Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!
***and a little pixie dust*** and good wishes if you're
in charge of the turkey/tofurky/turducken
***and a little pixie dust*** and good wishes if you're
in charge of the turkey/tofurky/turducken
11.25.2010
11.24.2010
Happy Turkey Day!
It's that time of year again....
You know...time for family drama, overindulging, and tryptophan comas at 5 p.m.
It's Thanksgiving!!!
OK, yes.
I jest about the whole family drama thing....just a bit...but only because I know my mom is reading my blog right now (hi mom!).
In all seriousness though, I love Thanksgiving.
And it's not just because this curvy girl can overindulge and not feel the slightest bit of guilt over that second piece of pecan pie.
Nope, it's because it is the ONE holiday that is still (for the most part) about family.
Halloween is fun, but it's all candy and craziness.
Christmas is so commercialized ... I still enjoy it, but more so because my kids love it.
But Thanksgiving....it's all about family.
We cook too much food.
We eat too much food.
But we're together.
And that's what matters.
So, without getting too sappy I'll say this - I'm thankful that my family is in one place and we can gather together tomorrow and enjoy an amazing dinner. Together.
And with that, I'd like to wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!
You know...time for family drama, overindulging, and tryptophan comas at 5 p.m.
It's Thanksgiving!!!
OK, yes.
I jest about the whole family drama thing....just a bit...but only because I know my mom is reading my blog right now (hi mom!).
In all seriousness though, I love Thanksgiving.
And it's not just because this curvy girl can overindulge and not feel the slightest bit of guilt over that second piece of pecan pie.
Nope, it's because it is the ONE holiday that is still (for the most part) about family.
Halloween is fun, but it's all candy and craziness.
Christmas is so commercialized ... I still enjoy it, but more so because my kids love it.
But Thanksgiving....it's all about family.
We cook too much food.
We eat too much food.
But we're together.
And that's what matters.
So, without getting too sappy I'll say this - I'm thankful that my family is in one place and we can gather together tomorrow and enjoy an amazing dinner. Together.
And with that, I'd like to wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving!
11.21.2010
Once in a blue moon....
....is apparently as often as I'm going to actually write a blog post.
Yep.
Once in a blue moon.
Perhaps I should rename my blog?
the view from my fishbowl every blue moon
As it is, tonight IS a blue moon and so I figured 'what the heck....let's blog!'
I haven't had much to blog about lately, I suppose.
The girls were both sick - Emma had pneumonia and the Olivia had an upper respiratory virus thing (as did half the city, I think).
Work has been busy.
I think I'm finally finding my niche - and (drum roll please!) I get to start a blog.
At work!
So, on top of the whole social media thing, I also am going to get paid to blog.
Seriously awesome.
Oh and since it's November 21, we decorated the house for Christmas.
Yeah, the whole house.
Today. Before Thanksgiving. I must be crazy.
The tree is up and trimmed.
The outside lights are twinkling.
It's all so stinkin' festive I can't handle it.
No seriously.
I can't.
I'm just not quite "in" the holiday spirit yet.
Now, I'm not all 'bah HUMBUG' or anything like that.
It's just .... didn't we JUST DO CHRISTMAS?
Like last month?
(Admit it...it seems like we just slogged through this whole holiday thing**.)
I'm sure once I've over-indulged on Thursday, and heard some Christmas tunes on the radio, and enjoyed a few more gingerbread lattes at Starbucks, and actually STARTED Christmas shopping...then I might be "in" the holiday mood.
And then, within mere days (hours?) after Christmas, I will be ready to take down every single decoration.
You know, like on December 26.
I'll be ready then.
But I'll wait until the 28th.
Maybe.
**I'm not being a Scrooge...really. I actually do enjoy the holidays.
Yep.
Once in a blue moon.
Perhaps I should rename my blog?
the view from my fishbowl every blue moon
As it is, tonight IS a blue moon and so I figured 'what the heck....let's blog!'
I haven't had much to blog about lately, I suppose.
The girls were both sick - Emma had pneumonia and the Olivia had an upper respiratory virus thing (as did half the city, I think).
Work has been busy.
I think I'm finally finding my niche - and (drum roll please!) I get to start a blog.
At work!
So, on top of the whole social media thing, I also am going to get paid to blog.
Seriously awesome.
Oh and since it's November 21, we decorated the house for Christmas.
Yeah, the whole house.
Today. Before Thanksgiving. I must be crazy.
The tree is up and trimmed.
The outside lights are twinkling.
It's all so stinkin' festive I can't handle it.
