My Never Ending Summer

See these? They're some of the jackets I've bought in the last month. I figured that since I'd dropped a couple of pounds this year, I could wear something like these with a pair of jeans and look downright spiffy. Now see this?
It's a lovely brown sweater I bought to wear over a plain white t-shirt. And this?

Another sweater I bought for the blue jean/white t-shirt look I'm planning to sport this fall. (I'm totally diggin' the color!)

However, thanks to this (click to enlarge):
I'm starting to wonder if maybe I shouldn't have just bought tank tops and bermuda shorts. Yesterday, it was 96 FLIPPIN' DEGREES HERE!!!! Hel-loooooooo! It's October! Time for pumpkins, falling leaves and crisp weather. Today it's supposed to get up to 90 degrees, but that's what they said yesterday so I'm preparing for a full-press roasting session. But, just to prove I'm not a total pessimist, I'm also heading out to find and buy a bale of hay, for my front yard scarecrow display. Mother Nature doesn't seem to want it to be cooler weather here so it looks like I'll just have to fake it. As they say: "Denial...not just a river in Egypt".
Hope Mother Nature comes around soon, though. I've only got a limited time frame to wear this before people start looking at me funny:It says "Don't be a scardy cat" on the front. Even cuter? Check out what it says on the back of the left shoulder:

You gotta love that, right?

Now tell me again who has a better grasp on the economy...

McCain or Obama?

The trouble begins when supporters become followers...

Have you guys heard this yet? It disturbs me like nothing else I've seen (or heard) so far this political season. Children, ages 5-12, singing bizarre and hope-filled praises of Barack Obama while displaying blank expressions on their faces as their glassy eyed parents look on with unfettered and rapturous pride. Remember those horrific images of the Hitler Youth from the '30s and '40s? Innocent children being indoctrinated into a movement that they couldn't possibly have any understanding of. I'm all for teaching your children your views and positions, I'm all for showing your children what you think is the best, most moral, ethical and hopeful way to live. What I'm not for, however, is using your children as props in a campaign to demonstrate to the world your near orgasmic love and adoration for a politician. Every single adult involved in this little exposition should be ashamed of themselves for turning innocent children into puppets for their cause. If you support Obama, that's all good and well. But use your own voices to sing his praises, not those of your children. (Never, in the history of mankind, has it been a good idea to teach your children to worship a mere politician. If you need evidence of that, look up the use of children in North Korea, China, Iraq...and the aforementioned Hitler Youth.)

What do you guys think of this? Harmless "song for change" or just plain disturbing? Let me know your views.

For information on the origin of this song, you can go to the group's website: Sing for Obama. (Notice my restraint in not calling the group a "cult", despite their apparent veneration of the Junior Senator from Illinois.)

Finding a Weigh Out of Fat

Hey, whatdaya know! A post not about politics. lol Don't get used to it - my politics obsession has not waned any. I'm just taking a break to squeeze in a "weight loss" post. Not that I have much to say about that this week. I don't think I've lost so much as an ounce and, in fact, I've probably found a few instead. But what are you gonna do, eh? I've eaten right this week, I've pretty much behaved myself, I've even learned a new recipe from my brand new Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine by George Foreman instructional manual. I know I haven't been perfect, though, so I can't whine as much as I'd like to. (Remember, I've admitted in the past to being a world class whiner - it's a "gift" that I'm usually happy to share with the rest of the world. ha!) But I haven't done much exercising (one walk around the neighborhood does not an exercise regime make) and I haven't been drinking as much water as I should. (sigh) I hate it when things don't work out the way I want them to and then I have to admit it's my own darn fault. It really cuts into my martyr act, you know what I mean? So I guess that's the lesson for this week: if you want to lose weight, do what needs to be done. "Dreaming" of success may be a good start, but it's not enough to make it happen. Too bad, though...I'm pretty good at dreaming. : )

P.S. I have got to clarify something because all your "congratulations" have made me feel a bit of a fraud. When I said last week that I got into a size 8 jeans, remember - that's all I did; get into them. It wasn't pretty and I don't wear a size 8. I hope to wear a size 8 one day. But until then, I'm just goober enough to get a thrill out of squeezing my butt into something that really doesn't have enough material to contain it with any sort of dignity. Yeah, it speaks to my shallowness as a human being, but come on! When you've gone from a size 18 to actually getting a size 8 zipped and buttoned - well, I don't care who you are, that's just exciting. (*big smile*)

What does 18 Billion Dollars Mean to you?

