Blogging for Change

okay, I have to say that I am DEFINITELY not someone that gets involved politically. I just don't. Most of the time I feel as though I do not understand enough of the issues at hand to make a competent decision. However, there is one topic that I feel like I know enough about to make intelligent statements. The sex offender registry. As a victim of sexual abuse myself, my initial reaction is to sing the registry's praises. I mean it protects people right? Yet, with any great controversial issue there is a dark side hidden behind the golden armor of the registry. Labels. Stereotypes. Tell me, what do YOU think of when you read the words "sex offender registry"? Do you think of pedophiles, rapists, and general scum of society? Or do you think of someone that made a mistake and is paying the price?
The problem with the registry, especially here in Utah, is the fact that there is no description of the crime committed available on the list. That list does indeed include people that are pedophiles and rapists...and the survivor in me screams "burn, baby, burn" when it comes to what they go through. Yet what about the person charged with indecent exposure, Do they deserve ten whole years on the registry? Ten years of not being able to have a decent place to live, of not taking their kids to a park, of not having a good job? What about the person that had consensual sex with a minor truly believing the minor was of age? The person that pursued a coworker too much and grabbed a derriere? All of these things can be registrable offenses. Yet ALL of them have the same punishment, ten years on the registry.
I have a good friend who will remain nameless for his protection, (you know who you are) that was charged with a crime he did not commit. He went through FIVE years of legal battles, FIVE years of being unable to provide for his family, Five years of harassment, and shame. In the end, he chose to stop fighting. He sacrificed his integrity and accepted a plea bargain for a crime he did not commit so that he could be home with his wife and five children. He will spend the next ten years on the sex offenders registry for a crime he did not commit because he loved his family enough to sacrifice himself. Is he who you think of when you think about the sex offender registry? Today I sit quietly and watch someone else I love go through a very similar thing and I have to ask myself...who is this protecting?
Honestly, how many of you surf the registry to ensure you, and your family are not exposed to someone on the registry? I don't. It's not something that I would ever think of. And even if I did, why should I have that right? And why only for sex offenders? Why not for murderers, thieves and con artists? Did you know murderers can spend less time on jail and on probation than sex offenders (depending on the offense)? Let the punishment fit the crime. The registry not only impacts the offenders life but that of the offenders family. They live with the stereotypes and the fear.
It's time for a change. The people need protected, and not just the one's who don't love a sex offender. It's time for the punishment to fit the crime, for the sex offenders registry to undergo a major transformation. I just haven't figured out how.......

mind mumblings...

What is peace worth? I'm not talking about peace on a global scale, but rather on a more personal level. The type of peace that you gain from knowing who you are and what you stand for. The peace that you get from expressing a well thought out opinion even though you know it will not be well received, yet, it is something you believe needs to be heard. Why am I asking this? Well it all comes done to family. I love my family extended and otherwise, but....some have an issue with opinions that differ from theirs and oh, do mine differ!!! Would I be better served by just keeping my mouth shut while attempting to harbor no ill will at the censorship? Or, would it better serve me to try to tactfully express my own opinions? I am currently leaning more towards speaking my mind simply because I really do yearn for a close knit relationship with family, and I don't feel that can be achieved by holding my tongue and hiding who I truly am. Yet, it can't be accomplished through the drama that follows any minor difference of opinion.

Revolutionary Concept

whew!!!!

Wow! This past week has been intense! We have spent every spare moment painting the ENTIRE basement. We also put in new moulding and new carpeting! I wish I had taken before and after pictures, but the camera went the way of the dinosaurs. We have done all of this in the attempt to lure buyers to our house. The only thing is...new carpeting smells! The smell doesn't dissipate very quickly either. We still have a banister to stain and hang before the basement is finished but we are almost there!
Now we need to start the marathon deep cleaning. It is really hard to keep a house perfectly clean. Don't get me wrong, our house is rarely dirty, but very frequently cluttered. I am hoping that if we take the time to do a very through deep cleaning, and box up some of the clutter, that we might have a chance to keep the house in showing shape!

So Long....We hope!

What an old picture! It was three years ago next month that Mark and I bought our first home. It has been three long years filled with painting, nailing, sawing, cutting, crying, sweating and the occasional bit of blood (accidents with the tools). We are finally at the point where we like our house and we are going to sale! So if you are interested in a four bedroom, one bath ranch-style home in Utah County let me know!

Oh!!! The Irony....and the County Fair

If you have been following my posts, you know that I have been out of batteries for our camera for some time now. Well. I finally bought batteries so that I could take lots of fun pictures at the county fair. Then I dropped the camera on the concrete and broke it. Oh! what irony!!! I was able to pull the pictures that I had already taken.

First we have the newly engaged Mike and Julie being cute as always!

Then we have replica of Thanksgiving Point made out of legos (so they took some creative license!). There was a MASSIVE lego display. It was really cool!

This is Nathan modeling his temporary Hello Kitty tattoo. You just have to know Nathan to understand this one!

Finally we have the gentlemen trying to win a prize for us ladies. They failed miserable! It was still a lot of fun, especially teasing them about thier "skills".

The trees are gone!

Well, this post will sadly have no pictures, because I keep forgetting to buy more batteries for the camera. If I could I would show all of you before and after pictures of our back yard, because over the last two weekends, it has under gone quite the transformation. Some of you may remember the tall, twisted and gnarled apricot tree, and the two poorly pruned, sad-looking apple trees that were growing under the power lines in our back yard. They are no more! After a morning of chainsaw work (Thanks Kenny and Nathan!), we said goodbye to all three of those trees as well as the dead aspen in our front yard. The next weekend was filled with loading all the branches into a dump truck to be hauled away. Our yard looks so much bigger now, It's amazing! The down sides are that we now have tree stumps to dig out, and without the shade of the trees, the grass underneath went into shock and died in a matter of days. I figure that planting some seed and doing the digging can both wait for cooler weather. We not only gained a bigger yard (seemingly so), but now we have firewood stacked up for use in a year or two, and we no longer have to clean up rotten apples and apricots every fall!