Trunk or Treat

Just some pics from another ward's Trunk or Treat we crashed this week. We just wanted to show off our cutie, "The Office" style of course :)

She is supposed to be a pea pod, and we decided to complement her with our groceries for the week. 

The Culinary Conversion of a Rice & Noodles Gal

We've been married almost three years, and in that time, I have had the privilege of eating hundreds of bowls of rice, and hundreds of other bowls of noodles. Asian fare is the norm, and American fare the exception. Most folks say "hey, lets do something different and go out for Chinese tonight." In our home, its "gosh, wouldn't it be different to go out for burgers, or steak, or a pizza? Lets do something really weird and eat hot dogs!" If we really feel adventurous, we hit a Mexican place, which in California, are as ubiquitous as McDonald's. Since the birth of our first baby in July, however, Ellen's appetite has undergone a transformation that is nothing short of a minor miracle. No longer are we shopping weekly at the local Asian"Shoon-Fung" (that's how ya say it) supermarket where I'm the only guy over 225 lbs, and definitely the only guy with hair that isn't black. Now we hit places like Winco, Wal-mart, and Raley's. (Yes, the grocery store was kind of an inspiration for our daughter's name. Don't laugh.) Those are stores where there are always a lot of fat people, stinky people, thrifty people, and some brave and clean people, but few reverent people. It's  a mixing pot of all races, faces, and criminal law cases. Anyway, this is a post about food, not food stores, so I continue below.

Tonight was the realization of constant campaigning on my part for a change in standard cuisine at the Newcomer household. I figure, if we are going to eat carbs, we might as well let potatoes and bread be part of the mix, right?

Well, feast your eyes on this food lovers, I present to you....

Ellen's Surf & Turf Special

Enjoy a mouthwatering USDA choice cut ribeye paired with pan-seared scallops in garlic and bacon sauce, complemented by a garden-fresh vegetable medley, Trevor's famous home-made bread, and bacon & ranch kissed pasta salad with fresh greens. 

Too dumb for Ellen

No, I'm not referring to myself in the title of this post, but maybe I should? 

This weekend, some friends had a game night, and the featured game was "Mexican Train Dominoes." Ellen has grown up playing Mahjong, a fast paced and somewhat complicated game where each player must make quick memorization of several tiles, all with different characters and numbers on them, and then making several calculations throughout the game while tiles are being played and discarded in pretty rapid fashion. In Taiwan, I have yet to see a Mahjong game played where money isn't gambled as part of the game. Can you imagine playing Uno here, but you have to pony up $50.00 just to join in? (Maybe some of you do that already). 

Well, Ellen was playing the dominoes game this past weekend, and the whole time, she was speaking to me in Japanese saying "This is a really dumb game. Dumb people must like this game." 

After two rounds, she finally had enough, and asked the host "Is there a game we can all play that needs more brain power?"

Thats my sweetie. 

Never too early...

We figure that Rayley, with her Chinese heritage, has a great chance of being a world-class gymnast. Here is a pic of her doing her pre-routine stretches, and another pic of her practicing on the rings. We know the rings are a male-event, but we figure Rayley's talent will convince the IOC to allow her in the competition.  We assume she will be old enough to qualify for the Chinese National team in about 4 years! 

Fighting the Good Fight

We had a great meeting last night, for the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign,  with hundreds of dedicated volunteers amassing to plan the next crucial weeks of the campaign. I have created a new blog entirely for this purpose: marriage=man+woman

This blog is a forum for discussing the gay marriage issue. Feel free to comment there, regardless of your point of view. I welcome all comments, but will not condone bigotry, hateful speech, or misleading information. 

Back to the basics

OK, so I admittedly have gotten very political in my last few posts, and I feel like I have spoiled the familial nature of this blog, which was its original intent. Sure, I have always posted my opinions on different things, but the main purpose of this blog is to maintain contact with my family and friends, share photos, events, etc. Therefore, I will no longer be overly political on this blog, but will contribute to other politically minded blogs in the future.

The Gettysburg of the Culture War

As readers of this blog may or may not know, there is a tremendous battle being fought in California right now over homosexual marriage, which one Christian leader has termed "The Gettysburg of the Culture War." In 2000, 61% of the voters in CA approved Proposition 22, which stated "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." The will of the people defined marriage as between a man and a woman. This spring, the California Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, declared Proposition 22 to be unconstitutional, overturning the will of the people. Now there is Proposition 8, which seeks to place into the California Constitution an amendment defining marriage exactly how Proposition 22 did, as being between a man and a woman. While campaigning for Prop 8, many people have asked me why gay marriage is such a big deal. "Who does it hurt?" "Who cares if gays can be married?"
The reasons are many. I encourage everyone, whether for or against Prop 8, to watch the video through the link below. It lays out the problem with the court's decision, and the long term ramifications from the decision, not just in California, but for the entire country. The real loser in the court's decision is religious freedom. No one can honestly say that allowing the union of homosexuals to be defined as "marriage" does no harm.

***Warning: within the video are several scenes of homosexual wedding ceremonies showing kissing between the couples.***

VIDEO