Showing posts with label election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

president obama is in the house... (the white house, that is...)



He had a very busy day, but that didn't stop President Barack H. Obama from stopping by my kids' school today for a little volunteer time. The kids were so excited to see him and even though he was in a hurry, he stayed to greet them hello on this special morning.

He even hung out for some photo opps...

He seemed a little stiff, but nerves will do that to a person, don't you think?


Later on, after the festivities and because we weren't invited to any of the official inaugural balls, we had our own ball with Rachel Maddow on the tube and some Obama cookies.


And then we ate them... Yummy Baracko-cookies... (Okay, Naomi licked hers, but it seems generally wrong to talk about licking presidents)Rock on #44!...

It was an amazing day... Besides being pretty much glued to CNN all day, I can't get over what Obama's election means for our country and I seriously have hope for our future. It was such an intensely positive day--everyone seemed so happy and together in their optimisim. Truly, it feels like a real person who understands real issues became president today.
Hope may actually be more than a tagline...

Thursday, November 06, 2008

still kvelling...

I've been walking around happy and satisfied since the results came out. I know that everyone and their mother is talking about how great Obama's win is for our country and despite the fact that tacking on to the subject isn't original, for once I am sure originality isn't necessary.

This video depicts exactly why I am so proud of our country for electing such an intelligent and articulate person to lead us. The story goes on a bit long (where is our good man's editor?), but it shows his dedication to honoring a promise, no matter how big or small, his ability to truly listen to new perspectives and his genuine understanding that everyone's voice is deserving of respect.




And as a proud new aunt, I have to take the opportunity to show off my newest nephew, Amos, who was born on election day. He has to have the best karma ever to be born on the day that Obama was elected president... This kid is totally going places. And also, he's amazingly cute. (His parents aren't too bad, either!)


Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

what are you waiting for??? vote already!!!

I've been holding off on expressing my extreme anxiety and excitement for this day, but having finally, finally gotten here, I'm ready to barack my vote. I'm planning to take the big kids with me to my polling station before I drop them off at school because they've been so involved in this race and at least for Samuel, it'll be really the first election he'll probably remember.

But before we do that, they have a message for you...


Go on, get voting!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

who would you invite to your election party?

Samuel and I were talking about who we'd invite over to watch the election results with us since Boaz is leaving for China on business that day (and it is really probably best for him not to follow every single announced result) and Sam came up with the following list.

  1. His friend Max. Because he's his friend.
  2. Anakin Skywalker. Because he's cool.
  3. R2D2. Because he's cool, too, and wouldn't it be cool to have a droid at our house on election day?
  4. Barak Obama.

"I think maybe Barak Obama might be a little busy on election day," I tell him. "I'm not sure he'd be able to make it. But why do you think he should come over?"

"Because he makes peace and that's a good thing to have around," he tells me. "Plus, I think he'll be in a good mood that night."

Let's just hope...

Thursday, October 23, 2008

moveon.org's newest video campaign is not so funny...

I suppose that the intent of MoveOn.Org's newest video blaming you individually for Obama's (hopefully) fictional loss by your nonvote is to be as scary as someone who believes their vote doesn't count. However, I found it totally disturbing and upsetting.

And it did get my attention...

Maybe the second time around I saw a little humour in it.

Boy, I'd hate to be that person who gets blamed for not Baracking the vote.



Send it to your friends and freak them out by personalizing it with their names... This should help get out the vote.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

a story about my love for red shoes...

I will not write about her, I just won't do it. Everyone and their mother and their mother's mother is going to write about the debate and I want to write about my new running shoes.



So I won't write about how many times in an hour and a half she used the phrases "Darn right" or "Maverick" (but boy, I got chills when Biden chided her about how 'Maverick' wasn't quite the right word to use). I won't ask what a Joe Six Pack is, say that I feel truly squeamishly uncomfortable when she talks about Israel and middle east politics, or say that when it comes down to it, I really just don't think she's up to the job.



And um, did anyone else get all choked up when Biden talked about being a single parent?



Right. Red shoes. And even better, red running shoes.



So today, in all my frustration and anxiety over the impending vice presidential debate, I took an hour and ran to RoadRunner sports to buy some new running shoes and to register for the Seattle Marathon, because I'm going to run it this year.



Didn't that sound cool? I hope it did because I'm not sure my behavior in the store qualified as cool. Also, it should be known that I'm really running the Seattle HALF Marathon (though, hey, that is still 13 miles!), I've never run that far in my life, and I have serious doubts about whether or not I can actually do it. But I paid my registration fee so I have six hours in November to try.



So I went in knowing that I should buy the same Asics that I love and wear and when I got into the store, there they were in the same turquoise and silvery stripes I have at home.



I love shoes, but seriously, runners are so incredibly boring and if they didn't feel so heavenly on that first run when they're brand spanking new, and if they didn't feel so horrible when they're worn out, I would probably just ignore them altogether.



"Hey," I say to the salesguy, who is really young and goodlooking. "Do these come in any other colors?"



"You want a different color?" He asks. "Why?"



"I don't know," I say. "To make them interesting?"



