All Things Johnson-Cordray

2011-04-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

Birthday pages have been updated with Hiromi's 4th birthday and Miyuki's 6th birthday! Click the buttons below to visit them!
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LIFESTYLE - TRUTH FOR MATURE HUMANS

2010-11-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

LIFESTYLE - TRUTH FOR MATURE HUMANS
Written by The Radical
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1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

Star Wars Room

2010-11-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

In mid July of this year our house was foreclosed on. We are now living with our in-laws (whom we are very grateful to!) One of the hardest things about the quick move was packing up my room... my Star Wars room. I have finally, FINALLY started a page showing what it looked like. It's slow going, there're a lot of pictures to go through. But if you're interested in the former glory to all things Star Wars in the the Johnson-Cordray house, please click on the Star Wars button.

It's NOT "We the people... of God"

2010-11-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Godless Constitution: Constitutional Law without Gods or Religion

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Before presenting the facts as to why the Constitution is NOT a "Christian" document, nor was it based on Christian morals, ethics, etc. here is a definition of those who insist otherwise, the Christian Right:
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The Christian right (also known as the religious right and the evangelical bloc) is a term used predominantly in the United States of America to describe a spectrum of right-wing Christian political and social movements and organizations characterized by their strong support of conservative social and political values.

The politically active social movement of the Christian right includes individuals from a wide variety of conservative theological beliefs, ranging from traditional movements within Baptist, Mormon, and Calvinist organizations to groups within Lutheranism, Calvinism and Catholicism that are more theologically conservative than the denominations as a whole.

The Christian right is contrasted with the Christian left, a spectrum of left-wing Christian political and social movements which largely embrace public policies of social justice.

The Christian Right is a movement that has been difficult to define due to the heterogeneity of the movement. Although views are virtually unanimous on certain issues such as abortion, some contrasting viewpoints can be found among people who identify themselves as members of the Christian Right. For example, there is dissent regarding issues such as capital punishment and global warming.

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God, the Constitution, and the Christian Right:
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The Christian Right regularly claims that America is a “Christian Nation” and was founded on Christian principles. If this is the case, then those principles should be identifiable in America’s founding legal document, the Constitution. If the Constitution explicitly reflects Christian principles and doctrines, then the Christian Right is correct that America was founded on Christianity; otherwise, their claims are wishful thinking at best. So where are God and religion in the Constitution?
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No Religious Tests:
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Article VI says: "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." In practice this prohibition was often violated, and even today there are unenforceable prohibitions in state constitutions against atheists holding public office. If America is a Christian Nation, why weren't public offices limited to Christians, or even particular types of Christians? Why weren't public offices limited solely to monotheists or to theists?
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Sundays Excepted Clause:
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Some take hope from Article 1, Section 7, Clause 2 which gives the president an extra day to deal with a bill from Congress if the 10th day falls on Sunday — known as the "Sundays Excepted Clause." Is this an establishment of the Christian sabbath and thus of Christianity? No, it was a recognition of the fact that many Christians wouldn't work on this day and that an extra day may be needed. It must be noted that at this time, the government continued to deliver mail on Sundays.
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In the Year of Our Lord?:
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At the end of the Constitution, the date is prefaced with "in the year of our Lord." Is this an expression of the fundamental role played by Jesus and Christianity in the Constitution? No, this was just the standard dating convention. It's no more significant than using BC and AD when writing dates now. At most, it's an example of the cultural importance of Christianity at the time; it's not a sign of the political or philosophical importance of Christianity to the Constitution.
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Myth:
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The Constitution refers to Christianity and Jesus.
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Response:
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Accommodationists and others opposed to the separation of church and state sometimes argue that government support and defense of Christianity is justified because the American Constitution refers to Christianity: in Article VII, the Constitution is dated with the words "the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven." What relevance does this point have for the debate over religious liberty? Absolutely none. This was simply the dating convention, not an ideological statement.

Yes, the authors and signers of the Constitution relied upon a dating system which marks as its beginning the birth of the founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ. Yes, it was custom at the time of the Constitution to set forth dates by writing them out in long hand and to use the phrase "the Year of our Lord." It would have been odd for the document to be dated any other way.

None of this would allow us to conclude that any or all of the authors and signers were Christian (though they were), much less that they considered Jesus Christ their "Lord" or that they regarded him as somehow the sovereign over the government. Quite the opposite, in fact: the Constitution is designed to ensure the sovereignty of the people, not of any religious figure.

Moreover, if the use of this phrase was designed to communicate a favored status for Christianity, why use such an obscure method coming at the very end of the document? Had the authors wished to establish Christianity as a partner with the American government, or even to send the message that Christianity occupied some foundation or inspirational role for the government, they could have done so much more explicitly and in dozens of more substantive ways. However, they did not — and that silence speaks very loudly.

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Days, Months, Years
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In addition, if a Christian really wants to argue that the use of Christian dating implies a Christian basis to the government, they're in a lot of trouble because the names of the months and days have pagan rather than Christian origins. Although even conservative Christians today don't give this a second thought, it was evidently a source of some consternation of Quakers who refused to use the pagan-based names.

Nevertheless, the authors of the Constitution refused to employ the Quaker numerical system and chose instead to stick with the standard pagan names for days and months — just as they used the standard Christian way of marking the year. This suggests that the authors really didn't read much into such naming conventions, effectively undermining the argument that the phrase "Year of our Lord" has any significance worth discussing.

Ultimately, anyone using a dating method to argue against church/state separation generally or against the secular nature of the Constitution in particular is engaged in a transparently desperate exercise. It's the sort of argument that a person reaches for only after absolutely every other option has been shut down or if they are so completely ignorant that they just can't recognize the difference between reasonable and unreasonable arguments.

