I always wanted a retro apron

I have just found the coolest site ever, Etsy. Have you heard of this? Everything's handmade! Check out this AMAZING 50s style apron. There's this chick, Amy Butler, that creates fabulous retro print fabrics. They are all beautiful.

Christmas recipe numero uno

Jon and I are heading to Augusta for Christmas. Yay! I will go down on December 21 to hang out with my family, get ready for Christmas, and help cook for the whole week. I wanted to try a few new recipes for Christmas dinner. Here's the first I've decided on. I found this recipe in The Nest magazine.

Warm Apple Tart
Preheat your oven to 375
Peel, core, and eighth 6 fuji apples with 1/2 cup store-bought caramel topping
Line a shallow baking pan with parchment paper and a (roughly) 18" sheet of frozen puff pastry
Arrange the apple-caramel mixture on pastry
Combine 6oz cold butter, 6oz sugar, and 6oz flour until crumbly and sprinkle on apple mixture
Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Cut into slices.
The Nest suggests serving it with butter pecan ice cream.

movie review- Becoming Jane

My senior year of high school we were given the assignment of reading Pride and Prejudice. I loved it. Well, I didn't actually read it, but I did rent the 6 hour COLIN FIRTH version before the test.
I have since seen Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Emma. I love the old British romance each movie offers. Like the other films, Becoming Jane was about a strong-minded young woman and two men...one that is her soulmate but wrong for her and another man that she doesn't love but is wealthy.

Why can't I be wealthy and stay at home?

I've had three days off this week, four more to go, and I've already been reminded of what I would love to do with my life. Some of you may not know this but my passion, my life's calling is to be a stay at home mom. I would love nothing more than to stay home and serve my husband and children (obviously, I don't have children yet but I hope to one day).
I posted an article from Housekeeping Monthly 1955 describing a "wife's duties" for her family. Some women probably find the article offensive and insulting...the way it describes putting your husband before yourself. I would love to care for my family in such a way! Isn't that what the Bible teaches? Proverbs 31 is all about how a godly woman should act, the way she should care for her family. (I'm interested to know if the above article really does offend anyone. I would love to debate it with you.)
To end this post I would like to give you a list of productive things I have done today...not because it's relevant, necessarily, but because I'm a little OCD and I love lists.

went to the grocery store
did some minor yard work
made lunch for Jon
gave the dogs a bath
mopped the floors
did the dishes
did laundry
will...make dinner for Jon

Le Père Noël

I just got a letter back from Santa (at this site, you can EMAIL Santa!!!) Here's his response to my email:

What a nice surprise Stephanie!

Thank you for sending me your email all the way from Wilmington! The Net sure is wonderful because now I never feel lonely all the way up at the North Pole. I can get those wonderful Christmas emails any time of the year now, but it's always special when I get one from you, Stephanie.

Well bless my whiskers, Stephanie! Are you fibbing to ol' Santa Claus?!? You can't possibly be 26 years old already! Why it seems like only yesterday that I was leaving presents for a certain little girl and here you are now, practically one of Santa's elves! (*grin*)

Sorry the presents the last little while probably haven't been quite as exciting as they were when you were a little girl but, well, you know how these things go (*wink*). Anyway, Santa's glad to see some of the 'older kids' (not to mention anyone in particular!) still take the time to write. I also hear you've been a REALLY REALLY good girl. (Of course, you won't mind if I do a little checking, will you? Ho!! ho!! ho!!).

Let's see what you put in your letter for Christmas wishes: 1. kayak; 2. set of pots and pans and; 3. wardrobe of clothes. Ho!! ho!! ho!! That's exactly what I thought you might like! Of course, there's only so much room in the sleigh so I hope you won't be too upset with me if I can't bring you everything you asked for.

Oh yes, before I forget Stephanie, the elves really want you to visit my new blog! It is called Santa Claus' Christmas Blog. My blog is all about Christmas, life at the North Pole, and me, Santa Claus! You can even write messages to me and see what others have written. I can hardly wait to see what you write!

Oh! oh! I just got a report from an elf that a little girl who lives close to you was being very naughty! Guess I better end my letter to you so I can change my Naughty & Nice List again. Take care Stephanie and don't forget to come back and visit me here at EmailSanta.com on Christmas Eve!! And remember... only 30 more sleeps until Christmas!!

All My Love,


P.S. The reindeer say "Thank You!" for the nice treats! I hope you don't mind, but I had a bit of carrot and celery too. After all, even Santa eats his veggies!

