Brownies, Survival, and I'm Just Sayin'....

Jon's twin brother Lon taught us how to make Survival Bracelets! They are so awesome! Not only do they look super cool while you wear them, they are also very useful in an emergency. You see, they are made out of really strong cord, and there is a ton of it tied into this tiny little bracelet! So, if we ever got into a bind, we would be able to take the knot out and have a lot of rope! How brilliant is that!?
Lon made a few of them for Jon's sister and her family for Christmas - he also made a really cool belt that has so much extra rope!!
We are really excited about them!

Thanks for letting us use your materials and teaching us this fancy new skill Lon!

In other news, I was making some Mississippi Mud brownies (to take to someone's house, not to eat by myself - just thought I would point that out since I am on a diet) and they had an Oreo cookie crust. I thought it would be really cool to make it in a spring-form pan so that I could take the side off and you would be able to see the fancy crust and the marshmallows on the sides. It works for cheesecake, so what could possible go wrong??
Well, I didn't take into account that the mix was a lot more liquid-y then cheesecake mix. And, I didn't think to put a cookie sheet underneath just in case....so this is what I found at the bottom of my oven when I started to smell the burn.....

No, they are not little pieces of poop, they are little pieces of scorched brownie.
Luckily, the majority of the batter hardened up and the brownies were a success.....phew!

Ok, I am going to start a new little segment on my blog called "I'm Just Sayin'" where I am going to share my thoughts and opinions about politics, religion, current events, or just...ya know...whatever. I really hope that, during these little segments, you will comment about your thoughts on the topic - whether you agree with me or not. I am really interested in what you think and I think we all sometimes like having an outlet to share our opinions without a fear of being judged or having to worry about offending someone.
So here goes......
We have all heard about the tragic shooting that happened in Tucson over the weekend. I was absolutely in shock when I first heard about it. It was so horrible and I truly believe that that man was completely disturbed. On Saturday, the day that it happened, Jon and I had the news on all afternoon to see the new details and the updates of the case. I was very impressed - on Saturday - by how bipartisan all of the networks were being. They weren't bringing up Gabrielle Gifford's political views aside from the fact that she is a democrat. Everyone simply announced the facts and how tragic it was.
Unfortunately the attitude has changed since Saturday. Today the tragedy has suddenly become the fault of the Tea Party, Glenn Beck, the Republican Party as a whole, and Gun-Toting Arizona instead of the fault of a deranged psycho who literally lost his gal-dern mind!
Come on Media People - what Right-Wing-er really believes that the "English Grammar" is a form of brainwashing by the government? Seriously people?? I mean.......seriously?
This has moved way past a Right or Left issue. This man was really unstable. His issues were so out of the realm of political parties. He does not make up the mind-set of the "average" American. I mean, he was expelled from Pima Community College pending a psych evaluation to prove that he wasn't a danger, the military deemed him mentally unfit to join......one of his classmates said that he gave her the creeps and that he wold be "one of those guys you will see on the news after he brings a gun to work". But of course the politicians are already starting to talk about making it a federal offense to say things that "might sound like a threat" against the government or any politician or whatever.....and, of course they are talking about re-evaluating gun laws.
If we outlaw things every time some crazy person does something crazy, we will have absolutely no freedom. I hate that this horrible thing happened. I hate that people died and were injured. I hate that Loughner (the shooter) felt enough hate in his heart that he felt like this was the right thing to do.
That having been said, I don't think that making new laws is going to prevent these types of things from happening. I mean, if you are determined to kill somebody, you have moved past caring that your weapon of choice is against the law.
I don't have a solution to keep things like this from happening. I think it is very important for politicians to be out among the people to understand their concerns and thoughts. I think it is important for us to maintain our freedoms. And I think this is just a really horrible tragedy and Loughner should pay for his crimes.
This is not the fault of a political party, a political commentator, or a lack of laws - it is the fault of an unhinged psycho.
I'm Just Sayin'.....
Tell me your thoughts.

Finally, this is a picture of Jon and I from when we were dating. I love this picture so much and it has been my wallpaper on my phone since we took it.
I love my husband so much and I think he is just do darn handsome! So, I thought I would share!