Catch Up and Tag

First things first. Sammy says pumpkin. It is the cutest thing ever. Just sayin. We had hurricane force winds last night (at least that's what they sounded like!) and woke up to...snow. I would have pictures up, but I was too shocked to take any and it's stopped. For now. But it will be back to mock me, I'm sure. This means life, as I know it, is over (dramatic, much? why yes. yes I am...). Bright side: I will be spending way less money in the months to come. I don't "do" snow. At least well. Or at all like a grown-up. Much pouting will most likely ensue. Glad we winterized everything this week.

Next. Diane tagged me for 10 Things I Can't Live Without. I echo her sentiments. I could live without, but I certainly wouldn't want to! In no particular order...

1. My boys

2. Windex Wipes - my OCD savior!

3. Ben & Jerry's Karmel Sutra

4. T.V.

5. Philosophy body wash. Apple and Mimosa are my favorites. You know; just in case you wanted to know.

6. Bath & Body Works lip gloss in Frozen Blackberry

7. Email. And the internet in general. Honestly this is most likely number one.

8. Nine West shoes

9. Books

10. Neil Finn, Paul Weller, Lloyd Cole, Alison Moyet, music in general. But mostly Neil Finn. I just got a FINN sticker for my car. It's awesome.


Hmmm. I'm at 10? My friends would be on that list, as well as Sweettarts. I'm thinking the friends could BRING the Ben & Jerry's and sweettarts and we'd be set!

Politics

I love politics. I love studying them, reading about them, talking about them. I cannot get enough. I am starting to put money aside for my Master's in PoliSci once Sammy is in school. Not for anything, really, just to have it. I am fascinated by the political process. I loved my job in politics and often miss it. If I had a dream job, it would be White House Press Secretary or spin doctor for a major campaign. This time of year is nirvana for me. I'm devouring everything I can and I'm getting so excited for election day.

As I've grown, I've noticed that a lot of people want nothing to do with politics because it's "nasty". Some vote straight party ticket. Some, like me, are issue voters and not party voters. Some feel politics shouldn't ever be discussed. Some are adament that religion and politics don't mix. I think there are as many differing views on politics as there are people. I am one who will discuss anything anyone is up for. I view voting as a sacred right that no one should take for granted, but I view much of the political season as sport. I don't feel it should be the basis of relationships, but something more along the lines of "Really? You like Levi's as your favorite jeans?". Not something I would choose, but whatever.

This election season has been an extraordinary one for me. I'm so excited to vote for President. Obama's campaign has me rivited. It could be that I think the past eight years have been JUST that bad or it could be that he is as brilliant a politician as McCain is bad, but whatever it is, I'm truly more exited about the prospect of him winning than I have been for anything in politics for a long, long time. I wasn't even this excited when Wesley Clark was running for President!

However, even though the polls are giving me hope and I can barely breathe as it comes down to the wire, the most remarkable thing about this season is my discovery of Rachel Maddow. Isaac and I both have a serious little crush on her. Her show is the first thing we watch every night. I have NEVER tivo'd a cable news show before (provided The Daily Show doesn't count...). But I can't help it. The girl is phenomenal. Did I mention she has her doctorate in Political Science from Oxford? Seriously. I want to be her.

What Are Words Worth

I have always been an avid reader and writer (in my life they go hand in hand). When my parents would ask what I wanted for any occasion, my answer was always a new pen in a fun color and a new notebook and a book. Predictably, my wish lists haven't changed much. Every Christmas, the list I put together for Isaac always has a fun pen or notebook or both listed. (We will not be discussing how many pens and notebooks I have. We'll just leave it at "a lot".) I think these are my current "must haves" for this years list:

From K. Schweizer

And something like this for the pen:

From Levenger

When I was little, I would spend my lazy days outside interviewing everything in sight: flowers, grass, imaginary people, trees. I would run inside and watch the evening news and harbor a serious 9-year-old's crush on Tom Brokaw (a crush, that at 34, I still seem to have...). He's the reason I went into journalism. He's the reason I wanted to travel and report on what I saw.

Growing up I also read everything I could get my hands on. I read the dictionary (all the better to beat my dad at Boggle and Scrabble), the encyclopedia (there is a lovely family myth that I used to be fascinated with the anatomy of a frog - I hugely debate this since my number 1 phobia is of frogs...), history books, biographies (favorites were of Julia Ward Howe and Louisa May Alcott). I read fiction, nonfiction, church books, Sweet Valley Highs. I read The Girls of Canby Hall series, Beverly Cleary. I read historical romances and things I'm sure I wasn't supposed to read. My mom used to make me stop reading and do something else ("Put down that book and join the rest of the family!") I had read The Complete Works of Shakespeare by nine (mostly to get out of fishing with my grandma...).

I don't list this all out to brag; merely to illustrate that it shouldn't be a stretch for me to pick up a piece of fluff literature and get through it without a problem. I'm literate. Educated. This all shows that (well, not the part about Tom Brokaw. That was just a bonus.). Why is it, then, that I picked up Sweet Revenge, a culinary mystery and not rocket science literature on Friday and it has been on the arm of the couch since then and I have yet to break the binding? Oh, yeah. I have a two year old with a cold...

I've abandoned The Kite Runner since I kept falling asleep after the 3rd chapter (not a fault of the book, but my mommy brain). I have hopes to pick it back up this winter when things slow a little. It and about 25 other books I've picked up since the move and are just sitting there, taunting me to read. I miss reading. I can't wait to get back to it and see that What I've Read list grow a little from it's wholly pathetic size. I'm feeling the need to adjust something to make it happen sooner.