Vote.

Remember, no vote = no voice. 

 Make your voice heard.

My Vote Counts...Right?

It's easy to consider skipping the voting booth when you live in a solidly red or blue state. Here in Texas, if I vote Republican, my vote won't matter because there are plenty of republicans to carry the state. If I vote Democrat, my vote won't matter because there are so few democrats that they stand no chance of carrying the state. So regardless of how I vote, my individual vote doesn't really matter.

Before we moved to Texas I'd been a registered voter in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan. With the exception of the 2004 election in Iowa, since the late 1980's, all three states have gone to the Democrats BUT the races were close. Close enough that I felt like my vote counted, like my vote made a difference.

When we lived in Michigan I would often spend at least part of the afternoon - while the kids were napping (ahhh, the good ole' days, back when the kids actually napped) - watering the lawn, pulling weeds, etc. One summer day a man walked up and introduced himself to me as Yousef Rabhi, candidate for the 11th District of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. I had (still have) no idea what being a member of the 11th District of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners entailed, but I liked Yousef, I liked the way he carried himself, and I liked his vision for our county. And so I voted for him.

Late in the evening on election day, I heard on the news that Yousef won the election. By ONE vote. I was incredibly proud that on that day, for that campaign, and for that candidate, my vote had made a difference.

When I consider not voting, because I'm sick of the politicians and sick of the political parties and convinced my vote doesn't matter, I think about Yousef and head out to the polls.

Check out this video about whether or not your vote (depending on the state in which you live) actually counts when the Electoral College comes into play. This is honestly one of the most interesting videos I've ever watched (I've actually watched it three times, which says a lot considering that I don't pay a lot of attention to things like the Electoral College) - I highly recommend it.

Parties Do Not Define My Politics

I am not a member of a political party because while I tend to vote to one side of the center line most of the time, I don't agree with this particular political party on every issue. I wish we as American citizens had more than two choices, because on some days (and when it comes to this election in particular), I can't fully support either candidate.

For some time I've thought it would be best for our country if we either had more strong political parties or abolished political parties all together.  It's frustrating to me that the candidates are basically forced to agree with their party's stance on every issue - even if their party's stance isn't their own personal stance - in order to remain affiliated with the party.  I want to vote for a candidate based on what THEY believe, not for a candidate based on where their POLITICAL PARTY stands.

In this article for the Huffington Post (written back in January of 2012), Bo Peabody writes about how our powerful two-party system weakens our politicians (those from both parties) and is failing us more than either party.  Regardless of your political affiliation or status as a voter, I think the article (which is concisely and smartly written and easy for those who aren't particularly politically-savvy - like me - to understand) is worth a few minutes of your time.  Perhaps when you're done reading you'd like to join me for a pizza party?

Politicians Do Not Define My Politics

I usually stay as far away from writing about politics as possible (and I've never written about my political affiliation), but I recently discovered that I have a few things I'd like to say on the subject and will be posting these thoughts here on Midwestern Girl in the days leading up to the 2012 Presidential Election.

First up, politicians do not define my politics.

I strongly dislike the vast majority of our country's politicians (even those with whom I mostly agree) and the way politics in our country is structured.  Thousands of hours and millions of dollars spent trying to convince the American people that one way is better than another way and that one man (or woman) is better than another man.  Regardless of whether or not one way is better than another way and whether or not one man or woman is better than another man or woman, these hours and dollars should have instead been spent on actually solving our country's biggest problems - poverty, homelessness, hunger, job loss, health care, inequality - instead of on talking about them.

I'm not looking for perfection.  I'm looking for a President  who will help as many people in need as possible and see that equality is not just a theory but a true reality.

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday and today have been/will be kind of a crazy days for us (yesterday I baked and decorated six dozen Halloween cupcakes and today my calendar includes a Halloween party, craft, and event at Hallie's school; a Halloween party, craft, and meal at Will's school; early release for Will; doorbell ditching cupcakes at a few friends' houses; and trick-or-treating tonight), so I'm keeping it simple on the blog with a little walk down Halloween memory lane.

