Thrifty Gift Thursday: Personalized Wine Stoppers

While Mr. Lush and I often finish bottles in one sitting, we hear others keep theirs for days, even a week, having a little glass here and there. For those friends, get the personalized wine stoppers. Here’s two options:

Use code PC15GFT to get this one for $12.71. I would opt to just get the monogram, (I think you just leave the other fields blank) versus the names, because it seems very wedding gift-y with the names, but that’s just me. Plus the solid initial makes it a gift for your single wine drinkers. The single monogram would look something like this.

For a funner but let flashy option, here’s a push botton one for $11.99.

I sure don't need LESS energy.......

While perusing a magazine, I noticed a commentary about this "interesting" beverage:

Yes, its called “Drank” and its an “extreme relaxation beverage”. The slogan on their website:

So remember…. Just “Slow Your Roll” with Drank.

Here’s some more info:
“Drank anti-energy drink finds its roots in "purple drank," a slang term for a concoction popularized in the South by the hip-hop community, according to Wikipedia. Purple drank typically includes promethazine-codeine cough syrup which produces a stoned sedation. Promethazine is an antihistamine while codeine is an opiate narcotic. The syrup is colored purple hence "Purple drank."

However, Drank's active ingredients are all legal, and can be found at health and vitamin shops. Drank's press release says, "From design to production, every aspect of this calming drink was inspired by today’s popular hip hop artists who embrace the much sought-after hip hop lifestyle that encourages people to capture a stress-free state of mind."”

Ah, now I see. Who knew “stress-free state of mind” is also known as “stoned sedation”??

I think I might just do some yoga and drink a glass of wine, how 'bout you?

Help the 100 neediest families in the Lou

I was browsing the online edition of the paper and saw something about 100 neediest families in St. Louis. I admit I’m a bit skeptical with giving charitable donations-I don’t always believe that the dollars collected really will be given to the families in need. I’ve read too many horror stories about how communities rallied to “save” someone, only to find out the money collected goes to the cause, not necessarily the person or that so much goes to the administrative costs. As you might know, my good friend Lucy profiles good causes on her Good Cause Monday posts. She has inspired me to be more philanthropic so decided to take the time to investigate. I found out that every dollar does indeed goes to the needy families, and that you can even designate who you want what to go to. I'd never heard of it, so I thought I'd share the info with you.

From the website:
Each year, more than 10,000 families in need receive help from the 100 Neediest Cases program. An effort is made to assist every case in some way. With your help and big heart, we can make the holiday season a joyous one for thousands of people in the St. Louis region.
All administrative and fund raising costs are absorbed by United Way of Greater St. Louis, the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and more than 100 area social service agencies. Every dollar raised for the 100 Neediest Cases program goes directly to help people.

Here’s two cases, out of the 100.

Mrs. D, 73, lives with her husband on a fixed income. Both are disabled and diabetic.
After suffering a stroke, Mrs. D is losing her vision. She also is coping with high blood pressure, a heart condition and Alzheimer's disease and must use a walker to get around. But even with the walker, she has trouble getting around, as she is missing half of one of her feet.
She also no longer has taste buds.
Mrs. D and her husband need a refrigerator, as theirs is falling apart and no longer able to freeze food. They also need help with eyeglasses, medical bills and food.

Another one:

It was a rough introduction to the world: V was born with his kidneys outside his body. At age 11, he leaks urine and has to wear adult diapers.
His mother, Ms. W, has medical issues of her own, and has suffered several strokes. This little family receives income only once a month; the money often runs out before the month does. And that means Ms. W can't buy V's diapers. When that happens, V has to stay home from school: He needs several changes every day, and goes to the nurse's office to change them.
There's no laundromat in their neighborhood, and the W's don't have a washer. Ms. W has to do the laundry by hand. V frequently goes to school smelling of stale urine, and his classmates can be cruel. In spite of it all, the people who know him report that he's a sweet, polite boy, and doesn't complain. Contribute online
The family desperately needs a washing machine. Also near the top of their wish list are gift certificates for new clothes, groceries and diapers. Your help could make an enormous difference in V's life.

