As weekends go, this certainly was one

I don't think I've written anything about the election that happened here in WV over the weekend. It took place at the state convention for the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women (WVFDW). My county chapter was the host. I've shared a little bit about how busy our group was preparing for that. But the election? Not so much.

I was nominated for vice-president. Traditionally, the assembly accepts the recommendation of the nominating committee, everyone sings kumbaya, and you go to a banquet. But not this year.

Three of the top board positions were challenged by floor nominations. Mine was one of them.

The woman nominated for president and I ran as a team. She went down in the first ballot of the day, and I realized then that I didn't need to give quite as powerful a speech as I'd planned to. It was referred to by one witness as a kamikaze speech.

WVFDW is a club, politically oriented, obviously, but not beholden to the public. It's nice, though, to know the members of a group you've served for several years appreciate you and welcome your contributions.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

Don't get me wrong: MANY, many women approached me and told me how much they appreciated my work for the organization. (I took care of the website and created most of the memes for the Facebook page. Oh, and started a blog, a newsletter, and a Zazzle shop.) From my brief parenthetical resume, you can see I was a big contributor to the digital side of things.

The nominee for president came up with the ideas. Having more time than she, I executed them. We really are a good team. As I said in my speech, she's the spark plug and I'm the mechanic.

But talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words. You don't show me you value my service by then voting me out.

I learned a lot from the entire experience, most of which I will keep to myself. What I will share is this: For Democrats in West Virginia, longevity trumps all. The longer you've been a member, the longer you've had a D beside your name, the better. The lifetime Democrat who is a charter member of WVFDW wins the prize.

Which is silly, really. If you want your group to grow and attract new and younger members, you look at records. My record, and that of the nominee for president, has hundreds of thousands of digital fingerprints all over it. Social media is where those potential younger members are. And that's where we worked the hardest, while also creating the newsletter to make sure we were reaching those who don't spend much time online.

Without being too melodramatic about it, I guess I'm making my way through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. You don't have to have all of them, and you don't have to have them in that order. But most people experiencing an impactful loss feel some or all of these emotions to some degree.

I'm pretty sure I skipped denial and went straight to anger. I'm not sure bargaining is relevant. I feel stuck between mad and sad right now, and I'm really very close to acceptance. I will be all right. I'm already making plans for how a way to work on issues that mean something to me and to other progressive women who feel that WVFDW chose a different set of values.

There was a lot of discussion at this meeting about adding a standing committee just for social media. And after all was said and done, it was added. The social media team will no longer serve at the pleasure of the president, but will be an elected office and a voting member of the board.

I'm happy about that.

I'm just sad I won't be on it.

Signed, sealed, delivered

That big graphic design project I've been working on for the past month or so? Just a little more effort and they'll be on their way.

The package arrived from the printer yesterday – and I really need to give a shout out to CatPrint for working closely with me and then expediting the shipping when there was a tiny glitch. I love when companies step up and take responsibility for a problem. They were able to get the order to me on the date I'd originally expected it.

I need to fold, seal, label, and stamp each newsletter, and take them to the post office. Then and only then will the job be done.

And then it's time to think about the next issue. The fun never stops.

There are a couple little things "wrong" with it – completely my fault – but nothing earth-shattering and easily correctible for the next piece. That almost always happens with a project like this. We'll work the bugs out as we move forward.

So. Coming soon! To a mailbox near you! That is, if you've subscribed … if you haven't, you can sign up here. Volume 1, Issue 3 mails in early August.

I'd love to chat a bit more … but I have some work to do!

Here I go again

I don't need to leave for this weekend's convention today until early afternoon but, as with most things, the tasks on my to-do list take up all available time.

In other words, I'm not an especially efficient planner. (I am, however, better food-prepared this weekend than I was last.)

Right now, though, my dining room table is piled high with auction items that need to be tagged and messenger bags that need to be cleaned out and consolidated.

We get a new bag at each of these meetings. I've only been going for four years, so I can't imagine how many blue bags are cluttering the closets of some of the old-timers who've been attending West Virginia's Federation of Democratic Women conventions for decades.

Maybe the bags are a new-ish idea.

