Thanks, Brento, for reminding me about the website that you posted about and I commented on regarding the presidential candidates.

The Minnesota Public Radio website has a section called "Select-A-Candidate" in which you can take a quiz to determine which candidate most closely aligns with your views, and you can also see each candidate's answers to the same questions. Click on "candidate positions" to see where each candidate stands. (No, I do not think each candidate took the quiz, but their answers were taken from various debates and public statements they have made. Very often, they will link to the candidate's own websites, in which you can delve in more deeply to see where they stand on each issue.)

I find the site to be very objective and informational. For anyone who is a little confused about who is who and what they stand for, this is a great place to begin!

Thanks Brent!

Politically Ingnorant

I should really be ashamed of myself. I haven't updated my voter registration in several years. My current voter card lists the address of our very first apartment when we got married three years ago. (That was three addresses and a couple of counties ago.) Yikes!

I was equally embarrassed when I realized that Florida's primary elections are being held later this month and I didn't have a clue who the candidates were other than Hillary and Obama, let alone the Republican party!

SO...this morning I purchased a newspaper. (You know, where they print out all the news stories for you so you don't have to do it yourself!) I spent a couple of hours happily thumbing through it.

There's a whole lot going on in this world that I had no idea about.

Like an art festival a few miles from here, an airstrike over Gaza, a local grant to provide restaurants with equipment that will reduce their use of water and electricity, reasons why I should (and should not) say "yes to Amendment 1!" and most importantly to me, information on the presidential candidates.

Last night I obtained the paperwork necessary to update my voter registration.

(Why is it you can renew your driver's license online, make payments for everything online, but you can't register to vote online?)

Anyhoo. Now that I know I will once again be a participating member in the government of our country, I decided I needed to educate myself about what is going on.

I'm WAAAAYYYY behind.

So I'm starting with baby steps. I read the feature in the paper that listed each candidate's strengths and weaknesses. The article gave a website for further election information, so I've been digging through that for awhile.

I feel much more informed now.

After 2 hours of reading up on election info, I can say with total confidence that for the moment, I am going to support John McCain.

That could change. It could easily change.

Because I am only 2 hours into my presidential education.

Thoughts, anyone?? Is there a website with objective information about each candidate and where they stand on issues?

It's Official.

It's Official.

The application has been submitted.

Childcare has been confirmed.

I WILL be returning to school this fall!!! In December, I will finally, finally, have my bachelor's degree in elementary education.

Such a weight off my shoulders. All this time being one semester away from graduating. So close, yet so far. When looking for a part-time job earlier last year, my lack of a degree was a significant hindrance. No matter that the coursework had been completed. No matter that the state's certification tests had been passed.

I didn't have the piece of paper from a university that said I was qualified to be a teacher, so nobody thought I was.

I'll show them.

Ha.

Why?

I don't get people sometimes.

Why do people assume that because I choose to stay at home with my son that I must be a poor, uneducated, drudge of some kind?

It doesn't matter to them that I am one semester away from earning my college degree. I may as well have dropped out of high school.

I look very young, so they assume I "got knocked up" and am now burdened with the trials of raising a child. They don't know how much I longed for a baby, how much I prayed to be a mother. They don't understand the encompassing love that I have for this small person.

Which is why I am grateful for all of you! You are very special women to me. I get you and you get me. We all understand what it is like to love a child. We don't think of it as a terrible sacrifice to spend time raising our children. We are intelligent, well-read, and we all have an excellent grasp of the English language as shown in our ability to construct (for the most part) grammatically correct sentences with correctly spelled words (thank you spell-check!) which people find interesting to read.

I'm just in a funk today I guess. It's a bit of a blustery, gray day and I didn't get enough sleep last night, so I'm savoring a crabby mood.

I really should get some housework done, but I'm not going to. I'm going to take a nap.

Ta-ta.

I Won! I Won!

For the first time ever, I have won a bloggy contest that I entered.

I won this card-making kit given away by Haley!!!! Thanks so much, hon! I really enjoy scrapbooking and card-making, but assembling everything you need for such a project is exhausting when you have a toddler. Kits are fantastic!!

I Miss You!

Hi everyone!

I miss you! Every single last one of you!

Been busy busy busy. Trawling (is that a word?) the internet for scholarships in what little computer time I have.

Started a new "system" for getting things done around my house. During one of Chris' naps, I do housework. During the other nap, I do whatever I want. Unfortunately, his naps aren't long enough for me to eat, read, sleep, watch TV, play keyboard, flip through magazines, scrapbook, take photos, AND blog.

(But my house has been MUCH cleaner this week, which has been nice!)

Maybe things will start to calm down a bit...


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I've just entered a fun contest! Go over and visit Haley and have a gander at some cool scrapbooking and card making stuff you can win. I really enjoy doing both those things but have little time for it, so having kits with stuff done for me is FANTASTIC. Good luck if you decide to enter too!

Going Back to School!!!!

If all goes according to plan, it looks like I may be going back to school this fall!!! I have only my internship left to complete before they give me the piece of paper that says I can be a teacher.

Does anyone know of any scholarships available for mommy bloggers??? If I can do this without going any more into debt, that would be fabulous.