No seriously.
I can't.
I'm just not quite "in" the holiday spirit yet.
Now, I'm not all 'bah HUMBUG' or anything like that.
It's just .... didn't we JUST DO CHRISTMAS?
Like last month?
(Admit it...it seems like we just slogged through this whole holiday thing**.)
I'm sure once I've over-indulged on Thursday, and heard some Christmas tunes on the radio, and enjoyed a few more gingerbread lattes at Starbucks, and actually STARTED Christmas shopping...then I might be "in" the holiday mood.
And then, within mere days (hours?) after Christmas, I will be ready to take down every single decoration.
You know, like on December 26.
I'll be ready then.
But I'll wait until the 28th.
Maybe.
**I'm not being a Scrooge...really. I actually do enjoy the holidays.
11.03.2010
Vote early...and apparently vote often
So, we all know Tuesday was election day.
I did my civic duty and went to the polls - in the freezing cold.
Once the poll workers figured out what precinct I was supposed to be voting in, I walked to the table to sign the "signature book" - you know, the one where they check your ID against the name in the book.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered my name was listed TWICE.
As was my husband's.
And just like that we were transported to the good ol' days in Chicago.
I pointed out the discrepancy to the poll worker who kept insisting that I needed to "sign my name." I finally said to him "NO. You need to LISTEN TO ME. My name is listed twice. And clearly there is only ONE me."
But it wasn't just the fact that my name was listed twice.
Oh no.
It was listed with a middle initial (which IS my middle initial) AND a birth date that is NOT mine AND....a signature that was clearly NOT MINE. Yes, that's right. The last time I voted (in 2008), I signed my name next to the 'real' me - and that signature was there, loud and clear in the "photocopy/comparison" column.
However, the "non-me" had a "comparison" signature listed too - but it wasn't my handwriting. In fact, it appeared that the SAME PERSON had signed for the "non-me" and my "non-husband" - same exact handwriting for both "non-people."
That seems rather fishy, no?
I was finally able to get the poll worker to UNDERSTAND the words that were coming out of my mouth and another poll worker put these words in the signature block for "non-me": THIS IS NOT HER BIRTH DATE OR SIGNATURE.
They did the same for my husband when he voted later in the day.
And as any good citizen would do, I called the Lucas County Board of Elections Tuesday night. (Yes, I did realize it was election night and they were probably busy. But at least I knew someone would be there and might be worried about voting issues).
The woman I spoke with was concerned (and a bit shocked) and took the time to look up the names and wouldn't you know it, she saw the same craziness in those records! She said that she'd make a note of it and tell her supervisor.
I have yet to hear anything from the BOE.
I also called the Secretary of State's office - since you know, they are supposedly concerned about voter's rights and whatnot. The first person I talked to said "You're kidding?!?!" when I told her about the "issue" and then she said "Well, when you have 8.2 million registered voters there are bound to be some errors in the records."
And then she told me I needed to call my local BOE and they'd take care of it because it was THEIR job.
What?
I swear ... the Secretary of State's office totally blew me off.
Just like that.
So, I e-mailed the SoS office - because they have a specific e-mail account for 'voter concerns' and an INTERN e-mailed me and said this:
You were correct to contact your county board of elections, as they maintain voter registration data for citizens in their county. When the poll worker marked your names in the poll book, it notified the board of elections that further investigation is needed. I encourage you to remain in contact with the board of elections until your matter is resolved.
Um, OK.
So....I guess I'm going to keep calling the BOE until they assure me that this "issue" is "resolved."
They are going to get really tired of hearing my voice.
I did my civic duty and went to the polls - in the freezing cold.
Once the poll workers figured out what precinct I was supposed to be voting in, I walked to the table to sign the "signature book" - you know, the one where they check your ID against the name in the book.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered my name was listed TWICE.
As was my husband's.
And just like that we were transported to the good ol' days in Chicago.
I pointed out the discrepancy to the poll worker who kept insisting that I needed to "sign my name." I finally said to him "NO. You need to LISTEN TO ME. My name is listed twice. And clearly there is only ONE me."
But it wasn't just the fact that my name was listed twice.
Oh no.
It was listed with a middle initial (which IS my middle initial) AND a birth date that is NOT mine AND....a signature that was clearly NOT MINE. Yes, that's right. The last time I voted (in 2008), I signed my name next to the 'real' me - and that signature was there, loud and clear in the "photocopy/comparison" column.