And the stories go on. Here’s how to help:

ADOPT: Individuals, corporations, families and organizations can volunteer to adopt one of the 100 families. Adopters are encouraged to fill at least one of the family's stated needs and to buy at least one present for each child. Everything goes directly to the family, through the family's social worker.
DONATE: The 100 Neediest Cases general fund is used to help the 12,000 other families identified for the program. Every family will receive something, and every dollar will go directly to a needy family. Last year, $1.3 million was raised and distributed.
HOW: To adopt a family or make a donation, call 314-421-6060 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays, send mail to 100 Neediest Cases, Box 955925, St. Louis Mo. 63195-5925, or go to http://www.100neediestcases.org/. To review the cases that have been published, go to www.STLtoday.com/neediest.
Checks should be made out to 100 Neediest Cases and sent to:
100 Neediest Cases
P.O. Box 955925
St. Louis, Mo. 63195-5925

Check your local paper / community services and see if such a program exists near you. If not, please check those cases out and send some diapers, socks, etc to these families in need. If you're in the Lou let me know and maybe we can all go in on a more sizable purchase to really help them out, like a deep freezer for that couple.

The Marsala Quest begins

One of the most searched items on my blog is “what wine to pair with chicken marsala”. Well, dear readers and random Google searches, that is my winter quest. (Lucy, that means we’ll just have to have chicken marsala a ton of times this winter, sorry to put you through that!!) Last night I took a stab at Veal Marsala. I will note it wasn’t the best cut of veal, but I wanted to give it a try. It was ok, but I think I might prefer chicken a bit better. Here’s a picture-which looks almost identical to how my Chicken Marsala would look.

On to the wine, since that’s really the most important part for a WineLush. We had both white and red wines with it, since it’s a rich, beef / beef broth based sauce with mushrooms, but with a creamy touch, as well as fettucine alfredo as a side dish. One was the Shoofly Buzzcut ($12ish), a white blend from Austrialia made of Verdelho, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon. It’s a little citrusy, has enough acidity to cut through the side of alfredo and the oil used in the Marsala, but enough body to stand up to a rich dish. It was good. The other was La Rochelle Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, a recent $38 selection from a wine club we belong to. The pinot was fantastic, a bit fruity at first, and actually got a bit better and more complex after being open about an hour.

It was a tough comparison, as both were good with the Marsala. In the end, we determined the pinot was better, but only by a tad. Its possible we just weren't able to look past the fact we both really liked the pinot better as a wine, thus we enjoyed it more, thus it was of course better with the food.

I’ll keep tasting all winter, and post my thoughts on each. If you’re reading this wondering what to pair with it, my thoughts are a lighter bodied red or a fuller bodied white blend. See my past thoughts on pairing options with the label Marsala Quest.

Thrifty Gift Thursday: Decanter Dryer

Most wine lovers have a decanter, but those suckers sure are hard to get dry! Enter decanter dryer. Often they are $30 and up, but here's one for $12.99! (decanter not included) Its a bit on the simple side and will only work with the standard decanters, but it has the dish at the bottom for the water to collect, which is nice because that water has to go somewhere!

Kreativ, thankful, but blog-barren

Lucy recently awarded me with the Kreativ Blogger award. (Thanks Lucy!!) I’m supposed to list 6 things I’m thankful for and 6 blogs I stalk. This is actually a problem. While I casually read some blogs, other than Lucy’s, I don’t visit any daily or even weekly, which is a far cry from stalking. So please, if you’re someone who casually reads my blog, help me out. Share your top 2 or 3 faves, and perhaps they can become my favorites as well.

In the interim, 6 things I’m thankful for, in no particular order:

1. My wonderful husband. He appreciates my good qualities and knows all my faults, and loves me anyway. He puts up with my peccadillos and indulges my whims. I’m also very lucky a co-worker locked her keys in her car that day or else we wouldn’t be together.

2. My good friends. I’m blessed to have some really good friends, who also put up with my peccadillos and indulge my whims. They are often a good sounding board, from personal problems to work issues, and are there with a glass of wine to celebrate or to help cheer me up.

3. My good friends who are also handy and those who have handy husbands and “pimp them out”. This might be a specific item to the Luce Family, but after spending last night organizing our basement with shelves Mr. Luce helped Mr. Lush build, I think they deserve a double mention.

4. General good fortune. As mentioned in #2, friends are often there to help cheer me up. Well, thankfully, that’s not very often. I don’t know if its necessarily “good” fortune- it might be more of an absence of bad fortune, but it still counts and I’m thankful for it. I have had some really bad luck moments, but they are few and far between.

