A glimpse of my life

3:03pm: Things are crazy again
Life seems to have gotten hectic again.  I've been thinking about new year's resolutions.  The idea of them doesn't really work well for me because I feel like I'm constantly striving to become a better mother, wife, employee and person.  I've decided that maybe this year I will work on being more forgiving, both of myself and others. 

12:00am: Happy New Year!
Hope everyone had a fun new year's eve and has a wonderful new year.

8:00am: Happy Anniversary
To my dear husband,

Can you believe it's already been 3 years?  Can you believe it's only been 3 years?  So much has happened, and yet it feels as though the time has flown by.  I know this day isn't as important because we have a wedding anniversary to celebrate, but I sure am glad you gathered your courage 3 years ago.  It's worked out pretty well, huh?  Here's to a lifetime full of anniversaries.  I love you.

M

4:48pm: Christmas
The Christmas festivities ended yesterday.  Christmas Eve to Christmas was at my parents, Christmas evening at our house, Friday at my in-laws, and Saturday in Rhode Island with my extended family.  It's always nice to see family, and overall Christmas was great.  Unfortunately, it's always a little stressful trying to do everything and on top of that the baby was sick with strep throat/scarlet fever.  Today I was planning to go into work to prepare my office for re-carpeting, but I needed to recover from the exhaustion of the week and try and make a dent in the influx of stuff that has taken over my living room. 

My big present this year came from my parents.  I actually have a digital SLR camera!  I've been longingly watching the SLR sales, but was definitely not expecting to get it anytime soon.  I was even planning to buy it next year if I got a good bonus from work, so I'm thrilled to have it this year.  I've been playing with it a lot since I got it, and am starting up a gallery for pictures.  It takes great pictures.  I think my husband's big gift was the one I gave him (if I do say so myself).  He seemed to love it, but he's also having fun setting up the mp3 player my parents got him and updating his computer with the video card his parents got him.  In terms of giving, I think the best gift we gave was a photo calendar to my grandmother.  Everyone asked for their own and she was so happy when she went through it. 

Now, back to rooting for the Jets, or, more accurately, against the Dolphins, so that the Pats can get into the playoffs.  Hope everyone had a merry Christmas! 

8:23am: Just me and the baby
So my husband had to stay overnight near his work last night because he needed to work really late and get in early.  I kind of had to make him stay, but I know that it was better that he did because he didn't leave work until almost midnight.  It's sink or swim time.  We'll probably know by next weekend what the fate of the company will be. 

Last night was only the second night we've slept apart since we got married.  My parents have my older daughter so it's just me and the little one hanging out today.  So far we're having a lot of fun just relaxing, but the plan is to go out shopping since I don't think I'll have a better chance to go Christmas shopping alone.

8:29pm: Busy day
Long day today.  I took the MPRE this morning so I would be able to waive into another jurisdiction.  I definitely didn't study at all so I'm relying completely upon my standardized test-taking ability.  This afternoon I saw a house that just came on the market and then headed up to Amherst to meet my parents.  I got to eat at Judie's, which always has really good food.  Then I got some of my husband's favorite coffee and went to my favorite liberal bookstore.  Like I said, long day.  Tomorrow it's off for a hike after I get some work done.  I'm woefully behind at work, but at least we're still really busy.

4:22pm: Free Obama sticker
MoveOn is giving away Obama stickers for free (even shipping).

http://pol.moveon.org/shepstickers?id=15069-7019540-Xy3NwDx&t=5 

11:39pm: We did it!
4 years ago my father and I were actually in Boston for Kerry's election day rally, which ended up being a defeat. I knew then that when we lost Ohio, that it was the end. This time, I knew that we had won when Virginia came in.

I have to say that McCain's concession speech reminded me of what a decent man and candidate he was in 2000. I really wish he hadn't sold his soul to the far right wing in this election, but then again he may have won otherwise. I'm glad he's still a senator. As for Sarah Palin, I really hope that she disappears now.

Well that's all folks. Here's hoping for the next four years.

