Friday, October 31, 2008

Mummy to Be

I know I haven't posted in a while - I apologize. But it's because I had a secret and I'm horrible at keeping secrets...not the secrets of others - just my own.

In the spirit of Halloween, I'll share my news via a photo. For those waiting on a banner, the following is the reason I haven't gotten to it. I'm dead to the world by 7pm lately. I will slack no more! :)

It's still early, but my impatience and excitement is the reason we are telling people now. Well, not only that. I have this thing about if something were to happen (which, Lord willing, it won't), then I don't want this baby to never have been known to others - it's so loved already and that wouldn't change if we lost it. Please say a prayer (or many!) for us.

I am due the first week of July, and my first ultrasound is on November 17th so hopefully I'll be posting pictures of "Baby Bee" at that time.

If you're keeping score, yes, my sisters and I are pregnant at the same time. Carrie's due in April, Lindsay in May, and I'm due in July. It should be an interesting summer! We're thrilled (and, needless to say, so are both sets of grandparents and aunts and uncles!)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A few pictures

I don't really feel like writing but here are some pictures for you!

My twin's cute belly at 14 1/2 weeks!


My cute Lampchop slippers my sweet mama bought for me last weekend (notice the tail)!



My cute nephew "frosting" Halloween sugar cookies. Yeah, no one would eat his cookies when he was finished. He had his own can of frosting, too...he licked everything. :)

The weekend was so much fun. I am always sad about leaving. But, I'm happy that I will get to see my family again on Halloween! Also, going to Bev's shower on the first of November should be a blast...I've known Bev since middle school - she's my sister's best friend and she's having a little girl!

Have a wonderful week!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

NOT Vintage Thingies Thursday

I made up a recipe.

It was actually eatable. Not only was it eatable, it was good. I usually don't like recipes with someone's name in them, but for my very first completely made up recipe, I'm going to put my name on it. I admit I got the general idea from a few different recipes, but what makes it mine is that I had no clue how it would turn out when I was making it because of all the stuff I threw in there. If there's a recipe out there like this one, don't tell me. Or, do tell me so I don't get sued.

Chicken Chimechangas a la Jamie

8-10 10" flour tortillas
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Depends on how saucy you like your chimechangas. I used 3)
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (I used the Campbell's Health Request kind)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T butter
1 T dried minced onion (I'm sure fresh onion would taste even better. D & I are not onion people so I don't have fresh onion in my house)
1 T chopped jalapeno (I use the jarred kind)
1 T salsa (I used my homemade salsa which is more pureed than, say, Pace, so just eyeball it)
2 T taco sauce (I bet enchilada sauce would be really yummy as a substitute)
1/4 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°
Boil & shred chicken. Set aside.
In medium saucepan, melt 1 T butter over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and saute until soft. Add soup and stir well to combine. Add jalapeno, salsa, and taco sauce. Stir to combine and let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Add the cooked chicken.
Fill each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the mixture and roll pretty tightly. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and brush melted butter on top of each tortilla.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes.

I scorched the roof of my mouth biting into one of these last night, so be careful. They may not look/feel hot, but they are pretty much an oven on the inside. They're so good - very flaky, buttery on the outside. The chicken on the inside was super tender and the sauce was so flavorful (kind of spicy!).

So, D wanted me to share with you all what he got me for our anniversary. He said he didn't want you all to think he was a chump and didn't buy me a card! He gave me the sweetest card - I almost cried. I love when our anniversary or Valentine's Day comes around and I can see what eloquent words he thinks of to describe how he feels about me. It really melts my heart.

Along with the card, he got me my favorite candy in the entire world... See's Bordeaux chocolates. If you don't live in the Northwest you probably have never had See's chocolates. You are missing out. If I ever make any money from this blogging thing (which is unlikely to happen), I will give away some of this chocolate. It's that good. Bordeaux, specifically, are like little pieces of chocolate heaven. The inside is a rich blend of brown sugar and buttercream, and the outside is either milk or dark chocolate, depending on your taste. I'm a dark chocolate girl all the way. The best part, in my opinion, are the chocolate sprinkles on top.


