We Should Set an Example

I am really upset. I have a television at my desk, and occasionally, when things aren't crazy around Capitol Hill, I will tune in to the View. I don't know why I watch. Within 15 minutes I have to turn it off. 1 reason why...

Joy Behar

Some of the things she says are mean. She said this about VP candidate Palin: "she overuses her power and underuses her brain." Correct me if I am wrong here, but did she just call the Republican VP candidate stupid?

Maybe you don't like or agree with Sarah Palin...by all means, the beauty of this country is that we don't have to all agree. But have we gotten to the point where it is acceptable to call a governor of our state with an 80 percent approval rating stupid? Or is it just ok for celebrities to say awful things about our elected officials? I may not agree with Biden or Obama, but I would never call them stupid on national television...never. It isn't right, and it doesn't set a good example for our children, especially young women, who, some for the first time, are seeing a woman on the national ticket. Shouldn't we as woman (Joy is a woman) be setting a better example for the next generation of female leaders and rising above the caddiness?

I am not giving Sarah Palin a free pass either. She should also be setting an example.

And while I am on my soap box, I really think people should stop personally attacking President Bush. Maybe he is not perfect. Maybe he has made some mistakes, but like it or not, he is still the leader of our country. There is a reason why God put Bush in the position he is, and while maybe we, as humans, don't realize that now...God doesn't just make mistakes.

When we were little, our Sunday school teachers had us memorize Luke 6:31, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." As adults we tend to forget these life lessons. But maybe we should work to remember them. I hereby pledge that if I ever become a celebrity, I will never personally attack the President, Republican or Democrat, on national television.

Bona Fide "Nature Girl"

You will often hear me talk about the bears. A year ago, I went on my first true camping trip with my then fiance, JFent. We went up to the Blue Ridge mountains on two different weekends. I was pretty excited about the opportunity to prove to myself and my future husband that I was indeed one of those outdoorsy types. I did a lot of things like this early on in our relationship... rock climbing, hiking, I bought a bicycle and rode it to the grocery store. I was one with the earth and nature.

But no matter how "one with nature" I tell myself I am, all of that courage comes to a standstill when I run into a bear. Now, you may be asking yourself... who runs into a bear? Well my friends, in the two weekends that I went camping, I came face to face with not one, not two, but EIGHT bears.

Folks come from hundreds of miles around for a chance to spot the rare black bear. Many of them never see one. Oh to be so lucky...

The first encounter happened during an early morning hike. Jason and I were about 2 miles from the campsite, completely alone in the wilderness, when all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see these two black bears take off. I expected myself to freak out, but I actually stayed pretty calm, probably because I was in total shock and completely convinced that this was the end for me. Instead of screaming (which is never smart) or dropping to the ground and playing dead, I quickly turned around and began walking ever so quickly in the opposite direction. Jason followed. Eventually we turned around and headed back towards camp but we would have to cross the same spot where we saw the bears. I was so scared that I cried uncontrollably but never said a word.

Obviously I survived, but that would not be the end of the bears for me. During that trip we saw more bears... one roaming around our campsite and the other while we were in the car.

After the "encounter" I had some pretty bad dreams about being dragged to my death by a group of hungry black bears (which is silly, because black bears are really not that dangerous).

I was done with camping... until Jason came home one day with a shiny bell "a bear bell" that you wear on your belt loop to let the bears know you are coming. This way, you won't startle them and they won't eat you. I was less than thrilled, but put on a brave face. I love this man, and if camping is what he loves, than camping is what I will do. So we went on another camping weekend, and another long hike, where we came within feet of even more bears. This time, I had the safety of the bell and I was frantically ringing it.

For all of you first time campers out there... bears are not afraid of bells. In fact, the bears looked at me like I was the dumbest person in the world. Who is this girl, and isn't her arm tired of ringing that bell? Hence another sleepless night in the wilderness... but at least camping season was over. Over the past year, I have prayed and prayed for God to make me a good camper and to keep the bears away.

