Take The Pledge!

It's time to "Pledge to Pick the Prez". I just did! By pledging you are not aligning yourself with any candidate. You're simply saying,

"I pledge to vote. I've had enough of politicians making decisions without our input - this year, WE'RE PICKING THE PRESIDENT!"

On a related note, my hat is off to Senator John and his wife Elizabeth Edwards for running an honest, upstanding campaign. May they be blessed as they continue to find ways to make America a better place for all of us. You were a worthy contender, Senator. The Obama camp awaits your endorsement, and I personally think you would make a lovely running mate for Obama as his Veep. I'm just sayin'.

W00T!!!!!!11!!!

that is all.

Pins and needles, needles and pins...

I'm eagerly awaiting the SC polls closing, and some vote tallies. I'm so anxious to see how The Big O did in SC!

Scratch that last post. Except I did mean what I said. New post:

Dear Hillary,

It's not a win if you still end up with less delegates.

Love,
Me

Primary Colors

Please don't make me vote for Mr. Mormon Man. His plan for Iraq is basically to let the war go on forever.

There is no way in hell I'd ever vote for Hillary. No way. The woman can't even control her own husband, how would she possibly ever run our nation? You have to be able to keep your own house clean before I let you run the White House.

I need some massive landslide primaries for Obama, or I need a Republican candidate that doesn't make me stabby.

Guliani? 9/11 is over, and you should be too. Go back to your cousinwife. You can wear a dress if you want, I don't care.

I don't heart Huckabee. I know, Evangelicals love him, but I don't. He opposes abortion rights. I'm pro-choice. I don't believe that abortion will ever be the choice for me, but I also don't believe it's my job to tell someone that it's not their right to choose. As Salt n' Pepa said so eloquently, "There's only one true Judge, and that's God, so chill and let my Father do His job."

John McCain can't even comb his own hair, for Pete's sake. There is no way he could actually be the Leader of the Free World. God bless him for his years of faithful service to his country and all that, but I think it's time for him to hang it up and start doing Viagra commercials.

Ron Paul is a joke.

So that means, there are no viable Republican candidates for me. If Hillary wins the Democratic nomination, that will leave me NO ONE TO VOTE FOR. The thought alone brings tears to my eyes...

Rêve de mon coeur

Precious chubby cheeks
that demand my kiss

Carmel colored silken
corkscrew curls,

Velvet tender sweet
soft skin,

Miniature hands, perfect toes,
mile long lashes, tiny nose

Crystalline hazel pools of light
gazing back at me,

You are my perfect gift
from above

You are a lifetime of wishes
realized...

Beloved dream of my heart.

Doin' Coupon Chris proud...

$252.00
Value of the 10 clothing items I snagged from the clearance racks at Kohl's this morning.

$25.20
How much I paid.

Me to Tim on the way home from the train station: "I hit Kohl's today and picked up 3 dresses, 6 blouses and a skirt."

Him: "Thanks for blowing my paycheck!"

Me: "I spent $25."

Him: "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!" (Wayne's World style)

INDEED.

Getting your just desserts...

I'm a big fan of dessert. Who isn't? Okay, I'm sure that out there somewhere is some Freak of Nature who doesn't like dessert, but I haven't met him. I assume it would be a him. Chicks like cake.

I'm also a fan of trying my best to eat well, and getting "my boys" as I refer to Mister and Moose to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible. Here's the problem with Mister: he's not a picky eater at all, but he completely lacks the ability to make a good food choice. He is only able to choose the easiest food, the path of least resistance. So if he wants something sweet, he *could* be satisfied with an apple, but only if you first wash it and cut it up for him and make it easy to eat. If he walked up to the kitchen counter, and there was an apple and a Twinkie right next to each other, he'd take the Twinkie because it's easier. He will eat healthy food if I prepare it and set it in front of him, but he will not seek it out on his own.

Enter: The Sneaky Chef. This book, along with copycat Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious were two of my "Merry Christmas To Me, From Me" presents this year. I've only tried out a few of the recipes, but so far everything has been YUM and the ideas have provided me with a culinary springboard into trying my own new tricks.

One of the recipes in The Sneaky Chef is "Say Yes to Sorbet". Like that's difficult. I will say yes to any frozen dessert, won't you? This little gem of a trick is so yummy!

1/2 c fruit juice
1 1/2 c frozen fruit

Put in food processor, puree. It's rough going at first, but hang on tight and ride it out. Let your food processor earn its keep. It takes up a lot of space on the counter! Pour into serving dishes, serve.

