Five Things for Friday

1. Last week I wrote about Hurricane Sandy and I mentioned how it affected me directly because I ordered costumes for a party and they didn't arrive in time because they were shipping out of New Jersey and then the storm hit. The company sent an e-mail a few days ago and I found out that they're located in Edison, New Jersey, which is where Peter and I lived for four years right after we got married. That made it hit home even more than before. They included these pictures of the damage their offices and warehouse sustained:

Isn't that awful? This is why I'm not complaining about what happened with the costumes. It's trivial compared with what so many people in New Jersey and New York are going through right now. I spent all of last Friday morning driving to different stores and searching for costumes but I did it without (too much) grumbling, which is an accomplishment for me because I tend to be a little obsessed with time management. I think one of the positive effects of natural disasters is that they really help put things in proper perspective.

2. They would have been great costumes for Peter and I to wear to the Murder Mystery dinner party though. The dress I ordered looked like this: (Sorry for the small images; the website will only let me copy the thumbnails.)

 I even ordered a wig! Finally, the long blond locks that genetics didn't give me! Maybe I'll wear it on my bad hair days. You think?

And here was Peter's "noble knight" costume: 

The costumes arrived this past Monday, three days too late, but I'm not going to return them because they'll be good couples costumes to have for the future. And I'm happy to report that I was very fortunate to find a medieval-type dress to rent that fit me almost perfectly and was a pretty shade of royal blue. I found a royal(ish)-looking tunic for Peter (he and I were a lord and lady and the dinner was our marriage feast), but unfortunately it didn't fit him very well. When John saw him wearing it he said "Dad, you're too fat for that dress!" which I'm still laughing about.

And guess what? I turned out to be the murderer! Ha ha ha! (That's my evil laugh.) I wasn't the most exciting murderer because I wasn't very dramatic (I hate being the center of attention in large groups! Plus I can't act that well because I'm way too self-conscious!), so I was a quiet murderess--all the better to get away with it, right? But they had the clues they needed to figure out that it was me, and two of them guessed correctly. It was a really fun night!

3. This is my last hurricane-related thing. I feel truly sympathetic about people's power being out for over a week now, and it makes me think of a new show I've been watching this fall called Revolution, in which all of the power goes out in the whole world and stays out, and it totally changes the world and society and pretty much brings them back to the 1800s. I really enjoy this show and it makes me think about life without electricity and what I'd do if that really happened. As much as I like old-fashioned things and times, I'd have a hard time without electricity and hot water (hence my unfortunate aversion to camping), so I'd probably have a mental breakdown, and then hopefully adapt and get used to it. Needless to say, I'm VERY thankful for electricity!

4. Pinterest now has "secret boards"! I've been wanting them to do this for awhile! Sometimes there are things that I pin, or want to pin, that I want to keep private for whatever reason. I hope these secret boards will be permanent. As of now they're for the holidays and you can only have three of them.

Yay!

5. I thought I was getting a good head-start on Christmas by trying to get the shopping and cards done this month, but some of the people in my neighborhood are really getting a head-start and already have their trees up and some holiday decorations out! As long as it doesn't happen before Halloween, I don't mind this because it helps make the Christmas season last longer by starting it earlier. I love Christmas and the holiday season, and December always seems to pass by so quickly. I don't plan on decorating until the week after Thanksgiving, however. But when I do, my front porch is going to look like THIS:

And the mantel will look like THIS:

One can dream and fantasize, anyway. Thanks to Pinterest (what else?) for the pictures and the inspiration!

My Penultimate Prince Edward Island Post

I'm so glad that I got to use the word "penultimate" in the title of this post; that is such a cool word! (It means second-to-last, in case you were wondering, which you probably weren't, but just in case.)

There are a few more pictures that I want to post about our summer trip to Prince Edward Island. These are some of the random, fun things we did while were there. 

We had fun at two different amusement parks...

Twice we ate dinner at this cute restaurant called "The Sandbox." It had an actual sandbox that the kids could play in. You would think that sand and food don't mix, and they usually don't, but this was great for keeping the kids entertained while we waited for our food. I wish every family restaurant had something like this!

