You're Invited for Dinner!

Come on over for a virtual dinner with us! Inspired by Sara, I decided to snap some pictures of our suppers one week. Here are the results: Monday: Cheesy Broccoli and Potato Soup with French bread.
Tuesday: Leftovers from Monday

Wednesday: Spaghetti Pie, broccoli and slightly burnt garlic bread. Spaghetti pie is one of Dan's favorite meals, and it ranks pretty high for me, too!

Thursday: Leftovers from Wednesday

Friday: Stuffed Shells, fresh salad and carrots.

Saturday: Yep, you guessed it - leftovers from Friday. I'm blessed to have a husband who doesn't mind leftovers!

And sometimes you just gotta have a Sunday night meal like this one - cereal. For what it's worth, this is after a Sunday where we had a BIG lunch! We don't do cereal for supper very often!

I'd invite you for lunch, but this is our standard fare:

Good ol' PB&J

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving! We are hosting Dan's side of the family for the weekend, which should be a blast. Take some time to share with your family what you are thankful for this year!

Livin' the High Life

While the rest of the family is busy painting and cleaning, trying to get ready to host Dan's side of the family for Thanksgiving weekend, Sadie enjoys a little "me" time . . .

What Happened

I've always been interested in politics. I enjoy reading about it, I watch the news as often as I can, I love talking to others about their opinions. And I love reading. So when you join the two, in a political memoir, I am hooked. I just finished reading "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception" by Scott McClellan, former press secretary to George W. Bush. I read this book because I have become increasingly frustrated with my own inability to decipher what is true and what is spin when it comes to understanding this President's term and major decisions, including the war in Iraq.

By that, I mean, the mainstream media does a fine job of telling us what is wrong with our world today (see last post) and more conservative news outlets, like Fox or talk radio tend to agree, without question, the policies of the administration. I have always found myself in this strange in-between world, where I voted for Bush twice, yet had nagging questions about his decision-making and have begun to question his truthfulness.

Well, it seems I'm not alone. Scott McClellan, who knew and worked for Bush back in Texas and followed him to Washington has written a controversial "tell-all" about his time serving in the White House. I figured someone who served under the actual administration might have a unique view and be a bit less biased (although I fully acknowledge we all are biased in one way or another).

The book covers a variety of topics, but focuses heavily on the decision to go into Iraq, including the infamous "16 word controversy" concerning the president's use of intelligence later proved false in his state of the union address. McClellan also deals with the leak of Valerie Plame's name and status as a covert CIA agent. That topic was particularly interesting to me because I never felt like I completely understood the story, and it was often dismissed as partisan warfare by conservatives.

Much of the criticism McClellan offers is to the mindset of the "perpetual campaign" in Washington - the idea that an elected official is always considering his "base" before making a decision, so that he can get re-elected. This mindset seems to have always been a problem in D.C., but grew under Clinton's administration and was embraced even further by Bush, evidenced by his close ties with Karl Rove.

Scott McClellan was put into the unfortunate position of lying for the administration, in regards to the leak case, without realizing the information he was given was false. This severly crippled his reputation with the press he tried to work with and ultimately led to the end of his career as Press Secretary. In parts, it seems like he is writing this book just to exonerate himself, and thus seems a little shallow, but his insider's look at the administration makes it worth reading.

His conclusions on how to make Washington a better place are simplistic to say the best. Basically it boils down to an extra staff position in the White House that would be a guard dog for truthfulness (shouldn't everyone working there be in that position?) and he further encourages the common citizen toward tolerance with other points of view and forming a common bond to make America better.

What's the saying? Everything you need to know in life you learned in Kindergarten. I think the same could be said for his conclusions.

Gas Prices

Has anyone else noticed as gas prices drop, the media bemoans how much money is being lost in the stock market, but when gas prices were soaring, they complained about all of the "average joes" who couldn't afford to take their summer vacations?

Are these people ever happy?

Alli's Big Day

Today was a big day for Alli. She had her first "official" haircut (other than a bang trim). I took her to my stylist at my salon and was so excited to do it! I have tried to prep her for a couple of days, telling her what a big girl she is to finally get a hair cut. This morning Dan took a few before shots:

Her hair is finally starting to grow in length, so I can put it up in pig tails (Alli calls them her "hair tails") but it was not at all even. So I asked Keri to cut it enough to even it out.
Alli did a great job, even though she had to sit in my lap to get the haircut. But she was quite content to just stare at herself in the mirror for the few minutes that it took. She was as excited afterwards for the sucker I promised her as she was to get all the compliments from the wonderful ladies that "oohed" and "ahhed" over her haircut.

So here is the after picture. You probably can't tell that much of a difference, but we can and it was a fun mother/daughter outing!

(Notice the side still sticks out!)

One Word Answers

1. Where is your cell phone? van
2. Your significant other? loving
3. Your hair? brunette
4. Your mother? forgetful
5. Your father? organized
6. Your favorite thing? chocolate
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your favorite drink? coffee
9. Your dream/goal? faithful
10. The room you're in? nook
11. Your fear? cancer
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? better
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? un-opinionated
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? Mac
17. Where you grew up? flatland
18. The last thing you did? parented
19. What are you wearing? capris
20. Your TV? ugly
21. Your pet? hairy
22. Your computer? slow
23. Your mood? cranky
24. Missing someone? Sandman
25. Your car? white
26. Something you're not wearing? rings
27. Favorite Store? Kohls
28. Your summer? busy
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When is the last time you laughed? a.m.