Shane Scott for President – Debt Plan

In this video, Shane explains how he would get us out of debt and improve the education status of Alabama all in one easy step.

Say “nyet” to debt and get on the Shane Train.

Shane Scott for President

If you have decided that you won’t vote for President this year because all of the candidates are horribly bad, then I ask you to consider write-in candidate Shane Scott.  He is 100% American for 98% of America.  See what I mean here:

Find more Shane Scott for President videos on youtube under the username “shaneforamerica”.

Joke Time: Political Campaign Time*

While walking down the street one day a politician is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the  entrance.  ‘Welcome to heaven,’ says St. Peter.  ‘Before you settle in,  it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we’re not sure what to do with you.’

‘No problem, just let me in,’ says the man.

‘Well, I’d like to, but I  have orders from higher up. What we’ll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.’

‘Really, I’ve made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,’  says the politician.

‘I’m sorry, but we have our rules.’

And with  that, St. Peter  escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down  to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course.  In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.  Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.  They play a  friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.  Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such  a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises…

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

‘Now it’s time  to visit heaven.’

So, 24 hours pass with the politician joining a group  of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing.  They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by  and St. Peter returns.

‘Well, then, you’ve spent a day in hell and  another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.’

The politician reflects for a minute, then he answers: ‘Well, I would never have said it  before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but  I think I would be better off  in hell.’

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down,  down, down to hell.

Now the doors of  the elevator open and he’s in the middle of a barren and burning land covered with  waste and garbage.  He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.  The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

‘I don’t understand,’ stammers the politician. ‘Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there’s just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable.  What happened?’

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ‘Yesterday we were campaigning … Today you voted.’

*We heard a version of this at Tokens but we could not determine the writer in researching it for attribution.  If you are the writer of this joke, we will happily attribute it to you.  Just let us know.

Everyone Gets to Have Their Own Context in Life

I had an appointment to have a lunch meeting with some friends today.  When I arrived at our chosen rendezvous point, one of the guys was nowhere to be found.  He has a tendency to occasionally be flighty and forgetful.  I found out that he just wasn’t coming to the meeting from one of the other guys.  So, I called him to ride him hard about not showing up and not calling me to cancel the meeting (We really needed all of us there for the meeting to take place).

It wasn’t until after I hung up the phone that I found out the reason he could not be there.  And without going into details (but just for context of how big a jerk I am), something seriously negative had happened in his life that was far more important than our little meeting.  I immediately called back and left a message apologizing for the first message, but the horse was already out of the chicken coop. I often forget that other people have context to their lives that does not necessarily correlate with the context of my life.

I can’t help but think about politics in connection with this thought.  People have contexts to their own lives that others may not ever be able to comprehend.  I think this is where yelling and divisive political discourse has its roots.  For example, I can’t understand how someone could cry over voting for someone, just not possible for me.  And trust me, I can get pretty weepy.  However, that person has obviously had a different experience in life that gives different context to that moment of voting.

We need to all remember that we are a vast and varied country with individually vast and varied life contexts.  We have the great privilege of voting for our leaders.  At the same time while having those disagreements of ideas, try to remember in your emails, conversations, and blog posts that we are also all neighbors and fellow citizens of a pretty great country (no matter the current circumstances) who each have our own context in life that informs our political decisions.  Those don’t make us good or bad people, they just are what they are and make us who we are.

Everything* I Know About Baseball I Learned From My Mother

The quintessential adage about how life was so much harder for parents than their children is the “walking to school, up hill, both ways, in the snow (with numerous variations and additions) story”. But when I was a child, what impressed me more that any tales of having to walk anywhere was when I found out that my mom’s family didn’t have a television! What? No TV? I was flabbergasted. How did one survive without television?

My mom always had a way of surprising me with information about her life. Take for instance the time she let it slip that she not only did she know it was World Series season but she knew which teams were playing and who was leading in wins! Now, sports and my mother are about as foreign to each other as Donald Trump and a good haircut, so this revelation came as complete shock to me! Why would she know this?