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Oaths and Affirmations:
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The Constitution requires elected official take oaths or affirmations before serving; was this understood as an example of the importance of swearing an oath to God? No — if it was meant to get people to swear an oath to God because only theists could be trusted, the Constitution would have said so (and would not have banned religious tests for public office). Oaths can be taken on more than the Bible and God; the choice of using an affirmation signals that religious oaths were not privileged.
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First Amendment: Free Exercise:
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The first amendment to the Constitution protects the free exercise of religion. It does not protect just the free exercise of Christianity nor does it suggest that Christianity and Christians should be have special protections and privileges. The authors used the term "religion," meaning that all religions have exactly the same status before the law and the government. If they had thought that Christianity were special, they'd have said so; instead, they treated it like every other religion.
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First Amendment: No Establishment:
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The first amendment to the Constitution also prohibits the government from "establishing" any religion. The meaning of "establishment" is hotly debated and some insist that it merely means that the government can't create a national religion. This reading is too narrow and would make the clause all but meaningless. To have relevance, it must mean that the government can't favor, endorse, promote, or support any religions just as it can't hinder any: it must remain as neutral as possible.
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We the People:
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The American Constitution begins with the phrase "We the People," and its significance cannot be overlooked. This establishes that sovereign power rests with the people and that all government power and authority derives from the consent of the people. It's a repudiation of older Eurpean ideas that governments are established by God and derive their power or authority from God (for example, the divine right of kings). It's also thus a repudiation of the Christian Right's arguments today.
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The American Constitution is Godless, Religionless:
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No matter how hard conservative apologists for the Christian Right try, they cannot locate endorsements of religion, God, theism, or Christianity in the Constitution. At no point does the Constitution exhibit anything less than a fully secular, godless character. The American Constitution was a novel experiment in the creation of a secular government on the basis of popular sovereignty and democratic principles. All of this would be undermined by the Christian Right.
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God, Deism, and the Authors of a Secular Constitution:
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The authors of the American Constitution were not atheists, though some might be regarded as little more than atheists by self-righteous religious moralizers today. Many of the authors were deists. Among those who were Christian, few seem to have held same sort of religious beliefs common with conservative evangelicals in America today. The Christian Right would claim them as religious brethren, but the two groups are far too dissimilar for that.
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Why does the Christian Right seek to make a big deal out of the religious beliefs of the authors of the Constitution, though? They seem to think that if these men can be identified as devout Christians, then it follows that the Constitution is a Christian document which embodies Christian principles and doctrines (as defined by the Christian Right, of course). This does not follow, however. A Christian is every bit as capable of creating a godless, secular document as an atheist is.
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Indeed, the fact that many of these men were devout Christians (even if not in the way that the Christian Right imagines) bolsters the case of contemporary secularists because it makes the absence of overt religious and Christian language all the more glaring. If they had mostly been atheists, the non-religious language would be expected and unremarkable. Yet because they were religious and steeped in Christian education, the absence of Christian language and references must be read as both deliberate and purposeful.
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What might that purpose have been? To establish a secular government, untainted by the many problems which sectarian divisions, religious violence, and Christian bigotry had inflicted on European nations. For the most part the authors of the Constitution succeeded. Why does the Christian Right work so hard to undermine and undo what America's founders accomplished?
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Christianity vs. The Constitution - Christian Principles in the Constitution?

It's a Myth that the Constitution Reflects Christian Principles, Morals

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Myth:
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The Constitution reflects Christian principles and morals.
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Response:
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Opponents of church/state separation sometimes claim that the Constitution embodies or reflects fundamental Christian morals and principles. Their point seems to be that we should regard the Constitution as a Christian document, not as a secular document. Since the Constitution is the foundation of the American government, the implication is that American government is Christian in nature, not secular, and so it's only right if Christian beliefs are promoted by the state. Is any of this true?
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Although the argument seems to flow relatively smoothly, the opening premise stands on very shaky ground. For one thing, it is clear that there is no obvious and unequivocal statement in the Constitution which specifies the importance or even relevance of Christian principles or morals — at no point is Christianity in any way singled out as a basis for any provision, principle, or institution. Therefore, anyone who wants to argue that Christianity is indeed present in that text must provide well supported and reasonable interpretations.
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Biblical vs. Constitutional Government
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One of the most common interpretations offered by opponents of church/state separation is that the government structures created by the Constitution reflect governing principles outlined in the Bible. For example, it is argued that the tripartite separation of powers and system of checks and balances was derived from Isaiah 33:22, "For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King; he will save us." Such a link, however, seems like little more than wishful thinking — there is just no good reason to imagine that any of the authors read that verse and felt inspired to dived the American government into legislative, judicial and executive branches.
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The fact of the matter is, the Bible does not provide for any specific form of government outside of, perhaps, a monarchy — exactly the system of government which the founders of America fought to separate themselves from (and even then, the example of the monarchy is only in the Old Testament, not the Christian New Testament). Any attempt to link biblical passages with the Constitution requires a great deal of imagination and a considerable dependence upon metaphor. Curiously, such an argument is often offered by fundamentalists who tend to rely heavily on literalist rather than metaphorical interpretations of the Bible.
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The Constitution also does not embody the Ten Commandments in any way, another common argument from those who claim that the Constitution is linked to Christianity. As a matter of fact, it should be pointed out that the first two of the Ten Commandments are effectively repudiated because the Constitutional protection of religious freedom allows people to worship various gods, not to mention make and worship graven images.
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Another problem with the claim that the Constitution embodies Christian principles lies in Article VI, which stipulates that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." If the authors of the Constitution did indeed wish to create a document designed to favor Christianity, why would religious tests (common in the colonies at the time) be specifically forbidden?
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Complaints About a Secular Constitution
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The Constitution is, in fact, unusually secular for the time when it was written. That this was very obvious to the people at the time can be seen in the fact that so many Christian preachers stood up and attacked it specifically because it lacked any overt protection or promotion of Christianity. A favorite target seems to have been the prohibition of any religious tests for public offices — many Christian leaders wanted religious tests on the national level as well as the state level.
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Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore, in their book The Godless Constitution, quote an article widely reprinted at the time which complained that, without religious tests, the following would have a say in politics: "1st. Quakers, who will make the blacks saucy, and at the same time deprive us of the means of defence - 2dly. Mahometans, who ridicule the Trinity - 3dly. Deists, abominable wretches - 4thly. Negroes, the seed of Cain - 5thly. Beggars, who when set on horseback will ride to the devil - 6thly. Jews etc. etc."
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Kramnick and Moore quote a number of others who wrote in newspapers at the time; many reflect the above concern with Quakers whose pacifism and anti-slavery stance seems to have given many the sort of shudders which are today reserved for the most extreme "cults." Writers complained about how the authors of the Constitution showed "general disregard of" and "cold indifference towards religion."
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One person observed that the "Constitution is destical in principle, and in all probability the composers had no thought of God in all their conclusions." What a difference two centuries make: this is exactly the argument made by separationists today while fundamentalist Christians, the theological and intellectual heirs of the quoted individual, vigorously argue exactly the opposite. So conservative Christians complained that the Constitution was too secular when it was being voted on, but now that they are stuck with it contemporary conservative Christians argue that their religion and beliefs are actually embedded in the text after all.
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In closing, I would like to note that I did not write any of this myself. Someone far more educated and specializing in knowing the Constitution backward & forward did. And while I myself am an atheist, I do not have a problem with others of society worshiping their gods. What I DO have a problem with is misinformation.
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For most adults who believe in falsities such as the Constitution being based on Christianity, it's not because they are unintelligent but rather misinformed, probably since childhood when other Christian adults told them so. After all, I believed my dad could fly when I was a child until I later learned the facts on aerodynamics vs. my father's human limitations.
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Christians, just like Muslims & Jews & Hindus, etc. pick & choose what they like & dislike with their religion & religious documents to fit their lifestyles, just as we atheists do. But I hope that the theists, like we atheists, can accept facts when faced with proof.
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My goal with this post is not to put down Christians. I want to educate those who have never been informed before now so that they don't continue to distribute this religious urban legend.
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Happy voting day!

