Many ways to be peaceful and at peace

For those yearning for a false hope and nebulous change, this is from an older post of mine expressing surprise that today's college students need to sign a pledge--not for peace--but to support their own values (or someone else's) of social justice.

Didn't people always do this without signing a pledge card? Would someone who registered as a Conscientious Objector for the draft 40 years ago have gone to work in the armaments industry? In the 80s I refused to apply for a women's studies position at the OSU library because I knew I'd have to buy books that supported abortion; I refuse to buy stock in companies that make their profits creating alcohol or tobacco products, which in turn creates death; I don't want viaticals in my retirement portfolio; I won't buy tickets to movies or plays or buy or read books that demean and ridicule women; I write to advertisers of shows that ridicule and criticize Christians; I regularly write my congresswoman who is a Republican in name only and remind her of conservative principles; I let my pastors know when the message is weak and not gospel centered, offering false hope; I recommend books to my public library, even when I know I'm ignored; I don't laugh at jokes or watch TV programs that belittle women or Christians or the elderly or the not-so-bright; I tithe my income and I'm pretty careful to whom it goes; I am an advocate for the Mexican people's government shaping up and creating opportunity in their own country; and I would have never needed a pledge made at college graduation to know that racist language had no place in a training manual, but I'd have to be pretty desperate for a cause to turn down work because of gender parity in athletics or anything else.

Who gets the green from going green?

A lot of the environmentalism information and advertising about which I comment comes not from "right wing" publications, but my husband's architectural and engineering journals and newsletters. Also the Wall Street Journal, which although it covers the business world, is right up there with NYT in way left off the page. Green is a huge business (especially for ad agencies), much of it tear down, start over, and use more (but different) resources. And many of our largest companies and most powerful politicians stand to gain the most. Al Gore, for instance--worth $2 million when he left office--now one of the world's richest men, with a fortune built almost entirely on warning us about the phony global warming issue (some of his wealth comes from serving on boards of corporations which will benefit from new government regulations). Nancy Pelosi is another--investing in wind power while refusing to let America drill for oil, while the rest of us face soaring prices from her Congress' inaction.

Al Gore says everyone will benefit when new government rules require companies to pay to reduce global warming. But some people will benefit more than others, as will some companies. Benefiting most are those like the ex-vice president who can set up and invest in companies that will profit from the federal regulations imposing heavy costs on others. Al Gore's Carbon Empire

Black on black crime

"Barack Obama likes to portray himself as a centrist politician who wants to unite the country, but occasionally his postpartisan mask slips. That was the case at Saturday night's Saddleback Church forum, when Mr. Obama chose to demean Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas." Obama on Clarence Thomas

If you'd like to read about the real suffering of American blacks in the 20th century, read the autobiography of Clarence Thomas, who came up through severe deprivation and racism, not the whining of Barack Obama who's led a charmed life in comparison. The difference is in the behavior of the left, which attempted to destroy Thomas, and which created and protected Obama. Their only similarity is they were raised by grandparents.

As a Senator, Obama has spent most of his time running for President. What are his other accomplishments? He couldn't wipe the sweat from Thomas' brow.

Monday Memories--How we saved energy in our dorm room

JoElla and I told each other in elementary school that we would room together in college. I'm not positive I knew exactly what that meant, but I lived in Mt. Morris, Illinois, where my parents and grandparents had attended college. It closed in 1931 with the buildings being used until recently by a publishing company. JoElla's parents also attended that school, but a few years before mine. By the time we graduated from high school we didn't know each other all that well, because I had moved away from Forreston in 6th grade, where we'd met. But, we must have checked with each other and agreed it was a good idea. We moved into the very elderly Oakwood Hall of Manchester College in September 1957. My cousin Gayle lived down the hall, and JoElla's cousin Sylvia also lived in the dorm. Her brothers were near by on campus, and my sister was a few miles down the road at Goshen College.

