This week has been an interesting one, to say the least. My lovely Elijah is pretty much not sleeping and my oldest child has taken to acting like a pre-teen at the ripe old age of 6. If I hear him say “that is so dumb” one more time…..However, we are LOVING our summer Nanny – Miss Lauren (hi Lauren!!!)- and she has taken the boys to do some awesome stuff and I feel really blessed to have both her and my parents around. Not sure what this working mom would do without all of the help.

So, my list of things I am loving this week includes NO beauty products (insert SHOCK and AWE here). Read on my lovelies:

1. It isn’t the first time that a candid interview got someone fired….but man General McChrystal sure did go out with a bang. For those of you who aren’t political junkies I will break this down for you, McChrystal was the General leading the war effort in Afghanistan. (yes we are still at war in Afghanistan, a war that we are not likely to win) So, the General didn’t play well with others and he told a Rolling Stone magazine reporter about the mean names he and his people call the Vice Prez. Shockingly, yesterday he was “relieved of his duties”. If you read the article, I dare you to not walk away thinking this guy is EXACTLY the kind of guy you want planning a war effort. This little saga was fun too watch this week.

2. On a sports related theme….how awesome was the Isner match at Wimbeldon? Or the last second goal by USA in the World Cup? I love it when sports event give you chills. Twice this week that was the case.

3. How could I not mention this little incident? Cassie and her brilliant idea got picked up by the NYT parenting blog, the Motherlode. I got caught up in the tidal wave and am proud to be a part of this project. If you are here now because of this post, thanks for reading and I hope you stick around.

4. Remember last year when I did Weight Watchers, lost some weight and started to feel sexy and then BAM! I got preggo? Lesson learned, skinny Jenn = higher likelihood of “fun time” = baby. That’s just straight up math folks. Anyway, when I was on WW, I discovered a few foods that had little or no points and were actually fantastic. Once I got preggo, I couldn’t stand the sight of anything healthy and basically swam in a vat of sugar and carbs for 9 straight months. As I get back to life as normal 8 months postpartum, I am loving some of these foods again. First on the list is Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup. Only 100 calories per serving. I swear if I eat this for dinner for  a week straight (not always fun but do-able) I wake up skinnier. Try it, I dare you. I also LOVE Good Earth Sweet and Spicy tea. You don’t need to add sugar and it is good anytime of day. It has saved me many a late night calorie fest. As Yo Gabba Gabba would say “Try it, You’ll Like it!” I’m sorry for that, if you are a mom and you know that song, it will be stuck in your head the rest of the day.

5. Okay so I lied. I am including a beauty product. As I worked down the list, I caught a whiff of my hair (weird) and I remembered that I haven’t told you about It’s A 10. Best leave in conditioner ever. As in, EVER. It smells good, doesn’t weigh your hair down and it actually works.

Dear Democratic Party,

Seriously? Seriously. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State? Obama, I voted for you. Much to my parents dismay I voted for YOU! I did NOT vote for Hillary. The people of New York elected her, the entire nation did not. We spoke loudly that we did not want her representing us to foreign nations.

Now I am just angry. Why would you send Hillary, the most grating individual on the planet, to go make peace with nations that hate women? I suppose you would reason that you are doing this in order to wrap her up in your administration, preventing her from being a thorn in the Senate to your policies. Maybe it is to prevent a 2012 challenge.

Whatever the reason, the answer certainly was not this. I seriously would have preferred the appointment of her husband to this post. At least he seems to have a way with girls people.

Signed,

Disappointed Democratic Voter

I don’t want to open up a hornet’s nest. However, I can’t stop thinking about this issue, probably because a week after the election, it is still front page news. The issue is Prop 8 and how I am still upset that it passed.

I know some of you are saying – but Jenn you are a church going Christian, don’t you believe that marriage is between a man and a woman? The answer is, yes. I, in fact, do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. However, that is not what Prop 8 was really about.

Those who sponsored Prop 8 presented you and I with a false dilemma. They forced us to choose whether or not gay couples in California could marry, under our (read:Judeo-Christian) definition of marriage. But this is not the real issue. I believe the backers of Prop 8 used the Christian community to rally against gay marriage, without dealing with the real question – do we as a country allow a group of citizens the right to be in union (whatever you want to call it) with whom they choose? You see, I believe when presented with the option to allow gay couples the same legal rights as straight couples, Californians would have voted YES! All people should have the same rights under the law, no matter their beliefs.

