I just joined a new TEXAS BLOGGERS FORUM. I’m not sure how many of my readers are from Texas… Most of the ones I have met are in Utah, Washington, etc… But I still wanted to pass on the info.  This is a great place for TEXAS BLOGGERS to come together and get to know one another. I’ve had fun reading thru the forums and posting. Other bloggers are posting helpful links as well. It’s fun to find out there’s a blogger friend right up the road from you.  They are even hosting a giveaway for a $20 Amazon.com gift card. You need to join the forum to enter.  So, if you’re a TEXAS BLOGGER definitely check out BLOGGINGTEXASEVENTS.COM.

We’re planning a trip this summer that will take us thru Arizona. I told my husband from the very beginning that we will be staying in Arizona at least one nite and buying souvenirs as well. I’m on a BUYcott for Az., rather than a BOYcott. I feel strongly about a lot of things: littering, bullies, being honest with your kids, etc… but I rarely get involved in political things. I mean, I’ll post about them, but that’s about it. NOT this time. I am ALL FOR S.B. 1070. You may have gathered that from the other posts I’ve written. I am not against people looking for a better way of life.  That’s fine. But you do it THE RIGHT WAY. This would not be the right way:

Examples of THE RIGHT WAY:

You work hard.

You pay taxes.

You follow the laws.

You are self-reliant- don’t come looking for a handout.

You don’t trash our country.

You respect the land you are in and the country you so want to be a part of.

And you write your freakin’ rally signs in ENGLISH and you wave an AMERICAN flag.

I am not racist. This isn’t a RACE issue. (In fact, people often confuse RACE and ETHNICITY, but that’s another post.)  My 3 oldest children’s race is Caucasian, but  for arguments sake they are 1/2 whatever.  Their bio-dad is of “Hispanic origin”- but he, his parents, his grandparents and GREAT- grandparents were all born in the USA. Not that that is saying much since his siblings and himself are the only ones that speak correct (and that’s an exaggeration) English. But that’s not the point. My kids are 1/2 and my 2 youngest are 1/4 Samoan.  My man is 1/2 . My SIL is Hispanic. BIL is from Mexico. His brother, who is married to an American and has been here forever working legally and being a great person, was deported because of a screw up with his visa. He was actually at the immigration office to make sure his visa was all good and they realized there was a clerical error and held him right then and there.  He was separated from his pregnant (with twins) wife and missed the birth of his daughters. After the birth, his American wife and daugters had to move to Mexico to be with him until the paper mess was worked out. They are back now. I was so pissed and frustrated with that whole situation because here was a good guy, working hard, speaking English better than some people born and raised here, being a productive person and he gets deported because paperwork got messed up. Yet, there are others here, not even trying to GET paperwork, breaking the law, waving not USA flags, etc… and they are still here. That’s wrong. I also have several friends who have become US citizens in the last 10 years or so who are more American than a lot of natural born citizens.  My point is that I’m not walking around pointing at people, “He’s brown. Kick him out. She said ‘eh. Kick her out.” And that’s not what SB 1070 says to do either.

Moving on.  This picture pissed me off.

You know why? The sign that says, “We are all immigrants.”

Then I saw this shirt:

Um, REALLY??  I know I didn’t come over on a boat.  No one in the last 10 generations on my mom’s side and 6 generations on my dad’s side has come over on a boat. We were all born here. 10 generations y’all. It’s been 300 years since someone on my mom’s side immigrated to America. His name was Daniel McDaniel and he came over from Scotland. But I am not Scottish-American. I am American by birth… and Texan by the grace of God. I would never in a million years think to introduce myself as “Scottish-American.” Why would I? I’ve never even been to Scotland. And you know what? NONE of my family says they are Scottish-American. We don’t wave Scottish flags. We don’t celebrate made up Scottish holidays and get offended when others wave US flags on “our” day. My ancestor, Martin Anthony, came from Germany about 200 years ago. I’m not German-American. I don’t like Dirk because he’s German so we have so much in common. I AM AN AMERICAN. Period. So, unless you actually immigrated here stop saying “we are all immigrants” because it’s an ignorant argument.  By definition an immigrant is one who comes from another country to take up permanent residence. Because we have immigration laws in our country, coming here without following the law makes you an ILLEGAL immigrant- I don’t care what country you came from.  You know why we have immigration laws? Because the Indians didn’t. Yeah, I like the shirt I saw that said: Ask an Indian what happens when you don’t control immigration. Oh, and just FYI: the “Native Americans” weren’t the 1st people here either. People have been coming in and out for 1000 years. Just sayin’. Vikings need love too.

Sure, this country was founded by immigrants. Of course it was- most countries were!  People have immigrated in and out forever.  But to say you’re an immigrant when you aren’t one is ignorant. My dad’s a CPA. Does that make me one? I have a lot of school teachers in my family, so… I’m one too? 6 and 10 generations ago my brave ancestors left their home, traveled to America and EMBRACED this great country.  I feel to piggy-back on their courage and desire for a better life in this “new world” is wrong. They blessed my family by coming here and I will live as a PROUD AMERICAN to honor their bravery and sacrifice.

