Read My Lipstick...Go Vote!

As this is my blog I'm going to voice my opinion on the presidential race, but before I do I want everyone who reads this to understand how important your vote is in the election this year. Even if you think one vote won't make a difference, just remember your one vote added with lots of other "one votes" add up to an electoral college. Your vote counts; not only on the national level but also on the local level. So, don't forget to vote on Tuesday, November 4th.

If your town is anything like mine I'm sure you have seen the signs for folks running for anything from Probate Judge to the Presidency. My parents always used to tell me, "If you don't vote, you have no room to complain." While I believe this to be mostly true, I also have to raise the question, what about other military families like ours who don't live locally but still get the absentee ballot with names we may not recognize for local offices?

Personally, I would do one of two things. The first, don't vote on the local offices. Right now you're thinking, "wait a minute, didn't she just say that my vote is important?" Yes, it is, but not an uneducated vote. If you don't have the time to educate yourself on the various offices and those running for them, don't vote. Your uneducated vote will inevitably cancel out the educated vote of someone who has taken the time to research those that are running and really, truly cares about the outcome. Secondly, like I wrote before, research those campaigning. You can do this through the internet, or by asking someone who (lives in the area your ballot represents) you trust and has similar political views as you who they're voting for or what they suggest and why.

Now on to my opinion:

I am a McCain/Palin supporter. I believe John McCain's experience in the military and as a Senator is what this country needs. We need his no-nonsense bipartisan beliefs. This country has become so jaded with being politically correct and not placing blame where it is due that we've become a nation of over concerned finger-pointers. McCain's record has shown that he has no problem exposing them. When he said, "I would rather lose this election than compromise my principles," I knew he would be the man I vote for.

Sarah Palin, it's true, does not have the federal experience of her running mate and their opposition. However, I do not see this as a flaw. Don't forget, she is the governor of a state in our union. She's not some country bumpkin McCain found in the middle of nowhere. Her lack of Washington wisdom is what makes her so endearing; a female version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington comes to mind. Don't get me wrong though; I think she's far from naive and she'll tell the Congressmen and Senators what she really thinks with a bit of sugar on top.

I believe John McCain and Sarah Palin truly care for the general American public, which is why I support them in their campaign for the Presidency and Vice Presidency.

How to Crochet...the Granny Square

Before Brandon and I married I learn to knit. Since then I've knitted scarves, flowers and many knit hats. I love it, but as of last year I've always wanted to learn to crochet. So being the self-starter I am, I googled "how to crochet" and found several sites, but the one I'm using is a tutorial on (of all places) YouTube. So far I've crocheted one granny square. It's definitely not as clean looking as my "teacher's" but I'm sure if I keep up with it, I'll be able to whip them out in no time flat.

Stay tuned I'll put up pictures soon...

Road Rage!

The longer I have been driving the more I come to loathe the stupidity on the roads. I know I have done some annoying and frustrating things while driving, so no, I'm not perfect. But here is a brief list of my findings:

1. Nobody likes rush hour. You are not the only one who has to be somewhere.
2. The brake pedal is for stopping/immediate slow down. To gradually decrease your speed, simply remove your foot from the accelerator. It is a scientific fact; you will slow down.
3. To merge you must accelerate to the speed which your fellow drivers are driving.
4. To the fellow drivers, if a lane is ending and someone needs to get in your lane, let them in. It is not an affront to you personally, they just need to move over. I have a mantra, if one person lets me in I have to do the same for someone else. This is a "pay-it-forward" of sorts. I think if more people did this, drive time would be a little easier. Try it.
5. Enjoy the ride. I know being at a stand still on the freeway is annoying, but try to find a way to see something great in the morning like a sunrise or listening to your favorite music/talk radio.

What would the world come to if all people were treated with respect? Try starting it on the roads and see what happens...

What to Say When There's Nothing to Say

I know the title is a bit ambiguous, but this has been my issue for the past month. Most of you already know I've been working on writing a novel. As of late, I have 83 pages; which is a pretty decent accomplishment, if I could pat myself on the back for a moment.

My problem is getting started; let me rephrase...my problem is getting "restarted". You see my ideas come and go. When they come, I'm on fire. I could sit in front of my laptop for hours; forgetting to eat or drink. Words spill from my imagination onto the keyboard (or from my pencil, if I'm feeling none technical) like the water I just spilled on my lap. When the ideas are gone, they take a hiatus to "never-never land", and I'm stuck sitting in front of a blank screen (or page) with an equally blank look on my face (I can only assume). It's purgatory for the writer.

Lately, I've had thoughts running through my head but they haven't manifested themselves. Does that make sense? It's like when you see someone and you know you know their name but for the life of you, you can't think of it. That's kind of what it's like. I know the route my characters are ultimately going to take, but getting them there can be like wrangling a puppy that hasn't been leash trained yet.

