Voter fraud

Three weeks plus post doomsday the election the governorship of North Carolina has yet to be decided. Because not only is the loser incumbent governor refusing to concede, he's stalling like hell challenging the validity of all the votes before even officially requesting the recount. And the validity of the votes is in question because you know, all the voter fraud. ←Insert eye roll here.

I mean really. First, let me tell you how easy it was to vote early in NC. Since I'm registered to vote I went to whatever county voting location I wanted and told a complete stranger poll worker my name, verified my address and was given a ballot. That was it. But if I hadn't been registered to vote I would  have to do an extra step of registering and voting the same day.  Seriously.*

*as an aside I don't understand how anyone doesn't vote with easy access like that. Yet half of the population eligible to vote doesn't (PS: cork it if you didn't, you have no right to complain).

So let's hint to the possibility of fraud, not enough to have to prove anything but enough to stall, because you don't have to show any proof of who you are. Because by insisting you don't have to show ID (I was told several times to put mine away) means the state is not completely laced with bigotry the "surgical precision" gerrymandering and HB2 makes us out to be. All because the white lady with her baby wasn't offended by being asked to show ID.

And now to add insult to injury to this horrible, terrible, no good, rotten election season, the aforementioned bigotry laced tactics means NC has to redraw the lines again, and then have a special election in those new districts in 2017 and go through all of this again. ← Insert face palm here.

Get Used To It - Not Anymore

You know the saying s/he's seems like an asshole at first but not once you get to know them?
That's total bullshit. Because what it actually means is: s/he's is a total asshole and you just get used to it.

Which is how I feel about the president-elect. Trump's an asshole. And this isn't a case of  "seems like one at first." Throughout his entire campaign he bullied every opponent, boasted about committing sexual assault, spewed hateful and divisive rhetoric, and then sulked and demanded apologies for his thin orange skin like the man-baby he is if called out on any of it. That. Is. An. ASSHOLE. Those weren't "campaign promises" or dismissed "locker room talk" (also bullshit). He's always been this way and he's going to continue to be that way because being an asshole got him the presidency. And he's proving himself to be one over and over again with the twitter diatribes about the recount and each cabinet member he appoints. With an "alt-right" adviser here and a no experience there. Here an asshole, there an asshole, everywhere an asshole! Ripping away our civil rights, e-i-e-i-o!

But even after a recount, if #ImStillWithHer accepts the results, I begrudgingly will too. Even though the knot in my stomach grows tighter whenever the schmuck opens his mouth/tweets. Ugh, an asshole will be our president. But I refuse to "get used to it" or accept his behavior as a human being. And I hope the nation doesn't either.

Little Turkey

Welp. My baby is ONE! I'm honestly having a bit of a hard time with her being a full year old.  I mean, just, wow. In 366 days (leap year) she went from this:

an hour or two old

to this!

one year old!

Our tiny, perfect helpless newborn

my favorite newborn outfit

became our smiley

and proud alumni wearing

giggly,

not pictured: the sequels of joy  

sometimes sassy

I am NOT amused mommy

but always snugly

her favorite place to sleep

dog feeding

Boston Terrier: not included w/high chair

well traveled

Three flights, no (ok some) tears!

shark wearing

Happy Halloween!

most perfect little girl.

absolutely perfect

She made our family a million times happier than we ever imagined.

 .

We're pretty lucky like that! 

Happy Birthday Little Turkey!!

All American Palate

My mom visited last weekend and we commiserated over the election and talked each up to and then somewhat down from the ledge. But having my mom in town also means we go out to eat a lot (the cooking/menu planning/hostess with the mostest game has been pretty weak with the time suck that is parenting) and she has an adventurous palate so we try new places.

Anyway, I wanted to try the Asian grocery store close by because I heard they had authentic dim sum. I've helped my mom make a few things on occasion, but those delicious finger foods are deceptively "simple." Because those suckers take time a ton of time, energy and spices I don't have in my pantry. So we go and right off the bat we see a ton of Asians eating there which is always a good sign the food is authentic/good. And this place is loud and crowded and everyone who looks like my mom is yelling over each other in Chinese.

But here's another thing about my mom, she's ABC- American Born Chinese. And she knows some Cantonese, but no Mandarin. So we had no idea what we were ordering. Or eating. So it was...interesting.  

You know it's authentic when you see the locals eating there. But you know you're American when your mom doesn't know what you're eating.  

2016 Election Thoughts

I am pretty horrified by the 2016 election results. Actually, scared shit-less is a better description.
I know my husband and I will be okay. We're a white/Asian heterosexual legally recognized married college educated couple. We both have careers and insurance through our employers. But what about my LGBTQ friends? What about my extended family who is uninsured? What about the disabled and all the other same groups of people I don't know? What about my daughter? What the hell kind of world are we leaving her?

A demagogue. A racist. A xenophobe. A misogynist. That. That scares the hell out of me. And it should scare the hell out you too.

And I'm angry. I get that people just hate Clinton, whether it's she's establishment, not your party, don't agree with her record, etc. But you couldn't accept this devil you know is far better (and safer choice) than the devil you don't? And though I vehemently disagree with you, I accept that you have a reason for your choice. But don't defend the demagogue president-elect's rhetoric and behavior. Defending is accepting and allows the stance that anyone who isn't a rich-white-man is less than and doesn't matter as much. And that should be unacceptable behavior for a human being.

And to those of you who assuaged your conscious and voted for a 3rd party or write-in I hope you feel at least some sort of shame too. Because even though you may be happy you didn't didn't vote for either evil, your protest vote was not a vote for Clinton and she needed numbers. And while I know her supporters needed to show up at the polls too, splitting the vote is simple math and helped put that orange asshole into power.  

I proudly voted for Clinton, so I'm dismayed at the election results. And for a small bit of levity for this terrified post, I'm also pretty disappointed there won't be a taco truck on every corner either.