Our New England Vacation Part I

We take you away from all the political posts to bring you important non-breaking news about our fun trip to New England. Hadley and I had gone out a week early, so when David came out to join us, we were ready to get our vacation on. Our first trip was up to Plymouth, MA to visit his good friends Marcus, Alyssa and their son Brody. After a rainy start and a flat tire on the Mass Pike, we all made it there in one piece. Nothing like watching your man change a flat tire on a truck to rev up some lusty thoughts. But I digress.

I had never been to Plymouth, so we saw all the historic icons like Plymouth Rock (through tempered glass) and the Mayflower II. It is hard to imagine the Maritime perils that those original settlers went through on the voyage, cramped into the under part of the ship. I would surely have gotten scurvy and not made it. Wuss.

Marcus and Alyssa showed us quite a good time and they made us Lobster for dinner. 2lbs of succulent lobster meat with steamed clams and salad. Truly a New England meal.

We couldn't leave the state of Massachusettes without buying H. her first Boston Red Sox hat. And of course she looked like a boy for the rest of the day.

Nana was so glad when we got home. Then she could have some alone time with H. telling her all about the hummingbirds and birdies again.

The next day we headed to Mystic, CT to check out the aquarium. Hadley loved the Beluga whales and Penguins. The best part of the day however, was the bird house. What started off as an innocent treat for the birds turned into a menagerie of hungry birds perching all over us. Here is the video to prove it. If you can make it through the whole thing, I squeel like a school girl near the end when a bird lands on my head.

When you are in Mystic, CT, you can't leave without reliving 1988 and eating at Mystic Pizza.

Part II coming later this week is our trip to the family farm in Landaff, NH and dinner with friends in Portsmouth.

Rate the Debates

I get emails from Move On, Colorado Women for Obama, FreePress.net, and MomsRising.org all with information about different election issues. I recently signed up to rate the debates so that people could give their opinions of the debates before the press spun the issues. I am a bit disappointed with this first debate in that both candidates seemed to skirt the questions and instead give their own spin on the topics they wanted to discuss. Obama needs to laugh more and McCain needs to stop giving that creepy smile. And Mr. Lehrer could have done a better job holding candidates to answer the questions he asked and keep McCain in line when he kept talking over Obama. I'm not sure there was a winner here. You can sign up too, click here.

Weiner Dog Races

Last Sunday we got up bright and early to go to the 1st Annual Long Dog Races as part of Oktoberfest this year. We had been practicing with Tica in the backyard every night. We knew she would be our best bet as Gibson would run inside and hide under the bed during our practices.

Tica showed up in her wedding dress along with every dachshund in the city. Three hours later, we entered our heat of 5-10 year old dogs. Let's just say it was a bit of a comedy routine as H. woke up in the Bjorn and started screaming right as we entered the race area. Gibson was strapped in on the side and Tica didn't immediately take off because she couldn't hear David over the crowd. She managed to nab 2nd in her heat, though we didn't stay to find out the final results. Since we had 2 dogs and a baby with us, we didn't get video of her racing, so instead please enjoy these dogs.

Our Political Sitcom

Something funny happened on the way to my blog. I ran smack dab into a wall of radical conservatism. David received an email from a friend about how Barack Obama is really a Muslim. This got me thinking about how the mind works of a person who believes this? I would like to say that this person has their head so far up their ass that....but I won't because I am above that. It is just difficult for me to believe that someone can actually be so ill-informed that they think that the democratic nominee for the President of the United States can possibly be a Muslim. It is easier for me to believe that what they really want to say is a black man. It is just more acceptable to say Muslim.

Now here’s where the comedy really begins. Like a classic episode of Seinfeld, David made the mistake, (by accident) of responding to the ENTIRE email list. No, no, it gets worse, and he did it with profanity. After realizing that he had sent it to everyone, he tried to make the situation better (by making it worse) and apologizing for his offensive language, and giving links to show that people should educate themselves. What ensued was a fire storm of e-mails from a long list of the most radical conservative republicans you could ever find. Here are some email excerpts:

"This country filled with all the tree hugging, liberals, and the “just do whatever makes you happy” mentality is what is running this country into the ground! Now, as if that’s not enough, all the left wing, Volvo driving, baby killing, homosexual marrying liberals are wetting their panties over Obama."

