my soapbox, my very opinionated and most likely incorrect views.

What generation am I? There is always some defining factor to each generation and how it will contribute to society and the future. Well let's see what I have coming my way... a 14 trillion dollar deficit, all summed up during a time when I was in a public education system, that (even though I am going into it) at times feels like it is just trying to improve standardized test results.... ask yourself when was the last time you read a book for your subject you are studying just to increase your knowledge in the specialty? Me, honestly, two or three times... maybe??? What happened to learning because of a want for more knowledge, when did I become so complacent in my life and the knowledge I gain.
I sat through an interesting lecture from Mark Rudd last night at Weber for my History 2710 class and do you want to know what his view points are on the 20 something generation, we just don't care... I asked myself do I care, about foreign policy, national sovereignty, international law... do I care?? Yes of course, but no, not really... What is caring going to do for me? HOW selfish am I? Caring is getting me nowhere, except on this soapbox.  Do I ever vote for congressmen/women... No, why would I? They have no agenda that ever helps me personally...
I was SO excited about the new health care plan and what it would do for my little tinsy family and now it feels like it is getting blocked left and right- when I finally felt like the government was taking strides in making the democracy actually for the people, crazy thought. Yes I am somewhat socialist I guess you can say- but when did denying someone health care who DESPERATELY needs it to survive become okay? Should that not be included in inalienable rights? What happened to the Hippocratic Oath of FIRST do no harm... I am pretty sure my wallet and bank account feel it monthly and weekly because my husband is Type One Diabetic and he has a 'pre-exsisting' condition, that he didn't want in the first place.... so please let me pay you insurance companies for a disease that I don't want my husband to have and I am SURE, practically positive, you do not want your child, spouse, or yourself to have.
So, I ask myself again why don't I do anything about it, because I feel like the generation that is running the country has zero knowledge of my situation or the things that we as middle working class Americans need...
70% of the wealth of this country is made by 1% of the people... I get working hard for what you want and need, plus a few extras- who doesn't love shopping for toys.. okay now what are you going to do with your extra gazillion dollars in your bank account... I KNOW- redistribute your wealth to college students who are getting screwed left and right from the bookstore and tuition departments to get a lack luster education from people who often times do not even want to teach.... Beautiful...
IN the lecture I went to last night Mark told a story of a man who happened to be visiting In-Laws in Tokyo, Japan-- He got some incredible gangrene heart condition that was multiple blood transfusions and MRI's plus a month long hospital stay, they people in the accounting department were so apologetic when explaining him his bill because he would have to pay FULL price for his stay, because he is not a citizen, would you like to know the total cost??? $3500... that is it.  NOT saying that Japan is where I am going to move to or that we need to adopt their government policy, but what can we learn from their socialized health care??
Moral of the story and my rant on the subject is, yes I am complacent and don't care about things that maybe I should, with being a History major and all... but at times, don't you think it doesn't matter if you care or not... I doubt any representative is going to read my blog and then change their opinion on Health care in this country and see HOW wrong it is to charge $20,000 for a woman to have a child... please lets make everything have an agenda, let's loot and steal and get rich where ever and how ever we can, no matter the cost of what it does to the people of the country.
Do not get me wrong, I love this country, I consider myself very patriotic... but we are broken, there are things we need to fix at home before we go out and fix the rest of the world.  The USA needs a little TLC and maybe one day we won't have to pay off the debts of those that came before us and can be even more proud of what are country does not only on behalf of its people, but FOR its people.
Xoxo,
KPK

used car dealer...

What comes to mind when you think about the topic?
Nice, Happy thoughts?
or Angry, Mean Unhappy thoughts?

For me I got to go with option 2.
Here is why:

I bought a Jetta 43 days ago from Strong Volkswagen in Downtown Salt Lake City, UT.
2 days after I bought it, on my way to vacation in Park City for the weekend,
my newly purchased car (with a full warranty) lost all power while going 65 mph UP PARLEYS!
Attempting to get over with semis and crazies without getting hit was seriously a miracle.
(Sincere apologies to my little sis for the swear words I may or may not have said.)
Called the shop at STRONG VW and what does their service department tell me... after I BEGGED them for help?
That they didn't like my bitchy attitude, so they didn't think they wanted to help me...

Awesome right?

Well we tried to return it that day, the car was back on their property in 48 hours after we bought it...
they wouldn't let us. Said they fixed it and it would be fine. They LIED>>>>

Fast Forward 10 days to my Grandma In Law(?)s 80th Surprise Birthday Party....
Yepp you guessed it, stupid VW aka the sexy death trap DIED lost complete power again!! On Bangerter hw going 45mph, no power steering, no lights going on, not a single one WTH?
So it gets towed, again, this time to Southtowne VW... they keep it for 4 days, drive the hell out of it, find nothing wrong... say they are sorry, but if there is no diagnosed problem they can't help... okay I can get that... but what am I supposed to do to stop the death trap??
So, we then proceed to Strong VW to pick up the plates, we tell the Sales Manager AGAIN, the horrible experience we have had and all of the things we have had to go through, expecting some help in SOME WAY... but no instead we get....and I quote...."It's normal for cars to loose power on the freeway, haven't you seen those people on the side of the road with their hoods up? It happens all the time..."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME, ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS!! That is the honest truth right there friends- don't you think it should STRONG VW's new slogan?? OUR CARS BREAK ON THE FREEWAY, HAPPENS ALL THE TIME...