(Why are all these pictures fuzzy? My camera used to take such nice, sharp pictures. Dang camera!)

I finally, FINALLY got to go on a duck boat tour! I've always wanted to do one of those, particularly in Boston or New York City. I know it's touristy and kind of cheesy, but I think it's such a fun way to see a city, and how cool is it that the vehicle turns into a boat and you can see the city both by driving through it and boating along its coast!? We did this in Charlottetown, the capital city. It was really fun. The kids liked it too!

Top-left: That's the place that Prince William and Kate stayed at when they visited PEI in the summer of 2011.

Top-right: A view of Charlottetown from the water.

Bottom-left: My mom and John. We were headed down into the water!

Bottom-right: I thought these planters in Charlottetown were cute and pretty.

French school-buses. A lot of people speak French in Canada (I'm good at stating the obvious, aren't I?).

Why can't more playgrounds and public parks have outdoor gyms like this? I think this is such a good idea. I'd be so toned if our playgrounds in the U.S. had these! It would also help fight back against the obesity epidemic in America. Incidentally, I didn't see very many overweight people on PEI.

And why can't all playgrounds and parks have pretty views like this? Okay, that one's not quite fair!

 

These fishing shanties were cute.

John approved of the Canadian TV channels for kids.

There's an ice-cream chain on PEI and in Canada called "Cow's." Its ice cream is ranked among the best in the world, and I could taste why. It was creamy, rich, and so delicious.

More cows. MOO!

And one last picture for fun. Sam was into wearing two pairs of sunglasses during our time there (and for much of the summer). It was so funny! I'd look in the rearview mirror and he'd just be sitting there looking out the window with two pairs of sunglasses on, one of them upside down. He cracks me up!

As you can see, we had lots of fun doing and seeing so many different things during our week on Prince Edward Island!

America's Loss (again)

This was the title of a post I wrote four years ago when Mitt Romney lost the nomination to John McCain. I wish that the majority of Americans would see that Romney could really help this country more than just about anyone else. I am absolutely convinced of this. 

Obviously, I'm disappointed by the results! I don't take much satisfaction from the fact that my instincts were right about Obama winning, but it does soften the blow. I'm surprised that it didn't turn out to be a closer race. Um, hello America? Do you see what's happened to our country and our economy over the last four years? Do you really want four more years of that? Apparently so. But I'm going to be cautiously optimistic and hope that President Obama takes these next four years to redeem himself. I'm not holding my breath on that, but maybe, just maybe things will turn around. I don't think Obama is a bad man with bad intentions (well, most of the time I don't think that). I just feel that he's not good at getting essential things done and at working across the aisle.

I believe that if this election had been held in 1980, Romney would have won easily. But it's thirty-two years later, and our country and our society are very different from what they were then. The U.S. is becoming increasingly liberal, worldly, dependent (on government, other countries, technology, etc.), and most frighteningly, society is getting further and further away from God and Christian principles. While there is much to be concerned about, I have faith that things will turn out as they should. This is still a great country and a great people. God is watching over us and He has a plan for us and for this world regardless of who the U.S. president is.

And to reiterate what I wrote about last week, the electoral college should be abolished! I know that Obama still would have won since he got the popular vote, but that's beside the point. The electoral college is a relic from the past and we don't need it anymore. Let's elect our president by the vote of the people, not the vote of a few states!

And that ends my thoughts on the election. Thanks for reading my two cents! I'm already looking forward to 2016! I must be crazy.

What I'm Looking Forward to in November

• Election Day, and the end of the race for president and all of the other races going on right now. As much as I like politics, I'm tired of the endless phone calls from polls, the commercials, the campaign mail, and the ups and downs that come when you feel strongly about the candidates. It will be good to be done with it! Especially if my preferred candidate wins!