We had a really great time at The Melting Pot. SO much food! It never looks like a lot of food, but D always has to practically roll me out of there when we're finished eating. We had 7pm reservations. Since it was a Tuesday night and we assumed they wouldn't be crowded, we arrived at 6:50. The hostess told us it would be just a few minutes. A couple that walked in after us were seated a little after 7pm. I won't go in to the questions of why a couple who had reservations for 7pm but walked in after D & me were seated before we were seated. But anyway, we finally got a table around 7:10. Turns out they were short-staffed so our waitress was not only our server but she was also the busser. We chose one of the "Big Night Out" meals for two. It comes with a salad, your choice of cheese fondues (all fondues come with "the trimmings), your choice of broth or oil for your main course (we chose broth - the oil is way too heavy!), and then your choice of dessert fondue.

The salads are good - I wouldn't say they're anything special.

For the cheese fondue, you get to choose from a list of about 8 different kinds of cheese fondues. We chose spinach artichoke fondue with Fontina and Butterkase cheeses. It was very, very good. They bring out bread, raw veggies, and green apples to dip in the cheese. D & I weren't big on the apples - they were way too tart and tasted funny with spinach artichoke cheese on them.

Our main course platter had filet mignon, Memphis BBQ pork tenderloin, Key West shrimp, honey dijon chicken, spinach artichoke ravioli, and some fresh veggies and potatoes. It came with salmon, too, but we subbed more filet mignon since D isn't a fan of seafood. I have to tell you the story of D and his favorite dipping sauce. The first time we went to THe Melting Pot and he tried the cocktail sauce, he quite literally fell in love with the slow burn of the horseradish in the sauce. I'm pretty sure the only dipping sauce he uses is the cocktail sauce and maybe some of the cream cheese and chives. He puts the cocktail sauce on everything. Last time we went to the Melting Pot, the cocktail sauce had lost its burn - apparently one can get used to the burn and have it not really effect them anymore. Kinda like a drug addict. This time, the waitress offered to bring D some horseradish on the side so D could add more to the cocktail sauce. Throughout the meal, D got more and more used to the burn. Finally, for one of his last bites, he loaded up the cocktail sauce with more horseradish and literally piled it on to his piece of pork. The following pictures were of this bite...

I love that it looks like the steam is coming from David's head.

For dessert, we ordered "Cookies and Cream Marshmallow Dream" fondue. It's dark chocolate topped with marshmallow cream, flambeed, stirred together, and topped with crushed Oreo cookies. And to dip in the fondue, we had strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, marshmallows, pound cake, Rice Krispie Treats and brownies. But you probably want to see a picture...


I'll leave you with pictures of our trip to the pumpkin patch. Just because it's my blog and I can.
First, this is our pumpkin that we picked out at the patch. I LOVE this pumpkin - it was love at first sight. I laid eyes on it and I said "That's the one!" I feel like we were meant to be together. The second picture is the stuff we picked up at the pumpkin patch this year. The popcorn is kettle corn.

Here's D getting us some roasted corn on the cob. I'm salivating now just thinking about it. They even had Cayenne Pepper to sprinkle on your corn...D was happy about that.

The next picture is D picking up my pumpkin of choice. Oh, he's showing his dirty underbelly. Excuse me. I know it looks like D has on a Michael Jackson-era coat, but that's what D calls his "getting dirty jacket". It's in the trunk of his car at all times (along with blankets and a homemade emergency kit - isn't that cute?) in case he has to get dirty and it happens to be cold outside. The pumpkin patch is usually notoriously muddy, but this year it was great!


That's all I've got.

I wish I could work on headers/banners at work but I can't. All of my fonts and image uploads are on D's computer at home. Sidenote: Don't download Microsoft Vista. It rots your computer. Okay, it doesn't rot your computer, but it makes it slower than molasses which is highly frustrating!

D & I were invited to a couple of Halloween parties this year. At one of them we have to actually dress up. Any ideas?

Have a happy October 16th!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

2 Years

Wow, has it really been almost a week since I last posted? Time is flying too quickly. I need it to slow down a little.

