Why?

Why is family drama so exhausting?
You can try and resolve it but does it really ever go away?
I think you really can't escape and you can never really go back to being just a normal family. So what do we do? Do we pretend that those things were never said?
Should i really have to?

I will not go into specifics but if you really know me- you know what I am speaking about.

A Year Ago

A Year Ago I was a small part of a big victory.
A Year Ago Barack Obama won the general election to be President of the United States.
has a great post today about Election Night last year. Dodai did an amazing job finding some inspirational pictures of last year's acceptance speech. The crowds. People rejoicing. Children and parents crying. As i went through the gallery I cried (I always cry)- I remember the hope, the joy and the excitement of that night.

Politics is my passion. Its like my Superbowl every four years (even though I love the SupaBowl every year). And this election was nothing like before.

I remember making the 3 debates on TV like it was the most delicious piece of TV ever. I mean I was nervous for Obama who doesn't seem like an overly aggressive person (i.e a dick) when it comes to getting his point across. I remember one of my Republican friend was just enjoying McCain butting in and interrupting him and saying that was a real leader. Um. WHA?? But in the end, after all the mistakes McCain made (focusing on Joe The Plumber, THAT ONE, Sarah Palin) I knew Obama was doing very well.

That being said, I lost friend due to my opinion and my political affiliation. A couple of people who i genuinely thought were good friends, people I had known for over 11 years, cut me out of their life. Is it sad? Yes. I know a lot of my friends have different political opinions than me but I never really thought it would get in the way of a friendship. Call me naive. But these two in particular could not even process that a man with a different name wasn't going to kill us all. Oh BROTHER. Get over it people- you listen to Rush and Ann Coulter and that douche Glenn Beck and you get things in your head that aren't true. Some of the things they would say blew my mind. And its easy to get swept up into this whole thing. Most who read my FB in this period I came down pretty hard on people who talked trash and did not have their stories straight. Why? Because other pick up on information and to me, as an Obama supporter, it's my right to let people know truths rather than speculation.

Any who, I remember I woke up at 5:30 that morning on Election Day to vote. When i got there I was 20th or so in line. I stayed quiet- the suburban area I lived in was extremely conservative. I drank my coffee and texted people. After an hour I had my voters sticker! I had voted! Now I waited.

That night i was too much in a flurry to cook so we ordered chinese food. We watched all the different news coverage. At first I was pretty nervous. McCain and his crazy VP was pulling forward. My heart sank. But I tried to stay positive.

We piled into our bed to watch The Daily Show. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert! Love, love, love them. Jameson stayed up for some reason. I dont remember why. But we were there, watching tv and hoping and praying there would be good news at the end of the night. Then Jon Stewart called it. We couldnt believe it. My eyes welled up with tears.

We had won. I was apart of something that really changed people's life. I can't believe much I believed, how hard I hoped and happy I was. People all around the world shared the same passion I did and it paid off.

I called my mom who had recently become a American Citizen. She had cast her first vote ever for Obama. We cried and laughed. My dad would have been so proud.

I know everyone is a critic. A lot of people think he hasn't been a good President. Some people think he hasn't done anything in his presidency. In the less than 10 months he has been in office I think he has done a lot of things. The Wall Street Journal accounts for several accomplishments in this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125712507804421903.html?mod=rss_Politics_And_Policy

What i want to say to people still on the fence of him: Give him time. He's been in office less than 10 months. I know he will accomplish many more things in his first term. And i wish people would just give him that chance.

So Congrats, Mr. President. And thank you.

This is what's for dessert

I am going to try these tonight:
http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/11/salted-brown-butter-crispy-treats/


tonight we are having panko stuffed chicken breast over a bed of pasta alfredo.

Halloween

Halloween 2009 has come and gone and it definitely had its ups and downs.

The Good Stuff

• Dave's mom flew in Friday night and i really adore her. She is such a sweet person. I can honestly say I am not sure how she feels about me. Sometimes she is very affectionate and very talkative to me. But others she is kind of distant. I really do like his parents. Hid dad is about the coolest person on the planet. His mom is such a kind person- she has that nuturing personality so she is amazing with kids. I wish I had her patience.
  