5. My health. I take horrible care of myself and still, I’m not sick. As noted in my post about my general absence of flu, I have generally good health. I don’t know if this will continue, but I swear every time I watch the TV show House I am thankful that I don’t have some crazy odd disease or condition, as well as just an average bad condition that could be managed with daily medication. Good genes, cosmic luck, whatever the cause, I'm just thankful I'm generally healthy.

6. My working situation. I’m currently working part time in a job I mostly like (really, that's all we can ask for) and I have a great boss. I’m so thankful that I even have a job while I’m in school, not to mention that this job pays relatively well, and that it’s also related to my field and to top it off, my boss is great and lets me work on things I want to and get additional career growth experiences that are so important. I’m also thankful I have identified what I want to do when I finish school and while I don’t expect to get my perfect job, I’m doing what I can to get as close as I can.

7. The fact I got to use "peccadillo". :)

Unexpected wine moments

Do you ever have those random unexpected wine moments? Ones that are either fantastic or slightly disappointing, but either way you learn something along the way? I’ve had a few in the past year. I’ve gotten to taste some wines I’d never buy but were curious about, such as Cristal (good but overrated), along with wines that were so good I wish I never knew about them because I’ll covet them forever (such as Viader and Stag’s Leap Cask 23), a bottle that the sulfur aroma was so strong decanting just made it worse, a box of 20+ year old Riesling that was suddenly offered to us, which was akin to apple juice at that point but interesting to taste, and one more this past weekend.

We were over at a friend’s house who doesn’t really drink much, particularly not wine, and he says “Hey, I’m glad you guys are here. I’ve some old red wine and want to know if its still good.” Now, Mr. Lush and I are weary of old wine owned by non-wine drinkers after the Reisling, but we say its red, so its got a shot. He opens a cabinet and shows us 4 bottles of French wine his dad gave him shortly before his death. At this point I’m more than just lightly curious. Of course, French wines can age and I’ve never had any old Bordeaux so I really want to taste them, but am sad that they are being stored in not optimal conditions (room temp now and no idea about the past), so its fairly likely they are bad, or on their way. There was a 1977 lower end “red grape wine” and a 1959 Grand Cru (I don’t remember the other two). He said lets open them. Well, ok, but we caution him that its unlikely they are in good condition, although the Grand Cru is probably the best shot, but does he want to open them with us? On a random Friday night? He states he just wants to open them, and if they are good, have someone who likes wine to enjoy them with. We oblige.

First up is the 1977: we peel off the label and see the top of the cork is basically soaked through and is sugary-looking. Not a good sign. Sure enough, we put the corkscrew in it and the cork falls right through. The wine has spoiled. Sadness sets over all of us. But he doesn’t give up, opening the 1959 Chateau Bouscaut Grand Cru. Well, the cork (which was really long) was fairly soaked all the way the way through, but was holding tight in the bottle and kept intact, so are hopeful when we smell-it smells like wine, not like funk or dirty feet or anything like that. We pour a glass. Sip. Hmm. Tastes….surprisingly ok. A real possibility. So, we pour a few glasses and let them sit for a bit. About an hour plus later, we drink. It was fairly good and the finish went on forever, although I’m sad to say we thought it was a bit past its prime. It hadn’t gone bad yet, but it was heading in that direction.


Yesterday I looked up information and there isn’t a ton of info except that that vintage was the last of the original Chateau because of a fire, but it was rebuilt. However, its clear based on pricing that the rest of the world agrees its past it prime. (Not readily available and recently $250+, it was reduced to $170.) So, even if it had been stored in optimal conditions, this particular wine wasn’t meant to last quite this many years. Either way it was an interesting experience because if a 49 year old Bordeaux that’s been stored in less than optimal conditions can still be drinkable, I have hopes and reasons to buy quite a few bottles on our trip next year and put them out of sight and out of mind for the next 25 years.

Cheers to unexpected wine moments- keep 'em coming, wine gods.