I got a huge chuckle reading about Tulane's "Energy Star" showcase dorm room. A 2 person dorm room could save about $37 just by using the various products recommended. If all the 3700+ students at Tulane did the same, there would be a savings of about $69,000 in energy costs. I looked through the list--micro-refrigerator, 2 lap top computers, a printer, various lamps and light bulbs, a phone and audio components. Not doing without, mind you, oh no! Just changing the brand name. Wow. JoElla and I didn't have any of these things and we still managed to get a first class education! Refrigerator? We kept our food on the windowsill. Lap tops? We didn't even have a portable typewriter between us. Audio? I suppose we might have opened the door to hear someone else's radio. Phone? It was down the hall, down the steps, through the lobby, and into the office. But the boys still managed to call and make a date. There were runners to tap on your door to alert you. If you weren't home, you checked the message board. It was very exciting, and good exercise. The only footprints we worried about was whether someone in the shared bathroom might have athlete's foot!

Photo: JoElla 4th from right, second row; Norma 1st left, first row.

Fashionista Freshman, 1957
More on Oakwood Hall

Redeemed!

Serious, committed Christians have noticed that as our society falls away from organized religion, interest in some form of environmentalism increases. Sort of, if you believe in nothing, you'll fall for anything (pantheistic global warmism, for instance). For those who were youngsters in the 1970s, it's a way to relive their youth. Others are recent converts. At the WSJ Friday, Stephen Moore commented on similarities and how serious recyclers have become.

Fred Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute notes with rich irony that "we now live in a society where Sunday church attendance is down, but people wouldn't dream of missing their weekly trek to the altar of the recycling center." These facilities, by the way, are increasingly called "redemption centers." Which is fine except that now the greens want to make redemption mandatory. Oh, for a return to the days when someone stood up for the separation of church and state.

I don't go to redemption centers, but I do attend church (early, traditional--we have 10 services at UALC) There is a recycling bin somewhere here at Lakeside, although we usually take our cans and bottles home to Columbus--currently have a few (plastic) bags full rattling around in the van. Chalk up one more use for the ubiquitous plastic bag. So far this week I've: cut one up and braided it to make a little rope to attach the basket to my bike; scooped and disposed of lots and lots of kitty poo from our cat Lotsa; used two to wash things I didn't want to touch; covered my bicycle seat; used one over the clothes line to protect an item of clothing from dirt. Does anyone remember the days we were constantly reminded to use plastic bags in order to save trees? In addition, the bicycle is 40 years old, the basket I was attaching is at least 10 years old as is the seat, and the tires were purchased in 1979. I challenge the greenies to match my small biking footprint. Also, my van has been parked most of the summer because at Lakeside you can walk everywhere you want to go.



The worst form of recycling is putting the huge ugly bin in plain sight where it visually pollutes. Our church does that--and I've written about it. Even Meijer's supermarket finds a way to discreetly place them so they don't change the appearance of their store. I guess they think visuals are part of marketing. What a concept!

Rachel Carson

will apparently be appearing this week at Lakeside in the portrayal by Cathy Kaemmerlen. She'll go on without me. The blurb says, "In 1962, Carson wrote Silent Spring, which exposed the hazards of the pesticide DDT. As a result, DDT came under closer governmnt supervision and was eventually banned." Of course, not a single person has ever died from exposure to (or even eating) DDT. But the result of the ban is that more Africans have died of malaria than were killed in the transatlantic slave trade. Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth also lays on misinformation about malaria--says global warming is increasing it. That's also untrue. In fact, our own Washington DC used to be a swampy mess of mosquitoes and malaria. You don't need a warm climate to have malaria. Millions of African children continue to die or live a disabled life due to our environmental movement that puts animals and plants above people. Pesticide soaked bed nets? Would you put your child under one?

A few weeks ago we had a series here on global health, and although I only attended the one by a scientist (Dick Slemons) I know and trust, the usual about health even in JAMA is all about the gap--that some have poor health because we have good health. I noticed the following at what I assume is a libertarian site (since Republicans haven't sounded like this in decades)

Arguments based on inequality are, at root, made from a misunderstanding - willful or otherwise - of the way in which wealth, medicine and technology are best created. Rapid progress for all requires a free market, strong rule of law and property rights. Such a culture necessarily has a power law distribution of ownership and success. There's a reason the US has led the world in technology, for all that it's going to the dogs nowadays - it's the flip side of the reason that communism, socialism and the politics of envy lead to poverty and suffering.