One of my jobs at this year's event will be helping people sign up for Facebook and Twitter. We're trying to move the group into the 21st century. I hope we get lots of interest in the project. Facebook is one of the most efficient and least costly ways to communicate I've ever found. The advantages for clubs and groups and like-minded individuals are numerous.

If we could just get members to use it.

So I teased you yesterday about glitter spray, remember? Well here's what I did with it:

I'd read online that the nozzle on the can easily become clogged. One woman used FOUR CANS to spray a pair of heels. At eight bucks for a fairly small can, that's a pretty spendy DIY project. Or at least it was spendier than I wanted to make it.

I only bought one can and hoped for the best. My sparkly new shoes ended up costing less than 20 bucks, and I had enough product left to cover five large beads, which I turned into this:

Horrible picture, true, but you get the idea.

And seriously? The only place I will ever wear this OR the shoes is to a Democratic event. Or maybe a Fourth of July parade. But they're fun and different and for once I don't mind drawing attention to myself.

And if you don't know what that means, then welcome to my blog! You must be a Knit. Run. Reap. Eat. virgin!

Not sure how frequently (or if) I'll be updating over the next few days. But I'm quite sure I'll be having a good time. I hope your weekend is as fun as mine's going to be!

I was not meant for long hauling

Yesterday was another day on the road, this time for a West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women board meeting. The board meets quarterly, and I missed the previous meeting because I was … get ready … on the road! This month I've been on an all-day trip an average of once a week.

Pocatalico is my favorite place name 

in all of West Virginia. Just say it and  

you'll see what I mean.

Driving seems like a non-tiring activity, but it wears. me. OUT. Especially when I have to drive for three or four hours, spend three or four hours doing something and then drive three or four more hours to get home. Which is what each of the May trips have looked like.

I have 10 days to rest up and then I'm off to Nashville. Which is a seven-hour drive and I'll be there long enough to recover before I head back home again.

Does driving make you tired? I could never be an over-the-road driver, and I give them all kinds of courtesy when I travel. I'm never in such a big hurry that I can't let one in front of me. Those drivers are working and probably way more tired than I am.

So the meeting was at a locally owned restaurant in Parkersburg, WV. When I got the notice in the mail, I thought Don Emilio's would most likely be Italian, and I was prepared to order some kind of meat and red sauce with no pasta. I was pretty sure I could figure out an appropriate paleo lunch at an Italian joint.

Turns out this Don was Mexican. Or Tex-Mexican. Or Mexican-American. It was, shall we say, not especially authentic Mexican cuisine, and there was not a single entrée that I could work into the plan. So I had a mug of gazpacho (which was DELICIOUS, if you like gazpacho, which I most definitely DO) and was glad I had brought a homemade Larabar with me. No one even asked what I was nibbling on.

I'd considered stopping for dinner to break up the drive home, but I really just wanted to get out of the car and stay out, so I ate a banana and some cashews on the fly, and kept on driving. I'm pretty sure Ruby Tuesdays wouldn't have set up a cot for me had I stopped there for salmon and spaghetti squash.

The meeting itself was a little discouraging. Membership is going down at all levels. The National Federation of Democratic Women annual convention is next month, here in West Virginia (another road trip!), and only 170 women have registered to date. (It's not too late to register! If you have any interest in Democratic politics and women's issues, this is the convention for you!) Attendance at county meetings is down throughout the state.

I think we're all taking it easy until 2016. In the meantime, Republicans are taking over state legislatures. No rest for the weary.

Also. It's Monday, which means I hop on the scale for the official weekly weigh-in. I've lost another 1.5 pounds, for a total of 23 since December 26 – 16 in the last six weeks (since April 6). With any luck I'll be halfway toward my goal by my birthday. But the official weigh-in won't be recorded until two days later.

I had some time to kill before the meeting yesterday and bought a pair of capris that are a size smaller than the ones I've been wearing this spring. They fit fine, but really? I hope they shrink a little.

That's a nice problem to have for the long haul.

A good Democrat day

A couple days ago I overheard my husband tell a friend that "Debbi was going to spend Sunday being a good Democrat."

And I did. I even wore blue. Heh. And I did not wear anything Christmas-y, which definitely put me in the minority at the meeting I attended yesterday afternoon.