My first vertical

Last weekend my wine club had our first vertical tasting. (A vertical tasting is where you have the same wine, but different vintages, side by side.) Often wineries will sell these, but its usually the top end wines, averaging $80 or more per bottle. I think $30/bottles are worthy of saving and trying, and that's about all we can afford right now, so that's the price point we went with. We tasted the following wines:

• 2003 Kenwood "Jack London" Cabernet
• 2004 Kenwood "Jack London" Cabernet
• 2005 Kenwood "Jack London" Cabernet
• 2003 Simi "Landslide" Cabernet
• 2004 Simi "Landslide" Cabernet
• 2005 Simi "Landslide" Cabernet

We started off the evening with some Gloria Ferrar sparkling and cheeses then we served some filets with some yummy sides, and tried the wines. Both wines are from California, one is from Sonoma (Kenwood) and the other from Napa (Simi). Both use other grapes for blending, although the Simi is about 85% Cab and the Kenwood is about 90% Cab. It was interesting to see what the difference was, both in year and between the two. As suspected, I liked the 2003s more. I tend to like my cali cabs about 5 years old. What was slightly suprising, was that I liked the 2005s and 2004's about the same overall. Personally, I liked the Kenwood Jack London more, which is sad because its not as readily available here in the Lou.

For those of you who want to do a vertical tasting I have a few tips:

-Pick something ageable, but that you can also afford to keep for a few years.

-Start with the oldest one first. Its harder to track down an older vintage than the newer one and you don't want to be stuck bidding on some older wine to complete the vertical. Mr. Lush and I had both the 2003's and one 2004, so filling in the newer wines was easier.

-Speaking of newer vintages, don't be discouraged if you have a hard time getting the most recent vintage either. The 2005 Kenwood was hard to comeby because all the distributors wanted to sell out of the 2004 first. Which, of course if I had waited until the 2005 was out, the 2004 would've been hard to find. So planning and patience are key.

-Its best to have a group, even a small one, to taste. Then you aren't left with a bunch of opened wine or drinking the nice bottles by yourself. We had a group of 8, and with the sparkling before hand and dessert wine after, it was perfect. We split the cost of the wines between everyone and everyone brought a side dish. Of course, a downside of a group is the glassware needed.

-Get some cheap stemless glasses. The Dollar Tree (or other local dollar store) usually has them for, you guessed it, $1. We bought about 60 for the reception in the spring and kept them to use for wine functions. They travel well, store easy and if they break, who cares, they were only $1!

-Remember to label the glasses in some manner, whether paper labels on the glass, or the same wine charms for the certain year, whichever, you just don't want to get the wines mixed up.

-Get a measured pourer. I have a one ounce pourer we used for club tastings, so we had one person pour two ounces in each glass, and "eyeball" matched the level. (since we had the same glasses, this was an easy method) The two ounces was perfect, enough to sip each one a few times, but left enough in the bottle you could go back for at least one or two of your top favorites.

-Remember to print off a bit of info on the wines. I only printed off the blend percentages and how long it was aged in oak. If you're tasting the same wine, its better to know as much as you can about why you like one and not the other.

-Finally, if you do want to do a vertical tasting, I recommend starting off at Sams Club or another warehouse like place. Often Sams Club has multiple vintages, since they will cut a deal with a distributor. Sometimes you'll luck out and get 3, but usually they'll have at least 2 years. For example, on Tuesday, Mr. Lush and I picked up the next vertical- the 2003, 2004, and 2005 Mount Veeder Cabernet were all at Sams Club and we noticed they had another cab in 2003 and 2004.

Cheers and good luck!

Thrify Gift Thursday: Port Decanter/Glass Set

This is an excellent gift for the port lover, as it comes with a decanter with a stopper, in addition to 4 glasses. However, its just a bit of a splurge item, according to Thrifty Gift Thursday guidelines. Its $34, however, you can save 15% on your order by using the coupon code COUPONSEVEN15, putting it at $28.90. Which really, is a steal, as this set looks like a $50 plus gift! And, to top it off, I bet the recipient will be so thankful they'll serve you some nice port, and who doesn't love a gift that keeps on giving??

An Elegant Tuesday Night Meal

Since Mr. Lush was off for Veteran’s Day, I took the day off as well. Nothing beats a weekday day off. We played a little and did some errands (boo hiss on being an adult and not being able to play all day!) and we ended the evening with an elegant Tuesday night meal. We had some lamb chops drizzled with a balsamic reduction sauce, asparagus, and a recent selection from one of our wine clubs, the 2003 Michaud Syrah.