What's your opinion? Seriously.

GOP preps for talk radio confrontation
By Alexander Bolton
Posted: 06/27/07

House Republican lawmakers are preparing to fight anticipated Democratic efforts to regulate talk radio by reviving rules requiring stations to balance conservative hosts such as Rush Limbaugh with liberals such as Al Franken.
Conservatives fear that forcing stations to make equal time for liberal talk radio would cut into profits so drastically that radio executives would opt to scale back on conservative radio programming to avoid escalating costs and interference from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
They say radio stations would take a financial hit if forced to air balanced programming because liberal talk radio has not proved itself to be as profitable as conservative radio. Air America, the liberal counterpunch to conservative talk radio, filed for bankruptcy in October.
But Democratic leaders say that government has a compelling interest to ensure that listeners are properly informed.
“It’s time to reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “I have this old-fashioned attitude that when Americans hear both sides of the story, they’re in a better position to make a decision.”
The Fairness Doctrine, which the FCC discarded in 1985, required broadcasters to present opposing viewpoints on controversial political issues. Prior to 1985, government regulations called for broadcasters to “make reasonable judgments in good faith” on how to present multiple viewpoints on controversial issues.
Senate Rules Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she planned to “look at the legal and constitutional aspects of” reviving the Fairness Doctrine.
“I believe very strongly that the airwaves are public and people use these airwaves for profit,” she said. “But there is a responsibility to see that both sides and not just one side of the big public questions of debate of the day are aired and are aired with some modicum of fairness.”
Feinstein said she is not yet ready to submit a formal proposal.
Democrats on the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee have also begun to focus on what they regard as a lack of diversity in talk radio, and may hold hearings later this year.
To halt the growing momentum in Congress to balance conservative radio programming, House lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation this week that would codify the FCC’s 1985 decision to abandon the Fairness Doctrine.
Rep. Mike Pence (R), who worked as a syndicated talk radio host in Indiana before winning election to the House, is the main sponsor of the legislation. He is working with Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), a radio station owner, on the bill.
“A liberal think tank recently condemned what they called a massive imbalance on the airwaves,” said Pence. “I think a case is being made for government control of the use of the airwaves. The legislation we’re preparing is aimed at preventing that
from happening.”
The House Republican leadership and officials at the White House have reviewed the draft legislation.
If passed, the bill would require Congress to change the law before the FCC could mandate that television and radio hosts present conservative and liberal programming side by side. But the chances of passage are slim, given Democratic control of the Senate and House.
Still, Pence said the legislation could draw enough public attention to the issue to make it difficult for a future Democratic president or the Democratic-controlled Congress to pressure the FCC to increase regulation of radio content.
Conservatives have grown more apprehensive about a change to FCC policy under a Democratic administration in the wake of recent reports that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), the Democratic presidential primary front-runner, would support rules requiring more political balance on talk radio.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) told a Los Angeles radio host last week that he had once overheard Clinton and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on a Capitol elevator complain about the prevalence of “right-wing extremists” on talk radio. He said that Clinton and Boxer discussed their desire for a “legislative fix.”
Clinton and Boxer have denied the conversation ever took place.
But Inhofe believes that Bill and Hillary Clinton and their allies are setting the stage for greater government regulation of conservative talk radio.
“This is the Clinton White House,” said Inhofe. “They are trying to regulate the content of talk radio from the ownership perspective, hoping to circumvent freedom of speech arguments.”
Inhofe cited a recent report by the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank headed by John Podesta, who served as Clinton’s White House chief of staff. A June 20 report by the think tank described a “massive imbalance” on the radio airwaves.
The report suggested several steps to “encourage more responsive and balanced radio programming” and “diversify radio station ownership to better meet local and community needs.”
It recommended restoring ownership caps on radio stations; “greater accountability” over radio licensing; and that commercial owners who fail to abide by “public interest obligations” pay to support public broadcasting.
Pence hopes to rally colleagues around the issue with a speech that he plans to deliver on the House floor today.
“Since the demise of the Fairness Doctrine, talk radio has emerged as a dynamic forum for public debate and an asset to the nation,” Pence wrote in his prepared remarks. “Unfortunately, in the name of fairness, there has been much talk in recent days about the need to level the playing field of radio broadcasting by restoring the Fairness Doctrine.
“Bringing back the Fairness Doctrine would amount to government control over political views expressed on the public airwaves,” he wrote.