Christmas at the Christiansen's

Decorating the tree...

My Kids (in case you care)

Debate Questions

I am so sorry! I promised myself I wouldn’t get political but I just couldn’t help myself. Fortunately no one reads my blog so I guess this is just me venting...

Have you ever watched a debate for elected office? I always thought the questions they ask the candidates were useless. They never ask real questions that get to the heart of what a candidate believes. Below are some suggestions for debate questions. I tried to break them into categories...

Rights

Where do my rights come from? Who gives me my rights? Do I have a right to fail?

Do I have a right to defend myself? Do I have a right to own a Glock 22 loaded with 165 grain hollow points and have it ready to be used to defend my family against a home invader? Does everyone in the United States have this right?

Do I have the right to post my opinion on my blog? Do I have a right to my privacy?

Money

Who’s money is it? Mine or the Government’s? Who are the evil ‘rich’? Am I allowed to keep what I make? What does the word ‘fair’ mean?

Is the United States out of money? How did the US get so far in debt? What’s the plan to get out of debt?

Are entitlements rights?

Property

As a citizen am I allowed to own property? Who really owns my house or the land my house sits on?

Equality

Are you for equal opportunity or equal outcome? What’s the difference?

What is social justice?

World View

Do other countries have the right to tell the United States what to do? Is the United States the greatest country on the face of the planet? If so, Why?

At what point should the United States get involved militarily in another part of the world? What is the purpose of the military?

The Environment

Should I be allowed to keep my thermostat set to 75° if I want to? Do I really have to use those @#$@ing swirly light bulbs even though they are made with mercury and they take 4 times as much energy to produce than normal light blubs?

Can I drive my 2006 Toyota Tacoma that gets 20 mpg? Can I go 4 wheeling on public land?

Should I be fined or arrested if I really don’t want to recycle?

How should we reduce our dependence on buying oil from countries who hate us?

Tax Policy

Is it within the purview of government to use the tax code to induce social change?

Again, what is ‘fair’?

Why is it that most Americans don’t even pay income taxes?

Jaedyn Preschool

My First Grader

Diamond Backs Game

They retired Luis Gonzalez's #20. We went to the game...

Get out of debt...

The time to get out of debt was 3 years ago!

Mela & I are going to do all we can in the next couple of years to get out of debt. No trips to Disneyland, iPads or guns!

How would it be to be debt free??!! How would it be not to have to make a house payment or to pay on a student loan??!!

Wish us luck!

Father & Son's 2010

Get ready...

I am trying to not be paranoid but I am... I think the world and America has some very difficult times ahead. I give us about 3 to 4 years until the meltdown.

America owns too much money. Our GDP to debt ratio is staggering.

Free healthcare? We ain’t got no money! War in Iraq or a war in some other crazy middle eastern country? We ain’t got no money! Cap and Trade? We ain’t go no money! New aircraft carrier? We ain’t got no money!

Republican or Democrat. Conservative or Liberal. It’s all the same... we are out money. The credit cards are all maxed out and they are due. In the near future America is going to have a hard time just making the minimum payment.

The entire world is tied together. If we default or some other big nation defaults the entire house of cards is going to come falling down.

Hyperinflation will hit first followed by a deflationary collapse. This will lead to a sudden stop of services from the government and industry. This stop of services with cause rioting and rampant crime in most big cities.

I really hope I am wrong!! I hope years from now we can all get a good laugh about how paranoid Kyle was back in the ‘bama years.

Food...

My family has been working on getting our food supply in order. We have about 3 months supply of basic food. We need to get more. This summer getting more food storage is our second highest priority next to getting out of debt.

A Plan...

If things get bad we will make an assessment about our family’s safety in the forsaken land of Buckeye. If we feel safe in our house an neighborhood then we will try to stay at home. If things get really bad we’re heading to Pima. My parents in-law live on a large farm in the Gila Valley.

A Viable Means of Self Defense...

The Christiansen household has guns, yes they are loaded and yes we know how and when to use them.

We Know Who Our Friends Are...

I am so thankful we are members of the Church. We are not alone. We can get help if we need to and we will provide help to whomever needs it. We know our neighbors and they know us.

Sorry to be paranoid!!

Lose Weight and Get Healthy

Sadly I’m a computer geek and I sit of my butt most of the day. Sadly I’ve never really considered myself an athletic person. I grew up with asthma therefore I never really did good at sports or running in particular.

I do seem to do well riding a mountain bike. I think all the different gears make riding easier for me. Then again, it could be just a mindset thing.

My first bike was a big-wheel – I guess you could call that a bike. It had pedals and it got me around the cul-de-sac (our house was on a cul-de-sac).

When I was 14 I delivered papers on a 1970’s banana seat bike with huge baskets on the front and back. At 4 in the morning I would load that bike up with about 100 pounds of papers and go out delivering papers in my neighborhood. Good times!

I know I had a ten speed in high school and I never really road a bike on my mission. Most of the time we had a car or we just relied on public transportation. I could tell you stories about the RTA!

My first mountain bike was a Giant. Then I upgraded that to a Cannondale. The Cannondale was awesome. I road the Cannondale to ASU and almost everywhere in between. While I was at ASU I had 2 “U” locks and a cable lock. I made sure if anyone wanted to steal my bike they would have to get through all 3 locks. I had no doubt a thief could steal my bike if he wanted but it would take him 10 minutes to get my bike and only a minute to get the other guy’s bike.

My Cannondale ended up getting stolen right out of my apartment. Someone just walked in and walked out with it.

My current bike is a Trek 4300. I bought it back in 2007 and I really like it. I couldn’t afford to spend $1000 and the Trek 4300 is a really good bike for the money (less than $1000).

Two years ago I was really good about riding it several days a week. Then, I just got too busy with work, church and family. And, for whatever reason, I lost my energy or enthusiasm for riding. I think I just got lazy.

Now, I’m on it again. I am focused and motivated!

Eat less... Exercise more...

This year...

We just had a very good Stake Conference. A lot happened... They split our ward and I am no longer in the bishopric. Mela and I are not in the Palo Verde Ward anymore. We are in a new ward called the Westpark Ward. As to what callings we will have we have no idea. I hope I get made a Gospel Doctrine teacher or a teacher in Sunday School. I really enjoy teaching.

We are really going to miss our friends in our old ward. Mela & I cried when we found out that most of our close friends and families we have looked up to and people we have served with are now in another ward.

Every ward is what you make of it. Mela & I will make the Westpark Ward our best ward ever just like we did with Palo Verde.

All this being said... I am very happy to not be in charge of anything. I’m a much better Indian than I am a Chief.

On another note:

Stake Conference always gets me thinking. I need to set some goals and get on them. Some of these goals are more urgent than others. I think I will list them in this blog post and the talk about each of them in future posts... They may give me something to write about.

This year I will...

• Lose weight and get healthy
• Get my family ready for any sort of emergency
• Get out of debt
• Have a green lawn
• Get and stay organized
• Serve others
• Put off the world
• Immerse myself in the lives of my children and my wife
• Not waste time

The above goals are not in any particular order. I think they are all going to have to be worked on at the same time.