It kind of went back to the TV thing. As I remember it, they did get to watch television, they just had walk (shocker!) to a neighbor’s house to do so. Most specifically, they would go to watch the World Series. She explained that ever since then she, out of habit, followed the World Series.

And pretty much ever since I learned that about her, I do to. I don’t care a lick about baseball any other time of year. But when the World Series begins, I may or may not watch the games, but I always know who is playing and what the win count is. (Phillies – 1, Rays – 1)

I wonder what things about my childhood would seem hard to my children? Is there anything about my life that they would find surprising?

*OK, may not everything but she did get the “ball” rolling!

The Dreaded Four Letter “F” Word

It took awhile to get my act together. I knew it would. I’d let it go for too long.

“I’ll get to it later”, I thought.

“No one will notice right away”, I rationalized.

But once the ball got rolling, I was then faced with a large, daunting pile.

And there was only one thing left to do.

Fold.

All Things Blissful

In addition to life being the normal buzz of craziness and busyness and utter chaos, there are also times of bliss.

Last weekend, DB and I went to New Orleans to celebrate, albeit belatedly, our thirteenth wedding anniversary. Four days of just being together, enjoying food, music and culture was indeed, very blissful. You can see pictures from the trip on Flickr. Our best meal, by far, was at Nola’s. The beignets at Cafe Du Monde did not disappoint. We got to take a carriage ride tour of the French Quarter and we visited The Audobon Aquarium of the Americas. It was a very needed and very good trip.

Yesterday, after our traditional family jaunt to the pumpkin farm, I spent my day in the presence of so many talented, witty, intelligent, savvy, beautiful women. It was BlissDom ’08, the first conference held by BlissfullyDomestic.com! You may remember from some of my earlier ramblings, that is the online magazine that I am an editor and writer for. It was an incredible conference and so indulgent! Not only did I get to spend hours and hours with old and new friends but we were treated like queens! Great food, yummy drinks (including the now infamous Bliss-tini!), overflowing swag bags and amazing giveaways. Here’s a picture of me with the “Blissful Chicks” – some of the editors & writers and our fearless founder:

Many, many thanks to Alli & Karla and to the wonderful sponsors, Epson and One2One! It was truly a blissful event! And if you couldn’t come to BlissDom ’08, or if you’re just now hearing about BlissDom we’re doing it again in February so stay tuned for more details!!

I intended to make this…

But it turned out like this…

Not exactly a viable replicate but it sure was tasty!

{Recipe here}

Thanks to my sister for the recipe tip!

Happy Fall, Y’all!

Autumn is here. We had a beautiful Spring. Summer was a blast and much fun was had. But all year my heart longs for Autumn. It’s in full force now. Leaves are changing and the weather has cooled down. I even wore long sleeves a couple times this past week!

I’ve pulled out all the fall and Halloween decorations. My new favorite decoration this year is this:

The vase is sitting in a vacant spot where paper towels used to reside. I put some silk leaves in it and every time I see it it makes me smile. Don’t know why, it just does.

I bought this witch at Cracker Barrel 4 years ago right before the GMan was born. (She has fiber optic lights and sweeps her broom.)

As he was helping me pull out the seasonal decorations, he asked me about the “nice witch” as he calls her. He had remembered her from last year! Apparently though, the dog did not because she growled then barked at the witch! Either that, or she didn’t approve of my decorating style.

I also really like the set-up on my buffet.

It’s also currently housing a craft project that I’ll completely reveal once it’s finished! (It’s a project I’ve been “meaning to” complete for two years now!)

My other favorite is the wreath on the front door.

This isn’t a very good picture though. But with the nice weather we’ve been having, the windows and front door have been open most of the week, so I’ve been able to enjoy the sight of this pretty, autumnal wreath on my door!

And the food! We’ve already made chili and pumpkin bread and soups. I made a spiced fruit tea last week, as well. So yummy! My signature fall dish is a caramel apple pie. I haven’t figured out yet when I’ll debut it for this season.

What are some special things about Autumn that you enjoy?