Blago and birthday cake

As everyone probably knows, the governor of Illinois was officially removed from office yesterday...I am SO sorry to say that I voted for Blago/Hot Rod B (that's my dad's name for him) during his first run for office. I didn't know a thing about him and just voted for him to vote against the Republicans and anyone associated with George Ryan. Lesson: Be an INFORMED voter! The only positive contribution to our state was Blago's attempt to make healthcare accessible to all Illinois families. I think it's a good concept, however, the way it's been executed has actually made it harder for some familes to get care. Because of the state's budget mess, health care providers haven't been reimbursed for services in months, and now many of them won't even take public aid clients; they just can't afford it because who knows when the state will reimburse them for services rendered.

It's hard to understand how a state that was once home to a great and honest man like Abe Lincoln has also been the home of so many scandalous politicians.

In other news, I am baking a cake tonight for my husband as his birthday is tomorrow. If I remember I will try to post a picture of how it turns out.

I need a hobby

I suppose it's because of the cold weather, which has been keeping me inside and giving me cabin fever, but after another weekend of sitting around watching way too much t.v. with the husband, I have come to the conclusion that I need a hobby! I have often told my husband (who is always complaining that he's bored after five minutes of doing nothing) that I rarely get bored, that I can entertain myself quite easily. As a kid I often could find I could play for hours just by using my imagination (where did that skill go?) or by reading or even just daydreaming. As an adult I typically can find things to do to entertain myself, like checking email, facebook, myspace, googling random things, basically wasting time on the computer...and then there's reading, and then back to watching t.v. or movies. Well, after this weekend of doing alot of all those things and feeling very wasteful of my time and very, well, bored, I realized I need to find something to really focus on during my free time, something to do to enjoy and really use my free time in a way I can look back and feel productive. I remember as I was finishing grad school thinking of how when I graduated I would finally have more free time to maybe get a hobby, but somehow I ended up with a boyfriend and for awhile that took up all my free time (hey, I wasn't complaining! It was summer and we were having fun!) Before I know it we're planning a wedding, which definitely takes up all your free time, then we're moving, building a house, and more free time is spent on all kinds of planning, decision making...so now we've been in this house for a year+ and finally things have settled down and I have some of that coveted "free time" and am like "what to do now?" So...there are alot of things I like that I would like to do more, like possibly learning to bake fancy things, to take better pictures, to take up the flute or piano again (ok, those would involve purchasing instruments, not sure about that), and then there are things I have never done at all (sewing or knitting)...I think I will be trying to explore some possibilties, and I will keep you posted on the progress.

hello...

OK, so I am completely new to this blogging thing. Well, maybe not completely new, I have posted some blogs on myspace, but to professional bloggers I am not sure that counts. It started out that I just wanted to follow the blogs of a couple of friends who are on here, and now here I am. I am not feeling particularly inspired as of yet today, but, as the title implies, when the blue light comes on, perhaps there will be special deals to share. :)