NOVEMBER updates!!!

2010-11-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

Years of Miyuki 2010 has been updated!
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For the entire page, 2004 - 2010, click on the button:

Years of Hiromi 2010 has also been updated!
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For the entire page, 2006 - 2010, click on the button:

There is 1 new Versus picture--it's a "special" one.
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For the entire page of Versus pictures, click the button:

Three new Sisters pictures have been added.
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For the entire page of Sisters pictures, click on the button:

And finally we have the Halloween 2010 pictures:
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Much Photos Update

2010-07-05T09:35:00.001-07:00

The Years of Miyuki has been updated with her June picture. Click on the button on the Miyuki button to go to that page & take a look.
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The Years of Hiromi has likewise been updated with Hiromi's June picture so please click on the Hiromi button to go to that page for a peek.
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There is a new Miyuki VS Hiromi picture called "Smile!" so please click on the Versus button to go to the Versus page to see that one, however please note that it's underneath another new VS picture... but this one doesn't involve Miyuki or Hiromi but rather my cats! So that's actually 2 new Versus pics!
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And finally there is a new Johnson-Cordray Family Portrait. It's wet & watery & a good representation of an Arizona family... taken in the pool! Click on the happy Family Portraits button to go and check us out!

Screw Jenny Craig!!

2010-06-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

Since my post on Facebook about my weight loss (61 lbs in 4 1/2 months), I've been congratulated & questioned (even warned!) But the 2 things that I've been asked the most are:
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.........#1. How did you do it?
.........#2. Do you have pictures?
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Well... the pictures part is easy because I've been keeping a journal & putting my before/after pics in it has been a fun part of it! The "how" part is not so easy because I have a nearly 200 page journal chronicling "how" I did it. However, in a recent email to a friend, I gave her the short version of 200 pages without any specifics. It's probably exactly what everyone's already heard before but was hoping that I was going to say I discovered a magic pill (I know that until I started dieting, that's what I was waiting for!).
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So below are thumbnails to some of my before/after pics. There will undoubtedly be more to come! And as for "how", here is what I said in the email to my bud:
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"Losing weight is 90% diet & 10% exercise. You can work-out all day long but not lose a lb if your diet sucks. I haven’t exercised ONCE since starting & I’ve lost over 60 lbs. It’s all about food quantity & quality. To LOSE weight, you HAVE to eat less... or “diet”. To maintain your weight without gaining you have to have a good diet. That word is so subjective, don’t you think? In the beginning I ate less, or “dieted”, in order to lose the lbs. Over time I began to make small changes to WHAT I ate in order to make it easier to transition to a day-to-day (for-the-rest-of-my-life) healthful diet when I stop “dieting”. What I’ve learned along the way (research, trail & error, etc) has been astounding!"
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>> In the 1st pic (purple) I ended up wearing the exact same outfit on both of my little girls' birthdays! This was totally by accident but you can already see the difference between the 2.
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>> The 2nd pic was staged... @ least the second pic of the 2nd pic (swirly shirt). I was @ the zoo on the left, then I grabbed the same clothes I wore that day & went in the backyard, had my hubby position me & took the one on the right.
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>> For the 3rd & 4th pics (solid black shirt) the left side is Xmas day & the right side shows me in the 1st outfit I've bought in a "normal" store (i.e. NOT a Lane Bryant or other fat store). I then posed in my new outfit & felt the comparisons were pretty good... so there they are.
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2010-06-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, years of Miyuki & Hiromi have been updated with May pictures. Click on one of the buttons below to be magically transported to the appropriate pages to view said images.

And then we have these new pics. I'm not sure where to put them yet, but they're kinda like the years of collages but instead of month by month of every year, they focus on only one month of each year. Oh well, I'll figure out where to put 'em eventually. In the meantime, here they are:

2010-05-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

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Pooki - tripping the light fantastic
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(actually, she's just bird-watching on the kitchen window over a sink of dirty dishes)

2010-05-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

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"Let's get together everyone! Alright, now, smile!" *click*
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"Great! Awesome! Okay, you can relax."
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"Whoops, this damn camera went off again..."

2010-05-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

(Please click on pic for a larger image)

"Takes dat coreprets America! Yah, I sez's it."

2010-05-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

(Please click on pic for a larger image)

"Iss all yoo bro!"

2010-05-11T16:29:00.001-07:00

Woo hoo! New off-shoots! New buttons to click!!
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Okay, so here we go. I decided to gather up the girls' birthday collages & put them in their own pages. Must be that obsessive-compulsive side of me. Please click on one of the birthday buttons below to go to Hiromi & Miyuki's birthday collage pages. They're pretty much the same as when I had put in an entry into this main blog, I just put them in one place, right? right.

Now this one isn't new, but it has a new look. The Family Portraits page has been given a make-over. We haven't gotten (or I haven't found a suitable-to-use) family picture for 2010 yet but we've still got lots of time to go before the year is over so something will come up. Please click on the button below to go the Family Portraits page & take a look at it's new, well, "look"!

