Vote 2008

I voted. It was a little weird to vote early, but I decided to stop at one of the early voting locations Friday night on my way home from work. I had been passing it for days and was trying decide what to do. Election day falls during my busy time of the year at work, so it makes it hard to stop and vote. I also have issues with our voting location as they have two precincts in one location. It gets a little crowded in there and the poll workers can be annoying. So, I went for it and I think it is about the best decision I have ever made!

I did not wait in line and after filling out a some paperwork to have my absentee ballot count, I voted. It took all of five minutes and it was awesome! It was so easy! I think I may do this every election day from now on. I am hopeful that someday we can all vote online. I don't know if it will ever be possible or allowed, but if we can file our taxes electronically, we should be able to vote electronically from our home computer.

There actually wasn't a whole lot on the ballot. I went through and made all my selections - definitely a mix of republican and democrat candidates. I am a strong believer in choosing the best candidate for the job despite party affiliation. I hope everyone else out there does the same. Look at all different issues facing us on a national and local level. Vote for the candidate who will be the most effective in office. Don't focus on one issue and vote for someone because of their belief or previous voting record on that one issue. Most importantly, do your research and make an informed decision, especially for candidates on the local level you may not know much about.

Halloween is going to suck this year!

Just a little economic humor for the day! :)

How the economy is affecting me

CNN: What this economy means for you

This is a good article on what the economy means for us on an individual level. This is one of the better ones out there, in my opinion, after researching this topic a little. In general, for me personally, it means we probably won't be upgrading houses anytime soon. I'd like to, but am not sure we could sell ours with the current market. Otherwise, we can all sit around and wait for the tax increase to pay for the bail out. Fun times!

There's always next year!

My mantra again this season is that there is always next year. The Cubs blew it again in the post season and my two theories of why the Cubs always fail held true:

1. The Cubs are a fair weather team - they don't play well in the cold. This is why they are no good in April or October.
2. The Cubs are no good under pressure. Zambrano (my favorite player, whose jersey I own) threw a no-hitter against Huston on a random night at a game played on neutral turf in Milwaukee, but he got lit-up in his post season start.

I was really, really hoping for something better. Can you imagine the storyline of the Cubs going to the World Series after a 100 year drought?!? I think even the in sports media is upset. They are still talking about the Cubs collapse on ESPN today!

But, I probably even more sad that the general 2008 baseball season is over me. No more planning evenings and weekends around the start of a Cubs game or eating out a Yogi's or Scotty's to catch the games on the stations we don't get at home. I also have no quick distraction from work to check on day game scores. And, I am bummed one of the guys at work I always give a hard time is from the LA area and a huge Dodgers fan. I heard it from him this week!

So, here's to next year. Maybe we can have a dream season in my lifetime. If not, I'll still pull out my Cubs jersey for Opening Day each year.

A sigh of relief...

After a month, a very long month, we are finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. As many of you know, my mom had lung cancer several years ago. She is very fortunate to be alive, as the survival rates are typically 37% an the five year survival rate is about 15%. After some initial tests were showing some questionable spots back in early September, the full body pet scan yesterday came back with great results. There was no cancer and everything looks as it should (well, as close to normal as possible after surviving cancer, among other things).

Election 2008

I wrote a very, very long post about the election, but I have decided not to post it because I don't want to offend anyone. I have friends on both sides of the party line and I know the discussion can be heated. But, the short version of my post is this:

I do not like Sarah Palin at all. I do not believe she is qualified to participate in national politics at such a high level, I believe she is not what she says she is, and her voice grates on my nerves, like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Walk for the Animals 2008

Today we took the dogs to the Monroe County Humane Association for the annual Walk for the Animals. The event is a fundraiser for the Humane Association and has different events for dogs, vendors with pet items, and a walk around Karst Farm Park. Each year we go to support the Humane Association, but Lucy loves to do all the events, especially the water play area and the Recall Relay competition. This year she took 1st place again! She is now the reigning champ for the last three years. Last year she won out of over 60 dogs. This year was a smaller group, but she took the championship anyway. Several people commented on how good she was, too!

Lucy on her winning sprint in the Recall Relay.

Lucy and Murphy play with others in the water area!