Things I Wish I Knew How To Do

On my walks with my dog Sydney, I frequently let my mind wander as we go up and down the greenway and throughout our neighborhood. The area I walk Sydney is so nice that I find our hour long walks go by in the blink of an eye.

As Sydney and I hit the trail the other day, I began to think about the things I wish I knew how to do. You know, the things that you wish you had learned growing up, or had time for as an adult, but somehow don't make it into your busy schedule. There are many things I can do, but here are some things I wish I knew how to do:

Play the guitar. That would be awesome! I have often thought how fun it would be to sit outside on my back deck and strum a guitar.

Play the piano. Again, that would be awesome. I've always thought that the piano creates some of the most beautiful music.

Speak another language. Not even something fancy like Russian or Japanese. Spanish would be find. I took French in high school and college, but I can't really speak it (I can read French better than I can speak it).

Do cartwheels. How cool would it be to just be going along your merry way and suddenly bust out a cartwheel? Don't you think that is cool? No? Just me? Ok.

Photographic memory. Now, I realize of all the things I wish I knew how to do, this one I probably cannot learn. It is probably a gift from birth. Oh well. I still wish I had it.

Create recipes. Sure, I can follow a recipe and make dinner, but I would love to have the knowledge to create a recipe or meal from scratch. I guess I need to watch more of The Food Network.

Those are some things that I think would be cool to learn or know how to do. I think there are some other things, but I can't remember them right now. There is one though...

I wish I knew how to get Sydney out of sleeping in my bed at night.

And Then There Were Two

Today at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC, Mitt Romney took his hat out of the ring and halted his race for the presidency. In this stunning turn of events, Romney graciously told his fellow conservatives that he felt it was his duty to bow out now for the sake of the Republican party.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney told the crowd.

I recently threw my support behind Romney after Fred Thompson dropped out of the race last month. Romney was the only true conservative left running for the Republican nomination, and while I didn't support him initially, it became clear to me that I had no other choice but support him, for fear of having John McCain wind up at the nominee. And as I learned more about Romney, I started to really like him and what he stood for.

Now, it seems that McCain will secure the Republican nomination.

I found out that Romney had dropped out of the race when I turned on the news after I got home from work. My first words upon hearing this news (and I'll be completely honest here): "Sh*t. Our country is really screwed now. Who am I suppose to vote for?" I asked my husband. He shook his head in response, as if to echo my very same feelings.

I am not comfortable supporting McCain. And I am certainly not comfortable with the idea of Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama becoming the President of the United States. I'm at a loss. Who the hec am I suppose to vote for?

I don't support McCain because I don't believe he has as his foundation true conservative principles for making political decisions. He is soft on border control, all about global warming, doesn't want to cut taxes and is a career politician. And I don't need to go into the reason why I don't support Clinton or Obama.

I guess I could vote for Ron Paul, but he's a little nutty. I do agree with some of the things he stands for though.

I might write in Fred Thompson. If enough Fred supporters wrote him in on the ballot, that would be a pretty big statement from the true conservatives. Do I see a modern day Federalist party in our future?

As November draws near, I'm sure I'll figure out what the best decision for me is in terms of voting. Every vote matters, and I certainly want mine to count for something. Stay tuned.

State of the Blog Address

Tonight I shall put forth my first State of the Blog Address. To my readers (all three of you) I appreciate your time in reading my blog. To my fellow bloggers, I applaud the dialogue you initate every day, and I am proud to be a part of the collective blogging voice.

The State of A Coffee To Go is strong. Though I have yet to faithly make a post every single day, I am striving towards this goal!

There is a good variety of content posted on A Coffee To Go. I make no atempt at hiding the fact that I am a Conservative, and thus my views are from the Conservative view point. But I believe if you regularly read my blog, you'll discover the variety of topics that I like to cover: politics, current events, Hollywood gossip, on-going daily events and activities, personal stories and anecdotes about myself, my husband and my dog, and occassionally a fun picture or two!

A Coffee To Go needs more comments. C'mon folks! I know you're out there! Make a comment! I'll love you for it...

A Coffee To Go is on the go indeed! Since beginning this blog back in September, I have traveled several times to Charlotte for a wedding and for work, accepted a new position at my current place of employement that will allow for even more travel, and I recently returned from Las Vegas, NV where I attended a conference for work. Next week I am traveling to Greensboro for work, and then I head off to Charlotte again at the end of the month for yet another work program (I'm in program planning now. What type of programs you ask? They are of the legal nature).