2010-05-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

(please click pic for larger view)

Miyuki's been in to camping for a while now, so we got her some play camping stuff & set it up for her to find in the morning. She loved it! Then we made the breakfast of her request: strawberry waffles with whipped cream, sausage patties & biscuits. Later that day we went to Amazing Jake's, per Miyuki's request (the same place she requested last year) where we had rainbow cupcakes instead of traditional birthday cake (she saw them on TV & liked the idea so that's what she got!) She climbed a rock wall, went on the bumper cars & we all had a very good time!

2010-05-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

(please click on pic for larger view)

We started with Hiromi's choice of breakfast... cheeseburgers! So it was off to Jack-in-the-Box (the only place near our house that has such a thing so early in the morning). Then we continued on to the Phoenix zoo... again. But what's different this time around is that Hiromi herself requested it. She's old enough to know what the zoo is & that that's where she wanted to celebrate the big oh-three at. The carousel was the big thing, but she also went on the camel ride & got to see all the animals she could remember from watching Go Diego Go! She fed the ducks some birthday cake, played on a little playground they have there & got a wonderfully messy snow cone. It was a great birthday!

2010-05-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

Updates have been made to some of the offshoot pages. Please click on a button below to be taken there. Hiromi & Miyuki's pages have been updated with February, March & April pictures for 2010. And the Sisters page has 2 new pics, 1 of them at Zoo Lights on the carousel & the other on the bench in the front yard.

I really hope to have the VS. page converted & re-done soon. Then updates will be added to that as well.

Christmas!!

2010-02-09T19:03:00.001-08:00

As I had mentioned in prior posts, the memory card containing our Xmas photos was lost. Well, we just found it!! Hooray!!! So I am proud to announce that Xmas pics are up! Please click on the button below to see them!

The big update

2010-02-04T23:08:00.001-08:00

I don't know if anyone will notice (indeed, I don't even know if anyone other than myself looks @ this blog) but I've been updating things. Blog off-shoots such as The Years of Hiromi, The Years of Miyuki, Sisters, V.S., etc. are being updated with clearer/smaller download-time images. Old images are being replaced with better versions, backgrounds are being made clearer & in some cases being changed all together. Yes folks I have discovered the png.
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Yes the png. Gif files were, in the past, a way to get an image on your website/blog that were very small in size so they uploaded fast... but @ the cost of image quality. Then jpg files had great quality (compared to gif's) but were oh-so-much larger in size. Then came the png. A png file has fantastic quality (not even comparable to a gif while much better than a jpg) &, while not as small as a gif, is much smaller than a jpg.
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So that's what's going on. The Years of Hiromi, The Years of Miyuki & Sisters have all been completed. Check them out. This main blog page has had a start & updates will continue throughout the weeks. So thanks for reading, Dyani, & I hope I appreciate all the work I put into this for me to see it.

The Poop Rant

2010-01-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

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....when a person first has kids, poop suddenly becomes a big issue in your life.
.....I mean, as a girl, I spent most of my life (along with most girls) trying to act as if I didn't poop because it was just soooooooo embarrassing. Then you have kids & suddenly poop is everything.
.....For instance, if you're a woman & you bear the children yourself, the poop issue begins with pregnancy because pregnancy & constipation are BFF's. Then, if you're lucky like me, your kid poops in the amniotic fluid & when your water breaks it comes out, well, poopy. Then you change your kids diaper for the very first time & the poop is black & sticky & freakin' scary!
.....After that it's a full-time job trying to clean up poop without getting it on anything else (like you, the floor, the walls, the pets!) but the wet wipes. Then there's that early age where they discover their hands + their diaper = their hands will fit in their diaper & the stuff they find on their hands that came from the diaper works just as well as any poster paint their parents gave them when it comes to the walls, their toys, their crib, their face...
.....I remember that time I found little purple balls in one of my girls' diaper & freaked out! Found out later that my husband had fed her blueberries earlier. FYI, like corn, they don't digest well unchewed. And then there's that horrific realization that your kid just swallowed a ____(penny/button/action figure gun/pen cap/etc.)____ & you get flashbacks to Jr. High school when you had to dissect an owl pellet, except this is a little fresher.
..... Okay, then when your child becomes mobile, they will follow you into the bathroom. This doesn't stop. My oldest is 5 & she still follows me in saying, "Eew mommy, it's stinky in here." So I tell her to leave & she says, "No, it's okay!"
.....Or how about when your child is majorly constipated & you have to give them a suppository; yeah, that's one little spelunking incident that still gives me the chills.
.....And don't forget, nothing says love like having to fish a turd from the bathtub I'll tell you that.
.....Plus, as they do get old enough to talk, they come up with crazy poop stuff on their own. My oldest didn't know what was happening to her one day & yelled to me because "squishy-poop" was coming from her butt. My youngest, still in diapers, demands that I tell her what color it is every time I change her! She actually asks, "Mommy, is mine poopies gween oh bw'own oh yeh'woh?" One time I had to tell her orange... she was thrilled.
.....Is it hard? Is it round? Is it like marbles? Is it runny? Is it so fowl that you can taste it when you breathe through your mouth? Is it technicolor? Is it still coming out? Is it ever going to stop because you just freakin' changed 4 diapers in 5 minutes & whose is that pile on the floor over there?!?!
.....They say, "Goodbye mommies poopies," when you flush the toilet. They say, "My poopoos hurts my butt!" when they're constipated. They say, "Where's grandpa? Is he going poop?" when they can't locate someone & automatically assume that any time away from their line of site is time being spent in the bathroom.
.....Close the bathroom door... why? Don't start a sentence with, "Mommy, remember when your poopies..." in the grocery store line... why not? Waddle out of the bathroom during Thanksgiving and ask the closest relative to help wipe your butt because your arm was getting tired from all searching... shame?... what's shame?
.....Color. Texture. Frequency. Quantity. Quality?
.....I kid you not my friends, you will discuss that texture, frequency, etc. thing on the phone with your husband/wife. You will compare (if not out loud, then at least in your head) the poop of your last child with the poop of your current child. Your kids will ask if they can see your poop before it swirls away forever. And when you return from work, they will tell you about their Tale of 2 Poopies... because it was the best of times & it was the worst of times...
.....Poop is a joke. Poop is a relief. Poop is an insult. Poop is an emergency. Poop is an official color whether it's being used to describe dirt, ice-cream or, "dat ladee's hair!" (said at the top of the lungs, complete with pointing finger) or... poop.
.....If someone had told me when I was 18 that someday I would have a rapt audience in the bathroom with me as I refunded that bad Taco Bell from the night before, I would have not only laughed at the insanity of it, but also at the impossibility of anything like that even coming close to being true. Then, you have kids, and suddenly poop becomes a big issue in your life.
.....And if it's 3:00am and it's "your turn" when the new baby starts crying for a clean diaper, it has just become the biggest issue.

