The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good:

• Tomatillo sauce. Made fresh from scratch. Okay, I used canned chiles, but everything else was fresh, fresh, fresh. I used two pints of tomatillos, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 cans of chopped green chiles, about a cup of cilantro, a medium onion, salt and a little bit of sugar. Husk and de-stem the tomatillos and simmer them in chicken or veggie broth for about 8 minutes. Put the garlic, chiles, cilantro, onion and spices in a food processor and blend. Add the tomatillos and most of the broth and blend. I like mine a bit chunky. Your mileage may vary. Last night, we had our sauce on grilled chicken. It is also phenomenal on eggs and of course, with tortilla chips. Mmmmmm.
  
  
• Flashforward and Fringe. The first is off to a good start. Hopefully they can keep it moving forward. Heh. The second has definitely found its footing in the tradition of X-Files. Plus Joshua Jackson. Yum.
  
  
• The biopsy on my thyroid came back negative, so no cancer. We just need to monitor the nodes every 6 months or so.
  
  The Bad:
  
  
• I am fatter than I have ever been. I realize that weighing 164 lbs isn't fat for some people, but I feel sluggish and bloated. Plus, my clothes are way too tight. Grant and I are dieting again, but I am not really happy about that either. I really don't want to just practice body-acceptance. I want to be a size I am happy with. But I keep reminding myself that I am over 50, and it's okay to be a bit...softer around the edges.
  
  
• Work is crazy. I still love my job, but this fall has been more stressful and hectic and just soul-consuming than normal. I hope it will calm down in the next few weeks.
  
  
• The weather. It is too freakin' cold too early!! I am not ready for winter, so just back the hell off.
  
  The Ugly:
  
  
• Rush Limbaugh. Need I say more?
  

The only thing to fear

I have been a big fan of The Pioneer Woman ever since Annika posted a link to one of her recipes.

Today, I found myself reading the replies to this post in her Homeschooling section. Although I don't often read many of the homeschooling posts completely, I check it out from time to time; mainly to get new resources. But this post caught my eye and I ended up reading (well, skimming) all 259 of the replies.

The commenters varied from homeschoolers, public schoolers, private schoolers, a little bit of everything schoolers and even a couple of unschoolers. It was interesting reading and I found it fascinating to hear how different people made different decisions about what was right for their children, many of them choosing different options for different children in their own families. There were stories of great schools and terrible schools; of public schools being the best place for a child with special needs or the worst place for a child with special needs. There were charter schools, both on location and online. The variety of options and the variety of reasons for the schooling decision were incredibly varied and always interesting.

But I was particularly struck with one thing. It is perhaps not surprising that a fair number of the homeschoolers identified as strongly Christian; what shocked me was how afraid many of these parents seemed to be of how their children were influenced by the outside world. I am not talking of drugs, sex and bullying. No, they spoke of being forced to accept politically correct thinking and learning values that they could not support; they mourned the failure to pray at school and the importance of their Christian values being reinforced by teachers. They seemed terrified that their children might be exposed to opinions and ideas that did not meet their narrow expectations. They seemed to me to be afraid of the world.

Of course, I am familiar with the rantings of the Christian Right and their ilk, as anyone who supports womens' rights and gay rights and civil rights would be. I was just sadly surprised to see such normal-seeming people be so afraid. Of people like me. Of people like you.

Just what I needed

Now, go vote!

Vote early...

Absentee ballot mailed.

Keep fingers crossed that spilling water on the envelope doesn't automatically disqualify my vote.

Decide odds of convincing husband to vote Liberal in upcoming Canadian federal election are slim.

Sadly confirm that odds of convincing husband to vote New Democrat Party in upcoming Canadian federal election is nil.

Console ones self that odds of convincing husband to vote Green in upcoming Canadian federal election are good to excellent.

Accept that Conservatives will most likely maintain a minority government.

Realize that a continuing Conservative government is still better than the US alternative.

Shudder while thinking of US alternative.

Remind self that self should really consider applying for Canadian citizenship.

Wish one could indeed vote often.

Holy shit

Has it really been a month since my last post? I am sooooo sorry to the 4 or 5 people who probably regularly check this blog. I suck.

Summer has nearly come to an end. School has begun. We are still going up to the boat on weekends until the Canadian Thanksgiving. Then we start watching hockey, attending various municipal functions and whining about the weather. I haven't lost any weight; in fact, I gained some. Now that I am back at school, and once I get back into the exercise routine again, I expect I will regain my girlish figger.