Wait. If it slows down, that would mean I'm working longer. Speed it back up. I'm okay with time being slowed down after about 5pm on the weekdays. And it can just take it's dear sweet time on the weekends. But before 5pm on weekdays, speed it up. (Disclaimer: Holidays that fall on weekdays or vacation time should also be slowed down. Thank you.)

Speaking of weekends, this weekend should be fun. D & I are heading down to Oregon around 12pm on Friday. My family is big into holidays and Halloween is just an excuse to celebrate autumn which works for me since it's my favorite season. My mom always makes homemade sugar cookies and we frost them together. Then there's the annual trip to Sauvie Island for the pumpkin patch. We've been doing this for a long time - maybe ever since we moved to Oregon if not a couple of years after that. When we get there we usually eat lunch (hamburger or hot dog and corn - always corn on the cob) then after lunch we pile on to the hay ride and it takes us out to the pumpkin patch. We spend time trudging through the vines and sometimes muddy ground to find our perfect pumpkins, then we head back on the hay ride. We browse the little gift shop and by then we're ready to go.

Look at these pictures I found from 2005. This was my first time bringing D home to meet my family and they loved him, of course. Who wouldn't? Man, I'd love to be that size again. The second picture is my brother-in-law, Chris, and Caleb when he was just a baby riding in a little "train" pulled by a tractor. I love that picture!


So today is our 2nd anniversary. I asked D last night if he could believe that we'd been married for 2 years already and the look on his face made us both crack up. It was the look of "Only two years?" Last night as I was working feverishly trying to get some creative juices flowing and finish the first of many banners, D says he's going to the store and asks if I need anything. We're out of milk, but I told him not to worry about it and that we'd go another time. Then it hits me.

I looked at him "I didn't get you an anniversary card."
A smile broke on his face.
"Is that why you're going to the store?" I asked him. I already knew the answer.
We both laughed. I told him not to worry about it - I know he loves me, a card isn't necessary. Not to mention if he gave me a card today and I didn't have one for him then I would feel pretty bad, so maybe this year we'll just go cardless. :)

Tonight we'll go to The Melting Pot. I love The Melting Pot. If you sign up for their club online you receive a free chocolate fondue for your anniversary and I think you get one for your birthday, too! We do the entire dinner which is a lot of fun.

I plan to relive our wedding day for you sometime this week. I want to be able to show you pictures at the same time.

Maple Oat Nut Scones. They will be made on Thursday evening...I hope. I still have committments to two lovely ladies to get them their headers this week so I must live up to my end of the bargain. I'm having fun with them; just for some reason last night I couldn't think creatively. I think it was due to lack of sleep, but it's very frustrating when you know you have it in you to think of some really great ideas but they just aren't coming to you!

Brie at My Home - My Life is having a giveaway...her first ever! Go check it out!

Have a good October 14th - I know I will!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Vintage Maps

AAAHHH!
I can't believe I actually won something! Thank you, Deborah - I'm so excited!

Just had to get that off my chest, thanks.

I can't believe it's Thursday again already! Time to share my maps!

I found these beauties at the Seattle Antique Market. You know, the place I said really had nothing to offer? That's the one. I just loved the look of these!
I think I'm going to have to frame them. When I do, I might just make a color photocopy of every single side and try to capture everything on the map in one frame. It has too many neat parts to just showcase one aspect! I love the World's Fair advertisement on this map. The World's Fair came to Seattle in 1962 so this map is probably from the early 1960s or late 1950s.

The second map that you see looks to be the exact same type of map only published in a different year. I'm not sure what year, but if I look up the name of the Governor whose signature is printed on the map, it was sometime between 1965 to 1977. Pretty big range of dates! Oddly enough, they don't list a date on the map. You'd think that would be a crucial piece of information for a map, but maybe they assumed people would recognize the map covers!

That's really all I have to say about maps :) I love them and can't wait to frame them.

Don't forget about my FREE offer...

For a limited time, I'll offer my graphic design services to you for free (for a blog header or logo) in exchange for a mention on your blog. Here is what I'm offering:

3 different designs for your header based on what you tell me that you want
• Once a design is chosen, I will give you 2 more proofs if you want changes made
The header is yours to use as you wish, all I ask is for a mention of my work on your blog.
I do have a business license and I have worked on designing websites/flyers/business cards/etc. professionally in the past. I'm looking to get back into it now!