Don't you want to go run out and buy a car from them... With their stellar customer service and all??
So now what's a girl to do, trade in the death trap, one would think? Yes, well no, because apparently we would have to take a freaking $4000 loss to do so....So now, I just pray every time I drive the SDT because I really don't want to die on the freeway. SOOOoooo Stressful... and now I am done venting... Have a fantastic UEA y'all.

XoXo
-K

my stupid superstitious self.

Yepp... Guess What, nearly a month ago a black cat crossed my path.

If you grew up in my household, you would understand the seriousness of the issue.

That same night I dislocated my knee cap and tore a whole bunch of ligaments (1)

I then had to quit my job that took me 3 months to find (2)

Next my car broke down while driving up Parleys and I was definitely maybe scared for my life (3)

I then had a 10 day bout of nasty strep (4)

Then my car broke down again on my way to Bk's grandmothers 80th surprise party, that we missed. (5)

Then my TV that I have only had for 2 years broke, not that bad but still. (6)

My disposal blew up-mostly my fault, but still it was this huge issue and it stunk. (7)

Doesn't bad luck only come in 3's and 7's... Can I be done now???? 

Maybe the Gods aren't counting some of those as bad luck....

Does anyone have a rabbit's foot, I already threw salt over my right shoulder. 

xoxo,

kelli

where to find motivation

dear fellow bloggers:


I have been slacking in the exercise department lately.
I have one love, Yoga.
I can't get into anything other than that.
The treadmill and my back are sworn enemies.
The elliptical is boring, oh so boring.
I can't get into the tae-bo ish. All I think of is 10th grade and Billy Banks.
There is group hip-hop in Ogden- well lets just say I can't shake it with the best of them.
I have no way to get a high endurance- calorie busting work out.


I need my own Bob (biggest loser anyone?)


Any ideas are welcome.
I just can't get going and stick to something...
I need more dance in my life.


from:
one kelli knight, requesting advice.


thank you.

learning things the hard way.

(click on photos to see full extent of it, this was at first, it only got worse)

Why, oh why, do we have to learn some things the hard way?  Why did I have to learn at three in the morning with a rash covering my enitre upper body (eyelids included) that I am allergic to Sulfa (found in some antibiotics). I would really prefer to learn these things beforehand.  Getting a steriod shot in my hip was not my idea of pre-thanksgiving fun. (I feel for my nephew Deak and his HGH treatments much more, they hurt like a sob). I get learning somethings by experience... but really this was an experience I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.  Unless of course you have a deep love for itching insanely bad, having swollen lips and ears and looking like a speckled red holiday decoration. As for me I wish I could have known this one ahead of time. Stupid antibiotics.  {and then a cute picture of marley and roman for good measure}

burning out

the semester is nearing an end. i could not be happier that i am almost done with these classes. well mostly microbiology my professor leaves a lot to be desired. aka he is a jackass. (excuse my language) i only have one more chemistry lab after tomorrow. one. yessss. i am so excited for my little month break coming up. it is much needed. as for now 2 more quizzes, 2 more tests, 1 more oral presentation, 2 finals. fall is wrapping up nicely. hopefully my grades will too. that is why my blog is boring. i am busy. sorry folks.

north ogden...

{Okay I know the picture is tiny but I can't get it any bigger.}

We are moving back into our townhome.

In North Ogden.

I have a love-hate relationship with the townhome.

So to make my time there more pleasant I plan on:

painting

tile the kitchen and entry floors

hang beadboard

stage the house

fix the itty bitty tiny winie master shower(dad, help?)

sell it.

The reasoning for the hate part is it is just so far.

I know North Ogden doesn't sound terribly far.

But it is. And I like my family and friends.

The closest I will have is Paula and Greg

and they are 30 minutes away.

I just want someone to buy it who actually likes living that far north.

Because I don't.

And Marley will hate it.

Because she will have no outside play time.

Because there is limited grass, due to the townhome set up.

I am venting and complaining I know.

I'm sorry.

But I do love owning and having my own space.

I just now want that space with a yard.

And some room to grow with the house.

I am grateful for the home.

I want to plant flowers.

But HOA won't allow it. Boo HOA.

it has come to my attention

that when I find a book I love I tend to be a little bit obsessive about them. It's just about the only thing that I do once I pick it up. For example if you were trying to get a hold of me between the end of May and beginning of June there is a slight chance I was avoiding your calls due to the "Sookie Stackhouse" novels. They were fabulous and I can't wait until the next one comes out in May... yes next year. And say perhaps while I was in Mexico my mother-in-law and husband recommended a book called "The Historian" I read it every free minute. Granted, I know that the title itself leaves a lot to be discovered, but it was very very good. And then I realized that I have read around 15 books this year so far (the stackhouse series has 9 or 10 in it so far can't remember at this very moment) and I then realized if they could write a biomedical anatomy book as well as well a vampire-mystery-thriller-romance novel I would tear through it in a matter of days... but thus I come back to reality and force myself to read these text books that just aren't written in a way that makes you want to read them. They scream why don't you just watch the bachelorette or so you think you can dance instead... but noooo I have to read the boring text book. Not that the field of study isn't fascinating, because it is.... but those freakin text books drive me up the wall. And although I have probably been through close to 4000 pages of fictional text this year, I can't make it through one single chapter of my text book with out getting side tracked, by blogging, maybe. Moral of my long ranting is that I really wish textbooks were written by people who wanted to make them worth reading... the end. Let me know if you need a recommendation of a good book and kind of like vampires or mysteries or romances...