"It makes no difference what color they are. This shoe would run the same no matter the color." He seems almost offended at my superficiality. "Why do you need another color? Do you look at them when you're running or something?"



"Sometimes," I say. And when I notice his odd look, I laugh a little and say, "Just kidding." But we both know that I am not.



So I buy the world's most boring and comfortable runner and walk out the door, and then decide to just take a look at the Title Nine store on the corner.



And do you know what they had? Of course you do...



My fave Asics, style 2130. In CHERRY RED. I seriously have a weakness for red shoes. Even red running shoes.



They were beautiful. And you know what Title Nine calls them? They call them Meg's Favorite Shoe because obviously someone else loves them, too. In red.



So I run back to the first store, meet the salesguy at the register, and tell him that I want to return my shoes.



"You just bought them," he says.



"I know," I tell him. And then I find that I just cannot tell him that I found a better color. I'm too embarrassed that he thinks I watch my feet while I run. "I just talked to my friend," I tell him instead. "She says she found a better deal somewhere else."



"Really?" he says suspiciously. "Where?"



"Um, I don't know, really. Some warehouse somewhere," I lie badly.



He give me the stink eye and says, "A warehouse, huh? You know, if it were true, I'd match your price."



"Huh," I say lamely. "I hope it is." And then I slink off as quickly as possible, run down the street and buy my cool red runners that cost $10 more than the boring turquoise ones.



And then I went home, put them on, and went for a really hard run. And you know what? My feet looked cool while they ran.

Monday, September 01, 2008

my confession of double standards...

It's been a few days since McCain announced Sarah Palin as his choice for VP and my opinion of whether this is good for the Dems has flipped and flopped and then flipped again. But regardless of what McCain's reasons were for choosing Palin, as we discover more about her, I've found myself more and more uncomfortable in discussions about her.

And it has less to do with her politics than her status as a mother.

Politically, she is as polar opposite from me as possible on almost every front, and that's pretty much what I'd expect from McCain's running-mate.

So why on earth do I find myself judging her parenting?

My first gut reaction upon hearing that she has five children, with the youngest under one, is to wonder what kind of super powers this woman must have to be able to run a vice-presidential election with so many kids?

And then I remember, "Oh yeah, I work." (At least usually...)

"But Self," I think, "you're not running for vice president of the United States. If you did that, you'd never see your kids. Who would make sure they do their homework? Who'd make sure they didn't have too much screen time? Who'd kiss them goodnight?"

"But she's serving as a strong example to her children about what women can do, whether they're mothers or not. That's a powerful message."

And who knows? Maybe their father is the one who is more hands-on.

Soon after Samuel was born and I'd just returned to work full-time, a friend who stayed home with her kids said to me, "Wow, I don't know how you do it. I don't think I could hand my kids over to someone else to raise them."

It took years for me to truly get over that comment. Even though I didn't believe that having my kids in daycare meant I wasn't raising them, her words triggered the guilt lever and I wondered whether or not I was doing my kids a disservice by working on my career--something that makes me happy and is also quite helpful in paying the mortgage.

And I certainly don't mean to start a battle between working moms and stay home moms--I feel very comfortable with my decision, with the fact that this is a very personal choice people have to make for themselves, and that every family's situation is different.

But even though I pray Sarah Palin is never elected as Vice President, and that I feel that her nomination was a desperate move by McCain for PR (a move that is truly insulting to women in general no matter what Palins' accomplishments include), I feel genuinely guilty that my gut reaction is to question her parenting choices, when what I believe I should feel is an acknowlegement of her success.

Friday, August 29, 2008

college plans and things to do when you're grown-up

While we were walking through the UW campus during our trip to Wisconsin , Becky and I overheard Ben and Samuel talking about how they should go to college together someday in Madison and how fun it'd be if they could be roommates. Earlier in the day, I'd threatened, I mean mentioned, to Samuel that he badly needed a haircut (something he absolutely abhors because he wants to grow his hair long, and is somehow and oddly fascinated by mullets (though I swear he has no idea what they look like, but that doesn't seem to deter him at all).
Here is Samuel and Ben's list of things to do when they're college roommates and all grown-up (haha!):
  1. Get a very short haircut before college and then not get it cut for a WHOLE YEAR.

  2. Watch NC-17 movies without their moms around. Maybe watch an R-rated movie.

  3. Play M-rated video games (much cackling from the boys about this wicked act)

  4. Go to McDonalds (added by Tali)

  5. Stay up very late... Maybe even until midnight.

  6. BBQ every night.

  7. Get married because even though they don't like girls now, Ben says this will probably change later.

For now, though, the boys are getting ready to tackle third grade. Which is big enough for me right now...
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On another note, I was so inspired by Obama's speech last night. I feel that same excitement in the air that I haven't felt since the 1992 election... I truly believed last night that this country was going to make the move toward change. All of the speeches were amazing and our democrat speakers seemed so poised and controlled and articulate about how to manage this campaign.

And then I woke up to McCain's announcement of his running mate, Sarah Palin. I never expected her as a choice for him and wondering how this is going to affect this already tight race. It seems like such a clever choice for him, even though I know very little about her. Can't wait to read what the pundits are saying, though, I'm hoping that this choice doesn't hurt Obama's campaign.