Feel free to tell your readers about this "giveaway" (please do!).

I will offer this until November 1st. It's first come, first served. I'll work on 3 at a time (I already have two interested, but am happy to take on as many as ask!) so you may have to wait if you "apply" late.

I love to design, so put me to work! I can send you a link where I posted pictures of some of my work if you're interested. If you'd like to email me about this, my email address is baldwinbungalow@gmail.com.

Happy Thursday!

Free Banner Design!

Need a banner?

I do banners!

Don't want to spend money?

I'll do it for free!

For a limited time, I'll offer my graphic design services to you for free in exchange for a mention on your blog. You can see just a small sampling of my design work here, but it is in no way complete. I also have work at home that I can't get to from here on this computer that I will try to upload tonight to the same link. If you'd like to see more work, please let me know.

Here is what I'm offering:

• 3 different designs for your header based on what you tell me that you want
• Once a design is chosen, I will give you 2 more proofs if you want changes made
• The header is yours to use as you wish, all I ask is for a mention of my work on your blog.

I do have a business license and I have worked on designing websites/flyers/business cards/etc. professionally in the past. I'm looking to get back into it now!

Feel free to tell your readers about this "giveaway".

I will offer this until November 1st. It's first come, first served. I'll work on 3 at a time so you may have to wait if you "apply" late.

If you "apply", please be willing to let me post a link to your site on my blog so others can see my work.

Thank you!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Another sister!

I'm not feeling very inspired. My camera ate the pictures I took of my chimechangas and chocolate chip cookies on Friday night. They were beautiful photos (in my very biased opinion) but now they're gone.

I have some great news.

No, I'm not pregnant. But guess who is? My baby sister, Lindsay, and her husband Craig! I now have two sisters who are expecting and I am officially the only sister in the family who can eat just about anything I want without gagging (or worse!). Carrie is due April 18th and Lindsay is due May 15th. I'm really excited to find out what they're each having so I can get shopping! Carrie should find out mid-November and Lindsay should find out, yep, a month later in mid-December. The picture to the right was taken while we were in Las Vegas in late August and it's (left to right) Craig, Lindsay, Carrie, and Chris. They're going to have some pretty good-looking babies!

Other than being a little windy, it's a gorgeous day here in Seattle! It didn't start out that way - it was drizzly and gray this morning on my way in to work. I didn't anticipate needing my sunglasses for the drive home! Then again, I have a couple more hours before I leave work, so anything could happen!

I decorated for fall. I thought I had more than just one box of fall decorations but D is telling me that I don't. I just have this feeling. Anyway, it's probably just as well. With the way time is moving these days, I'll have to take them down and put up holiday decorations before I know it!

No immediate plans to make anything crazy for dinner soon. We have a visiting preacher this week preaching on "The Emotions of a Christian" and it's every night at 7pm, Sunday through Thursday. That keeps us pretty busy so it's easy meals for us. The chimechangas I made on Friday got a really great review from David. He told me he would request them for his birthday! So, I'll definitely be making them again and when I do I'll be sure to take pictures and post the recipe.

Until Vintage Thingies Thursday...

Friday, October 3, 2008

Food : Reviewed & Other Things...

Starbucks has a new drink. It's called a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. I know what you're thinking - "Ew! You eat salted things, not drink them!"

You are so right. Before Meg (my coworker) and I went on our usual Friday trek to Starbucks, the receptionist front desk coordinator was telling me all about the new Salted Caramel Hot Chocoalte and how it had changed her life. Okay, she didn't say it changed her life but she sure was excited about it. She said it tasted like a maple donut. A donut? I'm in! I wasn't convinced about the salted part but I figured that if it tasted like a donut it was probably heaven in a cup. Thankfully I didn't have to pay for (and thereby waste) this drink before I tried it. They had samples at the register so I scooped one up and took a sip.

Hmm. Salt crystals on top of the whipped cream. Need to stir those in or it will throw off my taste buds.

Stir, stir, stir.

Sip.