I missed the Democratic convention, and made the mistake of watching the last few days of the Republican. I got very depressed. Honestly, I cannot understand that there are people who really think and believe the crap I heard coming from my television. "Country First"?? WTF???? That sounds like something I might hear if I travelled back in time to 1930s Germany. And, yes, I realize that I just lost the argument, but still...

We have harvested about 4 tomatoes and there are several still on the vine. They were very yummy and I am planning on putting in some real plants next year. The pumpkin vine has one grapefruit-sized pumpkin and a wee one just starting. Farming is fun!

Okay, I better leave some random thoughts for another day, or it might be another month before my next post. See you soon!

No, really. I promise.

Random

For those of you wondering: no, I never actually got fully plastered last night. I had three glasses of a nice Italian red with dinner and decided to cap it off with glass of Irish whiskey. I felt pleasantly buzzed, but never truly drunk.

I have been very productive already today. I went to the gym for Pilates, then I went to the hardware store to pick out my paints. I also bought a new faucet for the bathroom and a new towel rack. So far, the bathroom reno has cost a bit over $200. Next, I have to find a new mirror and start the cabinet part of the project. The mirror part will have to be soon--I am not sure how much longer I can deal with using the mirror in the hallway.

We have a few hours at home, and then G and I are riding a horse and carriage for the Santa Claus Parade. It's very cold outside, so I may need to bring along some of that Irish Whiskey for warmth. Hee.

Last night

I met a princess. Her Imperial Highness, Thi Nga, a princess of the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam. It's funny, I suppose I should have realized that at one point or another, Vietnam was something other than a French colony and a Communist nation, but I never thought about a deposed Imperial family.

Said princess now resides in Miami Beach, New York and Paris. She visited our city for the world premiere of a musical theme written by our symphony maestro and dedicated to her foundation for refugees. My husband and I met her prior to the performance; she was very gracious, but honestly, what does one say to a member of an Imperial family, deposed or not?

More importantly, my new dress was fabulous.

As for the all important results of the Volcano Lava Death Watch, I have disappointing news. Oh yes, people died, but not a single death by lava flow. Sure, there was death by quicksand and death by impalement, and by the end of the movie, our intrepid band of now-reformed prisoners were forced to abandon poor Spencer Tracy when he was stranded on the other side of a collapsed bridge. But good old Frank, despite having redeemed himself and gotten Father Spencer to marry him and Blind Island Girl, chose to put the refugees on a boat and return to the collapsed bridge. Was his motive to attempt to rescue the old guy? Nope. Apparently he just decided to come and hang out until the island exploded in a fiery ball. I guess that one night in the cave with Blind Island Girl was not all that.

Back to life

Back to reality.

I nearly forgot to write today; I am just that tired. Last night, of course, we had a bit of a party. There was some yummy Jackson-Triggs sparkling wine involved and I didn't get to bed until late. The alarm clock sounded at far too early an hour and I dragged myself off to work.

Exhausted, yes, but relieved that life can go back to normal once again. There is a lot to do--in a good way.

I have some major projects at work that now can get my full attention. I have to work on dropping some poundage; campaigning was not South Beach-friendly. I have a whack of paperwork to finish up and a house to turn back into a living space instead of a satellite campaign office. And I fully intend to sleep in as long as possible on Saturday.

I like my life. I look forward to having it again.

We won

*collapses in a protoplasmic blob of relief*

27 and a half hours to go

My stomach hurts.

Waiting

I don't wait particularly well, especially when I am under a deadline of some kind. Even when I have something to distract me, like a book, I often find myself obsessively checking the time and reading the same part over and over again. Waiting--a game I don't do well.

Anyway, it feels like one big wait today. We have 2 more days until the election; we wait to see what other nasty tricks our opponent will pull out of her nasty sack, we wait to see if our signs will stay where they are supposed to, we wait to see if the people of our lovely city are smart enough to realize what a great job Grant does.

We are also waiting for a delivery. It is now Hour 4 in a 5 hour window. Of course, we have an engagement this evening that requires us to be out of the house pretty much right at the end of that window. I have left a stern message explaining that we must take delivery NO LATER than 6 o'clock or we simply won't be home. I also explained that we would expect delivery at another time at no additional charge to us. I fully expect one of two things to happen. The delivery guys will show up at 6:01 and we will be very late for our engagement. Or, we will leave and the delivery people will refuse to reschedule without some ridiculou--

Oh wait-- they're here.