Let us analyze and discuss.

If this country were filled with tree hugging liberals then no one would believe that Obama was a Muslim. We would say that he is black and would make a great president.

The “do whatever makes you happy mentality” has not been running this country into the ground for the past eight years. It has been the one dimensional president in a three dimensional world that has deregulated us, and lead us with fear, that has gotten us to where we are today.

Alright, you did get us at Volvo driving, but I DO NOT kill babies. I think you will be hard pressed to find anyone that is pro-abortion. I do believe that homosexuals would make great fathers but I would not marry one.

Another email promoted the military, and McCain as a war hero to make sacrifices for this country as his ability to be president. He then proceeded to tell David that "it was his filthy left-wing bullshit and pussy mentality that would get him ass raped in Iraq like a two bit whore and then have it shown on You tube" I'm paraphrasing, but this man also went on to say that "He would bring popcorn to that viewing."

He almost sounded logical when describing McCain’s past, because really who’s going to argue that he is an honorable man? I totally agree. But then he got all uni-bomber on us and the real republican family values that I often hear about during election time came out. Dear Mr. Butt Sex, you fit very well into our sitcom as part of the "don't ask don't tell" area of the military if you want to view that type of explicit behavior on the internet. What else are you watching? *wink wink*

And finally another email this morning, from Mrs. Butt Sex that said she’s glad I lost my job, “Praise the Lord, now she can be a real mommy and stay at home and nurse her baby just like God intended her to.”

Ok, let’s pretend for a second that she's making a valid statement. My question to her would then be, if all women should be home raising their babies, then how do you feel about Sarah Palin going back to work three days after giving birth in April?
For the record, I don't think all republicans feel this way, I don't think McCain is a bad man, I am not against the military and I DO support our troops. Freedoms that we take for granted today are because of the men and women who fight for this country.

All this, just because DG didn't want people to think Obama is a Muslim. More DRAMA than the new 90210. Stay tuned.

Palin's Lies

FINALLY!!!! The Today show this morning details each of the lies that Sarah Palin has been using to further her political career. Not just one little white lie, not just two or three...a myriad of falsehoods.

When Bill Bennett, a McCain supporter and conservative syndicated talk show host followed this segment to defend the republican ticket, he brushed off the lies as "small beer, really small stuff". "It doesn't really matter whether she has or has not been in Iraq." he said. He then tried to compare Joe Biden's record against war as "more consequential" than these lies. Trying to mask the lies by pointing out an honest man's voting record? I'm going to need some blood pressure medication.

Small inconsequential lies are when I tell my husband that I was way too busy to do the laundry today, when in fact I was incessantly reading political editorials and playing solitaire. BIG huge lies are when you tell the entire country to hire you because you have foreign policy experience because you went to Iraq and Ireland once when you actually never set your foot in either country. Thanks but no thanks Sarah Palin.

And finally, in the I-threw-my-damned-tv-out-the-window Category, the new McCain ad that I saw this morning slamming Obama's economic policy is completely and outlandishly incorrect. You can see what a big craptacular load it is here.

::Takes a breath:: I apologize for all of the politics on the blog this week. I swear, next week it will be back to pictures of Hadley and poop talk.

It's Burning Inside of Me

When it comes to Politics, there is one thing that really burns my britches and it is lies in television ads and on the campaign trail. Now let's be honest, both parties can tend to spin the truth a bit in their ads. However, I feel that John McCain has gone so overboard that it is burning inside of me, like day old mexican. And I've got to let it out. And you know when Karl Rove says that you've gone too far, that you are probably laying in a gutter somewhere with a thong on your head and dollar bills sticking out of your pants.

The final straw came this morning, when in horror, I watched the new McCain ad promoting himself and Palin as MAVERICKS. They cite her shutting down the "bridge to nowhere" as her Maverick experience. Do they think that we are stupid? At this point, anyone with a computer knows that Palin was FOR the Bridge to get votes, before she realized it was going nowhere, so she took the money and spent it on other projects.

