Pearls of Love

We decided to go with the second cake I posted (the one that I don't remember seeing at the store). Rodgers likes it as well. Plus, it has pearls on it and I'll be wearing pearls. So I'll be all coordinated. Only the 2 larger tiers, 10" and 14", not the top 6" tier. And we'll use the cake stand I have, not those pedastals. And my crystal topper, surrounded by berries and bits of chocolate on top. This is beginning to get exciting!

a real update

I am actually moved in to my apartment in Temple now! It's great. Now I really really need to get a job so that I can continue paying for it. I have some pictures of it on my picasa web album. 

I had a great interview at Fort Hood last week. I think they will probably offer me a job, but they are very slow. They called to ask me to come interview 4 weeks after I applied. So I am trying to wait and see if they will actually call me again to offer me the job. In the meantime, I put in an application at the temp agency down the street from my apartment, so that I might be able to have some kind of income while waiting on Fort Hood. I just don't know what else to do. I did have some Wycliffe support from the month of October, which was enough to cover my first month's rent, but soon I'll need to pay for other things, and there's just no money for that. I'm trying to trust that God will provide. Rodgers tells me this is what it means to live by faith and not by sight. Most of the time, I don't really even care that I don't have any money. Maybe that's good.

Also, on Sunday night, Rodgers asked me to marry him! Of course I said "yes." And now, I will share with you that I have been keeping a wedding planning blog in addition to this one. You will find it here: http://rodgersrachel.blogspot.com. I know that I've shared it with some individuals and others have found it, but now I'm announcing it publicly. 

I just don't believe in global warming

A few months ago, I read a Michal Crichton book called "State of Fear." What I like about Crichton is that he does a lot of real world research, then builds a fictional story around his research. The idea in "State of Fear" is that the powers that be have created the myth of global warming in order to keep the masses in a state of fear (thus the title), which makes them easier to manipulate.

Not long after reading that, I heard a vegan on the radio screaming about the act of eating meat being the "number one cause" of global warming. I never really believed in global warming, so I scoffed at him immediately. Then I started thinking, I've heard "____ is the number one cause of global warming" many, many times, about many different things. So I decided that one day, I would google "number one cause of global warming" and see what turns up. And today is that day.

Mostly what turns up are blogs, I saw few actual news articles or science journals. I didn't look through every single result, though, I am not that dedicated a researcher.

There were many results which agreed with that vegan that eating meat is the number one cause. Most of these were either vegans or animal rights activists. They all cited the UN as their source for this information, but the links they provided did not work. There is even a petition started which asks for "all meat packages to be labeled with a clear warning that meat is the number one cause of global warming."

Another number one cause is greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

Some people who seem a bit more logical to me say the number one cause is the sun, and the number two cause is geothermal activity. They put greenhouse gases at the 98th - 100th cause of global warming. The did not share causes three through 97, though. This was on Yahoo! Answers.

One girl says that "we" are the number one cause. By "we" I assume she means humans, but she doesn't specify. Her list goes like this:

-Cars/any type of engine

-Cows, pigs, sheep- fart out methane

-Cutting down trees- lets out Co2

-COAL STATIONS

Doesn't sound very scientific to me, but it was also on Yahoo! Answers, so you can't take it too seriously.

One which did turn out to be a news article said, "the number one cause of global warming isn't cars, but buildings." [from CBS news]  

I searched for "UN meat global warming" to find the real article that people were trying to cite. What it actually says is, "Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars," and "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems." I can find no mention in their article, on UN.org, that claims that meat is the number one cause of global warming.

Googling "global warming myth" turned up a lot more news articles and scientific looking results. Again, I'm not a truly dedicated researcher, so I didn't actually read most of them. The one I did read was on ABC's 20/20 website. I found it quite interesting. Even though it was written more than 18 months ago, it was the first hit I got on that search.

aw, dang

I don't remember seeing this one, but it's great, too!

shopping for cakes

Rodgers took me to look at cake catalogs at the Walmart and H-E-B bakeries yesterday. Pam says that those are the best bakeries in Brenham, and since we have them here in Temple, too, we can pick something out here and have it made there. The thing is, I want a very simple cake. The majority of the cakes are completely covered with various decorations, which I don't want. I just want a smooth white cake that I can put fresh berries on, and maybe shaved dark chocolate too. I've decided to go with a white cake, raspberry filling, and cream cheese icing. Actually maybe I'll make the bigger one cream cheese icing and the smaller one white buttercream. Some people don't like cream cheese icing. Hmmm...Then, top with fresh berries and shave a block of dark chocolate. That sounds delicious.

This is the best cake I've found. It's at H-E-B. But apparently, someone found a cake they liked at H-E-B, took the picture to WalMart, and had it made there. I guess WalMart is cheaper. I do like the little scallops or whatever around the edge. But I do not want the roses on top. They do allow you to order this one in only 2 tiers instead of 4. Those would be 10" and 14", which is exactly the size of cake that my stand allows. And since we're not having a small cake on the top tier, that would be perfect. 

So I think we'll probably use this one. I'll need to take them my plates to put the cakes on. It will make things easier if they just put them on the plates that fit in my stand, rather than putting them on their own plates which I would eventually have to return and which may or may not be stable on my stand. 

H-E-B's website says to order the cake 4 months in advance. That would be this Friday. So, we may send Pam to Brenham H-E-B this week to order it and find out when I should deliver my plates to them and how much it will cost for the 2 tiers with no decorations.

H-E-B will deliver the cake for $25, but it's so close to the house, it would really not be much trouble for someone to just go pick it up. Especially since we're going to put the toppings on ourselves.