Yeah, same here. It's more money than I expect to ever see in my lifetime, I can tell you that much (barring that lottery win that may or may not be looming in my future). Believe it not, though - there are people who feel that an amount such as that is, and I quote, "a drop in the bucket". What genius has expressed that completely-out-of-touch-with-the-sensibilities-of-middle-America view, you ask? Senator John Kerry, that's who. And what prompted those pearls of wisdom to drip from his honeyed lips? A statement from Senator Lindsey Graham regarding the exorbitant amount of earmarks asked for from members of congress this past year. While discussing the failings of our government during a recent appearance by both Kerry and Graham on Special Report with Brit Hume, Graham made mention of John McCain's mission to stop the rapacious earmarking practices that have become the norm rather than the exception in congress since the mid '90s. When Senator Kerry categorized that stance as simple "demagoguery" (his word), Graham pointed out that in the last year, 18 billion dollars had been asked for in earmarks by members of congress. To which Kerry responded by saying something along the lines of curtailing earmarks wouldn't fix the problems. In fact, according to Kerry, 18 billion dollars is "just a drop in the bucket". Well dadgom. Wonder if I could get a piece of that bucket? You know, I'm not sure how much that bucket can hold, but if 18 billion is a mere "drop" of its contents, I'm thinking we may need to downsize our bucket. Regardless of the size of the bucket or the drop itself, however, I feel compelled to point out that whatever it is that fills any bucket, it always consists of drops of something. And if you want to control what goes into your bucket, you'd damn well better start paying attention to the drops you allow to go into it.
In that same appearance, Brit Hume asked Graham about his own history of asking for earmarks. I almost dropped a skillet on my foot when I heard his answer. Graham said, "I've been a part of the problem. I want to be part of the solution". Senator Graham went on to say that he had this change of heart because John McCain convinced him that it is the right thing to do for America. Okay. In the first place, I don't know when I've ever heard a politician say he was a part of the problem. They're usually screaming about how the other guy is the problem. Secondly, I don't know how long Graham will remain in this frame of mind - if it's a real change of heart, a change contingent upon the election of John McCain, or even if he'll hold up to any pressures from home regarding this stance in the future. What I do know is this: that view, that statement, that vision gave me a ray of hope for our future. What if all of Washington could admit to their failures and stop with the finger pointing and the blame game? What if all our elected officials decided to work for us and our country, instead of for each other and their political party? What if???

P.S. I know I'm probably being entirely too political these days and if that makes any of you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. Remember, I'm always open to hearing views "from the other side". I'm sure it's obvious that I'm a Republican and a John McCain supporter. Like Senator McCain, I too have issues at times with the Republican party. I affiliate with them because of our common views. I question them because I don't believe all their positions are the right way to go. Hearing other views is interesting and sometimes even illuminating.

Oh, and are you asking why I've gone into politics so thoroughly lately? IT'S BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A FLIPPIN' CAR RIGHT NOW SO I'M STUCK AT HOME WATCHING ALL THE POLITICAL NEWS AND READING POLITICAL VIEWS ONLINE. We got one wrecked car out of the shop Friday and put the other one in Monday morning. As I've mentioned before, since our cars were damaged by people who had no insurance and we didn't have Uninsured Motorist coverage, that means NO RENTAL CAR while ours are being repaired. So...the gist of this is, if you don't want me writing political stuff, take up a collection and GET ME OUT OF THIS HOUSE during the day!!!! (she said, laughing maniacally with the tv remote control clutched tightly in her fist)