It Ain’t Over til It’s Over

And I have NO IDEA when that will be! Land sakes alive! Yes, Crosbys are still stuck in address change purgatory. Yes, it’s been going on for over eight blinkin’ months. This week’s participants who contacted us about our “move” to Oklahoma were Costco, Charles Schwab and Arizona Elections.

While picking up a few pictures that I had printed at Costco, the cashier instructed me to head on over to the membership counter to verify my address. I sighed and rolled my eyes and said, “Not again!” She reassured me that it was a common practice to occasionally verify addresses. I knew differently.

At the counter the lady scanned my membership card and then read my new address in Oklahoma out loud for me. “No, that is not my address. I have not moved in over ten years.” She asked if I have ever lived in Oklahoma. “No.” I mean, really, why explain the whole my-daughter-was-married-and-moved-to-Oklahoma-last-June-and-put-in-an-address-change-and-accidentally-checked-the-whole-family-box? Customer service reps don’t care. At all. I know from experience. She ended with “That’s weird!” I responded with “Yeah! Totally weird!”

Next, an email came that stated our account with Charles Schwab was frozen because mail had been returned. With my husband, Rick, out of town, I tried to take care of it without him having to spend time on this, but alas, my name is not on that account. Whew. I forwarded the 800 number to Rick. BAM! Outta my hands.

Yesterday, three orange “second notice” cards came from Arizona Elections informing Linda Ann, Rickey Allen and Austin Rick that we need to re-register to vote because of our address change. Thankfully that was just one phone call and it is fixed. I hope. I let the nice lady know that we received orange cards but we have lived and are still living in the same house that we have been voting from for ten years. She believed me and didn’t ask questions. Thank you, nice elections lady! I vote for her!

If I can give you any advice today, dear reader, it is BE VERY CAREFUL TO SELECT THE APPROPRIATE BOX ON THE ADDRESS CHANGE CARD AT THE POST OFFICE. Instruct your children about this. Write it on your gates and the doorposts of your house. Tell your neighbors. Include this information in your Christmas letter. Make bumper stickers. Get the word out. Seriously, it’s THAT important!

(On the flip side, if you are trying to think of a devious plot for your most evil enemy for April Fool’s Day…. submit an address change for them… and check the “whole family” box. Hopefully they write a blog and you can read about your sinister activity for months! heh heh heh)

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

For every Bag for Zaza, there is a book that the bag is named after, hence the blog title.  Up for auction tomorrow morning are three new bags:  Owl Moon (a hippy extravaganza), the Cookie title mentioned (a hot pink and denim number for a little princess) and Flower Arranging (a stunning black, white and red cinched purse.)  Here’s a peek:

Check ’em out at www.BagsForZaza.blogspot.com and help bring our daughter home from Colombia.  Thank You!!!

AND voting day!  How exciting.  I had grand plans to sashay my way to the front of the polling station line and drop my “early” ballot in the box….. but tonight I discovered that my dear husband, in his excitement of voting in his first presidential election, wrote all over my ballot thinking it was a practice one.  It was not.  Now I’m standing in line with the rest of you.  Shoot.

Go Senator McCain!

Two and a half more days and we’ll all know exactly what the good ol’ USA deserves.  Well, you get what you deserve, right?  God help us!  We visited the McCain Campaign Southwest Headquarters  this week and helped the cause by putting together yard signs.  It was a buzz of activity. 

Our homeschool co-op also stepped into his office for a few moments to see all that is on display there as well.  They have a rotating system of showcasing hundreds of different pictures, certificates, awards and memorabilia, but the set that was out blew my mind.  The honor and service awards  were vast in numbers that Sen. McCain has been awarded.  Wow.  I wanted to read one in particular to my kids about his life and commitment to America, coming from a family devoted to military service and his valiant stint as a POW, but I was in tears reading it silently and couldn’t manage a vocal performance at that moment.

