Girls Gone Wild for Shopping!

For those of you that don't know (and by now that's few of you) I am a shopaholic! This is a trait that has been passed down to all female members in my family. No matter what the age, when we are together and any where near civilization, we must shop! We don't just go to a store when we have a need, we go because we' re there. It's a bonding social thing. Sometimes we don't even buy anything we just have fun walking around the mall and laughing.

About 10 years ago, my sister decided we needed to get out of town to do this shopping thing and we needed a whole weekend to do it. So she put together a shopping trip to the Mall of America (or MOA as we like to call it) for the girls. We always went the first weekend in November and we went from Thursday to Sunday.

It was literally "SHOP TIL YOU DROP" for us die hards with time out to eat and drink to replenish our bodies for the next go round. We would run our purchases to the hotel rooms (right across the street, thank God) and go back for more. By the time we were done for the night we had one whole side of the hotel room piled high with packages. Then we had to do a show and tell. Can't shop without showing everyone what you got. Half the fun is showing it off!

But then it was time to cut loose and relax. We always find really great restaurants to eat at and have a few cocktails to unwind. One year we met a friend who bought us all shots because we looked like we were having so much fun ( we even sang karaoke that night) and another year we all tried different cocktails but found one persons that we liked so much we all ordered it the next time and then found they were so expensive we couldn't afford to eat supper. We have discovered new and exciting food dishes, have shared food dishes with each other and have ended up buying dessert and taking it back to eat in the comfort of our jammies.

Over the years our shopping group has diminished in size but the amount of fun we have stays the same. We have moved from hotel rooms to Adrienne's house in Hudson and we have expanded our shopping from just MOA to include IKEA and outlet malls. What hasn't changed is being able to spend time with my daughters (who happen to live over 500 miles away) my sister and niece and just have a good time. We aren't wife, mother or employee during this time. We are just "Girls Gone Wild for Shopping!"

Stand Up and Be Counted

Today we have the opportunity to make a difference. Living in America gives us that right. It is called freedom and not everyone has this wonderful gift. Most

of us take it for granted, never stopping to think of how we got it or the many sacrifices made to give it to us.

A lot of people don't think their vote matters because what difference can one vote make? One vote makes all the difference in the world! Your voice matters! Many races have been decided on less than 500 votes and your vote could have been the one that turned the decision. Think about that when you're thinking about not voting today.

2008 brings the chance to make history- we saw a woman run for president and even though Hilary didn't get the nomination she went farther in the race than most of the male candidates did. Then there is Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential candidate, if MacCain wins we will have the first female VP and maybe in 4-8 years a female president. If Obama wins we have the first African American president ever elected to office. This year will go down in the history books as one of the greatest ever.

So don't sit home today bitching about the economy and the fact that wall street is in trouble. Don't blame either candidate for what's happening and say they caused it and can't fix it. Look at what you have because you live in America. You have the right to chose where you live and work. The right to walk around free and the right to vote for who you want to run your country. Most people don't get that choice. We have the things we have and the freedom to have them because we vote and have a country we can be proud of.

I'm not telling you how to vote, your opinion is your own. God knows my husband and I don't agree and that's OK because that my friend is what America is all about. The right to have an opinion and voice it without fear of retaliation.

I AM TELLING YOU TO GET OUT THERE AND VOTE ! Vote for who ever you want to but VOTE. If you don't, you have no one but yourself to blame if you don't like what's happening with the economy and wall street- not the president.

EVERY VOTE COUNTS- VOTE TODAY!!