today i vote...

SO...tonight I am going to vote on the absentee ballot I just received from New York State. The candidates for President of the United States include Barack Obama/Joe Biden or John McCain/Sarah Palin. Prior to 2000, I was a dyed in the wool republican who would never consider voting for a democrat (or, as my nephew recently put it, a "democrap.") In 2000, I wholeheartedly supported then Governor George W. Bush in his presidential run. I believed him when he said he would be a compassionate conservative and "restore dignity to the White House." He has let me down time after time after time...Today I am a proud Independent (although Rush Limbaugh considers me a "spineless" American). I am cynical of both political parties and will never join or fully support either of them. People have different qualities they look for in a candidate and I want a president who will put care for the poor and the needy as a top priority. As I was leaving the gym the other day, a little kid saw my backpack and said, "Look Daddy, he's got Obama on his backpack!" His father smiled and said, "It's nice to know there's someone else in this town who supports him as well." I've notice that there are actually many good Americans in St. George who happen to support Obama...I've seen at least 10 bumper stickers for Obama...a sight that pleasantly suprises me. People do care about the less fortunate, and I believe this is a primary reason many folks are supporting an Obama/Biden presidency. Tonight I'm voting for the candidate who seems to be the MOST compassionate...for the one who seems to believe in the counsel to take care of the "least among you." Call me a simpleton but that's pretty much my only concern this election. Since neither Barbra Streisand or Kermit are running, I suppose my choice must be "that one."

The Wonderful World Of Yard Sales!

Every Saturday, it has become tradition, 5 - 10 Hawks/
Polad family members descend upon various yard/garage sales in Washington County, Utah...I am not sure how it started, but I know that Uncle Monty was certainly one of the pioneers. He continues to be the fearless leader. He meets Danny and Monica and Co. at 6:30 a.m. and the fun begins...my family, not as hardcore, usually heads out between 8 and 9 a.m. Today my treasure finds included a Lightning McQueen lunchbox, 3 Disney reading books, and a video...all for $1.25! If you like to shop, and love finding bargains at unbeatable prices, and do not mind sifting through "unique" items to find them, I highly recommend this delightful Saturday morning adventure!

Brice the Babysitter!

Tonight was awesome...I had the occasion to babysit Torsten and Brysen...we had a ball...literally. Torsten wanted to play baseball and since I am known around the world as a renowned player, I obliged! Brysen and I blew bubbles, and...the best part...WE WATCHED EPISODE ONE OF THE MUPPET SHOW! Torsten loved it! He kept saying, "That frog is funny! Miss Piggy is silly!" He kept asking me to rewind each segment to watch it over again. If you haven't seen these shows, you OWE it to your family to run out right now and get them! It's a wonderful blessing to have these two adorable, awesome, and FUNNY kids in my life!

Marathon of a weeked!

WOW...this was certainly a fast-paced weekend! Friday morning at 1 a.m. I picked up Aleena from the McDonald's parking lot where the Greyhound bus terminal is located...later I worked in Ancestor Square and Aleena and Dad popped by for lunch (thanks for the great tip!). Friday night we saw the awesome musical "Big River" at Tuachan. This was one of the best musical productions I've ever seen! This was also the very first musical that Torsten has seen and HE LOVED IT! He couldn't stop talking about it, even until the next morning. Do we have another Hawks dramatic actor in the mix? Heaven help us! Saturday we watched as Gail, second cousin to myself and first cousin to Dad, ran the St. George marathon. This was her 5th marathon this year! Then we went to a BBQ, saw Grandma Faye, ate free samples and shopped at Costco, and had lots of fun with Ryan, Megan, and the nephews at Jumpin' Jacks...a place filled with giant jump type rides...Saturday night we watched one of my favorite movies ever, "Muriel's Wedding." This morning Diana made a wonderful breakfast that we enjoyed before we had to take Aleena back to McDonald's for her seven hour bus ride home. Whew! Although it was fast and way too short, EVERYONE enjoyed having Aleena around. I can't wait to have her visit again!

October is THE BEST!

I REALLY do LOVE October...especially October 2008...I cannot express how grateful I am to be here with my Dad and with MY Diana in St. George, Utah...being able to spend time with my Grandma Faye every day is beyond awesome! Ryan and Megan's family is SO adorable I can hardly stand it...my favorite memory is tending Torsten and Brysen and, at bedtime, Torsten showing me (at least 100 times) how he can do backflips and frontflips onto his bed while Brysen cheers from the crib! While I dearly miss my godson and family and friends in New York City, I know that I am in the right place at the right time! I am currently waiting to go pick up my sister Aleena from the greyhound bus (should be here anytime between midnight and 3 A.M.) She is coming down for LDS General Conference weekend and we are all excited to see her. She is such a radiant light in our family and EVERYONE is happy when she is around to visit. OCTOBER ROCKS!!!