I had in my head that it would taste like a maple donut. I tried really hard to get past the salty flavor but it didn't really work. As a matter of fact, I'm still tasting the salty flavor and that grosses me out. I did. not. like. this. drink.
Some people like it so maybe I'm crazy. That little tiny sample cup was more than enough for me...I can't imagine drinking more of it than that, and Meg agreed. So, try it and tell me what you think.

Update: My friend, who works at Starbucks, just told me that they've been telling people that this drink tastes like a chocolate covered pretzel. That's a much better description of the taste than a maple donut. Unless you're in the habit of salting your donuts.

I would also like to review Campbell's Select Harvest soup. I had to take a picture of the one I brought for lunch today since I couldn't find a photo of the "on the go" soups online. I bought these because they were on sale and I had 3 coupons. They were a great deal. On Monday, I tried the Mexican-Style Chicken Tortilla soup. Sound good? Not so much.




The broth was a LOT thinner than I expected for a tortilla soup.
The chicken was extremely dry and had no flavor.
The soup, in general, was flavorless.

Needless to say, I'm not really looking forward to lunchtime. But, these have to be eaten! Maybe the Chicken with Egg Noodles variety will knock my socks off. I'll let you know.


It's Friday, finally. I literally took the above pictures about 3 minutes ago. Such will be the weather this weekend but I'm not sad about it! I'm excited to stay indoors and decorate/clean my house. I plan to have everything spic and span by tonight or (more likely) tomorrow night.

Beef & Bean Chimechangas are on the menu tonight. Maybe I'll post that recipe later. I've never actually made chimechangas before, so hopefully they turn out well. I'm looking forward to my Spanish rice more than anything, honestly. I love it. I'll definitely post that recipe.

D & I hope to attend the Issaquah Salmon Days on Sunday after church since it's just a short walk from where we attend worship. I've never been and neither has D so hopefully the weather holds out.

It's interesting working in a building where, if a heavy set person or many people walk by, the entire floor shakes and my monitor convulses. I'll never know if an actual earthquake happens.

There's a guy who sits near me who sighs incessantly. Loud, heaving sighs. This is between when he hacks loogies. The loogie-hacking has gotten better but one loogie-hack a day is too much for me! Especially since I know he doesn't spit the loogies out - there's only one thing he could be doing with them. *shudder*

I thought Palin did a great job last night. Some of my favorite lines:

"Say it ain't so, Joe!"
"Dadgumit" (or was it "doggonit"?)

I kept expecting her to mess up - mainly because I didn't want to see her mess up. I loved her bejeweled flag pin and red pumps. Yay for strong, conservative women! Did you guys see her 6-year-old daughter hauling the baby around? That poor baby gets handed off so many times but I thought the 6-year-old looked just adorable toting him around.

Okay, I've rambled far too long. Enjoy your weekend!

UPDATE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, my socks are firmly in place. The soup was NOT good. Although, how can you really say something wasn't good when it didn't have flavor? I added salt and Saltines and nothing saved it. I think I've decided that I prefer thicker soups - or at least the kind with MSG. Isn't that horrible? I'm hoping that Progresso will save me. I bought some of those with a coupon, too.

I'm off to eat my sugar-free chocolate pudding and then maybe a pear or banana.

Oh, and about the approved Bailout plan...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read this article from 1999. It's very interesting. Now who do we blame??

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink


You may have to copy and paste the article into your browser.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Vintage Thingies Thursday - more vintage books!

It's Vintage Thingies Thursday! I know I said that the Seattle Antiques Market was a bust, but I did find a few things that I liked enough to pick up and buy. See the books below? I'll be talking about those. See the maps below? I won't be talking about those. Yet. Stay tuned, though, they're pretty great.

I'll start by saying that if you were born in the 50s or 60s you probably recognize these books. There were at least 20 different books in this series at the antique store so I assume they were pretty popular. I love them. They look pretty cute on the front but then you turn them over on the back and they are just as cute on the back too! Can't you visualize these sitting on the shelf in a kid's room? I can!




