P-O-L-I-T-I-C-S

sing it to the tune of glamorous by fergie. It's missing a letter, but it still works ;)

sooo, now that the election is over and everyone has voted (right? you did vote - didn't you!?) we can get back to business as usual.

But my life will never be the same.

This election rocked me and then it rolled me. It all started the night of the VP debate when I was picking a client up at the airport. CNN constantly rolls across the TV screens from terminal to terminal, and usually there will be a few people watching while most others simply read their paper or catch up on their laptops. This night was a completely different scene. As I was walking towards my gate I noticed that everyone was glued to the TV. EVERYONE. I thought something had happened. I had a brief flashback to 9-11. Then I saw that it was the debate and I remembered the Palin factor.

I was in the airport when they announced that Obama had won the democratic nomination over Clinton. I knew it was big news but really didn't care. I had always been a republican voter so I really didn't care who the democratic nominee was. I was in the office the day McCain announced Palin as his running mate. My manager sat in her office for a good hour or so watching the news on her computer with the speakers turned way up. It sparked my interest that he had picked a woman, but I didn't think much more about it. Then the media blitz began. Because part of my job is escorting clients to medical appointments, I am constantly given the choice of reading the latest issue of Time, People, Newsweek, etc. I was shocked one day to see that nearly every magazine on the rack featured a cover with either McCain or Palin. Before this it had been Obama Obama Obama.

So, back to the airport story - there I was watching the VP debate realizing that this was a really big deal. Here was Sarah Palin for the country to see and hear for themselves. And - well - I have to say it . . . I wasn't impressed. I found myself liking Biden's answers much more than Palin's answers. I found myself liking him as a person more than Palin. I didn't get to stay for the whole debate - I probably only saw 15 or 20 minutes of it that night - but suddenly it occured to me that I had a decision to make and I had better start doing my homework.

So I immersed myself in it all. I searched for a book that could tell me about both candidates without feeding be bias, but of course no such book exists. Around this same time I read and enjoyed reading Becca's post concerning the same topic. I watched the second and third presidential debates and was a little surprised by how much temperament meant to me. I eventually bought a book by McCain and a book by Obama. If I couldn't read something unbiased, then I could at least read what they had to say for themselves. As I read and watched and learned as much as I could, I found myself leaning towards Obama - which was a very difficult stance for me to take. The only reason it was difficult is because I - like so many others - had been told in one way, shape, or form that Obama was a wolf in Sheep's clothing. I had been told that he should be feared. Every single one of my co-workers is scared of him and the plans he has for America. My family - while they may not vocalize their feelings as often as others - all seemed to feel the same way. I was bombarded on facebook by friends constantly using their status to say why Obama would be a bad choice. As the days inched closer to the election, it got really old really fast.

I really feel that one of the greatest mistakes McCain made in his campaign was that he told the American people over and over again what he was NOT going to do. He told us "Obama will do this, I won't". Unfortunately both campaigns used tactics to try and scare people away from the opposing candidate - and that just caused a lot of confusion and a lot of people (myself included) to fall into the "undecided" category. When I walked up to the voting booth Tuesday morning and I touched my finger to that screen, my brain was racing. I was quite literally on the brink of tears from the sheer pressure that I felt in making such a difficult decision. And even worse is the fact that I had spent so much time deliberating over the presidential ticket that I hadn't given the time and study that I should have to the local people and issues - and overall I believe that local politics deserve much more of our attention than the white house.

But, I cast my vote - and I almost went back and changed it - twice - while I stood at that booth and pushed "next" over and over again.