Creating "equality" by taking from the successful ruins the creation of wealth - very much a non-zero sum game - for all. It takes away the vital incentives and rewards for success. At the end of the process, as demonstrated by all that transpired in the Soviet Union, you are left with the same old inequalities, but now taking place amongst ruins, starvation and disease.

Economic ignorance is the death of cultures; it is presently eating away at the US, and is sadly most advanced in medicine and medical research. People who favor equality and envy over wealth and progress are, unfortunately, usually comparatively wealthy themselves and thus largely insulated from the short-term consequences of their ignorance. These dangerous philistines will have to decide in the years ahead whether their dearly-held positions are worth losing their lives to, not to mention the lives of everyone they manage to kill - at the rate of 100,000 with each and every day of delay on the way to working anti-aging technologies. Fight aging

Strickland and Blackwell in 2006

Ted Strickland ran on a jobs creation platform and a "I'm not Bob Taft" plank. Our unemployment rate has soared since he took over, and he's also switched his ethics (a former Methodist pastor) to support additional gambling, which always hurts the poor more and hasn't done a thing to improve education. But I see he is going to speak on the economy at the Democratic convention. Our unemployment was extremely low (state-wide) in 2006, so I wasn't sure why that was such a big deal, but for Appalachian Ohio and inner city Cleveland I suppose it was higher (for those of you geographically-challenged, we don't have a lot of industry in Appalachia and NE Ohio now that liberals have killed coal and created rust belts) But they breathe clean air. And he couldn't really say, "don't vote for the black guy." Although someone in the MSM did refer to Kenneth Blackwell as "the Republican lawn jockey." Interesting that when Obama slips in the polls, it's racisim. When Strickland pulled ahead of Blackwell, it was just good grass roots organizing. And just who are the Democrats calling racist? Wouldn't it be their own party members, since Republicans hadn't planned to vote for Obama anyway? I'm just saying. . .

Obama at the library

The UAPL has 15 copies of Obama's Audacity, and 12 copies of his Dreams, and 8 copies (6 titles) of juvy-groovy pro-Obama books. The newest, #1 Obama-critical title, called Obama Nation, has one copy on-order with 9 requests. I don't know what the tipping point is for ordering second copies, but the standard appears to vary depending on the political slant of the title. There were always multiple copies (one had 16) of anti-Bush books available, but few copies of any alternative view. Same way with conservative Christian books in general. But I've blogged about that before (see my list). Librarians are so liberal, they fall off the cliff for whatever Democrat is running. If I want to read Obama Nation, I'll probably have to buy it. I think that's why they don't get many requests. We get tired of waiting and go to Barnes and Noble. They may be liberal, but they're not stupid.

Portable pensions--we need them

Yes, just ask your union rep who should control your pension. I'm sure they'll be impartial.

"SEIU Promotes Risky Pension Plans

Last month the Service Employees International Union sponsored “Take Back the Economy” rallies in 100 cities, supporting a largely Democratic economic agenda. Included in the union’s wish-list is support for “defined-benefit” pension plans, which SEIU advocates over “defined-contribution” plans for workers. The latter setup, which includes 401(k) plans, allows workers to make regular contributions toward their pension funds—contributions which can be carefully invested and transported from job to job. To the contrary, defined-benefit plans are usually managed by union officers who can steer funds to projects requiring union-only contracts—but not necessarily good investments. The SEIU National Industry Pension Fund, for instance, is underfunded by about 44 percent despite a well-funded plan for SEIU officers, reports Brian Johnson of the Alliance for Worker Freedom." Capital Research Center Newsletter

Kind of reminds me of the well-funded, congress on both sides of the aisle who didn't want to see sound changes in Social Security but had their own pension plan that closely resembled what Bush proposed for the rest of us. When the people have more, the politicans have less.

Can you save the environment by

Making jewelry from used skateboards

or

Chair seats from recycled organic t-shirts?

Paying $200 for a handbag made by West Bengal artisans

Or

$285 for eco-silver earrings?

Wearing an organic wool poncho trimmed with vegan silk

Or

Recycled glass necklaces from wine, beer, and water bottles?

Eating simply with organic pecan bars

Or

Raw cane candy?
Of course not, but it will sell a magazine. This is the newest item in my collection, Boho, Issue No. 1, Fall 2008. Complete with 1970s colors, today's spokesmodels, and canvas bags for shopping. Every marketing technique has been recycled and is guaranteed to go for the green.