8:32pm: More McCain supporters
Just one quote from Fox News I'd like to share today.

fluff1818: Enjoy your freedom and free speech....5 days and counting. NOBAMA will take away our rights, our guns, our money, our morale...we are doomed! Get out and vote for McCain/Palin and do it before it is too late!!

6:29pm: Amusement of the day
When I was driving in my suburban town I saw something that made me laugh. A dorky middle-aged white guy with a baseball cap and glasses, driving a silver Mercedes with a license plate that said MISTR-T.

8:34pm: Indicative of McCain Supporters?
So some of you may have heard about the thwarted crime spree/Obama assassination attempt. If not, check any news site. Here are some actual and unedited comments to the story from the Fox News website:

bdhotwheel: Why is this surprising to anyone? This is just the tip of the iceburg. America is not ready for this guy period!

nobamabama: Just like the mccain gal who got beat up - the Nobamanation will do anything to turn things against John McCain and make him look bad. How much were these people paid? Probably worked for Acorn - they are nuts!?!?

acezar: I did not read this article, but did not deem it necessary. Does anybody else remember that we were promised an October Surprise? We all thought it wouldb be a bombshell about the other condidate, wrong! Well, what better way to rally your base? Get those that are still feeling guilty about this Country's past! And even those that do not agree, but are afraid of being labeled a biggot. I give you your perfect October Surprise! I pledge allegiance to the mark of the Obama states of America, amd to the United Nations for which he stands, one world under Obama, indistinguishable with civil liberties and entitlements for all!

uncluttered: This country will never be ready for the likes of Obama....he will break down everything this country has ever stood for. Go McCain/Palin!!!

carolyngwright: So what's the big deal? Obama is DIRECTLY tied to ACORN and fraudulent votes and has given them tons of money, he has lied about being in camp with Bill Ayers, he wants illegal aliens to get welfare and have driver's licenses, he is close spiritual buddies with Jeremish Wright....and the Dumacraps do not think a thing about it...so why should anyone get upset about this?.....Oh, it's illegal? So is everything Obama does!

ram215: This was staged to get Obama sympathy votes!

goprincess: Terrorism? That's nothing new to Obama..He's not scurreddd..He hangs with the best of them.

obamaisanazi: Sounds like Obama's Weather Underground buddies. Oh, right. We're not allowed to talk about that.

bambam4lsu: Thats two less we have to share the wealth with....... but 102 would have been even better.

bobbyutvol: DANG THEY GOT CAUGHT WERE JUST TRYING TO SAVE THE USA

genuser: Not to say their behavior is justified but its obvious they're scared like many of us who see and read repeated reports of Obama siding with socialism and communism. Its a fact and that is all there is to it. Some may call me an extremist but I'm not. I'm well educated and registered as an independent. But when it comes to someone who has shown so much antipathy for our people and country I in no way will vote for him. Honestly, I can't understand why more people don't find this an issue. Michelle Obama has quoted phrases from books of Saul Alinksy's. Obama worked as an Alinskian community organizer. Obama was a member of the New Party. Obama worked with Ayers in funding Alinskian radical education. Obama has been flirting with extreme muslims, communism, and socialism throughout all of his adult life. Obama has little to no experience. Obama has not demonstrated any backbone in standing up to his party or in his voting record. Obama will be a puppet to to Pelosi/Reid. Obama is ambiguous about his patriotism. Obama would never be hired by any government agency, except perhaps the local police, because he wouldn't pass the scrutiny of his background check. I think the behavior of these guys is despicable. No one should be threatened by the horror they presented, anywhere. Nevertheless, I can understand why they're so scared. I myself can't imagine how Obama has gotten this far.

eaglegto: this story is complete BS. WAG THE DOG! GET OUR MINDS OFF HIS SPREAD THE WEALTH RADIO INTERVIEW, FAKE BIRTH CERTIFICATE, ACORN, VOTER FRAUD, HATEFUL WIFE, HOW HE PAID FOR HIS HOUSE, BILL AYERS, BEING AN EXTREME RACIST.

paarmywife: Guaranteed. If Obama is elected, we won't have to worry about international chaos...you will have it right in your own back yards. "Certain groups" will feel empowered by his nomination as though it gives them a more rights than anyone else. People better wake up to this fact or we are all going to find out the hard way...it's very scary.

