Can someone help me with the election?

While visiting my friend Jen in Florida something occurred to me. Her and I and probably millions of other busy moms in this country need a candidate cheat sheet. We were exchanging what info we knew about candidates and realized we need some serious help!

Yeah, we could get online and research yada yada yada, but who has time? I can barely find time to write this blog!

So can someone please create a spreadsheet with each candidates name, party, and what their platform is with maybe some good quotes, article references, what they claim they will do, etc -- all the time being as unbiased as possible! Ya know, cover their plans on the big issues - health care, taxes, war, education, small business, big business, economy.

If someone does that, I will post it here and send to all my mom friends. I am sure Jen and I are not the only half-informed voters out there!

Besides, I will bake you some cookies or something as a thank you. Except, they might not get to you until I do my Christmas baking. Again, no time for baking even!

UPDATE:
The following were submitted to me and I thought I would post them here for eveyone else to easily find.

1. Candidate Survey - My cousin dawn sent me this. Answer 11 questions to find out which candidates are most aligned with your views and opinions. You may skip questions if you do not want them factored into the results. This quiz is not meant to pick your candidate for you. It is designed to inform the public of the various stances candidates make.

4. Candidate Table - A cool table with check marks for supports and "x" opposes. Issues down the left. Candidates across the top. Easy to scan and decide! Thanks Krista for sending!

5. Wiki's Who is Running - This page is a good resource just to see who has thrown in their hat for each party! Thanks Krista for sending!

6. League of Women Voters - For those living in St. Tammany Parish this site will help you with local candidates. Thanks Greta for sending!

Seeking Leapster Games

A very generous friend passed along a leapster game system to my daughter. She absolutely LOVES it! She has played the standard games so much I am now seeking new ones for her. Ugh, but the prices are outrageous. So I am letting the world know that if they have any laying around they want to clear out of the house to please shoot me an email!

My brother is for sale too!

Mamma Loves had a post yesterday about her brother for sale. It made me laugh so I would like to follow suite and offer up my brother as well.

Tall, Dark, Handsome and Athletic
37 years old
Never married
No kids
Home owner
Employed
Lives in Ohio
Enjoys being active - running, biking, working out, etc
My kids think he is funny!

Not sure if he is interested in long distance relationship, but I don't care ;-)

All interested, please email me info about yourself and a pic. I will pass along to him. Can't guarantee any interest or a response, but worth trying!

Virginia Beach Trip

I took a trip with the kids to visit my 92 year old grandma in Virginia Beach. Met up with my parents and brother who flew in from Ohio as well as my aunt and uncle who live there too. It was a nice visit for all and the kids loved seeing the family. Here are just a few of the 63 pics I took.

Virginia beach in late september

The clouds - taken from my window seat on the airplane.

My favorite photo from the trip

Sun worshipper

Checking out what is happening on the tarmac before we takeoff

My thoughts on the new series K-Ville

Back in july I posted about the new TV series that takes place in New Orleans, K-Ville (read it here)

Yesterday I watched the pilot on TV. I had to.

So what did I think? Well, it certainly doesn't do the city justice so far. I mean, what you see in the show is about the same ole' crap you hear about on the news. To me, it is like beating a dead horse. There is so much more to this city! When it started out with September 1, 2005 and the officers in boats on flooded streets trying to rescue people I said, "Oh here we go . . . "

I can only hope that it takes on more positive angles then it did in the pilot. Otherwise, I won't be watching it. I don't watch the news because of the negativity why would I want to watch K-ville for entertainment?

Can we move on people! New Orleans is drowning again. This time in negativity and the drama of Katrina!

New Orleans Care Package Drive

If you live in the New Orleans area and would like to donate items to be sent to our troops overseas, see the following link for more info:

Care Package Drive

Where were you when the planes hit the towers?

Everyone has a story of where they were when something tragic happens in society. Like Pearl Harbor, JFK being shot, annoucement that Elvis or Diana died, etc. etc.

Here is my 9-11 story:
I was at work in the computer services center at US Steel. A dark, practically windowless old building with a low hum everywhere from the computers throughout. It was pretty large and walking from one department to the other could take a few minutes. One thing I will also note it lacked was televisions. We are talking old school here.

Anyway, I was upstairs dropping something off in another department when the secretary asked me if I heard that a plane hit the WTC. Of course I hadn't. We also didn't have radio reception in our buildling so we were confined to listening to CDs with headphones in our cubes. Apparently, her sister had called her to tell her. She told me it was a 2-person personal aircraft.

I was on my way back to my department when I passed someone I knew who said a second aircraft had hit the building. I knew that didn't sound right. I immediately headed for the only TV in the building that I knew of - some 1960s small tv in our conference room. I turned it on and watched the footage from then on. The word started spreading and the conference room quickly filled up. We all watched in amazement, horror and silence. When word went out that another plane went down near PIttsburgh (where we were) the phone lines went down. No one could call out anymore.

Eventually, I managed to get a call out to my mom from a landline to tell her it was not anywhere near us. She was just crying. She was heading to the dentist that day and never made it. She remained glued to the TV.

When the towers fell I muttered to my friend next to me that the skyline of New York will never be the same. He looked at me in disgust and horror and said that was all I could think about right then. I was taken aback. I didn't mean to be insensitive, I just think I didn't know what to think or say. That was the only truth I knew at that moment. So I said it.

I didn't shed a tear until I got into my car and drove home. The radio played that "Hero" song and I just started weeping. I cried all the way home. I walked into my house and right into the arms of my husband. I just wept. I don't know if I was scared, sad, shaken or what. I just felt sad. Very very sad. I also felt violated. Not personally, but as a country we were violated. I guess it would be the same feeling as if someone broke into your house. Stunned, shocked, and forever after unsure.