2009-12-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

Upon Jason showing the above drawing to Hiromi & Miyuki and asking them, "What's this?" he was very promptly answered by excited, high-pitched simultaneous voices, "SpongeBob!!!"

Introducing...

2009-12-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

The girls are whining away in the back seat of the car after a long drive into town, then back home. Dyani decided to stop off at Petsmart to browse (something the girls enjoy).

In Petsmart, they see a very cute kitty that is in need of a good home. They play with this kitty and later leave.

Miyuki continues to ask, at times during the following week, when we can go get the kitty at Pessmark and bring it to our good home.

The next week, the girls & Dyani back to Petsmart to actually shop for Xmas gifts (yes, for cats & dogs, no people). They find the gray kitty in the metal cage still needing a good home. They play with kitty some more & buy a package of rabbit-furred mice.

Miyuki continues to ask, at times during the following week, when we can go get the gray kitty at Pesskmart (getting better at pronouncing the name).

The next week, the whole family goes to Petsmart to get a new water dish for County (our gecko). The girls introduce the kitty (who's still there, waiting for a good home) to daddy. Miyuki, Hiromi & Dyani proceed to bombard Jason with pleas for the little kitty in the metal cage.

Pooki gets a good home. The family forgets about the water dish & has to go back another day.

No, Pooki is not to be confused with Pookie, the sexy female lizard-like assassin from the M.Y.T.H. novels by Robert Asprin.
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No, Pooki is not to be confused with Pooky, Garfield the cat's beloved teddy bear (right) from the Jim Davis comic strips.
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Pooki is just our Pooki & is the pookinest Pooki that ever pooked a pook.

2009-12-01T16:09:00.001-08:00

It is nearly upon us... the end of the year/beginning of the year. Really, just like my birthday, the last day of the year/first day of the year feel just like any other day except that on the first day of the year (and the 3 months after it) I keep writing the wrong date on things. Other than that "what year is it" discombobulation, it ain't no thang.
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Here is what has been going on with the kitties this past year:
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Buyo, while pushing 6-years-old & having become quite crotchety since the integration of Squeenky into the Johnson-Cordray family, can still get the lead out &--if you will note her picture to the left (please click on it for a larger image)--can still turn on a dime.
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Squeenky, in the meantime, has been quite busy being the youngest & friskiest kitty of the household--being only around 2-years-young as compared to her senior cats. Though she still takes time out to catch up on her reading (please click on picture of Squeenky for larger image).

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Beachwalker has been, surprisingly, Beachwalker.

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Updates have been made to some of the other branch-off pages. Please click the Miyuki vs. Hiromi button (VS) to see 6 new pictures! And if you will click on the "S" button you'll go to the Sisters page to see the 2 new pictures added of the girls together, being sisters!

And finally, we tried to take some Christmas portraits of the girls... with great success! All attempts of taking pictures of the girls in the past have resulted in lucky shots. Putting them in specific clothes in a specific pose & getting them to smile at the same time, or at the very least, having one of them not screaming, now that's the challenge. As always, please click on the pictures to see a larger version.
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The tree is up! Only 3 ornaments have been broken so far! Looking forward to a great Xmas w/ the grandparents Cordray, obaachan, uncle EJ & aunt Gelie & the California Cordrays!

Hiromi

2009-11-13T20:12:00.000-08:00

(Please click on pic for a larger image)

July 15th '07, (left) "No flash photos please!" July 24th '09, (right) "Still no flash photos please!"

2009-11-11T15:53:00.000-08:00

Another quick update from Halloween. If you haven't read the update from a couple days ago, keep scrolling down!
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click on pic for larger image.

Jason was a little worried at first that Miyuki wanted to "be a boy", because he thought she might be confused with her gender. In the end, he realized that after going through the Dora the Explorer faze, she was currently in the Go Diego Go faze and it had nothing to do with boys vs girls. While on walks, we would see Halloween decorations & in some there would be the black cat with back arched. We called this the "scary cat" so that was what Hiromi decided she wanted to be. Okay, so purple isn't that scary, but my mom had a lot of that cloth left over from when Miyuki was a purple monster a couple years ago & we didn't figure Hiromi would care. And she didn't. Hiromi only ran inside 3 houses this year, but then most people sat in chairs on their driveways. We passed 3 driveway-barbecues in 1 block & I think I would have rather had a hotdog than a Snickers. I still can't believe that people still give out those weird peanut-flavored taffy-like candies wrapped in orange or black wax paper. Yuck. And what's funny about Halloween is how many times I said that night, "Girls, go up to that man sitting in the dark with the bowl of candy." BWA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAAA!!

2009-11-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

Has it really been since August since I updated this thing?? Wow, I guess so. Lots to show, lots to show! The Sisters page has been updated with quite a few sisters-pictures. The Years of Miyuki and Years of Hiromi pages have been updated with October & November 2009 pics. And there are 2 new pages for your viewing pleasure! The Johnson-Cordray Family Portraits page shows the beginning of the Johnson-Cordray fam to the current year. You might also enjoy watching Jason & my transformation from vital young adults to fat tired middle-aged adults. Seriously, it's crazy! The other page is called Clark's Shots and it's the collection of photos that my nephew took when I wasn't watching my camera closely enough! Ha!
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No, I still don't have the Johnson-Cordray California Family/Camping 2009 Vacation pictures up yet. There are so many of them you wouldn't believe it. It's hard finding the time to go through them all! Soon though, I promise!

2009-08-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well, we went on a week-longish vacation to CA to see relatives & go camping (the girls' first!). Photos of that event to come soon (I think).
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Also, been creating a blog (a blog as opposed to a website because I know how to blog, I do not know how to create a website yet) for my mom so folks can read about her work, see images of said work and place orders online. It's not even close to being finished, but feel free to check it out! Click on the JCE button below to be transfered to Jays Creative Enterprises.