************************************************

After the removal of three doors (two on the fridge, one on the house), some hopeless moments where we thought it would not make it through the final door, a horrible realization that we might have mis-measured the width of the space to allow the re-attached refrigerator door to actually open; plus one very frustrated and unhappy delivery dude; we now are the proud owners of ....

MONDO REFRIGERATOR

Oh, look! I have cake and ice cream!! (I wish)

Mission accomplished

The House and Senate are under Democratic control.

plus:

I finished writing yet another election speech.

equals:

Life is good.

To my fellow American citizens

You know what you need to do.

Random blogging without bullets

Would someone tell me how to do bullets? Thanks.

I think I am getting a new refrigerator. And a really big television. This means I can eat more food while exercising less, which does not bode well for my skinny clothes fitting much longer.

My computer is apparently superceding my husband's computer when it comes to online connectivity. In other words, the wireless likes me better. I can't really blame it; after all I am a charming and talented individual, but it is starting to effect my marriage. Would it be possible for the person who knows how to make bullets to also give us a fix for the wireless issue?

It's the little things that really get you. We didn't let the kitty up on the top floor of the house, where the bedrooms are. Grant is really allergic, so we needed at least one cat-free area. We had a child-gate at the top of the stairs, which we regularly climbed over in our travels up and down the stairs. After I got home from the vet, I cleaned up all of her dishes and packed away her food. I emptied the cat pans and washed the blankets she had been sleeping on. Then, that night, I went upstairs, climbed over the gate and went to bed. The next morning when I got up, Grant had removed the gate. I just stood still for a minute, and that's when I knew that she was really gone. I think I will feel that pang for a very long time.

Elections really suck. Negative election tactics suck even worse. I'm just sayin'.

And now I must retire. Partially so I can take a bath and then get some very much-needed sleep, but mainly because my darling husband is looking daggers at my computer from across the room.

One more week (or so)

One more week of knocking doors, of putting up signs, of answering phone calls, of too much junk food and not enough sleep. I have another speech to write and a whole whack of bills to pay.

And the irony of it all?

I can't actually vote for my husband. I am not a Canadian citizen.

I do, however, live in Canada. Not just Canada, but Ontario, Canada. You know, one of those provinces over on the eastern side of North America? And although I can vote on the Federal level, I am not allowed to vote on state candidates and issues. So, the phone call I got from Robert Redford asking me to vote against a proposition and the other one I got last week asking me to support Phil Angelides for Governor ( I think it was Phil, but honestly, I didn't really pay that much attention to it...) does seem like a waste of money. You think they could figure out that they're calling out of the country and all. Yeah, you'd think...

Anyway, I can't actually make much of a difference in the mid-term elections. Both of the representatives from my (former) area are Democrats and are not facing any kind of legitimate challenge. I dutifully sent off my absentee ballot, but it felt somewhat unnecessary. I guess I should really buy a piece of property in Ohio.

But I know I can count on all of my stalkers. Vote early. And vote often. After all, that's what the Bushies do. ;-)

This 'n that

For those of you wondering which chili heating option I chose...I heat it in a pan. It just feels more "cooked" that way to me.

I stayed home from work today. Not precisely sick, although if you had heard my voice this AM you would have believed I was practically in the grave. I was just tired beyond belief. So, I slept in, got caught up on some election stuff and ate too many frozen Mars bars (Milky Ways for those of you south of the border.)

Just under two weeks left in the campaign. I think we are doing well but we are still on tenterhooks. Aren't you glad you don't have to ask 42,000 people if you can keep your job for the next 4 years?

Massages, elections and roasted red peppers

No, my head hasn't exploded yet. It may still--but not from headaches. I feel like that freckled kid in the Far Side cartoon with his hand raised, saying "May I be excused, please? My brain is full."

My brain is full, my body is exhausted and I need a drink. Badly.

I opted for the massage, which was wonderful. I had a new therapist and she hit all the right spots with just the right amount of pressure. She even gave me fifteen extra minutes, because she didn't have a client after me. I think I am in love.

But I spent the entire weekend doorknocking with my husband for his campaign ( I should really wear a pedometer, to see how many kms I put in), my days at school working on our new Spec Ed documents (the "new, improved" version that takes 10 times longer than the old one), and my evenings designing campaign brochures, fielding phone calls, and strategizing. True love, indeed.

Whew!

Speaking of love; I had a grilled veggie wrap with goat cheese today that I wanted to marry and bring home with me. My co-workers were terribly amused by my rhapsodies over it, but I didn't care. There is too little in my life lately that makes me truly happy. I have already decided that the people responsible are catering our election night party.