Then this morning on the news, McCain was shown pandering to the working class in OH, saying that while he chose to be in OH with the "working man", Obama had chosen to hang out with the elite in Beverly Hills raising money. "How can he say that he understands the working man?", McCain asked. From the man with 8 homes, McCain apparently forgot to mention that just the night before, he had a similar elite high class fund-raiser in Miami raising himself $5 million.

I am so done with all of his hypocritical misconceptions. I am not going to go into all of the details on each lie in each ad. You can view the research at my favorite Fact Check site. I just can’t believe he is even allowed to continue showing some of those ads especially when non-partisan fact checkers have proven that they are not accurate. Someone in the media, besides the ladies on The View, needs to start questioning his behavior. Isn’t it a bit of a red flag that whenever McCain or Palin get asked tough and serious questions that they cry foul or sexism?

How to Make a Watermelon Stroller

Step One: When your best friend gets knocked up, throw her a baby shower.

Step Two: Buy a nice large watermelon.

Step Three: Draw your pattern on the watermelon putting a handle on one end and a scalloped bassinette overhang on the other.

Step Four: Using a sharp serrated knife, cut out the top portion.

Step Five: Using a melon baller, (I've always wanted to use this word in a blog post) scoop out some nice round balls of watermelon. When you have enough for some fruit salad, you can use a large spoon to scoop out the rest.

Step Six: Mix the watermelon with balled cantaloup and red and green grapes. Add back into the stroller.

Step Seven: Add the wheels by inserting two wooden skewers through the watermelon at each end. Attach some sliced oranges for wheels and grapes for hubcaps.

A little cheesy? Yes, but a big hit as well. You can also watch this great video demonstration.

Lora and I hosted a couples baby shower last night for our BFF Holly. We had quite a tasty little spread of food. Lora made some Morroccan chicken the likes of which we are still drooling over. I plan on making it my new favorite dish. I might have to make it weekly. But until I get the recipe, you will have to settle for balled fruit salad. There I was able to use a variation of the word balls at least 5 times in this entry. I am satisfied. You can go now.

I Approve This Message

I have a lot of fire going on inside of me regarding politics these days. It is hard not to use this blog as a platform. I might have to get on a soap box at some point, but for now, you can watch this funny video from Saturday Night Live. It is so laugh-out-loud while at the same time, giving a subtle inuendo against Sarah Palin.

Vacationland 2008

DG and I just got back from our big New England tour. We hit 5 states just last week. Oh so many stories to tell. Unfortunately, I have a baby shower to throw this week, so a lot of them will have to wait. But in just two weeks, our baby girl has been thriving and growing like a weed. Just a couple of days ago, she started to understand and use the sign for more. Prior to going, she had a good grasp on saying va va va and na na na. She greeted her Nana by throwing her arms in the air and yelling hiiiiiiii na na. By the end of the trip, we got her to say gpa. (translation = grandpa) And FINALLY, in the airport, she looked at me and said MA. Once. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, and wiped the lone tear in my eye, I started dancing around her begging for more. She just giggled and gave me a gushing round of DA DA DA DAs. Have not heard it since. We are happy and home. Details coming soon to a blog near you.

Fun in Connecticut

We have had a whirlwind of a trip so far. It feels like we have only been here a couple of days. On Tuesday evening the Kamerzel's came over for dinner. Mark and I went to high school together.



His family is beautiful and so well behaved. I was taking copious mental notes the whole time hoping that some day Hadley could be so good.



Yesterday, my Dad drove us down to Madison, Connecticut to visit a friend of mine from Denver that had moved to Connecticut just over a year ago. She picked a great restaurant called The Wharf, facing the ocean. It was great to see them and Hadley got to stick her feet in the sand and water. LOVED IT.



Here are a few things that make Connecticut different from Colorado, besides the spelling. (joke)
1) Connecticut is mostly a Blue state. I think it makes me less stressed.
2) In Colorado, directions to get somewhere are: "Get on the highway for 20 minutes, exit, take a left, then a right at the light. Directions in Connecticut are: "Take Route 4, to 84, to Route 9, to Route 17, to Route 3, to Route 10. etc." Oh man.
3) In CT, all routes are 2 lane roads curving though forests.
4) In CT, you can't spit without hitting an Italian Restaurant. Though I haven't seen too many sushi or ethiopian restaurants.

I will post more on this later.