Rock the vote! Don't rock the vote, baby!

Today is Super Tuesday, and I did my patriotic duty. Is it really duty if you get a do-over in November? Anyway, I got up early to get to the polling place in time to vote and get to work, because I'm just that dedicated. I was there right at 6 and was the 3rd person in line. I thought no big deal. 5 people can vote at once, and this will take no time at all. The longest part of the whole deal was finding and signing my ticket. The guy who was looking for the ticket probably was around to vote for Lincoln. He was cheered on by four other 'judges' who were as old if not older than he. By this point, there were eight people in line behind me. I know they can only have one ticket for each voter, but they're divided into three books. Surely someone whose name was in a different part of the alphabet could've been helped while they were looking for mine.

A few months ago, I saw some information about serving as an election judge. I'm glad I didn't pursue it any further as there's no way I can handle this kinda stuff. I get frustrated when people take forever and don't work efficiently. I'm nothing if I'm not a model of efficiency.

I took a "Non-Partisan" ticket and did my voting. Little did I know that I'd only be voting against a $.005 sales tax for something, and for a bond issue to rehab the high schools.

There, I've done it. I've fulfilled my duty for another few months.

Jared Lorenzen: UK Wildcat, Super Bowl Champion!

A big hearty congratulations to Jared Lorenzen and the rest of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. What is it about QB's from the Bluegrass and the Giants? First Phil Simms, then Mike Cherry, now J-Lo.

I wasn't so much ready to see history being made as I was ready to see the '72 Dolphins shut their traps. I guess they finally got to pop the tops on those bottles of champagne. My favorite part of the game wasn't Burress' game winning catch, or even Eli's scramble to keep the final drive alive. It was Bill Belichick's failed attempt to get his team off the field with 2 seconds on the clock. All season long, he's made other teams watch in defeat while he's run up the score in the name of fine-tuning their offense. Tonight, he got a little taste of his own medicine; and it's obvious, he didn't like it.

I didn't make it to any SB parties. I did my time at the Y, then headed to a friend's to catch the last 8 minutes of the game. There was no huge buffet spread, no open cabinet of beverages to choose from; just football on the big screen. Afterwards, I heaed home to rest up for another big Monday at North America's Railroad. I found this note from another company, and it motivated me. Take a read, I'm sure you'll feel the same way.

Super Sunday....

....includes dropping off the girls, going to church, working at the Y. After that, I'll probably catch the end of the game and clean up some leftovers somewhere. I don't really identify with either one of these teams. Belichick is about the most insufferable person to walk the face of the earth, and it wouldn't kill me to see the Giants bring home the Lombardi trophy. On the other hand, history is history. I've been having trouble getting into the spirit.....then I found this little nugget. Talented people amaze me; really talented people who put their talents to use on meaningless things that no one else would even try amaze and entertain me. Enjoy.....

More Snow

The videos below were shot on the evening of 1/29. 1/30 was fairly non-eventful, then it happened. Around 4 PM on 1/31, it started snowing. Picture a gentle, but steady, rain. That's what we were getting. It snowed off and on, much more off than on, all night long. I woke up at 5 on 2/1, looked out the window, and it was still snowing. It didn't stop until around 9. The snow clearing folks were out in force and left me with this and this.

Working from home turned out to be a good way to start the weekend. I picked up the girls around noon, took them to lunch, and we took the aboove picture on the church parking lot on the way home.

I tried a new recipe on Friday while I was home. It's for Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Stew. One of the raters of the recipe suggested using salsa instead of tomatoes. I tried that, and it worked pretty well. I don't know what kind of corn I got, but I'm going to look for something less sweet next time. I was unsuccessful at interesting the girls in the stew, but that just meant more for me. Of course, I've included a picture of my creation. There's a link to the recipe in the description. As a side note, a friend of mine bought me a box of crock pot liners. I love them!!!

Finally, Maggie and I have been working on a poster for an oral report she's doing on Mae C Jemison. She was supposed to get pictures from the internet, and her teacer said she could type in her information, print it, and put it on the poster. Of course, I helped a little, but I taught Maggie how to do some of the formatting, and she did quite a bit of it herself. I hadn't heard of Dr. Jemison, but I feel somewhat more well rounded for now knowing who she is. If you know who she is, kudos. If not, take a moment and educate yourself.

Cold

I've been in hibernation since before Christmas. Actually, I just really like the picture of the girls and couldn't bear to put something over it.
We had some really good weather Tuesday night. I recorded a little using my digital camera. I've never posted video here and wanted to see how it works.

Merry Christmas

The girls had their Christmas program at school this week. They did a great job and looked beautiful.

The 4 Year Old Gets It

The girls are staying with me this weekend; and as is custom, I was up early trying to complete my little railroad tasks before they woke up. At 6:20, Maggie was the first one out of bed with Nora not far behind. I went in my room to check on Grace and try to sneak in some snuggle time. Nora came back in and a big group hug ensued. I asked Nora what she wanted for Christmas. She was quick to respond, “You!”. That’s a sweet sentiment, but I think it may be more from the Mariah Carey song than actual Christmas wishes….maybe I’m wrong. After a few more minutes of snugglin’ and discussion about the day’s plans, I told Grace and Nora that I had to get back to work. There was the usual disappointment and questions that followed. I told them that I had to do this work because I get paid to do it, and that while we shouldn’t care too much about money, we realize that work is something we have to do to get money for the things we need like food and clothes. I told them that one day they would get jobs and make money, too. Grace said “We’ll make LOTS of money!”, to which Nora responded “And we’ll give it away.” Well, this development got Grace’s attention, and I explained that after you had taken care of your family and church, you should look to help others that need it. Nora went on to explain that there are people who are out of money and need our help.

To recap: Nora wants me for Christmas, and she realizes there are people less fortunate than she who need our help.