• Breaking Dawn. It opens on November 16th and I'm planning on seeing it the next day. I've been a fan of the books and the movies and I'm looking forward to this last one. I'm also looking forward to the special group dance that all of the cast does after the credits roll at the end of the movie to "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" and I think "Thriller." It's going to be so cool! (I still think that Stephenie Meyer is going to write more Twilight books. I think she left room for that at the end of Breaking Dawn and there's just too much popularity (and money) in it for her not to. But we'll see!)

This is my favorite poster for the movie. I like Bella's red vampire eyes.

Fakest running ever! Ha ha! That's okay, I still love these guys.

• Thanksgiving. It's such a nice holiday. Especially when you don't have to cook for it! Yep, I completely got out of cooking for Thanksgiving this year (so did Peter since he's the one who usually does most of it! We're progressive like that. Or maybe it's just that Peter enjoys cooking more than I do.) Anyway, we're going to an indoor water park in Wisconsin Dells for a few days, so we'll be eating our Thanksgiving dinner there. Normally I like to be at home for holidays because I'm traditional like that, but this year we have no family coming to visit and the prospect of not having to cook and clean up was very tempting, plus the Lodge is one that we've been to in the past and we had a great time there, and they were running a good deal. So we'll be spending Thanksgiving weekend going down waterslides and hanging out in the wave pool. And my favorite, relaxing in the hot tub. That works for me!

• Another good movie coming out this month is Lincoln. I think Daniel Day-Lewis is going to be an awesome Abraham Lincoln. He's an excellent actor to begin with, and I've read that he really got into the role. I have the book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin that the movie is based on, but I haven't read it yet. I'm hearing good things about this movie and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

• One last thing I'm looking forward to in November is getting all of the Christmas shopping done this month, as well as our Christmas cards designed, ordered, addressed, and stamped. That's my goal and I'm sticking to it! I'd like to finally have a December of peace and calm and truly focusing on the reason for the season.

It should be a good month! What are you looking forward to in November?

Five Things for Friday: News, Politics, Hair, Books, and Blahs

1. Hurricane Sandy's destruction in New York City and New Jersey is unbelievable. It looks like something you'd see in a movie or read in one of the young adult dystopian novels that are so popular right now. New Jersey and New York are special places to me--we lived in New Jersey for the first four years of our marriage and John was born there. We were only about 30 miles south of New York City and I got to know and love that city well. I'm so surprised by the destruction this storm caused there, and I'm thankful that our family and friends there and in New England are all okay.

These pictures seriously look like they're from a movie. If only it were a movie and not reality!

 

 

World Trade Center site.

This just blows my mind. I got to know the NYC subway system pretty well while I was taking classes at NYU.

2. If it had to happen, the timing of this storm was awful, with Halloween two days away, but more importantly, Election Day a week away. It's really dulled the excitement of the election, at least for me. Speaking of which...while I'm very hopeful that Mitt Romney will win, I'm not overly optimistic and am preparing for disappointment. It makes me sad to say it, but I think Obama is probably going to win. This is something I very much hope that I'm wrong about.

I really do feel this way. I think he's been a very ineffective leader who was in way over his head from the start, and that another four years of his "leadership" could be truly disastrous for this great country.

Time to step up onto my soapbox. Ever since college when I studied politics intensively I have felt that the Electoral College should be abolished. I think it's ridiculous that we don't elect our president by popular vote. Yes, I realize that this would have made Al Gore the President in 2000 and not George W. Bush (P.S. Guess what? I voted for Gore!). But that's the way it should have been. All of the arguments in favor of the Electoral College have almost always left me unconvinced. Abolish the stupid thing and let the popular vote reign. People would feel a lot more empowered by their vote that way since the majority of Americans don't live in swing states. Voter turn-outs would improve and the country would actually elect the leader that the majority wants. In most of the polls, Obama and Romney are dead-even in the popular vote. Oh the frustration!

