Monday, July 27, 2009

Link Roundup - Mosquitoes in the Tent Edition

Poor Goose. We went to a family get-together on Saturday (with swimming!) and then we camped that night. She didn't take a nap in the car on the way there like I hoped - I'd see an enormous yawn, and then a minute later I'd see her stuffed animals flying around. She did reasonably well, though there were a few minor meltdowns. I even gave her some Benadryl to help her sleep that night, but it didn't help much. She threw a significant fit for probably around half an hour before finally giving up the ghost - and I think her papa was asleep before she was, so there wasn't even any sitting around the campfire and hanging out for me!

I figured I'd just as well go to bed too, and that was when I found out we had mosquitoes. The bug repellent was in the car, and I was pretty sure if I went to get it, I'd wake Goose up. When she got up in the morning, she had somewhere around two dozen bites. I think they're bothering her pretty badly - she was up at 5:30 this morning but thankfully went back to sleep after a bit of Tylenol. My mom has used a very, very, very diluted bleach solution on my nieces, and I think I'm going to have to get the "recipe". It burns for a bit but gives them relief for quite a while. She even got bit through her PJs in several spots. Bummer.

No garden update yet, since I have no idea what's going on in my garden. I need to see if there are any tomatoes ready . . . and I need to keep a sharp eye on the green beans because I think once they start, I'll have to pick pretty much every day. (Or I should, anyway.) Let's get down to business, shall we?

MAKE
The Idea Room has a recipe for making glow in the dark slime.

I really like the 3-D paint stamps over at Mel's Own Place. Easy & cheap - my favorite kind of craft!

Have to admit that I had to watch the video before I really got the concept, but Zakka Life has good, simple directions on how to make yo-yo balloons.

Craftzine has a neat car craft caddy, though it's mostly for knit/crochet. I can see this being easily customized, although I don't think I could narrow down my crafting to just one type. :>)

EAT
I'm trying not to make these rice crispie cookies from Amber's Delectable Delights. They look TOO GOOD. I also doubt I'd be able to wait for them too cool before eating as recommended for best flavor. Mmmm.

Another fake sushi recipe - peanut butter and fruit this time, at The Kitchn.

Amy at Finer Things has an interesting recipe for Summer Chili, though I have to admit I'd probably choose Fritos or tortilla chips over chow mein noodles.

DO
Stephmodo has an interesting take on organizing the playroom. I like the concept a lot. We had a designated playroom when I was a kid that was pretty generally a mess, but it was contained. And it was a lot of fun!

All Hands on Deck points out that it's the 41st anniversary of Humanae Vitae (On Human Life), Pope Paul VI's encyclical that reaffirmed the Catholic Church's stance against contraception. (Read the full text of Humanae Vitae here.) It's heavy reading, but it so beautifully explains why God created us male and female. The All Hands on Deck post points out:
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However, looking out at the cultural wreckage and family dysfunction of our society, Pope Paul has been proven right in the end. He predicted widespread use of artificial contraception would lead to:
1. "...Increased marital infidelity..."
2. "...General lowering of moral standards.."
3. "...a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and... reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires..."

Can anyone deny that all these predictions have come true? What have been the "fruits" of artificial contraception?

* Half of marriages end in divorce
* almost half of today's babies are born out of wedlock
* 50 million abortions have been procured in the US alone over the last 30 years
* The rampant spread of sexual disease is rampant
* "hooking up" and "friends with benefits" have replaced romance and courtship
* a popular culture rooted in the debasement, objectification, and sexual exploitation of women (have you looked at the magazines in the checkout line lately)?

This cultural wreckage is the real legacy of the widespread use of artificial
contraception.

Yet, the proponents artificial birth control ridicule abstinence and argue that even more birth control is the solution to all these problems.
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(HTML is giving me fits - I tried to use the quote feature on that.)
Yup, that's our society all right. I encourage you to go read the rest of the post here. (With thanks to The Narrow Gate for linking to it first.)

7 comments:

Mel said...

Thanks for sharing the link to my stamp tutorial with your readers!

Interesting thoughts on artificial contraceptives. Food for thought!

Angela said...

Two dozen bites!! Poor little thing, I hope she gets some relief. Isabella got a few bites on our trip, I used something called "After Bite for kids" that worked really good.

And I am so excited that you linked to that cookie recipe! (I LOVE your link roundup posts) That sounds just like a cookie that Monte's grandma (who has now passed away) used to make. I've always wanted that recipe!

And Pope Paul VI's predictions - so true.

zakkalife said...

Thank you for including my yo-yo balloon tutorial in your wonderful roundup. I appreciate it :)

jessica

Lori said...

I just LOVE your Link Roundup posts! :) (Like I need to find more fantastic ideas for things to add to my to-do list!) LOL! Thanks again for a wonderful post.

MommyLydia said...

Be careful of that "50% of marriages end in divorce" stat. It's roughly equivalent to saying that because (Not real numbers) 24,000 new people came into Texas and 12,000 people moved out of Texas, half of all Texans leave the state.

MommyLydia said...

Links:
http://patriot.net/~crouch/adr/50percent.html

http://www.bloggernews.net/14417

Lenetta said...

As a self-proclaimed stats geek, I understand and appreciate your comment - and mathmatically, I agree. However, I feel that the divorce rate is too high, and that many people are entering into marriage without really intending it to be a lifelong commitment. I think that's the point of the quote that I included. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!