It was a three(plus)-hour drive north in the fog and rain and, of course, an equally long drive home. In the fog and rain. The drive home actually took longer because it was oh-dark-thirty when I left the meeting and I tend to drive a little more slowly in the fog and rain and DARK.

I'm so old. And my grandchildren would just love it that I drive even more slowly than I already do.

As the chairperson of the Speakers Bureau for the West Virginia Federation of Democratic Women, I was on the agenda to encourage the group to sign up for a Facebook account and "like" our new page. One of the ongoing themes for Democratic women's groups is encouraging younger women to become involved. (At 61, I was the third- or fourth-youngest woman in the room yesterday.)

If you want younger women, you have to be where they are. And they certainly are on Facebook.

So I did that and we actually had quite a good discussion about using Facebook to promote activities and generate interest and support for issues. Mission accomplished.

What I didn't know, and it didn't even occur to me, is that this also was a Christmas party. Some members brought gifts. For ALL OF US. I came home with a bag stuffed with presents. I wish I'd thought ahead and made Hillary 2016 badges for everyone. That would have been a very appreciated holiday remembrance.

Ah, well, I have four more years for that one.

November 20 - work/play

I made a tab for the WVFDW Facebook page, which was both work (because
I didn't know what the hell I was doing) and play (because I love technology
and social networking and feeling productive without a deadline. Win/win!

November 18 - Happened this weekend

Crossed this off my to-do list: Creating a Facebook page for WVFDW.

Wow, what a weekend

I'm a liberal Democrat, a progressive, and proud of it. It's hard to be a liberal Democrat in West Virginia, as you might well imagine. We used to be a solidly blue state. Now we're kinda purple, turning red, and it was certainly on the minds and hearts of those attending and speaking at the convention I went to this weekend to turn us back to blue.

I'm president of my county Democratic women's club, part of the WVFDW, and was attending my first state convention. We heard from Lena C. Taylor (D-WI) who, along with 13 of her colleagues, left the state of Wisconsin to prevent bad law from being railroaded through the legislature there. (It slowed the process, but the law was still passed.) We heard from many union organizers. West Virginia's former first lady, Gail Manchin, spoke, as did my Congressman's wife, Melinda Rahall, and the Congressman himself. (She gets top billing; she's a hoot!) West Virginia is having a special gubernatorial election October 4 (10/4, good buddy!) and Governor and Mrs. Tomblin came to fire up the crowd.

We elected officers, attended workshops (how to get young people more involved was a big one), networked – all the things you do at conventions. The mayor reminded us that what happens in Huntington stays in Huntington. Since the median age was probably the same as mine, not much was likely to happen. The fundraising auction, which netted more than $4000, was the raciest event of the weekend; a couple of the male Young Democrat representatives were auctioned off for a lunch date.

I was proud to learn that the president of the Young Democrats of America is a West Virginian and that the president of the National Federation of Democratic Women in 2013 will be a West Virginian. Perhaps West Virginia can again turn blue.

No knitting was done. Not a stitch. I sat beside and behind a couple women who were knitting during the business meeting, but I'd left my bag in my room and didn't feel like going back for it.

I walked two miles each day. Saturday I ventured outside, but Sunday I had to get it done early so I hopped on the hotel treadmill. One of you will be proud of me for hitting a couple of the Nautilus machines. I was grateful to be the only person in the workout room; you should have seen me trying to get on and off those contraptions!

I ate dessert at lunch Saturday but skipped the dessert reception at the banquet Saturday night. That was hard. Those desserts looked good, but I wasn't hungry and I was tired and it just felt more right to skip the evening festivities and head upstairs for a little football watching and some rest.

It was difficult to attend this event by myself. I'd planned to go with another of our local members, but she had a family emergency at the last minute and couldn't attend. It wasn't easy to meet new people, but I did it. I now have some new ideas for growing our group, and some new understanding of how important it is to elect Democrats, even if you think they're not quite as liberal as you'd like them to be.

It's a no-brainer, really. The alternative is to vote for a Republican, and we've seen what they've done to our country. Can we take it back? I sincerely hope so.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about this as time goes on. I may have to change the name of the blog again. (Knit. Run. Reap. Eat. Vote Democrat!)

Or maybe the color. Heh.