Is There Any Other Way?

If you are like us this time of year we are generally busy.  However, for those of us who have extra holidays smashed into the holiday season all I can say is may you have better luck than I in trying to not be busier than possible.  We not only have the holidays starting in October with Halloween (something that didn't happen until recently), but we have two birthdays--one in December and one in January--and an anniversary thrown into the mix.  Whoo Hoo!  Bring on the Mayham!  We certainly have some going on here.  We have been running like crazy people since Halloween.  I guess I wouldn't have it any other way, but man sometimes a girl just needs a breath of fresh air before barreling onto a new something.  Well, I have finally figured out my camera and how to get them onto the computer so just for the heck of it, enjoy some pictures of the cutest children on the planet.

The three "big kids"

The munchkin

At the apple orchard earlier in the year.  Finally all four in one place!

What would you do if you Ran the World?

I live in the great, corrupted state of Illinois.  There is no money, there is no standard of excellence, and there is no code of conduct that someone hasn't walked all over.  I know that the state is broke (even though our taxes are high and our unemployment higher), and there are many who are without work.  When there is no work, there is no money.  No money means no food for a lot of people across the country.  I am not trying to say that there aren't good things in the world and this state; however, I think I have come up with a solution to at least one problem.
Our food banks need food.  I propose we take a small portion of all government lawns (i.e. libraries, schools, city halls, post offices, etc) and make them into a veggie/fruit garden.  THINK OF IT!  That lawn has to be maintained anyway, right?  Union workers or city gardeners have to have their people working on them whether they are grass or veggies, so let's make them veggies and give them to the food banks.  School kids can learn all about the science of growing food and the satisfaction of being able to serve someone in the community!  (Wouldn't it be awesome if they could eat some of it for their school lunches?)  Food banks get the food needed (maybe the city building workers who need a little extra could work out time in garden for food from garden if need be), the tax payer isn't wasting money on maintaining ALL that grass (just some of it), and the students learn about vital parts of life they can take home and teach their parents. 
Understandably I haven't done the budgets, maybe this would cost more, but I really don't see how it could (especially if we don't use pesticides).  There would be a million hoops to jump through and a ton of people complaining about the beautiful grass being taken away. 
BUT, if I ran the world, this is the thing I would start right away.  What about you?  What would you start if you ran the world?