Filed under: Family
Yeah so apparently I forgot about my blog for a while. Lots has happened. I went to California in the fall with my mom and we had a blast in San Francisco before heading to San Diego to meet up with Scott for a few days of exploration. We found ourselves especially fond of the flower gardens.
We also made it to the Anza-Borrego desert, which is only a few hours drive from San Diego on our very last day of the trip. It was loads of fun.
Of course, since last writing Christmas has also passed. This leads me to, apparently, a main theme in my family. Hats! I’m not sure what it is about them, but we love to wear them.
Buffalo Bill Christmas Edition
The Trapper
And since then, we’ve done nothing but work. Or so it seems because I can’t find a single picture that we’ve taken since then. Much more interesting stories to come.
Filed under: Family
It’s been a while. I’ve been busy so I thought I would take this opportunity to review what’s been going on lately.
Work - Work is the same as it was before only busier. I still work for X doing Y…very exciting stuff. I can say that I have had more of an opportunity lately to step into a development role. Very cool…very frustrating! But it’s fun to learn.
Family - We were able to spend a few weekends in a row with our family this summer. It was great. We celebrated Grandma’s 90th birthday, kayak the lake and I even caught a fish. (See the monstrous beast that I can barely hold up because it’s so huge…below.)
Church - I had an opportunity to visit Port City Community Church and hear a great sermon on community. Instead of me ruining the entire sermon of doing a very poor job of explaining what it was about, check out their Podcast page and look for the September 2, 2007 sermon. The cool thing about stopping and listening to this particular sermon was that it fit directly into what God has been teaching me regarding my life.
In order to create good community, we can’t be whiners. Whining equates ungratitude. Specifically for me, I was given a gift and because I found that it wasn’t easy and there were many challenges associated with it, I was ungracious and ceased to any longer recognize that it was still a gift from God and an answer to prayer. What an eye-opener and a changing experience…when we step from what we don’t have to thanking God for what we do. It changes so many things.
Other Activities - I had the opportunity to meet with a friend to discuss how God could use me in her future business endeavor. I am really excited about helping on this project and helping someone else walk the path that God has carved out for them. I think my only prayer for this area of my life, for those who are taking notes, is that I would remain focused, energized and that God would give me wisdom when walking through the large decisions that must be made for form the basic infrastructure needed for my part.
Okay, abstract enough?
Filed under: Uncategorized
This morning I found out that World Market has been selling products (as so many American retailers have been doing) that contain toxic ingredients made in China. I bought one and used it.
For my mother’s birthday, I couldn’t decide what to get her until I found a beautiful glass beverage container with metal spout that you would normally use for iced tea or lemonade. I really liked it and since she often entertains lots of people, I thought it would come in handy when serving beverages.
I purchased and wrapped it up for her birthday this past July. Since then, we used it for my grandmother’s 90th birthday party by making lemonade and then cutting up wedges of lemonade for taste. It looked great! That was, I have come to realize, a big mistake. This morning I was perusing the list of items recalled when I came across my mother’s lemonade dispenser. Here’s the World Market recall letter that explains since we served an acidic liquid within the container, we were consequently poisoned when lead leached into the liquid itself. We were drinking leadmonade.
I am angry for two reasons:
1. Against my better judgment, I saw the ‘made in China’ logo on the item and trusted World Market to uphold their product safety standards. I am angry because I should have known better. It is my strong belief that no one should be buying products ‘made in China.’ But I had to get the leadmonade dispenser.
2. Despite many, many warnings surrounding products imported from China, companies are NOT checking their products to ensure their safety for use. This is negligence on the part of American distributors.So what’s the big deal? It was one party with one item exposing me to lead, right? And I’m an adult and not a kid so lead levels are different…
According to Mr. Derrick Meyer of World Market, “According to the FDA, lead is very toxic and dangerous to humans, especially children, women of childbearing age, pregnant women and their unborn children. Although people with lead in their blood often do not exhibit the symptoms of lead toxicity, such symptoms include the following: stomach aches, colic, nausea, vomiting, abnormal irritability, and insomnia. Lead can also permanently damage the central nervous system, resulting in learning difficulties in school children as well as cause other long-term health problems.”
I am of child-bearing age. No, I’m not pregnant…not right now. But what does that mean for future Beaumonts? Are they born with mental deficiencies? Or maybe it’s like the Simpsons and Baby Beaumont will be born with three eyes?! Who knows! My point is not simply surrounding the use of the leadmonade dispenser but surrounding this: we don’t have a clue what we’re being exposed to! I only found this recall by chance. What haven’t I evaluated in my house that is currently exposing me to some unseen danger?
So I desperately urge you: do NOT buy products made in China. It’s not everything that is bad for you, but statistically speaking you’ll be better off. Just to get you all revved up and ticked off, here’s a quote from China’s Zhang Yanfen, communist secretary to some incompetent toy department.
“The quality of Chinese-made toys with American brands should be the responsibility of the American brand owner, not the Chinese manufacturer,” said Zhang Yanfen, secretary of the council’s panel on toy standards.
And this is what I call (in caps because it angers me so much) NOT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY.
Here are just a few things you shouldn’t purchase that were manufactured in China and recalled in the United States. By the way, this list, of course, is not comprehensive:
- Payless shoes for kids- Mattel toys- Fisher Price
- ‘Made in China’ toothpaste
- Del Monte, Menu Foods, Hills Pet Nutrition, Nestle Purina Pet Care, Sunshine Mills, Natural Balance Pet Foods, Cereal Byproducts Co., Royal Canin USA, CJ Foods, SmartPak, Chenango Valley Pet Foods, American Nutrition, Diamond Pet Foods pet food
- Frozen fish
- Starbucks coffeemakers
- Disney DVD players
- Reebok charm bracelet
- Cribs from WalMart
- Liquid infant teethers
- Fisher Price Toys
- Claire’s jewelry for children
- Westlake, Compass, YKS tires
- Chinese teas
- RU-486 Abortion Pill (for many, many, many reasons but I wanted to add this so everyone knows where this product is exclusively being produced)
- Basic Blindz window blinds
- Raleigh Cadent bikes with Carbonage carbon forks
- Thermo-tec Hi-heat Aerosol paint cans
- LED E Lights
- The Orvis Co. stuffed animals
- World Market ‘leadmonade’ beverage dispensers – like the one I purchased for my mom
Comments welcome. I would like to know if anyone else has been affected by this onslaught of sub-standard products. Oh and one more thing, Mom I’m sorry that I bought you a leadmonade dispenser.
Filed under: Family
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.” – C.S. Lewis
Being a huge Lewis fan, I saw this quote and felt it fitting to add to this in a more personal way. First of all, I would like to tell all of you thank you for being such wonderful, caring friends and family. When thinking back on you who have let me into your lives and have been equally interested in mine, my heart wants to burst with love and gratitude and…well…lots that I don’t think the English language can really describe.
When I think back on the best experiences of my life, it was not where I was or what I was doing that made them so memorable but those who I was able to share them with. It was the fellowship and community that we shared.
So in a moment of pause as I sit in my hotel room tonight overlooking the fine city of Armpit, I want to thank you all for sharing your lives and hearts with me. It truly has filled my life with color and made so, so many things worthwhile!