The first book is from 1961. Here are the stories in it:

Robin Hood ... retold by Mary MacNab
Heidi Goes to the Pasture ... Johanna Spyri
The Walrus and the Carpenter ... Lewis Carroll
How the Camel Got His Hump ... Ruyard Kipling
Mop Top ... Don Freeman
One Horse Farm ... Dahlov Ipcar
What the Good-Man Does Is Always Right ... Hans Christian Andersen
Hunters from the Sky
Thomas Jefferson: Father of Democracy ... Smith Burnham
The True Book of Health ... Olive V. Haynes R.N.
Tricks to Fool Your Friends ... Robert North
Let's Go to Argentina

Can I just say "two of these things just don't belong here". "Thomas Jefferson" and "The True Book of Health" in a children's book? So funny!


The next book is copyright 1957. I think I like the cover on this book the best. I don't know why. Maybe it's the fall leaves in the window, or the little boy who is barefoot on a wood floor. Or, maybe it's the greenery. Anyway, I love it! I'm noticing a theme with the stories. A story about a president and a story on a country. Here is a list of the stories...

The Pied Piper of Hamelin Town ... Sara Cone Bryant
The Ugly Duckling ... Hans Christian Andersen
Yonie Wondernose ... Marguerite De Angeli
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat and Other Verses ... Edward Lear
Chicken Little
We Live in Air ... Craig and Baldwin
Little Folk's Party ... Florence Hamsher
Kiki Loves Music ... Charlotte Steiner
Dog Friends
Benjamin Franklin ... James Baldwin
This is Mexico


The third and final book has a picture of a king with a pie and blackbirds flying out of it. It's under the umbrella of "Mother Goose Rhymes" in the table of contents - does anyone know what the actual rhyme is called? Maybe the most important question is: What is the point of the rhyme? I mean really - a blackbird nipping the nose off a helpless maid? How horrible! Here's the rhyme if it helps:

"Sing a song of sixpence
A pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Was not that a dainty dish
To set before the king?

The king was in his counting-house
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlor
Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes,
Along came a blackbird
And nipped off her nose."

Poor little maid. Oh, the book is copyright 1958 - the year my dear mum was born. I don't really call her "mum". I don't call her "dear", either, even though she means a lot to me as mothers should. Mom, if you're reading this (which I know you're prone to do), sorry for telling the known world your birthdate. If it makes you feel any better, I only have 7 people who follow my blog. Maybe a spattering of D's friends, too. Some family. People who like vintage things. People in general.

Moving on. Here is the list of stories since I'm sure you've been waiting for me to get to this already:

Ulysses and the Wooden Horse of Troy ... James Baldwin (Note from JB: Ha! This is the exact masculine form of my name! I noticed it in the other book as well. Good old Jimmy)
Old Mother Goose Rhymes
Billy and the Bear ... Laura Bannon
Ten Little Indians
The Sleeping Beauty ... Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm
Andy and Polly ... Rhea Wells
Robert Fulton and the Steamboat ... Smith Burnham
Life on a Farm ... Robert S. Lemmon
Miss Ant, Miss Grasshopper, and Mr. Cricket ... Rachel Field
Let's Visit Alaska (Note from JB: Everytime I hear or see the word "Alaska" I hear Sarah Palin say it in my head. Or Tina Fey. Anyone else?)

I guess this book didn't find it necessary to educate kids on a president.

That's all I have for "Vintage Thingies Thursday".

Two additional weird things about me.
Or, maybe just stupid.

Either way, here goes. When my mom would wake me up in the morning for school, I would do one of two things after I finally dragged myself out of bed.

------1. I would go downstairs and turn on the clothes dryer then sit in front of it. All my mom knew was that I wasn't in bed anymore. What she didn't know was that I was sitting against the dryer sleeping to the murmurings of the "toss" cycle (again, sorry Mom).

------2. I would get in the shower but I would turn on the warm water and sit in the floor of the shower and fall asleep. I still don't like to get up in the morning but I don't resort to either of these two weird ways of waking up.

When I was in 1st grade our elementary school held an election so that we could feel like our vote counted in some way. I didn't have any idea what was going on. Yes, this is how little politics were discussed in our house. I voted democrat at the ripe age of 6. Oddly enough, my classmates made fun of me for it. Was I supposed to have a political platform in elementary school? Apparently, some parents think so (I won't go into that here).

If I can humiliate myself any more I'll be the first to let you know.