George is here!

I guess I don't really cook from scratch after all...

"If you wish to make an apple pie truly from scratch, you must first invent the universe."

         - Carl Sagan

I'm wearing black today

I'm in mourning for our nation. Only a fraction of votes have been cast but I believe the outcome of the election is actually irrelevant. We're in trouble no matter who wins. I'm not speaking of only the presidential election. Every race matters in one way or another from the local elections all the way to the national and there is no good outcome possible from the candidates available.

A few weeks ago, I posted a quote that voting is choosing the candidate that you dislike the least. I think this is a sad hallmark of our time. I feel that the people who run for elected office are all ill-suited for the job. None of them seem truly competent to be the great leaders we need. None of them seem able to put the health of our communities, our states, and our nation ahead of their own agendas. They've become so divided along party lines and propaganda that none seem able to cross over or step back and say, "My idea stinks. What was I thinking?" They're all so pig-headed and stubborn that they hold on tenaciously, fighting for their ideas to the bitter end.

Isn't this end bitter today? Can you feel it? The nation is in turmoil. The lack of civility is appalling. The horrible things that have been said make me feel ashamed, ashamed that these are the people who will represent our nation to the world. All sides have regressed to the bickering, back-biting antics of pre-adolescent children. What we need are real leaders without any agenda other than doing what's truly right. Unfortunately, we live in a selfish time where no one sees what is right because they're too blinded by their own pride and desires. We live in a world ruled by self-entitlement. The problem is that none of us are entitled to anything and those desires of entitlement are incapable of co-existing harmoniously.

We are a nation on the verge of the end. We are slipping down the slope of mediocrity and self-preservation masquerading as stewardship. We are living in perilous times. That's why I'm wearing black because there is no good outcome when the polls close tonight regardless of who wins and who loses. We will all lose and we have been losing for years without realizing it.

And so it begins...

My children are at my parents' house for the weekend...

Let the first in-store Christmas shopping of the season begin...

My new favorite video and the sequel

I love this. It disturbs my husband greatly.

Three Little Mermaids

Hope you had a lovely Halloween. It's not my favorite holiday but the girls enjoy the sugary aspects of it. They've already started planning their costumes for next year. I don't start listening until August though.