First the lamb chops- seasoned with tarragon, a smidge of thyme, garlic powder and fresh ground pepper. Quick pan-seared them in some olive oil, set aside, deglazed the pan with some (about ¼ cup) balsamic vinegar, added some chicken broth (about 2/3 cup), and the seasonings from the meat. Let reduce a bit, put in a bowl and set it to the side, then finished cooking the chops to about medium rare-medium. I sautéed the asparagus in minced garlic, olive oil, and fresh ground pepper. The lamb chops were amazing. The sauce was good, although next time I’d use better quality balsamic vinegar (we had about mid grade and it really needs high grade) so it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been and I’d probably let it reduce a bit more or add some cornstarch to thicken.

On to the wine-it was fantastic as well. Slightly petrol nose, but mostly flavors of black cherry and just a bit of pepper, none of which were overwhelming, and it had a nice long finish. We got it from the Taste of Monterey club, and of course, its from Monterey CA, specifically from the Chalone appellation. Per the notes: “Wines from the Chalone appellation require a little additional time to open up to their maximum expression. This happens 15-20 minutes after a bottle is opened. If you would like to hasten this process, we recommend decanting the wine.” Luckily for us, even though we didn’t read the notes before hand, we did pour the wine into our glasses about 30 minutes before we ate, so it all worked out to be the recommended time. It was excellent with the lamb, particularly with the tarragon. I think it retails for about $40.

I so love cooking at home because you get the opportunity to justify splurging on some nice cuts of meat, like lamb chops. And really, who doesn’t like an elegant meal on a Tuesday, particularly in today’s economy, for what ended up being cheaper than a meal at Applebees?? Can’t beat it.

2002 Kenwood Artist Series

November is my wine club’s annual Big Red Tasting. The point of it is to try some wines that might be special occasion wines, or nice gift wines, or if you have more money than I do, just nice wines that might be in your regular weekend drinking repertoire. (if so, I am oh-so-jealous) Of course, since I collect Artist labels, this is justification to purchase (and keep the label) of a Kenwood Artists Series Cabernet. I’ve had 3 or 4 of them, and loved every one. The 2002 is currently released and so we purchased that. It was just wonderful, as I expected. What I like about the Artists Series wines. other than the labels, is how smooth they are. They don’t require decanting to drink, they improve with some breathing, but they are very drinkable directly out of the bottle. Too many cabs need air to be enjoyable. I don't mind decanting, but I wouldn't mind enjoying a half glass while I wait and seeing the difference. Its the top of the Kenwood line, so its also consistently good. Typically, Kenwood adds just a little bit, maybe 10% or so, of other varietals to smooth out the blend. The 2002 is:91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and is aged 26 months in French Oak. Here’s some tasting notes from the winery:

The 2002 Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich, concentrated wine with aromas of red currants black cherries, and plums followed by aromatic notes of French oak, spice and black licorice. It exhibits excellent structure that is characterized by its full-bodied mouth feel, smooth tannins and lingering, silky finish. This Artist Series was bottle aged before release making it very drinkable now but it should continue to improve for at least another decade.

It retails for $65-70, if you can find it for less than $50 on a closeout, pick up a couple bottles. If you can find it for less than $40, pick up a case and I’ll buy it from you. Cheers!

Thrifty Gift Thursday: Personal Decanters

Even though I do love wine and wine accessories, I don’t have a lot of disposable income and thus don’t spend a lot of money on wine accessories. I’d rather buy a bottle of great of wine than to spend a $100 on an item to open, decant, or drink out of, so I deal shop and regisstered for a few neat things when we got married. Recently, I got a great deal on a decanter glass set and Mr. Lush gave me a very dirty look because we already have THREE decanters. I told him I wasn't sure if I was going to give it as a gift, but he still gave me the look and I realized I do get a tad bit carried away. I do so enjoy searching for good deals, but have issued a stop order on my wine accessory shopping through the end of the year. However, I know I’ll still run across some good deals and hopefully by sharing them with you, I can pretend its like I’m buying them. So, from now through the end of the year, I’m going to feature a thrifty gift for your wine loving friends, or something to buy yourself this holiday season. The gifts will be wine related and priced under (or around) $25. Disclaimer: there might be one that sneaks through that’s over the price range, but if so, it would be a spectacular deal or a really great gift idea.

First up are a set of 4 personal decanters for $20. Typically, I find WE stuff to be over priced, but wouldn’t these be great? Either to use as a personal decanter, or to just not clutter up the table with a big decanter that just a glass or so left in it.

