to the polls with you!

today's the day.

go vote.

just do it.

and here's a cute OG photo, just for fun:

now, go!  shoo!  exercise your civil right!  make your voice heard!  your vote counts!

putting it to a vote

with less than a dozen kids in the bean's class, i thought it would be fun to bust out an idea i'd seen on pinterest last year.  i think that's when the majority of folks did this valentine card, so while i'm totally on the late train, maybe there won't be too many others like it for 2013.

i made the bean pose with her fist out in a handful of different spots around disneyland during our last visit.  she didn't really understand why she was doing this until i finally showed her the two test runs i'd put together.  i'm really torn between these:

help me.  which one should we use?

proud to be an american

it seems appropriate to recap election day at the house of wan on a day we set aside to honor all who have served in the military.  we owe so much to those folks who make so many sacrifices to protect us and our country, and for that, we thank you.

the bean's school managed to commemorate the day by designating it as "red, white & blue day."  no political endorsements, just a day to be patriotic and celebrate an occasion that only comes once every four years.  and of course, i wanted her to have something appropriate to wear.  duh.

so about a year ago, i sewed up a super cute skirt that i still have never been able to wear.  well, actually, i attempted to wear it out to dinner one day with a blue top, and the hub told me i looked like an american flag.  hmph.  anyway, i knew i had some leftover material that could possibly be just enough to throw together something for the bean.  and because i've pretty much got the simple skirt down, i was able to crank it out in about half an hour.

she totally cracked me up when i had her try it on and she said it was her "bacon skirt."  look, she even stretched her arms out to make herself look like a strip of porky goodness.

as soon as she disappeared from sight, off to another day of learning and fun with her class, i headed to my polling place to do my thang.

i actually came prepared:

despite a minor snafu with my address (which they still had listed from two homes ago, despite my current mailbox being full of political mumbo-jumbo on a daily basis), i was in and out of there in mere minutes.

i was apparently still on a voting high when i got home.

and, check this out.  what a difference four years makes!  back in 2008:

and now.

pretty awesome, huh?

election day antics

i had every intention of going to vote before work, so that i could rock my "i voted" sticker and hopefully provide a subtle reminder to our customers to go and do the same.

unfortunately, i ended up running totally late and had to put it on hold until after work.  but before that, i was meeting some of my junior league sisters for lunch at an old favorite, la grande orange.  one of our favorite members, smiley, recently dropped a double whammy on us - she's pregnant with twins (a girl and a boy!), and leaving for minnesota.  her husband received an offer he couldn't refuse, and with the added allure of family members in the area, they're outta here.  talk about a yay!/boo.

every time i've gone to LGO, i've ordered the same super delicious thing:  the del mar salad.  this time, i was determined to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. 

i decided to go big and have a coke - the kind from mehhhh-ico, with real sugar in it:

i was torn between the short rib tacos (which my friend onesipkim ended up ordering):

and the tuna burger, which is what i went with after the waiter's recommendation.

plus, OSK let me poke my fork into her entreé, which was really scrumptious.  next time, i'm ordering that. 

a few of us had discussed getting smiley a gift, but decided it would be better to wait until she got to her new home and just sending it to her there, so she'd have a few less things to pack.  but i didn't want to arrive completely empty-handed, so i brought a little something (predictable me):

we had a great time, but it was sad to say our final goodbyes to smiley.  she's really one of the sweetest people i've ever met, and a huge reason for me being (and staying in) the junior league.  i can't wait to see her babies, i'm sure they'll be adorable.

i battled some traffic on my way home, since it was near rush hour, but it wasn't too bad.  and when i got to my polling place, it was fairly empty and i didn't have to wait in any lines.  get ready for my stupid face, by the way.  it's coming.

i knew i couldn't take any pictures inside, so i didn't even try.  i did my thing, handed in my ballot, and accepted my sticker happily.

and then i made one more stop that made my (and the bean's) day perfect, to pick up this:

she was ecstatic when i got home and told her to look in my bag.  and really, so was i.  i loved the movie when we saw it in the theater, and we watched it together as soon as i could get the plastic wrap off of it. 

of course, i had to make an excuse to leave the room as we got close to the end.  i'd already gotten teary at the beginning of the freaking movie, and had totally bawled in the theater at the ending.  heh.

