Civic Duty

My household is not blessed with a television. Accordingly, we fled to Virginia last week to watch the opening ceremonies with the VA Witts. In between moments of Danny Boyle mayhem--which, can I just say? MR.BEAN!--we had to sit through all kinds of political attack ads.

Yes, it's election season.

We feel very strongly about civic engagement in my home. What better way to express appreciation for our rights as citizens of a democratic republic than by voting? And vote we do. We vote with our dollars, and with our e-mail accounts. We vote for what truly matters: maintaining a robust selection of light ice cream products in our grocery store's freezer aisle. David is truly a patriot. Showing here:

Dear Edy's,

Please continue the Slow Churned Black Raspberry, which is marked "Limited Edition." I'm a normal Joe who has never contacted a company like this before, but I'm begging you: please continue this flavor! My only complaint when I eat it is how fast my bowl becomes empty.

Sometimes you just have to take a stand, reader.

And the living is easy.

Summer is without a doubt my least favorite season. However, some aspects of summer please me. For one thing, many folks take vacations when the weather gets warm. And boy, am I grateful when people I love vacation near me.

We're currently basking in the extended presence of the Wrights, which both simultaneously soothes and inflames my desire to be their next door neighbor someday. My much more hip brothers tell me that social media is a powerful thing. Since I barely dabble in the social media stuff, I don't have a testimony of this power yet. Shall we experiment a little? I think we should.

Hello there, internets. Buy lots of incredible things here so the Wrights can buy a European palace where the fam can all live in a wonderful commune full of Kenneth's cooking and Sarah's art.

There. That should do it. I should probably update my passport now.

Not My Job

Here are some alternative career ideas I've recently gathered. You know, just in case.

• Travel agent with a very exclusive client list: me.
• Forager for decent Netflix streaming titles.
• Professional aunt.
• Person who picks real books for Belle's library. Cheap cop out, Disney. Let me slap some titles on those spines.
• Lazy river rafter.

Make that happen for me, universe. 

Too Darn Hot

You may have heard that the DC area is experiencing a wee bit of a weather kerfuffle. Miraculously, we never lost power (though my cell phone is still on the fritz). I'm still in a grateful fugue state of disbelief, since the power at my last place of residence winked off when anyone so much as sneezed in the general vicinity.

We got to host 4.5 adorable refugees, and we had a grand time. Whilst I was making lunch yesterday, I observed that our weekend adventures were almost like a Lake Powell trip: marathon family time (yay!), communal meals (yay!), cramped quarters, poor sleep, 100+ degree heat, and zero energy. But without all the awesome stuff like wave runners and water slides.

Disasters notwithstanding, I loved the family time. Come again soon, my little refugees.