Golden boy

You might think ADHD kids can't focus, but that's not necessarily so. Some focus almost exclusively on one particular thing to the detriment of social skills or academic learning. Michael Phelps, according to his mother, has ADHD and as a child was medicated. And this is just a guess, but once she found that swimming could grab his attention, and helped him channel that energy, they were off to the Olympics. Having exceptionally long arms and being very tall with big feet, probably didn't hurt. With 13 gold medals, he's won more gold than any athlete in Olympics history.

I watched an interview with her this morning, and she still maintains a web site for parents of ADHD children. I'm against medicating kids--Thomas Edison was ADHD, too--thank goodness no one medicated him. Maybe Mom or the teacher just need to take something. Michael's mother says he was diagnosed at 9 and went off medication at 11, and that he didn't use it in the summer or on week-ends. I'm not a doctor, but most medications need to be taken consistently. If they noticed any improvement in his behavior, I'm guessing it was the placebo effect. But the medication gurus are pushing their stimulants based on the Phelps case in their publications. Unfortunate.

Turning P-Green

As in pooper-scooper.
Politicians.
Pharisees.
Pile-on.
Peremptory.
Professionals.
Preaching.
Petroleum-free.
Products.
Planning.
Protection.
Pathological.
Program.
Pervasive.
Parade.
Pell-Mell.
Projects.
Plants.
Parrot.
Party-line.
Pedant.
Pestilence.
Pesticide-ban.
Positivism.
Profit.
Pick-pocket.
Pious.
Pitbull.
Performance.
Paranoia.
Productivity.
Passion.
Paternalism.
Problem.
Prove-it.
Purpose Driven Church.
Pantheism.
Perfidy.
Peddle-power.
Prius.
Procedures.
Protesters.
Packaging.
Palaver.
Peevish.
Panacea.
Pandora's box.
Paper work.
Pay load.

Rick Warren and the campaign

When I heard what Warren planned to do I told my husband that it appears he wants to be the next Billy Graham (he always met with presidents regardless of their faith). A friend of mine from high school, let's call him Dave since that's his name, sends a Bible study a few times a week via e-mail to various home boys and girls. Today he commented on Warren's work and prominence. Here's my take, revised from my e-mail to Dave.

Our home congregation (UALC, Columbus, OH) is a believing church and used Warren's Purpose Driven Life as a sermon series about 4 years ago. I read and liked it, for the most part. I compare it to a fad diet--works for awhile and then you yo-yo back to your previous weight. I think for believers it is icing on the cake--can remind them of some things more traditional Bible preachers either forget or don't emphasize. But for unbelievers it is really loaded with fat and empty calories and they could be misled with good feelings and great intentions, thinking it is of God.

I'm analytical--if I don't hear or read some version of "Did you know Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and rose from the grave and you can too" early in the sermon or book, then I look for what the speaker/writer is building on. Usually it is a version of good works (environmentalism, humanism, political activism, human relationships). Most people desperately want to believe in something, and when it isn't the saving work of Jesus, it tends to be some type of trendy prayer, or human effort (fight global warming), or multiple gods. However, I have to remember that just as there are multipe learning styles, so there are many methods through which God reaches people depending on their personalities and emotional make-up. I've heard plenty of well-intentioned, Biblical sermons that could drive a person into a long nap. Yes, God could reach you in your dreams, but probably not if you're snoring through the sermon. I love certain programs on Catholic radio and TV, but when it's a panel investigating the miracles of praying to Mary or a particular saint, I reach for the remote. It's not for me. Warren just doesn't fit the needs of many Christians; he's Jesus-lite.

Rick Warren has a huge church. I hope that after he draws them down the saw dust trail with the preaching, music and programming, there is a sound small group to disciple the new members or visitors with solid Bible teaching. I've heard there is--sort of bait and switch. The only problem I have with that method, and I've told my own pastors this, you never know when you're in that pulpit (or even conversation) whether this is your last or only chance to reach that person, and God has put him there that Sunday for you to witness to the Good News.