11:44am: Life
Things at home are a little weird. There's issues between my sister and my parents. She's in her senior year of high school and having some issues. I'm not really sure how to help, but right now she's at my house.

The husband is now commuting to Massachusetts every day so life is a little more difficult with that too.

On top of that, it is downright cold today. I'm always cold in my office at work too, which is not so bad when it's warm outside and I can warm up on my walk to get lunch.

All of the above notwithstanding, I'm doing okay. I have plans to go to two museums this weekend and to pick up stuff for the photo shoots the following weekend. Now I just have to figure out how to help my sister...

8:12am: Palin is no ordinary mom
Palin is a greedy bitch hungry for fame...and free stuff. The RNC reportedly spent about $150,000 in the last month buying clothes for her and her family. A practice that seems to be illegal because you can't use campaign contributions for personal items. But this practice of racking up personal expenses on someone else's dime is not new. It turns out she had Alaskan taxpayers fund her children's travel expenses. In all, Palin charged Alaska over $21,000 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office almost 2 years ago. Think about that $21,000 in plane rides in less than two years! She has also charged Alaska for hotel rooms for the girls. And we're not talking Motel 6, we're talking their OWN room at the Ritz Carlton or one girl sharing a room with her mom for four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House hotel, which overlooks Central Park.

Yup, Sarah Palin. A real watchdog against government use of taxpayer money, appears to be illegally funding her lavish lifestyle with taxpayer money and campaign contributions. Way to be representative of the common people and not Washington insiders.

10:41pm: I feel sick
That debate sucked. John McCain was attacking Obama the whole time about things that didn't matter. Obama was blamed for running "negative attack ads" on McCain's health care policy. I just don't understand that.

And I nearly lost my shit when McCain said that Palin was a "role model for women." She is not, and has never been a role model for me. I don't know of any woman who aspires to barely graduate from college after bouncing around for years. I haven't met any woman who would choose national campaigning over raising their infant child or who would throw a pregnant teenage girl into the national spotlight.

I won't be happy until this election is over and Obama has won.

8:51pm: What a Bitch
Palin is bringing up that bogus story about Obama being linked to Ayers of the Weather Underground. Well, I guess if you can't win on the issues you can always just start lying. I won't be comfortable about this election until it's over.

In totally unrelated news, I'm really seeing the benefit of all this exercise I've been doing lately. Not only have I lost a few pounds, but I seem to have lots more energy. I'm actually getting a pretty good start on my fall cleaning drive.

10:14am: Favorite Palin Quote from the Debate
Below is my favorite excerpt from the debate taken from the actual transcript (i.e., I'm not making any of this up):

IFILL: Governor, on another issue, interventionism, nuclear weapons. What should be the trigger, or should there be a trigger, when nuclear weapons use is ever put into play?

PALIN: Nuclear weaponry, of course, would be the be all, end all of just too many people in too many parts of our planet, so those dangerous regimes, again, cannot be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, period.

Our nuclear weaponry here in the U.S. is used as a deterrent. And that's a safe, stable way to use nuclear weaponry.

But for those countries -- North Korea, also, under Kim Jong Il -- we have got to make sure that we're putting the economic sanctions on these countries and that we have friends and allies supporting us in this to make sure that leaders like Kim Jong Il and Ahmadinejad are not allowed to acquire, to proliferate, or to use those nuclear weapons. It is that important.

Can we talk about Afghanistan real quick, also, though?

1:24am: One more thing
In talking about health care McCain frequently says as an argument against being able to buy into the federal program that health decisions should be made between a patient and their doctor without the interference of government bureaucrats. McCain hasn't had private health insurance, probably EVER. So perhaps he can be forgiven for not knowing that my current health decisions are not made that way, but rather require insurance bureaucrats to approve my doctor's decisions. I would LOVE to switch health insurance plans with him for 30 days. We could see who deals with more red tape on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure I'd buy into his plan.