There were pictures of Senator McCain with Presidents Nixon, Regan, Ford, Carter, Clinton and both Bushs.  There was a picture of him in his flight suit as a handsome young soldier (who looked a lot like Tom Cruise, in my humble opinion) taken three minutes before his personal freedom was taken away from him for six years after he was shot down.  There were also many awards around the office for his work with prisoners of war and veterans.  The man knows what’s going on.  He’s been there, done that and wrote the book.

I was not automatically for Sen. McCain in the beginning.  He did not get my primary vote, but unquestionably, he has my Tuesday vote.  There is just no comparison between the two candidates in work ethic, experience, history, values, respect, track record, etc.  What in the world has Sen. Obama done for our country so far?  I cannot for the life of me figure it out.  And what in the world is a world citizen?  Are they handing out new passports for everyone on planet Earth who can fog a mirror?  I want an AMERICAN citizen as President, who is proud of our great country, and proud of our system of government, our emblems and our Christian heritage.

As many of you, I’ve read a vast array of commentaries about both candidates.  The one that made me really laugh said that in order to claim a nationality, like Chinese, or Spanish, or Black, you have to be at least 1/6 of that nationality.  I don’t know if it’s true, but they stated that Sen. Obama is 1/8 black, so he can’t legitimately even claim that.  Shoot!  That was his main playing card! 

This is my kind of candidate…. a little stand up right before the big day.  To our eternal amusement, Senator and Mrs. McCain did a stint on SNL.  Here’s the link:  http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/mccain-qvc-open/805381/

Needless to say at this point, VOTE! on Tuesday.  And if you got a call from the “McCain” camp telling you to get out and vote on WEDNESDAY…. it’ll be all over by then.  It’s TUESDAY that counts.

The Electoral College… Old School?

Today we had our elections in our homeschool co-op.  There were two parties, the Flamingos and the Penguins.  (I actually think that is better than donkeys and elephants….)  Anyway, we’ve had campaign speeches, filmed commercials, made buttons and banners.  Today we all registered to vote and went to the polling station.  It was interesting because in the popular vote my son Keeve won, 4 to 7.  (Don’t ask the mother of two Presidential candidates who she voted for!)  Then the Flamingos and the Penguins took turns drawing the votes for the Electoral College by state.  The Flamingos were down more than 40 points toward the end… but then they pulled California.  So my older son, Austin, won the election by Electoral votes.

The experience was good for all of us…. “How did you feel winning the Popular vote, knowing that more of the people really supported you? and not the Electoral vote?”   and “How did YOU feel losing the Popular vote? and then winning the Electoral votes?”  We listened to a concession speech as well as an acceptance speech.  The victory party with pizza and brownies followed.

The whole shabang made me really question the Electoral College process.  Could our forefathers have known that the most populated states would be so blatantly liberal?  What is the point of voting if you know your state has a majority vote against your beliefs?  I realize that to change the process it would take a Constitutional amendment, but isn’t the popular vote more true to the people’s wishes?  Maybe I’m not understanding what the writers of the Constitution were trying to prevent or protect by establishing the Electoral College??? 

Please enlighten me.

Kids Even Got It Figured Out!

My nine year old son already has enough common sense to vote in a presidential election.  Here is his journal entry from school yesterday:

“What makes a great president is a president that cares for us unlike Obama would ’cause if he dosen’t care about (unborn) babies he wouldn’t care about us.  McCain is a good president.”

Yep, that about sums it up.

We’re studying the electoral process right now, as is only appropriate for this day and season.  We are having elections soon between two candidates from our homeschool group.  They are filming their campaign ads tomorrow.  Should be highly entertaining.  One of the slogans is “Vote Blond Not Brown.”  I suggested that this might not be a wise idea…. but what do I know?  The kids also still have to make ballots, the ballot box and the voting booth.  When all voting is completed next week, in turn they will be drawing the electoral votes out of a hat.  So we really won’t know who has won until the end…. just like the REAL election. 

Do your duty.  VOTE!

