IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

A very classy looking tea brewing set.

Useful and quirky all at the same time.

Food! Glorious Food!

Photo M&Ms!

How to make perfect cupcakes (since cupcakes are the perfect food after all).

The power of certain foods to be medicinal.

Cherry vanilla ice cream

10 tips for homemade ice cream success (Like how I put those right next to each other?)

Whole grain glossary

Mixed berry cobbler

Tomato-Basil pizza

How to make chocolate curls

Chocolate pie (It has cocoa so I can make it, too!)

A beginner’s guide to barbecue

All about zucchini (Did you know zucchini is a vegafruit? Okay, I just made that up, but it is considered both a fruit and a vegetable.)

Creative Pursuits

Rubber-band bulletin board

101 PhotoShop tips in 5 minutes.

When to use manual focus.

How to reduce camera shake.

Take vacation photos of your feet.

Five photo projects to get you motivated.

More apron patterns and tutorials

Need a use for old floppy discs? Here you go!

Techno Geekery

Highlight text on webpages.

Another alternative for online storage.

Online room planner software

Life Is a Highway

10 ways to trick yourself into saving money.

Predicting the weather with clouds.

Five ways to get a free credit score.

I’m trying this push-up program. Who knew push-ups make your abs sore? At least I feel like I’m working out. ;) via Never a Dull Moment

Laundry tips

How to write an effective thank you note.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

All about lucid dreaming.

8 drugs doctors don’t take.

Good Ideas

How to remove a stuck ring.

How to prevent painted items from sticking while drying.

Good Reads

Getting to know your neighbors.

For the Kids

Another great hack for camping.

Home spa day for tweens and teens.

Laughter Is the Best Medicine

Family Circus

Too Much Time on My Hands

Totally ridiculous police blotter reports.

Weekly Features

Pretty recipe of the week

Cupcake of the week

Tip of the week

After we left the eyeglass place, LG and I went to the mall to look at bedding because she is about to outgrow her toddler bed. We still have most of the pieces of the canopy bed I got when I was four years old, so we’re going to refurbish it and she’s going to have a canopy bed or a “castle” bed as she calls it. She’s very excited. The mall didn’t have much in kids’ bedding and zip in canopy bedding, so I’m still on the hunt for that. (I have found some online, so that will do if I don’t find anything else.)

After the mall, I decided that going to Macaroni Grill for lunch sounded like a good idea and after making sure that Rochelle was working, we headed that direction. As we were getting closer, LG announced she had to go potty. We were close to home, so I thought that would be the quickest place to stop, and then I realized we were passing our church, so I pulled in there and we ran inside to the bathroom. (Okay, actually I carried her because I figured that would get us there faster.) And YIPPEE!!!!!! not only did she make it, she went on the adult toilet for the first time. She and I both got a little freaked out about the fact that there was no soap in the church bathroom. *sigh* (Luckly, I had some hand sanitizer in the car.) She also had another dry pull-up this morning. So, even though I’m not quite ready to officially call training over, for all intents and purposes it is, and you probably won’t be reading about it here anymore. I think she’s passed all the tests now. ;)

Oh, and we did finally get to Macaroni Grill and have a very nice lunch!

Boo! for my new glasses (with progressive lenses) which I just picked up and cannot see out of. Um yeah. Oh, wait, if I push them all the way down to the tip of my nose and hold my head at just the right angle, I can see. And if I turn my head instead of just moving my eyes to the side, I can see. But other than that? Can’t see. Get a headache with them on. Yes, I know there is a certain learning curve to wearing progressive lenses, but come on. I have a reasonable expectation that they’re going to be usable and these glasses are not acceptable. I don’t know if it’s because they didn’t get the lenses divided correctly, or if they just somehow screwed up my prescription, but the reading part doesn’t help me at all and it screws up the other part which actually works (if I’m in the exactly right position of coruse). I’ll be taking them back tomorrow and they WILL be making it right or they will be seeing the wrath of Karin. Not paying $400 for a piece of crap.

And how is your Monday? :P

You know how they say that the plumber’s plumbing never gets fixed and the painter’s walls never get painted? Well the handyman’s house never gets finished either. But every once in awhile, I get frustrated and tell Mike I want this or that DONE already. Last week, it was the vanity in the master bathroom/closet area. So we started designing.

Saturday morning we had to go pick up Mike’s truck on the other side of town, so since we had to drive all that way anyway, we’d decided to stop in at Home Depot Expo and The Great Indoors and see what was out there. I have decided that I really want vessel sinks in the vanity because I just think they are cool. I think this sink is the one we’re going to go with because I had thought about doing coppery highlights in the bathroom area anyway and this seems like it will go with that idea. The sinks will be our splurge item, and everything else will be as inexpensive as we can get it, including tile. Mike wants to do 24″ tile for the countertop because it would only take 4 pieces. Luckily, he can lay tile himself and install all the stuff, so it’s just a matter of finding what we want and getting it in there. In the meantime, I’m working on cleaning out the closet and vanity area so that he can get started!