This was a year ago, and this past weekend the Fentons embarked on their first camping trip as a married couple. And guess what... there were no bears. I even asked a park ranger if they had seen bears lately, and she told me there had been none in sight since August. I was even bell free by the end of the trip. It has taken a year, and although I gave up rock climbing after the first shot, I will say that I am indeed a camper... which makes me a bona fide "nature girl".

And the best news of all... there are no bears in Texas.

Howdy

i don't have much to say right now, other than welcome to our spot in the ether of the interwebs. as i have more to say, i'll say it :) you'll probably hear a lot about the redskins, my attempt to become an "elite" tri-athlete and the random thoughts that enter my head...most of those won't make sense, though. so...hello to all of you and i'll be back soon.

-J

The Book Challenge

So JFent and I are having this little contest to see who could read the most pages (not necessarily books) before December 31st, 2008. The winner gets to pick where we go on our next big vaca...a prize I take very serious since my hubby's idea of vacationing is hiking to the top of a mountain and sleeping with the bears (not that I mind the occasionaly camping weekend). The rules are pretty serious too:

Rule 1: The spouse that has read the most pages by mindnight of December 31, 2008 wins.

Rule 2: If you have read 50% of a book at the deadline and finish the books by January 10, 2009, those pages count. If you have completed less than 50% by the deadline or do not finish the book by January 10, none of the pages count.

Rule 3: Winner chooses the destination of the next Fenton vaca.

Rule 4: All books must be acknowledged as "reasonable" by the spouse.

Rule 5: At least 50 % of the books counted towards the challenge must be non-fiction. If more than 50% are fiction, 20% of the pages are lost.

Rule 6: Three books read during the course of the competition will be chosen by the spouse.

This whole contest started because my husband thinks the cheesy girly books I read are total crap, which most of the time they are. But I say, so what if I want to fill my weekends with mindless wonderfulness. Afterall, I read and watch the news all day, every day at my job, so a little R&R for my brain is nice. Anyways, it's not like I don't read non-fiction books...i just don't enjoy them quite as much.

So the contest has been going on now for a couple of months and so far the book count is wife's 5 books (3 Fiction and 2 Non-Fiction..I would highly recommend the Mermaid Chair, and no, I haven't seen the lifetime movie.) to husband's 2 books (1 Fiction and 1 Non-Fiction). Clearly I have the lead right? Well I am bragging all week about my heavy lead, when the husband whips out this huge 1,000 page book that he has been reading called The Prize (Something to do with the oil boom). So he could totally whipe out my significant lead with the reading of this one book.

Damn it husband.

If I lose, I will never hear the end of it, not to mention I will be spending my hard-earned vacation in a tent with a bunch of bears.

CMF

Welcome to our spot in internet history.

Ok guys...work with me here. This is my first blog, so it is still a work in progress. As most of you know, Jason and I were married last December and are currently living in the fast-paced world of Washington, D.C. Without a doubt, our lives have been very exciting, and we have had the opportunity as young adults to achieve things in our careers that most people only dream about...but enough is enough, and after five years in the city, it is time for us to head back to where we belong.

I wish I would have started this blog (No time like the present thought) my first day in D.C. I was bright eyed and ready to change the world, even as an intern. Washington was what I always imagined it would be, and I would become famous here...working my way to the top, credited mostly to my sharp wit and West Texas charm. That was four years ago, and while the flame of democracy still burns bright in my heart, I am afraid if I stay much longer, I will no longer be fond of our Capitol City. Thus the longing in my heart and the big opened door leading me back to Texas. Thank you God for answering this prayer so obviously.

Many of you will not always love reading this because I will surely talk about politics, (This IS the most historic election of our time) but hey, that is what a blog is for right...to journal your comments and observations and let the rest of the world read what you are saying (or thinking). So to all of you who will stumble upon this space in internet history, I welcome you and wish you happy reading!

CMF