Lakeside 2008, Week 8

It's been a wonderful, music filled week. Last night was the Celtic Tenors, Matthew Gilsenan, James Nelson, and Daryl Simpson. If you ever have the chance to attend one of their concerts, do go! From here I think they went to Milwaukee. A lovely mix of traditional, Gaelic, American, opera, and pop. Handsome and elegantly dressed, too, which after a summer of seeing baggy shorts and flip flops was a treat.

Tonight is Phil Dirt and the Dozers, always a favorite just about anywhere in Ohio. For them, I don't expect a fashion show. They formed in 1981 in Columbus, and they do perform all over the country, but Ohio is their home where they take us back to the 50s, 60s, and 70s. This photo is a bit dated; here's the bio info on the current group. Their drummer died last year. A really fabulous young guy joined them in 2006 whose wife is university faculty in Columbus.

On Tuesday we enjoyed tremendously the piano duets of husband and wife Pierre van der Westhuizen and Sophia Grobler, both from South Africa and who serve on the faculty of Heidelberg College when not touring.

Monday evening was the Lakeside Symphony Candlelight Showcase of homes although we didn't attend. It's a fundraiser. Several Lakeside homeowners host a small group of musicians and guests. People (180 homes this year) also light up their homes with Christmas lights and decorations. It's a festive time!

I skipped Kathy Mattea on Saturday, a CW singer and shill for Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." At Lakeside we like our social activism from the pulpit (smile). My husband said there was nothing in her concert about her politics, but you never know when you might have a Dixie Chix eruption.

Is McCain an Obama mole?

Barack "Born-alive" Obama voted against protection for born alive babies when he was an Illinois senator, despite the fact that the bill did not interfere with "a woman's right to choose" and posed no threat to Roe v. Wade. Imagine. Gasping, struggling, reaching and tiny--turn your back and pitch her. Most people wouldn't treat a dog that way. But oddly enough, as the DNC scrambles to enfold its own lefty Catholics into the party tent, John McCain is waffling on abortion in his selection of a VP in an attempt to gather up disaffected Hillaryites and nervous-about-race Democrats, most of whom are pro-abortion. So McCain is dumping on conservatives again; why should we believe him on anything else he's said? I always suspected he was just a middle of the road, fence-sitting Democrat, but now he's starting to look like an Obama secret ops guy.

Politicians are one sick bunch. A pox on all their campaigns and bimbo eruptions.

Isn't it puzzling that unborn babies have worth and value if they are "wanted," but not if they are "unwanted?" Some editor slipped up in this AP story. Usually they call the unborn baby, a fetus.

Horrified onlookers in New York City's Bronx borough lifted a 5-ton school bus off a pregnant woman who was pinned underneath. Doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section and saved her baby, a 3-pound, 6-ounce boy. The mother died shortly after his birth.

Casual Friday

says the Well Dressed Librarian is not the day to wear your flip flops--that's for running to the store. And don't wear socks, or pick at your toes; wash your feet, get a pedicure, etc. Toe jewelry won't help dirty toes. This guy knows his stuff. Better yet, IMO, don't wear them in public.

Misleading us on military deaths

Perhaps you've seen it. The e-mail that's circulating comparing the number of military deaths during the Clinton years compared to the Bush years. Pitch it. Someone in the process of forwarding, or just having an agenda of his own, has reworked the numbers. Lowered the Bush years numbers and increased the Clinton years numbers. Look at the Congressional Research Service link for the original document, American War and Military Operations Casualties:
Lists and Statistics. However, it is still surprising, and our media continue to mislead us. Table 4 and Table 5 gives the numbers of U.S. Active Duty Military Deaths, 1980-2006 (as of Nov 22, 2007, and these numbers are constantly revised based on new information if the cause of death was unclear).

The numbers are startling. Military deaths have been much higher during non-conflict, non-war years, like comparing 2001-2006 (Bush) with 1981-1986 (Reagan). Deaths were much, much higher in the 80s and the military was also larger. It's the cause of death--homicide, suicide, accidents, and illnesses that bumps up the deaths of yesterday's U.S. military, whether Carter, Reagan or Clinton were Presidents. I was shocked looking at these tables. Homicide was almost halved during the Reagan years, but is still much lower now. Remember all the suicide stories we've been treated to during the dinner hour? 269 in 1986 and 192 in 2006. In 1985, deaths from accidents were 1476, and in 2005 deaths from accidents were 644. Another table I looked at showed the amputation ratio per injury, and that was way down.