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Finally, I did a little light work for my sis-in-law, Gelie, for her business NetworkingPhoenix.com. If you need those business connections & are into networking, here's where to find out about what's going on in Arizona!
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Click here to go to NetworkingPhoenix.com.

2009-07-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Please click on pic for a much larger image.

Goodbye Empire

2009-05-29T21:12:00.001-07:00

It's hard to figure out how to start this post. I've started it 3 times & just keep erasing it. At least doing that has given me a way to start! I'm really unsure if anyone actually reads this. In the beginning of this blog, I would occasionally get feedback from a friend, but I don't hear much anymore as she has become VERY busy in her life, & I haven't gotten a 'comment' since last year, so it's hard to tell if another person besides, well, ME, reads this. But anyhow, here's what's going on: today I was a part of the workforce reduction at my job of nearly 6 years. Yes, I am very saddened by this not only because of how strapped for cash we already were (strapped in the sense that we went deeper into debt every month) but because I honestly just loved my work. I've already started updating my resume (not only did I have to update my address, phone number, etc, but I had to update my own NAME! I'd gotten married & moved twice since I last updated that dusty old thing!), I've started the process for receiving unemployment, given my info to a job recruiter, perused some adds on craigslist & picked up an application for saloon staff at a nearby restaurant! My biggest worry now is losing this huge hard-to-clean house that I've finally come to see as 'home' as I've watched my little girls growing up here. So in other words, today really sucked.

2009-05-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

(please click on pic for larger image)
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How old are you my dear? Yes folks, she's old enough to be able to easily show you her age. It's "this much!" Miyuki's fourth birthday was held at Amazing Jakes again, just as her 3rd birthday was. This time around, however, was much different. She was not only no longer afraid of the Frog Hopper ride (last time they had to stop the ride to let her screaming-self off) but it was her favourite this year & she went on probably a dozen times (or more!) Her mommy & daddy were there, along with a now-walking Hiromi. Grandma and Grandpa Cordray were in attendance as well as her Grandpa Johnson, his wife Linda and her son Erik. Miyuki's obaachan (my mom) came along as well with her boyfriend "Grandpa" Mike. Another successful birthday!

2009-05-11T22:27:00.001-07:00

Holy Hera! Who's THAT?!?! If you will click on the Copper Cat, you will find yourself on the Miyuki vs Hiromi page. However, there are a couple of new posts in there that include... me! Woo hoo!

Hiromi - Birthday #2

2009-02-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

(please click on pic for larger image)
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Today is Hiromi's second birthday! Hooray for my Pun'kins! We went to the zoo with her grandma and grandpa Cordray, her obaachan (my mom) and my friend Christina & her son (click >>HERE<< to visit Christina's blog). There was cake and bike rides and just plain running around for no reason except to run! Both girls had a blast. At one point, Hiromi took the 2 candles and stuck them in a cupcake then sang her version of the happy birthday song to herself! A few otters, giraffes and baboons later, we went home to rest and watch Wall-e. Another glorious birthday! Also, taken at the zoo was a new fantastic picture for the Sisters catagory. Scroll down to find it and see all of the pics in that catagory, or you can see it >>HERE<<.

The Ladies

2009-01-31T09:58:00.000-08:00

(please click on pic for larger image)

Finally, the ultimate cuddle puddle! The kitties have put aside their differences so that they can all share in the warmth of the blanket-lined double-stroller seat. So, I woke up Squeenky with the camera, but as you can see, they're all still there and she settled back down once the offensive picture-taking device was harnessed. Viva la cuddle puddle!

Xmas/New Years

2009-01-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

For Christmas 2008 pictures, click on the Xmas Cookie button:

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Happy New Years!

Hiromi in 2008...

...celebrating 2009 (what, did you think I would actually let a 1-year-old stay up until midnight?!)

(click the pic for larger image)

The Johnson-Cordray Family

2009-01-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

A lot of changes have happened to the blog since I last, um, blogged. Yes, well, first, you may or may not notice that I've added a third column on the left side of the main column (to find out how to add your own third column, go >>HERE<<).
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Also, a "background" has been added that features Hiromi & Miyuki since the majority of this blog is about them (to customize your own background go >>HERE<<). Pictures have been updated as have categories. The Year of Miyuki 2008 has been completed- click >>HERE<< to see it. The Year of Hiromi 2008 has also been completed- click >>HERE<< to see that. And finally we have snoozing with daddy, click >>HERE<< to see it.
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P.S. Squeenky II (>>HERE<< for pic) is doing just great! The other kitties (>>HERE<< for pic) have accepted her, though Buyo begrudgingly. She has a bit of ringworm (info >>HERE<<) & has given it to me as well. Relax, it sounds nasty, but it's really just fungal-caused dry skin. If it's on your feet it's called athlete's foot & if it's on your crotch it's called jock itch. We're both taking a topical solution for it & it's clearing up just fine. Other than that, she's just a frisky kitty!

The Girls

2009-01-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Snoozing with daddy is the best!

Miyuki- these are 2 diff occasions when daddy was just wiped out from all that good ol' parenting! And in 1 instance, Miyuki was wiped out from all that good runnin' daddy ragged!

Hiromi- looks all sweet & comfy in the right pic, but the left pic shows how the back end likes to sleep!

Miyuki

2009-01-22T21:18:00.000-08:00

(click on pic for larger image)
Before Miyuki was born, I had a baby shower. At that party, un-born Miyuki received a kitty doll. Knowing that children need a security object, & liking the relatively small size of this kitty doll, we made sure to put the doll in her crib as soon as she was old enough to have objects in there with her. The kitty doll was named Lucous. Yes, I know that it's the name of one of the bad guys in the Harry Potter books. But it's also the name of a good guy in The Incredible's movie & of one of Bruce Wayne's second-hand men in the Batman Returns & Dark Knight movies. Anyhow, so when we got Squeenky I, she was very ill & went to the vet quite a bit. One day, I had to go pick up some medicine for her & Miyuki wanted to come along. She said that Lucous was sick & needed to see the vet. So she came along & once there she walked right up to the desk & told the woman behind it that Lucous was sick & needed help. The vet's assistant took Lucous to the back while Miyuki looked nervous in the waiting room. She soon returned with Lucous' arm bandaged & told Miyuki that she gave him a shot to make him better. Miyuki's face lit up with a huge smile & she jumped up & down, petting Lucous on the head & hugging him.