An undecided political rant

Confession- its now just “hours” until election day and I don’t know who I’m going to vote for. I know. I think I’m the only person I know who hasn’t decided. We all have to act like our vote matters, that our vote is the deciding vote, so of course I’m freaking out because tomorrow I must vote for someone but who?? (caution, what follows is the political (and somewhat uninformed) rantings of an undecided voter!)

In general, I’m more of a democrat in terms of moral values. (pro-choice, pro-homosexual rights, etc) However, I don’t dig socialism and wealth redistribution is a form of socialism. (watch out now, I said "form") I think aid should be provided to those in need, but only a very limited basis, which is very anti-democratic of me. So maybe I’m a democrat with a timeline?? Here's some money, but put it to good use, this well runs dry eventually. I don’t think people who make over $250,000, sorry, $200,000 as he said in his last “infomercial”, should have to pay more taxes. What about the 40% of Americans who don’t pay ANY taxes? Who I hate isn’t someone who’s making $200,000, I hate the SOBs at the mortgage companies and banks who are leaving with tens of millions of dollars after screwing people like my dad, who are left with 40% of his retirement money. I don’t think $200,000 combined household income in rich….I think that’s upper middle class, and I hope to be in that class within 5-10 years after finishing my Master’s. I have no problem giving my money, whether in taxes or a check, to help people out in need, but I want those recipients to use it to better their lives and not need help anymore. Ongoing unlimited help, at the expense of taxpayers, is not the way to go. I think everyone should pay taxes (even if its $100 a year).

McCain’s old, Palin’s annoying, Biden talks without thinking sometimes (I can relate ;) but Obama started off the campaign lying about taking the federal money for the election, and thus has way more money to spend. I’m cool with my president being a good liar, but really, starting off lying isn’t very cool. But I also don’t dig our president being in bed with the oil companies for another 4 years. However, I’d rather have a job and pay $8 a gallon for gas than the alternative and I figure every politician’s in bed with someone, or else where would all this campaign money come from? So who am I to say you can't sleep with the oil companies, but other than that I don't care who you sleep with?? I don’t think Obama’s a terrorist, although I don’t doubt that he, along with every single politician, has gotten money during his life from somewhere I don’t want to know about. Naturally, I’m tired of getting those emails and calls about where all his money came from (terrorist) or even that he’s a live baby killer. (did you see that commercial? Yeah-evidently Obama supports the killing of live babies, birthing them, then leaving them to die. Ok, now, really.)

But do I want another 8 years of Bush? Economy is in the dumps, we're pissing money away in a useless war, we're bailing out car companies, mortgage companies, banks, etc. We're so bad we're even bringing down the WORLD economy, and the only reason we're paying less than $3 a gallon for gas is because its election time. We're way behind the rest of the world in alternative energy and I certainly want our country to really focus on other forms of energy. While I would pay $8 a gallon for gas if it meant I had a job to drive to, I don't want to, you know? We have sun and wind for free, why not figure out how to harness that energy in an affordable fashion? I think the white house should be powered by alternative energy sources- why not? I think we should all get solar panels on our houses and be able to run our cars on something other than oil and if we didn’t have a president in bed with the oil companies car companies might actually put money into developing that research. I mean, come on, a car can practically parallel park itself, why can’t we get a more fuel efficient car? Oh yeah, because oil greases everything.

But god, what if something happens to McCain, do I want Palin to be my president? Heavens no. I absolutely can’t stand the fact she doesn’t think sex education should be taught in schools. Yeah lady, clearly the parents taking the role of sex education worked out for you.

I guess in general, I’m inclined to disbelieve everything I read or hear from one candidate about the other one, so it leaves me with where do I go from here? See why I’m lost? I can come up with arguments for both side, but I admit, I have gaps in my thoughts. In the past I’ve been a “one issue voter” as my dad calls it. (ie Bush was against homosexual rights and pro-life, so I voted against him) But I feel like I’ve been of voting age for over 10 years, its time I make an educated decision, right? Tonight I plan to spend some time going over each candidate’s websites, as well as skimming over any applicable propositions. And for all you other last minute deciders, Lucy's recent post has some good links for getting up to speed on what else is on the ballot.

I leave with this good news for Missouri voters: under Missouri voting leave law, companies are required to give up to 3 successive hours of paid leave for regularly scheduled work time to go vote. I’m scheduled to work at 7:30, so that means I get paid until 9. (I’m part time because I’m in school, so I’m actually hourly) If only I got paid to decide who to vote for!!!