I am quite happy and at peace with the decision that I made in the end though. I was greatly impressed by both men's speeches on election night. I really feel like the president elect will be able to act as a tremendous leader for our country if we will only let him - and I hope that Senator McCain will continue to lend his immense knowledge and experience to the bettering of our country. I hope that Sarah Palin can go back to doing what she was excelling at before the American Media swallowed her whole. And I hope more than anything that we can unite as a nation and do all we can to respect our elected leaders. We are America. Let's not lose sight of the fact that we have the freedom to live our lives almost any way we choose. What a blessing that freedom is . . . may we never forget how blessed we are to be citizens of this great country.

oh - and ps - I really really hope that SNL doesn't insist that Tina Fey do too many more Palin impressions. There are some things that are best enjoyed in small quantities. What she has done is comedy gold and I'd hate to see it get old or overdone. I love it too much :)

rufie boofie

Lucas has taken on several nicknames since I moved back in with my sister. Perhaps it's because of the tendency that my family has to stamp a nickname on anything that lives and breathes. It all comes from my dad, really. Don't know where he got it from. All I know is that each of us had at least 3 nicknames growing up - and they were always used in love. So perhaps Lucas has earned his nicknames as he has grown dearer to my sisters heart. Or perhaps not. Who knows. We started calling him Rufus after we got him a bark collar. He can let out little "roof" sounds without setting the collar off, so now he speaks in his own gruff language frequently. Lately he's been saying "buf" quite a bit. "Ruf Buf" translates into "there's a dog 2 miles away. I can sense it".
He's such a cute dog when he behaves. When he doesn't . . .

I'm getting married in 1 week! Only 1 week left to get it all done. I know I can get it done, but man oh man has it been a trying time. Every day I find myself trying to tackle a long list, and every day it seems only a few items on that list get crossed out. But today we crossed out the biggest item - the one that's been staring me in the face every morning when I wake up and every time I talk about this new chapter in my life. Today we finally decided on a house.

We've been looking and looking for the right place. Originally we were going to rent. We looked at apartments and just couldn't find anything that would suit us (well, actually we did - but somebody else snatched it up). So we've been looking at houses, and there are just too many good options. Today I wanted to look at a few more houses in Orem before we came to our final decision. We drove up and down the residential streets - cursing a few times when we had to brave 8th north. We looked at about 8 houses total. Most of them were "lets peek in the windows". We got to see the insides of a few. One of them we just happened to stop by while the agent was showing it to another couple. how's that for luck? And - as luck would have it - that's the house we decided to make an offer on.

Now, the stress of all of this is far from over. We're getting married in a week. 7 days. After the reception we leave for a night in midway and then 10 days enjoying california - both northern and southern. It's going to be a fantastic honeymoon, and I'm so looking forward to having a break. We are just hoping that everything works out for us. The agent said that if we needed to the sellers may be able to rent the house to us for a couple of weeks after we get back until everything is finalized. That would be nice. Luckily for us Matt's brother is a real estate agent, so he's walking us through the whole process.

And now I need to sleep. Shower and sleep after this long long day. Good night world. Maybe I'll dream of stress reducing methods and wake up feeling ready to tackle everything. That would be nice :)

Until next time . . . be it a week, a month, or a year
EM

hot chocolate and slowly melting ambition

I wrote this poem a few years back. In fact, I posted it a few years back. I remembered it today and thought that I should post it again, because I really love it.

When the snow falls under my feet
I remember
Hot chocolate and slowly melting ambition

Time had no limit then
My toes touched the sky when I swung up, singing
Then pumped back

And I could lay there
Forever
Content to be surrounded by the silence of the snow

I wrote this thinking back to my childhood. Whenever we would get a good snow we would all bundle up and play outside building snowmen and snow forts and making angels in the snow. And then, when our fingers felt like they were going to fall off from the bitter cold, we would go back inside to slowly peel off all of our layers, and my mom would always - without fail - make us hot chocolate. Homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows.

In summer months we would swing and sing. Singing at the top of our lungs whatever we wanted to. It really was so much fun, and I miss those days with my sisters. I hope that someday my children will be able to swing and sing and enjoy every minute of it.

And then occasionally when nobody else wanted to play in the snow, I would go out back and just find a spot to lay down. I would lay there and just marvel at the fact that all I could hear was the snow shifting and melting around me. All else was still. And I would wish that I could just lay there forever in that peaceful place . . . but the cold would get to me evenutally.