i'm such a sap.

makin' the cut

remember my fun gray ruffle-y top that i made a few weeks ago for that spring top contest?


final entries were due last week, with voting beginning this week on the top 60 (out of 368 total tops, wow!) and i'm stoked to announce that i'm one of wednesday's finalists! whee!

and now, the vote whore in me is rearing its ugly head yet again. if you're so inclined and have about 2.5 seconds to spare, would you click on this little graphic and vote for my cute little top? the list of entries is on the right sidebar on the made by rae blog.


eeeee - i'm even the very first entry on today's list of finalists! i'm sure there's no deeper meaning behind that or anything, but that's still cool. there are some fun prizes to be won, and although i probably have a snowball's chance in hell of making the next cut, it'd be fun to think i could at least be in the running.

help a sista out, would ya? kthxbai.

barack the vote!

okay, i've said before that i don't talk politics.

but i got my ass up early this morning and headed straight to my polling place to cast my ballot, and i was surprised at how...electrified i felt when i was done. i literally got goosebumps as i slid my ballot into that slot and accepted my "i voted" sticker. i was pretty stoked to be able to walk right in, without waiting in line, and do my thing in about five minutes. whee!

i had the bean strapped into her carrier, and so the lady who was handing the stickers out gave me one for her, too. yay! i'm totally putting it into her baby book. i plan to take her with me every time i vote in an election, so that as she gets older, voting is as natural to her as breathing. i want her to know how important it is to register, and to vote - not only to make her voice heard, but to honor those who fought so hard (and continue to do so) to ensure that we're able to vote.

the teen sported her obama tee at school today. i drove her out to the local democratic office yesterday, because she really wanted a shirt to wear for election day. "i've got my own money for it, mom," she said. and i couldn't help it - i laughed my ass off. hard. why?

well, the ILs, bless their hearts, gave her a card this weekend congratulating her on her honor roll status - with a wad o'cash inside. so sweet. and it just tickled me to no end to realize that they were indirectly buying an obama tee for the teen - they're extremely conservative republicans. bwahahahahahahahaha! i. love. it.

and tonight for dinner, i'm doing fried chicken, homemade mac & cheese, green salad, and apple pie. am i a total nerd? hell yeah! but are you surprised? i'm thinking, not so much.

now, get out there and rock the vote (if you haven't already)!

the bean's got a star on her butt.

thank you for your kind words and condolences. i received an e-mail from my aunt with the memorial service details, which gives me hope that my presence won't be as disruptive as i feared. i still plan on remaining in the background as quietly as possible, but i'm relieved to know that i can attend and pay my respects to a wife/mother/daughter whose life was cut short far too soon.

and i'm even more sad for those two little boys who will forever associate halloween with the loss of their mommy. i hope that they'll be able to celebrate her life and their memories of her in the years to come.

now, to answer a couple of questions about the teen's halloween plans - she's wearing her costume at school today. then tonight she's going to meet up with BFF to go trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and probably meet up with some of their friends. it's most likely the last year they'll be able to get away with going house to house and scoring free candy. heh.

i managed to complete two important tasks yesterday - online traffic school and a call to the county recorder's office to verify that i'm registered to vote! whee! i was getting antsy because i wasn't receiving any election-related mail, and the online status thingy still wasn't showing any record of my registration, despite the fact that i'd mailed it in twice. and i really, really want to vote in this historic election.

so after a 15-minute wait on hold (going through that traffic school as i sat there), i finally got through to a bored-sounding government employee. i explained my dilemma, and after she put me on hold a few more times to "check on things," i heard the magic words:

"okay, you're all set. do you need your polling place information?"

sah-weet! although the hub's vote totally cancels mine out, i'm still stoked that i'll be able to take part and exercise my right as an american citizen. and i'm gonna rock that "i voted" sticker proudly come tuesday. yay!

the bean rocked some new jammies last night. how cute are these:

that little butt just cracks me up.

tomorrow is tea with my mom and the teen, and then we'll head off to that memorial service. a rather strange combination of events for one day, but hey - you take what life throws at you and go with it, right?

happy halloween and happy weekend to all!