2006
Will (3 weeks old): pumpkin (pajamas), spider (pajamas)
Tom: exhausted new parent
Erin: exhausted new parent
 

2007
Will (one year old): lion
Tom: Tigger
Erin: witch
 

2008
Will (two years old): lion, again
Tom: Tigger, again
Erin: pregnant witch
 

2009
Will (three years old): pirate
Hallie (six months old): chili pepper, pumpkin, chicken
Tom: pirate
Erin: cat, pirate lady
 
 

2010
Will (four years old): Buzz Lightyear
Hallie (one-and-a-half years old): ladybug
Tom: shark
Erin: too busy chasing a ladybug to dress up
 
 
 

2011
Will (five years old): Batman
Hallie (two-and-a-half years old): pink octopus
Tom: working
Erin: cat
 

This year Will is dressing up as the gold Power Ranger, Hallie is dressing up as Tinkerbell, Tom is dressing up as Captain Hook, and I will probably wear my pirate lady costume once again. Hallie would prefer I dress as the "tick tock crock" from Peter Pan and trick-or-treat in a trio with her and Captain Hook, but I'm not sure I really want to dress up as a crocodile. We'll see...

And So It Begins...

The countdown to the 2012 Presidential Election is on, and in honor of this, the final week of political television commercials and Facebook status updates, I'd like to share with you links to a couple of completely ridiculous and entirely unrelated to the actual election but never-the-less politically-themed posts I've recently stumbled upon. (These posts are laugh-out-loud funny regardless of your party affiliation, so hopefully everyone will enjoy them.)

First up, A Brutally Honest Interpretation of the Body Language of the First Debate.

And second, 12 Politicians and Their Animal Doppelgangers.

Tomorrow we'll focus on the Halloween holiday, but starting on Thursday I'm going to talk politics for a few days. I rarely venture into political waters because I don't like confrontation and I'm not very good at arguing, but I think I've come up with a way to talk about politics in a way that doesn't invite conflict and animosity. We'll see...

Etsy, Part 1

I found Etsy a little intimidating when I first visited the site a few years ago. There were SO many sellers "peddling their wares" that I simply didn't know where to begin the search process.

For example, when you search for "earrings" you're presented with links to 1,077,219 handmade products, 119,943 vintage products, and 101,022 sites that sell earring supplies. Even if you narrow your search to say, "pink bird earrings", you're given 1,237 links to handmade products, 38 vintage products, and 118 sites that sell pink bird earring supplies. (Those are real numbers, by the way.) It's overwhelming, to say the least.

Not to mention the fact that you're purchasing products based on only one or two photos and a short written description, and from a small business owner who in all likelihood you've never met and whose "shop" exists only in cyberland. Again, overwhelming.

My first Etsy purchase was cookies. Cookies seemed and still seem, at least to me, a strange product to purchase online. But I was desperate to find Buzz Lightyear cookies for Will's third birthday, and Etsy was my last resort. (Not a single bakery in Ann Arbor or the surrounding area had ever made or would even attempt to make Buzz Lightyear cookies. And I called ALL of them.) I set up my Etsy account, took a leap of faith, and placed my order with Frogpaw Studios, the Etsy shop for Sugar: Cookies, Cakes, & More, which happens to be run by a wonderful woman in Utah.

When my scrumptious and gorgeous cookies arrived on time and carefully packaged (not a single one had broken, but she'd included an extra cookie just in case one had bit the dust during transport), my confidence in Etsy grew.

Now, multiple years later, I've had overwhelmingly positive experiences with the site.  And I want to share my favorite sites with you, in case you might be shopping for some of the same items I was and would like to support small businesses. I have no affiliation with any of these sites, other than one that comes from liking their products and having a good experience when I purchased something. I just love spreading the word about cool stuff!

I bought two of these crayon roll-ups, which are fantastic for traveling (which we do a lot), from RaDzaeDezynes. Hallie's has owls on it and Will's has dinosaurs on it and now I want this polka dot one for myself.

I bought these four prints (though some of the background and font colors I chose were different - she allows you to customize your prints so that they match the rooms in which you'd like to hang them) for Will and Hallie's bedrooms from PUMPKIN & butterfly.

I bought these two prints, in honor of my hot-sauce-loving-hubby and to hang in our dining room, from DonshanArt.

I bought this little purse for Hallie for Christmas last year from Doodlescoot Designs.

And of course, the site that started it all...Sugar: Cookies, Cakes, & More. You can check out her website/blog here, and a post about cookies she's made for our family here. I've absolutely love everything she's ever made for us.

This is just the tip of my Etsy iceberg, but I've decided to save the rest of my shopping finds for another post since this one's already become a bit lengthy. Stay tuned for Etsy, Part 2, coming soon!