• Jameson was way excited for Halloween this year! He understood the jist of it this year- put on a costume, say Trick or Treat and score some candy. He caught on real fast.
  
• Dave and I had a great weekend. We didnt fight once. Which is amazing cause we bicker all the time. If I say its nightime Dave has to say its daytime. We are one of those couples. Most of the time we just crack up about some of the arguments we have had. Sunday we put Jameson down for a nap and cuddled and made out like teenagers for hours. Le sigh!
• After we trick or treated with family Saturday we went over to Dave's best friend's house, Jen and her roommate Chaz. Jen and Chaz are hair stylists and we always have the best time. Chaz's son, Drew was over with a friend and they were amazing with Jameson. All the boys played cars, started playing football and catch and had a blast. I got to just relax and hang out with pals which I just love. Jen and Chaz are the best.

The Not So Good Stuff

• The weather. It was crappy! It was suppose to be clear and in the 60's. Nope. Raining and in the low 50's. It would stop raining for a few minutes and then start up again. This happened all night.
• Half the houses weren't giving out candy. We walked up to a house who had decorated like crazy- huge inflatable pumpkins, carved pumpkins all around, cobwebs and ghosts hanging. As we got to the door they closed the blinds and slammed the door in their faces.
  We were like wow, nice. We were one of the first trick or treaters in the neighborhood and we noticed a lot of people were not participating. Which is fine. but dont spend a couple hundred bucks on decorations and not spend 10 bucks on a couple bags of candy. And dont act all offended like we're Jehovah Witnesses or something.
• 3/4 of the candy Jameson recieved he can't eat. Peanuts. I dont even buy peanut candy because so many children have peanut allergies. I traded most of the stuff for the non peanut stuff.
• Twattie. Nuff said.
• i got my hair wet. And anyone who knows me knows this is not good.
  

But overall it was good. I hope next year is better .

Happy

My mom book a flight for her to come out at the end of January for Jameson's birthday! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! I am so excited. Jameson is too. His loves his Yaya so much. She will be here for about 2 weeks and will be here for Jameson's birthday! His birthday is on a Saturday next year so this makes a party a breeze. Still not sure where we will have it but i am sure i will post ideas soon.

I feel like this:

Dinner rut broken!

Tonight we had fried pork chops, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, green beans and sweet corn with a cream sauce.
YAY! We are free!
Tomorrow- tacos and spanish rice. Or meatloaf.

I guess we have to eat

Dinner.
I hate dinner. Probably because of my overly picky husband and child. Jameson eats no more than 10 foods in this world. I know what you are thinking- make him eat something and just don't back down. He doesn't work that way. He refused to eat it and once he sat in his chair for over an hour because he refused to eat it.
I don't want to be that mom. I just end up wasting my time and money if he refuses to eat the food.
Same with my husband. He won't eat warm fruit, any veggies except cucumbers (which he has to be in the mood for. Last one he ate was in 2008). He doesn't like yogurt, cream cheese and hates cheesecake. He doesn't like beans, fish or any type of healthy food. Here is his diet- steak, potatoes, cheese, chips, pizza, chicken, spaghetti and toast. Coffee is a must. Coke Zero. And pretty much any type of sweet imaginable.
And to top it off- he has been losing weight with this sham of a diet.
My diet pretty much ended a week after i started it. I am still taking portion control under consideration. But i totally inhaled that Smore's cupcake the other day.

What i don't like about dinner is the rut we seem to get ourselves in. We seem to eat the same kind of dinners every week. Spaghetti casserole one night, swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes the next. Frozen pizza at some point. Maybe a chicken dish- pasta afredo or something. Same old, same old.
We try and spruce it up with brinner one night. which is cool. but now brinner is on the dinner list every week. Blech.

I wish my little family was more open minded. I love salads, indian food, greek food. I would happy with a big plate of roasted green beans and some grape tomatoes.

I need a little inspiration. I try and look at Food Network for recipe tips and ideas for the next week's worth of meals. I am stay at home mom so having a home cooked meal shouldn't be one of scarcity and legend.

I'm gonna just throw it out there- What do you like to have for dinner?