and hope to handle my life better than I did the year before. It took me until the beginning of Neil's last year in residency to figure this out. I am a slow learner, I guess. I wondered for a few years what was wrong with me when New Year's came around and I was not motivated to do one of my favorite things.

Now that residency is over and my kids are older, it is also easier for me because I have more control over my daily life. There are no kid naptimes to dictate my schedule, no kids waking up at 6:30am ready for mischief (And if there are, I send them to watch tv and pour their own cereal until I am ready to get up at 8:30), no babies whose sole nourishment comes from me, a job for Neil that will conceivably only get easier (relatively speaking), and I will be heading back to school this fall so that one day I can get my own job, since that grass is so much greener.

Getting to the gym, the most infamous of resolutions, is not much easier, but it is still on the list. I will never figure out the gyms that think a work out room where you watch your own kids while you work out is a good idea. More like bang my head on the wall and make me never want to go back. I am amazed at Giselle, the Brazilian super model who has five children. My personal trainer in Fayetteville, who is a body builder, told me all about these mother's of four or five children who compete with her. I felt much better. In fact, when I really want to feel great, I find one of my friends on FB who is also a body builder. Her competition pictures are good for a few self-deprecating laughs.

My goals for this year:
1) go to the gym more often than not
2) eat less junk
3) drink less Coca Cola
4) be more patient with my kids
5) get stressed out less often
6) keep my house clean
7) find a place for everything in my house
8) learn to recycle
9) learn to snow board better than I did last year
10) learn to cross country ski
11) look cute in winter clothes
12) get my priorities in order