Immigration laws were created to protect us- the people LEGALLY living in the USA. They are designed to help protect us from disease, from job loss,  increase our personal safety and national security.  They don’t trample on anyone’s “rights” because if you are here illegally you don’t have those rights. Federal law since 1940 has said if you are an immigrant you need to carry your papers with you. And if you’re here legally then there is nothing to worry about.  If you are here illegally, well then “ILLEGALLY’ would be the key word….

And… I’m done… for now. I have so much to say but this post could go on and on forever. I love America. I am a PROUD American . I am thankful for our troops. I am thankful for my ancestors. God bless America.

First I wanna give a “Shout Out” to my PRESERVE GIRLS. I had a ton of fun Saturday and I really appreciate y’all thinking of me!!

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I finally got to relieve some stress this weekend. Sei took me to the shooting range so I could try out my new gun. I LOVED it. I told Sei anytime he wants to take me there as a date, I’m game. When we first got there I suddenly got really nervous and unsure of myself. I also felt like I was dressed wrong because I didn’t have any camoflague on like the men there- lol. But by the end I was feeling a lot better. And I didn’t suck too terribly bad, so that’s always good too…. At least I hit the blue… And no Omar, I wasn’t aiming for the crotch, but hey- I’ll take it!!
The funniest thing I heard at the range?? A man was talking about how he had taken all the CHL classes so he could carry a concealed handgun if he paid his state fees. But there was no way he was gonna pay the state anything because “That’s like payin’ to go to church!” I ? Texas.
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ATTENTION LURKERS:
So, I was looking at my statcounter recently. I don’t look at it often because I forget I have it. Anyway… there are a *TON of people lookin’ at my blog that aren’t commenting. I mean, I average around 15 comments a post, yet have like 200 more hits on my blog a day. So… if you are reading for the 1st time or lurking PLEASE COMMENT TODAY!!! LURKERS please DE-LURK!! You don’t have to have a blog to comment, just sign in your name. Also, let me know how you ended up here at my blog and how long you’ve been visiting. YAY!

*and by “ton” I mean a couple hundred…. (slight exagerration haha!)

This morning I told Sei, “I’m gonna go take a shower.” (Hey- Maverick says that on Top Gun too, remember?) Anyway- when I heard myself I thought, “Hey, I think I say shower different than most people up here.” So I asked Sei to say ‘shower.’ He did. He said it probably how most yankees and Utahns say it. Then I said it again, “Shower.” I totally say it different! I say “Shy-wer.” I do the same thing with ‘flower’ – “Fly-wer.” That got me thinking about how most people here in Utah don’t speak correctly, like we do in the south. They say weird things like “It’s in the cupboard.” See- I call it a “cabinet” and I’m pretty sure I say “cabinet” better than most of y’all too. Or, take the word “y’all.” My niece (who lives in Idaho) started saying it when I married her uncle. Her teacher told her, “You know that’s not a real word, right?” Well, Miss-Know-it-All FYI – it IS a real word in the Webster’s dictionary. It’s a conjuction: You + All = Y’all. And it’s a heck of a lot better than saying “You guys.” Quicker too, I might add. The saying up here that bugs me the most is “Your guys’s.” THAT is not a word and I’m willing to bet my niece’s teacher has said it before. “Can I borrow your guys’s phone?” (Napoleon Dynamite) I remember when I 1st moved up here a lady said, “Are those your guys’s kids?” What?!? It was like she said something in French. It made no sense to me.
I’ve started thinking of other words and sayings I use. “Fixin’” – ok I honestly didn’t realize people didn’t say the word ‘fixin’ until I started dating Sei. Fixin’ means “about to.” You can say, “I’m fixin’ to go to the store” for example. When I started dating Sei he tried to use it correctly. He said, “I’m fixin on calling you at 9pm.” Ok- that would be the incorrect way to use the word. He’s from California, so I had to forgive him for being slow to catch on. However, he uses “fixin” correctly now without giving it a 2nd thought. Same with the word “y’all.” He only slips into “you guys” when he’s around his family. It’s very disappointing… And all my kids say “y’all” which makes me so proud considering Isabel was only 2 when we moved to Utah. Another word Sei says I say “wrong” (He’s obviously in denial.) is DIDN’T. Ok, why on earth would anyone take the time to pronounce all the letters in the word? I say “Din’it.” He says “Did’int.” The same goes for “wouldn’t” – “wun’it” “couldn’t” – “cun’it” and “shouldn’t” – “shun’it.” I seriously have a hard time pronouncing those words the way Sei says them. Like the words “leg” or “egg.” I’ve noticed most people say the “e” like an “a”. “Lage” and “Aghe.” Why? It’s an E. It makes the “e” sound in these words, not the “A” sound!! It bugs.
It’s funny because I forget that I have an accent or pronounce things the correct way until I’ll say something and the person I’m talking to will say, “Where are you from?” Those that know where I’m from just try really hard to be like me. I’ve noticed my best friend now says “Y’all” almost always. She still says “legs” funny though. It’s ok. I’m sure it will take time for everyone to learn the correct way to speak English. I’ll just have to wait and be patient and try to set a good example.
PS. This pic is of my “surfer boy” hubby! Isn’t he hot?!