Voting Privileges Utilized

Despite the grueling 102+ temperatures in Phoenix, new American citizen, Rick__ Crosby, braved the severe heat this afternoon to do what many Americans don’t bother doing:  Vote!  Crosby, a native Canadian, apparent by his voting apparel choice, jumped through the rigmarole of the USCIS hoops so that he would have a say in how America is being governed. 

Crosby probably did more research for this Republican Primary than most Americans have done in their entire life of voting.  He phoned the candidates… several times.  He asked tough questions about issues and government policies.  He told his wife who to vote for.  He actually read the voter guide online after his wife threw away the printed guide that came in the mail.  He personally completed the surveys on the voter guide to see which candidates lined up with his beliefs. (SOOSOSSOOOOSSS)  Look familiar?  He even figured out what the S’s and O’s stand for!

When Crosby arrived his neighboring polling station, his personal photographer was prohibited from taking pictures inside the voting area.  That didn’t stop Crosby.  He marched in, flashed his driver’s license, walked over the the flimsy, portable voting “booths” and pulled his pre-prepared sample ballot from his pocket.  It was a proud American moment.  His photographer did inform the seven members of the polling station volunteer staff that it was Crosby’s first time voting as an American.  The staff was impressed, to say the least.  When Crosby completed his official ballot and turned toward the vote counting machine, all seven volunteers, along with his personal photographer, stood and applauded his valiant display of patriotism and responsibility.

If you are an American and you didn’t exercise your personal responsibility to vote, shame on you.  Yes, that’s right…. shame.  Newly sworn-in American citizens like Crosby paid the price for this right that came free by birth to so many.  It is upstanding patriots like Rick__ Crosby who will determine who runs our country and how it is run.  If you did vote, THANK YOU!  Be proud!  Wear the red, white and blue sticker with pride.  The United States of America is the best country in the world!

(Is anyone else sensing a subliminal message here???)

Oh Say Can You See?

Today was Rick’s Naturalization ceremony and he is officially an American citizen.  Wooo HOoo!  A photo essay is certainly appropriate at this time.

Here he is in the royal blue shirt swearing allegiance to the sweet land of liberty with 91 other new brothers and sisters.  (Notice that black hair was obviously a requirement to get in to the US.)

The judge gave three new citizens the opportunity to speak before the crowd in the circular courtroom.  Of course, Rick jumped at the opportunity, being trained in hermeneutics and exegesis and aeronautics and all that. He was the best speaker, by far, no offense to the others who were speaking in their non-native tongue.  Rick briefly mentioned that he married an American and we lived in Canada for 10 years.  Then we moved here 11 years ago.  He told about his job at ADOT flying the Secretary of State around Arizona to set up polling stations and ballot counting machines for elections…. elections in which he wasn’t allowed to vote.  So right before the price increase, he decided to become an American so he could vote.  (This comment got some good laughter from the crowd.) Then he encouraged all 91 other newbies to vote… as it is now their right, privilege and duty.  He was sweet American eloquence in motion…. wrapped in Elvis-ish sideburns.

Then the President of the United States of America showed up (via DVD and some sweet big screens) and welcomed the newcomers to their home.

Next, ten children of the new Americans were called by name to the front to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.  Keeve was pretty excited because his name was announced first.  Aus and Keeve are the styling boys on the right in plaid and patchwork shorts….. note Elvis on the right.  Larisa also went forward, but she is directly behind that tall gal in the red dress.

After the pledge, we all stood and waved little American flags and loudly sang “I’m Proud to be an American.”  I must say, the fellows in the front, including the judge, waved their flags with vigor.  The heartfelt song brought many tears to the courtroom.

And then it was over…. and there were FIVE Americans in the Crosby family in the District of Arizona.  One, two, three, four, FIVE.  Finally.

Congratulations, Rick__ Allan Crosby.  Did I mention that 75 of the 92 new citizens chose to change their names????  Just some interesting trivia.  Veeeerrrrry interesting.

Please stayed tuned for tomorrow’s blog where photographic evidence will be revealed showing the American graffiti and damage done to our home and land whilst we were doing our civic duty.