Yeah, that easy. And here's what I found - if you process it long enough in the food processor, it incorporates sufficient air into the mix that you can actually freeze it and it comes out like store bought sorbet. Knowing this, tonight I substituted milk for the fruit juice and added frozen strawberries, a dash of vanilla and a sprinkle of stevia. Oh yeah, strawberry ice cream. So good! It's in the freezer for tomorrow's dessert...if it lasts that long. I mean, I am a SAHM. And a girl's gotta eat sometime. Next I'm going to do pineapple and coconut (pina coladas, anybody?). Or cherry "ice cream" with chocolate chips. Are you drooling yet?

What I love most about this recipe is that I control exactly what's in it. There is no added sugar (well, unless I do that chocolate chip one). There's no high fructose corn syrup and no FD&C red #40. The sorbet is all just fruit and juice. For my first sorbet, I used Odwalla Mango Tango juice/puree blend as liquid and frozen mango and pineapple chunks. No sugar, no emulsifiers, no fat. All just delicious fruity goodness. I can't see a reason for buying store bought ice cream, sherbet or sorbet again!

Mister thinks I should try to make spinach sorbet. I think I'll skip that idea, and save the spinach for his next batch of brownies. What he don't know won't hurt him! ;)

Behold, the power of the faux Scandi. (Fandi?)

I have discovered mad, phat mei tai love. I've been wearing Jackson since he was a newborn. First I had a little sling, then I invested in an Ergo. Then I found pouch love with Hotslings (they're so awesome for tucking into your bag). Now Jack is really too heavy to wear comfortably with all the weight on one shoulder, and he's too tall for the Ergo's back panel.

Enter: Mei Tais. A met tai, or MT for short, is an Asian-inspired baby carrier. There is a waist strap that you tie on like an apron, then you put your baby on and tie shoulder straps on and wrap them around you & baby. Trust me, it sounds may more complicated than it is.

If you don't wear your baby, how do you get anything done? I pop Jack on my back and vacuum, mop, dust, do dishes, make lunch, you name it. Sometimes he has days where all he wants to do is be held, the MT is great for that. I can hold you all day, Baby, and get chores done. I put him on my back like a back pack when we're out shopping. He's happy with the elevated view over my shoulder and I'm happy because he's not trying to climb out of the cart, not trying to grab stuff off the shelves and not engaging in any other general mischief making.

You can get a basic MT online for $70 to $100 or so. I ordered one online and then said to myself, "Self, you can totally make that." What I wanted was a super nice, oversize, reversible Scandinavian MT though. The "Scandi's" as they are called in babywearing circles (yes, there are babywearing circles) are renowned for their comfort and ease of wearing due to their superior weight distribution. And, the one I wanted was about $300. I'm not Swedish, but I do shop at IKEA and I've had the meatballs there. I can make a Scandinavian mei tai!

And so a-shopping I went. I ordered fabric online. I grew impatient with waiting for it to come. So I went to JoAnn's. I raided their clearance section and found some really pretty stuff! It's costing me $10 to $25 per each to make my own mei tai's. I'm making a few, so I have a vast color assortment to choose from. I made this beige and coral one yesterday. It has embroidered corduroy straps, a cotton panel on one side (hot pink and coral madras plaid) and a silk floral embroidered panel on the reverse. I had to do dishes and make lunch, so I put Jackson on and went about my chores. About 10 minutes later, I felt a floppy head resting on my back so I went to the living room to untie the carrier onto the couch.

Ha ha! Take that, Mr. No Naps!


A shout out to the very talented oliviabolivia of The Babywearer for her clear and concise instructions on her blog, Christmas Eve Twins (which I totally bastardized to suit me, but she inspired me to do it!)

Love, on Its knees

In the back of my Bible, I was provided with some blank white pages. I don't know what they're for, I think they're just filler. In high school, I started using them as a place to jot down quotes that struck me in the heart. Some were from chapel sermons from high school and college. Others were thoughts that entered my mind during my devotions.

One of my scrawlings reads, "Intercession is love on its knees." I guess there's a book out there to that effect. I don't recall where I heard these words, I know I didn't read the book. But lately, I've been all about this love.