Let me explain further – just because I believe in Jesus and what He said about marriage, does that mean I can’t be supportive of other people who don’t believe what I believe about Jesus? Does that mean that the rights of those people should be reduced by the difference between our two belief systems? I don’t think so. Further, for those that saw the signs saying “Protect Our Families – Vote Yes on 8″ – I ask you, how exactly do gay couples threaten our families? If we are really worried about protecting our families then maybe we should consider our own actions at home before we chastise the actions of others.

I do not put my faith in Government. I do not expect Government to advocate for my beliefs. Mostly because what if they get it wrong? (as they are often known to do) Sometimes Christians miss the obvious on this issue – like what if the Government advocated for Catholic beliefs? Or Southern Baptist? Or Mormon? Even in the ”Christian” community there are thousands of bifurcations on beliefs. I think author and commentator Cal Thomas puts it well:

Thirty years of trying to use government to stop abortion, preserve opposite-sex marriage, improve television and movie content and transform culture into the conservative Evangelical image has failed. The question now becomes: should conservative Christians redouble their efforts, contributing more millions to radio and TV preachers and activists, or would they be wise to try something else?

I opt for trying something else.

Too many conservative Evangelicals have put too much faith in the power of government to transform culture. The futility inherent in such misplaced faith can be demonstrated by asking these activists a simple question: Does the secular left, when it holds power, persuade conservatives to live by their standards? Of course they do not. Why, then, would conservative Evangelicals expect people who do not share their worldview and view of God to accept their beliefs when they control government?

One of my sisters is gay. She lives with her partner and I adore them both. They do not share my view of God or my belief in the Bible. They got married a couple of months ago in a brief civil ceremony. They desire to be with each other until their lives here on earth are over. How can I look at them and say – because I believe in the Bible, and I believe that gay marriage is not what God intended, they therefore should not be together? I, in fact, can not. Maybe that is a weakness of faith on my behalf. However, no matter what I certainly can not ask the government that governs us both to chose my way of life over theirs. It would be a constitutional breach of their rights to pursue their liberty and happiness.

Prop 8 asked us to define, in our Constitution, marriage as being between a man and a woman. We were forced to make a socio-religious decision between two false choices. As usual, the answer to the question of gay marriage lies somewhere in the gray middle, not in the dark spaces on each side. However, I believe there is a very clear answer to the question of whether or not our government should afford the same rights to all citizens of this country, no matter their beliefs.

What do you think?

I’ve read all of the newspapers. I’ve watched all of the coverage. I’ve combed through the returns and I’ve listened to the pundits. Nowhere, not in any of the statistics or any of the articles has the spirit of this election truly been captured.

Whether you supported Obama or not (statistics say most of you did), what happened last night is something for which we must all be proud. People crawled out of the tiny corners of this country to come and vote. People cared, people wept. I believe what lies ahead for President-elect Obama is mighty. His burden will be more than any of us can imagine. A country at war, a financial crisis, a healthcare system in chaos and a budget in deficit – these are the things that await our next President. Let us pray that the man who projected such calm wisdom on the campaign trail can deliver because, as a nation, never has it been more necessary that a campaign promise be fulfilled.

After 10 years working in politics, I can assure you I have my opinions on what goals are feasible and what are just empty promises. However, last night Obama and his team re-wrote the electoral map and shattered expectations for turnout. For students of politics, a new era of modern presidential politics was ushered to the stage last night, in form of a proud, intelligent black family.

As far as California, honestly some of the results were shocking. The passage of Prop 8, was a complete surprise. Again, conventional political wisdom says that high turn out elections skew liberal – which would have boded well for the No on 8 campaign. However we learned something about these not so often voters – those from the black and hispanic community are not in favor of gay marriage. I guarantee you the political statisticians and demographers and busy crunching whole new sets of numbers based on last nights’ results.

So what now? Now we wait. Now we try to enjoy the holiday season and the lack of political yard signs/commercials/flyers/etc. We wait, with baited breathe to see if we brought real change to Washington, DC or just another eloquent man with big ideas. I hope and pray for this nation and its’ future that it is the former. However, nothing can take away the leap of hope that race relations made in American last night, and I am proud of my country at this moment, for that alone.

I promise that a post regarding my thoughts and comments on the election results is coming soon, as I know you are all dying to know

Dear Readers,

I don’t care who you vote for today(well really I do, but that is another topic), all I ask is that you exercise your right to do so. This country has been blessed with a government structure that allows for the peaceful turnover of power on a regular basis – this is not something to take for granted.

So – got vote and make your voice heard!

PS – if you care, keep an eye on Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio. The early returns there will probably predict the presidential outcome. Stay tuned!