However, the "non-me" had a "comparison" signature listed too - but it wasn't my handwriting. In fact, it appeared that the SAME PERSON had signed for the "non-me" and my "non-husband" - same exact handwriting for both "non-people."
That seems rather fishy, no?
I was finally able to get the poll worker to UNDERSTAND the words that were coming out of my mouth and another poll worker put these words in the signature block for "non-me": THIS IS NOT HER BIRTH DATE OR SIGNATURE.
They did the same for my husband when he voted later in the day.
And as any good citizen would do, I called the Lucas County Board of Elections Tuesday night. (Yes, I did realize it was election night and they were probably busy. But at least I knew someone would be there and might be worried about voting issues).
The woman I spoke with was concerned (and a bit shocked) and took the time to look up the names and wouldn't you know it, she saw the same craziness in those records! She said that she'd make a note of it and tell her supervisor.
I have yet to hear anything from the BOE.
I also called the Secretary of State's office - since you know, they are supposedly concerned about voter's rights and whatnot. The first person I talked to said "You're kidding?!?!" when I told her about the "issue" and then she said "Well, when you have 8.2 million registered voters there are bound to be some errors in the records."
And then she told me I needed to call my local BOE and they'd take care of it because it was THEIR job.
What?
I swear ... the Secretary of State's office totally blew me off.
Just like that.
So, I e-mailed the SoS office - because they have a specific e-mail account for 'voter concerns' and an INTERN e-mailed me and said this:
You were correct to contact your county board of elections, as they maintain voter registration data for citizens in their county. When the poll worker marked your names in the poll book, it notified the board of elections that further investigation is needed. I encourage you to remain in contact with the board of elections until your matter is resolved.
Um, OK.
So....I guess I'm going to keep calling the BOE until they assure me that this "issue" is "resolved."
They are going to get really tired of hearing my voice.
You say tomato, I say tomahto
A few weeks ago, during a particularly bad week, I received an unexpected e-mail in my inbox.
It was an e-mail asking me about tomatoes.
Red Gold Tomatoes to be exact.
Now I'll be the first to admit I don't normally buy canned tomatoes.
I'll buy tomato sauce, but only when I'm making chili. Otherwise, I'm not a big canned tomato buyer.
But I was intrigued by (and appreciative of) this e-mail, and when the sender asked if I'd be interested in receiving a PR kit with some of their products and a cookbook, I said "YES!"
A few days later I came home to a big box sitting in my foyer. "Holy cow! That's a lot of tomatoes!" I thought. Silly me. I had forgotten that the PR kit was going to contain more than "just" tomatoes.
Let me say this - the kit is the coolest thing E.V.E.R.
The kit was a large metal canister that looked just like a can of Red Gold Tomatoes. It was filled with three cans of tomatoes (three different varieties), two recipe books, a totebag, magnets, a limited edition toy truck (which my nephew loves!), recipe cards and a media CD with more recipes and a few videos.
See here:
So far, I've used two of the cans of tomatoes - I used the Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies to make a queso dip (with Velveeta, of course) for a Halloween party. And last weekend I used the Petite Diced Tomatoes to make Spicy Tomato Bread.
Oh my gosh...that bread was delish.
(Yes, the recipe called for crushed tomatoes...but all I had was diced and it was still great)!
And now dear readers I want to share with you.
We're all busy - struggling to get dinner on the table, spend time with the kids, get the laundry folded before the weekend (when we just end up rewashing the clean stuff because it's still in the basket...), and not lose our sanity in the process.
I want to make cooking dinner easier for YOU!
I want YOU to enjoy some very yummy Red Gold Tomatoes.
From now until Saturday, November 6 at midnight (EST), leave a comment and include your e-mail address (so I can contact you!). And then, one winner will be randomly drawn to win a Red Gold Tomato kit, and one winner will be randomly drawn to win a cookbook.
Yes, it really is that easy!
So...what are you waiting for?
Post those comments!
(Note: While I did receive a PR kit, I was under no obligation to write this post or sponsor this contest.)
Where in the world have I been?
Really?
October 17 is the last time I blogged?
That is so very sad.
I'm sorry blog....I just...well....I have no excuse.
I'm three days late to the whole NaBloPoMo thing....but I'll try to make up for it.
Really. I will.
Starting right now.
(Oh, and keep reading....I'm having a contest too!)
October 17 is the last time I blogged?
That is so very sad.
I'm sorry blog....I just...well....I have no excuse.
I'm three days late to the whole NaBloPoMo thing....but I'll try to make up for it.
Really. I will.
Starting right now.
(Oh, and keep reading....I'm having a contest too!)
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