10:59pm: One thing that's driving me nuts right now
So I watched the debate and there were several things that bothered me that Sarah Palin said, but the one that is bothering me most is her spiel about taxes and how they wanted to cut taxes because government had to learn how to become more efficient and make due. She said this within five minutes of saying that you couldn't end the war in Iraq. And also saying earlier that she supported the bailout plan. I have many issues with how McCain and Palin are talking about taxes and tax cuts.

Let me start with the fact that the federal budget is a zero sum game. For every single thing that the government does from even having a standing army, let alone going to war, to FEMA, to maintaining our nuclear silos the money to do that has to come from taxes. So you can't support a war in Iraq and then say you're able to cut taxes because the government can learn "to make due." You can't support the bailout and say that no one needs to pay taxes.

Let me say this more clearly, you cannot claim to support our troops without understanding that it is patriotic to pay taxes. I may disagree with a LOT of government spending, but I do not question the need for federal taxes. I believe I am safer for having a federal government be able to fund diplomatic missions around the world, to be able to help if there is a natural disaster or terrorist attack. So I know that I have to pay taxes to fund that.

That said, the fundamental question of how to tax the American people is all about what principles we want to endorse and what is fair. Conversely, it has nothing at all to do with income redistribution. It is not in the least bit socialist or communist to say that the wealthy should pay more in taxes than the poor. Obama wants to raise taxes on the top 5% so they would be paying about the same that they were paying under Reagan. You didn't see anyone calling Reagan a communist or talking about his plans for income redistribution.

How we should fund our federal government and our troops is a fundamental difference between the two tickets. McCain wants to raise taxes on everyone by taxing health insurance benefits and provide tax breaks for the richest people and corporations. Obama wants to raise taxes on the top 5%, while decreasing taxes on everyone else. Making the rich pay for the bailout plan, while providing tax relief for the middle class is change I can believe in.

Obama/Biden 08

8:43pm: McCain is senile
"Heading into the final 34 days of the election, the momentum is growing for our campaign to bring change and reform to Washington, D.C."

Nope, not an Obama message. That e-mail came from John McCain in his (not fundraising because that would violate election rules) fundraising e-mail. This ticket is officially delusional.

12:12pm: Palin and I agree!?!
Palin is quoted as saying that "I have quite a few people who are giving us information about the record of Obama and Biden, and at the end of the day, though, it is — it's so clear, again, what those choices are. Either new ideas, new energy and reform of Washington, D.C., or more of the same."

I agree that the choice between the Democratic and Republican tickets are clear between new ideas, new energy and reform or more of the same. Sadly, I think someone forgot to tell her that she's on the "more of the same" side.

I'm anxious about the debate. The expectations on her are so low at this point that I'm afraid just being coherent will be considered a victory for her.

11:11pm: The Debate
I thought the debate was very good and that both candidates performed well. Of course I liked Obama's ideas and points better, but I thought it was a very interesting and informative debate. So kudos to both candidates.

One thing that I really wanted to know was Henry Kissinger's position on talks with Iran based on the back-and-forth between McCain and Obama. Obama was in fact correct - Kissinger has supported direct face-to-face talks with Iran WITHOUT preconditions. I hope that McCain concedes that he was wrong in stating that Kissinger would never say that at some point in the coming debates.

11:08pm: Verbal talking points diarrhea
Check out the Sarah Palin-Katie Couric interview.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/25/eveningnews/main4479062.shtml

At 1:45 minutes into the "Sarah Palin Part II" clip, Palin devolves into verbal talking points diarrhea. She's asked about the bailout and she talks about health reform, globalization and trade. It's the total "everywhere like such as" answer. I'm putting a t-shirt idea into T-Shirt Hell with her picture and that quote.

7:10pm: I want to cry
People love Sarah Palin. Why!?! I just can't figure it out. I hate her on so many levels. I think her decision to accept the nomination and thrust her pregnant, teenage daughter into the national stage and abandon her 4 month old son is reprehensible. On top of that, she has no experience, she lies like the best of them (thanks to Bush's speechwriter) and holds extreme viewpoints. For example, she opposed abortion in all circumstances, even rape and incest.