Squeenky II

2008-12-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

INTRODUCING SQUEENKY the SECOND!

We are happy to welcome Squeenky the Second into our family! As for now, the girls don't know it's not the original Squeenky, though that was not our intention when we adopted her. Upon asking Miyuki what we should call her, she, of course, first said McQueen. Then when I asked her for a name other than McQueen, she said Squeenky. *sniff sniff* So Squeenky it was. And even Hiromi can already say Squeenky! Squeenky the Second is a 4 month old female and nearly twice the size of Squeenky the First (it was the disease that stunted her growth to being with). She is also a tabby and has so far thoroughly ticked off Buyo & Beachwalker with her playful presence. We're hoping that this newest Squeenky does well in our household as we have a great fear after losing the first Squeenky and knowing that FIP is on the rise in massive numbers. Welcome Squeenky! (please click on her pic for a larger image)

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Jay with her grandkids at Janet & Dan's house on Thanksgiving day 2008.
(Jay is Dyani's mom, the girls' obaachan, Janet & Dan are Jason's parents).

(please click on pic for larger image)

Squeenky I

2008-11-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Squeenky

It is with aching sadness that I post this farewell to the Johnson-Cordray family's littlest and youngest member, Squeenky. She created a big love in a small amount of time in our home and if she could only understand how many tears were shed for her she would have known how much she was loved. Please click on the heart of Squeenky above or the Squeenky I button below for her brief story.

Johnson-Cordray

2008-11-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

And this is what our house looks like on any given day...

It looks like there was a toy explosion and Miyuki was caught in the blast! Ha ha ha!

Squeenky I

2008-11-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Introducing Squeenky!!

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The Johnson-Cordray family has just adopted a new member into the family. We would like everyone to meet Squeenky. She is currently about 6 months old and was adopted from Cactus Cats rescue. She is a little tabby female with possibly some bengal in her. Unfortunately, on the day of adoption, & before she came home, we stopped off at the vet for a full check up & found that she was running a fever of 105°. So after a shot of kitty aspririn, an IV of saline solution & a perscription of antibiotics, she did come home & was promptly put into kitty quarantine. Poor baby! The following day, she was still over 103° and had to have another shot & IV. Today, she was back down to a normal 101.5°! Yay! However, she will remain in kitty quarantine for the next couple of days. And just in case you're wondering, Buyo & Beachwalker are thus far not amused with the new addition... but they will be. You should have seen how ticked Buyo was when we first brought Beachwalker home! Squeenky loves to cuddle, & I mean loves!
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(please click on pic for much larger image)

Halloween 2008

2008-11-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

Tis the Halloween Post!

Hiromi wore a smock made by her obaachan & wings bought by her mommy for Miyuki in years past. Miyuki actually told us what she wanted to be. Yikes. So, she wore a chair. Yup. When she said she wanted to be McQueen, I though, "Hmm. How do I make a kid into a car?" So Jason suggested, "Why not start out with the car already made?" Brilliant!! Viva la Walmart & their talking McQueen fold-out-sides chair! Miyuki's obaachan sewed on some shoulder straps & a tie in the back. Mommy cut out a chunk of foam in the center (to make it a wee bit lighter) & as either one of the girls would say, "Taa daa!"

(please click on the pictures for a much larger image)

We went once around the block with Hiromi trying to bolt inside every house we came to (she made it pretty far into a couple of 'em) and Miyuki waddling along, but it was enough to fill their small sacks & we went home to consume. Miyuki chose 2 Tootsie Rolls & 2 mini Hereshy's bars (her 4-piece limit that evening while Hiromi chose a Tootsie pop for each hand. Mommy had a Butterfinger.

Hiromi

2008-08-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

.Hiromi loves to dance. However, the first time I saw her doing it, I wasn't quite sure what she was doing. See, she was standing in one place while doing that duck & weave thingy and I though she might be choking. She has since added the pivot-around-one-foot deal. This girl doesn't even need music to dance, just a good beat (as you can see in this video). But any time the music starts, be it in a movie, the radio or even one of her toys, she starts to get DOWN with her bad self!

Hiromi

2008-07-27T22:26:00.000-07:00

Takin' the big snoooz on gransma... zzzzzzzz...

Hiromi

2008-07-26T18:56:00.001-07:00

(Please click on pic for a larger image)

July 4th '08, (left) "Dis pizza, it are good!" July 24th '08, (right) "Dis pizza, no as good."

Hiromi

2008-07-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

No, I haz no ideas whoos tuch da kitty fud. *burp*

Beachwalker

2008-07-21T19:22:00.000-07:00

(please click on pic for much larger image)
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Beachwalker was born on July 28th 2004. She is a pedigree seal-point Siamese and was the second cat to be acquired by both Jason and Dyani as a couple. Beachwalker's temperament is a bit on the spastic side. Seriously, we don't know what's up with her. When we first brought her home, we nicknamed her "Bearded Stinky" because she had a little tuft of fur sticking down from her chin, and she was so nervous and jumpy all the time that she constantly, well, farted. So Beachwalker "Bearded Stinky" Johnson-Cordray is the house freak. In fact, it's been said that if you order her to stop being a freak, she'll cease to exist. She walks low to the ground with fast little paws, tail up, head pointed forward. But, she's still our Sweetheart!

Buyo

2008-07-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

(Please click on pic for much larger image)
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Buyo was born on April 24th 2004. She is a pedigree blue-point Siamese and was the first cat to be acquired by both Jason and Dyani as a couple. Buyo's temperament is very calm and cool. While she will get her crazy-play on with Beachwalker at times, she is mostly reserved, sitting and observing. She is rarely startled but is quick to exit the room when the girls come in. Buyo has a relaxed walk, head up, tail down--swaying lazily behind her. If she picks up any speed, her gait can only be described as "prancing" as she looks as though her feet are barely touching the floor while her body bobs up and down. She is our Sweetness.

Miyuki

2008-07-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

Pay no attention to the mouse on the table. He will be attended to momentarily.