By the way, I already voted by absentee ballot, so no dealing with the polls on Tuesday for me! May the best man win. (And I think we all know who the best man is. My apologies to my Obama-supporting friends and family who might be reading this.) Okay, the adrenaline is pumping a little more now and I'm starting to get excited about things again. I guess I needed to have a soapbox moment. In any case, I will be glued to the TV, computer, and radio on Tuesday! (Unless Obama is clearly going to win; then I will completely unplug and go drown my sorrows in a book to try to take my mind off it.)

3. I lost my favorite hair clip. I'm really sad about it. That hair clip was nice and stylish and has saved me from many a bad hair day, and believe me, I've had lots of bad hair days over the last two years thanks to the highlighting hair loss fiasco that took place two years ago. But I'm happy to report that my hair is growing a little longer and a little thicker and is pretty healthy right now since I pretty much leave it alone--I never blow-dry it, curl it, flat-iron it, highlight it, color it, or do anything that could be remotely damaging. Come on hair, don't let me down! I'm doing my best for you! I know you're not ever going to look like this (at least not in this life!)...

....but I will gladly settle for super-cute hair that looks like this. I know you can do it!

Do you ever have pep talks with your hair, or is it just me?

4. I pre-ordered a copy of J.K. Rowling's new book The Casual Vacancy because I was excited about it (even though I've only read the first Harry Potter book. I just couldn't get into them, but I loved the movies. Maybe I'll give the books a try again when John starts reading them.) Anyway, I'm not excited to read this book anymore and I wish I hadn't gotten it. I don't like what I'm seeing in reviews. Has anyone read it yet? Is it worth spending my valuable reading time on?

 5. I feel so blah. It was a blah week emotionally, one of my kids who shall remain nameless has been being very difficult, another kid who will remain nameless hasn't been taking his afternoon nap (I guess that makes it obvious which is which!), I've been eating too much junk thanks to all of the Halloween candy and sweets that have been around, and I haven't exercised in a few weeks. Next week I'm going to start doing Pilates again, and I'm enforcing a three sweets a day rule for myself. One sweet = one piece of candy, or one mug of cocoa, etc. That should help take the blahs away! Hopefully.

I have some fun weekend plans. Tonight Peter and I are going to a Murder Mystery dinner with friends. Those are so fun and I haven't done one in years! I hope I'm not the killer or the one who gets killed! Actually being the killer is pretty cool, so I take that one back. Last week I ordered the perfect medieval costumes for us, but guess what? They were supposed to arrive yesterday but now they're not going to get here until next week because of Hurricane Sandy! They were shipping out of New Jersey so that got delayed. So this morning I will be going around to different stores to see what I can scrounge up! Another good thing this weekend is that I'm getting a massage tomorrow. Maybe the massage therapist will help massage my blahs away. In any case, have a great weekend!

*UPDATE!! I found the missing hair clip! And I was the murderer! :-)

River of Love

Do you have a favorite river? Have you ever been asked that question before? I pose quite provocative  questions here on The Doll Sweet Journal, don't I? Ha ha ha. Well, I have a favorite river and I'd like to share it with you. It's the River Clyde on Prince Edward Island, a picturesque, beautiful, and peaceful place. After traveling twice to PEI in the course of ten years, it's one of my favorite spots on the whole island. It doesn't hurt that it flows right between two of my favorite restaurants too. They're right across the river from each other!

There are well-kept gardens on the riverside that I'm going to have to walk through the next time we're there. I'm not quite sure why I didn't do that when we were there this summer!

That place on the right is where Peter and I ate a delicious and elegant dinner the evening that I took these pictures.

The land surrounding the river is just beautiful and not very built up at all.

We ate brunch at the Cafe on the Clyde at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Co. twice during our week on PEI and took these pictures one of the mornings that we were there. Pictures where it's just me in them are rare, so when that happens, it might as well be at a special place that I truly love!

For me, the views don't get much more ideal than this! Pretty flowers, flowing water, verdant greenery, rolling hills...perfection.

 

I know that there are a lot of beautiful rivers in the world (hello Pinterest! I have a board with many wonderful pictures of breathtaking rivers), but the River Clyde on Prince Edward Island has a special place in my heart and will always be a favorite.