Tree Hunting

 

Now THAT'S Entertainment

The good and the bad

Top 3 things this weekend

#1 Ultra fabulous Coldplay concert at the Xcel Center in St Paul, Minnesota

#2 Attending the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints St Paul Temple

#3 Spending some much needed time and good laughs with this wild looking bunch I call family

Top 3 bad things this weekend

#1 Finding droppings left by Mickey Mouse's friend(s) in the back of our car along with a shredded up paper towel.

#2 Renting this piece of a car because of Mickey's friend(s). This was the only car available to rent. This meant no stocking up at Costco, no new treadmill, not going hog wild at the cannery for food storage. I think the kids had to suck in the stomachs the whole drive there and back in order to fit in the car. But thankfully this little car did get us to the Twin Cities and back mouse free.

#3 Getting lost countless times that it became comical. Well, the parking ticket kinda sucked too so maybe that should be #3.



p.s.

Mouse has still not been caught. Two mouse traps are set in my car and my very kind neighbor has set some up in our garage. He even enclosed the mouse traps in shelters he made out of plastic jugs so I wouldn't have to see them. We have been using peanut butter (extra crunchy) as bait. Today we decided to try mild cheddar cheese. My neighbor did catch 8 mice in his very clean garage these past two weeks.

A-R-I-E-L

Lucas has made up a new song to showcase the latest addition in his repertoire of words he spells. It goes like this:

I am a brother with a girl and Ariel is her name-O

A-R-I-E-L

A-R-I-E-L

etc., etc.

Fortify Your Family

THE BIG DAY TOMORROW

I can not stand it when I hear people questioning the importance of their one vote. I find this fact sheet fascinating that I stole from Mandy's blog.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ONE VOTE
Mary W. Morgan, Supervisor of Elections

The most often heard excuse for not voting in an election is "my one
little vote won't make a difference." Yet history is full of instances
proving the enormous power of one single vote. In many cases, the
course of nations has been changed because one individual ballot was
cast -- or not cast -- depending upon your point of view. Consider
this:

In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
* In 1649, one vote literally cost King Charles I of England his
head. The vote to behead him was 67 against and 68 for -- the ax
fell thanks to one vote.
* In 1714, one vote placed King George I on the throne of England
and restored the monarchy.
* In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of
German (at least according to folk lore.)
* In 1800, the electoral college met in the respective states to
cast their two votes for President. At that time, the U.S.
Constitution provided the candidate receiving the most electoral
votes would become President and the candidate receiving the
second higheest number of votes would become Vice President. When
the results of the electoral college votes were opened by both
houses of Congress, there was a tie vote for President between
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. That threw the election of
President into the House of Representaties where Thomas Jefferson
was elected our third president by a one vote margin.
* In 1824, none of the four Presidential candidates received an
electoral majority. The election was again thrown into the House
of Representatives, where John Quincy Adams defeated front runner
Andrew Jackson by one vote to become the nation's 6th president.
Andrew Jackson received the majority of the nation's popular vote.
* In 1844 in the backwoods area of Switzerland County, Indiana on
election day, a farmer named Freeman Clark lay seriously ill in
bed. He begged his sons to carry him to the county seat so he
could vote for David Kelso to become a state senator. David Kelso
had defended old Freeman Clark on a murder charge and obtained his
acquittal. The old farmer Freeman Clark got to vote for Kelso but
Clark died on his way back home. Kelso won the election by one
vote. Both Freeman Clark and David Kelso were long-time Andrew
Jackson supporters.
* In 1844 when the new Indiana senate convened, Democrats had a
majority of one -- counting David Kelso. At that time, state
senates had the task of electing the states' United States
Senator. The Indiana Senate Democrats held a caucus where it
developed a majority of the party delegation favored a man who
would vote against the annexation of Texas if elected to the U.S.
Senate. David Kelso refused to vote for the Democratic Party
choice and a deadlock resulted between the Democratic and Whig
candidates. This continued for days. Finally, Kelso made his move.
He proposed a new candidate: Edward A. Hannigan. In his party
caucus, Kelso notified his Democratic associates he would bolt and
vote with the Whigs -- thus electing a Whig to the Senate --
unless the Democrats supported Hannigan. The Democrats felt
constrained to accept Hannigan who was then elected as Indiana's
U.S. Senator by one vote -- that of David Kelso.
* In 1845, Texas was admitted to the union as a state by one vote --
that of Edward A. Hannigan from Indiana. The 1844 and 1845
excerpts on the series of single votes leading to Texas statehood
are from the book Magnificent Destiny.
* In 1846, a one vote margin in the U.S. Senate approved President
Polk's request for a Declaration of War against Mexico.
* In 1850, California was admitted to the union by a margin of one
vote.
* In 1859, Oregon was admitted to the union by a margin of one vote.
* The Alaska Purchase of 1867 was ratified by just one vote --
paving the way for the eventual annexation of America's largest
state in 1958.
* In 1868, one vote in the U.S. Senate saved President Andrew
Johnson from impeachment.
* In 1875, a one vote margin changed France from a monarchy to a
republic.
* In 1875, Florida's U.S. Senators were still elected by the state
Legislature. Democrat Charles W. Jones of Pensacola was elected by
the U.S. Senate by a majority of one vote.
* In 1876, no presidential contender received a majority of
electoral votes so the determination of the country's president
was again thrown into the U.S. House of Representatives. By a one
vote margin, Rutherford B. Hayes became the new U.S. president.
When Tilden's party protested the tabulation and demanded a
recount, Congress established a 15-member electoral commission to
again count the electoral votes and declare the result. By an
eight to seven margin -- again, one vote -- the commission
affirmed the count and gave the election and presidency to Hayes.
* In 1885, two members of the Florida House of Representates waged a
friendly but close contest for Speaker of the House. Robert W.
Davis of Green Cove Springs defeated Gen. Ernest Yonge of
Pensacola by one vote.
* In 1889, by a one vote margin, Washington was admitted to
statehood with the union.
* In 1890, by a one vote margin, Idaho became a state.
* In 1916, if presidential hopeful Charles E. Hughes had received
one additional vote in each of California's precincts, he would
have defeated President Woodrow Wilson's re-election bid.
* On November 8, 1923, members of the then recently-formed
revolutionary political party met to elect a leader in a Munich,
Germany beer hall. By a majority of one vote, they chose an
ex-soldier named Adolph Hitler to become the NAZI Party leader.
* In 1940, the vote taken by the French parliament to maintain its
status as a republic failed by a margin of one vote.
* In 1941, the Selective Service Act (the draft) was saved by a one
vote margin -- just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked.
* In 1948, a Texas convention voted for Lyndon B. Johnson over
ex-Governor Coke Stevens in a contested Senatorial election.
Lyndon Johnson because U.S. Senator by a one vote margin.
* In 1948, if Thomas E. Dewey had gotten one vote more per precinct
in Ohio and California, the presidential election would have been
thrown into the U.S. House of Representatives where Dewey enjoyed
more support than his rival -- incumbent Harry Truman. As it was
Dewey was expected to win the general election by a landslide so
most Republicans stayed home. Only 51.5 percent of the electorate
voted. Truman defeated Dewey.
* In a 1955 city election in Huron, Ohio, the mayor was elected to
office by one vote.
* In a 1959 city election, mayors of both Rose Creek and Odin,
Minnesota were elected to their respective offices by one vote.
* In the 1960 presidential election, an additional one vote per
precinct in Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, and Texas may have
altered the course of America's modern history by denying John F.
Kennedy the presidency and placing Richard Nixon in the White
House 8 years earlier.
* In 1962, the governors of Maine, Rhode Island, and North Dakota
were all elected by a margin of one vote per precinct.
* In 1984, a Monroe County, Florida commissioner was elected by one
vote.
* In 1994, the U.S. House of Representatives enacted a law banning
specific classes of assault weapons. The vote was initially tied
but one member changed his vote to approve the ban.
* Bills proposing amendment to the U. S. Constitution require a
2/3's vote of each House in order to be approved. When the
balanced budget amendment bill came before the U.S. Senate in
March, 1995, the measure failed by one vote --Mark Hatfield,
Republican from Oregon, was the sole Republican failing to vote
with other members of the Republican Party which was the majority
party of the U.S. Senators. When it became apparent the measure
would fail, Senate Republican Whip Bob Dole changed his vote to
enable him to bring the matter back up under parliamentary rules
for a vote in the future.

The Brownie of all Brownies

This is for anyone who wants to be the best brownie baker in the whole wide world. Move over old double chocolate brownie and make room for the new Bombshell Brownie

1 C. butter, softened
1 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 C. white sugar
1 t salt
1 1/4 C. brown sugar
1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips or pieces
1T vanilla
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
4 eggs


directions:

• preheat oven to 350 degrees. line 9x 13 baking dish with parchment paper
• combine butter, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl. beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg until thoroughly blended.
• sift together flour cocoa powder, and salt. gradually stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until blended. stir in chocolate chips/pieces. spread batter evenly into prepared baking dish.
• bake for 30-35 minutes. remove and cool on wire rack before cutting

The taste, the texture, the look, it is all amazing. Even if you are a true brownie connoisseur, one who loves the outer edge and corner of the brownie this is the recipe for you too.