Miyuki

2008-07-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

Hi, I Miyuki, this my ride.

Miyuki - Birthday #3

2008-07-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

(please click on pic for larger image)

The big oh-three! Miyuki celebrated her 3rd birthday at Amazing Jake's, and it was amazing. So many people came for her special day: obaachan, grandparent's Cordray, mommy and daddy, Hiromi, grandma Judy, great-grandma Leopold, grandpa Johnson and his wife Linda with her son Erik, uncle Nathan, aunt Jamie and cousin Clark. There was a red and white (Lightning McQueen colors!) checkerboard cake, rides and games. There were many, many presents and many, many had a Cars theme (which was perfect for her, see previous posts on this subject). I still don't think that she fully understood that what was going on was all for her, but she knew she was being treated well and that she was allowed to pick all the candy letters off the cake without anyone making a fuss about it.

Miyuki

2008-07-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

New winter style: top-knot hair-fountain!

Miyuki

2008-07-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

Hi. Shut up.

Miyuki

2008-07-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

I iz chillin' wif my obaachan's friend Hiroko-san @ the Matsuri.

Miyuki

2008-07-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

**4 generations (from oldest to youngest): Yukiko Motojima (green), Jyunko Johnson (blue), Dyani-Alexandra Johnson-Cordray (red) and Miyuki Johnson-Cordray (white).

An Interview with Miyuki

2008-07-16T09:06:00.001-07:00

(Please click on pic for much larger image)
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Tuesday, July 15th 2008
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Miyuki has been a real Disney's Cars fan for a year and a half or so. And ever since she got her first few Cars toys she would do a peculiar thing: she would arrange them in a star with one car in the middle turned upside down. Well, when she was younger and having a lot more trouble communicating, we couldn't ask her why she was doing this. Sometimes it's a small 5-car, what we call, "car star," and sometimes it's a 15-car car star. On this day in particular, her dad and I went in her room in the morning to find a car star. Here's what was said... (translations of a 3-year-old's pronunciation are in red)
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Mommy: ."What's your name?"
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Miyuki: "Mee-oo-tee! My nam iss
.........Mee-oo-tee."
........"Miyuki! My name is Miyuki!"
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Mommy: ."How old are you?"
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Miyuki: "Mee-oo-tee."
........"Miyuki."
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Mommy: ."No, honey, how old are you?"
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Miyuki: "Fwee weers ode!"
........"Three years old!"
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Mommy: ."And what is this right here?"
........(indicating the car star)
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Miyuki: "Cah stah! An Mic-uh-qween
.........cwashed an all the cahs hewp
.........ah Mic-uh-qween!"
........"Car star! And McQueen
.........crashed and all the cars help
.........McQueen!"
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Mommy: ."So McQueen crashed and the
.........other cars are helping him?
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Miyuki: "Wes! Wes! Hees oh'tay, hees
.........oh'tay! Hees aww-wite!"
........"Yes! Yes! He's okay, he's
.........okay! He's alllllright!"

Miyuki

2008-07-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yor face, it makes me laugh.

Miyuki

2008-07-16T09:00:00.001-07:00

Mommy luvs dis, we does it some more!

Miyuki

2008-07-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

Dis Grampa, he are mine!

Miyuki

2008-07-16T08:58:00.001-07:00

Shhhhh! I iz sleepin'

The Ladies

2008-07-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

(Please click on pic for larger image)
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One important thing to remember in the Johnson-Cordray house is that the kids are 'The Girls' and the cats are 'The Ladies'. Please meet Buyo and Beachwalker... The Ladies. Buyo is named after Kagome's chunky feline in the anime series Inuyasha. Beachwalker is named after footware.

Miyuki

2008-07-13T19:09:00.001-07:00

(click on pic for larger image)

Miyuki

May 28th 2008

Hiromi

2008-07-13T19:07:00.001-07:00

(click on pic for larger image)

Hiromi

February 1st 2008

Miyuki - Birthday #2

2008-07-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

(Please click on pic for much larger image)

By her second birthday, Miyuki was much learn'ed in the ways of sweets. She watched and waited as the cake was made. However, her mother being who she is, forgot any kind of cake decorations and did not want to drive to the store. So, for lack of anything better, the large 2 on the cake ended up being green because it was made from frozen peas. Miyuki was a big fan of frozen peas and ate them up like candy. But only frozen. She first picked off a few frosting covered peas and enjoyed that very much. But then she got to work on the rest of the cake with her highly developed skill of forkage--the art of using a fork like a big girl. On this day her Grandparent's Cordray were on hand to celebrate, her parents were there, of course, and her wee baby sister. Buyo and Beachwalker were there too.

Miyuki - Birthday #1

2008-07-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

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Miyuki was a little confused about her first birthday. Because we both had to work "in town", her 3-person (mommy, daddy & birthday baby) party was held in the home of her grandparent's Cordray. The cake was set before her and she simply stared at it, not knowing what it was or what do do with it. Then, curiosity caused her to dip a finger tip and give a taste. YUM! After that it was alllllll gooooood! She dove right in and ate until content. And that was it. There were a couple of balloons there, left by her grandma, but she was afraid of them, otherwise there were no presents, no other children, no other nothing. Just cake and mommy and daddy and she was just thrilled for it!

Hiromi

2008-07-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm chuuuuunky in the rain, yes, chuuuuuunky in the rain!

Hiromi - Birthday #1

2008-07-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

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Even though she'd never had cake before her first birthday, Hiromi seemed to instinctively know what it was and what she needed to do. As we approached her high chair with her cake, her in her little yellow birthday dress, she began to whine and jostle about, waving her hands in the direction of said cake. We didn't even get the chance to set it down on the tray before she grabbed it in the air and began loudly slurping the strawberry frosting off her chubby fingers. In the end, we had to actually take the cake away from her because she was not going to stop eating it. We figured she'd get full and stop on her own like her older sister did with her first birthday cake. But no, not my li'l Hiromi! There was much protesting from her when the cake went bye-bye, but then she discovered that she was smuggling a quarter of the thing on her forearms and began nibbling on them! What can I say, she's mommy's baby!

Hiromi

2008-07-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

If you're happy & you're drooly clap your hands!

Hiromi

2008-07-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Those dangly thingy's. I wants them.