Well yesterday I voted! I feel great about the candidates I voted for and even though some of them didn't win their election I know they are still the better candidate. :) The rain yesterday was torrential. And thus, voter turn out was low yet again. At my polling station, only about 23% of registered voters showed up. UGH! Perhaps one day, politicians will stop the negative ads and just say what their agendas and priorities are and give people a clear picture of themselves so that voting will not seem like such a chore. I know I don't vote with any one party because I like to know each candidate individually. But there were a couple that I chose only because they didn't bombard me with all the things their opponent had done wrong, instead they stated their goals for the office. Wow, simplicity really is best!

But enough about that. On to other topics. Ruthie went to get her flu shot this morning. YAY! Finally, we have been on a waiting list for over a month and finally the shots are available. Hopefully Ella will be able to get one soon also. But the nurse who gave the shot this morning is the sweetest nurse. We just love her and she even gave Ruthie a mini chocolate bar after her shot so that Ruthie would still like her. It was so funny, because when she first held it out to Ruthie, who was still screaming from the shot, Ruthie tried to hide under my chair because she thought the nurse was coming at her with another shot. When she finally realized it was chocolate she stopped crying, took a bite and gave the nurse a big smile. Oh how I love my little fireball!

Also a friend of mine, Cheryl, recently gave me a copy of her reading list she has been keeping for the past couple of years. WOW is all I can say. I love to read, but I have rarely had the time to do it recently. So needless to say, Cheryl has given me the motivation to try to remember what I have read so far this year. So here it is:

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (I think I read it this past January, but it may have actually been last year. hmmm)
• Naked - David Sedaris
• The Eyre Affair - Jasper FForde
• The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
• The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket
• The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket
• The Miserable Mill - Lemony Snicket
• The Austere Academy - Lemony Snicket
• The Ersatz Elevator - Lemony Snicket

And I feel like there has been more, but for the life of me I can not remember what they were. Of course I read lots of Curious George, Winnie The Pooh and Sandra Boynton books repeatedly every day with the girls, but I want to include only books for me on this list. I just started The Red Tent by Anita Diamant today. And I'm reading through several "creative" books as well:

• Photoshop Elements 4.0 A-Z - Philip Andrews
  
• The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements - Richard Lynch
  
• A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper - Ali Edwards

I'm also trying to scrap at least 1 page per day while Ruthie naps or in the evening after the girls go to bed. It feels so good to be creative again! I feel like my mind is actually starting to work on its own again after taking a 5 year hiatus. And to push myself towards this I actually applied for a Creative Team position at The Digi Shoppe! I can't believe I did this, but oh do I so hope I get it. They are supposed to review all apps Friday and release their decision on their blog here sometime after that. We shall see.

Well I better go do a bit of cleaning while Ruthie is still asleep.