It's time to go sledding - to pull the inner child back out of her box. Today is my last final and then I'm free as a bird for about a month. I think I'll pray for more snow . . . or maybe I'll just head up the canyon and find a hillside that's still fresh. I'll take Lucas along. He'll love it.

I had an interesting dream last night

There were 2 of me - each on separate sides of a river. On one side of the river I was one of a crowd of a thousand or so all spread out in front of the face of a steep rocky mountain. I saw the dream from the perspective of the other side of the river. There was a battle raging, and the leader of those of us on my side of the river felt they needed to speak to us. So we all sat down cross legged as if we were in grade school and listened. While we were being spoken to there was a command given for a firing squad type shooting to be directed to the other side - and within seconds there were hundreds of random shots fired. I watched out of the corner of my eye as bodies slowly crumpled to the ground on the other side, not seeming to care much . . . until I remembered that there was another me on that other side and I quickly scanned for a sign of my existence. I couldn't see myself, so I looked for the lady that had been standing by me. I found her and my eyes instantly looked to her feet to see a lifeless body lying there - the body of me. I did not hesitate at all in standing up and shouting "No!". I quickly crossed the river - walking on the water - and went to kneel by my lifeless body. Realizing that I was not a tangible being - but rather a spirit - I begged the forces of nature to let my spirit re-enter this lifeless corpse in front of me. All the while I was wailing - deep, sorrowing, painful cries of pain. Pain of body and spirit. I couldn't be dead. There was still so much for me to do.

And then suddenly, as if someone had administered a saving breath to that lifeless body, it awoke gasping for air. And as soon as that happened I could no longer see things from the eyes of a spirit - I could no longer see things from the other side. I was now on the right side - alive - and I went around telling everyone what had happened to me. The dream seemed to last forever as I wandered around telling people. "I was dead!" I would say. "I saw myself, I was dead, and it was so sad, but I came back! look!"

The thing that stands out to me the most from this dream is the wailing. The weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth - as they say. It was so deep in my dream that I can still feel the pain in my chest today. It was quite tangible.

The meanings to this dream are many. The nature of the dream played a lot from a game I have been playing lately - especially the fact that I could walk over the water. But I would like to think that this dream was meant to get through to me. Just typing it out here I'm noticing so many interesting things. So many things that seem obvious to me now.

I love dreams. Always have, always will. I ought to open up a dream center someday. Encourage people to come in and tell me about their dreams and then I could try to help them interpret. I've always felt I had a knack for it. It would be a delicate process, carefully peeling back the layers of symbolism and then helping the dreamer see what lies beneath. That would be fun. A fun, interesting spin on the therapy approach. That's it. Someday I will be a therapist who specializes in helping you fix your life by showing you what the music you listen to does for you - whether it's helping or hurting. Then I'll show you what your dreams do. Then I'll give you a big bear hug and send you on your way.

Please silence your cell phones and pagers

I love that screen that comes up right before the previews roll in the theater. A starry (I think) screen comes up with a soothing voice saying something like "our feature presentation is about to start. please silence your cell phones and pagers now."
She says it like 17 times. and there's this harp playing in the background . . . and the sound effect of wind whooshing across the screen. It could put a baby to sleep.

ANYHOW,
I think that they need to do something like that before class starts - since people are still just too thick to remember to do it for class! Seriously, there's this girl in my 2:00 class who - everyday without fail - her cell phone rings. Now, some cell phone rings are ok in this circumstance. A "classic" ring is usually ok - especially if your volume is turned down. Let that happen once or twice and I'll know that you're not a bad person, you just forgot.

But this girl, what does she have for her ringtone? Oh, could it be one of the most annoying songs ever . . . . "Mmmbop" by Hansen. Remember that song? Got it in your head? Now imagine the chorus ringing out LOUD for all to hear in the middle of a lecture. Yeah - girl - please, save yourself from any further embarrasment and silence your cell phone!