Think about that for a minute. If she had her way, if I was raped and became pregnant I would have to keep the child. Why should I, or my husband or my children need to go through that. I hate to tell you, but being pregnant is difficult, and then what, I could give the child up for adoption. How the hell would I explain that to my other children? Work? Or I could raise the child? I have chosen not to have any more children, but a rapist could change that for me?

What's more - she's dumb. About the potential government takeover of Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac, she had this to say: "They've gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers. The McCain-Palin administration will make them smaller and smarter and more effective for homeowners who need help."

Ummmm...does she realize that they are not government agencies, but private companies that haven't cost the taxpayers anything so far? Also, they don't do anything for homeowners. They back mortgages for banks so that they can be packages and securitized. They never have and never will help homeowners.

But people love her. Her favorability ratings are higher than Obama's or McCain's.

I am officially ashamed to be an American. Canada anyone?

10:32pm: McCain's speech
Watching McCain's acceptance speech, a couple of things of note:

1. He said he'd vetoed any pork-barrel bill and make sure we knew the name of anyone who asked for earmarks. Well he was right...did anyone know Sarah Palin's name before McCain called her out? No, but after she asked for the most per capita federal funding we do. See McCain gives it to you straight.

2. When were the Republicans elected to change Washington like McCain said?

3. McCain said: "Senator Obama passed a corporate welfare bill for oil companies." When was this? Where was I? And I thought they kept saying that he hadn't passed any major law in his time in office?

4. "Government should give you choices."...as long as that choice isn't abortion. Then the government can in fact tell you what to do.

5. How is Obama going to close trade routes that McCain would open?

6. Cutting tax rates on small business does help them grow. That's why Obama wants to cut taxes on small businesses. Not raise them! I really wish the Republicans would take one fucking minute to peruse Obama's website or listen to a speech, and stop the outright lying about his positions. It's really fucking frustrating to listen to them speak. I want to hear their side of the story, not just lie about what they say Obama wants to do.

7. Part 1 of the speech - smaller government, lower taxes, etc. Part 2 of the speech - the government will give you everything you want and do everything you need (job training, nuclear power, school choice, etc.). TA DA!

8. We need to face those who want to do us harm...but not actually talk to them. That would be negotiating with "Evil" and everyone knows that you can't negotiate with a concept like that.

9. By the way, I, as an American person, do not feel threatened by Russia's conflict with Georgia.

10. "I know how the military works, or doesn't work." Like planes that crash. We'll have some good fucking planes if I'm President.

11. War to build peace. Always an awesome idea. Always works out well.

12. "We need to change the way the government does almost everything." Except how we elect its leaders. That should still be done with fear and lies.

13. "I'll have Independent and Democrats in my administration." i.e. I will be appointing Lieberman to a REALLY cushy job.

14. "I was blessed by misfortune." If hadn't been in the war or a P.O.W. I wouldn't have ANY stories to tell in my speeches.

15. "I wasn't my own man any more." And I wasn't my wife's man any more either. Even though she waited for me and stood by me and helped heal. I dumped her ass for Cindy before we got divorced. Have you seen Cindy? And she's rich.

16. "Stand up and fight!" I agree. Just please, fight for Obama. Fight for change!
Can we find someone who served with McCain in Vietnam to endorse Obama?

That's it. I'm done. By the way, I'll be campaigning for Obama in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania if all goes to plan. I figure I can't bitch if I don't do anything.

6:55pm: New pets
Today we bought Lu two gerbils as her birthday present. She has tentatively named them Hazel and Violet, both names from the book Watership Down. I looked at the cats while we were at the store. I've been thinking that I would like to get one. It's funny, but I had been resistant to the idea and I think a big part of that was because Jessie was still alive so I felt like I still had a cat. Anyway, there was an older cat named Lulu that looked like she might be a good cat for us. The woman from the Humane Society who handles the cats was already gone for the day so we couldn't interact with any of the cats. We're planning to go back on Monday. The baby loves all of the animals - a lot.