I had written a song a few weeks ago called “Eat This Bread” for church. I wasn’t planning on writing a song that weekend, but something compelled me to walk to the piano and hit a G chord and it flowed out from there - first the chorus and then the verses the next day. I even managed to figure out the chords myself - and usually I have to have Mike do it. He changed the melody of the second line of the verse, but other than that, the song is all mine and I’m pretty proud of it! Anyway, we did it at our mass a couple of weeks ago - the week the other music director was filling in for Mike - but this week the other choirs did it at the other masses as well. And it was a hit! I got a lot of nice comments about it from different people, but the biggest compliment of all is that people were singing along with it. I love writing singable songs. And I love that I was able to write a communion song. I’ve been wanting to do that for awhile. (And Marlene, I’m sorry we’ve done it the weeks you haven’t been there and you haven’t heard it yet!)

Speaking of writing songs, last weekend I wrote a song called “Giggle” for LG. I’ve been trying to write a song for her for a long time, but I kept going the mushy serious route and I could never get it right. But after hearing “Bubbly” the other day, I decided I’d like to write a happy bubbly type song and “Giggle” flowed out. She loves it and sings it with me and I love it because it is exemplifies what I feel about her.

Yesterday LG and I got to go see Social Butterfly’s dance recital. She danced beautifully! It was interesting watching the other groups dance. They all do the moves correctly and are technically good, but there are girls who had “it”, who just make it look so easy and effortless and then there are girls who don’t. SB is one of those who make it look effortless - especially in hip-hop. I’m not the biggest hip-hop fan, but it is so much fun to watch her dance hip-hop! The Princess danced in the next show, but we had to get to church, so I wasn’t able to be there for it. I’m sorry I missed it, but we did get to see her dress rehearsal earlier in the week and of course she was the best one! :)

LG did pretty well sitting there for 3 hours (there was an intermission at least), but about a quarter of the way into the 2nd half she started to get wiggly and antsy. She is not one to sit still for very long, so I know it was tough for her, but she was quiet for the most part - just wiggly. Then she managed to bump her head on the arm of the seat and started to cry. I was in the middle of the row so I had to weigh which was going to make more ruckus - sitting there and calming her down or trying to get out with her in tow. In the end, I finally got her calmed down in the seat, but she was tired so she whined a little bit more than usual. But you still cringe inside when stuff like that happens because the last thing you want is to be one of “those” parents.

So, it was a busy weekend, but a lot of fun!

Cakesicle pan…are cakesicles the new cupcakes? Nah.

Who needs a fridge?

Finally, a use for radio-control.

Six-way opener

A better baster

Food! Glorious Food!

Homemade mayonnaise

Edible flower recipes

How to get chewy or crunchy cookies

Creative Pursuits

The secret to focus.

Photographing babies: part 1 and part 2.

60 cool photography links.

Techno Geekery

How to block cellphone spam.

Life Is a Highway

All about naps (for grown-ups).

Quick tips for mattress care.

How to cure puffy eyes.

13 ideas to keep your wedding as simple as possible.

8 ways that discipline can go wrong.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

How to cut back on meat - I know, why? But it’s an interesting read.

Pluto may not be a planet anymore, but it’s still influential.

Alka-seltzer as a cleaning product.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. Just wrong.

Good Ideas

Measurement that makes sense.

Rainy day survival kit

I don’t do camping, but if you do, here are some good ideas.

Find a public restroom.

How to get rid of lingering food smells.

Good Reads

It’s not really a read as much as it is a look, but it’s cool.

For the Kids

Frozen grape pops

Safe online videos for kids

Sponge balls

Make your own kite!

Muffin tin Monday

Kids need to hear no.

Too Much Time on My Hands

Such a ridiculous waste of time and yet…

You Are Flip Flops

You are laid back and very friendly. Cheery and sunny in disposition, you usually have something to smile about. Style is important to you, as long as you can stay casual. It takes a lot to get you to dress up! You are a loyal and true person, though you can be a bit of a flake. You tend to “play hooky” and blow off responsibilities a lot more than most people. You should live: By the beach You should work: At a casual up and coming company

You are Flat Sandals

Casual yet flirty You look great in a simple top and jeans Your look is approachable and cute!

You Are Buffy the Vampire Slayer

“We saved the world. I say we have to party.”

46 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

Weekly Features

Pretty recipe of the week

Pretty recipe of the week 2

Pretty recipe of the week 3

Cupcake of the week

Tip of the week

Video of the week (Starts slow, but I promise it’s worth it.)

Today she told me that her grandma has “a bed and a blanket and a pillow and she’s sleeping inside my heart!”

I think I like that picture. :)

• Never ever ever ever date a professional musician (especially one who works in bars).  Unless he’s the exception to the rule like Mike is.  Most of them are stupid idiots.  (Note that I said most because there are a few exceptions.)  One of the members of a band I know (I’m being vague here on purpose) might have gotten in trouble with the law for some stupid thing.  And so this band has to hire a replacement for tonight and maybe the whole weekend.  Musicians = idiots.  LG better never even think of DATING one, much less marrying one.  Like I said, Mike is the exception to the rule.  If I was in the dating game right now, I’d never even think twice about dating a musician.  (Non-professionals are completely excluded from this tirade.)

• I haven’t talked much about the potty training because it was going pretty darn well. In fact, I thought we were almost to the point where I could say “success!”  But in the last two days, she has not made it on time more than maybe once.  She doesn’t have full out accidents where it goes all over the floor.  No, she just gets her clothing wet.  BMs are no problem whatsoever.  She’s got that down pat.  It’s just the “leaking” as she calls it.  I don’t know if she gets distracted or what the deal is, but it’s making me a little crazy.  I was really proud of her and now it’s like we’re back at square one.  Argh. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.  *sigh*