What will happen with Kylie and Drew? What drama will Jillian get herself into? As silly as it sounds, music helps me compartmentalize these ideas. Lately "Crush" by David Archuleta, and "T-shirt" by Shontelle are helping. What I need to do is make a playlist of the songs that get my motor running and play them when I have nothing to say.

Look what I made!

Seeing as how Fall is my most favorite season, I did some autumnal sprucing to the homestead! Most of these I made a few years ago and just refreshed with more leaves, flowers and do-dads. But the pumpkin and knitted flower are both fairly new. I've been trying to figure out what to do with the pupkin b/c I stupidly cut into it with another craft in mind which inevitably failed. Enjoy!

In My Car I'm a Rock Star...

Brandon is always telling me I should sing more and truth-be-told I really do like singing, but I had a bad past experience when I was around 15. I used to sing in the choir at our church and our choir mistress (sounds a little S&M now that I think about it, regardless) she pulled me aside after practice one day and said, I'm a better harmonizer than a soloist. My dreams of being the next Debbie Gibson were crushed! I had been reduced to a backup singer.

Now, several years later I still do not sing in public, unless incredibly intoxicated or so drowned out that no one could hear me even if they wanted to. But, in my car I am Beyonce! I belt out tunes from Carrie Underwood to Flo Rida like it's my job. I can carry a tune like Charlotte Church, and be an alternative rock star like Live! In my (tone deaf) ears I could be the next undiscovered American Idol.

So to those who will ride in my car; be prepared for some steering wheel karaoke. Join in if you wish, but in my car we're all rock stars!

City Slickers meet Deliverance

This past weekend Brandon, myself and several other friends trekked our way to Clayton, Georgia for a wedding between two other friends. The wedding was beautiful/fun but that will be in the photo albums. Let me tell you about Clayton.

Last Thursday, I decided I would look up some info on the town of Clayton to find what we could do for the two days Brandon and I would spend there. It’s a lovely mountain town along the boarder of South Carolina and Georgia I also discovered Margaret Mitchell lived there while she wrote Gone with the Wind and the movie Deliverance was filmed there. (Cue fiddle!)

As Brandon and I drove the good old SUV toward the wedding site (and making a pit stop in Greenville...oh the memories, but that’s for another blog) we noted how pretty the area was becoming. From the beaches to the mountains in less than a day; it was lovely to see the change in our surroundings and the climate. We arrived in Clayton around three o’clock and I couldn’t believe how cute the downtown was.

It looked as though a town had been picked up from Germany and plopped down in the middle of Clayton. The woodwork on most of the buildings and the "gingerbread" styling to some of the larger establishments was adorable! Brandon and I parked the car and checked into our hotel. The people were sweet and though our lodging was definitely old (and really could have used some renovation) it was still quaint.

As we unpacked our "hangables" and toiletries the phone started ringing unexplainably, who could possibly be calling us, no one knew our new room number. Whenever Brandon would pick it up it would be dead. Creepy! So we tried calling the front desk. Busy. Hmm, something’s wrong here. So Brandon made his way downstairs. The phone rang again, this time the front desk clerk was on the other end, saying he’s cleared all messages and is not sure why the phone isn’t working. He asks that I call the front desk to see if it fixed the phone. I hang up dial "0" still busy. Nope, room phone is definitely broken.

Ok, no biggie. Both Brandon and I have our cell phones we’ll just talk to people on those like usual. WRONG! When Brandon came back to the room we checked our cell phones only to find out our carrier doesn’t get signal up there! WHAT?!

(Cue Michelle freaking out) "How are we supposed to get in touch with people without our cell phones?! What did we do before cell phones? Ohmygod...I need to sit down."

We asked the front clerk if there is anywhere we might be able to get service and he mentioned going to Walmart (surprise) and trying up there, as it’s the highest, most open space in the city. Ok, so to Walmart we went...we needed to buy s’mores supplies anyway for the bonfire that night. Brandon pulls into the Walmart parking lot, still "no signal". In a last ditch effort I stand on the car and reach my hand as high in the air as possible hoping and praying for a signal. NO FREAKIN’ SIGNAL!

This means, no text, no voicemail, no alarm clocks (FYI, there weren’t any in the hotel either), no calling! What were we to do? Luckily most of our friends were staying in the same hotel, so we did it old school, we made meeting times for in the lobby and carpooled or caravaned our ways around the city and to and from the wedding site.

(In a side note, after the wedding several of us went to a local pub as we walked in the locals seemed to stop what they were doing to look at the newcomers.)

It was a great weekend and as Brandon said the Mayor of Clayton probably threw a block party when the "Charleston Folks" left.