A Coffee To Go is routinely caffinated at the appropriate level. I start every day with a cup of joe (either from casa de Melanie or casa de Starbucks). This has been especially crucial since accepting my new position last month and I have been going into work earlier.

Overall, things are well in A Coffee To Go world. I hope that you will choose to continue reading this blog and I welcome your feedback and comments.

This State of the Blog Address was brought to you in part by Starbucks.

Super Tuesday, Super Right

Since North Carolina is not part of the Super Tuesday primaries (ours is May 6), I have the luxury of kicking back on my couch and watching Fox News digest the results of the primaries. I'm continually amazed by how every aspect of the presidential race is analyzed under the media microscope. I'm almost waiting for the news to report the blood type of each candidate and the name of their sixth grade teacher. It's facsinating to watch - I dare say that I am becoming a news and political junkie. And I'm sure my addiction will only grow as we draw nearer to November.

And speaking of sixth grade teachers, indulge me if you will by dreadging up in your mind your sixth grade history class. Women were given the right to vote in this county by the 19th Ammendment which was ratified on August 18, 1920 (remember when we studied the Constitution?). The above picture shows three women voting - a momumental occurance in our country's history. Can you imagine the passion these women had? To picket in the streets, to rally behind their cause, to fight for what they believed in.

If only people today had that same passion to vote. If only people today realized the weight of their decision, and that in fact, every vote does matter. The right to vote is powerful, yet the realization of this power seems to fade in the minds of Americans when the political races come to an end. We select our candidate, they are sworn in, and we go back to our every day routines. But if you think the picture above is a powerful one, consider the picture below:



Pretty amazing, don't you think?

“Iraqis are taking control of their country. They are building a free nation that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.”
President George W. Bush

Oops, She Did It Again

Today, Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop at her law school alma mater, Yale University in New Haven, CT, to participate in a round table discussion with a select group of women. It didn't take her too long to turn on the water works, conveniently one day before Super Tuesday.

I have no idea what caused her to "tear up" as she put it. And frankly, I could care less. All I know is that she pulled the very same stunt the day before the New Hampshire primary. And guess what? The water works worked. She won the primary. Now, with the biggest day yet of the presidential race looming - Super Tuesday - Clinton is pulling her stunt yet again. Will crying in public get her sympathy votes? Maybe. Will it change her public perception of being cold and calculating? Perhaps. But not if you are a voter who sees her for what she is - a manipulator in every sense of the word.

The Clintons are a machine. I've even stated before on this blog that I believe that if it were Bill running for president, he would win hands down. But the Clintons are a dangerous machine, one that will wreck havoc on our county and its future. Hillary wants to put in place universal healthcare (read: socialized medicine). If Hillary could abolish the Second Ammendment, she would (taking away American's constitutional rights is NEVER a good thing). Hillary wants amnesty for illegal immigrants (read: she wants to make our borders and country LESS secure and reward people who have broken the law). Hillary will raise taxes to attempt to pay for a multitude of unnecessary goverment programs. Somehow, I seriously doubt that our money will be spent wisely by the government. Hillary will try to turn America into a socialist country, and there are no tears big enough to cover up that fact.

For those of you who read this post, please consider the weight of your vote. Every vote matters. If you have somehow stumbled upon this blog, I beg you, please consider with a heavy heart your decision on November 4th. The future of our country depends on it. Hillary may attempt to cry her way all the way to the top, but it is up to us, the American voter, to stop her.

What Happens In Vegas...

...are work conferences.

Wait, that's not the saying, is it?

Well, it may not be the saying but that is what happened in Vegas for me. Last week, the husband and I jetted off to Las Vegas. I attended a work conference at the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, NV. Henderson is about 20 minutes outside of Las Vegas. The hotel/casino was absolutly beautiful, and the view from our room was amazing. The conference that I attended went well. I met a lot of people, learned a lot of things that I'll be able to apply back at my new job, and I came away from it feeling more informed and better able to tackle things back at the office.

But you didn't come here to read about my conference. You came to see pictures from the Vegas. And I must say, I do love the Vegas...


The sitting area of our luxury suite


Our bed


Our amazing view of the Las Vegas strip from our room


The Bellagio
The fountain show is amazing, especially at night!


Paris


New York New York


Excalabur


Luxor


MGM Grand
We ate at Emeril's and saw KA, one of the Cirque du Soleil shows.


Jason playing the Star Wars slot machine!