Merry October!

My very favorite month of the entire year is October...

the weather is wonderful, it's Halloween, some of my dearest friends and family are born this month, it's Halloween, the leaves on the trees are turning wonderful colors before they die and fall to the ground, it's almost the Christmas season (starting November 1st thru January 31st)...it's just a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful time of year! October is here and the end of summer has really come...the final parade in St. George was this past weekend, "Swiss Days", in Santa Clara...this was a delightful parade filled with Star Wars characters, cows on trains, missionaries, REALLY loud bands, and lots of candy for Torsten and Brysen...Grandpa Terry even "borrowed" a HULK balloon for Brysen...I wish EVERYONE a Very Merry October!

"pitting" out

I have a problem...I mean, I have lots of problems, but one problem in particular is the fact that I can't seem to stop sweating...no matter what I do...no matter how strong of anti-perspirant I wear (currently Mitchum extra strength mountain fresh) I have rings around my armpits starting no later than 5 minutes after putting on a shirt...this has been a sore spot for my ego all the way back to my LDS mission when I would sweat through my suits and everyone would notice unsightly stains on my suits and white shirts...then, when I started going out to nightclubs in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas I would purchase and bring two exact same shirts, so i could change half way through the evening when the "pitting" out got to be too much...in New York City, it didn't seem to bother me as I completely let myself go and really could care less how I looked...I had also resigned to wearing mostly black since the stains didn't show as much...WELL...my new job, at a very nice restaurant in St. George, requires the staff to wear "earth tone" button down shirts...SO I went to Khol's purchased what I guess you would call Burgundy and wore them to work...sure enough, HUGE pit stains emerged just shortly after arriving to work...embarrassing and humiliating...there is a strict policy that NO pastel colors are to be worn BUT one day I was wearing a yellow pastel button down and I noticed that you could NOT tell I was sweating because of the color of the shirt...SO, I have started wearing the yellow, what I will call "desert earth yellow" in order to get it to pass inspection at work...in my quarterly review, I confessed to my manager that I hate the fact that I can't stop sweating and that's the reason why I have purchased 5 "desert earth yellow" shirts from Khol's for $9.69 (regularly $48.00)...she seemed empathetic and hasn't pressed me on the issue...all of the other employees have mentioned something about the BRIGHT yellow and I calmly tell them, "I'm sorry, I 'pit out' and this is the only way that it doesn't look gross." I have recently fallen in love with plaid shirts...my Uncle Monty bought me 4 plaid shirts from various yard sales for roughly 25 cents each and they are wonderful!...because of the design and colors, you really can NOT tell if i am "pitting out" or not-SO my shirt of choice has gone from black to colorful button down plaid...I LOVE MY NEW FASHION)...I even love wearing plaid shirts and different type plaid/other pattern shorts...I guess this is a fashion "no,no" but i have NEVER been one to have any real fashion sense anyway...I'm just glad you can't see me "pit out."

the very best (and worst)

The conventions are over!...Barack Obama did okay (I give him a solid B)...Joe Biden did alright (B+)...Michelle Obama was awesome (A)...Hillary Clinton (B) did what she was required to do...Rudy Gulliani came out fighting (B+)...Cindy McCain was a robotic bore (D+)...the very best speech was, hands down, Sarah Palin (A+++) and the very worst speech was given by John McCain (D)...Sarah Palin was funny, down to earth, adorable, witty, and she sent countless jabs against Barack Obama...she did exactly what she needed to do...she never mentioned George W. Bush once, thus focusing all of our attentions on her family, Barack Obama, her leadership, and John McCain...her speech was perfect in every single detail. The most boring speech I have EVER heard in my entire life belongs to John McCain...he looked like he was in extreme pain the entire time...he looked as though it was the first time he had ever read a telepromter...is America ready to be bored to death by our next president? I doubt it...although I doubt Barack Obama slept well last night, I am sure tonight he will sleep sure and sound...IF John McCain wants to win this election, he needs to go away to Arizona for the next two months and let Sarah Palin do all the talking...since this is not going to happen, I am sure this is going to be a very tight race...