What this report shows is a military that's safer, healthier, better cared for, better trained and more highly motivated to defend their country and support their Commander in Chief. It also shows that our news sources, and both presidential campaigns, continue to paint this war with a brush dipped in careless abandon and wild hyperbole. Even so, read the real document, and ignore the stats in the e-mail.

HT to Murray who pointed me to this interesting document.

Genealogy class

We've been having a great genealogy class at Lakeside this week, and I've been checking out some sites. Our instructor said what started as a puddle (genealogy sites and information on the internet) is now an ocean. I came across this quote (without attribution) in the Columbine Genealogical and Historical Society Newsletter (Littleton, CO), 2nd quarter 2007:

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming -- "WOW"-- What a Ride!"

And even then, it isn't all there. Not even close. I didn't see our Lakeside archives and newsletter among the Ottawa County Ohio resources nor the Brethren Heritage Center among the Montgomery County Ohio resources.

Obama's new taxes

A blogger at Soballiance (Ohio conservative bloggers) responded to Obama’s man in Ohio, Aaron Pickrell (governor's staff), who attempted to explain Obama’s windfall tax plan in a mailing. I agree with the blogger . This is no plan. This is a tax on us, especially retirees and anyone who drives a car or truck or uses merchandise that is transported on a road or through the air, or who has a home or business that needs heat, or uses anything made of plastic or rubber, etc.

First, taxing a company is not an energy plan. You'd have to be a plain fool to think otherwise. Second, do you think that taxing a successful company will make them want to provide more product or less product. Third, at what level does profit become a wind-fall? Will Obama try to use a percentage of revenue, or just some arbitrary number? If percentage, what rate? Coca-cola, Pepsi, Wal-mart and many other companies have a higher profit margin than nearly all of the oil companies. Moreover, will Obama pay this windfall tax on the profits he made on selling his books? Or how about the professional athletes who make tens of millions for playing a few games a year, or endorsing products? Will they be taxed too? If it's by number (some arbitrary dollar amount), do you think that would provide an incentive to earn more money or less money? I don't know if you know this, but oil companies employ a whole lot of people. So with higher taxes or lower profits, that's less money to employ workers. Not to mention that a majority of Exxon (in particular) stock is owned by pension funds and individuals through mutual funds and 401(k)'s. So Obama's "windfall" profit tax is actually a tax on working class Americans.

And it seems the left isn't happy with oil money, no matter what--whether costs are up or down, ours or Iraq's, according to an editorial in today's WSJ

Among the antiwar faithful, every improvement in Iraq is still bad news, even if -- or especially if -- it's good news for the U.S. So it is with the political eruption over Iraq's budget surplus.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Iraqi government generated some $96 billion in revenues since 2005, when Baghdad started managing its own budget, with about 94% coming from crude oil exports. Now Democrats and a few Republicans are complaining that Iraq is "pocketing huge profits" without spending enough on reconstruction. The GAO figures the surplus could run as high as $50 billion this year, though the real figure will be far lower once parliament resolves ongoing budget negotiations. The Iraq surplus

If the economy improves, it's bad news for Democrats; if the price of oil goes down, it's bad news for Democrats. What's good for the nation is bad for Democrats. So guess who's throwing a monkey wrench into the works and then promises to fix it?

Eating with Michael Phelps

Our eleven gold medals swimmer, Michael Phelps, eats. A lot. Like 8,000-10,000 calories a day. But he also swims about five hours a day, and doesn't seem to do much except watch TV and play with his dog, if the show I saw on NBC is accurate. I guess that puts a lie to you can't exercise it off.



The current recommendation for overweight and obese women is 30 minutes of moderate physical activity several days a week, or 150 minutes per week. Unfortunately, new research says that if you want to lose weight, that won't do it. "Overweight and obese women need to exercise at least 275 minutes per week and reduce energy intake to sustain a weight loss of more than 10% over two years, according to a new report in Archives of Internal Medicine. Story here.

To celebrate with Michael, for lunch I had corn on the cob, chips dipped in home made zucchini relish (My Mother's Market, 7610 Ransom Rd., Sandusky, Ohio 44870) and a brownie with cream cheese frosting.

Bad, bad blogger chick.