I've been all about this love when I pray for my friends Rob & Christina as the venture into the great unknown with their new ministry. I've been all about this love while I pray for Rob's mom and dad, as they deploy to the mission field, at an age most couples are retiring! I'm all about this love as I remember my friend Brandi and her precious unborn child that we can't wait to meet. And I'm all about this love when I pray for my brother Adan, who is trying to get his life back together and cobble back together the pieces of his fractured family as he tries so desperately to be a good father. I'm all about this love as I remember my friend Lisa, as she and Scott are rebuilding their relationship and strengthening their family after being devastated by hurt and betrayal. And I feel this love circulating back to me in return, when my nephew was hospitalized this past week and my friends remembered him in their prayers.

When I consider the amazing, transforming power of prayer (more than meets the eye, to be sure) it stuns me and quiets my heart...it all starts in quiet corners when we humbly bow and say, "Father, please..."

And then I watch, and am amazed. I watch as this swirling tornado of prayers lifts us all up and elevates each of us to be better tomorrow than we are today. It's so...WOW.

What a wonderful gift we are able to give one another with just a moment of our time. Thanks for your love, on its knees.

No, Buffalo Bill. They don't sell that at JoAnn's.

We're getting Jackson ready for bed and Tim asks, "Do they sell that stuff on the bottom of his feet at the fabric store?"

Me: "No, they don't sell SKIN BY THE YARD. Anywhere."
Him: "No, I mean the grippy stuff on the bottom of his sleeper footies."
Me: "Oh, yeah. They sell iron on grippy stuff."
Him: "I bet that Silence of the Lambs guy would like it if they did sell skin."
Me: "Yeah, he wouldn't have had to kill all those people and make them put lotion on."
In stereo: "It puts the lotion in the basket, or else it gets the hose again!"

Skin by the yard. How gross!

WAY TO GO, IOWA!

The Hawkeye State got it right tonight, big time! *\o/*

I'm so happy I'm crying.

I'm such a wuss.

O-BAM-A O-BAM-A O-BAM-A O-BAM-A!!!!!!!!!!!!

Makin' my birthday list early...2008

It has just occurred to me that the one thing I have been longing for could possibly be given to me for my 34th birthday. What a fantastic way to wrap up my Christ Year!

My next birthday will be on November 4, 2008. (Mark your calendars). Everybody I know can pitch in and help give me what I want.

It will not cost you anything but your time.

You will be giving me what I want most desperately.

You will also experience benefits from giving me what I want.

To give me this amazing gift that will make me sooooo happy will require a bit of planning.

November 4th is Election Day. And I want Obama for President for my birthday.

Here's how to do it:

1) Register to vote. In many states, you must declare a party in order to vote for that party's candidate for the primary. (Oh, did I mention we're voting in the primaries too? That's part of the deal.) Illinois is one of those states. Oh, and I don't mean to pressure you, but you need to do this by January 8th. So let's step to it, shall we?

2) Barack the Vote! Ah, I love me a good pun. Anyway, please do go out and vote in the primaries. Sam, you get a vote too. Here's the map showing when everybody's primaries are. Everybody! To the polls! You have a birthday gift to give!

3) Now, one last appearance at the polls from you, for me, on my birthday. I'm counting on you to show up for the primaries. I'm confident if I get the five people who regularly read this blog to vote for Obama, that he will win the party nomination. So then on my birthday this year, all you have to do is vote for Obama again and then voila - my birthday wish has come true!

Please note that in the event that Obama doesn't win his party's nomination, I DO NOT want Hillary Clinton for President! She already got to be President, twice. No mas!

Now obviously you can't just blindly vote for a dude you don't know anything about just because I asked you to do so. Well, you could, but that would be quite dull of you and my friends are sharp as tacks. Here is a list of reasons why we're voting for Barack. Here's my biggest reason for voting for him: it's time for a huge, drastic change in how our country is run. For too long, our nation has been run by The Man. And by The Man, I mean the corporations who pay the politicians to get them in office, and then manipulate them like puppets to do their bidding. So while we have a government that was founded to be "by the people, for the people" in practice it is anything but. Barack Obama stands to change that. Barack Obama's campaign has been financed by...people just like you and me. Actually, me - I have given. But he is the first and only candidate to reject the usual methods of fundraising where you collect money from political action committees, lobbyists and corporations. Barack's donors are everyday people with an extra $25 to share with someone they believe in. This grassroots movement has set records. Obama has had more private donations from more individuals (500,000 of us!) than any other candidate in history.

In his February 10, 2007 speech in which he declared his candidacy Barack said, "In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."

Also, people who love me can give me what I want for my birthday. I'm just sayin'.