No offense to the good Blonde women of the world, but 3 blonde girls had their cell phones go off today. I was not in the mood . . . I'm just glad I get to go home now :)

we need to speak up

Jenny just got back from the store and told me about a new Barbie doll released in June of this year. Barbie Top Model. It's common knowledge that Barbie's proportions are already out of control, right? Well, Barbie Top Model is even worse. Her legs are longer, waist is smaller, skirt is shorter.

It's sad to see this on our shelves. The unreal expectations that the media forces upon women in our society causes so many problems, and we know that girls are becoming self conscious at a younger age. I wish we could put a stop to it all. I guess the only way we can do anything is to limit our children's exposure to these types of toys. What do you think?

Let The Fur Fly

I gave Lucas a haircut today. It wasn't his first haircut, but it was my first time attempting it on my own. He's pretty good when it comes to grooming - as long as I have him on a high surface so that he can't run away. So I set up my own little makeshift groomers table on my bathroom counter and let the hair fly. And let me tell you, there was plenty of hair to come off of this pup.

Exhibit A: The happy, furry puppy during a lounge session about a month ago.




























I had determined over the past week that I was going to purchase my own set of hair clippers in order to save some cash. So I bought a good set of hair clippers at Wal-Mart last night for the affordable price of $20. I'm hoping that they will last a long time. It took about an hour, and I got a good sized bag of doggy hair from the ordeal, but now Lucas is all trimmed up. He doesn't look nearly as good as he always does after a session at the groomers, but I'm sure with time I'll be able to get his cut right.

Exhibit B: Lucas looking younger. A bit scruffy, but it works.













Now, if only I could get his hind quarters to look as good as they do after a visit to the groomers, I'd be set. It might help if I gave him a bath, because no amount of brushing could get his fur to fluff up like it does after a grooming session.

He's still pretty dang cute though. Such a good patient puppy.

New Church Media Campaign

I read an article this morning on the church website about a new media campaign that the church is piloting right now. This particular ad gave me goosebumps. The power of testimony is pretty incredible.



edit:
for some reason I can't get this video to work. Here is a link until I figure it out.

Appropriate Lyrics

I've always loved music. It's the music that has always gotten to my heart. The melodies and chord progressions. But lately the lyrics have been jumping out at me. I don't know what changed - I guess I can just relate with so many of them more now than I ever have before.

The wonderful thing about lyrics is that so often we can relate, but they never will match our circumstance completely (unless we wrote them). Such is the case with the lyrics below. They almost fit perfectly.

Star Signs
by Leona Naess

And I still love him tonight
no distance or time can bite
and i still feel out of place
in crowded rooms
and the silence of space

no love could be
this hard to beat
i still read your star signs
star signs

and they know just when to hit
when morning comes and your friends
they gotta split
and you know just what to say
when no one's around you know how to play

no love could be this hard
to beat
i still read your star signs, star signs

baby, baby can't you see
this world ain't big enough for you or me so
light the candles and turn out your lights
and turn on my lights

no love could be this hard to beat
i still read your star signs, star signs
i don't even know what they mean
what you mean

I don't even know what you mean
what you mean

Let It Die
by Feist

Let it die and get out of my mind
We don't see eye to eye
Or hear ear to ear

Don't you wish that we could forget that kiss
And see this for what it is
That we're not in love

The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start

It was hard to tell just how I felt
To not recognize myself
I started to fade away

And after all it won't take long to fall in love
Now I know what I don't want
I learned that with you

The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start
The tragedy starts from the very first spark
Losing your mind for the sake of your heart
The saddest part of a broken heart
Isn't the ending so much as the start

If I were Lucas

You know, there are some days when I feel sorry that my dog has to stay home by himself cooped up in his crate - but then there are nights like tonight when I realize just how good he has it.

If I were Lucas:
- Each morning I could wake up with crazy hair, but no worries. Just a simple 2 second shake of my entire body and my hair magically falls into place

- I would have red hair! (and blonde and black)

- I could stay home and sleep all day

- I would get yummy treats every morning when my master left for work

- I could get a full body massage every night

- Life would be so simple

of course there are plenty of things that I would miss out on too, but I think that our dogs have it pretty good. At least my dog does ;)