Cupcakes make the world go round

Ok I know that this is a day late and a dollar short but I have to tell you how Maile and I actually got through the voting process this November. First of all, it took three and a half hours for us to work through all the people and measures on the stinking ballot. Since we had anticipated such a long voting journey we decided we needed provisions and rewards. So we first pre-treated ourselves to dinner at the Montage so that all those carbs would give us the energy we needed to push through. (If you have not had the privilege of eating one of their famous mac and cheeses then stop by sometime and check them out. YUM!!) Then we stopped by Freddy's and bought our favorite beer. Because beer was going to help take the edge off when Sizemore's poorly written measures were making us frustrated and angry. Lastly, we needed a reward system to keep us going. We bought and baked our favorite funfetti cupcakes with funfetti frosting and sprinkles. Just the sight of them will cheer you up. We buckled down and filled in our little round circles and every once in a while, when we felt the momentum and resolve faltering, we ate a cupcake. So I just want to thank cupcakes for the important role they played in this year's election.

Halloween was so much fun. For five years now my church throws this huge party for the neighborhood. We buy 26ft high inflatable slides and bounce houses, fill the kids up with sugar for two hours and let them back loose on their parents. It's marvelous. We have tons of carnival games and cotton candy, popcorn and pronto pups (corn dogs). I had one person tell me that she was trying to find something else just as fun or more fun than the Halloween Extravaganza to take her grandkids to this year and couldn't find anything. Our party was the best thing happening for kids. YEA!! I love this event because it gives us a tangible way to meet our neighbors and serve them in a really practical and fun way. I hope we never stop doing this. The picture to the left is of my friend Elinna and I at the Extravaganza. Obviously I was a cowgirl (Yea creativity!) and I think Elinna was going as one hot mama.


Dad and I headed down to Corvallis again for another Beaver game. This time we got to sit a little higher. While the excitement of being practically on the field was awesome, we ended up watching most of the USC game on the jumbotron. This time, we had a big light pole right smack dab in the middle of our jumbotron sightline. Good thing we didn't really need to see it from where we were sitting. The Beavs are still on a very tentative path to the Rose Bowl because of our win over USC. But we have four huge games to hurdle over first. On Saturday we barely won over ASU. It was one of those really stressful games that wasn't played particularly superbly by either team. But we scratched out a win and Dad and I got to try out our new rain gear. We were hot but we were dry. Not we've got UCLA, CAL, Arizona and Oregon left on the schedule. Yikes. Should be interesting.

My good friend Karen Snyder was in town this Wednesday and she and Maile and I went out to Huber's for drinks and desserts. Hubers is known for their Spanish coffees which they make flaming tableside. I was very impressed by how this server could do a three foot pour in an arc over his head. Crazy! It was good to see Karen, who is leaving to serve for the next two years with Wycliffe at their national offices in Orlando, FL. I'll miss not being able to see her more often. And I know she'll miss the NW. Just maybe not in January when it is 70 degrees and sunny there.

Ok, that's the update. I've actually got the night off so I am looking forward to some down time. Catch you all later!